#tobho mott

[pixiecactus]

day 2: protection

this is me again insisting with a “let’s give gendry good things” campaign, also this is probably the biggest liberty i took in all of these posts. and yeah i know that we can get from the tobho-gendry relationship is just employer and employee, but i mean if we look it at a certain way… tobho could have taken the payment for gendry’s apprenticeship, that was double the wage mind you, and still plan to get rid of the boy no matter what and when questions are asked he could have said that gendry just wasn’t fit for the job but instead what we see of tobho mott’s character when ned comes into his shop asking about gendry is that he’s stern but most parental figures are that way and protective about the boy too, willing to lie about how gendry came to be under his wing to the king’s hand… and if we follow that line of thought, i can say that both arya and gendry had men from essos acting as protectors of them, one from braavos and one from qohor. and of course syrio was arya’s mentor, who she greatly admired and he even sacrificed his own life to get arya to escape from the red keep, most probably saving her own life in the way. 

ps: also i took some liberties too with tobho design because i didn’t want to create a generic old white man™.

[im-in-andromeda]

since tobho mott is confirmed to have designed a suit of renly’s armour what are the odds that he just kept asking gendry to try shit on to see how it fits?

like ‘ok lad, now the helmet…. hmmm yes i see a little snug around the ears, we can fix that’

meanwhile gendry is just blinking at him in absolute confusion

[ilynpilled]

with the amount of times asoiaffies fill the tags of polls with “you people are children who need to finally fucking grow up” bc tweedledum is beating tobho mott or whatever part of me wants winds to be like mickey mouse clubhouse

[onefail-at-atime]

Fics that call or portray Gendry as dimwitted make me so upset that I want to go after the writers like Oberyn went after The Mountain.

"Gendry Waters! Say his name! You overlooked him. You misjudged him! You called him dimwitted!"

Any fans of the book will tell you that the guy was keeping them out of trouble when they were on the run from the Lannisters. And why does everyone assume he's illiterate? The kid trained under Tobho Mott, who is known as one of the best, if not THE best, armorer in King's Landing. Mott would have to have educated the boy so he could be useful in things like writing down orders and even bookkeeping.

In summary, Arya is the ONLY one allowed to call him stupid.

[goodqueenaly]

@kristinakyidyl reblogged your post “I love talking about Targaryen crowns (like all...”

You know what I wonder? Where did Aegon I's crown come from. It was valyrian steel 100 years after the secret of making it disappeared. Did they have some valyrian steel just hanging around dragonstone that was then reworked into the crown? Or did they have the crown just chilling and ready to go, having been purchased back in Valyria? Like a crown is a very specific thing with a specific purpose, not a generic piece of jewelry that happens to also serve as the marker of royalty. And the implication that they might have just had a valyrian steel crown hanging around waiting for a king is interesting what with the dreaming thing and all. Maybe Daenys was like "yeah, buy a crown before we go dad, we're going to need one some say". Or maybe they had a 3rd ancestral blade and they melted it down into the dagger and the crown (tho the Catspaw dagger being explicitly Targaryen is a TV show thing, it's not necessarily out of the realm of possibility for the books imo.). Like who knows, but it's just a weird thing I've always kinda wondered about.

For one, it's certainly not impossible that Aegon Targaryen had existing Valyrian steel worked into a new circlet. While no new Valyrian steel has been produced, so far as we know, since the Doom, the method of reworking Valyrian steel has not been completely lost to history (as evidenced by the work of Tobho Mott). Of course, most families would not have a surplus of Valyrian steel items to use for more (hence why Tywin was so willing to give Joffrey and Jaime swords made from the Valyrian steel blade he had stolen from the Starks), but it is not out of the realm of possibility that a Valyrian dragonlord family, among the very select elite in the Freehold, would have brought any number of Valyrian steel items out of the city into de facto exile (as indeed, Yandel reported that Aenar Targaryen sailed to Dragonstone with "all his wives, wealth, slaves, dragons, siblings, kin, and children"). If Aegon believed that he needed or wanted a Valyrian steel crown more than he wanted, I don't know, a random Valyrian steel knife or axe or whatever that was in the Targaryen treasury, then it's at least possible he would have sacrificed this item for the sake of creating a crown. 

