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aboveallarescuer · 4 years ago

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Daenerys Targaryen in A Storm of Swords vs Game of Thrones - Episode 3.3: Walk of Punishment

In this series of posts, I intend to analyze precisely how the show writers downplayed or erased several key aspects of Daenerys Targaryen’s characterization, even when they had the books to help them write her as the compelling, intelligent, compassionate, frugal, open-minded and self-critical character that GRRM created.

I want to make it clear that these posts are not primarily meant to offer a better alternative to what the show writers gave us. I understand that they had many constraints (e.g. other storylines to handle, a limited amount of time to write the scripts, budget, actors who may have asked for a certain number of lines, etc) working against them. However, considering how disrespectful the show’s ending was to Daenerys Targaryen and how the book material that they left out makes it even more ludicrous to think that she will also become a villain in A Song of Ice and Fire, I believe that these reviews are more than warranted. They are meant to dissect everything about Dany’s characterization that was lost in translation, with a lot of book evidence to corroborate my statements.

Since these reviews will dissect scene by scene, I recommend taking a look at this post because I will use its sequence to order Dany’s scenes.

This post is relevant in case you want to know which chapters were adapted in which GoT episodes (however, I didn’t make the list myself, all the information comes from the GoT Wiki, so I can’t guarantee that it’s 100% reliable).

In general, I will call the Dany from the books “Dany” and the Dany from the TV series “show!Dany”.

Scene 3

BARRISTAN: The Walk of Punishment is a warning, Your Grace.

DAENERYS: To whom?

BARRISTAN: To any slave who contemplates doing whatever these slaves did.

In the books, the context in which we first see the Plaza of Punishment (yeah, the type of building was changed) is very different:

The Plaza of Pride with its great bronze harpy was too small to hold all the Unsullied she had bought. Instead they had been assembled in the Plaza of Punishment, fronting on Astapor’s main gate, so they might be marched directly from the city once Daenerys had taken them in hand. There were no bronze statues here; only a wooden platform where rebellious slaves were racked, and flayed, and hanged. “The Good Masters place them so they will be the first thing a new slave sees upon entering the city,” Missandei told her as they came to the plaza.

At first glimpse, Dany thought their skin was striped like the zorses of the Jogos Nhai. Then she rode her silver nearer and saw the raw red flesh beneath the crawling black stripes. Flies. Flies and maggots. The rebellious slaves had been peeled like a man might peel an apple, in a long curling strip. (ASOS Daenerys III)

As we can see:

In the books, Dany goes to the Plaza of Punishment because she's going to buy save too many Unsullied and the Plaza of Pride wouldn't fit them all. The names are very appropriate: Dany is going to undermine the pride of the slave masters (the absence of bronze statues of harpies reinforces that fact) by punishing them for what they did to the slaves (which feels like a sort of karmic payback, for she begins a successful anti-slavery rebellion in the very place where the slaves were punished for rebelling) and showing them that they are just as mortal and vulnerable as the people they were oppressing. In the show, all of this significance is lost because show!Dany goes to the Plaza Walk of Punishment before she even makes the deal.

In the books, the slaves are racked, flayed and hanged for disobeying their masters. In the show, they are whipped and then strapped to a cross until they die.

There is a reason why the place was changed from Plaza to Walk: the shooting location in Essaouira had a line of cannons that couldn't be moved, so they decided to build "cannon covers" with the crosses of the dying slaves.

I don't mind that the method of punishment itself was changed (from flaying to crucifixion) or even that the Plaza of Punishment was turned into the Walk of Punishment, only that the location was shown in the inappropriate moment. I can't see any reason why the Walk of Punishment could not have been where the deal was about to be finished only for show!Dany to rebel against the masters and free the Unsullied (like how it happened in the books in the Plaza of Punishment).

Another change in the context of the scene taking place in the Plaza/Walk of Punishment has to do with who is talking to Dany and what is the purpose of the scene. I will quote again both the show dialogue and (parts of) the book passage to emphasize my point:

BARRISTAN: The Walk of Punishment is a warning, Your Grace.

DAENERYS: To whom?

BARRISTAN: To any slave who contemplates doing whatever these slaves did.

There were no bronze statues here; only a wooden platform where rebellious slaves were racked, and flayed, and hanged. “The Good Masters place them so they will be the first thing a new slave sees upon entering the city,” Missandei told her as they came to the plaza.

[...] One man had an arm black with flies from fingers to elbow, and red and white beneath. Dany reined in beneath him. “What did this one do?”

“He raised a hand against his owner.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

In the books, Missandei (a former slave) explains to Dany why the Plaza of Punishment exists. That makes their interaction more powerful, since we're listening to someone who, at some point, likely felt the urge to run away only to see these slaves and realize that it would be more sensible to resign herself to the misery she was in. Also, Dany instinctively understands why the Plaza of Punishment exists before Missandei tells her ("a wooden platform where rebellious slaves were racked, and flayed, and hanged"). In the show, show!Barristan is the one who explains to show!Dany why the Walk of Punishment exists, which is less meaningful in comparison. Also, D&D have show!Dany ask him to whom the Walk is a warning, implying that she can't think of any ideas on her own and making this another case of her being dumbed down in comparison to her book counterpart.

In the books, one of the purposes of the scene is to call attention to the unfairness of these punishments - no person should be "racked, and flayed, and hanged", especially not for a reason as relatively trivial as "rais[ing] a hand against his owner". However, because the level of oppression and social inequality is so high in Astapor and Slaver's Bay as a whole, it's normal procedure to torture and kill someone for insubstantial motives. In the show, since show!Barristan was never a slave like Missandei was, he can't possibly know why they were punished ("doing whatever these slaves did"). Now, of course, one might argue that the scene still causes outrage because no one deserves to be subjected to that level of torture, but it's still quite a shame that the reason why the slave was punished was cut - not only that would have made the point even more explicit, that only happened because they erased the perspective of a former slave.

DAENERYS: Give me your water.

JORAH: Khaleesi, this man has been sentenced to death.

DAENERYS: Here, drink.

This series has a habit of framing acts of compassion and kindness as meaningless ones - as @turtle-paced reminded me, examples include show!Ned's trying to save show!Joffrey (how his attempt was framed in the show, in particular), Talisa's kindness to the Lannister squires who got murdered in S3, the old lady who tried to help show!Sansa in S5 only to get murdered by show!Ramsay and show!Doran's efforts to make peace. @secretlyatargaryen also called attention to how show!Meera was callously dispatched after multiple seasons helping show!Bran to go back home. I would also add how no one in Braavos was willing to help show!Arya after seeing her stomach wound (and then the one person who helps her is assassinated) or how show!Arya's attempts to save a child and her mother in "The Bells" led to naught.

This scene is another clear example that fits the pattern. Instead of creating a scenario in which show!Dany tries to give water to a dying slave only for him to refuse:

Why couldn’t the show writers have had Dany explaining what, in her perspective, makes her worthy of being considered a queen?

Or why couldn’t they have kept Dany’s anger at seeing Jorah talk about the Unsullied as if they were objects to be sold?

Or why couldn’t we have had Dany saying that a queen must listen to all, highborn and low?

All of these examples were entirely cut from the series, which is a shame because they signal that the books are ultimately validating Dany’s efforts to help the oppressed (while it is true that they don’t shy away from the negative ramifications at the same time, her attempts are no less justified and necessary). This scene doesn't convey the same message.

BARRISTAN: Leave this place, Your Grace. Leave tonight, I beg you.

JORAH: And what is she to do for soldiers?

BARRISTAN: We can find sellswords in Pentos and Myr.

JORAH: Is it "we" already, Ser Barristan? If you want to sit on the throne your ancestors built, you must win it. That will mean blood on your hands before the thing is done.

DAENERYS: The blood of my enemies, not the blood of innocents.

JORAH: How many wars have you fought in, Ser Barristan?

BARRISTAN: Three.

JORAH: Have you ever seen a war where innocents didn't die by the thousands? I was in King's Landing after the sack, khaleesi. You know what I saw? Butchery. Babies, children, old men. More women raped than you can count. There's a beast in every man and it stirs when you put a sword in his hand. But the Unsullied are not men. They do not rape. They do not put cities to the sword unless they're ordered to do so. If you buy them, the only men they'll kill are those you want dead.

DAENERYS: Do you disagree, Ser Barristan?

BARRISTAN: When your brother Rhaegar led his army into battle at the Trident, men died for him because they believed in him, because they loved him, not because they'd been bought at a slaver's auction. I fought beside the last dragon on that day, Your Grace. I bled beside him.

JORAH: Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, and Rhaegar died.

I'm quoting the entire exchange to highlight, again, how much the show overfocused on show!Jorah's opinions over show!Dany's or show!Barristan's.

Let's separate his arguments:

1) JORAH: And what is she to do for soldiers?

2) JORAH: Is it "we" already, Ser Barristan? If you want to sit on the throne your ancestors built, you must win it. That will mean blood on your hands before the thing is done.

3) JORAH: How many wars have you fought in, Ser Barristan? [...] Have you ever seen a war where innocents didn't die by the thousands? I was in King's Landing after the sack, khaleesi. You know what I saw? Butchery. Babies, children, old men. More women raped than you can count. There's a beast in every man and it stirs when you put a sword in his hand. But the Unsullied are not men. They do not rape. They do not put cities to the sword unless they're ordered to do so. If you buy them, the only men they'll kill are those you want dead.

4) JORAH: Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, and Rhaegar died.

Now let's separate show!Barristan's arguments:

1) BARRISTAN: Leave this place, Your Grace. Leave tonight, I beg you.

2) BARRISTAN: We can find sellswords in Pentos and Myr.

3) BARRISTAN: When your brother Rhaegar led his army into battle at the Trident, men died for him because they believed in him, because they loved him, not because they'd been bought at a slaver's auction. I fought beside the last dragon on that day, Your Grace. I bled beside him.

Finally, what does show!Dany have to say?

1) DAENERYS: The blood of my enemies, not the blood of innocents.

The protagonist of this storyline is also, sadly, the one who least expresses her opinions on the matter of buying the Unsullied or not. (She also asks for show!Barristan's opinion and asserts that she is the last dragon, but these are not arguments/thoughts that add to the discussion)

Before I examine each line (which I will do in a sec), I want to pay close attention to the direction (which, let's have in mind, was solely Benioff's). The camera barely focuses on show!Barristan's face while he makes his first two arguments above, making them seem like an afterthought:

But it always focuses on show!Jorah's face when he is talking:

And while the camera does focus on show!Dany's face when she reiterates the importance of sparing innocent lives:

It's also true that the show erased too many of her opinions/viewpoints (as I will show below).

In terms of screentime, show!Barristan's first two arguments receive 6 seconds. Show!Jorah's first two arguments receive 12 seconds. Show!Dany's sole argument receives 3 seconds. Show!Jorah's third argument receives 39 seconds. Show!Barristan's third argument (which is actually a line from Dany in the books) receives 18 seconds. Show!Jorah's fourth argument receives 6 seconds. Approximately, then, we have: 57 seconds for show!Jorah, 24 seconds for show!Barristan and 3 seconds for show!Dany.

Now I'm going through each of these characters' arguments.

1) JORAH: And what is she to do for soldiers?

The first point is actually one that Dany is shown onpage bringing up in the books:

“When I leave Astapor it must be with an army, Ser Jorah says.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

“Yet I must have some army,” Dany said. “The boy Joffrey will not give me the Iron Throne for asking politely.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

It isn't out of character for Jorah to make this argument - in fact, he does so in the previous chapter when he proposes that Dany changes course to Astapor. However, since they are adapting events from ASOS Daenerys II (when they are already in Astapor), it's another instance in which the show writers would rather have a supporting male character have his voice heard rather than Dany's.

Also, more importantly, Dany is not making this argument to justify slavery like show!Jorah is:

“Even those who bent their knees may yearn in their hearts for the return of the dragons.”

“May,” said Dany. That was such a slippery word, may. (ASOS Daenerys II)

“My brother visited Pentos, Myr, Braavos, near all the Free Cities. The magisters and archons fed him wine and promises, but his soul was starved to death. A man cannot sup from the beggar’s bowl all his life and stay a man. I had my taste in Qarth, that was enough. I will not come to Pentos bowl in hand.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

The reason why getting an army before she gets to Pentos is so important for Dany is because she lived in poverty before and knows that she can't rely too heavily on anyone - she learned that when no one would help her brother, she learned that again when no one would help her in Qarth even with her dragons. She doesn't want to be powerless, but, at the same time, she doesn't want other people to be powerless as well. Having show!Jorah say these things doesn't have the same significance because he didn't have the same experiences that Dany did nor does he care about the slaves' plight.

So, yeah, that change is doubly awful: it prioritizes a male slaver over a female revolutionary.

2) JORAH: Is it "we" already, Ser Barristan? If you want to sit on the throne your ancestors built, you must win it. That will mean blood on your hands before the thing is done.

Show!Jorah's second and third arguments are actually one and the same and are expressed by Jorah in the books as well:

“Your Grace,” said Jorah Mormont, “I saw King’s Landing after the Sack. Babes were butchered that day as well, and old men, and children at play. More women were raped than you can count. There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs. The scent of blood is all it takes to wake him. Yet I have never heard of these Unsullied raping, nor putting a city to the sword, nor even plundering, save at the express command of those who lead them. Brick they may be, as you say, but if you buy them henceforth the only dogs they’ll kill are those you want dead. And you do have some dogs you want dead, as I recall.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

However, there are still issues with how they presented his argument in the show.

One, the show writers interspersed Jorah's argument in the show scene, which shows how much they want to reinforce it.

Two, they have show!Jorah undermine show!Barristan (who is anti-slavery) three times:

JORAH: Is it "we" already, Ser Barristan?

JORAH: How many wars have you fought in, Ser Barristan? [...] Have you ever seen a war where innocents didn't die by the thousands?

JORAH: Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, and Rhaegar died.

Look at show!Barristan finding no response to these points and his expressions indicating that he lost the argument:

By the time of this particular scene, show!Barristan had joined show!Dany's entourage one day ago (we know this because Kraznys said that show!Dany only had one day to decide if she would buy the Unsullied or not). Even if it's understandable (on a Watsonian perspective) that show!Jorah would distrust show!Barristan for that reason, it's less understandable (on a Doylist perspective) that the writers would use this reason to undermine show!Barristan's anti-slavery arguments or that they would write show!Jorah being distrustful of show!Barristan for that reason rather than the actual reasons in the books (i.e., Jorah being constantly disrespectful of Dany's boundaries and trying to isolate her from any man who, in his mind, threatens their relationship).

In contrast with the show, Dany has been with Barristan for enough time to trust him to be her sole companion when she meets Kraznys and the Unsullied. In fact, she brings him partly as an excuse to avoid to be alone with Jorah again after he kissed her without her consent:

He has a good face, and great strength to him, Dany thought. She could not understand why Ser Jorah mistrusted the old man so. Could he be jealous that I have found another man to talk to? Unbidden, her thoughts went back to the night on Balerion when the exile knight had kissed her. He should never have done that. He is thrice my age, and of too low a birth for me, and I never gave him leave. No true knight would ever kiss a queen without her leave. She had taken care never to be alone with Ser Jorah after that, keeping her handmaids with her aboard ship, and sometimes her bloodriders. He wants to kiss me again, I see it in his eyes. (ASOS Daenerys II)

And then there is the fact that the show writers have show!Barristan find no counterargument to show!Jorah's point below, as if that meant that it is too good to be questioned:

JORAH: How many wars have you fought in, Ser Barristan? [...] Have you ever seen a war where innocents didn't die by the thousands?

This happens because this moment was taken out of its original context in order to present show!Jorah as the "realist" one. Let's look at how the scene (which is only between Dany and Jorah) goes in the books:

“When Aegon the Dragon stepped ashore in Westeros, the kings of Vale and Rock and Reach did not rush to hand him their crowns. If you mean to sit his Iron Throne, you must win it as he did, with steel and dragonfire. And that will mean blood on your hands before the thing is done.”

Blood and fire, thought Dany. The words of House Targaryen. She had known them all her life. “The blood of my enemies I will shed gladly. The blood of innocents is another matter. Eight thousand Unsullied they would offer me. Eight thousand dead babes. Eight thousand strangled dogs.”

