#while sansa will be more tactical?

[feyhunter78]

Description: During your Uncle Robert's Royal Procession, you find yourself enraptured with Ned Starks' bastard son. While Jon has never dreamed so vividly until your arrival. A thread seems to exist between you and him, pulling you together. Luckily for you both, your father Tyrion sees the need for a sworn sword in his beloved daughter's life.

Ch 2

You should know better, truly you should, but you’ve always had a weakness for pitiful-looking creatures, or at least that’s what your father has always said. He stands a pace ahead of you, watching as your uncle, the King Robert, embraces Lord Ned Stark with a boyish joy you have never seen in your uncle. Your Aunt Cersei stands to the side of them, smiling politely at the Lady Catelyn Stark, Joffery all but hanging from her skirts, demanding attention. Usually, you would scowl at the back of the boy’s head, but the sight of Ned Stark’s bastard son has you quite distracted.

He is pitiful, even his name, Jon, it’s so common, so often used it cannot differentiate him from others. He stands stiffly, with gray eyes so dark they almost seem black set beneath thick brows. He has curly dark hair that frames his face, an unchanging frown upon his face, and his hands clasp and unclasp nervously as he watches the mingling of your two families. Jon’s dressed like all the other Starks, but somehow lesser, as if he has chosen only the drabbest of colors in an effort to blend into the dreary landscape. There’s a solemn softness to him that intrigues you. What secrets does he keep? Why does he look so mired in grief? He notices your gaze, and his face tints pink as he ducks his head further into the fur collar of his cloak. You bite back a laugh, for a moment he looked like a turtle.

The boy beside him, Robb, stands an inch or so taller with cornflower blue eyes, and auburn hair. The clear son of Lady Catelyn radiates confidence, nearly bordering on arrogance, as he surveys the servants unloading your family’s belongings from the wheelhouses. Beside him stands a boy whose arrogance you wouldn’t mistake for confidence, even if you were less astute than you are. But the arrogance rings false, you can see the cracks in his bravado, the insecurity leaking from every pore. It’s in the way he hovers so close to Robb, as if he fears to be away from him would be his undoing. This one you know inside and out; your father had drilled you on everyone you were going to meet before you even stepped foot outside King’s Landing.

Theon Greyjoy, last surviving son of Balon Greyjoy, a war prisoner disguised as a ward, the closest companion to Robb Stark, both accepted and held at a distance, Lord Stark’s sword an ever-looming threat should his father ever revolt once more. Theon has eyes like the sea and tousled hair the color reminiscent of the mahogany desk in your father’s study. He is lankier than the other two, hungrier, and when your eyes meet his, he winks. You resist the urge to wrinkle your nose in response, you were a lady, a Lannister, you were not so easily swayed. Theon is handsome, but if your father’s reports were true, he spent much of his time in brothels. The tactics that worked there would not work on you.

“And this is my eldest daughter, Sansa.” Lord Stark says, motioning to a girl that was perhaps two or so years younger than you. She is beautiful, with fiery red hair, eyes like Robb’s, and high, graceful cheekbones. She curtsies with the air of a Southern lady, and smiles when you do the same. This is who you are meant to befriend, and it does not seem it will be too difficult, Sansa’s eyes eagerly drink in every aspect of your being, as if she wishes to glen all she can of Southern life before it is ripped away from her.

“She is as beautiful as her mother.” Your father says, giving her then Lady Catelyn a smile.

They both thank him, Lady Catelyn beaming at the praise, while you notice Sansa’s cheeks flush with color. She is easily flattered; you must remember that.

“Allow me to introduce my own daughter, Y/N Lannister.” Your father introduces you, putting emphasis on your surname, the very fact that you have one. You are not a bastard, no matter what awful Joffrey likes to say. Your mother and father had married in secret, she died giving birth to you, it was tragic and left your father quite saddened, but you were not a bastard.

Your eyes dart back to Jon taking him in subtlety. You wish to see him blush again, but you will not make your actions so easily observed.

“It is too cold, why must we stand here all day?” Joffrey whines, crossing his arms over his chest and stomping his foot resoundingly.

Your aunt fusses over him, and Lord Stark leads you all inside, talking jovially with your uncle as you hurry to catch up with your father.

It is loud in the Great Hall of Winterfell, made of gray stone and smelling of smoke, meat, and a hint of dog, which you must assume is from the Direwolves. It is well lit and filled with people, all enjoying the bountiful feast set before them on long wooden tables. You’re seated away from your father, something you despise. He is closer to your Uncle Jaime, nearer to the King and Lord Stark, while you have been seated with the other children. It has only been you and your father for so very long, a part of you feels anxious to be separated from him, but you are a Lannister, if you cannot charm the strangers around you then can you truly call yourself such?

“Will you tell me more of King’s Landing, Lady y/n?” Sansa asks, looking enraptured by the mere thought of it. She is dressed in a gown of blue silk, her fur lined cloak on the back of her chair, her hair done up in a style you’re quite familiar with. She is very beautiful, and you spot many men staring at her, one of them being Theon who is seated at the lower tables. You catch his eye and smile knowingly. In response, he scowls and ducks his head.

You must mention this observation to your father.

You smile and return your attention to Sansa, regaling her with tales of festivals and feasts, of tourneys and services in the Great Sept. Her siblings either listen as well or turn their attention elsewhere, which you don’t mind. They are not who you are here to befriend.

Sansa sighs dreamily and turns her gaze to Joffrey, who is seated next to his mother further up the table and is staring down at his food as if it has offended him. “And what of Joffrey? Surely you must be close?”

Your cousin, and closest companion, Myrcella snorts into her drink, and you shoot her a look. Myrcella was meant to be sitting next to Joffrey but had convinced someone to switch with her so that she could be next to you.

“Joffrey is a…spirited boy, he has many…passions.” You say carefully, running your finger along the rim of your glass.

Your father suspects Robert will wish to wed Sansa and Joffrey. It’s a strategic match, but your cousin is a horrible bully, you have marks hidden beneath your sleeves to prove your words, and you do not wish to see innocent Sansa suffer in such a way. True, you have not spent much time with her, but she has been warm and welcoming, her innocence shining through like the sun on a spring day.

“Does he enjoy tourneys? I have heard the King was quite the warrior, he and father fought together.” Sansa continues, resting her chin in her hand.

You smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in your skirts. “Joffrey has not competed in any tourneys quite yet, Lady Sansa, he is too young.”

“He is three and ten, is he not? Most squire by one and ten, why has he not been sent to one of your bannermen like his uncle?” Robb says, taking a long drink from his glass.

“My mother does not wish for him to get injured; he is heir to the throne, after all.” Myrcella chimes in, saving you from coming up with another excuse for why Joffrey has not been allowed to leave King’s Landing.

Sansa nods and gazes longingly at Joffrey once more. “That seems most wise, what a dutiful mother Queen Cersei is.”

“Where is your mother, Lady y/n? I did not see anyone else arrive.” Bran, one of the younger Starks asks, his round innocent face not dulling the sting of his words at all.

Myrcella takes your hand under the tables and squeezes it. She has been privy to the nights of crying, of mourning the mother you would never know.

“Bran, that is not polite.” Sansa hisses.

You shake your head, a soft smile on your face. “My mother died giving birth to me, but I am told she held me in her arms before the Stranger came for her, that she named me and spoke of how dearly she loved me.”

Bran makes a soft noise of apology, and the conversation lulls, until finally you have finished your meal and are free to retire to your chambers.

You wave off any offer to escort you, telling them all you wish to admire the architecture of Winterfell in solitude.

It’s not wholly a lie, though you cannot say you ever wish to be alone , you enjoy the company of others, are invigorated by it, but tonight feels different. Perhaps it is the mention of your mother, or the false face Joffrey is putting on for the Starks and their bannermen, the sound of his laughter ringing about the hall. You wander the halls of Winterfell with a faint knowledge of where the guest chambers lie, when you find yourself approaching the training yard. The night is quiet, snow falling gently, the brisk air seizes your lungs, purifying them with an icy chill.

You are not alone, the thud of blunt metal upon wood, the sounds of exertion, the turn of boots in snow covered dirt. You slowly move towards the sound, knowing your father will scold you later for such carelessness. There are countless people here, and you cannot be assured they all wish you well.

Jon Snow, the ever so distracting bastard, stands in the middle of the yard, training alone, the moonlight shining down on him, making his pale skin glisten. You rest your hand on the stone archway, one foot on the dirt, the other still firmly planted on the stone. You should leave him alone, you know it, but you’re mesmerized by the sight, the tension in his muscles, the expanse of his back, the strength in his arms. He is a little older than you, six and ten to your five and ten, both old enough to be married, yet both remaining unbetrothed.

There had been offers for your hand, even though you were the imp’s child, and many wondered if you would sire broken children, if you would pass on your father’s curse. But for the gold that backed your name many were willing to risk it. You didn’t like your suitors, they were too brash, too lewd, too old, or simply just not right.

Jon stops and lifts his tunic to wipe the sweat from his brow. His stomach is toned, his skin mostly smooth, though there are some faded scars.

Yes, they were simply not right, they did not look like that.

You feel heat rise to your cheeks and you avert your eyes. What were you, a child? A lovesick maid? You have spent no more than mere minutes in his presence, and already you are lusting after him like some silk street whore? It must be the chill that is muddling your mind, yes, the chill. Not the kindness that you saw within him as he played with Arya and Bran in the courtyard earlier in the day. Or the way he stood stiff lipped while Joffrey threw barbed insults at him as he passed him in the hall, or the stack of novels you had overheard the maester say were to be set aside for him. Merely the chill. The chill and the flights of fancy all young girls are prone to.

With that in mind, you wait until he has returned his tunic to its rightful place and step fully into the snow.

He turns on his heel, weapon at the ready. He is perceptive, you note, good reflexes, excellent hearing, fine form, carved from marble, glowing like a god in the moonlight.

Gods y/n, pull yourself together.

“My apologies, I did not mean to startle you.” You say, wrapping your cloak tighter around you. It is thin, far too thin to wear in the chill of night.

Jon lowers his sword. “Lady Lannister, why are you not inside at the feast? Are you lost?”

“Yes.” You lie, batting your eyelashes at him, crafting your expression into one of helplessness. “I wished to return to my chamber, but I lost my way.”

Jon stows his sword and retrieves his cloak from a nearby rack. “I will escort you, if you do not take offense?”

You tilt your head in faux confusion. “Why would I take offense?”

He shuffles his feet and busies himself with his cloak. “You are a lady of a great house, and I am…” He lets the unspoken words hang in the air, and you have the grace to act surprised.

“Oh, yes, right, you are a Snow.” You say, taking a step towards him and extending your hand, waiting to set it on his arm. “Well, I care not if you are a Stark or a Snow, I am sure you are more than capable of escorting me to the guest chambers of your home.”

He ducks his head, that delightful blush returning to his cheeks, and he holds out his arm for you.

You take it gratefully, allowing him to guide you back towards the way you came. The wind blows through the yard as you walk and cuts straight through your thin cloak, a shiver shooting down your spine.

Before you can blink, Jon has draped his cloak over you, clasping it shut with a surprising boldness. “It is far too cold for such a thin cloak; you must remember to wear your furs if you find yourself wandering out here once more.”

You look up at him through your lashes, your heart skipping a beat at the proximity between you and him, the depth of his dark eyes. “And if I were to wander out here again…might I be able to count on you to escort me? I must confess I find the halls of Winterfell quite confusing.”

He lingers for a moment, drinking you in, his head nodding almost imperceptibly, then he wrenches himself away, his gaze set forward. “Anyone in Winterfell would be more than able to escort you, My Lady.”

You nod, feeling the sting of rejection. It’s no matter, this is only the first night, there’s still plenty of time.

Yes I used a Hozier line bc it's perfect for the vibe of this fic

[mythronic]

PI! Izuku and his relationships

Previous post! (I should really make a master post for this if I'm going to be continuously writing)

So obviously, canon Izuku has many relationships with various characters, but who would he know here? Because he is going in a very different path compared to canon, so it'd make sense if he has different relationships. I don't need to explain anything, here you go!

Tag: mha!PI Izuku

Tsukauchi

Come on, we already knew the guy was fond of Izuku because the other provided his help on certain cases. Tsukauchi definitely knows that Izuku operates on a more grey area compared to others, working with vigilantes and some villains, and his whole shtick is taking down corrupt heroes! It doesn't take a genius to know that Izuku isn't the morally whitest of the bunch. But well, the kid doesn't have anything that suggests foul play and there's nothing behind the scenes that's corrupt, from what he can see, so if Tsukauchi goes to Izuku for some analysis work to be done or he has a hero in need of investigating, why not? Every now and then, when the police station trains new recruits or runs their training camps, Tsukauchi would invite Izuku over as a scare tactic for the new blood. They usually wouldn't take the teen boy seriously until he starts rattling off their quirks' information and the fact that he can have access to all their private information whenever he wants. Additionally, Izuku's presence helps Tsukauchi a lot when it comes to interrogations as well. When there's a villain that isn't talking, whether it be because they know what Tsukauchi's quirk is or they're just stubborn, having Izuku in the room makes things so much easier. Besides, Tsukauchi doesn't need to know what exactly Izuku whispers in the ears of those who aren't willing to talk.. Plausible deniability and all that.