And that's even assuming he had to make the crown from scratch, so to speak, at all. The Valyrians do not appear to have limited Valyrian steel exclusively to blades and bladed items, given the existence of Euron's Valyrian steel armor, so it is at least possible that a the height of the Freehold the Valyrians created any number of non-weapon Valyrian steel pieces. Likewise, it is unknown whether the dragonlord families would have rejected crowns or the appearance of regality (especially considering that they appeared to see themselves as closer to gods than humans). In turn, it is at least possible that this and similar crowns existed in the Freehold prior to the Doom, worn by dragonlords as a sign of their power, wealth, and magnificence - a sort of "look how mighty we are, we can afford to spend money for the ultimate in Valyrian handiwork simply to glorify ourselves". 

I don't see any evidence at this time that the crown was created specifically by the Targaryens as an act of prophetic preparation before the Targaryens left Valyria, whatever may or may not have been known or theorized about what would happen to the family in the future. (Friendly reminder not to bring The Show or That Other Show into my house.) Whether or not it existed before the Doom as a Targaryen/Valyrian decorative piece, or was created by or at the direction of Aegon Targaryen from some extant Valyrian steel piece he owned, remains for now unanswered.

[isefyres-archive]

𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔞𝔡𝔡𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔟𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰)

Princess Shireen Baratheon: Shireen Baratheon is a noblewoman of House Baratheon of Dragonstone, and is the daughter and only child of Lord Stannis Baratheon and Lady Selyse Florent. Greyscale has left half of her left cheek and most of her neck covered in cracked and flaking, grey and black stony skin. She has suffered from nightmares since infancy. Stannis's army and retinue travels from Dragonstone to the Wall to respond to the wildling threat. At the Wall, he leaves Shireen at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea with her mother, while his army marches to Castle Black. After her father's death, she remains in the North under The North care and request to be send to Dorne to her cousin, wanting to refute her father's claims about Myrcella. Canon. Song Era.

Lord Edric Dayne: Edric Dayne, also known as Ned, is the Lord of Starfall and the head of House Dayne. His father, Gwayne Dayne is the elder brother of Ser Arthur, Lady Ashara, and Lady Allyria Dayne. Edric serves as the squire of Beric Dondarrion, Lord of Blackhaven. Edric's mother did not have enough milk for him when he was born, so he was nursed by Wylla, a servant at Starfall. At some point, Edric was told that Wylla was the mother of Jon Snow, the bastard of Lord Eddard Stark. Edric attempts to befriend a wary Arya during the brotherhood's travels, and her friend Gendry is scornful of their interactions. Ned tells Arya more about his family, and he is surprised that her father never spoke of Edric's aunt Ashara committing suicide over her broken heart. Ned hesitantly tells Arya that his aunt Allyria told him that Ashara and Eddard fell in love at the tourney at Harrenhal. Edric is back in Dorne. Canon. Song Era.

Edric Storm: Edric Storm is the bastard son of King Robert I Baratheon and Delena Florent. Edric is a sturdily attractive youth, with jet-black hair and deep blue eyes. He resembles his father, King Robert I, and has the characteristic hair, eyes, jaw, and cheekbones of House Baratheon. Edric also has the large ears common to House Florent. Edric was conceived by King Robert I Baratheon and Delena on the wedding night of Lord Stannis Baratheon to Selyse Florent, Delena's cousin, in the couple's wedding bed. Stannis saw this as an insult to his honor, so he sent Edric to Storm's End to foster with the boy's other uncle, Renly Baratheon. As Delena was a noblewoman, Edric was acknowledged by his father. Edric sails across the narrow sea past the Stepstones to Essos on the Mad Prendos with Andrew and other protectors. He is hiding in Lys. Canon. Song Era.

