#to imagine the greatness they would have elevated house Targaryen to

[alisa-ioana]

My babys 🥹

I will always love the relationship between Aegon and Viserys, they were sharing everything from the moment Viserys was born 🥺 and when they were reunited they were close again 🥰 it really warms my heart that in a way they were the Aemon and Baelon of their generation.

From playing together, to having their lessons, to sharing a room and very much possible visiting Stormcloud tougher and planning on how Viserys was going to claim one of the big dragons just like their father did 🥲 and Daemon teaching them how to wield a sword, ride a horse and dragon, telling them stories, after all Daemon had waited all his life for a son and now he had two that were pretty much perfect in every way, any father would be proud of having them as his heirs ( of course Darksister was being prepared to be Aegon's and I wholeheartedly believe Daemon was making Viserys a valyrian steel sword so he could be a great warrior and make a great name for himself). Rhaenyra obviously loved her babies and cuddled them, taking them with her on Syrax, reading to them, and pampering them to no end and being very proud of her littlest boys.

I especially love how well they complimented themselves, Aegon the older brother tall robust incredibly beautiful with deep purple eyes and hair so light it was almost white. From what we can see he was very kind and compassionate but also had character...his council should say 😁, very headstrong too. And Viserys not as tall and robust or as beautiful as his brother but still incredibly beautiful (if the lyseni were impressed with him, one can just imagine how beautiful he was) (headcanon here but I like to think that while Aegon took after Rhaenyra in looks Viserys took after Daemon except his hair that was exacly the same as Rhaenyra's) and also smart as no one else in his family, he certainly was precocious as his mother but he also had a hint of mischief and sharpness that his father possessed 😍.

They somehow managed to get the very best traits of their parents without the negative ones, they were also fiercely protective of each other for sure and their family.

Something that has me thinking is that if they were in my (very correct mind you) opinion that perfect and proved to be good for the dynasty both as princes delighting everyone (obviously like their mother) with the endearing team of two they made and later on as kings and Viserys as hand most of his life providing the realm with heirs (not all of them good or worthy....but I'm not going to complain much) and as much stability as they could, how much better would they have been had they not been traumatised 🥹 imagine a proud Aegon being a dragonrider with his very loyal Stormcloud and a warrior welding blackfyre, also treating everyone with kindness but also with coldness if the situation requires it. And Viserys riding Vermithor (well he was compared to the old king in terms of becoming as good as him or even better, I really like the idea of him claiming this legendary dragon and of course proving that you don't need a cradle dragon to be a Targaryen as the conquerors that were the founders of the Targaryen dynasty and none had cradle dragons) and wielding darksister while also helping his brother and being his hand, they would have brought a new era of splendour and grandeur for their house and westeros.

Of course this new era would have been possible too because of the women they choose to spend their lives with, in Aegon's case obviously Daenara Velaryon the ray of sunshine that would have been a very incredible queen, really kind and famous amongst the small folk and the nobles. And for Viserys his sister Visenya would have been the best option, not only is it a great Targaryen match for a prince and princess of the blood but also I think that Viserys having a woman at his side that would love him and cherish him (also the added bonus of him not being married and having children by 13 ew). And Visenya would have claimed Silverwing and although she would capable of being delightful she would also match Viserys in mischief (and she would be practicing witchcraft because she thought it would be fun because of Queen Visenya's reputation and then she ended up liking it 😌).

Here I leave you a picture of how I imagine my two darling boys in their teenage years (the first one is Aegon and the second one is Viserys).

Needless to say that Daemon and Rhaenyra would have been incredibly proud of their boys both in the canon and in my headcanon of how they could've been had they not been traumatised. And who wouldn't be proud of them, and yes I know they may have some faults but honestly I don't really care, and even less after seeing the fandom ignore them or using them as a gotcha against the 🥦 🤷🏼‍♀️, so yes Rhaenyra loved them dearly because they were her sons and also the ones she had with the love of her life in the happiest time she had and Daemon well he always wanted a son and now he has two with the woman he loved and that finally could marry and they also exceed every expectation being better that anyone would imagine 🖤❤️.

Rhaenyra looking at her littlest boys like yeah I made them 😌🥰🩷

And Daemon like yeah my two perfect boys 😉😎❤️‍🔥

And lastly Visenya like yeah they are my big brothers 😍😚💖

End of rant💌

[agentrouka-blog]

In your opinion, what changes take place in the Meereen, Kings Landing and Dorne storylines should Doran Martell send Oberyn to the former and Quentyn to the capital, instead?

Hi anon!

Not THAT much, but everything would be both worse and less interesting.

Doran - inexplicably - sends his teenaged second son (not heir) - to both serve on the king’s small council and represent Dorne and to pursue the empty promise of justice for Elia Martell, an aunt he likely never met and certainly doesn’t remember. 

Quentyn - I love him - is not exactly a powerhouse of personal charisma and political acumen. He’s a socially awkward teenager, insecure in his positiong within the family because he grew up isolated from them, and prone to trying to fit reality into a pre-conceived model. It’s worse than if Ned had sent baby Sansa in his place to be Hand of the King. Please. He would achieve nothing and hand them a hostage for free. A hostage who isn’t particularly well regarded by the conspirational forces in Dorne seeking to destabilize the relationship with KL by working a coup around Myrcella to provoke war and elevate Arianne to the rulership. RIP Quentyn and hello armed conflict and dead children.

Meanwhile Gregor Clegane would never be made to confess to Elia’s murder, publicly besmirching the Lannister reputation, nor would he die from the after effects of a trial by combat, while Tyrion would likely be smuggled out of the Red Keep pre-trial, no longer guilty before the law but a fugitive nonetheless. 

