#daemon: *looking to jon for help*

[syndrossi]

I've been reading lots of platonic family and accidental adoption/acquisition stuff lately, so I really have to know, what WOULD Daemon do if Jon and/or Rhaegar brought home a random stray? Be it a stray cat, dog, direwolf, or human? (Or for additional hilarity, an extra baby dragon that is not bonded to either of them but randomly hatched in front of them anyway. Rhaegar obviously couldn't leave it to fend for itself. It's a tiny baby. Even smaller than Qelebrys was when she hatched!)

Daemon lives under the specter of Allard Royce's miserly authoritative figure in the boys' lives, so he's very bad at not giving them their every heart's desire. In the case of a direwolf, however, he would try his best to hold strong (before ultimately failing).

x~x~x

Oh no.

Daemon was no stranger to dread when it came to his sons. Some of it, the unbearable kind, was rooted in the fear of losing them. Other times, it was his children being far too clever by half and knowing that he would pay for it somehow.

This was a new dread entirely, one that seized him by the chest as he stared into their pleading, hopeful faces. You will have to break their hearts.

“That is—” he broke off, studying the furry pup that was so large his sons both had to hold it up—Jon’s arms beneath its chest, and Rhaegar’s beneath its belly, just before the hindquarters. That is no wolf.

“He is a direwolf,” Jon said, his smile turning tearful as the pup licked at his cheek. “And he has lost his pack. He needs a new one.”

How did it even reach Runestone? It was a journey of well over a thousand miles on foot to reach the castle from the North, and from what Daemon had heard, direwolf sightings were already rare, even at the heart of the North, in Winterfell.

Moreover, it was an unusual pup, with pale fur and red eyes that gazed at Daemon with a strange intelligence.

“How will you care for him when we are at King’s Landing?” Daemon asked, only to realize by the sudden brightening of his sons’ faces that he had already lost.

“We can make a sling for Caraxes’s saddlebags and strap him to it,” Rhaegar said with a confidence that told him his son had already thought of it. “He can ride below or alongside, depending on which is more comfortable.”

“The king will never allow a direwolf in the holdfast,” Daemon said weakly, but although that would have been true of his grandfather, Viserys was another story entirely.

Jon dismissed his bluff with a shake of his head. “We shall convince him.”

“What do you intend with a direwolf?” he demanded. “Such beasts are not meant to be mere pets, no more than a dragon is.”

“He would not be a pet,” Jon said, looking almost offended. “He would be—a protector. One who can follow us where a Princesguard wouldn’t. Like our dragons did, when they were little.”

His sons’ hatchlings still believed themselves to be little, of course, and had been heartbroken when they had finally been barred from following their riders into the holdfast. The last time Qelebrys had tried to sit on Daemon’s shoulder, she had ended up sitting on him, heavy as a grown man.

Perhaps his sons merely missed those early days, when they had been able to enjoy that closeness with their dragons. Perhaps he should have considered the possibility and tried to find them a kitten to fill that longing.

This is certainly no kitten.

But as the silence dragged out, Jon’s face grew more despondent. “Please?” his son begged, the vulnerability in his voice nearly rending Daemon asunder.

His sons so rarely asked him for anything, usually content with whatever they were provided—a lingering reminder of their time in the Vale, where they had been taught to treasure what scraps of affection they had been thrown. Daemon could too easily imagine Allard Royce staring coldly in the face of their pleas, denying them again and again.

As he gazed into his son’s eyes, he could see a glimmer of that younger child, hopeful but guarded, daring to believe that Daemon might grant his dearest wish.

It is a direwolf, Daemon thought despairingly. A wild thing. As like to harm them as help.

“What if we were not alone with him?” Rhaegar asked. “He sleeps in a common area at night, and during the day, we are with you—or Ser Willam. Or a Princesguard, when we are back home. Until you trust him.”

He met the wolf’s eyes again, unnerved by its calm. He could not help but feel as though it was an act for his benefit, even though that was absurd.

“I make no promises,” Daemon said, trying hard to maintain his stern demeanor in the face of their shared elation. “Should the beast harm anyone who is not directly threatening you, it will be taken back out into the wilds.”

“He won’t,” Jon breathlessly assured him, and the pup nosed him in the ear, drawing a wide smile. “Thank you.”

“And when you are outside with it, you will have your dragons present.” He caught a ripple of something in Rhaegar’s expression and he narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

“It is nothing,” Rhaegar said, holding out for several seconds before admitting, “Qelebrys tried to attack him.”

Daemon resolved to find a nice plump pig for his son’s drake later. “And Shadow?”

Rhaegar smiled wryly. “Shadow will try to play with anything.”

[winter-soldier-101]

The Princess That Was Promised part 3

Then

Kings Landing

(Y/N) had flown ahead of her family to make sure everyone knew that you can not break a dragon. (Y/N) landed and saw two knights waiting for her along with a carriage.

“Princess we are here to take you to the Red Keep” Ser Edwards says as he opens the carriage door for (Y/N).

“Thank you Ser Edwards and Ser Harrold but I would like to go through the twin and see the people” (Y/N) tells the Knights.

(Y/N) stops in the silk street and sees three white haired children running around and two women running behind them.

“Who’s bastard’s are they?” (Y/N) asks Ser Harrold.

“They belong to Prince Aegon Princess” Ser Harrold tells (Y/N).

“Bring me their mother’s” (Y/N) says as she walks into the carriage and walks out with bags of coins.

“Princess here are the women you wanted to talk to” Ser Harrold says as he steps aside.

“Here are three bags full of gold, take them and leave your children with me” (Y/N) says to the two women.

“What?” One of the women says to (Y/N).

“I will take your children and give them a good life, one where they won’t have to off others to make some money so take the money and leave King's Landing and your children will be safe so take the money and what are their names?(Y/N) asks the woman.

“My son is named Gaemon and her son is Jon and the girl is named Rhae” One of the women tell (Y/N).

“Do we have a deal ladies?” (Y/N) asks the woman.

The two women look at (Y/N) then at their children then to the bags of gold, they step forward and take the money and run away.

“Take the children ahead of us, I will meet you at the gate” (Y/N) tells Ser Harrold.

“Of course Princess” Ser Harrold says to (Y/N).

(Y/N) gets on Ser Harrold’s horse and rides behind the carriage.

(Y/N) walks up the stairs and sees Queen Alicent standing there not letting Ser Harrold pass with the children.

“What is going on here? Why have the children not been let in?” (Y/N) asks angrily.

“Why are you bringing them here?” Alicent asks (Y/N).

“I asked them to be brought here!” (Y/N) says loudly.

“Why would you bring these bastards here?” Alicent asks (Y/N) angrily.

“I bought them from their mothers and they will be let in or I will move you and those men out of the way!” (Y/N) says angrily as Baelon flys over roaring loudly.

“Let them in,” Alicent says.

“Good choice Alicent, Lyla can you get the children cleaned and fed, I will be with my grandfather” (Y/N) says.

“Of course Princess” Lyla tells (Y/N) as she takes the children.

(Y/N) walks to her grandfather’s room and opens the door and closes it behind her softly as she walks to his side of the bed.

“Grandfather?” (Y/N) asks softly.

“Who goes there?” Viserys asks, looking at (Y/N).

“Grandfather it’s me (Y/N)”(Y/N) says to him softly.

“Oh (Y/N) my little dragon, oh how I’ve missed you so much time has passed you're a woman grown now” Viserys says to (Y/N) softly.

“I’ve missed you so much grandfather, I have so much to tell you I’ve had dragon dreams” (Y/N) whispers to Viserys.

“Help me up my dear and tell me more of your dragon dreams” Viserys tells (Y/N) as she helps him sit up.

“I’ve seen Aegon the conqueror tell Aenys about the song of ice and fire and I’ve seen what’s to come from the North” (Y/N) tells Viserys.

“My mother and Daemon will be here tomorrow to fight for Jacaerys claim to Driftmark my mother will need you grandfather I know Alicent and Otto see to these things but you must be there to protect my mother and our family” (Y/N) tells Viserys.

“I will be there for you all my little dragon” Viserys says to (Y/N)

Alicent walks into the room along with the maester and Otto.

“Your Grace it seems that Princess (Y/N) has brought some bastard children into the Keep” Otto says to Viserys angrily.

“You did what my dear?” Viserys asks (Y/N).

“Yes grandfather of course I didn’t they were fighting for money and they of our blood I won’t leave them to die they are small children” (Y/N) tells Viserys.

“Who is their father ?” Viserys asks (Y/N).

“The three belong to Aegon” (Y/N) tells Viserys.

“Where are the children now?” Viserys asks (Y/N).

“They are with my handmaidens getting cleaned and fed” (Y/N) tells Viserys.

Now

(Y/N) holds Jon close and thinks back to her little brothers all gone too soon.

“Lord Stark I will leave him with you because I fear that he will not be the man he’s meant to be if he is to come with me but I will come and visit when I can, please take care of him and don’t let your wife mistreat him because if she does I will make her pay and I shall bring my son so he will know his other family” (Y/N) tells Eddard.

“What do you mean your son, and his other family?” Eddard asks (Y/N).

“My son was born long ago and like me he has been alive for some time and his father was Cregan Stark” (Y/N) tells Eddard as she hands Jon back to him and makes her way to Baelon as they fly away.

Taggkist: @hc-geralt-23 @immyowndefender @ellaprime7

[mememachine132]

@syndrossi

So, I made some Jon and Rhaegar designs, for future fanart purposes. As a prerequisite I'm going to need everyone here to agree that these look like 8 year olds. We're making this an AU where this is what 8 year olds look like. An AU where I can draw 8 year olds, even. Look I tried my best, they look youngish. Tweens, teens, close enough yeah? How does one draw a child. help

Give a big props to Costumes/Seven Kingdoms | Wiki of Westeros | Fandom for helping me give them region accurate clothes.

Some notes:

Neither of them being in their favorite colors because they pretty much just got given hand me downs.

Jon gets more bird motif - wing shaped cloak, bird embroidery - since Rhea saw more of her house in him/he looks more vale like. Rhaegar gets some, with the long flowy cloak, but it's half-assed. There is not a single way to pretend that boy is not a Targaryen.

Jon still dresses like its winter - you will not see him in shorts ever. No human alive has ever seen his legs. Rhaegar on the other hand wears lighter stuff, since he grew up in Kingslanding and that would be what he's used to.

I was going to do the dragon headed tunics for this, but then I realized that would require drawing tiny little Targaryen emblems and I thought I wouldn't survive that.

Jon looking very knightly + everything but the cloak would be very easy to fight in. Easy to rip that off and get to killin for his brother.

Rhaegar having the open sleeves of the vale still, like how he still feels Raymar in there/is still grieving while Jon has moved entirely on with no more vale fashion.

Long hair!! Whipee!!

Both of them wearing a more modern Targ style - based off of Viserys (Dany's viserys not old man viserys) in s1 to reflect some of their modern sensibilities.

