#arianne graves

[mercuryswonderland]

Ashley: My little magical soul harvester♦️

[poisonhemlocke]

have i posted angelica and arianne here before? if not please forgive my grave oversight

anyways they’re my and my friend’s characters from a mutants and masterminds game. angelica is mine, she’s an angel and a magical girl with healing, defense, and team boosting powers. ari is my friends and she’s a zombie with plague related powers, one of our front liners. im really normal about both of them

[dalekofchaos]

If Oberyn lived

Imagine if things went differently. The poison on Oberyn's spear was more effective and caused a full paralysis and agonizing pain of Gregor's body and The Mountain could not kill him.

"WHO GAVE THE ORDER?"

The Mountain laughs like a madman

"Elia of Dorne. I killed her screaming whelp. Then I raped her. Then I smashed her fucking head in. AND YOU BLOODY WELL KNOW WHO GAVE THE FUCKING ORDER"

and just like that Oberyn delivers the killing blow and decapitates The Mountain.

Cersei screams bloody murder while Tyrion cackles like the Smiling Knight reborn

Oberyn impales Gregor's head with his spear and shows his trophy for all to see and grins at Lord Tywin as he declares Tyrion innocent in the eyes of gods and men.

Oberyn offers Tyrion to come to Dorne with him. Tyrion accepts because it's only a matter of time before Cersei has him killed.

Before he leaves, Tyrion says his goodbyes to Jaime. Perhaps Jaime's guilt like in the book is too great and tells him about Tysha and Tyrion pledges to kill him like he did in ASOS.

Tyrion, what feels like lifetimes is waiting for the Dornish Prince and in a fit of rage, Tyrion asks him "What kept you???" "I just had to see your father one last time before we left. He confessed." Tyrion was curious and asked more. "Let's just say the Red Keep is going to smell for a long time." hint to the Oberyn poisoned Tywin theory.

Trystane and Myrcella's betrothal stands and Arianne makes no attempt

I do believe that The Sand Snakes would not be so in demand of trying to crown Myrcella like they did in AFFC.

I do believe if there is an attempt on Myrcella's life by Darkstar, then Oberyn would've killed him. "You bring nothing but shame to Starfall."

Oberyn got what he wanted. The Mountain and Tywin's deaths and justice for Elia.

Tyrion would relish in this plan and all he would ask Prince Doran is the death of his sister and for Casterly Rock to fall to him because nothing would grant his father more misery from beyond the grave than for Tyrion to take his birthright as Lord of Casterly Rock.

Oberyn would work with Doran to fulfill the rest of his brother's long game. Include his daughters in on the plan. Obara, Tyene and Nymeria play their parts while Oberyn goes with Arianne to meet with Aegon and Jon Connington.

I'd like to see Oberyn kicking Joncon's ass for even daring to blame and insult Elia for Rhaegar's fall.

But getting Aegon and Arianne on the Iron Throne is more important than putting the trash in his place.

Aside from that, I don't know what role Oberyn can play.

Leading the ousting of the Lannisters from King's Landing?

But lets say for the sake of things.

Aegon is a real Targaryen or a Blackfyre. Aegon is crowned as King and Arianne as Queen. The Martells win and ultimately leads to the ruin of Tywin's legacy.

The small Council

Hand of The King:Jon Connington

Grand Maester:Haldon Halfmaester

Master of Whispers:Nymeria Sand

Master of Coin:Illyrio Mopatis

Master of Laws:Oberyn Martell

Master of Ships:Aurane Waters

Lord Commander of the Kingsguard:Rolly Duckfield

There is peace for a time and the realm thrives under Aegon and Arianne's rule.

At least until The Others and Daenerys.

[eruherdiriel]

Who's getting married at the end of ASoIaF?

Marriage, alliances, and heirs are all tied together in Westeros and are important parts of the nobles' lives. Since A Dream of Spring is never seeing the light of day and The Winds of Winter is a big fat probably not "we'll see," I will go to my grave haunted by this question. So I decided to reason it out. My Jonsa brain wants it to be them but that seems potentially too "happy." But who else could it be?

George made the comment in May 2016.

Yes, I mean, I did partly joke when I said I don’t know where I was going. I know the broad strokes, and I’ve known the broad strokes since 1991. I know who’s going to be on the Iron Throne. I know who’s gonna win some of the battles, I know the major characters, who’s gonna die and how they’re gonna die, and who’s gonna get married and all that. The major characters. Of course along the way I made up a lot of minor characters, you know.

I've decided to look at living POV characters, except for the one-offs, some as individuals and some as couples. Many POV characters are not "major characters" in my eyes and there are some non-POV characters who are more important, but this was the most objective way I could find to decide who made the list. POV characters are bolded in blue.

I initially read George's comment as meaning two mains are getting married, but as I wrote this, I second guessed myself and thought maybe he meant a main character and someone else. But since marriage is transactional and important to the highborn characters in this story, most of them will get married eventually (unless they die or join a celibate order), which brought me back around to thinking GRRM did mean the marriage would be between two key characters. And it would be relevant to the plot, and not mentioned as an afterthought in an epilogue or family tree. Otherwise, why call it out? With that in mind, let's begin.

Sansa and Tyrion are already married, but GRRM spoke in the future tense so he wasn't referring to an existing marriage. The relationship was unconsummated, their stories have diverged, and they are headed for an annulment. I can't see anyone we know ending up with Tyrion. His plotlines with women have involved prostitution, assault, unfulfilled desire, and violent anger. He seems more likely to kill another partner than marry again. More on Sansa later.

Bran is a possibility plot wise, but who would he marry? Meera is significantly older when they meet in the books, so I don't think that match is realistic in this context. And if Bran is the Summer King, he will likely have to marry a southerner for political reasons (unless there is a new succession plan and/or he can't have children). So it's probably someone we don't know yet or has been mentioned in passing. The last book would also need a time jump to make Bran of marriageable age, or the last two books would need to cover much more time than the previous five.

Arya's arc isn't about who she marries. In fact, she tells us whose plot is about marriage.

“You,” Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, “will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.” Arya screwed up her face. "No," she said, "that's Sansa." (A Game of Thrones - Eddard V)

But if further convincing is needed that Arya's storyline isn't about marriage, know that a search for "Arya" and "marriage" or "marry" in the books mostly returns results for Sansa talking about marrying Joffrey and then talking about Arya, lol. There's a few other contexts, particularly with fArya, but this one jumped out at me:

Robb was to marry one of their aunts, and Arya one of their uncles. "She never will," Bran said, "not Arya," but Maester Luwin was unyielding, so there they were beside Rickon. (A Clash of Kings - Bran III)

She's not going to be old enough at the end of the series anyway, unless there's a time jump. Next.

Arianne and Aegon/Young Griff: This seems like one of the most possible impending marriages to me, no matter who the Young Griff is in truth. A strategic Dorne marriage is plot relevant and makes sense with Arianne's arc. However, I think it is possible the Young Griff dies before the end of the story. He also doesn't qualify under my slightly arbitrary logic for who a major character is. And Arianne barely qualifies.

Daenerys is dying. Take it up with George. Though technically still married to Hizdahr zo Loraq, maybe she marries a Greyjoy (Victarion or Euron) before she dies, but it won't be relevant long term. Next.

Cersei and Jaime are doomed, as a couple (not that they can marry anyway, as much as they have wished to) and probably individually. Cersei is also vehemently against getting married again, and there's no more Tywin to force her.

Aeron Greyjoy: Can Drowned God priests get married? Doesn't matter. It's not him.

Areo Hotah has two chapters and only made this list because I checked ASoIaF wiki for POV characters to make sure I got everyone with more than one, lol. No weddings to see here.

Asha Greyjoy is sort of married already? Perhaps she gets out of it and later marries a Northerner to ease relations between the North and Iron Islands. A non-POV character likely, but maybe Jon??? Huh. It's not the least or most possible thing here. Not what I expected coming into this.

Brienne: Like Arya, marriage isn't the point of her narrative. It could become important for her to marry in the aftermath of all the wars. But for major characters as her suitor, there's none that make sense. Her interactions with Jaime serve to humanize him and complicate her, but they're not ending up together, even if Jaime ends up alive.

Theon's not getting married if he lives.

Sam is a member of the Night's Watch and technically can't marry. Maybe he gets released from his vows or there is no NW in the end and he is free to marry ... Gilly? Some rando in the Reach? Even if he's not in the Night's Watch, there's that whole maester thing that should prevent him from having a wife.

