#and yes Brienne has a lot of thoughts and feelings about this which will be gotten into
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Am I writing this largely because I enjoy the idea of Sansa and Stannis constantly hissing at each other like two belligerent cats? Listen,
x
By the first week of the siege, Sansa was forced to admit — if only to herself —that warfare was far less exciting than she'd imagined. When she had been told of Robb's victories in the Riverlands she had always pictured him triumphant upon a fearsome destrier, sword held high as he cut down his enemies before him. Then he'd been killed and she had lived through the Battle of the Blackwater, waiting either rescue or slaughter by the very man who was now her ally. That had not been exciting, precisely, but it had not been this dull and plodding affair. A far cry from the valiant knights and noble battles she'd read when she was a girl; but she'd had precious little turn out the way she'd been taught.
She slept at the camps near the front lines, in the same soldier's tent she and Brienne and Podrick had shared for the past four months. Stannis had made all sorts of ridiculous protests about "ladies" and "danger" until she'd had to remind him, once again, that her eight thousand men gave her the freedom to dictate her own movements.
"All very well while we're waiting out here, my lady," he'd growled in response, after his requisite glare at her flawless logic, "But when battle joins, you'll be nothing more than a nuisance."
"In which case, I'll be quickly killed and you can have Rickon installed as Lord of Winterfell instead," she'd replied, "as you were hoping to do in the first place." That had shut him up, at least, and he'd gone back to scowling at Winterfell's walls.
Every night when she returned to the camp, she stopped at Stannis's tent and joined the conference with their commanders and lieutenants. It was then that she learned about the waging of war: how men were best deployed, how training was maintained even in the midst of a siege, how sickness was kept at bay so that it did not kill more soldiers than did the battles. Stannis disliked her presence there, too, but she was rapidly coming to understand that he would only be truly happy when she was out of his life for good. Possibly not even then. He did not seem a man much given to smiles.
The men did not share Stannis's view, at least; as she walked through the lines each morning and night they stood to bow to her, and press the back of her hand to their foreheads as she remembered they had done to Mother so long ago.
"They say that the old gods have brought you back to us," Lord Reed told her one day, as he accompanied her on her daily walk to the winter town. "That they were angered when the Starks were driven from Winterfell, and that they're drawing you all back here one by one. They say that Robb Stark may come back from the dead, such is the rage of the gods, and avenge all who wronged your house."
Joffrey had been diligent in recounting every detail of what had happened to Robb's body after Roose Bolton had killed him. She repressed a shudder to think of it and held more tightly to Reed's arm, grateful for the warmth of him at her side. "I hope they are not disappointed if all they get is me and Rickon."
Reed chuckled. "They're well-satisfied, my lady," he said. They walked into the winter town just as the sun broke over the mountains. "You're a sight prettier than the Young Wolf ever was, that's certain."
The winter town was where her real work was done each day. It was the custom every winter for the smallfolk of the North to leave their hides holdfasts and journey here, bringing what they could cart or carry. The winter town would eventually house nearly one in three of every soul living in the North, seeking shelter together to endure the cold.
The Boltons had not bothered to do their duty, laying in no provisions and building no new housing. Up until now it had mattered little; even as the winds had begun to blow, few smallfolk had dared to come take shelter under the banners of the flayed man. The town itself had been all but abandoned, until word of the Starks' return had begun to spread throughout the North.
Now the winter town seemed to double in size with each passing day despite the ongoing siege of the Keep. Sansa had her hands full in directing builders, organizing kitchens, allocating what resources they had to feed and shelter everyone. In this she was aided by any number of friends and allies: those servants and household members who had first escaped during Winterfell's seizure by the Ironborn, or who had endured that but had fled the Boltons' brutal takeover; the households of her lords who had come to support the siege; even Lady Umber and her formidable staff lent a hand before she returned to Last Hearth. Her most steadfast assistants were Rickon and Shireen, who at first had joined her out of boredom but were now her little lieutenants, breathlessly updating her on all events of the previous night as she joined them for breakfast each morning. She received aid also from her men in the armies, assigning their builders to fortify the town in much the same way they were fortifying the siege camp.
Her lords approved of this; Stannis, of course, did not.
"You seek another threescore soldiers?" he demanded one evening.
The siege had now dragged on near a month. Bolton's men showed signs of distress, Lord Flint reported with no small satisfaction; they would not last much longer. But this had brought a fresh concern, and Sansa had broached it during their evening conference.
"We need to build up the palisades along the eastern side of the winter town," Sansa insisted, pointing at the map spread out along the table, with the various pieces representing the various companies all arrayed neatly atop. Stannis's wooden flaming hearts were outnumbered by Sansa's wolf heads two to one, though many of hers appeared hastily-carved from whatever spare wood was at hand. She reached for a flaming heart on the far side of the Keep, well away from the siege. "It need only be for—"
"Give me that," Stannis snapped, snatching it back. "Those men are covering the huntsman's gate, should any of Bolton's forces be cowardly enough to attempt escape rather than stand and fight."
"And you anticipate that happening in the next day?" she demanded, resisting the urge to lunge for the piece the way she used to with Robb when he had teasingly stolen her embroidery, holding it just out of reach. "There must be fifty or sixty men out of twelve thousand that can be spared."
"Why are the palisades in need of building up in the first place?" Stannis demanded, as Lord Glover opened and then shut his mouth to reply to her. "This winter town of yours is folly — you cannot grant entry to every farmer and tinker who pleads for shelter."
Sansa gaped at him in outrage, though even as she did so she was heartened to hear the murmur of her lords at such a comment. "That is precisely what is done, and has been for every winter since before Bran the Builder set stones to build Winterfell!" She glared at him. "This is a refuge, Your Grace."
"This is a siege, my lady," he retorted, looming over her. She thought longingly of the beautiful heeled shoes Margaery wore; she needed only a few inches to match Stannis's height, and see what good his looming did him then. "The smallfolk congregate here at their own risk!"
"My people congregate here because they believe I will keep them safe, and I will do so. With or without Your Grace's help!"
"Without, if it pleases my lady!"
Half-ready to club him over the head with the nearest chair, Sansa grabbed the flaming heart out of his hands and waved it in his face. "What are these men supposed to do, if Bolton and his soldiers escape out this way?"
Stannis looked too near a fit of apoplexy to reply, so it was Lord Cerwyn who cleared his throat and answered, "They are charged to report back, my lady, with some following at a safe distance to see where they go."
"It's perfectly obvious where they'll go," Sansa snapped. "Lord Bolton will make for the Dreadfort."
"Of course he will," said Stannis, finding his voice at last, though he did not try for the wolf's-head piece again. "That doesn't mean—"
"I know three dozen local boys who could hide along the route from the huntsman's gate to the eastern road and bring back reports, without clomping about the forests in full armor," Sansa said, slamming the piece down at the winter town. "And they might be able to bring back some food, while they're at it. Unlike your soldiers, they know how to hunt in the Wolfswood without frightening off half the game."
A few days later, she had her men.
#sansa stark#stannis baratheon#in case you're wondering: yes of course Sansa rescues him from the TITCHY LITTLE SNOWSTORM he gets stuck in#because this great and fearsome battle-tested soldier and commander apparently had no idea that snow happened in the North?#and yes Brienne has a lot of thoughts and feelings about this which will be gotten into#but in the meantime: slapfights between two people one of whom never had sisters the other of whom had TOO MANY BROTHERS#including Arya who was the most brother of all possible sisters#I'm just saying: Stannis is getting bullied and he deserves it#game of thrones motherfuckers#got: bitches get stuff done#ficcage of interest
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I also think part of Jaime's allure (at least for me) is that he's so shockingly tender? he's a very hard man and he's mean and he's working the most unethical job a person could have but. but. he was the one who loved Tyrion unconditionally even after Tyrion lied about Joff. he named his horses even though he doesn't do that because it made his 10ish yr old squire happy. he stood vigil for days over Tywin's body but he stopped when tommen ran away. he's happy that Pia has found one of his men and that they're young and in love together.
and there's the other stuff too where yes he's misogynistic but how many other men in the whole series cared about violence against women enough to try and stop it. and that's not even a medieval thing, how many women today have stories where there was a whole room of men who did nothing? and jaime at least always tried to do something even if it didn't work.
also he's hot and a complete failure and funny so idk yknow there's a lot to like I guess
I mean yeah he certainly lives in a society, and is far from immune to misogynistic thoughts and words - which I honestly think is necessary, bc I find it frustrating when protagonists act like they’ve been to a gender studies seminar yet everyone around them exhibits period typical prejudice. Jaime has his failings, and I think there are times he could’ve acted and didn’t - perhaps more out of a lack of understanding rather than a lack of care.
but still I think it’s obvious that his actions on behalf of Brienne and Pia mean a lot to many female readers, bc it comes in a world of pretty relentless assaults and men who don’t look twice at them. Jaime is flawed but I think that makes it more gratifying that his eyes are still open to such things + the times he steps up etc. it even makes the failings more poignant knowing he’s capable of such.
anyway it’s interesting to me, cos it’s like no I don’t want him to be a straight up Knight in Shining Armour, or else god knows I could’ve picked a character who doesn’t start the series by defenestrating a child. but it’s the redeeming qualities contrasted w the failings that makes him feel like a more honest character to me that the KISA (that’s the abbreviation I’m going with) archetype who I think means nothing to most female readers bc it just feels false, like the wool being pulled over ur eyes
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Warmth
It's really cold where I am, so I am re-reading and collecting stories that make me feel warm. This is not a tangiable theme, just ~vibes, so it might not feel the same for everyone! But all of them are nice and with a happy ending!
This is Halloween by captainellie
Halloween definition: Surprisingly, how two roommates plus two kids become a family.
Marry Me, Because I Want to Date You by elizadunc (Ladybugbear2)
Jaime's been proposing to Brienne since college. Brienne has been taking it as a joke since college.
It started with a dare by WauryD
It’s easy to make someone angry.
It’s harder to deal with the fallout of making them smile.
A weird dream makes Brienne question things.
The Shooting Party by sea_spirit
Scotland, 1921. When Brienne finds out her father is bringing an unwelcome guest from her past to join a shooting party at Winterfell, Sansa suggests that she ask her friend Lord Jaime Lannister for his assistance.
An Afternoon at Aerys Ancient Baths by hillaryschu
Brienne accidentally takes Jaime somewhere super sexy for his birthday and they realize it's actually what they both want. A trip to a modern bathhouse.
Found Wanting by dreadwulf
Brienne is still convinced that the entire affair is a joke on her. Surely there is a real bride somewhere in the castle, who will be brought out once the crowd has had a good laugh at the cow in a satin gown. When she said as much to her intended, he said it was surely a joke on them both. Let them laugh, he said. What’s funnier is that Queen Daenerys made the match in the first place – she must have thought them intolerable to one another. The Beauty and the Kingslayer. Surely Brienne could see the humor in it?
pillow talk by djelibeybi
There are still a lot of things Brienne is afraid to say, but she's trying to be brave.
give it a chance Serries by sameboots
In which Jaime is an important person, Brienne is his P.A., Jaime is hard to deal with, and Brienne is very patient.
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“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
“That’s not why I hate you.” Brienne turns around with the tux in hand to find Jaime looking at her like a kicked puppy. “What?”
“You hate me?”
Jaime actually sounds wounded. Brienne pinches the bridge of her nose.
Let's go our separate ways in the night (But know that you're flying home to me) by ImberReader
The first time Jaime kisses her hand she thinks it's part of his promise that they will meet again. And while she's not technically wrong, it takes two more kisses for her to realizes it's so much more than that.
Madness by RoseHeart
Brienne brings Jaime to the Quiet Isle after Pennytree and tries to save everyone, but no one expected what would happen when Jaime tries to save her.
Ring Them Bells by kirazi
His mouth is set in an unhappy line, and she knows he hears it as a sentence she’s passing on him, a just punishment for his crimes. Good, she thinks, yes. I sentence you to live. Live, and find a way to come to terms with it. Live, and never make me watch you ride to your own grave again.
(Jaime rings the bells, and from there, the future unfolds differently. A story about two tired knights on a slow boat to Tarth, working things out.)
The Alcove by RoseHeart
A one shot inspired by the lovely art by jokertookmypicture.
Jaime and Brienne have survived war and winter. But now they must try to find their new lives amidst something they have never truly experienced before: peace.
Head, Hand, Heart by ddagent
When Jaime slays King Aerys, there is no one to take his place. Ned, fearing a Lannister rise to power, suggests his father’s ward, Brienne of Tarth, take the throne. She reluctantly agrees, and finds an ally in Ser Jaime. His loyalty is given by asking just one question: why.