Meanwhile Doran sends his own flamboyant provocateur brother to Dany - one who may have the flair to attract her attention but neither any interest in marrying her nor a great penchant for holding back on biting criticism. Oberyn may respect a young girl in a leadership position, he may be impressed by the dragons, he may even admire her decision to stick it out in Meereen. But he’s not generally one to talk around glaring hypocrisies, and unlike Dany, he’s probably well versed in the history of House Targaryen and its Valyrian slaver roots. That’s who queen Nymeria sought so escape, after all. If Dany refuses to aid Dorne, it may well be they part on bad terms because he voices some uncomfortable truths. On the upside, I can’t imagine Oberyn messing with dragons the way Quentyn did. When he faced the Mountain, he did it with the intention of ending him at any cost. I don’t see him as a reckless risk taker blinded by a fatal sense of duty. But what would he return home to? There is no way no one would notice Oberyn Martell travelling to Slaver’s Bay. Right when the news of Dany’s dragons is making landfall in Westeros. Is that the scent of treason wafting up from Dorne toward Cersei on the Iron Throne? Once again, RIP Quentyn and hello armed conflict and dead children.

This is one of those “What if” questions that doesn’t really make much sense to me. There’s no logical basis for such a switch. 

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Why Jon Snow’s Climax Shouldn’t Involve a Battle

How should Jon Snow’s story end? What are we supposed to think about his character this season? Does he deserve to end up on the Throne, perhaps married to Sansa Stark?

To understand my view on Jon’s story and why I don’t hold anything against him so far in Season 8...I think we need to go back to the root of his story. 

Generally speaking, it helps me to analyze a character by asking myself “what’s the ONE THING they want more than anything else?” I’ve come to one big over-arching conclusion: Jon Snow just wants to be loved and “belong” in the context of a family.

That might seem simple but it’s so deeply relatable and complex that I can’t help but feel like it’s been layered many times over within his story.

I’ve written before how Jon Snow shares a ton of similarities to Superman/Clark Kent. A hidden prince from a lost civilization. Raised as a son by a morally upstanding man (the Catelyn issues are a twist on Jon’s upbringing). Confronted by the “last of his kind” and forced to choose between the world he grew up in or the world where he biologically came from. Both Superman and Jon deeply desire to “belong” and it’s something that works in any literary tale.

Superman has every power you can imagine but the second a person feels alone and isolated, they become instantly relatable and sympathetic. 

In a lot of ways, Jon Snow is the same way. He left Winterfell because he just never truly felt he “belonged” though he ached to every day. He joined a sacred order who, no matter their pasts, become his new “family”. Certainly appealing to someone like Jon. He wants to be a Stark, but that seems impossible. So he will remove himself from that environment. 

His most meaningful relationships are formed upon the realization that these different people he meets at the Wall really CAN be like family to him. Sam, Grenn, Pyp, Edd, etc. They all hold a special place in his heart. And yet...Winterfell still calls to him. 

He nearly abandons the Watch on more than one occasion when he gets word of the goings on in the south. And yet he works. And works. And he makes friends of wildlings. He betrays them. He fights them. He makes friends of them again after his brothers elevate him to command.

Then his brothers kill him.

And it’s such a big moment. Jon has only ever wanted to belong to a family. To have true “brothers” and to be accepted. He thought he had that in the Watch. He treated them as a real family. As if he could trust that, even if they disagree, they’re all in it together. 

The place Jon forced himself to go because he never felt he could belong in Winterfell has now rejected him. We saw how rejected he felt. It was about more than being betrayed, it was that he was betrayed by the people he viewed as his FAMILY.

Jon was fully ready to give up. There was seemingly no place for him. Then Sansa road through the gates at Castle Black and put Jon, as Kit Harington puts it, back into a state of action. She reignites him. And he feels that maybe, just maybe, his place is to safeguard Sansa. Maybe he’ll feel he CAN belong, given that purpose. 

They go on to win back Winterfell, together. And yet Jon is thrust into the position as the figurehead of the North when he’s named king. So Jon is meant to rule the place in which he left in the first place because he never really felt like he belonged. Being king doesn’t feel earned to Jon. It’s easy to read in his demeanor. He is good at ruling. He likes helping people. 

But there’s always this same cloud hanging over his reign. 

Worse, in Jon’s mind, is that everyone trusts him for a job that he doesn’t feel he deserves and he doesn’t feel like he’s particularly skilled in performing. He has the trust of all these lords and ladies. He has Sansa’s trust even though he has lingering guilt over the fallout after BotB. And the worst thing imaginable happens; he makes the decision to leave again, this time to try to save the North - and he feels he must betray their trust by surrendering his crown to Daenerys Targaryen.

Jon’s NEVER felt like be belonged in WF. He’s never felt like he deserved to be king. He feels he betrayed their trust. He knows why he did what he did, but it still cuts him every single time he’s reminded of what he did. 

And then Jon is hit with the single hardest thing he’s ever had to deal with: he learns the very essence of his being has always fundamentally been a lie. The one thing Jon has ever held onto about himself..the one thing that ever made him see SOME value in himself was the belief that his father was Eddard Stark. 

Now, that’s gone. Jon, who’s NEVER felt value in himself, who’s NEVER felt like he belonged even as Ned’s son, is plunged into a brand new pit of self-doubt and sense of longing. As Ned’s son? Sure, he could serve some type of role in Winterfell and feel good about it. He could protect Sansa, and then later Bran and Arya. He was forced into a situation where he feels he betrayed them. And now his own identity feels like a betrayal. 

Jon Snow in Episode 4 is in the darkest, deepest state that we’ve ever seen him. He doesn’t feel like he deserves to stay in Winterfell. He doesn’t feel he even deserves to have Ghost. Afterall, the dire wolves were for Ned’s children. Ghost’s physical appearance in Episode 4 is Jon’s inward appearance. He’s mangled. Beaten. Mostly destroyed. 

This is why his status as the “heir” isn’t really changing his course. He has fear of Daenerys and what she might do to his family and that has prevented him from processing one of the most traumatic things an individual can possibly be forced to suffer. 