Aizawa

So Aizawa and Izuku actually met at a raid. They called in Underground heroes and Twilight heroes to help in dismantling this human trafficking organisation and Izuku had suspected that a hero had a hand in making sure that this organisation ran smoothly, so he decided to attend as well, with Rody as his backup. Of course, the heroes there that haven't really seen the duo were absolutely appalled, but police chief Tsuragamae (The organisation was based in Hosu) brushed it off and the duo, while everyone was busy raiding the place, had uncovered the network of heroes that had been pay-rolling and covering the asses of these assholes. So, naturally, Aizawa went to check this little agency out to find Izuku and Rody essentially solo-running the agency with Mei at the back helm. While concerned skeptical of these kids in this kind of industry, the hero lent his help to them if they needed anything and the teens gladly accepted it. Not two weeks later, Aizawa would be called on to help find some information about a local hero who was allegedly hiring hitman to take out other heroes in order to get all the fame and fortune for themselves. It didn't phase Aizawa when the little rascals multiplied, and he definitely wasn't fond of them, because he bought them boba tea and snacks every time he visited. But yeah, Aizawa's pretty chill with them.. Even when the new rascals appeared in the entrance exam for Yuuei.

Sansa

Sansa's an interesting case. Izuku met Sansa when he met Tsukauchi, but the other was generally someone who didn't really think much of Izuku having an agency to himself and solving crimes and all that. Which, was actually really suspicious. So Izuku, being a little paranoid, had Rody investigate to see if Sansa was linked to anything nefarious, because the guy had no criminal record and everything of his is clean... So there must be something that was wrong. Nope. Turns out the guy is really just an amazing citizen, which freaked Izuku out a little bit, considering that he grew up in a world where everyone around him would want to hurt him in some way shape or form. And in a way.. Well.. It wasn't surprising that Japan's most blue-collared cat man is the assistant of Musutafu's best detective. Excluding Izuku of course. But either way, Izuku decided to befriend Sansa, where he kept a generally professional relationship with Tsukauchi. Izuku helped feed Sansa's myriad of pets when the officer isn't able to and Sansa helps ensure that the people in the Cozy Agency are following the laws when it comes to their investigations, mostly. So they don't get tagged.

Nezu

Initially, Ness and Izuku had a slightly antagonistic relationship, due to the fact that they 'met' when Izuku and Denki were hacking into the Yuuei systems to help the other figure out what exactly the 0-pointers were supposed to do. Nezu threatened them when he couldn't find out where they were hacking him from and Izuku happily spat back. But their relationship changed when Izuku met Nezu physically at the USJ after the attack, and him and Denki accidentally revealed themselves to be the ones hacking Yuuei during the aftermath. Well, Nezu insisted on honing Denki's skill with hacking and Izuku's abilities to analyse and deduct. Did it give the entire faculty a heart attack when Nezu announced that he was doing this? Yes. Did he care? No. In conclusion, they have a pretty good mentor-mentee relationship with Izuku and Denki. Albeit, at the time of the story, it isn't too developed yet and they're still a little wary of each other despite the professional trust now.

Snipe

BET YA DIDN'T EXPECT THIS Anyways: Snipe quite literally recognised Izuku when the teen approached him at the bar and willingly at the other into his apartment when asked to. They shared a cup of tea and got to know each other while Izuku investigated Snipe, the fact that the other was so CHILL about it was what got them getting along. Snipe is the hero that worked with Izuku on the Otheon mission, and was the one that covered for him and Rody when Rody was ousted as an Otheon criminal. He and Izuku met when the teen was investigating some claim on the man. He also uh, was the one who thought Rody how to use and shoot a gun, many types of guns. All types of firearms. He helped Rody get his license and also taught Izuku a few things with a revolver. Snipe is the one of the few people in general who know of the full scope of Izuku and the Cozy Agency's operations and he occasionally helps out in terms of operations, often acting as a 'getaway driver' for Rody and Izuku if need be. And occasionally Kyoka if she needs it.

That's more of my blabbering. Maybe if you're still interested in what I have to offer for this AU, you can ask me questions/suggest stuff for me to yap about? Stuff I may write about in the future for this AU:

Scenarios/Rewrites of canon scenes

Interactions between the Cozy Agency members

LOV stuff

[leupagus]

A Gale of Wolves, Chapter 16: Davos

They'd been conferring at some length over the past few days as to when to move on Winterfell. Lady Sansa and the rest of the Northern lords were all for an immediate departure; it was the king, oddly, who'd been reluctant to depart. Just this afternoon they'd had another row about it in Lord Glover's hall, the two of them at it like hammers and tongs as always.

"We lose the element of surprise every day that we linger, Your Grace," Lady Sansa had protested, when Stannis had once again said they were not ready. "I'm not a commander of armies, I don't know tactics—"

"On that at least, my lady and I are in hearty agreement," snapped the king, while all around the table the commanders of the Baratheon forces murmured their accord.

"—but winter is coming, and all the armies and tactical brilliance in the world won't save us from a real snowstorm when it finally falls on our heads. We move now or we lose months, perhaps years, waiting for our moment."

"They really do say it," Davos had muttered to himself. He hadn't quite believed it, all those years Stannis had complained about Lord Stark's favorite phrase. As though the seasons' changes were some great revelation to the simple southron folk, the king had muttered on more than one occasion.

Lady Brienne had stood next to him and heard. "What, 'winter is coming'? Constantly." They'd shared a brief smile before Lady Brienne remembered her hatred of Stannis and his men. Still, it had been something.

[sugarprincessbitch]

i saw request are open, soo...

what about young !sansa stark being in love in you (headcannons>)

So because you didn't specify the gender of the reader... I took some liberties and decided to make them female :)

Sansa first meet you in kings landing, you were assigned to her as her lady of company by the queen, the main porpuse of it was to not only spy Sansa but also a tactic of Cersei to take more control placing the ones that are loyal to her. In fact you are her cousin, the sister of lancel.

I think that at first she will ignore you a little (sorry hehe) because in a romantic level we know that at that stage is imposible (Sansa didn't have time to explore yet her sexuality and she is infatuated with Joffrey).

In a platonic way she is still very much friends with Jane pool, that is also her lady of company. I imagine the whole thing to go like you being the third wheel.

But things will change quickly, in fact she wants to make a good impression with the queen, so she will try to talk to you more (mostly out of politeness).

Due to your patient and amicable nature you become fast friends but not as near as her relationship with Jane.

When things went downwards (Joffrey being proclaimed as king and Lord stark being decapitated) Sansa was left alone in a place full of serpents wanting to bite her.

Her father was dead, her sister was gone and her foes and friends were not there. The only "friend" or person of minimal trust was you.

Also, you were the only one protecting her against the fury of Cersei and her bastard son, tending her wounds when she was hurt and hugging her at night when she had nightmares about her father's death.

As days passed and hope faded, you two became closer, sharing secrets and stories in sweet whispers when you two were alone in her chambers.

In the day when all court was against her, you show her your support by holding her hand and calming her nerves by caressing her hair.

Sansa thought that her blushing checks when you show her affection and having such fervent desire to touch the skin of your face when the two of you were rested in bed together, where only normal things that a friend might feel for the other.

The part of looking at your lips and thinking how they might feel in hers were not that friendly feelings, yet she didn't think hard about it or she will become a ball of nerves and blush.

You obviously were not oblivious to her growing feelings for you, giving that her looks at your form where not as discreet as she would think.

Initially you wanted to wait until your family became uninterested about Sansa whereabouts and acts to talk about the strange "friendship" that you and her were having.

Yet, Sansa surprised you with her forwardness on the night after Stannis failed attack to the city (not the best moment for that but whe know that poor Sansa was in so much distress).

While the man where fighting outside, the high born lady's and the children were inside the queen chambers. Sansa and you sat down beside Cersei in your respective places.

When you were occupied to assess the state of your injured brother that came crashing the door, Sansa disappeared in thin air between the caos of the room when your cousin decided to abandon all.

Desperately you called her name over and over again on the way to her chambers, asking yourself where the fuck she went at this hour of the night with how dangerous was the keep in this times of war.

Seeing Sandor Clenage coming out of her room cover in blood and clearly drunk, was not a sight to calm your nerves, so you dash to encounter face to face with a distraught Sansa.

Coming out of her stupor she rushed to you and stamp her lips with yours, catching you by surprise. You continue the kiss, to later assure her that her feelings were reciprocated.

That night she slept like a baby in your embrace, while you murmured to her ear hopes for an escape from this hell that you called the Red keep.

Pd: I think I got carried away hehe...hope you like it!!💓💓

[atopvisenyashill]

What would happen if Joffrey executed both Ned and Sansa?

I mean…a small riot happens? but maybe not? things definitely get more tense between the north and the iron throne that’s for damn sure. There’s not a reason to execute Sansa - she cooperated, she tried to help Cersei, and she’s eleven, and Ned specifically confessed to keep Sansa safe. If Joffrey says “all traitors and traitor’s blood must die” and then has eleven year old Sansa’s head lopped off in front of a crowd, i do imagine this is gonna ruffle some feathers.

There’s a few flashpoints here - the actual execution, Robb’s reaction to it, and Tywin’s reaction to Robb. Take the execution first.

there’s not a lot Ned can do in this situation but if Joffrey is stupid enough to say he’s going to kill them both, Ned is not going to willingly walk to his death. He’s gonna start screaming that Joffrey is a bastard born of incest, or he’s going to insist that Sansa is innocent and he never told anyone of his treason, but either way he’s gonna get the crowd riled up and start acting up to get Joffrey to change his mind, and let us remember how recent it was that a stark father pleaded for the life of his child and a stark child pleaded for the life of their father In This Very King’s Landing. If this becomes A Whole Big(ger) Scene, that’s bad. If Joffrey kills Ned and THEN says “actually bring Sansa up here too”  - and doesn’t Sansa pass out at some point after Ned is killed?? - what does he do here? Has her woken up so he can kill her? has her executed while she’s passed out or heaving and sobbing and saying she never betrayed him and she loves him? I don’t think Joffrey has enough reason to execute her, and if Ned, Sansa, or both are yelling and pleading as they’re held down and executed, it’s gonna give a lot of people flashbacks. He can do it, of course, but I do think there will be some hesitancy, maybe some arguing, and probably some loudly expressed opinions. and meanwhile Arya is watching all of this happen with Yoren. What is KL going to even look like after this? by the time Tyrion gets there, what’s happened without Sansa there? Dontos is dead. Littlefinger has to go back to fixating on Catelyn. Joffrey has started sexually abusing random maids and ladies because he has had no Sansa outlet for his temper. They can’t hold onto staff because Joffrey put Sansa’s head on a spike and won’t take it down and it’s freaking people out. Cersei and Joffrey keep having knock out fights in public over what to do about Jaime. Joffrey is devolving much faster here, and Jaime’s life hangs in the balance. 

Then there’s Robb’s reaction to whatever the hell happens in this scenario. He has just captured Jaime, and remember Cersei was nervous about Joffrey killing Ned bc Robb might kill Jaime in reprisal. If Joffrey executes Sansa? I think without Sansa as a hostage, Robb gets more reckless on the whole. I don’t think he’ll do anything stupid - nor would the lords at Riverrun agree to anything they thought was stupid - but Rickard Karstark and Edmure Tully as well as several other lords, are pushing for Jaime to be killed. He’s not fighting to save anyone at the capital anymore; this has strictly become a rebellion. I’m sure the Lannisters would try to lie about having Arya but Robb has Jaime, he has Riverrun, he has the North, he has everything to lose, and the Lannisters have no bargaining chip. Even if you assume battles and tactics stay completely the same, would Catelyn release Jaime in this scenario, if she knows Sansa is dead, and they have zero proof Arya is alive and zero explanation for her disappearance? I think it’s more likely she’s either continuing to work as an envoy, praying she’ll get word of Arya from someone if only she keeps asking and searching, or somehow in contact with Tyrion, trying to get more information on what may have happened. It’s possible she still gets herself in trouble, but is she going to just randomly set Jaime free? No, not without proof Arya is alive. Robb could choose to use Jaime in his terms - acknowledge me as King in the North and of the Trident, get your people out of the Riverlands, agree to these borders, and I’ll give you Jaime back - or give into the anger of the people around him and send Cleos Frey back to KL with Jaime’s head and a note that says fuck you and your family. Even if Stannis and Renly are still acting dumb (likely), and Catelyn comes back with Brienne and a wild story, does Robb just send her back out as an envoy to someone else? I mean potential shadow baby assassins notwithstanding, Jaime’s presence at Riverrun (or death to lord over everyone) is useful for Robb here. 

