#but arya is still coherent

[marytunno]

-read below-

premise: Now I know why a book hasn’t come out in 13 years… just thinking about everything gave me a huge headache. I wanted to have some coherence in this small fic and study all the loose ends after Affc seeing what things in Adwd could have happened in the 5 years and so on and my brain exploded, this gap solves some problems but creates some huge holes everywhere… thank god I’m not Grrm… Generally speaking, I think that Arya would have grown up in the Fm but having serious problems about forgetting who she is (killing the deserter, Raff, the dreams ecc…), her being disobedient would have caused her a lot of problems… I have to be sincere, I'm not the biggest fan of the Fm… cool secret assassins? creepy cult of death? not for me… please let’s just explore and make friends in Braavos it’s colorful and so full of interesting people!! or let’s go back frolicking in the woods with the brotherhood… Anyway I’m very conflicted about Arya keeping or not the abilities she learned with the Fm… they are useful and would be cool for some plot twists and stuff… but I really hope she stays Arya and doesn’t become “no one” and if she stays herself it would be wrong for her to have the powers of a faceless man… Btw if my baby Arya ends up losing herself forever I’ll cry. I think it would have been cool in the 5 year gap if she got involved with Dany and consequently reached Westeros with her… but I don’t know how it could happen… In my head her arc will take her to face Lady Stoneheart, unite with Nymeria and her Pack, fight alongside Jon (if he fucking wakes up, it’s been 84 years George plis)... I see her as someone that will really care about the smallfolk and be a good “guide”… I think the main difference between what will happen in the next books and the 5 year skip is just that now Arya will be still young and her training with the faceless men will be rushed… she’ll be like barely around 13 I think when leaving braavos instead of being at least around 16/17 so probably too young for whatever Grrm will make her do anyway. Btw i feel like the time that has passed since the beginning Agot is like ten years and it’s just been like three or something… soo much happens to these poor characters help After this rambling premise expect a very cute and fluffy fanfiction… I’ll try to stay coherent to the books as much as I can but… it is what it is…

THERE IT GOES

At some point they had met again, while an endless winter had turned the world into a silent and unwelcoming land, she had been travelling, northbound, a pack of wolves in tow. Relentless, riding a she-wolf huge as a horse, howling under the starless sky, cold wind guiding her home.

The brotherhood had stayed… their merciless leader, thirsty for justice and blood… When winter had come some had fled south, some had left hunting for food, for survival but most had stayed, he had, hunting for men: Frey, Lannister, Bolton men… hundreds of bodies hanging lulled by the wind, frostbite erasing their faces.

The brotherhood had attacked her, unaware that Arya Stark of Winterfell was hidden under her cloak, their torches reflecting in the wolves' eyes. 

As they crossed swords, well sword and hammer, he noticed the familiar blade: Needle, a sharp pain and the sound of his nose breaking had brought him back from his thoughts. 

- Arya?- 

Her name, it had been so long since someone had called her name. 

He had been the first to join her, kneeling in the snow, swearing his loyalty to her, asking her to let him follow her, fight for her… her brother needed men to fight against the dead and so Arya agreed. 

An army of wolves and outlaws now followed her north, a righteous leader now guiding them… a Stark. 

At first it had been had, after all the time they had spent apart, deep silence, long stares and quick glances: her long braid, his broad shoulders, building from the ashes what had been between them. 

Slowly the silence had turned into small conversations and blossomed into nights spent talking about the past, Arya’s adventures in Braavos, what had become of the Brotherhood… cold gazes turning into warm smiles, learning to be friends again.

Something unspoken, something different this time, something new and probably dangerous but something they both felt and so they decided to let it happen. 

Arya understood what the feeling in her belly, the flutter in her chest meant, she also understood that the way Gendry looked at her, his hands playing absently with her hair, his eyes following her, his scowl melting into a smile every time she was around, she understood it meant something. 

Arya definitely wasn’t a coward and was quite aware that wasting time while the world was slowly ending under the unstoppable ice crawling its way south was stupid, so she decided to take the matter into her own hands. 

Nymeria and her pack had been hunting, the men resting inside of the ruins of what once had been a great holdfast, Gendry’s turn to tend the fire. 

- Do you wish to fuck me?- she had asked bluntly, no accusation in her tone

Young Gendry would have blushed and told her how improper for a lady that matter was, he would have left or cursed at her and they would have fought… but they weren't their young selves anymore.

He had stayed silent for a while, the crackling of the fire and the howling of the snowstorm outside the stone walls the only sounds. 

- Sometimes…- there was no point in lying, and there was no point in arguing with her about what she could or couldn't talk about

- But you don’t have to worry about that… It’ll pass… you are a woman… you’re nice... and I’m an idiot…- he explained hoping she wouldn’t be upset about his words

She wasn’t. 

- Is that why you are following me now?- some accusation in her tone 

- No, it’s not that… following you is… just the right thing to do… it’s what I should have always done…- 

Arya smiled and walked forward, to then sit close to him, he must have said the right thing.

- Yes… you should have…- 

Deep silence again.

- And… I’m sorry for being… I know it won’t happen… It’s just… you are pretty and I’m... a man…- 

She scrunched up her nose

- So you're telling me that all brotherhood knights must want to fuck me as well… since they are men…- 

-Some of them... more than you would imagine… but it doesn’t change things… they follow you because they believe in you… they respect you… I do respect you…- 

Arya bit her lip, they were marching toward danger, toward war and death, but it was stupid to stop life so early, Nymeria and the wolves kept hunting and running and birthing their pups even if the world was going to end… even winter couldn't stop what was just… natural… 

- You could kiss me… I think I’d like that…- she said looking at him with her gray eyes 

His heart skipped a beat, Arya always had the worst timing for some things, or maybe the best timing, he wasn’t sure… 

- I could never no that…- the knight in him spoke 

- I thought you wanted to… you just said…- she started, her voice nervous 

- Of course I want to… but… it would be wrong…- Gendry truly hated himself in that moment 

- Why?- 

-It just is… - 

She snorted and crossed her arms 

- Stupid! if you don’t kiss me right now… you’re a coward!- she spat, her eyes never leaving his. 

He sighed and looked at her lips, he was many things… but he definitely wasn’t a coward.

here it is, I'm late again... having to spend the summer with my Italian chaotic family doesn't help... I really like the next fic I wrote... I'll post it in a few minutes... enjoy<3<3

[redwolf17]

Arya II Update

Prose: 0

Outline: 6,118

AN: 0

The chaos notes are now in coherent order! Still a decent number of details to work out, a little research to do, but a good start ☺️

As usual, ask box is open :)

[daylander1000]

HotD vs GoT (season 1) ?

I've seen many comparisons between the two and according to some critics (quite a lot of them tbh) HotD is superior or has a potential to be because... reasons. Now, while I do believe that, while comparisons are always odious they sometimes make, but this one is really weird and unjust because a lot of people are still disappointed with how GoT ended (personally, I wasn't happy with how some things played out either, especially in the last two seasons, but I am definitely not that upset four years later and actually remember the show as a whole more or less fondly) and this disappointment together with anti D&D discourse probably clouds the judgement. However, they seem to ignore that GoT had 8 seasons and was mostly well liked and praised until the last two, while HOTD has barely begun and already has many problems writing-wise imho. Will those same people, after HOTD ends (and there is no way that everyone will be satisfied with the ending) retrospectively start to hate everything they are praising right now, I wonder? I do sincerely hope that HotD will improve and that every new season will be better then the previous one, but based strictly on the first seasons (I recently rewatched GoT s1) it's GoT >> HotD.

What do you think?

I didn't like GOT. I didn't watch it properly. I tuned in to see how they did some of the bigger moments like Red Wedding and Purple Wedding, and I watched the last two seasons just for asoiaf closure, and honestly, I liked the GOT ending, more or less.

Not Dany being killed by Jon, or Arya vs Night King, or King Bran, but Dany burning the whole place down. Her arc's sort of going there in the books imo. I'm a simple woman—I'm in this for the dragons and for Drogon burning things. I wanted to see Stoneheart and Young Griff and those storylines, but I will take Drogon burning things.

I truly don't get the pretense that HOTD is better than GOT or that Codal & co are in any way better than D&D. I'm giving them less points actually because they saw how GOT unraveled and they've made zero improvements. D&D at least have an excuse—Martin promised to have the books finished when they started. They signed on to adapt, not finish asoiaf on their own strengths. It's a complicated thing that even the creator is struggling with after a decade. They tried, at least.

Codal and co are already floundering in S1. They've already lost narrative coherence. Even the characters aren't coherent. And yes, you can use a time skip to just wave a "People change" flag at all the inconsistencies but come on.