Davos is already married. Next.

Barristan Selmy is old and a long-serving member of a celibate order.

Jon Connington will be more focused on getting his "son" a match.

And we are back to Sansa. I won't go through all the potential suitors for her. See this brilliant post for that. Given Sansa's narrative themes and that she is headed for a leadership position, a good match for her will be extremely important. She has also been involved in too many marriage plots for one to not work out and be relevant to the larger story.

Jon and Sansa are undoubtedly two of the major characters of the series. Marriage and children are referenced explicitly and implicitly throughout the books for both of them, and they are two of the most romantic characters.

I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children. I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb. (A Storm of Swords - Jon XII)

Implication of bold text = he dreamed of it before, and here he is doing it again. Notice also that he's thinking less of Val specifically and more of what a marriage would give him access to. Sansa does something similar when thinking about Willas.

If I give him sons, he may come to love me. She would name them Eddard and Brandon and Rickon, and raise them all to be as valiant as Ser Loras. And to hate Lannisters, too. In Sansa's dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya. (A Storm of Swords - Sansa II)

(The parallel content of these passages is ... a lot. One sentence for finding love with Val/Willas, then multiple sentences [three for Jon, four for Sansa] about children. The opening sentences are flipped in order [purple and pink text], and there's the shared idea of dreams [in red] and wanting to name their children for people they've lost [orange].)

Who knows how much time the final two books cover, but Jon and Sansa are both of marriageable age by Westeros/George's standards and will be more so by the end of the series, with a much more appropriate age gap between them than a lot of other possibilities. A union between them makes sense, since Jon would get to become a Stark, something he has always wanted, thought not in the way he dreamt might happen. Sansa would get her true knight, though he is imperfect and not the fantasy version she imagined when younger. It solidifies Stark power in the North. The last book was originally A Time for Wolves, after all.

The questions it leaves though are when does this happen? What does Jon's punishment or social status look like if he plays a role in Daenerys's death (for kinslaying and potentially queenslaying)? Is forsaking the Targ name and kneeling to Bran enough, or does he have to serve an exile period? (Am I letting the show influence me too much with these questions?) Can he acknowledge any children he has, or does that get in the way of the Targ line coming to an end, even if the children are Starks (or Snows)?

The final possibility is George changed his mind since that comment. The garden grew in a different direction. This feels hollow and unfulfilling, especially if you take the view that GRRM is deconstructing tropes so he can reconstruct them. There has to be a hopeful marriage/romance after everything else. And marriage is a big enough point in the books for there to be at least one that helps wrap up the story.

Summary of potential matches between two named characters (does not meet full criteria):

Arianne and Aegon/fAegon

Sam and Gilly

And between POV characters (meets full criteria):

Asha and Jon? (Once again, huh.)

Sansa and Jon

But since Sansa is the character I am most confident in having a plot-relevant marriage, Jon x Sansa wins.

This was not rigged, I swear.

[adarkrainbow]

So... I was checking some free stuff given away and among a bunch of old VHS there was this tape:

I did not take it, because A) I do not have a working VHS player at home and B) The movie is actually fully disponible on the Internet for free. But it got me intrigued and so I decided to talk briefly about this Donkey Skin movie - which is obviously not the great 1970 classic by Jacques Demy, but rather a 1997 French animated movie...

The VHS above was for the movie's "solo" release, but it got a different release under the label "Mes plus beaux contes", a whole series of fairytale VHS apparently:

Let's begin with a bit of context...

This movie was apparently the result of a collaboration between Claude Allix and Vladimir Gontcharov. The scenario was written by Sébastien Viaud, the music composed by Gil Slavin, and the producers included Eric Bayle, Roch Lener and Victor Slepstove. The production companies involved included Polygram Video, Mathares and Borsifen.

And... that's it. That's all I could find. Nothing more, nothing less.

Well, except for one detail: while this movie is presented as... well as a movie, some websites list it as a two-episodes mini-series, each episode being 26 minutes long. I watched it for free on Youtube, where it is presented as a 50 minutes long movie.

Let me start by saying: Gosh this movie looks horrible!

As in... the animation is very rough. But especially the designs... By the devil, the designs are awful! Just look at the Lilac Fairy - they tried to shape her hair like a lilac flower, okay... But it doesn't work AT ALL. The worst offenders however are the dresses. The three magical dresses, meant to be the pinnacle of beauty in the tale... LOOK AT HOW GOSH AWFUL AND IDIOTIC they are! We said "Color of the moon", not "Shaped like the moon". We said "Color of the sun", not "with spikes coming out everywhere to imitate sun-rays". And the villainess' collar just keeps getting bigger and bigger until it becomes so ridiculous... Oh yes, and the guards ALL HAVE THE SAME FACE. They literaly reused the same model for all the knights and guards throughout the movie...

I know that after Jacques Demy's Peau d'âne, every adaptation of Donkeyskin in France will have a hard time challenging the classic... But I don't know if these people didn't put enough effort, or actually tried way too hard.

Now, in term of story, the interesting thing is that they decided to expand upon the original tale. Most notably, they introduce a new villain character, with a concept a tad similar to the one of queen Elspeth from The Fairest of them All.

The entire first segment of the movie is about the "background" of the tale. We begin with the wedding of the king of the realm of Azurie to his wife (Peau d'âne's mother - the princess is named here Ariadne, because "Arianne" rhyme with "âne" in French). We also have a brief introductory song which recaps the entire story... There's quie a missed opportunity because a whole segment of the song is asking "Why are you hiding, Donkey-skin? Why are you disguising yourself Donkey-skin? Who are you, Donkey-skin?" which could have been a strong idea of plot-angle, exploring the identity of Donkeyskin as a mystery to be solved... Except the verses right before this part of the song explicitely detail who she is and why she fled.

As the wedding unfolds, we have a very clever scene introducing the magical donkey - a present sent by mysterious friends of the king, and which stands out like a sore thumb among the treasures and jewels the fher frelieves it is a grave insult - before his queent believes it is a grave insult - before his queen calms him down and convinces him to trust their friend (for good reason, since they later discover the donkey's magical properties). The villain added to the story is the king's cousin, a power-hungry duchess named Malicia, and who is quite pissed off at seeing the new queen - because she herself wanted to and attempt to be the new queen of Azurie. As she leaves the castle, a mysterious sorcerer named Balthazar the Necromancer appears and briefly turns her carriage into stone to prove his powers. He says he came here to answer Malicia's wishes and desires - and he offers her to learn witchcraft, so that she can overtake Azurie... And in exchange, the price to pay will be that she abandons all her belongings and exile herself from Azurie to undergo a long journey fo fifteen years.

What will she do during this journey? We don't know! It is a mysterious "initiation journey" But she returns fifteen years later to the kingdom to enact her devious plan. As for Balthazar the Necromancer... Every time Malicia uses her crystal ball to cast a spell, Balthazar's face appears to give her various compliments or warnings. And that's it... a sort of manifestation of the recurring habit of having the Magic Mirror of Snow-White act as a semi-companion/warning-deliverer to the Evil Queen. I compared Malicia to Elspeth but I could also compare her relationship to Balthazar to the evil queen's relationship to her mirror in the "Mirror, mirror" movie. In fact, Malicia seems very obviously inspired by Disney's Evil Queen... It makes you wonder why Balthazar was introduced as his own character before being reduced to an info-dropping disembodied face... Anyway.

Malicia is presented as the supernatural cause of the events that start the story - which is a quite interesting and solid move when you need to tackle Donkey-skin for children. The death of the queen is due to Malicia's hatred of the happiness and wealth of the royal family, and her ambition. She casts a curse that causes the deadly sickness, and then tries to convince the king to marry her. But when the king refuses by blatantly saying he promised his wife to marry a woman more virtuous and more beautiful than her, and that Malicia is not more virtuous nor more beautiful than the late queen... Let's just say Malicia is quite pissed off, and she decides to have him be dethroned by causing a second curse - the one that will create an incestuous desire of the father for the daughter. Balthazar warns her that such a curse will break if the princess ever ends up knowing true love - to which Malicia replies she will just have to make sure the princess will be forced to marry her father and never escape him...

