#Romeo and Juliet of Westeros

[fleurdeliet]

Aeron Bracken x Davos Blackwood

[thebenjiblackwoodexpress]

The Blackwood Knight prt.8

Disclaimer: I wrote this because Victoria is a Shakespeare girlie and loves Romeo and Juliet. She also loves Crimson Peak, which inspired the last two parts.

Description: Benjicot resorts to drastic measures to win back his lady's trust and love, having accidentally placed doubt in her mind as to his true intentions.

Part 7

Playlist:

Gold Rush~ Taylor Swift

The Way I Loved You~ Taylor Swift

How You Get The Girl~ Taylor Swift

Adore You ~ Harry Styles

Warnings: female reader. Nothing else I don't think. Robb being an iconic twink with access to the blueprints for Bracken Hall and too much sass for Westeros to handle.

"Let me get this absolutely crystal clear in my mind. You described your union as 'mutually beneficial'!" Robb cried incredulously, striking Benjicot on the shoulder from behind, as he sat slumped onto a desk in the library of his ancestral seat. 

The glow cast by the lit lanterns, attached to the ancient stone walls, cast shadows over his face which bore signs of the deepest distress. 

"It sounds beyond reprehensible when you repeat those words, words which I most bitterly regret. I did not mean them in the way that both yourself and my lady have interpreted them, but it makes them no less acrid when you repeat them." He responded dejectedly, slumping his head once again upon the desk. 

Mumbling almost incomprehensibly so that Robb had to tilt his head down towards his friend to hear him. 

"What can I do to make amends? She hates me. I fear she will never speak to me again." 

Robb cast a contemptuous look at his friend before retorting. 

"You bloody fool. Not only did you make her sound to even my indulgent ears like a prize to be bartered between Houses, but you also did so with the very fiend from whose taunts you once defended her. Can you not see that you have made a shy, sweet girl who loved and trusted you feel as if the one person who she believed cared for her and would protect her above all others was nothing more than a cipher of the bullies she has sought to shield herself from?!" 

Seeing Benjicot's increasingly pained expression, as he roughly gripped his hair in both hands, Robb relented a little. 

"The damage you have done in your carelessness will be very difficult to remedy. You must show her that you love her and value her above all else. Words are not enough." 

Lifting his head, Benjicot's expression became resolved as he turned it to meet his friend. 

"I will, even if she will never again allow me to be in her presence," He struggled to continue, the thought causing him physical pain, "I must at the very least convince her that my love for her was never a lie. I cannot bear the thought that I have only cemented her insecurities. That I have born my own part in making her feel as if I mocked her...just like her contemptuous cousin." 

At this, he began to rise.

"I must see her." 

Perking up at this and slapping his friend approvingly on the back, Robb moved to lift his sword from the table and responded. 

"Glad to hear it. I'll get the Lads together and we can defend your flank whilst you hop over the border and get on your knees to beg your lady for forgiveness, you're favourite past time I know." 

Looking at him with mild irritation, Benjicot rose, placing a firm hold on Rob's shoulder. 

"Whilst I greatly appreciate the support, I must go myself. She's shy and frightened enough of me, after my misdemeanor, and I don't want you and your cronies scaring her off before I can even apologise." 

Laughing at this, Robb retorted smugly. 

"More likely you're afraid of her falling in love with me. Fear not, my interests lie in another direction entirely, but I'll hold off if you are determined. Of course Kermit will be devastated not to have a free shot at a Bracken, but I will assuage him." 

With this, Benjicot nodded at his friend before rising quickly and striding from the room, through the halls of Raventree as he continued to ruminate with anguish on the distressed face of his lovely lady and the part he had played in causing her distress. He would explain that he loved her and valued her above all else. That he meant every word he had said to her. That he would protect, serve and adore her if she would only let him, only forgive him. He would beg for her forgiveness, even if she could never herself love him again. It would be enough if she would only permit him to continue in her presence as a loyal knight.

It had been a day since Y/N had fled from the man she had come to trust and love, the only one she believed had ever cared for her and seen her as more than a shadow in the background of life....mistakenly. After Aeron had carried her back to her quarters in Bracken Hall she had locked her doors and allowed no visitors, barring her handmaiden. 

She spent the intervening hours between that of the previous days events and the advent of night on her balcony, her still pained ankle raised on a cushion on her chaise, as she read of Visenya. She was mentally and physically retreating to the shelter of her room and her books, determined never to open her heart to another person, as she had so foolishly done this time. She was silly to believe that Benjicot could love her for herself, rather than the political promise she could represent for him. She had trusted him where she had never invested anyone else with such trust. She had begun to gain in confidence in her dreams, her beliefs, and in his love, all for it to be shattered in a moment. Her embarrassment at having opened her heart to another person, to revealing herself so freely, where she was always so careful to be a shadowy presence in others' lives, was overwhelming, as she sunk further into her seat and further into herself. 

Wrapped in these painful thoughts, it was a few seconds before she heard a muffled voice calling her name from the direction of the dark expanse underneath her window. Rising carefully from her seat, using the pillars lining the portico of the balcony to balance herself as she moved towards the edge of it, she looked down to see the hopeful and desperate expression of the man she both hated and loved. Seeing her come into view, his face lit up with irrepressible delight, before quickly falling when she began to quickly turn away, book pressed protectively to her chest as she made to retreat to her room. She did not want to speak with him. 

Seeing her retreat, he quickly called out. 

"Please my love, please, I entreat you to let me explain what you overheard in the woods." 

Stopping where she was, she turned and moved once again back to the edge of the balcony. 

Speaking quietly and timidly, but not so much so that he could not hear her, accustomed as he was to listening for her quiet voice, she responded. 

"Please leave, I do not wish to speak with you now or henceforth. I can't understand why you are here now when you have made it abundantly clear that I myself am not what you seek. I would like you to leave."

Taking a deep, pained breath, Benjicot's expression underwent several changes before it became resolute and he stepped determinedly towards the pillar bolstering the balcony from the ground. 

