#brynden rivers is his own warning

[hollowwhisperings]

The Kids Are Alright: What's In "Blood Stew"?

In preparation for my efforts on crafting some Meera Reed meta & in support of my "Jojen Is Fine, Actually" post, I will be Preemptively Addressing the subject of "Blood Stew" in the Bran POV chapters in ADWD.

CW: spoilers for ASOIF & D&E, reference to cannibalism, hunting of animals (& probable extinction), logistics of meat production, harm to children, suicidal ideation (Jojen), arson (including to religious sites, i.e. Old Gods), possible xenocide, body horror (Brynden), cult behaviour & indoctrination, drugging & grooming of minors (Bran, by the Singers), blasphemy (consistent usage of religious terminology for an in-setting cult of faith).

Team "Cave Kids": Setting the Scene

Going into WoW, Team Bran (Bran, Summer, Walder, Meera & Jojen) will have lived as guests of the Cave Singers for near up to a year: their lodgings lay within a vast & labyrinthine underground cave system, crawling with weirwood tree roots from the Haunted Forest above, and home to More Skeletons Than A Natural History Museum. All the humans (& Summer) share sleeping quarters. Summer pops out to Hunt and Do Wolf Leader Things (GRRM has subscribed his direwolves to Ye Olde Alpha Wolfe society); Jojen Worries Meera and sometimes goes Exploring; Meera and Walder are more cautious in their movements, when Bran isn't Bodysnatching Walder for his own explorations; Bran himself is carried by Singers to & from the shared sleeping chamber to Brynden's Vertigo Cave for "Flying" Lessons.

This entire region is named by the ASOIAF Wiki as "the cave of the three-eyed crow": as I always do, I Take Issue With That Name (I got sidetracked enough to move my thoughts to a separate draft).

Instead, [Team Bran] are guests of the Singers living in "the Caves [Beneath the Haunted Forest]". The Cave Singers are Singers, not Children of the Forest, though I do use Bran & Meera's nicknames for individual Singers.

Brynden is just "Brynden": he was, once, "Lord Commander"; a "Lord Hand" twice-over; and a "Master of Whispers" both before & after his ever receiving the position "officially". More hilariously, Brynden is very definitely the Distant Cousin (mayhaps even a many-times great Uncle) of every living Stark in the series. All courtesy of one Lady Melantha Blackwood of Winterfell (and GRRM's continued Indifference to the maternal sides of family trees, To Be Doylist About It).

Bed & Breakfast

My Grievances with Non-Existent Titles, Leaf's Suspect Math & Unspecified Maternal Lineage aside, let us return to "blood stew".

"And almost every day they ate blood stew, thickened with barley and onions and chunks of meat. Jojen thought it might be squirrel meat, and Meera said that it was rat. Bran did not care. It was meat and it was good. The stewing made it tender." (Bran III, ADWD)

Jojen and Meera are probably both right, sometimes at the same time: Bran is aware of Summer's freely exit the caves to Hunt & Summer likely donates the odd "squirrel" (or pieces thereof) to the Cave Kitchens, when he can. The Supernaturally Colder climate induced by the Others does make Summer's hunting an unreliable food source, in the long run: what little game still remains in the Haunted Forest is unlikely to have any offspring to replace the current population. The ever diminishing returns of Summer's hunts are a major factor in his Direwolf Mother travelling South for her pregnancy in the first place. That she, a Giant Direwolf, somehow got as far South as Winterfell's Wolfswood? Brynden is in the neighbourhood and Invested in House Stark, if only in Bran & Jon: his "Divine Intervention" is the most plausible explanation. Directing a local direwolf to Stark lands is well within his canonically established capabilities (whether this was easier than Rigging Jon's Election is a Fun Thought Experiment).

Local vermin and Summer's potluck contributions alone could not sustain the Singers, let alone their (fragile!) human guests: it is a different sort of meat that makes up most of their Blood Stews, one Greatly Speculated upon and one of Shocking Audacity... so what is the primary ingredient of Blood Stew?

Cave Goat. :D

The Kids Are Alright

The Singers canonically keep Goats for milk, used for cheesemaking. The Singers themselves are Omnivorous (they eat mushrooms & fish) so they probably eat their goats too. Given that the Cave Settlement has existed for 1 million years (Leaf's Math, GRRM's lacking a sense of Scale), the Singers have had a long time to familiarize themselves with lactose tolerance & the butchering of goats for meat. These goats have likely lived alongside the Singers for a very long time: they're never mentioned leaving the Caves to (not) graze, meaning they too live entirely in darkness. Brynden might be called upon, now & then, to skinchange into wild Flock Queens from Above (googling "do goats have leaders" has informed me that goats are Matriarchal) & thus bring "Fresh Blood" to existing herds.

Speaking of Blood, the "blood" in Blood Stew is probably goat blood preserved after slaughter in That Most Ancient Form Of Sausage... black pudding. Blood spoils too quickly otherwise, even if the Singers have "freezers" in the form of cold caves. While GRRM never says as much, the Singers certainly have the means to "farm" salt to aid in meat preservation. There is at least one underground river in the Caves (the black one with blind fish) that is never specified as "salty" or "fresh". Assuming the Singers weren't just "mining" rock salt (solar evaporation would be Rather Difficult, what with the Complete Absence of Sunlight), the Caves almost certainly boast several brine springs.

The access to salt and [cold caves] enable the Singers to "stretch" each goat slaughtered, making them the most reliable source of meat. Given that the Singers personally tend to their goat herds, the "hygiene" of their goat meat makes the goats a much safer offering for their even the most fragile of their human guests (Bran & Jojen). Goats are safer for the Singers too: Leaf gives a population count of "three-score" for her people, and there any implications that they are an "aging population". Singers are small in size, limited in number and their mobility is likely decreasing. The "strength" of any individual Singer is never really expanded upon, beyond their ability to carry Bran around (which... doesn't really say much, given that he's a malnourished nine-year old) and historic difficulties facing humans head-on (bronze weapons & fire, yes, but larger sizes too). Slaughtering domesticated goats would be within the physical capabilities of the Singers we see moving around, hunting bigger (or more aggreesive) game would be Difficult unless Skinchanging was involved (keeping an animal docile enough to restrain and drug with shrooms, the skinchanger leaving before the actual slaughter).

So, shockingly, the "blood" in Blood Stew is just goat sausages (blood, intestines, grain & salt). The "hunks of meat" are Also Goat, for the most part, with Summer's hunts and local vermin (rats, bats, probably not ravens, any safe-for-humans bugs).

Supplementary Protein

Fish are another source of "meat": the Caves have at least one river, home to blind white fish eaten by both Singers & their human guests (differentiating "fish" from game meat would be difficult, given the primary goatiness & the "Stone Soup" vibe of any communal stew).

As Meera speculated, any vermin capable of surviving the supernatural cold, are likely additional ingredients for "Blood Stew". Vermin would be an issue in the Caves, drawn to the Singers having grain stores (oats and barleycorn): these are cold climate crops, making them farmable even This Far North (barley doesn't freeze to death 'til -8° C) though how the Singers could grow these crops in their Caves can only be Handwaved By Magic (For Safety Reasons, skylights or aboveground gardens are Unlikely). That or the Singers used ravens to facilitate Trade with freefolk, when they still lived in the area (the lands of the Thenns are North-West of the Haunted Forest). Magic ravens migjt even be foraging wild grain on the behalf of the Singers: they are fey folk, even without their keeping (stealing) the odd human to act as their personal Eldritch God-Tree Wizard.

The ravens themselves can probably be ruled out as ingredients in Blood Stew: these ravens are Sapient and Divine Envoys besides. There's also the IRL precedent of corvids Holding Grudges: incurring the Wrath of the local avian hivemind would be Enormously Stupid of the Singers. The Murders vastly outnumber the Singers, making peaceful relations Rather Important. Ravens that die prematurely or of injuries (not of sickness: fragile humans are fragile, after all) might be "Fair Game" but, knowing GRRM, the Cave Ravens are probably cannibalistic carrions.

The Cave Ravens would be much more relaxed by Singers harvesting their eggs, outside Mating Season at least. All birds eat their own eggs, making them less "taboo" than one might think. Eggs function as "external food storage" for birds, adults eating unfertilized eggs they lay & babies eating their way out from the egg they hatch from. I could not speculate on how Singers prefer their eggs: in Blood Stew, I could only guess that raven egg yolk would help in "tendering" the goat blood sausages after cold storage.

For all the food sources available to the Singers, the Blood Stews being served "almost everyday" does indicate that Rationing is at play: a Long Night looms and exhausting any food source means losing that food source permanently. Goats, fish, Summer's donations, raven eggs (&/or ravens), vermin and bugs make up the actual "meat" in Blood Stew. The general confusion of the humans as to what their meat is may be further muddled by some "hunks" actually being mushrooms or cheese.

But Humanitarianism!

While zombies are an Awkwardly Plausible Convenience (Coldhands has killed Night's Watch deserters in the vicinity of the Caves & wights were Hidden in the snow surrounding one of its entrances)... consider the state of these wights. The vast majority are rotting, even in the supernaturally cold temperatures and, since Freefolk traditionally burn their dead, the wights that are reanimated likely died in Unsavoury Manners. Even "fresh" or "preserved" corpses are quickly riddled with Unappetizing bacteria and insects. The frozen wights are old, the murdered or forgotten, and all of them Decidedly Unhygienic. Human wights might be safe enough for carrion birds or even the Singers themselves... but they are not safe for their human guests.

Consider the Efforts, the Sacrifices, that enabled Bran's getting to the Singers at all: even with Brynden's "Divine Intervention" (getting the Starklings bodyguards in the form of direwolves, prompting their awakenings as Wargs; encouraging Jojen & thus Meera to meet Bran at Winterfell; bidding Coldhands to save Sam & Gilly, enabling easier passage North via Creepy Eldritch Door, on time to give the kids a "Lift" on his Great Elk), the likelihood of Bran dying was always higher than his surviving. Readers know Bran has Plot Armour but, in-universe, his continued survival has been costly. Getting Bran safely to the Singers was an expensive undertaking, one requiring a great many moving pieces (some of them arguably "moved" before Bran was even born: each Starkling held Potential, some moreso than others, and none of their parents were originally intended for each other).

It is almost certain that Bran was not the first child Brynden Lured North: popular fanon names Euron Greyjoy as an "abandoned" attempt, whilst Jojen was canonically [granted audience? scouted?] only to be "ruled out" (being "only" a greendreamer, Jojen was instead used to Better Bran's Odds of Survival).

While greendreamers and skinchangers are Statistical Anomalies, with persons who are Both being even rarer, Westeros is large enough that having a handful of potential greenseers within generations of each other is a Fair Estimate. No, the issue is the Rarity of Potential Greenseers AND the deadly nature of any "pilgrimage". That only Brynden and Bran are ever named seems to indicate that their managing both trials makes them "worthy" of Reverance, even before "earning" the title of "greenseer". That Bran survived was miraculous and, indeed, Brynden certainly worked "Overtime" in his Acts of Divine Intervention. Even then, Bran (& Jojen's) survival was very much dependent on Summer and Meera's presence in the group: the Singers owe every single member of Team Bran a debt, all of them serving vital roles in getting them a Shiny New God-Tree for their collectiom.

What does Divine Intervention and Debts of Hospitality have to do with Blood Stew, with an "Exciting" Opportunity for Hypothetical "Humanitarianism"?

Simple: Bran is too important to the Singers for them to Risk his health by their serving "Bad Meat". Imagine going to such great lengths to find a Fresh Godling, the relief that This Godling survived to meet his destiny... only for their Godling to get killed by food poisoning.

"And They Were Roommates"

The only meal noted as being Separately Prepared for any of the humans is Bran's Weirwood Paste: what one of them eats, all of them eat. That means that one of the humans getting sick (Jojen being the most susceptible), risks all of them catching ill. While each of the humans does "disappear" now and then, exploring or generally doing their own thing, the extreme cold of their environment (their extended time traumabonding with each other) means that they all share the same sleeping chamber. They share furs, body heat, breath.

While the Singers could very easily isolate the humans from each other (if only for quarrantine purposes), keeping them together is "safer": the humans would recognise sickness or distress in each othed before the Singers could and the humans already know how to take care of each other. The Singers being Good Hosts is in their best interests, not only in currying favour with their new god-in-training but also to ensure said godling survives to do any "Ascending".

Children Are Fragile: Why "Bad Meat" Isn't An Option

Grand Futures of Kingship & God-Treehood aside, at this point in time, Bran Stark is nine-years old. Human children, even Super Magical Starklings, are still children. And children are fragile.

Bran is still recovering from Attempted Murder, with his injuries limiting his independent mobility in ways his society cannot truly accomodate (not as a Prince of Winterfell & definitely not as a half-frozen cave kid). An inability to walk isn't the greatest danger of Bran's disabilities: thermoregulation of half his body is. Bran's friends are better able to recognise Bran's symptoms of physical distress than Bran is, than the Singers could. The humans also have greater strength and mobility: the Singers only seem to have three fingers on each hand and, while Bran is unlikely to grow much bigger given his environment, he will be getting some growth spurts soon. It's unknown how long Bran is expected to need "training" from Brynden, how long he will be carried to & from the communal sleepchamber and his weirwood throne. The Singers might just Graft Bran to his Throne once he's too big for them to safely carry but, again, there is no timeline given for Bran's progress. Better to keep "Hodor" about, thinketh the much tinier Singers.

Jaime's Murder Attempt also put Bran into a prolonged coma, one he was Fortunate to awaken from. That Bran has not exhibited any of the more "inconvient" (or dangerous) consequences of a longterm coma is almost certainly Brynden's "Divine Intervention" at work. Surprising lack of cognitive issues (temporary or longlasting) aside, Bran's coma & his subsequent state of "perpetual bedrest" has left his body much weaker the average child. He's already malnourished, traumatised and struggling to stay warm: Bran getting sick, even a "minor" sickness like a cold or bout of mild food poisoning? That could kill him.

Even if Bran doesn't die from an illness, recovery would be Difficult in such as a Hostile Environment: it is cold, it is dark (no sunlight whatsoever), and [Food Insecurity] is an ongoing reality. If a person is already physically weakened, minor illnesses can very easily escalate into more serious ones. There are no Maesters, no Medicine Women for Bran. The Singers have magic bit they are fey while Bran is (at present) terrifyingly mortal. Keeping Bran alive means keeping him healthy and doing that requires keeping the Other Humans 'healthy" too: serving the "spares" Questionably Sourced Meat is against the Best Interests of the Singers, their Investment in Keeping Bran Alive.

(For now, at least.)

The Jojen Problem

The terrifying fragility of their Future God-King aside, a more "immediate" danger to the continued existence of the Cave Singers is Jojen Reed: that is, Jojen's consistent lack of good health.

Bran was a healthy child who became very vulnerable very suddenly: Jojen, meanwhile, has been "sickly" for Years. Not only is Jojen "small" for his age (14-ish), he is often described as "shaking". IRL, people get tremours for any number of reasons, and comorbid conditions are not unusual. There is valid reason to view Jojen's "shakes" as symptoms of an ongoing, chronic health condition. Jojen might have a chronic illness, lasting side effects from the fever that nearly killed him, and he's had ample opportunity to acquire some [head trauma] over the series. Jojen's "shaking fits" may also be his physiology "teaming up" with psychological trauma: muscular twitches from the stress of hypervigilance, shakiness borne of anxiety & stress, atypically expressed panic attacks (that can resemble seizures in their physicality).

While Jojen's Ambiguous Disorders are decidedly non-contagious (going by IRL counterparts), Jojen's predisposition to "sickliness" makes him just as vulnerable to Death By Minor Illness as Bran, if not moreso given Jojen's Current Psychological State.

The Terrifying Fragility of Jojen Reed

Jojen, for Very Justified Reasons, is Very Depressed. Depression, in fiction & IRL, makes people more susceptible to catching illnesses and makes recovery more difficult. That is true even when a person is not deliberately enabling (or passively "allowing") an illness to harm them.

Jojen "this is not the day I die" Reed is exhibiting every sign of suicidal ideation that Bran, his friend & fellow fragile tiny human, can pick up on. Meera, the Designated Adult of Team Bran at the wise old age of 17 & Jojen's big sister, has become genuinely concerned that Jojen's (passive) Death Wish has become an Active one.

Jojen has long believed that he is Functionally Immortal outside of Greywater Watch: his very first Greendream was, after all, a vision of his own Death. It's not unreasonable to suspect that said Death Dream is a recurring one, that Present Circumstances (Brynden's Body Horror, the complete lack of sunlight) have Exacerbated the frequency of Jojen's Dreaming of Death. Fans of The Song greatly enjoy speculating on Jojen's Inevitable Demise, many assuming he is Already Dead. This is based on his last "appearance" being Bran noting Jojen's Absence: fans fail to extend this state of Already Dead to the Also Absent Meera.

(My tinfoil has One of The Reeds Finding Something while Exploring, grabbing their sibling so as to Convene Privately Elsewhere, & that together they have begun to Conspire An Escape)

If Jojen were to Die Prematurely, far from his Destined Death at Greywater Watch... there goes Meera Reed's Entire Motivation for Being Here, in this Far Away Frozen Helscape.

Meera, obligatory loyalty to House Stark aside, has stated that her primary incentive to follow Bran, to Go North and remain there while Bran [gets made into a tree-wizard]... was to save Jojen from his Death Wish.

Reasons to Fear Meera Reed

Meera is the "healthiest" of all the humans in Team Bran: she's able-bodied, physically mature (short, yes, but strong), lethal with a net & spear... and the primary caregiver of everyone in their group.

Summer (2 y/o) helps, with scouting and hunting and bodyguarding. Walder (17 or older) helps, kind and physically powerful. Jojen (14 y/o) helped, with Uncanny Wisdom and foresight and faith in Bran. Bran (9 y/o) is, of course, the Designated Hero of his chapters (this is Greatly Limited by his being only nine-years old).

Meera (17-ish) did all that and more. Meera hunted, guarded, scouted, foraged, killed, climbed... and did so as a non-magical human, relying on her experience as a crannogmen and her Father's Daughter.

Meera keeps up morale and tells [Very Helpful] Stories, leads where Walder and the children cannot, posseses Common Sense & life experience, mediates when the children are fighting (scolds them for taking their frustrations out on each other), senses Social Danger that Summer might miss, skins prey & butchers it (ensuring none of it goes to waste). Meera is a survivalist, one canny of the Old Ways, a "Modern" example of why the First Men so successfully survived in Westeros.

And the Singers of the Cave are Old. They Know the capabilities of Humans, the single greatest threat the Singers have ever known. The Singers Remember: the Pact, the 4000 years of war before it; the First Men, their axes; the Andals, their iron & blasphemy. The Singers know Human as Invaders and Desecrators and (sometimes) Allies. The Singers also "know" the Consequences of a Human who FeelsToo Much.

Humans, historically, have Little Issue with Seeings Things Burn. Humans, it seems, will respond to Any Strong Emotion with Bronze or Iron or Fire.

Cold? A Human will find a Tree and set it on fire.

Hungry? A human will Kill Something and heat it... over fire.

Dead? Other humans gather, collect the deceased, set the body on fire.

Grieving? A human will find iron, demand answers, find you. And should your "Answers" prove unsatisfactory? Humans will set fire to YOU, your settlement, your Gods.

Meera is very, very "human". She is the most human of her group: Bran is, of course, a God-Tree sapling; Jojen is Greensighted, not long for his human flesh and soon to join You in the Trees; the one called "Hodor" reminds You of the Giants, long ago foes and more recent allies but all but a few Gone to the Earth.

(Summer is a Direwolf.)

Meera is the Single Greatest Threat to the Cave Singers, who believe themselves the "last" of their people. Meera is a Consiserable Threat to the Last Greenseer, whom she has grown to Suspect and Resent. Meera does not, at least, carry on her person any axe (she wields spear and net and shield).

Meera can definitely start a fire. Meera would willingly start a Fire, a pyre for her brother built from the Last Greenseer himself. Meera would gladly burn out the Last of the Singers, for Vengeance and as Sacrifices to stay the suit of wights (of Others) as she Flees South and homeward (taking your Prince, your Shiny New God-Tree, the Last Hope of your People with her for spite alone).

That's All, Folks!

So, no: "Blood Stew" is not made from people. It is not made of Jojen or Meera, it is Goat and Vermin and Bugs. It is occasionally made with Squirrels. The "blood" is black pudding, goat's blood and intestines salted to ensure no goat goes to waste: their hides and furs warm the children, their blood and flesh sustains them, their cheese enables their exercising in philosophy. Wights are just too dangerous, to hunt or serve for supper: Bran (& Jojen) cannot be risked for the sake of morbid convenience. Live humans are right out, too much bigger and stronger than the Singers, or too dearly missed by The Scariest Being North of The Wall.

The Kids are Alright (the human ones, anyway).

