#i. alicent arryn — thread.

[wnterreign]

with tharon redsmith / @stxrfclls where: the markets.

        ❝ is  the  wine  too  sweet?  ❞  based on his expression, something must be wrong with the drink, and it was taking much restraint for alicent to not laugh. the arbor red was much sweeter than the dryer wines she was used to, but the change was welcomed. the ale that was favored farther north had never been her preferred drink, wine filling her cup, and the fruitier taste was more enjoyable than she'd thought it would be.

[sweetestpopcorn]

Hello popcorn! Could you send me the link to the source that says that Daemon didn't exist in Martin's drafts? please

Hi there,

A very special thank you to @xenonwitch who helped me to answer this ask and retrieved most of the screenshots used here :) you rock lady!

So, there is multiple evidence highlighting that Daemon was not created until around 2012, which would mean his character was born only after the release of "A Dance with Dragons", more specifically around the time "The World of Ice and Fire" was being written by Elio and Linda with George's help. It was around this time that George wrote the Dance and created I would say most of the information and characters we know of today. He actually gave Elio and Linda so much material that they couldn't use it all and afterwards George published much of it in the short stories "The Princess and the Queen" and "The Rogue Prince", even later (around 2017) using it when he compiled his fake history in "Fire and Blood". If you go to the original link of the screenshot below here you can the sources listed in the text for yourself

It is no secret that since he began writing A Game of Thrones, that George has changed several aspects of the Targaryens. For instance, Rhaenyra was originally only one year older than Aegon II, though as confirmed by Elio that they were never meant to be fully-blooded siblings and from the first family tree in 1999 George meant for Rhaenyra to have an Arryn mom and Aegon a Hightower mom originally named Lysa (hehe). I think Alicent has a much better ring to it personally. Later he actually changed their age difference from 1 year to 9 years, and later still to a decade's difference. I do remember a time when it was 9 years actually instead of the 10. But with Rhaenyra being born in 97 AC and Aegon in 107 AC that would make it 10 years.

Aegon III and Viserys II have existed since the original family tree, but of the two originally only Aegon III was Rhaenyra's son. Viserys was meant to Aegon III's fourth son. George changed this when he realised timeline wise it wouldn't work.

I do own an edition in which this is shown in the appendix but currently I don't have it with me. However, if someone else has it feel free to add it to this thread.

There were other changes to the story being made throughout the years, including some confusion regarding who Alysanne's father was, and while doing the research for this I actually saw that it was never Maegor unlike I know many of us thought.

Critically, a number of changes were done to the character of Rhaenyra. First she had been given a Lannister husband with whom she had no children. This was no earlier than 1999. Later, that was changed for him to become Lyonel Strong, Hand of the King, with whom she would have three (legitimate) children that would all perish during the Dance.

Below you can see the information regarding House Strong while Lyonel was her husband and this is from “A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide” published July 2010:

There was a male Targaryen she was known to have married after husband#1 who would father Aegon III and in this moment of time Viserys III. But no other information was known about him. This was Rhaenyra's wiki page from 2013. Once again, no Daemon.

In fact, around this time people were speculating what was her relationship with Targaryen Husband with suggestions ranging from brother to cousin.

Also note what Elio says regarding "A really notable figure or two are completely missing."

Discussion goes on, and yes, it does seem he only came to be as a character in 2012. There was evidence of some foundation being lain for him, but nothing concrete - i.e., no name, no specific relationship to her, no details whatsoever, just a male Targaryen figure who would be the father of Aegon III and Viserys II

And even more importantly and related to my point that Daemon did NOT exist in the first version of George's family tree has noted by Elio himself below:

Other evidence of him not existing comes from the main books themselves where although many characters are mentioned, including a Hand named Otto Hightower - you can look for this yourself, sorry I don't have the electronic copies and this was already a lot of work for me and xenonwitch so this is your homework hehe - there is no mention whatsoever of Daemon Targaryen.

