#but frey… if he ends up in a place where he can make his own moves/decisions. id be very interested in what he’d choose

[venti-death-watch]

yknow based on freminet’s emphasis on being controlled & the director’s weapon vs making his own decisions, and looking at xiao’s everything, if one of the house of hearth kids is going to betray the fatui/join the traveler i’d kinda expect it to be him

[jedimaesteryoda]

Every once in a while on Twitter (not X, Elon can go screw himself), someone circulates a complaint about A Song of Ice and Fire that is basically some version of "GRRM's series is nihilistic where everyone is gray, there are no heroes and villains, or heroes die and villains win compared to Tolkien's magnum opus where there are clear heroes and villains with the heroes being upright and good always wins."

It's written by people who either never read nor understood the series nor understands the author.

Firstly, Martin himself is a fan of Tolkien stating "I revere Lord of the Rings, I reread it every few years, it had an enormous effect on me as a kid," and is such a huge fan of Tolkien he complains of "Tolkien imitators" who "cheapened it. The audience were being sold degraded goods. I thought: 'This is not how it should be done.' "

Tolkien was a clear inspiration for Martin's magnum opus given in the same interview he stated "I wanted to combine the wonder and image of Tolkien fantasy with the gloom of historical fiction." You can even find nods to Tolkien throughout the series from names like "Oakenshield" to a dwarven heir to a mighty mountain fastness filled with gold. Underneath the gloom on the surface, there is a layer of Tolkien-esque romanticism.

ASOIAF isn't nihilistic. No one would call characters like war criminal and murderer-rapists like Gregor Clegane, Ramsay Bolton and Euron Greyjoy or the vivisectionist and torturer Qyburn morally grey. There are heroes like Brienne of Tarth who risked her life in a hopeless fight to save an inn full of orphans, Sam who stayed with Gilly and her babe beyond the Wall in a forest filled with wights and Dunk who defended a puppeteer from a prince. Then, there is Daenerys whose experience as a domestic abuse victim and child bride lead her to put her plan to take back the Iron Throne on hold to liberate slaves.

My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results… but it is the effort that’s heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight. -George R.R. Martin

These characters go out of their way to help others and live up to their ideals in a world they know won't reward them for it. That's what helps to make their actions truly heroic. In the end, it's their striving that sets them apart.

The ones who are villains don't seem to win in the end. Tywin was killed by his own abused son on the privy over his mistreatment of a peasant girl, and his legacy is already crumbling. Jaime lost his sword hand and is becoming increasingly disillusioned with his house, slowly realizing that they're not the good guys. The Boltons are facing a rebellion and their new bannermen don't want Ramsay as their liege lord. More Freys have been killed as a result of the Red Wedding than fighting for Robb, and they're being overextended. Not to mention, one of their victims has come back from the dead to enact vengeance on their house. House Greyjoy is destined to fall to ruin as the Greyjoys suffer and die in their fruitless pursuits for crowns.

It's also a superficial reading of Tolkien. Tolkien has moments in his series where heroes fail like Isildur, the guy who slew Sauron, failing to do the one thing he needed to do to end the threat for all time by keeping the One Ring, and Frodo, the purported hero of the series, doing the same thing at the end. Thorin Oakenshield refused to provide money to the people of Lake-town over the destruction of their city at Smaug's hands as a result of his party's actions. There's also plenty of stories of heroes failing in The Silmarillion like Turin.

Both are great series in their own right, and if you don't like Martin's series, that's okay, no series is for everyone. But don't mischaracterize it and pit it against a dumbed down, mischaracterized version of Tolkien's work.

[novaursa]

Hi! 🫂

English is not my first language!

Stark!reader x Oberyn Martell

Where reader is engaged to Oberyn. She was at the red wedding and reader is hurt with Greywind and her direwolf "Winter". They go to Dorne for help. You can choose how the ending goes! Hope you understand what i writing and sorry again for my bad english! 🫣

Shadow of the Red Wedding

- Summary: You attened the Red Wedding and survive. You wake up with Oberyn watching over you.

- Paring: stark!reader/Oberyn Martell

- Note: Let's pretend the reader was smuggled by surviving Stark loyalists somewhere safe while unconscious. Don't think too much about the logic of it. 🙃

- Rating: Mature 16+

- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @alyssa-dayne @oxymakestheworldgoround

The air inside the Twins is thick, almost suffocating. Your head is spinning from the wine, the noise, and the underlying tension you can’t quite place. The hall is alive with music and laughter, but there's something sour in the atmosphere, like rotten meat left too long in the sun. Winter is restless beside you, her silver eyes darting around, ears flicking with every cheer and clang of cups. You scratch behind her ears absently, trying to calm your own nerves more than hers.

You’re wedged between Roslin Frey’s nervous chatter and your brother Robb’s booming laughter, pretending to be more at ease than you feel. Your thoughts keep drifting south, to the warmth of the sun and a pair of dark, mischievous eyes that always seem to hold more secrets than you can pry loose. Oberyn. Your betrothed. The Red Viper of Dorne. He would laugh at this, laugh at your unease, call you too much the wolf in the lion’s den.

Winter growls low in her throat, her hackles rising. You glance down, heart skipping a beat. She’s never like this unless—

The music shifts, a sudden lurch from joyous melodies to something sharp, discordant. There’s a flash of movement, too quick, too chaotic, and then it’s all blood and screams and steel flashing in the torchlight.

“Winter!” you shout, but she’s already leaping, jaws snapping, fur bristling like a storm. She barrels into a group of Frey men, teeth sinking into the arm of one who’s rushing Robb. You’re on your feet, blade in hand—when did you draw it?—and then you’re fighting, the clash of swords ringing in your ears, too loud, too close.

It’s a blur of chaos. You feel the sting of a blade slicing across your arm, the burn of another grazing your side. You slash and parry, trying to reach Robb, to reach your mother—your family, your home, everything falling apart around you. Winter’s a whirlwind of white and red, tearing through the Freys, snarling and snapping, but there are too many.

You see it then, the crossbow, the bolt flying, and Robb’s eyes widening as it strikes. A scream rips from your throat, raw and desperate, but you don’t remember making the sound. Everything slows, like moving through water, and then you’re on the ground, pain flaring bright and hot in your side, your leg—where did that knife come from?

Winter is over you, growling, her fur wet and matted with blood—yours, hers, it’s hard to tell. You reach for her, fingers tangling in her fur, and then there’s Grey Wind, a silver blur crashing through the hall, jaws snapping around the throat of a man who’s raising his sword. For a moment, there’s hope, the wolves together, tearing through the carnage.

But there’s too much blood. You’re slipping, darkness creeping at the edges of your vision. You feel Winter’s weight on your chest, her muzzle pressed to your face, a low whine vibrating through her. You want to tell her it’s okay, that you’re okay, but you can’t seem to find the words. The world tilts, and then it’s all gone.

When you wake, everything hurts. Every breath is a knife in your ribs, every twitch of your fingers a fresh wave of agony. You’re not dead, but you almost wish you were. The ceiling above you is unfamiliar, high and vaulted, and the air smells different, warmer, filled with spices and salt.

South. You’re somewhere south.

It’s a slow, agonizing process to turn your head, and even slower to make sense of what you’re seeing. There’s a shadow in the doorway, tall and broad, and then he’s there, beside you, hands hovering like he’s afraid to touch you.

“Oberyn,” you manage, your voice a rasping whisper.

He doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at you, and it’s almost unbearable, the intensity in his eyes, the raw emotion you’ve never seen him wear so openly. Then he curses, long and colorful, something about wolves and stubborn northern women, and it’s almost funny, almost.

“You’re not dead,” he says finally, and it’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard because of course you’re not. Not yet, anyway.

