#if you think kl was supposed to be canon

[atopvisenyashill]

hello! keeping in mind your meta about jaehaerys's abuse of his daughters + the line in f&b about how a son of saera looked Exactly like jaehaerys... who do you suppose is hugh hammer's dad :')

oh i am fully behind the idea that jaehaerys is the father, i know it’s not likely to be canon (unless condal & hess are reading my blog 👀) but i’m sticking with it. i think that line about her son is SO WEIRD and probably it’s just hinting at her mental state (ie she takes clients that look like her father to retraumatize herself) but the idea that jaehaerys, likely during one of the quarrels, squirrels himself away to lys or volantis to once again use his own daughter as a replacement bed warmer when alysanne doesn’t want to fuck his nasty ass, and saera refuses to abort, and has her dad’s kid, and that kid grows up so disturbed by life in a brothel (that’s the jae genes coming out) (altho tbf that is a stressful situation for a child lol) that he changes his name and moves to KL to be a poor blacksmith & live what he hopes is a common, simple life away from the fire & blood that destroyed his mother’s mind….only to turn to vermithor when his simple life has been destroyed, and claim his unbeknownst father’s dragon on the basis of saera’s blood? that’s so delicious to me, hugh can deny his name, can deny his family, but in the end that helplessness and anger gets ahold of him and he uses the bronze fury to destroy his own wife’s last remaining place of safety. dies for absolutely nothing.

[franzkafkagf]

Do you think in Aegon's ideal world, he would still be married to Helaena? Or do you think he would have fallen in love with someone else since he has an aversion to targaryen incest?

love helaegon to bits but canon aegon's happiest life would probably be spent with some heiress from the reach. the red keep is the ultimate doom for him, marrying helaena basically shackled him to it.

i think if he had been able to leave kl he could have grown to be happier/better. there's nothing in kl for him. nothing. once rhaenyra takes the throne and moves into the red keep… where is he supposed to go?

so imagine this; he gets to marry a redding, or a middlebury, or a florent girl. it doesn't really matter what house she's from; what's important is that she inherits something and he has a keep, a place to go to. a place to call home. by marrying a heiress his kids would also actually have something in their name! aegon literally has nothing. viserys never gave a fuck,,, its sad.

[swordmaid]

The Jb Confession Scene from that post canon au is set on some field and there’s a slight rain … grass is still wet from the morning dew not gonna lie in my head it’s like 2005 pride and prejudice scene with Darcy walking through the fog except it’s jaime running through the mud in his pjs with the letter in his hand (like in persuasion!) and he looks so panicked and kind of afraid and I also have this idea that he has a slight limp post war bc his leg got damaged and I like the idea of brienne - despite being in her feelings rn - the moment she notices it’s jaime running after her she’s like oh .. then she notices he’s running and now starting to limp bc she knows his leg is now acting up she’s like oh!!!! makes the horse walk towards him so he doesn’t have to run any more further even though SHE’S the one who’s supposed to be running away. and the whole confession scene is like jaime asking her if he’s displeased her in anyway, or if he has offended, and she’s like no ofc not. he’s like then why are you leaving?? and tbh he’s BIG mad that she would just leave like that bc their relationship are worth more than saying an informal goodbye on paper!!! like hello that’s so rude!!! if u want to leave you have to say, and you have to leave through the front door and not sneak out the back end and in the route that he showed her btw. and there’s more to this dialogue btw but my pre sleep daydreams has NOT filled that in yet but I’m just imagining jaime starts to figure out why she’s so upset (she brings up the whole tourney for a lord lannister in kl and he’s gonna get married) and he’s like.. wait. WAIT. the math is mathing. brienne is upset bc she doesn’t like the idea of him marrying someone else = she’s JEALOUS…. now he can’t help it … he’s smiling and laughing at the thought bc it feels sauuurrr fucking good to know that the person you’ve been trying to get it on with hates the idea of you being with someone else and he’s like why are you so mad brienne (trying not to smile but FAILING) and she’s like well you’re just making fun of me now so I’m going to actually GO and he’s like noo you’re not allowed to leave until you tell me why you’re mad (now laughing and his dimples are showing so brienne gets more frustrated at the sight of them) then more stuff in between. I think. Anyway. In the end it’s jaime going like brienne - if you want me, you have to tell me. and you have to get off that horse (he’s been trying to make her get off that horse but she’s being stubborn) and tell me you want to be with me. and when she finally jumps off he kisses her immediately - way before she says she wants to be with him bc he’s impatient and the thought of brienne actually leaving scared him so bad

[horizon-verizon]

Where has this idea throughout the fandom come from that Rhaenyra would be/was a terrible ruler? I see people constantly saying things like “I’m not Team Green, but Rhaenyra was a terrible ruler and Aegon II was better…”

Sure, she’s not a perfect monarch, is anyone in ASOIAF a “perfect” monarch? But from what we’re told, I thought it was pretty obvious that Rhaenyra had been training since she was a young teenager in court affairs/political matters.

I could totally be wrong and forgetting things from F&B but I thought out of Aegon II and Rhaenyra it was obvious who the better ruler was?

No, it's perfectly clear Rhaenyra was comparatively the better choice as to rulership by merit, experience, and character. People simply read with their eyes closed and swallow what the writing's surface level stuff tells them.

Often those who say that bring up either her supposed cruel indifference towards her siblings, Blood and Cheese, having "bastard" kids, marrying Daemon and the way she did, the taxes at KL, and/or the attempt at having a sort of investiture ceremony/party for her remaining Velaryon son in KL. Or her seeming removal from the war preparations after she learns of Lucerys' death to Jacaerys' death. Or Nettles, thinking she wanted her killed simply bc she thought Nettles seduced Daemon away from her, when if you go back we do have some good reason to think this was just Septon Eustace's distortion of the facts (the language he uses and who he uses that language on). NOT that she sent the order, but the reason for the order.

Honestly, the criticism often stems form misogyny or a mistake in seeing her as deliberately poorly written or just badly written by GRRM. But def sexism whenever they say AEGON of all people would be "better", even if he magically allowed himself to be "ruled" by Alicent and Otto, which canonically never likely would have happened. Even if he wasn't a rapist.

[melrosing]

MBO Robert's Rebellion: Episode 8

have been away so this one was a bit slower but!! martells are back. you can probably tell where this season is ending now.

timeline-wise, think this is all still roughly in line with canon dates! will be skipping forward two years next (wonder what for)

Prev: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7

Next: Episode 9

title for this one (like two weeks later cos I forgot): my big fat targaryen wedding idk

One year since our last nonsense!!! We open on Shipbreaker Bay, where a ship is… breaking lol. Steffon Baratheon clings to the splintered remains of the Windproud, desperately scanning the chaotic scene for his wife Cassana. Sees her drowning some feet away, and makes his way towards her only for a HUGE WAVE to crash over them both. obliterated 😔

Robert (17) and Stannis (15) at a window; Robert makes to go down there himself, but is restrained by his father’s men - he howls in grief and rage. Stannis remains stood stiffly by the window, a vague tremor about him. Cressen places a hand on his shoulder. Baby Renly howling in the background…..

....turns to baby Viserys howling in Rhaella’s arms as Aerys tries to pry him out of them. Aerys looks like shit: his nails are longer, his hair somewhat unkempt (olaplex isn't 4 him), and he seems to have aged more than the year that’s passed. Clutching a squalling Viserys, Aerys takes his son to the dragon skulls lining his throne room, naming each as they go. Viserys eventually quiets. Finally, they come to stand in the mouth of Balerion, and both father and son stare in awe as the skull appears to swallow them

Opening 💃 creds 💃

The King’s council. Aerys receives news that things have…. not gone well with Steffon Baratheon :/ He immediately looks to Tywin, who does not look back, and rather moves on to the question of Baratheon succession. Aerys interrupting like HOLD UP who is supposed to marry my son now then!! Tywin looks at him like ‘you know what I think’ but he won’t deign to put that forward again. Aerys’ council mention that the Princess of Dorne is still touring the Seven Kingdoms seeking a husband for her daughter Elia - they've been travelling a conspicuously long time, as it goes. Might they invite the Martells to KL???