As the Maid of Tarth becomes Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, the Kingslayer becomes Hand to the Queen. And, the longer they spend together, possibly more…
maybe, perhaps, almost by lionoflannistarth (eldritch_beau)
“You haven’t visited the Maester yet, have you?” Brienne asks.
“Oh come now,” Jaime just shrugs, looking up at her with a boyish grin, “you’ve seen me worse.”
Her blue eyes are shining, brimming with life and for a second he feels a mad abandon. She is alive. So is he.
He should just fucking kiss her.
I'm dying to be born again by angel_deux
After the wars are done, Daenerys is queen of the six kingdoms. Jon and Sansa Stark rule the north. And Jaime serves as a hostage in Kings Landing to ensure his brother's good behavior. When Tyrion schemes to see Jaime married off and removed from the city, Jaime is allowed to choose his wife.
He should be happier that the woman he loves is quick to accept his proposal. Except maybe it's too quick. And she just says, "all right". And she calls it sensible.
aka Jaime and Brienne get married to keep the friendship alive, and Jaime pines for his literal wife.
Maiden, Monster, Knight by PrioritiesSorted
The tale was told throughout the Seven Kingdoms: the tale of a mother’s mad grief, the tale of the maiden in the tower, the tale of the dragon who guarded her. A dragon who had once been a girl.
The Unicorn Incident by sdwolfpup
Catelyn needs a unicorn horn. Jaime knows where one is. Brienne is the only virgin she trusts to go with him. Time for a sexually awkward two-person road trip!
cold by djelibeybi
The world is ending soon, she thought. That’s enough to make any man act strangely.
Go On by sdwolfpup
The entirely soft tale of Brienne-with-the-fish and Jaime-with-the-bar, the cheating ex-boyfriend that inadvertently brings them together, and the supportive and exasperated support systems in their lives that help them see that even after heartbreak, life goes on.
Something Real by francoeurs
In which Jaime has a nightmare and overreacts just a bit.
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AGHHH ure literally my favourite writer on here right now!! u write so amazingly!!
could i request a brienne x reader where it’s a long while after what happened with jaime and reader comes into brienne’s life -u can decide how- and reader is sweet and really really likes brienne which is why reader is a bit clingy. brienne is understandably a little cold and has her guard up and one day lashes out at reader because they’re just gonna leave her too anyway. later she sees reader crying to pod and she feels bad and instead of her apologizing reader apologizes for pushing things and brienne feels even worse and brienne explains her actions so reader promises to never leave her. That’s all. Thank you so much!!
Picnic?
Pairing: Brienne of Tarth x Reader
Word Count: 1080
Warning: None, hurt/comfort
A/n: Thank you so, so much!! I really liked the idea and I hope I did it justice.
Brienne had been part of Bran Starks Kingsguard for nearly two years now, and she was very happy that Podrick had been knighted and taken in the Kingsguard as well. Even if she would never admit it she would have missed him terribly. Other than her, Podrick was really open towards new people and always found new friends.
And one day he introduced Brienne to you. She felt that she was instantly drawn to you, but she forbid herself to ever feeling something like that. She didn't want it to go downhill, just like it did with Jamie.
You however, also felt drawn to her and acted on it. A lot. You loved spending time with her. Watching her fight was your favourite thing. Whenever you saw her walk around you accompanied her. Grabbing her arm and happily telling her about your day.
Sure you had noticed her coldness and that she had her guards up at all time. But you didn't take it personally and thought she just needed some time warming up. You never knew how she was treated in her live. Not just the Jamie-thing but also the general resentment people had against her. For you it was unthinkable that anyone could not like her.
You tried everything to warm her up and to look through her guard. You gifted her flowers, you invited her and Pod for dinner, you asked her to accompany you in the city. Most of the time she said no, but sometimes you felt you broke through to her, and she said yes. Still you wouldn't tire and try again and again.
You really thought you were making progress until one day everything went wrong.
It was such a beautiful and warm day, and you had woken up with the idea in your head to ask Brienne put for a picnic. Who could say no to a picnic?
So you prepared everything and went to search for her. Your heart made jumps as you saw her, as an exception not in armour. So you happily approached her and looped your arm through hers. You felt her tense at that, so you respected the boundary and took a step back. But the smile didn't fade. You still beamed at her.
"Brienne, I thought it would be the perfect day for a picnic? Would you like to accompany me? Pod could also come if you'd like." You saw her look annoyed at that and already braced yourself for the coming rejection but what came next was something you never expected.
"No, (Y/n). I do not want to go on a picnic with you. Could you please stop annoying me all the time? I know you're just going to leave me anyway. So stop bothering and let me be." You had never heard her getting so loud and harsh. For a second you didn't even know what to say. But as you felt the tears prick in your eyes you mumbled out an apology and turned around on the heel. So no picnic.
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You didn't even know where to go. The tears were now streaming down your face like a waterfall. Your first thought was Pod. So you went to find him.
"(Y/n), what has happened?" Podrick pulled you into a hug and sat you down next to him. You cried his whole shirt wet. But he didn't care.
"I- I thought I was breaking through with Brienne. It seemed like she wasn't as cold anymore, but I just asked her out on a picknick, and she completely lashed out. What have I done wrong? Why does she hate me Pod?" Pod looked at you empathically.
"I'm sure she doesn't hate you. She's just been hurt a lot and doesn't trust easily. It's hard for her to express her feelings."
"No, I pushed her too much. I'm sure she hates me now." You clung to Pods shirt and cried even more. What neither of you knew was that Brienne had also wanted to talk to Pod, and she had heard your conversation. She felt bad. Really bad. She didn't hate you, and she never wanted to be so harsh. She was just scared.
"(Y/n), I-" She came around the corner and in less than a second you were on you feet. Starting to ramble an apology.
"I'm sorry, Brienne. I shouldn't have been so pushy. You clearly aren't interested, and I should have accepted that." More tears fell down your cheeks, you couldn't even stop them.
Brienne took a step forward and against all her instincts she grabbed your hands and sat down with you. Podrick slowly left you to alone, knowing that you really needed to talk. Alone.
"There is no need for you to apologise, (Y/n). I am the one who should apologise. I had no right to shout at you and get so loud. I don't hate you. I really don't, please never think that. I just... In the past I have been hurt, a lot. From my childhood on people have called me names, made fun of me, bullied me or called me 'Brienne the Beauty'. Of course that was a joke. But because of that I have always been very reserved and, quite frankly, alone. But a few years ago I fell in love. For the first time ever I trusted someone, and I was instantly hurt. He left me for someone else and died protecting the Queen. After that I swore myself to never trust anyone again. I would be hurt sooner or later." To be honest, you were shocked. It had never occurred to you that Brienne could not be liked, that she could have even been bullied and called names. To you she was just perfect. And you told her that.
"I'm so sorry, Brienne. I didn't know any of that. I can't believe people are so cruel. But I can promise you: I will never leave you. To me, you are perfect and amazing. There is nothing about you to make fun of. Each little part and thing about you makes you special. Every flaw, every imperfection, every insecurity." You warmly smiled at her and stroked over her hands. Your tears long forgotten.
"Thank you, so much." Brienne tightly hugged you and even though it still took some time for her to fully grasp it all, she started to trust you more and more. And she even learned to get used to the physical touch.
#brienne of tarth#brienne of tarth x reader#brienne x reader#game of thrones#gwendoline christie#gwendoline christie x reader#wlw#got
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What makes you think Arya is going to be queen in the north?
A lot of things actually. This is going to be long.
First of all, in the first book, Ned tells Arya:
"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." — Eddard V, A Game of Thrones
I always thought that was significant, especially because then she tells Sansa, who at that moment was betrothed to an actual prince, this:
“Sweet one,” her father said gently, “listen to me. When you’re old enough, I will make you a match with a high lord who’s worthy of you, someone brave and gentle and strong.” — Sansa III, A Game of Thrones
It could be nothing, really; to be honest, it could just be Ned trying to make his daughters feel better in the best way he could, but I still find it strange how it was exchanged between the sisters; Sansa will be betrothed to a Lord, and Arya to a Prince— it feels a little too much like foreshadowing. The Sansa part is more understandable because there’s only one Prince at the moment (well, two counting Tommen but he’s a bastard Baratheon, so of course he’s out of the equation just like Joffrey was), but then why would Ned say Arya will marry a prince, when it’s clear he has no intention of betrothing his daughters to the king’s sons?
Maybe because she is going to be crowned queen, and whoever she marries will be a king. How can she be crowned, if she’s in Essos currently training to be a Faceless Man?
That takes me to Lady Stoneheart, who Arya saved when she warged into Nymeria. Arya technically brought her mother back using her connection to her direwolf, and Beric Dondarrion gave her the kiss of life— so the gods decided to accept the exchange between Beric and Catelyn’s lives, but why? Because they (or R'hllor, more likely) are angry at the Freys for breaking the guest right, which is reffered to as a sacred law. If we take into consideration the story Bran is told about the Rat Cook, then we know the gods don’t like it when the guest right is broken, which to me means they brought Catelyn back to avenge everyone who had broken that sacred law— that’s why Lady Stoneheart is so vengeful even though she’s only been brought back once (she was dead for more time, I know, but still) in comparison to Beric, who only really suffered from memory lost and losing himself after six times being revived by Thoros of Myr, Catelyn came back even worse, which makes me believe she’s being used as a weapon by the gods, who are angry at the Freys.
Now, Lady Stoneheart, in the last time we see her, has Robb’s crown
In [Lady Stoneheart’s] hands was a crown, a bronze circlet ringed by iron swords. She was studying it, her fingers stroking the blade as if to test their sharpness. Her eyes glimmered under her hood. — Brienne VIII, A Feast for Crows
She’s holding onto that crown both for sentimental reasons (it belonged to her firstborn) and as a reminder of what the Freys did to her family. But I think she’s waiting for one of her children to appear. Now this is pure speculation, but I think Catelyn knows somehow her children are alive— maybe she met with Ned and Robb in the afterlife (is that how George calls Heaven? I can’t remember lol) and realized none of her other children are there except for Robb.
Now, even if that’s not true because it’s speculation, Catelyn is aware that Sansa was “de-legitimized” by Robb on his official will:
"A king must have an heir. If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. By law Sansa is next in line of succession, so Winterfell and the north would pass to her." His mouth tightened. "To her, and her lord husband. Tyrion Lannister. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that. That dwarf must never have the north." — Catelyn V, A Storm of Swords
So Sansa is no longer the next in line of succession because Robb “took her out” of the will, in a way. So who’s next, now that Robb’s heir, Jon, is also dead? And yes, we all know Melisandre is bringing him back, but between Jon and Arya who Catelyn would choose as the next ruler of the North?
Lady Stoneheart is waiting for one of her children to come to her so she can crown them, and given the connection Arya has with the Riverlands and that both Rickon and Bran are far away. If Rickon is smuggled by Davos, he’d be taken to White Harbor and presented to Wyman Manderly, which isn’t in anyway close to where the Brotherhood without Banners is; Bran is too busy being a tree. That only leaves us Arya.
Why do I think Arya is going to be crowned? Her direwolf is the alpha of a pack of wolves in the Riverlands; the Brotherhood without Banners knows Arya and would support her claim; Brienne and Jaime swore to protect the Stark sisters… it all comes together to Arya being queen, with Brienne and Jaime as part of her Queensguard, and the BwB as her army (and if Edric Dayne ever shows up, I believe he would also support her claim). She will be crowned in the Inn of the Kneeling Man, where the last King in the North, Torrhen Stark, kneeled to Aegon the Conqueror.
I don’t think it’s going to last, however— Arya might like or dislike being queen, we don’t know, but she would give the crown to either of her brothers (Jon, Bran or Rickon) without question. But I think it’s important that Arya, as Queen, leaves the northmen to take back Winterfell and for her to stay there until either one of her siblings comes back— which probably will be Jon since he’s the closest, but maybe it’ll be Rickon once Wyman hears the northmen have taken Winterfell with Arya as their queen. (Wishful thinking again, but we may even get an Arya and Rickon reunion in White Harbor and have the two siblings leaving the armies as queen and king)
Now, how will Arya get to the Riverlands if she’s in the House of Black and White training with the Faceless Men? I think there’s going to be big fallout between Arya and the Faceless Men, which will make Arya go back to Westeros and seek out Nymeria, and maybe even Gendry and the BwB in the last place she saw them. And if she hears her mother is back, she’s going to go look for her. Let’s remember this:
That night she went to sleep thinking of her mother, and wondering if she should kill the Hound in his sleep and rescue Lady Catelyn herself. — Arya XII, A Storm Of Storms
And this:
It was her mother she wanted, not her mother's sister. — Arya XII, A Storm of Swords
We are reminded constantly that Arya loves her mother. If she had the change to see her again, she’ll take it in a heartbeat. And once they meet again, Catelyn will crown her. Also:
"In that one she was always looking for her mother, stumbling through a wasted land of mud and blood and fire. It was always raining in that dream, and she could hear her mother screaming, but a monster with a dog’s head would not let her go save her." — Cat of the Canals, A Feast for Crows
Could be about the Red Wedding and Arya’s guilt for not being able to stop the Freys for murdering her family (which is obviously not her fault— she was just a kid and there was nothing she could’ve done), but it could also foreshadow their reunion.
