#brienne caught him before he could fall | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

asimperingswannsong · 1 year

Text

A Spouse for a Ser?

Ser Brienne of Tarth/Lady Lyla Mooten (OFC)

Summary/Notes/Warnings: @holymymolly and Part 5. I tried to make up to sweet innocent Brienne for kicking her around a bit in the last one and, wow, did it turn sappy quick. Fluff, a dab of smut, some canon typical violence, and hurt/this time with comfort.

—————-

Brienne lay bleeding face down in the mud as she tried to untie the knots of the ropes binding her feet together while she watched the remaining thieves from the corner of her least swollen eye. She moved slowly to avoid their notice.

She needn't have bothered to be careful as her captors were fully engrossed in drinking, bragging, and planning. They'd hatched a half-assed plan to ransom Brienne's return for a large sum but were trying to iron out how they could take the money while still killing her.

They'd settled on hiring an assassin to shoot her from afar after the exchange. They figured for a fourth of the ransom they could easily find someone to make the shot. Satisfied with their master plan they eventually fell into a drunken slumber around the fire.

Newly freed from her bonds, Brienne seized the opportunity, rising and grabbing a large rock, as she slowly made her way down the hill toward the men.

The ogre who'd beaten her earlier was sleeping with one hand on Oathkeeper. She approached him quietly, but just as she reached out and touched her blade, he opened his eyes and lunged with a knife. He stabbed her in the thigh, and she screamed in pain alerting the other two vandals.

Their comrade stood with Brienne's sword and attempted to run her through. She dodged the near fatal thrust and swung the rock landing a hard blow on his temple. He dropped the sword, and she bludgeoned him a second time in the back of his head with the rock. He fell to the ground lifeless.

She looked up to see his friends closing in. She grabbed her sword and waited. The one on the right made the first move, swiping crosswise at her torso. She was able to lunge back just enough to avoid contact before reaching out, grabbing him by the shoulder, and pulling him in. She caught his foot with hers and he face planted hitting a boulder and falling unconscious. She made short work of the third, disarming him easily and threatening him at sword point until he relented.

She felt her strength draining from her as she hoisted the bound and gagged pair of idiots onto one of their horses to begin the return to King's Landing. Brienne felt the effects of her injuries more and more as they journeyed back. She'd attempted to bandage her leg wound as well as possible, but the day's riding caused it to reopen again and again causing her to have to stop several times to try and staunch the bleeding.

She had very little provisions, no bedding, and she was unable to snare any game the first night they stopped. She lay uncovered on the cold ground and felt shooting pains in her ribs and her injured leg. "You're gonna doom us all to death if you keep trying to take us back you stupid bitch. That leg's already infected. Even if you survive, you'll lose it."

One of her prisoners had worked his gag free and was taunting her from the tree she'd tied them to for the evening. "Shut up and sleep!" she shouted at him, but he continued to sneer and bitch at her. Finally, she'd had enough, and she used a nearby boulder to push herself up to avoid placing weight on her leg.

She hobbled over and unceremoniously smacked him across the face with the back of her hand knocking him unconscious. She glared at his companion who had not managed to remove his gag. He shook his head, so she turned and made her way back to the spot of ground she'd chosen for a bed.

The next morning, she struggled getting them onto the horse, dropping the loudmouth in the dirt accidentally. As they finally set off with him haranguing her loudly, Brienne felt dehydrated, and her head was pounding as the sun grew hotter overhead. She became dizzy and worried that fever had set in.

She swayed side to side in the saddle and her vision blurred. "We're gonna die out here in the sun when you drop!" "So be it!" she snapped at him. Eventually, they did arrive at King's Landing though, and Brienne felt almost delirious as she rode through town and straight into the throne room with the murderers in tow.

She dismounted and tried to give her report to King Bran, but she collapsed as she tried to approach. Her guardsmen went to fetch the maester. Lyla entered from a side door and ran to Brienne, dropping to her knees and gathering her wife's head into her lap.

"Help her please," she pleaded. "The maester is on his way my lady." Lyla carded her fingers through Brienne's hair and placed a kiss on her forehead. Brienne opened her eyes and smiled up at her. "Hello, beautiful," she croaked out. "Hi," she said smiling as tears dropped from her face dotting Brienne's cheeks. She bent further down and placed a kiss on her dehydrated, cracked, and split lips as Brienne drifted back into unconsciousness.

Lyla followed along behind as Brienne was taken for treatment. She watched anxiously as poultices were applied to her wounds and her broken bones were wrapped. The maester informed her the leg wound was infected and they propped her up forcing her to drink an herbal tea meant to break her fever.

After much pleading, Lyla managed to have Brienne moved to their rooms. She sat beside her on their bed and bathed her as well as she could using a basin and cloth. She hummed and sang soothingly to her as she cleaned the sweat and grime from her hair and body. She dropped the straps of her dress and let the top fall into her lap, gathering Brienne to her and pressing her close against her breast.

She hoped the sounds and smells of her and of their home would comfort Brienne as she struggled with the fever. The wounds on her face were painfully swollen, with one eye barely visible. Each morning, she had her handmaiden retrieve new bandages, poultices, and tea for Lyla to administer. She continued washing her and singing to her.

She made a broth and attempted to feed her. Eventually, she noticed the swelling around her wounds begin to subside. As she slept next to her one night, she woke to the sound of Brienne moaning in her sleep. She lit the lantern next to their bed and saw that she lay drenched in sweat. The bedding around her was soaked.

Lyla got up and retrieved the wash basin and cloth. She returned, sat Brienne up, removed her shirt and washed her off, before pulling her to her side of the bed to keep her out of the damp. Her skin felt noticeably cooler to the touch and Lyla hoped it was a good sign. In the morning she would have their handmaiden help her remove Brienne from the bed so she could change their sheets.

She put a fresh shirt on her wife and lay down next to her draping her arm gently over a bruise free section of her torso. When Lyla awoke in the morning, she found herself looking into a pair of deep sapphire blue pools. She smiled at Brienne, "Hi." "Hi," Brienne returned in a sleep heavy raspy voice.

Lyla gently traced a path along Brienne's hairline and down around her injured eye with her fingertip. She continued down her bruised cheekbone to the split lip below. When Brienne didn't flinch from the contact, Lyla leaned forward and placed a kiss on her battered lips. "I've missed you so much," she said pulling back. Brienne followed after for a second kiss. "I've missed you too my beautiful lady. I love you."

Lyla kissed her again and then began working her way down peppering the least bruised places on Brienne's body with a multitude of kisses. Brienne hummed happily and placed a hand gently on the back of Lyla's head as she continued her ministrations. "I'm so happy to have you home again, to have you in our bed again. I've been so worried for you," she said with a brief pause between each word to drop a kiss to a new area.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, my lady." "It doesn't matter now, ser knight. You're here with me, and that's all I need." Lyla had been so busy being relieved by Brienne's recovery that she failed to anticipate how the next few days would play out with a bed ridden, still very much injured, but impatient and grumpy knight.

"Please. Just a little walk down to the water?" "Darling, I'm so happy you're doing better, but that leg of yours is still injured." "Nonsense. I'm fine. Please?" "Fine? No, ser knight, you are not fine." "But it's been weeks," Brienne huffed. "Weeks, it's only been a few days sweetheart."

They made their way down the hillside at a glacial pace with Lyla clinging protectively to one of Brienne's arms and checking in with her every few seconds. "Are you alright my love?" "Of course, I'm fine my lady." Lyla could tell from the way she'd flinch from time to time that Brienne was not being completely truthful, but she was far too head strong to admit defeat.

They made it to the water's edge eventually where they sat in the grass and watched the waves for a while. They stood after awhile and a fair amount of struggle, and Lyla thought Brienne would be ready to return home but instead she started down the coast. Lyla followed along worriedly.

They came to a rocky alcove and Brienne moved to go inside the mouth of a large cave opening. "Darling, I don't think that's a good idea." "Trust me sweetheart. Just a little while." They walked along a ledge with a dark seam running next to them. Lyla could hear running water beneath.

Lyla was beginning to think Brienne was having a delusional episode or something but then they came to a large opening in the cave with light pouring in from above. There was water running down from one side of the rocks forming a large pool of cerulean blue water.

It was a natural grotto. Brienne was attempting to tug her shirt off over her head. "Sweetheart, are you sure that's a good idea? Is the water good for your injuries?" "The leg wound is completely closed over, and the water here is fresh not salt water. It's fed from that spring over there and it's perfectly cool," Brienne said as Lyla helped her remove the shirt.

Lyla was shocked at first by the cold of the pool, but her body quickly adjusted as she reached out to help Brienne down into the water. They waded nude out into the deeper water submerging themselves up past to the tops of their arms. Brienne reached out and pulled her into her. Lyla resisted slightly worried that she'd grab the wrong spot and hurt her wife.

"I'm okay my love. Let me hold you." Lyla wrapped both arms around Brienne's neck and pressed her body close against her. Brienne smiled down at her and drew her into a kiss. It lingered and turned into two then three. They stood and enjoyed exploring each other.

Brienne leaned back and began to float in the water pulling Lyla off her feet as well. She pulled her back in and attacked her neck with open mouthed kisses causing Lyla to giggle and kiss Brienne's shoulder.

Brienne pulled her up her body and surprised her by drawing her breast into her mouth. Lyla started to press her hips down into Brienne's lap before she stopped herself remembering the leg wound. Brienne turned her in her arms and pulled her in with her back pressed to her torso. She whispered in her ear, "It's alright my lady."

She grasped Lyla's breast kneading it and pinching her nipple lightly as she kissed her neck and shoulders. She ran her other hand down Lyla's stomach to the top of her mound. Lyla reached back and grabbed Brienne by her uninjured hip pushing herself closer against her as she felt Brienne's fingers dip down parting her folds.

She moaned as her wife circled her clit gently and continued to massage her breast. "I've missed you," she whispered with her lips pressed to Lyla's ear as she drew her fingers down lower and pressed one inside her. Lyla rolled her hips and opened her legs wider as they floated pressed against each other.

Brienne curled her finger inside her core stroking gently against her inner walls. "More, please," she moaned. Brienne added a second finger and pressed deeper working faster inside her. She wrapped her other hand around Lyla’s belly as she bucked her hips rhythmically and dropped her head back resting on Brienne's shoulder.

She was breathing faster, and moaning lost in the sensation of being reunited with her wife. It felt incredible. "Please sweetheart," Lyla wasn't even sure what she wanted she just wanted more of Brienne. Brienne added a third finger and she moaned loudly at how good the stretch felt. "Are you close my love?" "Uh huh," she mewled. Brienne dropped her other hand down and began teasing her clit as she fucked her faster.

Lyla gripped tighter to Brienne's hip and stopped moaning as her mouth fell open and her breath caught in her throat. She pressed her breasts up and out of the water. Brienne admired how the cold water caused her nipples to tighten into hard buds. Lyla felt herself fall over the edge and she trembled in Brienne's grasp as she came before collapsing back down in the water against her.

Brienne kissed her gently as she withdrew her fingers from her core and cradled her against her allowing Lyla to come down from her peak. They floated languidly in each other's embrace.

The return trip to their rooms was far more arduous but part way up Lyla flagged down a merchant and managed to catch a ride on the back of his cart back up to the top of the hill. Brienne was exhausted when Lyla placed her back in bed, but she was far more open to taking orders from her when she insisted Brienne get some rest.

#my fic #gwendoline christie #original female character #fluff #brienne of tarth #game of thrones #got fic #wlw love #ser brienne

26 notes · View notes

greenhikingboots · 9 months

Text

More about the Mad Mouse

So a few weeks ago during excitement about the new outline reveal, I posted a few mini metas / speculation pieces. In one, I said — not for the first time — that I’m in favor of the Howland Reed = Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse theory. Now I’m finally back to share my favorite canon evidence. (Clarity! This isn’t a comprehensive list of evidence for the theory. It’s a post to focus on one piece I haven’t seen discussed before). I’ve already posted about it once or twice, but always buried in longer posts with tangentially related, more tinfoil-y theories, so I assume most people never read far enough to see this part. But you really, really, really need to see this part. To get to Ser Shadrich I first need to talk about Lyn Cobray. Recall that in AFFC there’s a moment where he threatens Littlefinger, but Littlefinger later tells Sansa not to worry, it was an act; Littlefinger is paying Lyn to fein hatred, join every conspiracy against him and report back.

