#but ned is a good fighter!!!! and he’s so proud and it kills him because he’s so like tyrion in so many ways

[daincrediblegg]

God I had such a good art moment back in 2019. Bring me back to her please

[blacksunscorpio]

Scorp you're a genius! So relatable and I love how you don't judge others or anyone who comes to you for help. Keep it up! I just had to ask since I see that you make pop culture references to make analogies with astrology. You've mentioned GoT a few times and im a huge fan! Can you do a quick post on Game of Thrones characters and their potential zodiac signs? I'd love to hear your input! Thank you so much!!

Game of Thrones Characters & Their Zodiac Signs

Aries

Khal Drogo- Impulsive. Warlike. Bloodthirsty. Alpha. Conqueror. Hardcore athlete [did you see him on that horse?] Extremely sexual. Forceful. When he first meets Daenerys, he forces himself on her. Afterward, however, he is the first to go to war if he feels the people around him have been disrespected.

Aerys Targaryen- Impulsive, sadistic. Boastful. imperial. He would be the Emperor [reversed] in Tarot, lol. Not as good with being a tactician as he ought to have been. Cruel. Rage problems. The need to be the first and the best. Fire and blood, anyone?

Taurus

Maergery Tyrell - Classy, wealthy, sexy, laid-back, frank but with an air of elegance. Highgardeners have a love for the finer things in life. A love of fine wines and foods. Beautiful clothing and aesthetics. RICH RICH. Get on their bad side and they will take their time finding a way to subvert your authority.

Robert Baratheon- Love of luxury, bullheaded, strong, takes no shit. Fixed in his opinions of others, highkey jealous. In his youth, he enjoyed the gifts of Venus: Charm, wealth coming from the noble house of Baratheon, widely considered handsome by almost all in the 7 kingdoms. 

Gemini

Tyrion Lannister- Silver-tongued. HIGHKEY intelligent. Social. Charming. Great sense of humor. A freak [in the sheets]. Chatty. Always finds his way out of a sticky situation. Finds a way to use his intel to bolster diplomacy between his family and the families who hate them.

Little Finger- Cunning, quick-witted, works behind the scenes, manipulative, a  snake, jack of all trades. Top dog in the social circles of the 7 Kingdoms. There wasn’t a person who didn’t know of him and his... reputation. He singlehandedly, through his Machiavellian tactics, caused the events of Game of Thrones to unfold. 

Cancer  

Cersei Lannister- Protective, moody, caring [to her kids], motherly, cantankerous, jealous. A savage. People don’t give Cancer’s the credit they deserve in terms of what they’re capable of. Cersei is a prime example of the type of person who can show unrivaled levels of devotion to the one’s they love. “No one matters but us.” She can be cruel because she lets her emotions rule her actions. When her safety is threatened, she makes sure no one else feels safe either. She loves with a ferocity only rivaled by...

Catelyn Stark- Another mother who would die [quite literally] for her children. Fierce, Protective. Doting. JEALOUS. Let’s not forget how she treated Jon all because she believed Ned’s lie about him being a bastard. Followed her son into battle. Damn near lost her hands fighting off Bran’s would-be assassin. 

Leo

Jaime Lannister- Proud. Handsome. Princely. Funny. We seem him go from underdeveloped Leo [arrogant, selfish, bully, prideful, snob, loyal to no one but himself] to developed [Kind, helpful, warm, honest]. Fought bears for his friends. Skilled and proud fighter even without the use of both his hands. Unfortunately, his loyalty caused him to stay loyal to his twin towards the end, but such is the nature of a Leo. They’re hard-pressed to abandon those they truly care for.

Brienne of Tarth- LOYAL. Proud. Devoted. A bit of a flare for drama especially brandishing her sword. Brienne is the definition of Leonine traits. Hard to miss. Devoted to those who show her kindness, i.e Renly, Catelyn, Jaime, Sansa, etc. Always at the front lines in war screaming “STAND YOUR GROUND”. Unrivaled levels of bravery and courage. Not to be fucked with. A true Queen.

Virgo

Samwell Tarley- Intelligent. Scholarly. Methodical. Always with his nose in a book. Unproblematic king. Caught the things everyone else missed, especially when he was an apprentice in Old Towne. Figured out how to cure Jorah Mormont’s affliction on his OWN without any formal training. Genius.

Lord Varys- Remember, Virgo is also ruled by Mercury who is the most cunning of the planetary rulers. Varys always had a spy to collect intel on everyone. A tactician. Never lost his temper. Always had the scoop but didn’t partake in gossip for gossip's sake. Not afraid to be critical or tell those “in charge” his opinion. We can see this specifically when he critiques Aerys, Daenerys, and Robert. 

Libra

Davos Seaworth- a skilled diplomat. Davos is always seen seeking balance and fairness in the situations he finds himself in. The minute you see this man in a scene you know he’s going to give a moving speech and get someone out fo a sticky situation. He convinced the Iron Bank to support Stannis. Convinced Daenerys to entertain Jon Snow when they traveled to Dragonstone. Always breaking up a fight. He is in full support of law and order, especially when he called for Melisandre’s head after discovering her part in Shireen’s death [RIP.]

Rhaegar Targaryen- Had a love of music. Harmony. Balance. He brought two families together [Stark and Targaryen]. He was also blessed by Venus in my opinion because he was said to be extremely handsome. A fabulous singer. A fighter yes, but a lover first. Very good with diplomacy but not the best with defending himself against his cousin sign, Taurus [Robert Baratheon].

Scorpio

Daenerys Targaryen- Many see her as an Aries but I have to respectfully disagree. Daenerys is a Scorpio in my opinion. Remember, Scorpio is honorary fire. She was literally “reborn from the ashes”. A Phoenix, Scorpio’s final form. She went from a silent and meek girl to a skilled and commanding Empress. Unlike Arians, she did not jump headfirst into battle. It took many arrows in her dragons, many slights to her ego, copious council from her advisors, dozens of her loved ones lost for her to go nuclear. Like her father, she hungered for power, a very Scorpionic trait. However she, unlike her father, listened to reason [Jorah, Tyrion, and Barristan Selmy]. She had a long fuse until she didn’t, and then that’s when she rained fire and blood on everyone in King’s Landing. She was skilled at retribution and was unapologetic with it *cough* the Tarleys *cough*.. Unlike Arians who pop off at the drop of a hat, she gave her enemies fair warning if/when they crossed her.

Arya Stark- You already know what it is with this one. Arya is pretty much death [Pluto], personified. Stealthy. A tactician. VENGEFUL. I think we all fist-pumped when she served Filch Walder Frey his sons in that pie. Never forgets a slight. Keeps a list of people who’ve wronged her [All Scorpios can probably relate]. You never see her coming. She is “no-one”. She is the assassin that slips through the back. She may seem calm at first but trust that she has been planning your downfall for a while. LOYAL. The definition of a Scorpio.

Melisandre- Dark. Mysterious. Unafraid of the occult. So much of her life is unknown and I’m sure that’s how she preferred it. Even her Lord of light was mysterious. Strong supernatural abilities and highkey psychic. Knew immediately how many “eyes” Arya would “close.” Had ties to the underworld which is demonstrated with her ability to resurrect the dead. Came through at the clutch in the last battle wielding fire [Mars] with her witchcraft. It’s no secret that Scorpios are some of the most skilled in sorcery.

Sagittarius

Missandei- Exotic. From Naath which is an island just above the mysterious continent of Sothoryos. A world traveler. Lucky enough to escape slavery [until the end]. Jupiter's influence is here in my opinion because she is so kind and friendly. Also a polyglot and gifted with the ability to speak 19 languages. Her fire is seen at the end of the series when she tells her best friend “Dracarys”-- meaning “fire” in High Valyrian. She isn’t afraid to call wrath down on others.

Olenna Tyrell- Loud, unapologetically blunt, zero-filter, feisty. Olenna to me is the definition of Sagittarius. Always speaks her mind. Clap back queen. Will call you out. Was also quite promiscuous in her younger years. Very charismatic and extremely likable despite her penchant for saying whatever was on her mind.

Capricorn

Tywin Lannister- I can’t see the patriarch of the most notorious family in Westeros being anything other than a Capricorn. Methodical. Structured. Business-minded. Karmic [A "Lannister always repays his debts"] Cold. Cruel. Unfeeling. Like Saturn, he is the father figure. Basically ran the 7 Kingdoms for Aerys, [which was probably why the latter was so salty towards him.] Always has a plan. The man you want in charge if we’re strictly talking about law and order. Vindictive [had the mountain kill Elia because Rhaegar rejected Cersei.] He’s the ultimate son-of-a-bitch.

Jon Snow- Brooding hero that he is, Bae Jon Snow is without a doubt a Capricorn in my eyes. Duty-bound. Serious. A leader in his own right. Could also be cold and unfeeling in terms of distributing karmic justice. Lest we forget the “fetch-me-a-block” situation with Janos Slynt. In addition, the moment he was resurrected he took vengeance against the black brothers who betrayed him. Saturn, Like Pluto, is all about karmic justice. The beating he put on Ramsey after The Battle of the Bastards was one thousand percent a karmic beating. A proper lover as well, according to Ygritte, Jon also knew how to handle himself in the bedroom, a trait very akin to Capricorns.

Aquarius

Bran Stark- I thought about making Bran a Pisces, but then I changed my mind. Remember Uranus rules sudden insights and hardcore psychic receptivity. It also rules sudden and unexpected catastrophes or surprises/ sudden breaks. Bran suffered a literal “tower” moment at the beginning of the series which resulted in his psychic powers developing. Once he became the three-eyed raven, he became very detached from the world.

Grey Worm- Aquarius is also androgynous. Grey Worm is a eunuch. He is always down to fight for a cause though, specifically his queen’s. Cares about others, specifically Missandei, and was seen towards the latter season speaking up for the Unsullied against the slavers. Fierce combatant but also very detached. His job is his job.

Pisces

Jaqen H’ghar- Much like Neptune, Pisces’ ruler Jaqen has a mysterious and illusive personality. He wears “many faces”. Skilled at illusion and very very intuitive. Has a soft side though which is clearly seen with how he treats Arya. Hardly ever flies off the handle. Calm. Cool. Collected.

Hodor- Sweet and gentle giant, Hodor is a Pisces to me. Affected by psychic trauma, it’s revealed why “Hodor” is the only thing he can say. Calm. A bit of a baby. Caring. Easily adaptable [think of all the terrain he carried Bran through]

Eddard Stark- I don't care what anyone says, Ned stark to me represents the most developed form of a Pisces. Like the Hanged-Man in Tarot that represents sacrifice and which Neptune Rules, he willingly sacrificed his reputation as honorable for his sister, Lyanna. He later sacrifices himself for his children when he died at Joffrey’s [little bitch] command. He is wise. Though appears cold, he is actually a well of feeling and caring. Unfortunately, he also suffered from the naivety of Neptunian influence which is why he wasn’t very skilled at the Game of Thrones, which calls for more tactical ruthlessness. Pisceans however also have the rage of Poseidon flowing through their veins [which people like to forget]. This was displayed when he pinned Petyr Baelish to the Wall in King’s Landing for daring to dishonor Cat by inviting her into a Brothel. RIP, King Stark.

[somuchcolour]

WIP fic rec list

So I have a shit ton of important things to do so I was like, so what better time to make a WIP rec list of fics that are currently (hopefully) updating.

I know wips get a bad rap but I personally enjoy feeling like I’m in 1830s paris waiting for the next chapter of illusions perdues to drop. Also these authors are giving us sweet sweet entertainment and they deserve the hype. All stories deserve love no matter their completion status.

In no particular order:

A Brief History of Sex by Letzi

Never let it be said that Castiel Novak is not a passionate man. He doesn’t seem like he is at first glance, he’s willing to admit that. But what he does in life, everything that he does, in fact, in life, has been in the pursuit of passion.

He’s not sure how it landed him night after night sitting inside a cramped closet in a brothel’s bedroom, watching a prostitute get fucked from behind by one of her clients through a peephole, but that’s where he finds himself these days.

He has to make do with what he has.

--

ABO AU based on the TV Show Masters of Sex and the life and work of Virginia Johnson and William Masters, the pioneers of sex therapy.

A Priori by K_K_TiBal, whelvenwings   

Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak are headed to Hogwarts.

Castiel, as a member of the old Novak wizarding family, is fully expected to be sorted into Ravenclaw, like all of his ancestors before him. Dean, as a Muggle-born, has no idea what the Houses even are. With a surprise sorting and classes starting soon afterwards, they're both pitched headfirst into the unknown - and they find themselves in competition with each other almost at once, both of them needing to prove themselves to the people they left at home, and the people with them at Hogwarts.

Over the course of their seven years at Hogwarts, Dean and Cas learn what it means to prove yourself, what it takes to discover who you are, what it feels like to fall in love, and what it is they'll fight for - what matters most of all.

And Death Shall Have No Dominion by ForeverShippingJohnlock    

Castiel Novak is a zombie. Or rather, a "partially deceased syndrome sufferer." Treated and on medication, Castiel is deemed fit to return to living society. Whether society is ready to accept him or not is another matter entirely.

Dean Winchester is an active member of the Human Volunteer Force, a group determined to eliminate the undead. With his father as the leader of the HVF, Dean has spent years learning that PDS sufferers are scum, treated or not, and Dean wants nothing more than to make his dad proud.

Against all odds, the two boys form an unlikely friendship that makes Dean question everything he knows and believes, while Castiel thinks that maybe his second life isn't such a curse after all.

A story of love and loss, life and death, and everything in between.

Beyond Our Waking Eyes by abbythebollix    

Dean Winchester is troubled, Sam Winchester is growing up and Castiel Milton is too fucking hot for his own good.

Cupid's Fiery Shaft by ChasingRabbits               

When Gabriel Milton is forced into working on the school's annual Shakespeare play, he finds himself drawn to one person in particular--a techie named Sam Winchester.

While waiting on numerous universities to dictate the next major step in his life, Sam has been blowing off steam with his friend, lab partner, and (unknowingly) Gabriel's stepbrother, Castiel Novak.

Castiel Novak: a swimmer and one of the school's resident oddballs, who finds himself in a quandary upon meeting Sam's older brother, Dean.

Dean Winchester: gruff-voiced automechanic by day and culinary genius/MegaNerd by night, who might not be as heterosexual as he lets everybody believe.

If it sounds complicated, that's only because it is.

Now That's Comedy by CaptainMercy42     

Comedy. It's what Winchester's did. Winchester's, and about a million other dumb fucks with an iPhone and 140 character witticisms about their first world problems. It was not supposed to bug him when no-talent "wordsmiths" got highlighted in a bit on Ellen or Bob and Tom. But it did.

His dad, well he was great at it. It was dark comedy. It came from a dark place; the loss of a wife and the life of a morally bankrupt single dad, almost innocent in how thoroughly unprepared he was for fatherhood.  Substance abuse in itself provided jokes for days. The material actually outlasted his dear old dad. This surprised no one. What was surprising was Sam's decision to ditch college and do his own act, despite his lingering bitterness.

The first night Dean saw Sam perform was also the first night Dean saw Castiel perform.

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by linoresearch   

The year is 1722 and across the oceans merchant ships are hounded by pirates. Killing and stealing their way to infamy, the Winchesters plague the trade-routes to the New World, leaving a trail of death and devastation across the Spanish Main. They are villains, and every ship that sails under the colours of the Royal Navy has been tasked with bringing them to justice; sentenced to hang by the neck until dead.

