#he is cersei’s sword he is tywin’s perfect son

[ilynpilled]

i love how the moment jaime expresses real autonomy and conflicting desire both of them start to immediately reject him in some form

[goodqueenaly]

Say hypothetically Jaime died or was killed while serving in the kingsguard anytime before Tyrion is convinced as a traitor. Who do you think Tywin would prefer to inherit the rock in that scenario, since he's made both his feelings on women's roles and on Tyrion very clear? Who do you think would actually stand a better chance (since Tywin cannot change the legal succession from beyond the grave)? Does it depend on where they are in the time line regarding Cersei's marriage?

A hypothetical covering the span of Jaime’s service in the Kingsguard “anytime before Tyrion is convinced as a traitor” is a pretty long period indeed; we’re talking about a stretch of time from 15-year-old Jaime’s investiture in 281 AC to Tyrion’s trial in 300 AC. (Let’s not even mention the numerous momentous events in Westerosi history in this period of time, much less the absence of Jaime at any given point would have had on these events.) So, all else aside, I think it would be very dependent on when specifically Jaime died in this scenario as to what Tywin might have done about his own succession.

If Jaime died prior to or during Robert’s Rebellion (again, let’s put aside Jaime’s very significant action at the end of the Rebellion), then I think Tywin would have had to consider whether he wanted to remarry. While Tywin IOTL never considered and would never have considered remarrying himself, he could take this decision secure in (what he believed was) the knowledge that he had his perfect golden heir, Jaime. However, without that perfect heir in his pocket, so to speak, Tywin may have felt more pressured to take a new wife, so that he could have a (male, able-bodied) heir of his own body. Would Tywin have looked to another wife, perhaps in particular another Lannister (like, say, one of Joanna’s younger sisters, or one of the daughters of Joanna’s brother Stafford, or his cousin Damon’s granddaughter Lanna, assuming any were the right age), in order to produce another perfect Lannister male heir? It’s at least possible. (How naming the son of a second wife as his heir would have been affected by the Widow’s Law is of course a completely unanswerable question.) 

Alternatively, Tywin may have looked to Cersei as the producer of his eventual heir. Admittedly, such a plan might have clashed with Tywin’s royal ambitions for Cersei, but between the throne and Casterly Rock, I think Tywin may well have chosen the latter. While I doubt Tywin would have seriously invested in Cersei as a future lady in her own right (any more than he did in Cersei as a queen and future queen mother and regent), I could see Tywin seeing Cersei as an acceptable Lannister broodmare, through which his own precious (to him) bloodline could be preserved and produced in an acceptable (read: male) heir. (Again, it’s far too speculative to determine whom Tywin might have chosen as Cersei’s husband, but I could see a Lannister kinsman like cousin Daven or even uncle Tyrek being selected to reinforce Tywin’s Lannister superiority.)

If Jaime died after Robert’s Rebellion but before the death of Joffrey, then I could see where Tywin would simply have seized Tommen from Cersei and raised him as a Lannister heir. There would have been some historical precedent for this, with Lucerys Velaryon being in his lifetime his “grandfather” Corlys’ heir as (ostensibly) the second son of Corlys’ late son, Laenor. With Joffrey assumed to inherit the Iron Throne, Tywin would have, in a sense, the large-scale Lannister political domination he had attempted to achieve in ASOS (notably expressed through the twin Valyrian steel swords made from Ice): the King on the Iron Throne and the Lord of Casterly Rock as the two heads of the Lannister family, inextricably binding the throne to House Lannister in perpetuity.  

If Jaime died in the short window between the Purple Wedding and Tyrion losing his trial by combat, then I think Tywin would have had to choose (or at least believed he had to choose) between versions of the above. Given that Tywin IOTL was ready to taking the new King Tommen back to the Rock to “learn to be a Lannister”, I could see Tywin perhaps simply naming Tommen his heir and installing him at an official or de facto new royal court at the Rock (something along what he had done during Aerys II's reign), fully merging the identities of the royal dynasty and House Lannister as he had begun to ahead of Joffrey’s wedding. Tywin may also have pushed the idea of Cersei’s remarriage even harder in this scenario, which he was already beginning to do IOTL (though whether he would have been so eager to wed her to Oberyn Martell, his preferred choice in ASOS, with Oberyn now poised to father the next generation of Lannister heirs is a more speculative question). Tywin may even have decided that when Tommen had sons of his own, the second son would inherit Casterly Rock - though this succession idea may have been too uncertain for Tywin’s taste, given that Tommen was probably the better part of a decade away from fathering multiple sons of his own (let’s put aside Cregan Stark’s apparent willingness to bet on a similar potential through the Pact of Ice and Fire).

About the only certain takeaway I think we can have in any version of this scenario is that Tywin would have done everything in his power to keep Casterly Rock out of Tyrion’s hands. While Tywin may not have gone quite so far as forcing Tyrion into the Faith, Citadel, or Night’s Watch - Tywin’s obsessive focus on Lannister exceptionalism (and the primacy of his own line within that) meaning that even the lowest and least of the main-line Lannisters, as he saw Tyrion, was superior in rank to every other aristocrat, and so unfit for a life of servitude - I very much believe Tywin would never admit that Tyrion had any right to Casterly Rock (much less the best claim as the most senior eligible legitimate male descendant of Tywin even IOTL). 

[leupagus]

I should retitle this series "old men wanting to go take a nap but they gotta help their queens to take over the world."

From this thing that I'm still writing and in fact has taken over my life

Barristan had seen a great many battles in his day, horrible things that bore no resemblance to the tales of the nursery or the songs of the tavern. He'd attended tourneys, too, so many that they blurred together (save for Harrenhal — that would always burn). And as the Lord Commander of the Queensguard here in Essos, he had observed far too many of the fighting pits.

But never before had he heard this chaotic ocean of sound. "Is it always this noisy?" Queen Daenerys shouted, over the approving roar of the crowds.

"No," Tyrion replied cheerfully, "but I'm working on that."

They were in the stands at the Arena, watching the procession of the teams that would play for the city's amusement today. A dozen banners snapped and fluttered in the wind, and the riders from every team did their utmost to encourage the cheers of their followers. In Meereen as in Westeros, the great and mighty cheered as lustily as the smallfolk, and the result was a noise that seemed to swallow up the whole of the city.

Over the past year, the game of soroh-fre had become the main event of the city, their riders' popularity supplanting even that of the pit fighters — and indeed, many of the riders were themselves former denizens of the Pits, their swords and spears replaced with the elongated mallet used to strike the ball from one end of the arena to the other. True, sometimes those mallets were used on their opponents instead, but from what Barristan had read in the city's Papers of the Day, deaths were down to just one every few games. A far cry from the dozens of dead at the end of each pit fight. By midday there were still only a handful of broken limbs.

"Didn't you tell me once that all men share a taste for blood?" said Hizdahr zo Loraq to the queen at some point, shaking his head as a rider's horse was gently lead out of the arena following its rider's injury — a concussion, it seemed. The crowd cheered all the more lustily for him, and he lifted his fist in salute as he staggered out.

The queen smiled. "True," she said, "but we are not all men." Beside her, Missandei laughed. "The Dothraki version is even tamer than this — anyone who injures his brother-rider, even by mistake, during a game of Soroh-Fe is stricken from the games for a year and a day. It's intended to perfect a rider's balance while on horseback; in fact, they play it while standing on the saddle."

"Good gods," Tyrion muttered.

Barristan had no love in his heart for any Lannister, save perhaps little Myrcella and Tommen, who had laughed and grabbed at his white cloak as he'd passed them by, their wide blue eyes as bright as blameless as little Viserys's and Aegon's and Rhaenys's had once been. He'd held special hatred for Lord Tywin, of course; the architect of so many misfortunes suffered by the Targaryens over the years, after spending his youth as a bosom friend to King Aerys and Steffon Baratheon. The three of them had been inseparable for a time — yet how had Tywin repaid him? With a traitor son who slit his own king's throat, no doubt on the orders of his father. And then Jaime's betrayal of his Kingsguard oath had been rewarded, by Robert's marriage to Cersei, who'd betrayed the new king in her turn. Tyrion had given no specific offense in his years at the Red Keep, but Barristan had watched him closely all the same, sure of some treachery festering behind that great brow and sardonic smile. The Lannisters were a family of shadowcats, not lions.

He had watched Tyrion still more closely here in Meereenl but Tyrion had shown himself capable as well as cunning, with an earnestness that Barristan had never seen in him during their shared time at the Red Keep. If Tyrion was another spy like Jorah, Barristan could find little evidence of it; certainly less than that smooth round bastard Varys. Barristan still did not trust Tyrion, but he could admit this much at least: the dwarf knew how to put on a good show.