I have to say, while the animation is garbage, the ideas and concept of the story are very interesting. The scene of Malicia casting the curse onto the queen is truly chilling, as you see the blue mist she conjures up slowly wither the flowers of the garden before crawling up to the queen's bedroom and entering her body... And I like how Malicia's incantations use elemental motifs matching her curses: she invokes the "spirits of the air" to cause a "deadly breath", a cursed wind that will "dry up" the queen ; while to "inflame" the king's passion for his daughter she calls upon the "spirits of fire" to cause an incestuous desire that nothing "shall extinguish". There is also a whole warning in the beginning about black magic needing the user to have an absolute control over their emotions - foreshadowing Malicia's downfall. At the end of the movie, when Donkey-skin/Ariadne is happily married and her true love break the curses, Malicia is so enraged she tries to cast a curse on her, despite Balthazar's warnings that she need to stay calm, and that she cannot fight true love which is the most powerful magic of them all... However she does not listen and the curse backfires on her, making her disappear forever... Again, this is all very Snow White's Evil Queen-inspired.

I'm not going to make a full breakdown of the movie - the rest of the story is pretty much the same as the original tale but with the characters slightly exaggerated and more prominent (such as the peasant woman and her son who use - and frankly abuse - Donkey skin when she stays around ; there's also the comical character of the prince's personal assistant who is always finding an occassion to "taste wine" whenever he has something to do). There's a lot of visual nods to classic illustrations - for example the goat-pulled chariot the princess use to visit her godmother, while seeming straight out of Norse mythology, is actually a reference to the illustrations of Gustave Doré where the princess use a similar chariot ; and the king's chambellan is made to look like Riquet with the tuft.

So yeah... In conclusion I would say it has good intentions, some good ideas and some moments that do work - but it stays a very rough, very dated product that needs one to take some effort to get into it... and is definitively NOT a masterpiece. But a valuable effort, it must be recognized.

[atopvisenyashill]

What if cigarettes existed in asoiaf? Who would be a smoker?

chain smokers

literally every lannister including cersei but she smokes tobacco in a fancy pipe, she doesn’t use cigs like a pleb. tywin only smokes in secret and brushes the FUCK out of his teeth after to get rid of the smell.

olenna redwyne hasn’t smoked herself into the grave on spite alone but trust her lungs are just tar and blood now

lysa tully, petyr thinks it’s soooo tacky

edmure tully

robert baratheon

dolorous ed

theon greyjoy

sandor clegane

thoros of myr but he quits after he brings beric back, altho he always has a pack on him & makes comments about how he wishes he hadn’t quit smoking whenever something stressful happens

jorah mormont, but he switches to a pipe when he moves out to essos bc the dothraki prefer tobacco and they get real fancy with it

half of dany’s khalasar smoke a pipe btw and she resists it until meereen.

dorne has medicinal weed btw and they love a smoke, they got hookahs and bongs everywhere in dorne but they’re not overly fond of tobacco specifically

rhaena the black bride started chain smoking after maegor married her and quit on and off throughout her life

every single one of jaehaerys’ kids had a bad smoking problem specifically bc it pissed jae & aly off

viserys starts smoking for ~medicinal~ reasons bc a maester told him sometimes it helps. it does not.

aegon ii will blow smoke right in someone’s face if they’re pissing him off, his siblings think this is both hilarious and infinitely tacky

aegon iv, picks it up while in essos

betha blackwood, the blackwoods are the main cigarette dealers in the north & riverlands but betha puts them all to shame with her chain smoking

infrequent smokers

ned stark, cat hides his cigs all the time bc she disapproves so he has to sneak out to the godswood & bums them off theon

blackfish tully, he tells edmure to hide all the drugs when robb comes south bc he doesn’t want to get another lecture about how unhealthy they are from cat

arya takes it up from sandor & starts getting into like Artisanal Cigs when she gets to braavos

davos seaworth, and he feels so guilty about it

daemon smokes but only when he’s drinking

baela smokes bc her dad smokes but winds up using it for stress all the time

aegon iii & viserys ii & lara all start smoking to rebel against the regents, daenaera doesn’t approve but she never does anything besides cough pointedly. viserys grows out of the habit, aegon & lara do not

melissa blackwood, she did it for eating disorder reasons but she never smoked around naerys bc she was paranoid about secondhand smoke

elia sand, she HATES IT but her parents and sisters are SO SERIOUS about it being bad for you so she does it on the trip with arianne to meet aegon vi & joncon, arianne has someone keep track of it so she can tattle later bc she thinks cigs are nasty like use a tobacco pipe like a fucking civilized woman!!

maekar targaryen

egg, and dunk yells at him about it ALL THE TIME even tho egg only smokes like a cig a week (dunk is #straight edge just like ser arlan)

asha greyjoy but she actually just chews tobacco. qarl thinks it’s sexy when she spits it out and he Will make weird “spit in my mouth” comments when they’re alone

[alsethwisson]

Agree with your takes on Arianne. I think she, or her actions I should say, is very obviously being set up to lead to the downfall of the Martells lol. Martin is using the Martells to make some corny and tone deaf point about seeking revenge and to basically illustrate the famous quote, 'When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves; one for your enemy, and one for yourself.' Every time I see people bitching about Doran's plans falling to shit no matter what he does I just want to scream, 'It's because GRRM will never let him win lol....that is the point of that story arc.' I think the Martells are essentially doomed, which sucks because I am a fan of their house and Dorne in general. Thankfully, there's almost a zero percent chance another book in the series will ever be published so I'm glad to never have to read it. lol.

Dorne is...complicated? It's an orientalist fantasy that's meant to be romantic and sympathetic, and in a way it works for me, but then I start thinking and it stops working.

I mean, they were raiders. For centuries they ravaged lands close to their borders. I can't cheer them for their fierce independence because that means they will continue to terrorise the Marches and beyond. Their economy is based on raiding so much the Stone Dornish turned to raiding inland Dorne after being forced out of Westeros.

And the Nymeria story? It's gilded colonisation narrative. No, when PoC-coded characters are doing colonisation on White-coded that doesn't make it good. It's still shit.

What I'm trying to say is, Grrm really, really fails there because of his very American subconscious bias against "Southern" people. Both Spanish and Arab people are PoC for him and that's the root of the problem, that's where the whole exoticization and erotisation stem from and make me as a reader very, very uncomfortable. And the revenge narrative also stems from this same biased set of stereotypes.

And then there's the fact that Oberyn and Ellaria are two only likable characters of Dornish origin. Maybe Daemon Sand, but he's only there a little. Or the fact that Doran has show!Viserys I levels of deadbeat dad-ness.

Still I somehow like Dorne, I don't know why)

[daenystheedreamer]

renly

MY FAVOURITE USURPER🫶

SEXUALITY HC gay. because he's gay for realsies for actual in the text

OTP loras because thats realsies for real life 🫶 they're sweet they're doomed when the sun sets no candle can replace it T_T

BROTP margaery and renly besties is so funny. getting to marry your gay best friend LITERALLY the dream even if you're gay best friend is just a normal guy who likes nice clothing.

NOTP i havent seen many non-loras renly ships actually... like i've seen weird freaks write weird freak shit but there isn't really a serious ship that i hate. lmao maybe arianne and renly because of that time arianne tried to seduce him and was confused why he didn't react. her gaydar is sooo bad how is she close to lady nym and daemon and oberyn and still is like idk why he didnt wanna fuck me :/

HEADCANON idk if it counts since to me its just The Text but his usurping isn't just ambition and being power hungry it's desperation to be recognised by robert and stannis plus being young hot having fun like he said life is short eat the peach!!! otherwise hm... i think he fucked oberyn i think thats funny

FAV QUOTE when he MURDERED littlefinger "there are worse crimes. the way you dress, for one". i do like the show is he a ham thing that was funny

RELATABILITY being gay being slay!

SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT ok the peach thing. i love it but anytime someone mentions the peach i just think of the peach emoji and the butt connotations. "i will go to my grave thinking of my brother's peach" okay!

CINAMMON ROLL/PROBLEMATIC FAVE it's a LITTLE problematic to start wars sow chaos and cause the deaths of innocents just because you've got childhood-stemming attention seeking behaviours :/

[frutiylaris]

Signalis. How and why?

I apologize for intruding on the signalis tag with my autistic love for this little game. It will most likely happen again. Signalis is just beautiful. I find it hard to enjoy most games that are released nowadays, be they indie, double-A or triple-A. I've become bitter about games and media and I'm only in my 20s.