When the lookout of the navy frigate, the Lady Mary, calls ship-ahoy from the crow’s nest, first-mate Lieutenant Castiel Novak has no idea how his life is about to change. In a swash-buckling adventure across the high-seas, Castiel faces sea-monsters, ghost-ships, and much more, in the race to secure a valuable and dangerous prize. Thrown in among the pirates aboard the Black Impala, he also learns that Captain Dean Winchester can be hard to resist.

Number 1 Crush by Duckyboos                

Dean, Benny, Charlie, Garth, and Cas are old college buddies. In their thirties now, they meet up once a year to shed their adult responsibilities for a week. This year it's Garth's turn to choose where they go and he's still as obsessed with horror and weird shit as he was back in college. He ends up picking a supposedly deserted hotel in the friggin' mountains. The place is creepy as hell and as night falls, two things become increasingly apparent. One: the place isn’t as deserted as they first thought, and two: Dean’s college stalker is back from the dead.

Dial 'M' For Monster by Duckyboos    

By day, Dean Winchester bakes cupcakes. He owns his own bakery (Stairway to Leaven) and people come from all over state to try his delicious vegan red velvet. By night, he’s a fighter of supernatural evil.

Castiel Novak owns the small town's only motel (The Resting Place). He has a problem; he thinks rooms 6 & 11 are haunted.  It’s not like he can just look up a local ghost hunter in the phone book though, now is it?

Oh, he can? Sweet.

All The Other Places by Englandwouldfall                

As is usually the way with this crap, nothing is that simple. Part 4 of Beach House       

Shades of Mediocrity by Englandwouldfall               

Dean needs to rearrange his life all over again, regroup, restart and work out what the hell to do next.Castiel needs to learn where to channel his heart break, among other things.   Part 4 of Home            

The Taming of the Dudes by Englandwouldfall  

They've been doing this long enough and successfully enough that Dean kind of feels they shouldn't be arguing over something as serious as the mortgage. Part 5 of As you like it       

Two and a Half Sheets to the Wind by Englandwouldfall        

The whole point of working on a cruise ship was to escape everything, so the last thing he needs is to run into a guy who makes him a little too honest on the first day of a month long stint around Europe.

With Interest by everandanon     

In which sought-after bad boy Castiel Novak agrees to make awkward, nerdy sophomore Dean Winchester fall in love with him for a bet, and quickly finds himself in over his head — but by the time he realizes his mistake, it’s too little, too late . . .

Fast-forward 11 years, and as guilty as Cas still feels, he has bigger problems to deal with. Grieving his twin brother and struggling to provide the care his niece deserves, Cas finally sucks it up and moves back home in an effort to hold things together.

Of course, it's only a matter of time before he runs into Dean - Dean, who's all grown up and even more beautiful than Cas always suspected he'd be. Dean, who says he wants to be friends, and is clearly much better at a game Cas hasn't played since he broke Dean's heart.

Dean, who might not be the forgive-and-forget type, after all . . .

Quarantension by everandanon  

In which Dean and Cas weather quarantine together like any Good Friends would — by developing outstanding skills in self-deception and providing all the casual affection and strictly platonic* orgasms the other could possibly need to make it through.** *Really not platonic **Spoiler: They need a lot.

Fortress by imogenbynight         

Five years ago, a malignant mass removed from John Winchester's temporal lobe left behind a quietly ticking bomb that nobody noticed until it decimated everything. Five years ago, John dragged Dean away from everything he'd ever known, hellbent on rescuing him from an imagined threat that felt more real to him than the blood on his hands. Five years ago, Castiel let Dean's hand slip through his fingers as he rescued Sam from what he'd thought was a more immediate threat.

For five years, Castiel has wondered if there was some way he could have saved Dean, too.

Now, with a phone call that he'd all but given up hoping for, Castiel has a chance to try again.

It's Kind of a Funny Story by deathsteel    

After an aborted suicide attempt lands Castiel Shurley in the hospital, he meets Dean Winchester, a charming damaged young man who is much more than first meets the eye.  Not being able to deal with the stress of growing up may have gotten him here and being hopelessly in love with his best friend's girlfriend probably didn't help, but Castiel soon learns that sometimes it takes  going a little crazy to find the path you were always meant to be on.

Loosely based on the movie/book by Ned Vizzini 'It's Kind of a Funny Story'.

Just A Schoolboy Crush by Zombiecat    

Castiel has a cliche crush on the highschool football all-star, Michael Ashton. Even though he's fully aware he's doomed to longing looks and pining in silence, it wouldn't be so bad if his best friend, Charlie, hadn't told Dean. Dean Winchester never seemed to miss a chance to get under his skin but for some reason he starts acting odd when he hears about Castiel's big secret.

God, Make Small by komodobits               

The last plane into McMurdo before the six-month winter brings a new face, an astronomer on transfer from one of the inland observatories. Truthfully, Dean doesn't know shit about neutrino particles; he's just the guy who gets paid to move the equipment from A to B and tries to keep it from getting broken and/or frozen solid. Castiel Novak's awkward, endearing smile is an additional bonus. However, the relentless blue night is brewing coldly for a storm, and it's starting to look like Dean and Castiel might be the only ones left out on the ice.\

Legacies by vanishingact    

Castiel Milton's uneventful life as a Massachusetts lawyer gets a little strange in the fall of 1887 when he is assigned to handle the late Henry Winchester's estate and his client's distractingly handsome grandson arrives to take up residence in the old manor house. As an unlikely friendship (with a side of pining) develops, the house slowly coughs up its secrets and reveals a whole world of trouble that Dean never knew his grandfather kept hidden.

The Game of God by seperis           

You can't win a war for humanity by sacrificing all of your own. Part 4 of Down to Agincourt        

Sequins and Spirals by euphemology  

Dean Winchester is a world-renowned figure skater who hails from the “good old U.S. of A.” He is well on his way to the 2014 Winter Olympics, but there’s one small problem: so is his arch-rival, Polish skater Castiel Novak. Competition is definitely not going to be easy, but it gets even harder when the two men get assigned to the same room in the Olympic Village.

Show Me How To Love by universalromance    

A new family of kids at Lawrence High School brings a new perspective to Dean's life, especially when he becomes inexplicably drawn to the youngest of the siblings, a severely autistic boy who has never spoken or touched anybody in his entire life. Rating will possibly go up later. Possibly upsetting psychological subject matter.

The Process by Soupernabturel           

“Dean, hands to yourself please.”

The man in question straightens up in his chair, turns his flirty smile from the man two seats from him and onto officer Novak. “Sorry, Cas.”

“Cas?” Hannah asks.

“We get some regulars. They come to know a few of the officers, the patrol officers, especially.” Novak explains, the look on his face, almost slightly bored, slips a little. “As you know, I’m usually the one monitoring the Strip.”

 Police!Officer Cas is being filmed at work (A-la: Jail Las Vegas) for a reality TV show. Meanwhile Dean is a sex worker, not only familiar with the Strip’s booking process, but with a certain blue-eyed officer.

Start With a Name by cumberbellins, frickenapplepie (cumberbellins)    

Waking up in a stranger's living room with a blue eyed man staring down at you isn't the most pleasant experience ever. Dean Winchester can tell you that. Another thing Dean Winchester can tell you is that whenever you have to break into your brother's apartment, you should make sure that you got the right window.

starving in your gravity by alullabytoleaveby   

Dean has enough on his plate. Really.

There's his job as a paramedic for the local hospital and, while he loves it, loves getting to help people, the hours are long and the pay leaves much to be desired. There's his definitely-not-a-relationship with Castiel, the hot ER doctor, where's he's completely out of his depth emotionally. And then there's his brother, who's just dropped out of law school and has no idea what he's going to do now.

So what he definitely does not need is his alcoholic deadbeat dad stumbling back into his life.

Make Damn Sure by SurlyCat      

Dean Winchester is not thrilled about taking an office job at one the most powerful media corporations in the country. His work has always been hands on, but when Charlie tells him about the job opening and its comfortable salary, the temptation is just too great to turn down. And really, it wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the blue-eyed man that also works there.

Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester have crossed paths far too often over the last 12 years, with an unsavory outcome nearly every time. This time though, walking away is just not an option as they're forced to collaborate on a project and learn to navigate each other like civilized human beings. For Dean and Cas though, nothing ever goes quite according to plan.

...In Bed by SurlyCat                

Dean Winchester and Castiel Milton met on a rainy summer day over a broken down car. Even though Castiel is nosy and seems to have no filter, Dean still finds himself drawn to the man. Over time they become friends, and over time, Dean falls for Cas, certain that Cas is uninterested. What Dean doesn't know is that his friend hasn't always been quite so tame, and Cas is careful to keep it that way. Who would've thought that a fortune cookie and a childish game would be responsible for bringing out the truth?

Tag, You're It! by Kitmistry   

Five months after the case that almost claimed their lives, what started as blowing off some steam during a high-pressure situation and continued as a mutually-beneficial arrangement is getting out of Special Agent Castiel Novak’s control. Falling in love with his partner is doomed to end in disaster, especially when said partner is Special Agent Dean Winchester—cocky, infuriating, and the biggest playboy Castiel has ever met.

Still on medical leave, Dean is bored out of his mind, and worst of all - once Castiel gets sucked into the investigation of a new case - without enough distractions from his inner demons. When he stumbles upon a small, seemingly risk-free case, Dean jumps at the chance to get involved, but the lies he has to tell could be catastrophic for the already shaky foundations of his relationship with Castiel.

With a new threat trying to take over the underworld of DC, Castiel and Dean have to find a way to work past their problems or risk losing each other forever.

Part 2 of The H Files       

The Supernatural Edification of Dean Winchester by OverlordoftheBees   

Based on TV Series “Afterlife”. Professor Castiel Novak (MA Berkeley, PhD Harvard) is an academic who has staked his credibility upon his ability to decompress and deconstruct the mythology surrounding mediums, clairvoyants and all things "new age spiritualist". That is, until a routine trip with a graduate class brings him into contact with medium Dean Winchester: uniquely gifted, supremely abrasive and desperate for a way out. When Dean touches on the tragedy marring Castiel’s past, his neatly constructed worldview is decimated. There is only a veil between life and death, as both well know. And as Castiel finds himself increasingly drawn to Dean, the fragility of that barrier is strained to its limit.

These Are the Nights by vintagenoise         

After a sudden tragedy, Castiel Milton and Dean Winchester reflect back on their youth in the beachside town of Sileas, Oregon, and all the lessons they learned on the path that led them to each other.In the Winter of 2008, Castiel visits his boyfriend, Dean, for Christmas. Despite all the big issues he and Dean have dealt with in the past, they've never had the chance to sort through the little things. Castiel is sure that their plans, from embarking on a road trip together, to spending time with the Winchesters, can only be good for their relationship. There's just one little problem that needs to finally be confronted: sex, and Castiel's difficulty with it.In the Summer of 2009, Dean and Sam visit their estranged father and his new family, who reluctantly allow Castiel to visit through Independence Day. All Dean wants is for his family and his boyfriend to get along, but between John's struggle to accept his son's sexuality, and his wife Kate's strange attitude towards Castiel, he's not sure he'll be able to make it work. Part 7 of Young Volcanoes                

[amaidasfairassummer]

Some ASOIAF kids in the Hunger Games...

- Dany. My first thought was that there could be some sort of fire in the arena she survives, and suddenly everyone watching becomes obsessed with her and she gets loads of sponsors. But the reason she emerges from the pyre alive in AGOT is because she uses magic, which doesn’t exist in the hunger games universe. My thoughts other than that though, are that although she is smaller and younger than most of the other tributes and does not really have any combat training, she would survive for a while through allies. She makes loads of friends in the training period and goes into the arena with many of the others willing to fight to protect her. She would be killed eventually though.

- Quentyn. oh my poor boy goes into these games really wanting to fight bravely and make his father proud but ends up suffering a long and painful death :(

- Joffrey. Ooh he would be pretty terrifying in the arena, he would fight more viciously and with more ferocity than anyone else and any deaths he inflicts would be very cruel. However, due to his age and a not particularly high level of combat skill (plus probably not great survival skills) he probably ain’t surviving.

- Loras. An audience favourite going into the games, definitely, everyone loves him and thinks he’s going to win, he’s very clearly a strong and skilled fighter and gets a very good training score and has lots of sponsors. He��d do fairly well in the arena, and would kill a lot of people, and his sponsors would make sure he doesn’t lack for food, medicine, anything else he needs, but in the end he’d probably be outsmarted by someone or maybe even meet someone who’s a match for him in a fight *cough* Brienne

- And talking of Brienne.... She’s a really interesting one. Let’s just imagine it, she’s reached eighteen, she’s nearly made it through all her Reapings, and her name is called. And even though she wants to prove her worth as a fighter and to win honour and respect... not like this. Not by killing innocent children. In training she vows to protect the Stark girls. She’s the strongest and most skilled fighter in there, but eventually she does get killed fighting for them.

- Jon. He’s a very good fighter, gets a good training score, and could do really well if he wanted too, but... ultimately this boy is too reluctant to kill innocents to win the hunger games.

- Sam. Oh this poor boy ain’t lasting long :( I love him, but he’d be so terrified. He’d run straight away but he’d not be fast enough and his legs would probably be shaking from fear, someone’s gonna kill him pretty quickly :(

- Robb. Like Loras, an audience favourite going into the games. Another pretty good fighter, but again... he’s not going to survive. He’s too honourable. There’s probably some major scandal when his body gets horribly desecrated before the Gamemakers can retrieve it.

- (Older) Sansa. Okay I love her, and she’s so strong and brave and clever... but not in the way that’s going to allow her to thrive in the arena. Maybe she could sing a song about mercy to anyone who tries to kill her?

- (Older) Arya. This girl would actually really love the training, she’s definitely the one who works hardest and tries all the different things on offer and learns loads, going into the arena with a lot of new skills. and she’d be fairly deadly in the arena, has some good kills, mostly, like in ASOIAF, through trickery and taking people by surprise rather than actually by beating them in hand to hand combat. She’s little and a lot of people overlook her to their peril. But eventually, she’d come across someone much bigger and stronger who she simply cannot overpower, so she’d be killed eventually.

- (Older) Bran, who hasn’t had a fall in this au. This boy is so loveable everyone he’d win the nation’s hearts and minds before he’s even in the arena. And he is going to thrive if there is a mountain or really high trees or something in the arena, anything he can climb so that he’s out of people’s reach. Imagine Cat watching at home, having always worried about Bran’s climbing but seeing it save his life over and over again and being so proud of him! Ultimately, though, he’s gotta come down at some point and then he’s going to be very vulnerable being one of the youngest. He’s not realistically going to survive.

- (Older) Rickon. Okay, this boy goes absolutely feral in the arena, is deadly with his spear, makes friends with a wolf the capitol put in there to kill tributes, and said wolf ends up fighting alongside him and killing anyone who tries to hurt Rickon. Ned and cat at home are absolutely horrified watching what becomes of their little boy, but at the same time are thrilled there actually seems to be a chance of him surviving. Because you’ve guessed it, he’s who’s most likely to win.

[vanimeldes]

your top 10 ASOIAF characters and why?

