#nobody does incest quite like the targaryens

[randomdragonfires]

Moon Song | One Shot

Text Divider by @saradika-graphics

SUMMARY | He killed Lucerys, but Aemond sees the ghost of his nephew wherever he goes - especially in his sweet wife's eyes.

WARNINGS | 18+; Smut; ANGST; Delusions; Incest; Dark Themes; Kinslaying; DD;DNE!

WORD COUNT | 6.6k

A/N | Originally written as a birthday gift for @humanpurposes. Nothing says happy birthday like a dark fic about madness and murder I guess? :)

RAIN-SOAKED AND WEARY, AEMOND TRUDGES THROUGH the murky streets of King's Landing, his cold and damp riding leathers offering no respite. Each step echoes with the haunting images of Vhagar's reckless attack on Luke, the small, agonizing details etched into his mind like a deep carving. The city, shrouded in an eerie mist, seems to mourn his nephew in silent empathy.

A scared face. The cracking of jaws. The sight of Arrax’s wing flapping aimlessly down into the sea. Luke, falling free through the skies…

The Red Keep looms ahead, its imposing towers piercing the darkened sky. Aemond ascends the ancient stone steps in silence, his solitude a curtain shrouding the tempest raging within him. The guards watch him cautiously, sensing the palpable storm that accompanies the one-eyed Prince’s return. As he passes, the torches on the wall flicker, casting grotesque shadows that dance along the corridor walls.

Entering the shared chambers, Aemond's presence goes unnoticed at first. His wife awaits him, her gaze filled with a mixture of concern and anticipation as she sits at the edge of the bed, finding his gaze and immediately making note of his distress. He can feel her scrutiny, her eyes seeking answers he isn't ready to give. With how disappointed she may be, he is not sure that he’ll ever want her to know. But he knows she must, and that he’d rather it come from him than anyone else.

Words remain unspoken as Aemond, drenched and disheveled, closes the distance between them. She hasn’t moved, holding onto him by the waist as he encloses his cold hands onto the back of her head, finding some semblance of comfort in the warmth of her hair. His wife's face softened, ready to welcome him, oblivious to his guilt and agony. In the silence that hung thick in the air, he braced himself for the storm about to engulf their world.

“You’re cold, Aemond. Let me find you something warm to wear,” she says. He doesn’t let her leave him; he will not let her leave him, ever. In heavy times like these, he’s always quite liked having her to hold - and right now, it seems like she understands it just as well as she always does. She is a part of him, made to be by his side.

She’s my twin. She is mine. Her place is by my side, and nobody else’s!

He remembers the words. It was the night he had come to, after his eye had been slashed out. The marriage pact had been brokered in the aftermath, a compensation for the losses suffered. His nephew's tantrum and those venomous words had sown the seeds of a bitter possession, one that manifested in the subtle manipulative gestures that followed.

He had reveled in taunting Luke, relishing in the knowledge that he had triumphed over his nephew in more ways than one. Aemond had married his niece, a Princess of Targaryen blood, a strategic move with which he had alleviated the stain of bastardy off of her. He’d spend years taunting Luke over his wins, and he’d finally taken his life too. And now, his wife was about to cast him aside for it. 

As he confessed to his wife, his eye, haunted by the accident, bore into hers, seeking understanding, pleading for empathy. The air grew dense, the chasm between them widening like an insurmountable abyss, a reflection of the irreversible consequences that now consumed them. 

I need you to believe me.

In the flicker of candlelight, hope clung to Aemond like a shadow, a desperate desire for his wife to see beyond the tragedy. Yet, her features twisted in disbelief, mirroring the horror within him. He had not expected any less, but to see it happen is like a dagger twisting in his heart.

He’s losing her. He cannot lose her. As she tries to draw away, he lets desperation take over him. He would be damned if he let her slip away over something that he did not mean to happen. 

His grip on her tightens to the point of choking, her eyes widening as she realizes that she is trapped. Not just in his hold, but in this marriage with a man that would stop at nothing, and is not even above killing family to survive. How long before he kills me too, she probably thinks. 

He longs to assure her that he wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head, but she is angry. She does not want to hear from him, so he will settle for her forced presence for now. Surely she’ll see. He cannot bear for her to look scared and fearful - she looks too much like her twin when she does. The last thing Aemond needs is to be reminded of him. 

Her sobs soak through his already damp clothes. She tries to push him away, but he is like a never-ending nightmare - the more she tries, the tighter his hold becomes, refusing to give her the solitude she craves. He wants to, he is simply scared - what if she never chooses to welcome him again?

Why?

His touch, once a source of comfort, now repulses her, but he remains oblivious to her inner turmoil. In the midst of her agony, he lowers her gently onto the bed, attempting to offer solace through caresses and kisses, unaware that his touch has become a reminder, a brand of her brother's murderer. She refuses to believe that it was an accident, and he is further pained at the dark realization that he may not be above killing her if she tries to betray and leave him over this. After all, if he cannot have her, no one else will.

"Stay with me, wife. Stay with me, and you will be kept alive and safe.” Try to leave me, and you will not live to see the next sunrise. 

The unspoken threat hangs in the air, a chilling promise that holds its own through his silence and her sobs. She closes her eyes, her unease palpable, a fear of the man she shares her bed and heart with. Aemond, too, watches her drift away, inch by agonizing inch, knowing he will have to learn to endure. He’ll have to, if her place is by Aemond’s side - and the day he married her, he’d solidified that.

What he won’t quite get used to is realizing how much like Luke she looks in fear, and how her eyes make it seem as though he is boring into his nephew’s instead. The resemblance unnerves him as he is taken back to the skies of Storm’s End in his mind once again - Luke had looked just as fearful for his life in his last moments. She is a reminder of what he’s done, of the half of her who is now lost.

How could he have expected that his own living, breathing wife would haunt him so?

THE LIBRARY IS CLOAKED IN A HUSHED DARKNESS as Aemond buries himself in his book, the words flying over his head as he tries to comprehend them. The oppressive silence of the night presses upon him, mirroring the strain in his heart. His worry for his wife weighs heavily on his mind, a persistent ache that refuses to be ignored. She has withdrawn from him, choosing silence over conversation, and the void between them grows deeper with each passing day.

In dreams, Luke sits atop his fledgling dragon, looking at him with a somber expression that makes him appear at peace. They are in the skies of Storm’s End again, only this time, neither of them is involved in a chase. They face each other, and each time, Luke talks, and Aemond seems to have no choice but to listen.

This did not have to happen, uncle, he would say. You could have let me live.

Every time, he wakes and resists the urge to slam his fists and pull his spun silver hair out as he wills the fragments of Lucerys to leave him be. He had initially blamed the shock, but even as he gains his bearings, the visions, dreams, and voices only seem to become louder, stronger, and sharper. It would seem that the more desensitized and ready to face war he becomes, the more his nephew insists on haunting him - reminding him that he is no war god, but simply a boy forced to grow into a man too soon.

This did not have to happen, uncle. You made a terrible mistake.

“Leave me in peace bastard, be gone!” He would scream as he slams his fist into the table and sends parchment flying. 

Aemond's torment continues unabated, the ghost of Luke lingering in every corner of his life, a silent spirit that refuses to be exorcized. Late at night, as Aemond lies in bed, he catches glimpses of Luke's face in the shadows that dance on the walls, his eyes hauntingly fixed upon him. The weight of his gaze bears down on Aemond's soul, making sleep an elusive and tormenting escape.

