#iwaw1

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

This is a tentative series idea I had to reach out to writers whose completed stories I just absolutely fell in love with and just want to share with the rest of Tumblr. ♥ Its continuation is solely based if these talented beings are willing to answer my questions or not.

Name: bittersweetarts

Story: Little Lamb // ao3

Paring: Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Rating/Warning: Explicit, sexual themes, misogynistic behaviour (borderline sexist) depictions of violence and death.

So, when did you start writing? 

I started writing during primary school, like a lot of people do. Funny enough, my first completed short story was essentially a fanfic about my classmates during a natural disaster (which is so embarrassing I know), and the worst part is that I did show it to my closest friends at the time. Thankfully, I wrote it by hand and only have the memory of it as a keepsake, so no one can ever read it now.

Where did the plot for Little Lamb come from? (Was it a daydream on repeat in your mind, fan vid, etc.)

I have always been the type of person to obsess over fictional characters, but when House of the Dragon episodes started coming out, I didn't obsess over anyone, which caught me off guard (I started watching GoT when the first season premiered, and though I was too young for it, I was obsessed).

But I was interested in the history of the Targaryens so I decided to read Fire & Blood, and the moment that we were introduced to Aemond's character, it was game over for me. I became obsessed, but at the time (September 2022), there were practically no stories, and I felt like I had read them all.

This is when the plot of the first chapter began marinating in my mind and, one evening, I was not feeling great mentally and just drafted the first chapter to feel better. I didn't plan to post it, as I never had before, but decided to on a whim. From then on, I really only continued the story due to the amazing response from the community! The rest of the plot's inspiration essentially came from an accumulation of all the books, fanfics, and stories I have read.

Was there anything in specific that inspired your Reader portrayal?

I had never written in second person prior to Little Lamb, and had only done so to not have to actually create an original character as that takes more effort (like coming up with their backstory, how they fit into George R. R. Martin's world, etc). I didn't intend on publishing the first chapter, let alone finishing the story, so to begin with, I wrote a very plain character/reader that any person could relate to. However, as I continued writing the story, this was less possible, so I tried to create a character that felt real and tangible, with the virtues and flaws of a real person.

Do you feel your Reader compliments Aemond well?

I hope that the Reader in Little Lamb compliments Aemond well (or at least my interpretation of Aemond), but that really is up to the person reading the story!

Explain your interpretation of Aemond Targaryen. What drives him? Why is he the way he is in Little Lamb?

The way I characterise Aemond is more so based on Fire & Blood rather than the TV series, as I had read the book first before he was introduced in the HotD. Aemond reminds me a lot of Anakin Skywalker (from Star Wars) and Paul Atreides (from Dune) in that he possesses the qualities of a Byronic hero – he is a generally good person haunted by his past. In my opinion, Aemond's main motivation is to protect those he considers family, as he understood that no one would protect them otherwise, and he learned this lesson in a brutal way when he lost his eye as a child and had no one on his side except his mother.

Was there another character (OC or canon) in your story you enjoyed portraying? (And why?)

I didn’t explore other characters too much as Little Lamb is not very long (its word count is only about sixty thousand), but I did really enjoy writing Daeron Targaryen into the story whenever it felt appropriate. The show-runners in HotD decided to not include him Season 1, which saddened me because I loved him in Fire & Blood, but I do think that he will be included in the next season. I am not going to mention anything about his character (as it would probably be a spoiler since he hasn’t been introduced in the TV series yet), but in case anyone is not aware of him, Daeron is Viserys and Alicent’s youngest son, and he ends up becoming an important (and bad ass) character in the Dance of the Dragons. I really enjoyed writing about him because there is so little about him, both in canon and in fanfiction, and I have a massive soft spot for him.

Do you think you would do a sequel?

I thought about it, due to how positive the response to Little Lamb was, but decided against it as I think that story had reached its natural end. Due to the nature of the story (as it is a second person narrative with an ambiguous reader), I feel like expanding the story would make it convoluted, and I did write it randomly one evening, so it has many plot holes which I cannot patch up.

However, I did start a new HotD story, with an OC, and that story is incredibly more fleshed out and thought through, so that is what I am working on currently. Unfortunately, progress on it has been slower, but I hope to be able to regularly post chapter updates on it soon.

Do you have a personal favorite story you'd like to share?

Definitely! I am a reader more so than a writer, and my favourite story is The Fool and the Dragon by @prince-aemond-targaryen​ – it is a beautiful story, written in such emotive language and a plot that is so absorbing, and I have re-read it multiple times now! I began reading it when the first chapter was published on AO3, and her updates were what brightened up my days back then. By far my favourite Aemond fanfic, but I am on Tumblr and AO3 most evenings reading fanfiction, and love most of the ones I come across.