#the big five asoiaf

[horizon-verizon]

"It is through struggles of power that shifts in political and ideological structures happen" so why didn't the dance end with a Targaryen Queen? Like Baela or Rhaena? Gworgw could have easily ended the dance with a 👑 running westeros. Made Rhaenyra into a martyr.

Anon is quoting from THIS post.

There's nothing particularly wrong with wanting very simple stories where the people who are good, deserved more, or act impressively will win. 

But, anon, when did I say that these struggles of power will always end up with the right person/people winning and winning absolutely? 

A)

Rhaenyra is a tragic figure for the sake of Daenerys being the one to “fix” Westeros, as Rhaegar tried himself. Rhaenyra’s loss and death sets us up for the ultra violent and patriarchal world that Arya, Sansa, Dany, Jon, Tyrion, etc. must confront and understand. We trace the Targ’s loss of dragons and desperation to gain them back to Rhaenyra’s loss.

Have you read the brideoffire post that I put into the post you are referring to? You should go back and take a reread and sit and think about the implications of Rhaenyra and the Targ dynasty. 

*EDIT* Rhaenyra's story is a part of a larger story. The Dance is also, then, part of a larger story, and it comes from a specific history.

But I also wouldn't say that she was a "martyr" since her intentions were never to make life better for all women in Westeros, or all classes, etc. Rhaenyra's story matters because it shows, in real-time, what a patriarchal society and those with misogyny/internalized misogyny do to maintain and gain power, how we define "stealing" power, how we and those in Westeros think who deserves power and why, reveal hypocrisies, show us what biased writing looks like, invites us to look past the surface to weight context vs text vs subtext, etc.

I do not prefer Rhaenyra over Alicent because I never thought she herself was a feminist or even a proto-feminist. I prefer her because her becoming a Queen Regnant rather be a Dowager/Regent or a mere princess shows us what could have been (if not for the misogyny) AND even without her efforts, it would set a precedent that allows other women to easier fight for their own inheritances and rise to power. Mentioning Rosby and Stokeworth and what Rhaenyra did with them, this both shows what I already said about her--her herself--not being a feminist or having those interests....even though Rhaenyra did this, this is one incident and she had many more years to rule if she had won, during which other women woukd still be able to refer to her or use her rule to make their own rule have more legitimacy. Say you were a girl about to gain an inheritance or became lady. Do you think you'd let the Rosby/Stokeworth events stop you from pressing for power, and with Rhaenyra continuing to rule in front of everyone's salads, do you think you'd have an easier time or a harder time arguing or fighting for yourself against those against you? *END OF EDIT*

B)

Rhaegar Targaryen wanted to depose his father and begin fixing the wrongs done in Westerosi history while fulfilling the prophecy, but he was flouted by the evil, self-centered, rapist, abusive, etc. Robert Baratheon. In real life, slavery existed in the U.S. since its inception (around 400 years) and then we had Jim’s Crow laws, segregation, and lynchings for another century. And in the meantime, many enslaved tried to fight back against theie enslavers and other enforcers of slavery through violent and nonviolent means and they did always suceed.

Therefore, you’re going to have figures who should have won but didn’t because of circumstance, “bad luck”, paranoia (from terrible, traumatic events in their life while they were trying to gain back rights, protect loved ones, get back power, etc.), lack of resources, poor decisions, etc. What’s assured in the series is that there will be a supernatural confrontation that needs Targ dragons and good leadership that you see in Arya, Daenerys, Jon Snow, Bran, Tyrion.

GRRM is interested in wars and revolutions in the realistic/historical sense while showing how humans think and behave during those major shifts of societal change.

ASoIaF/GRRM is trying to impart a more (not totally verastic since we have no dragons or magic or people who can wield either) realistic approach to revolution and psychology. Revolutions both need to happen to overthrow terrible systems but they also sometimes kill good or necessary people or they do not succeed. 

[fromtheseventhhell]

When Dany and Arya are the first Targaryen/Stark duo to interact and people start seeing the light on Daenarya >>>>>>

[knightofthenewrepublic]

[15-lizards]

Cannibal media is at an all time high there has never been a better time for GRRM to release the Davos preview chapter. The people would eat that batshit insane wolf kid and his cannibal army right up…

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Do you have any high fantasy book recs? I have enjoyed asoiaf and would like to explore more of the genre

Sure, you can see a lot in my book recs tag, with plenty of details, but here's a quick list of my favorite high fantasy series:

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien (yes, everyone knows this one, but you might be a complete newbie to fantasy, so hey)

The Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett (ditto; also note I detest those reading order guides you may see around, I read the books as they were published (almost) and I was better than fine ok)

The World of the Five Gods, by Lois McMaster Bujold (I recommend again going with publishing order for the novels, then moving on to the Penric novellas, either publishing or chronological. I also rec her Sharing Knife series, though it's not a top favorite, her Spirit Ring novel is sweet and should appeal to YA fantasy fans, and I highly rec her Vorkosigan Saga to ASOIAF fans, though it's SF.)

The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny (love this series so much, always rec it to fans of ASOIAF, and like GRRM I agree it desperately needs a tv adaptation)

The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander (utter classic, very badly served by the Disney adaptation, needs a much better one)

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis (another classic, and lol publishers really like "chronicles" don't they)

Pelmen the Powershaper series, by Robert Don Hughes (out of print for a long time sadly, but you may be able to find cheap used books)

and there's so much more, in low fantasy and other sub-genres (Naomi Novik's various series and novels are big loves of mine, and I adore Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series), check my tag!

