#first piece of my asoiaf series

[aphemera]

— Bran thought about it. ❝ Can a man still be brave if he's afraid? ❞

❝ That is the only time a man can be brave, ❞ his father told him.

Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell

[naggascradle]

@midnight1404 literally!! like i think that's part of the huge compelling part of ned's chapters in agot too, on one hand he has to continually think about his dead sister and the promise he made to her about her son, but on the other hand him being in the red keep and dealing with robert he's forced to continually confront the injustice of how elia and her children were treated. rhaenys makes me heartbroken to think about if i think about her too long... even aegon as a little baby has the weird probably untrue potential of him escaping and becoming young griff, but rhaenys has none of that. we know rhaenys died as a little girl with her mother. there's a secondary tragedy with lyanna as well with pitting two minority women against each other when they likely had very little mobility or choice in any of this situation in the first place, it forces the two of them to be guaranteed that at least one of them was harshly disgraced by the heir to the seven kingdoms... these two women are the ones who hang over the narrative to represent duty vs love, and it hurts to try to be forced to consider a choice between which one deserves to not be dishonored

reflecting on last reblog but i think elia martell is the biggest reason i could never fully get behind "jon is actually trueborn" train, regardless of lyanna and rhaegar's love for each other, jon's existence is a slap in the face to all of dorne

[yoursweetheartsrevenge]

Blood of My Blood - Part One

Summary: She heard the buzzing through the storm. The stones. They were to be her escape. 

During Robert’s Rebellion, Rhaelle Targaryen could do nothing but see her loved ones fall around her, her twin brother, her husband, her mother, so many lives lost. In the middle of a storm, she finds an escape through stones that send her into the past. A past with dragons, a one-eyed prince, and a history she knows so deeply.

Read on Ao3

Written for @hotd-bigbang

Warnings: vomiting, mild violence, MINORS DNI, 18+ 

Word Count: 4.3K+

Author’s Note: Written for @hotd-bigbang.

Week 2: Litsperation - this fic is inspired by Outlander by Diana Gabaldon which includes time travel and falling in love with a man of the past set during war time. 

Lots of first for me during Ship week as I set sail into the world of ASOIAF for the first time, if only for a few moments. I might continue this into a series or miniseries in the future, let me know if you’d like this to continue, but for now please enjoy!

Part One

She could barely catch her breath. 

Shouting among the deep clouds she called out for the men to take them, a screaming baby nearly fresh from her mother’s womb and a panicked boy calling out his elder sister’s name. Rhaelle Targaryen was the only family they had left and she was abandoning them. 

Ser Darry had looked her in the eyes, violet like all Targaryens before her. He could see how serious she was. Her breathing was hard knowing how fast she would have to run to distract the garrison that had made their way to the woods outside Dragonstone. 

They were meant to sell the last of the Targaryens off, her father’s own sworn swords leading a betrayal. 

“Take them. Viserys is heir. I am nothing. No lands. No husband. Nothing.” 

He wanted to protest. Rhaelle could see it in his eyes, yet still she shoved the wriggling girl babe into his arms and ordered him to go. 

Without her. 

He had obeyed as a loyal knight should, taking her small sister in his arms, wrapping her tightly. Dany still cried in the storm. She told her brother to be brave as she would be too. He had to be king someday. Viserys had pouted trying to mask his tears in the rain. 

The horns had blown. 

It was a signal to run. 

So she did. 

She was running hearing the hard hooves against the mud in the storm. Winds whistled against the foliage and holes in stone. Lightning cracked the sky open. The rain pounded thick in the darkness. Rhaelle sank her feet into the muck and debris as branches cracked to descend downward. She had a dark cloak over her tawny silk gown. She was glad it did not trail against the muck slowing her down. She was tall in her long gown. She’d be gangly were she a boy.

Rhaelle remembered the last time she wore this dress was in the aftermath of a tourney. She’d been laughing with her twin brother, Rhaegar and his friends. They tossed around ale and jokes finely musing about the day’s affairs. She always felt like one of the boys in Rhaegar’s eyes. He had always wanted her to feel at home amongst his friends. She had.

Even after she married one of them. 

A white streak snapped a piece of bark and debris in her path. She could not even hear her scream in the chaos of night and storm. Her heart hammered in her ears filling her body with dread as that sound dissipated as the whinnies of frightened horses grew closer. Rhaelle pushed past the fallen foliage further into the woods crossing over to moss covered rocks. Her shoes were beginning to tear in the rain as mud broke into the finely cobbled leather boots. 

The dampness soaked her feet. Her eyes tore away from her path forward to gaze at the sky. Once there were stars above Dragonstone. Long ago there had been peace, a brother she loved, another she protected, a mother who loved her fiercely. 

Now there was darkness. 

Now there was only madness surrounding her ancestral home. 

Madness had set in her father spreading like the wildfire he so craved. It was madness to see him dip deeper into his hunger for chaos by the ticking moment. Some days she would muse over taking a knife and plunging it into the mad king’s still beating heart. Rhaelle was the twin King Aerys should have feared. Rhaelle was the elder that should have been queen alongside her brother as husband as her king consort.

That fear, that unwarranted panic over her, had settled in the king’s mind as soon as she drew breath during the tragedy of Summerhall. 

“She is the dragon my grandsire called for.” 

Another strike of lightning cracked against a thin branch. It fell against her back causing Rhaelle to tumble forward into the mud and shredded blades of grass. There was a clearing ahead. 

The buzz of that impact radiated in her head as more moments passed moving through the clearing. She reached out in the empty dark for something. Her breath settled across her lips. Rain clouded her vision letting her silver hair cling to her neck and face. Soon that buzzing, ringing and humming against her head and body, was all she could hear. 

Her hand hit the cool rock. The buzzing grew louder. She heard the buzzing through the storm. The stones. They were to be her escape. Rhaelle did not know why or how, but she knew if she put her other hand right there in the grove they would not find her. 

She wouldn’t be sold off to Robert Baratheon to be raped and murdered or perhaps something far worse. 

Her hand fit there in the stone as if it was always meant to.

As if it were waiting for her.

The noise consumed her. Her breath let out softly against the dense air. She let her eyes close. 

Rhaelle succumbed to her own destiny. 

There was a sensation that followed. 

She could never describe it truly to anyone should she live to be asked. The closest instance she could recall was when she had forced her brother to teach her how to joust. Rhaegar, like many tasks meant for boys, had always learned the brutalness of the task first. He would then come to her to excitedly share what he learned because he knew she was the one who truly listened to him. 

Upon hearing of jousting Rhaelle, fierce and eager, wanted to try it. 

They had played a dangerous game of sneaking off to the tourney ring just before the celebration. Her wedding was to be in a few days. She wanted to live freely before she was to be tied down to someone else. There in the absence of people with just the pair of them she had wished she had been betrothed to her twin. 

He knew her better than anyone else. 

But alleged prophecy and madness had caused her father to declare the pair of them should be separated. 

“She is a toxin to this house.” 

Rhaelle could never live down the tragedy of Summerhall, being born first, or simply being a woman who challenged everything she was told. 

The pair had not wanted to get any kingsguard in trouble so they had been careful when organizing their practice. 

With daft hands they had armored themselves. Rhaelle was not in love with her brother. She was sure she had never truly been in love with anyone, but being close to him in that moment had been the closest she had ever felt to being loved by another in her life. For he saw what she truly wanted and embraced her fully.

Rhaegar was much more practiced than she at many things, though her brother often spoke of her prowess with a blade. 

“I would not want to fight you on the battlefield, dear sister.” 

Her rage and madness bubbled at the surface when she had an objective set in her mind. 

Even then as she looked him in the face, shielded by her iron helm. There was that fierceness that frightened those around her in her eyes.

“The only person who could truly set fear in Rhaegar Targaryen was his twin sister.” 

Is what the ladies in waiting whispered. 

The horse jolted forward before she could instruct it to. It startled the young Targaryen princess, but for a moment before she regained her composure to strike at her brother’s shield as his dark beauty barreled for her. His lance had hit her directly in the chest. 

Her body flew backwards, tumbling. 

The fall from a horse was not quite as jarring as what she experienced at this moment. The tumbling sensation of a never-ending fall felt like a moment that dragged across the sky and air. She could taste even now the bitterness of the gravel. The pressure of her bones colliding with the hard surface, cracking dull under her metal armor. 

She had nothing to protect as she fell and fell and fell and fell . . .

Her eyes fluttered open to look at the sky. 

There was silence for a moment among the wisps of wind and bristle of trees as she laid flat on her back above stirred up soil. The calmness felt eerie for a moment after having come from a roar of thunder and sparks of lightning. It did not take long for chaos to persist. The animalistic shriek echoed through the trees. Her eyes focused past the waving treetops to the grey sky. 

Dragons. 

Two dragons. 

They maneuvered close to one another in the sky. The darker shaded beast’s maw struck like a viper against the smaller creature’s neck. Her eyes widened at the sight. 

Dragons were dead. 

Extinct since the . . .

She felt its shadow before she saw it, a lumbering sky beast with wings that could eclipse the sun itself. Rhaelle could see this creature had been to war before by the number of holes on the sheer part of its wings.  It moved toward the other dragons, who continued to claw and attempt to tear each other apart. 

Fire poured out in a hot breath from the giant beast’s mouth. 

