#Trystan meta

[dellamortethelesser]

Another Trystan Shortfic

basically just here to introduce his dynamic with his cousin, Jurian Amell :3 very mild themes of gender envy/dysphoria like you have to squint

Jurian. Tricky Jurian, lovable Jurian Amell. Everyone adored Jurian. That much had long since stopped being a secret for Trystan Hawke. He’d grown up desperately herding Bethany away whenever Jurian tried to show her his magical tricks too close to the line of sight of the Lothering Templars. Just because he’d made a dashing escape from the Circle didn’t mean that Trystan was allowed to risk the same for his little sister. That didn’t stop Bethany from fawning after him whenever he visited; it was once a year, maybe twice if the Templars to the north were hot on his tail.

When the Blight started, Trystan hadn’t been sure what would become of his second cousin, and for a long time, he hadn’t known. It really shouldn’t have come as any surprise to him to learn that he’d made friends with Naoise Cousland and Alistair Theirin, the Heroes of Ferelden. It should have come as less of a surprise that he was already familiar with Isabela and Anders. Lovable Jurian, friendly Jurian; why can’t you be more like our cousin, Trystan?

Jealousy pooled in the pit of his stomach as Jurian crossed across the room in front of him to curl up in one of the plush chairs by the fireplace. Even with Anders nestled at his side, Trystan felt the urge to wrap his arm around him as if to make a point. Jurian looked exactly like an Amell grandchild should; long black hair that pooled down his shoulders like ink, dark and thick lashes that framed blue eyes, naturally red lips that stood out against his pale and freckled skin; if Trystan didn’t know better, he would say Jurian could have been a spitting image of his mother Revka, from the portraits that he had seen.

Trystan was anything but. He looked too much like Malcolm, and he knew it. Brown hair that was too flyaway for him to tame, brown eyes that had been likened to mud before, Malcolm’s prominent and aquiline nose that was crooked from one too many breaks that hadn’t healed properly. He didn’t look anything like an Amell, and he could never have the courage to sit like Jurian does, with a short bathrobe that rose up past his thighs and that plummeted down at the neckline to reveal the valley between his breasts. Lovely Jurian, he recalled, Jurian from the forests, Jurian in the poems. The thought of revealing himself like that made him nauseous in the pit of his stomach.

Isabela had done a triple-take, he knew, and even Fenris had paused to watch him walk across the room. If it wasn’t for the fact that Anders eyes were closed, exhausted from long hours in the clinic, Trystan knew he would be wondering if Anders’s eyes still followed his cousin like they did when they were younger, in the Circle.

Guilt was always quick to follow those thoughts. It wasn’t Anders’s fault, and if he was being honest with himself, it wasn’t Jurian’s, either. He had no business wishing for his cousin’s life. At least he still had his family; Jurian had no one to lean on but the rare times he would come to visit the estate in Kirkwall. It wasn’t like he lived there, a part of the family. Jurian had done anything he could to survive.

FIN

[maid-with-sunset-in-her-hair]

Etymology of the Martell and Sand’s Names

Doran, Dorea: Doran is an Irish and Gaelic name that means "fist, stranger, exile." It could also be an invented masculine version of the name Dora, which derivated from the Greek word doron (gift, freely given, without cost). Dorea was probably named after him.

Mellario: her name is an actual Latin adjective derivated from the word mellarius (of honey, related to honey, beekeeper).

Arianne: a variation of Ariana, which itself is a latinized version of the Greek name Ariadne (most holy). In Greek mythology Ariadne was the granddaughter of the sun god Helios, helped Theseus escape the labyrinth by giving him thread and married Dionysus, the god of grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, fertility and festivity.

Quentyn: misspelling of Quentin, a French name derivated from the Latin name Quintinus (the fifth).

Trystane: misspelling of Trystan, a Welsh name that derivated from the French word triste (sad, sorrowful).

Elia: probably after the sun god Helios in Greek mythology or a shortening of the Late Latin name Aeliāna, the feminine form of Aeliānus (of the sun). It could also be a shortening of the Hebrew name Eliana (my God answered me, God answered my prayer) or a misspelling of the Old German name Ellia (other, foreign).

Oberyn, Obara, Obella: Oberyn is probably a misspelling of Oberon, the fairy king from from A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare. The name Oberon is derived from the Old High German name Alberich, composed by the words alb (elf) and rih (ruler, king). Obara is probably named after him, unless she’s named after obara, the Slovene meat and vegetable stew that was usually prepared for celebrations. Same with Obella, unless her name is a misspelling of Abella, which comes from the Hebrew name Abel (breath, vapor).

Ellaria: could be a misspelling of the Hebrew name Elliora (God is my light) or the Old English name Ellerey or Elleree (alder tree).

Nymeria: probably an invented name compounded by the Greek word nymphe (young woman, bride, young wife) and the Greek name Maria, which derivated from the Roman surname Marius and could come from Mars the war god, maris (male) or mare (sea). Maria could also derivate from the Hebrew name Myriam (rebellious) which once was mistranslated to Latin as Maryam (drop of the sea). It could also be a misspelling of the Greek name Nereides (clear, unmistakable, true) which is also the patronymic of fifty sea nymphs that accompany Poseidon, god of the sea, and often help sailors in Greek mythology. It could also be delivered from the Arabic noun nimer (tiger) but I don't think it very likely.

Tyene: could be a misspelling of Tine or Tinah, both variations of Tina, which itself derivated from the shortened version of Latin female names like Bettina (diminutive of Elizabeth (God is my oath, God’s promise), Christina (follower of Christ), Constantina (constant, steadfast), Martina (follower of Mars) or Valentina (strong, healthy). It could also be a misspelling of thyme or of the Spanish verb tiene (he/she has).