[misguidedasgardian]

The Winter Sun (EPILOGUE 1)

Into the Future

MASTERLIST

Summary: Years went by in Winterfell 

Pairing: Cregan Stark x Fem!Targaryen Reader 

Warnings: Cursing, medieval and asoiaf customs, AGE GAP, Cregan is 12 years OLDER than reader), arranged marriage, mentions of SMUT, childbirth, complication in childbirth, might contain triggering content, might miss some warnings

+18, MINORS DNI

Wordcount: 3 k

Notes: Well… Sara did say she saw six puppies

The vibe around the Lords and Ladies of the North wasn’t nice when you returned from King’s Landing, with your white haired baby in your arms

Many started saying that you had returned to Aemond willingly, and you had given birth to his child, since Jonaerys was clearly a Valyrian like you, and like the Kinslayer.

But things stopped and improved when you gave birth to your third child, a year after you came back to Winterfell, also a boy, who looked very similar to his brother, only with the colors of his father, dark locks of hair, and icy gray eyes. A true looking Northerner.

You named him Torrhen

Torrhen Stark

Cregan would walk proudly in the hallways of Winterfell and all over with his sons in his arms, Rickon trotting behind him as he grew up, and three direwolves following close behind.

But only one dragon hatched from all the eggs Vhaelar bring forth, Jonaerys’ egg. it took months after you came back, and a dragon keeper had to move in Winterfell to take care of Vhaelar and her hatchling.

Jonah’s dragon was so different from everything you had ever seen before, it was black, with silvery white markings, and big gray eyes. his flames were icy blue, as Vhaelar’s were bluish with purple flare 

When Torrhen was 1, you suffered through another winter by then, and as it became some sort of “tradition”, Cregan got you pregnant with what you truly wished was a girl…

But it wasn’t 

You bring forth a baby with dirty blonde hair, and when he opened his eyes you saw with amazement he had one purple eye and the other gray, he was like Alyssa, your grandmother, who had similar features, you often wonder where he came from, he looked nothing like you or Cregan, but your husband was ecstatic 

You wanted a Valyrian name for your peculiar child, and Cregan compromised in naming him Orys, like the rumored bastard brother of Aegon the Conqueror

Orys Stark 

So Rickon was 5, Jonaerys 4, Torrhen two and a half, and Orys 1 year old, when you got pregnant again.

After Cregan’s begging

You believed you were done, you loved your children very much and you were begging for a little girl, that never came, so you believed you were done, you had four beautiful children with your loving husband

But you couldn’t deny anything to those beautiful Gray eyes 

So you held your big belly as you awaited Sara’s arrival.

Sara had fallen in love with Cregan’s best friend, who had come to Winterfell four years ago to grieve for the loss of his wife, and he fell in love with her. Ben Tallheart, so they married, Sara became a loving stepmother to a beautiful little girl who was now five years old, and they lived happily in Torrhen’s square, hence the name of your baby boy.

“Sister!”, she screeched, hugging you tightly around your belly

“Sister”, you whispered happily in her ear, Cregan just stood there, amused that Sara would always greet you first, but then he hugged his sister dearly

“Missed you”, it was true, you had missed her so dearly, the castle seemed almost empty without her in it

After warm greetings, Cregan took his friend so both of them could talk, while you took Sara who was so excited to see her baby nephews, who had multiplied in the last years. You went into the nursery, where they were all gathered, the four of your children, it was Orys nap time 

Rickon and Jonaerys hugged her tightly, running to her arms; they have gotten so big, Torrhen followed shortly after.

Sara was playing on the floor with her nephews, with their wooden figurines, as you sat on a long chair, rubbing your belly, you were super tired, you always were

“How is the pregnancy going?”, she asked

“It's different this time”, you confessed, Sara looked at you, gray eyes wide open

“What do you mean?”, she asked, you only shook your head, looking down at your huge belly

“I’ve been so tired”, you whispered, “I can barely eat, I feel awful”, she looked at you determinedly, “my belly is huge”

“What are you saying?”, she asked gently, you only shook you head

“I don’t feel as strong as I did before”, she looked concerned, as she was trying hard to remember something

“I'm sure everything's going to be alright” she said with a calming smile, you smiled back as you caressed your big belly.

You weren’t bluffing, you realized you were pregnant because of how much you threw up, you could barely find something to eat that didn’t make you sick 

Cregan hunted everything he could get his hands on, and Thelma cooked everything with different spices each time, but to no avail, everything made you sick, all the meats, so THelma fought hard to cook you legumes and different pies with vegetables.

Even so…

You still felt really weak.

This wasn’t like all your pregnancies before, and Cregan seemed truly concerned for you. He was over you at all times, tending you, caring for you, like your very first pregnancy with Rickon. 

And now Sara wouldn't take her eyes off of you now, always watching what you ate.

Your baby was restless, kicking you always, and you immense belly, sometimes you felt like you had a real dragon inside you womb, with more than four extremities 

But right after that thought, memories of all those Targaryen women who lost their babies, and what came out of them were truly dragon-like babies, and then you shook your head, wanting to purge those dark thoughts out of your mind.

But you had to be strong, you had to be, you had already given birth to four! FOUR babies, and everything went well, this was not going to be the exception

The night found you in the great hall, holding a feast for your guests, with Sara and Ben, and everyone really in the castle.

“I have an announcement to make”, Ben spoke, as he raised from his chair, raising his cup. “First I want to thank our gracious hosts”, he said, pointing at you and Cregan, who held your hand tightly. “For receiving us, and now… I want to say that the Lady of Torrhen Square and I are proud to announce that we are expecting our first child!”, he said, and the hall broke out with cheers and applause

You hugged Sara tightly

“I’m so happy for you!”, you greeted, and she laughed in your ear

“Thank you!”, as Cregan was hugging Ben, and then he turned 

“My beautiful sister”, whispered Cregan happily, hugging her tightly, you hugged Ben then

That made Cregan’s spirit rise for the coming days, and Sara and Ben agreed to stay here in Winterfell until she gave birth, meaning… six whole months, and you couldn’t be happier

The castle seemed to roar with life since then.