Mya Stone: Mya Stone is a young woman serving House Royce of the Gates of the Moon. She is the eldest of King Robert I Baratheon's bastards. Mya serves as a guide on the treacherous rocky climb from the Vale to the Eyrie, leading trains of mules, such as Whitey. She also transports foodstuffs from the foot of the Giant's Lance to the Eyrie. Mya is somewhat openly known to be the bastard daughter of the king, although she was not acknowledged by her father. She has vague memories of him, as a big strong man tossing her in the air and catching her. Myranda Royce reveals to "Alayne Stone" that Mya lost her virginity to Mychel. Mya still hoped for marriage, till the newly-knighted Mychel was ordered by his father, Lord Horton Redfort, to marry Ysilla Royce, daughter of Lord Yohn Royce of Runestone. Canon. Song Era.

Gendry Baratheon: Gendry is a blacksmith apprentice for Master Tobho Mott in King's Landing. He does not know he is a bastard son of King Robert I Baratheon until later when captured by Melisandre and the truth is revealed, his blood used in a ritual. Gendry looks like a young Renly Baratheon, albeit with a squarer jaw, bushier brows, and tangled hair. He has since been legitimized and inherited all titles held by his father before Robert became king, and appointed the new Warden of the South. Gendry is not the eldest of the bastards and by all means, he supports his "sister" Myrcella for lady of Storm's End but he also reclaims his sibligns as his own, rebuilding House Baratheon under a new sigil, changing the colors to the inverted ones, considering the house is now mostly bastards. Canon. Song Era.

Joy Hill: She is the bastard daughter of Gerion Lannister. According to her cousin Jaime, Joy is a sweet child, but a lonely one since her father Gerion disappeared. As part of the pact between Lord Tywin Lannister and Lord Walder Frey concerning the betrayal of Robb Stark in the Red Wedding, Joy is to wed a natural son of Walder from House Frey once she is older. After the siege of Riverrun, Lady Sybell Spicer mentions to Ser Jaime Lannister that his late father, Tywin, had promised a bride from Casterly Rock for her eldest son, Ser Raynald Westerling. Because Sybell mentions "joy", Jaime thinks Tywin intended for Joy Hill to marry Raynald. Sybell is angered at the idea of her son marrying a bastard. Joy would prefer the handsom Raynald as a husband. Eventually, Joy is send to Dorne alongside Myrcella new sworn sword so she would become less gloom and safety. Canon. Song Era.

[fromstormsend]

Gendry “a hidden bastard / a king” theory

As a Gendrya shipper i am not prone to ship Arya with anyone else. I respect other ships but i don’t like it. When i read something about others i always find a way to turn their proofs from the books into Gendrya thing :D And the most frustrating one for me was “you’ll marry a king” quote said by Ned Stark to Arya. The interesting side of this quote, it changed in the TV series. And so many readers thought it means they will change something, maybe they won’t add a character who mentions in this quote(like Aegon the Young Griff thing). I still don’t know why they changed; maybe George himself wanted it but if we only focus the books now my thoughts about this quote changed in good sake of Gendrya. It will be long. Here we go;

The chapter Ned met with Gendry has full of knowledge about Baratheon brothers(plus Renly’s shit comment about Shireen), their characters, their differences and similarities and even it mentions Lyanna Stark;

“Could it be that Lord Renly, who looked so like a young Robert, had conceived a passion for a girl he fancied to be a young Lyanna?”

And end of this chapter we met with Gendry personally. Remember Ned’s quote about “marrying a king”. It was on Ned’s previous chapter which is two chapters before(there is only just one of Jon’s chapter between two Ned Stark’s chapters).

Now, after Ned Stark told to Tobho Mott “I should like to see the boy as well” the story begins to evolve about a hidden prince. English is not my first language so i don’t know how i can explain to you well but if you read the chapter again i assume you can see the process too. There is a boy who the last Hand of the King interested so much, and the other one came and wonder about him. And there is a protector who is Tobho Mott knows about him but didn’t want to say anything. Then Ned insisted and Tobho says he wants no trouble. Then Ned tells him send him to me later etc.