In the courtyard, where the echoes of laughter resound, Aemond finds himself frozen in place, the air heavy with Luke's presence. The wind carries whispers that seem to be the soft murmur of Luke's voice, leaving Aemond questioning his sanity. He can almost feel Luke's hand on his shoulder, a touch that sends shivers down his spine and leaves him grasping at the emptiness.

During war strategy sessions, Aemond's mind plays cruel tricks on him. As he pores over maps of wargrounds and fortified keeps, Luke's reflection materializes beside him, scrutinizing terrains with an otherworldly knowledge. Aemond's fingers tremble as he traces the borders, half-expecting Luke to offer his uninvited and foolish insights, but the silence remains.

In the Great Hall, where feasts were once lively celebrations, Aemond finds himself unable to escape the ghostly presence. The sound of revelry - that Aegon insists upon as they celebrate Luke’s death - becomes a haunting cacophony, and he can almost hear Luke's laughter intermingling with the echoes of those who celebrate his demise. Aemond often finds himself raising his goblet in a futile toast, the wine swirling like a macabre dance, mirroring the torment within him.

Even in the solace of nature, where one would hope to find peace, Aemond can't escape the ghostly reminders. Trees cast shadows that resemble Luke's silhouette as Aemond and Vhagar fly overhead, and the chilly air seems to whisper secrets that he strains to understand.

As he closes the book, a phantom chill creeps into the room. A sense of unease claws at him as he tries to erase the recollections from mind, as though doing so would remove the occurrences altogether. The chilly night air outside intensifies, causing the candle flame to dance wildly before it sputters and extinguishes with a subtle hiss. Aemond dismisses the notion, attributing it to a mere draft, and turns away from the now darkened candle.

As he turns, his reflection in the ornate mirror catches his eye, but instead of his own weary countenance, the mirror unveils the ghostly image of Luke. Aemond's breath catches in his throat as he stares into the haunted eyes of his nephew. The dim light casts an eerie glow on his ethereal almost-figure, and the air in the library seems charged with an otherworldly energy. The weight of guilt and the eerie manifestations converged, leaving Aemond paralyzed in the haunting stillness of the library, caught between the realms of the living and the departed.

"This did not have to happen, uncle," Luke's voice carries a weight of unspoken sorrow, each word etched with the regret of an untimely departure. The ghostly echoes linger in the air, weaving through the ancient shelves of books that stand as silent witnesses to this mad exchange.

Aemond - his breath catching in his throat - struggles to find the right response. The weight of guilt presses upon him as he gazes into Luke, dazed. The regret, palpable and suffocating, threatens to consume him. Luke lingers, a reminder of all his irreversible choices. Caught in the grip of the moment, Aemond feels a lump forming in his throat. "I never wanted it to end this way," he whispers, his voice tinged with regret that he would never have admitted to feeling if he hadn't had to voice it out loud. 

"You made a terrible mistake," Luke's voice echoes, the accusatory tone cutting through the oppressive silence of the library. 

Aemond's eye meets the hollow gaze of his nephew. "I am aware, and I am burdened by it… by you." He confesses, the weight of guilt hanging heavily upon him. Memories of happier days in his marriage pass his mind, and he is once again left with the gnawing pain of not knowing if she will ever seek him out again. Is he going to be made to live with this chasm between them forever? How could she live without him?

And immediately, as thoughts of his sweet wife cross his mind, the image of Luke transforms into when he was much younger, his curls a lot more prominent and his face a bit more round. He says the words again, the same words that Aemond had heard him say about his marriage - and it is all he can do to not fall apart. "She's my twin. She is mine. Her place is by my side, and nobody else's!" Luke's words resonated in the stillness, each repetition intensifying the haunting atmosphere.

The air crackles with unresolved tension as the words loop, a haunting refrain that refuses to fade. Each spoken phrase intertwines with the musty scent of ancient books, filling the room with a lingering sense of melancholy. As the words pass through the room, the library stands witness to the unfolding chaos. Dust motes, disturbed by the weight of the conversation, hang suspended in the air like transient memories. The ambient firelight, filtered through the stained glass windows, casts a surreal glow on the troubled face of a man who desperately tries to escape the consequences of his actions. The words create ripples in the stillness of the library, a transient disturbance.

His fists clench, and with a roar of frustration, he lashes out at the mirror. The impact shatters the haunting reflection, the fractured pieces falling like a cascade of broken memories. Aemond, panting and wild-eyed, stares at the shattered remnants of the mirror as drops of his blood stain them all an angry, bloody red.

ON A DARK, EERIE MORNING, Aemond decides he will seek refuge in combat training with Cole. The rhythmic clash of steel on steel promises a momentary escape from the haunting of his tormented mind. In these fleeting moments, he clings to the hope that the precision demanded by the dance of death will anchor his thoughts, keeping them disciplined and resolute.

But the training ground transforms, and the air shimmers with the echoes of unsheathed swords. In the midst of training, Luke materializes. The world blurs as Aemond's gaze locks onto his nephew's phantom form, the arrogance etched upon his face mirroring the smirk that haunts him. A tempest of confusion descends, and in the blink of an eye, he lunges forward, sword clashing against an illusion.

Reality slips away, and he finds himself ensnared in a mirage - a realm where the dead dance with the living, taunting them with all they have left. In the throbbing aftermath, the truth bears down on him like a relentless storm.

He killed him. The admission echoes in the hollow chambers of his conscience, overtaking him completely. The clash of blades morphs into a funeral dirge, and as he stands amidst the lingering consequences of his actions, the training ground transforms into a graveyard of memories. The air hangs heavy with the scent of remorse, and the phantom of Luke lingers, a silent witness to the torment that now possesses Aemond.

How he wills for his nephew to leave him alone. How he wishes he could turn back time, to a day when his wife was happy with him, when he was not the object of repulsion in her eyes. How he wishes she would welcome him with open arms again...

But why would she, uncle? Why would she, when you have slain her twin and taken me away from her? Her true other half?

He swings his sword once more, the blade cutting through the air with a desperate force. Each slash is a fervent plea, hoping that the slashes would tear up the ghost of his bastard nephew to ribbons that fly away with the wind. Even in death, his nephew is a stain on his life that refuses to let him live in peace. First his eye, now his wife.

Her place is by my side, uncle. And by killing me, you only reminded her of that.

The echoes of Luke's haunting words reverberate through the empty training ground, as Aemond battles not only the illusions before him but also the relentless demons within. The weight of his actions, the echoes of his nephew's voice, and the damning truth merge into a haunting symphony that accompanies each swing of his sword, forming an enemy much more dangerous than the Blacks that he’d sworn to kill.

The air is thick with the acrid scent of remorse. Aemond's movements become more desperate, as if trying to carve out a safe haven from the phantoms that encircle him. The blade slices through him, yet Luke's voice persists, an unyielding reminder of the havoc wrought upon not just his life but everyone’s around him.

Amidst his violent dance with illusions, Aemond longs for the solace that has eluded him since that fateful day at Storm's End. His sword becomes an extension of his anguish, a vessel through which he hopes to banish the nightmares that torment his every waking moment. The words resonate, mocking his attempts to escape the repercussions of his actions.

Aemond's grip tightens on the hilt of the sword, the struggle etched across his face as he battles the intangible. The illusion persists, refusing to be vanquished, a testament to the indomitable force of guilt and regret.

