REELING AND WRITHING XX: IN STORMS THE FREE SPIRIT

REELING AND WRITHING
or,
Miss Dermark's 2015 Advent Calendar

DAY TWENTY

IN STORMS THE FREE SPIRIT
or
YOU KNOW THE ONE WHO WOULD CLIMB UP THE REICHSTAG AND SIT ON ITS DOME, LIVING ON RAINWATER, DEW, OR FROST, FOR A FORTNIGHT AS PROTEST?

Luna Lovegood would do it, and Ty Lee, and Pippi Lângstrump, and Anne/Benio "Haikara-san" Hanamura, Ada Goth, and even the mistress of this blog. Climb up the Reichstag and make a home there. Put a cat in the tumble-dryer. Make a huge kite, with a reel of rope for a string, and crucify herself on it to take to the sky. Quaff a whole bottle of Russian vodka, or at least attempt it before passing out or needing to throw up.

My female leads are always Free Spirits. Asuka Akizuki (though non-binary), Reena Fitzwilliam (leaning on the Lunatic, in a grey area), most of the Ringstetten female leads (and even Queen Christina herself), and now Catherine Saunier. A lot of the plot in Pleasure Past and Anguish Past gets its satisfaction from Cath fitting the unlikely mold. Her spear counterpart/foil and best friend Étienne, the dandy in distress to save, is a vulnerable, stray, brooding Lost Soul, and she gets a pair of Sancho figures (Jon Tellagorri and Irina Alekseievna Larina, an older and equally eccentric yet down-to-earth mentor, then, after his death, a no-nonsense and iron-hard military girl) to show her the way. And a lot of the plot centers on her dealing with backstabbing, white lies, and other harsh sides of reality... will she turn away from the light and lose her innocence or not? The whole story is a deconstruction and an experiment with Cath as a Free Spirit in a hostile world, based on my own self-discovery. It's a Free Spirit's "Book of Job", (think The Snow Queen rewritten in the key of Don Quixote) to see if she can remain sunny in the harshest of storms.
Luna has also got a Sancho "anchor to earth/voice of reason" in Neville. Anne/Benio Hanamura has got Shinobu, her Lieutenant Charming, and her friends Tamaki and Ranmaru. Pippi has the Zettergren siblings (Tommy and Annika), the literal kids next door. Ty Lee's got Mai, Azula, and (post-coat-turn) Suki. Reena and Asuka have István for a voice of reason... and every Ringstetten heroine has her spear counterpart, Christina Vasa her advisors, and my parents and friends fill the same slot in my life.

A male example would be pre-war Aerys Targaryen as he appears in my canonical fiction and AUs (Game of Wands developing this character prominently). The trauma of being made a POW, and tortured and experimented with, changes Aerys from Free Spirit to Lunatic and sets the whole chain of events in motion. Furthermore, it shapes the life of many others, foremost his Sancho Tywin Lannister, a fallout with whom caused Aerys's imprisonment...
A female example of Free Spirit in Game of Wands would be Lyanna Stark, one of the point-of-view characters of the same series.

In my Ada Goth stories, like Ada Goth and the Golden Bridegroom, the titular heroine, now a marriageable adolescent, is also a Free Spirit. Ada attends the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted and studies subjects such as Paper Folding, Advanced Musing, Seeming, Being, and Whistling Choir. The blue and white uniform, with epaulettes and a straw hat, fits her like a glove.

