#and now he has to get her back to meereen before he does anything else AND she still has to deal with volantis !

[barbarab1707-blog]

About Dany the Dragon, chains, and how Jon sealed his fate at the Dragonpit meeting

Daenerys is a dragon. I think no one can argue with that. She calls herself the Mother of Dragons, people call her the Dragon Queen. 

She also sees herself as a dragon, as per this:

And this:

Olenna even tells her: “You’re a dragon, be a dragon” which is also the “counsel” Missandei gives her before her death, “Dracarys” (=be a dragon).

And at the end the showrunners show us this:

Dany has finally completely embraced her inner dragon.

How does this tie in with the Dragonpit meeting? Well, this scene is full of foreshadowing of what is bound to happen in season 08, especially regarding Dany the Dragon and Jon’s fate.

Before the dragonpit meeting, we have this piece of dialogue: “Dragons don’t understand the difference between what’s theirs and what isn’t. Land, livestock, children. Letting them roam free around the city was a problem.”

So, dragons don’t make the distinction between what’s theirs and what isn’t. Dany being a dragon, she is the same. 

Which is shown by this (land):

Dany not making the difference between which lands belong to her or not, could be further illustrated when Dany tells Jon this in s08: “what happens when they demand you press your claim and take what’s MINE.” She considers the 7 Kingdoms to be hers, when they are, by right, Jon’s.

This (livestock):

And this (children):

The second part of the sentence about letting dragons roam free is more important though. The Dragonpit was built in order to contain the dragons and control the damage they could do. 

In Dany’s case, what prevents her doing too great a damage, what controls her inner dragon and prevents it to “roam free” are her counsellors. They are her Dragonpit if one could say. Jorah, Barristan, Tyrion, all helped at one point or another to stop her unleashing her inner dragon, which manifests as anger. They also all failed at one point or another.

From the beginning of season 04, Dany herself started slowly slowly fearing her inner dragon, her own power and anger, which coincided with the moment where she started fearing her children’s power and wildness. This culminated with her locking and chaining Rhaegal and Viseryon in s04e10 and thus, trying to repress her nature.

However, trying to repress her nature didn’t seem to work all that well for her.

Besides, while his brothers were in chains, Drogon was still “roaming free”, which could mean that, as much as Dany tried to repress her impulsive and prone to anger nature, she still couldn’t fight it completely. Something that is confirmed when she feeds Meereenese nobles to the still chained Rhaegal and Viseryon mid-season 05, after Barristan’s death which angered her. 

Moreover, at that point of time, she doesn’t have anyone to keep her in check anymore, as Jorah is in exile, and Barristan is dead. Instead, she has Daario and Missandei encouraging her to embrace her inner dragon. Dany starts reconciling with it when she escapes the fighting pits on Drogon’s back. She is free again to be who she is. She embraces again her inner dragon when she burns the khals and takes over the khalasar (something that isn’t hers to begin with but feels entitled to have).

She wants to go full on dragon when she makes that speech to Tyrion when she returns to Meereen:”I will crucify the masters, I will set their fleets afire, kill every last one of their soldiers and return their cities to the dirt. That, is my plan.” Tyrion, who has taken Jorah’s and Barristan’s vacant positions, manages however to temper her first impulse. 

But, it’s interesting to note that he was the one to set Rhaegal and Viseryon free from their chains which was 2 episodes prior to her unleashing her anger on the khals.

Tyrion freeing them from their chains is interesting on a symbolic level and as foreshadowing as well, as in season 07, Tyrion’s bad decision making is what provokes Dany’s anger more and more, progressively awakening her inner dragon.

That’s when another comes in to help keep it in check once again: Jon.

From mid-season 07 until the end of s08e04, Jon is the one to act as Dany’s chains/Dragonpit.

However, s05 Dany, Jorah, Barristan, Tyrion, Varys and Jon all forgot something important:

You are damn right, Jorah. No one can tame Dany’s inner dragon, not even herself. (Sorry about the typo in the picture, I got it elsewhere, I’m too lazy to make my own).

And they forgot this:

Interesting we got reminded of that at the Dragonpit meeting. I think we heard that one before, didn’t we?

Hey, look! Drogon is in chains…Kraznys is at the other end of the chains, thinking he is in charge. But Dany is actually the one holding the whip in that scene. She is the master, the one with power. And hey, Kraznys even calls Drogon “a beast”. Doesn’t that remind us of something?

I’m not saying Jon is Kraznys, I’m just pointing the fact they both see dragons as beasts and both think dragons can be controlled, bound to their will, or in other words, chained to them. In Kraznys’ case, it was an actual dragon, in Jon’s case, it was Dany. Kraznys fell into Dany’s trap, failed in controlling Drogon and Dany unleashed her anger on Astapor. 

In s07e06, we also have this:

Another dragon in chains! I’m starting to think now that this ridiculous scene had a symbolic purpose. The only one who could actually bind a dragon to his will is the Night King. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, Dany bound her dragons to herself with blood magic and the NK bound Viseryon to himself with his magic. Only Dany’s Ice counterpart to her Fire could do it. No one else.

Let’s have a look at another moment at the Dragonpit. This is what Jon told Cersei when he refused her conditions:

“I am true to my word, or I try to be. That is why I cannot give you what you ask. I cannot serve two queens. And I have already pledged myself to Daenerys of House Targaryen.”

And this was his speech when Tyrion told him he should have lied: “I’m not gonna swear an oath I can’t uphold. Talk about my father if you want, tell me that’s the attitude that got him killed, but when enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies, and lies won’t help us in this fight.”

What does that have to do with anything? will you ask in a Sansa fashion. Well, the interesting thing about Jon’s speech on promises and lies is the chain on the floor while he does it.

The chain looks like this after Jon kills the wight:

Then, just before he starts his speech about oaths, promises and lies, it looks like this:

The chain has been rearranged on the floor by the staff, as we can see that on the second picture it is further away from the wight’s remains than on the first picture. Also, its spiral shape looks better. It is supposed to mean something.

Jon steps inside the spiral shaped chain right before his speech about promises and lies. The photo below is taken after he’s finished though:

What does it mean then?

The first meaning I spoke about was the obvious one, Jon is still chained/tied to his mission, as the wight’s remains at the end of the chain show us. Which leads him to:

Fall into a trap he creates for himself. 

When he “bent the knee, but” on the boat, he lied to Daenerys, or, as Tyrion put it so well in s07e03 (when he convinces Dany to let Jon mine the dragonglass), he gave her “something by giving her nothing”. However, at the Dragonpit, Cersei puts him on the spot, and he has to cover up for his previous lie and assure Dany of his loyalty to her. By pledging himself and the North to her in front of everyone, he is swearing an oath he cannot back out of. Even less after talking about upholding oaths and words meaning nothing when false promises are made. Those very words chain him to his public pledge to Dany. That’s what the chains are showing us, Jon, in season 08, feels he has no choice but to be true to his word, it is a matter of honour. This, in turn, leads him to:

engage himself in a spiral of lies and events (spiral shape) he won’t be able to get out of (chains). The only thing that finally frees him of this spiralling is her death.

He thought he could bind her to his will, control her. Instead, he got himself in chains, like the shot below shows:

Jon is inside the spiral while Dany stands at the other end of the chain. Dany, like in the scene with Kraznys, is actually the master, the one in charge. Jon, through his decision to pledge himself to her, has made himself her prisoner. We can say that from the moment he stepped foot on Dragonstone until the moment he killed her, he never ceased being her prisoner. Sansa was right, by going to Dragonstone, Jon walked into a trap. Not only the one he created for himself at the Dragonpit, but also the one Tyrion had set up for him when he invited him to Dragonstone without mentioning he had to bend the knee. 

Anyway, he walked into a trap, then failed in controlling Dany’s inner dragon, and she unleashed her anger on King’s Landing. Just like in the scene with Kraznys really.  It’s worth pointing that Dany is standing in KL (a city she will destroy) when she repeats the same words she told Kraznys in Astapor (a city she destroyed). She freed the people of Astapor, and later on, she “freed” the people of KL (albeit in a tiny bit extreme way). It looks like a kind of echo to me.

For those who would like to say that Jon becomes the dragon in chains, I will say no no no. Jon’s personality has nothing to do with Targaryen mentality, he is a Stark through and through!

Well… except maybe for… falling for his sister? Alright, alright, maybe he is the chained dragon here, but just a little bit, okay? Let’s say he is a winged wolf in chains, yes?

Seriously though, I wonder if, by showing us the two scenes displaying chains in season 07, they weren’t trying to draw a parallel between Viseryon the dragon being bound to the Night King’s will (Ice), and Jon the dragon being bound to Dany’s will (Fire). Without Viseryon nor Jon having a real choice in it either. 

One other thing that I feel foreshadows Jon’s fate in season 08. Before the Dragonpit meeting, Tyrion says: “but in the beginning, when it was home to Balerion the Dread, it must have been the most dangerous place in the world”. Jon in season 08, acts as Dany’s illusory dragonpit/chains, he prevents her from doing damage as best as he can. But she sees him as a threat and he is afraid of her which is understandable, as being too close to a locked and/or chained dragon is still a dangerous position to be in:

It’s interesting to see that the Dragonpit, which is the place where Jon sealed his fate, is a ruin. Jon, who is Dany’s last metaphorical Dragonpit, ends up broken. A dangerous position to be in indeed. 

Am I going too far here?

To conclude this thing, I’d like to mention another scene in that same episode that foreshadows as well Jon’s fate as a prisoner of Dany’s. It is the one with Theon. 

Theon mentions his time as a prisoner of Ramsay’s and how Yara, his sister, was the only one to try and save him. In season 08, Sansa is the only one who tries, in a desperate move, to save Jon, by telling Tyrion his secret. Most importantly, she goes to KL with an army to try and free him at the very end, while he is still a prisoner (but of Grey Worm’s now. Geeez, poor Jon…). The parallel can even go on, as Yara failed in freeing Theon and bringing him back home, and Sansa, although she manages to free Jon, fails in bringing him back home too. Jon is a broken man, Theon was a broken man. In season 08, Theon chooses love for the Starks and Sansa over duty to Yara, his Queen. Jon at the end chooses love for Sansa over duty to Daenerys, his Queen. 

Anyway, those were my latest messy ramblings and that’s all for now.

Thanks for reading!

[kylandara]

What are things you would praise Sansa Stark for? Do you think it matters that some of her accomplishments were achievable only due to the help she received from other characters?

Kelsey...

As to the first question, there are two qualities of hers that stand out:

She learns from her mistakes. She might screw up, and she might screw up badly. But generally she seems to reflect on where she went wrong and at least make a considered, self-aware attempt to better herself. She shows actual growth as a person. She’s shown herself to be highly adaptable, mentally resilient and, eventually, shrewd. I think at this point she has a survivor’s mentality, and it will serve her well going forward. She’s also one of the very few characters left who has not had any sort of direct, first-hand brush with the supernatural (beyond, in the books, being a latent warg herself, of course) — no dragons, fire zealot priests, ice monsters, sorcerer-assassins, greenseers and so on. If the story will end with magic being stamped out or sent back into an ebb, she seems the best-positioned to deal with the “real” world.

She’s the best kind of sieve. She’s able to process experiences and relationships with people and filter out the bad while keeping the good or the useful. Her relationship with Cersei is a good example of this: Sansa is able to filter out Cersei’s bad qualities (cruelty, lack of care for people in her charge, being power-hungry) while retaining what it is about Cersei that can improve her (namely, giving as good as you get and not taking anyone’s shit). She does it with Littlefinger, too — she learns how to schmooze and glad-hand and persuade people without going too far and while having some higher purpose than herself in mind. This is related to the first point, but not quite the same.

As to the second question:

Tyrion is alive now only because Jaime and Varys bailed him out before he could be executed — on top of Podrick saving him at the Blackwater and Bronn volunteering to fight for him at the Eyrie.

Dany is where she is because three dragon eggs were given to her because she’s a Targaryen and for absolutely no other reason. This is on top of characters like Jorah and Barristan backing her up continuously; she also has people left in Meereen to clean up after her when she leaves.

Arya had Yoren to get her out of King’s Landing, Jaqen to help her escape Harrenhal and Sandor to keep her alive until she could get to Braavos.

Jon got a priceless Valyrian sword because his dog overheard the ice zombies in time and Jeor Mormont was feeling generous. He also had Yrgitte to help him assimilate into wildling society and Sam’s bottomless well of historical knowledge.

Bran had Jojen, Meera and Hodor to get him to Bloodraven’s cave, and had Bloodraven communicate important information to him.

Jaime had Brienne to get him back to King’s Landing when his hand was hacked off.

Brienne in turn had Catelyn to help her escape Renly’s camp and then Jaime to give her a priceless Valyrian sword.

Davos was knighted for smuggling onions.

Sam had Jon to protect him from bullies at the Wall.

In other words, who exactly in this story hasn’t had help from other characters? If Sansa’s character arc is “compromised” because she received assistance, what are we to make of characters like Tyrion and Arya who always manage to have someone to whisk them out of a jam, or someone like Dany who can keep failing upward ad nauseam? Sansa’s not the beneficiary of anything that anyone else isn’t, and then some.

[gumx395]

Daenerys’ Reign of Terror Didn’t End with her Death

In the almost year since the end of Game of Thrones, there has been a lot of jokes, memes, and theories about what will happen to Westoros and its people after everything was said and done. People have talked about the Night’s Watch and Beyond the Wall, the North, Dorne, pretty much every place left a bit open-ended.

But very few people have talked about what happens outside of Westoros, to people and places who aren’t invested in the continent. These are also the people most affected by Daenerys and her journey, and are also the most people of color we see in the show.

Looking into it, it’a pretty grim reality.

The Unsullied:

(note: I’m counting the Unsullied separately because they’ve behave and been treated as their own entity throughout the show.)

As we all know, the Unsullied were enslaved soldiers forced to live, fight, and die for the Good Masters of Astapor. Daenerys came along and “freed” them. Now, one can argue that they chose to follow her of their own free will, but the fact is that Daenerys never actually gave them the option to walk away from the life of a soldier. She gives her word that no harm will come to them, but she doesn’t offer these men, who own nothing, who don’t know HOW to own anything, any money, food, water, or resources to live the life of freedmen.

Daenerys takes them across the Narrow Sea to Westoros, to a continent they’ve never been to and couldn’t care less about. They fight and die for a throne they’ve never seen and never wanted. Then Daenerys dies.

What exactly are they meant to do now? Who are they meant to fight for? All those years in Daenerys’ service, and still nothing to indicate they’ve been taught what it means to be a freedman.

The show ends letting us know that, under the leadership of Grey Worm (the only Unsullied soldier we ever see shown any humanity or concern by Daenerys), the Unsullied will go to Naath to fulfill Missandei’s dream of going there and providing protection. It’s supposed to imply a happy, if not bittersweet ending. Thinking about it a bit deeper, however, shows that’s not exactly the case.

There are two scenarios that can happen for the Unsullied, based entirely on whether or not you believe that the poisonous butterflies that reside in Naath from the books is tv canon or not.

If the butterflies are canon (which Jacob Anderson, the actor who plays Grey Worm, seems to believe), then the truth of the matter is the Unsullied are wiped out almost immediately after arriving to Naath, with the Naathi no less in danger than they were before. Slavers continue to pick people up off the shores that continue to go unprotected.

If the butterflies aren’t canon (which the show seems to suggest considering Missandei encourages Grey Worm to return with her to Naath), then at best the Naathi are protected for at least half a generation (assuming all of the current Unsullied are at least in their twenties) by a group of soldiers who will live their entire lives not knowing true freedom, blindly following a leader who will live out the rest of his life harboring unresolved anger and hatred from being forced to watch the one person he ever got the chance to love executed for the sake of someone else’s ambitions. As the best case scenario, this seems much more bitter than sweet.

Slaver’s Bay:

I’m combining the cities of Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen because they’re fates are quite interconnected. I am also specifically calling this region “Slaver’s Bay” instead of “The Bay of Dragons” because of it’s most likely fate.

Daenerys left Slaver’s Bay almost immediately after getting the former masters to submit. She did not wait to see if the peace would last or if the former masters were simply re-strategizing, she simply assumed that her dragons were enough to force a peace…..and then promptly took her dragons and left. It is pretty much guaranteed that the former masters resumed their plans to regain power the moment they heard that the dragon queen was long gone.

There are also two likely scenarios based entirely on the decisions of one man: Daario Naharis

In the first, slightly more optimistic scenario, Daario is loyal to Daenerys and follows her orders, trying to aid in constructing a government from scratch. Considering the man has freely admitted he has no mind for politics, it can’t be imagined that this goes well, and the former masters attack once again, this time in all out war. It’s hard to see any other outcome except that the freed people of Slaver’s Bay, with no Unsullied, no Dothraki, no dragons, only whatever might be left of the Second Sons to protect them, are sadly re-enslaved. The old masters kill those who try to fight back, and create a system of slavery even harsher and stricter than the one before, with the intent to kill any more dreams of freedom.

In the less optimistic scenario, Daario, who’s proven his loyalties change on a whim, who freely admitted he does not care for the people in Slaver’s Bay before being jilted and put in charge of its government, refuses to aid the freed men of Slaver’s Bay, and freely allows the former masters to commit a massacre throughout the three cities before regaining power. He might even be paid handsomely for it.

In both cases, slavery returns to the bay with a harsher hand than before, effectively making it worse than it was before it was freed. All whispers of another revolution die when news reaches Slaver’s Bay that Daenerys Targaryen will never return to help them.

The Dothraki Sea:

The scenarios for the Dothraki people are possibly the most tragic.

When Daenerys killed every Dothraki khal in the khalar vezhen, she wasn’t just killing Dothraki leaders, but Dothraki protectors. She took each and every fighting man the Dothraki had to offer, named them all her bloodriders, and carried them off to fight a war that, like the Unsullied, they had no investment in. 

We’re supposed to see this as some great military victory on her part, but this ignores some pretty crucial people: The women, children, elderly, and disabled among the Dothraki. We don’t see any of them with Daenerys during her conquering in Westoros, so it’s pretty safe to assume they were all left behind in Vaes Dothrak. It’s possible they stayed in the city, waiting for their husbands and fathers to come home.

Unfortunately, that leads us again to two scenarios with the same results.

The first scenario, much like with the Unsullied, depends on whether book canon is expected to crossover onto the show, despite never being mention. This is the Dothraki rule that all bloodriders must seek vengeance for their slain khal before commiting suicide themselves. If this is considered canon within the show, then it can be assumed that a mass suicide took place not long after Daenerys died and the remaining Dothraki (however many were left after they were massacred in the Long Night) were told that they would not be allowed to kill Jon Snow. If this is not considered canon, then the Dothraki men are trapped on a continent that is not their home, either expected to figure out how to commandeer and sail their own boats home, which during the winter would almost guarantee them dying at sea, or were eventually killed off by Westorosi soldiers for pillaging Westorosi cities and villages.

In either scenario, those left in the Dothraki Sea will be unable to defend themselves, leaving them wide open to killers and slavers.

Essentially, Daenerys committed a complete genocide of the Dothraki people, succeeding in wiping all of them out and destroying every remnant of culture they had.