Confused at his movements, Y/N became panicked when she realised he was climbing the pillar, frozen in position. It wasn't until he had swung his leg over the top of the balcony and had landed gracefully that she turned to flee, forgetting her injured ankle in the attempt, causing herself to stumble and hold onto a nearby pillar for support. Feeling gentle hands enclose around her elbows, she heard Benjicot speak quietly near her cheek. 

"Please don't run from me, my love. Your ankle is still injured. Please just allow me to help you." 

Looking down with concern at the ankle in question, he slowly, with great caution lest his lady should be offended, raised her arm around his neck and held her waist, fully supporting her weight so that he could place her on her chaise.  

Distressed to see his lady look away from him, her expression betraying embarrassment as well as displeasure, he knelt before her, bending his head low, before gently, reverently holding her hands in both of his own. 

"I will not disturb you further if you do not wish it, but I must convince you of the truth of my feelings for you and beg for your forgiveness for making you believe otherwise." 

Stopping him abruptly, Benjicot immediately desisted in deference to her speech, so important was anything she had to say to him, even if she meant only to order him away from her forever. 

Speaking quietly, she interrupted him. 

"I already heard what both you and my cousin said of me when you believed me not to be listening. I know that your protestations of love for me were all a ruse and that you were both in league together." 

Benjicot's expression betrayed the deep pain he felt at her response, drooping his head to rest it on her knees. 

"I can never apologise enough, nor beg for your forgiveness enough, for making you believe such a horrific notion. I had never spoken to your cousin of you before that dreadful moment, except when I first had the honour of meeting you. You were never just a bartering tool between us. I would break his legs if even tried to make such a suggestion. I had only meant to convey to him that I would repair the conflict between our houses so that in choosing me as your husband you would not also be choosing to abandon all that you knew. It is my mistake that I so brazenly worded my intent, my love." He added, casting his face down in desperation. 

"I have loved you since I first saw you sitting with your nose tucked into your histories under the Brackentree and have persued your love ever since. I have meant every word I have said to you since, and will continue to prove it to you in any way thay you will allow me."

His lady slightly turning towards him, Benjicot grew at once desperate and hopeful that she would listen to his entreaties, gripping her hands tighter in his as he raised his face to hers, hoping to convey the truth of his feelings in his eyes. 

"You speak very elegantly but I now know that you are so to all ladies and that this charade is not reserved for me alone." 

Reaching out to touch her face before quickly retracting his hand once he saw Y/N move away from him in discomfort, he instead responded. 

"Whilst I would consider myself to be a gentleman, there is only one lady I would traverse miles of enemy land and scale walls to get to." Saying this with a gentle smile, he continued to gaze upon her reverently. 

When she did not respond, he removed a brown leather volume from its place, stashed underneath his cloak. 

"I found this in my library and I thought it might be of interest to you." 

Hesitantly reaching to take the volume from his hand, she examined it before opening it. 

As she did so, he interposed "May I?" Pointing at the book. 

He turned the pages to an earmarked section, coloured with a rich illustration of a knight kneeling in homage before a queen. 

"This tells the story of a knight loyal to his queen above all else, swearing to protect, serve and..." He hesitated "love her for all of his life".

She gazed curiously down at the illustration in her hands as he spoke. 

"I thought you would like to have it, even should you order me away from your presence now. But I should like it to serve as an illustration of the devotion I feel towards you and as a reminder that I will always protect and adore you, even if only as your knight. Without any conditions. Without any expectation for you to love me in return. Just....let me adore you." He faltered staring up at her penitently, anxiously awaiting her response. 

It was a few agonising moments for Benjicot before Y/N raised her hand towards his shoulder, causing him to hold his breath lest he frighten her in his shock. Delicately placing her hand on his shoulder, she placed the other one on his other shoulder, causing him to subconsciously lean into her touch. 

Looking timidly away from him, she began to speak. 

"So you really did not mean that I was a...political tool." 

Leaning further towards her face, he quickly refuted such a notion. 

"I would thrash any man who suggested it. You are my lady, my love." 

Gazing into his eyes searchingly, she seemed to find what she sought in them, and leant her head gently upon his shoulder. 

Shocked, yet rejoicing at her affectionate gesture and in the comfort she seemed to look to from him, he lost no time in wrapping a protective arm around her waist, pulling her into his torso as he held her head gently in his other hand. Closing his eyes in relief, he held her like that for a few peaceful moments, scarcely believing that his love had forgiven him and that she had initiated their embrace. Taking it as a sign of the trust she had reinvested in him to protect her heart as well as her person, he solemnly swore in his own mind to guard it with more sucess than he had yet done as of late.

She pulled away too quickly for his liking, wishing as he did that she could always be so close to him.

"How did you even find your way here with impunity, let alone my balcony?"

Smirking at this, Benjicot threw his cloak dramatically over his shoulder to amuse her with his antics.

"I of course practiced great stealth, opting for a cloak and daggers approach."

Raising a disapproving eyebrow at him but with her mouth turned up at the corner, Benjicot rejoiced to have made her smile and to have amused her.

"In truth i just walked past the Red Ford and straight until i found Bracken Hall, i wasn't too worried about encountering any Bracken men. I'd just run them through if they tried to prevent me from reaching my Love. As far as finding your balcony goes, i was just blessed to see your pretty person upon it....and my good friend Robb also has an encyclopedic knowledge of Bracken Hall, having planned to storm it so many times." He added, slightly sheepishly.

Rolling her eyes at him, lightly swatting his chest.

"You're crazy."

Smirking again he rose to put his arm against the wall by her face, leaning his face towards hers.

"Crazy about you."

"And ridiculous," she added, laughing.

Reaching out to hold her chin gently in his other hand he leaned in further, before whispering in response "ridiculously in love with you", as his lips crashed onto hers, his arm moving to encircle her waist and support her weight as he did so.

