OTHELLO AND IAGO: OR ONCE UPON A NEWT

 OTHELLO AND IAGO: OR ONCE UPON A NEWT

Well, Othello done as a school play is as original an idea as "for once, leading characters don't get to act in the play" in The Ember Island Players (though the Dornish arc makes, just for fanservice, shipping, and a little excitement, no use of the latter). Think of that: Othello done as a school play. In Fictionland, as the School Play article on TV Tropes proclaims, the most common dramas to be staged, both written by the Bard of Avon, are Romeo & Juliet for teenagers and MSND for primary school children. Othello is considered too controversial (steamy, and allegedly racist) to be performed by teens in the average fiction series. I loved the daring premise of having this for a school play. So I loved the fact that I (in Game of Wands) did one of my favourite Shakespeares for a change. --this was written in 2015

After noticing the astounding lack of instances of Othello as a School Play in canon, Idlewild (a pretty recent example from this very decade, 2020s) being the only instance so far listed on TV Tropes,

• School Play: All the major characters star together in the Idlewild production of Othello, which, despite the pretentious aspirations of many of the cast, has the typical issues with forgotten lines, bizarre and unconvincing performances, and costumes that don't quite fit the chosen antebellum setting.

then I recalled my Othello School Play in Game of Wands, my ASoIaF Hogwarts AU, and the result is a new gaiden for El semen de los ahorcados (Les Mis Hogwarts AU), in which an amateur production of Othello for Shakespeare Day the 23 of April (taking place in the leads' third year, so they're 13), performed at Hogwarts by the core members of AS-SORTED, goes completely haywire and turns into something very similar to other School Play episodes, most often anime (Cinderella in Fruits Basket, Journey to the West in Love Hina, Mac**th in Space in Jimmy Neutron)... no longer a serious adaptation, but one stuck with JoJo's references, Star Wars references, even a part where Iago (Montparnasse) and Othello (Bossuet/Lesgles) fight each other with quidditch bats, that is obviously a reference to Jamón, Jamón. 

Things started to fall apart when Cosette, who played Desdemona, caught the mumps and had to be quarantined in the Hospital Wing... at which point Montparnasse (who was already stealing rhe rehearsals as a flamboyant Iago Sissy Villain - think Zoisite, Fisheye, and Cytomander rolled into one!), suggested that Éponine (the producer/director) cast Enjolras as Desdemona, as a joke, but 'Ponine took it seriously (Enj with his fair skin, sapphire eyes, and golden hair that he kept long --until sixth year--, would make a perfect Desdemona, also this universe's Éponine being a yaoi fangirl and casting 'Parnasse as Iago for obvious reasons saw all the possibilities between Enj as Desdemona and the male cast!). 

As a result of this, Grantaire wanted the part of Cassio to be able to kiss the new Desdemona, so he gave Courfeyrac some newt potion and had him say "if things are this way, I am a newt!" to turn poor Courf into a newt (whom Combeferre found and kept in a fishtank). This turns out to be the backstory for R himself becoming a newt this way in Book 1 (the one where Javert takes the helm and the house system becomes more or less a caste hierarchy). It also explains how Combeferre found out that the cure for the newt potion is a true love's kiss. 

From these changes on, the play went completely off the rails, with everyone's butterbeer spiked with firewhisky in the drinking scene, Musichetta as Emilia wearing a very Leia-like fanservicey bikini, JoJo's references galore, the quidditch bat duel previously mentioned, and Combeferre as Ludovico finding a very familiar newt on the stage, kissing him, and a half-naked Courfeyrac in human form (no longer a newt) introducing himself as Mercutio, who survived and left Verona --the finale has him asking for Ludovico's hand and starting a threesome with Cassio and Ludovico (also, Desdemona is not quite dead, thanks to her stand Molitva --a stand that takes the form of Marija Serifovic in a suit!). In the final battle everyone turns out to have stands (aside from the male cast's lightsabers and the female cast's blasters), and these stands are different from patroni (according to StrixAlluka, you can have both a stand and a patronus; a stand is a personification of your willpower and personality, while a patronus is more like a spirit animal). The stands only crop up at the end of this gaiden, but this being a universe where everything except resurrecting the dead is possible, it is possible that these characters still had stands in the main saga, only that, being more experienced Hogwarts students (4th-7th year), they rely more on magic.

THE TRAGEDY OF OTHELLO AND IAGO

Produced and adapted by Éponine Thénardier

STARRING

• Wilbur "Bossuet" Lesgles as Othello
• Anne-Euphrasie "Cosette" Fauchelevent as Desdemona
• Paragon Ganymede Enjolras as Desdemona (final production, due to Cosette getting the mumps)
• Caractacus Montparnasse as Iago (as a mincing Camp Gay with a fey scarf and colourful extensions) 
• Sejanus Cassio Hercule de Courfeyrac as Cassio (until Grantaire had him turned into a newt)
• the same Courfeyrac as Mercutio (when he was kissed on stage and became a human again)
• René "Grand'R" Grantaire as Cassio (final production)
• Musichetta as Emilia
• Marius Pontmercy as Roderigo
• Jules-François Combeferre as Ludovico

