#Jaime and Brienne get married

[swordmaid]

that jb post adwd quiet isle au plot but this time jaime gives her his cloak

#jaime x brienne #brienne of tarth #asoiaf #mine. #actually for this scenario i was thinking that bri woke up in the quiet isle w the cloak covering her like a blanket and jaime is gone #something about how a stained cloak is worth shit but at least it can keep u warm................. #also thinking about that giving and taking dynamic re:brienne and jaime gives her the cloak ... similar to how jaime gives her the sword as #opposed to just taking it (like how she take renly's sword and rainbow cape (since it was not meant to be hears originally)) #this is so quick u can tell but i just needed to have this materialized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its making me go 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴 #ANOTHER ALSO. its like ambiguous knighting (receiving a knight's cloak) since she defended the innocents AND. ambiguous marriage bc she #is receiving his cloak. and with jaime being gone its like. so did they get married/was she knighted or WHAT.... who knows..... #and she is kissing it 😣😣😣😣😣 ooooouggh im going wild. im in ur walls. im scuttling

[ilynpilled]

im gonna be petty for a second but i do think that some shippers do not actually care for jaime as a whole character that much. which is fine but idk y u have to pretend otherwise. like it is just hard for me to buy the claim that he is a huge favorite of yours when u ignore a huge chunk of his narrative. again i do not mind it if someone is only that interested in him as an extension of the narratives of characters they really do love, but when that turns into “i have an unbiased and better understanding of him and i love him for what he really is” it falls real flat when the take that follows is the most blatantly incorrect thing that contradicts much of his narrative at the core. and i do value ppl that are more critical of him i think it is good because i despise when he is woobified and reduced in complexity and ofc it can balance my perspective since i have such a deep love for him. but there is a difference between reductionist misreads and actual legitimate acknowledgement of his huge flaws, especially ones within the jc dynamic. and ofc the same happens on the other side of the spectrum where there is a tendency to ignore some major issues he has that r located outside of his dynamic w brienne. jaime is a character outside of these two ppl with incredible internal narratives that are not solely rooted in just his relationship with these women. he has a very complicated and layered relationship with the self and his grappling with that manifests in different ways.

#this is not subbing anyone in specific just in general what i noticed over the years #jaime is a character with a ton of layers and different circles are prone to only engage with only some of those layers #and ignore or just do not engage with other ones #which again sure i dont blame u for not being interested in certain aspects but those aspects are very much there im afraid #god this is also y i am so desperate to see his story ending with neither of them really #i think so much of fandom thinks that there r only those two poles that exist for him #him dying w cersei and him marrying brienne or smn #and that that will be the conclusion to a redemption arc: failed or succeeded #and i think that just sucks so hard like thats not what im getting out of his story at all #those two characters do represent a dichotomy but its not that simple #those two are not his moral compass he is his own person #and his redemption will not be clear cut like that

[vhagarswattle]

GOT fanfiction is awesome because it’s just the girlies sitting at their computer and cracking their knuckles and going. What if something nice happened instead :3

#and that nice thing? Jaime ans brienne getting married

[falllpoutboy]

i think the starks would be utterly tickled by who they are played by the tv show bc they’re all kinda

#like im sorry #honestly this works with anyone from asoiaf but this is the funniest #robb’s like im played by a guy who is the leo dicaprio of twinks? #jon’s like im played by a guy who actually fell in love with ygritte and they went on to get married and have two kids? #sansa’s like im played by a woman who got divorced before she was even 30 by a guy who spread vicious lies against her and they have 2 kids? #arya’s like im played by a woman who is a model and accepts any promo job to make ends meet? #ned’s like im played by a guy who’s infamously known for acting in roles that kill him off?? #catelyn’s like im played by a woman who’s infamously known to play shrew matriarchs?? #bran and rickon’s like we’re played by men nobody really knows and went on to live normal lives? #if jaime and brienne saw how their irl actors were living… lol. lmao even

[doctorwhomybae]

‘Jaime and brienne will never get together they are just friends 🙄’

I’m going to list just a few things that have happened with Jaime and Brienne in canon and pls non asoiaf readers lemme know if you think they’ll stay just friends forever.

- They have had a very sexually charged sword fight

- They have bathed together

- He has popped a boner after seeing her naked in said bath

- This was so memorable to him that he thinks of her the next time he has a bath AND-

- He dreamed of her naked after that bath

- He had a dress made for her

- He gifts her a priceless (I can’t stress this enough how much it it worth just trust me) priceless sword

- He has remarked on her beautiful blue eyes multiple times

- He has been her ‘knight in shining armour’ about three times at least:

- Saves her from being r worded and loses his hand for it

- jumping in front of a bear to save her life

- Defending her honour by slapping the SHIT out of a man who made fun of her and sending him away

- He constantly compares her favourably to his only previous ‘lover’

- She has dreamed of him marrying her (kind of)

- She has held his naked body in her arms

- She has taken care of him when he had a fever (intimate body care)

This is just off the top of my head and there’s more but yeah this probably happens to all good friends

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #braime #jaime x brienne #brienne x jaime

[norringtondeservestheworld]

2323857349587348964 day of me thinking how Jaime and Brienne paralled each other even before they met.