[swee26oy]

"Was Elia Martell Beautiful"

It must have been the madness that led Aerys to refuse Lord Tywin's daughter and take his son instead, whilst marrying his own son to a feeble Dornish princess with black eyes and a flat chest. (Cersei, chapter 24 of “A Feast for Crows”)

Here is a character who Take romantic desires for the Dragon Prince, which is rejected and chosen elia instead of her to be his wife. even after her death, Cersei still holds the grudge

But somehow this quote is taken as canon, This is illogical. Depending on Cersei's personality, I can say that she is either lying or exaggerating

Well, here comes my problem. This quote is often taken to say that elia was less than ordinary but she was not beautiful or on the list of beauties of Westeros.

((As a reminder, I am against evaluating women based on their beauty but I am trying to clarify my point))

This list of beauties contains women who were rated less beautiful than elia according to the books. However, elia is ignored in such rankings. Common reasons are the health condition and this quote.

Even when you search on Google, this quote is the most common answer to questions about what elia looked like.

And then you find this :

there wereothers fairerstill.One was the wife of the dragon prince, who’d brought a dozen lady companions to attend her. The knights all begged them for favors to tie about their lances. (Bran, chapter 24 of “A Storm Of Swords”)

Howland Reed is one of the characters who doesn't have any direct ties to elia, So through this quote, Holland describes elia martell's appearance during the Tourney of Harrenhal, probably she was pregnant with Aegon. From this we confirms she was beautiful enough to get all of his attention, despite the presence of many beautiful women during the tourney, most notably Ashara Dayne. elia was beautiful for him to tell his children about her beauty.

In “The World of Ice and Fire”, Maester Yandel compares Lyanna to Elia, stating the she-wolf was "a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia's delicate beauty"

Ulmer, stooped and grey-bearded and loose of skin and limb, stepped to the mark and pulled an arrow from the quiver at his waist. In his youth he had been an outlaw, a member of the infamous Kingswood Brotherhood. He claimed he’d once put an arrow through the hand of the White Bull of the Kingsguard [Ser Gerold Hightower] to steal a kiss from the lips of a Dornish princess. He had stolen her jewels too, and a chest of golden dragons, but it was the kiss he liked to boast of in his cups. (Samwell, chapter 33 of “A Storm of Swords”)

This princess is elia, and she is very beautiful. Where men don't take pride in kissing an ugly woman if she was ugly he would make fun of her appearance and show remorse or disgust. Instead, we get a proud, unrepentant man.

Elia is described in the books as an attractive woman who caught men’s attention. (It seems she doesn't look ugly or ordinary woman)

“….. a young maiden not long at court, one of Elia’s companions … though compared to Ashara Dayne, the Dornish princess was a kitchen drab.”-Barristan Selmy

Ashara Dayne was known as the most beautiful woman in Westeros so being compared to ashara is just another factor that shows how beautiful elia was

She get called "delicate beauty", Sansa Stark beauty called the same. and sansa is beautiful so elia was.

According to all this, elia was extremely beautiful. It is unfortunate that her beauty is belittled and ignored under the pretext of her health condition. condemning the actions of some women is not misogyny, but belittling a woman because of her health condition and using it as an excuse to exonerate her husband’s abandonment of her is certainly hatred and racism.

And saying that rhaegar left elia and chose lyanna over her because she was more beautiful is just a slander that contradicts the facts It based on an idea invented by men to justify his betrayal We have a perfect example of this "Charles chose Camilla over Diana"

[atopvisenyashill]

What if Cersei was born a boy like she wishes?

Caveat that I am well aware I am not the Cersei Understander and also I haven't read her chapters in literal years (but i'm getting there!!! like halfway through a storm of swords!) but-

She would have gotten the training she wanted wrt ruling and would be just as (in)effective as Tywin because she'd be 100% willing to be as brutal, to the detriment of the wellbeing of her family.

I imagine Tyrion has it much worse going up - Cersei can only disrespect him so much as first born daughter, but as the actual first born son? Some of her more sadistic tendencies are likely to be encouraged. Same goes for Jaime - would they get involved if they're both men? Certainly they can't have kids (bc we're going off of a cis swap here) but given the weird psychsexual stuff with Jaime's trauma re: knighthood and Lannisters being "worth more" it's entirely possible that a male Cersei would play into this idea of them being born perfect mirrors of each other, that they're meant to be side by side always, that Jaime is meant to follow and serve as Cersei's right hand his whole life, in a similar way that Daemon acts towards Viserys or how people theorize Aemon and Baelon may have acted around each other. Might not get overtly sexual but as a bisexual Jaime truther it might get very charged.

But...there's just sooo much plot that changes because Cersei being confined to a certain role because of her gender and deciding to deal with it by taking down her entire house and half the continent is pivotal to the story plot. So Tywin has no girl to marry to Rhaegar which means he isn't going to get in his feelings about Aerys rejecting Cersei. He's definitely going to still reject Elia for Cersei though, and Loreza Martell probably still decides to go for Rhaegar anyway. I know the initial marriage proposal between Lysa and Jaime was rejected specifically because of Cersei. If male Cersei marries Lysa that's...certainly a pairing that's going to cause a lot of damage, not to mention affect the war. With Tywin being a Targ loyalist until the end and Hoster very early on joining the rebels, does Hoster hedge his bets a bit more or keep Cersei as a hostage to get Tywin to cooperate with the rebels? Does Cersei herself decide to take charge (given she'd be around Robb's age, so it's not impossible they'd let her lead) and join her wife's side of the war? Does Jaime decide to sabatoge the marriage because "if we can't marry you can't marry anyone then" ?

However, the biggest change is actually Jaime - does he still join the Kingsguard if its his BROTHER he's obsessed with and not his sister? Does KL just go kaboom in this timeline because Jaime isn't there to kill Aerys, because Aerys didn't bother to attempt to steal Tywin's heir through the Kingsguard? Does CERSEI play Jaime's role instead? Because Cersei being the one in the kingsguard would be interesting but I'm just not sure HOW she would get there - it's not going to bring her closer to Jaime, there's no female Targ or Targ descendent for her to marry (because Rhaelle has a son and it's likely Daelle and Rhae both only had sons as well).

One things for sure - Cersei and Tywin would be happier about it but everyone else is gonna suffer big time, haha.

[swordmaid]

crack au where instead of jaime lannister flirting with every single person under the sun and always getting rejected and roasted its the other way round, everyone is in love with jaime and doing their best to seduce him while jaime is the one doing the roasting. like robert's rebellion? it never happened because rhaegar thirsted after jaime instead of lyanna. rhaegar composes songs that call jaime beautiful in a thousand flowery phrases and then sings them outside his window. jaime rolls his eyes and throws down garbage or cold water upon rhaegar. the kingsguard dumbasses like arthur dayne try to woo jaime using terrible pickup lines and jaime has a snarky comeback to all of them. every time jaime rejects them the kingsguard go to ser barristan and sulk to him about how even this plan to seduce jaime failed and beg for his help to come up with an even more outlandish plan. barristan shooes them away because he can't be bothered with farce like this. none of the plans work though. the kingsguard often sabotage each other's attempts to woo jaime and sometimes team up to sabotage rhaegar's attempts. the kingsguard + rhaegar arrange duelling competitions where the one who wins can flirt with jaime without getting sabotaged for the rest of the week. rhaegar or arthur usually end up winning. though robert's rebellion never happened, lyanna still didn't marry robert because she loved jaime too. robert was cool with it, he wanted to marry cersei so he could be closer to jaime. ned and cat's idea of a perfect date is thirsting over jaime together. oberyn and elia aggressively compete with each other to see who makes jaime smile or blush first. even aerys targaryen is not exempt. jaime's pretty face made him madder than before. aerys sends jaime extravagant gifts on a daily basis and jaime smashes them to pieces before sending it back to aerys. jaime stuck a sword through aerys because he was sick of this mad old creep ogling him hungrily and getting handsy with him all the time. throughout all this, the people of westeros have a secret betting pool on who'll eventually manage to win jaime's heart, and tywin is thrilled at the amount of rich powerful people thirsting after his son and is confused about which of them he's supposed to betroth jaime to. jaime is outwardly like wtf guys stop chasing me you're so desperate I'll never marry any of you but secretly he totally loves the amount of attention he's getting.

........and brienne is the only one immune to him, AND SCENE!

[hello-nichya-here]

Do you think Ned Stark was sexist? I know you've said that all the men of Westeros are at least a little sexist, but I wonder if it's really fair to said that about Ned since he quite clearly respected Lyanna and Catelyn, seemed to be closest to Arya of all of his kids, was disappointed in Robbert for hitting Cersei, etc

Ned Stark was raised in Westeros. He was taught to uphold the vallues of his society. The society of Westeros is deeply mysogynistic, so, naturally, Ned was sexist. Plain and simple.

"But he respected Lyanna and Catelyn"

Catelyn is a Tully. Their motto is literally “Family. Duty. Honor” and she follows that idea blindly. She stayed a virgin until her wedding night - wedding that was supposed to be with Ned’s older brother, but the plan changed at the last second because of Brandon’s death, and Catelyn was ready to accept either Stark man because her father said that’s what she should do. She was always loyal to her husband, and even after having five children she was still hoping for a sixth because even as Lady of Winterfell her role is still to be a wife and mother, and she expects her daughters to follow in her footsteps.

