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atopvisenyashill · 9 months

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thoughts on unsullied

i think the reason it takes so long for dany to realize “slavery bad” as well as her continued weirdness surrounding slavery is because dany “learns” through her emotional attachments and then doesn’t really dig in anymore after the “lesson.”

she identifies with the unsullied despite never having been a slave so she sees their slavery as the same as her mistreatment. i think the dissonance between how she sees the dothraki (mostly as same faced servants) and how she sees the unsullied and meereenese (as her loving and useful children) is because she can relate to the unsullied emotionally in a way she can’t to the dothraki. her bloodriders were never slaves so while she’s fond of them for their loyalty to her she doesn’t love or relate to them the way she does Jorah, Barristan, Missandei, or Grey Worm. Irri & Jhiqui were slaves but they accept their fate without a fight; Irri & Jhiqui are mentioned to be the daughters of Khals that Drogo defeated. They are very dothraki in that they don’t try to break free from their enslavement; Dany associates strength with violence so often that I think she looks down on them for not having her same thirst for freedom, nor Doreah’s interest in stories, nor Jorah’s Westerosi heritage. The Unsullied are different; like Dany, they experience terrible violence through no fault of their own and like Dany, their worth is tied to their name (Unsullied vs Targaryen) and their ability to do great violence.

Therefore, unraveling the institution of slavery should be as easy as her own freedom - standing up to Drogo, killing Viserys, and gaining her dragons saved her so surely killing the masters of astapor with her dragons will save the Unsullied. of course, it’s so much more complex than that! Not everyone is given gifts of food and clothes just for being who they are. as queen she has the job of ruling but that’s not really a paid position and she doesn’t even think of how to pay the Unsullied or anyone in Meereen.

this wine of courage…it seems that while Unsullied who have already been cut have been on this for a long time and likely don’t feel pain, but the unsullied from astapor aren’t just the fully trained ones - dany explicitly buys and takes the young boys with her as well. i’m wondering if it’s going to come up once she leaves Meereen or if it was just another “look how dehumanizing the Unsullied training is” thing.

it’s this passage that i think convinces Dany to do something riskier than just buy them but sack Astapor. I don’t think it’s something that occurred to her before she talks to Missandei partially because she’s been so surrounded by slavery for so many years that it clearly doesn’t occur to her that slavery is awful. Dany is impressed with Missandei’s ability to translate on the fly & work under pressure so when Missandei opens up quickly it makes Dany question her decision to buy the Unsullied even more.

Then Quaithe makes her worry about getting to Westeros fast enough with the worst advice in the world. I think - just me guessing - that Quaithe chooses now to message her because Dany is weighing her options. Kraznys suggests they sack smaller cities and send the captives back to him to train into more Unsullied. While I think it’s unlikely Dany would have sent the Unsullied back, I do think there’s evidence that Dany is weighing the idea of sacking several towns with her Dothraki anyway.

Whether she means to attack more slaver cities to conscript the slave soldiers into her army or whether she’s thinking of other cities, to me it seems the idea is already there to sack a city. It’s only Missandei mentioning her brothers that makes Dany realize she doesn’t like the deal she’s made because there’s a human face and emotional connection there, then Quaithe makes her nervous about the long road ahead of her.

but the sack…that’s the dragon in her. she might have left by killing the unsullied masters, using her dragons as a threat to allow anyone who wants to be freed and come with her. instead she leaves astapor a ruin. again, it’s because of her emotional reactions. she’s not actually breaking any wheels or ending slavery; it’s the same as when she takes the lhazareen women into her personal slave khalasar. Better to serve Dany than serve an evil person, no matter if they don’t want to serve anyone at all.

they are the dragon’s now. bought and paid for.

#rani liveblogs asoiaf #anti daenerys targaryen #anti targ restoration #daenerys is old valyria risen again #daenerys as orestes #her first few chapters make me deeply sad #daenerys of the dothraki

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chloeriversong · 3 months

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[Fluff] Daenerys Targaryen X Female Child! Reader A Mother's Care Part One

Daenerys chases a young girl with [Hair Length] [Hair Color] while she laughs with a smile on her face, playing tag with her adopted daughter. “I’m going to get you, my little sweet dragon princess.” She called out to her daughter, who giggled at her mother’s nickname for her. [Name] had been taken off of the streets in Meereen when Daenerys found her, taking the young girl in as her own.

[Name] had gladly accepted Daenerys as her mother and someone that she could look up to, the young [Skin color] girl would look up to her mother with her [Eye Color] eyes and would smile at her. “I got you, my princess.” Daenerys lifts her daughter from the ground and snuggles with her, both start to laugh and continue their snuggling with smiles on their faces.

[Name] let out a small yawn and covered her mouth with her hand, only removing it to snuggle with her mother. “Are you tired my sweet one?” Daenerys asked her young one as she held her, watching her nod her head softly. “Yes Mommy, I’m very tired.” She would answer her mother’s question as she rubs her eyes tiredly. “Come, dear, I think it’s past your bedtime.” The young queen carries her princess to her room.

Once arriving at [Name]’s room, one of the guards opens the door. Daenerys notices one of the dragons in her daughter’s room, it was hard to believe that one of her dragons would be in her child’s room, deciding to place [Name] on her bed as Rhaegal crawls over to her; lying beside the young girl to give her some company while her mother would be busy with the people of the kingdom.

Rhaegal would cuddle with [Name] while she slept, the green dragon would sometimes place a wing over her to give her some comfort if she was having a nightmare. Daenerys would have a smile on her face when she comes to check on her daughter, seeing both of them cuddling. It became a concern that she would allow Rhaegal to be near her daughter, and give her friend to keep her company.

Drogon and Viserion would sometimes come and keep [Name] company, but mostly Rhaegal would stay with her the longest time to give her some protection from any harm that may come towards her or their mother. “Rhaegal likes cuddling with the young princess,” Missandei asked as she came up to her queen and mostly her friend, watching as the dragon cuddled with the young child.

Missandei had been with Daenerys when she had found [Name] all dirty and bruised, mostly scared when they came up to her. “Yes, I believe Rhaegal is the only one that enjoys her cuddles. I can’t believe someone would harm such a wonderful and kind child, but I could tell that she had survived something worse.” Daenerys replied to her advisor and handmaiden.

Memories of finding [Name] had broken Daenerys’ heart when she first met her, the poor girl had cuts and bruises on her body, and wearing a rag-like dress had made her even more heartbroken. The mother of dragons had taken her in once she had fully trusted her, bathing the young girl and giving her clean clothes that Missandei had found in the temple.

-Skipping to morning.-

[Name] woke up to see Rhaegal lying next to her, placing her small hand on the green dragon’s head. Having a small smile on her face as she notices the dragon has woken up, only giggling when the dragon rubs his snout against her cheek. “Good morning to you too.” She continues to pat the dragon’s neck, only looking over to see her mother stand there.

“Good morning my sweet one, how did you rest?” Daenerys sat on [Name]’s bed she leaned into kissed her daughter on the forehead and pat Rhaegal on the head, it made her happy that one of her dragons was bonding well with her adopted daughter, even if she was not a Targaryen by blood; thus her dragons will never attack her allies or harm anyone in the kingdom.

Rhaegal let out a small chirp as he closed his eyes, staying close to his human sister like always. “I slept well, Rhaegal kept me company while I slept as usual.” [Name] replied to her mother’s question as the dragon cuddled against the young girl’s body, making both her and Daenerys laugh. “That’s good, I think Rhaegal has taken a liking to your cuddles.” She lays beside her daughter.

Daenerys knew that she had a kingdom to run but she wanted to spend time with [Name] as much as she could, asking Missandei to bring their breakfast to her child’s room so they could feast together, although Rhaegal shouldn’t be in the room while they eat due to his instincts; dragons follow their instincts of hunting and so forth. Once their breakfast arrived, the said dragon had taken off to join his brothers.

[Name] sat up from her laying spot and had her back against the wall as Missandei put a tray of food in front of her, while she had placed a tray in front of Daenerys. “Thank you Missandei.” Both had said in perfect harmony, making the handmaiden smile and nodding her head in a goodbye. “Mommy, is Valyrian hard to learn?” The young girl asked.

“It’s hard to learn at a young age, but I can teach you if you like.” Daenerys smiles softly as she stops eating her breakfast, looking over to [Name]. “Yes, I would very much like that.” The young girl smiles back at her mother, enjoying eating her meal with her mother. As the day goes on, both Daenerys and her daughter spend the rest of the time together. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is an old reader insert that I made for Game Of Thrones, I was very happy with this and didn't want to retype it, but I did have to fix some errors that I made, and I won't be able to edit any other errors that may be noticeable to some of you.

But anyway, I hope you enjoy this as I'm going through the second part and editing that one as best as I can. ^_^

As I mentioned, errors may pop since I can not fix them at the moment. Image belongs to its rightful owner Game Of Thrones and its characters belongs to George R. R. Martin and HBO

Reader belongs to whoever.