(I keep dancing around Arya because - is Yoren unable to stop her from straight up storming the execution, if Sansa gets brought out? In the commotion of whatever scene is happening, does Arya get lost? Get caught? Get hurt? Are there more guards out looking for her because she’s the only chance Cersei has of trading for Jaime now? Can she even get out of KL? Is Yoren more desperate to hand her off quickly now that he’s seen Sansa get executed? Lots of factors here!) 

Then there’s Tywin’s reaction to Robb. Jaime may or may not have been executed but he’s certainly in a much more perilous situation. Even with Roose helping to sabotage shit (would Roose decide this is the time to enter his villain era or would he figure joffrey is too much of a risk, and bide his time a bit more??), even if Robb still sends Theon with the exact same deal, at the exact same time, and that happens the exact same way, Tywin has to take into account that Jaime is a hostage in Riverrun when he gets to king’s landing to scheme the red wedding up, OR he gets to King’s Landing ready to scheme the wedding up and devices something 100x more brutal because Robb killed Jaime. Lannister dynamics are WILDLY different here with Jaime not coming back with Brienne, too!! 

Uh anyways the point is I think most everything in Westeros is affected by this.

My opinion is that KL becomes much more stressful to live in, because Joffrey has to crack down on the population, because they didn’t appreciate him killing Sansa, and also Cersei is hysterically angry with him, Tyrion has a much harder time getting control of the city back, the Tyrells are much more nervous about negotiations with Littlefinger in Bitterbridge, and Catelyn does not set Jaime free, which puts both the Iron Throne and the North/Riverlands in a weird ass position. 

[ladynightshade30]

Stone by Stone

Author's Notes: I got this idea watching a Jon Snow/Sansa Stark video. I might continue it I might not. I just have no ideas on where to take it from here. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. Warnings: Sex, overstimulation, voyeurism

It was an arranged marriage. 

Set up between Kings Ragnar of Kattegat and Acwulf of Âlibbendemere, between their children Ivar, much to his and his mother’s dismay, and Eadwulf. So, the Vikings would stop invading Âlibbendemere while, in return, King Acwulf would provide them with land to settle and farm. And while Ivar and Eadwulf had been married and living in Kattegat for nearly five years, she had yet to make any headway in the relationship between her and her husband. Who seemed to avoid her as much as possible except for meals. And even then, he would ignore her, speaking to his mother or Floki, a boat builder who seemed to hate her even more than Ivar and Aslaug. Ivar would even go so far as to enter their bed late and be up before her.

And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to ingratiate herself to Ivar and his mother. The queen seemed to view Eadwulf as distasteful, not only for not being a Viking but for not being enough for her beloved son. So she often found herself weaving or sewing by herself unless Helga, the boat builder’s wife, or Lagartha, Ragnar’s other wife, took pity on her and joined her. 

Thanks to the help of the monk-turned-Viking, Athelstan, and Ivar’s older brothers, she managed to ingrain herself into the hearts of the common people by listening to them and helping them whenever she could. The children, in particular, seemed to adore her and followed her whenever she came into town to speak with the people. But despite the friendship and near-constant presence of Athelstan, who had been assigned not only as her bodyguard but as her translator and guide into the workings of her new home, Eadwulf felt alone. 

She sighed and gathered a small child into her arms as she talked to the girl’s parents about their problems with their roof.

***

“She looks good with a child on her hip,” observed Ubbe to his younger brother.

Ivar snorted as the tattooist worked on a new design on his back. 

Ubbe sighed. “Perhaps you should spend more time with her.”

“I spend enough time with her.” 

Ubbe rolled his eyes. “I am not talking about when you fuck her.”

“We don’t fuck. I would never fuck a Christian.”

Ubbe sighed and tried another tactic. “What about what she does during the day.”

Ivar rolled his eyes. “Why would I care?”

“To ensure a good marriage.”

“What makes you think I want one?”

“Everyone wants a good marriage and I know you want children someday. If you want to have any chance of having them, you need to take care of your wife.”

“I don’t need her to have children.”

“Then you have taken a mistress?”

Ivar sighed and muttered under his breath. 

Ubbe grinned. “You can start tonight at the festival.”

That said, Ubbe left his brother to watch his wife and ponder his older brother’s words. 

***

The night air was filled with laughter and drunken revelry. Eadwulf moved through the crowd, smiling and laughing with people as she went. 

“Wife,” Ivar said, his face splattered with blood as he approached her, a smile on his face that set her on edge.

Before she could step back, he had grabbed her face with his hands, bloody from the night’s sacrifice, and smeared it across her cheeks. 

“Maybe now you will give me a son,” he said, kissing her for the first time since their wedding. 

The kiss, along with the declaration, came as a surprise and left her speechless. When he drew away, he smeared more blood across her lips before leading her to the head table. 

“Here, tell me about your day.”

Eadwulf was surprised and a little weary by the attentiveness of Ivar. “Why?”

“I want to know what you do when you aren’t with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I am your husband,” he said before adding under his breath. “Plus, Ubbe won’t leave me alone about how I need to spend more time with you.”

Eadwulf nodded and tried to ignore the part of her that was dismayed about the fact that he wasn’t interested in spending time with her on his own accord. “I see.”

“So?”

“Well, I talked to the people and spent time with the orphans to ensure that they have what they need for the coming winter.”

“Do they?”

“They could use more blankets,” she admitted. “I have talked to some of the other women and they have agreed to help me weave extra blankets for them.”

“That’s good,” Ivar said absentmindedly.

“What about you?” she asked as a slave poured them both a cup of ale. “What did you do?”

“I got a new tattoo and sparred with my brothers.”

“I see.”

***

Ivar shifted in bed and coughed. He tried to sit up, only to collapse back onto the bed. His body was too warm for his liking as he tossed the furs from his naked form. The sudden change in temperature caused Eadwulf to jerk awake and turn to look at him. 

“What is it?” She asked, only to scramble out of bed when she saw how pale he was as she pulled on a shift and called for some slaves.

Aslaug hurried to the room her son shared with his Catholic wife and burst inside. She saw Eadwulf ringing out a cloth and patting down her husband. 

“Fever?” The queen asked. 

“Yes, my queen,” one of the slaves responded. 

“Why did you not summon me immediately,” Asalug demanded after slapping Eadwulf. 

“My apologies,” Eadwulf said softly. “I summoned you as soon as I became aware of the situation.” 

Aslaug snarled a curse and began giving orders to gather things from her room to help heal her son. 

Ivar was barely aware of the world around him save for the few times he was awakened to drink some foul-tasting brew someone, probably his mother poured down his throat. The sound of someone humming softly would lull him back into a dreamless sleep. When the fever finally broke, he awoke to find Lagertha sitting next to him, with Eadwulf sleeping in a chair in the corner. 

“Good, you’re awake and it looks like the fever has gone down.” the blonde woman said calmly.

“Where’s mother?” he coughed as Lagertha got him a drink. 

“She’s asleep in our room,” she answered, before turning her attention to Eadwulf and covering her more comfortably with the blanket. “We finally convinced her and your wife to take a break. We had to give her and Eadwulf a sleeping drought to get them to sleep for longer than an hour at a time.”

Ivar turned his attention to focus on his wife again.

Lagertha followed his gaze and smiled fondly at the redhead before turning to face Ivar. “She barely left your side.”

Ivar tried to sit up, only to collapse back onto the bed with a grunt. 

“Don’t strain yourself just yet,” she reprimanded gently. “Are you hungry?”

Ivar nodded.

Lagertha turned to the door and called for someone to bring food for the prince before returning to the chair at the side of the bed. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked, re-wetting the cloth on his forehead.

“Better,” Ivar said.

“Good, I’m glad.”

“Ivar?” asked a small voice. 

Lagertha and Ivar both turned their attention to Eadwulf, who was now awake and rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“You’re awake,” Eadwulf smiled. “I’m glad.”

“You should still be asleep,” Lagertha protested.

“I’m fine,” yawned Eadwulf. 

Lagertha scowled as the servants entered, bringing a plate of food. They had thought ahead and brought enough food for Lagertha and Eadwulf as well. 

“Can you feed yourself, Ivar?” Lagertha asked. 

Ivar scowled, “Yes.”

“Very well,” the blonde said as she stood up and grabbed a piece of bread. “I’ll leave you two to it.”

That said, she swept from the room, leaving the married couple alone in their room. 

“How are you feeling, Ivar?” Eadwulf asked as she slowly approached him while he slowly eased himself up. 

“Fine,” Ivar said, before adding. “Better.”

“I’m glad,” she said, offering him a bowl of broth.

Ivar took the bowl and their fingertips brushed against each other. “Did you really stay by my side?” 

Eadwulf took a seat in the chair Lagertha had vacated with her own bowl of soup. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“You are my husband,” she said as if it were the obvious thing in the world. “It’s my duty to take care of you.”

“Is that all?”

“It’s also my Christian duty.”

Ivar rolled his eyes at that and almost seemed to pout as he drank the broth. 

“Do you want me to leave and send for your mother?”

“No,” he said, immediately grabbing her wrist. “Let her rest. You stay.”

Eadwulf smiled and took a seat at the corner of the bed. “As you wish, Husband.” 

***

“Wife!” Ivar called as he approached her in the market. 

“Husband,” Eadwulf greeted as the people she had been talking to returned to work. “What can I do for you?”

“Come walk with me,” he said, placing a hand on her lower back. “There are some things I wish to discuss with you.”

“Alright, lead the way.” 

They walked in silence until they came to a clearing in the woods, where Ivar settled down on the ground and relaxed against a boulder. 

“What is it you wanted to speak to me about?”

“Us. Our marriage.”

Eadwulf bit her lip as she settled down beside him. “What about it?”

“I think we can make it work.”

Eadwulf blinked in surprise. “Oh?”

“Yes, I’ve decided something.”

“And what would that be?”

“Being married to a Christian might not be the worst thing in the world.”

“I see,” Eadwulf said, unsure if he had insulted her. 

“Yes,” he said, pausing briefly to look around before rearranging himself, so he was resting his head in her lap. “I want to give this a try.”

“And what brought this on?”

“Nothing, really,” he said as he started to play with her hair. “Just recent events have led me to see I haven’t been fair to you and I want to change all that.”

“Alright,” said Eadwulf softly, staring down into his blue eyes. “I would like that.”

“Good,” he said, reaching up to her and pulling her down to kiss her. “Now, tell me. How was your day?”

“It was good. After we broke fast, I went into town to see how the people were doing and after last year’s drought and so far, this year has been going well. The harvest should be bountiful.”

“Good. What else did you do?”

“Nothing yet,” she said as she stroked his hair from his face. 

“What else were you going to do?” 

“Finish my weaving.” 

“What are you weaving?”

Eadwulf flushed and looked away. “Something for you.”

“Why?”

“You are my husband. Should I not weave things for you?”

“No,” Ivar said. “You definitely should weave things for me. What are you weaving for me?”

“I am making you a new cloak.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to. Do you not want one?”

“No, I want it.”

He rolled over, so they faced each other and forced her onto her back. 

“I want you as well. I want to put a child in you. A child that will mark the start of our new relationship. Wouldn’t that be nice?” 

Eadwulf blushed as he leaned down to press another kiss to her lips as he rubbed his hips against hers. “Yes.”

“Good,” he said as he captured her lips in a passionate kiss, his tongue slipping out into her mouth.

“Ivar,” she protested between kisses. “We can’t do it out here.”

“Why not?” He asked, tugging at her skirt. 

“Someone could see us.” Eadwulf protested as Ivar’s hand started caressing her breast. “Let’s go to bed.”

“You English and your prudish ways.” Ivar pulled away and stared down at her. “Fine. I will put a child in you in our bed.”

He climbed off her and they both stood up, heading back to town. 

Ivar led Eadwulf to their room before attacking her mouth with his own as soon as the door closed. A soft moan escaped her as he pressed her against the door. Trailing kisses down her throat to the neckline of her dress. He started to tug slightly on the belt that encircled her waist before tossing it to the side. His hands started to tug the dress and underdress over her head until she was standing naked before him. Blue eyes flickered down her nude form, a grin forming on his face.

“My beautiful wife,” he whispered, trailing his hands up her sides.

Eadwulf flushed and trailed her hands up his arms before wrapping her arms around his neck. “My handsome husband.”

Ivar chuckled and pressed a deep kiss to her lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and steered her to the bed, slapping her on the rare as he did. Eadwulf giggled as she climbed onto the bed while Ivar stripped himself of his upper clothing before joining her on the bed.

“On your back,” he ordered, slapping her on the butt again.

“Yes, husband.”

Eadwulf settled on her back and spread her legs in welcome. Ivar grinned and lay between her legs, kissing and biting her neck.