Breaking the kiss, he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, gazing up at her as if she were the sun. 

"Can i come and see you tomorrow?" He asked tentatively, unable to fully conceal his fear that she would still order him hence.

"I'd rather you didn't risk your life in such a dangerous attempt. I can always come to meet you."

Frowning at this, he stroked the back of her cheekbone with his nuckle. 

"You think i would allow my darling to cross that distance with an injured leg when i can cross it myself?"

Seeing her blush at his appellation, he smiled and reached forward to increase her blush by kissing the corner of her mouth.

"I think not. I have no fear of your Bracken bannermen. Although I do fear having to inform my disapproving lady love that i've despatched all of them because they tried to stop me from seeing her."

Benjicot walked away from his lady love's balcony that evening, not before blowing her a kiss, and silently rejoicing that she had forgiven him and permited him to remain in her presence and in her heart.

@lovebabe18-blog @poppyflower-22 @ithilwen-blackwood @spinachtz @lady-callisto @twistytimesandthoughts @abookloverlawyerfan-blog @mymoonempress @drwho-ess @dancingbaek @aemondslove @cheendrella

[freetobeafcknriot]

hey all! question for science. we agree that davos and aeron are the romeo and juliet of westeros, but i need to know. which adaptation? like, if you had to pick one that works best for them. again, for science :)

[lilacstarryskies]

im sorry but i can never be a lyanna stan guys.

just lemme explain.

obviously this is only if she willingly went w rhaegar

To begin with, the situation in its simplest form is that Rhaegar and Elia are married, amicable yet not in love, and Rhaegar runs off with Lyanna, causing chaos to ensue amongst the realm.

Even if no war occured and everything was fine, how can Lyanna try to justify running away with a married man, especially on the way to her brothers wedding which feels very selfish, even if Brandon didn’t want to marry Cat, like she still ruined their wedding day.

Not to mention, that running with Rhaegar meant that shes inserted herself into his marriage which is Elia’s place. How nonsensical it is to run away with a married man and somehow marry him!

There’s two routes people go to justify it, and I’ll explain why I think they suck:

1) E-R-L is a polygamous marriage: This is not appeasable to the realm at all! Nobody will accept that. The only reason Aegon+Rhaenys+Visenya were accepted was because they were conquering Westeros, and like you can’t say shit about the guys conquering you!! Also the Targs were on thin ice then, and Maegor also tried, and look what happened afterwards!

2) E-R was annulled and R-L are married: I don’t think this is reasonable at all. Considering that Rhaegar is only HEIR, just like Daemon, for example. Both wanted annulments and both need the permission from the King and/or High Septon, but also considering how the likes of Aegon IV couldn’t annul his own marriage, do you really think a measly heir could?! At least in Daemon’s situation, he had no children, but as Aegon IV and Rhaegar both had kids (Elia giving birth twice in 3 years) theres no grounds for annulment, and it would disinherit his children potentially anyway, or even start a second Dance. As soon as you have a second wife, whether polygamous, annulled or dead first wife, war will be almost inevitable between the potential heirs.

Also Ik its not possible.. but can we stop with the E/R/L shipping in a serious manner (crackship is fine but in canon is 😐)

Like genuinely thinking mid-20s Elia would want to romance a 14 year old girl, would be fine with her husband romancing said 14 year old, or join in together, is so crazy to me. Like, yes Rhaegar is very much in the pedo-realm but why would Elia also follow suit??!

And like not to be a huge Robert Baratheon stan here (i hate GOT era him) but you can’t deny that it is the rebellion+it’s repercussions on his life, that change him so heavily into this twisted abusive, pedo man. He was not a great guy pre-rebellion, he slept around, was loud and rowdy, but I feel like you can’t really say that Lyanna somehow predicted that he would be this abusive evil man, tbh it seems like she just disliked his promiscuity which is valid, but in doing the same to Elia, her point gets invalidated in my eyes.

Also next point is the age-situation.

Now i know that obviously in a real life situation, a 14 year old girl is at no blame for the groomer actions of the adult…. however just look at how GRRM perceives this. like not as an “oh medieval girls married at 14, its fine” because they were still mentally children… but i mean how GRRM perceives relationships akin to R-L and characters by Lyannas age in ASOIAF-verse.

Ok so GRRM thinks R-L is romantic, which means that the groomer undertones aren’t necessarily meant to be there, and its meant to be more of a Romeo-Juliet situation (which heavily fucked over Romeos girl Rosaline ie Elia). He also believes Dany-Drogo and San-San is healthy, so I don’t think age heavily affects characters romantic feeling and actions much then.

Then if we see character Lyanna’s age, they’re treated as adults (yes some do have child impulses but overall adults). You have Robb acting impulsively like a kid, but ultimately being treated as an adult and being killed. I feel like even though they have kid impulses, they’re meant to get adult consequences for their actions.

Also ages as a whole is fucked up in ASOIAF in comparison to real world, like you have baby Rickon Stark going feral in Skagos, you have 3 year old Joffrey Velaryon/Strong squaring up to Aemond, and you even have 11 year old Benjicott Blackwood being an absolute beast of a warrior when in the real-world, he’d be just a kid, useless in defence.

[swordsandarms]

i know you just tend to lurk (me too) but your fandomised rhaegar thoughts are very validating lol. ive always thought blue roses are symbolic of a child born from love, not symbolic of a woman. like lyanna has the roses cause she's jon's mother and rhaegar's love, not because they're her "thing"? never thought that was far fetched til coming online lmao.

OK, this was in my drafts for like a decade.

The roses aren't really the child or the woman, but a representation of the (tragic, but bittersweet) love itself. Though, of course, Jon as the "fruit"/"proof" of it is still at the centre of it all.

Used to hate the concept of "tragedy" and not understand how that can be compelling/satisfying. Turns out a lot of tragedy is badly done, hence the feeling of meaningless/pointlessness of it all some of them give you. Look at HOTD. The problem with the writing is that everything is made meaningless, not that your "favourite" isn't winning everything. It is the fact that it's all bitter and no sweet at the end of the day. (Not the book version, which is also a matter of how much better ASOIAF handles the "continuation" of the tragedy better than GOT).