Mmmok, anon, because I like talking about my favourite characters. I will list the POV ones, but below cut, for safety

1. DAENERYS TARGARYEN - needless to say, the image of G0T/AS0IAF. I fell in love with her innocence and inner resilience and willingness to learn as much as she could since her first chapter. Her arc (so far) is - or was meant to be, whatever - so inspiring, and in a series focused on elements of low fantasy, her character encapsulates almost everything I love in a high fantasy: epicness, mysterious magic, legends, dragons, prophecies, but also her own character, her heroic arc, caused by an utterly selfless goal. I might sound totally generic, but I want her to live happily ever after and be in a position of power, because she understands the grief of lowborn and has a huge potential of learning from her past mistakes and improve their lives. After a life full of loss, abuse, and fears, she managed to become a revolutionary figure and a ruler whose reputation spanns across half a continent, she struggles to find a way between dealing with bad people who really deserve the worst punishments and being compassionate and merciful - because she is compassionate and merciful. My queen, and the reason why this series is popular, sorry not sorry. 

2. TYRION LANNISTER - misogynisic to a fault and horrible in many places, but GRRM called him a good villain and I have always regarded him as such or as morally questionable at best. GRRM has his issues, but he KNOWS how to write complex characters. It`s impossible (at least for me) not to be fascinated by his twisted perspective on the world around him and his traumas and his tiny attempts to be good and nice. His constant conflict between what he stands for, what he wants to represent as a Lannister and what he actually wants is stellar.

3. JAIME LANNISTER - similarly to Tyrion, he actually starts off as more antagonistic, but once you get into his head, it`s impossible (at least for me) not to root for him and understand some of the reasons behind his deeds. He is a tragic character in many ways: he is not honourable enough (although he wants to be) and yet he`s neither Lannister enough (although he wants that too). I still loved him since page one, I loved how Brienne changed him and how he changed him because of her. Whether he dies killing Cersei/embracing Cersei or gets to live with Brienne forever (aaah pls GRRM make it happen), I will be satisfied.

4. CERSEI LANNISTER - bruh, she`s just fascinating. She`s tragic too because she really embodies everything that is fucked up in the Westerosi patriarchal society. She internalized the misogny of the society and, as a consequence, when she wants to keep her power, she lacks the proper imagination to come up with other options than sex and murder. Her thoughts regarding women and womanhood are horrifying, but so is the abuse and trauma she suffered for most of her life. I hate the statement that she is stupid. Yes, she lacks patience. Yes, she is not as political savy as she thinks she is, she is very rash in her decisions, but she is cunning and ambitious. And whether you like her or not, you all must admit she is brave, proud and a real fighter, like that lion of her House`s banners. Lannisters (& Targaryens) are the reason why I can`t hate this series. 

5. DAVOS SEAWORTH - I never expect to fall in love with him, but he is such an unique character. He starts off as illiterate, but tough and strong. Per GRRM, he was created to provide insight into Stannis` storyline, but I just love how he got a personality of his own. His loyalty, his inner intelligence, his sincerity, his resilience make it impossible for him not to root for and pray for him. 

6. EDDARD STARK - lol, he`s Ned. He WASN`T stupid, nor a POOR HONOURABLE FOOL. I think that even if honour was ultimately his doom, he still managed to keep his humanity and goodness. His POV chapters only showed me a really intelligent and observant man, tormented by what he thought it was a betrayal: rather the conflict between keeping his sister`s secret and raising her son and what was seen as a betrayal through his beloved wife`s eyes. He might have failed in some ways because he hadn`t prepared his children for the tough world they were living in BUT he loved his children and wife more than anything, as much as he loved his sister, he never held grudge against all the Targaryens, even though his father and brother died horribly in Aerys` hands. He genuinely wanted to be a good man, despite all the hardships that would have pushed another over the edge. I can`t not appreciate that. 

7. BRAN STARK - the other character that, IMO, encapsulates the classic high fantasy. Of course, GRRM put a twist when he had Bran falling over the window and breaking his legs, as well as because he wrote him as not yet prepared to used his magic skills properly. But his storyline is full of magic and mystery, but told through the eyes of an innocent 7 yr old child, who suffered enough loss and fear and grief for a whole life. Again, it`s impossible not to root for him. I really want him to end up as King in the North, rather than the next tree-man, because he actually has ruling experience and is also kind and receptive. 

8. ARYA STARK - reading Arya`s AGOT chapters felt like reading a book about me when I was of her age. I have to admit, in the later books, some of her chapters are too long, and too boring, but I totally get their point: through her eyes, we see the horrors of war, the poverty, the trauma of a child who suddenly found herself alone in a very dangerous world. And she survives on her own, even though she has to kill those who threat her security and life, but we know that she never enjoys killing people, we know that she kill them out of necessity. She is also smart (when she names Jaquen the third kill), observant, resourceful, tough and brave (I meaaan, serving as Roose Bolton`s cupbearer?). How she survives in the House of Black and White? How quick she is to learn a foreign language? And, most important, how she gives no shits if the people she meets are noble or lowborn and how she befriends everyone? Her relationship with her father and her respect towards feminity, even though she is a gender non-conforming girl? You rock, girl!

9. BRIENNE TARTH - I accused GRRM of misogyny many times, but I reckon that Brienne is a response to the very misogynistic society he created, the society where „there`s no creature as unfortunate as an ugly woman”, by giving her a storyline, a character that is utterly honourable, kind, gentle. While she suffered because she couldn`t fit the gender role she was supposed to fulfill, she never held grudge against the values of feminity - on the contrary, she holds them in great regard! And, why not, as „ugly” and „manlike” she is, she got to make „Westeors` most desirable knight” admire and respect her, which, IMO, is a win!

10. ARIANNE MARTELL - such a pleasant surprise. My smart, hot-tempered, sexually adventurous, but brave and capable Princess. If GRRM kills her, I will erase him from my memory. I just love how she defies all the stereotypes inflicted upon most of the women in these books, I just love her ambition and hot temper, but also her relationship with her cousins and friends. I like that, while she uses sex to get Ser Arys do her bidding, we still see that she is very clever and resourceful. 

Notable mentions of POV characters: ASHA!!!! MELISANDRE!!! and Jon

My favourite non-POV characters:  THE LANN DAD, TYWIN MOTHERFUCKING Lannister; Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Blackfish Tully; Edmure Tully, Val the Wildling; Loras Tyrell; Garlan Tyrell; Olenna Tyrell

[ally-the-turtle]

Tony Stark x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 3,847

Warning: None, just fluff

---

Being Tony Stark's daughter has its perks but also has some consequences to them. You get what you want since he's a billionaire, you're popular in school and you get to hang out with the coolest people around; the Avengers. However, you're also a target to enemies. Tony was always protective over you because of that. He didn't want to lose you, you were all he had.  

You were a result of one of Tony's one night stand with a woman, who was your mother. Your mother worked with the press and she didn't earn much money thus she put you in an orphanage. You grew up there until you were 7 years old when someone came in to adopt you. You were happy to be accepted, to be chosen by someone...

For an experiment.

Turned out, the guy who adopted you was a HYDRA agent and knew that you were a Stark so he wanted to experiment on you. That's how you spent your next 6 months; in a lab, surrounded by drugs and weird magic. Tony was able to find out what HYDRA was up to and went on a solo mission stop them only to find you, a 7 year old child, with glowy F/C (Favorite Color) hands. At first he thought you were going to attack him, assuming that you were mind controlled but you never did much to his surprise, in fact, you were so happy to see him that you ran up to him and hugged him. He returned the hug, confused ,and flew off, not forgetting to shoot an explosive in the base, destroying everything. He took you back to Stark tower and examined you. Much to his shock, you had telekinetic and telepathic powers.

That and you were his daughter.

Tony didn't know how to handle this information, it was all so sudden. However he was going to protect you and give you the best life you could ever have. Over the course of the years, he taught you to control your powers and use them correctly, he got you into a new school were you could finally get a proper education and he took great care of you. In your perspective, Tony was not just a father to you, he was your savior, your God, you worshipped him in every way. Tony appreciated that and he loved you for always being by his side and supporting him as sometimes he can be viewed as the bad guy for creating what haters call 'weapons that can cause destruction'. You both loved each other and after Pepper joined in the family, you were more than happy.

Then Loki came in New York and brought with him a huge army of aliens.

You were outside, shopping with your babysitter when aliens started destroying the city. You were scared out of your life and hung onto the babysitter. A Chitauri landed in front of you two blasted at her, sending her far from you. You cried which made your telekinetic power go crazy and kill the aliens who were nearby you. You ran away, running into the city until another Chitauri landed in front of you and was about to shoot but a red and white shield was throne to it, shredding it into two. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, ran to you and you immediately hugged him, crying onto his chest. He called Tony, assuring him that he has her daughter safe and sound. Steve made sure to keep you by his side when he continued to fight the aliens, not taking an eye off of you. You managed to get some courage and used your powers to send the aliens flying.

When it was all over, you met all of the Avengers officially and you already loved them. Steve was your hero and you grew to have a crush on him. Months after the invasion, Tony started having anxiety attacks, he couldn't sleep and neither could you. You would wake up in the middle of the night, scared and in tears. You would often ask JARVIS to call up Tony so he could comfort and he always did so. He comforted you and you comforted him. When the Mandarin attacked your home in Malibu, you were able to protect yourself from the falling debris and Pepper was safe because Tony sent the suit to her. Once Pepper was out of harm's way, the suit went back to Tony and he fought, only to end up falling into the ocean along with half of the house. You screamed his name when the last debris fell in the dark ocean before crying in Pepper's arms. You skipped a few days of school to recover but also because you didn't have a home. Pepper then tried to get some answers from a woman who worked for the Mandarin much to her dismay. You, Pepper and the woman were in some hotel room when she explained who the Mandarin was and just the man you were talking about broke in and attacked, taking you all hostages. Pepper was taken elsewhere because she was his test subject and you were taken to the same place where Tony and Rhodes were held. Tony was relieved to see you okay and so were you. Once he was able to set himself free, he got you and Rhodes out of the place and to where Aldrich, the Mandarin, was with a boat. Tony ordered you to stay in the boat when the final fight had begun and you obeyed, watching the whole epic scene in front of your young eyes.

Later on, years later, you were 13 years old. You trained with Natasha Romanoff and Tony to become a better fighter and to master your powers. You wanted to go on a mission very badly and you had the chance when Ultron was going to destroy Sokovia along with the entire world. It was a nice party night, when all of the guests left, you all had fun trying to lift Thor's hammer. You nearly flipped when Steve almost lifted it and you questioned why he couldn't; he's a handsome gentleman that has a pure gold heart and wants to end war. You shrugged it off after a while. Then Ultron crashed the party and attacked, you were able to fight off the few robots that had attacked and boy did you feel great. Tony was so proud to see you fight but also worried you might get hurt. You wanted to join the team to fight Ultron in South Africa but Tony didn't let you. Only after Vision was created and the team had to depart to Sokovia were you able to convince him to let you join them. Vision even said that you had potential and that it would be best if you started to use your powers to help protect Sokovia. Tony finally agreed under the condition that you stayed with Steve at all times which you agreed; squealing inside like a 5 year old. So you fought alongside Captain America and you loved it. You had fun fighting the robots and Steve was SO PROUD OF YOU. Once it was all over, you officially met Wanda who also had similar powers to yours which annoyed you at first but then accepted it and tried to combine your powers to do some pretty cool stuff. You enjoyed practicing your powers with her in the new Avengers facility.

Your school life was great too. You were in Midtown High and you were in an acapella club because you loved singing. Drawing is also another one of your talents. People thought you were perfect however some were disappointed that you didn't have Tony's brilliance.  People would sometimes pressure you, telling you that you were Stark and you had to be a genius. It stressed you out but luckily you had friends to back you up. Friends including Peter Parker and Ned. They were both adorable and you saw them as brothers.

A year later, one day, you came home which is the Avengers facility from school, and heard loud voices from the meeting room. You went inside to see the Avengers arguing which made you worry. You asked what the problem was and they told you; the Sokovia Accords and how not everyone agreed to sign it. You immediately had a bad feeling about this, both Tony and Steve were stubborn men and that usually ended with them getting into a fight. Fear had made its way into you heart, the last thing you wanted was to lose your family all over again. The debate continued until Steve received a message and had to leave the room. Tony saw the fear in your eyes and came to you, holding your shoulders with both of his hands and looking warmly into your eyes.

"Don't worry, Y/N. We'll get this thing sorted soon." He said before kissing you on your forehead and telling you to go to your room.

Next thing your knew, Steve, his friend Bucky, Sam and the prince of Wakanda T'Challa were sent to the Task Force HQ in Berlin. You called Tony during the short break in between school classes, who was already there, and he immediately answered.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" He asked.

"Dad..." You croaked.

"Hey baby what's wrong?" He asked, worried by the sudden sadness in your voice.

"Is everything going to be okay...? Steve and the others... Are they going to jail?"

"I won't let that happen, Y/N, I promise you."

"I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Losing my family again. Dad, I'm scared of losing everyone because of some stupid accords."

Tony didn't say anything for a few seconds, processing what you said. "Honey, listen, we're doing our best. I'm going to try and convince Steve to sign it for the sake of the citizen's lives. You know I'm pretty good at negotiating?"

You sniffed and made out a small chuckle. "Yeah... You're Tony Stark after all."

"I gotta go, see ya later." Tony finished before ending the call as Steve, Sam and T'Challa made their way inside the room. He walks inside a glass-wall office along with Steve, overlooking the control room.

Both men talk about the accords, Tony makes valid points about how if he signed, no one would go to jail or anything bad like that. Steve asked about Pepper, Tony answered that they were taking a break. Tony then brought up another point which will, for sure, convince Steve to sign.

"You know, just before you came in, Y/N called me. I answered the call only to hear soft whimpers." Tony started which immediately caught Steve's attention.

"Is she okay? What happened?" Steve asked, concerned.

"All of his." He said, opening his arms and looking around the room. "She's worried sick about the team, about us... about you" He mumbled the last part.

"Why would she be so worried?" Steve asked again, furrowing his eyebrows.

"She's scared that the team will split apart, that you'll be in jail." Tony answered. Steve didn't say anything, feeling a bit guilty for making you worry. "Y'know Cap, the Avengers is her family, she loves us all, it would break her heart to see us fight, hell it's already breaking. None of us want that right? I love her so much, I don't want to see her heartbroken and neither do you. She cares a lot about you..."

"I also care a lot about her, Tony, really I do." Steve answered in an honest tone.

"Then signing the accords would do her a big favor." Tony finished. Steve looked at him, in deep thought. "We need you, Cap. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center... instead of a Wakandan prison."

Steve frowns thoughtfully and picks up one of the fountain pens. He stands up and paces, then turns to Tony. In the control room beyond there are multiple screens on the walls.

"I'm not saying it's impossible, but there would have to be safeguards." He said.

"Sure. Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated..." Tony added.

"Wanda? What about Wanda?" Steve asked.

"She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company."

"Oh God, Tony! Every time. Every time I think you see things the right way..."

"What? It's a 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."

"Protection? Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony."

"She's not a US citizen."

"Oh, come on, Tony."

"And they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction."

"She's a kid!"

"GIVE ME A BREAK!" Tony snapped. "I'm doing what has to be done... to stave off something worse."

Steve nodded faintly. "You keep telling yourself that." He said as he put the fountain pen down. "Hate to break up the set." He was about to leave room before he turned around again. "Send Y/N my warmest regards."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, watching Steve leave the room. He sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Sorry Y/N... Looks like Cap decided to go rogue." He said.

