#character : arya nightmare

[lady-lye]

Alayne Stone / Princess Sansa Stark (2/?)

Uh.. hi! It has been a strong two months since I very brazenly announced my plan to draw every female ASOIAF character. Well, I never said I’d do it QUICKLY. Life happens! I won’t go into detail. So here is Alayne/Sansa. I also drew her in her Sansa era but it was kind of giving depression vibes so I probably won’t post it. Plus I don’t want to commit to having people appear twice in this series-- it would make the Arya situation a nightmare. Anyway. I appreciate all the lovely asks I’ve gotten about characters and YES I WILL DO THEM though I might be 93 by the time I finish. See you in 2023

ALso! I’m thinking of opening up a couple commissions this winter, let me know if you would be interested. <3

#sansa stark #Alayne Stone #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf art #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire art #petyr baelish #house stark #game of thrones #asoiaf fan art #hotd #A Feast for Crows #affc #the winds of winter #asoiaf girly-pops

[buttercuparry]

I now know why the idea that courtesy is the answer to every conflict is so prevalent in the fandom. You have a handful of tumblr intellectuals who would rather discuss if Arya should have been feeling guilty about killing the Bolton guard or the degree of it ( he is just a guy standing around, we don't know anything about him, hey maybe he doesn't get paid enough to stop 3 prisoners from leaving!), rather than acknowledge that Arya had gone through hell to survive and she more than any other Stark kid knows the cost of war. Arya's list is called fucked up ( they add the "understandable" adjective immediately after but reiterate that it's fucked up). And the prevalent idea then, in use of all these words is equating Arya to violence. Which is why all those incorrect quote posts of 'Arya's every solution being violence' get so many notes.

Arya's list isn't the measure of her violence. It instead is the proof of her trauma. And she tries again and again to leave the nightmares behind: the countless times she tries to reach Jon, her feeling what good does Joffrey's death do if her mother and brothers are dead, her wanting to stay on with the crew of Titan's daughter.

They would talk about how fucked up her list is hence insinuate the tremendous capacity of violence and draw up theories after theories about Faceless Men but won't ever be conscious enough to recognize that Arya never truly wanted anything to do with the FM ( even after reaching Braavos she tries to stay on the ship).

So imagine knowing all these. To have read all these chapters and to get stuck on the ethics of murdering the Bolton guard. Mind you this is brought up because it has been admitted that previously Arya has had to kill in self defense and for others. There has been a reiteration that there these kills are pardonable since there had been an active threat on her. But the murder of the Bolton guard is a matter of ethics!

And you know what I am not even arguing about that. It is a grey area. But it's the extra scrutiny placed on the female character that gets to me. A clood blooded premeditated murder committed!! As if this murder exists in vacuum. As if this girl who the world around knows to be a commoner would have been allowed to leave Harrenhal by that guard just standing around. As if prisoners and slaves have a say on what is to be their fate. As if each day and every day Arya isn't surrounded by the violence wrought in Harrenhal. As if this violence wasn't necessary for her to make a safe escape.

They would argue it wasn't and here I realize that the issue goes deeper than that. Here is an excerpt of their dialogue:

They maintain that only Gendry and Hot Pie had been in danger here. That Arya was actually safe as she could have just revealed her identity anytime and apparently there were ways of proving it without one recognizing her face ( I doubt that).

Somehow this makes me realize that this sort of thinking is what dismisses Arya's entire arc. This is what had been going wrong in the tv show which reduced all of Arya's trauma to ✨adventure✨because they think all the suffering Arya went through was intentional and could have been stopped anytime! All she had to do was reveal her identity.

I honestly do not know what Arya could have done to prove she was a Stark. When they sent guards to hunt her down and Arya realized that maybe in convincing her two friends to run away with her, she has in turn condemned them- Arya makes a decision to reveal who she is and let herself taken hostage. But here's the thing and no matter how many so called intellectuals throw up shit that her identity could have easily been proven-there would always, always the matter of chance. They could believe or they won't. And what would happen if they won't? Arya would be killed.

Now let's see what would have happened if Roose had ahold of the real Arya? Wouldn't she be in the place of Jeyne Poole. Jeyne has had to suffer under a monster, under a sadist. And those cries that echo around Winterfell now, would have been Arya's. This is what the fandom wants. I mean to say this is what the fandom wants from its female characters. Be the passive recipient of all that is to happen. There is no admiration in taking yourself promptly out of a situation that can be dangerous by actively interfering in the storyline. Act only when an action has been committed against you. There would have been more sympathy for Arya if she bled the way they wanted her to. If her cries echoed through halls. If she wasn't an active participant in her own storyline.

The other thing is the matter of could have. There is always the matter of could have when it comes to Arya. Arya could have tried to be more courteous. Arya could have just let Joffrey cut Mycah's face. And now Arya could have hatched a plan keeping in mind the safety of not only her party but of everyone else ( the Bolton guard) and snuck past. Every decisive control Arya takes is countered with a could have. That Arya chose to simply eliminate the risk in a situation that begged a safe escape isn't taken well. There is always a could have even when the text itself provides us with no definitive answer to this alternative could have.

I never understood how people could judge Dany when she actively brings down an empire of slavery. But now I think I can. There is no passivity. There is unapologetic action against the slave masters. They too perhaps are just some guys standing around to many in this fandom. And every decisive move against them, every violence against them also brings about the compulsion of the could have.

These female characters refuse to be a part of the could have. Of passivity. Their grey actions are to take back control of their storyline. Hence are they vilified. And hence should there be guilt and remorse on their part.

#arya stark #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire

[esther-dot]

Idk how to explain it in better terms but the fact that Jaime focuses more on wanting to be perceived as good than actually doing good is a huge turn off for me and the reason why I don't believe grrm is writing a redemption arc for him.

So, here's a definition of redemption arc,

What exactly is a Redemption Arc? It's a type of character development in which your protagonist starts bad and becomes good in the end, often culminating in a heroic act that atones for their past

And I agree with you. His story won't fit the above. Jaime is bitter that doing the right thing is viewed the way it is by Westeros, and we can understand why he's angry, but I haven't seen any genuine regret about trying to kill Bran, for example, and kid killing is a big no-no, so imo, the flow of the story hasn't been to move Jaime from morally bad to morally good the way that expression implies.

In fact, in AFFC, he's talking about how he would have killed Arya and threatens to trebuchet a baby. When we have Ned's horror over Elia and her kids' deaths, over how the Hound murdered Mycah, his refusal to participate in the assassination of Dany, and his decision to risk his life/jeopardize his family by committing treason to protect Jon, I think we know Martin hasn't moved Jaime over into his "good" column. Our perception of his infamous act evolves, but that's not the same thing as Jaime changing.

What I think is so often perceived as a redemption arc is merely that Martin engaged our sympathy for Jaime later in the series and fans equate understanding/caring for a character with moving them into the "good" category rather than accepting that Martin routinely does this. The Hound, Tyrion, Theon...he calls them all villains, but at one point or another, we get tragedy and suffering in their lives That leads fans to conclude that the Hound and Tyrion are actually decent people, when by any objective standards, they aren't. The point isn't to move them from villain to hero, it's to offer believable explanations for why they are who they are, do what they do, and make them dynamic characters. Embracing the idea that good and bad impulses can exist in the same person, that the same person can be brave and kind as well as murderous and cruel, that's not too big of an ask. And imo, it's a shame fans want to use one to negate the other.

Even Jaime killing Aerys which kinda seems heroic is shaded by not only his greater loyalty to his family, but his own feelings about Aerys, and part of his memory is how he stood by while Aerys committed other cruel acts. In killing Aerys, he saved countless people, familial loyalty or no, it was the right thing to do, but we have all the rest of the series showing us, doing what is right really isn't of the utmost concern to Jaime. His loyalty is to his family of origin, he has an obsession with Cersei, and doesn't even seem to care much for his own children which again, I think indicates that as layered as he becomes with each new book, it's a misread to settle on the idea of redemption/good guy.

Fans think he's gonna kill Cersei as that final redemptive act, but to me that feels like looking at things from a Cersei hater perspective, not Jaime's. The man has been written as rather, disinterested in acting on a right/wrong spectrum, and is generally more concerned with family, it seems a little unreasonable to think a suitable ending for him is to reject that because how would such a man continue? He needs peace with his decisions, what he does has to flow from the essence of who he is, so it seems more likely to me that his end is dying with Cersei. That isn't redemption in the eyes of the fandom, but I think it could very well be redemption for himself. He has that nightmare about Rhaegar blaming him for Elia and the children's deaths, his own children may all die, there is nothing he can do about that, but going to their mother, the person he was faithful to his entire life, who is essentially his life partner/wife, it allows him to be truly loyal when all others think him faithless, and as annoying as some will find it, I think it gives him his own form of honor.

I wrote once about thinking he would die with Cersei:

I'm ok with Jaime deciding his fate is to be with Cersei, in birth, in life, even in death. As I thought it worked in the show, returning to Cersei in the books will likewise mean he is able to have some self-respect. I don't think you can read his, I mean, I would say Cersei obsession and believe he'd ever have any peace of mind if she died alone while he had to go on living. (link)

In that post I linked to meta about that and a great write-up on Jaime that I think you'll enjoy!

#dot chat #anti jaime lannister #(just to be safe) #anti asoiaf fandom #asoiaf speculation

[iaminfourthwing]

The Generals Daughter

Arya Melgren

From official documents it is stated that Arya Melgren was born in the night of the 22nd March 613 AU, the stormiest night of the month.

While it was claimed that General Melgren is her father, it is not known who the woman is, that has brought her into life. No one is allowed to ask the general anything about Aryas origin.

To limit questions, the general used all his power to keep her a secret for as long as possible to outsiders, beside the nannys that raised her, since her father was always busy with the safety of Navarre, and the teachers and trainers she had since she was of six and ten years.

She originally wanted to chose the path as a scribe in the Archieves but was strongly refused by her father, that claims she is born to be a rider, nothing else. She learned this the hard and painful way.

Arya has natural vibrant red hair, that earns her a lot of attention since it seems to be uncommon. Her eyes are of a blue-grey color that is described to be a dark blue, almost black when she gets angry and a sparkling blue when excited. She is described to be a little more curvy, but on a muscular side due to her long training. She is around 5'9'' tall. Her face is adorned with multiple scars around her right eye and two under her left one. Some of them around her right eye are deeper than the others but she was incredibly lucky that her eye itself was not damaged.

Though Arya seems cold and emotionless to outsiders, throughout her first year her squad mates realize how intelligent, friendly and selfless she really is. Although she wears her last name with nothing but disdain, her friends always remind her that she is more than just a name to them.