The Usurper’s dogs. “Yes.” Dany gazed off at the soft colored lights and let the cool salt breeze caress her. “You speak of sacking cities. Answer me this, ser—why have the Dothraki never sacked this city?” (ASOS Daenerys II)

Dany doesn't offer any answer to the question of innocents dying by the thousands, but that's because GRRM writes it so that Jorah ends his line of reasoning with the argument that buying the Unsullied will cause less deaths in her war in Westeros. Right after that, GRRM shows Dany making good observations and gathering more knowledge, which showcases her intelligence. The show, on the other hand, hammers home one particular perspective in a way that the books didn't in order to make show!Jorah look "realist".

Also, while we don't see Barristan explicitly replying to Jorah's arguments in the books (because, again, the context was both a) altered so that that would happen in the show and b) manufactured so that he would lose the discussion), I imagine he would remind Dany of this very important bit of information if he were to have a discussion with Jorah in front of Dany in the books like they did in the show:

“When I leave Astapor it must be with an army, Ser Jorah says.”

“Ser Jorah was a slaver himself, Your Grace,” the old man reminded her. (ASOS Daenerys II)

Which, conveniently, the show chooses to ignore entirely.

I spent a lot of time talking about show!Jorah's second and third arguments, their context and their framing because they undermine the original takeaway of Dany's storyline. I'm going to talk about show!Jorah's fourth argument later.

Now, let's move on to show!Barristan's arguments.

1) BARRISTAN: Leave this place, Your Grace. Leave tonight, I beg you.

2) BARRISTAN: We can find sellswords in Pentos and Myr.

All of these arguments are expressed in the books, but the context is, once again, different:

“Bricks and blood built Astapor,” Whitebeard murmured at her side, “and bricks and blood her people.”

“What is that?” Dany asked him, curious.

“An old rhyme a maester taught me, when I was a boy. I never knew how true it was. The bricks of Astapor are red with the blood of the slaves who make them.”

“I can well believe that,” said Dany.

“Then leave this place before your heart turns to brick as well. Sail this very night, on the evening tide.”

Would that I could, thought Dany. “When I leave Astapor it must be with an army, Ser Jorah says.”

“Ser Jorah was a slaver himself, Your Grace,” the old man reminded her. “There are sellswords in Pentos and Myr and Tyrosh you can hire. A man who kills for coin has no honor, but at least they are no slaves. Find your army there, I beg you.”

“Better to come a beggar than a slaver,” Arstan said.

“There speaks one who has been neither.” Dany’s nostrils flared. “Do you know what it is like to be sold, squire? I do. My brother sold me to Khal Drogo for the promise of a golden crown. Well, Drogo crowned him in gold, though not as he had wished, and I ... my sun-and-stars made a queen of me, but if he had been a different man, it might have been much otherwise. Do you think I have forgotten how it felt to be afraid?” (ASOS Daenerys II)

In the books, we are privy to Dany's perspective all the time. This scene (as I said both in this post and here) displays how her empathy for the slaves is informed not just by her moral principles or cultural values, but also by her own experiences as someone who struggled with poverty and was a slave herself.

In the series, show!Dany's voice is almost entirely erased and show!Barristan's is undermined to enhance show!Jorah's (as I showed above). Also, even if some of Barristan's points are also added in the show, we don't see him realizing how the rhyme he learned was accurate in more ways than he expected, we don't see him reminding Dany that Jorah was also a slaver and we don't feel his outrage at seeing the Unsullied's training (because, in the show, they had show!Jorah accompany show!Dany rather than him):

“You have lived long in the world, Whitebeard. Now that you have seen them, what do you say?”

“I say no, Your Grace,” the old man answered at once. 

“Why?” she asked. “Speak freely.” Dany thought she knew what he would say, but she wanted the slave girl to hear, so Kraznys mo Nakloz might hear later.

“My queen,” said Arstan, “there have been no slaves in the Seven Kingdoms for thousands of years. The old gods and the new alike hold slavery to be an abomination. Evil. If you should land in Westeros at the head of a slave army, many good men will oppose you for no other reason than that. You will do great harm to your cause, and to the honor of your House.”

“Yet I must have some army,” Dany said. “The boy Joffrey will not give me the Iron Throne for asking politely.”

“When the day comes that you raise your banners, half of Westeros will be with you,” Whitebeard promised. “Your brother Rhaegar is still remembered, with great love.”

“And my father?” Dany said.

The old man hesitated before saying, “King Aerys is also remembered. He gave the realm many years of peace. Your Grace, you have no need of slaves. Magister Illyrio can keep you safe while your dragons grow, and send secret envoys across the narrow sea on your behalf, to sound out the high lords for your cause.”

“Those same high lords who abandoned my father to the Kingslayer and bent the knee to Robert the Usurper?”

“Even those who bent their knees may yearn in their hearts for the return of the dragons.”

“May,” said Dany. That was such a slippery word, may. (ASOS Daenerys II)

This scene accomplishes a couple of things - not only it reinforces to the audience that what we are seeing is wrong, it also sets up Dany's conflicting feelings about her father and establishes, again, that Dany's decision to go to Astapor is shaped by her past experiences (namely, as I already said, that she's already struggled too much to not have a healthy dose of skepticism with regard to how much help other people are willing to give her). Basically, the scene emphasizes the anti-slavery messages of Dany's storyline and services Dany's characterization.

The show's scene accomplishes none of that.

Show!Barristan's third argument is the most explicit example of the show writers being uninterested in Dany's perspective:

Let's look at the context of this line in the books:

“Viserys would have bought as many Unsullied as he had the coin for. But you once said I was like Rhaegar ...”

“I remember, Daenerys.”

“Your Grace,” she corrected. “Prince Rhaegar led free men into battle, not slaves. Whitebeard said he dubbed his squires himself, and made many other knights as well.”

“There was no higher honor than to receive your knighthood from the Prince of Dragonstone.”

“Tell me, then—when he touched a man on the shoulder with his sword, what did he say? ‘Go forth and kill the weak’? Or ‘Go forth and defend them’? At the Trident, those brave men Viserys spoke of who died beneath our dragon banners—did they give their lives because they believed in Rhaegar’s cause, or because they had been bought and paid for?” Dany turned to Mormont, crossed her arms, and waited for an answer.

“My queen,” the big man said slowly, “all you say is true. But Rhaegar lost on the Trident. He lost the battle, he lost the war, he lost the kingdom, and he lost his life. His blood swirled downriver with the rubies from his breastplate, and Robert the Usurper rode over his corpse to steal the Iron Throne. Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

In the books, this line is not about Rhaegar at all! This is about Dany projecting her own values and ideals on Rhaegar because she wants to find a way out of the slave trade and thinking about what her biggest inspiration might have done (though she later admits she doesn't really know what he would do) would help her be more sure about what to do. This line is all about Dany!!!! By transferring her line to Barristan, not only the show writers are prioritizing a man's voice over hers, they are also making it about another man when it should be about her.

And now we get to show!Jorah's fourth argument (which is a response to show!Barristan's third argument), which I said I would comment later:

4) JORAH: Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, and Rhaegar died.

To quote myself on the significance of his advice,

Jorah didn’t really know who Rhaegar was, so I don’t think this sentence is necessarily reliable. The spirit of his advice is simple, however: Jorah is trying to normalize the training of the Unsullied and the existence of slavery in general as necessary evils if Dany is to win the game of thrones.

On the other hand, these words were also useful in another sense: sometimes you can’t play by the rules if you intend to succeed, especially not if these rules and conventions and institutions treat other people as interchangeable objects to be sold and invalidate your sense of morality. Barristan’s advice was also helpful, not in the sense that she should leave the city, but rather that she should not be a part of the slave trade. And so, like with Viserys and Drogo, she will find a solution that was informed by both of these men’s advice while also being her own: by refusing to view the slaves as objects to be traded, Dany considered the deal illegitimate and sparked an abolitionist campaign that would influence an entire continent. In other words, Dany did not play by the rules (like Jorah advised), but not by compromising her moral principles, but because of her moral principles (like Barristan advised).

However, because show!Dany's voice and motivations are so blatantly disregarded, the show can't develop her character in the same way.

Speaking of show!Dany, here's the one thing she has to say in the discussion of whether or not to buy the Unsullied:

1) DAENERYS: The blood of my enemies, not the blood of innocents.

This doesn't really say anything new about her line of thought that we didn't already know from episode 3.1, in which she agonized over the thousands of babies that would be (and would continue to be) killed if she became complicit in the slave trade. Show!Jorah, on the other hand, gets brand new arguments here.

By comparison, here are the arguments that Dany gets to make in the books (that are either erased or given to someone else). I'm not counting her reactions while she witnesses the Unsullied's training:

“Even those who bent their knees may yearn in their hearts for the return of the dragons.”

“May,” said Dany. That was such a slippery word, may. In any language. (ASOS Daenerys II)

Would that I could, thought Dany. “When I leave Astapor it must be with an army, Ser Jorah says.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

“Better to come a beggar than a slaver,” Arstan said.

“How many men do they have for sale?”

“None.” Was it Mormont she was angry with, or this city with its sullen heat, its stinks and sweats and crumbling bricks? “They sell eunuchs, not men. Eunuchs made of brick, like the rest of Astapor. Shall I buy eight thousand brick eunuchs with dead eyes that never move, who kill suckling babes for the sake of a spiked hat and strangle their own dogs? They don’t even have names. So don’t call them men, ser.”

“Khaleesi,” he said, taken aback by her fury, “the Unsullied are chosen as boys, and trained—”

“I have heard all I care to of their training.” Dany could feel tears welling in her eyes, sudden and unwanted. Her hand flashed up and cracked Ser Jorah hard across the face. It was either that, or cry.

Mormont touched the cheek she’d slapped. “If I have displeased my queen—”

“You have. You’ve displeased me greatly, ser. If you were my true knight, you would never have brought me to this vile sty.” If you were my true knight, you would never have kissed me, or looked at my breasts the way you did, or ...

“As Your Grace commands. I shall tell Captain Groleo to make ready to sail on the evening tide, for some sty less vile.”

“No,” said Dany. Groleo watched them from the forecastle, and his crew was watching too. Whitebeard, her bloodriders, Jhiqui, every one had stopped what they were doing at the sound of the slap. “I want to sail now, not on the tide, I want to sail far and fast and never look back. But I can’t, can I? There are eight thousand brick eunuchs for sale, and I must find some way to buy them.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

“The blood of my enemies I will shed gladly. The blood of innocents is another matter. Eight thousand Unsullied they would offer me. Eight thousand dead babes. Eight thousand strangled dogs.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

Everything that show!Dany has to say on the matter is concentrated on the last passage quoted, and its points are scattered across 3.1 and 3.3.

If the show writers cared about Dany's characterization, we would see how she presents different arguments to Barristan (that she needs an army because she has been poor before) and Jorah (that buying the Unsullied is immoral) at the same time and that both counsellors influence her decision to rebel against the masters in their own ways, as I explained in the quote above.

If the show writers cared about Dany's characterization, we would get hints that she feels that it is her moral duty to stay and help the Unsullied ("Would that I could", "There are eight thousand brick eunuchs for sale, and I must find some way to buy them", etc).

If the show writers cared about Dany's characterization, we would leave this scene with the impression that she already knows what she will do by the time she decides to trade one dragon for all of the Unsullied and the untrained boys. Instead, while we know that show!Dany wants to spare innocents and only kill her enemies and their soldiers, there isn’t enough evidence hinting at her eventual rebellion against the masters. In fact, she is still asking show!Barristan what he thinks, making it seem that she is still unsure of her plan or that she is more reliant on their viewpoints than she is in the books. That's the problem of interspersing lines and plot points between episodes: this discussion could have served for episode 3.1 (in which, if they were faithful to the books, show!Dany would have still been concocting her plan), but it doesn't for episode 3.3, in which they have it happen minutes before she makes her fateful decision.

So, in this exchange, we get very, very little about what show!Dany thinks. Show!Jorah is the one in favor of buying the Unsullied, show!Barristan is the one against it. One could argue, like @rainhadaenerys said to me, that show!Jorah is portrayed as the devil and show!Barristan as the angel on show!Dany's shoulders, similar to how show!Davos is the angel and show!Melisandre the devil on show!Stannis's. The show's influence may explain why some people think that Barristan is the one who motivated Dany to begin her anti-slavery rebellion. The books certainly don't allow that interpretation because Dany's voice remains front and center in the discussions, but the show is dead set on erasing it.

We end the exchange with this:

JORAH: Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, and Rhaegar died.

DAENERYS: Did you know him well, Ser Barristan?

BARRISTAN: I did, Your Grace. Finest man I ever met.

DAENERYS: I wish I had known him. But he was not the last dragon.

It's not true in the books that Barristan knew Rhaegar well:

“Did you know my brother Rhaegar as well?” 

“It was said that no man ever knew Prince Rhaegar, truly. I had the privilege of seeing him in tourney, though, and often heard him play his harp with its silver strings.” (ASOS Daenerys I)

I've already talked about how the show writers gave Dany's lines to show!Barristan, so I won't belabor the point. What I will say is that Benioff's emphasis on show!Dany's awareness that she is the last dragon is very questionable in its intent/framing. In and of itself, that original line is okay - women are often looked down upon if they express confidence both in Westeros and in our world, so it can be refreshing to see show!Dany claiming that Rhaegar was not the last dragon because she knows that she is. It can be refreshing to see a woman whose pride is depicted as a positive trait rather than one that propels her downfall. I'm sure that's the takeaway that what many viewers got from that scene and from show!Dany's trajectory in general in season three.

However, let's see what Benioff says about her in interviews:

Benioff: Dany is so defined by her dragons, they're so much a part at this point, they define her so much that when they're taken from her, it's almost like she reverts to the pre-dragon Daenerys, you know, everyone is a bit defined by who they were when they were an adolescent, you know, no matter how old you get, no matter how powerful you get, and Daenerys was a scared, timid, abused adolescent and I think when her dragons are taken for her, all those feelings, all those memories and emotions are triggered and come back and all the confidence that she's won over the last several months, it's as if that just evaporates and she's back to being a really frightened little girl. (D&D's Inside the Episode 2.6)

Benioff: Dany has her lovable side, but she is also ruthless, and she is also fiercely ambitious and, funnily, like a Littlefinger style ambition where she's trying to climb this, you know, the social ladder. It's almost like a Joan of Arc kind of ambition where she feels like she has this almost divine mission and nothing's going to prevent her from achieving it, and that might mean sacrificing those who are closest to her. (D&D's Inside the Episode 3.3)

Benioff: I think she becomes harder to dismiss, you know, for a long time people have been saying, even if she was alive, you know, really, the only threat she poses is her name, she's a Targaryen, great, but she's a little girl in the edge of the world, so she's starting to knock on people's doors a little bit. (D&D's Inside the Episode 3.4)

Right from the beginning, we can see that Benioff didn't really see show!Dany's pride and confidence and ambition positively. Not only does he think those aspects are dependent upon her dragons and her family name, he also thinks she has a "Littlefinger style ambition" and an "almost divine mission" that she will embark while thinking that "nothing's going to prevent her from achieving it". All of these statements mischaracterize Daenerys Targaryen, so I end up looking askance at the end of the scene for knowing that he's the one who wrote and directed it.

(Also, now that we know in hindsight that the show writers are not just going to strip show!Dany of many characteristics of her book counterpart, but also villainize her and kill her for the very confidence she is displaying here ... I can’t give them any credit.)

Dany does assert her identity and titles in a chapter that they are adapting in this episode, but the context (as usual) is entirely different:

Dany knew she would take more than a hundred, if she took any at all. “Remind your Good Master of who I am. Remind him that I am Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, trueborn queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. My blood is the blood of Aegon the Conqueror, and of old Valyria before him.”

Yet her words did not move the plump perfumed slaver, even when rendered in his own ugly tongue. “Old Ghis ruled an empire when the Valyrians were still fucking sheep,” he growled at the poor little scribe, “and we are the sons of the harpy.” He gave a shrug. “My tongue is wasted wagging at women. East or west, it makes no matter, they cannot decide until they have been pampered and flattered and stuffed with sweetmeats. Well, if this is my fate, so be it. Tell the whore that if she requires a guide to our sweet city, Kraznys mo Nakloz will gladly serve her ... and service her as well, if she is more woman than she looks.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

First, in this quote, we get a hint that Dany is intent on either freeing the slaves or not being complicit in their oppression ("she would take more than a hundred, if she took any at all").

Second, we see that Dany reminds Kraznys of her identity after she spent a very long time being belittled and mocked and ridiculed due to his fervent misogyny and xenophobia. Unlike show!Dany, she is bringing up her titles because she was being disrespected, not because she wants to bring them up for their own sake. In other words, the book's scene doesn't intend to frame Dany as arrogant, though it seems that the show's scene does.