“I thought…they said…all dead.” He’s shaking his head, and you realize, dimly, that he’s shaking too, trembling like the ground before a storm. “And then you show up here, bleeding all over my nice sheets.”

You almost laugh, but it turns into a cough, and he’s there, hands on your shoulders, his face close to yours, and he’s angry—no, furious—but not at you. Never at you. You wonder if he’s going to kiss you or strangle you, and then he’s doing neither, just holding you, whispering something in that smooth, honeyed voice, too soft for you to make out.

“Winter?” you ask, because it’s the only thing that matters right now. Where is she? Did she—

“Alive,” he says, and his voice is different now, something raw and aching in it. “Your wolf is alive. Nearly tore a hole in our healer’s arm when they tried to get close to you.”

You close your eyes, relief washing over you. Winter’s alive. She’s alive. And so are you. You want to say something, to tell him how much you missed him, how sorry you are for nearly dying, but the words are tangled up inside you, too big, too heavy.

“You’re a bloody fool,” he says instead, his hand brushing over your cheek, gentle now, so gentle it almost breaks you. “What were you thinking, going to that damned wedding? Your brother, your mother—” He cuts off, his jaw tight, and you see it there, the grief, the pain he’s trying so hard to hide.

You want to tell him it’s not his fault, that you had to go, that you had no choice. But you’re tired, so tired, and his hand is warm, and he’s here, and maybe that’s enough for now. You let your eyes close, feeling the press of his lips against your forehead, the last thing you hear before you slip back into darkness is his voice, low and fierce:

“You’re mine, you stubborn wolf. I’m not letting you go that easily.”

[adamussutekh]

1. for the choose violence ask game?

I could pick any character in this series and write out a full essay about how someone somewhere interpreted them wrong. However most of them would be low hanging fruit, or out of date with the current vibes.

What HAS been bothering me is something specific that we all got wrong about Six. This scene: 

At the end of the series, they're all going off in their own ways, they're all finding something else to do with their lives. They're all finding ways to keep doing work; Nine is teaching, John is rebuilding, Adam's decolonizing his culture, and Marina is doing…whatever we were supposed to interpret that as. So we look to Six, who's the second in command, the one with her head on straight, the one that's gung ho and go go go and battle ready, and she's….on vacation? 

We were all so mad at Frey for this. You can scroll back on THIS BLOG and find where I was personally upset about it. How dare he! She'd never! She'd keep giving back no matter what! 

I think we were wrong ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

I reread Six's Legacy recently, and I was surprised by the gap between fanon’s interpretation of Katerina as a free loving battle mom and who she actually is. 

She's soft. She pushes Six to do normal homework, to read textbooks and fairy tales, to play board games! She believes in meditation and building Six into a well rounded individual. She wanted her to know about earth and to /live/ on earth when it was all over. She was also a squishy af romantic who'd left her family behind

(Ouch) 

Out of all of them, I think Six's Cepan had the highest hopes for her. And she's the one who's the most mentally sound out of all of them! She's the one who makes sound plans, who keeps her head most of the time, who falls in love with another mostly stable person and builds a life with him. (Cannot stress how healthy samix is compared to all the rest of that). When the war ends, the sane soldiers go home, make babies, and move on with their lives. And since half human/loric people are canon in the past, I think the concept of them building a family and a life together is fully in reach in her mind. She's spent her entire life having to go places out of necessity, having to run and run for years because settling wasn't possible for her. Now suddenly she has freedom and a traveling partner to go wherever she wants. There's special rocks that let them teleport without ever having to go through customs. I'd be eating lunch in spain and skinny dipping in the Tallahassee river every single fucking day, personally, 

And it's not like she's sworn off using her skills forever! There's several points in legacies reborn where she steps in behind the scenes to move the plot along. The side novellas for the reborn series are ALL about the stupid shit Sam and Six are doing to clean up the government's poorly managed problems. She just doesn't personally trust the governments they were just fighting against to protect her or anyone she cares about, which I honestly think is the more sane conclusion. She's tired, she's RE-tired, and she's earned it. 

[cruelfeline]

I like the joke that Frey can handle Cuff - resist his corruption - because she's from NYC, but I also like to consider the deeper reasons.

We don't know exactly how Cuff corrupts the Tantas, but we can see that he essentially turns them into the worst versions of themselves. Tanta Sila's warrior spirit becomes an obsession with strength and violence. Tanta Prav's sense of justice becomes rigid and overly harsh. Tanta Olas retreats into her illusions. Tanta Cinta... well, I don't really know how becoming a dragon subverts love, but I'm sure there's some reasoning in there somewhere.

The point is, Cuff drags these women down and twists them into the worst versions of themselves.

And when he and Frey meet at the beginning of the game... well, she's kind of already there. We meet Frey at her rock-bottom, so to speak.

The irony of the situation is that Cuff meets her when she is at her most broken, and he has to actually build her up in order to have her help him in the way that he needs. He has to take her aversion to making connections with others, to accepting duty, and he has to reverse that. He has to take her abysmal views of herself as a worthless, pointless individual and prove them wrong.

The demon whose purpose is to destroy everything he touches has to do the exact opposite: help this broken woman believe in her own worth!

So in the post-game, when the time comes for him to try to do to her what he did to the Tantas... well, it doesn't really work, does it?

Cuff can't be a harsher critic of Frey than Frey has already been of herself. He can't make her feel worse about herself than she already has. He can't really go lower than "ready to throw myself off the Holland Tunnel."

as an aside, did any of y'all watch Steven Universe back in the day? that scene where Lapis is barely affected by Blue Diamond's depression-powers because she's already felt worse? it's basically that

On her end, Frey has grown and strengthened over the course of her journey, in no small part due to Cuff's influence and mentorship. She's hit that rock-bottom and clawed her way back up. She's learned to embrace purpose and duty. She's learned to believe in her own innate worth and abilities. Ironically, she's done all of this with Cuff's direct help.

And besides being inoculated by prior hardships... well. Frey also knows how to handle and interact with Cuff in ways the other Tantas did not: not as an ancient demon-weapon, but as a person, and I imagine this makes their relationship far different than the ones he had with the Tantas before her. I imagine it makes her less susceptible to his corruption solely because she just doesn't take him fully-seriously in that way. To her, he's not "Susurrus: ancient demon come to burn Athia to the ground and corrupt her beloved leaders." He's "Cuff: little guy who makes a pretty good shield but also can't shut up and gets excited over the concept of an umbrella."

That's the crux of it, I think. That Cuff has, for possibly the first time in his life, built someone up instead of tearing them down. And he's done so with such success, and while fostering such a familiar relationship, that undoing it just seems beyond him.

That Frey is the one who can withstand Susurrus because she's already felt lower than he could ever hope to bring her. And that she can shrug off his corruption because she knows him to be an annoying dork who can't pronounce "New York" and only recently figured out what makes a place appropriate for humans to sleep in.

Ah, I love them both. I want to see them grow together.

[scratchtovoid]

Some themes I would like the show to explore in season two: (spoilers ahead!)

1. Political Propaganda - The show has already introduced the idea of symbols of legitimacy and how those symbols do not actually determine legitimacy. But I think because the show fully committed to Rhaenyra’s first three sons being Harwin’s we lost a little of the propaganda element. It’s key to the story though. Especially the idea of who gets to be a political operative and what makes people believe the message.

I fully expect the Greens to continue to lean into showy public displays of symbolism. But I’m also really interested and seeing if Mysaria’s plot gives us the other side - can whispers among the smallfolk be their own form of propaganda? I think there’s great story potential to explore the political side of the war.

2. Daemon’s Failure - In my opinion season one firmly set up what is going to be a show long theme for Daemon with his failure to protect his family. And a large part of it is due to his own actions. He couldn’t help antagonizing Viserys and so Viserys sent him away.