Okay. So. In TWOW Alayne/Sansa chapter, she and Myranda talk with Lyn. Basically, the reader finds out that Lyn is pretending to be unhappy with Littlefinger because it’s his fault Lyn won’t be his brother's heir much longer. Littlefinger helped Lyn’s brother find a second, more fertile wife after his first wife died, and now a baby is on the way to push Lyn to a lower rank.

Got it? Okay, good. Because right after that part in TWOW chapter, there’s this absolutely insane line that needs to be dissected. *

“The venom in his voice was so thick that for a moment [Sansa] almost forgot that Lyn Corbray was actually her father’s catspaw, bought and paid for. Or was he? Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man pretending to be Petyr’s foe, he was actually his foe pretending to be his man pretending to be his foe.” *

Whaaaaat? What's Martin doing here? Why have Sansa think this line? What purpose does it serve? Sure, you can argue it’s just to make readers watch out for Lyn, to be suspicious of him and on the lookout for what he’ll do in upcoming chapters. I think that could be a large part of it. But I don’t think that’s *all* of it. Because guess what happens next?

“Just thinking about it was enough to make her head spin. [Sansa] turned abruptly from the yard… and bumped into a short, sharp-faced man with a brush of orange hair who had come up behind her. His hand shot out and caught her arm before she could fall.”

That’s right, team. Right after Sansa thinks the insane thing about Lyn being a friend or a foe, who should appear but Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse!?

Who is definitely Howland Reed. Because check this out: * “Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man (a hedge knight Petyr is paying for) pretending to be is foe (telling Brienne he’s working for Varys when they met in AFFC), he was actually his foe (a Stark loyalist trying to save Sansa) pretending to be his man (again, a hedge knight) pretending to be his foe (again, lying to Brienne).” *

I mean, honestly that’s enough to convince me. But also the alternative just doesn’t carry a lot of weight in my opinion.

If Ser Shadrich really is working for Varys but Sansa is going to make it to the North despite his attempt to intervene, then how much is he serving the story? Just one more enemy for her to overcome among so many? Plausible enough, I guess, but boring.

Whereas the Howland Reed theory? If it’s true, it could support elements of the Grand Northern Conspiracy — and if we’ve got Stark supporters tracking down Rickon, so why not Stark supporters tracking down Sansa — as well as support elements of R+L=J and Jonsa (or complicate the reveal as speculated in my earlier link).

I get that there are so many secret identity theories that they get tiring and tempting to dismiss. But GRRM certainly isn’t shying away from using them to explore themes and advance plots. So before you shoot down the idea, I hope you’ll at least consider an avenue where this theory could be true and done well.

And if it turns out to be true, I hope you’ll all say, “Hey, Green called one right!” ;)

Thank you and goodnight. (other posts inspired by the latest outline reveal: 1 and 2)

#twow speculation #howland reed #asoiaf theories #ser shadrich the mad mouse #finally wrote it

14 notes · View notes

melrosing · 10 months

Note

What were your thoughts on jaime when you first started the series? I know for a lot of people, me included, he comes off as a major asshole in agot. And then that all changes in asos. I watched the show first and I still didn’t like the book version of him until his cat chapters in acok and then his in asos.

Well I was a show watcher first (I caught up just before S4 started airing) and in the show I can’t lie he didn’t make a huge impression for me lol. I think he just lacked much gravity onscreen, and D&D low-key spoiled the whole Kingslayer reveal by having Jaime reveal to Robert halfway through S1 that Aerys died crying ‘burn them all’. So by that point you already know what Jaime’s big secret is and that he’ll basically tell anyone who’ll listen lmao, and then there’s the random cousin killing and blah blah blah idk he didn’t seem that grey, just a villain who’d at one point done the only reasonable thing left to do (murder Aerys). By the time I got to the Jaime & Brienne roadtrip I was intrigued, like ok did I miss something is there more to this guy?? but then season 4 wheels around and all momentum is quickly lost in Jaime’s arc.

Then when S4 was over I read the books…. and I remember enjoying all the extra detail but if I’m honest I was studying for my English lit degree at the time and I was constantly having to switch to the dozens of course texts and in the end I think it took me my full three years to read asoiaf lmao and I was so distracted by student life that most of it went over my head lol and I was barely engaging w any kind of fandom at the time so. I just forgot about em

Then. Jaime finally leaves KL in the show and something awakened in me like ‘wait hang on is this arc finally moving again?’ I’d seen around S3 that his story COULD go somewhere interesting but ultimately I’d zoned out because for years the show had sapped all the promise from it. But stupidly I was now thinking hang on they’re finally gonna do something w this character, the promising arc they cut off years ago was moving again!! And suddenly I was excited about Jaime Lannister!!!

Aaaaand then show Jaime falls flat on his fucking face and I thought okay where the fuck did I get the feeling this story was going somewhere bc in hindsight the show has failed him at every turn. Then I reread the books and realised OH I remember THIS is Jaime. and now here I am I guess but basically yeah no I don’t recall any particular first impressions just a… series of impressions

#ask

12 notes · View notes

istumpysk · 2 years

Text

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

A FEAST FOR CROWS

Summary & Foreshadowing Smorgasbord (Part III)

The epic conclusion of the blockbuster trilogy.

AFFC PART III: UNDER THE CUT

Chapter Transitions

JONSA 🐺❤️❄️

AFFC Part I: CLICK

Sansa Stark, Queen in the North

Jon Snow, King in the North

Jon (Aemon?) Snow

Ahoy Matey! Arya Stark Sails the Ocean Blue

Bran the Broken, King of Westeros

High Septon Rickon?

Pick Your Poison: The Twins Meet Their End in the Bowels of Casterly Rock . . . or King's Landing

Younger and More Beautiful Cersei

AFFC PART II: CLICK

Dark Daenerys Highlights & Laughs

Let's Dance: Stark vs. Targ

A Rat in a Maze 🐀🔪

The Usurper's Knife

Storm x Storm 🦑🖤🐉

Squid Game

Previous books:

AGOT Summary & Foreshadowing: CLICK

ACOK Summary & Foreshadowing: PART I / PART II

ASOS Summary & Foreshadowing: PART I / PART II / PART III / PART IV

Stumpy note:

If I didn't give you credit for discovering something or if I missed any foreshadowing, please contact me and I'll rectify that.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the reread project. All of you have great observations and comments, I wish I could highlight them all. 🙂

CHAPTER TRANSITIONS

Damn that man for breaking up this book, and ruining the chapter transition foreshadowing.

Prologue -> <- The Prophet

The storm is coming.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

"No," said Alleras. "It was Prince Rhaegar's young son Aegon whose head was dashed against the wall by the Lion of Lannister's brave men. We speak of Rhaegar's sister, born on Dragonstone before its fall. The one they called Daenerys."

"The Stormborn. I recall her now." - Prologue, AFFC

A storm was brewing, he could hear it in the waves, and storms brought naught but evil.

[...]

He was born a lord's son and died a king, murdered by a jealous god, Aeron thought, and now the storm is coming, a storm such as these isles have never known.

[...]

Aeron tugged his beard, and thought. I have seen the storm, and its name is Euron Crow's Eye. - The Prophet, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne I -> <- Samwell I

Two protagonists want to live up to their swords.

"A sword is only as good as the man who wields it."

[...]

When she slid Oathkeeper from the ornate scabbard, Brienne's breath caught in her throat. Black and red the ripples ran, deep within the steel. Valyrian steel, spell-forged. It was a sword fit for a hero. When she was small, her nurse had filled her ears with tales of valor, regaling her with the noble exploits of Ser Galladon of Morne, Florian the Fool, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, and other champions. Each man bore a famous sword, and surely Oathkeeper belonged in their company, even if she herself did not. - Brienne I, AFFC

Once, when Jon came to consult with Maester Aemon, Sam had asked him why he spent so much time at swordplay. "The Old Bear never trained much when he was Lord Commander," he had pointed out. In answer, Jon had pressed Longclaw into Sam's hand. He let him feel the lightness, the balance, had him turn the blade so that ripples gleamed in the smoke-dark metal. "Valyrian steel," he said, "spell-forged and razor-sharp, nigh on indestructible. A swordsman should be as good as his sword, Sam. Longclaw is Valyrian steel, but I'm not. The Halfhand could have killed me as easy as you swat a bug." - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne I -> <- Samwell I

Encounters with mice.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

"Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen. Some call me the Mad Mouse." He turned his shield to show her his sigil, a large white mouse with fierce red eyes, on bendy brown and blue. - Brienne I, AFFC

Sam was reading about the Others when he saw the mouse. - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Samwell I -> <- Arya I

Three characters are on a collision course.

Dareon will join you at Eastwatch. My hope is that his songs will win some men for us in the south. The Blackbird will deliver you to Braavos. From there you'll arrange your own passage to Oldtown. - Samwell I, AFFC

Braavos might not be so bad. Syrio was from Braavos, and Jaqen might be there as well. - Arya I, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei II -> <- Jaime I

Play-by-play on the state of Tywin Lannister's rotting corpse.

+.+.+

Jaime I -> <- Brienne II

Royal blood in back-to-back chapters.

"I see you wonder, what sort of name is that?" the man had cackled when Jaime went to question him. "It is an old name, 'tis true. I am not one to boast, but there is royal blood in my veins. I am descended from a princess. My father told me the tale when I was a tad of a lad." Longwaters had not been a tad of a lad for many a year, to judge from his spotted head and the white hairs growing from his chin. - Jaime I, AFFC

"Well, there's Darkes, I'm one myself. My husband says I was Darke before we wed, and darker afterward." She laughed. "Can't throw a stone in Duskendale without you hit some Darke or Darkwood or Dargood, but the lordly Darklyns are all gone. Lord Denys was the last o' them, the sweet young fool. Did you know the Darklyns were kings in Duskendale before the Andals come? You'd never know t'look at me, but I got me royal blood. Can you see it? 'Your Grace, another cup of ale,' I ought to make them say. 'Your Grace, the chamber pot needs emptying, and fetch in some fresh faggots, Your Bloody Grace, the fire's going out.'" She laughed again and shook the last drops from the pail. - Brienne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime I -> <- Brienne II

Crows are feasting.

On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king? There were crows circling the seven towers and great dome of Baelor's Sept even now, Jaime suspected, their black wings beating against the night air as they searched for a way inside. Every crow in the Seven Kingdoms should pay homage to you, Father. From Castamere to the Blackwater, you fed them well. - Jaime I, AFFC

The looters come with the carrion crows after every battle.

[...]

Lord Tarly's own striding huntsman appeared on many a badge and brooch and doublet. Friend or foe, the crows care not. - Brienne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne II -> <- Sansa I

Blood calls to blood. Somebody is noticeably missing the second time we get the rundown.

Or would she seek her own blood instead? Though all of her siblings had been slain, Brienne knew that Sansa still had an uncle and a bastard half brother on the Wall, serving in the Night's Watch. Another uncle, Edmure Tully, was a captive at the Twins, but his uncle Ser Brynden still held Riverrun. And Lady Catelyn's younger sister ruled the Vale. Blood calls to blood. Sansa might well have run to one of them. Which one, though? - Brienne II, AFFC

She would have fled them both, perhaps, but there was nowhere for her to go. Winterfell was burned and desolate, Bran and Rickon dead and cold. Robb had been betrayed and murdered at the Twins, along with their lady mother. Tyrion had been put to death for killing Joffrey, and if she ever returned to King's Landing the queen would have her head as well. The aunt she'd hoped would keep her safe had tried to murder her instead. Her uncle Edmure was a captive of the Freys, while her great-uncle the Blackfish was under siege at Riverrun. I have no place but here, Sansa thought miserably, and no true friend but Petyr. - Sansa I, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne II -> <- Sansa I

Sansa's hoarding gods.

