#questionable parenting skills in asoiaf

[nicollekidman]

i was reading books like ana karenina and asoiaf when i was like 12 and i didn't think much of it at the time because i love reading until i realized kids my age didn't read books...there's was like one other girl in my class but she was reading harry potter and the immortal instruments

it just makes me sad that we can't even go about having the conversation without people being obtuse and self-defensive because they don't understand the point which is. exactly the point lol. it's a complex issue that i'm not interested in summing up in a silly tumblr post but like. yeah....

your parents didn't let you eat candy for every meal because nutrient-dense foods were required for the healthy development of your organs and body and books are the same way. reading is a skill you develop in childhood and the books you read need to be equally nutrient-dense to create a sense of curiosity and empathy, to start understanding your place within the broader world, and to encourage the development of things like ethics and morality and like. straight up vocabulary and ability to comprehend complex concepts lmao.

i had a lot of bad habits that would've ended up costing me a lot more if i hadn't been completely surrounded by novels and my love of reading hadn't been fostered from like. pre-k. i owe literally everything about my intellect and most of my personality to the fact that i was voraciously and constantly exposed to texts not only at my age-level but above it. that's how i got into college, it's how i graduated, it's how i remain an engaged and conscientious member of society.

your brain requires constant and careful nurturing just like your body, and if you ignore that or are allowed to ignore that, you end up a person who can't ask difficult questions (much less answer them), where ignorance makes you feel fear and anger rather than opportunity. it's just a colorless, reactionary world.

so like yeah. i think people should read anything and everything when they're young so they have the tools and the desire to keep learning and growing and questioning as they grow older. and your friend is still better off than a lot of people!! i was reading hp and tmi at that age too!

but again this is coming from a person whose main life philosophy is that books can save the world as long as there are people to read them so. I've gone almost a year without reading any litfic so that's not really my point, it's that as a young person you need to build the skills to become a successful adult and you cannot do that while remaining fossiled in the "comfort" of YA.

[sweetestpopcorn]

Hi, hope you're well. I love reading your works and reading through your blog.

Since you talk about canon events/relationships on here sometimes, I was wondering what you think Daemon thought of the 'Velaryon' Princes. It always seems to be a heated debate in fandom, some thinking Daemon was too 'valyrian supremacy' to want to see Jace rule, and others thinking them being half-Harwin wouldn't matter to him since they were also half-Rhaenyra, so I am interested to hear your take.

Unrelated, but I'm also interested in why you chose Vermithor as Prince Viserys' dragon, if there was any specific reason behind it? I love his dynamic with Daemon and him reminding him that his dragon was bigger than Caraxes was amazing :)

Hi there and I hope you are well too :)

Let me start by thanking you so much for your beyond lovely words and please know it gives me a lot of happiness to know you enjoy what I write ❤️

Going back to your two questions, yes, I talk about canon events/relationships because this is the base to everything I write and I make this a strong base because as a fan of the asoiaf books, I want to honour said books and to make what I do as close to them as my limited skills allow me. And as a fanfiction reader, my condition to read fanfiction is to be made to feel as if I am reading about the same characters as I did in the original story. If I demand this of others, I make this demand of myself as well when I am writing, again with the skills I have.

About Daemon's relationship with the "Velaryon" princes I have lost count of the number of asks I received about this. I am in the process of compelling all of them and answering everyone in a single go. I might disappoint some people but I never hid this and I will make it ver clear now -> I am not particularly interested in Daemon's relationship with his stepsons, I am much more interested in his relationship (like infinite times) with his actual sons Aegon and Viserys who were the son(s) he waited so long for. I also do not think that said relationship with the "Velaryon" princes is that important.

However, if you read what I write you know I am currently writing "The Year of the Red Spring" which follows the (asoiaf) canon events for the Year of the Red Spring, 120 AC. I have already included several scenes showing Daemon's relationship with the "Velaryon" princes before he married Rhaenyra, so you and other people asking me about that can refer to that and stay tuned for more :) as it will be far more complete and detailed than any answer I give here.

Still on this relationship and Daemon's potential thoughts about the boys, you pose me two sides, I disagree with both and say neither. The issue was not that Daemon was too 'valyrian supremacy', the issue was that the "Velaryon" princes were not his sons and that actually, funny thing, he had his own sons with the Princess of Dragonstone, so nothing in the world would be more natural than for him to want said sons to be her heirs, especially when the other sons his wife had actually did not have a true claim to the throne - their claim was based on a lie. Daemon is in most ways just as other men of his time. I see nothing about him being very different or particularly feminist or progressive, if anyone is interested there is plenty of research out there showing the different dynamics and outcomes in relationships between full parents, adoptive parents and stepparents with their children, and such research shows that blood speaks louder. I also see no reason what so ever to believe nor any textual evidence that Daemon would care about his stepsons more than his own sons and daughters. And because evidence is absent and what is there points to the contrary, I don't think Daemon liked or cared about his stepsons more than his actual children.

As for the other question about Viserys and Vermithor, as I have mentioned and explored either here or in comments in my fics, I am not shy about saying I don't like the Dragonseeds plot. It was a sh:t idea that turned to an even bigger sh:t and besides Addam and Alyn I don't really care about any of the other seeds, Nettles might have some potential but Hugh and Ulf are 100% a steaming pile of trash. Besides, in my AU, Viserys is much older at the time of the Dance. It would not make sense for him to still be dragonless when there were several dragons available lying around.

Of all of these dragons Vermithor made the most sense, not only because I do like how their two names go together (y'all know my petty a**), but also because Vermithor had been Jaehaerys's dragon. Jaehaerys and Viserys have a lot in common personality wise and Viserys would be someone that Jaehaerys's would be happy to see Vermithor go to - in my humble opinion. Furthermore, there is something poetic about Aegon II having Sunfyre and Aemond Vhagar and Aegon III having Stormcloud and Viserys II Vermithor -> storms can be foes to the sun in a sense, and Vhagar belonged to an enemy of Vermithor's rider. Aegon II and Aegon III were firstborns and Aemond and Vermithor second sons.

All the best to you and one less ask to answer for me!

PS: I do not plan to open my inbox to Anons any time soon because I still have about 50 answers to get through and I also have tons of updates to consider. Thank you for understanding :)

[writingwenches]

Storge 3 and Pragma 1 for Lyn?

Finally answering this from days ago~ THANKS darlin' These were some fun ones for someone raised an orphan ehehe 💕

I'm going to write so much because I'm finally in the mood so apologizes for the essays but THANKS for giving me a place to gush and have character study time ^.^

3///STORGE — How far does parental approval (imagined or expressed) impact upon their current sense of self-worth? What might they sacrifice or attempt to achieve in order to ensure the approval of their parents?

Life as an orphan: Lyn was surrounded by strong female role models, she was raised exclusively by woman in a Motherhouse south of The Neck amongst Septas of every shape, race, class, etc. I gave it romanticized catholic all-girls sleepaway camp in the deep woods. LOL A Motherhouse is the Westeros/Faith version of a convent, which were historically little economy run by woman.

SO, her approval from the Septas was always based on THEM holding the power to keep her housed/fed, so she needed to get their approval of else she'd be sent packing (like many other girls, especially stolen wildling girls). This situation sets her up to WANT a "comfortable" life. She's been offered a place to live with various wildling clans some girls escape to, but Lyn turns them down, wanting the "comfort" of a stone house with a hearth, especially in a place that has harsh winters. She is realistic about life and wants to maintain her "current standard of living" so, working in a Keep would be (in her opinion) the best life option for her.

The Septas aren't asking much, they are asking their girls to be "realistic" regarding their place in life. They aren't raising women to be "wives" because these girls have zero prospects, so they teach them life skills to get a job and make their own money to support themselves and not rely on the charity of others. She sacrifices being lazy, and enjoying hobbies that aren't also side-hustles. Her "art" is basket making, but always with the intention of selling it. And...she doesn't really day dream about being "saved" from her life by a man, so all her daydreams of romance are based on mutual respect and "duel income" lifestyles of them both working to support each other LAWL

(in the asoiaf wiki it says the Motherhouses teach girls to read but not this one because #1 working/servant class girls should learn to read because it might give them ~big ideas~ AND #2 we can have a later adorable plot of Lyn learning to read hehe and also #3 an illiterate character is fascinating, she could get a letter with detailed war plans and its meaningless oops)

Life as a highborn: THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE, is more or less the pivotal plot point of the whole story hehehe~

Currently what I have written is the happy fun part, and the next chapter is Cinda putting her foot down and explaining how things work in high born society. This is where the horror of the story comes in. In our modern times, what Cinda does to Lyn is torture, mostly psychological...but in Westeos society its just "how things are done" especially to women who misbehave. I think about these historic women often, because they are purposefully forgotten by history. Cinda basically explains to Lyn that she's a highborn lady, and for the Lannister family it would be better for Lyn to be dead than allowed to life a "low-born" life of potential bastards etc.

Is Cinda doing this because she's a psychopath or does she have an ulterior motive?? Fun question!

Lyn does not want to sacrifice ANYTHING for this new family. She wants nothing to do with their freaky traditions and rules and wants/tries to escape often. She is basically a hostage in a cult and everyone around her (including our poor bb aemond) can't understand why she can't "just be happy about it all!" Fun fact, Lyn has a large facial difference/black skin patches on her face, so the knowledge that the Lannisters will pay for anyone to bring her back to them if she escapes just traps her in their world lol oops

Lyn is basically Handmaid's Tale style trapped in Gilliad and always trying to escape, so her "sacrifices" are to play her part juuust enough to be allowed to live. So, lots of pushing that boundary in the plot, and learning how the ~high born game~ is played as she's playing it lol

1///PRAGMA — Is your OC in a committed long-term relationship (or relationships)? If so then what has contributed to this relationship lasting so well? If they are not in such a relationship, then is this something that saddens them or which they regret?

HEHEHEE and the ~romance~ part of the story. This originally started as an Aemond x OC story! But always from the perspective of OC women at court. So, obvs my Aemond is completely AU because of the other characters added around them. I'm focusing on him being more "emo teen boy" given way too much power.

Because I love romance as a genre, but also I like playing with tropes, in my story all the "men" are treated like ~accessories~ Sure, they have problems but its major First World Problems™ that get put into perspective through the story. Aemond in this story can be summed up by Agony from Into the Woods

Lyn ends up with Aemond! That's the romance~ But, it takes a lot to get there.

Lyn is the embodiment of Elizabeth Bennet during Darcy's first proposal.

Aemond: But I love you! Lyn: We've spoken three times! You don't know anything about me! Aemond: but you're so not traditionally beautiful and helpless D: and I'd be such a good person to marry you! D: Lyn: 🤢 SIR PLEASE stop following me Aemond: I can give you the world!! I can make you queen of the kingdom! Just have by babies and respect my authority. Lyn: That's not good enough

Through his life, Aemond is going to be begging woman to marry him because he can "save" them from misogyny of the world.

He can save Cinda from being mocked for being unwed, she doesn't care about that and turns him down through his childhood.

Ivyanne Tyrell, the only daughter of the current Tyrells with little to no other relatives to succeed them. Ivyanne being a woman is already causing a secession crisis for them. They spent time in Essos trying to find some sort of foreign rich prince to marry her. Then they realized they would marry her to Aemond. The next Lord Tyrell would be a Targaryen Prince. DONE. Right? Wrong. Ivyanne was caldron made, and magic loves to fuck everything up. Ivy is the character in history that horrifies me to think about. Ivy is a lesbian through and through, knows it about herself, and will not marry a man. Her issue, is she can't be killed to make way for someone else with a claim, so the world is attempting to force her to marry Aemond. Ivy is a sword lesbian and Aemond's greatest rival, even though she can't train in the yard, or fight in tourneys. She does things like cut/shave all her hair off to rebel and gets punished for it. Aemond begs her to marry him, he is a "good person" and wouldn't make her do anything, and she can live her life and deal with the consequences later. And she tells him, many times, that's not good enough. Aemond argues that they'll kill her before giving her what she wants, and Ivyanne says "then I'll die free" 🤷🏻

There's no therapy in this world, so OBVIOUSLY the angst of the story is Aemond internalizes all of these rejections to be about HIM and not about the world.

In a very "cruel prince" trope way, Aemond turns all of this into anger and hatred and lashes out. I love playing with classic tropes so things like "if you touch her I'll kill you" is psychotic and terrifying so...that'll happen oops.

Thankfully, Aemond is very Zuko coded and realizes through the story, and mainly through interacting with someone raised as a peasant, that his problems are very small compared to others', and his "redemption arch" will be learning to be an ally. He changes from lashing out in cruelty to learning to use his privilege to help others.

SO, Lyn and Aemond will end up together as Aemond learns what love truly is and what friendship truly means...all while Lyn is trapped in the Stepford Wives horror castle. I see the relationship lasting, and they'll be happy and together one day...but it takes a while.

