#nor does it help asha's character

[blackfilmmakers]

Am I the only person who doesn’t care about “star boy” from Wish?

He looks like he would be another Jack Frost and would steal screen time away from Asha.

Let's be honest, the moment people found out that the star was going to look like another generic twink white boy, it was already over for Asha

She was already struggling with a lack of personality, and people fawning more over the other generic twink white boy king, but now it's officially over for her

They can easily ignore the fact the human star was supposed to look like her grandfather. All that matters to these people is another tumblr sexyman they can ignore the black girl with

[artist-issues]

Ok, so someone on Disney’s YouTube channel thinks that This Wish sounds similar to God Help The Outcasts and that Asha is like Esmeralda. I’m just thinking, “Uh no, Esmeralda was cooler AND a better person to look up to. Asha is not.” But what do you think?

I haven’t revisited “This Wish” since I saw the movie because I just think it’s not a very good song. So I can’t really compare and contrast it to “God Help the Outcasts” musically.

But story-wise, God Help the Outcasts is Esmeralda specifically asking God to deliver the outcasts in Paris from persecution, because she 1) just experienced the fact that she can’t do anything to help them on her own, and 2) she believes there’s a chance God will actually answer because He was “once an outcast too.”

Contrast that with This Wish; Asha is vaguely singing to the stars, which she does not indicate she believes are actively listening (judging by her surprise when something actually happens at the end of the song.) Asha believes that “the stars are there to guide us.” If anything, she’s not asking for the stars to save the day for her people because she can’t: she’s asking for the stars to point her in a direction so that she can save the day.

I’m beating the dead horse, but God Help the Outcasts is about Esmeralda realizing that love and justice have to come from God, because neither she nor her people have the power to right all the wrongs Frollo is committing. This Wish is about Asha declaring that she’s not too young, she’s right, she’s empowered, and she’s going to do something about Magnifico as soon as she has direction—and it’s supposed to be a declaration of bravery to even make a wish. The point of the song isn’t a cry for help, like God Help the Outcasts is. It’s a declaration of her own power. The refrain is “so I make this wish.” (Against all odds, even if everybody ((two people)) disagree, even if I’m up against ((he hasn’t even done anything directly to you yet)) the king himself, I STILL make this wish because I’m brave and powerful and right) Not, “help me make this wish come true.”

And Esmeralda is a WAY. WAY better character than Asha. You’re right.

Esmeralda is this passionate person who starts the movie off very clearly knowing exactly where the injustice in the world lies. So then the question the audience gets to ask is, “what’s she going to do about it?” She’s going to stand up and call what’s right “right” and what’s wrong “wrong,” even if nobody else will.

Quasimodo doesn’t know where the injustice in the world is until Esmeralda explains it all to him. Phoebus isn’t taking an active, public role in standing up to the injustice in the world until after Esmeralda sets that example for him. Esmeralda is frustrated because she feels like nobody else is going to help her stand up for outcasts. She feels like the world is too dark and too cruel—which is exactly the lie Frollo has Quasimodo believing—but then the turning point literally comes when she asks God for help.

Because Quasimodo hears that. And he’s inspired to help her. And Phoebus, who gave Esmeralda the safety to use the church as a sanctuary in the first place, winds up sacrificing it all to stand up for outcasts. So she’s learning that Frollo isn’t all-powerful and she isn’t the only one who will stand up: the God who made the outcasts is the one really in control of justice. The idea of the movie is that Notre Dame is an object-lesson for what goodness in the world is.

Quasimodo is told it’s his sanctuary from darkness and cruelty, but it’s really being used like a prison, where he can never join the people around him. Esmeralda is also told that it’s like a prison. Phoebus and the priest seem to take Notre Dame for what it actually is: it’s true sanctuary.

You can go there for real justice, not Frollo’s twisted exclusive version. You can go there for real safety, not the dark and perilous hiding place of the gypsies in the court of miracles. When you stand up for what’s right, stand up from there, on top of Notre Dame, not hidden, but where everybody can see, because it’s for everyone—and by “it,” I’m no longer talking about the building of Notre Dame, I’m talking about safety found in God. A real higher power who can actually right the wrongs because He is higher.

I mean, Frollo uses Notre Dame (and religion) like it’s his personal instrument for “justice.” He uses it to hide the evidence of his biggest misdeed. He uses it to keep Quasimodo under his control and afraid. He’s even quoting Scripture (about God “smiting the wicked and plunging them into the fiery pit”) when he goes to kill Esmeralda. But then the literal church itself falls out from under him. Because he’s wrong, he was never really standing on it when he did things in its name. Phoebus doesn’t defeat Frollo in a sword fight. Esmerelda doesn’t outsmart him. Quasimodo doesn’t knock him off the building. Nobody defeats Frollo except an act of God, in the movie. The gargoyle inexplicably breaks out from underneath him, then comes to life angrily and carries him down to hell.

I’m not exaggerating, I’m not using confirmation bias, that’s what happens in the movie.

Anyway. The point of the movie was that there is darkness and cruelty in the world, but it’s God’s world, and He looks out for the outcasts in it, which is what makes it liveable. And Esmeralda is a character who supports that main point like a beautiful, well-crafted pillar.

Asha in no way does that for her own movie’s main point. It’s main point is “you have the power to make your wishes come true, so keep trying.” But like I’ve said ten times before: Even if that main point were not self-obsessed and bad, Asha’s character never supports it. She does not struggle with believing in herself or her own power, she doesn’t give up or struggle with “trying,” and she doesn’t even have a well-defined wish to work toward. She just vaguely wants the bad guy to stop.

Esmeralda has flaws. She has trust issues. She struggles to believe that anybody who isn’t an “outcast” can be good and helpful. She has to be told to ask for help from God; it doesn’t occur to her beforehand. Asha has no flaws. She’s barely a character.

Those are my thoughts.

[xjulixred45x]

WISH: the power of Wishes (RE-IMAGINATION)

okay, I know that many people have already done this, but I want to make my own version of this and above all do my bit for Magnífico Stands (the only salvageable character in the entire movie) and instead of just using the original concepts of the work (which is great) i wanted to mix both the concepts that i liked from the final work and the discarded concepts. we'll see.

First of all, Magnifico would not be the villain, nor would Queen Amaya. Is it simply too much to ask for a king/queen who truly cares about their people in a sincere way and does not want to harm them? although there would be a fixed villain. But I'll leave it for later. Asha and her family remain the same, except that Asha never really considered the stories her father told her about the stars as something real and thought it was another way of referring to the Magnificent King's wishes. which encouraged more fanaticism for him. I think Asha would be more studious, not exactly a book eater, but someone who has many hyper fixations and wants to know absolutely everything about those topics that she is passionate about. which causes some distance between her and boys her age. I mean, his clumsiness is a little more justified (maybe he's even neuro divergent? but I'll leave it ambiguous). Thanks to this and her somewhat more theatrical personality (which we see at the beginning of the movie), Asha participates in various activities to help the inhabitants of Rosas. In this way we would be introduced to the utopian way of life of the kingdom and perhaps even to Asha's few friends. I think that of his group of friends the only relevant ones would be Daliah and MAYBE Simon. Daliah would have a disability that makes her use a crutch (as in one of the old concepts) and she is like a book worm, she and Asha probably met because they had many hyperfixations in common. Simon dreams of being a knight of the kingdom, so he and Asha bond by having similar goals and helping each other achieve them. (Asha and Daliah even help Simón train and encourage him 😭Simon helps Asha get jobs). In general they are a fairly united group. then the main plot of the movie begins, Asha wanting to be Magnífico's apprentice, BUT not because of her Grandpa! But she genuinely wants to use magic to make her family's life easier by being just her and her mother (they're not going to put a 90-year-old man to work) and take better care of them. message about family in your face. The entire At All Costs sequence occurs but with a different context, not only does Magnífico open up to Asha but she also opens up and tells the above, that since her father died she feels that she has to do something to improve the life of her family, take care of them as best you can. generating not only empathy on our part but also on Magnifico. thus becoming his official apprentice. (no, here there is no problem with returning the wishes or anything else, because probably having removed the filling it could be explained in more detail why several dangerous wishes should not be fulfilled.

As an extra fact: I like to think that desires can also disappear on their own when they are fulfilled without the need for Magnifico, simply to give it a little more weight)

Asha and her acquaintances are obviously very happy, and proceed to have certain interactions with Queen Amaya, perhaps just giving more lore about her and Magnifico (God knows we needed it) and even about the founding of Rosas itself and the Magic sistem.

I like to thing wish Sistem of Magic is a mix between The Owl House and Harry Potter.

This would be where the villain would be mentioned for the first time (mention, not appearance), who would be the one who destroyed the Old Village of Magnífico. For now I'll just call him Morgan (like, Morgan Le fay). and then there is the matter of the star. It seems to me that both Magnifico and Asha would be interested in this type of magic to prove ancient myths about stars, so they spend several weeks working on ways to "bring" a star to Magnifico's laboratory. First they study in depth Astronomy, alchemy, traditional magic and then they go to the attempts. **funny sequence of all the failed attempts to lower the star from the sky** I think there would come a time where Asha would even stay the night in the castle to be able to investigate Magnífico's books because her attempts failed and they are both super sleepless. There may even be a cute moment where Asha falls asleep in the castle so Amaya and Magnifico give her a blanket and pillow to make her comfortable (these two are so cute, I can't----) and Magnifico, searching for more books, ends up coming across the forbidden book. the book he took from his old town... that belonged to Morgan. Now, I imagined a whole Dr Jekyll and Ms Hyde-like sequence with this(this was so long i'm sorry) Magnífico tempted to use the book, but as soon as he remembers everything that that same book provoked, what that book TOOK FROM him, it goes away, but he starts to reflect, if it is really good to keep that reminder, that constant nightmare, if he does well. and then (perhaps due to lack of sleep or a materialization of the book) Morgan appears. mocking him, laughing at him, like do you really think you will ever be free from what HE did? from all the damage he caused? He will NEVER be free of it. and Magnifico obviously denies this! Morgan should be dead now, this is just a bad dream. but "Morgan" lets him know that as long as he lives he will always be "there." Magnifico only sees it as all the damage he caused, he lets him know, that when he can completely get rid of his book, there will be no trace of it. That he'll be forgotten. Morgan makes it clear that he will never leave him, THAT HE WILL STAY no matter what he says while he struggles with Magnifico for the book.

AND WHEN MAGNIFICO HAS THE BOOK IN HIS HANDS HE SEE IN HIS REFLECTION THAT HE HAS GREEN EYES WHILE MORGAN SAYS THAT HE WILL BLOOM LONG AFTER HE IS GONE IF HE DECIDES TO FOLLOW HIS PATH (use dangerous magic, the star)... Magnificent knows Morgan well, he needs him to survive, he is a PARASITE, he may not be able to control him, but he will definitely rejoice when he knows that Morgan took his last breath. TRAUMA TIME, "Morgan" showing Magnífico a hallucination of how he destroys 1- the kingdom of roses 2- its inhabitants and 3- AMAYA. f for Magnifico. Magnificent, he's had enough of this, he just curses Morgan one last time, sending him to hell and throwing his book into the fire, which rises above his castle with a green flame... MEANWHILE Asha, still half asleep, settles in as she thinks about her failure with the star again, as she looks out the window at the northern stars, and JUST out of habit, she wishes she wished she could have one of those, so she could help people. and ZASSS! Before she realizes it, a great light appears in the room that almost blinds her and when she regains her composure she is a small creature! What a magic dust! A funny moment that my sister came up with for the inclusion of Star Boy is that Asha gave the star a simple nickname "little guy" and the star decided to change shape back into His kind of human boy😅 In any case, Magnífico hears the confusion and, with his adrenaline high, runs to see Asha and discovers a fucking star boy in his palace. He's shocked, obviously, but now he's much more cautious than before (lack of sleep + ptsd). I think it would take a moment with Amaya to calm down a little, remind him that he is not Morgan and that he would never use magic to hurt its habitants, and to get some sleep (another Amaya moment x Magnifico YEY!) Anyway, Asha, Amaya and Magnifico trying to teach Star boy the basics of human culture while figuring out how exactly it works without being too invasive.

But Star Boy dosen't make it easy, being kind of a knew-it-all(a little arrogant?), messing up some of the tries of Magnífico and Asha of get test material. Things like that.

I don't Even think he knows how frágile humans are at the Start, so it would take a little...incident to make him realize that. But definitely flying dust would be something fun 😝 I think Asha would have several moments with Star Boy showing her the kingdom of Rosas, just trying to use his magic for good and teach him human things.

But at the same time is hard with Someone who's never been with humans before, so when he tries to do something that Asha thinks is "good for the people" Star Boy misunderstand and end up doing something wrong, like grouwing too much the tries to the point the people can't reach them to get fruit, turn the water in ice for fun, etc. Her friends join in! but at the same time I think that some (especially Dalilah) would feel half done by having a new new person in the group (who is literally from another world).

Daliah Even Starts ti believe that Star Boy could be kind of dangerous, specially if she ever sees him mad, he literally is making a disaster without intention, what would happen if he DOES have intention?

But Asha tries to ressur her that Star Boy is not malicous, but just naive, and unexpefienced, and he's trying to learn! Trying to be better.

It would be Even better if Someone endup hurt or Asha almost gets hurt so Star Boy Star to realize, well, MORTALITY, and tries to make up what he did wrong And control better His own Magic. With the proper support ofc. which causes Daliah to distance herself a little while Asha and Star boy have their well-deserved romance (at all cost reprise? at all cost reprise) and Simon continues training hard to be a knight.

Daliah feels insecure around Star Boy, even if he is more careful and empathetic now, she definitely got the impression that his magic is dangerous, but does she feel guilty for distrusting Asha like that, for feeling jealous? so he is going to reflect alone.. That's when he runs into Morgan, probably while on the outskirts of Rosas. and in a certain way when they meet they have some worrying interactions. Morgan gets Daliah to tell him that she feels insecure about her friendship with someone and the whole thing, that she feels like someone is dangerous but they don't believe her, etc. Morgan, with a master's degree in Manipulation, tells her something personal to gain her trust, how he used to be seen as similar to where he came from, how he took refuge and distanced himself from everyone because he didn't fit in, how he had to find his own way of standing out, like her. It sounds like a very Evil Like me moment to me. I mean, Morgan manipulating Dalilah in an emotional moment by being passive aggressive and at the same time being "empathetic." You may even not only try to convince him to see his friends differently, but also his desires. Doesn't that seem archaic to you? Don't you think that having someone who fulfills your desires is something horribly selfish? Like? Are people going to learn if there is no pain involved? (a philosophy...valid, but taken to the extreme) Thanks to this, Daliah begins to hang out with her friends less, but with Star Boy around, they don't realize it at first. Star Boy and Asha do some experiments with their magic for Rosas' benefit, with good results, Magnifico is even being friendlier with him and not as tense. everything seems to be going well... but then Magnifico notices that some wishes have... disappeared. and in the distance, you can see a light on the outskirts of Rosas... a green light... oh no, no no no no- it has to be a mistake- a coincidence- The scene is made where help is sought from the town to find the traitor who stole the wishes, the people are worried, and they are attentive. Asha and Star Boy are confused: why would someone steal the wishes if only Magnifico can fulfill them? There is no way to know who it was? How could he get into the palace? Daliah seems especially distressed, it almost seems like she wants to approach Queen Amaya to tell her something. but at the last moment he decides not to and runs away. Asha and Star Boy get worried and go after her, following her through Rosas until they reach the outskirts of the kingdom. and that's when they see it. Morgan. He has his mirror scepter, Daliah is in front of him, tired from running.

Morgan has several orbs around him, stained and withered, it takes Asha a second to realize they are WISHES. THE LOST WISHES, HE WAS INFECTING THEM..

Now, two possible ways this could end. one attached to the film, another more of my own interpretation. The one attached to the movie is that, Morgan uses his powers augmented by wishes and manages to temporarily absorb Star Boy, and with his powers he manages to keep the entire kingdom of Rosas under his thumb. even Mangifico (maybe controlling it and only true love's kiss can break it?). but Asha, using what Magnifico taught her, manages to make a collective spell to summon the star and thus weaken Morgan, allowing the wishes to leave him and Star Boy using his powers/Magnifico to lock him in the mirror of his scepter. My own interpretation would be that Morgan would rather use people's fears, using their Wishes as a base, infecting them and in a certain way controlling them (and taking away vitality from the people of Rosas). that is the source of the power of evil, fear and ignorance. Then the people of Rosas, seeing that they are all weakened and that the wishes make Morgan stronger, decide to give the remaining wishes to Magnifico and Asha, so that they can recover and be able to face Morgan. Just saying that not only do they not need the physical desire for it to be fulfilled, but they will work to make it happen all together, now the COLLECTIVE desire is to defeat the villain. and thus they manage to give a Power Up to both Asha and Magnifico to fight with Morgan and thus free Star Boy, who similarly ends up locking Morgan in the mirror forever. In the end there is almost no wish left intact, Rosas is a mess, but now they have a new aura of optimism, of desire to try, to work to improve, the people decide to help with their own hands instead of just using magic. There could be a time skip for when Rosas is completely rebuilt, there could be more equity in magical and non-magical users, people no longer depend so much on their desires and work as a team with the few sorcerers there are to make everything better. Asha is Magnifico's official successor, so she is crowned princess of Rosas. while Amaya and Mangifico teach new, younger magic users. Simon is a guard, Dahlia found a way to feel complete in her own way (maybe working with Asha's mom) Star Boy and Asha together, as well as Amaya and Magnifico. In general the message would be that there are dreams that are selfish and that can lead to destruction, that should not be pursued. While there are dreams that are sincere but you have to work for them, everything you can, even if you need help to fulfill them, it is up to YOU to make it happen. and like that, this story is over. END

Shares, reglogs and comments are very welcome!