I see Rhaelya as a representation of the concept: "The love was there. It didn't save anyone, it didn't change anything, but the love was there."

Once you get to look at it like that, it becomes very annoying when people in the fandom sound like a broken record of "what's nice about this?? EveRYoNE dIeS". Yeah, that's how tragedies work, but look at it as such and you'll see the nice, too.

It's not about how "oh, why would you think the author is trying to paint Romeo and Juliet as a romance when he liked Rosaline before, and now suddenly her overnight?"/"oh, it's all about how they are dumb teenagers messing up"/"oh, isn't Orpheus the dumbest for turning round".

Romeo and Juliet are young people finding a shiny thing in a shitty society that creates generational cycles of pain and hate for stupid reasons. The ending is satisfying not because the love is successful but because the characters - and readers are meant to - finally get that. Orpheus turns round because he loves Eurydice and if you did you would, too.

Westeros is a hellscape of ambition, heartlessness, and corruption. Everyone is stabbing everyone's back for a bit more of land, a bit more of wealth, a bit more political influence. Selling and pawning their loved ones for a corn chip. (Controversial opinion, neither Elia or Lyanna should have been in that position, but that's the reason why, "loving families" and all. Even more Controversial, Rhaegar shouldn't have been in that position also. And that's the "good" people - as Controversial as people might think that statement is for Rhaegar. But also OH, you mean selling off Cersei didn't work out well cause she was meant to be a pretty object and didn't have to be taught about armies and resources, just vanity? Or Lysa for some reason wasn't all that grateful to papa to give armies to the great alliance when they needed them, for reasons of keeping the one "trueborn child" she had sheltered, cause that's the one thing you promised her she could get if she did your bidding?) Looking away from what is fair when it is "lawful" according to the status quo (and fandom finds it easy to pinpoint it when it's someone deemed hateworthy, but will be 1000% lenient towards a Ned Stark, and will even hold characters they hate accountable when putting FAIRNESS ABOVE LAW).

And the thing about ASOIAF fandom is THEY LOVE THIS SHIT. They love to romanticise it all. But there's the paradox of it all. Romanticising comes with this idea of unrealistic wistfulness, I guess. If a character lives in "the cruel real world", the romanticised ideal is nice to think about. If they actually reach for ideals, they are fools who should get real about living in the "cruel real world".

Oop, I ventured far from the point. But I just love the whole CONCEPT of the blue rose at its roots. 💙 It literally means just that at its roots. Something wistful but unattainable.

[marissathelight]

the never ending Blackwood vs Bracken feud is so disappointing because what do you mean there's never been a moment in the history of Westeros where two kids from these warring houses fell in love and ran away together Romeo&Juliet style??

On a completely unrelated note if there was a Bloodraven/Bittersteel ship would it be called BloodStell BitterRaven or BitterBlood

[melrosing]

I just find so much of the whole Lyanna Rhaegar thing so interesting. And its something I've explored more in my fanfics (that I've not really posted). But it's really weird to me that so many people's take away was that they were starcrossed lovers when... Rhaegar was like 23 (idk, an adult), married with a kid and Lyanna was a 15 yo. regardless of many factors, Rhaegar was still in the wrong in kidnapping her (no matter how willing of a victim she was). I totally buy that they thought their love story was that of starcrossed lovers.

also I love Ned having a complicated relationship with Brandon. I'm a sucker for Ned/Cat, and it's always strange to think that had things gone right she would've married Brandon. Like, it must be weird to look at the family you love and know you wouldn't have any of it if your brother (and to some extent sister) hadn't died.

Anyways, love the ending of season 1! I've found the whole thing super fun!

Yeah, I talked a bit about how I see Rhaegar and Lyanna here - like I'm sure they felt like star-crossed lovers, and GRRM the Shakespeare fanatic has certainly incorporated a handful of Romeo & Juliet tropes into their story. But they're also a lot more complicated than that. I can't disregard Lyanna's age, I can't disregard Rhaegar's obsession with prophecy and how that may have played a part in his pursuit of Lyanna (and his pursuit of a child from her body), and I can't disregard how he treats Elia and their children.

And people do minimise the affront to Elia which is really irritating to me, like as you can see per my sparknotes thing I don't believe that Elia ever came to love Rhaegar - I think at best she may have thought in the early days she was lucky to have such a worthy match, but that there's otherwise no suggestion they were close or even had any especial rapport. So, fine - it was a political match and not a love match - so if either of them privately committed adultery, that would be one thing.

But humiliating Elia in front of virtually all of Westeros by making a show of disregarding her, when she is either pregnant with his child or has just given birth to his child... and then later leaving her and their two young children in the charge of a teenager and a pyromaniac??? like sorry no i'm just not having it babes. it's not on

And yeah I definitely like the idea of Brandon and Ned having a kind of spiky relationship! I think Ned loved his brother but I can imagine there were things he disliked about him. And that Brandon could be quite callous towards Ned, treating him a bit like a doormat, condescending to him etc, and not even realising he's doing it because Ned's feelings hardly register with him.

It would kind of make Ned's close friendship with Robert more interesting, because I think Brandon was probably a lot like Robert - but here's a version of his brother who has time for him and jokes with him and confides in him etc etc. So it was easier to look past Robert's foibles and failings.

But then obviously Ned would feel a lot of guilt for having resented his brother once Brandon is gone (and Brandon dies proving how much he truly values his family), and for having inherited everything he was meant to have. It makes me think again of Jon as like a twisted outlet of penance for Ned. like he would always have cared for and protected Jon for Lyanna, yet part of him thinks he deserves Catelyn's resentment and the judgement of society that comes with Jon, but for own private guilt.

anyway thanks so much for reading they're really fun to write! working on plotting out the next bunch tonight....

