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bruciemilf · 1 year

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Okay besties, I have an idea for you;

AU where the justice league was rooted in a small town; everyone knows everybody and no one knows anyone. Not really. But them? Oh, they know eachother.

They knew Clark and Bruce would tie the knot right after graduation.

They knew Diana would take new York museums by storm. They knew Hal would grow into his dad's aviator jacket. They knew Barry would wear gold around his neck in the Olympics. They simply knew.

Except for the fact that Clark had no idea Bruce would go on to divorce him just to marry an old sparring buddy, -- Khoa something; he doesn't know to this day, and he refuses to learn, -- for reasons he wouldn't divulge.

And bruce didn't anticipate his ex husband being the one who would investigate his husband's murder.

Funny how death brings people together.

Not until Dick, their boy, his boy, too, - He's Jon and Kon's brother just as much as he's Jason's, Tim's, and Damian's, and no piece of shit paper could take that from him, - told him, a bone white paleness to his cheeks the day of his weekend.

Their home is chaos; Not a chaos he knows, a chaos he loves, but a disservice on their once home.

Four different cars parked in front of Bruce's manor, dark enough to blend in the depth of night, give Clark a pretty good idea of what he'll find.

" This is bad. This is really bad, right? Oh god, is he moving? He just looked at me, I SWEAR he just looked at me,--"

'' Who gave Barry coffee?" Clark doesn't want them to be shocked when he enters, because really, he's not supposed to be here. The spark of twisted pleasure when they see him Is small, but it's there. " Who died?"

Hal skips over the corpse currently occupying the living room carpet, a frenzy in his eyes, " We do NOT have time for your shit, Kent. It's bad enough Wayne dragged us along to his little graveyard shift,--"

Clark doesn't particularly want to know who's that Oliver tosses Russian words with over the phone, but he takes a pause, only to point sharply at the pilot, " As if you have anything better to do you plane crushing fuck--"

" One time! One time!"

" Quiet down! You're upsetting Bruce," Command and order came to Diana as naturally as flight does to birds; Out of them all, -- jaded and secretive and wore out by life like a pair of shoes, -- she holds the crown of stability for sure.

Clark envies her. Maybe because she's her, or because she has an arm around Bruce.

He's tired; And scared. Clark's pretty little ghost.

Blanket over his lean, strong shoulders, knees nestled to his chest, shivering under Diana's arms. His eyes haven't left the living room.

Not until Clark walked up to the bottom of the stairs, where he could catch a better view of purple and blue rendering Bruce's sharp cheek.

There's something undeniably demure about Bruce Wayne; Youngest of them, softest of them. Clark adored it; He's always been a beast of a man, -- granted, raised with Martha Kent's southern loving ways, but you can't make a puppy from a wolf.

Bruce very much disagreed, and told Clark as such. That they compliment eachother.

Clark can't help but be sad at Bruce's softness now; But he's not stupid enough to think Bruce weak, and God help you if you're that man. Maybe Khoa was that man.

Bruce's eyelashes flutter like a butterfly's wings, " ...Clark." You came.

" Hi, baby." You called.

He closes his eyes, silently letting embarassment take him. Hal facepalms behind him.

" Not to interrupt your weird Eye Make Out slash Emotional Hug contact, but seriously, we need to call the police!"

" No!" Bruce raises to his feet, fingers twisting and fiddling, a nervous habit. Clark wants to capture him in his arms and never let him move, " No. No police."

Diana's voice is gentle, " Why not?"

" Because he did it!" Hal says, " I mean, it's pretty obvious!"

" Oh shut the fuck up-"

" That's absurb--"

" Hal, you're scared I get it, but Bruce would never,--"

" I did," Bruce declares, sentencing them to silence. " I did it. "

A tension filled cloud slowly drips over them. Hal begins pacing even more. Barry joins him. Oliver's yelling gets louder, and the Bruce's fingers shake worse.

Clark, wordlessly, pulls him upstairs, hands gentle on his smaller wrists, ignoring the call back from downstairs, where death still lingers.

Bruce won't look at him when he asks, " Did you do it? Really?"

" He was going to hit me."

" He was already hitting you," Clark spits the hateful truth, acid hissing over his tongue like a well-sharpened knife, " He was already hitting you. And you didn't kill him then. "

A shiver, a tremble, Bruce turning his back as if to protect himself. Clark's heart hurts. He's never been someone Bruce needed protection from, " Please, --"

" So you were either going to stop him from hitting you... Or from hitting someone else," Bruce's frame moves from him, departs again, and Clark follows, because he let Bruce walk away one time and it got them here, " ...Or someone was gonna stop him from hitting you."

Bruce freezes, gaze wide. Only he's not looking at Clark. He's looking at what's behind him.

Clark follows the line of sight.

There's Jason, their youngest, their tallest, terrified, and teary, and blood soiling his hands.

#basically i saw a gifset of henry cavill in nighthunter and HAD to do something with it #bruce wayne #clark kent #superbat #dc #dc comics #bruce x clark #bruceclark #tw murder #writing #batfam #superfam #super batfamily #protective clark kent #protective bruce wayne #angst #soft bruce wayne #dc imagine #writing prompt

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6rookie-writer0110 · 2 months

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Chasing Love

Jon Snow X Male Reader

Request - Jon and male reader where Jon has a difficult time proposing and asks Sansa for help

Sansa has noticed that her brother is acting strange. She waited for him to finish training then she went to speak with him.

“You are acting strange,” Sansa said.

“I’m fine,” Jon said.

“No, you are not. What's going on in your mind” Sansa said.

Jon takes Sansa to the garden so they can talk alone.

“Okay, I want to ask Y/n to marry me but I don't know how,” Jon said.

“Finally, you and Y/n are going to get married” Sansa smiled.

He starts to smile.

“I really love him and I want to be with him forever. But nobody knows about it so don't tell anyone right now” Sansa said.

“I promise, I won't tell anyone. Any ideas on how to ask him” Sansa said.

“I have no ideas and I don't know what to do,” Jon said.

“Maybe something romantic at night?” Sansa asked.

“Could work. But what else? Shouldn't I make it more romantic?” Jon said.

“You should. There are a million ways to do it, you need one perfect idea” Sansa said.

“Why is this hard?” Jon asked.

“This is a big step and you care about him so much. I see how much he cares about you. Does he have any idea that you would ask him to marry you?” Sansa said.

“He doesn't have any idea that I'm going to ask him to marry me,” Jon said.

“Remember the first you confessed your love to him?” Sansa asked.

Jon thinks for a moment and he remembers.

“Yes, I remember. Why?” Jon said.

“Ask him right there where it first happened,” Sansa said.

“Oh, that is a good idea” Jon smiled.

He hugged his sister and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you so much. Remember don't tell anyone!” Jon said.

He quickly left and he went to look for you. She couldn't help to smile and she hoped nothing would ruin the moment.

✫ ✫ ✫ ✬

Later that night… Jon takes you to the spot where he confessed his love to you. It's by the lake and you are standing by a tree with him.

“Do you remember when I confessed my love to you, Y/n?” Jon asked.

“We were teenagers and you told me that you are in love with me. Then you carved our names on this tree. Why are you asking?” You said.

“Y/n, I want to be with you forever. I love you so much that I don't want anyone else, you are smart and handsome and I like how you make me laugh. You mean the world to me, I won't let anyone take you away from me. Do you want to be with me forever?” Jon said.

You pull him close to you and start to kiss him. He starts to kiss him back and he starts to smile.

“That is a yes, I will marry you” You smiled.

“Good” Jon smiled.

He starts to kiss you again. Later, you and Jon went back to the castle, and then Jon told Sansa. She is extremely happy for you and Jon then she gets ideas on what you and Jon should wear for the wedding.