You had just finished school and you took your electric scooter to make your way back home, the Avengers facility upstate. Once you did, you put your bag in your room and went downstairs to eat a snack, only to find Tony standing next to the fridge, looking straight at you. You ran up to him and gave him a hug which he returned. You looked at him, hoping to get some good news but he shook his head and you immediately felt your heart break. You buried your head in Tony's chest while he stroked your hair.

"Listen Y/N, you and I will go out to meet someone to join my team." Tony spoke which made you break the hug and look up at him.

"Who?" You asked.

"Peter Parker. The crime fighting spider guy in Queens."

"Peter?! He's Spiderman?! Oh he's going to pay for not telling me!" You snapped. "Let's go right now!"

You had all arrived at Peter's house, greeted by aunt May who Tony found unusually attractive. Peter then arrived from school and Tony made up a story that Peter applied up for a foundation and that he had accepted. You three went to Peter's room and locked the door. Tony then proceeded to show a video of Spiderman in action, stopping a car from hitting a bus. Peter denied it, saying it's fake because it was on YouTube. Tony found an opening on the ceiling, pushed it open with a bat and a set of familiar red and blue clothes, wrapped on a rope, fell on the floor. Peter immediately snatched it and threw it inside his closet, huffing out; he was totally busted. You crossed your arms, looking at him with a resting bitch face. Peter felt even more sweaty and you rolled your eyes, calming down. The duo had a serious talk about crime fighting and responsibilities. That was when Tony said that they were going to Germany.

"Wait we're going to Germany? Why?" You asked, unaware by that sudden news.

"Yeah um about that... Cap and his team will be there. We're trying to stop them." Tony admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"You two are going to fight?" You asked, shocked.

"Yeah..." He finished and you exhaled.

"You men..." You mumbled and ran a hand through your hair. "Alright let's do this. I'll be on your 'team'." You quoted team with your hands. "However I'm not fighting anyone. I'll... just be there to make sure that no one gets seriously hurt." You said, hugging yourself.

Tony nodded and then brought you all go to the airport. The two teams face each other before fighting. You stood far away from the scene, watching as your family fought. You did your best to protect some from serious injury, other than that, all you could do was watch sadly. At one point, the plane in which Bucky and Steve are in started flying away. Rhodes and Tony went after it and so did Sam. Vision held a worn out Wanda in his his arms, he looked at her sadly before shooting a beam from his Mind Stone towards Sam who dodged it but hir Rhodes square in the center of the suit where the light was. Rhodes lost power of the suit and started falling, Sam went after him and so did Tony. You watched in horror as they tried to reach for Rhodes, only to fail and he hit the ground hard. You screamed Rhodes' name before trying to run to him but Peter stopped you, holding you in his arms as you let the tears fall.

"It's all true... E-everything came true... My worst nightmares came true Peter... Oh God this isn't happening...!" You cried. You then lifted your head up to watch the Quinn jet in which Steve and Bucky were in, disappear in the horizon.

Steve looked behind from the plane with sad eyes, knowing that you were probably looking at his direction.

"I'm sorry, Y/N." He said softly.

You all went back to New York, Peter went home and you went home to the Avengers facility where Rhodes was being scanned for his injuries. You, Tony and Vision watched. Tony asked how it happened and Vision responded that he got distracted and he didn't it was possible for him to do that. You hugged yourself, sad by the fact that your family had just split apart and that someone you cared got badly hurt.

"Go to your room, Y/N, you gotta get some rest. Especially after all that just happened." Tony told you, patting your shoulder with his right hand as his left arm was being held by a supporter but not making eye contact with you.

You nodded and went to your room to collapse onto your bed and cry. God you hated everything right now. You asked FRIDAY where Tony was and the AI replied that he went to see agent Ross to get the location of where Steve was. You decided to call Peter for emotional support and he answered the phone call. You two talked for a long while, probably during the entire Steve and Bucky vs Tony fight. You saw it started to get late and you ended the call. You went to your desk, sitting on your roller chair and went online to check the homework and so you did them, feeling empty. You then heard a knock on your door and told them to come in. Tony came in with a letter and sat down on your bed. You spun your chair around to face you father who had new wounds on his face. You looked at him sadly and he returned the look.

"So you two fought hard I see..." You said.

"Well it was two vs one, quite unfair if you ask me but I managed." He answered and you raise your brow. "Kind of." He added.

"What will happen to him now?" You asked.

"That, I don't know. Steve's pretty much a criminal now. Who knows what he'll do."

You stayed silent at his answer and he sighed, taking your hand and placing a letter on it. You looked at him curiously. He looked at the letter, then you, motionning you to look at it. You did and you saw on the front was 'From Steve'.

"You know I'll always be on your side right?" You told him which made him raise a brow.

"Of course." He said.

"And yet you were still jealous of Steve." You smirked and he scoffed.

"Me? Jealous? Have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

"Tony Everyone-says-I-have-too-big-of-an-ego Stark?" You answered and he gave you an unimpressed look which made you giggle. "I overheard you tell Nat that you hated me talking about Steve all the time, that you felt like I preferred him over you and that one day I'll change sides. Also don't think I haven't noticed you get uncharastically affectionate with me when Steve's around."

"Am I not allowed to show you off as my precious daughter?"

"Everyone knows that already, dad."

"Yeah well-"

"Dad." You cut him off.

"Alright. You caught me. I'm jealous. You happy now?" He admitted, waving his hand in defense.

"I love you Dad, more than anything in this world. I greatly respect Steve's choices and decisions, I adore him for being a great guy, but no matter what, I'll always be with you. Even when the whole world is against you, I'll be there to defend you. Yeah I have a crush on the guy, but in the end you'll always be my favorite man." You told him which made him crack a smile.

"Damn it you're making me emotional. Come here." He said and opened his arms for a hug.

You smiled, got off from your chair to sit next to him on the bed and hugging him. Tony exhaled sharply, you knew he was trying so hard not to let the tears fall. Tony's been through a lot and he often felt like everyone was against him, it makes sense he'd be worried that his own daughter would go against him too one day. He placed a hand on your head, stroking your hair and kissing it. You smiled, feeling the warmth from his body comforting you. You two stayed in that position until Tony pulled away and kissed your forehead, getting up from the bed.

"I better get back to work. Call me if you need anything." He said and you nodded before he left the room.

You opened the envelope than Tony gave you and took out the letter, reading it carefully.

"Y/N,

First I want to apologize for all of this, I know you were very worried about everyone and I'm sorry that things had to turn out this way. Second I wanted to let you know that I'm going under hiding for a while, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I know I hurt you and I'm sorry. Hurting someone I deeply care about is the last thing I wanted to do. I'll miss you. I'll miss our talks, your beautiful singing voice and the hugs we shared. I wish Tony and I agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know he was only doing what he believed in, and that’s all any of us can do, it’s all any of us should. So no matter what, I promise if you — if you need us, if you need me, I’ll be there.

Steve."

At the bottom of the page, there was a beautiful portrait of you made by Steve himself. A tear rolled down your cheek and you wiped it, sniffing. You already missed him, he gave the best hugs but you knew you had to be strong, for his and everyone else's sake. You put the letter back in the enveloppe and placed in on your desk, next to a picture of you, Tony and Steve all together, smiling happily. You cracked a smile, reminiscing the good times you had with the two men and the rest of the Avengers.

Even if they weren't here, you knew that they would want you to keep living your beautiful life.

[lyannas]

i cannot keep the night from coming in

“I don’t understand how you can be cross on your wedding day,” Branda scolds her as she smooths the wrinkles of Lyarra’s gowns. “You’re marrying Rickard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North-- and what did I get? A weak-willed, pale excuse of a husband. A southron lordling.”

Over the course of the past few days, it occurred to Lyarra that her sister had been bitter and enraged for a long time before she travelling north for her wedding. She was jealous, perhaps, but it was more likely she felt cheated of a husband worthy of her, of a first daughter. Their parents had passed Branda off to a strange man in a foreign land, but now gave their second daughter to their own kin, a man who ruled the entire North alone. Lyarra understood her sister’s bitterness.

“Say the word, sister, and tonight I will slay your husband and spirit myself away so you may have our cousin in my place,” Lyarra told her solemnly.

“You have always been full of stupid ideas. Mother and father let you fill your head with nonsense and childishness, but not me. I was always the good one. I always followed the rules. Yet somehow, they loved you more.” Branda pulls away from her sister. “Go on, then. Who knows how long you’ve kept them all waiting at the heart tree now.”

Lyarra did not think much of marriage, or her husband, on her wedding night. Rickard snored softly beside her, having already taken her maidenhead quietly and with dark, serious eyes. He did not speak much, but Lyarra hoped that would change. When the mood was right, words were the most beautiful things two bodies could share-- and Lyarra had a lot of words.

What consumed Lyarra’s thoughts that night was the gorgeous chestnut mare she had caught sight of in the stables, whose coat glistened in the moonlight and who stood tall and proud. She slipped on her husband’s discarded clothes, pulled on his boots, and ran to that mare, rode her until dawn broke despite the ache between her legs, and returned to bed happy. At the end of the day, that was all Lyarra aspired to be: happy.

Her husband did not like that. She came to learn that he did not like a great many things. He did not like loud women. He did not like that she knew how to wield a sword. He did not like his wife riding horses without reason, and in men’s clothes no less. He did not like to argue, so he ended conflict quickly, and harshly. He did not lay a hand on her, that much she would grant him, but his words did not sting any less.

“I am your husband, and you are my wife. You will obey me. You will do as I say. You will present yourself as is fitting of a Lady of Winterfell, or you will suffer.”

The first dozen times a fight broke out, Lyarra always stood up for herself. She matched him word for word, insult for insult, threat for threat. This was not a choice on her part-- she was the daughter of the man they called the Wandering Wolf for good reason, and the woman of a proud mountain clan. She was a Stark from the moment she was born-- and she had what her husband called, disdainfully, the “wolf blood”. When rage was upon her, or sorrow, or joy, her world filled with color, and she chased it until it all melted away.

Her husband did not like words either-- or at least, he grew tired of exchanging them with her. Instead, he took things. He took the key to her chambers and let her sit in them, locked away, with meals brought to her throughout the day. He took away her riding trousers and boots. He took away her father’s sword, and forbade her to carry another. He took away her dignity, though he could not take her pride.

Still, it was no way to live, and she so desperately wished to live. Thus, Lyarra relented. She hid her teeth, retracted her claws, and promised to be a good wife, and true. If it was a soft, quiet woman he desired, she would become that. A wolf had to adapt to be accepted into the fold, after all. Adapt, or be killed.

Lyarra has dreams. She dreamt of the simple pleasures she knew as a girl, of being foolish and wild and free.

Most of all, she dreamt of running barefoot in the snow. It was so vivid she could almost feel it, feel the biting cold pinching the soles of her feet, feel the chilly wind in her hair and upon her face. She was always laughing in that dream. No one chased her, and she was happy.

Their son is born, and he is perfect in every way.

Brandon comes into the world screaming, and that was how he would display every displeasure for years after. It irritated Rickard, but Lyarra delighted in it. She could see it in him from now, in her little Brandon, the wolf blood the boy’s father so despised. It coursed through his veins and promised to destroy those who would suppress it. It thrilled Lyarra; it frightened her, too.

“You’re a fighter, like my mother,” she whispered to him once as he suckled at her breast. “But you’ve a pair of lungs just like my father-- strong. That’s good. That’s very good. But you must be careful, my little one, for strength alone is not enough. Patience is important too-- and the hardest thing to learn.”

They have another son that they name Eddard, and he is everything that Brandon is not. He did not possess the same fire as his brother, nor the same fickle temperament. There was no wolf blood in this boy, but that does not disappoint Lyarra. The two would balance each other, and together, they could rule the world. They were boys, after all, and the world was made for them.

Thus, she did not weep when either son was born-- but a river poured from her eyes when Lyanna came into the world.

Lyarra never wanted a girl-- she never wanted to give birth to something so strong and hear the world insist that it was fragile. She did not want to give birth to a girl who would chase after her brothers, a girl that would scream with delight when she caught sight of a horse, a girl that was fussy, and sweet, and playful, and could throw a tantrum better than any other child Winterfell had ever seen.

Lyarra did not want a girl who carried a touch of the wolf blood.

She could see the disapproval in Rickard’s eyes from now, how deeply he frowned at the innocent, willful, boyish antics she pulled. She could see the wheels turning in his head, trying to figure out how to crush it all.

“How can you send your firstborn son away?” Lyarra snapped, turning on her husband. With most of the demands he made, she kept quiet and relented. This one, she could not. “He is only a boy-- he needs us.”

“He needs men who’ll push him and make him into a man himself,” her husband returns stoically. “He cannot stay here, with everyone regarding him as their little lord and with his mother coddling him.”

“He is a child. Children are meant to be coddled,” she said fiercely. “I can tell it’s not something you ever knew as a boy, else you would be a kinder man than you are now.”

“What use does the Lord of Winterfell have for kindness?” He scoffed. “House Stark did not survive because we were kind. Our line did not continue because we were gentle.”

“No-- it continued because a man learned that there is a time for fighting, and time for kneeling. When have you ever learned to kneel, my lord? When have you ever learned that there are people behind you who would be glad if you would bend for them, rather than stand against them?”

“I cannot expect a woman to understand this, much less one that has lived in the mountains and never learned to be civil,” he said, practically spitting out the word ‘woman’. “Your heart is far too soft towards the boy-- all the more reason to send him away, lest he too adopt the tender heart of a woman.” He scowled, then turned away from her. “Lord Dustin and I have agreed that he’ll foster the boy once he reaches his eighth nameday. That’s two years more of you coddling him.”

“Then I have two years to make him a better man than you shall ever be,” Lyarra returned boldly. “Then when he returns to us a man grown, I will undo Lord Dustin’s work and teach him again him how to be a good man.”

It is Brandon who comes up with the nickname “Ned” for his little brother.

It catches on quickly, and it’s an easy word for Lyanna’s childish tongue. Lyarra calls him Ned too; with her son’s face was always so sullen and serious, a name like that was the perfect fit.

She even heard Rickard call him “Ned”, once. It is a mistake he does not repeat twice.

See, my boy? She thinks, smiling at her eldest son as he played with Lyanna on the floor. All manner of men will learn from you. They have nothing to teach you.

Her mother dies when she is with child a fourth time.

Rickard forbids her to travel, leaving her mother to be buried without family to attend to her. For a few brief moments her world is filled with crimson-- “If my mother knew what manner of man she had married me to, she would have killed you,” she recalled saying. “A man so unkind, cruel, heartless, stupid--”

It had earned her locked doors for a week. It was one thing to be confined to her rooms when she was childless, but another when one of her sweet babes sat at her door and sobbed when she is told that she cannot go in to see her own mother.

Lyarra promises herself that she will not lose her temper again. She did not need Rickard’s approval, but her children needed her.

From that point on, her world is painted a somber grey.

When the door to her room finally unlocked, Lyarra escaped to the godswood. “To pray,” she explained to her husband. “To atone for my foolishness.”

Her mother taught her more than how to carry a sword. When she reaches the heart tree, she sheds her gown, her skirts, her smallclothes. Summer was still upon them, but the air carried the slightest chill that made her shiver.

She knelt before the heart tree, but did not pray. She found the dirt closest to the trunk, the purest earth and the most extraordinary, and sunk both hands into it. They emerged with fistfuls of dirt, which she rubbed first on her arms, then her legs, her hair, and her breasts. On her face she traced the symbols her mother taught her, signs of the old gods that the children of the forest invented to strengthen their prayers. She did the same on her rounded stomach-- signs of protection, of strength, of humility. Then she clasped her muddied hands together, and whispered a short, powerful prayer.

