#also if you're here from anywhere besides tumblr hi hello

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SLAMS THIS DOWN AND RUNS

Through an odd series of events I got the opportunity to make some artwork for this playlist and the accompanying analysis exploring the chronology of Sleep Token created by one of the veterans of the community. It's that one that's been referenced by this article from Boolintunes about the lore. If I think about that for too long my brain will combust!

These two pieces took like.... holy shit it was only 2 and a half weeks but i really had a blast running around my room screaming about how Gustave Dore was a madman whilst trying to emulate his style.

[treasureswordsgirl55]

A little bit talk about Us

Character: Steven Grant / Marc Spector

Pairing: Steven Grant/Marc Spector x Fem!Reader

Inspired by: Tumblr's Prompt

Mentions: About DID

Warnings ⚠️: Spicy things. Smut fic try. Talk about virginity. Talk about sex. Marc being a little rude with Steven. Post!Moon Knight series. Fluff. Little angst.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope you're doing well.

Let me explain this fic... I thought this fic in a different way and it end in this. it would be a smutty fic and... I told my friend a little description about Marc and Steven and end in this fic.

And I've read a prompt about Steven and the reader being both virgin and... I would like to say sorry for everything that you read after this.

It's my poor intent to do a smut fic and if Fanfic's God help me, the second part of this will be smut. I promise.

So sorry to all the smut writers, I've disappointed you.

I hope you like this fic and always, the reblogs and comments are appreciated ❤️

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

- There is something I should tell you - I move away enough to see that they are very nervous. Although his hands hold my waist, bringing me as close to his body as possible, he contradicts his words. I caress him slowly, taking my time to enjoy the softness of his curls between my fingers and imagining that I squeeze them in my hands and feel his agitated breath against my neck, as well as mine while he claims me as his in that bed we shared a long time ago more than five months. As much as any of them brought up the subject of sex, saying that Steven is too polite to talk about it, much less insinuate it, and me being a virgin, it's making it very difficult for me to have him so close and not succumb to my vivid imagination that asks me to calm that strange feeling inside me, that I know only Steven can placate. I focus on him again, on how he leans before the brush of my fingers on his face and I notice his body seems to tremble with fear.

- I hear you - I settle next to him on the bed to listen to him, sitting on my legs but I see that he stirs almost uncomfortable when I get a little closer.

- I don't… - I see how his Adam's apple moves as he swallows hard and he looks away as he looks anywhere but at me. - I never, well you understand me. You know what I mean. I don't… - he gasps like a fish out of water and drops his shoulders as I see the color begin to invade his cheeks – I've never been with anyone. In that aspect.

It takes me a minute to figure out what he's talking about and when I realize his words and how he indicates to both of us, I feel my body tremble with calm.

- Oh. Oh… You talk about that

I bite my lip as I think about how I shouldn't feel good knowing he hadn't been with anyone, besides the fact that I never had and I wouldn't make a fool of myself here if I did something wrong.

But instantly I remember that Marc is also Steven and he was with women...

Marc rolls his eyes and lets out a small curse from his place in consciousness.

- Well, if it makes you calmer to know this, you will be the first for me, if you ever want to do it, because we don't have to do anything now. We're just talking while I caress your hair.

And I try to deny the overwhelming need to hold him even closer at his words.

He lets out a nervous laugh and some of his curls fall onto his forehead, causing me to bite my lip to keep from groaning at how attractive he looks with that easygoing, homely air.

We're both embarrassed enough to say the word "virgin" out loud.

- What if I want? Oh… You have no idea what you provoke in me, in us. You already know about Marc, about me… I've never told you – I smile at his hasty words and Steven walks away a bit, without letting go of the edge of the shirt I'm wearing, one of his shirts - I want to do it. Of course I want to do it with you.

Damn, I thank Osiris for letting us out of there (Marc)

- You seem like you don't know anything about it, Steven. But I know that Marc does know about it.

- It's one thing to know it from a book or a talk and quite another thing to do it, I'm not like Marc. And you know, I lack practice.

I let out a nervous laugh as I walk over and take his hand, lacing our fingers together and giving it a light squeeze.

- Me too, Steven.

Fuck. Shit. We'll give her what she need as soon as she open that beautiful mouth. Let her tell us what she needs and I will kneel in front of her without hesitation. (Marc)

- What difference can there be between the books and that? It is human biology. Playback and stuff. The normal and natural between human beings - says the word "human" as if we were some kind of animal or insect.

- We're human too, Steven.

- I know. I'm sorry but I tend to start mumbling incoherently when I'm nervous.

I'm getting nervous and I'm not the virgin here, Steven. Listen to me well, you are NOT a virgin because I am not. Therefore, if there is someone here who is very nervous besides you, it is her. You have to focus on her. Not on you, hell. She has needs like you and me. Can't you see it? (Marc)

- I know... but I'm not you. Let's see when you understand, Marc – I contain a laugh as soon as I hear him respond to her other identity and pay attention to me again for a second – I'm sorry, Marc doesn't shut up. As do I, apparently.

- Don't worry, he reassures me that ust as nervous as me.

- I have… I have seen things, the politically correct in medical books but I don't really know what to do or how to handle it.

Khonshu, Osiris, Ammit, if you still have a chance to kill me, do it this instant before I throw both of us out the apartment window (Marc)

- I don't really know what to do or where to play either… So we're the same.

