#THE LONE WOLF DIES BUT THE PACK SURVIVES

[i-guess-it-rains]

His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind. "The runt of the litter. That one's yours, Snow."

[asoiafreadthru]

A Game of Thrones, Arya II

“Arya, sit down. I need to try and explain some things to you.”

She perched anxiously on the edge of her bed.

“You are too young to be burdened with all my cares,” he told her.

“But you are also a Stark of Winterfell. You know our words.”

“Winter is coming,” Arya whispered.

“The hard cruel times,” her father said.

“We tasted them on the Trident, and when Bran fell.

“You were born in the long summer, sweet one, you’ve never known anything else, but now the winter is truly coming.

“Remember the sigil of our House, Arya.”

“The direwolf,” she said, thinking of Nymeria. She hugged her knees against her chest, suddenly afraid.

“Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.

“Summer is the time for squabbles.

“In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other warm, share our strengths.”

[happilyhertale]

Have you watched Game Of Thrones ?

YES! I fucking love Game of Thrones and am currently re-watching it episode by episode every week with my best friend

[childotkw]

Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗

Oh god, this is like picking a favourite child 😅😅 but I'll rank them from most to least

1. Consuming Shadows

This was my first big story back, after I stopped writing for about six years. I was just testing the waters, having fun, and I wanted to play around with a ship I had only really just started consuming content for. It very quickly reignited my passion for writing, and it's blown up in such a way that I had never anticipated. I love the plot, I love the characters, I love Hadrian's progression from snarky but emotionally distant figure to a genuinely warm and loving friend, I love how well I managed to keep the threads of storylines and foreshadowing together, and I love the slow development of Hadrian and Tom's relationship in a way that's believable and does them both justice. The fact that so many people have resonated with it over the years has really left a mark on me, and I'll never forget all the things this story gave me.

2. you belong to me (i belong to you)

This one really was just my 'haha this is for the lolz' story. It was never meant to be popular or as big as it is. I was just fumbling around, wanting to write a cool time travel story, and then I came up with the Twist and it was no longer a joke 😂 I love the dynamics in it, I love Harry's general vibe, I love Orion and his chaos gremlin schtick. I'm still amazed that I came up with the plot twist (like, seriously, I don't think I can ever replicate that). And the fact that this story grew so popular and that so many people have enjoyed what started as my funny lil project overwhelms me in the best way.

3. The Lone Wolf Dies (But The Pack Survives)

In a lot of ways, this was a love letter to Regulus. I'd never really given him much thought as a character, but I fell in love with my interpretation of him. He's incredibly complex, and the future potential of the story really makes me excited.

4. ruination

Again, it's more the potential of this story that makes me love it. I wasn't super comfortable writing for asoiaf, and the fandom makes me...uneasy in a lot of ways. But I greatly enjoy all the ways this story could go. Lucerys intrigues me, and my interpretation of his character is especially fun to think about. I want to explore the slow but fundamental shift in a character, something that leads to them becoming almost unrecognisable. I love fantasy, and getting to play around in such an immersive world makes me giddy.

5. i don't owe you my forgiveness

It's only one chapter at the moment, but I really really really love the concept of soulmate rejection and the bitterness that is sown by Tom's hasty actions. The inherent power imbalance - originally in Tom's favour and then very dangerously in Harry's - is one dynamic I can't wait to sink my teeth into.

[ass-deep-in-demons]

Completely random but I was going through the people I follow and I gotta say, I've missed seeing you active in the nedcat community🫶🏻

🥹🥹🥹🥹 thank you, that's such a nice message! I haven't forgotten about the ASoIaF fandom, it's just that I've been a dragon age sleeper agent and my obsession re-awakened when the Veilguard came out 😅 I should be back to normal come Spring 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[pynkhues]

What are you hoping to see from Yellowjackets S3 to get the show back on track

Yellowjackets s2 is sort of a funny case to me, because so many of the plot points and the characters and themes should have worked, but they didn't, and I've been percolating on why since you sent me this ask, and ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that there's no conflict.