Rickon, Jonaerys and Eddara, Ben’s daughter, played through the hallways, and they were always filled with giggles and laughter 

And your belly got bigger and bigger, and you grew tired and tired 

Everytime Cregan looked at you, it was like his heart was broken, you knew he was afraid, you were becoming paler, and tired by the day.

At night you would beg him to make love to you, and he would, that made you happy, as he spoon you with him deep inside you as he cradled your big belly, he would kiss every inch of your body with devotion, and hugged you through the night. 

“Can’t wait to meet this baby”, he whispered sweetly in your ear

“Me too”, you said back, “perhaps it is finally a girl”, you teased

“Oh what I would give for a daughter that looks like you”, he whispered back, nuzzling his nose into your hair 

“She would be pretty cute, wouldn’t she?”, you kept teasing

“She would”, he whispered, “thank you”, he whispered

“for what?”, you asked back

“For everything”, he said back, “you brought me back to life, you gave me four beautiful boys, you turned Winterfell into a home”

“Well, you are very welcome”, you giggled, you turned around to meet him, and you kissed him lovingly, “thank you too, you did helped in everything you just mentioned”, and he chuckled against your lips

“I did my part”, he kept teasing, as you cuddled into the night.

The very next day, Cregan was outside, with Ben, you believed they went into the wolf’s wood to hunt, when your water broke

Immediately a pain shot through you like a lightning bolt, making you cry out. 

The pain was blinding, it wasn’t a contraction it was something else, something else entirely, and besides, you were certain the nine moons haven't completed yet. Soon people entered the room, maids, followed by Sara, immediately they held you, trying to prevent you from collapsing into the stone floor of your rooms

“It hurts!”, you cried

“Call the midwife, NOW”, screamed Sara, “find my brother”, but the pain was so blinding you couldn’t quite pay attention to what was going on around you

You felt your dress being ripped away from your body, a night shift placed instead, soft and light as a feather, and then you were laid in the bed softly. 

The contractions began shortly after, and it was hurting so much you couldn’t have a real grasp on reality anymore.

A young man, who worked at the stables was sent to find Cregan, he knew the woods by the palm of his hand, so he didn’t have trouble finding the hunting party.

“MY LORDS”, it took only that scream, for Cregan to know it was about you, and considering the state you were in, that you had gone into labor

Nobody could reach him as he mounted his horse and started galloping without stopping. He rode back to Winterfell at an incredible speed, jumped off his horse and ran inside the castle.

He ran  towards your room and he could hear the screams from the second floor.

His heart got tight inside of his chest, and he found you struggling, the bed soaked in your blood, he had never been so scared in his life, not even when the war happened. 

He was at your side in a second, he grasped your hand in his and started at you wide eyed

“Darling, I’m here”

“Cregan”, you called, “It hurts”

“i know my love, I know”, he soothed, looking at the midwives who looked at each other with worried glances

It was bad, he knew it, everybody knew it, at one point, the midwives didn’t know what to do so they called in the maester who gave you milk of the poppy to clear, rather, distract your mind from the pain

It did help, when it took effect, you received the command

“Push my lady”

And you did, gods you did, with all your strength.

It was bloody, it was painful, it was worrying, but after two hours, the room was filled with the cries of a babe

“A little girl M’lord!”, chanted the midwife, receiving the crying child into the world

Cregan sighed loudly, with relief, squeezing your hand back, as he looked at the midwife cleaning a little baby with pitch black hair, he had a daughter.

But this wasn’t over yet, you cried in agony again, and Cregan looked down at you, still grasped in the claws of pain. 

“The afterbirth?”, he asked, but the maester shook his head, seeming horrified

“No, I think…”

“It's another babe”, said the midwife, as he give the little baby girl to his father, who was wide-eyed, not knowing if to be relieved, or scared to death, he looked down at the face of his little daughter and caressed her little head.

But when he looked at you he was so scared, you were shaking with pain, blood oozing out of you, he whimpered

“I think the baby is breached”, the midwife whined, like she was in the same state of horror

Hours went by

You were in a state of such pain your eyes were closed and you couldn’t scream anymore, you just whined softly.

Cregan was in the corner of the room, her daughter in his arms, but he just looked ahead, scared to death, his worry was such that he believed he was going to age centuries.

The maester whispered in the corner with the midwife, as her assistants were each by your side, whispered words of comfort, rubbing your belly hoping to push the baby out themselves 

“You need to be strong My lady”, whispered one, a young sweet girl, “think of your children, they need you, those sweets boy, and your baby girl”

you only got to nod, that phrase seemed to be the only thing that could pierce through the cloud of pain and milk of the poppy. Using the last of your strength, you leaned in, and pushed, again, the thought of your husband and children spurred you on, your baby, still inside of you, needed to make it out.

The midwife saw your intent and was with you in a second

Cregan gave his baby girl to the maester, and was also with you.

“You can do this love, please”, he begged, “please…”

It was another hour, you had been at this for six whole hours, when another cry was heard in the room.

Another little girl

With hair white as ice, and reddened face.

Then it came the afterbirth, but for that, you couldn’t no longer feel anything at all

The maids washed you and changed the sheets, you were breathing steadily, but you were barely conscious.