“Oh, I have been a bad husband,” he breathed against the skin of her stomach. “A very bad husband for ignoring you, my beautiful Christian.”

“Well, you aren’t now,” whispered Eadwulf.

“No, I’m not now. Now I want to worship you. Adore you. Make you feel the pleasure that I have never given you before.”

“Ivar,” she said, pulling him up to look into her eyes.

“Let me do this.”

“Yes,” she breathed, kissing him deeply.

Ivar moaned into her mouth and balanced on one hand as the other trailed down her body, burying itself between her legs. His thumb fumbled until he found her nub, rubbing slow lazy circles against her. The action earned a low moan from her as he slid one of his fingers inside her. He stretched his finger until it reached the small bundle of nerves inside her.

“There it is,” he breathed. “There’s the little bundle I was looking for.”

Eadwulf moaned and spread her legs wider, rolling her hips to the motions of his finger as it thrust in and out of her. Ivar twisted his hand a little and added another finger inside of her adding scissoring to the movements.

“I want to see how many orgasms I can get out of you, dear wife, before I cum inside of you and make you mine again.”

Eadwulf sighed and nodded, arching her back off the bed as his fingers picked up speed. “Perhaps now we will have a child. Wouldn’t that be wonderful, Ivar, to mark the start of our new relationship with the conception of our child?”

Ivar shuddered at the idea and pressed a harsh kiss to her mouth. “Yes, that is all I want. A child, a hundred children, and you.”

“Good. Because that is all, I want. Children and you. No one else.”

Ivar grinned and kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth. He stopped his fingers' repetitive and quick movements, leaving them inside her. She groaned in protest only to have Ivar laugh softly and make small movements with his fingers, rubbing them against the spot. She cried out as tremors shook her body and came on his fingers arching her back off the bed.

“Did you enjoy that wife?”

“Yes,” Eadwulf panted.

“I hope you aren’t tired already, wife.”

“No, not tired.”

“Good because there is more where that came from far more.”

Eadwulf moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “That sounds amazing.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Ivar slowly slid down her body, leaving small kisses and nips as he went until he reached the light curls between her legs. He kissed them gently and nuzzled his nose into them, nudging it between her folds.

“There it is,” he breathed, nudging the little nub with his nose and giving her a lazy, slow lick.

“Ivar!”

Ivar chuckled softly and grabbed hold of her hips, pulling her forward so he could fully bury his face between her legs. He drank from her like a man dying of thirst, making her cum again.

“Ivar, please,” she breathed, tears streaming down her face. “No more.”

“Did I not promise to worship you?” The man chuckled softly and crawled up her body, settling his hips between her thighs before he pushed his pants down his hips. “One more and then we will be done for the night. You have my word.”

“One more,” she breathed as he thrust inside of her. “Give me your seed.”

“Oh, I am going to make sure you milk me until there is nothing more for me to give to you.”

***

Ivar and Eadwulf lay in bed with each other, panting heavily as he tucked her against his side.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Ivar asked as he stroked her arm.

“Of course,” she replied. “How could I forget?”

“Were you scared of me?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “I had heard tales of how the Christians were treated here and I was scared my father had found a way to kill me without getting his own hands dirty.”

“What do you mean?” Ivar asked after a moment.

“My father has hated me since I was born because I was not the son he had hoped to have. I believe he married me off to you, hoping you would kill me and he would have an excuse to go to war.”

Ivar was silent for a moment as he considered what Eadwulf had said and his mind drifted back to the past.

6 Years Ago____

Ragnar and Ivar entered the village connected to the large castle in the middle. 

“Father, where are we?” Ivar asked, looking around at the people staring at them with worry and unease.

“Good question. For I do not know,” He said as he paused by a peasant and switched to their native tongue. “Where are we?”

“You are in the Kingdom of Âlibbendemere,” stammered the man.

“And who is your ruler?”

“King Acwulf.”

“And how might I meet this king of yours?”

The peasant began to stammer something when a new voice broke through the crowd that had formed.

“What is it? What is going on?”

Ragnar and his son watched as the crowds parted and as a young woman with flaming red hair woven into two plaits and hidden by a white veil approached them, flanked by guards and other women. The young woman who had spoken was wearing a fine shift of dark blue with golden details. Ragnar watched as the crowd bowed and curtsied to the redhead who had come to a stop before them, her blue eyes taking them both in with interest. He felt his son shift behind him to look closer at her. He could feel Ivar’s heart speed up in interest and grinned thoughtfully. 

Maybe, the Gods sent them here for a reason and all was not lost in their journey west.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing as much as he could. “My name is King Ragnar and this is my son, Ivar.”

“King Ragnar?” She repeated in surprise. “As in King Ragnar Lothbrok? I have heard a great deal about you. What brings you to my father’s kingdom?”

“A storm,” Ragnar answered.

She looked around confused. “Ah yes, are there no others with you?” 

“No, only we survived the storm.”

“I am sorry to hear it. I am Princess Eadwulf and you are welcome in my father’s kingdom. If you come with me, I will gladly take you to him so you may rest and refresh yourselves.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

***

Later that night, Ivar and Ragnar sat at the high table with Eadwulf and her father, Acwulf, along with his newest wife and a Bishop named Heahmund. 

“Tell me King Acwulf,” Ragnar began. “How old is your daughter?”

“She is Fifteen years of age. Why?”

Ragnar looked thoughtful for a moment. “Old enough to marry. My son is seventeen. Perhaps you and I could come to some sort of arrangement.”

“And why would I come into an arrangement with you?”

“Because if you don’t, I will return and raid your kingdom.”

Acwulf scowled. “And if I enter into this agreement, what is to assure me that you will not raid my lands anyway? Especially since it is custom for the daughter to live in her husband’s lands?”

“You have my word,” smiled Ragnar. “Plus, there is one more thing.”

“And what would that be?”

“Farmland.”

The Saxon king laughed. “You think highly of your negotiation skills, don’t you?”

“I do.”

Acwulf sighed and considered the agreement. “No. I will provide you and your son with a ship tomorrow and then I want you gone from my lands. Besides, my daughter is already promised to the grandson of King Ecbert, Prince Alfred.”

Ragnar huffed in annoyance. “As you wish.”

Within a month, Ragnar returned to the Kingdom of Âlibbendemere and by the week’s end, Acwulf agreed to the terms Ragnar had set forth.

Current Day___

“My poor wife. Shall I bring you his head the next time we raid England?” Ivar asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

“No,” she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder. “I don’t want his head. I want him to be left in the past where he belongs.”

Ivar chuckled. “Such a Christian you are still, wife. What will it take to make you Viking? Hmm? So, if my pretty, little wife doesn’t want her father’s head, what does she want? Hmm? What is it you want then, my pretty Christian? Aside from your father to be left in the past.”

“A child. I want a child with you.”

Ivar smiled and rolled them over. “I am sure I can make that happen.”

Eadwulf giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing in pleasure as Ivar slipped inside her. “I’m sure you can.”

Ivar smirked and started thrusting, slowly at first, before picking up the pace. Enjoying the feeling of her wet walls around him once again, one of his hands slid down her body and he grabbed one of her legs, draping it over the crook of his elbow. The new position caused her cries to increase as pleasure shot up her body.  

***

Eadwulf hurried into the great hall, eager to tell Ivar the good news when she opened the door and froze when she saw Ivar standing there looking at a naked, blonde slave. 

She closed the door silently and headed back the way she came. Moving through the marketplace, she made her way to the outskirts of town until she reached a cliff that overlooked the sea. She played with the ring on her finger, the one Ivar had given her on their wedding day.

“Start anew.” She sniffed slightly and yanked it off her finger before tossing it into the water below. 

She collapsed onto the ground and started crying. 

***

It was night when Ivar finally managed to catch up with his wife.  

“Before we agreed to give it a go. I would avoid you now you are avoiding me. Why is that? There is a feast tonight to celebrate my brother’s return. We should be celebrating.”

“Celebrate with your lover,” she said, pushing him off. 

“What are you talking about, woman?” Ivar asked as he moved after her as best he could.

“I saw you two in our room. If you want to start a new relationship with someone, you should start one with her.”

Ivar rolled his eyes and pulled her back into his embrace. “If you saw me with her and had stayed, you would have seen me send her away. Away from the kingdom entirely.”

“What?”

“She will no longer be a threat to you or us,” Ivar whispered.  “Now stop avoiding me, for I have missed you.”

“We’ve only been apart for one day,” Eadwulf said, rolling her eyes. 

“A very long day,” muttered Ivar, pressing kisses to her neck. “Now, what led you to spy on me?”

“I wasn’t spying on you,” she protested. “I was coming to find you so I could tell you something.”

“And what would that be, hmm?”

Eadwulf grinned and took one of his hands, transferring it to her somewhat flat stomach. “I am with child.”

“So, you are pregnant with my child, are you?” Ivar asked a smile spreading across his face.

“Yes,” Eadwulf said, smiling happily as Ivar ran his hand over her still-flat stomach.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Ivar said as he led her into the shadows of the village before pinning her against a wall of a barn.

Ivar proceeded to kiss her passionately as one hand cupped her breast and the other dug deeply into her hair. He pulled away so they could catch their breath, resting his head against hers.

“Come on,” Ivar said before dragging her into the semi-darkness of the barn.

“Ivar? What are we doing in here? Shouldn’t we go back to the feast?” Eadwulf asked as she looked around the dimly lit structure.

“We will,” he said, settling on one of the bails of hay and pulling her to him. “But first, I want to celebrate the news with you.”

“Shouldn’t we tell your family?” she asked. “I’m sure they want to know!”

“All in due time, my pretty,” he said as he started pulling his pants down.

“We can’t have sex in here,” she protested as he pulled her even closer pulling her dress up so he could move her onto his lap.

“And why not?”

“Because someone could see,” she protested as she wrapped her arms around his neck while his hands rubbed her inner thighs.

“No one will see,” he said, looking around. “It’s darker in here than it is out there. Besides, the slates of the barn are so close no one will see us. I promise. The only ones who will see us are the animals.”

Eadwulf looked around, biting down on her lower lip before nodding and shifting closer to him. “Alright.”

“Good girl,” Ivar said as he kissed her deeply.

One of his hands slipped between them and his thumb circled her clit as his fingers slipped inside of her.

“Oh Ivar,” she breathed as she kissed him, trailing one hand down his chest and grabbing hold of his erection.

Ivar moaned in pleasure and removed his hands as soon as she shuddered against him, her inner walls fluttering around his fingers. He pulled his fingers out and sucked on two of them before pushing the other one into her mouth. Moans escaped their throats as her tongue wrapped around his digit and he watched with hooded eyes as she sucked on him.

The moment he pulled his finger from her mouth she captured his lips with her own. His tongue slid into her mouth as they hurriedly pulled her clothes out of the way so he could penetrate her, causing them both to groan in desire. Ivar started rocking his hips back and forth as he leaned back against the bails of hay.

“I love you,” she whispered against his mouth. “I love you so much.”

“Good to hear,” Ivar said, brushing her hair from her face before giving her a quick kiss. “Because I love you too.”

They continued to make out as their bodies moved in unison, their voices mingling in pleasure.

“Once you give birth, I am going to get you pregnant again,” Ivar whispered to her lips.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I want that. I want to have as many babies as we can.”

Ivar continued to whisper how he couldn’t wait to get her pregnant again against her lips as they rocked back and forth against each other, forgetting all about the revelry that was happening just outside the barn.

***

Ubbe was looking for his youngest brother, intent on telling him something when he heard the soft sound of moans coming from the barn. Curious he made his way to the barn and peeked inside, watching two figures move in the shadows.

“Ivar,” whispered the familiar voice of Eadwulf her voice strained from passion. “Oh, Ivar.”

“My sweet, little Christian,” Ivar’s voice drifted over to him. “Soon. You will swell with my child and I can’t wait to taste how sweet your milk is. Now it’s time for you to milk me.”

Eadwulf gasped in pleasure and eventually, both their voices cried out.

“We should go back and tell everyone about the baby,” Eadwulf’s voice drifted out to Ubbe causing the man to smile before walking away as the sound of more moans drifted from the barn.

Apparently, Ivar disagreed with that statement for the moment.

When they finally emerged from the barn and joined the others at the main table everyone was smiling at them, except Sigurd. 

“What?” Ivar asked in annoyance. 

“I hear you have some news for us,” Aslaug said calmly, trying her best to hide her delight.

“You bastards,” Ivar said teasingly. “Which one of you told?”

“Ivar,” his mother prompted. “You have something to tell us?”

“I do,” Ivar said as he sat down, pulling Eadwulf into his lap and pressing a kiss against her neck. “I am going to be a father.”

“That’s wonderful,” Aslaug said happily. 

The rest of the table was filled with congratulations as Sigurd stormed off in a huff. Ivar smirked at his retreating back and pressed a kiss to Eadwulf’s forehead before reaching for some food. @youbloodymadgenius didn't know if you were still interested in my work but here you go.