Fast forward a month or two: we’re in the Martells’ carriage, with the Princess of Dorne, Oberyn and Elia. POD fusses over Elia's tiara, but Elia is feeling sceptical: she’s heard the Prince is a bit weird. Oberyn like ‘can’t be as weird as those twins at the Rock’, tries to make his sister laugh, but her nerves are high

Rhaegar and Arthur together in the library at King’s Landing, as fucking ever. They’ve been up late, and now watch the rising sun. Rhaegar notes that the woman his father hopes to betrothe him to is due to arrive today; Arthur asks if this is what he wants, and Rhaegar states that what he wants doesn’t come into it - but the sun looks like his dreams this morning

The Martells are welcomed to King’s Landing in the courtyard. Oberyn pulls a face at Elia when they see the King (and the absolute state of him), but Elia is hesitant to return it. The Queen looks equally haunted. Between them, Rhaegar: he’s beautiful, but it feels like he’s not altogether present, and Elia is uneasy. Meanwhile, a cold look from Tywin Lannister to the Princess of Dorne. The POD smiles back

A feast in the Great Hall to welcome the Martells. Aerys sits at the head of the table, watching as each dish presented to him is tasted first. The POD attempts to make conversation with her old friend Rhaella, but Rhaella does not prove receptive. The POD senses something is terribly different about Rhaella, but the Queen seems too fragile to be pushed on it. Asking if she might meet the Prince Viserys, Rhaella tells the POD her son is not permitted visitors these days

Rhaegar has not said a word to Elia all of the feast, and she looks thoroughly dejected - till Rhaegar stands, and asks her to take a walk with him. Oberyn is unimpressed by Rhaegar and not entirely subtle about it, but the POD encourages Elia to follow the Prince. Rhaegar walks with Elia about the hall, asking after her journey to the capital. Then, cutting to the chase, he tells her that he believes he’s dreamed of her - Elia is stunned. Rhaegar asks if Elia has had dreams of her own, Elia replies only the simple kind - but finds she is intrigued

Rhaegar doing his thing with the harp after the feast: Elia finding herself slightly swept up. Oberyn tries to translate some of the Valyrian lyrics as Rhaegar sings, finds they don’t make sense, but the POD only hushes him

After the feast: the Princess of Dorne goes to Rhaella’s chambers, bringing wine and hopes of a discreet chat. However, she finds Rhaella surrounded by chamber maids who won’t be dismissed. Conversation proceeds awkwardly and self-consciously, till the POD gives up

Meanwhile, Aerys in his solar; it’s late, but someone has arrived to meet him. A knock at the door, and Aerys is presented with Varys, whose work they’ve heard so much about.....

The following morning, in the Great Hall: Aerys announces a betrothal between his son and Princess Elia. Elia shy, POD proud, Tywin raging as ever, young Cersei raging right beside him… and Rhaegar, looking distant, like he expected this but something still isn’t quite right

Skip forward to the wedding itself: both Rhaegar and Elia look resplendent, as do all of their guests. When the new couple dance together, everything seems to click - but then we see Aerys sat at the head table, somehow looking worse than ever, tapping his hands erratically on the wood. His mood is only lifted when entertainment arrives in the form of two pyromancers, who have promised the assembled guests ‘dragonfire’. This comes in the form of wildfire, wrought like a nuclear firework display. The guests applaud, Aerys most vigorously

Later the same night, Rhaegar lies awake beside a sleeping Elia, staring at the ceiling. After a moment he rises, and goes to a castle by the window. Faintly, he waves his hand over the flame, and winces slightly when it burns

[lemonhemlock]

My all time favorite angle of the Valyrian gods versus the Faith debate, is that a lot of the fics/takes around it by Team Black seem to like the Old Gods (which fair enough, I too like the creepy trees. team stark 5ever) or at least play lip service to it to make the Faith of Seven seem less cool (no one has the vision for how insane fantasy Catholicism can be except for GRRM himself) but also including Targaryen characters being respectful/kinda into the Old Gods, which KILLS me. I blame the wildly non-canonical weirwood in the Red Keep’s godswood in the show. It drives me INSANE. What is that doing there!!!!!! The Red Keep has no weirwood!!! Who planted it there???? You telling me that Maegor or Jaehaerys took the time to plant a weirwood for the Old Gods???? If I see one more fic where a Targaryen marries someone not of the old gods under a weirwood tree I’m going to kill someone.

I’m SO defensive of the weirwoods because I know none of them have delved into the fucked up human sacrifices that likely created weirwoods plus the rich symbolism that they create (hello Sansa in the Eyrie, I love you), the erasure of the North-South religious and cultural divide, and acting like the Targs would be so cool with the Old Gods for no reason is driving me nuts.

I just hate the show’s weirwood tree, it makes no sense. I will never find peace as long as I keep seeing scenes from the show set under it.

(Sorry for being insane in your inbox again )

Don't worry about it, your inbox drops lead to interesting discussions! 💚

Totally agree with you on the Old Gods & the unsavory blood ritualistic imagery (like hanging entrails from the branches of weirwood trees). I mean, it may sound heavy metal, but if we're supposed to be critical about religion,* this should definitely come under the magnifying glass, too. As is the super creepy idea that Bloodraven is spying on everyone using the weirwoodnet and manipulating historical events like that.

I also don't see why Targaryens should be Old Gods fanboys either - what could they possibly gain from this? It's such a fanon interpretation, because the old religion doesn't have any organized structure that could act as a political actor. There's this projection happening, because Christianity has flaws IRL and a fraught history, when people encounter its fantasy equivalent, they automatically think any other religion is better. I'm waiting for Cult of Starry Wisdom acolytes to come out of the woodwork and preach how much better Nyarlathotep is than the Seven Gods puts together.

As for the godswood in the Red Keep - Ned tells us it has an ancient, huge oak. That kind of tree can only grow like that over a very long period of time. There's no mention of a weirwood in KL that could have been cut down; also I don't think you can plant weirwood trees? Else I think people would do it more often in the North. I honestly think it's there just for nostalgia reasons for the audience. Though I wonder if George agreed with this addition and why. Maybe the lack of a weirwood in KL was an in-universe limitation he imposed on Bloodraven's power?

*at least that's what they think they're doing, by writing all these critical essays on how problematic the Faith is, but they never bother to do a comparative analysis with the other religions available in-universe. Or they peddle their own headcanons as fact, like how supposedly Valyrian society would have been so much less sexist than Faith-worshippers, ergo their religion should reflect that.

[agentrouka-blog]

A)What do you think of the possibility of ned/ashara love given they're described as looking similar to jon/dany & we know these two will hookup, even though sansa will be his great love. Why do you think ned reacted so strongly to cat when she mentioned her name?? Also it's possible that ned never knew that ashara was pregnant as he only meets her at the end of the war. So he never knew it was his child that was killed at KL. Barristan doesn't hold anything against ned as ashara's lover in his

B) his POV. So he thinks it's Brandon. But I feel like it's a red herring- perhaps a misunderstanding at harrenhal. I read a theory that ashara was the paramour of lewyn martell. Maybe seeing ashara in love with ned, he might have tried to dishonor her & the martells tried to cover it up from rhaegar by falsely blaming Brandon( knowing the STAB bloc forming against targs). Rhaegar after falsely assuming that Brandon has done something inappropriate to his bff(Arthur)sister(even if the assumption

C) could be violation or Brandon just seducing ashara & then dumping her even though he's engaged to cat) could also be the one of the many reasons R crowns L( to stick it to Brandon who was right beside her "I know what u did to ashara"). I think the whole thing with barbery dustin was to let the readers know that cat dodged a bullet wrt to Brandon & Brandon's general image. Most people would assume B as A's lover, not the shy quiet Ned(except the select few inner circle). Also ned never thinks

D) badly about Brandon who apparently slept with his crush. I think N/A would be similar dynamic to jon/ygritte & upcoming j/dany dynamic- more teenage puppy lots of sex with betrayals on both sides. And J/sansa would be like ned/cat. I see similarities b/w A/N/C love triangle with dany/j/sansa. I think N/A were definitely a thing. I don't think anything happened b/w A & Brandon. I also think A is lemore.

Hi anon!

I suppose I already right off the bat disagree with a number of assumptions going into this ask, so I'll do that and explain how this informs my own guesses of that backstory. :)

We don't actually have any evidence that Ned even had a crush on Ashara, let alone slept with her. We know that they danced together after Brandon asked Ashara because Ned was "too shy to leave his bench", not "too shy to ask his crush" to dance. We know the rumors about them started because he returned the sword to Starfall after killing her brother. If Ned had had a crush on Ashara let alone slept with her, you'd think Robert would mention that to him before he brings up some peasant woman named Wylla? Ned literally never thinks about her EVER. The only one spreading that information as fact is a twelve-year-old nephew who never met her and is also spreading blatantly false information about Jon's mother being Wylla. Hmm.

We do not know that Jon and Dany are going to hook up. The fact that the show went that route makes it show canon, not book canon, and we know they were willing to be Very Flexible with shifting storylines around.

Ashara has a vague resemblance with Dany through the purple eyes, but her hair is actually dark, unlike that of her nephew Edric Dayne. The visual you get with her and Brandon might as well be reminiscent of Brandon and dark-haired Barbrey, you know? Less so of Jon and Dany.

Ashara was not the paramour of Lewyn Martell. That one is described as "an old woman now", so her identity is known and she is officially alive. But even that would be more credible than shy and honorable Eddard Stark having premarital sex with a highborn lady at a tourney, no matter how willing. That whole assumption is so out of character for him! We know people think it's hilariously unlikely that he fathered a bastard, and the only reason they believe it is because, well, there's a bastard that looks like him. Remove that "proof" and you have an Eddard who is exactly what is says on the tin: shy and honorable. Know who's described as "never shy about taking what he wanted"? Brandon. In the context of sleeping with a highborn maiden. Maybe it doesn't have to be as complicated as you're making it. Maybe it's as simple as Barristan thinking "Stark" dishonored Ashara and it's the one who has a history of doing exactly that.

If Ashara and Ned had parallels to Jon and Ygritte, Ashara would have forced herself on Ned and he'd have been filled with self-blame and shame. There is no "teenage puppy love", there's an abusive relationship. Which would STILL make more sense than Ned willingly having premarital sex with a highborn girl. There is no Ashara/Ned/Catelyn triangle. The whole point and irony is that the woman Ned "loved fiercely" is his sister, Jon's mother.