She sunk into the pool before the altar, submerging her whole self in its warm waters. Below the waters, she prayed, and prayed, until the dirt dissipated from her body, until her body demanded breath.

When she was dried and dressed again, Lyarra was surprised to feel warm water on her face again. She touched her cheeks, felt another drop of water roll from her eyes to the tip of a finger. Through bleary eyes, she looked to the heart tree. The tree was weeping too, though it's tears were red.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I always hated crying alone.”

Her fourth child, her third son, is named Benjen.

She knows he is to be her final child-- she sacrificed the chance to have another in her prayers, for one had to give in order to receive.

Yet, she finds herself wishing she had not chosen such an offering; none of her children had been named after her parents. There was no Arya or Rodrik among them, and there shall never be. Rickard had, as with all things, took ownership of their names as he had taken ownership of her.

“Promise me you shall be brave?” Lyarra asks of Brandon on his eighth nameday. On schedule, Lord Dustin’s men had arrived to escort him, their yellow banners flapping in the wind. She knelt in the courtyard, uncaring of the dirt that would stain her gown, wanting desperately to cherish these final moments with him.

“I promise, mother,” he returns in a grown-up voice.

“I will not ask you to be good,” she whispers. “For sometimes it is much better to be naughty. It makes you clever, and keeps your mind sharp.”

He grins, and the little glimmer in his eye swears he shall be anything but good.

“But do try to write, will you? If not for me, then for your brothers and sister?”

He rolls his eyes a bit. “Okay, mother. No promises, though.” He grins again, and Lyarra cannot help herself. She embraced him, and kissed him on the cheek.

Rickard exchanged some words with Brandon, a man’s words that were undoubtedly meant to frighten and brace Brandon. Lyarra didn’t care for what he said to him; Brandon would one day be a stronger man than him by far.

“Mama?” Lyanna’s voice seemed to tremble as she called to her. Her hands gripped her skirts. “When will we him again?”

“Not for some years, my sweet,” she answered sadly. “When he is a man grown, we shall see him again.”

“But he’s still small,” she returned, frowning.

“I think it will be a long time, Lya,” Ned said solemnly. ‘Lya’ was also a nickname of Brandon’s invention.

“Oh,” she said.

“Oh,” little Ben echoed at her side.

Lyarra mislikes Winterfell’s maester. He is a man who calls himself Walys, and she knew he was the reason for her husband sending Brandon away. She knew he was also the reason Rickard comes to her to say: “Eddard must be fostered too, soon.”

“No,” the words flew out of her mouth without thought. “What need is there to send two sons away?”

“A great need-- I shall not explain it to you again.”

“You did not explain it to me even once,” Lyarra returned, crestfallen. “It is one thing to send our boy to a northern lord, but another send the other to the South.”

“House Stark has found comfort in the North for too long. Perhaps it is time we looked south.” The glimmer in her husband’s eyes was a new and dangerous invention.

“Then send him to my sister’s husband,” she finds herself insisting. “She has yet to meet my children; she would gladly take Ned into her home.”

“Send him to House Rogers when I can send him to House Arryn?” Her husband snorted. “Steffon Baratheon’s firstborn has been sent to the Vale already-- the boy will be your goodbrother’s liege lord one day.”

Lyarra sunk down on the bed, burying her face in her hands. The castle felt empty enough without Brandon’s presence-- to lose Ned too meant she would not lay eyes on half her children for years to come. Yet what could she do? How could she fight it?

“We are building a future for our children, Lyarra,” her husband said. She felt the mattress sink where he sat beside her. In tender gesture rarely felt outside of lying together, he stroked her hair from the crown of her head to where it splayed over her back.

“You are building one for yourself,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Power is shifting in the Seven Kingdoms-- powers you do not understand, or have ever known,” he continued cryptically. “I would have our family be pushed to the top and not trampled underfoot.”

“You have pushed two of my children away from me, and decided their fates,” Lyarra said, ignoring his talk of power. “Will you leave the last two for me?”

“Lyanna is still too young to find a betrothed suitable for her, but I will hear your thoughts on who you think would make fine groom for her, when the time comes.”

Lyarra looked to her husband, horrorstruck.

Her dreams become more and more vivid.

The night before Ned was to leave her, she could feel the chill of the winter winds, the biting cold of the snow underfoot. It was so visceral she shivered in her sleep until she woke with a jolt. Outside the window, snow was falling. It was late summer snows, still too soon for howling winds and raging blizzards, but it was snow all the same. Lyarra looked to where her husband slept beside her, the sound of his snores ringing in her ears. She was reminded suddenly of laying eyes on her sleeping children when they were only babes who slept at her breast. The love she bore them was so strong in those moments that it would close her throat and burn her eyes as she wondered how she could ever protect something so small and needy. Those were moments she knew when they had been only weeks old; she had spent 11 years with the man beside her, looked upon him many times, and never felt anything similar.

She slipped out of bed soundlessly. Her bare feet scraped the warm stone floors as she past her children's’ bedrooms, down the stairs, and out of the castle. The cold embraced her like an old friend, urging her forward. Placing one bare foot in front of the other, Lyarra walked forward, her eyes closed and her arms open. Ice nipped at every inch of her, from the soles of her feet to the nape of her neck; it clung to her nightgown and the wet fabric hugged her bare skin.

It was greater than any dream she had dreamt. Ignoring the chattering of her teeth, she ran towards the godswood, not stopping until she found the heart tree, where it stood weeping at the sight of her. She fell to her knees and opened her arms, mimicking the bough of the weirdwood.

“I have a son who will leave me tomorrow, to a strange land with no heart trees,” she shouted, knowing that the gods did not care for soft-spoken demands. “I beg you to keep him at my side a while longer.” The wind kicked up, spraying red leaves across the sky. “I have endured and given up much. Please, please, give me this.”

She does not know how long she spent at the foot of the heart tree, praying until her breath went hoarse. She only knows that she makes it back to her rooms eventually, and fell asleep with the feeling that something fell had crawled inside her.

The next morning she was too weak to even rise. Even awake, it felt like she were in a dream. The room swayed before her eyes. Bile jumped up her throat when she tried to sit up. She felt hot, so hot, as if burning stones had been placed on every inch of her body.

“She has a fever,” the blasted maester stated the obvious. “It seems very grave, my lord.”

She did not care to look at Rickard’s face. She only managed to open her eyes for her sweet children at her side.

“Ned,” she whispered, reaching out to touch her son’s cheek. “You didn’t leave.”

“Are you okay, mother?” He asked, a frown in his voice.

“You’re here, my love. Of course I’m okay.”

How much time had passed since that day? She no longer knew. She drifted in and out of sleep, feeling no better than the day before. Her whole body felt as if it were aflame, but she did not have the strength to scream.

When she was awake, she saw her children. Ned, Lyanna, and Benjen all lined up at the edge of her bed, looking to her with wide worried eyes. She wanted to tell them it was okay. She wanted to tell them that the gods had come for her, that it was natural and expected. She had tempted them, after all. She had asked for so much-- yet they gave it to her, and now they came to reap.

“Momma, don’t go to sleep,” Lyanna’s little voice cried out to her once. “Momma, please.”

It was her little girl that tugged at her heartstrings the hardest. Her boys could grow up without her, learn to be men, learn to vouch for themselves. But her little girl? Who would watch out for her? Who would champion her? Who would protect her tender heart? Who would explain to her what it was like to be a woman? Who would assuage her fears about her first moon’s blood, explain to her that her body held power beyond a man’s pleasure, who would tell her how to be a woman and survive? Lyanna was too much like her. No one could teach her but her.

“My darling,” was all Lyarra could manage as reassurance. Lyanna’s little hands gripped her fingers even tighter as she fought back tears. A girl of five, yet so brave and strong. It only made Lyarra fear for her even more.

Her husband comes to her only one time that she can remember. He sat at the edge of her bed and held her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she thinks he said. He kissed her knuckles and left.

She is on the edge of a cliff when Brandon comes to her.

“Mother!” He shouted, rushing to her bedside. He clutched her hand between his own.

Lyarra felt her heart soar. “Brandon,” she whispered, the word alone pushing strength back into her. “Oh, my son.”

“Mother, please don’t die,” he said fiercely. “Mother, please.”

He had grown so much. He had shot up like a sprig, and grown wide in the shoulders. He was going to be tall and strong, just as she suspected-- handsome too. Her boy was handsome already.

“Brandon, promise me,” she murmured, the words pouring out of her by a miracle alone. “Take care of your siblings for me. Be their protector.”

He nodded vigorously, as if the strength of his promise would convince her soul to stay.

“Lyanna…” she choked out. “You must be her champion. Do you understand?” Thoughts replaced words now, her lips too tired to move. She is your only sister, my only girl. I fail her with my early death; you must live for her.

If he was puzzled at her request, he did not let it show. “Anything, mother. I’ll do anything.” He kissed the palm of her hand.

My son. My joy. I love you, I love you, I love you. Tell your siblings I love them too-- thrice each.

Lyarra smiled, and let herself slip away.

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

Jon Snow’s type of women

In my previous meta I wrote about the misconception that Jon has a thing for redheads. I briefly mentioned that Jon has indeed a type which hasn’t anything to do with hair. I didn’t further explained because I meant to write another meta  about Jon’s preferences. So here we are!

When a boy is young his mother represents the whole female gender to him. It’s through her that he learns about womanhood and she is the one who shapes his first views on women. This wasn’t the case for Jon Snow because as we all know that his mother, Lyanna, died while giving birth to him. In his childhood he interacted with only a few women (the only women he recalls from his days at Winterfell are his two sisters, his step-mother and the old Nan) and only one who was actually close to him, his little sister Arya.

Usually, on close sibling relationships of different sex it’s the younger ones that are affected by the older ones on the subject on how they view the different sex (ex: Bran likes girls that resemble his older sister, Arya). However, in Jon’s case he’s definitely influenced by Arya. This is hardly a surprise because as I noted before, she’s the only female close to him so it makes sense to be his ideal of womanhood.

The evidence of this lay on  the fact that he compares Ygritte,his first love, to Arya. First, in terms of physical appearance:

[..] She looked plump as she crouched there, but most of that was layers of fur and wool and leather. Underneath all that she could be as skinny as Arya.

And later on in terms of personality's traits:

"If you kill a man, and never mean t', he's just as dead," Ygritte said stubbornly. Jon had never met anyone so stubborn, except maybe for his little sister Arya. 

Even aside from the direct comparisons within the text, one can also draw a lot of  parallels between the two girls’ characters.

Ygritte and Arya are not gender confirming girls. Both show interest in fighting, are feisty, stubborn and loud. They aren’t the typical Westeros girls (well, in Ygritte’s case she’s not a Westerosi). However, they do possess traits that can be found on other Northern and Wilding girls,too.

In a way, it makes poetic sense for Jon’s female ideal to be his sister because Arya resembles Lyanna a lot. Ned Stark, the person who knew both of them very well, demonstrates that:

“You remind me of [Lyanna] sometimes. You even look like her.”

“Lyanna was beautiful,” Arya said, startled. Everybody said so.”-

It’s like Jon’s ideal woman isn’t only his little sister but also his mother, despite the fact that he never got to know her.

The next woman Jon Snow shows an interest at, is Val. Another Wilding, another fighter, another fierce and brave woman.

Lonely and lovely and lethal, Jon Snow reflected, and I might have had her

They are all convinced she is a princess. Val looked the part and rode as if she had been born on horseback. A warrior princess, he decided, not some willowy creature who sits up in a tower, brushing her hair and waiting for some knight to rescue her

Val’s characteristics could easily apply to Ygritte and Arya, so it strengthens the case that Jon indeed has a certain type.

Since I wrote about what Jon likes in women I think it’s time to address what he doesn’t like. Earlier on, I wrote that Arya is the only female that was close to him to Winterfell. That’s true but there is another woman who has also influenced Jon’s perspective on women. That is his step mother, lady Catelyn Stark.

Lady Stark and Jon Snow didn’t have a good relationship. Some fans say she was merely cold to him, others that she was emotional abusive. No matter where you stand on this matter, it was unavoidable that she would have a major effect on him as she was the most prominent female figure on Winterfell and also the one he had a dysfunctional relationship with.

The way she has influenced him is that he came to dislike everything she stood for. Or to be more correct, everything he thought that she stood for. That’s why Jon doesn’t like the women who adhere the traditional femininity. Sometimes his words towards those women can be even harsh and uncalled for. Here are two examples of what I’m describing:

[...] A warrior princess, he decided, not some willowy creature who sits up in a tower, brushing her hair and waiting for some knight to rescue her

And yes, I will take your women too. I have no need of blushing maidens looking to be protected, but I will take as many spearwives as will come.

This meta would be incomplete if I didn’t include Daenerys, his current love interest on the tv series. While Daenerys has more traditional feminine traits than Ygritte or Arya, she still can be described as a free spirited, proud and more importantly brave woman. She’s even a warrior in her own way. She doesn’t wield a sword, but she participates in battles through flying on Drogon.

[...] I know she is proud. How not? What else was left her but pride? I know she is strong. How not? The Dothraki despise weakness. If Daenerys had been weak, she would have perished with Viserys. I know she is fierce. Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen are proof enough of that. She has crossed the grasslands and the red waste, survived assassins and conspiracies and fell sorceries, grieved for a brother and a husband and a son, trod the cities of the slavers to dust beneath her dainty sandaled feet. [...]

She’s a woman who could impress Jon Snow and I think that’s intentional by the author. After all, those two have many hints that they will meet and probably end up together in the books (because in the tv series Jonerys is already canon).

[wolveshonor]

Robb didn't care about his sisters and abandoned them through the war.

Send me a misconception about my character & I’ll tell you if it’s true or not

Okay, I understand being frustrated at Robb for losing focus during the war (in marrying for love and losing the Frey army he put his sisters at risk because he put the war at risk), but from the beginning, Robb was fighting the war against the Lannisters to bring the girls home. I think maybe it’s that people see Robb yelling about freeing his father and forget that Sansa and Arya are included in that: their father is their protector and guardian in King’s Landing, and as long as he’s being held prisoner, so are they–if he is freed, they’ll be able to leave as well. That’s the theory anyway and what Robb believes. 

Catelyn tells him from the beginning “If you go to King’s Landing and bend the knee, you’ll never be allowed to leave. Our best hope–our only hope–is that you can defeat them on the field [and if you lose] your father dies, your sisters die, we die.” He is made to believe that the only way to rescue his family (all of his family) is to keep fighting and to win the war. Once Ned is killed, and the war declared, the girls are considered hostages (and both Robb and Catelyn are made to believe that Arya is in King’s Landing as well, which Cersei wants them to believe). They don’t know that they should be looking for her, and in the books, when they still don’t hear anything about her, Robb assumes she’s dead. (And you have to realize that as strong as Arya is, she’s still a little girl, a child, and it’s unlikely that Robb or Catelyn could have believed she’d just run away. The chances of a little kid escaping an entire kingdom and all of the kings’ guards and everyone that would have been looking for her is very very unlikely. They don’t know that she had assistance out of the capital, so as far as they know, the most likely answer is that Arya, being the brave and fighting little girl that she is, fought with them and was killed, and that the Lannisters aren’t admitting it–just like later, Edmure wants Robb not to admit that the the Lannister boys in his came were killed). 