Jon wears a lot, and I mean a lot of leather. The vest? Leather. The undershirt? Leather. Cloak is heavy wool. He wouldn't feel like himself if he wasn't lugging around a mountain of heavy, winter worthy fabrics. Rhaegar on the other hand has much lighter clothes, more flowy. Some jewelry too. So pretty much Jon is roasting in Kingslanding heat and Rhaegar is living his very best ventilated silk life.

(Rhaegar's outfit is probably gonna get tweaked as it feels too simple. Not nearly enough pizzaz thrusted upon him by Daemon trying to make up for the years spent in the 'simple' clothing of the vale.)

I'll probably make some more outfits for them eventually - definitely if they go other places! I really enjoyed analyzing different regional styles and incorporating that. Someday I might even make those dreaded dragon headed tunics.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

ATLA

all my skeletons out for the taking by 136108

Azula wins the Agni Kai, and the playing field shifts.

The Owl House

Grom Knight by ObabScribbler

Belos is dead. The Collector is defeated. The portal door is working again and everyone now just has to move on with their lives and rebuild normality as best they can. This is easier for some than for others.

When Willow invites Hunter to Grom, he assumes it is so that he, as a non-student of Hexside, can still be there to help Skara in her duties as Grom Queen. Emerald Entrails stick together, after all. Clearly there could be no other reason for Willow to invite him. This is all set to be a simple, friendly combined dance and fight with a demonic entity that reads minds and conjures your worst fears into reality. No biggie.

Except with Boscha and her crew of bullies around and feeling braver than ever, this Grom might not be as simple as they all hoped. Especially when Hunter discovers that being the reincarnated container of hundreds of years of Golden Guards' fears is a bad thing to be around a fear demon.

Clone Wars

and through the spaces of the dark by blackkat (+ podfic)

Jon's attempts to avoid a war he wants no part in are ended when Dark Woman drags him to Coruscant and straight to a posting with the Guard. He intends to keep his head down and do his work, but the mysteries around the Guard - and Fox - immediately have him in out of his depth and on uncertain ground.

Nine Worlds / The Lays of the Hearth Series

Friday Keeps Coming Next by rattyjol

Cliopher's first morning with the Sun-on-Earth was everything he could have dreamed of, until it wasn’t.

or: Cliopher and his Radiancy break time. Again.

soon, they said, if not today by Ariaste

Cliopher passes the Imperial exams on the first try.

It changes everything.

one for sorrow, two for joy by Ariaste

The Emperors of Astandalas did not have daemons.

Cliopher knew this could not, technically, be true. Thinking this thought, even in the quietest whisper in his deepest heart of hearts, was undeniably treason, but…. facts were facts: The Emperors of Astandalas, though worshipped as gods on earth, were each of them born a human being before they were apotheosized by the crown and by law and custom. Every human being had a soul; therefore, every human being had a daemon.

So the Emperors of Astandalas must have had daemons.

But by tradition and ritual and magic and taboo: The Emperors of Astandalas did not have daemons.

you laugh and you gleam with that roguish air by lindsayraindrops

Notorious rebel-poet Fitzroy Angursell is captured and brought to the Palace of Stars. Cliopher... copes.

(A reunion.)

with a winged heart by celebros

"Cliopher. Cliopher. Cliopher."

I blink. It's Conju, standing with his hands on my shoulders, and I go to answer him and realize that I am already speaking, babbling, and Franzel is behind him, wringing his hands and looking near tears. I try to focus on what I'm saying, but it's like a stream, light and splashing past me, too quick to hold, not enough to catch, somehow, somehow –

(A few weeks before the start of the viceroyship ceremonies, Kip finds himself the unwitting recipient of a truth serum)

The Virtue of Being True by electropeach

"You're under an enchantment, Cliopher. The good news is that the protections his Radiancy has placed on you have shielded you; the bad news is that the protections that block the spell are also reflecting it, meaning that instead of you it affects everyone who comes near you. You may have noticed an unusual propensity for candor in your vicinity today?"

A reverse truth serum plot leads to Cliopher having a very strange day.

even a cat may look at a king. by mage-pie (looselipssinksubs) (Note: This fic is marked as abandoned, but it has some really great scenes that it's still worth a read imo)

"Hello, hello, hello!” said his Radiancy’s serval. She said it, in words, in Shaian, in a pleasant voice that came from her little snout quite naturally. “Good morning!” “Good…morning…?” said Cliopher, too shocked to control his voice. His mongoose got out of his bag and scrambled up onto his shoulder with an excited little squeak, her claws prickling through the tunic. “I have good news and bad news!” the serval continued happily. “Don’t you want to know what it is?” Cliopher could only stare. “Good news, I’ve figured out how to talk!” She lashed her tail excitedly, and finished with her voice full of enormous glee, “Bad news… I’ve figured out how to talk.”

The entire city of Solaara wakes up one day attached to magical animals that display each person’s innermost self with no regard for court protocol or even basic manners. It’s pure chaos… and that’s before the Emperor accidentally gives the soul-animals the power of speech.

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

Thinking of the most prominent succession struggles in asoiaf and realizing that a good majority of them are not even because of some evil bastard usurping their trueborn relative. Alys Karstark’s dilemma is caused by her uncle wanting to forcibly marry her and steal her birthright. Renly is Stannis’ trueborn brother and yet he declares himself king despite Stannis being older. Euron is Balon’s trueborn brother and Asha’s uncle and yet look at what he did. Littlefinger wants to use a trueborn Harry Harding to take over Sweetrobin’s rights (though not so openly). And the Dance of the Dragons was between a trueborn pair of brother and sister. And if we are to see a repeat of it, it will be between a trueborn daughter of the last Targaryen king (Dany) and a trueborn son (Aegon) of the previous crown prince.

That’s what makes the whole “Jon was a threat to Catelyn’s children” argument so frustrating because people act as if Jon was a ticking time bomb that was going to blow at any minute, purely on account of him being a bastard. When historically, we’re given much more precedent for trueborn relatives to usurp each other.

This frustrating argument arises out of two problems:

ASOIAF stans are not engaging as critically with the text as they should be. Catelyn’s historical evidence lies in the series of Blackfyre Rebellions which happened after a legitimized bastard rose up against his brother. But context is key here. Not only were there several factors that led to this fallout (e.g., Daemon being given the conqueror’s sword Blackfyre, anti-Dornish sentiment not working in Daeron’s favor, Daeron himself being a suspected bastard, Daemon’s overall popularity, etc), but people ignore Bloodraven (a BASTARD!) who supported his trueborn brother’s claim during this series of conflicts. Daemon did not rebel because all bastards are inclined to treachery and all bastards bring evil to those around them. If any bastards raised near trueborns are a threat to the trueborn’s inheritance, then why not Bittersteel? Why not Shiera? Why didn’t other Stark bastards rebel against their trueborn siblings? Several factors led to the conflict specifically between Daemon and Daeron. Instead of taking Catelyn’s filtered history at face value, we should instead recognize that Daemon was given legal basis to push for his claim (after a series of events that symbolically recognized him as the worthy and true heir) as he was now a legitimized son, and succession struggles are, more oft than not, likely to happen between recognized legitimate competing claims. And here’s the thing, Ned Stark at no point indicated that he was going to give Jon legitimacy in the North. And he never indicated that he would give it to Jon over Robb. On the contrary, everyone knew that Robb was the heir. Robb was the one being given lessons, Robb was the one helping Ned attend to visiting lords, Robb was the one who would inherit Ice, etc. By Alys’ account in ADWD, preparations were being made for Robb’s future (NOT for Jon, who was largely ignored). There was no opportunity for Jon to pose any threat to Robb or his children because Ned did not give him legitimacy and he did not allow him to gain backing with the Northern lords. Aegon IV created Daemon and his subsequent rebellion(s), but Ned Stark did not do the same with Jon. Despite Catelyn treating Jon as a walking crisis center, there’s little evidence to the effect. In fact, we might as well say that Bran or Rickon or any of Sansa’s or Arya’s sons would pose an even bigger threat to Robb’s legacy than Jon would, you know given historical precedent and all that.

Treating Jon’s mere existence as one that inherently comes with dire consequences for “le poor trueborns” plays into bastardphobia, which is actually in world bigotry (and grrm considers Jon to be a marginalized individual on account of his bastardy). Saying that Jon is a threat to the Stark kids is saying that all bastards are threats to trueborns but like….so are the trueborns. History, actual hiatory, shows us that trueborns are a bigger threat to each other. But no one is saying “Bran is a threat to Robb’s kids” even though there is precedent. Bran is also getting a lordling’s education just as Robb is, and Bran is allowed to engage with the upper class on important occasions and gain visibility just as Robb is, and Bran is even expected to command his own castle and men (which would even give him ability to stake his claim). So why isn’t he a threat? Instead, Jon is the one who is singled out - because he’s a bastard. He’s being singled out because Catelyn said he should be singled out, despite there being little actual evidence to his supposed incoming usurpation. Which is ironic because the literal purpose of his story is to critique these bigoted views. Jon is just as honorable and good and kind as any other trueborn son, if not more so. And we have seen him sacrificing his own happiness for his siblings (e.g., the direwolf pups and refusing Winterfell because he will not usurp Sansa’s rights). It’s one thing for Catelyn to show ignorance, but we as readers should know better because we have a full picture and not only do we have an understanding of the history being cited by Catelyn (and what is being purposefully ignored), we also know Jon. So we should be saying, “wait no, there’s no indication that Jon is any more a threat than any one of Ned’s sons”.

It is understandable (but not justifiable tbh) that Catelyn is biased against Jon; he is the ever present product of her husband’s affair. But that’s just it, she’s biased. So she has a biased application of history. And she has a biased (and bigoted) view of Jon’s place in it. We as readers have a full picture though. So shouldn’t we be having more nuanced dialogue regarding this instead of taking her biased word for it?

[atopvisenyashill]

idk if this is where I should be but i like your hotd opinions so….

idk if i am crazy but i always understood that rhaenyra killing her siblings would do nothing but make a problem for her

like we know being a kinslayer is bad, but we also know being a woman in westeros who wants to be a queen in her own right is also bad lol, so how would killing her siblings aid her in anyway??? killing them makes everyone’s thoughts on women ruling real and if they aren’t causing problems she looks crazy

but if she doesn’t, rhetorically she’s faced with war even if the dance doesn’t happen the way it did, but if aegon isn’t veering for the throne, wouldn’t it be easier to just… imprison, tax and kill the lords rebelling against her instead of kill aegon??