He lowers his sword and the ghostly echoes of Luke's voice linger. The training ground falls silent, a wave of unresolved grief as Aemond grapples with the realization that, even in death, his nephew remains an inescapable presence in the twisted tapestry of his existence.

Luke smiles once more, and Aemond slams the tip of his sword into the gravel, watching it fall to the side as he screams. Luke’s reflection is a sharp image on his blade, but when he looks up, the ground is empty, save for a worried mentor that watches him from the side. What must he do to gain solitude again?

The air in the training ground seems to thicken further as Aemond walks away to put his sword aside. The haunting memories of his past misdeeds cling to him like a shroud, and the distant echoes of Luke's words continue to reverberate in his mind. The once-familiar grounds feel like a journey through a desolate and forsaken landscape as he somehow registers the distant sounds of Cole calling out his name in worry.

As Aemond picks up the sheath, he senses an eerie silence enveloping the surroundings. The wind carries whispers of his regrets, and the atmosphere is charged with an unsettling energy. He looks up to see his wife standing at one of the windows, her gaze fixed on a seemingly endless point beyond the horizon. The pain of a fractured marriage weighs heavily on his shoulders, and his arrogance, once a shield, now crumbles under the weight of remorse.

Their eyes meet, and for a moment, time seems to stand still. He reads the emptiness in her eyes, an emptiness that reflects the void he has created between them. Aemond's heart sinks, realizing that his mistakes have irreparably damaged the bond he once took for granted. The echo of Luke's haunting voice intertwines with the desolation that surrounds him.

She is his, but he does not want to have her like this; unwilling. Unable to withstand the haunting gaze, Aemond turns away. The clang of metal against metal resonates in the air as he sheathed his sword. The once-sharp blade now feels heavy, burdened with the weight of his own sins.

Before he leaves, compelled by an unseen force, Aemond looks up at the tower once more. But this time, it is not his wife who meets his gaze. Instead, the window frames the ghostly figure of Luke, staring back with fear etched on his face. Before he can further contemplate the vision, she is right there again, looking away. With the many sightings of Luke that he is subjected to, Aemond is not fazed anymore. But he is once more reminded of how similar his nephew and wife look in fear. He does not like seeing her this way.

A shiver courses down Aemond's spine as his gaze meets the ghostly visage of his nephew. Before he can avert his eyes, the apparition transforms into his wife, each manifestation carrying an accusing, sorrowful, and frightened expression. The visions alternate with unsettling speed, a haunting dance where Luke and his wife exchange places in the blink of an eye. 

Aemond is unnerved by the rapidity with which the pair appears almost indistinguishable, their features blending into an eerie resemblance that sends chills through his soul. The accusatory eyes of Luke and the sorrowful gaze of his wife interchange with a disorienting fluidity, leaving Aemond trapped in a whirlwind of regret, fear, and a gnawing sense of the uncanny.

He walks away, steps definitive and terror-struck as he steps into the tower. The silence is deafening, broken only by the echoes of regrets and the distant wind. Aemond, haunted by the consequences of his actions, contemplates the surreal encounter. The armor-laden grounds, once a place of training, now serve as the stage for the haunting manifestations of his past. The ghost of Luke remains and so does his remembrance of a happier wife - who, for reasons he cannot fathom, reminds him of his biggest mistake. A constant reminder that redemption may be forever out of reach.

THE WORD HOLDS TOO MUCH EMOTION than he can bear to pour into his voice, but he says it all the same.

“Wife.”

As Aemond approaches her, he takes in the sight of her, a weak vision of House Strong's distinct features marked by dark hair and blue eyes. The vibrant happiness that once defined her has been replaced by weariness, one that seems to have settled into the very core of her being.

Her brown hair, once a shiny cascade, now hangs in loose tendrils, lacking the luster it once possessed. The dim light highlights her fatigue, revealing the toll that the sorrow of losing her brother has taken on her. The lines etched upon her face speak of countless nights spent wrestling nightmares and the strain of unanswered questions. Her eyes, once bright and expressive, now carry a perpetual sadness and seem to bear the weight of all her losses.

Does she grieve for them too? For their marriage? For him and all the time they’ve lost?

As Aemond gathers the courage to approach, he can't help but feel a pang of regret for the role he played in casting this shadow over the woman he once knew and still loves. The air around her seems heavy with declarations unmade, the room echoing with the quiet desperation of a fractured connection that he is grasping at to mend. Aemond, yearning for reconciliation, steels himself to bridge the gap that has grown between them, hoping to heal not just their relationship, but her as well. 

She turns to look at him, the faint moonlight from the window hitting her face as she assesses the man that stands before her. Not her husband, no - Aemond knows how she looked at him when she loved him. Now she simply stares through him, understanding that it’s her brother’s killer that she is facing. He doesn’t know what hurts him more - her grief, or her cluelessness. 

She doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t walk away either, empowering him to take a few steps further. He reaches out to her and takes her hand, and smiles by the corner of his lips when she doesn’t grab her hand back. 

“Are you… well?”

The idiocy of the question while he sees how tired she is does not escape him, but in all honesty, she has him tongue-tied. Aemond has missed her touch, and simply getting to hold her hand again has set a fire ablaze in him that he cannot seem to quell.

“As well as one can be, considering the circumstances.”

Time stands still as he takes in the sound of her voice, hoarse from not having said much in a long while. His mother tries with her, but even the Queen can’t make his grief-stricken wife budge - she would stay until she couldn’t, leaving his wife to her thoughts. What could she say to make things better anyhow?  I’m sorry my son killed your brother? I’m sorry you’re caught in a war that is not of your making? I’m sorry you cannot look at your husband with anything but disdain?

He is rendered well and truly silent as he tries to measure her feelings, but she beats him to it as she speaks again - addressing the elephant in the room as quickly as she is able. “Are you here to apologize for murdering my brother?”

“It was an accident.”

He knows he shouldn’t be arguing, but what was he to do? He’d let the world speak cruelly of him and brand him a kinslayer, but he cannot have his own wife hate him so. His defense of his actions only seem to spur her further as she pushes her free hand into his chest, and he holds onto her hand tighter, unwilling to let her go like she wants to.

“Don’t demean yourself by justifying your venom, Aemond. You have hated Luke your entire life, and I’d rather you not make years of hatred seem like nothing in your pursuit to make a better name for yourself with me now. You’re well past that, valzȳrys.” She spits out the last word, making him feel hurt and horrendously out of place. husband

“You don’t believe me.”

“You killed him!”

She sobs, her tears making it very clear that he is a lot less in her eyes now than he used to be. He fights the urge to scream, to hold her by the shoulders and shake sense into her. He wants to remind her that he is not what she thinks him to be, and that he genuinely would never do anything to hurt her. But he has. And he is now facing the consequences of weighing the choices and choosing wrong. How he wishes he’d simply let Luke leave - Aemond had won, why didn’t he?

Her sobs echo in the strained silence, the air thick with the weight of unspoken grievances. In a moment of raw vulnerability, she hits him square on his chest - each strike of her closed fists carrying the weight of accumulated sorrow, an outward manifestation of the tumultuous emotions that have festered within. Aemond, initially taken aback, winces. 

Yet, even as the blows intensify, Aemond doesn't recoil. Instead, he envelops her in a desperate embrace, a gesture born not out of defiance but of a shared longing for understanding. The chamber becomes a battleground of emotions, the struggle to make sense of their fractured marriage playing out in light of all that has taken place.