Not going into that bit about Rhaegar because that makes absolutely zero sense. If you think some Lord's heir assaulted your wife's lady in waiting, you don't solve that by shaming your wife and that guy's sister in a huge public scandal. Especially with fragile politics in the background.

Why do you think ned reacted so strongly to cat when she mentioned her name??

Because Catelyn is inquiring in the direction of the origins of Jon Snow, and Ned is panicking. If he had had a relationship with Ashara, nothing would be easier or smarter than opening up about it to Catelyn in this moment. She is clearly trying to forge a connection there, to find common ground and ease the tension between them. Instead, Ned shuts it down harshly, demands her sources and then shuts those down, too. That's not the actions of a man grieving his lost love with the wife he clearly already cares for. This is a man having a knee-jerk panic-driven reaction to make sure he never has to answer any questions in this direction that might lead to revealing his secret or getting caught in contradictions. Because, you know, Lyanna. Being the mother of his fake bastard. The whole point.

I also think A is lemore.

I do agree with that, at least!

Basically, no, I just think it's incredibly unlikely that Ned ever slept with Ashara, and questionable if he ever had a crush on her. Brandon sleeping with a highborn maiden at a tourney is far more likely, because he has a history of doing that. If a Stark is the father of Ashara's child, it's going to be Brandon. Which is something Ned may never have even found out about. A secret he is likely privy to is Ashara's involvement in the baby switch and her caring for Aegon. Why else would the Dayne's be covering for Ned when it comes to Jon Snow's parentage, unless they are tied together in secrecy?

Trying to turn that into evidence that Jon and Dany are going to be a thing, let alone a "puppy love" thing, or that there will be a love triangle of some kind is a bit of a stretch.

[duncan-rohanne]

do you think alicole will have more scenes together or is it over? do you think they will make alicent grieve for him or just not show anything?

i honestly don't have an answer for any of these because i don't know where the show is going. even with what we know about episode7, i have no idea what will be in episode 8. condal kinda said on sdcc that there will be no big sequence in the final episode and it's also said that because they had to cut this season to 8 episodes, the next battle will be moved to season 3. tho - is it the fall of king's landing or the battle of gullet?

(let me remind you, that the show kind of forgot that gwayne is supposed to be in KL not on a roadtrip with criston)

but in my opinion? i'm doom and gloom when it comes to this show, so no, i don't think they will see each other again (which actually would be fine and canon, but you would think they'd make their last scenes more meaningful? but i digress.) i do think alicent will grieve him tho , for at least one scene that hotd characters are allowed to grieve their loved ones, but yeah, i think she will.

[standardlovers]

I want to hear about castor acklys

HI BEST FRIENDS I LOVE U BEST FRIENDS <33

castor is my oc who was invented when one time i was listening to preachers daughter and decided i wanted to make a plot that had an album style set up (i am not involved in music and do not make music), the main character dying & a complex sibling dynamic! it started off by outlining 2 albums which are the canon timeline (Saviour's Secret & Brother Of The Sky (Extended)) and then added 2 more for a lighter alternate ending (Husband & Keeper's Lover) but then there was a 3rd alternate ending created (Something Like God) and a final conclusion to castor's story in an album created at the same time as SLG (Gravesite)

it is supposed to have the vibes of southern gothic but its not southern! this all actually happening in britain! but still. GOTHIC, its dark, it has unpleasant themes

HERE ARE SOME WARNINGS BEFORE GOING FORWARD: THIS CONTAINS BRIER DISCUSSION OF KIDNAPPING, DEATH/MURDER, CULTS AND MENTIONS OF ABUSE

the album order is SS (aka C1), BOTS(E), H (aka C3), KL, Gravesite, then SLG and the album titles are all reflective or Castor's "identity"/viewing himself through the connections he has with other people, its not until Castor is dead that he defines himself by anything other than his connection to someone else (or he joins a cult and believes he is Something like God bc thats how cults can be sometimes)

as shown below there is one timeline that doesnt have an album ! there is an album i dont have written (and honestly dont intend to write atm) about castors life if he ran away AND found The Star again

these are also all of the tracks for the first 4 albums (im on mobile so i dont have the other 2 album tracklist available rn until i go home tomorrow night)

i can and will go into each song but probably not in this post bc it is 10+ tracks on 4 albums which will be a lot of me talking but heres what you should know !

NAMES:

i took a long time deciding character names so i will be explaining them (hyperlinked w the characters tag)

Castor Acklys is a star name (which i very much wanted for symbolic connections to other characters specifically The Star & Nova) + Acklys (from Achlys) is the blindness over someones eyes when they die + (from Achley) being the mythological personification of sorrow

The Star does have a name but that information is on lockdown you arent supposed to know their name and i personally do not even know their gender , but there is symbolism in BOTS(E) abt Castor seeing "The Stars" when he dies, he however dies at 2pm so there are no stars in the sky, he is hallucinating both the night sky and his sibling being present

Charles Mercy Charles is shortened to Chuck then Chuckle (as in laugh) and Mercy bc he is supposed to be the saviour (bonus tag Mercklys)

Abram is from Abam which is a feminine name meaning the second in a pair of twins and also i did just read AFTG when i started working on this project so i may have been influenced there (bonus tag CAbram)

Nova is an astrological name + means New (bonus tag CastorNova)

Dalilah Fare comes from Dalil which means guide but also means witness and Fare to represent the fare paid to ride into the underworld

Victor E. Casement bc Victor means conqueror and Casement means God's protector (bonus tag Victonna)

Donna Casement is supposed to be overwhelmingly normal and Donna was a very popular name for i think the 1960s when she would have been born, Casement is her married name and smth she carries from Victor

Irma means whole/complete

Winifred means holy/blessed reconciliations and is the patron saint of virgins

Calamity bc when i googled it, it said that "despite meaning disaster most people take Calamity from Calamity Jane meaning someome good to have in troubled times (idk if i have a calamity tag)

Alice was similar to Donna where its just a popular name from the time she would have been born

Simon just felt like a 1934 name

Angie , same as above

Kory genuinely bc I liked the name and it suited how i picture her in my head

THE TIMELINES:

the acklysverse is split into 3 timelines

1934

Dalilah Fare runs away to marry her lover Simon, she is sadly kidnapped and killed. This leaves behind her lover Simon and her younger sister Angie, who get married! (dw, Dalilah is very happy for them!)

1984: 50 years later,

Castor is the younger sibling after his sibling (The Star) runs away and is presumed dead. C1 & BOTS(E) (canon timeline) are following Castor's life before and leading up to The Star leaving, including Castor falling in love with Charles Mercy (the leading romance in C1!), Charles is very sweet and charming but has a bit of a saviour complex. He believes everything will always be okay because, for him, it always has been, and Castor's life issues (abusive family, flight risk sibling, confusing sexuality crisis, etc, etc.) will eventually just stop, he genuinely believes he can save Castor but the thing is he cant. Castor knows this and wants to cut his losses early but feels torn abt hurting Charles since Charles has not yet come to terms with not being able to help Castor. C1 ends with their break up after Castor has known for a while that it is not going to work out and Charles finally realises the same.

This is the first album bc its the first time Castor uses the song/album set up to explore his emotions on the situation. So BOTS(E) reflects on Castor's life as whole. I like to call it The Life and Death of Castor Acklys. This explores Castor realising his home life is unhealthy and then he loses The Star bc they run away which causes even more fall out. Living in an abusive household he decides he can not stay in and realising this is probably what drove The Star to leave, so he also runs away less than a year later and is also sadly, kidnapped from a bus stop and killed. The Extended of this album is one of my favourite ways the albums communicate anything bc BOTS is Castor's life and (E) is Castor's death, all extended tracks are post mortem.

Skipping forward a few albums bc the others are Alt84 (see below) we get to Gravesite ! This is the return of Dalilah <3 and the reveal that Dalilah's ghost has been here the whole time. Dalilah's death is cosmicly interconnected to Castor's (more on this later) and she has been watching his life happen since Castor was 13 when the events began that would lead to his death began being set into play by the universe. Gravesite is Castor's death and welcoming to the afterlife from Dalilah's perspective of trying to stop this all from happening! We also learn that Dalilah's death is almost a perfect mirror of Castor's, in the same location, by the same cause of death, same last words, same final regrets. They are soulmates in the most intimate but tragic sense.

Alternate 1984

Alt 1: C3 + KL,

Alternately, Castor never runs away. In a different time in a different life, Castor stays and gets married before he's 20 to Abram. Abram is amazing and perfect and Castor is deeply unhappy bc he doesn't want Abram as a husband but marrying him got Castor away from his home and into a life that was 100% his own. Abram loves Castor deeply and romantically and without any strings attached and Castor cant understand why he cant just love Abram back when all he wants is a friend (and maybe a little bit still trying to fill in the hole The Star left when they left) but will take Abram as a lover to avoid losing yet another person he loves. During their marriage, Castor meets Nova <3 a shopkeeper he begins to fall for and have an affair with. C3 ends with Castor and Abram's divorce and Castor trying to process a lot of things he has to deal with. KL then explores Castor's first 100% healthy and reciprocated relationship and unpacking and reevaluating everything he has come to know bc he lacked those healthy relationships !