Idk i just think there is a lot of options and things that need to happen before killing alicent’s children is mandatory especially if everyone is playing nice in the family, or as nice as they can play since everyone has loose lips

i definitely feel like often when people analyze both the books and the show, when it comes to ~competing claims~ they tend to go for a very typical westerosi way of dealing with it ie murdering the competition or isolating & neutralizing them in some way. the thing is, and i know i sound like a broken clock here but….this never works!! there’s lots of reasons for this, fundamental to it being that feudalism is just a bad, self destructive system but also, not for nothing here, but ned raises jon to love his siblings and jon not only defends sansa and is likely to defend both sisters and bran later on, but robb names jon as his heir. i mean hell, if roose had let ramsay and domeric grow up as brothers, he could have avoided his damn heir getting merked because domeric had an interest in knowing his brother!

so YES i do agree that rhaenyra killing aegon is not only a stupid, reckless decision fueled by anger and nothing more it is also politically just so fucking dumb. and that was part of my frustration with that scene, is i can't believe alicent didn't say that! kinslaying is stupid, people already think rhaenyra is a tyrant (in both the books and the show - the silent six thing does not help her even if i think the velaryons were asking to get got there they're so fucking stupid, and b&c really destroys any and every shot of working towards a quick resolution of this war. thanks daemon you fucking idiot!), adding another incident of kinslaying is so dumb. it's just more needless violence.

and to be honest, this is also the argument against like "rhaenyra will need to kill alicent's children to ensure her own rule and that's why the greens are justified" first of all, wildly misogynistic reasoning here thanks but second of all, no she really does not need to kill them. in fact, it actively harms her cause if she does! she needs to neutralize them somehow, which is a vastly different beast! and something that could be relatively peaceful if anyone involved in this situation wasn't mindlessly and stupidly violent especially on a certain side. "oh but the princes in the tower" that's a wildly different situation and also, idk if anyone pushing "well richard iii killed the princes so that means rhaenyra would have to kill her brothers" know this but like, richard iii got overthrown by henry tudor so i'm not sure child murdering really worked out for him in the end there. which is again, the fucking point!!! turns out when you escalate violence constantly over some stupid fucking chair, it opens the playing field up to getting your own ass whacked by someone else for that stupid fucking chair. rhaenyra and her brothers' best shot at life was to make peace with each other and make sure they were really loud about how much they tried to make peace with each other. you can't murder your own brother and expect people not to think "well shit what's she gonna do to ME if i piss her off?" and considering rhaenyra's dedicating to making sure She Personally did not murder any of her siblings, she clearly knew that.

[fromtheboundlesssea]

Listening to A Game of Thrones again. I only just finished Jon I and I just had a thought that I have no wish to expand upon at this moments, but maybe I will later or someone else could if they wish.

Starks and Targaryens

Lyanna / Ned / Catelyn -> Aemma / Viserys / Alicent

Lyanna and Aemma die giving birth to a child wanted by the father only for their only living child to be the gender the father of the child did not want. Both women haunt the story even though they are relegated to very brief mentions in their “historical” records. Both die due to a Targaryen man’s irrational belief in prophecy.

Ned and Viserys attempts to keep the peace between the two halves of their family, however, their first “child” causes tensions with his wife and other children and there is a divide between them. Both treat their first children above the typically accepted position their birth would have entitled them to.

Catelyn and Alicent are married to men and constantly feel compared to a woman who is dead or gone and feels threatened by the protective nature of their husband towards their first child. Both have a child who is disabled, only for their husbands to not care. No one was punished, even lightly, for the blinding of Aemond, and Viserys brushed the incident away. Ned left Catelyn alone with Bran, who could have very well died while he was away and chose his duty to Jon Arryn, someone dead, above his son. Both women die with vengeance for their dead children on their lips.

Jon / Robb -> Rhaenyra / Aegon II

Jon and Rhaenyra are their father’s eldest child and is raised above the station many children in their positions are given (Jon as a bastard and Rhaenyra as a girl). Their position within the family puts their stepmothers on edge and their positions also serve as a vague threat to their half-siblings. They both leave their homes and “set up court” elsewhere, Jon at Castle Black and Rhaenyra in Dragonstone, and stay away from the main fight of the series. Both were born the opposite gender their fathers wanted.

Robb and Aegon II both picked up their crowns after the urging of familial figures that discussed the danger their siblings are threatened with. Both lost control of their anger once their siblings began dying. Neither man seemed insistent on a crown and do not think of their other sibling as a danger to themselves despite the warnings of their mother. Both are betrayed by allies.

Benjen -> Daemon

These are more foils. Benjen is everything that Daemon is not and vice versa. Benjen sends himself into exile and remains there and serves the King and his brother with honor. He also tries to look out for his nephew and help raise him to be a proper man for the time he is with him. Daemon is constantly exiled for his actions but always comes back and leads his niece astray.

Jon / Sansa -> Aegon III / Jaehaera

Both Jon and Aegon III are made heir by the will of the previous king so that a woman won’t be given the throne (albeit for different reasons). Both have a complicated relationship with symbol of their house. They are traumatized by the death of a woman who had great influence over them (Ygritte and Rhaenyra). Both were never meant to be put in royal positions of authority, Jon being both a bastard and a second son, and Aegon with three older brothers and the son of the losing side.

Sansa and Jaehaera are both girls deeply traumatized by witnessing the death of beloved male relatives who are wrongly beheaded right in front of them. The two girls serve as keys to their houses and inheritance and are used for that inheritance despite being willed away from such an inheritance. While incited to violence, both are reluctant to such murder and do not enact it. They serve as a representative to sides of a war that are not well liked in the current ruling dynasty.

Ironically, if Jonsa were to happen it would be a true reconciliation of two sides of the similar conflicts that originated with the questions of inheritance.

Lannisters and Strongs

Tywin -> Lyonel

Both men are considered to be great politicians. However, their children undermined their political influence and reveal that both men are not actually as great as they are initially believed to be. Tywin does not think about the long term. Lyonel allows his son to put them all in danger by even allowing such rumors to swirl. If Lyonel were smart, he would have nipped those rumors in the bud not only to protect his son, but to not add shaky foundations for Rhaenyra’s reputation.

Jaime / Cersei -> Harwin / Rhaenyra

Both men have affairs with royal women and sire children that look like them. Both men have three bastards destined to die due to the greed of the women they love who can and will never acknowledge them as the fathers of their children.

Cersei and Rhaenyra do not wish to have children with their husbands, for different reasons, and often put their own sexual pleasure above their positions at court and their own allies. Both women are threatened by younger women who could usurp their place and often belittle them for the sake of their own vanity. Both greatly fear their younger brothers and what hand they might take in their deaths.

Tyrion / Larys

Both men are the “lesser” sons of their fathers and are disfigured—earning nicknames for said disfigurement. Both men are very resentful towards their siblings and either enact or wish for the destruction of their houses.

[jozor-johai]

The Dornish in TWOW

Just looking at a bunch of things we know, thinking about potential future developments.

Maybe this is in part to defend why we need to care about the Dornish plotlines—I don't think GRRM introduced these for no reason, and as I'm trying to point out, those four chapters in FeastDance, plus our two from TWOW, have placed Dornish in a lot of different plotlines. If these start to converge at all, the Sand Snakes are suddenly going to be a very valuable and knowledgeable power bloc.

In fact, let me say: looking at all these moving parts, I don't think there's any way that Doran has a "master plan" ... yet. However, they've got agents in so many places that if they all report back to Doran—and Doran plans in response, say midway through TWOW maybe—then we might see a whole bunch of storylines shift at once.

In the Aegon/Golden Company situation:

Arianne Martell, along with Daemon Sand and Elia Sand have joined up with the Golden Company at Griffin's Roost. Arianne has left for Storm's End, where Connington is waiting, apparently having taken the castle.

Interestingly, we also know that "Spotted" Sylva Estermont (Santagar), another member of the Arianne-Myrcella plot, has been hurriedly shipped off to Greenstone to marry the elderly Lord Eldon Estermont. However, Greenstone has been taken by Marq Mandrake of the Golden Company, and Jon Connington has arranged for Mandrake to bring any noble captives from Greenstone to Cape Wrath—and, now that Spotted Sylva is an Estermont, that means her. I suspect that means we see Sylva and Arianne reunited quite soon.

Meanwhile, in King's Landing (which the Golden Company are undoubtedly heading towards)

Nymeria Sand has been sent to King's Landing to officially take the vacant Dornish seat on the Small Council.

Tyene Sand has been sent to act as a septa and gain the trust of the High Sparrow, meaning the Dornish are also trying to have an agent within that power bloc as well. Since we last see Cersei accompanied at all times by a septa, we might see Tyene and Cersei interact in TWOW.

If Arianne is still with the Golden Company by the time Aegon reaches King's Landing, it's possible that we might see Nymeria and Tyene reunited with their cousin within the city walls.

Meanwhile, in Oldtown

"Alleras" aka Sarella Sand is in Oldtown, working with Sam and formerly Archmaester Marwyn "the Mage." They will probably be witness to whatever Euron pulls down there so would also be a useful source of information.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea—

In the Dany plot arc:

Archibald Yronwood and Gerris Drinkwater are in Meereen, down one frog. To get the Tattered Prince's help with the dragons, Quentyn Martell promised to give Pentos to the Tattered Prince once it was taken (and in the process, promising it would be taken). Barristan utilizes these two Dornish to transfer the terms of that deal to the Barristan-"Dany"-Shavepate coalition, which they agree to in exchange for a ship to Dorne to return Quentyn's bones.

This is quite interesting, because it places these Dornishmen as the hinge to a number of moving parts. For one, it means Barristan is relying on them to confirm the terms of the Pentos agreement with Team Dany. In addition, it means that they will become a potential source of information for Doran Martell as to the situation in Meereen (chaos as of now) and Quentyn's fate. I suspect that Doran will not be pleased with Quentyn's fate in Meereen.

I also suspect that a report of the current situation in Meereen will look like this: Dany is missing, the dragons are out of control, and the remaining forces on Dany's side are in chaos fighting a losing siege. Depending on when Arch and Drink leave Meereen to return Quentyn's bones, Doran might get a pretty unflattering picture of Dany's situation—which he may then use to calculate his next moves.

However, as Arch and Drink return home, they may cross paths with a few other Dornishmen:

Andrey Dalt, who we last saw with Arianne in The Queenmaker**,** is currently en route to Norvos to stay with Lady Mellario, estranged wife of Doran Martell and mother to Arianne, Quentyn, and Trystane, is in Norvos. This is also where Areo Hotah is from, and I sometimes wonder if we've heard so much about it because we'll see it at some point. If we don't see Andrey on his way to Norvos, we may see Andrey in Norvos if Dany stops there on her way out of the Dothraki Sea.

Garin of the Greenblood, who was also with Arianne and Drey, is en route to Tyrosh. I'm personally quite convinced we'll see Garin again because he's been identified with a jade earring and a single gold tooth—which will make him very easily recognizable from another POV. Dorne under Prince Doran Martell appears to have a very close relationship with Tyrosh: as a girl, Arianne played in the Water Gardens with the green-haired daughter of the Archon of Tyrosh, and might have been sent to Tyrosh herself if not for Mellario's objections. If that had happened, she might have been betrothed to Viserys Targaryen there, in secret. If the current leaders of Tyrosh are at all like that Archon, Garin may be headed for a very cushy placement in Tyrosh, perhaps under the Archon.

Meanwhile, in Dorne:

Last we heard, Trystane Martell was meant to accompany Myrcella Baratheon back to King's Landing by land, led by Ser Balon Swann. However, Doran intends to waylay this plan by getting Myrcella to request that Balon to hunt down Darkstar...

Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne has fled, apparently to his home in High Hermitage, following the disaster of the Myrcella expedition.