So yeah, I believe Arya going to be Queen in the North, if not permanently. But I do think she’s going to take back Winterfell and kill the Boltons, especially when we know this:
Dressing her in grey and white serves no good if the girl is left to sob. The Freys may not care, but the northmen… they fear the Dreadfort, but they love the Starks. — The Turncloak, A Dance with Dragons
And:
What do you think passes through their heads when they hear the new bride weeping? Valiant Ned's precious little girl. — The Turncloak, A Dance with Dragons
The Northmen will help Arya and support her claim as Queen in the North is they discover Ramsay married a girl who was pretending to be Arya. I believe that would be the final push that would make them raise arms against the Boltons and go to Arya to help the Stark girl take back her home and her name, which Ramsay took from her and gave it to someone else.
#a song of ice and fire#asoiaf#game of thrones#arya stark#a storm of swords#a dance with dragons#a feast for crows#a clash of kings#adwd#jon snow#catelyn tully#catelyn stark#robb stark#sansa stark#ramsay snow#ramsay bolton#house stark#ned stark#acok#affc#bran stark#lady stoneheart#pro arya stark#queen in the north#arya stark queen in the north#the winds of winter#twow#a dream of spring#ados#asoiaf theories
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White savior anon again lol. So I go back and forth on the J/D romance. On one hand, the show going thru with it and Martin's fixation on incest makes me think there will be some type of romance. That being said, it's not going to end well because all their foreshadowing is negative lol and speaks of betrayal. Also, Martin intends to complete the story in two books, which is not realistic since he gardended himself into hundreds of interconnected main characters and plotlines - he needs to set the chess pieces in place for the climax in the last book in Winds but he literally cannot do all that in one book. So, how exactly he intends to write some sweeping, dynamic romance when Dani won't even step foot in Westeros until the last leg of the book is well, lol....good luck with that one. That's why the show romance was ass, it's hard for audiences to buy a romance between two people who met and conversed for approximately 20 minutes across 8 episodes - no development or investment. I just don't see how Martin has the page space or time to do all he needs to do with the other 9768 characters and plotlines while developing this supposed grand love story between J and D. He's a talented writer, but deeply inefficient and made some key mistakes - the ages of the characters, wasting so much time having characters walk around the riverlands, braavos, etc. while internally contemplating their shitty lives for chapter after chapter, like ok you're miserable we get it but this could have taken half the chapters - so now he's screwed himself as a result lol.
IDK about Jonsa, I believe Sansa is the girl in grey, and I do think per the show (I think a lot more big plot points were taken from Martin than readers want to believe tbh) Jon and Sansa will have a significant relationship in Winds, platonic or not, or at least he intended that to be the case, but idk if he is willing to Go There with that pairing. He let way too much time pass between books and social mores have changed quit a bit. The faux sibling almost incest trope was pretty big back in the 90s and early 2000s, but now? Not so much.
Jon and the Targ line ending with him. Sure there are people will targ blood still around like Brienne and the Baratheons. But none of them are the direct descendent/son of Targ prince who plunged the realm into a civil war over said Targ's birth lol. Sure it's not fair, but thematically it makes sense and I do think this is what was intended back in the 90s. Now? IDK lol.
(continuation of this convo)
Oh yes, I've seen a lot of fans criticize how he allows himself to write so much of his favs (*cough* Tyrion *cough*) rather than streamlining. I can't figure out how he can bring all these characters and carry out the plots in two books either. I know he said they're big books, but there are so many things that have to happen and they characters are all still so scattered...I really don't know how he'll manage. Like, Sansa has to go North, reunite with Jon, reclaim Winterfell, be reunited with other Starks/handle succession, they have to deal with the Others and then there is Dany. It's a lot.
I don't think there could be a genuine romance with J/D at all. Jon's experienced the whole Ygritte situation, then he was assassinated, it doesn't make sense to me that he'd fall for an enemy so soon or trust one either, not with the guilt/betrayal he'll be feeling. I do think Dany is vulnerable with her belief that she needs another dragon rider/that will be a person she can trust and her romantic nature, so I think she could convince herself she can trust Jon and then he betrays her. That could be a fairly short-lived interlude though, since she's primed for it. There is also Euron and Aegon too though, and I had assumed that would be before she met up with Jon and if that's the case, Jon is not gonna have kind thoughts (if she kills Aegon), and Dany will be even less trusting (if she's dealt with Euron), so Idk. I don’t want anything to happen between J/D, but imo, there has to be some kind of relationship or trust to make it an awful scene when Jon stabbity stabs. Dany will have burned KL, if anyone else assassinates her, it’s badass, but I think Martin's way too anti war/anti violence to do that. I really think he's gonna want it to be painful.
Also, I’ve recently been wondering if instead of some past events being foreshadowing, they’re meant to work as explanation, justification for the end of the story. As in, I thought the mess of the war in canon and Robert’s Rebellion were meant to convince us that the moral thing would be to avoid war to spare life and that Jon would be KitN and kneel a la the king who knelt. The show’s bizarrely written inclusion of him kneeling seemed to support such an idea. Except, look at what the Targs became as rulers, where that ended for Westeros, and Dany has dragons and will have do her little KL bbq, so the moral thing in this instance isn’t submission, but neither is it all out war. I think that's the grounding for why it has to be faux submission then assassination.
I really don't think Martin would change his endgame now because of fan outrage or social norms, but imo, the foreshadowing isn't conclusive, or, I guess I should say, I see problems with every potential endgame, but particularly with Jon ending up at the Wall because of how it seems to answer problems Martin seemed interested in addressing. So, I think there's room for a nicer ending for him, if Martin wants it.
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trick or treat!! 🎃🦇 (btw i loved hearing about the backstory/historical aspects of your fav wip, i’m not even in the hsr fandom but it’s so interesting)
THANK YOU <33333
(i know it's literally november 3 but shhhhh, all soul's was just yesterday it still counts—)
anyways!! the next fic i wanna talk about is... also jingfu 😭😭😭 this is embarrassing
presenting: ✨ jingfu vegas wedding ✨
there was a time i got back into asoiaf and jaime/brienne, and there's this subgenre of jb fics where they get quickly married on the quiet isle for one reason or another! and i just got obsessed with this type of wedding, and then i got to thinking about vegas weddings, and then i imagined jingfu drunk and giggly and happy and my gdocs stood NO chance
what's great about jingfu is, as i hope to never stop reminding my readers, is that they're chinese living in a chinese setting wifh chinese culture. so you can't just throw them into an actual vegas wedding situation—china has its own wedding ceremonies and the luofu must have its own technological advancements in that area too! so long story short i had a lot of fun brainstorming the wedding rituals and how it would mesh with the luofu, how people would even discover a wedding has taken place considering chinese weddings CAN technically be done without witnesses if you're feeling quirky enough (like maybe legally it's not allowed but ive seen cdramas where they do the same thing so like. me 🤝 cdramas; ignoring things for dramatic flair), and generally just trying to write their world vividly enough that it doesn't feel like Vague American Fantasy Spaceship #2432
i do think i kinda succeeded!! and even if i didn't, well, in my head i can clearly visualize it and in the end this is a fic for ME and not for yall, sorry but i come first when it comes to my fanfic :P
also i wrote my thoughts on the au while we were out with paternal relatives eating hotpot, so of course their drunken wedding feast is hotpot. i couldn't resist
It was strange to see the General and Master Diviner drinking, and even stranger to see them drinking like they were racing to their graves.
At least it would be. Extenuating circumstances, Dan Heng art thy name.
i also really like these lines i giggle everytime! because i ship jingfu but i also ship jingheng in the pathetic unrequited pining old man jing yuan kinda way.... its hilarious how down bad jing yuan still is for dan heng/dan feng and so since i needed a catalyst for the drinking i used dan heng hehe
also i researched chinese constellations for this because i needed more drunk activities and i figured i could do one of those "laying on the grass and pointing at the stars" except ofc it's the luofu so that's synthetic grass and false stars and their stars are also different and it would be very weird to mention ursa major or something! so i had to do research </3 i swear the things i do for my craft
i don't know how to end this.... i guess here's another excerpt HAHAHA
Jing Yuan, thanks be to Lan, had left behind some of his formal clothes at her residence, which meant the two of them did not have to sneak all the way back to Exalting Sanctum just to nab the appropriate garments. If they had not been drunk, the journey from the gardens to her quarters would not have taken so long. Unfortunately: they were. Unfortunately: Jing Yuan was enamored with every flower that passed him by, and Fu Xuan was busy counting the number of off-color stones in the cobbled path.
They did still make it there. Eventually.
In one of Fu Xuan’s many closets were the robes they’d worn to Qixi-jie—his a simple but elegant grey trimmed with white, and hers a dainty pink, complete with a round embroidered fan. Fu Xuan took Jing Yuan’s out, shoved it into his arms, and then shoved him out. He staggered out into the hallway, and then turned to blink at her, lost.
Fu Xuan rolled her eyes. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
“Oh,” Jing Yuan said. The light came back into his eyes. “Oh! Yes.”
Stupid, she thought, and closed the door. But apparently she’d said it out loud, because he yelled, muffled, “You’re the one marrying me!”
“I won’t if you don’t shut up!” Fu Xuan yelled back.
Immediate silence.
thank you for the ask again hehehe <3
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my problem with most asoiaf analysis is that like the writer himself, everyone is steeped in their homophobia and racism and misogyny to an extreme degree, and i simply do not care to entertain it. there’s all this “well of course he’s gonna be that way in his writing” yes but that doesn’t mean you have to take it further in your analysis nor does it mean you have to assume the worst of the story he’s planning. that’s what the ~transformative~ part of fandom is about you absolute fuckin losers.
like, obviously, grrm has his prejudices (several of which he simply refuses to acknowledge, to the detriment of his writing at times) but he also isn’t nearly as prejudiced as people seem to accuse him of being. yes, there is misogyny in the way he writes cersei in comparison to her brothers, but there is genuine care in showing her suffering, her anger, her helplessness, and even love there in writing her downfall! there is objectively less information and thought into the crafting of the martells, and yet, you cannot look at the prose in Arianne & Hotah’s chapters, the pain on the page, and not see he feels for their losses just as keenly as he does for the Starklings, for the Tullys, for the smallfolk in the Riverlands, and the Wildlings of the North. One of the most iconic scenes in the series involves Oberyn turning his back on the man he is fighting and demanding Tywin acknowledge his raw pain, his fury, his unending grief, at the butchering of Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon. I have always disliked the way Stannis is given so much more complexity by both fandom and the narrative than Renly, who is mostly written off as a vain idiot, and yet two of the most well known lines about love in the series are said by gay men, about the men they were in love with (Loras’ ‘when the sun has set’ line about Renly, and Jon Connington’s ‘i rose too high’ line about Rhaegar) and one of the most explicit love stories in f&b is between Rhaena the Black Bride and Elissa Farman. There is a whole hell of a lot to criticize but sometimes people have such a bleak idea of what his endgame is and how it’s going to be rife with racism, sexism, and homophobia, never mind that this is the same man who wrote Brienne’s “no chance and no choice” scene or Catelyn’s entire character. This is a man who spent three years writing one of the most beloved spins on Beauty and the Beast, and got on the mic to specifically defend the casting of a Black actress in Nightflyers but also kind of shaded the original casting of a white woman in the original movie. am i saying i expect something as deeply moving and complex for the Martells or the Unsullied or Missandei as like, the “and a man breaks” speech and his anti war/war critical stances? obviously not! But I think everyone has spent so long obsessing over small details because we haven’t gotten any new content wrt the main series in a decade, people have ascribed significantly more prejudice to his mindset, and they let that affect the way they see the characters.
#rani liveblogs asoiaf#yeah he’s a dirty old man but we are also meant (in the main series) to be horrified by the abuse of young children!!!!!!! i feel like marge#kids can ya lighten up a little#a song of ice and fire
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Send me a ⭐ and I'll tell you muses I want to throw your way! // Accepting!
@draconisa / @divinecounsel asked: ⭐ for Athena!
I'm gonna do for BOTH because I can! ^^
BUT YES, for Athena, I have so many thoughts! So many thoughts! I of course have my PJO muses if you feel like interacting with any of them! There's also Hades, Kronos, and Orpheus if you feel like a slightly more mythological spin on things.