GAME OF WANDS PREQUELS: REVIEW OF THE PLAY

In every high-school fictional universe, there must be The Play.
In the Game of Wands prequels, specifically Winter Roses, The Play, done as a conscience-catching number for most of Hogwarts (Tywin Lannister and Robert Baratheon being the foremostly intended targets), is the highlight of the Oberyn arc (it was mentioned at the start of the arc and staged in the second chapter/episode from the end, "The Night of the Tempest").
The script chosen, greenlighted by a reluctant Tywin Lannister after some coaxing from both Olenna Tyrell and the author (the de facto headmaster disapproved, at first, of a Muggle story)...
was the Oberyn Martell retelling of the Othello story, with elements from both versions by William Shakespeare and Giuseppe Verdi.
Notably, Bianca's character was present in person and had a larger presence than in Shakespeare's play (but a ghost in the Verdi opera) unlike Desdemona's lord father, a ghost character mentioned by the cast in slightly negative terms (as a disguised "take that" to Tywin Lannister)
Costumes were hand-sewn taking inspiration from various nations and decades of the seventeenth century. Ripe cactus pears were put under the costumes at certain points, where the characters would be injured, to simulate blood.
The writer of the script had cast himself in the male lead role, referred to as "the Dornishman" or more frequently "the Dark One" (instead of "the Moor") and his first love in the female lead role.
All of the cast were scouted for their intellectual and artistic prowess. The youngest member of the cast, a first-year Renly Baratheon, was discovered by chance and (according to Oberyn) he had the talent to pursue a career in the performing arts.
A slightly shy Rhaegar, cast as Lieutenant Cassio, was endowed with real liquid courage during the "kegger scene" to keep his performance up, and thus, slightly intoxicated for real (nothing to worry about)!
The cathartic tragedy was put on stage as this, with a minimalistic cast (not to mention the cactus pears, the firewhisky, or the tweaking of the original script):

• Othello: Oberyn Martell (post-Durmstrang gap year, 19 years old, in Spanish Tercio uniform)
• Desdemona: Cersei Lannister (Slytherin, 16 years old, in French court lady's gowns and in French 1680s uniform)
• Iago: Jaime Lannister (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in Swedish Green Brigade uniform, which includes a kilt)
• Emilia: Elia Martell (Ravenclaw, 18 years old, in Swedish camp-follower frock)
• Cassio: Rhaegar Targaryen (Ravenclaw, 17 years old, in French 1680s uniform)
• Bianca: Lyanna Stark (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in maidservant frock)
• Roderigo: Renly Baratheon (Slytherin, 7 years old but in a potion-induced age-up to 11, in French 1680s uniform)
• The Former Governor (composite of Montano and Ludovico): Jon Connington (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in French Richelieu-era uniform)
• Directed and produced by: Ellaria Sand
• Script adapted by: Oberyn Martell

The play was followed by a short extra number performed by Rhaegar and Lyanna, of their favourite fairytale "Ice and Snow", with the following cast (they still wore the costumes they had worn in Othello):

• Elliot: Rhaegar Targaryen
• Freedert: Lyanna Stark

After both plays, which were vividly and formidably performed, a series of both expected and unexpected consequences followed the events on stage and those offstage:

• Since Tywin Lannister declined Oberyn's offers of love more fiercely, the Dornishman realized his first love would go nowhere, put an end to all of his new relationships, including his engagement to Cersei, and left the Hogwarts campus (having left a letter of apology and a sunflower for Cersei, and the same letter and flower species for Jaime), kissing his younger sister goodbye, giving her the handkerchief, and wishing her the best of luck. Both Oberyn and Elia wept intensely at their farewell.
• Elia broke up with Jaime, having become aware of her intellectual equality with Rhaegar, who became her official fiancé (like the case of the Princess in the Snow Queen Fourth Story (PRINCE & PRINCESS- A handsome couple, newly married and very happy):

1. The Princess (Prinsessen), who desires a prince-consort as intelligent as she, and who finds herself at home in her palace. She has got warm, rich clothing, servants, and a golden coach.
2. The Prince (prinsen), formerly a poor young man, who comes to the palace and passes the test set by the princess to become prince (the new prince of the land).

• The Lannister siblings reconciled and consoled each other with one another. 
• Renly, aside from discovering his gift for the performing arts, realized that he was terribly missing Oberyn, which led to a prelude to the awakening of his orientation.
• And, most importantly... Rhaegar and Lyanna became closer to each other.

The episodes of the Oberyn arc:

• The Dornish are Coming
• Rarities
• My Fair Warrior, Part I
• My Fair Warrior, Part II
• The Night of the Tempest (play staged)
• A World of Sighs

And here's my review of the play itself:

Ever seen The Ember Island Players? Well, it's this episode of Avatar Airbender/Aang, Season Three, where the plot is retold in-universe as a play staged at a resort theatre (for instance, the Ty Lee in the play was obese and über-active). So it's both a play episode (originally, not a school play, for once) and a recap episode. A wonderful episode because of its combined premise (play+recap) and metafictional plotline. So I highly recommend it.

Well, Oberyn and Ellaria made Shakespeare's tragedy look like the Ember Island Players were staging Othello. Or like Springtime for Othello. It also reminded me of legendary show-within-the-show Springtime for Hitler. And I am being serious at that.

There were many similarities with the legendary episode: including, among other features: things happening on both sides of the fourth wall in-universe (on stage and among the spectators). And the play cranking up everyone's performance up to thirteen. And the play taking up a whole episode.

Well, Othello done as a school play is as original an idea as "for once, leading characters don't get to act in the play" in The EIP (though the Dornish arc makes, just for fanservice, shipping, and a little excitement, no use of the latter). Think of that: Othello done as a school play. In Fictionland, as the School Play article on TV Tropes proclaims, the most common dramas to be staged, both written by the Bard of Avon, are Romeo & Juliet for teenagers and MSND for primary school children. Othello is considered too controversial (steamy, and allegedly racist) to be performed by teens in the average fiction series. I loved the daring premise of having this for a school play. So I loved the fact that they did one of my favourite Shakespeares for a change.