#jon snow x reader #jon snow imagine #Jon Snow x male reader #x male reader #male!reader #male reader #got imagine #game of thrones imagine #Jon Snow fluff

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pixiecactus · 27 days

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i don't ship jonrya (gendrya it's the one for me tbh) but i swear it bothers me so much that people in this fandom like to discard jonrya like something absurd, that really has no foundation in the books (i can only think of one jon's ships that is like this and it's not jonrya let me tell you) when we have time and time again in both of arya and jon's chapters actually shown how they are so devoted to eachother, making one of the strongest bonds in the entire series, even if you don't take the og outline (jonrya endgame) in consideration:

in agot:

"And Arya…he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had…yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him."

and:

"She would have given anything if Jon had been here to call her “little sister” and muss her hair."

in acok:

"When at last she slept, she dreamed of home. The kingsroad wound its way past Winterfell on its way to the Wall, and Yoren had promised he’d leave her there with no one any wiser about who she’d been. She yearned to see her mother again, and Robb and Bran and Rickon . . . but it was Jon Snow she thought of most. She wished somehow they could come to the Wall before Winterfell, so Jon might muss up her hair and call her “little sister.” She’d tell him, “I missed you,” and he’d say it too at the very same moment, the way they always used to say things together. She would have liked that. She would have liked that better than anything."

and:

"As he rode, Jon peeled off his glove to air his burned fingers. Ugly things. He remembered suddenly how he used to muss Arya’s hair. His little stick of a sister. He wondered how she was faring. It made him a little sad to think that he might never muss her hair again. He began to flex his hand, opening and closing the fingers. If he let his sword hand stiffen and grow clumsy, it well might be the end of him, he knew. A man needed his sword beyond the Wall."

their current companions remind them of eachother:

“NO!” Arya and Gendry both said, at the exact same instant. Hot Pie quailed a little. Arya gave Gendry a sideways look. He said it with me, like Jon used to do, back in Winterfell. She missed Jon Snow the most of all her brothers.

and romantic interests too:

Ygritte trotted beside Jon as he slowed his garron to a walk. She claimed to be three years older than him, though she stood half a foot shorter; however old she might be, the girl was a tough little thing. Stonesnake had called her a “spearwife” when they’d captured her in the Skirling Pass. She wasn’t wed and her weapon of choice was a short curved bow of horn and weirwood, but “spearwife” fit her all the same. She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier. It was hard to tell how plump or thin Ygritte might be, with all the furs and skins she wore.

and i want to end with one of my favourite arya's quotes:

“I know where we could go,” Arya said. She still had one brother left. Jon will want me, even if no one else does. He’ll call me “little sister” and muss my hair. It was a long way, though, and she didn’t think she could get there by herself. She hadn’t even been able to reach Riverrun. “We could go to the Wall.”

so... no, the idea of jon x arya is not strange at all actually

#there's a lot of more moments in the books but i'm lazy sorry #as a gendrya shipper if jonrya it's actually the books endgame i'm going to be so happy for them #and as a gendrya shipper somedays i can´t help to think that jonrya has to much potential for gendrya to actually happen (one of my fears)#but in the end jonrya are eachothers person (soulmates if you will)#and term that can be romantic or platonic #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #house stark #arya stark #jon snow #gendry #jonrya #ygritte #anti sansa stans #anti jonsa stans #anti jonsa #even typing that anti tag makes me want to vomit #like jon(🙂) and here comes the vomit sa(🤮)

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esther-dot · 5 months

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But why do you think jonsa wasn’t more foreshadowed if they’re the main romantic pairing?

Well, I think we have comparable foreshadowing, often as a positive contrast to Jonerys foreshadowing which the entire fandom believes is the big romance of the series, so I’m gonna challenge your premise and argue that it isn't the lack of foreshadowing for Jonsa that you're noticing, but the fandom's refusal to accept it. I believe that's because Jonsa is a threat to their priors (Jon and Dany are the heroes, they will meet, fall in love, and defeat the Others together, something that is impossible to believe when Martin says things like this) rather than it being a fair evaluation of the existence or merit of our foreshadowing.

Below I'll point out a few kinds of foreshadowing/examples and present the similar Jonsa version so you can see what I mean.

The premise for Jonerys seems to be that every similarity in their arcs is a parallel, but they are actually contrasts if you read closely (fedonciadale's post about that), and Sansa too has parallels with Jon as you can see in @thewindsofwolves's beautiful parallel series. Their similar journeys are also captured in this gifset and this gorgeous art, and it is certainly intentional, as Sansa seems to pattern Alayne in part on Jon ie we're being told she's getting to experience parts of his life. And, unlike Dany whose plan to conquer Westeros puts her at odds with the Starks, Sansa and Jon are written as having the same, very simple, compatible dream,

If I give him sons, he may come to love me. She would name them Eddard and Brandon and Rickon, and raise them all to be as valiant as Ser Loras. And to hate Lannisters, too. In Sansa's dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya. (ASOS, Sansa II) I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children. I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb. (ASOS, Jon XII)

If we're looking for a romance, foreshadowing that is about a personal relationship, this seems pertinent? And then there's Jon's desire to rebuild Winterfell, and the scene of Sansa literally building it out of snow:

Winterfell, he thought. Theon left it burned and broken, but I could restore it. Surely his father would have wanted that, and Robb as well. They would never have wanted the castle left in ruins. (ASOS, Jon XII) The snow fell and the castle rose. Two walls ankle-high, the inner taller than the outer. Towers and turrets, keeps and stairs, a round kitchen, a square armory, the stables along the inside of the west wall. It was only a castle when she began, but before very long Sansa knew it was Winterfell. (ASOS, Sansa VII)

Those two, back-to-back chapters, are absolutely full of parallels. They share a dream, and upon their reunion, will have a common purpose. I'll also link my post about how Sansa's forced marriage to Tyrion has connections to Jon's relationship with Ygritte, and @stormcloudrising's post about the similarities between the interactions of Sansa and the Hound & Jon and Ygritte. There are tons of these, but you get the idea. If we're looking for parallels between experiences, we have them.

Now, a popular method of finding foreshadowing is chapter order, but Jonsa has that too. Here's a 2018 post by @julibf that talks a bit about it, and @istumpysk's ASOS recap talks about that here and here.

There are two moments I've seen Jonerys shippers point to quite often as foreshadowing. Jon and the moon, Dany and the wolf. But the thing is, Sansa is the sun, and one of the "Jonerys" (Jon and the moon) passages has Jon running away from the moon to the cave with the sun (fedonciadale's post about that). The wolf moment also has a Jonsa contrast:

Off in the distance, a wolf howled. The sound made her feel sad and lonely, but no less hungry. As the moon rose above the grasslands, Dany slipped at last into a restless sleep. (ADWD, Daenerys X) All around was empty air and sky, the ground falling away sharply to either side. There was ice underfoot, and broken stones just waiting to turn an ankle, and the wind was howling fiercely. It sounds like a wolf, thought Sansa. A ghost wolf, big as mountains. (AFFC, Alayne II)

Far be it from me to say that Dany hearing a wolf but being lost to her desires and Sansa hearing a wolf, a ghost wolf, and finding it an overwhelming presence (mountain) means something, but if one does, the other does too. And if we're reading them both as foreshadowing, I think there are some reasonable, and unreasonable conclusions to draw from them. So, you can see why imo the fandom employs a double standard in how they weigh the merits of foreshadowing and interpret one as nonexistent and the other as real and positive.

Another oft referenced bit is Dany's vision of the blue flower and the dream of the shadowy lover, so I'll link some analysis of those that I think is far more...uh, shall I say, contextualized. There are @agentrouka-blog's posts on Winter Roses here and here, and her tag for it if you're interested in really exploring it thoroughly. There’s fedoncidale's post about it, her post about the shadowy lover, and @ladyofasoiaf's spec about how the shadow lover foreshadowing is actually Euron.

Oh, and I almost forgot Val who I've seen brought into the picture as foreshadowing for Dany, but there's a funny thing with her hair which again, if we're gonna look at her hair color and say she's a stand-in for Dany, we should be able to look at it and say, ok, but that means over here she's a stand-in for Sansa, and besides, the connotations for Jonerys there are very bad as discovered by @wintersnow39.

Basically, I don't think there's a lack of foreshadowing, I think there's simply a bias in the fandom that rejects Jonsa foreshadowing while happily accepting incredibly similar foreshadowing for other couples.

#jonsa #anti jonerys #dot chat

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atopvisenyashill · 5 months

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thoughts on the grand northern conspiracy theory?

it makes some points but i think most of it is deeply silly and relies on far too many leaps in logic and characters acting in a way they would never act all to push a “jon will be king” theory, which as i’m sure everyone knows, i am a big hater of.