Rhaelle despite her position flat on her back could practically feel the fire from above. On instinct she rolled to her side. Flat on her belly she stood up to watch as the smallest dragon flapped its wing, blazed with fire frantically as it fell from the sky. As it drew closer, she felt a mix of an urge to run and a dark fascination to remember which dragon this may be. 

The noise it made caused her mind to remember the danger she would be in if said dragon landed too close. She opted to begin running. Rhaelle hiked her skirt moving through trees and debris. Her only thoughts were on survival as she moved. If she concentrated on anything else she may fall on a rock or other obstacle in her way. 

The forest shook as even the smallest dragon was still a massive weight to the ground. She steadied herself against a tree feeling the tension that coated the air. The large beast circled above her. She saw the dragon that struck the smaller one headed away. 

She knew this fight. 

Rhaelle had studied the outcome. 

“Rook’s Rest.” She whispered to the dense heated wind. 

Sunfyre.

Meleys.   

Vhagar. 

Her fingernails scratched at the brittle bark in thought. 

She was here. 

Not at Dragonstone. 

Not in the time of Robert’s Rebellion, but a different war time. 

A civil war that destroyed the dragons and nearly wiped out the Targaryen line as well. 

Her curious mind urged her to clasp around the tree leaning her wet ringlets of silver hair to the tree as she observed the chaos that unfolded in the sky above her. The dragons collided toward one another looking hauntingly beautiful amongst the shadowed sky. There was so much art made of this moment in the Red Keep, but seeing it now in the flesh was different. 

She could feel the heat and tension. 

She could smell the coarse scent of smoke and burnt wood. 

She could hear the call of war from the throats of fierce Meleys and graveled Vhagar. 

Rhaelle knew the outcome. It still did not change her fascination with it. It did not change how beautiful the raw battle unfolded. The beasts tore into each other’s bellies. They choked out fire as a reaction to the sting of pain. Dragons held together grabbing at each other’s claws swirling in the air. 

There was a reason this period of war was called the Dance of Dragons. 

Her eyes needed to burn this image in her mind. 

Rhaegar would have been jealous of her seeing this moment. 

Dragons living, breathing, and dying in her wake. 

It was then that she noted the call of men outside the forest. She had nearly forgotten about the armies that raged below as the dragons tore into each other above. The pair of beasts began to swirl downward. 

The Targaryen princess felt the earth shake as a heavy thing collided to the mud-soaked floor. She had to keep moving, though she was uncertain where to. There was no place for her to go among the brutality of war. Her hand snaked under her dress to her thigh. A sharp sheathed dagger was strapped there. She removed it from the sheath. Her blade dug into the bark marking it with an X. 

Should she get lost she could find her way back. 

To the stones. 

Her mind remained clear amongst the daunting chaos. 

Months trying to be one step ahead in a fiery rebellion with a father who had lost his mind and deeply hated her when he did have half a mind had led her to strategize her next steps. 

Rhaelle pushed forward hearing the pained cries of men as the soil continued to shake. The push of wind and the cacophony of screams told her a large beast was rising from its fall. Her dagger marked another tree as she watched soldiers clad in silver plated armor come barrelling through the trees. The orange blaze of fire was behind them as they poured toward her. Her body fell flush against the thick tree. Several men rocketed further into the dense woods. Her eyes closed shut, holding on fearing more the men than the dragons above. 

She knew what happened to women in war. 

Especially those associated with the Targaryen bloodline, silver hair, violet eyes. 

Those married to a Targaryen prince. 

Elia Martell. 

Her niece. 

Her little nephew.  

These men seemed to be too frightened of the dragon who now took flight above to notice a silver haired woman amongst the Crownlands. 

She thought it was safe for her to move on. 

Her eyes were too focused as Vhagar struck above to notice the more men barrelling toward her. She fell hard on the ground hitting something on her way down. Her fingers clung tightly to the dagger in her hand. She struggled to get up feeling a bruise forming on her shoulder. At least it wasn’t her head. 

She brushed out leaves from her damp hair looking above her once more. 

Meleys fell. 

The Red Queen was dead in a fiery display. 

Her body ducked at the sound of the beast crashing into a castle far off in the distance. Rhaelle could hear her own breathing now as the calm after battle settled amongst the trees that blazed with fire. No men seemed to be entering the forest. There was still land to claim. 

War never stopped even as dragons fell. 

Rhaelle knew she had to get back to the stones. 

To return to her chaos however that was to be. 

She winced as she retraced her steps, feeling for the markings in the trees. Some men had made their way into the forest, a small scatter that had retreated. Some laid out wounded trying to tend to wounds, too busy to notice her, however she was quick to raise the hood of her black cloak. She was used to her silver hair being a burden rather than a saving grace. She found that some men were seated crying holding their faces apologizing to the Gods for their lack of bravery. 

Who could be brave with dragons breathing down their neck? 

Rhaelle nearly wanted to comfort them. 

They reminded her of her husband. 

Of the men who Rhaegar sent off with him into battle. 

Even the strongest of men held fear of death and pain. 

Her hand sliced through flames sizzling against the trunk of a lean tree. The woman hissed retreating her hand seeing the bright red of her sensitive fingers darken purple around the edges. Her face finally caught her surroundings. It was nearly a clearing with how much the fire had eaten away at the forest. 

The stench of burning flesh, unfortunately, was not an unfamiliar smell to her. 

However the smell of decaying dragon meat was. 

Her eyes burned with the mixture of the horrid odor and the heat. She retched leaning forward to spill the contents of her belly, hardly anything, from her mouth. Rhaelle was on her hands and knees spitting up what she could trying to control her breathing. 

When she looked up she saw him. 

Before her was the embodiment of Aemond Targayen. 

No. 

Before her WAS Aemond Targaryen.

Certainly, the keep was not shy of depictions of the man, in books, in tapestry, in paintings. He was often called the embodiment of a true Targaryen in the pages of works written by those who saw history from the Greens’ side. Her ancestors laid on the other side, however Rhaelle could appreciate how her distant ancestor had chosen his battles in war. 

He was tall. A bit taller than her as she stood to her full height to observe him. She clutched the dagger harder in her hand. His hair was brushed out long and straight, a beautiful full head of silver locks. His face was as long, lean, and sharp as his body. He was entirely in black leathers which included his hands, clad in dragon riding gloves. 

His eyes. 

His eye, she corrected herself, was wide looking at her, a moment of surprise before turning sharp and narrow. 

Rhaelle saw the scar that ran under his leather eye patch. She felt her blade turn to him in that moment, subtly. 

“Hmmm.” He hummed looking at her curiously. “A bastard.” 

It was then that she realized her hood had fallen. 

Another man stood moving toward the pair of them. Aemond looked slightly behind him. 

“My lady.” The man said. “You should not be here amongst this chaos.” Rhaelle could see tears settled under his eyes. “It is not safe.” 

A huff came from Aemond’s lips. 

A laugh from her own. 

“Your husband?” Aemond questioned. 

“Dead.” A truth she suspected in her own time. 

“Hmmm, by who?” The Targaryen dragon rider asked. 

“I suspect you, my prince.” She did not mean to hiss the last word, but still she did. 

“You are a bastard.” He motioned to her hair with the catspaw dagger raking it down in the air as if to trace the waves of it. He gripped his own dagger as tightly as she held hers.

“I am.” She swallowed trying to recall names from memory who were loyal to which side.She hoped to not confuse it with the smattering of houses who betrayed her family back in her own time.

“Who would marry a bastard?” It was more of a question than curiosity. Aemond Targaryen was still strung out and furious from battle. He demanded names. 

“Not a lord of a noble house. My husband was merely one of the many knights you burnt this day.” The explanation would give her more time to come up with a name, a house. “He knew he may die. He selfishly wanted one last night with his Targaryen bastard wife.” 

“Where are you from, my lady?” She noticed the man fully now. He appeared to be very poised. Perhaps this was Ser Criston Cole. Rhaelle knew he was amongst those fighting at Rook’s Rest. 

“Duskendale.” She thought of the Duskendale in her own time. This had been where her father had been held captive a few years back. “I was a lady-in-waiting for Lady Meredyth Darklyn. My husband sold his allegiance to you.” Her eyes did not falter as she lied through her teeth. 

Rhaelle could tell the prince was not satisfied by this, but he appeared too tired to question her further. 

“Do you have restraints, Ser Criston?” Her face fell slightly as she took a step back at this statement. 

“No, please.” She said looking between the two men. 

She was more furious than fearful. 

Why couldn’t they just let her be on her way? 

“My lord?” 

Rhaelle began to run. 

Her body maneuvered around the dying dragon and king. Her stomach betrayed her letting the prince’s quick steps catch up to her. He grabbed her by her waist length hair. It was a familiar move Rhaegar would use on her when they play fought. She winced before whirling around slashing with her dagger. Aemond jumped back to avoid the blade. Viciously she stabbed at the air pulling her head back. He ripped hairs from her head. Her boiling determination made the pain dull. 

She ran again. 

Aemond threw his body atop her. 

They rolled down a slight slope in the forest. 

“My prince!” Ser Criston called. 

She snarled, spitting out leaves and dirt in his face. 

He straddled her pushing her sensitive neck down with his large leather clad palm. She spat up at him again. 

“Let me go!” She choked through his leather grasp. His other hand struggled to tear the dagger from her clenched hand. 

“You are strong.” 

“I will kill you!” She spat again letting the saliva land in his blinking eye. He appeared to grow tired of her antics pulling the dagger free while slicing open her hand. The blood of the dragon spilled in a sharp sting. 