But when Brienne asked about Sansa, she said, "I'll tell you what I told Lord Tywin. That girl was always praying. She'd go to sept and light her candles like a proper lady, but near every night she went off to the godswood. She's gone back north, she has. That's where her gods are." - Brienne II, AFFC

They hadn't, though, not for a year or more. Sansa had prayed to the Seven in their sept and old gods of the heart tree, asking them to bring the old man back, or better still to send another singer, young and handsome. But the gods never answered, and the halls of Winterfell stayed silent. - Sansa I, AFFC

+.+.+

Sansa I <- The Kraken's Daughter

Asha's hilarious reunion with a fostered ghost from her past.

"Asha?" A shadow stepped out from behind the well.

Her hand went to her dirk at once . . . until the moonlight transformed the dark shape into a man in a sealskin cloak. Another ghost. "Tris. I'd thought to find you in the hall."

"I wanted to see you."

"What part of me, I wonder?" She grinned. "Well, here I stand, all grown up. Look all you like."

"A woman." He moved closer. "And beautiful."

Tristifer Botley had filled out since last she'd seen him, but he had the same unruly hair that she remembered, and eyes as large and trusting as a seal's. Sweet eyes, truly. That was the trouble with poor Tristifer; he was too sweet for the Iron Islands. His face has grown comely, she thought.

[...]

"If you like. It's nought to me. You look so lovely in the moonlight, Asha. A woman grown now, but I remember when you were a skinny girl with a face all full of pimples."

Why must they always mention the pimples? "I remember that as well." Though not as fondly as you do. Of the five boys her mother had brought to Pyke to foster after Ned Stark had taken her last living son as hostage, Tris had been closest to Asha in age. He had not been the first boy she had ever kissed, but he was the first to undo the laces of her jerkin and slip a sweaty hand beneath to feel her budding breasts.

I would have let him feel more than that if he'd been bold enough. Her first flowering had come upon her during the war and wakened her desire, but even before that Asha had been curious. He was there, he was mine own age, and he was willing, that was all it was . . . that, and the moon blood. Even so, she'd called it love, till Tris began to go on about the children she would bear him; a dozen sons at least, and oh, some daughters too. - The Kraken's Daughter, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne III <- Samwell II

Someone gets an escort to Eastwatch with one of Brienne's ancestors.

He sent me north aboard the Golden Dragon, and insisted that his friend Ser Duncan see me safe to Eastwatch. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne III -> <- Samwell II

Where's little Dickon Tarly? Not at Horn Hill.

"Mooton's daughter, she's a maid," the man went on. "Till the bedding, anyways. These eggs, they're for her wedding. Her and Tarly's son. The cooks will need eggs for cakes."

"They will." Lord Tarly's son. Young Dickon's to be wed. She tried to recall how old he was; eight or ten, she thought. - Brienne III, AFFC

"I am a man now, Mother," I could tell her, "a steward, and a man of the Night's Watch. My brothers call me Sam the Slayer sometimes." He would see his brother Dickon too, and his sisters. "See," I could tell them, "see, I was good for something after all." - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne III -> <- Samwell II

Two sides of Hyle Hunt.

They had a wager.

Three of the younger knights had started it, he told her: Ambrose, Bushy, and Hyle Hunt, of his own household. As word spread through the camp, however, others had joined the game. Each man was required to buy into the contest with a golden dragon, the whole sum to go to whoever claimed her maidenhead. - Brienne III, AFFC

Looking at the water only made him think of drowning. When he was small his lord father had tried to teach him how to swim by throwing him into the pond beneath Horn Hill. The water had gotten in his nose and in his mouth and in his lungs, and he coughed and wheezed for hours after Ser Hyle pulled him out. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime II -> Cersei IV

Kingsguard having affairs with their queen.

"Who?" Ser Loras craned his head around to see. "Ten black pellets on a scarlet field. I do not know those arms."

"They belonged to Criston Cole, who served the first Viserys and the second Aegon." Jaime closed the White Book. "They called him Kingmaker." - Jaime II, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei IV -> <- The Iron Captain -> <- The Drowned Man

Who is smart enough to give Asha some land for her help?

"Could we make use of the ironmen?" asked Orton Merryweather. "The enemy of our enemy? What would the Seastone Chair want of us as the price of an alliance?"

"They want the north," Grand Maester Pycelle said, "which our queen's noble father promised to House Bolton."

"How inconvenient," said Merryweather. "Still, the north is large. The lands could be divided. It need not be a permanent arrangement. Bolton might consent, so long as we assure him that our strength will be his once Stannis is destroyed." - Cersei IV, AFFC

"To end this war before this war ends us. We have won all that we are like to win . . . and stand to lose all just as quick, unless we make a peace. I have shown Lady Glover every courtesy, and she swears her lord will treat with me. If we hand back Deepwood Motte, Torrhen's Square, and Moat Cailin, she says, the northmen will cede us Sea Dragon Point and all the Stony Shore. Those lands are thinly peopled, yet ten times larger than all the isles put together. An exchange of hostages will seal the pact, and each side will agree to make common cause with the other should the Iron Throne—" - The Iron Captain, AFFC

"Peace," said Asha. "Land. Victory. I'll give you Sea Dragon Point and the Stony Shore, black earth and tall trees and stones enough for every younger son to build a hall. We'll have the northmen too . . . as friends, to stand with us against the Iron Throne. Your choice is simple. Crown me, for peace and victory. Or crown my nuncle, for more war and more defeat." She sheathed her dirk again. "What will you have, ironmen?" - The Drowned Man, AFFC

+.+.+

The Iron Captain -> <- The Drowned Man

Fun times at the kingsmoot.

+.+.+

Arya II -> <- Alayne I

Two sisters have new names.

She bit her lip. "Could I be Cat?"

"Cat." He considered. "Yes. Braavos is full of cats. One more will not be noticed. You are Cat, an orphan of . . ." - Arya II, AFFC

As the rising sun came streaming through the windows, Alayne sat up in bed and stretched. - Alayne I, AFFC

+.+.+

Alayne I -> <- Cersei V

Time to pluck the roses.

"How old are you, child?" asked Lady Waynwood.

"Four-fourteen, my lady." For a moment she forgot how old Alayne should be. "And I am no child, but a maiden flowered."

"But not deflowered, one can hope." Young Lord Hunter's bushy mustache hid his mouth entirely.

"Yet," said Lyn Corbray, as if she were not there. "But ripe for plucking soon, I'd say." - Alayne I, AFFC

"Only?" The queen let a hint of anger edge her words. "I must confess, I am running short of patience with dear Osney. It is past time he broke in that little filly. I named him Tommen's sworn shield so he could spend part of every day in Margaery's company. He should have plucked the rose by now. Is the little queen blind to his charms?" - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Samwell IV -> <- Cersei IV

Summer Islanders and the Faith have very different views on sex.

"You do not understand. Last night we . . ."

". . . honored your dead, and the gods who made you both. Xhondo did the same. I had the child, else I would have been with him. All you Westerosi make a shame of loving. There is no shame in loving. If your septons say there is, your seven gods must be demons. In the isles we know better. Our gods gave us legs to run with, noses to smell with, hands to touch and feel. What mad cruel god would give a man eyes and tell him he must forever keep them shut, and never look at all the beauty in the world? Only a monster god, a demon of the darkness." Kojja put her hand between Sam's legs. "The gods gave you this for a reason too, for . . . what is your Westerosi word?"

"Fucking," Xhondo offered helpfully. - Samwell IV, AFFC

Septon Raynard assumed a regretful tone. "His High Holiness sent me in his stead, and bade me tell Your Grace that the Seven have sent him forth to battle wickedness."

"How? By preaching chastity along the Street of Silk? Does he think praying over whores will turn them back to virgins?"

"Our bodies were shaped by our Father and Mother so we might join male to female and beget trueborn children," Raynard replied. "It is base and sinful for women to sell their holy parts for coin." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne VII -> <- Jaime VI

Talk of diverting the Trident.

The innkeep never hung another sign, so men forgot the dragon and took to calling the place the River Inn. In those days, the Trident flowed beneath its back door, and half its rooms were built out over the water. Guests could throw a line out their window and catch trout, it's said. There was a ferry landing here as well, so travelers could cross to Lord Harroway's Town and Whitewalls."

"We left the Trident south of here, and have been riding north and west . . . not toward the river but away from it."

"Aye, my lady," the septon said. "The river moved. Seventy years ago, it was. Or was it eighty? - Brenne VII, AFFC

When the castle falls, all those inside will be put to the sword. Your herds will be butchered, your godswood will be felled, your keeps and towers will burn. I'll pull your walls down, and divert the Tumblestone over the ruins. - Jaime VI, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime VI -> <- Cersei IX

Cersei's titles.

On her head a circlet of hammered bronze sat askew, graven with runes and ringed with small black swords. When she saw Jaime, she laughed. "Who in seven hells is this one?"

"The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard," Jaime returned with cold courtesy. "I might ask the same of you, my lady."

"Lady? I'm no lady. I'm the queen."

"My sister will be surprised to hear that."

"Lord Ryman crowned me his very self." She gave a shake of her ample hips. "I'm the queen o' whores."

No, Jaime thought, my sweet sister holds that title too. - Jaime VI, AFFC

"We waited long enough." He thrust his fingers inside the bodice of her gown and yanked, and the silk parted with a ripping sound so loud that Cersei was afraid that half of the Red Keep must have heard it. "Take off the rest before I tear that too," he said. "You can keep the crown on. I like you in the crown." - Cersei IX, AFFC

+.+.+

Alayne II -> <- Brienne VIII

Brienne won't show her fear.

And yet the thought of leaving frightened her almost as much as it frightened Robert. She only hid it better. Her father said there was no shame in being afraid, only in showing your fear. "All men live with fear," he said. Alayne was not certain she believed that. Nothing frightened Petyr Baelish. - Alayne II, AFFC

I will not be afraid, she told herself, but it was too late for that. I will not let them see my fear, she promised herself instead. - Brienne VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei X -> <- Jaime VII

Cersei's ripping up her clothes.

I will teach them what it means to put a lion in a cage, Cersei thought. She tore the shift into a hundred pieces, found a ewer of water and smashed it against the wall, then did the same with the chamber pot. - Cersei X, AFFC

Jeyne never saw him at all. The widow rode with downcast eyes, huddled beneath a hooded cloak. Underneath its heavy folds, her clothes were finely made, but torn. She ripped them herself, as a mark of mourning, Jaime realized. That could not have pleased her mother. He found himself wondering if Cersei would tear her gown if she should ever hear that he was dead. - Jaime VII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei X -> <- Jaime VII

Right before walking into a disaster (a book delays Jaime), the twins are cold as ice.

Cersei could feel the eyes of the Seven staring at her, eyes of jade and malachite and onyx, and a sudden shiver of fear went through her, cold as ice. I am the queen, she told herself. Lord Tywin's daughter. Reluctantly, she followed. - Cersei X, AFFC

He woke in darkness, shivering. The room had grown cold as ice. Jaime flung aside the covers with the stump of his sword hand. The fire in the hearth had died, he saw, and the window had blown open. He crossed the pitch-dark chamber to fumble with the shutters, but when he reached the window his bare foot came down in something wet. Jaime recoiled, startled for a moment. His first thought was of blood, but blood would not have been so cold.

It was snow, drifting through the window. - Jaime VII, AFFC

+.+.+

Prologue -> <- Samwell V

AGOT

Prologue: ice threat introduction.

Final chapter: fire threat introduction.

ACOK

Prologue: cold-hearted King Stannis with his dying maester.

Final chapter: kindhearted King Bran with his dying maester.

ASOS

Prologue: Cursed snowflakes, and Jon Snow.

Sansa VII: Drifting snowflakes, and Jon Snow.

AFFC

Prologue: Pig boy Pate.

Samwell V: Pig boy Pate, back from the dead.