Cregan had his new baby girl in his arms, his dream came true, she did look like you, but the maester was telling him you had lost a lot of blood, that you could no longer have any more children… if you ever woke up… 

Sara had heard anything, but she was with your other children

“What is happening, where is mama?”, asked Jonaerys, he was a sensitive boy, he felt everything

“She is giving birth to the baby, sweet boy”, she whispered, as she cradled Orys in her arms hoping to made him sleep

“She is taking too long”, he whispered, his eyes filled with tears

Rickon came and hugged his brother

“She will be alright, she is mommy”, he said back, Sara looked as the sweet boys hugged themselves 

“Her vision had never wrong before, you were going to pull out of this

But Cregan was scared, very, very scared

The maids had called in wetnurses from the village, and they took both his daughters with them. 

He just stood by your side

As the maester else him with the promise that if you made it out tonight, you were going to regain your strength

“Please don’t leave me”, he whispered, his tears choking him, “please, I beg of you”, he begged like a prayer, holding your hand, “you give me all I ever dreamed of, you deserve to enjoy it by my side, our beautiful children, our six children you gave me”, he said with teary eyes, “please my love, I will follow you soon after, please don’t abandon me, our children need you, I need you, please”

He was seated on a chair he needed right next to the bed, and laid his head by your side, still holding your hand.

He stayed there all night, right next to you, hearing your faint breaths.

It was early in the morning, when you squeezed his hand back, and he cried in relief.

. . .

Two weeks passed, and you had recuperated your strength. Cregan brought you your girls as soon as you woke up, and spent the night with the four of you, after eating plentifully. 

One of your daughters had the northerner features, while the other was a Valyrian just like you, you named them Robyn and Rhaenys, the latter in honor of your dear aunt, who had been like a mother to you. 

“They are in very good health, My Lords”, said the maester, you smiled widely, looking at your daughters, who were both of them awake, laid on your bed, and wiggling happily, “although”

You and Cregan both snapped your head to look at the maester

“Although?”, you asked fearful, you then looked at your babies

“Little Rhaenys, I think there is something wrong”, your eyed immediately filled with tears

The old man showed you, he clapped his hand near Robyn, and she blinked her eyes and squirmed because of the loud noise, but he repeated the same thing near Rhaenys, and she barely reacted

“What does it mean?”, you whined, Crregan held you

“She might be deaf, my lady”, he whispered, Cregan held you against his chest. As you cried, scared of what that could mean. 

“Does that mean she can’t hear?”, asked RIckon, you wiped your tears immediately, and your two eldest sons entered the room. Torrhen still didn’t know what was going on, and Orys was still a baby.

“That is right boy”, Cregan was strong, as he smiled to his eldest son

“We will create a cool language with our hands so we can speak to her, then”, Rickon said like it wasn’t a big deal. And you laughed wholeheartedly, hugging and kissing your son. 

Now you had your six puppies, everything was going to be alright. With your growing family, and Sara, and Cregan’s best friends

And a huge feast they threw in King’s Landing in your honor. 

taglist!

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[childotkw]

Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗

Oh god, this is like picking a favourite child 😅😅 but I'll rank them from most to least

1. Consuming Shadows

This was my first big story back, after I stopped writing for about six years. I was just testing the waters, having fun, and I wanted to play around with a ship I had only really just started consuming content for. It very quickly reignited my passion for writing, and it's blown up in such a way that I had never anticipated. I love the plot, I love the characters, I love Hadrian's progression from snarky but emotionally distant figure to a genuinely warm and loving friend, I love how well I managed to keep the threads of storylines and foreshadowing together, and I love the slow development of Hadrian and Tom's relationship in a way that's believable and does them both justice. The fact that so many people have resonated with it over the years has really left a mark on me, and I'll never forget all the things this story gave me.

2. you belong to me (i belong to you)

This one really was just my 'haha this is for the lolz' story. It was never meant to be popular or as big as it is. I was just fumbling around, wanting to write a cool time travel story, and then I came up with the Twist and it was no longer a joke 😂 I love the dynamics in it, I love Harry's general vibe, I love Orion and his chaos gremlin schtick. I'm still amazed that I came up with the plot twist (like, seriously, I don't think I can ever replicate that). And the fact that this story grew so popular and that so many people have enjoyed what started as my funny lil project overwhelms me in the best way.

3. The Lone Wolf Dies (But The Pack Survives)

In a lot of ways, this was a love letter to Regulus. I'd never really given him much thought as a character, but I fell in love with my interpretation of him. He's incredibly complex, and the future potential of the story really makes me excited.

4. ruination

Again, it's more the potential of this story that makes me love it. I wasn't super comfortable writing for asoiaf, and the fandom makes me...uneasy in a lot of ways. But I greatly enjoy all the ways this story could go. Lucerys intrigues me, and my interpretation of his character is especially fun to think about. I want to explore the slow but fundamental shift in a character, something that leads to them becoming almost unrecognisable. I love fantasy, and getting to play around in such an immersive world makes me giddy.

5. i don't owe you my forgiveness

It's only one chapter at the moment, but I really really really love the concept of soulmate rejection and the bitterness that is sown by Tom's hasty actions. The inherent power imbalance - originally in Tom's favour and then very dangerously in Harry's - is one dynamic I can't wait to sink my teeth into.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

I don’t get why they wasted the incredible opportunity to make one big series about the whole Targaryen dynasty (done properly of course). They had the source material for it. They could have started the first season with Aegon’s Conquest, second season passing from Aegon’s to Aenys’ reign, season three with Maegor’s usurpation and reign, season four with Jaehaerys’ reign and then seasons five, six and so on with the Dance of the Dragons.

If they had followed the book in terms of casting and plot, it would have been amazing to watch.

Wasted opportunity, in truth.

But seeing the way they completely messed up my favorite Asoiaf story and my favorite Targaryen Queen, it could be a blessing in disguise.