Then we get to episode 10 and his whole family falls apart. He couldn’t prevent the coup. He stood there listening to Rhaenyra’s labors knowing he had no sway over if she lived or died. And he reacted to all that with a rage that he took out on his family. And then it caused him more problems. And this all culminates with Luke’s death which I’m sure he sees as another loss he failed to prevent.

I think there is a lot of story there. Because Daemon does want to protect his family. But his own chaotic nature gets in his way. And it creates this cycle of failure and anger he can’t get out of.

3. Jace and Baela as Heirs - I really hope the show moves these two characters in particular into the role Rhaenyra had in season one. I want to see them learning from Rhaenyra as she learned from Viserys. Jace will return to Dragonstone with some real wins. And I hope the show allows him to get those wins with some actual politicking.

Once he’s back I hope the show takes advantage of the fact Baela chooses to stay at Dragonstone and makes her Jace’s equal as they prepare for not only the war but the potential life that would come with Rhaenyra taking the throne. This was so key in the book for Jace but it would be a huge missed opportunity not to show Baela acting as a future queen too. Especially since depending on where the show ends we should get the sense she is one of the main political advisers post-Dance.

4. What Place Do Women Have? - We’re about to meet several women who fight for Rhaenyra’s cause, all the while watching Alicent move into fully upholding Aegon’s cause against Rhaenyra. People who are hardcore TG won’t want to hear this but these two factions have far different capacity for women leaders. So how does Alicent operate and move through a monarchy where she is only the King’s mother. Will men still turn to her when they have their new King?

And then how does the show contrast that with characters like Rhaenys fully embracing her Queen, and (spoilers!) dying for the cause? We’ll likely be meeting Sabitha Frey and Aly Blackwood this season. Two women who not only support Rhaenyra’s cause but lead military exercises! They will be in battle!

I want to see how the show handles this seemingly contradictory political stance that women can’t lead while giving us women clearly leading.

[jackoshadows]

Do you think that Littlefinger is going to make it to the final book or could he potentially be defeated in TWOW? I'm trying to imagine a vague outline of events but what's going on in the Vale feels like the biggest unknown. Littlefinger is a major obstacle that needs to be removed for things to progress but Sansa isn't currently at a place where that can happen, so I'm trying to imagine how that will play out.

I do think Littlefinger, as a major human antagonist, will continue into the last book ADoS. There's just so much happening in the Vale and the politics of the south in general, so many loose ends that needs tied up.

The Sansa in the TWoW sample chapter is different from where Sansa ends AFfC, so it does feel like GRRM had a bit of a time jump in terms of some character growth. However, she still has a way to go in terms of connecting the dots and figuring out what LF is really up to. She then has to get the Vale Lords on her side and control the Vale's resources through whomever is in charge. That's lots and lots of pages and story.

A while back I was speculating on chapter counts for each of the POV characters in TWoW here and here. I put Sansa at around 4 chapters. I doubt that's enough to get rid of LF considering it's very possible for LF's plot to intersect with what's happening in the Riverlands and with Varys/fAegon

“I think LF has a better idea of what Varys wants than Varys has an idea of what LF wants. LF is an agent of chaos who likes to be unpredictable and succeeds in that”  - GRRM

GRRM in 2002:

Who is over lord of the Riverlands? (Since the Freys have Riverrun yet Littlefinger was named Lord Paramount). George says that Littlefinger is the Lord of the Riverlands but that he is going to run into trouble. I commented that Littlefinger is really powerful now that he has the Riverlands and supposed control of the Eyrie. GRRM laughed and said that I need to remember that for all his power Littlefinger has no army. (I thought that was interesting). GRRM also commented that (I forget which Frey, Emmon?) the Frey given Riverrun really wants to be Lord of the Riverlands and has dreams of having his father be his vassel. (I thought that was interesting also)

The Vale itself has so much plot to cover - SweetRobin, Harry the Heir, The mountain clans possibly planning an attack, the Vale Lords and Ladies like Myranda Royce etc. And Sansa is the only POV there. Without Sansa we don't get to see what’s happening at an important location in the books. This is why it’s absolutely mind boggling for me that people see Sansa going North at the start of the next book! Like how?!

So yeah, I see Sansa/LF covering the next two books. If Arya does end up going south for a tryst with Lady Stoneheart it’s very possible this is where Arya and Sansa meet to resolve their issues - something that GRRM has said will happen. Lady Stoneheart with both her daughters and a final confrontation between Littlefinger and Lady Stoneheart is something I can see happening.

And yes, Sansa will eventually take down Littlefinger. However she has a lot of ground to cover. Littlefinger is a master at his game and as GRRM puts it, Sansa is just beginning to get there in AFfC:

“…She is beginning to at least try to understand how she can play the  game of thrones and be not a piece, but a player. With her own goals, and moving other pieces around. And she’s not a warrior like Robb, Jon Snow. She’s not even a wild child like Arya. She can’t fight with swords, axes. She can’t raise armies. But she has her wits! Same as   Littlefinger has…”

So yes, Littlefinger will be around in ADoS.

[gloriouswhispers]

SASHA ACKERMAN

Age & Birthday: 39 years old, April 4th

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Female / She/Her

Species: Witch

Birthplace: Syracuse, New York 

Connection to Asphodel and/or the Syndicate: Frey

Job/role: Instructor

Positive personality traits: Quick-Thinking, Empathetic, Opportunistic

Negative personality traits: Devious, Stubborn, Blunt

ABOUT

Eccentricity might be an Ackerman trademark, but who can really say? Sasha has always been a bright and brilliant personality, witty and quick-thinking which eventually came to serve her well as she got older. Her trials and tribulations were quite small in the grand scheme of things, little white lies and bends of truths that saw her in and out of trouble. Besides, it was especially needed when her younger brother was born, and slowly Jeremiah entered his own trials and tribulations when he grew. It became clear her brother was different, a host of mental health issues that made navigating his magic ten times more difficult. Considering he’d wake up as Jerry and forget he even had any. Sasha tried her hardest to be the responsible older sister, and she had every intention to help him through all of his hardships.

But Sasha longed for freedom, in similar ways Jeremiah did when he he took himself off on adventures. When she turned twenty she decided to hit the road herself with a group of friends, feeling a tinge of guilt for leaving her brother behind and also her parents to deal with Jeremiah’s erratic ways. She’d visit whenever she could, always returning home with bent-truths of stories to conceal all of the small scale cons she needed to make money. Not wanting to burden her parents when they had enough on their plate. She’d also always return home to check in with Jeremiah, whenever he was around for her to do so.

One day she returned to the discovery of her home burned to the ground by a group of hunters. Her family dead, and it was the first time she was so thankful to learn that Jeremiah had taken himself on one of his own adventures when it happened. Sasha remained close by for the following days, not only dealing with the aftermath of the losses but waiting for her brother to show his face again. As always, he did and once the loose ends were tied up, they were on the road together and Sasha finally learned how to step into the big sister boots she always wished she could fill.

While traveling together, it became apparent that while she loves her brother, she simply isn’t equipped to keep him safe. At least not alone. When they eventually settled back around in New York, Sasha requested the help from Asphodel Institute while knowing that they were better equipped to support her brother. Simply living out of motels and running scams to feed themselves was never going to cut it and Sasha still harbors guilt that she can't be the perfect big sister for him. As Jeremiah attended the institute, he and Sasha started up a stall at The Frey where they specialize in magical inventions.

It's been this way for a few years now, and Sasha considers herself to be at home. Until recent months have shaken her belief that New York is even a safe place to be. It doesn't help that her brother is taking it upon himself to be a sleuth, but of course, when he's Jerry and has no idea he has magical powers that can protect him. This is why Sasha doesn't take any questions about her chain smoking seriously. She just gestures around herself at her life.