ALT 2: SLG

Instead of being killed, Castor still runs away but chooses to walk to a different more active bus stop hoping it will delay his family who may look for him from actually knowing where he went. At this bus stop he meets Victor E. Casement, a current cult leader but ex professor. He slowly warms to Victor over a few weeks and ends up diving head first into said cult, where we see the inner workings of this cult through Castor's eyes as he becomes friends with Donna, Victor's wife.

2004

You may be thinking "hey if everyones dead and 2004 follows canon how could there be anything to happen next? is this another alternative?" well! 2004 does follow canon! in a morbid way! 2004 follows canon in terms of the fact that Castor was only the main character of his timeline!

THERES A BACKGROUND PLOT WITH THE MURDERERS!

The man who killed Dalilah is in fact the great uncle (grandmothers brother) of the man who killed Castor! This information about a family history of murder was not passed along but was found in Dalilah's killers old jounrals and then replicated by Castor's killer. The time jump is much smaller now bc that information has been passed on directly, Castor's killer talks to his child about his crimes and it is replicated in 2004 with the next in line, Kory. Kory is also cosmicly interconnected to Dalilah and Castor who are doomed to repeat the cycle of trying and failing to save the next victim. And its almost identical again, another soulmate !

SIDE CHARACTERS:

Irma : Castor's best friend who dies shortly after The Star leaves, the cause of death is never specified but her absense is smth he feels strongly about

Winifred : Castor's mother *was maternal grandmother for a while but that was altered as the plot developed

Alice : A cult member and Victor's friend since before they were a cult

Angie Fare : Dalilah's sister and Nova's grandmother

Simon : Dalilah's ex lover & brother in law, and Nova's grandfather

Calamity : Castor's maternal cousin

[finitefall]

I’ve never understood why people believe that Griff will be more accepted in Westeros than Dany, because they also say that Targaryen’s are hated in Westeros and won’t be welcomed (untrue), but they conveniently forget that when it comes to Griff, who is only doing what he’s doing because of his supposed Targaryen heritage, he’s trying to reclaim Westeros as Rhaegar Targaryen’s son and no one else, not to mention that I highly doubt people who still support Targaryen’s in Westeros (which is a lot more than this fandom is willing to accept) are going to believe Rhaegar’s dead son, survived the sack of KL during the Rebellion, in comparison to Daenerys, who is known as Rhaegar’s sister in Westeros and an undisputable Targaryen (unlike Griff) would receive a far better welcoming than Griff. Not saying it isn’t possible for him to still have supporters in Westeros and Dany won’t have those against her, both are likely. But, just the hypocritical mindset that Griff will be more welcomed as a Targaryen and not Daenerys, when Griff even needs her desperately for his plan to work and so much more about this mindset with Griff that doesn’t make a lick of sense to me when it comes to certain ASOIAF people (although they are probs GOT watchers who believe the show at the same time)... This fandom is so dumb it’s actual hell

I think it's more that those antis Dany want him to be accepted, nonnie. It’s not about logic, and what they’re saying not making any sense to you is a very good sign. Literally, who cares about Young Griff and finds his character amazing? Yet, there are actually people writing posts about how he would be a good King. Let's be honest: they don't like Young Griff, this isn't about him at all. It's about Dany and the fact they hate her. It's about them not wanting her to be Queen, least of all a good Queen. And it's also about misogyny, let's face it.

Those are the same people saying Dany is arrogant (she's not, but Young Griff is) and listing all her flaws when you just have to read both her chapters and his chapters to know who would be a good Queen and who would be a bad King. They also say that he has experience she doesn't since he was trained to be King all his life, which isn't true. He's been raised to be King, he has allies to support his (false) claim, but he never had to rule people. He literally has no idea what being King implies and doesn't understand the people, unlike Dany who wasn't raised to be Queen at all.

It's actually an important message: none of the five key players had been raised to be a leader (far from it), they're outcasts, and they're the ones who have shown the best leadership traits. GRRM isn't without flaws and his books aren't either, but when it comes to this? He knows absolutely what he's doing. The qualities a good ruler should have that are attributed to Young Griff are the ones Dany have been showing through the books.

There’s also another reason why they support Young Griff and want him to be the son of Rhaegar and Elia: their hate towards almost all Targaryens, who are white supremacists (all Dany stans and Targaryens stans are also racists, by the way) because they’re white and blonde and BIPOC characters suffered and died because of them. Elia Martell? Rhaegar’s fault. Quentyn Martell? Dany’s fault. Dorne has suffered so much because of House Targaryen, and Young Griff will show the people of Westeros how kind he is and will honor his mother’s memory, while his supporters will tell everyone the horrors Daenerys commited and how much she doesn’t care about the people. So, when Dany will come and see how the people love him and hate her, she’ll burn KL like in the show because she’s mad and a tyrant.

So again, it’s not about Young Griff. In fact, they don’t care if he’s a Targaryen or if he’s a Blackfyre. It’s about Dany. Her haters have to rewrite canon and go as far as defend slavery to be able to say she’s an awful ruler, a colonizer, a tyrant, a mad woman (emphasis on woman, please)... Her Satanic Majesty, like in the script of the show’s finale, basically. I wasn’t in the ASOIAF fandom before the show aired (I started to read the books after watching the first season, in 2013 I think), but it’s not new. The show did make things worse though: for them, it confirmed their smart theories and how delusional Dany stans are.

Yes, this fandom can be extremely stupid and toxic.

[esther-dot]

So re Jon's legitimacy v. bastardy conversation. FWIW, when the annulment/marriage plot point was revealed in season 7, Linda of Elio and Linda fame, had a twitter conversation with another user and Linda basically implied she was skeptical of the annulment because it wouldn't fit in-universe rules and a poly-marriage would have made more sense as there is "precedent" for that (because ya know targs are going to targ). Linda and Elio are essentially GRRM's canon fact checkers so I found that interesting. Also, in one of Jaime's flashbacks I think, this was after the rebellion popped off and R decided to show his face in KL I suppose (so I'm assuming after any alleged marriage took place/after L got knocked up), he told Jaime something to the effect that he was putting "my wife and children" in your hands/care (which lmao). So he did still refer to E as his wife which I know, I know the bar is in hell. Don't get me wrong, R is POS but I do think in his warped mind he did care for E, didn't think he humiliated beyond comprehension (yet again, lmao), and loved his children. Also, wasn't he obsessed with the "dragon having three heads" so I don't think in his mind he intended to throw away E and their children (I'm not saying I agree with that sentiment myself) but in terms of GRRM's authorial intent I think this is where he was getting at.

(in reference to this convo)

Oh, thank you for that info, anon! I’ve never followed those people closely but I’ve certainly heard them mentioned a lot, and know Martin considers them kinda experts on his world. (How weird is it to think about reminding the author of what he has written!) I’ve been struck by some of Martin’s comments to fans about them thinking about a certain thing more than he has or his recent comment about how he’s making things up as he goes along and felt that as fans, we look at things on a very strict/nailed down kinda way, whereas for him, the endpoint for our mains are fixed, but he’s exploring his world and developing it as he goes. Something I find so interesting is that he’s chosen to write about the past and the future, unfolding things as we read that change what we know, that mean what we know isn't.

With the entire fandom agreeing about R+L=J, it's easy to forget that technically, it's still a mystery being spun-out. To me, it is so omnipresent, it requires plot significance ie I feel that Jon will need to be trueborn and deal with the consequences of having a claim, but Martin has such a unique twist on things, it's hard to know which way that goes. He could take it mostly negative, the purpose be to derail Jon's life-- a subversion of how the hidden prince trope usually plays out-- and it be the means to dethrone him, not give him a happy ending. As in, say Jon is accepted as a legitimized Stark, becomes KitN, and then suddenly, this revelation. Usually unexpected parentage reveals result in a crown, Martin could decided to use it to take one away. After all, Robb wrote that will thinking Jon was his father’s son, and it seems to me that as understandable as his choice was in the moment (fears about the Lannisters getting Winterfell), I have to think Martin won’t “reward” it in the narrative by having it play out nice and neat. That solution seems destined to create chaos when we think of the R/L bombshell.

This:

Don't get me wrong, R is POS but I do think in his warped mind he did care for E

is something I've wondered about. Here is the line that I think you’re remembering:

Prince Rhaegar burned with a cold light, now white, now red, now dark. "I left my wife and children in your hands."                 

"I never thought he'd hurt them." Jaime's sword was burning less brightly now. "I was with the king . . ." (ASOS, Jaime VI)

which I think speaks more to Jaime’s feelings of failure/guilt than to Rhaegar’s perception of Elia since elsewhere there’s a mention of it being Aerys who wanted Jaime in KL. And yet, the way Martin writes about Rhaegar in different POVs and some of his comments made me think he feels very differently than I do about the character. The way Elia and Rhaenys' deaths are placed primarily on Tywin and The Mountain's heads which is true, except, none of that would have happened if Rhaegar hadn't set the whole catastrophe into motion with the Lyanna mess means I find the guy an absolute loser. I just can’t get past poor little Rhaenys hiding under his bed, thinking her father might save her when her father had run off with another woman in pursuit of an additional child. I suppose, the story is showing the dangers of being guided by prophecy and creating our own destruction, but in the words on the page, I don’t see the contempt that I feel for Rhaegar. 

So yeah, I have my feelings and I try to differentiate between them and what Martin intended the takeaway to be.