“I want to hate you so much.” She says, the words choked out as her voice comes out muffled. Her lips are branded onto his chest as she mouths the words over the leathers he wears. “I want to. You’re a monster, that's all I see. I hate you so much.”

He pretends to not hear any of the damning words, for fear of hurting her in the anger that they rouse in him. She looks up at him, and all he wants is to crush her in his hold as he feels the anger creep up on him. But what she says next knocks the wind out of him, reminding him of why he has taken the trouble to come here to try and repair their marriage. 

“But I love you all the same, and I don’t know if I hate you or the love I hold more.”

It is all the confirmation he needs. She is not out of reach just yet. Aemond, grappling with the weight of her words, feels a heavy tension in the air as her lips remain pressed against his chest, the muffled admissions still hanging in the space between them.

As she lifts her head, her eyes, red and swollen, meet his. Aemond sees the internal conflict etched into the lines of her face, torn between the desire to loathe him and the persistent, undeniable love that refuses to be extinguished. He remains silent, understanding the gravity of her admission, aware that any response from him could tip the fragile balance they are trying to restore.

In a moment suspended between resentment and longing, she tentatively reaches up to touch his face, her fingertips tracing the contours of his jaw. Aemond, still holding back the urge to speak, feels the warmth of her touch, a gesture that speaks volumes. Then, as if guided by an invisible force, their lips meet in a hesitant, exploratory kiss. It is not a fiery embrace born out of passion; rather, it is a delicate connection, an attempt to bridge the emotional distance that has grown between them. 

And then Luke surfaces, yet again.

He holds her tighter and kisses her deep, his tongue begging for entrance as he fights the ghost of Luke, staring right at him as he tries to make his wife forgive him. With every movement of their joined lips, he refutes his dead nephew’s words. He is hers, and she is his. From this day, till the end of their days. 

Not Luke’s. His.

“Mine,” he mumbles in between kisses. Over and over until the blasted bastard’s spirit hears and lets him live. But why should he, when Aemond did not offer him the same courtesy? “You’re mine. No one else’s.”

“What?” He doesn’t answer her murmured question, not quite ready to make her privy to the haunting of his mind by her twin. He does not want to let him ruin this moment for them, not any more than he already has. His hands involuntarily find her skirts, pushing them up as he lowers his lips to kiss her neck.

The skin of her thighs are as soft as he’d remembered, his hands relishing in the touch as it disappears under her dress. She clings to him, a slight whine escaping her lips as his fingertips graze her skin, holding onto her backside as he lifts her up effortlessly, feet carrying them both and pushing her into the nearest wall. The kiss is never ending, and he’d not have it any other way.He presses into her, his hands holding her by the hip so tight that he’s probably bruising her, but he is too far gone to care. He needs to prove his nephew wrong, and with each moment he believes he is closer to vanquishing the ghost of the Strong pup from his consciousness.

“Take me,” she says. He hears her, but he is not quite sure he is listening. However, he does as she says. He has wanted this for long, having missed her touch for long, having missed her wanting him for long. He has wanted this for too long to do anything otherwise, and so he does. He growls as he bites her neck, while she unlaces his breeches and lets his cock spring free. The weeping tip is erect and stands proud, and he hopes she can see what she could have had in the time that she pushed him away. No matter, she’s here now.

He is taken aback by how tight she is, how warm and inviting she is despite it all. Her wetness engulfs him as he thrusts into her, making up for wasted time. With each thrust and with each moan that she lets out, he hopes and prays that their marriage will endure - but the phantom of his nephew is never ending as he refuses to fade. Aemond claims her as is his right, but as he does, he realizes his true goal is to simply remind the ghost in his head that she is his, and no one else’s.

“Mine.”

She leans into him, meeting his forehead with hers as her hair falls around them. Her panting breaths and heaving chest has him in a tight chokehold, and it almost keeps him from being haunted by her twin. Almost.

She peaks with a shuddering moan, and as she falls into him - limp and willing - he chases his pleasure. He brings her down to stand and mindlessly thrusts into her as he chants mine, mine, mine over and over again and when he does spill in her, he wants to be able to only experience pleasure, and nothing else. 

Surely his mind is playing tricks on him, or Luke has simply taken over Aemond in a capacity far beyond his control - for he is certain he sees him in her eyes for just a moment, taunting him and reveling in his misery.  

The memory hits him like whiplash, and it is all he can think of.

Aemond’s hands encircle her delicate throat, pressing her frail form against the unforgiving stone wall, as though he intends to merge her essence with its cold surface. The echoes of her labored panting reverberate in the air, a desperate struggle for breath, while he, consumed by an unrelenting force, cannot cease his actions. 

Her blue eyes roll back in agony, and the veins on her neck stand out more prominently than usual, appearing blue in certain lights and green in others - details he might have discerned if not blinded by rage and madness.

He sees clearly, he always does. But in this moment, the intensity of his anger clouds his judgment, rendering him as blind as he is perceptive in moments of calm. Her pallor intensifies, and her hands futilely attempt to pry his fingers from her skin, seeking reprieve - he wants to let go, but he cannot. How could he?

His nephew has haunted him for years, much like the famed phantom of Harrenhal. Luke may have only been nine years of age when he took Aemond’s eye, but it has wielded a malevolent influence throughout his journey from boyhood to manhood. It has been the root cause for a lot of what he’s done - right from marrying her, to now killing her so she can join her brother wherever he is.

He needs to banish the haunting memory of his nephew from his tormented consciousness. He wants so badly for the words to stop playing in his head, weaving a harsh thread of thoughts that he cannot seem to find his way out of. Her life hangs by a thread, one that he stretches taut until she snaps.

As much as he resents acknowledging it, perhaps Lucerys was right. He isn't killing her; he is merely guiding her to where she belongs, by his side. “Aemond…” Her plea is feeble, choked, and nearly devoid of a voice. “Husband, please…” He hears his sweet wife’s last words, but he refuses to listen.

As the light in her eyes slowly dims, he watches as she struggles to keep her eyes open. Her hold on his choking hand loosens and loses its fight, and she gives in. It is almost as though they are back to how they were, in the days when they were happier, and his hands had been around her neck in much more sensual moments - always just enough, never as tight and deadly as this.

She looks almost peaceful in this state, in the last moments where she’s accepted that she has outrun her course. He cannot have her this way, does not want her this way -  where she fears him and what he has truly become; where every moment that she looks at him with mixed emotions, he is reminded of his nephew and the day he died.

Cursed bastard.

Her once kind smiles, the very essence that once distinguished her from her twin, have undergone a haunting transformation. Her face has since been etched with an unspoken terror, a fear that clings to her like a shroud of impending doom. Every glance she casts seems laden with an eerie anticipation, as if she is poised to deliver a fatal blow.

In those harrowing moments, the resemblance between them becomes a grotesque mirror, reflecting a likeness he cannot bear to acknowledge. The weight of her presence - his presence - is suffocating, an unsettling reminder of his own recklessness. He cannot afford the luxury of a wavering mind, not in the midst of a relentless war that demands his unwavering focus.

This connection has become an unbearable burden, stoking a fury within him that knows no bounds. All he craves is the dissolution of his nephew's haunting memory, an obliteration that refuses to comply with the confines of his subconscious. Instead, it lingers, an ominous specter that shadows his every waking moment, intensifying the horrors that plague him day and night.

And then, her breathing ceases.

