If Theres One Thing Ive Learned Looking At ASOIAF Fanart, Its That People Dont Really Know What Color

If there’s one thing I’ve learned looking at ASOIAF fanart, it’s that people don’t really know what color auburn hair is supposed to be

Honestly I think the reason more people talk about it is because Tywin and Gregor are obviously unambiguously villains. The two of them are evil almost to a cartoonish degree without any redeeming qualities (both, especially Tywin, are interesting characters, just unredeemable people). Complaining about the bad things they did is just like… yep okay the ice is cold and the fire is hot and the water is wet. The villains did atrocious things. Whereas Rhaegar is not a villain. Given the high rate of male infidelity in Westeros, I don’t think we should be too terribly critical of his actions, especially given that his marriage to Elia was political.

Although my favorite theory is that Rhaegar is NOT Jon’s father and his “kidnapping” of Lyanna was a matter of him taking her into his protection to keep her safe from Robert. I’m sure R+L=J will be canon but given that Lyanna was highly critical of Robert’s unfaithfulness, it’d be a bit hypocritical of her to elope with a married man, even if it was a political marriage. I like the theory because it’d be an interesting subversion. The war over Lyanna not being about two men who loved her, but about the lust and rage of one man. Plus it’d be kind of ironic for Jon to spend all this time wondering who his mother is only for that mystery to be solved but with the revelation that his FATHER was just some guy.

Anyway yeah obviously Rhaegar cheating on his political wife is nowhere near as bad as the actions of Tywin and Gregor but the reason people talk about it is that Rhaegar is one of the heroes and it’s more interesting to talk about the pitfalls of the heroes who aren’t just evil across the board

Over here thinking about how to some people the idea of "a man cheating on his good, devoted wife" is worst than anything that could ever happen.

I've seen way more people complain about Rheagar "cheating" on Elia than people complaining about Tywin or Gregor Clegane for literally murdering her. It baffles me.

Literally right after posting this I get to the next Arya chapter in AFfC and see this:

“Is that why you have come to us?” the kindly man went on. “To learn our arts, so you may kill these men you hate?”

Arya did not know how to answer that. “Maybe.”

—Arya II, AFfC

Something that I think gets overlooked about Arya as a result of fandom flanderization is that she didn’t set out with the desire to become an assassin. She loves swordplay, yes, and she has her list. But when she escaped king’s landing, she just wanted to get to family. She wanted to get to safety. She wanted to get to Jon. When she left for Essos, her intention had been to go to the wall, to find Jon. She only went to Braavos because she didn’t know what else to do. Arya has a strong sense of justice, yes. But her primary motivation hasn’t been revenge. She’s not the only character who, imo, is on a specific path because they don’t know what else to do. But that’ll have to wait for another post

Didn’t even think of this angle. The whole idea that her ending up with Jon would be the thing that makes people accept that she’s important. You’re so right. I’m not sure the key five thing was meant to mock Jon specifically but more so to mock Arya and Dany fans (and honestly most Jon fans too because most Jon fans also seem to be Arya and/or Dany fans but lbr they do not go after Tyrion or Bran fans really, at least not that I’ve seen).

It is true that some people will say that Sansa isn’t an important character. Ive even been guilty of saying that she serves as a “camera” but I’ve since walked back on that and no longer believe it to be true. But their approach to countering that argument is all wrong. There doesn’t need to be a hidden Jonsa meta for Sansa to be an important character. She currently has more POV chapters than Bran! Currently, her relevance to the magical “song of ice and fire” plot line with the Others is unclear. But LF is a major player in the game and I also think her marriage to Tyrion will prove to be important.

They seem to need her to be “special” in the way the key 5 are in order for her to be interesting and important but that’s not true. She’s interesting because, in comparison to the 5, she’s very normal. Her magical companion was taken from her. A part of her was killed. She does not have any unique skills or traits that are different from the standard highborn lady (she knows plenty about the houses and their history and clearly has talents; they’re just what would be expected of her). That’s why she’s an interesting addition to the cast. Her beauty doesn’t count here as many female characters are considered to be exceptionally beautiful. As far as I can recall, every female POV character aside from Brienne and Arya has been called beautiful—and even then, Arya is called pretty on more than one occasion and is said to look like Lyanna, who is considered to be exceptionally beautiful. Sansa is fairly normal amongst westerosi highborn ladies aside from her tragic circumstances. She exists as a bit of a paradox: to the average citizen of Westeros, she seems like a girl who has it all (when viewed in a vacuum separate from the tragic series of events): she’s beautiful, of high birth, well-liked, well-read, and seems to be good at everything she does. But to the reader, when compared to the other major POV characters, she’s the black sheep. This is one of the things that endears her to me. I’m very excited to see what GRRM has planned for her because more than any other character (aside from those who were excluded from the show altogether) her arc is a big question mark. I wish there wasn’t such a divide between Sansa fans and Dany fans because I’d love to talk about it more.