Of how both of them chose to become Kingsguards, choosing to give up their titles, the possibility to marry and being parents and their lives itself because of love for two people who not only didn't love them in return, but didn't really care about them not even a little bit while they were ready to die for them and how this led to them meeting each other, going from hating each other to falling in love with each other even if they have to realize it and admit to themselves because they are idiots and how when they will be finally together after they admitted their actual feelings they will be crazly in love and happy because for the first time in their lives they'll get to experience how it feels being the first choice for someone and being loved for what they are in return and having one person who is ready to die for them when all their lives they were the one sacrificing and willing to do that without anyone doing that for them ever in this essay I will---

#SOBBING FOREVER OVER THEM #THEY ARE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE EVERYTHING THEY ARE THE SHIP #braime #jaime x brienne #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth

[leupagus]

Please note that this fic is going to take the better part of 2024 and probably 2025

(and given my track record might never be done):

Sansa

"Do you like the taste?" asked Littlefinger, watching her closely as she tried the wine. He always watched her closely.

They had stopped at the Inn at the Crossroads; she hadn't wanted to, but she would have had to explain to Littlefinger why. So she had choked down a meal and refused to think about the last time she had come through this way, where the first member of her family had been murdered in the stable while Joffrey had sniveled and lied and shown her, for the first time, who he really was.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," she answered. "Why do men love it so much?"

Littlefinger shrugged. "It gives some men courage."

"Does it give you courage?"

He smiled, the way he did when she had stung him. He would take his revenge on her somehow, she knew. He was nothing like Joffrey, but there was a smallness to him that reminded her of the king.

The dead king, now.

A flash of armor to her right made her look up; a familiar woman, tall and broad of shoulder in a suit of armor, had approached their table. "Lord Baelish. Lady Sansa. My name is Brienne of Tarth."

Sansa opened her mouth to reply, to tell her she knew who she was, of course she knew. Tyrion had mentioned her often, usually after rebuffing yet another request by the lady of Tarth for an audience with Sansa. I hope you don't mind, and Jaime vouches for her, but Cersei has made it clear she's to go nowhere near you and frankly this giantess makes me a bit nervy. He'd been glad to recount the tale of Lady Brienne and Ser Jaime, traipsing through the Riverlands on their way to King's Landing.

Before Sansa could speak a word, Littlefinger had made some cutting remark, the sort he was so good at. She'd yet to be on the receiving end of any of them but she flinched all the same, watching Brienne's face. Littlefinger was something like Joffrey — and something like herself, too, when she'd been young and pleased at her own wit. Looking back, she knew now that she had only ever been cruel.

Lady Brienne seemed not even to hear Littlefinger; as though he were no more than a gnat to be tolerated until such moment as he could be swatted. She knelt, awkward but not clumsy, and looked earnestly up at her. "Lady Sansa. Before your mother's death, I was her sworn sword. I gave my word I would find you and protect you. I will shield your back and keep your counsel, and give my life for you if needs be. I swear it by the Old Gods and the New."

Would she have given the answering vow? She would never know, because once again Littlefinger was talking, sliding his glance over to Sansa to see what remarks might prompt a reaction. Sansa stayed still and watched as Lady Brienne's attention was at least drawn away, glaring at Littlefinger.

"Strange," Littlefinger was saying. "I knew Cat since the time we were children. She never mentioned you."

"It was after Renly's murder," said Lady Brienne, direct and blunt. She and Sandor would get along well, Sansa thought suddenly. Pity they had never met.

"Ah, yes," said Littlefinger. "You were accused of killing him."

Lady Brienne blushed, a splotchy red spreading across her cheeks. Shame, Sansa thought, but not guilt. "I tried to save him," she spat out. She did not glance over, to see if Sansa would believe her.

"But you were accused."

"By men who did not see what happened."

"And what did happen?"

"He was murdered by a shadow. A shadow with the face of Stannis Baratheon."

"A shadow? With a face?" Littlefinger turned to Sansa, and that was when she knew whatever he was about to say was a lie. "This woman swore to protect Renly. She failed. She swore to protect your mother. She failed." He smirked up at Lady Brienne. "Why would I want somebody with your history of failure guarding Lady Sansa?"

Lady Brienne made a face. "Why would you have any say in her affairs?"

"Because I am her uncle. I married her Aunt Lysa shortly before my beloved's untimely death. We're family now. And you are an outsider. Forgive me, Lady Brienne. But experience has made me wary of outsiders."

She gaped at him, then looked back at Sansa. "Lady Sansa," she said, and paused, as though at a loss for how to convince her. "If we can have a word alone?"

"Yes." Sansa rose, knocking into the table. The goblet of wine spilled and ran down her dress, but she was on her feet at last. The sellswords Littlefinger had brought with him moved in, one of them putting a hand on Lady Brienne's shoulder. She tensed and in just a few seconds there would be bloodshed, there would be someone dead on the floor and it would be her fault.