She expected Ned to provide for his bastard son, but she was apalled by the fact that Ned wanted the boy to be raised among his legitimate children. She still put up with it for 14 years because it was an order from Ned, and while he was often willing to listen to her, HE was the authority in their home. Catelyn was shocked when she met Brienne. Cat was the perfect woman according to Westeros.

And about Lyanna, while Ned absolutely loved her and grieved for her until his death despite her challenging the norms of their society, he did still try to convince her to marry Robert despite her quite clearly not wanting to because their father said that’s what she should do, and he thinks about how “Wolf’s blood” led to her, and their brother, dying before their time. He loved her, but he didn’t truly approve of her “willful nature”, at least not entirely.

"But he was closest to Arya"

Yes. And he still agreed that she needed to go to the South so she could learn to be a proper lady, neither he nor Catelyn seemed to have much of a problem with Sansa mocking her sister, and when Arya asked him if she could ever be a lord, a councilor, an architect, an explorer, or High Septon, Ned answered that she would marry a king, and her sons would be in those roles.

Ned didn’t say that out of cruelty, or to put his daughter “in her place”, and he was surely no Tywin hearing his daughter say “I’m not a broodmare” and then looking her straight in the face to reply with “You’ll marry and you’ll breed.” But the fact still is that Arya asked about HER future, about what SHE could do, and Ned replies with what her SONS, that don’t even exist, could be. 

These theoretical kids have more options for their futures than Arya did because they’re male and Ned didn’t see a problem with that, because that’s how the world around him has always worked and the idea that maybe this isn’t ideal for everyone didn’t cross his mind, not even with Arya very directly asking him if she could do something other than be a wife and mother.

It also ties into Ned’s reaction to finding her sword, Needle. He calls it a toy, like Arya’s interest in sword-play is just a childish thing, a phase, something she’ll let go of when she’s older - yet we see boys around Arya’s age beign expected to be interested (GENUINELY interested) in that kind of thing. It’s the old idea that girls and women cannot truly like anything that doesn’t fit society’s idea of femininity.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: But Ned is the reason Arya got to train with Syrio! 

And you’re correct. Ned did do that, and that shows that, even though he has a bit of a sexist mentality, he is flexible enough to at least allow his daughter a bit more freedom to experiment. Unfortunatelly we will never know how Ned would have reacted if an older Arya tried, for exemple, to do something like what Brienne did and become a knight that protects her king and fights in battles. Maybe he would have disapproved of it all his life, maybe he’d just be against it at first then come around to the idea, or maybe he would have already gotten used to that thought long before Arya was old enough to do that. I personally see the second option as being the most likely one.

"But he didn't approve of Robert abusing Cersei"

Stannis Baratheon is mysogynistic and racist. He still didn't tolerate it if any of his men raped women of the free-folk. You can genuinely believe that some acts are ALWAYS wrong, no matter who the victim is, and Ned Stark is very much that kind of guy. He would have never been okay with either of his daughter’s being abused by their husbands and he would have chosen good men for them, but he DID expect them to marry someone and have children because that’s a “woman’s role” and, like I said, HE would find their husbands for them.

So no, Ned not being okay with domestic violence, even towards a woman he dislikes, cheated on her husband, and commited treason and incest, and not wanting more kids to die and thus warning their mother they’re in danger doesn’t magically mean he believes men and women are equal.

Speaking of that moment, we cannot forget that Ned heard Cersei straight up ask him if he didn't fear her wrath, and give him the infamous warning of "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground" and STILL believed she would just pack her things and run away with her kids, even though anyone with half a brain could understand that this was a clear threat and she was likely planning something to cause his downfall so he wouldn't stand in her way - which was exactly what happened.

Once again, all of that fuckery happened because Ned believed the world worked the way he was raised to see it. Said world consists of honorable men who care about right and wrong, and women who put their children before anything, and don't do things like planing a coup to put her bastard son on the throne and holding little girls as hostages so their father will "admit" to being a traitor - again, even she clearly threatened said man and had the nerve to have her bastard children raised as legitimate heirs of the king for literal years.

So yeah, Ned Stark was sexist - he was just a "benevolent" one instead of a raging mysogynist and/or an abusive piece of shit.

[malereader-inserts]

To Serve Our King and Queen

Fandom: Game of Thrones Pairing: Daenerys Targeryen x Baratheon!Reader, Sansa Stark x Baratheon!Reader Summary: A story of heart break, love and heart break again. Word Count:  2,407 Request:  Hey can u do a Daenerys x Baratheon reader where he is the son of cersei and Robert the true son. He used to be In love with Sansa but she wanted Joffrey so she break his heart. Reader leaves king’s landing with tyrion and meet Daenerys where both fall In love with each other. Later Sansa sees the reader with dany and Jon when they arrive to the north. Sansa is being disrespectful towards dany and reader put Sansa in her place and tells her to not talk to his WIFE like that ever again please. A/n: I changed it a bit, I wish it was a little bitter but oh well. 

Cersei and Robert were married before he even became king, Tywin had faith that the Baratheon would overrule the Mad King. It was the start of the downfall of their marriage, the sex was lousy, but it got the lioness pregnant. You were a beautiful babe that Cersei had fallen in love with your looks.

You were a year old when your father overthrows the throne and becomes king of the seven kingdoms. You had a somewhat happy childhood, you were spoilt by your father more than your younger brother - Joffery. Whilst your mother somewhat loved you, you knew that she loved her golden crown children more than you, you had a suspicion about your siblings, they look too much of your uncle Jaime than your father, which was known that Baratheon seed was strong.

So, you were more of a father’s boy than your mother’s. At a young age, you were trained hard, went through advisers and teachers - teaching your expanding knowledge, your father demanded that you were to start off young in training to be king, making sure you know how to fight and be a respected knight just like your father. When you were growing up, you were told tales from your uncle Tyrion, who adored you because he could hold an intellectual conversation with you.

As you grew up, often at times you went with your father to go on hunting, even met with your dad’s best friend and his children. You often had playtime with them, being good friends with Robb and Jon, but you were always wanting to be with Sansa, your father laughs that you would marry Sansa when you two were older - Ned would laugh too.

As years gone past, you tried to ignore your father’s debauchery and your mother’s ever growing hatred towards you. You grew up to be a fine young man, despite being the son of two fucked up people, you were a loved prince - charming, caring and a fighter. You were too familiar with your mother’s manipulation that you were just as smart as her in playing games.

Tywin saw your potential to rule. The people will love you, they already do, because you weren’t fake but you knew when to stand your ground. You weren’t going to be pushed around, you knew your worth to that throne and you will be king whether your mother likes it or not. 

You knew what you wanted but sometimes that’s not how it works out.

You wanted Sansa as a bride, when you arrived at Winterfell after so many years later, you saw how beautiful Sansa was. But, you could see how she was ogling on your brother Joffery, you scoffed - he’s not that big of a deal. 

“Sansa be wise, pick (Y/n),” Robb says in their little family circle after being dismissed in greeting the king, “Jon and I know him better than you, and he’s a delight.”

“But, he’s not Joffery.”

Arya snorted, “Of course, you would want a little prat than an actual prince.”

“Joffery is a prince,” Sansa argued, “He’s handsome and I love him.”

“You barely know the boy,” Robb says with concern on his voice, “How do you even know if you love him?”

You tried winning Sansa’s heart, but before you left Winterfell, Sansa had pulled you aside, you had a little bit of hope but you had seen how she was all over your brother and was by his side every opportunity she could get.

You got your heartbroken by her, she was honest and you were thankful for that, but it hurt your heart. Sure, the two of you were still young, feelings can change like the wind and nothing is certain in the future. 

When you arrived home, you talked to your dad about it and for once, he got serious - talking about that even if you were rejected you should always try to pursue her. He then laughed it off saying Baratheon men don’t have much luck with Stark ladies, but you could see in the pain in his father’s eyes as he remembers Lyanna Stark. 

When your father died there were talks about who will inherit the throne, Cersei was quick on her game to get Joffery on the throne, you were livid. There was a screaming match between you and your mother in front of the small council before venomously bidding her hell. It was Varys, who started to tell you to leave because there were talks of your mother that she was going to hire people to kill you. 

You couldn’t risk that, so you took a route down to the deepest part of Kings landing, keeping yourself out of sight, picking up a stray sword that caught your eye.

That’s your story really.

Anyone back home would believe that you were killed or dead, and suffered in the rule of Joffery Baratheon. People called your the lost prince of hope, their last strand of hope.

Tyrion did not expect to see you alive and by Daenarys side when he entered Esso, running away with the potential of execution on his head. When he saw you, it had been a few years that had past, you were a lot different. 

Your hair was longer, you had grown more muscle mass, must of because you trained with Greyworm. You stood up straighter as if you had a purpose, but you looked happier. What your uncle did not expect was to look at the silver haired woman with such love.