This was by long shot the LARGEST work i Ever done, but i hope You guys like it.

[oh-shtars]

Hi! I know you can’t draw right now, but if you wanted to do something to share your story without hurting your hand, I have an idea!

(Don’t, I mean DON’T take it if this distracts from your motivation to finish your outline. Take that high and ride it! After it’s tapered off a bit, then take a look at this 👍)

So! My idea— go to Pinterest and find a few, maybe three to five, pins that you think represent the character dynamics and relationships of your story. I know you had one like “ship dynamics I go rabid for” for Ashueño, so here’s your opportunity to find more! Maybe some for Grand Despair as well, maybe some for the seven teens, whatever you find that you think works for your story!

YAYYYY!!!

Thanks so MUCH Bo! I LOVED this idea and it was actually pretty fun AND helpful to be looking through the dynamics I could have with the RFTS!cast! Whether platonic or romantic, they’re starting to grow on me and I hope y’all do as well. ^^

Note: They might be subject to change in the future. We’ll see. But so far, I think this is what I have in my head for now.

I DON’T own the art below from here. I got all these from Pinterest soooo, credits to the owners. Please remember that I’m not referring to the canon movie when sharing these dynamics. The RFTS!AU is a whole seperate thing from it.

Now let’s get to it! (This is going to be a loooooooong read :)

RFTS!Character Dynamics!

1.) Flazino and Asha

Fun Fact: I know I may not mention Flazino much (Yes, he exists), I think this is the first post I’ve ever actually properly mentioned him. BUT did you know that his relationship with Asha is one of my favourites? ✨✨ Believe it or not, I honestly like the concept idea of Flazino x Asha buuuut I like them as I have them now currently.

For context, Flazino works as the kingdom’s royal announcer AND tour guide. He’s well known and friendly with people with a huge little secret. He’s a guy who’s silently disagreeing with the king’s wish-granting process and secretly learning more in his interest in magic-casting. (Something that’s forbidden other than the king and queen btw.)

Meeting Asha, Flazino found someone else he could confide in and sigh in relief that he’s not crazy with his doubts. Meanwhile, Asha is encouraged to at least take one step forward. To be a tad more confident in taking action. (Since she’s the king’s assistant and could possibly be the only one who’s close enough to suggest some changes because Mag wouldn’t even bat an eye at his direction. In Flazi’s eyes at least...)

I love them. I think of “The Other Side” scene in the Greatest Showman when thinking about them :))

Plus, another funny scenario in my head that when they first actually have a real conversation, Flazino is surprised she doesn’t know who he is. Most of the kingdom does as he is the public announcer or the ‘hard-to-miss’ outgoing tour guide. Asha, who’s often in her own little world in her head and an absolute wallflower, just maybe remembers him as some guy she must’ve passed a minute or two ago.

They got close mostly due to Flazino. (Asha never would have the initiative to really talk to new people otherwise.) In her view, she admires him. Flazino’s basically the person she only wished she could be. Confident. Keeps to their word. Proactive. Unfortunately, she doesn’t think that would happen any time soon. Totally…

Flazi, who’s a magic enthusiast, is a tiny jealous that Asha gets to be near and witness Magnifico’s sorcerer magic up-close. Sometimes, he brings it up and ask “Hey! How was your new job with the king?” and she’s like:

But hey! This is their lovely dynamic! They’re not just friends. Nor are they lovers. They’re the secret third option. Lmao. They don’t really have a label for what they are but plenty of people assume they’re a thing. (They’re not. The misunderstandings and their attempts at explaining are terribly awkward 😅) Their relationship is a little rocky since Flazino tends to be a little too pushy. With Asha’s initial shy and people-pleaser attitude at first, Flazi is unaware of how he unintentionally fails to listen to Asha’s side of the story and her worries. Just like everyone else but in a different way…

But he really does mean no harm in anything he does and ultimately, these two are really close! X3 (Let me know what you think of this introduction to RFTS!Flazino.)

……���…

2.) Safi x Dario

Oh look! It’s me with a pretty unique ship! (Note again that this is all just an AU. The dynamics within Asha’s friend group in the movie we got is almost blank anyways so I don’t really care how people choose to interpret it. This is just me.)

Hehe, Safi was sort of pining way back then. Dari was one of the few people who don’t find his allergies annoying or leave whenever he gets into a sneezy fit. I meaaaaaaan, his other 5 friends don’t as well, but Safi can tell they still find his allergies a little bit of an inconvenience, especially when he clumsily tries to help. Often leading into a mess. But neither side ever holds it against the other.

Dario specifically doesn’t mind the messes at all. Or even…notice it in the first place.

Plus, they share an interest in bird-watching and just birds! in general. It’s especially chickens in Safi’s case while Dario tends to get distracted watching some birds fly past.

Another thing they bond about is how they could relate to people getting frustrated with them despite how they’re trying. With Safi’s allergies getting in the way often and Dari’s hard-of-hearing making it difficult to communicate sometimes. It’s a nice change of pace to have someone who wouldn’t bring it up in frustration or anything.

So hopefully you can see why they grew fond over time. ;)

………

3.) Asha x Star (Hopes and Dreams)

Yes. I called him Star at this point in the story. He hasn’t been given the name, Sueño, yet.

This is sort of their dynamic in their first few times getting to know each other. Asha wanting to help Rosas find an alternative way to reach and achieve their wishes without Mag’s intervention while Star is just: “Ffffffffine. I don’t see why they’d need more wishes but whatever.”

Of course, these two are going to develop and understand the other more over time. Into something a whole lot more and that neither ever expected~ 💖

………

4.) Magnifico x Amaya (Grand Despair)

Lol, I like to think that a lot of people underestimate Amaya even back when they were younger. “Oooh~ she’s actually kind of fcked up too.”

I already mentioned before that the tragic fate this couple is going is similar to Phineas and Charity’s relationship from the Greatest Showman. The pursuit for something else causing one of them to slowly drift away from the other buuuut…. let’s not talk about that for now.

Anyways usually, Magnifico does act all royal, grand and confident but let’s face it man. We all know you have a certain weakness you fckin simp. (Dammit, why don’t you let her know you still adore her anymore these days? Hmm?)

(Sueño watching this scary, short-tempered guy turn into a pathetic loser around his wife is just…wow. So that’s love? He almost hopes he doesn’t fall in- OH WAIT-)

………..

5.) Gabo and Dario

I really feel like there’s much wasted potential between interactions with these two. Come on! It’s Grumpy and Dopey!! Think of the comedic potential-

Anyways, I read somewhere that Gabo is just someone who’s been disappointed greatly and it’s why he’s so pessimistic. So I’m taking that one of his family members passed without having a chance to get a single dream granted and now he’s all pissy with people. It’s Gabo’s main thing that no one should’ve underwent injustice like having a promise they trusted to be broken just like that. Especially not his own.

Dario’s main trait is patience and that’s pretty much how he is around Gabo. Whether he’s amazingly tolerant of him OR whether he really couldn’t read the social cues, no one knows. But these two eventually become very good friends. The “He’s an idiot. But I guesss he’s my idiot.” kind of friendship.

Gabo would never really admit it directly or out loud but he truly does care for each one he considers a friend. Yes, Dario may forget which side is left or right but if you so as much talk sht about him, get ready to be taking some sht back.

……..

6.) Safi and Bazeema

These two are rarely ever seen apart to the point where people thought they were siblings. Bazeema is very compassionate and her favourite part about Safi is how he is always straight-up honest with himself even if it’s embarrassing. (She doesn’t like it when people put up a mask and leave her guessing in what they want from her.) Safi also tries to be selfless and help out whenever she’s struggling about speaking out louder or if she went non-verbal for a bit.

Safi also tends to be impulsive and may let out some stuff he’s not supposed to let anyone know but he can always count on her to not tell a soul. Meanwhile, Bazeema is really quick and agile so she can efficiently move to help Safi out in any of his clumsy accidents. They’re a working power-duo! :DD

……….. 7.) Bazeema and Hal

Romantic or platonic in whatever universe. I don’t care. They’re in a QPR in the RFTS!AU fellas and they balance each other out very nicely and are just adorable. Along with Safi, Hal helps in easing Bazeema out whenever she’s overthinking something. They’re like the two main people who best understand her.

But Hal specifically brings a little more zest into her life that Bazeema can’t help but develop a ‘squish’ on.

………… 8.) Valentino and Asha

Self-explanatory. This is Asha’s chaotic son who will head-butt people for her no matter how big or small the target is. She loves him very much regardless.

…………

9.) Simon x Dahlia

Awwww, these two are kind of like the parents of the group and are just concerned for everyone’s safety. They’re also both struggling internally with family-related issues of what’s expected for them.

Simon to make his father proud by finally proving that he earned it to be knighted while Dahlia is biting her tongue from any complaints about her royal baker role so she can preserve her family’s honour. (Despite getting her wish granted of being good at baking, Dahlia still feels empty inside and she thinks it’s because she’s being ungrateful. Which she feels guilty about.)

Both keep reassuring the other that what they’re doing is more than enough. But Simon keeps feeling like he isn’t exerting himself more while Dahlia can’t help but feel like a fraud in her predicament. (It’s not even any of their faults…It’s not their fault they didn’t know the consequences of giving away their wishes….😭😭)

They’re basically an unofficial couple that even THEY aren’t aware of because it just happened naturally. They’re each other’s backbone :))

……….

10.) Aaaaaand to top it all off, here’s my very favourite dynamic out of them all :)

Hehehehehehehehe…….

[asongoficeandthrones]

A Clash of Kings First Read - Chapter 24

(POV: Theon II.)

Setting: Pyke (Balon Greyjoy et al).

Favorite character: Asha. Asha. Asha. I really liked how she kinda manipulated Theon, leading him to believe she was just the shipwright's wife, and how she then shamelessly mocked him when he found out the truth: "I wanted to see who you were first. And I did." She gave him a mocking half bow. I mean, Theon deserved to be put down from his high horse a little. But I also liked how she helped him at the end of the chapter, because "Theon leaned on her shoulder" made me think they could move past this and become closer. (And she's badass. I mean, that trick with the axe...)

MVP: Balon Greyjoy (or the Greyjoys in general, since he apparently won't be in the attack?). I mean I hate his plan because I love the North, but he's gonna really change things around if he's actually able to take and hold the holdfasts of the North...

Things I loved/liked:

The whole back-and-forth between Theon and "Esgred" (aka Asha). There's some golden (and rather vulgar) gems in there, such as Asha's "Oh, is it love we're talking now? And here I thought it was just cocks and cunts."

The fact that the Esgred = Asha reveal was artfully made. I mean, there were actually lots of hints beforehand, with for example: Ironmen did not bend their knees often nor easily, but Theon noted that oarsmen and townfolk alike grew quiet as they passed, and acknowledged him with respectful bows of the head, or: When Wex saw Esgred, his eyes went round. It's even more so because we're in Theon's head, and so he thinks all these gestures are for him when they're actually (I think) for Asha. But really, I actually empathize with Theon and his "reality-hits-him-in-the-face" moment.

I still don't like Theon, but I do pity him. This sentence made me feel really bad for him: Half my life I have waited to come home, and for what? Mockery and disregard? I think it kinda adds a layer to him and it could make his character more than the jerk he is right now, once he realizes his family are complete douchebags to him. Maybe (hopefully) he'll go back to the Starks?

Things I disliked/hated:

The overuse of "c*ck" and "c*nt" (not that I'm surprised, though). Oh, and Theon's obsession with drinking breast milk??

The fact that Asha let Theon grope her and groped him back, knowing that he was her brother, is kinda (read: a lot) disturbing. I like the fact that she manipulated him in that way, but I would've done without the physical aspect of it.

Balon's attitude towards his son. "When I require your counsel I shall ask for it." I mean, really? He does realize his son could just as well go back to the Starks for all the humiliation he's putting him through, right? Even more so with Theon's thoughts earlier in the chapter: It was fighters he wanted, and men who would be loyal to him, not to his lord father or his uncles. Not that he'll actually find those (or maybe he will), but still...

Balon's plan as a whole. Because if it works, Robb and the whole North (considering the culture of the Iron Islanders) are screwed.

Quotes: "If you had troubled to learn the first thing of Sigrin, I could never have fooled you. Ten years a wolf, and you land here and think to prince about the islands, but you know nothing and no one. Why should men fight and die for you?", because yeah, Asha is harsh, but she's also entirely right.

Thoughts overall: Wow, talk about a big reveal!

[annymation]

Hi there! I recently watched Wish(thanks to my family) and I just wanna say, watching it really made me love your story more. I felt absolutely NOTHING in that movie and I could care less about any of the characters, least of all Star.

Compared to Aster and Star, Star was there as a mere plot relevance while Aster felt real and was more than "wishing star assistant" because he had an actual ARC.

And canon!Asha was just selfish because she wanted only her GRANDFATHER and MOTHER's Wish, not to free the kingdom from Magnifico, to get their Wish. That was her original goal. While your Asha actually had a goal, a character arc, and showed her GROWTH. I never supported canon!Asha, nor did I care about her.

I have been watching Disney ever since I was little, and this is the ONLY one that not only felt soulless, but wasn't entertaining. I have watched bad movies and said they were entertaining(Mulan 2, Chicken Little), Wish was straight up soulless and not entertaining.

So once again, thank you so, so much for your story because it helps me drown out the canon and kick it off the cliff. You made me care about Aster, Asha, the villains, the 7 TEENS, all of it. You made me care about your fic than the movie ever did within an hour.

And a fun side note, one of my family members made a hilarious comparison, and now I want everyone to see it and never be erased.

"Hoo-hoo!"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHSHFHJSHFHDH

They said he looks like a younger version of him! This comparison will always live rent free in my head, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Thank you so much! It makes me so happy to know people are connecting with this story so much!

Also yeah, I have A LOOOOT of problems with movie Asha, and the way they handled her motivations in the movie. She had so much potential and was placed in such a unique position for a Disney protagonist, as a young girl fighting a corrupt system, but they didn't make the system corrupt enough nor made her cause enjoyable to follow!

I’m really proud with what I did with the 7 teens, I love them so much, they're Asha's squad.

And yeah Simon does look like him lmao, though I also thought Simon looks like Wreck It Ralph

[writingaboutdisney]

This will get long, so I decided to reblog instead of just comment. Because I disagree with pretty much every point up there. Also, under a readmore because of how long it is. I'm sorry to subject you to this lol.

There's certain things that I think are a matter of opinion. That means that even if the youtubers are backing it up with facts, what they're saying won't apply to everyone, but it's still a valid criticism for others. Especially without more details to some of your points, it's hard to get into specifics. That's why I was just focusing on the box office numbers, and that even though the critics don't like it, most of the audience does.

I'm not going to cover every point. Some of these I'm curious about, some I can chock up to differences of opinion. So like, Valentino being annoying? If you don't like the goofy side kick type characters, yeah you'll probably find him annoying. But if you do like, say, Olaf, you'll personally enjoy him. I actually found him to be less annoying than Olaf, personally.

Other points that fall into the "Depends on a person's tastes in film" category would include the music being okay at best, too many references to old movies, and the animation style being lackluster (Which i'll still bring up later because there is some more to talk about with this imo.)

As for what I'm curious about, why is Asha considered boring? I've seen some criticism for her, mainly people thinking she's "adorkable," but I haven't heard her called boring yet.

I have seen more criticism for Magnifico being "boring." I think he's a lot more complex of a villain than a lot of people give him credit for. In fact, I'd argue he's the most complex villain we've ever got in Disney. We see he has a tragic backstory, and we see how that might influence his actions, but it also does not excuse them. He's not trying to grab power for power's sake, nor is he redeemable just because he has understandable motives. It's a rather fresh take on a villain that I was excited to see. But a lot of people seem to miss this about his character and not understand his character arc, which is why I think they find him boring.

Which leads me to the point about them sacrificing story for easter eggs. I will say this, the story felt a bit rushed. But, if you watch older Disney movies, like Snow White, Sleeping beauty, etc, they feel slightly rushed too. They're shorter. Yet, they can fit the entire story into the movie, and while you're left saying we should have had more ... did we really NEED it for the story to work? And I'd argue, no. Wish is able to give us enough details about the characters that the story holds up and can be followed. Extra run time to explore things further would have been nice, but it isn't needed. It goes back to some of their old habits of storytelling, where objects in the background can help tell us about a character, lighting in a scene can help set the mood, etc. It's a more subtle method of storytelling. And it may not be everyone's favorite, but that doesn't mean they did a bad job. They were just doing something different than what they've done in their recent movies. I enjoyed it, because I like the older Disney movies. It may not be for everyone, but that doesn't make it terrible.