[atopvisenyashill]

If Rhaenys was the Queen, do you think Laenor and Rhaenyra would still be matched and, more importantly, would Rhaenyra have had children with Harwin Strong? Because that feels so much more dangerous.

i mean THATS THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION RIGHT.

okay so @riana-one said in a reply that i can't fucking find now that most likely, in the case that one of Viserys & Aemma’s kids still lived, that Laenor would marry Rhaenyra and Laena would marry the boy, and imo I think that’s likely in the case that Rhaenys ascends and becomes Queen Regnant. TBH the fact that Rhaenys and Viserys didn’t marry was kinda stupid (i mean, these people don’t need to be MORE inbred but like, what’s the point of all the incest marrying if you’re not using that to combine the claims of competing lines? but then again, we all know the reason is misogyny and purposefully cutting rhaenys' competing claim out of the family tree to ~put her in her place~). I think Rhaenys & Corlys are perfectly astute enough to realize their best option is to combine their line with Viserys.

HOWEVER. There’s a few important factors in Laenor being Prince of Dragonstone and marrying Rhaenyra that change the plot as well as their characters-

LAENOR is the Crown Prince, not Rhaenyra as Crown Princess which means there’s more pressure on Laenor himself to actually, ya kno, attempt to consummate the marriage than there is in the og canon where it’s very vague as to whether Laenor attempted to have legitimate children with Rhaenyra or whether she was so mad about the match she simply refused to bed him and Laenor went “cool idgaf” (bc….like all of his behavior in canon points to Laenor simply not giving a shit about how Rhaenyra got pregnant, and perhaps they even mutually disliked each other!)

Rhaenyra is so cavalier about having bastards specifically because her father is King and will protect her from the pushback (or so she hopes). If it’s Laenor’s mother that’s ruling Queen, that’s a much different scenario where Rhaenyra knows she’s not going to have backup.

Is Harwin even still at KL? He’s there in canon because Lyonel is on the small council and he needs to Be Useful In The City but if it’s RHAENYS who is Queen that means SHES picking her Small Council (or, I suppose, Corlys is picking her small council). How she got her crown is going to factor into what her Small Council looks like - if Aemon never died and passed the crown to his daughter he spent years acclaiming as his heir and fighting to protect her rights, that Council will look different than if the GC 101 chose her over Viserys (and how is Jae taking that), and THAT TOO looks different than if like, Viserys and Daemon both die and now the crown MUST pass to a female line. For all we know, she makes Boremund her Master of Laws because he’s been her number one supporter her whole life & he’s her dear uncle!

Rhaenyra’s life looks infinitely different if she’s raised as a daughter of a man with no seat. She might not even grow up in KL; again, depending on how Rhaenys comes to her throne, it’s possible Viserys & his family aren’t even welcome there the way Rhaenys & Jocelyn are effectively banned from KL after Jaehaerys usurps them, or that Viserys would feel awkward in KL the way both Rhaena's did. Would Rhaenys work something out with Viserys so he can live at Court or be the castellan of Dragonstone? Does Viserys decide to take Rhaenyra & Aemma and fuck off to the Vale (and does that bring Daemon to the Vale and are they welcome there??). The point there is, Rhaenyra’s childhood looking so different is going to affect the way she approaches sex, marriage, and children. I mean, if Viserys never remarries Alicent, or Aemma doesn’t die, that negates a lot of the hang ups Rhaenyra has later in life!

SO! Yes, I think it’s likely Laenor and Rhaenyra still marry. Does Rhaenyra have children with Harwin? It’s very hard to say! Because she’s not the crown princess, she doesn't have her father to cover for her, and it is legitimately treason if she's caught fucking someone else (as opposed to her fucking Harwin as Crown Princess, that's a gray area because she is the one the line descends from, not Laenor). At the same time, Rhaenyra grows up in circumstances where a woman is allowed to inherit the Iron Throne due to ~something~ and grows up as the daughter of a man without his own seat which will inevitably change Rhaenyra's outlook on her own life. Plus, if Corlys and Rhaenys are breathing down Laenor's neck and going "you need to actually attempt to fuck your wife Laenor and stop ignoring her to fuck stable boys" that may prompt more action from Laenor, not to mention that with Rhaenys and Corlys as rulers, they have a lot more say over whatever the fuck is going on in that marriage because it's happening right under their noses.

Corlys, meanwhile, does not have the motivation to simply pretend the boys are legitimate. He has the throne. He has the power. D While I don't think he would push for Rhaenyra to be straight up executed for cheating on Laenor (that is going to piss her father, uncle, and maybe mother OFF), he is not going to help her cover for it the way he does in the series.

So....IF Laenor still finds himself incapable of having children, the ting is that Rhaenys and Corlys are going to push more aggressively on Rhaenyra. Maybe this means they are stricter with Laenor (not allowing him the freedom to have male lovers at court perhaps?) OR it means Rhaenyra becomes desperate enough that she attempts to fuck someone else. The thing here is - if Rhaenyra knows its her head if she's found out, will she try to be discreet and fuck someone who is blond? Or even fuck Daemon?? Is Harwin even at court? It's hard to say! Certainly, I can see Rhaenyra feeling desperate enough to try to get pregnant through other means besides Laenor but I'm not sure she would go straight to Harwin in this scenario!

[reginarubie]

Hey have a couple for the ship thoughts questions:

Sansa and margs

Sansa and Dan

Jon and Dan

Dan and missandie

Jon's dad and mom ( for some reason I'm blanking on their names, all I can remember is R+l=j)

Ned and cat

Ned and asha dayne ( the rumoured lady that Ned loves ad beded but settled for cat)

Jamie and cers

Jemie and Brienne

Tyrion and tysha?? The one that truly loved him but he believed his family and treated her like... left her

-

Merlin and Arthur

Arthur and Morgan

Arthur and Gwen

Gwen and Merlin

gwen and that knight

steve Harrington and Nancy wheeler

Nancy wheeler and Jonathan

El and Mike

El and will

Will and Mike

nancy and Robin

Crissy and Eddie

Robin and Steve

Joyce and jim

Hi anon!,

For the series send me ships and I'll give my brutally honest opinion:

part I

part II

Let's go ahead and since in your ask you've divided it by fandoms let's do the same in my reply! A little premise, this doesn't meant to offend in any way the shippers of any of the ships I will be brutally honest about.

Ship what you wanna ship and enjoy what you wanna enjoy. This is just my opinion on why I like or not these ships.

ASOIAF

SANSA AND MARGAERY

To be brutally honest I don't hate it outside of canon.

In canon even though it can be considered one of the purest relationships Sansa lives (and it's because it's depicted by her POV) I really hope it never happens in any circumstances.

Albeit growing fond of Sansa we can't forget that Margaery is a manipulator who is doing the dirty job by gaining Sansa's friendship and loyalty to further forward her family's ambition and tho it's an ugly game the one they are playing, and as she is herself says in show!verse, because I can't recall that happening in book!verse at all, “women in our position should make the best of their circumstances” it makes the way Sansa honestly feels about her and their friendship sound even more like a fraud.

Sansa considers Margaery her truest friend in Kings Landing after Jeyne is taken away from her, and thinks that her presence and unfailing kindness changed everything for her. Because Margaery made her feel appreciated and loved and wanted, completely opposite as how Sansa has been treated as a pariah.

And all the while Margaery has been instead manipulating her to get through her, the claim to Winterfell and the North for her family at which point with a queen on the throne and a Warden of the North in the family, their riches and being the granary of the 7K, the Tyrells would have become virtually unstoppable.

I don't doubt Margaery grew fond of Sansa (what's not to grow fond of, of a girl who puts in jeopardy her life to tell you the truth, a truth you already know, about the king you're supposed to marry only so that you are spared the abuse she suffered?) as did Garlan who took the time to comfort her at her marriage feast.

Still, I feel like Margaery was succeeding in what Littlefinger has been trying to do all along. Using the right key she was managing to gain Sansa's loyalty and a Stark loyalty is a powerful thing (especially with the might of the North at their back).

It makes every moment shown between them in the show or in the book sound even worse and sour in my mouth.

Tbh Sansa is going to realize exactly how easily the Tyrells framed her for Joff's murder, uncaring if that threw her even further in the mouth of the lions (for however knowing of it Marg was). She'll probably always think fondly of Margaery for the kindness she has shown her, because that is who Sansa is, but I doubt she's ever going to trust her implicitly like she did in KL ever again in canon.

Sansa is afraid she's never going to be loved in any capacity beyond what her claim means to the people around her, it's why, I believe she's going to appreciate Jon all the more in canon because boy is out there defending her claim only because it's hers , no matter which last name she sports, going against his own ambition (which he himself describes as hunger) to instead defend her.

So... on a scale 5/10 in canon because of all manipulation going on. Outside of canon I am all for supporting relationships and as far as I am aware that is the nature of their ship outside of canon so: good for them!

By Dan I'm going to assume you mean Daenerys. So let's go ahead.

SANSA AND DAENERYS

Okay, time to be brutally honest here.

Had Daenerys be a male, Sansa would've been meant for her. It's why the whole Jon/Sansa and Young Griff/Sansa make historic sense.

Sansa is based off several historical figures, but mostly she's based off Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Tudor.

