#i don’t give a damn about rhaegar

[kckt88]

Take My Breath Away XIII.

Summary:

A new Targaryen is born and Aegon does something stupid.

Warning(s): Language, Surprise Pregnancy, Time Skip, P in V Sex, Child Birth, Kiss, Realisation.

A.N - Features an Aegon POV.

Word Count: 4670

GREENS WIN - ENEMIES TO LOVERS.

Tag List - @ammo23, @immyowndefender,

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon or Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are very much appreciated.

“Where is he?” shouted Vaeryna.

“Who?” asked Rhaegar.

“Your father, I’m going to kill him” replied Vaeryna.

“H-He’s with the King” exclaimed Rhaegar.

Vaeryna turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving a stunned Rhaegar staring at his mother’s retreating form.

The walk to Aegon’s rooms wasn’t to far, but it was enough for Vaeryna to work herself up and by the time she reached her destination, she was ready to give Aemond a piece of her mind.

After she took a deep breath, Vaeryna didn’t bother to knock as she just shoved open the door and hastily looked around the room for the object of her ire.

“My love, what brings you here?”

“YOU” snarled Vaeryna.

“Oh gods, what have you done” exclaimed Aegon as he cautiously backed away from Vaeryna.

“I-I don’t know” muttered Aemond.

“Oh, you don’t know-how about I refresh your memory husband. That afternoon we spent in bed, and you said you was going to put another babe in me” replied Vaeryna.

“You don’t mean-“

“-Yes, I’ve just been to see the Maester, and he’s confirmed that I’m with child again” said Vaeryna, her amethyst eyes alight with fury.

“For the love of seven, another one?” gasped Aegon.

“Issa prūmia” whispered Aemond (My heart).

“Damn you with your big cock and fertile fucking seed” quipped Vaeryna.

“I feel like I should not be part of this conversation” muttered Aegon.

“This is all your fault” said Vaeryna.

“Me? I don’t think so-it’s super seed over here” replied Aegon gesturing to Aemond who held his hands up in mock surrender but couldn’t stop the smirk from spreading across his face.

“I don’t know exactly how this is your fault, but it is he’s your brother so there”.

“My love a child is a blessing from-“

“-Don’t even dare finish that sentence or I will have your tongue ripped out” said Vaeryna.

“As I recall, you were a willing participant in the creation of our child, you even agreed to let me put my seed in you multiple times” replied Aemond.

“I-I was in the throes of my peak I wasn’t truly aware-“ stuttered Vaeryna blushing.

“-So, you didn’t mean it when you said that I was the best lover you’ve ever had, and you wished that I could keep my cock stuffed inside you at all times?” said Aemond smirking.

“Oh, you-just shut up. Besides you’re the only lover I’ve had” snarked Vaeryna.

“Even after all these years of marriage, I still love it when you blush like a maiden” muttered Aemond as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

“Is that all you love about me?” mused Vaeryna.

Aemond smiled and shook his head, he went to kiss Vaeryna but then he remembered that Aegon was there, staring at the two of them with a completely bewildered expression upon his face.

“You two are enough to drive a man to drink” muttered Aegon.

“Well, you already drink so how does that work?” replied Vaeryna as she began pressing gentle kisses to Aemond’s scared cheek.

“Hm ābrazȳrys” growled Aemond as Vaeryna lowered her mouth and began nipping and sucking his neck (Wife).

“Issa nēdenka zaldrīzes” whispered Vaeryna (My fierce dragon).

Aemond could feel himself growing hard in his breeches, his desire for his wife quickly roaring to life, coursing through every fibre of his being. He needed to regain control and fast otherwise he’d end up ravishing her right there.

“My love, we cannot do this here. L-Let us go to our chambers” whispered Aemond as he gently squeezed his wife’s rear.

“Then I suggest we make all haste husband; I seem to have developed a desire for you to Obūljagon issa toliot se gūrogon issa hen inkot” said Vaeryna (Bend me over and take me from behind).

“I know the language of our forebears as well you know” muttered Aegon as he pressed his hands over his ears.

“Come wife, let me sate your desire” said Aemond as he took Vaeryna’s hand and dragged her out of the room, leaving a slightly jealous and flustered Aegon in their wake.

The news of Vaeryna’s pregnancy was taken quite well.

It was important that all the children were informed and on board with the fact that they would have another sibling.

“How did the babe get in mama’s tummy?” asked Saeryna.

“Father put it in there” replied Jaehaeryn.

“How?”

“That’s a conversation for when your older” said Aemond frowning.

“Why?” asked Saeryna tilting her head to the side.

“Because you’re a little young at the moment” said Aemond closing his eye and taking a deep breath.

“But I am almost seven name days old” retorted Saeryna.

“Add another fifty million name days onto that and then I might think about telling you.”

“Oh, Kepa your being very silly” laughed Saeryna (Father).

“You know what else is silly?” asked Aemond smiling.

“No what?” asked Saeryna, her eyes wide.

“The tickle monster” exclaimed Aemond as he grabbed hold of Saeryna and began tickling her.

Saeryna’s delighted squeals of laughter echoed around the chamber and soon all of the younger children were set upon by the dangerous tickle monster.

Vaeryna loved watching Aemond with their children. His love for their family was boundless, and every day Vaeryna was thankful to have been blessed in such a manner.

Suddenly a knock at the door broke the tickle monsters reign of terror and Aegon appeared.

“UNCLE AEGON”

“Oh, my so many children at once” gasped Aegon as he was set upon by Saeryna and Caelee.

“Brother” said Aemond as he nodded politely.

“I guess the news of another babe was well received?” asked Aegon as he picked up Caelee and bounced her in his arms.

“Apart from Saeryna asking where babes come from and Jaehaeryn telling her that I put it in there” replied Aemond quietly.

“Well, he’s not wrong, you did put it in there-a lot from what I’ve heard”.

“Spying on me and my lady wife, are you?” asked Aemond narrowing his eye.

“Gods no. I like my skin attached to my body thank you-but I’ve heard you both a time or two that’s all. Mayhaps you should learn to be a bit quieter when you come” said Aegon smirking.

“Halt your vulgarity in from of my children” snapped Aemond as he hauled Caelee from Aegon’s arms and placed her on Jaehaera’s knee.

“Might want to make sure your wife covers up her neck then-I can see the love bites from here, gods brother you should really learn to be gentler”.

“-And you should learn when to close that mouth of yours” snapped Aemond.

“Where’s the fun in that?” exclaimed Aegon as he waltzed past Aemond and sat next to Jaehaera.

“Easy there father, if looks could kill,” said Rhaegar.

“Then my brother would be long dead, and I would free of his sarcastic attitude and punchable face” replied Aemond.

“Come, have some wine. Let us celebrate the new babe,” said Rhaegar.

“Hm” replied Aemond as he spied Daenerys huddled in the corner talking to Aegon the Younger.

“Relax. Their only talking” urged Vaeryna softly as she placed a hand on Aemond’s lower back.

“For now,” muttered Aemond.

“Mother, your neck” said Rhaegar quietly.

“Apologize son, it seems as though I was attacked by a mindless beast” replied Vaeryna.

“Mindless? I knew exactly what I was doing” exclaimed Aemond.

“I did not need to hear that-gods you two are so gross” gasped Rhaegar as he moved away from his parents.

“Is everything ok my love-you look a little pale”.

“I’m a Targaryen, I always look pale” said Vaeryna grimacing as her stomach churned.

“No, seriously you look-“

“-I-I’m going to be sick” exclaimed Vaeryna as she ran to the nearest vase and threw up.

“Mama sick” gasped Caelee nervously.

“It’s ok sweet girl, sometimes having a babe can make the mama’s sick” whispered Jaehaera.

“But your not sick” replied Caelee.

“Wait-what?” asked Vaeryna as she looked towards Jaehaera who blushed furiously.

“Oh, well I-I think that I might be with child” said Jaehaera softly.

“Really? That’s fantastic” said Vaeryna smiling before she threw up again.

“I-I’m going to be a father?” asked Rhaegar as he took Jaehaera’s hand.

“We need to have it confirmed my the Maester” replied Jaehaera softly.

“Another baby” shrieked Vharla.

“Will that make me an uncle?” asked Aerys.

“Yes, it will” said Jaehaera smiling.

“My love, this is wonderful” said Rhaegar smiling.

“I’m going to be a grandsire” muttered Aemond scowling at Aegon the Younger who snickered.

“-Who’s about to have another child. Easy their gramps-wouldn’t want you to break a hip or anything” said Aegon holding his hands up in mock surrender.

“You’re going to be a grandsire too you insufferable twat” spat Aemond.

“Shit, your right” exclaimed Aegon.

This was definitely her last babe.

Vaeryna had felt awful for the entirety of her term, the sickness was incomprehensible, and the back ache was dreadful.

There were of course rare days where she could actually walk around without feeling like her spine was about to disintegrate and on those days Vaeryna would sit with Jaehaera and the younger children in the gardens and enjoy the sun.

Ever since she discovered that she was with child, Jaehaera would often lean on Vaeryna for support, as she was incredibly nervous.

Not to mention Rhaegar at the age of six and ten was also a bag of nerves and would regularly consult with his father on how to support his lady wife during her labours.

Aemond of course was on hand to assuage any fears his oldest son had and would often provide him some much-needed advice.

Even Alicent in her advancing years was on hand to offer her aide, although her ramblings about the faith of the seven often left Rhaegar with a headache, so he tended to avoid spending too much time in his grandmothers presence.

Saeryna of course still followed Aegon everywhere and Vharla had take a shine to her other uncle Aegon and they would often be spotted in each other’s company, which pleased Vaeryna greatly.

Aerys and Jaehaeryn were of course thick as thieves and would find themselves in bother, whether it was with the kitchen staff for stealing sweets or the septas for skipping their lessons.

Daenerys was the only one of her children who seemed tolerant of her grandmothers lectures on faith and duty, and would often spend hours in her company, but as it turned out she was only tolerant because she would stick cotton wool in her ears to drown out the sound of Alicent’s voice, a trick apparently her uncle Aegon taught her when she was a child.

Aemond of course was not amused when he found out and almost gave his brother a damn good thrashing before Daenerys intervened.