I have thoughts about the show's change of Dany's dress, but I'll leave them to the section about her clothing.

So, to begin talking about the negotiation scene on a positive note, there are some aspects that the show remained faithful to the books to.

The first is that show!Dany is explicitly shown to be doing what she is doing because she wants to help the slaves:

It's funny to gif this scene as if show!Dany were rolling her eyes, but that's not what she is actually doing in the scene: she looks above, at the slaves, and then decides to risk one of her dragons for them. That much is unambiguously clear.

The second detail in common is this:

MISSANDEI: There are 8,000 Unsullied in Astapor. Is this what you mean by all?

DAENERYS: Yes. 8,000. And the ones still in training as well.

Show!Dany wants to free all of the slaves, so she asks for the eight thousand Unsullied and the untrained boys, just like Dany:

“Of thousands, there are eight. Is this what she means by all? There are also six centuries, who shall be part of a ninth thousand when complete. Would she have them too?”

“I would,” said Dany when the question was put to her. “The eight thousands, the six centuries ... and the ones still in training as well. The ones who have not earned the spikes.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Unfortunately, this is all there is in terms of similarities. There are far more differences.

MISSANDEI: Master Greizhen says they cannot sell half-trained boys. If they fail on the battlefield, they will bring shame upon all of Astapor.

DAENERYS: I will have them all or take none. Many will fall in battle. I'll need the boys to pick up the swords they drop.

First of all, unlike in the show, there is a master willing to sell the untrained boys to Dany:

“We cannot sell half-trained boys,” one of the silver-fringe Grazdans was saying to the others.

“We can, if her gold is good,” said a fatter man whose fringe was gold.

“They are not Unsullied. They have not killed their sucklings. If they fail in the field, they will shame us. And even if we cut five thousand raw boys tomorrow, it would be ten years before they are fit for sale. What would we tell the next buyer who comes seeking Unsullied?”

“We will tell him that he must wait,” said the fat man. “Gold in my purse is better than gold in my future.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Second, while Dany makes the argument that show!Dany is seen making:

“In a year I shall be in Westeros,” said Dany when she had heard the translation. “My need is now. The Unsullied are well trained, but even so, many will fall in battle. I shall need the boys as replacements to take up the swords they drop.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

They cut what Dany says right afterwards:

She put her wine aside and leaned toward the slave girl. “Tell the Good Masters that I will want even the little ones who still have their puppies. Tell them that I will pay as much for the boy they cut yesterday as for an Unsullied in a spiked helm.”

The girl told them. The answer was still no. 

Dany frowned in annoyance. “Very well. Tell them I will pay double, so long as I get them all.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Because the show writers chose to only have show!Dany say that she will “need the boys to pick up the swords they drop”, it makes it seem that her request to get them is more strategic than empathetic. It's not; as we can see above, if they had added the bolded parts above, it would have made it even clearer that she is doing what she is doing solely because of her altruism.

MISSANDEI: Master Kraznys says you cannot afford this.

KRAZNYS: Her ship will buy her 100 Unsullied, no more.

MISSANDEI: Your ship will buy you 100 Unsullied.

KRAZNYS: And this because I like the curve of her ass.

MISSANDEI: Because Master Kraznys is generous.

KRAZNYS: What is left will buy her 10.

MISSANDEI: The gold you have left is worth 10.

KRAZNYS: I will give her if it stops her ignorant whimpering.

MISSANDEI: But good Master Kraznys will give you 20.

KRAZNYS: Her Dothraki smell of shit ...

MISSANDEI: The Dothraki you have with you…

KRAZNYS: ... but may be useful as pig feed.

MISSANDEI: The Dothraki you have are not worth what they cost to feed, but Master Kraznys will give you three Unsullied for all of them.

KRAZNYS: So, ask this beggar queen, how will she pay for the remaining 7,877?

The show also decreases the value of Dany's goods a lot.

In the books, Dany is willing to sell Illyrio's three ships (rather than one):

“...But my ships you can have. The great cog Balerion and the galleys Vhagar and Meraxes.” She had warned Groleo and the other captains it might come to this, though they had protested the necessity of it furiously. “Three good ships should be worth more than a few paltry eunuchs.”

The fat Grazdan turned to the others. They conferred in low voices once again. “Two of the thousands,” the one with the spiked beard said when he turned back. “It is too much, but the Good Masters are being generous and your need is being great.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Have in mind that 2,000 is their worth after Dany chose to pay double for the Unsullied and the untrained boys. Normally, they would be worth 4,000. But let's be generous and use 2,000 ... This means that each ship is worth around 666 Unsullied.

And yet, in the show, her ship is worth 100 Unsullied.

In the books, this is how much Dany's gold and trading goods inside the ship are worth:

“Your men have gone through my ships and tallied every bead of amber and jar of saffron. How much do I have?”

“Sufficient to be buying one of thousands,” the Good Master said, with a contemptuous smile. “Yet you are paying double, you are saying. Five centuries, then, is all you buy.”

In the show, however, show!Dany's gold is only worth 10 Unsullied.

As for the Dothraki, before the slavers make an offer, Dany makes it clear that she will not sell them (or any of the people in her retinue, or any of their possessions):

“My crown is not for sale.” When Viserys sold their mother’s crown, the last joy had gone from him, leaving only rage. “Nor will I enslave my people, nor sell their goods and horses.[”]

Do I think leaving this part out means that show!Dany would be willing to enslave the Dothraki? Absolutely not, it wouldn't make sense with her characterization (watered down as it is). However, would it have cost much for the show writers to have her make it clear that she won't enslave them? Doesn't seem so.

Why is the decrease in the value of Dany's possessions important to have in mind? Because, in the books, it matters that she had other choices rather than the one she ultimately makes:

Two thousand would never serve for what she meant to do. I must have them all. Dany knew what she must do now, though the taste of it was so bitter that even the persimmon wine could not cleanse it from her month. She had considered long and hard and found no other way. It is my only choice. “Give me all,” she said, “and you may have a dragon.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Dany "found no other way"? If she just wanted an army, she had plenty of other ways:

If she just wanted an army, she could have offered all the trading goods in the ships and gotten the 1000 Unsullied that Jorah advised her to get (unlike show!Jorah, Jorah explicitly recommends a specific number of soldiers - "a thousand swords")

If she just wanted an army, she wouldn’t have offered to pay double for the untrained boys.

If she just wanted an army, she could have given the trading goods and the ships and left with 2000 Unsullied.

If she just wanted an army, she wouldn’t have thought that she must have them all" and that “[i]t was [her] only choice” to offer them a dragon.

By stripping show!Dany of these options, the show writers undercut the extent of her altruism, for they erase the fact and Dany had other alternatives and still chose the moral one. In the books, it was never necessary for her to risk her dragon, but she did it anyway; in the show, 123 Unsullied was not enough to form an army, so one could, on a superficial read, argue that she's only doing what she's doing out of convenience.

Then, we get to the part in which show!Dany actually offers a dragon to the masters:

MISSANDEI: Master Kraznys asks how you propose to pay for the remaining 7,877 Unsullied.

DAENERYS: I have dragons. I'll give you one.

BARRISTAN: You will win the throne with dragons, not slaves, Your Grace.

JORAH: Khaleesi, please.

KRAZNYS: Three dragons.

DAENERYS: One.

KRAZNYS: Two.

DAENERYS: One.

MISSANDEI: They want the biggest one.

DAENERYS: Done.

KRAZNYS: Done.

Before I talk about how her advisors react, let's talk about how show!Dany's sacrifice is being undermined again: in the show, instead of being shocked that show!Dany is willing to sell even one dragon, Kraznys thinks he is entitled to ask for more of them. Let's see the masters' reactions in the books:

“Give me all,” she said, “and you may have a dragon.”

There was the sound of indrawn breath from Jhiqui beside her. Kraznys smiled at his fellows. “Did I not tell you? Anything, she would give us.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

“Tell them I await their answer.”

She knew the answer, though; she could see it in the glitter of their eyes and the smiles they tried so hard to hide. Astapor had thousands of eunuchs, and even more slave boys waiting to be cut, but there were only three living dragons in all the great wide world. And the Ghiscari lust for dragons. How could they not? Five times had Old Ghis contended with Valyria when the world was young, and five times gone down to bleak defeat. For the Freehold had dragons, and the Empire had none.

The oldest Grazdan stirred in his seat, and his pearls clacked together softly. “A dragon of our choice,” he said in a thin, hard voice. “The black one is largest and healthiest.”

“His name is Drogon.” She nodded.

“All your goods, save your crown and your queenly raiment, which we will allow you to keep. The three ships. And Drogon.”

“Done,” she said, in the Common Tongue. 

“Done,” the old Grazdan answered in his thick Valyrian.

The others echoed that old man of the pearl fringe. “Done,” the slave girl translated, “and done, and done, eight times done.”

As we can see, the masters are shocked that Dany would think that it's reasonable to offer even a single dragon. They can't hide how eager they are to control one (especially considering their past history with Old Valyria, which is another observation showcasing Dany's intelligence that the show erased). Their only request is to choose the biggest one, not to take one or two more. What's more, having show!Dany assert that she will only give one dragon makes it seem that her selflessness only goes so far, which is not at all what the purpose of the original scene was.

Now, on to what show!Dany’s advisors think of her trading one dragon for the Unsullied ...

DAENERYS: I have dragons. I'll give you one.

BARRISTAN: You will win the throne with dragons, not slaves, Your Grace.

JORAH: Khaleesi, please.

JORAH: Khaleesi, a dragon is worth more than any army.

BARRISTAN: Aegon Targaryen proved that.

DAENERYS: You're both here to advise me. I value your advice, but if you ever question me in front of strangers again, you'll be advising someone else. Is that understood?

In the books, Jorah never questions Dany's decision like show!Jorah is seen doing in the scene. In fact, he is the one who takes Barristan away from the negotiation scene (likely because he wants to get back into Dany’s good grace after he forced a kiss on her and she avoided him and later (rightfully) slapped him in the face):

“Give me all,” she said, “and you may have a dragon.”

[...] Whitebeard stared in shocked disbelief. His hand trembled where it grasped the staff. “No.” He went to one knee before her. “Your Grace, I beg you, win your throne with dragons, not slaves. You must not do this thing—”

“You must not presume to instruct me. Ser Jorah, remove Whitebeard from my presence.”

Mormont seized the old man roughly by an elbow, yanked him back to his feet, and marched him out onto the terrace. (ASOS Daenerys III)

Also, as I said here, I’m pretty sure Dany shared her plan to revolt against the masters with Jorah and her bloodriders.

Another reason why it bothers me to see show!Jorah reacting so negatively to the exchange show!Dany just made is that ... What else could she have done to get the Unsullied? Obviously, 123 of them wouldn’t be enough to get an army. In the books, before they sail to Astapor, Dany questions how she is going to buy the Unsullied and Jorah shows what she can do to buy them:

“That is what you will find in Astapor, Your Grace. Put ashore there, and continue on to Pentos overland. It will take longer, yes ... but when you break bread with Magister Illyrio, you will have a thousand swords behind you, not just four.”

There is wisdom in this, yes, Dany thought, but ... “How am I to buy a thousand slave soldiers? All I have of value is the crown the Tourmaline Brotherhood gave me.”

“Dragons will be as great a wonder in Astapor as they were in Qarth. It may be that the slavers will shower you with gifts, as the Qartheen did. If not ... these ships carry more than your Dothraki and their horses. They took on trade goods at Qarth, I’ve been through the holds and seen for myself. Bolts of silk and bales of tiger skin, amber and jade carvings, saffron, myrrh ... slaves are cheap, Your Grace. Tiger skins are costly.” (ASOS Daenerys I)

As we can see, Jorah is able to roughly estimate that Illyrio's trade goods will guarantee one thousand soldiers for Dany because "slaves are cheap". In the show, he either made a wrong calculation or neither him nor show!Dany thought of making one in the first place, which dumbs both of them down.

Now, I have a guess as to why show!Jorah is made to disagree with show!Dany's decision - that's, again, because Benioff empathizes with him over Dany. I've already showed above and in episode 3.1 how show!Jorah's viewpoint is consistently prioritized over show!Dany's or show!Barristan's and how he even receives new arguments that make him seem "realist". We should also have Benioff's statements in this interview in mind:

“It’s a hallmark of a number of scenes in [A Storm of Swords] where, in retrospect, I should have seen it coming because George laid out all the pieces, he had given you all the clues,” Benioff said. “The best kind of surprises aren’t the ones that come out of nowhere. The best ones are where after you see it you’re asking yourself, ‘Why didn’t I see that was coming?’ I remember reading [Dany planning to give up Drogon to the slaver] and thinking, ‘Oh, this is kind of disappointing.’ When the real plan was revealed I think I even called [Weiss]. This was before we had met with George, when we were still trying to figure out if this show was possible. The culmination of that scene was one of those moments when we were like, ‘We got to make this f–king show.’ It was very gratifying seeing that wish fulfilled … I think it will be one of the most staggering things ever put on television.” (x)

To be fair to him, at least he acknowledges that GRRM left many clues that that was going to happen (though he didn't add them in the show). But my point is that he was disappointed at Dany when he thought she was giving Drogon up. Since show!Jorah's perspective has been prioritized over the other characters' to the point of the audience being made to empathize and experience the events with him rather than with Dany, it only makes sense that he has the same feelings that Benioff did when he first read the book.

Another thing I want to mention is how Benioff is motivated by the spectacle rather than how the culmination is tied to Dany's characterization. This is partly why, I suspect, so many of Dany's words and thoughts were erased - he prioritized the viewer's shock rather than allowing the viewer to see where she is coming from. (That's similar to the buildup - or lack thereof - to Littlefinger's trial in season seven, when we ended up seeing the events from his perspective rather than the Starks' because they would rather shock us than make us empathize with the actual leads)

As for show!Barristan, some of his book counterpart's arguments are kept in the show - namely, that Dany should win the throne with dragons rather than slaves and that Aegon proved that a dragon is worth more than an army in the Field of Fire. Even so, Barristan's moral outrage has been erased, as I already showed with the book evidence quoted above (here are some examples).

And then there’s show!Dany’s reaction to their dissent:

DAENERYS: You're both here to advise me. I value your advice, but if you ever question me in front of strangers again, you'll be advising someone else. Is that understood?

Look, I have no problem with this scene in and of itself. Show!Dany makes it clear that she’s willing to listen to them, but that her authority can’t be undermined in front of other people (even more so when these people are already prone to underestimate her).

However, some crucial details are missing in this scene compared to the books:

Arstan Whitebeard held his tongue as well, when Dany swept by him on the terrace. He followed her down the steps in silence, but she could hear his hardwood staff tap tapping on the red bricks as they went. She did not blame him for his fury. It was a wretched thing she did. The Mother of Dragons has sold her strongest child. Even the thought made her ill.

Yet down in the Plaza of Pride, standing on the hot red bricks between the slavers’ pyramid and the barracks of the eunuchs, Dany turned on the old man. “Whitebeard,” she said, “I want your counsel, and you should never fear to speak your mind with me ... when we are alone. But never question me in front of strangers. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” he said unhappily. 

“I am not a child,” she told him. “I am a queen.”

“Yet even queens can err. The Astapori have cheated you, Your Grace. A dragon is worth more than any army. Aegon proved that three hundred years ago, upon the Field of Fire.”

“I know what Aegon proved. I mean to prove a few things of my own.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Unlike in the show, Dany is shown empathizing with Barristan ("She did not blame him for his fury. It was a wretched thing she did."). She doesn’t want to be complicit in the slave trade, and she certainly doesn’t want to sell one of her children, but it’s still the moral duty of a queen as she sees it.

Unlike in the show, Dany is the one who takes the initiative to make it clear to Barristan that she wants his honest advice, just not in public. Unlike in the show, she never threatens to send him away.

They also cut the part in which Dany says that she knows what Aegon proved and that she means to prove a few things of her own, another hint that she will forsake the deal because it should have never been acknowledged as one to begin with.

Before I talk about show!Dany's first one-on-one interaction with show!Missandei, I have to comment on this part:

DAENERYS: I'll take you as well, now. You'll be Master Kraznys' gift to me. A token of a bargain well struck.

MISSANDEI: She asks that you give me to her, as a present. She asks that you do this now.

In the books, Kraznys voluntarily gives Missandei to Dany:

“The Unsullied will learn your savage tongue quick enough,” added Kraznys mo Nakloz, when all the arrangements had been made, “but until such time you will need a slave to speak to them. Take this one as our gift to you, a token of a bargain well struck.”