But that’s just feeling of course, i’ll give you more hints about the “marrying a king”s part;

Ned says “a king” not “the king”. We know the differences from Margaery Tyrell on the show; She wanted to be “the queen” not “a queen”. But Ned says to Arya “you will marry a king” like any king. Because as we know Sansa got engaged with the prince so it means she will marry “the king” actually. And who ever he is there will be just one “the king”. So it means Arya will marry other king if she do so. But who is he?

Now we’ll check Street of Steel. What it says about;

“Ned turned off the square where the Street of Steel began and followed its winding path up a long hill, past blacksmiths working at open forges, freeriders haggling over mail shirts, and grizzled ironmongers selling old blades and razors from their wagons. The farther they climbed, the larger the buildings grew.”

As you read there are so many forges, and the largest buildings aka richest ones are on the higher than the others. And where is Tobho Mott’s?

“The man they wanted was all the way at the top of the hill, in a huge house of timber and plaster whose upper stories loomed over the narrow street. The double doors showed a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood. A pair of stone knights stood sentry at the entrance, armored in fanciful suits of polished red steel that transformed them into griffin and unicorn.”

Of course at the way top of the hill like a castle! Tobho Mott is a rich bastard! He is the man who made armors for our fashion love birds;Loras&Renly. And just look at the details the paragraf gives us; hunting scene on the door(Baratheon alert!) and there are stone knights at the entrance. Like how rich is this man?! His huge house looks like a qualified nice castle.

And then Tobho takes Ned to Gendry. And now i wonder why they go to see Gendry but not call him to come? Like this is the King’s hand! Why he have to go to see a boy but not this boy couldn’t come to see him? But Tobho says when Lord Arryn came he took him and Stannis to the forge to see the boy. So maybe Lord Arryn wanted to see Gendry at the forge and Tobho made the same thing for Ned.

“Tobho Mott gave him a cool, careful look. “As you wish, my lord,” he said with no trace of his former friendliness. He led Ned out a rear door and across a narrow yard, back to the cavernous stone barn where the work was done.”

But still this walk which Ned made for see Gendry seems to me appering before the king. Tobho accompanies him for direction and Ned follows him and then they reach the forge; to Gendry’s bench.

“Almost shyly, the boy led them to his bench, and a steel helm shaped like a bull’s head, with two great curving horns.”

And boom! Bench like a counter/seat. But bench also used as “a royal seat; a wide throne” on Middle English. So guys, Ned Stark visited King Gendry on his throne room :)

Okay, enough for this chapter. Now let’s beam up Brienne’s chapter on AFFC;

You know the story. There is an inn with full of children, and there is Willow which is Arya and there is Gendry as their protector. The important part is this;

“The common room was crawling with children. Brienne tried to count them, but they would not stand still even for an instant, so she counted some of them twice or thrice and others not at all, until she finally gave it up. They had pushed the tables together in three long rows, and the older boys were wrestling benches from the back. Older here meant ten or twelve. Gendry was the closest thing to a man grown, but it was Willow shouting all the orders, as if she were a queen in her castle and the other children were no more than servants.”

And this from AGOT;

"You," Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, "will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon."

Arya marry a king; it means she will be a queen. And she is the one who will rule her husband’s castle. And their sons will be royals.

Gendry is a man grown in the inn: A king.

Willow/Arya is the one who orders: A queen.

Boys are wrestling benches: knights, princes, lords etc.

And as i said on the top there is Robert&Lyanna mentions on this chapter. Now let’s read sentences as this;

“Could it be that Renly (Gendry), who looked so like a young Robert, had conceived a passion for a girl (her niece)he fancied to be a young Lyanna?”

“A girl” part originally mentions to Margaery who Sansa wishes has a sister like her :) But yeah, she has Arya Stark who is Lyanna’s niece and more looks like Lyanna than Margaery.

I accept i forced too much this time. But “a king” means a lot and Gendrya forever!

[laurellerual]

I know its like 99.9% unlikely but I want Gendry to reforge oathbreaker or widows wail for the starks. Its seems pretty impossible though since I doubt he knows the spells to work valyarian steel. It would be interesting for his smithing skills to have some plot relevance though and I selfishly want the starks to get ‘ice’ back in some capacity.