It was a familiar look that he had seen, it was the same look you used to stare at Sansa with. But, to Tyrion’s surprised the look with returned. When you weren’t paying attention or was looking away, Daenerys would give you the same look of love. Tyrion asked Barristan, who laughs and nods.

“Those two? In love like any other teenagers!” He laughs, shaking his head, “They’re betrothed to each other, looking for the perfect time to marry. Daenerys has explicitly said that she wanted no one by her side when she becomes Queen, but learning Ser (Y/n) story, she realised that the two of them have the biggest claim to the throne, rightfully, and on the way, she fell in love with him as did he.”

“Of course,” Tyrion nodded, “I would have liked to see my nephew rule the seven kingdoms, at least he has the birthright unlike Joffery and his siblings.”

“Bastards?” Ser Barristan asked as Tyrion nodded, “Well, that explains the blond hair.”

“I know for the fact that (Y/n) would rule with a good heart, he was trained and he has compassion, he fought any manipulation and lies that were fed to him.”

“Yes,” the knight nods, “I wonder what the people of Westeros would think when they find out a Baratheon could ride a dragon.”

As months past, years past on, Tyrion watched his nephew enjoy his life fighting for what is rightfully his alongside his wife, who loves him as much as he did. There was no one better to rule the Realms other than two great leaders. Tyrion watched how Daenerys freed slaves and took control, Tyrion remembers how you were as a prince. 

“Was there someone you loved before me?” Daenerys asked once, it was on the sail back to Westeros, she could see how excited you were to return home.

You looked at her, “I did, once,” You say, remembering how Dany had disclosed her lovers to you before, “She was fiery, but unlikely you who is made of fire and blood, it was her striking red hair - her name was Sansa Stark.”

“Is she-?”

“My uncle has told me before he had fled that she was alive, but I have no idea where she is now or if she is alive. I’m sure she turned to be a fine young lady.”

Dany raised an eyebrow, “Do tell more.”

“Well, as you know I am of Lannister blood.”

“I am aware,” Dany says distastefully, cringing that you were of blood of the man who murdered her father and you were the son of the man who killed her brother.

“She was more in love with my brother, Joffery. Half-brother because I had my suspicion that he wasn’t of Baratheon blood. You could say he’s pure, like you.”

Dany nods, knowing what you mean, after all, she is in a long line of keeping her blood pure as her relatives were all related one way or another. She hates to think the fact if she were to marry her narcissistic brother, Viserys, whilst both of you acknowledge that you two were distantly related - it was a fact that she was willing to ignore. 

“He was a cunt,” You laughed whilst your wife giggles next to you in bed, “Spoilt and full of himself, I don’t want to imagine what his rule was like, but stories from my uncle it seems to appear as hell.”

“And she picked him over you?” Daenerys asked, raising an eyebrow, “Well, her loss, I think I have a great man before me. A true king.” 

You chuckle, smiling at her lovingly, kissing her forehead, “Shall we sleep, my love?”

“No,” She pouts as you can’t help but find it adorable, “I think you should tell me tales of Westeros, after all, it’s more of your home than it is of mine.”

You weren’t expecting to return to Winterfell, but, it demanded it’s independence, which you thought was outrageous - really. You were reunited with Jon, who greets you with a smile, a joke and good hug - it has been a while since you’ve seen your best friend, glad to see him alive.

You thought that you were going to take over Kings landing, but having to take a detour route to Winterfell to battle in a war of the undead. Although, you get to see your mother before going to the North.

You relish the sight to see her and your uncle Jaime astonished that you were alive and knowing you were going back to claim for the throne. Cersei did not miss how your eyes darken and the glimmer of your sword.

“Mother.”

“Son.”

It was the only interaction you had with her, she refused to come to talk to you, you weren’t surprised - you lacked a mother’s love as you grew up. But, Jaime tried his best to get you to talk to him. You shook off his advances before turning to Jon and Daenerys.

You were surprised to see Sansa, as she was with you. Arya had noticed how she was staring.

“You’re staring, do you have regrets?”

Sansa cleared her throat and stood up straight, “No, he’s just grown.”

“So, have you, perhaps you have a chance at wooing him,” Arya hums looking over to you, talking to Jon with Daenerys by your side, “I can’t deny that he is very handsome.”

You barely got to talk to Sansa when everyone was preparing to war, luckily that your group of people survived the war. But, Missandei was down in the tombs with Sansa and Tyrion where she had heard that Sansa was disrespecting your wife.

Missandei was going to tell her Queen, but rather think other when she sees you walking towards her with a smile - she knew that you were better to handle it. She saw how your jaw locked, no one was going to disrespect your wife.

“Thank you, Missandei, please be with Dany, I’ll sort her out.”

You went to Jon first, who was confused at his cousin after you and Dany told him that he was actually the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Jon had his whole heart to support you and Dany’s plan to rule the seven kingdoms, agreeing that despite Winterfell wanting independence, they would struggle.

Sansa was trying to find the right ways to talk to you, perhaps try and mend the relationship. But, when you were looking at her as you stride towards her - she thinks differently. 

Tyrion was in the room, trailing behind you as well as Varys. Jon followed closely behind whilst Arya looked confused, looking at her sister. 

“How dare you disrespect your Queen!” 

No greetings, no smile upon your face, fury on your expression and for once in her life, Sansa no longer recognise the sweet boy from many years ago.

“You should owe her your life after she came to rescue your home! She brought dragons and not once has she spoken about the clear disrespect that you and your people wore. She is not mad like her father at all.”

Tyrion, Varys, Jon and many other people could agree to that, Daenerys was nothing like her father and it was mostly because of you. You were her constant grounding, bringing her to reality and knowing that you will always be by her side. 

“She’s not my Queen!” Sansa snaps back, gritting her teeth, “I don’t think she should be if anything if someone was to take the throne it should be you! It’s been rightfully yours since your father died.”

“It is my throne,” You sneered as Sansa stops upon hearing your words, “You’re not only disrespecting your queen, you are disrespecting my wife.”

Wife.

Her hearts shatter, she wonders is that how you felt when she had rejected you. Your eyes were cold, your stance was stiff and the lost Valyrian sword matches it’s current owner - you. It reflected who you were, shiny and attractive, but can cut so deeply - it was hard to recover from it’s inflicted wounds.

“You shall never bad mouth the throne, you hear me?” You pressed on, your tone turning stern that she reluctantly nods, “Don’t test me, Stark.” 

With that, you turn on your heel and leave the room, leaving the occupants confused and somewhat terrified. 

“Well...” Arya breaks the silence, “Sansa?”

Her heart was broken, she thought this time she could find love. She was never Joffery’s, she refuses to be claimed by Ramsey and she lost Theon. But, she could not let a man ruin her thoughts, putting up a wall as she looks away from where you last were.

“I believe we all have a meeting on how we will accompany our King and Queen to the throne.”

She dreads to see you because she knows when she arrives - you will look at Daenerys with love and it’ll be returned. 

[vivacissimx]

The thing about Cersei's gender dysphoria is that it has less to do with Cersei not being comfortable with her own body and more with priviledge. That is the only reason as to why she wants to be a man and takes so much comfort in the idea that she would have been Jaime if so. Not only because pre hand-loss Jaime is outwardly perfect but also because he is the epitome of priviledge (this is something George himself highlighted in interviews). If you read her chapters the only other thing that she envies in the male gender is the physical strength and those two things are interconected. That's why i don't really buy into the headcanon of her being trans.

oh sure, and I'm not equating Cersei's gender dysphoria with her being trans, because experiencing gender dysphoria ≠ being trans necessarily. Plenty of cis ppl experience alienation from/by gender, particularly cis women because under patriarchal conditions womanhood is designed to be rigid and uncomfortable. I'm not saying anything new either, this is Gender Studies 101. That said genderfuckery is yknow a reading that is there and in particular I like these lines

When Jaime was given his first sword, there was none for me. 'What do I get?' I remember asking.

-ACOK, Sansa VI

"Perhaps I should marry Queen Cersei after all, on the condition that she support her daughter over her son. Do you think she would?"

Never, Tyrion wanted to say, but the word caught in his throat. Cersei always resented being excluded from power on account of her sex. If Dornish law applied in the west, she would be the heir to Casterly Rock in her own right. She and Jaime were twins, but Cersei had come first into the world, and that was all it took. By championing Myrcella's cause she would be championing her own. "I do not know how my sister would choose, between Tommen and Myrcella," he admitted.

-ASOS, Tyrion IX

She laughed. "A pity Lord Tywin Lannister never had a son. I could have been the heir he wanted, but I lacked the cock.

-ASOS, Jaime IX

And she is greedy. Greedy for power, for honor, for love.