The basis of the theory is that the Northern lords are purposefully playing Stannis & the Bolton/Freys against each other so they can take each other out, and free the North up for a Stark King & Northern Independence. That, on its face, I fully believe. It’s the details in the theory that I don’t fully buy into.

It’s basically canon that the Northern lords & ladies are really taking advantage of the chaotic politics & lack of a real centralized leader at the moment to make their own political moves. Some examples here include:

Arnolf & Cregan Karstark are explicitly doing this, something Alys comments on and something several other lords point out: "My uncle declared for Stannis, in hopes it might provoke the Lannisters to take poor Harry's head. Should my brother die, Karhold should pass to me, but my uncles want my birthright for their own." They don't really care about Stannis, they want Harry dead so they can have Karhold.

Alysane Mormont is potentially working off orders from her mother, when she says here, "Five, we were. All girls. Lyanna is back on Bear Island. Lyra and Jory are with our mother. Dacey was murdered." Even though as far as we know before that, all of Maege's girls were at Bear Island (except Dacey, who was with Maege in Robb's campaign).

There's the Umbers refusing to fight each other while picking two different sides, and this theory here that it was likely a plan between Mors and Hother to keep the Greatjon alive.

The Manderly Of It All re: very obviously using his granddaughter's anger as a cover for his own brutal plans for revenge and a Stark restoration.

The North is all clearly playing the game & attempting to oust the Boltons & Freys from power. I also don’t think the grumbling for Northern Independence would have died down since Robb died - if anything, after their King is brutally, viciously murdered, his mother’s corpse made a mockery of, his little Queen now a prisoner, and his sisters married off to enemies & humiliated, I imagine the calls for Northern Independence have gotten louder. This is a people that has suffered not just death and violence, but a lot of humiliation on top of that, and all of that is the perfect recipe for some sort of nationalist call for independence.

But the theory has. Some points that I just cannot co-sign because they make absolutely zero sense to me.

The idea that the only thing stopping Jon from being king is Jeyne being pregnant or the witnesses of Robb’s will being dead is just silly. He isn’t Ned Stark’s son, he is Lyanna’s! That puts Robb’s entire will in question, and you can bet your ass that there will be some grumbling or discussion about whether Winterfell should bypass Ned‘a line despite him having TWO true born sons and TWO true born daughters still alive, or whether it goes to Lyanna and therefore to Jon. The succession question is just NOT as simple as the meta makes it out to be because it completely ignores that Jon is, I cannot stress this enough, NOT actually Ned Stark’s son.

The meta is right that it’s likely Maege & Gallbart got a message to Howland because Theon notes that there’s been attacks by craggoman. But. Howland is one of - possible thee only - person left alive that knows Jon is Lyanna’s son. There is just no way he doesn’t have a strong opinion on whether Jon should inherit winterfell without knowing the truth.

Irrelevant but it’s really mean to Jeyne Westerling. Whatever role she may have - even if it’s to die in the prologue of TWOW - her life and her death are important regardless of whether she’s pregnant! She is the widow of a King, and if she dies by LSH’s hand, it’s going to be a huge point in showing us the violence in the Riverlands. Maybe the continued breakdown in the Riverlands, Lady Stoneheart’s anger, and Jeyne’s defiance of her family is not relevant to the King Jon pushers, but it IS thematically relevant to the plot thank you very fucking much. THE GIRL IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE BOY.

More relevant to this point is there’s just no way in fuck that Lady Stoneheart is trying to crown Jon. “oh she has bigger problems” she is going to crown one of her children if she crowns anyone, likely Arya, not her husband’s bastard who she fucking hated & asked to be banished to a glorified penal colony. Look at Brynden’s comments about Jon:

The Blackfish narrowed his eyes. "Did your father arrange for that as well? Catelyn never trusted the boy, as I recall, no more than she ever trusted Theon Greyjoy. It would seem she was right about them both.

Cat hates that kid so much she wrote letters to her uncle talking shit about him but we are supposed to believe this is proof she wants to crown him? When she's so far gone she's willing to kill Podrick and Brienne off a perceived slight against her? When she's heard several rumors that her daughters may still be alive and well? No. Don't buy it even a little.

Also, Brynden is flying Robb’s banner bc Robb was his family, because he loved Catelyn, and because what else is he supposed to do when he’s in the middle of a siege?? This point is silly and nonsensical.

Harwin as the Hooded Man - i mean. there’s nothing for or against this really, but also the Theon Durden theory aka Theon is the hooded man and doesn’t realize bc he’s having a psychotic episode, is much more believable to me & much more in line with everything that’s happening in theon’s chapter.

So like. Yes, the basic premise of “the northern lords are desperately looking for a stark, any stark, to make king/queen in the north, bc they are tired of All This Bullshit” is something i completely agree with. I do think it’s likely Maege has been in contact with her daughters, & that she and Gallbart made contact with Howland, who is about to enter the scene in a big way. But all that ish about LSH, the BWB, and Blackfish? Absolutely not. LSH is about Arya’s story (and Brienne & Jaime’s), not Jon. Stoneheart doesn’t care about the politics in Westeros; she cares that she followed all the rules and it got her family killed, so now she will break every rule there is to get revenge for her slaughtered children. she is Alyssa Arryn except she has the power to cause a lot of suffering before her tears drown her. she is not wasting her second life crowning jon snow!

#the grand northern conspiracy #valyrianscrolls #the north #and the mummer's farce is almost done #lady stoneheart #anti grand northern conspiracy theory #getting on my soap box #this is all me being a hater aljdsflkj

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nightswatchdisbandmentera · 4 days

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Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. “Hungry again?” he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

Jon I, AGOT

It's interesting that GRRM would dedicate several paragraphs to a seemingly unimportant exchange between a boy, his wolf, and an unfriendly third party. But there's just something about this passage that has continued to nag at me for years since I first read it because, considering how heavy handed GRRM was with the foreshadowing in AGOT, this feels important.

Jon is sitting at table full of squires - aka would be knights. We don't really know who they are or what families they belong to, but it's safe to assume that they come from a certain level of privilege; this is considering the fact that it cannot be financially easy to be a squire. And these boys already have a slew of tales detailing all their previous knightly exploits regarding "battle and bedding and the hunt" which suggests that they have some capital. So you have boys who will soon be men. And they will, presumably, become men of some power.

These lads eat their fill of the chicken until only half remains, which Jon then gives to Ghost. The direwolf's name is not so important here but what he represents is. Throughout the series, we're told that Ghost is reminiscent of the weirwood trees (because of his red eyes and white fur). He's stated to be of and from the Old Gods and since he's a personification of the weirwoods, he might as well be one of them. It's almost as if Jon is presenting whatever is left on the table to the Old Gods (Ghost). He lets them devour his offerings while he silently watches. And the motif of watching is so interesting here because it's kind of like Jon takes on a stewardship role - to watch over land/people/etc. He oversees Ghost eating the chicken, so he's overseeing whatever has been given to the Old Gods. This is not new imagery to his arc. As a brother of the Night's Watch and eventually its leader, we have several instances where he leads people to adopting the Old Gods in some fashion. In ADWD, several recruits swear their vows to the Old Gods while he watches on as their Lord Commander. The Old Gods are also primarily of the North and we're told that Jon has more of the north in him than his brothers; interesting that this also includes Bran. So perhaps whatever is being offered to the Old Gods relates to the North.

We must also note that Jon initially thinks to give only a small portion, a leg, before pivoting and providing the entire thing. It feels to me a bit like the process of carving up a kingdom or something similar. The lords (represented by the squires) take what they want and leave aside what they don't; or perhaps they have eaten to their fill and can take no more. Then when his time comes, Jon first considers a small piece of land/group of people before eventually absorbing all of whatever is left behind. The concept of carving up a kingdom rings harder considering that we have several callbacks to the ideals of kingship in this chapter. Robert, Jaime, Tyrion, and even Mance though we don't know it yet, all play into this. And then there's the aspect of Jon letting the chicken slip between his legs which evokes birth/fatherhood, a very curious choice when GRRM could've just had Jon place the chicken on the floor. So land/people are carved up and Jon then uses whatever is left to birth his own type of kingdom. And this kingdom is one for the Old Gods.

