#*all of it is eyrie and will never not be eyrie but it is also Ardbert. it is charon. it is Zenos abiding in some abstract way

[can-of-slorgs]

The other researchers are also here! (magical edition!)

[impossible-rat-babies]

I’m realizing now that my da world state is just. wow tragic romance huh

[strawberry-milkbunny]

Ik for a fact that if all the Lord Paramounts were in King’s Landing that day they wouldn’t have done a damn thing to stop it LMAO

I can't understand how anyone could look at the Storming of the Dragonpit - the greatest act of courage to ever be seen in Westeros - and despise the smallfolk for it.

The bravery, the discontentment, the hopelessness for their own future, and yet, the undying hope for the chance of liberation that would push those who suffer the most from the vicious wars for a metal chair that is meaningless, to finally say - Enough.

To risk being burned alive so that their children won't be. Knowing that the chance for failure is tremendous and nevertheless trying. Because they have to. Because enough is enough. Because no one is safe, not even their own. Because there is no other way. Because the Targaryens will always resort to this. They will always resort to Fire and Blood.

The rule of the dragons must come to an end.

And to look at the greatest act of revolution against the Iron Throne and think it anything else but justified, earned, bought and payed for with their own blood. That anyone would find it in their hearts to pity the dragons, that are nothing more than weapons of mass destruction is so contrary to the spirit of the series that I wonder if people know what they're reading/watching at all...

[stheresya]

"I love him, Father, I truly truly do, I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon the Dragonknight […]" (Sansa III, AGOT) “Wed?” Sansa was stunned. “You and my aunt?” “The Lord of Harrenhal and the Lady of the Eyrie.” You said it was my mother you loved. But of course Lady Catelyn was dead, so even if she had loved Petyr secretly and given him her maidenhood, it made no matter now. (Sansa VI, ASOS)

I find that these little passages reveal something interesting about sansa's personality. specially when you juxtapose how she's characterized in the text and her worldviews here, and how at first glance they may seem contradictory. but first, let's take two things into account:

the patriarchal society of westeros is very strict on women's sexuality. which means that not only is female virginity held in great value, but also female adultery is very firmly condemned by everyone, unlike men who are allowed to maintain public mistresses and flaunt their bastards everywhere.

sansa is characterized as the conformist, the one who internalizes her society's rules. she's very religious, she's a proper lady in every sense of the word and she often says and does exactly what she's told.

and yet, in these passages we can see that sansa does not care much about societal rules when it comes to intimate feelings. she often hails aemon and naerys' (supposed) forbidden love without a single care that queen naerys was bound by duty to a husband and aemon was meant to be loyal to his king. but most astonishing of all is her nonchalant response to petyr's (false) information that her mother was not a virgin when she married. on one hand it may speak on sansa's views towards women's sexuality, since her current friends (mya and randa) are girls who engage in sex out of wedlock, and she never judges them, just like she doesn't judge her mother for apparently doing the same, and catelyn continues to be the person she admires the most. sansa also doesn't view her parents' relationship any differently because of this, the marriage between ned and cat is still as happy as she remembers, because all that matters to her is that there was love in the home she grew up in. the thing about sansa's character is that she plays by the rules up until a certain point, but on the inside she always prioritizes emotion over societal norms, and that's why she looks more upset at petyr for marrying someone while claiming to love another, because in her mind he's being unfaithful to his heart by marrying out of practicality. we have examples that showcase sansa's prioritizing feelings in AGOT when she, the good daughter, disobeys her father for the first time because she thought she was in love with joffrey, and in ASOS where she never thinks she owes tyrion anything just because he's her husband. so it comes as no surprise that she's so infatuated with the love story of an adulterous and incestuous relationship like aemon and naerys'. one of the main themes in this series is that feelings don't care about honor. and if love is the death of duty then sansa seems more than happy to see duty killed for the sake of love.

of course this doesn't mean she'll stay that way, specially when she's already lost her so much of her innocence and is now tangled in petyr's schemes where she must set her own feelings aside in order to act on his plans. and despite her silent judgement of petyr marrying someone he didn't love, her current betrothal with harry is an entirely practical union on her part since she feels nothing for him and only sees him as a means to an end. there have been many instances since book 1 where she was able to turn off her feelings in order to withstand certain situations. so... what even is sansa's mind? an interesting universe on its own for sure.

I just think sansa's romanticism is one of her most interesting traits (for better and for worse), something that truly contributes to the distinctiveness of her character, and I really hope petyr or anyone else are unable to completely kill that in her.

[jaehaeryshater]

“You’ll have others”, he said. “Sweet babes, and trueborn.” Lysa had miscarried five times, twice in the Eyrie, thrice at King’s Landing.

Lysa and Jon Arryn, 284 AC, art by @sofikiii

“Her Lord Husband had told her it wasn’t her fault, that the baby didn’t make it. It was the first time Lysa had heard that, that something that happened wasn’t her fault.”

This, of course, is not a real life out of A Song of Ice and Fire, but the general sentiment got stuck in my head about a month and a half ago. After Hoster forced a miscarriage upon Lysa, I doubt that she had heard any words of comfort like that and that wrecks me. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so I asked my good friend Sofia who I have worked with before if I could please commission this from her.