So when my friend introduced me to Signalis thinking that I would enjoy it, I thought it would be another run-of-the-mill indie game about depression or some such nonsense. But then I played it... The first ending I got being the promise ending. Seeing Arianne and Elster embrace and just love each other made me weep. The sheer devotion this damned robotic woman had for her lover made me pause. And when I replayed it recently for my second playthrough just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I got the memory ending and my heart sank into sadness once again. I... I don't know how to describe my feelings towards the game. On one hand, I do not appreciate the heavy-handed foreshadowing, but at the same time a part of me now understands why it was done that way. Admittedly the moment I saw the King in Yellow and references to HP Lovecraft and cosmic horror my brain tipped me off on how it would end. I had a conception and then it was shattered and in its place a potted plant. A lily, covered in marble. Its blue veins still clearly visible. I want to understand Signalis. To comprehend that which I cannot, its an innate human urge to find some meaning, some purpose! But Signalis doesn't do that. Perhaps I became like Adler, once I understood what I was trapped within I so desperately wanted it to stop. To get out. To save the one I admired but in the end, I was twisted and left to a fate worse than death. I lost my purpose. And when Elster came by once more the events repeated themselves, no matter how much you try to reason and make arguments to one who is deeply in love. They will ignore it all. For it's not logic or thought that drives them, but love. That endless yearning for the one you know is gone, but yet you still chase after them. Even if you remember your promise. Forget it or whatever else. The cycle repeats itself. The world deteriorates more and more with each passing cycle until the rotted corpses arise from their graves and begin to roam the earth, unable to rest, to think, to feel. All being puppetted by something greater. I admittedly have not played the game a 3rd time since I wanted to get the artefact ending, but I just can't manifest the strength to do so right now. So I looked it up and... and it... I cried once more. I know what happens each and every time and that no matter what, it all ends the same. In tragedy. My second playthrough gave me a feeling of lucidity. Everything for but a brief moment connected together and I witnessed what lay before the black gate. And when I came back I couldn't tell anyone. I was paralysed with knowledge. Knowledge that I was never supposed to have. I traded in a part of myself unknowingly to even begin to comprehend what I had seen. And now that I am seated once more in reality, I fear speaking about it. About Signalis. Its beautiful. Its story is absolutely wonderful. Its gameplay whilst not groundbreaking is good, and the puzzles are a decent challenge. The music gave me a sense of primal fear and each moment I spent on Sierpenski and rotfront was unforgettable. I want this game to reach more people but at the same time, I fear it becoming popular. It feels so special, so unique that I want to hoard it away to myself. But that is selfish of me to do. I remembered my promise. I forgot my promise. I offered up something to the red eye and in return, it gave me one final dance to enjoy. The game about two space lesbians doomed to fail their mission made me feel genuine emotion. More than any other game has and I will forever cherish it. This forbidden tome of a love story. I have journeyed far into Silent hill and confronted my trauma. I have watched raccoon city burn and Umbrella fall. I witnessed Isaac clarke meet his final moments. I have gone to the depths of the Zone and seen the Wish granter. Signalis deserves a spot with all the greats. My only issue is its love of making a fair few too many homages. Thank you, if you read through all this babble.

From the Zone I came, to the Zone I return.

[iheartbookbran]

How was the relationship between Rhaenyra and Criston Cole in the book?

Ok so like everything else related to the Dance… it depends which version of events you’re choosing to believe. The first ever mention we get of Rhaenyra in the main series is in aSoS in a Davos POV chapter, and it’s not exactly a favorable one, however she’s then again mentioned during aFfC by Arianne Martell when she’s discussing women’s rights of succession, and we as readers also get our first introduction to Ser Criston Cole.

"The first Viserys intended his daughter Rhaenyra to follow him, do you deny it? But as the king lay dying the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard decided that it should be otherwise."

Ser Criston Cole. Criston the Kingmaker had set brother against sister and divided the Kingsguard against itself, bringing on the terrible war the singers named the Dance of the Dragons. Some claimed he acted from ambition, for Prince Aegon was more tractable than his willful older sister. Others allowed him nobler motives, and argued that he was defending ancient Andal custom. A few whispered that Ser Criston had been Princess Rhaenyra's lover before he took the white and wanted vengeance on the woman who had spurned him. "The Kingmaker wrought grave harm," Ser Arys said, "and gravely did he pay for it, but . . .” — The Soiled Knight, aFfC.

Now I’m bringing the main series up because I think it’s interesting that it is precisely Arianne, a princess heir to her family’s seat who fears being replaced by her younger brother, who shines a more sympathetic light on Rhaenyra and her struggle. She’s telling this to Arys Oakheart, who, like Ser Criston, is a knight of the kingsguard and sworn shield of a princess (Myrcella and Rhaenyra, respectively), and, if we are to believe Arianne’s story, Ser Arys, like Ser Criston, is having an affair with a princess heiress (Arianne and Rhaenyra, respectively).

He’s also called the Kingmaker, like Arianne is called the Queenmaker, so that’s another parallel we can draw between these characters.

Now TW for mentions of grooming under the cut:

It is not possible that Criston and Rhaenyra had a romantic relationship before Criston joined the kingsguard because, if we’re going by the established canon, Rhaenyra was 8 years old at the time, and Criston was 23. I suspect when GRRM wrote this he was still working around the story of the Dance, I know that in one of his earlier drafts Aegon and Rhaenyra were full siblings and Aegon was just a year younger than her, so there’s that.

I think the show tried to implement GRRM’s first idea for Criston and Rhaenyra by having Criston be the spurned lover who turns on the woman he loved and actively works to ruin her life, and while that’s still true in f&b, things do play out a little more complicated imo.

Like I said Criston met Rhaenyra when she was extremely young and soon after became her sworn protector, and by all accounts he was firmly on her side when it came to the blacks vs. greens conflict, though this was still in the early stages of development because again, Rhaenyra was a child, and a vulnerable one at that, because after her mother died and her father remarried, Rhaenyra became more and more isolated in court, mainly thanks to the actions of her stepmother Alicent, who was around 10 years older than Rhaenyra in the book and definitely not her friend.

Rhaenyra appeared to have had very few friends in court growing up, which was why she was extremely attacked to Ser Criston, and also, to her uncle Daemon.

Rhaenyra’s vulnerability is definitely important to take into account when discussing her character and her relationships with men, and one that the author does point out in the text.

[…] Princess Rhaenyra continued to sit at the foot of the Iron Throne when her father held court, and His Grace began bringing her to meetings of the small council as well. Though many lords and knights sought her favor, the princess had eyes only for Ser Criston Cole, her gallant young sworn shield. “Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from Ser Criston?” Queen Alicent asked one day at court. — Heirs of the Dragon, a question of succession, Fire and Blood.

I think this passage alone sums up the relationship between these two pretty well. Let’s not forget that Rhaenyra is around 12 years old at this time, and obviously infatuated with Ser Criston, this doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s being taken advantage of by him, but they’re definitely not equal. It’s also worth noting that, at this stage, the two are mentioned to quite enjoy spending lots of time alone with each other.

After this things get muckier, because, like in the show, Daemon comes back to court from his war on the Stepstones, and he and Rhaenyra get… closer. She’s still very much a child, around 14 or 15, since, unlike the show, Daemon stayed for half a year in KL after conquering the Stepstones, and there’s conflicting accounts on what happened between him and Rhaenyra in that time, but whatever it was, there was some grooming involved. So either:

Daemon slept with Rhaenyra and was discovered by some servant, pissing off Viserys and making him have to leave the city to avoid his brother’s wrath

or, if we’re to believe Mushroom’s version of events, Rhaenyra was in love with Ser Criston and wanted to seduce him, so she asked her uncle to teach her how to do it. Daemon took her on a tour all across KL, especially the pleasure houses. and was like “take notes, young padawan” but he didn’t have actual penetrative sex with her (wow, dude) because Rhaenyra wanted to give her virginity to Ser Criston

But then it gets even more confusing because, according to Mushroom, Rhaenyra did go to Criston at one point, after the whole fiasco with Daemons and being forcefully betrothed to Laenor as a result, and offered herself to him, but he was too honorable and committed to his vows to accept her, and there’s also some claims that, much like in the show, it was Ser Criston who offered to leave his kingsguard’s vows behind and run away with her to Essos to be together, but was rejected, like in the show. Rhaenyra then ran straight into the arms of Harwin Strong.