If not, I've got plenty more! 😁 Kratos has a long history with Athena, some of which is good, some of which is not so good, so that could be interesting. Calliope and Atreus could be super interesting to have interact with her for similar reasons, in some world where she's still around or where Kratos didn't kill her or lots of other things! (I know my partner and I have talked about how some of Odysseus' song/lines in Epic also fit super well for Kratos, which kind of delights me).
Beyond that, I've got my OC Aster who is a child of Dionysus and could conceivably interact with her! He tries to do what he can to help most everyone, but he's also a capable fighter and formidable foe, potentially.
Otherwise, I'm open to pretty much anything!
And as for Dany, WELL. Give me a verse where Brienne's her bodyguard because YES. Badass ladies supporting badass ladies. ^^
I have a decent amount of other characters that have various modern-type verses that could potentially run into Dany, depending. But another one that's easy to come up with off the top of my head are Riftan Calpyse and Hebaron Nirtha. Riftan's modern verse also has him as the head of a very wealthy company, and Hebaron is kind of his second-in-command. They could meet on business or if Dany wants to buy a horse or some other things too.
#draconisa#divinecounsel#✦ general || ooc ✦ malaprops: of or concerning mal / in an inopportune way#[these are just the ones I came up with off the top of my head!]#[I could also see having Joel and Dany interact in the apocalypse verse or lots of other things! ^^]
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Prompt. Book canon setting. Jaime can hear Brienne's thoughts.
*spins wheel* LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THIS ONE and sorry for the lateness anon!!
warnings: set during asos/the road trip so expect what canon offered including the attempted rape scene
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buy me a coffee | commissions open
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He doesn't hear her until -
Until sometime after they hack the hand off.
He doesn't know when he realizes for sure because he's too fucking out of it, but when Shagwell says that stupid fucking line about the two of them being lovers while they were chained to each other on the horse and wondering who out of the two of them is the knight and the maiden, he clearly hears her saying you wouldn't know a true knight if Arthur Dayne himself vouched for them and for a moment he wonders if she's gone mad, but -
But no one does or says anything about it.
Which - they hit them more than once if they tried to speak out of turn, or at least they hit her, he was entirely beyond it, so it's fucking weird, because that kind of thing shouldn't - it's too bloody forward, and then whatever I thought of him sure as the Seven Hells he's a better one than the whole bloody lot of them, and -
He wonders, deliriously, if she swears that much all the time, and then he realizes no one actually came up to them to do anything about it.
But he heard it.
Loud and clear.
Is he going mad?
He doesn't know.
He passes out a short while later, smelling the stench of his own rotting hand, and thanking his blessing that at least the wench is fucking warm, isn't she?
--
He had thought that was the worst he could smell in his entire life.
After vomiting the damned horse piss they gave him to drink, he decides that maybe he'll reconsider it, and - for a moment he can just taste the damned vomit on his tongue and he knows it's all over him and in between that and the remains of what he drank on his tongue he feels like retching all over again, and then he realizes in utter humiliation that it's not the only thing that smells foul on him as they laugh and laugh and laugh, and then someone tells the wench that they're not going farther if he smells like his own shit, too, and he's sure he hears her saying if only I could steal a sword, but - but he has to be making that up. She can't have said it. She can't have said it -
And they do nothing as she says she'll need her hands free and she comes close to him, and he can barely look at her but then she opens her mouth as she gently brings him close to the river and tells him to drink some water from her cupped hand before she starts cleaning the vomit off his beard, and he's halfway delirious with how much he wants to retch again -
No one deserves that, he hears the wench say, and he turns to her to ask her if she's gone mad -
No one deserves that and I can't even imagine how he's -, he hears, and she has her mouth closed.
He saw that. There is no way she actually spoke. And then she motions for him to lay down on the ground and oh fuck she has to change his smallclothes doesn't she and he just wants to fucking bury himself in the ground - he knows she's done that before, he sort of felt it even if he was passed-out half of the time, but now he's awake for it and he just wants to shrink away from her as she gently undoes his trousers and lowers him into the water -
I failed my vow, he hears, but if that's how I can keep what's left of it, fine. Fine.
She -
She thinks she did what?
And that's when it hits him.
If she's not speaking but he's hearing her and he hasn't gone mad -
Is he hearing her thoughts?
And -
And he was sure she loathed him. What is she even on about when it comes to failing her fucking vow?
He wishes he could figure that out.
It hurts too much, though, and he lets himself pass out, but the fact that she's holding him up as he does somehow -
Somehow makes it less worse than the other times.
--
No, no, stop, he hears when he tries to steal that sword and what a lot of good it did to him, and - is she talking to him or them, he doesn't know, but he can't waste time with it, not when he has to try and fight his way out - except that he doesn't, and then he trips over the damned rock while the others laugh, but Brienne doesn't, and Shagwell comes close and kisses him on the damned head and he wants to retch just at the feeling and -
Can't they leave him alone, just leave him alone, he doesn't deserve it, no one deserves it, he has more guts in him than you all and how dare you even do this Lady Catelyn trusted me with his safety and I can barely do anything what are they thinking what are they thinking he doesn't he doesn't oh but I'm watching them, let them think I'm harmless but the moment I can act I will I will I will I can't fail my vows like this not for the second time not now -
Rorge kicks the sword away from him.
He lets them throw him back on the horse.
There is no way he has hallucinated her thinking about fucking Catelyn Stark.
He closes his eyes and lets himself pass out - he can't deal with this.
He can't he can't he can't -
--
"Jaime."
He's halfway sure she did speak, now. Because she's not being loud and clear. She's whispering and he's looking up at the night sky wondering why would such pretty stars look down on such as him, and then -
"Jaime, what are you doing?"
Oh.
Yes.
She is talking to him. And - calling him by his damned name? What the -
Well, no point in lying now.
"Dying," he blurts, and then -
No no no he shouldn't not for this not because of them oh no no no I can't fail him like this I can't fail my lady like this I swore I'd bring him to King's Landing and it wouldn't - no no it's not fair it's not fair I can't I can't I can't -
She sounds pretty damn panicked, he thinks, and then -
“No,” Brienne on, “no, you must live.”
“Stop telling me what do, wench. I’ll die if it pleases me," he blurts, and -
No, no, that's not - he can't, he can't die like this, and no one - he might have slayed his king but not even he deserves this, that's beyond - I can't let him give up I just can't he shouldn't he shouldn't gods what will piss him off enough to do it what would -
What is she even -
"Are you so craven?" She blurts, and -
"What else can I do, but die?" He blurts back, and he's - he's not even - he would have been angered if he hadn't known but just the fact that she knew calling him a coward would have at least made him angry is making his head spin, and -
Oh yes yes good that's better -
"Live. Live, fight and take revenge," she says, and then Rorge hears them before he can answer -
“You will hold your bloody tongue if you want to keep it, bitch,” he shouts in her face, “or do you want it around your neck like his hand?”
He starts kicking her in the stomach and she moans in pain, but -
But -
I don't care I don't care I don't care I can take it I took worse I took a lot bloody worse than this as long as he lives I don't care and at least he's kicking me and not him I can take it I can I can I can -
He -
He swallows, closing his eyes while her pained moans fill his ears.
He doesn't go to sleep that night. Not really.
--
It's just -
He tries to think about it while she goddamned changes his soiled smallclothes so he doesn't have to look at her in shame and he can hear her thinking that it's the least she could do and she'll see him through it if it kills her.
She -
She was -
She loathed him. He knew she did. It was obvious. Maybe this is just... compassion or something like that, but - but she certainly isn't letting that stop her from making this entire fucking ordeal less bad than it could be, for what it's worth, and he can't help thinking, now for all she fancies herself a knight she's keeping her word isn't she, and he feels a lump in his throat as she ties back his breeches around his waist and helps him to the horse, again.
She's gentle, when she pulls him up on it.
Gentler than anyone else has been while handling him in - he doesn't know how long.
Please live until we reach safety, she thinks, and he almost falls off the horse at how sad she sounded. Please please please. I have to bring you to King's Landing. I swore I'd keep you safe. I can't do more than this. Please just live.
Fucking Seven Hells.
She meant it, when she swore her lady that dumb vows, didn't she.
Fuck.
Fuck, he is her damned vow, and -
His head spins just at the thought.
He's just - he's not going to go further down that road. He's not. But he can't lie to himself about how sincere she sounds, and anyway if he's hearing her thoughts because of some stupid weird strange magic then she couldn't be lying, could she?
Fuck.
Fuck, she really does believe in oaths, doesn't she?
--
He probably asked for it, ranting about Aerys the closer to Harrenhal they got.
He hears her wondering is there something he's not telling people, because this makes no sense, not with how he sounds, not with what everyone knows, why does he sound so sad, why oh I hope he's not going mad what if he does but could I blame him if he did, and then Rorge is back kicking him in the stump and making him scream and -
I want to kill him with my bare hands, she thinks, I want to kill him with my bare damned hands god stop it can't you see he's harmless and just because of you bastards stop stop stop this is just too cruel this is too cruel why why why -
Well, he thinks before he passes out again, the pain in his wrist too blinding, at least she didn't loathe him so much she'd be glad of this.
Oh, he knew, but -
But the idea that someone wants to kill this man just because he's hurting him just -
It doesn't -
People don't want to take revenge on anyone for him, he's the one who usually -
It just doesn't -
Everything goes black.
--
When he hears the whole lot of them talking about who's taking the front and the back, he knows what they're planning.
Thing is -
I knew it was going to happen. Very well then. They'll get a fight. I'm not letting them have me easily. Fuck all, maybe I should have just let that bastard Hyle Hunt have it when they did that bet, at least it wouldn't be with any of them -
He's -
He's not going to even think about what she meant with the bet, he's too out of it, but -
She wants to fight all of them? From what he's seen she would, but -
He thinks of Queen Rhaella screaming and screaming behind that door and he couldn't do anything and she didn't fight and survived enough to birth a daughter, but - but these pieces of shit will hack her into pieces if she does and for some reason he just can't -
Not when she cares enough to -
“Wench,” he tries, “Let them have their meat, and you go far away,” he keeps on. “It will be over quicker, and they’ll get less pleasure from it.”
What the hell is he up to? What does he even care? She shakes her head. Oh, fucking stubborn wench -
“They’ll get no pleasure from what I’ll give them,” she replies. If this is how I lose my maidenhead then I'm not just letting them take it. And what does he even mean? I can't go anywhere. Far away? What does he even mean?
Oh, damn it. She doesn't get it. She won't handle it. She might be good but it will break her and if she fights it it'll just break her more, he saw it happen, he fucking saw it happen, he can't let them do it again, he can't -
“Let them do it, and go away inside." What might convince her anyway? "Think of Renly, if you loved him. Think of Tarth, mountains and seas, pools, waterfalls, whatever you have on your Sapphire Isle, think…" He keeps on talking, but then she shakes her head again, and -
As if Renly ever wanted me like that. I know he didn't. And I don't know what does he care but I can't. I handled - I handled this all my fucking life, I'll live. I knew it could happen. I'll break a few noses before they even try.
He was about to press, but then Rorge shows up and tells her that she's the ugliest woman he's ever seen -
As if I haven't heard that all my life, she scoffs in her head, and Jaime's stomach is curling on itself and he realizes he's going to have to watch them do it -
“But don’t think I can’t make you uglier. You want a nose like mine? Fight me, and you’ll get one. And two eyes, that’s too many. One scream out o’ you, and I’ll pop one out and make you eat it, and then I’ll pull your fucking teeth out one by one.”
And then he hears the thought, so clear, so fucking loud that he almost screams at hearing it -
not my eyes, they’re the only part of me other people seem to not think ugly
- and then she shakes her head and glares back at him, and when Shagwell talks about fucking her up the arse she thinks well, at least I won't have to see him while he does, and -
Oh no no no no he can't watch it happen, he can't watch it happen by sitting here and do nothing not like this not when she sounded like she was about to cry thinking about losing those pretty eyes of hers -
Maybe -
Maybe he can -
“There’s a funny fool,” he says, his own voice sounding so calm it almost freaks him out. “I have a riddle for you, Shagwell. Why do you care if she screams? Oh, wait, I know.”
No, no, no, you are a fool, what are you doing, he’s going to kill you — he hears Brienne think, but he can't care less, not now -
“Sapphires," he shouts, and -
Well.
The pain in his wrist when Rorge kicks it is entirely worth knowing he won't have to watch her being raped in front of him without even a door in the middle.
--
She's quiet for the rest of the day, but not to him.
No one else ever did what he just has, she thinks.
