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a-libra-writes · 4 years

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who do you think would prefer an s/o who’s charming, more of a people person, using their words to get what they want vs an s/o who’s more quiet, strategic, and plans and schemes to get what they want? is it a case of opposites attract, or would they want someone to compliment them? 👀

.......so i ended up having a lot of thoughts about this LOL

okay so i think this depends on the s/o’s morals! like you can be scheming to help others instead of hurting them. so let’s go with that bc i dont wanna brainstorm a low ethics/morality s/o (this makes me think of 7KPP, a fantastic visual novel that’s the only decent Court Drama Simulator vn i’ve come across). Also there’s a loooot of characters so imma just list the ones I have Strong Thoughts on and sort them by region oh lord what have you done my dork is showing

Northbois

So while I feel like Robb and Ned would prefer a more outgoing and charming sort of person ... I really can’t help but ship them with someone whose more cunning and can actually play the game of thrones. Like lord someone help these Starks because their intrigue score is 0 and they need someone protecting them from Tywin, Roose and Walder LOL. I can really see both father and son thinking their s/o is this sweet thing and not having a clue of how much scheming they’re actually doing to protect Winterfell... Ned would probs catch on after a while but Robb would just be blinded by love and devotion haha.

Sansa would probs want the first ideally, but as she gets older she’d greatly appreciate someone who has that sort of cunning and uses it for good purposes. Also she’d like a calm and steady personality to rely on.

Jory is a straight up honest guy to a fault, kinda like Ned, so he’d also prefer the first type of person and appreciate them more.

OKAY SO you’d think Roose would go for the second type but HEAR ME OUT. I think he’d go for both equally, or a mix of the two. Listen. I have a strong HC that he would be very attracted to someone who is his opposite in many ways - outgoing, charming, sweet and kind. If that person also happens to be cunning as hell and willing to manipulate anyone - even him - to protect what’s their’s, oof. He’s gone. I think he’d really get off on the idea of having an s/o who everyone is shocked he’s involved with bc “omg they’re sooo nice” and only he really knows their “other side”, so to speak. Realtalk I don’t think he’d go for someone just as morally awful as him bc he’d see them more as a threat than a potential partner.

Ramsay is a little shit that would also be attracted to the first kind of person but honestly needs the second type to keep his ass in line. That’s the sort of person who would figure him out and manipulate him accordingly so he isn’t skinning the goddamn neighbors. Also he wouldn’t give a damn about their morals so go off i guess just dont start any revolts in the north

VERY Northbois

Jon really doesn’t care for schemes, even if he acknowledges they’re useful, and he’d be attracted to someone who knows just what to say and is charismatic bc lord knows he’s struggled w that for a bit. Benjen really loves outgoing, charming and talkative peeps esp when they wiggle their way out of stuff or convince the upper command of the Watch to consider a different plan. He’ll be soooo attracted to that. Edd is kinda meh on both I’d feel? Like he’d prefer a quieter person but not a scheming sort, that’s too troublesome to deal with. I think he could come around to the first one eventually.

Mance super respects the second type, he finds it very attractive actually, especially when they start manipulating him into something and he catches them. Tormund is a dork and prefers outgoing people, totally doesn’t notice when he’s being taken in lol. He rlly hates the second sort of person, sees them as snakes.

Southbois

Edmure would absolutely be drawn to a gregarious and outgoing person! And if they can talk their way into or out of things thank god bc fishboy has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. I really don’t think it’d work out with a schemer person bc of that Tully honor, and unlike Ned or Robb, Edmure would start to catch on (I don’t buy into the show characterization of Edmure like frack that he’s not an idiot). Brynden has a lot of experience and has seen a lot of BS, so he’d understand the risks and sacrifices his s/o would be making when they’re playing the game, and he’d really wish they wouldn’t!! Like yeah it’s to protect their family and friends but he wishes they didn’t have to do that. He wants to protect them on his own.

Brienne REALLY prefers someone whose honest and can talk their way in and out of things!! Like the Starks she’s very honorable and has no patience for lies and manipulating even if it’s for something good. It’d take a lot for her to trust and be attracted to that kind of person, they’d have to like... be very honest with her about what their plans are and why they’re doing them.

Kingslanding bois

oh lord Stannis okay so INITIALLY he’d be put off by both personalities for diff reasons - outgoing because socializing and diplomacy is something he just sucks at and the second one because holy hell he hates dishonesty and scheming. Now, he can admire a strategic and collected mind, but as soon as dishonorable plots roll in he starts side-eyeing. I think it would take some time for that latter personality to gain his trust, and if this is like... his wife we’re talking about, she’d probs have to scheme behind his back, even if it’s for his own sake. For an outgoing person, he could eventually befriend or fall for them once some common ground is found. He wouldn’t be able to admit how much he admires their people skills haha.

Davos understands that sometimes manipulating and scheming is needed and can be used for good, but personally he prefers a more diplomatic, out in the open approach. So the first type is def his kinda person. He could still befriend the second type as long as they’re not assholes, though.

Tywin would honestly work with both sides of the spectrum and in between, but ultimately, you’d have to understand who you’re dealing with. There’s no honor or high ground being involved with Tywin Lannister, and the s/o should expect to get dragged into his schemes, esp when he trusts them ... and that’s no easy feat. Ultimately it’s less of how you get what you want and more of ... what are you willing to do to get it. Pesky morals and all that.

Tyrion has had enough of his dad’s bullshit that he’d only be romantically involved with the first type, someone who uses sass and flattery like he does. He can still respect and befriend a more cunning person, though. Jaime also prefers the first type, he thinks it’s just because “oh I like outgoing and forward people” and not...”i’ve spent years dealing with lies and schemes from father and cersei”, yanno that old chestnut. Bronn definitely prefers gregarious and cheeky peeps, schemes go over his head and bore him.

Sandor dislikes both sorts of personalities for different reasons ... He’s offput by someone who would be very talkative and outgoing with him (like why are they talking to him wtf), and he also hates scheming and lying and all that, he’s seen too much of it. The first type has a better chance of befriending and getting close to him, the second not so much.

Petyr very much respects and admires both but like ... you know he’d prefer someone that he thinks he can outwit and manipulate, so probably more of the first type of personality because they seem less cunning and more of “just” a people person. Given his obsessive/yandere tendencies he probably wouldn’t notice he was being taken in by someone friendly and kind.

like okay weird thing to think about but just consider this... I really wonder what it’d be like if Robert had an s/o like the first one you mentioned. Not Cersei, certainly not his beloved Lyanna - a third party, a gracious and likeable queen that kinda makes up for his faults and she’s TRYING hard as hell. like idk if they’d ever fall in love but like idk i feel like his depression would be slightly lessened to have a partner that’s very beloved and tries to help him and put him in a good light in his subject’s minds. Am I making sense? She’s not perfect but she wants what’s best for the realm and if she’s gotta do it herself she will. IDK sorry this is a tangent, i think about major change AUs and their political consequences a lot

Heckin south n east bois

Margaery is a Big Gay and you can’t fight me on this, you will lose. She’s super attracted to the first kind of gal bc that’s def how she is herself! So she’d love to play those little word games with them. The second personality type she’d just write off as “eh quiet person” but once she got closer and began to realize their cunning and wittiness she’d def take an interest, esp if she found out about some good things they did. Then it’d be a classic “outgoing babe dating more reserved babe” and yall both would be VERY well-known in court. absolute power couple

Oberyn likes both equally! Especially if your motives are to help others and/or save your friends and family. He loves that kinda loyalty and he really admires someone who has a way with words and schemes in equal measure. Hell he does both himself. He might lean more toward an outgoing person just because that’s how he is too.

idk where to put Beric but he rlly likes the first kind of people!! He’d probs ask you to get supplies or money on the Brotherhood’s behalf, and he actually kinda likes it when he finds himself doing something you wanted cause you asked so nicely or talked him into it ..... Thoros calls him a simp and it’s true ok don’t bully he can’t help it

& lastly Essosssss

So, I think Daenerys would be a lot more drawn to the second kinda person. First of all: Very mysterious, ooh. Secondly, she’d appreciate a cool head that will tell her the truth and is willing to do more unsavory things bc they believe in her so much. Obvs she would need someone with unquestionable loyalty, and once she tests and is reassured of that loyalty, then she could start some kinda romance. She’s def attracted to someone who can get shit done that way.

Jorah is a big opposite in that he’s kinda had to do that unsavory stuff himself and is still ashamed by it, and generally doesn’t trust people like Littlefinger and Varys and Illyrio, etc so he’d prefer someone who is just genuine and talks their way out of things. Also yall know him he can’t resist once he starts liking someone like cmon

Grey Worm is absolutely in the first camp too but for diff reasons! Scheming and all that shit just makes him nervous and he distrusts it, even if it’s for Daenerys’ sake. He just wouldn’t associate with the person ... Someone more outgoing would definitely fluster him more but at least he could feel like he could trust them. Missandei can go either way - she knows the power in both diplomacy and manipulation, and would likely admire and be pulled to someone who uses both to help people.

sorry i got so wordy and a bit repetitive lol both are like, my fav kinda character archtypes, esp for court settings.

#libra says #libra says A LOT OF SHIT LOL oops #yall can send in stuff like this anytime idgaf its interesting #libra headcanons #got x reader #got imagines #game of thrones x reader

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rainhadaenerys · 3 years

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*DANY ANTIS DON'T INTERACT*

I was thinking about how every stan seems to think that the show diminished their fave to prop up others. As a Dany stan, I have often said how Dany was dumbed down as a way to prop up her male advisors (Tyrion, Jorah, Daario, Jon, etc), and how she was framed as a bad guy to prop up how morally superior Jon, Tyrion, Jorah, Varys and Sansa were to her. But the funny thing is that I have also seen other stans say the same thing about their faves. I've seen Jon stans say that Jon was diminished to prop up Dany, I've even seen Sansa stans saying that Dany was propped up at the expense of Sansa. And I guess that, depending on how you look at it, I can understand each of these positions. In Dany's case, I think she was trashed to prop up other characters, as I explained above, but the focus on trying to make her look bad to prop up other characters also made them focus more on Dany than on other characters, and made the entire story center around her madness. Therefore, Jon stans see Jon as just a prop in Dany's story, Tyrion stans also think that Tyrion was made incompetent and sidelined in order to prop up Dany's madness, and Sansa stans think that the show overfocused on Dany to make the audience more sympathetic to Dany, while these Sansa stans feel that the show should have focused more on Sansa and her leadership and think that Dany should be more demonized, so the show "shouldn't have spent time trying to make her sympathetic" (I completely disagree that the show tried to make Dany more sympathetic, of course, I think that the show did everything it could to demonize Dany, but I've seen many Sansa stans saying that the overfocus on Dany in season 8 was to make her sympathetic and they feel like Sansa should have been the protagonist, not Dany, because Sansa is the one who "won" in the end). And I'm not even talking about characters like Arya, Jaime, all of whom seemed to have been used as props to Dany's mad queen storyline.

Anyway, all of this made me think again how I think it's incredible how D&D managed to upset every single faction of the fandom, even though they could have very well made a shitty story, but still have managed to make some fans happy. Think about it:

Dany stans were obviously upset about Dany's character assassination.

People who were neutral on Dany wouldn't have cared as much about this character assassination, though, if it was done a bit more competently. It would have still have been character assassination, but most neutrals would have accepted it if it was a little more believable. They could have had Dany act "impulsively" and burn King's Landing by accident, and then have Jon kill her because he though she was not fit to rule. I would still consider character assassination and bullshit, but casuals would find it more believable than "Dany burns King's Landing for no reason after she already won". Or they could have had Dany not care about burning innocents that were mixed with Lannister soldiers in the city. She would have still been portrayed as a tyrant who doesn't care about innocents (that is, it would still upset us Dany stans), but it's more believable than burning King's Landing for no reason after she already won. Anyway, there were many ways to please the neutral fans, but they literally went with the stupidest choice, making Dany burn KL after she already won, for no reason other than vague madness and bells. The stupidity of it all is what pissed off most neutral fans.

Now, they could have still went with the stupid route they went of Dany burning King's Landing and still pleasing other fans. Gendrya fans that don't care about Dany could have still have been relatively pleased with the ending if Arya and Gendry were together. But nooo, they also had to piss off Gendrya fans by making Arya randomly reject Gendry for reasons.

But even with all that, they could have still pleased Jaime fans. I don't care about Jaime at all and I don't think he has to have a redemption, but the fact is, the show could have given him a redemption. Many Jaime stans wouldn't care about the butchering of Dany and Gendrya, as long as their boy got his redemption. But they chose to make him not get it, make him say he didn't care about innocents, and they also destroyed Braime (which pissed off Jaime stans, Braime stans and Brienne stans).

But even with all of that, they could still have pleased other fans! Some Cersei stans wouldn't care about any of that (many even enjoyed Jaime going back to Cersei), if Cersei had been a worthy antagonist in season 8. But no, she had to do nothing, sip wine and stare at a window, and then die by bricks, which of course pissed off many Cersei stans.