The chilling realization of what he’s done crashes over him like a wave, dragging him into the abyss of his own making. The haunting echoes of his nephew's voice, the relentless specter that had tormented his every waking moment ever since the fateful day at Storm’s End, had finally ceased. However, the newfound silence is shattered by the ghastly thud of her lifeless form crumpling to the floor, unleashing an eerie force that wraps its tendrils around his soul.

She seems liberated from the oppressive shackles of fear and her lifeless face descends into an eerie calm that chills the marrow of his bones. In death, she appears more tranquil than any moment he witnessed in life since her twin’s passing. The grotesque disparity between her and Lucerys’ final moments sends a shiver down his spine, the air thick with the stench of regret and the palpable weight of his transgressions.

With a trembling hand, he reaches out to touch her slowly chilling forehead, pressing a sorrowful kiss upon it. The chamber becomes suffocating, the air thickening with an oppressive calm that clings to the shadows. In that macabre stillness, a chilling certainty takes hold — Lucerys will no longer haunt him, but the cost is etched in the lines of his lovely wife’s lifeless face.

As the reality of his irreversible choice seeps into his bones, a haunting question claws at the edges of his conscience: Was the liberation from the phantom of his nephew's influence worth the mad ending of his wife's life? The Seven bear witness to another one of his kinslaying crimes and the heavy silence that follows - a testament to the darkness that now envelopes his soul, as the shadows of the hearth themselves seem to recoil from the stench of blood that stains the very fabric of the air.

Now the twins are together in death, by each other’s side. 

Aemond is free.

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MASTERLIST

[ridhistory21]

Some Aemond or green fans might be offended but just sharing my truth about some stans, halemond and this drama

It's quite long so please read this fully before saying anything rubbish

I genuinely wanted to know what it this hate for Halemond there. I am more of Rhaena N Aemond bcz for me their etl would be really hot but what's also wrong with halemond ?

For me I would prefer halemond as second choice after Rhaena.

It's surprising bcz I thought Halemond would be a ship which would be liked by everyone and even greens as well bc it's consensual relationship bet two teenagers who love each other no grooming, no harrassing, no abuse. Yes it might be anything in show later then I might change this opinion.

Ik it's incest but wtf should I do with it, so is Rhaemond. They are Targaryens and it's common for them. Moreover when nobody was forcing anything on them but if after getting all options available if Aemond still goes for his sister then clearly it's his feelings not 'family forcing tradition' which was in case of Aegon and Helaena.

-People being utterly hypocrites by saying they want canon that's why they love Alys-Aemond. I would love that too.

But In book Alys is supposed to be an old witch who would manipulate 18 yrs old Aemond to love her for her own plan. I would enjoy Alys milf bossing Aemond too

but mind you if just gender were reversed, those same people would call it predatory example the way Darkling, petyr, Damon or any other old ass is dragged for liking 18-17 yrs old Alina, Sansa.

Also where does this canon love goes when it's about Rhaenyra and Alicent as I clearly remember that no one before HOD shipped them as couple.

Same people have no problem ship Helaena with Aegon the one who don't give fuck about her.

I think there are very less chance that halemond will happen but if I see some scenes clearly with open mind I can very much get that why people are shipping it. They are very correct for it.

I saw many people saying Halemonds were sexualising a child. Leo is pretty baby N I would never want anything disgusting with him.

for me this scene shows that this little Aemond who feels uncomfortable with his brother N cousins, likes his sister and defends her when Aegon makes fun of her.

He feels safe and close with Helaena as compared to others. He has admiration for her. Yes you can call it family love or sister love or a little boy having goofy dream of marrying her sister but whatever it is I do see that he feels genuine liking for Helaena.

For God's sake it's not sexual, it's just his pure sweet kiddish crush which we all have during age of 11 or 12.

Now how these feelings turns shape or something more while growing up we don't know or never knew

Now idk whether it was intentional or not but whatever was there, I felt Aemond was around Helaena way more than Aegon should have been whole time. From dinner scene to him entering to her room early to children speaking Aemond's name till Aegon's crowing moment, we all saw it but refuse to accept it for one reason or another.

Green Stans claiming that there so called 'duty driven boy' would never do anything like this as it would be against of his personality. Really How ? Also same green stans are ok with Aemond falling for women who represents everything he hates. An strong bastard women ? Who will be his war bride or war prize.

I can understand if Aemond and Alys actually grew like a couple becoming fond of each other while spending time but sorry it's not. Show Aemond is so much deep and guarded and according to green stans guy like him would fall in love with Alys in just some few days so badly that he's forgetting everything for her which is very unusual thing for a guy like him.

Let's talk about duty driven Aemond-

Suppose Otto asks Aemond to do heir with Helaena or just go to her bcz Aegon is not fulfilling his duties so that their house could go on without any bad reputation and other hand there is a wet nurse lady who's strong bastard and assumed to be a witch . It doesn't have to do anything with strong house only.

take it for any random wet nurse among common people. Who will Aemond choose in first place ? My opinion is that he will not even take a sec for going to Helaena.

I think others know it well but they will never agree on it

See you can love Alysmond or any other ship. Your dislike towards any ship is also your choice but commenting wildly that this cannot happen or it wasn't like this, ship shaming other people and calling them disgusting names moreover on a fictional character we don't know clearly about.

Recently when some fans said that phia also likes Halemond then antis were behaving like those fans did something utterly disrespectful or horrific 🤡

Haven't these guys been in any fandom ever ? Every single fandom out there openly discuss these fictional ships with actors. Actors also enjoy it alot if they don't know.

I can bet that even Ewan would enjoy this stuff. Any actor would love if fandom engages with them in any theory or activity. It clearly shows that audience are interested in their part.

As an Aemond enjoyer myself I would love to see if his character gets any deep arc or something interesting in sort of way even if it doesn't includes my ship.

If some Aemondwives truly like his character then they should not be doing this kiddish activity that "Aemond is acceptable if it follows everything accordingly to my head canon only".

If Ewan came and said he supports or love halemond if this ship happened which I don't think it will but if he supports it then Aemondwives would definitely hate him I guess😑☠️

Aemond is antagonist I think many of his wives and green Stans need to recall. So him doing any sort of malicious work would not harm his character arc in anyway neither any of his ships I can guarantee.

He has his own character arc which doesn't only revolve around his love interest. Yes I can understand dislike for incest but world where everyone is r$pist, killer, groomer, abuser, consensual incest only would definitely be last thing to worry about.

You all can enjoy your ship without creating any huge drama for anything happening in series where every single person is problematic.

Who is stopping you to ship Helaena with any lady or someone else. You are all free to have to headcanon and enjoy it.

I am excited for Alysmond too and Gayle is wonderful actress. She would nail Alys.

Who would not love a witch and crazy prince romancing ? I would be happy too if there are any chance for Rhaemond getting canon🤪😂.

It shouldn't be that hard to explain but Stans jumping on that girl and phia's liking for Halemond got me to write this whole shit which I usually never do. How can they ? That is so stupid !

You know this behaviour among Stans genuinely make people hate that character. I really like characters like Dany, Daemon and Aemond but their stans are irritating many times. It happened with stranger things also

[genevievedanielle]

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about people being worried about Jon and Daenerys and how their relationship will play out in season 8, but I honestly think there’s nothing to really worry about. For one reason, there has been so much emphasis put into their storyline this season and bringing them together that I just don’t see it blowing up the way people are thinking it’s going to. Everyone on the show this year has been all about this love story and how it’s playing out, writers, press, actors, D&D, directors, and so on. Of course they want us to worry and think there’s going to be drama, it’s a drama series. Knowing what we know from the Alan Taylor interview and what George said about Jon and Daenerys kind of being the whole point, I’m not too worried about Jon and Dany.