[kingsmoot]

in general i started caring about asoiaf dragons five minutes ago when one of them was presented to me as a big golden retreiver buppy trying to protect his dying dad as he himself died in agony... so idk i'm not the best source on asoiaf dragon meta. to me it has always been very clear that dragons are the ultimate powerful magical force in asoiaf and their extinction was a multi-generational tragedy that hung dark and heavy over the world. i know exactly what people mean when they call the dragons nukes but to me like. the point of the series is that they are being used as nukes. not that they are ontologically nukes. not that they are inhernetly nothing but violent uncontrollable destruction. they can be utilized that way by the people in power but they are not themselves evil. they are actually an inhernetly good force and occupy an essential and irreplaceable part of westeros' magical biosphere. do i agree w the politics of "it's the people CONTROLLING the dragons that are the problem"? no. "guns don't kill people people kill people" is not something i believe in. in the same way that the targaryens positioned themselves as stewards of the realm while crushing its inhabitants into dust by way of base cruelty or total neglect i do not think that they should be stewards of the dragons, the most powerful magical force on all of planetos. but this is not because i think the TARGARYENS are the WRONG PEOPLE to wield these powers. it is because i think monarchy and nuclear weapons should not exist. it's not about giving the right people the divine right of kings and the nuclear launch codes. but, again. the dragons are more complicated. they are not firearms. they are living sentient wild animals. so like. this is a case of my and george's politics not aligning.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the analogy breaks because it's made on basic assumptions i believe are untrue. this post got away from me kind of but. i do not believe in a reading of the series that just sees the dragons as nukes. george very clearly writes them as a magical Good™️. i think a reading that ignores that aspect of them is purposefully ignoring huge swaths of the text in order to make it simpler.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Stand Out Protagonist in Big Multi-POV Ensemble

Anonymous asked: I'm writing a shifting PoV story reminiscent of A Song of Ice and Fire, in that there are characters with their own disconnected storylines in one shared world. In such a large ensemble, I worry my protagonist doesn't stand out as the main character. What are some ways I can make him standout more like Jon Snow and Daenerys did in ASOiaF? Or is "protagonist" a dirty word in such a large disjointed story? Your help is so very much appreciated. Love your advice.

[Ask edited for length]

We have to be careful not to think of the multiple POVs in ASoIaF as being "disconnected" or "disjointed." These words convey a feeling that these individual stories have no connection, which is very much not the case. Although on the surface each of these characters are off doing their own things, everything they're doing is connected via past, present, and future events.

For example, Jon Snow traipsing around beyond the wall, fighting white walkers may feel completely disconnected from what Daenerys is doing across the Narrow Sea, but Jon and Daenerys are connected via the past and past events... both were set off on their course of life due to the events of Robert's Rebellion. The trajectory of their "current" lives are both affected by the events of The War of the Five Kings. And, presumably, as in the TV show, the events in King's Landing will ultimately be affected by the events north of the wall.

So, even if your characters appear to be off doing their own thing, it's really important to make sure everything is connected in some way, whether it's a connection in the past, present, future, or all three. Typically, characters in a multi-POV story who start off doing their own thing will all converge for the climax. So, one way to ensure that is to make sure you have an over arching conflict that they're either all individually working to resolve, or that they'll all be pulled into as a result of the resolution of their individual conflicts.

And, that said, you may want to make sure your protagonist is the one who is primarily dealing with that over arching conflict, or dealing most closely with it. In ASoIaF, the over arching conflicts were The Conflict Beyond the Wall and The War of the Five Kings. Jon stands out as a protagonist because he was the primary character dealing with The Conflict Beyond the Wall, and Daenerys stands out as a main character because she is potentially the biggest threat in The War of the Five Kings.

Happy writing!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

In this post, I talked a bit about how the removal of magic in GOT destroyed the character of Euron Greyjoy. Now I'm going to talk about how it negatively impacted Daenerys' character.

Magic is fundamental to Dany's storyline, which is why her story is one of the only ones that still has magic in it on the show. However, that magic is drastically reduced, there's now simply hatching the dragons, the calling she feels to do so, and like two visions in the House of the Undying. Meaning, aside from dragon riding, Dany's magic is only in the first two seasons.

I want to talk first about how they reduced her dreams. In AGOT, we have almost a dream per chapter for Dany, each of them pointing to her future as the Mother of Dragons, a dragon rider, and her later story points. In ACOK, her visions in the House of the Undying point to not only her future, but those of other characters (i.e. the Red Wedding, Tyrion, Jon, the Others, etc). ASOS sees the first appearance of Quaithe in Dany's dreams, and in ADWD, Dany dreams in the Dothraki Sea and sees Quaithe a few more times. That's a pretty big difference from the show's portrayal.

The removal of these dreams serve to make Dany seem much more similar to the rest of her family than she really is. It's a way for them to make her seem less remarkable and force their "parallels" with Aerys. In the books, while other Targaryens have dragon dreams, none of them are quite to the same level as Dany, with the exception of maybe Daenys (we don't actually know). She's meant to be set apart, just like the other main five. She, Jon, Bran, Arya, and even Tyrion are meant to have stronger connections to magic than any other main characters.

Jumping back to Quaithe, removing her really shows how little they cared about George's plans for Dany's character. Her connection to the resurgence of magic is touched on in the show, but not to the same extent as it is in the books. Quaithe is constantly telling Dany to go to Assai, one of the magical centers of the world. Obviously there is something important in Asshai that has to do with magic and the dragons. But apparently, D&D decided to fuck around and drop that whole idea, leaving Dany with an easy and pretty boring storyline after Meereen.