This also touches on something that has been quite prevalent throughout Jon's arc. It's the concept of accepting the "others" or "those left over" who live apart from the accepted social norms. Arya (a tomboy), Sam (a gender non-confirming boy), the Night's Watch (criminals, extra sons, and men who have no future left or place to go), and even the wildlings are all examples of this. And Jon takes on a leadership/paternal role to every single one of them. He looks after them as a leader would/should. Sometimes, in the case of Arya and the wildlings, he's equated to a king. He's a steward/shepherd/king. There's messianic undertones to this:

Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you're familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition, you'll know that Jesus is often personified as one who spent the majority his time among the outcasts. The idea is that he came to save them too and that anew kingdom (or new earth depending on your translation) would spring up after the end of the world where he would forever rule as king; which presents the idea of a final king after the earthly ones are done away with. Now GRRM isn't so heavy handed with Christian allusions as other authors out there, but he does have a Catholic background and Jon is so overtly a Jesus figure. And in Revelation, Jesus is king and god at the very end....

One last thing: the mention of the mongrel who challenges Jon has always been rather interesting but confusing to me. A mongrel doesn't really relate to one specific type of dog. But it's interesting that Jon notes several roaming about where he is. They follow the serving girls who carry the food to be offered. Mongrels are used to describe antagonist/villainous groups in ASOIAF. Sometimes, they're used to describe slavers in Essos. But what's interesting is that most of the time, they're used to describe Euron's Ironborn especially in Victorian's POV. So I don't think the mongrel who challenges Ghost is a supernatural threat of death (i.e., the Others) but rather a human one. They represent those who are called to the scene once the lords have finished playing their games. It almost feels like a feast for (carrion) crows....

But it doesn't really matter because this mongrel isn't much of a challenge for Ghost. Though the mongrel is much larger, the direwolf is able to fend her off very effortlessly. Given that "mongrel" is used to describe Ironborn raiders, could this exchange between Ghost and the mongrel point to reavers or sea raiders who rise and fail challenge Jon kingdom? There is a historical King Jon Stark who did this....

When sea raiders landed in the east, Jon drove them out and built a castle, the Wolf's Den, at the mouth of the White Knife, so as to be able to defend the mouth of the river.[1][2] His son, Rickard, followed him on the throne and annexed the Neck to the north.

ref.

So this might shed some light not only on Jon's already published arc, but also on what we can expect in the future. We have some foreshadowing through Jon's ADWD dream that he will not only rise with the dawn (thereby live through the Long Night), but will be in a position to lead people (wildings in that chapter) to a new peace after a hard fought war. Also remember that the wildlings, rather enthusiastically, swear oaths to him as if swearing oaths to their king. In this instance, the supernatural (a dream of the war for the dawn) is followed by the natural/human. So perhaps this particular passage (and Jon's dream) can be used to predict that Jon comes out on top, and quite effortlessly too, as a leader. And he becomes a leader who rules by association with the Old Gods; or rules a kingdom for them.

To end, I think it's of note that this passage immediately precedes Jon's conversation with Benjen where he voices his desire to go out on his own - the hero's call to action. This is the adventure that's going to kickstart his growth as a man, warrior and most importantly, a leader. So it looks like before we even began, GRRM telegraphed how it would all end in just three short paragraphs.

#jon snow #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #ghost the direwolf #some random extra thoughts:#the aspect of fatherhood is closely tied to kingship as kings are often regarded to be the fathers of their nations #so we might see a parallel where jon-like dany-doesn't have children of his own physical body #but rather rules a kingdom as its symbolic father #think of how odin-a mythical parallel for jon-is called the all father because he is father to all men/lands #also it's interesting to me how kingship is a theme but it's almost like the actual theme is that of kings coming of going #but jon remaining and prevailing above all #we have robert who is a disappointing/bad king and his rule doesn't last very long and neither will his dynasty #jaime looks like a king and even if grrm didn't go through with his original ideas he was never meant to rule for long #in the new story jaime is symbolic of rhaegar a would be king whose time comes and goes leaving jon to pick up the pieces #then tyrion who stands “as tall as a king” but not quite! he still is not as tall as jon and tyrion also says in a later chapter #that soon he'll be even shorter than ghost + tyrion wasn't hand for long #mance who is hidden also has his time as king but it's very short lived and jon later absorbs his kingdom to make his own #so we have the wolf devouring the “left behinds” in a way but the interesting thing is this happens in reverse doesn't it #might Jon's new kingdom not only be made of remnants of the nw and wildlings but also have those left behind from the rest of the 7k?#it's possible since jojen tells us that once night comes all cloaks become black 🙂#so yeah this is all just more jon endgame king of winter/a new north propaganda lmaoooo

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megamindsupremacy · 2 months

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It would be so objectively funny if Jon turned straight in the exact same way he turned 16. Just flew off into space for a couple hours and came back married (to a woman) w/ 2 kids, and does not acknowledge he was dating a man before he left. He introduces Jay as his "good friend" unironically. The League suspects mind control.

thats SO fuckign funny. jon pulls a "see ya space cowboy", shoots straight up into space and just fucking disappears. his friends and fam have enough time to all call each other like "hey is jon with you? no? where tf did he go" before he returns from the Outer Space Time Dimension, nuclear family in tow. He calls Jay his buddy from university. He acts exactly the same except he has a wife (??) and kids (????????????) and is seemingly acting out a completely normal white middle class nuclear family arrangement on top of Being Superman. The Justice League has every single mind reader they can find digging through his wife's mind trying to figure out what kind of evil mind controlling plans she has going on but she's literally just Some Woman. Jay hates her with a passion and Jon + the wife have literally no idea. their kids call him uncle Jay because Jon says he and Jay were closer than brothers Back In The Day. losing my mind about this.

#mads posts #jon kent #superman #superboy #jay nakamura #dc comics #justice league #dc's next straight character #propaganda #will attach this to the next post if jon makes it through #i should make an ask tag

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kyuremking · 5 months

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Stark Children and Narnia

Hey, I binge-watched The Pevensie Siblings and Narnia too much and now I have an idea.

The Stark brothers are playing together with their wolves just a few days before the royal court arrives at Winterfell and they all end up stuck in a dark room in the crypts and end up in Narnia.

Basically the same thing happens as in the first movie, and when they are adults and have been kings for years they return to that dark room in the crypts with their children's bodies.

Everyone hates it, in Narnia they were kings, adults who were listened and respected. Now they are children again, no one takes them seriously.

Ned and Cat notice it. Their children have changed, just a few hours have passed since they disappeared into the crypts and when their children reappear they are no longer the same.

It's not just that everyone is closer than before, there is no longer any separation between Jon and his siblings.

Sansa no longer yearns for knights and tournaments. Robb speaks like a 30-year-old man who has lived through dozens of wars. And Jon is ALWAYS with him as brother and advisor supporting him. Bran is no longer interested in climbing although he sometimes looks up to the heavens. Arya is much calmer than she's ever been before. She doesn't fight anymore but that doesn't mean she's going to listen to you or obey you. Rickon on the other hand is 100 times more savage, because he hates it, he hates being trapped in his child body because he was a grown man and now he can't reach any shelves or be left alone.

But neither Ned nor Cat have much time to think about it because the royal court is here.

And while the Stark children feel something in the air, similar to the feeling that was in Narnia when the Witch lived. Something happens with the cold, something unnatural.

@catofadifferentcolor I don't know if you like Narnia but I had this idea and thought maybe you would be interested.

What changes could there be with Stark children with the minds of adult person after having reigned in their own right and the pent-up anger of a thousand suns for being trapped in their childish bodies?

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #narnia #the chronicles of narnia #stark house #stark siblings #robb stark #jon snow #theon greyjoy #sansa stark #bran stark #rickon stark

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chloe-skywalker · 1 year

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You Would Think - Tormund Gaintsbane

Tormund x Fem!reader Lannister

Warnings: GOT

Word count: 677

Summary: With Tyrion and Jaime now both in Winterfell before the big battle, Jaime has deserved how grown up their little sister has become.

Authors Note: “Game Of Thrones” is a warning all in its self. Reader and Tormund don’t talk in this one. It’s more characters watching them interact. I will have imagines where they talk!