“I shall,” said Dany.

The slave girl rendered his words to her, and hers to him. If she had feelings about being given for a token, she took care not to let them show. (ASOS Daenerys III)

Now, does this change mean that show!Dany sees show!Missandei as an object to be sold? No. For one, as Emilia Clarke says:

Clarke: Dany sees a lot of herself in her and can kind of see that it's a young girl who's capable of much more than the position she's in.

If show!Dany is able to empathize with show!Missandei on that level, it's much more likely that show!Dany asked to have show!Missandei so that she could free her from Kraznys (who is unabashedly cruel and misogynist). That being said, it is still an unnecessary deviation that can lead to pointless misunderstanding from the viewers.

While show!Dany and show!Missandei discuss some of the same issues that Dany and Missandei do in the books, their first one-on-one meeting is very condensed and altered in several key ways.

DAENERYS: Do you have a name?

MISSANDEI: This one's name is Missandei, Your Grace.

DAENERYS: Do you have a family? A mother and a father you'd return to if you had the choice?

MISSANDEI: No, Your Grace. No family living.

DAENERYS: You belong to me now. It is your duty to tell me the truth.

MISSANDEI: Yes, Your Grace. Lying is a great offense. Many of those on the Walk of Punishment were taken there for less.

Show!Dany begins asking if show!Missandei had a family that she would like to return to, which implies that show!Dany would let her go if show!Missandei had one (again, this is another moment challenging the idea that show!Dany only saw show!Missandei as an object). Show!Missandei replies that she doesn’t, however. This leads show!Dany to remind her that she needs to tell her the truth, which doesn’t make sense. Why would show!Missandei lie about it? Especially since, in the books, Dany doesn’t outright say that “it is your duty to tell me the truth”, merely that “you serve me now” when she wants to confirm with Missandei information that she got from Kraznys about the Unsullied:

“Are these Unsullied truly fearless?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“You serve me now. Is it true they feel no pain?”

“The wine of courage kills such feelings. By the time they slay their sucklings, they have been drinking it for years.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Dany is not reminding Missandei of the need to tell her the truth because she is mistrusting Missandei right off the bat like show!Dany seems to be doing with show!Missandei, she is asking that question because confirming these details will be crucial if she means to turn the Unsullied to her side when she risks both her life and those of her retinue to free them. But the show beats on that dead horse and even has Missandei answer that she wouldn’t lie because to do so would lead her to the Walk of Punishment. It decontextualizes why Dany reminded Missandei of the need to tell her the truth in the books.

Missandei is treated differently by Dany in the two mediums in other ways. In the book, Dany is shown onpage freeing her right away and names her one of her handmaids in case she decides to stay with her:

“Missandei is no longer a slave. I free you, from this instant. Come ride with me in the litter, I wish to talk.” Rakharo helped them in, and Dany drew the curtains shut against the dust and heat. “If you stay with me you will serve as one of my handmaids,” she said as they set off. “I shall keep you by my side to speak for me as you spoke for Kraznys. But you may leave my service whenever you choose, if you have father or mother you would sooner return to.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

In the show, they have show!Dany say that show!Missandei can’t lie because “you belong to me now”, which makes it seem like a master talking to a slave. However, we know that show!Dany frees show!Missandei at some point as well (the latter says so in season seven), the show writers just didn't bother to show it onscreen because, as this meta is hopefully showing, they don't care about Dany's characterization. In any case, show!Dany doing anything but that wouldn’t make sense neither with how she reacts to the Unsullied’s plight nor with Emilia Clarke’s interview. If they had followed the book’s exchange more closely rather than invented new dialogue, there wouldn't have been any confusions.

They have show!Dany confirm with show!Missandei the information she got from Kraznys about the Unsullied:

DAENERYS: Is it true what Master Kraznys told me about the Unsullied? About their obedience?

MISSANDEI: All questions have been taken from them. They obey, that is all. Once they are yours, they are yours. They will fall on their swords if you command it.

However, they forgot to include the most relevant part of exchange, plot-wise: Dany asking Missandei if the Unsullied could be used against her if Dany were to resell them.

“If I did resell them, how would I know they could not be used against me?” Dany asked pointedly. “Would they do that? Fight against me, even do me harm?”

“If their master commanded. They do not question, Your Grace. All the questions have been culled from them. They obey.” She looked troubled. “When you are ... when you are done with them ... your Grace might command them to fall upon their swords.”

“And even that, they would do?” 

“Yes.” Missandei’s voice had grown soft. “Your Grace.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Dany is making this hypothetical question because she wants to know if there’s any way that the Unsullied can be turned against their previous owner, which is what she intends to do in order to rebel against the masters and free the soldiers.

Then show!Dany reminds show!Missandei that, by following her, she might be vulnerable to many possible misfortunes:

DAENERYS: And what about you? You know that I'm taking you to war. You may go hungry. You may fall sick. You may be killed.

This does happen in the books, but the context is different.

“This one will stay,” the girl said. “This one ... I ... there is no place for me to go. This ... I will serve you, gladly.”

“I can give you freedom, but not safety,” Dany warned. “I have a world to cross and wars to fight. You may go hungry. You may grow sick. You may be killed.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

In the books, as I said, Dany frees Missandei right away, says she might leave her service when she wants to and then warns her of the harsh conditions she will face if she remains with Dany.

In the series, show!Dany reminds show!Missandei of the obstacles she will have to face if she remains with her primarily because she wants to know if show!Missandei is as obedient as the Unsullied, not because she is primarily concerned about show!Missandei’s safety and free will. Again, I don’t mean to be critical of show!Dany here - I do think she had show!Missandei’s best intentions in mind (and that she freed her afterwards offscreen). I’m only saying that the writers could have conveyed that in a more unequivocal way ... like how the books did, y'know.

Like in the books, show!Missandei also says valar morghulis when show!Dany warns her of the dangers of staying with her, but her answer is different from Dany's:

DAENERYS: Yes, all men must die. But we are not men.

“All men must die,” Dany agreed, “but not for a long while, we may pray.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

I don't think this is the worst line ever made for show!Dany, but I definitely prefer the book one and it's sad to revisit that quote now that we know that both show!Dany and show!Missandei will be dead by the end of the series.

Show!Missandei also seems to become fond of show!Dany way too quickly. That line “but we are not men” seems to have the intent to build a feeling of solidarity between these two women (and this is corroborated, again, by Emilia’s interview quoted above); indeed, in the next episode, show!Missandei will give Kraznys a smirk when show!Dany admits that she was fooling him all along. In the books, however, not only we never see Missandei’s reaction to Dany’s rebellion, but her feelings about being given away to Dany seem much more complicated - understandably so.

“I shall keep you by my side to speak for me as you spoke for Kraznys. But you may leave my service whenever you choose, if you have father or mother you would sooner return to.”

“This one will stay,” the girl said. “This one ... I ... there is no place for me to go. This ... I will serve you, gladly.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

She looked troubled. “When you are ... when you are done with them ... your Grace might command them to fall upon their swords.”

“And even that, they would do?” 

“Yes.” Missandei’s voice had grown soft. “Your Grace.”

Dany squeezed her hand. “You would sooner I did not ask it of them, though. Why is that? Why do you care?”

“This one does not ... I ... Your Grace ... ” 

“Tell me.” 

The girl lowered her eyes. “Three of them were my brothers once, Your Grace.”

Then I hope your brothers are as brave and clever as you. (ASOS Daenerys III)

Even if Dany has noble intentions and frees her right away, where would she go? What would she do? How would she survive? Does she have a better option? These are questions that Dany will only directly confront in the next chapter, when plenty of Astapori freedmen will choose to follow her instead of staying in the city. In Missandei’s case, she seems more resigned than anything else in the books.

Also, even if Dany freed Missandei, it doesn't prevent the latter from looking "troubled" and seriously consider the possibility that Dany may order all the Unsullied to kill themselves. Her former master had no problem humiliating and torturing her, why would Dany be any different?

The show could have acknowledged these complications, but it didn’t - that’s why it sucks so much: it pretends to be telling a morally complex tale (see Benioff saying how hard it is for Dany to choose between violence/"realism" and idealism) while it actually undermines the anti-slavery viewpoints (especially Dany’s) and oversimplifies the (positive and negative) ramifications of Dany’s crusade. If it actually intended to be a morally complex tale like it pretends to be, we would see the Astapori refugees in the show. Instead, they would rather overfocus on how show!Dany is becoming “more violent” as her crusade continues (see this).

My comments on the Inside the Episode 3.3

Weiss: Giving away one of the dragons seems like a completely insane thing to do, especially the biggest one. I mean, we know that, historically, the biggest dragons were bigger than school buses and they were weapons of mass destruction and able to lay cities to waste in minutes, and no matter how big or effective your army of 8,000 soldiers is, taking even a small city is going to be a kind of a dangerous prospect for them, and the idea that she's going to give away what they see is her real future for a chance at a small army now seems insane to them.

Benioff: As @rainhadaenerys already said in her tags here, Benioff's comments make it seem like Dany's "lovable side" is secondary to her ruthlessness or her ambition or her "almost divine mission". Check out my list of passages showcasing Dany's moments of empathy and compassion VS in which ways the prophecies drive Dany's story (and also this meta) VS the moments in which Dany uses/considers using violence. The former obviously outweighs the latter two. I also recommend reading this meta debunking claims that Dany is "entitled" or "arrogant", for these false accusations are related to the mischaracterization of Dany as someone who is "fiercely ambitious" (that's because they are all tied to her heritage and her goal to take back the Seven Kingdoms). Finally, I don't know why the heck Benioff is saying that she might sacrifice "those who are closest to her". Time and again we see that she is not willing to sacrifice people for her personal goals - she won't sell anyone from her retinue or any of their belongings nor will she leave the slaves behind at the mercy of the masters. Her risking one dragon is an action that's supposed to highlight how far she is willing to go to "protect the ones who can't protect themselves". Why doesn't he ever bother to talk about her selflessness? Why is it always about her ambition or a "divine mission" that is nowhere to be found in Dany's consciousness in the books?

Weiss: It's annoying that he's talking about show!Jorah as if he were against show!Dany's decision to trade a dragon for the Unsulllied (which he never was in the books), but I've already written about that extensively in this post. His description of the dragons as being "able to lay cities to waste in minutes" is questionable, as well as his description of 8,000 men as "a small army".

Show!Dany's clothes

This episode adapts events from ASOS Daenerys II (which has no description of her clothes) and ASOS Daenerys III, in which we see her wearing this dress for the negotiation scene:

She had chosen a Qartheen gown today. The deep violet silk brought out the purple of her eyes. The cut of it bared her left breast. While the Good Masters of Astapor conferred among themselves in low voices, Dany sipped tart persimmon wine from a tall silver flute. She could not quite make out all that they were saying, but she could hear the greed. (ASOS Daenerys III)

This scene exhibits Dany's political skills - by using a dress that calls attention to her body and arouses the masters, she disarms them and potentially makes them more amenable to her offers.

I also think it's significant that the dress is Qartheen, for their culture (as seen through Dany's eyes) is marked by flattery and adulation and politeness and dishonesty.

In the show, however, show!Dany is still using the blue dress:

Unlike in episode 3.1 (which adapted a scene in the docks in which she was using Dothraki clothing), now I can't say that the dress is spiritually faithful to the one from the books. It's another opportunity that they missed to highlight aspects of Dany's characterization that tend to be overlooked (in this case, her intelligence).

There is a 2012 interview in which Emilia Clarke addresses the matter of the Qartheen fashion:

FaB: Some fans were irked at the news that the Qartheen fashion of leaving one breast exposed was not being adhered to, as it was in the books. And speaking as a heterosexual male, I suppose that’s a shame… yet I also think, visually, it would have been extremely distracting to the eye. Was this ever discussed?

EC: This was indeed discussed! I remember when I was filming in Croatia seeing a copy of book 2, and the front cover picture was of Dany in the ‘traditional Qartheen fashion’ and you could say that I was rather taken aback. There are lots of things to bear in mind when adapting a book for the screen, and yes we all agreed that if this was kept as a visual reference, it would take away from the drama and integrity of Dany’s storyline as she grows into such a strong Khalessi.

Emilia's thoughts must be respected, especially considering what she's been through on set. Also, have in mind that I'm a gay man speaking about the issue of female nudity in media, so I don't have the full awareness to discuss it like women do because I'm not a victim of the male gaze. If I'm being callous, please let me know.

With this caveat in mind, I don't think having show!Dany wear a Qartheen dress in this scene would "take away from the drama and integrity of Dany's storyline". In fact, it would have been an example of nudity being used to display Dany's shrewdness rather than to sexualize her. It would have been an example of her nakedness being normalized rather than fetishized (like it will be in episode 3.7, when she stands up naked to show!Daario just ... because).

#daenerys targaryen #asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #a storm of swords #missandei #asoiaf vs got #asos vs got #barristan selmy #jorah mormont #s3

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ryuisthereason-blog · 5 years ago

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【Translation】Interview Conducted by Munhwa-Ilbo with Actor Ryu Seungryong

Original Text: http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2019112901031412053001

▲The happy facial expression of Ryu Seungryong who's making a cabbage pancake. His happiness comes from his family.

Ryu Seungryong: “Although I rose to fame through powerful roles like the strong-flavoured Seasoned Skate, I prefer the subtle acting like the Cabbage Pancake with a delicate flavour.”

■ Actor Ryu Seungryong

He made his screen debut at the age of 34 by playing a minor role and blossomed in his forties with “Miracle in Cell No. 7” and other works.

Because of the joke “He changed after becoming famous” from the junior colleague he suffered from the vicious comments and went through a hard time. No matter how hurtful it was, he’s now resilient to the attacks.

He knows the meaning of the everyday life. He enjoys going to the bathhouse with his two sons, who’re in fifth grade at the elementary school and second grade at the middle school respectively.

He prefers to be called “a born actor” more than “a ten-million actor”.

Make the inner leaves of the yellow cabbage soft by tapping them with a small wooden hammer, coat them with the flour slightly and fry themin a heated pan until they become crispy, then a delicious cabbage pancake is finished. Actor Ryu Seungryong as a chef? It’s somewhat unfamiliar to see him cooking food with all his heart since he often displays a kind of oppressive acting with the intense glitter in his eyes like the laser. He put various dishes on a large wooden table with annual rings full of the traces of time, smiled brightly and said: “Just help yourself!”

On the 22nd, a cool autumn day with the navy blue sky, I met Ryu Seungryong at the workroom of hsoban, a specialty store for dinnerware in Seokundong, Bundang District, Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. Standing confidently in a large kitchen equipped with various cooking tools, he’s just like a chef with decades of experience. When asked if he was good at cooking, he answered with a shy expression: “I just cook noodles for my kids at home.” After all he’s an actor. He can pretend to be a chef just by wearing an apron. Actually the food on that day was mainly made by Mrs. Macarons, a social media star with more than 1.2 million followers. She’s the friend of Ryu Seungryong who introduced the pleasures of cooking to him.

“Now I will come here once in a while to learn. The chefs here said that they would like to accept me as a pupil, so I must try my best. When my wife is cooking, I can’t even come near her for she doesn’t want to be disturbed. I should continue to learn the cooking skills until one day I can help my wife.”

During the meal, he chatted with me in a leisurely way and shared his perception in life as an actor and a father. After graduating from Seoul Institute of the Arts with a degree in theatre, he spent a long period of time to perform on stage in Daehangno. At the age of 28, he became one of the stars of Nanta and started to perform this non-verbal show all over the world in the following 5 years. He then quitted the show and began to do various odd jobs like carrying cabbages at the market to make a living. In 2004, he finally made his screen debut as a minor role at the age of 34 in the film Someone Special.

“When I recall this period of time, I think it’s quite necessary for me. Those inevitable ups and downs in life which can’t be foreseen or controlled all became the helpful experience for me now. No matter how hard it was, I’ve never thought about giving up the acting. I was anxious at that time, but I realized that everyone might have his own way to go. Usually the hard work will be rewarded, but things are not always the same when it comes to acting, which needs the coordination of various elements such as the chance and the circumstance.”

When he was stuck with the anxiety in obscurity, his mentor in college gave him the encouragement by saying “Ryu Seungryong is a flower that will blossom late. So just don’t give up”. “Flower blooming late” is really an appropriate description for him.