-ADWD, Tyrion VI

because she's not asking to be given a sword alongside Jaime, but she did expect to receive something elsewise, something neither Jaime's swords nor her own feminine accoutrements. Tyrion knows Cersei resents denial based on sex, but he doesn't know that she wants Casterly Rock or would fight for it. She occupies a space in between. Tyrion is hustling in the last quote but it's included because while I don't know that Cersei desires the traditional trappings of privileged men, I do know that she wouldn't be satisfied just being Jaime. Her conceptions of her own "manhood" might start with Jaime but they don't end there

[gcldencrownofsorrow]

HE DOESN’T EVEN HEAR HER. HE BLATANTLY IGNORE HER INFRONT OF HER BROTHER AND UNCLE 

"By marriage. Yours, to begin with." It came so suddenly that Cersei could only stare for a moment. Then her cheeks reddened as if she had been slapped. "No. Not again. I will not." "Your Grace," said Ser Kevan, courteously, "you are a young woman, still fair and fertile. Surely you cannot wish to spend the rest of your days alone? And a new marriage would put to rest this talk of incest for good and all."   "So long as you remain unwed, you allow Stannis to spread his disgusting slander," Lord Tywin told his daughter. "You must have a new husband in your bed, to father children on you." "Three children is quite sufficient. I am Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, not a brood mare! The Queen Regent!"   "You are my daughter, and will do as I command."   She stood. "I will not sit here and listen to this—"

"You will if you wish to have any voice in the choice of your next husband," Lord Tywin said calmly. When she hesitated, then sat, Tyrion knew she was lost, despite her loud declaration of, "I will not marry again!"

"You will marry and you will breed. Every child you birth makes Stannis more a liar." Their father's eyes seemed to pin her to her chair. "Mace Tyrell, Paxter Redwyne, and Doran Martell are wed to younger women likely to outlive them. Balon Greyjoy's wife is elderly and failing, but such a match would commit us to an alliance with the Iron Islands, and I am still uncertain whether that would be our wisest course."   "No," Cersei said from between white lips. "No, no, no." Tyrion could not quite suppress the grin that came to his lips at the thought of packing his sister off to Pyke. Just when I was about to give up praying, some sweet god gives me this. Lord Tywin went on. "Oberyn Martell might suit, but the Tyrells would take that very ill. So we must look to the sons. I assume you do not object to wedding a man younger than yourself?" "I object to wedding any—" "I have considered the Redwyne twins, Theon Greyjoy, Quentyn Martell, and a number of others. But our alliance with Highgarden was the sword that broke Stannis. It should be tempered and made stronger. Ser Loras has taken the white and Ser Garlan is wed to one of the Fossoways, but there remains the eldest son, the boy they scheme to wed to Sansa Stark."   Willas Tyrell. Tyrion was taking a wicked pleasure in Cersei's helpless fury. "That would be the cripple," he said. Their father chilled him with a look. "Willas is heir to Highgarden, and by all reports a mild and courtly young man, fond of reading books and looking at the stars. He has a passion for breeding animals as well, and owns the finest hounds, hawks, and horses in the Seven Kingdoms."   A perfect match, mused Tyrion. Cersei also has a passion for breeding. He pitied poor Willas Tyrell, and did not know whether he wanted to laugh at his sister or weep for her. "The Tyrell heir would be my choice," Lord Tywin concluded, "but if you would prefer another, I will hear your reasons."

"That is so very kind of you, Father," Cersei said with icy courtesy. "It is such a difficult choice you give me. Who would I sooner take to bed, the old squid or the crippled dog boy? I shall need a few days to consider. Do I have your leave to go?" You are the queen, Tyrion wanted to tell her. He ought to be begging leave of you. "Go," their father said. "We shall talk again after you have composed yourself. Remember your duty." Cersei swept stiffly from the room, her rage plain to see. Yet in the end she will do as Father bid. She had proved that with Robert

[ilynpilled]

“The perfect son that has the weight of having to embody an impossible ideal on his shoulders.” Where does he have this conflict? We have no proof of him being affected by Tywin. All he cared about was Cersei so he gave it all up for Cersei.

My father. Jaime wondered whether Lord Tywin had received the goat’s demand for ransom, with or without his rotted hand. What is a swordsman worth without his sword hand? Half the gold in Casterly Rock? Three hundred dragons? Or nothing? His father had never been unduly swayed by sentiment.

Those who were there at court during this time have recounted that Aerys's behavior was erratic. He was untrusting of any save his Kingsguard-and then only imperfectly, for he kept Ser Jaime Lannister close at all hours to serve as a hostage against his father.

“but my father’s forces reached the city first. Pycelle convinced the king that his Warden of the West had come to defend him, so he opened the gates. The one time he should have heeded Varys, and he ignored him. My father had held back from the war, brooding on all the wrongs Aerys had done him and determined that House Lannister should be on the winning side. The Trident decided him.”

“You cannot eat love, nor buy a horse with it, nor warm your halls on a cold night,” she heard him tell Jaime once, when her brother had been no older than Tommen.

Naked and alone he stood, surrounded by enemies, with stone walls all around him pressing close. The Rock, he knew. He could feel the immense weight of it above his head. He was home.

“What place is this?” “Your place.” The voice echoed; it was a hundred voices, a thousand, the voices of all the Lannisters since Lann the Clever, who’d lived at the dawn of days. But most of all it was his father’s voice, and beside Lord Tywin stood his sister, pale and beautiful, a torch burning in her hand. Joffrey was there as well, the son they’d made together, and behind them a dozen more dark shapes with golden hair.”

“Sister, why has Father brought us here?”

“Us? This is your place, Brother. This is your darkness.” Her torch was the only light in the cavern. Her torch was the only light in the world. She turned to go.

“Stay with me,” Jaime pleaded. “Don’t leave me here alone.” But they were leaving. “Don’t leave me in the dark!”

But Tywin Lannister endured, eternal as Casterly Rock. And now you have a cripple for a son as well as a dwarf, my lord. How you will hate that…

“Jaime,” Lord Tywin said, as if they’d last seen each other at breakfast. “Lord Bolton led me to expect you earlier. I had hoped you’d be here for the wedding.”

“I was delayed.” Jaime closed the door softly.

“Lord Tywin pushed himself out of his chair, breath hissing between his teeth. “Who did this? If Lady Catelyn thinks—” […] Lord Tywin looked away, disgusted.

“They have taken off his hands and feet, but Clegane seems amused by the way the Qohorik slobbers.”

Jaime’s smile curdled. “What about his Brave Companions?”

“The few who stayed at Harrenhal are dead. The others scattered. They’ll make for ports, I’ll warrant, or try and lose themselves in the woods.” His eyes went back to Jaime’s stump, and his mouth grew taut with fury. “We’ll have their heads. Every one. Can you use a sword with your left hand?”

“The king’s justice will be done.”

The king’s justice. “You would execute your own son?”

“You do.” Lord Tywin rose as well. “A duty to House Lannister. You are the heir to Casterly Rock. That is where you should be.”

“NO!” Jaime had heard all that he could stand. No, more than he could stand. He was sick of it, sick of lords and lies, sick of his father, his sister, sick of the whole bloody business. “No. No. No. No. No. How many times must I say no before you’ll hear it?”

Firelight gleamed golden in the stiff whiskers that framed Lord Tywin’s face. A vein pulsed in his neck, but he did not speak. And did not speak. And did not speak. The strained silence went on until it was more than Jaime could endure. “Father…” he began.

“You are not my son.” Lord Tywin turned his face away.

“No man can stand a vigil for seven days and seven nights,” Ser Balon said. “When did you last sleep, my lord?”

“When my lord father was alive,” said Jaime.

“Allow me to stand tonight in your stead,” Ser Loras offered.

“He was not your father.” You did not kill him. I did.

Father, give her strength. Almost a prayer . . . but was it the god he was invoking, the Father Above whose towering gilded likeness glimmered in the candlelight across the sept? Or was he praying to the corpse that lay before him? Does it matter? They never listened, either one.

“Father,” he told the corpse, “it was you who told me that tears were a mark of weakness in a man, so you cannot expect that I should cry for you.

Jaime looked to make certain Lord Tywin was not rising from his bier in wrath, but his father lay still and cold, rotting.

“We all dream of things we cannot have. Tywin dreamed that his son would be a great knight, that his daughter would be a queen. He dreamed they would be so strong and brave and beautiful that no one would ever laugh at them.”

“I am a knight,” he told her, “and Cersei is a queen.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. The woman raised her hood again and turned her back on him. Jaime called after her, but already she was moving away, her skirt whispering lullabies as it brushed across the floor. Don’t leave me, he wanted to call, but of course she’d left them long ago. He woke in darkness, shivering. The room had grown cold as ice.

this is so silly. being the favorite child of an abusive parent is also not a good thing to be. jaime had been playing the role of mediator since he was a child between all three of his only loved ones, who we know he has a deep rooted fear of being abandoned to isolation by, while having to balance what he believed was entirely conditional love. tywin never once viewed him as someone with real autonomy either. as heir, he was shaped by and fed tywin’s messaging the most directly. there is a reason the “love speech” was just overheard by and not directed at cersei. and he was always just a vessel for tywin to project his ideal legacy onto. he is primarily a tool for tywin. he is pissed when jaime is maimed not out of concern but because his perfect vessel was made imperfect. jaime is an extension of tywin. his extreme punitive justice, that sours jaime, is rooted in that too. it is more about appearances than about love. he was meant to embody a standard from birth that is not even real lol. jaime had experienced tywin’s favor hence he has a drastically different relationship to desiring it in any shape or form than his siblings, who are put aside or outright despised, do. this is why his emulation is rooted in some very different things. george wrote how these different children were affected and shaped in different ways — while also highlighting their differences, personal agency, and accountability — by an abusive patriarch, that embodies most of this series’s anti-themes, because it makes them unique characters. he can explore different things with them instead of having the same exact narrative three times. the parallels and juxtaposition enriches the other dynamics rather than diminishing them.