The alchemist pulled his hood down.

He was just a man, and his face was just a face. A young man's face, ordinary, with full cheeks and the shadow of a beard. A scar showed faintly on his right cheek. He had a hooked nose, and a mat of dense black hair that curled tightly around his ears. It was not a face Pate recognized. "I do not know you."

"Nor I you."

"Who are you?"

"A stranger. No one. Truly."

[...]

The cobblestones rushed up to kiss him. Pate tried to cry for help, but his voice was failing too.

His last thought was of Rosey. - Prologue, AFFC

"My thanks." There was something about the pale, soft youth that he misliked, but he did not want to seem discourteous, so he added, "My name's not Slayer, truly. I'm Sam. Samwell Tarly."

"I'm Pate," the other said, "like the pig boy." - Samwell V, AFFC

+.+.+

JONSA 🐺❤️❄️

Once again, thank you to @ladyofasoiaf for making the manual on all things jonsa. I heavily rely on it when making these posts. :)

Where would a girl in grey go?

If Dontos and this northern girl helped murder our sweet king, it seems to me that they would want to put as many leagues as they could betwixt themselves and justice. Look for them in Oldtown, if you must, or across the narrow sea. Look for them in Dorne, or on the Wall. Look elsewhere. - Brienne II, AFFC

As they were making their way to the next pier, Podrick shuffled his feet, and said, "Ser? My lady? What if my lady did go home? My other lady, I mean. Ser. Lady Sansa."

"They burned her home."

"Still. That's where her gods are. And gods can't die." - Brienne V, AFFC

+.+.+

Coming after a Brienne chapter, we learn Brienne's ancestor once escorted a royal to Eastwatch.

He sent me north aboard the Golden Dragon, and insisted that his friend Ser Duncan see me safe to Eastwatch. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Not yet.

She's a clean ship, 'Strider, not so many rats as most, and we'll have fresh eggs and new-churned butter aboard. Is m'lady seeking passage north?"

"No." Not yet. She was tempted, but . . . - Brienne V, AFFC

+.+.+

The same breakdown appears in back-to-back chapters, only Sansa forgets someone.

+.+.+

A stag won't find Sansa, but a dragon might.

"Where?" Brienne slapped another silver stag down.

He flicked the coin back at her with his forefinger. "Someplace no stag ever found . . . though a dragon might." - Brienne III, AFFC

+.+.+

Of course it could never be.

There's a new High Septon, did you know? Oh, and the Night's Watch has a boy commander, some bastard son of Eddard Stark's."

"Jon Snow?" she blurted out, surprised.

"Snow? Yes, it would be Snow, I suppose."

She had not thought of Jon in ages. He was only her half brother, but still . . . with Robb and Bran and Rickon dead, Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. But of course that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Someday a man will drown in her eyes.

Petyr studied her eyes, as if seeing them for the first time. "You have your mother's eyes. Honest eyes, and innocent. Blue as a sunlit sea. When you are a little older, many a man will drown in those eyes." - Sansa I, AFFC

The man kept staring at him, with eyes as big and black as wells. I will fall into those eyes and drown. - Jon V, ASOS

+.+.+

Coming after a Sansa chapter, Asha has an amusing reunion with an old ghost who was fostered at Pyke.

"Asha?" A shadow stepped out from behind the well.

Her hand went to her dirk at once . . . until the moonlight transformed the dark shape into a man in a sealskin cloak. Another ghost. "Tris. I'd thought to find you in the hall."

"I wanted to see you."

"What part of me, I wonder?" She grinned. "Well, here I stand, all grown up. Look all you like."

"A woman." He moved closer. "And beautiful."

[...]

"If you like. It's nought to me. You look so lovely in the moonlight, Asha. A woman grown now, but I remember when you were a skinny girl with a face all full of pimples."

+.+.+

Newly flowered Asha had an awakening during the war.

Her first flowering had come upon her during the war and wakened her desire, but even before that Asha had been curious. He was there, he was mine own age, and he was willing, that was all it was . . . that, and the moon blood. - The Kraken's Daughter's, AFFC

+.+.+

Fourteen-year-old Arianne loses her maidenhead to a bastard.

My father is many things, but no one has ever said he was a fool. The Bastard of Godsgrace had my maidenhead when we were both fourteen. - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

+.+.+

Experienced but still green after taking the black white.

It was her turn to flush. Her seduction of Ser Arys had required half a year. Though he claimed to have known other women before taking the white, she would never have known that from the way he acted. His caresses had been clumsy, his kisses nervous, and the first time they were abed together he spent his seed on her thigh as she was guiding him inside her with her hand. - The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

+.+.+

The Dornish (Aegon), the ironborn (Daenerys), and the north (Jon) are wedding dragons.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

Oh, but they must, or see the realm riven once more, as it was before we wed the dragons. - The Captain of the Guards, AFFC

None is fit to sit the Seastone Chair, much less the Iron Throne. No, to make an heir that's worthy of him, I need a different woman. When the kraken weds the dragon, brother, let all the world beware. - The Reaver, AFFC

"Why shouldn't we rule ourselves again? It was the dragons we married, and the dragons are all dead!" - Catelyn XI, AGOT

+.+.+

The blood of Winterfell.

I am not your daughter, she thought. I am Sansa Stark, Lord Eddard's daughter and Lady Catelyn's, the blood of Winterfell. - Sansa I, AFFC

Ygritte was with him, laughing at him, shedding her skins till she was naked as her name day, trying to kiss him, but he couldn't, not with his father watching. He was the blood of Winterfell, a man of the Night's Watch. - Jon VI, ASOS

+.+.+

She likes them bold.

If not for Petyr Baelish it would have been Sansa who went spinning through a cold blue sky to stony death six hundred feet below, instead of Lysa Arryn. He is so bold. Sansa wished she had his courage. - Sansa I, AFFC

Surprisingly, Stannis smiled at that. "You're bold enough to be a Stark. Yes, I should have come sooner. If not for my Hand, I might not have come at all. - Jon XI, ASOS

+.+.+

Sister and brother, Maiden and Warrior (more).

"Why would Cersei need the Warrior? She has me." Jaime turned his horse about, his white cloak snapping in the wind. - Jaime II, AFFC

I thought that I was the Warrior and Cersei was the Maid, but all the time she was the Stranger, hiding her true face from my gaze. - Jaime IV, AFFC

The Maiden lay athwart the Warrior, her arms widespread as if to embrace him. - Davos I, ACOK

+.+.+

Radiant sisters.

"How is Cersei? As beautiful as ever?"

"Radiant." Fickle. - Jaime V, AFFC

He was twelve, younger than Jon or Robb, but taller than either, to Jon's vast dismay. Prince Joffrey had his sister's hair and his mother's deep green eyes. A thick tangle of blond curls dripped down past his golden choker and high velvet collar. Sansa looked radiant as she walked beside him, but Jon did not like Joffrey's pouty lips or the bored, disdainful way he looked at Winterfell's Great Hall. - Jon I, AGOT

+.+.+

The author gives Snow & Stone some space.

She could see Sky six hundred feet below, and the stone steps carved into the mountain, the winding way that led past Snow and Stone all the way down to the valley floor. - Alayne I, AFFC

Steep stone steps crept up the mountainside past the waycastles Stone and Snow, but they came to an end at Sky. - Alayne I, AFFC

+.+.+

Jon's heart is all Stone.

Thank you, @winkydinkle!

He could not blame Gilly for her grief. Instead, he blamed Jon Snow and wondered when Jon's heart had turned to stone. - Samwell III, AFFC

+.+.+

Sansa has a crush.

"Bronze Yohn knows me," she reminded him. "He was a guest at Winterfell when his son rode north to take the black." She had fallen wildly in love with Ser Waymar, she remembered dimly, but that was a lifetime ago, when she was a stupid little girl. - Alayne I, AFFC

Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. - Prologue, AFFC

Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast.

[...]

Jon's eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. - Bran I, AGOT

+.+.+

The princess in the tower wishes she had wings.

A falcon soared above the frozen waterfall, blue wings spread wide against the morning sky. Would that I had wings as well. - Alayne I, AFFC

"The little bird thinks she has wings, does she? Or do you mean to end up crippled like that brother of yours?" - Sansa IV, ACOK

The northern girl. Winterfell's daughter. We heard she killed the king with a spell, and afterward changed into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat, and flew out a tower window. - Arya XIII, ASOS

+.+.+

Sansa gets the head, but still needs flowers.

One of the Mountain's men had tried to rape the girl at Harrenhal, and had seemed honestly perplexed when Jaime commanded Ilyn Payne to take his head off. "I had her before, a hunnerd times," he kept saying as they forced him to his knees. "A hunnerd times, m'lord. We all had her." When Ser Ilyn presented Pia with his head, she had smiled through her ruined teeth. - Jaime IV, AFFC

"Ser Harwyn says those tales are lies." Lady Amerei wound a braid around her finger. "He has promised me Lord Beric's head. He's very gallant." She was blushing beneath her tears.

Jaime thought back on the head he'd given to Pia. He could almost hear his little brother chuckle. Whatever became of giving women flowers? Tyrion might have asked. - Jaime IV, AFFC

Frog-faced Lord Slynt sat at the end of the council table wearing a black velvet doublet and a shiny cloth-of-gold cape, nodding with approval every time the king pronounced a sentence. Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, wishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. - Sansa VI, AGOT

The smile that Lord Janos Slynt smiled then had all the sweetness of rancid butter. Until Jon said, "Edd, fetch me a block," and unsheathed Longclaw. - Jon II, ADWD

"What's wrong with flowers?" - Jon V, ASOS

+.+.+

A ghost wolf.

There was ice underfoot, and broken stones just waiting to turn an ankle, and the wind was howling fiercely. It sounds like a wolf, thought Sansa. A ghost wolf, big as mountains. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Roses kissed by frost.

"When he is a man grown," said Cersei.

Their smiles withered like roses kissed by frost. - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Children of the mountain.

Thank you, @butterflies-dragons!

She pushed her hair back. "Then one day he wasn't. Men come and go. They lie, or die, or leave you. A mountain is not a man, though, and a stone is a mountain's daughter. I trust my father, and I trust my mules. I won't fall." - Alayne II, AFFC

"The mountain is your mother," Stonesnake had told him during an easier climb a few days past. "Cling to her, press your face up against her teats, and she won't drop you." Jon had made a joke of it, saying how he'd always wondered who his mother was, but never thought to find her in the Frostfangs. - Jon VI, ACOK

+.+.+

Ser Byron enters Sansa's story.

"Dutiful and beautiful," said an elegant young knight whose thick blond mane cascaded down well past his shoulders.

[...]

"Knights they are," said Petyr. "Their gallantry has yet to be demonstrated, but we may hope. Allow me to present Ser Byron, Ser Morgarth, and Ser Shadrich. Sers, the Lady Alayne, my natural and very clever daughter . . . with whom I must needs confer, if you will be so good as to excuse us."

The three knights bowed and withdrew, though the tall one with the blond hair kissed her hand before taking his leave. - Alayne II, AFFC

The character I'm probably most like in real life is Samwell Tarly. Good old Sam. And the character I'd want to be? Well who wouldn't want to be Jon Snow — the brooding, Byronic, romantic hero whom all the girls love. - George R. R. Martin

+.+.+

A fool or a knight?

"Ser Galladon was a champion of such valor that the Maiden herself lost her heart to him. She gave him an enchanted sword as a token of her love. The Just Maid, it was called. No common sword could check her, nor any shield withstand her kiss. Ser Galladon bore the Just Maid proudly, but only thrice did he unsheathe her. He would not use the Maid against a mortal man, for she was so potent as to make any fight unfair."

Crabb thought that was hilarious. "The Perfect Knight? The Perfect Fool, he sounds like. - Brienne IV, AFFC

"A fool and a knight?" said Jonquil. "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Sweet lady," said Florian, "all men are fools, and all men are knights, where women are concerned." - The Hedge Knight

+.+.+

Who's the pig boy?

Thank you, @fedonciadale!