[horizon-verizon]

What do you think about tyrion?

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for MONTHS!

*Post is Edited*

As a character from the book, not the show? Beyond interesting, as he feels grimy and decadent while also desperate for power/gaining an advantage over others. Liked his sarcasm when it's not trained on less fortunate, lower classes people or women/misogynist. Endlessly entertaining, his pain is compelling when he's vulnerable, and his darkest moments are repulsive. Enhanced and inspired by that pain and need for love or respect, by his pain.

As a person, he and I wouldn't be friends nor would I like or trust him ten feet away from me. I more semi-pity him than admire him.

There is a post/set of reblogs starting with black swallowtail butterfly expressing their hatred for how GRRM wrote out Tysha and her rape, using it mostly to highlight Tyrion and Tyrion himself not really valuing Tysha enough to really ever work at knowing her or looking for her years after she was gang-raped and sent off who knows where. Regarding how Tysha haunts him, I think that he uses sex and power imbalances (layered over that) to self-affirm. Sex and the ways they handled their sexual partners and why it opens both characters' secrets to their own detriment. They both think that they have much more control over those partners than they did or overestimate their own vulnerabilities and weaknesses or inattention to their partners' changing emotions and feelings regarding them, or what elements their partners are exposed to that would turn against them. Like Cersei, who loved/was obsessed with Rhaegar and being his wife, Tyrion is envious and in awe of the Targaryens and their primacy, their freedom of practice, etc. Again, because he has always felt stunted of freedom and love since childhood. Sex and emotion, the intimacy and exchange made within that dynamic, is as much a motivation or weakness for Tyrion as it is for Cersei. While Cersei uses sex and men's desire for her to gain their supposed loyalties and resources--sometimes giving up her sexual agency for her children--and (with Taena) perform "masculine" power, Tyrion uses sex to act at being vulnerable & deny his monstrousness without it turning into dangerous vulnerability.

While Tyrion is far more capable of critical thinking and willing to use it (than Cersei), I think that, much like Cersei, Tyrion depends on his class to offset the societal and family aspersion/indifference against him, wants his family's respect and affection, and with each flout of his importance based on his dwarfism from those he finds attractive (and not just because they are attractive physically but the allure of the access to power [Sansa] elsewhere or to his ego alone [Shae]). Like Cersei thinking that she has Tywin's intelligence as well as his ruthlessness, Tyrion thinks that he has more emotional control than he actually has. Control and mastery over his emotions could help him see the outcomes of some strategies or some people's behaviors to anticipate before making a move.

Both he and Cersei aren't that self-aware and use the external perceptions of them and the need to control them to make excuses for themselves often. This also leads them to not understand themselves in relation to others outside of Tywin and Jaime/the Lannisters-as-made/supported-by-Tywin.

Meanwhile, he has Bronn kill Symon Silver Tongue (a blackmailing singer) and had little reaction to news of his corpse put into a "bowl of brown", which implies forced cannibalism on unsuspecting consumers. Which is very evil, and unnecessary, tactically but speaks to his need to have control over the "smallest" of things that affect the human body itself. (Perhaps the transformation from man to food itself satisfies Tyrion's need to transform himself and change out of the undesirable body he was born with.)

He believed that he surpassed Tywin's cunning and competence, but Tyrion--before killing Tywin -- was still stuck in the Lannister knot of trying to please and gain the love/respect of their father who defined and compressed their sense of worthiness to his own expectations and directions. And he's actually very much like Tywin and Cersei in his disinterest in anything but image or power, over the smallfolk's long-term needs for those themselves. Like most aristocrats. The problem is, again, he thinks he's better than Cersei as a person, that he is inherently better because he is smarter. It partially feeds into and leads to his peculiar blindness to the most obvious things about what makes people outside of his family truly tick, making him think he can go without considering that.

Femicide and intimate partner violence: Shae. An indication of his losing himself in that Lannister-loveless-knot, and we're left off not knowing whether Tyrion could come back from that (as the text encourages us to feel). Personally, once he killed Shae, I thought him irredeemable.

Killing Twyin? Don't care about that, even with kinslaying considered more heinous than killing a woman/a sex worker/a mistress in Westeros. Tywin was one of Tyrion's demons and though patricide is particularly...hard to get through without looking at the actor without some sort of side-eye, I think when one continuously harms their child they open up a slew of consequences they've made for themselves, and they are the ones to scrape and whittle down that bond in the first place.

No, killing your dad isn't "right"...neither is it to force a 13 year old child watch as a group of men rape someone they cared for and force her away from them, make that child feel like they are a blight but then steal the glory of their adulthood accomplishments...etc.

Going back to Shae, even with her betraying him:

(I forget, so anyone could correct me on this) We don't know what pushed Shae to betray Tyrion, but their relationship has never been truly close nor brought into a certain understanding of two people who thought themselves equals, whatever that could have become in a relationship like theirs. From the get-go, Shae seemed more into Tyrion for the protection, money, and being close to the court for exploration and a bit of excitement. Yet Tyrion kinda fools himself into thinking there was a love/intimacy that bonded them while treating her as a more sexual companion who makes him feel good than a true partner. What's interesting about Tyrion is that In that sense, Shae treated him as the "the deal" between them always was -- a means to an end.

*EDIT* Shae had been bouncing from one place Tyrion hid/lead her in KL to another to keep her from Cersei's hands. At one point, she was going to land in them or be killed, yet Tyrion refused to let her go. So it's likely she went to Tywin to really get away from danger, as Cersei wouldn't seek to mess with the very man she is always been both scared of and desperate to "please". *END OF EDIT

(if one argued she was forced) Especially when she's up against someone like Tywin Lannister, who could have had her out and degraded like Tysha (which Tyrion is aware of, so ironically he's keeping her in the same space as the man who destroyed his first love as well as his own sister, and "protecting" her poorly). While past the Westerosi age of majority AND at the age of consent for U.S. society, Shae is also much younger than Tyrion, and even younger than Tywin. With either man, Shae didn't seem to stand much of a chance, and Tyrion took her betrayal as JUST a personal affront, which while I get to a certain extent, I see is also solipsistic.

his killing her was not about justice, but the precursor to the revenge that he plans against every single person who did him wrong (and with how he handled Symon, there's reason to believe that he wouldn't discriminate about who he hurts or kills to get this end...similar to Lady Stoneheart, except scarier to me since Tyrion is trying to utterly destroy even Jaime, who though acted badly by keeping the Tysha 's feelings for Tyrion secret and thus is partially responsible for Tyrion's misery, was also the only one to ever look out for him or try...that shows a particular hypocritical blind anger at the entire world that spells disaster)

*EDIT #1* Going a little back to the element of us not knowing if he will "come back" from him killing his father/Shae, the answer for me is no and unlikely. Because him killing his father slices through the Lannister "knot": the biggest motivation for why Tyrion has always done what he's done, fatherly love, familial regard and respect, power through that acknowledgment, acknowledgment from society THROUGH becoming something like this father which had brought them the prosperity and prestige the Lannisters enjoyed...seeing as the Lannisters became the way they became thru Tywin's actions and connections. Tywin himself, they all learned, only gave them some sort of attention or regard when he felt they would be useful for politics and their house's further aggrandizement. Which is itself only possible through wealth, a great (by skill or fuel or size) army, connections, self-supply through agricultural resources, etc. You know, the feudal way.

Despite his thinking, Tyrion technically doesn't emotionally need his family, while he very much desires their love, because it was never given in the first place. That lack of love, or at least respect, kept him an outsider, which does give him a separate perspective that made him capable of killing his father in the first place.

*END OF EDIT #1*

Despite him thinking he's handling Shae and her feelings well, he's not and actually is led by his need for her to love him, or to continue to act as if she does and bring him some assurance of companionship.

His last act in KL with his family: hurting Jaime by telling him that Cersei fucked many others, lying about killing Joffrey, and silently vowing to revenge himself against even Jaime along with Cersei. Kinslaying is an extreme taboo in Westeros and he'd be person non grata, vulnerable to anyone wishing him harm (another reason why he skips off to Essos). And he doesn't even have access to the Lannister reputation, protection, or wealth. He's on his own, he's burnt every bridge.

Tyrion is a case of the abused turned/turning into a monster. He is also the repackaged/"subverted" "Fool" (not Tarot) and Trickster capable of the greatest evils, selfish, capable of bringing about good (but for selfish or inadvertent ways/reasons), but far from that. He's eternally out of line, he's eternally hungry for "more", he enjoys himself and hates himself simultaneously, he's both blind and observant. Tyrion's a fucked up paradox.

As for show Tyrion, at surface level, a lot more genial and easier to root for. His wit and insecurity combined, plus the whitewashing, makes him a far more charming character than he is in the books, and again, I DO think book!him is charming in a very paradoxical bestial-blasé way.

But he still kills Shae in the show, so show!Tyrion still is not one of my favorites in terms of personhood. That will never be something he can be redeemed for in my eyes. The show allows him that grace where there is none, another point of detrimental whitewashing, especially in his assessment of Dany's supposed evil being seen as actually evil to the audience of seasons 7-8. And the show subsequently makes as if Shae deserved her death, that Tyrion had the right to kill her, that she owed herself to him and his subsequent "claim" over her, etc....because he fooled himself into thinking this was ever a real relationship/a relationship where he had all of the advantages and that his Tywin/Cersei wouldn't cross lines against him.

*EDIT #2* (8/27/23)

And to him, relationships are made up exactly of cold exchanges bc no one ever wanted him for him and they saw that his dwarfism was excuse enough to not try to love him or to drive in how unloveable he was. Because he has learned that he was a disgusting creature and love will likely always be out of his reach/denied to him, he is both pushed towards & seeks out what appear to be low-risk relationships. Aside from the fact that commonborn women are more within his reach than noble women as they are kept away from being virgins--ideally--on their wedding night and thus are very restricted i their overall interactions with any man/boy who aren't their fathers or brothers AND who like Sansa have probably dreamed of a handsome lord or a knight to be their husband, common-born women--esp. sex workers--do not require/cannot ask more of him than money or some protection. Because they do not invest in him emotionally or are unlikely to BUT also seek him out for protection and a living AND can never seemingly hurt him bc they lack the standing & genitals (aristocratic male privilege or just being of a house that could trouble the Lannnisters), he can theoretically slake his thirst for intimacy while maintaining his lover's ability to actually control him. Because he is their cash cow. However, his need for more love, real love, and a love for self eventually pushes him into looking to this person he designated as his new partner. She was his only means of intimacy, he could not feel like he'd get it anywhere else, so he convinced himself (despite his trie not to) that she eventually fell for him.

END of EDIT #2

In terms of character (adding to what's already said), he also made less sense bc of that whitewashing. Tamer and less angry than he should have been, a seemingly better person even though he was supposed to feel righteously dark retribution for Jaime, Tywin, Cersei, and all of King's Landing. Anyone he felt had wronged. Him. This emotion drives him to kill Shae, which gives that motivation seemingly more justice bc we barely get to see Shae's vulnerability & Tyriaomn's actual neglect of her as we should have seen in the books, too, so his progression after that made no sense to me.

ADDITIONALLY

A post by blankwhiteshield HERE really shows us the Lannister siblings and their relationship with love. This is what they conclude about Tyrion:

To Tyrion, love is unachievable, a right that he is not granted. The unlovable son that is viewed as broken from birth.

[gadovegano]

MARGAERY TYRELL - ESTP

SE: Marguery has immediate desires to be fulfilled and becomes frustrated when she doesn't get what she wants. She wants to be queen more than anything and will take every opportunity that comes her way to fulfill her desire, she wants Sansa to marry Loras, and tries to arrange that marriage. Margaery is realistic and very practical in her relationship with the world, she simply accepts how things are and deals exactly as they present themselves. She is pragmatic and hardly doubts what is happening.

TI: it's in private that Margaery shows who she is, and what she really thinks. She has sharp thinking, she understands her situation very quickly and often demonstrates her accurate understanding of situations, being accurate in her strategies. When Renly got married she knew she was never queen, because he was never king and as soon as he died he immediately explained what situation the Tyrells were in to Loras. Her practical thinking makes her move forward, because it is factual, if it happened we deal with it.

FE: Margaery knows how she affects people and uses it as a weapon to achieve her goals and people are just a means to them. Margaery knows how she should behave, what she should say, what she should wear and how she should behave with people around her, no matter how much something bothers her. She knows how to win over people and knows how to manipulate them. Her social graces are unique in the show, all to create an image of pure and kind, while she hides her real intentions.

NI: She can hardly understand what is hidden in the game of thrones, her grandmother's tactics are a good example. She has difficulty understanding other people's movements and their concrete intentions. the world is as it appears. The only moment she touched the lower one was when she deduced that Cercei wanted to kill everyone.

[greenhikingboots]

Shadrich = Howland DAMMIT!