#valyrianscrolls #asoiaf theories #jojenpaste #blood stew #the last greenseer #i can't believe it's not cannibalism! #why are song fans so obsessed with oblivious humanitarianism #i googled things i never wanted to google in factchecking this #i am not a medical professional nor involved in the food industry #jojen reed meta #meera reed meta #bryndenpaste #to get in the mindset of writing this required me to think like a fey folk #cw cannibalism #cw food #cw suicidal ideation #cw body horror #brynden rivers is his own warning #i am weirdly more sympathetic to brynden after spending so much time in Leaf POV #singers of the earth #cotf meta #three-eyed crow is not a title #life beyond the wall #walder is hodor's actual name #just like brynden is the three-eyed crow's actual name and bran is the winged wolf's #sci-fi writers have no sense of scale #i have cut enough meta while drafting this post to make two more posts #but mostly i just want to never have to discuss “humanitarianism” ever again #guest right #crud i forgot to consider whether guest right would be as strongly respected by singers as by first men

[moondancer71]

A collaboration fic with @arielchelby​

AN: We are nearly done with this chapter, so we thought it would be fun to share a sneak peek. Jon meets some new friends 🤭👀. 

Jon emerged from the flames at the entrance of the Cave of the Three-Eyed Raven. Located beyond the Wall, the Fates domain resided below a towering weirwood concealed by magic, its existence known only to the Children of the Forest and the Lord of the Dead. The cave was a labyrinth, consisting of smaller caves and tunnels which interconnect and lead back to the main cavern.  

Though the cave lied outside of Castle Black’s borders, no natural light streamed through. With a wave of his hand, Jon created a blue fire ball in his palm to illuminate the path to the main cave. The withered bones of ravens and Children of the Forest that litter the tunnel grounds crunched beneath Jon’s feet as he made toward the cave. The roots of the weirwood clung to the walls in twisted webs, slender fingers reaching toward their master, trapped in a cage of his own making.  

At the cave's entrance, he could see the smattering of torches lining the tunnel and he extinguished his blue flame. The torchlight created macabre shadows of the giant skulls embedded within the walls.  

The three Fates resided at the center of the cave. Brynden Rivers, or Bloodraven as he was now called, Maggy the Frog and the Ghost of High Heart. Encased in his throne of weirwood roots, Bloodraven appeared more tree than man. A murder of ravens are perched on the bone white bark. His milk-white skin and blood red eyes seemingly glow in the darkness and his long-white hair hangs loose, covering the wineskin birthmark on the right side of his face. 

“Good evening, Your Grace. You received our raven?” Bloodraven smirked. 

Jon fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes. I hope it’s important. As you well know, I have many duties to attend to.”

The Ghost of High Heart was a small, old woman and similar to Bloodraven she has long white hair, pale skin, and red eyes. “Your Grace, you should be kinder to my dear friend, Jenny. She is haunted by the grief and sorrows of Summerhall, as am I, yet you punish her for it,” she said, her frail hands gripping the handle of her black cane. 

Jon scoffed. “I’d like to send her to her final resting place along with the monsters haunting my castle. If you can tell me how, I’d gladly free her of this torment.” 

“Monsters are your territory, Your Grace,” Maggy laughed, a wicked gleam in her charcoal rimmed eyes. Unlike Bloodraven and the Ghost of High Heart, Maggy was youthful, her honey-brown hair cascading down her shoulders, her brown dress forming to her curves.  

He felt ire rise. “Is this why I’ve been summoned? You intend to scold me for banishing a singing maiden?!” 

“Careful, Your Grace,” the Ghost of High Heart warned. “You forget where you are and to whom you are speaking to.” 

Jon bowed his head. “Apologies.” The Fates’ powers were tied to the King of the Underworld, their greensight permitting them to guide the past, present, and future of the mortal realm. Careful, fool, their knowledge of magic and death far exceeds your own. 

“Enough,” Bloodraven bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls causing the ravens to scatter their caws reverberating through the space. “The Queen is still mortal,” Bloodraven continued. “She has not eaten from the pomegranate.” 

Jon studied the floor. “It’s more complicated than I imagined,” Jon lamented. “She’s frightened and I cannot force her to eat the fruit.”

“She will eat the fruit,” the Ghost of High Heart intoned. “The Old Gods have not let me rest. I dream of two unhappy sons and a cruel father who’s time should have long since passed. I see a cloud looming over the land, one that grows darker with each year that passes. The Old Gods demand payment. They want their Bride of Fire.” 

“Yes,” Bloodraven said, leaning forward, his fingers curling over his handrests. “We gave you the pomegranate for King Aerys as you promised us a bride for the Underworld. Men forget the promises they make, but the trees remember.” 

“I’ve not forgotten. The debt will be paid. I just need more time,” Jon pleaded. 

“You shall have it, Your Grace,” Bloodraven replied, leaning back into his chair. “However, bear in mind that though we Fates control the threads of time, our patience is not endless. Time is fleeting for mortals, just like the winter snows that I can see your sister chasing after your brothers in.”  

Jon’s heart dropped at the mention of his siblings, but he pressed forward, unwilling to show the Fates his fear.  “I understand. Am I free to leave?” 

Bloodraven laughed. “None of us are free, Your Grace. We serve the Gods and we are bound to our duty to maintain the balance between life and death. But you may leave.” 

“Your Grace,” Maggy called, halting Jon’s steps. “I can tell you your future and that of your Queen’s.” She slunk over to him, dark eyes full of mischief. 

Jon hesitated. Despite the immense power he wields, the mage's dark magic makes him weary. Yet, after Daenerys refused to eat the fruit last night, he’s afraid that this might all be for naught and that he’s subjected them both to a life of misery. “Fine,” he relented. “Tell me what will become of Daenerys and me.”

#jonerys #jonerys fanfic #jonerys fanfiction #moon and ariel write #lure me to hell #fic teaser #also its REALLY hard to write a scene with more than 2 people 😅🤣

[dreaminonao3]

Fictober 02 - "Don't worry, I got you." - Brynden/Alysanne

Fandom: pre-ASOIAF

Rating: T

Warnings: None

Supportive (AO3)

“Don’t worry, I got you,” Alysanne Stark assured her boyfriend.

Brynden Rivers chuckled as he tied his scarlet necktie. “I’m not nervous. It’s not as if I haven’t met them before.”

“Bullshit. Yes, you’ve met them, several times, but this is the first time you’re sharing a meal with them as their daughter’s boyfriend. The context is completely different.” She playfully batted his hands away then finished the knot for him. “You face down an army of reporters without flinching, but having dinner with my parents scares you shitless.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is it wrong to want their approval?”

Alysanne rolled her eyes. “If that’s what this is about, you already have it. They both love you.”

“Yes, for helping your father with the Iron Islands situation, but this is different.”

“Mum already considers you part of the family, and Dad respects you more than just about anyone.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, murmuring, “Relax, Brynden. You’ll be fine. After all, you already won over the hardest person – me.”

Brynden grinned as he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re right, and I fight that battle daily.”

She opened her mouth to protest and he silenced her with a kiss.

*

“So, Brynden, have you and Aly talked about the future?” Lorra Stark, Duchess of Winterfell, asked as casually as she could. They were at the most expensive restaurant in London, at Brynden’s insistence.

Alysanne rolled her eyes. Mum is anything but subtle.

Brynden choked a bit on the sip of wine he had just taken. “Er, nothing specific,” he said once he had cleared his throat.

“Lorra, don’t pry,” Beron Stark muttered before cutting off another piece of his steak. The duke was not nearly as interested in his children’s love lives as his wife, though it was obvious Alysanne was the exception – his pondering gaze kept going between Alysanne and Brynden through the entire dinner so far.

“But,” Brynden went on, “that’s not to say I’m not thinking about the future. In fact, I was hoping to win your approval tonight … and your blessing for when I ask Alysanne to marry me.”

It was Alysanne’s turn to choke on her wine. She stared at him wide-eyed. “What?!”

Lorra’s face lit up. “How wonderful! Of course you have our blessing, Brynden!”

Beron nodded. “There isn’t a better man alive for our Aly.”

“We haven’t even talked about marriage…” Alysanne said weakly.

Brynden gave her a smile that was somewhere between amused and sympathetic. “Are you turning me down before I’ve even proposed?”

She found herself rising to the challenge in his eye. “Propose to me properly, and I mean properly, and then you’ll have your answer, Bloodraven.”

“You heard her, she brought out the alias,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve really put a foot in it now. Pray for my survival, my friends.”

“You’re on your own there, Brynden,” Lorra said, smirking. “I’ve learned never get in front of Aly when she’s on a rampage.”

“Thank you, Mum,” Alysanne muttered before turning to Brynden. “Do you have any idea how exasperating you are?”

He smirked. “Of course – you tell me daily.”

She couldn’t help smiling back. “Just so you’re aware.”

*

His proper proposal came a week later and Alysanne gave him the only answer she could.

“Yes.”

#fictober23 #asoiaf #pre asoiaf #brynden rivers #alysanne stark #brynden x alysanne

[sebeth]

Targaryen Kinslayers

Warning, Spoilers Ahead for the World Of Ice And Fire, Fire & Blood, and House of the Dragon...

Westeros has a long-held taboo against kinslaying: “No man is so accursed as the kinslayer”. Valyrians don’t seem to have a same belief.  Let’s look at our wacky Targaryens:

Visenya – rumored to be involved in Aenys’ death

Maegor – killed Aegon the Uncrowned, at least one other of Alyssa’s sons, several of his wives (Alys, Tyanna of the Tower) and Alys’s entire family. Maegor’s cause of death is unknown but if he was murdered by one of his wives then he became a victim of kinslaying.

Jaehaery’s reign manages to escape without any kinslaying.

The following Targaryens died in the Dance of the Dragons as a direct result of kinslaying:

1.       Lucerys Velaryon

2.       Rhaenys Targaryen Velaryon

3.       Aemond Targaryen

4.       Daemon Targaryen

5.       Rhaenyra Targaryen

Many Targaryens died in the Dance because of the actions of other Targaryens – so indirect kinslaying?

Viserys II Targaryen was rumored to be poisoned by Aegon IV – his own son. Aegon IV also tried his best to kill his Nerys, his wife, with constant pregnancies.

The Great Bastards (minus Shiera) did their best to kill each other in battles. Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers killed Daemon Blackfyre and three to five of his nephews.

Maekar Targaryen unintentionally killed his brother, Baelor Breakspear, in a trial by combat.

Fans have speculated Aerys II (the Mad King) had a hand in the destruction of Summerhall. If true, he may surpass Maegor the Cruel as the premier kinslayer of the Targaryen dynasty.

Daenerys stood aside as her husband killed her brother (not judging her as Viserys was a clear danger, simply listing an instance of kinslaying).

All that in less than 300 years in Westeros. Its both odd an amusing that kinslaying is such a taboo that Tywin Lannister – master of mass murder and moral atrocities – won’t cross that line and Targaryens are “Is it really that big of a deal?”

#asoiaf #game of thrones #hotd #house of the dragon #fire & blood #house Targaryen #targaryens

[ficsilike-reblogged]

Blood in the Rivers: VIII

A/N: I apologize for the wait (again). Thank you to everyone who read, liked, reblogged, and commented on the last chapter. And thank you for all the shenanigans about dogs and unicorns last night. You all make me smile

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x Ellaria Sand x F!Reader (Tully)

Rating: T - mentions of death, unhealthy coping mechanisms, my continued overuse of italics

Word Count: 9.2k (Don’t look at me)

Read Chapters I-VII here! Or on Ao3!

Chapter Eight: Pockets Full of Pebbles

“Raise your elbow.”

The bow was a bit too big for her little hands, even if it had been specially made just for her. But she did as her father bid and tried to focus on the target just a few feet away in the courtyard outside the keep’s armory.

“Perfect. Now loose.”

The arrow soared through the air and hit the side of the target. A shrieking giggle soon erupted from her throat as her father’s strong arms wrapped around her waist and hoisted her into the air.

“You are a natural, my darling girl! My little warrior!” His smiling lips pressed a kiss against her cheek as she continued to laugh.

“Oh, Brynden. You will have her running wild if you continue,” Vaella said, fondness in her tone betraying her love for her husband and child.

Brynden adjusted his grip on Y/N so he could hold her a little closer, little legs wrapping around his waist, and he pressed another kiss to Y/N’s cheek. “She is already wild. Aren’t you, Y/N?”

There were few rivers in Dorne. The Tullys drew their strength from the river, and it was to the river they returned when their lives had run their course. But the nearest was too far. She would not delay his soul’s rest any more than necessary. “All rivers lead to the sea, darling girl,” her father had once said. So, the Summer Sea was her only choice. It wasn’t the muddied rivers around Riverrun. It wasn’t The Trident in The Vale where her father had laid her mother to rest. “All rivers lead to the sea,” she repeated her father’s words.

She barely remembered filling a small boat with kindling and stones and small slips of parchment before carefully placing her father’s head inside, atop the makeshift body she’d made from rolls of black fabric and straw.

She would never recover the rest of his body. There had been a note shoved behind his teeth: his body was fed to a caged bear at Harrenhal. Another desecration. Oberyn had matched it by having Ilyn’s body hacked to pieces.

The words of a familiar prayer slipped by her lips as she finished, hoping his soul would find rest in the Seven Heavens and that he would be reunited with her mother. “Goodbye, papa.” The words were strangled in her throat.

Ellaria quietly stepped to her side. Oberyn soon followed. Harmen and Daisy took their places, too. Without a word, they each placed a hand on the boat and helped shove the small tender out onto the gentle waves of the sea. Her heart was in her throat as she watched it start to pull away from the shore and then Daemon was there, handing her the bow and arrow. Y/N nocked the arrow with her bandaged hand and murmured a quiet ‘thank you’ to an injured-but-healing Trystane as he lit the end, letting it blaze with orange fire. A steadying breath is all she gave herself before she pulled the bow taut with perfect posture, just like her father taught, and let it loose. The arrow hit the boat and it erupted in flames. Her hands shook as she finally let the bow drop to her side. The stitches on her palm had torn. She didn’t feel it. Blood dripped onto the sand.

The boat drifted away and she watched until it sunk beneath the water.

**

The Realm had descended into chaos. Myrcella and her Lannister guards had disappeared the night Ilyn had tried to kill Trystane and Doran. Westerland armies tried to cross the Red Mountains into Dorne on the Prince’s Pass but were largely pushed back by the House Fowler armies. House Yronwood raised their banners and fortified the Bone Way, waiting for the Lannisters to try again.

Y/N had been wordlessly invited to join Oberyn, a healing Doran, and the lords and ladies of Dorne who had been at the Water Gardens for the feast and never left. All of them were calling for retaliation. For war. The men and women sequestered in the cooled undercroft serving as a war room did not bat a lash when she joined them. Some even voiced their approval for her plans, stating that she was a natural tactician, “a woman after Princess Nymeria’s own heart!” It almost made her smile. It was a small solace, to know that her opinion was valued enough to earn a seat at the table.

But it had kept long hours. Longer still when she would hide away in Sunspear’s grand library, poring over centuries-old texts about the Red Keep or Casterly Rock, trying to find some slip of information that could be used as a tool against the Lannisters. It had almost become some sort of sad little game to wonder who would be sent in to ask her back to bed.

“You are falling asleep in your seat,” Sansa would say. “Go to bed.”

“You look ill. You will be ill if you do not sleep,” Arya would grumble.

"You must sleep, My Tully,” Ellaria would whisper as she would gently massage the back of her neck. “Come lay with me.”

And sometimes it would work. But sometimes she would wave them on. But she found a surprising companion. Obella, not yet seventeen, quietly helped her find books in the library and show Y/N her own findings—mostly battle formations that had faded from common knowledge but would be brutally efficient. They came to a soft companionability, taking turns to bring food and hot tea to the library when the night grew dark or relighting candles that snuffed themselves out.

“Why do you come here?” Y/N finally asked after their fifth night together.

“I cannot wield a sword like Obara or a bow like you—or even a lance like Elia. But I do want to help.”

She said it with such conviction that it fractured a part of Y/N’s already broken heart. She only nodded and pushed a steaming cup of tea toward her with a sad sort of smile. “You’re helping more than you know.”

Obara, Elia, and Arya were her companions at the training grounds. The two Sand Snakes seemed to innately know the anger that had infested her bloodstream and would silently bandage Y/N’s fingers when she would rub them raw with overuse against the string of her bow.

She was a fine archer and Obara had taken it upon herself to find Y/N a Martell guard who preferred the short blades she was more comfortable with to help her train with those as well.

Her hand ached. She pulled the stitches from her skin on her own, too early for the ugly, jagged wound to be fully healed. But she did it anyway in the dead of night, tired of feeling the scratch of the knots against her palm. Obara said nothing when she saw the messy work when she bandaged Y/N’s hand the morning after

Obara would stand behind her father’s chair when she cared to attend the war stratagem but largely kept to the training grounds with their cavalry and infantry.

Time had turned strange. Days and nights melting into each other without any sort of rest. Tracking the date had not been a necessity or want. She simply needed to do all she could to help. To train. To lend her voice at the stratagem meetings. She could rest later.

Just before one of these meetings Y/N noticed a shaking servant, holding a crumpled missive in his hands. The seal of the Tyrells was broken at the edge. The poor soul looked like he was headed toward the gallows. “I’ll take it for you,” she murmured.

The servant mumbled a quiet but reverent “thank you, Princess,” before all but shoving it into her hand and then pulling open the heavy door to let her in. Her thumb slid beneath the broken seal and she quickly scanned the words, stomach curling with each line of ink

Oberyn noticed the fright on her face within a moment. “What is it, my moonlight?” He asked and pressed a kiss to her cheek before she handed him the letter.

She was thankful that only Doran was present when Oberyn’s beautiful face slid into something monstrous as he read. He curled his fist around the letter as Doran lifted his head from the pile of missives from far-off Lords from the east coast of Dorne, keeping him abreast of any movement or changes in scheme they needed to employ. “Oberyn?”

“Myrcella and her guards washed up in Blackwater Bay.”

“And the Lannisters think we had a hand in it?”

“According to Olenna Tyrell, yes; Cersei thinks we killed Myrcella and she wants all of our heads on spikes.” Oberyn threw the remnants of the warning onto the table with a snarl.

While Y/N knew she would pray for the little princess’ soul to be carried off into the Seven Heavens when she was alone that night, her mind quickly turned toward how they would deal with this newest development. “They must have sailed near the Stepstones. Pirates and raiders-"

“The Lions do not care for logic, my moonlight. They have deemed us guilty.”

Her gut churned. She wanted blood, yes. But not Myrcella’s—not the innocent.

Before any other arguments or plans could be made—the door burst open and Elia was careening into the room, out of breath and dark eyes wild. “Ships! Greyjoy and Stark banners!”

Y/N scarcely recalled leaping up the stairs or dashing through the fortress and out into the dying sunlight to see the ships on the horizon—swathes of grey fabric and black wood rising from the waves like the Deep Ones of legend. Small tenders were already in the sea and rowing toward the shore. One of them had tied a bit of white fabric to their bow.

“Should we trust them?” Y/N asked.

Oberyn, at her back, sighed. “The Starks have not betrayed us yet. Remains to be seen with the Greyjoys.”

**

The fortress was abuzz with movement as the Northmen settled into their temporary lodging Sunspear was providing (the Ironborn loudly voiced that they’d rather row back out to their ships for rest). Battle plans were being drawn and redrawn. Alliances and promises made.

Y/N learned that after the Boltons had tortured and killed Theon as they took over Winterfell, Yara sent a raven to Robb. He would help her claim the throne of the Iron Islands against the claim of her uncle, Euron, in exchange for drawing the Boltons out beyond Winterfell’s walls so Robb’s men could attack them from behind and finally reclaim Winterfell and wipe out the Bolton line. They both had vengeance with the act and gained an ally.

The North was once again under the rule of House Stark. But Y/N could not delight in that bit of happy news as word was sent that Yara Greyjoy required a private audience with Y/N.

Daemon rowed her out to the Black Wind and promised to stay until she personally told him to go or she came back out to the tender to be taken back to Sunspear. “I would not have you languishing with the Ironborn longer than necessary, my lady,” he muttered before a rope ladder was thrown down.

As she reached the deck of the ship, several of the crew looked her up and down. She caught whispers of “the Mountain” and “princess” before she was led below deck by a man with a salt-and-pepper beard and cold, green eyes. He knocked twice on a sea-weathered door before a gruff, feminine voice called to let him in.

Y/N stepped inside and tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell. It reeked of old hay and excrement—probably a holding cell. Yara was waiting, standing under the single beam of light the room had and holding a chain in her hands. It snaked across the hay-strewn floor and disappeared into a dark corner. This was the first time Y/N had come in contact with Yara Greyjoy—but her reputation obviously preceded her and was well earned. The smirk she had splitting her face was enough to warrant the rumors of callous humor and bloodthirsty nature.