Sarella: probably a misspelling of Sarah, an Hebrew name derived from the word sar (chief, ruler, prince), with the female suffix ella added at the end.

Loreza: either a misspelling of Lorenza or Lorena, both derivated from the Latin surname Laurentius which derivated from the noun laurus (laurel, laurel tree).

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

#power is a shadow on the wall. these people don't have moral convictions they are driven by their relation to power (via @daenystheedreamer)

Exactly, yeah. The bastard thing is an excuse when lords want to remove them (Rhaenyra's sons or Rhaenyra herself) from power. But when they want to get close to power, it's like... “huh what? Did somebody say something?”

Note that this is exactly the same thing as with Joffrey and Tommen -- and Myrcella for that matter -- in the main books. Stannis shouts about incest and bastards until his face turns blue, but Renly doesn't give a damn, he only wants to remove Joffrey so he can be in charge. And only the hyper-religious prisoners of war are the ones who scream about it when face to face with Joffrey:

But no sooner had that one been dragged away than a knight of solemn mien with a fiery heart on his surcoat shouted out, "Stannis is the true king! A monster sits the Iron Throne, an abomination born of incest!" "Be silent," Ser Kevan Lannister bellowed. The knight raised his voice instead. "Joffrey is the black worm eating the heart of the realm! Darkness was his father, and death his mother! Destroy him before he corrupts you all! Destroy them all, queen whore and king worm, vile dwarf and whispering spider, the false flowers. Save yourselves!" One of the gold cloaks knocked the man off his feet, but he continued to shout. "The scouring fire will come! King Stannis will return!" —ACOK, Sansa VIII

But funny that Bonifer Hasty -- good ol' "Baelor Butthole" himself -- doesn't seem to have a problem working with the Lannisters, huh. Not to mention even the High Sparrow, when more power for the Faith is offered.

And then there's Doran not caring at all about Myrcella's parentage re betrothing his son Trystane to her. You'd think it would come up once (especially considering his Targaryen plans), but weirdly no. And it doesn't even cross Arianne's mind when she's doing her queenmaker thing. Sure, there's that supposed Dornish openness towards bastards, but Arianne thinks it's Daemon Sand's bastard status why her father rejected his request for her hand, that a bastard is no fit consort for a princess of Dorne. But it is for a prince of Dorne? To marry and not just take as a paramour?

It really is interesting how much these moral standards and beliefs about abominations simply... aren't, and only exist when they need to.

“the lords of westeros would never accept rhaenyra’s BASTARDS as rulers” the lords of westeros were having a wwe smackdown over who got to marry their children to them. borros b tried to peer pressure luke into breaking his lifelong betrothal and then cregan came in with the pact of ice and fire steel chair

[jackoshadows]

Jon Snow has different dynamics with the different siblings of house Stark and yet I notice in fanworks and meta there is an uniformity applied to these relationships and to House Stark in general compared to other houses and characters. He’s Robb’s best friend, the protective older brother for Bran and Rickon, the best brother ever for Arya and the distant bastard she grew up with for Sansa. Fans complain that Jon Snow is boring and bland, noble and self-sacrificing and then strip away the anger, indifference, envy, bitterness and giant chip on his shoulder i.e everything that makes him a complex and well rounded character in the books.

For example, Tyrion’s relationship with Cersei and Jaime is very different in the books and justifiably treated very differently by fandom. The Baratheon brothers have different relationships with each other as do the Tully siblings. As do the Greyjoy siblings.

And while Arianne is not close to both her younger brothers, again, she thinks differently of Quentyn and Trystane and loves her bastard cousins, the sand snakes, more than she does her true born Martell brothers. The strengths of these different relationships are organically fostered and nurtured in the narrative by the emotional bonds formed while growing up.

Arianne loved all her bastard cousins, from prickly, hot-tempered Obara to little Loreza, the youngest, only six years old. Tyene had always been the one she loved the most, though; the sweet sister that she never had. The princess had never been close to her brothers; Quentyn was off at Yronwood, and Trystane was too young. No, it had always been her and Tyene, with Garin and Drey and Spotted Sylva. Nym would sometimes join them in their sport, and Sarella was forever pushing in where she didn’t belong, but for the most part they had been a company of five. They splashed in the pools and fountains of the Water Gardens, and rode into battle perched on one another’s naked backs. She and Tyene had learned to read together, learned to ride together, learned to dance together. When they were ten Arianne had stolen a flagon of wine, and the two of them had gotten drunk together. They shared meals and beds and jewelry.The more she thought about her cousins, the more the princess missed them - The Princess in the Tower, AFfC

In contrast, she does not think too highly of Quentyn and disparages him as a possible heir. She feels guilty about resenting him. If she had to choose between her bastard cousins and Quentyn, we know whom she would choose.

The same is true for house Stark and the sibling dynamics there. Theon Greyjoy has different relationships with Robb and Jon and vice versa. Robb has different dynamics with Jon and Bran. Arya has a different dynamic with Robb and Jon.  Sansa thinks more highly of Margaery Tyrell and wished Margaery was her sister rather than Arya.

We don’t even have to infer this, it’s on the page in the text in Jon Snow and other Stark pov chapters. We form these interpretations of these sibling dynamics through the emotions Jon associates with the siblings he misses. We read it in Jon’s memories of his farewells:

He remembered the day he had left Winterfell, all the bittersweet farewells; Bran lying broken, Robb with snow in his hair, Arya raining kisses on him after he’d given her Needle.

We read it in his nostalgic memories of childhood

Even the thought made him feel foolish; he was a man grown now, a black brother of the Night’s Watch, not the boy who’d once sat at Old Nan’s feet with Bran and Robb and Arya.