Spotted Pate the pig boy was the hero of a thousand ribald stories: a good-hearted, empty-headed lout who always managed to best the fat lordlings, haughty knights, and pompous septons who beset him. Somehow his stupidity would turn out to have been a sort of uncouth cunning; the tales always ended with Spotted Pate sitting on a lord's high seat or bedding some knight's daughter. But those were stories. In the real world pig boys never fared so well. - Prologue, AFFC

His face darkened. "I am. I'm your father, and I can marry you to whoever I like. To anyone. You'll marry the pig boy if I say so, and bed down with him in the sty." His green eyes glittered with amusement. - Sansa III, ACOK

+.+.+

Jon and Sansa know the power of song.

Thank you, @agentrouka-blog!

Dareon will join you at Eastwatch. My hope is that his songs will win some men for us in the south. - Samwell I, AFFC

A harp can be as dangerous as a sword, in the right hands. - Sansa VI, ASOS

+.+.+

King Robert liked to play with his cousin.

There had been a female cousin too, a chunky little widow with breasts as big as melons whose husband and father had both died at Storm's End during the siege. "Her father was good to me," Robert told her, "and she and I would play together when the two of us were small." It did not take him long to start playing with her again. - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Sansa wants to dance.

What would she do when the music began to play? It was a vexing question, to which her heart and head gave different answers. Sansa loved to dance, but Alayne . . . - Alayne II, AFFC

When the musicians began to play, she timidly laid her hand on Tyrion's and said, "My lord, should we lead the dance?"

[...]

Perhaps she ought to have remained beside her husband, but she wanted to dance so badly . . . - Sansa III, ASOS

"You could dance with me, you know. It would be only courteous. You danced with me anon."

"Anon?" teased Jon.

"When we were children." She tore off a bit of bread and threw it at him. "As you know well."

"My lady should dance with her husband." - Jon X, ADWD

A snowflake danced upon the air. Then another. Dance with me, Jon Snow, he thought. You'll dance with me anon. - Jon XII, ADWD

+.+.+

Prince Aemon's back.

"And the Dragonknight?" She flung the bedclothes aside and swung her legs to the floor. "The noblest knight who ever lived, you said, and he took his queen to bed and got her with child." - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

+.+.+

Who could ever love a bastard?

Ser Loras had given Sansa Stark a red rose once, but he had never kissed her . . . and no Tyrell would ever kiss Alayne Stone. Pretty as she was, she had been born on the wrong side of the blanket. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Poisoned gifts.

Petyr arched an eyebrow. "When Robert dies. Our poor brave Sweetrobin is such a sickly boy, it is only a matter of time. When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. That's worth another kiss now, don't you think?" - Alayne II, AFFC

"Jon." Melisandre was so close he could feel the warmth of her breath. "R'hllor is the only true god. A vow sworn to a tree has no more power than one sworn to your shoes. Open your heart and let the light of the Lord come in. Burn these weirwoods, and accept Winterfell as a gift of the Lord of Light."

[...]

Stannis gave him a measuring look. "Does this mean you will not wed the girl? I warn you, she is part of the price you must pay, if you want your father's name and your father's castle. This match is necessary, to help assure the loyalty of our new subjects. Are you refusing me, Jon Snow?"

[...]

Stannis put a thin, fleshless hand on Jon's shoulder. "Say nothing of what we've discussed here today. To anyone. But when you return, you need only bend your knee, lay your sword at my feet, and pledge yourself to my service, and you shall rise again as Jon Stark, the Lord of Winterfell." - Jon XI, ASOS

+.+.+

Lancel Lannister's story continues to raise eyebrows.

Lancel had taken to quartering the lion of Lannister with the Darry plowman, it would seem. He saw his uncle's hand in that, as in Lancel's choice of bride. House Darry had ruled these lands since the Andals cast down the First Men. No doubt Ser Kevan realized that his son would have an easier time of it if the peasants saw him as a continuation of the old line, holding these lands by right of marriage rather than royal decree. - Jaime IV, AFFC

Maybe he is praying for his cock to harden. In King's Landing it had been rumored that Lancel's wounds had left him incapable. Still, he ought to have sense enough to try. His cousin's hold on his new lands would not be secure until he fathered a son on his half-Darry wife. - Jaime IV, AFFC

When his coz did not answer, Jaime sighed. "You should be sleeping with your wife, not with the Maid. You need a son with Darry blood if you want to keep this castle." - Jaime IV, AFFC

+.+.+

More men marrying into houses.

When he was not singing, Nimble Dick would talk, regaling them with tales of Crackclaw Point. Every gloomy valley had its lord, he said, the lot of them united only by their mistrust of outsiders. In their veins the blood of the First Men ran dark and strong. "The Andals tried t' take Crackclaw, but we bled them in the valleys and drowned them in the bogs. Only what their sons couldn't win with swords, their pretty daughters won with kisses. They married into the houses they couldn't conquer, aye." - Brienne IV, AFFC

+.+.+

Val does cosplay. Again.

King Stannis had plans for Val, he knew; she was the mortar with which he meant to seal the peace between the northmen and the free folk. - Samwell I, AFFC

"Whoever?" Stannis gave him a measuring look. "Does this mean you will not wed the girl? I warn you, she is part of the price you must pay, if you want your father's name and your father's castle. This match is necessary, to help assure the loyalty of our new subjects. Are you refusing me, Jon Snow?" - Jon XI, ASOS

"The girl's happiness is not my purpose, nor should it be yours. Our alliances in the south may be as solid as Casterly Rock, but there remains the north to win, and the key to the north is Sansa Stark." - Tyrion III, ASOS

+.+.+

Sansa -> Bolton requires a Stark daughter to claim Winterfell -> Jon.

"Your Grace has forgotten the Lady Sansa," said Pycelle.

The queen bristled. "I most certainly have not forgotten that little she-wolf." She refused to say the girl's name. "I ought to have shown her to the black cells as the daughter of a traitor, but instead I made her part of mine own household. She shared my hearth and hall, played with my own children. I fed her, dressed her, tried to make her a little less ignorant about the world, and how did she repay me for my kindness? She helped murder my son. When we find the Imp, we will find the Lady Sansa too. She is not dead . . . but before I am done with her, I promise you, she will be singing to the Stranger, begging for his kiss."

An awkward silence followed. Have they all swallowed their tongues? Cersei thought, with irritation. It was enough to make her wonder why she bothered with a council.

"In any case," the queen went on, "Lord Eddard's younger daughter is with Lord Bolton, and will be wed to his son Ramsay as soon as Moat Cailin has fallen." So long as the girl played her role well enough to cement their claim to Winterfell, neither of the Boltons would much care that she was actually some steward's whelp tricked up by Littlefinger. "If the north must have a Stark, we'll give them one." She let Lord Merryweather fill her cup once again. "Another problem has arisen on the Wall, however. The brothers of the Night's Watch have taken leave of their wits and chosen Ned Stark's bastard son to be their Lord Commander." - Cersei IV, AFFC

+.+.+

The author's constant reminder.

Jaime sighed. "Then let them wed. It will be years before Tommen is old enough to consummate the marriage. And until he does, the union can always be set aside. Give Tyrell his wedding and send him off to play at war." - Jaime I, AFFC

"I said some words and gave her a red cloak, but only to please Father. Marriage requires consummation. King Baelor was made to wed his sister Daena, but they never lived as man and wife, and he put her aside as soon as he was crowned." - Jaime IV, AFFC

"She is old enough to be Lady of Winterfell once her brother is dead. Claim her maidenhood and you will be one step closer to claiming the north. Get her with child, and the prize is all but won. Do I need to remind you that a marriage that has not been consummated can be set aside?" - Tyrion IV, ASOS

+.+.+

Jon vs. Tyrion Pregame.

"Well," said Sam, "he will not want it said that Stannis rode to the defense of the realm whilst King Tommen was playing with his toys. That would bring scorn down upon House Lannister."

"It's death and destruction I want to bring down upon House Lannister, not scorn." Jon lifted up the letter. - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Big brothers.

My betrothal was announced at a feast with half the west in attendance. Ellyn Tarbeck laughed and the Red Lion went angry from the hall. The rest sat on their tongues. Only Tywin dared speak against the match. A boy of ten. Father turned as white as mare's milk, and Walder Frey was quivering." She smiled. "How could I not love him, after that? That is not to say that I approved of all he did, or much enjoyed the company of the man that he became . . . but every little girl needs a big brother to protect her. Tywin was big even when he was little." - Jaime V, AFFC

+.+.+

That uncomfortable subject.

"How old are you, child?" asked Lady Waynwood.

"Four-fourteen, my lady." For a moment she forgot how old Alayne should be. "And I am no child, but a maiden flowered."

"But not deflowered, one can hope." Young Lord Hunter's bushy mustache hid his mouth entirely.

"Yet," said Lyn Corbray, as if she were not there. "But ripe for plucking soon, I'd say." - Alayne I, AFFC

___

"A child?" said Sansa, uncertainly.

Lysa waved a hand negligently. "Not for many years. You are too young to be a mother. One day you shall want children, though. Just as you will want to marry." - Sansa VI, ASOS

"I will." He cuddled close and laid his head between her breasts. "Alayne? Are you my mother now?"

"I suppose I am," she said. If a lie was kindly meant, there was no harm in it. - Sansa I, AFFC

___

She studied Alayne's face and chest. "You are prettier than me, but my breasts are larger. The maesters say large breasts produce no more milk than small ones, but I do not believe it. Have you ever known a wet nurse with small teats? Yours are ample for a girl your age, but as they are bastard breasts, I shan't concern myself with them." - Alayne II, AFFC

___

"The gods made men to fight, and women to bear children," said Randyll Tarly. "A woman's war is in the birthing bed." - Brienne III, AFFC

"How apt. The men will bleed out there, and you in here." The queen signaled for the first course to be served. - Sansa V, ACOK

___

Jeyne Westerling had been Robb Stark's queen, the girl who cost him everything. With a wolf in her belly, she could have proved more dangerous than the Blackfish. - Jaime VI, AFFC

"A child born of traitor's seed will find that betrayal comes naturally to her," said Grand Maester Pycelle. "She is a sweet thing now, but in ten years, who can say what treasons she may hatch?" - Sansa IV, AGOT

___

To break her fast the queen sent to the kitchens for two boiled eggs, a loaf of bread, and a pot of honey. But when she cracked the first egg and found a bloody half-formed chick inside, her stomach roiled. - Cersei III, AFFC

vs.

An immense round fat man, as big as three Moon Boys, he came cartwheeling into the hall, vaulted onto the table, and laid a gigantic egg right in front of Sansa. "Break it, my lady," he commanded. When she did, a dozen yellow chicks escaped and began running in all directions. - Sansa I, ASOS

+.+.+

A king must have an heir.

And Cersei … I have Jon Arryn to thank for her. I had no wish to marry after Lyanna was taken from me, but Jon said the realm needed an heir. - Eddard VII, AGOT

"Jeyne," she called after, "there's one more thing Robb needs from you, though he may not know it yet himself. A king must have an heir." - Catelyn III, ASOS

"Young, and a king," he said. "A king must have an heir. If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. - Catelyn V, ASOS

He had not touched another woman since he gave her to the crabs. I will need to take a wife when I am king. A true wife, to be my queen and bear me sons. A king must have an heir. - The Iron Captain, AFFC

Victarion was turning to go when the Crow's Eye said, "A king must have a wife, to give him heirs. - The Reaver, AFFC

Many promised him their voices: Fralegg the Strong, clever Alvyn Sharp, humpbacked Hotho Harlaw. Hotho offered him a daughter for his queen. "I have no luck with wives," Victarion told him. His first wife died in childbed, giving him a stillborn daughter. His second had been stricken by a pox. And his third . . .

"A king must have an heir," Hotho insisted. "The Crow's Eye brings three sons to show before the kingsmoot."

"Bastards and mongrels. How old is this daughter?"