Daenerys’ reign of terror did not die with her, and from the ruins of Old Valeryia all the way to the Red Waste (all this assuming Qarth was able to establish some sort of government after Daenerys killed the remaining rulers and sacked the city), her atrocities will be felt for generations to come.

[tatticstudio55]

Jon and Dany – both beyond the Wall at the end?

DAY SEVEN (Sunday, August 2nd) Leadership  |  Free Choice  |  DoS: Royal Retirement / Passing the Torch

This is less meta-ish and borders more on the speculative side, but I’d like to discuss a Jon and Dany (potential) ending I’ve never seen anyone talk about before: them ending both beyond the Wall, living with the free folks/as free folks. So, basically, the ending Jon got on the show, but with Dany by his side. I would even go as far as to say that the showrunners might have considered it.

This is not by any means “my ideal” Jonerys ending. That would be Jon and Dany settling on Dragonstone with a bunch of targlings and wild dragons. I do not, alas, think this is where the story is going. I do not expect either (or both) of them on the IT either. On the other hand, an ending with them both beyond the Wall seems to me like it could work with the overall story. There is already some book evidence/foreshadowing pointing to Jon’s endgame there, notably in ASOS when he (forgive my French) “finds himself” beyond the Wall:

“On the edge of the haunted forest, where the tents had been, Jon found an oakwood stump and sat.

Ygritte wanted me to be a wildling. Stannis wants me to be the Lord of Winterfell. But what do I want? The sun crept down the sky to dip behind the Wall where it curved through the western hills. Jon watched as that towering expanse of ice took on the reds and pinks of sunset.

[…]

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger . . . he could feel it. It was food he needed, prey, a red deer that stank of fear or a great elk proud and defiant. He needed to kill and fill his belly with fresh meat and hot dark blood. His mouth began to water with the thought.

It was a long moment before he understood what was happening. When he did, he bolted to his feet. "Ghost?" He turned toward the wood, and there he came, padding silently out of the green dusk, the breath coming warm and white from his open jaws. "Ghost!" he shouted, and the direwolf broke into a run.

[…]

He had his answer then.�� Jon XII, ASOS

Dany is more of a wild card, but even the show gave us SOME reasons to believe that D&D played with the idea at some point: the pregnancy bait, Dany’s comment in 7x07 about King’s Landing and how “constrictive” the Dragonpit felt, Dany’s “we could stay here a thousand years. No one would find us” line in 8x01. Most importantly, back when I was watching season 7, this is the impression I was getting (from the showrunners):

Dany is a good person at heart, but she would not make a good queen nor would she like being queen.

I do not wholly agree with this, especially if we are talking about bookDany, who would make – and is – a much better queen than she is given credit for, but it looked to me like this is where the show was going with her. Or, at least, this is the message they were trying to communicate. They were not trying to “hide” Dany’s dark turn from the audience by making her or trying to make her bad-good-bad-good-bad-good, they simply had another endgame in mind for the character. I do not want to make this about the show but had to get this out of the way.

Now onto bookDany:

A while ago, I posted a meta where I discussed a pattern in Daenerys’s story: twice she succeeded at something magical, highly dangerous and related to dragons, and twice after she ended up in a desertic environment, thirsting, starving and nearly dying from exposition. Following the rule of 3 (which is especially predominant in her arc), it will probably happen again and – since there is no Great Grass Sea in Westeros – the “desertic environment” swallowing her afterward will be the frozen lands beyond the Wall. It could mean that she will die there, but it could also mean that she will simply disappear there. Her fate could also be revealed to the reader while remaining unknown to most characters. This would fit with Dany’s current representation in the story so far: she is an enigma, a rumor; nobody really knows her whereabouts, who she is, what she is, what she wants, what she has, if she is even real.

There are numerous parallels to be drawn between Daenerys and Mance Rayder, which I covered here. I would love the irony of Dany coming to Westeros thinking she is reclaiming her family’s lands, only to settle in the only part that was never conquered by the Targaryen. There is the (disputable, ok, but) fact that the only region in all of the continent where dragons could turn up useful for tree planting would be beyond the Wall (so frozen soil can be thawed and warmed up for plants to grow there again). Martin hung a pretty riffle on the metaphorical Wall when Silverwing refused to fly across in Fire and Blood. There is this pattern of wildling women making up Jon’s romantic prospects; first a wildling “commoner” (Ygritte), then a wildling “princess” (Val), then a wildling “queen” (Dany, eventually, if this theory proves to be correct). So of course, you will ask –

If this is Martin’s intended ending, why couldn’t the d’s just go with it?

Well, because the d’s never gave Dany any incentive to go beyond the Wall, apart from a brief rescue mission back in season 7. If Dany must end up there, something has got to bring her there and the show scrapped or discarded all of it : no Lands of Always Winter, no curtain of light, no this, no that, no nothing. And once she gets there in the books, because I am quite sure she will, she will not come back. The North is Dany’s ultimate destination. No yoyoing back and forth North and South like what the show did. That was just dumb. Travel time and distances should mean something, even if you have dragons (plus, Dany’s armies would have to travel on foot, horseback or by boat, like everybody else). The closest of yoyoing we have ever gotten in asoiaf was probably with Catelyn, it spanned three books, and she never made it back North anyway.

Did the d’s consider going with that ending? They might just. The clues were certainly there (see above…) but at some point, they must have realized that it would not work with the hole they had dug themselves in.

Now about the elephant in the room

I know some people will think that Dany ending beyond the Wall does not make much sense for her story, which technically (so far) does not have much to do with the lands beyond the Wall. In a way, I agree. Some people would also find such an ending anticlimactic to her arc and a waste after everything she has learned about leadership and politics in Meereen. I also agree. On a watsonian level, an ending with, say, Dany as a queen in Westeros – I think it works. Of course, I do. Where it does not work is on a doyalist level. Dany already had her arc of becoming queen. She achieved that by the end of book 3. Then she had to learn all the nit and gritty and dirty work of ruling over the rubble of a corrupt system while trying to make the lives better for everyone. If Dany becomes queen in Westeros, the same thing will happen again. Different setting, different people, same story. Some people have criticized the underlying message of Dany’s fight against slavery as “only a preparation” for what comes next in Westeros, saying it would undermine the real value of Dany’s work in Essos. I agree. However, the same problem applies if Dany becomes queen in Westeros: then her time in Essos is reduced to a prop up, a preparation, as if ruling Essos were somewhat less important than ruling Westeros. Furthermore, I cannot imagine an ending where Dany, still in possession of significant military forces – significant enough to secure her a crown, anyway – could choose to settle in Westeros without being plagued with guilt over leaving Essos’s slaves behind. I am sorry, I just cannot.

This is also, I think, where part of the “Dany is not a peace time queen” mentality comes from. Dany will never be a peace time queen, not because she prefers war, or because she does not want peace, but because what she is trying to achieve, in these times and places, means a lifetime of war. You cannot undo and rebuild an entire system that is rotten at its core in a single lifetime (heck, even show!Tyrion said this to her, for what the show is worth now…), much less in a few years. Dany is not a peace time queen because she is not a queen that is interested in maintaining the statue quo. At least that is how her time in Meereen revealed her. Arya would not be a peace time queen either. Jon would not be a peace time king. They could never be, less they abandoned their ideals and their ethics for a more comfortable life.

Then you might say that an ending where Dany goes back to Essos works too. It does – once again, on a watsonian level. What is the problem with this on a doyalist level? It turns Dany into a deus ex machina, coming to Westeros just in time to save it, then leaving it right after, as if neither the Others, nor her had ever been there.

The two remaining options are: either she dies a queen in Westeros, most likely during the Great War, or… the queen, Daenerys Targaryen, dies, while Dany lives.

That means that all reasonable possibilities, or choices, to keep on fighting as a queen are taken from her. Maybe her forces were severely depleted during the Great War. Maybe her dragons died. Maybe both. Maybe her function, not as an individual, but as a character in a specific story called A song of ice and fire, was to destroy an old system (AND to inspire others to follow in her footsteps, ensure that her efforts were not in vain, that the first steps will not go wasted, that the work she started will be taken up by other peoples, and others after them, and others after), not to rebuild the new one. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. Frodo Baggins’ role in The Lord of the Rings was to destroy something evil. His gardener Sam was the one who planted the trees and went on to become a mayor afterward. One was a destroyer and the other was a builder, but in the end, they were both heroes.

Not to mention that Frodo did not die at the end. You could say that he went on to live beyond the Wall too.

[beautifultypewriter]

Everyone Has Their Price ~ Daenerys Targaryen

Requested: Yes / by @saegerphoenix (It’s very annoying when tumblr won’t let me tag people)

Warnings: Dungeons, attempted killing, actual killing (nothing graphic), fight scene, weapons, mentions of blood, injured reader

Word Count: 1,878 (I’m so sorry)

Pairing: Daenerys Targaryen x fem!assassin!reader

Summary: The reader is tasked with a very important mission. Unfortunately, that mission is not completed as Reader gets caught before it can be carried out.

A/N: The original plan was to take this further, but once I finished writing it, I thought that any more would have ruined what I had, so here we are. Also it got way longer than I had originally planned it to be.

It was said to be a difficult job. The target was established and powerful. She had guards surrounding her at all times and the most fearless army known to Essos. They told you it would be difficult, but they clearly didn’t know you. You never lost. You wouldn’t lose now. Not with the gold that had been promised for a confirmed kill. The trip to Meereen had been a long one, but it only served to push you more. You felt invigorated when the ship you had stowed away on landed in port and you felt invincible when you managed to slip onto land and away from prying eyes. Your next step was to observe the castle; to try to get a good idea of how things worked there and when would be the best time for you to engage the target.

 It had been surprisingly easy to infiltrate the castle, posing as a kitchen servant. After spending a few days learning every passageway in the castle and learning the routine of your target, you were ready. You weren’t going to lie to yourself, this was not going to be an easy assignment, but you were most certainly capable of completing it. You smirked to yourself. You were probably the only person in Essos who was capable of completing this mission. The universe knows that many others before you have tried and failed. You wouldn’t fail.

 When night had fallen and the activity levels in the castle had died down, you decided to make your move. You had brought a single dagger with you, knowing that anything else would have been too conspicuous. Clutching the blade in your hand, you moved quickly and quietly within the shadows, straight to where you knew the target would be sleeping. You encountered a patrol only once, deciding that your best bet was to press yourself against the wall and let them pass without noticing your figure, your dark clothing helping you hide. When the coast was clear, you took off again, gliding down the last corridor before stopping across the hall from a large door where two guards were posted. Pushing yourself further into the shadows, you observed the obstacle, deciding that you should take out the one on the right first. When the other guard turned to look down the hall, you jumped from your hiding spot, grabbing the guard closest to you and sliding your dagger across his throat. He fell to the ground at your feet, alerting the other guard to your presence. He turned, but before he could draw his sword, your knife was in his stomach. He fell next to his friend as you pulled your blade back to your side and turned to the door. You knew there’d be two more guards on the inside, so you had to be ready. Letting out a breath, you readied your blade and pushed the door open. Without giving the first guard any chance, you slashed and jabbed his torso, jumping back as the second advanced on you. He swung his sword at your head causing you to duck down. You swung your leg out to kick his feet out from under him. The guard fell onto his back and you were quick to take advantage of his prone position, lunging forward and shoving your knife into his neck.

 As you stood up, you wiped the bloody dagger on your pants before moving forward, towards the raised platform where the target was sure to be. Unfortunately, as you neared her, you were faced with something you had not expected. That something was a man with his sword drawn and pointed at you. A third guard? This was unprecedented. You had only ever seen two go into the room. Your shoulders sagged as you let out a breath, “Seriously?” The man smirked at you as you got into a fighting stance, your dagger held low by your hip. Your free hand was raised above your head and you motioned for him with your fingers.

 He advanced, bringing his sword down over your head. You threw your arm up, deflecting his blow with your dagger. Spinning around, you swiped at him, catching his arm with the end of your knife, ripping his shirt and making a small cut in his skin. You jumped onto a bench, watching as he glanced at his injury before swiping his sword at you. You jumped up, the sword passing through the air under your feet, and landed on the floor on his opposite side. You had an open lane and you took it, running straight at the target, your dagger held firmly in your fist. She stepped back and you smirked. Then the man was next to you, throwing his arm out and catching you around the waist. He threw you backwards and you hit the floor hard. Trying to regain your breath, you laid on your back for a second. When you looked up the man was above you, ready to drive his sword into you. Rolling towards him, you slashed at his legs causing him to drop his sword and stagger back. You pushed yourself to your feet and ran towards the target again. This time you sidestepped the man’s arm and were able to run up the three steps to finally be face to face with your mission. She stared at you with wide eyes, her silver hair falling over her shoulders as she stepped back. Shame you had to kill her. She was a beauty. You smirked as you raised the dagger, ready to bring it down on her. Right before you could swing, though, you felt something hard collide with the back of your head. You closed your eyes against the pain as you stumbled forward. Readjusting your grip on the knife’s handle, you looked at your feet to see a metal pitcher lying there. Blinking, you looked back at the target to see her eyes flash to the man. He must have thrown the pitcher. It doesn’t matter. You were about to be out of here. You lifted your arm again, but the pain in your head was too much for you and you felt yourself falling. The last thing you felt was your dagger slipping from your hands as the coldness of the bricks numbed your skin.

 As your eyes fluttered open, your hand flew to the back of your head. You groaned as you pulled your hand back. It was clean, which was a good sign. Rubbing your eyes, you sat up on the bench you had been laying on. You were surrounded by bars. Fantastic. You chuckled quietly to yourself, shaking your head. “Something funny?” You looked over to the cell door to see your opponent from the previous night glaring at you.

 You smirked, “Nice to see you’re still standing.”

 He sneered at you, “Oh really?”

 You pulled your hair over your shoulder as you laid down again, “We’ve got unfinished business.” You closed your eyes as you propped one leg up on the bench, letting the other hang over the edge. Your hands folded and rested on your stomach, “Think I’ll get a bit more rest first.” He scoffed and you smirked.

 A new voice entered the space, “Daario, step back.” Opening one eye, you looked over to see the target standing at you cell door. The man moved back, but you noticed that he stood close. She stared at you and you closed your eye, shifting slightly on the bench, trying to get more comfortable. The target cleared her throat, “I don’t know why you’ve come to kill me and honestly I don’t care. Just know that whatever you think I’ve done-”

 Your eyes snapped open as you turned your head, “I was hired to kill you.”

 Her face maintained the neutral expression, “By who?” You had to give her some credit here. She was not nearly as frightened and doe eyed as she seemed when you encountered her last night.

 You shrugged, “I don’t ask questions. They give me a name, I complete the mission, they give me a bag of gold and I go on my way.” You smirked at her, “It’s nothing personal, sweetheart.”

 She scoffed at you, “A sellsword?”

 You sucked in a breath through your teeth, “Not my favorite term, but sure.” Your eyes moved around the cell, checking for weak points, so you could plan your escape.

 “I figured as much. No honor. No loyalty-”

 You sat up, cutting her off again, “I have loyalty.”

 She scoffed, “To who?”

 You smirked as you threw your hands out to the side, “Myself, of course.” She glared at you as you flopped back onto the bench, “No one else in this world is looking out for me, so I’ll have to do it myself.” You glanced at her and you noticed her eyes soften and her frown deepen. You shrugged, “Everyone has their price.”

 She moved closer to the bars, “And what is yours?”

 You chuckled, “More than you can afford.”

 The man didn’t seem to care for your conversation, as he stepped towards the cell, pulling his sword halfway out of its sheath, “Do you know who you’re speaking to?”

 You sighed, “Some little girl who calls herself a queen?” The man moved forward, a deep frown on his face, but he was pushed back by the target. She glared at you, her eyes full of fire. You quite liked it. You took the time to look over her then. Her silver hair was pulled back in an intricate braid and she wore a crisp gown of white. She looked more like a queen than you had originally thought. You tapped your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you stared at her.

 She leveled her voice, “I asked you what your price was.”

 “And I told you that it’s more than you can afford.”

 She held her head high as she squared her shoulders, “I can offer you a leadership position in my army. You’ll have respect and a place to lay your head. When I sail across the sea, if you help me take back my kingdom, I can offer you titles and a castle.”

 You waved your hand, “I’m gonna stop you there. I don’t care about castles, or land, or titles, or respect even. I care about gold and since you have none, I think I’ll keep my other job.”

 She shook her head, “You’ve already failed your other job.”

 You tapped your foot, “Something you should know about me, your grace, is that I never lose.” You smirked at her quickly before returning your attention to the ceiling.

 “You’ve already lost.” She motioned to the room around you, “You’re locked in my dungeon.”

 Looking over at her, you grinned, “This game isn’t finished yet. I haven’t lost anything.” You winked at her.

 She stepped back, her eyes widening, “My offer still stands.” She looked you over once before she retreated from the dungeon, her guard following close behind her. Sitting up, you watched her go, wondering if she’d add anything else to that deal of hers. You smirked to yourself as you laid down again. Silver might not be so bad.

[ashleyfanfic]

So, I’m going to be really vocal about something and I don’t care if you agree with me or not. I’m going to go on record and say that I’m a fan of Sam, Jon, Dany, and Sansa. I think you can tell by fics that I harbor no ill will towards any of them. With that said, I take issue with only a few things from Sunday’s episode.

I get that Sansa learned politics at the bosom of Littlefinger and Cersei and is therefore distrustful of Daenerys, especially learning that Jon bent the knee to her. Littlefinger even said he heard she was quite beautiful and Sansa drew the conclusion that Jon wanted to marry her. So, when Dany gets there, despite her armies and dragons, she is still cold to her, much like the rest of the north, except Lord Umber (bless his sweet baby heart). I understand this, to an extent. But Sansa’s disdain for Daenerys based on what she thinks she knows about her would be equally shady if Daenerys did the same to her. However, Daenerys is in the interesting position of not only wanting to gain Sansa’s respect as a queen but also as someone that wants the approval of his family because she loves him. She does seem to be hurt by Sansa’s coldness, and Jon is as well.

The one real problem I see here is that Jon is not a man who is used to having to use words to express himself. He’s a man of action. He can make very blunt points when he wants to, but when it comes to the finesse of politics, it’s lost on him. He can’t seem to make everyone understand that titles and leaders don’t fucking matter when you have an undead army breathing down your neck. Dany and Jon grasped a little bit of happiness on their road towards the dead. They know, better than anyone, what’s coming for them. Jon has lost countless brothers, seen the Wildlings nearly wiped out to extinction because of them. Daenerys lost one of her dragons. Those are hard learned lessons that don’t go away. They see the bigger picture. But, again, they’re faced with an enemy the others haven’t seen. 

Now, there are those who could vouch that what’s coming for them is bad beyond their wildest dreams. Gendry, Beric, Tormund, Jorah, and the Hound. It appears that next week Tormund and Beric will make it to Winterfell to warn them all. But these people, Sansa included, aren’t seeing the bigger picture because as Tyrion said: “People’s minds aren’t made for problems that large”. They won’t have a choice when the dead gets there. The people with Daenerys have seen the dead in the Dragon Pit. Brienne has seen it. Davos. Even Jaime who got the shock of his life when he saw Bran waiting for him. 