In their defence tho, "And then all the hyper-intelligent special rare sentient magic dragons killed each other in the stupidest ways ever for no real reason" is not an easy story to tell without an extreme amount of hand-waving.

I don't think F&B should exist. I think Martin should have looked it over a couple of times like "Hot six-year-old? Jumping from one dragon to another? WTF is this? This ain't it. Nope."

Honestly, I think HBO just has a bunch of media people on the payroll hyping them up so they can use the emmys for free advertising. Brian Cox is up for a lead actor Emmy with a grand total of three episodes? It's not TV, just HBO living by HBO rules. If they say it's better then it's better. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[badbedforbedding]

Not to vague blog but I hate that I take the time to curate my experience in this hell of a fandom but still people make new accounts dedicated to talking shit about Arya or arya stans in the Arya tag.

Trolls. All of them cant even answer to the discussion in a coherent manner or often times they don't answer because they have nothing worth to add.

Anyway, another round of blocking is due.

[travllingbunny]

fire and blood 2 isn't coming but even if it comes she won't be important because AWOIAF doesn't even mention alys and her supposedly very important son. she doesn't have a proper ending and the show even considered cutting daeron. also what's that old gods bs? lol pls be serious you sound delusional.

if ryan condal is such a fan of the book then why he made aemond a completely different person and wrote all the nonsense that mushroom said for aegon. and he made helaena a dreamer. ryan also ignored the relationship between helaena and aegon, aegon doesn't give a f about helaena

You sound extremely upset and threatened by the existence of Alys as a character. I think you need to calm down. If you need to tell youtself "It's OK, it's OK, part 2 of Fire and Blood won't come out so I won't need to read more about her..." - well, I guess what/ver works for you!

Your ask isn't very coherent, it'reads like a stream of consciousness, but I'll try to break it down...

"fire and blood 2 isn't coming" - I don't have any exclusive news about its publication and I doubt you have either. I don't see how that's relevant anyway.

"but even if it comes she won't be important because AWOIAF doesn't even mention alys and her supposedly very important son" - It does, actually. It doesn't mention her activities during the regency. Lots of things and lots of people were not mentioned in AWOAIF but were in a Fire & Blood, which is an expanded version of the story about the Targaryens' reign in Westeros and contain so much more information, including probably things GRRM hadn't even developed a few years before. Which, you know, is the whole point of F&B. What does "important" mean to you? Someone who takes the throne is important and everyone else isn't? No one ever said her son will become king. So what?

"she doesn't have a proper ending" - because Blood and Fire hasn't come out. And? Neither do Dany, Jon Snow, Tyrion, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Jaime, Cersei, Brienne... and every single character from the main series, since Winds of WInter hasn't come out (and some people think it's not coming out). What is your point?

"the show even considered cutting daeron" - Where did you get that from? DId Ryan Condal tell you that? GRRM and Ryan Condal have both said they didn't have a way of working out Daeron in season 1.

"also what's that old gods bs" -Old Gods are the First Men religion that many people still practice in Westeros. mainly in the North, which makes followers of the Old Gods rare in the South, although godswoods still exist (like the big one in Harrenhal where Sabitha Frey found Alys preying to them) and the religion is accepted and tolerated alongside the Faith of the Seven. I'm sorry, I assumed everyone was aware of that. Have you ever read the books? any of them? The "Old Gods BS" is very important in ASOAIF.

"if ryan condal is such a fan of the book then why he made aemond a completely different person" - How did he 'make him a completely different person'? What did Aemond do during season 1 that is so different from what he is said to be doing at this point in the book?

The only significant deviation is that the fight after he claims Vhagar is different, because Baela and Rhaena are involved, while Joffrey isn't, which is a smart decision on many accounts, especially because a 3 year old confronting a 10 year old is completely ridiculous. GRRM has an issue with writing children and sometimes writes extremely small children doing things children of that age certainly wouldn't do. Oh, and Aemond doesn't call Rhaenyra an old wh0re. Is that what you're disappointed about? Are you also disappointed with Rhaenyra not saying anything homophobic about Laenor when Viserys first asks her to marry him, for instance, or not yelling "Out, out, monster!" while giving birth to Visenya? Maybe they said those things, maybe they didn't - the only evidence is that someone quoted them. Was it accurate, was it made up? Who knows. (I personally think it was a smart decision to not make every character unlikable by having them randomly say sexist, homophobic and generally awful things just because the unreliable fictional history book says they said that exact line and someone who heard it reproduced it accurately,, so we just can't deviate from that!)

Being a 'book purist' about a book like Fire & Blood (which is a bunch of plot points mixed with rumors and unreliable accouts) is funny. If you find Aemond to be a "completely different person", that's because the show is fleshing out the characters and interpreting them differently than the maester who's writing the 'history and portraying them as one-dimensional or at best two-dimensional caricatures. Which, guess what, is exactly what a fan who understands the book would do! Gyldayn and his sources are meant to be unreliable narrators. I hope you understand the concept.

"wrote all the nonsense that mushroom said for aegon." - What is "all the nonsense"? Aegon being in a fighting pit? I thought you were insisting that the show had to be just like the book, but now you're upset they included something from the book? Pick a struggle!

In any case, Mushroom also says that Aegon was found drunk and naked while a girl who couldn't be over 12 was giving him a blow job.. So you see, they didn't include all of what Mushroom said. I'm personally grateful they toned down on the pedophilia on the show.

"and he made helaena a dreamer" - And you have a problem with that because...? Oh right, "Fire and Blood book purism" LMAO So far Helaena hasn't been able to change anything with her dreams, no one even takes the things she says as prophecies, and she's only said them to a small circle of people, so if you're that bothered about F&B (which I doubt you really are, since you are actively wishing for characters to be cut...), Helaena could for all we know be a dreamer in the books too and we just wouldn't know.

"ryan also ignored the relationship between helaena and aegon, aegon doesn't give a f about helaena" - so just like in Fire & Blood, where he also doesn't give a f about her, and she doesn't give a f about him?

Ryan hasn't ignored the relationship between Helaena and Aegon, in fact he's focused on that relationship more than he has on Helaena and Aemond's, and second only to Aemond's and Aegon's: the show made sure to show that Aegon and Helaena don't like each other as siblings or spouses and are indifferent to each other.

[youritalianbookpal]

Ten Questions Book Review - The Wicked King by Holly Black

What is it? Jude put on the throne of all fae kind her worst enemy, and now she has to deal with it.

Who should read it and why? I think you will like this if you like annoyances-to-lovers, if you like both Sansa and Arya Stark because we stan queens in every form they come, and if the ocean terrfies you. Please also note that this won't make much sense without having read The Cruel Prince.

Which genre(s) is it? Fantasy, YA.

What is the setting? Faerie, more or less 2019. Not that it matters, but when I told a friend of mine who was interested in reading the series, she was actually surprised it's technically set in the 2010s.

How are the characters? Honestly? I've found them very interesting, especially Jude and Madoc. I thought this series was going to be way more romance-focused than family-focused, and I actually love that it's much more balanced than previously assumed. What I really liked is the investigation in Jude's (and, to an extent, Cardan's) family dynamics.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the novel? The plot was coherent but surprising enough to be lovely. And then again, the dynamics between the characters, to me, really make the series brilliant. However, I think the pacing was a bit weird to me. After the wedding everything sort of felt a bit weird, as either too fast or too slow - and it suits the plot just fine, considering what is going on, but it still felt... Non-fluid to me.

Did I cry and/or laugh? The banter sure is fun in this book. And, while I didn't cry, there's parts of the story that still tugged my heartstrings.

Who shouldn’t read the book? Don't read this without having read The Cruel Prince. Also, this one is stilly pretty dark in some parts, so please consider checking out a proper trigger list before reading it.

Any random comment? It's really not ok how giddy this made me while reading.

Which quote stuck with me?

I want to tell you so many lies.

[hell-heron]

If youre still doing the theory meme what do you think about “J***a being canon”?

Nonny I get not wanting it in the tag but did you have to censor it like this 😭 the Temptation to interpret this as like Jeyne/Arya or Jaime/Elia was very strong this said I don't really see ships as theories but:

Subtantiated by the test: mhhh they never interact right? 1 maybe

Thematically coherent: def parallels there so 2!

Adds to the text: well it adds fun romance for Sansa so thats def a 3 in my book ahah

Hinged: mhhh 2 its not like its a weird magic theory

Slay factor: 1

9!

[madaboutasoiaf]

Hey,girl! I love your "canon Arya Stark" stuff! I think think that the class privilege is an important part of her arc,even with her interactions with peasants and commoners. I mean,she was a sheltered girl,so she was naive at the early books in a way,IMO.

