#verse. [ a song of ice and fire ]

[swimmingferret]

⚡ A commission by @panicawa of Empress Daenerys from my fic The Stormborn and the Stormbringer! ⚡

[kentstoji]

yandere rhaegar targaryen who grew up shrouded in a blanket of melancholy, akin to the trauma from the great fire of summerhall, a tragedy that marked his birth. his mind remained consistently immersed in fantasy clouds. an attempt to distance himself from the demons haunting house targaryen.

he developed an appreciation for songs and literature. and so, the prophecies were presented to him.

his imaginative mind created scenarios based on the words that led aegon iv to perdition. and when he met you — the only daughter of jon arryn that come of age without succumbing to illness — his obsession with completing the song of ice and fire intensified.

you, on the other hand, only harbored the ambition to take care of your father and ensure the stability of house arryn.

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

the category is weird traumatized codependent homicidal brothers with dead dads, mommy issues, eyepatches, violent permanent injuries inflicted by the little brother on the older one, acts of incredible mass destruction, and more sexual tension than you could imagine in your wildest nightmares.

[crazyaboutto]

This man is determined to write anything but Winds of Winter and a Dream of Spring 😩😫

[hewantshisbrideback]

Nobody can definitively say the means which lead to the tragic ends of two such beloved public figures. Nobody can name what it was that brought the last Targaryen heir to the throne and the only daughter of House Stark together in the first place. No one knows exactly what happened, not in truth, but people can speculate. And speculate, they do.

A SONG OF INTERVIEWS AND FAKE NEWS: Retrospectives on Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark

[winged-wolf-dreamer]

I have nothing to back this up, really, but sometimes I wonder if Bran's going to lose an eye, like an actual eye, at some point.

[graunblida]

sapphic pining 101 // accepting @wolvesballad sent: keep talking like that and i might end up in your arms.

it's the wine talking. it has to be. and the meade, lexa realizes, looking down at the drinking horn in her grasp. how many times had it been filled since they sought company by the fire together? neither would be so casual, so open without a little bit of liquid courage to chip away at fortified walls. the alcohol is also to blame for lexa's flirtatious mannerisms starting up again. sansa seems to be welcoming the banter, which is a stark ( no pun intended ) contrast from how she might have reacted at an early date.

" would that be such a bad thing? " she dares to ask. VULNERABILITY is not a feeling the warrior enjoys nor is accustomed to. but here with sansa, she isn't afraid of getting too close. quite literally. she's near enough to count the freckles on rose tinted cheeks. the brunette has an inkling they may grow even closer before the night is over.

[azmenka]

@vi0lnt says ❝i want to feel safe again. i want to go home.❞ from Theon

A QUIET CONFESSION THAT , GRANTED , HITS HIM FROM THE SIDELINES . contrary to all rhyme and reason , he feels his spine grow rigid , and cannot help but shift a little , busying himself with a sip of ale so he may pretend not to have heard Theon for another second or two . something in his chest snaps . it's quiet and painful and terribly unique - or so he had thought . every night he'd spent in his chambers in the Sea Dragon Tower while the wind had howled around Dragonstone , he had uttered that very same wish . I want to go home . back to the life he knew . back to his family . back to safety ; far removed from this torture , these fears of one day being killed over a single misstep his father could have made . a ward , they had called him , when he had been nothing but a hostage . a bargaining chip , used to keep Balon Greyjoy in check .

he should reach out . offer a reassuring touch ; a quiet word . build a new bridge by sharing that he knows how Theon feels . he should be relieved that finally , after all these years , they had found something they shared besides blood . this unspeakable trauma of losing love and safety . . . he should reach out . and admit to his weakness . . . ?

" yeah ? " fortunately , their father has long gone to bed , otherwise he would have chided Maron for sitting with his feet propped on the table . there's no one left in the Great Hall at Pyke but Theon and himself . neither apparently able to sleep in these halls that are so familiar but alien at the same time . he won't look at his little brother ; ocean - blue eyes trained on the cup of ale in his hands . and his voice is an uncomfortable mix of boredom and curiosity . " and where's that ? home , I mean . "

[tymptir]