“There’s been an inevitability to the two of them coming together. It’s been foreshadowed over and over again, and those who know the books know it’s inevitable, but that doesn’t tell you anything about how it’s going to play out or how it’s going to go. I remember when I was doing Season 1 and we were on location in Malta, and George R. R. Martin came to visit. He was sitting in a chair, and he was being really quite open about things that were to come… but it was early days and nobody was paying attention to the show. We didn’t really know what a phenomenon it was going to be, and I think he was being less guarded than we’ve become since then. Anyways, he alluded to the fact that Jon and Dany were the point, kind of. That, at the time, there was a huge, vast array of characters, and Jon was a lowly, you know, bastard son. So it wasn’t clear to us at the time, but he did sort of say things that made it clear that the meeting and the convergence of Jon and Dany were sort of the point of the series.” - Alan Taylor

For years we’ve had the show and books build up these two characters who are on these parallel journeys. We’ve seen how closely related everything that happens to them is and for them to come together and finally be on this path together, I just don’t see it suddenly forking. Especially when you think about the fact that the two of them just happen to represent ice and fire, which you know, the book series is called ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, so that’s kind of a giveaway. Now, I know there are people who will think, well now that we know Jon is Rhaegar’s son, we know he’s both. Well, yes, he is, but Jon has always identified with the Stark side of himself more, not just because he thought he was a bastard of Ned Stark, but because that’s the element he represents. He was raised in the North, he’s at home in the North, he goes to the wall which is made of ice and protects the realms, he goes beyond the wall and he works with the Freefolk in the North, the Stark family motto is “Winter is Coming”. Daenerys has always been fire, she walked into a funeral pyre and came out unharmed with dragons, she burned the Kahls and came out unharmed, she could withstand heat that others couldn’t like the boiling bath in the first episode, her family motto is “Fire and Blood”. So obviously with that much emphasis on both there has to be a payoff and I can’t see why there would be such an emphasis placed on both their journeys and the similarities if they didn’t have a role to play together. Even lines that are said to them are similar, like when Ygritte says, “You know nothing, Jon Snow”, it always reminds me of Dany’s handmaidens saying to her, “It is known.”

As for the revelation of Jon’s true parentage and the effect that’s going to have, yeah there’s going to be some, but I don’t think it’s not going to be as big an issue as people believe it’s going to be. I think there may be an instant concern on Jon and Dany’s part on the fact that they’ve fallen for each other and now with Jon being the son of Rhaegar and having a claim to the throne how does that effect them. But that being said, I don’t think Jon will suddenly go back on his word to Daenerys. His word is his oath and Jon is very much like Ned in the fact that he’s honourable and keeps his word. That’s why he couldn’t lie to Cersei in the Dragonpit. It would have made everything easier and that much smoother if Jon hadn’t declared his support for Daenerys, but Jon honours his promises and he’s given his word to Dany that he’ll back her claim to the throne. Jon has never desired to be a king, he just wanted to be a part of a family. When he was a child he dreamt of being Lord of Winterfell because that would mean he was a true Stark and not a bastard child. The only reason he became King in The North was because of his desire to help people so when the North elected him he accepted the role and he’s seen that same desire in Daenerys, so there’s no reason for him to suddenly turn on her. I don’t think we have to worry about them being on opposing sides, they know what their priority is right now, the White Walkers, and Jon loves Daenerys and she loves him, I can’t see them being ripped apart, not with the way they’ve been built up.

I think where the drama is going to come in is going to be in Jon’s struggle with who he is, is he Rhaegar’s son or Ned’s. He will obviously come to terms with the fact that yes, he is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, but he is also the son of Ned Stark, even though Ned was his uncle, he was raided by Ned and Ned loved him. He is still the brother of Sansa, Arya, and Bran, even though he’s their cousin. He may have been named Aegon Tararyen at his birth, but he’s still Jon Snow. I don’t see him suddenly proclaiming himself to be Aegon Targaryen either, he may go by Jon Targaryen, but who knows. No matter what or who his parents actually are, he’s still a Stark. Lyanna was a Stark, so like Ned told him in the first episode, the same blood runs in his veins. And technically, he’s still the Lord of Winterfell, Robb named him as his heir and the North elected him so that’s not going to suddenly change (at least not in the books, I don’t think the show even mentioned the fact that Jon was named Robb’s heir). I think Dany may wonder if Jon will still support her claim for the throne since he has one himself, and there will probably be characters that try to convince her he will for drama, but I think it’s going to come down to the fact he’s honourable and they’re a good team. Jon’s struggle to understand who he is may put a bump in their relationship (no baby pun intended), but it should resolve quickly. There’s only 6 episodes left, not a lot of time to get caught up on stuff like that. They’ll most likely end up ruling together because they’re in love with each other and they are stronger together.

For all the people who keep pointing out that it’s incest, yes, by our standards and in our world it is, but Game of Thrones is a fantasy series set in a fictional world that operates with different social norms and customs than ours. On top of that the show is also based on some historical events from our world and historically, especially in royal families, there were aunts and uncles married to nephews and nieces. There are tons of examples and here are just a few; 

Philipp II married Anna of Austria, the daughter of his sister Marie. 

Archduke Charles II of Austria married Maria Anna, daughter of his sister Anna.

Philipp IV married Marianna of Austria, daughter of his sister Maria Anna. 

Antoinette Marie of Wuerttemberg married Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Marie's mother Antoinette of was the sister of the groom. 

D. Maria I of Portugal married her uncle, Pedro de Bragança.

Their son Pedro,"product" of uncle and niece was married to his own aunt Maria Francisca.

The great granddaughter,  D. Maria II married her uncle D. Miguel. 

King Fernando VII married his niece Infanta Isabel of Portugal. 

Joanna of Naples married her nephew, King Ferdinand II of Naples. 

Infanta Benedita married her nephew, José, Prince of Brazil.

To us it’s totally gross and taboo, 100% wrong, but that’s because we understand genetics whereas they didn’t. They thought they were keeping their bloodlines pure. It was totally common historically, especially in royal families, so I get why it’s not a big deal in the Game of Thrones universe. To me, I can get over incestuous relationships from the past because it’s weird to me, yes, but I have more information than they did and they thought it was a good thing to keep their bloodlines pure. So yeah, think about the fact that this history is what George R.R. martin is basing his book series off and it’s a bit easier to overlook. George R.R. Martin has also really laid groundwork to help make this connection less uncomfortable for book readers by talking about it, something the show did considerably less of. In the series Targaryens marry family members all the time “to keep their bloodlines pure”, Daenerys actually thought she would marry Viserys some day before he sold her to Drogo because that’s what their family did and when you think about it Jon and Dany are actually further apart in terms of genetics than most Targaryens. There’s also Starks who married uncles and nieces in the books and history of the Game of Thrones world, so it’s not a total foreign concept to Jon. Even when it’s suggested that Victarion marry Asha/Yara it’s not a big deal, it’s more so, “Oh I never thought of her that way before, but now that you mention it...” So it’s not a weird concept in this world like it is to us, so get over it.