- What I am sure of is that I don't think you want to do it with someone who doesn't… know what to do.

There's that insecurity again. I shake my head as I listen to the sounds of cars around us and see the light from the full moon pouring in through the window, almost lighting up the bed completely, dimming the light from the lamp on the small bedside table.

Listen to me for a fucking second Steven, follow my words and nobody here will have a bad experience. Much more her. For you it will be paradise whether you do things well or not, but it will not be the same for her (Marc)

- Maybe, this is not how I imagined this would be, but the only thing I know is that I want to do it with you.

Ask her what she imagined her. Maybe she can enlighten us on what to do to make her feel good with us (Marc)

- What... That you had imagined you?

- To be honest? – Steven nods and sighs before blurting out the words as quickly as possible – Somebody teach me about it. Someone who makes me sigh and makes me forget even my name.

As soon as he finished saying those words, I feel the air around us begin to heat up, as if the room is on fire, and I also hear the air suddenly escape from Steven's mouth, as if he had received a blow to the chest. stomach.

As if my words had surprised him. Or scared.

Oh shit…let me do this, Steven. Leave me or I will take the body against your will. It's my last warning. I need to do this with her. (Marc)

- No. I need it too. - Her voice sounds safe, responding to something that Marc surely murmured in his head - I know I'll be wrong, maybe. Well, it's the safest thing but... I want to do it with you. Whatever I discover or experience, I want it to be with you, honey, but I don't want to hurt you.

Damnit Steve, If you listen to me, follow my instructions and do what I tell you, you will not go wrong. Fuck (Mark)

- I want to make this mistakes, this experience and this discover all this with you, Steven - I get close enough to rest my hands on her chest and feel his tremble under my hands. I let my hands slide slowly down his arms and enjoy the feel of my cool hands against his warm skin.

- Are you sure about this? Otherwise I can let Marc take control… To make it easier for you at least the first time.

That's right, use the brain Steven. Don't let adolescent hormones cloud you and leave this to me, I am the expert in this (Marc)

- No. I want you, not Marc. I love Marc as much as you, but I know that Marc knows everything he does, I even imagine that he has read the Kama Sutra more times than I imagine and than any normal human being could have done it, but I don't want him. I want you.

Don't listen to her Steven, she may be right about the Kama Sutra, but if you don't do things right, you will hurt her a lot and I know that the last thing you want is to hurt her for your pleasure (Marc)

- I do not want to hurt you.

- You will not do it. Trust in me. And will you do me the favor of trying not to listen to Marc?

Don't you dare, Steven. Don't you dare avoid me, not now (Marc)

- And most importantly, don't let him take control when you're inside me, because today I only want you. Are you listening to me?

Something in Steven changes when I say those words, because it seems that his eyes suddenly become brighter, as if he had gained a share of confidence with my statement, but as soon as I realize it, I find myself with my back against the bed and Steven located between my legs as if it were the most common situation in the universe.

And the mere sight of him on top of me makes me feel like melted jelly on the floor.

He gives me a slightly mischievous smile before leaning closer and murmuring against my lips.

- Loud and clear honey, loud and clear.

[honeytae]

hello! i'm sorry if you already talked about this before, but do u know what happened to this certain tae story that u posted before, i think it was called "you are my forever" or something along those lines? i thought the story was super cute and i kinda miss it 😅 i can't find it on archive or anywhere else. anyways i hope you're having a great day, i love what u do! ur stories make me feel fuzzy inside haha 💜

hi, sweetheart! i also could not find this story anywhere on my blog (tumblr wtf) so i’m reuploading it here. thank you for letting me know :) thank you for reading and i’m glad my stories make you feel that way haha <3

You are my forever. [REUPLOAD]

originally posted: June 20, 2020

genre: fluff

word count: 3k

The first thing your half asleep brain registered was the light touch to your forehead, recognizing Taehyung’s soft velvet lips pressed to the skin before a light puckering sound escaped from them. You hummed quietly in content, hearing your boyfriend’s deep chuckle in response to your adorable reaction to his touch.

When you finally opened your eyes, you were met with a messy bed-headed Taehyung, his long black curls falling over his eyes as his eyelashes fanned out across his cheekbones. He was sitting up against the headboard, pointer finger trailing up and down your forearm soothingly. 

You reached your hand up to his face, brushing the hair away from his eyes to see him properly. He smiled at that, his sparkling dark brown eyes finally being revealed to you as he held your wrist in his hand, pressing kisses to the inside of it.

“Did you sleep okay? Time change getting any better?” He inquired, nothing but care and concern in his tone as he knew you’d been having issues with the time zone changes since you’d arrived to Paris.

Taehyung had brought up the idea of taking a vacation several months ago before you even knew what your schedule for the coming year was like. Taehyung had asked where your dream place was to go, and when you had said Paris, his face had lit up like a child’s would on Christmas morning.

He had been to Paris with his members and he absolutely adored it. The little pockets of time he had to explore the city when he wasn’t working while he was there were some of his favorite memories, and the thought of getting to experience those things with the love of his life instead of the managers of BTS escorting him around made him even more excited to go back.

Seven months later, when both of your schedules were clear enough to take a week long trip to the European city, you’d jumped at the opportunity. 

You’d been there for three days already, and while the time zones were challenging for an inexperienced traveler like yourself, you truly were having the time of your life with Taehyung.

“It’s getting better.” You nodded, Taehyung lifting your hand to his face to press kisses to your knuckles.