[eliaakgae]

I know Robb x Rhaenys is the most popular Rhaenys ship but we really need to get into Rhaenys x Willas because there is so much there. Westeros Romeo and Juliet if you will. The Tyrell’s hate the Martell’s, even more so after Oberyn crippled Willas… like idk there’s something there.

[ohmtoff]

DO U HAVE ANY ANGST PROMPTS FOR NEW WRITERS?? tbh it could range from light angst to heavyyy angst i just need angst prompts (nick centric plsss)

omg i think there are much better ones if you search on tumblr but i do have some in mind

- Nick never had a gay male friend all of his teenage years so he always feels a bit lonely navigating his queerness alone.

- (Character/reader) and Nick are dating in secret while Nick is constantly shipped with another public figure. (Character/reader) tries to not let it get to him but leaked pictures from a party leads to insecurities and bottled resentments to surface

- Nick is the only out gay guy in high school so “straight” guys always use him to experiment. Because of this he always feels wanted, but never loved. When (character/reader) approaches Nick, he automatically assumes he only wants his body like the others. (Character/reader) shows Nick what it’s like to finally be the first choice.

- romeo + juliet!au: rivalry between two mafia families, the Sturniolos and (family name), affects the blossoming relationship of their children, Nicolas and (character/reader)

- shameless!au, gallavich inspired: Nick is drunk and heartbroken at (character/reader)’s wedding to a woman his homophobic father forced him to.

- game of thrones!au, gendrya inspired: Nicolas Sturniolo left Westeros to find what’s west of Westeros and also run away from the pain of the realm. When he returns, he reopens old wounds and meets his childhood friend and also past lover, (character/reader)

- Nick and (character/reader) have both been overworked and lacking sleep. Soon they were arguing more often than not, leading to an impulsive breakup.

- Nick has a complicated relationship with food and (character/reader) is determined to help him get through it

that’s all i have rn and sorry most of these is nick suffering lmao

[alexandradel7]

Literally one of the last posts is "vile worm", because of what a man in Westeros wants to do to a girl who is 13 years old, who has already been married officiously since - period - according to the laws she is a woman (it's early, but it's already ok in Westeros damn) and her smile and consent is the necessary thing for a man here. Do you think I'm talking about Petyr? Tyrion here. :D It's just the fandom picking a target for their negative experiences from irl that they can spout off. Instead of understanding the character and the freaking context.

By the way I think Sanasa's consent and smile is needed for Petyr as well. But he's a jerk character, antoganistic, so he doesn't deny himself the pleasure of kissing the girl he likes, knowing that it might be uncomfortable to refuse because she depends on him so much. Sansa, in the social conscience of Westeros - a woman - who was already a bride, who was already being climbed on by a naked dwarf. I'm not saying the orders of the time are cool, I'm saying this character (I'm talking about Petyr now, well Tyrion too) isn't a grooming paedophile lol. The problematic stuff here is that he was complicit in her father's murder. But for Sanasa there are no problematic things here, she knows nothing like Jon Snow. Everyone in Westeros is problematic. Sanasa considers him as friend. She's not disgusted by him. Well I already wrote about that here. I honestly don't think Martin wants to write a story about grooming, in a world where many Lords' wives are about that age. Besides, people in the Middle Ages were a lot less infantile than they are now. (much) 13 then and 13 now are different 13s in terms of world perception and upbringing. Now at 17 is a lil kid. Before, it was already a man capable of leading an army of thousands of men. Rob is 16.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ - Juliet was 14 years old, Romeo was 16.

Instead, I'm pretty sure this is a story about the beginnings of feelings. Petyr, who probably hasn't fallen hard for anyone else besides Cat, focused on power, recalls those feelings when he almost lost his life because of it.

His heart has probably become very cold and he can only believe in lust. Brothels and whores where intimacy is sold for a few coins and feelings are simulated. Pretty ironic work for a man who has a scar all over his body from real feelings.

I wonder how Martin will show it. Maybe he won't show it as sensually as I think he might. Maybe ‘’Littlefinger‘’ will win with calculation. But Martin said no, ‘he'll never let go of Sansa,’ I believe. I think Sansa is the first person at all to touch him deeply in a dozen years.

Well, then the question then is how he will demonstrate those feelings, how careful he will be in moments of crisis. Just so you understand, I find ‘cutting off Petyr's head and killing him’ by Sanasa's hands incredibly banal and boring thing. Like any strong conflict between it is incredibly boring. What new and interesting things can be learned there? She'll scream, he'll try to calm her down, she'll turn the table over, she'll try to escape, from the castle (death and\or rape by some vagrants, ofc there could be a positive outcome), he'll lock her up. Turn into a tyrant and stop being a Limon dude. Jeez. Okay. I've been bored with angst stories for the last two years. She can cheat and escape, they'll be looking for her. Anyway… meh.

Much more interesting that Petyr will actually help Sansa survive in this world, and be sincere about it.

Petyr was involved in her father's death. Which of course is a huge elephant in the room, lol. I don't think he really cares about other people's lives, especially Stark lives. Although I think some cruelty is part of life in medieval times where people died all the time. Cat wished death on a little boy just because she was so angry about the affair. A wealthy woman who had everything, including food and warmth for her family wishes the boy dead. Psychopathy, no? No, just medieval. So Petyr's cruelty, given his scar and long time among the nobility, is understandable. But Petyr may care about those he feels are important. Giving lemons, featherbeds. By the way these signs of his attention are much deeper, he is from a poor family, the fact that he has someone important and the ability to give something to this person - I think for him it is a special thing This much more interesting dilemma is his real feelings in his cruel heart and everything around him. He is Lord Paramount of the Trident now, but he's literally flashbacked to when he was 17. I think he's greedy, he's going to treasure his feelings. After all that was one of the triggers of his path to power. I can't be with her because I didn't have power, status like Stark. When Stark inflicted his wounds, the river carried his blood away. Now he's King of the River himself. And the river princess's daughter, a little redfish, swims beside him. Anything could have gone wrong, but everything went lucky for Petyr. I wonder how Martin will kill him. And I don't want this character to die a miserable death.