Now onto the fact that there’s a very high possibility (almost a certainty) that Daenerys is going to end up pregnant with Jon’s child. I don’t think Jon would stay away if she’s pregnant, he loves her and has stated that he doesn’t want to father a bastard child because he knows what that is. Daenerys has also had prophecies about her being able to have children and while she believes she can’t, I do think Jon, the white walkers, and Viserion’s death fulfils the prophecy about her having children again. With all the emphasis put on the idea of each of them and their children the last 2 episodes, it seems highly likely a Targaryen/Stark/Snow baby is coming and since the series is named A Song of Ice and Fire, wouldn’t it kind of make sense that their child is the Prince Who Was Promised and that could be why no character 100% fits the bill just yet.

All in all, I’m pretty positive that Jon and Daenerys are going to end up together and whatever happens to one will probably happen to the other based off the parallel nature of their storylines. The only thing that scares me is the fact that George R.R. Martin has said that there will be a bittersweet ending. With that in mind however, he has also said her loves the ending of LOTR and thinks it’s a perfect bittersweet ending, so if that’s what he’s going for, I can get onboard with that. I also, personally think that in some ways the bittersweet ending will mean in terms of Jamie, perhaps he’ll be redeemed as he dies and that will be bittersweet. I’m hoping Jonerys gets a more sweet ending.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

almussafes asked:

Hi, Butterfly! I hope this hasn’t been asked before: what would have happened if Robert had found out on his own about Jon being Rhaegar’s (noticing something that could have given Ned away, doing some research with the Tower of Joy, dream revelation, whatever)? Let’s say this happens after Balon’s Rebellion, in the middle of his peaceful reign, when he’s thankful to Ned… would he have ran to Winterfell asking for Jon’s head? Do you think that Ned could have talked him out of this idea? Thank you!

Hmm, I don’t think anyone’s asked anything quite like this before, so... well, Ned’s always been pretty damn careful, and Robert isn’t exactly the most perceptive person in the world, so I’m going to have to assume he finds out about Jon’s parentage in a dream. (He’s 1/4 Targ, it could happen.) So, a few months after the Greyjoy Rebellion, he wakes up, filled with fury... and because Robert isn’t exactly the most subtle person in the world, either, he goes roaring down the Red Keep corridors until he finds Jon Arryn and starts shouting at him about Ned’s treachery and the dragonspawn nesting at Winterfell. But Jon Arryn, who is subtle and has a strong interest in keeping Westeros peaceful, talks Robert down from his anger. (Along with asking him if he was sure, it was a dream after all, but Robert responds with shouts and sobs (about Ned, about Lyanna) and certainty.)

And, well, this gets very fanficcy, so under a cut it goes:

So, instead of Robert forming up a battalion to attack Winterfell right away, or penning a furious raven message with demands for Ned’s head and Jon’s head (Jon Arryn asks, like what the Mad King sent to me about you and Ned? and Robert’s like “no! well... yes. well... no. oh, Ned, *sob*”), Jon Arryn instead sends a message to Ned saying he’s coming to Winterfell to resolve some curious questions that have come to the attention of the king. And once everything is resolved (if Jon Arryn could talk the Martells down after Elia’s murder, I’m sure he can do anything), nobody gets executed, and nothing major becomes public -- however, Jon Snow is either sent to the Wall right away, or it becomes known that he’s promised to the Night’s Watch. (Since he’s only about 6, and nobody in the NW wants to take care of a kid that young, and Benjen has other duties... hmm, except maybe Mance Rayder if he hasn’t deserted yet? as he was an NW orphan himself... oh, this could be a weird AU.) And Ned may have to perform some reparations -- I’d think Theon would be taken away from his guardianship (almost certainly sent to KL to be a hostage there), and possibly one of his sons is/will be taken to KL as a squire/ward/hostage? That would only be Robb, at this date, but maybe the heir’s too much, maybe it would be a-son-who’s-born-later. (Bran, iow.) But the relationship between Robert and Ned is never as it was, and when Jon Arryn eventually dies, Ned is not tapped to be the new Hand, nor is any Stark/Baratheon betrothal ever made.

However... because Robert was so loud about the info when he first found out... Cersei knows. (Which means Jaime knows, and Tywin knows.) And Lysa knows. (Which means Littlefinger knows, even though he hasn’t come to KL yet.) And of course Varys knows. So, even though Jon’s Targaryen heritage isn’t public, nor is there ever a public statement that the Starks are on the outs with the king... Cersei never lets it die, constantly needling Robert about it. And with the cutoff of his perfect wife fantasies about Lyanna, you think the Lannister influence in the original timeline was bad, oh it gets so much worse here. What this does when Stannis starts investigating the incest, I’m not sure... not sure if it skews the timeline of when it happens... Actually, I’m wondering if Cersei realizes Robert can have true dreams revealing deep secrets, maaaybe she stops messing about with Jaime? (This would be right before Myrcella’s born.) Or, hmm... rather, maybe she starts her plan to knock off Robert a lot earlier than in OTL, and sets up Ned to take the fall timed with a public reveal of his supposed pro-Targ treachery? That could happen at a point when Ned is in KL delivering Bran as that squire/hostage mentioned earlier... perhaps through a reconciliation with Robert that goes wrong, deliberately tweaked by the game-players...

Anyway. Some major changes in the Stark family because of this revelation: the relationship between Jon and his siblings is more distant, if he knows he’s not actually their half-brother and/or always knows he’s destined for the Wall and/or goes there at age 6. (Poor Arya here, seriously.) OTOH Jon knowing his parentage means his inferiority complex isn’t quite so bad, but I can see him being a much angrier person in general. (Is Jon closer to Aemon? Or angry at him because his Targ heritage is what tore him away from his real family? hmm.) Cat’s relationship with Ned takes a big hit because of the reveal of his lies, but it does bounce back quickly since her fear of Jon supplanting her children is no longer an open wound. And Ned... Ned’s no longer living with lies, nor pathologically protecting his kids from everything... but has a lot more regrets instead, and perhaps there’s a certain distrust of the Baratheons that builds up in the family, more of Starks c. the New Gift kind of relationship with the crown. So more Northern alliances worked on, probably leading to Robb and Sansa being betrothed early, at the very least.

Some others: Theon being absent tweaks a few things... primarily re his relationship with Robb, also him growing up in a Lannister-heavy KL does nothing good for his personality. As for Varys, well, knowing about a bastard Targ up north doesn’t really change his plans much... except perhaps slotting Jon into a potential war front for his true Targ/actual Blackfyre perfect prince Aegon to fight against. But if there is a big public reveal arranged by Cersei, then Barristan will have news to tell Dany when he comes to her. Not that this changes her track that much, considering, until she gets to Westeros.

So, well... this isn’t a bad timeline, but it is a very odd one. That is, most of the history should be fairly similar, but the shift in relationships and revelations means that personalities will be what’s wildly different from OTL. But if Jon’s at the Wall still, then he’s still key for saving the world from the Others... it’s just Bran, who doesn’t fall (and may be the hostage in KL during the war) whose save-the-world destiny goes in an extremely different way. (Which may mean no direwolves, unless someone else gets to be the new last greenseer? maybe Arya?) Well. Anyway. I don’t plan on actually writing this, certainly not to the depth of the books, so I’ll have to leave off the Tale of Robert the Dreamer (and what happened next), but I hope you enjoyed this exploration of the possible consequences. :)

[octopuscato]

Westeros Second

Dear Mr. President,

this is a message from the government - er, sorry, absolute monarchy of Westeros. Or - well . . . not really, there’s some confusion right now. About who’s actually ruling, not about the part where it’s a monarchy, but . . . oh, never mind.