But even with all that, they could have still pleased the Jonsas! Jonsas never really cared about things making sense, they just wanted Dany to go evil and Jon and Sansa to fuck. They were fucking trilled at Dany going evil, but they were still disappointed in season 8 because Jon and Sansa didn't get together, and because the season emphasized Jon's love for Dany despite everything. And they hate season 8 for supposedly making Dany too sympathetic for their taste (which was indeed a big fail of the writing, because they tried so hard to pile trauma upon trauma upon Dany to justify her nonsensical turn, that they just made her more sympathetic).

So in the end, every stan thinks their fave was done dirty to prop up other characters. Jon stans think Jon was done dirty to prop up Dany. Dany stans think Dany was done dirty to prop up Jon, Tyrion, Sansa, Jorah, etc. Sansa stans think Sansa was done dirty to prop up Dany. Jaime stans think Jaime was done dirty in service of Dany's storyline. And the writers denied almost every stan what they wanted.

By the way, I'm not even talking about whether any of the possibilities I discussed above would be good writing or not. But simply that, if D&D wanted to please at least part of their fans, they could easily have. But it takes a monumental incompetence to piss off literally every faction of the fandom and make all of them agree on hating your ending (a fandom that is usually full of internal fights and division, but the only thing that the entire fandom agrees is how much they hate season 8 and the ending). It's almost as if D&D had a checklist when writing season 8 in which they discussed how to piss off every single fan. Did we piss off Dany stans? Check. Did we piss off Jon stans? Check. Did we piss off Jonsas? Check. Did we piss off Jonerys fans? Check. Did we piss off Jorleesis? Check. Did we piss off Gendryas? Check. Did we piss off Jaime stans? Did we piss off Braimes? Check. Did we piss off Cersei stans? Check.

#anti got #anti got rant #daenerys targaryen #rambling

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musical-chick-13 · 3 years

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And Theon bc I love him

WHAT A COINCIDENCE I LOVE HIM TOO (this answer is gonna be a combination of books and show)

Send me a character and I’ll tell you the following:

• Did they live up to their potential? / In what ways was their potential unachieved?

-I would say yes. The only negative I have about his general arc is his death (which, see below). But Theon from the very beginning was, though not a particularly nice person, still relatable. Feeling othered, wanting to be accepted by an immediate environment that doesn’t accept you, isolated from and ostracized by your family, and the tension that comes between serving the different types of familial relationships in your life. Theon has no idea who he is, tossed aside by his blood family for not growing up with them and being “soft,” aka sort-of moral and having emotions that aren’t selfish rage or smugness (which, yep, that second part is a mood, see: my entire childhood and how no one wanted to be around an “emotional” “soft” child). And from there, he spirals out of control in a way that, while certainly not admirable by any stretch of the imagination, is still understandable in the context of the narrative and his characterization. And from there, after going through hell and quite literally losing himself (even to the point of straight-up denying rescue), he builds himself back up gradually, to the point where he expressed extreme regret for what he’s done, helps an innocent woman escape a truly horrifying situation, acknowledges that his family is generally garbage, and (in-show b/c again books aren’t finished), helping to restore his sister to power, rescuing her after his PTSD relapses while confronting Euron, and ultimately opting to protect the Starks come hell or high water in order to genuinely atone for what he’s done. He is no longer conflicted because he wants to do the right thing, and that right thing is defending the kingdom from the White Walkers and making sure Sansa and Bran are safe. And it’s no longer about fulfilling a duty or finding a family to fill the void. Because now he has found himself. I will contend that Theon has one of the best, most nuanced, most organic redemption arcs of all time. I will forever be grateful that I got to see that piece of storytelling unfold.

Although, I would love to know what he thought of Dany. A missed opportunity, that.

• How they negatively and positively affected the story.

-Positive: His arc of identity and finding where your loyalties lie ties into the overall theme of “How do you find yourself in a world where goodness, authenticity, and honesty are often punished and increasingly rare?” And it proves that governmental politics aren’t the only defining factors in decisions: familial politics can be just as difficult and dangerous, which adds yet another rich, complicated layer to the overall story. He has a genuine, honest-to-Drowned-God redemption arc, which is...not really present anywhere else in the story (no, Jaime is not on a Redemption Quest, I will die on this hill). But I think the biggest draw of Theon’s presence is that it deconstructs the whole “Character Revenge Fantasy” idea. He does bad things. We want him to be punished. But not like that. No one deserves that. How far is too far? What does retribution really look like? Given how easily that idea can be abused and go off the rails, is retribution even something to strive for? What is the point of using extreme violence/torture/mutilation/breaking someone’s psyche when it doesn’t really accomplish anything? Isn’t atonement and genuine justice a better option? It certainly was for Theon. He could only piece himself back together and do anything meaningful once he was out of his abusive environment. All of these are imporant questions that are posed by his existence in the narrative.

-Negative: Idk if I have much to say here. My biggest problem is his death (see below), but that’s not really a negative story effect so much as...being disappointing and narratively irrelevant. I gotta say, his introduction via his sister was...really weird. I genuinely have no idea why GRRM wrote that. It never came up again or had any kind of narrative ramifications and kind of cast a strange, uncomfortable light on his relationship with Asha/Yara for the remainder of the story. I can ignore and enjoy their later relationship it if I don’t think about it too hard, though, so I guess I’ll chalk it up to GRRM having a Bad Idea.

• What my favorite arc for them is.

-All of it?? Theon’s journey is kind of...one big arc, which is why I think it works so well. He has this overarching redemption plot which spans the entire series and informs every decision he makes (for good or for bad, depending on where in the aforementioned journey he is). The redemption arc isn’t bogged down with side plots or other pieces of narrative clutter, meaning it has time to grow and, thus, be gradual and realistic. If I had to choose a specific point, it’s probably when he tries to reintegrate back into society via supporting Yara. Gaining the Iron Islands’ support for her ruling, spiriting away with Euron’s fleet, and ultimately rescuing his sister after her capture. He can’t just go back into society. He’s scared. He has really bad PTSD. But he recognizes that putting his home in good hands is something bigger than just him because it’s Yara’s home, too. I just...I really love family relationships, y’all.

• What I think of their ending.

-I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. I get that the series is GrimDark™ and that people who make the right choice and fight for good die all the time, but Theon dying just felt...wrong. To me.

And, like...I get it. It makes sense to parallel his original descent into villainy (cemented by executing those two boys and pretending they were Bran and Rickon) with him dying to protect Bran himself. It ties into the whole very common trope of completing a full redemption arc by committing a completely selfless act at great personal cost. It’s kind of like the whole Missy thing in Doctor Who (which...hoo boy, that post is coming, make no mistake), where selfishness is directly opposed by making the ultimate sacrifice with no motivation for personal gain. And the fact that the last words he ever heard were “You’re a good man?” I cannot even begin to describe how much that makes me sob. But...honestly, I’m really tired of this idea that redemption has to end in death in order to be achieved or “complete.” I think it’s much more poignant to have a redeemed character live to help build a better world. Because what’s the point of telling people to be better if the “reward” is death? No one’s going to want to reform themselves if they think that’ll be the result.

I think the thing that Bugs Me™ the most is that Theon never really got to have a moment of peace when he was alive. Sansa gained the North’s love and at least had a secure childhood. Ned and Cat were happily married for years. Arya had parents who loved her and a good relationship with Jon. Jon fell in love with Ygritte and found his Night Watch Bros, and Robb (in show verse) had some very happy moments with Talisa. Davos put great stock in what he considered fulfilling friendships with Stannis and Shireen; Brienne was treated respectfully by Renly, Catelyn, and Sansa; Missandei and Grey Worm had each other and their friendship with Dany, who herself had many personal successes in her quest for the Iron Throne and saw the death of her abusive brother. Cersei even had moments with Jaime (who himself had several notable military victories and at least some time with Myrcella, as well as being gladly and deeply in love, however dysfunctional that love was), times when she successfully fought off enemies (including her dad), and some sweet moments with Tommen, as well as a huge victory via blown-up sept at the end of season 6. Theon was treated as a second-class family member by the Starks his whole life by being “traded” to them as a condition of war resolution AS A BABY, is immediately disparaged and mistreated by his immediate family when he tries to return to them, makes terrible decisions that almost cost him his conscience completely, is brutally tortured by Ramsay, is on the run with his sister from Euron almost immediately after, and has a PTSD attack that ultimatly results in him having to launch a rescue mission. And then he fights ice zombies. And then he dies. He never really...got to be happy at all? There was never any kind of “win” for him. Not even survival. The narrative couldn’t even give him that.

TLDR: Theon’s death seemed less shock-value-y than others (like, for example, Shireen or Missandei or, heck, Melisandre even), and it isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s narratively-informed and it makes sense as an emotional through-line, but, ultimately, Redemption Cemented By Selfless Death is a tired trope, and I honestly thought this story (which...you know...serves as a deconstruction of common fantasy tropes/book tropes in general) was better than that.

• When I wish they had died. / If I think they should’ve died.

-So here’s where we get personal™ kids.

So, it’s no secret that I am...severely mentally ill. I’ve talked about expression/presentation of mental illness in regard to Cersei a lot on this blog, and how that (as paradoxical as it may seem) helped bring a sense of comfort and emotional resonance to me. Theon, post-Ramsay, has, I think, a very clear case of PTSD. Theon is one of the few characters I’ve seen where his mental illness isn’t the cause of the bad, violent, dangerous choices he makes. It only takes root after he has made the decision and conscious effort to better himself, and it, rather than demonizing him, serve to humanize him. His trauma didn’t define him. And although a PTSD attack led to him unintentionally losing Yara to Euron’s capture, he makes every effort to rescue her, a goal he does end up achieving. It is so rare I get to see a character who goes through these things, successfully fight them and come out with positive qualities at the end. Like...switching topics a bit here, Jaime going back to King’s Landing to (try to) escape and ultimately die with Cersei made sense to me because, as Jaime says, he is a hateful man. He never made much of an honest effort to be anything else. And he never truly wanted to be good; he just wanted to be liked. He wanted to adopt some personality that would make him feel less disconnected from the rest of the world. But Theon...genuinely feels remorse for everything he’s done. He makes a concerted effort to do everything in his power to improve the lives of people he believes are good and deserve to be safe. So, just...killing him off in a Completely Selfless Sacrifice (like...you know how a lot of mentally ill people put themselves through suffering-like OCD rituals, bottling feelings, self-harm, even suicide-in a misplaced attempt to “help” or “protect other people”) seemed antithetical to everything we saw of his arc.

Ultimately, with such a humanizing, empathetic portrayal of trauma and mental health struggles, seeing Theon be killed off just...pissed me off. I am so tired of seeing mentally ill characters die. I really want to believe that I can live through and thrive in spite of the things that afflict me, and I get example after example of characters not being allowed to do that. It feels awful, quite frankly. And it makes hope that much harder.

I also just feel like...there was nothing the story gained from his death? I get the thematic parallels as mentioned earlier, but it didn’t really move the story forward in any significant way. It didn’t motivate other characters to do anything, it had no political ramifications, it didn’t serve to contribute to any kind of happy ending or commentary on society, it just...was sad. Again, I thought this story was better than that.

#theon greyjoy #got #my son #mental illness in media #meta #redemption arcs #tw: self harm mention #tw: suicide mention

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lannisterdaddyissues · 3 years

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Jaime Lannister and Uhtred 👀🙌

AAAAAAA @softestark you always come through <3 you’re so dependable <3 thank you for the ask!!

Jaime Lannister:

How I feel about this character: his character development kicks the entire show up to 11. his circumstances really do humble him in some ways, even if he still makes some of the same mistakes (jaime why the FUCK do you keep going back to cersei what happened to your character development wait where are you going-) there’s such a momentous change in him. he learns to care more about others, and i don’t just mean he starts to pay his employees more than the minimum wage, he goes back to rescue brienne and he saves tyrion from being executed (though he would’ve done this anyway bc he’s a good bro) and he makes sure that he doesn’t leave dorne without bronn. he’s a man of honor, regardless of what the rest of the people of westeros say (kingslayer, oathbreaker). and speaking of his titles can we please talk about this man’s backstory because it’s so fucking juicy ok?