This is particularly compelling since many other Targaryens are mentioned either when they are specifically talking about them remembering them, OR when something they created appears - e.g., the Sept that Baelor erected, the Red Keep Maegor had build etc. Yet there is no mention of Daemon anywhere with relation to the Gold Cloaks, something that would be mandatory given his established importance to them, critically the fact that he gave the City Watch their gold cloaks, which yes is a thing in the main books, but the same cannot be said of Daemon Targaryen. This would have been another great opportunity to mention him, as notable members of the City Watch, just like Prince Aemon the Dragonknight is mentioned as a notable member of the Kingsguard. But once again, no mention of Daemon is given.

Yet another opportunity would be in relation to Daemon Blackfyre who existed and who we are told in "The World of Ice and Fire" to have been named after Daena's grandfather who she admired. Yet once again, this does not happen. Related to this please see the point made by Elio above regarding him not existing when Daemon Blackfyre was created. That was added AD - After Daemon, whose earliest mention was, as far as evidence shows, at around 2012-2013.

Lesson of the day, like much the rest of what George writes, Targaryen history was a garden that he shaped along the way. Crucial aspects of the story were missing from "A Game of Thrones" all the way to the last book "A Dance with Dragons".

If one wants to talk about the books one needs to use and refer to "Fire and Blood" (Conquest to Dance) and "The World of Ice and Fire" (post-Dance) which holds up until now the most accurate and true information about the pre-asoiaf characters. Referring to books like "A Feast for Crows" is pointless and shows a lack of understanding of how the Targaryen history and pre-asoiaf history was written, and can only result in statements and information that used to be true and canon, but no longer are true or canon, and characterization of certain character becoming non-canon.

If a butterfly can change the course of history, try to imagine what you get when you base your Rhaenyra on an account where there was no Daemon.

In sum, no, George was not even close to having all of his history and pre-asoiaf characters during his writing of the main books. Yes, he changed a lot and we need to update content published before "The World of Ice and Fire". Daemon Targaryen remains a fairly new character in his universe, and one you will only get to fully enjoy and understand the genius of if you consider the ASOIAF version of his character.

[allyriadayne]

we need to talk about larys's new fit the puffy sleeves hello

it's the same from 2x04!!

i really love how medievalish it looks! the plum color and the puffy sleeves as if he was a princess...... it's just really so charming and whimsical ngl!! and it's so different from what the other male members of the council wear. because they usually are wearing the long doublet (?) jacket thingy with pants and boots underneath and so does larys don't get me wrong but this one is in velvet and much more decorated. there has been a running thread (he!) of larys dressing more richly since he killed his family but this outfit definitely takes the cake.

there is a theme about larys and his...hmm, let's call it "perceived gender" or at least perceived presentation and with this outfit it all fits so well. while velvet is not exclusively of female use because we see ser simon's purple robe is also made of it, it's been associated with mostly with the female characters this season like alicent, rhaenyra and jeyne arryn. it's definitely Something. i'm very deeply fond of this outfit.

[rhaegonapologist]

rhaegon fic notes

on ch 3 of my rhaegon fic.

This was originally the end of chapter 2, but a comment on ao3 let me know that the Vale was ruled by a woman and that it was an important plot point so I had to change it:

"

All goodwill for her brother dissipated when she sat down for dinner. 

“We heard you received letters from the young Prince Aegon,” Lord Arryn said.

His wife cut in, “Does that mean you intend to prolong your stay here? We can prepare more fitting quarters for you.” 

Rhaenyra was rudely reminded of her place in the Seven Kingdoms. Of course. To the Arryns, the little Prince was learning how to read and write now, and it wouldn’t be long until he would learn how to be a proper King, in his proper place in the Red Keep. Unlike his sister, who traveled across the lands, seemingly looking for a new home to roost. 

She felt the resentment burn up in her all over again, stoked anew. 

"

However, I'm happy with the new rewrite. Maybe Rhaenyra doesn't need a heavy handed "your brother has a cock and you don't" moment right now to wish Aegon didn't exist. Maybe she only needs to experience Aegon being a brat to have the same sentiment, after all she's been an only child her whole life.