“Professor Kim Hyokyung has already passed away. But I will always remember what he said to me when I performed onstage. I started in my mid-thirties and blossomed in my early forties. So I think it wasn’t too late for me since I blossomed at a proper time. As an actor I tried to understand the thoughts of the public and to reflect on the attitude and gratitude that an actor should have. This kind of thinking helped me to become more mature.”

His “flower” began to bloom in 2011 and came into full bloom in the next year: the powerful “Jyuushinta” in War of the Arrows (2011); the remarkable “Jang Sungki” in All About My Wife (2012); the dignified “Heo Gyun” in Masquerade (2012) and the heart-warming “Yonggu” in Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013). He melted all the emotions deep in the heart and overlaid the characters he plays with the compound of these emotions naturally. Then the public finally came to realize his value. He became one of the “ten-million actors” through Masquerade (2012) and has starred by now in four “ten-million films”, the films that have drawn over 10 million viewers each - the other three are Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013), The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) and Extreme Job (2019).

“Choosing a work is actually a trial-and-error process, in which I may also rely on my childishness. But finally I will learn from it. I want to see my life in my works, because the choices of these works also reflect my thoughts at that time. Since I got a lot of support after the box office success, I began to tend towards the experimental work. Now I prefer to play in a film that the audiences want to see instead of choosing a film that suits my taste. But what troubles me is that I really don’t know the interest of the audiences. The worry has nothing to do with the box office success, it’s a process of introspecting as an actor. The so-called ‘ten-million films’ is meaningless for me.”

At the early stage his image was stamped with the powerfulness. Now he has changed himself to a mild man. This change appeared not only in his career, but also in his life.

“Being an actor is a passive occupation that can be compared to the choice of the food. Today I make the cabbage pancake with a delicate flavour. The more you eat it, the more you’ll realize the delicate fragrant taste of it. But in the past I cooked the strong-flavoured food that will easily attract the attention, like the seasoned skate. This ‘intense flavour’ tried to leave its mark on me, since I used to achieve success with the intense glitter in my eyes like the beaming laser. However, now I think that as an actor, I should act as if I’m not acting at all, just like the cabbage pancake (laughter). My life has also softened. When stones collide violently, they’ll break down into pieces. But if you put the stones into the water, they’ll become soft and round. There’re many people around me who care for each other and pursue the happiness together. They’re exactly the water that soften me. My ‘flower’ in career blossomed somewhat late, and I found my way of approaching the happiness also relatively late.”

The source of his energy and happiness is his family.

“I always get the power from my family, and also from my work and my religious belief. It’s so amazing for me to see my two sons who’re now in fifth grade at the elementary school and second grade at the middle school respectively. This amazing feeling is beyond description. Although it’s not worry-free at all to watch them grow up, my love for these two naughty kids continues to spurt. You know, my father’s generation were always busy making money to support the family and send their children to school, which made me get used to the cold father-son relationship. As my life got better, I don’t need to struggle for those things like my father, so I also start to reconsider this kind of relationship. Now I really enjoy going to the bathhouse with my sons. We help each other to wash ourselves. That’s really a happy time.”

He’s well-known as a warm actor who always takes good care of the people around him. But such a warm actor has also been hurt deeply. A few years ago an intimate junior colleague said in an entertainment programme that “He changed after becoming famous”, which brought him into a lot of vicious comments. “The recovery from it makes me stronger. It’s like experiencing the uncomfortable muscle pain when you exercise, but finally you’ll build stronger muscles. That’s what I think. Now I can listen to everything with my humble heart. I’ve come to realize that some problems can be solved after the painful struggle, but some problems just can’t be solved in the same way. I think I’ve already found the solutions to overcome different kinds of problems.”

After finishing the shooting of the Netflix series Kingdom 2 (2020) and the feature film Not the Lips (literal translation), which is also the directorial debut of junior actress Cho Eunji, he’s now shooting the musical film Beautiful Life (literal translation). When asked if he intended to challenge himself by acting in different kinds of works, he just said that the warm works are always attractive.

“These works have something in common in spite of the different genres. They all tell the story about the everyday life. ‘Not the Lips’ shows the various forms of love, and ‘Beautiful Life’ conveys the message about the preciousness of life and the reflection of the dignified death.”

He hopes that the modifier “a born actor” can be prefixed to his name.

“I prefer to be called ‘a born actor’ more than other rhetoric. I want to be ‘a born actor’ and ‘a born father’. Sometimes it may be a little lonely due to the fewer things or the less contact. So I really admire the seniors in this profession who’re still active despite their advanced ages.”

▲Ryu Seungryong set the food on the table and spooned the oyster soup into the bowl.

“Painting, woodwork, travel…detox for acting”

Ryu Seungryong has a wide range of hobbies like travel and painting. He’s also obsessed with woodwork. When asked if it’s the way for him to relieve the stress from acting, he said that it’s the detox process for acting.

“Acting won’t stress me out. Actually, I think it’s more important to vacate your heart than to focus on the so-called ‘pressure from acting’. When I touch the things that connected to the nature like the trees, my heart will become peaceful. All these hobbies are actually full of passion, although it looks as if they don’t need much energy.”

The travel places lie mainly inland and he always travels with his family.

“I like to set off on a journey without a plan, without booking a lodging in advance. But when it comes to the overseas trip, it’s necessary to make a thorough plan. I’ve already written down the places I want to go in the future on a list. I love the natural scenery. I want to travel in New Zealand, I also want to see the aurora in Russia. I’d like to experience the Trans-Siberian Railway. Compared with Iceland, it costs much cheaper in Russia. And the splendid scenery in the American national park Yosemite also attracts me. Travelling alone is meaningless. I always travel with my family.”

He mainly paints the natural scenery in his ink wash painting as well.

“My elder son has a talent for painting. We often do it together. While I enjoy the ink wash painting, he likes to paint the building in the city centre elaborately. We visit the gallery frequently. I can draw my inspiration of acting from the paintings.”

He made the wooden chopping boards by himself and sent them to his friends.

“I put my heart into these gifts. When you polish the wood, the natural colour will come into view. That’s the pleasure of this work. When the wood is polished with the sandpaper and the oil, the time hidden behind it will emerge again. I really enjoy this feeling.”

▲The table full of Chungcheongdo specialties for Ryu Seungryong. Menu: oyster soup, steamed pollack, steamed pork ribs and bean-curd dregs stew.

■ The table full of Chungcheongdo specialties for Ryu Seungryong

Mrs. Macarons prepared some Chungcheongdo specialties for Ryu Seungryong, who comes from Seocheon County, Chungcheong Province. These dishes included the oyster soup, the steamed pollack, the steamed pork ribs and the stew made with bean-curd dregs. Roll the wild small oyster from Seosan in the watery radish kimchi sauce to enjoy the first-class sweet and sour taste of the oyster. Chew the oyster with the shredded pears to feel the fragrance of the oyster in mouth. Ryu Seungryong was full of praise for these delicious dishes. The steamed pollack with the pepper from Cheongyang had a flavour of the hometown. The rustic food seemed to be very suitable for his savory acting.

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paladin-andric · 6 years ago

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WIP Prep Tag Game

Tagged by @corishadowfang! Thank you, this is pretty big, but I liked it a lot!

Rules: Answer the questions, then tag as many people as there are questions (or as many as you can).

As usual, I’ll be doing Blackheart.

FIRST LOOK

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

Demons invade the world, decimating a city and casting the land around it in a dark fog. A knight pierces through the blanket of darkness, in an effort to find the demons’ source and destroy it.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

Single book. The ending’s VERY conclusive. Though the world itself? I think we’ll be seeing more of it...

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Oppressive fog, monsters, lone figures walking down the road, ruined cities

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

The game Demon’s Souls inspired a lot of the setting (a ruined city full of demons wrapped in a fog), while D&D inspiring much of the world, with the various fantasy races throughout.

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

Once again, inspirations make themselves apparent.

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

Sir Alexander, of House Angelus. The youngest child of a large family, estranged from his noble family, who has forsaken any possible rulership for a life of knighthood. While he has prepared well for his mission, he still struggles. He’s not superhuman, nor does he know any magic, which puts him at a disadvanage against inhumanly powerful demons, well versed in unholy arts of magic. He IS determined, however. He can take a lot of punishment, and he never gives up.

7. Who is their closest ally?

Since he doesn’t really favor one of his group majorly over the others, I’ll just put the rest of the heroes.

Senci, an excitable young kobold raised by humans. He dreams of becoming a famous hero one day, and traveling the land to help people in need.

Leianna, a cleric who tends to stir up trouble. She always speaks her mind and throws jabs, even when not wholly appropriate. Despite this she cares deeply for others, it’s why she volunteered to journey to the shrouded city, and risked her life saving Tourthun.

Lexius, a quiet and unassuming priest. Unable to stand by and watch people vanish into the fog, never to be seen again, he used the last bit of money he had on basic equipment and set out, leaving only a note explaining himself to the rest of the monastery. His powers may seem lacking at the moment, but he’ll be pushed to his limits down the line...

Tourthun, a young, red dragon who was nearly captured by the demons. Borderline pacifistic and bitter over his past, the fall of Palethorn, the city covered by fog was an extremely trying time for him. Finally forced to fight, he finds himself lacking in this respect, his own disdain towards killing making it even more challenging. While he carries a deep love for humanity and the rest of the small races, his inexperience makes his support less decisive than it might normally be. Still he fights on, driven by a desire to save the others...

Razorwing, a birdman archer. Very much a classical hero, he is famous and beloved for his various exploits throughout his life of adventure. His ability to fly and pinpoint accuracy makes him a deadly adversary.

Paul, a bounty hunter. Cold, calculating and decisive, he is well versed in the art of killing, though demonslaying is something he’ll need to adjust to, his usual target being man. He hides both his face and his emotions behind a mask.

Charles, a young half-dragon magician. Most unusual for his kind, he’s shy, timid and often easily flustered. He shows extraordinary potential for magic, and already is quite strong. He has a ways to go before he’s a master sorcerer, however.

Andric, an aging paladin. Having raised Senci, he’s become something of a tutor in his older age, though he’s still incredibly powerful from decades of battle and honing his holy powers. Extraordinarily powerful, and a huge boon to the heroes’ efforts.

8. Who is their enemy?

Demonkind at large. Several demons, varying in power, have entered through the portal to the underworld. They have left corrupted in their wake, those who have fallen to demonic corruption and lost their minds, becoming thoughtless beasts bent on slaughter. They have to destroy the portal, no matter the cost.

9. What do they want more than anything?

To be left in peace, able to relax at his manor inbetween military campaigns.

10. Why can’t they have it?

Alexander has been honored as “Geralthin’s Finest Knight” for his heroics in war. As such, whenever a problem arises, or a crisis is revealed, the kingdom always sends for him right away. He’s constantly pulled from his quaint homestead out in the countryside, and thrown at the head of an army. He just wants a bit more time to himself, and slightly less overwhelming responsibilities.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Alexander thinks of himself as bland, plain, boring and uninspiring. He doesn’t understand why he’s so often wanted to lead armies, seeing as zealous speeches and raw charisma aren’t his forte. The truth is that his unshakable courage and willingness to always be in the thick of the fight with his men is why the soldiers flock to him. He fights and risks dying alongside them, as opposed to most generals who lead from the back lines...and while he may order a retreat, he’ll always be the last to pull back, to ensure no one else is left behind.

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

This is technically cheating, as my friend drew this, but I can’t draw for the life of me. He’s gonna refine this and color it at some point, but he’s a very busy man.

Ah, and here’s a version done by the wonderful @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword!

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

While the story’s mainly focused on the actual conflict, there’s some growth and character development throughout.

Alexander learns that non-humans aren’t as wild, barbaric and evil as he’s been led to believe, and understands that he has to trust his new, inhuman teammates.

Senci, for the first time, gets into real, actual fights. While he’s always wanted to be a hero, he is quickly forced to learn just what that entails.

Leianna is fairly static, though she does learn that there’s a time and place for jesting. While she may use humor to hide anger or fear, she eventually understand that it’s time to get serious, and that it’s okay to show those feelings sometimes.

Lexius is just a priest. He’s a weak and outmatched in almost every respect. Over time, he will find his courage and resolve when he needs it most.

Tourthun has to forgive the most grievous of crimes, and is forced to come to terms with the horrors of his past. In addition, a final enemy within himself will be the final challenge...

Razorwing overcomes the one part of his past that fills him with anger, hatred and fear.

Paul learns how to express his feelings, and that not everyone is out to get him.

Charles, timid and self-doubting, sees that he’s more valuable than he thought.

Andric is forced to trust Senci on his own, and see just how well he’s prepared his protege...

14. What is the external conflict?

The heroes journey through the ruined city of Palethorn, and seek out the source of the demons, the Blackheart, a great portal that allows demons to travel to the world. Along the way, many corrupted stand in their way, and demons plot against them. Finding the source of the Blackheart itself proves a challenge...

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

Failing his quest, unable to destroy the Blackheart, until demons overwhelm Geralthin and plunge the entire world into darkness. Just like the city, the entire would would be destroyed, the last specs of humanity surviving by hiding deep underground, praying that the demons above don’t find them.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

A twist I’d rather not reveal. I think it’s going to hit you VERY hard, though.

17. Do you know how it ends?

Yes, and once again I’d rather not spoil it.

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme?

Trust and understanding. In the human realm, many non-humans are looked upon with suspicion, disdain, fear, hatred, or sometimes several at once. Notable examples are the wolfmen, feared and loathed for their violent tendencies, kobolds, looked down on with disgust for their pathetic and barbaric actions, and half-dragons, feared and hated for their frightening appearance and their great strength. In this ruined city full of corrupted beasts however, Alexander is forced into an alliance with the survivors, nearly all of them non-human, as this city is where the kingdom had exiled them to. Over time though living among these creatures, the knight learns that these preconceptions are very often wrong, and that just like humans, they’re not some predictable hivemind.

Forgiveness and redemption. Through several revelations, Tourthun has to make peace with his past, and though he’s been so horribly wronged, and he would be completely justified in never forgiving those that wronged him, he comes to understand hatred is a repeating, unending cycle of misery, sending suffering unto another, and making them hate and cause suffering to other innocents in return. He thus decides to break the cycle. In addition, corruption, no matter how powerful, is not all-encompassing. Not all who fall to the demons are lost forever...

Determination and hope. Though things are so horrible, the heroes seem so outmatched, and the end of the world looks to be drawing near, everyone works hard against the demons’ plot, never falling to apathy or stoic acceptance of the end. Every person that falls to the demons only furthers the convictions of the heroes. It can’t happen to the rest of the world. No more must die. This far, and no farther!

19. What is a recurring symbol?

Ruin. The city, unmaintained due to the crisis, is starting to fall apart. It serves to emphasize how horrid the demons are, and just what’s in store for the rest of the world if the heroes fail.

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

The Kingdom of Geralthin, ancestral homeland of humanity, once the heart of an empire that sprawled across all of the continent of Deaco. Through destruction at the hands of dragonkind, the empire was destroyed, and collapsed into city-states while the other races reclaimed their independence. Centuries of struggle, advancement and the discovery of magic allowed humanity to cast the dragons out of their cities, though many still roam the countryside. Afterwards Geralthin unified and become a powerful kingdom. Once a melting pot and the heart of trade in all the known world, Geralthin has become homogeneous as the most recent king decided to outlaw non-humans from the kingdom, rounding them up and forcing them into the city of Palethorn. This was a wildly unpopular move and led to uprisings, riots, and traitorous sentiment in many corners of the kingdom.

In the city, all was finally starting to calm down when the demons arrived. Now cut off from the outside world through the dark fog, no one knows what goes on inside, for all who enter the fog never come back. This dark, corrupted city is crumbling and abandoned, filled only with the husks of creatures that were once citizens, stumbling through the streets, seeking out any survivors to kill for their masters. Deep in the sewer systems that were never finished before the attack, the last remnants of the city hide out in an underground encampment, a few scavengers often traveling to the surface in a desperate bit to gather what the group needs to stay alive. It is here the heroes plot out their mission, and bring their wounded to rest and recover.

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

Yes. I’m pretty interested to see what I can do with them.

22. What excited you about this story?

Mixing dark fantasy with high fantasy, knights and dragons with evil and darkness. I’ve always been massively interested in fantasy, particularly magic and monsters, and how they effect what would otherwise be a mundane medieval world. How does castle design and city defenses have to adapt when you need to account for dragons? How much do numbers count for in armies when the opposition can call down lightning, or teleport? How do monsters like griffins and drakes affect hunters, and villages out in the deep wilds? How would society see people who exchange their humanity for power?