Annotation:
Ada Goth and the Golden Bridegroom is the one with the Lannisters... eh, Sinisters as the villains (except for Ada's kindred spirit Tycho Sinister). Reinterpreted into the Riddellverse as a straitlaced clan of Tory aristocrats, who love logic and industrialism and despise everything creative. The titular golden bridegroom is heir Geoffrey Sinister, Ada's prefect, promised to her since infancy, because the Sinisters sponsored/patronized Lord Goth when he was a ragged bohemian university student (Jephthah's daughter was called Ada: notice the parallel!). Add Lieutenant Letchworth-Crisp and Lara Fulda, add Minty Woodwine (who is Tycho's "Shae"), Wemmick the Elder (whom William Cabbage tends to), Lord Tybalt Sinister with his favourite children Saoirse (it's pronounced SEAR-sha) and Jamie, Geoff's younger siblings Estella and Thomas, Headmistress Alice B. Smith (the Olenna du jour), lots of steampunk, a feud between the Alice B. Smith and the school ship Betty-Jeanne, familiar faces of Betty-Jeanne classmates galore (Horace Tucker, Tessa "Mouse" Maas, Sylvie Smith [related to Alice B.!], and Jimmy "Spike" Thompson)...  references to The Princess Bride (a vicar gives the blessing talking about "mawwage," for instance), a wedding crashed, a bridegroom unwittingly drinking a strychnine-laced draught, the Chamomiles, husband and wife...
A sequel, Ada Goth and the Dashing Lieutenant, is in the making. With the Chamomiles adopting Sylvie Smith, Jon-Jolyon closing in on Ada, Lord Goth falling terminally ill during a war of liberation on the Dalcretian coast, William seeking a way to get to Ada, Lara feeling scorned and up to something, Tycho and Minty sure to appear, as well as Countess Pippi Shortstocking, new characters, new surprises, an unlikely spin on the kiss of Judas Iscariot, references to The Princess Bride and to the Fourth Story of the Snow Queen, time travel, new students at Alice B. Smith, the death of more than one relevant character, Ada getting her first steps in art, invention, and science while fleeing the harsh rebukes she will endure as an orphan maid at the School for the Differently Gifted, a decision whether to choose her humble kindred spirit/childhood friend or the wealthy, dashing officer who promises her everything she wishes...


The Free Spirit

• A possible Cloudcuckoolander prone to flights of fancy and acts of whim.
• The FREE SPIRIT: eternal optimist, she dances to unheard tunes. Playful and fun-loving, she travels through life with a hop, skip and a jump, always stopping to smell the flowers and admire the pretty colors. She acts on a whim and follows her heart, not her head. 
• The Free Spirit’s driving force is self-direction. She wants to dance to her own tune and doesn’t want the world to judge her for that. She is very sincere, upbeat and imaginative. She is impulsive and can meddle in other’s lives and problems. Other people would describe her as all-over the place and undisciplined. She doesn’t fit into a mold. For natural conflict you can pair her with straight men who would frown at her outside-the-box behavior. She is very comfortable with being herself and all she wants is for others to let her be. These characters are more likely to show up in romantic comedy.
  Ex. Luna Lovegood
• Free Spirit is artistic, uninhibited, and spontaneous. 
• Free Spirit = ECCENTRIC. Jo March, Little Women. Confident, artistic, unique, chatterbox, whimsical, authentic. feisty, entertaining, sassy, wild for the 1800s (jumping fences & yelling hello).
• The Free Spirit This woman dances to the beat of her own drum. She is very playful and fun loving. She stops to smell the flowers whenever she can and admires the colors of the world. Ruled by pure emotion, she follows her heart rather than her head.
  Now, let's really get to know the Free Spirit!
  
  The Good Side
  
  >Full of charm
  >Extremely helpful to others
  >Full of seemingly endless energy
  >She has great instincts, her gut leads her right
  >Sees everything and everyone just as they are
  
  The Bad Side
  
  >Very often late for things
  >Whimsical, head in the clouds
  >Doesn't make good or solid decisions
  >Can hurt those that love her as she lives moment to moment without thinking first
  >Doesn't conform without a fight (a loud one)
  