“Ah, you’ve come. Perhaps you can get something out of him before I rip his tongue out. We caught him just off the Stepstones, trying to hide his hideous face under a hood.” She pulled at the end of a chain. The metal links seemed to sing as she continued to yank until the prisoner stepped into her line of sight.

Y/N nearly balked at the sight. “Lord Tyrion. A surprise to be sure.”

Tyrion looked no worse than he did all that time ago in the Water Gardens but his limbs were now all encased in heavy steel and his hair was a little more unkempt. “My lady.” He even bowed a bit.

“The Imp refuses to speak to anyone but you,” Yara said as she stepped forward to hand Y/N the end of the chain with a curled frown. “Was this the one you were intended to marry?”

Y/N bristled but was unsurprised that Yara knew of the Lannisters’ plot. All of Dorne seemed to know it, too. “It was Tywin, actually. His father.”

Yara sneered. “I guess the old lion does still have a cock.” She then left without another word and the door closed loudly behind her.

With a sigh, Y/N set down the chain and wiped her hands on her skirts. “Why have you asked for me, Lord Tyrion? Prince Oberyn or Doran would be the only ones to grant you more comfortable accommodations in exchange for information.”

Tyrion shook his head. “I do not trust them, just as they do not trust me.”

Y/N hummed. “I am surprised they kept you alive at all. The last time you were in the company of Starks, you were accused to trying to murder Bran and only survived Catelyn’s wrath by the gods’ grace and the help of a sellsword.”

“It was more the sellsword than the grace of the gods, my lady, I assure you. But it was under Robb’s instruction that the Ironborn did not tie me to the front of their ship to be pecked to death by gulls.” He pursed his lips. “I was nearly to Essos when my ship was blown out of the water and I was scooped up like some dead fish.”

“Then perhaps you should consider it luck that they found you and not your sister. She wants you dead. Robb wants leverage.”

“If you had counseled your dear king, he would have known that I will hold no leverage as a hostage. They would prefer me dead.”

Y/N paused for a moment, thoughts stirring in her mind. “You asked me here for a reason, Lord Tyrion. And it is not because you fear me the least. What is it you’re offering?”

Something crossed Tyrion’s face then. It was almost a smile. “You would have made a fearsome Lady of the Rock, you know.” But as quickly as it came, it disappeared. “Tell me, are the rumors of Myrcella-”

“Dorne had nothing to do with it. Doran and Oberyn may not care for your family but they do not kill children. They know the ache of the loss of a child.”

Tears gathered in Tyrion’s eyes and tracked down his dirty cheeks. “She was good and gentle.”

“She was,” Y/N said softly. “And I am sorry that the gods have called her home so soon. But we need your help to see this through. You have my word that Tommen will not be harmed when we take King’s Landing.”

Oberyn and Ellaria were waiting for her when she stepped back onto shore hours later. Y/N had slips of parchment crumpled in her hand and streaks of ink staining her fingers and across her cheek. “Is Sarella still in Oldtown?”

**

“You cannot believe him!” Robb snarled.

Y/N pivoted in her seat to glare at him, uncaring of the other lords and soldiers in the room. “What cause does he have to lie?”

“He is a Lannister!”

“He is hated by his family. They tried to kill him.”

Robb’s face continued to contort in rage as he stood from his seat, fist slamming against the wood of the table. But whatever words he had wanted to say stilled in his throat as Oberyn stood from his seat, too. Oberyn said nothing as he loomed at Y/N’s back. He did not move his hand to the pommel of his sword but the promise of violence was not missed.

The King in the North seemed to swallow his pride at the quiet show of strength but did not sit down. “There is no way to see if this is not a trap.”

And that was when Y/N had a smirk of her own, pulled the rolled missive, stamped with the seal of the Citadel, from the folds of her dress and unfurled it on the table. “Tyrion’s claims of the cisterns and drains of Casterly Rock have been verified, as have the rumors of Wildfire under the whole of King’s Landing.” She pushed the parchment toward Robb and watched his face as he read Sarella’s handwriting. Her findings had given Y/N hope that this war could be won without an unending number of battles. Less bloodshed. Fewer dead Dornishmen. Fewer families without sons and husbands and brothers. Tyrion had told her of how he used to smuggle his favorite girls in and out of his rooms by the way of the drains of Casterly Rock and how that flaw in the Lannisters’ fortress could be exploited and allow for an outside naval force to sack his ancestral home. He’d provided crude drawings of how the tunnels curved and turned from the cliffside up to the balustrades and towers. Tyrion’s placement of the wildfire under the capital were less precise but still damning.

“And what does The Imp want in return for this information?”

“He wants to be set free-” There was an immediate and expected uproar from the Northmen and Ironborn and a handful of the Dornish lords and ladies but Y/N pressed on. “-to live in Essos with little Tommen when this is over.”

Robb held up his hand and quieted the rabble as his lips pressed into a thin line. “We will need scouts in the Westerlands to know of any movement of their armies.”

Lady Maege Mormont, pallid face red with the heat and slicked with sweat, suddenly moved her dark eyes to Y/N and the Dornish prince at her back. “The Riverlands armies are still waiting for command.”

“The Riverlands have not declared to King Robb’s cause aside from a handful of men who still hold Riverrun,” gruffed an Ironborn who tried to hold Oberyn’s gaze but quickly wilted under the Prince’s unwavering stare.

“That is inaccurate,” Robb said, voice cutting through the room’s din without effort. “There is still a small battalion of men loyal to Brynden Tully waiting for a command just outside Pinkmaiden. It would be a sufficient number.”

Oberyn’s warm hand reached down to gently grasp her shoulder and squeeze. A quiet show of support. “Why have they not joined you in Dorne?” Y/N asked, voice steady.

That was when Robb finally sat again and he tried to look her in the eye but failed and glanced down at the maps in front of him. “Your father was waiting for my command to take the Golden Tooth.”

Y/N nodded. He had never made it to Pinkmaiden.

And everyone in the room knew it.

But Y/N’s face did not move and Oberyn’s steadying hand did not falter in its grounding warmth. “Then it seems you have your scouts.”

The meeting continued on into the night and only adjourned when Lord Stonehouse let out a snore, slumped over his plate of half-eaten supper. Y/N wrapped a bit of chicken into her napkin and set out on her own after kissing Oberyn’s cheek before he went to Doran’s side.

She was…exhausted. But, she still sought out the one frivolous activity she would allow herself. Grey Wind, Robb’s hulking direwolf, was curled on the cool marble of the grand hall and lifted his large head when he heard her approach. Ned had told her stories of direwolves during her time at Winterfell and she, a bit childishly, wanted to see one as close as she could manage. Y/N unwrapped the chicken and held out to him with a small smile that grew only a fraction bigger when it was quickly devoured and her fingers were licked clean, too. The direwolf sniffed at her hand for a little longer before pressing his head against her palm, wanting to be pet. And that almost made her laugh, this giant animal who unnerved most others he encountered was gently asking to be scratched behind the ears. (Robb had grumbled his acceptance of Grey Wind not being present in the war room because of how uncomfortable it made some of the lords and ladies of Dorne.)

“You’re just a big pup, aren’t you?”

Grey Wind whined, offended.

“My lady?” Daisy’s voice rung out in the hall and Y/N quickly gave a handful more scratches before trying to find her handmaiden. When she did, Daisy explained that Ellaria had requested Daisy get Y/N “in bed with no distractions!” when she heard the meeting had been adjourned early. So, she let Daisy lead her back to her chambers with a sigh and fuss for a moment or two before she helped her out of her clothes and into her silken nightgown with a small smile. “I feel like I have not truly spoken with you in ages, my lady.”

“I apologize, Daisy.”

“Think nothing of it. I know your heart and mind are occupied.” When she finished, Daisy lingered at her back with a nervous expression. “I know it is not my place-”

“You are my friend, Daisy. Speak freely.” She turned to softly squeeze at Daisy’s fingers before dropping her hands back into her lap.

“I worry about you. And I know others do as well.”

“I am going to sleep-”

“It is not your lack of sleep that disturbs me, Y/N. You…you are not yourself. For as long as I have known you, you have worn your heart on your sleeve. Only tucking it away when you think someone will betray you. I know your heart is broken. Let it be broken. A heart that bleeds alone still bleeds. It is easier to bear with someone at your side.”

Y/N frowned. “You are with me-”

Disappointment colored Daisy’s face as she sighed, cutting off Y/N’s words. “I know you are not this stupid, Y/N. You know exactly what I mean.”

And that poked at the festering wound Y/N had tried to seal over with brick and steel in the cavity of her chest. “When this is over, I will… I will mourn as I should. It would be selfish to do it now.”

Daisy clicked her tongue with a shake of her head. “I have been told that war makes animals of men but I did not think it would make your heart stone. It is not selfish to love your father. It is not selfish to feel.” Before Y/N could even come up with some sort of rebuttal, her friend was striding toward the door and pulling it open. “Sleep, Y/N.” And then she was gone.

But Y/N did not sleep. She sat on her bed and listened to the night’s chatter die down as time slipped by. The fortress grew dark as only the necessary torches were kept aflame. The stars glittered in the moonless sky. Even as her body yearned for rest, she could not sleep.

All she could do was stare out to the sea.

But then she was moving. Slipping off her bed and slinking out of the fortress, wordlessly passing the stationed guards who made no move to stop her but watched her with careful, curious eyes.

“All rivers lead to the sea.” The words were murmured but felt like a rock had dislodged itself from the recesses of her lungs.

Cool marble gave way to paved stone and then to cold, wet sand she let squish between her toes as she walked closer to the sea’s edge. The water was calm. Gentle waves shimmered in starlight and lapped against the shore. She let the cool water splash against her ankles before she discarded her dressing gown. She took one step, then another, another, and another until she was treading open water in just her chemise, feeling the wet fabric glide around her in the water like a curious, silken fish. She dove beneath the waves to feel the chill and rhythm of the sea settle in her bones. For a moment, she wondered if she could spend forever at the bottom of the sea, looking up at the stars through the clear water, weighed down by pebbles sewn into her pockets. But when her lungs started to burn, she rose to the surface slowly and pulled in a deep breath of warm night air as she crested like a leviathan.

Y/N had always been a strong swimmer. Edmure had once joked that she was truly part trout when she would spend hot days swimming against the current of the waters around Riverrun. But she did not want to swim tonight. She wanted to simply feel the water on her skin. To feel the waves beat in time with her heart. To know that the water would always have a place for her.

Her legs stopped pumping and she let them rise to the surface and she floated atop the waves like a wash of seafoam.

The stars were shining above her in their celestial beds, bright and welcoming even as drops of salted water managed to sting at her eyes. She followed the lines of the constellations she knew by heart and licked the salt from her lips.

With each wave, she knew the shore grew closer. She could let herself mourn until then, let the salt of her tears finally meet the salt of the water. She could let herself cry here, mourn here, in the water that welcomed her family home.

They came slowly and then all at once. Great, heaving sobs shook her entire body and nearly took her under as water filled her mouth when she let out a wail—the sounds wrenching themselves free from their hiding places within her tired soul. She cried and sobbed and wept. For her father. Her mother. For Ned and Catelyn. For Rickon and Bran and Hoster. Finally letting herself feel something for longer than a few stolen minutes. Y/N barely registered the arms wrapping around her shoulders and under her knees, the grip keeping her head safely above water.

It wasn’t until the tears ebbed enough to clear her vision that she saw Oberyn standing in the water, cradling her weightless form against the waves. His features were soft in the starlight and he said nothing as her sobs came again and she curled further into his grip.

He let her cry until she was spent and then walked her closer to the shore and helped her stand.

Ellaria was waiting just outside the sea’s reach with a stack of linen towels neatly folded near her feet. She plucked one from the pile and wordlessly started to dry Y/N off with a gentle touch before wrapping another around her shoulders. Oberyn slung one around his damp breeches then leaned forward to press a kiss against Ellaria’s temple, lingering for a moment, before doing the same to Y/N.

“The night is losing its battle with dawn, my loves. We must sleep,” Ellaria said, reaching out to tighten the towel around Y/N’s shoulders.

Y/N nodded, beyond exhausted. But her heart felt the smallest fraction lighter. And perhaps it was not the end of her grieving—it was just the start. But she knew it was a step forward. When Ellaria pushed her into the warm silk and linen sheets of her and Oberyn’s bed and then climbed over her to settle like another blanket, Y/N knew she would finally sleep. Peacefully. Oberyn climbed in after them and murmured soft ‘sleep, my darlings. We will speak in the morning’ into their skin and snuffed out the single candle on the bedside table. One hand brushed against Ellaria’s back as his other brought Y/N’s palm up to his lips to breathe in the lingering scent of salt and water as his eyes closed. Oh yes, she could sleep for eternity if they just held her like this for a little longer.

And the sound of the water, ever-present and ever-moving, lulled them into a quiet, deep sleep.

**

Morning came sooner rather than later and Y/N woke to Oberyn pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder, fingers sliding under the thin strap of her chemise to revel in her soft skin. Much like Ellaria had the night before, he was lounging across Y/N’s back, weight pressing her into the featherbed with a comforting pressure. Ellaria was sitting up, held up by her elbow to look down at her with a soft smile.

It was something Y/N could get used to seeing every morning. She breathed for a few moments, simply wondering in how quiet the room was, how gentle Oberyn and Ellaria were with her. Briefly, she thought of how her life had changed since she had sent that first raven to Dorne. Being this comfortable, wrapped in blankets that did not belong to her, in the arms of not one but two people she was not married to—the scandal of it all. It was a soft sort of loveliness, even with the hurt of her loss. It seemed the water and the forgiving touch of the couple she loved had given Y/N her soul back; fractured and hurt. But hers once again.

“How are you, my moonlight?” He asked, voice quiet in the still of the room.

“I think I will carry this ache until my soul leaves to join whichever of the Seven Heavens the gods deem fit for me. But I know it will be easier to bear with time. Just as it was with my mother. Knowing they are together again gives me a small bit of happiness.” Y/N tapped at his thigh so she could turn to face him, letting her fingers trail through his hair when he laid his cheek against her stomach as they once again settled in the mess of blankets. A handful of grey strands pulled her attention as she let her nails gently scratch against his scalp, gaining a soft groan in return. “Thank you for last night. You… you both seem to know what I require before I even speak.”

Oberyn looked up at her, dark eyes warm but sad. “We each have had our own brushes with loss, my moonlight.” He paused. “We watched you close yourself off to everything aside from the coming war. Your eyes did not sparkle. You did not laugh. We had you, could touch you, feel the warmth of your skin. But you were lost to us.”

Ellaria hummed her agreement and reached over to let her fingers roam across her exposed collarbone and the corner of her mouth tilted up when she heard the next breath catch in Y/N’s throat.

“It was never my intention-”

“You have spent too long in places where you cannot feel. You have swallowed your pride and anger and joy and grief in order to survive.” Ellaria said, fingers continuing to trail, burning her in their wake. “That is not how we live here, that is not the life we want for you.”

Y/N pushed out a long breath and let her hands drop to the back of Oberyn’s head, twisting the black and grey locks around her fingers without thought. “What is the life you want for me?”

Oberyn suddenly moved. His hands planting on either side of her shoulders to loom over her like some beautiful, terrible heavenly body. Her legs parted as he moved, cradling his hips with her thighs. “We want you to live, my moonlight. To live freely. Without restraint.”

“We want you to be angry, to be sad, to be joyful—to feel,” Ellaria said, hooking her fingers under Y/N’s chin to make Y/N look at her. “We want you to feel.”

They spoke of their hurts and anger, of their happiness and triumphs as the sun started to rise. “But none of it means anything if you do not feel it.” Oberyn leaned down to steal a kiss and sighed against her mouth as she lifted a hand to slide against his side, delighting in how he shivered. “We want you to take the day. Do not attend the meetings. Do not go to the training yards. Sleep. Pray if it helps your heart. Eat something. Speak with Sansa and Arya. Let yourself feel.” He kissed her again before Ellaria stole another, too. But they eventually all made their way out of the haven of their soft blankets and dressed unhurriedly to meet the day.

“Join me for lunch. The little ones miss you,” Ellaria said, catching Y/N’s hand before she left.

“I will find you,” Y/N promised with a squeeze to her wrist before setting off to find Sansa.

The day passed smoothly, for the most part. She let herself cry again when she spoke with Sansa and joined Grey Wind and Arya in the sea before setting off to join Ellaria and the younger Sand Snakes for lunch as promised. The afternoon was filled with a trip to Sunspear’s sept for prayer and speaking with Daisy. No plans for battle. No talk of alliances. It was not all her heart needed to heal from her loss. But it was another step toward acceptance. As night descended on Dorne, she was rewrapping the leather binding on the handle of Dorea’s Morningstar, having nearly stepped on it when she was walking back to her chambers. The leather had been ripped and torn under Dorea’s exuberant thrashing and Y/N had a bit of leather to spare, not minding to part with it. Oberyn found her as she finished and smiled as she, a little bashfully, showed him her work.

“She will love it,” he said with a warm smile and tired eyes.

Oberyn led her toward Dorea’s chambers and they found Ellaria asleep in Dorea’s bed with a book of fairytales from the Riverlands opened on their laps. Oberyn only tiptoed in for a moment to press a kiss to his paramour and daughter’s cheeks. Y/N had followed to carefully pull the book away and set it on the bedside table and made sure that the blankets covered the pair, tucking them into bed against the sea-scented night air. She placed the Morningstar atop a table before they both slipped out.

“She must have had a nightmare. She rarely lets us leave her bed if some sort of monster has creeped its way into her mind,” Oberyn said softly as he closed the door.

“Does she have nightmares often?” Y/N asked.

“They come and go, as it is with all children.” He grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers with a tired smile. “You will see when you have babes of your own.”

“You want more children?” She asked, head filling with something other than plans for war for a brief moment.

Oberyn’s smile widened and he pressed a hand over her stomach, fingers splaying. “I want as many children as you desire to give me.”

Something playful and teasing and almost unfamiliar bubbled in her chest and she smiled and covered his hand with hers. “Oh, I see. You’ve seduced me in some attempt to fill these halls with little Martells. You have no love for me—just my ability to give you more heirs.” She even laughed, quiet in the hall.

But Oberyn did not smile now and his fingers curled into the fabric of her dress and yanked her close. The heat of his body enveloped her instantly and the burn of his gaze struck at her heart. “Do not say such things.”

“It was-”

“I love you, my moonlight. Even in jest, I will not have you speak of yourself that way.” He released his grip on her dress to gently hold her face in his roughened hands and swept his thumbs across her cheeks. “But it is good to hear you laugh again. I have missed the sound.”

Y/N nearly melted into his grip with a soft sigh and closed her eyes to savor his touch a little more. But then her mind started to wander, back to when she was still untouched by war and courtly politics. “I’ve always wanted one or two.”

He leaned forward to press his head against hers and Y/N could feel him smile as he kissed her forehead. “I can give you that.”

“I want them to have your eyes and good heart.”

Oberyn chuckled and then wrapped his arms around her, dragging her a little closer. “As long as they are healthy, my moonlight, I will be happy.”

And as she curled beneath her blankets that night, mouth still tingling from the kiss Oberyn left her with, she thought of little Loreza and Dorea trying to teach two little ones how to read on the shore as the Dornish sun warmed their skin.

And the thought carried over to her dreams where Oberyn crooned in her ear some lullaby she couldn’t place, a babe in his arms.

**

“Could you throw one more?” Y/N asked.

The young squire chuckled and nodded, pulling another bruised blood-orange from the pile collected from the groves and threw it into the air. Y/N quickly pulled back the bow’s string and loosed another arrow. It soared through the early morning air and pierced the skin of the orange and ripped through before it sunk into the target. It lined up almost perfectly with the six other speared blood-oranges on the target, dripping red-pink juice across the wood.

Y/N waved off the squire moving to clean off the target and said she didn’t mind the work. “I am sure I have kept you from your duties for far too long.”

“It is a pleasure to serve, Princess. You are a formidable archer.”

“Flatterer,” Y/N mused and watched the squire try to hide a shy smile before bowing and dismissing himself. She carefully pulled the arrows from the target and licked the juice from the tips and threw the discarded oranges out into the garden to let them feed the soil. It was still too early for most others to come to the courtyard to train. The last handful of days had seen most of the Dornish armies leave Sunspear to relieve the sorties at the border and to lead an incursion into the Stormlands.

A sudden noise had her turning and ready to nock another arrow. But it was just Robb, still haggard from sleep, with Grey Wind trailing beside him. The pair stared at each other for a moment and Y/N had to will herself to loosen her grip on the bow and carefully place the sticky arrows back into a pile. Robb approached her slowly. Much slower than Grey Wind who nosed at her leather breeches before letting out a low rumble as her gloved hand found the spot behind his left ear he loved having scratched.

“We have not spoken properly, cousin.” His mouth opened and closed twice. “I have missed you,” was all he managed.