I also didn't find Amaya to be useless. She was an interesting character in her own right. She helps the heroes take on Magnifico. She's someone in power who sees how things are going poorly and is there to support her people, which contrasts nicely with her husband as he goes off the deep end. She helps Dahlia get access to the magic book she needs to research how to defeat Magnifico. At the end of the movie, she's the one with experience ruling the kingdom who can help everyone heal after what happened. I won't say she has the biggest role in the movie, but she's certainly not just sitting in the background serving no purpose.

As for the magic system, this is the point i'm closest to agreeing with. I don't think the plot holes are too big to be excused, however, because things feel a bit rushed, some things pop up in the middle of the story when it would've been nice to know them before. For example, Magnifico is the only person allowed to use magic in Rosas, and that's not something I realized until the middle of the movie. Other forms of magic are illegal. It kind of came out of nowhere, but it does fit with his personality and the world itself, so again, it wasn't such a big plot hole that it was inexcusable. I'm not sure what other plot holes people are talking about when it comes to magic, but if you give me an example I could give you my thoughts on it.

Star was not only made for merchandising. That is actually just ... blatantly untrue. Star was always meant to be in the movie long before he was the small, adorable, merchandisable thing we ended up with. I have the art book and I could show you some pictures later if you like, but they went through a lot of different design options for him before finally landing on the one they picked. A lot of them are far less cute, some have him looking human, some more like Jiminy Cricket. That's who he was inspired by btw, he's supposed to be a guide for Asha like Jiminy was for Pinocchio. And he does work in that compacity. He contributes a lot to the story. The story wouldn't exist in anywhere near the same way without him. So I'm not sure why people are saying he's just for merchandising.

As for the animation ... like I said, i got the artbook. And while it's an opinion on whether you find it to be better or worse than other movies coming out, I do know the team put a lot into this. This is Disney's first stylized CGI movie. It's the first time they've blended 2d and 3d animation into one medium like this. I'm not saying it's everyone's cup of tea, or it's perfect, but I do feel like people are being extremely hard on it. Again, if it's not your thing, that's okay. This is just a point I disagree with and I personally find the animation to be beautiful. I'm really glad we got something that wasn't the giant heads and eyes we've been getting ever since Tangled lol. I think this was a step in the right direction animation wise.

As for the teens, I don't really see it as overcrowding. THis might also be a personal opinion I suppose? But they're based off the seven dwarfs from Snow White, and just like Snow White, while they do play a role, they're side characters. They're not meant to steal the show. THey're meant to be Asha's friend group who helps her out when she needs it. I thought they struck a nice balance of giving them unique personalities while still making sure they didn't take up too much time since the movie was about Asha. But maybe that's just me.

TLDR: I think a lot of people are taking personal preferences and using that to say the movie is a bad movie in general, when really it was just a bad movie for them personally.

So Wish came out...

I haven't seen it, but with so many videos on why it's terrible, I'm starting to hear some of the same stuff pop up.

Music is okay at best. Lyric pacing is terrible.

Too many references to old movies, not enough attention to the story.

Asha is a boring character.

Overcrowding. Having the seven dwarves as Asha's allies made for seven characters with no real purpose.

Magnifico is a boring villain. Which is a shame, cause as someone who has no intention of seeing the film, he seems like he's the most interesting character.

The queen has literally no purpose whatsoever.

The magic system is never clearly defined and creates plot holes too big to excuse.

Valentino is annoying.

Star was only made for merchandizing purposes.

Animation style is lackluster compared to other movies made by other studios coming out today.

Honestly, I worry that this is going to become one of those cases where "bad press is good press". So many people are talking about the film, and the people who made the videos obviously went to the theater to see it. I hate to contribute to that, but I felt like summing it up. I doubt Wish is going to make the same comeback as Elemental did, but who knows? Even if it starts making more money in the box office, I don't see its ratings going up.

[aboveallarescuer]

I know you've gotten anons about the YMBQ prophecy recently but I was wondering in what context could it be obvious for the reader that Daenerys is the YMBQ if Cersei is most likely to die or leave KL once Aegon arrives and not Daenerys. Even if Daenerys takes KL later on wouldn't he technically be the one to take all she holds dear (her power as regent)?

First of all, Anon, I think it’s interesting that you say that Young Griff (rather than Arianne) would take all that Cersei holds dear in this hypothetical scenario (that most people assume will come to pass). asoiaf tumblr fandom loved (loves?) to take for granted that Arianne would be YMBQ (after all, it was/is taken for granted that she would marry Young Griff and become his queen consort) years ago. At the same time, though, I’m not sure if you’re implying that Young Griff might actually be the one to fulfill the YMB(Q) prophecy in this ask. I actually saw this theory before. So I’m going to make counterarguments to this theory first and then address your question about how and when Dany might be revealed as the YMBQ (and if that’s what you were specifically looking for, just skip to the end, though you might be disappointed by the fact that I'm not really providing definitive answers because I have a lot of doubts myself).

In a way, it makes more sense for Young Griff to fulfill the prophecy rather than Arianne. Let’s remember what Cersei wants the most, which is shown in the beginning of her very first chapter:

She dreamt she sat the Iron Throne, high above them all. (AFFC Cersei I)

Unfortunately for Cersei, she can’t ever actually sit the Iron Throne, which is pointed out several times:

Cersei shifted in her seat as he went on, wondering how long she must endure his hectoring. Behind her loomed the Iron Throne, its barbs and blades throwing twisted shadows across the floor. Only the king or his Hand could sit upon the throne itself. Cersei sat by its foot, in a seat of gilded wood piled with crimson cushions. (AFFC Cersei V)

~

Seated on her gold-and-crimson high seat beneath the Iron Throne, Cersei could feel a growing tightness in her neck. (AFFC Cersei VII)

~

Cersei sat beneath the Iron Throne, clad in green silk and golden lace. (AFFC Cersei X)

As the first quote states, only the king or the Hand can sit the Iron Throne, which is what Cersei wants the most, since, to her, it symbolizes almost unlimited power ("high above them all"). Indeed, I would argue that what Cersei holds dear is the chance to reign supreme (“The rule was hers; Cersei did not mean to give it up until Tommen came of age. [...] If Margaery Tyrell thinks to cheat me of my hour in the sun, she had bloody well think again.”), not “her power as regent” (as you put it), which is limited by nature. After all, the king’s wife and mother can’t sit the Iron Throne. This means three things to me:

Queen consorts like Margaery or Arianne (if she actually marries Young Griff, which is far from certain) can’t take all that Cersei holds dear.

Queens claiming power in their own right but who have no claim to the Iron Throne are excluded too. In other words, Asha or QitN!Sansa (another fan theory that’s far from certain and that’s accepted as future canon) can’t take all that Cersei holds dear.

Only a she-king (that is, a queen regnant) with a claim to the Iron Throne can take all that Cersei holds dear - that’s Dany.

But then, we have Young Griff. He is a king with a claim to the Iron Throne, so he could, in theory, take what Cersei holds dear and fulfill the prophecy. However, I find that very unlikely for a number of reasons:

GRRM doesn’t highlight men’s physical appearances or objectify them in the same way that he does with women, as a lot of people have already criticized him for. He makes a point of mentioning women’s accomplishments along with overpraise for their physical appearances (though one might be generous and chalk that up to social commentary about how their society objectifies women instead of giving them their due praise for what they do). He encourages his fans to speculate about who is the YMB(Q) and pit his female characters against each other based on their physical appearances (e.g., people have criticized how Sansa stans often mention the number of times the word “beautiful” appears in Sansa’s chapters to back up their belief that she’s the YMB(Q), but the way GRRM himself wrote the prophecy lends itself to this sort of analysis) because he uses certain tropes uncritically. He portrays fat women negatively in comparison to thin women (see: Cersei (who’s said to be gaining weight throughout AFFC as she becomes more unstable) vs Dany, Lysa vs Cat, Barba Bracken vs Melissa Blackwood, arguably Rhaenyra vs Alicent). He takes an almost voyeuristic pleasure in describing women’s bodies and women having sex with women (see how Dany and Irri’s or Cersei and Taena’s sexual encounters don’t give any depth to Dany’s, Irri’s and Taena’s characters and, as far as I can tell, are mostly written to fetishize them). Consider, for instance, how 13- to 16-year-old Dany is the most sexualized character of the book series, while I’m not even sure if her male counterpart Jon is supposed to be considered attractive or not (on the one hand, he’s attracted women like Ygritte and Val; on the other hand, he’s meant to look a lot like Ned, who’s regarded as plain in appearance, especially in comparison to the hot-blooded Brandon). All of this is to say that I doubt that a man will fulfill a prophecy that remarks upon the person’s physical appearance (“younger and more beautiful”). Considering GRRM’s writing problems, a woman is much more likely to do so.

Young Griff is supposed to represent a lesser version of Dany (note that I’m talking about Young Griff as a fictional character, not as a person). After all, unlike Dany, Young Griff didn’t get to have lived experience of poverty, he didn’t get to have his skills tested, he didn’t get to apply the lessons he learned along the way, he didn’t get to take action and make mistakes and gain valuable experience and wisdom, he didn’t get to choose to stay in Slaver’s Bay solely to help marginalized people who aren’t connected to him by neither blood nor lands (which would emphasize how he doesn’t view his birthright merely as something owed to him, but rather as a means to “protect the ones who can’t protect themselves”). He could have had this sort of character development if GRRM wanted him to, but he has a different role in the narrative: he’s a tertiary character who we’re not meant to know all that much as a person or about how he would fare as king because he serves as a foil to Dany. With all of that in mind, what would be the point of having this minor character, who was introduced in the fifth book of a seven-book series, fulfill this prophecy rather than the one protagonist who the author said was deliberately written as Cersei’s foil multiple times (more on that below)?

Which brings me to a point that @rainhadaenerys made in our upcoming Dany/Cersei meta... Cersei views women with contempt because she thinks that they can only attain political influence with “tears” and with what’s “between [their] legs” (as she tells Sansa). This informs why, for example, she projects the unfounded idea that a widow must have lovers on Margaery or why she herself uses money and sex to keep her men loyal (which ultimately backfires on her). Unfortunately, it’s true that “[Cersei’s] strength relies on her beauty, birth and riches”. Because of her internalized misogyny, Cersei can’t conceive of a woman who might rise to power primarily because of her intelligence and shrewdness… Except that there is a woman who successfully conquered three cities and ruled the third and freed thousands of slaves relying primarily on her actual wit, political savviness and leadership skills rather than on sex, birthright or money… Dany. Dany is the competent, selfless ruler who could overcome many of the patriarchal limitations that Cersei couldn’t (hence why Cersei is a tragic figure). If Young Griff were to be the YMB(Q), he would simply be one of the many men (along with Robert, her brother, her father and the other Hands) who Cersei thinks wronged her and prevented her from staying in power. If Daenerys were to be the YMBQ, she would challenge Cersei’s toxic beliefs about women, which prevented Cersei from even imagining that a she-king might be the one foreshadowed to defeat her or that a woman (that isn’t her, of course) could actually be able to earn her accomplishments (just like she can’t imagine that Jaime might actually betray and kill her). Now, someone might argue that GRRM is not “woke” enough to do this, but I would disagree in this particular case. There are valid critiques to be made about how he wrote his female characters (I’ve made some points myself on the first item), but it’s still true that Dany’s character arc was written with awareness of how her gender affects her experiences. If that hadn’t been the case, AGOT wouldn’t have initially set up several men (Viserys, Rhaego, Drogo) to be claimant to the Iron Throne/SWMTW/the protagonist only to reveal that these roles are actually meant to be fulfilled by Dany, a woman. If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have had Maester Aemon acknowledge that “no one had ever looked for a girl” when they pondered on who might be AA/PTWP. So I don’t put it past GRRM to make Dany the YMBQ as a way of challenging Cersei’s entire worldview.

Indeed, I actually think that’s likely to be what he’ll write. GRRM has stated multiple times that Dany and Cersei are meant to be compared and contrasted because they were consciously written by him (specially in AFFC/ADWD) as narrative foils:

George regrets that Cersei and Dany will not be contrasted directly. (x)

~

His biggest lament in splitting A Feast for Crows from A Dance with Dragons is the parallels he was drawing between Circe and Daenerys. (x)

~

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

~

While discussing how he writes his female characters, he also mentioned that splitting the books as he did this time meant we didn't get the parallel between how Danaerys and Cersei both approach the task of leadership, which is a bit of a shame. (x)

~

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

I think Young Griff as the YMB(Q) is very, very unlikely. If it’s not Dany, then I think Brienne (who at least is a viewpoint character that we know intimately) as the YMBQ (though I doubt it because she can only take Jaime away from Cersei and, as we saw in AFFC, Cersei was willing to separate herself from Jaime once she realized that he would question and disagree with her decisions and, in her mind, threaten her influence and power, i.e., what she wants the most) or even Cersei herself (the basis of this theory is that a younger Cersei caused her own downfall by making the choices she made. It’s not impossible considering that Cersei’s unreliable viewpoint prevents her from ever taking responsibility for her actions. Still, I think it’s unlikely because she’s been positioned as a passive participant in these prophecies - someone/some people kills her children, some person takes away everything she holds dear, some person murders her. Just like there’s a valonqar to kill Cersei, I think there’ll be a YMBQ to defeat her) are more plausible candidates. However, as I said in previous answers, Dany and Cersei have lots of clearly intended parallels and anti parallels (hence why GRRM mentioned them at least five times publicly) that people don’t often appreciate (but that I don’t want to mention here because I’m saving them for edits and that long meta). I find it hard to believe that GRRM would lay all this groundwork to contrast these two queens only to reveal that a minor character is the actual YMB(Q).

Now, the question about “in what context could it be obvious for the reader that Daenerys is the YMBQ” is difficult because, IMO, I don’t feel like there’s enough information to give you a reliable answer. First, let’s recap the most common theories, which, while I don’t think should be accepted as canon just yet, are popular for logical reasons. Here’s what GRRM said about the future events in the initial outline and interviews:

While the lion of Lannister and the direwolf of Stark snarl and scrap, however, a second and greater threat takes shape across the narrow sea, where the Dothraki horselords mass their barbarian hordes for a great invasion of the Seven Kingdoms, led by the fierce and beautiful Daenerys Stormborn, the last of the Targaryen dragonlords. The Dothraki invasion will be the central story of my second volume, A Dance with Dragons. (x)

~

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

~

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

~

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

~

“Well, Tyrion and Dany will intersect, in a way, but for much of the book they’re still apart,” he says. “They both have quite large roles to play here. Tyrion has decided that he actually would like to live, for one thing, which he wasn’t entirely sure of during the last book, and he’s now working toward that end—if he can survive the battle that’s breaking out all around him. And Dany has embraced her heritage as a Targaryen and embraced the Targaryen words. So they’re both coming home.” (x)

GRRM’s words seem to indicate that Dany will go to Dragonstone ("they're both coming home") and then King’s Landing in her campaign to take back the Seven Kingdoms before she goes to the Wall to fight against the Others.

And it is quite possible that she will clash with Young Griff. For one:

Hi, short question. Will we find out more about the Dance of the Dragons in future books?

The first dance or the second?

The second will be the subject of a book. The first will be mentioned from time to time, I'm sure. (x)

For two:

"It is dragons."

"Dragons?" said her mother. "Teora, don't be mad."

"I'm not. They're coming."

"How could you possibly know that?" her sister asked, with a note of scorn in her voice. "One of your little dreams?"

Teora gave a tiny nod, chin trembling. "They were dancing. In my dream. And everywhere the dragons danced the people died." (TWOW Arianne I)

For three:

Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire ... mother of dragons, slayer of lies … (ACOK Daenerys IV)

Now, here are my observations/questions/doubts:

The “cloth dragon” receiving a round of cheers from the crowd seems to indicate that a) Tommen will indeed fall from power when Young Griff (who’s already in Westeros almost ready to attack) invades King’s Landing and that b) Young Griff will inspire love from the population.

The more obvious possibility is that the second dance of dragons refers to a Dany versus Young Griff confrontation, especially since she’s prophesied to slay the lie that he represents (that he’s not Rhaegar Targaryen's son, but actually Illyrio’s son and a Blackfyre). However, since Victarion is currently in Meereen with a dragonbinder, it’s very likely that Dany will lose control of one of her dragons to a Greyjoy (either Victarion or Euron Greyjoy himself) and then will arrive in Westeros with only two of her three dragons. Or maybe Euron will use one of the dragons to attack Young Griff and that will be the second dance (though I find that unlikely since, again, Dany is prophesied to slay Young Griff’s lie). Or the second dance could actually refer to Dany versus Euron.