Rhaelle Targayen cried out. 

Aemond Tarygaren leaned forward to whisper in her ear. 

“That is treason. I could have you killed, pretty bastard.” Her body felt how hard his grip around her throat tightened at those words. “But I shall forget it. You are too interesting to kill just yet.” He then turned her over letting her face smother into the dirt. 

Rhaelle looked off into the distance. 

She could not see the stones from her current position, but she could hear them. 

The Targaryen princess focused on the buzzing as Ser Criston Cole and Aemond Targaryen tied her up. She did not hear what was to be done with her. It was no matter. She knew from the history books that Ser Criston Cole was a well-respected white cloak. He would die within the year at the Butcher’s Ball. 

“Come now, my lady.” The prince pushed between her shoulder blades. There was a smile in his tone that was menacing. 

He’d be dead as well. 

Beneath the God’s Eye.  

“Perhaps I will feed you to my dragon.” Another smile. A false threat given all he said. 

A strange sense of wonder echoed within her at the word. 

“Vhagar?” She turned to look at him. 

His steps faltered for a moment. He gazed upon her with newfound curiosity. 

Rhaelle wondered what he saw in her twin violet eye. 

“Keep moving, bastard.” He pulled at the ropes that tied her arms and hands behind her. 

When they finally approached the small clearing, she saw her. 

Vhagar could not be described any worse in the texts she read. Her massive weight lifted heavily as an ancient beast should, old, but not fragile. She was spotted with dark scales and battle scars, a strong creature with a weighted head. She cooed, yes cooed, as she lifted her head, skin of her neck shaking to look upon the other Targaryen. 

She could see the burn of dragon blood within the soil sizzling beneath her. 

“She’s hurt.” Why did she step forward? Aemond began to pull her back with the ropes. Vhagar began to raise herself. “Demātās, Vhagar.” 

Rhaelle watched to see how the dragon would react. She was close enough to her rider that perhaps she would be spared a death by dragon’s fire if her boldness proved to fail her. She watched the nostrils of the great beast flare before sniffing twice in. Her silver hair blew forward and back on her head. 

Vhagar obeyed. 

Vhagar sat. Her head laid flat against the forest floor. 

“Ao ȳzaldrīzes valyrio eglie?” The dragon prince inquired. 

That was when she saw it. 

It was no longer curiosity that clouded his one perfect eye. 

It was admiration. 

He was one warrior admiring another. 

“Ziry iksos issa muñnykeā ēngos.” This was true. Before the common language, she had been taught by many tutors to speak in High Valyrian, but the words she used on Vhagar were different. 

She suspected he knew that. 

These were commands, a handful of words in the language, that only dragon riders were to know. 

He said nothing further as he undid her restraints. He helped her onto the beast. Aremond strapped her onto Vhagar. Rhaelle could feel his hands shake slightly as he did. She was unsure what that was. Her curiosity caused her to relax, not try to run again. 

Despite her unease of flying away from where she knew may lead her home, she could not help but feel elated about what was about to happen.

In her time, the dragons had long been dead. 

Not a living soul could say they had ridden on the back of a dragon let alone Vhagar, a dragon who was alive during the conquest. 

Aemond settled on the saddle strapping himself in before taking the loosened rope tying the rope around her body and his so she would not fall. She was tied to him. Still, he pulled her arms around his waist. He was warm as she settled her forehead against his shoulder. 

Rhaelle swore she felt Aemond Targaryen relax in her presence with her hands settled on his toned stomach.

“Va lentāzmot!” He wrapped the reins of his dragon around his hands. 

The dragon shifted upwards then forward in a large stretch. She was sure she was made for this. 

Flying. 

The way Rhaelle felt her body moved was nothing short of instinct. 

Va lentāzmot.

She knew what that meant. She knew where they were going as they met the dense fog of the war-torn sky. 

Rhaelle was finally going home.

Back to King’s Landing. 

[demonscantgothere]

Helholden's Masterlist of Haladriel Fics:

I have written dozens of fics for The Rings of Power, featuring Haladriel, under the pen name Helholden, so here is a nice, neat masterlist of all of them in one place.

Epic Multi-chapters:

❀ Litost. Canon-divergence fic set decades after the events of S1 & S2. Sauron thrives in Númenor as the High Priest when Galadriel is taken prisoner, and they are reunited on the eve of disaster. Together, they re-establish themselves in Pelargir, creating Gondor with the help of Elendil and his Men, but deceit and lies run deep and the truth will out. 276k. Ongoing.

❀ Beasts of the Hill and Serpents of the Den. Alternate Universe set in the First Age. The War of Wrath changes course. Instead of sending his wolves out to kill Finrod after capturing Felagund in his dungeons, Sauron demands an exchange for his life. Galadriel offers herself. 214k. Ongoing.

❀ Though the Gods and the Years Relent, Shall Be. After the final Breaking of the World when existence is remade by its creator Eru Ilúvatar, second chances are possible. Artanis meets Mairon and keeps coming by to visit him throughout the years. They develop a fast friendship, but it is hard to remain just friends. 25k. Complete.

❀ The Greatest Slavery. Dead Dove. Celeborn is Sauron's prisoner. If Galadriel wants her husband returned to her alive, there are terms. Many years later, Sauron comes back for his daughter, Celebrían. 48k. Complete.

❀ Symbiosis. Modern AU. Galadriel goes out drinking after a bad breakup, and Halbrand shows up to put all the pieces back together. 77k. Complete.

Completed One-shots and Short Stories:

❀ In the Golden Vein of All Your Broken Promises. It's a threesome fic with Galadriel, Annatar, and Celeborn. Pure smut. 15k.

❀ Jewel Spoilt. A tale inspired by The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty with Galadriel as Beauty and Sauron as the one to break the curse Morgoth has lain upon her. 15k.

❀ Crown, and Caress Thee, and Chain. Galadriel says yes, becoming his Dark Queen. Sauron transmutes her into a god in the fires of Mount Doom instead of creating the One Ring. 11k.

❀ Maybe You Were the Ocean, When I Was Just a Stone. A series of one-shots written for RoP Week 2023 featuring various relationships. 11k.

❀ À Côté de la Plaque. Another threesome fic, only this time it's Galadriel, Halbrand, and Bronwyn with a surprise entrance from Arondir. 10k.

❀ Light Weight. A story of Mairon and Artanis told in seven parts, spanning over thousands of years from their very first meeting in Valinor to the Sundering Seas — a tale of touch, obsession, and addiction. 9k.

❀ Heart of Gold. They bang on Celebrimbor's large anvil table, Your Honor. 6k.

❀ An Inexorable Fate. My very first Haladriel fic ever written that started all of this. Halbrand struggles to tell Galadriel how he feels after the eruption of Mount Doom. 5k.

❀ Abundance. Written for an anonymous tumblr prompt that wanted a take on Halbrand’s reaction to seeing Galadriel in the green dress in Eregion for the first time. 5k.

❀ Bite Hard, Lest Remembrance Come After. Galadriel and Halbrand take what moments of reprieve they can behind Celeborn’s back. Always wanting, but never quite together in whole. 4k.

❀ Mortal Laws. Galadriel says yes during Episode 8, "Alloyed." 3k.

❀ Just Deserts. After Sauron's successful assault on Eregion, Celeborn and Galadriel are both his prisoners along with the rest of the city. It's another threesome fic. Enjoy. 3k.

❀ Daughter of Death. ASOIAF crossover. Dany seeks out a sorcerer to help her preserve the life of her baby. The only sorcerer here, the red priestesses whisper, who could cheat death. 3k.

❀ With Music That Scares the Profane. Halbrand wakes up in Eregion for the first time. 3k.

❀ Twain Halves of a Perfect Heart, Made Fast. A child Artanis meets a child Mairon, only he is not an Elf like her. He is a Maia, and he hasn't been on this plane of existence for very long, nor had a body for very long. Artanis teaches him a few things—like friendship. 2k.

❀ Queen of Love and Beauty. A child Artanis reunites with a child Mairon at a festival for Vána the Ever-young and Queen of Flowers in Valmar. 2k.

❀ And I'll Ask for the Sea. The infamous bath!fic. 2k.

❀ It’s the Last Thing I Wanted (It’s the First Thing I Do). Mairon and Artanis during the Years of the Trees. 1k.

❀ Green-Eyed Fallacy. On the eve of the Sack of Eregion, Halbrand tries to reason with Galadriel once more before the war. Only now, it’s too late. 1k.

Completed Dead Dove:

❀ Eyes Closed. Morgoth Bauglir returns from beyond The Void, and draws his wayward servant, Sauron, back under his thumb with the one temptation he can't deny—his Lady of Light, Galadriel. 10k.

❀ Into the Light of the Dark Black Night. Modern AU. He winds their fingers together, holds her hand like a lover that has never caused her harm. Their rings are cold side by side. Metal against metal. A binding link holding them together against her will. 8k.

❀ Dark, Dark My Light, and Darker My Desire. In which Artanis thinks Mairon is her rescuer, but it couldn't be further from the truth. 18k.

❀ Vestige. He wants her for her power. He never wanted her for her love. 3k.

[aphroditelovesu]

.navigation

✿.｡Welcome to my blog! My name is Larissa, but feel free to call me Lari or Lady L, which is how you know me. I'm Brazilian 🇧🇷 and I was born on October 15th. English is not my first language. My pronouns are she/her and I am bisexual 💖💜💙. I am Libra ♎️ and INTP.