[goodqueenaly]

Do you think Tywin was being honest when he said to Tyrion that he was going to send him to the Wall? Or do you think he intended to sentence him to death?

I do, specifically because of what Kevan told Tyrion while the latter was imprisoned:

“Perhaps the time has come for you to confess.” Even through the thick stone walls of the Red Keep, Tyrion could hear the steady wash of rain. “Say that again, Uncle? I could swear you urged me to confess.” “If you were to admit your guilt before the throne and repent of your crime, your father would withhold the sword. You would be permitted to take the black.” Tyrion laughed in his face. “Those were the same terms Cersei offered Eddard Stark. We all know how that ended.” “Your father had no part in that.” That much was true, at least. “Castle Black teems with murderers, thieves and rapists,” Tyrion said, “but I don’t recall meeting many regicides while I was there. You expect me to believe that if I admit to being a kinslayer and kingslayer, my father will simply nod, forgive me, and pack me off to the Wall with some warm woolen smallclothes.” He hooted rudely. “Naught was said of forgiveness,” Ser Kevan said sternly. “A confession would put this matter to rest. It is for that reason your father sends me with this offer.”

And then:

“Tyrion, if you are guilty of this enormity, the Wall is a kinder fate than you deserve. And if you are blameless ... [sic] there is fighting in the north, I know, but even so it will be a safer place for you than King’s Landing, whatever the outcome of this trial. The mob is convinced of your guilt. Were you so foolish as to venture out into the streets, they would tear you limb from limb.” “I can see how much that prospect upsets you.” “You are my brother’s son.” “You might remind him of that.” “Do you think he would allow you to take the black if you were not his own blood, and Joanna’s?["]

I don't think there was any reason for Tywin to specifically send Kevan, the family member he perhaps (at least at that point) most trusted and treated as his loyal lieutenant, with the offer of taking the black if Tywin was always planning to tell Tyrion "Ha ha, just kidding, I'm going to execute you anyway". Tyrion might have been the very lowest and least of the Lannisters in Tywin's eyes, and Tywin might have deeply personally hated him (for what I think Tywin saw as Tyrion's cruelty in being born a "monster" who also killed his wife), but Tywin I think still recognized that Tyrion was a Lannister, which made him worth more than any other, non-Lannister person; the same grim acceptance of that fact that had caused Tywin to raise Tyrion as his son and a Lannister of the Rock now, I believe, also motivated Tywin to allow Tyrion the mercy of spending his remaining years on the Wall. Indeed, Kevan reiterated the lack of love coming from Tywin in this decision: he specifically dispelled the notion that a judicial pardon from Tywin would have been equivalent to personal forgiveness, and couched the decision in purely familial-dynasty terms - Tywin was allowing such an offer because Tyrion was "his [i.e. Tywin's] own blood, and Joanna's", and Kevan wanted to see Tyrion accept the offer because Tyrion was "my brother's son". Tyrion confessing and heading to the Night's Watch would, I think, have been seen by Tywin as the best case scenario in the circumstances: Tyrion would have publicly accepted the guilt which his farcical trial had been specifically designed to produce, he would have been permanently exiled such that his presence could no longer remind Tywin (or anyone else) of what Tywin saw as an aberration of Lannister perfection, and either he would have himself of use (that is, to the Lannister cause) at the Wall or would have died a quick and meaningless death there (and paradoxically, Tywin may even have been satisfied that Tyrion's acceptance of a black cloak would end any pretensions the latter had to the inheritance Tywin always believed belonged to Jaime).

Likewise, look at how Tywin reacted when Tyrion demanded a trial by combat:

“No, I’ve found them. I demand trial by battle!” His sweet sister could not have been more pleased. “He has that right, my lords,” she reminded the judges. “Let the gods judge. Ser Gregor Clegane will stand for Joffrey. He returned to the city the night before last, to put his sword at my service.” Lord Tywin’s face was so dark that for half a heartbeat Tyrion wondered if he’d drunk some poisoned wine as well. He slammed his fist down on the table, too angry to speak.”

Tywin, the man always who prided himself on cool, reserved, absolute rule, was so publicly and visibly furious at Tyrion's demand for a trial by combat that he could not even manage to answer him. That incredibly emotional reaction I think underlines how much Tywin wanted the exact opposite to happen - that is, for Tyrion to accept what Tywin might have seen as a merciful Lannister-to-Lannister offer without condition or rebuttal, acknowledging both his own guilt (so Tywin saw it) and Tywin's power over House Lannister, the realm, and Tyrion himself.

[a-libra-writes]

I read your post about Tyrion's trial and Tywin's second wife's reaction towards it. I really enjoyed reading the part about Tyrion's feelings towards Tywin's second wife and her children and I was wondering if you could do a separate post including Cersei and Jaime and their thoughts and feelings on the second wife and the children she has with Tywin? If you wanted you could also include Tyrion again if you have anything you want to expand on about his feelings.

me whenever yall ask me for my long-winded opinions

so!! no surprise I have many thoughts on this dynamic and I rlly wanted to explore it in that fic, or some other one, but agh I was having hard time putting it together. So Im glad I can just dump my thoughts here. Let’s do Jaime first because Cersei’s opinions are exactly what you’d expect lol.

Initially, Jaime just goes with what people want of him. Doing it for love, and all that. He gave up being the heir to Casterly Rock because his sister - his love - asked it of him. He believed that was worth it. And by the time he’s an adult, when he’s well into the Kingsguard, after his roadtrip from hell and opening his eyes to what his sister truly is ... He still doesn’t want it. 

Jaime was raised to be the Perfect Heir. The Lannister Son, Tywin Lannister’s oldest. Handsome, excellent with the sword, amiable, a powerful family. Still... it wasn’t what he truly wanted. Jaime said it himself; he’s only truly alive when he’s “holding a sword or making love”. And let’s be real, he’s pretty aloof to things that aren’t immediately important to him. By the time the second wife comes on the scene, he’s the Kingslayer, he’s a Kingsguard, and he’s sleeping with his sister. As far as he’s concerned, she’s not his business.

However, he’s very curious about his father remarrying in the first place. The news is everywhere in the Red Keep. Tywin Lannister remarrying - presumably for an heir, because why else - and that means ... Jaime immediately thinks of Tyrion when he hears the news. He thinks of how hurt his brother must feel, how angry. Jaime spends several days in a dark mood, wondering what things would have been like if... maybe if Tyrion had been born differently. Maybe if their mother lived. But he realizes that’s pointless thinking.

He doesn’t attend the wedding, because Cersei refuses to. It’s a mild scandal, the Queen not attending her father’s second marriage, but Robert doesn’t go either and the drama is blown over through Tywin’s sheer force of intimidation + I HC that "second wives" and any wife after that aren't treated the best, especially after the husband has already had grown children. Jaime doesn’t see her for a long while. It’s when she comes to the Red Keep, when he and Cersei are forced to meet her. And...

He’s not sure what he expected. Jaime is underwhelmed. She’s pretty, naturally. That was expected. She’s dressed in Lannister colors, she’s amiable and charms most people she meets. She’s clearly intelligent. She’s so ... so good. And she isn't afraid of his father. It’s strange, Jaime thinks. What a strange choice his father made, but he doesn’t want to think of it. He doesn’t want to care, but Cersei does, and he anticipates she’ll only become more irate.

I feel like Jaime purposefully makes distance between himself and his stepmother for many reasons - His own tendency to keep others away because he assumes they’re assuming the worst of him, Cersei’s hatred of the woman, guilt toward Tyrion, apprehension to his father’s intentions, and so on. There’s something almost disturbing about the way his father listens to her, especially later in their relationship - the way he takes her counsel, sits close to her, touches her hand in front of everyone, and so on. Jaime doesn’t remember much of his mother; he knew his father loved her, but... seeing his cold, ruthless father being so careful and considerate is just unsettling. He doesn’t want to linger for too long. 

The second wife would no doubt try to speak to him, try to be friendly. It’s difficult. Jaime feels like something is off with her.

When she shows what she’s capable of, when he sees that iron hand under the silk glove, it clicks into place. That’s why his father chose her. 