There are alternative speculations to consider. Right now, the consensus in the Dany fandom seems to be that there’s already too much in Dany’s plate for her (uniting all the khalasars and being hailed as the SWMTW; going back to Meereen; meeting Tyrion, Jorah, Moqorro and other characters; maybe going to Yunkai; going to Volantis; etc) to go to King’s Landing, which led to people assuming that only Cersei and JonCon will be involved in the city’s burning. It’s even theorized that Dany might actually skip King’s Landing and go to the Wall instead. These theories make a lot of sense and aren’t implausible, but it’s hard to reconcile them with GRRM’s initial intention with Dany (though it’s also been argued that he may have given part of her initial role to Young Griff). Additionally, I don’t think timeline issues are necessarily a guarantee of what GRRM will do with Dany. He made Tyrion travel much faster than reasonable back in AGOT to have him meet Catelyn in the inn at the crossroads and to be taken captive by her. So I wouldn't put it past GRRM to do something similar with Dany by having her arrive earlier in King’s Landing than she reasonably would just because he wants it to happen. And, as much as I don’t want it to happen and even though I criticized the theory before, I don’t think it’s impossible (though it’s not guaranteed either) for Dany to be accidentally involved in the burning of King’s Landing (though there is a recent counter-theory to that as well).

Re: Cersei, a lot of people tend to assume that she’s going to die when Young Griff takes King’s Landing, but I am not really sure. I do think that her parallels with Aerys II will pay off and reflect her ending. But that doesn’t prevent Cersei from surviving Young Griff’s invasion and meeting Dany later. Cersei could escape to Casterly Rock and they could meet there. Or Cersei could later attempt to retake the capital again in another impractical plan of hers, which then leads to King’s Landing burning. I don’t know.

Does Dany have to meet everyone to fulfill these prophecies? I’m not sure. Does Dany necessarily need to meet Young Griff and Stannis to slay their lies? Does she necessarily need to meet Cersei so that the readership finds out that she’s the YMBQ? Will there even be an actual moment that makes it “obvious for the reader that Daenerys is the YMBQ”? I don’t know, Anon. It may end up being up for people’s interpretation. Dany might end up burning the Iron Throne, if the theory about her accidentally burning King’s Landing actually happens. Dany might willingly melt the Iron Throne and install a new form of government that gives the smallfolk more political influence. Both of these possibilities could symbolize the end of Cersei’s desire for absolute power, even if Cersei and Dany don’t actually meet. I’m not even sure that there will be a moment that outright reveals that Dany is AA/PTWP/SWMTW (even though, IMO, the foreshadowing is way too overwhelming for it not to be her).

Speculating about Dany being the YMBQ is fun for me because it requires delving into her characterization, her parallels with Cersei and canon material in general. On the other hand, speculating about how this would actually happen is, IMO, less interesting (though I still enjoy reading what other people have to say) because it’s hard to accurately predict future plot points with the current information that we have (and I resent how fandom already accepts so many theories as unpublished canon). Dany has too many places to be and too many things to do and it’s not certain that she’ll be in King’s Landing when it burns (though I tend to think she will for the aforementioned reasons), the second dance of dragons can refer to different confrontations, it’s not certain that Dany needs to meet Cersei (or Young Griff or Stannis) to fulfill all these prophecies and it’s not certain that Dany is going to be explicitly revealed as the person who fulfills all these prophecies. We still have two books worth of plot development, so I really don’t think it’s possible to predict how the actual events will unfold. Sorry about not being able to give more definitive answers... I actually ended up making more questions. But that's kind of the point for now.

[tatticstudio55]

An excellent example of POV bias we have in Dany’s storyline is Groleo.

Groleo is sent by Illyrio with ships to bring Dany back to Pentos. Dany accepts the ships (it’s either that or go beggar again) but decides that they should be put to other uses. I don’t feel bad for Illyrio, but I feel bad for Groleo. I can’t help it. Groleo got involved more or less against his will in an anti-slavery war, got his ship destroyed so that they could build a ram with the wood, and ended up beheaded by the sons of the Harpy.

It’s not that Dany has malicious intents towards Groleo, or that her reasons for building the ram were bad ones (they weren’t; she took Meereen because the freedmen who followed her would starve to death otherwise) and indeed, she does sympathize with his situation, as well as understand why he’s angry with her:

Groleo had been a most unhappy man since they had broken up his ship to build the siege engines that won Meereen for her. Dany had tried to console him by naming him her lord admiral, but it was a hollow honor; the Meereenese fleet had sailed for Yunkai when Dany's host approached the city, so the old Pentoshi was an admiral without ships. (Dany III, ADWD)

"I am a sailor, not a shipwright. I was sent to fetch Your Grace back to Pentos. Instead you brought us here and tore my Saduleon to pieces for some nails and scraps of wood. I will never see her like again. I may never see my home again, nor my old wife. It was not me who refused the ships this Daxos offered. I cannot fight the Qartheen with fishing boats." His bitterness dismayed her, so much so that Dany found herself wondering if the grizzled Pentoshi could be one of her three betrayers. No, he is only an old man, far from home and sick at heart. "There must be something we can do." (Dany V, ADWD)

But it’s also clear from early on that Groleo’s best interests aren’t Dany’s top priority, and that she, well, may have forgotten that the ship belonged to him, not her:

Captain Groleo was an old Pentoshi like his master, Illyrio Mopatis, and he had been nervous as a maiden about carrying three dragons on his ship. Half a hundred buckets of seawater still hung from the gunwales, in case of fires. At first Groleo had wanted the dragons caged and Dany had consented to put his fears at ease, but their misery was so palpable that she soon changed her mind and insisted they be freed. (Dany I, ASOS)

And because we never get a chapter from Groleo’s POV, this is easily overlooked. Hey, Dany isn’t perfect. I could write a similar post about Arya’s POV bias when she manipulates Hot Pie and Gendry into fleeing Harrenhal with her. Or Bran’s POV bias when he justifies to himself why it’s ok to warg Hodor. Or Asha’s POV bias in Deepwood Motte (the attackers aren’t the intruders; she is). Doesn’t mean that I expect Martin to “pull the rug” on us with any of these characters. Dude, they’re grey like everybody else, and they all have more white than black.

These are examples of POV bias.

This isn’t:

Slaves, Dany thought. Khal Drogo would drive them downriver to one of the towns on Slaver's Bay. She wanted to cry, but she told herself that she must be strong. This is war, this is what it looks like, this is the price of the Iron Throne.

Let’s quote the whole thing:

Behind them, the girl being raped made a heartrending sound, a long sobbing wail that went on and on and on. Dany's hand clenched hard around the reins, and she turned the silver's head. "Make them stop," she commanded Ser Jorah.

"Khaleesi?" The knight sounded perplexed.

"You heard my words," she said. "Stop them." She spoke to her khas in the harsh accents of Dothraki. "Jhogo, Quaro, you will aid Ser Jorah. I want no rape." (Dany VII, AGOT)

 A POV bias is a POV bias, not a court testimony that has no value unless it’s corroborated by 5-6 other witnesses. For God’s sake.

[multisfabulis]

Land’s Trust in Light

Arrival in Thornewind (Chapter 1/6)

Word Count: 4090

Oh, look, a new Corona's Shadow entry that doesn't feature Verreth? That's possible?!

I kid but it honestly feels good to not be writing Verreth for CS for a little bit. CS was never meant to be a Verreth love story, it only ended up like that because I went straight into writing "The Road to Forgiveness Be Damned" after finishing "A Single Ray of Light in a Sea of Darkness" because I simply wanted to write more Ven and I started to regret my decision around the time I wrote the rough version of the third chapter. Obviously, I stuck with that decision to the end but it was throughout that time I had wants to write Verreth and I wrote those as well. However, all the Verreth segments are what I consider to be side stories, which I know may be hard to believe but trust me, because Ven and Ferreth are not the main protagonists of CS. Eric, if anyone remembers him, is. The Verreth segments were only added to the CS series because I didn't want to make a whole new series entirely focused on Verreth and take them out of something they are main characters of.

Does this mean I'm done writing Verreth? For now, yes. Outside of occasional updates to "Only Through Acceptance Will Love Find Us", I wanna focus on both this and other smaller projects, like RLD and fanfics. Just in case anyone's lost hope, the next big project is Verreth-related, with Ferreth taking the protag role a la TRFBD. Let's just say we're finally getting a look at his backstory and a reason as to why he has self-worth issues.

God, it feels great to be writing in Eric's POV again. It's been over 2 years since I finished ASRLSD so I am making the most of this!

Surprisingly enough, there wasn't much change during the transition from rough draft to publication, which actually made this harder to write. I'm so used to there being at least one major change that I got tripped up by this. The only major change here is the addition of descriptors and needed elaboration and those, I feel like, are key to "beautifying" writing so I don't count those.

One last thing is the "flirting" present in here. I honestly don't know if that can be considered flirting because I'm not someone who flirts or is flirted with on a daily basis. I'm pretty much the dense harem anime protagonist so please forgive me for the terrible flirting.

Read on AO3 | Read on DA | Support me on Ko-fi!

     Thornewind was gorgeous. Sure, Eric was looking at it from a distance atop Asha, but it made one hell of a good first impression. Thornewind seemed colorful and vibrant and he wanted to explore every last inch of it. He gently kicked Asha’s side and she began walking at a slow, leisurely pace.

     Thornewind was a town nestled in the mountains north of Aurora Zenith. The tiny glimpse he saw of it left him awestruck, from its tall, rich buildings packed closely together to its bright windmills scattered across its many open fields. Then there was the sight that awaited him over the ridge, stealing his breath away.

     There were tulips that stretched as far as the eye could see. A sea of blue, red, orange, pink, and yellow blossoms swayed in the summery breeze. It was strange how all these tulips were in bloom when Augvesta had just rolled around but he didn’t put much thought into it. Botany was more of Ven’s expertise and she would be positively thrilled upon seeing this.

     It was soon after crossing the garden he arrived at the entrance. It surprised him to see how lax security was if they let a complete stranger in without so much as a request for papers. He didn’t mind it, though; it just struck him as odd since no one was allowed entry if they weren’t deemed trustworthy back in his childhood home. He and Asha passed through the threshold and was rendered speechless.

     Towering brick buildings loomed over him while a rainbow of others stood further ahead of him. Paths of smooth stone ran in every direction, the opposite of Aurora Zenith’s dirt roads that swept up dust with enough energy behind it. He could hear the tinkling of wind chimes and the fervor of voices all around him. Thornewind certainly had Brinegarde beat in its lively atmosphere.

     He hopped off Asha, making sure to keep the reins in a firm grip. Her deep brown eyes met his as he slowly put a hand on her face and stroked. She didn’t flinch, which was a good sign of progress.

     “You’re such a good girl, Asha,” he murmured, moving his hand down to stroke her neck. “Let’s find a place for you to rest, hmm?”

     It didn’t take long to find a stable. He led her into one of the empty stalls and fed her a couple sugar cubes as a reward for all the hard work she’d done over the past two weeks. The last thing he did was tell the stableman how to care for her during her stay and that he’d be checking up on her daily. Waving goodbye to Asha, it was time to explore Thornewind.

     With it being mid-afternoon, it was pleasantly warm as people crowded the streets on their day-to-day routine. The sound of the wind chimes grew louder and the scent of delicious meals made his mouth water in anticipation. Thank god his anxiety wasn’t ruining this for him. He could hardly contain the bounce in his step as he excitedly toured around the busy thoroughfares. It was rare for him to see and visit new places so he wanted to make the most of this trip.

     There were two things he noticed. First was that most of the people he saw weren’t humans nor were they elves. Their ears were similar to Ven’s and they had what seemed to be like fangs sticking out from their upper lips. What really threw him off, though, were their sizes. Many of them were easily a foot or so taller than him just from a distance and were definitely well-built. Whatever these people were, they’ve caught his eye and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enticed.

     Then there were the stares. He initially thought they were wondering what a human was doing here till he realized it was what he wore. It wasn’t like he was wearing an extravagant suit but he still clearly looked like a noble, or so he assumed. He wasn’t trying to show people up. He was just taught to always dress his best for important events and he considered his reason for being here to be one such.

     Now came the realization he was lost. He had become so engrossed in his surroundings, an hour flew by without him noticing. He needed to find the lord of this town and talk with them about the relationship between them and Aurora Zenith. Allies were essential in political affairs, after all. The bad part was, he had no idea on where to start looking.

     Well, as much as he hated to, he had to ask someone for directions. It couldn’t be that hard, right? All he’d have to do is go up to a random person, ask them on how to get to the lord’s house, and that’d be it. Simple and easy!

     He felt a hand touch his shoulder and heard a voice ask, “Hey, are you okay?”

     He let out a startled shriek and turned to face the stranger. There was a man in front of him with his hands up in a conciliatory manner towards him. One of the first things he noticed was just how big he was.

     He’d never seen anyone taller than Alek before and it honestly unnerved him. The man had the same pointed ears and fangs as everyone else so he must’ve been one of the not-human, not-elf people. He had dark brown skin, messy brown hair with a small braid that reached his shoulders, and bright green eyes. What was really peculiar about him were the bandages starting from the middle of his arms and ending all the way down to his fingertips. He was definitely hiding something underneath those but Eric could care less about what right now.

     “Hey, hey, hey, calm down, okay?” the man said in a soothing tone. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

     “I would hope not!” Eric breathed in, placed a hand on his chest, and breathed out. “It’s not every day some random stranger walks up, claps a hand on my shoulder, and asks if I’m okay right in my ear.”

     “Well, you seemed troubled so I thought you might’ve needed help,” the man replied, putting his hands down.

     Feeling rather embarrassed with himself for that pathetic display, he cleared his throat and asked, “As a matter of fact, I do. Could you please tell me where the lord of this town is, I need to speak with them right away.”

     “You wanna talk to Bris?”

     “If that’s their name, then yes. I have some important business to discuss with them.”

     “He’s not far from here, I can take you to him if you want.”

     That would probably be the best course of action. He was never good at memorizing directions and reciting them to himself only confused him more. He had no one to blame but himself for being in this situation to begin with so…

     “Sure, that’d be great,” Eric conceded. At least this guy was kind and generous enough to show him the way there.

     “All right, let’s make our way over there.” The two men began walking down a street that wasn’t as busy as before. “By the way, my name’s Ferreth.”

     “I’m Eric, it’s nice to meet you,” he said, flashing him a friendly smile.

     “So what brings someone like you to our fair town of Thornewind?” Ferreth asked. “I thought I’d recognized all our visitors since those don’t come by very often.”

     “It’s as I said. I’ve traveled a long way to see Bris in the hopes of discussing important business with him.”

     “What kind of business? Are you an important person?”

     “I’d say being lord counts as pretty important. I’ve come all the way from Aurora Zenith to see if our two towns could potentially become allies.”

     “Oh, wow. I, uh, didn’t think someone as cute as you could be lord.”

     He tilted his head in both curiosity and confusion. “I don’t see what my appearance has to do with anything but I can assure you I wasn’t lying.”

     “I didn’t think you were. I just wasn’t expecting a man in your position to be so…good-looking.”

     “So what were you expecting?”

     “You know, somebody the complete opposite. I mean, I’m figuring you’re, like, smart, charismatic, kind, and everything else Bris is like.”

     Ah, that’s what was happening here. He had an inkling of it the first time Ferreth mentioned his appearance but now he was sure. Alek had never done it with him and there wasn’t really a need for him to. As flattered as he was by it, his heart was and always will be Alek’s.

     Chuckling, he said, “Well, I think my boyfriend would agree with you on some of those things but I’m more modest about them.”

     “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Ferreth had a defeated smile on his face, gracefully accepting his loss. Eric liked how easygoing he was.

     “So what’s your relationship with Bris like?” he asked.

     “Oh, me and him are best friends. We’ve known each other since childhood but I’d say we’re more like brothers than friends by this point.”

     “Sounds like you get along with him really well.”

     “Don’t get me wrong, Bris and I have had our fair share of arguments but what friendship hasn’t? We have each others’ backs and no fight’s ever gonna change that.”

     Ferreth had a certain fondness in his voice when he spoke about Bris. It was easy to see the love and devotion he held for Bris and it warmed Eric’s heart. He was admittedly envious of their friendship. He never had any friends as a child aside from Alek and, while Alek’s irreplaceable, he wished he was able to make some back then. At least that seemed to be changing with him befriending Ven during his trip to Brinegarde so maybe he still had a chance to form everlasting relationships.

     “Here we are!”

     The two stopped before a giant windmill. Dark red brick made up the exterior and the blades turned gently in the breeze, creaking ever so slightly. There were hardly any windows aside from the two in front and there was a wraparound balcony set up just below the wooden roof. Eric didn’t know windmills could be habitable, which made him want to live here if only a little.

     “Wow…”

     “Let’s go on up, shall we?”

     They climbed up the stone steps leading to the front door. It was a tall, dark wooden door stretching up towards the wraparound balcony, with a black, wrought iron ring on the side as its knocker. Before he could think of a script in his head, Ferreth grabbed the ring and hit it against the door a few times.

     Almost immediately after, a woman answered. She wasn’t much taller than him, though he figured the top of his head would be just scraping her chin, and the slim blue dress she wore did little to hide her defined muscles. She had porcelain skin, long, wavy rose pink hair flowing down to her waist, and sandy brown eyes, reminding him of the shores of Aurora Zenith’s beaches. She was stunningly beautiful and his throat felt suddenly dry.

     “Ah, Ferreth, are you here to see Master Brirsyrun today?” she asked. Her voice sounded soft and airy like a lovely breeze.

     “Hey, Aissyl, I’m actually here because my new friend wanted to speak with Bris regarding some important matters, right?” Ferreth put a hand squarely on Eric’s back and pushed him forward slightly.

