#polgara

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

Doomed Couples are awful wonderful to read about

But they will never win against Doomed Twins

[jesterofsnakes]

Garion: are you sure this is the right direction?

Mr Wolf: certainly, I'm as sure as I am honest!

Aunt Pol: in that case we are most certainly lost

[amebanworld]

Certain quick fanart of Polgara the Sorceress, from David Eddings novels "The Belgariad", among others. My own approach to her.

[littlesparklight]

Since I was adding a little more to my always-a-girl!Garion femslash AU of The Belgariad earlier this month, I was once again confronted by how I look at the text differently now from when I was younger.

(I mean, aside from noticing all the Really Unfortunate Racism baked in, but that one I realized ages ago.)

When I was younger, I never once thought much about how Garion is presented as overreacting about his powers, Polgara's relationship to him, and all that. Like, the text, while at times sympathetic, is firmly on the side of "Garion needs to grow up this isn't that big of a deal".

And like, all I've been able to think about while skimming through sections of the first four books is that... I just don't agree. Garion deserves so much better than he's given, my god.

That boy is 14 to 16 during the length of the first five books, and - just. Hello???

Polgara first upends his existence back in the first book, when Captain Brendig catches up to them. She gives him no heads up before hand, no check in after - and he finds out (via eavesdropping, yes, naughty naughty, but still, they never directly tell him and what this means for his relationship to them!) who they are a little later. And all he basically gets told is "this isn't a big deal, your aunt and I are who we are and that's not any different from before, now is it?"

Except it is! Neither Belgarath or Polgara bother - before it comes to even the first of several heads - to straighten things out! And what's worse, considering I only got more fond of Garion and Polgara's relationship in my skimming is that... Polagara and Garion never really have a talk to clear anything up and out. He is made to apologize several times (and he should), but she never does, they never talk more than briefly and not about THEM, really.

Meanwhile, Belgarath and Garion have several emotionally important relationships - and I do like them. But the lack, then, of something similar, between Garion and the woman who definitely is his adoptive mother, stands out.

He kills Chamdar in a really unsettling way, and we do not get any conversation between them where she actually shows any sympathy or support. The there's the whole slave rescue in Nyissa, and Garion blowing up.

And I can't even say I don't understand, exactly, where he's coming from. Given the previous instances - is it strange that a fifteen year old, yanked about as he's been and not getting any good explanations at any point (especially for things relating to himself and his relationship to her), calls Polgara aloof and cruel and inhuman? In her relationship to him, past leaving Faldor's Farm, what we're seeing in moments of crises for Garion, when he'd both needs and deserves some actual adult and familial support, he does not get it! And worse, he gets no understanding, either by other characters or the text itself, basically

It's so deeply frustrating (and yes, I am going to partially redress that lol).

[escargay28]

Rip Jasnah from The Stormlight Archive and Rip Polgara from The Belgariad y’all would have loved each other

[incorrect-belgariad]

The Prophecy of Light: Sorry that your daughter hates you.

Belgarath: She doesn't hate me. She's just ashamed of me or whatever...

[miaeons]

can i get *any* adaption of the belgariad plz 🥺

[aramis-dagaz]

Polgara, grey market dealer in antiquities and magical artifacts and master of using showmanship and strategic disdain to secure a sale.

Art by Marshman220