Class privilege is definitely a theme in Arya’s arc. She did start off very sheltered, and yes a bit naive, hence why the incident on the Trident hit her so hard. I’m not referring to her grief for Mycah when I say that. That grief for her friend is very human and relatable even to an adult. I’m referring more to her shock and anger that nobody did anything when Mycah was killed.

This was thefirst time they had supped with the men since arriving in King’s Landing. Aryahated it. She hated the sounds of their voices now, the way they laughed, thestories they told. They’d been her friends, she’d felt safe around them, butnow she knew that was a lie. They’d let the queen kill Lady, that was horribleenough, but then the Hound found Mycah. Jeyne Poole had told Arya that he’d cuthim up in so many pieces that they’d given him back to the butcher in a bag,and at first the poor man had thought it was a pig they’d slaughtered. And noone had raised a voice or drawn a blade or anything, not Harwin who alwaystalked so bold, or Alyn who was going to be a knight, or Jory who was captainof the guard. Not even her father.

Arya is the only person who defended Mycah and tried to keep him from harm. Everybody else knew he was one of the smallfolk, and people in Westeros just don’t cross a king (or a prince) to defend one of the smallfolk unless they are Dunk and we saw how that turned out. I say class privilege is a theme in Arya’s arc, and it is. Arya didn’t want to be a highborn lady, and after she has to flee the Red Keep to escape capture she finds out exactly what it’s like to not have that class privilege. GRRM is pretty brutal in showing her how sheltered she was in Winterfell, and she doesn’t stay naive for long at all.

I’d actually argue that abuse of class privilege is the stronger theme in Arya’s arc. We see that from that moment on the Trident, with Joffrey, and then Cersei’s and Robert’s actions too, but more so once Arya leaves King’s Landing. The confrontation with Ser Amory Lorch and the death of Yoren, the actions of Ser Gregor and the people Arya meets on the way to Harrenhal and in Harrenhal itself are gruesome illustrations of abuse of power.

Arya witnesses one injustice after another, from knights and the highborn, from people who have sworn vows and these people are acting completely contrary to these vows, and they just don’t care because they’ll face no punishment, if anything their behaviour is condoned because of their class and it’s all so wrong.

Hot Pie was being silly; it wouldn’t be ghosts at Harrenhal, it would be knights. Arya could reveal herself to Lady Whent, and the knights would escort her home and keep her safe. That was what knights did; they kept you safe, especially women.

This is how it’s meant to be. That quote is how a true knight should behave but there are very few true knights out there. Dunk is one (please read Dunk and Egg if you haven’t), and Brienne, and they’re not even really knights! Arya is taught a cruel lesson on the way to Harrenhal, and the injustices are the beginning of her list, a list that began from feeling powerless, but not only that. Every person on that list has committed crimes, and for most of them it has been an abuse of power that has gone unpunished because it has been committed by somebody with privilege, or in service to somebody who is privileged.

And it’s wrong.

Arya’s there to show us all this, to feel her powerlessness and her outrage and we should feel it. She might be highborn but that didn’t help her, not when she’s on the run and her identity must be kept secret to keep her safe and it’s a poor sort of safety when she goes from one place where she is abused onto another, on an entirely different continent, where safety means repressing your identity and thanking your hosts for slapping you. 

[fandom-puff]

Guard

Pairing: Sandor Clegane x reader

Requested by: anon ‘Can I get literally anything with Sandor Clegane? Maybe reader is a highborn child of a lord, and the Hound is hired as their bodyguard. And reader is very flustered around Sandor and can’t help but try to seduce them nervously? And Sandor is secretly digging it but tries to remain stoic and scary. Did that make any sense? I hope that was coherent’

Note: I... got a bit carried away here lol, sorry it took a while to write. also the reader in this is Robert Baratheon’s eldest daughter :)

Warnings: drunk shenanigans, references to sex

Gif creds to owner

“Oh father, honestly. What need have I for a guard?” You sighed, setting your book aside as Robert Baratheon sat across from you. “I can barely leave my chambers without a swarm of mother’s little birds to watch my every move,”

“What good are your ladies maids against would be assassins, Hm?” Robert said gently, brushing your dark hair away from your face. “All they can do is tell your mother you’ve had your throat slit,” you didn’t grimace at his bluntness.

“Surely Joffrey would be the prime target?” You insisted. “He’s heir to the throne seeing as he’s the eldest son. And he’s an ass as well,”

Robert laughed, knowing of your disdain for your younger brother. “I know, my girl, I know. Still, I want you protected, especially when we set off for the north. It took a while to convince your mother but... well, she can’t deny her own bannermen will be the best to serve the job,”

“Lannister bannermen?” You asked, taking your father’s arm as he began to walk you to dinner.

“Aye. Don’t worry, I won’t let the Mountain anywhere near you,” he said, patting your hand gently. “But his brother, Sandor, is to be your guard,”

***

The journey north was... arduous, to put it diplomatically. Your mother was overbearing, Joffrey grew bored, Myrcella was travel-sick from the bumpy road and Tommen was dearly missing Ser Pounce.

When the parade of servants and guards and carriages and luggage stopped for dinner before sun down, you sighed, happy to stretch your legs and get away from the claustrophobic Queen’s litter.

After dinner, you followed your father and uncles to their own carriage, insisting you couldn’t bare another moment of your siblings bickering and your mother trying to get you to sew. Your father allowed it and you smiled as he helped you into the carriage, sitting next to him and across from your uncles. Tyrion smiled at you, asking about the book you were reading. You soon found yourself relaxing, under no pressure from Cersei, being treated as an intellectual equal. You even drank some strong wine (under Robert’s supervision of course) and soon nodded off to sleep against your father’s shoulder the way you used to when you were a girl...

“YN, wake up,” you jolted awake, blinking away your sleepiness.

“Are we at Winterfell?” You mumbled, rubbing your eyes. Robert smiled fondly.

“Almost, my dear. Your mother is going spare, says you’re to go to her litter right this instant and put your best gown on,” he grinned, nudging you as you rolled your eyes. “Clegane will escort you, he’s outside,” you sighed and nodded, slipping out of the carriage, almost colliding head on with the Hound.

“Princess,” he said, looking down at you and bowing slightly. “I’m to take to you your mother,”

You smiled sweetly up and him, nodding. “Thank you, Ser Clegane,”

“I’m no Ser,” he said firmly.

“Then what should I call you?” You asked, looking up at him expectantly.

“Well... your brother used to just call me Hound, or Dog, princess,” he said, frowning.

You stared up at him, locking eyes with him, taking in his scarred face and stoic expression. “I am not an ignorant arse like my brother. I’m sure your first name shall suffice, Sandor,” you said firmly and he nodded, helping you navigate the uneven ground to your mother’s carriage

***

Your stay at Winterfell was enjoyable, yet suffocating at times. You grew used to the cold rather quickly, donning furs the way the Starks did. You got on well with Sansa, let Arya show you how fast she could run, held Rickon on your hip when he raised his arms up, let Bran quiz you on the different creatures Old Nan had told him about, spoke politics with Robb. You even beckoned the bastard, Jon Snow over after Robb told you they were as close as real brothers. You admired how warm Lady Stark was with her children, and how Lord Stark was firm but fair with them, disciplining them when need be.

Of course, wherever you went, you had a shadow. Sandor Clegane followed your every move, standing just close enough so he could see and hear you, but far away enough to not stifle you. It was odd at first, but you soon got used to it, smiling softly when you found him waiting outside of your allocated chamber each morning. You couldn’t help but be curious about him. Many recoiled in fright when they saw his disfigured face, but you couldn’t care less. It intrigued you. He was... handsome. In a rugged, scary, gigantic way. At night you couldn’t help but let your mind wander... thinking about his strong arms and great height and low, rumbling voice... you often woke in a sweat, despite the frigid wind of the North, your entire body alight with desire.

It was wrong, you knew it was. He was your guard. Father would have his head if anything untoward happened, and your mother would surely condemn you to a life as a Septa. But still... there was something about his powerful presence that stoked the fire within you.

***

There was a firm thud at your door. “Princess, I’m here to take you to the feast,” Sandor’s gruff voice sounded.

“A moment, I’m just... is there a ladies’ maid nearby?” You called

“No, Princess. They are down at the feast with your mother and sister... should I fetch one? Or perhaps the Septa or the Maester, if it’s women’s troubles that are ailing you?”