I also wanted to explore Alicent's motherhood after last night's episode. god, theyre making me want to scrap this and just write aligon, so many issues there. I imagine she was trying her best but she was still so young, and I wonder what Rhaenyra was like in those early days. If she could stomach her best friend now a mother.

I feel like Alicent has always had a hard time loving her firstborn, her most difficult child. He represents so many things, maybe the moment he was born was the moment it truly all felt wrong. Maybe she went through post-partum depression and did not know how to deal.

Rhaenyra feeding him to fire mirrored the violence in the first chapter where she almost killed him and it was nice to connect that thread. alicent's paranoid rhaenyra will kill him because rhaenyra's been doing crazy shit like this with aegon since day one lol.

however i feel like this time rhaenyra wasn't really serious and she was doing it more for alicent anyway, aegon's not really anything to her yet. and maybe this scene represents how deep down she instinctually accepts him as targ alrdy, bc she knows he won't burn that easily in the fire. i imagine daemon put her through similar dangerous acts. alicent had experienced rhaenyra's recklessness before, but now that she's part of the family, it's even crazier up close.

i also wanted to show how young they both were too. i mean aegon's not a toy but, rhaenyra playing around and pretending to drop him was childish.

[helaenathequeenmaker]

A Blue Dress

Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the blue dye was the most widely used. Obtaining the dye is rather simple, as the ford (Isatis Tinctoria) is a plant that is easily cultivated in Europe, but the dye thus obtained will later turn out dull and greyish. The ford-dyed clothes are in fact used by the low people. Those of the nobility, on the other hand, are dyed with indigo, which is expensive and difficult to obtain, and which produces a bright, brilliant blue so that the colour holds, a fundamental requirement for a garment intended for the nobility.

In the Late Middle Ages, blue replaced royal red in the Virgin Mary's cloak, becoming a colour symbol of justice, loyalty and spirituality. In the West it then became a symbol of royalty, used by nobles and sovereigns during important ceremonies and events. In the Renaissance it was the colour used by a young woman of marriageable age. Unlike the colour pink, which is particularly expensive and considered a manly colour due to its resemblance to the colour of blood, it is blue that dominates in women's wardrobes.

House of the Dragon is no exception, as most of the female characters wear a blue dress on at least one occasion. I had already talked in my previous posts on the clothing of Helaena, Alicent and Rhaenyra about the common thread of these three characters created by the use of the colour blue (if it had been used more judiciously), but this time I want to analyse its use in the series.

In fact, I found it extremely interesting to have the three green queens (i.e. Alicent, Helaena and Jaehaera) wear it, as it seems to be a well considered and precise choice, representing a breaking point for the character and an (unfortunately traumatic) loss of innocence.

Alicent Hightower

In the first scenes with Alicent, we meet her in a dress in shades of light blue. Considering then that Rhaenyra wears a yellow dress, it almost seems that the princess represents a sun, a fixed point in Alicent's life (unfortunately the series has made them best friends), whereas Alicent's dress has the colours of a spring sky.

Blue is a predominant colour in young Alicent's wardrobe, never used again after her marriage to Viserys, where in fact she wears Targaryen red and Hightower green. Alicent wears a blue dress twice, in a darker and deeper shade than her previous dress. In the first she is in the company of Viserys, in one of their private meetings, in the second she is at the session of the small council where her marriage to Viserys is announced.

As I mentioned in her posts, I associated the colour blue with her mother (a Redwyne from Arbor) but in the series it represents her breaking point, the transition from maiden to married woman sanctioned by marriage, in which a woman transitions to the role of wife and mother (a transition well rendered in the following episode, where we find Alicent mother of Aegon and pregnant with Helaena). In fact, we will never again see Alicent wearing blue in the series.