Seeing this new, strange world, and forces like dragons and demons clashing is incredibly interesting to me, which is why I enjoy writing about it so much.

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!

Eh. I put on some music and just...go, I guess. I have a basic framework for the plot, and I know the ending, but aside from that I just...write. I guess I’ll look more into the flow of everything after I’m done, editing and altering from there. Also upon rereading the chapter after I post I notice like 20 typos, whoops.

WOW. This was really long and tiring, but I really enjoyed blabbering about my book. Thanks again!

I’ll be tagging @oceanwriter, @lady-redshield-writes, @homesteadhorner and @sheralynnramsey. Honestly this is pretty insane, I’m not gonna tag that many people, and if you don’t want to do this I totally understand.

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eng2100 · 6 years ago

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blog 08 - neuromancer

So as an introductory note, I’m actually quite a big fan of cyberpunk. I’m a hobbyist DnD player and the first campaign that I’ve Dungeon-Mastered for was actually a simplified version of Shadowrun that I wrote all the backstory and lore for. It’s in what I would call a “sequel” right now that I’m very much enjoying. So bla bla bla I was excited to get to Neuromancer this whole time because I’m a genre fan.

a brief primer to cyberpunk

So western Cyberpunk owes its roots largely to the detective fiction genre-- most notably the hardboiled detective archetype, a darker western interpretation of your Sherlock Holmes type who is usually a jaded antihero that works for money, but still has a sense of justice deep down. You see this more reflected in Blade Runner than you see it in Neuromancer’s Case, but there are still a number of correlations (Funnily enough, Neuromancer and Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep both end on nearly the same line-- “He never saw Molly again.” and “...and I never saw her again.” respectively.) Interestingly enough, Case kind of spawns his own kind of cyberpunk hero trope-- the rebellious hacker, seen in Neo.

If detective fiction owes itself to the inescapable aura of The Great Depression, then cyberpunk owes itself to the Reagan administration. Cyberpunk’s whole thing, at least in the west, springs forward from the fear of unregulated corporate growth in tandem with the rise of technology, and what the mixture of the two might bode for humanity at large. Both Neuromancer and Blade Runner owe their entire aesthetics to the vision of a world taken over by neon advertisements, bereft of nature, replaced by plasticity.

Now, why the primer? Well, I think it’s important to preface the discussion of this novel with the idea that cyberpunk is a deeply political genre in a way that not many other genres inherently are. (All fiction is, of course, inherently political, whether intentional or not, but most genres don’t regularly feature as much political charge as cyberpunk, is what I mean.) Neuromancer is politics from an era before most of us in this class were born, and as such, atop being a seminal work of genre fiction, it’s a lurid look into what the landscape looked like in the 80s. We are living now in the times that 80s Cyberpunk once called “the future”-- and, well, what does it look like for us? Are we living in the Urban Sprawl?

not quite

Our dystopian future is significantly more...mundane than coffin hotels and the television sky over Chiba. You might say we got all the corporate deregulation and none of the glimmering aesthetic slickness of cyberpunk-- we really are living in the worst timeline. If i’m going to have to labor under capitalism for the rest of my short life, couldn’t I at least have a slick pair of mirrorshades?

the text

There’s a lot about Neuromancer to like. It earned its reputation wholeheartedly-- it is definitely the legendary cyberpunk novel that it is well-known for being. Its writing style can often be abstract at the same time that it’s luridly detailed, and it uses strange and interesting words to create vivid images in the reader’s mind of this foreign landscape of the Sprawl. It uses a lot of “old world” associations to lend deeper weight to its descriptions (the Tank War Europa game comes to mind in tandem with the Screaming Fist operation that looms over the plot).

The book doesn’t shy away from the visceral nature of its own plot and setting-- drug binges and cramped love affairs in coffin hotels, fear and violence are all described in visceral detail that grounds the book hard in its reality while simultaneously indulging in a sort of dream-like surreality. I really admire the ways in which Gibson writes physical sensation whether it comes to the sex or the pain or the weirdness of cyberspace. The introduction of the novel sort of failed to catch me until Gibson went into detail about Case’s harrowing journey after losing his ability to jack into cyberspace and the intense, surreal affair with Linda Lee. Perhaps my biggest issue with the writing of Neuromancer is, however, Gibson’s tendency to throw a lot of world-building terminology at you really fast. Nothing bogs down a fictional story more than having to pause to wonder what certain words mean.

Describing cyberspace during a time in which VR wasn’t even a thing yet had to have been a challenge and a half, but Gibson found interesting ways to visualize the experience, and coined interesting terminology for it (ice and icebreakers, most notably). The Sense/Net bits are also pretty cool, but I’m also biased because anything that gives Molly Millions more screentime is just the best thing.

Did I mention Molly is my favorite character? I just can’t get over her. It sucks that her and Case break up in the epilogue, but it also feels fitting in a weird way. She really struck me as a standout character for a woman in a cyberpunk novel-- she’s an active player in her own sexuality, she’s violent and the stronger of the two between herself and Case. She has a sort of unapologetic way about her that feels very fresh even today. The first time Case uses Sense/Net to see through her eyes, I was hit in an unexpectedly hard way by the description of people in a crowd moving out of the way for her-- for most girls in real life, that’s a fairly unheard of experience, and to me, as a female reader, it did a lot to establish to me just how powerful she is.

That being said, this is a good place to segue into the conversation you know my Obnoxious Feminist Ass has been waiting to bring up.

cyberpunk vs women

You can tell a lot about a person’s base assumptions about the world by the way they talk about people in their works of fiction. Now when I say “base assumptions” I don’t mean their political leanings, I mean something that’s on a deeper, more subconscious level-- in this way, base assumptions are inherently neutral in a way, they’re incapable of being truly malicious, even if they’re harmful, because they’re just the base coding of how a person regards things inherently.

What I’m getting at is that at the time of writing this book, I don’t think Gibson had much of a regard for women at all. When the first mention of women in your novel is calling them whores, I’m going to be forced to assume both that you don’t like women very much and that women are primarily sex objects to you-- or at the very least that women factor into your view of the world in a very marginal way that is largely informed by porn culture. Now, let’s suppose that maybe it’s actually the POV character Case that’s just a raging sexist-- that theory might hold water if this were a character trait that is brought up as a flaw, or indeed, if it were really brought up at all in his personality, but it’s not.

To my great frustration, in the Neuromancer world, it seems like “whore” is about the only job available for women! Who knew the job market would shrink in such a way? Now, perhaps you could argue that Gibson was actually trying to make a point about the way in which porn culture commodifies women into sexy leg lamps for male consumption, and I won’t claim to know his intent, but to me, it doesn’t really seem that deep. It seems like to me that, to Gibson, women being mostly vapid sex workers in his dystopia is a foregone conclusion-- he didn’t think about it that hard, that’s just his stereotypical image of what women in an criminal underbelly do.

This problem of a lack of regard for female perspectives in cyberpunk narratives that largely concern themselves with themes of objectification and oppression under capitalist systems and the regurgitation of harmful sexist tropes certainly isn’t exclusive to Neuromancer. Cyberpunk is a economic-political type of genre, so oppression in the genre tends to fall upon class lines rather than race or gender lines-- and perhaps, this could occur in a far flung future in which capital manages to supersede bias, however, I can’t help but feel that this is a lazy way to write a political narrative. Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, and The Matrix all have distinct problems with addressing the idea of intersectionality when it comes to the ways in which ones gender and race plays into their role in a capitalist system.

Cyberpunk, for all its shining successes as interesting fiction and pointed political commentary, totally fails in the regard that it co-opts the struggle of lower-classes and applies the romanticized aesthetic to white male characters completely unironically. (You can read a pretty good take on Dystopias and post-racialism here.)

east versus west

So, when I went over the primer to the rise of Cyberpunk earlier, I left something out (on purpose!). During the 80s, there was another prime ingredient to the mix of the nascent genre’s formation: the rise of Japan as a technological leader in the global market. Before World War 2, and indeed, during it, American’s conceptualization of the future, was, well, American. They viewed themselves as the originator of innovation within the world and the blueprint from which the rest of the world should be based. However, this all changed in the post-war era as Japan began to participate in the market, leaving behind their isolationist ways-- suddenly, Japan was what the vision of the future looked like in American imagination-- the Tokyo urban sprawl.

The imagery of Japan is ubiquitous in western Cyberpunk, whether hardcore or or softcore or simply an incidental portrayal of futurism. Disney’s Big Hero 6 features San Fransokyo, San Franciso and Tokyo jammed together complete with neon signs in Japanese letters. During the 90s, Marvel launched Rampage 2099 and Spider-man 2099, both set in glittering neon cityscapes. The series Firefly featured a strange universe in which everyone seems to speak Chinese pidgins (but there’s no Chinese people in the show, funnily). MTV had Aeon Flux, a U.S. take on anime. Even movies like Total Recall borrowed the bright neon flavor. Video games such as Deus Ex and Cyberpunk 2077 feature these influences heavily, with less-bold-but-still-there influence being seen in games like Remember Me and Detroit: Become Human.

There’s an interesting cultural exchange going on between the east and west when it comes to Cyberpunk, as the 90s were rife with cyberpunk fiction in both places-- The U.S. saw The Matrix (which was inspired by Ghost in the Shell, as admitted by the Wachowskis in a phrasing that I find really annoying as an animator: “We want to make that but for real”.), while Japan had the seminal Ghost in the Shell and Akira. It’s interesting to note the stark contrast between western and eastern Cyberpunk-- eastern Cyberpunk misses entirely western Cyberpunk’s detective fiction roots, for one. For two, eastern Cyberpunk tends to concern itself more with philosophical questions about the nature of the soul in relation to technology and deep-seated cultural fears about weapons of mass destruction and government.

Neuromancer is deeply entrenched in eastern aesthetics-- many Japanese brands are brought up explicitly by name within the model (Mitsubishi, Sony, etc.). Gibson cites the “Kowloon Walled City” of Hong Kong as something that haunted him after he was told about it, and the idea of Coffin Hotels owes quite a lot to it. Gibson is quoted as saying:

“Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk. The Japanese themselves knew it and delighted in it. I remember my first glimpse of Shibuya, when one of the young Tokyo journalists who had taken me there, his face drenched with the light of a thousand media-suns - all that towering, animated crawl of commercial information - said, ‘You see? You see? It is Blade Runner town.' And it was. It so evidently was.“

One of Neuromancer’s primary settings is The Night City, a supposedly gaijin district of Tokyo on the bay-- this...sort of explains why there don’t seem to be a lot of Asian people in Asia, but the issue still stands. This isn’t a game-breakingly “I wouldn’t recommend this book” bad case, but it is something that I felt I should point out. Neuromancer is a foundational work to the genre, which means that not only are its successes carried over, but many of its flaws as well. Now, I don’t want this cricitism to sound like I think William Gibson is a raging bigot or anything-- I really don’t! I follow him on twitter and he’s a perfectly likable guy, actually. Problems aside, I really enjoy his work.

conclusions

Going into the future, I don’t think Cyberpunk is going away anytime soon, and certainly much of it owes its roots to Neuromancer. With shows like Altered Carbon and games like Cyberpunk 2077 on the horizon, I’m interested to see the ways in which our current economic political climate may effect what our vision of a technological dystopia may look like. Cyberpunk is easily one of the most interesting genres of fiction, and if you haven’t looked into it deeply, I highly recommend checking it out.

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shenanigans-and-imagines · 7 years ago

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Black Panther Thoughts/Rant

I’m just going to get this out of the way first: GO SEE BLACK PANTHER!!!

I highly suggested avoiding reviews and just go see it yourself as blindly as possible. I had no idea what the actual plot was before I saw it and I am grateful.

Star Rating: 4/5

And now my thoughts and spoilers in no particular order...

Honestly one of the best stand alone movies the MCU has produced.

You don’t have to have seen Civil War or any of the other movies to know what is going on. It’s a very entertaining and engaging contained story.

T’Challa is a dork and I love him.

He loves his baby sister, freezes in front of his crush, and gets roasted by EVERYONE

Stories about people growing into their roles as leaders is my jam and this movie delivers on that front.

This is a movie taking a very strong stance for globalization and the importance of opening our boarders to help one another as opposed to closing ourselves of to “protect our own”.

BUT we see the other side and understand why Wakanda is so reluctant to join the rest of the world.

It also doesn’t shy away from the oppression suffered by black people all around the world, while at the same time condemning violent action against that system.

This is a pretty dense movie in terms of theming and I’ll probably need more time to properly sort it all out.

On that note there are some problems with the pacing at times.

This movie is doing a LOT of stuff and the fact there is a six hour cut of this movie out there in the universe does not surprise me in the slightest.

The beginning is a little rushed and it takes just a little too long to get to Killmonger.

Once Killmonger steps onto the scene and stays there, the movie really comes into it’s own.

Also, I’m going to be honest, Martin Freeman does not need to be in this movie.

I get it, outsider’s POV, but we were doing just fine without him for a good third of the movie. He doesn’t really add anything and is just there to get and give exposition dumps. I feel like there was a way to do it without him there.

The romantic subplots needed more development too

Nakia and T’Challa were fine. They’re both great characters but their romance didn’t really bring anything we haven’t seen.

Okoye and W’Kabi though were forced. They didn’t have any scenes between them showing them being a couple. We just hear Okoye call W’Kabi my love and that’s it. I needed a scene with them fighting side by side or some witty banter between the two of them. As it stands they could have been colleges or hell siblings and I would had felt the connection more.

BUT let’s get back to the good stuff which is literally EVERYTHING ELSE

Shuri is amazing and I love her and I will protect her even though she could invent thirty different things that could kick my ass.

She also destroys her brother at any given opportunity and it’s amazing.

I need her to meet Tony so badly so he can just stand there and be like “yeah she’s my daughter now, I’m adopting her“

Okoye is a stone cold bad ass and seeing her tear off the wig mid-fight gave me LIFE

I’d watch her origin story, starting with her training and moving her way through to ranks to general. I kind of need it you guys.

Can we also get a Nakia movie while we’re at it?

I want to know what Wakandan spies do.

I want to see that trouble she got into with the ivory traders.

Lupita Nyong’o is incredibly talented and we know for a solid fact she could carry a movie all on her own.

Also shout out to my man M’Baku.

I was not expecting to walk way loving this man since everyone was talking about Michael B. Jordan, but DAMN SON!

He brings some much needed levity to the proceedings and I really appreciate it.

He’s also an interesting character in his own right with his own motivations for joining or not joining the fight. I can’t wait to see him in Infinity Wars.

And, because we absolutely have to, Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger.

Guys, words cannot express how great this character is.

He is definitely one of the best villains the MCU has come up with and is certainly a contender to throw Loki off his seat, (that is if you decide to ignore the Netflix series).

The scene between him and his father in the ancestral realm is devastating and Jordan kills it. The way they keep switching it back and forth with him as a child and him as a man is beautiful and I could honestly watch that scene for hours.

He makes good points that make you questions Wakanda’s position considering the history of the world.

You understand his anger and frustration at the system when he knows there’s a place that could fix all that.

BUT he crosses the line and there has to be a compromise between his way and complete isolation.

His last words are also pitch perfect and I am really upset we’ll never get to see him again.

Overall this movie is extremely ambitious and for the most part it suceeded. There are some hiccups here and there, but nothing to derail the story. I was left completely satisfied and itching to see more of Wakanda and these characters.

Wakanda Forever

#black panther #black panther review #marvel #mcu #black panther spoilers #wakanda

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just0nemorepage · 7 years ago

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My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories || Stephanie Perkins || 321 pages ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 3 Genres: Young Adult / Short Stories / Romance

Synopsis: If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

Finished: December 14th, 2017.

Progress: 13 / 50. 26% complete.

My Rating: ★★★★★. [5/5]

My Review: [Under the read more - NOT SPOILER FREE]

Alright, it's been three days, I've seen the new Star Wars on opening night, survived my office's Christmas party and a trip to the mall, spent a night with Tyler and an evening out with my entire family for my dad's birthday, ticked off another D&D session, woke up early to do some dog sitting, passed out in bed before 11pm on both of my days off cause – who knew – I am tired, SO, it's about time I wrote this review.

Gift wrapping still needs done today too.

REVIEW FIRST.

CAUSE THIS BOOK DID THINGS TO ME.

To be fair – as with all short story books, some stories fell kind of flat, most others were either neutral or just generally enjoyable, and the rest were like JESUS CHRIST I WANT A FULL NOVEL OF THIS.