You rolled your eyes and opened the door. “There’s no need for that, Sandor,” you said firmly. “I’m simply having difficulty trying to do up the clasp on my necklace. Would you...?” You opened your door a little wider, inviting him inside. Sandor hesitated for a moment before following you, his armour rattling with every step. He admired your figure as you walked; you had decided to wear the colours of your house for the Feast. A black gown, embroidered with twisting golden antlers. You stood in front of the mirror, holding out the ends of your pendant. Sandor’s hands brushed against yours as he took the ends, and you couldn’t help but shiver, goosebumps spreading over the swell of your breasts as you swept your hair aside. Sandor gulped, clasping the fiddly chain against the column of your neck, his knuckles caressing gently.

“There,” he said, clearing his throat as he felt your heated skin. “Come on... before your mother castrates me for making you late,”

You smiled gently, walking slightly ahead of him toward the noisy Hall. As you approached the head table, Ned and Catelyn stood, but you quickly gestured for them to sit. “Please, sit. This is your home,” you said gently, allowing Sandor to pull a chair out for you next to your mother.

“Thank you Clegane,” she said coldly, eyes narrowed. “You may leave us now,”

You turned to him and smiled shyly. “Stay,” you said softly.

“YN,” your mother said warningly.

“Sandor, go and enjoy the feast. Have some food and some wine, I’m sure Uncle Jaime and Uncle Tyrion can spare you some. Go. Make Merry,” you said gently and he nodded, bowing slightly.

“Of course, Princess, your majesty,” he said, before stalking away.

You ignored your mother’s disapproving look and engaged in pleasant conversation with Lady Catelyn, mainly about when you were to be wed, but your mother cut across.

“I believe Robert intended to betroth her to your eldest son, but we must consider Joffrey’s future first. He is after all to be king and needs to have heirs,”

“Of course,” Catelyn smiled. “I’m sure a suitor will come shortly,”

You nodded, although your attention was no longer on the conversation; your eyes had drifted to Sandor. For once he was smiling, looking at ease as your uncles poured him more wine, your father laughing jovially with a woman on his lap. “I’m going to see Uncle Jaime,” you said to your mother, who sighed but let you go.

“Ah, YN,” Tyrion smiled as jaime poured you a goblet of wine. “I see you’ve managed to escape your mother’s side,”

“Don’t,” you said, taking the wine and drinking it quickly, sitting yourself next to Sandor. Robert sent the woman on his lap go, frowning at you.

“Careful now, YN, that wine’s stronger than you’re used to,” he warned, but you reached over to clink your goblet with his. Sandor gulped, seeing the curve of your back as you swayed slightly.

“Oh, nonsense, father. I am your daughter after all... and my uncle is the drunkest man in the seven kingdoms. It’d be rather shameful if I couldn’t manage a cup of wine,” you smiled, sitting back down and knocking back another cup as the men roared with laughter.

Your father was right. A few cups of the strong wine later, you were rather giddy, insisting Jaime dance with you. He humoured you, your father and Tyrion laughing and cheering you on while Sandor smiled bemusedly. “Come now, YN... that’s enough for tonight,” Jaime said, helping you stagger back. “She’s drunk,” he grinned as you giggled, sitting yourself back down. Your fathered grinned, allowing you one more cup before smirking.

“Gods above, Cersei will have my head for getting you drunk...” Robert grinned, although he didn’t really look too worried. “Clegane, take her to her rooms and guard the door. Send for the maester if she’s unwell,” Sandor nodded and bowed, watching as you hugged your father goodnight, before taking your arm and guiding you out of the crowded hall.

As you walked through the courtyard of Winterfell, you shivered in the cold, leaning into Sandor a little more, trying to keep up with his wide strides. He helped you up the stairs to your room, rolling his eyes fondly as you giggled when you stumbled. “Come on, Princess, need to get you to bed in one piece,”

“I’d like you to get me in bed, Sandor,” you grinned, nudging him, fuelled by liquid confidence. He said nothing, opening your bedroom door, helping you inside before turning around. “What’re you doing?” You asked indignantly.

“Turning my back so you can get yourself dressed for bed,” he said lowly, gritting his teeth.

“I can’t undo the laces at the back... my ladies’ maid is still at the feast. Help?” You asked, already clumsily undoing your braids. Sandor sighed softly, cursing under his breath as he turned around. You had your back to him, holding your hair out of the way so he could unlace your gown. When you felt his strong hands against your back, caressing with the gentlest touch, you let out a little sigh, leaning back into his touch. Your gown pooled onto the floor, leaving you in your corset and chemise. His breath hitched, unlacing your corset. You smiled, turning around and he quickly averted his eyes- he could see your nipples through the fabric, thanks to the cold.

“C’mon, princess,” he said, clearing his throat, thankful his armour covered his cock; his trousers were feeling uncomfortably tight. “Into bed with you,” you nodded obediently, letting him help you up into the high bed. He pulled the blanket over you, and as he was straightening, you reached up to kiss him. He froze for a moment, before kissing you back gently, stroking your hair. His whole hand almost covered your head as he cupped the back of it gently. Slowly, he pulled away, much to your dismay. “Sleep, princess,” he said softly, pushing you down. You reached up, pouting.

“Stay?” You slurred, eyes already drooping as the alcohol caught up to you.

“I’ll be standing just outside the door, YN,” he said, blowing out the candles. “Can’t keep you safe if I’m in here, can I?”

***

Tags: @lotsoffandomrecs @zodiyack @rabeccablake @simonsbluee @wonderwoman292 @little-bit-of-randomness @doozywoozy

[esther-dot]

1 I tend to think those who will end up on a throne have looked at the world from a very high place, and these are Jon (top of the Wall)/Sansa (top of KL, Eyrie)/Bran (top of... everything, lol). The show ending was truly baffling, but it makes sense bookwise at least in part. Sansa will marry a king (in the text): king in the North, or king in the South? Imo Jon might become king of Westeros but then he'll pull a Cregan/Duncan/Aemon; or, king in the North. But "marry a king" means

part 3 didn’t make it through, anon, but thank you for these! I really love the way you think. I still haven’t formed any coherent thoughts on the endgame, but I’ll chat about it under the cut.

Well shoot. To me, that placement above everything always seemed more like god than king indicator (because I was focused on Bran as the counterpoint to Dany) but your take, that that vantage point is actually ruler foreshadowing is so interesting because while we all argue over Jon and Sansa and Arya’s ending, King Bran has been confirmed. So, looking at him, seeing what indicates his end, and then looking for echoes of it in other character’s chapters…that seems promising! I’ll definitely keep this in mind if/when I reread.

The parallels Martin creates and the playing with names seems to indicate what you suggest regarding Jon being offered the throne and choosing not to accept or abdicating. I think it was drifitng-snowflakes who mentioned that first in conjunction with a Duncan parallels (link), and a lot of us have commented on the parallels Jon has with various Aemons (@estherruth-jonsatrash mentioned some here, additional parallels with the dragonknight here, and a helpful anon and I talked about it meaning Jon rejects the crown here). I tend to think that Martin’s interest in writing the additional precanon stories is because they make the canon material weightier with the idea that the main series will have aspects of history repeating as well as the sense of history finally being corrected. So, your speculation, that Jon (a Targ) is the one who calls a great council the result of which is to remove the Targs (himself) from power and form some new method of rule, well, that would be very satisfying. And, there’s spec that Rhaegar intended to call the lords of Westeros together because he knew his father was unfit to be king, so Jon summoning them, well, it ties in there too. I’m not sure that Jon would actually be king at that point, but it seems very likely that he would have some backers but refuses to allow all those parallels to come to fruition.

As for Sansa’s fate, I’m actually partial to her becoming queen in her own right rather than by marriage. Also, to me, rejecting the kingship over Westeros has the most weight if Jon isn’t already a king. As in, maybe he refuses to honor Robb’s Will because he doesn’t want to disinherit Sansa, and maybe he doesn’t accept the crown either? It’s pretty commonly accepted that he’ll be KitN, and that may happen, but to me, so much is made of people wanting Sansa to hold the North/marrying her to get Winterfell, it seems that Jon can’t agree to take it from her and get the happy ending we want for him. I think if he goes along with Robb’s Will/accepts Winterfell and becomes KitN, exile or the Watch is his endgame. If he refuses, then I think he will get a happy ever after in Winterfell with Sansa LoW or queen. (I think she’ll be queen, but I know people differ on that.) And, since he has already refused to take it from her and he supported Alys, I think there is reason to believe he’d remain firm on this. Also, Sansa wants love, it is important for her as a character to be prioritized, vital that she knows she is loved for herself, not because of what a man can gain through a marriage with her, so her being safe and in a position of political power and then marrying Jon because she wants to would be the perfect way to end her story. I’m not saying that’s what we’ll get, that’s just my preference. There’s always been a lot of spec that Jon and Sansa marry to resolve the mess of Northern succession/Jon being revealed to be a Targaryen which obviously makes a lot of sense because so much has been done to build towards a real mess there.