And like, this is why I don’t buy that Criston was the poor virtuous victim in this situation… his fucking reaction, man. After this he loathed Rhaenyra, he was not even subtle about it. He hated her and he hated anyone even remotely associated with her or with her cause, which was why he killed Joffrey Lonmouth when the opportunity to do so presented itself to him, it wasn’t a spur of the moment, couldn’t-control-his-anger kind of thing, he did it at a tourney being held in celebration for Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding, when they were competing on a melee and there was plausible deniability of it having been an accident on his part. There was vindictiveness and viciousness behind his anger that wasn’t equivalent at all with what Rhaenyra allegedly did to him.

So, my take, solely based on what we know from the information available to us on the source material? Maybe Rhaenyra was in love with him or maybe she wasn’t, maybe she tried to seduce him or maybe she didn’t, that’s not what’s most important. To me it’s the fact that Criston obviously held Rhaenyra into this high pedestal of untouched virginal purity, and when she couldn’t live up to his Madona/Whore complex standards, he did a complete turn on her and decided to join the side of court that was trying to usurp her throne, and aided them into ruining her life. That is the reason why I despise this character more than any other from the Dance era.

That is also why I deeply dislike the idea of making him dornish, and I’m bringing up Arianne again, because yeah she does share a few parallels with the story of Rhaenyra and Criston to an extent, but the idea of making a man who does… all that, dornish out of all things is so disrespectful to Arianne. I literally can’t believe that, after they completely cut her off of GOT, and now that we’re on whole different adaptation that takes place hundreds of years before ASOIAF even started, HBO is still finding new and creative ways to do my girl dirty. Personally I will never forgive them for it lmfao.

[blasphemousclaw]

Ok with Ranni being the youngest, I got thinking of the Carians as Doran's kids just reversed order lmao (Trystane, Quentyn, Arianne to Radahn, Rykard, Ranni)

I love this ask because I’m a huge fan of the Martells, especially Ari <3 Now that you mention it, they are pretty similar? Both of their families experienced some grave injustice that the three children are still dealing with the repercussions of, on both a personal level and on a kingdom-wide scale.

The kids are kind of opposites in a funny way: Arianne is the firstborn, but she feels her inheritance is threatened and nearly starts a war to secure her inheritance… then Ranni is the youngest, but she has an inheritance thrust upon her unwillingly, which she actually sparks a war to escape from! Quentyn is essentially a reluctant pawn in his father’s plan for bloody vengeance, which ended with him being burned to death… while Rykard willingly pursues his own bloody vengeance, AND he’s an actual fire mage. Then we have Trystane who’s a child who likes to play board games. but I guess that’s still the opposite of Radahn, who’s a famed warrior LOL

[mercuryswonderland]

"A meeting"

It seems Arianne made a new "friend"

[crownedingrey]

" the lack of interest here today shall usher me to an early grave at any moment. " Tyene to Arianne Martell

"Me too..." A pause, a chuckle. "We need to do something fun." Arianne looks thoughtful for a moment. What could they do? No ideas are immediately occurring to her so she turns back to her cousin. "Any ideas?"

[martellsource]

"The first Viserys intended his daughter Rhaenyra to follow him, do you deny it? But as the king lay dying the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard decided that it should be otherwise."

Ser Criston Cole. Criston the Kingmaker had set brother against sister and divided the Kingsguard against itself, bringing on the terrible war the singers named the Dance of the Dragons. Some claimed he acted from ambition, for Prince Aegon was more tractable than his willful older sister. Others allowed him nobler motives, and argued that he was defending ancient Andal custom. A few whispered that Ser Criston had been Princess Rhaenyra's lover before he took the white and wanted vengeance on the woman who had spurned him. "The Kingmaker wrought grave harm," Ser Arys said, "and gravely did he pay for it, but . . ."

"The dragon is time. It has no beginning and no ending, so all things come round again. Anders Yronwood is Criston Cole reborn. He whispers in my brother's ear that he should rule after my father, that it is not right for men to kneel to women . . . that Arianne especially is unfit to rule, being the willful wanton that she is." She tossed her hair defiantly. "So your two princesses share a common cause, ser . . . and they share as well a knight who claims to love them both, but will not fight for them." -The Soiled Knight, AFFC

ARIANNE MARTELL APPRECIATION WEEK ~ DAY FIVE: PARALLELS - RHAENYRA I TARGARYEN

[agentrouka-blog]

How do you think Myrcella is going to die in books? Do you think Tyene gonna killed her with poison?

Hi there!

GRRM certainly isn't stingy with supplying material that could be read as foreshadowing for such an event.

The old woman was not done with her, however. "Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds," she said. (AFFC, Cersei VIII)

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.  (AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

I know the poison that my father used, and there is none slower or more agonizing. (AFFC; The Captain of Guards)

Poison is a foul and filthy way to kill." Lady Tyene smiled at that.  (...)  "Sisters, truly, I know the poison Father used. If his spear so much as broke the Mountain's skin, Clegane is dead, I do not care how big he was. (ADWD, The Watcher)

"Give me your blessing, then, and I shall go." Doran hesitated half a heartbeat before placing his hand on his niece's head. (...) No sooner had she taken her leave than Maester Caleotte hurried to the dais. "My prince, she did not . . . here, let me see your hand." He examined the palm first, then gently turned it upside down to sniff at the back of the prince's fingers. "No, good. That is good. There are no scratches, so . . ." (AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

She gives the appearance of having reformed her threatening ways when Doran sends her along with Nymeria to King's Landing. She swears on her father's grave to serve him faithfully.

But GRRM also hints that it was her who betrayed Arianne's plan to Doran in the first place, so how trustworthy can she truly be?

But does that mean she will actually poison Myrcella? Time will tell.

[iwritetopassthetime]

of vipers and doves II (6/11)

Oberyn Martell x fem!reader

CHAPTER FIVE: Winter Comes to Dorne // Previous chapter // Masterlist // Next chapter

QUICK NOTE! Thank you all so much for the kind way you’ve received this story so far. It turns out that Tumblr had shadowbanned me and that’s why none of you had gotten your tag notification. I was worried that you disliked the story so much that you didn’t even bother reading it, but I know not to overthink stuff and resolved the issue with Tumblr. I’m glad that you can see the story now and that you like it. Your comments mean everything to me. For the returning readers, if you think last time was a rollercoaster of emotions, get ready for this fucking hurricane! MUAHAHAHAHA enjoy 🌸

Wordcount: 5.2K

warnings: discussions of warfare; overall angst; Oberyn misses his dove :( 

Sunspear was up-in-arms since the abduction of Princesses Y/N and Myrcella. The desert roads from there to all the nearest cities hadn’t seen as many travelling horse companies. The marks in the sand showing where hundreds of warriors had ridden through on their way to answer their liege’s call to arms.

Doran had kept his promise to Oberyn and sent word to his bannermen, requesting that they join for the sake of the two missing princesses. Dorne only ever joined wars if it was attacked and this was a grave attack. Of course, none of the lords needed much convincing since Princess Y/N was beloved throughout Dorne for her kindness and selflessness. Many even volunteered to join the ranks of the army if it meant bringing back the Martell princess. 

A name had started to reappear in people’s conversations and attached to it was a sense of dread; people who could remember Robert’s Rebellion remembered also the tragic end of princess Elia. Another gracious lady of house Martell that met a horrid end at the hands of the Lannisters. Nobody wanted for that to happen again and it spurred newer and many more recruits to the Martell army ranks.

Oberyn was in the midst of it, holding strategy meetings with Areo Hotah at his side. Doran had pleaded his captain of the guard to remain at his younger brother’s side as he needed him kept safe. Doran did not voice his fears, but he knew the risk Oberyn would put himself under to save his wife. This absolute, burning devotion he had for Y/N was unmatched to anything Doran had seen in his brother before, even with Ellaria. Oberyn was ready to march to King’s Landing on his own and put a hundred Lannister soldiers on his spear if it meant saving his beloved. 

Thankfully, no such drastic measures would’ve been needed since the nearest Dornish noble houses had started to stream into Sunspear, their banners joining the pierced red sun of the Martell coat of arms. Houses Dalt and Santagar were first to arrive, then came House Toland of Ghost Hill accompanied by Houses Allyrion and Gargalen. The rest of the Dornish noble houses were bound to respond to Doran’s call, none would refuse to defend their princess. 

Oberyn observed as the green checkered coat of arms of House Jordayne filtered into the sea of countless banners that filled the Sunspear skyline. The city bustled with the clank of swords, shields and spears. Oberyn stood on his balcony, white-knuckling the stone balustrade. His mind, now given a singular task, felt sharp and ready, yet still turbulent with worry. 