I've always thought Gendry's blacksmith role is a bit overhyped (I talked about it a bit here).

This speculation stems from the fact that Tobho Mott is one of the few blacksmiths who knows how to reforge valyrian steel. But we must remember that Gendry was only an apprentice when he left King's Landing. In fact, he confesses to Arya that before he left the city he had never even forged a regular longsword. So it seems to me unlikely that he was initiated into the secrets of valyrian steel.

As improbable as that would be, it would be very poetic. And I think there's a good chance that Window's wail and Oathkeeper will return to the Starks, but not before the end of the story. Depending on how the relationship between the Stark's children and Brienne develops I could even see them choosing to leave Oathkeeper to Tarth.

On these notes I recall reading a fanfiction years ago in which Jaime returned one of the swords to Arya. And there was a touching scene in which she ran to Gendry to ask him to immediately hammer off the lion's head pommel because she couldn't stand looking at it.

[warsofasoiaf]

In episode 2 of House of the Dragon, Viserys is showing his model of Old Valyria to Alicent Hightower. He says that the the Valyrian Dragonlords lived near the top of a volcano, "closest to the source of their magic and power." This suggests that "the fires beneath the earth" are the source of magic in ASOIAF, and this is backed by obsidian (which is inherently magical) being created by volcanic activity. However, I also recently found out that while most iron ore forms in sedimentary deposits, a small minority of iron ore is formed by lava flows. Since this type of iron ore is formed volcanic activity, it should also have magical properties in the ASOIAF world. Could this be what they used to make Valyrian steel?

No, I don't believe so. Valyrian steel appears to be a process that cannot be replicated simply with materials, it is an arcane technique that requires knowledge of magic that has since been lost. GRRM himself has said that magic plays a part in its forging. Catelyn says that the ironsmiths worked with spells as they did metal, and Tobho Mott is mentioned to know the spells to reforge the metal (though not to make new constructions).

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[theprancingstag]

The shape of the head of Fury - Renly Baratheon's mace. The last of the Valyrian Steel was used to make the central ridge while the rest is the best quality steel Tobho Mott can produce

[klaradox]

RENLY BARATHEON

Renly Baratheon is the Lord of Storm's End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. The younger brother of King Robert I and Lord Stannis, Renly serves as master of laws on Robert's small council.

Renly is described as a powerful man who is lean and lithe. He has a handsome, clean-shaven face. Renly greatly resembles a young King Robert I Baratheon, being near as tall as his eldest brother had been. Like Robert, Renly has an easy smile. He is taller and broader in the chest than Ser Loras Tyrell.

Renly's thick hair is described as black as jet and coal. His fine and straight hair currently falls to his shoulders, although Renly has sometimes kept it short or tied it behind his head with a golden ribbon. He always keeps his hair clean and combed.

Renly has been described as having laughing green eyes which match his armor, as well as deep blue eyes which resemble those of Robert. According to a semi-canon source, George R. R. Martin reconciled the difference by suggesting Renly has blue-green eyes which change color depending on what he wears.

Renly is a charismatic man, winning friends easily, but he also strikes some people as frivolous. Renly enjoys tourneys and hunting but is not driven by the passion for food, drink, or wenching as King Robert came to be. He is quite popular with smallfolk due to his good looks, friendly ways, and charisma. According to Maester Cressen, Renly is a bold man who acts from impulse. Queen Cersei Lannister dislikes her brother-in-law because of his mockery.

Renly wears expensive attire, such as a dark green velvet doublet embroidered with golden stags. He drapes a cloth-of-gold half cape over the doublet with an emerald brooch. Renly has a suit of enameled green armor with a helm adorned with a pair of golden antlers, which was made by Tobho Mott. He wields longsword and dagger.

Unbeknownst to the realm at large, and despite the many women who are attracted to him, Renly is homosexual. According to his lover, Loras, Renly disdains book learning, believing that books should only be read by maesters. Despite this, he owns books with "drawings that would turn a septon blind", implying some kind of pornography.