Of course, Aemond had other matters to attend too.

“Gods when will this end” groused Vaeryna as Aemond rubbed her swollen stomach.

“I’m sorry your so uncomfortable my love” whispered Aemond.

“This is the last one Aemond. I cannot do this anymore” mumbled Vaeryna.

“You have given me seven children-soon to be eight, there will be no more babes after this”.

“I love you very much you know” said Vaeryna softly.

“-And I love you my beautiful wife” muttered Aemond as he began pressing soft kisses to her swollen stomach.

“Aemond” moaned Vaeryna.

“Is there something you need my sweet?” asked Aemond.

“Y-You-I need you to help get this babe out of me” exclaimed Vaeryna as Aemond carefully manoeuvred her onto her side and laid behind her.

“As you wish” replied Aemond, pressing a kiss to her shoulder as he took hold of his hard cock and pressed it into her warm wet folds.

“Oh, gods Aemond. Yes, right there” moaned Vaeryna as she pushed back against him.

“My wife, my love” gasped Aemond as he increased the pace of his thrusts.

Usually, their love making was passionate and all consuming, but today it was gentle and sweet.

Aemond delighted in the little moans his wife would make as she approached her peak, her pregnancy had made her more sensitive and Aemond relished every opportunity he had to be inside his willing wife.

“P-Please, husband. I-I’m going to-“ exclaimed Vaeryna.

Aemond pressed his face into Vaeryna’s shoulder and groaned as he felt her cunny clenching around him.

“That’s it, my love. Come for me” moaned Aemond as he pressed a finger to Vaeryna’s pearl and began stroking it in tandem with his thrusts.

“Oh, gods Aemond, don’t stop. Please don’t stop” begged Vaeryna.

“Yes wife-“ gasped Aemond as he felt his own peak approaching.

“-AEMOND” screamed Vaeryna as she exploded.

“FUCK” roared Aemond as he spilled rope after rope of seed inside her.

“I love you so fucking much” exclaimed Vaeryna.

“-Love you too my Idañnykeā perzys” replied Aemond softly (Twin flame).

“ōños hen issa glaeson” replied Vaeryna (Light of my life).

“-Should you be here?” asked Aegon.

“Aemond is flying with Vhagar, and I wanted some company” replied Vaeryna as she braced her weight on the table and slowly sat down.

“You look like your about to pop at any moment” said Aegon.

“Oh, believe me I know. I’ve tried everything to get the babe out-walking, spicy food, I even tried some rank tea that Maester Munkun suggested and nothing” exclaimed Vaeryna.

“-Have you and Aemond-you know?”

“I’ve taken his cock everyday sometimes more than once; in every position I can manage and still nothing” said Vaeryna.

“Thanks for that vivid depiction��� muttered Aegon.

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t enjoy the thought” quipped Vaeryna smirking.

“You know most wives would feel uncomfortable knowing that someone else lusts after their husband” retorted Aegon as he took a sip of wine.

“I’m not like most wives; besides I know Aemond would never stick his cock in another person-not without my consent anyway” said Vaeryna.

“Your not wrong there, I’ve never known a man be so cuntstruck”.

“It’s called being in love” said Vaeryna.

“As much as I think of you both-I know nothing would ever come of it”.

“Wait-what did you just say?” asked Vaeryna.

“N-Nothing” stammered Aegon.

“Y-You said both-” replied Vaeryna her eyes going wide as a sharp pain shot across her stomach.

“I-Is everything ok?”.

“The babe is coming” gasped Vaeryna as the was a sudden rush of water between her legs.

“W-We need to get the Maester” exclaimed Aegon as he sprang out of his chair.

“Just remain calm-oh fuck” shrieked Vaeryna as a series of contractions tore across her stomach.

“W-What should I do” exclaimed Aegon.

“I-I need you to help me” exclaimed Vaeryna as she doubled over in pain.

“Y-Yes I’ll help you to your chambers” replied Aegon as he helped Vaeryna to stand up.

“N-No, it’s coming-now I can feel it” urged Vaeryna.

“Surely it cannot come this fast” grumbled Aegon.

“I-It is coming that fast, Aegon I-I need you to help me take off my small clothes”.

“I’m not entirely comfortable with that” muttered Aegon.

“STOP BEING A GIRL AND FUCKING HELP ME” yelled Vaeryna.

“This is not the way I envisioned taking off your small clothes” replied Aegon as he reached under Vaeryna’s skirt.

“What?” gasped Vaeryna.

“N-Nothing” said Aegon quickly discarding his good sister’s small clothes.

“I need you to look” urged Vaeryna as she sunk to the floor and pressed her back against the wall.

“I-I don’t want to see that”.

“JUST FUCKING LOOK” balled Vaeryna as another contraction ripped across her stomach.

Aegon let out a small whimper of protest as he descended to his knees and slowly looked between Vaeryna’s open legs.

“What can you see?”

“I-I think I see the head and there’s some other stuff that I’m going to pretend I don’t see-oh gods this is so gross, I should not be seeing you in this way” said Aegon grimacing.

Gods, how did his absolute twat of a brother manage to do this seven times? How he managed to remain steadfast at his wife’s side as she birthed their babes was something Aegon would never know.

“I don’t have anyone else. P-Please Aegon, don’t leave me” cried Vaeryna as Aegon began backing away from her, his face even paler than usual.

“I-I’m not sure I’m the right person for this” replied Aegon.

“Please, I need you” begged Vaeryna.

Aegon shook like a leaf as he watched his good sister cry, the tears rolled down her sweat drenched face and something inside him shifted into place, she needed him, even if Aemond would more than likely skin him alive, he couldn’t leave her. Not now.

“I’m not leaving you” said Aegon sternly.

“I want AEMOND” screamed Vaeryna.

“You and me both” quipped Aegon, oh why did Aemond have to go flying with Vhagar today, the selfish prick could have waited.

“I-Is it coming?” asked Vaeryna as she took a deep breath and pushed.

Aegon steeled himself for what he was about to see and prayed to the seven that Aemond would not inflict momentous amounts of pain upon him for what he was about to see.

“Yes, the babe is coming-you’re doing amazing, keep pushing, that’s it” said Aegon.

“I-I’m not sure I can do it anymore” huffed Vaeryna.

“You can do this, you are blood of the dragon, not some weakling mouse. NOW PUSH”

Vaeryna took a deep breath and pushed with every ounce of strength she still possessed.

“The head is out-oh gods it’s so disgusting, but keep going, you’re doing great” said Aegon, grimacing as his stomach churned. Oh boy did he regret consuming that pitcher of wine earlier.

Vaeryna nodded and with one final push, the babe arrived with a wet squelch.

“It’s a boy” shrieked Aegon excitedly as he pulled of his loose cotton shirt and wrapped it around the crying babe.

“I-Is he ok?” asked Vaeryna as he held out her arms expectantly.

“He’s crying well-so I think he’s ok” replied Aegon as he handed the squalling pink babe to Vaeryna, who sobbed with happiness.

Aegon couldn’t help himself as he leaned forward to press a kiss to Vaeryna’s cheek but at the last moment she turned to face him, and his lips pressed against hers.

“S-Sorry I shouldn’t have done that-“ stuttered Aegon as he pulled away in a panic.

“It was an accident-” said Vaeryna softly.

“-Yes-an accident” retorted Aegon quickly, knowing full well that whilst it may have been an accident on her part, it certainly wasn’t on his.

He’d got caught up in the emotion of the situation they were in and something crazy had taken hold of him.

He had fully intended on kissing her, oh gods Aemond was going to kill him.

“T-Thank you for being here, I couldn’t have done this without you” said Vaeryna smiling.

“It’s ok. Just don’t ever ask me to do it again” replied Aegon quietly.

Suddenly the door flew open and Aemond appeared, out of breath and looking flustered.

“It’s about fucking time” snapped Aegon.

“Y-You had t-the babe” exclaimed Aemond in amazement as he knelt down next to Vaeryna.

“No shit” mumbled Aegon.

“It’s a boy” said Vaeryna, her face lit up as she smiled.

“Are you ok?” asked Aemond as he gently stroked his newborn son’s tuft of silver hair.

“I am, thanks to Aegon” said Vaeryna quietly as she gently laid her head on Aemond’s shoulder.

“Thank you, brother,”

“Your welcome” replied Aegon, trying to ignore the odd feelings stirring within him as he gazed at Vaeryna. Their brief kind of accidental kiss was still playing on his mind.

“What shall we call our son?” asked Aemond as he pressed a kiss to his wife’s sweaty forehead.

“Aegar. In honour of his uncle” replied Vaeryna softly.

“A-Are you serious?” exclaimed Aegon, his eyes filling with tears.

“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what I would have done” said Vaeryna.

Aegon smiled widely as Maester Munkun finally arrived and the rest of Vaeryna and Aemond’s children appeared, standing at the doorway eagerly waiting for permission to meet their new sibling.

“Come meet Aegar” breathed Aemond proudly as Vaeryna placed their tiny son in his arms.

As Maester Munkun examined Vaeryna and helped her deliver the after birth, which totally grossed Aegon out even more than seeing his good siter give birth, Aemond took Aegar over to his older siblings who immediately began to melt at the tiny bundle in his arms.

“He’s so tiny” whispered Daenerys in awe.

“Congratulations, both of you” said Aegon the Younger.

“He looks like you father” said Rhaegar as he manoeuvred Caelee in his arms so she could meet her new brother.

“No, he doesn’t he looks like an old raisin” said Jaehaeryn.

“Boy are you serious?” asked Aemond.

“Sorry father” muttered Jaehaeryn.

“Oh well done he’s perfect” cooed Jaehaera as she ran a hand along her own swollen stomach.

“I love him already” said Vharla sweetly.

“Can I hold him?” asked Aerys.

“Maybe later ok, remember he’s only just been born, he’ll need feeding soon” replied Aemond softly.

“Would you be able to help take the Princess back to your chambers?” asked Maester Munkun.

“I’ll carry her-Aegon take my son and don’t drop him” said Aemond.

“As if I would” snapped Aegon as he took Aegar into his arms.