At the start of Rarities, Varys with that thespian background of his gave LF (and spectators not acquainted with Othello) a quick summary of the play, which was retold with kawaii chibis of the cast in their costumes. You get a good laugh at LF's part in the account, constantly asking if Catelyn was there (she wasn't) and asking for the ending, which the eunuch didn't want to spoil, leaving the summary unfinished (Varys: Why don't you watch it yourself and see? I give no spoilers, and leave it up to you)...

I love the fact that Oberyn identified himself with the leading character, called (in his version) the Dark One and the Dornishman (instead of the Moor). The first we saw of him, in the dream/flashback that opens the arc, stealing a kiss from a child Cersei... and Jaime asking later in the same episode: "Has any stranger (non-Lannister) ever kissed you?" to which no reply came. Throughout the arc, Oberyn was flirting with Cersei in real life and as Othello to his Desdemona. And she displayed a little interest in him, much to Jaime's chagrin.

Speaking of Jaime's chagrin, add the fact that he has to play the villain. IN A KILT. While Oberyn, Rhaegar, and even Renly get to wear breeches.  To add insult to injury, it's ironic how the dyslectic Lannister heir got the part with the most lines to read and remember... Also that Jaime's dyslexia gets a bit exasperating when it comes to pronouncing and reading "lieutenant": when told how the word is pronounced, he tries to look at it on the script time after time to look for the ostensibly missing F, seeing one between the E and the U. Just consider how many times Iago says "lieutenant" in the play and you get the idea. At least, he could channel all of that disappointment into a vibrant performance, rendered more vibrant by his sarcasm and negative feelings (towards Rhaegar, but also towards "that bloody Dornishman..."). The Lannister gradually fused with the part of Iago, leading even to wearing that kilt without blushing, yet feel a little awkward in the whole "Now are you my lieutenant" mock wedding scene. And good chemistry with Elia. Sparks really fly, especially when he kills her character. We start to realize what he really feels towards Elia.

The relationship between Cersei and Oberyn grew into a crush comparable to hers on Rhaegar, so she was a little of a ditherer. We see how she gradually comes to dance the tango with the Dornishman. And still, upon realizing how different they are, to try to win Rhaegar once more (after his departure). 

Lyanna and Rhaegar also developed their relationship a little further by playing lovers/fiancés (Bianca was originally Cassio's paramour, but the Oberyn script made her the lieutenant's intended bride!), and their surging feelings started to surface (especially Lya's suspicions of Rhaegar belonging to another as a hazard). I loved another plot point introduced: the Other Rhaegar, his repressed self that surfaces under the influence. The strange accent (Leipzig Saxon in the German version, Värmland in the Swedish) and the hot-blooded hyperactivity. BADASS. And also a way to let those dad issues appear once more (the notorious Targaryen curse, trauma, the obsession Rhaegar has with his own sanity...). Add the fact that this started when he was given liquid courage to improve his performance (more on that later). 

In short, the few things we need to know about this play are:

EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IS A BADASS.

NICE TOUCH WITH THAT WAND-DRESSING À LA CINDERELLA.

NICE TOUCH WITH THE CACTUS PEARS UNDER THE COSTUMES.

AND THE KILT.

AND FIREWHISKY. 
THIS WAS GOING TO BE A MUSICAL EPISODE, WHICH IT NEVER BECAME.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN REDOUBTABLE IF THIS WERE A MUSICAL EPISODE...
STILL...
THERE IS THE ALTERNATE MUSICAL EPISODE (as an Easter egg).

THESE HOGWARTS STUDENTS HAVEN'T BUTCHERED OTHELLO.

IN FACT, THEY'VE CREATED A MASTERPIECE.

THE WHOLE CASTING WAS EXCELLENT AS WELL.

So we start the review (of the play within the show only, act by act):

ACT ONE: REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED WITH FIREWHISKY

The setting of the first half of Act One is a wooden outdoor platform on the shore of Lake Hogwarts: the rest of the play will be performed in the courtyard.

The curtain opens over a thunderstorm with sudden flashes of lightning, which light up the setting, the docks before the fort, à la Delacroix. These flashes showcase, in turn, Rhaegar (as Cassio) looking hopeful, Cersei (as Desdemona) head bent in prayer, Jaime (as Iago) looking shifty and holding his fluttering kilt. Elia (as Emilia) and Renly (as Roderigo) stand behind the kilted ensign.

There is a chorus of prayers and there is this storm, and then Jaime wishing that the flagship should find a watery grave, then, suddenly, the flagship appears and approaches the waterfront among the high waves, as Rhaegar sees it come through a spyglass and gives commands to the men to find ropes and throw them towards the flagship, which is pulled on land by the volunteer students playing the privates (in French eighteenth-century uniforms). Then, the storm calms down and a beautiful sunset appears, as the last flash of lightning shines on a landing Oberyn (as Othello), who solemnly proclaims:

"Rejoice, everyone! The foe is put to rout! Ours is the glory!"

And everyone cheers on both sides of the fourth wall-in universe, save for Jaime and Renly, who stand leaning against the walls of Hogwarts as the great general rushes forth to embrace and kiss his spouse passionately as he's saluted by his second in command.

So Jaime and Renly are having a conversation, during which the former explains to the latter that he would better not drown himself (only fools do so) and that he will grant his wish of getting the-one-that-got-away Desdemona, who will not lust after "the black beast" forever... moreover, he only pretends to love the Dornishman and actually hates him fiercely. The reason why?

And here's when Jaime lets go of all that negativity which the part of Iago helps him so well to channel:

"That frilly little upstart (pointing at Rhaegar, who is talking to the female cast), whom they call 'Lieutenant' (air-quoting)... who knows as much of tactics as a blue septa, has usurped my rank, while I have risked life and limb upon many a battlefield (stripping his sleeves to show scars and/or muscle), fighting the good old honest way on the frontline itself! That's how His Dorniship has decided... and I stay at his service as a sergeant major! (Pause) But, as sure as your name is Roderigo, if I were the Dornishman, I would rather have others than Iago by my side!" Then everything crowned with the not-scary-at all evil laugh the Lannister scion can muster.