“Why are you up, baby? I’ve had to wake you up every morning we’ve been here.” You pointed out, curious as to why the man beside you was so wide awake at such an early hour despite his sleeping routines the past few days.

“We forgot to close the blinds last night. Remember, we got a bit distracted…” He trailed off, smirking at the memory of the way you’d both rushed out of the restaurant in a haste last night, desperately needing to put your hands on each other like you wanted to. You’d gotten back to the AirBnB, had sex, taken a bath, then passed out in each other’s arms back in bed. 

“Yeah, I remember.” You chuckled, shaking your head at your boyfriend's cockiness about the situation. He knew the effect he had on you and he used it to his full advantage.

“Come here, angel.” He held his arm out above your head, hand releasing yours as you sat up, Taehyung placing his arm around your shoulders and pulling you snugly into him. 

From the new angle, you could see perfectly out of the window, the view of the clusters of tan and beige colored buildings with lush green trees between them breathtaking. The Eiffel Tower was nestled behind the buildings, taller than the other structures and almost sparkling as the morning spring sun shone down onto the city. 

“I really haven’t had a chance to look at this view yet.” He said, his hand rubbing warm and comforting circles with his palm on your shoulder adorned in his t-shirt.

“It’s a beautiful city.” You hummed, Taehyung shifting his gaze down to your head reclined back against his shoulder as a slow smile spread on his face. 

“You like it here?” He asked, getting an eager nod in response from you as your eyes shifted over the foreign streets below you.

“I love it here.” You confirmed, Taehyung pressing a kiss to your temple as he smiled happily at your approval of the city he loved so much, too.

You turned your head to face him, tipping your head up to make his lips move from your temple to your lips, Taehyung holding your chin in place to deepen the kiss. Taehyung wrapped his arms around your torso, rolling over on his back as he pulled you on top of him to straddle his waist. You placed a hand on his chest, pulling back from him with a knowing look.

“We have to start our day, Tae.” You pointed out, knowing that if you started engaging in some less than innocent acts now, you wouldn’t make it out into Paris today. 

“Baby,” he whined, stuttering out different excuses before he paused, blurting out a pathetic, “sex in Paris is just a different vibe!” 

You cackled at his ridiculous conclusion, making him laugh along with you as he squeezed your hips in his palms.

“You’re hilarious.” You said, smiling down at him as you brushed the hair that had fallen back into his eyes back from his forehead.

“I know.” He said, smiling when you rolled your eyes at him.

It fell silent for a couple of minutes as you lightly caressed each other, lovingly nuzzled together in the bed.

“Do you want to go out for breakfast today? We could go to that crepe place we passed last night.” He mentioned, observing the low sounds coming from your stomach indicating that it needed food soon.

You giggled again at the memory of you two running out of the restaurant mid meal, leaving cash on the table before deciding to bounce as you were quite literally eye fucking each other. 

“From what I saw of it, it looked pretty good.” You mumbled, resting your cheek on his shoulder as you leaned forward to press tiny pecks over the skin on his neck.

“Let’s go, then. I have to get you fed, you’re starting to sound like an alien.” He teased, poking fun at the increasingly loud noises coming from your stomach. 

You shook your head at him, smiling as you lifted yourself off of him to get dressed for the day.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

You strolled through the quiet Parisian streets, surprisingly not crowded today compared to previous days. There were distant sounds of cars honking a couple of blocks over, and the scent of baked goods wafted through the air. The man beside you held onto your hand as you walked, squeezing every now and then as he lifted your hands to point at something he found interesting. 

As you approached the door of the little cafe, he let go of your hand to step ahead of you, holding the door open for you to walk inside. 

“Merci beaucoup.” You said, Taehyung smiling at the memory of him trying to teach you some french phrases in the terminal of the airport a couple of days ago.

You walked into the building, relaxation immediately setting in as you inhaled the sweet smelling air. There were only a few people in the cafe, a woman typing furiously on her computer before taking a small sip of coffee, and another couple that seemed to be from out of town, too.

Taehyung’s hand met your spine as he looked down at you, smiling adoringly as you reflexively dropped your head onto his shoulder. You stared at the menu hung on the wall in front of you, scanning the many options as your mouth practically watered at the descriptions.

“What are you getting, baby?” You asked Taehyung curiously.

His eyes shifted to the menu, weighing his options before he settled on one he knew you would both like. Taehyung, being the absolute sweetheart he is, never wanted to order something for himself that he thought you would dislike. Feeding you his dishes always made him automatically happier anyway, especially when you would do that shoulder dance with your head bobbing from side to side as the amazing taste of whatever you were eating connected with your taste buds.

“I think the strawberry crepes. With the cream cheese filling.” He said softly, making you giggle at his everlasting love for all things strawberry.

“What are you getting, angel?” He asked, leaning down to kiss your forehead as you hummed in thought.

“Banana and nutella, I think.” You said decidedly, making him nod in approval at your choice.

After you ordered, you picked out a table by the window at the back corner of the building to sit at. Once you were both seated, opting to sit next to each other instead of across the table from each other, you exhaled a deep sigh.

“So, what’s on the itinerary for today, tour guide?” You asked, making him chuckle as he shook his head at you. 

“That’s what I am now, huh? Just a tour guide?” He raised his eyebrows, smiling as you shrugged back at him.