I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on Bran because that’s something I’ve been wondering about a lot. Why would he accept becoming king? How is this meaningful to him? Regardless of having powers or not, I keep trying to think about how that would be written from his POV. In a lot of fiction, being a ruler is romanticized, but to me, imagining Bran and Sansa trying to pick up the pieces after the devastation to come, it just sounds like a huge burden. The idea that people who have suffered as a result of these wars will work to prevent future wars, that makes sense, and the idea that Bran who was taught justice by Ned (one of the more merciful men in the series) becomes a good and just king, that makes sense, but I just keep wondering how it would be written as an emotionally fulfilling ending for Bran/his fans? Maybe doing a read through of just his chapters would answer a lot of my questions.

Thank you for the message!

[system-of-a-feather]

How do you know if you fused ? I wonder if I did because we haven(t seen my little sister in quite a while, and I have more and more of interests only she had, but are you supposed to know for sure about it or is it more of a "I guess.... ???" situation ?

Disclaimer: This is entirely based on our personal experience solely and I'm lowkey scatter brained at the moment so this entire post is not my best writing

-----

Honestly, there really isn't a point where you will magically know you are fused. I think a lot of DIDtube has presented fusion as this instantaneous thing that is bam over night suddenly you are a new person kind of thing, and for some it might be like that, but we've personally never experienced it. For us our shortest fusion took like 2 weeks, and longest could be argued to be like 4-6 years.

In my personal opinion, you are fused once you feel you are fused and/or have put emotional and mental time and space into pulling two parts together and holding them in the same space. Once you've reached a place where you can comfortably hold both "brains" and rest as some middle ground place and you feel like its fair to call yourself fused, its probably a good point. It personally feels a lot like learning emotional regulation between two extreme emotional states and trying to find the middle ground in a DBT like setting, and that phase takes up a lot of the space prior to feeling properly fused.

But also like.... XIV didn't know he was fused and it was a complex situation, but he spent a lot of time balancing his wildly swaying mood swings and lack of control and in hindsight we realized he had fused with a part that was MIA.

Personally for me, I usually say I'm a fused when I felt two parts close and got this general emotion-based vibe that fusion was possible, ended up melding (term we use, its like blurring, but instead of fogginess, it is just confusing temporary state of two parts fusing and is often very brief and short run) by accident, decide that we intend to try to hold onto to this and give it mental and emotional time and space. Usually doing that will be annoying as shit because it'd feel like you are one person with HORRIBLE emotional regulation and identity crisises, but if its a positive fusion there will still be a net positive

And usually once a part "gets a grip" on the extreme swings that comes with working to fuse a part and can typically regularly hold a "middle ground" brain, we like to consider that part a fused part.

In our time of trying to fuse parts I've tried fusing with a good few parts. Only like 1 of the 4 I tried actually stuck because the other three were too much pretty quickly and the distressed / discomfort outweighed the benefit and it naturally returned back to what it was.

Also I think one of the most common traits in our system of knowing you are a fused part is looking at how you were before the possible fusing and going "Goddd I was miserable" but that is most likely a system specific trait XD

Honestly I'm still a bit new to how this fusion stuff works cause I only sorted mine out like 2 or 3 months ago and haven't really sat to get the words put together in a manner that is really coherent but like.... for example, I'm a fusion between two subsystem parts Riku (One) and Arya (Four) and one of the largest and hardest parts between the two to properly integrate was the ability to be grounded and have needs and the need to chronically be moving and like.... it was horrible cause while there was something of a "third overwatching" brain that is me now, it was very very weak and small and most of the time I thought I was loosing my mind with how I kept jumping between coping skills and interests in ways I knew that were too extreme and not moderate and not what I needed to be doing.

I like had the vision of something between the two but the behavior and depersonalization / derealization particularly around traits that were hard to bring together and it took a few weeks and me also removing "crutches" that I as Riku (One) relied on to avoid shit with to actually get used to the "swings" and eventually lower them while building this third middle brain between the two parts.

And real talk here, even after you fuse, it really isn't odd - at least here - to occasionally swing a lot more to one part than another especially when triggers to them come up or coping skills get rough.

... really sorry about how scatter brained and unstructured this is, I have a lot of loose tangential thoughts on the topic, but really.... Fusion isn't this "on or off" thing really - its really a spectrum of integration with the far end being generally labeled "fusion".

If you put a gradient from yellow to red, at what exact hue are you "orange" - where does orange begin and end exactly? Is it one specific hue? Is it a range of specific hues? Or would you just generally pinpoint a general place that seems to represent orange well?

I dunno I'm sorry I'm rambling XD I also just lowkey switched in here so my brain is all over the place. If any of this makes any sense and you'd like further expansion or clarification feel free to ask more.

-Riku (Host)

[kallypsowrites]

Hi there!

I’ve was rereading AWAL for the billionth time, and something I’ve always been curious about is the swords of Jaime and Arya.

Jaime’s sword, which he later gave to Robb, I’m assuming that it still is/looks like Oathkeeper.

But as for Arya’s Winter’s Fury, does it still look like Widow’s Wail, or did Tywin change the design once he decided he was giving it to Arya?

But anyway, I just wanted to let you know that this fic is one I return to on a regular basis—this was perfection. I started reading when the chapter count was somewhere around sixty or seventy, and I always frantically refreshed my open AWAL tab on my tablet come Thursday, and reading each chapter was genuinely a highlight of my Thursdays.

I hope this was coherent, and I wish you many happy writings!

Ooh that's a fun question! First of all THANK YOU so very much for reading and returning to that fic. It's definitely the one I'm most proud of at the end of the day, so it gratifies me that others keep coming back to read it.

As for the look of Winter's Fury, I think he did change it a bit. It doesn't quite have a Stark look because at that time Tywin already had plots to absorb Arya into the Lannister family completely. But it doesn't have stag or lion decorations on it. The hilt is still gold but I think set with diamonds at the pommel rather than rubies. Cause I think a diamond is a stone that fits Arya. Later on, when she had the power to do so, she defs added some wolf stuff onto it.

Thanks so much for the fun question :)

[dangoarts]

pinned post for organizational purposes

ugh looks like i'm actually using this account ok cool

hello, am arya/mochi (she/they)

am Adult(tm) (not willingly)

i draw (lots) and write (sometimes)

am violently aroace (sex repulsed)

going to college for game design, gonna become the true epic gamer

socially awkward, may or may not respond if you message me sorri :') (depends on the thing sent and if i panic)

interacts primarily with reblogs, too dumb to like stuff like a normal person /j

only gonna have this one blog, no side accounts because i will forget about their existence, so Everything Will Be On Here

tags and comfort under cut

me things

if you're interested in my all my art stuff, check out #art stuff

if you wanna see just the doodles, check out #dumb doodles

if you wanna see the stuff i tried on, check out #actual good art

if you wanna see me lose my mind, check out #just a ramble

if you wanna see me attempt to be coherent with people, check out #answered rambles

if you wanna see other people's cool stuff, #i will think about this later -> additionally: #art tutorial

if you wanna see my writing, check out #writing stuff

this is my one brain cell described in a video

go check out my fren @currently-simping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are rad and is the reason behind half of my ideas

fandom things

will switch between the mountain of fixations i have on a dime (ill)

things i posted a lot in are #deltarune, #batim/#batdr, #pokemon, and #mario tags

i posted a bit in the #cuphead, #a hat in time, #fnaf (security breach exclusive), #kirby, #pizza tower, #lethal company, #minecraft, and #ultrakill tags

#tron and #epic mickey live in my head rent free and have been since like 2010 (ill)

making #victory au for deltarune (on permanent hiatus because motivation!!!!!!!!!!! bad)

making #blotted au and #golden fins for batim (let's see how far my motivation lets me go) -> blotted au masterpost -> golden fins introductory post

made goofy ahh oc that i love dearly, check out #venposting -> his toyhouse page

since i KEEP LOSING IT, lethal company creature hcs

comfort things

i am ok with most things! am very chill and i do not care as long as it's not drama

fanart/fanworks of my characters/interpretations are one of the best things to ever happen honestly and you'll become my most favorite person if that happens, EXCEPT if it's 18+ (see sex repulsed above)

as with every other artist ever please don't repost my art and claim it as your own or use it for whatever ass backwards thing blockchains are fabricating nowadays, ik it's a cry on deaf ears for people who don't care about the ramifications of taking someone's work they put hours of their life into and yeah i'm aware of the risk i'm taking by sharing art on the internet, but this is something that i made with my own hands so i'd appreciate at least the bare bones amount of credit

i'm dogshit at replying unless it's about something specific, so a lot of messages that just say "hello" or smth one worded end up getting ignored. if it's a question like "omg did you see this thing" or prompts like "hey i also like this" end up getting responses. there's also a good chance i read the message and either forget about its existence or panic and never respond anyway

only two things that make me disintegrate into atoms is nsfw/18+ content and needles. eye contact is uncomfy but not really phobia-levels. i'm semi-ok with horror stuff, but it's a limit i'm still testing out. and ya i ship characters but i really only stick to platonic and romantic fluff stuff and i'm not gonna engage in any ship discourse if u don't like it just block it's not that hard

things i did

sketch requests, is closed atm

thas about it

[asprettyasyourown]

How/Where do you think Jon and Arya will meet again? And how/where do you think Dany and Arya will meet?