HEHEHE, also many of these characters "escape" the dance by traveling to my original continent of Nossos #whoops Nossos is experiencing their own civil war, inspired by history of Samurai, their war is more "small folk" against former dragon-lords and everything will change when Lyn and co. bring an IRL dragon (Helaena and Dreamfyre) to the samurai party 👀

[musing-and-music]

Ao3 First Lines Tag Game

Thanks @klainelynch for the tag!

Rules: Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

She's not a diamond, ASOIAF, Jaime/Brienne, Regency AU (on going), Rating T

“Lady Brienne of Tarth, daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth!”

Brienne had barely put a foot in the throne room when whispers arose around her. She’d expected that, since she had never caused anything else than astonishment when she entered a room. She was seventeen, but she towered most of the assemblies she was invited to. Her height attracted eyes, but she knew her face only caused disgust to people who didn’t know her. This time would be no exception.

A king's decision, ASOIAF, early canon-divergence, Aegon V Targaryen, Rating T (on going)

From his seat dominating the feast table, Aegon gazed at his children as he entwined his fingers with his wife’s. He felt Betha’s eyes on him, open and filled with a question, but still took his time contemplating his progeny before talking.

a dream team's shenanigans, FMA, Team Mustang, Royai, Modern AU, Rating T (on going)

When Lieutenant-Colonel Mustang had met Second-lieutenant Breda who was fresh from the academy after the end of the Ishvalan War, the first thing that interested him was his bright intellect. Despite his average results in physical tests - however his endurance was quite good - he got first place in all classes concerning strategy, field approach, and knowledge of the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.

there ain't no way, baby (to get me out this house), ASOIAF, Jaime/Brienne, Post ADWD, Rating E

Jaime checked the lists of equipment that would be charged on the carts on the morrow one last time, before ensuring with Lord Royce that the men were ready to accompany him to King’s Landing.

We're a long term project, ASOIAF, Jaime/Brienne, Modern AU, Rating T

Brienne reads the resume once more and frowns as she meets the sharp gaze on the photo. This man is the best candidate Catelyn has found for now, after one month, but she can’t help the unease gripping her gut. Jaime Lannister is well-known, not for his skills -they look impressive, though-, but for his name and his bad reputation.

Is it the place or the people? (that warms my cold bones), FMA, Havolina, Royai, Team Mustang, High-school AU, Rating T

“Dammit! Shitty weather!” Jean complained as he removed his anorak still covered with snow and hung it on the coat rack covered with his colleagues’ coats. His hand was still numb from the shock against the wall that had stopped his fall, and his whole body was freezing because of the last hour spent outside, overlooking the installation of winter decorations around the building.

Royai : a OS Compilation, FMA, Royai, Rating T

The night was dark, the room was silent. Laying on his hospital bed, unable to sleep, Roy Mustang kept his blind eyes focused on the ceiling. All he could see was black. With or without light, he didn’t see anything. He was blind since Pride and Wrath forced him to open the Gate. He saw the Truth, and his sight had been taken.

Regular news, FMA, Winry Rockbell, Riza Hawkeye, Rating T

Since the brothers’ departure from Resembool to serve in the military, Winry had received news from them only a handful of times, and seen them even less often. It was one of the most frustrating things for the young girl. Her childhood friends, with whom she’d lived for years, with whom she’d been through the worst hardships – their mother’s death, her parents’ – now showed up only when Ed’s automail had an urgent need to be maintained.

A few nights in Westeros, ASOIAF/GOT, Jaime/Brienne, Rating T, OS collection

When Jaime opened his eyes, he saw blue. Not any blue. A deep blue, more beautiful than the sky’s, brighter than the sea’s, more precious than all sapphires’. Blue that made him forget about the green he’d dived in for years.

Pain grasped him again and he fell unconscious, before he could say something or look around him.

The sight descending toward me took my breath away, FMA, Royai, Regency AU, Rating T

“Riza, I’m home!” Roy shouted as he gave his hat and gloves to Madeline, who took them away with a smile.

He began to climb the stairs, impatient to see his wife again. They’d seen each other this morning, she’d been in his thoughts all day, but he couldn’t bear to be parted from her for too long - he cursed the times Grumman had sent him away on business when he and Riza weren’t even betrothed.

And I'll tag @nightofnyx8 , @niconiconina , @vayalda , @iammistressofmyfate , @greenmtwoman , @fullmetalscullyy , @aquietwritingcorner , @it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined , @wirettewirette , @beryllium--astatine if you want!

[abla-soso]

People who question his love for his children based on his shitty morals or his shitty parenting skills are incapable of handling nuance, and it shows.

Aegon was forced to be father at age 15. Viserys was his only role model on how to be a father. Of course his parenting skills are severally lacking. But he does genuinely try to fix what he consciously recognised as bad parenting from Viserys.

And bad people can genuinely love their children, even if some of the reasons for this genuine love are selfish. This is ASOIAF, why are we still debating this?

Tom Glynn-Carney and Ryan Condal comment on Aegon's fatherhood and his dynamic with Jaehaerys.

[lilbreck]

AGoT Chapters 19 - 23

I know, it’s been a hot minute. But I’m reading again. Feel free to discuss anything with me if you agree or disagree, either way.

If you want to follow along, I'm tagging my ASoIaF reading as tonya rereads asoiaf.

Chapter 19: Jon II

I like how this establishes right away that Jon is excellent with a sword. I don’t remember if Jon keeps being this closed off an entitled or not. However, he seems to look down on everyone around him which might explain why they all quickly picked up on the “Lord Snow” bit and don’t hang out with him.

The more time he spent with them, the more Jon despised them.

Yeah, that feeling seems to be very much mutual here. However, I do like that we get another layer to it; that we see a hint that all this isolation and such is to cover how much he hates that no one told him what it would really be like and how abandoned he feels. Of course, would he have believed them? It’s hard to tell, though the fact that he quickly adapts to the truth that Tyrion gave him says he probably would.

Honestly… I kinda get why they have to almost brainwash people into abandoning all they knew before, but it seems so cruel and vicious. I have a lot of feelings on how Jon needed this experience, though. He needed to see that, though he was a bastard, he is spoiled and privileged. Everyone talk about how mean various characters must have been to Jon growing up, but he had it fucking easy for a bastard.

“They’re not my brothers,” Jon snapped. “They hate me because I’m better than they are.”

“No. They hate you because you act like you’re better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he’s a lordling.” The armorer leaned close. “You’re no lordling. Remember that. You’re a Snow, not a Stark. You’re a bastard and a bully.”

This right here. People talk about how [certain other Starks] are bullies, but Jon is a bully when he gets to the wall. He takes out all his anger, resentment, and frustration on those around him. As much as I detest bullies, I like this Jon better than the saint!Jon envisioned by some of fandom.

Also, as much as I detest Tyrion, I am grateful for the advise he gives Jon in this chapter. Also, I love that it’s not really the realization that he’s been a bully or Tyrion’s advise that changes how in interacts with the others on the Night Watch, it’s knowing Bran woke up. That really speaks, in my opinion, to the connection the Stark children share. Of course, you know, not everyone appreciates that people are laughing with Jon and not at him here, but… it is what it is.

Chapter 20: Eddard IV

Honestly, I find Ned’s chapters so fucking boring.  This did jump out to me, though:

What was it that Jon had said when they found the pups in the snow? Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord. And he had killed Sansa’s, and for what? Was it guilt he was feeling? Or fear? If the gods had sent these wolves, what folly had he done?

Also, Ned and Cat trust Petyr way too much. Especially Cat with how he ambushed her when she landed and was all up in her business. Honestly, I have little patience with the older set in these books. Does it show? Of course, me saying that now could have everything to do with me knowing how it ends up for them. Knowing what’s coming is a pain in the ass sometimes.

“My lady,” he said, turning to Catelyn, “there is nothing more you can do here. I want you to return to Winterfell at once. If there was one assassin, there could be others. Whoever ordered Bran’s death will learn soon enough that the boy still lives.”

Right here and there, knowing what they knew, Ned should have sent the girls back with his wife. Full stop. I swear, I can find a way to blame at least half of this book’s foolishness on how Ned and Cat coddled and then failed to protect their children. It may not all be fair, but I can still find a way. And he’s even talking about preparing for war! He should have snuck those girls out and sent them off with their mother.

Chapter 21: Tyrion III

There’s really not a lot to say about this chapter. I like Tyrion better in this one, probably because he isn’t talking about wanting to burn his family alive and assuming Jon felt the same. I also like that we got a glimpse of Jon getting along better with some of the other brothers. They’re just all really fucked because people put their unwanted up on the wall and forget all about the place and people there. Poor fucking Mormont.

So far, I like Tyrion’s chapter’s slightly more than Ned’s, but that’s not really a high bar.

Chapter 22: Arya II

Arya’s breaking my heart here.

Arya hated it. She hated the sounds of their voices now, the way they laughed, the stories they told. They’d been her friends, she’d felt safe around them, but now she knew that was a lie. They’d let the queen kill Lady, that was horrible enough, but then the Hound found Mycah. Jeyne Poole had told Arya that he’d cut him up in so many pieces that they’d given him back to the butcher in a bag, and at first the poor man had thought it was a pig they’d slaughtered. And no one had raised a voice or drawn a blade or anything, not Harwin who always talked so bold, or Alyn who was going to be a knight, or Jory who was captain of the guard. Not even her father.

I think this really shows what the South has to teach Arya. She had been coddled up North. There was a level of justice there that didn’t exist elsewhere (though may have only really existed at Winterfell, it’s hard to tell). It’s why she felt free to attack Joffrey. He was in the wrong and, in her eyes, it didn’t matter that he was a prince. In the South, of course, only the royal family’s justice matters. It’s why no one raised a hand to stop Lady or Mycah’s death.

What I do notice in Arya here, that seems to be missing in her father, is the ability to see the fault in those she loves. Ned still can’t bring himself to believe that his friend isn’t the man he’d like to believe he is. Arya even says here that even her father didn’t bother to speak out against it. Though, I notice that she says it’s the queen that killed Lady. While, yes, Cersei is why Lady was killed, Arya doesn’t seem quite ready to admit that her father played his part in Lady’s death. I just wish she could realize that, yes she may have had a hand in the events that lead to Lady and Mycah’s death, that the fault ultimately lays at the feet of the royal family and Sandor.

It’s my belief that, by the end of the series, Arya won’t be queen of the 7k or North, as some believe, but that she will be the one who reforms the justice system. Takes it out of the sole hands of the ruler, maybe. She’s beginning to see here that people just go along with what the king says, no matter how cruel, and that the smallfolk suffer. Granted, I think she’s got a long way to go (she’ll take a detour into vengeance city, but she’ll head back to justice after), but you can see where the spark of what I believe her endgame is gets started.

Honestly, I think at least half the problems between Arya and Sansa (aside from just normal sister issues when the sisters are so different) are because of the damn Septa. And, yes, part of me rages that Ned and Cat are trying to force Arya into a role she doesn’t want.

“I do not mean to frighten you, but neither will I lie to you. We have come to a dark dangerous place, child. This is not Winterfell. We have enemies who mean us ill. We cannot fight a war among ourselves. This willfulness of yours, the running off, the angry words, the disobedience … at home, these were only the summer games of a child. Here and now, with winter soon upon us, that is a different matter. It is time to begin growing up.”

Hey, Ned? Couple things I want to talk about. First, this isn’t your only daughter, you really should be having this talk with both of them. Second, you should have had this fucking talk back before Robert and the Lannisters assholes showed up in Winterfell. You fell down on the job, and now your fuck ups have a damn body count. Also, it’s about damn time that you noticed your younger daughter was willful and would probably be more inclined to learn all the shit you have the Septa shoving down her throat if you also allowed her to learn to fight like you do in this chapter.

It was the third time he had called her “boy.” “I’m a girl,” Arya objected.

“Boy, girl,” Syrio Forel said. “You are a sword, that is all.”

I can’t tell if this (him repeatedly calling her a boy and then a sword) is just coincidence, or if it’s a bit of foreshadowing of what she’ll have to go through, how she’ll have to nearly lose her identity. If not, it’s a nice little bit. I wonder if it was Ned’s deliberate choice to get her a teacher to show her a form of fighting better suited to her size and probably over-all body strength? If so, he’s earned some points back from me.

Chapter 23: Daenerys III

You know, reading this… Drogo’s definitely in line for the Vlad treatment. I just find it kind of odd that GRRM would write him being so considerate and very aware of her consent and waiting for it on their wedding night, and yet this:

Yet every night, some time before the dawn, Drogo would come to her tent and wake her in the dark, to ride her as relentlessly as he rode his stallion. He always took her from behind, Dothraki fashion, for which Dany was grateful; that way her lord husband could not see the tears that wet her face, and she could use her pillow to muffle her cries of pain.