“Tour guide, love of my life, whatever.” You said, making his features crinkle into a wide smile at your words.

Humming, he pretended to think it over, although he knew exactly what you were doing today. 

“Well, I have a few things planned out for today, starting out with a delicious breakfast, maybe walk around and shop a little bit. Then I have a surprise planned for you.” He said, making you tilt your head with a confused expression.

Before you could ask any more questions about what the surprise might entail, the waitress was bringing over your crepes, both of you saying eager “thank you”s as your eyes widened in reaction to the delicious looking plates.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

When you left the cafe, bellies full of the french pastries after feeding each other half your own dishes, you set out to visit some touristy little shops. 

You helped Taehyung look for a new beret, a hat that you could never in a million years pull off but managed to look so handsome on him.

Watching as you focused on perusing the berets for ones you thought would look good with his wardrobe, Taehyung felt his heart swell in his chest. He felt so lucky to be able to spend some quality time with you and make memories here.

Interrupting his thoughts, his eyes caught a silver necklace with a small pendant of the Eiffel Tower on it in an open box on the shelf in front of him. He smiled, reaching his hand out to hold the pendant between his fingers as he turned back to where you were. You were still distracted, and he decided to take the opportunity to buy the necklace while you weren’t paying attention.

He walked to the counter at the front of the store, quickly buying it for you in time so that you wouldn’t turn around and catch him in the act.

 Once the necklace was purchased, he came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you into him.

“Long time, no see.” You said jokingly, Taehyung only wandering off for a few minutes before he was coming back to you.

“Look what I found.” He said, lifting the necklace in his hand up to you. Your eyebrows raised in surprise, admiring the delicate pendant in his palm.

“That’s so cute.” You said, making Taehyung smile as you took the necklace in your hands to inspect the intricately designed Eiffel Tower pendant.

“You like it?” He asked, stroking your hair away from your face as you nodded enthusiastically.

“Turn around, I’ll put it on you.” He offered, taking the necklace back in his hand as you turned so your back was to him, Taehyung lifting your hair and placing it over your shoulder so he could clasp the necklace around your neck.

He turned you back around, watching as you played with the pendant resting on your chest. 

“It looks even more beautiful on you.” He said, admiring the blush that tinted your cheeks, not being able to hold himself back as he leaned in to press a kiss to the heated skin.

“Should I get it?” You asked, Taehyung stroking the skin of your cheek gently with the back of his pointer finger. 

“I already did, my love.” He said, making you glare at him as you cocked your head.

“You know how much I hate it when you-” 

“Yep. But I don’t care.” He interrupted, placing a kiss on your pouted lips as he took his hand in yours.

He chuckled at your glare, pressing a kiss to your shoulder as he prompted you to turn in his grip.

“Now, my little stylist, what berets have you chosen for me?” He asked, looking back to the beret wall and giggling as you turned back to look at it as well and bumped your shoulder with his.

“That’s what I am now, huh? Just a stylist?” You repeated his earlier words, making his giggles increase as he kissed your cheek, trailing his lips up to your hairline and pressing a kiss there too.

“Stylist, love of my life, whatever.” He teased back, watching as you closed your eyes and shook your head at him. 

The loving bickering between the two of you always made his members refer to you as the “old married couple”, despite the fact that the two of you were not even engaged yet. Everyone knew it would happen, though; it was only a matter of time.

You reached your arm out to the hats you’d picked out for him, Taehyung humming in approval of your choices and making the decision to buy some of them.

You walked out of the shop hand in hand, Taehyung taking all the bags in his other despite you saying you could do it.

“I know you can,” he said, looking at you as you stared back at him, “but just let me baby you, okay? It makes me feel happy.” He finished, making you smile as you went on your tiptoes to press a kiss to the space between his dark eyebrows.

He tipped his chin up, catching your lips in a kiss before pulling away, tugging lightly on your hand to continue walking.

“I think we should go to the house first, drop off everything we bought and then go to my surprise location.” He posed, raising his eyebrows in question as he observed your smile and nod of approval to his plan.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

After you’d dropped the shopping bags off in the house you’d rented for the week, Taehyung had led you to a different area of the city, one you hadn’t been to before. 

Walking side by side with Taehyung, his arm wrapped around your shoulders with yours hugging his torso, you approached a bridge. A bridge with a lot of locks on the sides of it.

Your brain clicked in realization, looking up at Taehyung to see he was already smiling down at you. 

“Have you heard of this?” He asked softly, making you nod with a giddy smile.

You paused your steps in the middle of the bridge, overlooking a flowing river below you as you pulled away from Taehyung’s warm embrace and leaned your stomach against the railing. 

You leaned away from the railing, observing the mass amount of locks and reading the names on them with a smile.

“Ahem.” 

Taehyung cleared his throat, drawing your attention to his smirking face before your eyes traveled to the glinting gold padlock clutched in his hand. It had no writing on it, unlike the other ones on the bridge, and he dug in his pant pocket until he pulled a black Sharpie out of it. 

You quickly grasped the idea he had, not being able to contain your sheer happiness as you dove at him, wrapping your arms around his neck in a tight hug. He wrapped his own arms around your waist, pulling you tightly into him as he chuckled into your hair. 

“Does this mean you wanna do it?” He asked, causing you to pull away and nod, saying excited “yes, yes yes”s as he laughed at your excitement.

He uncapped the pen, writing your initials and his on the lock before producing a gold key out of his pocket.