On top of that, the only way his new “family” will accept him is by REJECTING THAT HE IS A MEMBER OF HER FAMILY. It’s perhaps the most psychologically damaging thing I can imagine. Jon feels lost that he’s not who he thought he was...and the only way he can continue to exist is to lie to himself and the world and pretend it’s still the truth and it’s all because the person who represents his new family is actively preventing him from belonging.

So Jon is aloof. He’s emotionally volatile. He’s clearly depressed. He’s anxious about anyone contesting Daenerys even though he now knows she’s rejecting his Truth. Jon’s given up on belonging. 

It might not be well-liked by some in the fandom...but...

Jon needs rescued

He’s in physical danger, of course. But he’s faced that a million times over. That’s not what is crushing Jon’s spirit. It’s his own self-hatred. 

Depression is beating Jon Snow in Season 8.

This is a fairly profound arc, IMO. It’s subverting expectations, too. Because Jon’s issues aren’t so different from the Hound’s. He’s not that different from Jaime. But Jon’s identity crisis is different because he always WANTED to belong to House Stark contra Jaime or the Hound. Either would likely be relieved to learn they aren’t trueborn sons of their houses. 

Jon is devastated, though. His entire essence was ripped away and now the family he learned he COULD belong to has rejected the very idea that he can ever publicly be acknowledged as a member. 

He’s in a clear spiral. He’s distancing from Sansa and Arya because he feels like he could never deserve the trust they’ve already given him. Their love and support aren’t being accepted - but it’s not because he doesn’t want it, it’s because he hates himself. How could he feel differently? Given his story. There’s a self-hate that CAN’T be resolved (in his mind). He sees no escape. He’s dutiful. He wants to protect the people he loves. And Jon DOES love. But he feels so unworthy of it that he thinks the only option is to disappear and be forgotten by them. 

So why should his climax not involve batte?

Because, in his heart, Jon Snow isn’t just about fighting. He doesn’t enjoy it. He doesn’t want it. Jon wants peace. Jon wants to be loved. Jon wants to feel like belongs. Jon wants to be HOME.

The fact that he still wants what he wanted at the start but he’s constantly sacrificed his own wants for the good of the people he loves makes me confident that the only suitable climax for Jon is a confirmation and realization that he is loved and he belongs. And he needs that as a part of accepting who he really is. Dany can NEVER provide him what he NEEDS because she wants to force him to hide it. The ONLY scenario I see that can fit Jon Snow’s character is being “saved” by Sansa Stark.

And no, I don’t think this has anything to do with the trope of “woman saves man” shit where he’s otherwise destructive and unkind. Jon deserves the love that Sansa would give him. He deserves the home that they could build. He deserves to have the truth of his origins accepted. He deserves to be a Stark, but not based on a lie. He doesn’t see any of this, though. And that’s the great sorrow of his portrayal thus far. I think it’s incredibly accurate and moving, but Jon Snow doesn’t see his own value. He knows Sansa and Arya and Bran and his friends care for him - but he can’t see himself being worthy of it. 

That’s why Sansa working so hard to validate Jon. To crown him. To make him a Stark...it will mean EVERYTHING to Jon. He’s already given more than any reasonable person could be asked to give. He’s accepted that he must, for the protection of his family, go south and just try to keep people alive. He’s given up what he wants. His whole arc since he left for Dragonstone last season has led to him giving up on happiness. Nothing makes this more obvious than the moment Sam and Gilly tell him that they plan to name their baby “Jon” if he’s a boy and all Jon can say in return is that he hopes they have a girl. He can’t imagine a worse fate for their child than to be like him. 

Jon needs saved. Not from physical danger. He needs saved from his demons. He needs home. He needs love. He needs a family. He needs to belong. And most of all, he needs to know that he deserves all of it. 

Jon IS emotionally stunted right now. He IS emotionally closed off. But I’m starting to see that it’s not just poor writing. It’s a function of his state of mind more than anything. His attempted goodbyes tell me as much. Given the chance for positive emotional interactions, Jon chose self-hate. And it made me ache inside.

At the root of it, this is why I can’t see any other end for his character. I truly see Jon’s emotional catharsis as a climactic moment for the series. Much like Frodo turning and smiling to his friends as he prepares to leave Middle Earth was the *actual* climax of the LOTR movies. But here, it’s not Jon finding relief in LEAVING but in STAYING. 

As a Stark. With love, and children, and a home. Even if that home doesn’t end up being Winterfell. And I really truly believe that all of the choices Jon has made this season - including all the things we’d WISH he could say but hasn’t - will culminate in Sansa proving to Jon that he is the man that she knows he is. 

Jon needs his pack.

[sapphires-and-gold-fics]

Fictober Day 29: “I’m doing this for you.”

Fandom: Game of Thrones / ASOIAF / Jane Austen

Characters: Too many to name, but Jaime Lannister / Brienne of Tarth

Notes: This is the 5th installment of my Sense & Sensibility adaptation! This is the final installment of it for Fictober/Put Me Back Together, and coincides with the end of Volume 1 of Jane Austen’s novel. The story will be posted independently on AO3 soon, and will continue from there - but please be aware that it’s not my only WIP and it may take some time before we get to the end. I hope y’all continue to enjoy the ride as much as I’m enjoying writing it!

Other notes: This chapter introduces the Lucy Steele problem character. I was really nervous about doing it this was buttttttttt I think it works so I’m running with it. I hope you don’t hate it. 

Missed the earlier chapters? Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Read Part 5 below or on AO3

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Not many days after Jaime left, the Tullys arrived on the cottage doorstep with four strangers. Brienne was alone in the house at the time, and it disrupted her solitude but they were not completely unwelcome.