  Remember, some of the good traits can be bad ones and vice versa depending on how you want to use them. Take them to extremes and see what happens!
• The Free Spirit
  Next up, the Free Spirit. Playful and fun loving, this heroine travels through life with a hop, skip and a jump, always stopping to smell the flowers and admire the pretty colors. She acts on a whim and follows her heart, not her head. An "original," she sets trends, not follows them, and is looking for new experiences. She might be a bit on the ditzy side, or perhaps she the well-intentioned busybody who leaves a trail of victims of her good deeds. A Free Spirit in the midst of a bar fight? Chances are, some inadvertent act or statement of hers set off the whole dispute, but she be oblivious to that fact. Instead, she'll choose a side to root for, and stand in the middle of the room, throwing mock punches in moral support of the one she favors. She'll resist others' efforts to pull her safety, thriving on the excitement offered by such a wild event. When it's all over, she'll be high as a kite on the adrenaline rush. Danger? Pshaw.
• Skipping through life, the Free Spirit is genuine, fun-loving and energetic. She may be a handful for anyone who has to deal with her, but she makes the experience worthwhile in her zany, highspirited way. Impossible to be mad at for any length of time, she charms the socks off everybody who gets sucked into her orbit. Because she is impulsive, she often finds herself in jams and needs help getting out of them. Luckily for her, there is usually someone around to pick up the pieces. Or else, her crazy logic will save the day. Either way, she lands on her feet, ready for the next adventure.
• VIRTUES: Sincere The Free Spirit always lets people know right where she stands. She is not conniving because it is so much easier to be honest and truthful. Being a genuine person is her natural instinct, and this is a woman who always follows her instincts. Upbeat Life inevitably seems to work out for this woman. Her sunny disposition makes it easy for her to see the bright side of every situation. The Free Spirit has nine lives, and she believes in the possibilities of tomorrow. She knows there is a solution to every problem, she merely has to figure out who to call. Imaginative The Free Spirit is amazingly resourceful and ingenious when she needs to be. She might stumble along the way, but she accomplishes the task set before her.  
• FLAWS: Impulsive Oh, if only this woman would think just a little before she goes out the door in the morning. The Free Spirit sometimes (unintentionally, of course) hurts people because she speaks before she thinks and acts before she plans. Meddling A long rocky road, paved with good intentions, stretches behind this woman. The Free Spirit has a finger in everybody's pie and loves to stir her friends' pots. She is uncontrollably drawn to interfere, regardless of the wishes of her victims. Undisciplined Jill of all trades but master of none, the Free Spirit rarely sticks with anything for long. Erratic, she never writes things down and constantly forgets her commitments. She flies by the seat of her pants, which makes fulfilling promises impossible. 

• Free Spirit Character Archetype

  The free spirit archetype is a quirky, talkative, charming, and unpredictable individual.
• The free spirit character archetype will lighten a serious story, add comedy to a light tale, and just the right amount of unpredictability to any plot. Some well-known free spirits include Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe inFriends, Meg Ryan as Kathleen in You’ve Got Mail, and Emma in Emma by Jane Austen.

  The Free Spirit is Eccentric

  Following normal conventions is boring to a free spirit. Life should be lived with a splash, is her motto. Her eccentricity shows in her quirky habits, her unusual clothing, her hobbies, and her interests.

  She may be an astrologer or an artist. She might be an actor or entertainer. Whatever she chooses as her career, it will be something where her creativity can shine and where the lines of convention and norms are blurry.

  The Free Spirit is Talkative

  The free spirit character archetype loves to talk. She is one of those characters that will chat about anything and everything, charming some people and irritating others, but everyone still thinks she is adorable.

  Her charm lies in the fact that she can tune in to others’ feelings and be empathetic. Her empathy sometimes makes her think she knows more about how people are feeling than they themselves know, and she often sets herself up as a matchmaker.

  At the same time, her ideas sometimes appear so far fetched that others don’t understand her. This comes across humorously. She finds enjoyment in the littlest things, and shares them by telling endless tales.

  The free spirit goes with the flow like a leaf floating on the surface of the water.

  Free Spirit Relationships

  The free spirit is sincere, upbeat, and cheers everyone up. Because she is so much fun to be around, she always receives invitations to parties and events. People don’t take her seriously because of her unusual ideas and habits. Yet she can be highly intelligent, which makes these relationships frustrating for her.

  In romance, the free spirit is most likely to fall for a character that is indulgent and patient. Even though he may not understand her process, he sits back and enjoys the show. The free spirit paired with the warrior will lead to humorous escapades.

  Free Spirit Role in Stories

  The free spirit serves equally well as the antagonist or the protagonist in a novel. As a protagonist, she injects humor, good feelings, fun, and excitement to the plot. As the antagonist, she is the person who makes everything go wrong for the hero/heroine. 
• The free spirit is always lighthearted, no matter what role she plays. She brings a ray of sunshine to even the darkest of stories, but she shines with her brightest light in comedies.

There is also an evil version:

The Lunatic

• Insane version of The Free Spirit who is less eccentric and more "unbalanced madwoman."
• The LUNATIC: the unbalanced madwoman, she draws others into her crazy environment. The drum to which she marches misses many a beat, but to her, it is the rest of the world that is out of step. Don’t even try to understand her logic – she is unfathomable.

Examples:

The Free Spirit: Luna Lovegood.

The Lunatic: "Ophelia! Ophelia! Don't go picking those flowers, dear, you'll hurt yourself!"

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

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 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