Honestly, I can’t see Arya and Jon meeting anywhere else other than Winterfell. It would be such a satisfying “conclusion” to this aspect of their storyline. For Arya, both Winterfell AND Jon have been associated with home. She has tried since day one to return to either of them, and to see her do both at the same time would be so lovely. And Jon too, who has struggled for so long with his desire to have Winterfell (feeding his rivalry with Robb and his conflict with his status as a bastard) and Arya (contradicting his position as a member of the Night’s Watch, who have no family), would then get both at the same time. I know GRRM doesn’t like to hand things on a silver platter, and that “Be careful what you wish for” is a massive theme in the series, but come on. You can’t tell me they had it easy, and that they didn’t fight for it.

Now how and when is a little trickier.

Unfortunately, it won’t happen before a loooong time. Arya has a long way to go before leaving Essos, let alone reach Winterfell. She still needs to: 

Tie the story with the FM (including a “training” with the courtesans/the Black Pearl, and of course leaving them);

Deal with the wildlings women and children that are stranded in Braavos now that the Sealord captured the ship (= slavers) that intended to sell them;

As I’ve mentioned before, I very much see the Iron Bank being involved in her storyline, so there’s that to deal with as well;

Meet Dany (I’ll go back to this later);

Go back to Westeros;

Deal with the Riverlands, the Brotherhoods Without Banners and, most importantly, Lady Stoneheart;

Reconnect with Nymeria.

And all that doesn’t even take into account what GRRM could throw in her way on top of all of this. That’s a lot. And since Arya will definitively not see Jon anywhere outside of the North, it could only happen after she resolved all those things.

Jon too has a lot on his plate. He first needs to be resurrected (duh). He also needs to deal with the traitors who stabbed him and his future in the Night’s Watch. If you omit the whole murder thing (kinda hard to tbh), there is still the fact he broke his vows for Arya. He was already set to leave before he died. And since his last thoughts were about Arya, and we know the dead who get resurrected focus on their last conscious thoughts, his resolve to get her back will not be lessened.

Honestly, I think he’s done with the NW. I think he’s gonna do what he intended to before dying, aka kill Ramsay and get “Arya” back, whether by allying with Stannis or at the head of his own wildling army. I don’t know if he’s gonna become King in the North like in GoT, but he’s definitively going to be considered for the role; and since Bran, the legitimate heir, is still alive and will one day return to Winterfell, this could be the catalyst for the tension between these two George planned in his original draft. Not to mention the tensions it would create with the other northern lords, who would not see with a kind eye a bastard allied with the wildlings (enemies of the North for generations) and Stannis; or those who simply won’t appreciate a king not as malleable as a child (side-eye to the Manderlys).

(Oh, and there is also the matter with fArya and Theon. I’m going on a limb here, but I doubt he’s gonna be happy to learn that what he thought was his precious “sister” is really an impostor (though he might be happy to know the real Arya didn’t get what Jeyne had to endure). Or that she’s bringing along the guy who betrayed the Starks and supposedly killed Bran and Rickon. His first reaction definitively won’t be good, though it will probably soften once he learns what happened to them and how Ramsay is the real culprit. But I’m not anticipating much benevolence from him, especially since he’s in dark mode now).

So yeah. Lots of issues to be resolved before they can be reunited, and that’s without counting on the threat of the Others or what other characters might do. Honestly, I’m anticipating a reunion between the end of TWOW and the beginning of ADOS. On one hand, I think it would be more impactful in TWOW; most specifically, the last act of either Jon or Arya’s chapters. It would be a nice conclusion for the both of them, before the Others mess everything up. But I’m also aware that all the issues I’ve previously mentioned might not be resolved in one book, and that it might spill on the second one.

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

Now Dany.

Honestly, it’s kinda hard to be sure of how they’re gonna meet. They will, that’s a certainty. There is so much hints, since the first book really. Remember this?

This time the monsters did not frighten her. They seemed almost old friends. [Arya, IV, AGOT]

Which is exactly how I’m anticipating their relationship. At first, things are going to be tense, especially on Dany’s side who has been fed lies about the Starks and their role in her exile (and who could blame her). So there’s definitively room for Arya to be frightened. But once she gets Dany to see her side to the story, and her vision of the events become more balanced, they’ll become fast-friends. They have so much in common, it’s impossible for them not to.

But, once again, the details of how they’re gonna meet is blurry. Arya will need to at least be done with the FM. And Dany... Dany has a lot on her plate too. She’s gonna need to deal with the khalasar she hears at the end of ADWD, and a possible confrontation (alliance?) with the Dothraki. She will also need to end the plot in Meereen (aka choose between “fixing” its whole culture or do what she always intended to, return to Westeros and seize back the Iron Throne). Of course, we know she’s gonna choose the latter - but a bunch of things can happen between that, and with them time passing.

At this point, Arya and Dany are very far away, each at one extremity of Essos. For them to have a chance to meet, I anticipate that Dany will end things with Meereen at the same time Arya closes the storyline with the FM (maybe even before, so Dany could already be on the road towards Braavos). Now is the tricky part. I have two theories on how they will meet: through the lost Wildlings and through the Iron Bank.

The lost Wildlings

We know the wildlings women and children in Braavos were “freed” when the Sealord seized the ship carrying them. Unfortunately, others were not so lucky.

“I know why the Sealord seized the Goodheart. She was carrying slaves. Hundreds of slaves, women and children, roped together in her hold.” Braavos had been founded by escaped slaves, and the slave trade was forbidden here. “I know where the slaves came from. They were wildlings from Westeros, from a place called Hardhome. An old ruined place, accursed.” Old Nan had told her tales of Hardhome, back at Winterfell when she had still been Arya Stark. “After the big battle where the King-Beyond-the-Wall was killed, the wildlings ran away, and this woods witch said that if they went to Hardhome, ships would come and carry them away to someplace warm. But no ships came, except these two Lyseni pirates, Goodheart and Elephant, that had been driven north by a storm. They dropped anchor off Hardhome to make repairs, and saw the wildlings, but there were thousands and they didn’t have room for all of them, so they said they’d just take the women and the children. The wildlings had nothing to eat, so the men sent out their wives and daughters, but as soon as the ships were out to sea, the Lyseni drove them below and roped them up. They meant to sell them all in Lys. Only then they ran into another storm and the ships were parted. The Goodheart was so damaged her captain had no choice but to put in here, but the Elephant may have made it back to Lys. The Lyseni at Pynto’s think that she’ll return with more ships. The price of slaves is rising, they said, and there are thousands more women and children at Hardhome.” [The Blind Girl, ADWD]

So the Goodheart was too damaged to go to Lys, but the Elephant wasn’t. It means there are still hundreds of wildlings women and children enslaved there. Honestly, I’m not sure how Arya could be involved in freeing them. Lys is a long way from Braavos, which means she would have to travel down there (with no resources and the other half of the wildlings), free them and get back up to sail across the Narrow Sea, deal with the Riverlands and then go North. It’s a little much for one girl, even one as resourceful as Arya. Sure, she could ask help from the Iron Bank (see my second point), but I doubt they would indulge her (high risk for no rewards).

But. You know who is as strongly against slavery as Arya, whose path might make her travel to Lys and who has the resources to fuck shit up? Yep, Dany.

The way I see it is, after being disheartened by Meereen and her failure to change the slaver(y) culture, Dany could very much decide to go home to Westeros - and set everything ablaze in her path. If she failed to abolish slavery from the inside, she might decide to do it by force, as a last FUCK YOU to the masters. This could be the beginning of her rock bottom, before she rises back again. It’s also coherent with the Dothraki culture of “Submit or be killed”, which could play a part if she allies with them again.

So I could see her attacking the big cities of Essos, destroying the masters and freeing the slaves as she goes along, until she reaches Braavos - who may be protected since 1. she would use its port to journey across the Narrow Sea and 2. they’re famously known for being founded by slaves and anti-slavery as a whole (and they actually enforce that rule, not just preach it and close their eyes when it counts). There, she could meet Arya through the wildlings women reuniting. Like I said, things would be tense at first, but if they might not be friends at first, they might respect each other for having their hearts set on the same goal (protecting their people). Friendship would come later, I’m not worried about that.