If Doran's plan goes off as intended, then Areo Hotah, Obara Sand, and Ser Balon Swann will be traveling together to High Hermitage "to beard Darkstar in his den." It's hard to say what exactly is going to happen here, but that's another moving part to keep track of—and one that will potentially, finally, introduce Dawn to the story.

Besides that, the youngest three Sand Snakes are all over Dorne—one each in Hellholt, Sunspear, and the Water Gardens. Ellaria Sand is with her youngest in Hellholt. I don't think they're major players but it's good to keep track of them.

Final Thoughts

After compiling all this, I’m realizing I’m much more interested (and convinced by) a unified Dornish effort yet to be created. There’s no way that Doran is able to see the future perfectly enough to plan ahead of all of these variables, but one power player having all these points of access is going to be pretty rare and valuable moving forward.

And, as I’ve suggested in the post here, I think it’s likely that the information they get about Dany might be biased and outdated by the time it reaches Doran, which could lead to a miscalculation.

[ride-thedragon]

At this point I think as a fandom, we've lost some of the crackship charm we once had. I can look up Ashara Dayne and Ser Davos and find results, But Nettles and Helaena have nothing. It's time to rectify that for my favourite girl and try to inspire some fanfics. Feel free to add more.

1. Daeron and Nettles

Think Enemies to Lovers, Captive of War drama like Jaime and Brienne or just some good old Gwen and Arthur-inspired love. Ivy by Taylor Swift coded, a She's all that inspired affair. I genuinely think that he's just trying to be there for her with this one. It happens and neither of them realise until You're in Love starts playing.

2. Baela and Nettles.

They would give the pot calling the kettle black in every argument. The Princess Bride-esque dynamic between them. Very Graham and Megan from but I'm a Cheerleader. Sapphic Pinning and Resentment should be its own genre. Sir Chloe's Michelle is my vision. We can even make a throuple with them and Jace or Alyn. Truly, I think they but heads until they kiss, building on resentment. I also think they would be the coolest couple.

3. Addam and Nettles

Kaz and Inej core.

But in all seriousness, I think Addam being loyal and Duty bound and Nettles challenging that idea is delicious. Solider of Duty x Solider for the People. A modern-day Persuasion story but gender-flipped if we put our minds to it. See you Again Kali Uchis and Tyler the Creator, that's all.

4. Nettles and Helaena

They just deserve better. That's all. Give me cottagecore sapphic romance with my best girls involves. Like the young lesbians from Barbie and the Diamond Castle. Lesbians raising kids together. Sheepstealer and Dreamfyre hatching eggs for the nieces and nephews. I just-

It would be so cool, I will by Mitski sentiment is already attached.

5. Alyn and Nettles

Now that we are here obviously she apologized for Sheepstealer, she doesn't need to but she did, He tries not to like her but can't help it. She wins him over and they hatch him an egg or something idk. Think The Princess Diaries: Royal Engagement, Mia and Nicholas, Flipped the movie if you will. Jealously plots would slay. For the song choice think Shameless Camila Cabello. Please remember that Alyn is younger than Netty by 3/4 years though.

6. Rhaena and Nettles

See now this is classic Friends to Lovers, Emma and Harriet if gay, perhaps, Bend it Like Beckham core definitely. Sofia by Clario inspired. Nettles doesn't leave Rhaena out because she's without a dragon and the same happens inverse. Sapphic confusion however, like Rhaena doesn't understand at first why she feels that way.

7. Nettles and Jace.

Now for the Mr Knightley and Emma Woodhouse of our time, the Kate and Anthony of Westeros. The potential for her just not listening to him when he tries to tell her how to ride a dragon. Or when she talks to him about the people he'll rule over eventually, Ygritte and Jon style. She's also the only bastard who doesn't look Targaryen, he can relate to that a bit. I think she's Fierce and he's Stubborn. Ungodly Hour by Chloe x Halle for them.

8. Nettles and Alys.

The Fire Witches of Westeros. I think they will be perfect as a ship. American Horror Story-esque characters. The two Witches in the story are obviously my favourites. It would be Jennifer's Body meets, the craft meets, and Suspiria. Willow by Taylor Swift becomes them.

This one was also a bonus more or less.

Anyways I just need to start to get a baseline story for my girl by the time the show gives her to us. So we have a general sense of direction, I'm tired of the mischaracterization of my baby. She's smart, resourceful, Cunning, Fearless, and not entirely loyal. She also curses, enough for it to be a character trait. Please remember this for her, I'm tired. I also know that Daemon loved her but she's too much fun as a character to limit her to him romantically in all her fanfictions, it is an interesting narrative to explore while we don't have exact answers but he gets romantic ships with anyone. She deserves more.

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

TWOW: Arianne I

On the morning that she left the Water Gardens, her father rose from his chair to kiss her on both cheeks. "The fate of Dorne goes with you, daughter," he said, as he pressed the parchment into her hand. "Go swiftly, go safely, be my eyes and ears and voice… but most of all, take care."

Probably the last time she sees her father.

+.+.+

Seven of them set out together on seven Dornish sand steeds. A small party travels more swiftly than a large one, but the heir to Dorne does not ride alone. From Godsgrace came Ser Daemon Sand, the bastard; once Prince Oberyn's squire, now Arianne's sworn shield. From Sunspear two bold young knights, Joss Hood and Garibald Shells, to lend their swords to his. From the Water Gardens seven ravens and a tall young lad to tend them. His name was Nate, but he had been working with the birds so long that no one called him anything but Feathers. And since a princess must have some women to attend her, her company also included pretty Jayne Ladybright and wild Elia Sand, a maid of ten-and-four.

Providing you some additional background information.

+.+.+

War is happening, thought Arianne, and this time Dorne will not be spared. "Doom and death are coming," Ellaria Sand had warned them, before she took her own leave from Prince Doran. "It is time for my little snakes to scatter, the better to survive the carnage." 

Truer words have never been spoken.

Great strategy too! While the circumstances were less than ideal, the Starklings being scattered all over Westeros is the only reason four of them managed to survive this long. Plot armour also helps.

+.+.+

Dayne was her most grievous sin, the one that Arianne most regretted. With one stroke of his sword, he had changed her botched plot into something foul and bloody. If the gods were good, by now Obara Sand had treed him in his mountain fastness and put an end to him.

Hmm, doubt that.

+.+.+

She said as much to Daemon Sand that first night, as they made camp. "Be careful what you pray for, princess," he replied. "Darkstar could put an end to Lady Obara just as easily." "She has Areo Hotah with her." Prince Doran's captain of guards had dispatched Ser Arys Oakheart with a single blow, though the Kingsguard were supposed to be the finest knights in all the realm. "No man can stand against Hotah."

Remember, that side quest is based on a Doran Martell lie. Therefore, there's no shot Darkstar, Areo Hotah, Balon Swann, and Obara Sand being in the Red Mountains together will go well.

+.+.+

Poison, thought Arianne. Yes. Pretty poison, though. That was how he'd fooled her. Gerold Dayne was hard and cruel, but so fair to look upon that the princess had not believed half the tales she'd heard of him. Pretty boys had ever been her weakness, particularly the ones who were dark and dangerous as well. That was before, when I was just a girl, she told herself. I am a woman now, my father's daughter. I have learned that lesson.

[...] The princess found herself riding beside Ser Daemon, remembering other rides when they were younger, rides that often ended in embraces. When she found herself stealing glances at him, tall and gallant in the saddle, Arianne reminded herself that she was heir to Dorne, and him no more than her shield.

When the author makes 24-year-old Arianne Martell indistinguishable from 13-year-old Sansa, and 15-year-old Daenerys.

+.+.+

"Tell me what you know of this Jon Connington," she commanded. "He's dead," said Daemon Sand. "He died in the Disputed Lands. Of drink, I've heard it said." "So a dead drunk leads this army?" "Perhaps this Jon Connington is a son of that one. Or just some clever sellsword who has taken on a dead man's name."

That's considered fAegon evidence.

+.+.+

"Or he never died at all." Could Connington have been pretending to be dead for all these years? That would require patience worthy of her father. The thought made Arianne uneasy. Treating with a man that subtle could be perilous.

Unfortunately for Jon Connington, terminal illness tends to rob you of your patience.

I do not have time enough for caution. - The Lost Lord, ADWD

x

It was not the prudent course, but he was tired of prudence, sick of secrets, weary of waiting. - The Lost Lord, ADWD

+.+.+

"What was he like before he… before he died?" "I was a boy at Godsgrace when he was sent into exile. I never knew the man." "Then tell me what you've heard of him from others." "As my princess commands. Connington was Lord of Griffin's Roost when Griffin's Roost was still a lordship worth the having. Prince Rhaegar's squire, or one of them. Later Prince Rhaegar's friend and companion. The Mad King named him Hand during Robert's Rebellion, but he was defeated at Stoney Sept in the Battle of the Bells, and Robert slipped away. King Aerys was wroth, and sent Connington into exile. There he died." "Or not." Prince Doran had told her all of that. There must be more. 

They're the same age, why does a bastard of Godsgrace know more about Jon Connington than the heir to Dorne?

How is her father just now telling her about Aerys' Hand, and the Battle of the Bells? She was the same age as Bran during the events of AGOT when the Rebellion was taking place.

+.+.+

"Those are just the things he did. I know all that. What sort of man was he? Honest and honorable, venal and grasping, proud?" "Proud, for a certainty. Even arrogant. A faithful friend to Rhaegar, but prickly with others. Robert was his liege, but I've heard it said that Connington chafed at serving such a lord. Even then, Robert was known to be fond of wine and whores." "No whores for Lord Jon, then?" "I could not say. Some men keep their whoring secret." "Did he have a wife? A paramour?" Ser Daemon shrugged. "Not that I have ever heard."

You're getting warmer.

+.+.+

That was troubling too. Ser Arys Oakheart had broken his vows for her, but it did not sound as if Jon Connington could be similarly swayed. Can I match such a man with words alone?

Lol.

Cersei Lannister attempting to seduce Stannis Baratheon.

vs.

Arianne Martell attempting to seduce Jon Connington.

Who wins?

+.+.+

To Prince Doran of House Martell, You will remember me, I pray. I knew your sister well, and was a leal servant of your good-brother. I grieve for them as you do. I did not die, no more than did your sister's son. To save his life we kept him hidden, but the time for hiding is done. A dragon has returned to Westeros to claim his birthright and seek vengeance for his father, and for the princess Elia, his mother. In her name I turn to Dorne. Do not forsake us. Jon Connington Lord of Griffin's Roost Hand of the True King

Arianne read the letter thrice, then rolled it up and tucked it back into her sleeve. 

Good, good, keep writing while you still can.

I knew your sister well, and was a leal servant of your good-brother. I grieve for them as you do.

↓↓↓

Elia was never worthy of him. She was frail and sickly from the first, and childbirth only left her weaker. - The Griffin Reborn, ADWD

+.+.+

A dragon has returned to Westeros, but not the dragon my father was expecting. Nowhere in the words was there a mention of Daenerys Stormborn… nor of Prince Quentyn, her brother, who had been sent to seek the dragon queen. The princess remembered how her father had pressed the onyx cyvasse piece into her palm, his voice hoarse and low as he confessed his plan. A long and perilous voyage, with an uncertain welcome at its end, he had said. He has gone to bring us back our heart's desire. Vengeance. Justice. Fire and blood.