There hadn’t been a single word from King’s Landing, no letter of demands or ransom. Not a peep. Lord Varys claimed that all contact he had with his remaining birds was cut after they last informed him that the Mad Queen had ordered that all ravens be put to the knife. 

They couldn’t send word and were left to pray for news, any news.

‘Uncle.’ 

With a heavy sigh, Oberyn turned to find Arianne at the entrance to the balcony. She had replaced her usual orange and peach daring dresses to darker hues of green and blue. Her face was marred by a constant scowl and one could see that she too felt deeply troubled by the abduction of her dear aunt and her new sister. 

‘They are gathering in the throne room,’ she informed him, taking a step towards him and standing at his side at the balustrade. She watched as the newly arrived forces of House Jordayne settled amidst the bazaars and limestone houses. ‘It’s happening much faster than I expected.’

‘I feel so, too.’ Oberyn lowered his eyes to his hands, instantly relaxing his grip on the stone. ‘But I also did not expect for Y/N to be… it is better for us to not waste any time.’ He gulped down the pain of missing her. ‘I once told her that I did not want her anywhere near that hell hole. And now she’s trapped there. I wonder if I was ever any good at keeping my promises and protecting her.’

Arianne grasped her uncle’s shoulder. ‘You shall not help her if you despair! We do not know if she and Myrcella are alright, but what will not be useful to them is if we stand here and pity them.’

Oberyn stared at his niece, silently admiring her strength. She has always been strong, but whenever she showed it, Oberyn was reminded why she was one of his favourite relatives. ‘You are correct again.’

‘Indeed I am,’ Arianne smiled encouragingly. ‘Come. We need to hasten if we are to join the meeting. You will be surprised at some of the newest arrivals.’

Uncle and niece speedily descended the stairs to the throne room which hadn’t seen that many visitors in years. The heads of the houses that had arrived were there with their aid-de-camps and advisors, first and second sons and daughters, knights. A room full of great warriors, proudly displaying their house colours. 

A long table was positioned in front of the breathtakingly beautiful throne of Dorne where Doran sat patiently. Daenerys Stormborn was standing on his left side with her own advisers beside her. 

Several heads turned towards to Oberyn and Arianne once they appeared at the throne room entrance. Out of the crowd, a familiar mop of jet black curls made its way through the gathered Jordayne representatives. 

‘Uncle!’ Quentyn Martell walked up to Oberyn who stared at him in disbelief, but promptly embraced him. If Quentyn was here then…

‘Hello, Papa!’ Tyene popped up behind her cousin who moved out of the way, allowing the younger girl to not waste a moment longer and to rush into her father’s open arms. Oberyn did not mind showing affection in front of foreign visitors. For all he cared Dornish customs of familial love were much better and more open than the frigidity of the Northerners.

Oberyn looked above Tyene’s golden locks and smiled at the sight of his two eldest daughters, Obara and Nymeria. Both donned ochre travel cloaks and head wraps that were slumped over their shoulders. Their long dark braids were messy and dusted with light sand. Both looked equally upset as the rest of their family. 

‘We rode out immediately after receiving Mama’s first letter,’ Obara quietly explained as they walked up to the right side of the table. ‘We had reached The Tor when uncle’s raven explained that she’d been… Quentyn got Myria to gather her father’s soldiers and march with us here.’

Oberyn looked at his nephew. ‘I’m happy you came.’

‘Pfff,’ Quentyn waved his hand dismissively. ‘The whores from Starfell to Yronwood will weep at my absence, but my place is here right now. There isn’t a person in Dorne who would stand down where auntie’s wellbeing is concerned.’

Oberyn nodded. His throat seized up painfully as he fought back the strong emotion that overcame him at his nephew’s words. He only wished Y/N was there to hear them, too. After she had come clean about the terrible thoughts that plagued that beautiful head of hers, to hear and see just how adored she was by not only her family, but all of Dorne… 

Once they stood beside Doran and Arianne, Oberyn let his eyes wander around those present at the table. He stared at the most peculiar sight of all: Sansa Stark and Jon Snow. 

The Stark siblings had arrived a few days ago on a ship from Dragonstone as per Daenerys’s request. Their thick leather clothes had made them stick out like sore thumbs amidst the liberated attires of the Dornish, plus they fared much worse in the weather since they were used to completely different temperatures. 

Yes, Sansa had spent many years in King’s Landing which had a forgiving climate (yet still colder than Dorne), whilst Jon Snow hadn’t been further south than the edges of the Stark lands. He seemed like a man who was used to the eerie quiet of the wilderness beyond the Wall, thick black eyebrows almost obscuring his eyes as they maintained a constant frown. 

Sansa, however, carried herself like a queen of the very ground she walked upon. Oberyn had hypothesised that it was due to being kept as Cersei’s pet for so long that she had now found power in herself that demanded respect from her peers. 

It seemed that she’d decided to adapt to the current climate, donning a long dark blue dress that matched Arianne’s and was most likely hers since the two had become somewhat friendly with each other. Jon Snow still wore his stifling leather waistcoat, looking just as uncomfortable as he did when he arrived. 

The war council began with the summation of forces they’d accumulated so far: three-thousand-five-hundred-and-fifty in total from Eastern Dorne with the promise of more joining as the word spread. 

‘I sent a raven to Lord Anders while we were at the Tor,’ Quentyn told the war council as he leaned over a rolled out map of Dorne. ‘He’s rounding up his own soldiers in Yronwood, some nine hundred horsemen, including an infantry of two hundred. He’s joined by Lord Harmen of Hellholt who has a cavalry of one thousand…’ He pointed to a landmark on the map, marked with the yellow-over-crimson flag of Ellaria’s father’s house. Quentyn drew a line with his forefinger from that to another mark on the map, a red flag with three black scorpions. House Qorgyle. ‘… And another five hundred are riding out from Sandstone. Lord Anders, Lord Harmen and Lord Quentyn are bound for Kingsgrave, they will cross the Prince’s Pass by Monday next and ride up to Highgarden to meet with Lord Willas Tyrell.’

‘Then I suppose they’ll take the Roseroad to the Capital,’ Jon Snow supplied and Quentyn nodded. ‘How long is the journey from Kingsgrave to Highgarden?’

Oberyn interjected, ‘A week at best if the weather is fine, most of their forces are on horse so they should be moving fast.’ He looked at Jon Snow, noting how despite the rumours that he and the Dragon Queen were intimate, he seemed to hang at a distance from her. And she wouldn’t hold his gaze for very long before turning her head away.

‘What of Houses Dayne, Fowler and Blackmont?’ Arianne asked. ‘They owe allegiance to our family. Lady Larra Blackmont has some of the best archers in all of the Seven Kingdoms.’

‘We’ve not yet received word back from either of those families, but they will stand with us,’ Quentyn told his older sister. The Dornish lords and knights present at the council meeting hummed in agreement. ‘Right now, Dorne’s forces number—’

‘—five-thousand-one-hundred-and-fifty,’ Oberyn added. ‘When Dayne, Fowler and Blackmont join, we will have some ten thousand soldiers. Just as many as last time.’ 

He looked at Daenerys who nodded in acknowledgment. Ten thousand Dornish soldiers were just as many as the ones that fought in Robert’s Rebellion. Dany, unlike her father, would not let them perish in vain.

Doran scratched his bearded chin, contemplating the given information. He trusted his Quentyn’s expertise; he’d sent him to Yronwood much to Mellario’s dolor — the core issue of that began to cripple their marriage — to learn how to be in command. And he showed great improvement which only gladdened an old father’s heart, even in times of war.

‘What of the North?’ Doran turned his eyes to Sansa and Jon. ‘You had reclaimed it from the Boltons, last I heard.’

‘Indeed, Your Highness.’ Lady Sansa nodded. ‘We’ve reestablished control over the North. We have the full support of the Vale and their own men.’

‘We should attack now then!’ One of the knights from Lemonwood boomed in his raspy, accented voice. ‘The Lannisters are outnumbered.’

Many agreed with him by means of nods and grunts of approval. 

‘There are no exact accounts of the number of Lannister soldiers in King’s Landing,’ Lord Varys spoke up softly. ‘We know that Cersei pulled her father’s remaining forces from Casterly Rock and its surrounding areas. She has Euron Greyjoy’s ships guarding Blackwater Bay.’

