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one thing about me, I love drawing plus-size women (I'm drawing Pearl of Braavos plus-sized)

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Watched Monkey Man and wow! That final scene of the protagonist beating Rana Singh with a woman's sparkly shoe was so satisfying. Throughout the whole film we see that asshole use and abuse women, and yet in the end he dies under a woman's heel.

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The Back Pearl of Braavos and 16th century Venetian Fashion:

There is a common consensus among fans that Braavos - a city sited on a group of small islands that are linked by bridges and walkways, divided by canals, channels and waterways of varying size - is heavily inspired by Italian mercantile/maritime republics, of which Venice is the most famous.

Furthermore, the canal-based, inter-connecting island architecture is not the only similarity between Braavos and Venice; both cities are famed for their courtesans.

Indeed in 16th century, Venice was famed for its many elaborately dressed and coiffed courtesans; Veronica Franco (1546–1591) is a famous example! She developed her position in Renaissance Venetian society as a cortigiana onesta (Honest Courtesan), known for her notable clientele, feminist advocacy, literary contributions, and philanthropy.

Her fictional parallel in ASOIAF could be Bellegere Otherys II - one of the famed courtesans in Braavos (the other being Daughter of the Dusk). We know Bellegere comes from a family of courtesans, bearing the title of Black Pearl of Braavos - a moniker borne by a descendant of Bellegere Otherys I, the first Black Pearl, a pirate queen who became a mistress of Aegon IV Targaryen.

The eldest bastard daughter of King Aegon IV and Bellegere, Bellenora Otherys, became a courtesan under the same name. Bellenora's descendants became courtesans as well, each eventually bearing the name "Black Pearl".

We can also assume that Bellegere is rather wealthy, owning her own barge and servants to pole her to trysts and when purchasing three cockles from Arya, who is disguised as Cat of the Canals, paying ten times what the cockles are worth. This wealth is directly reflected in her clothing!

"She was so lovely that the lamps seemed to burn brighter when she passed. She had dressed in a low-cut gown of pale yellow silk, startling against the light brown of her skin. Her black hair was bound up in a net of spun gold, and a jet-and-gold necklace brushed against the top of her full breasts." (TWOW, Mercy)

The aforementioned "low-cut gown" immediately brings to mind the 16th century gowns worn by Venetian courtesans!

Look at this art print of a Venetian Courtesan (Cortigiana Veneta) published by Pietro Bertelli in 1591.

Notice the incredibly low and exposed neckline of the gown!

It is important to mention, however, that not only courtesans dressed this way. Venetian noblewomen of the 16th century also bared their breasts in keeping with the fashion of the day.

For example, look at this art print of a Venetian Bride (Sposa Veneta), also by Pietro Bertelli. There is virtually no difference; perhaps that is why the civic authorities decried the courtesans' deliberately misleading resemblance to 'honest women.'

In some portrayals, the Venetian woman's neckline opens almost immediately below the breast!

In Dress of Venetian Women (Habiti delle Donne Venetiane) ca. 1591–1610, the engravings done by Giacomo Franco show ornately dressed courtesans and respectable women, all of whom sport very low cut bodices.

In the second plate we see a depiction of parentado, or the ritual presentation of a bride to her relations. Here, a bride in a richly embroidered dress wearing pearls and a bejeweled crown is presented by her ballerino, a dance instructor who prevented the woman from toppling over in her chopines, or platform shoes.

In conclusion, in depicting Bellegere Otherys - the Black Pearl of Braavos - I would most definitely illustrate her wearing a gown inspired by 16th century Venetian dress (worn by both courtesans and noblewomen). She'd look rather striking I think.

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Bride of Winter | Catelyn Stark, née Tully

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“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee

The more I have, for both are infinite.”

—‘Romeo & Juliet’ Act 2, Scene 2

A huge thank you to @plague-cattle-burial-ground for this beautiful piece inspired by William Shakespeare’s infamous tragedy. ❤️‍🔥

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The Stallion Who Mounts The World

Inspired by Viktor Vasnetsov's painting The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

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Targaryen noble women would definitely wear something like this.

Victorian gold and quartz ring, dated to c. 1850. The band is carved with two dragons.

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drawing Cat as a bride!! (an excuse to draw a kokoshnik)

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Queen of Meereen | Daenerys Targaryen

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The lion and the rose

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the gucci baby dragon serving its purpose of being a reference photo

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I want to draw Daenerys in Meereen, with her three- headed dragon crown. I wonder if I can incorporate dragons into a Kabyle headdress...

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Portrait of Brienne commissioned by Jaime after she marries him and assumes her role as Lady of Casterly Rock!!

Karl von Blaas, "Allegory of Bravery", 1859

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Conqueror Sisters | Rhaenys and Visenya

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dragon-themed jewellery is everything to me; earrings, necklaces, crowns, bracelets etc. I WILL make it dragon themed!! You can't tell me Targaryen women didn't commission besmoke dragon accessories for themselves or their daughters.

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Valyrians/Targaryens have purple-within-purple eyes like Fremen have blue-within-blue colored eyes!!

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It's so easy to say 'I love you' without saying 'I love you' in Armenian.

Lately, not a single day has passed without the Armenian phrase "cavd tanem" [ցավդ տանեմ], directly translating to "Let me take away your pain", crossing my mind. A phrase filled with such deep devotion and yet, it's uttered daily and graces simple everyday conversations. In a sentence, it simply replaces the name of the addressee.

"Vonc es, cavd tanem?" - "How are you, [let me take your pain away]?"

"Cavd tanem, jur kberes?" - "[Let me take away your pain], could you bring me a glass of water?"

Such abundance of love that miniature rivers of it effortlessly flow into the most pedestrian pathways!