P.S - I plan on making maybe a short series like this imagine and others like this one. I like the over all story idea.

Also ~ So this is not the first story I wrote for Game Of Thrones but it is the first one I completely finished and typed.

Masterlist

Game Of Thrones Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“I am pleased that Daenerys and Sansa let you stay.” Tyrion smiled at his brother as the older Lannister male came to stand next to him on the balcony over looking the entrance to Winterfell.

“So am I.” Jaime gave a nod of agreement. Glancing around Jaime couldn’t find one person he had yet to see. “Where’s our little sister?”

Tyrion smiled, knowing that he would ask that sooner rather than later. Jaime and Y/n had a really close relationship till Cersei felt threatened and Y/n had to flee for her life. “This way.”

Tyrion lead the knight over to a different over looking balcony, looking over a different part of Winterfell. Upon looking down both Lannisters immdedtly took notice of their sister. Although Jaime noticed how close she seemed to be standing, and touching a giant red haired man.

“Who’s that?” Jaime asked his little brother.

“That dear brother is Tormund Gaintsbane.” Tyrion answered him. Upon hearing the name and Tyrion suspected seeing the clothes he put it together.

“A wildling.” Jaime stated, squaring his shoulders. They had all grown up with the stories of Wildlings. They aren’t good or nice stories.

“They prefer Free Folk.” Tyrion corrected with a tilt of his head.

Jaime gave a faint sound of acknowledgement before pointing down to their sister and the ‘Free Folk’ before asking. “Are they-”

“Together? Yes, our little sister is growing up.” Tyrion was as shocked as jaime is when he first found out about Y/n’s relationship. And with who, was a bigger shock. His mind had to work overtime to catch up with Y/n’s adventures and changes when they were reunited.

“Seem’s she already has.” Jaime spoke after taking a deep breath. She was so young when she left and they were so close. Now it was like he didn’t know her at all and that killed him on the inside.

“And she found love in the process.” Tyrion found that detail to be a comforting factor, but he could tell the protective older brother was coming out of Jaime. “Don’t worry. He’d die for her.”

“How could you know that?” Jaime furrowed his brow confused at how his brother could possibly know that.

“He’s said as much. The Free Folk don’t hold back. They speak what they feel and think. And he’s said as much, and he’s made his intentions with our sister very clear.” Tyrion squinted his eyes at the memories of hearing Tormund's thoughts of their sister. Things he never wanted to know, but it was nice to know he never planned on letting harm come to her.

Before Jaime could press for details that he probably would regret asking for, down below one of the banner men decided to grab at Y/n’s butt and said some pretty provocative words towards her.

Ser Davos had walked over to Tyrion as they all caught the scene. “Oh he should not have done that.”

“What?” Jaime glanced towards Ser Davos at his comment before returning his gaze onto his sister.

Jon Snow had come over along with Ser davos and who better to explain to the Kingslayer than Tormunds good friend. “That Bannerman shouldn’t have done that to your sister. I’ve known Tormund for awhile now and Y/n. No one disrespects her, and if you do your asking for a death sentance. Espeacilly if you do it infront of Tormund.”

With that said the 4 men watch as Tormund looked to Y/n and with a nod from her Tormund knocked the man on his ass. It was obvious that he looked to Y/n for permission and to see id she wanted to do it herself.

Jaime admired that Tormund let Y/n decide. He respects her.

“You would think they’d learn by now.” Tyrion shook his head of the stupidity that men posses.

“Hmm. Either she’ll get you or he will.” Ser Davos hummed in agreement with the imp. You would think after seeing what the couple could do, they would think before they acted.

Taglist: @gruffle1

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swordsandarms · 9 months

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This is a reply in regards to this post, which highlights the high likelihood that, whether people are fine with the author's choices or not, RxL is written by him with romantic nuance as far as the text goes. @sahtinekryze

And I think this fandom really needs to have a honest analysis of the idea of "selfishness" in narrative choices such as this, which is that when it comes to how the whole "duty vs love" scenarios Martin writes, he does not actually writes it with some wide spectrum ranging from selfish to sacrificial. There are usually no other choices than the two.

Could one define the alleged choice of breaking a noble marriage contract that would have negative political influence at the least, had it been the best case scenario (which one would logically assume the two might have hoped for instead of very lots of people dying including themselves) as 'selfish', which in its very definition is doing something for one's self, though it may not be advantageous for others? Yes.

But as I said, Martin doesn't write a middle ground. There's that, or Lyanna marries an unwanted man and is hence forced to have a non-consensual relationship with him, and forced to carry children out of a noncon relationship, so that her male relatives can reap benefits of political power, as well as her groom through her womb. And as shows inspired by these books love to show us very graphic such cases (like Daenerys in GOT, or the storyline given to show!Sansa, or the changes for show!Alicent in HOTD), I am sure fans should have learnt better about the accusations usually thrown at Lyanna in fandom spaces in regards to being another woman marrying against her will in a society where a woman cannot say no, marital rape isn't recognised, and a husband is "just taking his rights": that "this is just being whiny". (There are many other examples in the books; the author is also not holding back on what unwanted or unsuitable marriages mean to women.)

Against the fanon idea that she is some wild, demanding, conceited girl, she doesn't rage, she doesn't bite. She has a tentative, soft spoken conversation with her brother about it and her reluctance in the matter, and is (nicely) dismissed.

Had she not (allegedly, while all is unconfirmed) fallen for the Crown Prince and he for her, there is no one else powerful enough to extract her from her situation (her male relatives having made up their own minds in the matter), nor anyone else to go from where she cannot be recovered by a powerful and connected family and fiance. No one else she could marry/sleep with that wouldn't be shut down and covered (as seen with Tyrion or Lysa) to preserve the higher price for which her womb can be bartered. Just no other viable choice that wasn't the other end of the scale: a woman being sacrificed by men, for men's uses.

As I said at the start, this is simply how Martin writes these conflicts of "mind and heart". He corners the characters. There is no light at the end of the tunnel that isn't also sort of "selfish" and "dumb" looking on the surface.

This can be applied to more such situations in the text-

Catelyn undoes the already precarious state of her son's campaign by releasing their most valuable captive. She has not even a guarantee that her 'selfish' act for love will work. But there are no options she's given. No one else cares to make it a priority to get her daughters back. The only other choice is to let it be and let 2 girls be sacrificed in marriages of ill intent to use their wombs and discard them, unsure if she will find anything left of them but Lannister named babies when this is over. It is "selfish". It is "dumb". Yet she's cornered.

Jon makes the decision to go fight Ramsay Bolton because he's run out of options and he's cornered. Arya is allegedly in the hands of the family that have viciously killed a number of Starks and taken Winterfell. She is 11 and allegedly married. He is made sick at the thought of what is being done to her. He's tried the "lesser" tactics of getting her rescued without being seen as trespassing the status quo of the NW publicly, by sending others for her. But it was always going to come to this. Ramsay guesses (or finds out) that his escaped bride would make it to the Wall. Keeping "peace" and "doing his duty" instead of "being selfish and dumb" is handing over "Arya" himself if she even makes it to appease the Lord of Winterfell, sacrificing a girl to an unwanted marriage meant to use her for her womb and discard her.

There are no actual choices when there is no actual scale in between "selfish and dumb" and the sacrifice of a girl (or, you know, 2,3, as many as Westeros would swallow as it did for millennia for this or that Lord or King to amass and keep power), whether they are Lannisters trying to get Winterfell, or Starks extinguishing the line of the Warg King.

#asoiaf #rhaegar targaryen #lyanna stark #arya stark #jon snow #catelyn stark

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dreamcatcher2113 · 1 year

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The Dragon Dance

Summary: What if Rhaenyra had another child? What if Rhaenyra had a daughter with white hair and purple eyes? What if she was betrothed to Aemond as an alliance with Greens?

You are the daughter of Rhaenyra Targaryen, unlike your brothers you have white hair and purple eyes. You are the twin sister of Jacaerys. You were close with Aemond when you were kids, you two attached to the hip. Ten years later after your family left to Dragonstone, your family reunites with the Greens. You see a familiar face, Aemond Targaryen. Even though it's been years since you last saw him, let's just say you are not the same little girl you were once before.