Y/N nodded. She did miss him, too. “We are a long way from Winterfell.”

Robb’s smile was small but sincere. He took a step closer. And then another. And then his arms were wrapping around her and pulling her to his chest in a tight hug. Y/N’s arms wrapped around him tightly without a thought or care. Tears gathered in her eyes and she quickly shut them in a half-hearted attempt to keep them at bay. But then she was holding him in earnest and remembering how he and Jon would laugh in the Wolf’s Wood and string blue roses behind her ears with dirty fingers and would always make her smile whenever they could. It was so strange to see him now, the burden of a bloody crown on his head and scars littering his skin. It was strange that the boy she knew, full of smiles and fond of laughter, was now so quiet and serious.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

The tears were coming in earnest now and she felt Robb’s own trickling onto the shoulder of her tunic.

“You saved Sansa. Arya. You kept them alive and I repaid you with your father-”

“Don’t say it,” she said, biting back a whimper. “Do not say it.”

He held her tighter. And she tightened her hold, too.

“What happened to us, Stark?” She whispered.

The claimant king shuddered in her grip, the tears continuing their descent. “I do not know.”

And the pair held each other for a little longer until they heard other guards and soldiers approaching the training ground. Y/N stepped back first and noticed the sadness in his eyes but he blinked and turned his head and it was gone. The careful mask of kinghood was back in place. “I did come to speak to you of something else, Lady Tully. If you would permit me a moment of your time.”

She nodded, her own mask upon her face, too, and let him lead her toward a quiet corner of the training grounds with Grey Wind trailing beside them. And with each step, she noticed how Robb seemed to hold his shoulders higher to his ears. “What is it?” Y/N whispered when they finally slowed to a stop, mask slipping.

“Your father’s men want to fight. Riverrun still answers to the name Tully. And you, dear cousin, are the only Tully left alive and out of bondage.” When Y/N was quiet, Robb continued. “We sent the raven to Pinkmaiden—they responded that they wanted a commander. A leader.”

“And you think that I-”

“You are a Tully. You are Brynden Tully’s daughter. You have outmaneuvered the Lannisters at every turn. Who else would I send?”

**

She had kept Robb’s request to lead the Riverlanders’ forces to herself for only a handful of hours, trying to find the words to tell Ellaria and Oberyn. She thought time alone would help her, but all it did was wear on her nerves. A nervous tittering called her attention and she turned to see little Loreza staring at Grey Wind—the direwolf had made it a habit to splash around in the cool water of the Summer Sea at least a few times a day and was currently submerged up to his neck in the water, letting the waves wash over his back.

Y/N smiled despite her heavy heart and walked to Loreza’s side, biting back the question of how she’d managed to evade her Septa’s watchful eye this time. Seeing Loreza so nervous broke her heart a little. She was too young to be so scared. “He’s very big, isn’t he?”

“He’s almost as big as a horse,” the young girl murmured, dark eyes flittering back to the direwolf. “Obella said she saw him eat a man!”

“Obella is just teasing. Grey Wind is gentle—especially to little girls.” Y/N knelt down to Loreza’s level with a smile. “Would you like me to prove it to you?”

Loreza seemed to ponder it for a moment before nodding. Y/N held out a hand for her to take and led her over to the lounging direwolf. She held out her hand for Grey Wind to sniff and quickly lick before she scratched behind his ears. The water was starting to soak through her leathers but she turned to show Loreza how he liked to be scratched.

“Give him your hand, just like I did. Let him smell you.”

Loreza held out a shaking hand toward Grey Wind who sniffed all around before licking a wet strip across her little fingers and Loreza let out a loud giggle at the sensation. Her little dress was floating around her like a pale yellow lily pad.

“See? He likes you.”

Grey Wind continued to nose at Loreza’s arm as she started to run her fingers through his dark fur. “He’s soft!”

“I heard King Robb brushes him every night,” Y/N said with a waggle of her eyebrows. Loreza smiled at that and then let out a surprised squeal when Grey Wind licked at her face. “I think he likes you more than me!”

Loreza finally pulled her other hand from Y/N’s hold and happily pushed her little fingers through Grey Wind’s damp fur. A particularly tall wave washed over them and Loreza laughed as Grey Wind licked the water from her hands. “Would Father let me have a direwolf?”

“Direwolves are of the North, like King Robb and Sansa and Arya. And they are rare there, too.”

The girl pouted at that but did not stop her petting. “Will King Robb let me pet him while he is here?”

Y/N nodded and promised to speak to Robb on her behalf before she noticed a figure standing on the shoreline. “It seems your father has discovered us.”

Loreza looked back at the shore and grimaced. “I did miss my lessons today.”

Y/N urged her gently to find her septa, promising to speak with Oberyn, and watched her dash away through the water toward the sand and dodged her father’s hand as he reached for her with a teasing smile.

Y/N eventually pulled away from Grey Wind and squared her shoulders before pushing against the water toward Oberyn who waited for her.

“It is good to see you with them. You are gentle—but I do think you let them get away with far too many follies.”

Y/N smiled. “Even I missed a lesson or two when I was her age. A little rebellion is good character.”

He shook his head with a soft laugh and pulled her close despite her wet clothes before brushing his lips against her forehead. “I’ve spoken with Doran. He wants me to lead a command of my own into the Crownlands.”

“Oh,” was all she could manage. She knew he was a seasoned commander but the thought of him leaving the safety of Sunspear had not come to her. Perhaps she had deluded herself into thinking he would always be safe.

“And the wolf king has told me of his plans for you.” Oberyn looked at her and she held his gaze, even as she felt his sigh against her wet skin. Slowly, far too slowly for her liking, he reached up to hold her cheeks in his hands. “Do you truly mean to lead them? If this is the wolf king pressing you-”

“I have to, my prince. Robb or not.”

“Does your honor demand it?” He asked, almost teasing. But his tone lacked its usual warmth.

“It does.” Y/N reached up to cover his hands with hers and keep him close, half-scared that he would walk away, too. “Just as yours requires you to do the same.”

The pair was quiet for a moment, only the sound of the waves against the sand to listen to as time stretched on. Oberyn was looking at her, truly looking at her all the while and it was the sadness and resignation in his eyes that dug straight through her heart. He kissed her softly without a word before stepping back. “I would have you safe.”

And Y/N wanted to ask what he meant but he grasped at her hand and led her without a word toward the armory. “She is an archer, she needs to be able to move,” Oberyn said as he started to dig through the careful stacks of pieces of armor and accoutrements the blacksmith had forged for the Dornish forces. He quickly found pieces of light armor; shining mail, vambraces and pauldrons stamped with Martell suns, a light cuirass which would fit her feminine form. And as she gathered all of her armor to her chest, equal parts excited and anxious, she watched Oberyn turn to her. His dark eyes held some secret sentiment. Sad and proud and something else she could not place.

When they found Ellaria, she seemed to already know their news. “Oh, my two warriors.” And then she was gathering them close and lathing slow kisses against their lips and pushing them onto the bed. “Just let me have tonight, my loves. Just tonight before the Realm rips you away from me.”

And there was nothing carnal in the way they all burrowed under the blankets as the sliver of the moon rose or the way hands roamed and lips parted with gentle sighs. It was just love, simple and soft.

**

The younger Sand Snakes filtered into her rooms throughout the afternoon to watch Y/N pack away the essentials, just enough to fill two small saddlebags. Dorea tried to give Y/N her beloved Morningstar, “to keep you safe!” but Y/N quickly and gently pushed it back into the young girl’s hands. “You have to keep your mother safe until your father and I return. You cannot do that if I have your Morningstar, right?”

Elia sniffed at that and suspiciously turned her head away.

“And your sister, Elia, she will protect you," Y/N said, acknowledging Elia's pain without making it a point of conversation. Elia did not like to dwell on emotion.

It earned another sniff and a curt, “don’t die. I like having you around.” ("I do, too!" Dorea added.)

Nymeria and Tyene arrived soon after with words of encouragement and two matching vials of poison. “Just in case! Father likes to slick his blades with it. Perhaps you could dip a few of your arrows?” And that spoke volumes, at least to Y/N, about how they cared for her in their own way.

But Sansa was near tears despite the steadiness of her voice as she let herself into Y/N’s chambers. “Must you go? It feels like I've just had you return.”

“You know I must, little one. Robb’s asked it of me and I know you would do the same if Winterfell was still under Bolton colors.” Y/N reached out and pulled the redhead into a familiar hold and said nothing when she felt tears start to wet the fabric of her tunic. “But I will come ba-”

“Don’t say that. Don’t say something you cannot know to be true.”

Y/N pulled back and grasped at Sansa’s chin. “I am coming back. The Stranger themselves could not stop me.”

Sansa nodded with a watery hiccup and pulled her close for another hug before there was a knock at the door. Y/N kissed Sansa’s forehead before calling out a welcome to whomever it was. Ellaria stepped in, a roll tucked under her arm and Sansa quickly excused herself and shut the door tight on her way out.

Ellaria was quiet for a moment before she walked to Y/N’s side. There was a quietness to her features now but tears still pooled in her beautiful eyes. She pressed a kiss against her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, before touching her lips to hers in a soft, reverent kiss that tasted like citrus and salt. She sniffled just once as she pulled back and she handed the bundle to Y/N with a single wobble of her chin.

Y/N unwrapped it and marveled as more and more of the gift was revealed. The bow was black, darker than night and stronger than steel. It was dragonbone. A rare prize indeed.

“Father said it was one of the smaller bones from Meraxes. It was meant,” she had to clear her throat. “I meant to give it to you as a wedding gift. But I would rather you have it now. I know your aim will be true.”

Y/N quickly set the bow down on the bed and pulled Ellaria close without a word, trying to somehow convey the hope that she would return through the touch alone instead of words she knew would fail. “I love you,” was the only phrase she dared whisper. I love you. I love you. I love you.

When dawn broke the next morning two Northmen Robb entrusted with her care were waiting for her at the stables. Qēlos nuzzled into her palm as the mare's tack was secured and Y/N smuggled her an apple to devour as she swung up into the saddle. Y/N was finishing saying goodbye to a tearful Sansa when Ellaria and Oberyn appeared at the stables. Oberyn was already dressed in his light armor and Ellaria had donned a fauld of four lame across her waist. A little armor of her own. Everyone around them seemed to understand the need for privacy and quickly vacated the area or decidedly avoided pointing their gazes toward them.

“We will not try to dissuade you. Your wrath is justified and glorious.” His hands reached up to cover hers on the reins. The warmth slowed the wild beating of her heart just a fraction. “But we will ask that you do not forget us.”

Y/N’s poor heart leapt into her throat and she hurried to move her grip, pulling Oberyn’s hands up to her mouth to press a kiss against his knuckles. “The gods themselves could not take you from my mind or heart, my prince. I will see you again when this is over, when the Lions are dead and the Realm can have peace.”

Oberyn untangled his hands from hers only to grasp the back of her head to kiss her, artfully stealing the air from her lungs with ease as his mouth moved against hers in slow, unyielding ministrations. As he pulled back, he pressed another kiss to her forehead, breathing in the scent of her hair for a moment before releasing her. His fingers trailed down her arms to tighten the lacings of her vambrace. “Then I shall see you again, my moonlight.”

Ellaria was quiet but kissed her soundly. “Come back,” was all she said.

“I will,” Y/N whispered in return.

And then they were off. Y/N looked back at the gates of Sunspear after every new turn on the road, watching it grow smaller and smaller. The Northmen offered no words but did give sympathetic smiles after they caught her sad expression.

But then there was a thundering of hooves against the sand-covered road and Obara was at her side in a moment, dressed for battle and saddlebags packed. “You will not fight alone, Little Fish.”

And then Arya, on a horse that was definitely not hers, was galloping to her side, too. “I’m coming, too!”

Y/N knew she should tell them no. Send them back to Sunspear and Oberyn and Robb and Safety. But one look at their determined faces left her sighing. “Your father and brother are going to kill me, you know.”

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Obara said with a smirk. “I’ll protect you.”

A/N: Please let me know what you guys think! I really appreciate it. :)

Beautiful people who asked to be tagged: @roxypeanut​ @lostinwonderland314​ @fandomreblogsnoshame @arianawills​ @nyrnerosmartell​ @5hundreddaysofsummer​ @honestlystop @huliabitch​ @youhavemyfantasticbeasts​ @karmezii​ @thesadvampire​ @sarcasmisakindofmagic @alexa4040​ @paintballkid711​

#oberyn martell x reader #oberyn martell imagine #oberyn martell x ellaria sand x reader #oberyn martell x ellaria sand #game of thrones imagine #asoiaf

[the-scooby-gang]

Changing the game Chapter 1

The crossover that came to me at 5 in the morning.

Leave a comment. Tell me what you guys think of this plot bunny.

Summary: Petyr Baelish is dead i killed him and now Shaggy Rogers inhabites his body.

Word count: 3015

Catelyn I

The Royal entourage made its way across the gates of the castle like a river of gold and silver and polished steel. Above their heads, standards of gold and crimson of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister flew high above the columns of anointed knights. Wandering knights, sworn soldiers, and vassals followed not too far behind.

Catelyn recognized many faces. Sandor Clegane, by far one of the  tallest men in attendance, was the first to capture her eyes thanks to the ruin that was the right side of his face. The tall golden boy by his side must have to be the Crown Prince, following the giant that was his father, the King Robert Baratheon, that was right in the front of the columns flanked by two white knights. An equally tall and golden man, adorned in golden armor with the helm in the form of a roaring lion followed close by, the white cloak of the King’s Guard bellowing against the cold wind.

The Kingslayer, thought Cat, giving a more thoughtful look to the twin of Her Majesty. Giving a side glance towards her Lord husband, Cat sent a silent prayer to the seven gods, asking that Ned’s dislike of the queen’s family would not bring any animosity while the royal family was under her roof.

Turning her eyes once again towards the gates, Cat could not contain the happy smile that came to her lips. Petyr Baelish, her brother in all but blood, was entering the gates just behind Ser Jaime, a polite smile in his face. He had changed little; his hair was grayer in the temples them when she last saw him, an earring made of gold with a teardrop-shaped emerald lay dangling from his left ear, but besides that, his frame was still small and lanky, with his observing green-grey eyes and his always easy smile.

When his eyes found hers, his already polite smile turned into something more genuine. He dismounted his stead, just as the king was doing the same and followed on the large shadow of Robert Baratheon, to await his time to greet the Lord and Lady of Winterfell.

On his right, the dog Scoobert Doo stayed loyal and vigilant over his master, like he had done as he was riding through the gates, and just like in the day Petyr found him in the forest near Riverrun and claimed the dog as his own. Cat never saw a dog as big as Doo and believed she never would. Petyr called him “A Great Dane” and said that he would probably grow to surpass even Uncle Brynden in high if he stood in his hind legs. When Edmure, not more them a babe at the time, asked how could he possibly know that, a smile that Catelyn would come to know well graced Petyr’s face.

“I saw it in a dream, Eddy,” he said with far more wisdom in his voice than any boy of ten had any right to have. Then, he messed her brother’s red hair with his free hand while the other held the puppy with the care one would expect someone to cradle a newborn baby.

That would be the answer to many of the things that he just seemed to know. Petyr and his dreams were one of the greatest talks of the realm sometimes. The Master of Coin was known to go to sleep when faced with a particularly difficult conundrum and come back to the land of the awaken with a solution on the tip of his fingers. Sometimes, if the ambient was calm enough, he just needed to close his eyes to be momentarily taken to whatever plane of reality his answers lied.

She remembers asking him once what exactly he saw when in one of his trances.

“It depends on what I have to ask,” he said with the utmost sincerity. Sometimes Cat asked herself if he was capable of lying “If I need some deep knowledge about how something works I may ask The Wise Lady, with her kind eyes, dressed in reds and oranges like the morning sun. If I need to think strategically, in combat or in holding court, The Lovely Warrior will have a ready answer…”

In here he made a pause as his face had assumed a look of longing, of warning. He looked at his feet and Catelyn could swear that his face was as bright and red as the sunsets that she and her sister saw atop the towers of Riverrun “if my need is to create, be it a stronghold, a weapon, a speech or, be made of rope or words, a trap, The Blue-eyed Lord is the one I seek.”

After a small pause, Petyr smiled, looked at the sky, and said with a soft voice, as if he was remembering something long gone. Happy memories of a life already liven “But they don’t have fixed roles most of the time. Both the Warrior and the Lord can be just as wise as the Lady, as can the Lady and the Lord be as cunning and resourceful as the Warrior, and the Warrior and the Lady can just as easily create wonders as the Lord can.”

That was the answer he always gave when asked. Cat and half of her household believed that Petyr was being blessed by the gods. The Wise Lady was clearly the Crone, giving him advice. The Warrior was in the name, giving him strength.

The only one no one was quite sure of was The Blue-eyed Lord.

Some said it was The Father, giving him the means to work his justice. Some supposed that The Smith was the most likely since the weapons and plans that came to Petyr in the dead of the night were above anything anyone was ever seen. A small group thought it was The Maiden in disguise, solemnly because Petyr was the most flustered when speaking of them.

Cat would laugh every time that particular hypothesis was broth up. She knew Petyr better them she knew herself, and she was not blind to his long glances to any blond knight that trained at the yard every morning when they were growing up. It was always blond men. These were the favored ones in her brother’s eyes: Blond, blue eyed, with deep knowledge about one expecific thing and, as Petyr once told her one summer night, “Good of heart, dumb of ass”.

She never laught so loudly as she did that night. 

“Your Grace. Winterfell is yours” she heard her husband say, lying on his knees like the rest of her household.

“You grow fat.” Said a bumming voice.

The sound of the King’s remark of her husband’s weight pulled her right back into the present. She turned her head just in time to see Ned go back on his feet, look with disbelief to Robert’s own protuberant belly them back at him with a clearly “And you are one to talk?” look.

The king burst out laughing. Clapping him in his shoulders, Robert turned to her next. Everyone had followed in Ned’s steps and rising to their feet.

“Cat!” roared the Baratheon.

Robert enveloped her in his arms as if she was a long-lost sister and kissed both her cheeks, making her once again lose her brother from sight.

By that time, the others were dismounting, and stable boys ran to collect their horses. The Queen, Cersei Lannister, walked in with her youngest children. The caravan in which they had traveled, a huge two-story carriage made of greased oak and gilded metal, pulled by forty horses with heavy traction, was too wide to pass through the castle gate. Ned knelt in the snow to kiss the queen's ring, while Robert hugged her.

Many stable boys, knights, and servents that have come with the entourage stayed a wide berth away from Scoobert, the sheer size of the dog enough to scare any men. Catelyn wanted to laugh and she could see by Petyr’s face, so did he. Unless you tried to stab Petyr or her or any of their family, Scooby was as threatening as a pillow and just as cuddly.

The servants of Winterfell were already used to the Great Dane from the many visits that Petyr made over the years, the dog aways by his side. She could already see both Bran and Arya dreaming of mounting the dog as if he was a steed, and she had no doubt that Rickon would be introduced to the unofficial tradition.

She remembers when this rite of passage was born, many years ago, when Robb was newly born and the rebellion was coming to an end. Petyr was as always with Scoob by his side, like the gods intended.

When Ned was explaining that the boy that he was bringing with him, a babe that he had named Jon, one of Brandon’s bastards, was going to be living with them, Petyr and the baby Robb were playing with Scoob. The babe was carefully laid over the back of the dog, green-gray eyes focused like an eagle on the redhead of his nephew with ready hands for the chance that they had to move quickly to grab a falling babe.

Robb giggled happily, without a single care in the world. Jon soon followed him on his furry mount. That afternoon was full of the giggles of babes and the soft trot of Scooby paws against pillows.

Ever since then, all the Stark children would have their first ride, not in a pony as it was common, but on the might back of Scoobert Doo.

 Petyr and Ned had just come back from the war, Petyr under Lord Arryn banner and Ned as the new Lord of Winterfell. Petyr may not have the body expected of a knight, but what he didn’t have in muscle he compensated with speed. Ned would tell her how Petyr was in the field,  looking  like he was dancing in mid his enemies, with the sword that he long ago had made per his instructions cutting through armor and flesh like it was cutting the air while Scoobert shredded the arms of anyone that got to close off his master.

She told her husband the story of that blade. The blacksmith of Riverrun recognized the design as one of the blades of Yi-Ti and Ser Desmond Grell, the master-at-arms asked the then boy of eight were he found such a thing.

“I saw it in a dream, Ser Desmond” answered Petyr “An old warrior was training me. He told me to climb the earth, walk on air, pass through the fire, and brave my way through the water. When I did it,  a Green Dragon gave me a sword just like this one” them he pointed to the newly made blade, one he called katana and later on would name Loyalty. “The Dragon told me that I would never fight like a knight. I will always be too small and light for that. He told me ‘Fight like the wind, like the flowing waters of the rivers. Fight like a samurai”

Ser Desmond had no idea what a Samurai was, but he would find out that to know was not necessary. The boy, like almost anything in his life apparently, was learning his routines in dreams. He was only necessary to fix his stances, give him targets, and look after him and anyone that was going to be his opponent for the day.