[swordduels]

Headcanon: Clarimonde as a witch

When thinking about Clarimonde being a witch I started to think of Loki in norse mythology but also Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch from the Marvel comics. Clarimonde’s role as a witch

Clarimonde will be a witch connected to nature, changes and growth while they learn to walk their own path in life. While figuring themself out they might or might not want to help others and show kindness despite their violent past. I believe their role will look different depending on the starting point. If Clarimonde is still heavily influenced by the cult’s teachings their role as a witch can be destructive and based on a selfish belief system. But if Clarimonde for one reason or another wants to change it will affect how they view and use magic as well. The core issue with Clarimonde is that they struggle to make personal connections and are starving for love, mainly platonic but can also be romantic love. They also struggle with their own identity since the cult has brainwashed its members to mainly serve the chosen deity Blood Father while working for a collective identity.  Redeeming arc The theme of redemption is rebirth. In a redeeming arc they will carry a lot of guilt mixed with doubts about themself and their place in the world as a witch. A part of Clarimonde feels like they cannot be redeemed because of the horrific acts they had done. How can someone who has slaughtered people with glee live normally in a society? Do they have any right to still live and help others with their new abilities? It’s a big responsibility and something they have never been taught. What fuels Clarimonde’s desire to walk the narrow path is their childhood dream of becoming a preacher but instead of using it to spread violence they want to do good deeds.

At the start they will make many mistakes as well as selfish deeds. Clarimonde will learn the hard way that magic has its own set of rules that need to be followed or else there will be heavy consequences. 

Inspirations

Here I want to point at Loki who per say is not entirely connected to nature as far as we know, though the scholars have different opinions about his place in norse mythology. From what I’ve heard Loki can very well be connected to chaos but also changes since he is a deity who always creates and solves problems. It’s thanks to him Thor has his hammer, Odin got his horse Sleipnir, Frey has the ship Skidbladnir among other things. He has great value among the Gods and is often mentioned in stories but at the same time they have distrust for him. Loki kickstarts a series of events that lead to the beloved Balder’s death, the sun is swallowed which lead to twelve years of winter and then the ship Nagelfar steered by the death Goddess Hel arrives as well as hordes of soldiers. Ragnarok is known as “The twilight of the Gods” where many of the known deities are killed in battle before the world is ending and a new era of men and Gods starts. I’ve heard one theory that the story about Ragnarok, if it’s not entirely made up my christian monks, could be a story about seasons changing and rebirth as the sun returns again. It would fit very well as the nordic winters at the time were dangerous periods of cold, darkness and death. 

Using magic Magic is not entirely good or evil, magic is magic and as I mentioned before each spell or curse has its own rules. There can be grave consequences if one breaks rules or makes mistakes but a spell in itself can be dangerous towards the spell caster or the ones getting hit by the spell. Since Clarimonde never studied magic before they are first obvious to the things happening. They can’t understand or control it which creates dangerous situations. Trying out spells without grasping the basics would be like handing out chemicals to toddlers. Clarimonde wasn’t born with magic but was for one reason or another hit with it by accident from a magical storm cloud. There is some magical electricity which moves along their skin and has taken place in them. At the start of the journey they are like a massive magnet to all forms of magic as their gate is wide open. Knowledge is seeping into their mind without any form of filter, some things come in fragments, half a spell or half a story. They can sense things in the air. Suddenly they know that there is war on a continent they have never heard of, the wind brings them memories from places or there are instructions on how to enter someone's mind. Other times Clarimonde accidentally walks outside their own body while sleeping and is fully aware of doing so or they can transform people into animals. 

As the gate is open constantly I imagine it would attract magical beings from other realms with less than friendly intentions. It could open up for experiences they don’t want to deal with, like spirits of dead people whispering in their ear at night or some ghoul trying to grab their foot. The gate will be open until they learn how to close it off. 

Since there is a strong connection to nature and magic their own emotions or silent wishes come through with magic. If they are scared there is a turbulence in nature itself with large cracks, shakings or buildings being destroyed. When Clarimonde has a strong wish to become a preacher with a community built with their own hands they suddenly have a filled church but it’s up to them if people decide to stay or leave.  

When I write about characters with powers I always want to make sure it’s not too easy for them. My characters either make horrible mistakes or are burdened with something which makes it hard for them to use powers. When it comes to Clarimonde I want to make it clear they have no idea how to properly use magic or guard themself from attacks in the beginning. In one moment Clarimonde manages to turn someone into a donkey but if someone tosses a fireball they have no idea how to counter it. A lot of it comes from insecurities, mental trauma and inexperience. 

I’ll make another post about what would be Clarimonde’s magical abilities, limits and more details about how it works for them once I’ve developed my thoughts. 

Inspirations Wanda Maximoff is a character who has done horrible things and tries to redeem each action with good deeds while also suffering from mental issues. 

I’ve only read a few comics about Wanda but I really enjoy the chapters where she tries to help people with magical problems. It feels more occult rather than the classical super power fantasy. Every spell she casts affects her body and there are rules to follow that more resemble folklore’s view on magic. Certain rituals that need to be done at a specific time or place. Things that can protect people from being cursed. Someone having a poltergeist, another who has been taken over by a demon and so on.  

She can affect reality by creating sentient beings as stand in sons, she can walk through different realms or take away the powers of every mutant on earth with one sentence. Her skills are gigantic but the lore of magic usage and actions creates a very flawed character which makes her feel more human which I find interesting. 

Hopefully I can develop Clarimonde into something interesting and nuanced when exploring their identity as a witch.

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 8.1: Dances On Purple Rocks

No, this ain't a cop out. These are parallel chapters taking place in an alternate universe featuring our main cast. Personally, I think these are the pilot chapters that the author wanted us to see. Either way, let's begin.

We start with Cooro watching a couple of guys fight. Unfortunately, one of them punches the other into a bunch of kebabs. Cooro is furious...because he was planning on stealing those kebabs himself.

Yeah, we can already tell that this Cooro is not as nice as our main one.

He straight up sweeps the leg of the guy who punched the other one and grabs an axe to throw in front of his face, saying he's chopping off his nose next. Cooro uses this as an opportunity to eat food off the ground (as the guys move aside for their advancing boss) as this universe's Nana steps on his hand, telling him not to do dirty things. Anyway, the boss approaches him, saying he hasn't seen him around here before. Cooro nearly spills the beans that he and Nana were chased out of another city but she hits him, lying and saying that they're travelers. Seeing that Cooro's hungry, he leads them away to feed them. Meanwhile, they're being watched by a (blind) Husky and a (half-blind) Senri.

At the bar, Cooro and Nana are surrounded by ruffians of ill nature, much to Nana's displeasure. The boss introduces them as the new members then follows through on feeding them tasty food. Nana notices that everyone is wearing red bandanas and the guy Cooro beat up was wearing blue bandanas. A guy explains that they're the Frey gang and the blue colors are the Bruno gang. He then points out the window, showing off a rock mountain called the "Purple Blocks" which is where the old boss of the city hid the treasure. The new boss of the city will be whoever can find the treasure first.

The old boss died a month ago, so Bruno and Frey, both of his underlings, are competing to see who can lead the new group. Cooro asks why don't either just go and get the treasure already. The guy explains that there's a giant crimson rock lizard at the mountain so that rules out just going there. Plus, the Bruno gang has their eyes set on the place too so both sides have to stock up on weapons and men. When the guy finally shuts up and walks off, Nana pulls Cooro aside to complain about joining a literal gang. Cooro points out that when their gang wins, Cooro and Nana will most likely be let go since they don't do much. Until then, free food huh? Cooro benefits from the patriarchy as Nana has to overhear older men salivate over her, guessing she'll be hot in five years...

