Temptation

The last time I wrote even a single word of fiction was back in November of last year.  My 2013 NaNoWriMo novel, Taming the Savage, is the longest one I have written so far, coming in at just over 111k words.  Initially, it ran so long because I was determined to surpass a friend's word count (he beat me anyway), but by the end, I just wanted to beat my previous record of 110k.  Anyway, the point is that, since November, I have not written anything, and now I am tempted to write something so bizarre, so out of left field, that I don't even know how to feel about it.

A couple of months ago, a friend at work got me into watching Game of Thrones.  I watched all 30 episodes of the first three seasons in two short weeks.  It was a whirlwind love affair, and of the seemingly millions of characters on the show, I fell absolutely head over heels for Tyrion Lannister.  Honestly, how can you not? 

Now, although I am a born shipper (my first ship was actually Remington Steele and Laura Holt when I was six years old) I do occasionally find works of fiction that are so compelling that I do not feel the need to get caught up in a relation"ship" in order to love them.  Supernatural falls into that category.  So does Red Dwarf and a bunch of other great shows.  And, up until a few a weeks ago, I thought the same thing about Game of Thrones.  But that was only until . . . well . . . perhaps I should insert a . . .

SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 3 EPISODE 8 - SECOND SONS . . .

until Tyrion was forced to marry Sansa Stark.

Back in Season One, I hated Sansa.  It was easy to do, with the insipid way she had of making googly eyes at Joffrey.  Ick.  By Season Two, her affection for King Bieber was long gone (after all, he did have her father executed), but still, she was nothing more than a victim.  In Season Three, I barely made notice of her at all, until Tywin Lannister decided to use her as a pawn to secure Winterfell, and then, well then, I finally had reason to take notice.

I do not love Sansa Stark.  But, in general, when I do find myself attached to a new ship, it is very rare that I love both characters equally.  Usually, I love the hero and only kind of tolerate the heroine.  Spike and Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are a perfect example of this.  Not only do I not love Buffy, but there have been times when I've downright despised her.  But Spike loves her.  And I love the way that Spike loves her.  And that it what I fell in love with when I became a Spuffy shipper.

So, I don't love Sansa, but I LOVE Tyrion, and right now, that is good enough for me.  What about Shae, you may ask.  Her situation with Tyrion never quite captured my imagination.  It's seemed doomed from the start and I find doomed romance very unappealing.  I like happy endings.  Not that anyone in Westeros can ever have a happy ending.  But in my mind, and in my writing, I just might be able to make that happen.

Right now, I am very tempted to write a Tyrion/Sansa fic.  Their current situation intrigues me.  It's something straight out of a romance novel.  My biggest issue, however, is trying to write a romance between a man in his thirties and a fourteen-year-old girl.  I know it can be done - I'm currently reading a Tyrion/Sansa fic on FanFiction.net - but just because it can be done, doesn't necessarily mean that it should be done. 

And yet, the idea is extremely compelling.  Sansa hates everything Lannister.  And Tyrion still loves Shae.  The possibilities for an angsty fic are endless.  I suspect I will either give into the madness that tempts me to write such a thing or I will do all I can to suppress the urge until the show goes in a different direction.  Only time will tell.