Cat shook herself out of her memories. This was not the place or time for her attention to be so dispersed. With a small sigh of relief, she noticed that the king was still going down the line of her children. At the moment he was complimenting Bran’s muscles, telling him that he would make a fine knight.

When the king finished with his inspection and spirited her husband away to the crypts to the Queen’s displeasure, Petyr finally approached her and her children.

“Uncle Shaggy!” screamed Arya, throwing herself in his open arms.

The nickname was born years ago when Catelyn, Lysa, Edmure, and Petyr went riding by the river, looking for a perfect place for an afternoon picnic. Petyr rode like he was born to do so and his hair by the end of the day was so messy that Edmure started calling him “Shaggy Hair” and later on only “Shaggy”. Petyr seemed to love it and it had indeed fitted him like a second skin.

Somehow that particular nickname seemed more personal them any nickname that Edmure had ever given him. In public, Eddy called him “Littlefinger”, since it was the first name he had ever given him and so was the one everyone knew. But when it was just them, between close doors and the seclusion of the sacred forest, the name “Shaggy” was the one to fall from his lips.

Robb had been the first one to call him that. Followed by Jon, Arya, Bran, even Ned could be caught from time to time calling him by the name. Sansa, on the other hand, rarely called him anything that was not “Uncle Petyr”, “Uncle” and “Lord Baelish”. Petyr used to bribe Sansa with lemon cakes when she was younger to call him by his family nickname, but now at thirteen the bribes rarely work like they used to. Sansa was worried about what would be proper to call a member of the Small Council and found it  demeaning for a man in such a position.

She remembers the look Shaggy gave her after Sansa told him this, the day he had come to Winterfell to celebrate her oldest daughter name day. She also remembers how she lost her composure and snorted like a fool when she saw the incredulous expression in his face.

“But look at that! The Hurricane of Winterfell has grown once more” He held Arya as if she weighed nothing. The years of running around carrying a hundred and seventy-five pounds of dog in his arms as if it was a babe had given him great strength. “ At this rate, you will be taller than me in no time”

Arya blushed. Shaggy was by far her favorite uncle and she always shined under his compliments.

Scooby was already licking Bran’s face, not after having sent the boy straight up to the ground. Bran laughed happily and without care. Rickon was looking at the dog in awe and Jon, Robb, and Theon Greyjoy, the protege of Winterfell, burst with laughter.

“Scooby, stop it. He’s going to get all dirty” said Catelyn, but she could not take the small smile of her face.

Scoob followed her orders. Robb helped Bran to get up and cleaned the dirt that covered his back. Shaggy put Arya back on the ground, kissed Sansa’s hand with a small bow with the proper “My Lady” and then turned to Cat, a mischievous smile on his face.

Without warning, Shaggy hugged her, held her out of the ground, and spun her around laughing like a mad man. His laughter as always was infectious and, caring little for the onlookers (something she would severely chastise herself and Shaggy later when she had recovered her wits) she laughed with him.

He put her back on the ground and kissed both her cheeks.

“Big sister, you’re  as radiant as ever,” he said looking her over “I hope that Lord Eddard remains treating you well?” his voice jested, but she saw that his eyes were deadly serious.

Shaggy was loyal to a fault, and since the day he came to live with her family he internalized her house words as if they were his own, just like they had come to see him as one of their own. Family, Duty, Honor. The family was above all else in his eyes, be it blood or chosen family. If her answer had been anything but positive, she knew that Ned would find himself with the angry entity that was Shaggy in a protective fury.

“My Lord husband remains the best thing that the gods could have blessed me,” said Cat with sincerity.

Shaggy smiled and took her by the arm and together they started to walk towards the great hall, her children not too far behind petting Scooby-Doo with love and little Rickon perched on his back.

“If you say so, my lady. But always remember, if you need me in any shape or form I’m just one raven away.” here his voice turned into a whisper “Gods know I would take any excuse to leave that nest of vipers”

They both giggle like they were children again and walked through the immense doors of the keep.

Petyr’s father, before he died, said once that in the way to Riverrun Petyr had fallen asleep one  night and awaked the next morning completely different. He said he was sweeter, more gentle, and caring. He believed that his son’s dreams started that night and that it has changed him.

If that was so, Catelyn sang many  blessings to that day. She would never know how their life would have gone had Shaggy never started dreaming, but she knew what this life had given her.

It has given her a brother.  An eccentric and beloved brother.

“Come along, my dear. We have many things to discuss” he said still in whispers “About propositions that are going to be made and marrieges that, if we play our cards right, will never come to be.”

Her smile soured. She knew what proposition he was talking about. Since the death of Jon Arryn and the letter from Lysa, she had been on edge with the uncoming visity from the king,  bringing the Lannisters to her home. Regarding marriege, she had know about the possibility of Robert wanting to join their houses, but the look on Shaggy’s face told her a deeper rabbit hole that she was not seeing.

Giving him a calculated smile that was easily reciprocated, arm in arm, they entered the hall. 

#scooby doo #game of thrones #Shaggy Rogers #petyr littlefinger baelish #Petyr Baelish #Gih Writes #Catelyn stark #Catelyn Tully #littlefinger #fanfic #crossover #can you see that I'm shipping Fred and shaggy really hard across dimensions? #comment on this one and tell me what you guys think #I tried to draw Matthew Lillard #with various degrees of success #the man dimples are so goddamn hard to draw #i shit you not every time I tried to add the marks of his face I added 10 years to his age #jon arryn still dies #but now with no little finger interference #samurai sword reference

[a-libra-writes]

can i request more edmure? if it’s not too much then 💦🍣💎🚙 but you don’t have to do all of them! thank you for writing!!!

Edmure~! Im so happy he’s appreciated on this blog haha. Some of these will be modern au :>

💦 Pool/Beach Day HC

Edmure is a fantastic swimmer. Thinking about it now, it was obvious, but you realized it when you walked down to the riverside like he asked. He was swimming against the current so easily, his white shirt clinging to muscles that were straining against the water, and he so easily swam to the shore and was dripping water everywhere ...

Edmure blinked at you. “Darling, are you well? You look red.”

He insisted on teaching you, even if stripping down to your smallclothes on a riverbank felt the same as being naked in front of a whole village. He’d relax you by making jokes and playfully splashing at you.

Your children would absolutely learn how to swim, too, and you’d stand by just in case something happened. All of them seemed to have Edmure’s innate swimming ability, although you both warned them about going too far.

He has strong, lean muscles from the swimming he’s done, in addition to the armor he has to wear. Technically sneaking off to the river isn’t something a lord should do - oftentimes he’ll pretend he’s going hunting instead - but you always catch him when he comes back smelling like river water. You just tease him for not bringing you. 

Modern - There’s totally a pool in yall’s backyard. You can’t keep Edmure and the kids out of it. He loves beach vacations and eagerly asks you to consider them - although, you two might actually just live next to a beach.

Modern - He grew up going to his family’s huge lakehouse, built next to the lake they actually owned. He loves taking you and the kids there, although Edmure’s favorite place to swim is still the beach. Even if it’s too cold to swim, just sitting on the sand and listening to the waves totally relaxes him. 

He loves seeing you in a swimsuit

Basically, in either AU, Edmure is just a fish. He’s actually on par with Brynden for swimming skill.

🍣Cooking Together HC

You were allowed to bake in your family’s kitchens, and Edmure would never deny you any enjoyment. If you wanted to cook or bake something specific, he’d make sure the ingredients were available. 

He enjoys watching you cook and asks all sorts of questions. He likes to help, too, he’ll ask you to put him to work chopping this or stirring that. He makes such a mess, you have to delegate carefully. He’s quite good at dicing once you show him how to do it.

He wastes no time in licking or cleaning any flour or chocolate off your face. You let him lick the spoon only after you’re finished with it. He gets flustered when you start licking it.

Several times Catlyn has mentioned it isn’t proper for him and especially you to be sitting around the kitchen with the cooks, keeping them from his work, but it endears the kitchen staff to the two of you, and that extends to the other servants. Whenever you bake big portions, you let the children eat as much as they want, and they start to adoring you. Word spreads quick, and when you work in the kitchens, you notice several scullery girls and stable boys lingering in the doorway. It’s Edmure who encourages them to come in.

Edmure doesn’t have the biggest sweet tooth, but he’ll test taste anything you make.

💎 Marriage HC

Seven hells, you two are nauseating. It’s sweet, Riverrun is delighted their Lady is so kind and gentle, the smallfolk adore you and Edmure, but .... honestly, do you have to go arm in arm and give each other sweet smiles and kiss each other’s cheeks?

Edmure is the worst about it, you’re the one reminding him to remember where you two are. He gets good natured ribbing from his bannerlords and knights about how devoted he is to you. They admire him for it, though.

To Edmure, you might as well hang the moon. He thinks you’re beautiful, clever, kind, considerate, charitable ... You always blush and tease him about running out of adjectives. Edmure is especially full of praise when he’s drunk, he just can’t keep his mouth shut about how much he loves you. 

Edmure wants a lot of kids very, very much. If you were more opposed, he’d genuinely try to compromise with just one or two. He’s just always wanted a big family and especially one with someone he loves so much. He adores the children you two have, sometimes spoiling them too much, but he’s an attentive and kind father.

Even the times when you two disagree (because sometimes he’s just too rash and stubborn) you don’t truly fight. You both spend some time apart and come back cooled off and ready to work the problem out again. Edmure fully trusts you with the duties of Riverrun. If he were ever called away, he’d know you’d keep the place standing, and he makes sure his men and the servants understand that. Absolutely no one would get away with disrespecting you.

Some lords may find Edmure weak for relying on you so much, for doting on you and holding onto your every word, but he thinks it’s the opposite. He can’t imagine what obstacle the two of you couldn’t handle. If a war or famine or something were to break out, he knows you two could rely on each other’s strength.

🚙Road Trip HC

Travelling long distances doesn’t bother him - well, as long as the roads and weather aren’t trouble. This is when his protective side comes out; he’d want to have a fine wheelhouse made for you, with a guard inside and several guards outside. You remind him that no Riverlander would ever attack you two, beloved as you are, but he takes no chances. He is a bit disappointed about having to ride ahead of you, though.

You and Edmure always lighten up any inn you visit. Edmure is always friendly and good-natured, especially when he’s drunk, and you have a calm, good countenance that puts the barmaids and innkeeper at ease. Well after you two leave, the innkeepers proudly brag about the Lord and Lady of Riverrun staying in their establishments.

Modern AU - RV Roadtrip. You remind Edmure that the family can afford to fly, but his heart is set on an  RV, for whatever reason. You only acquiesce because the children are so excited about it. So whenever it’s possible, you all take the RV to go on vacations or go to the Tully’s lakehouse.

After a while, you admit the RV isn’t so bad. You and Edmure take turns driving while your eldest is the navigator - she takes her job very seriously - and the other children play and chatter away. In the evening you all play some board games and cards before going to sleep, and the morning is everyone frantically dressing and tripping over themselves while you check the map. 

Edmure isn’t too worried about getting lost, and he always finds interesting detours, so you’re the one keeping the trip on track. You two make a point to take scenic routes or find interesting places to stop at to amuse the kids. 

So many photos. You label them because all the RV trips start to run together, even if you’ve been to different places. Several times you’ve slept in the RV parked by the lake instead of the actual Tully lakehouse.

While the big double bed in the back room is meant for you and Edmure, a kiddo often scoots between you two, or you and three kids will pile in while he sleeps on one of the couches or the loft on top. 

Once, Edmure and one of your sons climbed to the top of the RV and set of ffireworks. Once.

#edmure tully x reader #libra headcanons #i hate road trips and camping but i love RVS my dude

[call-me-schmidt]

Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Sansa Stark & Lyarra Stark, Sansa Stark & Brandon Stark, Sansa Stark & Visenya Targaryen, Sansa Stark & Rickard Stark, Jon Snow & Sansa Stark, Bran Stark & Sansa Stark Characters: Sansa Stark, Lyarra Stark, Brandon Stark, Rickard Stark, Visenya Targaryen, Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers, Jon Snow, Minisa Whent, Elia Martell, Willam Stark, Joramun (ASoIaF), Brandon "The Breaker" Stark Additional Tags: Women Being Awesome, BAMF Women, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Unreliable Narrator, Stark family feels Summary:

There’s nobody named Lyarra in Winterfell, according to her father; the last person who bore that name was his mother, and she was buried decades ago.

Sansa speaks to her the next week.

[Sansa can speak to ghosts, and this changes everything.]

#schmidt recs something #the writings other people do #fanfiction #ghosts #dialux #a tempest a cyclone a goddamn hurricane #a song of ice and fire #game of thrones #sansa stark #lyarra stark #brandon stark #rickard stark #visenya targaryen #brynden rivers #jon snow #minisa whent #elia martell #willam stark #joramun #i tag everything

[une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir]

THE SAME STORY (1-1)

S02E10 - VALAR MORGHULIS (DANERYS)

In S02E10 - Valar Morghulis, Danerys Targaryan goes to the House of the Undying and sees a bunch of riddles and visions. In the books, the equivalent chapter is explicit that these are foreshadowing for Danerys’ future, but in the show, this is more nuanced.

It’s been said that both books and show are different stories, but there are some major common stories including the endgame. What I propose here is an analysis of what is common between them, in specific the recurrent thematic in four major events.

A CLASH OF KINGS #47 - Danerys # 4: Danerys visits the House of the Undying and sees some visions that foreshadow her future.

SPINOFF #2: Melisandre’s visions.

S02E10 - Valar Morghulis: Danerys visits the House of the Undying and sees some visions that foreshadow her future.

SPINOFF #1: Arya Stark will kill Danerys with Bran’s help.

S04E02 - The Lion and the Rose and S06E06 - Blood of my Blood: Bran Stark has his first cluster of prophetic visions.

Once these four major events are dismantled and distilled, there are five themes in common between them.

The War on Westeros.

The Red Wedding.

The Red Door (or Home, or Waking the Dragon)

The Burning of King’s Landing.

The Rightful Heir to the Iron Throne.

In this first post, the focus will be S02E10 - Valar Morghulis when Danerys visits the House of the Undying.

THE HOUSE OF UNDYING

Danerys Targaryan and her bodyguards Jorah Mormont and Kovarro arrive at House of the Undying. Kovarro is wary of the place since he’s superstitious and believes this is a house of ghosts while Jorah is wary since he believes Pyat Pree is a dangerous warlock with powerful magic. Danerys is dismissive of their worries, even challenging these supernatural beings head on and presses forward.

Danerys believes herself special for many reasons, she’s a megalomaniac so it’s in her nature to put on airs. One of these reasons is that Danerys believes to have very strong magic because she hatched the dragons and survived Drogo’s funeral pyre. In consequence, Danerys believes herself not easily defeated by other “magicians” and feels somewhat invulnerable to their magic. This is why Danerys goes to the House of the Undying in the first place and why she’s not scared by Kovarro’s superstitions or Jorah’s warnings.

This is best shown on two occasions. [1] In S02E06 - The Old Gods and the New, where Danerys tells the Spice King that she dreamed those events would happen and she fulfilled them, such she’s no ordinary woman because her dreams come true. [2] In S02E08 - The Prince of Winterfell, where Danerys dismisses Jorah’s concerns of Pyat Pree’s magic because of these events as well, she hatched the dragons and survive the fire, when another “magician” Mirri Maz Duur didn’t.

Danerys comes closer to the tower and asks if it’s a riddle, then goes around looking for an entrance. Jorah follows her but soon loses sight of her, only finding Kovarro upon completing a full turn. Danerys has been magically separated from Kovarro and Jorah, she’s already inside the House of Undying.

In the books, the House of the Undying is an ancient grey ruin with no windows or towers and it’s explicit whatever Danerys hears and sees inside is supposed to foreshadow her future. In the show, the House of the Undying is a slender tall tower and it’s not explicit whatever Danerys hears and sees inside is for. While it may seem like there are irreconcilable differences in these designs, their thematic value is exactly the same. [1] In the show, Danerys asks out loud if it’s a riddle outside and walks through “visions” that have not yet happened inside. [2] In the show, the House of Undying is designed and camera-shot to look like the Burned Tower of Winterfell, which is narratively connected with prophecy since this is what allowed Bran Stark to become Three-Eyed Raven. [3] In the books, the Qarth warlocks are narrative parallels to the greenseers and Three-Eyed Raven, such [2] is meant to reference the House of Undying’s prophetic nature without spending much time on that narrative parallel through backstory.

[3] As a side-note, this parallel between the Qarth warlocks and greenseers is mentioned in a conversation between Bran and Luwin, moreover have same concept matrix as well. They both have magic abilities that are characterised as “truth and wisdom”, consisting into seeing the past and the future in allegorical visions, the warlocks with their tripping and greenseers through green dreams. They have big issues with these visions being difficult to interpret and that they become less human the more they indulge in them, the warlocks turn into blue corpses and Brynden Rivers is merging with the Heart Tree. They have types of “food” that enhance the prophetic abilities and taste the “same”, the warlocks have Shade of the Evening made of black-barked trees and greenseers have “weirwood paste” made of weirwood sap and seeds.

Since the House of Undying is connected to prophesy, this suggests that every audiovisual cue in these scenes should be at least considered as a candidate for foreshadowing. Moreover, Danerys is dismissive of Kovarro’s supervision about ghosts and of Jorah’s fears about warlocks, bragging that she’s not afraid of magic tricks and taunting whether her enemies are scared of a little girl, is classic Tempting Fate trope. It highly suggests that Danerys’ future will have these threats but seriously and they will be her downfall. This is especially fitting since Danerys feels arrogant about her own magic being superior to everyone else’s, so what better way then to bring her downfall than in extremes, either a complete mundane death or an extremely magical one? Why not both? All it’s left to figure out is what these represent (Arya Stark and Bran Stark).

Danerys is inside the House of the Undying. She picks up a torch to light the way and she looks around, noticing that she can go either downstairs or upstairs. After she brags about not being afraid of warlock’s magic tricks (Bran Stark) and taunts that they’re scared of little girls (Arya Stark), she hears the dragons screeching and goes upstairs after them.

In the books, Danerys must drink Shade of the Evening before entering and follow certain rules while inside, she must always go right and she must always go up. She also takes Drogon inside, who “interacts” with their surroundings and urges her along, even saving her from traps twice and helping her chose correctly. This is an allegory for Danerys climbing to power by embracing the Targaryan power-hungry ambitions, she always makes the right choice and she always goes up, when in doubt or trapped Drogon chooses for her. In other words, Danerys’ character is all about her “dragon side” and moves due to it.

In the show, Danerys doesn’t do drugs nor has any rules while inside. So much like the House of the Undying design, it may seem like there are irreconcilable differences between the character journeys, but their thematic value is exactly the same. [1] The torch and the dragons’ screeches show Danerys where she must go through light and sound. [2] The torch “interacts” with the surroundings notably at least once and the dragons at the end save Danerys from Pyat Pree. [3] Danerys chooses going up the tower instead of going down after hearing the dragons’ screeches, representative of Danerys climbing to power and her character being moved by her “dragon side”.

THE GIFT OF DEATH

Danerys is still going up the stairs but finally comes upon a door. She lingers for a bit before reaching for the handle and opening it.

Danerys goes in through a door which is visually similar to the double-doors of the House of Black and White. This is unlikely to be a coincidence because this is a shared thematic between books and show. In both cases, Danerys goes up a flight of stairs and comes upon a double-door that resembles the ones from the House of Black and White and after some fun shenanigans, she’s informed (again) of her ultimate fate through allegorical visions (this is an explanation of other visions she saw before) and then gets trapped so the warlocks can suck “her” magic and she has to be saved by the dragons. It does follow the show’s script, as Danerys is informed of her ultimate fate and then gets trapped by a warlock so he can suck “her” magic and she has to be saved by the dragons.

The House of Black and White is the headquarters of the Faceless Men in Braavos. They’re a religious assassin cult that believes in the God of Death and that death itself is a merciful end to suffering, for a price they will grant the “gift” of death to anyone in the world no matter who it is. Furthermore, they disguise themselves and their intentions so they can fulfill their missions. This suggests that whatever Danerys sees inside this chamber foreshadows that Danerys will be tricked by others and that these events will lead to her death, mayhaps the Faceless Men (Arya Stark) will have a major role in it.

Danerys enters a cylindrical stone vault chamber with six doors leading out. She looks around and notices [1] a grill on the floor next to [2] a plinth in the middle of the room.