MEANWHILE, AT BRUNO'S LAIR: Bruno hears that Freya has recruited two kids. So has he: with a Senri and a (apparently no longer blind) Husky.

At night, Freya is awoken by a member announcing that Bruno is heading towards the Purple Blocks. Husky and Senri, with the Brunos, wonder if Cooro and Nana will show up...

Anyway, The Freyas make it to the Blocks, ready to battle. Before Cooro (Nana wanted to stay and watch her possible assaulters get killed.) can join, the Freyas are indeed attacked by a giant crimson rock lizard. Husky joins in the fight them off and the Bruno gang surround Freya, who refuses to back down. However, the lizard turns its eyes on him...only for Senri to cut open its throat with a sword (damn).

Cooro fights Husky with his axe as Nana follows after them, only to have to end up warning them about another giant lizard. Senri kills that one with his bear claws, exposing his +Anima status. Cooro joins in by chopping the thing in the eye while flying, showing he's a +Anima too. After the lizards are dead, they spot the treasure chest! Freya and Bruno run for it but Cooro snatches it up before they do, sending the two falling into a pond. Cooro follows much to his own shock, forcing Husky to jump in after him. Pulling him up, Husky calls him out for getting dunked when he knows he can't swim (Cooro somehow didn't think a treasure chest would be heavy.).

They open the chest to discover treasure. All four already know each other, having separated since they were kicked out of the city. The chapter ends with a giant tongue taking their treasure.

[burnnouts]

A lump settled in Robb's throat. He wanted to laugh nearly as much as he wanted to cry. It was all he wanted, all he had hoped for so long: to end this war and do right by his people, by his family. He had not asked to be a king, but if he must be one, then he wanted to be a good one. Yet, for so long, this war had seemed endless and impossible. He had won every battle he'd fought, and he had tried to uphold all the honor and expectations of the North--to be a leader that would make his father proud--but he had found himself up against a wall at every turn, struck with betrayal in his own camp--from his best friend, his Lords, from his mother. "Let us hope I make a good husband as well," he said with a small, tired laugh. He was letting down one girl--a girl he did not know, of course, yet someone he'd vowed to marry all the same--and now he could only hope he did not disappoint another.

He nodded. "You're right, of course." What was done was done; he had made a decision, and now he would have to live with it. Men would talk, yes, and the Freys would abandon him--and when they marched home, crossing that bridge again would be a new challenge--but it would be worth it in the end; he knew it would be. "The Winter Rose," he repeated and then smiled. "I like the sound of that. It suits you."

She was cunning as well as beautiful. He had heard as much, but it was still exciting--and reassuring--to see this side of her for himself. Robb relished all strategic input, and a wise queen would benefit them all. "Yes," he agreed. "In the gods wood." Robb spent as many meetings with his bannermen by the heart tree as he did in his own war tent. His bannermen would see this gesture, as she'd said, as a sign of faith and good will toward the North. "And what of your gods?" he asked her curiously. His father had built a sept in the North where there had been none before, simply for his mother to worship; Margaery, too, would have it if she wished. But it occurred to him now that he did not know Lady Margaery's faith--though he could suspect that she would not be eager to be back in a sept any time soon.

Robb looked down at the place where she'd touched his hand, momentarily surprised, but he smiled at the gesture and gave her hand a small squeeze back. "I do not doubt it," he said. He looked at her carefully, grateful for what she said, the lump back in his throat as he thought of how long it had been since he'd last seen Sansa and how much she must have suffered before he could reach her. "I know vengeance cannot bring back your brother," he said slowly. "But I will bring you Cersei's head. And I will do everything in my power to make certain you never have to suffer such losses again. That you are safe and cared for. I will do all I can to make you happy."

"You   are   a   good   king,   Robb   Stark.   And   a   good   man.   It   is   a   rare   combination."   One   that   could   get   him   killed   perhaps,   but   she   hopes   she   can   infuse   some   of   her   own   guidance   from   her   grandmother   onto   him.   He   thinks   of   his   people,   and   he   wishes   for   home   for   all   of   them.   For   others,   war   is   just   an   endless   circle   that   never ends.   "You   will   go   home   too."   And   hopefully,   soon.   If   this   all   goes   well,   the   war   will   be   over   and   they   can   all   finally   have   some   peace.   "I   know   your   family   believes   in   honor   but   sometimes,   one   must   put   something   else   before   it.   It's   easier   to   judge   when   the   crown   is   not   on   your   head."   And   in   the   end,   the   decisions   are   his   own.   Would   she   go   somewhere   else   if   he   had   not   taken   her?   Perhaps.

  Maybe   Dorne,   as   Willas   had   been   friends   with   Oberyn   Martell   but   she   much   prefers   the   northern   weather   than   the   heat.   It   dwells   on   her   that   his   home   will   be   hers   then.   Winterfell   and   the   North.   "The   Winter   Rose.   I   like   that   name   for   myself   personally."   Her   jest   is   simple   but   she   is   flattered   by   his   compliments.   Many   see   her   as   cunning.   Her   marriages are all   too   political,   that   she   is   just   a   pawn   or   too   smart   and   only   makes   herself   look   dumb.   "Show   your   people   that   this   commitment   is   true   to   the   North   then.   Do   not   marry   under   a   Sept   but   your   Gods."   The   Old   Gods.  

She   knows   little   of   northern   weddings,   but   she   knows   gestures   are   important   for   people.   He   is   breaking   an   oath   to   make   another,   so   he   has   to   prove   it's   one   to   be   done   in   front   of   the   right   gods   of   his   people.   "Traditions   are   important   and   your   men   need   to   see   you   are   a   Northern   King.   Despite   taking   a   Southern   wife."   Margaery   gives   pause,   a   small   step   closer   to   the   King,   taking   his   hand   on   her   own,   bold,   perhaps,   but   it   is   to   make   herself   clear.   "I   promise   I   will   be   a   good   queen,   and   wife.   Even   more,   I   wish   for   you   to   be   reunited   with   your   family.   Sansa   spoke   so   kindly   of   you."

[lemonhemlock]

Thoughts on alys/aemond and alys in general

It's very hard to get a proper reading on Alys' character because she is tied with the supernatural and the maesters writing the histories do not understand and tend to dismiss magic. She is supposed to be twice (or thrice??) Aemond's age, but looks unusually young. Is she just a MILF with a good skin care routine? Is she a fire priestess like Melisandre? Can she even get pregnant anymore? Does she conceive the child via magic?

Their dynamic is also open to discussion. Aemond puts House Strong to the sword, but spares Alys. What does she feel about this? Some of those children must have been in her care; she must have breastfed them herself. Is it true that she gave them up willingly? Did she betray them because she was afraid? Did she give them up because she hated them and felt mistreated by them? Did Aemond abuse his power differential in regards to her? Is Alys the one actually manipulating Aemond here?

In any case, Aemond's relationship with Alys is a norm-transgression. This is where I disagree with the majority of green takes on Aemond. By entering in a relationship with Alys, he disrespects his betrothal with the Baratheon girl. Green Knights like to argue that dutiful Aemond would lawfully marry Alys, so that their child wouldn't be born a bastard, but the text isn't clear on whether this actually happened. I would counterpoint that Aemond marrying Alys makes things even worse. The reality is that he can get away with having bastards because he is a man. If he marries her, he completely breaks off the Baratheon pact, bamboozles his brother's alliance with an important military player and effectively endangers the lives of his family by making them vulnerable to a Baratheon coup.