You have all of these people who have seen that the dead do exist and they are coming with their own eyes. Sam knows this as well. He left the Citadel because they weren’t listening and were doing nothing about the threat. He went to Winterfell because that’s where the fighting would be and he didn’t want to sit back and watch but help. And I understand that learning what he did about his family was hard. But Dany told him the truth when she could have lied. Maybe she got that from Jon. But she told him and understood that he was upset. What bothered me was it felt like Sam told Jon all he did out of spite. Almost like, “You destroyed my family, I’m going to ruin your alliance.” Sam, who has been preaching about the Army of the Dead for years now, lost sight of this and tried to severe Jon’s alliance with Daenerys by telling him this.

But, my opinion is, this will be a moot point. He asked if Daenerys would give up her crown for the betterment of her people, and I ask you if you think she really wants the crown in the first place or if she only thinks that she is the only choice. They know they can’t leave Cersei in place. She knows that the wheel that rules over them all needs to be broken as the system is broken. That people get trampled on, hurt, and enslaved and she hates all of those things, and she feels she’s in the best position to help. She stayed in Meereen when she could have gone to the Seven Kingdoms because she was worried about the people she had freed. I firmly believe that she only wants it because she feels like she’s the only one who can write the wrongs of the world. Finding out that Jon is her nephew and in line for the throne are two different things. I don’t think she’ll care about the nephew bit. I truly don’t. This is a person who grew up on stories about Targaryens being together and even feared that she would have to marry her brother one day to keep the Targaryen line going. She’s lamented the loss of her family over and over again, and to find out that the man she loves is her family, I don’t think, will bother her as much as other people claiming Jon has a better right to the throne, but then I don’t think that would even matter. She knows Jon is a good man. She knows Jon didn’t want to be king but they named him king anyway. She knows who he is and loves him. Davos, Tyrion, and Varys have the solution already at hand and I think that will be the key. 

I do think they’ll have a conversation about the Tarly’s. Jon executed Janos Slynt for not obeying an order. He killed the men that killed him. He spared Tormund because he liked Tormund. They had been companions when traveling with the Wildlings and he respected the man. I think that had more to do with him sparing his life than anything else. Had Jon not spent time with the Wildlings, he would have been like the other brothers of the Night’s Watch and hated and fought them to their ultimate deaths. So, I think Jon will ask her about it. She told him that they want to help people and they can only help them from a position of strength and sometimes strength is terrible. Two men died to make 250 bend the knee and join her. Tarly called her a foreign queen. He called her army a bunch of savages. He disrespected her in front of those men after she made her terms very clear. He knew what he was doing and would suffer the consequences for it. Tyrion even suggested sending them to the Wall, which Dany didn’t say no to, but Randyl Tarly himself said she had no right to send him as she wasn’t his queen. Dickon jumped into it, for no reason other than for the writers to have this very conflict this season. Tyrion tried to reason with him. He refused to listen. Again, two died, and others kept their lives because they didn’t want the same fate. 

Sam, will naturally, not want to hear the explanation. But Jon will. 

Sansa will come up against Dany, it looks like from the preview, in the next episode. But will she finally listen? Will she hear about Jon going beyond the wall to get a wight and the only person who could save him was Dany and her dragons? Or is the sole purpose of Sansa, now, to be a foil to Jon and Dany. If anything, I think his family’s reaction to Daenerys will only push them further together. Jon and Daenerys against the world. That’s how it felt in the dragon pit. That’s how it is in Winterfell right now. Jon bent the knee, not out of obligation, but because Daenerys is a leader he believes in. He’s talked to Missandei and I’m sure others on the island as Tyrion suggested. She came and saved his stupid ass when he went beyond the wall when she didn’t have to. She pledged her armies and her dragons to his cause before he ever bent the knee and he saw who she was in that moment. She was a person who cared more about other people than she did about herself. She is the queen HE chose. 

[nightqueendany]

The Original Final Season 7 - Episode 1: Family, Duty, Honor

This is a combination of events from “show canon” and what I believe would have happened in the “Original Final Season 7.”

Should be noted that King’s Landing is gray and not sunny and the weather gets worse as the season progresses. It does not stay sunny at all...because that’s just fucking stupid.

IN THE RIVERLANDS

The episode opens in the same fashion as the show canon 7x01, Arya Stark as Walder Frey, taking out the rest of the Frey men

After walking out of the hall, Arya heads to the dungeons and frees Edmure Tully. Arya tells him what she’s done, the Riverlands belong to House Tully again. Edmure asks what Arya will do now and she says she’s heading back home, her brother Jon is now KITN. 

Edmure, honoring the previous pledge he made to House Stark, asks Arya to send his pledge to Jon; the Riverlands will remain under Stark rule, under the King in the North

On her journey North, Arya runs into the Brotherhood Without Banners and the Hound. She’s still pissed at them for what they did to Gendry. As reparation, the Brotherhood decide to accompany Arya to Winterfell to see her safely home

IN THE FAR NORTH

The Winter Winds are rising, the Night King and his massive army of the undead march south...

AT THE WALL

Bran Stark makes it safely south of the Wall with the help of Meera and the Black Brothers. 

As Bran’s there, preparing to leave for Winterfell, we notice several of the Black Brothers are in incredibly bad health - either due to illness, lack of supplies, the cold, or some combination.

In looking for medicine/supplies, Lord Commander Edd Tollett comes across some of Sam’s old things, a cloak with a few remaining shards of dragonglass in it AND The Horn of Winter (though Edd doesn’t know what it is)

IN KING’S LANDING

Cersei Lannister - in losing all her allies and discovering news of the Frey massacre, Jon/Sansa ruling the North, and Dany/Tyrion coming to Westeros - becomes more obsessed with the Younger More Beautiful Queen prophecy. 

Because Sansa would be Jon’s heir if he dies and therefore QITN, Cersei isn’t certain if the YMBQ is Sansa or Dany, yet is convinced it’s one of them. This is when Cersei tells Qyburn to send word to Jon to come south to bend the knee to her

Cersei tells Jaime of the YMBQ prophecy and he worries for her mental state - having just lost Tommen, their last child...

...Until Qyburn reveals Cersei is pregnant. Cersei is then convinced this means the prophecy was indeed wrong, as she will now have more children than the prophecy foretold of

But, Jaime still worries about her as her actions and emotions are all over the place

IN OLDTOWN

Samwell Tarly finds out about the dragonglass on Dragonstone and writes to Jon

Sam also has his argument with Archmaester Ebros about the Army of the Dead, after which he steals the books from the Restricted Section of the library

IN WINTERFELL

Jon Snow receives Cersei’s raven scroll about “suffering the fate of all traitors”

Jon also receives word from Sam about the dragonglass on Dragonstone. 

Petry Baelish informs Jon and Sansa that he’s heard rumor Daenerys Targaryen is on her way to Westeros with Tyrion Lannister and Lord Varys at her side, along with the allegiance of several key regions of Westeros - Dorne, The Reach, The Iron Islands - he says she will likely land on Dragonstone

Before Jon and Sansa can process this information or weigh its pros and cons, they’re informed of someone at the gate:

Bran has arrived. Jon and Sansa are beside themselves with joy, (Bran is not robo Bran, he’s normal Bran), Jon tells Bran “You’ve finally made it back home…” CUT TO:

ON DRAGONSTONE 

Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros, she’s finally made it back home as well

The title of the episode comes from Arya’s rescuing Edmure and getting revenge for her mother’s death by killing all the Freys. We’ve had many episodes named after house words, but never House Tully so this finally honors them. It’s also the theme of the episode. 

Episode 1 Inside the Episode: Family, Duty, Honor

1a) The Cold Open - Arya kills all the Freys:

Yes, I know the original Cold Open of 7x01 show canon was the White Walkers, but I’m assuming D&D would have made the same executive decision in post to swap that scene with this one because it’s so badass. So there you go.

1b) Arya heading home immediately:

Back in 6x10 Arya tells Jaqen that she’s Arya Stark of Winterfell and she’s going home. So why did she head to the Riverlands first to kill the Freys, just to want to go back south to kill Cersei? 

Such bullshit. Arya wanted to go home. And if she thought the Boltons still had Winterfell, she’d want to kill them too. She’s a faceless assassin. They killed her mother and brother. She’d want them dead as much as Walder Frey. She snuck into the Twins, a place she’s never been, to kill them all. Winterfell, her home, would be a piece of cake to take from the Boltons. And geographically, it makes sense for her to continue heading North after the Twins anyway. Otherwise why not kill Cersei in King’s Landing first, then head North to the Riverlands, then finally home to Winterfell, where she told Jaqen she was going? Cersei might have always been on Arya’s list, but in 6x10, Arya wanted to go back to Winterfell. That should have remained her plan. D&D retconned this to delay Arya’s return to Winterfell in S7 for their idiotic Starkbowl plot. Which we all know was pointless filler because they had split the seasons and added three extra episodes.

And side note: Of course Arya would meet up with the Brotherhood. We know they’re in the Riverlands (based on them staying at that house with the father and daughter Sandor had previously screwed over). They had to meet up. It’s stupid that they didn’t in canon.

1c) Edmure pledging to Jon:

This one is a no-brainer. Of course the Riverlands would side with the North in the war against Cersei (which hasn’t happened yet, but with Jon being declared KITN, it’s only a matter of time). This move makes Jon the King of ALL the Northernmost Kingdoms and puts him in a really really powerful position - and an appealing position for any single ladies out there looking to secure an alliance *cough*Dany*cough*.

2) Sam’s raven:

Jon should have gotten word from Sam about the dragonglass in 7x01. Anyone who regularly reads my metas should remember, I have mentioned several times that the timing of Jon’s receipt of Sam’s raven is off. Sam sends Jon the raven in 7x01. Tyrion sends Jon a raven in 7x02. But Jon receives Tyrion’s raven first so, nope. Huge tip-off of a retcon. Jon should have gotten Sam’s raven first.

3) Baelish being the one to tell the Starks about Daenerys going to Dragonstone:

This another no-brainer and we already had hints of this in 7x07 show canon. Baelish has been keeping tabs on Dany, he just doesn’t ever get to really show this. “I’ve heard the dragon queen is quite beautiful.” Just as Qyburn had info on Drogon being injured in the fighting pits of Meereen, Baelish should have information on Daenerys, her advisors, and her movements. Why would he know she’s beautiful, but not know anything else about her when this is his primary function in the series?

Baelish, like Sam, Varys, and Bran, is an “information guy”. His job is to know things and inform the other characters, mostly to his own benefit. So Baelish having knowledge of Dany heading for Dragonstone, as Cersei had this knowledge in 7x01, just makes sense. And this way, when Tyrion sends the raven to Dragonstone next episode, it will be something Jon has been anticipating, because of course the first thing Dany will want to do when reaching Westeros, is gain more allies and allying with the North makes the most sense. 

4) Cersei’s onset of madness:

We know this was where the plot was supposed to go, what with the miscarriage from 7x07 and everything. Cersei has already mentioned the YMBQ prophecy to Jaime before, telling him about how she knew their children would all die and that he couldn’t have stopped Myrcella’s death. 

With Tommen’s death still fresh in mind, it would make sense this prophecy would come up again. Season 7 Cersei really doesn’t need much of a push into madness and her obsessing over this prophecy, especially with Dany on her way to Westeros, is a natural progression for her character. At the end of S6, D&D promised us that a Cersei without her children would be “very dangerous” and it was never delivered to us. A prophecy-obsessed Cersei would definitely deliver. 

5) And finally, Castle Black:

We were so fucked out of seeing more of the Night’s Watch in the last two seasons in show canon. Edd finding the Horn of Winter in Sam’s old room will be incredibly important and be a final, long awaited pay-off for the scene from Season 2 in which Sam first discovered the dragonglass at the Fist of the First Men, when the horn was first shown to the audience. 

Aaaaaand that’s it for Episode 1! I know it’s short and for the most part looks very similar to show canon, so I will post Episode 2 as well today, though you guys will have to wait until next week for Episode 3.

Original Final Season 7: Preface Post

Season 7 Episode 1: Family, Duty, Honor (current episode)

Season 7 Episode 2: Greywater Watch

Season 7 Episode 3: The Last of the Dragons

Season 7 Episode 4: Dragonglass

Season 7 Episode 5: The Storm

Season 7 Episode 6: Summerhall 

Season 7 Episode 7: A City Fit For A King

Season 7 Episode 8: Protectors of the Realm

Season 7 Episode 9: The Battle For The Dawn

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

[khaleesa]

GoT Fic: In Memoriam

Title: In Memoriam

Author: @khaleesa​

Fandom: Game of Thrones

Characters & Pairings: Daenerys Targaryen x Jorah Mormont; Grey Worm, Jon Snow, Missandei, Samwell Tarly; Dothraki, Unsullied, OMC

Rating & Warnings: PG for references to death and gore; spoilers for episode 8x3

Word Count: 1446

Summary: The Queen mourns her knight.

Author’s Note: It's been years since I wrote Dany x Jorah fic. Episode 8x3 compelled me to write one more.

Read it on AO3. Or here.

In Memoriam

"Heartsbane," Samwell Tarly answers when Daenerys asks what the Valyrian sword is called.

She doesn't remember asking, but she knows she must because she feels the ache of the words in her throat. The swell of emotion--again--which she tries painfully to swallow but tears itself out anyway. Her tears fall upon the blade, sullied with gore.

Heartsbane.

Jorah defended her with it--to the death. What had she ever given him in exchange for his life? Only heartbreak; she hears the echo of his voice, half-embarrassed when he confessed to it, only yesterday.

"I didn't love you well enough," she sobs, touching her forehead to his bloody, muddy forehead, still cradling him in her lap. "Forgive me."

A tear shimmers on his cheekbone, her own. She trails her fingertips over it, wiping it away with the pad of her thumb, and remembers the catch of his breath when she did that before. She leans in again and brushes her lips to his cold, cold skin.

 "Dany!"

She doesn't look up as Jon Snow stumbles over the corpses, the dozens Jorah slew. Drogon raises his head and gives a warning growl which reverberates through her, though he doesn't strike at Jon.

"Oh, Dany," he says, going to his knees beside her. "I'm so sorry--"

"Don't."

His hand hovers just above her shoulder, Daenerys flinching away from the touch before his fingers can settle on her. Don't touch me, don't call me Dany, don't say you know what he means to me. Jon snow knows nothing, not even who he is. She tightens her arms around Jorah, and the protective circle of Drogon's length shrinks around them both. Jon gets up, murmuring to Samwell as together they leave.

Daenerys weeps alone.

Eventually, when her tears are spent, others come: two of her few surviving Dothraki; Unsullied, including Grey Worm, who somehow lived--and beside him, Missandei--though Daenerys is too shattered by her loss to be thankful for who she still has; at a tentative distance behind them, a grizzled Northman who might be a Bear Islander. They try to take Jorah away from her.

"You can’t have him," Daenerys protests, "he is--"

"Please, your grace." Missandei approaches, leery of Drogon, though he does not regard her as a threat to his mother. "Let them take Ser Jorah from this place..." She cringes at the corpses. "...to one where you can grieve for him properly."

Daenerys’ head feels so heavy as she nods. She relinquishes Jorah to the men, the warriors, and they lift him so gently.

"Ser Jorah was precious to you," Grey Worm says as Missandei helps her to her feet.

Is. Alive or dead, Jorah is, and always will be precious to her. She sees, in the dawn light, that tears shimmer against their earthy skin.

The Bear Islander starts to pick up Heartsbane, but Daenerys says, "Give it to me."

He does, without hesitation. She is startled at the weight of it in her hands. How did Jorah have the strength to wield it? He had always been her strength...even as he sustained blow after blow from wight blade for her. She feels each piercing one on the trudge toward Winterfell. At least Jorah does not. She closes her burning eyes against the memory of his dying rasp. "I'm hurt."

When she opens them again, she sees that theirs is not the only group bearing bodies. The weary survivors of the Battle of Winterfell struggle to separate their own dead from the enemy's; it's a difficult task when most fought for both sides. There are so many, they pile up like stacks of firewood against the castle walls.

Daenerys nearly drops Heartsbane as she lurches forward to grasp at Grey Worm's sleeve. "Ser Jorah isn't just another corpse. He's first of my knights…" Was. "He must lie in a place of honor…"

"He will, your grace," Missandei assures her.

A table in the great hall is the best they can do. The dead are everywhere inside, too, but at least he has better than the blood-stained floor. Someone brings a basin, and she tends to him herself, washing his face, his hands before she wraps them around the hilt of Heartsbane. She places stones over the closed lids of his eyes.

"Excuse me, your grace."

Despite her desire to be alone with Jorah, the broken voice makes her turn. The Bear Islander from earlier, grimy face slashed through by tear stains, cradles a small body with long dark hair.

"It's the Lady Mormont," he says. "I thought…perhaps she may rest with her kinsman?"

Daenerys nods as Lyanna Mormont--still a child--is laid beside Jorah. He'd introduced her to Daenerys as the head of their house. Lyanna had been coolly respectful, a warmer reception than Daenerys had from most of the Northern houses, and thanked her for returning her wayward cousin. Even in armor, Daenerys can see that the body is broken.

"She slew a giant," says the man. "They were the last of their name."

Daenerys weeps with him.

"Oh, House Mormont," she says through her tears. "I would have raised you up among the Great Houses of Westeros."

This seems to comfort the man, but Daenerys feels hollow.

Jorah didn't care about greatness. Love was all he ever wanted.

Love is all she has to give him, now.

Too late.

"I will give Ser Jorah a funeral," she announces. She can give him that, too. Before she can do anything else, she must do this. "And Lady Mormont."

The Bear Islander thanks her, his gruff voice reminding her of Jorah's, and goes off with a bow.

Beyond the walls of Winterfell, the Dothraki build a funeral pyre, not as large as Khal Drogo's, but enough to indicate the respect they have for the Andal. Jorah and Lyanna are moved there; the great hall is needed for the wounded. Ragged sigils fly on either side of the pyre, the black bear rampant against the forests of the Mormont ancestral home. What do you pray for, Ser Jorah?

"I'll scatter your ashes there, among the pines." She promised him, so long ago, she would take him home. He never broke his vow to her; she will not break hers.

With so many dead, so many to tend, Daenerys doesn't expect a great attendance. But she stands before the pyre and looks out to see Dothraki and Unsullied, Lord Varys and Tyrion Lannister, all of the Starks to honor their loyal bannermen, Samwell Tarly, and a number of Northmen, women, and children. And Jon Snow, at her side, holding a torch. Their faces swim in the tears that well in Daenerys' eyes.

When her voice is steady enough, she says, "Ser Jorah Mormont was exiled from Westeros for selling men into slavery…"

She sees Sansa Stark bristle at the oblique reference to her father.

"…but he repaid that debt ten thousand fold when he stood by my side to liberate the enslaved people of Meereen and Astapor. Those very Unsullied who held Winterfell against the Army of the Dead."

She gestures to Grey Worm and his ever-erect, proud ranks, though their numbers are sorely reduced.

