Diversity Awards 2021 [FINISHED]

Interview with lisa_london_

Best People With Disabilities Story/Author The Lion and The Falcon by lisa_london_

What inspired you to write The Lion and the Falcon? Was it sparked first by GOT or first by something else?

This will be a bit convoluted to explain, so bear with me... The Lion and Falcon is actually a spinoff to my first story, The Stag and The Frog, which is a Gendry/Meera romance set in a post-show Westeros. That story was inspired by GOT in the sense that I abhorred the ending of the show so much that I thought "well, I don't know if I can write, but surely I can write better than that!". So I started writing, after never having the courage to do so before, and that story (which is still ongoing since it turned into a trilogy) is the result.

But back to The Lion and The Falcon. For my first story, I needed a character to fill the role of generic pretty blonde Lannister. So I scoured the ASOIF wiki and found Tyrek. Presumed dead in the books (which was better than most Lannister who were outright dead) and never appearing in the show he fit the bill of Lannister sent to hold Storm's End for Queen Cersei. I never intended for him to become a character in his own right. But Tyrek had other ideas... He took shape as a character before my eyes. Stubborn, sensitive, unsure, charismatic, and cunning, with blonde curls always falling in his eyes. The last Lannister standing (although ironically he soon found himself unable to stand).

As I wrote on Tyrek suddenly found himself standing on a battlefield, surrounded on all sides by enemy forces, drenched in blood, and fighting a war he couldn't win. Until Robin Arryn rode in to his rescue.

That's the scene where Tyrek lost his leg and that's the scene that bore the idea to The Lion and The Falcon. I just felt like there was so much more to the story of those two boys that I wanted to explore, without tacking it onto the original story, that I had to give them their own story. There just was a connection between them that I couldn't shake. They needed each other.

I didn't even know where I was going with the story when I started it, it was kind of an experiment. And there definitely are some shaky parts of it. I would say that the story contains the best and worst of my writing. It's the fluffiest and smuttiest story and the darkest and lightest.

All disabilities are difficult to cope with but why did you choose to take away Tyrek's leg versus a different part of him (physically or emotionally)?

I would say it's symbolic in many ways of how power is wielded in Westeros. As a man, you need to be strong and have physical prowess on the battlefield. Taking Tyrek's leg was a natural consequence of events in the story, as he had to lose something to be able to walk away with his life, and it also leads to an interesting exploration of how you wield power in a medieval society when you no longer are able to do the things expected of you.

His disability is also meant to connect Tyrek to Jaime Lannister, his cousin who also lost a limb. It's repeatedly said in the story that Tyrek looks a lot like him, they're both pretty, tall, and have long blond curls. And they both have to learn how to live with a physical disability. It's a Lannister curse, in a way.

Tyrek's self-doubt about his ability to do the things expected of him as a man is also compounded by the fact that he comes to realize that he's attracted to Robin. Being both disabled and bisexual (he is also attracted to women) in a medieval society leaves him open to judgment and doubt from fellow lords about his ability to rule.

What would you like to say to the people with disabilities community?

I'll try to not put my foot in my mouth here... I'm not disabled myself so I certainly don't have any right to speak for anyone in the community. But I do think that everyone should be able to read stories, and partake in other media, that features people that look like them and go through the same struggles as them. Of course, disabled people are just people like all of us though, and they should be portrayed as such. They should go through everyday struggles just as well as struggles connected to their disability. They should have personalities beyond their disability. This was actually my main concern when writing Tyrek. I didn't just want him to be the guy without a leg. He's so much more than that. He's emphatic, sensitive, and caring. He's self-doubting, frustrated, and sarcastic. He's immature, impulsive, and full of hormones. And those things are just as important for the narrative as his disability. I just hope I made him justice and portrayed him in a way the people with a disabilities community feel is appropriate and accurate.

And that's it folks! 

The Summer Zodiac Team is still unsure if we will be hosting a summer contest this year. Stay tuned for more updates.

Happy writing!