#Game Of Thrones Reader Insert #Daenerys Targaryen X Child Reader #Mother and Daughter bond #Dragons #Reader Insert #Old Work #Transferred from Google Docs #Can be found on Quotev #Found On Archive of Our Own #Can be found on Wattpad

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agentrouka-blog · 1 year

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It feels like Dany projects onto Missendei a lot and dots on her. She see herself in her. Dany herself was being raised by her brother who later started abusing her. Do you think at one point Dany will try to Missendei? I do think Missendei is going to survive as she will choose peace and will refused to become another Dany.

I do think Dany heavily projects onto Missandei and tries to access a sense of childhood through her. I've seen people describe it as motherly because she occasionally "takes care" of Missandei like the child she is, but I don't think that's a proper fit, mostly because Dany very much expects "mothering" in return. It's not mother and child, it's child and child.

The repeated image of storytelling in bed does reflect her few positive memories of Viserys, another child-and-child relationship.

Viserys had been stupid and vicious, she had come to realize, yet sometimes she missed him all the same. Not the cruel weak man he had become by the end, but the brother who had sometimes let her creep into his bed, the boy who told her tales of the Seven Kingdoms, and talked of how much better their lives would be once he claimed his crown. (ASOS, Daenerys I)

I think it's less likely that we will see Dany slip into some kind of abusive dynamic with Missandei as much as that she will feel extremely betrayed by her should Missandei taint her role as a childhood fantasy role play vehicle. It will not merely constitute a disappointment but also the loss of her projection surface, robbing Dany of that outlet.

That it will happen seems inevitable to me. Not only are we shown just how intelligent and sneaky Missandei already is, we also have heavy hints that her true loyalty is based on the presence of her brothers in Dany's personal army, of whom only Marselen remains alive now. At the same time, the later ADWD chapters suggest a soft rift opening between them. Missandei criticizes her decisions, they both stop correcting when she uses depersonalized "slave" language to describe herself, there is a descreasing enthusiasm in their interactions, their final interaction is a dismissal of her concerns by Dany.

Then there are the parallels between Missandei and Arya, and the deceptively dangerous butterflies of Naath.

And Dany did demand a promise that Missandei would never betray her. I mean. That's a pretty heavy hint that we should maybe watch out for a conflict coming up.

Does that mean Missandei will die? No idea. That highly depends on the nature of their conflict. But it will certainly mean another wedge driven between the sweet child Daenerys used to be and the ruthless person she has become.

#rouka queue #missandei of naath #anti daenerys targaryen #not really but you know

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esther-dot · 10 months

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"Khaleesi," whispered Irri, "you must not touch the dead man. It is bad luck to touch the dead." D@enerys I - ADWD

Doesn't Jon become a dead man later?

Me: This is bait. No one wants to read this. You don't want to write this. Just ignore it.

Also me: Yippee-ki-yay, mothafucka!

I didn't get hit by the "this is foreshadowing" sensation for this scene before, but I did go back and read it. In addition to dead man, we have the "fighting shadows" / "cowards who kill from the shadows" comments, and Jon does call himself the man in the shadows who dare not speak his name and they are lines about shadows that indicate how much impact one will have and since Jon casts a huge shadow there...it might be something, especially as it includes her dragons which are becoming a little uncontrollable by her. There's meta by @une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir about how the dragons correspond to a nephew Jon & Rhaegal, Aegon & Viserion, so maybe Jon is being brought into the picture here. We also have a mention of the usurper's dogs which is fun as well as her treasons. The chapter ends with the bones of a child murdered by dragons and is followed by a Jon chapter, so there's enough that we can Jon is "present" although I didn't feel clobbered by it.

I would agree that some mentions of dead men or the stranger are intentional references to Jon though. Whichever end of the mostly dead -> all dead scale you think Jon will be on, he's the character with "death" as an identity hanging on him. I would also assume that regardless of the actual facts surrounding his rez, just as Robb (and Sansa and Dany...) had wild rumors flying around about him, Jon will have them as well. So it will not only be the reader but also characters in-world who have that perception of him.

Anyway, there is a specific Dany chapter in ASOS that feels like foreshadowing overall, and that I believe, contains several references to Jon, including the use of dead man. First, we have Dany feeling like a god and trying to escape "the dead man's revenge":

Up here in her garden Dany sometimes felt like a god, living atop the highest mountain in the world.

---

The honey drew flies, but a scented candle drove them off. The flies were not so troublesome up here as they were in the rest of her city, she had found, something else she liked about the pyramid. "I must remember to do something about the flies," Dany said. "Are there many flies on Naath, Missandei?"

----

The dead were heaped so high before the broken gate that it took her freedmen near an hour to make a path for her silver. Joso's Cock and the great wooden turtle that had protected it, covered with horsehides, lay abandoned within. She rode past burned buildings and broken windows, through brick streets where the gutters were choked with the stiff and swollen dead.

-----

A fly buzzed her head. Dany waved it off, irritated, but it returned almost at once. "There are too many flies in this city."

Ben Plumm gave a bark of laughter. "There were flies in my ale this morning. I swallowed one of them."

"Flies are the dead man's revenge." Daario smiled, and stroked the center prong of his beard. "Corpses breed maggots, and maggots breed flies."

"We will rid ourselves of the corpses, then. Starting with those in the plaza below. Grey Worm, will you see to it?"

"The queen commands, these ones obey."

"Best bring sacks as well as shovels, Worm," Brown Ben counseled. "Well past ripe, those ones. Falling off those poles in bits and pieces, and crawling with . . ."

"He knows. So do I." Dany remembered the horror she had felt when she had seen the Plaza of Punishment in Astapor. I made a horror just as great, but surely they deserved it. Harsh justice is still justice. (ASOS, Daenerys VI)

Then Martin inserts her worry about another betrayal and her belief that she will meet a man she can trust:

Her bloodriders were waiting for her. Silver bells tinkled in their oiled braids, and they wore the gold and jewels of dead men. Meereen had been rich beyond imagining. Even her sellswords seemed sated, at least for now. Across the room, Grey Worm wore the plain uniform of the Unsullied, his spiked bronze cap beneath one arm. These at least she could rely on, or so she hoped . . . and Brown Ben Plumm as well, solid Ben with his grey-white hair and weathered face, so beloved of her dragons. And Daario beside him, glittering in gold. Daario and Ben Plumm, Grey Worm, Irri, Jhiqui, Missandei . . . as she looked at them Dany found herself wondering which of them would betray her next. The dragon has three heads. There are two men in the world who I can trust, if I can find them. I will not be alone then. We will be three against the world, like Aegon and his sisters.

A knight swears fealty to her and then she meets with Jorah and discuses betrayal again as well as her three treasons:

"Kissed me, she thought, betrayed me." "I went down into the sewers like a rat. For you." It might have been kinder if you'd died there. Dany said nothing. There was nothing to say. "Daenerys," he said, "I have loved you." And there it was. Three treasons will you know. Once for blood and once for gold and once for love. "The gods do nothing without a purpose, they say. You did not die in battle, so it must be they still have some use for you. But I don't. I will not have you near me. You are banished, ser. Go back to your masters in King's Landing and collect your pardon, if you can. Or to Astapor. No doubt the butcher king needs knights." "No." He reached for her. "Daenerys, please, hear me . . ."

and of course, we have the talk about her family/the taint/madness to just beat us over the head here about what's coming.

So, if we think this is foreshadowing, in one chapter we have Dany trying to escape the consequences of her violent actions (burning KL) and those consequences are called "the dead man's revenge" (Jon ref), and we have a line to prep Dany to trust a certain guy (Jon again), and then a talk with a guy who betrayed her (Jon references, I'll talk more about Jon & Jorah in my second part of the Bear and the Maiden Fair ask, if I ever find my draft), and Dany misunderstanding her treasons.

Dany's "madness", Dany burning KL and seemingly escaping consequences/far above the reach of mere mortals, meeting Jon and being betrayed/killed by him (not because he loves her as she interpreted the warning, because he loves others and betrays her for them), seem like a plausible outcome from this. Obviously there is foreshadowing for enmity between them elsewhere too, but it doesn't take much drawing to connect the dots and conclude, much of this chapter is about what is to come.

So, yeah, I def think a “dead man” is gonna be very bad luck for Dany!

#dot chat #anti daenerys #anti daenerys targaryen

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bohemian-nights · 6 months

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Thoughts on Sara Snow?

I’m mostly going to be focusing on Sara Snow in the context of the show because there is too much in the books about her(all we know is she’s the bastard sister of Cregan Stark) to do any real in-depth analysis of her character.

Let me start by stating that I do believe she’s real, I don’t hate her, and I believe she does serve a purpose(more on this later), but in show context, I understand why some fans don’t want her included.

(By some fans I mean Black women cause those are the only fans I see that have a legitimate concern with her inclusion).

This show(and GOT cause I haven’t forgotten what you guys did to Missandei either🙃) has an abysmal track record when it comes to Blackish women. They are all treated like disposable props for white characters(which is a common trope in media)and aren't allowed to be full characters.