I think she and Jaime wouldn’t truly connect until well after he’s lost his hand, when he’s still somewhat doing Cersei’s bidding, when he and his sister against his stepmother, Ser Kevan and his half-brother. Jaime can’t even call the boy that, or any other children the second wife might have. When he looks into them, he sees his father, but also his step-mother. 

He thinks the boy will make a good Lord of Casterly Rock. Like Tyrion, he hopes the boy will have more of his mother than this father, but he doesn’t get his hopes up.

Time for Cersei. Oh, Cersei.

It’s easy to write that she’s jealous and angry, because, yes. Duh. But it’s a lot deeper than that. Like her brothers, she’s suffered under Tywin’s “parenting”. And unlike her brothers, she remembers her mother. She’s been through trauma guys, especially in the books where you can clearly read her thoughts, memories and delusions. Joffrey got that cruelty from somewhere. Cersei got it from somewhere.

When she hears the news, she nearly cuts the tongue of the messenger. Her father, remarrying? To who? What woman could possibly measure up to her mother, who they said was just as capable as her father, if not moreso? She’s disgusted by it. She blames Jaime, even though she’s the one who convinced him to take the white cloak. She curses Tyrion, as if he could have stopped it by being “better”. And most of all, she curses her father, for not considering her as the rightful heir. Because this is the only reason this marriage is taking place - Casterly Rock needs a “proper” heir.

She’s right about that, of course. That was Tywin’s reason for remarrying. The first time she meets her “stepmother” (oh gods does she refuse to use that word) it’s months after the wedding. Maybe almost a year. Honestly, Tywin doesn’t care about her absence; it makes things easier. By then the second wife might even be pregnant, though not visibly so, and that’s a minefield in and of itself.

Cersei hates the second wife immediately. There’s no way that wouldn’t happen. Everything about her is a fault, no matter what she does. It wouldn’t matter if she was the only daughter of the wealthiest or oldest house in Westeros, it wouldn’t matter if she was a Targaryen with a dragon. When speaking to Jaime and Tyrion, Cersei uses “that whore” to refer to the second wife.

Listen, Cersei has a lot of internal misogyny. I mean, Westerosi culture just does that. What makes it worse is the genuine hurt of her father “moving on”. The fact her brothers don’t seem to remember as much of Joanna as she does. Then there’s the jealousy - she should be the one her father is consulting with. Is she not just as cunning as a man, just as ruthless, as capable of getting done what needs to be done? Is her husband not a useless oaf who couldn’t politic his way out of anything, besides maybe a brothel?

 Cersei is convinced her father looks down on her because she’s a woman. Tywin doesn’t take her seriously because she’s rash, temperamental, prideful, cruel... ... ... I wonder how she ended up that way 🙄

Her anger, jealousy and hurt only worsens when the stepmother gives birth to a son. Oh, it would have been so good for the bitch to die in childbed, to give birth to a daughter - better, an ugly, deformed daughter that would kill her on the way out. No, it just had to be a healthy son. It’s a son she watches her father hold - even if it’s briefly - when he still refused to hold Joffrey. A son her father looks at approvingly, a son who will soon learn swords and politics so he can take what’s her’s.

It makes her physically sick.

It’s no secret to Jaime and Tyrion that she wants the boy dead. The second wife doesn’t trust her worth a damn, but she doesn’t voice her concerns to Tywin. He doesn’t think Cersei is stupid or rash enough to do such a thing. And in a way, he’s almost right - one evening when she’s visiting Casterly Rock, she angrily storms into his office, telling him he’s ruining the family. The boy is too young, he’s probably not even a Lannister, he must be a bastard - even Tyrion would be better -

Tywin gives her such a fearsome response, she feels herself turning small and powerless in an instant. She leaves his office, fighting her tears, feeling like a helpless girl again. She hates it. It takes all of her willpower not to go to the boy’s room and smother him right there. If her stepmother crossed her path then, Cersei truly believes she’d do something drastic.

It’s difficult for Cersei to think of the second wife with any objective thought. Doubly so for the son, who she can’t even call brother without acid coming up in her throat. In her greatest delusions, she dreams of killing the boy and taking the Rock from him. It isn't his birthright, it's her's, she's the oldest... Westerosi inheritance laws be damned.

I’ve discussed Tyrion’s feelings in that previous ask and in this fic. Gods, it would be such a whirlwind of emotions for the poor guy - his self-destruction and bitterness might be accelerated, but there might be something freeing in his father just outright finally disowning him and moving on. ... ....  Yeah, nevermind. It just turns to more hatred. He and his stepmother have a really ... complex relationship where they both know what makes it difficult and unfair, they both know Tywin is the cause of this hurt, yet they continue to be good to each other. Sometimes it hurts Tyrion to be that way, so he has to distance himself from her for a while.

It’s the same way when he deals with his half-brother. Tyrion isn’t sure if his younger brother’s affection and admiration makes him want to smile or cry.

I imagine the son as intelligent, capable, a good swordsman in spite of his young age and well on his way to becoming a knight. I feel he’s more observant of adults than people think, he’s more on the quiet side, he has those eyes that are so eerily similar to Tywin’s, and that same nose. I think by a certain age, he’s very, very aware of what his half-siblings think of him. And as he gets older, he becomes increasingly aware of what sort of man his father is. 

I think he really, really misses Tyrion. Missing his father, after how Tywin died, well ... it’s complicated. At least he has his mother and Uncle Kevan, and maybe Jaime. 

[a-song-of-quill-and-feather]

can you tell us more about the children of jaime and alys ?? and what happens when jaime is captured by robb ?

Of course I will tell you more about them! I talked about them a bit here as well, but I will talk about them again under the cut for length:

So starting in order the first child of Jaime and Alys (other than Jon who is technically first but also not biologically theirs) is Joanna Lannister. She was the first born between her and Rickard as they are twins. She is pretty much the perfect picture of House Lannister, golden hair, green eyes, so and so forth. She also is much more inclined towards the Lannister way of thinking, she's ambitious, cunning, and shrewd. She understands her place in things and works with and around those limitations rather than trying too hard to fight against them. At the start of GoT-era she is in Highgarden with the Tyrells, and when they rally in support of Renly she accompanies as one of Margaerys ladies. She continues to follow Margaery to Kings Landing and it is there that she gets to know Cersei better. At some point, after the whole purple wedding happens, Joanna does leave Westeros for Essos and ends up in the company of Daenerys. Basically when I was thinking about Joanna and what I want to do with her I wanted to explore her having a relationship with three of the women characters who are queens and have power of their own. It very much is her learning from each of these women and growing into her own alongside them.

Then, after Joanna, we have her younger twin Rickard Lannister. He is really, of all of Alys and Jaime's children, the one who is the biggest mix of the two. He favors Alys in terms of his appearance, being much closer to the Stark look than the Lannister, as well as in his tendency to be very warm-hearted and compassionate. He favors Jaime though in his skills with a sword and his pride and spirit. He's really a very jovial light-hearted person, preferring to look at the fun of life rather than the darker parts of it. When Jon joins the Nights Watch and the role of heir passes down to Rickard he's a bit mournful of the future he may have had as the second son. Rickard also is probably the closest to Alys and the one most likely to listen to her and follow her judgement first. It's this that leads him to Essos, as she asks him to accompany Elia when she leaves to find Aegon. He then spends a large part of GoT-Era in Essos alongside Aegon, he joins the Golden Company and is even knighted by Jon Connington. He and Aegon do also grow very close during this time and their relationship is one I am excited to explore.

After the twins its a long while before Alys and Jaime have another child, mostly due to two reasons: one is that Alys suffers a few early miscarriages over the years, and the second being that at one point she does have a pregnancy that goes fairly far only to have a difficult labor and stillborn child. The latter incident making Jaime very very wary about intentionally trying for any other children, as he's terrified of her dying. It causes a slight strain on their relationship, as Alys does want another child and is willing to risk it while Jaime is not so willing, but eventually they make it through and Alys does end up pregnant and successfully has their youngest child Tybalt Lannister.

Tybalt is only about 2-3 at the start of GoT-era (so same age as Rickon) he's a sweet kid who enjoys listening to stories and chasing bugs through the grass cause he's a toddler and they do that. He doesn't have a huge role in the story, he's with Alys through the course of Kings Landing and she does her best to shelter him from the war and all that. Tywin does eventually attempt to separate Tybalt from Alys, around the time of the purple wedding, as he disapproves of how Alys has mothered her children previously and with Jon in the Nights Watch and Rickard off in Essos Tywin very much views Tybalt as a new chance at raising the heir he wants from Alys and Jaime's children.

Jaime and Alys will end up having one more child by the end of GoT-era but I haven't given much more thought than it will probably be a girl and her name might be Ella.

[atopvisenyashill]

What if Brandon killed little finger during their duel?