Aemond bent down and lifted Vaeryna into his arms, her head rested on his shoulder as she closed her eyes, a small smile on her face.

“Right come on you lots let’s give mother and father some privacy” said Rhaegar as he shooed his siblings out the room.

“But I want to see that baby more” whined Saeryna.

“You can see him on the morrow, sweet girl remember that mother will be tired and Aegar needs to be fed, it’s been a busy day” said Daenerys softly.

“Ok but I want to sew him a teddy, one that looks like a dragon”.

“That sounds wonderful-can I help?” asked Jaehaera.

“Yes, you can and Aerys too” replied Saeryna sweetly.

“Ha-tough luck baby brother” laughed Jaehaeryn.

“-And you can come with me to inform grandmother of her new grandson,” said Rhaegar.

“Rhaegar-no, she’ll talk about the seven” moaned Jaehaeryn.

“Should have thought about that before you opened your mouth-fathers right your too much like uncle Aegon” retorted Rhaegar.

“Which one?”

“Enough-now” snapped Rhaegar as he seized Jaehaeryn by the scruff of the neck and marched him down the corridor.

“Is everything ok brother?” asked Aemond.

“W-What?” asked Aegon.

“You seem a little out of sorts” replied Aemond.

“I’ve seen things today that I wish to forget” muttered Aegon, his accidental-on purpose kiss with Vaeryna kept playing on a loop in his mind.

“Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you?”

“I-I did something really stupid and now-“

“-Husband, I’m ready to get out the bath” said Vaeryna.

“I need to help Vaeryna, wait there and we can talk after-watch Aegar will you” exclaimed Aemond as he gave his brother one last look of concern before he disappeared into the separate bathing chamber.

Aegon sat on next to the crib that Aegar was currently asleep in, and he looked down at his newly born nephew, the beginnings of an unfamiliar feeling blooming in his chest.

He felt truly honoured to have his nephew named after him, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Vaeryna.

Their accidental-on purpose kiss had been brief, but Aegon could still remember the feeling of her soft lips upon his.

He’d once confessed that he loved her as his good sister, but over the years as their friendship developed more so had his feelings, sure he had a curiosity about Aemond who wouldn’t, the guy was stunningly beautiful, but his wife gods she was something else.

He wasn’t a very good King and he spent most of his days drunk, but Vaeryna never treated him any less for it, she always spoke to him with unfailing honesty and compassion, she was different from all the women he usually surrounded himself with.

Sure, he was heavily scared below the waist, and he couldn’t sire children anymore but that didn’t stop him from indulging in the pleasures of the flesh from time to time, only his most trusted and favourite whores were invited to keep him company, two females and one male, paid handsomely of course. They were perhaps the richest whores in all of Kings Landing.

Granted he didn’t actually indulge with his male whore all that much, it was more of an itch that needed scratching every so often. It was the females he spent the most time with, they were soft and sweet and sometimes he would close his eyes and pretend that the whore riding him was Vaeryna.

He often felt sick afterwards, much like he did when he would fantasize that the male whore was his brother, he knew Targaryen’s had queer customs, that fact never bothered him it was that he lusted after two people who were so deeply in love with one another that they would never even so much as cast anyone a second look.

Given how their relationship began, Aegon never would have imagined that this is where his brother and Vaeryna would end up, but here they were-happy, in love and here he was kissing a woman who’d just birthed a babe.

Gods there must be something wrong with him, surely doing that wasn’t normal.

Suddenly Aegar gave a little squeak and Aegon lurched forward to check his nephew, who had begun to stir.

“Come on little one; don’t cry” whispered Aegon as he lifted the babe into his arms and began rocking him gently.

Aegar whimpered for a moment before he quietened down and fell back to sleep, Aegon smiled as he gazed at his sweet little nephew.

For the briefest of moments, he allowed himself to sink into the delusion that this was his son, his silver haired little boy and that Vaeryna as his wife, but before he could drown, he was snapped out of his reverie by the reappearance of Aemond who had an arm wrapped around Vaeryna’s waist as she hobbled across the room.

“I-Is he ok?” asked Vaeryna as she slipped into bed.

“I think he might be getting hungry” replied Aegon as he reluctantly passed Aegar to his father.

“I did wonder” mused Vaeryna as she began undoing the laces of her shift.

“You know I think I’ll take my leave-you need your rest and well I-I need a drink” said Aegon looking at the ceiling.

“Thank you for today Aegon, I couldn’t have done any of it without you”.

“Don’t mention it” replied Aegon still looking at the ceiling.

“He’s latched on well hasn’t he-“ said Aemond softly.

“Definitely his fathers son with how quick he took to the nipple” laughed Vaeryna.

Aegon cringed as his brother and Vaeryna continued to talk about breasts and nipples and for fuck sake he had to get out of there.

“I’ll go now-mayhaps I will see you both at some point tomorrow” gasped Aegon.

“Didn’t you want to tell me something earlier-“

“NO-I mean it’s nothing, I’ll see-speak to you tomorrow” replied Aegon as he turned on his heel and left the room.

As soon as he returned to his chambers, he poured himself a generous cup of wine, and flopped onto the sofa.

“Y-Your Grace, are you in need of anything further tonight?”

Aegon paused for a moment, unsure of what to say, part of him just wanted to consume enough wine that he forgot his own name and the other part wanted to summon his favourite whores.

In the end he decided to have both.

“Send for Nessa and Markus and bring me some more wine” said Aegon.

“Y-Yes Your Grace”.

The bells of Kings Landing could be heard ringing in the distance in celebration of the birth of a new Targaryen Prince.

If tonight was about celebration, then Aegon was determined to make it one to remember.

[countrymusiclover]

4 - We Have A Thing For Knights Don’t We?

Part 5

The Lion Knight and Dragon Princess

Tags- just send an ask to be added @cdragons @kmc1989 @starkleila @noirrose21-blog @lover-of-books-and-tea

Mature content in this part 18+ and up

“Vaella. Come sit with me dear girl.” My mother opened her arms waving me over to the window that she sat near in her rocking chair. Normally my brother Viserys was in the room with her but a lady in waiting had put him down for a nap with a guard outside his room.

Rounding my way past her bed I sat down in the chair across from her, recalling the gown she wore was a simple gray one with her long hair flowing down her shoulders. “I wish father would allow you to move about the castle or at the very least not have a guard posted at your door.”

“I'm afraid I wished many things throughout my life. But I don't regret being a mother to you and your brothers.” She admitted to me resting a hand on her stomach.

Letting my curiosity get the better of me I ignored the presence of the guards on the other side of the door. “What’s one of the things you’d wish you’d done?”

“There was this one knight that I loved very deeply. His name was Bonifer Hasty from the Stormlands. But he was poor and wasn’t acceptable for a princess like me. And it wasn’t like your father and I had any choice of saying no to our arrangement.”

Putting my hands in my lap I sighed praying the same wouldn’t happen to me. “Hopefully that won’t happen for me.” Running my fingers through my hair I bite my lip gazing towards the window.

“I know that look. Who’s the man you want to sleep with?”

I gasped feeling my face turning bright red. “Mother!”

“It’s the same look I had. So who’s the lucky man to charm you, dear daughter?” My mother Rhaella sent me a look waiting for an answer.

I giggled leaning forward and she leaned closer, sensing I didn’t want the guards outside to hear what I was about to tell her. “It’s a knight in fathers Kingsguard. I - I hadn’t realized it until very recently when he confronted Ser Darry when he brought me to be with you. How he stood up to him worried about me and not about what could happen to him.”

“And what is this knight's name?” She asked me.

I smiled brightly at her. “Jaime Lannister.”

“Oh I see. His mother was a dear friend to me. Have you told him how you feel yet?”

I cut myself short from answering her question scrambling to my feet and out of her chambers in search of him. My mothers rare laughter could be heard behind me before I had exited her chambers. That was one of the only times I had seen her so happy ever in my whole life. “It couldn’t happen mother. He won’t forsake his vows for me. Why should I tell him when - oh my gosh I know why I need to tell him. It’s because I love him - Jaime!”

“Vaella?” I watched Jaime enter my room at the tavern while I kept my body hidden in the corner giving the power to slam the door and announce my presence, making him nearly jump up in the air. “You scared the living shit out of me.”

“What were you thinking when you attacked Ned Stark in the streets a few weeks ago hmm?” Was the first thing that came out of my mouth rather than greeting him with a smile or a hug like I normally do.

He sent me a confused expression. “What are you talking about? How do you even know about it?”

“I saw you. I had to give out alcohol seller the money and when I was on my way back I watched your confrontation.” I slowly stride up to him, hands clenched into fists at my sides. “Issi ao trying naejot rhaenagon nykeā vīlībāzma naejot jiōragon aōha lēkia arlī.” - ( Are you trying to start a war to get your brother back )

“What did you say?” Jaime knitted his brows.

I snarled towards him, feeling tears welling in my eyes. “Seven hells I wish you spoke Valyrian to know when I am cursing you out! I miss my brothers, damn it. I miss Rhaegar and Viserys. And now I struggle to watch you everyday spend time with Tyrion, even though I adore your brother It still hurts me.”

“Vaella-”. Jaime trailed off with a sympathetic tone.

Throwing my hands up into my hair I began pacing trying to not start bawling my eyes out thinking about all I had lost. “There’s nothing I can do. I was a prisoner in my own house but this was worse than that life ever was. Because now I'm alone. My parents are dead, my brothers, my unborn sister are all gone. I'm all alone now!”

“No you're not alone.’

I sniffed through tears looking back at him. “You're right - I have you. You told me you're not going anywhere.”

“That isn’t entirely true for long, I'm afraid.”

Eyeing him I nervously ask. “What’s going on, Jaime?”

“Many bad things I'm afraid…” He slumped down on the bed waiting before he began explaining. “Robert is dead and Joffrey sits on his throne now. Ned Stark’s eldest son has declared war for Joffrey putting his father in a prison cell. And because I'm in the Kingsguard I have to go fight against the Stark’s.”

“I don't want you to leave.” My voice broke hearing his last words.

He fought back. “It's not a choice. Joffrey has demanded I ride North to fight.”

“You promised me that we would be together. That nothing and no one would tear us apart!”