So the optics of having Baela being “left” for a white girl* coming off the heels of what happened to Laena just looks bad.

*I think Sara should be played by a mixed actress, which would take care of the image problem, but it’s pretty clear that if she’s being included she’s probably going to be played by a white girl.

That being said, there are ways in which they can include Sara without it being disrespectful or making it seem like Baela has been slighted in some way.

We have to keep in mind that Jace dies pretty soon into the Dance, he’s weak asf(sorry to any Jace fans but your fave is lame in HOTD), and he and Baela never marry let alone have children. He’s her stepbrother/cousin, but he’s just a blip in her life. He is not her endgame.

That role belongs to the lord in training of f*ckboy’s Alyn Velaryon. He is the one who she married and had children with. He’s her destiny, not Jace.

If they focus on these guys' relationship and have Alyn actively chasing after Baela and Baela is more receptive to him we can avoid her being the jilted would-be girlfriend who doesn’t measure up. Remember Baela and Jace do not know each other well. Unlike in the books, they weren’t raised together and they’ve only presumably met a handful of times since Baela was raised on Driftmark with Granny.

I doubt she’s that attached to Jace so it would be easy enough showing her getting swept up in Alyn(he’s Corlys 2.0 he should be very charming) to the point where she doesn’t really care wherever Jace goes or whoever he is with.

Back to Sara Snow. I know a lot of fans like to say she’s irrelevant, but there are very few truly irrelevant characters(cough Corwyn Cornbread cough Lasagna Radish), during the Dance and Sara isn’t one of them. She has a purpose and that purpose is to be to Jace what Nettles and Alys are to Daemon and Aemond.

Yes, Jace is a bastard, but he’s still a (half) Targaryen bastard. He’s a prince. There is a certain level of respect he is given when even the maesters see him. We see this respect come into play when it comes to Sara Snow.

Like with Nettles and Alys, Jace is thought to be too good for Sara. The maesters(and Mushroom) hurl a bunch of sexist, xenophobic, and classist language her way, calling her half-wild, an unwashed northern bastard, a wolf girl, and a creature.

The maesters do not believe she exists, but they then say that if she did she wasn’t used as anything more than a roll in the hay. A chance for the Prince of Dragonstone to sow his wild oats before he went back to his high-born Valyrian betrothed Baela.

I feel like the point of the Dance is to show the folly in the pride, prejudice, and greed of House Targaryen as well as the other noble houses in general. Sara shows this.

Finally, I’d like to note that most of the outrage regarding Sara Snow being included is being made by the same people who ship Jace with Cregan(cause I guess two men sleeping together doesn’t count as cheating 🙃) or Nettles😒

I’ve already explained why this is, but it’s being done by Dumbnyra stans to “keep” Nettles away from Daemon.

This is less about racism or Baela being shafted and more about just not wanting Sara included.

Honestly, even if Baela was white like her book!counterpart I could still see people arguing against Sara’s inclusion citing that you are trying to take away from gay representation(even though there is nothing to indicate Jace is gay) or an interracial romance(lol again they don’t want Dettles to happen and will use whatever at their disposal to “stop” it).

Sara Snow would be a great inclusion to the show, but time will tell if she’ll be included at all🤷🏽‍♀️

#sara snow #bnask #sara x jace #jace velaryon #bnasks

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averagewriter-inthedark · 2 years

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Blood Of The Dragon 🐉 | GOT Imagine

Takes place during season 8 of Game of Thrones

GOT Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Targaryen!reader named after Queen Visenya, Daenerys Targaryen (cousin/platonic), Jon Snow (cousin/platonic), Arya Stark (platonic), Jorah Mormont (platonic), Missandei (platonic), Greyworm (platonic), Tyrion Lannister (platonic)

Content Warnings: profanity,, mentions of violence, blood, and death. references to Fire & Blood by G.R.R.M. | female reader (she/her)) | wc: 3k+

Premise: in preparation against the army of the dead, Arya Stark finds herself in the presence of Daenerys cousin—whose namesake is that of the great warrior Arya’s idolized since childhood. Visenya Targaryen, second of her name, lives up to the tales of her predecessor, and what makes the young Stark even more amazed is she’s wielding the sword thought to have vanished centuries ago.

Note: this sorta has spoilers from the book Fire & Blood which then gives light spoilers to HOTD. Keep that in mind.

——————————————

In the stories passed down from generation to generation of Aegon’s Conquest, the tale of Queen Visenya Targaryen has always drawn attention to the young Stark of Winterfell. It is said the female warrior, eldest sister-wife to Aegon and rider of the great she-dragon, Vhagar, wielded her very own Valyrian steel sword she named Dark Sister. She was skilled with the blade, effortlessing cutting Aegon’s cheek when he claimed he did not need further protection when the Queen demanded he did. When her only son, Maegor—soon to be known as King Maegor the Cruel—turned thirteen years of age, Queen Visenya bestowed the sword to him. Dark Sister was placed on the chamber walls of Dragonstone when he was given Aegon’s own Blackfyre, opting the latter as his choice of steel in battle.

When Queen Visenya died on Dragonstone forty-four years after the conquest of her and her siblings, Dark Sister was stolen by Queen Alyssa Velaryon and used in the coronation of her son King Jaehaerys following the death of Maegor. For generations the blade was passed down to Targaryen warriors. Baelon wielded and avenged the death of his brother with Dark Sister, soon later Prince Daemon would use the famed sword during the Dance of Dragons. It is even said Daemon leaped from his dragon to slain his nephew, Aemond, by thrusting Dark Sister through his eye socket.

After Dark Sister belonged to the Dragonknight, Prince Aemon, it was given to Lord Brydnen Rivers, who traveled with the blade to the Wall when he joined the Night’s Watch. The blade was never seen again after he went beyond the Wall. Until 305 years after the Conquest.

As Arya stalked down the halls of the castle, Northmen, Knights of the Vale, Dothraki, and Unsullied passed by around her. Murmurs sounded, many on edge as they prepared for the upcoming conflict. Arya was on the hunt for one of her siblings. She mostly wanted to find Jon to discuss battle plans since most of the Lords refused to include her in their conversations. Sansa was busy and Bran was nowhere to be found. There wasn’t much time till the night fell upon them. And when it did, they would come face to face with the Army of the Dead.

Cutting the corner, Arya made her way into a room thinking it was where Jon had gone, but stopped short at the sight of a longsword laying flat on the table. It was silver in steel, thin compared to most swords, and had a hilt reddish in color. A red ruby-like jewel shined in the middle between the handle and the blade.

Never seeing the sword before Arya tilted her head in curiosity. Giving a sweep around the room, no one appeared so the girl assumed she was alone and took the chance to approach the table. She leaned down to get a better look, capturing her own reflection in the steel. It was a beautiful weapon. Unlike anything the girl had seen before. Looking at it up close she saw it had a dragon head as its pommel. She carefully brought her hand to stoke the flat end, coming in contact with the cool surface.

“Valyrian steel,” she said aloud with awe. The girl realized the similarity between the sword and her knife she had holstered on her hip. The one Bran gave her which Baelish had stolen.

“Yes, it is.” In the blink of an eye Arya whipped the knife from its holster and spun around, freezing when she met the purplish eyes of a woman standing before her. Wearing dark clothing similar to the Dragon Queen, she had the same white-blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail with two strands framing her face. Her features alone indicated she was of Valyrian blood, and two houses associated with possessing said blood were none other than the Targaryens and Valeryons. Arya assumed she had to be a relative of Daenerys in some way.

There was an empty holster tied to her hip, and Arya understood right then that the sword more than likely belonged to her.

Scanning over the small blade directed at her, the woman’s lips curled in a smirk, showing she did not feel threatened. “You have great taste in weaponry.” Tilting her head, it appeared as though she felt a sense of familiarity with the dagger. She obviously was aware it was made of the same steel of her sword. “How did you come into possession of such?”

Arya hesitated, but seeing the woman made no motion to attack or give sign she attempted to, Arya lowered her arm. “My brother. We don’t know who it belonged to. The man who had it before him probably nicked it from whoever.”

The woman gives a ‘Hmm’ stepping closer to the girl but stopped when she saw her stiffen. Nodding to the dagger while extending her hand, she said, “May I?” Arya glanced at her hand, then at the dagger before gently placing it in her open palm. She watched in silence as her purple eyes glanced over the blade, flipping it over and running a finger over the indents of the edge. “I wonder,” her voice went low, lifting her head to glance at the fireplace that was fully engulfed with flames.

Stepping aside, Arya followed behind the blonde as she approached the fireplace before bending down to be level. With her hand on the hilt, she thrust the dagger into the fire, the silver steel becoming a bright orange with the heat being forced upon it. Arya watched in amazement when small scripture of writing revealed a language she did not recognize. The woman withdrew the dagger and stood, standing in front of Arya with her attention on the engraved words.