"Twelve," said Hotho. "Fair and fertile, newly flowered, with hair the color of honey. Her breasts are small as yet, but she has good hips. She takes after her mother, more than me." – The Iron Captain, AFFC

+.+.+

Does the moon tea have anything to do with jonsa? I'll include it, and let you decide.

She had surrendered her virtue at six-and-ten, to a beautiful blond-haired sailor on a trading galley up from Lys. He only knew six words of the Common Tongue, but "fuck" was one of them—the very word she'd hoped to hear. Afterward, Asha had the sense to find a woods witch, who showed her how to brew moon tea to keep her belly flat. - The Kraken's Daughter, AFFC

"I swore a vow . . ."

". . . not to wed or father children. Well, I have drunk my moon tea, and you know I cannot marry you." She smiled. "Though I might be persuaded to keep you for my paramour." - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

"The little queen has appetites that Tommen is as yet too young to satisfy." That was always a danger, when a grown woman was married to a child. Even more so with a widow. She may claim that Renly never touched her, but I will not believe it. Women only drank moon tea for one reason; maidens had no need for it at all. - Cersei IX, AFFC

"As you will." Jaime turned to the daughter. "I am sorry for your loss. The boy had courage, I'll give him that. There is a question I must ask you. Are you carrying his child, my lady?"

Jeyne burst from her chair and would have fled the room if the guard at the door had not seized her by the arm. "She is not," said Lady Sybell, as her daughter struggled to escape. "I made certain of that, as your lord father bid me." - Jaime VII, AFFC

"You're bastard-born yourself. And if Ygritte does not want a child, she will go to some woods witch and drink a cup o' moon tea. You do not come into it, once the seed is planted." - Jon II, ASOS

Tears ran down her aunt's puffy red face. "I gave you my maiden's gift. I would have given you a son too, but they murdered him with moon tea, with tansy and mint and wormwood, a spoon of honey and a drop of pennyroyal. It wasn't me, I never knew, I only drank what Father gave me . . ." - Sansa VII, ASOS

+.+.+

Two prophetic conversations have Sansa and Cersei on the same path.

"When will I wed the prince?" she asked.

"Never. You will wed the king." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

"No," Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. "Yet someday he may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king's council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the Sunset Sea, or enter your mother's Faith and become the High Septon."

[...]

Arya cocked her head to one side. "Can I be a king's councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?"

"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." - Eddard V, AGOT

+.+.+

Ashford Tournament!

Thank you @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly for the theory! (lol)

Thank you @butterflies-dragons for the additional parallels!

"Will there be another champion in Ser Humfrey's [Hardyng] place?"

"Lord Ashford had a mind to grant the place to Lord Caron, or perhaps the other Ser Humfrey, the one who gave Hardyng such a splendid match, but Prince Baelor told him that it would not be seemly to remove Ser Humfrey's shield and pavilion under the circumstances. I believe they will continue with four champions in place of five."

Four champions, Dunk thought. Leo Tyrell, Lyonel Baratheon, Tybolt Lannister, and Prince Valarr [Targaryen]. - The Hedge Knight

___

Lyonel Baratheon

Sansa must wed Joffrey, that is clear now, we must give them no grounds to suspect our devotion. - Catelyn II, AGOT

___

Leo Tyrell

The words came tumbling out of her. "Yes. I will. I would like that more than anything. To wed Ser Loras, to love him . . ." "Loras?" Lady Olenna sounded annoyed. "Don't be foolish, child. Kingsguard never wed. Didn't they teach you anything in Winterfell? We were speaking of my grandson Willas. He is a bit old for you, to be sure, but a dear boy for all that. Not the least bit oafish, and heir to Highgarden besides." - Sansa I, ASOS

Willas Tyrell was green as his surcoat and had no business riding in such company. The Fat Flower thrust him into tourneys at too tender an age, just as he did with the other two. He wanted another Leo Longthorn, and made himself a cripple. - Tyrion V, ASOS

___

Tybolt Lannister

"Yes. You are a ward of the crown. The king stands in your father's place, since your brother is an attainted traitor. That means he has every right to dispose of your hand. You are to marry my brother Tyrion." - Sansa III, ASOS

The Baratheon and Lannister defeat the maiden's brother(s).

Tybolt Lannister and Androw Ashford rode against each other thrice more before Ser Androw finally lost shield, seat, and match all at once. The younger Ashford lasted even longer, breaking no less than nine lances against Ser Lyonel Baratheon, the Laughing Storm. Champion and challenger both lost their saddles on their tenth course, only to rise together to fight on, sword against mace. Finally a battered Ser Robert Ashford admitted defeat, but on the viewing stand his father looked anything but dejected. Both Lord Ashford's Sons had been ushered from the ranks of the champions, it was true, but they had acquitted themselves nobly against two of the finest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. - The Hedge Knight

___

Humfrey Hardyng

When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. - Alayne II, AFFC

At the last possible instant, Ser Humfrey's stallion reared away from the oncoming point, eyes rolling in terror, but too late, Aerion's lance took the animal just above the armor that protected his breastbone, and exploded out of the back of his neck in a gout of bright blood. Screaming, the horse crashed sideways, knocking the wooden barrier to pieces as he fell. Ser Humfrey tried to leap free, but a foot caught in a stirrup and they heard his shriek as his leg was crushed between the splintered fence and falling horse. - The Hedge Knight

___

Prince Valarr Targaryen

Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. - Alayne II, AFFC

But they were all dead now, even Arya, everyone but her half-brother, Jon. Some nights she heard talk of him, in the taverns and brothels of the Ragman's Harbor. The Black Bastard of the Wall, one man had called him. - The Blind Girl, ADWD

Six pups they'd found in the late summer snows, him and Robb; five that were grey and black and brown, for the five Starks, and one white, as white as Snow. - Jon XII, ASOS

He was a shorter, slimmer, handsomer version of his sire, without the twice-broken nose that had made Baelor seem more human than royal. Valarr's hair was brown, but a bright streak of silver-gold ran through it. - The Hedge Knight

The last pavilion was Prince Valarr's. Of black silk it was, with a line of pointed scarlet pennons hanging from its roof like long red flames. The shield on its stand was glossy black, emblazoned with the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen. One of the Kingsguard knights stood beside it, his shining white armor stark against the black of the tentcloth.

[...]

And the black-and-white knight, Lord Gawen Swann, challenged the black prince with the white guardian. - The Hedge Knight

+.+.+

#operation stumpy re-read #foreshadowing smorgasbord #affc summary #chapter transitions #jonsa #jon x sansa #sansa stark #jon snow

90 notes · View notes

unohanabbygirl · 11 months

Note

Loved the new chapter! Jace is really pushing at the boundaries for Luke and I hope Joff is okay. I got to say that the first part with Luke and Owen was disgusting and also heartbreaking. Luke was just trying to find a flicker of happiness in his traumatic life, it’s understandable why he went down the path with Owen. Can’t wait to see how that little revelation plays out with Aemond.

Got a few questions here. How did everyone react to the histories of what Aemond said to Luke at Storm’s End? How aware are the family and Brienne of each other in reincarnation terms? Despite the shitty hand he was dealt with in his new life, how is Luke gonna feel that his old life ultimately led up to being a spark that ignited a war?

Thank you babes!

The Omen scene was pretty heavy for me to write out just as any scene that has to do with abuse/SA, so I’m glad it paid off as making readers uncomfortable during these scenes is always my goal. We’re supposed to feel slimy and icky during these moments. Our discomfort is only a sliver of what Luke’s been through, a true look into a world that certain forms of media either romanticize or undermine just how horrid these stories really are.

Omen and his bio mom are two of the biggest monsters Luke’s ever faced. In his mind their betrayal and abuse was worse than anything some random shitty foster parent or pedo looking to get off could ever put him through. It’s not even about the physical or mental aspect, but how Omen broke him emotionally. Got him to share secrets, hopes, and fears he’s always kept locked away as the things that were most precious to him, something that couldn’t be stolen only to use those secrets as leverage. Aemond will definitely need to physically been peeled off of Owen for taking these things he knows mean so much to Luke as only to throw them back in his face. We might even see that thousand year old blood lust make an appearance once time comes 👀

I love questions. Lets go!

. 1 - Hmm, there are three categories I split their reactions into; #1 those who actually think it’s embarrassing because he sounded like an elementary school boy with big crush who keeps pulling on a girls ponytail to get her attention. #2 those who wanted to beat him black and blue. #3 those who feel bad because its so obvious he just wanted to be seen and was suffering from a lot of inner demons.

Of course Aegon and Daemon fall into the first category seeing as these two have always known about Aemond’s fascination with Luke. Everyone else except Alicent and Helaena (who are in cat 3) fall into category two. Jace being one of few who’s actually made good on his desire to whoop Aemond’s ass.

Alicent and Helaena have always been both his biggest defenders and his the few who actually understand him. They see his goading as a way to be recognized as they remember how upset he was that Luke barely paid him any mind during the blacks return to the keep before dinner. To them, his cruel words were to be expected. Though they don’t agree with the weird bits about Rhaenyra being a whore because…yea. He has some odd quotes about his sister.

.2 - They aren’t aware of who one another truly are at all which is one of my favorite parts about this. Everyone is so caught up in their own stories that they never actually take the time to wonder if people in their day to day lives are reincarnated folk from different time periods regardless of how obvious it may be to us on the outside,

Now, do people entertain the idea? Definitely. I’d be lying if I said that Jace wouldn’t kill to meet Jon Snow and talk to him about how he overcame that feeling of needing to constantly prove himself in the face of his bastardy. But he doesn’t entertain the possibility because the idea that not only those from his time, but those who lived hundreds of years after his death came back as well is a bit too good to be true. Though if anyone was able to put two and two together it would probably be Egg.

.3 - Luke will definitely feel that he’s the reason for his families downfall. Not only because he’s lived these past 17 years continuously blaming himself for every bad card he’s been dealt, but that his old self-loathing and low self-esteem is making a bit of a comeback. These two personalities which are both filled with such a low self-image and feelings of unworthiness clashing together is a recipe for disaster.

#asks

5 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Little Dragon - 18

Summary: You were a child slave of Meereen, when one day a silver haired woman sets you free. Though your master isn’t too keen on letting you go, and Daenerys took personal action to see you freed and taken care of.

(Warnings: a time skip here and there, other than that, shit’s about to go down!

High Valyrian is in cursive

“Send word to Mereen… and to Darrio, let them know of the death of Queen Daenerys, they’re free to choose a leader of their own, as my mother promised, and-... ask Darrio to come to Westeros… just to see the rise of my mother’s monument, he should be here, he loved her too…” you added in a quiet voice to Gray Worm, seeing him bow his head and walk towards the docks, your gaze locked on him until you could no longer see him, a sad look on your face but you quickly pushed it aside when you heard footsteps, turning around to look at Tyrion, giving him a soft smile. “Your Grace” he greeted, walking by your side through the hallway “Lord Tyrion, to what do I owe the pleasure?” you asked calmly, looking down at him briefly before looking ahead again. “The repairs are going smoothly, the people are somewhat happy and fed and Lady Brienne is already training a few soldiers…” Tyrion listed off and you nodded, a small silence falling between the two of you until you looked down at him, seeing him nervously chew on his lower lip “and?” you asked, watching him sigh softly and stop, prompting you to stop walking as well, turning to face him. “There is still the matter of your coronation, Your Grace… and a few other matters to attend to” Tyrion admitted and you sighed softly, looking around you before continuing to walk, Tyrion quickly catching up with you. “Your Grace. The city is practically restored, our food supply is finally beginning to grow steady again and the preparations for the monument of the people and your mother’s grave are all taken care of and underway-” Tyrion sighed as you sped up your walk, his smaller legs struggling to keep at your pace, which he knew was your intention “you can’t avoid this any longer, Your Grace” Tyrion gasped, panting heavily and finally you stopped, giving Tyrion the possibility to catch his breath, looking up at you with pleading eyes. “Your seventeenth name day is almost upon us and you haven’t allowed us to even come close to preparing in any way. I understand that your focus has been on the city and it’s people and it’s more than any ruler has ever done but you need a crown on your head if you want the remaining Lords and Ladies to respect you. Meet them during your name day celebration and then have them swear fealty on the day of your coronation” Tyrion added, watching you as you sighed heavily, shaking your head softly as you thought it over. “Very well… prepare for my coronation, as for my name day… It can be celebrated before the coronation itself. I don’t want any gifts though, and every piece of food that hasn’t been eaten will go to the people of King’s Landing, firstly to those with families and in need and then the rest, I trust you with all the preparations, you know the Westerosi way of crowning and we are now in Westeros, I’ll be happy to do anything to help but you’re the expert between the two of us… also if there must be a feast, let there only be one, and not one for my name day and one for my crowning, just one” you ordered before turning around and leaving Tyrion in the hallway.