As soon as the war begins, Robb’s focus is as much on the girls as it is on avenging his father. A few examples: 

“Did we rescue my sisters from the queen?” he asks after their first victory. I think another misconception is that Robb is cocky and so sure of himself after the battles he’s won that he becomes reckless, but we really see the opposite: yes, everyone might tell stories about him saying he can’t be killed, treating him like he’s this arrogant powerful fighter, but that’s the rumor mill, and the Robb we actually see is somber and worried after the battle, knowing that it’s not a victory yet, that it’s not enough just to have won if they forgot what they’re fighting for. 

Robb’s terms for surrender are that, among other things, the girls must be returned to the North safely. Yes, he could also have surrendered, and maybe that would have gotten the girls back quicker, but remember what Catelyn told him: he’s been made to believe that the Lannister’s will brutalize and massacre his family no matter what unless he wins. Though to be fair, Robb is also proud and angry and vengeful and unwilling to give in or bow when he believes he can win. He is young and he is stubborn. That much is true. But it’s also important to point out that he’s not just fighting for himself anymore. He has people following him, and they have to think they’re fighting for a reason. He told them they were fighting to free Ned–when that no longer becomes a possibility, he has to give them something else to fight for to make up for all the men who already died on his orders. They want freedom. It’s not just his family at stake now, but the families of all the other soldiers under his command, the families who are without fathers because they died fighting for him in the first battles. He has to make that worth it, show them that they weren’t fighting for nothing. 

When Roose Bolton suggests torturing the prisoners, Robb reminds him that the Lannisters “hold prisoners of their own; I won’t give them an excuse to abuse my sisters.” 

But I think the biggest misconception is the idea that Robb refusing to trade Jaime Lannister for the girls means he didn’t care about them. But I’d argue that that’s not true at all and is actually, in part, the opposite. As said above, war is an eye for an eye, and he believes that as long as he treats his prisoners well (or at least doesn’t torture them), this will keep the Lannisters from torturing their prisoners (aka his sisters). That means that as long as he has Jaime, a very important hostage to the Lannisters, they wouldn’t dare to hurt his sisters because Cersei would know that the second Arya and Sansa were harmed, Jaime would be harmed in turn. He’s a safety net for the girls. As for the actual trade:

Robb tells Jaime explicitly that he doesn’t trust any of his banner-men alone with the man and doesn’t want him out of his sight. “If I left you with one of my banner-men, your father would know in a fortnight. My bannerman would receive a raven with a message: ‘release my son and you’ll be rich beyond your dreams, refuse and your house will be destroyed root and stem’.” This is exactly what happens the second Jaime leaves the camp: Roose Bolton is convinced to betray Robb for gold and titles in exchange for bringing Jaime back safely to his father. I don’t blame Catelyn for doing what she did–it was with good intentions–and in exchange, Robb looks like the heartless one, but it’s really one of the smarter moves he ever made. 

And then also as Richard Madden says: “We started this war through the revenge of my father and trying to get my sisters back to safety and keep my brothers safe. That is where the war started, and that’s where Catelyn’s heart still lies, but for Robb now, he’s got 20,000 men and it’s their mothers, wives, daughters, sons that he has to care for now, not only his own. So that’s where the fracturing starts because … he’s got to care about all those men as much as he cares about his own family.” And we see this worry/burden when Robb tells Talisa about how Ned said the same to him, that being a Lord was like being a father and that you have to worry about everyone, and that made him wake up and go to sleep every day and night in fear.  

Trading Jaime brought tension into the camp that had the men fighting amongst themselves/him rather than against the Lannisters, and keeping him was a long term solution: a reminder of what they’d won and a promise that they would get their vengeance, and if the men kept faith in the cause, they’d be able to keep fighting and in theory win the war and win back the girls. This tension between wanting a short term solution so you can have your loved one back and the long term game plan to win them back is also what we see Cersei and Tywin arguing over Jaime about. 

Obviously, Robb slipped up. When he married Talisa, he wasn’t thinking about his family or his sisters or his men or the war–he was thinking about himself and about the girl he loved (and I could meta about that too, but I won’t). He got in over his head when it became more than a war, when he became king. But that does not mean he didn’t care about his sisters. 

Anyway tagging @wolf-queen-named-stark and @worshipsonlydeath ( @tbdprobs ) because I love my sisters. 

[rainhalydia]

If you were to write a Knights of the Zodiac/Saint Seiya Xover with ASOIAF, which cloth armor would Theon and Robb get (along with other assorted characters, including not so popular ones like Myrcella)?

Well, firstly, BLESS YOU ANON FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL ASK!

Secondly, what a hard question, anon. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time on this and I’m still not satisfied. I’m going to go by a mix of character story and cloth skills because if the criteria are not all over the place, nothing would work. To go by sun sign, for example, as the gold cloths demand, we’d need to know for sure which signs the characters are, but they’re not even in the same planet as us! They don’t have the same constellations! So as much as I’m positive that Theon is a Pisces who has repressed his emotions as much as humanly possible, we don’t actually know that. I’m not even sure Westeros has 12 months to begin with.

Also, I’m mixing some of the characters who are not fighters here, because they’re some of my favorites! They’d never survive saint training, but they’re too dear to me to not be a part of this game.

So with this out of the way, have my own personal choices:

Theon would wear the Sagittarius cloth. Mostly because hello, bow and arrow. But I imagine that, even though they’re very different personality-wise, he’d react very much like Aiolos did when he strumbles on the attempted murder of baby Athena, that is, he’d act rashly and not think things through at all, just following his instinct on what’s right in the moment, and get falsely accused of murder and betrayal for it. He survives it, though, because I say so!

Robb would wear the Virgo cloth. He’d absolutely be powerful enough to make all enemies shit themselves, but he’s also much more than raw power? He’s a great strategist, and he’s pragmatic enough to sacrifice what he must to win, even if it means, say, dying and wandering the underworld to kill the head of the rival faction.

Jon would wear the Cygnus cloth. His powers are all about snow and ice, he’s surprisingly powerful for his rank, mommy issues galore (though not exactly the same mommy issues as Hyoga), seems uncaring and distant, is sorta distant, but actually super caring and emotional. He likes few people but he would literally lay down his life for humankind in the abstract. Also, he never tells anyone shit!

Arianne would wear the Ophiuchus cloth. She’d never put up with the restrictions Amazons face, she’d rebel for sure, but a) snake imagery and b) powerful as fuck, with the potential to be even stronger and more dangerous if unsealed.

Sansa would wear the Aquila cloth. She’s so traumatized by her past that she has a mental block around it and doesn’t remember much at all. She’s caring and soft by saints’ standards. She’s powerful, but her focus is much more on supporting other saints than fighting.

Arya would wear the Chameleon cloth. She’d be much stronger than June, probably silver-rank power at the very least, verging on gold-saint level at her best. Why not a wolf, you ask if you’re even still reading at this point? Well, because the Wolf cloth and its saint are kinda lame in the original anime/manga, and Arya’s hability to adapt and get into character is one of her coolest skills in the books. That girl is spy material, is what I’m saying, and if the Chameleon cloth doesn’t get used this way, then it’s fucking wasted.

Sam would wear the Andromeda cloth. He’s a pacifist. Everyone thinks he’s a coward, even him, poor thing, but he’s actually very brave. He just hates fighting with everything he’s got. In the books Sam is not a fighter for lack of skill as well as inclination, and Shun kicks ass when he wants to, but since we’re talking about anime magic, aka cosmos, Sam’s not good for physical fighting, but his cosmos is fat, pink and huge considerable, and that’s how he manages the chains.

Tyrion would wear the Leo cloth. He’s proud and eager to prove himself like Aiolia, but their similarities end pretty much there. No, I lie: like Aiolia, Tyrion is the first gold saint to join Athena’s cause, but he’s not rash enough to go and confront the corrupt Sanctuary on his own, so he actually helps instead of getting in the way.

Loras would wear the Pisces cloth. Because the roses! But he’s much more likely to use those nasty black roses and cut you as a first measure instead of poisoning you slowly and pleasantly. Actually, he’d be pretty liberal with the white roses too, the poisoned red roses are his last resource. HE’LL TAKE YOU TO YOUR GRAVE EVEN IF HE’S ALREADY DEAD, FUCKER.

Cersei and Jaime would wear the Gemini cloth. Ouch, their story would be very, very different from Saga and Kanon’s. Cersei, being a woman, is passed over for Jaimes. She totally tricks Jaime into switching places at some point, though, and drops him in that cell Kanon got dropped too. Then she usurps the Grand Pope and kick starts the original plot by trying to kill Athena.

Stannis would wear the Pegasus cloth. That man does not know how to give up at all, and that characteristic saves the day every time. Definitely a more refined sense of humor than Seiya, and more moved by duty than personal love. He has a lost daughter somewhere, from before he inherited the Pegasus cloth from Robert, and it weights on him he can’t be a father to her.

Ned would wear the Aquarius cloth. He tries to remain distant and aloof, but he’s actually a bleeding heart. Powers based on ice and snow too. Like Stannis, inherited his spot as saint from an older brother and was NOT OKAY with leaving his family behind, but in the end had no choice in it. He got to raise his nephew though, because similar powers. It pains him that all his kids but one are saints as well, because he thinks they got the potential to become saints from his bloodline, but most of them actually got it from...

... Cat, who would wear the Mermaid cloth if Poseidon was awake at this time, which he isn’t because Jaime doesn’t unseal him. So her potential - and the other Tullys’ - remain dormant. She’s furious at Athena for taking all her family but Rickon away from her.

Gregor would wear the Cancer cloth. He’s a sadist who tortures his victims even beyond the grave. He doesn’t care about Athena or her cause. He’s one of the weakest of the gold saints because he doesn’t have the focus to properly develop his cosmos.

Tyene would wear the Hydra cloth. People underestimate her because of her appearance, then she poisons them to a painful death.

Oberyn would wear the Scorpio cloth. He doesn’t actually uses poison in his attacks - though he has plenty of knowledge on this that he passed on to Tyene - but everyone thinks he does because of how fucking painful they are.

Brienne would wear the Capricorn cloth. SHE’S THE SWORD OF JUSTICE! Actually, her views were very black and white, but in time she learned to recognize and deal with grey areas, because justice can’t be justice without mercy. She’s not a rebel against the rules of Amazons, though, she’s not very worried about them as opposed to defeding the world.

Bran would wear the Hound cloth. I know, that should go to Sandor, but listen to me. This cloth has actual telephatic powers! Bran’s powers are more mind-control than mind-reading in the books, but well, no one else even comes close, so I’m keeping it. And since he has mind-reading powers, he’s the only one who knows a) that he has siblings and a father in Athena’s army and b) who they are. He grows especially close to Sansa and Arya, I think, because Jon tries to keep everyone at arms lenght and Robb is pretty untouchable as a gold saint.

Myrcella would wear the Coma Berenices cloth. It’s a silver cloth from a novelization with the specific function of sealing Typhon. Much like Mei, Myrcella has been through a traumatizing early life, but she keeps her bravery to the end, even though the narrative dooms her from the start. I like this cloth for her because it has a certain femininity and dignity to it.

Euron would wear the Phoenix cloth. He’s not strong as Ikki, though he’s not weak either. He definitely thinks he’s super strong, but he’s going to be toast as soon as he has to face someone who can deal with the mind-fuckery he throws at people.

Sandor would wear the Canis Major cloth. A saint associated to dogs, he’s very loyal. Seeing his brother be granted the Cancer gold cloth was the greatest disappointment of his life, and he was primed to turn away from the Sanctuary from the start, but it takes Sansa’s influence to believe in Athena’s cause again.

Syrio Forel would wear the Cepheus cloth. Though he’s a silver saint, he’s easily a match for a gold saint. He’s Arya’s master and he helped her to escape persecution from the Sanctuary after she changes sides.

Joffrey would wear the Lacerta cloth. He thinks he’s the shit, but oh boy, is he wrong.

Alysane Mormont would wear the Ursa Major cloth. She’s not that strong, very lower ranking levels of cosmos, but she’s loyal and smart. She strikes at a crucial moment.

Dany would wear the Aries cloth. She’s the last of a special kind and the Aries cloth has been in her family for generations. She’s very powerful, the vangard of the gold saints, but she starts off with a very black and white perspective. She can be ruthless when her temper flares, but she tries her best to uphold the ideals of justice she thinks a saint should represent.

Asha would wear the Crane cloth. She’s one of the most powerful silver saints, but the life of a saint is not actually what she’d have picked for herself. She believes Theon’s betrayal was real and she’s furious with him, but she still wants to protect him from the Sanctuary.

Ramsay would wear the Perseus cloth. He knows all about the corruption in the Sanctuary, but he doesn’t care. He’s physically strong, but not so much cosmos-wise. He relies heavily on his petrifying shield. Probably still tortures random people with the threat of turning them to stone if they try to run, then still turns them to stone after he’s done.

Petyr would wear the Altar cloth. He’s barely silver ranking level and he’s not physically impressive, but he’s totally running the show from the shadows.

[thearabkhaleesi]

Game of Thrones 7x4 “The Spoils of War” Recap/Review

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

All my Game of Thrones episode reviews/recaps are sorted by location & contain no spoilers based on leaks or set photos, but might include predictions for the following episodes/rest of the season. 

King’s Landing

Not much action at King’s Landing in this episode, but Tycho Nestoris strongly emphasized that Cersei has to pay off the debt so that she can gain the support of the Iron Bank. We saw Jaime take the Tyrell gold at the very beginning of the episode, and then Randyll Tarly tells him that all the gold has safely crossed the border into King’s Landing; this means that she’ll be able to pay the debt to the Iron Bank, and in return they will back her against Daenerys by giving her more money, armies, weapons, and more…💸 Cersei also mentioned edthat Qyburn managed to get the Golden Company to fight for them, which is definitely in her favor; the Golden Company is a mercenary, assassin group located in Essos, with a military of about 10’000 fighters… I have to say seeing Cersei gain power is scaring me because I obviously don’t root for her, and she’s stronger and more merciless than ever.

Winterfell

OH. MY. GOD! I’m trying my best to make this professional, so let’s start in chronological order. First of all, we finally see the Catspaw dagger! If you’ve been following me for a while I’m sure you’ve seen that I discussed it many times before, and the fact that there was a magazine cover months ago with Arya holding the dagger. As Littlefinger mentioned, the Valyrian steel dagger, “Catspaw”, was given to an assassin to kill Bran in season 1 (most likely by Jaime Lannister.) I DID NOT expect it go down the way it did, with Littlefinger giving it to Bran, who gives it to Arya! As Sansa said, Littlefinger giving it to Bran is without a doubt suspicious, since he never does something without expecting something in return, as he’s always after his own benefit only. He even subtly refers to Bran as “Lord Stark” because he thinks it might start a rift between him & Sansa. I still think he has tricks up his sleeve and I really thought Bran would have a vision of Littlefinger betraying Ned Stark in season 1, but that could still happen.. I have more predictions but you’ll have to wait for my episode 5 predictions post for more! Notice how during their discussion, Bran tells Littlefinger, “Chaos is a ladder”. Those words are exactly what Littlefinger says to Varys in the 6th episode of season 3, about how he likes to stir up trouble and then seize opportunities for himself amongst the chaos (which is exactly what he’s been doing all throughout the series; Bran mentioning it to him could be his subtle hint to Littlefinger that he knows his true intentions, what he did in the past, and what he wants to do in the future. - Meera left! Even though Bran was pretty emotionless when they said goodbye, I felt sorry for her & a bit sad to see her go, especially considering all that she’s done for him. I also thought it was interesting how Bran says he’s not “Bran Stark” anymore, but remembers what it feels like, and that the real Bran metaphorically died in the 3-Eyed Raven’s cave. Bran’s speech in this scene reminded me of how Arya was training to become no one & leave her identity behind.