The heir to the dynasty which has been overthrown returning with the might of three dragons, and the girl (the eldest surviving child) who is the heir apparent to another great family/dynasty with two brothers presumed dead, the daughter by a lord beloved by the kingdom and beloved she herself. Soft and feminine, but with a will of steel. With a dubious relationship with her uncle (LF is her uncle by marriage).

It makes historic sense.

But in canon GRRM has gone with a different twist of this story and has created two Elizabeth's. Sansa and Arianne. I am a firm believer that Young Griff might really be Elia's son, and I think a marriage alliance with the Martells through Arianne would make sense, tho I think in the end Arianne is going to end up with Daemon Sand (a bastard with a valyrian name, would you look at that?). Kind of like Jon, who I refuse to believe might be considered trueborn, because in the show they might have given him several part of Young Griff's plot in the books and Sansa.

Also I believe that both the North and Dorne are going to go free (the swords of the northerners and the dornish are the only ones that are not in the Iron throne, which is symbolic and might mean they will break off the 7K and be the queen/princess guiding their people and beloved by them), beyond their romances.

To top of that, in canon, Martin has taken every care in the world to make Sansa and Daenerys as similar as he can, whilst making them completely different and setting them up to become moral and political rivals. He made Daenerys to be Cleopatra and Sansa to be her Octavian.

I actually wrote an entire post based mostly on show canon, but it also applies to book canon (even more actually) in which I give clues as to why they've been set up from the beginning to become political and moral rivals (might actually upgrade that one with visual clues and textual clues in the book at one point). You can find it here.

I think that the greatest part of Daenerys tragedy is that hers is the story of how an abused and how the trauma she endured has turned her to what she is slowly becoming. Had she had a better example to learn of, someone to look up to that might teach her the right ways she might have turned completely different. Had she known the real love of her family, she might have turned out differently. Had she had been able to get the help she needed to overcome her trauma and the coping mechanisms she had to use to survive, she might have turned out completely differently. But as it is, it didn't happen and that's the root of her tragedy.

And I think that that is also what differentiates her from Sansa. She's not a bad girl to start off, just like Sansa isn't...both suffer terrible abuse and survive but they have had different examples in their life and when Sansa knows plenty well the difference between love and fear, in Daenerys' journey they often overlap, which makes them fundamentally different in their core and ends up pitting them against one another.

So in canon -10/10; outside of canon, it can be very fun to write and read.

[I myself have a couple of fics about them, tho I've not dedicated near enough time to them as I should've. One is a twisted version of Robin Hood with Daenerys as Robin Hood and Sansa as lady Marian, and another is a modern AU.]

JON AND DAENERYS

In canon (both show!verse and book!verse) I believe that if it happens it's going to be about Jon pulling a 007 on us all, like he already did with Ygritte and the wildlings. It makes textual sense because again, Martin has taken all the care in the world to ensure that Jon and Daenerys are at the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to rule.

Also, the answer to Jon's prayers and dreams is Sansa, not Daenerys. So a bit like the Jon/Arya ship it would take away everything he wants from him to ship him with Daenerys and at the same time Jon is not Daenerys type at all.

As I've already said and actually spoke about in another meta, in Daenerys' life love/power/fear overlap and her type is the rogue, dangerous men capable of doing anything, even killing without any remorse (Drogo and Daario).

BookJon is several time more interesting than showJon, he's petty and clever and politically astute (I mean, boy managed to get the Iron bank to give the Watch a loan whilst drunk and seventeen; and he swapped two children, possibly putting them both in peril in a desperate attempt to save them from an horrific death) also I think, after all he did to save Mance's son was to make sure neither baby could be sacrificed at Melisandre's call; when he gets whiff of Stannis sacrificing Shireen at Melisandre's counsel (or doing so because spurned by all of Melisandre talks about kingsblood) he is going to trust Daenerys even less, especially if what has been shown in the show (her meeting Kinvara and having the red priestess starting to claim she is the princess who was promised and Melisandre being in Dragonstone when Jon gets there or wherever they will have that encounter) happens in the books as well. Which I believe it might, since dragons are fire made flesh and the red priests and priestess think that fires washes all sins and terrors away.

So, beyond Jon loosing everything he ever wished for, it would go against Jon's own character ever falling in love with her, but it would be completely in character for him to go ninja undercover on her and do whatever it takes to get the dragons to defend Winterfell, the North and his family. What more, Jon is by now, bleeding out dead in the snows of Castle Black and as per my theory about resurrected characters in asoiaf (on which I am working on to post, I promise, to anyone still waiting for it) Jon died a Stark defender, that is the core of his identity and that is what he'll be in his most pure form when he returns to life, especially after being in Ghost for so long.

Also, the way they depicted in the showverse might actually be pretty telling of what may happen in book canon and that's terrible.

Also, not only would Jon loose everything he ever wanted, but the way I've seen this ship depicted (not that I've given it way too much attention beyond what I've written for them in historical AU) it always kind of makes Jon blend in the background and Daenerys get everything she wants sometimes even stepping on what Jon cares for, which is what they gave us in show canon. To Jon the most important part of his identity are the Starks. He is the youngest child biologically speaking, but he is one of the big brothers of House Stark, and that is his core. He died because he wanted to break millennia of neutrality of the Watch to save his sister. And often this ship ends up suppressing this side of Jon.

So -5/10 both in show canon and book canon.

DAENERYS AND MISSANDEI

I'll go ahead and assume you meant only show verse, because we've got more than enough of Daenerys with Irri in the books to be sick with it, and with the way Daenerys stops it not because Irri doesn't enjoy it but because her not enjoying it was blatant enough that her kisses tasted of duty; she didn't stop because she felt like it was wrong to use another human being that way, but merely because she herself did not enjoy being kissed as if it was a duty.

Show verse Daenerys and Missandei had that gal-to-gal friendship depicted with Daenerys even braiding Missandei's hair, which I don't think ever happened in the books, tho I may be wrong. And Missandei is the only one Daenerys goes back for to KL, even tho she lost a number of other allies (The Sand Snakes and Yara Greyjoy), so I can see why some people may find it appealing to their tastes for the way the show depicted it, plus they're both hot and determined young women.

Why I think it shouldn't be applied in the books? It'd make it essentially grooming on D part.

In the books to begin with Missandei is a child, younger than Daenerys whom Daenerys says she wants to protect, whom she takes into her service after buying her from the masters in Astapor and whilst (besides the slaves at the end of Dany X in AGOT) Missandei is the only other former slave Daenerys frees but she does so with the intention of gaining her loyalty long enough to gather information from her about the Unsullied and how to move once she had bought them. Which subsenquentially spurns her to make them ever loyal only to her, slaves in all, save in name, because she never truly frees them, what she does it overlap the concept of freedom with that of dracarys and being the dragon's, all with the scourge still in hand.

So, I can see some of the appeal in show verse and it's pretty wholesome as far as Daenerys' relationships go in being depicted in the show 6/10

RHAEGAR AND LYANNA

Talk about another man grooming a child into a relationship. Okay, I'll hold off the gun because we aren't given too much context here, but what we've got is that Rhaegar was a twenty-four years old man with wife and children, obsessed with a prophecy who essentially eloped with a girl of barely fourteen years of age.

Now whilst such an age difference wouldn't have been the greatest possible in that historical context what makes it worse is that Lyanna was a highly dedicated to her family and romantic young lady and that Rhaegar was already married and with two kids.

What happened was that either he abducted her (like Robert claimed) or persuaded her to elope with him (like the show would suggest). Possibly he married her in some kind of secret marriage (which would defeat the point of not causing a fucking war and would bastardize his children, which it's hinted that it's not what he wanted, since he believed Aegon, his son by Elia, to be the Prince who was promised) or not, but then he sired a child from her, didn't account for his crime and let his father execute his wife/lover's father and brother thus provoking a war and alienating his wife/lover from her family. He then took her and secluded her in a fucking tower in Dorne (the homeland of his left behind wife just to be even more of a jerk) not even once trying to amend the problems he had caused.

What we know of Lyanna as per reverse, is that she was fiercely loyal to her House and loved her father and brothers (the only line we know by her was “That is my father's bannerman you are kicking!” when she defended Howland Reed at Harrenhal and she then entered the tourney secretly to avenge him) and we have to believe that that same girl would just accept her husband/lover secluded her in Dorne and fought against her family and accept her father and brother had been brutally killed?

Not bloody likely.

What I think more likely is that Rhaegar might have taken a fancy to Lyanna because of her youth and her determination, for she might have reminded him of Visenya's temperament and since he wanted to recreate the whole Aegon and his sisters, with Elia unable possibly to carry more children he decided Lyanna would do for a mother, endangering a girl of fourteen whom may have been on her first cycles.

He might have then seduced her, which most handsome man of the 7K, a prince and basically fancying her for what other suitors may find disgraceful? Tho, we'd have to assume Lyanna didn't care that he had other children, tho she cared that Robert had sired a bastard girl before marriage, which again doesn't make any sense. But let's say Lyanna was young and easily seduced by such a man.

He very clearly then actually abduct her and seclude her in a tower whilst pregnant, alone and away from her family, warring in her and her father's name.

It appears to me that the only good thing coming from that particular ship was Jon. And believe me, Jon is not going to take well his parentage, even if he ended up being trueborn, because he prides himself of being Eddard Stark's son tho lowborn, I don't think the same might be said for Rhaegar.