"Ser Jorah's deeds brought honor to his House, to the North, and I will see that they are not forgotten. He was my most trusted advisor…"

Tyrion Lannister gives her a half-smile.

"…my truest friend. Here he stood."

She can speak no more. She turns to Jon, who offers her the torch.

Daenerys touches the flame to the pyre.

As Jorah's body catches fire, a mad part of her wants to walk into the flames and lie beside him as he is consumed. His voice in her head stops her, as it did not at Drogo's funeral. She recites the words of House Mormont over and over in her mind. Here she stands, until the bodies of Lyanna and Jorah and even the banners of their house are no more.

Heartsbane remains, gleaming as though reforged by the fire. Daenerys kneels with it in the ash and smoke and says, "Blood of my blood."

A Dothraki bloodrider's pledge to his khal. How far she's come from the Dothraki Sea, how long since Jorah, her only friend, called her khaleesi. Once she told him, Not a queen--a khaleesi. When did it become the other way around?

Sword in hand, Daenerys rises and turns her back to the pyre, faces Winterfell where the remnants of an army rise from the ashes to prepare for conquest. Ser Jorah fought and bleed and died for her to be Queen. The Night King is dead.

Queen she now shall be.

[damn-stark]

Lost Dragon Ch.20

A/N- I try to add as much extra content for the character so that’s why I can’t finish the whole episodes in one chapter.

Episode- 8x01, 8x02

Warning- none

Pairing- Podrick Payne.

-

I felt the heat of forges as I walked closer to them. The heat radiating from them felt great against my skin after being out in the cold. I stepped down and saw men at work their faces all covered in grime from working hard to get as much dragon glass weapons as they could before the big battle. I looked around from on top of the steps to try and find Gendry in between the crowd of men. It took me a minute to find him but I found in a corner working hard on weapons. Gendry looks up at me when he notices me standing across from him and he stops what he’s doing.

“I finished it.” He says as goes back and gets my spear that I asked him to make for me. He tosses it to me and I catch and twirl it around in my hands. It has two blades on each end of it and it feels light as I twirl it around in my hands.

“Thank you Gendry, it’s amazing.” I brush my fingers on the blades. He smiles.

“I still wonder why you need a spear when you have to two Valeryian steel daggers.” He said confused as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“They’re short weapons. I need a long one, I have my sword but that’s useless in this battle. And it’s also very helpful to have more then just daggers.” He nods. “So on how many weapons are you skilled at? Because it seems like you’re skilled in a lot of them.”

“I’m good with daggers, swords and Spears.”

“How about a hammer?” He asks as if almost taunting me or trying to prove something. I knew he peferred to train with a hammer then a sword. When we were on the boat on our way here I helped him train. And if I do have to admit he was quite good with it but still needed help with some moves.

“Nope I’m not skilled with a hammer but I can still knock you on your ass.” I say with a smirk he chuckles in response.

“Gendry! He’s here.” A man yelled.

“We’ll talk later.” I tell him as I leave letting him deal with The hound who was probably here to pick up a weapon.

“Alright I’ll see ya.”

-

With Podrick being bust elsewhere and no meetings taking place I didn’t have much to do. I didn’t really like to spend much time alone in the courtyard. I didn’t really enjoy the looks I would get every time someone passed by me.

I walk across the courtyard and go walk up to my chambers that I was assigned to. While on my way there I run into Daenerys and Jorah walking out from what seemed to be a library. Daenerys tells Jorah something that I didn’t hear but he as I walk up to them he leaves and bows his head when he passes by me.

“Meeting?” I ask her.

“Not quite I was in the library talking to the man who saved Jorahs life.” She responded as started walking.

“How did that go?” I ask as I notice that she doesn’t like that happy.

“Not well.... he’s a Tarly, he was son to Randyll Tarly.” I sighed and my shoulders tensed up. What she had done to his family was horrible and even if it was something she had to. I still couldn’t help but feel guilty. I should of tried to do more. They didn’t both have to die. Especially not the way they died. I didn’t say much about it. Because their wasn’t anything else to say about the matter. Just another person that hated us now.

We walked in silence not really finding any words to say after that. The silence cut short when Missandei joined us. We went into Daenerys chambers to continue talking.

“The people here don’t really like us.” I say as I get a cup of wine from the table.

“I’ve also noticed that. When Greyworm and I were riding on the horses on our way here we got all sorts of looks and none of them were kind.” Missandei said as she sat on a chair by the table that was close to the fire.

“Yeah I also received looks when we were on our way and also when I was down in the courtyard and out front.” I said joining her by the table.

“It’s going to take them a while to get used to all of us. But we cant hide and avoid them we have to try and get their respect. All of us.” Daenerys told us turning her attention from the flames to us.

“You’re right.” I say as I take a drink of my wine. We stay a quiet for a moment until Daenerys breaks.

“So Visenya you and that man that you were with today who is he?” Daenerys asked with her eyebrow raised and a smile growing on her lips. I just smiled and looked down at my wine.

“What about him?”

“You both seemed close.”

“Yeah I like him.” I say as as tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and feel a blush creep onto my cheeks.

“That’s good does he like you?” She asked curiously.

“He does..... but if I got to admit I’m scared.” I said the smile fading away.

“Of what?” Missandei asked this time.

“Of doing else with him.... of getting to attached.... we know what’s coming and if anything were to happen It would hurt me more.” I say with a shaky voice. I feel as tears threaten to fall. It’s been such little time and I already cared a lot for him. I don’t want to lose him too.

“Maybe you’re right not to get to close but if you don’t then you’ll regret it later.” Daenerys told me.

“Yes it is like you said to me once, take advantage of it because we might not have tomorrow.” Missandei said. I couldn’t help but smile. She rembered what I had told her in Meereen. Maybe they were both right. Maybe it is my turn my selfish and take advantage of what I have now.

-

“When I was a child my brother would tell me a bedtime story about the man who murdered our father, who stabbed him in the back and cut his throat who sat down on the iron throne and watched as his blood poured onto the floor, and how you sat their upon the iron throne watching as my brothers family, my nieces family got slaughtered. He told me other stories as well, about all the things we would do to that man once we took back the seven kingdoms and had him in our grasp. Your sister pledged to send her army north.” Daenerys told the man. The one and only Kingslayer. Jaime Lannister. I’ve seen him before at the wedding and at the trail by combat. I disliked this man but not as much as Daenerys did. It was said that he respected my father yet if he did then he would’ve of tried to do something to save my father’s family that was slaughtered at the orders of his father.

“ she did.” Jaime responded.

“I don’t see an army, I see one man with one hand it appears your sister lied to me.” Daenerys told him with venom lacing through her voice.

“She lied to me as well, she never had any intention of sending her army north she has Euron Greyjoy’s fleet and 20,000 fresh troops, the Golden company from Essos bought and paid for. Even if we defeat dead she’ll have enough to destroy the survivors.” He spoke. I sent Tyrion a glare. I was right we should have never trusted Cersei and her promise. I told him but he didn’t choose to listen.

“We?” Daenerys questioned him.

“I promised to fight for the living I intend to keep that promise.” He answered back.

“Your grace I know my brother.”

“Like you knew your sister?” Daenerys inturrpted Tyrion while she also sent him a glare.

“He came here alone knowing full well how he’d be recieved why would he do that if he weren’t telling the truth.” Tyrion tried to reason with Daenerys. He loved his brother and I get that he doesn’t want him to get killed but why should we trust him.

“He trust his little brother to defend him right to the moment he skits mine and my nieces throat.” Daenerys spat.

“She’s right right why should we trust a man who killed a king who he promised to protect.” I said. His eyes shifted to look at me.

“I respected your father and I looked up to him that’s—“

“Yeah I’ve heard that, you say you respect him yet you let his family. My family. Get slaughtered like they were just wild animals.” I said with anger. Before he had the chance to say anything Sansa spoke.

“You’re both right, we can’t trust him. He attacked my father in the streets he tried to destroy my house and my family same as he did yours.” Sansa said.

“At the time I didn’t know that my father had given the orders to kill your family Princess because If I did I would’ve tried to stop it. And Lady Stark if you want me to apologize for what I did then I won’t. We were at war everything I did, I did for my house and my family I’d do it all again.” Jaime defended himself his eyes shifting from me to Sansa.

“The things we do for love.” Bran spoke up gaining the attention from all of us.

“So why have you abandoned your family now?” I asked as I turned my attention back to the accused.

“Because this goes beyond loyality, this is about survival.”

In some ways it’s true what he said. What we’re going to fight is about survival. We need to fight them or else theyll take over and kill us all. It was still hard to trust him. Even if the Lady Knight vouched for him and Sansa approved let him live because of it, it was still going to be hard to completely trust him.

Once the trial was over I stayed behind and followed Daenerys out. She wasn’t happy at all on how things turned out and she definitely not happy on the news that Cersei lied.

“Visenya was right we should have never trusted Cersei. Either you knew she was lying and let me believe otherwise, or you didn’t know at all which makes you either a traitor or a fool.” Daenerys told Tyrion the Anger clearly heard in her voice.

“I was a fool.” Tyrion responded.

“Not for the first time.” Daenerys spat. “Cersei still sits on the throne if you can’t help me take it back. I’ll find another hand who can.”Daenerys told him before she stormed off.

“I suspect one of you will be wearing this before this is all over.” Tyrion said. I just glared at him and didn’t say a word as I walked passed by him.

I was right that day at the Dragonpit. We should have never trusted Cersei Lannister. The only Lannister I trusted was Tyrion and after this I’m finding it hard to trust him. I was not as mad as Daenerys but I was mad. I was just mad that he didn’t listen.

I walked out and tried to clear my head. I just let my feet take me anywhere just to clear my head.

I made it out the courtyard and out to where people were working and training for the big battle. I let my eyes wonder around to try and search for Podrick. And it seemed that he had noticed me first. As I walked over to him, he got pushed down by the guy he was training with. I couldn’t help but smile after he got pushed down because he was distracted.

After the talk last night with Missandei and Daenerys I wasn’t hesitant or scared no more. I wanted to get close to him. Because we might not have tomorrow.

.

.

.

.

[fortunatelylori]

Hi! I’m new to your blog so forgive if this had been asked before...but what makes you think Jon is using Dany? I haven’t read the books, so is maybe there an indicator I’m missing?

Hey, nonnie!

No worries … I find it pretty difficult to explain at this point why I think Jon is using D*ny because I’m so used to the political Jon theory and it’s such an amalgamation of points, evidence and sound analysis that I could probably talk about it for 2 days straight without repeating myself. But I’ll give it a shot and try to keep it as brief as I can. :) 

FYI, you don’t have to read the books in order to see the sense of this theory. All you need to do is engage with the show material in a more judicious way and not expect the narrative to spoon feed you plot points, which many people do, particularly when it comes to D*ny’s story line. 

Now, no introductory course into Political Jon is complete without the excellent metas by @thelawyerthatwaspromised so I’m going to include a few links here for your convenience: 

https://thelawyerthatwaspromised.tumblr.com/post/178471892596/tinfoil-jons-two-huge-lies

https://thelawyerthatwaspromised.tumblr.com/post/174814148886/how-jon-completely-took-control-of-dany-in-season

https://thelawyerthatwaspromised.tumblr.com/post/176008185561/gots-pov-trap-the-anatomy-of-betrayal-and-why

@thelawyerthatwaspromised has written extensively about this subject so if you want to delve deeper, I highly recommend a through look on her blog. 

From what I gather from your ask, you don’t see the clues season 7 set up for Jon using D*ny. What I’m going to suggest to you is that the reason why you don’t see them is not because they’re not there but because of the way that D*ny’s narrative has been handled so far. D*ny, up until this point in the story, has paid no price for all that she’s accumulated, she’s faced no consequences for her actions and suffered little to no losses since the end of season 1. This has lulled the audience into thinking that D*ny will always get what she wants, in exactly the manner she wants it and as such they have felt extremely comfortable in suspending their critical thinking when it comes to her actions or how she fits into the larger scope of the Game of Thrones universe. 

In a story where every single character ONLY gains something by losing something important or making huge, personal sacrifices or compromises, D*ny faces only momentarily set-backs that are easily resolved by the plot if not in the same episode where the problem arises then by the end of the season. 

In a realistic show about the ruthlessness of medieval society, where people play the game of thrones or they die, D*ny is stuck in a Dungeons & Dragons role play set on the easiest difficulty. 

Just look at a few of the things D*ny has been allowed to get away with/get out of with little to no consequences: 

- she’s stuck in the desert, she wants access to Qarth, she threatens a bunch of people, gets access to the city

- her Qarth supporter betrays her - she locks him up in his own vault together with her traitorous handmaiden, plunders his home and leaves Qarth unharmed - no one bats an eyelash to the fact that she locked two people in a vault where they would slowly suffocate/starve to death, not in the narrative or outside of it; 

- while in Qarth, she has her dragons stolen by some extremely powerful wizards - has a walk through their temple, burns the wizard alive and the temple in the process, leaves intact and with all 3 of her dragons - no one in Qarth has any issues with the fact that she just burned one of their temples down

- she needs an army - tricks the Unsullied master, steals the Unsullied, orders them to decimate anyone above the age of 12 - triumphant music plays through out; forget the fact that she’s just got the Unsullied she wanted, is planning on using them in the same way their master did or the fact that she begins her anti-slavery campaign essentially because she has no money to pay for an army, everyone and their mother is hailing D*ny as a hybrid Nelson Mandela/Martin Luther King/Lincoln figure. 

- Yunkai hires the Second Sons to defend the city against D*ny - Daario takes one look at her and betrays his associates and hands her Yunkai on a silver platter - he also bends the knee - again, D*ny loses absolutely nothing of any importance in all of this nor does she need to compromise or sacrifice

- Meereen wants hand to hand combat - Daario wins - D*ny takes the city and installs herself as Queen of Meereen within the same episode

- she crucifies 163 people, some innocent, without a trial - the Sons of the Harpy are born - she loses Barristan Selmy (he’ll be shortly replaced by Tyrion so no worries) but aside from that not much else happens

- she kills an exslave without a trial - Mysha is a master appears - where did this plot point go? who cares? D*ny is winning! Get with the program

- the Sons of the Harpy attack the Fighting Pits - Drogon comes to rescue her - she leaves her city and her team in danger and flies off - not one of her advisers are angry, dissapointed or feel betrayed by the fact that she abandons them; in fact Jorah and Daario are off to rescue her while Tyrion holds the city for her; Grey Worm and Missandei are pinning for her as if she’s their freaking mother. 

- D*ny gets captured by the Dothraki - oh, no! looks like she’s in trouble now - no worries! within two measly episodes, she burns the Khals and Vaes Dothrak down, unites all the khalasars, convinces them to go with her to Westeros and has now full control of Drogon - Yay! Are we having fun yet? 

In contrast, let’s look at a few of the journeys of other characters, shall we? 

Cersei: 

- wants to get rid of Maergery and take control of Tommen - she makes a deal with the High Sparrow - gets imprisoned - forced to walk naked through the streets - no one wants to deal with her, her own son outlaws trial by combat essentially condemning her to death - she blows up the Scept of Baelor - Forget the fact that Cersei goes through hell before she ultimately gains her victory. Even that is undercut by her last living child killing himself as a direct consequence of her actions. That’s quite the price to pay.

Jon:  

- Jon manages a huge win when he makes a deal with Tormund and decides to allow the Wildlings past the wall and away from the WW - he gets allies against the army of the dead and does something truly revolutionary without killing anyone or forcing them to do something against their will - they go to Hardhome to save the wildlings - the WW attack, he doesn’t manage to save them all - For all his troubles, Jon gets killed by his own brothers in arms. Jon gets punished by the narrative for being forward thinking and wanting to help people. Cool …

Arya: 

- decides to go to Braavos, trusting in the word of Jaquen and gets tricked into joining a death cult that wants to strip her of her identity and use her as a killing machine - she is blinded and starving on the streets - she escapes only after almost dying 

Sansa: 

- decides to trust the Tyrells and not run off with LF - she is forced to marry Tyrion - finally manages to escape KL - ends up in the Vale with a crazy, murderous aunt - wants to avenge her family - ends up married to Ramsay Bolton, raped and tortured - barely escapes human flesh eating hounds. 

So all the characters in this show pay dearly for each and every win they have, are punished by the narrative for their decisions, except D*ny. She looks downright invincible. Her longest running issue is the Sons of the Harpy and the slavers of Yunkai/Astapor/Volantis plotting against her and let’s look at how that gets resolved: 

She arrives with her Khalasar who decimate the Sons of the Harpy in one fell swoop - she hops on Drogon and burns the slavers fleet and kills 2 of their leaders essentially ending the conflict - ends the episode acquiring 3 Westerosi allies and more ships to take her armies over the Narrow Sea. 

You could argue she needs to give up Daario to go to Westeros but even that is not a true sacrifice because she says she felt nothing in leaving him and was eager to get it over with. 

All of this takes maximum 20 minutes to resolve. 

And it’s in direct contrast with the Battle of the Bastards that occurs in the same episode: 

- Jon and Sansa manage to get back Winterfell and the episode ends with the Direwolf banner flying on top of the castle once again; Sansa kills her abuser, Ramsay - Yay! 

Except … Another Stark is dead: Rickon; Jon abandons his battle plan, almost loses the battle, many good men lose their lives, including Wun Wun, the last of the giants, who sacrifices himself in order for the Starks to get inside the castle. They’re only saved because the Knights of the Vale intervene and in order to get them there, Sansa has to allow LF back into her life - Price paid, sacrifices made, Jon literally almost getting trampled to death. 

On the one side, you have a plot where people struggle and almost die/actually die, on the other side you have a paint by numbers plot where a character just gains and gains without any consequences. 

Doesn’t it seem fishy to you? Doesn’t it feel like the pin must drop for D*ny at some point if her story is to make any semblance of sense? 

What other reason could a show like GOT have to build a character like D*ny to the degree they have if not to tear her down and take everything from her in the end? This is not a show that makes anything easy or nice for its characters and the only reasonable candidate for the taking down of D*ny is Jon, for several narrative reasons: 

“When a Targareyen is born, the Gods flip a coin” - this has been brought up in the show not once but twice, by Cersei and Pycelle. We have two Targs left and they’re being set-up as foils since season 1. If you think this ends with Jon and D*ny happily married, bringing back the Targ dynasty and having sex on Drogon’s back for the rest of time, you haven’t been paying attention. 

Where D*ny bends people to her will, where she threatens and burns her enemies alive, Jon favors collaboration and mercy; where D*ny is hailed as Myhsa and carried on the backs of former slaves, Jon struggles to reach the surface in a crowd that is trampling him to death; where D*ny conquers, Jon convinces people to elect him; where D*ny thinks of herself as the Mother of Dragons, Breaker of chains, Jon Snow feels uncomfortable even talking about the fact that he was brought back from the dead. 

“You have to be smarter than father, you have to be smarter than Robb” - two other Stark men traveled to the South and both got killed because they couldn’t play the Game of Thrones; Jon gets tricked into going to Dragonstone but he somehow survives because he fell in love? Not very likely. Not only that but Jon gives up his crown and his country’s independence and you expect him to pay no price for that? 