All the people I ship romantically with this character: BRIENNE. BRIENNE BRIENNE BRIENNE BRIENNE BRIENNE. i have never had such a visceral reaction to a ship as i did to braime. when they first met in season 2 they had some good lines, i thought they were kind of funny together though they didn’t really make sense at all because they are a very mismatched duo. but then they got captured and they suffered through so many trials and endured so much hardship together and as trust began to build between them you could tell that their relationship had changed. they weren’t just a captor and prisoner anymore. they saved each other. jaime saved brienne twice, first from being raped and then from being killed, and tbh brienne saved jaime too, though in a more spiritual way. when he trusted her with the truth and opened up about his past i felt something i’d never felt before and i’m sure everyone else felt it too. and then she named the sword he gave to her oathkeeper as proof of her faith in him. by naming it oathkeeper she said, “the man who gave this to me is a man of honor and integrity. you were wrong to judge him.” and thEN CERSEI GOT BRIENNE TO ADMIT THAT SHE LOVED HIM AS FAR BACK AS SEASON 4 WHAT THE FUCK???? I ALMOST CRIED BRO IT’S REAL

My non-romantic OTP for this character: tyrion omg he and tyrion are sibling. goals. jaime is the only one tyrion trusts with his life and he’s always the first name tyrion drops when he’s in trouble. jaime would do anything for tyrion and he even committed treason to save him from being executed, and right after cersei had asked jaime to choose between her and tyrion? he never answered her but you know jaime chose tyrion without a moment’s hesitation.

My unpopular opinion about this character: im not in the fandom so idk i dont really have any yet but ig i lowkey wished he would look like a hobo forever LMAOO

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: im not there yet and i know it’s coming but when will he fucking reunite with brienne because i’m DYING waiting for them to reunite!!!!!! also i want him to cut things off with cersei already like jesus christ man she is evil incarnate ok

Uhtred of Bebbanburg:

How I feel about this character: he is pure of heart, dumb of ass, and i would totally kiss him and braid his hair <3

All the people I ship romantically with this character: alfred and gisela (can’t believe they’re both fucking dead :))

My non-romantic OTP for this character: also alfred, but besides that, i love his relationship with hild. friend goals <3

My unpopular opinion about this character: i liked him better in the earlier seasons even though he was stupider then

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i wish gisela had lived, fuck his cock for killing every woman he mates with

GIVE ME A CHARACTER!

#i wrote an entire fucking essay for jaime's half of the ask #as i should <3 #i NEED to talk about him and brienne ok #i need them like i need air #and i always love my dumbass boy uhtred #ask #reply #fandom ask #softestark #mutual #tlk #got

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aegonbeingfakeisracist · 4 years

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Hey! How much would have changed if say Lysa was betrothed (and married) to somebody else (she and Petyr happen, that night) such as: Jaime, Oberyn or Robert (I'm just throwing out some random names)? Thanks in advance :)

Hey!

I’m probably not the best person to ask about this, but...it’s tough to say. A lot probably depends on timing. Let’s assume the situation is there was a preexisting betrothal when she became pregnant and Hoster didn’t want to lose the alliance so he gave her moon tea and told her to keep it quiet. I really can’t imagine all that much changing - at least, not for the better.

With Jaime, I think everything would be pretty much the same. If we start with consequences on the broad scale...I wrote a post I think yesterday - well, undoubtedly longer ago by the time I finish this response - about what would have happened if Jaime had married Elia, and I concluded that many things would change, with one of the biggest being how if Jaime were married, he wouldn’t be a Kingsguard, and Tywin wouldn’t have fallen out with Aerys. Here I think that point would also be true, but probably much wouldn’t change in the grand scheme of things. Since a Jaime Lysa betrothal - unlike a Jaime Elia one - would have happened far too late in the timeline to influence the other marital alliances of the time, I imagine the alliances and turnout of the war would be pretty similar, with the Lannisters still joining late. Since Tywin would still be bitter about Elia, the Sack of King’s Landing and her/her children’s murder would still have happened. So...pretty much the same thing as in canon, with the major divergence not happening until much later, during the time period around the beginning of the first book.

Now we can talk about the personal stuff, which is interesting. In the post about Jaime and Elia, I concluded that their relationship itself would have been fine. They probably wouldn’t have loved each other, but they could have bonded anyway. It wouldn’t have been a Ned and Cat level arranged marriage, but it would have been perfectly adequate. I...cannot imagine that would be the case with Jaime and Lysa. In fact, Jaime might be the single worst marriage possible match for her on a personal level in all of Westeros.

There are two key things about Lysa: she has major issues about feeling inferior and she craves warmth and affection. Being married to Jaime would suck for her on both counts. When Jaime went to Riverrun, his thoughts on Lysa were dismissive - he thought she was pretty, but too timid to be appealing, comparing her unfavourably to his sister by saying she had “none of Cersei’s fire”. He completely ignored her in favour of talking to her uncle. Worst of all...he thought that Cat seemed more interesting. That’s indicative of, like, the opposite of what Lysa needs. It’s not that I think those are static - after all, canon Jaime has no thoughts on Elia, and I think that that marriage could still have been perfectly good and what they both needed. But Lysa is deeply, deeply insecure, and not being anyone’s first choice hurts her immensely. So marrying someone where it’s so clear that she’s second - or third - best would be incredibly unhealthy for her no matter what else happened. Hell, take her relationship with Littlefinger in canon. It’s not that she doesn’t know he was more interested in Cat. But that doesn’t stop her from loving him. And that state of affairs, lasting as it did for so long, was not at all good for her emotional state. Marrying Jaime with his creepy close relationship with his sister would be miserable for poor Lysa.

Jaime would stoke her deep rooted feelings of inadequacy in a way that Jon Arryn didn’t because unlike Jon who didn’t care about her or offer her affection but also didn’t seem to be interested in anyone else, Jaime would quite clearly be closer to his sister than to Lysa. Whether Lysa finds out about the incest or not, she’d be able to tell something was off. In some way, maybe Jaime would end up being quite similar to canon Littlefinger, albeit presumably unintentionally. Because it doesn’t matter if she loves him or not - her jealousy is far more about her and her relationship with her family than it is with Littlefinger, especially because I imagine that her feelings for Petyr weren’t that deep until later. And hell, maybe she would develop feelings for Jaime over time. In this situation, she would still be isolated from her family, and Jaime being reasonably nice - or even polite - to her would go a long way. Which he presumably would have been because we don’t really have much indication that pre-Aerys Jaime was anything other than a decent guy, sister fucking aside. So...all around, not great for Lysa. Better than Jon Arryn, perhaps - Jaime could probably give her the multiple children that she wanted that Jon Arryn could not, and as she wouldn’t have spent as much time in King’s Landing, she way have been under less stress (I have a headcanon that part of the reason for her overprotectiveness and paranoia in canon was that her husband summoned her to King’s Landing pretty much as soon as he himself got there and so she was there to witness the aftermath, including the new king marrying a Lannister when servants were practically still cleaning Rhaenys and Aegon’s blood from the floors, so you can only go up from there). But she would still be close to all the same people that made her paranoid and scared in canon, and Casterly Rock and Jaime would both be be bad for her.

As for Robert, I think there are two main possibilities - either it was like Jaime, where the betrothal was arranged before the pregnancy and Hoster kept it quiet, or Robert married her after the war instead of Cersei. All the broad beats of the story would stay the same in both cases. In the before the pregnancy case, Lysa might be a tiny bit happier than in the after the war case - there would be no Lyanna in the picture, so it would “just” be Robert’s string of affairs with random women he doesn’t care about. Not great, but also not something that would bother Lysa quite as much. Had they married after the war instead, Lysa would be in a similar position to Cersei - constantly compared unfavourably to a dead woman that Robert is still infatuated with all these years later. Which, as I reiterated with the Jaime case, would stoke all of Lysa’s insecurities. Plus, the thing about being around the people that in canon made her terrified and paranoid still would hold true. In both cases, everything probably ends up the same, both in terms of the broader world and Lysa’s individual situation.

Lysa marrying Oberyn would probably be the biggest change. Not necessarily because of the big picture impact it has on the world - it might change the presumptive alliances, it might not - but because I can actually see how she would have the potential to be happy in this situation. Unfortunately, circumstances would more likely than not kill that happiness.

Unlike with Jaime and Robert, I can imagine this being more likely to have been arranged after everything that went down with Lysa’s pregnancy, because of all the noblemen in Westeros, Oberyn probably would have been the most likely to just shrug it off. It would be a different thing altogether if it had happened during their betrothal or marriage, but before it? I can see him not being all that bothered about it, and I can imagine Lysa being rather charmed by him and pleased by the prospect of marrying him. As I touched upon earlier in the Jaime part of this post, I don’t think the depths of canon Lysa’s unhealthy love for/obsession with/attachment to Littlefinger is something that was always the case, but something that developed and intensified over time as she started to feel more and more isolated and unloved. So the Oberyn of that time, who wasn’t yet in love with Ellaria and grieving over Elia, might be pretty nice to Lysa, leading to Lysa's loneliness being less debilitating and her moving past her affection for Littlefinger.

Unlike Jaime, at the time of this betrothal, Oberyn would not be in love with someone else. Unlike Robert, he’s not a serial cheater. If his relationship with Lysa develops to be anything like his canonical relationship with Ellaria, it would have the potential to offer her everything she wants and needs in a marriage - children, warmth, affection, trust (not necessarily likely, given how Oberyn didn’t really get his shit together until after losing Elia, but possible. Anyway, I digress). But this, like everything in the Dornish storyline, is a demonstration of how you can’t separate the personal from the political. How this betrothal/marriage affects her depends heavily on what her father does after Aerys calls for Ned and Robert’s heads. And that could go either way, but more likely, in a way that isn’t great for her.

In a world with a Lysa/Oberyn match, Hoster is in a very uncomfortable position once the war breaks out. Just what specifically happens would depend on whether at the time, Lysa and Oberyn were betrothed or had already married (which...I suppose you’d have to assume that everything with Littlefinger went down a little earlier).

Say they were just betrothed. You’d think that that would be motivation for Hoster to stay neutral, because of his ties to both sides, or even maybe side with the Crown - Brandon was dead and so they weren’t tied to the North anymore, maybe he doesn’t end up marrying Cat to Ned instead? Maybe they side with the younger daughter’s betrothed’s family instead. But because Oberyn was not the heir to anything while Ned was now the Lord of Winterfell, I wouldn’t put it past Hoster to break that betrothal and marry Lysa to Jon Arryn instead. The alliances would end up the same as in canon, but Lysa’s relationship with her father might even get worse. In this universe, not only did her father forcibly abort the pregnancy she wanted and marry her to an old man, he broke her betrothal to charming, handsome Oberyn who she could have come to love - still older than her, but much less so - to do it. It would be devastating for her.

Had Lysa been married at the time, well, then it gets even more complicated. Hoster’s one daughter was married to a Martell. The other had been promised to Brandon and now was potentially tied to the new Lord of Winterfell. There, too, the probably smart thing would be for Hoster to decide the alliance with the Starks died with Brandon and declare for the Targaryens. If that happens, I suspect that’s both best case scenario for Lysa and biggest change to the world - the rebels don’t have the strength to win the war, Elia and her children survive, and Lysa goes on to have a perfectly pleasant relationship with her husband. That’s what you’d expect to happen. But I don’t think it’s all that unlikely that he would push forward with marrying Cat to Ned and side with the rebels instead Lysa’s family, again because Ned was now the Lord of Winterfell and Hoster would not quite understand the family dynamics of the Martells/how much influence Oberyn, second son though he is, has. This would be a sort of “play it both sides” attitude as we’ve seen in previous rebellions - either they win and it’s no problem or they lose and count on Lysa to advocate for them to her husband’s family. It’s not unprecedented to have a family divide like that - it probably happens a lot more than we’re told about, given how heavily intermarried the families of Westeros are, but we do see some of it, such as Emmon Frey siding with the Lannisters over the Freys during the first half of the war of five kings. What’s surprising is that these main families on opposite sides aren’t more closely related - I’m thinking about how in WWI, the kaiser of Germany, the tsar of Russia, and the king of Britain were all first cousins (I think. It’s been a long time since I took history).

If the Riverlands joined the rebels, everything would go pretty close to canon. The Tully house would come out of that fine. But it would be demonstrative to Lysa how little regard her father has for her. She would see that as him choosing Cat over her. And even if her marriage had been lovely before the war - though it probably would have only been a few months old at most - it would be ruined by Hoster’s actions. Westerosi marriages are alliance building. People enter them because of the unspoken understanding that their families will support each other in times of conflict. So Oberyn married Lysa under the perfectly reasonable impression that the Tullys would be on their side in a conflict, only for Lord Tully to pledge his support instead to the alliance that would go on to murder Oberyn’s sister, the single most important person in the world to him. Elia Martell was even more important to Oberyn than Ellaria and his daughters, even fifteen years after her death, when Oberyn had long since built a life and family with Ellaria. So it’s almost impossible to believe there could be any salvaging of Lysa and Oberyn’s marriage after the war.

All this might be me being overly negative about Hoster, but I hate that guy. So much. And I really wouldn’t put much past him.