⤷♡. If you want to support my work or to just tip me, can you buy me a coffee? ☕️

⤷✿.Here I've gathered all my series, masterlists and some additional things to make them easier to find. Enjoy my blog, dear reader.

© aphroditelovesu, 2022. all rights reserved. do not translate or repost my work without my permission. you are free to use my edits, but I only ask that you credit me.

⤷♡.+ disclaimer: some of my works may have nsfw content in addition to the yandere genre. if you are sensitive to these topics, I recommend not reading.

⤷♡.+ genre: yandere/dark!au.

⤷♡.+ Requests are OPEN. Asks and concepts are open.

⤷♡.+ character ai: aphroditelovesu.

⤷♡.+ Rules and Fandoms List;

⤷♡.+ Emoji Prompt List + Prompts List;

⤷♡.+ Wips; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 7; 8;

⤷♡.+ Commissions;

‘‘Love you so bad, love you so bad, mold a pretty lie for you.’‘ ˚˖੭ Fake Love, BTS.

⤷♡.+ BTS; 💜

⤷♡.+ BLACKPINK; 🖤

⤷♡.+ ITZY; 🧡

⤷♡.+ Stray Kids; 💙

➷ EXO: Yandere Baekhyun (Romantic), Yandere Suho (Romantic).

➷ TWICE: Imagine as Classmates.

⤷♡.+ Greek Mythology; ⚡

⤷♡.+ Egyptian Mythology; ����

⤷♡.+ Historical Characters; 📜

➷ The Lost Queen | Yandere!Alexander the Great ❝You woke up near a military camp without remembering how and why you got there, you didn't understand why they were dressed like ancient Greeks, all you knew was that you weren't safe and you needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. Too bad for you that you found yourself attracting unwanted attention from the Macedonian King and he won't let you go so easily.❞ The Lost Queen Series Masterlist

⤷♡.+ The Vampire Diaries + The Originals; 🧛

⤷♡.+ House of the Dragon; 🐉

⤷♡.+ Game of Thrones; ❄️

⤷♡.+ The Sandman; ⌛

⤷♡.+ Outlander; 🗿

⤷♡.+ Wednesday; 🎻

⤷♡.+ Brooklyn Nine-Nine; 👮‍♂️

⤷♡.+ Bridgerton; 🐝

⤷♡.+ Shadow and Bone; ☠️

⤷♡.+ Outer Banks; 💰

⤷♡.+ K-Dramas; ❤️

⤷♡.+ Reign; 👑

⤷♡.+ The Tudors; 🗡️

⤷♡.+ Hannibal; 🍽

➷ The Bloody Viscount | Yandere!Anthony Bridgerton ❝You had fallen in love with Viscount Bridgerton and he had fallen in love with you. The marriage seemed perfect, but then why did Anthony Bridgerton always come home late and bloodstained?❞ Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; ➷ The Shadow of the Golden Dragon | Yandere!ASOIAF/HOTD/GOT ❝You have always been an avid reader and your greatest passion was delving into the pages of "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. You knew every character, every twist and every detail of the Seven Kingdoms as if they were part of your own life. But what you never imagined is that an unexpected encounter with a mysterious antique book seller would change your life forever.❞ The Shadow of the Golden Dragon Masterlist

⤷♡.+ Percy Jackson; 🌊

⤷♡.+ Harry Potter; 🔮

⤷♡.+ A Court of Thorns and Roses; 🌹

⤷♡.+ A Song of Ice and Fire; 🔥

‘‘We were born to be alone but why we still looking for love?’‘ ˚˖੭ Lovesick Girls, BLACKPINK.

⤷♡.+ Attack on Titan; ⚔️

⤷♡.+ Naruto; 🍥

⤷♡.+ Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir; 🐞

⤷♡.+ One Piece; 👒

⤷♡.+ How To Train Your Dragon; 🐲

⤷♡.+ Death Note; 📓

‘‘Don’t you know that you’re toxic?’’ ˚˖੭ Toxic, Britney Spears.

⤷♡.+ Marvel; ۞

‘‘I wish you would love me again, no, I don't want nobody else.’’ ˚˖੭ Love Me Again, V.

⤷♡.+ Love Letters; 💕

⤷♡.+ Love Letters II; 💕

⤷♡.+ Kinktober 2023; 🎃

➷ A Black Rose | Yandere!Ian Daerier ❝A cruel and narcissistic reaper falls in love with the woman he was supposed to take the life of.❞ Oneshot;

[jaehaeryshater]

“[Would he] become the Lord of Winterfell? It seemed an easy choice when he thought of it in those terms . . . though if Ygritte had still been alive, it might have been even easier.” - Jon XII ASOS

Part 1 in any crown design series, art by: @nataa.draws on twit

For about a year, I have been thinking about creating a series of artworks with my designs of crowns that either canonically existed in the ASOIAF universe but went without description (Ceryse’s crown, Jaehaera’s crown, Naerys’s crown, etc.) or crowns that could have existed but didn’t due to deaths of the ladies involved or a break in betrothal (the Ygritte one above and a Sansa QOT7K crown, which is what I’m hoping to do after this one). The only problem is, I’m awful at drawing! The design I can get down to the smallest detail and envision it in my head, but it simply doesn’t translate to paper. And because this is a series rather than one piece, it was a bit difficult to find an artist that both drew jewelry like I envisioned and also could make a commitment for an ongoing project. Luckily, I did end up finding Nata, which I was SO happy about because she was somehow able to commit exactly what I was envisioning on paper, and for that I’m so grateful. She is a lovely and talented woman.

I do want to talk about the designs a little bit, because I have been working on it for so long and absolutely in love with it, but I do want to make one thing clear first. This is not necessarily ship art, and the crowns I work with Nata in the future most certainly will not be. (I mean, Jon and Ygritte are my top ship of all time lol, but that’s not the focus of the art and I get why people don’t like her or them together). The relationship between Jon and Ygritte is problematic at best, and the other Queens I have mentioned above have even more abusive relationships with their husbands/betrothed (with the exception of Jaehaera and Aegon III, whose relationship was practically nonexistent and the problematic elements came from the situation and not from either of them individually). The focus of this series is on jewelry and designs that reflect the culture the person is from and their personality, rather than their relationship to their husbands. So I hope even if Ygritte and Jon are your NOTP and/or if you absolutely despise Ygritte, I hope you can still appreciate the art and cultural influences. The art was originally just supposed to include the crown and therefore be up for interpretation of it was Ygritte or Val’s, but I got carried away with the dress design I had thought of and because it was green which goes beautifully with red hair, I went ahead and asked for Nataa to draw Ygritte.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can talk about the design, which I’m sooooo excited about. The main idea was the merging of Freefolk and Northern culture, but I still did want to remain relatively true to the 15th to 16th century English time period that ASOIAF is roughly centered around. I understand the idea that Ygritte would never be caught dead in such a thing, but you must understand!!!! Jon designed it for her himself when preparing to ask for her hand. So she grumbled and griped, but was secretly chuffed, so she wears it. From the beginning, the main element that I think Ygritte needed if expected to wear a dress is that she needs lots of furs lining it. Not only because of the cold, but also as a symbol of where she came from the make her feel more comfortable in her skin. The puffs are meant to be general fashion at the time, something more common in the Vale or the Reach, but I imagine that could be more of a Sansa influence on the North. The emeralds’ only purpose is to contrast and compliment Ygritte’s hair and to show the wealth of the dynasty. There are two different weirwood embroideries implemented in the dress design: the one on the top that is by the wolf, which of course represents the Stark dynasty that she has now married into, and the bigger weirwood at the base of the dress which has mammoths walking underneath it. Mammoths are one of the symbols of the Freefolk, and weirwoods are very sacred to both the Northern people and the Freefolk, and their shared religion following the Old Gods. I imagine that when Jon was designing this dress for Ygritte, he was more attentive and involved than men in this universe usually were, and his ultimate goal was her comfort and for her to feel included in her new position instead of feeling like a commodity for Jon and the North.

As for the crown, which was the reason for the commission in the first place, I wanted it to follow the same general design as the King of the North crown. I know there’s lots of different ideas of different crowns Jon could adopt as King of the North instead of somehow either regaining possession of or replicating his brother’s crown, but there were way too many options and it made my head spin, so we’re doing this. So the structure of the crown is the same, but the main difference is that instead of being made of metal, this crown is made of weirwood. Of course, weirwood is very special to both cultures, but I figured that metal wouldn’t impressive Ygritte or her culture as much as weirwood would. Therefore, the texture is very different. There are emeralds around it to compensate the lack of metal and extra agency, and to give the crown more of a feminine look as well as to compliment Ygritte’s hair. The tops of each bar are meant to look white and as if capped by snow. This is meant to symbolize the Beyond the Wall influence and I was also thinking about the Crown of Winter when creating this part of the design. The Crown of Winter was given up by Torrhen Stark when yielding to Aegon the Conqueror. We aren’t given a description of it, but I have always imagined it having those snow caps and generally being mostly white. I’ve thought of Jon bringing back the design of the Crown of Winter, but because we have so little to go off of, I chose for there just to be a small influence included instead of going off nothing and trying to create something from scratch. Lastly, there’s the three engraving in the middle. The two mammoths are meant to show who Ygritte is, where she’s come from. She is a member of the Freefolk, and becoming a Northern Lady is not meant to erase that or get her hide that part of her (not that she’d ever agree to that anyway), but it is a part of her and a part of the future of the North merging together. There’s a wolf in the middle as well, because she’s married in to that family and she is a representation of the Starks. But her and Jon and their resulting family is part Stark, part Freefolk, and both of those cultures are meant to be displayed and remembered. The next generation is a merger of the Freefolk and their ideals, and the the traditions of the North.