No other man ever -
Those bastards at Renly's camp wanted to - and he was the one -
How could I have misjudged him so badly -
What is he even hiding it makes no sense he can't be as horrible as he likes everyone to presume -
He saved me he saved me he saved me -
How could - I was supposed to keep him safe and he saved me oh gods he did -
When she finally talks, and asks him in a thin voice, calling him by his name, why did he do it, he lies. Makes up something about wanting Vargo Hoat to say thappireth, about it being a repayment for her helping him escape Riverrun at the end of it, and he can only hear what she's not saying.
I could have handled it, I always have, he was a true knight oh gods he was one, and -
I have a debt to you, too, she thinks, and his stomach lurches, but not in the bad way.
Gods.
She really is... everything she looks like, isn't she?
--
He does try to goad her in the tub.
If only to not think about how she's thinking something about having completely failed all over while she scrubs herself, but it's so angry and garbled he can barely make sense of it, and then she shrinks back from him, and -
"Does the sight of my stump distress you so?" He asks, attempting to goad her more, and then she flinches and -
I can't look at it because it's - the proof I failed you, I said I'd bring you back whole from King's Landing and here's what happened and I could barely - I mean, I did what I could but I said I'd keep you safe I swore I did I swore Lady Catelyn I would and is he trying to make me feel bad about it, is it how he's taking revenge on me, not that I can blame him but I tried oh I tried please -
He was abut to tell her something about Renly to goad her further.
He -
He can't.
"I'm sorry," he says, and when she looks at him like she can't believe him, he shrugs again. “I’m a maimed man, and bitter. Forgive me, wench. You protected me as well as any man could have, and better than most.”
What is he apologizing now why would he it makes no sense gods I don't know what to make of him anyone else wouldn't be meaning this does he mean it I don't know I don't know -
"Do you mock me?" She replies, feebly, and -
He can't even be angry at her after that. She really.... is that guarded, is't she? And if - if people bet on her maidenhead, presumably, from what he gathered, can he even blame her?
"No," he says, "I want a truce. And I meant it."
"Truces are built on trust. Should I trust -"
"The kingslayer?" He finishes for her.
I meant different - she starts thinking, but then -
Then he can't shut his mouth and before he knows it he's told her everything when he never told anyone else and he can hear her thinking oh oh oh it makes sense oh it adds up oh but why hasn't he told why hasn't he said oh gods oh gods I knew he was hiding something, and -
And when he almost faints and she catches him, gently, gentler than Cersei ever was -
I couldn't on the road but there is no way I'm leaving him to suffer now, she thinks, and then no one will answer if I call for help, but if - I won't - I don't want to say it -
She asks help for the kingslayer.
But that's not his name, she thinks, and he thinks he's crying as he passes out.
--
He hadn't wanted to leave her behind.
The moment he did, he felt like - he should have been happy, he was going back to Cersei, why wouldn't he be, except that he thinks about how she said goodbye and told him that she hoped he'd keep their vow and he could hear I completely failed but if he's - if he's the way I think he can be maybe he will do it even if I couldn't and just - he thought Arthur Dayne was the best knight he ever knew but the wench fucking buys it, believes it deep down, she fucking means it and everyone else - everyone else was more of a hoax than he has been, he knows, he has seen it, but her -
He doesn't think he's ever met anyone who was - who wanted it quite as much, not even himself, and her thoughts were what they were but they made him feel - less alone somehow and now he's surrounded by Bolton men and that fucking Qyburn and he can't hear them but from the way they look at him he can guess what they think, and then -
Then he dreams of her putting herself in between him and his older Kingsguard and looking almost beautiful and all knightly as she held that flaming sword and was as naked as she was in the baths and -
He can't.
He just fucking can't.
He goes back to Harrenhal.
--
He doesn't hear her thoughts until he jumps into the bear pit.
What is he doing here she thinks and oh he had missed her voice in his head fuck didn't he, and he smiles as she calls him Kingslayer but not meaning it at all, he knows she doesn't -
He tells her to get behind him and she protests that he's unarmed, of course she would but then -
why would he come back why why why he was going back to his sister wasn't he he was he said he was he loves her doesn't he he said so why is he here did he come back for me because he thought I was in danger oh god he did it's the second time he does it no one else has ever no one else has ever I always had to do it on my own how how how he is here
He swallows and hopes like mad that Steelshanks does what he's supposed to.
He does.
By the time they're out of the damned pit and Vargo Hoat is seething and she replies with a faint whisper that she's still a maiden when he asks he's ready to just - brush it off, why wouldn't he -
why why why why oh he looks so handsome like this he's everything I thought true knights would be once
Jaime is about to trip on his damned feet, and then -
"Ser Jaime?" She asks, thinly. "I am grateful, but you were well-away. Why come back?"
He could have just - brushed her off. Told a quip. Joked about it as he usually does. Something cruel, so she'd go back to thinking horribly of him, but she's staring at him with those pretty, wide blue eyes as she can't believe he's there and he did come back, and -
maybe he thought it was the honorable thing and oh he does have honor I see it now, but why for me, why for me, who else ever has, I never was that kind of girl, I can't believe he did that for me
Fucking hells. How old is she anyway? Eight and ten? He remembers being almost her age and - having lost all of that goodness she has, all that self-righteousness that everyone needs should they be knights, and she's looking at him like he just walked out of a song -
"I dreamed of you," he says instead, and it's the truth, isn't it -
Oh, she says, men don't dream of me, do they, and -
Fuck.
Fuck.
--
He should avoid her.
He should, because if - if she's falling in love with him and it all points to that then - then it wouldn't - it can't - Cersei would - he can't even begin to quantify it -
But then the Red Wedding happens and he hears her weeping in her tent on the way to King's Landing and he hears it, he hears it -
would ser jaime let me weep on his shoulder or would he think it beneath a true knight now
He's -
He's in her tent before he can think about it and he lets her and she grasps at his shoulders like she can't believe he's real, and then she thanks him in a thin voice and he could leave it at that but then he hears it, he hears it -
I've never known a better man
So loud and clear it's deafening, and he can't even lie to himself anymore, he can't -
He doesn't know who moves first.
What he knows is that they're kissing after a moment of staring at each other and she's whimpering into his mouth while her hands touch his face and the back of his head so gently he wants to weep at it, and is he kissing me is he kissing me oh gods I'm dreaming am I she's thinking and -
He shakes his head and brings his left hand to her cheek, fingers shaking, and he can't - he can't put up the front anymore.
"It's real," he says, and her eyes widen. "Don't worry, wench, you're easy to read. But it's - it's a good thing, I think."
"I - I didn't - I've wanted it since the bath, I think," she admits, and he could have said, I could have known or I suspected or I knew you had wanted it at the bear pit, at least.
"I kissed you first, didn't I?" He replies, and - "And for what it's worth, I want to keep that vow to fucking Catelyn Stark. And you didn't fail your side of it. I mean, I'm alive, am I not?"
"How did you know that - I thought I had?"
"You talk in your sleep," he lies, because he can't tell her that he can still hear her damned thoughts though he might have to later, but -
She tells him that she knows she doesn't expect him to keep on doing this when they reach King's Landing, and kisses him again.
He doesn't stop her.
--
When she walks into his room dressed in blue, the thought hits him so hard he almost staggers.
he looks so handsome like this, oh, I don't know how long it has been but he - he looks like a god, doesn't he, but - he can't want it again, can he -
He tells her to close the door and come closer. He - he didn't think he'd ever do what he's about to, but after the conversation he just had with Cersei -
He didn't need to read her mind to realize a few things he should have realized a long time ago, he thinks.
And then Brienne tells him that white becomes him, and -
It suits him, he looks like he was born for it and honestly he was, maybe now he can -
"I have a proposition for you," he says, and puts the Valyrian sword on the table in between the two of them.
He tells her where that sword comes from. He tells her he wants her to have it so she can look for Sansa Stark because she's his last chance at honor, but then -
"And if you wait for tomorrow to leave, until I free my brother before Cersei has him killed for a crime he didn't commit, I would come with you."
She almost drops the sword.
"You - come with me? But - you're -"
"The new Lord Commander? I am," he says, "but - I think - I thought about a few things. I - I think I'd rather be out there with you and my sister - she's not - she's not the person I remembered." Understatement. "I'll need to make sure a few things are under control here, and I have to make sure Tyrion does his escape, and - a few other matters. But - I'll send Varys to you with the name of one specific inn. Wait for me there. Three days at most and I'll join you. Will you?"
of course I would of course I will oh gods he gave me a valyrian sword he thinks I'm - he thinks I can - he'd come with me - oh gods yes yes yes
"Ser," she bows, "I would. I will wait for your missive."
Then she bows and leaves.
Well then.
Well then.
--
Three days later, he knocks on her door feeling drained inside - that conversation with Tyrion was not... what he had thought it would be and he hopes he has it in himself to forgive him with time, and his uncle hasn't quite realized what he meant to do, but - he made him understand that he should take very good care of the king and to make sure Cersei doesn't become regent, because she - she just isn't a good choice, he can see it now, and now he's tired and -
he came back, Brienne thinks in delight as he opens the door.
Fuck it all.
He kicks it closed and kisses her again, and as she moans into his mouth anew, he decides that he doesn't care what happens from now on.
He always wanted to be Arthur Dayne.
Maybe with her he can be.
End.
#jaime x brienne#jaime lannister#brienne of tarth#lannistarth#my fic#ten years anniversary promptfest#rape cw#violence cw#ngl i might expand a bit when it goes on ao3 but#for now have at it#otp: i dreamed of you
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Musings on ASOIAF Ladies and Ambition
I’ve noticed people use “ambition” to describe Sansa and Daenerys as if it’s a bad word or an insult (often called “power hungry”). Yet in the text of the series, neither of them are shown to be ambitious people as a core characteristic. I blame the series for a lot of this, because it failed to explore the internal dialogue of Sansa, Arya, and even Cersei, who ends up more humanized than either of them by the end (because of the maybe baby).
Cersei Lannister is the classic ambitious ASOIAF lady, whose point-of-view is introduced in perhaps the most iconic sentence of any introductory chapter:
She dreamt she sat the Iron Throne, high above them all.
I can’t think of a sentence in ASOIAF that better introduces the internal thoughts and view of its leading character.
In comparison, Sansa’s first sentence is receiving news about her father’s whereabouts, Daenerys is shown her new dress to meet Drogo, and Arya has crooked stitches again. Arya’s works to frame her relationship with Sansa and her internal struggle to fit the feminine Westerosi mold, while Sansa and Daenerys are setting up plot points. None of these interactions signal ambition, bad or good. Daenerys did not arrange her wedding, Sansa is just told the information by her Septa, and while Arya is aspiring to have straight stitches, that’s hardly an ambitious goal for a girl of nine.
Fans rarely, if ever, deny Cersei’s cruel, cold, often stupid ambition. In fact, it’s one of the reason people seem to love her. She’s internally open about what she wants - power - and when she wants it - now:
All of them are burning now, she told herself, savoring the thought. They are dead and burning, every one, with all their plots and schemes and betrayals. It is my day now. It is my castle and my kingdom.
- AFFC, Cersei III
The rule was hers; Cersei did not mean to give it up until Tommen came of age. I waited, so can he. I waited half my life. She had played the dutiful daughter, the blushing bride, the pliant wife. She had suffered . . . She had contended with Jon Arryn, Ned Stark, and her vile, treacherous, murderous dwarf brother, all the while promising herself that one day it would be her turn. If Margaery Tyrell thinks to cheat me of my hour in the sun, she had bloody well think again.
- AFFC, Cersei V
Cersei is the definition of a power hungry lady, scheming and cheating at every point. Yes, Sansa learned from her, but most of Sansa’s internalized lessons of Cersei’s were to do the exact opposite.
"The night's first traitors," the queen [Cersei] said, "but not the last, I fear. . . . Another lesson you should learn, if you hope to sit beside my son. . . . The only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy."
"I will remember, Your Grace," said Sansa, though she had always heard that love was a surer route to the people's loyalty than fear. If I am ever a queen, I'll make them love me.
- ACOK, Sansa VI
Cersei isn’t the only POV character who views herself outside of conventional Westerosi standards and aspires to something beyond being a wife and mother. Arya Stark has ambition writ clear on the page, though it is not so cold or denying other people their rights or chances. Compared to Cersei, Arya doesn’t want everything, crown and throne and kingdom and all. She just wants something, and even that is denied to highborn women in Westeros. Even when she asks her father about her future, a man who wants to do right by his children and loves them, Eddard Stark is blinded by Westerosi patriarchy:
Arya cocked her head to one side. "Can I be a king's councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?"
"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."