Born in 277 AC, Renly was the youngest of the three sons of Lord Steffon Baratheon and Lady Cassana Estermont. Renly's parent's died when their ship Windproud, returning from the Free Cities, sank in a storm in Shipbreaker Bay.

Renly grew up at Storm's End. Only a young boy at the time of Robert's Rebellion, he spent the war under siege in Storm's End, together with his older brother, Stannis, where he was witness to the desperation of the starving garrison.

As a boy, Renly loved bright colors and fabrics. He loved games as well, and would run laughing through the halls of Storm's End.

By his older brother, King Robert I Baratheon, Renly was eventually granted the seat of Storm's End and named Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, upsetting Stannis, who felt that, as the elder of the two, Storm's End was his by right.

When Renly turned sixteen, he made a lord's progress across the stormlands to mark his coming of age. During this progress, he also visited the isle of Tarth, where Renly courteously danced with Brienne of Tarth. Princess Arianne Martell recalls that Renly also visited Sunspear once. She had tried her best to seduce Renly, but remembers that he had seemed more bemused than inflamed by her attempts.

During his time as Lord of Storm's End, Renly took Loras Tyrell as his squire. Eventually, Renly and Loras became lovers. Although not widely known, various others at court are aware of their forbidden relationship.

Renly was eventually named to the small council, where he occupied the position of master of laws. While he is at court, his castellan at Storm's End is Ser Cortnay Penrose, who raises King Robert's bastard son, Edric Storm, for them. Brella runs Renly's household in King's Landing for him. Renly has thirty men in his personal guard at the capital.

[pixiecactus]

sometimes i remember about the time "arry" shared her rabbit's leg with gendry, and it makes me think about how for arya it was probably her way of saying: "i like you, i consider you one of the good ones and you are my friend now" meanwhile still obeying yoren's warnings about not mingling with other recruits and not talking a word about herself. 

and of course this is the part where my speculation comes into the post, because we don’t have a certain way of knowing, since gendry is not a pov character, but i think for him this little action that came without so much thought from arya was everything, i can imagine that with him being an orphaned bastard in flea bottom he saw some people dying of hunger around him and with that being mentioned and knowing how westerosi society treats bastards i can’t think of a lot of people willing to go out of their way to protect and provide for a hungry bastard child living in the streets.

i’m willing to die on the hill of “arya was gendry’s first friend”, because even when he was under tobho mott’s apprenticeship with other boys around his age he seemed to have violent altercations with them, i know it’s said that the other apprentices mocked him for his bullheadedness but it’s not out of the realm of possibilities to think that they were probably looking down upon him for being a bastard and an orphan too.

and here comes this little child crashing into gendry's life and they're probably the first person to show genuine kindness towards him and i think that for the first time in his life, gendry can feel that someone appreciates his existence and wants him around.

[dwellordream]

Strength: Reversed

Joffrey Baratheon and Gendry

you asked for Reversed but I'm giving you Upright because I already did a Reversed for Strength, sorry!

Gendry has been at Castle Black for a year as a smith when the Queen's Bastard arrives. Donal has told Gendry that most men in his shoes would be furious- to join the Night's Watch, only to later realize he might have been given many honors and a place at court, for who his father was?

By now it is common knowledge that Gendry is Robert's get, though he will never be officially acknowledged. It gains the King nothing to acclaim a bastard at the Wall.

Were Gendry working as a successful smith in King's Landing, it might be a different matter.

But there is little sense in agonizing over the past. Gendry joined the Watch of his own free will; he committed no crime, he was not coerced.

Tobho Mott died, his sons mismanaged his wealth, Gendry was out on the street, and he wanted naught of the strange man's plans for him. The man was stout, with a deep voice and a brown beard, and he never removed his hood.

Now Gendry assumes he was either some spy of the King's, or perhaps for the Lannisters. He might have been killed. So he left.

Yes, he will never marry, never have sons and daughters of his own, but it's not as if he's never known women, and he has friends here, a family. It is not a bad life, and he is well respected as a skilled smith. He is not threatened by the arrival of the Queen's Bastard.