I think these same things or similar would be true with pretty much anyone Lysa could marry. I want so much for her to be happy in some universe, but I suspect that the reason she wasn’t had less to do with her specific marriage and much more to do with her abusive father and the context of the society she lived in. Hoster could have married her to Jaime Lannister - her age; extremely handsome; wealthy; heir to his father’s seat; a renowned knight; on paper, the absolute perfect match for her - and it wouldn’t have actually made a difference, even if Jaime didn’t fuck his sister. He could have married her to Robert Baratheon, making her queen, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Because everything goes back to how Hoster betrayed her trust and stomped all over her bodily autonomy. That’s at the root of Lysa’s damaged emotional and mental state. Not Petyr Baelish. Not Jon Arryn. But Hoster Tully. For Lysa to be happy, the changes would have to go way beyond her husband. Her father would have to treat her entirely differently.

Sorry for rambling. I have never in my life learned to wrap it up.

#A Song of Ice and Fire #Lysa Tully #Jaime Lannister #Oberyn Martell #Hoster Tully #Robert Baratheon #dearxstorm #replies

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nyangibun · 5 years

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GoT S08E01 Thoughts

It’s been so long since I did one of these I really don’t think I’ll have that much to say because I didn’t keep notes during the episode.

Disclaimer: This is a very Jonsa/Sansa/Pol!Jon-tinted thoughts.

But here goes...

This first one was like Welcome Folks to the Reunion Episode!!! So many reunions. Wow... But let’s start from the beginning. That entire intro with the troops marching into Winterfell and Jon and Dani riding in together like they’re already king and queen was a direct parallel to Robert and Cersei riding into Winterfell in S01E01. There was even a little boy running around reminiscent of Arya running around trying to get there in time. Look, I know I have Jonsa-coloured glasses on, but the fact that they paralleled the two couples isn’t a good sign for Jonerice.

Robert and Cersei, as we found out, was a complete and total sham of a marriage. They were not in love and it was a completely political marriage, but what’s interesting aside from the obvious is Cersei actually went into the marriage with Robert full of naive romantic hopes. He was her “dream guy” so to speak, but Robert slashed that all to crap because he was still madly in love with and mourning Lyanna Stark. Now, with my Jonsa-tinted glasses on, that could absolutely suggest Dani being way more into Jon than he is into her, ie. not at all as he’s still in love with another Stark woman: cough cough Sansa. Taking off my Jonsa glasses for a moment though, there’s still very little chance that Jon and Dani will end well considering the parallel and as we all know parallels in GoT aren’t coincidences or should be taken lightly. Everything that’s a parallel cinematically has its place and reason.

And there’s also the whole Robert and Cersei as King and Queen but Cersei and Jaime, her own sibling, on the side -- which is, if we’re talking with Jonsa-glasses on, could suggest Jonsa. Jon and Dani on the forefront and Jon and Sansa in the background and the shift between those dynamics will come in due time.

Moving on, Jon’s reunions with his siblings-cousins. Bran: Well, that’s about as much as I’d expect tbh coming from CCTV!Bran. I do love that we finally get to see Jon showing how much he loves them. The hug with Sansa was perfect especially the way she looked at Dani the entire time. It was a very cutting way of displaying a territorial claim. He is our family, not yours; he is our Jon, not yours; this is my home, not yours. The fact that that is coupled with her “Winterfell is yours, your grace” is even more cutting imo. But okay, Jon’s reunion with Arya was everything! I loved that immediately post-hug, they were just talking about swords like old times. But I also love Arya sticking up for Sansa and telling Jon not to forget whose family he belongs to. He needs reminding, that numpty -- unless Pol!Jon is real and he’s doing all of this for them, which I really want to believe considering this would be way more in line with who he is.

The Great Hall scene was fantastic. I wanted a little more snarky Sansa but she was strong and the way she commands the North’s respect was exactly what I wanted. I especially loved little Lord Umber’s:

“My Lady... My Lord...”

As soon as he did that, it gave me all of the Jonsa feels. I love that for a second, he is calling Jon and Sansa both his lady and lord as if they were one ruling power. In fact, even after he added “my grace” it still sets them up as one ruling power and Dani as the Other that has come. It again feels like drawing parallels to that first episode with Ned and Catelyn as the Lord and Lady of Winterfell but the distinction that Robert is their king and separate from them. This is what it felt like to me.

I also love that Sansa brings up the food problem. I think a lot of people gloss over the fact that food is scarce and Dani burnt all the food last season. When you have all these people looking towards the big picture, towards a ‘fight or die’ scenario, you need someone like Sansa to ground them and look at the practicals of ‘yes, we need to fight to survive but we may not even get to fight if all our men starve to death before the battle’. It also brings up a great question of how the hell are they gonna feed the dragons? Dani’s “they’ll eat whatever they want” is so petulant and so short-sighted. For me, it establishes that she cares more about her dragons than she does about the people. Sure, they’re her children but if she’s going to be their queen, she needs to also ensure that her people are fed and will survive the winter. Do you know what other queen cared only for her children and not for the people? Yeah, Cersei, and I think we can all agree on she’s not the best ruling party.

Dani is short-sighted. She cares about herself and the handful of people in her circle, which makes you think she’s a good person, but anything beyond that falls away from her view. Her meeting with Sam, for instance, proved that. When she met him, she was kind and generous because Sam saved Jorah’s life so therefore he is a slightly more important person in her eyes. But she executed his dad and brother because she didn’t care about them. They were treasonous in her eyes and thus deserved to die, and not just die by execution but by fire which is infinitely and unnecessarily more painful. She had never spared a second for those people nor did she hesitate. If people didn’t subject themselves to her, they were not worth her time. However, that’s not right by Sam and he is clearly upset by this news. His anger and distress come through when he talks to Jon later. He reminds Jon that he wouldn’t have done the same, that he has spared others. This reminds the audience of the very distinct governing styles between Jon and Dani, and how instead of a pair that will unite as one ruling body, they are two separate ones. This is emphasised even more by the reveal. Jon is the rightful heir to the Targaryen throne, not Dani, and Sam brings up a good point. If the roles were reversed, would Dani give up the throne to Jon for the good of the people? We all know the answer to that question: no, she absolutely would not. There’s another distinction. Jon thinks of the people. Dani thinks of herself. Saving the people from the Night’s King isn’t altruistic, it’s entirely to guarantee her the throne after the war.

I know I’m not going in chronological order but I forgot to take my usual notes while watching so I’m just going by ear lol. So onto Jon and Sansa’s conversation. Did anyone notice the darkened room and candles lit up everywhere? I’m just saying... whenever they’re arguing heatedly, they are usually in some kind of darkened room with candles. As for the argument itself, there are two things I find really interesting. One, when Jon asks Sansa if he has any faith in him and she answers he knows she does. I think what I find intriguing is the use of the word ‘faith’. Don’t get me wrong, it could mean Jon is asking Sansa to trust that his judgment about Dani is good, but then he could also say ‘I trust her so trust me’. But he’s asking her to have faith. He is asking her to have ‘complete trust or confidence’ in him. He’s no longer her king and nor does he have the command now as Dani is their queen, but he’s asking Sansa to have faith in him, specifically, which suggests he knows exactly what he’s doing. I grant you that this could mean a number of things but in these narratives, you usually ask someone to have faith in you when you’re doing something you can’t tell them about and you’re asking for their blind belief.

The second thing that intrigues me is Sansa asking Jon if he has bent the knee because he believes in Dani or if it’s because he loves her. The question itself doesn’t intrigue me but the fact that he doesn’t answer and it cuts to a new scene does. If Jon’s love for Dani and/or belief in Dani as a queen is doubtless then the answer should be easy. Even if he feels shame about loving her when he should be focused on the people, he could simply say that he believes in her as a queen and that his feelings are irrelevant. All simple answers, so why cut to a new scene and leave the question unanswered? That makes me think it leaves it unanswered because the answer is something he can’t say and that makes me wonder: why can’t he say it?

Bouncing around the episode again, I want to touch on something Sansa said to Tyrion. When they’re talking about their positions and Sansa says “depends on the queen” to Tyrion, I don’t know if it was as obvious to others that she is referring to Dani, not Cersei, but I really liked that line. I also love Sansa’s leaving remark that she once thought Tyrion was the smartest man in Westeros because it’s frankly true. Last season, Tyrion hardly did anything that would warrant such a claim and that is incredibly disappointing considering who he’s been over the course of this show. But the way Tyrion reacts to any sort of doubt over Dani’s ability to rule as of late has felt defensive and/or contemplative unease. Like he too is concerned, that she is beginning to cracks ever-so-slightly at the seams. After all, when a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin to see if they’re mad and there are two Targaryens alive in this show. One is Jon, who has not displayed any signs of madness, and then there is Dani, who derives pleasure from burning her enemies.

Anyway, there’s a lot more to touch on but I’m tired and hungry and I’ll end it here. Thanks for reading if you did!!

#jonsa #jon x sansa #game of thrones #anti daenerys #anti jonerys #got s8 thoughts #spoilers #got spoilers #my thoughts #long post

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mattatouile · 4 years

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headcanons for chapter 8 of we make the rules

below the cut in case people haven’t read yet! (am I spoiler warning a fanfic? maybe?)

1) Jaime’s mom died when he was 8 and his Aunt Genna made sure the kids went to grief counselors/therapy for it, because Aunt Genna is the BEST even if Tywin is the worst. Because of this, Cersei and Jaime didn’t develop quite the same sort of super toxic co-dependent incestuous relationship. But they were still just...a little co-dependent, just because Tyrion was too young to know anything about their mother, and their father was extremely neglectful. So.

2) Jaime, because he did always really want his dad to just give a fuck, went to the right University and got into the best Law School in Westeros. He got the perfect internship at Targaryen, Hightower & Dayne. He put in his time, he accepted the job, he spent two years there and then -- he just couldn’t deny it anymore. Something was wrong with Aerys Targaryen and he didn’t know what until Elia stopped by one day and Jaime saw the bruises on her arm and the holllow look in her eyes. And then he found out Aerys was abusing the receptionist and sexually harassing her. Jaime found a way to convince Elia that he was trustworthy and with his support, she filed for divorce and let everything out of the bag about the abuse and the sexual harassment. Jaime helped her in every way he could, including speaking out publicly about Aerys.

3) Aerys was found guilty of sexual harassment and basically lost his ass. Because this is my world and fuck the patriarchy. It doesn’t hurt that the Martells and the Lannisters have just as much weight behind them as Aerys (or almost, and combined...) Jaime’s father was furious with him. He besmirched the family name, basically, and when Jaime decided that he would start his own firm with his childhood bff Addam and Ilyn Payne, it didn’t actually help matters.

4) When Robert Baratheon was publicly outed in the news for his many, many mistresses and children, Jaime refused to help defend him or turn the tide. He refused to make any statements of support for anything other than his sister. This did not help matters at all, and actually put a strain on the relationship with him and Cersei because she was like, “Do you think I didn’t fucking know about the other women? I’m not a fucking idiot, Jaime.”

5) Jaime and Addam picked Ilyn to go into practice with them (okay, they all but begged him) because the Paynes were a recognized name, and Ilyn was notorious for being a stern, unforgiving, morally upstanding man. He would give them some clout and they trusted him to at least hold with the same opinion they had regarding the working environment.

6) Oh, right. The divorce. In keeping with making his father happy, Jaime also married the Perfect Acceptable Woman, Lysa Arryn (in this universe I’ve branched out and she’s not Sansa’s aunt because my head hurts even imagining it). They are...not a good match. At all. They never really were, but they were supposed to get married so they did. Within a year of getting, he finds out that Lysa’s been sleeping with Petyr Baelish for basically the entire time they’ve been together. The weird thing is, that’s not the part that’s upsetting. He’s just sad and maybe a little mad that he wasted 6 years of his life in a relationship he didn’t want just because he was so desperate to make his father happy and The Right Kind of Son(and man).

7) He threw himself into his career after that, and just sort of...let that be an excuse for not dating a lot. He really didn’t have a lot of time, but he also certainly wasn’t going out to bars and trying to meet people in his little downtime. He did end up dating a nice woman for a little than a year like five years after he and Lysa split up, but it just kind of fizzled out. Jaime Lannister: Unlucky in Love.

And now for Addam Marbrand, my perfect boy. I think some readers wondered why Addam was SO angry and why he showed up at Jaime’s house so late. So like, bearing in mind that some of this will be addressed in the next chapter, this isn’t really spoilery because it’s basically just connecting the dots of the story to this point.

So, as noted above, Addam and Jaime have known each other forever and they’ve been extremely good, if not best, friends for most of their lives. Addam also knows how vocal and serious Jaime has been about never being like the Aerys Targaryens and Robert Baratheons of the world.

Addam has also suspected for months that something was going on with Brienne. He thought Jaime was involved somehow, until Jaime swore up and down and Brienne promised too that it had nothing to do with their working relationship. Addam trusts Jaime. Pretty much implicitly. But he cannot quite shake the feeling that something is off.

When Addam finds out about the aborted kiss--well.

Here’s the thing, Addam did trust Jaime implicitly until he all but has it confirmed that his best friend has been bold-faced lying to him for months. It’s not just that Jaime lied, it’s that Jaime has lied more than once, and has made Addam feel like he’s imagining things.