-1000/10 we respect no jerk in this household and Rhaegar left his wife and children behind unprotected (his daughter died screaming for her dad, under whose bed she had hid... the same dad who left her behind to groom a girl barely older than her), and secluded a fourteen year old girl whom he had gotten pregnant, alone in a tower in Dorne to fight a war he lost, all for the sake of a damn prophecy. The jerkometer hits the stars with him. He can choke for the way he treated both Elia and Lyanna and his children.

Good thing he sons have taken after their mothers and the men who raised them more than him.

NED AND CAT

10000/10 would recommend. And this is my shipper heart speaking.

Tbh though they are one of the most wholesome and truest, healthiest relationship in all of asoiaf, even with the matter of Jon's parentage to settle between them, they loved each other. They learned to love each other and build their family, a family they died to protect. Trusted and respected each other.

I mean Neddie boy turned from lethal, dangerous direwolf to tail-wagging puppy the moment he saw his wife in KL, and noticed she had been attacked by the way she held her hands, that's the degree of attentiveness we want in a man, okay?

Cat last thought was the fact that Ned loved her hair and that she didn't want it ruined even in death. Ned was her rock, to the point that even dead he was her support system.

Ned defended her by justifying her actions in taking Tyrion in custody as if commanded by him and Ned-I-know-better-than-that-oaf-of-my-best-friend-the-king, idealistic Ned Stark listened to his wife when she told him to trust LF. Dumb move, but still it gives you the degree at which they trusted and relied on each other.

With their fragilities and flaws they are one of my most beloved ships in asoiaf.

NED AND ASHARA DAYNE

We know next to nothing to this, saved that people gossiped about it, and about the fact that Ashara might have been Jon's mother. May it be that it happened, may it be that it didn't.

I think that even if it did it was heartbreaking, sad and bittersweet.

I am sure that if Martin were to give us more info, or write about it it'd be pretty real and cutting in its depiction/mirroring of the time and context of asoiaf.

So, on trust I give it 7.5/10.

JAIME AND CERSEI

For how it's written like this fated, hateful, passionate and destroying relationship I have to tap my hat to GRRM and give it a 8/10 on the manner of how much I like the way it was written...meh. I think it's pretty interesting and that it is the root of much of the problems Jaime and Cersei actually face.

In a scale of how much I enjoy it, tho, I'd give it a 4/10, BUT with the theme of rape not withstanding which would crush it down at -1000/10.

Sorry I am more for healthy, supporting relationships, as much as possible in every fiction and context. But if it's someone else's cup of tea, good for them.

JAIME AND BRIENNE

Reverse Beauty and the Beast story, in which the one who looks like a beauty is a beast and the one who looks beastly is a beauty. Pretty interesting to read, also because I think its root is that Jaime sees bits of the himself he sacrificed for his father and the people of KL in Brienne's vision of the world.

Still...read again the whole bath scene and consider it closely (I did a step-by-step with Tyrion and Sansa wedding night here) is it really worth being shipped?

In some contexts it doesn't bother me much...in canon I think it's going to be heartbreaking for Brienne.

3/10 I'm giving it a 3 merely because despite sexualizing her internally during the bath scene, Jaime doesn't actually act on that, and returns to save her because he has dreamt of her and because the sodding idiot is so foolish he has followed her in the Riverlands like she was his guide-light. And in other context could be pleasing to read about.

TYRION AND TYSHA

I have actually written a series of several metas about it, you can find the first installment here, the others will be linked at the end. Anyway, I honestly hope Tyrion never finds her.

Since departing KL his whole mantra has been searching for Tysha and at every stop they make, even in a brothel where he rapes a young girl who looks like Sansa, he asks after her and asks himself “where do whores go?” which is what Tywin told him.

I hope he never finds her, because Tysha was no whore, no matter what they did to her. They were the whores in the equation, so I dearly hope he never finds her, because Tysha was not a whore to begin with. Tho, I'd really enjoy her freezing him out once he returns to her with that arrogant brazenness he has, which will lead him to realize he is exactly like the father he hated so much.

100/10 Tysha living off her life peacefully and freezing Tyrion out if he ever finds her.

-1000/10 their ship. I hope Tyrion ends up realizing he never found Tysha because he searched the wrong places all along.

And that was it for asoiaf. Let's step in the next one, Merlin!

MERLIN

So, I am assuming we are speaking of Merlin the tv series and not the legend, because then it'd get very messy, albeit interesting.

MERLIN AND ARTHUR

Just kiss already.

1000/10 whatever way we wanna see it, romantically as a friendship or simply two people caring for each other, the chemistry was off charts for starters (like c'mon “do you walk on your knees?” “No” “Let me help you” and all the “I could take you apart with one blow” “I could take you apart with less than that”...I mean and all in the first minutes of the pilot?) and it was just that pure.

Arthur thinking Merlin was the bravest man he knew. Braver than his father (who he idolized for a long time) braver than himself and braver than all the knights he was surrounded by. Arthur thanking Merlin, noticing Merlin's moods and believing in him. Accepting him also for his magic in the end and Merlin being satisfied with only being his servant for his whole life, Merlin never telling him the truth not because he thought Arthur may kill him, but because he didn't want to put Arthur in the position he had to chose between their friendship and the kingdom he was governing and the beliefs he had...

... it's just so wholesome and heartbreaking. There's a video on youtube with the parallels of the entire series and there is one with Merlin getting his hair messed by Arthur and then him passing by his resting site in the modern day bowing his head like he did that one time... I'm not okay, alright?

[Forgive me as I go cry in a corner for the next thousand years]

ARTHUR AND MORGANA

That one was really well delivered.

If they ended up with a last desperate, passionate kiss I would've found it believable that was how good they have depicted that love/hate relationship and whilst there was some chemistry and hints at it in the earlier seasons, I think one thing the show runners got right was their siblings energy.

10/10 if they went that way it would've be believable and c'mon everyone loves star crossed lovers who became each other enemy because of differing views and ideals and ended up killing each other. Twisted love story, here I come.

ARTHUR AND GWEN

My two favs in the same ship, am I gonna ship it? Honestly? Hell yeah!

1000/10 would recommend. Funny, dorky and passionate and romantic all the same time. Also pure enough that to their knowledge Gwen did cheat on Arthur (tho she never could explain why and no one explained to them her head had been tampered with, despite her snapping out of it almost as soon as it happened) and he forgave her, took her back and she forgave herself and they were true to each other. Honestly, heartbroken on their end.

Albeit how believable it was the way they depicted and delivered I am forever simping over Arthur fucking Pendragon naming her his heir (thus making the dynasty a dynasty by which standards both male and females could inherit) because he had faith in the world she had to build. And sad over my fav Guinevere finally have the power to make the changes she always advocated for, but loosing everything she held dear (her friendship with Morgana, her first love and the love of her life as well as Merlin, because we all know how griefstricken he must've been) to gain it, and still persevering with the grace and strength she had all through it all. No wonder Arthur fell in love with her.

Also, I don't know if you mean Lancelot or Leon for Gwen and the knight. So I'll give my opinion on both:

Gwen and Lancelot, 8/10 sweet and supporting but marred by Lancelot deciding to move away instead than staying with her and Gwen not asking as the supporting woman she is.

Gwen and Leon, 9/10 I feel like they would be the kind of people that might end up together when the love of their life has passed away and find comfort in each other, and love, albeit different, still strong and supporting. I can see them grow old together with Arthur not in the picture anymore.

Then, onto Stranger Things we go, I must say something tho. I am not this great fan of ST so my opinion is only based of what little I've seen on tumblr and on the few episodes I've seen. So it's not going to be as elaborated as the one we've seen until now, because I know the show less and thus I'm going mostly by feel and not by analysis.

STRANGER THINGS

NANCY AND STEVE

Soft, sweet, dorky and funny. 10/10 would ship them by what little I've seen. Tho I don't see them having a very long term, as in endgame, relationship. Friendship and support, crush? Seriously, of course. But somehow I get the impression at some point they would grow a bit apart romantically, but I might be wrong. Still I'd watch it gladly. So gimme it.

NANCY AND JONATHAN

Feels like it makes sense, good chemistry might be the actors who are together, I think?, anyway it seeps into the characters so it makes it believable. Also Jonathan seems like the kind of gloomy kid who has a heart of gold and would break generational abuse patterns. So 8/10 but only because I feel like the funny, dorky side of it might be a bit missing.

ELEVEN AND MIKE

They seem cute, still don't convince me for some reason. Feels a bit wrong to me. Don't ask me why, I've not seen enough to tell you clearly, just...they feel off, like they don't belong together romantically. Though it may be one of those slow-burn ships that gets more and more believable as time passes.

6/10

ELEVEN AND WILL

Sorry, I don't know why but it bothers me a bit, I find it...wrong? I don't know, by what I've seen they're better off as friends and I don't see that much chemistry between characters, the actors are adorable when they're out of character, but inside the story from what little I've seen... friends I can see, lovers...not so much. Again might be my impression is wrong because I've not seen the whole thing so I don't know.

It doesn't feel right to me.

5/10

NANCY AND ROBIN

From what I've seen cute and funny and easygoing as well as soft. Totally would love to see it if they ever went in that direction. Even if it's not endgame it feels plausible for that to happen, wether it be a one-sided crush, only a crush never acted upon or a love story.

