What?! Is that the end? Did Sandor kill his brother and save Sansa? Did The Others take over Westeros? Why is the chapter blank and what will happen next? Please forgive the literature student in me the indulgence of an essay to explain:
Why do we write fanfiction? The question could be shortened to, "Why do we write?" The ability to share stories separates us from animals, defines our different cultures, and provides us with a semblance of immortality. Through storytelling we can play God in a world we create, make connections and impressions on people we may otherwise never communicate with, and memorialize our unique and fleeting thoughts, themes, and ideas. It is arguably our most powerful cultural element.
Fanfiction is often derided for being unoriginal, poorly written, and possibly illegal. It is called wish fulfillment fantasy and a waste of time. But fanfiction offers a prearranged sandbox for authors to play in with the added benefit of a built-in audience. Writers contribute to the fandom, expanding on elements already present in the original story. Fanfiction's criticisms come from people viewing writing as a commodity and not as a shared cultural experience.
I was powerfully moved by A Song of Ice and Fire and especially the ending of A Storm of Swords. When Sandor tries to goad Arya into killing him, it was as though I heard the confessions of a dying man. I was struck by many deep emotions and a burst of energy. The story couldn't end that way, I thought, with such a hopeless desire for vengeance that could not be achieved. Sandor dies as the "unknown soldier" on the banks of the Trident, inept, believing that his lady love Sansa has been raped by the disfigured imp, Tyrion.
My impressions of Sansa and Sandor and their relationship to each other seemed confirmed in the next book, A Feast for Crows. Sansa thinks often and fondly of Sandor, although she has lost herself under Littlefinger's tutelage with the false identity Alayne. I read Sansa's story as one of femininity's endurance, an exploration of how qualities like beauty, receptivity, and softness can inspire and influence the people (usually, men) who have rejected such in themselves. I reject interpretations of Sansa's character that embolden her through masculine traits.
When I started writing my fanfic, I had in mind an open-ended conclusion that would invite the reader to write their own ending to the story. Daenerys's command to take up the sword is not only meant for Sandor, but for all the ASOIAF fans who wish to see their theories in print. I fantasize that some of my creative readers might feel inspired to try their hand at an epic battle scene between the Hound and his brother for Chapter 51 and tell me how the story should end—the same way I felt inspired after reading George R.R. Martin's work.
Regrettably, what I meant as clever, meta commentary now feels like an alarm-bell ringing highlight over one of the most divisive issues in the fandom. It has been almost ten years without a book published and twenty years for any major plot development. Frustrating, especially for SanSan fans. Except for an epitaph in AFFC, the Trident was the last we heard from Sandor, and Sansa lives behind the mask of Alayne forever after. With no release date for the sixth book, the endings we write for ourselves may be the only endings we ever get.
Of course, I say this with a plank in my own eye, since it took me several years to finish my own modest fanfic. But it's made me distasteful of Martin's insistence that he be the only one to write in the ASOIAF universe and his contempt for fanfic. Most read like love letters to our favorite characters; unkempt, incomplete, and borderline incoherent scenarios zooming the characters through space and time for modern AUs, messy one-shots, and squeeful drabble. Even the most well-thought-out and well-written fix-its don't approach Martin's source material; they are instead a more fun, creative, and niche method of theorizing than the sanitized and analytical message board posts that have arguably paralyzed him.
Khaleesi Dany's challenge now feels more self-directed than I ever intended it to, and I am more tempted than ever to write a complete ending that wraps up the stories for Daenerys, Jon Snow, Tyrion, and the rest of the characters—tying a neat, metaphorical bow on the head-canon in my mind. But writing a book is an enormous undertaking, and there are no literary agents or compensation waiting for fanfic writers at the end of a completed longfic. There are only the fellow fans we shared the love letter with and the misjudging, merciful blindness of the original author and his publishers.
I wonder if any of my readers will indulge me and send me their vision for the final chapter of this book. And I wonder if I won't cave and pen it myself, a sequel, or my own version of an ending to the ASOIAF saga. Even though it was difficult and at times I thought it was impossible, I feel very happy to have contributed to the Sansa and Sandor pairing of the fandom and to share my version of their story with everyone here. I hope that I succeeded in honoring these characters and that those of you who read it felt some catharsis from the journey I set them on.