Here’s the thing about political Jon. People misinterpret this as an outrageous claim that Jon is acting like Littlefinger and thus against character. But that’s not what pol Jon is. Pol Jon is a huge sacrifice Jon makes where he compromises his integrity and standing in front of his people, endangers the love and support of his family, gives up his crown and resorts to using his own body as leverage in order to save his country and his people from the apocalypse. 

He was already involved in this kind of plot before: Remember the plot where Jon had to infiltrate the Wildling camp as a spy, kill one of his black brothers in order to gain their favor, have sex with Ygritte so she continues to vouch for him and ends up betraying all of them and upholding his NW vows? Because I do. Jon has been a spy before, Jon has used people before. Jon was not blinded by love into giving up his values and everything of importance to him in exchange for cave sex/b0atbang. 

As for a repeat of Jon/Ygritte, I would say not likely. I have already dissected the Jon/D*ny relationship on my blog ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). Part 5 of the series was taken down because Tumblr is more offended by the outline of Jon’s butt than actual Nazis and porn bots but I’ll re upload it, hopefully soon. I’m not in the habit of linking my own stuff but I go into a lot of detail there which I’m not able to provide in this answer. Suffice it to say that the narrative undercuts the Jon/D*ny romance at every turn, we’re cut from Jon’s POV through out his stay on Dragonstone and he’s cold and standoffish with her in a way he never was with Ygritte. 

A 3rd twist in the story is coming - GRRM has said that this story will contain three major twists: one was the burning of Shrieen, the second was the reveal of Hodor’s name (which links back to the abomination of Bran warging a human being). The last one happens at the end of this story, and is, as of yet,unrevealed. Everyone is speculating about what this twist will be and the options are getting more and more fantastical by the day. Most of the people speculating, though, haven’t touched upon the most obvious answer which is: Dark D*ny and a Dance of Dragons 2.0. 

It isn’t that the narrative hasn’t given people enough clues that D*ny is turning dark but because of the way that her plot has been handled, it has lulled the audience into believing that all these clues don’t matter. I would argue that at the end of season 1 people entered a symbolic pact with the devil when they glossed over D*ny executing Mirri Maz Duur and since then D*ny’s level of violence has only exacerbated. A point in the narrative will come when she won’t be able to get away with the “it’s necessary” argument any longer. And when that happens, the only person that can oppose her is Jon. Further supported by the fact that … take it away Bran: 

He was never a bastard. He’s the heir to the Iron Throne. 

So if he’s in love with her and willing to give up everything for her, even after she takes him prisoner, uses the lives of his people as a bargaining chip for him bending the knee, and still vacillates on her commitment to the cause after he’s bent the knee (”I can’t forget what I saw beyond the wall and I can’t pretend that Cersei won’t take back half the country when I’m gone), then how the hell is he going to end up stealing a dragon and fighting against her? 

Those are the main narrative reasons why political Jon is plausible and viable and leads directly into the Dark D*ny endgame. 

Now, because of the way season 7 played out, I sort of understand why people think it’s just business as usual. After all, doesn’t Jon go through the same sort of arc in relation to D*ny that Daario and Tyrion already have?

Daario first encounters D*ny, takes a fancy to her, betrays his Second Sons partners and fully commits to her within the same episode.

Tyrion travels across Essos expressing doubts that the Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains is all that she’s cracked out to be, has one conversation with D*ny and suddenly all those questions fly out the window and he now “believes”in her and is fully on board with her invasion of Westeros. 

By that logic, of course, Jon comes to Dragonstone, expresses doubts about D*ny, refuses to bend the knee but then over the course of the story, he changes his mind, bends the knee and is now fully committed to D*ny’s cause. Except that Jon is neither a blood thirsty mercenary like Daario nor is he in love with staying relevant within the Game of Thrones, like Tyrion. Jon has always put the North, his values and his Stark family above all his personal ambitions. Why would D*ny succeed in changing Jon, when Ygritte couldn’t?

The narrative has already switched the tables on D*ny by handing her more defeats in season 7 than she’s experienced in 5 seasons but people assume that this too is just a minor set back. But it isn’t. 

At the end of this story line, Jon Snow, the secret Targareyen, the heir to the Iron Throne, the bastard Stark and the shield that guards the realms of men is waiting for her. And that Jon Snow can’t be a cinnamon roll, he can’t be a Northern fool in love with a pretty lady with dragons. He needs to be political Jon because: 

In the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground. 

Thanks for the ask!

[itsgameofthronesimagines]