@wulfmaed says ❝let me go.❞ euron & sansa bc i like suffering actually

IT  IS  JUST  ANOTHER  TRADING  GALLEY  -  or  so  he’d  thought . a  Braavosi  ship  Euron  knows  to  travel  frequently  between  Essos  and  Kings  Landing , bringing  back  and  forth  whatever  finest  wares  could  be  exchanged  for  gold . the  Silence  had  departed  from  Essos  a  mere  few  weeks  prior , fully  stocked  still  with  food  and  drink , but  it  would  do  well , he  imagines , to  return  home  with  a  gift  or  two . it  has  been  what , seven  years  after  all ? a  reasonable time , one  might  think , to  at  least  inquire , kindly , about  a  scorn  man’s  return  to  the  fold . the  Merling  King  is  easy  to  spot  and  easier  still  to  take . most  experienced  sailors  aboard  know  the  deep  red  deck  of  Silence  all  to  well ; know  the  tales  of  terror  she  carries  with  her  wherever  she  goes , the  horrors  surrounding  her  like  a thick  layer  of  mist . the  Crow’s  Eye  is  barely  surprised , when  some  men  jump  ship  the  moment  the  Ironborn  vessel  is  spotted  just  to  the  east .

it  is  over  within  the  hour .  

most  members  of  the  Merling  King’s  crew  lie  dead , either  willingly  floating   amongst  the  waves , or  mowed  down  in  the  skirmish  that  had  ensued  once  Silence  had  attacked . few  men  are  still  alive , bleeding , wounded  and  crippled , and  of  those , enough  have  already  started  to  barter  for  their  lives . offering  services , goods , information , anything  m’lord , anything . how  very  quickly  he  has  thus  learned  most  he’s  missed  since  his  departure  ( Robert  Baratheon  is  dead . huh . good  for  him . ) and  dead , too ,  is  the  boy  king  that  had  followed . murdered  at  his  wedding , one  captive  squeaks  and  fingers  point  to  a  familiar  looking  man  with  a  pointed  goatee . Littlefinger  is  quickly  apprehended  and  separated  from  the  rest .  .  . and  so  is  the  young  girl  with  the  copper  hair , currently  trying  to  feebly  squirm  her  way  out  of  the  Crow’s  Eyes  iron – grasp  around  the  nape  of  her  neck . let  me  go , she  says  and  Euron  chuckles .

“ all  in  good  time , girl . all  in  good  time . ” he  drags  her  before  Baelish , held  by  two  more  of  his  men . “ this  is  too  interesting  a  find  to  let  go  just  yet . a  songbird  and  a  wolfpup  aboard  a  Braavosi  galley . quite  the  curious  match . ”  the  Crow’s  Eye  smiles , white  canines  gleaming  in  the  light  of  dusk . he  looks  down  at  the  girl , his  one  bright , ocean – blue  eye  shining  with  amusement  while  the  other  one , the  cursed  one , remains  hidden  behind  its  eye  patch . “ now , Lady  Stark , I  imagine ? indulge  me , would  you . where  did  you  two  think  you  were  going ? ”

[gay-edwardian]

Performances below the cut because I know that practically nobody's heard her sing most of these

[thedeadthree]

AS COMFORTABLE IN RINGMAIL AS IN SILK. — VALAENYA TARGARYEN; A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE.

TEMPLATE I by @unholymilf | TEMPLATE II | ICON

[thementat]

@khalesci   is   said   to   be   his   one   hope   to   inherit   back   what   was   stolen   from   his   family.   his   father's   memory,   erased   and   burned   by   those   in   qarth   and   he   demands   justice.   no,   revenge.   upon   the   highs   of   mereen,   even   her   dragons   locked   away   seem   to   react   to   his   presence,   as   he   enters   with   his   mother   following   suit   and   the   few   loyal   fremen   of   the   red   sea.   paul   smiles,   amused   almost   at   the   long   titles   given   to   her   as   they   introduce   her.   queen   of   the   seven   kingdoms   but   she   is   far   from   those   shores,   is   she   not?   if   he   gets   qarth   back,   the   kingdom   of   atreides   can   offer   her   what   she   needs,   and   her   mother's   order   and   knowledge,   wise   for   the   queen   to   take.   he   sees   her   visions,   and   her   lack   of   understanding.   one   of   her   advisors   wants   to   interrupt   him,   he   needs   no   one   but   himself   to   introduce   himself   and   he   speaks   loud,   the   right   pitch   for   the   voice.  