Lysa, for starters, is not the most morally upright character in A Song of Ice and Fire. Whether or not she realized it at the time, she did have two non consensual encounters at a young age with Petyr Baelish, she ends up killing her husband and aiding to the mental stunting of her young son, and she is very volatile and cruel with Sansa. She’s obviously not in her right mind, although that is not an excuse for all those actions, but there is an interesting story to tell as to why she’s not in her right mind, what led her to her current state of mind when we meet her. The most surface level answer to this (although of course this does not explain her action towards Petyr prior to this) is that her father Hoster Tully forced her to have an abortion because she got pregnant by Petyr Baelish, and then married her off to Jon Arryn, who was 20 years older than him, essentially old enough to be her grandfather. She was around 14 years old at this time. We learn from the text that she is consistently pregnant over the next 14 years and of her children, only Robert survived. With this art, depicting her first stillbirth, I hoped to show a moment in time leading up to her mental decline. My goal is not to justify the things she did because she suffered, but to show a moment in which she is a victim as part of a broader statement of how woman and, quite frankly, girls are treated in Westeros. I also did not want to romanticize her and Jon’s relationship, but given what we know about him, he probably comforted her and that must have been hard for her to internalize and healthily understand because he’s a person that is victimizing her, is older than her father, but she has to cling to in a way, both as a husband and potentially for this love that she is not currently getting from her family. She’s a very young girl in this and that was something else that I wanted to make sure to implement, that she has just gone through a pregnancy so is looking more mature, but she still has baby fat and a lot of childlike elements to it because in a modern sense, she’s still a kid. A kid that is grieving a baby.

As for the detailing in this art, we mostly have blue coloring for House Arryn. I wanted to do some pink on her walls, as this is her chambers instead of joint chambers with Jon (although historically, even if she had shared chambers with Jon, her confinement rooms would be completely separate anyway) and I wanted to really drive home the childlike aspect of it, that she’s girly and frilly and has this wonder about her that comes crashing down. However, we decided it wouldn’t look good with all of the blue detailings so we stuck with different shades of blue. Jon’s outfit is inspired by an outfit in the Princess Bride, I couldn’t tell you who wore the outfit because I have not seen the movie. It looks like this though, which I usually use a reference for Robert Arryn but it works well with Jon too.

The fish is a stuffed animal from Lysa’s childhood in Riverrun. I never decided if Minisa or Cat made one, but I would more so go with that Lysa and Cat had matching ones as children. I think Lysa would probably get rid of most of her things from the Riverlands because of how hurt she was emotionally, but I still liked the symbolism there and how she’s stuck between being a child and an adult. The portrait in the background is of Minisa. Although it would make sense for Lysa to shun most everything from her life before the Eyrie, seeing as Minisa was not involved in anything that happened to her that caused her harm, I do not think that would extend to her. There’s no reason for Lysa not to feel fondness towards her mother, and especially at the age she is in this depiction, it would make sense that she would want to feel her mother’s presence while in her confinement.

Lastly, this is the inspiration for the poses. The art is called Age and Infancy by John Opie.

Thank you for reading all of this and an even bigger thank you to Sofia!! Lysa is so interesting to me, Jon Arryn too just because of how long his life spanned. I love talking about them and commissioning things that I haven’t seen other people work on before.

[syndrossi]

Hi! I have a question on vet!Jon au. You mentioned he's like Daemon 2.0 but has better arguments to back up his disagreements with Viserys: care to elaborate? Which disagreements? Which well thought out arguments?

I'm hoping it has something to do with passing over Daemon for Rhaenyra for the inheritance, because that literally invalidates Viserys's own claim to the throne above Rhaenys (irregardless [yes I know thats not a real word] of the Great Council's decision)? Unless its something to do with passing over wee Aegon for Rhaenyra, his older sister (I don't remember the timeline perfect, pretty sure the boys [Aegon Aemond Daeron] have been born and in ANY OTHER NON-DORNE WESTEROSI FAMILY, they'd all be ahead of her in succession)

Vet!Jon's disagreements with Viserys tend to be of a military nature (aka holding the Stepstones, responding to pirate/Triarchy threats, what to do about Volantis, etc). And occasionally related to family (such as his prophecy-driven behavior with Daemon and the twins).

It's not like Corlys didn't have solid arguments about dealing with the Stepstones + pirates, but Jon is more likely to point out the flaws in the counterarguments from Viserys's small council (aka Otto's bloc). He also knows to appeal to Viserys's desire to be loved by the people, so highlighting the suffering inflicted by the pirate raids is definitely one way to do that, rather than spending too much time trying to convince him of the economic impact. (He mostly just plays defense against the economic arguments.)

The inheritance stuff is a complicated can of worms, tbh, and one that Jon's not gonna interfere with. And I do have quite a few thoughts here, so sorry in advance. 😂

For one thing, I think there is a certain logic in the era of Targaryens having dragons of choosing your heir. Say you're king and your two eldest sons have failed to bond to dragons, but your third has. Yes, you can follow tradition and have your eldest take the throne after you, but will his children be dragonriders? You want to prioritize the children who have dragonrider blood, because their children will be dragonriders. If you forbid your third son to marry because you don't want his family to become a threat to the Crown, you are shooting House Targaryen in the foot because you're not breeding future dragonriders.