Sure, there are things that look and sound like conflict - there are kidnappings and police investigations and cannibalistic chases through the snow - but it's all set dressing. The kidnapping is immediately resolved by Natalie and Lottie rebonding, the police investigation is immediately resolved by having Jeff and Callie become completely, unfalteringly complicit in Shauna's crimes, and the cannibalistic chases through the snow is a narrative cocktease because Javi falls through the ice. They might make the decision to kill Natalie, but nobody does the act, which means they're back to circumstantial choices as opposed to having characters make choices that tell us more about them and drive story and character arcs forwards.

The characters are, in that sense, only really making choices that ultimately compliment everyone elses', meaning they don't have authentic conflict with each other, none of the girls show any deep internal conflict over what it is they're doing, and while you can make the argument for the pack mentality in the past timeline, it reveals itself as a narrative flaw when it's literally the same in every other aspect of the show this season.

Even when characters do occasionally become points of conflict, they're written out of the main narrative or done away with entirely. Crystal dies accidentally the second she finds out Misty broke the box, Ben's lost to hunger dreams that made him narratively functionless until he burned down the cabin in the last episode, and Taissa almost kills her wife and then just seems to completely forget she and her son exist.

Even external conflicts such as the survivors versus the weather is currently without any sting (pun, ha), because we're told they're starving, but with the exception of eating Jackie and the dream sequence where Shauna couldn't breastfeed, the show, in my opinion, fails to actually explore what that means or feels like. It flirts with cabin fever, with starvation, with the freeze, but it never actually leans into it in a way that generates narrative tension or authentic conflict.

Season 1 did have genuine conflicts, and ones that usually made for the most interesting dynamics and scenes of the show, so I'm hopeful that they can find their way back to that. I think what really needs to happen is for them to look at all these points of tension and push them hard enough to break - break relationships, break characters, break some narrative conventions, because right now, we're being told things are bad, but without internal, interpersonal and external conflict, the story isn't moving forwards in a way that carries any meaning.

[fiirecracker]

andal tag drop

a sadness runs through him ( andal musings. ) / he returned but was never the same ( andal. ) / take me back to the night we met ( general andal ships. ) / if i die tell him i loved him ( candal. ) / the lone wolf dies but the pack survives ( the pack. ) / the call of the void ( andal aesthetics. ) / one foot in front of the other ( andal ic.)

[wolfclad]

❛ why is it safe for you & not for me ? ❜ ( from cam! )

Crammed into the smoky heat of the lodge, rose-cheeked partygoers recounted their afternoon on the slopes. Some clustered on the veranda below, lounging on rustic benches and fur-covered chairs, clutching hot drinks in still-gloved hands. Others stripped off, piling into the overstuffed jacuzzi, brewing in the brine of many bodies. Inside, a hardy sound system pumped out bass-heavy beats that shook the cabin’s timbers, pummelling wolfish ears even at a distance. Laughter, snow-crunch, clinks and spills – the après-ski celebrations were a noisy, carefree affair.

It was a serious conversation to have in such a casual setting.

Mercifully, they had claimed the outdoor terrace for themselves. Bathed in the warm glow of fairy-lights, the men sat half-skinned, snow jackets tied around their waists. Before them, a fire pit blazed, sending showers of sparks skywards. It was almost primal to huddle together this way, their faces awash with ember light, their muscles humming after a long day of exertion. Hours before, the sun had dipped behind the piney peaks, and now the waning crescent of the moon climbed the star-laddered sky. The wolf in Farkas’ blood was quiet, content for the time being. He hoped Cameron felt a similar measure of peace.

“I don’t know that it’s ever safe – not for anyone like us – but if you can learn to control it, you can keep folks from harm.”

Farkas took another sip of his drink, something spiced and steaming, laced heavily with alcohol. The mug was swallowed by the large mitt of his hand. Over the bow of its enamel rim, he surveyed his companion, his silver gaze following the jagged furrows of exposed scars. Cameron Kirby. King of the slopes, lord of the podium, his present and future dripping with gold. What misery it must be to catch moon-sickness on the eve of success, and in an act of such unimaginable and unpredicted violence.

“It gets easier with time, I think. Or maybe it’s practice. You have to remember I’ve lived with this for years.”

That answer likely brought cold comfort. What reassurance was there in hearing that time was the only cure? That the clumsy and frustrating and dangerous drudgery of practice and experience might bring some control? There was only one other consolation Farkas could offer – company.

