A while ago, I posted a short article on who was Shiera Seastar as George R.R. Martin wrote her – or, to be precise, as he did not write her, since she remains a character only mentioned, never elaborated, and shrouded in one mystery upon the other. If you missed this post, feel free to check it out here on my Althemy blog.
Today, I would like to share the story of MY Shiera, or how I spent 12 hours in the skin of this woman, building her personality and taking her far away from dear old George - because the circumstances in which I wore this costume were very special.
Back in March, I was staying over in Paris at friends’ place. They run a nightclub, Le Fabuleux Cabinet de Curiosités, specialized for thematic events and costumed parties, and open to all sorts of geekery. As it happened, one of the events while I was there was “Inside King’s Landing”, an exclusive role-play experience dedicated to the world of George R.R. Martin – but unrelated to the plot of the TV show.
The role-play took us back in time, to the eve of the Blackfyre Rebellion – we were at Court, the freshly legitimized prince Daemon had just made a scene proclaiming he’s a truer Targaryen than the ruling king and stormed off to brood, King Daeron II was unsure whether to call it an act of treason, everybody was tense and waiting, and the stage was set for the proverbial sh*t to hit the fan. The rules were simple: the major historical figures – such as Daemon and Daeron, or princess Daenerys, Bittersteel and Bloodraven – were absent from Court, and if a player wanted to get in touch with them, the only way to do it was via “a raven”, which basically meant you had to write a note to one of the GMs and then wait for an official reply. The players were allowed to create an original character, from all houses great and small, or to opt for a minor canonical figure, which was the case with my Shiera. The role-play began early in the afternoon and lasted until wee hours of the morning – around one hundred players, all impeccably costumed and acting in character, plotted and conspired, making and breaking alliances, waiting to see whether history of Westeros would continue the way George Martin wrote it, or the Blackfyre proponents would manage to put Daemon the First on the Iron Throne.
In that entire mess, Shiera had to establish her own place. Her starting position was a delicate one: a bastard born of a father who was a problematic king and a mother who was problematic in every way imaginable, Shiera was decidedly not a Targaryen even though she was legitimized, yet thanks to her Lysani blood she felt closer to Old Valyria than many trueborn members of the royal family. Albeit she enjoyed all the advantages of life at Court, Shiera was no true princess, and her privileged lifestyle came without any duties a real noble lady would have. And unlike her three half-brothers whose mothers came from well-known Westerosi families, she had zero connections – no one would have her back or give her leverage if push came to shove. In short, she was an exotic figure who was alluring but deprived of any political value, with no one but herself to rely on, and nothing but herself to offer – and being fully aware of that made her one dangerous woman.
Everything she did was carefully calculated: her exoticness, her sensuality, her jewels and silks and parties, her light-heartedness, her seduction games, her touchy body language with no respect for people’s personal space, her apparent disinterest in politics – it was all a strategy to remain “hidden in plain sight”, to appear harmless in order to be left alone and live her life as it pleased her. When the Blackfyre Rebellion broke out, Shiera did everything in her power to discreetly lobby for her half-brother Daemon with whom she felt a special connection - she the blood of Old Valyria and he the truest Targaryen that ever targaryened, “Aegon the Conqueror reborn” and whatnot. Over the course of the game, as the plot thickened and more and more houses started considering that it might actually be a good idea to support Daemon’s claim to throne, Shiera discovered she had a genuine gift for diplomacy and that she could do much more for the kingdom than just throwing outrageous parties. Politics fit her like a glove: by the end of the night, when the messengers brought news that Daemon Blackfyre won the Battle of the Redgrass Field (take THAT, you evil man who’ll never finish his books!), she was surrounded by powerful political allies, and ended up as one of the most influential women in the kingdom.
It was fascinating to be this woman on her journey of self-discovery. I became her – I lived through her emotions, felt her insecurities and ambitions, and experienced her fierce loyalty to the one brother she considered genuine. I was her, yet I wasn’t – as if the real me took a back seat and relaxed eating popcorn, letting Shiera herself deal with the situation. Even her voice wasn’t mine – she spoke in a husky tone, with a lulling accent, not sounding even remotely like me. After a while, I felt as if I knew her dreams and had her childhood memories - the immersion was so intense it was frightening, like “Strange Days” or one of those old Sci-Fi movies where personal feelings of others become something one can consume, so even though you don't see them as yours, as in you don't OWN them, you still get to FEEL them. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life as a geek – and I’m deeply grateful to my French co-players for playing along so that together we could achieve that degree of immersion.
And it’s definitely something I’d love to do again.
If George Martin ever decides to write a prequel featuring Sheira Seastar, I am aware that the woman he will write about will probably have nothing to do with the character I role-played in France. That said, I’d love to see more women like my Shiera in genre fiction – feminine and vain, but capable and ambitious, with her heart in the right place and ready to fight for the cause she believes in. For a physically frail, ladylike woman can also be a force to reckon with – which is something that contemporary writers, burdened with the Strong Female Character stereotype, too often seem to forget.
For more pics and posts about cosplay, you can check out my Facebook page: ferashacosplay
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Hold that thought refering to Martins plans becouse Ive heard that 'The Winds of Winter' will have some eclectic female characters. Try to sneak in the skin of some, as soon as the book sees the daylight
It can be scary sometimes, to be somebody else and let your own personality take a backseat. This is what we all need sometimes, to see who we truly are and what are we capable off.