“Hen Issa ānogar māzigon kivio prince, se zyhon jāhor sagon se vāedar hen suvion se perzys,” the Valyrian words naturally flew from her lips. Arya had never heard the ancient language of Old Valyria, but learned as a child it was the language of its people and the Targaryen dynasty of Westeros still spoke the mother tongue even centuries after their conquest.

“What does it mean?” She couldn’t help but ask. Had she thought to have put the blade in fire before, Arya never would have known what the engraving meant. She didn’t even think the maester had a book that could translate it if she wanted.

The woman read over the words once more, this time using the common tongue, “From my blood comes the prince that was promised, and his will be the song of ice and fire.” She lifts her head to connect her eyes with Arya, purple meeting blue. “When King Viserys, the first of his name, made it known to his daughter Rhaenyra she was to be his heir, he spoke of a prophecy King Aegon the Conqueror had in a dragon dream. The Conqueror had the last Valyrian pyromancers incise the prophecy into a Valyrian steel dagger that once belonged to his father. The blade was passed through the Targaryen line for generations to come and only fire….,” she glances at the flames briefly, “Could reveal the words hidden within the steel.”

It took a moment for Arya to piece together what the woman was implying. The look on her face was one that read, ‘Have you guessed yet, young one?’ When her breath caught in her throat, the girl couldn’t help but shake her head—almost as if she denied the truth. “You don’t mean….it can’t be.”

“Oh, but it is,” she chuckled, carefully handing the dagger back to Arya. The girl almost refused—believing there was no way she could possess a weapon that once belonged to Aegon. And if her assumption was correct and the woman before her was a Targaryen, then it should rightfully go to the Conqueror's descendent.

“I couldn’t possibly have—.” The woman gently cuts her off at the refusal.

“But it was yours. You’ve had it for this long, I believe it is best to stay in your possession. It may be of great use to you—if it hasn’t already.”

Arya bit back a smile, the memory of her slashing Baelish’s throat coming to her mind. She took the dagger and placed it back in her holster. “Thank you. It is an honor to have.” Her eyes linger on the knife before drawing back up to the woman. “I never got your name.”

Clasping her hands in front of her, Arya noticed the three cuffed rings on her hand with three little dragon heads. She gave a small smile as if to say, ‘nice touch.’ A second later Arya was still shocked again when she heard the name, “Visenya. Visenya Targaryen.”

A sharp breath left the girl, “Visenya,” she repeated, “Like Queen Visenya? Who helped conquer Westeros and burned nearly half of the Arryn fleet with the dragon, Vhagar?” She probably would’ve felt embarrassed by her reaction, but standing in the presence of a Targaryen who bore the name of one of her idols had her not caring. Already she was feeling emotional at owning Aegon’s blade, this moment was adding a whole other layer.

Visenya let out a low chuckle, “the one and only.” She stepped back to pour a glass of wine from the side table into a goblet. She poured a second and offered it to Arya, who thanked her as she took it in her hands. “I take it you’re fond of her?”

“Yes,” Arya replied after sipping the wine. “I only really paid attention to lessons on her, her sister Queen Rhaenys, and Princess Nymeria.” Arya smiled when she laughed again. “Are you Dae—Her Grace’s sister?” There was still trouble with referring to Daenerys as Queen. Like Sansa, Arya was torn at the decision Jon made when he bent the knee and relinquished his crown as King in the North. On the topic of the Dragon Queen’s family, it was Arya’s knowledge from listening in on the Lords in King’s Landing that she was the last Targaryen. It was a surprise to see that was not the case.

“No. We are cousins. My family…” Visenya trails off, debating whether or not to reveal her heritage. It was a sore subject, one she always kept hidden for the sake of not having to deal with the looks she receives from people who are well aware of the tales of her family. Taking a sip of wine, she finally said, “Daenerys' father was the nephew of my grandfather, Prince Duncan.” Having turned to her side, Visenya could see the visible reaction from Arya in her peripheral vision.

Most people in Westeros had heard the stories of Prince Duncan and his wife, Jenny of Oldstones. How the heir apparent to the Iron Throne had relinquished his title and refused to marry his betrothed in favor of the strange yet lovely girl he met while traveling along the Riverruns. Many songs were written about her, including the famous one where she danced with her ghosts after Prince Duncan was killed. There was no record if the couple had ever conceived a child, but with Visenya there in the flesh and claiming they were her grandparents, it is enough to assume they decided to keep it a secret.

It made Arya wonder how she managed to stay under the radar during Rober’s Rebellion when he was hunting Targaryens. Daenerys and her brother were forced into exile and sailed to Esos. She wondered if Visenya had been at Dragonstone all along and was with them on the journey. Sensing the woman did not want to broach the subject further, Arya drew attention to the sword laid out in front of them. “Is it yours?” When Visenya nodded Arya said, “It’s beautiful.”

“You may hold it if you like,” she offered, refilling her goblet. There was a smirk on her face, as if she knew something Arya didn’t. But then again, she did. And part of her couldn’t wait to reveal it knowing the young girl had a fascination with her namesake.

Arya did a double take between the Targaryen and the sword, shock ridden all over her expression. Visenya nodded, affirming it was okay which had Arya place her goblet on the table and take the longsword in her hands. It surprised the young Stark at how light the blade was. Although it had some weight, it was not as nearly as heavy as what Ice had been. “Wow,” she breathed out, “I didn’t expect it to be so…light.”

Visenya took a seat in the chair at the head of the table, watching Arya become infatuated with the weapon. “It is said it was crafted solely for a female warrior. It’s why it is so slim and light compared to other Valyrian swords—makes it effortless for the owner to wield.” She takes a swig of wine, gulping it before casually adding, “I mean Queen Visenya cut her brother's cheek with it before his guards could react.”

The one sentence had Arya stiffen, the blade going still in her hands as she felt her eyes widen to the size of saucers. Her reflection stared back at her, and the girl had to clear her now dry throat when the words stuttered out, “T-this—is this what I think it is?” She slowly looked up to see Visenya giving her the same smirk she did earlier. It got her heart pumping. “This is Dark Sister?”

“The one and only,” Visenya repeated the phrase, this time with a chuckle. She could understand the reaction from the Stark. Dark Sister was a legend in itself. One of two ancestral swords of the Targaryen family.

“B-but how?” Arya looked at the sword before turning back to the woman. “How—I mean, Dark Sister was lost beyond the Wall when Lord Brynden Rivers disappeared. Its whereabouts have been unknown for the last fifty years.”

Placing her now empty goblet down on the table, Visenya clasped her hands in her lap. “It was missing—for the amount of time you mentioned.” Arya just shook her head with confusion, “Then how—?”

“When your brother went beyond the Wall to retrieve a wright, I accompanied him alongside Ser Jorah. We traveled to East Watch-by-the-sea, met up with some old friends who would join us on our quest. But before we headed out, I took it upon myself to scout the castle. Like you I was well aware Dark Sister hadn’t been seen for decades.” Visenya pauses to stand, coming next to Arya and glancing down at the sword in her hands. “I was curious whether the tale of it was true, or, if there were details left out. My suspicion was correct when I practically turned the room that once belonged to the commander of East Watch upside down in my search. It was hidden in a space between the walls.”

Arya, still in awe of the weapon she held, couldn’t help but question, “How did you know it was Dark Sister?” It was a fair question. If the roles were reversed, Visenya would have questioned the story.

“My father described to me what the blade looked like, what best he could from the stories of his father and his father before that. The last Targaryen it belonged to was the Dragonknight, Prince Aemon. And since the blade was last seen with the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, it was no surprise, to me per say, that it would end up in the hands of another brother. A Valyrian steel blade with a dragon pommel at one of the Night Watch’s bases?” Visenya tilts her head with mock wonder, “was not hard to put two and two together.”

An old memory played out in Arya’s mind. It was from years ago, the first and only time she met the legendary Tywin Lannister. She remembered the conversation she had where Queen Visenya and Dark Sister were brought up. It was a fond memory, despite the events leading up and following. Had someone told her that one day she’d be holding the sword she once dreamed of seeing, she’d tell them to fuck off and stop fooling around.

But here she was. Holding said sword that once belonged to the great Queen of Westeros.

A knock at the door had her jump, nearly fumbling when she placed the sword on the table. Glancing up, she met the eyes of Jon, who was looking between the two with an unreadable expression.

“Forgive me,” he starts, eyes flickering to Dark Sister which was now being sheathed in Visenya’s holstered. “The Queen has called a meeting with all her advisors and the Lords. We’re discussing battle strategy.”

“Ah, of course,” Visenya steps around the table to make her way out of the room. When she gets to Jon, she stops, turning to face Arya. Raising her brow, she stuns the girl by saying, “Well, are you not coming?”

Jon freezes. Like Arya, he is shocked at the Targaryen’s suggestion. “My Lady, my sister is not a member of council.” Jon could see Arya’s shoulders drop. The pleading look on her face nearly had Jon regretting his words.