Playing, Jon thought in astonishment, grown men playing like children, throwing snowballs the way Bran and Arya once did, and Robb and me before them

We read it in his desire to talk with them again and his agony at being unable to help them

That might mean Lord Eddard would return to Winterfell, and his sisters as well. He might even be allowed to visit them, with Lord Mormont’s permission. It would be good to see Arya’s grin again and to talk with his father.

He remembered Robb as he had last seen him, standing in the yard with snow melting in his auburn hair. Jon would have to come to him in secret, disguised. He tried to imagine the look on Robb's face when he revealed himself. His brother would shake his head and smile, and he'd say … he'd say …    

Jon Snow straightened himself and took a long deep breath. Forgive me, Father. Robb, Arya, Bran … forgive me, I cannot help you. He has the truth of it. This is my place.

“I have no sister. Only brothers. Only you.” Lady Catelyn would have rejoiced to hear those words, he knew. That did not make them easier to say. His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton’s throat as easily.

The three most important Stark sibling dynamics for Jon Snow, story wise and in terms of narrative themes, are Arya, Robb and Bran Stark. Arya for that unconditional love and support, Robb for that sibling rivalry/best friend/brotherhood dynamic (In AFfC/ADwD, Jon compares/parallels Sam Tarly with Robb Stark) and Bran for that little/big brother dynamic. These are the Stark relationships the author has nurtured, for their narrative importance, over four books worth of Jon Snow POV chapters.

Robb is important for Jon to battle with his bastardy, his Stark identity and desire for Winterfell and will most probably conclude when he hears of Robb naming him heir to Winterfell and the North and the truth of his parentage. Bran is important in terms of Jon’s ultimate destiny, the awakening of Jon’s inherent warging powers, and his role in the fight against the Others. Arya is important for Jon’s conflict between love and duty, underpinning his ADwD plot of straddling that line between wanting to save her and wanting to do right by his men and the Night’s Watch.

While he mentions Robb, Arya and Bran the most, read the passages where he namedrops all the Stark siblings. Sansa is always last with Arya getting that special mention at the end.

He missed his true brothers: little Rickon, bright eyes shining as he begged for a sweet; Robb, his rival and best friend and constant companion; Bran, stubborn and curious, always wanting to follow and join in whatever Jon and Robb were doing. He missed the girls too, even Sansa, who never called him anything but “my half brother” since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant. And Arya … he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. - Jon, AGoT

Jon flexed the fingers of his sword hand. The Night's Watch takes no part. He closed his fist and opened it again. What you propose is nothing less than treason. He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon's breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady's coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell ... I want my bride back ... I want my bride back ... I want my bride back ... - Jon, ADwD

And for Arya:

Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. - Arya, AFfC

The reason for why Jon and Arya quantify their mention of Sansa with an ‘Even’ is that they are surprised to be missing her, given they have a contentious (In Arya’s case) and a non-existent (In Jon’s case) relationship with her. However, they do associate her with Winterfell and family and have similar visual memories of her

Winterfell, she might have said. I smell snow and smoke and pine needles. I smell the stables. I smell Hodor laughing, and Jon and Robb battling in the yard, and Sansa singing about some stupid lady fair. I smell the crypts where the stone kings sit, I smell hot bread baking, I smell the godswood. I smell my wolf, I smell her fur, almost as if she were still beside me. “I don’t smell anything,” she said, to see what he would say. Arya, AFFC

 He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon's breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady's coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. - Jon, ADwD

It’s just that they don’t have the same relationship with her as they do their other siblings. [And just a point to note here: If their relationship with Sansa has to change then it’s up to Sansa to change it, not Jon and Arya. It’s Sansa who has to experience character growth and stop seeing Jon and Arya as being less than her simply because of her prejudices against them. As of book 5 that still has not happened]

So just as every house and every character in it have different sibling dynamics so does House Stark. No house is a monolith and characters are not automatically showered with love and affection simply for belonging to a house. For Jon Snow in particular, his love and adoration is reserved for those who loved him enough to overlook his bastardy and foster a relationship with him. As is only natural, just like Arianne loves and cares for her bastard cousins after growing up together.

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

honestly, the more i think about it the more certain i become that winds of winter and specifically the kings landing plot/vale/gc plot will significantly parallel the dance of the dragons (mainly the end of the dance).

others have already made great metas on this lol

i think cersei’s downfall will resemble alicent’s. im sad but certain that both tommen and myrcella will be killed (maybe paralleling aegon and rhaenys deaths?). i’m kind of hoping the sand snakes will go through character development and not choose revenge… but i kind of doubt it. i’m sure that cersei will definitely break down even further tho. that’ll be interesting and horrifying to read.

tommen will certainly die first, leading to myrcella being crowned. i think it’s likely that tommen is killed by the sand snakes, but i think myrcella will be killed during the fall of kings landing to (f)aegon. i wonder if the sand snakes try protecting her and fail?

i highly doubt that dorne is going to join (f)aegon. i think arianne will see the truth and will be able to successfully maneuver her way back to dorne. (tho i think she’ll have a run in with aurane which would be cool to read). however, (f)aegon will think that arianne is on his side. i’m worried that lady lance wont leave with the dornish party tho…

anyways, after the fall of kings landing cersei will likely be locked up as she won’t be considered a threat. but this won’t be enough to stop the crazy that will be childless cersei.

the high sparrow will certainly support (f)aegon.

i’m 50/50 on whether margaery marries again. i am worried that margaery will get jaehaera’d :/. i think it’s certain that she’ll be held hostage tho. what if she goes the helaena route… yikes… that’s a sad thought.

at this point in time i think the starks will hold winterfell once again and the freys will have be destroyed. the tullys will probably hold the riverlands again.

euron will be causing absolute havoc in the reach.