Okay, that is all, thank you so much if you read all of this! I loved working on this so much and I want to thank Nata again, because she did an amazing job. I hope this is enjoyable to someone else like it’s enjoyable to me. I think the idea of Ygritte as Queen of the North is hilarious, although probably bad for the health of Northern Lords. I can’t even imagine what unhinged things she would do, or how violent archery practice could become. The only thing I can say in her favor is that I think she would get along great with Rickon and be a good (well depends on what you think a good upbringing is, manners would lack, but I think he would be happy) mother figure to him. They would be the worst duo to terrorize Winterfell. I also like to think that Theon and her, although she would not like him, could build up some sort of beneficial relationship between them and she could help him regain his strength and his love of archery, because that is something they share. Anyway, I’ll see you soonish with my next commission ^_^

[elena-gilbert]

FAVE CREATORS ART CHALLENGE:

Started by Ana!

@withered-rose-with-thorns First of all, I want to thank you for this idea! The creators in this site deserve all possible appreciation and positive feedback! Ana, your HOTD and TROP edits are always 10/10. One of my favorites is this Rhaenicent gifset. I also have to say a special thanks to you for your graphics edits! You are the one who still does that kind of things. This Alicent one is really pretty.

@letthefairyinyoufly Kadi is always a delight to me, especially the way you highlight blue, green or yellow colors in your edits! Is just a top tier <3 I like this Haladriel gifset sm and every 2x07 Alicent gifset because I adore the way you color her blue dress 💙.

@danaa-scully Gaby, I literally love every edit you make in HOTD fandom. And of course especially Alicent's related, I mean they are literally always full of meaning and always so well suited to our green queen. But my favorite edit of yours is Rhaenicent one. I like this concept. And I want to mention that your edits for period dramas pieces are always incredible as well!

@ohno-elrond I'm in awe away from your TROP edits, and I can't choose one, although I really remember this set of yours, this one is pretty with beautiful shade of blue. Also honorable mention of this one because... you know why 🌚.

@rhaenyradaemons Julia, I love your fashion gifsets series. I like the layouts you usually use, it's show outfits in details. And I really like and want to mention your Charlie Hunnam as Aegon Targaryen gifset. It's brilliant.

@daenerys-stormborn When I think of ASOIAF or HOTD/GOT combined with Tumblr, the first thing that comes to my mind is Mali's blog. I don't know anyone who has been as passionate about this fandom as she has for so long, and who has created so many amazing pieces for it over the years. That Daenerys gifset is *chef’s kiss* 💋

@payidaresque You are the epitome of talent and hard work, and every time I see one of the best works, you do something even more exciting. And it doesn't matter which fandom it is for, every edit is literally a work of art and is thought out to the smallest detail. I also want to point out your parallels between different characters or pairings, I mean, you have a very good eye! I adore this Sauron gifset and Kelena one <3

@lokihiddleston This is a person who has held the Loki fandom for many years. If there is any gifset with Loki that you want to find, this one is definitely already made, by Laurianne and in the best quality. You're also really one of the people people that keep Sylki ship afloat. Huge thanks to you for that 💚. It's so difficult for me to choose a gifset, because there are so many that I adore. But this one and this Sylki are memorable to me.

@jesperfahxey Irina, your edits are always so bright and full of colors, creativity and originality! And your our Photoshop skills are excellent, also I can't help but admire your beautiful icons. My fave set (one of them) and I adore this Ciri icons pack, so cute!

@marv-el-spot I love your Sylki edits so much. You're the number one when it comes to creativity. Especially with Loki and Sylvie :). The way you use textures, fonts and different color schemes is incredible! One of my fave gifsest of yours and this Sylvie one <3

@ceeyoutea I really like your passion for Haladriel and your edits of it, and the way you use a variety of quotes, poetry, or lyrics. Everything fits very well together. This one I really like because I'm currently obsessed with the song, hehehe.

@seamayweed One of the talented gifmakers is here, especially in HOTD fandom. Your Alicent related sets are simply masterpieces. Every single one. Literally. It's hard to choose one, although I want to mention this one.

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

It’s important that the first revelation of Nissa Nissa is accompanied by some level of skepticism from Salladhor Saan and aversion on Davos’ part. It doesn’t sound right that Azor Ahai chose to sacrifice his wife for a magic sword. It shouldn’t sound right.

“A hundred days and a hundred nights he labored on the third blade, and as it glowed white-hot in the sacred fires, he summoned his wife. ‘Nissa Nissa,’ he said to her, for that was her name, ‘bare your breast, and know that I love you best of all that is in this world.’ She did this thing, why I cannot say, and Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through her living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her strength and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes.

“Now do you see my meaning? Be glad that it is just a burnt sword that His Grace pulled from that fire. Too much light can hurt the eyes, my friend, and fire burns.” Salladhor Saan finished the last grape and smacked his lips. “When do you think the king will bid us sail, good ser?”

[…] A true sword of fire, now, that would be a wonder to behold. Yet at such a cost … When he thought of Nissa Nissa, it was his own Marya he pictured, a good-natured plump woman with sagging breasts and a kindly smile, the best woman in the world. He tried to picture himself driving a sword through her, and shuddered. I am not made of the stuff of heroes, he decided. If that was the price of a magic sword, it was more than he cared to pay.

Not only does it not make sense that Nissa Nissa would agree to her husband’s request, it’s also telling how Salladhor Saan expresses relief in knowing that King Stannis didn’t actually forge Lightbringer. Because forging Lightbringer means human sacrifice. And why should one be deprived of their life, even if it’s for a magic sword? Davos is very right to be creeped out by it.

The theme of sacrifice shows up quite a bit in ASOIAF and Davos I isn’t the first or last time. The very first chapter in the series, Bran I, tackles this idea with Jon and the direwolves.

“Lord Stark,” Jon said. It was strange to hear him call Father that, so formal. Bran looked at him with desperate hope. “There are five pups,” he told Father. “Three male, two female.”

“What of it, Jon?”

“You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord.”

Bran saw his father’s face change, saw the other men exchange glances. He loved Jon with all his heart at that moment. Even at seven, Bran understood what his brother had done. The count had come right only because Jon had omitted himself. He had included the girls, included even Rickon, the baby, but not the bastard who bore the surname Snow, the name that custom decreed be given to all those in the north unlucky enough to be born with no name of their own.

Their father understood as well. “You want no pup for yourself, Jon?” he asked softly.

“The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. “I am no Stark, Father.”

Jon, though he may desperately desire to have his own piece of magic, would not sacrifice his siblings for it. He wouldn’t dare to deprave the girls, Arya and Sansa, of their own magic even when it might be very easy to do so. This is a pretty stark contrast (pun intended) to Azor Ahai and his Nissa Nissa. Azor Ahai’s first line of thought was to sacrifice his wife whereas Jon’s was to sacrifice himself. Sure Azor Ahai got his magic sword, but Jon’s self-sacrifice is not in vain either because he later earns his own wolf, who turns out to be even more special than the rest in the pack.

Bran IV kind of alludes to the idea of self sacrifice through Old Nan’s retelling of the last hero:

So as cold and death filled the earth, the last hero determined to seek out the children, in the hopes that their ancient magics could win back what the armies of men had lost. He set out into the dead lands with a sword, a horse, a dog, and a dozen companions. For years he searched, until he despaired of ever finding the children of the forest in their secret cities. One by one his friends died, and his horse, and finally even his dog, and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it. And the Others smelled the hot blood in him, and came silent on his trail, stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds—”

Though the one we know is called the “last hero”, notice that it’s not a title but a mere descriptor; there were many heroes before him who died and he was the last one standing. There is a human toll in this legend, but it’s implied to be self sacrifice. It’s also interesting that though there is mention of a blade, it is the children of the forest’s magic that is key. This does kind of bleed into what we know about the Night’s Watch and its relation to the long night. The Night’s Watch victory was a group effort, rather than the actions of any one man.

We have several legends surrounding the long night that work, but only one involves the cost of sacrificing someone else (that we know of). This might be where GRRM is headed with Stannis and his creation of Lightbringer. Sure Azor Ahai did get his magic sword, but it doesn’t negate the steep human cost. GRRM has lowkey confirmed that Stannis is sure to burn Shireen. And rather than this sacrifice not working, I think it’s more likely that it does work. Stannis does indeed create the flaming sword. But this will be directly weighed by other (self) sacrifices made for the same purpose. Stannis’ sacrifice of his daughter won’t work any better than other characters who choose to sacrifice themselves even when knowing that they are not going to go down as individual legends; I think Jon Snow will once again be the prime example of this, as he has already resigned himself to being a shadow in history despite initially wanting the opposite. Maester Aemon was right in saying that

[…] all deceive ourselves, when we want to believe. Melisandre most of all, I think. The sword is wrong, she has to know that … light without heat … an empty glamor … the sword is wrong, and the false light can only lead us deeper into darkness, Sam

The sword is wrong. Azor Ahai is NOT one to be emulated. Rather, he should be a cautionary tale. He is not any more special for his sacrifice than what the last hero or the men of the Night’s Watch did, even though we know his name but don’t know theirs. GRRM answered the question regarding sacrifice before he even posed it. To make someone else pay the price is flat out wrong. The only true and worthy sacrifice is really that of the self.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #71: The Night's Watch, but make it found family

Maester Aemon is perhaps my favorite character in ASOIAF. He could have been king. He could have lived a life of luxury as a prince in the south. He could easily have forsaken all his vows and risen to the most dizzying heights - and chose to remain sworn to guard the realm of men twice over as a maester of the Night's Watch.