Warnings: The reader and Jacaerys are aged up, they would be eighteen. Uncle/niece insect. 18+ smut(eventually). Language. Mentions of assault(mainly from Aegon). Violence. And possible other warnings that I can’t think of. There is a happy ending.

Part 15

Masterlist

Author Note: This part is going to be a little short than the other parts, because I had no idea what else to write. I hope you guys enjoy this part!!

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The Dragon Dance Part 16

It was finally Y/N and Aemond’s wedding, after weeks of planning the day finally came. The wedding took place up on a hill in King’s Landing, since you and Aemond couldn’t have it at Dragonstone, you both thought it was the best compromise. You wore the dress your mother wore on her first wedding day and she gifted the headgear that she wore when she and Daemon got married. You also wore the necklace Aemond gave you, you never took it off unless you took a bath or went to sleep. Aemond wore the robes that Daemon gave him, it was the one he wore when he married Rhaenyra. Aemond felt honored when Daemon had him try on his wedding robes and altered it to his size. He also wore the pin that he had made for himself when had Jon and Mary-Weather make your betrothed gift, like you he never took it off. It felt like you were with him when you were not by his side, it gave him comfort.

Your family; Rhaenyra, Daemon, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey, and Aemond’s family; Alicent, Cole Criston, Aegon, and Helaena and of course Baela and Rhaena were there as well. Your grandmother Rhaenys came as a witness as well. You and Aemond cut your lips with dragon glass. Aemond cuts his hand and rubs a mark on his forehead and yours. Both of you vow to each other “one flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever.” You and Aemond say at the same time, and you both share a kiss. You both smile at each other, finally you two are husband and wife. Your families finally became one again, an alliance has been made.

Your families walked back to the castle for the celebration for you and Aemond. The celebration was held at the great hall, so many Lords and Ladies were there. Even Jon and Mary-Weather were there. Aemond was the one who invited them, they always treated him like an equal and showed that they genuinely cared for him.

At the large table sat you and Aemond in the middle. Next to you sat Rhaenyra, Daemon, Joffrey, Jace, Baela, Luce, Rhaena, and Rhaenys. Next to Aemond was Alicent, Cole, Aegon and Helaena. Everyone was eating, drinking, dancing, and having a good time. Aemond stood up and reached his hand out to you, silently asking you to dance. Which you happily took his hand and led you to the dance floor. The both of you dance the celebration dance, like the one Rhaenyra and Laenor danced on the wedding night. The both of you were smiling at each other, it felt like it was only the two of you. Rhaenyra and Alicent couldn’t help but smile as well, seeing both of their children happy. A little after you and Aemond started dancing, the rest of your families started to dance.

“We are finally married, my beloved wife.” Aemond said in Old Valyrian, smiling at you.

“Indeed we are, my dear husband.” You smiled widely at him. You like calling him that, my husband. Aemond loves hearing those words come out of your mouth.

He gave you a quick kiss, resting his forehead against yours. He still can’t believe that you are finally his wife, the two continued to dance the night away. You dance with your brothers, your mother and father, all of your sisters, and Alicent. You even dance with Aegon for a bit, mainly because you don’t want to stand too close to him for long and you know Aemond does not want his brother close to you. You started to dance with your husband again, you weren’t going to lie; the celebration was kind of a good idea. Seeing everyone dancing and having fun, it brought a smile to your face.

Jace, Baela Rhaena, and Rhaenys said goodbye to you since they would be leaving for Driftmark. You said goodbye to them and hugged them all. You wished them to fly safely and watched them go to their chambers. Aemond took your hand and the both of you disappeared for the night. You couldn’t help but to giggle as Aemond brings to both of you chambers. You and Aemond agreed to share a chamber, the both of you already spent time away from each other; you both didn’t want to be separated again. Before Aemond brings you to your shared chamber, he pins you against a wall, brings both of his hands to your cheeks and kisses you passionately. You smiled into the kiss and held both of his hands. Aemond breaks the kiss for air, and you bite your lower lip.

“I can’t wait to take you and make you my wife.” Aemond growled lowly, and started kissing your neck.

“Aemond.” You moaned his name.

“Hm” He hummed, still kissing your neck and leaving small love bites.

You giggled at your husband. “Can’t you wait until we get our quarters?”

You feel him smirk against your neck, he brings his face up to look at you. “I can’t help it dear wife. I want you. I’ve been desiring you for so long.”

You bring his face closer to yours, wanting to feel his lips against yours again. You felt his hunger for you in this kiss, and you want him too. You want all of him and he wants all of you. You pulled away and leaned into his ear and whispered in Old Valyrian. “Then make me yours my husband.”

Something in Aemond you woke, he looks at you with his purple eye with lust in them. In an instant he picks you up and throws you over his shoulder. You squeal at the action and start to giggle as he carries to you the chambers. Aemond was going to claim you as his wife and you were going to claim him as your husband. The both of you wanted to show each other how much you love each other, because words weren’t enough.

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Taglist: @mikariell95 @random-human02 @buttercupstrand @rosaryos @whitejuliana1204 @schniiipsel @jeyramarie @mingiholic @klutzyfreak @a-beaverhausen

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threewaywithdelusion · 9 days

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GOT Fic

Feedback (and title suggestions!) welcome, as this is a work in progress! This is based off GOT, not ASOIAF, so we have Mad Queen Dany, sorry.

Jaime may have been reluctantly permitted into Winterfell by Daenerys Targaryen and Sansa Stark, with the help of Brienne’s shocking and unwavering faith in him. But that didn’t mean he had been welcomed.

Everywhere Jaime went, he was watched with wary, distrustful eyes. Whispers trailed in his wake, words like Kingslayer and sister-fucker and Lannister hissed with equal venom. The wildlings, including that savage redheaded fucker who stared at Brienne wherever she went, watched him with open curiosity. His presence here had apparently done a lot to mend the rift between the wildlings, the Northerners, and the armies from Essos, gossip uniting them against a common enemy.

It seemed the whole world hated a Lannister.

Jaime had never felt so far from Casterly Rock. Here, he wasn’t Jaime Lannister, Lord Tywin’s hair and future Warden of the West. He wasn’t Jaime Lannister of the King’s Guard. He wasn’t even Jaime Lannister the fearsome knight, now that his fighting skills were mediocre without his right hand. A few days ago, he had watched Brienne teaching men in the yard, where she was eventually joined by Arya Stark, and had been dismayed to learn that he would almost certainly lose to the Starks’ youngest daughter.

Jaime did his own training, sparring with Brienne in the yard and with Podrick Payne in a clearing in the woods, trying to strengthen his left arm. He ate meager rations of flavorless gruel, despairing at the thought of eating such terrible food for the next several years. He helped the blacksmiths distribute Dragonglass weapons, helped fortify Winterfell’s soot-stained walls for if (when) the army of the dead got past them, and tried desperately not to think of Cersei at every turn. Jaime was never allowed into the war room and he was never left alone. He felt a bit like a prisoner, constantly watched and never allowed near anyone of import.

That was why he was so surprised, after he’d been there a week, to walk into the bedroom he was sharing with Tyrion and Podrick and find Jon Snow waiting for him.

The last time Jaime had seen Jon Snow, he’d been a mere boy, sat away from the high table and sulking about it. Since then, he’d been Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, King in the North, and was now Lord of Winterfell, despite his bastard origins.

Jaime had never felt his fall in the world more acutely.

“My Lord,” Jaime said stiffly. He had no idea what Snow wanted with him, but it couldn’t possibly be good.

“Ser Jaime,” Jon Snow said, sweeping an arm at Tyrion’s bed. “Take a seat.”

Jaime stepped over his and Pod’s bedrolls and took a seat on Tyrion’s bed. Jon Snow shut the door and gave Jaime a long, unreadable look.

He had brought no guards with him, but one of his hands was resting over the wolf’s-head pommel of his Valyrian steel sword.

Jaime did not think that could mean anything good. “Am I being banished?”

“No.”

“Punished?”

“No.”

“Has Daenerys Targaryen decided she can’t forgive the man who murdered her father?”

Something in Snow’s expression twitched. “No.”

Jaime spread his hands. “Then I can’t imagine what I’ve done to deserve the honor.”

Jon Snow frowned. He opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out.