A great motive rant courtesy of Jaime Lannister. The words in italics are the stressed ones. The evil laugh, while not ominous at all, sounded more like Lock from Go Princess Precure... like a cheerful tenor parody of the typical evil laugh. It helped deconstruct Jaime's Iago while thankfully playing with the evil laugh trope.

The rest of the play takes place in the Hogwarts courtyard, where everyone relocates, led by Oberyn and Cersei holding hands, Rhaegar following them, then Lyanna, Elia, and finally Jaime with Renly by his side. As soon as everyone is gathered in the courtyard, a colourful yet ominous burst of fireworks appears in the night sky, and the Toccata and Fugue starts to play to the rhythm of the fireworks.

There is a dance on stage, a minuet, Oberyn with Cersei, Jaime with Elia, and Rhaegar with Lyanna, though soon the music switches to a waltz (Blue Danube, what else?), and two of the couples switch as Rhaegar leads Cersei to dance, while holding and kissing her hand. Renly stands aside, leaning against a wall and looking at the minuetting, then waltzing couples, as he fidgets with his fingers and whispers to himself.

All while the fireworks form the shape of flitting fairies, butterflies, dragonflies, and other lithe, slender flickering things. And then, they gradually decrease until one little last spark is left, then fades away.

The next scene will obviously be the kegger. It backfired, to a certain degree. Yet what made it ostensibly SNAFU (the firewhisky incident) actually bettered the performance. 

So we have, obviously, Jaime encouraging Rhaegar to have a drink while the lieutenant is on duty. Which, as you know, sets the plot of the Tragedy of Othello in motion.

Now here's the snag: both Rhaegar and his character Cassio are lightweights (can't hold their liquor).

So the words "No thanks. I'm already light-headed after a single sip" were also true beyond the fourth wall.

Moreover, Renly is told that Cersei <3 Rhaegar, since he is so clever and so dashing. And he is told that now the lieutenant's tragic flaw will be revealed, and all Renly has to do is provoke him to vengeance.

Now Jaime sings "I was the Kaiser's Assistant", followed by "Good Ship Venus", as drinking songs to entice Rhaegar to get over the threshold. The songs are very well performed... (At least, in the German version. In the Swedish one, the song was a modified version of Evert Taube's lyrics for the polka that plays throughout the first half of the scene).

Add the fact that Rhaegar was to be given liquid courage to improve his performance. Lyanna's character Bianca was here some barmaid or tavern wench, who served the officers at the local inn. And she was due to lace Rhaegar's cup of mock liquor/apple juice with real firewhisky. Of course, Jaime saw her pouring, by mistake, too much of the real thing into that tankard... and he knew the whole play would be screwed up.

So Rhaegar wasn't at all aware that he was drinking more firewhisky than Lyanna should have given him (uh-uh!), not even when he noticed the taste of his cup or he felt the liquor searing his throat.

And then, suddenly, his cheeks blush brightly, he gets all fired up (like, hyperactive) and starts speaking with a strange accent. MEET THE OTHER RHAEGAR TARGARYEN.

And don't forget him, for this repressed personality will pop up more often than you expect!

Both versions manage to cram in a few in-jokes:

In the German version, the Other Rhaegar says he is from "Leeiptzsch" (sic!) In the Swedish one, he's studied at Lund. Both seats of learning (a nod to the original life Cassio being an intellectual, a Florentine, or both?). 

There is a scene in the German dub when Rhaegar leaps on the table and says: "Come, we'll dance on the table, until it breaks!" and laughs hysterically at the end. And THIS sounds like an evil laugh.

Then, the Other Rhaegar says he is not intoxicated, can tell left from right (waving the wrong hands), can speak well and walk in a straight line (how ironic), and then he grabs Lyanna by the skirt, and then he grabs Elia ibidem, and... now he tries to lift the kilt Jaime is wearing...

"I'm not a lady!", the sergeant major says. And what follows is a reenactment of the drag queen scene in Crocod... You get the picture. Rhaegar Targaryen, intoxicated, pulling a Croc on Jaime Lannister in a kilt. And you get Jaime squealing like a piglet:

"LIEUTEEEEEEEENANT!!!!!!!!!"

And whacking Rhaegar in the middle of the chest.

Which Renly and Lyanna laugh at. And the following exchange ensues:

LYANNA/RENLY: He-he-he-he...

OTHER!RHAEGAR: What's so funny...

RENLY: Lieutenant... you are... (Lyanna prompts him) drunk.

OTHER!RHAEGAR: I'm not drunk!!! Shut the seven hells up!!!!!!!!!

CUE WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE. While the Other Rhaegar is now berserk and cutting down everyone and everything in his path with a four-foot-rapier. And shouting that he's not drunk and everyone should shut up.

And Jaime rallying the volunteers, including Dayne and Connington, to subdue the drunken lieutenant, as the Lone Ran... William Tell overture is playing in the background. Again, there's Jaime Lannister going "Lieuteeeeeenant!!!" and finally getting a nice hold of his obviously weaker opponent, but not before Rhaegar has leapt off the stage to lunge at someone (Tywin or Robert being a likely target), a fight has broken out straight before the spectators, and the lieutenant is carried back onto stage unconscious.
(LF clings to Cat, and Lysa clings to LF, among the spectators.)