So I thought: What would it take to give Maester Aemon the best possible ending?

Aka: The Maekar the Maester Fic

Just imagine it:

Everything follows canon - until the Greyjoy Rebellion, where Ned falls to a lucky crossbow bolt during the Siege of Pyke.

King Robert razes the castle in his fury, not bothering to evacuate the remaining Greyjoys or the common folk who took refuge in the castle. It is a massacre - but it puts the fear of god in the surviving Ironborn. The new Lord Reaper Rodrik Harlaw remains a faithful servant for all his days.

Back in Winterfell, 6-year-old Robb Stark is the new Lord Paramount of the North. His mother, Lady Catelyn, is his regent. And one of her first acts is to send her husband's bastard to the Wall. Which endears her to very few, as first graders have no place in a military organization even in Medieval times.

Benjen is away on a ranging at the time, so the Lord Commander entrusts young Jon's care to the only other man he can trust: Maester Aemon.

This works out better than anyone might have expected, because although Aemon is nearly 90 years old and has limited experience with children, the pair get on in a way that they really shouldn't given their vast difference in age and experience. But young Jon is bright and lively and curious, and Aemon has been lonely and lacking mental stimuli for most of his time at the Wall.

By the time Benjen returns from his ranging, the maester has already been dubbed Uncle Aemon and Benjen has to navigate co-parenting with a man who thinks teaching a young boy to stitch sword wounds is an appropriate learning activity.

(Benjen also has to navigate the urge to ride down to Winterfell and murder his brother's widow, and doesn't for the sole reason his nieces and nephews are too young to be orphaned.)

Jon grows up in the Night's Watch. He absorbs everything that there is to learn with the bright-eyed eagerness of a child - and though Jeor would hate to admit it, makes Castle Black a more enjoyable place to live. By age fourteen he can swing a sword, plan a ranging, sew a wound, cook a meal, repair a sword, patch a castle wall, chart the stars; track an animal, skin and butcher it, and name its bones afterwards; mix wildfire, and recite every piece of dragonlore he's ever learned - including a few slivers of knowledge that were normally only saved for dragonlords.

At fourteen he's allowed to make his Night's Watch vows.

The night before, Maester Aemon calls Jon into his chambers and tells him that could not be prouder of Jon if he were his own son.

Jon admits that he's wished many times over the years that Aemon was his father and considers him the father of his heart - more than Ned Stark, who he hardly remembers; more than Benjen, whose duties often keep him away; more than Jeor, who is kind but distant.

There are many tears and much hugging and more confessions, but at the end of it Aemon adopts Jon - perhaps through some Valeryian blood ritual - and gifts him the name Maeker, after his own father.

Canon proceeds apace elsewhere, save that when Jon Arryn dies, Robert rides to Highgarden at Renly's urging to name Mace Tyrell Hand of the King - and sends a raven in the opposite direction to summon Sansa as a bride for Joffrey.

Mace, through an almost comical series of events, comes to the same realization that Ned did in canon: that Cersei's children are not Robert's. Rather than try to have her step aside gracefully, he attempts to blackmail the queen into retiring to a motherhouse so that Margery can take her place... This does not go well.

Westeros erupts into war. It follows canon very closely - save that Cersei tries to use Sansa's presence in King's Landing to blackmail the North into fighting on Joffrey's side. Robb still ends up being named King in the North, this time more out of the urging of bannermen angry at how much the Southron wars have cost the North instead of revenge.

All this largely passes Maekar by on the Wall. He remains behind during the Great Ranging, serving at Aemon's assistant and apprentice. When the survivors return with news of the Others, he's skeptical but willing to hear the evidence - and wins the election for 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

As the War for the Dawn looms, Maekar sends messengers to each of the remaining kings for aide. Only Daenerys Targaryen responds, intrigued by everything she's been told by the messenger of the man they call Maekar the Maester, the adopted son of her Great-Uncle.

While Daenerys journeys north, Maester Aemon dies in his bed with Maekar at his side. With his last breaths, he gifts Maekar his maester's chain, saying that he has more than earned it - and that Maekar shall go down in history as the greatest of all Targaryens.

Daenerys grows even more intrigued by Maekar when she arrives at the Wall, but respects his desire to honor his vows. They remain great friends for the rest of their lives, sending entire flocks of ravens back and forth. Together they lead their forces against the Night's King-

-a task made easier when Bran and Meera Reed show up on the wrong side of the Wall, having slain the Three-Eyed Raven and raided his hoard. Amongst which are Blackfyre and Dark Sister.

Blackfyre is truly a massive sword and with dragonsteel in such short supply Daenerys allows Maekar to wield the Conqueror's blade in battle, as she cannot.

The War for the Dawn continues for another year - just long enough for the other kingdoms to realize what's happening and send a handful of reinforcements - before Maekar manages to slay the Night's King. Daenerys is able to destroy the last of the Others with her dragons...

...and when she lands, Maekar wastes no time in returning Blackfyre to her keeping.

A Great Council is held in the south. Though they try to offer the crown to Maekar, the hero of the War for the Dawn and (now wildly known thanks to Bran) rightful heir to the Iron Throne, Maekar refuses. They eventually grant the crown to Daenerys, who rules fairly and well for sixty years. She names her eldest son Maekar after her dearest friend.

Bonuses include: 1) Dozens of small character moments between Aemon and Maekar, showing the development of their relationship and depth of the feeling they share over the years; 2) Maekar inadvertently playing matchmaker more times than you'd expect of a man in a celibate organization. This should include hitting Bran and Meera over the head until they realize they've been crushing on each other for years, and getting Dany to give the minor lord she ends up marrying a chance; and 3) Young Jon breathing so much life into Castle Black that it's nearly unrecognizable from canon by the time Sam joins up. It's still cold, but it's not so miserable. It is, in fact, a home.

This is actually an idea I've had kicking around for a while and have only finally managed to put down. As always, feel free to adopt this most beloved of buns, just link back if you do anything with it.

Other Jon Snow Headcanons: Aelor the Accursed | Aegon the Adopted | Aegon the Undying | Aegon the Unyielding | Aemon the Adventurous | Baelor the Brave | Bastard of Winterfell | Daemon the Destroyer | Daena the Dreamer | Daeron the Desired | Dyanna the Defiant | Elia the Magnificent | Jon the Fair | Jon Whitefyre | King of the Ashes | Lady Arryn | Lady Baratheon | Lady Lannister | Lady Stark | Lord of the Dance | Maekar the Maester | Prince Consort | Prince of Summerhall | Queen Mother | Queen of Nightingales | Red Queen | Rhaegar the Righteous | River Queen | Shiera Snowbird | Visneya the Victorious | Wolf Queen

More Terrible Fic Ideas

[crimsoncold]

Note: This is my main blog a combination of all my art +a veriety of fandom stuff + any random thing that catches my eye... to find a place where I post nothing but my art you check out my side art blog @crimsoncoldart

A Complete list of all Fanart by @crimsoncold

Organized by Fandom, includes links to posted art work (in white), in progress works (in blue), and soon to be posted pieces (in red)

(All artwork will be tagged and made searchable with #Crimson Cold or #my art)

A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones

ASOIAF/GOT (Gen) MASTERLIST

ASOIAF/GOT (Jonsa) MASTERLIST

ASOIAF/GOT (Sansa Rarepairs) MASTERLIST

Jon Snow x Sansa Stark (Jonsa):

Family Portrait in the godswood of Winterfell

A Shared Dream of Family (day time version)

A Shared Dream of Family (night time version)

Wedding in the Godswood (winter version)

Wedding in the Godswood (spring version)

A Bedding at Winterfell

Future in Winterfell (A Jonsa Collection)

Jonsa Beyond the Wall (A Wildling AU)

Escape to the Free Cities/Essos AU

The QITN and her Lord Commander

Devotion Beyond Death (whitewalker/warg au)

Jon meets Alayne (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Jonsa Regency AU

Jonsa Period Drama Portraits

Jonsa Modern Hockey AU

Jonsa Post-Apocalyptic AU

Jonsa Modern AU (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Aemond Targaryen x Sansa Stark (Aemondsa):

The Lady Wolf and her Dragon Knight

Alayne Stone and her Dragon Knight

ASOIAF/GOT Second Generation: (HIATUS)

Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark,

Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Rickon Stark,

[House Stark]

Willas Tyrell, Garlan Tyrell, Loras Tyrell

Margaery Tyrell, [House Tyrell]

Arianne Martell, Myrcella Baratheon

Myranda Royce, Mya Stone

ASOIAF First Generation: (HIATUS)

Brandon Stark, Eddard Stark,

Lyanna Stark, Benjen Stark,

[House Stark]