How she would be described, if you'd ask her squad mates:

clever, quiet, icy, polite, brave, serious, intelligent, wise, selfless, stubborn, sassy, sarcastic, dangerous

She doesn`t talk much but when, then she can be very humorous (with a big sprinkle of dark humor), dry, sassy and sarcastic. To the surprise of the other cadets (and as a nightmare for the professors) she finds a partner in crime in Ridoc (and sometimes Sawyer). She is heavily judged by her father for the choices she makes in her first year.

Many think that because she is the generals daughter, she will be as controlling, a strict rule follower, terrifying and heartless as the one everyone fears. She is suspected to step into her fathers footsteps and expected to be great and powerful. (You don‘t have it from me, but after the reveal of Arya, words travel fast and soon there are bets placed between the Navarrian Officers what dragon she`ll bond, what signet she could have and if she even has a chance of surviving.)

Throughout the story we will learn a lot more about her character and most importantly - where her loyalty lays.

#fourth wing x reader #bodhi durran #fourth wing #iron flame #bodhi durran x oc #bodhi durran x reader

[dwellordream]

the best advice i could give anyone as a fic author is when you are not fond of a character… just don’t write them lmao. so many people give characters they clearly disdain POV chapters and like. we can tell lol.

it’s not subtle when you give sansa or arya or dany a PoV just to point out how stupid or shallow or redundant you think they are.

if i have to read one more fic that claims to ‘uplift the girls’ but arya is just sansa’s bodyguard, dany is a narcissistic nightmare, or sansa is a shrill bitch who exists to be smacked down, i’m gonna lose my mind.

#valyrianscrolls #word to the wise

[mortumslab]

Remembering to be Human - Chapter 5

A longer chapter this time. But more action-packed.

(tw: blood, depictions of violence, alcohol use.)

Link to Chapter 4!

Two figures. Two beings you recognize. You’ve fought them. You’ve lost to them. You’ve beaten them.

Stairs. Falling. Up stairs. Down stairs. The eye follows you. The eye watches you.

Julia is there. She’s here. She’s protecting you. She wasn’t here at the Farm. You know she wasn’t, but she’s here anyway. Maybe your subconscious is finally fighting back. Against the figures. Against the enemies. 

Green.

But they’re overwhelming. Suddenly alone. Alone. Green. Terrifying.

Alone. Die. Alone.

“NO!” Your scream wakes you. You’re sobbing. The dreams weren’t worse, not compared to some during your early villain career. The dreams, instead, were malicious. Something in your head is fighting you.

Tears streak your face as you cradle your pillow - attempting to block the chorus of voices from your mind. Spasming, you can feel pain wrack your body. Between the mental and physical anguish, it’s no surprise you didn’t notice Julia wasn’t next to you. Panic surges through you. Was it all a horrible nightmare? Are you still alone?

But then, relief. As Julia bursts through the door. She’s wearing an apron and looks rattled. She was making breakfast. You can smell it. You’ve never had homemade breakfast. Despite having had the kitchen installed down the hall. She’s next to you, holding you before you can flinch away. Not that you would have. This safety is new. It’s nice. You don’t deserve it. 

She’s cradling you, making cooing noises. Like soothing a frightened child. It would be a bit pitiful if you weren’t crying in her lap. 

“What happened?” She asks softly, afraid to startle you. 

“Nightmare.” You don’t know how to explain to her that these are normal, but your subconscious has now chosen sides and is waging a civil war in your mind. Whatever the Farm did to you last time isn’t healing anytime soon. Something inside you is trying to get out.

“I made you breakfast.” She says while stroking your hair. Your neat braid came apart. The silver-grey hair coats your back and pillow. You absent-mindedly wonder if Julia would braid it for you. You used to do it for her, but you’re not sure if that was due to inability or if she liked you touching her.

“It smells really good. Is it ready?” Your voice is shaky to your ears. No point in acting tough. Julia wouldn’t believe you anyway. She may not know everything about you, but she can still read you well.

She nods and leads you into the kitchen. There’s eggs, bacon, and toast. You’re not even sure where she got this food. Or if she got it herself. You don’t ask because you’re sure she was careful. She knows what’s at stake if you’re caught collaborating. And you don’t know if the other Rangers know where she is or that you’re together. She doesn’t keep those secrets well. Thankfully, Sidestep and Charge were known for being flirty. So Arya and Julia Ortega can be, too.

Your morning routine is different when Julia is there. You know today will be rough. It’s probably going to hurt, too. You suspect the Rangers may be on your side, but they’ll still take you seriously. They’re still going to be watching for any sign of deceit. There’s hypocrisy in their doubt of you. You smile to yourself. You know each of the Rangers, Sentinel, and Blaze have killed before. The only person you’ve killed was The Void. And even then, you’re not sure they're dead. You may be a villain, but your moral superiority still beats the government’s angels. Though, that might be why they’ve switched loyalties.

“I’m going to rendezvous with the Rangers at HQ. We’ll be at Hollow Ground’s compound sometime after nine.” Julia looks ready for war. No, this isn’t Julia. This is Charge. Charge is ticked off. Charge is ready for revenge. You hope she can take it out on Hollow Ground. Hope someone gets something out of this meeting. You’re not certain you’ll be getting anything except more questions.

The day passes without much incident. You’re monitoring feeds from your office. You have no need to make a show as Heartbreak until tonight. You planned to take on Hollow Ground eventually. It might as well be today. Can’t change the status quo unless you take down the ruling class.

BEEP. 

A tone startles you from your thoughts. You have one cell phone for your villainy and one for your personal life. This was the villainy cell. Like your own personal hotline for evil. 

“Mon cherie, I think I’m ready to talk.”

You let out a sigh of relief. Mortum being open for talking again was faster than you’d expected but she didn’t seem necessarily angry when you left Joes last night.

“Hey… okay.”

“While I wish you wouldn’t have lied to me. I understand why you did. I can’t stop thinking about how much you had to go through to be here.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” You try to joke, but it sounds stale. “So what now?”

“What do you need from me, mon cherie?”

“What do you mean?” Is she offering to help in a more official capacity? She’s always been your supplier for Heartbreak’s plans, but she’s never come to you first.

“Well, you’re leading a valiant crusade against the powers that be. You must need some gear. Or am I very much mistaken that you’ve decided to take the fight to Hollow Ground?”

“How do you know about that?” You’re panicking. She shouldn’t know about this yet. Eden would have told her, sure. Arya hasn’t yet. Your mind swims with paranoia. Distrust.

“Relax, mon cherie, I saw Manalo at the bar. I put it together. It’s about time.” The anxiety is still there, but no warning lights go off in your mind. Mortum is a brilliant scientist. She can piece things together.

“Sorry. I’ve been high-strung the last few days. A lot has changed.” You close your eyes for a moment. Centering yourself. “Right now, I don’t need anything besides some good luck.” You smile because you’re talking to her like Eden would. Like a best friend.

“Then, mon cherie, I shall wish you good luck. I will be on the lookout for you to call me and tell me how it goes.” 

Friendship. She’s offering you an olive branch. Despite how undeserving you feel, Julia and Mortum have kept you afloat. Even if Julia didn’t know that. Especially since you barely understood that. Mortum, though, kept you sane. Through Eden. But sane. Human. 

“I will.” You hope your smile translates well over the phone. “I’ll send you a text when I’m safe. Or when the Rangers have apprehended me.” Too late you remember you haven’t told her your plans.

You hear a brief spitting noise. Sounds like the good doctor lost her coffee. You explain yourself before she can chastise you.

“The Rangers and I are working this one together. Unofficially. And they’ll need to put me down in a realistic manner to keep up the charade.” 

“Well, that certainly is a plan that cannot go wrong, mon cherie.” 

Sarcasm. Good. Friends again.

Hanging up, you spend time reviewing the plans of the villa you acquired. Few exits, but it appears to be open to the surroundings. Windows are probably reinforced, but you can manage that. The big question is why Hollow Ground is meeting you come in armor. Heartbreak is Los Diabolos’ hottest new villain. You may not be Pyschopathor, but your feats have been dangerous. And your defeat of the Rangers put you on all the unofficial villain lists. Thankfully, those lists don’t include the large number of villains you’ve put down. Or how many leads you’ve given the DA. Or that you haven’t fought any heroes except for the ones now currently allied with you. Hollow Ground must expect you to be compliant, then. And given their powerset, they might try to influence you. You need to expect trickery. This is Los Diabolos’ kingpin. A finger in every pie. Every line on your planning board goes through them.

The planning board. Your map to freedom. To salvation. Opening the door to your lair, you step inside. A hiss sounds as it seals behind you. Here, you plan your anarchy. Bringing this system to its knees and rebuilding it in your image. Humans made this monster. They also made you. And you will be their unmaking. 

No. No, you are a monster. Do not be the villain they think you are. Hold onto it. Onto the human element. 

Hold onto Julia.

Hold.

A deep breath. Two. Three. You need to control yourself. You are not a tyrant. You are not a politician. You will find someone to install when the FEZ cracks. When they realize their undoing was their own creation. But there are sheep amongst the wolves. They don’t know what was done to you. Though they know about Re-Genes and the Special Directive, you doubt they have ever considered you sentient. Why should they? Status quo has told them you’re nothing more than a tool. No. When the oligarchs of the Free Economic Zone fall, you will install someone just. Fair. You have candidates, but that part of the plan is far too distant to consider further. 

On the board, lines connect Hollow Ground to other monsters of Los Diabolos. Mayor Alvarez. Catastrofiend. Psychopathor. The Void. Heartbreak. Legends of nightmarish potential who have terrorized the people for far too long. Have terrorized you. Your nightmares are a constant reminder of who made you into this. Forged by the Farm. Tried and tested by the Void and Catastrofiend. Bathed in the sea of Nanovores. Baptized in the wake of Heartbreak. Now, you take the name for yourself. As a reminder to those who know the truth. The Farm should see your name and quake. They know your warpath ends with them. It is only a matter of time until you can piece everything together. Until you know what they’re hiding. 

In your scheming, you lose track of time. It is nearly 8:30 by the time you’re suited up and heading down your private elevator.

A message on your HUD pings a message from Julia. The sap.

“Good luck tonight. We’ll go easy on you. Love you.” Butterflies. Is this what being human is like? These thoughts? These emotions? One day at a time. Maybe you’ll just manage to survive.

You shoot back a sarcastic “You sap,” and finally dare to respond with, “I love you too.” You close the window quickly, breathing more rapidly than you’d like. The elevator dings.