i think the vale plot in winds will resemble what happens during the dance. harry and robin will both probably die, so i think littlefinger, who’d be in trouble at that point, would try to gain power through sansa. so i think the knights of the vale will make their way to kings landing with sansa with the intent of making her queen.

this is where the tourney at ashford theory comes into play. though jonsas have it completely wrong, as (f)aegon will be the one taking the place of prince valarr. i’m a bit iffy about sansa marrying (f)aegon due to sansa’s marriage to tyrion… but it could be annulled i suppose? but would the high sparrow do that? i think it’s possible.

i wonder what will happen to trystane and the sand snakes tho? i do think that the sand snakes are savvy enough to be able to escape on their own but trystane worries me :(. and he’s gonna be devastated by myrcellas death.

anyways if the plot does move in this direction then i totally expect to read many littlefinger vs varys showdowns.

this will definitely be a false dawn tho. euron will likely be making his way to kings landing and i’m fairly certain that he will sit on the iron throne at some point. bet this is when cersei is able to rise again.

i’ll admit that this prediction for winds has many holes in it. i may be misremembering some stuff as well and i likely haven’t considered all variables either, so take everything i just stated as a vague prediction.

some questions i’m asking myself rn lol: would the tyrell army go down that easily (or maybe varys friends in the reach will help the golden company win the battle?)? will sweet robin really die :(? baelish won’t be able to try and take back the north bc the starks will hold it once again, and going north would mean definitely giving up his hold over sansa… so wouldn’t trying to make sansa the new queen make more sense? since he’d still be able to isolate her and she’d likely need to depend on him? but wouldn’t going to kings landing again be dangerous for him? well if his and varys interests line up then maybe not… but would the knights of the vale follow him? i guess if both harry and robin died then they’d be totally lost too…

[aryastarkappreciation]

“Arya is already in love...” -- A Game of Thrones

We are excited to announce the ARYA STARK VALENTINE’S DAY CHALLENGE taking place from February 11-14, 2023. This mini-fandom event will center on celebrating all Arya-centric ships including, but not limited to Arya/Gendry, Arya/Jon, Arya/Edric Dayne, Arya/Daenerys, Arya/Aegon, Arya/Trystane, Arya/Jaqen, Arya/Willas, and any other ships you would like to explore. 

All fanworks are welcome including including gifs, edits, art, metas, videos, and fics. Please tag your posts with #ARYASVALENTINE so we can find and reblog your work. Feel free to participate as much or as little as you would like :) Here’s a list of suggested prompts for each day:

Saturday 2/11: Foreshadowing || Song Lyrics || Secret Admirer

Sunday 2/12: Quote/Scene || Tropes || Alternate Fandom

Monday 2/13: : Headcanon || Parallels || Mythology/Fairytale

Tuesday 2/14: Valentine’s Day || Canon Divergence || War For the Dawn

You can also consider every day to be a free day for posts that don’t fit any of the listed prompts!

[saints-who-never-existed]

Love love love this! :)

I find it particularly interesting to hear which accents seemed to stand out in your mind and why.

Crozier's being notable even though it comes across to you as quite subtle. Blanky's accent standing out too even if it's not quite definable in your mind.

I find myself most delighted, though, by the thought of JCR's Translator's sonorous Scottish voice being startling! It's wonderful enough to hear him mentioned but such a fantastic description of his accent just makes my own wee Scottish heart happy! :D

You touch really well on the confusion that comes as a result of the actors' own accents too - the disconnect of knowing the real Irving to be Scottish, for example, but hearing a soft English accent from Ronan Raftery (who is, in turn, actually Irish!).

It really is like the Wild West out there when it comes to this stuff!

I've been thinking about Terror character/actor accents and origins again today and I'd love to hear some non-British/otherwise outside perspectives on the subject at some point - might even attempt to make a poll about it.

I'm just curious!

Do you find the different accents in the show difficult to understand at any point? Are some more challenging than others? Do you think having more context on different character accents and origins would change anything about your understanding/interpretations of the show and the relationships within it?

[queenaryastark]

Arya Multi-Shipping Event Vibe Check

Would anyone be interested in participating in an appreciation week or long weekend centered on Arya shipping? I was thinking of an event with multiple prompts leading up to Valentine's Day. It could include edits, fic, fanart, meta, videos, etc on any Arya ships whether canon (Gendrya, Jonrya, Nedrya, etc) or crackships (Arya/Tommen, Arya/Dany, Arya/Trystane, Arya/Aegon, etc). Please like or reblog if you're interested.

[ferylcheryl]

Crazy how there are three Henry Collinses:

One was born in Sussex in 1818 into a naval family. He was predeceased in childhood by a twin brother. His daguerreotype shows a skinny guy with big hands who doesn’t want to fight you but he will if he has to—he has that jut to his jaw, you know? He died on the Franklin Expedition. He was a real guy, as real as you are reading this, as I am trying to write it down: and he died. They all did, the entire expedition. Like, for real. Holy shit.

In The Terror (2018) television series, the second Henry Collins is played with gutting earnestness by your favorite blorbo and mine, Trystan Gravelle. Gravelle’s Collins is the first to step into The Terror as a horror story when he is unable to save crewmate Billy Orren from drowning and shortly thereafter sees Billy’s body—or his ghost—suspended in the water when he dives beneath the surface to free the ship’s propeller from ice. From then on out his character is the most explicit expression of the mental and emotional disintegration of the entire crew, acting almost as the last single member of a trembling Greek chorus.

Then there’s fic Henry Collins. Sometimes he’s an alcoholic or a merman or a Gulf War veteran. His tits are magnificent. He’s seven feet tall and ⅓ of it is dick. He has PTSD and can’t stop eating Harry Goodsir’s ass about it. He’s a symbol through which many fans, such as myself, obliquely engage with our own profound traumas. Like the trauma of not getting to eat Harry Goodsir’s ass.