“So, you find a place to lock our love onto the bridge, then we throw the key down there.” He explained, gesturing to the river below you as he held the key up in front of him.

With Taehyung’s help, you both decided on a spot that was available for the lock to go onto, locking it into place and standing back to observe the new lock on the bridge.

 “You know, if we throw away the key, it’s locked forever.” You pointed out, smiling as Taehyung nodded.

“You are my forever. Am I your forever?” Taehyung asked, a question he didn’t need to ask to already know the answer to.

You nodded enthusiastically, wrapping your arms around his neck to pull him down to you for a kiss. He kissed you back passionately, tongue swiping against yours as his hand came up to cradle your jaw. 

Pulling away, he reached for your hand, placing the key into it and wrapping his own larger hand over yours so you could grip the key together. You settled against his chest, tossing the key together into the Seine River.

You both watched as it descended down to the river, disappearing into the water before looking back at each other.

Taehyung craned his neck to focus his eyes on your face resting on his shoulder, his arms wrapping around your waist to pull you snugly into him. 

“I love you. Forever.” You added, making his mouth spread into the boxy smile you adored so much.

“I love you even longer than forever.” He said, leaning down to place his forehead on yours, swiping the tip of his nose against yours in a sweet gesture.

[ginmo]

You're not delusional for entertaining the possibility of Brienne as YMB

“If you think anyone but [Insert Queen, most commonly Dany] is the YMB then you’re delusional” is something I have seen quite frequently, so I’ve been inspired to explain why that’s uh...well, complete bullshit.

To be delusional, you need to be spewing garbage without any reason or support and lack any sense of reality. But… there is plenty of evidence and reasoning, based in reality, to simply entertain a theory that isn’t [Insert Easy Choice].

Let me state that I'm not saying with total confidence that Brienne is YMB. I am not saying she is or is not. My claim is that Brienne is a perfectly logical candidate, and that being completely sold on a traditional choice, to the point where you’re publicly making asshole cocky comments about it, is risky af. I’m tired of people shutting down any discussion of it.

This is GRRM. This isn’t supposed to be easy (he literally said this, as shown below). There should be multiple interpretations to this prophecy. People who think it’s Brienne or Sansa or Marg or whoever may be wrong, or people who think it’s Daenerys may be wrong. Or maybe this is supposed to be ambiguous and we’ll never get a definitive answer. Maybe it’s multiple people. It all depends on what angle GRRM is going with. He could be going very literal and traditional with this, sure. Or, he could be going a more poetic route, which is also a style of his writing. Obviously by this post, I prefer the latter, but I see different angles. I’m not going to pretend I’m psychic by claiming I’m right and you’re wrong, and I’m not going misuse the word delusional. If you come after me later with, “LOL I TOLD YOU SO” I’m just going to say you missed the entire point of my post and my point is still 100% valid.

SO. Here is why you all have NO RIGHT to a) be so damn confident in your traditional choices and b) put down others for entertaining Brienne.

Hang on tight. This is long as fuck. First, you need to promise me you’ll do two things.

My two rules:

Consider authorial intent when thinking about meaning and trajectory and

Step outside the bubble and look at this story from a professional angle. A good narrative written by a professional author has structure and purpose.

Before I properly dive into this, let’s see what GRRM has to say about prophecies:

Prophecies are, you know, a double edge sword. You have to handle them very carefully; I mean, they can add depth and interest to a book, but you don’t want to be too literal or too easy…

I mean…. That should be enough to shake your confidence. He even gives an example.

In the Wars of the Roses, that you mentioned, there was one Lord who had been prophesied he would die beneath the walls of a certain castle and he was superstitious at that sort of walls, so he never came anywhere near that castle. He stayed thousands of leagues away from that particular castle because of the prophecy. However, he was killed in the first battle of St. Paul de Vence and when they found him dead he was outside of an inn whose sign was the picture of that castle! [Laughs] So you know? That’s the way prophecies come true in unexpected ways. The more you try to avoid them, the more you are making them true, and I make a little fun with that.

So you always want to frustrate our expectations, am I right?

Yes, it was always my intention: to play with the reader’s expectations. Before I was a writer I was a voracious reader and I am still, and I have read many, many books with very predictable plots. As a reader, what I seek is a book that delights and surprises me.  - GRRM

A physically beautiful Queen, or physical beauty in general, would essentially be the Lord being correct of his fate and dying in that castle. The Lord expected to die in that castle. Cersei’s only expectation to YMB is to be “cast down and take all you hold dear” by a literal beauty, literal Queen. That is obviously the reader’s expectation as well. Hello fandom! Cersei doesn’t know who this literal beauty/literal Queen is. She constantly obsesses over WHO, but is always wrong, maybe because it isn’t surface level obvious and it’s her incorrect interpretation, just like lord’s interpretation was wrong. He didn’t die in a literal castle.

See, I’m obviously so delusional for thinking GRRM might be doing, um… exactly what he said? There’s nothing from reality to support an idea that GRRM may not go the easy, literal route. There’s absolutely no reason for me to think this may not be so simple.

.

..

….

….

-__-

Right.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Younger, More Beautiful-

Brienne is a possible candidate for the YMB.

...it was always my intention: to play with the reader’s expectations.

For both Cersei and the readers (again hello Freefolk, Twitter, Tumblr), Brienne as the unexpected YMB is a twist to the literal interpretation, fitting GRRM’s idea on how prophecies should be written.