The Great Council was Jaehaerys letting the lords of the realm decide, which is not a precedent I'd go with, but whatever, it does set a precedent of choosing a successor. You could argue that Viserys choosing Rhaenyra was a continuation of that. Was it wise, once he ended up with three sons later and they went on to become dragonriders? Perhaps not. He probably should have bided his time, and/or just given Daemon the annulment and betrothed Rhaenyra to him to consolidate the bloodline (two dragonriders).

I would say that there actually is a very strong precedent in most of the kingdoms of Rhaenyra inheriting in favor of Daemon, though. Viserys naming Daemon his heir originally was actually going against tradition (this only happened on the show, not in the books). In most of the realm, a lord's daughter inherits before her uncles, if her father has no sons. That's why Jeyne Arryn inherited the Eyrie! Her father had no sons, but he did have brothers, and her cousins ultimately challenged her inheritance, but she held onto it.

The reason why Rhaenys vs Viserys was a tricky issue at all is that Aemon never became king. If he had, then it would not have been a question (by "standard" rules of inheritance): Rhaenys would have inherited over Baelon, because a child regardless of gender inherits before an uncle. But because Aemon died before ascending the throne, the decision gets bounced back to Jaehaerys. It's less cut and dry whether to prioritize a dead son's daughter in the succession (married outside of the family to a Velyaron) over another very qualified son who has two sons of his own.

So I would argue that Viserys naming Daemon heir first (in the show) was him continuing the newly-established tradition of choosing a heir amongst available blood candidates. It's just that he took that choice himself vs leaving it up to the lords of the realm. He further reinforced/exercised that right by naming Rhaenyra above him. And he doubled down on the tradition after Aegon was born by not designating him heir instead (which would have likely seemed like going back to standard primogeniture succession).

Honestly, this all could have worked out still for Viserys if he had worked with Rhaenyra to establish power-sharing to build her authority. (He could have named her to the small council, or as his Hand, or sent her on his behalf to treat with high-ranking lords.) Instead, he let factions fester and tear the realm apart with his death.

I don't think it would have been terrible to re-designate Aegon (or Aemond, etc depend on who he preferred) as heir, but I sort of am on team "elective succession" where the monarch chooses an heir from the pool of candidates due to dragonrider complications/nuances. If that leads to too much instability, then I suppose you have to go at it the harder way. (If your firstborn son isn't a dragonrider, either wed him to a daughter/relative who is, or make sure your dragonriding children have children who can marry your heir's heirs.)

After the Dance, things pretty much reverted to primogeniture for the Iron Throne. Likely as a factor of the realm reacting to the Dance itself (blaming Viserys going against tradition) and also there being no need to do bloodline gymnastics with the dragons gone.

Uhhhhh /essay.

[ai-manre]

Reread Sansa's sample TWOW chapter today after very long, and I enjoyed it so much! I had totally forgotten how much I like book!Sansa. Especially her Alayne chapters are so good, where she is teasing knights, gossiping with Lady Myranda, and having fun in general.

I see fans often claiming that Sansa is going to be Queen eventually because she has a leadership/ruler arc. This is flat-out wrong. She does not have a ruler arc, in the Vale, Sansa is learning two things:

Being a Lady of the House. She is doing all the household management, organization, image politicking, handling the guests and house members in the appropriate manners etc. She is also playing at being the proper Westerosi maiden, flirting with Harry and other knights, and acting the scared damsel in distress when needed. And what's more, she is good at it and loving it.

Scheming. That's what she is learning from Littlefinger. To be a political schemer, playing the game of thrones and manipulating things behind the scenes. Littlefinger is no leader by himself, he's a player.

In other words, she is following in Catelyn's footsteps of being a lady with political acumen. Fitting the mold of the society but also exceeding it. Only, Sansa has the advantage of a teacher like Littlefinger (I'm only talking about his scheming skill which he is teaching), so eventually she will get to succeed where Catelyn had failed.

This is why I don't see any chance of her being a ruler in her own name, because till now, Sansa's arc has never been about ruling. In the Eyrie, her role and thoughts are myopically focused on the household, the guests they must entertain, coaxing Sweetrobin, the schemes to play, the right image to project, which servants are suited to which task and such. It's never about how winter impact will impact the kingdom how much food is in their granaries, how the smallfolk are faring, how well she thinks the existing governing systems are functioning, how well justice is being done, how to benefit the kingdom as a whole.

This is big picture stuff, elements of ruling a kingdom or an institution, not just a household. These are all elements very strongly present from the beginning in the arcs of the leaders: Dany, Cersei, Jon, Tyrion. The difference is noticeable especially in the case of the main budding leaders of the story: Dany and Jon, where such qualities had existed in them even before actually becoming leaders. For example, Jon spends AGOT gaining a leadership position among the new recruits of the Night's Watch inspiring them, he assesses the existing institution and framework of the Night's Watch and finds it lacking when someone like Sam is not utilized, negotiates with Maester Aemon based on his argument that every tool has its place, gets himself into a position where he's groomed for leadership. Dany spends AGOT learning to command, first by rightly assessing Viserys and ordering him punished, then proactively taking the Lhazareen women under her protection against Drogo's wish, then inspiring the rest of her khalasar and Ser Jorah to become hers, her men. Those traits had to be planted very early for both Dany and Jon to become such competent leaders at their young age. In each book, they encountered leadership challenges, they led people, negotiated deals, showed military prowess, administrative actions, had clear visions of what they wanted to change.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 2B

Book summaries below:

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedicated study and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise may also fall, and fall he does--cast from the heavens and banished to the world below.

Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time, angering most of the gods in the process. To repay his debts, he is sent to the Mortal Realm to hunt down violent ghosts and troublemaking spirits who prey on the living. Along his travels, he meets the fascinating and brilliant San Lang, a young man with whom he feels an instant connection. Yet San Lang is clearly more than he appears… What mysteries lie behind that carefree smile?

Fantasy, romance, xianxia, series

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra

In a world of dwindling hope, love has never mattered more...

Captain Nathan J. Northland had no idea what to expect when he returned home to Lorehaven injured from war, but it certainly wasn't to find himself posted on an island full of vampires. An island whose local vampire dandy lord causes Nathan to feel strange things he'd never felt before. Particularly about fangs.

When Vlad Blutstein agreed to hire Nathan as Captain of the Eyrie Guard, he hadn't been sure what to expect either, but it certainly hadn't been to fall in love with a disabled werewolf. However Vlad has fallen and fallen hard, and that's the problem.

Torn by their allegiances--to family, to duty, and the age-old enmity between vampires and werewolves--the pair find themselves in a difficult situation: to love where the heart wants or to follow where expectation demands.

The situation is complicated further when a mysterious and beguiling figure known only as Lady Ursula crashes into their lives, bringing with her dark omens of death, doom, and destruction in her wake.

And a desperate plea for help neither of them can ignore.

Thrown together in uncertain times and struggling to find their place amidst the rising human empire, the unlikely trio must decide how to face the coming darkness: united as one or divided and alone. One thing is for certain, none of them will ever be the same.

Fantasy, romance, paranormal, series, adult

[cryptgrrrl1313]

Stannis the Mannis

Stannis Baratheon, rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms, the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Protector of the Realm, and self-appointed commander of the Nightfort, is a man cloaked in titles and burdened by destiny. To his red priestess, he is the Lord’s Chosen, the Son of Fire, the Warrior of Light. But beneath the prophecy and pomp, Stannis is a living paradox: justice without mercy, duty without love. His rigid devotion to law and obligation hollows him out, leaving behind a tragic husk consumed by his own relentless righteousness.

Stannis suffers from textbook middle child syndrome but not the kind that breeds rebellion. Instead, it bred a quiet, festering resentment. After watching his parents die in a shipwreck off Storm’s End, he was left in the ruins with Renly, too young to understand anything except that their eldest brother, Robert, was gone spirited away to the Eyrie, where he flourished under Jon Arryn, laughing with Ned Stark and Brandon like a golden boy out of legend. Meanwhile, Stannis learned silence, isolation, and responsibility. The message was clear: Robert was chosen; Stannis was convenient. That abandonment calcified into bitterness toward Robert, and toward the brothers Robert chose when Stannis had no choice at all. Cressen, the old maester of Storm’s End, saw the damage. He clung to Stannis not because Stannis was lovable, but because he needed love more than anyone. Even as a boy, Stannis was severe and joyless an old soul trapped in a child’s body, carrying burdens too heavy for his narrow frame.

When Robert rebelled against the Targaryens, it was Stannis who held Storm’s End through starvation and siege, keeping the Baratheon name intact through sheer grim will. His reward? Dragonstone a volcanic rock reeking of sulfur and isolation. Robert handed the ancestral seat of House Baratheon not to the brother who earned it, but to the youngest, Renly, untested and politically naive. It wasn’t strategy. It was a slap in the face.

To truly understand Stannis Baratheon, you have to look beyond his titles and sense of duty to see the man himself shaped by bitterness, driven by responsibility. Yet the same qualities that make him strong also lead to his downfall. He seeks justice but lacks compassion, is proud yet plagued by self-hatred, and clings so tightly to his idea of “right” that it suffocates everything around him. These contradictions define his journey, his ultimate failure, and the tragic impact he leaves on Westeros.

And yet, for all his rigidity and moral absolutism, Stannis is a walking contradiction especially when the Iron Throne comes into view. A man so obsessed with law, order, and legitimacy becomes shockingly willing to strike deals in shadow and blood. Another version of Stannis surfaces here not the ironclad judge of Westeros, but a desperate claimant willing to wager his soul for power.

Stannis is a practical man not pious, not fanatical. He never placed much faith in the Seven, especially after the untimely death of his parents and a lifetime of feeling like Westeros had it out for him. But everything shifts when he witnesses the very real results Melisandre can conjure. It isn’t her faith that seduces him it’s her power. Though, let’s be honest, the red priestess herself is hard to ignore. From there, his already shaky moral compass begins to spin wildly.

First comes the burning of the Sept troubling, but arguably tactical. Then the leeches: Edric Storm’s royal blood leeched and burned as Stannis names his rivals Balon Greyjoy, Robb Stark, and Joffrey Baratheon. It’s a compromise, yet it sets a grim precedent. And we all know what comes next. Mel will ask for a greater sacrifice. Maybe it’s Shireen. Maybe Val, our icy eyed wildling princess, lights the pyre with eerie satisfaction. Personally, I subscribe to the theory that Melisandre will attempt some sort of shadow-binding resurrection ritual a callback to Mirri Maz Duur’s fiery chaos to yank Jon Snow back from his second life inside Ghost. Something something, “mount go into the spirit of the rider.”