And that's exactly what Dorne got.

+.+.+

In the Boneway and the Prince's Pass, two Dornish hosts had massed, and there they sat, sharpening their spears, polishing their armor, dicing, drinking, quarreling, their numbers dwindling by the day, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Prince of Dorne to loose them on the enemies of House Martell. Waiting for the dragons. For fire and blood. For me. One word from Arianne and those armies would march… so long as that word was dragon. If instead the word she sent was war, Lord Yronwood and Lord Fowler and their armies would remain in place. The Prince of Dorne was nothing if not subtle; here war meant wait.

The issue here is that not all the key players in Dorne are pursuing the same common objective, even though Doran Martell took the extra precaution of making them all pinky promise they'll behave.

"Tyene. Obara is too loud. Tyene is so sweet and gentle that no man will suspect her. Obara would make Oldtown our father's funeral pyre, but I am not so greedy. Four lives will suffice for me. Lord Tywin's golden twins, as payment for Elia's children. The old lion, for Elia herself. And last of all the little king, for my father." - The Captain of the Guards, AFFC

x

"War," said Tyene, "though not my sister's war. Dornishmen fight best at home, so I say let us hone our spears and wait. When the Lannisters and the Tyrells come down on us, we shall bleed them in the passes and bury them beneath the blowing sands, as we have a hundred times before." - The Captain of the Guards, AFFC

Doran's plan might be to hold or march, but Tyene and Nym's plan involved provoking the Lannisters, child murder, and armies descending upon Dorne.

And oops, Doran gave them the kid.

+.+.+

"Are you half horse, child?" Valena asked, laughing, in the yard. "Princess, did you bring a stable girl?" "I'm Elia," the girl announced. "Lady Lance." Whoever hung that name on her has much to answer for. Like as not it had been Prince Oberyn, though, and the Red Viper had never answered to anyone but himself. "The girl jouster," Valena said. "Yes, I've heard of you. Since you were the first to the yard, you've won the honor of watering and bridling the horses."

Elia, with a little bit of Lyanna mixed in.

+.+.+

"We have heard the same tales here that you have heard at Sunspear," Lady Nymella told them as her serving man poured the wine. "Sellswords landing on Cape Wrath, castles under siege or being taken, crops seized or burned. Where these men come from and who they are, no one is certain."

Is that the Golden Company burning food they don't seize?

Good luck in the future, you're going to need it.

+.+.+

"Pirates and adventurers, we heard at first," said Valena. "Then it was supposed to be the Golden Company. Now it's said to be Jon Connington, the Mad King's Hand, come back from the grave to reclaim his birthright. Whoever it is, Griffin's Roost has fallen to them. Rain House, Crow's Nest, Mistwood, even Greenstone on its island. All taken." [...] "Tarth has fallen too, some fisherfolk will tell you," said Valena. "These sellswords now hold most of Cape Wrath and half the Stepstones. We hear talk of elephants in the rainwood."

NOOOoooooo. Give it back!!

+.+.+

"And krakens off the Broken Arm, pulling under crippled galleys," said Valena. "The blood draws them to the surface, our maester claims. There are bodies in the water. A few have washed up on our shores. And that's not half of it. A new pirate king has set up on Torturer's Deep. The Lord of the Waters, he styles himself. This one has real warships, three-deckers, monstrous large. You were wise not to come by sea. Since the Redwyne fleet passed through the Stepstones, those waters are crawling with strange sails, all the way north to the Straights of Tarth and Shipbreaker's Bay. Myrmen, Volantenes, Lyseni, even reavers from the Iron Islands. Some have entered the Sea of Dorne to land men on the south shore of Cape Wrath. We found a good fast ship for you, as your father commanded, but even so… be careful."

Krakens!

Everyone say hello to Aurane Waters. I'll cover the rest below.

+.+.+

"Is Dorne at risk?" Lady Nymella asked. "I confess, each time I see a strange sail my heart leaps to my throat. What if these ships turn south? The best part of the Toland strength is with Lord Yronwood in the Boneway. Who will defend Ghost Hill if these strangers land upon our shores? Should I call my men home?" "Your men are needed where they are, my lady," Daemon Sand assured her. Arianne was quick to nod. Any other counsel could well lead to Lord Yronwood's host unravelling like an old tapestry as each man rushed home to defend his own lands against supposed enemies who might or might not ever come. "Once we know beyond a doubt whether these be friends or foes, my father will know what to do," the princess said.

Is Dorne at risk? Uh, yes.

"Doom and death are coming," Ellaria Sand had warned them

Please allow me to illustrate all the ways Dorne is fucked.

Map!

The red circle is where Lady Nymella sits, worried that she's badly exposed, and has nobody to protect her lands (valid fear).

The orange stars indicate the two great Dornish hosts, sitting in the Prince's Pass, and the Boneway.

Now, those two Dornish hosts are well positioned (heh, unless they "unravel") to take on the ever-resilient Cersei Lannister (who will probably have one less kid, thanks to Dorne).

However, if those hosts are preoccupied with an army descending down upon them, the rest of Dorne becomes extremely vulnerable. Didn't think that one through, did you Tyene?

Euron is in the west, travelling further and further along the coast, and I've just been informed by reliable sources that House Redwyne has no hope in hell of stopping him.

Daenerys, another vengeful queen Dorne will piss off, is coming from the east with her dragons, army, and fleet.

Notice how Dorne finds itself between Euron and Daenerys / Victarion? That ain't good.

Moving on, the purple stars are all the pirates, and slavers at the Stepstones and in the Sea of Dorne. We will continue to hear stories of them growing bolder, and landing on the shores of Westeros in Arianne's next chapter. Please pray for Lady Nymella.

That leaves the green arrows: the Greenblood, Dorne's most glaring weakness right now.

The mouth of the Greenblood lies in the Planky Town, which isn't currently being supported by any Dornish forces. Throughout history, there are multiple examples of the Planky Town being broken, and enemy forces driving up the Greenblood to defeat Dorne.

It's a historical fact that randomly gets inserted into a Jon chapter.

"Goat tracks?" The king's eyes narrowed. "I speak of moving swiftly, and you waste my time with goat tracks?"

"When the Young Dragon conquered Dorne, he used a goat track to bypass the Dornish watchtowers on the Boneway."

"I know that tale as well, but Daeron made too much of it in that vainglorious book of his. Ships won that war, not goat tracks. Oakenfist broke the Planky Town and swept halfway up the Greenblood whilst the main Dornish strength was engaged in the Prince's Pass." - Jon IV, ADWD

Kind of feels like with Dorne moving all its pieces to the Prince's Pass and Boneway, we're about to witness this play out all over again.

Do you see what happens when you play the game of thrones? Maybe I owe Lysa Arryn an apology.

One more thing,

"Once we know beyond a doubt whether these be friends or foes, my father will know what to do," the princess said.

That father who knows what to do? He's going to be dead.

+.+.+

It was then that pasty, pudgy Teora raised her eyes from the creamcakes on her plate. "It is dragons." "Dragons?" said her mother. "Teora, don't be mad." "I'm not. They're coming." "How could you possibly know that?" her sister asked, with a note of scorn in her voice. "One of your little dreams?" Teora gave a tiny nod, chin trembling. "They were dancing. In my dream. And everywhere the dragons danced the people died."

Is that like bad or something?

+.+.+

"I can attest to that." Ser Daemon took a sip of wine and said, "House Toland has a dragon on its banners." "A dragon eating its own tail, aye," Valena said. "From the days of Aegon's Conquest. He did not conquer here. Elsewhere he burned his foes, him and his sisters, but here we melted away before them, leaving only stone and sand for them to burn. And round and round the dragons went, snapping at their tails for want of any other food, till they were tied in knots."

So many interpretations of this sigil: the dragon is chasing its tail, the dragon is time ... no.

The dragon is eating itself, symbolizing House Targaryen.

+.+.+

"Our forebears played their part in that," Lady Nymella said proudly. "Bold deeds were done, and brave men died. All of it was written down by the maesters who served us. We have books, if my princess would like to know more." "Some other time, perhaps," said Arianne.

Well, that's the last thing you'd ever want to see.

George keeps emphasizing that Arianne Martell is Not A Reader.

During the daylight hours she would try to read, but the books that they had given her were deadly dull: ponderous old histories and geographies, annotated maps, a dry-as-dust study of the laws of Dorne, The Seven-Pointed Star and Lives of the High Septons, a huge tome about dragons that somehow made them about as interesting as newts. - The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

For the record, I don't care about this, but I am well aware of the author's stance on characters who have limited knowledge of history.

This is a book that Daenerys might actually benefit from reading, but she has no access to Archermaester Gyldayn’s crumbling manuscripts. So she's operating on her own there. Maybe if she understood a few things more about dragons and her own history in Essos, things would have gone a little differently. - Esquire, 2018

x

Martin is good at keeping secrets, but he does offer up one tidbit—a reminder that the royal Daenerys Targaryen was given the histories of her world as a wedding gift but neglected to read them. - Vulture, 2014

This is not a good parallel to share with Daenerys Targaryen.

Do I think it's a disaster and Arianne's as good as dead? No. Arya is Not A Reader. Asha is Not A Reader. They'll be fine, one of them might even run a kingdom by the end of this.

Still, at the very least it probably means Arianne Martell is poised to make more mistakes.

+.+.+

The Bastard of Godsgrace was one of Dorne's finest swords as well, as might be expected from one who had been Prince Oberyn's squire and had received his knighthood from the Red Viper himself. Some said that he had been her uncle's lover too, though seldom to his face. Arianne did not know the truth of that. He had been her lover, though. At fourteen she had given him her maidenhead. Daemon had not been much older, so their couplings had been as clumsy as they were ardent. Still, it had been sweet. Arianne gave him her most seductive smile. "We might share a bed together." Ser Daemon's face was stone. "Have you forgotten, princess? I am bastard born." He took her hand in his. "If I am unworthy of this hand, how can I be worthy of your cunt?"

Lol.

Arianne reminded herself that she was heir to Dorne, and him no more than her shield.

+.+.+

"What I will you will not, it seems. So be it. Talk with me instead. Could this truly be Prince Aegon?" "Gregor Clegane ripped Aegon out of Elia's arms and smashed his head against a wall," Ser Daemon said. "If Lord Connington's prince has a crushed skull, I will believe that Aegon Targaryen has returned from the grave. Elsewise, no. This is some feigned boy, no more. A sellsword's ploy to win support."

My father fears the same.

Daemon Sand comes across as a highly logical and rational thinker. I'm not sure what I'll think if he continues to not believe it's Aegon.

+.+.+

So it was. "I was seven when Elia died. They say I held her daughter Rhaenys once, when I was too young to remember. Aegon will be a stranger to me, whether true or false." The princess paused. "We looked for Rhaegar's sister, not his son." Her father had confided in Ser Daemon when he chose him as his daughter's shield; with him at least she could speak freely. "I would sooner it were Quentyn who'd returned." "Or so you say," said Daemon Sand. "Good night, princess." He bowed to her, and left her standing there. What did he mean by that? Arianne watched him walk away. What sort of sister would I be, if I did not want my brother back? It was true, she had resented Quentyn for all those years that she had thought their father meant to name him as his heir in place of her, but that had turned out to be just a misunderstanding. She was the heir to Dorne, she had her father's word on that. Quentyn would have his dragon queen, Daenerys.