You nearly bumped head first into Gendry, almost tripping but he caught you in time, quickly letting go of you when you were steady on your feet. “Forgive me, I didn’t see where I was going. How are the repairs?” you asked with a small frown as Gendry began to join you as you walked through the restored hallways to the Throne Room, which were technically still under restoration but most were already taken care of. “It’s going well, Your Grace. I’ll have to admit, didn’t think we’d ever get a ruler like you, one who thinks of the people first and not what the other lords ‘n ladies think” Gendry admitted and you chuckled lightly “you’re a lord yourself now, Lord Baratheon, I care greatly what you think” you stated with a soft smile, Gendry shrugging with a bashful smile of his own. “Thank you, Your Grace, ‘m still not quite used to being a lord though…” he admitted and you laughed quietly “it wasn’t easy for me either… but here we are, two lowborns who sit at the top… that is what you call others, right? ‘Lowborns’? Forgive me if it’s incorrect-”

“No, no that’s pretty accurate, never liked it though…” Gendry admitted and you scrunch your face up briefly as you nodded in agreement “me neither… the ‘common folk’ sounds much better… it’s the term my mother used…” you trailed off, frowning ever so slightly at the memory of her, it had been almost a year now and it still hurt worse than you thought it would. “‘M sorry” Gendry muttered but you softly shook your head “it’s alright… I only wish she could have been the one who watched the city be restored… but I know she would have been proud” you stated with confidence as you both reached the entryway to the Throne Room, a smile on your lips as you bowed your head at the guards who bowed their heads in turn. “I’ve thought of something… I was wondering if perhaps Queen Sansa would like to attend my name day?... I’m holding my seventeenth nameday the same day as my coronation but I-I don’t want her to bend the knee or anything! I merely want her to be on my name day, she can leave whenever she wants and as I said; I don’t want her to bend the knee at all” you admitted with a concerned frown, Gendry nodding slightly “alright, why’re you tellin’ me though, Your Grace?” Gendry asked with a frown and you chuckled lightly “you were involved with her sister, were you not? I know if I asked it would seem like an attempt at making her bend the knee, it’s not what I want. I want to hear from her own lips how the North is doing, if they’ve recovered… King’s Landing is doing so well already that I-... I thought that if Winterfell and the North needed it, I wouldn’t mind sending some help? Builders, some food, whatever they’d need” you explained, the tip of Gendry’s ears bright pink as he nodded and cleared his throat. “I’ll ask her” he noted and you nodded “I don’t expect her to come, really, and if she’s unsure I wouldn’t mind traveling to the North. I’m only asking because my name day celebration would be a good place to meet again, on a more positive note…” you added, Gendry smirking ever so slightly at you. “I understand, I will, Your Grace” he bowed his head and you smiled softly at him, bowing it in return “thank you, Lord Baratheon. And please don’t forget, I’m not commanding her, merely asking” you noted, Gendry nodding as he walked off, leaving you at the entrance to the Throne Room, staring down at the charred stone where the Iron Throne had once stood, the thought making your stomach turn so instead you walked out of the Red Keep, looking at the almost restored King’s Landing below you, a small frown on your face as you studied it. The structures that held the newly builded houses in place, the smoke rising from the chimneys, the sounds of tools being used and people working, talking and laughing amongst themselves, chattering about.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were currently overseeing the preparations for your name day feast, a frown on your brows as you watched everything be put in place, tables, chairs. You heard approaching footsteps but didn’t tear your gaze away from the preparations, instead opting to sigh softly as you assumed it was Tyrion “doesn’t seem quite right, does it?... I understand it’s your tradition but-... I don’t get why I should be celebrated before King’s Landing is even fully restored. I mean, some still sleep in the Red Keep, it’s not fair, is it?” you asked without turning your head, gently shaking your head at the thought of having a feast while some people still had holes in their roofs. “Perhaps I was wrong about you” you whipped around at the female voice, eyes wide as you saw the red haired Queen of the North and instantly you curtsied as you had been taught. “Queen Stark, I didn’t think you’d come…” you muttered as you straightened up, Sansa studying you before smiling a tiny bit, just a small tug of her lips that you barely noticed. “Gendry explained to me that you were very persistent in making sure I knew it was not to bend the knee” she added and you nodded. “It’s not, I-... how is the North? Do you need any help?” you asked with a deeper frown, Sansa studying you as though she was trying to figure you out. “Why? Why do you ask?” she asked boldly and you felt your cheeks burn bright as you looked down briefly before clearing your throat “I-... I’m curious… King’s Landing is doing so well and I-... I thought that if the North was suffering it’s the least I could do” you admitted, Sansa studying you for a few seconds longer before nodding to herself “the North is doing quite well… we’re lacking in builders but we’ll manage, the North doesn’t need your help” she stated harshly and you nodded ever so slightly with a hint of defeat. “Of course, I didn’t mean to imply that you couldn’t take care of yourselves… w-we might have a few builders who wouldn’t mind traveling North and helping out? I-If you’d want that” you added in a quiet voice, Sansa studying you before sighing softly “don’t slouch… and don’t lower your voice, I know you weren’t born into the noble life but you are in it now, you need to start acting like a queen” Sansa noted harshly and instantly your back straightened, a frown still present on your face as you studied her. “Sansa, I don’t want you to bend the knee, I don’t want to exploit you or your people. I can imagine quite a lot of your people argued against you even coming here, so thank you, but all I truly want is peace. My mother, whoever she was in the end, wanted a world where everyone was equal… I just want peace between our two kingdoms, I don’t want anything else, and if peace isn’t possible then-... I’d settle for civility” you stated softly, watching her as she seemed to study you for a little while before looking down “don’t ever invade the North or expect us to bend the knee again, and we’ll have peace” she stated confidently and you nodded with a small smile “the North is it’s own kingdom, it has sacrificed and lost so much to the Night King that it’s only fair they remain independent” you agreed, watching her lips twitch up in a tiny smirk that you almost missed. “You’ll be a good queen…” she stated softly, like she didn’t want anyone else to hear the compliment, and you smiled ever so slightly “so are you” you noted before turning your head to look over the sea, the sun shining on the horizon, making you narrow your eyes in an attempt to not be blinded, this would be good.

#Daenerys Targaryen #Daenerys x Kid!Reader #Daenerys x reader #Little Dragon #GoT #Game of Thrones #GoTfic

78 notes · View notes

ilynpilled · 2 years

Text

“There are no men like me. There’s only me” is so good bc yeah it is an accidental admission of loneliness that was intended as arrogant posturing, but the way it evolves into so much more. The thing is Cersei is like him, is him, supposedly, but it is a romanticized image. The point is that that is a distorted mirror for both that allows self love that is otherwise impossible. Like for Jaime, that is the illusion of the knight and maiden narrative that is keeping the faint flame (purpose, hope, life force) alive, but it is not real. “Her torch was the only light in the cavern. Her torch was the only light in the world. She turned to go.” And if Jaime is faced with actual Jaime, “his darkness”: Jaime really does not like Jaime. He is repulsed by Jaime. He compares himself to men (there are no men like me oh but there are and I hate them/myself) he draws parallels, consciously and subconsciously. The Smiling Knight, the empty chivalry of his young self in Loras (maybe Brandon as well, do not know his thoughts here we are not in his head), him equating his actions in the gold hand dream to the Mountain’s with Pia (also in ADwD, indirect parallel is made, like his thought process after being asked “Is that why you killed all the Starks?” Repeating Tywin’s dogma goes to him getting flashbacks to the dead children in crimson cloaks. The attempt at addressing the question devolves into “Brienne where are you? Have you found her?”, it goes to “the fear of a knight coming to smash the heads of children against a wall” what he represented to the Stark children in AGoT. Then the village anti-parallel with both Gregor and Tywin. Then the half moon!), he sees his soul in Ilyn, like that is the Lannister executioner, that is his silent ghost (“You were a knight once, Ser. So was I. Let us see what we are now.”) Ilyn is another mirror, (more real than the mirror of Cersei or Arthur Dayne, both are illusions for him anyway) after his confessions especially: “The pockmarks on Ser Ilyn’s face were black holes in the torchlight, as dark as Jaime’s soul.” after the Arya confession or “An ugly smile. An ugly soul” after the drunken confession. Can there even be redemption atp? is something he keeps trying to figure out. “Jaime glanced at his companion. Perhaps there is yet hope for the both of us.” And then in general, all that talk of sin, forgiveness (“Forgive me.” “Your crimes are past forgiving, Kingslayer.” “You’ve harmed others. […] The weak, the innocent...”) , crime, punishment, and simply praying, running, and being sent to the block to pay for your crimes, and punitive justice done by institutions such as the Faith. But he does not care about all that, he never truly did. Jaime and his relationship with institutions was never like that. He is the romantic protagonist. There’s only him, and his ghosts. He is keeping his oath to a dead woman. The ghosts who judge him in the weirwood dream are all dead too. It is only him. His darkness. “No doubt he wished to pray. Jaime wished to fight.” He tries to find Ilyn. He is itching for it. He needs to find Ilyn: the mirror and the executioner. He needs to “live and fight.”

Then the Lancel confrontation. Lancel thought Jaime would come and kill him for his sins. The punitive justice theme is there again. “Pray for me if you like, I’ve forgotten all the words.” He dismisses all of the religious talk. He picks up swords. Not blunted tourney swords, not anymore. Swords. And goes to the executioner/himself, and does his darkest confession in that book. It is really like: Do I want to destroy myself, or let myself destroy me, or neither?? “Kill me if you can.” , “It might please him even more to kill me.” , “He liked to believe that he was getting better, but the improvement was slow and not without cost. Underneath his steel and wool and boiled leather [he] was a tapestry of cuts and scabs and bruises.” There is truly only him. Like he is really repeatedly confronting his own soul. “Down a twisting passageway he went, narrow steps carved from the living rock, down and down. I must go up, he told himself. Up, not down. Why am I going down? Below the earth his doom awaited, he knew with the certainty of dream; something dark and terrible lurked there, something that wanted him. Jaime tried to halt, but their spears prodded him on. If only I had my sword, nothing could harm me.” It is like how George talks of Jaime’s arc: “Things have to happen to cause the characters to question who they are and what their place in the world is and what the meaning of it all is … To go through the dark nights of the soul in times of fear and terror … If you have real characters grappling with real problems, then you have power. Jaime losing a hand, the very thing that he defined himself on, is crucial to where I want go with the character. He questions: "What do you make of yourself once you lost that?" & “I don’t believe in karma […] I do believe in the possibility of redemption.” & “When we forgive them we are essentially forgiving ourselves. Redemption should be possible.”

There is no golden hand in the final AFfC dream. There is only the ugliness of the stump. He thinks he is (negatively), and thinks he wants to be (positively) certain “figures”. The latter is rooted in constructs he is already disillusioned by deep down. “False as fool’s gold.” So many distorted mirrors. But there are no men like Jaime. There is only Jaime and his choices. So where will he go now? How will that emptiness be filled now, once he “stared at the ugliness of the stump?”