I’m sure at least half the pain is from her saddle sores, but the other half is probably from her fuckboi husband riding her like a horse. What was GRRM thinking? I suppose we’re supposed to take comfort in the fact that she eventually finds pleasure in the sex during their trip, but… no. I can’t take comfort in that. She’s 14, he’s 30. And not a slight 30 either. He’s a large and brutal 30 and she’s a slight and delicate 14. Yeah, I’m going to have to mentally age up these younger characters to get through this.

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

As much as I talked about Arya’s recent chapter showing where I thought she would end up, this dream right here pretty much spells it out. It shows her embracing what it means to be a dragon, being “purified” by it (pure doesn’t always mean good and kind) and then after that she heals rather quickly. The dragon egg that Drogon will probably hatch from (IIRC) is the one she reaches out to feel, and it’s Drogon (as a representation of herself, or as itself) that is in her dream. I think right from her third chapter we get a hint that she’s never going to be a queen in peace. She’ll have at least one opportunity, but she ends up turning away from it, and I think that will be her last opportunity. She’s going to go full dragon, and I can’t wait to read from her POV as she does. It won’t be pretty, but it’s bound to be interesting.

You know, I love that Daenerys took away the power her brother had over her. She saw him for what he was and, in part due to her new status but also, I believe, in part due to the dragon dream, was able to let go of her fear of him. I admit, I cheered. When Jorah backs her and tells her the straight truth that the people aren’t begging for their return and she listens and understands the truth of what he says, it almost makes you have hope for her. There are parts of her that could be a good queen who reigns in peace. Her story wouldn’t be an interesting struggle if there weren’t.

I do like how her healing, taking away her brother’s power over her, and taking control of her sex life all tie in together. She’s taking control, and I do think it has a lot to do with embracing the dragon dream, even though she may not realize what the means. I was wrong before, she doesn’t turn 14 until the end of this chapter. And she’s pregnant. I can’t help but think what would have been if Robert hadn’t tried to have her killed. Would she have lived her life out with Drogo and however many children they had, and would the eggs have gone unhatched?

[asoiafgotcollections]

Hi! So, this is probably a weird question, but here it goes. So, we know that for younger male children of houses, when they stand to inherit nothing, they can go off to become a maester, or go to the Wall. And criminals can go off to the Wall too. But, is there any similar sort of 'escape mechanism' for women, either disgraced highborn women or criminals? Do we know how septas are 'created', so to speak, and whether in would be an option in these sort of cases?

Hmmmm I don't think we have this knowledge confirmed.

I haven't read ASOIAF in a while but from what I know about Medieval and Renaissance history, I know that upper and middle class girls without prospects end up going to the church since there weren't really many options for genteel women, including those who fell on hard times, who have no real skills besides wife and whore. Like, a woman from the aristocracy, at least in most cases, really had only two options in life: marry a man who could support her or join a nunnery. And, young girls were sent by their parents to nunneries in order to gain an education – the best one available to girls in the medieval world – or simply because the family had such a number of daughters that marrying them all off was an unlikely possibility.

And, since GRRM tends to bastardize history, I can see Septas being born of a similar concept but again, I'm speculating.

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

After the misogynistic shitshow by Dumb&Dumber, do you have any recommendations (can be books/movies/shows/etc.) for series with women in power written well? Something that is, you know, beyond Dumb&Dumber's two brain cells to understand?

My apologies for how long it took me to answer this, anon.

I’ll be glad to point out to you some well-written stories of women in power. The issue is that I’m not certain what you mean by “women in power”. The most common interpretation that comes to my mind is a woman in political power, but there are several kinds, so I’ll give you a broader range of suggestions.

Now I have to say, I’m no expert in this topic, and I probably can’t give you as many recommendations as I’d like. Sorry about that. And also - all of these series I’m recommending have shortcomings, and none of them are perfect. I’ll make sure to list the (perceived, in my eyes at least) shortcomings of my suggestions. I do have to warn you first, though, that my descriptions contain minor spoilers.

*These are in no particular order

1. Tolkien

Whenever I’m asked a question about a series with well-written women, my first answer is always to read Tolkien’s books. The history of his legendarium spans thousands and thousands of years in earthly time, and even goes back to a time when time itself didn’t exist (a la the creation of the Ainur). There are many, many well-written female characters in the professor’s legendarium, and the best thing, to me, is that they’re varied. Tolkien doesn’t stick to one type of woman to serve as his female ‘icon’, so to speak, he writes women in many different kinds, and I can appreciate all of them.

Some examples: Galadriel is probably the most well-known, and I stan a wise, powerful, revered queen. Other examples include Varda Elentári (I literally worship her lol), Nienna Qalmë-Tári, Melian the Maia, Lúthien Tinúviel, Aredhel Ar-Feiniel, Morwen Eledhwen, and Idril Celebrindal.

Now for the shortcomings. I really only have one shortcoming when it comes to Tolkien, and that’s the fact that he never writes from the direct perspective of his characters, the way, say, GRRM does for ASOIAF. And while that style does have its great points which I enjoy to the fullest, such as leaving everything open for interpretation, it also prevents us from having a full look inside the characters’ heads and completely humanizing them. Although, actually, I tend to enjoy that aspect of Tolkien’s writing, as it allows me to explore and settle on my version of a character (which I usually do through writing fanfiction, lol). Still, this can be a drawback for some.

2. A Song of Ice and Fire

Assuming that ASOIAF’s ending won’t be like the ending for Game of Dumbasses, which I’m 99% certain it won’t be, GRRM generally does quite a good job when writing women in power in the midst of a world as misogynistic and shallow as ASOIAF’s world. He very realistically explores the rewards and consequences of their actions, personalities, and so forth. There is quite a large multitude of female characters in ASOIAF’s world, and they’re all quite varied as well.

Some examples: Daenerys Targaryen (my queen from this day until my last day), Arianne Martell (I love her I love her I love her), Asha Greyjoy, Sansa Stark (she’s become rather controversial as of late thanks to Game of Dumbasses, but I still like book!Sansa despite having my gripes about her), Arya Stark, Alysanne Targaryen, Rhaena Targaryen, and Margaery Tyrell. I might even tentatively name Cersei Lannister, who, while certainly not a good example or representation of a woman in power, is a very well-written example of the consequences that living in such a misogynistic, stiflingly patriarchal world such as ASOIAF’s.  

Now for the shortcomings. As much as I love ASOIAF, there are some rather sexist and racist themes in it, and also, the fact that there’s such detail about nudity, especially in Dany’s early chapters, when she’s a freaking thirteen-year-old, make me very uncomfortable.

3. Empress Ki

Unlike the others on this list, Empress Ki is not a book series (if it was, though - God, I would buy the books so fast). It’s a Korean drama set in Ancient China during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty established by the Mongol Kublai Khan following the life of a real-life historical figure, Empress Qi. Qi began as the daughter of a lower-ranking noble in Koryo (the name for Korea at the time), a vassal state of China. She was sold as a concubine for the emperor, Toghon Temür. Despite having an empress at the time, Toghon Temür fell in love with Qi and favored her. Eventually, Qi did become empress of the Yuan Dynasty.

Empress Ki, the k-drama, follows this history loosely, but it’s by no means historically accurate. Nevertheless, it paints a dramatized version of Empress Ki’s journey. What I like about the drama is that Empress Ki’s ambition is never framed as evil. She becomes very politically astute and manipulative, even vengeful, but maintains her heroism nevertheless. There was never even any hint of “Oh no, her ambition is making her evil™”. I liked that very much, and it was such a breath of fresh air after the vomit-inducing misogyny that D&D didn’t even try to hide in their writing.

Now for the shortcomings. Unfortunately, since this is set in the royal court of imperial China, where empresses and concubines all lived and all grasped for the emperor’s favor, there is a fair bit of cat-fighting going on between the women, a tired and overused trope. While it’s understandable because of the circumstances the women are in, it still tired me to watch. Empress Ki herself was also subject to being forced to behave, at least publicly, in a very narrow and stereotypical line of behavior for a concubine of the emperor, since she needed support. Imperial China was pretty misogynistic as well, and the k-drama is true to that kind of setting, though unfortunately never addressing or framing it as a particularly bad thing. But as I said, Empress Ki follows real history, and I understand why the writers couldn’t throw in something such as women receiving equal rights to being heirs or something to that effect.

4. The Nevernight Chronicle Series

The Nevernight Chronicles is set in a fantasy world with three suns, in which night only arrives once every few years. The main character is Mia Corvere, who is the daughter of an executed traitor in the Itreyan Republic. The story follows Mia as she goes on a journey for revenge against the people who killed her father, and her aim is to become an assassin of a cult, as she believes this would help her achieve her goals. Sounds cliche, right?

Despite this kind-of-overused trope (kid loses parent, becomes an assassin to avenge them), Nevernight caught my attention because Mia, our protagonist, isn’t exactly human. She’s a darkin, and has the power to bend shadows to her will. This power, though, comes with drawbacks. I can’t say too much more, as this isn’t a very well-known series and much more would be spoilers.

Admittedly, I’ve only read the first book and am still trying to get my hands on the second one. In any case, I’m recommending this because I very much enjoyed the way Mia, as an assassin, was written. There’s a very fine balance between her ruthlessness in trying to become a hired killer and the remnants of her morality. I also liked the writing style, although I suppose it’s not for some. The author uses footnotes to help with his worldbuilding, which I found kind of tedious at times unless the information in them was interesting.

Now for the drawbacks (besides the thing about the writing style, lol). I must warn you: although Mia is sixteen at the start of the series, this series is not classified as YA, but rather as adult fiction. And there’s good reason for that. It has some rather explicit descriptions of extreme violence, blood, and gore, and also, characters are put in mature sexual situations despite being only in their teens. Said scenes were pretty well-written in my opinion, but it still made me uncomfortable. There is also some underlying racism.

5. Game of Queens

Game of Queens . . . had its good points and its not-so-good points. The reason I’m putting it on this list is because it follows the story of the two Biblical queens, Vashti and Esther. As you may know, Vashti was ordered by her husband, the king of Persia Ahasuerus, to appear before him and his men in the men’s banquet hall, which was considered extremely scandalous and something no decent woman should ever do. Vashti refused, and because of her refusal, she was either deposed, exiled, or executed. The Bible doesn’t mention her again.

Ahasuerus’ second queen, Esther, was a Jew but had to hide it (I believe the Persian Empire disliked Jews or something to that effect, but frankly I can’t remember exactly why). However, Ahasuerus, influenced by his villainous counselor, almost ordered war on the Jews. To save her people, Esther revealed her identity as a Jew, putting herself at risk, and pleaded with Ahasuerus to call off the war, which he did.

Anyway, I very much liked Vashti and Esther’s characterization in the books, for different reasons. Vashti I liked because she began as a pawn: naive, carefree, wanting for nothing, and then she began to realize that she was being used. Her story in Game of Queens is about moving past and growing from the manipulated, unthinking child she was into a competent and intelligent manipulator herself. What I find noteworthy, though, is that despite her increasing cunning, she retains her gentle nature, and her kind personality never really changes. Too often have I seen stories where women lose innocence and become cold and hard as they learn to play the political game. And while I enjoy stories like that too, I admit it was very refreshing to see something different.

I liked Esther because she defied the norm of a woman during that era. Esther was a skilled horse rider, and strong and fit physically, not at all delicate. A moment I really, really liked in her story was when her aunt commented that she must be tired after a long journey, and Esther, raised more as her father’s son than her father’s daughter, replied that no, she wasn’t, and that she was very used to traveling much further distances.

Lastly, Vashti and Esther also became friends in Game of Queens, and I very much enjoyed reading the moments of their friendship. There’s no jealousy between them, no pettiness, no catfighting. Just two young women working together and becoming close.

As for the shortcomings, I disliked two things in particular: Amestris, Ahasuerus’ mother, is the classic power-hungry seductress who attempts to manipulate everything from behind the scenes. It’s not that I disliked her in and of herself - she was a very competent, very intelligent woman, but her character is such a stereotype that I felt it detracted from the story. She’s given no real backstory, no real motivation. The other thing I disliked is that Esther fell in love with Ahasuerus at first sight, based only on his handsome looks. For someone as witty, determined, and tough as Esther’s portrayal in Game of Queens, I was disappointed that her falling in love with Ahasuerus was such a swift process with no logical or emotional backdrop.

My dear friend @martaaa1506 also told me that the Wheel of Time series and the Witcher series are very good. I’d actually advise you to check her out for more recommendations, lol. 

[ofluciana]

“ she told me that love is a loaded gun that she’s been trying to dodge for many years now. .”

LUCIANA ZABINI is 30 years old and works as a FREELANCE POTIONEER/PHILANTHROPIST and is loyal to THE DEATH EATERS they were an SLYTHERIN and are a PUREBLOODED. SHE looks like AJA NAOMI KING.