“And?” Visneya surprised them both again. “If we are going to work together, best to have all who’re fighting know the plans. Besides,” she cast a look at the girl, who was now fighting the urge to react. “Your sister has quite the fighting experience from what Lady Brienne has told me. She may teach us a thing or two.” Only Arya saw the way Vinsenya's eyes flickered down to the blade attached to her hip. Aegon’s dagger.

“Come now,” she then says, turning on her heel to leave. “Must not keep the Queen waiting.” Leaving the two Starks, who were still frozen, Visenya makes her way down the halls. It takes Arya a moment or two to snap out of her shock before speeding past Jon.

As she approaches the room where the meeting is to be held, Visenya runs into Daenerys walking in the opposite direction. “Ah, there you are, cousin,” the Queen greets, with Tyrion and Missandei on either side. Visenya bows her head and says, “Your Grace.” No matter how many times Dany had told Visenya she didn’t have to refer to the woman by her titles, Visenya always did. Dany shakes her head, smiling at the woman.

“Where did you run off to?” The two enter the room together, the Lords, Ladies, and advisors following moments later. “I was looking for you.”

“Oh, I had misplaced my sword,” Visenya was aware Arya arrived with Jon, the two moving to the area closest to where the Targaryens were conversing. At the sight of Arya’s blush, Visenya could tell the girl was listening in.

Daenerys chuckled, as though she expected the answer from her cousin. “You’ve got to be more careful about your weapons, Vis. Anyone could have taken it. You never told me how you came to possess it.”

Arya’s posture straightened, sneaking a glance at the women to find Daenerys back to her. Visenya was facing her, and Arya saw the blonde’s lips curl in a knowing smirk. “Oh, this thing,” she gestured to the object, as though it was anything but the weapon from Targaryen legend. “Just came across it. No one claimed it, so I took it upon myself to. I was in need of a sword as you know, my last one had an unfortunate end in Meereen.”

‘Was she not going to tell her?’ Arya thought to herself. It confused her why Visenya would not tell her cousin, the Queen, that the blade was Dark Sister. Why would she keep it to herself? Maybe the woman planned to after the battle. Maybe she feared Daenerys would lay claim to it. Or maybe, she just wanted to keep the mystery of Dark Sister in the air.

And when the Stark met the purple eyes of Visenya Targaryen, she was met with a wink. Arya felt her own smirk, giving a nod and turning away to listen as Jon called the meeting to attention.

The secret of Dark Sister and Aegon’s blade would remain with the blood of the dragon.

#game of thrones #game of thrones imagine #got imagine #daenerys targeryan #Daenerys Targaryen imagine #Jon snow #Jon snow imagine #Arya stark #Arya stark imagine #got fanfic #got fanfiction #targaryen!reader #visenya targaryen #fire and blood #a song of ice and fire #daenerys targaryen x reader #jon snow x reader #Arya stark x reader

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aegor-bamfsteel · 1 year

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Sometimes I feel like so many book fans are unable to see Dany atrocities in Slavers Bay. It's because they think Dany is removing slavery and the characters are either causing problems to Dany or some are plain cruel. Do you think the writing has sone flaws regarding Essos chapter?

I think you’re right regarding the Slaver’s Bay atrocities, although a few people have pointed out this is likely intentional. Making the Slavers so one-dimensionally evil—crucifying 163 slave children as a challenge to Dæny, brainwashing slave boys into super soldiers, condemning innocent people to getting mauled by animals because they want to see death—is so Dæny’s actions against them seem not as bad by comparison, or even “karmic justice”. I mean, how many times have you seen the defense of the crucifixion of 163 Meereenese Masters as “they were slavers and probably involved in killing them anyway” when Dæny had them killed without an investigation? Even though the motivation of the slavers is similar to that of Tywin Lannister—pride in their heritage and the system they’ve profited off of, to the point of considering those outside the clan inferior which justifies all sorts of atrocities against them—you never get an Essosi villain with Tywin’s sort of backstory or sense of grandeur (let alone that of his children, but at least they’re POVs).

I’m hardly alone thinking the Essosi characters are poorly developed. It’s pretty telling that the show—otherwise criticized for flattening characters, for its racist imagery, for softening the blow of dark!Dæny—actually did better than the books with them in a few places. They gave Missandei and Grey Worm a romantic plot that didn’t involve Dæny (and considering Missandei was supposed to survive the finale, maybe signified them growing apart from her). They made it obvious that Dæny crucifying the 163 Great Masters without a trial was reckless, because she killed Hizdahr’s father and he’d spoken against killing the children. Hizdahr himself got more sympathetic characterization, going from an opportunistic lobbyist who wanted to open up the fighting pits to essentially being the Sansa to her Joffrey and pointing out her hypocrisy when she vows to destroy Meereen if they keep rebelling (“So your reasons are true and theirs are false?”) Then there’s a character Mossador, a former slave who she kills for killing a Son of the Harpy without trial, thus causing a riot, and he’s not in the books.

GRRM, as the first linked post points out, has a talent for creating well fleshed out minor characters in little narrative space (citing Small Paul, though there are many other examples), which helps make Westeros feel more dynamic. By contrast, Dæny’s main cast in Essos is mostly one dimensional. It’s not really fair to compare Pyp, Grenn, and Dolorous Edd (not counting Sam because he’s a POV) to Irri, Jhiqui, Rakharo, and Jhogo, but both of groups have been with POV Jon or Dæny for most of their journey, and see how easy it is to think of the first group’s character traits (Pyp’s the funny mummer, Grenn is a gentle giant, Dolorous Edd is Eeyore giving a Shakespeare monologue) whereas the second group has little characterization (GRRM differentiates them by body type, with Irri as slender, Jhiqui as busty, Jhogo is young, Rakharo has a mustache) This got so bad in ADWD that GRRM had to invent a character Rommo as part of Dæny’s khalasar because her bloodriders weren’t available to represent the Dothraki in council. We have an oily suck up to the ruling power in Reznak and Pycelle, but we understand Pycelle’s motivations due to a monologue with Jaime (he admires authoritarian rulers since surviving a plague that killed 3/4 of the Citadel), whereas Reznak doesn’t get that revealing backstory moment. Basically GRRM shows he’s plenty capable of creating interesting side characters and antagonists, he just rarely does so during the Essosi chapters.

(Incidentally, this is part of the reason why I hate the theory that Melisandre is of magical Westerosi origin. She’s 1 of 2 indigenous Essosi and ex-slave POVs and a well rounded character with development over 3 books who drives part of the plot. Making her Westerosi magic really takes away from her origin story that led her to devote her life to Rhllor.)

#ask #grrm criticism #anti daenerys #opinion

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coffee-in-veins · 2 years

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If the heroes could play instruments, what do you think they'd play? Sarmenti is the obvious one, but what about the others?

ho boi... this one took a while to make. I have a lot of headcanons, not gonna lie, but bear in mind that my knowledge of music is mostly based on a few years of learning to play the piano (fruitless endeavour, ngl) and Sideway’s rants about it (honestly, go check the dude, he’s amazing and talks on a level even someone with zero knowledge can understand).

So brace yourself, a lot of very odd things are incoming with a lot of sample links. Because it’s hard to explain music in words. Thou hast been warned.

Heroes are sorted in alphabetical order by their class, with added “canon” names for clarity.

Abomination/Bigby - oof, only starting, and this one was already a hard one, but I think I have one that would fit him: a glass harp. We have records of it being used as early as 1492, so it should fit the setting, I guess? And also it fits him, imo. There’s more to this man than his chains and his rags, as there’s more to some water-filled glasses than what they look like. Also, it doesn’t require a lot, just glasses, some chalk and water. And lots and lots of patience. Fitting, don’t you think?

Antiquarian/Josephine - this one gave me the biggest pause. Because frankly, I don’t really have an opinion on Josephine. She was a useful mule in-game but as her own person...? Ehhh... This one was hard. But I can propose tambourine despite it being canonically used by Jester (based on his trinkets), maybe? It’s both unassuming and can be used for more than you can initially imagine, but still sounds very distinct - much like the antiquarian class in itself. I can also definitely see her sneaking one in her bags on an expedition (before I went and double checked, I was sure she was holding one in the Curious Incantation skill icon).

Arbalest/Missandei - something like french horn comes to mind, frankly, with all the march references she has in her toolkit. Or maybe a trumpet. Trumpet fits a bit better, imo, considering the “Marked for Death” quartet she’s part of. Metallic, militaristic, much like her armour and her crossbow. Or her character. But also capable of sounding incredibly sincere and gentle.

Bounty Hunter/Tardif - yet another one which gave me a big pause. But he looks a lot like Varangian Guard, imo, so I looked up some Byzantine instruments and found one that I think fits both his “always on the road” bounty hunter lifestyle, his aesthetic (since it can be played without taking off his helmet cloth... I guess, don’t quote me on this one), and the feelings he probably invokes in people upon meeting them - aulos. Just listen to this beauty, especially the starting dissonance. It sounds like an alarm siren to me. And if it’s not Tardif in music form, I dunno what is.