You good, Arianne?

+.+.+

In Sunspear hung a portrait of the Princess Daenerys who had come to Dorne to marry one of Arianne's forebears. In her younger days Arianne had spent hours gazing at it, back when she was just a pudgy flat-chested girl on the cusp of maidenhood who prayed every night for the gods to make her pretty. A hundred years ago, Daenerys Targaryen came to Dorne to make a peace. Now another comes to make a war, and my brother will be her king and consort. King Quentyn. Why did that sound so silly?

She's coming alright.

I don't blame her for thinking it sounds silly, but I can't lie, she's making me a little uncomfortable right now.

+.+.+

Almost as silly as Quentyn riding on a dragon. Her brother was an earnest boy, well-behaved and dutiful, but dull. And plain, so plain. The gods had given Arianne the beauty she had prayed for, but Quentyn must have prayed for something else. His head was overlarge and sort of square, his hair the color of dried mud. His shoulders slumped as well, and he was too thick about the middle. He looks too much like Father.

Maybe he valued other things, Arianne.

What would a maid that age want with her dull, bookish brother? - Arianne II, TWOW

+.+.+

"I love my brother," said Arianne, though only the moon could hear her. Though if truth be told, she scarcely knew him. Quentyn had been fostered by Lord Anders of House Yronwood, the Bloodroyal, the son of Lord Ormond Yronwood and grandson of Lord Edgar. In his youth her uncle Oberyn had fought a duel with Edgar, had given him a wound that mortified and killed him. Afterward men called him 'the Red Viper,' and spoke of poison on his blade. The Yronwoods were an ancient house, proud and powerful. Before the coming of the Rhoynar they had been kings over half of Dorne, with domains that dwarfed those of House Martell. Blood feud and rebellion would surely have followed Lord Edgar's death, had not her father acted at once. The Red Viper went to Oldtown, thence across to the narrow sea to Lys, though none dared call it exile. And in due time, Quentyn was given to Lord Anders to foster as a sign of trust. That helped to heal the breach between Sunspear and the Yronwoods, but it had opened new ones between Quentyn and the Sand Snakes… and Arianne had always been closer to her cousins than to her distant brother.

They were kids when this happened, but it's still wild to resent Quentyn for any of this. He was also cut off from his father.

+.+.+

"We are still the same blood, though," she whispered. "Of course I want my brother home. I do." The wind off the sea was raising gooseprickles all up and down her arms. Arianne pulled her cloak about herself, and went off to seek her bed.

Are you alright?

+.+.+

Arianne played a game of cyvasse with Ser Daemon, and another one with Garibald Shells, and somehow managed to lose both. Ser Garibald was kind enough to say that she played a gallant game, but Daemon mocked her. "You have other pieces beside the dragon, princess. Try moving them sometime."

This is like reading a Catelyn chapter from A Storm of Swords.

+.+.+

"I like the dragon." She wanted to slap the smile off his face. Or kiss it off, perhaps. The man was as smug as he was comely. Of all the knights in Dorne, why did my father chose this one to be my shield? He knows our history.

Did she answer her own question? Bwahaha.

+.+.+

The secret pact that Prince Doran had made all those years called for Arianne to be wed to Prince Viserys, not Quentyn to Daenerys. It had all come undone on the Dothraki sea, when he was murdered. Crowned with a pot of molten gold. "He was killed by a Dothraki khal," said Arianne. "The dragon queen's own husband." "So I've heard. What of it?" "Just… why did Daenerys let it happen? Viserys was her brother. All that remained of her own blood." "The Dothraki are a savage folk. Who can know why they kill? Perhaps Viserys wiped his arse with the wrong hand." Perhaps, thought Arianne, or perhaps Daenerys realized that once her brother was crowned and wed to me, she would be doomed to spend the rest of her life sleeping in a tent and smelling like a horse. "She is the Mad King's daughter," the princess said. "How do we do know —" "We cannot know," Ser Daemon said. "We can only hope."

Are you projecting?

There's no getting around the fact that Arianne is bothered by the idea of her brother being king, despite it not interfering with her inheriting Dorne.

Sadly, these thoughts are going to continue in her next chapter.

King Quentyn. It still sounded silly. This new Daenerys Targaryen was younger than Arianne by half a dozen years. What would a maid that age want with her dull, bookish brother? Young girls dreamed of dashing knights with wicked smiles, not solemn boys who always did their duty. She will want Dorne, though. If she hopes to sit the Iron Throne, she must have Sunspear. If Quentyn was the price for that, this dragon queen would pay it. What if she was at Griffin’s End with Connington, and all this about another Targaryen was just some sort of subtle ruse? Her brother could well be with her. King Quentyn. Will I need to kneel to him? - Arianne II, TWOW

It's another bad parallel to share with Daenerys Targaryen.

"What … what if it were not Viserys?" she asked. "If it were someone else who led them? Someone stronger? Could the Dothraki truly conquer the Seven Kingdoms?" - Daenerys IV, AGOT

x

She wondered if all men were as false in the Seven Kingdoms. When her son sat the Iron Throne, she would see that he had bloodriders of his own to protect him against treachery in his Kingsguard. - Daenerys IV, AGOT

x

Dany had not known, had not even suspected. "Then … he should have them. He does not need to steal them. He had only to ask. He is my brother … and my true king." - Daenerys V, AGOT

Let's hope these thoughts only exist to amplify the remorse and guilt she'll feel after she learns he's dead, and nothing more.

In other news, it appears that a developing rivalry between Daenerys and Arianne is taking form.

Is that you, Arianne Martell?

Final thoughts:

Doran's going to die, Oberyn's dead, Quentyn's dead, half the Sand Snakes are massive liabilities, Areo Hotah is a mute, and Arianne doesn't read books.

Where's Sarella? Maybe we let Ellaria run the kingdom for a bit.

Next chapter: Mercy (Arya)

-> return to menu <-

[mejcinta]

Lately, I noticed lots of people getting delicate around Aemond and Alys' relationship, claiming that either he raped her or she groomed him.

The book depicts the beginning of their relationship «Prince Aemond had taken her into his bed as a prize of war soon after taking Harrenhal». During the dance, terms such as "take to bed" and "spoils of war" are also used in reference to the Daemon and Nettles, and to the Jon Roxton and Sharis Footly:

1) «Daemon Targaryen had come to love the small brown bastard girl, and had taken her into his bed» but does this necessarily mean that the Demon raped Nettles, as the show has already established his pedophilic tendencies (the young girls whom were offered to him in the brothel, both Laena and Rhaenyra were groomed by him, since one was around 15-16, other never was able to form her charachter without his influence).

2)«Bold Jon Roxton became enamored of Lady Sharis after the First Battle of Tumbleton, and claimed her as a “prize of war.” When her lord husband protested, Ser Jon cut him nigh in two with Orphan-Maker. Sharis wept as he tore her gown», her reaction made it clear that she was assaulted.

Now let's look at the relationship between Alys and Aemond, the background of their characters and how their relationship was later described.

Alys Rivers was a bastard of House Strong, Grand Maester Munkun and Septon Eustace refer her as a bastard of Lord Lyonel Strong. The general attitude towards bastards stems from religious beliefs, where those born out of wedlock are seen as a weakness and dishonour of their parents, and are therefore treated with disdain. The treatment of female bastards is even worse, when in such a feudal and patriarchal society as Westeros, they have far more limited opportunities to improve their position than male ones. "A Feast for Crows" introduces a bastard girl named Falia Flowers, whose family mistreated her and forced her into servitude, and after Euron Greyjoy takes control over her castle, she willingly goes with him because she was enough of the miserable life in her parental household.

While her parentage remains dubious, her surname clearly indicates that she was the daughter of a nobleman. But unlike bastards like Jon Snow or Rhaenyra’s sons, she was a servant to her relatives and after her own children were born dead she served as a wet nurse, an occupation historically regarded as exploitative of women.  Not only she was a servant, but also accused in witchcraft (whether it is true or not), it always is followed by social stigma, discrimination and marginalisation of women.

Obviously power imbalance on Aemond’s side, making her unable to groom her, and how could she do it to an ADULT. But how later their relationship was described:

-“it was Aemond alone who had become besotted with the Rivers woman, to such an extent he could not bear the thought of leaving her”;

-  after the defeat at the battle by the lakeshore he almost strangled the messenger to death if not for Alys be the only one who could stop him, so he valued her enough;

- when alys was captured by sabitha frey, instead of asking for help if she was his hostage, she proclaims that she is carrying his child, and aemond later came to rescue her and she run with him;

- he brought her to battle above the god’s eye with him and kissed her as last thing he did in life;

-  after his death she proclaimed herself as his widow even she would gain nothing from it, and when some man dared to insult her son with Aemond, he was immediately killed, either she ordered someone to do that or even blowed up this man’s head herself.

While show revealed Aemond had unpleasant first sexual experience and called out Aegon’s tastes as depraved, can be assumed that they will not make him force himself on Alys. So the term "prize of war" could be thrust upon them by others and should be seen as such if Alys and Aemond consider it as that.

You know, people can project all they want on Alys, Aemond and their relationship, but one thing the show has made clear is that they're 'softening' Aemond. He's not nearly a scrary brute as his book counterpart (which I still find interesting). There's more nuance to his character, and the same will go for Alys (like Alicent and Rhaenyra's characters).

Hoping that Aemond is made abusive and Alys some sadistic witch is so...boring, unoriginal, petty and bitter. There's nothing remotely new or interesting story-wise about that. But let's just wait and see.

[syndrossi]

wait we can request again? shit then what do i have to do to get a new scene from Reversal?

what about a scene in which Jon wants to attend sword lessons and Daemon, who is confused but agrees because who is he to deny his daughter a valuable skill set that their ancestor Visenya possessed? and because Viserys obviously goes “no” since she’s a girl, we get to see Daemon go “oh fine, she would’ve been taught by Cole anyway” and proceeds to secretly teach her himself. Rhaegar can join too.

that, or a scene where they pick their new names and we get to read Daemon’s POV and his thoughts on their choices. (i think this may be the easier, quicker scene to write)

also who do i have to bribe to make Jon’s name Daenerys— is it Daenerys or is it Aemma— i will fight, i will beg, i will cry, mostly beg because it’s all that i can do atm, i’m all cried out rn but i’ll do it🥺

side note: it’s thursday and i had pizza, it made me think of resonant.

Mercy! I still have 30ish NYE prompts sitting in my inbox, including at least one of yours from that time! 😂

I love your pizza Thursdays that I often live vicariously through. I'm sure you don't do it every week, but next Thursday should be a Resonant Thursday at least!

This time we are keeping it SHORT FOR REAL...ish.

x~x~x

“—nor should we be left defenseless, should someone try to take us again,” his daughter said with an edge to her voice that told Daemon she still was haunted by their captivity.

