Post by danl on Dec 28, 2020 18:49:19 GMT
Maybe this is why Arya's disguise and persona game is ramped up with her education at the House of Black and White. Because just being dirty isn't enough. Although, initially, the hair cut and boy cloths are enough to get her out of the city, along with the help of Yoren.
Harry is enough of a disguise because Arya isn't expected to see anyone who knows her. Someone who knew her well might be deceived by the haircut and male persona, but it isn't very much. Of course, expectations are a bit part of any disguise.
Varys seems to be a master of disguise, but his silks and powder and perfume might be more of a disguise than the real him.
Yes, I think Varys' persona might be a guise to hide the fact that he is not a pampered and ultimately harmless individual. And the shaved head might hide something very significant
Cersei is beautiful, pampered and dresses like it, so any variation to her might be a good disguise. But even when she meets Ned in the godswood, she is dressed plainly, but he tells us there was no hiding her beauty. Some of a disguise might be in the views eyes, seeing what you expect to see, as opposed to what you really see.
I think there is definitely something about expectations in any disguise. When Cersei comes to Ned, she may be unsettling his expectations, but I have a hunch that Ned has seen her like this before. I'm not necessarily sold on the idea that they were lovers or have a child in common (but maybe).
But her dress was not designed to hide her from Ned. Those clothes were most likely tailored to suit her figure and made from quality fabrics. She wanted Ned to see her in a different way, and she wanted him to notice her beauty -- wearing something that didn't shout "Royalty!" or "Lannister!" might have been a core purpose of her clothing. But I think she might have wanted to remind Ned of something, maybe some former contact with her, or maybe some other woman
It feels right to be that there is some red in the Stark's already, but it's hidden from us. But it's also possible that the red hair only comes from the Tully side, and I am thinking to hard about it.
That mistaken identity when Bran was seeing from the tree seems to be important. I think it matters that someone from an earlier generation looked a lot like Bran and Arya. Maybe it isn't the red hair, but it might be
I do think she must have been instructed to trust and listen to Arys, which would be why Arianne had to seduce the knight, because she understood he was a key to Myrcella's manipulation. But still, if Myrcella is as bright as I think she could be, she should have questioned this somewhat. Still, plot and all, GRRM perhaps needed this all to happen, so he made Myrcella follow along when she otherwise should not have, just as he put's Ned Stark in some poor decisions, when otherwise it doesn't really fit the character. All for the sake of "plot".
Myrcella is pretty young. If she has spent her life knowing that Cersei resents the fact that she (and by extension Myrcella) will not be considered for rule, then she learns that the rules can be different, she might be vulnerable to that lure
And in a turn back toward "sweetsister", I just came across the song by Queen called Sail Away Sweet Sister. I had never heard it before, and it's interesting.
I just listened to it. I think it would feel interesting and catchy if I wasn't familiar with Best Friend and Killer Queen, and the legacy of the Beatles. As it is, I don't think it offers much musically. But, of course, you were pointing to the lyric, which is a bit disturbing in a way that might catch GRRM's attention. In the 80's, the album was still king, so it is very likely that GRRM had heard this even though it was never a popular single. I think we know that GRRM was a big fan of pop music of the 1960's but I don't know if that would extend a couple decades later. But if he was fond of interesting lyrics, sometimes with an odd sexual slant, he might have been a fan of Queen.