"Uncle Petyr," she said loudly, her heart rabbiting out of her chest, "Thank you very much for understanding. I will speak with Lady Brienne as you suggest, and then we shall resume our journey."

The sounds of eating and talking died out as faces turned toward her. A round-faced boy came bustling up, a wide, customer-friendly smile pasted on his face. "Is there anything I can help with, milord?" he chirruped.

"A room for the ladies," said Littlefinger, still watching her. She nodded very slightly and his mouth twitched.

"Have you anything on the floor above?" she added, addressing the boy with a nervous glance toward Lady Brienne.

"Er," came the reply, "Yes? Right this way, milady. Miladies."

Sansa leaned toward Littlefinger. He smelled of wine and the oils he used on his hair. "Could some of the guards watch the door?" she whispered. "And some near the stairs. Just…in case."

"Of course," he said, though his eyes were on her mouth.

The way Littlefinger had spoken of her mother, there had been a great rivalry between himself and Ned Stark; and before that a rivalry between himself and her uncle Brandon, who'd been betrothed to Catelyn before his murder. Littlefinger had always sounded like the defeated lover, the man who had nearly won his beloved's hand.

Mother had never mentioned Littlefinger. Father had, once they were in King's Landing and he'd been forced to admit an acquaintance. He'd sounded irritated more than angry; her mother had never loved him, had hardly ever thought of him. Her parents had lived and loved each other and all the while Littlefinger had stewed in his own curdled affections, imagining a love story that had never existed.

She could never decide what had moved her to kiss him on the cheek. Perhaps it had been a clever ploy to distract him, or a way to tell him she would return. She would have liked to have been that clever. But in the moment she could remember only how sorry she felt for him. "I'll just be a few moments," she promised him, lying.

Minutes later she was in a small bedchamber, with two dirty windows on each outside wall and the ominous creak of leather and metal just outside the door, signaling that Littlefinger's sellswords had taken up position. Lady Brienne, for her part, looked as uncomfortable as she had downstairs. "Thank you for speaking with me, my lady," she said.

"Can you fight them all?" Sansa asked her, keeping her voice down. They would need to be overheard soon, but they had a few seconds. Enough time, perhaps enough time. "If there's four in the corridor, and four downstairs."

"What? Yes, of course," said Lady Brienne, expression torn between confusion and offense. She fought off a bear once, Tyrion had told her with glee. Even beat my dear brother in a sword fight. When he still had both hands.

Sansa went to the first window. A long drop onto hard ground, and it faced the road as well as the hitching posts. The second was more promising: hay bales stacked haphazardly next to the wall, and the wood only twenty hards away.

"Start talking," she hissed at Lady Brienne.

She frowned. "I'm sorry?"

Sansa mimed opening the window. "Start talking. About anything. Honor or duty or what my mother was like. Whatever you'd say if you were trying to convince me."

Lady Brienne's eyes widened in understanding. "I…am not much for speeches, my lady," she said slowly, then more loudly as Sansa pulled open the window slowly, mindful of any squeaking. "But I found your mother an honorable woman, and your brother too. I brought Ser Jaime Lannister back to King's Landing at her request, so that you might be returned to your mother in exchange."

It would never have worked; she'd known that even then. The Lannisters did not understand the notion of letting go of an advantage, once they'd sunk their teeth into one. Even Tyrion had never offered to take her to her family once they'd been married. He'd had his reasons, and they had been good ones, but she'd learned another lesson that day. "So you sacrificed your oath to protect my mother for an oath to protect me?" she asked, making sure her voice carried as she swung her legs over the sill. "How can I know you'll not abandon me, too?"

It was important not to think. If she thought about it, she wouldn't do it.

She held her breath, put her hands over her mouth, and fell.

#yes I know they stop at AN inn not necessarily THE inn at the crossroads #but any excuse to have Hot Pie in a scene #also curious how people will react to Sansa Stark: Girl Who Jumps From Windows #because she does in canon but lbr that's after some uhhh gnarly shit goes down #would sansa do that if not pushed as far as she was at the end of season 5? #let's find out! #game of thrones #got: bitches get stuff done

[jackoshadows]

"No," she said, "that's Sansa." - Eddard, AGoT

It's skillful the way GRRM sets up a situation with Sansa and then subverts with Arya in the books.

First, Robert Baratheon wants a redo of his relationship with Lyanna Stark by fixing a marriage between Sansa and Joffrey. Except Joffrey is not really his son and the marriage ends up not happening.

Meanwhile Ned (and several other characters including Bran with his visions) compares Arya to Lyanna in terms of looks and personalities in the text of the story. And it's Arya who has the love of both Robert and Rhaegar's sons Gendry and Jon Snow.

Secondly, it's the way the Southerners see Sansa as the key to the North. From the Lannisters to the Tyrells and even Littlefinger in the Vale, all plotting to marry Sansa off for her claim.

Meanwhile, it's Arya Stark for whom the North is rising up and waging war. Arya Stark for whom the LC of the NW has broken his oaths. Arya Stark whom the King Beyond the Wall/Abel the Bard was trying to steal out of Winterfell. Arya Stark whom Stannis Baratheon has promised Jon Snow that he will save.