We joke about Robb being irresponsible with Jeyne Westerling, breaking his betrothal and ultimately contributing to his own downfall. We should extend the same type of criticism to Aemond. Bear in mind that, as compensation, Robb offered Walder Frey another very profitable marriage pact. Edmure was not just Some Guy, he was the Lord of Riverrun and Walder Frey's liege lord. And, yet, Walder Frey still orchestrated the Red Wedding in revenge. He wasn't content with Edmure, he wanted the King as his brother-in-law, as promised.

Similarly, the Baratheons were promised Aemond, the second son, with the biggest dragon. Would they settle for Daeron, the third son? Maybe, maybe not. But what about the shame of one of the Four Storms being set aside for a bastard wet nurse? Rhaenyra also has sons they can request for betrothals. This is why Alicent moves quickly after Aemond's and Helaena's deaths to betroth Aegon to Cassandra Baratheon. They are important military allies they need to keep no matter what.

From a story writing standpoint, by introducing Aemond's and Alys' relationship, the author places Aemond on a slippery slope towards the point-of-no-return. Aemond cannot come back from the God's Eye now, because there is no place for him in the narrative anymore. He cannot reunite with his family, because he would have to set Alys aside and marry the Baratheon girl. That is impossible, because his obsession with her becomes all-consuming. He is effectively snatched away from his own story by the paranormal. Alys is a witch with a terrifying aura about her; as an extension of the supernatural, she cannot be contained within the Red Keep as Aemond's mistress.

Their relationship signals the beginning of the end for Aemond. It traps him in a limbo from which he cannot exit, but also cannot go on indefinitely. His arc can only end with Daemon and Caraxes.

My reading of Aemond is that he is a person struggling with his sense of duty, after keeping to his principles and to societal rules for so long. He receives no compensation. He loses an eye and is denied justice. He becomes more suited than Aegon for kingship, but it is all in vain, because unworthy Aegon will always be ahead of him in the line of succession. Aemond has followed the rulebook to a tee, only to end up feeling slighted and disregarded.

The one time he unleashes his buried feelings of injustice and rage, he loses control of Vhagar, kills Luke and inadvertently starts the war. He will blame himself for Blood & Cheese, for causing his family unimaginable pain, for crushing his sister's soul. He will spiral and lose impulse control and drown before he can save himself.

Aemond is a very tragic character and the story advertises his doom very noticeably with the inclusion of Alys. But, ultimately, an analysis of Aemond shouldn't ignore the fact that, textually, he is an oathbreaker and a hypocrite. He interacts with the issue of bastardy both by sleeping with a bastard of House Strong (!) himself and by fathering a bastard child on her. He endangers his family by breaking his vows to the Baratheons. Dutiful Aemond fights for his brother's claim till the very end, but he threatens the success of his brother's campaign precisely by not carrying out his duty.

[fursasaida]

A lot has been said about Pelosi’s idiotic, offensive, bullshit statement about the Chauvin verdict, but what’s sticking in my craw more is actually Mayor Frey’s (of MPLS) similarly fuckshit statement. Please note the emphasis I’m adding to this with the bolding:

George Floyd came to this city to better his life. But ultimately his life will have bettered our city. The jury joined in a shared conviction that has animated Minneapolis for the last 11 months. They refused to look away and affirmed he should still be here today.

This is similar to Pelosi’s statement in that it casts George Floyd’s death as a kind of redemptive martyrdom for which “we” should be grateful, rather than a horrific tragedy that should make us angry or active or otherwise something other than placid and self-satisfied. But it exposes the underlying idea more clearly, and that idea is extraction.

This formulation says: George Floyd came to the city with hopes and intentions, and the city ate him to fuel itself. (It has been animated!) It says, the city robbed this man. It says, his future was never his future; it was fuel to continue and even improve the city. There is nothing mutualistic about what this says--no sense that people come to the city because of what they hope it can help them do, and in the process of achieving it their efforts also become part of the city, and all of these efforts, together, make the city what it is and make it better and more, even as they also make the city a place where people can achieve the things they want. (Even dry, conservative economists are capable of articulating “the city” this way, in their own terrible jargon.) The city apparently does not need people to live in it to be bettered. It only needs people to bring themselves to be ground up.

I wrote a paper in January about the carceral system as a system for extracting time, as a “natural resource,” from the lives and bodies of racialized and criminalized people. In the paper I pointed out that “time” can mean a lot of things, and if we are going to talk about its extraction then we need to ask what it is in its “raw” form and what it is processed into and used for upon being extracted. I said that raw time was simply potential and possibility, and that from this potentiality of life state practices like harassment, surveillance, arrests, killings, incarceration, prison transfers, parole, all manner of political theater, and so on produce temporal products the state can use like duration, events, and rhythms. Rhythms are useful because they synchronize and organize the workings of the state’s various systems and integrate them into the coherent whole called territory. Duration means sustenance or maintenance: the continuation of the state’s current configuration. And events are useful because they a) can be used to construct other rhythms (like cycles of “reform” followed by crackdowns, adjusted for various political purposes) and b) are the things you hang a narrative on.

What these politicians are doing with their rhetoric is very literally processing the time, the potential and possibility, what Ruth Wilson Gilmore called “the resource of life,” that was taken from George Floyd into an event. (The trial itself was already doing that, of course, but now they are eventalizing the event further.) This event is supposed to link into the sanitized--”folkloric,” as Osita Nwanevu put it--narrative of the Civil Rights movement. The nature of that narrative is to lock struggle into the past, to treat the losses that were part of it as finished, justified, nobly necessary, and the objects of awe and respect rather than sources of grief or motivation. (ETA: Decent thread here pointing out how Biden’s explicitly linking last year’s protests to the 60s skips over decades of public mobilization in between, including the formation of BLM in 2014 when Biden was still VP.) Whether we regard this as extending that narrative into the present or shunting George Floyd’s life and death into the past doesn’t really matter. Either way, the future that is left open here for those of us alive to encounter it is what is called “the future anterior,” a future that is only an extension of the past--more of the same. The “future to-come,” as a meaningfully different and significantly unknowable future, a future with the “raw time” possibility of being different that makes the future what it is, is deferred. All these practices do that--separate future anterior from future to-come, and use the predictable guarantees of the former to generate value while deferring the latter.

Many, many Black and other intellectuals have written about how liberalism and capitalism have been built on extracting value from the people they racialize and criminalize. I doubt anyone reading this far needs that explained. I just find it revolting how clearly Frey has articulated that here. “Our city is better because it killed George Floyd. Be uplifted.” Yes, he ended on “he should still be here.” I suppose that’s better than if he hadn’t. But I can barely hear that closing over the first two sentences ringing in my ears.

[cruelfeline]

Hello, back with more bullshit about the abomination comment:

The comment is interesting regarding Frey and Cuff's dynamic of being foils to each other as well.

Frey most likely spent the majority of her life thinking that she was fundamentally unwanted and unlovable, that she didn't really have a place in the world. How could she not? But by the end of the game, she's been offered a chance to readjust her perception of herself and move on— not really heal, not yet and not from such a deep wound, but her relationship to the people of Cipal and the plight of Athia, Cinta's admission of love and the understanding of the frought nature of her birth and arrival in New York, give her a point to pivot from. She has worth, she has agency, and people can love her, do love her. Frey has a place in the world and was always wanted, even if her life didn't pan out in a way that made it easy for her to know that.

Cuff, on the other hand, has a strong belief in both his purpose and his existence being wanted— he has a task, and he was purpose made for it, so of course he's intentional and a desirable asset for the Rheddig, and of course he should be loyal to them and their whims, they made him! He's willing to do things he's clearly conflicted about just because it's what he's for, and cape for the Rheddig just because he's tangentially linked to them. It'd be easy to think, then, that the Rheddig might appreciate him as a part of their faction to instil such loyalty (as Frey kind of does, because she sees Cuff as a person), but no, the game goes on to show that no one else really sees Cuff as either a person or as something that should exist at all. Unlike Frey, though, he doesn't really acknowledge it aside from is comments during their fight about his duty, but even then it's not to judge how others perceive him, just to kind of internalise that view of him and make it acceptable within his framing of himself.