The camera-work frames Danerys looking down at the grill in a tilted up-shot angle, a cinematic technique that creates a jarring “off-centre” feel, to portray some psychological meltdown and eerie tension. It’s typically used to depict madness or evilness, disorientation or uneasiness, to suggest that something dreadful will happen in the future. This suggests that Danerys’ death and/or the events that will lead up to it should be very disturbing

This framing is repeated in S03E04 - And Now His Watch Has Ended. Joffrey happily rants to Margaery about the gruesome death of several Targaryans’, this shot is used while he talks about Rhaenyra Targaryan and the [A] Dance of Dragons. This was a deadly conflict between two Targaryans over the Iron Throne, such this suggests a second Dance of Dragons where one of the sides is Danerys. The other side is unknown at this point in the story, but at the end of season 6, it’s revealed (Bran Stark) that this is Jon Snow.

The camera-work is deliberate in focusing the plinth. After Danerys sees the grill and looks around some more, it goes from not showing anything to sliding out and showing the empty top. It visually resembles the Heart of Winter, there even are parts of it that are filmed similarly. Moreover, this stone plinth is where Danerys finds the dragons later after she wandered through visions. Therefore, it thematically resembles the Heart of Winter as well, since the elemental representative of fire/ice finds the fire/ice creature sacrifice in the middle.

This duality between ice and fire is telling on its own, because it frames a so-called hero to what’s perceived as an enemy. In other words, if the Night King is a threat to humanity and Danerys is framed visually and thematically as the “same”, what does that make her? Obviously, the answer is Danerys is a threat to humanity as well. Furthermore, this duality is evocative of the franchise’s name, [B] A Song of Ice and Fire, which is based on a poem by Robert Frost that characterises both fire and ice as equally destructive. This gives credence that both fire and ice are equal threats to humanity.

Danerys hesitates before choosing a door, but then once she does she opens it and goes through with it.

Danerys entered through a door with a pattern that roughly resembles a 3×3 grid with noughts on it, while leaves through another door that also resembles a 3×3 grid with crosses on it. This visually resembles the child’s game “noughts and crosses”, where two adversaries attempt to place their own symbol thrice in a row to win it, but whose optimal strategy leads to a draw. It’s true that such a thing would foreshadow a Dance of Dragons where neither party wins, but I very much doubt this is what they meant to represent.

This is the only thing I don’t have an explanation for. I cannot remember an instance where a “shuriken” shape was used anywhere. I admit I never looked for it and I’ve only watched this series thrice (twice casually a long time ago and once properly recently). The House of Black and White door is more subtle yet I immediately remember it and this is a more attention-grabbing pattern.

Of course it could mean nothing, but I doubt it since everything else references something else. Maybe it has not yet appeared and will only show up when Danerys’ death arrives. Maybe it’s only meant as the general symbol for a ✖ to mean the end. Maybe it’s a stylised massive dragonglass bodkin arrow tip seen from the top, this is my favourite for several reasons.

[A] A SNOW THRONE AND A BLASTED RUIN

Danerys enters the Iron Throne room in King’s Landing through a side-door. The first thing is a stained-glass window with a blue flower on it.

Danerys enters the Iron Throne through a side door and not the front door, suggesting from the beginning that Danerys being in the throne room isn’t “correct” in some way. In hindsight, this entrance foreshadows that [1] Danerys isn’t the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but [2] Danerys will attempt to claim it through ignoble means. [A] This vision represents The Dance of Dragons.

[A1] The Rightful Heir to the Iron Throne

The stained-glass window with a blue flower on it symbolises that Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryan and Lyanna Stark, he chooses her as Queen of Love and Beauty at the Tourney of Harrenhal with a crown of winter roses, the flowers that she loved. In the books, Danerys sees this very same imagery in the House of the Undying but with different symbolism: “a blue flower grew from a chink on a wall of ice”. In both cases, there’s the blue flower placed on a narrow slit that allows light (chink and narrow window) on an “icy wall” (a wall of ice and the cold blue light filter that characterises scenes at the Wall).

The camera-work makes Danerys’ torch pass exactly over the flower. Since this torch represents the dragons and lighting stuff on fire, this suggests that she’ll either burn Jon and/or Winterfell (my personal conviction is that it’s going to be both) once she finds out about Jon being the rightful heir to the Iron Throne (how you like them apples for “bride of fire”). Since Danerys can control the dragons, the natural conclusion is that she’ll use them for it. Since the cold blue filter associated with the Wall and Beyond the Wall, as well as with Winterfell under the Long Night, is used for this scene, this suggests that Danerys will learn the secret of Jon’s real parentage and claim to the Iron Throne at either the Wall, beyond the Wall, or Winterfell during the Long Night.

[CONFIRMED] (8x2): Jon tells Danerys that he’s Rhaegar’s son in the Crypts of Winterfell just before the Battle against the Army of the Dead and she responds that he’s the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. (8x3): Drogon attacks Jon & Rhaegal in the middle of the Battle against the Army of the Dead, it’s ambiguous whether it was deliberate or accidental (it already had looked at Jon sketchily before) but it foreshadows their future conflict as well.

Danerys walks into the centre of the room, while snow is falling all over the place, even the Iron Throne is covered in it. This foreshadows that Jon Snow is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Jon is Rhaegar’s legitimate son and Ned Stark claimed him as his bastard so his surname is Snow, therefore this room belongs to him by birthright through the Targaryan line of succession. This also means that Danerys’ own claim to the Iron Throne, something she’s convinced it belongs to her, comes only after his claim. If she tries to claim it over him, this makes her a usurper and this goes well with Danerys entering by a side-door.

The camera-work is the “same” as Bran’s first cluster of prophetic visions, meaning Jon’s parentage will be public due to Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven, either directly or indirectly. Since Bran was the one that found out about it, he’ll always be the “primary” source of information no matter who tells her.

[CONFIRMED] (8x1) Bran instructs Sam to tell Jon the truth about his parents. (8x2) Jon tells Danerys that he is Rhaegar’s, moreover mentions Bran is the source of this information since he saw it in his visions and that he’s legitimate because there are paper documents that prove it. Danerys recognises that Jon is the Targaryan heir (therefore rightful heir to the Iron Throne over her).

[A2] The Burning of King’s Landing

Danerys walks into the centre of the room and places the torch on the ground, then looks up to see that the ceiling utterly destroyed by an unknown attack. This foreshadows that in consequence of Danerys finding out about Jon being the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, she’ll destroy King’s Landing through fire and since she can control dragons, the natural conclusion is that she destroys it with dragonfire.

The camera-work script is very specific, Danerys places the torch on the ground, which is suspect by itself because why would anyone even do this when the torch may be needed to light the way, only then she looks up to see the ceiling destruction, which means that she’ll light the city on fire herself and that it won’t be an accident like I’ve some ridiculous stans say. It may also suggest that she loses a dragon in the attempt since she loses the torch.

While Danerys burning King’s Landing by using the dragons is a natural conclusion, the visuals confirm it as well. The destruction looks like the typical image of buildings’ ceilings after air bomb raids and the subsequent fires. Since dragons are the only thing that can possibly do an aerial attack in ASOIAF / GOT, this destruction will be a consequence of the flying lizards.

In specific, the setting that both Danerys and Bran see, the room with the light coming from the ceiling holes, is a very common obsession subject that war-time photographers have. There are many photos of air bomb raided “old” buildings where one or another person will be looking at the wreckage. It’s meant to symbolise the destruction of heritage by the subject photographed since it’s usually a soldier from the faction that bombed it. Below I enclose some examples, it’s a very recognisable theme in war-time photography

Additionally, this is consistent imagery associated with Valyria and Targaryan destruction of fire and blood, as both Valyria which was burned by volcanos erupting due to their greed and Harrenhal which was burned by dragonfire, have the same kind of look. In specific, I remember reading that book purists were dismayed at how Harrenhal looks like in the show, since they expected something else that would fit their grandiose delusions that dragons are fun, but instead it’s something characterised as a “blasted ruin” by Tywin Lannister. I actually have never seen such a visual comparison being made before, but this is why it gives off an eerie feeling, it’s the fictional shadow of real horrific events where real people died.

Danerys approaches the Iron Throne and she comes close to touching it but stops when she hears the dragons screech, so she leaves after them instead. This foreshadows that in consequence of Danerys burning King’s Landing she’ll come close to claiming the Iron Throne, but she won’t succeed and she’ll go elsewhere, perhaps because of the dragons.

The framing here has three important details. [1] The camera-work focuses on the torches still burning on the background both as Danerys approaches the Iron Throne and as she leaves, which means that both will happen _after _she burns King’s Landing (this vision isn’t about her choosing to go North over the Iron Throne at the end of season 7, as I’ve seen some of her stans defending). [2] The music while Danerys approaches the Iron Throne and lingers is very sinister music with clear Targaryan motifs, which frames Danerys’ coming close to claiming the Iron Throne and a Targaryan restoration as a very negative thing. [3] Danerys is shrouded in shadow as she leaves, which frames this whole shtick as negative.

[THE SAME STORY] The War on Westeros (Battle of Fire)

In S03E04 - And Now His Watch Has Ended, the Lannisters and the Tyrells are touring the Sept of Baelor, preparing for the upcoming wedding between their houses. While Cersei and Oleanna have a power struggle squabble, Joffrey happily rants to Margaery about the gruesome death of several Targaryans’. In specific, the camera-work frames Joffrey and Margaery in the exact same way as the aforementioned Danerys’ scene, while he speaks about Rhaenyra Targaryan and how she died in the aftermath of the Dance of Dragons. At the very least, this foreshadows another deadly conflict between two Targaryans which will involve Danerys and we know who the other one is because there’s only two left, Jon Snow. At the very most, this may suggest Danerys’ fate will be similar to Rhanerya and/or any of the Targaryans that Joffrey talks about.

RHAENYRA TARGARYAN - Dance of Dragons

JOFFREY: Rhaenyra Targaryen was murdered by her brother, or rather his dragon. It ate her while her son watched. What’s left of her is buried in the crypts right down there.

In S04E01 - Two Swords, there is foreshadowing that Danerys may be eaten by a dragon in the aftermath of a Targaryan conflict. Danerys is hanging out with the dragons at the cliffside before marching onto Meereen, she sees Rhaegal and Viserion flying through the air squabbling over food while she pets Drogon. When the food drops nearby, Drogon loses interest in Danerys’ petting and joins the squabble with his brothers. Danerys attempts to calm Drogon down as if he was a cute house dog instead of a dangerous wild animal, but he snaps back at her. If Danerys hadn’t moved out of the way, Drogon would’ve snapped her head off just like that. The other two dragons take this chance to seize the food and run away from their bigger brother, but Drogon goes after them. Danerys is shaken over Drogon’s aggression towards her and Jorah tells her that dragons can’t be tamed not even by their mother.

This is an allegory for the Dance of Dragons and the Targaryans in general. The dragons are food-hungry and hostile, even against their own brood (they even move as if dancing and they attack their own mother), and they cannot be tamed. Furthermore, it portrays dragons as solitary animals (most reptiles are like this), characterised by territorial behaviour where they don’t get along with others of their kind (the contrast are pack animals). Likewise, Targaryans are power-hungry and violent, even against their own family (their worst conflict was the Dance of Dragons), and Targaryans can’t change their nature. They don’t share power and don’t get along with others, always in conflict either amongst them or against others. Danerys believes herself to be Targaryan special and she too is framed as a solitary figure, therefore she’s covered by this allegory. In the show, the dragons don’t have much of a personality nor are thematically linked to anything. and they choose to focus on Drogon while the other two are just afterthoughts (I have my suspicions as to why: X, X). In the books, the dragons do have personalities and they’re thematically connected to a few subjects that pander to the names they have.

Drogon is named after Danerys’ dead husband Drogo, a violent dothraki. In consequence, this is the most aggressive and dangerous of the three dragons, representing Danerys as khaleesi (together they are “Rhaego”, the Stallion that Mounts the World). This matches with Danerys embracing the words of her house, fire and blood, which really mean conflict and suffering. Consequently, Drogon is the dragon that Danerys identifies with the most and he becomes her personal mount later on. In the books, Drogon often seeks Danerys touch and protects her, so while they “fought” in the Daznak’s Pit and she was naturally scared of him at that moment, they are well bonded and he eventually “submits” to her (he doesn’t submit at all, he allows her to do whatever). So if Danerys is harmed or even eaten by a dragon, it’s unlikely that Drogon would be the one that does it (unless he’s controlled). Still, this show’s scene establishes well that even Drogon would go against Danerys if she does something he doesn’t like, implying that the other two may do the same or do even worse.

Viserion is named after Danerys’ brother Viserys, who was crazy and spiteful, but otherwise cowardly and ineffective. In consequence, Drogon is the least aggressive and dangerous of the three, the most “friendly” since he’s social towards humans and the “least” confrontational, as he often runs away from threats instead of attacking. Not only is Viserion’s first instinct to shy away from confrontation but he’s often written as simply leaving Danerys. So if Danerys is harmed or even eaten by a dragon, it’s unlikely that Viserion would be the one that does it (unless he’s controlled). In the show, Viserion is killed by the Night King at the end of season 7, but he rises again as a “White Walker” (the Night King touches him like he touches Craster’s baby and his eyes turn rayed blue, instead of the process of animating wights which is just to raise his arms). It’s true that under the Night King’s control Viserion would be more likely to harm or eat Danerys, but that’s thematically weak (unless it would be Viserys revenge).

Rhaegal is named after Danerys’ brother Rhaegar, who along with his children was the last acknowledged heir to the Iron Throne, who stupidly went to war for a woman. In consequence, Rhaegal is aggressive enough but not the worst of them, moreover he comes linked to rightful heir to the Iron Throne as well as a warring conflict involving Targaryans. What’s more important is that Danerys and Rhaegal have a borderline antagonist relationship. On one hand, Rhaegal hurts Danerys with his claws on her shoulder, he doesn’t like how “she” smells, he doesn’t like to be touched by her as he bits her hand and raises his wings in warning, he reacts badly to her presence while a captive roaring and belching fire in her direction. On the other hand, Danerys hits him once when he wishes to eat more, that she considers being greedy since he wants more than what he should be “allowed”. If Danerys is harmed or eaten by a dragon in the aftermath of a Targaryan conflict, then Rhaegal is the most likely to do it.

(AERION + AERYS) TARGARYAN - The Burning of King’s Landing

JOFFREY: Over there in that urn, the ashes of Aerion Targaryen. Aerion Brightflame they called him. He thought drinking wildfire would turn him into a dragon. He was wrong. And, of course, there’s the Mad King, killed by my uncle. Would you like to see where the last Targaryens are buried?

In S02E04 - Garden of Bones, Danerys found out about Qarth after journeying through the Red Waste and then goes there, but she isn’t allowed to enter at first unless the Thirteen see the dragons. She threatens that once the dragons are grown, she will take what was “stolen” from her with fire and blood and she will destroy those that have wronged her, together they will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground, so if Qarth doesn’t allow them in then they’ll burn first. These two scenes are followed by Arya arriving at Harrenhal, a castle which was burned to the ground by Aegon Targaryan due to not being allowed in, and witnessing the horrible consequences of war.

In S02E05 - The Ghost of Harrenhal, there is foreshadowing that Danerys will burn King’s Landing with dragonfire and wildfire alike. Tyrion and Bronn talk to a pyromancer about the properties of wildfire. Bronn isn’t convinced about the effectiveness of wildfire in battle because he believes that with just one mistake and the whole city catches on fire. However, Tyrion is tempted and instructs the pyromancer to make wildfire for him from then on instead of for Cersei. This scene is followed by Danerys in Qarth teaching Drogon (this specific dragon) how to breathe fire and burn things on command.

In S03E05 - Kissed by Fire, there is foreshadowing that since Danerys believes that her magic is the strongest due to already having survived Drogo’s funeral pyre, she’d think the same when she decides to burn King’s Landing. Jaime explains to Brienne that Aerys thought that burning King’s Landing was a great idea since he believed he could survive the fire by transforming into a dragon that would turn his enemies to ash. In the books, Jaime mentions that Aerys meant to transform the city into a funeral pyre and that like Aerion Brightflame, he’d simply transform into a dragon. Danerys too is under the delusion that she’s either fireproof or that her magic would allow her to survive unscathed, even though the author has said no to either, so the very least she’d have the same belief as Aerion and Aerys that she wouldn’t die by dragonfire or wildfire.

THE PRICE OF GREATNESS

JOFFREY: My father didn’t want them here. He was going to have their bodies burned and thrown in the Blackwater, but the High Septon convinced him otherwise. MARGAERY: I’m glad he did. I’m sorry, Your Grace. I know they did terrible things at the end, but their ancestors built this. Sometimes severity is the price we pay for greatness.

Margaery mentions that severity is a price for greatness and Danerys may be delusional enough to believe that burning King’s Landing is the price to pay for greatness as well. In ACOK # 26 Danerys #2, this is exactly Danerys’ state of mind. She doesn’t want to reduce King’s Landing to a black ruin and she wants to make a beautiful kingdom, where the people look at her the way they looked at her father (if that’s not foreshadowing I don’t know what is) but first she must conquer it and if that means being destroyed by the dothraki then so be it. In _S05E09 - The Dance of Dragons _(again, if that’s not foreshadowing…) this talk was adapted loosely, Danerys tells Hizdhar that she’d turn a city to ashes if she thought that was necessary, that it won’t matter how many people die since they’d die for what she believes are good reasons.

The camera-work for Margaery’s comment is also the tilted angle shot meant to suggest something bad, they’re in the Sept of Baelor that Cersei later blows up with wildfire. Furthermore, Danerys would both be destroying King’s Landing which her ancestors built, erasing the symbol of the Targaryans’ tyrannical reign. If the Iron Thrones goes with it Danerys would even unwittingly fulfil the dumb promise of breaking the wheel because that’s exactly what that stupid ugly chair represents, the great houses in power playing the game of thrones so they can sit on it. Moreover, the Targaryans’ reign begun with fire and blood and ends with fire and blood, as a result of their own power-hungry ambitions, which also parallels the fall of Old Valyria.

IN CONCLUSION…

On one hand, Joffrey’s words that Rhaenyra was killed by her brother’s dragon, eating her while her son watched can be fulfilled. Danerys would be eaten by Rhaegal literally or metaphorical. In the former case, Danerys would be eaten by Rhaegal, which is her brother’s dragon as she named him after Rhaegar, while her son watches since she considers the dragons her children. While I would love this, what’s likelier is that this is meant metaphorically. The eating is simply defeated in battle, therefore Danerys will be defeated in battle by Jon Snow, since he’s her brother’s dragon (or even killed by Arya), while Rhaegal and/or Drogon watches since she considers the dragons her children.

On the other hand, Joffrey’s words that Aerion and Aerys thought they couldn’t be killed by wildfire but then being wrong can also be fulfilled. If Danerys’ loses the war, she may feel the same as her father did, that she’d rather burn King’s Landing that let it fall to the traitors. Furthermore, since Danerys is under the delusion she’s special and fireproof since she hatched the dragons in Drogo’s funeral pyre, she may believe in something similar to how Aerion and Aerys felt, that they could be reborn into a dragon if they make King’s Landing into the greatest funeral pyre of them all. Danerys may really die by burning in the explosion and her remains shall be “buried” in King’s Landing like Rhaenyra and her ashes strewn across Blackwater Bay like Robert wished to do. Or Danerys may even be right and survive, she’d live as an eldritch abomination and be killed shortly after by Arya Stark with Bran Stark’s help.

[B] DRAGON IS FIRE MADE FLESH AND FIRE IS POWER

Danerys goes through the gate to come beyond the Wall, during heavy snowstorm. She sees something in the distance and walks there.

Danerys walking out of the Wall’s gate is cinematically framed the same way as the rangers leaving for beyond the Wall in the very first scene of the show, in S01E01 - Winter is Coming. This foreshadows that Danerys will go North to fight the Night King and the Others, since that’s what Waymar Royce, Gared and Will encountered in their equivalent scene (this is confirmed at the end of season 7, Danerys goes North “convinced” by Jon Snow). [B] In hindsight, this represents the Song of Ice and Fire.

The camera-work makes Danerys look very “white” and along the fate of the Night’s Watch group foreshadows that she’ll lose badly against the Night King and the White Walkers. She’ll lose about 2/3 of her forces, since both Waymar and Gared died as well, and she’ll run away from the confrontation, just as Will got away (then Arya / Bran will pass the sentence and will swing the sword) If this is true, it’s worth noticing that 2/3 of the Night’s Watch brothers match with the dragons’ fates (Waymar = Viserion, Will = Drogon), that may suggest that Rhaegal’s fate might be to die in this war.

[CONFIRMED] (8x1): Jon bonded with Rhaegal, therefore Danerys lost this dragon (it didn’t die, but changed allegiance). (8x3) Danerys and her forces were reket by the Night King and unlimited company, she lost a good chunk of her Unsullied and the entirety of the Dothraki fighting in the Battle againt the Army of the Dead (actually, well above 2/3).