"I   have   not   yet   spoken.   be   quiet."   the   echoes   of   voices   causes   a   tremor   and   then   paul   looks   back   at   the   dragon   queen.   "i'm   duke   paul   atreides,   son   of   leto   atreides   of   qarth,   the   last   of   my   house,   betrayed   by   the   factions   of   qarth   who   wished   my   death   and   my   mother's,   and   her   unborn   child."   his   sister,   per   his   visions.   he   is   doing   this   for   her.   "future   emperor   of   the   atreides   empire."   the   messiah   of   the   fremen   adds   his   mother   to   his   side   and   those   fremen   agree   behind   her,   and   kneel.

  "I   offer   you   wisdom   you   need,   your   grace.   my   mother   was   born   in   asshai   and   since   birth,   i   trained   in   the   house   of   the   undying.   you   have   the   sight   but   lack   the   training   to   understand   what   you   see."   great   power,if   wielded   powerfully.   "knowledge   of   dragons   and   valyria   and   the   dragons   above   you   had   locked   away.   all   I   ask,   is   you   aid   me   take   qarth   back   from   the   faction   to   it's   rightful   hands.   my   hands."

[kentstoji]

I like to believe (as does a large portion of the fandom) that Robert only had that "love" for Lyanna because she was a female version of Ned. With that in mind (and considering that Jon Arryn was the most important male figure in Ned's life), how would Robert behave himself with a daughter of Jon Arryn?

So yes! This is the return of Jon Arryn's daughter on this blog. I already mentioned that Rhaegar would be obsessed with her, merely motivated by the idea of ​​completing a prophecy.

I think Robert would see her as his first love. And perhaps, his last because she has a tendency to keep him in line.

She, despite having a sense of honor, would not be afraid to expose her claws and a sharp tongue, "So, you got a woman pregnant? You're lucky I won't make you marry her."

However, she forced him to take care of Mya.

"Don't be an cretin, Robert" Her eyes flickered with clear menace. "Go visit the girl and see if her mother will need anything."

(Jon learned that the best thing he could do was let his heiress rule. Otherwise, he himself was the target of severe criticism.)

And with that, we have Rhaegar Targaryen. Heir of the Seven Kingdoms, creating expectations and being miserably frustrated when he realized that the pleasant maiden of his delusions was a rigid and calculating woman.

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

simultaneously being interested in life is strange 2, a relatively small fandom where everyone is relatively happy with the canon material, and house of the dragon, a large and bustling fandom where everyone fucking hates the canon material, is a jarring experience.

[everythingheard]

Katherine ( @malka-lisitsa ) ▌sent 64 for a starter.

"You're not Elena." The subtle expression which etched itself across Enzo's visage revealed, under no uncertain terms, that he was pleased by that fact. Briefly, his dark eyes looked up at the ceiling, then back to the brunette's face. "So, you must be Katherine, then." Interesting. With a short gesture to himself, he continued, "Lorenzo, but my friends call me Enzo. Wait, scratch that. I should say friend, singular. The rest are dead." A humorless grin flickered along Enzo's lips. "But Damon's proving a bit of a bore. Won't help me with the fact Aaron Whitmore's still alive since he's trying to be ' good ' for Elena." It might be amusing to wait and see how long that lasted. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I'll be able to remain amiable if anyone starts throwing the word forgiveness around, either." Drumming his fingers against his arm, he tacked on, "Forgiveness — the taste all but poisons my mouth."

[thewingedwolf]

“Aegon called his dream ‘A Song of Ice and Fire.’ This secret, it’s been passed from king to heir since Aegon’s time. And now you must promise to keep it. And to carry it. Promise me, Rhaenyra. Promise me.”

A lot has been said about this so i won’t reiterate. i will say that what stood out to me was the darkness of the scene, and of course Ramin’s wailing dragon strings in the background playing just as Rickon Stark pledges his loyalty. Knowing Cregan will honor his house’s word and stand with the blacks, knowing Jon will be born (whatever the exact context of how they get there is) of a Targaryen and Stark - a little bit of a musical and visual nod, almost, to what comes next. Ramin, I would die for you lmao. But on rewatch, what immediately came to mind during this scene was Ned and Lyanna.

“He could hear her still at times. Promise me, she had cried, in a room that smelled of blood and roses. Promise me, Ned. The fever had taken her strength and her voice had been faint as a whisper, but when he gave her his word, the fear had gone out of his sister's eyes. Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black. After that he remembered nothing.

Ned’s grief being this monster that still consumes his every thought even now 14 ish years after Lyanna has died just gets me. I think why I am so fond of Ned and Lyanna is bc GRRM really understands the sort of heavy beast that losing a sibling is, and he writes it very well.