“I don't know the answer, but these are questions worth thinking about. I want there to be a possibility of redemption for us, because we all do terrible things. We should be able to be forgiven. Because if there is no possibility of redemption, what's the answer then?”

oh jaime u insane silly little man i love reading what is going on inside your insane head sfm ugh

#jaime lannister #another day another saying the same thing in a new way #moment #some of these quotes might be worded not verbatim bc this post is from memory im just having a moment #also some repetition from previous posts but im just really having thoughts putting it all together #and then brienne’s light will fit into all of this #i dreamed of you she caught him before he could fall #and all the new themes set up w the hos convo #aaa #gn tho

89 notes · View notes

straightbaittournament · 1 year

Text

may the best bait win! propaganda under the cut:

brienne and jaime:

[major spoilers for the show] homoerotic as hell. for some reason. from what i've heard this seems like a rare case of buried straights. jaime i believe dies right after they get together. the first time they have sex jaime says he's never done it "with a knight" before. literally most of my knowledge about this ship comes from bait: a queerbaiting podcast (one of their "straightbait specials"), which i'm officially suggesting as propaganda i'm only up to s4 but i feel like they should be here

They def have already been submitted but I'm getting in early on the #BraimeSweep They're soulmates 4real :( <33 "Brienne caught him before he could fall. Her arm was all gooseflesh, clammy and chilled, but she was strong, and gentler than he would have thought. Gentler than Cersei." "The swords kissed and sprang apart and kissed again. Jaime's blood was singing" "Jaime's golden hand cracked him across the mouth so hard the other knight went stumbling down the steps. His lantern fell and smashed, and the oil spread out, burning." "You are speaking of a highborn lady, ser. Call her by her name. Call her Brienne." "In this light she could almost be a beauty, he thought. In this light she could almost be a knight." Come on. This het couple has no right to drive me (a lesbian) crazy. If they don't get together I'll explode.

merlin and morgana:

She’s the evil female version of him. That’s all that’s needed

#straightbait tournament round 1 #game of thrones #got #asioaf #braime #merlin #bbc merlin #mergana #morgana #a song of ice and fire #poll #polls #poll tournament #merthur

50 notes · View notes

fedonciadale · 2 years

Text

Sansa and prayers

So for #sansamonth2022 24 prayers I unearthed one of my older posts where I talked about Sansa, her prayers and how they are fullfilled (or not).

There can be no doubt that some of Sansa’s prayers come true, if not immediately.

Fulfilled prayers/fervent wishes are the following:

I hope he falls and shames himself, she thought bitterly. I hope Ser Balon kills him. When Joffrey proclaimed her father's death, it had been Janos Slynt who seized Lord Eddard's severed head by the hair and raised it on high for king and crowd to behold, while Sansa wept and screamed.

Morros wore a checkered black-and-gold cloak over black armor inlaid with golden scrollwork. On his shield was the bloody spear his father had chosen as the sigil of their new-made house. But he did not seem to know what to do with the shield as he urged his horse forward, and Ser Balon's point struck the blazon square. Morros dropped his lance, fought for balance, and lost. One foot caught in a stirrup as he fell, and the runaway charger dragged the youth to the end of the lists, head bouncing against the ground. Joff hooted derision. Sansa was appalled, wondering if the gods had heard her vengeful prayer. (ACOK, Sansa I) -> this is very interesting because it might foreshadow what will happen to Harry the Heir

And finally, toward the end, she even sang for Tyrion the Imp and for the Hound. He is no true knight but he saved me all the same, she told the Mother. Save him if you can, and gentle the rage inside him. (ACOK, Sansa V) -> that one worked, since the Hound did not rape her, makes you wonder about all the other things Sansa prayed for while singing as we see in Sansa VII

Please don't kill me, she wanted to scream, please don't. She could feel him twisting the point, pushing it into her throat, and she almost closed her eyes again, but then she remembered. It was not the song of Florian and Jonquil, but it was a song. Her voice sounded small and thin and tremulous in her ears. (ACOK, Sansa VII) -> It’s almost a miracle that the Hound really lets Sansa go. Tells you something about the power of her singing.

She felt as if she were back again on the marble steps outside the Great Sept of Baelor, waiting for her prince to grant her father mercy, and instead hearing him command Ilyn Payne to strike off his head. Please, she prayed fervently, make him say it, make him say it.

Lord Tywin was looking at his grandson. Joff gave him a sullen glance, shifted his feet, and helped Ser Garlan Tyrell to rise. "The gods are good. I am free to heed my heart. I will wed your sweet sister, and gladly, ser." He kissed Ser Garlan on a bearded cheek as the cheers rose all around them. (ACOK, Sansa VII) -> Sansa wants to be free of the betrothal to Joffrey and at that moment, she is.

Please, she prayed, don't let him start to twitch and shake. Not here. Not now. Maester Coleman would have made certain that he drank a strong dose of sweetmilk before the feast, but even so. (TWOW, Alayne I) -> As far as we know Sweetrobin did indeed not shake at the feast.

Other prayers wishes have been fulfilled on the show:

Help me, she prayed, send me a friend, a true knight to champion me (ACOK, Sansa II) -> Brienne has come, a true knight.

Come to the godswood tonight, if you want to go home. (ACOK, Sansa II) -> Sansa has come home

I pray for Robb's victory and Joffrey's death . . . and for home. For Winterfell. "I pray for an end to the fighting." (ACOK, Sansa III) -> this is fulfilled only partially. Although Robb won many victories he still died, but Joffrey is dead sure enough and Sansa is back in Winterfell an we actually might get an end to the fighting at the end of the books

"Let him." When Sansa had first beheld the Great Sept with its marble walls and seven crystal towers, she'd thought it was the most beautiful building in the world, but that had been before Joffrey beheaded her father on its steps. "I want it burned." (ACOK, Sansa IV) -> Boom, there went the great sept in season 6, episode 10. This will happen in the books as well, I’m certain.

Prayers that might still be fulfilled in the books:

"I went to the godswood to pray for the safety of the king." The lie sounded better this time, almost true. (ACOK, Sansa II) -> will this be fulfilled at some point when she prays for Jon or Bran?

A lady's armor is her courtesy. Alayne could feel the blood rushing to her face. No tears, she prayed. Please, please, I must not cry. "As you wish, ser. And now if you will excuse me, Littlefinger's bastard must find her lord father and let him know that you have come, so we can begin the tourney on the morrow." And may your horse stumble, Harry the Heir, so you fall on your stupid head in your first tilt. She showed the Waynwoods a stone face as they blurted out awkward apologies for their companion. When they were done she turned and fled. (TWOW, Alayne I) -> her immediate prayer worked here: She did not cry, We’ll yet have to see what will happen to Harry. My money is on him indeed falling in his first tilt.

Wishes that worked (for now)

"Take him to Maester Frenken." Lancel was one of them, yet somehow she still could not bring herself to wish him dead. I am soft and weak and stupid, just as Joffrey says. I should be killing him, not helping him. (ACOK, Sansa VII) -> I really wonder how long Lancel will survive? He already lived long enough to wreak havoc on the relationship of Jaime and Cersei

Wishes that might work, but not in the way Sansa thought

"I love him, Father, I truly truly do, I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, as much as Jonquil loved Ser Florian. I want to be his queen and have his babies." (AGOT, SAnsa III) -> We’ll see about that?

I don't want any Lannister, she wanted to say. I want Willas, I want Highgarden and the puppies and the barge, and sons named Eddard and Bran and Rickon. (ASOS, Sansa III) -> She might yet get the children she wants, if not with Willas

It is not me she wants her son to marry, it is my claim. No one will ever marry me for love. (ASOS, Sansa VI) -> We’ll see about that.

She smiled just for him, and said a silent prayer to the Maiden. Please, he doesn't need to love me, just make him like me, just a little, that would be enough for now. (TWOW, Alayne I)

Wishes that worked (and not for Sansa’s good)

"I didn't do anything wrong," Sansa pleaded with him. "I don't want to go back." (AGOT, Sansa III) -> She stayed in King’s Landing, poor Sansa

Prayers that didn’t work:

Ah, poor sad thing," sighed Varys. "She is only a babe, my lords, she does not know what she asks."

Sansa had eyes only for Joffrey. He must listen to me, he must, she thought. The king shifted on his seat. "Let her speak," he commanded. (AGOT, Sansa V) -> Sansa begging for Ned’s life sadly failed.

Laugh, Joffrey, she prayed as the juice ran down her face and the front of her blue silk gown. Laugh and be satisfied.

Joffrey did not so much as snigger. "Boros. Meryn." (ACOK, Sansa III) - Isn’t it interesting that her power fails when it comes to Joffrey?

"I . . . I pray you will have long years together, and many children, and be very happy in one another." It had been years since Sansa last saw her mother's sister. She will be kind to me for my mother's sake, surely. She's my own blood. And the Vale of Arryn was beautiful, all the songs said so. Perhaps it would not be so terrible to stay here for a time. (ASOS, Sansa VI) ->O.k. Littlefinger’s marriage to Lysa was short-lived.... very short-lived. Her wish certainly was just a courtesy

Sansa woke and found the old blind dog beside her once again. "I wish that you were Lady," she said. (ASOS, Sansa VI) -> Lady stays dead. No chance to bring back the dead.

Sansa doesn’t have great confidence in her prayers ans she rarely notices that her prayers are answered and this is a gradual development. In the beginning she has confidence in her prayers

"I want to go home."

The queen was irritated by that. "You should have learned by now, none of us get the things we want."

I have, though, Sansa thought. I am free of Joffrey. I will not have to kiss him, nor give him my maidenhood, nor bear him children. Let Margaery Tyrell have all that, poor girl. (ACOK, SAnsa VIII) -> Later Sansa realizes that this is an illusion, that she is still at the mercy of the Lannisters.

"Hush, child, the gods will hear you."

"Why should they? They never hear my prayers."

"Yes they do. They sent me to you, didn't they?" (ASOS, Sansa IV) -> poor disillusioned Sansa

The gods heard my prayer, she thought. She felt so numb and dreamy. My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel. Her hands moved stiffly, awkwardly, as if they had never let down her hair before. For a moment she wished Shae was there, to help her with the net.

When she pulled it free, her long auburn hair cascaded down her back and across her shoulders. (ASOS, Sansa V) -> and in this case her prayer is not really answered, because she won’t be entirely free with Littlefinger. So Sansa is mistaken about when her prayers are answered.

Sansa followed unresisting. I could never abide the weeping of women, Joff once said, but his mother was the only woman weeping now. In Old Nan's stories the grumkins crafted magic things that could make a wish come true. Did I wish him dead? she wondered, before she remembered that she was too old to believe in grumkins. (ASOS, Sansa V) -> She prayed for Joffrey’s death and yet she is unsure, if she’s the cause of his death. She is though. Without her the Tyrells would not have killed him.

Another new day. It was the old days she hungered for. Prayed for. But who could she pray to? The garden had been meant for a godswood once, she knew, but the soil was too thin and stony for a weirwood to take root. A godswood without gods, as empty as me. (ASOS, Sansa VII) -> She has lost her confidence that there is someone who listens.

But that was when she was a little girl, and foolish. She was a maiden now, three-and-ten and flowered. All her nights were full of song, and by day she prayed for silence. (AFFC, Sansa I) -> Interesting that Sansa has lost her confidence in her prayers. I wonder when she will get that back? When she learns that Janos Slynt has died by Jon’s hands?

O.k. As you can see prayers and fervent wishes of Sansa’s have a tendency to be fulfilled, a power she is completely unaware of, the further we come along in the books, the less confidence Sansa has in the Gods even listening to her not to talk about fulfilling her prayers.

Sansa’s magic comes from the heart, from fervent wishes, and while she has the suspicion once or twice that her prayer has been fulfilled, that suspicion is drowned in her doubts about the gods and their goodwill. I would say that it is more fate and destiny and maybe the Old Gods working magic for her than Sansa herself working magic with the exception of her singing for the Hound. Her magic is singing and I think that we’ll see that at work once she sings for Jon at the wall and he’ll remember his human soul. I do think that of all the Stark children, Sansa’s magic is the least sinister, the least harmful. Even the people who die after she wished for them to die, had it coming.

#Sansa Stark #sansamonth2022 #Day 24 #Prayers #Sansa's prayers #Sansa's magic

39 notes · View notes