CHARACTER PARALLELS: gloria delgado ( modern family ), cersei lannister ( asoiaf ), irene adler ( sherlock ), amy dunne ( gone girl ), katherine pierce ( the vampire diaries ), tahani al-jamil ( the good place ), michaela pratt ( htgawm ) AESTHETIC: pearl necklaces, heels longer than your d*ck, red wine stains on white blouses, perfect manicures, finding loneliness both a comfort and a hauntingly scary thing, gold eyeliner, faux fur coats, reveling in your own beauty and not apologising for it, silk sheets, childhood memories you’ve buried, dark purple lipstick LINKS: stats. pinboard. character tag. playlist. HEADS UP: there’s mentions of abuse ( spousal, child ), alcoholism and murder in here. all are marked at the bulletpoint!

history

luciana is born ready for a life of nannies, of pampering and being spoiled and getting everything she wants. for the first few years of her life, that’s exactly how it goes, too. her father’s a successful businessman, having connections all over the world, his business bringing in the money the zabini’s depend on, breathe on, sleep on. her first four years are spent on silk sheets and expensive clothes, in a massive penthouse apartment overseeing swansea.

it all falls to pieces when her father’s debts catch up on him and he goes bankrupt. there’s no money left. it’s a surprise to her mother, who thought business was booming and that there was nothing to worry about, but they have to move out either way, swap their massive place for a tiny flat in italy that just fits three people. elizabeth is four years old and doesn’t understand what is going on.

[ spousal abuse tw, alcoholism tw, child abuse tw her father starts drinking. a lot. he goes job hunting every day, at least, that’s what he says, and comes home smelling of booze and stumbling every evening. at one point, he starts drinking at home, too, having lost any sense of pride. the zabinis have been knocked from their pedestal, so there’s no room to pretend at home. when he starts drinking at home, the fights between him and luciana’s mother increase. her mother screams and her father sits still until he’s done listening and ends the fight with a smack against a cheek or something more. his anger turns to her at times, too, but not as much as it does to her mother, but it does, and that’s enough for her hate to start growing.

her mother starts growing absent, too. hiding in her bedroom or slipping from the house to visit friends and family and her other lover, leaving luciana alone with her father, or completely alone. the situation worsens. luciana learns to escape, to tune out the world around her, to let her imagination run wild. she keeps her hate and grudges locked up in her chests and learns to cry quietly. end of tws ]

they are kicked out of their house for the first time when she’s ten. they couldn’t make rent for the second month in a row and their landlord is done. her parents play the blaming game and luciana cries in the dry sheets at the motel they stay in now. they itch and are cold and she just wants a place to call home. 

at least she can go to hogwarts half a year later. she had been enrolled there since birth, so of course she goes there. her parents don’t move to the UK, not wanting to face the pureblood families they used to see so very often before. 

hogwarts is an escape, a place for luciana to leave behind the endless fights and the new shitty flat and to focus on something else than keeping quiet and not becoming too bored. she’s sorted in slytherin, like her mum was ( her dad went to school in italy, never even saw inside hogwarts, and perhaps that made the place even better ) and flourishes. socially, academically: suddenly luciana grows into something more than what she was before, learns how to use her disadvantages as advantages.

she mixes with the pureblood crowd like she should have done years ago, tells lies as to why she wasn’t at many events ( things like we moved to italy because of a grand business opportunity there and our mansion looks out over the mediterranean sea! ) and reconciles with people she went on playdates with before everything turned to shit. she gets into the slug club, grows ambitious when she finds out she has skills, proper skills, in potions.

her ambition becomes a drive, becomes a plan: she signs up for summer internships, for ways out of the live she has been living so far. she talks to slughorn ( who likes her, even if her dad’s a failure ) and searches for opportunities, chances, anything to become successful, to do what a zabini is supposed to do. to do what her shitty excuse of a father failed to do.

once graduated, she starts working to earn the title of potioneer, staying in contact with slughorn and meeting members of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers, making connections and impressions. she’s nineteen when she gains the title. she’s one of the youngest who gets the title and she’s reveling in it. she starts making potions for st mungo’s and the aurors, works freelance, and so for no one but those she wants to work with. she makes her own money, and feels on top of the world.

luciana’s climb on the social ladder does not go unnoticed, and at the age of twenty four she marries a rich pureblood man (1973). she swaps the apartment she shares for his mansion and pretends to love him. she doesn’t, of course --- she wants his money, his power, to climb up that ladder, to have a taste of the life she should have had all that time. 

[ abuse tw ] she doesn’t love him and he doesn’t love her either, no matter what he thinks or says. he’s not like her father, but he’s not unlike him either. he’s successful and respectable and doesn’t smell of alcohol but he does have hard hands and mean eyes. he wants her to love him like he thinks he loves her and his frustration doesn’t push him to leave, it pushes him to stay. luciana hates him, but she fears him, too. and fuck it, she’s done being scared.

[ murder tw ] he dies, after one and a half year of marriage, in 1975.  a potion – a poison – stops his heart, making it seem like a natural death. he’s too young to die this soon, but no one stops to question it. why would they question it? luciana zabini’s potions are excellent. she makes no mistakes. she wanted him dead and she wanted no blame and she gets what she wants and she feels like she can breathe again. she cries tears at his funeral and spits on his grave when everyone has left. 

there’s something twisted in elizabeth, like there’s in every zabini, in every rowle: it’s always been there, but the moment she starts toying with the idea of poisoning her husband, it grows. she makes the poison herself and feels the most alive than she ever has, and while she tells herself that she’s doing it for herself, for her own safety, somewhere, it’s also because she wants power. him dying would leave her a fortune, and she needs it. she could have just left him, but she wanted him dead. gone. [ end of tw’s ]

she’s not particularly keen to marry again. luciana keeps her dead husband’s name and stays in his mansion and revels in the wealth and tries to heal herself. she soothes her spirit and focuses on her potions and herself. she learns where her soul is still bruised and takes care of them and vows to never press down on those spots again.

in 1977 she marries again. not for love, or for money, per se ( though she doesn’t mind his money, if she’s honest ) but because she wants a child. easy as that. life is lonely, all alone in that bloody house that’s not hers. aurelius fawley is a good husband, that much can be said. he’s a man still, of course, and luciana doesn’t like men all that much. she has a good time with him --- they travel and laugh and drink expensive bottles of wine and appear at galas with white teeth smiles.

aurelius fawley is also a death eater, which is how luciana gets involved. he tells her how they could use her potions and her mind, and she says she’ll help him under the condition that she won’t have to take the mark ( the tattoo, she finds ugly ). luciana does believe in blood purity, but she cares more about power. helping the death eaters in a small way is a sure way to ensure that she has a foot in the door on the winning side. she doens’t mind that, at all. ( she does think they will win --- she knows dark magic and knows that the death eaters will wield it more easily than anyone who opposes them )

[ murder tw ] he dies in september 1979, when she’s seven months pregnant. he dies during a battle, drops to the floor like that, is unmasked and his name appears in the press. aurelius fawley --- fallen death eater, murdered in the crossfire. she hopes the ministry pats themselves on the back for his death, and that the order does, too. of course --- it was a potion, again, that killed him, clogging up his arteries and slowly taking his life away. 

she kills him because, quite frankly, she doesn’t want her child to have a father, doesn’t want him to be the father — she doesn’t love him, and she won’t let her son grow up with parents who don’t love each other, like she had. she won’t allow that. she holds the cards, and she decides to stop the game and win. [ end of tw ]

blaise zabini is born 15 november 1979 and she loves him more than she has ever loved anyone else. actually, she understood what love was for the first time when she learned she was pregnant. she promises him the world and the stars and sun. everything. 

luciana takes back her maiden name after aurelius’ death, too. she says it’s because she doesn’t want to be affiliated with his name, with his death eater name, because she appears to be shocked and disgusted by his role in the war. of course, it’s not because of that ( though she does value reputation, too ) but because she wants to reclaim zabini, the name her father destroyed, but the name she will use to build an empire. her son will not be named after the idiot who dared marry her --- he will be named after her, and be part of her world.

luciana is still making potions, though more for friends and acquaintances (and death eaters), but has put her career on a backburner. she’s found a better way to make money, after all, her two dead husbands have taught her that. besides that, she’s a single mother, and most of her time is eaten by blaise, blaise, blaise. she has cut ties with her parents at this point, has left her past behind and not looked back, and in stead only focuses on the future. she focuses on pretending to grieve and raising her son and being the face of perseverance for other widows ( because god knows the war makes many ). she wears red silk and red lipstick and cries fake tears and flips her hair and is in search for a new man to marry, eventually, to pretend to love, to steal his money from when he dies under strange circumstances. 

personality and tidbits

we love an amoral queen!

luciana has built a name for herself. she came to hogwarts having to remind people of her family’s legacy and has started to build her own and she’s earned respect, i imagine. she’s quite charismatic and charming and loves all kinds of pureblood functions.

really loves. red wine. so much. oh my GOD. she’s not touching it rn though but akjdfsdf she loves it so much, will rave about it forever.

a walking set of aesthetic goals.

i guess ... there are suspicions about luciana out there? i imagine there’s aurors side eyeing/following her, maybe she’s been taken in for questioning ... there’s definitely rumours in witch weekly but also, that magazine is a bit dramatic im sure LMAO. she loves it all. she thinks she’s invincible. 

so -- she’s a philanthropist and that is something she takes very seriously? luciana knows what it’s like to be poor and to be disadvantaged and all that fucking shit. of course, it helps with her image, but ... she does it out of genuine caring? i imagine she likes throwing big charity events, fundraisers and stuff. 

i mean --- her life is very different from what it was before, and she could just ignore her past and focus on her future, and she does in a sense, but she doesn’t want to brush over her own experiences and belittle them and especially doesnt want to ignore the reality of the world? so yeah. she’s a giving person akjdfsdf. 

she loves jazz

honestly this is fucking long

she has a dog!!!! her name is hera and she looks like this and it’s the most extra dog i have ever seen which means she LOVES IT

luciana is ... self centered. arrogant. haughty. fucking caught up in her own shit but ---- the world never gave her anything, so why should she give it anything back? she’s living life for herself and for her son and the rest of the world can perish.

bitter bitch, rich bitch, beautiful bitch.

i was reading a dance with dragons earlier and jon snow described val as lonely and lovely and lethal and that’s her! 

a grieving :( single :( mother :( who is in shock :( that her husband was an evil man :( poor her :( uwu :( 

she’s lying about everything and everyone but we stan!!

plots!

mr future husband --- well, this depends ... on if youre down? luciana probs wont get married until after the end of the war so this wont happen in game BUT it would be lit to plot it out long term? this could be any kind of person, as long as they have monaye. ive had her marry a muggleborn before just to be like ... i am NOT a death eater! or a purist! (she is). this man will get killed. to death. 

idk i will add more when i wake bc i have to sleep and this got so long and im so tired SORRY

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

GRRM’s Chekhov’s guns - how can we tell what they are?

yeyaboya asked:

I love the way you analyze ASOIAF and its mysteries and how you made me enjoy them even more by revealing the “Chekhov’s guns”. The last list you made is amazing! I hope this question doesn’t bother you but how can we be sure that some minor mysteries are Chekhov’s guns and not just worldbuilding? Is there something as a literary rule to distinguish them? After all, not every story needs to be told in the books and some things may work better if left open…

Thanks so much! Regarding GRRM’s Chekhov’s guns, the most important thing to remember is where the term came from:

Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there. –Anton Chekhov

That principle can be understood in several ways: 1) if you intend to have something happen later in the story, you should set it up earlier in the story; and 2) if you mention a significant object or other element, it must be important to the plot, otherwise you shouldn’t mention it.

Therefore, deciding whether something is a Chekhov’s gun (for a plot point that hasn’t happened yet) is very similar to deciding whether something is foreshadowing (for a plot point that hasn’t happened yet). If you want to do literary analysis properly, you can’t look at an unfinished work and say definitely that things are foreshadowing or Chekhov’s guns – you need to wait until the work is complete, otherwise you’re only guessing. Sometimes you can guess in a way that turns out to have been pretty accurate, but sometimes the author was not going where you thought he was, sometimes the object was not significant at all, and you end up being just plain wrong.*

*(To step away from ASOIAF, consider the Harry Potter series: some thought that Neville’s parents giving him bubble gum wrappers was a Chekhov’s gun, and built theories about what the letters on the wrappers signified. Others thought that Lily Potter having been skilled at potions and charms was significant foreshadowing for Harry discovering that a potion or charm was needed to defeat Voldemort. Still others believed Harry and Hermione’s flight on the hippogriff was foreshadowing for their future romance, based on alchemical symbolism. While there were many arguments about the validity of these speculative Chekhov’s guns and foreshadowing during the time the story was unfinished, by the end they all turned out to be extremely wrong.)