“We can run together under the next moon. You don’t have to be alone in this, Cam.”

[laurellerual]

Day 2: Family

When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.

[thewolfruns]

y'all i am not built for the heat. i love summer, but i need the sunshine to be accompanied with no higher than 75 degrees bc i'm too old to be this sweaty. ANYWAY, i'm here watching key and peele while i write replies. i might reblog my favorite meme too since i have some new folks around here.

edit: i've been writing a reply for like an hour and a half, because we're on day four of constant fireworks and my dog simply cannot handle it.

[arte072]

In the godswood she found her broomstick sword where she had left it, and carried it to the heart tree. There she knelt. Red leaves rustled. Red eyes peered inside her. The eyes of the gods. "Tell me what to do, you gods," she prayed. For a long moment there was no sound but the wind and the water and the creak of leaf and limb. And then, far far off, beyond the godswood and the haunted towers and the immense stone walls of Harrenhal, from somewhere out in the world, came the long lonely howl of a wolf. Gooseprickles rose on Arya's skin, and for an instant she felt dizzy. Then, so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father's voice. "When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives," he said. "But there is no pack," she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. "I'm not even me now, I'm Nan." "You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you." "The wolf blood." Arya remembered now. "I'll be as strong as Robb. I said I would." She took a deep breath, then lifted the broomstick in both hands and brought it down across her knee. It broke with a loud crack, and she threw the pieces aside. I am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth. - Arya X, ACoK

Arya is so rarely associated with faith and prayer in this fandom, yet when she prays to the Old Gods for guidance, they respond and restrengthen her sense of self. Arya of Winterfell! Daughter of the North! She is a direwolf and done with wooden teeth! ✨🤍🩶🐺✨

[thesongoflorelei]

‘When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.’ -GRRM.

[irlplasticlamb]

when the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.

prints + merch + commission info

[childotkw]

sorry if this is a silly question but i just read the lone wolf dies and im curious behind regulus’ motivation for adopting harry? it wasn’t really clear to me, especially since he didnt know james and lily very well. did he just do it so he could help sirius out with his oath? really cool fic btw! i liked it a lot :))

Not a silly question at all!

I had plans to explore his motivations in future chapters, but the gist of it is that - Regulus knows that Voldemort has at least one horcrux, the locket. He knows that Voldemort will be back. He knows that something happened at Godric’s Hollow that destroyed Voldemort’s body, and he knows that Harry was involved in that incident. He knows that both he and Harry will be on Voldemort’s hit list when the man returns - Regulus for betraying him and knowing about horcruxes, and Harry for killing him.

His plan was essentially to take Harry and study him, to see if there were any residual traces of the spell or ritual that took Voldemort out, and then train him up in preparation for Voldemort coming after them. It was just a bonus that the kid who nerfed the Dark Lord was his brother’s godson.

Regulus’ motivations change over time, of course. He will very quickly lose that analytical line of thinking when it comes to Harry, viewing him less as an investment and more as his child, and he’ll love and protect Harry with a ferocity that takes most people off-guard.

But initially, Regulus is very focussed on shoring up his own defences and getting his pieces ready, and his attitude towards Harry in the first year will fluctuate wildly as he comes to grips with the fact that he doesn’t actually want this kid to get hurt. From there it becomes less about training Harry to fight Voldemort and more about just…being a family.

In a lot of ways, he’s what Lily from CS should have been. A parent rather than a general.

[bookhousestark]

ARYA STARK APPRECIATION WEEK 2024 ↳ Day 2: Her pack

And then, far far off, beyond the godswood and the haunted towers and the immense stone walls of Harrenhal, from somewhere out in the world, came the long lonely howl of a wolf. Gooseprickles rose on Arya's skin, and for an instant she felt dizzy. Then, so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father's voice. "When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives," he said. "But there is no pack," she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. "I'm not even me now, I'm Nan." "You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you." "The wolf blood." Arya remembered now. "I'll be as strong as Robb. I said I would." She took a deep breath, then lifted the broomstick in both hands and brought it down across her knee. It broke with a loud crack, and she threw the pieces aside. I am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth.