Catelyn Tully, Elia Martell

Arthur Dayne, Ashara Dayne,

Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister

Robert Baratheon, Rhaegar Targaryen

ASOIAF 1st Gen Masterpost

ASOIAF Stark Family Portraits

Ned and Catelyn, Robb and Jon,

Sansa and Arya, Bran and Rickon

ASOIAF/GOT Starks & Direwolves

Robb and Grey Wind, Jon and Ghost

Sansa and Lady, Arya and Nymeria,

Bran and Summer, Rickon and Shaggydog

Miscellaneous asoiaf/got:

Alayne Stone Sansa Stark, QITN

Jon Snow Sketch Sansa Stark Sketch

Jon Snow Sketch 2 Sansa Stark Sketch 2

Jaime Lannister Sketch

The Starks (A Little Women AU)

The Lord of the Rings

Character Portraits

Frodo Baggins, Eowyn, Aragon

Shadow and Bone

Alina Starkov x Aleksander Morozova (Darklina)

Nosferatu AU

Nosferatu

Affliction and Appetite (Nosferatu)

Harry Potter

Harry Potter x Hermione Granger (Harmony):

Family Picnic (TO BE POSTED)

Dancing in the common room (IN PROGRESS)

Sirius Black x Hermione Granger:

Family Outing to Diagon Alley (TO BE POSTED)

Attack on Titan/ Shingeki no Kyojin

Erwin Smith x Levi Ackerman (EruRi):

Expedition beyond Wall Rose

The Witcher/Wiedźmin

Geralt of Rivia portrait (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Fae Jaskier | Dandelion (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Star Wars

Padmé Amidala x Obi-Wan Kenobi (Obidala):

Clone Wars AU (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Tatooine AU (TO BE POSTED)

Miscellaneous:

Queen Amidala (TO BE POSTED)

Miscellaneous Fanart

Charles and Anna Cornick (from the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs)

Kate Daniels (from the Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews)

Nevada Baylor (from the Hidden Legacy Series by Ilona Andrews)

[samstree]

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

Thank you @darthwillies for the tag!

1) The Last book I read:

The Vampire Lestat. I've been slowly reading the first few Vampire Chronicles books since the TV show took over my body and soul lmao. So far this one is a lot of fun!

2) A book I recommend:

Creatures of a Day. It's a non-fiction and a good look into psychology in general and psychiatrist as a profession. Would highly recommend Irvin Yalom's other books too.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

The Song of Achilles. I read very slowly in English but this book had me hooked from the beginning and I finished it in one weekend. This was actually a few years ago now but I haven't had the same experience since. (If anyone knows anything that is the same but like...different, please let me know alskjdf)

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

This Is Going to Hurt. I really liked the humor in the book when the topic is so serious. It's about working in health care and especially in the OB ward. Witnessing life and death daily can't be easy, but Adam Kay makes it easy to read.

5) A book on my TBR:

The Red Sorghum. It's been on my TBR since it won the Nobel prize lmao. The theme is very heavy though, but anyway, one day I will read, even just for the nobel.

6) A book I’ve put down:

All the Light We Cannot See. The writing is beautiful but the WWII story just doesn't draw me in as much. Maybe one day I will go back to it.

7) A book on my wish list:

Can I put an unpublished book here? The Winds of Winter lol, if I can be cheeky for a bit. Watching House of the Dragon really just brought me back into my asoiaf era. I feel sixteen again and piecing together all the clues for the sequel and thinking about all the theories. Unfortunately it is still very much a wish list.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

Journey to the West! Who doesn't love an adventure story about four besties going on a road trip that is full of cool monsters of the week? Also the whole book is metaphor for buddhist enlightenment. So it really contains multitudes.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Silver in the Wood. It's a short novel that I brought to a long flight and just finished in one go. It makes you feel like you've just taken a little walk in the forest. It's a light read that makes a perfect gift!

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own:

Does Evgenii Onegin count as poetry? It's one of my favorite reads back in university. Partly because of the adapted play I think, it is still the top theater experience I've ever had.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

When Breath Becomes Air. It was written by a surgeon about his journey battling cancer at the end of his life. It's one of the books that stayed with me, having read it after cancer being such a huge part of my life for years. I feel like I got some answers from it and would recommend everyone to read.

12) What are you currently reading:

Queen of the Damned. More sexy vampires! Some of them are even old AND sexy!

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Keep reading through the Vampire Chronicles until reason and taste fail me (or Anne Rice does). I hear people tend to stop at some point during the 12 books in the whole series. We'll see how long I last.

tagging: @kuripon @cherryjuicegf @silvipeppers @tideswept @valdomarx. No pressures of course <3

[patolemus]

Could you share some of your Lucemond fic recs?

I have a lot of lucemond recs, but the ones I like the most are these:

the beast you’ve made of me by MaidenMotherCrone. Probably my favorite hotd fic of all time. Lucerys is taken hostage by the greens in Storm’s End, and it all goes downhill from there. Incomplete, but has consistent updates. Currently it only has eleven chapters left. If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know I always go crazy when this updates.

Hiding in plain sight by Unohanabbygirl. A bit dark, but not extremely so. It’s abo, Lucerys goes into heat and triggers Aemond’s rut. He is raped by Aemond in Storm’s End, and left for dead. He’s nursed back to health by strangers who don’t know who he is, while everyone else thinks he’s dead. Updated pretty consistently.

Forget me not by Unohanabbygirl. A modern reincarnation au. Everyone remembers their past life except Lucerys. Targaryen royalty, as well as important figures from the ASOIAF saga, are historical characters. It treats topics like sexual assault and drug abuse, as well as trauma in general. One of the best fics I’ve ever read. It’s incomplete, but updates are consistent.

The — heir of the tides; series by thehundrethpoet. It’s a canon divergence fic where Lucerys takes out his eye on Storm’s End. Series is incomplete, but the first two parts are done and the third one is about to be completed and updated consistently.

The Key To Your Heart by Avonne. A modern au about lucemond’s relationship. I don’t know how else to describe it without spoiling it, but I enjoyed it a lot. It’s completed, and a second part is currently being written.

Calendario de Adviento para una muerte asegurada by Aynnita. It’s written in Spanish (my first language). It’s also a modern au where the Targaryens are still royalty, and lucemond go to a boarding school in the North. Lucerys broke his engagement to Rhaena, and his parents want to know why. He tells them he has a partner, and promises to introduce them on Christmas Eve. Of course, both sides of the family are estranged. It’s incomplete but not abandoned, with only one chapter before it’s finished.

The gilded lilies series by corviids. After being believed to be dead, both Aemond and Lucerys return to King’s Landing just as Rhaenyra is taking control of the Red Keep, and it seems the gods are planning something for them. It’s abo, Aemond is an Alpha and Lucerys an Omega. This is my favorite out of the few fics with this concept. The main piece is incomplete, but it has several one shots post canon that are finished.

Arsonist’s Lullaby by orphan_account. Aemond sides with the blacks during the dance because he falls in love with Lucerys. It’s one of my favorite takes of this particular canon divergence, and it’s completed.

The Holiday by archimedesprinciple. A modern Christmas au where Aemond is part of law enforcement and Lucerys works at a bank. They are still related, but the incest is toned down to ‘standard levels of modern aristocracy’. There are many unresolved issues in this one, but it’s completed and has a happy ending.

I hope you like these recs! I scoured my ao3 bookmarks for these ones, but there’s more I didn’t add on account of them being in completed and not being updated for a while.

[spreta-invidia]

Do you have a daemyra fic rec list please? I’m desperately searching but they don’t live up to what you write I love your writing so much !! ❤️

Thank you so much!!! <3 That means so much to me! Thank you for reading and loving my writing.

I didn't have an actual Daemyra rec list, but I put a short one together today! There's so much fic in this fandom that I love, and so much that I have in my tbr queue also!

One Shots (canon or canon AU)

Those Happy Golden Years by SeveDeChampagne: This is actually a series of one shots set between episodes 7 and 9 that I think are just lovely. This is also maybe my favorite subgenre of Daemyra fic?

girls have their secrets by ginvael: This fits the subgenre above also! This is more focused on Rhaenyra, Baela, and Rhaena, and their relationships as the girls grow up. I really love ginvael's writing.

watching, always from the outskirts by vintagemocha: This is Alicent POV, but hear me out- it's great. The outsider POV works so well here to show Daemyra through the years.

burn for me by luthien_under_bough: Dark young queen Rhaenyra demands a special declaration of fealty from Daemon. Luthien's writing is so, so good basically always, and in this piece what got me was her use of detail. Also. Hot.

Multi-chapter (canon or canon AU)

Lavender Haze by madgirlslovesong: I think this is my favorite take on the idea of a disinherited Rhaenyra. This fic pairs really wonderful emotion with really interesting plotting/politics, and some excellent Daemyra content.

Bigger than the Whole Sky by CharlieLeau: Would you like your heart to be broken and broken and then mended? Then this is the fic for you! Instead of bearing her three sons during the ten year separation, in this fic Rhaenyra suffers a series of miscarriages, so the Rhaenyra Daemon reunites with is very different than in canon.

WIPs (canon or canon AU)

Threads of Black, Threads of Green by madgirlslovesong: I described this the other day as "if HotD was actually like ASOIAF" which is probably the highest compliment I can give. The hunt for the white hart inspires Rhaenyra to step up her political game. I caught up with this over two nights and I was so tired at work. Worth it.