- AGOT, Eddard V
With Arya in this, I see some parallels to Elaena Targaryen, who was so good at math and management she served as the secret Master of Coin while her husband carried the title. Elaena was “more willful than Rhaena, but not as beautiful as either of her sisters,” yet is also said to have been “more beautiful at age seventy than at age seventeen,” growing into herself like Arya is expected to. They both even cut their hair, Arya to hide her gender and Elaena to hide her beauty, both instances to gain freedom from captivity in the Red Keep.
Despite both these examples of ambition - Cersei’s all-encompassing, without care for how it affects the realm, and Arya’s attempt to find a place in the world outside the Westerosi model - it still becomes an insult when people speak of Daenerys and Sansa.
Critics claim Sansa is ambitious, and negatively so, because she “wants to be queen.” But this criticism misses a vital point of Sansa’s character. Unlike Cersei, she does not want to be queen because of the power and political influence, but because she will be living a song. In the start, Sansa’s got her head in the clouds, not to the dirty world of politics. Her very first chapter lays out this motivation incredibly clearly:
All she wanted was for things to be nice and pretty, the way they were in the songs.
When she thinks of Joffrey and being in love with him, it’s because he’s “handsome and gallant as any prince in the songs” (AGOT, Sansa II),
Alternatively, it has been said that Sansa is ambitious because of her claim to Winterfell. But compare how Sansa thinks of her claim to how Big Walder Frey does. Despite being far down the inheritance line, he is certain he will someday possess the Twins. He’s likely willing to kill his family to become Lord of the Crossing, and already has killed Little Walder.
In comparison, Sansa isn’t the one who realizes her claim as heir to Winterfell, even after her two younger brothers are believed dead. It’s Dontos who mentions it, and after she still thinks that Robb will have sons to inherit.
But she had not forgotten his words, either. The heir to Winterfell, she would think as she lay abed at night. It's your claim they mean to wed. Sansa had grown up with three brothers. She never thought to have a claim, but with Bran and Rickon dead . . . It doesn't matter, there's still Robb, he's a man grown now, and soon he'll wed and have a son. Anyway, Willas Tyrell will have Highgarden, what would he want with Winterfell?
- ASOS, Sansa II
Sansa’s not ready to kill Bran and Rickon if they show up. Her arc is about taking off the rose-tinted glasses and seeing reality, but also working to make reality like a song. For example, her idea of the Tournament of the Winged Knights for Sweetrobin. It’s a song come to life, all by her making. TBD how the ending goes, of course, but it shows that trajectory.
And finally, Daenerys.
Daenerys is not driven by some lifelong desire to win and dominate. She’s forced into it, a la Brienne’s “no chance and no choice.” If Daenerys were raised in a stable environment, I have a feeling she’d be much more like Sansa: dreamy, hopeful, sweet and studious. Happy.
But instead, her eyes are open.
When she’s introduced as a character, she shows an awareness for the schemes and politics of the world. She knows her brother is called the Beggar King in the Free Cities, and is doubtful of the smallfolk’s secret toasts to Viserys III that Illyrio Mopatis claims happen across Westeros.
Like Sansa and Cersei, there’s evidence of her goals, hopes, and wishes in the very first chapter:
"I don't want to be his queen," she heard herself say in a small, thin voice. "Please, please, Viserys, I don't want to, I want to go home."
. . .
Dany had only meant their rooms in Illyrio's estate, no true home surely, though all they had, but her brother did not want to hear that. There was no home there for him. Even the big house with the red door had not been home for him.
Daenerys remembers home as the house with the red door in Braavos. It’s her brother whose only home and stability was the Red Keep, not her.
Throughout her journey of power to take back the Seven Kingdoms, she is doubtful at every turn and most of her wishes are for happiness, for peace, for stability.
Dany had no wish to reduce King's Landing to a blackened ruin full of unquiet ghosts. She had supped enough on tears. I want to make my kingdom beautiful, to fill it with fat men and pretty maids and laughing children. I want my people to smile when they see me ride by, the way Viserys said they smiled for my father.
- ACOK, Daenerys II
A queen I am, but my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. Without dragons, how could she hope to hold Meereen, much less win back Westeros?
- ADWD, Daenerys II
Even later, Daenerys is determined to bring peace to the lands she currently rules. She does plan to return to the Seven Kingdoms, but it’s not driven by pure ambition. And this is, notably, from a conversation when Prince Quentyn Nymeros Martell asks her to come back and claim them now, saying she has allies for that conquest. And still she turns him down, with promises that it will only happen eventually:
"Daenerys said. ". . . .One day I shall return to Westeros to claim my father's throne, and look to Dorne for help. But on this day the Yunkai'i have my city ringed in steel. I may die before I see my Seven Kingdoms. Hizdahr may die. Westeros may be swallowed by the waves."
- ADWD, Daenerys VII
And yet in both Sansa and Daenerys, these visions and hopes for the futures they might have are considered unbridled ambition, although they turn more on happiness and peace for themselves and their people, rather than the type of ambition Cersei has, which is clearly her own power and being heralded above everyone.
Daenerys’ thoughts in her sixth chapter of ADWD have the same energy as Sansa’s “I will make them love me.”:
"A queen must know the sufferings of her people."
. . .
A queen must listen to her people, Dany reminded herself.
Daenerys has figured out how to make her people love her, by wearing her “floppy ears” and appealing to the masses, listening to them, et cetera. She’s also a bit ahead of Sansa in the realm of ruling, to be sure.
But how are these similar thoughts ambition in either of them? It’s an attempt to empathize and connect, not to throw away and disregard and rule by force and domination. Both these ladies are more nuanced, and the fandom does them a disservice by painting them as ambitious or power-hungry when at the end for both of them, it’s a desire to have a happy, stable, loving life.
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how many POVs do u estimate jaime and brienne will have in twow? i assume not many lol bc there are so many plot points that he needs to lay out that he cant dawdle like he did in affc/adwd. i think they’ll be together for the first half of the book before separating but its gonna be so interesting seeing brienne perceive jaime through her own pov. i wonder how he’ll distribute it between them.
I estimate 8-9 between them, with Brienne having 3/4 and Jaime having 5. why?? vibes
I agree that they’ll part ways again at some point but GRRM’s most recent update on writing them made me think probably not quite as soon as I would’ve thought? I would’ve assumed by maybe the third/fourth of their combined chapters, but you could certainly infer they’re still together as of GRRM’s writing late last year.
and okay YES it’s true they may be one of the POVs he’s writing more slowly (god) in which case at this point they weren’t that far along after all… and I guess that would make sense if Cersei has been taking a while too, as Cersei’s logistics likely impact Jaime’s. but idk I do feel maybe it’s just been my pessimist’s brain that figured they’d be splitting up sooner rather than later in TWOW.
thinking about it, GRRM’s more likely to want to make the most of their reunion, he’s not thrown them together again just so they can dip before anything meaningful happens (even if that’s not the full realisation of their relationship). ANYWAY
it has also occurred to me that perhaps we’ll find Jaime and Brienne as prisoners of the BWB just because of how long it’s been since they were last seen (about a month?). GRRM does kind of flex his timelines a bit when he needs to, but with that passage of time so firmly established in Cersei’s POV i do wonder if we’ll find Jaime and Brienne as prisoners with the journey to lsh told via flashback, or they’re even somehow waylaid from meeting lsh. but I do think that would be kind of a waste. like we don’t get to see Brienne angsting as she’s leading Jaime to lsh, or Jaime’s gradual realisation that he’s been betrayed, or his horror at lsh??? would be weird for GRRM to skip that.
for the record I’ve lost all track of what you asked in the first place now but since no one asked here’s my ideal JB TWOW framework
Brienne I: taking Jaime to lsh and feeling sad about it
Jaime I: wtf Brienne how could you + supernatural escape from lsh
Jaime: aftermath of escape from lsh, Jaime’s angry at Brienne but still trying to understand why she did what she did, working out where to go next. Pod is still here btw but RIP Hyle
Jaime: at the quiet isle where JB reconcile and Jaime speaks maybe to the Elder Brother idk. Oh look there’s Sandor
Brienne: parting ways with jam as he resolves to go back to save his son (having heard about red wedding 2.0 or Cersei’s latest drama idk). Brienne still wants to find Sansa and Sandor is here 2 help! JB are like on the BRINK of turning canon but for now it is Bittersweet Goodbyes
Jaime: on the road idk what the hell he’s doing at this point but we’re in his head.
Brienne: also on the road w Sandor and Pod. We’re in her head a lot and also formulating a plan cos we’ve heard something about where Sansa might be. fuck if I know how this information is conveyed
Jaime: nearly at KL or actually at KL. beginning of the end of Lannister twins drama. or idk possibly the actual end but I do think Cers survives TWOW put it that way. Also [edit] myrcella is dead, Jaime finds out here. Tommen will probs die in Cersei’s last chapter
the rest of Brienne’s rescue Sansa mission is told via Sansa herself
there you go. I know it’s like holding twow in your hands
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J/B Smut Swap recs!
I come bearing @jb-smut-swap recs! Presented mostly in posting order because that’s mostly how I read them, though first, my wonderful gift fic:
Jaime’s Game by @catherineflowers29 - SOFTEST BONDAGE EVER. I have told multiple people that reading this story felt like getting a warm hug, but with ropes. And a crucial part of the softness is the vulnerability between them, the way they’re so clearly building their trust in each other, taking care of each other, and there’s just a little bit of adorable awkwardness too as they negotiate this new thing together. It made my heart so glowy and happy. Cathy, thank you so much for volunteering to pick this up and delivering something so well-suited to my requests; I could feel the care you took with this and I appreciate it so much! <333
More recs below the cut ‘cause this got long (as did Jaime, HEYOOO); if I missed anyone’s Tumblr handle, please let me know!
Binary Explosive by @sdwolfpup - Okay this isn’t in posting order but I DID read this first and also it’s my blog and I make the rules. Am I biased about this fic because it’s SDW and because it was inspired by one of my favorite due South episodes? Yes. Does that make this fic any less amazing? IT DOES NOT. This is battle couple/mutual competence kink/danger kink at its finest, crackling with banter and absolutely dripping with (literally potentially lethal) sexual tension, all wrapped up in an entirely swoonworthy established relationship. The cocktail of soft and horny here is thoroughly intoxicating, and it’s so much FUN, with just the right hint of crack, and the ending makes me kick my feet in glee every time I read it (which has been, of my own volition, SEVERAL TIMES). LOVE.
Thrust Exercises by @nire-the-mithridatist - STRIP SPARRING. We’ve all said it but also oh my god STRIP SPARRING. WHAT A GENIUS THOUGHT. This is a fabulous combination of fun and sexy, and they’re so FOND in it, too--nire hits such a beautiful note of playful competitiveness and also a little shyness/awkwardness and a LOT of heat and, has been very correctly noted, a VERY wonderfully slutty Jaime. (Jaime’s premeditation regarding their wedding night is both very horny and very sweet/thoughtful, and thus very Jaime, and also his line about how he quite likes her loud face is right up there with my favorite love confessions, as well as being a thing that Jaime and I very much have in common. AGH SO GOOD.)
Second Chances by @firesign23 - I love me some JAB and the setup of this is so delicious, that Brienne is given a second chance at an opportunity she once turned down. This is another one where all three of them just LIKE each other so much--the J/B is so solid and lived-in and warm, and the history between Jaime and Addam is delicious, and the Brienne/Addam has that little thrill of newness and “oh my god we actually get to do this” (there is a kitchen kiss that is GOOD TIMES for me). So much trust and love here, it’s lovely.
crosslines, the scratches and stains by QuixoticChloe - One of two sex bruises fics in the swap, and SCORCHING hot. This whole thing has such a teasing vibe to it, and a sense of dirty discovery within an established relationship, and the whole “we’ve got a sexy secret and we’re gonna torture each other with it as much as possible” aspect was A LOT. Damn.
Diplomatic Relations by @eryiscrye - In which Jaime and Brienne get married and proceed to scandalize/delight/horrify the entire continent with their loud married sex. IT’S GREAT. It’s Eryi’s so you know it’s gonna be super hot, and she really touched on so many of the greatest hits here: cave sex, armory sex, water sex, quiet sex, alcove sex, SO MANY GOOD CHOICES and so much sweetness to go with them, too. And the other characters’ pained/pleased observations were hysterical. SO much fun.
Apart, Together, Together Apart by greenmtwoman - Oof, this one made my chest ache in the best way. It’s so soft and romantic and LONGING and full of equal parts Brienne and Jaime’s devotion to each other and devotion to their respective duties, which feels incredibly true to them. The way this story builds and releases and then slowly builds tension again is lovely, and it’s bittersweet, but very full of hope for their future.
left your fingerprints all over me by @writergirl2011 - Friends-with-benefits-to-dating, yessssss. The banter in this was adorable, and the connection between them was so palpable, and it was delightful to watch them finally acknowledge their feelings.