Idk, it's just kind of neat that they sort of end up at opposite points to each other in this regard— even if Cuff ends up there from us gaining knowledge of him, rather than his character gaining knowledge of himself.

(Sorry for the word vomit haha, hope you're having a good day)

I am having a lovely day, and your commentary has brightened it further!

You're absolutely right.

One of the most interesting contrasts between Cuff and Frey pertains to their sense of self and their sense of duty.

As you say, they're opposites. Frey starts out with a very low opinion of herself, convinced that she's a screw-up whom no one could love, only to eventually understand that she was loved and had value all along.

Cuff maintains this sense of pride in what he is, apparently believing himself to be valued by those who made him and secure in his purpose, but as time goes on, this seems less and less grounded in reality. He is an "it" to everyone save for Frey. And, ultimately, he seems very unaware of any of the machinations involving him, as evidenced by his ignorance of his own rebirth in the DLC. Slowly but surely, it feels like we're approaching the realization that he has no revelation of love and want waiting for him in Rheddah.

In terms of duty, Frey goes from shying away from it - believing herself unable to rise to meet it - to choosing, willingly, to devote herself to it. Whereas Cuff starts from a place of devotion that he did not choose, yet still believes he must remain true to, and ends up... well, we don't fully know. But the final battle's dialogue certainly suggest some doubt starting to emerge.

And all of this ultimately reverses their states of power!

Frey goes from unsure and frightened and depressed to confident and certain and strong. Where she had little agency before, she has plenty now, and she's willing to use it.

Cuff starts off with that confidence and certainty only to seem less sure by the end. He's less able to grasp his agency and use it, and he exhibits far more anxiety and concern in, say, the DLC than Frey does.

Frey gets better and grows healthier; Cuff gets strangely worse.

Gosh, I wish we could have seen how it all progressed!

[reyneluvirith]

ooh, yes, that would make sense! especially along the border regions—that could be one reason why the Empire's invasion of Faerghus during CF stalls not far into Faerghus Mach. just way more castles around than necessary making it inordinately hard for the invasion force to gain any ground.

you're absolutely right, and that really gets me wondering about what the lower titles possessed by the various nobles in Fódlan might be like. we only ever really hear about the top-level ones! i'd love to see Ferdinand described as, idk, Count Frey or Laufey or something like that. and ooh, maybe Marianne is even considered something like like Margrave Kupala!! i could totally see that being a junior margraviate officially held by the Margrave Edmund.

omg yes, definitely, especially in Faerghus. that place is probably littered with castles that they can thrust onto their heirs. could serve as essentially post-Officers Academy "real world practice" for their heir apparent!

right?? could perhaps try tackling a specific region or subregion first, then build out from there. end up with a 1gb svg of Fódlan when all is said and done,,,

or perhaps with a very slightly different, less generous interpretation of Ionius: he saw a beautiful woman and decided he'd take her as a concubine, tradition and consequences be damned (i have Thoughts on Anselma's whole situation, but i shouldn't go down that rabbit hole). i could definitely see it being both—he was already making strides to increase centralization in Adrestia, and it would not surprise me if he took a concubine from a minor noble family to throw a wrench into the established power structures. and i've wondered the same!! we never really hear about anyone else having concubines or multiple wives. as far as i can recall, at least. Sylvain mentions in Three Hopes that many nobles have different mothers, like himself and Miklan, though in there case it was a clear case of Miklan's mother dying and Margrave Gautier remarrying. but that's in Faerghus, so who knows how it might apply in Adrestia! my gut tells me that it's an Adrestian Emperor-only practice, and one which the church is probably not thrilled with. perhaps it's old Southern Church doctrine allowed to persist even after that branch got disestablished.

100% agree on Itha—it absolutely feels like a recent creation. i figure that region was former Sreng territory that got annexed by House Blaiddyd after they invaded and conquered it, and which only got split off as its own title when Lambert took the throne. makes me wonder why exactly that would have happened now, though. have previous heirs all happened to be firstborns? did Rufus have a particularly strong claim? perhaps he was more popular with nobility, so a grand duchy was given to persuade him not to gather up allies to push his claim. Lambert did prove to be quite unpopular after all, to the point where a bunch of vassals in Mach decided to collaborate to assassinate him. Rufus is even able to take the throne in Three Hopes by claiming Dimitri's a pawn of House Fraldarius—maybe Lambert and his two best buds were quite unpopular with everyone else in power in the country, while Rufus wasn't! regardless, i could definitely see Grand Duke being a title generally considered to be restricted to relatives of royalty in Fódlan. royalty minus. otherwise it's just dukes, and even then there are really barely any of them.

i have a question about your fódlan 1180 map, if you wouldn't mind answering. specifically, i'm wondering about what your intention is/was with the uh. minor houses attached to cities/settlements but without marked territory (e.g. the city of Breogán on the border of Aegir and Hrym territory is marked as being ruled by the Viscounts Surt). were you trying to convey that these houses only rule over their respective settlements, or would they have territory outside that, just unmarked on the map?

of course!! i love questions 💖 the idea i had there was essentially those houses without marked territories are sub-vassals, where the lord with marked territory has subinfeudated a portion of their territory. so in that case, Viscount Surt would be a vassal of Duke Aegir rather than directly of the Emperor. there are a handful of lords mentioned in canon who never get any territory marked, even in Hopes, so i figure most of them are such sub-vassals, such as Baron Bartels (and i also made up some more families to flesh out the map a bit more).

getting further into headcanon territory, i like to think that part of Ionius's vague undescribed "reforms" could have included a restriction on such subinfeudation, centralizing that power into the Emperor's hands only. a similar situation might have occurred under Lambert, given how unpopular his reforms were among many of his vassals. the Alliance, on the other hand, is very much decentralized, and would imo be more open to such relationships between lords and their own vassals. given what happened to both Ionius and Lambert, what with the Insurrection and the Tragedy, these rights of the tenant land-holders would remain uninfringed.

i have only a very rough understanding of feudalism, especially given all the various forms that fell under that umbrella (and i didn't want to overcomplicate the whole situation such that i couldn't keep track of anything), but generally i just wanted to add some depth to the noble relationships!! perhaps i'll have to make a map that shows the territories of these sub-vassals as well, and maybe tack on some more families,,,

[vivacissimx]

This is a disorganized post but part of what is so precious about Jon & Arya's relationship is how parallel their interior worlds run. They're separated by distance and maturity but from the very beginning, they're finishing each other's sentences and worried Robb won't want them. Making a brief list so I don't go all over the place

TO HELL WITH FORGIVENESS

Arya stepped away from him. "You don't deserve the gift of mercy."

The Hound watched her saddle Craven through eyes bright with fever. Not once did he attempt to rise and stop her. But when she mounted, he said, "A real wolf would finish a wounded animal."

Maybe some real wolves will find you, Arya thought. Maybe they'll smell you when the sun goes down. Then he would learn what wolves did to dogs. "You shouldn't have hit me with an axe," she said. "You should have saved my mother." She turned her horse and rode away from him, and never looked back once.

-ASOS, Arya XIII

This is so... Arya has spent a long time with Sandor at this point. She's seen him at his most human, struggled with the losing the memory of Mycah, and she's just spent a whole night washing Sandor's wounds as best she can. Sandor is begging her to kill him and by walking away she serves him the most devastating blow possible.

Ser Alliser seized Jon by the arm.