Sandor Clegane x Fem!Reader

Warning: Angst, Triggers, Season 8 predictions, but no spoilers

~~~~~~~~~

Everyone who knew you and Tyrion Lannister knew the two of you were inseparable. So when the smoke cleared, and he was found dead on the battlefield after defeating the Night King, no one blamed you for locking yourself away.

Winterfell had fallen, and so all of the survivors took refuge in Dragonstone after the dead and undead were burned. The stink was so vile, that the Ravens feasted on everyone’s stomach contents once they emptied them.

Tyrion was burned separately and was given a northern funeral despite his family’s southern customs. It’s not like his family had anything to say about it. The entire House Lannister was dead anyway. Half either sacrifice themselves helping defeat the Dead, or the other was killed when Daenerys stormed King’s Landing out of the grief of losing her Hand. No matter what she did, she couldn’t erase the smirk on Cersei’s face, even when she was burned alive. In the end, Cersei died laughing, knowing what happened to her brother.

You wished you were there when Daenerys killed her, otherwise her death would have been much slower and far more painful than being burned alive. You would have made sure of that.

Up in the tallest tower of Dragonstone, far away from everyone else, you hid away in your chambers, doing nothing but staring out the window, looking out onto the sea. Missandei would come in every day with food, catching you up on everything you were missing, even though you weren’t listening, let alone responded to anything she had to say.

Apparently, your sister Sansa was determined to rebuild Winterfell. She had gone back there with several men to labor themselves into putting back up the stone ruins. Along with her was Bran, Arya, what remains of the Brotherhood Without Banners, Brienne, Podrick, Tormund, and Sandor Clegane.

Jon would be staying in King’s Landing with Daenerys, for obvious reasons, along with Missandei, Grey Worm, Jorah Mormont, Varys, and a few chosen others. None of them had gone back yet as King’s Landing was in repair and being flushed out by the Unsullied of any Cersei followers. So for now, their chain of command would stay in Dragonstone, until it was safe to take the Iron Throne.

It would take months before you spoke another word again, but in between that, you had started to train to fight again. Even though there was no more fighting needed, you trained day in and day out. Eventually, you started talking again and you could have sworn Jon’s face went pale as snow when you first croaked a “Good morning, cousin,” in his direction.

Another few months would pass before Jon received word from Sansa that she required more supplies and more men to help repair Winterfell, and Jon gladly gave them to her. Upon discussing in the War Room who else would go and help the North with their thin resources, you volunteered.

“No, absolutely not,” Jon was quick with a response, “You’ve barely eaten for months, and you’ve trained and trained until you’ve passed out in the training yard. The journey to Winterfell alone would kill you, not to mention the work there needs to be done once you arrive there. For now, you are not strong enough to help.”

“I can go,” Gendry Waters, Robert Baratheon’s bastard spoke up, “I am a smith. I can help with whatever repairs they need.”

“You’re just going because Arya is there,” you muttered under your breath, in return, Gendry glared at you.

“Or maybe I’m going because you can’t.”

“Listen, Lady Y/n. Jon Snow is right. You have other duties you can attend to here,” Ser Davos explained.

“Our Queen could have you as a new advisor, or maybe even a Hand,” Jorah mentioned, and that was all it took to make you snap.

“Enough! One more man tells me I can’t go, and I’ll cut their balls off!” You screamed.

The room went dead silent, no one dared to speak up, not even Daenerys.

“You can’t go.”

You spun around, knife at the ready, until you realized, to even your astonishment, that Varys, Theon, and even Grey Worm had spoken up to you. Yara snorted, even holding her hand to her mouth to refrain from bursting out laughing all the while you growled, pointing your knife dangerously at the three men.

“That... That isn’t funny!”

You failed to sound threatening, as Varys smirked proudly and even Theon tried to twitch and smile. Grey Worm just glared the way he normally does, but it was clear he had tried to make a joke, as Missandei was staring at the ground and smiling to herself. Throughout the whole room, one by one, others started to laugh, if not smile, just a little bit. Once you noticed this, and once you noticed that Jon had begun to smile at you, you started to relax.

“I think you should go.”

To your astonishment, it was Daenerys who spoke up for you, and when you turned to look at her, she smiled with a haunting look in her eye, “I give you permission to ride off to Winterfell and help rebuild its walls.”

She didn’t say it, but you knew just by looking in her eyes that what she was really saying was that she understood your pain. She knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. And not saying no one in this room knew that feeling, but Daenerys had probably understood it the most. And besides, apart from you, she was close to Tyrion.

She knew you wanted to go back to where you lost Tyrion, and she thought that maybe, deep down, your heart might heal faster if you did.

So, along with Gendry and Ser Davos, you took another hundred men out of Dragonstone and made your long journey to Winterfell, with the instruction to send your siblings Jon’s love.

The road wasn’t easy, but once you saw the familiar outline of home even through the strong and heavy snowfall, you had begun to relax and smile a little. When the gates opened, you were welcomed by Sansa, who gave you a strong hug once you carefully swung yourself off your horse.

“Y/n! Jon didn’t tell me he was sending you!” She exclaimed as she held you close. When she pulled away to examine you, she felt her smile falter, “What... What’s happened to you?”

You didn’t answer, and you made it blatantly obvious that you didn’t want to talk about it as you changed the subject, “Jon sent a hundred more men... a hundred and two men if you count Ser Davos and--”

“Gendry!” Arya had sped past you once she caught sight of the young smith. As the bastard swung off his horse, he smiled at the sight of the young Stark girl and mocked a bow when she stood in front of him, only to laugh when she punched his shoulder and crushed him in a hug.

“Finally. Anything to get that Stark brat from bothering me.”

You turned your head back around to find Sandor Clegane standing behind Sansa now. He looked the same as before, wearing fur and sporting a long beard and hair to keep warm... or maybe to hide the scar. You have known him for as long as Sansa, since you with her when the two of you, including Arya and your father, rode to King’s Landing all those years ago. 

“Hound,” you nod to Clegane, “Still alive I see. I thought Arya would have slit your throat by now.”

“She can’t. I forbade it,” Sansa responded with a warning look directed at your younger sister, who has now walked up to hug you finally.

“Wouldn’t stop her and you know it,” Sandor grumbled.

“And you may be my trusted council now, but sometimes your brutal honesty can get carried away,” Sansa shot back to which Sandor bows his head to her.

“Council? Since when does a former sell-sword and member of the Brotherhood Without Banners become the Lady of Winterfell’s council?” You raised your eyebrows.

“Since he’s the more honest person I know and the more loyal.”

“Hence the dog name, I know,” you roll your eyes and push past her, “Got any food? I’m starving.”

Sansa and Arya exchange a look after observing your behavior, all the while Sandor just grunts in response to your insult. Arya turns to Gendry, who has finally walked up to join her, “Is she alright?”

Gendry sighed, “You saw Tyrion’s body, you tell me. She hasn’t gotten any better.”

“In fact, she’s gotten worse.” Ser Davos also walked up to join the others, “She’s got quite the foul language now and has dropped any lady duties she used to take part in. She drinks most of the wine supply dry back in Dragonstone so I’d watch your wine cellar if I were you.”

Sansa sighed while wearing a thoughtful look in her eye when watching you leave, looking up at sharing a knowing look with Sandor, “Let’s get inside and treat our guests to some supper.”

Once inside, it appears you acting like you were hungry was a ruse to keep Sansa busy. Once the food was placed in front of you, you only pushed it around and pretended to take bites out of it as everyone is gathered around the one table. Everyone is all around quiet, as it’s been a long journey for you, Gendry, and Davos. The only other one who didn’t appear to be eating was Bran, but that was normal now for him. Instead, he took his time observing you.

“And how are you, dear sister?” He asked.

You sometimes loathed the fact that he was the Three-Eyed-Raven, because obviously, he knows how you’ve been, but all the same, you put on a fake smile, “I’m well, Bran. Thank you for asking.”

“You’ve been tiring yourself,” he notes in response, “Have you been training all day and night?”

“Training?” Sansa looked up from her food to stare at you, “Training for what?”

“You don’t sleep anymore,” Bran adds.

Everyone was now looking at you, and the attention was making you turn hateful. One look and you could even see the Hound staring at you, so you wear a fake smile and aim it towards your brother, “...I find sleep a waste of time,” you tried to grin, even if it didn’t turn out right, “Why waste your time on sleep when there’s work to be done?”

“Tyrion Lannister said something similar like that to you once, back in Meereen.”

You froze, eyed widening at Bran, and Sansa nearly elbowed him to stop him, but it was already too late. The damage had been done. You shouldn’t be surprised that he knew about the memory, but it still shocked you because you barely remembered that day yourself.

Back in Meereen, in the mid-afternoon, you were sitting by the window, but you weren’t looking outside. Instead, you busied yourself with sketching a small portrait, every once in awhile looking up then back down at the parchment again to get the details right.

Across from you, Tyrion was fast asleep, snoring slightly as he did every night, except last night apparently, otherwise, he wouldn’t be asleep in the middle of the day.

He makes a startling noise, signaling that he was waking up and you couldn’t help but giggle, “Don’t open your eyes yet!”

Tyrion groans, stretching slightly but obeys your command, keeping his eyes closed with wearing a tired smile, “Why?”

“So I can get your eyelashes right.”

“Pardon? Are you drawing or something?”

“Well, I’m definitely not sculpting,” you spoke sarcastically.

“Gods, I hope not. No one ever gets my nose right,” he joked, “Now why in Seven Hells are you sculpting me?”

“Because I was bored and you were at my disposal since someone didn’t get any rest last night,” you teased.

“Why waste the night on sleep when you can stare at the most beautiful woman in the world? A man would be foolish not to, staying awake to memorize the details of your smile or the crinkles by your eyes or furrow of your brow.”

You smile to yourself, staring at Tyrion’s face for as long as you could since he hadn’t opened his eyes yet since you haven’t said otherwise. He was loyal like that. You get up from your spot and set the picture down, walking up to Tyrion and leaning down to whisper right in his face, “You can open your eyes now.”

And when he does, he’s rewarded with a kiss.

You sat there, eyes wide, staring at Bran like he just killed Tyrion himself. Sansa stands and reaches over the table towards you, and you startle when she got too close and you rush out of your chair.

“Y/n--”

“I’m going to bed,” you stammered, turning your back and walking away.

“The war’s over, Little Wolf. We all lost someone, and they’re not coming back. We made sure of that, so you might as well get used to it.” Typical Sandor. Always so blunt.

But this time, you wouldn’t have any of it as you turn your heels back to him with a dark snarl, “I wouldn’t expect YOU to understand. How could you possibly understand what it’s like to lose someone you love? You’ve never loved anyone!”

He doesn’t flinch. He barely even blinks. Not being able to get a rise out of him, itching for a fight, you turn away and go to find a room to lock yourself in, and maybe then you’ll punch the wall to feel better.

That night, like every night before it, you didn’t sleep. You sat on the edge of your bed, bandaging your knuckles since you punched the stone wall like you promised yourself. Your skin was purple and your whole hand was a little swollen, blood running through your fingers from your knuckles. You barely noticed the pain, too busy staring at the fire in front of you. Over the past couple of months, the pain had eventually numbed.

What startles you from your dazed expression is the knock on your door, and half screams not to open it. But instead, you stood up and walked to the door, opening it and shocking yourself to see Sandor Clegane standing there, towering over you like a tower. He didn’t look you in the eye, clearly uncomfortable being here. His usual sad eyes looked as if they had something to say, but he was too busy psyching himself up to say it. His eyes looked down to notice your hand, loosely wrapped in already bloody bandages. The two of you stood there for what felt like an hour, but really only a few minutes, before he spoke up.

“You might want to get that looked at by a maester. Or your sister will have my head.”

You don’t respond, but your surprised expression quickly turned into a glare, since you finally remembered his comment from earlier and was hoping he’d be the last person to be standing here. And by the looks of it, he was thinking the same thing.

“My sister.”

You arch an eyebrow up at him, “Excuse me?”

“I lost my sister. A long time ago,” Sandor grumbled, eyes squinting when he finally met your eyes, like this was probably the first time in a long time that he talked about this, but ti wouldn’t surprise you that it was, “Gregor killed her... back when we were lads, and I won’t even bother getting into the grimy details.”

Again, you don’t respond, tapping your fingers onto the door frame leading into your room. When you didn’t say another word, Clegane takes that as his cue to leave.

As he moves from the doorway and back into the dark halls, you find yourself calling out to him, “Sandor?”

The Hound looks back at you, stunned, not remembering the last time you said his name. Not even back in King’s Landing, when you were a girl, did you ever say his real name.

You nod your head slightly, barely looking him in the eye as you spoke, “Thank you.”

He scoffed, finding himself no longer nervous while rolling his eyes to the best of his abilities, “For what? My sister didn’t mean anything to you.”

“Not just that, but...” you took a deep breath, “I never thanked you before, for guarding my sister and I back at King’s Landing. We’ve never forgotten it.”

He doesn’t respond at first, too busy wanting to shout about how he left the two of you after the Battle of Blackwater, but was wise enough against it. “Get some sleep, Little Wolf,” then he turned away and left.

And for the first night in a long time, you slept.

[scratchybeardsweetmouth]

'Game of Thrones Season 8': Iain Glen reveals how Jorah Mormont will deal with Daenerys Targaryen's new lover Jon Snow

DNA Web Team April 14, 2019 Photo by HBO

Excerpt:

Iain was asked about the grand table read of Game of Thrones where everyone found out what happened to everyone else. To which he stated, “It was amazing actually. We'd never done it before. This was the first time all six episodes were read at once. We all sat around one enormous table with all the directors there, all the heads of department. We read it from beginning to end over the course of two days. It was just a really unifying experience and very moving. When you hear it read by mostly the people doing the roles, you do get a lovely arc and you do hear the story. Also, even with Bryan's reading all the stage directions, you got a sense of the impossibility of what it was that we were trying to shoot. Then, jump cut two months later and you see what's being prepared and what's been done and you can’t believe it.” On being quizzed about the framed storyboard, he received as a gift, Glen replied, “It was the gladiatorial sequence in the Great Pit of Meereen in front of Daenerys. It was very beautifully done. It's like you fast track a story of arriving, surprise, fighting, nearly dying, saving the day. Then there were some very sweet words on the back from David and Dan.” 1. How does the final season of 'Game of Thrones' begin for Ser Jorah?  “Well, I think he's back within the loving embrace of Daenerys which is where he's been working towards for the last couple of seasons. Obviously, the Great War is impending. There have been movements towards the end of the last season of trying to take on the Army of the Dead and trying to persuade people of their existence. That's where he is. He's her head of the military and right-hand man. I think he has accepted Tyrion is now her wise advisor and that he has a different role now. There have been manoeuvrings around Daenerys about whose role is whose but I think he's very content where he is. I think he's shed any sexual passion for her after having been accepted back so completely by her.”  2. How does Jorah Mormont deal with Daenerys Targaryen's new lover, Jon Snow?  “I think probably quite well in the sense that you would obviously not lose entirely the feelings that you had for her, but I think he has been so removed from her and wanted to be with her for so long that he would not want to jeopardize that. He's a noble soul and he absolutely does not want to give any sense that he's either hurt or that it confuses him. Deep down, of course, something must be tearing inside him.”  3. A tease as to where you character is going this year?  “We've got to take on the unbeatable. That's what we're trying to do. It's like the human against the superhuman, but there are other variables including dragons – and there's one of them working for the other side as well. It's about the battle of all battles and whether we can succeed. Everything is thrown up in the air. There are dispute and confusion, even within alliances. It's a very disparate bunch of people who have been at loggerheads for eight seasons that are now trying to unite and serve the same purpose. Anything could go any which way.” 4. Anything that you will look back and think I won't miss that?! “It sounds churlish because really, there's not a lot that I won't miss. Sometimes the scale of it and what was required meant that you had to be around to go out to do a minute's work or not be used or wait around. Sometimes at the moment, you could feel frustrated as an actor that you weren't really able to exercise your acting muscles in that given moment, but then you take a step back and you remember that you are a part of a bigger whole and you appreciate why that is.” 5. A defining moment when you realised Game of Thrones had become a global phenomenon? “It was somewhere through season three or four. I was filming something else in South Africa and I was off on my own walking round in a township and I got that look in someone’s eye when you know they recognise you. I mean, there? How?” 

[summerseachild]

Summersea’s GoT Season 6 Tumblr Spoiled First Time Watch 2019: Part 1

So I was going to rename this a “hatewatch” now that I’ve gotten to a whole season I hadn’t seen before, but let’s be honest. If you’ve seen me reblogging things from later seasons, it was never going to be that. There are things that I knew I was going to enjoy VERY MUCH, and I wasn’t wrong. There were also things that, if I let them, would have had me frothing a the mouth in rage. 

But then I reminded myself that I’m vacationing in Castle Not Giving a Shit while I watch the back half of the show, and things were much better after that. I’ve mostly left my in the moment reaction except where I’d had too much wine to be coherent.

Season 6

Hot on the heels of season 5 i still have a third of a bottle of Chardonnay left let’s DO THIS

6x01

1. Lol it’s still in the credits so they continue to pretend like they care about Dorne????

2. Ghost howling 😢😢😢

3. So Davos went straight from staning one dour person to another... he has a type.

4. Some dude in the night’s watch re Melisandre: who’s she? Davos: oh just some lady Who spat a shadow out of her vag once LETS TRUST HER

5. Wow Olly aged a lot over the past five minutes since he killed Jon!

6. Edd please don’t die here. I don’t remember how you go but don’t let it be here

7. Boo hoo poor little psychopath lost his gf. No one cares, Ramsay. Myranda deserved what she got AND SO WILL YOU

8. My soul left my body like three times during that chase scene where Theon and Sansa are running from the Bolton men. POOR COLD BBS

9. That hug where they’re just CLINGING TO EACH OTHER THIS SHOULD NOT MAKE ME SHIP IT BUT HERE WE ARE

10. THEON SHOWING HIMSELF TO TRY TO KEEP HER SAFE I CANNOT HE KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS IF THEY CATCH HIM AND HE DOES IT ANYWAY SO SHE MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE 

11. IT’S BRIENNE OF MF-ING TARTH OMG YAY

12. Also go Theon killing that dude

13. UGH THE SWEARING FEALTY SCENE WITH SANSA AND BRIENNE AND ALL OF THEIR FACES AND SANSA LOOKING TO THEON BEFORE ACCEPTING AND POD REMINDING HER OF THE WORDS IT IS PERFECT 

14. Give me the AU where Theon lives and stays at Winterfell because he wants to be near her and they understand each other and Brienne is in her Queensgiard I AM NOT ASKING MUCH

15. Meanwhile in other trauma hi Cersei

16. UGH LOOK HOW SHE RUNS ACROSS THE COURTYARD TO SEE HER DAUGHTER

17. So... that scene with Jaime and Cersei where they talked about seeing Joanna’s dead body and she... Doesn’t blame him??? For Myrcella? Like I thought she would??? And she tells him about the prophecy??? And they hug??? Yeah that’s in contention for my fav Lannister twin scene ever? Top five at the very least. (And another member of the “Jaime writes his siblings’ dialogue” club.)

18. For all of his false kindness and gentleness the High Sparrow is just as bad as any of them, and When I’m not seething with anger I can appreciate how nuanced Jonathan Pryce’s performance is.

19. Wtf Ellaria and Tyene murdering Doran.

20. OMG TRYSTANE and I call Sand Snake Character Assassination here they are just SO BITCHY and without honor and the Dorneish are SO HONOR OBSESSED ugh why I hate it Also was that Myrcellas ship? Are there two bitchy Sand snakes just chilling in king’s landing now?? 

21. Tyrion and Varys among the people is kind of fascinating. Also what’s up with that Red Priest? Another who thinks the lord of light chose Dany?

22. Oh no the ships... Varys and Tyrion running TOWARD trouble says a lot about them.

23. Did the showrunners... forget Jorah would know the word Khalasar? Why would he say horde?

24. At least the Khals believe Dany is Drogo’s widow?

25. Ok so the waif is fascinating and her movements are just so... Succinct. A++ physical acting or whatever the word is.

26. Whoa that’s Melisandre without the necklace?? Cool story bro but why did she choose then to take it off? What does that tell us about her as a character or her powers? Just wanted to show some crone boobs? IDEK that was a weird ending.

6x02

1. The trailer reminds us that BRAN IS IN THIS SHOW

2. Remember this kid? He’s a Stark! He’s VERY IMPORTANT! He’s GONNA BE KING, but he wasn’t in all of season 5. He matters WE PROMISE.

3. The older generation of Starklings!!! I would be lying if I didn’t say seeing Lyanna and Brandon and Ned and Benejen And Nan and bb Hodor didn’t give me a LOT of feelings. (Also Bloodraven is the Worst Ghost of Christmas Past Ever.)

4. Cross fandom wish: I want to see Hodor, Groot, and Rocket have a conversation where everyone understands every word.

5. So... Meera and Summer have been hunting so that they all stay alive, right?? Otherwise WHAT ARE THEY EATING

6. Ok I take back what I said about them only having the Children once, but that was WEAK. “Help Bran, Meera. Because I said so and I’m a creepy magical person whose motivations are unclear”

7. YEAAAAAH WUN WUN SMASH THOSE TRAITORS. Good on you too Edd for taking charge.

8. Ugh every bar has one like that asshole talking about Cersei. And I don’t think he’s long for this world

9. I LOVE BEING RIGHT HI GREGOR

10. Why would Tommen keep Cersei away from Myrcella’s funeral. OH GODS HE WAS TRYING TO PROTECT HER.

11. Ugh Jaime is tired of keeping vigil over his dead family members GIVE HIM A BREAK

12. Also Jaime promising never to let Cersei be in a cell again while he’s there AAAAHHH YES 🦁 ❤️

13. There’s nothing more dangerous than a fanatic who fears nothing, Jaime. But him threatening the High Sparrow was made of sex.

14. SEVEN HELLS did Tommen just give Cersei the idea to blow up the sept

15. Dany’s council meeting in absentia is kind of neat. I was wondering how those crazy kids were doing. 

16. Lol I drink and I know things is ABOUT TYRION KNOWING ABOUT DRAGONS 🐉 I DID NOT KNOW THAT AND I LOVE IT

17. Tyrion being like “please DO NOT EAT THE ALLIES (me)” to Viserion and Rhaegal is amazing

18. Viserion is all ME TOO LET ME GO HERE’S THE CHAIN SMALL HUMAN when he shows Tyrion his neck.

19. That was a rough test Jaqen

20. Yes Ramsay please march North I dare you

21. Roose KNOWS what Ramsay is and tries to steer him out of it but I don’t think he truly understands how deep the crazy goes

22. HOLY SHIT RAMSAY JUST STABBED HIS DAD and everyone either is too scared of Ramsay to do anything about it or was in on it. LOOKING AT YOU KARSTARK ASSHOLE

23. Oh Walda you sweet trusting soul he is going to feed you and your baby to those dogs isn’t he. I DON’T like being right. Have I mentioned that?

24. Brienne recognizing Sansa’s choices were hard ❤️❤️

25. Ugh Theon talking about all the things he’s done and Sansa hugging him anyway aaaaah my soul

26. It’s hard to hear someone else say they forgive you you when you don’t think you deserve forgiveness, and he’s definitely not ready to hear it from Jon. (But he’s ready to hear it from Sansa because of what they’ve been through together? I like that explanation and I’m sticking to it.)

27. Oh right Pyke exists the show doesn’t remember that unless it’s convenient.

28. HOW DARE YOU REFERENCE THAT PINECONES LINE SHOW YOU HAVE NOT EARNED THAT

29. Ok at least Yara cares about her people and we get to see it.

30. OMG Euron? He’s the one who kills Balon?

31. ...and he’s kind of got delusions of Grandeur? “I am the drowned god” wtf sir.

32. Gotta admit Iron Islands burial customs are kinda neat

33. We get the Kingsmoot? I’m listening, show... you’re on notice but I’m listening.

34. Depressed Melisandre is depressed. Wait... has she never done the raising from the dead thing? SEVEN HELLS SHE HASN’T.

35. A pep talk from Davos might snap me out of my crisis of faith too.

36. Thoros can do this in the language of Westeros, but I guess if Valyrian works for you...

37. I love Tormund peacing out of the room with Mostly Dead Jon like “I have had enough of this south of the wall bullshit”