He rose up from the bed wrapping his arms around my waist pulling me against his chest. “If i don't go, Joffrey will put my head on a spike. I know you’re terrified but this is what has to happen.”

“B-but I…Swear it to me.” I gulped gripping the front of his tunic in my fingers.

His green orbs meet my purple eyes. “Swear what, Vaella?” We both knew that he had never broken a vow to me even if he had broken one to his former king.

“Swear that you will do everything you can to come home. Swear that you will come back to me no matter what happens.”

Jaime rested his forehead down onto mine vowing to me before we shared a deep kiss. “I swear I will come back to you, Princess Vaella Targaryen.” Leaning up on my toes i yanked the collar of his tunic deepening the kiss to terrified to break away from him, not wanting to let him go until he absolutely had to.

I let out a yelp when he lifted me into his arms, I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my lips against his. He kissed me back passionately and we stumbled towards the bed and dropped me down on it. My back hit the soft silk sheets before I rose up from the bed staring at him softly and brought a hand to his cheek stroking it softly.

He lifted his tunic over his head and threw it to the ground. My heart began to beat for a second as I stared at him, my eyes directed down to his muscular chest, and blushed at the sight. I averted my eyes with my hands covering them quickly and tried to contain my blush, he looked up at me and smirked at my reaction. "See something you like, hmm?”

"A woman’s flower is the most important thing so I’m sorry I’m not familiar with sex." I pointed out to him when I peeked through my fingers for a split second.

"Vaella, we don’t have to do this." He reassured me, grabbing my hand with his. "You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to."

"No, I want to do this." I said, wishing my heart would stop beating so rapidly like I was scared.

He took a seat beside her on the bed scanning over her face as if looking for a sign that she wanted to back out finding none. "Don’t worry, princess.”

"Do you want me to kick you in your cock?" I challenged, eyeing him.

He shakes his head no in defense of my threat. “Seven hells no.”

“Then don’t use my title as a nickname.” I sniped back.

Jaime smirked, leaning down and cupped my face, pressing his lips on mine. “That would be against my nature, princess. Besides, you secretly love it.”

My hands started to trace his form, I began to run his fingers up and down his muscular chest softly while I began to feel his hand start to crawl underneath my gown. He yanked the fabric off my head, throwing it to the ground only once. "A dragon and a lion who would’ve thought.”

"My father would be furious if he saw us like this.” I laughed seeing how my eyes were trailing him.

Jaime muttered, sending me a smile. “Good thing your mother liked me.”

He pushed me down to the bed gently, towering over me. He grabbed onto one of my breasts and began to massage it gently before leaning down, lowering his lips down to one of my nipples and starting to suck on it. I began to whimper in pleasure asis felt his lips on me, he tugged on it with his teeth gently before switching breasts and doing the same thing.

He stood up from the bed and unbuttoned his trousers, tugging them down to his legs before stepping out of them wearing nothing but his boxers. He teared his boxers in a split second, releasing his member. My eyes widened at how big It was and wondered how that would fit inside me.

He knelt down in front of my legs and opened my legs up a bit, he ran his hands up my legs. "Jaime, I-"

"Do you trust me? " He asked, glancing up at me.

"With all my heart.” I replied struggling to catch my breath knowing that my heart was racing a mile a minute .

He hovered over me and brought his lips down upon mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and embraced more into the kiss. I felt a hard rock positioned at my lower religion, he placed his member at my center and looked up at me. "Are you sure you really want this?"

"I want you." I said, gripping the bed sheets in my fingers, never moving my gaze from his. " Please just go gently."

He nodded and aligned himself against me before thrusting into me softly , I hissed out in pain as I felt him breaking through my wall, tears began to well in my eyes." You feel soo good, Vaella." He moved slowly against her, I bit down on my lip hard trying to bear through the pain.

Within moments I felt the pain suddenly vanish and began to feel pleasure. I began to move against him and leaned up pressing my lips down upon his. He embraces me back instantly when my fingers dug into his back. He ran his body over every inch of my body he could reach, both of us slick with sweat as he moved against one another, our pants and moans filling the room. He leaned up on his knees and began to thrust hitting a certain spot inside of her.

“Jaime ! " I moaned out as his thrust became hard and fast, my boobs began to bounce up and down from the impact

I came moaning out loudly as I felt a wave of pleasure come over me. He came seconds later as I felt him emptying inside of med, both moaning and groaning while they did. He removed from her before laying down beside her trying to catch his breath alongside her. "Vaella, I’m sorry."

Rolling over onto his chest I eased his worries with a kiss. "I...I'm good, just exhausted." I felt my eyes struggling to stay open until I rolled over onto my side placing my head in the crook of his neck with us both falling asleep.

[thetormentita]

daylight and the sun - prologue

As easy as the Gods can give they can take, and the first-born son of Viserys Targaryen knows it well.

Pairings: Original female! Targaryen x Genderbent! Rhaenyra Targaryen, Original female! Tully x Genderbent! Rhaenyra Targaryen

A/n: I know lots of stuff happen in such a little time, but I promise it would be worth it

Warnings: angst, hints of smut, targcest, viserys letting the hightowers do as they see fit, high valyrian

Rating: Explicit (+18) (just in case)

Tagging list: @novaursa @maegelletargaryen

‘Kostilus, henujagon nyke daor. (Please, don’t leave me.)’

He takes the ring out of the shirt and observes it. A band of gold with small white stones set, sparkling under the dim light of the fading day. The intricate design, reminiscent of ancient Valyrian craftsmanship, brings at his mind memories of old, the soft voice of that silver haired woman whispering her love by his ear.

‘Umbagon syt nyke. (Wait for me.)’

If he closes his eyes he can even see her face, moonlight carving her delicate features, her soft smile gracing him, as if she is right there beside him, even now, after all the time they have been apart.

Damn how he misses her Alysanne.

Rhaegar Targaryen clenches his jaw at the sound of the men not far from where he is. The commanders placed around a wooden table with maps depicting the Stepstones. With a huff he puts back the ring into the safety of his chest and approaches the group, and they gather a plan that has to options: to win or to die.

And they win.

And they take the Stepstones.

And they all return victorious to the Red Keep.

And his Alysanne has been betrothed to somebody else.

They arrive just in time for her wedding, to see her dressed like the most beautiful bride ever existed, to see how Laenor Velaryon gets the privilege to hold her hand and recite his bows to her despite the shining tears rolling down her perfect cheeks.

It drives him mad.

“Son, we must create strong alliances with important houses in order to restore the splendor house Targaryen had once.” says his father the king when Rhaegar confronts him about Alysanne’s betrothal at his back.

“Those are Otto Hightower’s words, not yours, father.”

He leaves with a slam on the door, frustrated, knowing that his sister will not be happy in a marriage with Laenor Velaryon.

And he wonders if he can be happy in a marriage with the youngest daughter of Grover Tully.

They get married in the Great Sept, and he blames himself for thinking about his sweet Aly and her swelling belly rather than admire the beauty of his bride. Roslyn looks perfect in her wedding dress, and he even allows himself to brush the tip of his fingers over her collarbone when he covers her with the black cloak, showing the red three-headed dragon looming at her back, and marking her to the rest of the realm as his wife.

He doesn’t know how he manages to steal a kiss from his Aly, but it tastes like a piece of paradise and for a moment his hand goes to her belly and his mind lets him imagine that the baby growing there is his.

“One day, you will be mine, haēdar (little sister). I swear it.” he whispers against her ear, and her eyes meet his, shining with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Aly's hand finds its way to cover his, pressing it gently against her, and he vows to himself that he will claim her sooner or later.

The bedding takes place and he doesn’t even need any encouragement to deflower his new wife. His head making plans as he thrusts into her and takes good care of replacing the initial pain with pleasure, knowing that Roslyn has no fault in how things are.

They remain at court after the wedding, and Aly is carefully casted away to Dragonstone in a sharp maneuver of the Hightowers to keep them both faithful to their vows. And Rhaegar complies, only exchanging ravens here and there with his object of desire.

One of them announces the birth of a lad, Jacaerys. A sweet little fellow with a tuft of black hair and the stength of the warrior himself.

It doesn’t take long for him to leave his sweet Roslyn pregnant too, with a little lad as the living proof that he can easily play his part and give the throne as many heirs as it needs.

“We can go to Dragonstone for some time.” Roslyn tells him after the birth of their second baby, some time after gives up and confesses her his longing for his sweet Alysanne. “I am sure your sister will be happy to see you, and our children will want to play with their cousins.”

She must have suffered any affront from the Queen’s entourage, he is quite sure of it.

“Ros…”

A delicate finger goes to his lips as she kisses his jaw. She clearly knows how to trick him into accepting her propositions.

“I heard rumours of ser Laenor preferring the company of men instead of women” he kisses her finger softly as she speaks, her lips fluttering against his skin. “I am sure your sister must feel lonely.”

“Ros, I don’t want to—”

Her quick hands go to his breeches, and the soft and warm touch of them against his cock makes him gasp.

“Think about it. You told me you used to play that you were Aegon and she was Rhaenys. You can make it true again, husband.”

He groans, his lower instincts refusing to resist any longer.

“You are my wife, Ros. I swore to be faithful to you, and I would be breaking my word if I… If Aly…”

He closes his eyes, sitting in one of the chairs of the oaken table in their quarters as his lady wife frees his cock from his breeches and retakes her ministrations.

It takes him a time after her proposition to realize the magnitude of the situation. It takes him all his will to not tear half of Maegor’s Holdfast down when he hears from a servant how the honor of his Roslyn has been questioned, and how his first-born, his little Valarr has been object of his uncles’ misdeeds.

“Why did you not say a thing, lad?” he kneels to look at him in the eye, wondering how badly do the Greens want to torment him.

“I heard you saying we were staying here for the people to remind you are grandsire’s heir, papa.”

It breaks his heart to hear those words, to think that his family has silently endured a life against the Hightowers and their allies only for a future with a crown upon his brow, but now he sees things clear, and the raven telling of the death of his sole ally in his father’s council is the last push he needs to retake the promise he made to his haēdar years ago.