But - GRRM had a big hand in the pilot right? A man as obsessively detailed as him would surely notice he’s phrased this “Promise me (beloved relative), promise me.” pattern considering how often Ned’s promise to Lyanna is echoed throughout the first book. But maybe not! It’s not like he hasn’t had some continuity errors before right, and the show and the books Will be different, tho we don’t know in what exact ways yet. EXCEPT THEN WHEN ROBERT IS DYING:

“Serve the boar at my funeral feast,” Robert rasped. “Apple in its mouth, skin seared crisp. Eat the bastard. Don’t care if you choke on him. Promise me, Ned.”

“I promise.” Promise me, Ned, Lyanna’s voice echoed.

“The girl,” the king said. “Daenerys. Let her live. If you can, if it . . . not too late . . . talk to them . . . Varys, Littlefinger . . . don’t let them kill her. And help my son, Ned. Make him be . . . better than me.” He winced. “Gods have mercy.”

the parallel stuck in my head. Viserys, grieving and alone and afraid, making Rhaenyra promise to always understand that the long night is coming and they must be ready. Ned, grieving and alone and afraid, first promising something to Lyanna, then promising to protect a Targaryen child and Robert’s son. Clearly, there is the parallel here that Lyanna likely asked Ned to protect her own targ baby, and that parallel is definitely there for that reason at least. But we all wonder what exactly Rhaegar said to convince Lyanna to leave everything she knew behind to escape a betrothal that makes her feel trapped…only to run off with a married man and become literally trapped in the Tower of Joy. But we know Rhaegar knew at least a bit of the song of ice and fire, in whatever way it exists in the books (seems likely Aegon did have a Dream, considering GRRM’s hand in the pilot, the Targaryen propensity for prophetic dreams, and a bunch of other little clues that seem to point towards Aegon conquering the realm for a reason not solely related to power. but also, it’s not canon until it’s canon so i’m aware there’s a chance this prophecy plays out differently in the books). But i’m reminded of what Aemon knew of the prophecy and his own relationship with Rhaegar:

"No one ever looked for a girl," he said. "It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought . . . the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King's Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years.

“Barth saw the truth…the language misled us all” clearly Aemon is talking of more than just him and Rhaegar shooting the shit when he includes Septon Barth and a general “us.” He’s discussing knowledge that was known and passed down by someone for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

And Dany’s dream of her brother Rhaegar sitting with Elia after Aegon has born:

"He has a song," the man replied. "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. "There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.

Obviously that prophetic line (if it exists in the book in the same or a similar way) is broken at some point. Maybe it’s the dance of the dragons, maybe it’s the sudden death of nearly all the Targaryens at the Tragedy of Summerhall, maybe it’s Robert’s Rebellion.

What’s clear is that Aemon knew about the prophecy despite never being an officially named heir, only asked to be one at a few points, while Daemon and Aegon II (in the show) are never told of the prophecy because Viserys never considered either a real heir. What’s clear is whatever it is Aemon and Rhaegar knew, it was not something that was passed onto Dany. And also clear is that Rhaegar had no issues running his mouth about this song of ice and fire, because Aemon knows, and Dany sees him discuss it briefly with Elia, while the show makes a point to have Viserys discuss his Dream of Aegon II being crowned as Rhaenys escapes on Meleys, but not bring up Aegon the Conquerer’s Dream until he’s completely alone with Rhaenyra and naming her as his heir.

But “Promise me, Rhaenyra, promise me” in a dark room filled with candles said after Aemma is murdered in the birthing bed, and “Promise me, Ned, promise me” alone in the Tower of Joy in a room that smells of blood and roses just as Lyanna is dying after something leads her to her too early death in a birthing bed.

…so what if Rhaegar told Lyanna at least a little? Telling the terrified 15/16 year old that she’s been chosen to have a baby that will help to unite the realm and save it from the Long Night, something Lyanna knows is a very dangerous threat because she’s of the North, that he’ll take care of her, of the baby, that her fate is something so much bigger than marrying her brother’s slutty best friend and being his miserable, lonely wife. Does Lyanna attempt to say something to Ned as she’s dying or has she stopped believing after the murders of her father and brother, the deaths of Rhaegar, Elia, and baby Aegon and Rhaenys? Does it slip her mind, in her fear of her own impending death and the threat to her son? Maybe, maybe do Lyanna’s last words give a hint that will lead to Jon or Bran or Sam or Dany or whoever the hell piecing together the entire prophecy? Or am i going absolutely crazy waiting for the winds of winter which will probably never be released anyway lmao