[sayruq]

Doran - oldest

Elia - second born, died first, far from home

Oberyn - last born, died second while the Martells were carrying out a plan to avenge Elia

Arianne - oldest

Quentyn - second born, died first, far from home

Trystane - last born, might die while the remaining Martells plan on avenging Quentyn. Either right before or during the Dance of Dragons.

Doran - helped his mother with domestic issues like Oberyn's exile which prevented war Arianne - helped her father with domestic issues like covering up Myrcella's attack in order to avoid war for now

Doran - became Prince of Dorne after his mother died before Elia married Rhaegar Targaryen

Arianne - might become Princess of Dorne before her own wedding to Aegon VI Targaryen but it might happen after Trystane's death as Arianne has parallels to Mariah and Mariah's younger brother Maron inherited the Dornish throne after she married Daeron II Targaryen.

[fakeboislim]

None of the commenters are gonna see this, but! If anyone’s interested in meta or phalloplasty but is kind of on the fence because they’ve only heard Terrible Wretched Things about the surgeries and results, you should try to find a copy of Hung Jury by Trystan T. Cotten! It’s a collection of testimonials from FtMs who have had bottom surgery, including their reasons, details about some of their procedures, and individual satisfaction ratings, and it includes testimonials from several trans men of color!

This is the book that convinced a buddy of mine to go through with metoidioplasty! I pinky promise, the surgeries are way way way better and safer and more effective than we’ve been made to believe they are. If it’s a procedure you want/need for your health and happiness, it’s a procedure you deserve!

people be fucking normal abt ftm bottom surgery challenge.

[dellamortethelesser]

Trystan Hawke

Just a lil thing I wrote oopsie. If you’d like to get a peek into the (WIP) dynamics between him and Leandra and Bethany then keep reading :)

“Carver... He was such a little boy. Never had a knee that wasn’t scraped or trousers without holes.”

There was a monster in Trystan’s head screaming back at his mother that he was once a little boy too and he never had someone to nurse his scrapes. There was a monster screaming and roaring and cursing her out for every brushed-aside bruise, for every tut ever made over the fact that he’d gotten mud on his dress or over the fact that his hair had fallen loose of its braid—nevermind that such things were usually a result of him doggedly attempting to keep the twins out of trouble.

He wanted to shake her back to her senses. (This is your fault. I want my son back. How could you let him run off like that?!). It had taken everything within him then and everything in him now, over a year later, not to scream at Leandra that she still had a son. That he had done everything he could to keep Carver safe; that some things were out of his control and he couldn’t be the one to drag them through each day because she couldn’t stop crying about it.

Guilt-ridden as he was, Trystan had to get over his grief quickly. He still had Bethany to look out for, as it was clear to him that his mother and Gamlen weren’t going to do it. If he lost her, it would wreck them all. It would ruin them. He wouldn’t be able to look his mother in the eye again; he wasn’t sure that she would consider him her child anymore. His job, above all else, was to make sure that the same fate didn’t befall his sister. He knew it. He hated his mother for it.

All of that anger in his chest left him in an unsteady exhale as he saw the tears running down his mother’s cheeks. Pity took its place.

“I just keep thinking there was something more that we could’ve done. It’s killing me— eighteen years of loving and feeding and raising, and… that was it.”

Trystan didn’t know what to say. What could he say that wouldn’t make it worse? Talking things out was always Bethany’s strength, and she wasn’t here now. It was for the best that she wasn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to her to see their mother like this, broken apart, and him barely swallowing his anger back down into his throat. He hoped that he could resolve this before she came back into the room; it was all he could do to shield her from Gamlen’s inane diatribes.

“I’m glad you’re past blaming me,” he said, bitterly and with little humor. Leandra hiccuped and looked up at him with wide, teary eyes. Anger mingled with guilt in his throat.

“Oh, Trystan, I— I’m so sorry,” she pleaded. “I didn’t really mean that, I… I miss him.” When he didn’t respond, she looked back to the low-burning hearth. “…I am working to make an audience with the viscount. With any luck, we will be able to reclaim the Amell estate.”

“Good,” he said, and he wavered. Leandra glanced back at him, waiting for him to continue. Trystan hesitated as if he had more to say. If he were to be honest with himself, he did have more—much more. Yet what purpose would it serve except driving the knife deeper into his mother’s grief? It was a selfish sort of anger, the one that he harbored against his mother. He would hate her through his own tears as they fought over her neglect, silently wishing her dead; yet hours later would be tucked around the table laughing as though nothing was wrong. Trystan might have been Malcolm’s spitting image, but the wretchedness was his mother’s mirror.

He stormed off before he was tempted to say anything he’d regret.

Bethany caught his arm before he could reach the door, and all of his anger dissipated in an instant. Trystan turned to face her and, upon noticing her brows furrowed into a line of worry, he forced a smile to his face. “Don’t worry about it,” he said in answer to her silent question. He was unsure how much she had overheard. “We were just discussing Mother’s big plans for the estate. Where have you been?”

“Sleeping,” she said, “but I know you were talking about a lot more than just that. Are you all right?”

“Of course,” Trystan lied. That old rage was like bile in his throat, but he had to lie for Bethany’s sake. Mother’s pandering had been no fault of hers, after all.

Bethany had only ever been his biggest supporter, and grateful for his efforts; as young children they had shared dresses and ribbons in their hair, and as he grew up, she was the first to embrace calling him brother with her full chest and a big hug. It had taken Carver longer to come around for fear of no longer being the only boy of the family. Not that such fears came to fruition, in the end, thanks to how unsurely his parents had adjusted to such a change.