While unbeknownst to the south and even LF, Robb Stark has written a decree that disinherits Sansa and Jon Snow supports Stannis as King even as he vows to never let Sansa Lannister get Winterfell while he lives.

And thirdly, even with Jaime sending off Brienne to find Sansa (because he and everyone else assumes that Arya is dead), we see Brienne following in Arya's footsteps through the Riverlands, meeting the same side characters. She meets Gendry and Willow Heddle who is a stand in for Arya with similar characteristics and Hyle Hunt even ships them together! And the constant references to the great big wolf pack hunting in the Riverlands - we know who that is!

All this is subtle and yet build up steadily over five books. And Arya has not returned to Westeros yet and still GRRM has several plots revolving around the character. Can't wait to read what happens when she actually gets back as Arya Stark in TWoW.

#Arya Stark

[agentrouka-blog]

do u think the books will cover jon and sansa falling in love or they will just marry for political reasons?

Love, 100%.

If they marry for political reasons, there is no thematic purpose to it. I don't think "the ever important Stark blood must remain pure! Their claims must combine to make sure a sacred Stark butt with the sacred Stark look is parked on their ruling armchair" is what GRRM is going for here. That's not his political messaging in the books. Inherent blood superiority is a point of ridicule.

Falling in love in a political marriage is also entirely devoid of thematic impact. Each of them could have that happen in any kind of arranged marriage. It's what was always going to be Sansa's life in the normal course of events. What she expects with Joffrey, Willas, Harry, and what she deliberately rejected with Tyrion. Treating Sansa decently in a political marriage doesn't make Jon special. It's a massive dud as far as Sansa's arc is concerned, unless you utterly overhype what a catch Jon supposedly is by pretending he is the only decent guy in Westeros.

Jon would derrive far more political advantage from such a match (if done for political reasons) than Sansa (getting a title and seat, the Stark name, a wife so highborn and educated she could have easily been queen, with a kind disposition and widely considered beautiful), while Sansa just ends up being married for her claim again. Yay? You don't need them to fall in love at all in a political match, even. Heck, they wouldn't need to be fake siblings at all, if that aspect never figures into their relationship. If the point is politics, making them fall in love is an arbitrary, contrived, incidental gimmick to make it a little more palatable for Sansa-the-Vessel-of-Titles. That may work from Jon's end, but it renders Sansa's arc fairly flat.

No.

What Jon and Sansa is about makes the political practicalities a handsome side effect for later, but not the actual point.

The point is the emotional and ethical challenge between forbidden love, political responsibilities and inner truth.

What's the point of love if you cannot indulge in it in every way? Well, what's the point of Brienne stepping out into the rain to save the orphans, outnumbered, hopeless? No chance and no choice? It's about who Brienne is and what she believes the world should be. In the same way, Jon and Sansa need to find a way to navigate between what they feel and what is possible. They way they will do this will compare and contrast how Jaime and Cersei did it, how Robb and Jeyne did it, how Aemon and Naerys did it, and so on.

The political match enabled by RLJ is a thing for when they have earned it by finding a way through that maze without losing their integrity.

#jonsa

[swordmaid]

WANT to make more of like evil king jaime x brienne but im stuck on what brienne is supposed to be in this au like.... what are situations i can put them in !

#thinking abt whats the opposite situation of jb? #i have this thought of like instead of wench he calls her my bride kind of making fun of the name #so it might be like he heard that rumor that she won't marry anyone who can't beat her so he picks a fight i.e - prev art and he WINS so #he's gonna marry her and she's like no i dont want to marry u u sicko and he's like wow are u backing down?? u dont have any honor? but lik #in a mocking way. also bri is prob not like highborn but i can imagine jaime going for her bc its a) amusing b) he's the king he can do #whatever he wants?? who says he has to marry a highborn he'll kill anyone that does like if he killed #his way to get the throne i feel like he just does whatever he wants lmfao and i guess in this au #what he wants is to annoy the shit outta brienne #but also im like WHAT IF brienne has kind of like a sandor role where she's in the kg #and iirc sansa had joff's kid in this canon so bri being her bodyguard #then jaime just states ok im going to marry brienne who's supposed to be protecting the wife of the kid i just killed like #sans cant take a break even in this canon 😭😭😭 #but hmm idk ... i feel like its tricky for me to just draw stuff w/o context like .. how will that make sense #to me. like the narrative in my head. u know ??

[jaimexbrienne-fic-finder]

Valentine's Day Fic

Completed; Summary from ao3

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre by ellethom

A cold night, a life in reflection. Jaime and Brienne come to some realizations.

For his warrior of the west by mgsmurf

Western AU of Jaime/Brienne written for the Valentine's Day ficlet fest at JBO. The usual fare of stock Valentine cards of frill, lace, cupids and dried flowers just did not seem the right gift for his fearless warrior woman of the west.

Keepsakes by DanyelN

Brienne finds an unexpected keepsake.