38. Did Melisandre reach the lord of lights answering machine and it took him a while to get back? “If you would like to leave a resurrection request for R’hllor, please press one...”

39. Ghost’s eyes open AND SO DO JON’S hey bro

6x03 this episode is called Oathbreaker ARE WE ABOUT TO GET TO SEE THE FLASHBACK TO JAIME KILLING AERYS PLZ TELL ME

1. He liiiives! Poor Jon... what did you see while you were gone I wonder?

2. Oh jeez it was nothing. At least he has the most comforting sensible person in this series to help him through.

3. I like that Jon gets to come downstairs and HUG TWO OF HIS FRIENDS and none of the nights watch or the wildlings bat an eye or seem to think less of him for it. LET MEN HUG. 

4. Oh jeez Sam’s taking Gilly and the baby to Horn Hill? Do we get to meet his mom? (No one cares about Randylll but I think we might get to meet him too?)

5. BB Sam is SO CUTE HE HAS HAIR NOW.

6. Wait is Gilly pregnant again?

7. That is the Tower of Joy and I AM NOT READY

8. HOLY SHIT HOWLAND REED KILLED ARTHUR DAYNE?

9. Sword of the morning indeed WHAT A BADASS (somewhere in my soul Jaime is waving an “Arthur Dayne Rocks” banner) there’s no way Ned could have won that fight without help and now Bran knows that??? I don’t really have anything interesting to say here I just love the idea of a kid getting to see the truth of a family story that’s radically different from what he thought he knew.

10. Past Ned HEARD BRAN? FASCINATING?

11. Oh right Dany is about to meet all of the other widows of the Khals this could be cool but knowing d and d it won’t be because it would involve treating WoC with nuance.

12. Not impressed so far.

13. So this girl Varys is meeting with is in league with the Sons of the Harpy? Good my memory is intact.

14. all this with Varys actually TRYING to take care of Meereen is fun...

15. Tyrion being like OMG I AM BORED PLZ TALK ABOUT SOMETHING to Grey Worm and Missandei is the most him thing ever. I feel you Bro. He’s a people person deep down and just wants to be friends so badly.

16. Qyburn with all of Varys’ little birds and making kids’ abusive parents disappear is PRECIOUS.

17. Don’t poke the Mountain, Jaime

18. LANNISTER MUSICAL CHAIRS PART 2 also Jaime is ON THE SMALL COUNCIL NOW??? Who gave book!Cersei three wishes??? Him actually being in her corner and working with her as a team must be like a wish come true...

19. “Grand Maester Pycelle would you sanction that starement?” 😂 Lena’s delivery of that line made me laugh so hard we had to rewind to hear the dialogue.

20. No no don’t leave the three of them together they’ll plan murder. Well, Cersei and Jaime will. Gregor will nod.

21. Tommen confronting the high sparrow fascinated me. He has some of the I WILL KILL YOU family traits on display here but it’s understandable given what his family has gone through at the high sparrows hand. I’d be threatening murder too if I were him.

22. What are you playing at mr high Sparrow? Because I don’t trust you farther than I can throw you, and I don’t even have a good arm.

23. The Hound was not on her list any more 😢 that whole scene with Arya recounting her life and learning to fight blind is NEAT.

24. Wait faceless men are immune to the poison in the water?? Cool.

25. Is that supposed to be Greatjon Umber’s son who refuses Jon? What an ass.

26. My wife adds, “THESE LOSERS are the people Sansa is supposed to be queen of?”

27. OH SHIT OSHA AND RICKON AND SHAGGYDOG HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN? (Please let Sansa Find out who did that and who helped and give them what they deserve... there’s no way anyone took down that wolf alone.) I HATE THAT WE ARE NEVER GOING TO GET CLOSURE ON THAT PROBABLY.

28. Oh shit Jon has to hang the traitors that’s gonna be hard on him.

29. At least Alliser is consistent.

30. Jon did what he had to do... just like Ned in the first ep.

31. Wait WHAT did you just hang those men and then LEAVE? Isn’t leaving just as damaging to the order as killing the lord commander? That seemed overly quick and weird but ok????

32. Guess Jon was the Oathbreaker.

6x04

1. If anyone deserved an I JUST DIED crisis, it’s Jon. Also, the vows say, “it will not end until my death...” so technically...

2. Brienne got them up to the Wall QUICK. She is nothing if not efficient.

3. Sansa and Jon are like, “so... how cool are we going to play this? NOT COOL AT ALL LETS HUG” so sweet.

4. “Where will WE go?” Yes stay together Starklings because family is important certainly don’t scatter to the four winds or anything 🙄

5. I kind of love that Sansa’s the one who insists on taking back Winterfell and is all “help me or not I’m doing it”

6. I’m Brienne of Tarth and I HAVE A LONG FUCKING MEMORY. Wait... wrong show. (She DOES, though...) 

7. Wow Petyr lying about Sansa being forced to Marry Ramsay... he’s playing the lords of the Vale like a fiddle.

8. That’s a lovely bird he got Robin. What a pretty boy.

9. Missandei staring daggers at Tyrion is Excellent Content. The “Tyrion tries to be a little more diplomatic but this involves dealing with slavers” problem is... a bit oversimplified, but at least they’re addressing it? Still not great. 

10. Jorah and Daario are off on a secret mission and I cant stop hearing the Galavant song.

11. The older widow of the Dosh Khaleen is more interesting than the show will let her be.

12. Is that Lazareen widow Dutch from Killjoys? IT IS!!!!

13. Guess what high Sparrow NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR SELF RIGHTEOUS CONVERSION STORY LEAST OF ALL ME (guess who has some issues with organized religion it’s meeeee)

14. Way to act your heart out, though, Jonathan Pryce.

15. So idk if I’ve made a big deal about this but I’m SUPER QUEER and seeing Loras broken like that made my heart stop for a second.

16. “Not setting off” fanatics, huh Pycelle? I think Cersei has other ideas 😈 🔥

17. Tommen is TALLER THAN CERSEI NOW

18. Cersei and Jaime trying to get Olenna and Kevan on their side against the High Sparrow is... smarter than I thought it was going to be when they walked into that room. They had a united front, they were clearly working together... WHAT IS THIS I LIKE IT

19. Theon looks like a ghost of himself. :( And Pyke looks all creepy.

20. Jeez Yarra go easy on your little brother his psyche still has cracks in it. I guess it’s understandable that she’s pissed given the failed rescue and the timing of his arrival. I kept just waiting for him to say “I want to be home,” when she yelled WHAT DO YOU WANT but he didn’t and that makes me sad. (Home should have been Winterfell or wherever Sansa was just saying.)

21. Oh Osha don’t try it... shit. Well, you tried

22. And Tormund’s epic crush on Brienne begiiiiiins

23. SHIT RAMSAY TELLS JON HE HAS RICKON

24. Sansa insisting on reading the rest of the letter from Ramsay is... made of steel. I’m here for her being the driving force behind this attempted rescue.

25. I didn’t realize that so many Dothraki knew about how Dany lost the baby and Drogo.

26. DID DANY JUST KILL ALL OF THE KHALS? Girl knows how to make an entrance? The optics here are sooooo problematic but she looks DAMNED impressive the plan in and of itself is sound - gets rid of the men who don’t respect her and shows herself to be indestructible in one power move...

6x05 OH NO THIS IS CALLED THE DOOR I THINK I KNOW WHAT IS COMING

1. Is it just me or are d and d writing more and more episodes themselves?

2. Sansa has had enough of Littlefinger’s bullshit. Making him face up to what HE LEFT HER TO WHEN HE MARRIED HER TO RAMSAY AND ABANDONED HER YES GOOD.

3. When he says “did he cut you” and Sansa talking about Ramsay not caring as long as she could give him an heir... does that mean what I think it does? FGM? I hate that I even wonder. (Still not sure about this, but I don’t put it past them to imply something horrific like that and then not come back to it.)

4. The more I see the waif fight, the cooler she gets.

5. Faceless men founded Braavos? Right I KNEW that.

6. Ok the play is fun... complete with sound effects. So interesting to see what people in Braavos think of everything that happened.

7. So... I would Lady Crane’s voice anywhere. Hi Phryne!

8. Oh wow look at all the CotF

9. THEY MADE THE WHITE WALKERS I did not know that and for YEARS before this season came out we had an au idea where that was true and I AM SCREAMING

10. AND THEY DID IT TO DEFEND AGAINST THE ANDALS AND WHAT THEY WERE DOING TO THE TREES

11. Yara’s speech was lovely, Theon supporting her was sweet, but Yara shouldn’t have needed a dude’s support to get that reaction from the crowd. She’s been on Pyke and being badass ALL HER LIFE. That being said, I like to think Yara would have been Queen in this version of things if Euron hadn’t showed up. What a Dick.

12. How does Euron go from wanting to marry Dany to allying with Cersei? I guess I’m about to find out.

13. Damphair knows cpr, idiot showrunners. don’t just let Euron lie there.

14. YES GET AWAY YARA AND THEON AND... a lot of the fleet? Good on them.

15. Jorah trying to leave Dany and her not letting him and commanding him to find a cure aaaahhhhh my feelings 😢

16. In the real world Tyrion would have been a great campaign manager.

17. If they wanted someone local... why get a red priestess from Volantis? Is this supposed to be the same woman? Do any of the people of Meereen even follow the faith of R’Hollor?

18. Varys having no time for the red faith’s bullshit is SO GOOD. It’s ok Varys you’re probably the most famous eunuch in the world right now. And whoop de doo a sorceress knows a story about a sorcerer it’s a small magical world don’t let her cow you.

19. ...whatcha doing, Bran???

20. Well that’s not creepy at all. Soooo many wights. Were there only... four white walkers including the night king? I’m so confused.

21. “The Umbers gave Rickon to Ramsay they can hang” YES SANSA

22. Why did she lie about getting info from Petyr? (And GOOD ON BRIENNE calling her on it)

23. Brienne calling Jon “a bit brooding” is the most hilarious thing ever. Somewhere Jaime Lannister is laughing his ass off. 

24. Yes wolfy clothes for everyone.

25. Awww Edd forgetting he’s acting lord commander is hilarious.

26. SO MANY WIGHTS DON’T DIE MIRA

27. Why are the children and the white walkers on opposite sides? Are these just about rogue CotF? EXPLAIN SHOW EXPLAIN

28. Cool visuals though... the night king walking through that fire was AWESOME.

29. Rickard LOOKS like a stark in that flashback.

30. RIP Bloodraven... glad you didn’t have to see how pointless all of this was.

31. Wait wait plain old wights can KILL THE CHILDREN? Dumb.

32. SUMMER NO I AM NOT OK WITH ANY OF THIS not Leaf either she’s a nice little tree person even if her motivations are unclear.

33. So Bran warging into Hodor in the present and in the past at the same time is what messed him up? Or something about the time folding and Bran BEING THERE?

34. That was upsetting as fuck about Hodor and I AM SAD EVEN THOUGH I KNEW IT WAS COMING

And... tumblr won’t let me post the whole thing. I had A LOT to say about some later episodes. Remember when I was going to keep this to three bullet points for each episode? Yeah me neither. 

[alchemistc]

it exists in me too

an: just some introspective angst because i want these two to live happily ever after and this is game of thrones so i guess good fucking luck to me.

“Your sisters don’t care for me,” she’d told him, that first night, before Bran and Sam had upended his world in the solar the night he returned to Winterfell, and he’d laughed, then, amused by the pinch between her brows, the only indication whatsoever that she was doing more than making an observation. 

He’d laughed, and reminded her that he’d warned her the Starks were difficult to charm, and amidst his bannerman and her Dothraki bloodriders and the Unsullied, all he’d been able to do was dip his head and watch her through his lashes as she bit the inside of her bottom lip and turned away.

He’d wanted to drag her into his arms, press a kiss into the braid at the side of her head, laugh and tell her she’d win them over as she had him, but he had an image to maintain, just as she did - he’d have gotten an arach to the throat, and the north would have rallied against her in a heartbeat, her crime the unwitting seduction of the man they’d named King in the North, the man who had come back with a new queen for them all, a queen they didn’t want, and no king to speak of. And beyond that, he’s not entirely certain the Stark girls will ever truly warm to Danaerys.

Now, he mulls over the words in the dim hallways of Winterfell, while the men of the north whisper curses about their false king, barely a Stark at all, a northerner with dragon’s blood. His sisters. 

They weren’t, never were, and Ned Stark had taken that secret with him to the grave, and yet still, it had survived him.

He is a wolf in scales, raised as a child of winter, christened in the hot springs of the godswood, he is ice and snow and the harshness of the north, but fire sings in his blood, madness and death call out for him. There was never anything in this world he desired so much as to be a Stark, to wear the furs and the sigil of his family, to belong to something truly bigger than himself.

He’d learned the words before Robb - whispered them in the quiet of the night while his brother slept, rolling them over in his mouth until they sounded stern and knowing like his fathers - like Ned’s had sounded. 

He’d memorized the names of his forefathers, the great deeds they’d done, the achievements they’d made, the names of their swords, the feats of honor. He’d traced his hand over their banners, and whispered secrets in the dark to Arya - “I wish I was a Stark,” he’d said, and for all that she was little, and all that she was young, her eyes in the candlelight had been fierce, her voice had been strong. “You are a Stark. The only one that matters.” - and that had been all she cared about. She’d loved her family, of course, but Arya had always loved Jon best of all, and it had been easy to get carried away in it, when the rest of their siblings took so much after Catelyn in looks. 

He’d prayed in the godswood, because his gods were the Old Gods, and he’d always known that he was a man of the North, that his fathers family spanned back further than any other in all of Westeros.

It shouldn’t make a difference - he’s still a Stark, still has the blood of that family running through his veins. 

He’s still a Stark.

But when he paces the halls of Winterfell he feels like an intruder.

When he kneels before the heart tree in the Godswood, and wonders if Eddard Stark whispered his secrets to the leaking sap of the weirwood, the steam from the spring is cool against his skin, and he feels none of the ice of the Starks in his heart. 

You’re a Stark to me, Sansa had said, what feels a lifetime ago, and he wonders - he wonders, if they’d known - if they’d all known who he was, if things might have been different. If Catelyn Stark might have been able to love him, protect him, care for him, free from the burden of hating what he represented. If he might have stood beside Robb as an equal, if Sansa might have been kinder. 

He’d had a mother and a father who loved each other. He’d not come into this world by mistake. But if the world had known that, he’d have been dead before he ever passed into the North for the first time.

Perhaps it would have been for the best.

He tries to remember the words he’d spoken to Theon in the throne room at Dragonstone - the exact phrasing of it, like saying it now, again, might help him reconcile this new truth. A Stark, and a Targaryen, both wolf and dragon.

He could remember Sansa and Robb reciting the Tully’s words alongside the more desolate Stark one. Family, Duty, Honor. He’d envied them for it, hadn’t he? 

All he’d ever had was Winter is Coming, and there was something ominous about the words he could not  truly claim as his own - but now. 

Fire and Blood. 

Perhaps he hadn’t known the words, but he’d lived them all the same. 

“Your sisters don’t care for me,” Dany had told him, and it had amused him at the time. Now it taunts him, echoing in the corners of his mind. 

They don’t care much for me, either, he wants to tell her now, and though Arya might protest, he can see it in her eyes - in both of their eyes, even as they put on the ruse of a united front. 

Not that she’d listen.

------

He’d teased her once, on the Kings Road, as they rode toward Winterfell, on her numerous names and titles. “You’re plenty impressive without them, Your Grace,” he’d told her, trying hard not to smile, and she’d rolled her eyes away from his face to hide her expression from him. 

They’d agreed not to mention what had transpired on the ship between them, but they were both doing a terrible job of hiding it. 

But Jon Snow had occupied just as many titles in his time, hadn’t he? The Bastard of Winterfell, man of the Nights Watch, Lord Commander, traitor, the White Wolf - King in the North.

And now another, more dangerous. Aegon Targaryen.

She couldn’t remember her brother. Only the stories she’d heard of him, the words of men who had respected him, who had loathed him, who had known him as he lived and died. 

How she hated him now, in a way she’d never known how to respect him. 

Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.

Rhaegar, as far as she could tell, was led by his cock and his superstition, and she hates him for it, this dead man whose contingency plan has stripped her of her right to the Iron Throne before she ever sat it. 

She understands him far better than she might like. There was something about these northerners - about Jon Snow. Something that had called to her heart, something that had seen a kindred spirit. Something that had seen honor and bravery and justice and had yearned to grasp at it, to hold on to it, to let it guide her away from the fire in her veins and the fury in her heart and the promise of madness that came with it. 

Perhaps Rhaegar had thought Lyanna Stark might temper the madness inside of him. Perhaps she truly was a beauty, and that had been all that mattered to Rhaegar. Perhaps they’d fallen in love, and theirs had been a union of partners, of equals.

Perhaps she finds herself wishing her brothers follies might help her explain her own.

There’s a good chance she ought to have left, by now, sought a new ally, returned to Meereen to build up armies large enough to defeat a stronger claim than her own. Returned to Dragonstone, to let the rightful heir to the Iron Throne get himself killed by the Night King while she bides her time in the south.

But there’s a voice in the back of her mind that tells her such a scheme lacks honor, and if it chides her in the same tone as Jon Snow had used on Cersei in the dragon pits, only Dany has to know.

She does not leave, even when her heart aches to think of all the things she has lost because of Jon Snow, and she knows it is her brothers fault. Her brothers, and all the family before him - Fire and Blood were their words, and it is all she has ever had to give - all she has taken. Fire she will gift to this man who is no bastard of the north, fire she will rain down on their enemies. Blood she will share with him, and love and despise him all the more for it. 

She doesn’t try to fool herself into believing this revelation has made her care for him any less. The rest of the world need not know it, but it makes it easier for her, somehow. She’d been drawn to him because he sought no power, because his cause was not a throne or a kingdom but life, she’d been drawn to him because he was honorable and good before he was anything else. 

She is drawn to him no less now. She hates herself for it, for proving just how very Targaryen she really is, but for all that she should now hate everything he is, she looks at him and sees all the things she has always striven to be. 

She hears the lords of the north mutter treasonous words under their breath and she wants to rain fire upon them. She wants to let Drogon tear them limb from limb, and present their bloodied corpses to Jon Snow as gifts. 

She wants.

That is the worst of it, for Jon Snow wants nothing to do with her now. She has not spoken to him in nearly a fortnight, every council meeting a fight not to meet his eyes, every walk through the halls of Winterfell a testament to her ability not to flinch when met with an obstacle too great to overcome. 

And still, even knowing what she is to him, what he is to her, what he is to the realm. Still, she wants, and her stomach churns with it, her mind runs wild, her hands clench - her eyes seek him out as he trains in the yard with Arya Stark, as he walks towards the godswood with Sansa and her body sings with jealousy at the ease with which they have accepted the truth of him; as he stands tall and brave against the barely concealed hatred of a crowded room of northerners and announces that the battle is the same, that the politics matter not.

She hates Jon Snow almost as much as she hates Aegon Targaryen. She hates her brother for bringing him into this world, hates the Starks for being just the sort of stupidly brave and true Rhaegar might have admired. 

She hates herself most of all, for not setting Jon Snow ablaze when first they met, for growing used to him, for allowing him to clear space in her heart to settle. She hates that she wants to share with him the things that have always been hers alone to fight for.

She is Danaerys Stormborn - she has conquered cities and burnt enemies, she has said goodbye to friends and lovers and allies without looking back, all in pursuit of the throne that is no longer rightfully hers. That never was hers.  

She has never truly known what it meant to have a family - not like Jon, who despite the loud arguments and the heated words holds strong with the Starks of Winterfell. She has never known until now, and she wishes she could tell him. 

I would burn cities for you. I would destroy your enemies, for they are my enemies too. You have the blood of the dragon, she thinks to herself, and you are my own. 

I am yours, she thinks, though it doesn’t matter. If they both survive the war ahead of them, she supposes one of them will have to kill the other.

Jon doesn’t have the stomach for it.

She’s beginning to think she might not, either.

[ellimomo]

I read “If we ever meet again”A Jonerys au and i loved it! I was hoping if you could write chapters about it,please?

Hello! Sorry for the late reply I’ve been a little busy but I wrote a one shot for you. Hope you enjoy!

“Damnit Snow! You’ve been on this case for months now and you still have no progress?!” Captain Mormont slammed his hand on the desk making it rattle. His face red with anger as he stared down the young detective.

Jon Snow kept his composure while Captain Mormont reprimanded him. He knew why he was making no progress but if he told anyone why he would surely lose his job and definitely be arrested for it.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself Detective Snow?” Captain Mormont voice broke his train of thought.

“No sir, I’ve been following a lead but so far nothing has popped up” He said to  him.

Grunting he dismissed Jon “Go on I’m down with ya” Captain Mormont went back to work on his paperwork.

Walking out of his office Jon couldn’t help but feel frustrated with his boss, his job, the case but most of all himself. Leaving the station Jon walked to his car and got in. Mind racing as he drove all his thoughts kept going back to her the start to the end of everything.

Daenerys Targaryen.

He knew she was dangerous. Those who heard of her knew that she was someone not to mess with. Jon did his research he knew that bringing her in would be difficult he knew what kind of criminal she was. They called her the “The Dragon Queen” She was tough, brutal even but not completely heartless. He heard of her charity work. Dropping off bags of money to different orphanages around the city but she was westeros number one jewel thief and she had to be brought in. Jon was a man of honor learning everything from his father. Not matter how he felt about the case she was still breaking the law not matter how good her intentions were. But meeting her was a different story meeting her changed everything.

Driving through the dark streets Jon’s mind wander off to the first time he saw her.

The lead he gotten told him that she would be at the docks by noon. Jon waited in nearby shipping crates. The weather was hot and being in the crate didn’t help with the heat. He waited for three hours he was starting to get inpatient. As he was about to give up he heard a car engine. Looking through the crate door Jon could see a group of men come out a black SUV. One man Jon instantly recognized.

Petyr Baelish.

He was number one on the WPDs watch list he was known for loving the finest things even if it was illegal but every time they got close he would somehow come out innocent. It frustrated the WPD to no end.

But what caught Jon’s attention was the shiny red-orange Camaro that pulled up soon after.

Watching closely Jon saw a woman step out the impressive car. She was wearing a gold-metallic dress that clung to her body perfectly. Even from a distance he could tell she was the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. Silver blonde hair cascading down her smooth back. Plump looking lips painted a dark red. Two other men stepped out from the car one was tall with dark hair combed back with a beard. The other one was older but well built. They stood on either side of Daenerys both their faces somber and unyielding. They walked up to the men.

Moving in quietly Jon tried to get in better ear shot. The group seemed to be discussing business by the serious looks on their faces. Trying to get closer Jon could faintly hear what they’re were saying.

“So Ms Targaryen how can I help you this fine afternoon?” Jon glared at the smug smirk on Baelish’s face as he spoke to Daenerys.

“Enough with your pleasantries Baelish what is this I hear about you poaching girls over at Meereen’s foster care center?” There was venom in her voice. Jon could see the anger in her blue eyes.

“My Ms Targaryen those are some serious accusations I’m offended but even if I were ‘poaching’ as you say those girls are of age” He said calmly. Daenerys just glared at him the anger just seeping off her in waves. Jon was almost afraid she would combust.

“I don’t care if they’re ‘of age’ the Meereen district is under my protection and I don’t want your sleaze anywhere near those innocent girls” She spat.

Jon couldn’t believe what she was saying. He was expecting a deal or some sort of contraband but not this. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her vigor.

“Well Daenerys this is business and I am a businessman so if you want me to stop me from picking up any ‘lost things’ then there’s a deal that needs to be made” He grinned at her but it didn’t reach his eye’s. “Yes I know what kind of ‘business’ you handle” Looking at Baelish with hate in her eyes she gave a brief nod to the older gentleman next to her. He turned around and walked back to the shiny Camaro and pulled out what seemed to be a long rug wrapped in paper. Daenerys grabbed it from his arms and presented it to Baelish.

“This is an original Dorne oriental rug made of the purest silk in the world it has been said to be once owned by Queen Nymeria herself”.

Baelish nearly had a conniption when he saw Daenerys and the older man unwrap the beautifully sewn rug.