It's a miracle the boy is even still alive. They say the only reason he and his siblings were spared is because Lord Stark went toe-to-toe with the King and his brothers about it, and it nearly came to bloodshed. The younger two went to the Faith in shame, and the eldest was shipped here.

Though all know the boy is of Lannister get, and an abomination born of incest at that, he looks remarkably... normal. Gendry is not sure what he expected. Some shrunken creature?

Joffrey Waters is tall for his age; at first glance he looks closer to fifteen or sixteen, though the fact that he cannot grow a beard and his voice still cracks gives him away. He's a good-looking boy, not frail or deformed in any way.

Gendry does not exchange words with him, however, until he finds the boy hiding in the smith, badly beaten and shivering.

"Get the fuck away from me!" he snarls, hissing and spitting like a cornered street cat, so Gendry does what he used to do with strays.

He keeps his distance and crouches down so his broadness and height are less intimidating. He is only fifteen himself, but others often assume he is closer to twenty simply due to his size.

"What happened?" he asks, though that's pointless. Everyone knows what Joffrey is. It was only a matter of time.

Who is he going to complain to about ill-treatment? His dead parents? The King who loathes him? Lord Stark, still in King's Landing, negotiating the King's new marriage to Lady Margaery Tyrell?

He moves further away from Joffrey, and then gets a pole, and slowly pushes a pitcher full of cider towards him.

"It's mulled apple," he says. "I didn't piss in it, if that's what you're wondering."

"I don't wonder anything," Joffrey sneers, but takes the pitcher and retreats further into the shadows. Gendry returns to his work, listening to him drink greedily, and then, some time later, fight to hold back sobs.

He steps back from the forge and wipes at his face with a rag, then says, "Tell me who, and I will speak with them."

"Fuck you!"

Gendry waits, and says, "Tell me who, and I'll show you how to beat a man with your fists. I expect you only learned swords, growing up. They won't let you carry live steel here for some time.' From the dark, green eyes peer out at him, narrowed and slightly hopeful.

[emfyredarchived]

♡ @stagsbastard

𝕿he king is dead. once, cersei cared for robert. he was handsome and a great warrior. he was utterly hers, or so she thought. their marriage has been tainted through the years. both of them unfaithful to the other. her eyes did not weep whenever they laid upon his corpse. to her, the robert she wished for him to be died years ago, and he took her naive child-like wonder and twisted it. there are still signs of mourning, as body is ornated with black lace and silks. the dark veil that covers her countenance shrouds her beautiful face in darkness. had the guards not been with her, she may have just faded into the shadows. to leave the keep without guard was a death sentence, however. the stranger would not take her away, not after they have already taken so much.

cersei finds herself in front of tobho mott's smithery. not a usual place for a lady, let alone a queen to be. alas, she needed to confirm a rumor and to see it ( - him ) for herself. the owner greets her with a bow and inquiry as to why she was there. the queen ignored the curiosity of the man, sharp eyes landing on the apprentice behind him. the resemblance to robert sent a shocking feeling through her. there was something very familiar in the apprentices' eyes. the veil that she wears is lifted and handed off to one of her guards. ❝ my brother tells me of your impressive skill. merely an apprentice and you craft such beautiful weaponry. i can only admire it from afar, however. a Queen does not need a sword, but perhaps she could use a smaller blade. a dagger, perhaps. ❞ rapt attention moves from him for a moment as eyes look around the area and take in the various weapons and armor pieces. there's a helm sitting on a table near her. fingertips dance along the metal, following the pattern made. ❝ who commissioned this piece? ❞

[forgaeven1]

‘ we can’t make any promises, but you can make me a drink. ’ from arya!