Jaime sighed and began rooting around the furs on Tyrion’s bed. There was nothing under the pillow, or tucked between the bed and the wall, but a glance under the bed led Jaime to his prize: a skin of wine.

Snow frowned as Jaime took a swig of it – it was disgusting Northern swill, strong and flavorless.

“We’re on rations,” Snow said. “You’re not meant to have wine.”

“It’s not mine,” Jaime said. “Clearly your Queen has seen the wisdom in keeping my brother supplied with alcohol for as long as humanly possible. Here.” He held out the skin.

Snow hesitated for a moment and then took it, gulping down half the wineskin and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“So?” Jaime asked.

Snow took a deep breath. “How did you do it?”

Jaime waited, but that appeared to be all. “I’m going to need more than that.”

“You and Cersei,” Snow said, making Jaime stiffen all over. “How could you…”

The word sister-fucker rang in Jaime’s ears.

“Fuck her?” Jaime asked angrily. “I assume you’re not asking me for instructions. I know the Night’s Watch requires you to take a vow of celibacy, but I don’t believe you’re an untouched maiden..”

Snow’s cheeks flushed red as he scowled. “That’s not what I’m asking. Of course I’m not! I meant, knowing that she was your sister, how could you feel… that way… towards her.”

Jaime forced himself to keep his hand off his sword. “I came here to fight the dead, not put up with Northern scorn. I know you’re the honorable Ned Stark’s son,” he said with venom and Snow flinched, “but that doesn’t give you the right to abuse me for my choices.”

“I’m not mocking you,” Snow growled. “I was just- forget it.”

Something about the look on his face, scared and ashamed, made Jaime sit up straight. He knew what men looked like when they were teasing him about Cersei. He knew intimately the disgust on their faces, the way they would look down on him, the way their mouths would twist like they had tasted something sour. He knew Euron Greyjoy’s leer as he said, “”. He even knew how his friends and family treated the subject — Tyrion mostly alluding slyly to Jaime and Cersei’s relationship, unless they were arguing in which case it was fair game, Tommen watching him with questions in his eyes, Bronn teasing lewdly but without making incest seem any worse than the other inclinations he frequently saw in brothels.

And Brienne. Incredible, honorable Brienne, who had been revolted with his reputation as the Kingslayer and Oathbreaker but had never questioned or begrudged him his love for Cersei. She had repeatedly asked him to be a better man, to keep his oaths to her and to Catelyn Stark, and to do what was right. But she’d never once implied that he should leave Cersei or told him that he was wrong for the way he loved her.

He wasn’t delusional enough to think that Brienne approved of his relationship. But she didn’t act like he was a monster for it, and that was much more than most people did.

It was the thought of her stalwart loyalty that made Jaime speak up.

“Snow,” he said, before the other man could leave the room.

Snow stopped at the door, shifting uncomfortably. He looked fearfully at Jaime and Jaime’s heart sped up as he recognized the mix of guilt-shame-longing on the other man’s face.

He really wasn’t being cruel. He was asking for himself.

Jaime thought of Arya Stark, laying grown men flat on their back in the yard with the skinny little sword she claimed her brother had given her. He thought of Sansa Stark, cold and beautiful, sitting at the high table beside Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen and ruling like she belonged.

Jaime supposed either of them could have appeal. But Arya Stark spent every moment she wasn’t training following Robert Baratheon’s bastard around the forge and Sansa Stark stiffened when men stepped too close.

That was the first important bit.

“We both wanted each other,” Jaime said. “People may judge my choices, but Cersei was no wilting flower who would have let me take advantage. I didn’t force her and I didn’t dishonor her with other women.”

Snow stared at him for a long moment, then said, “I didn’t think you had taken advantage. From what Sansa says, Cersei is formidable and I’m sure she would not have tolerated advances she didn’t welcome. What I want to know is how you were able to overlook your blood connection to love her that way.”

Jaime frowned. Was he trying to overlook a blood connection for marriage? If so, he could only be talking about Sansa Stark. Maybe he planned to marry her to become Lord of Winterfell in a way a bastard could never manage.

“I mean no insult, but Lady Sansa has had four betrothals and two husbands and I’m not certain she’s interested in another.”

Snow looked like he’d just been slapped. “I don’t want to marry Sansa,” he hissed.

Jaime raised an eyebrow. “Arya?”

She wasn’t nearly as beautiful, but Jaime couldn’t deny that he understood the appeal of a girl skilled with a blade. He would’ve already proposed marriage to Brienne if he wasn’t unworthy of her. He’d pried himself free from Cersei’s claws but she’d left only a tattered, bloody heart in his chest, struggling to beat without its other half. Brienne deserved a man with a whole heart, two hands, and enough honor to rival her own.

Snow made a face like he might be sick. Jaime tried not to take it personally, though Snow was the one who had started the conversation about fucking siblings and was now acting like the idea was disgusting.

“No,” Snow said emphatically. “Not Arya. No.”

The only other Stark Jaime had seen around Winterfell was the boy he’d paralyzed, who spoke eerie prophecies and acted too creepily composed for Jaime’s taste. But then again, the Starks followed the Old Gods. Maybe Snow didn’t mind that the boy acted possessed by forces beyond the Wall.

Jaime had never been able to understand the appeal in men, either, but he thought of Brienne’s devotion to Renly Baratheon and decided not to mention that part.

“Bran-”

“Stop talking,” Snow barked.

Jaime snatched the wineskin off the bed and took a long drink. “Either explain what you’re asking or go. I’m not here to watch you look revolted at me, and if this goes on much longer I’m going to take offense and we’re going to find out how much Brienne’s training has improved my left hand.”

Snow nodded jerkily. He held his hand out for the wineskin, took a long pull, then sank next to Jaime on the bed. “It doesn’t matter who this is about. Please don’t try to guess. Let’s just say… it’s a relation on my mother’s side.”

That caught Jaime’s attention. As far as he knew, no one had ever been able to discover the identity of Ned Stark’s secret lover. Robert Baratheon had asked Varys once, in the early days of his reign, but even the Master of Whisperers had been unable to discover the woman’s identity.

“Go on,” Jaime said.

“She- I met her before I knew my parentage,” Snow said. “She was beautiful and fierce. I gave her my heart and my body, and then found out that she’s my…”

He trailed off, looking uncomfortable, and Jaime filled in the word sister.

“It seems to me the damage has already been done,” Jaime said. “You already love her. You already fucked her. What could you hope to gain from staying away now?”

Snow looked miserable. “If I’d known, I wouldn't have let myself feel this way.”

Jaime snorted. “Knowing something is forbidden has very little effect on love. Letting yourself feel a certain way is a fantasy we tell ourselves to pretend we have any control over the matter.”

“I don’t believe that,” Snow said. “We’re not animals. My father always said that family and duty come first and we can choose who we love. He and Lady Catelyn weren’t a love match, but they did have true affection for each other.”

“Your father was an honorable man,” Jaime said. “Honorable to the point of madness, really. And yet, he fathered a bastard. If that isn’t evidence that we have no control over who we love, I don’t know what is.”

Snow flinched, but he didn’t contradict Jaime.

“Look, you said you’d given this woman your heart. Did you stop loving her because you found out she’s your sister?”

Snow shook his head.

“Did she stop loving you?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“She doesn’t know?” Jaime repeated incredulously.

“And I can’t tell her,” Snow continued.

“Then why are we even having this conversation? You can’t lie to her to take her to bed — that would be dishonorable. And once she knows, she may not even want you.”

“I wouldn’t lie to her,” Snow said hotly. “I haven’t touched her since I found out. But she grew up… I don’t think she’ll be deterred by knowing we’re family. So I might have to be the one to walk away.”

“Why?” Jaime demanded angrily. “Society’s scorn? If you’d walk away over that, you don’t truly love her. Do you know what I put up with to be with Cersei? Even before the world knew, I had to watch her marry that pig Robert Baratheon. I had to guard his chamber door while he took her to bed and hear what they did together. I had to pretend that disgusting man was the father of my children and keep my distance from them so no one would ever realize he wasn’t. And ever since your father saw fit to announce our love to the world, I’ve been sneered at and disrespected and called every foul name in the book. I endured it all — everything — because I love Cersei. She was worth it.”