Jon yanked away and grabbed the knight by the throat with such ferocity that he lifted him off the floor. He would have throttled him if the Eastwatch men had not pulled him off. Thorne staggered back, rubbing the marks Jon's fingers had left on his neck. "You see for yourselves, brothers. The boy is a wildling."

-ASOS, Jon IX

Janos Slynt's face went as white as milk. The spoon slipped from his fingers. Edd and Emmett crossed the room, their footsteps ringing on the stone floor. Bowen Marsh's mouth opened and closed though no words came out. Ser Alliser Thorne reached for his sword hilt. Go on, Jon thought. Longclaw was slung across his back. Show your steel. Give me cause to do the same.

-ADWD, Jon II

Glendon Hewett was a seasoned man and a strong one, a sensible choice to command in Cotter Pyke's absence. But he was also as much a friend as Alliser Thorne could boast, and a crony of sorts with Janos Slynt, however briefly. Jon could still recall how Hewett had dragged him from his bed, and the feel of his boot slamming into his ribs. Not the man I would have chosen. He rolled the parchment up and slipped it into his belt.

-ADWD, Jon X

Jon's feud with Janos Slynt is deadly, based in Ned's execution, but his relationship with Ser Alliser is entirely his own. Jon takes Ser Alliser's taunts personally. Inarguably ADWD is showing Jon's political prowess but no small part of that is Jon's personal feelings to the point that even when Alliser Thorne is off ranging, Jon mistrusts the man's friends.

Jon & Arya both hold grudges close to the chest.

NORTHERN POLITICOS

While Robb understands that the loyalty of his bannermen doesn't come without effort on his part, Jon and Arya's relationship with Northern politics includes a healthy amount of... not mistrust, but wariness. A realism as to where loyalty begins and where it ends. In Arya's case this is marked by a growing wealth of experiences in the Riverlands, whereas Jon was 14 when he left Winterfell and gleaned it from his time there.

When she got closer, she saw that he was a northman, very tall and thin, huddled in a ragged fur cloak. That was bad. She might have been able to trick a Frey or one of the Brave Companions, but the Dreadfort men had served Roose Bolton their whole life, and they knew him better than she did. If I tell him I am Arya Stark and command him to stand aside. . . No, she dare not. He was a northman, but not a Winterfell man. He belonged to Roose Bolton.

-ACOK, Arya X

This is not just because Roose has terrible vibes - Arya also doesn't tell Robett Glover (who she has zero reason to mistrust) who she is, nor does she give more than a passing thought to finding the Karstark men in the Riverlands after she hears of their various crimes. She's just naturally wary and inclined to have her trust earned.

"If Your Grace wishes to lose all of my lord father's bannermen, there is no more certain way than by giving northern halls to southron lords."

-

Maege Mormont had ridden south with Robb, Jon knew. Her eldest daughter had joined the Young Wolf's host as well. Even if both of them had died, however, Lady Maege had other daughters, some with children of their own. Had they gone with Robb as well? Surely Lady Maege would have left at least one of the older girls behind as castellan. He did not understand why Lyanna should be writing Stannis, and could not help but wonder if the girl's answer might have been different if the letter had been sealed with a direwolf instead of a crowned stag, and signed by Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell. It is too late for such misgivings. You made your choice.

-ADWD, Jon I

"Why should I beg for what is owed me?"

"Ask, I said, not beg." Jon pulled back his hand. "It is no good sending messages. Your Grace will need to go to them yourself. Eat their bread and salt, drink their ale, listen to their pipers, praise the beauty of their daughters and the courage of their sons, and you'll have their swords. The clans have not seen a king since Torrhen Stark bent his knee. Your coming does them honor. Command them to fight for you, and they will look at one another and say, 'Who is this man? He is no king of mine.' "

-ADWD, Jon IV

JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER

By this I mean both Jon and Arya perseverate over whether a person deserves to die. They can't help but juxtapose death with honor and judgement. It's Ned in both of them.

"He is an evil man," she announced that evening when she returned to the House of Black and White. "His lips are cruel, his eyes are mean, and he has a villain's beard."

The kindly man chuckled. "He is a man like any other, with light in him and darkness. It is not for you to judge him."

That gave her pause. "Have the gods judged him?"

-ADWD, The Ugly Little Girl

He raised Longclaw over his head, both hands tight around the grip. One cut, with all my weight behind it. He could give her a quick clean death, at least. He was his father's son. Wasn't he? Wasn't he?

"Do it," she urged him after a moment. "Bastard. Do it. I can't stay brave forever." When the blow did not fall she turned her head to look at him.

Jon lowered his sword. "Go," he muttered.

-ACOK, Jon VI

The wind whistled through the bars, and Jon Snow shivered. His leg was throbbing, and his head. He was not fit to kill a kitten, yet here he was. The trap had teeth. With Maester Aemon insisting on Jon's innocence, Lord Janos had not dared to leave him in the ice to die. This was better. "Our honor means no more than our lives, so long as the realm is safe," Qhorin Halfhand had said in the Frostfangs. He must remember that. Whether he slew Mance or only tried and failed, the free folk would kill him. Even desertion was impossible, if he'd been so inclined; to Mance he was a proven liar and betrayer.

-ASOS, Jon X

YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE...

"Who are you?"

"No one."

"A lie. A sad little lie, child."

-AFFC, Arya II

[Varamyr] had known what Snow was the moment he saw that great white direwolf stalking silent at his side. One skinchanger can always sense another. Mance should have let me take the direwolf. There would be a second life worthy of a king. He could have done it, he did not doubt. The gift was strong in Snow, but the youth was untaught, still fighting his nature when he should have gloried in it.

-ADWD, Prologue

"You think so?" She knelt and scratched Ghost behind his ear. "Your Wall is a queer place, but there is power here, if you will use it. Power in you, and in this beast. You resist it, and that is your mistake. Embrace it. Use it."

I am not a wolf, he thought. "And how would I do that?"

-ADWD, Jon VI

...BUT YOU'LL LEARN

Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. He used to mess my hair and call me "little sister," she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.

Polliver had stolen the sword from her when the Mountain's men took her captive, but when she and the Hound walked into the inn at the crossroads, there it was. The gods wanted me to have it. Not the Seven, nor Him of Many Faces, but her father's gods, the old gods of the north. The Many-Faced God can have the rest, she thought, but he can't have this.

-AFFC, Arya II

"Who could have done this thing, I wonder?"

"Arya of House Stark." She watched his eyes, his mouth, the muscles of his jaw.[...] When she woke the next morning, she was blind.

-AFFC, Cat of the Canals

This is after she kills Dareon for desertion of the Night's Watch, and the first time she answers the Kindly Man's question with something other than "no one." And as soon as she does that, she has a wolf dream, and she loses her sight.

He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon's breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady's coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell… I want my bride back… I want my bride back… I want my bride back…

"I think we had best change the plan," Jon Snow said.

-

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger's hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. "Ghost," he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold…

-ADWD, Jon XIII

Jon decides to ride to save Arya & kill Ramsay, and he loses his life! They're both pulled in two directions but ultimately they choose honor over duty, and to nobody's surprise they choose each other.

The choice to be Arya Stark and Jon Snow above No One/Lord Commander Snow, even if for just a moment, is a parallel one with parallel consequences.

Jon and Arya represent to each other the choice they will always make; they're what breaks the stalemate of the human heart in conflict with itself.

I don't think there's any possibility of an Jon Arya reunion being jarring. It's another post, comparing how Jaime & Cersei fracture to how Jon & Arya can't even when they try, but we don't need to get into that it to see the point. They are and always have been too similar, and years apart haven't changed that. If anything, they're two of the few people in asoiaf who both love & can still truly understand each other.