However, even in an incomplete work, you can analyze pieces of foreshadowing where the thing they foreshadowed happened already, because there you can be definite. For example, the stag killing the mother direwolf, which foreshadowed conflict between the Starks and Baratheons, or all the visions and such foreshadowing the Red Wedding. (Sandor’s “maybe we’ll even be in time for your uncle’s bloody wedding” also counts as foreshadowing, though GRRM was extremely unsubtle by that point. Not that the visions were especially subtle, not at all.) To shift that to Chekhov’s guns (which are often but not always physical objects): for example, at the end of ACOK when Dontos gave Sansa the black amethyst hairnet, that was GRRM hanging the gun upon the wall (and we knew it was a gun because we had been told that strangler crystals looked like dark amethysts at the start of ACOK) – and then the gun was fired in ASOS at Joffrey’s wedding, with one of the “amethysts” in the hairnet used to poison his wine.

Another baseline to check the significance of potential Chekhov’s guns is GRRM’s own words regarding the direwolf Nymeria and her pack of wolves, where he stated that “you don’t hang a giant wolf pack on the wall unless you intend to use it.” He explicitly referred to them as a Chekhov’s gun – and we can see by the many times that Nymeria and the wolfpack have been mentioned in the story, ranging from frightening lords and peasants in the Riverlands, to killing the Brave Companions chasing Arya and her friends, to dragging Catelyn’s body from the river, to being a focus of Arya’s wolf dreams allowing her to keep her identity despite the Faceless Men’s attempts to make her “no one” (again even in TWOW), that GRRM considers them a very important and significant gun that will go off hard. What exact role they’ll play in endgame, we don’t know yet, but it is definite that they will have one.

Therefore we can consider things that have been referred to often, whose ultimate purpose is mysterious or as yet unknown, to be very probable Chekhov’s guns. Valyrian steel, for example, has been hinted to be one of the few things that can destroy the Others – therefore Valyrian steel swords are definite “guns” (Chekhov’s swords?), even specific swords that have not been mentioned much. (Widow’s Wail, not mentioned since Joffrey’s death, but in the Red Keep waiting for Tommen to grow up; the Targaryen swords Blackfyre and Dark Sister, as yet unnamed within the main books but significant within D&E/TWOIAF/F&B; and so on.) The powers of the Wall to repel the Others and focus or block magic have also been referred to often, therefore it seems very likely that the “gun” in this case is the fall of the Wall via the Horn of Joramun, allowing the Others into Westeros to raise the dead and begin the new Long Night. Jaime described how Aerys and his pyromancers planted thousands of jars of wildfire within King’s Landing, even in the cellars of the Red Keep – and while Tyrion and his pyromancers found many of those jars while preparing for the Battle of the Blackwater, significantly they did not discover the ones within the castle – so it seems probable that Aerys’s ���fruits” are a huge Chekhov’s gun that’s not just going to be fired, it’s going to explode. It’s technically possible that this might not be a gun; it could be that the Blackwater was all the plot that the wildfire jars were needed for… but at this moment (especially with wildfire playing a major role in a KL explosion in the show), I’d take any bet.

And as for certain major or minor mysteries (Jon’s parentage, Ashara’s suicide, Tyrek’s disappearance, Benjen’s disappearance, Jaqen’s actions, Patchface, the many prophecies, etc, etc), whether they can be defined as a “Chekhov’s gun” or not… it’s kind of a matter of semantics. However, GRRM is definitely following Chekhov’s principle here, in that he is establishing these plot elements within the story, “hanging them on the wall”, so that when they are resolved or become relevant later, it won’t come out of nowhere. (Note GRRM has said he avoids looking at fan theories in case they’re right, because then he might be tempted to change things up to surprise people – but if it were a surprise, then it wouldn’t be based on the work he’s done that led people to figure things out in advance, which would be bad writing.) Also, we know that these plot elements are significant, otherwise he wouldn’t be mentioning them.

That leads to your question about worldbuilding, and whether elements of ASOIAF worldbuilding can be considered a Chekhov’s gun or if they’re just “flavor text” to give depth to the world of ASOIAF. And the answer is… it depends. Worldbuilding like the cannibals of Skagos seems like it will become very relevant to future events, as Rickon is on Skagos and Davos is heading there in order to bring him home. The mystery of Hardhome is another element of worldbuilding that may become relevant, if Jon needs to rescue the Night’s Watchmen and wildlings there. The mysteries of Asshai… alas, GRRM has said nobody’s going to Asshai, but it will still be significant through the people who have been there. The Deep Ones, the black stone, all that weirdness from TWOIAF – as they appear to be relevant to the ironborn and to the Hightower at Oldtown, as there will soon be a huge confluence of ironborn at Oldtown with whatever weird magical ritual Euron’s planning – well, that seems like a pretty big potential Chekhov’s gun to me. The demon roads of Valyria and the monsters of Mantarys might just be worldbuilding… or they might be relevant when Dany (probably) travels to Volantis.

But the mystery of whether the dragon Vermax laid a clutch of eggs by the hot springs of Winterfell? While that’s briefly hinted to in TWOIAF, that rumor is noted as being extremely dubious within the text, and nothing within ASOIAF itself has referred to the story. Not even any tales by Old Nan, who you’d think would mention it if anyone would. Though it’s possible that it will be related as one of her tales in TWOW (and the TWOIAF-only thing is just ‘cos GRRM’s so late with that book), and the crypts of Winterfell are surely significant for many reasons (Jon’s parentage, secret passages, the mystery of why the statues have swords, what might happen when the Others make the dead rise). So there could be a Chekhov’s gun involved here… or maybe not.

And there’s also the fact that GRRM doesn’t always follow Chekhov’s principle. Besides him being a gardener-writer and not an architect-writer, not everything he writes in detail is significant to the plot of the story. Sometimes he just wants to show the grim-n-grittiness of the world, therefore the constant mentions of pee. Sometimes he’s just showing the pageantry of the medieval era, or the mysteries of “here be dragons” in lands beyond common knowledge. Sometimes he’s making private jokes, including references to writer friends or fan friends or comic books or Harry Potter or the Three Stooges. Sometimes GRRM just wants to describe amazing food, because he loves food. Though once in a rare while, food actually is relevant to the plot. ;)

So, the question of whether something’s a Chekhov’s gun or not, and how you can distinguish a mystery that’s intended to stay a open mystery, from one that will be resolved and/or significant to the events of the story? Well, for things that haven’t come to a conclusion yet… you can do your best at guessing, but honestly, you can’t know. The proof is in the pudding. When the story’s over, we’ll know. Even if you take lots of English classes, even if you study classics of literature and fantasy, even if you read GRRM’s favorite books, even if you read other GRRM works and try to figure out his patterns, you may have become a better educated guesser, but it’s still no guarantee. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is. In the end, some fans who tried to make predictions will be right and some will be wrong and many will have never even guessed where GRRM was going; some things we thought were Chekhov’s guns or foreshadowing won’t be; and some things we’ll go back and see that GRRM had been laying the groundwork all along and we never noticed. (Though it’s a big fandom, I’d bet at least someone would have noticed.)

And really, I think the possibilities of being wrong, the possibilities of being not quite right – that’s half the fun of writing about this series. If we figured out everything that was going to happen before it did, what would be the point of reading, after all? Though if it turns out you did figure things out correctly… you can be glad you did. :)

[oadara]

Similarities between Jonerys and Reylo

As the popularity of the paring between Kylo Ren/Ben (KRB) and Rey of Jakku (aka Reylo) increases among the Jonerys fandom there have been some questions as to why, those of us who ship both, find similarities between these two couples (I know Reylo is not a couple, yet, but I’ll refer to them as such for the purposes of this mini-meta).

If you are looking at these two couples and try to make a one-to-one comparison between the two, you’re not going to find it. Jon isn’t KRB and Dany is Rey or Jon isn’t Rey and Dany isn’t KRB. Not only are these stories geared towards different audiences, they are a different genre and are going about their storytelling in different ways. A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones is a political and personal drama told through the lens of medieval fantasy. While Star Wars is a fairy tale told through the lens of a Sci-fi Space Opera Western.

The similarities I’ve noticed are of a thematic and symbolic kind and although the individual character have some similarities between each other, the real similarities are seen when looking at the paring as a whole and how they are presented to us throughout the story. This is based on my interpretation of both these couples, others might view things differently. Eventually, I would like to expand on these similarities but for now, I’ll do a quick run through of the similarities I’ve noticed between the two pairings.

Balance

This is not an uncommon theme in stories but it’s central theme of both these tales. A Song of Ice and Fire, of the bat we know that this story is about two opposites either coming together in battle or love or both. Ice and Fire or Water and Fire are two elements that sit opposite from one another. Our central characters Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow are representatives of these opposing elements and many of us believe that through their union the balance lacking from Westeros will finally be achieved.

On the other hand, we have Star Wars whose central theme is the balance of the Force between the light and the dark. In this trilogy, these opposing forces are represented by Rey of Jaklu and Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo.  When they are first introduced they are on opposite sides of a war that has been raging for a few generations.  Rey becomes KRB’s prisoner but soon proves to be a true challenge for him. Her strength in the Force is equal to his, something he has not encountered before. “Darkness rises and light to meet it,” says Snoke, insulating the divide between the two but it also insinuates a coming together of the two.

Generational Saga

The other big theme in both these stories is that of the current generation reckoning with the mistakes of their ancestors. Although ASoIaF revolves primarily around the House Stark, the expanded world of Ice and Fire revolves around House Targaryen and it is their actions throughout their history of ruling that have shaped Westeros to what it is today. On the other hand, Star Wars is the generational saga of the Skywalker family and how their connection to the Force has shaped the galaxy.

Pretty much everything that has happened in ASoIaF can be traced to past mistakes and the most immediate of those are the actions of The Mad King, Aerys Targaryen and those of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. The event surrounding the doom romance and Aerys actions throughout are what has led us to the current predicament our protagonist find themselves in at the beginning of the story. Although many things have happened throughout the course of the series, we see Jon and Dany confronted with the mistakes of the immediate and not so immediate ancestors. Dany facing the slave trade promulgated by the Valyrians and Jon facing the consequences of the exiling of the Free Folk to beyond the Wall. Both of these characters not only have to fix the past mistakes and by doing this they are forgiving a new path, a third way if you will.

In the case of Star Wars, it all started with the doomed love of Anakin and Padme. Their love, described as possessive, lead to Anakin’s downfall and the emergence of Darth Vader and all the chaos it brought to the galaxy. Luke was able to help his father redeem himself, however, the darkness still remained and now Anakin’s grandson KRB has inherited that legacy. His return to the light will finally heal the wound his grandfather created. And who best to help Ben redeem himself than his counterpart within the force Rey.  

Mirrored Couples

One additional element to the generational saga piece is how both Jonerys and Reylo mirror couples an important couple that was integral to the beginning of the story. In the case of ASoIaF, I’ve often said that Rhaegar and Lyanna’s union brought war, while Jon and Dany’s will end the war.

In the case of Star Wars, the love Anakin had for Padme was possessive and the fear of losing her drove him to the dark side of the force. The compassionate love that Rey offers to Ben will turn him from the dark to the light, also ending the war between the First Order and the Rebels.

Yin and Yang

This is an obvious visual similarity between these two pairings. In ASoIaF the most overt example of this is the coloring of Jon and Dany’s animal familiars. Drogon’s black to Ghost’s white with just the slightest hint of red. Through the TV series, we see this visual yin yang represented by the filters used in filming to characterize Jon and Dany’s story. In Jon’s case, we see the more muted blues and Dany the bright oranges. This is representative of the Ice/Fire or Yin Yang of the story.

With KRB and Rey, the yin-yang symbolism is much more obvious, because the Force itself is defined as Light and Dark. We see this with whites and black playing against each other’s in most of their scenes together. In addition, you see the reds and blues of their chosen Force also used in contrasts with each other. There is a specific scene in The Last Jedi where Kylo goes from cold blues to the warm reds of Rey’s fire during one of their Force Bond sessions.

Social Status

This similarity is particularly interesting for me as it’s so typical of the fairy tale genre. While the truth of Jon’s parentage has been revealed to the audience the characters themselves (except for Bran and Sam) are completely ignorant to it. As far as the in-universe narrative is concerned we have a Queen who is decedent from generation after generation of kings and queens and falls in love with a bastard. Even as a bastard Jon is of noble heritage, however, the stigma of being a bastard has followed him throughout his life, but Dany never even mentions it nor does she bring it up to him. The perceived difference in their social status is not important to her or him.

While on the other hand, we have the dark prince of a Star Wars Ben Solo falling for a scavenger, whose parents were nobodies. There is a clear divide in their social standing. However, unlike Dany who just didn’t feel the need to address it, Ben Solo, and his severely lacking social skills, reared their ugly head. While reminding her she’s a nobody, he then very suavely adds, but not to him. Jokes aside, I do believe Ben thinks of Rey as someone whose special, and in the novelization of TFA we learn that Ben has compassion for Rey and is punished for it by Snoke.

So, while these couples are perceived by the outside world to be from two vastly different social status while the pairs themselves have or eventually will see past that.  