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Yes, it seemed right to talk about her as well. Even though the message conveyed is totally the opposite. There's only one scene in which we see her wearing a blue dress (light blue actually, but I'd say we can consider blue diluted with white, come on) and it's right after Joffrey's childbirth, when Rhaenyra decides to go herself to Alicent and Viserys with the newborn.

I've noticed that many associate that dress with the colours of the Arryns (coupled, among other things, with the strong physical resemblance between Rhaenyra's actress and Aemma's), but I actually think that the blue symbolizes instead Rhaenyra's bond with the Velaryons, and consequently the one that Joffrey has (or rather, should have) with his brothers.

Rhaenyra is perfectly aware of her precarious situation. Viserys can invent all the most ridiculous excuses to justify the children's (non) resemblance to Laenor, but Alicent as well as many other people are by no means blind or stupid. Wearing that dress is therefore a clear demonstration of power, a symbol of the bond with the Velaryons and of the affiliation of Rhaenyra's children to that house.

It is a diametrically opposed message to that of Alicent, where blue is the predominant colour in her youthful clothes. Rhaenyra, on the other hand, wears it as an adult, which is a pity because we never see her in the series emphasise her kinship with the Arryn through the colours of her mother's house.

Helaena Targaryen

Like Rhaenyra, Helaena also wears a single blue dress. Incidentally, this is a moment in which she should have been one of the undisputed protagonists, since it is Aegon's coronation scene and consequently should also have been hers, being his wife.

The choice of colour is very peculiar, especially considering the context (it is the moment of greatest emphasis and demonstration of power of the greens) and the colour choices of the other family members. Helaena is also positioned next to Aemond, who is dressed in black, so the subtlety of the colour particularly stands out and stands out as a touch of light, contrasting with the sombre tones of the other characters' clothes.

I have already spoken at length in her posts about why blue is Helaena's colour, as it is the colour of her dragon Dreamfyre, but given the colour choices of her previous outfits (as a child she wears pink and green, and as an adult she has a single gold dress) dressing Helaena in blue during Aegon's coronation makes her appear out of context.

I love that they dressed her in blue, but first of all the power of the scene is interrupted by Meleys and Rhaenys and it is not clear why of all colours Helaena wears blue (a green dress would have been more appropriate). At least at first glance, becausejust as with Alicent here is Helaena's breaking point, her transition from princess to queen.

Unfortunately, the series decided not to crown her, but Helaena is the queen. A queen whose power in fact turns out to be practically nil. In the series the characterization given to Helaena seems to render her incapable of making decisions in the political sphere, where instead in the books we see her attending councils and advising Aegon. Yet, we know very well what her fate will be, when she will be forced to choose which of her children shall die, a decision that will drive her to madness. Who knows, by the way, how they will decide to dress her for that scene…

Jaehaera Targaryen

Here we enter the realm of pure speculation, but I will say right away that I love this dress. I love that Helaena has dressed her daughter in blue and I love that the embroidery and motifs on the dress resemble those on her mother's dress. I find this extremely adorable and tender.

However, my likely theory is that Jaehaera wears this dress during that scene. My heart aches already. It is one of the most horrific moments in the Dance of Dragons, where Jaehaera is threatened with rape and witnesses the murder of her brother Jaehaerys.

Exactly as with her grandmother and mother, it is a breaking moment. We don't know how Jaehaera actually reacted to what is a real trauma, but certainly losing her (probably) only parental figure of reference and her twin, then having to flee her home to save her life, coupled with the fact that your family members are literally killing each other... No wonder then that during her marriage to Aegon III she spent her days locked in her rooms.

What about the loss of innocence?

Tragedy, help. Even Jaehaerys cover seems to have the same motifs as Helaena and Jaehaera's outfits. I'm going to go cry in a corner and recover from this decidedly delusional post, I confess.