“The hunting knives our mother gave us are no child’s toy,” Rhaella added softly, gaze flicking to the clench of his jaw at the mention of his wife. “She promised that we would learn to defend ourselves.”

Daemon fully intended to be the one defending, but for all his daughters’ carefully crafted arguments, he did not object to them learning both the sword and bow. Viserys might remind him that they were princesses, not princes in skirts, but Dark Sister had been wielded by Visenya before him. The women of their family had as much right to know the sword.

“First,” Daemon said, “I would see what you are capable of.”

He did not hold high expectations, though he knew his daughters well enough to anticipate both discipline and determination. But they exchanged a joyful glance and disappeared into their bedchamber to change into their riding trousers. Daemon could not help but smile as he led them to the training yard and watched them eagerly don the padded training armor.

His nephews did not train until the afternoon, which meant the yard was blessedly free of Cole’s dour presence. His daughters’ presence did earn more than a few curious looks from the various knights and guardsmen training in the yard, and they grew more curious still as Daemon tested his daughters.

They have been taught before. 

He did not know whether to be upset or grateful. Their movements were clumsy at times, but it was a clumsiness born of disuse and growing limbs, and over the course of the hour, most of the rust had gone, revealing the deadly blades beneath.

They are far better than my brother’s sons. Better than many squires he had seen. Aemma was quick and ruthless, her eyes narrowed in concentration at all times. Rhaella was more graceful, with nigh impeccable form, though she lacked her sister’s instinct for blood.

He would have been proud of their skill, had they been sons, and his pride was no lesser for the fact that they were daughters instead. The knights in the yard lined the fences, shouting encouragement with each bout, and cheering the princesses on as they drilled against one another.

The interest did not abate when the bows were brought out. His daughters seemed more than a little disappointed at having to use Aemond’s bow for its lighter draw, but after adjusting, it became clear that their training in the Vale had included the bow as well. That was less surprising, given Rhea’s love of hunting.

After both had finished with their targets—with Rhaella edging her sister out on accuracy—Aemma called for a moving target. An apple was tossed from their audience, passing in front of the targets, and his eldest pivoted to loose an arrow at it, pinning it to the target to a roar of appreciation.

[winter-soldier-101]

The princess that was promised part 4

The North

“Lord Stark, I want to see him?” (Y/N) asks Eddard

“Jon, come here I want you to meet someone.” Eddard calls out as all his children run out to see who has come to ask for Jon.

Jon walks out and (Y/N) smiles widely as he looks just like her son Aenys.

“You have grown so much” (Y/N) whispers to Jon.

“How do you know me?��� Jon asks (Y/N).

“I knew your mother and you look just like her and you look just like my son Aenys” (Y/N) tells Jon.

“Your son, where is he?” Jon asks (Y/N).

“He will be here soon he has my dragon” (Y/N) tells Jon as Baelon roars coming into view.

“Aenys come here and meet your family!” (Y/N) yells out as Aenys makes his way over to the Starks.

“He’s family?” A little voice asks.

“Yes , his father was Cregan Stark” (Y/N) tells the little boy.

“Do you have other children?” A young woman asks (Y/N).

“Yes I have another child but I’ve had six children in my life. I had a son before I had Aenys. He was beautiful, he was going to bring my family together but his father Aemond had done something unforgivable” (Y/N) tells the young woman.

(Y/N) looks over at her son and smiles at him as she talks to his father’s family.

“What was your other son like?” Sansa asks (Y/N).

“He was so sweet I named him Daemon he looked just like Aemond when he was born but then the dance started some time after he was born and Aemond killed my brother and I had to leave as soon as I heard what he had done I flew with my son and stayed with my mother and keep the rest of my family safe but that didn’t happen” (Y/N) tells Sansa.

“I’m sorry to hear that” Sansa tells (Y/N).

“Thank you Sansa” (Y/N) says looking down at Sansa.

“What’s it like flying a dragon?” A little voice calls out to (Y/N).

“It’s very freeing, it feels like nothing else matters and up in the air it’s just you” (Y/N) tells Arya.

Daenerys and (Y/N)

(Y/N) held Daemon close to her chest as she kisses his little forehead and gave him to Aenys as she walked up to Drogos pyre and placed the three stone eggs around him and kissed his cheeks softly.

“I love you sun and stars I will see you when my time ends you must protect us now tell my family I miss and love them deeply” (Y/N) whispers as she walks down and lights the pyre and walks back into the flames.

Then

(Y/N) looks over at Aemond as he climbs down Vhagar and walks over to (Y/N).

“How was flying uncle?” (Y/N) asks.

“It was fine, what about you dear niece you also ride a legendary dragon as well.” Aemond asks (Y/N).

“Baelon is magnificent as always” (Y/N) says.

“How are your bastard brothers?” Aemond asks (Y/N).

“Don’t call them bastards Aemond or next time you do I’ll cut your tongue out!” (Y/N) says to Aemond.

(Y/N) makes her way over to the gate and sees her mother and brothers and Daemon.

“Mother Daemon!” (Y/N) yells out as she runs over to them.

“Why are we not greeted properly?” Rhaenyra asks (Y/N).

“Mother the Red Keep has changed, the Queen has made it her own she has removed our dragons and our history from the Keep” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra.

“My princess, my prince, the Queen and council deemed it not worthy of a welcome for you and your family” Lord Caswell tells Rhaenyra.

“Thank you Lord Caswell” Rhaenyra says to the lord as they make their way into the Red Keep.

“Mother, wait I have to tell you about something I did” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra.

“What did you do?” Rhaenyra asks (Y/N).

“I was riding down the silk street and I saw three of Aegon’s bastards and I paid their mothers and took the children now I brought them here and Alicent was angry when they showed up but then I made her let them in and she was very angry” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra.

“(Y/N) why in god's name would you do such a thing?” Rhaenyra asks (Y/N).

“Mother you should have seen them they were so small and not well cared for so I had to do something and help them and they are our blood and I would like you to meet them” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra.

“I will see them soon (Y/N)” Rhaenyra tells (Y/N).

“I’m happy to hear that mother but you and Daemon must go see grandfather” (Y/N) tells Rhaenyra.

(Y/N) walks to her room and sees Gaemon and Jon and Rhae eating.

“How are you three doing?” (Y/N) asks the kids.

“Princess we are feeling much better but what should we call you?” Jon asks (Y/N).

“You three may call me whenever you want but soon you three will be going to DragonStone soon with us all” (Y/N) tells the children.

The family feast

“I’m happy to once again see my family together again and it brings me joy to hear my grandsons are to marry Rhaena and Baela and my granddaughter will marry my second son Aemond on the morrow” Viserys says.

“What, when did this happen?” Rhaenyra asks (Y/N).

“I talked to grandfather the day I got here and Aemond agreed” (Y/N) says to everyone.

“No, I will not let that happen, she is my daughter!” Daemon yells out

“You have no say in this and you are not my father!” (Y/N) yells at Daemon.

“(Y/N) are you sure of this?” Rhaenyra asks (Y/N).

“Yes I am sure, but Aemond and I have already wed two moons ago in a Valerian tradition” (Y/N) tells everyone.

“You married in secrecy?” Rhaenyra asks (Y/N).

“Yes we did and, I am with child the maester told me this morning” (Y/N) tells everyone.

Taglist: @hc-geralt-23 @immyowndefender

[moseslikellamas]

Thorn of Winterfell

Chapter nine

Pairing - Stark!OC x Benjicot Blackwood

Summary - The Battle by the Lakeshore begins

Warnings - graphic depictions of violence, lore™️, sketchy depictions of medieval hierarchies, blood, death, depictions of shock, dubious battle mechanics. Depictions of anxiety, graphic violence against animals

Word count- 2.3k

I changed like a fuck ton about the set up of this battle but the outcome will be pretty much exactly like cannon.

I need to talk to Cregan. It was the only thought circling through her head. It kept stinging her over and over like a swarm of unhappy bees. She kept trying to swat the refrain away as she rode towards her party. You need to see your brother! There was chaos around her as the army began fortifying its position. Confusion and outrage was underlining the determined work. No one knew why they’d stopped and it looked like Daemon had abandoned them. She prayed to the gods that ser Dustin had everything in hand. As she approached the two men she heard them arguing.

“I should look again! I can see where he is!”

“We can’t ride out any further. It’s madness as it is! If three scouts ride out after Daemon, they’ll lose it!”

“We don’t have to ride out. No is paying any attention to us-“

Syana cut the lord off, outraged.

“My head is on the line for you Blackwood. You will go back and help control your men. Do not look again.”

If he blew the entire operation by exposing himself, he wouldn’t have to worry about the riverlords. She was going to kill him herself. His face was the picture of fury as he stared back at her. She was unmoved by it. She was so sweaty she was afraid her armor would slide off her back. Where was her brother? She couldn’t help craning her neck back to look at the army every few seconds hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

“I’m trying to help us.” He began again.

“And it won’t matter if the entire army falls apart at the revelation! Enough people are going to die here. Don’t divide us now.”

“Keep your bloody sword up.” He hissed as he rode past her back towards the camp.

She was beginning to hate that refrain.

“Don’t worry about him.” Robb said casually from beside her.

“Oh I am very worried. But we have work to do. I don’t know where the rest of the scouts went, lost in that mess somewhere. So I guess we’re it. Which side do you want?”

He laughed at her, actually laughed at a moment like this.

“You aren’t scouting anything besides wolves right now. Go find your brother, my eyes are sharp enough for two.”

“I’ll send a scout if I find one, and I bloody well better find one.” She shouted back at him already galloping away.

Syana rode hard, eyes looking for the familiar glint of her brother’s armor. Her heart felt like it might give up at any moment. She was taking heaving gasps of air, trying to calm herself. Please let Prince Jacaerys be okay. Images of dragons locked in a death grip kept spiraling through her head. Where is Cregan?

“You!” She shouted at a familiar Frey bowman whose name she couldn’t recall. “Join Robb at the front, we need scouts.” She didn’t know if he was half decent at scouting but he had a bow and that was close enough for her right now.

Around her men were making barriers and trying to consider where best to make their stand. She was relieved to see Benjicot in the middle of the men directing where to place items. His aunt was working with another group though she couldn’t tell what they were working on. Where is my fucking brother? She screamed in her head. She spotted Forest Frey and Jon Charlton leading their own efforts. Okay that leaves Dustin, Grey, and Stark. Where are they?

She turned her horse around, striding back through the camp. She fined combined with her eyes, making sure no face escaped her. She found several more scouts and send them out. ‘I'll see to his punishment myself, wolf.’ The King consort’s threat rang loudly through her mind like bells clanging against her stone foundation. It wasn’t until she reached the furthest edge of camp that she spotted him. There against the water surrounded by a sea of wolves. Lord Dustin’s yellow sigil was bright against the sea of white.

Syana slid from her saddle before her horse even slowed. She quickly strided over to him. He was in a deep conversation with Ser Rodrick about how to best utilize the stark forces. She waited as patiently as she could at his side. Her heart was finally beginning to calm and she could begin to assess their position. She had to put the dragons out of her head, they weren’t her concern anymore. She felt like her skeleton was trying to claw its way out of her skin, standing there waiting. Which side would they attack from? She anxiously worried about them being surrounded.