The Ballad of Lady Lannister by ddagent

Seven months since they were forced to marry, Jaime wakes to find his wife missing from their marriage bed.

Closer by CTippy

Brienne comes back from work and finds a surprise waiting for her in the kitchen. Hidden feelings, UST, misunderstandings… and some other stuff ensue.

Feeling Blue at the Zoo by EmpressM

“That will be 5 dragons for one hissing cockroach,” said the cheerful girl at the checkout. A brightly colored sign behind her declared that today, Valentine's Day, featured the "Quit Bugging Me" special at the King's Landing Zoo. The smaller print read, "Name a cockroach after your ex, and feed it to our animals!"

Brienne dug through her wallet. “Make that two. Actually, just give me that whole box.”

take me out (and take me home) by thesarcasticone

Brienne finds herself conned into attending a party on Maiden's Day. Needless to say, the evening only appears to be getting worse as the night rolls along, until a mop of blonde curls suddenly swooshes in in front of her and makes the evening start to spin a different way.

Or: Brienne and Jaime bump into each other at a pub on Maiden's Day.

because i know no other way by sameboots

Jaime wants to give Brienne the perfect Valentine's Day, but Brienne's perfect Valentine's Day requires careful balancing of demonstration and restraint.

All that is Precious by JaneHudson

It's Maiden's Day, and Jaime has enlisted Sansa and Margaery to help him figure out the best way to approach Brienne. Unfortunately, no one can help Jaime and Brienne except themselves. Will they be able to push through their insecurities?

An unexpected Valentine's by justme (silver_spring)

Brienne is glad that Valentine's is almost over, but then the phone rings..

#jaime x brienne #braime

[goodqueenaly]

Realistically speaking, how would Brienne or anyone else react to any speculation or reveal that she is Dunk's descendant?

To be clear, I don’t think Brienne (or anyone else in the main story, for that matter) will ever find out that she is a descendant of Ser Duncan the Tall. If the Dunk-Tarth connection plays out the way I think it will (and much of my speculation in this post is going to be using that theory as a baseline), then we’re talking about a romantic/sexual relationship that happened some 80 years prior to the start of ASOIAF; even if Brienne’s ancestor was conceived at a different time from what I imagine, this ancestor certainly has to have existed by 259 AC, when Dunk died at Summerhall. We’re talking, in other words, about at least the better part of half a century, if not close to a century, of difference in time from the birth of this ancestor to the main novels - far too long, probably, for anyone with living memory of this relationship to report on what happened. Too, if Dunk conceived a child with Daella who was in turn passed off as the child of Lord (?) Tarth, then who apart from Dunk and Daella themselves would have known that this affair happened? I suppose it’s remotely possible that someone could, say, get a supernatural vision of the past including this relationship, but I don’t see how this vision would fit into the narrative without feeling awkward and unnecessary. Ultimately, I don’t think Brienne needs to discover the answer to a question neither she nor anyone else around her is asking; this is a mystery we as readers, observing all (or, at least, all of what we’ve been told) of Westerosi history at the same moment, care far more about than anyone in the current novels does. 

Anyway, putting all of that aside, it’s difficult to know what Brienne might think if she learned that she was a biological descendant of Duncan the Tall. On the one hand, if Dunk conceived a child with Daella while he was a knight of the Kingsguard (not to mention while Daella was married to (again, presumably) Lord Tarth), then Brienne might struggle with the idea that her ancestor broke his Kingsguard vows for the sake of a sexual affair (and again, with a royal princess, no less). After all, cultural memory on Tarth does not simply idealize the heroic figure of Ser Galladon of Morne- literally referred to as “the Perfect Knight” - but specifically links that perfection, in part, to the obviously chaste romance between Ser Galladon and the Maiden - the beau ideal of unconsummated chivalric devotion. Nor indeed might Brienne look kindly on her would-be great-grandfather using (so it might seem, at least) the closeness of his role as Daella’s royal guardian to pursue a sexual relationship with her. After all, Brienne had experienced severe shock and disillusionment upon learning that the knights of Renly’s camp at Highgarden who had curried her favor, and even (as Hyle Hunt did) treated her as their equal, had only done so in order to claim her as a sexual conquest in return for a monetary prize. Would Brienne sneer at Duncan the Tall, with respect to his affair with Daella, much in the way she did (at least initially) at Jaime - that he, Dunk, had “scorned and soiled” that “rare and precious gift” Dunk had (in part ostensibly) received, to be a knight and a knight of the Kingsguard? Would she consider Dunk no better than the sleazy knights who had viewed her, Brienne, as no more than a source of casual sex - that her great-grandfather had had no more respect for her great-grandmother’s virtue and his own honor as a knight than men like Ben Bushy and Will the Stork had had for her virtue and their honor?