Battlefields by calenlily: I'm a sucker for warrior Rhaenyra, but especially in the way calenlily does it here: very much a young woman in a new arena, with missteps and moments of glory both. Super excited for the rest of this. (Calenlily is another writer whose work I enjoy very much!)

Maternal Love by ginvael: An Aemma fix-it! I LOVE time travel fix-its, and this is one of my favs. There are some excellent moments between Aemma and Rhaenyra here.

Speaking of time travel fix-its... I think these two are abandoned, but I love what's there: Beyond the Black Door and five seconds later.

Modern AUs

Petrichor by sweetestsorrows: Really great Rhaenyra POV that takes the reader on a seven-year roller coaster through her relationship with Daemon.

entropy by firecollide (WIP): One of the first modern AUs I read in this fandom! In addition to being super fun, this fic also reignited my love for Arctic Monkeys.

This is definitely incomplete as lists go. I am perpetually behind on things and sort of a sloppy bookmarker (and also not a great comment leaver, though I am trying so hard to get better at that- it means SO much to me when people leave comments that it's almost talked me out of the incessant "oh god why does anyone care what you have to say, ugh you're probably sounding like an idiot" that goes through my head often/always tbh). There are gaps in here I should fill, and some fics are not available right now that any list of my favs feels naked without (High Hopes, I'm looking at you).

Let me know if you love any of these in particular! <3

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

Thank you so much @aemondtarqaryens for starting off Volume 2 of my Interview With a Writer series! This is my ongoing series of the talented souls on Tumblr and ao3, and their brilliant writing!

If there is a story you are interest in, I am open to requests! Just make sure to check out my criteria for stories considered for this.

Name: aemondtarqaryens

Story: Precious Delights

Paring: Maegor Targaryen x niece!Reader

WARNINGS: See each chapter for individual, more precise warnings. Written with/for a female reader, but other than purple eyes, there‘s no mention of her appearance.

What inspired the plot for Precious Delights?

Oh God, truth be told? It started with a request I received for Maegor x Reader smut where she's heavily pregnant with his child. And I'm just a sucker for my big tiddy daddy and gave it a shot.

Once the original Precious Delights was posted, people commented under it, asking for a part 2 where the baby is born. The whole series just developed from there on and the rest is history.

I just loved their dynamic in the first part I posted (it's based on the bath scene between Aemma and Viserys, because it was just fitting and I liked that scene in the series) and felt captivated to give the few people interested what they wanted.

Explain your interpretation of Maegor? What drives him? Why is he the way he is in the story?

Charlie Hunnam is my faceclaim for Maegor because someone (I'm not dropping names cough cough @fairysluna cough) planted that seed into my mind. Most people fancast him as Aegon I, but to me, Henry Cavil makes a better Aegon I (you know, let's just cast Henry as every ASOIAF character lmfao).

I always had the relationship of Daemon and the young Rhaenyra we see in the show in my mind while writing this story. And we learn in Innate Desires that Maegor has lusted after his niece for quite some time, and even asked Aenys to give him her hand in marriage. He was denied, and searched his luck (or power) elsewhere, but failed with his wives dying without giving him an heir.

This is something that drives him, too. The need to provide an heir with his blood, that will take the Throne after him.

Canon!Maegor is one kind of a man, and while I find him intriguing, I firstly know that I could never do him justice and secondly, it just wouldn't have fit the story and it's overall development. Plus, having had a soft spot for his niece for so long, it's clear he's not always the brute he is towards her. He's softer, and allows her to catch some rare glimpses of his vulnerability as their relationship develops.

Was there anything in specific that inspired your Reader portrayal?

No, I feel like it‘s very self indulgent. Usually, the reader portrayals are matching their respective role (or I try to make it that way, at least) and with Targcest, I feel like you do have a bit more freedom to indulge. Just a freedom to be cheeky, or disobey certain rules.

Do you feel they eventually come to complement one another?

They complement each other. Maegor gives her something she‘s craved for so long, stability, family, attention, and Reader takes piece after piece of the brute out of him. Just like their children. They‘re not changing him completely, but they have a positive impact on him. She basically made the rogue brute soft and tender. 🤭

Will you add into their story?

Depends, if I really get another idea for this series maybe, but most likely not. It has found a good end, and everything else would be just dragging it out.

Do you want to share about another upcoming WIP? I know you finished celebrating a milestone for your blog (congratulations 💖).

Thank you!! I‘m currently working on the last two requests for my celebration, a one shot with Aemond and servant!Reader for a writing challenge I participated in, and a one shot of an American Horror Story x HOTD crossover where Aemond is the Antichrist.

Any chance we can have a snippet for Aemond!Antichrist? 👀

Easing your trembling legs, you hold onto the desk for support. It feels like an eternity when you crouch forward slightly to steady your uneven breathing, the moment only breaking as Aemond advances towards you, his body leaning against yours and pressing you up against the desk. It’s the only thing keeping you upright, and the moment you feel his hot breath caress your neck, your legs feel like they are about to give in. His thigh slips between yours, but you can’t feel his hands on your body, assuming he’s clasped them behind his back or keeps them at his sides. But you can tell that his chest isn’t the only firm thing that presses against your body. His cock is rock hard, clearly finding as much pleasure in the situation than you do, and all but strains against your lower back. He is so close, that’s all you’ve thought of for the past days, yet it’s not enough. You need his hands, him, to feel thoroughly satisfied. The urge to whine scratches in your throat, but you manage to swallow it at the last moment. “Beg for me to touch you,” he drawls, voice laced with a mixture of excitement and hunger. Exhaling a strained breath, you close your eyes. “P-Please,” you whimper, barely loud enough for him to hear. “Please… touch me. It’s been so long.” “Hm.” You hear it loud and clear, the amusement, the satisfaction, causing your skin to heat up. “That’s all you’ve got?”

[ilreleonewikiart]

The Doom in Our Blood Comes Back character portrait - Day N 22 Baela the Glorious (version N2)

So this, for now, is officially the last portrait of this long series of portraits. I decided to end it with the same character I started it cause I realised that in these past weeks, my style developed, along with my technique and so I wanted to redraw this first piece. A lot of you loved this series and I hope to continue it even the next year, maybe with some OCs this time. I will keep posting my art here, especially ASOIAF-related stuff and maybe not only TDIOBCB-related but even canon illustrations. Thank you so much for your support, your love really made my day💖 Happy Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone 🎄✨❤️

[thetruearchmagos]

WIP Questionnaire

Thank you kindly for the Tag, @theprissythumbelina !

1. What is the first part of your WIP that you created?

Well, the Setting, probably, which as an answer works for just about any of the WIPs I could name. In theory you could argue Gustav and the Magician, individually and as a 'set' of sorts, technically predate my coming up with the 12 Worlds, but the form they took then has only passing resemblance to their current incarnation.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Ooo, well, I've been thinking I'd probably see about getting something original made, or making something myself as a side thing. I mean, I kinda envision a lot of my WIPs as serial animations in my head anyhow, so I've put more thought into this question than reality is ever likely to require.

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

Well... You know how big this list could be. I love all of them, and at any moment which forces / allows me to dig deeper into any single one of them makes me love them even more. Still, my final choice is an obvious one: Gustav Johann Schmidt, who's been in it since the very start, and who's voice has by now almost become my own whenever he comments on some facet of his world in the same way I would.

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?

Hmm, well, I've always thought this would go down two tracks. First of all being the classic 'Techno Thriller' crowd, the sorts who like tanks going boom and spies under deep cover: I'd go with things like The Hunt For Red October and Red Storm Rising, both being stalwarts of the genre which have absolutely been personally inspiring. The second track goes down the wider book / writing community, or at least those looking for 'genre fiction' and all that, who might discover the 12 Worlds more on its fantastical or worldbuilding grounds than for its techno thriller nature: I don't really 'understand' what I'd mean by this cohort myself as much, but I guess it could include series like ASOIAF, possibly.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

Well... If we're speaking in the past tense, as far as things that have already happened go I'd put forwards "making sure the worldbuilding exists and isn't utterly contradictory", since there's too little writing down so far to count for a big struggle. Dates are hard, and measuring things on the order of decades to a century leaves me with a lot of uncomfortable dead space on one hand, and a bunch of events clustered together on the other. Untangling this has to happen before the writing does, to me, and it's gonna be hellish.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Uhh... Technically, Snake In The Sandbox (Gustav's third and least brought up WIP) features two animals! One's a snake which literally scares G's shirt off when he finds it in his tent, and the other's some sort of desert lizard the 18th Corps adopts as its mascot.

7. How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Oh, probably their respective combat vehicles more than anything, though long distance stuff gets done by plane / aeroship, and getting between Worlds means ships for everyone. Non military types might get their own car, or plane.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

Technically brought this up already, but the answer's worldbuilding. It's always worldbuilding. Though within that category, I'm technically supposed to be writing up a piece on the UC' policy towards Goilac / Nouvoulouis pre SSAW, but... I have been having a lazy weekend.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

Big flashy boom booms and cunning military tactics, strategy, and leadership on the one hand for sure, but I'd like to think the depth, history, and life that exists within the 12 Worlds might have some appeal to readers.

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?

Published novel, or really a few considering how many there are already for the 12 Worlds. Then... Well, I think I've got a few ideas in me for the Setting yet.

Anyone fancy a boardgame?

And that's that! Tagging @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @sanguine-arena @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @thatndginger and anyone who'd like to take part!