8/10

CRISSY AND EDDIE

Again, by what I've seen between the serie and tumblr... YES! Give me more, now!

10/10 would love to see more of it.

ROBIN AND STEVE

Always gave me the vibe of partners in crime. Funny to watch, don't think it has any romantic hues, but even only for their dynamic as friends I'd watch several episodes in a row. So I'd give it a 7/10.

JOYCE AND JIM

Tbh I don't really have a disposition either in a sense or another with this one. A couple of badass shots, but I don't really have enough to form a brutally honest opinion, so I guess... 6/10?

MIKE AND WILL

Now this one has potential. I feel like whether they'll play it one-sided, both sided but doomed, or endgame it feels plausible and credible.

It feels cuttingly real. So 100/10 on ground of it feeling plausible, credible and the kind of love that even when unrequited might be enough to send you off the rails.

I think I've gotten them all. Feel free to point out if I missed one, sorry again if the brutally honest opinions on Stranger things are neither that brutal, neither opinions truly, but I'm not really into it, I've watched it sparsely and thus know almost next to nothing about them.

Hope you enjoyed and thank you for the ask!

[iheartbookbran]

i understand the need to flesh out the greens in hotd, but what i don’t understand is why rhaenyra or even team black as a whole aren’t allowed the same treatment, they love to claim bc of grrm involvement that it’s more canon and i’m not surprised to seem them in the breath claim that show!rhaenyra isn’t an accurate representation and is whitewashed but are utterly silent about how whitewashed show!alicent and instead turn to defend her, it’d giving 2.0 vibes of a certain character...

I don’t think hotd is supposed to be “more canon” than f&b. According to GRRM the show is the canon version of the events of the Dance within the GOT universe, but it is also “canon” in the GOT universe that people can teleport to whatever location they want, that Ellaria Sand is driven by revenge, that Arya is a sexist xenophobe, that Bran is dead and some ice demon possessed his body or something, that Littlefinger will make the most idiotic political decisions and Sansa will trust him and go along with it because she’s been “hardened” by her abuse, that the northerners don’t care about House Stark, that Jaime doesn’t care about the people of KL, that Cersei is a helpless little girl who needs her twin brother to hold her as weeps in his arms about their 2 year old fetus, that Tyrion is an incompetent dumbass. I could go on all day honestly but you get my point.

I think they tried to gave more sympathy on the green side because they’re really portrayed horribly in f&b, though my guess for that is simply that they were horrible people to begin with lmfao. I think it’s hilarious how in the book the maester writing it in universe is trying to shift some of the focus on just how awful Aegon and Aemond were by being all like “hey look at Daeron! Isn’t he great tho?” (Daeron is a war criminal).

But honestly it doesn’t matter how many times they show me a scene of Alicent yet again looking sad and helpless as the patriarchy victimizes her yet again, I would still never support her as she betrays and takes away power from another woman to give it to her shitty worthless r*pist of a son. I just cannot do that.

[horizon-verizon]

It's amazing how you talk about misogyny to mask your own misogyny towards a female character. You think you can end your ridiculous essay with "she's just empty and not compelling" then blame it to sexism and the writers. All you have to say is you hate that they gave Helaena a compelling ability that you wish your favs have. Have you actually seen the next seasons of this show to know they're not doing anything with her character and the dreamer ability itself? You know you're going to be so disappointed with your wishes. You're just seething they didn't give show Dany the dreamer ability and projecting your spite towards Helaena. So transparent.

Well this is awkward.

You're just seething they didn't give show Dany the dreamer ability and projecting your spite towards Helaena.

Let's say that them not giving show Dany her canon dragon dreams was part of my thoughts when I was writing the post you respond to.

Dany actually had dreams...while canon Helaena, you and no one can ever prove that she did, so the real question is why is there a discrepancy in your mind as to why Dany shouldn't/couldn't have her canonical dreams while a less important character like Helaena should/could? Makes no sense.

I don't really care or feel strong emotions for or about Helaena bc she doesn't do much. Not because she is on the green side and little to do with her own choice in the matter. GRRM clearly uses her to make other characters compare Helaena to Rhaenyra, the Shepherd, the coming Dragonpit disaster, the degredation of Rhaenyra's control over KL, etc.

Also, why do you think it' a good thing or acceptable that they removed Dany's dreams, which are critical to understanding her arc, the Targs, the climatic catastrophe that is the Others, AND as this is a fantasy series...we need magical elements?! So, back to the discrepancy, I rather think it is you who is showing a bit of sexism: bc unlike Helaena, Dany is not a girl-woman who succumbs to the patriarchal violence but fights back and is going to enact revolutionary violence. If you say "Dany is an incest child", you should know that so are a lot of Westerosi people AND Dany is still that revolutionary, anti-exploitation figure.

It doesn't sound like you care much about "truth" or bigotry, so much as you are entertained and validated in the bigotry you already carry.

Have you actually seen the next seasons of this show to know they're not doing anything with her character and the dreamer ability itself? You know you're going to be so disappointed with your wishes.

If it takes 2 seasons to properly distinguish a character (aside from establishing that they have an ability) as to what kind of person they are and that you had since the second half of the first, you've done something wrong. So, yes, HotD dropped the ball and it does have to do with sexism either on the writers or the execs, like how Legend of Korra wasn't given as much of a chance as it should have been. Whether bc of production stuff or imagination. Espec since there have been characters people actually made into real people in just s few scenes (the rest going off from that point) and that has not happened for Helaena yet...when it should have in the first season. And if you say "bc studios and execs are cutting down stuff for costs", then that just hammers in the point that this is not a good story bc it was not allowed to breathe and develop. It's just unearned spectacle after spectacle.

Right now, Helaena is still just a person who says stuff and people ignore or to characterize/reflect more on Aegon and Jacaerys (dance scene).

All you have to say is you hate that they gave Helaena a compelling ability that you wish your favs have.

If you only talk of Dany, no, already explained above. If you mean the blacks, no, bc i think that no one should be having dragon dreams amongst them. This is supposed to be an uncommon ability and none of the characters of the orig canon Dance story show signs of having these dreams. I'd rather we focus on story given. The anon who's ask I link first above reminded me of Duncan (Maekar's son) and Patchface and how this adaptation could have made their Helaena more interesting while keeping her dragon dreaming. I still prefer the canon a little more, but with their post, I'm much more amenable to vision-having!Helaena as long as she's the only dragon dreamer and she has actual dreams and not Raven-Symone visions where she's fully awake for them. You can go check that post out. Or don't, not my issue.

[lemonhemlock]

i don't like the children to be aemond's because I'm a low key hater of his characterisation in the show lol.

dude is visenya 2.0, hell he even gets her dragon. and Ryan and co. make him this dutiful guy that is supposed to be walmart daeron? nah, miss me with that shit, if he was like book!aemond it would make more sense in my head. aemond in the books is way more reckless than show!aemond IMHO.

and it's not even about helaena, she can fuck whoever she wants, you go girl!!!! but I believe that my girl would be smarter than that? tbf, I think all characters besides rhaenyra wouldn't be that dumb. (i know the kids would look the same, but still having v*serys as a father, after seeing how he treated aemond losing his eye, I personally wouldn't risk it)

fuck aemond, don't fuck aemond i personally don't care...i just don't think he deserves to have children with helaena after he abandons his family to stay in harrenhal, crash and burn walmart!daeron.

i have to say that you're not the first anon who's disgruntled that, out of aegon & aemond, they chose aemond as the character to make more sympathetic. i think you are right in that aemond was given some of daeron's traits; it is very likely that they did not intend to include daeron at all, so they preferred to mesh these two characters as a compromise. in any case, they must have fought over it; perhaps it is one of the reasons miguel sapochnik left - grrm even gave a public declaration that daeron WILL be included and when the time came to design the intro, they DID include 4 rivulets of blood streaming out of alicent to signify her 4 children, as they did with helaegon's 3 children, even though only the twins appear in S1.

so, yeah, it's fair to say mewmond came about as a result of a compromise. that being said, i'd be lying if i said i didn't love what they did with his character. i'd even go so far as to say that it was the right decision to make commercially as well, because he became vv popular with v little screen time. even team black stans keep trying to steal him from us. i don't have a problem with making characters more sympathetic - team black included - what bothers me is the ridiculous bias. generally-speaking, i always like it a lot more when they make the characters out to be more human and understandable, even when they're antagonistic.

there is also the fact that, from a geographical POV, they couldn't really focus on daeron in S1 either, bc he's canonically in oldtown and they couldn't have brought him to KL without performing significant changes to the plot and complicating themselves. SO, taking into account the whitewashing of team black as it is, if they would have made aemond less sympathetic, the two sides would have ended up even more imbalanced.

anyway, what i actually wanted to say is that the characterization they did give aemond makes a lot of sense even in book-context. the maester writing FB is clearly not interested in fleshing out aemond as a person, this is a history textbook, but it is believable to me that aemond would have incurred a lot of psychological and physical damage as a result of his eye being slashed out. and idk it's just more interesting to lean into that side instead of making him a terrorist child from the get-go. this absolutely does not contradict any of the fucked up shit he'll do later on in the series, it's more about progression and descent into madness