He is pissed because Jaime knows first hand the consequences of this sort of situation. And the thing is, he might assume it’s all consensual and fine ... except that Tarth has been acting weird and uncomfortable and she pulled away from Jaime’s embrace. Addam can’t help but start putting together pieces into a really terrible, hideous puzzle. So not only is his friend lying, but his friend is lying about something that could ruin his life and their company and fuck over everyone and of all the men in the world, Addam expected it from Jaime least of all.

And at the end of the day, Jaime knows good and damn well that it’s not something actually forbidden. You just have to document things and make sure everything is above board with HR and Jaime doesn’t get to decide Brienne’s promotions, etc. It’s so easy. It’s so easy that if they’re just dating, surely Jaime and Brienne are both smart enough they would just do the simple thing like signing a piece of fucking paper so that their entire lives don’t blow up in their faces.

#we make the rules #my fanfic #i write things #we make the rules headcanons

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heavenlydisaster · 5 years

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Left Us Broken

An attempt at a fix-it for 8x04. Not downright happily ever after, but definitely more hopeful than the show left us.

GENDRY

He should’ve just let that arrow hit him. He wished that arrow had hit him. He had been given so much. A name. A title. A home of his own. And not just a home. A bloody castle! Just… given to him. Like it was nothing. But he was a lord now. And lords had the power to choose. And he chose Arya.

But she didn’t choose him.

Gendry slammed his fist into the stone wall barely feeling it when his knuckles burst and began to bleed. He slammed his fist into the wall again. He was so stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. He turned and pushed his back against the wall and slid down it.

Fuck a lordship. Fuck a castle. Fuck Arya fucking Stark.

Gendry felt guilty for thinking it before he’d even finished the thought. It was his fault, really. He should have known better. He did know better. Just because she looked like a lady didn’t mean that was what she wanted. She was beautiful. She killed the Night King. She saved the world. That’s who Arya Stark was. Not a wife.

Still… he had hoped she loved him. He thought she did. The way she’d acted the night before he was sure. None of the girls he’d been with before had ever kissed him like that. Like their whole life depended on him kissing them back. She had gone to him. She’d chosen him and she could’ve chosen anybody. That had to mean… something.

“You get into a fight withou’ me?”

Gendry craned his head up to look at Tormund Giantsbane wobbling over him. He stunk of wine and that disgusting fermented goats milk he liked to drink so much. Gendry’s eyes still felt hot from pain and embarrassment. He looked away.

“Not really.”

Tormund leaned his head against the wall and stared blearily down at him. Gendry tried not to show how uncomfortable he was.

“You’re a lord now.” Tormund slurred. “Like Lord Snow.” That made the wildling chuckle. “Goin’ to ride a dragon like him?”

“No I’m not going to ride a dragon!” Gendry snapped.

Tormund frowned. “Afraid, Lordy Loo?”

“Ah, shut it. I’m not a lord.”

Tormund used his forehead to push himself off the wall. Gendry watched as the big man teetered precariously. After a beat, the wildling stood upright.

“That silver queen says you are. Thought you were happy about it. You even smiled.” Tormund pointed at his face. “First time I seen you smile.”

“Yeah, well, all that doesn’t matter now does it?”

Tormund frowned. “Doesn’t matter? You forget we fought off those White Walkers together? We survived the Long Night together, you and me. Everything matters now.” Tormund turned and slumped against the walls beside him. “’Course, I was a lot happier when death loomed over our heads. When I still had hope that the big woman would be mine.”

“Eh? Big woman?”

“Brienne.” Tormund explained. “Beautiful woman with the strength to rival bears.”

“The one with Jaime Lannister?”

Tormund growled and flung his horn against the far wall. “Fuckin’ Lannister!”

Gendry leaned on his knees and tried to ignore the pain in his heart. In his gut. Everywhere.

Tormund’s meaty hand dropped down on Gendry’s shoulder. He jostled him roughly. “What about you? You hit someone?”

Gendry turned his hand over to look at the bloodied knuckles. His hand looked garish. He flexed his fingers, wincing as he tried to pull them into a fist. Punching the wall was stupid. How was he supposed to hold his hammer with his hand smashed to bits? Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.

“Well?”

“Huh?”

“What’d you do? Who’d you hit?”

“Oh. Uh. The wall.” Gendry answered sheepishly.

Tormund tipped his head up against the wall and squinted as if expecting to see the stone broken where he’d hit. Gendry gritted his teeth. Maybe if he’d really been strong enough to crush stone beneath his fist Arya would think he was worthy of her. Maybe she’d love someone like that.

“What’d the wall do to ye?” Tormund asked seriously.

“Wasn’t the wall, but it’s not like I can punch myself in the face.” Gendry griped.

“What? You want to be hit in the face?”

“Well, sort of feels like I al–”

Tormund slugged him on the jaw hard. His head snapped sideways so far the other side of his face hit the wall. Gendry let out a gasp and rubbed his jaw.

“Fucks sake!” Gendry shouted.

Tormund shrugged at him nonchalantly. “Man tells me he wants to be hit in the face, I hit a man in the face.”

“I didn’t ask!”

Tormund shrugged his big shoulders again and withdrew a flask of wine from somewhere in the folds of his clothes. He unscrewed the top and took a big drink before passing it to Gendry. Gendry glared at the man a few seconds more before accepting the flask and drinking deeply. They sat in silence for a while passing the flask back and forth.

“So,” Tormund started. “Why’d you ask me to hit you in the face?”

“I didn’t ask –” He huffed knowing full well the wildling didn’t care if he asked or not. “I asked a girl to marry me, but she said no.”

“You Southerners and your marriage.” Tormund scoffed. “Just find a good girl to fuck and be done with it.”

Gendry shook his head. “I love her.”

“I love Brienne. But she’s in there fucking that golden twat.” Tormund chuckled. “I like that word. The Dog taught me that one. And cock.” He chuckled again. “Your girl fucking some other twat then?”

“No!” Gendry said quickly. Then paused. He looked around the yard. “I don’t think she would be. She’s not… that kind of girl. She wouldn’t do that.”

“They all do that.” Tormund argued.

“Not her. She wouldn’t. I mean, she never had before me anyway.” Gendry felt his face heating just remembering last night.

Tormund scoffed. “They all say that.”

“What?”

Tormund gave him a pitied look. “There’s not one girl in fifty that’s untouched even if she says she is. They’ve all fucked and been fucked and they think that we’re all too dumb to know the difference.” Tormund tapped the side of his nose. “I always know.”

Gendry was quiet for a second. “How do you tell the difference?”

Tormund laughed. “I’ve only lain with two virgins in my life, but they were both so skittish. Like they’d never seen a cock before. They take a while to warm to the idea. Mostly they just lay there whimpering while you fuck them. Non-virgins have already warmed to the idea. They don’t always lie there. They take charge. Gods. I love it when they do that. Then you get to be the one that sits back while they have a go.”

Gendry frowned in thought. He cleared his throat. “Suppose she’s just a feisty girl. She’s a fighter. Someone who can kill White Walkers and murderers and rapists. What about that?”

Tormund cackled. “You’ve never met a wildling woman. That’s all of them! They’d as soon cut your cock off as sleep with ye! It’s always a gamble. Even with the virgin ones. …Especially with the virgin ones.”

Gendry got to his feet with no shortage of effort. He’d had a lot to drink before he’d finally found Arya. If he had to guess, he’d say he’d just drank twice that sitting with Tormund who had the magical ability to pull flasks of wine and rum and whiskey from seemingly nowhere. Gendry leaned against the wall for balance.

“You’re wrong. Arry’s not like that.” Gendry slurred. “She wouldn’t lie to me.”

Tormund scoffed again. “We all lie when it suits us.”

“Not her.”

Gendry stumbled away from him and into the courtyard. He squinted blearily around him. Jon’s dire wolf tripped over to him and licked at his bloody hand. Gendry patted the animal’s thick coat absently.

He didn’t know what to do with himself. He knew he’d gotten by just fine without Arya for four years when he thought she was dead and he was hiding away in King’s Landing. He had done it before. Before…. If only she hadn’t kissed him! He’d be able to remember what to do without her if she hadn’t kissed him. He wouldn’t have made such a gods damned fool of himself if she hadn’t kissed him.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!

He stopped and looked around. Somehow he’d wandered to the main gates of Winterfell and through them. He stared out at the ash blackened snow. Before him lie the King’s Road. He could take it south. Just start walking and never look back. What was the point in staying? Sure, he was meant to be fighting in the queen’s war, but what was the point of that? Cersei would be killed with or without his help. And even if they took away Storm’s End again what did it matter?

He heard a woman’s voice speaking in a different language approaching from the gates. A man’s voice answered her in the same language. Gendry sniffled against the bite of Northern cold and shuffled to the side so they could pass.

“Lord Gendry?” The woman said in the common tongue.

Gendry looked up at Missandei. He sniffed again and shook his head. “Don’t call me that.” Gods I’m turning into Arya.

Missandei looked at Torgo Nudho with confusion. “But you are Lord Gendry Baratheon now. Our queen has made it so.”

Gendry’s hands fisted at his sides. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?”

The two foreigners were quiet. He knew they were likely exchanging sidelong glances about his ungrateful behavior. He stared at the ash piles and thought of the dead. If Arya hadn’t been around he’d be just another pile of ash. Or worse. A White Walker.

“Did you lose someone?” Missandei asked carefully.

Gendry glanced at her and back out at the piles of ash. He nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I guess….” He cleared his throat. “Yes. I did.” Just the love of his life.

“Maybe you should go back inside and get some rest.” Missandei suggested gently.

Gendry looked back through the gate and tried not to think about who was still on the other side. Maybe he really would be better off walking back to King’s Landing. He let out a heavy sigh and pushed his gloved fingers into his left eye.

“Yeah, sleep. I should probably sleep.”

ARYA

“None of it will be worth anything if you’re not with me. So be with me.” Arya shoves the heels of her hands into her eyes. What did he have to go and do something stupid and propose for?

She sat in a chair by the fire in her room. The rest of the castle was asleep. She should be asleep, too, but instead Gendry and his damned proposal was sticking in her head.

“You’re beautiful and I love you.” He’d said.

Beautiful. Her? Arya Horseface? But Gendry said it like he meant it. Really meant it. And he loved her. Arya pulled her knee up to rest her chin on it. She didn’t deserve that. He didn’t know anything about what she’d done. How many people she’d killed. He didn’t know and if he did he wouldn’t say something stupid like he loved her.

Arya watched the sun rise slowly into the sky. He loved her, but she couldn’t love him. She did. But she couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. She wasn’t a lady. She wasn’t going to be graceful and elegant and spend her days ordering servants about. Sit on the sidelines while the men think up war strategies. She was the savior of the realm. She would not sit idle. Not even for Gendry.

So she couldn’t love him. She couldn’t. And she definitely couldn’t marry him. Arya glared at the fire like it had offended her.

“’Be my wife’ he says,” she snarled at the flames. “I’m not Sansa. I’m not taking a backseat to this war. I’m not a lady. I’m a wolf.” She told the fire.

Her shoulders sagged. She wished they were back in the Riverlands. Gendry Waters would have never asked her to marry him and be his wife. That was something Gendry Baratheon did. Lord Gendry Baratheon. Arya preferred the bastard.

He was so happy. Excited for his new name. His new title. And why shouldn’t he be? He’d lived so long with nothing. He should be happy. And who knows? Maybe some fair maiden would appear to steal away his heart and be Lady of Storm’s End for him.

Something vicious and bitter rose up in her chest. She’d told Gendry as much earlier, but it left a sour taste in her mouth. She didn’t want him with other girls. She covered her face again and shut her eyes. Horrible. Everything was so horrible. She couldn’t be with him the way he wanted her to be and she couldn’t bear the thought of him moving on.

She had work to do. She had names to cross off. The Mountain still breathed as did Cersei. And she figured she might as well cross Euron Greyjoy off, too, in honor of Theon. Maybe if she survived she could start to think –

Why the hell did he have to propose? They could’ve been in bed together if he hadn’t been so…. Arya found Cat’s Paw in her hand without remembering pulling it from her waist. She flipped it uneasily. Back and forth. Back and forth. One hand then the other and back again.

“Cersei, the Mountain, Euron. Cersei, the Mountain, Euron. Cersei, the Mountain, Euron.” Arya said quietly. As long as she thought about the names, she could stop thinking about Gendry.

A knock sounded at her door. She flipped her dagger in the air and caught it up again. She eyed the door suspiciously.

“Come in.” She invited.

The door creaked open and Sansa stood in the doorway. Arya turned and looked back into the fire. The forge fires burned brighter. Her thoughts came unbidden. Gendry always looks best in front of the forge fires.

“Are you coming to the war council?”

Arya blinked at the floor and looked back at her sister. She didn’t like Daenerys. Didn’t trust her. Arya didn’t know her reasons, but she trusted her sister more than a stranger.