On the other hand, it would of course be wrong to characterize Brienne as a person who has no concept of romantic attraction and love, even - and, indeed, especially - in the context of knightly service. Brienne’s desperation to serve Renly, and especially to join his Rainbown Guard, stemmed in no small part from Brienne’s very strong, though obviously unrequited, romantic love for Renly. Likewise, though this paragraph is naturally too brief to cover the complex relationship between Jaime and Brienne, her experiences with him have inextricably intertwined romance, chivalric duty, and the meaning of knighthood. (Nor, to be fair, should we ignore the fact that, according to Yandel, “[m]any of the folk of Tarth, highborn and low alike, claim descent from” Galladon of Morne, necessarily implying that Galladon had any number of romantic relationships that resulted in children.) Would Brienne compare her own desire to serve Renly as an expression of her love for him to, as it may have been, Dunk’s romantic devotion to Daella, framed and abetted by his service as a knight of the Kingsguard (when, indeed, he may have been sent specifically as her protector and sworn shield to Tarth)? Would Brienne understand where, perhaps, Dunk’s own romantic feelings toward Daella may have developed and evolved as his knightly service to her continue, when she, Brienne, had herself seen a notable change in her feelings toward Jaime as her quasi-knightly role with him progressed?

Moreover, all of the above speculation is without having a clear understanding of how the Tarths (much less anyone else in Westeros) remember Dunk (not to mention, for that matter, Daella). The presence of Dunk’s shield in the Evenfall Hall armory remains the only direct allusion to Dunk that we know of on Tarth today, a frustratingly vague reminder of his (presumed) time there. We have no idea what Brienne thinks of Dunk as a person (as opposed to simply the possessor, unidentified by her in the moment, of a shield she much admired as a child), much less as a person with a direct impact on the history of her House, and still less how the reputation of Dunk may have changed (or not) over the course of the better part of a century since he had, perhaps, lived there. Because we don’t know Brienne’s opinion of Dunk, we cannot at all say how such an opinion might be impacted by the revelation that Dunk fathered a child who would go on to (presumably) be one of Brienne’s grandparents. 

#asoiaf meta #tarth targaryen theory #brienne of tarth #duncan the tall

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

What makes you interested in book!Aegon? (didn't read the books)

Thank you for asking this anon!

There is a LOT I could say about book!Aegon. To start, I think if you haven't read F&B it's kind of hard to understand that even moreso than with ASOIAF, there are almost no "good" characters unless you count people who are the completely innocent victims of other characters' actions, so choosing a character to like isn't really some moral or ethical issue the way a lot of show fans seem to make it out to be. In the actual historical Anarchy, I 100% think Matilda was done dirty and should have been queen. She was usurped by one of her cousins, not a brother, a guy who wasn't even the oldest male of his family, and beyond being her father's choice, her legal claim was stronger and she was a pretty impressive woman in her own right. But Rhaenyra is no Matilda, and F&B as a whole just doesn't have any Brienne of Tarths, or even Robb Starks. Hell, it's even pretty low on Jaime Lannisters. The most social-justice minded character is a five year old bastard and his lesbian sex-worker mothers who try to put him on the throne. You have characters who do one good or heroic thing like Addam Velaryon, and characters who are blandly inoffensive, like Jacaerys, but they are not really compelling dynamic characters either. You also have a lot of really loathsome assholes. Book!Aemond, for instance, doesn't even have the childhood bullying backstory to soften him, he's just violent, and often a liability. Aegon is one of the very few characters who actually has a dynamic character arc and a few redeeming qualities. He changes over the course of the story, shows a lot of resilience and tenacity, and ultimately, what happens to him is tragic. (This is long, I'm sorry. I'm incapable of being concise on this topic and I honestly could have said even more. Also, book spoilers ahead, obiously).

Just to get it out of the way, the show did Aegon pretty dirty in adapting Mushroom's accounts about the "guttersnipes" selectively. Mushroom talks a LOT of shit, and the stuff he says about Rhaenyra is almost more abhorrent than the stuff he says about Aegon, and he was actually on her side. Is Aegon a good, decent, honorable guy? Not really. Aegon is written as a hedonist. He's a drinker, he's gluttonous, and he sleeps around. The more neutral non-Mushroom sources say that Aegon was handsy with the maids (not great, to be clear), and we know he has a couple of bastards and likely at least one paramour, but there's no really credible suggestion that book!Aegon is some serial rapist. Is it plausible that he could have been? Sure. I'll give the haters that, it's not a huge stretch to say a guy who was handsy with the maids might have taken other liberties, but I'll also say this: George does not have a problem outright stating that someone is a rapist or an abuser when that is his intent, even characters he likes (hell, book!Tyrion is explicitly written as a rapist and George loves him), but he did not have anyone but Mushroom say anything like this about Aegon. But Aegon's got a lot of vices, and they start pretty young. If we look at other Targaryens, drinking problems are pretty rampant. Aegon is also called "sullen," and "pouty" but Aegon is in a unique position. He's the eldest son, but his father chose his elder sister as heir, and this is pretty unheard of in this world, an eldest son who gets second son treatment. And unlike other second sons, like, say, Daemon, he doesn't even have an advantageous marriage arranged for him. Daemon might not have liked Rhea or wanted that marriage, but the point of it was to give Daemon holdings of his own and lands he could inherit so that he would not always be beholden to whomever sat the throne. There is just zero provision made for Aegon or his siblings' futures. Instead, Viserys (not Alicent) marries Aegon to his sister, sealing both Aegon and Helaena's fates. It means that when Rhaenyra becomes queen, he and Helaena will be entirely at her mercy, and will basically have to be charity cases, dependent on her continued willingness to support a brother that she hates, who poses a considerable threat to her rule, and his family of dragonriders, all of whom are legitimate unlike her older sons. And book!Rhaenyra is not a great person, the show softens her considerably (I won't get into Rhaenyra in this post because it's not about her, but I have Rhaenyra thoughts too), so there's really no indication that she'd do this. But, in spite of all this, Aegon is not particularly keen to take the throne. He does it because he becomes convinced his family's safety depends on it (and in my opinion, this is true, except taking the throne also, ironically, dooms them. This is a no-win situation for Aegon and his siblings).