“Why don’t we go to the markets?” Bethany suddenly asked, breaking him from his reverie. “Just to look, or maybe to get Apostate a snack. He hates this musty old house, you know, and being cooped up all day.”

The Mabari raised his head at the mention of his name and talk of treats.

Trystan turned his head to look at her. “You aren’t worried about Templars?”

“Why would I be?” She asked as she grabbed onto his arm, just as she had always done. “I have my big brother to protect me. Besides, I think you can do with getting out of this house, too.” Light streamed in as they stepped out onto the porch, and with a whistle, Apostate jumped up from his spot on the floor to join them.

“Besides,” Bethany continued as they began their trek into Lowtown, “maybe now you can tell me about that other apostate friend of yours. The healer? He seemed really fond of you when we stopped by the other night.”

“Maybe we can not talk about that,” Trystan replied. “He just lost someone important to him. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to imply about it.”

“Fine,” she sighed, and looked away with a huff. “I just think you’ve been lonely. It wouldn’t kill you to make some friends. If one of them turns out to be more than that, well, would that be so bad?”

FIN

[beyondmistland]

I do struggle with the prestige of the royal house Baratheon family since I read it through Cersei, Jaime, and Sansa. For instance would Myrcella and trystanes kids get high marriages? Since he’s third in line, how high of a match do you think their nephew to the king would get?

Myrcella is, on paper, the king’s only trueborn daughter. By default, that limits the pool of eligible bachelors to certain great houses like the Starks, Hightowers, and Royces. Add in a(ny) prince of Dorne as her spouse and the pool only shrinks further, in part due to prejudice. Having said that, I could see Myrcella and Trystane’s child marrying either a maternal or paternal cousin, which would be quite prestigious.

Thanks for the question, anon

[julandran]

Praise be to RNGsus

[The group has resigned themselves to temporarily worshiping Vars Melis — the deity being channeled through Ryan's character, Donaar — who is currently the only available source of magic where they are.]

.

Kris: I request of Vars Melis an Arcana check.

Ryan: Well then, I grant you a boon. Roll with advantage.

Kris: Thank you so much. Maybe I'll need it. (rolls a natural 20) Oh! Bwomp-bwomp-bwomp-bwomp!

group: *various excited noises*

Ryan: (magnanimously) You see what happens? When you give, you get.

Jerry: Now, let's take a moment.

Kate: (sotto voce) What's happening? Is this doing it for me?

Kris: (to Ryan) Is this real? Are you a real god?

.

Acquisitions Inc., The "C" Team — season 4, ep.20 'Retirement, part 6' (youtu.be/jfYaELSPODU)

[dornedaily]

Hello, friend. Would u pls help me to understand dornish's married name? Based on Dorne's gender equality laws, if any westerosi lady marries a Prince Martell she will be a Princess Martell or her birth/house name will kept the same? Princess Myrcella will be a Martell or a Baratheon?And what if she became queen, her heir would be Baratheon or Martell? Thank u so much.

GRRM gives a general answer here:

Most of the ladies of Westeros do change their names when they wed, although usage varies. If the wife's family is significantly higher born than the husband's, she may use his name little, if at all.

Some exemples that fit into this (although non-Dornish) are Catelyn Tully, Lysa Arryn and Selyse Florent. (Catelyn is a very specific case though) They all are referred by their maiden names throughout the series and most importantly, in the appendix which is objective and follows Westerosi/regional laws and customs.

There is no reason this would be different in Dorne. If anything, Dorne is the region where this usage would be most in use.

The Dornish have their own customs. The full surname of the ruling house of Dorne is Nymeros Martell, and the ruling princesses keep that in its female form. They do not take the name of their consorts. 

And some of the major Dornish lordlings also follow this custom, in imitation of the ruling house. (here)

Daenerys Targaryen (daughter of Aegon IV) married into House Nymeros Martell and is never referred as Daenerys Nymeros Martell. She is the only Westerosi lady we know of that married a ruling Prince of Dorne but it does work along this rule of keeping one’s birth name. Her title was most probably something along the lines of “Daenerys Targaryen, Lady of Sunspear/Lady Nymeros Martell, Princess Consort of Dorne”. Of course, she was royalty so it is very specific: the royal name will always prevail and Westerosi ladies cannot “marry into” the Targaryen family. All non-Targaryen spouses are referred by their birth house name, starting with Elia Nymeros Martell. Other exemples of this include Cersei Lannister (never Baratheon), Myriah Nymeros Martell, Aemma Arryn, Alicent Hightower and Betha Blackwood just to name a few.

Therefore, if the lady’s birth house is higher or equal to House Nymeros Martell, she’ll keep her maiden name, if not almost exclusively. If her birth house ranks lower than House Nymeros Martell but is a major bannerhouse (say House Yronwood, House Uller or House Dayne) she’ll get to use both. If she’s from a “low” house, she’d probably use exclusively the Nymeros Martell name.

As for your second question, Myrcella will remain a Baratheon no matter what, similarly to Daenerys I Targaryen given that she’s from the royal family.

The question does not lay in whether or not Myrcella becomes Queen of Westeros, but rather on Trystane. By itself, if Myrcella becomes Queen, her children with Trystane are Baratheon heirs because Trystane is not House Nymeros Martell’s heir. He’s a third son, he is not expected to inherit. If he somehow inherited Sunspear (which would mean that Arianne somehow doesn’t inherit [you can read some of @aegonbeingfakeisracist ‘s metas on why that would be bad storytelling]), then the question can be asked. However, I’d think it would end in a similar situation than the Myriah/Maron case. Myriah was meant to inherit Sunspear but due to her marriage to Daeron II, Dorne’s ruling went over to her younger brother Maron. @goodqueenaly explained it very well in this post so I’ll just copy paste:

I think the Unnamed Prince of Dorne thought an overabundance of caution would do no harm. He would make peace with a king who obviously had no desire for war, yes, but he would not leave the possibility of Baelor’s successor trying his hand at conquest. If his daughter Mariah - who, as his eldest child, was his heiress - remained the princess-presumptive, then her Targaryen husband might try to use her claim to rule the principality himself. Dorne, the Unnamed Prince was saying, would never be ruled by a Targaryen, neither as a conqueror nor as a prince consort.