Also something that drives me fucking wild is seeing people refer to Dany and Arya’s roles as patriarchal or wish-fulfillment for men. Just yesterday I saw the phrase “patriarchal power fantasy” used. I need everyone to sit down and think about what “patriarchy” means.

For the purpose of this post, and any other post I make, please know that when I say “masculine” I am referring to stereotypes associated with the male sex and when I say “feminine” I am referring to stereotypes associated with the female sex. Masculine =/= male and feminine =/= female.

Patriarchy does not refer to masculinity. It does not mean that masculine people are in power (I wouldn’t go as far as to call Dany or Arya masculine, but bear with me). Patriarchy refers to systems where MEN are the sex caste in power. Men. Not masculine people. Under a patriarchal system, women are oppressed regardless of whether or not they conform to femininity, although the less a woman conforms, the more she is punished for it. Dany and Arya’s arcs are inherently ANTI patriarchal on the simple basis that they are female and they defy what is expected of women in Westeros. They can never represent male power fantasies because they are not men. Referring to their arcs as male power fantasies is telling on yourself. You are revealing that your view of women and what we want and fantasize about is narrow. Why would you assume that only men would desire to travel across the sea and learn the ways of a secret society of assassins? Why would you assume that only men would want to wield the power of dragons and amass loyal supporters?

You are part of the problem by assuming that the desire for power is a male trait. Yes, we stereotypically associate that with men. That stereotype, and what we consider masculine and feminine as a whole, almost exclusively exist to uphold the patriarchy. Women are expected to be peaceful pacifists, complacent, quiet, because that keeps us under the boot of the male caste. Consider why so many “strong” female characters are less feminine. Is it because people feel the need to make them more like men in order to be “strong?” I say no. At least, not most of the time. If this is what you think, you’ve got the order mixed up. Skirts, dresses, and heels are impractical for fighting and limit movement a lot. Thus, it wouldn’t make sense for a competent female fighter to be wearing them. These things have been forced upon women BECAUSE they are impractical. A woman who keeps her hair short and wears no makeup and wears pants and no heels is not trying to emulate men. She is shedding femininity because femininity is impractical and time consuming. Consider WHY so many traits associated with power, leadership, and combat are considered masculine. It’s the enforcement of the patriarchy. Female characters who chase down these things and embody these qualities and do not conform to femininity are not basically men. They are women who are rejecting the system. This is antithetical to the patriarchy and to male power fantasies.

In summary: a female character who has an arc typically associated with male characters can never be a male power fantasy BECAUSE she is female.

Obligatory note that women who do conform are not lesser and their stories are not less important—they just do not challenge the patriarchy.

In general I think the phrase “masculine power fantasy” is redundant. It’s a power fantasy. What would a feminine power fantasy be? In patriarchal society, femininity is disempowering BY DESIGN. And sort of “feminine” power moves will never ever provide as much power as “masculine” ones. A power fantasy is a power fantasy and you’re only reading it as masculine because power is considered “masculine.” Honestly, Cersei as a character kind of epitomizes this. She often thinks about how she should’ve been a man but it’s clear that that’s not what she wants. There’s nothing intrinsic about being male that she craves. What she wants is power and power is something reserved for men in Westeros. People have said her use of sex to get her way is “feminine power” but that’s not even true. It’s actually men who are more like to engage in flirting and socio-sexual behavior in attempts to gain power. Appealing sexually to men is not actually empowering in real life. The idea of this femme fatale siren is fantasy. And even in ASOIAF… it doesn’t work out so well for Cersei. She’s not exactly girlbossing her way through things, despite what she may think.

Congratulations on being one of the only asoiaf artists who knows what auburn hair looks like lol everyone makes Sansa a ginger 😭 I have auburn hair just like how you draw Sansa’s and it always irks me that everyone thinks auburn is ginger!! Auburn hair is the color where some people definitively call you a brunette and others definitively call you a redhead—but never a ginger

Thank you!! That means a lot 🥲 and I feel that, Sansa my love, ur hair is gorge but tricky, tbh sometimes it’s hard to find her right tone, lights and shades are big part of the result as well. Anyway, auburn hair is beautifuuuuul. 💖💖💖💖