Introduction Alright, team, today’s the day! I’m going to finally explain why I like the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed theory. I’ve done a version of this once or twice before, but only buried in a mess of other theories or in tags that were quickly overlooked. So here’s a renewed, concentrated effort to do it again. I’m saving my favorite part of the theory for the very end, so if you lose interest between here and there, maybe skip ahead instead of abandoning the post completely. A few more notes before I dive in: People who do not like this theory tend to say “not every new or minor character has a secret identity!” While I totally get that notion, let’s keep a few others in mind: 1. Martin certainly isn’t shying away from using secret identities. 2. It makes a whole lot of sense for Howland Reed to enter the story sometime soon. 3. After keeping his whereabouts unknown for so long, it would make sense for his entrance to involve some finesse. 4. If you like the Northern Conspiracy theory, it also makes sense to have a Stark loyalist (Howland Reed) trying to help Sansa the way another Stark loyalist (Wyman Manderly) is trying to help Rickon. More on the Northern Conspiracy theory later. Comparison Evidence Okay, with that out of the way, let me go over the evidence. I’m going to compare what we know about Ser Shadrich against what we know about Howland Reed. I’ll organize this section (and later ones) with subheadings. 1. Appearance - Height and Hair: A. Ser Shadrich is short and has orange hair. Howland Reed is also short, like all crannogmen. We do not know his hair color. B. A lot of people who don’t like this theory say Howland’s hair is probably brown because both his children have brown hair. But as one person pointed out somewhere on the world wide web (I’ve forgotten where but will include other links where I can throughout this post), Meera’s hair color is brown but Jojen’s hair color is never mentioned. Could this be an intentional omission on Martin’s part? C. As Meera’s telling Bran the Knight of the Laughing Tree story, Bran pictures the unnamed crannogmen looking like Jojen, just older. This could be another hint that, yep, they both have orange hair, Martin just hasn’t said so yet. D. Generally speaking, the crannogmen of ASOIAF might be inspired by a combination of cultures including the Irish and Scottish (see crannogs on Wiki). And Ireland and Scotland have more redheads than the rest of the world. So there’s that. 2. Appearance - Face and Nose (And Hair Again): A. Ser Sharich is fox-faced with a sharp nose. We don’t know much about Howland’s face or nose. B. But! According to The World of Ice and Fire, crannogmen are sly, a word that seems fitting given what we know about their guerilla tactics, their reputation for being difficult to conquer, and - oh yeah - how Greywater Watch moves. Sly characteristics and fox-like features often go hand in hand. C. Again, pointing to something I read while researching this theory, the Neck and the Twins are fairly close to one another which means the Neck is also fairly close to another swampy area, Sevenstreams. A character from Sevenstreams, Tom, is described as having fox-like features and orange hair like Ser Shadrich. Therefore, they could be from similar places geographically. 3. Backstory - Blackwater Bay and Varys: A. Ser Shadrich’s backstory is that he fought for Stannis at Blackwater Bay. After losing, he had to pay a ransom which left him in financial ruin. He took Vary’s money and, upon meeting Brienne, implies he plans to return Sansa to Varys. B. Supporters of the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed theory often say this is a cover story and not true at all. But one Reddit commenter pointed out that it could, in fact, be true. I’ve edited the comment below to make it a bit clearer. *** “Ned supported Stannis's claim, so it's probable that some of his bannermen fought on Stannis's side at the Blackwater. Let's say Howland sent his kids off to safety at Winterfell before he joined up, not predicting that Winterfell would become unsafe. Then, after managing to ransom himself, he's completely broke, he can't get home because his home is in a warzone, and he doesn't have a hope in hell of finding his own kids. So he takes Varys's money and goes off to look out for one of Ned's kids, intending to take her somewhere safe. It all kind of fits and even explains why Howland Reed hasn't appeared in the story before.” (link) *** 4. Backstory - A Familiar Horse, Perhaps: A. Ser Shadrich’s horse is a chestnut courser. B. The last horse Sansa rode in King’s Landing was a chestnut courser. (ACOK Tyrion IX). It could be the same horse, which Varys passed along, which would further support the idea that Ser Shadrich’s backstory has truth to it, even if it’s not the whole truth. 5. Tourneys of Old and New: A. Ser Sharich tells Brienne that he is no tourney knight. Then, in TWOW Alayne chapter that’s been released, he says he will not joust during the upcoming tourney in the Vale. B. This might be an attempt by Martin to make us think of Howland Reed, how he was present but not participating during the Tourney at Harrenhal. It could even be a little nod, like Lyanna was the Knight of the Laughing Tree, not Howland. 6. Martin-esque Writing: A. So Brienne is searching for Sansa and, while describing her appearance, is overheard by Ser Shadrich. He then approaches her and mentions Sansa by name. And then this happens: *** Brienne kept her face a mask, to hide her dismay. "Who is this Sansa Stark, and why do you seek her?"  / "For love, why else?" / She furrowed her brow. "Love?" *** Ser Shadrich then talks about love of money and gives his backstory about Blackwater Bay and Varys. B. But I mean, c’mon, everybody!! If he is Howland Reed, wouldn’t that be such a Martin thing to say!? To say he seeks Sansa for love - and mean it sincerely - and then quickly misdirect? More Speculative Evidence Okay, I don’t think I have any more side by side comparisons, but let me clear up some related thoughts before I move to new ones. Again, I’ll organize using categories. 1. More about Varys: I tend to believe Young Griff is Fake Aegon and Real Aegon is lurking somewhere else in the story. I won’t get into all that in this post, though, because it’s a super unpopular theory and I don’t want to distract from the one I’m already focusing. But! I should clarify that, regardless of Fake or Real, Varys probably wanted to find Sansa to marry her to Griff/Aegon and had no idea Shadrich/Howland had his own plans. 2. Ser Shadrich’s Sigil: It’s a large white mouse with red eyes on bendy brown and blue. Supporters of the Ser Shadrich is Howland Reed theory will often say it’s meant to make us think of weirwood trees (which makes sense for a character with a connection to the North) and it has been repainted to support his secret identity). But I’d like to go a step further and say that his shield that has this sigil is *the* shield Lyanna used as the Knight of the Laughing Tree. Howland kept it as a momento. It seems so obvious to me, so forgive me if others have said that before and I’m not giving due credit, but I don’t think I’ve seen it written anywhere else online. 3. Back to the Northern Conspiracy: Near the top of the post I said it makes narrative sense for Howland to enter the story soon. Let me expand on that. But let me make things easier on myself and just and quote people on Quora and the Forum of Ice and Fire. When Kelsey Hayes talked about the Northern Conspiracy (link), she said: *** And finally there's the Howland Reed angle. Maege Mormont and Galbart Glover supposedly rendezvoused with Reed with news of Robb's will. Howland is also privy to that other factoid about Jon, and it's possible that Robb's will is the catalyst for the information finally coming out. Howland was perfectly happy to give the ironborn hell in the Neck, but left the Bolton forces unmolested when they came back north and also when they retook Moat Cailin. This might suggest that Howland is also biding his time, allowing the Boltons to get into place before a move is made against them. *** And some bloke (I think) on the forum said: *** The Mad Mouse is now in The Vale with the open intention of kidnap Sansa Stark. If the Mad Mouse was Howland Reed, why is he hunting for Sansa? The easiest answer is that Galbart Glover and Maege Mormont reached Howland Reed and told him about the last of Robb Stark's decrees. Being one of the very few who knows an important secret, he should have realized the trouble that decree might cause in the future, so he decided to hunt for the last of Robb's heirs.But before the end, the Mad Mouse might tell Sansa an important secret. So, when the “Stark Succession Crisis” unfolds and Robb's wish is revealed making Jon his heir, Sansa will blurt out: ‘But you are not a Stark.’ *** This resulted in some Sansa Stark Defense Squad action, but I think it’s possible Sansa could say something like that but not in a being-mean-to-Jon kind of way. By this point in the books, she’s eager to see Jon again, remember (it would be so sweet). So,  rather, she’d be saying it with similar concerns as Howland. Kinda sorta makes me think of the line from the show where she’s like, “Jon’s not a Stark, but I am.” And cue the weird look from Jon. But I digress. 4. Why Does It take Martin Ten Trillion Years To Circle Back to Some Things: Oh! Both of these posts also talked about part of the Northern Conspiracy being that they wanted to keep Robb’s will and Jon’s parentage a secret until after Stannis and/or the Boltons were out of the picture. As in, let Jon keep being a bastard at the Wall and not a threat to anyone else’s claim and therefore avoiding putting a target on his back. That makes a lot of sense to me. But, again, I digress. Back to the main theory of this post! Time for new thoughts!!! Other Characters That Might Be Involved So late in AFFC, Ser Shadrich is in the Vale as Littlefinger’s hired hedge knight. His fellow hired hedge knights are Morgarth the Merry and Byron the Beautiful. And, oh boy, do I have thoughts about them!! They aren’t as detailed or as important to me as anything mentioned previously in this post, but still worth addressing, I think. 1. Morgath: A. Morgarth is burly with a thick salt-and-pepper beard. He has a red, bulbous nose with broken veins and large, gnarled hands. B. The Elder Brother of the Quiet Isles is a tall man, with a large, square head, shrewd eyes, a veined, red nose, and a heavy jaw. He shaves his head. C. The nose is the important part here. Morgarth the Merry could be the Elder Brother now growing out his hair. 2. Byron the Beautiful: A. Bryon is young and elegant with thick blond hair. B. Gulp. I know people will think it’s hogwash but here goes. Brienne of Tarth, also called Brienne the Beauty (!), has blonde hair and is often mistaken or compared to a man. Martin also wrote Arya and Sarella Sand passing as boys, and how great would it be if, when appearing as a man, the beautiful thing is sincere instead of a cruel joke? Bryon’s also a bit more flirty with Sansa in the scene when they first meet and it’s like, “Dear God, she doesn’t need another creep in her life.” So I like the ideas of Byron, the flirty one, actually being Brienne who we know to not be a creep at all. C. The biggest argument against this is that the last time we see Brienne, she’s meeting up with Jaime, apparently on orders from Lady Stoneheart, and has that injury on her cheek from their run in too. Like, how can that work with this Bryon/Vale theory? Hear me out! D. Think back to Brienne leaving some dudes whose names I can’t remember right now at the Old Stone Bridge. As she’s leaving, she worries that Ser Shadrich might be following her. But it is actually Podrick Payne who appears in that scene. But!!!! What if Shadrich really was following her and the readers just don’t know it yet? 3. So tying this section together now… A. Shadrich might have intervened when Brienne was in danger with Stoneheart. And either the Elder Brother was already with him or they went to him next and he helped heal her because - don’t forget! - can do that. B. I’m not sure what that means for the timeline for the scene with Jaime, but I think there’s a scenario where it could all make sense. C. Also, in the Vale chapters Ser Lyn Cobray has a new, loutish squire. Rumor has it that Lyn took him on for coin. I think Stumpy’s re-read project altered me to this tiny, tiny character. There was a comment like, “Who is this person that seems completely unimportant but also why mention him at all if he isn’t going to play a part in the story?” D. Well, I have no idea who he is! If he were Pod, Sansa would recognize him. And I can’t figure out who else, if anyone, the books describe as loutish. But I think he could be working with the trio of hedge knights. Does Gendry or Edric Dayne coming back into the story here make any sense at all??? Bleh. I hate those ideas but maybe? Now that you know the above theories, any ideas for me? E. Okay, for real to wrap up this section now. There's less evidence to support anything here than with the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed evidence above. But I just really like the idea of Brienne meeting both Shadrich and the Elder Brother in AFFC and then the three of them showing up in Sansa’s last POV chapter of the same book, working together and pretending to be people they aren’t. I think that would be some beautiful, clever writing.  Saved the Best Evidence for Last I’m almost done now. Back to just the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed theory. Forget those other characters. Here’s some evidence I really, really, really love, but I haven’t seen anyone else talk about it online. (I think I’m a genius!) To explain, I first need to talk about Lyn Cobray some more. Recall that in AFFC there’s a moment where he threatens Littlefinger, but Littlefinger later tells Sansa that he’s paying Lyn (notoriously in need of coin) to fein hatred, join every conspiracy against Littlefinger, and report back. Okay. So. In TWOW Sansa chapter that’s already been released, she and Myranda talk with Lyn. Basically, the reader finds out that Lyn is unhappy because he’s been his older brother’s heir for a long time but will not be for much longer. And it all thanks to Littlefinger who helped the older brother find a second, fertile wife after his first wife died. And then there’s this insane line: *** The venom in his voice was so thick that for a moment she almost forgot that Lyn Corbray was actually her father’s catspaw, bought and paid for. Or was he? Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man pretending to be Petyr’s foe, he was actually his foe pretending to be his man pretending to be his foe. *** AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS!?!?! *** Just thinking about it was enough to make her head spin. Alayne turned abruptly from the yard… and bumped into a short, sharp-faced man with a brush of orange hair who had come up behind her. His hand shot out and caught her arm before she could fall. *** That’s right, team, right after Sansa thinks this insane, head spinning thing about Lyn, who should appear but Ser Shadrich - who is definitely Howland Reed!! Let me break it down: *** Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man (a hedge knight Petyr is paying for) pretending to be is foe (saying he’s working for Varys when he meets Brienne), he was actually his foe (a Stark loyalist trying to save Sansa) pretending to be his man (again, a hedge knight) pretending to be his foe (again, lying to Brienne). *** I mean, Martin included his infamous ellipses and everything!! Alyane turned abruptly from the yard… AND THE PART RIGHT BEFORE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. And that, at last, is all I have to say about that.