     “Oh, uh, yes!” he spoke quickly. “My name is Eric Travere and I’m the lord of Aurora Zenith. I’m here today because I needed to talk to Brirsyrun about improving the relationship between our two towns.”

     “I see. I shall ask Master Brirsyrun if he’ll see you now, please wait a moment.” She closed the door.

     That could have gone a little better, he thought as he released a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding in. He heard Ferreth trying to stifle a laugh from beside him and promptly wanted to die. Guess he wasn’t the only one she had that effect on, if this has happened before.

     “She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Ferreth asked, pretending like he didn’t know the answer.

     “Yes, well, I can’t deny that she’s quite beautiful,” he replied, clearing his throat. “Have you tried anything with her?”

     “When I first met her, yeah, and she swiftly turned me down.” He clicked his tongue, as if remembering the memory wasn’t pleasant. “Let’s just say she’s not interested in men like us. Or any man, really.”

     Before he could say any more, the woman known as Aissyl opened the door and invited them inside. The room he entered seemed to be what he’d liken to a waiting room or lounge. What little of the walls he saw that weren’t decorated in exquisite murals were painted a warm honey color. There were a couple of cushioned chairs sitting by the small window and a low table set in front of them. He didn’t have time to check out much more before Aissyl led them through an arched threshold into another room he presumed to be Bris’ office.

     It wasn’t terribly big but it worked fine for its purpose. Unlike the lounge, the walls were a cerulean blue, similar to the sky at dawn before the sunrise. There were tall bookcases standing on one side of the room and a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor on the other. A leather chair sat behind a pine desk atop a nondescript forest green rug. He figured the unusual empty space in front of the desk was for additional chairs if they had guests over. They must not get many of them if they hadn’t gotten a chair specifically for this room. A man was sitting at the desk when he looked up and Eric believed him to be Bris.

     The first thing he noticed was the cream-colored scarf worn around his neck, which he found odd since it was late summer. He looked to have a lean yet muscled body and, when he stood up, seemed to be just shy of Aissyl’s height. He had sun-kissed skin, cropped blond hair, and cloudy gray eyes. A smile broke out across his face upon seeing Ferreth and he walked around his desk.

     “Hey, I was wondering when I’d see you,” said Bris.

     “Well, I was planning on coming by here anyway but my new friend here--” Ferreth wrapped an arm around Eric’s shoulders, making him jump slightly-- “needed help finding you so why not save a trip?”

     “Right.” Bris walked up and offered a hand. “I’m Brirsyrun, son of Nulzrot and Tallo of the air.”

     That was a…unique way of introducing himself, he thought curiously as he put his hand in Bris’ and said, “I’m Eric Travere, lord of Aurora Zenith.”

     “Aissyl said you had some important matters to discuss?”

     “Yes, well, I wanted to talk with you regarding the relationship between Thornewind and Aurora Zenith.” He took a step forward, shrugging off Ferreth’s arm. “You see, I’m planning on going to the rest of the major cities and asking them for their cooperation. In simpler terms, I’m in want of allies. I already have the town of Brinegarde as one so Thornewind’s my second stop.”

     “I see. Well, I’d like to talk more of this tomorrow morning because I have some things that need attending to today. Will that be all right with you?”

     “No, that’s good, that’s great! I’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

     Wow, a guaranteed meeting? No waiting for someone because they were fooling around instead of doing work in their office? This trip was already leagues better than Brinegarde’s and it was all due to Bris being a responsible adult. That pompous jackass Lianthorne could take some pointers.

     “I think, with that being settled, we’re done here.” Bris gestured towards Ferreth. “Ferr, could you show Eric to the Dravitae Inn so he’ll have a place to stay during his time here?”

     “Of course, my lord,” Ferreth replied with a joking smile.

     “Don’t call me that, even if it’s a joke,” Bris protested, despite his own grin.

     Aissyl led the two men outside with Bris following behind. Eric and Ferreth gave a short wave goodbye and they were off. He made sure to remember any and all distinctive markers on the roads as they walked. He didn’t want to be late for the meeting tomorrow because he was lost again.

     “So, how was your first impression of Bris?” Ferreth asked, folding his hands behind his head. “Pretty nice guy, right?”

     “Yeah, he seems like a really decent person--” he let out a chuckle before sighing wearily-- “which is a lot more than I can say about Brinegarde’s lord.”

     “I’m guessing they weren’t as nice.”

     “God, you would not believe. They’re probably the most arrogant and pretentious asshole I’ve ever met.”

     “At least Bris isn’t like that, thankfully.”

     “Yeah, thank god.”

     Despite his complaining of it, he didn’t regret his trip to Brinegarde. It was a beautiful town, like many other coastal towns, and the sweets were to die for. Meeting and becoming friends with Ven, however, was easily the best part of that trip. No beauty or tasty treats will come close to the joy having her in his life brought. She was Brinegarde’s saving grace.

     “You know, I’m curious…” He put a finger to his chin as if thinking about something before continuing. “What do you do around here, Ferreth? It must be a job that gives you a lot of free time if you’re allowed to cart me around all day.”

     “Oh, I guess I’m what you’d call a handyman,” Ferreth replied. “I do general repairs wherever they’re needed and I basically do work people don’t wanna do themselves.”

     “So it’s like you’re an errand boy, then?”

     “I’d say handyman’s an upgrade from that but yeah. It may not be the most ideal job but it lets me help people and it doesn’t pay so bad, either.”

     “No offense and all but…isn’t there something you’d rather be doing than being a handyman? I mean, I guess I don’t really understand it but still… Do you have something to aspire to?”

     He swore he saw him tense up and a glimmer of something he couldn’t quite detect before it disappeared as he answered with, “Not really.”

     That was most definitely a lie. He couldn’t figure out why Ferreth would lie to him over an innocent question like that but it was none of his business. There might’ve been more going on underneath the surface and they had only just met earlier today. No sane person tells a complete stranger their entire life story hours after meeting them. He was entitled to his secrets, as was he.

     It was soon after they arrived at the Dravitae Inn. It was a simple four-story building, with pale green walls, a dark red shingled roof, a pair of large double doors serving as the entrance, and windows on either side that allowed passersby a peek inside the establishment. On the corner was a hanging metal sign that had the name of the inn inscribed on it with a sleeping dragon below. It seemed like a good enough place to stay in during his visit.

     “Here we are.” Ferreth turned towards him. “You gonna need help getting to Bris’ tomorrow?”

     “No, I should be good. Besides--” he placed a finger to his temple-- “I have a pretty good memory so I think I have the path there memorized.”

     “All right, well, good luck tomorrow,” he said, gesturing his hand in a motion reminiscent of a salute. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”

     He began walking back the way they came. Eric watched his figure shrink smaller and smaller before he was out of sight completely. He hoped he’d have a chance to talk with him more throughout his stay here in Thornewind. He had questions he wanted answers to, such as the nature of the people here and what he was like. For now, though, it was time to check in.

     A quick chat with the innkeeper later and he had his room. It was slightly smaller than his room back at home but it brought some comfort. A queen-sized bed sat on the right side of the room and an average cupboard opposite it. The armoire was tucked away into the upper left-hand corner while a small table and chairs were in the upper right-hand corner. A single window was set at the back, which gave him a decent view of Thornewind in the late afternoon.

     He set his bag and key down on the table before flopping onto the bed. God, he wanted nothing more than to lay there for a minute or hour. He still wasn’t used to walking and talking by himself so he was thankful for the short rest. Hey, maybe by the time he goes to Emberranth, he’ll have the skills of a functioning human being and not that of an introverted shut-in.

     He sat up, reached into his pocket, and took out his pendant. The crystal inside the bottle glinted slightly upon being held up to the light. He smiled as he brought it close to his chest, hoping his mother was watching over him.

     Tomorrow was his meeting with Bris. Other than that, he had a few days to spend time doing whatever he wanted. Sightseeing, buying souvenirs, trying out Thornewind’s cuisine, he may as well treat himself as a tourist more than a visitor. He never got to do these things before now so he wanted to make the most of it.

     May he leave Thornewind with an unforgettable experience.

[imagitory]

I guess my issue with Magnifico having trauma in that backstory we never learn -- and Disney not following through on it -- is that only people who either identify with that motivation (such as people with PTSD themselves) or just want Magnifico redeemable and sympathetic will see that evidence of trauma. When I saw Magnifico panicking about Star, I didn't see a trauma-fueled response -- I saw someone motivated to reassert power over others, since he'd always been such a statuesque and beloved king that Dahlia baked cookies of his face and random people gushed over his dashing looks in the streets. And all of this could've been fixed by simply adding a flashback or two -- by showing us that trauma ourselves, so the audience reacts the same way as Magnifico. Magnifico not sharing that vulnerability with other characters is very true to the proud, arrogant, vain, toxically masculine persona he's been given, but if it's so subtle that he doesn't share it openly with the audience, then as far as that a lot of that audience is concerned, it isn't there, and only people who want to see subtext of that will see it. (This is part of the reason I think people have come so out against queerbaiting in recent years, because it likewise plays only to what people want to see -- LGBT+ people see tiny crumbs of representation, while everyone else is allowed to just pretend it's not there.) Representation of real-life things only mean so much if only those people who want to see it can see it -- it doesn't make it easier for outsiders to understand those experiences, nor does it fully capture the feeling of compassion on the part of the filmmakers and otherwise toward the experiences themselves. I've likewise read people place their own experiences with emotional abuse onto Amaya and her relationship with Magnifico, even though I likewise saw little evidence of that in the film. Others, including me, saw toxic, passive-aggressive people we knew IRL in some of the lyrics in Magnifico's "And This is The Thanks I Get?", but again, that's just something I've personally read into them.

Even just based on the interviews the filmmakers did for Wish, Disney clearly wanted Magnifico to be the "classic Disney villain" that many audiences had been asking for, rather than one with pathos, and yet possibly because of them cutting and pasting aspects from different conflicting drafts together, we ended up with a character who some see as a victim in his own way and who I see as pretty awful even before he uses the evil book because he's the sort to gush about how "mirrors love his face" and puff himself up as the best thing since sliced bread; volunteer other people (like "Benito" or "Henry! :D") to do things to help others rather than do them himself; kick people out of job interviews sobbing for not meeting his high standards; or respond vindictively toward both them and their family for criticizing his world view, even if they're a child. (I mean, Asha is only 17! Of course she wouldn't know much about the world or how it works. Of course her world would be defined by her family, especially in this case her 100-year-old grandfather, who's probably set to die at any time. Even if she was freshly 18 and a legal adult, that kind of stupid, emotional reaction would be pretty understandable. And as much as I very much understand being sensitive to criticism and not taking it well, we again never see any explicit visual evidence that Magnifico has any second thoughts in regards to any of that pettiness or cruelty. I might point to King Triton in The Little Mermaid as a great example of how they could've done that.) And admittedly, I would've been totally okay with the monarchy dissolving altogether by the end in this film, vive la resistance!, since I think any authority figure ruling with that kind of absolute authority over others without the wisdom needed to wield the power justly and compassionately is inherently dangerous -- but I guess for a brand like Disney, that would've been a bridge they would've given pause before taking. 😅

I appreciate your response! It's very interesting reading your point of view, even if there are things I disagree with -- and I completely agree that Magnifico is an interesting character with a lot of potential for greatness, if the film had spent more of its runtime on developing him. :)

So has anyone talked about the parallels between Magnifico and Elsa yet?

(Spoilers for Frozen and Wish.)

The obvious:  they're both magic-users and monarchs of fictional kingdoms. They both have a traumatic incident in their past which left a profound impact on them and led to maladaptive coping mechanisms. Both are prone to emotional withdrawal when under stress. Both have power but also have a fraught and complicated relationship with their power. Both end up losing control and causing harm to the kingdom with their magic. And both have a prominent figure in their lives (Anna for Elsa, Amaya for Magnifico) who functions as both a foil and an emotional anchor, someone who helps draw them out of their mental dark place, with differing degrees of persistence and success.

I would argue that they are both the primary antagonists of their respective films, as well. Elsa is obviously not a villain, Hans is the villain, but his villainy is thrown in at the last minute. Elsa’s repression and fear functions, narratively, as the primary obstacle that Anna (the protagonist) must overcome…and the antagonist is not always the “bad guy,” but simply the character who is placed in opposition to the protagonist.

Both Magnifico and Elsa are fixated on control. With Elsa this is more about control over her emotions and (by extension) her powers; with Magnifico it is about maintaining control over his kingdom in order to keep it safe from perceived threats. In both of them, the desire for control stems from fear and memories of horrible things happening when that control is absent.

The differences:  Elsa is born with her powers; they are portrayed as something she never had a choice in, whereas Magnifico (we are told in the opening narration) had to study intensively to acquire his powers. Elsa’s power is the source of her fear; Magnifico’s power is something he built up in response to fear.

There are also both similarities and differences in the way they lose control of their powers. Elsa gets triggered on her own coronation day, runs away, and unknowingly engulfs Arendelle in a blizzard which mirrors her own state of fear and isolation. Magnifico gets triggered by a mysterious light in the sky which he interprets as a threat and becomes increasingly paranoid, believing that there is a traitor in his kingdom. He keeps a book of dangerous forbidden spells as a last resort. He opens the book, unleashing the Evil Green Magic which possesses him and turns him into a force of destruction.

Both of these actions stem from a loss of control; both are in some sense a self-fulfilling prophecy, with fear itself taking on a magical life of its own and wreaking havoc. In Magnifico’s case this is portrayed as him reaching for an external source of power in an attempt to reestablish control, whereas Elsa’s power is something that wells up from inside her, overwhelming her attempts to repress it. She tries to regain her sense of control by isolating herself, but this—like Magnifico reaching for the book—is shown to be a flawed solution which ultimately makes things worse.

Throughout Frozen, Anna—Elsa’s anchor—refuses to give up on her, even to the point of sacrificing herself in an attempt to save her sister. Amaya makes an attempt to save Magnifico, but ultimately decides (based on a passage she read in the same book that possessed him) that he is beyond saving.

What is the major thematic difference between Magnifico and Elsa? At first glance, Magnifico seems to have more agency in engineering his own fate: he chose to acquire magic powers through his own efforts and to found his own kingdom in an attempt to remedy the tragedies of the past, where Elsa is portrayed as having less agency. She is born into the role of queen and born with powers that she can’t control. The eternal winter that Elsa causes feels like something that simply happens in response to her emotions, where Magnifico opening the book and unleashing its magic feels like more of a choice, albeit one he is making because he believes that he’s been pushed into a corner—I didn’t want to do this.  I swore I’d never do this. But it's significant that the moment when he opens the book takes place against the backdrop of the burned tapestry which represents his trauma. In both cases, becoming a force of destruction is shown to be a result of unmanaged fear.

It’s well-known that Elsa was originally supposed to be the villain of Frozen but evolved into a misunderstood hero through various drafts...to the film's benefit, most agree. “Let it Go” was to be her villain song. It’s a moment of joyous release, and even if that freedom turns out to be illusory, the song itself is undeniably empowering and uplifting.

“This is the Thanks I Get?!” is upbeat and weirdly cute. Like “Let it Go,” it takes place within a castle which represents its owner’s defense mechanisms and power. Both songs represent a breaking point, of sorts, but Magnifico's feels less like a release and more like an inward spiraling, compulsive repetition (the chorus is just the same line, four times) and affirmations spoken into the mirror…an unsuccessful attempt at self-soothing which culminates in an eruption.

Elsa receives salvation in the form of unconditional love, which thaws the endless winter. Magnifico is left abandoned, trapped and isolated in a magic mirror. Frozen in time, as it were.

I don’t exactly have a thesis with this, it’s more just a collection of observations, but there is something frustrating about the way that Disney makes Elsa more conventionally sympathetic by giving her the appearance of less agency. Because in spite of this, the emotional journeys and motivations of these two characters follow some pretty similar beats (and yeah, the writers also kind of tacked on the whole “vanity” thing with Magnifico, but this always felt like just a character quirk to me, not a primary motivation). They’re like two facets of the same optical illusion.

Frozen came out in late November of 2013. These films were released almost exactly ten years apart.

[samwpmarleau]

1) It doesn’t fit with GRRM’s track record to introduce something as monumental as this, let alone so late in the game, and have it be what it says on the tin. For Aegon to actually be Elia and Rhaegar’s son who miraculously appears at the 11th hour to save the day doesn’t fit at all. Also, unfortunately, GRRM’s presentation of his characters of color is absolutely abysmal. While he debunked the theory of Dany blowing up the Water Gardens (THANK GOD), that doesn’t mean he’s going to magically treat Dorne how it deserves to be treated. A lot of the “evidence” I’ve seen about Aegon being real hinges on GRRM actually doing right by his characters of color and their associated storylines, which is … not likely.

2) The Golden Company was founded by Bittersteel, the #1 Blackfyre supporter who kept trying to make the Blackfyre cause succeed even long after Daemon was dead. The GC has been faithfully pro-Blackfyre ever since, and was even led by a Blackfyre, Maelys, in the Fifth Rebellion as well, which was not all that long ago.

3) The GC has never broken a contract before — in fact, their words have been “as good as gold” since the very beginning when Bittersteel founded it — so why would they now? They would only break a contract for blood (“some contracts are writ in ink, and some in blood”), for a Blackfyre. They broke the contract so they can help put Aegon on the throne and finally complete what Daemon and Bittersteel began.