Rosie is in the garage, as always. She knows the plan and wordlessly starts the car. A much more low-key luxury vehicle this time. Hollow Ground is expecting a level of decorum. And while you don’t care what Hollow Ground thinks of you, you must keep up appearances. More masks.

The ride feels like it takes forever. You still get pre-mission nerves despite having been Heartbreak for almost a year. In the field, you’re calm and collected. The armor helps cover your insecurities. Your inhumanity. Paranoia and mistrust have kept you alive in your time of villainy. As it did in your vigilante era. Before you died. Before you were broken. No time for those thoughts. Instead, you force them to drift to last night’s discussion with the Rangers. It could have gone worse. They could have arrested you. You would have gone down fighting. Break Julia’s heart again. Like you probably will anyway. You’re Heartbreak, after all. And yet you’re not sure if they quite understood your desperation. They don’t seem to realize that the Farm is dangerous. That they’re planning something. Something huge. Something deadly. Something only you can stop. 

You’re pulled from your thoughts when Rosie taps on the car’s dividing window. You nod to her and, over the intercom, say, “Go home for the night. No matter what, I won’t be coming back to base for a bit.” She nods, looking apprehensive, but waves as she pulls away. You don’t wave back. You’re Heartbreak now. Time to act your role. If it’s even acting. Brutality comes easy to you. Thankfully it’s been directed at Los Diabolos’ more unsavory population. Will you lose your head tonight? Now would be the time. You know the Rangers won’t keep you, or at least you hope they won’t. Arya couldn’t do what was necessary. But Heartbreak can.

There’s a guard at the door to the villa. You can’t sense any dampeners. No one knows you’re a telepath. Good.

Approaching the guard, you fall back into character. Heartbreak is flamboyant, big, loud. Something Arya could never be.

“Good evening, fellow henchman!” Your voice modulator sends just the right amount of sarcasm to your words. Ticking off henchmen makes them harder to predict, but angry people are easier to manipulate. “I am here to meet Los Diabolos’ king.” You’re not shouting, but you can see him wince. He’s outfitted with normal mods. Probably class B. Not a war machine, but will pack a punch if needed. 

“They’re inside.” He looks like he would rather not let you in but steps aside as the door opens. 

The inside of the villa is as you expected. Your sources deliver on their reliability once again. The door from which you entered is the only solid structure in the building. The remaining three walls are windowed, and the one opposite of you opens up onto the ocean below. The wall behind you is patterned with rock, like pebbles on a riverbed. The windows ahead of you look reinforced. You expect it would take solid munitions to carve through it. You hope the Rangers are equipped for a battle. 

A woman who looks to be in her 40s or 50s is seated in a fairly cushy seat. She looks older than Julia but younger than Steel. Though you know the Hero drug and mods can change one’s appearance. And you know Hollow Ground can afford to keep up the maintenance. The other two in the room are known to you. At least tangentially. One is Nocturne. A darker-skinned woman closer to your age. Her eyes are as gold as her garments, like Midas himself touched her. You’re aware her boost is sight-related, but you’re unsure what else she has available. More Medusa than Midas. Further back is Jake Manalo. You know he’s a hitman and a bruiser. You also know his powers are a bit more mysterious. He can change the density of his body, and very few have lived to report on him.

“Heartbreak,” the woman in the middle smiles, “Welcome to my humble abode.” She spreads her hands as if welcoming an old friend. 

Now that you’ve gotten closer to her, you notice several things. Firstly, she looks like an older version of you. Of Arya. Not exactly identical, but if you squinted and saw her from afar, someone might mistake the two of you. Probably why Julia thought you two were related. And, well, you probably are. The Farm only takes the best donors.

“It is certainly… humble.” You try for some humor. Heartbreak is a comedian, after all. All the villain forums said so. “Makes my base look much more evil-villainy.” You see her smirk, good. 

“I, as you can probably tell, am Hollow Ground.” She stands up to shake your hand. This is probably how she does it. You could shake her hand with the glove or keep up pretenses of friendliness and remove it first. You’re fairly certain you can resist the threading, but the last thing you need is to get killed tonight because you couldn’t resist her powers. 

Shaking her hand with your gloved one, you sit down at the offered chair opposite the kingpin. You speak first. Heartbreak is a volatile figure. Dealing with Los Diabolos’ underground has made you more proactive. Less like Sidestep. Sidestep is dead. You are not. Not yet.

“So, Jake tells me you have some information I’d be interested in.” You nod at Jake. He doesn’t nod back. You scoff; the modulator makes it sound like a bark.

Hollow Ground pretends not to notice the slight and says, “You are correct. Have you had any run-ins with the Special Directive yet?” 

Your mouth goes dry. You don’t sense any thought voids in the area. You’re powerful enough to be able to tell. The Rat King signals all good. You try to breathe, their chittering calming you like always. “I have not yet had the misfortune,” you say, thankful the modulator masks your nervousness. “They’re far too rare to be sent after the likes of me.” Eventually, you will be a large enough threat to warrant them. But not yet.

“Well, I assume you’re aware of who and what they are?” You nod. “Good, then you should know that they’re contracted by the FEZ and U.S. government to rope in large-scale disasters. Psychopathor being the last target that required their use.” You know this very well. You’re the one who called them.

“I had heard the titan was brought to heel by the Directive. What does this have to do with me? I don’t imagine you’re going to call them on such a small threat as myself.” You put as much humor into your voice as you can muster. It seems to do the trick.

Laughing, Hollow Ground says, “No, of course not. They’d paint my walls red, and I don’t exactly want to redecorate yet. No, I called you here because I know your plans for Los Diabolos include shuffling the status quo.” She pauses and takes a sip of a glass of brownish liquid. She also drinks dark liquor. A coincidence? Probably not.  

“And while I know that includes me, I figured I could redirect you for a bit. The Directive has plans that include this city as well as all of the FEZ.” You know this, but how does she? And you do know the Directive is planning something. That the Farm is. But you only know it has to do with the failing Core. What the Core protects is the largest unknown.

She continues, “The Directive wants to install themselves as an arbiter of power and control. And I’m willing to point you in the right direction. If you agree to work with me.” 

There it is. There’s the bargain. She’s worried. She knows you’ve brutally beaten many of her associates. Umbral’s missing income probably hurt more than she’s letting on. 

You laugh, the noise sounding demonic on the modulator, “Work for you?” You continue to laugh. It becomes slightly manic. It feels good. 

“I like the spirit, though!” You probably sound like a madman. You doubt anyone has laughed in Hollow Ground’s face and lived. But here you are. True to form. 

“Actually, I have a question for you: why did you let me walk in here in my armor?” This was something that bothered you about this meeting. They know you’re dangerous in armor. Hollow Ground doesn’t let anyone see her face, but here you are. Anonymous. You laugh. 

You could tell something was wrong with the layout of this house. Hollow Ground thinks your powers are related to disintegration. That has been the media’s current understanding of you. You know from the Villain Indexing System that Heartbreak’s boosts aren’t known. And no dampeners means Hollow Ground doesn’t know either. You suspect this house might be invulnerable to most known disintegratory powers. 

“Because you either join us, or we’ll kill you.” Hollow Ground is deadly serious now. Jake’s powers would be difficult to fight if you were reliant on a disintegration-type power. His ability to shift through matter makes disintegration nearly impossible. “You’re a danger to our operation. I had hoped you would cooperate.”

Your laugh echoes through the chic home.

“Is something funny?” Her voice now drips with venom. She appears placid, but you can feel her emotions. Even passively, as you’ve restrained your telepathic senses. Anger. Good. Time to turn it up a notch. 

“I don’t like killing.” You’re thankful no one can see into your helmet. You’re scowling. Sitting before you is the villain who killed Marshall Hood. The kingpin of Los Diabolos. One more hurdle for you to clear in your pursuits. “But I know you don’t mind it.” As you talk, you pick up the liquor bottle in front of you. It’s filled with a brown liquid. You twist the cap off and twirl it between your fingers. Be unpredictable. Be enigmatic.

Before she can speak, you continue, “Now, I’m a forgiving villain, but I do not wish to replace one evil with another. And you’ve caused enough heartbreak.” You laugh at your own joke. Maintain the act. Be the villain. 

Swirling the bottle, you don’t look at Hollow Ground when she speaks again. “A bleeding heart? I would never have expected it.” She motions to the guards at the door to remain where they are. You knew they were approaching, but you’re not supposed to be a telepath. “How are you going to change the world without causing some mayhem?”

“I can cause plenty of mayhem without leaving any corpses. There are far worse things than death.” Your laugh sounds manic, but this is the most honest thing you’ve said tonight. You knew tonight was going to go badly or very badly. Seems Hollow Ground has chosen the latter.

Now, however, you sense movement in the surrounding neighborhood. It’s time to act.

“So your answer? Will you work with us?” You had felt your anger coming far before she had made the offer. But now it’s boiling over. How dare she. How dare she puppeteer this city. From her cushy villa. From her anonymity. This is the person who’s caused Julia so much pain. So much suffering. There are many oligarchs in this city. They all need to be put down. 

Red. You see red.

As an answer, the bottle cap you twirled between your fingers strikes Hollow Ground between the eyes. Still got it. One of your old Sidestep tricks. Hilarious every single time. 

“Did you just fucking…” 

Jake flings himself over the couch, but you are already moving; the liquor bottle cracks over his skull with a sharp, sickening noise. 

Jake goes down, not out. He went dense, likely angry at your insolence. Your servos are whirring, and the Rat King is tracking the henchmen behind you. You know Nocturne’s power will be a danger. Good thing you don’t need eyesight to fight. You flip the table with a kick and send it flying at Nocturne. She dodges, barely. 

You leap over the overturned table and catch Nocturne in a backhand. She goes sliding across the ground. The Rat King alerts you to Jake, but you’re a fraction too late. It appears like he’s gone light - more mobile. He phases through you, and a roundhouse kick sends you into the reinforced glass in the same movement. The glass is tough. You’re tougher. A loud crack shoots through the villa. Your suit blinks an orange light, notifying you of compromised integrity to your back plate. Something to have Mortum fix later.

A henchman is on you before you’re fully on your feet. He’s the one from the entrance; the other two in the room are helping Nocturne to her feet. Now it’s five on one. You like those odds. With the exoskeleton set to full power, you go to work.

The first henchman, you call him Chrome-face, as half of his skull is shoddily melded to a metal plate. He seems to have some sort of electrical ability. A mixture of boosts and mods. Chrome-face takes his first - and last - swing at you. Sidestepping this, you pull the full force of your strike into his skull. The metal half dents. The fleshy half breaks. A scream. He skitters to a stop a few yards from you. Still alive, Rat King tells you. Good. 