If Melisandre is the whisper of fire and temptation in Stannis’ ear, then Davos Seaworth is the gravel-voiced conscience clinging to his other shoulder his Jiminy Cricket. Davos is loyalty forged in hardship, honesty sharpened by poverty, and the one man brave (or foolish) enough to tell Stannis when he’s wrong. Their relationship is messy built on mutual respect, frustration, and the push-pull of idealism versus pragmatism. Davos tries, time and again, to tether Stannis to something resembling a soul, warning against the dangers of prophecy and blood magic even as his king begins slipping further away.

Then there’s Shireen his daughter, his blood, and the crack in his granite shell. With her, we glimpse a softer Stannis: the man who reads history books to his child, who tries to explain the world’s complexities, who almost almost smiles. Shireen is his last link to innocence, the anchor to whatever humanity he has left. The moral horror of her death, when it comes, will mark his final transformation from man to monster. It’s the moment where duty and prophecy obliterate love entirely.

And finally, Jon Snow. The bastard of Winterfell and the would-be king meet at the cold crossroads of duty both stoic, both burdened, both bound to thankless causes. Yet where Jon bends toward compassion, Stannis breaks under pride. Their uneasy alliance is laced with mutual respect, but never full trust. Too alike, too different two men standing in the snow, trying to lead ghosts.

Stannis thinks he’s the only one with the stomach to do what’s right but justice without mercy? That’s not justice. That’s tyranny wrapped in legitimacy. Unlike Ned Stark, who tempered honor with empathy, Stannis wields the law like a blade, driving it straight through the heart of anyone who stands in his way even if that someone is his own daughter. Ned would bend to save those he loved; Stannis sets them on fire to fulfill a prophecy.

And speaking of prophecy Azor Ahai, the flaming sword, the whole Lightbringer mess it stops being a metaphor the second he lets Melisandre sacrifice Shireen. The story shifts from saving the realm to a man unraveling for a crown no one truly wants him to wear. Stannis becomes a fiery inversion of the Night’s King: cold death versus burning righteousness, both enchanted by supernatural forces, both losing whatever made them human in the first place. One weds a corpse queen; the other burns his bloodline alive. The difference is that only one of them thinks he’s saving the world.

In the end, Stannis Baratheon isn’t a hero but he’s not exactly a villain either. He’s what happens when duty calcifies into dogma, when law is treated as sacred scripture, and when mercy is seen as weakness. He embodies justice stripped of compassion and love sacrificed at the altar of legitimacy. In a world where the lines between good and evil blur, Stannis doesn’t straddle them he burns a straight path through, convinced of his own moral clarity. And that’s what makes him so terrifying. In the broader themes of A Song of Ice and Fire, where power corrupts and prophecy distorts, Stannis stands as a stark reminder that righteousness without empathy doesn’t save kingdoms it razes them. In the shadow of dragons and the firelight of prophecy, he remains: not a savior, not a monster, but a warning. One that tells us the real danger isn’t in choosing the wrong side, but in believing so completely that you’re right you forget what you’re fighting for in the first place.

[deiarchiescott]

HOTD Rewrite Project: Episode 2x02 excerpt

Link to full project on ao3:

You can read the full rewrite project on AO3:

I wanted to try my hand at rewriting season 2 of House of the Dragon. I've already rewritten the first 4 episodes, and this is my attempt on episode 5, one of my least favourite episodes of the show. My rewrite changes a lot of things about the show (first off, a 10 episode season instead of an 8 episode one) and includes cut characters like Nettles, Black Aly, Sabitha Frey, Daeron, etc. Also includes battles that we haven't gotten to see (or didn't see onscreen) like the Burning Mill, Bitterbridge, the Honeywine, etc. Also Jace spends most of the season flying round the realm — first in the Eyrie, then White Harbour, then at Winterfell with Cregan and Sara.

The challenge for this rewrite is that I have to approach it the way the actual writers of S2 would have — with all of S1 as canon. So no changes are made regarding the first season, and I only continued on from 2x01. Also feel like a big thing missing from the second season were character interactions (Rhaena and Jace never interact, Jeyne Arryn was a nonentity, Helaena and Aemond say one line to each other before episode 8 ...) and I sought to rectify that. Blood and Cheese, Rook's Rest and most other events are completely changed.

✅️ 2x01: Blood & Cheese

✅️ 2x02: The Cargyll duel

✅️ 2x03: The Burning Mill (full battle + Black Aly, the Brackens, etc)

✅️ 2x04: Rook's Rest (no anime villain Aemond)

✅️ 2x05: Cooldown after Rook's Rest, Alicent and Aemond's factions scheme to secure the regency

2x06: The Red Sowing (the sowing is the entire episode, not just the last 10 mins), also a battle at the end (Silverwing, Vermithor, Syrax & Seasmoke vs Vhagar and Dreamfyre)

2x07: Honeywine, Baela in Bitterbridge, etc

2x08: The Gullet

2x09: Battle of Bitterbridge (Baela vs Daeron) and the Fall of King's Landing

2x10: Aftermath of the Fall

Big thanks to anyone who decides to read!

[drakaripykiros130ac]

TG stans claiming they’re not mysoginists, and then they post comments like this:

“Until women learn to pick up swords and fight their own wars, they do not get to rule.”

- Caveman mentality

This is an obvious shot directed at Rhaenyra, who is not a warrior. She had never been trained at arms (unlike her half-brothers), and she was never the type to wield a sword. She was the most feminine character in this Dance. As much as she admired Queen Visenya, she was not her.