“But everything that has happened about the prophecy was literal so duh this has to be literal!”

The literal parts of the prophecy were marrying the King and the number of children she’ll have. Yeah… there isn’t anything subjective to that, so it’s not surprising that it’s straightforward. She asked a question, Maggy gave her an answer. Besides the part with the children dying, the bit we’re talking about was stuff Maggy added in. Also, is there like a prophecy rule book somewhere I’m not aware of? Maybe consider that we got easy literal bits mixed in so we (and Cersei) are misdirected by the actual focus? Maybe consider that it’s possible for a prophecy to have some literal elements and some not? Maybe consider that a way more subjective (-cough-beauty-cough-) part of the prophecy isn’t as straightforward?

Moving on.

“Aye.” Malice gleamed in Maggy’s yellow eyes. “Queen you shall be… until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.”- CERSEI VIII, AFFC

It’s common to see “younger more beautiful QUEEN” (YMBQ) floating around fandom. Technically, Maggy never says the person is a Queen, whether literal or symbolic. She says “another.” An equally valid interpretation of that can be, “someone else who is younger and more beautiful than you.”

“Um no, it definitely implies a Queen because the words after and because of the context.”

If you really want to argue that GRRM definitely implies Queen, well, here’s something to chew on.

I’m not going to describe how Brienne’s arc is definitely not ending as her being someone’s bodyguard for the rest of her life. That’s for another time. But that doesn’t even matter really, because it has been made intentionally clear that Brienne is her father’s only heir. Once Brienne’s father dies, even if she’s still active on the battlefield, someone’s bodyguard, or still fucking off somewhere, she will still technically be the Evenstar.

- The Evenstar -

The Evenstar was a title given to the Tarth Kings. That title is still used. Why? It’s interesting to think that GRRM gave random minor House Tarth a specific title used for Kings, and that he allowed the House to continue using that title. Because he created that title for that House and allowed them to keep it, that title becomes symbolic of their previous kingdom. This is similar to our real world where some nations or groups retain titles from their history as more of a symbol. Selwyn Tarth is still known as the Evenstar. Selwyn Tarth is a symbolic King. When he dies (which will probably happen soon), Brienne automatically inherits that title, making her a symbolic Queen. And we all know how much GRRM loves symbolic meaning.

“I still think it’s a LITERAL Queen.”

I mean, a possible theory is that the throne will be destroyed at the end of this and the realm will split back into separate kingdoms. Sooo, if that happens……………………….

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- What does Maggy mean by beautiful?-

I have a really hard time believing that GRRM wants everyone to sit down and argue over who is physically more beautiful between his characters. In every story there are themes explored and messages woven within, so each character with an arc is going to have themes and messages associate with them. One of the themes being explored with Cersei is beauty. (This theme is explored through both Jaime’s and Brienne’s arcs as well, which isn’t a coincidence.)

Cersei’s interpretation of beauty lies on the exterior This is an element of her narcissism (word by GRRM).

(“Cersei isn’t narcissistic????”

You can argue, well, does she genuinely love her children, or does she just love them because they’re her children? There’s certainly a great level of narcissism in Cersei. She has an almost sociopathic view of the world and civilization. - GRRM  

Don’t even go there)

In her eyes, a person’s worth is tied to how physically attractive they are. She is obsessed over being beautiful, and her twin being beautiful. Her attitude towards her twin changes when he returns handless. Cersei’s interpretation of the prophecy is that she will be cast down by a physical beauty, which is why she goes after Margaery (Dany most likely later on/Dany in the show). But remember this?

you don’t want to be too literal or too easy

It’s possible GRRM isn’t talking about physical beauty here. a) too literal and b) Cersei is being taught a lesson, and the readers are being sent a message. Like, you know… what good quality literature does. This is important to understand. Maggy probably realizes this about Cersei (like any classic Beauty and the Beast Witch), thus fulfilling the prophecy on her own, her own downfall being caused by her inability to recognize power with inner beauty.

“But Cersei is bringing her own downfall by obsessively trying to avoid the prophecy. As GRRM said, ‘The more you try to avoid them, the more you are making them true.”

And by obsessively going after her interpretation of what beauty is, she’s missing what’s right in front of her face.

“He took Raventree and accepted Lord Blackwood’s surrender,” said her uncle, “but on his way back to Riverrun he left his tail and went off with a woman.”

“A woman?” Cersei stared at him, uncomprehending. “What woman? Why? Where did they go?”

“No one knows. We’ve had no further word of him. The woman may have been the Evenstar’s daughter, Lady Brienne.”

Her. The queen remembered the Maid of Tarth, a huge, ugly, shambling thing who dressed in man’s mail. Jaime would never abandon me for such a creature. My raven never reached him, elsewise he would have come.

- CERSEI I, ADWD

I mean… this right here, imo, is pretty significant, but it’s frequently ignored.

We see Cersei feeling a bit threatened by her rapid fire questioning of what, why, and where.

She places emphasis on Brienne’s looks.

The use of Her. That’s rather strong. GRRM could have taken “Her” out and started her thoughts with, “The queen remembered” but there’s something forceful - as if making a point- to use Her. GRRM also made sure the readers knew that Cersei knows of this woman, and knows what she looks like. From a narrative standpoint, if Brienne’s inner beauty contrasting her outward appearance isn’t an important element in the downfall of Cersei, then there’s literally no reason why Cersei needed to have seen Brienne before. Remember my rules? Yeah, apply them to this one.