[kimwexlers-brownhair]

i love sansa, but it often frustrates me how her stans elevate her over other women, i feel like sansa has this reputation as the most unfairly hated female character to ever exist, and while she does get unfair hate, the idea that she gets more unfair hate from the fandom than Arya and dany do really frustrates me? like everyone makes those “if you hate sansa stark you hate women posts” but no one ever makes posts like that about dany or arya. i feel like a lot of people think that because sansa is “traditionally feminine” she experiences more misogyny than gnc women which isn’t true. i honestly feel like arya and especially dany get just as much, if not more misogynistic hatred than sansa does, but very few people want to defend them.

Sansa definitely got all the fandom hate in the beginning of the show, I'd say up until about season 4 when a lot of folks realized, "huh. She really is a traumatized character trying her best, huh?" I don't recall seeing any Arya or Dany hate at that time. They were two of the most popular characters in the fandom, and it's safe to say Arya remains so.

However, I do think it's mostly a contingent of crabby Sansa stans that do rag on Arya and Dany. When it comes to Arya, it stems from resentment that everyone was Team Arya from the get-go. The irony is lost on them that going after Arya for not being like Sansa is just as sexist as going after Sansa for not being like Arya.

When it comes to Dany, once again I do think it's mostly a portion of J0nsa stans who hate her for getting between two cousins raised as siblings (not to erase the fact Dany is his aunt).

It just drives me nuts that stans rightfully defended Sansa from sexist takes, then went on to crucify Arya and Dany to lift up Sansa using more sexist tactics: Arya isn't gentle and sweet enough, and Sansa should be Jon's love interest instead of Dany.

[yesterdaylovedme]

Oberyn Martell wanted for a passionate, thrilling long term RP on Discord.

"When It Comes To War, I Fight For Dorne. When It Comes To Love...I Don't Choose Sides."

My discord: genkaichan

Information: I'm seeking a partner to write as Oberyn Martell from HBO's Game of Thrones. All characters involved are of legal, consenting age. For this long-term RP, I'd like to omit Ellaria, either by killing her off or just having her be nonexistent, buuut we can make her an antagonist who betrays Oberyn if that's of interest. Maybe we omit his children or some of them too? Politics is my weakness so someone who is knowledgeable of the lore/history/dynamics of the Houses, would be awesome as it's been a long time since I watched GoT. But I am hoping to start a rewatch (of at least S4) soon, as I have ample free time on my hands. That all said, I don't want our RP to be too rigid regarding changing events or alliances if it can make sense, I want us to be somewhat flexible while staying true to the source material, but not to the point it's dull or limiting in development.

Regarding my OC's background, she won't be from any major House or faction, unless it's desired by a partner. Otherwise, my OCs tend to be fairly normal, a bit sheltered, but sweet. She's likely mid-20s. Posts for me will be lengthy, 4+ paragraphs is my average so my partner should be keen to give and receive detailed, thoughtful replies. Romance/smut must be slow-burn, as I'm not looking to jump right into bed, despite Oberyn's sexual nature, I'm looking for something that's genuine and gradual, before becoming passionate. And obviously, we won't be killing him off as done in the series. If you want me to write as an age appropriate Sansa, Arya and Margaery, we can chat.

OC Ideas:

One idea is that my OC encounters Oberyn in King's Landing. My OC is a servant working at the Red Keep. She is a baker and cook and has spent her life in servitude but is able to provide for her family, so she doesn't see her job as a negative. Once Oberyn joins the Small Council, my OC is assigned to assist Oberyn with his day to day needs (non-sexually of course). The two end up sparking a connection as they spend more time together, as Oberyn isn't frequenting brothels as much, so he can spend time with my OC at the castle. In his free time, he offers to teach my OC some self-defense tactics as he's noticed some men have been mistreating her and he wishes to protect her, when he's around but if not, he'd wants her to be strong to take care of herself. I would like to push the fight against Clegane back and take the pace slower regarding the trial. Of course, Oberyn will win or we have him fight someone else who is defeated.

Another idea I have it to start things prior to Oberyn's arrival to King's Landing. My OC is living somewhere in Essos (we can discuss details). Background is flexible! She and Oberyn cross paths while he's with the Second Sons. Oberyn could be hired to protect my OC or happen to save her from harm of his own volition from dangerous men. Or maybe she is also a mercenary and they work together, perhaps she's new to the Second Son's and needs looking after. Regardless, they have cute banter and begin to court one another. If Oberyn is still sleeping around, it would take even longer for my OC to warm up to something serious and exclusive with him. If we go this route, we can flesh out the locations of Essos and build up to the pair visiting King's Landing and dealing with the politics there. But this gives up a good foundation going into King's Landing.

And one last concept, is my OC is from Winterfell (or nearby?) this take place later, with Oberyn not being in King's Landing at all. Instead, he is there to aid in the Battle of Winterfell against the White Walkers. My OC needs extra training and Oberyn takes it upon himself to train her as the group rallies to defend against the icy undead army. This one isn't as fleshed out as the others but I figured it would give us room to tackle whatever the last season was and do some rewrites. But I'm also open to suggestions!

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

Add that what Jaehaerys did wasn't setting the precedent that a son comes before a daughter. What Jaehaerys did was set the precedent that the next available male relative comes before a daughter. Which goes against all laws and traditions of both the Andals and the First Men - a brother may come before a sister, but all the children of the firstborn son come before the secondborn son.

Prince Aemon's only child, regardless of gender, comes before his brother Baelon, and certainly before his nephew Viserys. Aemon's line comes before Baelon's line.

Likewise:

Rickard Karstark's daughter Alys Karstark comes before his uncle Arnolf Karstark.

Hoster Tully's daughter Catelyn Tully comes before his brother Brynden Tully.

Tywin Lannister's daughter Cersei Lannister comes before his brother Kevan Lannister.

Jonnel Stark only became Lord of Winterfell by marrying his niece Sansa Stark (her sister Serena was then the rightful heir - hopefully we'll learn more about her and her children if GRRM ever publishes The She-Wolves of Winterfell).

And, most crucially, Prince Aegon the Uncrowned's daughters Aerea and Rhaella both come before his younger brother Jaehaerys. By all rights Rhaena should have been serving as regent until her daughters came of age.

To be fair to Jaehaerys, he himself was only 14 when he was crowned. The decision was more his mother and stepfather's - who ruled as Regent and Hand respectively. Rogar Baratheon was the one to dismiss Rhaena as Queen on the grounds that 'this is not Dorne' - and he certainly did not want her to be Regent:

Moreover, Lord Rogar and Queen Alyssa both feared what might befall the realm should Rhaena Targaryen return from the west to act as regent for a daughter. Though none dared speak of it, it was plain that discord had arisen between the two queens, for the daughter had neither attended her mother’s wedding nor invited her to her own. And there were some who went further and whispered that Rhaena was a sorceress, who had used the dark arts to murder Maegor upon the Iron Throne. Therefore it was incumbent upon King Jaehaerys to marry and beget a son as soon as possible.

And sure enough, when Rogar Baratheon found his stepson to be too unmalleable* he turned to trying to kidnap Aerea then Rhaella to rule through one of them instead. *(...by marrying his sister... though again to be fair to them, their stepfather was trying to marry Alysanne off to his own brother at the time - which makes it ironic that they grew up to marry their own daughters off to old men)

So while I don't hold a 14-year-old Jaehaerys responsible for usurping his nieces... it's safe to say he was trying to retroactively legitimise his own rule by first passing over Daenerys in favour of Aemon, then passing over Aemon's daughter Rhaenys in favour of Baelon.

Jaehaerys may also have been trying to clear his conscience over Aerea running away. Aerea had a happy life in Kings Landing when she was the heir - her misery on Dragonstone was a casualty of both being displaced as heir and of the tensions and resentments between her mother and uncle. In another life Aerea would have been Queen, and spared a horrible gruesome fate.

And so Jaehaerys tried to assuage his guilt and legitimise his rule - and did so in a manner that forced Rhaenys to accept the outcome peacefully, while also washing his hands clean of having to directly dishonour his firstborn son by leaving it to the Lords. Even though it was blindingly obvious what the misogynistic outcome of the Great Council would be, which is why Rhaenys tried the tactic of promoting her son this time instead of herself.

Meanwhile the fact that Viserys was Jaehaerys' preferred choice of heir was so clear to all that when Ellard Stark voted for Rhaenys it was speculated that he did so out of resentment towards Jaehaerys:

Later still, it was said that the Starks were bitter at the Old King and Queen Alysanne for having forced them to carve away the New Gift and give it the Night’s Watch; this may be one reason for why Lord Ellard Stark sided with Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys at the Great Council of 101 AC.

While there may be some truth to this speculation, it could also be that Ellard Stark was simply following existing law and custom by supporting Rhaenys. Add that Alysanne is remembered more fondly in the North than Jaehaerys, and was also angrily vocal in supporting Rhaenys. Either way, the fact is that a vote for Rhaenys was interpreted as a vote against Jaehaerys.

However because Jaehaerys didn't want to dirty his hands (factoring in the continued existence of an angry dragon-riding Rhaenys and the fact that Alysanne's ghost would have come back to haunt him), he didn't actually codify the result of the Great Council into law. He certainly set a damaging precedent, that likely emboldened Jeyne Arryn's male relatives to challenge her rule, but it wasn't written into law that the next available male relative inherits*.

*Hence why even after the Dance, female claimants were still at least considered, even if they were ultimately passed over in favour of the next male relative, and not just by appealing to the supposed precedent of the Great Council (though that and general misogyny undoubtedly played a role).

Daena and her sisters were the rightful heirs ahead of their uncle Viserys II and his children, but their captivity meant they had few allies, and Viserys II had been de facto running the kingdom for years. Aelora was meanwhile still the heir after Aelor's death, until her own death. We don't yet know Daenora's status at the Great Council of 233 AC yet, if she was even alive, but her and Aerion's son was passed over due to his infancy and fears of him inheriting his father's madness. Vaella was also a child and probably mentally disabled, while Aegon the Unlikely was a 33 year-old father of 5. He was frankly the more reliable choice.

(It will be interesting if F&B Part 2 reveals that Daenora was alive and the rightful Queen, if not regent, but again even Rhaenys tried the tactic of promoting her son at the Great Council instead of herself, in the face of rampant misogyny).

As for Rhaenyra not being officially recognised as Queen post-Dance... for the first 6 years you can attribute that to the regency, most prominently Green Unwin Peake, who was a misogynist and explicitly wanted to make sure Baela wasn't the heir. The following Hands then had... more pressing priorities occupying their time. Torrhen Manderly for instance was carefully planning the King's royal progress to make sure Green supporters wouldn't be alienated - right down to making sure Daenaera would be wearing green if Aegon wore black, and vice versa. See also the prospect of Baela being queen igniting concerns due to her role in almost killing Aegon the Usurper. If that caused concern, you can bet listing Rhaenyra as a Queen would have been deprioritised. By the time the regency was over, Aegon III was famously a depressed shell and mainly concerned with 'full bellies and dancing bears'. So no, his failure to list Rhaenyra as Queen rather than Princess was not a recognition of the Green's cause on his part.

The thing is, you can draw a number of other precedents from the Great Council. One, that the King has the right to choose his preferred successor (again, Jaehaerys was widely perceived to have favoured Viserys). Two, that the King has the right to overturn existing laws and customs.

If the custom that a daughter comes before an uncle (or male cousin) can be overturned, then why not the custom that a brother comes before a sister? If you can overturn custom to crown a man, why not to crown a woman?

Which leaves Aegon the Usurper with no legal basis for his coup. He can't legitimately appeal to custom and tradition, because according to custom and tradition his own father wasn't even the rightful king anyway. That would be Rhaenys, followed by Laenor and his children, followed by Laena and her children. Since Rhaenyra's son Jacaerys is officially Laenor's son, and is betrothed to Laena's daughter Baela anyway, custom and tradition is on Team Black's side.

Meanwhile Aegon the Usurper can't really appeal to the Great Council's decision to crown his father, because doing so means recognising that the King has the right to overturn custom and tradition in favour of his preferred heir. Which means Viserys has the right to name Rhaenyra his heir. Which means the Great Council is also on Team Black's side.