Crusader/Reynauld - a strong contender for “his voice is his instrument” because of his chanting, but nope, while our boi Rey can yell commands in a way that makes Barristan proud, I don’t think that singing is his strong suit. If we abandon his demonstrative disinterest in anything not Verse-related for a moment, I really wanna put something like zitra in his hands to show his gentler, humane side and because he is now strongly associated with Franko-German origin for me thanks to @engelsschwert and his real-world inspiration. Psaltery might fit it better? Sounds closer to how I can imagine him, at least. And the name is like ‘psalms’ too. But it’s still a part of the zitra family, so a win-win, imo.

Flagellant/Damian - his voice. No, really, I can easily depict this man bellowing the gregorian chant with the might needed to be heard from any remote part of a cathedral. Human voice is an incredible instrument after all, it was the very first one we had, and I believe Damian can use his to the fullest. It also fits the “having nothing but burden” mentality of flagellants, I think? You can’t get any more minimalistic than that. I think his singing voice also makes Rey jealous but he’d rather die than admit it.

Grave Robber/Audrey - she most likely knows how to play some “proper”, “feminine” and classic instruments like the harp. Because of that, she most likely hates it with passion and would rather strangle you upon the request than play a melody, even if she can play decently “since that is what’s expected from a proper lady”.

Hellion/Boudica - another contender for using her voice as a musical instrument, more in a “war chant” scenario. But also I can see her using tagelharpa. I suppose she’s meant to be Celtic with name and all, but Celtic lyre is too gentle-sounding, and I don’t think she was a chieftain/chieftain's daughter to be given a carnyx to play. So yeah, may be historically inaccurate since we cannot prove her being related to Vikings if we omit stereotypes, but the sound fits, imo, and DD as a whole is a historic nightmare, so...

Highwayman/Dismas - this one was incredibly easy and strong: harmonica. Small, compact, can be made out of a leaf and a comb, or just a leaf if you know how. Easy to use on the road, easy to conceal if needed. Can be used to gouge our someone’s eye in a clutch. Ideal for a constantly low on funds runaway convict or a vagabond. Also it feels like a very cheeky instrument (pun definitely intended) and it fits the character quite well, imo. The saxophone comes close second if we’re going bonkers. Oh, you all know why. He’s the most shipped character for a reason.

Houndmaster/Willam - I’m not gonna beat around the bush with our beloved dog guy. It’s the Irish tin whistle also known as feadóg. Don’t judge me. I couldn’t pass this one.

Jester/Sarmenti - although the lute might be his preferred music instrument, I would’ve really, really loved it if the mad lad found remains of an organ in the Abbey and with enough help from Baldwin and the company could restore it. Because honestly, the guy is a mad genius, and have you seen how many pins, keyboards and the like the thing has? The sheer freedom, range and scale! He’d fit right in, just as much as I believe in his dedication to break through this monster of the instrument and make it obey his whim.

Leper/Baldwin - canonically plays the flute (at least until the point where he still has some lips left to do it); however, based on the noble upbringing of that era, he probably knew some other, “proper” instrument as part of his upbringing. Oud, maybe? It’s very complex from what I could gather, and has a lot of regularly used scales, but you wouldn’t assume it by looking at it. Much like you wouldn’t assume that a mere leper is a once-King.

Man-at-Arms/Barristan - I can easily imagine him knowing the drums. Snare drums to be specific. But not in a way of music, not entirely, more in a way of military-signals-turned-music, if that makes sense? Though I believe he can perform one hell of a solo if you nag him long enough.

Musketeer/Margaret - this one was more of a continuation of Arbalest, Houndmaster and MAA quartet, if you will, much like the Margaret herself is, mechanically at least, just a reskin of Misendei. So to finish the arrangement, I decided to give her fifa. Not only does it fits their general “soldier” idea, but also it’s a flute, an instrument that got a lot of “feminization” and sounds gentler than the trumpet, but is capable of sounding just as harsh and demanding if needed.

Occultist/Alhazred - another strong contender for his voice being his instrument. If the guy can yell “ Y'LW'NAFH N'GHFT “ without stuttering, he deserves it, in my opinion. But I also find kamancheh quite fitting. It sounds like a lament, to me, which fits Alhazred’s narrative and the instrument itself also looks both sophisticated and very elegant. It can also be considered a ritualistic instrument, used at many celebrations and is widely used in classical music.

Plague Doctor/Paracelsus - this one was tricky, and at first, I even thought I’d have to admit that she isn’t musical but. But. What is the music if not the fluctuations in the air? What are they but math and physics, give or take? And if so, you can make a scientific way of producing it - a marble machine. Unorthodox, just like the woman in question. And admit it, it even looks like something she’d try to build just to drive Sarmenti up the wall.

Shieldbreaker/Amani - initially I wanted to give her a rattle (I’m a horrible person, I’m aware of it). I also was sure she had some sort of jingles, much like Jester, during her moves, but no. The problem is, she’s one-handed, and it’s rare you can use an instrument with only one hand. But I found one and it actually fits her, thematically - zills! And first ones of those were found in Greece around 500 BC, so no issues in using them in our medieval-ish setting.

Vestal/Junia - this one was also a doozy to think of, but I think I have a very nice fit: a handbell. It can be gentle, it can be deafening, it’s useless in untrained hands, and has the added bonus of having a strong link to church bells if you squint hard enough. Also most of the carols I’m aware of use bells, so do with it what you will.

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magalidragon · 2 years

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Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it is the overwhelming anxiety and uncertainty I feel as an XX chromosome entity with a uterus in the United States. Maybe it’s just the pics of Keet and my wishy-washy feelings about the new show. Either way, here’s a drabble I wrote in 30 minutes and barely proofread. Enjoy! For @youwerenevermine ! 😎

The really hot guy with the ass that wouldn’t quit was fighting with his girlfriend. Again.

Dany sipped her beer, watching the dramatics, waiting for the next band to perform. She was looking forward to it; it was called Iron Bull and the lead singer was exceptionally cute. She obsessed over one of their songs "No One" when she was feeling extra moody and needed a pick-me-up. Seeing them at Dunstonbury was going to be a highlight of the three-day festival.

Except for the performance being put on beside her, with the really hot guy who had been in the same lawn block as her, who wore way too tight jeans and Henleys that appeared to be specifically designed for his no-doubt sculpted torso. She swore yesterday's white one was painted to his abs, each one visible under the thin fabric. It was enough to make her miss most of some of the bands yesterday, watching him dance, imagining the fabric must have also been made of some titanium strength cotton to keep from shredding with his moves.

And such adorable moves they were too. Rather poncy, she thought, the little shoulder dance thing he did, but she liked it.

She had noted that he was there with a group of people. A redheaded woman who came for short periods at a time and then left for longer periods, her wrist filled with VIP bands-- Dany thought her name was Sarah or something, perhaps Sansa?-- there was the tiny woman with a mullet-like cap of dark hair, boots with about four-inch platforms, and a very metal-like fashion aesthetic. There was the other hot guy and his hotter girlfriend, who disappeared for long periods of ftime as well. Robb and Margie, maybe?

And then there was this guy. And the other redhead.

Missandei poked her hard in the shoulder. "HEy, stalker. Got you another beer."

"Thanks, here, take it. It's too hoppy for me." Dany traded the beers, returning her attention to the couple fighting. Their voices were raising; they were Northern, but the chick's accent was way harsher. The Linguistics major in Dany told her it was definitely far North, perhaps even Beyond the Wall, while the guy's was almost certainly a bit farther south of the Wall. She nodded to the couple. "They're fighting again."

"It's like a soap opera."

"You know they haven't had any PDA, not like everyone else around here." At Dunstonbury there was a good chance you saw a bit of everything. So far, all she'd seen is them fighting and the guy was only smiling and laughing when the redhead was somewhere else. It was a three-day festival and they were almost done with day two. She narrowed her eyes. "It seems that Red there thinks Crow is a cheapskate and that he doesn't care about her as much as he should."

"Crow?"

"That's what she calls him." He kind of looked like a crow, she supposed, with his jet black curls that today were pulled into a messy man-bun. He had been wearing mostly black. Except after he'd changed earlier. Red had tossed a drink at him in anger. She pushed her fedora up a little higher on her head so she could get a better view at them while trying to not appear as though she were actually watching them. She chuckled. "I guess he didn't splurge for VIP tickets."

"She would not do well in the VIP area I don't think."

Dany agreed silently; Red was definitely not someone who seemed like they could hobnob with the high and mighty of Westeros society and celebrity, who were often in the VIP areas where they didn't have to wear muddy wellies and ripped jeans. Or if they were, they didn't have a speck of dirt on them. She shrugged. "That other redhead with them has the VIP tickets."

"Maybe he got them for her."

Dany didn't think so; the other redhead seemed disgusted by everyone in the party. It was more likely she was a sibling, judging from her interactions. She nodded again at the fighting couple. "Watch, Red is going to say something about how he doesn't care about her anymore."

Sure enough, the woman raised her voice even higher, throwing her arms out. "At least pretend to give a shit Jon! You can at least hold my hand!"