The Iron Bank theory

For me, the Iron Bank doesn’t get the recognition it deserves as a threat, and I fully anticipate them having a much larger role in the next book.

I really believe they will have a hand in Arya going back to Westeros. After she leaves the FM, I very much see them stepping in to offer their “help” to Arya. Personally, I believe the Kindly Man informed them of her real identity (though his motivations are yet unclear). I believe he’s aware of her value as a princess, and the (supposedly) last heir of the North. Look how people are rallying for her in the North when they hear “Valiant Ned’s precious little girl” is being brutalized. Do you think the Iron Bank is gonna pass on such a prize? I can see them trying to do to her what the Manderlys are doing with Rickon, or what Illyrio tried to do with Dany - offer their protection and help so she would be/feel indebted. They could get ahold of the North through Arya, and of the other Kingdoms through Stannis/the crown’s debt. Not too shabby.

But wait, there is a problem arising. A problem named Daenerys, who fully intends to take back the Iron Throne - and if she does, she’s not gonna care about reimbursing the debt her predecessors/usurpers left, thus lessening their leverage (and with three dragons, a Dothraki army and the Unsullied, threatening her is not gonna fly well). I can see them trying to step in too, promise the same things to her they did to Arya - except she’s not gonna fall for the same ploy like Viserys did with Illyrio.

(Btw, I’m sure Arya too will see right through them - she had a whole training dedicated to make her see beyond appearances, and she’s always been pretty observant (like when she didn’t fall for trap Cersei laid for her, with Lannister soldiers dressed as Stark men in AGOT). But she also don’t have the same resources Dany has, and if she frees the wildlings, she’ll have hundreds of mouths to feed and transport back to Westeros. I can’t see her do that without external help, so she might be playing along til a better opportunity arise.)

Now, both these theories have their flaws. The biggest one, for me, is time. Meereen is not gonna be resolved in a day (unless Dany just sets everything on fire the moment she arrives and takes off into the sunset, but I doubt that). She still needs enough time to travel to Braavos. Even if George takes his sweet time closing the FM storyline, dealing with the wildlings in Braavos and the Iron Bank, it’s not gonna take a million chapters. Unless he throws something in there to delay her departure, something that wasn’t foreshadowed yet? Because I don’t see them meeting first in Westeros. What would be the point of having them on the same continent if they don’t meet there? As always, there’s a lot left hanging in the air.

[emu-lumberjack]

Don’t Answer the Phone Tired pt. 2

It’s the next day and Damian has gotten even less sleep, thankfully he’s not too tired after a some surprise news shocks him awake.

———————————-

Hey guys here’s the sequel everyone was super excited for. I really hope y'all like it, I definitely wrote it tired, but it should be coherent. 

Read part 1 here

Read part 3 here

Read part 4 here

Read part 5 here

He really needed coffee, especially after dealing with his brothers after they found out about Marinette. The youngest Wayne was up till four yelling at them to lay off, among more colorful terms, everyone time they called. He would’ve just ignored them but he knew that ignoring them would just wind up with him getting a surprise visit sooner than later. The fresh Parisian air felt good against his face as he stood on his balcony.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!” Marinette's voice called from the street.

“Only if the prince is willing to protect me from my aggravating brothers!” He cracked a smile as he shouted back.

“Alas I cannot do that, but would my damsel take this as a reward?” She held up a purple travel mug and a bag filled with a croissant.

“I think I could take that deal. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” He ran inside to grab his bag and throw on some day clothes before meeting Marinette.

“Have I mentioned you’re the best girlfriend? Because you’re the best girlfriend.” Damian said walking up to Marinette.

“You could stand to mention it more.” The bluenette replied handing him his promised coffee and croissant. He gulped down the coffee barely taking a breath until Marinette laughed and said, “Slow down there, you won't have any time to savor any of it.”

“If you want to stay up late dealing with my brothers, please be my guest but if not,” He gestured with his cup, “I’m gonna drink as fast as I want to.” Marinette nodded to that.

“Was it that bad last night after you left?”

“By bad do you mean each one of was trying to call me every five minutes out of ‘concern’ for my health or to check to make sure I hadn’t kidnapped you.” Marinette laughed again. “Anyway if I didn’t talk to them at all they probably would’ve hopped on the first flight they could to see what’s going on.” They stopped at the light, when Damian turned to look at Marinette he noticed she was avoiding his gaze. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about my brothers. Would you Angel?”

“Well, I might have gotten a text from Aurore to keep you away from school because three older guys had come and were asking around for you. One of them was half asleep and she couldn’t figure out how he was functional.”

Damian paled, after a moment he said “And why then are we going to school, I personally want to get as far away from them as possible.”

“She sent me a follow up saying to get there as fast as possible. Lila told her lie in front of the wrong person and, well I’ll show you the video.” Marinette handed her phone to Damian who hit play on the video that was up.

The forms of Grayson, Todd and Drake half asleep leaning on Jason. A voice came from off screen saying,

“Girl I can’t believe Tim’s not taking you to the Wayne Gala.” Alya, Damian thought. She was beginning to walk into frame with someone else. He knew who she was before she spoke.

“I know right. It’s just why would he invite someone else!” There in all her demonic glory stood Lila Rossi, not yet realising who she was walking next to.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but are you talking about Tim Drake? Adopted son of Bruce Wayne?” Grayson asked innocently. Damian knew that voice, it was the same one he used when he was going to demolish someone. “Well yeah. He’s her boyfriend, who are you anyway? Why do you care?” Alya was immediately there to be Lila’s guard dog.

“Well my name is Richard Grayson-Wayne. Tim’s brother and Bruce's son. I care because unless he’s as good at keeping secrets as Damian is, which he’s not, then he isn’t dating this girl.” Alya paled, the camera zoomed in on Lila’s face. She looked like she was about to be sick

“Huh? I heard my name.” Drake, who was in a rare moment of lucidness, looked at Dick.

“Are you pulling a Damian and secretly dating a girl in France?” Todd still Drake’s support was glaring at Lila.

“What?! Are you kidding me? No!” Drake looked like he was just hit with a cement slab.

“What are you talking about obviously you’re dating Lila! Stop Lying! I bet you're not even the real Tim Drake.” Alya was shouting now drawing crowds from around the courtyard. Drake looked at Grayson confused.

“She does realize that we can sue her if she’s really telling these types of lies right? Like she can’t be doing that.” Tim stood in front of Dick and turned his back to the paled liar and fuming reporter

“Oh leave Lila alone!” Alya came towards Drake and shoved him into Grayson.

“That does it.” Todd who had moved off to the side started walking towards the brunette rolling up his sleeves. Grayson and Todd recovered quickly, and moved to hold Todd back.

“We should get there before Todd kills them.” He said calmly before handing the phone back to Marinette. “Otherwise we won’t be able to take her down ourselves.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

In no time the duo were walking up the steps of Françoise Dupont where the sounds of shouts could be heard. The scene they entered was somehow more chaotic then the one Aurore had sent in the video. Todd was hanging upside down, the rope leading up around the handrails on the second floor then back down to a corner of the courtyard. Drake was on the bench snoring softly with his head almost touching the floor. Dick was on the phone, presumably with some lawyers. The entire bottom courtyard of the school was littered with papers and balloons were strewn about. Lila was nowhere to be seen.

“It looks like they’ve taken care of the situation, and they haven’t spotted us yet so I’m just gonna…” Damian began.

“There he is! Demonspawn, finally I thought you’d never get here.” Jason interrupted. He had spun around and caught sight of Damian and Marinette walking in. Dick turned around at the sound of Jason’s voice before saying “Yeah Duke I’ll have to call you back, but we need to sort this Lila stuff out.” He put his phone away before walking over to a corner of the building where he took out his knife and slashed a piece of rope. Jason came crashing down.

“A little warning next time Dick.” Jason said brushing off some dust that had settled on his tan leather jacket. Each one of them were dressed in their civilian clothing. Dick had on a pair of blue jeans with a grey t-shirt paired with some black sneakers. Jason was wearing his usual jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket combo. Drake was in some weird form of pajama and day clothes mixing a graphic T-shirt and red flannel with grey sweatpants and slippers.

“Now I know that we have to be dreaming. Demonspawn is actually wearing a sweatshirt. I don’t even think Alfred could get him to do that.” Damian had run out once he heard Marinette’s voice that morning so he had just thrown on a pair of pants, a shirt and a sweatshirt barely thinking about it. He had become relaxed in Paris.