[B1] The War on Westeros (Battle of Ice)

Danerys comes closer to whatever she saw in the distance, it’s a tent and once she enters it, she finds Drogo and Rhaego inside.

The design of this tent matches with the one she shared with Drogo throughout season 1. In the show, this tent represents Danerys’ “journey” of hatching the dragons, because [1] the entirety of it happens inside of it except for [2] the hatching proper. [1] In S01E02 - The Kingsroad, Danerys is having "harsh sex” with Drogo, so she takes comfort in starting at the eggs. Later, Doreah tells Danerys the story about the sun coming too close to the moon, making it crack from the heat and from it came the dragons (pregnancy and birth allegory). In S01E03 - Lord Snow, Danerys finds out she’s pregnant and later tells Drogo about it. In S01E06 - A Golden Crown, Danerys tries to hatch the eggs over a brazier. In S01E09 - Baelor, Danerys unwittingly sacrifices Rhaego and in S01E10 - Fire and Blood, Danerys mercy kills Drogo and [2] hatches the dragons in the funeral pyre by using three lives in return.

Danerys “magic” is actually bloodmagic, she hatched the dragons and survived the funeral pyre (as well as Vaes Dothrak), because she killed people in return. However, the Night King and the White Walkers magic is also bloodmagic, they create more White Walkers by using human sacrifices. This vision is a direct parallel between Danerys + dragons and the Night King + White Walkers, they both sacrifice human lives to create ice/fire elemental creatures through evil bloodmagic. Danerys + dragons is represented by the dothraki tent and both Drogo and Rhaego, while the Night King + White Walker is represented by it being beyond the Wall during a heavy snowstorm, characteristic of the Night Lands and the Long Night. Therefore, if Danerys + dragons are saviours then so are the Night King + White Walkers… or the contrary, if the Night KIng + White Walkers are a threat to humanity then so are Danerys + dragons.

This parallel between Danerys + dragons and the Night King + White Walkers is reflected in the visual coding of both creation ceremonies as well. [1] Drogo’s funeral pyre where Danerys hatches the dragons with bloodmagic resembles the Heart of Winter where the Night King’s converts Craster’s sons into White Walkers with bloodmagic. The colour-coding and the elemental pairing of a red fire-themed ceremony versus a blue ice-themed ceremony, the steps are even the same since both Danerys and the Night King walk towards the centre where the sacrifices are. [2] It’s repeated in this vision, since the House of Undying’s stone vault chamber where Danerys finds the dragons visually resembles the Heart of Winter where the Night King finds Craster’s son, they both have the same number of “doors” and a plinth with the fire/ice creature in the middle. [3] It’s repeated later in Bran’s prophetic visions, which always couple Danerys hatching the dragons with the Night King hatching creating the White Walkers.

[B2] Wake the Dragon - Mother of Dragons

Danerys has some dumb talk with Drogo which I have no patience for. She’s tempted to stay with them but she hears the dragons screeches, so she leaves them behind. She returns to the stone vault chamber where she finds the dragons upon the plinth.

This foreshadows that in consequence of the war against Night King and the White Walkers, Danerys will be forced to choose between the people (mother of people) and the dragons (mother of dragons), and she’ll choose the dragons. This duality between mother of people and mother of dragons is something intrinsic to her character story arc and it’s narratively forbidden for Danerys to be both since dragons are destructive forces. Since Danerys’ story arc is very repetitive, this is a choice that she does several times, but the major ones are made during _AGOT _/ season 1 and ASOS-ADWD / season 3-4-5, with Danerys always choosing the dragons. It’s best illustrated when Danerys decides to be the mother of people by chaining the dragons because Drogon burned a child named Hazzeah, but later Danerys decides to be the mother of dragons and let them roam free, she forgets the child’s name and embraces the Targaryan legacy of fire and blood. She’s fated to make that choice once more, but this time there won’t be narrative mercy, and she’ll be outed as a threat to humanity as much as the Night King + White Walkers were.

In the show, the House of the Undying frames this conflict as a redux of season 1. Danerys as the mother of the people is represented by Drogon and Rhaego, which she rejects by leaving both behind, much like she sacrificed these two for power in this very same tent so long ago. Danerys as the mother of dragons is represented by the dragons screeches which is the reason why she steps outside the tent to return to the stone vault chamber where she finds them atop the stone plinth, much like she lighted the funeral pyre where she hatched the eggs and found the dragons. Just in this case, because of how allegorical it is, I’ll mention the books’ counterpart as a complement)

In the books, Danerys also sees this "summary” in the final segment of House of Undying visions, as a redux of AGOT endgame (”Shadows whirled and danced inside a tent, boneless and terrible. A little girl ran barefoot toward a big house with a red door. Mirri Maz Duur shrieked in the flames, a dragon bursting from her brow.”). It’s followed by a premonition of TWOW endgame (the wine-seller, the white lion, the crones) and the ADOS endgame (the slaves, the undying, and the dragon). The last one is especially spiffy, the slaves are representative of Danerys as “mhysa” or the mother of people (in the show, Drogo and Rhaego) and the dragon (it’s not even named) rejecting such a thing and setting everything on fire are representative of Danerys as mother of dragons, plus the slaves being UNDEAD BLUE CREATURES foreshadow the Others and Danerys running away from them foreshadows her leaving the fight.

The framing here has three important details. [1] Danerys literally leaves a lover and a family behind, which suggests that stupid fake romance she has with Jon Snow won’t be enough to sway her and/or them being family won’t sway her either. [2] The camera-work is the same as the one when Danerys leaves the destroyed Iron Throne room covered in snow, she’s shrouded in shadow, which frames this decision as very negative.

[HOLD] (8x3), Danerys flees the fight even if she comes back later, foreshadowing she’ll most likely do it again.

[THE SAME STORY] Wake the Dragon - You knew the price.

Danerys may say she loves the dragons all she wants and I even believe that she’s crazy enough to believe that in part, but the reality is that_** the dragons are the power that allows her power-hungry warmonging to be fulfilled**_. In S01E07 - You Win or You Die, Danerys attempts to convince Drogo to invade Westeros, she even betrays her real intentions by saying the Iron Throne is a chair that a QUEEN can sit on. Later, Danerys asks Jorah to help her convince Drogo because her brother was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne (her brother is dead, so she disguises it better here, but she means herself), to which Jorah says that Aegon had no right to anything and he seized the Seven Kingdoms because he could, to which she answers and because he had dragons.

In S02E09 - Baelor, Danerys being power-hungry and obsessed with the Iron Throne is the reason why she was “tricked” by Mirri Maz Duur into sacrificing Rhaego (really, it’s not her fault, she warned not to enter the tent). When Jorah realised that Drogo was going to die, he told Danerys specifically that they should run away because once he croaked for good, the dothraki would fight amongst themselves and whoever won would kill Rhaego. Even though Danerys knows this, she’s very adamant that she won’t leave Drogo, because he’s her ticket to reclaiming the Iron Throne (this is more obvious in the books). Even back then, Danerys already put her power-hungry ambitions (mother of dragons) over the safety of her child (mother of people), this will not change after spending so long obsessing about it and coming so close to obtaining it.

Danerys’ storyline is really very repetitive, this comes up again and again and again. In S02E05 - The Ghost of Harrenhal, Quaithe highlights that dragons are power. Later, Danerys says she wants the Seven Kingdoms and after some bad feinting by mentioning the dothraki (mother of people), she admits wanting the Seven Kingdoms because they belong to her and Xaro classifies her as an ambitious conqueror (mother of dragons). In S02E06 - The Old Gods and the New, Danerys tells the Spice King that she’ll take what is hers with fire and blood. Later, Danerys complains about being snubbed while Xaro advises her that climbing to power isn’t pure and honourable. In S02E07 - A Man Without Honour, Danerys says the dragons are the most valuable thing in the world. Together, this foreshadows the same as season 1, Danerys wants the Seven Kingdoms since they belong to her and she’ll do it in ignoble ways.

[THE SAME STORY] Wake the Dragon - Azor Ahai

THOROS OF MYR: "Man once again faces the war for the dawn, which has been waged since time began. On one side is the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow. Against him stands the Great Other, whose name may not be spoken. The Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, the God of Night and Terror.”

Histories & Lore - The Lord of Light

This bloodmagic shtick is also explored through Stannis when he’s pandering to Melisandre and the R’hllor cult, where he gave in to dreadful demands more and more. Stannis started “little” by sacrificing Renly’s life when his little brother tried to usurp him, then wanted to sacrifice his bastard nephew’s life but was denied since Davos freed him, then sacrificed some “traitor” bannermen and some of his wife’s relatives. However, the culmination of Stannis’ storyline was being convinced by Melisandre that he needed to sacrifice his dear daughter Shireen to win the war against the Boltons, which was necessary for the war against the Army of the Dead. Stannis is motivated by unrelenting duty while Danerys is motivated by obsessive ambition, but they share fire bloodmagic thematic through the concept of Azor Ahai.

There is a dualistic religion opposing R’hllor, or Lord of Light, which is a deity of fire and light, and the Great Other, which is a deity of cold and darkness. The followers of the former believe that Azor Ahai is a prophetised saviour that shall combat the latter’s champion. It’s a natural conclusion to associate the former with fire magic, represented by Danerys and the dragons, and the latter is ice magic, represented by Night King and Others. Therefore this the eponymous “A song of Ice and Fire” allowed with bloodmagic being portrayed as bad as well as Stannis pandering to Melisandre being framed as horrific and tragic, cinches the deal for sure. Neither R’hllor or the Great Other is either “good” or “evil”, they are destructive against humanity and that’s all.

THOROS OF MYR: According to prophecy, our champion will be reborn to wake dragons from stone and reforge the great sword Lightbringer that defeated the darkness those thousands of years ago. If the old tales are true, a terrible weapon forged with a loving wife’s heart. Part of me thinks man was well rid of it, but great power requires great sacrifice. That much at least the Lord of Light is clear on.

Histories & Lore - The Lord of Light

Melisandre convinces Stannis that he’s Azor Ahai and he “fulfils some of the requirements in a fake way,. However, it’s Danerys who is Azor Ahai as she fulfils all them in a real way. She was reborn in Drogo’s funeral pyre as the mother dragons, she hatched the dragons out of stone eggs and later become Drogon’s personal mount when he was the dragon whose life she paid with her husband’s life sacrifice. She did this when the long summer ended and autumn began, as the dead started raising in the north and winter crept from beyond the Wall. Azor Ahai is no hero, he’s simply the champion chosen by R’hllor and the Night King as the champion chosen by the Great Other. Furthermore, Stannis while pandering to Melisandre portrayed Azor Ahai as a dreadful figure, even Thoros of Myr narrating the story of his religion characterises Lightbringer (the dragons) as a terrible weapon. Therefore Danerys and the dragons are as much saviour as the Night King and the White Walkers, which is to say they’re not saviours but awful things that humanity must fight to survive (ETA: partly confirmed in 8x3, Danerys and the dragons were useless in the Battle against the Army of the Dead).

WELCOME HOME, DANERYS STORMBORN

Danerys returns to the stone vault chamber and sees the dragons over the stone plinth this time around, they call for her and she approaches them. Suddenly Pyat Pree shows up and explains that magic returned to the world because the dragons were reborn, then reveals that his objective is to trap Danerys to keep magic alive.

This is pretty straightforward, though an exaggeration. There was still magic in the world before the dragons hatched, it’s just that it’s so little it’s borderline negligible. However, magic received a massive boost when dragons returned and like Pyat Pree explains, they get stronger by being close to Danerys and this means magic also gets stronger. This brings a pertinent question since the Night King and the White Walkers are also magic, either they have become stronger because of the [1] dragons’ magic or [2] fight the dragons’ magic. Moreover, what would happen to the Night King and the White Walkers if the dragons simply disappeared? This may foreshadow that Danerys may be forced to choose between protecting humanity by destroying the dragons or protecting the dragons by ETA: abandoning the fight in the North abandoning her “saviour” façade.

Pyat Pree shackles Danerys in hopes of trapping her in the House of Undying forever and declares that as her home now. Danerys says that her home is across the Narrow Sea where the people are waiting for her. She then orders the dragons to burn Pyat Pree and she’s freed.

This is supposed to be good dialogue, but it’s actually quite “bad”. Pyat Pree’s welcoming her home and Danerys being in ecstasy while burning him is literally chewing the scenery there. [1] It’s a forced reference because nobody would even say that in such a scenario. [2] The concept of home (in the books, also the house with the red door) is pretty major in Danerys POV, she wishes to go home and talks about the red door a lot. [3] It actually makes no sense as Danerys knows that there are no people waiting for her, she has even said it. [4] Danerys looks really extra, like she’s going through some transcending nonsense. > Regardless and together this foreshadows is that Danerys shall come home (King’s Landing)… and burn it in odd ecstasy.

[THE SAME STORY] Home

In the show, ‘home’ is used in Danerys scenes for dialogue that is always quite consistent in five major themes: [1] the conquering Westeros with dragons and dothraki, [2] a betrayal that she’ll seek vengeance for, [3] embracing Targaryan legacy of violence, [4] attacking King’s Landing with fire, [5] the usurping of the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. These basically fit with the five major themes that Danerys’ visions at the House of the Undying as well as Bran’s prophetic visions allude to.

[1&5] Home is conquering Westeros with dragons and ETA: dothraki the Stallion that Mounts the World (Danerys + Drogo = Rhaego = Danerys + Drogon), as well as usurping the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

In S01E01 - Winter is Coming, Danerys tells Viserys she doesn’t want to marry Drogo and that she wants to go home, but Viserys tells her that they can only go home with her future husband’s army. In S01E04 - Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things, Danerys says that despite Viserys being the rightful heir, he doesn’t have the capacity to take them home, one of the reasons why she feels justifyed in usurping him. In S01E07 - You Win or You Die, Danerys tries to convince Drogo to invade Westeros and seize the throne for their child, then reveals her true intentions by saying she wants to be the one to sit on it. Later, Danerys asks Jorah to convince Drogo to ride to Westeros, that Viserys was the rightful heir therefore she’s that now, but Jorah counters that Aegon had no right to the Seven Kingdoms and that he seized them because he could, then she says because he had dragons and Jorah says that they help yes. In S0205 - The Ghost of Harrenhal, Danerys says she wants the Seven Kingdoms because she promised her khalasar that she’d find them a safe home, Xaros mocks her and she admits she wants the Seven Kingdoms because they’re hers, to which he classifies her as an ambitious conqueror.

[2] Home is a betrayal of some sort that Danerys will feel justified in avenging with extreme violence.

In S01E07 - You Win or You Die, a wine seller offers special wine to Danerys and assures her that many pray for her return, to which she answers she hopes one day to return the “kindness” (if that’s not foreshadowing, I don’t know what is), but this is actually an assassination attempt. In S06E09 - The Battle of Bastards, Razdhal makes an off-coment about Danerys could have left for home with a fleet of ships, but choose wrongly. These may feel like sketchy, but in the books ’home’ frequently comes along betrayal and ships (and not just to sail to Westeros), so I’m including it. It’s also worth mentioning that Danerys usurping Viserys as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne also fits here, she betrayed him as well (at least, her hallucinations seem to think so).

[3] Home is being the mother of dragons over the mother of people, therefore embracing the Targaryan legacy of fire and blood.

In S05E10 - Mother’s Mercy, Danerys is with Drogon in the Dothraki sea, she attempts to make him fly them back to Meereen her people need her, but he refuses to do it and throws her off. This encompasses Danerys’ character conflict well, there’s the mother of dragons, represented by Drogon who flied away from Mereen, and the mother of people, represented by Danerys as queen who believes the people need her who wishes to fly back to Meereen. Since the “mother of dragons” side (Drogon) doesn’t care about the people, it rejects the “mother of people (Danerys as queen). This is so unsubtle, Danerys climbs the wrong way and sits backwards, so the mother counterparts are literally facing completely opposite directions.

[4] Home is burning King’s Landing.

In S06E09 - The Battle of Bastards, Danerys promises to crucify every master, burn their fleets and kill every soldier, and turn their cities to the dirt. Tyrion "dissuades” her by revealing that her father Aerys would have burned King’s Landing with wildfire if Jaime hadn’t stopped him. In S07E02 - Stormborn, Danerys says that Dragonstone doesn’t feel like home and wishes to leave. They discuss battle plans and Danerys says that if Viserys had dragons he’d already gone to King’s Landing and burn it to the ground (doubtful), but Tyrion dissuades her by reminding her that she doesn’t want to be like her father the Queen of Ashes. In S07E04 - The Spoils of War, Danerys is informed that she has lost every battle and she threatens to take her three dragons to burn King’s Landing. She’s only dissuaded by Jon telling her that arsonist lizards aren’t his type this would make her worse the same as Cersei Lannister.

[THE SAME STORY] Home in the books.

In the books, this is even more obvious, because every time Danerys mentions and/or thinks of home, she thinks along the other subjects as well In the show, special care has been made into establishing [1] [4] [5] but not really [2] [3] which are waaay more pronounced in the books (including that “odd” insistence with ships > which foreshadow a final alliance with Euron Greyjoy). I’ve selected the most straighforward from each book, but I can assure you every single one fits. It’s quite fun finding them all, especially the ones with flowery language.

    “What do you pray for, Ser Jorah?” she asked him.     “Home,” he said. His voice was thick with longing.     “I pray for home too,” she told him, believing it.     Ser Jorah laughed. “Look around you then, Khaleesi.” But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King’s Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind’s eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind’s eye, all the doors were red.

---- AGOT #23 Danerys #3

    The thought of home disquieted her. If her sun-and-stars had lived, he would have led his khalasar across the poison water and swept away her enemies, but his strength had left the world. Her bloodriders remained, sworn to her for life and skilled in slaughter, but only in the ways of the horselords. The Dothraki sacked cities and plundered kingdoms, they did not rule them. Dany had no wish to reduce King’s Landing to a blackened ruin full of unquiet ghosts. She had supped enough on tears. I want to make my kingdom beautiful, to fill it with fat men and pretty maids and laughing children. I want my people to smile when they see me ride by, the way Viserys said they smiled for my father.

---- ACOK #23 Danerys #3

    “My city,” said Dany. “I was looking for a house with a red door, but by night all the doors are black.”     “A red door?” Missandei was puzzled. “What house is this?” “No house. It does not matter.” Dany took the younger girl by the hand. “Never lie to me, Missandei. Never betray me.”

---- ASOS #71 Danerys #6

     It was good counsel. "Yes, make it so.” Westeros. Home. But if she left, what would happen to her city? Meereen was never your city, her brother’s voice seemed to whisper. Your cities are across the sea. Your Seven Kingdoms, where your enemies await you. You were born to serve them blood and fire.

---- ADWD #16 Danerys #3

#anti daenerys #anti daenerys targaryen #anti targaryen #anti house targaryen

[ao3feed-gendrya]

Fall of Ice, Rise of Fire. Part 1: Like Armour

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2K5gmoY

by DefiantCandle17

It wasn't supposed to end like this. Spurned by horrific visions of the future, Jon receives haunting, cryptic messages from a dark future in which a demon lord rises to conquer Westeros, and only he and the actions of a few unwilling heroes can stop it. Yet all is not as it seems. The Night King is still alive and a malevolent threat lurks in the shadows, ready to burn it all down. Daenerys and Jon's relationship is brutally tested after Jon is told the terrible truth about his heritage and withdraws from the Dragon Queen, unaware of the damage he may unknowingly wreak on the future and the woman he loves for fear of facing his own destiny. It is up to the Three Eyed Raven, and the messages of a figure known only as the Burnt King to undo the victory of Rh'llor and his sinister forces. When a terrible battle separates Jon and Daenerys, they must journey to an ancient ruin filled with terrible power and make peace with the past, accept the truth and face the worst that the darkness has to offer, if they are to reunite and survive. Jon must rise up and accept his destiny, if he is to protect Westeros and the woman he loves. He must save Daenerys. Or all is lost.

Words: 2550, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of The Fall of Ice, The Rise of Fire

Fandoms: Game of Thrones (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Jon Snow | Aegon Targaryen, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark, Sansa Stark, R'hllor (ASoIaF), Sandor Clegane, Brienne of Tarth, Podrick Payne, Gendry Waters, Jorah Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Melisandre of Asshai, Bran Stark, Drogon (ASoIaF), Rhaegal (ASoIaF), Night King (Game of Thrones), Missandei (ASoIaF), Grey Worm, Varys (ASoIaF), Tyrion Lannister, Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers, Jaime Lannister

Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth

Additional Tags: High Fantasy, AU, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Demon Lord R'hllor, dark future, Save her or all is lost, Prepare for the cringiest cheesiest AU you are about to read, Jon must accept his heritage to save Westeros from a hidden threat, The Barrow, Visions, Season 8 is what the demon lord wanted, Bran and Aegon must fight to prevent that, OC Jon, OC Daenerys, OC everyone to be honest, You Have Been Warned, Dark moments, Good vs Evil, Save Daenerys's soul, Dragonknights, sorcery, Magic, Inspired by Star Wars, berserk - Freeform, Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice, Avengers Endgame, Samurai Jack - Freeform, Lord of the Rings, Themes include, Supernatural - Freeform, Horror, Romance, Action, heroes vs villains, Adventure, Angst, So much angst, Jon is the king of Angst, Aegon the Angsty One

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2K5gmoY

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #gendrya #arya x gendry #axg

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

question from a non-book reader; i've been reading up on a lot of targaryen history since i got the world of ice and fire book. i vaguely understand the blackfyre rebellion and a lot of what i see on tumblr seems to side either with the targaryens or the blackfyres. but it seems to me that neither side was fully in the right since the targaryens overall weren't exactly known for being just rulers. that said, what is your opinion on the blackfyre rebellion? (1/2)

(2/2) did bloodraven genuinely commit tyranny and sins against the gods, or was aegor rivers the one who had the moral high ground in comparison?