Good Long Line of Praises by @aliveanddrunkonsunlight - In which Brienne discovers that Jaime has a praise kink and we ALL get to benefit. Actually the praise goes both ways here, and the result is lovely--they take each other apart at the same time they’re holding each other very closely, and it’s a wonderful mix of sweet and sexy. Another established relationship fic that included so much joy of discovery built over a strong foundation.
Nights Avoiding Things Unholy by @forbiddenfantasies1 - I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of this one and when I tell you that it has been living rent-free in my mind ever since... this is LUDICROUSLY, brain-cell-incineratingly hot, with so many delicious horny details, but also with FF’s trademark gigantic heart behind it (I feel like heart + hornt is basically FF’s brand and I love this for all of us). Again, you get such a strong sense that these two LIKE each other so much, even when they’re a little resentful and a lot scared about it, and the filth is so full of genuine affection that it makes it all the more devastating. I literally read this and was like “shit, I gotta up my game” regarding my own draft, lol. SO GOOD.
Light My Fire by @wildlingoftarth - While I fully respect and celebrate the union suit kink, I don’t have strong feelings about it, myself, but this fic made me a convert. The painstakingly sexy descriptions here were SO MUCH, and I’m also such a huge sucker for the slightly chaotic camp counselors vibe of this, that sort of euphoria and recklessness that overtakes you when something time-bound is about to end. The banter was adorable, there were so many moments that made me giggle, and of course it was hot as hell too and I’m very glad that these two dorks FINALLY figured it out.
Clothes (un)Make the Man by @aviss - CLOTHES-SWAPPING YESSSSS. I am such a sucker for that and Aviss delivered on it beautifully; seeing the progression of their relationship was so delightful and the feelings built so well throughout, and there were a couple of lines that made me laugh out loud, and, again, both the tension and the smut were super hot. LOVELY.
I’ll never let you go (if you promise not to fade away) by LadyRhiyana - This fic is going to HAUNT ME in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY. For one thing, I have checked the word count MULTIPLE times to make sure it’s not ten times as long because the world here is so vivid and so affecting that it’s like some sort of magic. I adore the setting here, and Cersei’s POV is spectacular--she’s all sharp edges and frustrated longing for the things she thinks she can’t have and I felt for her SO MUCH. Both she and Jaime are just incredibly, helplessly horny for (HOT MECHANIC) Brienne, and I loved the way that LadyRhiyana made it so clear that having Brienne there shifts the balance for Jaime and Cersei just enough that all their spikes can slide together a little better instead of just eviscerating each other all the time--and yet this happens without ever making it feel like Brienne is just a conduit or a means to an end for them; all three sides of the triad feel thoroughly distinct and important (including a very deft hand with the Jaime/Cersei aspect). It’s also EXTREMELY hot, and the Jaime/Brienne aspect has so much softness to it, and Brienne is so forthright and so kind and so curious, and AGH. I loved this.
a grip so tight I couldn’t tear it apart by @janiedean - The other sex bruises fic, and this one ended up (coincidentally, I assume) being a perfect bookend to the other one--if the modern AU is all about sexy secrets, this canon-based one is all about Jaime and Brienne’s pride in each other and joy in not having to hide their relationship, gleefully declaring their love and desire for each other for everyone to see. I was so happy for them!
with those who know secret things by @sdwolfpup - This has been recced widely and DESERVEDLY SO. The amount of CARE in this fic is overwhelming, and it’s full of all of these subtle details that suddenly come into sharp focus at just the right moment to really devastate you, and by you, I mean me. The prose itself is also gorgeous--the description of Brienne in her ad came directly for my throat (as well as some other places)--and it’s beautiful to watch these two surprise and delight and take care of each other. They’re both so GOOD and Jaime is so soft and vulnerable and Brienne is so kind and incisive and THEY LIKE EACH OTHER AND WANT EACH OTHER SO MUCH I CAN’T. The whole thing is lustrous and wonderful and I adored it.
Today Will Die Tomorrow by HNJ - This fic also DESTROYED me. The way the time shifts are handled so that we slowly put the pieces of the night together and feel the full impact of each moment, the understated delicacy and very obvious love with which both Jaime and Brienne are handled, the multiple lines that made me catch my breath with how TRUE they were, the way their love for each other uncurls and opens up to the light over the course of the story... it’s really gorgeous and just burrowed right into my heart. I also loved that this was a canon-based first time that focused more on Brienne not knowing what to do emotionally than not knowing what to do physically; I’ve read and enjoyed the latter a bunch of times but the former felt really fresh and fascinating; it was an excellent take.
Hush by @kiraziwrites - I have a thing for quiet sex anyway, and like everyone else, I will be suing kirazi for the fact that this fic left my brain a smoldering wreckage with nary a coherent thought left for the comment box. The sex in this is so deliciously varied and dirty and every bit of it feels somehow decadent and completely necessary at the same time, and watching their relationship build as they try each new thing is wonderful, and there are so many images in this that have burned themselves into the empty space where my brain used to be and taken up permanent residence. I could list MANY, but a sampling: the glacier comparison, and Brienne’s teeth-marks in Jaime’s jacket, and also Brienne DROPPING A CONDOM IN JAIME’S POCKET AND PROPOSITIONING HIM ARE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO END MY LIFE, KIRAZI. It’s also so funny and so fond and the fact that it’s literally exactly 5K is such a flex, I can’t even. Gah. TOO MUCH.
we used to wait by @it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined - I was reading things in update order and I kept thinking that I hadn’t read one yet that I could clock as jencat’s, and then kirazi was flailing about this fic and how beautiful the prose was and how strong a sense of place it had and I was like aha without even having read it yet. And this fic is indeed those things, as well as being sexy as fuck; Jen just drags the tension out and out in this very deliberate-yet-spare-yet-somehow-also-lush way until you want to claw your face off (and then she makes it totally worth the wait, too). Their relationship had some wonderful details, too, to show how well-matched they are--Jaime increasing the speed on his treadmill to match Brienne’s, rather than to exceed it, wasn’t what I was expecting and worked fabulously in this context--and the image of Jaime leaning against the wall at a crucial moment was SO MUCH. Whew. Just lovely.
The Waters and the Wild by LadyRhiyana - The last entry in the swap but by no means the least! This was another one where I couldn’t believe how much happened in such a short space; the descriptions were so vivid and cinematic, I could see the whole landscape unfold in my head, and it included some high-quality competence kink, too. We get just enough backstory to be fully invested in this version of Jaime and Brienne, including their delightful hidden-identity initial meeting, and the tension and affection and trust and frustration between them just simmers and simmers until it inevitably boils over and it’s incredibly satisfying. I also thoroughly adored the ending--including Brienne being as indignant as Jaime at [redacted]--and I would buy this movie so fast if it actually existed.
#jaime x brienne#jaime x brienne fic rec#braime#jb smut swap#hopefully i didn't forget anything#congratulations to everyone on a wonderful job!
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Ohh, what is moon lovers about?
Hi, thank you for the ask, anon!
The Moon Lovers AU is loosely based on the TV series Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.
It was the worst day in Brienne’s life. People she trusted set her up for public humiliation. She was convinced that nothing could make her life worse. But then, she got involved in a strange accident at the lake which coincided with the full solar eclipse. After Brienne waked up, she discovered that she was transported back over a thousand years ago to the Westeros, ruled by the greatest king of all times, Goldenhand the Just.
She was excited to meet him but when she did, she had to confront everything she knew about him as a historical figure with the real man he was in his time.
And here is a short fragment I’ve already written:
Something was very, very wrong. It wasn’t the world she knew. This father wasn’t the one she recognized.
“I’m sorry,” she said carefully, deciding it would be wiser to just listen to him. As strict as he sounded, Brienne was certain that he didn’t mean any harm to her. And maybe if she listened, she could better understand where exactly did she find herself. “I’m afraid I do not quite feel like myself.”
“I can see that. Do you remember anything?”
Brienne did actually remember everything until the accident at the lake which this version of her father claimed to happen fourteen years ago. She shook her head, deciding it would be a safer choice than to force her version of events. She didn’t want to appear crazier than she already did.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“I already told you it’s your chamber.”
“Yes, but I meant more general location.”
“We are at Evenfall Hall.”
“The museum? How did you arran—”
Brienne didn’t finish because of the incredulous expression of father’s face. “I mean, yes, of course, it is. But we don’t live here, right?”
“Brienne, I am the Evenstar and you are my daughter and heir. Where else are we supposed to live?”
Father has gone crazy. Or it was her. Judging by the surroundings it must have been her.
The further conversation was interrupted by the entrance of elderly looking man wearing a strange brown robe with a thick chain composed of rings of different colours which clanked with his every step. Fortunately, the woman didn’t return with him.
“My lord, septa Roelle has informed me that lady Brienne is now awakened but…”
Instead of finishing, he threw Brienne an assessing look.
“It seems that the accident might have had some…” Father was clearly struggling with choosing the right words. “…strange effects.”
“What do you mean by this, my lord? From what can I see the lady seems to be quite well.”
Because I am, Brienne thought. Physically she was good. Yes, her body felt slightly different than usual but Brienne was convinced it was just the effect of her prolonged diving. What troubled her most was the question of where she was and how did she end up in this place. And how to go back.
“She is not quite herself.” Brienne heard her father saying.
“It is normal to be in a state of shock after such extreme experience.”
“Could it involve memory loss?”
“I haven’t heard of that but if she stayed under the water for a long time, then yes, it might have happened.”
“But it is not a permanent effect?”
“I can’t tell anything before I check out my patient. If you allow, my lord, I would appreciate it if you left the chamber.”
“Of course,” father said, leaving Brienne alone with the man.
Without a hurry, he stepped toward her bed.
“My lady,” he said calmly, sitting on a chair that someone brought to her bed. “Let’s start from the basic question. Do you know who you are? What is your name?”
“Of course, I know. I’m Brienne Tarth.”
“Excellent, my lady. But could you tell me, where are we?”
Brienne hesitated. Father said they were at Evenfall Hall and she could just go on with that even if she didn’t necessarily recognize the place or even believed it was true.
“I can’t. I don’t know this place,” Brienne said, deciding against the lie.
“I see,” the man nodded, his long white beard grazed the rough material of his brown robe. “But you recognize your father, is it right, my lady?”
“Yes,” Brienne simply answered, refusing to elaborate on the differences between her dad and the man who could pass as his identical twin.
“Do you know who am I?” came the next question.
Brienne looked again in the man’s face. It was old and covered with wrinkles and stains so characteristic for older people. Everything about him seemed to be old and fragile except for eyes, which were bright and astute, making Brienne feel that he could see right through her.
“I’m sorry but I don’t. I guess you must be a doctor of some sort.”
“I am not sure what you mean, my lady, but I am maester Volden of the Citadel. I have been serving at Evenfall Hall for nearly twenty years.”
Brienne found herself nodding at this information, not sure how she should respond.
“Do you remember what did you do today and yesterday and the day before that?”
She did. But when she tried to question father about that she only earned a look of confusion and denial. Brienne shook her head.
“Interesting,” maester Volden murmured to himself. “Now, I would like to examine you, my lady.”
Brienne nodded and maester stood from his chair. Before Brienne could blink, he started his assessment, checking her pulse, her eyes, asking her to inhale and exhale on his command, and other things Brienne knew from medical shows that doctors tend to do. Particular attention he paid to her head, touching and watching it closely from every possible angle.
“Do you remember any kind of head injury you could receive? It didn’t necessarily have to happen during or after your fall from the cliff.”
“I didn’t fa…” I didn’t fall from the cliff, I was rescuing Gal, Brienne wanted to say but stopped herself before the words left her mouth. “I didn’t have any head injuries.”
That wasn’t strictly the truth. During the years of fighting training, Brienne got punched multiple times, including her face but she was more than sure that she was fine.
The maester nodded, however, the expression on his face indicated that he didn’t quite believe her words.
“Are you sure, lady Brienne? Nothing during your sword training?”
“No.” I have never held a sword in my life.
“As you say, my lady. Physically everything seems to be alright, I can’t see anything out of order. Except for your memory. There is nothing I can do for you now but you need a lot of rest and as few stresses as possible. Let’s just hope your memories return to you soon,” he said moving to the door.
“Ehm… maester Volden,” Brienne called him, not quite sure how she should address him.
“Yes, my lady?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Brienne took a deep breath. It was her chance to get some clues about what was going on. If she asked the right questions…
“Where is Galladon?” Brienne started with the most important one. Despite what her father said, she couldn’t accept that. Maybe father got something wrong, maybe he was mistaken and Gal lived. Maybe… Brienne looked expectantly at the maester but the serious expression on his face killed the last tiny shreds of hope she possessed.
“He died when you were a child, my lady.”