Ser Brynden introduced his daughter Lysa, Lord Edmure’s sister. A pale, stark woman with a severe nose, Lysa was strangely effusive; she is her father’s daughter in looks and, like him, hers bely her personality. She had arrived the evening before at Riverrun Park with her husband Lord John Arryn, passing through on the way home to Aerie Lodge in the Vale. They had, for the last few days, been in King’s Landing - Lord Jon seeing to matters of business, and Lady Lysa seeing to a doctor who would care for her in her confinement come spring.

At the mention of this, Ser Brynden had remarked that Lysa should perhaps have made the doctor come to her and saved herself a tiring journey, but Lysa had no interest in being parted from her husband - where he went, so did she.

Lord Jon, for his part, said little and even less in between, but he shook Brienne’s hand and commented on the attractiveness of the cottage’s front parlor.

The third person with them is introduced as Lord Arryn’s cousin Mrs. Blackwood, a very pretty widow of thirty who lived in the Arryn home following the death of her husband some four or five years before, and with her is her young daughter who is tall for her age, at only seven - half that of Arya.

When Mrs. Stark and her daughters returned to the house, they were welcomed with a parlor full of new friends, and little Dinah took to Arya immediately. Only Catelyn took at all to Lady Lysa, who was ready to pass on her father’s gossip about Ramsay Snow’s attentions to Sansa and congratulations for an engagement that had not materialized. It was not on this that she and Mrs. Stark found common ground, but on Lady Lysa’s upcoming joy. For her part, she was certain it was to be a boy; Catelyn had no experience in raising boys, but her advice was welcomed readily.

Sansa was ill-disposed from the state of her spirits to be pleased with any of these guests, but perhaps especially Eliza Blackwood and her daughter. To the invariable coldness of her behavior, Brienne principally attributed that preference of herself and, for the young girl, Arya, which quickly became evident.

And so it was that as Brienne’s solitude faded, Sansa’s was again elevated and made more prominent by the multitude of invitations to the Park which came to them daily for the next several days, most of which Sansa declined in favor of practicing her instrument alone in the empty cottage. Only on the first day did Sansa join them at the Park and, afterward, Brienne chided her sister for her silence in company, to which Sansa had upbraided her soundly once they were home. “I’m doing this for you,” she had said, “you have been so melancholy since Jaime left, that I thought having family with you would be kinder than leaving you to strangers, but perhaps I was wrong about that.”

Sansa declined to attend dinner with the guests for the remainder of their stay.

***

“You will think my question an odd one, I dare say,” said Eliza on the fourth day of their residence, as they were walking together from the Park to the cottage with the younger girls playing ahead of them. “Do you know much of your mother? I believe Ser Brynden mentioned that she was from Tarth.”

“No,” returned Brienne, curious, “I know very little of her. Only that she was from Tarth, as you say, from a small family. My father told me that I resembled her a great deal, both in person and in temperament.”

“I am sure you think me strange for enquiring about her in such a way,” said Eliza, eyeing Brienne attentively, “but I had wondered if we might be related in some fashion. I hope you will do me the justice of believing that I do not meant to be impertinent or cause you discomfort.”

“Truly, I have no idea of any familial connection with Blackwoods or Arryns. Perhaps you should apply to your cousin - maybe he has histories that would better inform you. I wonder at your not apply to him first, as I am quite without any record from my mother’s life.”

“I think you should wonder… if I dared tell you all, Miss Stark, you would not be so much surprised.”

“What do you mean?” asked Brienne, pausing in the path.

“As we could indeed be family… Miss Stark… Brienne. I wonder… I should wish to share something with you. I would not trouble your sisters or your cousins with this - it is a great secret which I wish kept among those whom I trust the most, and I understand you to be most honorable and trustworthy.”

“I know not by what device you have determined that aspect of my person, but I swear that whatever you wish to tell me - I may be depended upon to keep sacred.”

“Yes, I believe you can.” Eliza continued walking. “Brienne, you may well be surprised, for to be sure you could have no idea of it before… of our acquaintance here, only Lord Arryn and his wife know this, though Lysa does not know all.”

“I begin to think that may be for the best, Mrs. Blackwood,” said Brienne delicately.

Eliza smiled wryly and continued. “Blackwood… was my grandmother’s maiden name. She hailed from the Stormlands, near Tarth, and as such - yes - perhaps I do have distant family relations I know naught of, but you are more likely to be one than is Lord Arryn.”

Brienne frowned. “I do not understand you. Lord Arryn--”

“--is not my cousin, Miss Stark. My late husband, Dinah’s father, was a cruel man, Brienne. What marks I do not bear on my person still scar my mind. After my daughter was born, he turned especially wicked. He had wanted a son, and I had denied him that. For three years then, I lived - we both did - in torment. He was a judge, Miss Stark, and the magistrates were in his pocket - there was almost no one I could turn to. I thought to run away, but if I took his only child with me, no doubt he would find me again and send me to an institution, or worse.”

“Gods… Eliza--”

“--when I was very young, my mother called me Ella. Eliza wasn’t a far jump. Brienne, my real name is Rhaella. Dinah’s given name is actually Daena. Lord Arryn though it best to keep hers similar as she was so young when we left.”

“Are you-- El--I’m sorry, I don’t know--”

“--Eliza, please. For the others--”

“Of course. Eliza,” Brienne said carefully, “are you... in hiding from your husband?”

“Not him. He no longer lives. We sought shelter from his family. The Targaryens are powerful, and I’m afraid not an empathetic people.”

“Targaryen… My father received a letter some three or four years ago from his barrister, advising him that a judge they knew had been killed in a duel - was that…?”

Eliza walked a few steps before answering, looking ahead at the girls playing. “Officially? Yes. Society respects that kind of death. It’s acceptable, even.”

“And… unofficially?”