I also had a fun time trying to identify which of the ice skating couples on the front of the book corresponded with each couple in each story. 😁

So I suppose I'll do a breakdown of all twelve stories, with individual ratings and comments for each one, knowing that the whole book gets a full five stars cause holy shit my heart.

Midnights ; Rainbow Rowell - ★★★☆☆. 3/5. One of the ones I felt kind of neutral towards, and maybe even fell a little flat. It was cute, definitely, and a good start to the book, but the characters felt so... "young adult." They didn't feel real at all. It felt like an extremely romanticized version of a friendship turning into a romance, and like it was more a stylized painting of a relationship than an actual relationship. But, it was still cute.

The Lady and the Fox ; Kelly Link - ★★☆☆☆. 2/5. The writing was beautiful and poetic, but the relationship was... weird. I know that a lot was left unexplained and up to your imagination on purpose, but there was so much left out that I don't know if it was actually on purpose or if it was just poor storytelling. I also don't like the concept of a young girl meeting a strange older man, and as she "ages into it" they eventually fall in love. Especially since he was mean to her at first. Plus her personality change into "goth/punk" and the witch's appearance and deciding to let Fenny out of her grasp happened very abruptly, and left me feeling very unsatisfied. And Elspeth sort of just.. appearing in the middle of it all? Already fully understanding the situation? It was weird and needed much more explaining to feel like a fully developed story, and without it just felt like the bare bones outline of a story that could have maybe been decent with more flushing out.

Angels in the Snow ; Matt de la Pena - ★★★☆☆. 3/5. Yaaas Mexican main character, and mixed-race relationship. The story was all extremely adorable and felt very real, and I like how the ending wasn't necessarily happy. I also like how the whole situation was messy, and neither character is completely likable – Shy had his pride, was a chronic liar, and had issues with expressing healthy emotions, and Haley never fully explained WHY she wanted to break up with her boyfriend, and also had a night of cheating on him. These things are what made me feel genuinely annoyed enough to not actually be able to enjoy the story and the messiness of everything. But – BUT – Shy understood consent, and Haley understood things were no longer fair and healthy between her and her boyfriend, so she broke up with him that very same night she cheated. I heavily appreciate and respect these things, and I must say that even though the character's annoyances cut through too deep for me to rate the story any higher, it was very powerful and actually pretty well done.

Polaris is Where You'll Find Me ; Jenny Han - ★★★☆☆. 3/5. THIS ONE WAS SAD. I wasn't expecting a fantasy story in this book, and it was a pleasant surprise! BUT IT WAS SAD. I loved that the MC was Asian, and the concept of a human raised amongst Christmas elves is a pleasing one to me, especially since these elves seemed more like LotR elves than Elf elves. But that Natalie was so unaccepted and unwelcomed by everybody? That Santa (as her father) seemed relatively oblivious to it all? That Flynn apparently has had feelings for her and only showed it after he provided her with Lars's address, already knowing she's likely to go back to the human world to choose Lars than stay where she knows she doesn't belong? Annoying, hence the three stars, BUT SO SAD. Probably the saddest story in the book, and having an ending that wasn't necessarily happy and left so up in the air REALLY was a nice surprise.

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown ; Stephanie Perkins - ★★★★★. 5/5. THE FIRST ONE I ADORED. OH GOD. This is also my first ever Stephanie Perkins story. If all of her shit is like this then OH MAN OH MAN. The story and the situation was so fucking cute, and actually believable, and holy wow *another* PoC MC, and paganism treated as real and respectable and legit and holy shit it's actually in a story (which legit made me want to find ways to celebrate the Solstice in addition to Christmas cause fuck man that's closer to what I actually feel than anything else out there), and I just, idek. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS STORY was fucking amazing and incredible and I want a whole NOVEL of it. I mean I could re-read it again right now cause AAAHHHH. This isn't doing the story justice at all and I feel horrible for it but I CAN'T ORGANIZE MY THOUGHTS OKAY.

Your Temporary Santa ; David Levithan - ★★★★☆. 4/5. A gay couple!! Treated as completely normal and not about coming out and not facing shitty people and oppression!!! That in itself is fantastic. And then there's the "oh, this is more complicated than I thought" thing that pops up right about when Lana comes out to taunt the (Jewish!!) MC, who I think I just realized went unnamed in the whole story. It's never stated clearly but it's heavily implied that the last person to wear that Santa suit is Connor's dad, who is also heavily implied to have left the family. Riley is still too young to understand, Lana is SO ANGRY about the situation and takes it out on everyone and everything at only 12 years old (that poor kid), and Connor seems to just want to do something for his baby sister without realizing what it might do to the rest of the family.. that, and that the MC crawls into bed with Connor at the end of it when it was both implied that he wasn't yet properly introduced to the family, AND that to do so would give away the Santa secret.. those last couple things are what made me go "?" and docked the one star off. Otherwise though, it's powerful and sad and I am a HUGE fan of the diversity in this whole book cause omg.

Krampuslauf ; Holly Black - ★★★★★. 5/5. THE SECOND ONE I ADORED. At first it seemed like it was too try-hard and edgelord, but then quickly proved to be a PERFECT combination of my aesthetic – cause I mean, a faun IS going to be my next costume project, so there's that, AND justice is a massive turn-on, SO. Creatures from some sort of fae realm showing up during Christmas to deliver justice against a cheating sexist shit-head as a gift to the girls he's wronged, especially in the form of a fae woman with a knife and a satyr who's probably the sexiest character I've read about in a book to date (the gold-painted goat-legged Krampus self-dubbed Joachim), is EXACTLY my kind of shit and oh my god I want like – a whole novel or a whole series of novels about this. Just oh my god. Once I realized what was going on I was like "HOLY SHIT" and almost felt like it was written specifically for me because it fit so perfectly. I mean of course it wasn't – BUT STILL. I WANT MORE. I was NOT expecting darkness or anything seductive in a CHRISTMAS story so this took me so off guard and asdhkjhkdhf.

FAE, BUDDY. YOU DON'T MESS WITH THEM. THEY ARE GOALS IN LIFE.

What the Hell Have you Done, Sophie Roth? ; Gayle Forman - ★★★★★. 5/5. Another one I thought was utterly fantastic. The storytelling and the characters and the setting felt so well done and so real, and ANOTHER mixed-race relationship (AW YISS), and the MC being a card-carrying intersectional feminist in all but a specific statement saying so, and, DUDE, SHE'S JEWISH, and idk this one was SO FUCKING CUTE and I loved it to pieces. She reminded me SO much of myself – a personality and sense of humor that doesn't really fit in and tries so hard to be aware of other peoples' plights and troubles, and that she actually fucks up and handles it, and just. IT HIT ME IN THE FEELS.

These comments with each story are probably getting less and less clear and concise as I go on but idgaf.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus ; Myra McEntire - ★★★★★. 5/5. I didn't adore this one as much as the other five starers, but it still gets five in just how pleasantly surprised I was, and how all my stereotypical expectations were blown completely apart and proved totally wrong. Troublemaker guy has a crush on pastor's daughter, who is dating the star football player, and all these people end up coming together to put on a Christmas pageant troublemaker-guy is responsible for as his act of community service for all the trouble he gets into. And it's set in the south. Quite frankly, it sounds sickening and like I'd rather suck on a cactus.

BUT. Pastor's daughter (Gracie) COMPLETELY proved to be her own, strong, willful person who doesn't even seem to be SUPER religious – still religious, sure, but more into science and historical accuracy than "Bible this and Bible that", who knows what she wants and goes for it and is complicated and fucking smart (valedictorian!), and Vaughn – troublemaker guy – eventually sees all of this and COMPLETELY RESPECTS ALL OF IT. No taking advantage of her, no thinking less of her, no belittling her, IS RESPECTING OF CONSENT, sees her completely as her own person, respect everywhere, oh my god. And the football star Gracie's dating? Is ALSO ACTUALLY PRETTY RESPECTFUL. And nice. And it turns out the situation there was just a cover for a long-distance relationship he's in that his family wouldn't approve of, that she's understandably not a fan of and wants out of, and they promise to handle it and fix it like mature adults. So. DUDE.

I WAS SO SURPRISED.

It gets a full five stars just for shattering all my horrible expectations and actually being completely everything I could ever want in this situation.

More things need to shatter my expectations like that! I was so happy!

Welcome to Christmas, CA ; Kiersten White - ★★★★★. 5/5. Oh man another one I loved. Maria reminded me so much of my boyfriend, and this whole story is just so adorably sickeningly cute and sweet and I can't get enough of it. Candy's boyfriend can go FUCK HIMSELF and I am so happy she got away, and also so happy that Maria came to see the truth of things and adopted a much more healthy outlook at the end, and I am HALF CONVINCED Ben's story of "juvie" is just a cover-up that he's a Christmas elf. Though I also accept the story that he's actually from juvie, cause fuck, people with those kinds of backgrounds NEED more stories of hope and success and still making a good life for themselves.

I'M FEELING ALL FLUFFY INSIDE AGAIN JUST THINKING OF THESE STORIES I LOVED SO MUCH JESUS CHRIST.

I'm gonna have to bookmark them or something so I can re-read them again whenever I want omg.

Star of Bethlehem ; Ally Carter - ★☆☆☆☆. 1/5. Seemed more like a situation that was trying too hard to be a thriller, and with an ending that was a COMPLETE flop and let down. I spent the whole story trying to figure out wtf the real issue was and why Liddy was as scarred as she was. So when it got to the end, and it was revealed that she was a teen music star and the "bad guy" was her manager-turned-guardian and was only missing the goatee and steepled fingers for as typical of a "bad guy" as he was – I mean, he all but yelled back "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME" like some Batman villain – just, man. I was so disappointed. It all was so fast and so basic and so stereotypical and so one-dimensional – I mean, the family and town would all accept her just like that? No anger that she lied at all? Aunt Mary actually wants to adopt her after just a WEEK? She let Ethan kiss her and actually felt okay with it amongst all the rest of it? I mean – wasn't he upset about Hulda? He knows nothing about this girl and just knows she's lying and could hurt his whole family – how could he feel anything good at all, let alone romantic feelings toward her? None of it made sense and none of it fit and it actually felt kind of... bad. I mean, okay, the underlying story was interesting, I appreciate the idea of someone famous just wanting to be normal again and have a loving family again, and I like the idea of a family seeing through someone's completely obviously bad coverup story and taking care of the person anyway, but I DON'T like the lack of consequences, the complete inconsistencies in character development and plot, and how friggen rushed and horribly written the ending and the reveal was. This one was probably my least favorite story in the entire book, and left me feeling actively annoyed and disappointed.

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer ; Laini Taylor - ★★★★★. 5/5. AND THEN THERE'S THIS ONE.

OH, MAN.

I almost want to just leave this review at JUST THAT cause holy shit how do you review this one.

It was SUCH a perfect ending to this book, I just, oh my god, it was so beautiful and perfect and wonderful and fantastical and FUCK THAT MINISTER MAN and idk it seemed all about the "fuck Christianity pro-nature pro-paganism" that I feel down in my bones and the depth of my soul, and I JUST COMPLETELY ADORED THIS STORY. idk other people might be able to say that it's "fuck a very specific kind of Christianity", which I get and agree with. But this "very specific kind" is like.. 99% of all people who follow it. Including all of history and what America was founded on and what people are trying to work into American law. So like. Yeah.

Enough about that though. Oh my GOD, this whole story and situation and everything about it. THE WRITING. OH, MY. THE WRITING. Holy shit I do not do favorite authors, but I think Laini Taylor just found her way into a spot amongst my favorites anyway. This is not the first story of hers I've read that has been written this beautifully, so I believe it's a consistent thing and I AM IN LOVE.

The only thing that made me sad was leaving all the other girls behind in the dust. So things went WONDERFULLY for Neve... but what about all the others? Are they going to be left behind to rot in unwanted, rape-y relationships? Was this society and the situation fixed at all? Was the shitty oppressive religion silenced in favor of the old one, the real one, the one that doesn't empower horrible people and punishes ACTUAL wrong-doings and sees all people as equals?

I sincerely hope so.

A BOOK COULD BE WRITTEN ABOUT IT TO ELABORATE.

Yanno. Just saying.

Oh my god I am so happy with all the diversity and differences and equality and YAAAAS in this book. SO HAPPY.

Things that could have made it all even better: A LADY-LOVE ROMANCE. Or some other form of gay relationship – like maybe someone who's bi! Or even ace or pan – THAT would've been wonderfully rare and unexpected!

I do realize that the average of my star ratings should put my overall rating at about.. a 3.8. But, seriously – the ones I loved, I loved SO MUCH, that it completely overrode any feelings I had about any of the ones that I didn't. They were just THAT GOOD, that I could ignore the meh ones' presences entirely and go right ahead and fucking love the entire compilation anyway.

I mean, it's not like I didn't appreciate the efforts and the stories and what all the others were trying to get across. Everything still had its own sweet or sad notes and it all still felt appropriately Christmas-y to me.

So, yeah, I can still honestly say I adored the whole book and would shove it in the faces of people who are in the mood for some cute romantic shit and are ready to barf Christmas everywhere. :D Barfing Christmas everywhere is my LIFE each December. So this is absolutely for anyone who does the same!

Those five-star stories I'll read YEAR-ROUND anyway, not even gonna lie, they were THAT GOOD. I'll barf Christmas in JUNE to re-read that shit.

#book reviews #my true love gave to me #stephanie perkins #★★★★★#young adult #short stories #romance #favorites #stunning covers #owned #print book #stand alone #jomp original

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theartificialdane · 8 years ago

Text

Galactica, part 243

In this we party, characters take sides, Raven is attentive, shit hit the fan and Bianca keeps checking Instagram.

Thank you @toriibelledarling @samrull and @veronicasanders - You’re all amazing, and V deserves an extra shout out for being the master of drama <3

“Allison!” Jaslene hissed, approaching the blonde over by one of the nail stations. “Did you hear what your roommate and her friend are saying about Raven?”

Allison’s shoulder’s tensed up. “Oh god, what?”

“Apparently that bitch Courtney is going around gossiping about the Marie Claire shoot where her girlfriend fired Raven, and the Galactica show where we had that little tiff with Tati, all of which I thought was ancient history, didn’t you?” Jaslene looked like she was about to boil over, the woman fiercely loyal.

“Yes, I did, but we’ve totally put that behind us-- I mean, Courtney is pretty ok-”

“So why is she still talking about it, on camera?! Is she trying to railroad Raven?” Jaslene threw her arms up.” Are they trying to make her look bad at her own party? Because I’m not gonna let her get away with that! Now come on Alley cat”

“I really don’t want to get involved in any Courtney Act drama…” Allison started, very unsure if she should follow Jaslene’s plan.

Jaslene put her hands on her hips. “Did Bianca del Rio threaten you, too? Is this about that time you dated?”

“We didn’t exactly date-”

“What does she have on you?”

“Nothing! I just don’t want to--”

“Ugh! Where’s Naima?” Jaslene turned on her heel and stomped away, clearly done with Allison.

***

If there was one thing Jeremy could do, it was butter up a damn middle-aged woman. Especially a tipsy one. He smiled at Ramona.

“They’re reeeeally big fans of yours, but they’re too shy to come up to you. They told me they want advice on how to get attention from cameras. But if you ask me, they are plenty beautiful and dramatic. I mean, there was a whole shakeup at the Galactica show last fall, that got a bunch of press. I’ll give you all the details.” Jeremy gave another sly grin, handing Ramon a glass of wine. “They just probably need to own it more. Maybe you could encourage them.”

“Thanks, Jeremy, I’ll tell them!” Ramona giggled, sipping daintily from the glass, Sonja leaning on her arm for support.

***

“Ravey! You ready for your surprise?!” Juju shrieked, yanking her best friend by the arm and dragging her onto the dance floor.

“I guess so?” Raven raised an eyebrow. She’d made it a point as the host not to get plastered, but Juju didn’t seem to have that trouble. Her matron of honor was wasted.

“NOW!” Juju yelled, and a bunch of police officers swarmed into the room.

For a moment, Raven was frightened, until she realized what was going on. Ohhhh, /those/ kind of cops. She turned and laughed at her crazy best friend, who was already grinding on one of the young, burly “police officers.”

Attracted by the hot strippers and happy shrieking of the hostess, more guests began pouring onto the dance floor to join in the fun.

The Hot Cops formed a line and, in unison, ripped off their tearaway pants. Raven clapped her hands. “YEAHHHHHHHH!”