[synchodai]

Explaining the appeal of Brokeback Winterfell

Alternative title: The Inherent Homoeroticism of Jacaerys Velaryon and Cregan Stark's Relationship that Has Taken Residence in The Deepest Recesses of My Hyperfixated Brain

Let me establish these characters before everything else.

Jacaerys Velaryon. His deal in the books is ambiguous but it's pretty clear in the show — he knows his claim to the throne is built on a lie, so he overcompensates for this by trying to be the perfect prince. He is dutiful to a fault, severely self-conscious and self-critical, and protective of his mother and brothers. He knows his uncles, his rivals to the throne, with their bigger dragons and silver hair have more claim to Valyrian heritage than he ever will. This all manifests in him striving to become this idealized image of the perfect Targaryen prince that he knows he can never achieve.

Cregan Stark. If Jace is supposed to be the perfect Targaryen prince, Cregan is talked about like the second coming of the old Kings of Winter. He is formidable swordsman and a stern ruler who doesn't hesitate meting harsh punishment. He is the idealized image of a Stark lord — stoic yet fierce in battle, someone who keeps to his oaths and the law.

However, what most characters in the books (and people in the fandom) seem to forget is that Cregan, at least in the dance, is very young — that's why I personally love the fact that HBO made him clean-shaven on the show. He's still a gruff northener, but it emphasizes his youth. He's 21-23 during the time of the dance, and he is ruling over Winterfell as someone who had to depose his uncle when he was a teen.

Mind you, northerners have tighter-knit families compared to most everyone else in Westeros. To quote the books: When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. Cregan had to make himself a lone wolf in order to assert his lordship over Winterfell — which to a northern lad who already lost his father and younger brother must have been a difficult choice to make. Add to that his childhood friend/wife dying in childbirth and leaving him a single father, Cregan must be a very lonely wolf indeed.

But despite his loneliness, he does not let anyone in — or rather, he believes that he can't afford to because he knows there are people who will take advantage of his youth and his affections. It's shown in the Hour of Wolf that he is unforgiving, guarded, and does not trust anyone. This is understandable given that his uncle who raised him as a boy committed treason against him. But he seems to have a soft spot for those who are fierce and free-spirited and people who appeal to his sense of duty — these give him "acceptable" avenues to put down the northern masculine mask and be less rigid. Both tie back to a yearning for family.

Okay, so you got these two fellows: Prince Perfect Not-so-Valyrian Heir and Lord Stoic Northman Who Is Actually Deeply Lonely. Both of them have molded themselves to fit this mask of ideal masculinity because they believe it is their duty to their families and the only way to protect themselves in the arena of feudal politics.

Now put them together and what do you get? Chemistry. They see themselves in each other which leads to identification which leads to empathy which leads to curiousity which leads to dissection which leads to vulnerability which leads to intimacy. Jace sees the authority and respect Cregan commands and Cregan sees Jace's attachment and support from his immediate family, and they both desire something the other has, not fully realizing that they are forced into situations where they could not have both. It's juicy, it's rife with tension, it's the pact of ice and fire, baby.

Anyway, this is all to say...Sara Snow is a metaphor for the feminine vulnerability and yearning these two shared. That she is both a bastard and beloved sister is a combined manifestation of the two men's most deeply held desire — for Cregan, his yearning for close family who has no political claims that will get between their relationship, and for Jace, his need to be acknowledged and accepted as a bastard child.

They trained and hunted and drank together — things regular young men do, but that the crown prince or Lord of Winterfell wouldn't have much opportunity to when one is studying Valyrian/dragonriding while the latter is making sure his paramountcy doesn't go into famine come winter. It's easy to imagine them bonding over the honor and burdens of their stations, their lost childhoods, their grief over losing loved ones, how their uncles who they grew up with betrayed them — just finding so much in common that it allows them to finally lower that meticulously crafted persona they use as their strength and shield.

And you wonder then, have they found someone who sees not as a fearsome wolf or powerful dragon, but just as...a handsome dude who they love to hang out with? Cause that would be sweet, bro, no homo. (But maybe some homo if you're okay with it.)

And the actors just really play into all of that with how they look at each other. Ugh, beautiful.

(Shameless plug: This is all why I wrote a fic about them.)