[amber-laughs]

I’m actually curious on what you think Jons targ name is

Now ofc: there’s always a chance he never really got one, but either way he will always be Jon ! BUTT I really thinking about what it could be

I think the best bets are Viserys & Aemon, Viserys as the female version of Visenya, and I think Aemon is cute because of Maester Aemon and I think it makes the best sense story wise!

Other ones I’ve seen are Jaehaerys, which I honestly don’t like- but I’ve seen a lot of people adamant about it.

My favourite however: is his name actually just being Visenya.

Curious on what you think though!!! Your like the Jon CEO 🫵🏻

ughhhh love that you see me that way <3

Personally I think he definitely has one because

For the rest of his life—however long that might be—he would be condemned to be an outsider, the silent man standing in the shadows who dares not speak his true name. Wherever he might go throughout the Seven Kingdoms, he would need to live a lie, lest every man's hand be raised against him. A Games of Thrones - Jon IX

is just too on the nose. Also I think its unlikely that Lyanna died immediately after giving birth to Jon, she probably had a few days with him at least, and would have given him a name (honestly even if she only had a few hours I don't see why she wouldn't name him) but we know Ned gave him the name Jon

"Since all of their mothers died, who gave Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and Tyrion Lannister their names?" "Mothers can name a child before birth, or during, or after, even while they are dying. Dany was most like named by her mother, Tyrion by his father, Jon by Ned." - GrrM

So if Ned named Jon "Jon" then there had to be a reason to change it. He can't be running around calling his bastard Rhaegar Jr. and pretending its normal lol.

So now that that's out of the way, I agree with you, I think those are the three options. I don't think it's Viserys, I have no evidence I just don't - call it Jon Stan intuition.

Jaehaerys was Rhaegar's grandfather and, after Aegon, the most used Targaryen masculine name. It's not a stretch in universe to think it'd be a name given to Rhaegar's last living son. More over Lyanna is giving birth in the middle of a war that killed half her family. Naming her son after the Jaehaerys the Conciliator who (in-universe) is the Targaryen that most represents a peaceful and united kingdom would be a beautiful sentiment.

But thematically speaking I think its probably Aemon. I know there are a million reasons why people think it's Aemon but in my opinion the most damning one is the whole Denying the Crown Three Times thing. This goes in to a lot of personal theories and what not but Jon denied being Lord of Winterfell, I think he'll eventually give up (or even deny) being King in the North and then I think he'll deny the Iron Throne. 3 for 3 Maester Aemon you are the grandfather.

(Poster opinion subjected to change at literally any given time possibly even based on no evidence just vibes)

[queen-morgana91]

Cersei being still so in love with Rhaegar and Aurane Waters being his carbon copy and how it just hits her is so funny to me cause she loses a whole fleet of drummonds to him 😭

Everything that leads to Cersei’s downfall and imprisonment by the High Sparrow can be traced back to making Aurane Waters her Grand Admiral instead of taking Jamie’s advice and choosing Paxter Redwyne.

I don’t even think that Aurane Waters was always planning to betray Cersei. I like this character because he knows he can get even more out of her. She had been thinking about giving him lands and making him a Lord in truth. That's crazy. The second she falls from power, he understands that the fleet can easily be taken from him and given to a different Lord Admiral. Aurane was smart and made sure the crews were captained and crewed by men loyal to him. So the second the queen is arrested he just peaces out and takes the fleet with him.

Cersei gives way to much power to a bastard who reminds her of Rhaegar and creates a domino effect that crushes her. She wants no Tyrells on her small council, her allies who fought for her on the Blackwater. Aurane Waters was fighting in that battle but on the other side…

Damn I love Cersei lol

Great complex villain.

[bohemian-nights]

It's always interesting how as soon as black women become a love interest in a straight ship 1 of 2 things will happen.

A third thing, the double standards, an example:

Laena x Rhaenyra ship- in the books we know they were close and some fans use the phrase"more than fond of"to reinforce they were a couple(nothing against this couple it's still fiction eh)

Everything normal here.

But when we learnt more about Rhaegar and Elia and their relationship, the sentence "fond" is still used to describe their relationship and now you have people saying "oh they were just friends" "oh he didn't love her" "oh Elia will be okay with Rhaegar and Lyanna being a couple"

First at all, the racism, Dorne is not okay with adultery in marraige, they don't care if if man or woman, UNMARRIED, take a paramour,UNMARRIED; it's different for them, a different mindset

•Convenient how now when their white fave needs to be paired up with a white character(nothing against Lyanna, the girl was 14 year old)when there are POC characters that show interest in them(Elia loved Rhaegar and I can dream he loved her, why? BECAUSE I LOVE ANGST)

CONVENIENCE MY DEAR FRIEND

Read about the Sophie's actress' scandal(if you called that) -just wtf.

Also Bethany's harassment.WTF.

If they are not happy with Sophie being black, then they are free to read the books or ignore it! It's not that difficult.

Bethany is gonna slay this season, so stay mad colonizers���

Sorry for the rant, tired of this nonsense🤣

Ps: Some people are starting shipping Dettles out of spite, for the racism's nonesense so yeah, IT'S GONNA BE A LONG YEAR HERE!!All of you are doing great sweeties🥰

Don’t apologize for ranting cause everything you said is the truth👏🏽

I hate Laenyra. People mainly hype it up to move attention away from Daemon and Laena’s marriage and center their self insert into their relationship .

Yeah it’s ironic that the same people hyping up Laryngitis and saying all those who oppose it are racistare the same people who love dunk on Elia non-stop and say that she was fine with her husband sleeping with Snow Becky because she’s dornish. The same people hyping up Jon’s parents are the same people who dunk on Dettles.

I’ll be the first one to say that I don’t give a damn about Ravioli and Snow Becky, but I’ll admit that it was GRRM’s intention to make them romantic(it’s definitely not supposed to be grooming even if I find the whole situation weird). I’ll even admit that there are plenty of similarities between Dettles and that ship, but you’d have an easier time finding a leprechauns gold than getting those people to admit the same.

Don’t get me started on the Bridgerton fandom. A bunch of ungrateful bigots who keep making demands of Shonda while at the same time degrading her and saying there are “too many Black people” on the show (and then crying when people call them out for being the anti-Black morons they are).

And I get that Masali hasn’t been officially announced as Sophie, and of course she’s not the only possibility, but she’s the only one whose name that has been circulating around that fits the casting call. Her schedule was cleared last year and she’s got no upcoming projects. She’s following multiple members of the cast and multiple members are following her back.

(Nicola, Hannah Dodd, Hannah New, Victor Ali who is suspected to be playing John, as well as one of the hairdressers who does the main casts hair to name a few. Hell, there was even one of the directors following her, but he mysteriously unfollowed her for some reason).

More importantly, no one else has produced another casting call to contradict said casting call or to show that the role she was cast for is a member of the Stirling family.

(I’m not going to get into it, but if you’re “evidence” hinges on Masali and Victor Ali looking alike please go down to Lens Crafters cause they don’t look nothing alike outside of being dark and Black. It’s fucking offensive as fuck to say they do).

And as I said in a previous ask, the Bridgerton team has cast a role with a specific race in mind cause they were looking for an Indian woman to play Kate(which is how some people figured Simone Ashley was playing Kate when most of Kates fancasts were white women👏🏽).

So the fact that you have so many people running around like a chicken with its head cut off claiming it’s impossible for Sophie to be Black, that Sophie should be x race, or just being racist jackasses is disturbing asf. You shouldn’t have to see this bullshit:

You bet your ass I took screenshots cause everybody likes to lie and hide their hands after typing out the most vile shit.

And yeah I get everyone wants representation, but people keep trying to silence and speak over Black people specifically Black women and that's where we have a problem.

Because for any other group, this behavior would be absolutely unacceptable. Especially if you are making demands that an EP not cast any more people of her race on her show, but with Black women that doesn't matter. They don’t care.

We haven’t even had a fucking fully Black female love interest get her happily ever after with a man(the people saying Masali should be a gender-bent Michael need to have several seats cause you’re creating a OC just because you don’t want to see her as Sophie) like everybody else and yet they want us to step aside and cheer them on. Fuck that.

This is why I don’t believe any of you hateful bitches when you say you care about misogynoir because the moment a Black woman is cast in a role you want, even in a role that’s meant for a Black woman like with Nettles, y’all either start demanding she be cut or made into something else.

This literally happens every single time Black female characters are involved and yet you can’t even talk about it because people want to ignore and perpetuate our oppression.

I’ll leave it there cause I’m too exhausted by all of this drama(it’s making my blood boil), but these fandoms piss me off so much. They make it hell for non-white and especially Black fans to exist within them. Even in shows created by Black people.

[atopvisenyashill]

Wait a minute if Lyarra was around would Lyanna have even ran off with Rhaegar if she had a mother around to teach her how to be a lady and try to curb her wildness? Like would Lyanna have even been able to pull the whole knight of the laughing tree stunt if her mother was keeping an eye on her and if the whole flower crown thing happens then Lyarra is probably making damn sure that there is no communication with Rhaegar and that Lyanna isn't unsupervised when she's in the south and might even have a talk with her about how any potential relationship with Rhaegar is really not a good idea. I mean it's like how Littlefinger probably wouldn't be able to groom Sansa if Catelyn was there.

Well FIRSTLY Lyarra is a flint and a born stark and they’re a bunch of crazy mountain people so jot that down and put some wolf blooded respect on her name!!! we don’t know when lyarra died or how devoted she would have been to curbing lyanna’s “wildness” nor would we have any guarantee she’s successful - please see Arya herself for an example of this or even Baela, Alysanne, etc. having two parents and a mother specifically is certainly better for a girl but it’s not a guarantee.

secondly, with at least three of her four kids there, i think it makes perfect sense that everyone loses track of lyanna for a few hours to do some laughing tree business. i’m also not sure what else lyarra could do after harrenhal that rickard and brandon don’t themselves do - they’re all clearly pissed off but you can’t tell the crown prince to go fuck himself can you? so, they just bring her home, and idk what else lyarra is supposed to here.