“A friend stepped in. Someone who was astounded by the conditions we were living in and alarmed by the injury that my husband had caused. It had been his idea to run away, but I had told him no because I feared Aerys’ wrath. But then my husband started hurting Daena, and our friend could not bear it. It was he who challenged my husband. That was his mistake. In being the one challenged, Aerys was given the choosing of the weapon. Aerys always chose pistols.” Eliza’s voice faded as she collected herself. Brienne patiently walked beside her, moving a little closer to give the other woman some comfort. “He liked the way they sparked when they were fired. But his challenger - our friend - he’s better with a sword. I knew that Aerys might kill him, and then he’d likely hurt us again. Brienne… if I dare tell…”

Brienne stopped and took Eliza’s hands in hers. “Please do not fear. Your secrets you wish to tell, they are safe with me, Eliza.”

She was given a small smile in return. “They are not only mine to tell, Miss Stark. But I think he would - I know that he would take comfort in your confidence, that he does already.”

Brienne wracked her mind to imagine whom Eliza could be speaking of. “Who is he, Eliza - your friend - do you mean that I am acquainted with him?”

“Brienne, have you never observed the scarring on Mr. Lannister’s right hand?”

Lannister? Jaime Lannister was not so impulsive or actionable. Could she mean Lord Tywin? She knew that he had very specific ways, and it would not be absurd to think that he might have involved himself in this, but to have thought of Eliza’s well-being seemed strange - he did not seem the type of man to care about anyone outside of his family. Brienne’s eyebrows knit together. “I’m afraid I’m not acquainted with Lord Lannister. We have never met.”

“Oh, Lord Lannister got away from the incident unharmed. But I am speaking of our friend , Brienne. I speak of Mr. Jaime Lannister.”

What felt Brienne at that moment? Astonishment, that would have been as painful as it was strong, had not an immediate disbelief of the assertion attended it. She turned toward Eliza in amazement, unable to divine the reasoning of such a declaration, and though her complexion began to warm, she stood firm in incredulity and felt no danger an hysterical fit. “We cannot mean the same Jaime Lannister.”

“We can mean no other, Miss Stark. Mr. Jaime Lannister, the second son of Lord Tywin Lannister in Rains Court, and brother to Mrs. Robert Baratheon, is the person I mean; you must allow that I am not likely to be deceived as to the name of a man on whom our happiness has depended.”

Brienne felt her steps speeding, as if her legs meant to carry her away from knowledge of Jaime’s past, or perhaps present. “How… how came you to be acquainted with Mr. Lannister?” She slowed herself as best she could to allow Eliza to keep up with her.

“Lord Tywin Lannister was a barrister at one time - that is how he made his fortune - and he was an old acquaintance of my husband’s. The families were somewhat close once, but had grown apart prior to my marriage. The relationship between Aerys and Lord Tywin improved again after we’d been married about a year. Jaime and I were often at the same dinners and parties. He is godfather to my daughter.”

“It is strange,” replied Brienne in a most painful perplexity, “that I should never have heard him speak of you.” Something akin to jealousy seemed to be brewing in Brienne’s chest.

“Not so, considering our situation, and our continued need for concealment.”

“You said scars on his hand? I had not observed--”

“When next you see him, Miss Stark, find occasion to regard the center of his left hand. It is well healed, but the inconsistencies are obvious under examination. I owe much to Jaime Lannister, and he’s very fortunate that those scars are the only physical injury he sustained due to my foolishness.”

“But it is not foolish to be a victim of cruelty, Eliza.”

“I speak of my foolish actions. If anyone knew the truth--”

“Pray, Eliza, what do you mean I have heard so many truths just now.”

The other woman paused, as if estimating Brienne’s ability to endure what came next. “I do not think Mr. Lannister can be displeased when he knows I have trusted you, because I know he has the highest opinion in the world of you, Brienne, and he looks on the Miss Starks as superior sisters to his own. He trusts you above all others.”

Brienne swallowed hard. “I cannot vouch for his certainties - I am not personally acquainted with them.”

“Aren’t you?”

Brienne didn’t know what to make of that look in her companion’s eyes.

“The morning of the challenge, I was there before the men arrived. Aerys chose pistols as I knew he would, and I knew that Jaime would not succeed against him. I hid myself behind a tree, near where Aerys would be. He and Mr. Lannister met, and then counted out their paces, and then Aerys - he cheated, Brienne. He turned before the count was up.”

Brienne froze. “And Jai--”

“--Brienne, I jumped then from behind the tree with Aerys’ own sword in my hand and I drove it as hard as I could through his back.”

“But you said--”

“--a gun went off - I didn’t know whose until Jaime came racing across the field and moved me away from the body - Aerys had gotten off a shot as he faltered, and it had gone clean through Jaime’s hand.”

Eliza was not only a someone whose history inspired empathy, but she was a savior of sorts as well - even if it had come at the cost of murdering a man who would have easily murdered others. How was one to compete with so many pitiable circumstances? “If what you say is true, then what of the others?” Brienne whispered. “There were witnesses?”

Eliza nodded, “Lord Arryn was there as Jaime’s second. And Lord Tywin was there as my husband’s.”

Brienne felt herself go cold, and gasped. “Lord Tywin would have stood against his own son?”

“If you knew Lord Tywin you might understand. He said he would have only stood if Lord Arryn had taken Jaime’s place, but...”

“Gods be good.” Brienne had known that Lord Lannister was a demanding sort of man, but this was beyond imagination.

“It was Jaime’s idea to take the credit for my husband’s death. Lord Arryn agreed to take Dae-- Dinah and I away, and Lord Tywin - he did what he could, using his influence to keep details out of the newspapers.”

“Is that why we’d never heard anything of it?”

Eliza nodded. “Lord Lannister managed to keep the more widely circulated papers from carrying it. But in King’s Landing it is well-known and still spoken of that Jaime Lannister killed Aerys Targaryen.”

Brienne felt her stomach turn, then looked to Eliza whose face was pale. “Mrs. Blackwood, I can’t imagine how hard it must be having done what you did - what you had to for your daughter.” And if she hadn’t, Brienne thought, she might never have met Jaime.