“What the hell are you guys doing here.” Damian’s face was quickly beginning to match a tomato in color and he was backing out of the entryway.

“Well obviously we had to come and see you, and meet your girlfriend.” Dick who had walked over to Marinette grabbed her hand and shook it. “My name’s Dick, the grumbling menace over there is Jason. The one currently passed out is Tim, nice to meet you, uh”

“Marinette.” She supplied. “I also have to thank you for taking care of a certain person, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get rid of her for a year.”

“Oh it was no problem at all, especially after she claimed she was dating Tim.” Damian quickly interrupted the two with a few well placed coughs. “I don’t mean to cut this short Grayson but we have to be getting to class.”

“Oh don’t worry. Bruce already called you out for the day, and Marinette I’m sure you can miss one day of school.” Jason said walking up behind Marinette.

“As much as I’d love to, I have two tests today. I’ll be happy to meet up with you afterwards though.” Damian’s eyes widened as the words sunk in and he realized what that meant for him.

“Please don’t leave me alone with them.” He looked at Marinette pleadingly.

“You’re gonna have to tell us how you got him to say please, it took Alfred a month to do that.” Jason remarked.

“Maybe another time, now I’ve gotta get to class.” She gave one look at Damian and there was laughter in her eyes.

“I hate you.” He said.

“No you don’t.” She called back, disappearing around the corner.

“So how bout we wake up Timmy and go get breakfast. I for one am famished.” Jason came up and put a hand on Damians shoulder.

“Ya know that doesn’t sound so bad Jason. Then Damian can tell us all about Paris, and the people he’s met.” Dick stood in front of Damians glare gleefully looking at Jason.

“I will kill you both and Father will never be able to find your bodies.”

“Yeah but then Marinette will be disappointed. For some reason she gives off the ‘thou shall not kill’ vibe.” Grayson said. “Now how are we gonna wake Tim up.”

“Oh I’ll  take care of it.” Damian said grabbing his Ice filled water bottle.

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[agentrouka-blog]

Loved your Arya Dany transition . Can you do a Jon Sansa transition considering their chapters also come many times one after the other ?

Hi anon!

Thank you so much!

Jonsa chapter transitions are a fun fun fun thing to look at. This has been done much better by other people.  I tried it myself a little. 

The obvious ones are in ACOK, where Jon flanks the chapter of Sansa’s flowering, and in ASOS, where it’s basically Jonsa Festival of Unsubtle Hints. 

Sansa I -> Jon I

Sansa I: She meets the Tyrells, goes bibbledy over Jon-like Loras, hears the song The Bear And The Maiden Fair with the honey in her hair, gets an offer of marriage and is asked “Are you fond of fools?” Fools in feathers, specifically. Final line: “But look, here comes my cheese”, (which is supposed to be served last as the servant points out), which is followed by... -> Jon I: Mr. Cheese walks with the free folk, is referred to as a crow flying free (feathers), meets Mance singing the Dornishman’s Wife, which is a song later amended to “Northman’s daughter”. We have another reference to Bael the Bard, which ties to Lyanna (Jon’s true parentage) and Sansa both. Love and cloaks and motivations for leaving the Watch are mentioned extensively, and then Jon lies his way into the confidence of an invading monarch. THIS is followed by… -> Dany I. 

Jon II -> Sansa II

Jon II: A tense confrontation with Mance is disrupted by Ygritte’s lie about her relationship with Jon and ends with his sexual entrapment. (I emphasize that I view this as sexual abuse.) -> Sansa II: ‘“A new gown?” she said, as wary as she was astonished.’ - This feeling basically mirror’s Jon’s emotions. This gown is the one she will wear to her surprise forced wedding to Tyrion, so Jon and Sansa are absolutely mirroring each other’s journey’s here, but more than that is also falls into Sansa’s gown-theme, which ties to her more general “marriage to a prince”, “the dragon’s heir”, “stained with fire and blood”, “I will make you a new one” theme, which hints at the idea that all the messed up or borrowed or treacherous dresses will eventually be replaced by a proper one for the real wedding. 

Even if Dontos was right, and it is Winterfell he wants and not me, he still may come to love me for myself. Sansa hugged herself tightly, wondering how long it would be before the gown was ready. She could scarcely wait to wear it. 

This chapter is followed by Arya III, who HAD promised to make Sansa a new dress at one point.  

Jon III -> Daenerys III -> Sansa III 

Jon III: Jon sends Ghost away the day before climbing the Wall, cave scene with Ygritte where he very very out of nowhere suddenly “loves” her, while still arguing about how he didn’t steal her and refuses to answer if he would sleep with his sister. Ygritte never wants to leave the cave. (Dany has her own cave with Drogon later, btw.) -> Daenerys III: She buys the Unsullied and has her first absolutely devastating and brutal act of warfare: Dracarys, dracarys, dracarys! -> Sansa III: Sansa’s gown is ready. Her forced wedding mirror’s Jon’s sexual entrapment and the cave scene. 

Dany’s dragon threat separates Jon and Sansa here. He feels shame and conflict in a duplicitous relationship, Sansa is entrapped by marriage vows to Tyrion who will be in Dany’s service. 

Sansa VI -> Jon IX

Sansa VI: She is shipped off to the Fingers by Bael-ish who reveals his Evil Masterminding and then marries her aunt, while Sansa is almost raped by a singer. Lysa offers that she marry her cousin, who likes stories about animals pretending to be something they are not. Sansa thinks “No one will ever marry me for love” and is told she must be obedient. “Yes, my son will have a humble and obedient wife.” -> Jon IX: Holds the Wall against the Wildling siege that mirrors Dany’s attack on Meereen (especially the turtles). Jon’s rest is interrupted by Janos Slynt and Aliser Thorne, who call him a turncloak. Jon remains calm (humble and obedient…) but gets violently angry and attacks Thorne when they besmirch Ned’s honor. Stark loyalty 180%. (The visuals here mirror Ned attacking Littlefinger and Show-Jon attacking Littlefinger, both of whom defended the honor of their loves.) 

Jon XII -> Sansa VII

Jon XII: He contemplates Stannis’ offer of Winterfell by revisiting his recent experiences, his bastard trauma, his dream of rebuilding his home. Ghost returns to him and Jon has his answer: who am I? A Snow. He goes off, is voted Lord Commander, celebrates with his friends. Then he has a king to face. -> Sansa VII: She rebuilds Winterfell from Snow, with snowflakes like lover’s kisses, and defends herself from Bael-ish, and fights a Little savage giant. Someone kills a murderous, jealous aunt to protect her. 

Jon makes a choice that is later revealed to be “Winterfell belongs to my sister Sansa”, and Sansa repays this by granting Jon an indelible place in their rebuilt home.

These are pretty popularly known chapter transitions.

One less looked is in AGOT:

Sansa IV -> Jon VII

Sansa IV: She is summoned by an evil queen, pleads her loyalty and her love, is accused of future treason, and ends up writing letters urging loyalty to the evil queen, in order to save Ned. -> Jon VII: Bodies are found that are not what they seem, after Jon has nightmares about the Winterfell crypts. Jon hears of the king’s death and Ned’s treason. He is especially worried for his sisters and attacks Thorne for besmirching Ned’s honor (again!), he badly burns his hand when fighting the wight. “Dark snakes” spill from the belly of the wight. (Dragons?) and Jon prays that the corpse burns. 

“Let it burn, he prayed as the cloth smothered the corpse, gods, please, please, let it burn.”

This is hard to parse, but if you consider reverse foreshadowing it might be that Sansa does write treasonous letters urging disloyalty to a certain evil queen in a way that pertains to Jon, while Jon is worried for his sisters, hoping dark snakes and fire don’t do their worst, after scary times with wights and violent confrontations with enemies. 

One I am reeeeaaaaally curious about is Sansa’s TWOW sample chapter.

Alayne I ends with a pretty anvilicious line:

He grinned. "I will hold you to that promise, my lady. Until that day, may I wear your favor in the tourney?"

"You may not. It is promised to... another." She was not sure who as yet, but she knew she would find someone.

Hypothetically and chronologically, if he didn’t have to split the books, this HAS to be followed by a ADWD Jon chapter, doesn’t it? But which one? I’m not totally up on my timeline work yet, but it might coincide with Alys’s wedding in ADWD, chronologically. Alayne, the bastard girl, dances and dances, Jon refuses Alys’ offer while watching a different barstard dance (Satin) and worries for his safety. 

And will GRRM follow this by a Jon chapter in TWOW? 

Anyway, this is really fun. I’m working on something alittle more coherent about the chapter transitions for Arya and Tyrion because I think that’s going to be A Thing. A violent thing.