Sansa squinted at her. “Have you slept at all?”

Arya glared at Sansa. She didn’t respond. She only slipped Cat’s Paw back into the sheath and stood up. She hadn’t even tried to undress last night. Too many thoughts of Gendry’s hands on her skin. His lips.

“You’re alright?” Sansa insisted. She put her gloved hand on Arya’s shoulder in an effort to be a comforting big sister. Arya shook the hand off.

“I’m fine.” She snapped. “Are we going or what?”

“Wait.”

Arya turned back and arched her left eyebrow at Lady Stark. Sansa pursed her lips thoughtfully. It was more a scowl than anything else. An amusing look for Arya to see on her demure sister. Scowls were decidedly not ladylike. Just ask Septa Mordane.

“Can you tell me honestly?” Sansa asked.

“Can I tell you what honestly?” Arya returned, guarded.

“What do you think of the queen?”

Arya frowned thoughtfully. “Which one?”

Sansa rolled her eyes. “Arya.”

“She isn’t worse than Cersei. Her and her dragons saved us. Without them, I never would have gotten to the Night King.” Arya sighed. “But I know you don’t trust her and I trust you. You have good instincts.”

Sansa seemed baffled at the admission. “But what do you think of her?”

“I already told you what I think.”

The war council was not the most interesting part of her day. The queen refused to wait. She wanted her throne. No matter the cost to her people. Arya didn’t appreciate that. If they had done as Sansa suggested and held off just a bit, Arya could have nipped down to King’s Landing and knocked the crown off Cersei’s blonde head with no one the wiser. She still could, it would just be a bit harder now.

No. The most interesting part of her day was Jon telling them that he was really Aegon Targaryen and that their father – the honorable Ned Stark – had lied about his true parentage to protect him. Arya stayed with Bran at the Weirwood tree long after Sansa had stormed off and Jon had gone helplessly after her.

“You have choices ahead of you now.” Bran announced from his chair.

“Everybody has choices ahead of them.” Arya lobbed back.

“You’re back at the crossroads.” Bran insisted. “Which way will you go this time?”

Arya stared at her brother. He kept insisting that he wasn’t really. He was the Three-Eyed Raven. Not Brandon Stark. Not her brother or the Lord of Winterfell. And Jon wasn’t her brother anymore either. Was Sansa really the only sibling she had left?

Gendry had disappeared completely. She knew he was hiding from her. She also knew there was nothing she could do to make him feel better. He didn’t understand. Loathe as she was to admit it, she loved him. She wished she didn’t. It would make everything between them less painful. For both of them.

Arya looked at the face in the Weirwood. Two nights ago she had stood in this exact spot and plunged her dagger into the heart of the Night King. Arya let out a heavy breath and turned away from the tree. Away from Bran. Away from the North.

SANDOR

“Where’d you run off to after you robbed me and left me to die?” Sandor asked over their fire. Arya was skinning the rabbit she’d caught. She looked over at him evenly.

“I went to Braavos.” She told him simply and returned to skinning the rabbit.

Sandor scoffed. “What’d you go there for? Hoping to find your dancing master alive and well?”

“No. I went to train with the Faceless Men.” Arya set the prepared rabbit over the flame and sat back while it cooked.

Sandor frowned at her. He’d heard of the Faceless Men. Crazy assassins, the lot of them. And expensive. With good reason. Whisper a name to a Faceless Man and you had a guarantee that whatever cunt you wanted dead was six feet deep.

“You joined a bloody cult.” He grunted out at last.

The corner of Arya’s mouth twitched up reluctantly.

Sandor sighed. His mouth had started watering at the smell of cooking meat. “Why’d they let you go then? Too mouthy?”

Arya pulled a flask out and took a sip before tossing it to Sandor. He caught it deftly and took a big swallow. Then another. He sighed and leaned back against a rock.

“I learned what I needed. I didn’t want to stay anymore.”

“And they just let you go?” Sandor found that hard to believe. He hadn’t been joking when he’d called them a cult.

Arya shrugged and pulled the rabbit from the fire. She pulled off a leg and handed the spit to him. Sandor accepted the rabbit, but glared at her silence nonetheless. He never thought he’d miss her unending chattering. In fact, it had been the first thing he missed after he came to at that Septon’s home.

Two days later, Sandor could stand the silence no longer. If she wasn’t going to talk why bother riding with him? He took a drink from his own flask and passed it over to Arya. She took a drink and handed it back.

“That smith was looking for you back at Winterfell. He ever find you?”

Sandor looked over at her. Her face was strangely blank. Like she was putting in extra effort to remain emotionless. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t even acknowledge that he’d said anything. He knew full well that she had heard him. They were the only two around for miles.

“Girl, if you aren’t going to talk what did you follow after me for?” Sandor snapped at last.

Arya frowned. “I told you I’ve changed.” She said in that deadened voice of hers. He hated it. Hated how lifeless she always sounded now.

“Did he do something to you?” He didn’t really think the twat had it in him to do anything awful to her. Idiot that he was, the boy was hopelessly in love with her. Anyone with eyes could see that.

“Went and had himself made Lord of Storm’s End I suppose.”

Sandor scowled at the road ahead of them. “So? Havin’ something against him now he’s a lord is just the same as if you had something against him being a bastard.”

Arya was quiet for a long while. Sandor wanted to rip her head off her shoulders and kick it down the road. She was more infuriating now than when she was spontaneously stabbing soldiers with his knife.

“He asked me to marry him.” She said at last.

Sandor nearly fell off his horse. Stupid fucking twat! When he asked after Arya he hadn’t thought the stupid fucking idiot meant to do something like that. It was lucky Sandor had decided to ride out on his own. He was of the mind try to beat sense into the fool. Lord or not. What kind of idiot asks a girl to marry him just like that?

“Running away then.” Sandor said decisively.

“I’m not running away.”

“Sure you’re not.” Sandor said acerbically.

“It’s true. I’m going to kill Cersei. And Euron Greyjoy. And the Mountain.”

Sandor felt the scars on his face prickle. “You listen here, girl, the only one’s going to kill my brother is me. You understand? This is my justice. Mine.”

Arya looked at him with those steady grey eyes. He watched them dart over to the right side of his face. Assessing. She tipped her head at him in acquiescence.

They were quiet a long while after that. Three days, maybe four, passed without so much as a grunt passing between them. Sandor stopped to piss and noticed a large paw print in the mud in front of his tree. He fixed up his trousers and started back for Arya. The horses looked like they were ready to bolt. Something spooked them. Arya looked over at him when he returned.

“Wolves in the area.” Sandor reported.

Arya nodded and looked out into the trees. Sandor squinted at her. She looked almost hopeful. Sandor remembered the size of the paw print. The last time he’d traveled down the road with the Stark sisters they’d both had dire wolves. The little bird’s beast was slain not a day’s ride up the road. Arya’s had disappeared.

She said nothing, just mounted her horse again and started down the road without waiting for him. Sandor cursed and hurried after her. She rode faster after the wolves. Sandor thought that was strange seeing as how hopeful she had been to see them. Hoping that one of them was her beast most like. She pulled up at the inn at the crossroads.

“There’s good food here.” She told him simply. She dismounted and handed her reins to the stable boy without waiting for his input.

Sandor jumped down from his mount and dropped the reins in the stable boy’s outstretched hand. He followed Arya into the inn. There weren’t many people inside. In a day or two, the place would be packed with soldiers. Arya sat at a table facing the door and waited for Sandor to sit down opposite her.

Arya was looking for someone. He could see it. She was expecting someone here. That’s why she was rushing. Sandor scowled. The food had better actually be good there. Not that he’d complain either way.

Suddenly, Arya’s whole demeanor changed. She didn’t look easily confident anymore. She almost looked… scared. It was hidden well, but Sandor could see hints of it poking out. He looked around, wondering what she’d seen or heard.

“Hot Pie!” An old woman bellowed.

A few seconds later, a fat boy around Arya’s age came tripping from the back of the dining room up towards their table. He paused as he caught sight of Arya. Then, the kid’s chubby face brightened.

“Arry!” He cried. “Can’t believe you came back.” The kid glanced at Sandor and shrank in on himself as much as a fat twat could shrink. “You’ll never guess who else is here! I thought he was dead to be honest. Anguy said the Brotherhood had to give him over to some priestess when he was in last. That was ages ago.” The fat lout babbled.

Arya had gone stone faced. Sandor watched her curiously. He looked up at the fat boy. He recognized him vaguely. He hadn’t gone with the Brotherhood like Arya and the lord smith had. He’d just assumed the kid belonged to the inn. Apparently the two of them had history.

“Gendry!” The fat boy shouted. “Gendry, come here!”

Sandor looked back at Arya. She had shut her eyes. Sandor understood now. She had heard that stupid twat’s voice. That was what brought on the stone face. Sandor was also learning that when she did that, it usually meant she was hurting.

Arya bolted. She shoved past fat boy and disappeared out the door. A few seconds later, Sandor saw the idiot stand up. He turned to look at the door. His look of pain was more open than Arya’s. Undisguised.

Gendry looked over to fat boy before landing on Sandor. He turned red and grimaced before shuffling over. The fat boy looked between Gendry and the door.

“You’ll never guess –”

“What are you doing here?” Sandor graveled. “Thought you’d be riding with Snow and his army.”

Gendry looked at the table. “Wanted to get a head start.” Sandor knew what he meant. Wanted to get out of Winterfell more like.

“Stupid fucking cunt.” Sandor growled at him. “What did you think was going to happen? Springing a proposal on her like that.”

Gendry flushed deeper. “She told you?”

“You proposed to someone?” The fat boy asked interestedly. “Who?”

Sandor and Gendry both stared at the fat boy. He hadn’t thought to find a boy stupider than the lord smith. Sandor crossed his arms and fixed Gendry with a fierce stare.

“Go on, Lord Gendry. Tell your friend.”

Gendry ran his hand over his mouth and grimaced again.

The fat boy caught on at last. “Not….” He looked at Arya’s vacated seat. “Arry? You asked Arry to marry you?”

“I was drunk.” The twat said defensively.

Sandor stood up and grabbed him by the front of his tunic. “You stupid fucking cunt. You get a title and a castle and you think that means something? That girl saved the whole fucking world and you think you get to own her ‘cause she fucked you once?”

Gendry was so red he was almost purple. “Stop. I already know.”

“Arry did?” Sandor dropped the lord smith and looked back at the fat boy he’d forgotten was there. “She saved the world?”

“Killed the Night King.” Sandor confirmed.

The fat boy blanched. “Night King? Like the White Walker from the stories? He’s real?”

“Was real. Arya Stark knifed the bastard in the heart.”

“What? Really? Like Azzi Ahip?”

“Azor Ahai.” Sandor corrected with a groan.

“Right.” The fat boy nodded and looked at Gendry. “Does that make you Nissa Nissa?”

Gendry rolled his eyes at the boy. “Azor Ahai actually loved Nissa Nissa.” He muttered.

The fat boy frowned. “Arry loves you though. Me and Lommy used to think she was a pervert when we didn’t know she was a she. Lommy used to laugh at the googly eyes she’d make at you whenever she thought nobody was looking.”

Gendry didn’t look happy to hear that. He scratched the back of his head. “She’s not Arry, Hot Pie. And she….” Gendry let out a sigh and rolled his head back with his eyes shut.

Stupid boy never finished his thought, just pushed his way out of the inn and outside. Sandor stood up, looking down at the boy impassively. Hot Pie. Stupid name. The boy looked up at him fearfully.

“You leaving, too, then?” He squeaked.

“Have to catch up to that girl you chased off.”

“Me? I didn’t!” Hot Pie yelped.

“Whatever.” Sandor moved for the door.

“Wait!” Hot Pie shouted. “Let me get you some food for your travels. You didn’t eat.”

The boy was quick about it. He came out with a basket, the inn keep smacking him about the head and berating him for burning something. Hot Pie handed the basket to him sheepishly and shuffled back to the kitchen after the inn keep.

Sandor collected his mount and started down the road. It hadn’t been that long. She couldn’t have gotten far. Especially not as dark as it was. They should have stayed at the inn. Dumb children couldn’t suck it up for a night and just sleep. Sandor missed real beds. Even the cold ones in Winterfell were nicer than the ground.

“-going to finish my list.”

“I know about your list. I was there, remember?”

“Then you know I need to do this.”

“I know!”

Sandor slowed his mount. He couldn’t figure out if they were moving or not.

“If you know, why would you ask me to give it up?”

“When did I ever ask you to do that?”

“Lady of Storm’s End.” She spit.

“Yeah, okay. I never should have said that. Never should have asked you to be my wife. I was running a little hot at the time what with almost dying a few hours before. And being legitimized and made a lord.” The idiot paused for a beat. “And the wine.”

“So you don’t want to marry me?”

“Of course I want to marry you!” He shouted. “You wanted to be my family, too, once upon a time.”