Jon, so that was the hot guy's name. Dany hadn't heard it yet. It suited him. Simple. Jon turned away from Red, trying to play off her fighting. His pale cheeks, above a scruffy beard, were pink in embarrassment no doubt. "I'm not doing this with you again, we're not even together!"

That was new information.

Red stomped her feet, tears in her voice. "This was supposed to be us trying again!"

"Can't keep trying with you Ygritte, and no, it wasn't, you invited yourself!" He waved his hand. "Go find Val, you brought her with you, you can't seem to go anywhere without your cousin, I was dating you, not both of you!"

"I only bring her because you shut me out!"

"And how do I do that Ygritte? That would require me to actually care about what you have to say which right now I do not."

Oof, burn, Dany thought, sipping her beer and swishing it around a moment to savor the taste before swallowing. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what else was going on between them, and they continued to bicker, until she heard it, confirming her inner suspicions.

"We broke up, Ygritte, you're my ex-girlfriend, I'm not doing this again."

"I wasn't really your ex girlfriend when you called me a month ago after having too many drinks with Tormund and wanted me to come over!"

"My mistake, clearly!"

He looked pained, this poor hot guy. He was trying to be nice to the woman, who Dany would have smacked already given her nasty comments she'd heard the last couple of days, her constant whining, and seemingly never to have her wallet on her so the guy-- the ex-boyfriend-- was always payin gfor her stuff, while she was also compalining that he didn't get her VIP tickets so she was in the mud and could barely see and hear the bands. If she was from Beyond the Wall, Dany was shocked she didn't seem to enjoy the mud and being with the peasants.

Except maybe she had high tastes, but the designer shoes she woere were battered beyond belief and didn't match the rest of her outfit. Dany didn't judge the mismatched clothing choices-- she was wearing a fedora with an exposed dragon-scale bra and camisole with her cutoff shorts and her knee-high wellies. She was the queen of mismatched fashion. It was probably just this woman's clear hypocrisy.

She felt bad for the guy. Plus, she wanted to talk to him. They'd shared a few smiles here and there, catching each other's eye the last day or so. They'd even chuckled at each other when they'd almost bumped into each other in the bar tent earlier. She pursed her lips and made an executive decision.

"Hold my beer."

Missandei frowned. "Where are you going? The band is about to start!"

"Watch the fireworks."

Dany sauntered off, sliding between a few people in the short distance between where she and Missandei were camped and where the hot northerner and his ex were still bickering. She caught his eye and he frowned momentarily, before she plastered a wide smile on her face and threw her arms out. "Jon! Oh my Gods! I was looking for you, can you believe how packed this place is!?"

And she flung her arms around his neck, her nails digging into the back of his head, dragging his stunned face towards her and planted an open-mouthed sloppy kiss on his-- wow, incredibly soft-- lips.

He froze for a second and then melted towards her, his hands resting on her hips, just above the low rise of her shorts, his thumbs pressed to her hipbones. They burned hot and she forgot herself a second, wanting to savor this and even extend it, but then she remembered what she was doing. She let go and patted her palm against his cheek, knocking her hip into his. "Hi!" she exclaimed, offering her hand. "I"m Dany! You must be Ygritte, Jon told me you were with him. Nice to meet you!"

Ygritte's mouth dropped, her blue eyes wide, stunned. She snapped her mouth closed and swallowed hard, turning her head slowly to Jon. "Jon," she breathed. "Who is this?"

"She's uh...she's..."

"Dany," Dany repeated. She beamed. "We met just before the festival, I finally got here, was looking for him. I've been in the VIP area the last day. My brother is one of the organizers." That’s wasn’t even a lie either.

"What!?" the redhead sputtered. She grabbed a backpack from the rumpled blanket on the ground, beating the hot guy on the shoulder with it for a second. "You stupid son of a bitch! You fucking crow! This is it, we're done!” She hit him one more time for good measure and stormed off, screaming for someone named Val to come with her.

The packed crowds aroudn them screamed in excitement, the music starting up on the stage, as the band appeared. She looked up at the guy, shrugging. "I do apologize about that, I realize the double standard, if you had done that to me it would not have been as well received."

"Uh..." he stammered, his forehead wrinkling. "I do'nt..."

"I mean I just assaulted you. I kissed you without your consent." She smiled. "Although towards the end there I think one might argue there was consent but I won’t assume. I am sorry."

He laughed, raking his fingers over his hair. He had a few bracelets around his wrists and a bandana wrapped around another one, which he undid and went to tie back his hair again. "Aye, I...well...you surprised me."

"I really am Dany, by the way."

"And I'm really Jon, how'd you know?"

"I've heard you guys."

He turned bright red, shouting above the band that began. "Sorry about that! She's my ex, she kind of invited herself and wlel...I have trouble letting go sometimes."

"I gathered," she laughed. She gestured back towards her area. "I'm going to head back. I'm glad I didn't misread the entire thing." She went to step away, but he thrust his hand out to grab her wrist, preventing her. She cocked her head, quizzical.

Jon licked his lips and gestured up towards the stage. "The band? Iron Bull? The lead is my cousin's boyfriend. Gendry Waters, you want to come back to the VIP area? I think I owe you for saving my ass with my ex."

Her heart jumped up to her throat. "Oh, you don't have to..."

"No, I...I've been watching you." His eyes widened when she burst into laughter. "No, no! Not like that, that's...Fuck! I suck at this!"

She waved her hand. "No, it's fine, I've been watching you too. Thought that's why I'd come save you, she seems like a handful."

"IT's why she's an ex!"

"I get it!" She nodded, agreeing, and bit her bottom lip. "Sounds good, let me just tell my friend." She pushed back through the crowd to Missandei and grabbed her beer back, guzzling half of it and swallowing hard. "See you later girl, I'll call you."

Missandei looked over her shoulder at Jon, who was waiting, watching them. She howled laughing, smacking Dany's ass. "You go! Call me later, let me know you're safe."

"Later." She grabbed her jacket and jumped away, dodging a mud puddle and joining Jon, who reached into his back pocket and took out a VIP wristband. She hooted, delighted. "You had this all along and she wanted one and you didn't give it to her? You're cruel Jon."

He smiled sheepishly. "It's a long story, but...well...she just was so demanding about it!"

"Don't have to explain to me."

"What's Dany short for?" he shouted, pushing through dancing people to get to the edge of the lawn.

"Daenerys!"

"Daenerys? Well I'm Jon, like you got already. Jon Snow."

"Nice to finally meet you, I've just been calling you 'The Hot Guy' in my head!"

He pinked again, but said nothing, breaking free of the main crowd and working towards the side of the lawn towards the metal gates that separated out the VIP area from the peasants. He paused under an overhang, near one of the drink tents, and smiled again. "The Hot Guy, huh?"

"Sorry, I know that diminishes you to a sex object when I know there is more to you than that."

"Are you always this direct?"

"Are you always this shy?" she shot back, still grinning. She shrugged. "I don't believe in wasting time."

Jon laughed. "Well I should apologize for saying that I've been calling you the Dragon Queen in my head."

Dany's eyebrows arched. "Oh?""

He pointed to her wrist, with three dragons tattooed just under her palm, and then to her ribcage, visible when she moved forwards and her shirt gaped at the side. There was the outline of a dragon making its way along the pale skin there. "And your silver hair, like a queen."

"I appreciate that." It took a second, but she finally processed what the actual meaning of what he said meant. She giggled, poking his chest-- whoa, it was crazy taut, he had to be ripped-- saying, "So why didn't you say anything earlier? Could have saved you some pain with your ex."

He flushed again. "I didn't know how to talk to you....if I'd known you would just walk up and kiss me, I suppose I would have just said, hello, my name is Jon, do you want to get a drink?"

Dany's violet eyes glittered, meeting what she now recognized were his gray ones-- an odd gray, not black like she'd thought-- which fixed intensely on hers. She leaned closer to him, her arm reaching up around his neck, murmuring into his ear, feeling him shvier under her. "Why don't you ask me now?"

Jon brushed his lips over her ear, whispering, "Hello, my name is Jon, do you want to get a drink with me?"

She sealed the answer with another kiss, before tugging him away, saying something about needing to evaluate his dance moves before she could be completely certain. Truth be told, she really needed to see this "shoulder dance" up close and personal.

#jonerys #jonerys au #my fics #my moodboards #my drabbles #stupid drabble

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darkestprompts · 1 year

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Heroes’ interactions at/with the facilities/shopkeepers in the hamlet? :3

Caretaker: Although some heroes can't stand his constant giggling, the more compassionate heroes learn to tolerate the guy's antics and even start to treat him as a sort of senile older relative. Dismas and Reynauld, on the other hand, will always hold a grudge over the stagecoach incident.

Survivalist: Not a big talker, generally only interacts when giving lessons. However, she will sit around quietly with other heroes that stay by the Outsider's Bonfire. I have the feeling she'd especially like Bigby, a real survivor if there ever was one. The scouts and tactical minded heroes of the Hamlet sometimes come by to run notes and plans by her before expeditions, to which she gives answers that are straight to the point.