Aegon is a reluctant king who is young and inexperienced and he makes mistakes, but he does his best to step up for the sake of his family. And he suffers greatly as a result. There's this idea that gets thrown around a lot that Aegon didn't care for his family, but there's really no suggestion of that in the book. Was he a hands on, present dad? Was he in love with Helaena? I mean, he's an alcoholic teen dad whose father made him marry his thirteen year old sister at sixteen, but he clearly did love his kids. Aegon is devastated by Blood and Cheese. He has to be stopped from immediately taking off on Sunfyre and storming Dragonstone and is forced to wait while Otto keeps trying to win supporters and make alliances. During this period Aegon "drinking and raging." He's upset. But when Helaena falls into depression and can't take care of Maelor due to the guilt of having chosen him to die, Aegon is the one who notices and puts Maelor into Alicent's care. And Otto's lack of decisive action after B&C is what leads to him firing Otto and naming Criston as Hand, and then Aegon joins battle himself and winds up horrifically injured as a result. And Aegon battles back from injuries that really should not have been survivable, which leave him in incredible pain. There are points he's begging for death, the pain is that bad, and no one really thinks he'll survive at first, but he does, he fights back, and when King's Landing falls he and his children are spirited away.

Where does that well of strength come from, if he doesn't have anything or anyone worth fighting for? He shows incredible resourcefulness and resilience, rehabilitates himself and his dragon, kicks milk of the poppy, and infiltrates Dragonstone, Rhaenyra's stronghold. And at what should be his moment of triumph, finally taking Dragonstone's keep, he's injured again by Baela, and his dragon, which he worked so hard to rehabilitate, dies after being wounded in that same battle. Aegon will live out the rest of his life disabled and with chronic pain. By the end he has lost nearly his entire family including both his sons, he's ill, he's drinking again, he's disabled, and he's got an entire clownshow of a council at each others' throats and pulling him this way and that, and still he doesn't give up. Then you get a lot of frankly ableist nonsense (again, mostly from Mushroom) about how Aegon was sitting on dragon eggs and watching other people fuck because he couldn't, there's a strong effort there in Gyldayn's narrative to build up his poisoning as being somewhat justified because Aegon was "not a well man," but it's tragic what happens to him.

Finally, and I might catch some slack for saying this, but in a war that is notably devoid mercy, book!Aegon is one of the few characters that shows any, even when he has every reason to be vengeful. Does he spare Rhaenyra? No. But she would not have spared him at that point either. He does spare Aegon III and Baela, some would argue to his own detriment. He spares Gaemon Palehair, and he grants Trystane Trufyre's last request to be knighted before he dies. His more ruthless actions are also relatively justified in the context of Westeros compared to some of the other completely wanton killings that we see from others in the Dance on both sides. Again, is he a great person? No. He's a impetuous young man with a lot of issues who was not raised for the throne, making some questionable decisions but also showing a lot of bravery, resilience, and yes, mercy.

And you know, just to get it out there, I've been accused of being a book purist and of being oh so above it all by anons before, but it's not that I think the book!Dance is really all that great. F&B has its problems too, and I know that if an adaptation were to follow it completely faithfully, it would not be a very good show. But Aegon is one of the more complex and interesting Dance characters, one of the few who is present and active until the end, and it's a pity that a lot of show watchers and wiki readers have written him off because how the show handled Aegon in season one. (tagging @aifsaath on this in case she'd like to share Aegon thoughts!)

#asks #aegon ii targaryen #fire and blood #hotd critical #kinda

[jb-smut-swap]

Getting Caught 🍆

The Glass Room by Weirwoo Brienne is hired to be an observer to a very unusual art exhibition featuring the famous contemporary artist Jaime Lannister.

No Better Time Than Now by KayJayTeal Selwyn expected his daughter to return home a changed woman.

He did not expect her to come back married ... and insatiable.

BT, Phone Home by angelowl Out of sight, out of mind, is usually how it works with Brienne. By design.

Her biological parents had sought to camouflage their only child to give her the best chance of survival in a distant galaxy.

Even if Jaime had been thinking of her, even if he could hold her in his mind for longer than most, it's not like anything could've ever come of it.

He can't ever know who she is, what she is. Not fully. And without trust, there can be no intimacy. Sexual or otherwise.