[lemonhemlock]

I agree with prev anon- i think the idea of helaemond in any concept (even a very courtly love situation) would feed into his relationship with Alys! Like, we know that’s happening no matter what, the show isn’t going to cut that. But we still have significant events before Aemond even sets foot in Harrenhal, and like you said, giving him this previous relationship where he struggles to remain “dutiful” to family vs his own wants…. it can connect directly to him ultimately choosing himself and his ambitions over returning to KL for Alicent. There would also be no crossover at any point, obviously when Aemond is with Alys, Helaena very much has her own problems going on 😔 the fighting is so silly

ALSO..... hear me out.... gods willing.... the writers could actually make his riverlands plot make sense in a way that doesn't compromise on his IQ or his responsibilities to the realm/his family (latter part of this thread)

you can have things with alys escalate, sure, have them fall in love or whatever flavour of obsession you care for, but, ultimately, hunting down daemon and cutting off the starks and the arryns from reaching KL via vhagarflame isn't that bad of a plan. we're always criticising dany and jace when it comes to their wanting to storm KL by dragon and take it by burning everyone, so maybe we shouldn't be so quick to press on aemond to take back the city by brute force. perhaps a siege might have been more appropriate in this situation and for that daeron, tessarion and the hightower army would have been better-suited to the task (had they ever managed to reach KL in the first place)

not that whatever aemond is doing in the riverlands is keeping with established rules of engagement and proportionality, but it did bear mentioning 😅

he knows he is in danger of fucking up the baratheon alliance if they get wind of alys, so he zealously concentrates his efforts into finding and eliminating daemon asap as that is the one thing that would strike at the core of the blacks militarily and weaken them. handling rhaenyra afterwards would become much less daunting

there really is no need to turn his relationship with alys into "oh he hates his family now, he's only out for himself". he can get carried away, realise he fucked up and try to compensate and fix the situation by neutralising team black's main military commander and the last other combat dragon.

this abandoning-the-greens never really sat well with me as an explanation, because, even if, say, aemond is just out for himself, the greens need to defeat the blacks if he wants to live. if the greens lose, he's toast. no more princely privileges for him, at best he's a fugitive. aemond, the one who covets power and recognition and has a praise kink? on the run like a common criminal? defeating rhaenyra really is a shared military and political goal for all greens, there would be no pardons for aemond at the end of this war, so him just sitting on his arse fucking alys is really absurd.

ryan condal i hope you're reading my blog like the morning newspaper 🍋☕🍋

[papcrrings-arch]

Event Plotting Call Part 2 !!

Below the read more is a short description for Frank, Henry, Isaac, Jessamyn, Kate & Marcus. Please like and I’ll slide into your DMs or reply with a starter for a specific plot and character !!

Frank Longbottom - Romeo Montague (Romeo & Juliet)

Date - Alice Longbottom (Platonic)

Plot Ideas

Fellow Book/Shakespeare Nerds - Anyone else who is a fan of literature or Shakespeare and/or is dressed up as character from literature/Shakespeare that Frank will undoubtedly have a nerdy conversation with

Someone He Helps - Frank is heroic and compassionate so if he sees anyone freaking out or needing help, he will swoop in and help

Henry Turner - Peter Pan (Peter Pan)

Date - None

Plot Ideas

New Friends - Henry is new to town so he needs new friends and will use this event as an opportunity to make them. They could make friends through conversation, dancing, drinking, etc.

Someone to Flirt/Hook Up With - Again, since he’s new to town, I’d be open to exploring some flirtations to see where that goes whether it’s a hook up or something different. I don’t mind.

Isaac Lahey - Gomez Addams (The Addams Family)

Date - Cora Hale

Plot Ideas, 

Drinking Buddies - Basically people to drink with. Need I say more?

Helping Hand - I am thinking about having Isaac regain his memories here so he may be freaking out a little and will need someone to help calm him down.

Jessamyn Redfort - Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland)

Date - Jeyne Arryn

Plot Ideas

Someone to Reminisce With - Anyone from the GOT world, whether they are from her time or not, to reminisce over missing their home (or not if they’re happier to be here). Basically, someone to talk about home with.

Dance Partner(s) - Jessamyn is a lady and will not turn down the invitation for a dance if someone asks. 