The second and third henchmen are not even memorable enough to name. Tactically, their best opportunity would be to take you at the same time. Alas, this is likely why they’re henchmen. And you suspect, from the makeup of these two, that Hollow Ground expected your “disintegration powers” to be ineffective. You’ve already shown the world that the nanovores eat inorganic material. The two in front of you appear boosted, not modded.

A pyrokinetic power flares on the first as he reaches you. You catch his fist in your hand. His fire is hot. But your armor takes it without issue. With a flourish, the fire-user is flipped over your back and collides with the wall. The second henchman, a geomancer, flings a large boulder-shaped object at you. You deflect it easily and deliver a kick to his sternum, which snaps with a sickening crunch. He flies directly into Hollow Ground, who, until moments before, appeared unsure if the battle was going her way or not.  

With a thud, both go over the couch and come to rest behind Nocture and Jake. Nocture shouts, going to help her boss to her feet. Hollow Ground looks bloodied and bruised.

You turn to the fire-using henchman at your feet and deliver a well-placed kick to the head. Blood and teeth erupt from his slack jaw.

Manalo is on you before you can savor the damage. Jake’s fist collides with your helmet, and you see stars. Too slow. Weak. Distracted. Too human. 

You kick out and catch his shin, but it probably hurts you more than he. His density is a power you’re not sure how to counter. Dodging the second strike, you consider your options. 

Then pandemonium. 

The Rangers have arrived.

The first thing you notice is the smell of ozone. 

It burns the air around you. Your helmet covers the toxicity of the smell, but you can still feel it. 

All three henchmen were quickly disposed of, leaving Nocturne, Jake Manalo, and Hollow Ground. One moment. Two. Three. Then you’re on Jake. Nocturne is doing her best to shuttle Hollow Ground out of the main room. You peripherally suspect there to be a safe room somewhere in the house. Likely with an escape entrance for the kingpin. 

Jake must not have expected you to leap on him as he was soft enough to hit. Once. Twice. Three times. Your enhanced strength tests the limits of his durability. The limits were reached. Manalo stops struggling. His face is a mash of flesh. You’re laughing. You live for this. Cracking the skulls of Los Diabolos’ underworld. The world you’re on top of. Hollow Ground is next. You look up to find her. To hunt down the remainder of this syndicate.

Behind you, you hear Charge roar. Primal. Angry. Very different from the noises you’ve heard her make recently.

Jake begins to struggle again, apparently regaining consciousness despite the serious head wounds. In for a penny. You hit him again. And again. And—

—A fist hits the side of your head.

Then nothingness.

#fallen hero #fallen hero retribution #fhr #sidestep

[duckprintspress]

Why Query Letters are Good Actually 

Part One of a Two-part series of guest posts by Alec J. Marsh.

Hello, it’s me, Alec. I’m a new editor to Duck Prints Press and the resident corporate shill sellout. I love Duck Prints Press and their ethics (and will write an opinion piece soon on why they rock and you should submit to them). I also…. love traditional publishing. 

I’m sorry! I know this makes me a trend-following sheep. I know it’s a hot take in the indie pub crowd. Traditional publishing absolutely has its flaws, and I could go on at length about them. I’m still aiming to get my novels traditionally published. I want to be able to find my book at a Barnes & Noble and be nominated for a Hugo. Sorry not sorry. 

One of the worst parts of traditional publishing is the arcane hoops you have to jump through to participate. As anyone who has poked querying with a long, tentative stick knows, there are many requirements, and every agent’s website uses slightly different phrasing, and it’s a nightmare to navigate. It’s an extra nightmare if you’re neurodivergent and desperately seeking a clear, simple list of expectations. Unfortunately, the basic requirements are there for a reason. A GOOD reason. Learning the skills required to put together a good query package will serve you well, whether you want a ten-book deal with Tor, to sell hand-stapled zines at the local convention, or anything in between. 

So let’s get into it! 

The first thing you need in any submission process is a query letter. What is a query letter? In short, it’s a 3-5 paragraph essay about your book, yourself, and why a publisher should buy your work (and therefore why an agent should agree to represent you). You need to tell the agent the genre, the plot, and why this book is special. They are excruciating to write, because yes, you need to condense your book down to 300 words, maximum, and sell it at the same time. 

But imagine, for a moment, that you’ve walked into Ye Olde Barnes & Noble. There, on the end cap, is a cool new fantasy book you’ve never heard of. The cover has a sword and a snake on it, and you like swords and snakes. But how is it different from the 20 other books with names like A Court of Swords and Snakes that have come out in the last five years? The first thing you do is pick the book up, turn to the back cover, and read. 

You know what’s on the back cover? 

Paragraph one: In a stunning tour de force, ACOSAS takes you through the glittering world of naga politics… (A teaser sentence)  

Paragraph two: Princess Arya has always wanted to be a dancer. But when the evil northerners attack her kingdom… (A paragraph about the main character and the central conflict of the book) 

Paragraph three: Alec J Marsh lives in the Pacific Northwest and has never seen a snake in the wild. (A biography of the author) 

Guess what you just read? A query letter. In many cases, what’s in the blurb is actually pretty close to the exact query letter the author originally sent to their agent. Yes, really. Sometimes a query letter makes it from agent to editor to publicist to final copy.

They’re that important. 

But Alec, I hear you say, I’m not planning to get trad published! Why do I need to do this? Well, indie and self-published people—you will need to write cover copy for your book. And you’ll almost certainly need to write it yourself. The good and the bad part of self-publishing is that you do everything yourself. Less meddling (good!), but less help (bad!). And here’s the hard truth: absolutely no one will spend a single one of their hard-earned dollars on “sex babes get pounded by space aliens” if the back cover says “lol I suck at summaries, I promise it’s good :)” It’s useless, and it’s disrespectful to the buyer’s time and money. 

And that is why query letters are good, actually, for all writers, and are worth practicing how to create!

So go out there and sell your books, and you’ll accidentally write your query along the way. 

In Installment Two…now that I’ve convinced you that you should write a query letter, I’ll go over how to actually, you know, do that. Coming soon!

#duck prints press #writing advice #publishing #query letters #resources #alec j. marsh

[kellyvela]

So, if D&D knew that much about the story and so far in advance, why did the Jon & Dany romance feels so stilted and unplanned? Is Jonerys sex a plot point from GRRM or do you think they added in the “romance” to hide the ending? Or was this about keeping Targaryen fans around for the sequels and prequels?

Well, D&D admitted that they didn't invest much in jonerice:

But in terms of the story? WEISS: Jon and Dany are obviously together-together now. We didn't have much time, or any time, to explore that relationship as a real relationship in the seventh season. It came to fruition at the end. It was a lot of fun to write them meeting each other, and now there's a new kind of relationship between them. And here they're together from the beginning. [Source]

Yup, the "romance of the century" was purposely rushed in S7.

I remember how this quote had jonerice shippers so hyped believing their ship would develop in deep during the final season, just for them to crash and burn in S8 💋🗡💀. . . . . LOL

For more about this see here & here.

They even copied Jon/Ygritte "romantic" relationship and especially Jon reacting to Ygritte's death and made it into jonerice. For more about this see here & here & here and again here.

Benioff and Weiss copied a lot of old plots in the Show, especially when they lacked text material. They did the same with Sansa, Cogman said it himself. In S1 Sansa wishes for the South and her golden prince, but her dream turned into a nightmare and her prince was a monster. So they repeated that in S5 with a much darker twist: Sansa wishes to come back North and home, so they put her back in the North, in Winterfell, but gave her Ramsay as a "love interest . . . ." I HATE THEM

So yeah, many think that the "romance"/sexual affair was a device to hide the final clash between [ice and fire] these supposed "lovers." And I tend to agree with them, mostly because Jon disguised his mission to spy the Freefolk by starting a sexual affair with Ygritte and D&D evidently copied that formula. Ice & Fire was never about some grand romance, but about a clash between two deathly forces.

Will it be similar in the books? Will GRRM really give us involuntary incest and/or doomed romance? Will it be Jon/Ygritte 2.0? We will have to wait and see. But as my friend Mary theorized, Jon didn't kill Ygritte, despite her being his enemy, when he realized she was a girl, and later he became her dubious lover. Then he will have to face that conflict again (killing a girl/dubious lover/family member), but with a different outcome.

The thing is, D&D gave "their audience" what they think it was mostly wanted: two hot people kissing and naked [sex sells!!!]. They did something similar with Arya and Gendry, they wondered how Arya's night previous to the final battle would be? Oh let's make her having sex with her childhood crush! [sex sells!!!].

Remember that their goal always was to bring a whitewashed version of high fantasy to "mothers and NFL players". They kinda implied that they made a show "for dummies," not for high fantasy readers:

Sorry mothers and NFL players . . . . [See more here].

They were always implying that "their audience" doesn't need to think much and that's why they changed Asha for Yara, because Asha was too similar to Osha, and they didn't want to confuse "their audience".

“We’re a little bit worried about the Osha/Asha sounding too close together,” David said, making a reference to the Season 1 wildling character. “So it might be a slightly different name.” [Source]

They really think "their audience" was that dumb . . . .

Anyways, here more about D&D knowing about Jon stabbing aunty in the throne room.

Thanks for your message :)

#anon asks #game of thrones #d&d #jonerice

[modern-inheritance]

Modern Inheritance Picrews (pt. 1): OG Elf Squad

I was recently tagged on my main blog to make OCs with this picrew and ended up making a few of the MIC versions of Inheritance characters, or at least as close as I can get. I enjoyed the process, and since I can't really draw all that well I thought I'd make more and post them here with some short descriptions of the character appearances as they are in MIC. I used Photoshop and Illustrator to make some edits (Glen's being the roughest) to try and get closer to what I had in mind.

Up first! The OG elf squad!

Fäolin

A handful of years older than Arya at the time of his death, Fäolin was quite young by elf standards, and somehow managed to look both the most human and the most alien of his companions. His eyes, frequently altered to even further increase his darkvision and distance vision for sniping, were always somewhat oblong at the pupils and were a striking green-and-gold hazel. Unlike other elves, Fäolin chose to attempt growing some facial hair through magic, and altered his hair color from the typical black seen in many elves to a rich chestnut worn short at the sides with a tufted ponytail. He was playful and lighthearted, always smiling slightly even during missions, and loved to gently tease his friends. A dark orange and yellow tattoo of a coiled Fanghur decorated his left shoulder, a symbolic gesture of solidarity with his mate, Arya, as well as a nod to the nickname of 'Wind Viper' that some of the Varden gave him after years of sniping high up above the battlefield with frightening accuracy, as though his targets were frozen in place as the Fanghur froze their prey with mental attacks.