At least it won't impress me much. Much more I'll feel from his death when it's so touching, so honest, that it resonates with the beginning of his story. (or not to die at all, only to die of old age in his castle looking at his grandchildren)

[addaerontruther]

I feel like it's worth discussing that Daeron didn't get involved in the Dance until after Addam did.

Lord Ormund Hightower had issued forth from Oldtown with a thousand knights, a thousand archers, three thousand men-at-arms, and uncounted thousands of camp followers, sellswords, freeriders, and rabble, only to find himself set upon by Ser Alan Beesbury and Lord Alan Tarly… Lord Ormund had therefore decided he could not proceed without support from King’s Landing. “We have need of your dragons,” he wrote.

If that wasn't enough to show that he wasn't with the army, it's repeated again that he didn't leave Oldtown... even after Aegon was wounded and Helaena was despondent, leaving only Aemond on the field.

With Sunfyre wounded near Rook’s Rest and unable to fly, and Tessarion with Prince Daeron in Oldtown, only two mature dragons remained to defend King’s Landing… and Dreamfyre’s rider, Queen Helaena, spent her days in darkness, weeping, and surely could not be counted as a threat. That left only Vhagar.

A few paragraphs later, Addam claims a dragon.

And Seasmoke, who had once borne Laenor Velaryon, took onto his back a boy of ten-and-five known as Addam of Hull, whose origins remain a matter of dispute amongst historians to this day.

Then he fights alongside the Blacks.

It is one thing to face a dragon, another to face five. As Silverwing, Sheepstealer, Seasmoke, and Vermithor descended upon them, the men of the Triarchy felt their courage desert them.

And then Daeron appears, clearly unexpectedly, to fight with the Greens.

Defeat seemed imminent…until a shadow swept across the battlefield, and a terrible roar resounded overhead, slicing through the sound of steel on steel. A dragon had come. The dragon was Tessarion, the Blue Queen, cobalt and copper. On her back rode the youngest of Queen Alicent’s three sons, Daeron Targaryen, fifteen, Lord Ormund’s squire, that same gentle and soft-spoken lad who had once been milk brother to Prince Jacaerys.

Fire and Blood is being presented from the point of view of a Maester that benefits from the social structures reinforced by the Green "victory" and his take is based on other men in similar positions. If one of the main Green's had doubts about their cause, there's no way they would document it. Aegon II's own brother being hesitant to support his claim weakens their cause considerably.

I really, truly, and in my bones believe that Daeron didn't want to get involved in the war because he had something else to live for. He'd been away from his family for years, but Addam was always on one of his mother's ships, and Oldtown is the number two principal port in the realm. It's beyond feasible that they met. Tessarion and Seasmoke's dance seems to prove my theory, but that's a different post.

I think Daeron didn't want to die for something he didn't believe in, and then when he found out Addam was fighting for the opposing side, his hand was forced. Jace was shot down by common soldiers, and Vhagar had already established herself as a serious threat to smaller dragons. Most of Daeron's victories were bloodless because he wasn't blood thirsty... until Maelor. But again, that's another post.

He couldn't let the war just go on without attempting to stop it before something happened to Addam. He wanted to get to King's Landing and force a peace before something horrible happened to the person he loved. And, despite Daeron being Rhaenyra's biggest threat (that's a direct quote, don't come for me), Addam didn't go for him immediately. He visited the Isle of Faces first, and whatever happened there sent him south.

In conclusion — they were in love, your honor. The Romeo and Juliet of Westeros if you will.

All quotes are presented in chronological order from Fire & Blood, Chapter 15: The Dying of the Dragons — The Red Dragon and the Gold.

[allyriadayne]

what are your favourite hotd ships and why?

in no order and as concise as possible:

jace x aegon - answered here. i just really love their dynamic. childhood friends, uncle and nephew, enemies? just the thought of proper straight laced (so he thinks!) jace falling head over heels with stupid stinky aegon is delicious to say the least. it's the worse match unimaginable and the only way they can be together is if their whole family is dead or they are completely different people. it's impossible. they are romeo and juliet to ME.

aegon x aemond - THE BLOWJOB BROTHERS! they hate each other, they love each other, they are having wacky looney tunes sex in front of the great sept while telling the other they should've been a girl and be married to the other. aemond would never kill aegon and aegon is too selfish to give in. the kingsguard HATES THEM.

aemond x alicent / aegon x alicent - grouping them in one section because while they have entirely different relationships the two ships respond to the brother's issues with alicent related to how both of them think the other is their mother's favorite! to me, it's like this: aemond wants to be alicent's fatherhusband while aegon wants to be her beautiful little baby boy and when they don't get it it turns really ugly. i just love how alicent is weaved too tightly in the psychosexual targtower web 💜

alicent x larys - [crowd cheers] i'll just let mr matthew needham (larys' actor) explain their bond

after losing rhaenyra, alicent is constantly, unconsciously asking for a companion, someone to take her side in everything......and she got it! too bad larys has his own morals. oh well!

alicent x otto - the most married and divorced couple in the whole of westeros.