‘We do know, however, that she’s hired the entirety of the Golden Company,’ Tyrion supplemented. ‘Twenty-thousand men. Our remaining allies in Essos are instructed to offer them a higher price. But with or without the Company, Cersei has holed up herself in King’s Landing like a caged animal and she will lash out. Yes, an imminent attack is our end move, but we must avoid pushing her to commit another mass murder to save her own hide.’

Oberyn’s scowl deepened; Cersei Lannister was a cruel woman, he knew that ever since they first met in Casterly Rock as children. But knowing how time had altered that cruelty into something much more sinister, made him fear for Y/N’s wellbeing. Only thing he needed from this war was for them to set sail and return her home. Nothing mattered to him more than seeing her face, her warm, nurturing eyes gazing upon him with joy, and feeling her hands embrace his face as they kissed. 

‘I think we shouldn’t waste any more time,’ Jon huffed. ‘Winter has arrived and there are greater evils than Cersei Lannister that threaten our world.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Doran inquired.

Jon sighed solemnly, ‘The White Walkers, Your Highness.’ Everyone apart from Daenerys’s party began to murmur between themselves in alarm. The White Walkers were a caution tale for children in the North that wouldn’t go to bed, but for the Dornish it was less than a myth. For a people that had never seen snow, the idea of dead men rising amidst the icy deserts of the lands beyond the Wall was bordering impossible, even laughable. 

‘I have seen them with my own eyes and so have many of my men. We fought them at Hardhome. Their army is marching on the Wall. We have fortified our strongholds and watchtowers there, but it is merely saving time. We need to take King’s Landing. With the surrendered Lannister forces we stand a chance.’

‘It is much too early to make any sort of decisions about that,’ Daenerys commented with stoney look in Jon’s direction. He seemed almost shattered at her icy comportment towards him. Whatever had happened between the two of them? ‘I think waiting for an answer from Essos on the allegiance of the Golden Company would be a wiser move. That way we’d be sure that Cersei Lannister is indeed powerless against us.’

‘You have the support of every single House in the Seven Kingdoms including forces from beyond the Narrow Sea,’ Arianne raised her voice, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and annoyance. ‘Cersei has no one behind her apart from that madman Greyjoy. We outnumber them ten to one. And you still want to wait and think this through while my aunt and sister are being held prisoner by that bitch!’

Lord Tyrion began speaking for his Queen, trying to rationalise her words to no avail. Daenerys remained stoic, but there was something in her eyes — the way they flickered towards Jon Snow with something akin to fearful anticipation — told Oberyn that there was something they were not saying. 

He looked at his brother, the older man staring back. Oberyn hoped that his eyes could convey what he wished to say. Thankfully, Doran had always been so perceptive. He might’ve been confused at his brother’s mute request, but he never gave him a reason to doubt him.

‘My lords,’ Doran turned his attention to his liegemen. ‘Thank you very much for your time. Please, retire to your chambers and rest from the journey. We will converge again once we have more information.’

The large group of knights and nobility seemed confused at the sudden dismissal from Doran, but none fought against it. They were indeed very tired from the long road and many wished to eat and bathe. 

‘Father, if you’ll permit me,’ Quentyn said, ‘I need wash myself of the journey and see mama.’

‘Of course,’ Doran nodded and watched as his second son joined the departing backs of his liegemen out of the throne room. 

Once the room was clear, leaving only the Martell family and Daenerys’s side, Doran sat back in the throne, eyeing Sansa and Jon.

‘Lady Stark, if my memory does not fail me, your family’s rule was that there must always be a Stark in Winterfell.’

‘My… younger sister and brother are there, Your Highness.’ Sansa’s eyes fleeted to her bastard brother.

‘It’s odd, you see... your brother here has been proclaimed King in the North and your bannermen have put their trust in you as Lady of Winterfell. Leaving your younger siblings to guard an important castle in the North when there are threats coming both from the south and beyond the Wall… it seems imprudent, if you ask me.’ Doran’s dark eyes, followed each member of Daenerys’s group. ‘There is something more pressing, which would explain Her Grace’s sudden reluctance to attack.’

Give it to Doran to know how to extract information with the least amount of force, Oberyn thought as he observed how the expressions on the Dragon Queen’s face changed by the second. Jon Snow looked severely uncomfortable, like he genuinely distasted being the one in full attention. Sansa Stark maintained her stoicism, but her attention was now focused on the Queen.

‘We have reasons to believe that there is another who has valid claims to the Iron Throne,’ Sansa said. ‘While my brother was travelling to Dragonstone, one of his former brothers of the Watch came to Winterfell and informed me that during his stay at the Citadel, he discovered a document showing my brother’s true parentage…’

Jon stared at his sister as if he really did want her to keep that information to herself. ‘Sansa—‘

‘Jon is the son of my aunt Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen.’ She looked back at him. ‘They deserve to know, if we are to be allies. It is a stain on father’s memory to break with honour.’

Doran and Oberyn were equally shocked. To be reminded of their sister’s husband who was the reason she was trapped in the Capital with Mad King Aerys, was a strike to the heart. It pained them both and Doran lost his sure footing in the conversation, his mouth going dry. Guilt and anguish filled his heart as the memories of sweet Elia flooded his mind. 

Oberyn had to force himself to gain control over his breathing. He had to remain level-headed, had to do be what his dove always was for him. She was the reasonable one, without her Oberyn had to find it in himself to keep his wits about him and not turn to violence. But that only worsened the pain in his heart at the lack of her gentle hand on his shoulder, guiding him away from the darkness in his own mind. 

‘How is this possible?’ Oberyn asked through tight lips. 

‘Your Highness, if I may—’ an older man stepped forward, moving to stand on Jon Snow’s right side. He was dressed in simple dark grey cloak that matched his greying hair and beard, but his eyes were lively.

‘Who might you be, sir?’ Arianne asked tensely.

‘Ser Davos of House Seaworthy… it’s a rather new house, please don’t bother checking, M’lady.’ He bowed his head to Arianne whose lips twitched in a little smile at his politeness. ‘Truth is… that the document said that Rhaegar secretly married Lyanna, which makes Jon Snow a Snow no more. He is a legitimate heir to the Targaryen name.’

‘Putting him above me in the line of succession.’ Daenerys’s words were clipped and tense like her throat was constricting, limiting the strength in her voice. 

Oberyn breathed heavily through his nose. ‘You are gambling with my wife’s life… because of that? You would leave her to Cersei’s mercy just so you can buy yourself more time and figure out who get the Throne?’

‘Your Highness, I do want to help you get Princess Y/N back—’

‘— then you wouldn’t have lied about all this,’ Oberyn interrupted her, his tone growing in intensity. ‘There are so many lives that we are putting at risk here. Including the life of the one I love, the mother of my children. Your pride can wait at the fucking door.’

Oberyn didn’t wait to see and hear everybody’s reactions to his statement, he was much too angry to give them any thought. They’d wasted a month already; four weeks that he could’ve used to get on the first ship to King’s Landing and rescue Y/N by his damned self. Even if it put his own life in extreme danger.

His beloved was trapped in that hell of a city, like his sister was. Was Cersei mistreating her? Was she being starved, or beaten, or worse? Oberyn shivered at the terrifying thoughts. No, Oberyn had to keep his promise to himself, to Y/N and to their children, that he was going to bring her home.

‘Dany!’ Jon ran after Daenerys after the meeting had failed dramatically. ‘Dany, please. Talk to me!’

‘What is there to talk about?’ Daenerys turned abruptly, the train of her gown swishing around her legs. Her eyes were brimming with angry tears that she tried to blink away. She couldn’t cry in front of him, it felt undignified. ‘They are right, you are the rightful heir.’

‘I told you many times already that I do not care for the Throne’ Jon walked up to her. 

He wished he could take her in his arms and hold her. He wanted her to believe him, he did not wish for what was indeed rightfully his by birthright. He had not desire for it. 

‘I am the bastard son of a lord. I’ve lived my life with this as my true fate. Not the Iron Throne, certainly no being king of the Seven bloody Kingdoms.’

‘What you feel and what the truth is are two completely different things.’ Daenerys turned her face away, not feeling brave enough to be looking into those deep, brown eyes that resembled a wounded puppy’s. ‘You cannot argue with facts. Everyone in the Kingdoms will use them against me.’

‘They will not,’ Jon cupped her cheek and turned her face towards his. ‘They have already seen that you are a reliable ruler. You are a liberator, for gods’ sake! Can any other King or Queen boasts with such accomplishment?’