Glenwing (Glen)

(I attempted to superimpose a rough aprox of his prosthetic over one of the hands but uh...it sure is an attempt.)

Glenwing, or Glen as most know him, is around 20 years Arya and Fäolin's senior. Born to a healer and a warrior in Ilirea before the Fall, he was old enough to have decent memories of the battles that took place and the effects it had on those around him. After the final battle saw his parents slain, the young elfling dedicated himself to learning healing arts of both body and mind while training to eventually fight back. With his father's bright silver hair tied back and his mother's deep golden eyes, Glen typically looks serene and thoughtful, each movement and word given the time it deserves. This not to say, however, that he is any less deadly than his companions, nor that he does not hold the peculiar wild, near feral energy that Arya so frequently displays. Glenwing knows every way to kill you, and could do so, unarmed and without magic, with incredible accuracy and efficiency. His training to heal gives him insight into biology of elves, dwarves and humans, to the point that he can identify weaknesses and target them on the fly during battle. This makes close quarters combat his forte, and he prefers crossing blades and bare handed fighting to long distance, which lead to the scar across his cheek during a battle with Forsworn-trained soldiers.

During the ambush that set the events of the main story in motion, Glenwing was catastrophically injured and lost his left arm just above the elbow. After months of rehabilitation and work with Rhunön he gained use of a prosthetic made of a combination of low quality brightsteel scrap, aramid weave, and spidersilk plate that moves with him as though it were his own flesh. It still requires constant maintenance and care, something Arya takes over when they return to the field together, and he has his own problems with phantom pain and the trauma associated with not only the loss but his near fifty years of constant war. Due to his time away from it all, though, and his own training in mental health counseling and psychology, Glen has a better grasp on managing his symptoms of PTSD than most. He still has weekly nightmares, often waking up feeling as though his body is on fire and his arm is being crushed, but he manages his sleep cycles and religiously practices the self care he needs to make his life easier and have the energy needed to help others consistently. Despite all the pain, though, Glen would be the first to say he would not trade it for the world. He is doing what he loves, making a difference in the fight, and doing it all next to one of his best friends.

Arya

The scruffiest and scrappiest elf currently walking the lands of Alagaësia, Arya's the young commander of her now only two person squad (including herself) of special forces commandos originally set to protect Eragon, Saphira and Brom. After seventy years of combat, war and politics, Arya's given up on adhering to elvish tradition of prim, proper and put-together in favor of living life in a warzone for the sake of Alagaësia's free peoples. Scars are earned and frequently left unhealed unless life threatening, dirt is considered free camouflage, and having five minutes of calm to tame whatever's come loose from hairbands is a luxury. Brom has told her to invest in a headband, but she keeps losing them.

With Islanzadi's pitch black hair and Evandar's emerald eyes, Arya is fairly striking when you can get her to stay still long enough. A wild, near feral energy roils under her skin and shows itself with bared tooth smiles full of mischief, and full of the naturally sharp teeth most elves sang away in their early years. The scar through her eyebrow is a reminder of a fight long since passed, but the fresh nick on her jaw, scar matted wrists and back, are all badges of pride for what she endured in Gil'ead. There are plenty other scars, but most are concealed by the elf's ever present combat jacket.

PTSD is something the entire squad dealt with before the ambush, but after Gil'ead Arya has taken a particularly hard hit to her mental health. Sleep can come, but it doesn't stay easy, and Arya typically goes two or three nights without more than a handful of hours of sleep. Elves can easily survive on four hours a night, and while six hours every three days can be livable, sleep debt builds up over time. She staves it off through meditation, but Glenwing has been pushing her to reestablish a proper cycle as they both know putting off sleep just intensifies the nightmares and Recall that frequently wake her up. It's a difficult pattern to establish, though, and every other month typically sees Arya with dark rings around her eyes until she relents to Glenwing and sleeps a solid night through with the aid of magic and a hell of a lot of talk therapy afterwards.

Arya's behavior and appearance, though in some ways distinctly elven, falls in the middle of human and elf. Called a mongrel by some of the more...brash...elven youth, Arya honestly couldn't care less, though she draws the line at disrespect towards her comrades and fallen brothers and sisters in arms, no matter their race. Even though her actions no longer serve just the elves, Arya's proud of her service. She's proud to stand beside Glen again and properly take on the role of Eragon and Saphira's bodyguard, even if they sometimes don't quite need it.

#eragon #inheritance cycle #the cyclists #the inheritance cycle #Ket's Modern Inheritance Cycle #Arya #arya drottningu #glenwing #glen (inheritance) #Faolin #og elf squad #picrew #I have more for these guys coming up both pre and post ambush #im fixated on scars right now no idea why #picrew modern inheritance #mi art #mic art #I completely lost the plot with Arya's sorry #brain not talking good right now

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

Day 24 - Compassion and Kindness

One of the most ignored aspects of Arya’s personality is her compassion and kindness, which is honestly very baffling considering one of her major themes is mercy, which literally means “compassion and forgiveness”.  I won’t deny that GRRM explores many aspects when it comes to mercy, including the role of someone easing a dying person's suffering, however that doesn’t erase the fact that Arya is COMPASSIONATE and KIND.  She’s not the type to flatter or pretend to be kind and compassionate, compared to other characters who use courtesy to chirp meaningless pleasantries, but that just goes to show how authentic Arya’s compassion and empathy really are.  

A lot of people like to pretend that Arya is a sociopath/psychopath, but there are many instances in the books that disprove this.  The very fact that Arya feels empathy, guilt, and shame tells us she isn’t any one of those things.  The fact that Arya feels guilt and shame about what she’s had to do to survive and to protect others is proof of it.  The fact that Arya has literal nightmares about these things tells us this.  Arya is an incredibly compassionate, kind, and empathetic individual.  In fact she’s one of the most empathetic and compassionate characters in the books.  I understand that after the Trident incident and after AGOT Arya has had to be more careful about looking vulnerable, about being vulnerable, and had to put up a guarded wall.  I understand she’s been traumatized, but the fact is that Arya was and will never be a monster and people could easily find instances of this in the books, yet their own misogyny and character biases get in their way.  Arya is an authentic person and her compassion is authentic and effortless.  She also can make friends with anyone and everyone authentically.  She may have to fib about her name most of the time and backstory, but other than that her personality is always Arya, even when she takes on another face and takes on a couple new traits by doing so.  And she’s able to make authentic friends so easily because she is kind and compassionate among other reasons.  

Arya had loved nothing better than to sit at her father's table and listen to them talk. She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms. She used to throw snowballs at them and help them steal pies from the kitchen. Their wives gave her scones and she invented names for their babies and played monsters-and-maidens and hide-the-treasure and come-into-my-castle with their children. Fat Tom used to call her "Arya Underfoot," because he said that was where she always was. (Arya II AGOT)

Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. This Mycah was the worst; a butcher's boy, thirteen and wild, he slept in the meat wagon and smelled of the slaughtering block. Just the sight of him was enough to make Sansa feel sick, but Arya seemed to prefer his company to hers. (Sansa I AGOT)

Cat had made friends along the wharves; porters and mummers, ropemakers and sailmenders, taverners, brewers and bakers and beggars and whores. They bought clams and cockles from her, told her true tales of Braavos and lies about their lives, and laughed at the way she talked when she tried to speak Braavosi. She never let that trouble her. Instead, she showed them all the fig, and told them they were camel cunts, which made them roar with laughter. Gyloro Dothare taught her filthy songs, and his brother Gyleno told her the best places to catch eels. The mummers off the Ship showed her how a hero stands, and taught her speeches from The Song of the Rhoyne, The Conqueror's Two Wives, and The Merchant's Lusty Lady. Quill, the sad-eyed little man who made up all the bawdy farces for the Ship, offered to teach her how a woman kisses, but Tagganaro smacked him with a codfish and put an end to that. Cossomo the Conjurer instructed her in sleight of hand. He could swallow mice and pull them from her ears. "It's magic," he'd say. "It's not," Cat said. "The mouse was up your sleeve the whole time. I could see it moving." (Cat of the Canals AFFC)

So having said that, I’m going to quote the canon material that backs up this argument.  Unfortunately there are so many examples that if I quote all of these instances, this post will probably be at the very least 20 pages of written document, so I’m just going to quote some of my favorite examples from each book.

AGOT

While there are so many to choose from, Arya defending Jon against Sansa’s classist behavior, Arya defending Mycah from physical torture and possible death by Joffrey’s hand, and Arya chasing Nymeria away to save her life, one of my favorite examples of Arya’s compassion, empathy and kindness happens in Sansa III and that’s because she tried to comfort her sister in the middle of Sansa throwing a huge temper tantrum.  It’s a big deal because while they both fought, it was Arya who came and genuinely apologized to Sansa about throwing a squashed orange at Sansa, even though it was Sansa who was victim blaming Mycah right in front of Arya who was still deeply grieving her friends loss, and it was Sansa who threatened Arya with the power she’d hold as queen.  Furthermore, after Arya threw the fruit it was Sansa who screamed that Arya should have died instead of Lady.  Yet it’s Arya who apologizes and tries to make things better all the while Sansa is disparaging her without a thought of guilt or shame at her behavior (something she never actually shows in all the books about this situation or even the situation at the Trident when she not only sided with Joffrey, but she didn’t care one iota that Arya was about to be killed).  But even so, when Ned reveals that he is sending the girls home, and Arya sees that Sansa is upset about this prospect, it’s Arya who tries to comfort her:

"It won't be so bad, Sansa," Arya said. "We're going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we'll be with Bran and Robb again, and Old Nan and Hodor and the rest." She touched her on the arm.

"Hodor!" Sansa yelled. "You ought to marry Hodor, you're just like him, stupid and hairy and ugly!" She wrenched away from her sister's hand, stormed into her bedchamber, and barred the door behind her. (Sansa III AGOT)

ACOK

ACOK has so many wonderful moments to choose from.  Some of my favorite examples are Arya sharing the portion of the rabbit with Gendry that she had hunted since she got a whole leg, even though the Night’s Watch recruits were already low on food at this point.  Arya insists that Yoren get a proper burial even despite the frustration she felt through the grief.  Arya takes care of the crying toddler, Weasel, making sure she’s looked after and fed, and defends her and Hot Pie and Lommy when Gendry suggests that the two of them leave them because they were a hindrance.  Arya trying to forage and hunt for food, not just for her, but for everyone.  Arya taking Gendry and Hot Pie along with her during her escape from Harrenhal, even though she didn’t technically need them.  Arya getting justice against Chiswyck when she overheard his horrible story (that was told like a humorous antidote) about how he, Gregor Clegane, and a bunch of other men brutally raped an innkeeps daughter that was barely older than her.  Or when Arya bravely tried to save Gendry from the Mountain's men.  I also really love this moment from Arya X, because Arya just found out that her baby brothers might be dead, and is trying not to cry, and is grieving in silence, yet when she sees that Elmar Frey (someone she doesn’t even get on very well with because Elmar is a classist jerk) is upset, she tries to comfort him:

"What's wrong?" Arya asked him when she saw the tears shining on his cheeks.