“Er, Brienne’s appearance is mentioned so that Cersei knows to not be jealous.”

…I think, “Jaime would never abandon me for such a creature” is basically saying “LOL well he did.” It’s GRRM telling Cersei, and the readers, that her answer is right there, right under her fucking nose, but she’s too dense and superficial to see it, which is the point of the Brienne theory.

“It’s there just to show that Brienne is taking Jaime away even though she’s ugly, but it has nothing to do with YMB.”

Yes, that is also the point. Again, an interpretation of a key message of the prophecy is that beauty isn’t literal, and beauty lies within. If we’re looking at the prophecy as a lesson to both the readers and Cersei, similar to The Witch in Beauty and the Beast - a tale and theme GRRM has been confirmed writing, then… why wouldn’t that be connected? “Brienne the Beauty” is literally the only character to challenge Cersei’s superficial perceptions, and the only one who has been set up to do so. In other words, for this particular theory, narcissism and superficiality drives Cersei’s downfall.

Also, I find it curious that instead of saying, “Lord Selwyn Tarth’s daughter, Lady Brienne” which would have been way more straightforward and which he could have easily done, GRRM instead used his other title, “the Evenstar’s daughter” which basically translates to, ���the Princess.” A possible nod to the future Evenstar, the future symbolic (or even potentially literal) Queen, if Cersei and readers want to interpret the person as a Queen.

Reminder: that’s a fact. Not wishful thinking. Regardless of what Brienne is doing or where she is, she will literally inherit the title the Evenstar.

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- Brienne the Beauty -

BRIENNE IS AN INNER BEAUTY. This has been intentional and made crystal clear over and over. Brienne is the Beastly Beauty. A… beauty who gives a lesson by challenging Cersei’s perception of beauty and…. She is intentionally written as younger and….. she will have a title that’s a symbolic Queen and… her story is tied to Cersei’s lover? :O

Look, it’s no secret that one of GRRM’s favorite narratives is Beauty and the Beast. As mentioned above, he is writing an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.

George R.R. Martin said what he wanted to do was to take the traditional format of Beauty and the Beast and change the roles — and also the genders. - Gwendoline Christie

[GRRM] also said that when he wrote the story of Jaime and Brienne, he was taking the formula of Beauty and the Beast and turning it on its head. He wanted to see what it was like for the man to be the beauty and the woman to be the beast and how that would play out. - Gwendoline Christie

I spoke to George R.R. Martin about this, and he said that it was always his intention with Jaime and Brienne to take the classic Beauty and the Beast story, and turn it on its head. Brienne is not ‘unconventionally attractive’, she’s ugly, and she’s ugly to society. She is the beast.- Gwendoline Christie

He’s taking the traditional format (a romance) and switching the genders and roles. The entire point of BatB is to destroy the idea that love and beauty are determined by superficial qualities.

Guys again, I’m so delusional. There is nothing to see here. None of this is from anything real.

“But that’s just for Jaime.”

There can be other characters in a Beauty and the Beast adaptation. It’s an adaptation, not word for word. Other characters can be used to deliver the message, especially if the character is uh… linked to and romantically involved with one of the BatB inspired characters. For example, in the Disney adaptation we have Gaston (who… now that I think about it, actually has a similar Cersei way of thinking, ngl lol).

Brienne is the one character who has the actual name of Beauty associated with her. She is Cersei’s opposite. Brienne is the epitome of what Cersei cannot understand. A theme explored through Cersei is beauty, which is a theme that’s heavily explored through Brienne as well. Brienne’s character has been shaped around rejection due to her appearance. Literally every page in her POV is about how ugly and undesirable she is. Therefore, it’s very possible their characters are connected by a shared beauty theme.

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- The Prophecy -

Okay, the rest of this stupid thing for YMB. Here we go.

”Will I wed the prince?” she asked.

“Never. You will wed the king.”

Beneath her golden curls, the girl’s face wrinkled up in puzzlement. For years after, she took those words to mean that she would marry Rhaegar until after his father Aerys had died.

GRRM straight up telling the readers that Cersei interprets this shit incorrectly.

”I will be queen, though?” asked the younger her.

“Aye.” Malice gleamed in Maggy’s yellow eyes. “Queen you shall be… until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.

“But ginmo, -sigh-, Cersei doesn’t hold Jaime most dear. The thing she holds most dear is power.”

Is she not always jealous and bitter over how Jaime is born to be heir and she is not? Does Jaime not represent the Lannister legacy she craves? Does Ms. “my brother is worth a thousand of your men” not lose any amount of power if Jaime stops doing what she wants? Is Jaime’s identity shift not influenced by Brienne the Beauty? Where is Jaime in both books and show? Couldn’t Brienne’s influence on Jaime mean Cersei loses power, a lover, her legacy? Jaime is power.

And then, again, there is also the straightforward route with the Kingdom splitting up possibility and Brienne the Evenstar….

Then we get this perfect little nugget.

Anger flashed across the child’s face. “If she tries I will have my brother kill her.”

I WILL HAVE MY BROTHER KILL HER I’M DYING. This is something that is repeated TWICE. Here in the prophecy and later in the chapter when she’s talking to Qyburn about the prophecy.

”...another queen, who would take from me all I loved.”

“And you wish to forestall this prophecy?”