I will give you that it could be harder for lyanna to leave winterfell with her mother there but we have no idea how they get her out of winterfell in canon! like, if benjen helped lyanna, for example, it makes sense that lyarra could figure out that’s happening and go “now what in the goddamn hell.” but rhaegar likely has arthur dayne helping him here too! i’m not saying she can’t outsmart them, but i am saying without more information, we just don’t know if having another stark there would help the situation or not. it’s not like lyanna is in the south for a prolonged period of time - as far as we know, it’s just harrenhal and then she gets sent back home. the difference between this and sansa is that if catelyn was in the capital, there are TWO parents there. but lyarra is just one person with several kids, and i don’t think there’s any evidence that rickard didn’t attempt to impress upon her what the problem was with her fucjing around with rhaegar. the problem is ROBERT and if lyarra doesn’t fix that - why would she, on paper it’s a good match - lyanna is still going to run away.

[cookie-de-baunilha]

tw: rape

can’t believe i just read someone blaming jon for being rhaegar’s son and a product of r*pe.

first of all, we don’t know if rhaegar actually kidnapped lyanna. so stop taking suppositions/theories as canon.

secondly, what the actual fuck. EVEN IF jon is indeed a product of r*pe, why the hell are you blaming him for it? don’t you realize how sick it is to say something like that???

“oh i hate rhaegar, i don’t want to deal with anything related to him” oh shut the fuck up. if lyanna was actually kidnapped and jon is the product of that, he’s still his own person and character. how does your hatred for rhaegar fit into any of this?

if you dislike a character you have to hate their innocent children as well?? why are you blaming a child for his father actions???

i don’t really give a damn about rhaegar, but some people in this fandom are super weird about it. like hating him is fine, but being disgusted by his son who is completely innocent? are you out of your mind?

also, do you keep this energy for every bad character of asoiaf? do you HATE all of the bad/morally grey characters? and their children as well (even when they are innocent)?

because i bet you don’t.

in fact, do you hate rhaenys and aegon as well? oh no wait, they are rhaegar’s children, but they weren’t a product of r*pe, so you only keep this energy for jon, right?

so being the child of lyanna instead of elia, and being a child of r*pe (by your book because we don’t know that yet) is his ultimate sin?

and since we are at that, why are you ignoring lyanna like that too? she loved her child and begged her brother to look after him, but apparently you don’t care enough about that, you just want to hate rhaegar and then project that into an innocent child. doesn’t lyanna (the victim, by your book) exist to you? because she’s jon’s mother, but you’re dismissing that as if rhaegar was his only parent.

honestly i’m so disgusted by this whole thing, it’s one of the worst takes i’ve ever read in this fandom. like top 3 bad.

no one should ever blame a child for the circumstances of their birth. especially if we are talking about sexual violence. we are talking about books here, fictional characters, but real people exist. real people with similar stories.

if you hate a fictional character to the point of spreading harmful ideas like this you should rethink the way you engage with the media you are consuming.

if you “don’t want to deal” with jon because he is the biological son of a character you hate, then asoiaf is not for you.

george martin would be disgusted by this. shame on you.

[themockingpoint]

Rhaegar antis are such hypocrites. You think Lyanna should have married Robert?

Bitch, just because I don’t want Lyanna drinking arsenic doesn’t mean I want her drinking bleach either!!!

[weirwoodking]

“Jon will ride Rhaegal because it’s named after his father!” I’m sorry I don’t remember Rhaegal’s name being Eddard Stark

[balladedutempsjadis]

“You want her? Go get her.”

So he did.

I’ve been thinking about the bearpit a lot, and about the weirwood dream that goads Jaime in the books to go back and rescue Brienne. There’s a lot to unpack but the dream is the number one reason why I just simply don’t believe that Jaime’s fate is to die far away from Brienne while protecting Cersei from falling rocks or whatever. He may very well die in the books, but that damn prophetic dream he has while he’s sleeping on a weirwood stump makes me believe that he is NOT dying in the same way or after abandoning Brienne, sorry, until it’s on a printed page, I just don’t buy it. So ... anyway the dream:

Jaime falls asleep hoping to dream of Cersei, but who does he dream of? Cersei, Rhaegar, his Kingsguard brethren ... and Brienne. And of them all, Brienne has by far the biggest role in his dream. (And she is also mostly naked as Jaime also is so ... yeah.) Her shining sword brings him light after Cersei takes “the only light in the world away” and leaves Jaime naked and alone in the dark (gosh is there any symbolism there do you think?) And then, when the Lannister ghosts are gone, and Jaime replaces them with the ghosts of Rhaegar and his Kingsguard brothers giving voice to Jaime’s deep well of subconscious guilt and self-loathing for having failed protect Elia and her children, it’s Brienne who protects Jaime with that shining sword again.

But she’s more than replacement Cersei or protector: it’s hugely significant that, in a dream that includes Cersei (Jaime’s ideal of beauty) and Ser Arthur Dayne (Jaime’s ideal of knighthood/honor), Jaime sees BRIENNE as “almost a beauty, almost a knight.” In Jaime’s dream, Brienne symbolizes and incorporates both things that Jaime longs for: love/beauty (represented by Cersei) AND honor (represented by Arthur Dayne and Jaime’s Kingsguard brothers who died for Rhaegar.) She’s also his way out of the dark tomb of his dream: in this world largely populated by the dead, Brienne is alive (Jaime thinks that she’s warm, a characteristic he often associates with her) and her light keeps burning after Jaime’s goes out.

Somehow, in the logic of dreams, Jaime recognizes that Brienne is key to his own life on a symbolic level. Can he ever hope to be Arthur Dayne again or is he always doomed to be the Smiling Knight?  Going back to rescue Brienne is Jaime being true to the better side of his nature, acting as he failed to act to protect Rhaegar’s wife and children; but the same act, in its entirely impulsive nature (jumping into the bearpit without a hand, a sword or a plan) also incorporates the side of Jaime that does “the things I do for love.” Jaime’s dream is the impetus for that action, and in acting, Jaime is finally able to integrate both sides of his character: his capacity for love and loyalty (and for doing awful - and in this one instance, heroic - things for love) and his long-dormant belief in chivalry and honor not being merely empty words to disguise the brutal reality of life in Westeros. So “I dreamed of you” becomes not a throwaway line to replace the cruel quips he might have made, but a simple, though also profound, truth. 

The art is by Magali Villanueve (I absolutely adore her Jaime art.)

[iamanemotionaltimebomb]

I’m rereading AGOT right now. 

Assuming R+L=J (which I will be damn surprised if GRRM doesn’t keep), I keep thinking about how no one figured out who Jon’s real parents are.

Regardless if you think Lyanna joined Rhaegar willingly or was kidnapped or whatever, Robert’s war lasted for nearly a year and Rhaegar was pretty much MIA until the last few months of it. You’re telling me that no one entertained the idea that Lyanna may have gotten pregnant in that time (though pretty much all of them think he definitely raped/had sex with her)?

Robert’s kind of stupid, and he’d believe whatever Ned said regardless (also given how obsessed he is with Lyanna, he wanted to keep that possibility ‘out of sight, out of mind’) so I’ll give him a pass. Catelyn barely knew Ned, so she gets a pass too (though I do have to wonder why she at least have a lingering doubt about this as time went on). Cersei thinks she’s super intelligent, but she really isn’t tbh, I don’t doubt that she wouldn’t even think on the possibility of Rhaegar and Lyanna successfully having a child together. 

Like, I get the lie, I get why most people probably just took Ned at his word that “this is my bastard son” (though I also do have to wonder how well that lie would hold up if, say, Jon took after Rhaegar in the looks department). But what about people who are reputed to be much more intelligent? Jon Arryn, Littlefinger or Tywin Lannister? You’re telling me that no one could’ve possibly put two and two together? 

If Varys at least doesn’t know, I will eat all my left socks.

[esther-dot]

"There’s a propensity in the fandom to look at a character who mistreats Sansa and rather than acknowledge how they use/abuse her, ship her with them as a way of absolving their fav of wrongdoing." You do realise this is precisely what Cersei fans do too? Not shipping her with Sansa, but all the nonsense about how she tried to help Sansa in her own way, how she only hated Sansa because she "saw herself" in Sansa, she was just trying her best to teach Sansa, she must have been exactly like Sansa when she was younger. It's all just an attempt to put a rose-coloured tint on that relationship, diminish Cersei's culpability, and glorify Sansa's relationship with another one of her abusers. I don't disagree about the other ships you mentioned, but it's interesting to see these accusations being made so often by a corner of the fandom that doesn't even realise they do the exact same thing with Sansa and Cersei's relationship all the time.

I fully expected that post to earn me an angry anon, but I did not see the "but you don’t hate Cersei!!!" angle coming. 😆

I am not responsible for the words that every Cersei fan writes, I’m not even aware of them because I’m only active in the Sansa fandom/Jonsa circles, and I hardly even write about Cersei myself, so I’m perplexed that you feel like this is something pertinent to me. As far as I can remember, I haven't said Cersei was like Sansa because I've been pretty vocal about the fact that I think Sansa is incredibly innocent/good. I'm one of those people who don't think she mistreated Jon or bullied Ary@ because that's ooc. I can't remember if someone said it or I just thought that Cersei drawing herself flying on a dragon with Rhaegar, believed she would marry him, only to be heartbroken reminded me of Sansa. I'd agree with that because come on, it does sound like something Sansa would have done. However, Sansa is a deeply compassionate, kind person, and while I thought show Cersei was very entertaining, I never made the mistake of thinking she was like Sansa, even as a child because of the whole...ya know, murder thing. 😬

As for the "she tried to help Sansa in her own way" issue, well, I think show Cersei did believe that loving your children and your children alone was good advice. I think that was coming from her own experience. Cersei couldn’t love Robert (who was abusive), but she does love her children. She left out the whole twincest detail though 😆 It isn’t pretending she isn’t a villain to say that was what she thought. Cersei did believe in ruling by fear. Are you saying she didn't? In her mind, Cersei offered Sansa guidance. As wacky as it is, Cersei did think she was betrayed by Sansa. That reminds me of how Tyrion took her as a child bride, knowing the plan was to use her to take Winterfell/the North from her family, that his family murdered hers, and he still resented her for not loving him. These characters aren’t well. What they think makes no damn sense outside their POV, but it is their POV. As a result, there’s this…intimacy in Cersei's hatred for Sansa because she sees herself as having tried to mentor Sansa even though we know it was craptastic advice. I'd argue that's what the author wanted us to understand, just as all the Stark kids have mentors who give them advice they must reject.