That mindset remains dominant in Dorne and applies just as well to the Baratheons (who, remember, justified their claim on the Iron Throne thanks to their Targaryen blood -- their grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen). Robert’s Rebellion and Dorne’s subsequent political marginalization did not help. Queen Myrcella and her prince consort Trystane’s children would of course be Baratheon heirs but the ruling of Dorne would probably pass over to the next Martell in line (not any of the Sand Snakes). The castellan of Sunspear is Ser Manfrey Martell (not Nymeros Martell given that Nymeros Martell is only used by the ruling branch), which means there are other Martell branches and hence other potential heirs.

Thanks for the question! :)

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

I'm not sure I've fully understood Arianne's logic in the Queenmaker plot. Yes, Myrcella is in Dorne where primogeniture is followed - but Myrcella is not Dornish. She's just about betrothed to a second son and moreover, she's a Baratheon and the Baratheons don't follow primogeniture. I've always thought that Arianne's defense in trying to make Myrcella queen was extremely thin - but maybe I'm missing something?

Basically, Arianne had two purposes in her queenmaker plot:

to provoke war between Dorne and the Iron Throne

to assert herself as the ruling Princess of Dorne.

For the first purpose, Arianne was not alone, Oberyn had the idea before her:

“And with Joffrey in his grave, by Dornish law the Iron Throne should pass next to his sister Myrcella, who as it happens is betrothed to mine own nephew, thanks to you.”“Dornish law does not apply.” Tyrion had been so ensnared in his own troubles that he’d never stopped to consider the succession. “My father will crown Tommen, count on that.”“He may indeed crown Tommen, here in King’s Landing. Which is not to say that my brother may not crown Myrcella, down in Sunspear. Will your father make war on your niece on behalf of your nephew? Will your sister?” He gave a shrug. “Perhaps I should marry Queen Cersei after all, on the condition that she support her daughter over her son. Do you think she would?”Never, Tyrion wanted to say, but the word caught in his throat. Cersei always resented being excluded from power on account of her sex. If Dornish law applied in the west, she would be the heir to Casterly Rock in her own right. She and Jaime were twins, but Cersei had come first into the world, and that was all it took. By championing Myrcella’s cause she would be championing her own. “I do not know how my sister would choose, between Tommen and Myrcella,” he admitted. “It makes no matter. My father will never give her that choice.”“Your father,” said Prince Oberyn, “may not live forever.”

–ASOS, Tyrion IX

“A trip to Dorne might be very pleasant, now that I reflect on it.”“Plan on a lengthy visit.” Prince Oberyn sipped his wine. “You and Doran have many matters of mutual interest to discuss. Music, trade, history, wine, the dwarf’s penny… the laws of inheritance and succession. No doubt an uncle’s counsel would be of benefit to Queen Myrcella in the trying times ahead.”

–ASOS, Tyrion X

And the launching of the queenmaker plot as a direct result of Oberyn’s death was more than foreshadowed:

No matter what happened, Tyrion had the satisfaction of knowing that he’d kicked Lord Tywin’s plans to splinters. If Prince Oberyn won, it would further inflame Highgarden against the Dornish; Mace Tyrell would see the man who crippled his son helping the dwarf who almost poisoned his daughter to escape his rightful punishment. And if the Mountain triumphed, Doran Martell might well demand to know why his brother had been served with death instead of the justice Tyrion had promised him. Dorne might crown Myrcella after all. –ASOS, Tyrion X

Then, after Oberyn was dead, Tyrion nearly took up this plot himself:

“Where are we sailing? Tell me that.” Jaime had made mention of the Free Cities, but had never said which one. “Is it Braavos? Tyrosh? Myr?” Tyrion would sooner have gone to Dorne. Myrcella is older than Tommen, by Dornish law the Iron Throne is hers. I will help her claim her rights, as Prince Oberyn suggested.

“I have a niece in Sunspear, did I tell you? I could make rather a lot of mischief in Dorne with Myrcella. I could set my niece and nephew at war, wouldn’t that be droll?”

“It is warmer down in Dorne. Perhaps he should have sailed that way.”Tyrion was beginning to suspect that a certain freckled washerwoman knew more of the Common Speech than she pretended. “My niece Myrcella is in Dorne, as it happens. And I have half a mind to make her a queen.”Illyrio smiled as his serving men spooned out bowls of black cherries in sweet cream for them both. “What has this poor child done to you that you would wish her dead?”“Even a kinslayer is not required to slay all his kin,” said Tyrion, wounded. “Queen her, I said. Not kill her.”The cheesemonger spooned up cherries. “In Volantis they use a coin with a crown on one face and a death’s-head on the other. Yet it is the same coin. To queen her is to kill her. Dorne might rise for Myrcella, but Dorne alone is not enough. If you are as clever as our friend insists, you know this.”Tyrion looked at the fat man with new interest. He is right on both counts. To queen her is to kill her. And I knew that. “Futile gestures are all that remain to me. This one would make my sister weep bitter tears, at least.”

–ADWD, Tyrion I

…but he was diverted when Illyrio sent him to Dany. Note, if this chapter had been published where it was originally before the AFFC/ADWD split, “to queen Myrcella is to kill her” would have come as foreshadowing for the almost-deadly result of Arianne’s attempt… as it is, coming after the events, it’s just ironic.