“Huh-hhow?” Baelish was at a loss for words.

This time she was smirking “Baelish you know I don’t give away anything” She said sweetly “It can be yours free of charge but only if you swear to me that you and your thugs will stay away from all the homes under my care” Her tone turned serious as she stared him down.

“Now Daenerys that’s a lot of homes under your name I need some room for my business” He pleaded.

“No, this is my offer take it or leave it. I have plenty of other willing buyers that would love to have this in their homes”

Baelish glared at her as he took a step in her direction but he didn’t have chance to get too close as her guards instantly blocked his way.

Putting his hands up in surrender Baelish stepped back “You drive a hard bargain Ms Targaryen but I agree to your terms” Daenerys just gave him grin.

“I’m glad you see it that way”

Jon snapped out of his memory as he stopped at a red light. He checked his phone and he saw he had a message from her. It must have meant she was already waiting for him at the Castle Black hotel. Once the light turned green Jon zoomed towards Daenerys Targaryen.

Jon Snow knew what he was doing was wrong as he walked down hallway to their hotel room where he knew Daenerys was waiting for him. They met there every Saturday night at 10 sharp neither of them ever late. He was a cop one of Winterfells top detectives something that filled him with pride but what would his chief think of him if he knew that he was sleeping with the most wanted criminal in the country?. Jon didn’t mean for it to go this far but when Daenerys looked at him the way she did he knew he was fucked.

He had been assigned her case for almost a year and he was still making “no progress” in handcuffing her and bringing her in. Little did they know that he had already handcuffed her many times during their many nights together. Daenerys was nearly insatiable when they were together. She was a demanding lover and Jon was more than happy to comply to her needs because he knew that he could never get enough of her as well. As he neared the end of the hallway he grabbed the room key from his pocket and slipped it in the slot. Turning the knob Jon walked in the low lit room.

“Daenerys?” He looked around the room but he didn’t see her. Walking towards the bed he let his bag fall when he felt two hands wrap around his waist.

“I almost thought you weren’t going to make it” He voice was soft as she pressed her body against his back. Chuckling he turned around to see she was only in her silk robe. Her breasts perfectly perk and her nipples peaking through the thin material. Jon at that moment wanted to bury his face in them.

“Now when have I ever missed one if our special dates?” He teased as he sat on the edge of the bed and began to unravel her robe revealing her soft skin.

“You didn’t respond when I texted you” She added with a slight pout him which caused him to chuckle once more pulling her close to him “Babe I was driving” He told her as he started to kiss her stomach his bread gently scratching he smooth skin making her moan in anticipation as he slowly made his was down.

“Well it wouldn’t be the first time you broke the law” She slipped out not realizing what she said. Stopping his movements he looked up at her.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked.

Daenerys shook her head “Nothing, I didn’t mean anything by it" She tried to explain but just Jon shifted away from her and got up.

“You obviously did because you said it" He glared at her. Huffing she put her hands on her hips.

“You’re acting childish Jon it was a pointless comment all I meant was that you’ve broken the law before” She stated.

“So I robbed millions of dollors and make deals with dirty criminals?” He sneered as he looked at her. There was a look of hurt on her face as if he had slapped her. He instantly regretted his words.

“Daenerys I’m sor…” He began to apologize but she stopped him.

“You’re fucking the most wanted criminal in Westeros Jon you’re not exactly innocent either” She spat out as she tied her robe. Turning away from him she went to the closet and pulled a out some clothes.

“What are you doing?” He asked watching her.

“I getting dressed what else does it look like?” She pulled on a pair of underwear she was about to on some jeans when Jon grabbed her hands stopping her.

“Let me go” She told him not meeting his eyes but Jon could tell she was hurt.

“Daenerys” He spoke gently as he looked down into her eyes. There were unshed tears in her blue crevices “I’m sorry for what I said" he then began to kiss her face starting with her cheek then her eyes and nose. His lips finally made it to hers but there was no pressure from her as he kissed her.

“Daenerys forgive me” but she said nothing she was being stubborn. So instead he started to suck on her neck the way he knew she liked. A moan escaping her lips as he continued to suck on her sweet spot.

“Let me make it up to you” He whispered against her skin. After a moment nodding a yes to him Jon had grabbed her waist a lead her to the bed. He undid her robe letting it fall on the floor. Gently pushing her down on the plush bed he started to kiss her neck then to her breasts where he proceeded to suck on them. Daenerys was already panting as Jon pulled on her nipple with his teeth making her cry out when he licked over the bite.

“Jon”

She had finally said his name as made his way down to her navel. His teeth gently grazing over her taunt stomach. Daenerys let out a whimper at his slow movement.

“I thought you were going to make it up to me?” She breathed out

“Patience”. He said, teasing her.

Sliding her jeans and underwear down her milky legs Jon’s eyes soon met her lustful ones as he spread her legs apart. She was pink and wet as he slipped in a two fingers. He heard her soft gasp at Jon’s fingers moved along her slick walls. Pulling his fingers out much to Daenerys disappointment he quickly put his mouth on her. His tongue darted inside taking in her taste as he sucked on her clit. Her fingers found his hair pulling at the strands as Jon lapped at her soaking walls. Her hips started rock into his face desperate for more friction but Jon continued with his torture. His tongue never stopped drinking in her delicious nectar. 

“Yes, Jon! Oh God yes!”.

Her hips jerked up again making Jon place a hand on her hips to keep her down. His face stayed buried between her legs until he could feel her body start to flutter watching as he made her come. She choked out a moan releasing his hair in the process. Sliding back up to face her Daenerys eyes were closed as she panted trying to come back down from her orgasm. Kissing her lips once more his bread wet from her juices but she didn’t care as she met his lip with eagerness. He adjusted himself where his pelvis was between her legs and pushed himself in her sensitive wet folds. Daenerys let out a groan as he began to rock his hips. Her hand found his hair again and pulled once more while the other slide down his back her nails racking up and down his back.

He trusted into her again and again causing her walls to tighten around him. Jon growled in pleasure at the feel of her. He never wanted to stop he wanted to indulge in Daenerys forever. Her legs were wrapped around his waist as he pushed in deeper making both their bodies quiver in satisfaction.. His fingers found her button once more and squeezed. He wanted to see her come again he wanted to see the way her mouth formed into an O shape he wanted to feel her body vibrate in ecstasy.

“Oh Fuck yes!, more Jon!” She cried out as he played with her button and rocked into her.

“Daenerys, Daenerys, Daenerys” He began to chant her name like a prayer as he licked up her neck until he was face to face with her. Her face had a shiny glow to it form her sweat but Jon needed to see her eyes at that moment.

“Open your eyes my love” He told her as he slowed down his movements. Daenerys had opened her eyes blue meeting brown. Her lips were parted as Jon stared down at her Daenerys eyes searching his. He then realized her had called her ‘my love’ something he had never done before.

He loved her.

And the way Daenerys looked up back at him Jon knew she loved him. His thumb caressed her cheek and Jon knew he was too far gone. He felt like he was riding a runaway train and he never wanted to get off. Shuddering out a breath Jon crashed his lips back down Jon hungrily kissed her like his life depended on it. Pumping into her harder and faster Jon soon felt her start clenching around him. Daenerys legs tightened around him as he thrusted into her neither of them breaking eye contact as they moved as one. Soon Daenerys orgasmed with Jon following close behind. Both their bodies pulsating as they slowly came down from their highs. Jon had stayed on top of her still connected. Jon laid his head in the crook of Daenerys neck as she stroked her hand down his back again. Daenerys began to hum making Jon feel at peace in her arms.

After a moment he finally spoke “Am I forgiven?” Looking up at her beautiful face her silver blonde hair sticking to her forehead as her lips formed into a smile.

“Yes I think your’e quite forgiven my love”.

Whoo! I honestly did not expect to make this that long but I hope you liked my it. This was based on my cops and robbers au “If we ever meet again” Here’s the link:

https://ellimomo.tumblr.com/post/159356231618/if-we-ever-meet-again-a-jonerys-au-jon

[lovecomesinattheeyes]

Epiphanies Chapter 2

Please enjoy! It’s posted on ao3 as well. Here’s a link to part one. Leave some love to help speed the next chapter along? Maybe?

Dany POV

For a moment, she thought that Sam and Bran were joking. When it became clear they were not, she realized the gravity of the revelation. That her claim to the throne was slipping. Jon’s inability to lie and the outburst that ensued in him learning of his true parents had convinced her that this was real. He had sworn to bend the knee and he was doing so, even if what he was offering was more than just loyalty. She had considered offering marriage to this Northern Fool a few times. But now that it was happening, there was a lightness in her chest that she didn’t know she could feel.

She forces her eyes away from Jon’s. She could get lost in his gaze, but there is business to attend to. Their mission to convince the Northern Houses to accept her is too important.

“Shall we?” Sansa asks, beckoning to the door back to the Great Hall.

Dany goes to take a step toward the door but Jon’s hand pulls her back. “Give us a moment everyone. I need to speak with Daenerys alone. We will join you shortly.”

“Jon,” She goes to argue but the look of desperation in his eyes silences her. She turns to look back at the rest of the faces and nods at them. They begin to shuffle out and Jon’s shoulders relax slightly. Once the door closes he pulls her to his chest.

“Dany,” The rough and desperate way he says her name has her walls of composure crumbling. “Are you okay?”

She angles her head to look up at him and with this new knowledge his dark eyes look a little more silver than they did grey. Her cool façade breaks and she nods her head. “I’m not alone anymore.”

He gasps and kisses her softly. “You will never be alone again so long as my heart beats.”

Her smile brightens a little more. “A dragon raised in a family of wolves,” She ponders as she runs her hand along his face.

“You are my family now too.” His hands squeeze her middle.

“Ah yes, you being Rhaegar’s son would make me your Aunt. Does that change your carnal desires for me?” She grins at him playfully.

“There are worse familial bedfellows.” Jon shrugs thinking of Craster and his wives or Jaime and Cersei.

“Are you disappointed? Not being Ned’s son?” She asks softly. He drops her hand and looks down, sighing softly as he considers his answer.

“I’ll always be Ned’s son.” He admits. “He was the one who raised me, taught me what it means to be a Stark. He loved me as his own and treated me with respect. He will always be a part of me and nothing will change that. I may have Targaryen blood, but I still have Stark blood too.”

Dany nods. Her day has completely upended. She came here looking for a successful military alliance and now she’s found a blood relation in a man she’s already in love with. Not to mention, this man has just agreed to become her husband. Pieces of her life have just fallen into place and she can’t help the swell of love that bubbles into her. She pulls Jon’s lips to hers again and pours as much gratitude and devotion as she can into their last moments alone before they announce to a bunch of Northern men why a marriage between them is a good idea.

Jon disengages from her lips and smiles before they make their way to the door. He takes a deep breath, resetting his disposition before he walks through into The Hall.

A cacophony of voices assaults her ears. “Where is the King? Where is this so called Dragon Queen? I don’t see any dragons! Are we expected to-“ As Jon walks, in the room goes silent.

“My Lords.” He says as he stands behind Sansa’s chair.

Dany feels eyes shift from him to her as she walks into the room behind him. Standing off to the side she slowly looks around, perusing the reactions to her. Most men seem to have the usual slack jawed gazes she’s accustomed to seeing. A small girl, standing before a bunch of hard looking men catches Dany’s eye. The girl has a sour look to her face and Daenerys wonders who she is fleetingly before Jon begins speaking again.

“As you can see, I’ve returned with someone. This is-“ He’s cut off by Missandei as she strides through the room with Jorah Mormont and Varys flanking her.

“Daenerys Stormborm of House Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mother of Dragons, The Unburnt, Breaker of Chains and Lady of Dragonstone.” As she finishes the long string of titles she comes to stand next to Daenerys, her arms clasped in front of her. Jorah takes his place to Daenerys’ other side and Varys stands slightly behind Missandei.

What begins as low grumblings grow in volume until Jon cuts in again “She has given us dragonglass. Loads of it. Enough for every capable man and woman in our armies to have weapons made.”

“Aye and she’ll turn her dragons on us the second the Army of the Dead have been destroyed!” A voice in the back shouts.

“She will not!” Jon urges them to stay quiet. “In the weeks I’ve spent with The Queen, I’ve come to see her as just, honorable and fair. I’ve spoken to her closest Advisors, to her servants, to her warriors. All admire her and have proved that they are willing to follow her no matter where she may lead them.”

“Aye but it’s easy to lead when you don’t know what’s waiting for ye in the darkness!” A Lord from the Vale chimes in.

“If you are referring to the Night King and his Army.” Daenerys steps forward. “I have seen them. All hundred thousand creatures with their bright blue eyes and the skin dangling from their corpse like frames. I have been North of the Wall, and I have promised your King that we will defeat the wight walkers.” Hushed voices scatter through the room like leaves before they become more forceful once again.

“For claiming to be a Mother of Dragons, you seem to be missing these beasts you birthed.” The small girl with the sour look stands and before Daenerys can respond the girl speaks again. “Hello Jorah. The last you were in Westeros you were iron clad and being taken for punishment by our King’s father. It seems your traitorous ways have proven deep if you have aligned yourself with this foreign woman who calls herself Queen.”

“Lady Lyanna,” Jorah bows his head. “You have grown since I last saw you as a babe in your mother’s arms. This foreign Queen has earned my respect by freeing the slaves that I had created. I learned from my misdeeds and follow her as a reminder that no man should live in chains.”

“So she freed some slaves,” Lord Glover stands. “Lady Lyanna has a point. For someone who puts an emphasis on her dragons, we don’t see these-“ With that a large whooshing and a great flapping of wings can be heard. A shadow crosses over the windows blocking out the sun for just a moment. Screaming echoes from the courtyard outside and a great crashing of talons landing on hard earth shakes the dust from the rafters.

“You were saying?” Daenerys asks as the guards outside begin yelling. “Jorah, Varys, please see that the guards outside do not get themselves killed by Drogon.” With that Jorah and Varys exit the Great Hall quickly.

“Lord Glover,” Jon begins again. “I have seen that Queen Daenerys’ heart is good. She is not as her father was. She-“ He stops and looks at her. “She’s willing to sacrifice what is closest to her in order to do the right thing. She isn’t willing to kill innocent people in order to get what she wants. She came to help us.” Jorah re-enters at the back at nods as confirmation that the dying sounds outside indicate that everything seems fine for now.

“Conquering is not saving. She only means to earn our loyalty in order to take her Throne of Swords back. Once she has that she’ll force you to bend the knee, or worse.” Lord Dustin speaks up.

“I will not.” Daenerys answers forcefully as she takes a step closer to Jon slipping her hand into his. “I will wed your King in the North.”

A stunned silence washes through the hall. Jorah’s eyes meet Daenerys’, a shock of disbelief before his face smoothes to acceptance. He casts his eyes down but stays in the room. She looks at the Lords, waiting for someone to argue.

“Aye,” Jon answers dragging his gaze back to the Northerners, daring them to argue.

“A political marriage makes the most sense.” Sansa speaks up before the Northern Lords are able to react. “It will strengthen the country and the bonds between the Houses. Any ill-will us Northerners feel will be put aside.”

“If you expect us to think that this Dragon Queen hasn’t used some sorcery to convince our King to marry what’s between her legs, well then-“ Lord Cerwyn stands and angrily stares at Daenerys. Her spine straightens and she bites her tongue to prevent from spitting a fiery dismissal.

Jon’s rage billows and he slams his hand down on the table before Sansa.

“You WILL NOT speak about your future Queen in that manner! Belay the disrespect you have just afforded YOUR KING!” His heavy breathing is loud and the Great Hall goes silent. He drops his head and takes a couple of slow breaths before he stands back up.

“Now I know that The Targaryens reign ended in blood for all our families. There is no making right what was wronged. None of that was done by her, a babe not even born at the time of her father’s demise. If I, a Stark, can find it in myself to not place blame on Queen Daenerys, then I expect each and every one of you to do the same. She didn’t have to let us mine the Dragonglass. She didn’t have to come to Winterfell. She didn’t have to bring her dragons. She chose to. And I choose… to marry her.” Jon steps back and looks at the room, waiting for any further rebuttals. Some of the men nod, some shake their head, some merely wait to see if there are any further announcements.

When no one comes forward he continues, “Does anyone else have anything further to discuss at this time?” Either they’re too mad to talk or they have nothing further to say. “Aye, then I will depart to speak with my Advisors and rest from the journey here. If you have anything further to speak to me of, inform my sister and she will determine if my judgement is needed.”

With that he offers Daenerys his arm and they walk through the crowd of Northern Lords out to the courtyard, their Advisors following. The cold air is refreshing. She hadn’t realized how the North Men had riled her and set her blood boiling. Jon relaxes as he lets out a deep breath.

“That went about as well as expected.” Dany sighs as she gathers her wits.

“Aye, the best we can do now is prove that this union is truly good for the North.” His eyes glance around the courtyard, forcing hers to do the same. The small folk of the castle are tracking the couple with their scrutinizing gazes. Dany does not find this disconcerting as she has always been under near constant scrutiny at different points in her life. Jon however, seems to dislike it and rolls his shoulders uncomfortably.

“The stares will lessen,” She whispers squeezing his hand. “Eventually they will grow used to our presence together and will stop gazing like doe eyed girls.” He chuckles.

“I hope you’re right.” He stops as they arrive at some stairs leading up to the covered walkways. “Arya will show you to your room. I have some business to take care of. I will find you soon.” He brings her hand up to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers as he kisses first the knuckles and then the palm. She lightly rubs his cheek and smiles before pulling her hand away and nodding at him to take his leave. S

he decides that she liked the privacy and close quarters of the ship much more than the open air and watchful gazes of Winterfell. She watches her King walk away with Davos before her eyes are drawn to the small female that looks so much like him now standing in front of her.

“Your quarters are this way, Your Grace.” Arya says as she turns and heads up the stairs, Daenerys following close behind. They fall in line making their way through the walkways of Winterfell.

“Lady Arya,” Daenerys breaks the awkward pause.

“I’m no Lady.” Arya interrupts before Dany can finish her sentence. “Sansa is a Lady.”

“Then who are you?” Daenerys asks.

“I am no one.” Dany stops and looks at her discerningly, searching her gaze, trying to understand this seemingly lost girl.

“You can’t be no one. You are Jon’s and Sansa’s sister. You are Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn’s daughter. You are a wolf of Winterfell. You are an executioner. You are someone.” Daenerys turns watching as Arya does the same, both of them walking the same pace. “You can’t pretend to be no one because it’s easier than being someone. You must be who you were meant to be. Your brother has accepted that he couldn’t just be a bastard of the Night’s Watch. He became the King in the North because he had to. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s what must be done in order for us all to survive.”

Arya is quiet until they stop in front of a door. “I am still not a Lady.” She says forcefully. Daenerys smirks and bows her head once.

“As you say Arya.” Dany looks at the door. “This is my room?”

“Yes,” Arya turns her head, looking to the door at the end of the hall. “That is Jon’s.” Arya smirks before stepping past Dany and heading back the way they came. Daenerys watches her walk away and shakes her head slightly before opening the door and stepping into the room, Missandei, Tyrion and Varys entering after her.

“I can’t tell if she likes me.” Daenerys muses as she takes off her gloves and cloak and sets them on the small table in front of the window. The room is dark but the fire in the hearth makes it cozy. The four-poster bed looks inviting and the curtains, furnishings and rugs are good quality and condition. She wonders if all of the guest rooms are outfitted such as this one.

“I daresay she does.” Tyrion muses as he pours himself a glass of wine. “She didn’t pull her sword or knife on you. But the Stark children are an odd bunch, so who’s to say?”

“Your Grace,” Varys says. “I apologize if this is out of line. But what made the prospect of a marital alliance a viable option?”

Daenerys looks at Tyrion. “Can we trust him?”

Tyrion narrows his eyes at Varys. “I believe so. I remember when I told him I was marrying my niece to Theon Greyjoy in order to test that same thought. The information did not leak then, just as I believe it is safe now.”

“That was a mummer’s lie Tyrion. I could see through that in an instant.” Varys rolls his eyes and looks back at the Queen expectantly.

Daenerys pauses for just a moment, letting the weight of the information settle. “Jon Snow is not a Snow at all.” She says coolly as she takes a seat across from him. “He is a true born Targaryen.” Varys blanches, a look of confusion crosses his face.

“How can that be?” He muses and leans forward with interest.

“Jon’s mother was Lady Lyanna Stark. Lord Eddard found her in the Tower of Joy in Dorne bleeding out from having just given birth to Jon. She made her brother promise to claim the child as his own to protect him from the vengeance of his friend Robert.”

“Ah yes, it makes sense then why Ned refused to take part in Robert’s assassination attempt on you when he found out you were with Khal Drogo’s child.” Varys sits back in his chair deep in thought as Daenerys’ mind is sent reeling.

“He what?” She asks a little dumbly.

Varys looks up at her from his thoughts and nods. “Yes, Lord Eddard stepped down from being Robert Baratheon’s Hand. It angered the King so much, I thought perhaps Robert himself would kill Ned. But Ned stood strong and almost returned to Winterfell. Robert ordered your assassination anyway and after Jaime Lannister found out about Catelyen Stark taking this one,” he points to Tyrion,” Hostage, he killed Ned’s men and wounded Ned. The King eventually somehow convinced Ned to stay. It’s a pity he did, otherwise Ned might still be alive and the War of the Five Kings would not have ripped this country apart as it has.”

There’s a heavy silence in the room as Daenerys’ head spins. She hadn’t realized how deep the treachery went in Westeros. How much damage had taken place because of a Mad King and a doomed love.

“Claiming Jon as his bastard was a slight to his honor for many years, even though it was possibly the most honorable thing he’s done. It must have made him realize that even after 16 years, King Robert would still kill Jon if he’d known of his true lineage.” A deeper respect for the former Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North settles in Daenerys’ person. Perhaps Jon is more like Ned than she guessed. “Your Grace,” Varys continues. “Again I ask, how does his illegitimate birth cause a roomful of your Advisors to agree to a marriage between the two of you.”

“Because Varys,” Tyrion snaps. “He is legitimate. Samwell Tarly discovered evidence of an annulment between Rhaegar and Elia as well as a secret ceremony that took place between the Targaryen Prince and the Northern Beauty.”

“Well that is an interesting development.” Varys ponders. “So that would mean that his claim to the throne is technically stronger than our Queens?”

“Yes, but he’s convinced me he doesn’t want the Throne.” Dany answers as she stands and wanders to look out the window. “He says it is mine.”

“As is his heart.” Missandei teases.

Daenerys turns to look at her with wide eyes. “So he says.”

“Please do not tell me you think he is not truthful about his affections.” Missandei smirks. “We have all seen the near constant looks exchange one another. Not to mention hearing the nights you shared on the ship.”

Daenerys blushes and turns back to her Advisors. “You know?”

“Don’t be so surprised Your Grace,” Tyrion’s voice echoes into his cup as he takes a drink. “A ship’s walls aren’t exactly sound proof. At one point, I didn’t know if it was the howling of the winds I heard, or the howling of the White Wolf.” A blush rising to her cheeks forces Daenerys to turn to look back out the window.

“I do agree though,” Varys says. “About a marital alliance. Perhaps if a marriage broke this country, it could also remake it.” Daenerys ponders the thought as she watches her King sparring in the training yards below.