“I have made my peace with it, Miss Stark. I know what lives were saved by it. But Mr. Lannister... he’s had to live with having to take the credit for it for the last four years. It takes a toll. He was so miserable when he left the Aerie last month, to go to you, that I thought you might think him ill.

“He was in particularly low spirit, we thought, when he first arrived.” So perhaps it was not only the company that had caused his malaise.

“And he is still now - he wrote me from Winterfell - his letters are always somewhat poor, but this one was low as well. I think his sister and father continue to try and push him to embrace the lie, but he hates that part of his life. He hates noteriety.” Eliza held it out for Brienne to see, and she could tell that it was indeed Jaime’s hesitating scratchy penmanship. And she certainly concurred on her last point - Jaime had said as much himself.

But to what lengths might he go to ensure his privacy now that Eliza might tell him that the history of his secrets had been extended to her? Would he stay away? Would he wish to see the Starks again at all? It was too much to comprehend.

And then there was the matter of his correspondence with Mrs. Blackwood, of which Brienne had certain proof in front of her. It pointed to more familiarity between Jaime and the widow than Brienne had been willing to welcome knowledge of. Her heart sank within her, and she felt she could hardly stand; but exertion was indispensably necessary, and she struggled so resolutely against the oppression of her feelings, that her success was speedy and the for the time, complete.

“Writing to each other,” said Eliza, unaware of Brienne’s turmoil, “is the only comfort we both have in our shared secrecy - that, and my daughter. But Jaime doesn’t get to see his godchild often now. I, at least, have that . I gave him a lock of her hair set in a ring when he was at the Aerie last in order to remind him of the blessings that his actions have wrought, and he said that it gave him more comfort than anything in the world - perhaps you saw it when he came here?”

“I did,” said Brienne, with composure of voice under which she concealed an emotion and distress beyond anything she had felt before - distress for Jaime’s privacy, for Rhaella and Daena’s enforced secrecy, and for herself - mortified and shocked at her foolishness.

Fortunately for her, they had now reached the cottage and caught up to Arya and the younger girl with the pale yellow hair - far paler than Cersei's, as Sansa had correctly observed to Jaime. Eliza went to attend to her daughter, and Brienne was then at liberty to think and be wretched.

[joannalannister]

Lady Joanna, may I please ask if you have any thoughts on Loren the Last and any other past Monarchs of the Westerlands? (I ask this having already commissioned and posted an illustration of King Loren on deviantArt, but genuinely wondered if you had ideas for any of his predecessors and thought one might as well include the first "modern" Lord of the Rock).

OooOOoooo omg this is you? I saw it this morning on DA, It’s gorgeous! Do you plan to post it on tumblr? I would love to reblog it from you, along with the other ones!

My main interest in the Lannister kings is that GRRM uses them to continue to explore themes present in the main series. For example, the relationship between the body and the self (or identity), and #body as battleground, is something that goes all the way back to Lann the Clever, who supposedly “sired a hundred bold sons and a hundred lissome daughters, all fair of face, clean of limb, and blessed with hair ‘as golden as the sun.’” 

GRRM/Yandel establishes ~The Lannister Identity~ as people who are beautiful, able-bodied (“clean of limb”), and golden-haired … people who are gender-conforming ie men who are “bold” and Masculine to the point of Toxicity, and women who are thin and gentle and graceful (“lissome”) … 

When the text says this, we’re supposed to say, “Wait. That’s bullshit.” (So much of Yandel’s writing is Bullshit.) Because characters like Genna immediately spring to mind. Genna who is fat and so much bolder than her timid husband. Genna “Get the Trebuchet” Lannister who is anything but gentle. Or Tyrion, who is disabled and who has white hair instead of gold and who in his own words would rather die in bed than in battle. (This is why Tyrion is Not A Targaryen; Tyrion is the linchpin of GRRM’s deconstruction of ~The Lannister Identity~.) 

And so, continuing this deconstruction in TWOIAF, just a few paragraphs after the “bold sons” passage, we get Loreon V, who “was dubbed Queen Lorea, for he was fond of dressing in his wife’s clothing and wandering the docks of Lannisport in the guise of a common prostitute.” I don’t know if Loreon would have considered themself trans or genderfluid or what, but Loreon undercuts the Bold, Masculine image that House Lannister would like to present to the world. And the fact that Loreon would rather be perceived as a common prostitute than a king … that’s a profound rejection of Lannister classism and elitism imo. I love how GRRM builds House Lannister up so that he can tear down its most vile aspects. 

The other ASOIAF theme that crops up here that I’m interested in is the duality of man. It’s not something readily apparent in the individual Lannister kings mentioned in TWOIAF, because we usually only get a sentence or two describing them, but it’s the way that GRRM writes it. In one sentence, Yandel praises the Lannister kings for their wisdom and their valor, only to follow it with this sentence: “Yet Casterly Rock also housed many a weak, cruel, and feeble king.” 

And my favorite example of this in TWOIAF is Tyrion II versus Tyrion III. Tyrion II was known as the Tormentor who delighted in making women bleed, while Tyrion III was a great conciliator, bringing the Andals and the First Men of the Westerlands together through marriages. We know from GRRM that Tywin named Tyrion, and I feel 100% certain that Tywin named Tyrion for Tyrion II the Tormentor, but I like to think GRRM named Tyrion for both. Or rather, GRRM created both of these Tyrions for the World Book, so that Tyrion Son of Tywin could be named for both of them to fill in that backstory. Tyrion has done some horrible things, but I believe he’s also capable of doing great things. (Such great things.) 

The heroes will always be remembered. The best.““The best and the worst. […] And a few who were a bit of both. 

And so we come to Loren the Last. 

Do you know who I think of when I think of Loren? I think of Lancel, Kevan’s son. 

When Tyrion was recounting the tale of the Field of Fire in AGOT, he says, “King Loren had escaped, and lived long enough to surrender, pledge his fealty to the Targaryens, and beget a son, for which Tyrion was duly grateful.” 