Back to Dorne. Arianne was not the first to bring up the subject in AFFC – it was Tyene Sand, Oberyn’s daughter, who told Doran and reminded the reader:

“Dornishmen fight best at home, so I say let us hone our spears and wait. When the Lannisters and the Tyrells come down on us, we shall bleed them in the passes and bury them beneath the blowing sands, as we have a hundred times before.”“If they should come down on us.”“Oh, but they must, or see the realm riven once more, as it was before we wed the dragons. Father told me so. He said we had the Imp to thank, for sending us Princess Myrcella. She is so pretty, don’t you think? I wish that I had curls like hers. She was made to be a queen, just like her mother.” Dimples bloomed in Tyene’s cheeks. “I would be honored to arrange the wedding, and to see to the making of the crowns as well. Trystane and Myrcella are so innocent, I thought perhaps white gold… with emeralds, to match Myrcella’s eyes. Oh, diamonds and pearls would serve as well, so long as the children are wed and crowned. Then we need only hail Myrcella as the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, and lawful heir to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and wait for the lions to come.”“The lawful heir?” The prince snorted.“She is older than her brother,” explained Tyene, as if he were some fool. “By law the Iron Throne should pass to her.”“By Dornish law.”“When good King Daeron wed Princess Myriah and brought us into his kingdom, it was agreed that Dornish law would always rule in Dorne. And Myrcella is in Dorne, as it happens.”“So she is.” His tone was grudging. “Let me think on it.”

–AFFC, the Captain of Guards

Note her mention of Tyrion, intimating that before he left Dorne, Oberyn told Tyene the plans he brought up back in ASOS. Interestingly, because Oberyn and Doran were actually secretly working together, Doran must have known about the plot before Tyrene brought it up. It must have been something he disagreed with Oberyn about though, perhaps because of the active provocation of the Iron Throne and the Dornish deaths it would bring? Or maybe Oberyn and Doran intended that Myrcella’s crowning would be a distraction while Dorne actually was teaming up with the Targaryens… maybe for the Iron Throne to send a Lannister/Tyrell army down the Red Mountain passes and then the Dothraki would take them in the back? Ah well, what might have been.

(BTW, I’m not sure why you’re bringing up Myrcella being betrothed to a second son as a fault in the plan? The point of Trystane being third in line to the throne in Sunspear is that he doesn’t have a claim that gets in the way of him becoming Prince Consort to Queen Myrcella; but does mean that Dorne has a strong reason to support her as Queen, for the favor her husband would bring them, like Queen Myriah Martell did in the court of King Daeron II Targaryen.)

So, anyway, by the time Arianne brought up the plot to Arys Oakheart, the subject was well-covered. Yes, it is a very thin justification that because Myrcella’s in Dorne the Dornishmen can follow Dornish law and crown her ruling queen of all Westeros. But the thin justification is the entire point, because the actual objective is to start a civil war between Dorne and the rest of Westeros, a war between firstborn daughters and their younger brothers, to provoke a Dance of the Lions with one Lannister fighting another, to make Tywin suffer. And to split Cersei between the son that makes her Queen Regent vs the daughter who could make her the ruling Lady of Casterly Rock.

Although with Tywin dead, Tyrion an attainted sentenced-to-death kingslayer/kinslayer in exile, and Jaime a Kingsguard, Cersei is the ruling Lady of Casterly Rock, a position she doesn’t want to take because she prefers the unbridled regency, so it wasn’t the most perfectly forecasted plan there. Though there are other ways to provoke Cersei… and Darkstar brought up the most basic one: if you want a war between Dorne and the Iron Throne, why go through the whole rigmarole of making Myrcella queen in Dorne, since it’d be far easier to just kill her? (And when the queenmaker plot blew up, he did his best to follow through.)

But other than Arianne’s great reluctance to murder a child, the reason she personally promoted the queenmaker plot was for her own purposes – to use the coming war, and to use Queen Myrcella, to assert her right to the throne of Dorne. Declaring that Myrcella is Queen of Westeros because she is older than Tommen reinforces the Rhoynar laws of absolute primogeniture, the laws Arianne believed Doran was planning to dismiss by making Quentyn his heir instead of her. Those Dornish lords who might not support Queen Myrcella would also be the ones who might not support the ruling Princess Arianne. (Such as Anders Yronwood, foster-father to Quentyn, a stony Dornishman who may not follow Rhoynar law as his second child Cletus was called his heir instead of his older daughter Ynys.) So the queenmaker plot would flush out the opposition, letting Arianne form more trustworthy alliances. Furthermore, the favor of a ruling queen, and the unification of Dorne in a war against the Lannisters (for revenge for Oberyn, and Elia, and all the things Doran never did, that the people of Dorne are angered and aching to fight for) would bring great support to Arianne, and give her the power necessary to unseat her father and send him off to a quiet retirement. Or so Arianne believed at the time.

So… yes, the logic of Arianne’s queenmaker plot is not exactly rock-solid, because it’s based on false assumptions (that Doran planned to disinherit Arianne and dismiss Rhoynar primogeniture law; that Doran had no intention of actively taking revenge on the Lannisters) and false premises (supposedly Dornish law extended to all of Westeros but in actuality just an excuse for war between Dorne and the rest of Westeros). But its flaws are deliberate, just as the misconceptions are deliberate – they’re all part of the overall Dorne plot, the character development of Arianne and her relationship to her father, the reveal of Doran’s secret plans and his “grass that hides the viper” alliance with Oberyn, and so on. You just need to follow along, to see why people believe what they do when they do and why they act accordingly. I hope this post helps. :)