…um.

I’m not sure if you’re confused because you haven’t read the books, or what, but sorry… no. The Blackfyre Rebellion happened because King Aegon IV Targaryen, Aegon the Unworthy (motto: “wash her and bring her to my bed”), always hated his trueborn son Daeron, considering him weak, hated Daeron’s mother Queen Naerys (and always tried to undermine her, including accusing her of infidelity through a proxy), hated the peace made with Dorne that was sealed with Daeron’s marriage to a Dornish princess (including trying and failing to start a war with Dorne by attacking them unprovoked with wooden “dragons”), decided to give Daeron one last stab in the back by legitimizing all his bastards on his deathbed.

One of those bastards included Daemon Blackfyre, born Daemon Waters, the son of Aegon and his cousin Daena the Defiant.

Aegon had knighted Daemon for valor in a squire’s tourney (age 12), and presented him with the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, the hereditary sword of House Targaryen and the Targaryen kings. (Blackfyre had belonged to Aegon the Conqueror, and when Aenys gave the sword to his younger brother Maegor at Aegon’s funeral – because Maegor was a warrior and Aenys was not, wanting them to rule together – it was widely considered to be a sign of Aenys’s weakness and Maegor’s strength.) Aegon IV giving Daemon the sword of kings, acknowledging him as his son, and then legitimizing him two years later, was considered by many to be his attempt to make Daemon his true heir and deny Daeron as falseborn, Naerys’s secret bastard.

Nevertheless, Daeron did not let his father’s duplicity preclude his obligations to his many bastard half-brothers and -sisters; including allowing Daemon to change his last name to Blackfyre, arranging his marriage to Rohanne of Tyrosh as Aegon had negotiated (though Daeron did not allow Daemon to marry his sister Princess Daenerys too), and granting a keep and lands along the Blackwater to the new House Blackfyre. Daemon even took his sigil the Targaryen arms inverted, a black three-headed dragon on red. And Daemon made it known that Aegon had given Daemon the sword because he was a warrior and Daeron was not, though Daeron did have two sons (out of four) who were highly martially talented.

Daeron’s rule soon stablized the excesses of the reign of his corrupt hedonist father; he was seen as just and good-hearted, and he was called “Daeron the Good” by both smallfolk and lords. Nevertheless, as time went on, those who opposed Dorne and its inclusion in Westeros, bound by two marriages to House Targaryen, found their figurehead in the handsome warrior Daemon Blackfyre. They looked at Daeron’s marriage to Mariah Martell, and his heir Baelor Breakspear, who though a warrior, also looked like his mother, with dark hair and dark eyes. They stewed at Princess Daenerys’s marriage to Prince Maron Martell of Dorne (oh noes a smelly brown man manhandling our white princess), and imagined a great love story denied to Daemon. (Though for all Daemon’s passion was supposedly cockblocked by his mean half-brother, he was still getting busy with Rohanne, producing at least 9 children in 12 years; and Daenerys never seemed unhappy in her marriage to Maron, who built the Water Gardens for her.) They got really angry at the Dornish courtiers who came to King’s Landing with Mariah, and supposed special treatment to Dorne. They brought up the rumors of Naerys and Aemon the Dragonknight, claiming that the weak Daeron was not Aegon’s son. We literally have the words of a Blackfyre supporter telling us this:

“Treason… is only a word. When two princes fight for a chair where only one may sit, great lords and common men alike must choose. And when the battle’s done, the victors will be hailed as loyal men and true, whilst those who were defeated will be known forevermore as rebels and traitors. That was my fate.” Egg thought about it for a time. “Yes, my lord. Only…King Daeron was a good man. Why would you choose Daemon?” “Daeron…” Ser Eustace almost slurred the word, and Dunk realized he was half-drunk. “Daeron was spindly and round of shoulder, with a little belly that wobbled when he walked. Daemon stood straight and proud, and his stomach was flat and hard as an oaken shield. And he could fight. With axe or lance or flail, he was as good as any knight I ever saw, but with the sword he was the Warrior himself. When Prince Daemon had Blackfyre in his hand, there was not a man to equal him…not Ulrick Dayne with Dawn, no, nor even the Dragonknight with Dark Sister. “You can know a man by his friends, Egg. Daeron surrounded himself with maesters, septons, and singers. Always there were women whispering in his ear, and his court was full of Dornishmen. How not, when he had taken a Dornishwoman into his bed and sold his own sweet sister to the Prince of Dorne, though it was Daemon that she loved? Daeron bore the same name as the Young Dragon, but when his Dornish wife gave him a son he named the child Baelor, after the feeblest king who ever sat the Iron Throne. “Daemon, though… Daemon was no more pious than a king need be, and all the great knights of the realm gathered to him. It would suit Lord Bloodraven if their names were all forgotten, so he has forbidden us to sing of them, but I remember. Robb Reyne, Gareth the Grey, Ser Aubrey Ambrose, Lord Gormon Peake, Black Byren Flowers, Redtusk, Fireball… Bittersteel! I ask you, has there ever been such a noble company, such a roll of heroes? “Why, lad? You ask me why? Because Daemon was the better man. The old king saw it too. He gave the sword to Daemon. Blackfyre, the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, the blade that every Targaryen king had wielded since the Conquest…he put that sword in Daemon’s hand the day he knighted him, a boy of twelve.” “My father says that was because Daemon was a swordsman, and Daeron never was,” said Egg. “Why give a horse to a man who cannot ride? The sword was not the kingdom, he says.” The old knight’s hand jerked so hard that wine spilled from his silver cup. “Your father is a fool.”

–The Sworn Sword

There is nothing to do with justice here. Nothing to do with ruling justly. There’s only hero-worship, glorification of violence, ableism, anti-intellectualism, misogyny, and Dornish racism. That’s what the followers of Daemon Blackfyre supported. They’re like Trump supporters, wanting to make Westeros great again.

And no bigger supporter of Daemon was his half-brother Aegor Rivers, aka Bittersteel. Aegor, “pissed off all his life”, was particularly mad at the court, because his mother Barba Bracken, Aegon’s mistress, had been sent away in disgrace after it was found that she and her father were talking up making Barba queen when Naerys had a health scare. (It was Daeron and his uncle Aemon, Naerys’s supporters, who made enough of a fuss about the scandal to get Aegon to send her away. Note also that Aegor’s grandfather was later executed along with his daughter Bethany, Aegon’s mistress, after she was caught sleeping with a Kingsguard.) While Aegor also received the legitimization given to all of Aegon’s bastards, he didn’t get all the benefits he felt he should have gotten – unlike his half-brother Brynden Rivers, “Bloodraven”, whose mother Melissa Blackwood (another one of Aegon’s mistresses), had always been popular at court (even with Naerys and Daeron), leading to Bloodraven remaining close with Daeron and his family even after Melissa was dismissed as mistress. Furthermore, Shiera Seastar (another one of Aegon’s Great Bastards), chose Brynden as a lover instead of Aegor, making him even more angry.

So, Aegor got close to Daemon, including getting betrothed to one of his daughters, and frequently urged him to press his claim to the throne, on the grounds of king’s choice, having the sword, being more fit than Daeron Falseborn. Do you see a moral high ground here? I do not. It’s further implied that Brynden was also close to Daemon at the time (see him telling Bran that “a brother I loved” is one of his ghosts), and was able to get away and warn Daeron when the Blackfyre plans went from idle talk to open rebellion. He was no tyrant – he probably didn’t even have an office at court at the time, though he did eventually become Daeron’s spymaster.

But yes, Brynden did kill Daemon and his two eldest sons, sniping them during the last battle of the first Blackfyre Rebellion. For which he was accused of kinslaying, and of using sorcery to get those accurate shots. The accusation of sorcery was probably slander (probably… a weirwood bow and weirwood arrows fletched with raven feathers might have had some mystical qualities), and as for the kinslaying… it was a battle where Daemon would have killed his half-nephews Baelor and Maekar if he’d had a chance, where Aegor fought Brynden one-on-one and took his eye out… and if the Blackfyres had won, do you think they’d just have packed off Daeron and Mariah and Aerys and Rhaegel? No, the falseborn weak Dornish half-breeds would have been executed or hunted down. You think they’d’ve left Daenerys and Maron and their children in peace? Nope, a war with Dorne would have been next on the agenda. Don’t talk to me about kinslaying. (Though whether Brynden considers himself to be gods-cursed could be a different matter.)

Now, after the first Blackfyre Rebellion, when Brynden supported killing all the rebel lords (Daeron elected to take hostages instead), after the death of Daeron’s heir Baelor, after the Great Spring Sickness when Daeron and Baelor’s sons died, leading to Daeron’s second son Aerys becoming king, and appointing Brynden as his Hand and master of whisperers… then you might get into questions of tyranny. (Which I consider a lot more debatable than some.) But it has absolutely nothing to do with why Daemon Blackfyre and his supporters rebelled in the first place. When Aegor Rivers formed the Golden Company, to support the Blackfyre cause in their exile in Tyrosh, did he give a flying fuck about tyranny or justice? No he did not, he just wanted to keep fucking with Bloodraven and put Daemon’s son on the throne of Westeros. (Not the gay son, though! That one, the heir after his older brothers died, Bittersteel ignored and kept his support from.)

The Blackfyre cause was never just. They were never in the right. I oppose them wholeheartedly, and I’m suspicious of anyone who chooses the black dragon over the red. I hope that clears things up for you.

#fatimagic #asoiaf #asoiaf meta #the blackfyre rebellion #daemon blackfyre #daeron ii targaryen #aegon the unworthy #blackfyre #brynden rivers #bloodraven #aegor rivers #bittersteel #shiera seastar #the great bastards #naerys targaryen #myriah martell #princess daenerys targaryen #barba bracken #melissa blackwood #eustace osgrey #westeros history #'treason is only a word' my ass #fuck the blackfyres #fuck aegon the unworthy

[ao3feed-briennejaime]

Fall of Ice, Rise of Fire. Part 1: Like Armour

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2qzpbR8

by DefiantCandle17

It wasn't supposed to end like this. Spurned by horrific visions of the future, Jon receives haunting, cryptic messages from a dark future in which a demon lord rises to conquer Westeros, and only he and the actions of a few unwilling heroes can stop it. Yet all is not as it seems. The Night King is still alive and a malevolent threat lurks in the shadows, ready to burn it all down. Daenerys and Jon's relationship is brutally tested after Jon is told the terrible truth about his heritage and withdraws from the Dragon Queen, unaware of the damage he may unknowingly wreak on the future and the woman he loves for fear of facing his own destiny. It is up to the Three Eyed Raven, and the messages of a figure known only as the Burnt King to undo the victory of Rh'llor and his sinister forces. When a terrible battle separates Jon and Daenerys, they must journey to an ancient ruin filled with terrible power and make peace with the past, accept the truth and face the worst that the darkness has to offer, if they are to reunite and survive. Jon must rise up and accept his destiny, if he is to protect Westeros and the woman he loves. He must save Daenerys. Or all is lost.

Words: 77523, Chapters: 8/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of The Fall of Ice, The Rise of Fire

Fandoms: Game of Thrones (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Jon Snow | Aegon Targaryen, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark, Sansa Stark, R'hllor (ASoIaF), Sandor Clegane, Brienne of Tarth, Podrick Payne, Gendry Waters, Jorah Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Melisandre of Asshai, Bran Stark, Drogon (ASoIaF), Rhaegal (ASoIaF), Night King (Game of Thrones), Missandei (ASoIaF), Grey Worm, Varys (ASoIaF), Tyrion Lannister, Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers, Jaime Lannister

Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth

Additional Tags: High Fantasy, AU, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Demon Lord R'hllor, dark future, Save her or all is lost, Prepare for the cringiest cheesiest AU you are about to read, Jon must accept his heritage to save Westeros from a hidden threat, The Barrow, Visions, Season 8 is what the demon lord wanted, Bran and Aegon must fight to prevent that, OC Jon, OC Daenerys, OC everyone to be honest, You Have Been Warned, Dark moments, Good vs Evil, Save Daenerys's soul, Dragonknights, sorcery, Magic, Inspired by Star Wars, berserk - Freeform, Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice, Avengers Endgame, Samurai Jack - Freeform, Lord of the Rings, Themes include, Supernatural - Freeform, Horror, Romance, Action, heroes vs villains, Adventure, Angst, So much angst, Jon is the king of Angst, Aegon the Angsty One

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2qzpbR8

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #jaime x brienne #braime

[walkswithwinter]

Chapters: 105/? Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Jorah Mormont/Daenerys Targaryen, Petyr Baelish/Sansa Stark, Gilly (ASoIaF)/Samwell Tarly, jornerys Characters: Jorah Mormont, Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, Daario Naharis, Jeor Mormont, Grey Worm, Varys (ASoIaF), Melisandre of Asshai, Missandei (ASoIaF), Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy, Brienne of Tarth, Samwell Tarly, Gilly (ASoIaF), Podrick Payne, Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion, Jon Snow, Jon Connington, Tormund Giantsbane, Edd Tollett, Davos Seaworth, Ghost (ASoIaF), Euron Greyjoy, Blood Raven, Brynden Rivers, Maester Aemon, Petyr Baelish, Bran Stark, Quaithe (ASoIaF), Shiera Seastar, Arya Stark, Jaqen H'ghar, Illyrio Mopatis, Nymeria, Leyton Hightower, Robett Glover, Ramsay Bolton, Lyanna Mormont, Harrion Karstark, Pol Qo, Bu Gai, Rhaella Targaryen, Jaime Lannister, Aerys II Targaryen, Mance Rayder, Tycho Nestoris, Dacey Mormont, Gendry Waters, Willem Darry, Quentyn Martell, Doran Martell, Anders Yronwood, Cersei Lannister, Tommen Baratheon, Ned Stark, Ashara Dayne, Loras Tyrell, Margaery Tyrell, Olenna Tyrell, The High Sparrow, Yara Greyjoy, azor ahai - Character, Bloodstone Emperor, Bronn (ASoIaF), Alliser Thorne, Sandor Clegane, Sand Snakes, Arianne Martell, Gerold Dayne, Darkstar, Marwyn the Mage Summary:

There has always been more to Ser Jorah Mormont than a disgraced sell sword surviving on the edge of the world. His is the story of Fire and Ice. Azor Ahai prophecy.

#Fire and Ice #GOT #Game of Thrones #ASOIAF #Daenerys Targaryen #Jorah Mormont #ser jorah mormont

[annmcbee]

Haven’t posted one of these up here in a while...but there’s some good creative plagiarisms in this chapter...check it out!

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jon Snow & Arya Stark, Long Haul Jon/Daenerys, Lyanna Stark/Rhaegar Targaryen, Lyanna Stark & Ned Stark, Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen, Stannis Baratheon & Daenerys Targaryen Characters: Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Rickon Stark, Ghost (ASoIaF), Sansa Stark, Edric "Ned" Dayne, Bran Stark, Rhaegar Targaryen, Lyanna Stark, Aerys II Targaryen, Willem Darry, Ned Stark, Rickard Stark, Torrhen Stark, Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers, Young Griff (ASoIaF), Samwell Tarly, Rolly Duckfield, Jon Connington, Malora Hightower, Arianne Martell, Trystane Martell, Daenerys Targaryen, Stannis Baratheon, Asha Greyjoy Additional Tags: Woods Witches, sorcery, No Jon and Dany don't have sex in this one be patient already, The Old Gods (A Song of Ice and Fire), Past Child Abuse, Jon Snow Needs a Hug, Vampires, Isle of Ravens, oldtown, Sea Monsters, Winterfell (A Song of Ice and Fire), Volantis (A Song of Ice and Fire) Series: Part 33 of Wheel of Westeros Summary:

Jon parts with his daughter and sisters again to sail across the Narrow Sea and escape the darkness that has fallen over the North, and sends Arya on an important quest. Bran learns more about the history between his aunt and the prince of Dragonstone, while training for a fight to win back the present, and ancient secrets are revealed. Griff must retreat from Oldtown with spoils from the Citadel, and magic is used to escape to Dragonstone, where Arianne is threatened by a curse that has already taken her brother. In Volantis, Dany awaits the arrival of her new allies as her enemies close in. (Lots of borrowing in this one...from Deadwood, The Last Unicorn, The Lost Boys and The VVitch among others...)

[aegor-bamfsteel]

Your opinion on shiera seastar?

Hoo boy.

Shiera Seastar is my least favorite Great Bastard, and my least favorite character from that era other than Aegon IV. AuthoritaRaven, much as I hate him, had some (rather transparent) excuses for committing such atrocities as murdering unarmed twelve-year-old boys in front of their father, burning the bodies of child hostages and leaving their parents with nothing but resentment, and murdering a man to whom he promised safe passage as a “warning.” Shiera had no excuse for her horrific, predatory, abusive behavior other than that it amused her. She didn’t have her father’s body count, but she did have his lack of empathy and pettiness.

We know very little about Shiera, but the little we do is enough to make me hate her. She “was fond of ivory and lace and cloth-of-silver, but not gold, which she considered too vulgar.” It’s not a big thing, but isn’t mining ore out of the ground less vulgar than smallfolk spending hundreds of hours tatting lace and cloth or killing animals for their teeth? Incredibly intelligent and sensitive creatures like elephants? Aegor Rivers at least understood that an elephant’s place was alive, and not used to make a selfish woman’s jewelry. It seemed like the more brutality it took to make her gowns and accessories (luxury items), the more she liked them.

It’s semi-canonical that she enjoyed the suffering of others, by the way. She didn’t marry Bl00draven not because she didn’t trust him (completely valid, as he was irrationally paranoid), nor that he had a repugnant and cruel personality (something they had in common apparently), but because “it amused her more to make him jealous.” She just wanted to see him suffer, and why? Because she took amusement from hurting someone emotionally. Egg also seems to think that she bathed in the blood of maidens to keep her beauty, which might be an exaggerated rumor, but it only serves to underscore her utter narcissism and cruelty toward other people.

But the thing that makes me hate Shiera to the point that I don’t want to look for any redeeming features in her, was that “men killed themselves after falling from her favor.” When I read that, I felt numb. I thought to myself, No, I must be reading that wrong. GRRM couldn’t possibly be saying what I think he is. But I wasn’t wrong. See, the full sentence is “Duels were fought over the right to sit beside her, men killed themselves after falling from her favor, poets outdid each other writing songs about her beauty.” Men dueled each other over her, so it would be redundant to say that they also killed each other over her. They killed themselves after falling from her favor.

Which means that after she rejected them, these men committed suicide.

Holy fuck.

Now, most people don’t commit suicide just because someone rejected them. There are underlying issues that caused their depression (which could be biological like an illness or societal issues during childhood), which made them emotionally vulnerable to thoughts of suicidal ideation, and the rejection is the last straw. Therefore, Shiera preyed upon emotionally vulnerable men to lavish favor upon, and when it amused her, she cut them off from her emotional support, and they killed themselves. She was utterly dedicated to herself, so she certainly didn’t mourn them after.

Think I’m reading too deeply into this? Then how come Brynden Rivers, her known lover, was described as “grim, gaunt, with a forbidding aspect”? How come Aegor Rivers, her rumored lover, was said to be “always angry and never smiled”? Why are the only two known men who are sexually linked to her coded as depressed? Well, because they were emotionally vulnerable to displays of affection, and thus were easy to control when she gave or withdrew it. It amused her to toy with men like them because she wanted to see just how far she could push them before they broke and committed suicide. She’s an utter malignant narcissist focused on her own sick pleasure. She’s monstrous.

And to think that she has more fans than poor Bethany Bracken, who was killed by a spiteful man, or even Barba Bracken, who had lost her entire family to Targaryen cruelty and still stood strong, all because she is a “loyal Targaryen” empowered™ woman. I despise this fandom sometimes, and the romanticization of the sociopath who is Shiera Seastar is one of my least favorite aspects of it.

#shiera seastar #anti-shiera #ask #asoiaf #fandom critical #angry #tw: suicide #tw: depression