Westeros is a great country, it’s true. It’s made up of seven kingdoms under one king – like the United States have 50 states under one CEO . . . er, sorry, one President.

This is the late king, his name was Robert Baratheon. 

Great guy. Great ruler. Killed his enemies with a huge hammer. None of this silly stuff like asking the UN for permission, he just went and smashed them. Amazing. He was a lot like you, in fact. His predecessor Aerys Targaryen was crazy. Just crazy. Led the country to ruin, like Barack Obama did with the US. And just like Barack Obama wasn’t even a real American, he wasn’t even a real Westerosi. Sure, he was born here, but what does that matter, really? He was looking all weird, not like normal Westerosi, and his ancestors were immigrants, can you believe it? Wouldn’t even show his birth certificate. Total loser.

Anyway, Robert took care of that. He really was a great king – you’d have liked each other. He liked to go on hunts much better than he liked ruling, just like you like to golf much better than governing. And his wife, Cersei Lannister . . . We heard you like pussy, well, she’s the greatest pussy you could imagine – Lannisters are lions, after all.

Sadly, he died, and now Westeros has a lot of kings. We’re not united anymore like you are. Bad. This is why you’re first.

Back to more savoury subjects though: the pussy that Robert married. She’s beautiful, and she loved being with him just as much as Melania loves being with you. They have the same kind of smile. 

Okay, she cheated on him with her brother. Sad. But well, we know you understand – she was so beautiful, he totally had to date her. And incest really isn’t that bad, is it? There’s this guy named Craster – he’s a Wildling, and Wildlings are usually bad, we’ll be coming to that later. But he’s an exception because we do important business with him, like you do important business with Saudi Arabia and therefore made an exception for them in your Muslim ban. Anyway, Craster. You’d like him, really you would. But careful, don’t try grabbing his daughters by the pussy. Remember how you said if Ivanka weren’t your daughter, maybe you’d be dating her? Craster would understand completely. He married his daughters, you see. All of them. He didn’t even wait, just married them, it’s true. You’re kindred spirits. Come to think of it, you’d also really like Walder Frey. He’s approximately 9000 years old and has had a lot of wives in his life, even more than you did so far. He’s amazing. And if one wife dies, well, he’ll grab another. You three should meet, you’d be BFFs for sure.

Just like you do, we in Westeros communicate via bird.  Ours are ravens, and just like with twitter, you can’t send long messages with them. They’re also not quite as fast as yours – we don’t yet have internet here. Maybe you could bring it to us. Open some factories, that kind of thing.

Just don’t employ Wildlings – they’re bad, as we mentioned before. They’re like Mexicans, really. Trying to come to Westeros illegally, raping and plundering and taking our things – terrible. And White Walkers, they’re even worse. They don’t even want our stuff, they just want to kill us. They’re terrorists, it’s true.

That’s why, 8000 years ago, we implemented a ban on White Walkers and Wildlings alike. Built a great wall of ice up in the North so they couldn’t get through anymore. It’s the greatest wall ever, it’s true, and we made the Northerners pay for it.

And it worked! No White Walkers in 8000 years – most people don’t even believe they exist any longer. Just imagine: the US, a country where people don’t even believe in the existence of Muslims because nobody has seen one in generations. Amazing! So, we totally support you building your wall, and if you have any questions about that, just ask – we’d love to help.

Speaking of isolationist tendencies, there’s this guy, Balon Greyjoy. He’s the Lord of the Iron Islands and lives on an island called Pyke. We totally should make you meet. He wanted to make his islands great again, so he tried to exit the kingdom, like Great Britain exited the EU. You loved Brexit, so you’ll love Pykexit too – you can read all about it here. (It’s amazing!)

But to come back to the Wall: watch out for bleeding heart lefties undermining your great efforts. We had this guy, Jon Snow. Terrible guy. Loser. Traitor. Sadly, it’s true. He was the so-called Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, our border patrol at the Wall. He was a great fan of sanctuary states. Tried to turn the whole North into a sanctuary state like they want to do with California. Bad. Undocumented Wildlings everywhere. 

But we made sure he couldn’t do it and killed him first to make the Wall great again. Amazing. Some say the wildlings did get in before he was killed, and that he came back to life via magic, but that’s fake news. Totally fake. Magic doesn’t even exist. It’s all alternative facts. Did we say he was a total loser? He was. (He even thought his girlfriends should actually enjoy having sex. What a loser. Would eat a girl out first thing. Definitely wouldn’t have grabbed her by the pussy. Pathetic.)

While we’re at the subject of pathetic characters: sadly, there’s one family here we really aren’t proud of. The former Wardens of the North, the Starks. Terrible people, it’s true. They’re environmentalists of the worst kind, would get along great with the climate change hoaxers. They wouldn’t kill giant wolves because of preservation reasons and instead made them their pets. They even pray to trees. Crazy. 

And they don’t mock disabled people – they employ them like everyone else. No sense of humour at all. Especially Ned Stark. He was married to the best kind of pussy – she was even named like one – and instead of grabbing her and letting her know how things work, he let her go around having opinions and even took her advice. Maybe he was more of a pussy than she was. Total loser that one. Too stupid for politics, and couldn’t grab Cersei Lannister by the pussy either, even when it would have saved his life. Sad.  He’s also Jon Snow’s father – you see where that one got it from. Anyway, we dealt with them, they’re all dead or imprisoned. (No, Catelyn didn’t come back to life – that’s an alternative fact as well.)

Now we’ve got a new Warden of the North: Ramsay Bolton. He’s a tough guy like you, it’s true. You’d like him. He loves torture, just like you do, and he wants to make people happy, like you do. He doesn’t even grab women by the pussy, he throws them to the dogs directly if they don’t agree. Amazing. You’re gonna love him, he’s the best.

If you really don’t like Westeros – which we can’t imagine, it’s great here – you can go to Essos. It’s full of orange sand, they love orange there, they’ll love you. We’d say go to Dorne, they also like that colour scheme, but there are too many brown people there. Bad. Also, it’s full of nasty women – they kill you when you try grabbing their pussy. Their pussies even grab back! Don’t go to Dorne, it’s dangerous there. Terrible!

On second thought, don’t go to Essos either. There’s too many brown people there as well. Plus, there’s Daenerys Targaryen. Nasty woman, can’t even run a government. Likes brown people way too much and thinks they should have rights, that stuff. 

Kind of like Angela Merkel. They even call her “misha” there, like they call Merkel “Mutti” in Germany. Ugh, women leaders. Pathetic. Good that the US avoided Hillary Clinton. (If Jon Snow were still alive he’d get along great with them all. Total loser. Shame. Shame. Shame.)  If you need further proof as to how we deal with nasty women in places that aren't Dorne (blergh, losers!) just look at her. 

Yes, she's a woman. I know, I know, not hot at all. 1/10 - barely. Her name is Brienne. Total pain in the ass, wanted to do a man's job and was even qualified for it! Crazy, I know. Anyway, she tried, but first everyone she swore herself to died, and then she almost got hanged by Catelyn stark - ah, wait. That was an alternative fact. Never happened. Fake news. Anyway, we've tried to convince her to go back to the kitchen and let someone grab her by the pussy already for a helluva long time, and that's how we deal with all nasty women in most places here. Amazing. You'd love it. (Except for Dorne. Shameful, we know.)

We know it’s got to be America first, but can we just say „Westeros second“?

Best wishes – we’ve got the best wishes. And the best Wall, it’s true.