Equals

Okay, I literally just talked about the differences in their social status and now I’m calling them equals. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. To the outside world, there’s a firm difference in their place in society, however, for the couples themselves they perceive their counterparts as their equal.

Dany and Jon see in each other someone who understands the burdens of ruling, of leadership, of personal sacrifice for the good of their people. They see someone who can understand the burdens they carry because they themselves has carried it. In each other, they see their equal, something they have yet to have encountered.

For Rey and KRB is much more clearly stated because they are literally the Force counterparts to one another. Their skills and power come from the same well and one is just as powerful as the other. In fact, the scavenger Rey bested the elite trained KRB twice.  She is his equal and he knows it, and that is something he admires in her.  

The Greater Good

The books aren’t there yet, however, on the TV show we see Dang giving up her pursuits if the throne to go fight in the Great War against the Wight Walker. I think it’s important to note that Jon didn’t make the decision for her. He presented his case, poorly, but with the help of Tyrion and some super convenient and crazy events, Dany was able to see what really mattered.  

This hasn’t happened yet in Star Wars but I believe that story is headed in the direction of having KRB turn his back on inter-galactic domination and help the Resistance to end the war

Rey presents KRB with the opportunity to turn toward the light but he’s not ready to take it. He’ll have to figure that out on his own and come to the decision on his own. But because Rey has shown him the way he knows there is a chance.

Loneliness

This is an important element for both these couples. Even though they are all special in their own way, for one reason or another all have felt isolated from their family and society. There is a deep loneliness for all of them which began in their childhood.  

In Jon and Dany’s case, it’s loneliness but also isolation. For Jon, his status as a bastard kept him a step apart even from his family. Even those who loved him couldn’t change the fact that as a bastard he was viewed differently than them. For Dany, it’s her exile to a country where she has no connections except for her brother. As well as her poverty while still having the social status of a princess. She could never fit in and her lack of resources meant that she was unable to put down roots.

In the case, KRB and Rey is the lack of connection with others. KRB couldn’t connect with his father because Han couldn’t relate to Ben’s connection to the force. And while Leia could relate with Ben in that regard her work as a Senator and General kept her away. We all know that his connection to Luke ended disastrously and whatever connection to Snoke he has been one of control and abuse. For Rey, she was abandoned and left to the care of uncaring strangers. She has no connection to anyone when we meet her. She forms attachments quickly because of her deep loneliness.

Their Bonds

The loneliness they all feel, the sense of not belonging anywhere is the foundation for the bond that Jon & Dany and Ben & Rey form with one another.  

Jon and Dany seek belonging and acceptance. They have felt so isolated for so long that they just want to feel that they have found a place or someone they can belong to, that they can be themselves with. They find that in each other because of their shared experiences as leaders but also because of their upbringing. Their journey, as I have written many times, parallel one another and this creates a unique bond between the two of them.

In the case of KRB and Rey, the deep loneliness they both feel is literally bridged by their Force Bond. We are being shown how connected they truly are when their shared Force allows them to see one another from across the galaxy. In fact, the connection is so strong that they are able to touch one another, even though they are millions of miles away from one another. In each other, they see someone who is in need of connection but not just any connection, a connection based on compassion. Regardless of their circumstances, they have compassion for one another and the pain they see in each other.

The Gray Zone

One of the most notable things about ASoIaF is the complexity of its characters and the different shades of gray among them. Our heroes, while fighting for a common good, have engaged in acts that are deemed controversial. They make mistakes and are far from perfect. However, at the end of the day, they are heroes, just grayer than usual.

For Star Wars the dichotomy between KRB and Rey is much starker. Rey is a hero; she chose the light side of the force and she does the right thing and fights for the common good. KRB is a villain, he’s chosen the dark side of the force and is fighting for his own ambition. However, I believe the story is making its way towards a creating a gray flawed hero in KRB. His actions will eventually help the war and redeem him.

There are other themes and similarities I see in between these characters but many of them are found in your standard protagonist on their path through the Hero’s Journey. But I think enough similarities exist between these two couples that it’s notable and interesting to discuss and understand better.  

[moviestorian]

what do you think Theon and George Warleggan have in common?

Hi!

First of all, I am so SO very sorry it took me ages toreply. I’ve had plenty of different things to do, and I thought this is such aninteresting question that deserves a fully developed reply. Finally, I’mreplying, and the final result is over 3000 words. :P

Disclaimer: my interpretation is basedon both show and book Theon, but almost entirely show version of George (he’sslightly different than his book counterpart, and also I’m reading The BlackMoon, so I wouldn’t even have a full context to discuss book George, so…)

I briefly outlined the topic at the endof this post, but it’s really short, and I will try to be moreprecise here. Ok, let’s start!

George& Theon vs. fandom

I will start with something which may not be a typicalparallel and is not directly connected with George/Theon’s personality (I mean,it could be refered to many other characters), but I still find it strikingenough to consider. I’m talking about the fandom’s most usual reaction to bothof these characters. Theon and George are (probably) equally disliked byPoldark/GoT fandoms. There are (rather small)groups of their fans of course,but there are definitely many more of those who - to put it mildly - dislikethem. Quite frankly, I think Theon’s fanbase is actually bigger than George’s,but this may be because GoT/Asoiaf fandom outnumbers the Poldark one.

Coming back to the fandoms’ reaction, George and Theonare commonly perceived as “evil”. George is rather frequently calleda “villain” (I kinda get why people think so but I’d argue with that, tome he’s more of an antagonist, just like Javert or Frollo), and while I don’tsee people using the same term to describe Theon that often, I’ve come acrosssuch opinions as well (also…I believe GRRM called him a villain…). Finally,they both receive a fair amount of hate, and well… this hatred can be very nasty(selective empathy, maybe?). I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but I’mstill quite astounded how awful things people can write… (I’m talking aboutposts in which you can find such gems as “Theon deserved to be tortured”,castration jokes etc., or “George should be flayed alive” and that Rossshould’ve put his face in fire.

Identityproblem

George Warleggan and Theon Greyjoy, as Inoticed, deal with the “I don’t belong anywhere” problem, even thoughtheir issues come from slightly different backgrounds (btw, they are both quiteshitty at solving their problems). George, as a wealthy and powerful banker whois grandson of a blacksmith, does belong to neither aristocracy nor commonfolk,and isn’t actually being accepted by either of these groups. When it comes toTheon, he is neither fully a Stark nor fully a Greyjoy. His arc is more of anidentity arc than anything else, I would say. As a hostage in Winterfell, he isreally close to the Stark family (as he admitted himself, Robb was more of a brotherto him than Rodrick and Marron) but he’s not one of them and he always remainsa Greyjoy in the Northerners’ eyes (and apart from Robb, he is rather indifferentto other Starks, definitely not one of them). However, he’s been in Winterfellfor so long that he doesn’t fit the Iron Islands, too - and hence, hissupposedly glorious return in A Clash of the Kings is one huge disappointment for him.

As a direct result of this problem, Georgeand Theon are doing their best to “prove themselves” - Warleggan is tryingreally hard to become a member of aristocracy, and Greyjoy wants to showeveryone that he is a true Ironborn. With pretty unfortunate results. Theirmain problem is, though, that they are not people they’re pretending to be, andI think they both know it deeply in their hearts, so it becomes some sort of acomplex for them. In early season 2, when Demelza asks him what’s thedifference between being a miner’s daughter and a blacksmith’s grandson Georgeangrily responds that “she will always beminer’s daughter, while he is a gentleman”. And it is not the only timewhen George reacts very (let’s say)sensitively when somebody brings up thematter of his origin. I think this is because he knows that no matter how many times he’ll deny it, he will always beblacksmith’s grandson. It’s pretty similar in Theon’s case, and although I disagreewith statements that the Starks were/are his true family, many GoT characterstend to think so. However, I can’t deny that he is strongly attached to theStarks and is influenced by what he experienced in Winterfell. Yet even beforethat, when he was just a child, he was not a “typical” Ironborn, he was a shy,sensitive child.

Acceptance & isolation issues

Something strongly related to the pointabove. I already mentioned the problem of not being accepted by theNortherners/Greyjoys (Theon) or commonfolk/aristocracy (George). No matter howmuch Theon and George will try, and let’s face it: both of them, yet especiallyGeorge, do stuff that not only don’t help them but actually makes the problemworse, they will always remain somewhere inbetween. Theon will always be “thatStark hostage” or, even worse, “Starks’ dog” in Ironmen’s eyes, and George willalways be “that upstart (poodle)” in aristocracy’s eyes. 

Because of this acceptance problem thereappears an isolation problem, too. I find it quite striking how lonely Georgeand Theon are. In Theon’s case it may not be that obvious because of the maskhe wears (smiling a lot, etc.), but in my opinion there’s no doubt he IS lonely. In George’s case it’sactually both pretty ironic and interesting about the TV characterization ofhim, because he seems more introverted than Theon, but at the same time he shows his loneliness quite often – butin a subtle way. Even in public places a viewer can frequently spot him beingalone. Because of this loneliness, Theon and George have this one person theystrongly rely on psychologically – I’m talking about Robb Stark and ElizabethChynoweth-Poldark. I already mentioned how Theon treats Robb as his youngerbrother, and I will also say that I think Robb is also the closest personequivalent to a true family member he ever had. When it comes to George, hecares about Elizabeth very much, to the point of obsessiveness (one couldwonder, who is George more obsessed with: Ross or Elizabeth?), and she isactually the only person (at least as far as I remember, correct me if I’m wrong)he speaks openly to about how lonelyhe feels (“Loneliness is not one-sided,Elizabeth. A man may feel it, too”).

Difficult family relationships/(poor) interpersonalskills

This partially comes as a result ofidentity/acceptance problems, and partially affects the mentioned issues aswell. I will start with saying that George is an orphan in the show (we don’tknow when exactly he lost his parents, though) and while technically both BalonGreyjoy and Alannys Harlaw are alive (well, Balon dies in AFFC, but Theon stillgot to see him in ACOK), Theon is so isolated from them since he was takenprisoner that he basically don’t have parents, too. I assume he was quite closeto his mother when he was a child, but his relationship with Balon wasextremely cold and this never changed. So, as consequence to them not reallyhaving fathers, George and Theon’s personalities are shaped by father figuresthat are not exactly very positive for them – Cary Warleggan and Ned Stark (ohmy, I never thought I will be comparing Ned to Cary, but here I am).

Let me start with Cary. Even in thebooks it was noted several times that Cary has too big of an influence onGeorge, but I promised to stick with the show and so I will. From season 2 Caryhas been less and less significant character in George’s arc, but I’d say it’sstrongly visible how many of George’s actions are somehowinfluenced/strengthened by Cary in s1 (happened once or twice in s2 as well,but George is already very independent by that time and usually decides to dowhat he wants). Cary is really, really cold and pretty amoral (he gives offthis vibe of not having much empathy, if any) and seems to have no problemswith doing harm at all, when even George seems to hesitate. One of such momentsare when Cary is absolutely not moved by Julia Poldark’s death and literally raises a toast (!) for “Ross Poldark’sdownfall” after his little daughter’s death and dissolving Carnmore CopperCompany (note that George slightly raises his glass but doesn’t drink, anddoesn’t look happy in the slightest). To be honest, he doesn’t seem very closeto his nephew in emotional terms, too – they are more like business partnersthan relatives, and allow me to emphasize: before marrying Elizabeth Cary isthe closest family member George has; the onlyfamily member he has. Taking this into account, what kind of person George issupposed to be? In some aspects he is similar to his uncle – distant and cold,and where does he get it from? Again, we don’t know how old was George when hisparents died so we’re moving a little bit into a headcanon zone (at the sametime, we don’t know what Nicholas Warleggan was like, and it’s probable that hewas similar to Cary to a certain extent, they were brothers after all).Assuming it happened when George was a child/teenager – then Cary definitely had a strong influence onhis personality and perception of other people/emotions in general. Then,assuming it happened when George was in his late teens/early twenties, thatinfluence would be way less significant, but it doesn’t mean there would be noinfluence at all. George still could have tried to somehow “stick” to the onlyfamily member he has and sought for his approval, at least in how to deal with business and make investments.

Before I will explain similiaritiesbetween Cary/George relationship and Ned/Theon relationship, let me emphasizethat Cary and Ned are not the same. Eddard is loving to his family and capableof showing his affection, while Cary is not. Where I see a parallel is how Nedis cold towards Theon, and Theon isliterally quite scared of him, which does influence him negatively. Let mequote the books to present how Greyjoy felt about Ned Stark (bolded by me foremphasis):

“As if ten years in Winterfellcould make a Stark. Lord Eddard had raised him amonghis own children, but Theon had neverbeen one of them. The whole castle, from Lady Stark to the lowliest kitchen scullion, knew he was hostage to his father’s good behavior,and treated him accordingly. Eventhe bastard Jon Snow had been accorded more honor than he had.