Finally, the show removed most of the prophecies. I did cover this partially in the dreams section, but there's more to be said about erasing the prophecies. Mainly the Prince that was Promised/Azor Ahai prophecy. Obviously, in the show, it was decided that the prophecy should be completely thrown aside and Arya should kill the Night King and the War for the Dawn be over in a few hours. This is a gross mishandling of the themes, which makes sense given who the head writers were. Prophecies are a key part of ASOIAF, and the Prince that was Promised/Azor Ahai is definitely the most important. Targaryens throughout history made unwise decisions in the name of the prophecy: Viserys II forced Aegon IV and Naerys to marry, Jaegaerys II forced Aerys and Rhaella to marry, (according to HoTD) Viserys I killed Aemma for a son, and Aegon conquered Westeros. Clearly this is important, writing it out in the name of "subverting expectations" is the dumbest fucking idea ever, right after mad queen Dany.

D&D also wrote out many magical objects that clearly are meant to have importance to the story. The glass candles and the dragon binder are magical objects that will change the course of Dany's life as she knows it. Whether the dragon binder Victarion has will work or not is irrelevant, its very existence could drive Dany off course from Westeros to Asshai. Maester Marwyn is bringing a glass candles to Dany and Quaithe warned her that they are burning again. The magic the glass candles have would have a massive impact on how Dany will proceed. After all, they could allow her to communicate with people in Westeros or Asshai or enhance her dragon dreams. They will also put her in direct conflict with the Citadel, as the Maesters use the glass candles as examples for magic's nonexistence.

Magic is integral to the ASOIAF universe. Removing it makes the story so much more boring and damages or destroys character arcs. Daenerys suffered so much in the adaptation, and one of the greatest blows was the removal of magic in her story. It shows how lazy D&D were, since they couldn't be bothered to figure out the magic system of the world they are adapting. It removes the interesting ideas George came up with, making it into someone's historical fiction smut fic when mixed with the other ideas D&D put in.

[horizon-verizon]

https://www*tumblr*com/atopvisenyashill/755863047969636352/if-you-could-erase-one-popular-fanon?source=share

haaaaaaaate how often I see these takes. It's a complete reversal of the real problem. George created the key 5 to show westeros through the eyes of 5 people who are marginalized from it. Who are so often erased and DISMISSED by conventional narratives. THEY will be the drivers of any of the change the fandom CLAIMS to want to see at the end. And both the show and fandom chose to not only ignore it, but dismiss the importance of, recharacterize, and sometimes outright vilify the five in favor of the more conventional characters.

I agree. It's hella annoying, and it's funny, I just wrote about this HERE, but more abt "fitness" to rule.

It's so funny when people claim they wish to see some sort of change in these feudal systems but then reject or misunderstand this basic notion of marginilized people teaming up to destroy a ecological evil. Sure...

[writingwenches]

House Stone –The North; Stagos

The Newest House of the Seven Kingdoms, sworn as loyal vessels to House Stark, and named a noble house by King Viserys I Targaryen after their economic rise from the sale of ice.

Generations ago, a lost ship of Yi Ti traders washed upon the shores of the Northern island of Stagos, the legendary island home to unicorns. Winter fast approached, trapping the traders on the island for an entire five-year-long winter.

One person thought lost to the island was the precocious youngest Lady of House Umber, the House said to have giant's blood in their veins. Upon the next spring, Lord Umber was furious at his daughter's many children by the captain of the Yi Ti tradesmen. House Umber cast her out, and named all of her children bastards of Snow. Nearly 100 years later, the family has taken the name Stone, as tribute to their island home, and have begun a fierce, and profitable trade of ice from the frigid north.

The joined the cultures of Wildlings and ancient Yi Ti and came out stronger than before. They sing songs and shanties, sing from their throats, and have a strong bond with the earth and its magics.

Some nobles of Westeros are unpleased with their newly named brethren, thinking them still bastards and lowborns. While other houses seek new alliances with the newly rich house.

The people of House Stone are devoted to their traditions, but are aware of their outsider status. Most members of the house are prepared to be on their best behavior at court, to prove their worth to the other nobles...while some have other ideas completely.

inspired by Marco Polo (Netflix), general Mongolian culture, ice harvesting cultures, and wanting more Asian presence in asoiaf universe also, note these are some BIG boys lol

[sotwk]

💕Positivity prime time! Share five things you love about yourself, four things you're excited about, OR three people you care deeply about and why. Pass this along to someone whose posts make you smile💕

FOUR THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT:

1. HBO's Upcoming Adaptation of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms". This won't even be released until 2025, but "thick as a castle wall" Dunk is one of my favorite characters in the ASOIAF universe. I was shrieking with joy when they released a teaser a while back. So, so excited to simp over him!

2. Treat Yoself Day on October 13th. My husband and I are big Parks and Rec fans, so we started celebrating this annually after we got married. We go to specialty (aka overpriced) food stores to buy ourselves special treats. I like encouraging others (yes, that means you!) to celebrate this day as well!

3. Halloween. My two boys are dressing up as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee this year, and Trick or Treating with them is going to be beyond adorable.

4. Finishing (Hopefully???) Chapter 1 of my Eomer x OC Shieldmaiden fic (the sequel to "Taken"). I'm not even close to finished with this, but the point is, after being stalled for ages, it's moving again! At least that's something! Please send lots of positive vibes my way because I would REAAAAALLY like to FINALLY be able to give my wonderful readers something.

Thank you for the sweet Ask, Anon! <3 Way to spread the positivity and love! :)

[gayleonofcuy]

Writing Lessons from ASOIAF

The last night fell black and moonless, but for once the sky was clear. "I am going up the hill to look for Ghost," he told the Thenns at the cave mouth, and they grunted and let him pass.