Then, Oberyn and Cersei both appear, looking slightly rumpled and dressed in nightgowns (his is crimson and hers is mint green). And obviously startled, as startled as the spectators of the play. And, of course, seeing Rhaegar unconscious, Oberyn turns to Jaime:
"Honest Iago, my dear friend, could you give an explanation?"
The way Jaime's Iago washes his hands is priceless. The story told is flipped at first, with Jaime trying to stop Rhaegar from ethyl excess in vain. The tone in which the last words are spoken is memetic:
"I'd rather sprain both my feet than come to you!"
In the meantime, Rhaegar is coming to, looking obviously pale and ill at ease, due to more than mere general malaise. And his commanding officer turns to him as he awakes:
OBERYN: Lieutenant Cassio? How come you lost your reason?
RHAEGAR (coming to, half-conscious, looking around himself): Uh-uh, not guilty!
OBERYN (sternly, taking Rhaegar's epaulets and cravat off): Though I love you, you'll never more be an officer of mine.
Rhaegar awakens fully from his state of unconsciousness, shocked by his character's demotion to noncom. Given the fact that he was intoxicated in real life, this is more than just acting.  Then, Lyanna slaps him in the face and turns her back on him, giving him a cold glare, as she puts the chairs and tables in their usual places. Which is even more painful.
We saw that a sugar rush turns Rhaegar (and Aerys) extremely hyperactive, but not what ethanol can do to his fragile Targaryen system, until now. This other personality's appearance. Now it's come to an end, and he's ill at ease, and psychologically crushed, but the show must go on! 
While Jaime is tending to Rhaegar on the stage floor, Oberyn and Cersei have a little moment of romance on a ledge above. And yes, she puts his cavalier hat on. The poses they enjoy are slightly sexy (embraces, hands between legs, head-resting...). The clouds part to reveal a starry night sky with a waning crescent moon. The conversation itself is rather commonplace for an Othello retelling, but all of the cooing and romancing poses make it look like something far more daring:
OBERYN: How wonderful the stars are, and how wonderful is the power of love!
CERSEI: At last, after the war, we are finally together!
OBERYN: You are the only one who loves me for who I am, not for what I am.
CERSEI: I love you too for the misfortunes you've gone through...
OBERYN: And I love you too for caring for my sorrows.
CERSEI: Kiss me once more!
OBERYN (kisses her on the lips): I would never tire of kissing you.
CERSEI (kisses him on the lips): Neither would I.
(They kiss each other's lips at unison, passionately)
A truly heartwarming coda for this chapter, and great acting from all the characters so far: the casting could not be more perfect... This act segues into the next as both newlyweds leave stage...

ACT TWO: THE HANDKERCHIEF

ACT THREE: SEX, LIES, AND WHACKS BY THE DOZEN

ACT FOUR: TO DIE UPON A KISS

GAME OF WANDS PREQUELS: THE TOURNAMENT

The finale of Winter Roses shows us both the Triwiz Tournament, held at Hogwarts, and the wedding of Rhaegar Targaryen to Elia Martell, the latter done as a musical episode. Characters from The Wind on Fire and other 1990s novels appear in the crossover.

The tournament itself takes place this time on the grounds of Hogwarts, the year after the one. Jaime Lannister returns as a Durmstrang student, much to Cersei's and Tyrion's elation. Renly returns from Storm's End to cheer on in the tournament. Tyrion is now a bullied Ravenclaw student, who shields himself from a hostile world with a cuirass of learning. Elia, now a university freshwoman, is tasked with overseeing the Tournament. And Oberyn reappears making an entrance as usual.
Rhaegar, now prefect of Ravenclaw, helps Tyrion to socialize. Ned and Stannis comment on the tournament. And Lyanna gets a slightly eccentric Beauxbatons kouhai who appears to be royalty...
The subplot features the Cold War raging on and Westeros in the middle of international intrigue. Due to her friendship with Sisi, Lyanna finds herself in the eye of the hurricane...

New characters:
Marius Semeon Ortiz: a young and dashing general at the service of a distant land, the beautiful country called the Mastery. Makes friends with Rhaegar, and fiancé to Sisi, but falls for Cersei by mistake. He is actually the ward and heir to the national dictator, the learned and wealthy Master Albard (who wanted to marry Sisi himself), sent to hijack the tournament. His neck gets broken... Killed by henchmen sent by Tywin Lannister, on the eve of her wedding.
Sirharasi "Sisi", Johdila of Gang, Wonder of a Million Eyes, Pearl of Perfection: Amber-eyed and dark Beauxbatons student, princess ("johdila" is her title) incognito. Beautiful and sweet, but spoiled and childish.
Innocently insensitive. Lacks social skills due to her sheltered unbringing as an only royal child, but makes up for it with enough luck and pluck. This Dornish-looking (though not Dornish) maiden calls Lyanna "Upperclass" and looks up to her...
Her parents, the Johanna (male, Lord of a Million Souls) and Johdi (female, Mother of the Nations) of Gang, are revealed to be refugees in a village on the borders of the Mastery, devoid of all their trappings, dethroned by the leader of their ranks.
It is revealed that the Domination of Gang has rhoynar origins like Dorne.
Sisi falls for Jaime Lannister, in spite of the competition that has them face each other. She isn't fond of attending to her duty. She also has a pretorian guard the size of a regiment, and its commanding officer loves her. In the end, after the battle was lost, it is revealed that the land of Gang has been occupied by the Mastery, making her a dethroned victim of war.
(In the end, after the War of the Usurper saga, it is revealed that she defeated Zohon and reconquered the empire of Gang, which now encompasses the former Mastery. Sisi has become the Sirhardi, Mother of the Nation, and is in a relationship with Oberyn Martell himself, having had five children by him at the palace of the realm.)
Lunki: Sisi's maidservant and confidante, a stout woman in her forties, and part of the Beauxbatons personnel.
Zohon: the tall and dashing commander of the Johjian Guards, a heart-throbbing military officer in unrequited love with his liege lady. Poses as a Durmstrang disciplinarian. Involved in the Cold War as dictator of the realm. Jaime mistrusts him a little, having not seen this good-looking fellow at Durmstrang... Rivals with both Rhaegar and Robert. In the end, Zohon returns to the Mastery. He dethroned Sisi's parents and took over their court until she consented to marry him. Which she will never do.
CHAMPIONS
For Hogwarts: Rhaegar Targaryen (Ravenclaw)
For Durmstrang: Jaime Lannister
For Beauxbatons: Sirharasi "Sisi"
Spare for Hogwarts: Lyanna Stark