"My princess," he sobbed. "We've been dishonored, Aenys says. There was a bird from the Twins. My lord father says I'll need to marry someone else, or be a septon." (Arya X ACOK)

My other favorite moments take place in Arya IV, and if anyone has read that chapter I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.  In Arya IV, the Night’s Watch recruits are attacked by the Gold Cloaks in the dead of night, resulting in a bloody, traumatic battle, as well as a huge deadly fire.  This chapter only confirms what we learned in Sansa I AGOT, that Arya is a compassionate and brave hero, because not only does she save Weasel from the battle and the fire, even though her friends were telling her not to, she also goes back into the fire to save Jaqen, Rorge, and Biter (and no, just because 2 out of three of these people turn out to be horrible monsters, it still doesn’t negate that this was done out of compassion).  And even through this battle and the fire, Arya still feels compassion to the dying animals in the barn.

As they were running toward the barn, Arya spied the crying girl sitting in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by smoke and slaughter. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet as the others raced ahead. The girl wouldn't walk, even when slapped. Arya dragged her with her right hand while she held Needle in the left. Ahead, the night was a sullen red. The barn's on fire, she thought. Flames were licking up its sides from where a torch had fallen on straw, and she could hear the screaming of the animals trapped within. Hot Pie stepped out of the barn. "Arry, come on! Lommy's gone, leave her if she won't come!"

Stubbornly, Arya dragged all the harder, pulling the crying girl along. Hot Pie scuttled back inside, abandoning them . . . but Gendry came back, the fire shining so bright on his polished helm that the horns seemed to glow orange. He ran to them, and hoisted the crying girl up over his shoulder. "Run!" 

Rushing through the barn doors was like running into a furnace. The air was swirling with smoke, the back wall a sheet of fire ground to roof. Their horses and donkeys were kicking and rearing and screaming. The poor animals, Arya thought. Then she saw the wagon, and the three men manacled to its bed. Biter was flinging himself against the chains, blood running down his arms from where the irons clasped his wrists. Rorge screamed curses, kicking at the wood. "Boy!" called Jaqen H'ghar. "Sweet boy!"

[...]

"You take her!" she yelled. "You get her out! You do it!" The fire beat at her back with hot red wings as she fled the burning barn. It felt blessedly cool outside, but men were dying all around her. [...] Going back into that barn was the hardest thing she ever did. Smoke was pouring out the open door like a writhing black snake, and she could hear the screams of the poor animals inside, donkeys and horses and men. She chewed her lip, and darted through the doors, crouched low where the smoke wasn't quite so thick.

[...] She couldn't see the wagon for the smoke, but she could still hear Biter screaming. She crawled toward the sound.

And then a wheel was looming over her. The wagon jumped and moved a half foot when Biter threw himself against his chains again. Jaqen saw her, but it was too hard to breathe, let alone talk. She threw the axe into the wagon. Rorge caught it and lifted it over his head, rivers of sooty sweat pouring down his noseless face. Arya was running, coughing. She heard the steel crash through the old wood, and again, again. An instant later came a crack as loud as thunder, and the bottom of the wagon came ripping loose in an explosion of splinters. (Arya IV ACOK)

ASOS

As I mentioned above, during Arya’s escape from Harrenhal, she also saved Gendry and Hot Pie as well, despite really not needing their help for survival, in fact she even acknowledges that they are slowing her down, but these are her thoughts:

She would make much better time on her own, Arya knew, but she could not leave them.  They were her pack, her friends, the only living friends that remained to her. (Arya I ASOS)

Later on in the novel, Arya sees that Edric Dayne is looking miserable so she tries to distract him from that misery:

[...] Arya pulled up the hood of her cloak and hunched down, sodden and shivering but determined not to falter. Merrit and Mudge were soon coughing as bad as Watty, and poor Ned seemed to grow more miserable with every mile. "When I wear my helm, the rain beats against the steel and gives me headaches," he complained. "But when I take it off, my hair gets soaked and sticks to my face and in my mouth."

"You have a knife," Gendry suggested. "If your hair annoys you so much, shave your bloody head."

He doesn't like Ned. The squire seemed nice enough to Arya; maybe a little shy, but good-natured. She had always heard that Dornishmen were small and swarthy, with black hair and small black eyes, but Ned had big blue eyes, so dark that they looked almost purple. And his hair was a pale blond, more ash than honey.

"How long have you been Lord Beric's squire?" she asked, to take his mind from his misery. (Arya VIII ASOS)

But my absolute favorite moment of Arya’s kindness and compassion and empathy is probably one of her least acknowledged moments in the books in the general fandom.  I’m talking about when she and the Brotherhood Without Banners go to Stoney Sept and discover the Northmen being held there in crow cages, already on the brink of death.  Arya’s feelings about this discovery are complicated and conflicting, because during her arc, especially in ASOS she is becoming ever more aware that it doesn’t matter what house or region you belong to, if the nobles declare war, it’s the smallfolk who suffer because in general, most of these people don’t care that they are destroying the lives of the smallfolk, thus many of them burn and raid the villages of the smallfolk, rape their women and children, torture, and kill innocents.  Arya is trying to rectify this reality, and even though she is upset and angry at these men, she still feels compassion for them so she gives these men water to ease their pain:

She looked at their filthy hair and scraggly beards and reddened eyes, at their dry, cracked, bleeding lips.  Wolves, she thought again.  Like me.  Was this her pack?  How could they be Robb's men?  She wanted to hit them.  She wanted to hurt them.  She wanted to cry.  They all seemed to be looking at her, the living and the dead alike.  The old man had squeezed three fingers out between the bars.  “Water,” he said, “water.”

Arya swung down from her horse.  They can't hurt me, they're dying.  She took her cup from her bedroll and went to the fountain.  “What do you think you're doing, boy?” the townsman snapped.  “They're no concern o' yours.”  She raised the cup to the fish's mouth.  The water splashed across her fingers and down her sleeve, but Arya did not move until the cup was brimming over.  When she turned back towards the cages, the townsman moved to stop her.  “You get away from them, boy--”

“She's a girl,” said Harwin.  “Leave her be.”

“Aye,” said Lem.  “Lord Beric don't hold with caging men to die of thirst.  Why don't you hang them decent?”

“There was nothing decent 'bout them things they did at Tumbler's Falls,” the townsman growled right back at him.

The bars were too narrow to pass a cup through, but Harwin and Gendry offered her a leg up.  She planted a foot in Harwin's cupped hands, vaulted onto Gendry's shoulders, and grabbed the bars on top of the cage.  The fat man turned his face up and pressed his cheek to the iron, and Arya poured the water over him.  He sucked at it eagerly and let it run down over his head and cheeks and hands, and then he licked the dampness off the bars.  He would have licked Arya's fingers if she hadn't snatched them back.  By the time she served the other two the same, a crowd had gathered to watch her.  “The mad huntsman will hear of this,” a man threatened.  “He won't like it.  No, he won't.”

“He'll like this even less, then.”  Anguy strung his longbow, slid an arrow from his quiver, nocked, drew, loosed.  The fat man shuddered as the shaft drove up between his chins, but the cage would not let him fall.  Two more arrows ended the other two northmen.  The only sound in the market square was the splash of falling water and the buzzing of flies.

Valar Morghulis, Arya thought. (Arya V ASOS)

Arya doesn’t do this because she doesn’t care about the smallfolk and is siding with the Northmen in those cages, and she doesn’t know that once she gives them water they will be given mercy.  Despite what many in the fandom would say, Arya has a great respect for life, from insects to animals to humans.  Killing for survival and enacting justice against evil people in a feudalistic society where justice is most often only achieved in the manner she achieves it, does not negate her respect and compassion for others.  Arya giving water to people in general and out of compassion is also very prevalent in her arc.  She does this several times.

Honorable Mention:  Arya shows empathy and contrition about ruining the acorn dress Lady Smallwood gave her to wear, when she discovers that Lady Smallwood’s son is dead:

[...] the next morning as they broke their fast, Lady Smallwood gave her breeches, belt, and tunic to wear, and a brown doeskin jerkin dotted with iron studs. "They were my son's things," she said. "He died when he was seven."

"I'm sorry, my lady." Arya suddenly felt bad for her, and ashamed. "I'm sorry I tore the acorn dress too. It was pretty."

"Yes, child. And so are you. Be brave." (Arya IV ASOS)

AFFC/ADWD

In the center of the temple she found the water she had heard; a pool ten feet across, black as ink and lit by dim red candles.  Beside it sat a young man wearing a silvery cloak, weeping softly.  She watched him dip a hand in the water, sending scarlet ripples racing across the pool.  When he drew his fingers back he sucked them, one by one.  He must be thirsty.  There were stone cups around the rim of the pool.  Arya filled one and brought it to him, so he could drink.  The young man stared at her for a long moment when she offered it to him.  “Valar Morghulis,” he said.

“Valar dohaeris,” she replied.

He drank deep, and dropped the cup into the pool with a soft plop.  Then he pushed himself to his feet, swaying, holding his belly. For a moment Arya thought he was going to fall.  It was only then she saw the dark stain below his belt, spreading as she watched.  “You're stabbed,” she blurted, but the man paid her no mind.  He lurched unsteadily to the wall and crawled into an alcove onto a hard stone bed.  When Arya peered around, she saw other alcoves too.  On some there were old people sleeping.

No, a half-remembered voice seemed to whisper in her head.  They are dead, or dying.  Look with your eyes.  (Arya I AFFC)

Arya once again shows compassion and kindness to this complete stranger when she first enters the House of Black and White.  She offers him water, not knowing that it is poisoned.  She thinks she is helping a distressed, thirsty man, and in some way she is, but she didn’t think the water she gave him would kill him.

My other favorite moment takes place in Samwell III AFFC when Sam encounters two bravos who want to fight and mug him, but Arya, disguised as Cat of the Canals, comes to Sam’s rescue and also offers him free food:

Sam wanted to run, but if he did was like to trip over his own swordbelt. Do not touch your sword, he told himself. Even a finger on the hilt might be enough for one or the other of the bravos to take as a challenge. He tried to think of words that might appease them. "I'm not—" was all he managed.