Abbot: Has a good relationship with Junia, Baldwin and Reynauld, as expected, and accepts Damian with some reserve (he fears extremism may rile up the locals into a frenzy). Still, he ends up as the religious heroes' propaganda man. A lot of the inhabitans clinged to religion out of fear as the Hamlet fell into decay, but their arrival brought with them actual hope to the congregation. If you pay attention, you will notice his maneuvers to converse with them in places where they can be shown off and he's secretly behind many positive rumours about them.

Tavern keeper: Well-liked guy, knows pretty much all heroes directly or through acquaintances, and a good listener to boot, which is a critical qualification when so many people come to you talking about mind-shattering shit they've just seen. However, he still realizes that while the heroes are his foremost source of cash, they are also the most troublesome clients, so he keeps a stern face and a no exceptions policy. Once you let one crazy barbarian woman break your furniture, it becomes a free-for-all. And Dismas can shove his weighted dice where the sun doesn't shine.

Guild trainers: I took some time to think about these two, because it's interesting that they are capable fighters but don't participate in the expeditions. My conclusion is that, as mercenaries, they are willing to train the new meat but not invested enough in the promises of riches and redemption and all that nonsense to actually go in. And it's fine from the Heir's perspective, because you don't need to only know how to fight, but be a good teacher to fill their role. Their relative safety ensures a standard to the training of new arrivals. They mostly interact with the recruits who require such training, as more experienced heroes have their own routines.

Blacksmith: A lot of his clients are satisfied to place their orders and expect them to be to their taste, but occasionally someone will take the time to talk over specifications and improvements, and the old man appreciates those people. Barristan in particular likes to come by and discuss designs, sometimes even making suggestions for commissions that are not his.

Nurses: I suspect that these women are affiliated to the Church, but don't have the full status of a nun. Sort of like the medieval "serving sisters" of the Order of St Clara, that were allowed direct contact with the mundane world and generally came from lower classes. As such, they may not possess the highest education, but their methods are tried and tested. I believe they appreciate the back up from characters like Para (a real doctor!), Junia (a real vestal!) or Missandei (wow field surgery!), but can become easily discomforted when Paracelsus introduces methods that contradict their own, or to accept expertise from the likes of Bigby and Alhazred. They can be really stubborn, but usually cave in to positive evidence. They may not present the best bedside manners, but their grim no-nonsense attitude carries through shifts of holding down and treating severely disturbed, ailing and wounded heroes. Don't expect them to change.

#darkest dungeon #asks #anon #headcanons #thoughts #dd ensemble

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bayleafpsa · 7 months

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I was tagged at darkestprompts by @coffee-in-veins in the WIP train meme. But since what I have is mostly a lot of le porn, I'll post it here. Enjoy!

I dunno who already got tagged or has wips, so any followers that want to run away with it, be my guest.

From a yet unnamed Hellion/Arbalest fic still in my notebook (+18, explicit sexual content ahead):

Boudica slid down the planes of her body, dark and smooth skin broken by pale scarring, shreds of moonlight atop the most delightful waves.

- Beautiful like the northern sea... - she caressed the curve of a hip with her lips. - Sweet like returning to shore.

Missandei scoffed, letting out a forced chuckle.

- Silly woman... As if... I mean, look at you... - she bit her lower lip and gazed half-lidded as Boudica, who beamed a feral grin at the show. Yes, she knew her body was just as fit to crush enemies as to please her lovers. But that didn't mean she'd take her darling's self-deprecating nonsense. So she leaned her cheek into Missandei's inner thigh and purred like deceptively tame panther.

- The lovely ocean and the fearsome cliffside, they make a fine pair, don't you think?

- I think you spend too much time learning pretty words from Baldwin and not enough on top of me.

Well. Boudica wasn't going to argue with that.

- You are right, my love... - said she, and dove between her legs. The arbalest let out a surprised little sound and stiffened, but soon melted under the ministrations of the hellion's tongue. The movements were slow and deliberate, no rush to her enjoyment to her lover's body. Missandei jumped again at the hint of teeth against the sensitive nub.

- Easy with the teeth!

- Of course. I wouldn't bite... Down here. - she pontificated with a playful nibble on Missandei's leg, laughing at yet another surprised yelp extracted from the usually composed sniper.

- You menace... Come here where I can touch you too.

A threat? An invitation? A challenge? Most likely, it was all those things at once, and Boudice couldn't be more pleased.

#darkest dungeon #shipping #hellion/arbalest #missandei/boudica #femslash

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khalesci · 3 months

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now that I've finished my reread and had time to digest and am also on yet another rewatch of the show let me give my current opinions on the differences between the show and book characters as they pertain to Dany's arc

Show Jorah >>>> Book Jorah. Show Jorah is waaaaay more sympathetic and Book Jorah is just a massive fucking creep.

Show Missandei == Book Missandei. They're both great and they both serve different purposes to Dany narratively so it feels hard to compare them.

Show Grey Worm >>>> Book Grey Worm. He's barely a character in the books and I'm glad the show decided to flesh him out and do more with him.

Daario is more complicated because Show Daario is more likeable and a better partner to Dany while Book Daario is a toxic asshole but also a more interesting character as a whole. I love Show Daario and hate (in the fun way) Book Daario so I'd say like with Missandei, both versions are hard to compare for me because they both serve different purposes narratively. I will always picture M.ichiel H.uisman as Daario though I fucking hate George's descriptions of him in the books asdfklldfsjk

Book Hizdahr >>>> Show Hizdahr. Book Hizdahr is actively plotting against Dany to make himself King of Meereen, and it's debatable whether this is all his own doing or if there is another force within the Harpies is using him as a face in this big game of 4d chess they're playing. Book Hizdahr gets exactly what he wants because he backs Dany into a corner and yet everything he does (until Daznak's pit) comes with enough plausible deniability that she can't do anything about it. Meanwhile show Hizdahr is a lot more pathetic and a bystander instead of the (pretend?) tactician he is in the books, like he just gets bullied the whole time then dies at the pit so? Yeah, his book counterpart is a lot better as a character.

Both the show and the books have failed all of Dany's handmaids. All of them. Doreah dies early in the books but the show turns her into a traitor. Irri and Jhiqui just disappear from the show altogether but they're not much better in the books. Irri has an interesting relationship with Dany and plays a role in Dany exploring her sexuality but Jhiqui gets nothing, and by the time of the fifth book, they're both relegated back to quiet characters who do nothing except bicker over a man or they say something just to prove how "uncultured" they are??? Like the vibes are so weird here, George needs to do better. Five whole books and their characters have not changed at all.

Book Xaro >>>> Show Xaro. This man in the books is a constant thorn in Daenerys' side but in the show he's *barely* a villain for a season then gets killed off. He's part of the reason why Dany gets better at working people politically and has a lot to do with her Meereen arc.

Pyatt Pree is kinda the same as Xaro. They killed him off in the show when in the books he is very much alive and an active threat to Dany now that he's in Euron's possession.

Book Barristan >>>> Show Barristan. I have mixed feelings about Barristan as a whole but the guy is one of the only ones left to stick up for Dany in her court after she disappears and he's working to bring Hizdahr to justice and bring his queen home, like??? Kinda wild how the show just killed him off in an alley when he's supposed to be the one holding shit together while she's gone, not Tyrion.

Khal Drogo is mostly the same in the book and the show, except the show doesn't show most of the shit he does and really romanticizes his and Dany's relationship a lot more. So . . . idk, bonus points or negative points or something for them overlooking the fact that he literally made Dany s*icidal. Also him showing up in her HOTU vision is such bullshit lmao they really replaced all of her prophetic visions with *that* just because they liked J.ason M.omoa too much and did not give a single shit about Dany's arc.

Viserys is mostly the same too except I would say the books slightly win out here because they do more to show how Dany processes her relationship with her brother and the effects of Viserys' own mental illness and PTSD. They kinda just never bring up Viserys again in the show when Dany thinks and dreams about him often and always remarks how she loved her brother but hates how he became someone unrecognizable to her. There's a lot more depth there but it's hard to translate to the show especially when they avoided Dany's dreams altogether.

Book Euron >>>> Show Euron. Not even a close contest. Book Euron is an eldritch horror of a man trying to steal Dany so he can use her and her dragons to start an apocalypse meanwhile Show Euron is just a fucking joke.

Book Illyrio >>>> Show Illyrio. The guy barely exists in the show.

Honorable mentions for Belwas, Quentyn, Galazza, Reznak, and Skahaz, none of whom got adapted but should have been.

#♛ ooc. ⊱ ❝ 𝘖𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪. ❞#I think I got all the important ones #except tyrion but the thing is she hasn't even met tyrion in the books yet sooo???#I don't like how they just inserted him into her storyline to handle meereen while she's gone like first of all #this motherfucker literally *just* showed up. why should they trust him with a CITY?????#they messed up getting rid of barristan too soon that was supposed to be his role

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