MY LIST OF JAIMIENNE ALTERNATE UNIVERSES

MY LIST OF JAIMIENNE AUs

• Hogwarts AU (Game of Wands)
• Rapunzel/Life a Dream AU (The Prisoner's Dream)
• Snow Queen AU (The Queen Beyond the Wall)
• Imperial Prussia AU (The Baratheon Saga)
• Third Reich/Occupied France AU (In the End, a True Love Story)
• 18th Century-Regency War (7 Years, French Revolution) AU (steampunk and fairy tale elements)
• 30 Years' War AU (Bearserk, Leaps of Faith)
• Captain Tempest AU (Come Undone)
• Gender Flip AU (The Adventures of Jamie Lannister and Etienne of Tarth)
• Princess Bride AU (The Royal Betrothed/The Princess's Bridegroom)
• Hunger Games AU (War Without Tears)
• Pulp Fiction AU
• Chocolate Factory AU
• Christie Dwindling Party AU (And Then There Were Three)
• Zodiac Romina Russell AU (Sagittarius Babe)
• Pretty Cure AU
• Carmen AU (Prens Garde à Toi!)
• Modern AU (High school, university, Bonnie & Clyde)
• Saint Seiya AU (Game of Cloths)
• Camp Half-Blood AU (Children of Ares)
• Prufrock Prep AU
• Othello AU (My Fair Warrior)
• Twelve Huntsmen/Twelfth Night AU (Thirteenth Night)
• Les Misérables AU
• Cinderella AU (Cinder-ienne: A Kind of Fairytale)
• RWBY AU
• Bending (ATLA, Korra) AU (The Firelord's Son and the Rebel Maiden)
• Star Trek AU (Lieutenant Tarth/Commodore Lannister Saga)
• Vampire Academy AU
• Attack on Titans AU
• Parasyte AU
• Pacific Rim AU (Oathkeeper Saga: their Jaeger is called Oathkeeper, and Pod is on board as well)
• Vacas (Basque 1992 film) AU
• Stardust AU (Stardust and Vanity)
• Homestuck AU

GAME OF WANDS PREQUELS: GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM

GAME OF WANDS PREQUELS: GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM
(Featured predominantly in Winter Roses and in Summer Ruins)

Coach: Rickard Stark

                                       O
                                        I
                                 Brandon
                                   Stark

Eddard                  Lyanna                    Benjen
Stark                     Stark                       Stark
(resorted as 
a Hufflepuff, 
replaced by)

Arys               Lyanna                    Benjen           
Oakheart        Stark                       Stark



_Robert                               _Arthur
Baratheon                              Dayne
(captain)                            



                        '*'Jon
                         Connington

                        '*'Jaime
                         Lannister
                       (understudy for injured Connington [pneumothorax])
                       (would later replace Connington as seeker, 
                    when the latter joined Rhaegar's band, the Whitecloaks,
                  would later leave for Durmstrang and get replaced by Connington)      


O
I
goalpost

_bludger bats

'*' snitch

A disciplined Rickard Stark has taught his children and the rest of the team to perform a drill role call, in an obvious allusion to The Sound of Music:
"Whistle sound, repetitive" (they march, the Starks in order of age, followed by the others)
Brandon! Eddard! Lyanna! Benjen! Dayne! Baratheon! Connington!/Lannister! (they even step forth marching at the whistle, like the Von Trapp kids!) Later on, when Ned was resorted, the call became: Brandon! Lyanna! Benjen! Oakheart! Dayne! Baratheon! Connington!/Lannister!

GAME OF WANDS: THE TOURNAMENT

The Tournament in Game of Wands is a highlight in the main series.
This arc let me introduce many characters from other worlds (Twilight, Vampire Academy, Camp Half-Blood, and Hunger Games) in a crossover. Jasper Whitlock, Lissa Dragomir, Christian Ozera, Mia Rinaldi, Astrid Kolfinnsdaughter, Ava, Becca, Killian Jones, Finnick Odair, and Natalie Dashkov would in time become more important and recurring characters.
Its motto for the edition is "Spiele ohne Grenzen * Krieg ohne Schmerz".
The theme song is a "Games Without Frontiers" version with lyrics in German, English, French, and Swedish, preceded by a piece with La Marseillaise, Du gamla du fria, and God Save the Queen sung by a female, male, and mixed children's chorus respectively... referring to the commemorated 30YW edition of the Tournament. The whole competition is themed after the 350th anniversary of said edition, and hosted in the same location, the Beauxbatons campus and its environs, in Cathar country in the French Pyrinees. The female guests lodged there, while the male ones lodged in the auberge in the nearby village of Fort-Pur.

The four champions selected were:

• For Hogwarts: Renly Baratheon (Slytherin)/Christian Ozera (standing in for Renly during the trials, actually)
• For Beauxbatons: Astrid Kolfinnsdottir
• For Durmstrang: Jasper Whitlock (replaced, due to injury, by Finnick Odair halfway through the last test)
• Spare Champion (for Hogwarts): Sansa Stark (Ravenclaw)
• Overseeing Head Teachers: Tywin Lannister, Thalia Grace, and Killian Jones.