Lord Eddard had tried to play the father from time to time, but to Theon he had always remained the manwho’d brought blood and fire to Pyke and taken him from his home. As a boy, hehad lived in fear of Stark’s stern face and great dark sword. His wife was,if anything, even more distant and suspicious.” (GRRM, A Clash of Kings, Theon I)

Or here:

“This was never my home. I was a hostage here. Lord Stark had not treated him cruelly, but the long steel shadow of his greatsword had always been between them.He was kind to me, but never warm.He knew that one day he might need toput me to death.” (GRRM, A Dance with Dragons, The Prince of Winterfell)

These quotes alsohighlight Theon’s acceptance problem pretty well, but let’s go back to therelationship issue. Theon was taken prisoner when he was, if I remembercorrectly, 9 years old and stayed there until he was 19. So, his teenage yearswere shaped by: a) being isolated from his parents; b) having “parent figures”that are distant and make him literally insecure; c) feeling isolated by hissurroundings. This is not a healthy environment for a growing child. Theon had,undoubtedly, far worse than George Warleggan (who at least did not feel thathis life was on threat), but what I see they have in common here is that theyboth hardly had someone to truly rely on, and if you don’t have support in yourown family (or what is close to your family), why should you expect suchsupport from others (that’s why George seems a bit paranoid at times, as ifeveryone was against him personally)? Therefore, they develop very poorinterpersonal skills.

Because they don’t havevery positive and supporting family relationships, they can’t create veryhealthy relationships with women (at least I believe this may be the case). Bythe way, I can’t unsee some similarities between Ros/Theon(show only) andMargaret/George relationships, but I guess it’s a discussion for another post. WhatI think they have again in common is that Theon has huge problems withdeveloping relationships with women other than having sex with them (it startschanging in ADWD, when he helps Jeyne Poole), and usually objectifies them.George technically doesn’t do that (he treats Elizabeth with huge courtesy),but disrespecting Demelza, in a sense, makes him feel superior (especiallysince he is technically a lowborn, too. Demelza just highlights his insecurityabout his origin) – he constantly calls her “a kitchen maid” and tells theguards in Bodmin that she is a harlot to prevent her from trying to save Rossfrom hanging. Theon doesn’t treat lowborn women well, too, and his insecuritiesprevent him from creating a long-lasting and loving relationship. George kindamanages to make that with Elizabeth, but their marriage (and pre-marriageperiod) is far from perfection – he can be obsessive and (sometimes, but still)manipulative, but then is gentle and loving.

Compensatory narcissistic personality disorder

Alright, I am not the most competentperson to discuss this, and @incblackbird wrote an amazing book in which shedescribed Theon’s formation of his identity and defense mechanism he uses, so Iwill be rather brief here. So, what Theon and George share psychologically isthat they are both hella insecure, and they try to hide it behind the mask ofarrogance (in the series it’s brilliantly acted by Alfie Allen and JackFarthing, I honestly think they make one of the most nuanced performances inthe show they’re in). In case of Theon it’s his “constant smile” (it’smentioned many times in the books), and in George’s – his general posture,especially how he tends to hold his chin very high and proudly. I love thescene in 1x08 when he’s going to Trenwith very quickly, silently crying, andthen he just stops and put his usual mask on, to hide his emotion and makeimpression of having full control over himself. Another scene when you can seehim “posing” is in s2 (episode 3, I believe?) when he’s “training” in front ofthe mirror.

Theon and George also seem to havesuperiority complex, often being expressed by them downplaying or hurtingothers to make them feel better. However read ASOIAF or seen GoT/Poldark knowwhat I’m talking about. ;)

Capability of doing terrible things

A side effect of what described above.Both of these characters did some really horrible things (and that’s mostly whythe fandoms dislike them), in order to prove themselves (esp. Theon) or getwhat they want (George trying to get closer to aristocracy). Theon definitelyregrets what he did, and in the show I get the impression that sometimes Georgedoes too, although he would never admit it (I think his behavior shows that hisconscience is not quite clear, he’s not Cary after all). To illustrate whatthey did I will give some examples: Theon abused Kyra (left her crying aftersleeping with her), turned on Robb and killed the farm boys and burned theirbodies, while George tried to have Ross hanged and forced Morwenna to marryWhitworth against her will.

Tendency to like “pretty things”

Alright, that’s the last thing :). Theonand George have, in a manner of speaking, quite interesting fashion sense, Imean that they like to wear/be surrounded by pretty things. This is noticed byBalon Greyjoy (probably other Ironborn too), Ross Poldark and aunt Agatha, andat the same time serves as a mean to highlight their identity problems – thatTheon is not fully a Greyjoy and George is not fully an aristocrat. Once again,allow me to use quotation from ASOIAF to show what was Balon’s reaction toTheon wearing jewellery:

“His father slid his fingers under thenecklace and gave it a yank so hard it was like to take Theon’s head off, hadthe chain not snapped first. “My daughter has taken an axe for alover,“ Lord Balon said. “I will not have my sonbedeck himself like a whore.” He dropped the broken chain onto thebrazier, where it slid down among the coals. “It is as I feared. The green lands have made you soft, andthe Starks have madeyou theirs.”(GRRM, A Clash of Kings, Theon I)

And now let’s compareit to George’s case. It’s a bit more visible in the books, but I promised tostick with the show and I’m going to keep my promise. ;) In 2x03, when Rossstarts a fight with George, George is wearing a ruby on his stock tie, and I maybe wrong, but I haven’t noticed any other male character in Poldark wearingjewellery on their stock ties. Obviously it was not the reason why Ross startedthe fight, but later in the same episode Andrew Blamey and Francis ask him forthe cause of this conflict, and he responds that he didn’t like his stock tie,which means that he noticed that anddidn’t like it (possibly reminded him of George being a nouveau riche, who’sricher than all Poldarks together). Another scene is George’s conversation withaunt Agatha she tells him:

“I remember the first time Francis brought you here! Fligged out in yourfrills and fallallery! (…)Velvets andsilks you wore. ‘Twas plain your mother had no taste.(…) And you, staring about like abull-calf that had strayed from its stall.”

That was the final one. :) I hope you are satisfied with my answer,anon! I know it’s very long, but I hope it’s at least a bit interesting!Obviously what I wrote here is by no means everything that can be said on thistopic and I’m pretty sure there’s something I missed. ;)

[mariaaleyne]

1. Always post the rules

2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you 3. Write 11 questions of your own 4. Tag 11 people (or however many you want)

It took me forever, but i did ti! all thanks go to beautiful @gaygingerpirates​ for tagging me :)

The questions are:

1) where do you live (country is fine) and do you like it there? in a galaxy far far away with a lot of intolerant and  ignorant people who are less understanding than you would expect which is why, more often than not, i don’t really like it here, though don’t get me wrong, it’s not all of them and it’s not always bad, there are a lot of amazing things about my home country and there are a lot of people i love, but probably don’t show it enough  

2) when was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? it was few days ago with my friends, we got hammered and played heads up and card games til morning, which we do not do often enough as we should

3) do you have any special plans for the summer? nah, i’m more of difficult-friend-who-cannot-commit-to-the-plans kinda gal

4) what item holds a lot of sentimental value for you? this is good and hard one, maybe the ring my best friends bought me on their trip to Italy, this is the first thing that came to my mind, and probably photos of my friends and family, idk i’m boring like that

5) what character death will you never be over (any form of media)? leon (from ‘the professional’), nick (from ‘the deer hunter’), ned stark (i read the first book of asoiaf (game of thrones) more times than i should and never got over him), i can go on for ages, it’s easy for me to commit and get emotionally attached to fictional characters, irl not so much      

6) is you tumblr something your share with your friends irl? i do with the one that got me into this blue hellhole

7) if you won £1000 what would you spend it on? travelling, books, food, maybe some clothes, IDK I WISH I HAD A GOOD AND COOL ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, BUT I DON’T

8) is there anything you’re currently trying to improve about yourself eg. confidence, skills etc? don’t get me started on this, emotional stability, my parents would say anger issues, commitment issues, self-image, social skills (which i seriously lack) and social anxiety, mood swings, insecurity, this is not fun, i have a lot of problems with myself

9) if you had a day off - absolute zero responsibility - what would you do? reading, watching stuff, music, doing stuff with my friends, idk, AS I SAID i’m boring

10) do you take a lot of selfies? nope, well, maybe lately, my friends made me open instagram account, so there’s that

11) is there any tv show/film/book that you adore and wish more people knew about? obviously black sails???????? of course, only two of my friends watched it (AND I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO MAKE THEM, i got really close to one of them thanks to black sails, and then we both got into philosophy studies and he’s the closes thing i have to a male best friend right now and it’s been forever since i had that)

My questions:

1) if you had to give up one of your senses which one would it be and why?

2) do you believe in the afterlife? 

3) what is something you always wanted and did you ever get it / achieve it?

4) what’s the last lie you told and how often do you lie?

5) would you ever trust anyone you know with your life?

6) type of music you listen to (favorite genre/artist/songs)

7) what are you afraid of?

8) which fictional character do you identify with? (one/multiple)

9) you can ask someone from your past one question and have them answer it truthfully, what’s the question? 

10) what are you most proud of in your life? (achievement/person/whatever honestly)

11) what question do you hate to answer?

sooooooo i really hate tagging people but here we go, you’re free not to do it, tagging right back @gaygingerpirates (i want you to answer my questions, but as i said, ofc you don’t have to,if you’re up to it,give it a go), @a-pillow-of-clouds, @significanceofmoths, @you-kill-my-patience, OK ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO THIS, I FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE HAVING TO TAG PEOPLE

[lilbreck]

AGoT Chapters 14 - 18

If you want to follow along, I'm tagging my ASoIaF reading as tonya rereads asoiaf.

Chapter 14: Catelyn III

Catelyn is cracking. Her world completely stopped. Thankfully Robb is there to try and pull her back.

Sobbing, she pulled her hand free of his and covered her ears against those terrible howls. “Make them stop!” she cried. “I can’t stand it, make them stop, make them stop, kill them all if you must, just make them stop!”

I think this really highlights that, although she’s married to a Stark and her children are Starks, there is a part of them that she will never share. Much like Tyrion and the others, she seems to regard the direwolves with… trepidation.

Looking on the scene where the man comes to the tower to kill Bran and I have to believe that it’s not a coincidence that he almost slits her throat but she stops it. I knew that Bran’s direwolf would save the day, but I’m so glad that we see her fighting hard to live. I’m also very glad that, after her rest, she’s back to being the woman that Winterfell and her children need her to be.

Yeah, I have my issues with her, but I can’t help but love her as well.

Catelyn gave her firstborn a challenging look. “If you are to rule in the north, you must think these things through, Robb. Answer your own question. Why would anyone want to kill a sleeping child?”

While I love that she’s teaching him this now, this is shit they should have been teaching him from a young age. He’s the heir to Winterfell, he should have been trained. Again, I love Ned at Cat, but they’ve coddled their children too much.

I fucking love that Catelyn is figuring this shit out, but why wasn’t someone figuring it out while she was in her grief fugue? Why do they not have a paranoid asshole always suspicious? Okay, I’m not sure if this really earns the “fucking northern fools” tag, but the fact that Robb wasn’t trained does, so we’ll wave this one in as well.

I’d like to mention that Catelyn riding off to take care of shit fills me with joy. We know it’s not going to work, but I still love it.

Chapter 15: Sansa I

Age 11

Not gonna lie, I’ve been waiting for this chapter. It’s going to hurt, because I know what’s in store for her, but she’s still my baby. Granted, she starts out as a prissy, entitled, stuck up baby, but the Oompa Loompas had a song about where that comes from.

The septa was not appeased. “You’re a good girl, Sansa, but I do vow, when it comes to that creature you’re as willful as your sister Arya.” She scowled. “And where is Arya this morning?”

“She wasn’t hungry,” Sansa said, knowing full well that her sister had probably stolen down to the kitchen hours ago and wheedled a breakfast out of some cook’s boy.

I’d like to point out two things here: It’s obvious that the septa uses Arya as an example of how “bad girls” act in order to make sure Sansa stays in line. It’s possible that her mother does the same thing. You know what this does? Pits sisters against each other. However, Sansa still covers for Arya here, knowing that her septa would probably not look favorably on Arya’s actions. If Sansa really was a nasty bully like people claim, she would have relished the chance here to get her sister in trouble.

Reading this chapter it just drives home both how young both Sansa and Arya are and how sheltered. Sansa was raised to be such a proper lady and all of her septa and mother’s teachings seemed to have made her look down on anyone who was below her in station. And Arya doesn’t seem to realize that she can’t just get away with anything and everything.

One day she came back grinning her horsey grin, her hair all tangled and her clothes covered in mud, clutching a raggedy bunch of purple and green flowers for Father. Sansa kept hoping he would tell Arya to behave herself and act like the highborn lady she was supposed to be, but he never did, he only hugged her and thanked her for the flowers. That just made her worse.