(thank you to tumblr user laymedowninsheetsoflinen for the best tag in my aliotto photoset)

rhaenyra x daemon - theeee blueprint. i have trouble shipping them with other people because they are absolutely perfect for the other, it's crazy. restless chaotic blood of the dragon, depressed and divorced, happy domestics in dragonstone with their blended family, everything anyone could ever want.

alicent x tyland - if larycent is darksided master and pet, tylicent (you are paying me royalties if you ever talk about them btw) is the most saccharine lady and knight you can think of. this is my happy place when i don't want to torture (affectionate) alicent anymore. tyland is a complete fool but he's decent and kind and can spoil alicent however she wants. this started because i was joking with a friend how tyland lannister is the only man in the counsel who doesn't want to sit on alicent's lap. and was like, wait. he is the Only One. he's obsessed with her in the good way and she's blushing like a maid and wishing for another life where she would've had a proper courtship with a handsome knight instead of....anyway. life is not a song so they must make do.

crackships that are many but these i am constantly thinking about and rotating in my mind at any moment:

larys x otto (x alicent. sexual jealousy! scheming second sons!), otto x lyonel (otto's gay summer in the citadel), lyonel x rhaenyra (grrm's original dance draft mixed with bluebeard and brat taming), rhaenys x criston (thee original cuck chair couple), aegon x mysaria (i know her strap is big), aegon x alys (x aemond. who is dead), jace x alyn (fucking my bastard identity away), daemon x jace (horror movie comedy of errors)

[unohanabbygirl]

Forever by your side x FMN crossover. Like how does everyone process Luke being able to remember again but still only having the memories of them locked at 14. Or would it be more painful that he doesn’t remember them at all but can make long term memories??

After stormsend every day they shared is gone same as before but to their own minds no chance of him remembering. Luke is independent doesn’t need them in the same way if he does remember his fourteen years of life from before. I feel like it would retraumatise everyone again after they had made peace with it the first time around.

How do they deal with their relationship to him then without him needing constant and specific care. He’s a champion SURFER for crying out loud (Aemond has heart attacks watching his husband now back reedy and tall before he filled out throwing himself into waves that once stole everything from him). Honestly story low-key ruined my life for the night. Such a horrible fate but so interesting to see in dynamics!!

Also history reading Luke’s journals?? They’d be Romeo and Juliet with the tragic end without the end. Sobbing just thinking about it.

Let me just say I love that whenever I post a new story we all think about doing a forget me not crossover. FMN is really that girl.

Anyway, this is the crossover that was promised because the idea of Luke remembering his past BUT still having no memory of his life post Storms End is just as painful as him having no memory at all. I imagine that this version of Luke and Aemond lived very well into old age so that’s sixty years of a long beautiful life together just gone.

It’s enough to drive Aemond into a depression. Imagine your spouse that you spent your entire life with not being able to remember a single moment of it. Their last memory of you being how you nearly killed them.

Yea, Aemond is always gonna suffer big time.

And as we all know, FMN Luke is very independent and hates anyone telling him what he can and can’t do. Not to mention that he’s never been in a dangerous accident such as a car crash for example, so he doesn’t have any trauma making him hyper aware of such things. Aemond having a panic attack every time Luke does something lowkey dangerous is sad yet kinda interesting because you just wanna see how he reacts. Imagine Luke doing something as simple as sticking his head out the car window while they’re on the highway and Aemond freaks out big time.

Luke no longer needing constant around the clock care and guidance is such a foreign concept that no one knows how to give Luke his space anymore. It’s odd that he seems to have an aversion to touch when in the past all he did was hold their hands and stay as close to them as possible as he tried adjusting for the day.

On one hand they’re excited that Luke has been able to live life without such a debilitating disability. On the other it gives them a sense that they’ve lost their purpose in a way. Of course as a family they don’t need to have an exact purpose other than to love and appreciate him, but to no longer have that role of being a caretaker is strange.

Luke’s journals fill that missing hole in history since the war never happened. There’s a while genre of film and media dedicated to Luke and Aemond’s heart wrenching love. They blow Rhaenyra/Harwin out of the water and thats just that.

Just imagine that in Luke’s final days he was no longer able to hold his pen as well and his hands were incredibly stiff and swollen due to arthritis. So every night before they go to bed Aemond sits Luke down as he rambles on about his day and what he wishes he could remember as Aemond writes it all down for him, signing both their names before tucking them in.

Hollywood spins these last days into a movie sometime in the early 90’s and its still the highest grossing film in Westeros history till this day.

[justgottafinishthischapter]

So glad I found your blog! I like your posts. Can I ask for some advice on Historical Fiction?

I'm going to write a historical fiction novel, my first time. I'm not very good at research - in general. I just don't know what to look for.

All I know is the story will take place somewhere in Italy during the Renaissance. I'm having trouble narrowing it down, since I don't know much about the Renaissance, and I have no clue where to start on research.

I can handle learning about daily life, fashion, diets, etc. when I start writing, but my problem is with how the period affects the plot and characters. Also, if there was anything going on that would have a huge impact (aftermath of a war, a revolution, etc.), even though I don't really want to focus on that stuff.

I'm just stuck in the beginning because I need to know a little bit so I can have a fitting plot for the period (if I was doing Regency I would probably follow Bridgerton's example with Suitors, courting, Viscounts, Dukes etc.).

Once I have that sorted, then I'll be more than comfortable to deep dive into research. My story has no "agenda," btw. It just simply takes place during the Renaissance.

I hope this makes sense?

Any generic advice on starting a historical fiction is helpful, too.

So sorry for the long ask - I've been stuck for days and any article I find on google is a bit too vague to help.

Thank you!

Italy is not a country whose history I am well-versed with, and my studies were more on Medieval History as opposed to the Renaissance, but the best direction I can steer you towards is the Medici family. They used marriages and their masisve wealth to stick their fingers in several pots, including the Pope. I'm not saying your story has to be about the Medicis, but they are certainly a prolific family from the region and time period. It's also worth looking into the social climate of Venice in this era, as this is the period of Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and others. I also have a post on courting that applies to a large swath of human history. As for learning the political system: watch Game of Thrones. It's a mastercraft of showcasing Feudalism in action. How I mean by this is imagine actually living in Westeros. If a conflict were to arise on Bear Island, the dispute would be put before the Mormonts: the lords of Bear Island. But if the dispute were larger than the Mormonts could handle, then that dispute would be brought before Ned Stark as the Warden of the North. Only in the event that Ned could not handle this issue would it then reach the king's attention in King's Landing. A Lord handles local affairs, a count handles county-wide affairs, and a king handles kingdom-wide affairs. As most historical romances are among nobility, it is prudent for you to research the roles and positions of the servants in a noble house in the time. Laws that may have been present. By the renaissance, knights have disappeared. You won't find any knights still fighting in full plate on horseback. Look at the literature from the era. What themes and ideas rose in this era? Classicalism exploded, causing a massive interest in Greco-Roman mythology. How many paintings must there be of lovely Venus, clever Minerva, and splendid Juno competing over the golden apple? What were the everyday struggles of the working class? What were they fighting for? What conditions did they live in? What were a woman's rights, duties, and allowances? The renaissance predates the Golden Age of Sailing, but it does loom on the horizon, as it's the era that follows the Renaissance. Other movies and shows worth watching are The Tudors, Romeo and Juliet, Ever After: A Cinderella Movie, and any other historical fiction you can get your hands on set in the Renaissance specifically. I do hope you found this helpful, and if you have any more specific questions, I can't promise to have the answers, but I can try my best to lend a hand wherever possible.