4) The GC met with Viserys and Dany and laughed them out of the room. Why would they then be all gung-ho for a different Targaryen? Viserys wasn’t even a madman or pathetic when he met with them (Dany was still “a little girl”), Robert had only recently gotten the throne and therefore it was at its most vulnerable, and Viserys was well-known in Westeros as the Targaryen heir. If they were going to support a Targaryen, it would have been Viserys. Or Daenerys. Yet they didn’t. So why support Viserys’s alleged nephew instead? They would only do so because the Targaryen was only nominally one, in reality a Blackfyre.

5) Illyrio specifically says the Blackfyres are extinct in the male line, meaning they are still around, only through the female line, such as Illyrio’s late wife Serra. Aegon being Illyrio and Serra’s son would explain Illyrio’s fondness for the boy, why he’s so sad to see him go, and why he’s so invested in putting a “Targaryen” on the throne. Additionally, he found Serra as a sex slave in a Lysene brothel — quite a long ways down from the favored son of a Targaryen king. It would make sense for Illyrio, who loved her deeply, to in her memory restore what was “stolen” from her family.

6) Illyrio has a trunk full of children’s clothes, despite the fact that he’s supposed to be childless. Good clothes, too. (Those clothes are also blue, the color Aegon dyes his hair. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.)

7) JonCon notes that Rhaegar’s eyes were “a deep purple, darker than this boy’s,” implying to us the reader that Aegon is not Rhaegar’s. It’s also a hint that JonCon has suspicions that Aegon is not the real deal but is in denial, because if Aegon isn’t real, then that means Rhaegar really is lost to him forever and he can do nothing to avenge him.

8) I’ve seen the argument for “sun’s son” being Aegon but it doesn’t make sense. Asha is called the kraken’s daughter, for one, despite being a Greyjoy in her own right, so yes, it tracks that Quentyn can be called the “sun’s son” despite being a “sun” himself (and it just has better rhythm). Plus, if he weren’t the “sun’s son,” how would he instead be the “mummer’s dragon”? He’s not a dragon, he’s not a fake, nor is he being controlled by a mummer, whereas that fits for Aegon. And in Dany’s HOTU vision, there’s a cloth dragon swaying on poles above a cheering crowd — how would Quentyn fit that either (especially since he’s dead)? But Aegon would. This is also in the same passage as “slayer of lies,” mind you. Aegon is the lie to be slain. The other people in the prophecy are pretty clear as to their identities, so why would “sun’s sun” and “mummer’s dragon” be riddles?

9) The Blackfyres and their rebellions have been developed more and more through the years, including an entire Dunk and Egg book about the second one. Would be a bit odd to completely drop that thread, no? The Third Rebellion didn’t even happen until late in Aerys I’s reign, so it’s not like the Blackfyres will play a central role any time soon in D&E. In the main series, however, they would. Plus, GRRM wrote the D&E book about the Second Rebellion while he was also writing ADWD, and it’s in ADWD that history lessons about the Blackfyres are repeatedly brought up.

10) The parallel between Aegon and Jon. Jon is a real secret Targaryen raised without knowing his true identity, whereas Aegon is a fake secret Targaryen raised without knowing his true identity.

11) There’s plenty of the “human heart in conflict with itself” that GRRM loves with him being fake. Dany gets another family member, the son of her beloved brother Rhaegar — only to find out Aegon’s a fake. JonCon raises a child for over a decade, the son of his beloved Rhaegar, redemption for losing at Stoney Sept — only to find out Aegon’s a fake. Dorne (Doran specifically) gets a piece of their beloved Elia back — only to find out Aegon’s a fake. Aegon himself has believed his whole life that he’s Elia and Rhaegar’s son, the heir to the throne, has gone through many hardships to get where he is — only to find out he’s been lied to since day one. Those are all very real, very poignant beats.

12a) The supposition that Elia would save her son but not her daughter — Dornish Elia, who would value her daughter just as much as her son — is nonsensical to me. I CANNOT get behind that one bit. Maybe I can justify Elia being willing to sacrifice someone else’s innocent baby if it meant saving her own (though that’s a horrible and heartless thing to do), but I CANNOT see a justification for her saving Aegon yet not Rhaenys. 

Moreover, if the baby weren’t Aegon, why would Elia be so willing to die for it? If it weren’t hers, if she had been pragmatic/cold enough to trade her baby for someone else’s, why on EARTH would she not have left that baby in the nursery and gone with Rhaenys, her actual child? The men Tywin sent had a reputation even back then and had scaled the walls of Maegor’s Holdfast. Elia would be dumb as a bag of bricks to think they would spare “her” son and Rhaenys, or possibly even herself. If they were to magically spare “Aegon,” great! Everyone’s happy (except Tywin). But why would Elia take that risk? No. She would only tell Rhaenys to run away yet stay with Aegon because he was her child and she had no other choice.

12b) If Elia switched the babies, then why don’t the Martells know anything about it? They were involved in a Targaryen restoration, Oberyn even went to Essos to sign the betrothal pact between Arianne and Viserys. Yet none of them know that their nephew is alive? If Elia really did take the pains to switch the babies for her son’s safety, why would she not have involved her family? At the very least, by having whoever she sent Aegon with even just hint to her family that he’s alive? But they know nothing. Zilch. They put their eggs in Viserys’s basket, then Dany’s, who are at best Elia-adjacent.

12c) Who would even be able to do such a thing as switch out the babies without a soul being the wiser? Varys, probably, but there is no way in hell Elia would entrust her son to him. Far beyond simply being a shady person in general who is out for himself and himself alone, he was the one who purposefully whispered in Aerys’s ear about invented conspiracies and betrayals. He made Aerys more paranoid, more dangerous. To the detriment of Rhaegar, Elia, their children, and the realm at large. Varys is the entire reason Aerys went to the Tourney at Harrenhal in the first place, because he convinced him that Rhaegar convened the tourney to meet with a bunch of lords in order to depose Aerys. Varys directly and gleefully contributed to Aerys’s further descent into tyranny.

Elia wouldn’t have trusted Varys as far as she could throw him, certainly not with something as precious as her child, not even if she were desperate. Even if she did trust him for some insane reason, how is Varys so powerful as to find a lookalike for Aegon but not for Rhaenys? Surely it’s easier to find a black-haired, brown-eyed toddler than a silver-haired, purple-eyed baby, no? Or why couldn’t he direct Elia to one of the many secret passageways so she could escape with the kids rather than this convoluted baby swap? Or any number of other things? At every turn, Aegon (but not Rhaenys!) being spirited away by anyone, most especially Varys, doesn’t hold up. Hell, why would Varys help Elia? What does he have to gain by not only helping her but egregiously undermining Aerys? Aerys whose ear he’s been meticulously whispering into, Aerys who’s the only reason Varys is at court and has power at all? Agreeing to and orchestrating the baby swap runs counter to everything we know about him.

13) Aegon being real means Elia and Dorne are essentially dealt two blows. We and they spend all this time believing her son was brutally murdered in King’s Landing. But then, psych! He’s actually alive! They get their hopes up, the wound is opened all over again, only for him to … be brutally murdered in King’s Landing. (Or possibly elsewhere, but likely KL.) Why is that better? What would be the point of Aegon being Elia and Rhaegar’s son if he’s just going to die like his “cover story” says he did? Actually, they’d be dealt three blows, really, given that Quentyn died as well in the pursuit of Targaryen restoration. Things are going to be painful enough without having Aegon be the real Aegon.

14) JonCon didn’t come to be Aegon’s caretaker until Aegon was 5. In other words, he wouldn’t recognize whether or not this Aegon is the one he saw as a baby. But because he’s so personally invested in Aegon being the real deal, he doesn’t question it too much. The result is that JonCon, who is well-known to have been close to Rhaegar and thus Elia (proximally, not emotionally of course, what with him hating her and all), him caring for the boy lends viability to the story. Which we see in action by Doran believing, or at least being willing to listen to, JonCon’s letter.

15) The Toynes have a very negative history with the Targaryens (and Barristan) but a positive one with the Blackfyres. Would it not make more sense for Myles Toyne to align himself with a Blackfyre rather than a Targaryen? Myles, who was the one who put his seal to the secret pact?

16a) It’s been 84 years. Even R+L=J, which is as much of a sure thing as you can possibly get, is disputed by some in the fandom. Some people believe Ashara Dayne is alive, and a subset of those go so far as to say she’s Jyana Reed. Some people have some theory about the Boltons being vampires. Like. It has been so long since the last book that things that would have been surprises or interesting twists have been examined to death, so by now they seem “too obvious.” Ten years ago, Aegon being real would undoubtedly have been a much more believed thing, because we’d have just recently been told it. But now? There’s been ample time to parse everything out and to determine that no, he likely isn’t real. Same for R+L=J. Ten years ago, or longer, Jon being revealed to be the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna would have been a bombshell. But now? It’s obvious as fuck. So to circle back around to “Yep, Aegon is real!” ignores the fact that it’s supposed to be a smokescreen and a twist.

16b) Related to this is GRRM’s own words. There’s an SSM where he’s asked whether Rhaenys and Aegon are really dead. He affirms that Rhaenys is but hedges for Aegon. Why? Not because he’s saying Aegon is real, but because he’s introducing the Young Griff arc. If he were to say, “Aegon’s definitely dead, too,” or “Aegon’s definitely alive,” that would completely spoil the tension and truth/untruth of the storyline.

Do I know that Aegon’s a fake? Obviously not, since we don’t have the books. But the evidence points to it being extremely unlikely that he’s the real deal. Like I also said, however, I’m not sure it really matters whether he is or not. So far as he knows, he’s truly Elia and Rhaegar’s son. His name is Aegon, he was raised to be a king, he seems to be quite a decent young man (people who cite him tipping over the cyvasse board can suck it), he will probably ride a dragon at some point, and so on. At the end of the day, who he’s biologically related to doesn’t seem super relevant.

[rainhalydia]

The character game: Theon Geyjoy (because I can't resist and need more validation for my boy, especially with the last month I've had), Elia Martell, Asha Greyjoy, Ashara Dayne, Arianne/Oberyn/Doran Martell, Brienne of Tarth, Jaime/Tyrion Lannister, Gonna Lannister, Saint Seiya: Scorpio Milo, Aquarius Camus, Andromeda Shun, Virgo Shaka, Sailor Moon: Sailor Pluto, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus

Hey, nonny! Sorry if the last month sucked, I hope the next one is better!

Thanks for the ask! Have all my opinions!

Theon Greyjoy

How I feel about this character: I LOVE HIM!!! MY RESILIENT TRASH SQUID PRINCE!!!

In a less histrionic note, it’s amazing how well-written he is. It’s my dream to one day write something so beautiful and well-crafter as Theon’s whole arc.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Robb most of all, but also Kyra and Patrek Mallister to a lesser degree. Even so, I feel like Robb was the love of his life and even if he has a romantic endgame in Jeyne P., it’s going to be a Loras situation all over again.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Jeyne P., because no one else can understand them like they do given their shared trauma, but also Wex and Asha. And Dagmer!

My unpopular opinion about this character: He’s never ever done anything wrong ever in his life   Everyone who dislikes him is wrong Seriously, he’s competent. People love to ignore that because he’s such a mess, but it’s worth noticing that we’re inside his head and privy to all his thoughts and feelings. He doesn’t come across nearly as insecure and headless to other people as he actually is, or he wouldn’t be able to control his men in Winterfell or during the raids, or to take control of Moat Cailin later.

Also, while it’s true he picked all the worst choices, he had no good options.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: He has to survive. I speak this into existence! I love him too much for him to die, and I’m sick of the redemption equals death trope. He better survive and become an explorer.

Elia Martell

How I feel about this character: Deserved so much better in all fronts :(

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one, really. Her husband fucked her over, and so did the other characters I’ve seen being shipped with her (Lyanna and Arthur Dayne), plus I don’t know her enough to be invested. Maybe that suitor Oberyn says she was interested in? The one who farted.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Oberyn and Doran! They love her so much! I like to think she’d get along very well with Ellaria too.

My unpopular opinion about this character: That I’m not nearly as invested in her as most of fandom? Or maybe that I think that before the Queen of Love and Beauty fiasco, she loved Rhaegar, possibly even after still. He’s handsome, courteous, sensitive, a prince who will make her queen in time. What is there not to love? I think she was completely blindsided by the Lyanna thing, both at the tournement and when Rhaegar disappeared with her.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That she had taken Rhaenys to visit her uncles in Dorne right after that tournement and stayed there while the whole thing developed in the capital

Asha Greyjoy

How I feel about this character: I LOVE HER!!! If she’s not queen by the end I’m suing.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Qarl! Alysane! Tris when he learns to shut up about the pimples.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Her uncle Rodrik and Theon! For all that she’s friendly, I think Asha is pretty reserved and hard to know.

My unpopular opinion about this character: That whole part when she pretends to be Esgred is cringe-worth. I know people find it funny, but as an older sister to a loving shy dumbass, I die from second-hand embarassement for her more than for Theon. She manages to come across as worse than Theon, and that’s saying something! It’s just not okay to grope your brother, Asha! And still, that scene says a lot about Asha’s own insecurities and the person she has to be to keep her place and freedom... and yet, I find it difficult to say her actions were justified.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I feel pretty confident she’s going to live, so I want her to become queen and start some deep economical and cultural reforms with the surviving ironborn.

Ashara Dayne

How I feel about this character: Indifferent. Even more so than with Lyanna and Elia, I don’t feel like I know her at all. We know she was very pretty, that she used to laugh and that she met a tragic end, but that’s pretty much it.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one, especially not Barristan.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Again, no one. I know people seem to think of her and Elia as friends, and w know she was at the tournement, but again, not much to go by.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Don’t know how unpopular this is, but she definitely had sex with Brandon that time, not Ned.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I don’t know, I think it’s very unlikely, but it would be fun if she turned out to be secretly alive after all for some perspective on the past generation and the events pre-rebellion, but I don’t want her to be Lemore nor Howland’s wife.

Arianne Martell

How I feel about this character: She’s okay, her chapters are entertaining, but not favorite material

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Arys and Daemon

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Her friends Drey, Garin and Sylva

My unpopular opinion about this character: This is way more on GRRM than on her, but it’s plain umconfortable how she had a crush on and very sexual thoughts about Oberyn at such a young age.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That she could actually meet Quentyn and see that he was never a threat to her :(

Oberyn Martell

How I feel about this character: I like him, but I like Doran better. He could have done a better job raising his daughters.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Ellaria! They were very in love and committed, and I feel like she brought out the best in him.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Doran and Elia

My unpopular opinion about this character: He’s not as hot-headed as his reputation leads us to believe. He’s in complete control in KL until the end, it was pretty much bad luck that got him killed. Which makes me believe that all the other things that he did to earn his bad rep were done with open eyes.

He’s also not as awesome a father as fandom seems to believe. Maybe he got better with the younger ones, but I don’t really like the Sand Snakes and I think the way they are willing to walk all over Doran and talk badly about Ellaria reflects badly on him. And what we do know about his parenting style (taking Obara from her mother the way he did, saying they’ll need to kill any abusive husbands they get because he won’t help) makes Doran look like father of the year.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That he got justice for Elia and her children, that he took Tyrion to Dorne and they became friends.

Doran Martel

How I feel about this character: I like him and I think he’s smart. His plans could do with a bit of feedback, but he’s not dumb.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one, really. I feel like he’s still hung up on his wife.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Oberyn, Elia, Aero

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t think he’s overcautious or too slow, I think he has internalized that his first duty is to Dorne so he can’t go starting wars willy-nilly. If he could, he’d rain as much revenge on Elia’s murderers as Oberyn

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That he had shut the Sand Snakes down harder when they called him a coward.

Brienne of Tarth

How I feel about this character: MY DAUGHTER! SHE’S SO SWEET!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Jaime, maybe Hyle if he repents and gets his act together

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Pod, Catelyn, her dad

My unpopular opinion about this character: She would probably be happy being a regular lady if things went that route for her, especially because as the heir to Tarth, she’d be the one rulling her land and having a consort, not the other way around... I also think she would be good at it and be respected. Yes, I think people did ridicule and bully and disrespect her, but the fact that her septa, who was her main caregiver, was in on it, might have warped her perception of how others saw her. The bet too. Her master of arms, for example, respected and liked her, Cat too, so Brienne can and does inspire loyalty.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I don’t think she’ll find Sansa, but I wish she would find at least Arya and get part of her oath to Cat done.

Jaime Lannister

How I feel about this character: I enjoy his povs a lot, he’s very funny, but he’s not one of my favorites

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Brienne

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Tyrion, his squires, that guy who has stopped shaving

My unpopular opinion about this character: I feel like, even if he had confesssed the reason why he killed Aerys, people would still judge him as a Kingslayer anyway. I don’t think it’s reprehensible that he kept quiet in the circumstances. Maybe it was irresponsible to just let the wildfire lying around, but he had no way to know it was dangerous.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I want him to be the one to kill Cersei, but I want it to be because she’s becoming Aerys 2.0, not because he’s jealous.