Aaaaand.. WE GOT THE STARK REUNION!😭❤️ I don’t know how many times I cried during the reunion this episode. I was in tears from the second Arya looked out from the hill onto Winterfell. Then the scene of her trying to get in the castle was so perfect, and so Arya, & it was a callback to season 1 when the guards at King's Landing didn't allow her to get into the Red Keep. Seeing her happiness just to be at Winterfell and seeing the Stark banners made me extremely happy.❤️ When the guards inform Sansa of Arya’s arrival, Sansa was looking through Maester Luwin’s papers & letters, and I think there’s a possibility Sansa could discover something in the letters in the next episode. Seeing Arya & Sansa reunite in the Winterfell crypts was so emotional for them & for us! I’m so happy that they’re happy and that Arya’s truly smiling again.💙Arya also mentions that being Lady Stark suits Sansa, which is a callback to the last episode where Littlefinger says that leadership & being in command suits Sansa; it’s also a callback to a scene between Ned & Arya where he tells her that she’ll be lady of a castle one day and she says “That’s not me”. And It’s true, being a Lady suits Sansa rather than Arya and I’m just so happy to see them reunited!😭 I loved the conversation between them, with Arya thinking Sansa killed Joffrey and Sansa’s reaction to Arya’s kill-list, which shows that they both really grew and went through so much, and then Arya’s reaction to knowing Bran is at Winterfell and alive was pure joy and it just all made me feel so warm and fuzzy. The full Stark reunion with Bran was so heartwarming, and Bran giving Arya the Catspaw dagger was the cherry on top, I’m so glad Arya has a Valyrian steel weapon now. The shot that got to me the most was most probably seeing the three of them walking around the castle together, showing their bond as a family, walking in their own home after all they’ve been through.😭❤️

I LOVED the scene of Arya and Brienne sparring at Winterfell. It was such a perfect and genuine scene for the two characters; I love Arya & Brienne’s chemistry and am so happy we got to see them reunited in this way, as their past interaction wasn’t quite as happy. I also really liked the nod to the Faceless Men when Brienne asked Arya who taught her how to fight like that and she said “No one”. I hope we see more of their bonding in the future.❤️ It was so evident that Arya saw right through Littlefinger at the end of the scene, she knows he’s playing games and gave him such a knowing look that was awesome.👀 I really really liked Arya in this episode because I felt like it was the first time in a long time that we’ve seen her the true Arya; she’s been through so much and we can clearly see that she has grown & matured, but back to being herself which made me ecstatic. I also loved the detail that Arya was dressed almost exactly like Ned did in season 1.😭❤️ Everything to do with Winterfell in this last episode made me so emotional, the Stark reunion was perfect, I couldn’t stop crying, and I just hope we get to see Jon reunited with them again. (he & Arya especially were the closest, and he’s the one who gave her Needle).

DRAGONSTONE

I like seeing Daenerys & Missandei being so close, and that Dany finally knows that Missandei & Greyworm like each other. Next we see Jon showing Daenerys the cave, filled with “all the dragonglass they'll ever need”, as Jon says. I’m so pumped and excited for them to start mining the dragonglass and turning into weapons, which of course would be vital in fighting the White Walkers.❄️ He then shows her the ancient cave drawings by the Children of the Forest and humans, which convinced Daenerys further that Jon is telling the truth about the White Walkers; & to me it felt like Daenerys does actually want to help Jon but the reason she wants him to bend the knee first is because she needs his guarantee that they’re allies. And in Jon’s defense, the Northerners are already against him for even agreeing to meet with Daenerys, so bending the knee to her could definitely result in a rebellion against him. I understand both of their viewpoints, but they’re both stubborn and proud people who want to help each other, and in due time, they will come to an agreement.🙌🏽 The scene between Jon, Davos, and Missandei was really cute and when Missandei was confused why Jon isn’t a Stark, and maybe I’m reaching here but her not understanding that concept felt like a very subtle to nod to Jon actually being a Targaryen. Missandei’s words about Daenerys also further convince Jon & Davos that she’s a good person and a good leader, since her people believe and have faith in her for who she is. I also think that starting from this episode, we can also see Jon slowly falling for Dany and Dany in turn trusting him. We also get a quick unpleasant reunion between Jon & Theon, with Jon telling Theon he would’ve killed him if he didn’t help Sansa. To be honest, who could blame Jon? If I were Jon I would’ve beaten him up a little too When Tyrion informs Dany of what happened at Casterly Rock, she's furious and at this point she’s had enough; Tyrion has lost her so much and every single plan that he had has failed, proving that he’s a good politician but a bad general. She’s ready to take Lady Olenna’s advice and be the dragon that she is, by taking charge of the situation on her own terms. Asking Jon’s opinion shows that she’s beginning to trust him and knows that he’s a good military commander and eventual ally; therefore, instead of taking her dragons right to King’s Landing and going against the people, she decides to go herself right to her enemies at Highgarden…

HIGHGARDEN

What a battle! The last time I was this tense was during BOTB! Daenerys & Drogon’s entrance was EVERYTHING🙌🏽🐉 The second the appeared with the Dothraki, it was obvious that the Lannister army didn’t stand a chance. Jaime tried to pretend like he was brave and that they could hold them off, but he was clearly afraid and to me it felt like he knew they weren’t going to win. Daenerys, Drogon, and the dothraki were so tough and epic, I love seeing the dragons in action and every time Daenerys yells “DRACARYS!” I feel chills.🔥 I couldn’t be more surprised that Randyll & Dickon Tarly are still alive, as this would’ve been the perfect timing. but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…👀 I’m pretty sure we all hate Bronn now? When he took out the “scorpion” (aka the dragon-killing machine), I felt a lump in my throat. I didn’t expect it to be there and actually started feeling afraid for Drogon. I was cheering so much when he kept on missing the shot but the second Drogon was hit, I started yelling. Seeing Drogon fall through the sky broke my heart and made me so upset and worried that I actually felt like it happened to my child (I don’t call myself khaleesi for nothing)���🐉 When Daenerys & Drogon landed for Dany to take the spear out of Drogon, to me it felt like Jaime was in awe for a second, until he decided to run at her with a spear. The way Jaime ran towards Dany is also a callback to the way he killed her father, the Mad King, which is through the back. But then Drogon immediately defends his mother, Dany, and was just about to roast him if it weren’t for Bronn rescuing him at the last moment by pushing him (&himself) into the water. Now, Jaime is obviously not dead. It’s too early for him to die, & we’re most probably going to see him wake up in the next episode. As for Bronn, I hope the dirty rat drowns or lives until the day Drogon burns him to death. I thought it was very interesting to see Tyrion there, obviously on Dany’s side, but also wishing his brother makes it out alive; after all, Tyrion & Jaime have a good bond and Jaime was the one who helped Tyrion escape King’s Landing at the end of season 4. A lot of people thought that the Lannisters lost the Tyrell gold during the battle, but that’s not the case. As I mentioned, Randyll Tarly told Jaime beforehand that the gold has made it into King’s Landing; the gold that was thrown on the floor belonged to Bronn only, it wasn’t the Tyrell gold and neither were the barrels that Drogon burnt. Those barrels were the food that Cersei has ordered to be taken from the region.🔥 People have also said: “Why did Daenerys take Drogon into battle on the first attack in Westeros? He’s too valuable, she should’ve taken Rhaegal or Viserion!” WELL to that I tell you that actually in GOT, once a dragon has a rider, that rider cannot ride any other dragon. So Daenerys wouldn’t be able to ride Rhaegal or Viserion into battle, but she could command them as we’ve seen last season. The whole battle (and episode tbh) was epic and mind-blowing; the battle is also a callback to a very important battle during Aegon's Conquest (Dany’s ancestor who first took over Westeros), in which House Targaryen defeated House Lannister using dragons, which resulted in the Lannisters bending the knee to Aegon.🐉🔥

[pureempress]