Now – this is just my impression!! maybe I’m wrong!! – my impression here has always been that Loren was a young man when he set foot on the Field of Fire – young enough that he hadn’t yet fathered any sons before his surrender. 

So imagine, if you will, a young Loren, not long a king, “cursed with all the certainty of youth, unleavened by any trace of humor or self-doubt, and wed to the arrogance that came so naturally to those born blond and strong and handsome. His recent elevation [to the throne of the Rock] had only made him worse.” 

The Gardener king needed the Lannister armies more than the Lannister armies needed him imo. Highgarden would have fallen easily to the dragons, but Casterly Rock? Never. So what madness possessed King Loren to leave the safety of the Rock and voluntarily meet the Targaryens and their dragons in the field? I believe Loren was “too young, too bold, too eager for glory” (like a lot of other Lannister boys). 

Loren must have thought he couldn’t lose. And for a few golden moments, it was high summer for House Lannister.

The hosts met on the broad plains of the Reach, amidst golden fields of wheat ripe for harvest. When the Two Kings charged, the Targaryen army shivered and shattered and began to run. For a few moments, the chroniclers wrote, the conquest was at an end … but only for those few moments, before Aegon Targaryen and his sisters joined the battle.

But it is high summer for House Lannister. So why am I so bloody cold?      –Tyrion, ASOS

(There are so many parallels between ASOIAF history and the main sequence of events, I love it. Whether it’s the Conquest or the War of the Five Kings or the War for the Dawn, the Lannisters can’t stand against the fire, and they shouldn’t try.) 

Oh, how he must have regretted his folly. 

Loren Lannister […] knelt as a king and rose as a lord.

The sense of loss here – of failure – to have a major part of your identity stripped from you and to be branded with that shameful sobriquet, “the Last,” a title that calls to mind Jon Connington’s words to Tyrion as “the last and least of our company”.

This newly minted king, who reigned so briefly, only to lose everything because of his pride. 

Imagine walking off that field, the sickly sweet smell of charred flesh all around you. 

Imagine the horror of it:

Ravens soared through a grey sky on wide black wings, while carrion crows rose from their feasts in furious clouds wherever he set his steps. […] From the pyres of the dead rose black columns of smoke and white-hot ashes. My work, thought […] Lannister. They died at my command. […]

So many dead, so very many. Their corpses hung limply, […] unrecognizable, hardly human. Why did I kill them all? He had known once, but somehow he had forgotten.

What madness possessed Loren to leave the safety of the Rock and meet the dragons in the field? “He had known once, but somehow he had forgotten.”

Perhaps Loren stepped onto the Field of Fire as a young man, but I believe he left it an old one. 

“Near four thousand men had burned that day, among them King Mern of the Reach.” 

Imagine turning your horse for home with that many ghosts. 

Imagine Loren’s once-mighty army, now greatly diminished, marching back up the Ocean Road. In every village, every town, every holdfast they pass by … imagine the accusing eyes of all the women of the west, the highborn and the low, the widows and orphans and now-childless mothers. 

Imagine how many of Loren’s friends died on the Field of Fire. The male half of Loren’s court must have been decimated, and the female half might have taught Barbrey Dustin a thing or two about hate. 

And after the dust settles…

How crushing must it have been to be the last and least of thousands of years of Lannister kings?  The last and least of such a proud lineage? 

Imagine walking through Casterly Rock, the seat of Lannister kings, the Rock itself like a throne at the edge of the Sunset Sea. And in every hall, every gallery remain the trappings of a lost monarchy, a constant reminder, as if Loren could ever forget. 

“Loren […] lived long enough to […] beget a son”

Again, this is just my headcanon, but I imagine Loren died young, with only the one son to his name. 

(We don’t know Torrhen Stark’s age AFAIK, but in contrast to young King Loren, I imagine Torrhen was an older man. He was certainly a wiser one.) 

idk, Loren hits all of my Lannister feelings. The Romanticism-capital-R, the tragedy, the hubris, the trainwreck of it all. 

And this is, like, probably totally irrelevant to everyone but me, but this:

Loren Lannister […] knelt 

makes me also think of this: 

Yet Grand Maester Pycelle tells us that when Aerys II announced Ser Jaime’s appointment from the Iron Throne, his lordship went to one knee and thanked the king for the great honor shown to his house. Then, pleading illness, Lord Tywin asked the king’s leave to retire as Hand.

The loss, the tragedy, the failure to protect the people we love … it kills me every time. Every time. 

(I paralleled Tywin and Loren in my fanfic, they give me Emotions.) 

Also Loren and I share the same name, his is just the male spelling :) Since you asked for my thoughts and that is definitely something I think about :)

Also also, I would be remiss if I did not mention @racefortheironthrone’s essays on the politics of the Westerlands, which analyze the policies of Lannister monarchs in detail

Part I

Part II

Part III

***

I don’t know if this satisfies your curiosity? Whenever people ask vaguely for my thoughts on a broad subject, I’m like, “But which thoughts? Headcanons I made up? Close examinations of the text? Both? Character-driven or thematic? An ASOIAF-only approach or in the context of the larger fantasy genre?” and then I just spray unfocused thoughts all over the place, if I answer broad questions at all. 

Anyways, this is far too long already, so I hope that satisfies! 

[sailormiyoung89]

Eddard II - Catelyn III

Eddard II:

I previously talked about how Eddard I was the chapter with the most history and exposition and continuing with his POV, that’s definitely not a coincidence. Ned is a character who is very much stuck in the past, particularly Robert’s Rebellion which came across loud and clear when he was talking to Robert and their entire conversation was ‘you remember Lyanna’ and ‘you remember the trident’ and ‘remember when we were kids’.

One thing I’m not entirely clear on is what Robert thinks Lyanna died of. Obviously he hasn’t an inkling about R+L=J so he doesn’t know how she almost definitely really died. Does he think that she died in injuries sustained during rape? (Considering he believe her to have been raped ‘hundreds of times’) Or does he believe that Rhaegar murdered her before he left to fight on the Trident?