❛ a drink—? ❜ t' say his eyebrows 'ave gone upwards into his hairline would've been an understatement, though gendry tries, for all his might, t' not show his expressions as much. he reckons he didn't much succeed. s' one o' his biggest flaws, the ones he'd never much tried to correct, since he was a child. if tobho mott had been here, surely he'd knocked gendry head over from the lack o' manner. he isn't, though. master mott had passed years ago, a year in fact, after gendry's return to king's landing once he's escaped dragonstone. so much had changed since the last time.

he had grown. and, as he's slowly learning, so has she.

gendry's movement afterwards is slow. as if he's still tryin' to wrap the thought of her bein' anythin' more than the scrawny li'l princess he has had to keep safe, though of course, as soon as the memory comes, something sharp comes with it. that night in the cave. her teary request. his rejection o' it. you wouldn't be my family. you would be m'lady. and the day after. the day he was sold. the day he'd been taken away, ripped from her, only t' learn later that she'd never made it back to robb stark and the north bannermen. that she'd died. she must've had, 'cause there was no news of arya stark any longer; she'd died, and gendry's wrongdoing had died with her.

until she showed up years later, sittin' here right now, 'cross from him. bright, grey eyes and the very same dark hair, though longer.

she's different, he thinks. though of course she would be. it's years between them since. she's grown. she's grown, gendry tries hammerin' that into his head, numb. and, as it stands, she's old enough for a proper drink, is she ? funny, that. he grabs for the wine, somethin' sweet he wouldn't had otherwise — nor cared to, if he were honest — and pours it for her.

❛ you sure ye' aren't too short for it, m'lady ? with tha' size... ❜

@nightmaer — reputation (2017)

[stagnot]

quick & easy hotd verse — * until my brain comes up with something more decent

delivering the news of prince aemon’s death to the capitol, gendry is the unknown bastard son of boremund baratheon, conceived at the back of the red keep in 92 AC with a local tavern wench.

he was born with the standard baratheon features: striking blue eyes, thick black hair, and boremund's stubborn frown. his mother (blonde, frail woman) never sought out boremund for any form of compensation; most likely, she didn't know who he was. simply that he was a nobleman.

when gendry was five, his mum passed away from fever. gendry eventually ran away from the tavern, chased by the tavern keeper, and he had to scrap by fleabottom for a year until he met a qohorik master armorer, master aoken.

as a child, gendry has always been larger than his peers. (again, the baratheon genes at work.) this was why master aoken had taken up gendry at all because he saw "the potential in the boy". true enough, gendry showed resilient and easy strength in hammering the anvil.

unlike in canon [where tobho mott was one of the more famed master armorer due to his specific skills¹] master aoken, though a skilled smith himself, is considerably average among the many swordsmith down the street of steels. therefore, there will be weeks sometimes that master aoken and gendry would have to rely on limited pay to survive.

this did not help when master aoken is a drunkard and a serial gambler; something gendry, as he grows older, tries to stave master aoken away from, but also aid him whenever he's passed out somewhere.

when gendry was three-and-ten, the second prince took a hold of fleabottom with his goldcloaks and, overnight, they saw a dramatic change of order "restored". gendry lost friends from this sudden change, just as master aoken did as well. while some streets thrived, like the street of silk, some others lived in constant fear and watch-out. this turn of event is the first legitimate seed sown in gendry of his growing antagonism towards highborns.²

*** the following details may change — master aoken eventually passed away when gendry is five-and-twenty. ever since, he took up the armoury left in master aoken's wake and run it himself.

fun little note: his relationship with aoken is both a parallel to his relationship with tobho mott, yoren and arya in the canon verse. that is, aoken was, for a while, his father / brother figure (aoken was only 20ish when he found gendry), his master, his protector, and his source of shelter — but obviously as aoken's addiction grew worse over the years, gendry was forced to become his protector and source of shelter.

fun little note #2: same as got canon, gendry will always yearn for stability and family - which he still sometimes search in aoken, but he does not always receive them fully due to aoken's addictions.

¹ referring to the fact that tobho mott were one of the few who could work with valyrian steel. considering the time period wherein the targs' culture survive and are thriving, i would assume that smiths working with valyrian steel are abundant. or at least, there would be more than one. master aoken is simply one of them, thus he loses the appeal of being unique unlike tobho mott who posessed it. ² gendry has a lot of feelings about what the goldcloaks are doing. please feel free to challenge him about it :)