Tyrion Lannister

How I feel about this character: I love him a lot! He’s sadly relatable, though I’m definitely not that smart. The way he won’t let people forget he’s there, that he’s smart and capable and that he won’t accept them walking all over him is the best.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Dany! I think it’s a given that he’ll fall for her. I also think it’s a given that she’ll fall for Jon, but I’d like her to at least have some feelings for him as well, to be divided, etc. Though if it comes to that, I’d rather she ended with Tyrion.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Jon, Bronn, Pod. I like to think the mountain clans think fondly of him as well.

My unpopular opinion about this character: He never really loved Shae. I don’t know how unpopular this is, but he didn’t love her and he was wrong to kill her even with the public humiliation and everything, and I think he’s aware of these facts. Not to say the sense of betrayal wasn’t real.

Also, he was 100% in the right when killing Tywin. It’s sad only because it sends Tyrion to such dark places, but really, a public service.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Third head of the dragon, baby!

Genna Lannister

How I feel about this character: She annoys me!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one. I wish she felt happier with her husband, but shipping is too strong a word.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Joanna Lannister. She very much doesn’t strike me as someone who has close friends.

My unpopular opinion about this character: She’s not a cool aunt or a loving aunt or whatever. Her talk with Jaime in his pov doesn’t strike me as them having a close relationship, and she’s basically a non-entity in Tyrion’s and Cersei’s thoughts from what I remember. For all that she criticizes Tywin, she seems to be a lot like him imho.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Well, if she’s not in the Red Wedding Redux (if that happens), she’s got to be aound it. It would be interesting to see her reaction to it.

Scorpio Milo

How I feel about this character: He’s alright. Bit of an asshole, which I like

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one. People seem to ship him with Aioria and Camus in particular, I’m okay with that.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: The other gold saints

My unpopular opinion about this character: His signature attack is cool in theory and lame in practice.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That he got more character development. He gets little even for a minor character.

Aquarius Camus

How I feel about this character: He’s okay. I’m not very invested

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one. He seems to get paired up a lot with Milo, I guess that’s fine.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Hyoga, the other gold saints.

My unpopular opinion about this character: By adding the Crystal Saint, the anime turns a touching moment into something hilarious when Hyoga and him fight and trace back their saint genealogy

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That he hadn’t frozen Hyoga. What the fuck did that even accomplish???

Andromeda Shun

How I feel about this character: I LOVE HIM! He was the first character that made me stop and think a little deeper about morals.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Hyoga in the anime, June in the manga

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Seiya, Ikki, his master

My unpopular opinion about this character: He’s the more mature of the bronze saints, not only because he’s quiter and calmer, but because he’s the only one to think things through. He’s the only one who reflects about their situation in a conscious way. And he’s smart.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish he had actually died in his Hades arc. I think it would make for a better story

Virgo Shaka

How I feel about this character: I like him a lot, his Hades arc helped a lot with that

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one... I’d read whatever back when I was more into Saint Seiya, but I have no particular preferences

My non-romantic OTP for this character: The other gold saints, especially Aioria. They’ve come a long way and it was really sad how angry Aioria got about his death.

My unpopular opinion about this character: He’s way more of an asshole than people give him credit for.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish he had lived, but again, they had to die, such is the nature of shonen manga XD

Sailor Pluto

How I feel about this character: I don’t know, she’s not as interesting as the outer senshi, but she’s alright

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Haruka and Michiru

My unpopular opinion about this character: None, really. I don’t have a lot of opinions on her.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I’m more than okay with the end of Sailor Moon, including hers

Sailor Jupiter

How I feel about this character: I did not appreciate her enough the first time I read this manga, but she is awesome

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Ami, just a little bit

My non-romantic OTP for this character: All the other senshi

My unpopular opinion about this character: Much of the sense of her being an outsider gets lost in translation, which is a pity since it’s such an integral part of her character.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I’m pretty happy with how things turned out for her :)

Sailor Venus

How I feel about this character: I had such a crush on her growing up XD

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I don’t actively ship it, but I think her and Mars are cute together

My non-romantic OTP for this character: All the other senshi, Artemis

My unpopular opinion about this character: The anime made her more immature than she was originally, but that doesn’t mean she was super adult in the original either. She had a lot on her plate so she stepped up. Her growth was more subtle than for her anime counterpart, but it was there

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I’m pretty satisfied with the way the story ends, everyone including Venus alive and happy. Western authors, learn something from this!

[janiedean]

I was just wondering what do you think about posts that excuse Cersei's behaviour because she's mentally ill, or that if you critique its because your ableist and hate mentally ill people? Or some variation/combination of the two? Like it just bugs me in general when people automatically excuse and even justify horrible, violent and abusive behaviour just because someone's mentally ill, particularly as someone whose been on the receiving end of that behaviour from mentally ill people.

... I think I’ve made my opinion clear, but very briefly and hoping that I don’t unleash the kraken:

c.’s issues could have been solved if someone had sent her to a child psychologist before the age of then in modern au. period. because someone who grows up not having a shred of regret over having thrown a supposed friend in a well when they were twelve over a menial thing either should have had a completely different upbringing or should have gotten therapy. which doesn’t exist in westeros, but anyway, when discussing c’s issues that’s the crux of the matter;

c’s issues also hurt other people and I’m not talking about j., I’m talking about everyone around her or mostly, and the point is that the moment someone’s issues also mean hurting others... your freedom ends where others’s starts. assuming that her MH issues mean that she’s justified in behaving the way she does means that having MH issues is a free out of jail card for hurting others, which... it’s not;

spoilers: all three lannister siblings have mental health issues. same as like, 90% of the characters in these books. I’m 99% sure that the only two POV characters who doesn’t have issues that would require immediate therapy are davos (and he’s lost four kids, he has his problems) and asha, probably, and asha is just... very functional but it’s a miracle she came out like that considering her background. everyone else has issues over issues to different degrees, so... at this point disliking anyone in these books with this reasoning would mean hating mentally illy people while at the same time 85% of the characters you like most likely also have mental health issues and I’m talking just that, because I mean... if someone likes bran and not doran or viceversa I’m not going to assume that they’re ableist since both characters are disabled and both can’t walk, but most likely it’s just a personality preference, so saying that if you don’t like c. it’s because you hate mentally ill people or are ableist to me is ridiculous because like... I don’t like c. and my top five has three pov characters who have obviously mental health issues up the wazoo and one who most likely had plenty (and two out of those five also have become physically disabled as well during the series), I have gone to therapy for a damned long time myself and I hate mentally ill people now just because I don’t like a character who has MH issues? sorry but that’s like... ridiculous. you’re allowed to not like some characters because their personality is not your thing regardless of the issues they have;

also: again, c.’s issues hurt other people. those other people have no obligation to stick by if they feel like it’s detrimental to their health, same as no one has an obligation to stick by someone who is detrimental to their MH or well-being and also has no intention of changing/is aware of that. like, I can get behind wanting to support someone you love whose behavior hurts you who has realized it and is getting help/is actively trying to get better, but if that person doesn’t care or isn’t aware then no one has an obligation to stick by if it hurts them, so assuming that people who don’t like c. or whoever else or that characters in the books should stick by c. because of her issues if it hurts them is imvho not a thing people should even bring up because it implies that people have an obligation to excuse actions that are hurtful when the person who commits them has no interest in getting better, so... nah;

also there’s critique and critique and disliking a disabled character doesn’t automatically make you ableist same as disliking a woman doesn’t make you a misogynist, but like, going outside cersei: people can dislike tyrion just because they don’t gaf about him or because they don’t like the character or because they don’t find his personality that charming, but the moment the criticism turns into calling him a monster or joking about his height or basically sounding like tywin when he talks about tyrion then it’s definitely ableism and to be quite honest when it comes to tumblr there’s a lot more ableist critique thrown at tyrion than at cersei, because the ten of us who dislike her openly do it because she’s terrible while recognizing that she has issues which explain why she’s like that but don’t justify what she does at pretty much almost any point ever, the army of people who meta about tyrion as if he’s these books’s ultimate villain when 90% it’s because he could be in the way of their ship or say that he has male privilege over c. who therefore couldn’t have abused him (YES I had to read that with mine own eyes) and the likes most likely should check their priorities because that’s not hating him bc he’s a character you don’t like, that reeks of ableism 101 and of having skimmed his chapters (also tyrion has MH issues up the wazoo too but I don’t see people on here mentioning it). same way, one thing is disliking cat because she’s not your type of character, another is the fact that this entire fandom seems to have decided that blaming catelyn for every horrid thing that happened in these books that would not have happened had she just stayed home with the kids which imvho shows exactly the level of not-so-hidden misogyny rampant around here/directed at her specifically. but I don’t think that everyone who hates cat is misogynist or does it because of misogyny, I just think that a lot of fandom bias against her is... very misogynistic;

to sum up the above thing, considering that c. is also straight up written as a negative character and grrm has said time and time again that it’s her point in the narrative, assuming that someone would dislike her just because she’s MH is pretty much fried air as we say here because given what she’s pulled up until now, I think that she has enough of a CV that people have more than enough reasons to dislike her without bringing her mental health into account. because her issues might explain why she’s like that, but they don’t justify for shit anything she does, and if that’s valid for knowing why theon was the way he was in wf but doesn’t justify him killing the miller’s kids, knowing why jaime pushed bran but doesn’t justify it, knowing why sandor doesn’t disobey ethically horrid orders but doesn’t mean he hasn’t done pretty fucked up shit etc., then it’s also valid for c. and I really would like for characters to be judged evenly, thanks.

also: everyone has their limits when it comes to understanding/explaining where a person committing wrong actions comes from. if people can relate to c. and/or see themselves in her issues and have compassion for her, that’s their prerogative and I won’t go bitch at them for it same as I appreciate if people don’t bitch at me for having compassion for theon or sandor or jaime or whoever else. but at the same time assuming that everyone has your standards is ridiculous. for me c. was irredeemable after she basically went and laughed about the red wedding/thought she was so much better than cat because cat went insane after seeing robb die because to me people finding the red wedding funny or hilarious or well-deserved is the ultimate thing that will make me stop caring about them. if for someone jaime having pushed bran out of the window is irredeemable as long as they don’t come to me complaining about why I don’t think it is, it’s their prerogative.

but assuming that all of us need to find c. redeemable or understandable or relatable because people who like her do is ridiculous because you can’t expect anyone to relate to your favorites just because you do, and calling out the social justice card is ridiculous because fictional preferences are what they are and you can’t force yourself to like someone you despise just because they belong to X category - I wouldn’t tell people they have to like jaime because he has ptsd nor I’d expect them to be automatically ableist if they don’t gaf about jaime either way and don’t make jokes about him losing his guts with his hand or about how he’s the stupidest lannister, I’d expect people wouldn’t tell me I have to like c. because she has MH issues or whatnot. because there’s plenty of reasons to dislike c. and none of them have to do with her MH and most of her have to do with her abusive behavior.

also, last thing: the one time I actually met someone who was a self-proclaimed ‘I empathize with cersei on a personal level’ person, after three days in which they were an asshole to everyone in the group we were, the moment I called her out on it after she had been even more of an asshole when someone else tried to discuss it reasonably, I got backhanded in the face twice for it. now, I handled it and tbqh I didn’t mind it half as much as I could have because I didn’t gaf about this person and barely knew them. I also know that this person had issues (and later went to therapy so good for them), but as much as I could sympathize with her issues, forgive me if I don’t really think I want to see again someone who barely knew me and saw fit to hit me in the face twice. now, am I ableist for that? I really don’t think so. it’s the exact same principle. someone else might have had another reaction to it, but I’m not obliged to give them a second chance since they hurt me first and no one would say I’m ableist for it. it’s the exact same argument just brought to fictional level. one thing is disliking a character because of their issues only (ie theon and the castration jokes), another is disliking them because you think they’re boring and/or they’re not your kind of character.

and people need to realize that their favorite character can’t be everyone’s favorite character statistically. like. none of our faves are automatically everyone’s faves and that’s fine because that’s how the world works. *shrug*

[slugbeaker]

1. He's not meant to. Again, that's the tragedy of his character, that he doesn't fit in anywhere nor is he given the tools to do so. What he SHOULD know is that the people who have been treating him like shit since he first stepped on shore aren't likely to all of a sudden change their tune towards him. Him thinking they do speaks to his arrogance.

2. Literally no one expects him to greensee how his culture works. See above.

3. Because that isn't the kind of culture among the Ironborn. They aren't going to handhold someone, even if by OUR standards they should. Like yeah, obviously, that would be the nice thing to do and we are obviously meant to empathize with Theon on the fact they don't.

4. Because his dad is an asshole and also a member of said culture. See above.

5. See above.

6. If you say so. I never said incest pranks are funny, nor does the book portray them as such after Theon realizes who Asha is. He is horrified, and well within reason to be so. My initial post said I enjoyed seeing all the hints that Esgred is not who she says (like the passage i posted a photo of) and made no mention of her incest trick.

7. Yeah, that's kind of the point. Theon's family sucks lol.

8. Again. Yep, his family treats him like shit. Is this meant to be news? That doesn't change the fact that Theon showed up with his ego at full mast and just expected everyone to shower him with respect.

9. I don't think Theon is dumb for not remembering every aspect of a culture he was ripped away from, nor did I say that. I think he's dumb for - again - letting his ego blind him and think that the people who have not given him an iota of respect since he docked have suddenly decided he's worthy of their fealty.

You have misconstrued the ENTIRETY of my initial post lmao. Here, I'll break it down:

Reasons I think The Passage Is Funny:

1. Theon's ego makes me laugh.

2. It's fun to read on re-reads and see the hints that Esgred is Asha before we see the reveal

Reasons I Don't Think The Passage Is Funny:

1. Literally any of the bs you are insinuating.

Hope this helps! 🤗

oh theon, you poor dumb boi, you.

adore this part where he thinks the people of pyke have spontaneously decided to respect him. all the hints that 'esgred' is not who she seems in subsequent reads are always fun 🤣

[bighound-littlebird]

The Alarm that Never Sounded: GOT's treatment of the SanSan Romance

by Miodrag Zarkovic

Originally posted here.

When adapting female characters from ASOIAF into the TV show "Game of thrones", David Benioff and Dan Weiss aren't unlike Robert Baratheon: if they can't disrobe it, they're bored with it. Their rendition of Melisandre, for example, isn't an intimidating and imposing practitioner of dark and supernatural powers, but rather a seductress who's able to make people obey her only if she rewards them with sex (Stannis, Gendry) or gold (Brotherhood without Banners). One more example would be their rendition of Margaery Tyrell, who was turned from a teenage girl with a perfect facade and somewhat mysterious foundation, into a promiscuous lady willing to do anything – even have sex with both her brother and her husband simultaneously, as she proposes to the latter in Season 2 – in order to achieve her personal political ambitions that are literally limitless.

With that in mind, Sansa Stark never had a chance to be properly adapted in the show created by D&D. Now, the word 'properly' has a rather wide range of possible meanings, and this essay will attempt to examine at least some of them, but, for now, let's say that the most obvious aspect in which TV Sansa was shorthanded is her screen time. In "A Clash of Kings", the book that was the basis for the Season 2 of GoT, Sansa's POV chapters, along with Tyrion's, are the only ones that depict what's happening in King's Landing, the capital of The Seven Kingdoms and the center of political power in the story. This goes for the first two thirds of "A Storm of Swords" as well, e.g. until the moment Sansa escapes from King's Landing. In short, her chapters couldn't help but be of paramount importance in the narrative sense. In the show, however, Sansa's significance is greatly decreased, and not only because the show doesn't follow the "POV structure" of the novels, but because she's reduced to nothing but a prized captive for the Lannisters.

Yes, TV Sansa is a minor, and she's played by a minor, named Sophie Turner. Her age, due to the laws that forbid the usage of underage children in explicit sex scenes, prevented D&D from using Sansa in a way they adore. And her age couldn't be drastically changed without drastic consequences on her overall arc which is, in ACOK at least, built around her first period. That's why, for example, D&D couldn't cast Natalie Dormer – one of their favorite ASOIAF characters, by the way, because they did alter Margaery to suit the actress, instead of the other way around – in the role of Sansa, because Dormer, while certainly looking younger than she is, could never pass as a minor.

And that would probably be the only thing that makes Sansa off-limits for Natalie Dormer, or some other actress D&D adore, to play her in D&D's adaptation. Everything else would've been doable. Had George R. R. Martin not put her first period in the books, Sansa's age, promiscuity, vocabulary, even wardrobe, would've been changed accordingly to suit D&D's vision of a progressive Westerosi woman, which means the first three would've been amplified, while the fourth one – wardrobe – would definitely be reduced and freed from all the unnecessary parts. She'd probably even hook up with some rogue brute at some point; when she'd find the time for him, that is; after she's done with Joff, Tyrion, Lancel, and god knows who else, she'd certainly figure out cynical killers can occupy her bed just as good as other available men can.

Speaking of cynical killers – enter Sandor Clegane. One more character that, alas, couldn't be played by Natalie Dormer, and therefore not of particular interest to D&D. Sandor in the novels is a truly memorable fellow, who slowly but steadily grows in readers' eyes as the story progresses. At the beginning, he's nothing more than a merciless brute used only for killing people Lannisters want dead. Very soon, however, a reader finds out there might be some traces of soul under that rough surface. More and more we find out about Sandor, more and more intriguing and understandable he gets. Even – more likable.