So many stars, he thought as he trudged up the slope through pines and firs and ash. Maester Luwin had taught him his stars as a boy in Winterfell; he had learned the names of the twelve houses of heaven and the rulers of each; he could find the seven wanderers sacred to the Faith; he was old friends with the Ice Dragon, the Shadowcat, the Moonmaid, and the Sword of the Morning. All those he shared with Ygritte, but not some of the others. We look up at the same stars, and see such different things. The King's Crown was the Cradle, to hear her tell it; the Stallion was the Horned Lord; the red wanderer that septons preached was sacred to their Smith up here was called the Thief. And when the Thief was in the Moonmaid, that was a propitious time for a man to steal a woman, Ygritte insisted. "Like the night you stole me. The Thief was bright that night."

-Jon, ASoS

I have this passage marked as 'writing inspiration' and wanted to share why I like it, if (like me) you are an ASOIAF fan and struggling aspiring writer. GRRM does a few things in this passage that I think are helpful 'advice.'

Exposition: When people criticize bad books not set in our world (or even mediocre books that could be better), one of the most common complaints is clunky exposition or info dumping, especially in the first few chapters of the novel.

Here, GRRM is expositing in a way that adds depth and richness to Westerosi and Freefolk societies. Jon lists the stars by talking about his childhood (which we already care about) and compares and contrasts his names with the names by which Ygritte knows them. This is more retainable and interesting for readers than if he had simply looked up at the sky and listed them for us.

Importantly, we are three books into the series, but we are still learning about the world. Everything hasn't been told to us already.

Lesson: Find memorable ways to show your worldbuilding. And you don't need to show everything in the first few chapters.

Cultural similarities: By this point, we've learned that the Freefolk are descendants of the First Men who were kicked on the worse side of the wall. This is one way of reinforcing the point, by having them share names for 'universal' things like stars.

Cultural differences: The influence of the Andals' religion on the common tongue, even among the First Men, is obvious here with the star named the Smith. But the passage is also pointing out at least a couple of other differences between their geographies and cultures.

1. The Fauna of Beyond-the-Wall: At the beginning of ASOS, Chett's prologue notes

It was a rare thing to find even a dozen mounted wildlings, and five hundred...

One of the advantages that the Rangers have over the Freefolk is their properly armed and armored warriors, but it seems clear that horses is another. Jon mentions that most of the people in the column are traveling by foot.

And even more telling, only one in a hundred wildlings was mounted. The Old Bear will go through them like an axe through porridge.

Stallions, while important in both cultures, are perhaps less important to lay people beyond the wall. At the very least, they're not important or perhaps relevant enough to the common person to merit the name of a star. The King's Crown also falls in this category, obviously.

2. The importance of thieving in Freefolk culture: The harshness of the North, especially during winter, has been established many times. This is magnified north of the wall, which is colder and more brutal. Aside from climate, a big reason is because they lack regular commerce with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms due to the Wall. They can't exactly show up to the Vale to buy grain during hard times.

Thus the Freefolk have had to become necessary thieves, and thieving has in turn been raised to a point of respect or reverence, even extending to their courting or mating customs.

We don't know at this point, whether stealing women was part of First Men culture that the Northerners gradually discarded. But, I think we can say that part of the reason the Freefolk have elevated stealing to a virtue is because it's so necessary. Thieves are needed for luxuries, like silks, wine, spices and so on. But they're also crucial for survival, by taking weapons and perhaps food and goods that you can eat or trade for food during their harsh winters.

So the Thief is great name for a major star in their culture, in the way that Jupiter was in western European culture.

Movement: We learn later that Jon is (brooding) on a hill near the wall, a long ways away from The Fist of the First Men where we saw him last. The end of the passage also sets up Jon describing the beginning of his physical relationship with Ygritte, but he does this in post. There is no 'and the next day, and the next day' until we get to the meat (heh) which is the instinct of many newbie writers. We have arrived here without tedious descriptions of progress, while also covering a lot of physical, emotional and narrative ground.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

hello, I've sort of migrated here from Twitter. If you have the time I was wondering if the things I got from twitter/tiktok are correct.

In the books valyrian's are the only people in world who can bond with dragons?

In the books Targs are immune to heat/fire and sickness because their blood is magic?

Hightower's tower was made with dragon fire despite it predating Valyria?

There are other buildings around the world in asoiaf which also used dragon fire but also predate Valyria and their dragons?

Someone told me on tiktok that the OG asoiaf dragons went extinct and Valyrian magicians bred other magic creatures together until they got their version of dragons?

thank you for any help 🙏. I want to get around to reading the books but it's kinda daunting because there's so many of them and they're long and I'm a slow reader 😭

Hey, welcome to Tumblr! (Hope you survive the experience.) Sure, I can answer your questions (certainly better than tiktok and twitter lol sigh), but I do definitely recommend reading the books! Some people find it easier to go with audiobooks (I personally don't, since auditory processing isssues make me tune out in five seconds, same with podcasts, sigh), and that might be a big help for you? But anyway, answers below...

1. Yes... um... it's a question. It's stated that Valyrians are the only ones that can bond with dragons, and furthermore, only ones from the dragonriding families of Valyria. (This is part of the "Doctrine of Exceptionalism", which I'll describe later.) The "dragonseeds" who rode dragons during the Dance were supposedly bastards or descendants of bastards of Targaryens (I'll get to the details in a moment), and we have the example in the current books of Brown Ben Plumm, who Dany's dragons adore, and he is an extremely distant (by like 120 years) descendant of Elaena Targaryen and Aegon IV Targaryen.