No, Brienne wanted to scream. No, Gal was alive. They grew up together, they played together, they shared secrets, they comforted each other. She didn’t know the world without her older brother. She didn’t want to accept any world where Gal was not there.
“How about mum, Ari and Alys?”
“They died years ago.”
Brienne blinked trying to prevent new tears threatening to fall. What kind of world it was where almost all her family was dead? It was worse than any hell she could end up after dying. But Brienne was sure she lived. The intuition, the strange unfathomable feeling inside her was telling her that she was still alive. Her heart was steadily beating under her ribs and her body greedily demanded breath after breath.
“Where am I, maester?” Brienne asked in a shaking voice.
“We are on Tarth, my lady. Your homeland.”
Brienne nodded. “What year do we have?”
“It is 297 After Conquest.”
Brienne froze. No, it was impossible. She couldn’t move back over a thousand years ago. If she was told she spent decades in a coma and awaken after some sort of nuclear apocalypse, Brienne would believe that easier than the fact that she somehow traveled so long ago.
“Lady Brienne, are you well? You became pale all of a sudden.”
“I’m fine,” she replied, trying to appear unaffected by the unexpected information. “Could I ask you to tell everyone that I would like to be left alone? I think I need some rest.”
“Yes, of course, my lady,” maester Volden replied, bowing slightly.
Only when the door closed after him and Brienne was finally left alone, she let the grief and distress take over her.
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Half Jonsa again, I wanted to thank you for your lovely reply and taking the time to respond to me. I really appreciate it. I especially liked your point about the tragic romance; I feel like an issue fandom runs into a lot is that there's a difference between pointing something out that the story is doing versus wish-fulfilment.
I don't like the double-standard between L/yanna and what I feel to be his deconstruction of the fifteen year old boyking (Paul Atreides) via Robb, for instance. Holding the tension of romance in L/yanna's story (because I subscribe to the double model - tragic romance as well as self-driven prophetic fallout) versus the political deconstruction is really difficult for me.
I'll give you complete full credit on this one: this is more like identifying GRRM's storytelling faults as opposed to really thinking about the thematic consequences of R/L.
(Continuation of this convo)
Don't even mention it! I'm so happy you came back and elaborated on your thoughts. I’m still thinking about what you said regarding Brienne’s quote!
I feel like an issue fandom runs into a lot is that there's a difference between pointing something out that the story is doing versus wish-fulfilment.
I was guilty of that myself for GoT. I mean, half of what I thought, I still think because of certain non-subjective things D&D chose to do, but when I saw that last shot of s8, I realized, this was in their heads all along, the ending they were working to for Jon, and I couldn't believe I was so sucked into Jonsa I hadn't caught on to that thread. So, yes, first hand experience with it!
However, I do have to defend the expectation for better re: Jon and Sansa in the books. When Sansa says there are no heroes and then Jon does the exact thing she wanted a hero to do for her, when Sansa says they only want her for her claim while Jon is out there refusing to take Winterfell on the grounds that it is Sansa's, we have reason to think, well, it's only a matter of time before he repudiates the other point of despair too. Obviously, I have said, this could be a secret wedding and they can't ultimately be together, that alone doesn't mean a happy ending. But the big factor that makes me question a tragic ending for Jon is that if Jon were to go to the Wall or be exiled, King Bran is not gonna be the answer to the criticism of a weak/unjust Robert that we hoped he would be.
Holding the tension of romance in L/yanna's story (because I subscribe to the double model - tragic romance as well as self-driven prophetic fallout)
I'm behind on this line of thought, I'm only now really grappling with the mess of R/L. I don't care to think of Rhaegar much because I dislike that type of character, so I don't have much to say other than his choices are the arena in which Jon has been and will play, so I know you don't think jonsa is the redemption of it, but Jon will be the response to Rhaegar. I would think the Paul Atreides discussion will be happening between Jon, Bran, Dany, the messiah-like figures, and we all know how destructive that will be for Dany, we know Bran will rise to power, possibly sacrificing himself/personal happiness for the sake of peace for his people, Jon may be the middle ground there?
I read Robb more of an answer to the romanticization of boy kinds/young heroes going to war etc. Seeing it all through Cat's eyes and her anguish keeps it very grounded for me, but again, I didn't read Dune so I'm not sure which connections you're drawing there.
This,
We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.
I think, is something that Martin actually wants to talk about, it is why women die giving birth or protecting their children, it is why brothers die for love of their sisters. It happens over and over, he keeps circling it, delivering versions of it, he finds it heartrending, he finds it beautiful. He is interested in marrying things that seem too far apart to relate. He does that all the time, and that I think is where I misalign with him. Sometimes his belief that these work in concert or two extremes can exist in the same place...I can't quire buy.
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I was wondering if you could do an analysis on Sansas and Daenerys interactions in 8x02?
Totes, because I think it’s an extremely interesting character interplay that needed more development and that was either actually rife with subtext and just written really poorly or it was just dumb. But while I wish there had been more development for literally everything in season 8, I think that the dynamic between Dany and Sansa needed far more room to breathe and grow given that their incredibly brief relationship is one of the main catalysts for the climax of the story.
Jaime’s whole “trial” scene is one that I really wish we had been able to see the lead up to, because while the drama of starting off the episode with it is certainly compelling, I’d honestly really like to know how everyone even got to that point in the first place. Like, Dany is furious that Cersei has betrayed her and lied to her about her intentions... except how exactly does that square up to someone who came to a truce with their enemy and then immediately arrests them and puts them on trial when they actually follow through on their end of the bargain?
However, looking beyond that there is not just Dany vs. Sansa, it’s kind of Dany vs. Team Stark. Dany lays out all of the reasons why Jaime deserves to be punished and Sansa actually completely agrees with her and says she completely understands how she feels, but then Brienne speaks in Jaime’s defense and Sansa immediately agrees that Jaime should stay. Now as viewers we understand what Sansa is doing here, but I think that Dany does not. I think that this may be a sort of crucial moment for what happens later, because someone who is unfamiliar with Sansa but sees that she is popular among the Northerners might come to the easiest conclusion, which is that Sansa is easily manipulated, weak willed, or likes to agree with people and thus everyone kind of likes her even though she’s the type of person who shouldn’t really be seen as important or authoritative.
But when Dany kind of ropes Jon into it I think it’s even more interesting, and once again could be an implication that she doesn’t understand people who put the interests of others before themselves. Because way back when Melisandre told Dany to invite Jon to Dragonstone, Tyrion tries to sell her on it by explaining that the Lannisters have treated the Starks even worse than they theoretically treated her, so they have even more reason to want to see their downfall. So I think she inquires about Jon’s thoughts expecting her to agree with him, because quite frankly it’s just not in her wheel house to put the needs of others before her own. But he winds up agreeing to let him stay, and she feels peer pressured into acquiescing when she really doesn’t want to. That really puts her on the back foot and makes her extremely uncomfortable because it’s something she never does, and it’s basically taking her whole fantasy of conquering Westeros and destroying her enemies and basically forces her to give it up for the sake of maintaining her own mystique.
So she’s super pissed and Jorah talks her down, and while once again the show cuts away from shit that we actually need to see, it’s fair to assume that he said something along the lines of Sansa is Regina George and you’re currently Janis Ian, so you need to go talk to her and charm her into liking you and the rest of the Northerners will fall in line. So, Dany follows his advice and tries to actually talk to Sansa and to get her to see her as the Enlightened Despot she imagines herself to be.
Frankly, the conversation between Sansa and Dany is extremely weird and vapid on the surface, but I think it makes sense within a certain context. Namely, that Sansa and Dany both have very clear preconceived notions about each other, however Sansa’s assumptions are generally correct while Dany’s assumptions are completely incorrect.
Obviously at this point, Sansa isn’t being fooled by charm, and Dany unfortunately reveals herself to Sansa in completely unintentional ways that she doesn’t realize are actually really hurting Sansa’s perception of her. Dany is here to conquer Westeros and force the North into submission, and maybe I’m overestimating Sansa’s political genius here, but what I find extremely interesting is that Dany asks Sansa why they’re at odds with each other but she doesn’t answer. She waits for Dany to answer, and Dany’s answer frankly gives Sansa an enormous political and manipulative advantage by letting her know that she assumes Sansa would not like an invader with dragons and an army the size of a city because she’s jealous that Dany has her brother’s attention.
And yes, of course, Sansa loves Jon and is likely extremely concerned, but I just cannot believe that Sansa is being genuine in this conversation. This is the woman who had to convince Jon to accept the inevitability of their baby brother dying because focusing on saving him was an existential threat to their family and the North. I cannot believe that she would have more issues with the potential safety and manipulation of her brother who was a king, Lord Commander, and survived with wildlings beyond the wall than she would over Rickon. Not to mention, the notion that at this very moment when the North is on the brink of destruction and everyone is facing down the apocalypse, but somehow Sansa is concerned about the person that Jon may or may not be smashing, is an incredibly condescending and childish assumption to make about her.
However, Dany does seem to make that assumption. Dany’s whole impression of Sansa seems to initially be that she’s just a catty and frivolous girl, and she seems to think that assuring Sansa that her super cute new crush is the one who really has her wrapped around his finger is enough to reassure her that everything’s fine and that that’s enough for Sansa to accept Dany as queen.
But then Sansa quickly flips the script and asks about Northern independence, which I honestly think was a mistake on her part. Dany initially saw Sansa just like Cersei and Joffrey and Tyrion and the Tyrells and every other person saw her, as just a superficial idiot who can be easily managed and bent to someone else’s will. I understand why Sansa would never want to play that game again, but it also left her in an enormously advantageous position, and letting Dany know that she was actually very politically minded was not the right move at that moment. But of course, because this is the season of constantly interrupted interesting conversations, as soon as the discussion turns political it’s interrupted.
Now, what I think is very interesting about Dany is her desire to essentially acquire special people. She wants Tyrion, the “most brilliant man in the kingdoms”, to be her hand. She knows he’s exceptional, and she wants to basically own him. And she goes through the same thing with Jon. She perceives her feelings towards him as love, but I think she really knows nothing about him and just thinks that he’s extraordinary enough to be worthy of her and therefore they must be in love with each other. Dany sees herself as a person unlike any other, with no equal in existence or history, so when people fawn all over her or give her unquestioned loyalty it’s nothing more than what she expects, but when literally anyone seems to care about or respect someone more than they do her, she doesn’t understand it and often sees it as some kind of a betrayal.
So when Theon shows up to fight for the Starks, she doesn’t necessarily seem mad, but she is clearly baffled, especially because she has already categorized Sansa as someone not special. If she thought Sansa were special or important enough to warrant her attention, Jorah wouldn’t have had to tell her to go try to be friends. But when Theon arrives and asks Sansa to fight for her, she doesn’t get it because in her mind Sansa is not worthy of that kind of devotion because she’s too ordinary, and the fact that someone is prioritizing Sansa over her right in front of her face really puts her off. And what seemingly makes this interchange dangerous is that Dany’s reaction to seeing this doesn’t seem to be a desire to actually understand where it stems from, but seems to result in the immediate conclusion that Sansa herself must be stopped (which is an idea that Dany toyed with in the season premiere as well, but I think it only solidified that idea for her further).
But I think that Sansa and Theon’s interaction here is obviously fascinating as well, both in relation to Dany and in general. Honestly, that kind of raw emotion and vulnerability is something that people in GoT rarely display around one another, and I can’t even think of another instance of Dany actually witnessing two people who genuinely love each other emotionally connect in that way. That’s not generally a way that she feels about a lot of people, and in her world, she is always the center of attention. So even if there are people in her orbit who love each other, she never really sees that. I actually think Emilia’s expression captures that perfectly as well, she both seems put off but unsure of how to react and borderline unsure of WTF it is that she’s actually seeing, because again, it’s pretty abnormal to see people be that emotionally open in public anyway and because it’s something that Dany is completely unaccustomed to seeing when it’s not directed towards her.
And of course, for Sansa and Theon as a pair, it’s extremely heartwarming and emotional to see how deeply they care for one another, and it’s even more touching to realize how powerfully they have had to repress their own emotions for so long and that they have now gotten to the point where they’re so completely unashamed and completely lacking in self consciousness that they’re willing to be that raw no matter who’s looking.
Overall, despite the massive flaws of season 8, I do have to say that the scenes between Dany and Sansa are some of my favorite and I wish we had gotten so much more out of them. I actually think the performance chemistry between Emilia and Sophie is better than nearly every other character that Dany was introduced to late in the game, and I think it was a huge mistake to not explore that more and to not fully clarify that these two literal queens are not bickering over a boy’s attention.
#Anonymous#sansa stark#anti daenerys targaryen#dark!daenerys#got#got meta#sansa stark meta#daenerys targaryen meta#meta
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