“You wanted me to be your lady. Not your family.”

“I didn’t want that. That’s just what we would have been. Soon as you went back to your family. You know it’s true.”

They were moving at a leisurely pace. Arguing on horseback. Leave it to two idiots to have this argument in the dead of night while a pack of wolves roamed the woods.

“I wouldn’t have let that happen.” Arya insisted.

Gendry scoffed. “You wouldn’t have been able to prevent it.”

They were quiet a while. Sandor was about to start his horse into a trot to catch them when he caught something moving in the woods from the corner of his eye. The horse caught it, too.

“I shouldn’t have asked like that, but I didn’t lie, Arya. I love you and nothing is worth anything to me without you in my life.”

Sandor pushed his horse forward faster. He pulled up between the lovebirds startling them both. He looked at Arya.

“Wolves.”

Arya turned her gaze into the woods. Sandor looked around, too, hunting for the wolves he knew were there. Arya was remarkably calm. She sighed as the horses began to fret.

“We’re surrounded.” She announced.

“Surrounded?” Gendry repeated. He turned in his saddle.

Arya whistled. Sandor pulled his horse into the middle of the road. Gendry’s horse went where Sandor’s horse nudged it. Arya didn’t move. She just kept looking into the woods.

Gendry let out a startled gasp. Sandor followed the boys gaze and landed on two of the largest wolves he’d seen that weren’t Stark wolves. Arya didn’t look bothered by their presence at all. She was waiting. Three more wolves appeared behind them.

“Survived the undead to be slaughtered by wolves.” Gendry muttered. “Perfect.”

Arya’s shoulders sagged as a monstrous beast stepped out of the woods. She smiled and reached her hand out.

“Nymeria.” She breathed.

The wolf sniffed her hand and moved forward to sniff her leg and belly. Arya set her hand on the wolf’s neck tentatively. When the beast didn’t immediately tear her arm off, she scratched it affectionately.

“I could’ve used your help a few days ago.” She told the dire wolf. “Your brother helped out. It’s just you and him left.”

Nymeria stretched her big head up to lick Arya’s cheek. She let out a small laugh. Sandor was disgusted at the beast’s ability to reach her head while she was on horseback. He felt a tugging at his boot and noticed the heavy breathing of his mount fidgeting beneath him.

“That’s real sweet, wolf girl, but how about you call off the rest of these beasts?” He snarled.

Arya reached into her saddle back and pulled out the remnants of a rabbit she’d caught earlier that morning. She tossed it to her beast to scarf down. Nymeria sat down and stared at Arya expectantly. Arya frowned.

“We’re going to King’s Landing. Just like we were before. I’m going to kill Cersei. She’s the one that had your sister killed, remember?”

Sandor couldn’t believe what he was stuck with. An idiot lord smith and an idiot wolf bitch. And the wolf bitch was talking to her wolf like it was going to talk back. The only thing stopping him from leaving them both behind right there and then was the pack of giant wolves everywhere. There were more than a dozen on the road now and another dozen or more behind the tree line not including Arya’s monster.

“You didn’t want to come to Winterfell. Do you want to come to King’s Landing?” Arya patted the beast’s neck. “It’s alright if you don’t. I’ll understand.”

Her beast lifted its head and let out a haunting howl that sent chills through Sandor. It was one thing when they were pups. And Jon Snow’s beast never howled. Sandor knew they were dead if Arya’s beast decided on it. There were nearly forty unnaturally large wolves on the road.

Arya glanced at Sandor and Gendry. She nudged her horse forward who jumped at her touch. The horse started forward slowly. Clearly spooked like the other two.

“Come on you two.” Arya called over her shoulder.

Gendry started after her immediately. His horse bucked a bit and the idiot clutched at his saddle until it calmed down again. Arya’s beast padded along beside her. It’s back came up almost as high as her horse’s. Sandor felt a chill crawl up and down his spine. He shook it away and started after them.

GENDRY

“She’s bigger than Ghost.” Gendry said, nodding to the dire wolf pacing their campsite. Arya smiled.

“Ghost was the runt. Not quite part of the family….” A tinge of sadness whispered over her eyes before she locked it away.

Gendry cleared his throat and cast a cautious eye at the Hound who was snoring nosily on the other side of the fire. “I’m going to Maidenpool.”

“Maidenpool?” Arya repeated.

Gendry nodded. “I’m supposed to be at Dragonstone. I’m going to take a boat from there.”

“Why didn’t you go to White Harbor? Take a ship from there?”

Gendry scratched just above his eye and wrinkled his face. “Got lost… a bit.” He admitted sheepishly.

Arya looked back to Nymeria. She nodded. Gendry pushed away the twinge in his gut. He’d hoped she’d at least look a little sad to see him go. Once again, he hoped for too much.

“I thought you’d go to Storm’s End.” She said.

Gendry shook his head. “Gotta win the war before I’m lord of anything. Besides, I already told you I don’t know the first thing about being a lord. Dunno what they do or how they do it. Just know they live in castles and get all the best food.”

Arya snickered. “Food you have to use forks to eat.”

“Yeah, alright. Maybe I’ll just die at King’s Landing and I’ll never have to embarrass myself trying to run a holdfast without knowing how to read.”

Arya was quiet. “Don’t say that.” She whispered.

“What? It’s true.”

Arya frowned deeply. Her brows knit together in concern. “Maybe you should just go to Storm’s End.”

“I’m just as much a fighter as you are.” Gendry resisted the urge to add a ‘M’lady’ at the end.

“Fine. Just don’t go into battle thinking you’re going to die.” She ordered.

Gendry couldn’t resist. “Why?”

Arya pursed her lips. “I don’t want you to die.”

Gendry knew he shouldn’t smile. Still, he couldn’t help it. He liked to hear her admit she cared about him. Even just a bit.

“You don’t hate me, then?”

Arya wrinkled her face at him. “Why would I hate you?”

Gendry pulled at the grass. “For asking you to marry me.”

Arya rubbed her eye and looked at the Hound across the fire. He looked dead if he weren’t snoring so loudly. Arya stood up and reached her hand down for Gendry. He stared up at her in wonder. He didn’t know if he should take her hand or if it was somehow a trap. Arya looked further into the trees, waiting for him to decide.

Gendry took her hand and got to his feet. She led him into the trees. Away from the fire. Gendry licked his lips nervously.

“Should we be this far from the fire?” He whispered.

Arya looked over her shoulder at him. “What are you afraid of? Wolves?”

She got him there. He didn’t suppose there were any wolves enough to rival Nymeria’s pack. Arya found a small clearing in the trees and turned to him. She moved slowly. Waiting for him to stop her. A part of him said he should, but his need of her won out. She kissed him slowly until Gendry returned the kiss.

His arm went around her waist as he kissed her. Irresistible. That was the word he would use to describe Arya Stark. She pushed his cloak off his shoulders and undid hers. Gendry pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

“Here?”

Arya pulled at the stays on his tunic. “You have a room nearby?”

Gendry let her pull his shirt off while he worked at her tunic. She kissed him again as he worked. It was okay by him. He didn’t need to see to finish the task. They broke apart to peel away their shirts. It was cold. He wished they at least had a fire to keep them warm, but Arya’s touched burned wherever she touched.

Arya shucked her pants and pushed him down on the blanket of clothes they had made. Gendry pulled her head down to kiss her again. His hands wandered over her body. His mouth went to her neck. He relished the small gasp that escaped her lips.

She was working herself down over him before he knew it. Gendry grabbed her around the waist and turned them over. Arya stared up at him wide eyed. He grinned down at her before rocking his hips forward. He saw the delight light in her eyes. She hitched her legs higher and spurred him on like he was one of the horses.

She sighed beside him with content. Gendry sat back and stared down at her. He wondered if it would be enough for him. To have her like this. Not as a wife, but as a lover. So long as she was willing, he would never take a wife. There would only ever be Arya for him. Couldn’t she see he would do anything for her?

Gendry’s eyes dropped down to her scars again. He could just barely see them in the dark of the forest. Arya could see him looking. She sat up and started pulling her clothes back on. Gendry reached out to her too quickly. She pulled away a bit.

“Wait.” He begged. He kissed her again. “Do we have to go back just now?”

Arya dropped her eyes down his body. She looked back at him. “It’s cold out here. We could get sick.”

Gendry sighed and sat back, working his shirt from under Arya. It was wet and cold, but he put it on anyway. Arya slid into his lap and kissed him long and good. Gendry fell back in the wet grass and let her have her way. No sooner had they finished again than Tormund’s drunken words came back to him.

“Was I really your first?” He asked like the idiot he was.

Arya pulled up her pants and worked at the ties. She frowned at Gendry.

“You’re my only.” She assured.

Gendry pulled up his own pants wearing the biggest grin he’d ever had. He knew Tormund was full of shit. That wildling may have had more experience than he did, but he didn’t know Arya. He shook his cloak out as best he could before tying it back around his shoulders. He looked at Arya. He couldn’t think of any woman he’d ever want to be with more than her. If he had to give her the moon for that to happen, he’d do it.

The Hound was up when they got back to the fire. He took one look at them and groaned so loud he sent the wolves howling. Gendry sat down beside the fire and tried to warm back up. Arya stood a ways away plucking at leaves stuck to her clothes with dew.

“Here I had hoped the wolves had dragged the two of you off.” He grumbled.

Nymeria stood and began to sniff at Arya. Her hair was a mess and filled with grass. Her cheeks were flushed. Arya scratched at the wolf’s ears. Ears that were as large as her hand. Gendry remembered the first time he’d seen Ghost. Jon’s wolf looked like a puppy beside Nymeria. The wolf pressed her nose against Arya’s belly sniffing deeply. Gendry’s stomach dropped when the she wolf turned its big, yellow eyes on him.

The animal stepped over to him. It was unnerving that it could be so silent as big as it was. It’s nose was cold against Gendry’s cheek. He ducked his head and leaned away. Nymeria sniffed at his cloak and tunic. Her teeth were as long as his fingers.

“Nymeria, you’re scaring him.” Arya admonished.

Nymeria’s ears flicked back at the sound of her voice. She gave a final huff and plopped down beside him. Arya stared at the wolf with a blank expression. Gendry wished she’d just say what she was thinking.

“We’ll reach Harrenhal tomorrow. We’ll sleep in an inn. Unless your damned wolves kill the villagers.” The Hound grumbled.

“If they do, it just means we don’t have to pay.”

The Hound gave a short laugh and shook his head. “Cold bitch.” He muttered.

Arya moved to the fire at last and lay down. She pulled her cloak around her and shut her eyes. Her cheeks were still flushed and grass and leaves still clung to her. He could watch her forever. Whatever she did. Wherever she went. He’d always found her fascinating. He’d never known a girl so fearless. Maybe not fearless. He’d seen her afraid too many times to count. But brave.

They shared a room at an inn outside Harrenhal. Arya dropped 10 gold dragons into the innkeeper’s hand in exchange for their fattest pig. She took it outside for Nymeria and the pack. One pig wouldn’t be enough to feed them all, but Arya explained it might stave off any attacks on the villagers.

“I start east tomorrow.” Gendry said though he knew she already knew.

Arya had relaxed around him again. She’d been cagey since his proposal. His stupid stupid proposal. Arya locked up again. She rolled onto her side away from him. He touched her tentatively. Just the tip of his fingers smoothing down her arm.

“You might get lost again.” She said. “Then what will you do?”

“Hot Pie said it was a straight shot once I hit the Bay of Crabs.”

“What does Hot Pie know about traveling?”

“Well, he works at the crossroads. Talks to a lot of travelers. I figure he must’ve picked up something over the years.” Gendry reasoned.

Arya had nothing to say back to that. Gendry flipped onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. His chest hurt all over again as a sudden realization dawned on him. There was a very real possibility that this was the last he would see of Arya Stark. Either of them could die or they both could. Even if they survived, she didn’t want to be with him. She might vanish into the trees or across the seas.

“Do you remember the last time we came to Harrenhal. When we were in chains?” Arya whispered.

Gendry looked over at the back of her head. “Yeah, and I almost had a rat eat through my gut?”

“I thought we were going to die a thousand times over, but we never did.” She sounded strangely hollow. “I was sure we were going to die at Winterfell. I thought the Others would take us all, but we didn’t. We both survived.”

“Thanks to you.” He pointed out. Arya was quiet for a long while.

“You can’t die this time either.” She said at last. “You have to survive and you have to go and be Lord of Storm’s End. And you have to marry some highborn lady and have a family and live happily.”

Gendry felt the life whoosh out of him.

“I won’t.” He said. “You’re all the family I’ve ever had. You’re it. Just you.”

“Please. You had those three other girls.”

Gendry turned Arya onto her back so she would look at him. “I never loved them. Never.”

Arya avoided his eyes. “You could. You could love someone else.”

“I never will.”