Now, what makes him likable? The stories Littlefinger tells to Sansa?! Of course not. The stories Sandor himself keeps telling to Sansa are what fleshes him to the extent that was probably impossible to predict at the beginning of the series. Through his conversations with Sansa, we find out every important thing there is to know about him. Later on, when he hangs up with Arya, Sandor is already a fully developed character, whom we aren't discovering any more, but rather following. And he became like that precisely through his exchanges with Sansa.

The show went the other way, and a pretty odd way, at that. D&D decided it was better for Littlefinger to deliver the story of how Sandor's face got burned, and that decision carries some very serious consequences in regards to characterization. For example, Littlefinger appears as someone who does know the secrets of King's Landing, but, at the same time, as someone who doesn't hesitate to share those secrets with persons he doesn't have any control over. Yes, he warns Sansa not to tell anyone about the story; but, he warns her because, and here comes the funny part – Sandor is going to kill her.

Now, why isn't Littlefinger afraid Sandor's going to kill him? After all, isn't that the logical question because it's Littlefinger who offers Sandor's secrets to others? It seems there are only two possible answers: 1) Sandor is not that scary and dangerous as Littlefinger claims, or 2) Sandor is a dangerous fellow, but Littlefinger is the bravest individual alive, because he goes around telling the secrets of people that physically can literally eat him for breakfast; and he isn't shy even, because he doesn't fail to warn Sansa how dangerous is the situation he himself dares so boldly.

Whatever conclusion a viewer draws from there, something is going to be radically changed from the source material. Quite possibly, in fact, a lot of things are going to be altered. After the said scene, both Littlefinger and Sandor are drastically different than their book origins. And the characters we ended up with in the show, are not nearly as complex and intriguing as their book counterparts. This is especially true for Sandor, who's nothing if not scary and dangerous. He is supposed to frighten the living hell out of everyone who isn't his older brother. If you take that away from Sandor, you're only left with his tender side.

But, even his tender side was almost entirely removed from the show. This time, not only by Littlefinger, but also by Tyrion: in the throne room, when Joff orders Kingsguards to undress Sansa, Sandor stands there silently. His face expression suggests he isn't pleased with what he sees, but that's it. He doesn't stand up to his king with firm "That's enough" as in the book. It is therefore on Tyrion exclusively to deny Joffrey the pleasure of torturing the girl whose only crime was that she saw him in a moment of unflattering weakness. As in the books, TV Tyrion enters the room with his sellsword and he defends Sansa from Joff, but the important difference is that in the show it looks like Tyrion is the only one both willing to oppose Joffrey and capable of doing it. In the novel, we can sense that Sandor is ready to do the same thing, only, in his case, it comes with a much bigger risk, which is not without importance.

So, in this particular case, Sandor was sacrificed for the sake of TV Tyrion. TV Littlefinger, however, wasn't forgotten in that regard, because, once again, he's fed with lines that originally belong to Sandor. In the finale of the second season, it is Littlefinger who tells Sansa to look around and see how much better than her all those liars are. Just as the last time around, this change serves neither Littlefinger nor Sandor: the former's creepy-mentoring side is exposed much earlier than it would be logical, while the latter is robbed of yet another moment in which he shows how much he cares for Sansa and how protective he is toward her.

Sansa is a case on its own, as far as wrong adaptations are concerned. She's in the league with her mother Catelyn Stark, as two Stark women that were literally butchered in the show. The thing two of them have in common is the nature of their complexity: opposite to other female characters in ASOIAF, like Dany or Arya or Asha or Brienne or Cersei, Cat and Sansa aren't interested in hurting their enemies with their own hands, or, in the case of Dany, with her own dragons (this goes for Cersei, too, even though she's the one ordering the suffering of others, not committing it: her aggression is always personal, as we can sense in the first three novels). And, what's more, Sansa isn't interested in hurting anyone, actually. Cat does have an aggressive side in her; it's female aggression all the way, but aggression it is. Sansa, on the other hand, almost never desires other people to suffer in any way. There's only one noticeable exception: Joffrey. She does think on one or two occasions how nice it would be if Robb put a sword in Joff, and, by extension, she wishes Lannisters are defeated in the war against her family. However, we have to consider the situation she finds herself in at those moments – imprisoned by the Lannisters and at Joff's 'mercy' all the time; small miracle she wishes them ill. I've never been a girl arrested by the grave enemies of my family, but if I was, I'd definitely pray for their most horrible deaths every single night. And, we have to remember that, after Joff's death, she fails to feel happy over it, even though she tries to a little.

Therefore, it maybe isn't a stretch to say Sansa is probably the one character that is most unlike the author himself. Other major characters, especially POV ones, do resemble Martin at least partially. For males, it's obvious: even though GRRM never fought in a war, nor had any military training whatsoever, men are men; even in our day and age, no male is a complete stranger to war; while depicting all those dramatic battles and duels was quite an achievement (which no personal experience would make any easier, truth be told, because in ASOIAF the combat as a phenomenon is illustrated from any number of angles, each among them presented with an abundance of details), ultimately it was in himself where Martin could find a lot of answers about his male characters, whose position in a society is never independent from their combat prowess or lack of it. Female characters, on the other hand, had to be trickier, just like they always are for male authors – let's admit it, they are not that good in creating great females, just like women writers usually don't produce male characters that are a match to their female characters nor to the male heroes created by male authors. In our day and age, these "gender rules" are rarely spoken of, but they continue to exist, due to gender predispositions that are nowhere as strong as in the mind of an individual. There are exceptions, as in good male characters created by women and vice versa, but they are in a clear minority compared to underdeveloped or unrealistic characters whose only "fault" was that they didn't share the sex with an author. And in that regard, ASOIAF could very well be unparalleled: it is perhaps impossible to find any other story that features nearly as many memorable male and female characters both, as ASOIAF does (truth be told, that fact alone should be enough to inspire analysts and scholars to look at ASOIAF at a different, more demanding light, and not as a genre piece).

Martin's girls, however, aren't completely unlike the man who came up with them. Most of them are willingly participating in "men games", e.g. power-plays and/or wars, which makes for a precious connection to a male mindset of the author. They are thinking and behaving as women (or, in the case of Arya, and Dany to an extent, as girls), but all of them are interacting with something that, in all its glory and misery, can roughly be called "a man's world". Some of the most beautifully written chapters in the series are delivered from female POVs – The Red Wedding and Cersei's "Walk of Shame" come to mind right away; but, in a thematic sense, those and other female chapters don't differ too much from male POVs.

Except for Sansa's chapters, which unmistakably belong to something we can roughly call "a woman's world". Chapters of both male and female POVs in ASOIAF are often rich with testosterone, but Sansa’s ones are almost entirely driven by estrogen: look no further than her captivity in King's Landing, that actually is, as already said, focused around her first period – that decision solely should bring a lot of respect for Martin, because he had to know going that road is never easy for a male writer.

And the funniest thing is, it all fits. Sansa's storyline is distinctive in tone, but not odd. It is a legitimate part of the general plot of ASOIAF. In fact, as her story progresses, Sansa becomes more and more important for The Game, even though she showed no clear inclination to participate in it so far, but at the same time, Martin keeps Sansa away from all those "male" aspects he decorated other female characters of his saga.

And on top of everything, we're presented with her love story, a romance with no other than the man who, prior to discovering some delicate feelings for Sansa, could pose for an ideal brute of Westeros. At the beginning of the story, Sandor Clegane could be perceived as the exact opposite of Sansa. As someone who has no business whatsoever in her world, just like she has none in his. But, with some craft wording and master subtlety, Martin succeeds in illustrating the flood of emotions that go both ways in their relationship. Those emotions are never easy, nor appropriate, let alone allowed – even by Sansa and Sandor themselves! – but they're hard to be denied.

The complexity of their multilayered characters, of their respective positions in a society and in an ongoing war, and of their relationship that resists all known clichés, represent some of the strongest evidence that ASOIAF is much more than a genre piece. There's a lot in these novels that escapes genre boundaries, but nothing more evidently than SanSan. Stuff like that is not your usual fantasy element, no matter how flattering fantasy can be as a label (Homer, Shakespeare, Tolkien – to name just a few all-time greats that created unforgettable stories with supernatural aspects in them). Any author who comes up with that kind of love story involving those kind of characters – and with a legion of other characters, and with no less than four different religions, and with themes of honor, redemption, identity, bravery, equality, ancestry, legacy, freedom, revolution... – deserves to be analyzed not as a genre writer.

Now, one can only imagine what kind of enigma Sansa and Sandor were for Benioff and Weiss. And it pretty much remained unsolved, because, when faced with all the complexity of these two characters, Benioff and Weiss decided to remove it almost entirely, along with their relationship that is reduced to occasional and odd mentioning of 'little bird'. TV Sandor was simplified to a one-note brute that goes around TV Westeros and lectures people about the pleasures of killing, a one-note brute he never was in the novels, not even in the beginning of the saga. TV Sansa, on the other hand, was denied her book complexity by shutting down all her layers, one by one. For example, Benioff and Weiss completely removed her decision to go behind her father's back and inform Cersei of his plan. They simply refused to go down that road. They did something similar to Catelyn, whose infamous line to Jon they didn't remove entirely, but did replace it with a much softer one. It is pretty safe to assume that Cat's and Sansa's complexity did bother Benioff and Weiss from the get-go.

What's also removed from the show is Sansa's agency, primarily represented in the novels by her secret meetings with Dontos, a disgraced knight she herself saved from Joffrey. In the show, we got only the saving scene; it was filmed and executed clumsily, but it was there at least. However, until recently, nobody could be sure Sansa did save Dontos, because the man disappeared afterwards (he was briefly seen as joggling balls in "Blackwater" episode, in the scene in Cersei's chambers, but he was unrecognizable for the vast majority of audience). It is reported, though, that Dontos will be returning in Season 4, so yes, Sansa did save his life after all. But, even when he returns, Sansa's attempts at escaping will be two seasons younger than they should've been at that point, and it's hard to see a way D&D can remedy that neglect.

Show-lovers often defend D&D in regards to Sansa, by saying her personality is a difficult and tricky one for portraying on screen, because even in the books she's introverted. Now, maybe she isn't the most extroverted character ever, but she's pretty far from reclusive, as she does communicate with the outside world a lot at the beginning of the series, before she's imprisoned. And even while in captivity, she can't help but communicate with Sandor and Dontos. What's more, around two of them she is her true self, which provides a wide array of possibilities for a good and informative dialogue that, in an adaptation, could compensate for the lack of inner thoughts. With Dontos, she's open not only because she saved him, but also because he explicitly offers his help (and, truth be told, it is he who enabled her to leave King's Landing eventually, so, even though he wasn't exactly honest with her concerning his motivations, her trust wasn't as misplaced as it may seem at first). And with Sandor, she's open for no particular reason – other than those subtle, emotional forces, that both of them can't help but follow and eventually become the closest and most intimate beings to each other.

The way Martin incepted and developed the barely visible, but undeniable romance, between Sansa and Sandor, is nothing short of literary brilliance. With so few words and interactions, he managed so much. The vast majority of readers are aware of restrained attraction they mutually feel, even though they didn't share a single physical aspect of the romantic relationship.

Martin is indeed a master of subtlety, as evidenced by what looks like the endless amount of carefully hidden clues that point to any number of narrative puzzles, realization of which do make an entire story much richer than if taken at face value. And he's never more subtle than with two romances: Rhaegar/Lyanna and Sandor/Sansa. Now, the respective nature of subtlety of those two romances is rather different. With Rhaegar and Lyanna, a reader is – through Robert's retelling – offered a version that is actually the very opposite of what probably happened, and only later a reader can pick up clues here and there, and finally figure out the story of a fatal attraction between the two. But, the clues are presented throughout the text, so much that, even if you don't decipher everything after the first read, at the end of "A Game of Thrones" – the first book of the series – you'll probably sense that Robert's view on events wasn't exactly accurate.

The story of Sansa and Sandor is a very different one. Their relationship is never as much as addressed, even by themselves. Sandor isn't a POV character, and he's not exactly open to people, so his silence on the matter isn't unexpected. But, Martin didn't address their romance even in Sansa's chapters, which are typically packed with inner thoughts of the POV character. It looks like Martin decided to do it the harder way and make their romance somewhat a mystery even for Sansa, which, in hindsight, does seem to be the most logical way: what teenage girl would be fully aware of a romance that "inappropriate", and experienced in those dire circumstances?! As a result of that decision, the readers got a completely fascinating depiction of a romance, that can be described as a train you hear from miles away: at first, you can't even tell is it a train or some similar sound, but slowly, with every second, you're more and more certain that your ears didn't trick you, and very soon the train is so loud that it is the only thing you can hear at all. In the novels, a reader may find something strange at first, when Sandor shares the secret of his burned face with Sansa. Some alarm may be turned on deep inside. And it becomes more apparent each time two of them share a page, with a culmination during the Battle of the Blackwater Bay, when Sandor, after he decides to desert the Lannisters, visits Sansa in her room and offers to take her home to Winterfell.

It might be the only instance in the entire series where Sandor did ask anyone's approval, which does speak volumes about his feelings for Sansa. Considering the manner in which Martin described this romance, Sandor's actions on that day was as good as a confession of his deep attraction to her. Sansa, on the other hand, doesn't have a single moment which could be pointed at as a prime evidence of her undeniable love for The Hound, but this doesn't mean her feelings toward Sandor aren't palpable. It's one more mastery of the writer: through her frequent (and skewed, but in a telling way) memories on the last time she saw Sandor, he was able to show her feelings resonating more and more inside her.

In the show, Martin was denied a chance to do the same thing, even though he wrote the "Blackwater" episode in Season 2. Thanks to the already destroyed storyline, and to god knows how many changes, and to D&D's decision to remove from the final cut some scenes Martin referred to with his scenes, the one between Sansa and Sandor near the end of that episode, served more as a greeting to book-fans who like SanSan in the source material, than as a goodbye between two not unlike souls who shared much, and could have shared a lot more, and maybe are going to if they meet again. In that scene, Rory McCann was visibly better than usual as Sandor, and Sophie Turner was as good as usual, but, just like with anything ASOIAF, the scene doesn't have nearly the same impact and importance if taken out of context.

The exact context of their SanSan is yet to be fully revealed in the books, too. Because of the already mentioned subtlety – a quality that seems to intimidate showrunners Benioff and Weiss, who, in their turn, do retaliate with their on-screen war on subtlety (just recall what they turned other romances into; for example, the romance between TV Jon "Not The Brightest Kid In The Block" Snow and TV "I Know Everything And Therefore I Can't Stop Talking" Ygritte) – Sansa's and Sandor's love story is by no means an open book. Their romance has its own share of mystery, one of which may be: what inspired those two persons to feel so strongly for each other? Personally, I always thought their mutual attraction isn't only based on a "beauty and the beast" model. There is that, but in their case it goes deeper. If that was the engine behind his emotions, Sandor had more than enough opportunities to find a beauty for his beast long before Sansa entered his life. With Sansa, I'd say their mutual attraction is rooted in their personalities. For example, if you take away Sandor's aggression, he also isn't interested in hurting others. He's naturally talented for violence, and he lives in a society that respects that kind of talent, and that is why he's violent for a living, but at the end of the day, the suffering of others isn't any kind of reward for him. Possibly, because he isn't interested in other people that much. Though, when he is interested in someone, the interest is as strong as they come.

(We don't know at this point, but it's not a stretch to imagine that his reaction to the news that his hated brother was killed wasn't unlike Sansa's reaction to Joff's death. "Am I glad he's dead? Well, not exactly, even though I wanted him killed.")

Sansa may very well be like that, too. That would be one of the possible explanations of her AGOT actions. Like the rest of the Starks, Sansa is a complex character that has some issues of her own, without which neither she nor the other Starks would be such memorable characters as they obviously are; it is the fact that they are both willing and strong enough to fight those issues, that Starks stand out for. Without going into details (as if I could!), I expect that in the remaining novels Sansa is going to face the reasons that made her go to Cersei that damned night and with the consequences of that action. And whatever comes out of that soul-searching will be inevitably combined with her claim to Winterfell that Littlefinger brought up in AFFC. And that combination is going to elevate Sansa's arc to even bigger and more important levels than so far, even though so far she was the one Stark that was most engaged – unwittingly, but still – in the bloody dynastic war for the Iron Throne.

And she'll have to cross paths with Sandor Clegane, one way or another. Their relationship was so meticulously built up, it simply has to get some sort of a closure. What that closure is going to be is impossible to predict, because we are talking of one George R. R. Martin, a writer who managed to shock us as he pleased more than a few times.

What is also impossible, is to take anything that did or didn't happen in the show as any indication at what the closer may or may not be. There isn't a storyline in GoT that wasn't drastically changed, and weakened in the process, but Sansa's arc, along with her relationship with Sandor, is among the biggest victims of D&D's inability to adapt.

Whether you happen to like what Benioff and Weiss put in the show, or don't, you'd be advised not to recognize any significance in their decisions for further developments in ASOIAF. Just like show-lovers tend to remind everyone else, GoT and ASOIAF are two entirely separate beasts. And book Sansa and book Sandor, along with everything Martin has in his store for them, can be really glad about it.