Cregan’s hand on her shoulder startled her momentarily. Then she was leading him away from the group of men poised around the water.

“Benjicot saw the route Prince Aemond was taking.” Her brother was calm beside her as she spoke and she envied him for it. “He advised Daemon to ride to meet the Queen. The crown will be in hand by nightfall.”

“Get to the point, Syana.”

She stopped walking, turning to face her brother. “The Lannister army will be here before nightfall. Another will come later to reinforce them. He didn’t tell me the specifics. He was too busy trying to tear everything to shreds.” She said bitterly.

The visions from the weirwood tree played across the front of her mind. All of the burning people and stacked death bodies in the water.

“I’m sure you’ve also noted the storm rolling in.” She looked towards the swirling clouds creeping across the hills.

“We’ve done all we can to plan.” He said at last, drawing her attention back. “This is the fun part, little sister.”

She frowned at him. She knew he was trying to bring a moment of levity to the situation but she was not a warrior. She did not relish the flurry of bodies, the warm rush of blood over her hands. And she was afraid. It was a terrible secret feeling she kept locked down. But it was threatening to bubble up and overwhelm her. The last time they’d been attacked there’d been no time to think. They’d been taken by surprise and her brain had turned on autopilot. Now she had time to think, to consider everything that might go wrong. To consider whose body would be in the God’s eye tonight.

“Stay alive brother.” She said her mind is still running faster than free stallions in the north.

“And you keep-“

“My bloody sword up. I’ve got that, thanks!”

⊹˚‧ ₊ ❄︎₊ ‧˚⊹

Syana had decided that Benjicot was lying to her. He had to be. As the hours passed it became clear to her that he wasn’t just a skin changer. He couldn’t be and know everything he did. He’d know where Prince Aemond was flying, where the Lannister troops would attack and where the support army would come from. He hadn’t said it outright of course but it was clear as he directed the men that he knew more than he was letting on. She wouldn’t profess to be the most knowledgeable on skin changing but she knew you couldn’t inhabit more than one beast at time. How had he known the location of all three?

She was already in position, they would be upon them soon. Robb was beside her, they were on the highest point with all of the archers. Not that the highest point was all that high. The land around them was gentle slopes and rolling hills. It was already slippery from the steady patter of rain. She couldn’t keep her eyes from flickering between the liar and her brother. Cregan was in front, the wolves were the first line of defense. They were the best horsemen here and winter was coming. The temperature had dropped with the rain. Her breath was visible with every exhale.

The steady pounding of feet rumbled beneath them. In the distance under the last gleam of the fading light, soldiers approached from the south. The rain had soaked through her armor long ago, her hair plastered to the side of her face and neck as a result. Let Cregan live to be so old he curses the gift of life. It was the only prayer she sent up to the gods, the only one that mattered.

“Archers, nock!”

Robb’s voice boomed from beside her like tumbling boulders. Steady hands notched her first arrow.

“Draw!”

As she drew the string back she breathed in deep. With her shoulders set back, she waited.

“Loose!”

Breath, arrow and fear all exited her at the same time. The rest of the men around her ceased to be, her only tether was the shouted commands of Robb beside her. Volley after volley they rained flaming arrows on the enemy, the lannister armor was a golden beacon even as night settled over them.

“Fire at will, hold rank!”

Syana was releasing arrows at a frantic pace, man after man fell but it was the sound of screaming horses that raised her heart rate. Her arm was burning from the constant strain of the bow. Her tricep was screaming as she reached behind her to pull an endless stream of arrows out of her quiver. The line kept advancing and she knew within moments they’d hit their defense barriers. Her eyes were glued to her brother for half a second before she was back, tearing men from the saddle by the dozens. Come on, she thought, taking another two down, just a little closer.

The second the two lines converged on each other, she pivoted and broke the line.

“East team, follow me!” Her voice was hardly audible over the sounds of steel and flesh.

The screams of horses and men alike rang through the air as the team of archers moved into the next position. They couldn’t allow the enemy to surround them on all three sides against the God's eye or the battle was over. She needed to lead a group way outside of range so they could attack the next army from the rear. Reinforcements at the front would help them execute a front and back crunch maneuver. It was a gamble but so was the entire operation. If they weren’t reinforced at the front, the army could fall back on them and they’d all be dead. Syana had absolute faith in the small group of archers with her but it wouldn’t matter if they were engaged directly.

All she had to go off of was a general guide on the direction the enemy would be coming from and the hope of a small copse of trees to help conceal them under the pounding rain. The wind was screaming past them, blowing so hard it stole the air from her lungs. Her helmet felt suffocating, like a metal tomb waiting for the mud to rise up and finish the job. She was bent down low close to the neck of her mount, her thighs hurt from how hard she was squeezing them. She rode hard and fast towards the approaching blob of green she hoped was the gathering of trees they were looking for. Her eyes stung from the freezing rain blinding her and she squinted to obtain a better view. It was the sound of the wind through the leaves that ultimately tipped her off.

“Bows at the ready!” She screamed against the wind.

If they’d timed it right the enemy should emerge from the east, banners raised…

An arrow whistled past her so close she could hear the wind off of it. Then the horrible wet thud of a horse pulled up short exploded through the darkness. She didn’t have a second to spare towards who’d been hit as a rain of arrows descended on them.

“Scatter! Abort mission! Fall back!” She screamed herself hoarse over the wind and rain.

Benjicot had been wrong after all. They were in the trees not to the east. They’d timed it wrong or something had changed. Either way they were all fucking screwed. She was lucky, people up north are good riders and they learn early. She’d been able to pivot immediately. As soon as the first arrow had pulled the horse down, she knew they needed to leave. Some of the others had not been so lucky. Those who weren’t pulled down by arrows were sucked into gaping mud holes that weren’t visible in the darkness. The constant screaming of horses grew to a crescendo of agony and she wasn’t sure how much of the moisture on her face was from the rain and how much was from the constant stream of tears that flowed down her cheeks.

Riding back towards the main army, she loosed arrow after arrow. She watched with a deep and primal anger as bodies stacked on top of each other. She hadn’t even realized she was screaming until an arrow in her shoulder made her stop. When she rejoined the rest of the archer line it was significantly diminished. Though she couldn’t tell if that was because the line broke or because they were all dead. Either way, she used the temporary cover to snap the arrow shaft in half. She didn’t have time to rip the arrow out, she’d risk bleeding out anyway. She just did it to ensure it didn’t get snagged on anything. After the arrow was ripped out, she was ripped from her saddle. In he distraction, the undulating mass of bodies had writhed up against her and plucked her from her horse.

[mshexley]

My biggest pet peeve of HOTD is that they took away Rhaenys’ black hair and in doing that they oversimplified the whole thing with Jace, Luke, and Joffrey.

Like no Viserys rejected it is not solely powered by his unconditional love for Rhaenyra, it's also because it's a flimsy rumor that says "what if that man that's always with her is the father?" "oh you mean the man thats her sworn sword and is supposed to be constantly with her?"

And I feel like some of the oversimplification comes from the reveal of Cersei's kids not being Robert's kids but the reveal is more than that. One kid being blonde like Cersei is nothing but ALL OF THEM being blonde when historically every time a Baratheon is involved, their genetics clean house??? That's why it's suspicious.

The reason that it's only the green council that cling to that rumor is because A: they're tryna pull a Saera 2.0 and B: no one else thinks it's worth the trouble to pursue because it can always be argued down just as fiercely.

It’s still very much a gene pool thing where just cause both your parents have blonde hair doesn't guarantee you'll have blonde hair especially when brown or black hair is in the gene pool. The only time the Targ's typical features seem to win out is when the genes they're competing with are also recessive ones (like Alicent's red hair), in which case that's when the magic of their genes locks in for an easy win. (should also be noted that with Orys Baratheon being believed to be Aegon I's brother, that means he has that same magic in his blood)

Like, yeah, Rhaenyra’s first three kids didn’t come out with white hair but look at who their legal grandmother is? Rhaenys Targaryen, Daughter of Jocelyn “Our Seed is Strong AF” Baratheon and that’s on Laenor's side. It was pure luck that Laena & Laenor came out with white hair. On Rhaenyra's we have have the Arryns who don't have a typical look and can easily have many brown haired Arryns in the gene pool (Rodrik is only described as balding, Jeyne is a redhead, Jon Arryn is a blonde, and then Robin is brown haired).

This may not be the case but it COULD be and that's why its too complicated to pursue especially when the moment she has kids with Daemon the brown hair goes away. You can argue that it's because Harwin is dead BUT it can also be argued that Baratheon genetics is no longer a factor since there's no Baratheons leading to Daemon (its unadulterated incest from Aegon/Rhaenys' line to Daemon).

Even the assumption that Harwin Strong fathered bastards is the assumption that only stems from Lucamore Strong. "Oh if Lucamore was horny then why shouldn't we assume that Harwin was also horny?"

Even Rhaenyra being slutty is taken with a grain of salt because it comes from a man (Criston) that was reportedly spurned by her and who even Alicent herself didn't trust around her so even when she and Cole aligned, she probably still didn't believe him.

It's so small but taking away Rhaenys dark hair literally just (whether intentional or not) justifies rumors that LITERALLY only exist to try and steal the crown from Rhaenyra.

And this is not me being "stan team black" (even though green stans will take it that way anyway) but it's recognizing that the story's intention of trying to turn these nobles into secretly good people who are just "doing their bestest uwu but being a noble is so hard 😢" does an injustice to the original story when every key player was fully willing to rip the realm apart for a throne.

Anyways this rant was a disguise for Ashgan's gofundme. She's 20 years old and has to help care for six other family members with a goal of £15,000. So if you're able to spare some money and are willing, consider donating to her.

[worthyheir]

bigdaddydaemon 😎 OFF ANON LETS GO

Send me urls to gush about (on or off anon, whether you know if I follow them or not) and I will spread some positivity because we're in dire fucking need of it. It's not a real meme I made it up.

UGH listen to me (and look at me editing an icon with that fuckass wig GOSh they did him so dirty with that) about how much I ADORE you okay? Your Daemon AND Your Jon AND (eventually) your Rhaenyra all blow me away. Yes I am including Rhaenyra CALL THIS PEER PRESSURE ENCOURAGEMENT. NOT ONLY are you a fantastic writer, but plotting with you is actually so much fun. I adore literally every thread we have. Between Daemon helping Jace train to the ANGST we have planned with them, Jon and Jace eventually riding dragons together, Viserys naming Daemon his hand and telling him he's proud of him, the eventual Daemyra, the eventual awkward conversations with Daemon and Harwin, I am just so excited for literally everything. BUT on top of you just being a blast to write with and plot with, you're also just super fucking positive and bright and kind. It absolutely boggles my mind how much joy and light you bring to the server and to our conversations on the daily. I am so, so glad to have met you and started all of these silly little plots and have all this neat stuff happening. Every single person who writes with you is actually SO LUCKY to have you existing on their dash, for real.