"He is not a lord," a child's voice put in. "He's in the Night's Watch, stupid. From Westeros." A girl edged into the light, pushing a barrow full of seaweed; a scruffy, skinny creature in big boots, with ragged unwashed hair. "There's another one down at the Happy Port, singing songs to the Sailor's Wife," she informed the two bravos. To Sam she said, "If they ask who is the most beautiful woman in the world, say the Nightingale or else they'll challenge you. Do you want to buy some clams? I sold all my oysters."

"I have no coin," Sam said.

"He has no coin," mocked the fair-haired bravo. His dark-haired friend grinned and said something in Braavosi. "My friend Terro is chilly. Be our good fat friend and give him your cloak."

"Don't do that either," said the barrow girl, "or else they'll ask for your boots next, and before long you'll be naked."

"Little cats who howl too loud get drowned in the canals," warned the fair-haired bravo.

"Not if they have claws." And suddenly there was a knife in the girl's left hand, a blade as skinny as she was. The one called Terro said something to his fair-haired friend and the two of them moved off, chuckling at one another.

"Thank you," Sam told the girl when they were gone.

[...]

"Are you truly in the Night's Watch? I never saw a black brother like you before." The girl gestured at the barrow. "You can have the last clams if you want. It's dark, no one will buy them now. Are you sailing to the Wall?"

"To Oldtown." Sam took one of the baked clams and wolfed it down. "We're between ships." The clam was good. He ate another.

Another example of Arya’s compassion and kindness, is also linked to Arya’s sense of justice.

"To other eyes, your nose and jaw are broken," said the waif. "One side of your face is caved in where your cheekbone shattered, and half your teeth are missing."

She probed around inside her mouth with her tongue, but found no holes or broken teeth. Sorcery, she thought. I have a new face. An ugly, broken face.

"You may have bad dreams for a time," warned the kindly man. "Her father beat her so often and so brutally that she was never truly free of pain or fear until she came to us."

"Did you kill him?"

"She asked the gift for herself, not for her father."

You should have killed him.

He must have read her thoughts. "Death came for him in the end, as it comes for all men. As it must come for a certain man upon the morrow." He lifted up the lamp. "We are done here." (The Ugly Little Girl ADWD)

What a lot of people fail to realize is that Arya’s sense of justice is rooted in compassion, and we can see this with her list.  Her list is assuredly a coping mechanism against trauma, but it’s a lot deeper than some sense of revenge, and a lot of different emotions are attached to it.  Most of the people on Arya’s list are there because they are actually bad people who hurt and brutally murder innocents.  And I’ve seen it said that Arya only cares about getting revenge for the hurts she and her family have suffered and that’s not even remotely true.  Arya’s sense of justice is all encompassing, which is why she gets justice for complete strangers, and feels so strongly about getting justice for the little girl who was viciously abused by her father.  This compassion also extends to slaves, past and present, as well: 

"All gods have their instruments, men and women who serve them and help to work their will on earth. The slaves were not crying out to a hundred different gods, as it seemed, but to one god with a hundred different faces . . . and he was that god's instrument. That very night he chose the most wretched of the slaves, the one who had prayed most earnestly for release, and freed him from his bondage. The first gift had been given."

Arya drew back from him. "He killed the slave?" That did not sound right. "He should have killed the masters!" (Arya II AFFC)

Conclusion

No matter what others say in this fandom, Arya has many examples of compassion, kindness, empathy, and altruism.  She is very emotional, and still retains her humanity.  Arya is not a soulless, emotionless killer.  She is not a psychopath.  She is not a sociopath.  She is not anti-social in any way.  She is, however, a truly emotional young girl who cares too deeply about others even despite her own pain and grief.  Arya is truly such a wonderful and complex character, and she is a complete joy to read!

#aryastarkmonth2022 #arya stark #canonarya #asoiaf #long post

[buttercuparry]

The fandom about Arya Circa 2015-2017: here is a bunch of essays why I think Arya is too far gone and her ultimate fate is to die and warg in Nymeria to live on as Sansa's pet. Oh and everything from her storyline is actually about her sister. Oh and Arya is a Misogynist.

Arya Stans: Arya has a rich, complex, storyline. Grrm wouldn't have given her this much attention if she wasn't important. And she is as important as Tyrion or Jon or Dany. She is very respectful of women and no, her arc is her arc- not anyone else's. And she isn't going to die. It's a play of words on Grrm's part.

The fandom about Arya Circa 2017-2019: my uwu murder baby! Off to kill xyz character! So cool if she becomes her sister's guardog!! We Stan the sister duo where one is the epitome of grace/intelligebce while the other goes chop chop ^_^ btw she is still too violent and maybe the waif really did steal Arya's face. Also magic isn't important so who cares about Nymeria or Arya's connection with the Old God's.

Arya Stans: my brother in [insert god], d&d has completely butchered Arya. She literally has nightmares about people she had to kill in self defense or when she enacted justice. Her identity goes beyond Sansa and it is so rich that she will have leadership roles. And they have taken away so much from her. Do read the books. And magic is so important to asoiaf and Arya's connection to it makes her an important player in the war of dawn.

The fandom who now apparently has read the books circa 2019-2021: yeah Arya Stans are definitely trying to mold Arya into something she is not. She has always wanted to chop chop people. Poke poke people. Kill, kill people. Not sit in an armchair wearing gucci and eating cakes! With babies crawling all over her. To say she doesn't want to chop chop people or that she is not going to go on a suicide mission into exploring uncharted waters is actually so limiting 😔also eww what was she doing butchering status quo.Well Mycah's death is on her.

Arya stans barely holding onto their sanity: No one is saying Arya should sit in an armchair, wear gucci and eat cakes! With babies crawling all over her at that! But she definitely doesn't want to kill people. She has ambitions to be a politician, to build something, to be a scholar. She has a rich political arc where her name is being used to take back north. She also has a personal experience on the horrors of war! And no way her trying to be open minded and saying fuck it to class structure is the cause of someone's death. So her being a lady, someone from the ruling class who would try to interject her experience while making any political decisions would be a step towards making westeros a progressive society. She also has a romantic arc, where more often than not her desire for a family has been highlighted. Arya marrying and living a fruitful life, without facing the danger of death is not somehow making her conform.

*Circa 2022 Arya stans arranging a comprehensive month long discussion about why she is so important*: hey guys I hope this may address all that we have to say about Arya and help shed light on the misconceptions.

The fandom who apparently has always been cheering on for Arya circa 2022: uh-huh yeah well we are not gonna waste time reading any of that but umm...aren't the fcs too pretty? I mean we Stan our violent, stupid as an oaf, who we think has barely any importance and is there to serve her sister, and who probably doesn't deserve to live murder baby. So these fcs seem to be taking away so much from her storyline. Arya is allowed to be ugly, don't make her something she is not :(

Arya stans:

#arya stark

[esther-dot]

"When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon's breath surrounded the girls where they lay."- Eddard(AGOT V).

"See how it unfurls across the heavens like a dragon's hot breath, and you the Lord of Dragonstone. It means your(Stannis) time has come, Your Grace."- ACOK(Prologue).

The Red Comet is called as dragon's breath by Mel and Selyse. Ned describe the dawn light as dragon's breath. The first one is positive in contrast to second one. But why the word dragon's breath?

All of the discussion around the comet itself is a lot of fun since all the characters interpret it in their own way, but as for the use of dragonsbreath/dragon's breath in that first quote you sent, that is a little odd when so many other little girl/dragon references were incredibly ominous? As you pointed out over here.

We can read it as Ned protecting the girls although there's danger all around them:

Ned knelt beside her. "He has years to find that answer, Arya. For now, it is enough to know that he will live." The night the bird had come from Winterfell, Eddard Stark had taken the girls to the castle godswood, an acre of elm and alder and black cottonwood overlooking the river. The heart tree there was a great oak, its ancient limbs overgrown with smokeberry vines; they knelt before it to offer their thanksgiving, as if it had been a weirwood. Sansa drifted to sleep as the moon rose, Arya several hours later, curling up in the grass under Ned's cloak. All through the dark hours he kept his vigil alone. When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon's breath surrounded the girls where they lay. "I dreamed of Bran," Sansa had whispered to him. "I saw him smiling."

But considering what happens in AGOT, that doesn't quite work. And Sansa having good dreams is such a contrast to Shireen who has nightmares because of the "dragonsbreath." If you keep reading, this part, which our fandom reads as endgame foreshadowing directly follows:

"He was going to be a knight," Arya was saying now. "A knight of the Kingsguard. Can he still be a knight?"

"No," Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. "Yet someday he may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king's council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the Sunset Sea, or enter your mother's Faith and become the High Septon." But he will never run beside his wolf again, he thought with a sadness too deep for words, or lie with a woman, or hold his own son in his arms.

Arya cocked her head to one side. "Can I be a king's councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?"

"You," Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, "will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon."

Arya screwed up her face. "No," she said, "that's Sansa." She folded up her right leg and resumed her balancing. Ned sighed and left her there. (AGOT, Eddard V)

And if that's right, that the ending was what was on Martin's mind while writing this passage not the events of that specific book, perhaps this is more R+L=J stuff, and Jon, a non-threatening dragonsbreath/dragonspawn will carry on Ned's role of protecting the girls. I mean, the Watch's vows have some similarity to a lonely sentinel keeping watch over sleeping people until dawn:

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.

I think it makes sense that Ned is rewarded for his treason/saving his sister's son. That boy turning around and saving his kids would be a satisfying way to do that. I guess I'm not sure if the dragon's breath here is the threat of Dany + dragons, or talking about Jon because it's describing dawn in this instance which we'd want to see as a positive. I haven't convinced myself of anything! What do you make of it?

#dot chat

[lillianofliterature]

about me. . .

Lillian, 23, she/her, panromantic asexual, pots, adhd, infp, 2w1

follower of Jesus, friend to bugs, obsessed with dinosaurs

aspiring author, fanfic writer, jewelry maker & paleoartist

what i’m typing. . .

REQUESTS

"silver fox”, terry silver x younger!reader [age gap] [mini series]

ONE-SHOTS/MINI SERIES

“extending hospitality”, obi-wan kenobi x reader [part three] [mini series conclusion] ON HIATUS

“reflections of the heart”, severus snape x reader [mini series]

“the guilt of seven graves”, severus snape x reader [one-shot] [dark content warning]

"of gits and glowers", severus snape x reader [one-shot]

links and resources. . .

main masterlist

imagines/preferences masterlist

request guidelines

my spotify (including character themed playlists and povs)

characters i obsess over. . .

alan grant, aragorn, august booth, beetlejuice, beorn, bofur, bruno madrigal, daniel larusso, data soong, din djarin, dwalin, eddie munson, elrond, frodo baggins, george of the jungle, haldir, heimdall, jack sparrow, jareth, johnny lawrence, killian jones, loki, obi-wan kenobi, remus lupin, rick o'connell, rumplestiltskin/mr. gold, severus snape, silco, spencer shay, spock, tarrant hightopp, terry silver, thranduil, tyrion lannister

ariel, arya stark, brienne of tarth, danaerys targaryen, emma swan, frankie bernstein, jinx, katniss everdeen, leia organa, merida, mulan, natasha romanoff, regina mills, sansa stark, zelena

my fandoms. . . 