Dany shook her head, pulling away form Jon’s warm touch. ‘It will not matter. You’re a male heir. The Great Houses will choose you over me.’

Jon pondered over her words. ‘I give it up then.’

‘Jon, it’s not as simple to—’ 

‘It is simple. I give up any claim to the throne. And if anyone protests, I will relinquish my claim publicly,’ he promised. ‘I wasn’t raised for this. Yes, my mother and father… they were who they were, but it changes not who I am. I am Jon Snow, former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, King in the North.’ He took her face in his hands again and this time Daenerys let him. ‘I am loyal to you. Not only because I love you, but because I believe in you. You are the right person to take the Throne.’

Dany’s eyes search for anything that would suggest that Jon was being untruthful, but she knew very well that dishonesty was not in Jon’s nature.

‘Do you not crave power?’ She asked warily. ‘To be King of the Seven Kingdoms? Protector of the Realm? All that?’

Jon chuckled under his breath, ‘I can barely handle being King in the North. No, I’ve always strived for peace in our land. No wars, or famines. Westeros as we dreamt of it as children. I can do this without being Rhaegar Targaryen’s son.’ His thumb stroked over Daenerys’s cheek, gathering the tiny tears that began to fall from her eyes. ‘I have bent the knee to you and no one else. And if you still want me at your side after we’ve vanquished all our enemies… I will swear before the Old Gods and the New that I am yours and you are mine. From this day, until the end of my days.’

Dany sobbed and threw her arms around Jon’s shoulders. He wrapped his around the small of her back, pulling her towards his chest, like he’d wanted to do since they arrived to Sunspear. The scent of oranges tickled his nose and he buried his face in the crook of Dany’s shoulder, relishing the perfumed oil she wore.

‘We need to stop caring for what our parents did or said. Their decisions were their own, but they do not define us.’ Jon said once the two parted. ‘Now, we need to decide if we attack, because I worry that we’ve upset our hosts more than enough.’

Dany hummed in agreement. ‘I really do want to help Prince Oberyn get his wife back. I grew to like and respect her in the little time I knew her. And we cannot let her suffer at the hands of a monster like Cersei Lannister.’

‘Alright,’ Jon nodded. ‘The sooner we take the Capital, the better. The Night King is still beyond the Wall, but we cannot be sure if the Wall will keep him out of our lands. We need to stabilise the Kingdoms in order to defend them.’

‘You will hear no argument from me,’ Dany said. ‘I must find Prince Oberyn and apologise. There can’t be bad blood between allies and I gave him my word that I would help in rescuing his wife and niece.’

‘I will come with you.’ Just as Jon said that, a young maid rushed towards them, cursing quickly and apologising for the interruption. ‘Is anything the matter.’

‘A letter has arrived, from the Capital. From the Princess,’ the maid clarified. ‘You are expected in the library.

The letter had arrived via raven, perhaps the last remaining raven in King’s Landing. The bird looked severely malnourished so Arianne had Jenne take it to the palace ravener to be given the care it sure.

Oberyn held the scroll in trembling fingers as he read it aloud in a tense voice. 

Dear husband,

I am happy and well in the Capital. Her Grace, Queen Cersei has been most kind to me. Despite my unexpected arrival, I have been welcomed. However, the Queen is most unhappy that our family is harbouring a dangerous individual such as the impostor queen Daenerys Stormborn. I share her sentiment. I beg of you that you rethink this alliance as it is hurting peace in the Kingdoms. Surrender the impostor queen, bend the knee to Her Grace, Queen Cersei and she will forgive our house the mistake. 

Please, take care of my plants and be aware that the gladiolus is scarce, it will not survive a hail. 

I love you and miss you dearly, my viper.

Your faithful wife

Oberyn held back not to crumple the piece of paper in his hands as it was the first contact he’d received from his beloved in weeks. He noted a spot on the paper where the swirl of the “o” in love was smudged by a droplet of water falling on the wet ink. She’d been crying when writing that she missed him. Oberyn’s heart felt like a ball of lead that laid heavy in his chest.

‘—she’s been obviously forced to write that.’ Sansa’s voice came through and Oberyn realised that he’d been clutching the piece of paper for a few moments longer than he should’ve. Nobody protested; Arianne came up to him to place a reassuring hand on his arm and gently pry the scroll from his hands.

‘What would’ve that costed her?’ She asked Lady Stark.

‘It would’ve costed her more not to follow instructions,’ Sansa sombrely explained. ‘This was her better option. Cersei uses this as a form of punishment. Your compliance gets you out for a little while. She was most likely threatened with beatings or starvation for this piece of paper.’

Oberyn’s breath hitched in his throat and anger filled his bloodstream. The thought of anyone laying hands on his dove… 

Sansa turned to him and spoke with a much tender voice. ‘Don’t worry. Cersei may be evil, but she must understand that your wife is a bargaining chip. These words are hers and not her Princess’s.’

‘Is there no mention of Myrcella at all?’ Arianne looked through the letter again. ‘Trystane will be sorely disappointed. He hasn’t been able to sleep, the maester has had to give him milk of the poppy to relax him. I fear he might take a ship and invade King’s Landing by himself.’

‘I would do the same,’ Oberyn murmured. He went over the words in the letter in his head over, and over, and over again. He knew the letter was a fabrication, words that have been forced out of Y/N’s hand and do not reflect reality.

‘These words at the end are hers, though.’ Sansa was handed the letter and she ran her finger across the final three lines. ‘The bit about the plants is most peculiar. Is she a gardener?’

The plants. What was the plant she referred to in her letter? Gladiolus? 

Oberyn stared at the piece of paper in astonishment. He took it out of Sansa’s grasp and read through the line about the plants again and again. Until it clicked.

Oh, my dove. My genius dove.

‘It’s a code,’ he sighed. ‘She’d brilliant. It would’ve escaped my notice, but I remembered she does not grow gladiolus. The soil was not right for it.’ 

‘How do you know?’ Ser Davos asked from the chair next to his lord.

Oberyn grinned, ‘I know every single plant my wife has planted, here and in the Water Gardens. I’ve helped her plant some of them. She doesn’t grow this particular one.’

‘Alright, but what does this gladiolus plant mean?’ Jon Snow questioned. 

Oberyn looked around the library. There was a book somewhere that Y/N had brought with her from Silverwood castle when they were betrothed. A book on the symbolisms of plants. She used it to give the bouquets she gave to people whom she loved a deeper meaning. Rosemary was remembrance, she gave it to Jenne when her father passed away. Geranium was happiness and friendship, she’d given a spray of it to her midwife, Miriam after the birth of Ellarion. But what would gladiolus mean?

Oberyn found the book on a nearby shelf, safely tucked away with other tomes on gardening and plant life. He turned the pages, looking for the plants with letter G. ‘There it is,’ he said once he found the page with the plant’s description and symbolics. ‘Gladiolus symbolises strength of character and is given to gladiators in the fighting arenas in Essos after a victory, so it is also a plant that represents… warriors and soldiers.’

Arianne gasped almost inaudibly, ‘The gladiolus is scarce, it will not survive another hail.’ She repeated the line. ‘Cersei’s soldiers are few.’

‘Yes, but how many?’ Lord Tyrion noted, ‘We still need numbers.’

‘The hail is an attack on plant life. If she’s written that the gladiolus will not survive a hail, it means that Cersei’s forces are so diminished after everything that they will not win a swift attack.’ Oberyn stepped towards Daenerys and stared her down. ‘I don’t know what your intentions are right now. I’ve made my word to you and have accepted your claim to the throne... no one else’s. But if you don’t help me get to King’s Landing and rescue my wife, I will march my forces without you and do it myself.’

Daenerys nodded. She glanced at Jon and he point of view was clocked by Oberyn who felt that the two of them had resolved their differences. The way they looked at each other was changed, it resembled how Oberyn assumed was he and Y/N looked when they shared a glance. 

‘No more delays. We leave for Dragonstone and King’s Landing as soon as your army is ready. We leave for war.’

Next chapter

1. What are your thoughts on the moodboard/artwork for this story. Any interpretations? Predictions? Fears?;

2. We all know that Oberyn would be the type of husband that would take great care in learning every single hobby and interest of his partner’s. Our Dove/Viperess is a gardener so OF COURSE he’ll file down every bit of detail about plants that she’s every fucking said;

3. It’s hard to be a genius; I am actively rewriting the last three seasons of Game of Thrones. David and Dan wish they were me. 

COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED! <3

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