New Friends - Same as Henry, she needs more friends as she’s new here so any way you can throw some friends at her, I’m all for it.

Kate Denali - Medusa (Greek Mythology)

Date - None

Plot Ideas

People to Flirt With - She is not looking to hook up with anyone but has a naturally flirty nature so will join in on flirtatious conversation. (Mariana Adams Foster)

Secret Service Pals - I imagine Kate is working for at least part of the evening so any threads with others on the secret service would be fun, especially because she needs more connections.

Marcus Flint - Devil (Biblical Mythology)

Date - Officially No One But It’s Oliver

Plot Ideas

People to Flirt With - Marcus will always always always flirt and it can easily turn into conversation but will not turn into a hook up (he is def going home with Oliver) but he will do it so give me some fun flirting.

Dance/Drink Partner(s) - Drink, dance or both, Marcus is down for all of it. I will take as many threads as you can give me.

Mischief Makers - Marcus will definitely take the opportunity to cause mischief for Halloween so any partners in crime would be greatly appreciated by him.

[forgaeven]

rheowyck, rhaenyra and king's landing. again, these details are subject to changes should i deem fit or may be altered to fit the respective thread(s) i'll write rheowyck with.

# — when rheowyck was younger, and he was allowed to travel to king's landing, he did befriend rhaenyra ( and in the case of hotd compliance ) and alicent. i don't believe he travels to king's landing a lot though, mostly because i do think rhea doesn't like the idea of rheowyck travelling with daemon on dragonsback before he reached five years old. so he only travelled once before that age, at four years old, with a small convoy with daemon leading it. # — he did travel a bit more frequently ( but even, it's sparse and wouldn't be often at all ) after he's five. i think the most frequent he'd be travelling to king's landing in a year would be the very same year rhaenyra lost aemma arryn, if nothing else than simply because rhea insisted rheowyck be a companion for his cousin during the grieving period. if this were in the hotd setting, rheowyck would be a bit hesitant because after he's ten years old, he realises he doesn't like king's landing that much ( but he doesn't really know how to articulate it ) though he would agree because he can't imagine losing rhea, so he knows it must be terrible for rhaenyra. # — additionally, just because he's allowed to travel on dragonsback after he's five, that doesn't mean he uses that method each time because, in truth, daemon wasn't always there to fly him back and forth. more often than not, rheowyck still travels in a small group of envoy, which he does enjoy, because it gives an opportunity to interact with people during his travel. # — rheowyck is already an athletic child and could be quite competitive. he would insist on racing rhaenyra and syrax even with just a horse. yes, he'd lose each time, but it'd still be fun, wouldn't it ? # — rheowyck is a quieter child than rhaenyra ( and, again, if this is hotd-compliance ) alicent together, which he believes makes him an ideal companion because he doesn't really fuss or insists on the two girls to do anything else. whatever they'd like to do, he usually follows along and genuinely enjoy the time together. the only few exception to this would be if the royal master-at-arms invited rheowyck to train or spar, which would be the rarer times rheowyck would decline joining rhaenyra and alicent's company, because, like his parents, he likes the rush of adrenaline. # — the last time he'd genuinely visit king's landing would perhaps either be that year that rhaenyra was crowned as viserys' heir, or the year rhaenyra was married to laenor, though i'm leaning more towards the former than latter. this means that, there is a huge gap where the cousins did not actually communicate until the dance, where rheowyck probably met jacaerys as he bent the knees to the black. of course, not without mocking his dad first.

[wnterreign]

with abraxas martell / @stxrfclls where: the gardens.

        alicent  had  known  there  was  a chance, likely a high one, that her invitation would go unanswered. were the roles reversed the thought would have crossed her mind. thus a breath she hadn't realized she was holding escaped when she saw the prince approaching. she stood up.   ❝ thank you for joining me, your highness. i'm certain you're busy with the joust. ❞   and given the terms they'd been on last they'd spoken, alicent had to think that she wasn't on the list of people he would want to converse with.