#jaime x brienne #braime #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #jb smut swap 2024

[alltheficsivereadsblog]

Braime (Jaime/Brienne) Master list 1

A close shave - ChocoNut E, 1k

Summary: Jaime wants a shave. He gets much more than that.

Now That You're Here - Lady_in_Red M, 8k

Summary: A woman's battle is in the birthing bed, where Jaime is helpless to protect those he loves.

Five times Jaime witnesses a birth.

When Jaime met Brienne... - ChocoNut T, 3k

Summary: Lord Selwyn, an ally of the Starks, sends his daughter to Winterfell to help her get over Renly who turns out to be no more than a one-dance wonder in her life.

When King Robert’s party arrives there at the same time, Brienne attracts a certain Kingslayer’s attention.

White - Lady_Blade_WarAngel M, 3k

Summary: Jaime and Selwyn talk, as Jaime fears that Brienne will die in childbirth with their latest addition. A Snowstorm begins and Brienne goes into labor early, leaving a heavy choice for her and Jaime to make.

Language of love - ChocoNut M, 1k

Summary: Jaime wants to ask his lady love to marry him. Only, he can’t bring himself to do it the conventional way.

The Morning - MonaThePoet M, 826

Summary: Brienne stirred first, following the first night she had ever laid with anyone.

New Dawn - miera M, 4k

Summary: What if Brienne woke up while Jaime was contemplating leaving Winterfell that night, and then the morning brought a new surprise for them both?

layers of tarnish - thebothsandneithers M, 7k

Summary: Brienne didn’t stop frowning at him. She had her hands braced against the doorframe, like she might need to physically bar him from entering.

Which she might. He wasn’t really supposed to show up at her house anymore. Apparently, a mobster prince knowing her address was bad for her health.

More than a night of passion - ChocoNut E, 2k

Summary: Jaime Lannister is no playboy. His reputation points to exactly the opposite. Nor is Brienne the type to jump into bed on impulse even if it involves the man she’s fancied for a while.

Rumors - ChocoNut E, 1k

Summary: Most rumours claimed he had fallen for the woman he had sacrificed his hand for. A handful insisted this was the doing of his loins, the frustration of not having been with a woman for this long.

Their speculation was he’d have his fill of her while it lasted before eventually returning to the one he loved.

take a chance on me - robotsdance T, 1k

Summary: Jaime is on his knees. Oathkeeper’s blade is under his chin. Brienne’s hand is steady.

Stay with me - justtrynawrite M, 1k

Summary: Jaime has a nightmare. Brienne helps him get over it.

Remember - ChocoNut T, 1k

Summary: Five times Brienne tries to jog Jaime's memory when he remembers nothing after the bricks collapse on him, and the one time she doesn't have to remind him.

Run away with me - ChocoNut E, 2k

Summary: Brienne struggles to change out of her hideous pink gown on their way back one night. Jaime steps in to assist her.

You are my knight - ChocoNut G, 2k

Summary: Hyle Hunt returns to Brienne’s life. Jaime obviously doesn't take it well.

Did I forget to post yesterday….yes! But it’s fine. If your here thanks so much would love to see you supporting future Masterlists as well!!!

#fanfic #ao3 #masterlist #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #got fanfiction #braime #jaime x brienne #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth #jaime x brienne fanfic #braime fic

[jozor-johai]

saw someone on reddit complaining that Dany's storyline in Slaver's Bay was a waste of time and so I'm just seeing red, obviously, but also inspired to rant for a second about it. Don't know where else to go off like this, so here.

so much of ASOIAF is about free will and independence.

The series opens on a Night’s Watchmen deserter being beheaded for his break away. The strict nature of the Night’s Watch makes for a great microcosm of the strict social rules of feudalism and the Free Folk are called free because they take no masters. Jon joins the Night’s Watch but is forever changed by understanding what “freedom” actually is taught by the Free Folk.

Jaime separating himself from Cersei, Jaime breaking his Kingsguard vows. Brienne breaking away from traditional femininity. Cersei feeling trapped by that same femininity.

Arya learning the passive bondage of smallfolk, smallfolk rising up and freeing themselves by force through the Sparrows and the Faith Militant.

and even the lack of free will in nobility! Robb is King but has no free will—he’s trapped by the rules of honor to marry Jeyne and he’s trapped by the rules of alliance to marry a Frey. Neither is his own choice in truth. Sansa, a noble, is trapped by invisible bonds in the Red Keep, and trapped by courtesy because a lady doesn’t go absolutely apeshit even if she wants to. Tyrion might have been acting Hand but gets forced into a marriage, too. Quentyn feels trapped by his obligation to his father.

And then the magical component! Bran skinchanges into Hodor, which is a personal slavery. The Others raise the armies of the undead—how much do the dead remember? Are they enslaved?

This entire series is about the many, many ways in which people do not have free will or else the ways they wrest that control for themselves. Of course actual, literal slavery should make an appearance, too. It’s incredibly thematically consistent at a core level.

#jozor thoughts #asoiaf meta