And I’m sorry, since when do women have to fight in order to rule? You don’t need a sword. You need a brain. The sword is for the field.

The throne is an inheritance. You don’t have to fight for it. You just get it after your parent passes away. Many of Rhaenyra’s ancestors got it that way. Why should it be any different for her?

Lady Jeyne Arryn commanded the whole Vale and she never picked up a sword in her life. She was Lady of the Eyrie because it was her right. The men of the Vale did all the wielding for her.

And while we’re on the subject, let’s discuss the “brave” women on the side of the Greens:

1. Alicent Hightower: starts the whole war and hides behind her sons for the entirety of it. She never picks up a sword. She is the mastermind behind the usurpation and then lets her children and grandchildren suffer the consequences. And the only reason she survives is because Rhaenyra spares her life (I wouldn’t have).

2. Helaena: has a full-grown dragon and does nothing but weep in her rooms the whole war because she lost one child. Boo hoo. Rhaenyra had to suffer the loss of four children before she took the throne, and yet she was still on her feet.

So, let’s cut the crap on the whole “Rhaenyra didn’t fight” subject. You suffer a miscarriage and try to get on your feet to prepare for a war. This woman was in a lot of physical pain which prevented her from riding Syrax. And why was she in that pain? Because the Greens themselves caused her miscarriage.

And historically speaking, in our world, the best rulers have been women (who also never picked up a sword in their lives).

[impossible-rat-babies]

meteion and eyrie comparing paws v. little bird feet

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Jaime Lannister didn’t think Robert Arryn would live long to breed, and he most likely had little interaction with him. Do you think Jon Arryn thought the same? Do you think he regretted marrying lysa, especially with how she turned out?

Correction: Jaime and Robert Arryn lived in the same castle for the first six years of Robert's life. Jaime was aware Robert was still breastfeeding at the age of four. Jaime undoubtedly witnessed several incidents where Joffrey called Robert cruel names, and probably the incident where Joffrey slapped him with a wooden sword. (Which I imagine took place in the training yard, where the Kingsguard frequently hang out.) Jaime probably saw more than one of Robert's seizures, as he had the "shaking sickness" from birth. Jaime has full context to judge Robert's fitness for survival, even if he does so coldly and with Westeros-typical ableism.

I don't know what Jon Arryn thought exactly, but the fact he continued to care for Robert and didn't bring his great-nephew Harry Hardyng to the Eyrie (as Randyll Tarly surely would have done) suggests that no, he hadn't given up on his son. In fact, Jon was planning to take Robert away from Lysa and send him to be fostered at Dragonstone:

[Catelyn] glanced at her nephew and sighed. “The boy is utterly without discipline. He will never be strong enough to rule unless he is taken away from his mother for a time.” “His lord father agreed with you,” said a voice at her elbow. She turned to behold Maester Colemon, a cup of wine in his hand. “He was planning to send the boy to Dragonstone for fostering, you know… oh, but I’m speaking out of turn.” — AGOT, Catelyn VII

“The boy is weak and sickly,” Lord Stannis objected. “Even his father saw how it was, when he asked me to foster him on Dragonstone. Service as a page might have done him good, but that damnable Lannister woman had Lord Arryn poisoned before it could be done…” — ACOK, Prologue

So Jon evidently believed that Robert could grow stronger, as long as he was away from his mother. But this pissed Lysa the hell off:

“I proposed that Lord and Lady Arryn foster two of my grandsons at court, and offered to take their own son to ward here at the Twins. […] Lord Arryn wouldn’t have him, or the other one, and I blame your lady sister for that. She frosted up as if I’d suggested selling her boy to a mummer’s show or making a eunuch out of him, and when Lord Arryn said the child was going to Dragonstone to foster with Stannis Baratheon, she stormed off without a word of regrets and all the Hand could give me was apologies. What good are apologies? I ask you.” —Walder Frey, AGOT, Catelyn IX

and so she killed Jon (under guidance from Littlefinger and with the help of Pycelle's malpractice).

Again, I don't know exactly what Jon was thinking regarding his choice to marry Lysa, but also... I don't actually care? Oh, so when you were in your 60s, you married a "soiled" girl young enough to be your granddaughter because you were desperate for an heir, got her pregnant nine times in your loveless marriage, and only had one chronically ill child survive the miscarriages and stillbirths? Sucks to be you, Jon, and I'm glad Lysa outlived you.

[the-fiction-witch]

In The Eyrie

Media - House Of The Dragon Character - Jacaerys Velaryon Couple - Jacaerys X Reader Reader - (Don't Meet Her Yet) Rating - Politics Word Count - 956

Jacaerys felt his heart racing the moment he left Dragonstone. He was to offer his hand to the daughter of Lady Arryn of the Vale. As per his mother's demands. He and Vermax took to the sky flying through an autumn storm to the Eyrie. He lands in the courtyard and as he gets off Vemrax's back. He sees a man with intricate blue armour with the sigil for House Arryn, he looks around expecting Lady Arryn to meet him but he only notices a woman from the balcony above.