“It’s not that,” Snow said quietly. “The world doesn’t even know we’re related, so I’m not worried about people’s reactions. At least not yet. It’s just… the possibility of children.”

“Children?” Jaime echoed, pulled up short.

Snow glanced at him, then looked away. “There’s a reason we’ve had so many mad Targaryen kings. Every time a new Targaryen is born, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land. They intermarried, they all went mad, and the realm suffered for it. And — I’m sorry, I know he was your son — but you can’t deny there was something truly wrong with Joffrey. I’ve heard what he did to Sansa. I don’t want to have a child like that.”

Jaime’s heart ached dully. His children, his wonderful, beautiful children, were all dead. Tommen had jumped from a window as a result of Cersei’s machinations. Myrcella had died in his arms, right as he’d begun to hope he could be a real father to her. He missed them both so, so much.

He missed Joffrey too, but differently. The boy had always had an appetite for cruelty and Jaime had feared what he would become. He’d loved Joffrey because he was his son, but he’d never managed the unadulterated love for him that Cersei had.

Say what you would about Cersei, she had loved her children more fiercely than any mother in the world.

“I don’t think intermarriage is the problem,” Jaime said quietly. “The Targaryens already had madness in their bloodline — of course it was going to be passed down. And Joffrey… I loved him, yes, but I realize he was flawed. He could be cruel and selfish and vindictive. And… I know where he got those traits from.”

Cersei had known as well. When Myrcella had died, she’d said I don’t know where she came from. She was nothing like me. No meanness, no jealousy, just good.

There had been no similar words said for Joffrey.

“As long as your lover isn’t mad, you don’t have to worry,” Jaime said. “Besides, I’m assuming she’s baseborn if she’s a relation on your mother’s side? The Targaryens and Joffrey were only problems for the realm because they sat on the Iron Throne. Your children won’t be a danger to anyone else.”

If possible, Snow looked even more miserable at that. He flinched violently, as if Jaime had slapped him, and Jaime’s blood ran cold.

Snow wasn’t in love with Sansa or Arya Stark. Everyone knew Snow had been conceived while Ned Stark was fighting in the South, which ruled out any Northern ladies or wildlings as his relations. No love for a lowborn girl would put that look of fear on his face, and the only southern Lady present was Brienne of Tarth, who Jaime was certain hadn’t had a madly passionate affair with Jon Snow sometime in the last few months.

The only highborn girl left as a viable option was Daenerys Targaryen.

Jaime thought back and suddenly it seemed stupidly obvious. He’d heard the men whispering about Jon Snow riding one of Daenerys’s dragons. He’d heard the dirty jokes about how Daenerys had gotten the King in the North to bend the knee and give her his crown by spreading her legs. He’d seen her looking at him in the Great Hall as he walked away from her, trying to hide her hurt.

“Who was your mother?” Jaime growled.

Snow shook his head.

“Rhaella Targaryen?” Jaime asked.

Snow’s head shot up so he could look fearfully at the door, as if afraid of being overheard.

Well he would be afraid if he was a Targaryen bastard, wouldn’t he?

“Rhaella Targaryen was your mother?” Jaime repeated incredulously.

“No!” Snow snapped. He glanced at the door, lowered his voice, then said, “Lyanna Stark was.”

Jaime blinked. Ned Stark had fucked his sister? But no, Snow hadn’t been asking about being the mad child of an incestuous union. He’d been asking about producing such a child. About being in love with a woman.

That meant Ned Stark wasn’t his father at all. And given the boy’s age and the fact that his mother was Lyanna Stark…

“Your father was Rhaegar Targaryen,” Jaime breathed, horrified.

Snow looked like a hunted thing. Only he wasn’t a Snow, was he? Was he a Waters? A Sand?

“No one can know,” Jon said.

It made sense now why he hadn’t told his lover. Daenerys Targaryen had never truly been in the line of succession for the throne, as Aerys’s third child and a girl. But Rhaegar’s son, even a bastard one, would have a fairly legitimate claim.

He didn’t want to steal her crown.

“Neither of you is entirely in the line of succession,” Jaime said, stretching the truth to ease the look of misery on Jon’s face. “She’s a woman and you’re a bastard. I’d say you have about equal claim.”

“No,” Jon said hoarsely. “We don’t.”

“I know you want her to sit on the throne, but speaking from a historical perspective, a bastard-“

“I’m not a bastard,” Jon said.

Jaime stared at him. “What?”

“Rhaegar had a Maester annul his marriage to Elia Martell. He married Lyanna Stark under a weirwood tree.”

Jaime seized the wineskin and drank until it was empty. He was sitting beside a trueborn Targaryen son, a man who could possibly have ended the War of the Five Kings had he known his real identity at the time. A man who could cause a new war if he joined Cersei and Daenerys in vying for the throne.

“You’re fucked,” Jaime said eloquently.

Jon Targaryen laughed humorlessly. “Yeah.”

They lapsed into silence. Jaime didn’t know what Jon was thinking of, but he was remembering the honorable, lovable prince that had been Rhaegar Targaryen. He remembered the Mad King screaming, “burn them all!” Remembered the smoke of the burning Sept of Baelor and the cold look on Cersei’s face as she sat on the Iron Throne. Remembered Daenerys and her dragon setting fire to his army in the field, terrible and unstoppable, the smell of burning flesh permeating the air.

“You asked the wrong question,” Jaime said finally. “You asked me how I could still love Cersei, knowing she was my sister. I don’t think that’s what you’re wondering. You still love Daenerys, even though she’s your aunt. You’re wondering if loving her is going to doom you and everyone you love.”

Joffrey, eyes bulging as he died in his mother’s arms. Myrcella’s sweet smile before she was murdered for Ellaria’s revenge. Tommen, jumping from the window when he saw what his mother had done.

Brienne’s Renly, killed before her eyes. Alton Lannister, Jaime’s cousin who he’d beat to death with chained hands in Robb Stark’s war camp. The army Tyrion had burned to death with wildfire. Catelyn Stark and her son, murdered at a wedding. Oberyn Martell’s failed vengeance for his sister. Jaime’s father, shot to death on the privy by his own son. Tyrion’s dead whore. All the innocents who died in the sept.

How many had died because of his and Cersei’s sins? Because of Cersei’s thirst for power and his undying loyalty.

“She’ll ruin you,” Jaime said hoarsely. “She’ll kiss you, and you’ll love her. She’ll bear you children, and you’ll love her. She’ll frighten you, and you’ll love her. You’ll give her all you have — your heart, your honor, your dignity, your life — and it won’t ever be enough. As long as she sits on that throne, there will always be enemies and there will always be sycophants and if you aren’t the one, you’re the other.”

He looked at Jon’s eyes, dark and frightened and pained. Stark eyes. Nothing like his father’s.

Daenerys? She reminded Jaime all too much of the Targaryens of old.

“Daenerys isn’t Cersei,” Jon protested.

“No? Jaime asked wryly. “Because she’s beautiful, strong, and kind? Cersei was all those things once.”

“It’s not the same!”

Jaime pitied the boy. But he was what, four and twenty? Older than Jaime had been when he’d been thrust into the game of thrones by Cersei’s ambition and Aerys’s madness.

“Aerys burns them in their homes, Cersei burns them in their septs, Daenerys burns them in their fields. Kings and Queens — they’re all the same. They want power and they’ll do anything to keep it. And when she’s destroyed all you care for, killed your children and wasted your honor and done the one thing you can’t forgive — you’ll love her still.”

Jaime still loved Cersei. He hated her too, perhaps in equal measure. But Cersei was part of him — not in the way she’d always said, we came into this world together and we’ll die together, but someone who had shaped who he was for so long that he didn’t truly exist apart from her.

Jon’s face was a blaze of fury. “I think you should leave.”

Jaime stood and walked towards the door, ready to ask Tyrion to hunt down more wine for him to drink.

“I’m not you,” Jon tried, when Jaime was almost to the door.

“No,” Jaime agreed. “You aren’t.”

Jon slumped with relief and that was how Jaime knew, as an absolute certainty, that Jon was on the path to loving Daenerys the way he had loved Cersei — irrationally, unconditionally, and irrevocably.

“You’re not me,” Jaime repeated sadly, looking at Jon Snow’s somber, despairing face. “Not yet. But you will be.”

And Jaime walked out the door.

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