[wnterreign]

with  tharon  redsmith     /     @stxrfclls​​

        at  first,  alicent  had  been  unsure  about  leaving  the  arryn  apartments  when  the  maester  had  suggested  that  she  get  some  fresh  air;  she’d  thought  that  recommendation  would’ve  ceased  now  that  she’d  given  birth.  she  was  reluctant  to  leave  mayra  alone  and  equally  as  reluctant  to  wander  around  sunspear  with  her  daughter  -  that  thought,  however,  she  kept  to  herself,  suspecting  her  husband  likely  felt  the  same.  however,  tharon  volunteering  to  accompany  mayra  and  her  had  made  her  agree  for  a  brief  walk  in  the  gardens.        ❝  i  don’t  think  she  likes  the  warm  weather.  she  won’t  nap  unless  we  keep  a  window  in  the  nursery  open.  ❞

[wnterreign]

@ruinovs​

        mayra  had  been  slightly  fussy  this  afternoon,  and  alicent  had  lost  count  of  how  long  she’d  walked  around  the  room,  rocking  the  babe  in  her  arms  and  singing  to  her,  waiting  for  her  to  settle.  it  was  likely  the  heat;  her  daughter  had  the  mountains  in  her  blood  already.  but  eventually  she  did  doze  off.  one  of  her  hands,  however,  remained  wrapped  around  alicent’s  finger  even  as  she  slept,  making  it  impossible  for  the  ruling  lady  to  not  smile  as  she  sat  down.        ❝  please,  be  quiet.  she  just  fell  asleep,  ❞       she  said  upon  hearing  the  door  open,  her  voice  only  loud  enough  that  the  visiter  could  hear.

[wnterreign]

with  osric  arryn     /     @patriciers​​​

        the  lady  arryn’s  spirits  were  noticeably  brighter  to  all  who  had  visited  the  apartments  in  the  days  following  mayra’s  birth,  and  for  once  she  had  no  complaints  about  remaining  in  her  chambers,  content  to  watch  over  her  daughter.  all  that  occurred  beyond  the  arryn  apartments  was  temporarily  of  little  concern  to  her,  a  welcomed  respite  that  selfishly  she  wanted  to  prolong.  and  she  trusted  that  the  vale  guards  would  keep  all  unwanted  guests  and  troubles  from  seeping  into  the  rooms.  her  good  brother,  however,  was  not  one  of  those.  a  bright  smile  greeted  him.        ❝  mayra,  meet  your  uncle  os.  ❞

[wnterreign]

open  starter    /    @reignrbs​ where:   winterfell’s sept. when:   following day four of the joust.

        hands  were  clasped  and  head  bowed  as the ruling lady of the vale kneeled before the image of the mother. she’d lit candles around her, but they did nothing to alleviate the grief within her heart. orwyn royce was dead. it made her want to rage, to tell her husband that every single member of house lynderly should be stripped of their titles and lands, but for now she turned to the gods as her aunt had always told her to. despite the silence, alicent knew they were listening. so she didn’t move, not even when footsteps approached.        ❝  i would like to be alone,  ❞        she said, not bothering to look over her shoulder.

[wnterreign]

with  rodrik  arryn     /     @qcyqoyi​

        all  the  long  months  of  her  pregnancy  had  instantly  become  worth  it  when  the  midwife  had  placed  mayra  in  her  arms,  and  the  bliss  hadn’t  faded  even  a  few  days  after  her  daughter’s  birth.  the  babe  was  currently  fast  asleep  in  alicent’s  arms.  she  hummed  softly,  a  melody  her  mother  had  sung  for  her  and  her  siblings  when  they  were  little,  and  her  eyes  were  glued  to  her  daughter  until  she  noticed  that  her  husband  had  reentered  the  room.  she  glanced  over  at  him,  smiling.        ❝  she’s  perfect.  ❞        she  whispered.  they’d  been  fortunate.  despite  being  born  early,  the  newest  arryn  was strong,  and  alicent  thanked  the  gods  for  that.