[scarareg]

4, 21, and 24 for the ask game! (ASOIAF)

4-What was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

Oddly enough, I have only blocked one person in the entire fandom. It was after HOTD S1 ended, this person went through all my Team Green post talking shit about Aemond, but at the same time they somehow shipped Lucemond

Maybe is because in every ship I have I like both of the characters individually, so this person makes no sense to me at all. So I reported them and blocked them

21- Part of canon you think is over hyped?

Ok, this might be controversial, but Rhaegar... Please, let me explain. I do love Rhaegar as a character, I find him fascinating and super fun to read about, BUT I do not think he is this prince charming most of the fandom seems to want him to be. I think the dude was badshit crazy! He learnt about a prophecy and was like "yes, this is about me! And if is not, it somehow must be!" Like, his ego is INSANE! And he is determined to make it happen, no matter the cost. Which takes me to Lyanna. I do not think they were the Romeo and Juliet of Westeros. If Ned described her as being like Sansa, I would believe it. But no, she was like Arya, and Lyanna also did not want to marry Robert because he is a cheater. So obviously the logical conclusion is that Lyanna would run away with a handsome, rich prince because she was captivated by those qualities and is ok with the idea of becoming the "other woman" in his marriage, obviously. Like WTF!

So, in conclusion, I think he is over hyped for the wrong reasons, which makes me sad. He should be hyped by his crazy, emo and nerd self!

24-Topic that brings up the most rancid discourse?

I have a TOP

1-How a big portion of the fandom treats some. female characters like Sansa, Catelyn and Alicent, it is disgusting and I am always fighting in the trenches for them

2-People pretending that Elia would be SOOOO happy about her husband running away with a teenager just because"is true love" and "the prophecy". I think just because Elia is from Dorne and has the same upbringing as men and is more "open minded" does not mean she would be fine with her husband cheating. I think it means she would be even more disappointed and furious at Rhaegar's actions

3-The whole Rhaegar and Lyanna "romance"

4- HOTD Team Black fans in general, the ones who get on their high horses, pretending to like Rhaenyra because she -and by extension them- are feminists, while at the same time talking in the most sexist way about Alicent and pretending that Criston has no reasons for hating Rhaenyra after she basically rapped him. Disgusting! Or the whole situation with Aemond's eye, pretending Luke and the others are the victims, as if they did not attack Aemond first, while being 1 vs 4, and they have a dagger. Like WTF!

5-Jaehaerys and his children. Do not get me wrong, I agree he is misogynist and treated his daughters awfully, but I am not sure with the more "out there" theories, such as he being sexually abused them. I feel there is nothing in the text which suggest that, and it's fine if someone hates J-boy for being an awful dad ,or just because you do not vibe with him, but I find unnecessary to add more horrible things just to justify hating him.

But if I am missing some clue on F&B that implies he did abuse them in that way, please let me now, I would love to know

Thanks for the ask! This was so much fun! And sorry for the late reply, I wanted to take my time to properly edit this and just found the time

[swordsandarms]

If it's oh so obvious dragons (weapon of endless fire that cost blood sacrifice) are/were Lightbringer hence Daenerys is Azor Ahai, and Bran is Brandon the Builder, then what is Jon???

Azor Ahai must have created/or bound dragons, because their derived weapons are all that works against the Others (we have yet to see dragon fire itself but MERE DERIVATES WORK), and yet he (and supposedly his brethren) left East where his legend actively actually lives. Brandon directed the building of the wall alone is solely credited with the end of the war in the West, where the First Men stayed. Something happened. Perhaps Brandon was Torrhen saying "peace you're not wholly enthusiastic about is better than people continuing to die in war". Perhaps Azor Ahai was Aegon saying "the woman I loved died for this and we're supposed to just make concessions and move on?" Perhaps it was the realism of leaving Others alive meaning one day they could break free again against the hurry to end a war.

Targaryens and Starks are alike yet opposites (dragon temper and wolf's blood and ambition and idealism), which usually means lasting cooperation but was at least once also a mutual downfall. The dragons came (back?) to Westeros. They stood by eachother for hundreds of years, until one day it all fell down over one thing, and the dragons fled East (again?).

Bran is THE Brandon. Daenerys is THE dragon. And Jon is the midway. The ointment. A contradiction in most ways and yet the perfect mix. He is a Wildling and a Night Watch man. A child of the most ancient and most powerful lineages and blood of the West, and a bastard at the outskirts of society. Ice and Fire. (He's a warg and will probably be a Dragonrider, too).

What if Romeo and Juliet left a living, breathing proof as an ongoing reminder and warning that the Capulets and Montagues were never meant to fight?

Thousands years later history doesn't remember why Brandon and Azor Ahai (would have had to, for the puzzle pieces to work) fight and part ways, only that one and the other once played their role in saving the world. Thousands of years from the ASOIAF current timeline history is unlikely to remember why Targaryens/dragons and Starks/First Men came to a downfall again. But legends about how they will without a doubt save the world again might remain.