I don't think it's glorifying the relationship to acknowledge that Sansa had regard for Cersei that she never had for Tyrion, and that Cersei’s betrayal was particularly cruel, personally significant to her. That experience was a formative (“never will I be like that evil bitch") one. I’ve said before, to me, the Sansa and Cersei relationship is far more interesting because Sansa never allowed Tyrion to get close to her, but she did trust Cersei initially. I talked about this a bit here. Cersei’s treatment of Sansa hurts me more because she let Cersei in. To me, that makes their relationship more interesting than the pedoships. I don't think that's viewing it through rose-colored glasses, and just because I enjoy Cersei as a villain in a way I can't the pedos (because I don’t like reading about sexual harassment), doesn't mean I've forgotten she's a villain or am acting like she isn’t culpable.

I don't see how there being...(counts on my fingers) six of us who love Sansa and enjoy Cersei as a villain/prefer her out of all Sansa’s antagonists is such a hot button issue for you when the norm for the ASOIAF fandom is people who argue that a 13yo is having fantasies about her sexual assault and think that there’s nothing wrong with believing Sansa needs to fall in love with her molester to prove she’s not a worthless person. (I’m stating that more crudely than they do, but that’s the truth of that stance). And when I say “norm” I mean, that ship was, maybe still is, accepted by the majority of the fandom. The most popular ASOIAF tumblrs support it/ship it, or at a minimum, never condemn it. Pedoship content is in the Sansa tag every day (I have them filtered, but I still see the tag for the blocked post), and yet, I seriously do not remember reading any posts about how Cersei was a good mentor to Sansa or how a good ending for Sansa would be for her to end up living under Cersei’s thumb. If we were saying those things, then there might be some comparison, but I doubt anyone has ever even suggested that Sansa needs to accept Cersei’s treatment or forgive her to prove that she’s a good person. Whatever we do or say about Cersei and her interaction with Sansa is in the context of a fandom who does all of the above while wishing that Cersei’s twin/lover/father of her children strangles her to death because she, none of the other villains, she is evil. So, remember the environment in which Cersei fans are writing. Think about what they’re pushing back against and take that into consideration when reading their takes.

Obviously, S@nsaery and D@ensa are far less objectionable than the  pedoships, but again, their content is everywhere while I do not see the content about Cersei you’re claiming is commonplace. This is why I question if this is a real norm that you're picking up on, or whether it's something you saw once or twice and are now trying to hold us all responsible for? Are you sure you didn’t see a joke post and overreact? Tone can be difficult to read in text, but even Cersei’s most hardcore fans know she’s evil. It’s kinda why we like her. The same can’t be said for fans of other villains, so again, I am skeptical about your attempt to act like what we’re doing is equivalent to stuff going on in other parts of the fandom. Most of them deny that their favs wronged Sansa, while we know Cersei did. Have you seen posts saying otherwise? Because, explaining the why of a character’s action isn’t saying what they did is right. Are you possibly confusing the two?

Also, I don’t see people I follow talking about D@ensa or S@nsaery much. I can’t remember ever seeing someone say what I did before, and I’m pretty certain that was the first time I ever wrote about them, so it isn't the case that I'm bitching about those ships “often.” I did it once, and even if I did dedicate my blog to hating on one of those ships 24/7, I’m allowed to express my shipping preferences without having to throw in, “btw, Cersei is still evil y’all” as if that has anything to do with what I’m talking about. It’s totally irrelevant because I never said, “let’s pretend that Sansa would be happy to maintain a relationship with Cersei.” That simply isn’t a thing I say. Now, even though I reject your accusations as baseless, I agree with you in a way. Show D@ensa and S@nsaery do have a lot in common with the Sansa and Cersei dynamic because they both tried to play Sansa/use her naïveté against her, which is the same thing Cersei did. This is why I don't want them with her because they aren’t good to her. They’re all bad for Sansa, they all wronged her.

All the same, just because I know Cersei's a villain, just because I know what she did to Sansa doesn't mean I can't have sympathy for what Cersei endured, talk about her as more than her most heinous acts, and see how the experience of being a woman in that fucked up world allows for these two very different characters to have some shared experiences. No one thinks it's weird for fans to love and humanize every other villain (and I do mean all the other villains), so I don’t see why Cersei can’t benefit from some sympathetic reading too. I care about what Cersei has suffered, even if she is a baddie. She is still part of the critique of their society even if she’s evil. And, it’s kinda a thing that Martin loves parallels/foils and creates them with loads of characters, including Sansa and Cersei. That’s a standard part of fandom discussions which means, it makes sense for us to talk about those? Because Sansa will not be making the same decisions Cersei did and will not have the same fate? That kind of analysis is fun, the basis of a lot of spec, so unless you’re seeing a lot of stuff I’m not, I feel like you’ve misinterpreted what we’ve said/our purpose. 

If you would like to DM the specific post(s) you’re reacting to so that we can have a common framework in which to discuss this, feel free, but as of now, no, I do not “realize this is precisely what Cersei fans do” because I don’t. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mrsjadecurtiss]

What do you think of Robert? What are your opinions on him, do you think that if the war never happened that he'd still go down this self destructive path?

I think Robert was fundamentally not made to be a king - He has the charisma and the looks and is an able warrior, but his negative character traits are indulged and enhanced by his position and led him down an almost unavoidable path.

Robert is someone who above all wants to enjoy and live an easy life:

"You need to come south," Robert told him. "You need a taste of summer before it flees. [...] Flowers everywhere, the markets bursting with food, the summerwines so cheap and so good that you can get drunk just breathing the air. Everyone is fat and drunk and rich." He laughed and slapped his own ample stomach a thump. "And the girls, Ned!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. "I swear, women lose all modesty in the heat.[...]" The king laughed happily. Robert Baratheon had always been a man of huge appetites, a man who knew how to take his pleasures. - Eddard I, aGoT

"Robert wanted smiles and cheers, always, so he went where he found them, to his friends and his whores. Robert wanted to be loved." - Sansa IV, aCoK

He has just enough of a moral understanding to at least know when he is doing wrong and to even feel bad about it at times, but not enough to actually change anything about himself.

The rage was gone from him now; in his eyes Ned saw something sad and scared. "I should not have hit [Cersei]. That was not … that was not kingly." He stared down at his hands, as if he did not quite know what they were. - Eddard X, aGoT

Robert desires to have an easy life, he wants to be loved, he wants to have fun, but he does not want to deal with the hard and unpleasant things. In times of crisis, he wants to take the easy way out, and he prefers to avoid uncomfortable truths.

Lord Tywin stared at him as if he had lost his wits. "[...] When I laid those bodies before the throne, no man could doubt that we had forsaken House Targaryen forever. And Robert's relief was palpable. As stupid as he was, even he knew that Rhaegar's children had to die if his throne was ever to be secure. Yet he saw himself as a hero, and heroes do not kill children." - Tyrion VI, aSoS

"Well, now I know Jaime's dark sin, and the matter can be forgotten. I am heartily sick of secrets and squabbles and matters of state, Ned." - Eddard II, aGoT

"Most likely the king did not know," Littlefinger said. "It would not be the first time. Our good Robert is practiced at closing his eyes to things he would rather not see." - Eddard IV, aGoT

He feels most comfortable when he is surrounded by people who love him and know how to handle him/want the best for him, and steer him onto the right path in a way where he can still feel good about himself.

"These are difficult times. I need good men about me. Men like Jon Arryn. He served as Lord of the Eyrie, as Warden of the East, as the Hand of the King. He will not be easy to replace." - Eddard I, aGoT

In an environment that works against him, or goes against his wishes even if it is for the better, it creates a destructive energy in him. He cannot stand dissent to his wishes because it robs him of a pleasure he desires, and creates unwanted conflict. He also cannot handle constructive criticism because it makes him confront unpleasant truths - he always wants the easiest path with the least tension. If he is presented with a situation that strains his limits as there is no amiable solution to a difficult/disturbing problem, his reaction is a toxic one; turning to rage and violence even towards his own child.

Not for the first time, he wondered what he was doing here and why he had come. He was no Jon Arryn, to curb the wildness of his king and teach him wisdom. Robert would do what he pleased, as he always had, and nothing Ned could say or do would change that. - Eddard II, aGoT

He may act against what he knows is right, because it is the easiest route; like when he has the wolf Lady killed to please Cersei:

“A costly pelt,” Robert grumbled. “I want no part of this, woman. You can damn well buy your furs with Lannister gold.” [...] "We have a wolf," Cersei Lannister said. Her voice was very quiet, but her green eyes shone with triumph. It took them all a moment to comprehend her words, but when they did, the king shrugged irritably. "As you will. Have Ser Ilyn see to it." - “Robert, you cannot mean this,” Ned protested. The king was in no mood for more argument. “Enough, Ned, I will hear no more." - Eddard III, aGoT

"I am sorry for your girl, Ned. Truly. About the wolf, I mean. My son was lying, I'd stake my soul on it." - Eddard VII, aGoT

And when Ned reprimands him about Daenerys he will not hear dissent, even though he knows deep down that it is wrong:

He gave the king a long cool look. “Would [the man who spared Barristan] were here today.” Robert had shame enough to blush. “It was not the same,” he complained. “Ser Barristan was a knight of the Kingsguard.” - “Whereas Daenerys is a fourteen-year-old girl.”

[...] “Not another word. Have you forgotten who is king here?” - “No, Your Grace,” Ned replied. “Have you?” - “Enough!” the king bellowed. “I am sick of talk. I’ll be done with this, or be damned."