"Prince Jacaerys Velaryon I take it?" The guard,

"Yes," Jacaerys answers,

"the lady of the Vale has been expecting you. Come." He demanded as he led Jacaerys through the castle to the grand throne room, where the stone seat sat and the moon door opened to see the harsh drop to her world below, a woman in a light blue dress with dark brown braids sat on the throne the lady Jeyne Arryn, she looked down at him expecting him to speak. He approached the throne and bowed before her.

"My lady… May I say your title has maiden of the Vale seems an earned one, you are as beautiful as tales had said.”

"You can halt your compliments, dear boy. I know why you are here. Your mother Rhaenyra offers your hand to wed my daughter. In turn our support in her war against her half brother the King Aegon Targaryen," Jeyne spoke,

Jacaerys feels his heart sink within his chest in disappointment as she mentions the war, He nods respectfully as she knows the true reason why he was sent here. "I must speak truthfully my lady, but this alliance was not my choice."

"alliances never are. If you wish to be king someday you will have to come to terms with that." She said, "What do you offer as a suitor for my daughter?"

Jace nods as he knows what he must say, though the words are like poison to him. He will do whatever it takes to ensure his mother's demands, "My mother has instructed me to offer a dowry of 500 gold dragons to be paid to House Arryn upon my wedding day. There is also an alliance offered in the form of the loyalty of House Targaryen and all her allies in the war against the usurper,”

"A generous offer, but I asked not what your mother offered. I ask what you offer, what will you supply my daughter with as her husband?"

He was taken aback for a moment by her words but dug deep to find some sweet things to say, “I will offer her a life filled with love and happiness. I will show her the beauty and the excitement of the world. I will treat her with the respect that she deserves. I will show her the joy and passion that a marriage can provide.”

"Would you swear before all in this realm to hold my daughter as your only bride? Never to take another. Never to father bastards. And to place her by your side as your queen?"

“I swear before all in this realm to hold your daughter as my only bride. I shall never take another. I shall never father bastards. I shall place her at my side as my queen. This I swear with all of my heart before the Gods.”

"Even if my daughter is not of your choosing?"

Jace knew this question was coming, it was not of his choosing but his duty to marry. He looked up to the lady Jeyne and nodded. "Yes. I would honour this arrangement even if I had the choice. My heart may not lie with her but my duty is. I promise you that no matter who my heart yearns for, my duty comes first."

"even if she may not be... To your tastes? You will do your duty to her?"

Jace's face would shift to a slight frown at her words. He had to admit, she was not what his heart yearned for. Yet what she said was true, it was his duty to obey. Not only would he make his mother happy but the Vale would stand behind Rhaenyra. He felt as though she was looking at his inside and reading his mind he felt a slight heat rise over his face for a moment as he nodded. "Yes, my lady. I will do my duty by her, and I will never dishonour her."

"Then it is agreed." She nodded "Arise. Son-in-law."

Jace nodded as he got to his feet.

“We will aid in this war to come, my only request is that no green dragons are to harm the vale or the Eyrie and we will demand a dragon here to defend us.”

“I- I am sure that can be arranged,”

“Good, you are welcome to stay Prince Jacaerys,”

"I thank you for your hospitality, my lady. How long shall I stay in the Vale?"

"you may stay as long as you wish, Your dragon to is welcome. The storm that lingers now will be a week at least I suggest you use that time to become understanding with your wife to"

Jace couldn't help the small smile that grew upon his lips as he realised he would have some time with the lady he was to marry. He couldn't help but wonder what the woman would be like that he would spend the rest of his life with. "I will be certain of that, my lady."

"Lord Skyee, take Prince Jacaerys to her chambers and allow him to meet whom he had agreed his life to," the lady told one of her men,

"Yes my lady," the guard nodded,

Jace was not given time to reply as she commanded her guard to take him to his betrothed. 

Masterlist Of Jacaerys Velaryon

[ranticore]

About the kid raised by harpies, we have a rough story to explain how they ended up there (it got a lot longer than I thought it would omg): A pen has her eggs stolen, she is able to see the man who steals them but he ends up escaping. This event causes her partner to completely lose faith in their king, believing she could do a better job, and she eventually turns into a king herself, defeating him and taking the pen as a tiercel. As the pen has always been very active, and could barely keep herself still in the tiercel nest at all, they make a deal: she will be allowed to patrol the areas around the eyrie, as long as she's never far enough to disappear from view, never hunts and immediately comes back at any signs of danger. One day, as she's observing a human caravan passing by, she sees a very familiar face… With him, a woman, and in her arms a baby, who they lovingly look at. She follows the caravan further and further, waiting, watching… when an opportunity arises, she snatches the child and flies away with it, back to the eyrie. Her king is incredibly worried when she's back, looking for any sign of injury. What happened? What were you thinking? What would I do if you- wait what is that She explains what happened, and argues that it's only fair that she keeps the human's child after he took hers. She wouldn't be doing anything vital anyways, as it would only take away her time and resources from the flock, but it would be a great distraction from her boredom, keeping her closer to the eyrie. Besides, what other flock has a human in its midst? What a novelty for him to show off! His flock is so prosperous that they can not only keep tiercels but also raise a being from a completely different species just for the fun of it! In the end, he gives in, letting his beloved keep her "hobby project". btw we've thought of calling the kid "Five Talons", since, well, five fingers and all (also it sounds cooler than Five Digits). The first name we came up with was "Stolen Goods" though, I really liked it but friend noticed that it sounded a bit mean dskmfd What do you think? :] I would appreciate some help with naming the pen and the king as well... I'm almost done drawing the first one, may I send you the drawing through a message?