Rhaegar and Lyanna fanfic by PureEmpress Rhaegar was said to love his lady Lyanna Stark, but that was not always the case, there was a time before when the two had never set eyes on each other. This all changed during the tourney of Harrenhal, but it was more to it than just Rhaegar seeing the impeccable beauty of Lady Lyanna and falling in love. Oh no, the two were more in love than any of Westeros could imagine, but this would be their downfall and the beginning of a start to a new future. It was the start of the tourney when Lyanna spotted her fathers bannermen getting picked on, this angered the she wolf for the Stark’s believed in morality and kindness, as well as justice. Being the warden of the North, Lyanna had learned a lot from watching her father teach her brothers how to rule over their lands and be Lord’s, her own lord father had taught all of the Stark children the old way, and kept the memory of the First Men alive in them. This was the way of the Starks, the way it would always be. Lyanna had gone around in secretive search for full armor and hatched out a plan to help protect her fathers bannermen from the cruel words of the hedge knight’s. Right before that round had started, Lyanna slipped off from her brothers side to dawn the armor breast plate of a laughing tree, she wore dark cloak so that no colors would give away which house she belonged to. Lyanna was a skilled rider, and often times than not she picked up a sword against her fathers wishes though she was always reigned in before she could get truly into the play, so in case things had not gone as she planned and it would be her that was to be unhorsed no one would ever know it was actually Lady Lyanna under that armor. She wasn’t in this round for the glory or any gold, she was not in it for any titles or gifts, just for the sheer fact alone it was to upstage the men who bullied her fathers bannermen. The horns were blown and the round had begun, it didn’t take long for the horses to take off dust and dirt being kicked up from under their hoofs as they ran quickly at one another. As soon as it had begun it seemed it was over with and the man who once tried to be so bold and proud while pushing around her father’s man, was now laying on the ground. The crowd could not see her face but if they could have, they would have seen the biggest and brightest smile on Lyanna’s face as she glanced back over her shoulder turning her horse back around to the starting line once more as she worked her way up the ladder of names and lords she had to beat. Lyanna had not realized this, but as she rode hard and fiercely knocking down men left and right just to get to the ones that had words with her father’s bannermen, the king and his son had begun to notice her and how good she was on top of that horse. The only one to know, would be her brother in the end, or so she would think. The same way the Knight of the Laughing Tree had appeared, she had disappeared, riding away from the crowd of applause to take off the armor and return to her brother’s and father’s side. Only as she was riding, her brother Ned had been watching as she rode he could tell under all that armor was his sister so as he watched her slip away he followed to see if he was right. Unbeknownst to the two of them, this had caught Rhaegar’s eye and he to had slipped away from the crowd to follow and see who this knight was and offer him a position in the Kings Guard. “A man like that aught to be fighting for his king, don’t you think Ser Dayne?” the prince was met with the reply of any friend and loyal soldier would, only Rhaegar and Arthur had a friendship between the two and a fierce loyalty to his Prince from Ser Dayne. “Could be that this man does not see himself loyal to the mad king?” That statement alone, made both men glance at each other unsurely, if Rhaegar could get more men like the laughing tree knight rallied to his side he could overthrow his father and take the throne by force causing the mad king Aaerys to step down for his son. It was something that Rhaegar had planned to do some time after the tourney at Harrenhal had ended, but it was something that would take time. The love for his people was so strong, he would and could not sit aside idly while his father grew madder each passing day. Aaerys was growing crueler and ordering for fire executions left and right, the people were growing weary of the old king and wanted to see Rhaegar on the throne. With his fathers unpredictability though, Rhaegar had to be cautious in the way he planned this or he to would end up under the flames. Fire can not kill a dragon. The scene in which Rhaegar approached was not one he had anticipated, but the entire notion amused him, but also inspired him. He stayed back and out of sight as he watched and seen for the first time the she-wolf; he had seen her in passing a few times but his eye had never strayed from his wife Elia. Only now had he gotten to see the true beauty and passion beneath the surface of the lady Lyanna Stark, he had to know more about her. As he watched the exchange between Lyanna and Ned, he could hear her scream in protest but he had not heard much volume out of her brother Ned. “Lyanna, you could have been knocked off your horse, hurt and father could have been the laughing stock of Westeros. What were you thinking? If father would have found out…” Lyanna tossed the laughing tree armor breastplate to the ground with a thud as she snapped back at her brother. “I am a better rider than most of those lords out there, I knew what I was doing. Besides, those men were harassing our fathers people, that is not the Stark way and if you are okay with letting those men get away with any type of justice done, then you are not the brother I thought you to be! Just because they are not as highborn does not give anyone the right to…” As Lyanna ranted, Ned sighed shook his head and placed his hand on his sisters forearm to calm her down. “You are right, they deserved to be taught a lesson… I just wish you would have asked me or even Robert to.” Lyanna rolled her eyes and pulled her arm back away from her brother’s touch, and she hated when Robert Baratheon’s name was thrown at her as if he was her savior of sorts. “Why? When I could just as easily have done it myself, and did.” Ned frowned and Lyanna was the one to sigh now, shaking her long flowing dark head of hair. “I know you and father wish for me to take a liking to your storm lord Robert Baratheon, but you can not see what I can already. Robert is kind, and he loves me but… He will grow tired of me and find himself in another’s arms.” Lyanna was not stupid, Robert was a fine young man and many women fell for the charm and looks and many women had bastards even in his young age now, she knew that a man like that would not be happy long in a marriage to one woman. He was as wild as she was, she liked to think, two free spirits unhappy with the thought of settling down. Ned knew better than to argue with his sister when she was like this, so instead he left her alone with these parting words soft as a whisper. “You will learn to be happy.” He turned and walked away leaving his sister to finish taking off her armor piece by piece and slamming it into the dirt angrily, why couldn’t her family just understand she didn’t want to marry Robert? Once Rhaegar seen that there would be no more interruptions he made his way forward to the Lady Lyanna. “So, this is who was under that ridiculous tree armor.” His violet eyes seemed to be smiling down at her as he approached and she turned around quickly. Her blue grey eyes widening once she realized who she was in the presence of and bowed low out of respect. “Forgive me your grace, I only did it…” Rhaegar lifted his hand and shook his head, leaning forward he took her hands into his and helped her stand tall as she was before. “No need to explain, you see I should be the one to apologize I seemed to have ease dropped on you and your brother’s conversation.” Lyanna blushed a deep red against her milky white flesh, “Oh, you heard all of that?” Rhaegar smiled shrugged his shoulders and helped with the remainder of armor she was still suited up in and to her surprise she had let. Her eyes followed the movements of his long slender fingers, swift and accurate; a musician’s hands not a fighter. “I must say, Lady Lyanna that I agree with you on one thing.” Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head to the side as she doubtefly asked “And what’s that exactly your grace?” He smiled and stood perfectly straight as he tossed the last of the armor in the pile with the black cloak, “That you are just as good as any of those men I seen riding today.” The compliment alone made her swell up with pride, but even moreso now that it was coming from the Prince himself. “Thank you, your grace.” - “Please, call me Rhaegar.” The two had spent the rest of that evening together, well on through into the dark hours of the night laughing talking singing as if the two had known each other forever. Ser Arthur Dayne had saught out his Prince and found the two together drinking and laughing and it was there that Rhaegar had revealed to his friend Ser Dayne that the one they saught out recruitment for was none other than Lady Lyanna Stark. The three of them had a good laugh about that and a few drinks to go with it, by the end of the night Ser Dayne was nodding off as Rhaegar and Lyanna whispered by the moonlight. “So why do you not wish to marry my cousin? It would be a good match for you do you not think?” Lyanna was forced to be honest about her feelings with the prince in that moment and it sobered her up a bit. “It would be a great match, but awful marriage.” - “How so?” Lyanna looked into Rhaegar’s soft violet eyes and felt comfortable there; safe. “Robert will not be content on just loving me, he likes the attention from the women. Do you think that will stop once he is married? Does that stop other women from trying to win your heart your grace?” Rhaegar laughed and shook his head, “No I suppose not.” - “Robert enjoys that attention and once it is taken away he will not be happy with the musings of one woman the rest of his life.” The two spoke well into the morning hours and once Lyanna noticed that she stood in a panic, “I must return to my father’s camp at once. If anyone sees that I have not been in my bed all night they will send the soldiers out searching for me and I am sure princess Elia would not appreciate to hear her husband spent the night with the she wolf.” She bowed to Rhaegar and as she bent, a lock of dark hair loosened from behind her ear and fell into her face above her eye, with a puff of her own breath she blew the strand off and out the way as she smiled and started to turn. “Thank you for the lovely evening your grace.” Without another word, she left Rhaegar’s quarters and returned to her own bed where she found her brother Ned. “Lyanna where were you, I was worried!?” - “I was with the prince, Rhaegar.” - “Are you mad!? Father would have been furious.” - “Thankfully father does not know.” She kissed her brothers cheek and whispered “nor does he need to. I promise, the prince is kind. We talked and laughed all night.” - “Fine, if you say so.” That day at the tourney, Lyanna had not realized everything had changed, her night spent with Rhaegar turned from admiration to desire and pride for him. Normally the Prince would do all he could to protect his wife Elia and keep her from shame but the night before had clouded his judgment along with the best Dornish wine in Westeros. So when it came time to name the Queen of love and beauty and place the crown of blue flowers on her head, instead of making the choice he should have in his still slightly hazy mind he made the choice of his heart. He rode past his wife Elia Martell, and as he looked around he could see the smiles falling off of the faces of the Ladies and Lords, realizing what he had done he knew it was too late to turn to his wife and he dared not look that Dornish beauty in the eye. Instead, he kept his horse in stride to where Lyanna Stark was seated beside her brothers and father, he then placed the flowered crown on the lap of the Northern beauty and the crowd went silent. He couldn’t bear to look his wife or father in the eyes, nor could he ride off after that so he started the tourney. Not long after the games began for the day, the crowd began to cheer and shout for whoever they were routing for. Lyanna kept her eyes on the fighting games below and never once looked at the Prince, he never took his eyes off of her and Elia had both of them in her sight since neither would look at her, though she noticed her husband was more interested than Lyanna was; even with the few stolen glances she caught from the girl. She could not stand to watch her husband pawning after another so young and so she stood, stating to her court of ladies that she was feeling ill and would retire from the games, but everyone knew the real reason why. Her heart was crushed and she did not wish to display it to the entire world, it was bad enough her own husband shamed her, she refused to help him do so more by making a spectacle of herself in front of Westeros. Once the princess Elia had left there presence, the tension in the air seemed to die down and the whispers had slowed drastically, or perhaps that was just Lyanna blocking out everything. She stood from her seat and whispered to Ned that she was going to water, it was a lie but one that she knew her father would not be able to deny his child. He hadn’t even tried to stop her though, Robert was off to the side, watching his betrothed and eyeing his Targaryen cousin down hard. Once their rounds were played Rhaegar slipped away to meet with his Queen of love and beauty, when he found her on the grounds of Harrenhal he called out to her. “Lyanna, wait.” She turned to see the silver haired prince running up to her, instead of gracing him with a smile or anything tender of the sorts she pulled back her hand and smacked him across the face with a smack. “How could you?” Rhaegar rubbed his chin and shook his head, replying back sarcastically, “Thank you, your grace for crowning…” Lyanna shouted at her prince now, had anyone been around they would have expected her to be punished for striking a prince but they were alone and he couldn’t blame her for being angry with him. “Thank you?! Is that what you expect me to say after that? Rhaegar, your grace… Your wife she should have been crowned, not me! I am betrothed to Robert Baratheon, your very own cousin!” For some odd reason, Rhaegar felt he could be as honest with her as he was with his trusted friend Arthur Dayne. “I realize I made a mistake, Lyanna! Seven hells I knew the moment I did it! Do you think me to be daft?!” He looked at her and sighed shaking his head as he explained he had not known what was racing through his mind at the time. “I know it was wrong, Gods my sweet beautiful wife, Elia she did not deserve that. I will soothe things over with my wife and explain to her my reasoning as I am doing so with you now.” Rhaegar turned towards Lyanna and took her hands into his, looking down into her pale grey blue eyes he spoke truthfully. “Lyanna it should be you and I seen that with mine own two eyes. You are the knight of the laughing tree, you fought to defend the honor of your fathers people. You care for the people as I care, I see your inner beauty Lyanna Stark. It shines bright almost too bright and not bright enough.” He was speaking in riddles now she thought, as she felt a pull to him from her soul as she gazed into his beautiful violet eyes. “Rhaegar, I… I do not know what to say.” - “You don’t have to say anything.” When Rhaegar finally made his way back to the chambers Lord Whent had provided him and his Lady wife, Elia was up and waiting for him, had been so since the night before. She allowed for him to enter the room fully and even poor himself a glass of Dornish wine, before she started to question him about Lyanna Stark. “She is but a girl! Do you love her Rhaegar?” Her dark eyes were full of hurt and her cheeks glistened with streaks of tears, when he seen that his glass was placed on the table and he walked over to her and grasped her chin between his finger and thumb. “My sweet wife, I know I have shamed you but I promise it was not meant as a slight. I spent the night with the Stark girl laughing and talking, even a little drinking and I got to see the beauty she holds inside. It was her who fought for the honor of the Connogman. I had followed the laughing knight to recruit him, but when I got to the unarmed so called Knight, it was her.” Elia wanted so desperately to believe in her husband but she had seen the looks that was given to the girl and she was a woman she knew what those looks meant. “You deny that you desire her!?” The princess narrowed her eyes at her husband, waiting for him to lie to her so she could snap back at him with the fierceness she had inside of her to match the snake on her house sigil. Elia did not care about Rhaegar’s fascination, women fought like men in Dorne all the time. Their people did not believe in discrimination against women wearing the crown or mail, so it was not so far from to what she was accustomed to seeing like it was for him she assumed. Rhaegar shook his head as he lifted the brim of his glass to his lips to drink deeply before he answered, he could feel the anger rolling off of his beloved wife. “No, I do not deny it… I would have to be a blind man not to desire a beauty like hers, but I love you and she has only my friendship.” Elia rolled her eyes and turned her head to not look at him any longer as she murmered loud enough so that he could hear. “For now.” Rhaegar knew that he would find no comfort in his wife’s arms any time soon, so he decided he would give her a little space picking up the wine glass and his harp to be among the people. Ser Arthur Dayne fell in behind him once he opened the chamber doors and stepped out. “I see my prince has a need to be with his people, letting them hear his songs!” There was rejoice in Ser Dayne’s voice as he patted his friends back and fell into stride with the Targaryen prince’s step, as they reached the steps outside and the people noticed their Prince with his harp they began to smile and give him attention. Forming a circle around Rhaegar as he sat upon the stone base of the castle, on one of the steps as he began to strum at the strings lightly making beautiful music. The crowd had gotten so big so quickly that it reached all the way to her fathers camp sight on the land, Rhaegar was playing a tune for his people they said. She watched as the crowds of people stopped what they were doing to follow the sounds and other people to crowd around the prince. The entirety of Westeros was all at his feet as he strummed along those strings making them sing so sweetly to their ears, as the prince looked up with his violet eyes he scanned the crowd of people noticing how large it was growing. He had played a total of 6 songs before he spotted Lyanna in the crowd of people listening to him play, she had a smile on her lips as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in his melody. He couldnt help but play for her now, seven hells his wife was right he realized in that moment and felt sad for her, for there was a prophecy foretold; a dragon must have three heads. The words ran through his mind as he played, his music starting to turn melancholy instead of the upbeat goodvibe stuff he had been playing before. Lyanna frowned as she noticed, and started to make her way closer to him in the crowd which wasn’t very hard, once people started to notice the crowned beauty hovering closer they moved right to the side for her as if she would have been an actual Queen. He knew this wouldnt be good for him if his wife had over heard the treatment the Stark girl was getting from the people, it would hurt her more. His music got sadder, Lyanna paused and bit her bottom lip, all while Rhaegar watched her falling more for her by the second as she made her way through the crowd. He continued to play his ballad until the very end, and once it was done he stood and made his way to meet Lyanna in the crowd. Smiling sadly down at her, he whispered in her ear careful not to touch her though. “Let us go somewhere we can speak privately without so many eyes.” Lyanna looked around and instantly her cheeks turned red and she began to feel her body heat rise as she nodded, heart pounding in her chest as she followed beside the prince. “You seemed very sad just then.” She spoke trying to avoid the gazes of the people around her, some of the women envied her giving her even harsher looks than she had ever recieved once it was said she was betrothed to Robert Baratheon. Even more women wished they could be her, it was all too much attention on them, it was starting to get to her head. “I did?” He replied in a sarcastic surprised tone as he grinned at her and winked at his friend Arthur. “Just something a wise woman told me not long ago. It made me realize that not everything lasts, but not everything that ends is ugly it could be the start of something even more beautiful.” Lyanna nodded as she walked alongside of him, “I think that in return makes you a very wise man.” He laughed and his eyes almost seemed to glisten and mimick that laughter in themselves, “I suppose that is so. What will you do when you go back to Winterfell?” Now she was sad as she thought about returning home to the cold white winter world she lived in shrugging her shoulders as she meekly replied. “I am not sure. Perhaps I’ll continue riding and get even better.” - “Impossible.” The kind prince smiled down at his lady Lyanna and as she looked back up into his eyes, they had gone far away from anyone now it was just the three of them. Rhaegar, Lyanna, and Ser Dayne he was checking to make sure there was no one lurking nearby to allow a little privacy. Rhaegar reached up to grab her chin gently between his thumb and finger, lifting her face up slightly in the perfect position to give her a kiss but he did not. “Promise me that you will write to me, my queen of love and beauty? Write every day and tell me how your life goes, tell me your thoughts and I shall make them into songs for my people… and you.” Lyanna nodded with her breath caught in her throat whispering her own promises “promise me you will reply?” - “Always.” There was a loud gutteral war cry let out at that very moment, bringing all attentions to the one who had made it by all three stragglers. “RHAEGAR!” Ser Dayne rushed to defend the prince warning Robert to stand down as he rushed his cousin. Lyanna and Rhaegar looked at Robert with surprised looks as she pleaded with her prince to not fight him no matter how much he provoked. She knew that Robert loved to fight and would try to use her as an excuse to do so with the prince. “Tell your guard to stand down and face me like a man, Rhaegar!” Robert demanded as Lyanna grew angry with him and shouted back at her betrothed for the prince, amused Rhaegar placed his hand on Arthur’s shoulder to hold him off shaking his head in compliance with his lady. “Robert! You are drunk aren’t you, you smell of it from here!” Her betrothed’s eyes were black to match his black thick hair, and his gaze turned cold a moment as he looked at Lyanna with disgust. “Why are you with him out here all alone?” Lyanna frowned and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at Arthur and Rhaegar then shook her head. “I am not out here alone, I am with my prince AND his kingsguard. I am out here because too many people would assume, just as you are now!” He wanted to argue back with her but knew she was right but only about that, he knew that Rhaegar desired his betrothed just as much as Elia did he could smell it on him. He looked past Lyanna to his cousin Rhaegar, giving him his one and only warning. “Family or not, I will kill you for her, I swear it by the gods. Old new all the fucking gods around that could hear me, if you hurt her I will kill you.” Lyanna pushed him back with all her might and yelled at him to leave, “That is enough, Robert Baratheon. He is your Prince and you are drunk.” Turning towards Rhaegar she bowed and apologized for Robert’s behavior as she made him leave the prince’s presence so he wouldn’t get himself killed by the mad king. Robert glared his cousin down and smirked as he seen it as he was taking his future wife away from the claws of the beast, but in Lyanna’s mind this all confirmed what she had told her brother Ned. She did not wish to marry Lord Robert Baratheon, he could be sweet enough and he was a good looking man but she wanted more than a drunken fool with ten thousand bastards running around she wanted passion and love. The fortnight everyone that had attended the tourney was on their way back to their home lands, Lyanna hadn’t seen the prince since the day she had forced Robert back to the halls of Harrenhal with her. They had feasted, and said their goodbyes while their belongings were being packed up for the long rides home. She longed to see the Prince but knew that her lord father would not make any exceptions for her to stay behind a little longer. She hugged her brother Ned goodbye, and was given a tender kiss of affection from Robert and then they all returned home in three days time there was a Raven that had come from her prince. My Lady Lyanna Queen of Love and Beauty, I write to you with heavy heart and pen. For while we were at Lord Whent’s tourney, I was not completely honest with you. When you asked about my saddness, I pretended to not know what you meant, but I knew all very clear why I was sad. You see, my Lady you have captured me and now I may love you as I love my wife. It made me sad for her, but happy for us and our beginning. I know you wish not to wed Robert, my cousin is a storm of a man it pains me to think of you caught up in that storm, but if you was to tell me you did love him I would tuck my feelings for you deep in my heart and carry you in my songs. I long to hear that sweet voice of yours once again and smell that winter wind perfumed skin. Rhaegar… She had taken her letter up to her room to start composing one back right away while his letter was still fresh in her mind. Picking up the pen she began, My prince Rhaegar, you both honor and flatter me with your words. I thank you now for your honesty now, that is a noble and gallant thing to be sad for, your wife is a blessed woman indeed. You are right I do not wish to marry the stormlord, what a fitting title indeed it is now so even more after reading your letter. Perhaps one day I will ride to you as swiftly as the day I rode as the laughing tree Knight. Until then I will remember you singing to all of Westeros in my dreams. Lyanna" Several days later another letter arrived with the Targaryen seal, she had begged the maester to tend to the birds so she would be the first to see the letters and the only one to see her ravens. My Northern Queen, I am glad that you think of my wife in such a high place. If you do not wish to marry the stormlord, then do not. Travel the world, fill your head with the wonders of the world. Go beyond the wall and then all the way beyond Dorne. Live for yourself, do not live for your father or your king and if you find yourself still wanting to ride to me, then ride south where you will find me waiting with open arms and heart. Rhaegar" There letters continued on in secret for months, they wrote back and forth to each other faithfully learning more and more about each other, the more they wrote each other the more they fell in love, and the more they had these strong feelings the stronger their desire to come together was. Rhaegar knew it would be hectic trying to bring a second wife into the picture the same time he was trying to take the reigns of his throne, and that he shouldn’t bring Lyanna into all that political mess especially with his father and his mental stability failing daily but he honestly hadn’t thought all that through all he knew was that he couldn’t wait to be by Lyanna’s side. What was important to him was the sooner he could be with Lyanna the sooner the prophecy could unwravel, so some time after a few letters back and forth they made plans to meet with each other and ride off into the night under the stars. They would be wed and she would be brought into the court as his second wife, his father would crown him King and Elia Queen but he would love them both equally. It was the Targaryen way, many kings before him had done so with many wives but ruling by the first ones side. To be continued…