Also (In this read along, I’ve noticed how much I say ‘also’ and it’s really starting to bother me. I’m really sorry to anyone else who’s starting to get annoyed by that word, I’ll use better synonyms in future), I wonder if Robert or any of his advisors ever planned to have Robert marry Daenerys. Ignoring the huge age difference, a Targ marriage would definitely help secure him the throne. Robert does hate Targaryens but given that he may have been her ward since she was a newborn, he could shape her views on Targs and the rest of the world before she’s old enough to understand that he would have any sort of agenda. Even if one of his agents managed to grab her in Pentos and take her back to Westeros, he could have very easily framed it as rescuing her from her abusive brother and returning her to the court where she should have grown up. Given his Targ allegiances, I’m surprised Varys never attempted to do so – presumably having her in Westeros and in court, would’ve looked like a far more favourable restoration effort. Of course, in either of these scenarios there’s no way Robert would allow Viserys to live so perhaps it was entirely because he wanted to preserve BOTH children.

I also love how Ned hate the Lannisters with EVERY fibre of his being – particularly Jaime.

Furthermore it’s very interesting how differently the war affected Ned and Robert. Ned seems to have been very much hardened by it – understandable given that he lost his father, a brother and his sister in such a short span of time. Not to mention he was elevated into this position as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North that he NEVER expected to be responsible for. Not to mention his remaining brother would have left to join the watch not long after the war and while he didn’t lose him, it would’ve put a bit of distance between the remaining Stark siblings. I’m also not sure if Ned’s mother was dead at this point (honestly all I remember about her is that Lyanna is named for her and that she’s Ned’s cousin – because is it REALLY a proper romance in these books if the characters AREN’T related?) but it’s safe to say Ned’s family has been pretty badly decimated at this point and now he has this new stranger that his wife and responsibility and these two new babies that’re his responsibility and the stranger-wife resents the baby who’s not hers and…ugh it’s just all a mess all at the same time, I imagine Ned aged VERY quickly in those years.

Whereas Robert’s family weren’t affected during the war. His parents were killed previously but he came out of the war on tops. His brothers were fine, his wife was trying to love him at least at the beginning, their family gained two castles from this and have become a VERY important name. He’s no doubt worshipped as a war hero. And of course he’s a king, second only to the gods themselves. The worst that happens is his betroth whom he barely knows dies.

So both Robert and Ned are very much obsessed with their pasts but for very different reasons. Ned is haunted by his past. But Robert is very wishing to recreate his glory days, wishing to run away with Ned and be knights.

Sidenote: on my first read, I was convinced that Wylla was Lyanna’s nickname. We always hear how wild she was so I had guessed that she was originally nicknamed ‘wild Lyanna’ which got shortened over time to ‘Wylla’. It was really disappointing to later learn that she was one of House Dayne’s servants. 

Tyrion II:

I love how well written the Tyrion chapters are. Honestly, I don’t really have a lot to say about this chapter. Jon continues to be entitled and whiny and unlikeable. In fact, for a short while he actually crosses from unlikeable to straight up bully when Tyrion tells Jon to call off Ghost and Jon says that Tyrion should ‘ask [him] nicely’.  I’ve also never really been a massive fan of book Tyrion either. He’s OKAY but I find the mix of foolish and intelligent to be pretty grating. In this respect, he actually kind of reminds me a bit of Viserys. He’s very intelligent and well read to the point where they believe themselves smarter than others (granted, Viserys suffers from this trait FAR worse than Tyrion) and are so smug in their intelligence that they end up falling for the obvious traps. And I suppose that’s not really fair to say about Tyrion at this point in the books, it’s mostly my feelings on Tyrion in later books colouring how I’m thinking of him now.

I realise that the Jon and Tyrion interactions are beloved by many fans. But personally I’m not a big fan of either character and found these pages a bit of a drag to get through.

I did enjoy this line about Jon though.

“He had the Stark face if not the name: long, solemn, guarded, a face that gave nothing away. Whoever his mother had been, she had left little of herself in her son”

Catelyn III:

I don’t think Cat gets enough recognition for how intelligent she is. She figures out the secret compartment in Lysa’s box very quickly and is also incredibly fast at connecting all the dots to the Lannisters in regards to Bran’s fall. I believe that out of all the characters we’ve met so far apart from Tyrion, Catelyn is probably actually one of the smartest. If I’m remembering correctly, Hoster Tully groomed her to be his heir before the birth of his son and it definitely shows. She has a certain confidence and self-assuredness that even Ned lacks as he wasn’t raised to be a Lord.

I also find it kind of fascinating that Catelyn’s favourite child is Bran. In a world such as this where the lady’s main function is to create heirs for her husband, it wouldn’t be strange to assume that Catelyn would openly favour her firstborn. Indeed we see this with Cersei favouring Joffrey and kind of neglecting Tommen and Myrcella. It just goes to show how different the two women are and how, to Cersei, her children are merely status symbols and pawns. On the other hand, Catelyn loves all of her children, albeit to different degrees, and favours certain children due to their personalities not their positions in the family. I also love how she takes the attempted assassination of Bran and uses it to educate Rob

Catelyn gave her firstborn a challenging look. “If you are to rule in the north, you must think these things through, Robb. Answer your own question. Why would anyone want to kill a sleeping child?

She sent the servants away and looked back to Robb. “Do you have the answer yet?”

“Someone is afraid Bran might wake up,” Robb said, “afraid of what he might say or do, afraid of something he knows.”

Catelyn was proud of him. “Very good.”

Also is Theon too stupid to realise he’s a hostage or is he stupid enough to think that he can pull the wool over Cat’s eyes?

“Theon Greyjoy put a hand on the hilt of his blade and said, “My lady, if it comes to that, my House owes yours a great debt.”