(The three champions in the 30YW edition were Amaia Itziar Otxoa, Carl Laurentz von Stahlehre, and Hortense de la Treille: a Basque werewolf peasant, a Swedish military officer, and a young French court lady who had followed her liege to the UK, to get caught in the Cromwellian wars. The latest won the cup, but donated it to Laurentz, whom she married).

In the end, Renly Baratheon died of an apparent heart attack or stroke (complications due to a hitherto upcoming heart aneurysm), in the arms of Brienne Tarth, in the encampment during the celebrations, which led to her accusation of the crime. The cup was won by Sansa Stark, who donated it to Astrid.

SPOILERS ABOUT RENLY'S DEATH WITHIN THE 'VERSE (HIGHLIGHT)
Renly Baratheon had received seropositive blood from an unknown donor (Dashkov? Most likely) during his Durmstrang years, after an injury during a quidditch match, when he was replaced by Finnick Odair. The symptoms started to surface that year, already when the Hogwarts students arrived in the Midi. So Christian, to protect the young Baratheon's health and reputation, decided to stand in for Renly, due to their uncanny resemblance, during the trials. The "Renly" that competed with Astrid, Jasper, Finnick, and Sansa was actually Christian Ozera. He hastened to exchange clothes with Renly in the camp during the celebrations, leaving the real Renly alone with Brienne... and then, Renly Baratheon (the real one), clutching his chest, suddenly collapsed...
***** Actually. the Durmstrang offer was given to Stannis Baratheon, who declined on purpose to have Renly sent away. Which acted as a catalyst for it all.

GAME OF WANDS PREQUELS: THE PLAY

In every high-school fictional universe, there must be The Play.
In the Game of Wands prequels, specifically Winter Roses, The Play, done as a conscience-catching number for most of Hogwarts (Tywin Lannister and Robert Baratheon being the foremostly intended targets), is the highlight of the Oberyn arc (it was mentioned at the start of the arc and staged in the second chapter/episode from the end, "The Night of the Tempest").
The script chosen, greenlighted by a reluctant Tywin Lannister after some coaxing from both Olenna Tyrell and the author (the de facto headmaster disapproved, at first, of a Muggle story)...
was the Oberyn Martell retelling of the Othello story, with elements from both versions by William Shakespeare and Giuseppe Verdi.
Notably, Bianca's character was present in person and had a larger presence than in Shakespeare's play (but a ghost in the Verdi opera) unlike Desdemona's lord father, a ghost character mentioned by the cast in slightly negative terms (as a disguised "take that" to Tywin Lannister)
Costumes were hand-sewn taking inspiration from various nations and decades of the seventeenth century. Ripe cactus pears were put under the costumes at certain points, where the characters would be injured, to simulate blood.
The writer of the script had cast himself in the male lead role, referred to as "the Dornishman" or more frequently "the Dark One" (instead of "the Moor") and his first love in the female lead role.
All of the cast were scouted for their intellectual and artistic prowess. The youngest member of the cast, a first-year Renly Baratheon, was discovered by chance and (according to Oberyn) he had the talent to pursue a career in the performing arts.
A slightly shy Rhaegar, cast as Lieutenant Cassio, was endowed with real liquid courage during the "kegger scene" to keep his performance up, and thus, slightly intoxicated for real (nothing to worry about)!
The cathartic tragedy was put on stage as this, with a minimalistic cast (not to mention the cactus pears, the firewhisky, or the tweaking of the original script):

• Othello: Oberyn Martell (post-Durmstrang gap year, 22 years old, in Spanish Tercio uniform)
• Desdemona: Cersei Lannister (Slytherin, 16 years old, in French court lady's gowns and in French 1680s uniform)
• Iago: Jaime Lannister (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in Swedish Green Brigade uniform, which includes a kilt)
• Emilia: Elia Martell (Ravenclaw, 18 years old, in Swedish camp-follower frock)
• Cassio: Rhaegar Targaryen (Ravenclaw, 17 years old, in French 1680s uniform)
• Bianca: Lyanna Stark (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in maidservant frock)
• Roderigo: Renly Baratheon (Slytherin, 7 years old but in a potion-induced age-up to 11, in French 1680s uniform)
• The Former Governor (composite of Montano and Ludovico): Jon Connington (Gryffindor, 16 years old, in French Richelieu-era uniform)
• Directed and produced by: Ellaria Sand

The play was followed by a short extra number performed by Rhaegar and Lyanna, of their favourite fairytale "Ice and Snow", with the following cast (they still wore the costumes they had worn in Othello):

• Elliot: Rhaegar Targaryen
• Freedert: Lyanna Stark

After both plays, which were vividly and formidably performed, a series of both expected and unexpected consequences followed the events on stage and those offstage:

• Since Tywin Lannister declined Oberyn's offers of love more fiercely, the Dornishman realized his first love would go nowhere, put an end to all of his new relationships, including his engagement to Cersei, and left the Hogwarts campus (having left a letter of apology and a sunflower for Cersei, and the same letter and flower species for Jaime), kissing his younger sister goodbye, giving her the handkerchief, and wishing her the best of luck. Both Oberyn and Elia wept intensely at their farewell.
• Elia broke with Jaime, having become aware of her intellectual equality with Rhaegar, who became her official fiancé (like the case of the Princess in the Snow Queen Fourth Story (PRINCE & PRINCESS- A handsome couple, newly married and very happy):

1. The Princess (Prinsessen), who desires a prince-consort as intelligent as she, and who finds herself at home in her palace. She has got warm, rich clothing, servants, and a golden coach.
2. The Prince (prinsen), formerly a poor young man, who comes to the palace and passes the test set by the princess to become prince (the new prince of the land).