However, the dragonseed and dragonrider Addam of Hull, per the histories a bastard of Laenor Velaryon (son of Rhaenys Targaryen), was almost certainly actually the bastard of Corlys Velaryon, and the Velaryons were not a dragonriding family. Though it's possible that one of the pre-Conquest Targaryen ladies married into House Velaryon, so it's not that exceptional. The greater problem is the dragonseed Nettles, of no known background, called out by the narrative as looking distinctly un-Valyrian (she's brown, and note the Velaryons are white in the books), who tamed her dragon by feeding it sheep until it started to like her. Many theorize that while Valyrian blood makes it easy to bond with dragons (due to likely blood magic/genetic bonding with dragons in ancient times, as they claim to be descended from dragons), it is still possible to create that bond the hard way, as the early Valyrians were once a mere tribe of shepherds who discovered dragons nesting in a local chain of volcanoes. The full answer is one of the greater mysteries of ASOIAF, and will hopefully be resolved in later books. (Along with whoever the riders of Dany's other two dragons will be.)

2. Per GRRM, Targaryens are not immune to fire, but they do have some heat resistance, and enjoy things like hot baths and hot weather. The only one actually immune to fire was Dany, and specifically only during the miracle of her dragons' birth. (During her taming of Drogon right before she rode him the first time, she received burns on her hands.) Many Targaryens have died or been injured by fire, including Viserys Targaryen (Dany's brother and his "golden crown"), Aerion Targaryen (he drank wildfire because he thought it would turn him into a dragon. It didn't), Rhaenys Targaryen the Queen Who Never Was, Daeron "the Daring" Targaryen, Aegon II Targaryen, and Rhaenyra Targaryen.

As for illness, the "Doctrine of Exceptionalism" was a religious precept that King Jaehaerys I worked out with the Faith of the Seven, to give the Targaryens an exception on the Faith's anti-incest stance. It stated that Targaryens were different, exceptional, special people, closer to gods than men, because of their unique silver-gold hair and purple eyes, because they alone rode dragons, and because they never got sick. "There was fire in the blood of the dragon, it was reasoned, a purifying fire that burned out all such plagues." However, only a few years after Jaehaerys made this agreement (and married his sister Alysanne), their 7-year-old daughter Daenerys died of the Shivers, a severe-flu-like epidemic. (This put great doubt in their heart, but did anyone do anything about it? lol no.) Their daughter Maegelle later died of greyscale, and their son Baelon died of appendicitis. Later Targaryens have died of other epidemics, of the pox, of tuberculosis, and other diseases.

However -- some Targaryens have shown surprising resistance to illness. Aegon III sat with many victims of the Winter Fever epidemic, and never showed any symptoms. Dany herself cannot recall ever getting sick. (She is not immune to being poisoned, though.) There may be something specifically connected to being a dragonrider (though Baelon was one), or more specifically being a potential Prince That Was Promised? Again, this is connected to the greater mysteries of ASOIAF, to be resolved later.

3 & 4. The base of the Hightower -- not the tower itself, but its first level -- is an ancient fortress made of fused black stone, which is similar to Valyrian construction made by melting stone with dragonfire (such as the castle of Dragonstone, the walls of Volantis, and the Valyrian roads). However, it predates the Valyrian empire by millennia, and is plain without decoration, unlike how the Valyrians would twist the melted stone into artistic forms. There are also other ancient structures in the world, the Five Forts on the eastern border of Yi Ti, that are also made of this fused black stone in this plain style. Some maesters also think the Hightower fortress's labyrinthine design is similar to the Mazes of Lorath, also ancient structures, made by a vanished giant not-quite-human species (called the Mazemakers) in pre-history. GRRM has said "there were dragons everywhere, once" (there are indeed records of dragons in Westeros before Valyria, and dragon bones found in far distant places in the world) and the truly ancient Asshai'i histories claim to have taught the Valyrians the secrets of dragons, so there's a theory that there was a dragonriding culture long before the Valyrians who left behind these fused black stone structures. (More on this in the next answer, and you can see an older theory post of mine on the subject here. Also note I am certain this culture was not the Great Empire of the Dawn, they're unrelated.) One more great mystery!

5. Yeeahh... this may be true. Or it might not be. Septon Barth (Jaehaerys's Hand of the King, and a great researcher into the origins of dragons, with theories that made maesters call him crazy and the Faith burn his books) apparently theorized in his Unnatural History that the Valyrian dragons may have been created via bloodmagic, possibly by breeding wyverns (flying reptiles that do not breathe fire), possibly with firewyrms (wingless/legless earth-boring creatures that do breathe fire). There's also (as I said above) Valyrian legends that claim they found dragons nesting in the Fourteen Flames, but ancient texts from Asshai claim that dragons first came from the Shadow (the mountains around Asshai), and an ancient nameless people brought them to Valyria and taught the Valyrians the magic needed to control them. And there's a myth from Qarth that there used to be another moon that cracked open like an egg and millions of dragons came out. We do not yet know the true answer.

GRRM recently said "Septon Barth got most of it right", but what is "most"? Was there an incredibly ancient vanished species of dragons that the original Valyrians re-created? Did these Valyrians somehow breed these new dragons with themselves to make them easier to control? What we do know is that occasionally Targaryens have had monstrous dragon-like stillbirths. We do know that very rarely a dragon egg has hatched a "broken thing" that dies quickly, or a monstrous wingless wyrm that attacks its cradlemate, with no known reason why. We know that in the ruins of Valyria since its Doom, there are apparently mutated creatures that can lay eggs containing "worms with faces" and "snakes with hands" in human flesh, a horrific experience witnessed by Septon Barth that sent him on his path. It's a great great mystery, and there will apparently be an answer one day.

BTW, many of these huge mysteries were introduced in The World of Ice & Fire, if you want to read just one book. However, TWOIAF is not a story like the actual books, it's a history/geography book, and if you want more than lore, if you want addictively enjoyable characters and amazing dialogue and a truly excellent story, again I highly recommend reading the main books. The lore and the mysteries are very interesting, sure, but they're not what's really kept me in this fandom for 13 years now, you know?