I really dislike when I see people say that King Viserys had no right to change the laws and traditions of Westeros by making Rhaenyra his heir. They really have no idea what they're talking about when they say that. Rulers - kings and queens - create and change laws and traditions. If King Jaehaerys could officially set the precedent of sons coming before daughters then King Viserys had the right to undo it.

It's not even like it was the first time a Targaryen had changed any traditions in Westeros. The Conquerors came along, took over the land, and made multiple changes, such as outlawing certain Westerosi traditions such as making it so men could strike their wives only a certain number of times instead of beating them to death. King Jaehaerys created an entire doctrine allowing Targaryens to continue practicing incest even though that was against the tradition in Westeros. Queen Alysanne abolished The First Night, an ancient tradition in Westeros. I truly have no idea where this notion comes from that Viserys had no right to change anything. He was the most powerful man in Westeros, what do you mean he had no right? If he wanted to shake up tradition then that was his right to do so as king.

Just take a look at real life historical kings and queens, emperors, etc. Many of them changed things that previous rulers had implemented, they changed laws and traditions that existed for a long time. I mean King Henry VIII established a whole new church just so he could get a divorce and did many things to diminish the Catholic Church's influence because he was king, he could do that. Then his daughter Queen Mary came along and tried to undo what her father did and then Queen Elizabeth I came after her and reversed her reforms because kings and queens could change whatever they wanted and undo whatever they wanted.

So yeah King Viserys was well within his right to decide to make his daughter heir over his son. He was well within his right as king to change a precedent a previous king had set.

I don't know if people who say he had no right to do what he did are just used to most monarchies today being only symbolic in nature with not much power or what but most monarchies in history could do and change what they wanted because they had absolute power. House Targaryen had absolute power, meaning King Viserys could do what he wanted and if what he wanted was to make Rhaenyra his heir then he could do that. I've seen people argue that his word isn't law but yes it is.

[murmel-malt-deactivated]

okay, a concept: Daensa Skyrim!AU

[zenzaaaaaaaaaaaa]

fics currently enjoying free real estate in my brain meat

BNHA -

Skydive by AriesBuenos Midoriya Izuku helps a serial killer be slightly less of a serial killer.

Residual Hope by SimplyKaren Midoriya Izuku helps a DIFFERENT serial killer be much less of a serial killer. reconcile by whatagoodegg Trapped in baby jail with a supervillain. Race against the clock to see who can radicalize who (and we’ve both had traumatic childhoods).

Apex Predator by silver jackdaw Can I get twenty more of these protective, badass, and self sacrificial little bitches.

Personality Swap AU by BelleAmant Impostor syndrome turned useful skill: the musical. BNHA/Persona 5 -

Dost Thou Even Steal Hearts? by BukuBuku Persona 5 Protagonist destroys the status quo while balancing police related trauma and the fact that God hates him. Danny Phantom/DC -

lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood by halfagone Jeff Bezos kinnie grows a heart raising a half-dead teenager.

Bus to Nowhere by foldingfacets Danny Phantom is homeless in Gotham, comedy ensues. DC -

in the healing of trauma by StoriesAreMagic Tim Drake gets the shit beat out of him but he's just fine babyyyyyy.

Signed Red Robin by @mediacircuspod Tim Drake tries to be a professional, ending a business relationship, much to the confusion of the family he is abandoning.

Banshee In A Well by @liverobinreaction Tim Drake can't really... die. He just also does it a lot.

How To Train Your Dragon -

A Thing Of Vikings by @athingofvikings​ 1.5 million of glorious, beautifully researched historical fantasy fiction with dragons.

Naruto/Game of Thrones -

Whirlpool Queen, Maelstrom King by cheshire_carroll Sansa Stark politics so hard she breaks ninja society a little. Owl House -

Weekend at Belos's by @watery-melon-baller So. You need to keep a regime together while hiding the leader's body (he’s your uncle) and your bird (who hates the regime) won’t stop fortnite dancing over his rotting corpse. Percy Jackson -

Constellations by liketolaugh Percy goes to therapy for suicidal thoughts and also all of the Trauma. Wildly cathartic.

Oh Yeah, No, I Totally Forgot by BlueberryLimoncello Just because Sally Jackson was abandoned by the king (of the sea) doesn't mean she has to give up on the queen (that guy's wife).

Citizens of Glass by @mrthology Turns out godhood is less of a choice and more of a duty. Star Wars -

Don't Look Back by @this-acuteneurosis Leia time travels to pre-Clone Wars times and does politics very very good.

Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns by chancecraz Leia time travels to the start of A New Hope. Complex emotions and familial relations ensue. In Which Series by Ariel_Sojourner Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker time travel to the Clone Wars and do war very very good.

Certain Point by @esamastation Obi-Wan Kenobi time travels to the Clone Wars and also does war very very good.

Civil Wars, Whistleblower Tactics... by @jackdaw-kraai Luke Sk- Sorry, Luke Lars is a very good engineer. Darth Vader approves of his new underling/adopted son. Star Wars/Assassin's Creed -

Sailing the Stars by @esamastation Desmond Miles ends up in the Clone Wars and does neutrality very very good.

[aryastarksource]

Arya Month 2022 || Day 18: Mentors -- Septa Mordane versus Syrio Forel

↳ In A Game of Thrones, Arya Stark is given two very different instructors who teach very different lessons.

The first, Septa Mordane, has been granted the prestigious position of instructor in the “womanly arts” to a high lord’s daughters. Mordane is immediately shown to be a cruel person who plays favorites, verbally abuses her least favorite student, strengthens the rift between her primary two charges by teaching them both that Arya is “wicked”, and actively demoralizes Arya. Her teaching tactics rely on using humiliation as a teaching tactic. While Sansa behaves more when presented with the threat of being “as wicked as Arya”, Arya herself is left unable to progress in these lessons because she is taught that she is inherently inferior and incapable. By allowing Mordane to uses these negative tactics instead of replacing her with a more qualified instructor, her parents are allowing Arya’s education to be derailed and then chastising her for their failings.

The second instructor Arya has in the first novel is Syrio Forel, a man who served as the First Sword to the Sealord of Braavos and a water dancer. Throughout their lessons, Syrio gives Arya encouragement, telling her she would do better next time and keeping his lessons at a level that served as a challenge for her, while not being discouraging. He also fills these lessons with motivational phrases that Arya carries with her throughout the rest of the novels, using them to boost her self-confidence. As a result, Arya thrives. Not only does she improve at swordplay and in her agility, she also strengthens her self-control, discipline, observational skills, and ability to strategize. Rather than demoralizing her, Syrio’s skill as a teacher help save Arya’s life several times, to the point where he continues to mentor her even after his death.

Were Mordane and Syrio to switch subjects, Arya would struggle with swordplay under Mordane’s bullying, while flourishing in her needlework lessons as a result of Syrio’s positive reinforcement.

Mordane’s male counterpart is Alliser Thorne, the master-at-arms in Castle Black. Like Mordane, he bullies his students, using name calling, demoralizing tactics, and abusive techniques that turn his charges against each other. While Mordane is countered by Syrio, Alliser is countered by Jon Snow, who begins using the privilege of his years of education to help educate the other recruits in a positive way that allows them to learn.

Result: Arya struggles with most of her lessons with Mordane while doing well in other subjects like math, horseback riding, and administration. The impact of Mordane's bullying stays with Arya, contributing to her low self-esteem. Arya also excels in her lessons with Syrio and is able to apply her training in many situations in and out of combat throughout the story.

[missisjoker]

Ok, rumblings continue.

So, how do Stark children "submit" to Cregan's authority: 1. He saves Sansa. He is that "knight in shining armor" she always dreamed about, but he is actually her family, and he reminds her of her father. He also immediately gets on Littlefinger's shit, tells him "do you think I'm stupid"? And ends up making Littlefinger one head shorter. He appoints her a Regent of the North. (Robin Arryn also immediately falls under Cregan's authority an basically goes "this is my new daddy", so now the North and Aeire are under the same authority, sort of ).

Arya doesn't believe him at first. The fact that he carries a face of a long-dead Stark doesn't mean anything to her- she knew other men who could wear someone else's face. But, as it turns out, Cregan can sometimes hear what the dead in the crypts are saying, or what their ghosts remember- and at some point tells Arya that Jon says "stick them with a pointy end". That's when she believes him.

When Bran reappears, Cregan is immediately suspicious - is the boy really Bran Stark, or is he Bran's body controlled by 3-eyed raven? He tells Arya to keep a close eye on him, for now.

He gives all three Stark children detailed instructions on what to do and how to prepare for the Long Night, and leaves for Dragonstone.

While he is with Dany: gets all of her armies in order. When some dothraki challenges him, grabs that man by his neck and throws him around like a ragdoll. Dany *swoons*.

Then he gets to Jorah Mormont and instructs him, Asha Greyjoy and Sand Snakes military tactics. That way, neither of them suddenly "forgets" about Euron's fleet or "scorpions" that might kill Dany's dragons. He also teaches Grey Worm how to be a proper Queensguard, to expect treachery from anyone and to be ruthless to anyone who threatens his Queen (That earns Cregan respect of the Unsullied).

(BONUS for him getting into verbal spars with Olenna. He takes no shit from anyone AND he is quick-qitted, plus his dry sarcastic humor makes Olenna think "if only she were 40 years younger").

While preparations are ongoing, Cregan and Dany talk a lot, tell about each other's stories. He tells her about HER family history, about her great-great-great uncle Jace and young king Aegon III, about ruling and protecting the small falk (cause he's been a very successful ruler in the North for several decades). She tells him about her life and struggles, and her desires to help common people. (That warms him up to her a lot, but he is still not "in love" mostly because - as he tells her - he is a dead man walking, so she should place her affections somewhere else).

They all prepare to attack Cercei and King's Landing. Needless to say, with Cregan's adult logical thinking and with Tyrion losing Dany's trust, none of the absolute idiocity of season 7 or 8 happens. Maybe somewhere in the middle of it, Tyrion tries to talk to Cregan saying Dany is becoming bloodthirsty and unstable and thus is unfit to rule. Cregan looks at him, says "how do you win a fking war if you aren't willing to kill? Oh by the way, you sound like a traitor." - then *sword goes woosh woosh* and Tyrion is GONE.

Dany takes KL with minimal losses, Euron's fleet is destroyed by 3 dragons, and she becomes the rightful queen. (While the celebratory feast continues, Dany steals glances at Cregan and thinks to herself, if the vision she had in the House of the Undying of the Iron Throne covered in snow meant HIM).

Then Cregan gets an urgent message from the North- White harbor was attacked by the white walkers. Dany offers to fly him there on a dragon because by horse it will take him WEEKS. That takes a bit of convincing because he is all grumpy and pouty and absolutely doesn't want to get on any of her beasts. But, duty wins, and they fly together. (She leaves Olenna in charge).Three dragons stop the advancing white walker party and melt the ice on the harbor, preventing more from coming. Somehow, Dany risks her life to save Cregan, which makes him FURIOUS, but she just confesses her love for him, and he goes "you stupid little girl" and kisses her. (And they *share a moment*, if you know what i mean).

Then they capture a White, and get it back to KL. Dany calls on all of the great houses of Westeros and tells them they are going to stop the army of the Dead.

Dany and Cregan arrive in Winterfell. Stark kids BEHAVE, because 1. Cregan put his foot down and told them Dany is trying to help them save the North and the whole of Westeros , and 2. they are Starks, they have HONOR, so they will NOT be behaving like a bunch of pissy snakes in his own house.

Sansa and Dany bond over their traumas, Dany and Arya bond over dragons and adventures.

Bran is confirmed to be Bran and not another entity wearing his body. Cregan, Dany, Bran and Arya discuss the legends and information about the Long Night (Dany and Arya share the stories about the Long night they heard in Essos).

Now, the actual final battle can go 2 ways.

The sad way : somewhere in the middle Cregan realizes Dany is, in fact, Azor Ahai, while he is Nissa Nissa- and tells her to stab him through the heart with the targaryen dagger. She tells him she's pregnant, stabs him, kills the Night King, and returns to KL to rule. Gives birth to a son, and rules for a very long time. (And never remarries). Later her son burns her body according to Targaryen traditions, but buries her ashes in Cregan's tomb in Winterfell Crypts, so they can forever be together.

Or, the happy way: they reforge Ice using dragon fire, effectively making it "a flame sword", Cregan kills the Night King with the help of Dany, combined army of 7 kingdoms and Dorthraki, Arya, and 3 Dragons. Dany goes back to KL to rule. Cregan stays in Winterfell for a while while they rebuild, then goes to KL right in time for the birth of his son. Becomes King Consort, while Sansa is Lady of Winterfell. And everyone lives happily ever after.

Or something like that.

i MIGHT be the biggest daenerys x cregan shipper

(cregan would never pull a jon snow)