• The Lannister siblings reconciled and consoled each other with one another. 
• Renly, aside from discovering his gift for the performing arts, realized that he was terribly missing Oberyn, which led to a prelude to the awakening of his orientation.
• And, most importantly... Rhaegar and Lyanna became closer to each other.

The episodes of the Oberyn arc:

• The Dornish are Coming
• Rarities
• My Fair Warrior, Part I
• My Fair Warrior, Part II
• The Night of the Tempest (play staged)
• A World of Sighs

GAME OF THRONES FANDOM SHOUT-OUT I

Shout-out to: Casablanca (the scene in which the French at the bar sing "La Marseillaise" to drown out some Germans who are singing "Wacht am Rhein")
Referenced in fandom as: Stark loyalists snowed in a wayside inn sing "Wolf in the Night" to drown out Lannisterians who are singing "The Rains of Castamere". In Game Of Wands, Arc VI, the same event occurs.

GAME THRONES AU VI: DIE UPON A KISS

The following AU is a reformulation of a Gundam Wing fusion fic I once drew from Shakespeare's Othello. The title of that fic was, obviously, Die Upon a Kiss. But with the cast of Game of Thrones, obviously. Another possibility would be using the Game of Wands setting, which wouldn't be that wrong...

DRAMATIS PERSONAE (original GW fic, in parentheses)

• Othello: Jaime Lannister (Zechs Merquise)
• Desdemona: Brienne Tarth (Lucrezia Noin)
• Cassio: Renly Baratheon (Quatre Winner)
• Iago: Petyr Baelish (Treize Khushrenada)
• Emilia: Sansa Stark (Lady Une)
• Roderigo: Loras Tyrell (Trowa Barton)
• Bianca: Margaery Tyrell (Dorothy Catalonia)
• Landlady: Shae (Catherine Bloom)
• Reverend: Jorah Mormont (Duo Maxwell)
• Maiden in Finale: Ygritte (Relena Peacecraft-Darlian)
• Maiden's Fiancé: Jon Snow (Heero Yuy)

GAME OF WANDS

GAME OF WANDS

Game of Wands (formerly Game of Hogwarts) is a newly-started AU made among my university classmates. In this AU (good guess!), the GoT youngsters attend a boarding school for the somehow gifted...

The Cast

The Gryffindors:
Loras Tyrell (prefect) (hostage for Sansa at tournament)
Robb Stark (prefect) (champion for Hogwarts)
Arya Stark/"Jeyne Poole (post-clothes exchange in Arc V, is actually Arya)"
Jon Snow
Ygritte
Brienne of Tarth

The Slytherins:
Viserys Targaryen (late prefect)
Renly Baratheon (late prefect, deceased at the start of Arc I)
Joffrey Baratheon-Lannister (prefect)
Margaery Tyrell (prefect)
Ramsay Bolton-Snow (transferred from Durmstrang in Arc V, debuted in the previous arc)
Theon Greyjoy (hostage for Robb at tournament)
Yara Greyjoy
Roose Bolton (formerly)

The Hufflepuffs:
Jeyne Poole/"Arya Stark (post-clothes exchange in Arc V, is actually Jeyne)" (captured by Ramsay and forced to marry him)
Myrcella Baratheon-Lannister
Robin Arryn (arc V onwards)

The Ravenclaws:
Rhaegar Targaryen (deceased, late prefect, relevant in prequels)
Sansa Stark (spare champion for Hogwarts) (Death-Eater "Alayne Stone" post-Arc V)
Brandon "Bran" Stark (arc IV onwards)
Shireen Baratheon
Daenerys Targaryen (formerly)
Stannis Baratheon (formerly)

The Staff:
Daenerys Targaryen (Creature Care)
Jaime Lannister  (flight instructor) (DaDA, Arc I-II)
Petyr Baelish (DaDA, Arc IV-V)
Stannis Baratheon (Deputy Headmaster, History, DaDA Arc VI/finale)
Melisande (Transfigurations)
Jorah Mormont (History/Library overseer)
Lysa Arryn/Baelish (matron nurse)
Commander Mormont (headmaster, Arc I-IV)
Tywin Lannister (headmaster, Arc V-VII)


The Order of the Dragons:
Daenerys Targaryen
Renly Baratheon (deceased)
Ygritte
Jorah Mormont
Commander/Headmaster Mormont (leader/founder)
Robb Stark
Jon Snow (successor of Mormont, post-Arc V)
Arya Stark
Euron Greyjoy

The Death Eaters and Inquisition:
Stannis Baratheon (High Inquisitor)
Roose Bolton
Ramsay Bolton-Snow
Melisande
"Reek" (formerly known as Theon Greyjoy)
Jaime Lannister
Cersei Lannister
Tywin Lannister
Clegane brothers (both of them)
Petyr Baelish
Rhaegar Targaryen (deceased)
Viserys Targaryen (also deceased)

The Other Characters (in rudimentary setting):
Andreas Schizker (champion for Durmstrang)
Hélène de Moye (champion for Beauxbatons)
Ramsay Bolton-Snow (Durmstrang from the start)
Talisa Maegyr (Beauxbatons, French-Islamic)
Saphira (Andreas's cat, hostage for Durmstrang in the tournament)
Sarah Vincent (Hélène's best friend, hostage for Beauxbatons)
Karl Johann Rüttich (headmaster at Durmstrang)
Christine Garcy (headmistress at Beauxbatons)
Euron Greyjoy (DaPA [Pure Arts] at Durmstrang)

Andreas and Hélène, as well as their acquaintances, are OC:s based upon classmates of mine, Game of Thrones fans Andreu Císcar and Helena Moya. Karl Johann and Christine are based upon real-life people as well.