Well i mean, littlefucker is fairly low born, he is the one that made the challenge, he is out here bragging that he deflowered cat, and Brandon is Cat’s fiancé and heir to Winterfell. I think it’s likely that Brandon earns himself a less than stellar reputation (the way Oberyn has, for example, after the tourney mishap with Willas) but I don’t think he faces any particular consequences for it. I imagine Hoster feels really weird about it because of his relationship with LF’s dad, but like,,,,,,, pls understand i’m not saying lower class people ~ask for abuse~ but Cat makes it abundantly clear she doesn’t return his feelings, and LF decides to pick a fight anyway. If a man I thought was my bestie did that bc he wanted to fuck me, and got himself shot for it, I’d tell him he’s a fucking idiot. If he died, I’m sure I - and Cat, maybe Brandon - would feel some level of guilt and anger over it but like, Cat said no and swords are not for playing they are for killing!

Lysa’s life, however, is probably a bit better? No LF at this time means she doesn’t get pregnant, she isn’t giving an abortifacient that may have contributed to her infertility (Jon Arryn is old and contrary to popular belief, cis men actually can’t keep having kids until they die so while I don't think the fertility issues were all Lysa's, her forced abortion probably contributed). Also means that mayhaps Jon Arryn resents her a little less and is kinder to her. I think Lysa still takes her marriage really hard though - who wouldn’t omg it’s so hard to travel in and out of the Vale and Jon is OLD AS BALLS - so even if she has more children, or children without disabilities, I think she has some attachment issues that are hard to set aside.

Of course, the main issue here is the main plot. Stannis leaves because Jon dies and he thinks the Lannisters are onto him. If Jon stays alive, he and Stannis can take the capital from the Lannisters much more easily, and therefore prove that Cersei's kids aren't biologically Robert's much more easily. Unlike Ned, however, neither of those two have any qualms about murdering innocent children and their mothers so I think it's unfortunately likely that that Jon and Stannis tell Robert, and Robert at the very least is executing Cersei and Jaime, then daring Tywin and Tyrion to say something about it - and Tywin is definitely going to have some shit to say because he's been deprived of his "perfect" heir in Jaime. I worry for the fates of the three children - Joffrey, I think, is old enough he may be executed as well. I would like to think that someone would have a large enough issue with Myrcella and Tommen being executed that they get spirited away, either by some combo of Tyrion and Varys or Jon Arryn sneaking them out himself but we know how Robert is and I think it looks bleak. I can very much see, if Tyrion is in the capital at this time and Tywin is not, Robert kind of spitefully naming Tyrion as heir to Casterly Rock as a further way of rubbing it in Tywin's nose that he killed the perfect heir and perfect queen. They're probably throwing Margaery into Robert's bed after this, and that's going to be another huge ass problem. I think it's more than likely that the moment Margaery has a son, whoever offed Joffrey is doing the same to Robert, and the Tyrells are in for a long regency alongside Stannis and Jon Arryn.

[wolfsneedles]

My Re-read of a storm of swords and i just cant get over how interesting it as book with iconic lines and carefully crafted dialogues and some miserable important deaths of some of my fav characters. Like this book, is really the iphone of asoiaf lol. A fine wine. Arbor gold. It starts from same events left incomplete in clash of kings but only that now every person meets their consequences and disastrous results of wrong moves & mistakes end so perfectly and painfuly in conclusive way. A feast for crows obviously focuses more on king's landing events and some of the riverlands with brienne and jaime. Might say it isn't my fav book yet since im reading it too apart from some breathtaking prophecies and aemon declaring how prince that was promised could be --> dany

However, ASOS is best best book ever. So much mess and bittersweet endings.

You see catelyn, robb and riverlands arc ending in the most tragic way as result of all small excusable mistakes to the reader that piled up and finally execution of red wedding with bangs and drums, not to mention this event was so catatonic and an irreversible tragedy that almost all characters had visions and dreams of it (patchface, Ghost of high heart, theon, daenerys, jon perhaps later) knowing half of these characters never met the victims of the red wedding.

This event also meant - northern power of houses and faith of independence and somewhat retribution they deserved or wish they had is thwarted now and almost all of them die there esp strength of dustin, manderlys along with boltons betraying them and roose coming out as an iconic cold hearted brute and villain somewhat.

This book also shows how stark sisters had their paths turned after the tiring chasing and running away like arya through war torn lands and sansa finally fleeing KL to Vale with littlefinger - in a way a complete revival again of her and arya embarking on to braavos with an entirely different name now and somewhat purpose we dont know yet also ends her arc of sadness and despair she felt when chasing and running towards her lady mother and robb at the twins. kind of tragic tbh more for her how she saw or heard almost every death of a stark. near to her or family, she saw horror unfolding in front of her eyes.

You have lannisters coming off as victorious ( not really then...) since tywin and tyrion's last scene is iconic. Its like how the might of house lannister which in case tywin refers to himself is broken on a freaking privy - somewhat bittersweet ending since we know cersei and jaime are already not so in a good mental state to make up for heir of casterly rock - and then we have tyrion fleeing too again, once more, finally, to essos as we know. This ending of his arc in KL is also imp since he entered this city like tywin as hand of the king and is leaving like a prisoner. Idk seems perfect to me how he runs and tywin who came as hand of king replacing his son, now goes back in ehh coffin...glory indeed.

You have bran and rickon already parting in ACOK, BUT now the most importent part of brans journey also begins somehow. and therefore him abandoning winterfell and that side of north for further journey is too sad for me too in a lot of ways. His connection to his own home as the last stark who was residing there has ended too (prob bloodraven has more action for my boy i hope).

You have Lysa Tully in the Vale before sansa arrived there with baelish, and she also ultimately gets too much of frightening end in same castles and doors she never opened for anyone - even refusing to help her sister during war because now i wonder had the vale signed for stark side, how different circumstances would be but then tywin wanted to play rains of castamere so bad (i hate him sorry)

Jaime and Brienne still were busy in their road ventures and romantic comedy but him arriving as cripple and maimed to KL, is again of uttermost importance since he in his thoughts lose a lot of confidence in himself now not really making him a perfect candidate for so many things,,, again he has to sort out some issues with his big of bully sister and not-so-accommodating power hungry deluded father but he chose to argue and decline offer for heir of rock and also confessed his utter disregard for poor kids he have, joffrey especially. Idk im so confused what this golden lion & a trained chivalrous warrior is onto since jaime's chapter is like a realistic slap on your face & we see his POV in ASOS only and then he just goes thru huuuge turmoil lol. (not good day or year for him tbh)

Lastly we have daenerys who then vows to settle in mereen making it evident in way how she isn't obsessed with utter power and throne of her ancestors as some ppl speculate, ofc she appears in ADWD again but her freeing slaves and singing dracarys is my another fav momet of ASOS, since dany is really not a frightened confused child she was, she is getting hold of things in realistic way too, and meets barristan, gets to know abt their betrayals, basically gets Unsullied, idk a major iconic moment if u see in contrast to how everyone is losing war now in westeros and wo5k is coming to kind of an end, with balon dying, robb and joff dead, and stannis...(well he is another spiritual case) going to the wall, we see how horrifying brutal war did come to an end in ASOS in the end eventually with tywin also dying. So dany getting an army of unsullied opposed to all other armies kind of dissolving in westeros is quite a distinction. ( bonus points she is young and woman and alone and has 3 dragon )

On the Wall - jon plays and practiced swords with emmett and then struck by memory of him and robb playing & above all how he wants to be lord of winterfell. In the end Jon Snow wins the vote in a landslide victory and is named the 998th Lord Commander. His entire journey from start of ASOS was with ygritte and Wildlings and then finally giving up on mance and returning to Wall with no expectations of him being commander after having spent moments alone and with wildlings and others with him just a ranger.

Realising in the end now, how storm of swords puts people in power like jon and dany and others like boltons and freys in north & riverlands, at the same time starks and lannisters are in way battered and struck by at a time tragedies. Half of people who were away from their families unite or return back like jaime while other half return somewhere more far (arya sansa at vale and braavos with bran more far from winterfell, rickon too), most of the 5 kings are dead too. Also aftermath of war at end of ASOS and AFFC also describes perfectly the attitude and responses of smallfolk towards whoever results in being the king of no concern to them. Most of the small roads and inns were damaged and plundered with woman and children killed or raped and men usually dead too. When we see arya or jaime and brienne usually, we read their POVs, we also see the wrenching elements of war too and how main message could also be that lords play their game of thrones but peasants suffer dreadfully more, we also see how smallfolks have no trust or loyalties towards any house or liege lord. They usually refer to starks and lannister conflict as 'wolves came...or lions did this'. Major point i noticed.

not to mention again, in essos and on the wall 2 different realities and places that mid westeros, we see dany and jon and their ingrown different experiences and attitudes towards smallfolks. freeing of slaves and getting some loyalties tied to you, while living with wildlings and seeing how they rule and eat and sleep like a commoner is so important. The Wall also gives meaning to how real breathing humans are segregated from westeros and other houses as result of prejudice and inborn enmities. The slaves in chains indicate how their little lives in Yunkai is not of importance when they are...utterly children. some of them.

ASOS has major shifting thoughts and stories tbh. Its like gospel of asoiaf for me.