More than anything, she thought. Even in the tent. “If she tries I will have my brother kill her.”

This is another moment to apply my two rules. There is literally no point to this being thrown in there if Jaime is not connected to the YMB, and definitely no point to emphasize a second time that she’d have her brother kill her. The words are not, “I will have her killed,” which could have left it ambiguous and easily been done. No, she (which is GRRM) specifically uses “my brother will kill her.” The irony is that, JAIME IS IN LOVE WITH HER. HE’S IN LOVE WITH THE BEAUTY.

“No, the irony is that by that time Jaime won’t listen anymore to her.”

I mean, that’s possible obvioiusly, but… yawn? That has practically zero emotional weight attached to it. I personally lean more towards this being a massive hint, that Jaime is the LAST person to kill the YMB, because he lost his heart to her, which makes it so delicious and juicy. GRRM is essentially having a massive evil laughing fit.

Another small note, during the Maggy the Frog scene, after delivering the YMB message to Cersei, Melara asks if she’ll marry Jaime. When they leave, Cersei kills Melara for wishing to marry Jaime, which is GRRM telling the readers that Jaime most certainly represents something Cersei holds dear, or else she wouldn’t be killing her. It’s not a coincidence this was right after she learned about the YMB.

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- Cersei is her own downfall -

The more you try to avoid them, the more you are making them true

In the show Cersei is threatened by Dany as YMB (since it’s possible she incorrectly interpreted the prophecy, wow what a concept that’s not possible at all). This was made clear by the script notes. Apply my rules here as well.

But what’s the meaning of Cersei being taken down by a physical beauty? That just… proves her right? That would be the Lord dying in the literal castle? It just supports Cersei’s superficial world view by sending absolutely no message to her character? From a narrative standpoint, there’s no point to have YMB be a literal beauty. Again, is it possible he’s going the literal route? YES. But considering GRRM implements a ton of metaphor and symbolic meaning in his work, that he literally said he’s writing a BatB narrative so Beauty Within is definitely present, and he straight up said he doesn’t like his prophecies to be entirely literal, I’m going to at least have fun and entertain the non-surface level interpretation, and I’m therefore not delusional for doing so.

And since Cersei is bringing her own downfall, how would Dany even fit? Dany would have been going after that throne regardless of whoever’s ass was sitting on it. Dany’s pursuit of the throne has absolutely nothing to Cersei, and everything to do with what she believes is her right. My point is, if Cersei’s butt wasn’t there, Dany would still be doing exactly what she’s doing. So how is Dany taking the throne a consequence of Cersei bringing it upon herself? Cersei and Dany are completely separate from one another. Even if AU Cersei was nice to all of her allies and Jaime, Ned knew the identity of her children, and therefore a fractured Westeros would still exist. She wouldn’t have had enough men to fight off Dany. None of that really matters anyway, because Daenerys still would have converted Houses through the use of her dragons. In the show, it’s been made clear that she thinks it’s now Dany so...… going back to my points outlined above, if she thinks it’s Dany, maybe it’s possible she’s wrong.

You know the one character Cersei will NEVER see as a threat, due to her narcissistic inability? Brienne the Beauty.

(Also for show!Cersei, I love how fandom is like “Valonqar can’t be Tyrion because Cersei thinks it’s Tyrion” and then in the same breath they go, “DO YOU SEE? Cersei thinks Daenerys is the YMB so it’s Daenerys!”..................................................... Like I said, GRRM and D&D could be going that way, but to use that logic is just…… what)

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-Book Structure-

Hey did you guys know that there’s actually thought and technique that goes into the formatting and structure of a book, especially a book series? That the structure of chapters and the format aren’t just randomly thrown together? DEFINITELY apply my two rules here.

When was this prophecy introduced? AFFC, the book Cersei AND Brienne conveniently got a POV, the book that is mostly Jaime, Cersei, and Brienne centric. Who has a POV chapter immediately after Cersei’s prophecy? Brienne. Why is it structured this way? Was it random that the book was mostly a Lannister twin + Brienne book? No...

What can that possibly imply?

The main story running through each of those characters is the same. In other words, those three are connected to the same subplot - BatB- and are therefore connected through the same themes.

POSSIBLE? Yes.

DELUSIONAL? No.

Also my favorite. Look at this chapter ending. LOOK AT IT. Feel the dramatic pause. DO YOU CLAIM THIS IS RANDOM?

I dare you tell me that there is no thought that goes into a chapter end.

I dare you to tell me that the Cersei chapter following is meaningless, like the structure of a book doesn’t go through an editing process, that chapter ends aren’t significant and the structures aren’t another element in the story telling process.

I dare you to tell me that “Brienne the Beauty” weren’t words intentionally chosen by a professional author.

We first hear about “younger, more beautiful” in CERSEI III - AFFC, and then Brienne is referred to as, “Brienne the Beauty” shortly after in BRIENNE III - AFFC. The only other time Brienne's nickname of “Brienne the Beauty” was mentioned was when Catelyn made note of it. It wasn’t in ASOS when there were plenty of opportunities, and it only came up again (...four times) right after Cersei thinks about YMB for the first time.

yEAH GUYS, DElUSIOnAL, wHat IS naRraTive StrUcTuRe AnD pROfESsIONAL fOrMAtTiNG? nOt rEaL LMFAO bRiEnNe’s nOt pOsSIbLe aT aLL