TV/SERIES:

once upon a time, outlander, arcane, star trek (tos, tng, voy, pic), stargate (sg-1, atlantis, universe), cobra kai, game of thrones, good omens, our flag means death, the last of us, the clone wars, the mandalorian, the book of boba fett, the falcon and the winter soldier, loki, avatar: the last airbender, the legend of korra, grace and frankie, the waltons, matlock, sherlock, icarly, 2000s nickelodeon/disney channel shows

MOVIES:

the hobbit, the lord of the rings, harry potter, the chronicles of narnia, star wars, star trek, marvel/mcu, jurassic park/world, pirates of the caribbean, the karate kid (I-III), labyrinth, hunt for the wilderpeople, sense and sensibility (1995), alice in wonderland (2010), finding neverland (2004), the phantom of the opera (2004), beetlejuice, the nightmare before christmas, the little mermaid, emperor’s new groove, tinker bell, and a gazillion more 

BOOKS:

the hunger games, the hobbit, the lord of the rings, the true confessions of charlotte doyle, percy jackson series, the selection series, anything austen or brontë, and a lot of heckin’ good fanfiction

WEBTOONS/COMICS:

lore olympus, let’s play, midnight in poppy land, the wolfman of wulvershire, suitor armor, he’s harmless i swear, the first night with the duke, the remarried empress, tricked into becoming the heroine’s stepmother, subzero, what’s up beanie, not even bones, my gently raised beast, your throne, madame outlaw, the wrath & the dawn, forever after, siren’s lament, eaternal nocturnal, age matters, of swamp & sea, lady knight, house of stars, archie comics: big ethel energy, blood stain, punderworld, i love yoo, brass & sass, miss widow, and even more (obviously I’m obsessed with them)

VIDEO GAMES:

animal crossing: new horizons, animal crossing: new leaf, animal crossing: city folk, breath of the wild, the wind waker, jedi fallen order, the last of us (I & II), any and all lego games, and more!

MUSIC/GENRES:

film scores/soundtracks, musicals, reggae, alternative/indie, celtic punk, celtic music, various independent instrumentals/composers, folk rock, 70s/80s rock, indie folk, pop, and a sprinkle of everything else (I listen to almost every genre, it just depends on what my soul needs in the moment! music is so cathartic, i’m almost always listening to it)

james newton howard, howard shore, bear mccreary, rachel portman, anne dudley, alexandre desplat, john powell, john williams, harry gregson-williams, mark isham, bob marley & the wailers, jack johnson, dave matthews band, red house painters, iron & wine, cat stevens, daft punk, adele, lord huron, fleetwood foxes, dodie, birdy, avril lavigne, priscilla ahn, AND SO MANY MORE! (i freaking love music)

if you want to know more or chat about any shared fandoms or inquire about unlisted fandoms or interests, just dm me!

#meet the author #meet the fanfic author #meet the writer #welcome to my blog #welcome to my tumblr #fandoms #fanfics #about me

[lookbluesoup]

Share 5 songs that remind me of my WIP/characters:

Tagged by @darkestmiqote Thank you :D

I couldn't decide whether to do Nahte or Lyrha so ya'll get both xD

I... tried not to ramble about these TOO much. But I think I did anyway. Sorry.

Nahte'to Vhia

What If - Five For Fighting - Nahte's extremely empathetic, even towards his enemies, and feels that most conflict comes from desperation and ignorance. The hardest part about being the WoL is reaching out his hand to people who refused to take it, and forced him to fight. "Imagine all the pain that might be forgiven. What if I had your heart? What if you wore my scars?"

TOMBI - Kvi Baba (English lyrics in pinned comment & CC) - Nahte instinctively cares for others, but struggles at times with feeling overwhelmed by guilt and responsibility, a lot of which isn't rightly his to bear. By Endwalker, he's exhausted. - "Sleepless nightmares never end, But I never forget my hope. Through every dark night there's a bright day, even here."

We All Fall Down - The Rigs - A big part of Nahte's story is learning to let his friends care for him the way he cares for others. Ultimately it's neither gods nor his own strength of will that saves Nahte, but the love shared between him and his family. 'Wait, I'm between shadows an sunlight, But your love gets me through dark nights, And I'll be alright."

The Navigator - Vian Izak - As he learns to love himself despite his own shortcomings - the way his friends do - Nahte realizes that love which is strong enough to change the world and the individual both ultimately doesn't need justification or explanation. It would be impossible to. It's an Odyssey, full of ups and downs, unforgettable stories and lost moments, changed even in the retelling. Love is about faith. "Let love be left uncharted, Leave your navigator home, And sail your ship through breathless waters. Love lies at the edge of hope."

Something Wild - Andrew McMahon - Like the soul he inherited, Nahte was born with insatiable wanderlust and curiosity. He's drawn, always, to find out what lies over the next hill. It's swept him up into world-shattering revelations and placed him at the center of deciding the fate of the very Star, but its also brought him a depth of love and a fullness of life he could never have imagined when he first left the Shroud. "If you face the fear that keeps you frozen, Chase the sky into the ocean, That's when something wild calls you home."

I'lyrha Rinha

Please Take Me - Beth Crowley - Lyrha doesn't want to be alone. Traditionally loyal only to herself, when she bonds with X'rhun suddenly someone has the power to genuinely hurt her, if they leave her behind. And she realizes that maybe X'rhun shouldn't be alone, either. Even if she feels unworthy of his love, she chooses to entrust her loyalty to him. "So if you're gonna leave, Wherever you go please take me."

What You're Made of - Kiesza - Lyrha struggles so much with accepting forgiveness and making peace with her past misdeeds, but she's a fighter. Though she often mistrusts affection and pushes it away, X'rhun and Arya have faith in her, and love her even when she doesn't love herself. "Push me out, I'll pull you closer, When you think that it's all over, Know that you will never be unloved by me."

Hell or High Water - The Rescues - Becoming a Red Mage gives Lyrha a courage she never knew she had. If it means protecting her found-family, she'll put everything she has on the line. - "When the river's running red, And we begin to falter, We'll hang onto the edge, Come hell or high water."

Bird Song - Juniper Vale - Lyrha's past kept her caged in bars of jaded suspicion and selfishness; she was quick to abandon her 'friends' when a better offer came along. X'rhun sets her free, and she foregoes her own self interest to stay by his side. "The symphony's awakening my sparrow heart, When our hearts beat slow together."

Swan Upon Leda - Hozier - As a young girl, Lyrha was taken into slavery and subjected to years of inescapable abuse. She grew up, and inflicted that same abuse on others. She believed that was simply how the world was, and the cycle of things could not change. But she learns, though she struggles, that there is still hope, and that things can be better, if she's brave. - "One more sweet boy to be butchered by men. The gateway to the world, Was still outside the reach of him."

I'll tag (but no pressure!) @briar-ffxiv @seasaltandcopper @ronqueesha @traveleorzea @boggleoflight @starrysnowdrop @echoes-of-blue @starscytheskies @sayonaramidnight And you! Reading this! Please!!!

#music #ffxiv #lyrha #nahte'to vhia #long post

[lady-of-the-spirit]

Tell us about the House of the Dragon character/fic you dreamed up the other day

thank you for asking 🥰

It's an Aemond Targaryen romance because the man is intriguing as fuck and that's all I need. idk how many have seen my "give me people in love who are both absolutely unhinged" post but that is basically this.

anyway, as I said, no real plot. just two badass unhinged people falling in love and being in love while also dealing with the nightmare of living in westeros.

However, the character! as I said, she's a badass, a sword fighting woman. Totally unheard of in most polite society I suppose, so it's shocking to most people, but Aemond is intrigued by her. Even more so when she's just totally snarky and seemingly unimpressed by his royal status, but very impressed by his own fighting abilities. they duel with each other of course, several times, because how else are two wild swordfighting love interests supposed to court each other? they become fascinated with each other, by each other's skill and (as they get to know each other) their snark, intelligence, and manipulation abilities. unhinged, as I said. verging on Gomez and Morticia Addams territory, I think. There would also be a scene involving seeing scars and wounds and it would be so, so soft.

but the main draw (and this is what I mean when I said "coming up with lines to devastate the readers") is that her family name is Forel. As in, Syrio Forel, Arya's dancing teacher. She's not from Braavos herself, but she mentions wanting to live there someday.

Oh good, the readers think- she has to survive, so she can move to Braavos and pass her family name onto her kids so Syrio Forel can exist. Perhaps, they think, she'll escape from Westeros while pregnant with Aemond's child, and that's how the story ends.

But then later, she mentions having a brother - a brother of the Forel name - who has moved to Braavos. A brother who might even have a wife, who intends to have children someday soon.

The readers realize, this means that she isn't safe, isn't guaranteed to survive. It is entirely possible that she dies and it is her brother, not her, who passes the name Forel down and leads to Syrio's existence.

Does she die, does she live? who knows? Not me. I just enjoy concepts that could devastate anyone who interacts with them.

#thanks for asking :) #ask #disneyfan50

[fedonciadale]

Does he even write Bran chapters? I have never seen him mention anything about Bran in notablog posts. That character is supposed to be your king. D&D didn't have enough material for Bran to be adapted for which I don't blame when the source material isn't even devoting that much time for a protagonist. I don't think POV count is necessarily an indicator of how important a character is to a story but he still has so few. With this pace imao even Jaime will end up equalising or even surpass Bran by TWOW. I am sure that 9 yr old kid is giving him nightmares and even 5 yrs later he would have finished every character but still would have been stuck with Bran.

Hi there!

I agree, it's probably Bran POVs that have him stuck.

I also think that Bran as king is not as fleshed out in his head as D's path to villainy or Jon and Sansa and Arya. I think somewhere in his Bran timeline there is a white field he hasn't filled yet although he knows where Bran is supposed to be after passing that field.

Looking at the foreshadowing in Bran chapters I always have the feeling that it's just a bit more on the vague side than in the other POVs.

Thanks!

#anon ask #GRRM #bran stark #Where did he write himself into a corner? #will we ever get TWOW