[...] “I will not be part of murder, Robert. Do as you will, but do not ask me to fix my seal to  it.” For a moment Robert did not seem to understand what Ned was saying. Defiance was not a dish he tasted often. Slowly his face changed as comprehension came. [...] “You are the King’s Hand, Lord Stark. You will do as I command you, or I’ll find me a Hand who will.” - “I wish him every success.” Ned [...] laid [his badge of office] on the table in front of the king, saddened by the memory of the man who had pinned it on him, the friend he had loved. “I thought you a better man than this, Robert. I thought we had made a nobler king.” Robert’s face was purple. “Out,” he croaked, choking on his rage. “[...] Go, run back to Winterfell. And make certain I never look on your face again, or I swear, I’ll have your head on a spike!” - Eddard VIII, aGoT

“Gods have mercy,” he muttered, swallowing his agony. “The girl. Daenerys. Only a child, you were right . . . that’s why, the girl . . . the gods sent the boar . . . sent to punish me . . .” - Eddard XIII, aGoT

Robert is a man who always wants it easy, he wants his demands to always be fulfilled, to be loved and have fun without dealing with the bad things; but an important theme that is repeated over and over in asoiaf is that you can only act good if you are willing to face the bad that may come with it, and if you cannot live with the consequences, your action might not be justified.*

Bran thought about it. "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?" - "That is the only time a man can be brave." - Bran I, aGoT

"Sacrifice . . . is never easy, Davos. Or it is no true sacrifice." - Davos VI, aSoS

"The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die." - Bran I, aGoT

Ned stood, gently disengaging himself from Sansa's grasp. All the weariness of the past four days had returned to him. "Do it yourself then, Robert," he said in a voice cold and sharp as steel. "At least have the courage to do it yourself." - Robert looked at Ned with flat, dead eyes and left without a word, his footsteps heavy as lead. Silence filled the hall. - Eddard III, aGoT

This is why putting him on the throne was poison - all the power in the world, and noone who would dare go against his wishes. It indulges all of Robert's worst traits, and buries anything he had inside him that was salvageable.

Ser Barristan Selmy spoke up. "Your Grace," he said, "it is not seemly that the king should ride into the melee. It would not be a fair contest. Who would dare strike you?" - "Ser Barristan is right. There's not a man in the Seven Kingdoms who would dare risk your displeasure by hurting you." - Eddard VII, aGoT

I am surrounded by flatterers and fools, the king had insisted. Ned looked down the council table and wondered which were the flatterers and which the fools. He thought he knew already. - Eddard IV, aGoT

And Robert knows it - he knows being a king isn't for him, that he doesn't enjoy the actual work that goes into governing, that he doesn't have the personality for such politics or to deal with the people involved, and that he would much rather spend his time enjoying life and doing what he loves...

"Look at what kinging has done to me. Gods, too fat for my armor, how did it ever come to this? [...] I swear to you, I was never so alive as when I was winning this throne, or so dead as now that I’ve won it." - Eddard VII, aGoT

"I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one. Laws are a tedious business and counting coppers is worse. And the people … there is no end of them. I sit on that damnable iron chair and listen to them complain until my mind is numb and my ass is raw. They all want something, money or land or justice. The lies they tell … and my lords and ladies are no better. I am surrounded by flatterers and fools. It can drive a man to madness, Ned. Half of them don't dare tell me the truth, and the other half can't find it. There are nights I wish we had lost at the Trident. Ah, no, not truly, but …" - Eddard I, aGoT

Robert groaned with good-humored impatience. "If I wanted to honor you, I'd let you retire. I am planning to make you run the kingdom and fight the wars while I eat and drink and wench myself into an early grave." - Eddard I, aGoT

"Let me tell you a secret, Ned. More than once, I have dreamed of giving up the crown. Take ship for the Free Cities with my horse and my hammer, spend my time warring and whoring, that's what I was made for. The sellsword king, how the singers would love me." - Eddard VII, aGoT

And yet he doesn't do anything about it and keeps staying at the position he hates - he does not want to deal with the uncomfortable consequences that would come with upsetting the status quo, or making changes to his own personality and going through growth, or confronting ugly truths about himself in a productive way, etc etc.

He does make a talk of changes at times during aGoT, and seems to have a sense of responsibility about his Job, but as it is his desire for changes came too late, and what responsibility he felt mostly served to paralyze him in place.

"The sellsword king, how the singers would love me. You know what stops me? The thought of Joffrey on the throne, with Cersei standing behind him whispering in his ear. My son. How could I have made a son like that, Ned?" - Eddard VII, aGoT

"I'm still young, and now that you're here with me, things will be different. We'll make this a reign to sing of, and damn the Lannisters to seven hells." - Eddard VII, aGoT

In a way Joffrey is to Robert what Ramsay is to Roose: an exploration of the inherent flaw in their way of life, demonstrated in the most extreme case. In Joffrey's case, it shows what happens to give someone unlimited power with noone daring to oppose them.

Do you think that if the war never happened that he'd still go down this self destructive path?

It's a little unclear which war you mean, so I will briefly touch on several points:

There could have been ideal circumstances where he might have worked out as a king, if he was surrounded by people who know the perfect way to deal with him and make him work past his flaws (intuitively doing the work of a modern therapist), but the average life is not ideal and grrm shows the realistic fate of a man like Robert.

I think by the time Ned arrived it was sadly too late to change - maybe if the Lannisters didn't exist, or this or that event hadn't happened, but Grrm shows that most of what lead to Robert's downfall was in the end caused by himself. Cersei kills him because she came to despise the man he was, and for good reason as he abused her during all her marriage - and while he has some scenes of feeling bad or even apologizing for it, he never made any attempts to actually change the terrible way he was treating her.

If Robert's Rebellion never happened, he would have probably made an able enough Lord of Storm's End; delegating his "boring" administrative duties to his advisors and maester, enjoying the privileges of highborn life, and having just enough responsibility to feel like the alpha male of his society yet not enough to do as lasting damage as he did for the throne. He would not have been the best Lord, but sadly there are many worse in Westeros, since the entire dynastic ruling system is inherently flawed. If he would have been a better person depends on who he is surrounded with, if circumstances would have motivated him to change, or if perhaps his position of power and outward influences would still just have indulged him into the man he was in aGoT. Ultimately, there are a lot of butterfly effects leading to different results that i’m sure have been explored in many fics.

"Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature." - Eddard IX, aGoT

This was the boy he had grown up with, he thought; this was the Robert Baratheon he'd known and loved. If he could prove that the Lannisters were behind the attack on Bran, prove that they had murdered Jon Arryn, this man would listen. Then Cersei would fall, and the Kingslayer with her, and if Lord Tywin dared to rouse the west, Robert would smash him as he had smashed Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident. He could see it all so clearly. - Eddard VII, aGoT    

What do you think of Robert?

Since i am someone who frequently enjoys morally grey and villainous characters, despite his many negative traits i have a fondness of Robert; I think he is an interesting character and very human in his flaws, and there is a lot of melancholy to his story that makes me somber about him even if it obviously does not excuse his bad actions. I also think he has a great character design that's fun to draw and some fun boisterous scenes, and some of his positive qualities remind me of people i know.

*Stannis is an interesting character as Robert’s brother, as he is the opposite to him in this regard, as well as in many aspects of their personality and even their outward presentation (like how Stannis crops his beard short to contrast Robert’s wild one)

[dwellordream]

Do you think it's possible that RxL could turn out to be romantic? The idea of them turning out to be true love or whatever is so boring to me, but I also feel like GRRM is so terrible at consent stuff, he may not realize that there is such a power imbalance between them. Or maybe I'm judging him too harshly?

I don't think we'll be getting a clear view of the relationship regardless. I expect everything we hear will be secondhand and from obviously biased one way or another sources. I very much doubt it will be portrayed purely as a tragic tale of true love regardless of the consequences. I also very much doubt it will be played straight with Rhaegar depicted as an evil rapist who didn't give a damn about Lyanna.

Personally I think we are likely to hear something along the lines of Lyanna going willingly with Rhaegar, then being horrified to hear of her family's fates, but also being pregnant with Jon and terrified for her child's future. The degree to whether or not that is portrayed as consensual and healthy is obviously questionable. I certainly don't think Rhaegar told Lyanna he wanted to have a third child with her beforehand, nor do I think she understood the full ramifications of what running away with him would entail.

And I absolutely do not think we are going to get a 'Robert's Rebellion was based upon a lie!' moment. I think we are likely to get a moment of Jon learning the truth of his parentage and being horrified, and then some shades of grey being thrown in as he hears from other sources that his mother may have gone willingly, and finally realizing that everything else aside, his mother did love him and wanted him to be safe, and that he has always had a father who would protect and sacrifice for him - Ned.

[bohemian-nights]

Opinions on Rhaegar and Lyanna? Personally I hate it. Lyanna is 14 when they meet and 16 when she dies. We also don’t have any actual characterization of her except from those who romanticized and fantasized her. Rhaegar is grown man and it feels icky. Not to mention what ended up happening to Elia Martell and her children which was just horrific.

Ravioli and that ship is the worst. I'll give Lyanna some grace because she was underage when she met him, but he had a whole wife(who did nothing wrong) and kids(Aegon was a literal baby) who he failed to protect.

Now before someone goes bringing up Daemon, Dettles, and how I’m a hypocrite, I do not have problems with infidelity(in a fictional capacity). I have a problem with men who really do not give a damn. Daemon at least made sure to saved Nettles. He protected the one he loved. What did Ravioli do for Lyanna? That's right he got her pregnant and left her to die (Daemon would mock him for that)! Ravioli gave a damn about no one(that or he was an idiot).

Plus Missy Anne literally tried to kill Nettles. She was an awful person who deserved everything she got. Elia did nothing to Lyanna. She never hurt a sole. Even if she had, her kids were innocents who did not deserve their fates just because their creepy father went galivanting off with another woman for the sake of a prophecy.

In the show, this man named both his sons Aegon(and his hair looked greasy as hell. At least Viserys had the excuse of being poor and on the run. Ravioli was the Prince of Dragonstone and yet didn't know what shampoo was).

Not to mention he seems boring as hell as is that ship. There isn't even that much on it considering both he and Lyanna are dead and yet people act like it's the second coming.

I know GRRM says it's romantic, but really? There is nothing romantic about a man leaving his wife and children with his crazy racist father who dislikes them(the man literally said Rhaenys smelled Dornish), while he goes prophet mad, takes advantage of Lyanna not wishing to marry Robert, and eventually gets everybody minus a newborn baby killed.