The guys spread out and began to dance with Raven and the rest of the guests. Juju snatched the hat off one of their heads.

“Hey, cutie…” grinned a tanned, muscular stripper, coming up behind Courtney and dangling a pair of handcuffs in front of her. “You’re under arrest.”

She frowned distastefully, slurring, “Um, no. You know what’s not sexy? Police brutality...”

Adore covered her face with her hands, looking at the bewildered stripper apologetically. “Sorry, she’s drunk.” She grabbed Courtney by the wrist and pulled her into the lounge area. “Jesus, dude. He’s just a dancer.”

“I mean, come on Adore. Does anyone in this country even read the news? What’s sexy about cops? Honestly.”

“You are /insane/. Here, eat this chocolate thing. What is this?” Adore examined the fancy-looking pastry, shrugged, popped one in her mouth and handed the other to Courtney, then shoved the blonde towards the sofas where Jinkx and Alaska were lounging, relaxed after their massages.

“Adore, I have something to say, alright? I’m allowed to have a voice!” Courtney insisted. “Stop oppressing me, like some kind of republican fascist.”

“Okay fine.” Adore greeted both of her girlfriends with kisses and flopped down on the couch, pulling out her phone. “Go ahead, buttercup. Tell us allll about what’s wrong with the Hot Cops. And America.”

“Well,” Courtney began, “For starters, maybe they shouldn’t kill unarmed minority children? I mean just this year there were like 4 million.”

“Four million... stripper homicides?” Adore clarified from behind the camera.

“Yes!...No...Adore, shut up…And the war on drugs! Is a bunch of bullshit! And the KKK! Just had a rally! In Orange County! ORANGE COUNTY! CALIFORNIA! That’s like...what?!...” Courtney continued.

***

Raven was having a splendid time at her bachelorette party and she couldn't be more content. Her custom drinks were flowing nicely, her guests enjoyed the decadent pastries and even though there was a fully equipped camera crew, it didn’t feel invasive at all, but then again, Raven had always loved attention above everything else. And the bevy of hot male strippers was the icing on the cake.

She got up, giggling, from her third lap dance, kissing the dancers on the cheeks and tucking a large tip into each of their g-strings. She noticed a familiar, slender figure tucked around the corner and decided it was a good time for a break from the sweaty dance floor and the champagne, and to check in on her young maid of honor.

"Hey, are you ok lovey?" Raven asked, approaching Violet. "You’ve done such a good job hiding from the cameras; I almost forgot you were still here."

Violet blushed bowing her head, knowing that even in the midst of her fun, Raven grey eyes missed nothing. "Sorry," Violet replied softly. “This isn’t really my scene..”

Raven nodded at Violet's response, there was indeed a lot happening in her home, from camera crews and manicurists. The group of drunk adult women who were filming was being tolerated, just as long as no one spilled or broke anything.

Raven drained the rest of her champagne and placed the glass on a nearby table. "It's a lot more stimulation and energy than I anticipated at first. I'm going to kick the camera crew out soon, they should have plenty to work with and they're not even paying me to be here."

Violet smiled at Raven's pout, the other woman truly spoiled, though she had had no problem with the camera crew filming her opening her mountain of pre-wedding presents. "The nerve of some people."

"I know!" Raven agreed with a smile, "letting them enjoy the opulence of my home and hospitality, and I didn't charge them for their dirty tread marks on my once clean floors."

"Hopefully Raja doesn't freak out," Violet supplied. Frida had never been in Raja and Raven’s apartment for that exact reason, the little dog properly housetrained, but Violet didn’t want to risk her beloved dog ending up on the end of Raja’s rage.

"You know, if you want, you can leave and go to Sutan's.”

Violet looked around at the party still in full swing, literally and figuratively, "Are you sure? I don't want to be rude…”

Raven waved her comment away with a wave of her left hand, engagement ring catching in the light. "Don't worry about that," Raven said kindly, standing up and offering her hand to Violet so she could stand. "You're not a party girl.”

Violet accepted a warm hug from Raven and headed for the door, just missing the moment when all hell broke loose.

***

“Well, it looks like the girls are having fun,” Sutan commented. He turned to Detox, showing him a snap from Jaslene of Juju getting a lap dance from a half naked cop. His girls had been sending him snaps all night, the models all loving the quick and easy way to contact their manager to either tattle or brag, and he was pretty sure tonight was a series of brag snaps. Sutan had looked for Violet a few times, but just as he had expected, she was nowhere to be seen, except for a few pictures with Tatianna that looked like they had been taken in a kitchen. A new snap dinged in, and a video of Juju throwing champagne at the strippers ass came on, everyone yelling with excitement.

“My lovely wife,” Detox sighed happily, handing out plates full of grilled steak and vegetables.

“Thanks, Detox, this looks delicious!” Fame exclaimed as she took her plate, the woman clearly slightly wine drunk.

“Well, it looks edible. Don’t exaggerate,” Bianca corrected, leaning over Sutan’s shoulder to see the pictures. Sutan just handed Bianca his phone since he knew she was looking for pictures of Courtney.

“You realize you can just text her, right?”

“Shut the fuck up Amrull.”

Patrick rolled his eyes. “I’ve truly missed this hostile energy…”

“And we missed you too, bro,” Detox said, thumping him on the shoulder.

***

“You know,” Ramona said, putting one arm around Celia and the other around Naima. “You guys just need to embrace your naturally dramatic natures and you’d get tons of publicity.”

“What do you mean?” Celia asked.

“I mean like that thing at the Galactica show! Sure some people may have thought you were bullying that girl but hey! It was also very entertaining and you were just like, being you! Don’t apologize.”

“Is that bitch still talking about us?!” Naima demanded.

“What bitch?” Sonja slurred.

“COURTNEY ACT!” Celia snapped.

“No, she’s not. I didn’t know you knew her. You know her?” Sonja smiled.

“Don’t play dumb with me!”

“She’s not playing dumb, she’s just a little dumb,” said Ramona.

“Ramona!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you know I love you!” Ramona threw her arms around Sonja and kissed her cheek.

“Um, hello? We’re not done here!” Naima exclaimed.

“Sorry, who are you again? I was just trying to be nice, because I heard you wanted advice--”

“Heard from who? That dumb bitch Courtney? Cause she’s a lying whore.”

“What is happening? Sonja asked, blinking.

Jeremy yawning, stretching, picking up his walkie. “/Jane, are you seeing this? I need a raise./”

***

“Oh shit..” Allison saw the fight happening in slow motion, everyone’s voices growing louder and louder, Celia and Jaslene both looking like they were ready to murder. All of them were drunk, and Allison knew that if there was one thing Celia didn’t give when she was drunk, it was half a fuck. Alllison looked around, quickly locating Tatianna, the only thought in her head that they had to get out before the producers caught them on camera. If anyone filmed either her or Tatianna anywhere near the fight, it could be suicide for the campaign Tati just landed with Moschino and the assistant photographer gig Bianca had gotten her with [designer]’s Spring campaign.

“Tati! Come on! We’re leaving!” Allison exclaimed, grabbing Tatianna’s purse and hand, tugging the woman away from the chair she was sitting in, only half of her nails painted.

“I’m in the middle of a manicu-”

Allison dragged her towards the door.

Tati barely had time to grab her shoes before flying down the hall after the petite blonde. “Okay, okay, slow down!”

***

“Did you just throw a DRINK at me?!” Ramona shrieked, red faced, looking like she was ready to haul off and slap Celia. Sonja jumped up to hold her back as the rest of the guests began to pay closer attention to the argument.

“You bet your fat ass I did!” Celia screamed back.

“FAT?!” Ramona lunged forward, clearly about to grab Celia by the hair, when Raven raced over and stood in between them.

***

Violet pressed the elevator button, more than ready to go downstairs and take Frida for her afternoon walk. Violet was considering if she should call Betty and hear if she wanted to watch a movie since she knew Sutan was worth next to nothing when he was drunk. It had been forever since Violet and Betty had hung out outside of work, both of them busy with the holiday collections.

Violet couldn’t wait to find out what Shane was like around the Christmas season, the man a genius in the kitchen. At Halloween Shane had made candied apples, the treats so good Violet had had two. The door opened, and Violet stepped inside, picking her phone out of her pocket, already dialing Betty.

“Hey! Hold the elevator!”

***

Bianca hung up the phone. No answer, again. Fuck.

BIANCA: Everything okay, baby? I haven’t heard from you all night.

BIANCA: I really hope you’re having fun

Bianca shivered, standing on the patio, hiding from the party inside. She’d waited as long as she could, but finally, after not hearing from Courtney for hours, the possessiveness took over, crawling up her spine, and she’d dashed outside without an explanation to try and make contact.

BIANCA: Call me if you get a chance, okay? I love you

Bianca sighed and opened the door, heading back inside.

***

“Thank you for letting us in Violet.” Allison looked around. It had been ages since she had been in Sutan’s apartment, the place exactly as she remembered it, right down to the horrible art on the wall. Orange wasn’t a good color, ever, no matter what any acid trip artist said.

“You’re a lifesaver.” Tatianna smiled. “I mean, I look like a homeless person, who only has four nails done?”

Allison could feel that Tatianna was giving her a dirty look, but Allison didn’t take it to heart. If she knew her friends right drinks where flying upstairs right now, and she was just grateful not to be here.

“It’s fine.. But.” Violet put Frida down, the little pug happily running around her owner’s feet as Violet took Tati’s hand, examining her nails. “I think I have a color that matches this… Should I look for it?”

“I’d be delighted to step into your salon!” Tati giggled.

***

“Just what in GOD’S NAME IS GOING ON HERE?!” Raven yelled.

Suddenly, Ramona, Sonja, Celia, Jaslene, Naima, and Fo were all screaming at once, and none of it made a lick of sense.

“This bitch tried to bring up ancient history--”

“I was trying to help you--”

“Nobody asked for help you old hag--”

“--dragging your name through the mud--”

“--and that little cunt Tatianna!”

“--I’ve never even met Tatianna, who does--”

“--Courtney and her big fucking mouth--”

“--I literally have no idea what you--”

During the course of this commotion, Courtney had come running over with a stupid innocent expression, Adore at her heels, and Raven was sick and tired of all of them, feeling a pounding headache coming on.

“ENOUGH! All of you, get out! And that includes the cameras. Now!!”

Everyone stopped talking, looking at her with slow, blinking eyes.

Raven waited for a beat, and when nobody moved, she added, “I SAID NOW!”

The entire room erupted in chaos again as everyone began to panic, screaming at each other, scrambling for their coats, Jaslene bursting into tears.

Raven stomped away from the group to call Raja, barely holding it together.

***

Raja lay sprawled on the couch, her feet in Sutan’s lap, head in Fame’s, listening to her friends tell stories about her wilder single days.

“...Remember when you and Jinkx got thrown out of that nightclub in Queens and arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and then Jinkx /bought/ the club and you legit passed out on the chaise lounge after a bender and she made the bouncers put caution tape around you and told everyone that you were part of a performance art piece?”

Raja burst out laughing as her phone began to ring. “We were quite the team...”

“Oh, god, and remember when-”

“Hold that thought-” Raja said, sitting up and answering her phone. “Hello, princess, how’s the party goin-”

“You have to come home /right now/, everything is RUINED!” Raved wailed.

“Wait, what? What are you talking about?!”

“I should never have let the cameras come! The fucking housewives practically got into a fistfight with the elite girls and I’ll explain more when you get home just come NOW!”

Raja stared at the phone, shaking her head. “Dear god.”

“What the hell was that about?” Detox asked.

“Apparently there was drama with the housewives and some of your girls, TanTan.”

“Fuck.”

“She’s really upset. I better go.” Raja signed, reaching for her purse.

“I’ll come with you.” Sutan and Bianca looked at each other, both of them speaking at the exactly same time, the worry for their girlfriends clear in their faces.

Bianca snickered bitterly, following Raja to the door. “Who would have guessed there’d be drama at an event orchestrated by Andy Cohen’s minions? Your fiancée is an idiot.”

Fame cleared her throat, looking down at her phone. “Uhh, B...I think I figured out what Courtney’s been up to. Check Adore’s insta story.”

Bianca pulled out her phone while she exited, nearly slamming the door in Sutan’s face in her haste to find out what the fuck Fame was talking about.

“Jeez, B…” he griped, following the women out to the car.

***

Bianca sat in the backseat of the car beside Sutan, clicking through Adore’s instagram story, cringing at Courtney’s drunken nonsensical ranting.

On the screen, Courtney was going on and on, pacing around the lounge area, swaying unsteadily in her heels while the trifecta of the damned egged her on.

“What was I saying?”

“You were saying the cops need body cameras because of corporate lobbyists,” Alaska offered, as Jinkx laughed in the background.

“Yes, because of the prison industrial complex, which, think about it, is really what all of this is about, capitalism, and money, and the fucking rich people taking everything and using racism to control people. Jinkx understands. Right, Jinkx?”

“That’s me. Capitalist scum.” Jinkx yawned.

“Jinkx, it’s not your fault! You’re a victim too! I mean that’s why you’re an alcoholic. The guilt!”

“Jesus, Courtney,” Adore said, though Jinkx was still laughing.

“Sorry, but I’m just being real. And why isn’t healthcare free? Can anyone answer that? I mean can you answer that? Like right now?”

“No one can answer that, Courtney,” Alaska giggled.

“Just what in GOD’S NAME IS GOING ON HERE?!” Raven’s voice suddenly cut through in the background, causing all four girls to jump in alarm.

Hoo boy, Bianca thought, clicking off and calling Courtney once again. Hopefully she was somewhere safe and getting sober after whatever fight Raven was talking about, which thankfully appeared to be taking place away from Courtney and Adore. Bianca was slightly pissed at her sister for putting that nonsense up on social media, but she’d deal with her later.

No answer. Fuck.

“Well, I guess you shouldn’t be throwing stones about anyone’s intelligence tonight, huh B?” Raja teased.

“Shut up,” Bianca sighed. She decided to try Adore instead. Maybe her sister would answer.

***

Ramona burst through the elevator doors into the lobby, drenched in red wine, burst into the lobby shrieking like a madwoman, followed by a giggling Sonja, being supported by Courtney, and trailed by Adore, Alaska and Jinkx.

“Who does that little B.I. think she is?!”

“What’s a B.I.?” Alaska asked Jinkx.

“I think she means ‘bitch.’”

“I was trying to help her! And her little posse of nobodies! And she calls me old, and FAT!?”

“Ramona, slow down! I don’t understand, what were you even fighting about?!” Courtney asked.

“Apparently your little feud with those models caught up to you, Courtney, and they took it out on me!”

“Feud?! What feud?! Ramonaaaaaaa! Slow DOWN!” Courtney chased her out the door, onto the sidewalk.

Adore answered her phone. “Hey, B, what’s up? Yeah, I’m with her...Well, she’s not answering because she’s currently chasing a crazy blonde woman down the block...What do you mean ‘filming her in a compromising position’? She had her top on…Yeah, I’ll make sure she gets home safely….Calm down, mom.”

Jinkx laughed. “Your sister is too much.”

***

“You realise I’m not a professional, right?”

“What? Really”

Violet smiled at Tatianna’s mock surprise, trying not to blush, as she carefully painted each of Tatianna’s nails. This was the longest she had ever touched the other woman, and it felt weird, but also oh so good. It was like her own little secret, a safe place since Violet knew without a shadow of a doubt that Tatianna was completely straight.

“Oh my god, have you checked Insta?” Tati laughed, holding her phone in her free hand. “Can you believe Adore caught Raven’s face?”

“What? Really?” Allison took the phone.

“Remind me to avoid any future housewives-adjacent activities.”

“I will,” Violet said.

“I dunno, I think it’s kind of fun…” Tati mused.

“Wrong answer!” Allison scolded, pinching her on the ass. “If Sutan could see you no-”

“Hey girls.” The girls turned around, and saw Sutan standing in the door, his jacket over his shoulder.

“Sutan!”

“What are you doing?”

“Drinking wine and painting Tatianna’s nails.” Allison smiled sweetly before she moved to make space for Sutan on the couch, the man sitting down. Allison could see on his face that he was burning with curiosity about what had happened at the party, but she also knew that Raja would most likely fill him in on anything he needed to know, the twins never keeping secrets from each other as far as she was aware.

“Do you want a glass?” Allison held up the bottle, and Sutan nodded with a smile, his arm around Violet, all of them soon falling into easy conversation about their christmas plans.

#galactica #au aag verse #rpdr fanfiction #my fics

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