one of the cutest things in dany’s chapters is when dany is tired of being regal all the time, she kicks up her legs and sits with a foot tucked up while on the throne, and complains to ser barristan about how her tushie aches.
Dany kicked them off and sat with one foot tucked beneath her and the other swinging back and forth. It was not a very regal pose, but she was tired of being regal. The crown had given her a headache, and her buttocks had gone to sleep. “Ser Barristan,” she called, “I know what quality a king needs most.” “Courage, Your Grace?” “Cheeks like iron,” she teased. “All I do is sit.” “Your Grace takes too much on herself. You should allow your councillors to shoulder more of your burdens.” “I have too many councillors and too few cushions.” Dany turned to Reznak.
- ADWD, DANY I
what’s so sweet about it is that even amidst all the dreary politics and the uphill struggle of dismantling the slave trade, dany retains her sense of humour and finds time to fool around with ser barristan. one can only marvel at how unassuming dany actually is. seriously though, how many queens in asoiaf will joke about how skinny their butts are with their guards?
but what’s even more heart-warming is ser barristan’s response.
he may not be able to lessen the amount of petitions or the burden on dany’s shoulder, he may not be able to provide her with a bunch of trustworthy councillors to whom she can delegate her tasks… but, by god,ser barristan will provide her with more cushions!
She received the merchant prince alone, seated on her bench of polished ebony, on the cushions Ser Barristan had brought her.
- ADWD, DANY III
So, I just had to draw this scene…
Please be kind, it’s my very first fanart ever!
Ser Barristan is the best surrogate grandpa a queen could have.
TEEN HORSE GIRL MOVIE WHERE THE HORSE DIES AN HOUR IN AND THE SECOND HALF IS THE GIRL LEARNING OCCULT SCIENCE TO REANIMATE IT SO SHE CAN WIN THE BIG DERBY
There needs to be a term for a pairing that you don’t really ship, but you don’t not ship. It’s slightly more than indifference. Like I approve of this pairing but I’m not going to die on this hill.
listen. l i s t e n. listen. kudos does not equal quality. popularity does not equal quality. i have read some “fandom classics” that i could barely fathom how boring or terrible i - personally - found them, and i have stumbled across some absolute gems that didn’t even break 100 kudos.
what is good doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. it’s sad, but true. just because you haven’t - or possibly never take - off in fandom doesn’t mean your work isn’t astounding and beautiful, it doesn’t mean you should stop writing; it just means that a very select corner of the internet missed the diamond in the rough.
fanfiction is flooded with content, there are so many of us out there producing it these days, and having a fic that takes off is almost as much about luck as it is about talent. never let a few artificial numbers on the internet dictate to you what is and isn’t worthy writing.
additionally, you don’t have to read or enjoy fics just bcs they’re big. i cannot count the amount of times i’ve read the first paragraph of something fandom adores and immediatly exited out of it.
just… do what makes you happy. write what you wanna write, read what you wanna read. understand that while we all want recognition - and some deserve it more than others - we did not get into fanfiction for that recognition.
recognition is good, but sometimes we get all tangled up chasing it and stop enjoying writing and reading and fandom as a whole along the way. be careful of that, please, or you’ll burn yourself out.
Twenty-five years in fandom and it doesn’t get truer than this. You absolutely CANNOT predict what will be popular and what won’t. It’s due to coincidence and timing and who happens to hit reblog and yanno…it’s a mystery. Write for yourself, read for yourself, this isn’t a job.
"This is the beauty and the horror of being a writer — or trying to be anything, really: You can feel important or unimportant. No one cares. No one is watching. You can have fun or you can suffer. No one is grading you. No one is invested. You can proclaim yourself ahead of schedule, or you can spend your whole life telling yourself that you’re running behind. No one is there to measure. You can suspect that you’re insecure and outdated, long-winded and short-sighted, high-strung and lowbrow. Or you can conclude that you’re charismatic, a teensy bit talented, never boring, and reasonably worthy. You have choices. You are the decider. Because the truth is, no one else gives a flying fuck."