#i loved getting into asoiaf because it was like 'yeah all our favs are kind of awful in some way'

[thebicanary]

my hot take from hotd is that people getting mad that "the asoiaf prophecy wasn't fulfilled" and that the show writers are "throwing it in their face" are dumb actually

like i love me some targaryens as much as the next person they're incredibly interesting as characters but bruh they're not heroes and most of them aren't good people. they're not magically destined to save the whole world - the majority of targaryen kings historically sucked ass as tyrants and warmongers. they're incestuous creeps. i giggle and clap and kick my little feet reading about them and seeing them on screen but idk i feel like the idea aegon saw himself as this divine conqueror set to save the world with his inbred lineage is hubris not prophecy. typically when we get prophecies in the asoiaf books they are not fulfilled, or they are fulfilled in unexpected ways. we see people destroy their whole lives and cause ruin and pain to other people because of their obsession with being the prophecised heroes (rhaegar and stannis being the biggest examples).

targaryen restoration is not meant to be a good thing in asoiaf. the fact a grossly inbred family ruled for 300 years culminating in one of them trying to blow up his entire capital city in the midst of a civil war caused by him burning people alive is not a ringing endorsement for the targaryens no matter how good of a person dany is. i agree that the last 2 seasons of got were awful but it's not JUST because the targaryen restoration didn't happen (and I sincerely hope it doesn't if the books ever finish - whether dany goes mad queen or not for me it can honestly go either way and so long as the journey getting there is well written i'll take the ending given to her). there were a lot of factors that made the end to got bad but it did not hinge on the fact the targaryens didn't get a happy ending.

[squirrelwrangler]

aliveria replied to your post: elfmaiddryope replied to your post: ...

Nynaeve is my fave too!! From Book 1 I knew she was My Girl. I’m learning my lesson though I’m trying not to get too involved with fandom >__> Tbh I like how Rand is the main character but also not the main character? Like it kind of seems the books are about the overarching ‘pattern’ rather than any one individual character

Also Faile was a brat at first but like… it was hard to hate it?? Like when Moiraine insisted on calling her Zarine cause she was being rude rofl? It makes her journey from naivite & wanting adventure to being seriously involved much more satisfying… ok sorry I just nerded out I’m only on Book 5 too

Okay, 16yo me is channeling herself through my body to squee about WoT with you, delighting in the opportunity (and feel free to chat w/ me about this series anytime if you wish)

The Wheel of Time fandom was more intense -and it was definitely one of those forum intense-on-the-’net series like ASoIaF rules nowadays, especially with the constant theory making and analyzing and searching for literary/mythic parallels.

When Nynaeve re-entered the narrative at the inn and suddenly I realized she is here for the long haul, here to protect our main characters and play off Moiraine, then especially that chapter from her POV where here she is, our stubborn healer who is an awesome tracker and ship tease with Lan? I’m in! (and it only snowballed from there omg OTP) - yeah, she’s my all-time fav of that series. You my friend have good taste.

And Faile- she reminded me of Misao from RuroKen in that she was this immature younger character with sass and spunk who livened up the narrative and I loved that her arcs were all about Perrin and that he shares his story with her. And how she connected back to the Horn and that yes, she’s supposed to be a little silly because she’s here to grow and mature.

Book Three might be my favorite book in the series, tbh. Because it is such a  clever and effective thing the author did for having Rand almost completely off-screen and yet driving the plot of the book. So see his impact and presence in the waves his passage creates and the anticipation of his character. (As a Tolkien blog, I’d say to compare this to the use of Sauron in the trilogy; everything driven by the off-screen centerpiece). And yes, that WoT really has at least four/six main characters (I swear it’s only sexism and the ta’veren label that make people state the three main characters are Rand/Matt/Perrin when Egwene is the second-most important lead and Elayne & Nynaeve to round out the topmost tier).

I’ll give ASOIAF this in that the individual POV voices are more distinct, but i prefer WoT’s use of the ensemble cast, and that while yes, here are the most important characters, there is no plot thread that truly reigns supreme.