Ahh so sorry it took me a while to get to this!! Yes of course you can dm me any time and I can help with the naming if you like

This story is so funny honestly I'm completely on board... I especially like the angle of "well look, isn't it kind of a flex to raise a human child as well as we're doing?" because that's really. That's just how they think all the time, you always have to be showing off it's just like the law.

Also I'm thinking of this sort of almost parent trap (?) type situation going on here where both stolen babies are sort of being raised in parallel in a sense, by parents who have had their true child stolen from them, so I wonder what types of experiences they may have in common (and whether they might ever be able to meet and bond over it? Like here's a sibling you never knew you had... or instead would they hold the other responsible for their own situation, the hurt of their parents, etc. Much to consider!!!).

Bearing in mind that a stolen harpy is likely not going to a very prestigious town flock, otherwise there'd be no need to resort to theft, it would likely be in more of a similar situation to the human kid than you'd think - raised entirely by a different species, lacking a 'role model' of a sort, potentially not even knowing that other harpies/humans exist, and thinking of themselves as perhaps uniquely weird (in either a positive OR negative sense, i could see both). The difference being that the baby harpy would be raised into servitude, and the baby human is being raised to show off. Both ways are dehumanising (or deharpyising?) in different directions, obviously one has it worse but being placed on a pedestal of your adoptive parent's rage and pain can't be fun either.

[daeneryscel]

rhaenyra is as much of a girl’s girl as the society she lives in allows her to be.

book wise she has multiple ladies in waiting (not just alicent, which is a grave oversight in the show), one of which is said to have gouged out her own eyes at the sight of rhaenyra’s murder. that doesn’t sound like someone who isn’t capable of inspiring loyalty from the women around them. rhaenys fully and wholeheartedly supported rhaenyra and her cause, even dying in her attempts to make her the first queen regnant of the seven kingdoms. laena betrothed her daughters to rhaenyra’s sons, ensuring that her blood sat both the iron throne and the driftwood throne, all while being a pretty difficult backing to break due to the wealth and naval power of the velaryons (all of this in spite of the bastardy rumors surrounding jace and luke). the agreement also puts forward how politically astute rhaenyra is, and how she didn’t just rely on her father’s word to put her on the throne. she made alliances using her sons hand in marriage; borros baratheon might not have declared for aegon had a proposal taken place the night luke brought rhaenyra’s terms. baela was only held back from partaking in the many battles because of her dragon’s size, otherwise she would have been right beside her betrothed fighting for rhaenyra. there’s even a chance that rhaena would have joined had she had a rideable dragon of her own. she had mysaria, a former sex worker, as her mistress of whisperers, a very esteemed position on her small council. the cases of rosby and stokeworth have no bearing on this, because they were never named as heirs (along with being literal children during a war time) which is what rhaenyra was using as the basis for her rulership. jeyne arryn knew her own position as lady of the eyrie would be challenged (again) if aegon stepped over rhaenyra and subsequently supported her cause. important women like alysanne blackwood and sabitha frey were key players in cregan’s army.

show wise she is shown in the season two trailer to be taking advice from rhaenys and allowing her to be a part of the war efforts. baela and rhaena are explicitly included on her war council, with rhaena as her cupbearer. moondancer is no longer a hardly rideable dragon and baela seems to be taking direct part in the war. rhaenyra is already shown in a set picture to be communicating with mysaria (whether that’s discussing blood and cheese, the aftermath of it, or something entirely different remains to be seen). these are not the acts of someone who hated other women, and using her falling out with alicent and the resulting enmity between them (that is almost completely one-sided due to the difference in power dynamics) as an excuse to otherwise is worse than strange, considering alicent’s canonical goal was to seat her son, a known violent misogynist, on the throne over a woman who was the named heir to the king.

the green’s entire ideological standpoint is that women cannot rule, ever, for it would make the main members of the green’s powerless, and any other lord or heir’s claim would be up for debate if they have an elder sister. if the iron throne had truly been aegon’s by right alicent, otto, and criston would not have left viserys’ body to rot for days AND they would have had the backing of most of the houses. if alicent had cared more for her children’s wellbeing she would have convened a great council before the war began or considered any other effort that would not lead to her children fighting on dragonback. rhaenyra’s (peaceful) ascension would have at least started the necessary changes needed to grant women more authority and (!) autonomy in the seven kingdoms. queen consorts had significantly less influence after her murder, along with the targaryen’s losing their ability to hatch dragons. rhaenyra does not need to be a feminist for her cause to be inherently feminist by proxy.

rhaenyra was not a feminist, but she did have great love for other women. it’s disingenuous at best and downright insulting at worst to try to paint her as anything else. she inspired loyalty even after her murder. if the black’s cause had truly relied on putting rhaenyra on the throne, her armies would have disbanded once she was dead. instead corlys and larys poisoned aegon, with rhaenyra’s son being placed on the throne afterwards. it was ultimately about bloodlines in the end. jaehaera suffered the unfortunate consequences of an ambitious hand because of her status as aegon’s daughter. it plays directly into how alicent outlived her entire family, besides jaehaera, and went mad with grief, learning to hate the color green. how greed and the allure of power can and will corrupt those who choose to make that a priority in their lives, and how the innocent will usually pay the price for those sins.