This right there. They are traveling with the King and his family, but Ned doesn’t even try to reign in his daughter. This shit is part of what leads to everything going wrong, IIRC. Yet another subtle example of questionable parenting in the series. If you coddle your children, they’re headed for a world of pain.

This scene where Sansa is terrified by Ilyn Payne, notice that Lady reacts. This shows that Lady and Sansa were already bonded. Just imagine what that means for her losing Lady when they were already that close. I think, because Lady is lost so early in the series, people like to dismiss what that meant for Sansa. Of course, a lot of those people like to pretend that she’s not really a Stark at all.

I’m amused that Sandor was under the impression that he was the one who frightened Sansa. Did he not notice she was shaking and terrified before she turned around and saw him? Hell, he had to grab her shoulders before she turned around.

And then there comes Joffrey playing the part of the gallant prince. For a girl fed a steady diet of fairy tales and songs then told she would marry a wonderful prince, he had to have seemed like a dream. My poor baby. She does manage to find her feet, even feeling foolish, and pay a compliment to Cersei.

“I can answer,” Sansa said quickly, to quell her prince’s anger.

Even though she’s infatuated with Joffrey, she’s quick to want to head off his anger. Given that her father doesn’t seem one to fly off the handle, you have to wonder if she’s getting some sort of subconscious feeling that he’s temperamental and that’s not a good thing. Of course, this could just be a throw away line that means nothing.

He drew his sword and showed it to her; a longsword adroitly shrunken to suit a boy of twelve, gleaming blue steel, castle-forged and double-edged, with a leather grip and a lion’s-head pommel in gold.

I just wanted to put this here to compare it with how Robb was reprimanded the chapter before this:

“…Never draw your sword unless you mean to use it. How many times must I tell you, foolish boy?”

Yeah, I don’t think Joffrey was all that well trained either. When Sansa thinks to herself that “her prince would never love her if she seemed stupid” you really have to wonder this shit that everyone put into her mind when they were training her to be some lord’s trophy wife. Yeah, I’m bitter, what of it?

You remember when I said that Ned’s indulging of Arya helps lead to everything going wrong? The scene at the Trident is exactly what I’m talking about. Arya knows damn well they’ve been interrupted by the prince, but she yells at him like they were in the North and he was just another lord up there. Hell, she even starts throwing rocks at him. If Joffrey had killed Arya, I doubt a damn thing would have happened to him. And Sansa, who’s been fed on a steady stream of songs and fairy tales is no help as she yells at both of them that they’re spoiling everything.

I’m pretty sure that Nymeria saved Arya’s life here. I have no doubt that Joffrey would have killed her, and she was weaponless and backed against a tree. As soon as Arya attacked Joffrey, I’m sure Myca’s fate was sealed, and as soon as Nymeria attacked him, a direwolf was going to have to die.

When I finish this book, my wrap up post is going to talk about how this chapter shows the core of what character traits in both Stark girls that are going to be sharped, honed, and perfected for where I think their story will ultimately end up in the series.

Chapter 16: Eddard III

You know, all the people who claim that Sansa is the reason that Lady and Myca died…

What the fuck did you think her word would do?

Cersei was damn determined to have a pelt and Lady was the only direwolf around. Robert clearly didn’t give a fuck and, even if Sansa had sworn up and down that Arya was telling the truth, Cersei would have still demanded and Robert would have given in. And Myca was already dead.

Lady didn’t die as a punishment for Sansa’s imagined sins. She died because Joffrey was humiliated and Cersei couldn’t stand that. She died because Robert had no fucking backbone.

Man, I’m a fucking huge Sansa fan and even I don’t think she has as much power as some of her haters seem to think she has.

Chapter 17: Bran III

Okay, I’m a sucker for a good dream sequence and this opening one is fucking wonderful, IMO.

He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart.

Okay, I feel slow, but what secrets is he talking about here? Unless it’s about where she had Nymeria. If that’s not it, someone please let me know. I have more questions:

One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.

These three are, I’m assuming Sandor, Jaime, and the third I’m guessing is Gregor. Am I right in that? I mean, he’s a giant of a man and the “darkness and thick black blood” would fit with his death via Oberyn’s poison and the removal of his head.

As we go through this dream and see Bran realize that the Night King is coming and he’s told that’s why he has to live, remember this is a SEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD. Sorry, my babies suffer so much.

“Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?” he heard his own voice saying, small and far away.

And his father’s voice replied to him. “That is the only time a man can be brave.”

Now, Bran, the crow urged. Choose. Fly or die.

Death reached for him, screaming.

Bran spread his arms and flew.

Yeah, I’m gonna be over here crying for a bit. Okay, I’ve got a scary confession. I can see an endgame for Arya, Jon, and Sansa after the battle with the Night King is over. I can see the roles they could play in the world after. I don’t remember seeing what role Bran would play, and that scares me. Because, what if he ends up like the three eyed raven?

Chapter 18: Catelyn IV

“…I had to beg Brandon to spare Petyr’s life. He let him off with a scar.”

How much of these books would be different if Brandon had just went ahead and killed him. Seriously, just think about it. You know how I said I wanted all the men around Daenerys impaled like Vlad did to his enemies? Petyr should be right there beside them, suffering because the damn pike didn’t go through his brain. I’ve got some damn feelings on this.

 That’s all I’m reading for tonight, but I’ll definitely be reading more tomorrow. Probably another ten chapters at least. A Jon chapter is next!

[positivelyamazonian]

As you reminded me "The Shadow Histories" during our epic fangirling over Eric Loren's voice, I think it's the right time to read it. You said you did so... Can you comment on that? Is it good? Did Murti nailed it again? Anything pls. Thankies 💗

Hi my sweetheart! Ok, sorry for the delay, and my apologies also to @castlekriegler who’s expecting a review to Murti’s novels since I read them last October but… they are not easy to review at all :) And also, I don’t want to make any spoilers, so… I’ll try to answer your question without revealing too much about the plot, ok?

First of all, you can purchase Murti’s novels at Amazon. They’re in Kindle format and very, very cheap - just like my personal novel, Irene - so here you have the links to buy the two published titles until this day:

The Shadow Histories, vol. 1 - The Empty Land and

The Shadow Histories, vol. 2 - The Severed Twin

So, let’s talk about these novels. First to say, they are only available in English and it’s a high level of English - wouldn’t you - so if your level of English is not really good, you may suffer a little reading it. Murti uses a complex and ellaborate language and grammar and he introduces his particular vocabulary for weapons, magic objects, races and monsters, even a new language for his characters, just as Tolkien did - in this case, a mix of Latin, French and other languages to compound his particular universe.

Also, his novels are very, very long - like if they were printed, they would be really thick books. Another thing that must be said is that the novels are considered fantasy for teens, as he himself has defined them, but personally I’d say there are even maturer, for the amounts of darkness, cruelty, and sinister stuff dwelling in those pages would make most of teens feel bad - I felt bad, and hell, I’m not a softie when it comes to cruelty and darknes. I wrote Lilith’s Scepter lmao D:

Long story short, even it you can classify this novels as teen fantasy, there are other elements - gore, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic stuff - who made the plot more complex. In the end, every reader will have their vision and for that, I recommend you to review him in Goodreads and make him now - he’d enjoy it, for sure!

Now, let’s go to the plot. The Shadow Histories are placed in a nearly futurist England, after some apocalyptic events which almost doomed humanity. Starting the action in the author’s home, Chester, the main character is a 12-years-old girl named Codi Conmar, who has really special abilities from which she’s unaware. But after several events that will put her life in risk, after losing her parents and be tossed in the run for her life, she will discover those inner special skills in her and be aware she belongs to a special kind of human, a gifted individual, whose inner powers will be decisive to fight the darkness and their minions lurking on humanity and restart a latent fight, hidden during centuries for the public domain.

Creatures similar to demons, creatures similar to angels, and gifted superhuman individuals, just like her, will accompany her through this painful and challenging journey, just to discover she is not really a young teen, but that’s only an external appearance. She’s older, much older, and she’s powerful, much more powerful than expected, and she’s the only hope to her kind and all mankind actually. And now that responsibility lays on her shoulders.

The creativeness and originality of Murti when writing this story is non-limited. It much reminds me the style of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - another AMAZING teen fantasy you should read - but Murti is darker, and gorer, and terrifying. Murti’s creatures are born of a nightmare, they are brutal, they are horrid, they are merciless, they sent chills down your spine. 

I remember one passage, one atrocious passage that made me shiver - one of the main characters, a child by the way, falls into the hands of one of those evil creatures - Bella Grendelmor, by the way, such an amazing character - and his fate is far worse than death. I’m still shocked at the description of that scene… and without any gore. 

Also, the references to TRAOD storyline are everywhere. He actually wrote these stories BEFORE TRAOD, so it’s normal he later used some of the ideas you can find in his novels - and man, that’s so heartbreaking. You can see Kurtis’ powers in Codi’s skills, but also in the other character’s skills, you can see some traces of Putai and even Marie Cornel in Grandma Bee… and so on. I won’t tell more. 

I recommend these novels if you’re into this kind of genre - as a fan of Tolkien, Weis&Hickman, ASOIAF and the rest of epic fantasy since I was a child, I’m totally in. Just be prepared for the feels and the twisted imagination and tortuous ways of thiscreative, amazingly talented writer.

Finally, the first book is a bit hard to read and follow - nothing is given you for granted and you’ve to carve your way throught the plot, but the second one is definitely more enjoyable and easy to read.

So that’s all I can say, without actually ruining the mystery. Just remind you that these are only the two first parts, for he’s working already in the sequels. Be sure to check his website to find out more information - for he wants to write 6 volumes. 

I hope my little non-review is helpful to you :) I’ve enjoyed the reading, but honestly I still prefer TRAOD storyline because Lara… and Kurtis… and my feels. But they are a great work indeed. Let’s hope that, when he’s finished with these, he may write a TRAOD novel finally. He already knows we want it! :D

[elfindreams]

MORE ASOIAF READTHROUGH STUFF LOL:

• I’d love to see one of those word cloud things for this book bc I’m pretty sure it would just be BOILED LEATHERS DESTRIER WENCHES BLURTED BLOOD NIPPLES

• Sorry not sorry I laughed at the scene where Ned and Cat bone and then in her inner monologue she’s like I AM STILL YOUNG ENOUGH TO BEAR HIM ANOTHER SON MAY THE GODS SO BLESS US MAY HIS SEED QUICKEN IN MY WOMB and then the maester comes in with a plot-important letter and she just gets up and reads it while naked bc whatever. Yes, GRRM/goth Santa Claus, good job, your book is very mature and adult, you did it

• Supposing that the shitshow by the river had not taken place, what was even the plan with the direwolves coming along to King’s Landing with Arya and Sansa? Did Ned expect people to be super chill with these horse-sized wolves just like vibing in the middle of the king’s palace in the middle of a city? HEWWO????

•The pacing in this book is heckin’ weird, it’s simultaneously really slow (which is perfectly okay, with so many POV characters it’s to be expected), and yet it zooms past certain things in a way that honestly makes it feel like I missed a chapter or two somewhere. Sansa being so upset over losing her wolf is sad and all, but there was zero buildup because Lady’s first onscreen appearance is in the same chapter where she gets Old Yeller-d. And I know this is a very small and relatively inconsequential aspect of the plot but still. :/

• Speaking of Ned and his parenting skills, as much as this series has a reputation for gritty realism, and as much as I appreciate his ineffectual sitcom dad vibes, his interactions with Arya just don’t ring true to me. I’m not a historian and of course there’s infinite variation in how any parent in any time or cultural context might interact with their child depending on individual personality, so it’s not for me to say whether this character in a fantasy book is behaving “anachronistically”, but these books are based on the Wars of the Roses and European feudal society in general, and uhhhh I feel like the circa 1400s approach to dealing with a stubbornly unruly little girl like Arya would be less “I, a powerful feudal lord, must sit down and have a gentle conversation with my tiny violent daughter wherein I convince her that she can find personal fulfillment in a socially acceptable womanly lifestyle” and more “Arya needs to quiet down and behave, a good beating should do the trick”. But then readers would have no sympathy for Ned as a character, I guess, so whatever.

• Reading about Dany’s wedding night is giving me war flashbacks to circa 2014 when GoT was airing and there was all kind of weird discourse flooding my dash. Also GOD that show would’ve so disturbing if the child characters hadn’t all been aged up, good lord

• I know the explanation for seasons sometimes lasting for years on end is probably just “magic” and I’m not even bothering to question how people survive it, but I’m still trying to figure out how that even works on a practical level. Is there something severely funky going on with the planet’s orbit or what???

• Sorry not sorry, Tyrion is annoying lol (Peter Dinklage is nonetheless a chad however)

• Lysa Arryn is supposed to be all repulsive and CrAzY but grabbing your kid and peacing the fuck outta King’s Landing and then barricading yourself in your ridiculously impenetrable fortress seems like the most sensible thing anybody in this book ever did so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

• (I am in fact enjoying this story very much lol)