“Gendry –”

Gendry silenced her by kissing her fiercely. If it was to be their last night together he’d rather they spent it happily. He didn’t want it to be true. He didn’t want them to never see each other again. To never touch each other again. Never kiss each other.

He woke up to an empty bed. It hurt, but he was unsurprised. They hadn’t left long before him. A few wolves still lingered. They looked at him expectantly as they followed him down the road. When he reached the fork leading east, he faltered. If he continued south he’d meet up with them again. He’d see her again.

Gendry turned his horse to the left and started for Maidenpool. The wolves started after him at first until they realized he wasn’t going to join up with their pack. Then, they abandoned him, too.

ARYA

“If you love him so much, why’d you turn him down?” The Hound graveled.

Arya fixed her face for the lie. “I don’t love him.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Arya looked down at Nymeria, still padding along beside her. Not even Grey Wind had been so big when she’d seen him at Riverrun. Arya remembered what it had felt like to see him slaughtered in his cage. To see her brother’s headless body paraded around. She remembered thinking that her father must have looked the same at the Sept of Baelor.

She spent her life having her family snatch away from her. Her home. Everyone she loved. The ache she got in her chest just thinking about them was near unbearable. She didn’t want to love anyone else. Gendry made it so hard not to love him. If she didn’t, maybe she wouldn’t be so terrified that he would be just another body to burn.

Cersei, the Mountain, Euron. She thought. The Hound had inssited he be the one to kill his brother, but until the man’s body lay at her feet, his name would stay on her list. She repeated the list in her head over and over again. She must have said it a million times by the time the golden city appeared before them. Nestled on the shore.

Arya had been excited to go to King’s Landing back when she was a child. It screamed of adventure and excitement. By the time they’d reached the crossroads, Arya’s excitement had waned. Now she rode side by side with the man who ran down her friend all those years ago. Mycah who was just as excited to see King’s Landing as she had been.

“Looks like shit.” Arya announced, staring at the city. Nymeria and the pack had run off to hunt. Arya wasn’t worried. She’d either come back or start back for the Riverlands.

“Smells like shit, too.” The Hound agreed.

They rode down from the hill towards the gates. She had no idea how the Hound planned on getting through the gates without someone recognizing him. There wasn’t a soul in all of Westeros that didn’t know his face.

Arya pulled up on her reins. The Hound left to take a piss. She had to work quickly. She’d already changed out of her Northerner garb at Harrenhal. Now she pulled out a dress. She’d had Sansa make it for her special. She pulled found her serving wench’s face and changed. She was tying a scarf around her hair when the Hound reappeared.

He squinted at her and then at the horse. Arya smiled. The serving wench had a pretty face and a nice smile. Most men looked lustful when they saw her. She remembered Walder Frey smacking her rear lasciviously before she slit his throat.

“Who’re you?” The Hound growled.

“Annara, M’lord.” She said with a flutter of her lashes.

The Hound moved over and snatched her horse’s reins from her. “Best you leave here while you can, girl.”

“Leave?” She frowned. “That’s just what I intended, but m’lord snatched away the horse.”

“This isn’t your horse. If you were smart, girl, you’d run the other way before the horse’s owner gets back ad sees you tried to steal from her.” The Hound warned.

Arya wanted to laugh. He was using Arya to threaten a stranger. Annara sashayed over to the Hound and settled her hand on his forearm flirtatiously. Just to see what he would do. The Hound scowled down at her and snatched his arm away.

“Go before the wolves come.” He snapped.

“Wolves, M’lord?” She asked innocently.

As if summoned, they appeared out of the forest around them. Nymeria came last. Annara looked frightened. She looked up at the Hound. Even he looked wary. Almost as bad as when they’d been surrounded by them at the crossroads.

“Where’s that damned girl when you need her?” He muttered.

Nymeria stepped over to Annara and stuck her nose in her face. She snuffled and Annara squeezed her eyes shut with fear. Nymeria lowered her head and nuzzled Annara’s belly. She sighed in defeat. She could fool a hound, but not a wolf.

Annara scratched at the wolves big head familiarly. Her muzzle was coated with blood. The pack must have been successful in their hunt.

“Faceless Men.” The Hound rumbled. “Fuck’s sake. I thought the shapeshifting was a myth.”

Annara patted Nymeria and rolled her eyes at the Hound. “I can’t very well walk into King’s Landing as Arya Stark and expect a private meeting with the queen.”

“You think a lowborn girl is any better?” He challenged.

“Annara will get me through the gates. Once I’m there, I can get myself a new face. I’m thinking her hand will give me the access I need.”

“And how do you plan on getting to the hand?”

Annara smiled easily at him. “Oh, well, I have information about the queen’s brothers. Very important.”

The Hound frowned at her thoughtfully. “My brother’s still mine to kill.” He grumbled, mounting his horse.

“Unless he kills you first.” Annara tossed back. Her peasant’s dress made it harder to ride. “Pull up your hood, Father.”

The Hound scoffed to mask a chuckle. He did as she said and they rode toward the gates in relative silence. The Hound pulled up before they left the trees. He stared first at the gate then at Annara.

“You’re right, you know. He might kill me. So if I die, I want you to promise me something.”

Annara nodded easily. Annara could promise anything. She wasn’t real.

“Arya, promise me.” The Hound insisted.

“It’s Annara.” She corrected.

“Yes, but I’m talking to Arya Stark. The bitch that killed the Night King. And I want Arya Stark to make me a promise.”

She never gave the Hound enough credit. He was smarter than anyone would guess. She pulled Annara’s face away and met the Hound’s eyes evenly.

“What?”

The Hound looked back at the gate again. “If you don’t die in there I want you to find that smith. You don’t have to marry the idiot, but you do have to find him.”

“Why do you care?” Arya asked, startled by his request.

The Hound glowered at her. “Because I don’t want you to spend all your thinking on death just so you can end up a miserable old shit like me. You’re alive. He’s alive. And you love each other. I may not like the cunt, but I know he’s good for you. Promise me.”

Arya looked down at Nymeria at her side. Wild as she was, she’d come when Arya had needed her. She was here with her whole pack.

“Arya.” The Hound insisted.

“I promise.”

She pulled Annara’s face back over her own. She had promised. It didn’t feel like a lie.

#gendrya #Gendry Waters #gendry baratheon #Arya Stark #arya x gendry #sandor clegane #tormund giantsbane #got #got8 #got 8x04 #fix-it #fan fiction

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janiedean · 4 years

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JB + the High Priestess, SanSan + the Empress, Jaime & Tyrion + the Tower, Gendrya + the Moon. Pick any that inspires you, or all of them, or none if they just don't work. Totally not a case of "I tried do a tarot reading for fun a couple of days ago but this stuff is confusing, so might as well reuse the result here." *whistles*

AAAND LET’S SEE WHAT HAPPENS

okay so, the jb one didn’t want to work but I have at least another ask for that ship so I went for the others, HAVE AT IT ALL THREE OF THEM. sorry for the length just skip the ones you don’t care for in case xD

sansan fertility, natural world, beauty, dependence on others

Arya is the only person present. She’s also making herself scarce, telling Sansa that she would do it but like hell she was going to be there for it when they actually had to do the deed - she didn’t care to hear it.

That’s all right. Sansa just needs a witness, after all.

She stands in front of the heart tree, in the summer dress she sewed for herself in secret for the last few months. It’s all white and gray with blood-red leaves in it, and of course she also has sewn herself a cloak that’s a bit too large on her shoulders, but - the previous nuptials that she attended gave her the idea, and she rather liked it for herself, so why not?

So, she stands next to the tree as the sun rises from the horizon and turns the white snow a light shade of pink, and thinks that once upon a time she thought her father would walk her to that brave, gentle and strong knight he promised he’d find for her -

Except, she thinks as Arya finally stops threatening Sandor’s life from behind the tree she’s chosen to lurk behind and he finally walks towards her, she thinks she found him on her own, and she wants to think her father wouldn’t say no.

He walks towards her slowly, dressed in pale grey and white, black hair falling over his face, not quite hiding the scar anymore, and once she couldn’t look at him, but now if their eyes meet she can do everything but not look at him, at how he looks like he was born in the North with those grey eyes, at how he’s staring at her as if he can’t believe they’re doing this -

She waits until he comes up to her.

“Are you sure about this?” He asks, for the umpteenth time. She hadn’t thought he could sound so gentle, when they met the first time.

Now she knows he can be gentle, but more than that. She smiles. “It was my idea, wasn’t it?”

Obviously, he’d have never presumed to ask her, or so he told her a while ago, and she wishes he would have, but... she thinks she rather likes not waiting for others to ask her for anything, if she wants it.

She unclasps her cloak, and he leans down enough that she can tie it around his neck, and it does fit him perfectly. “You gave me yours, more than once,” she says whispers. “Let me return the favor.”

She can see his throat working up and down as he nods and stands back up, her fingers tangling with his.

She’s not going to tell him now, because she knows he would just scoffs at her, but as he looks down at her as if she’s the best thing that’s happened to him, she can’t help thinking that if she ever dreamed of a beautiful knight marrying her... well.

She might have just gotten her wish.

jaime & tyrion: destruction, sudden, flames, fear of change

Winterfell’s yard is covered in burning fires - Jaime supposes that it’s one of the few advantages of having real breathing dragons flying around. The fires never die down. Which is a good thing, considering that they haven’t seen the sun in days.

He also -

He also hasn’t talked to Tyrion since he arrived here with Aerys’s - with Daenerys Targaryen, hells, he’s not going to think of Aerys first when he looks at her otherwise he’s never going to even come close to trusting her, and he can’t afford to not trust her these days. No one can, for that matter. And fine, Tyrion hasn’t talked to him, either, but - but the Long Night is upon them, and he doesn’t want to die without having at least�� well. Talked things through, for what it’s worth.

His brother is standing in front of one of those fires. No one else is there, but it’s freezing cold and people are changing their shifts, so no one is actually in the yard. It’s supposed to be the dead of the night, technically, or it would be if the sun still rose.

He walks next to him and says nothing. He knows Tyrion must be aware he’s there, because he did make a noise of acknowledgment, but - but he said nothing. So Jaime also says nothing and stares ahead in those flames for a moment, and then he immediately looks away because he can’t stand to look at fire for too long.

Stands to reason Tyrion can, but -

Ah, fuck that. He sits on the ground, knowing he’ll regret it later.

“I never told you because I was scared shitless,” he blurts, not quite looking at either the flames nor his brother. He’s staring down at his right wrist - Brienne insisted that he found some wool to wrap it in or he’d get frostbite, and fine, he doesn’t want to lose any more pieces.

“How about you elaborate?” Tyrion asks, his voice not wavering.

“There’s not much to elaborate. Father pretty much strong-armed me into it, I regretted lying to you the moment it left my mouth because I will probably go to my grave remembering how devastated you looked, and after… I knew that if I told you you’d hate me for the rest of your life and I didn’t - I couldn’t handle it. I was terrified of even damn breaching the subject, and I hated that I was involved in it, so I didn’t even think about it, because I hated myself for it. And then I realized I couldn’t run from that kind of secret forever and I’m glad I told you even if I hate that you hate me. There, was that elaborate enough for you?”

“Somehow,” Tyrion sighs, sounding weary, “it was exactly what I was hoping you’d say and what I thought you might, which is bloody unnerving because by all means I should hate you and I never really could and you’re making it really hard to keep that resolution.”

Jaime has to let out a half-laugh at that. “If you were hoping I’d say it, why would it be a problem if it was hard to keep the resolution?”

“Because you were the last person I ever thought would do such a thing,” he exhales, “except that then I remember Father was involved and I don’t know if I can blame you completely.”

Jaime nods, still not looking ahead.

“Any reason why you’re staring at your arms?”

“I don’t know if I can stand looking at you while I said that and I can’t - I had enough fire with Aerys. I’ll pass.”

Nothing happens for a moment.

Then Tyrion moves closer, sitting down nearer. “What if I told you that I like that?”

“You wanted dragons to be real when you were six,” Jaime shakes his head. “Is that how you think you’d surprise me?”

“What if I told you that I wanted one so I could burn both Father and Cersei myself?”

Years ago, he’d have been horrified. Now, though - “Considering how they were to you, that’d be the least one would assume. Also, she asked me to come back for her and I burned her letter and I never regretted not going back, so I suppose I can’t fault you for that, either.” The part of him who’d have screamed that it was wrong to leave her has been silent for a long, long time.

Tyrion nods, and he doesn’t tell him to leave. That should be good enough. Except that Jaime then realizes something, and maybe it’s dumb but years ago he wouldn’t have hesitated before sharing it, so -

So, fuck it.

“You know, maybe you did kill Cersei with a dragon,” he says.

“… How did I happen to miss such a thing?”

Jaime shrugs. “Well, I don’t know if you talked to the not-so-dead Aegon Targaryen lately, but when he showed up here just after signing that truce with your queen, he said that talking to you made him decide to handle things himself. And they were the one taking her out, if you didn’t forget them. Do your math.”

At that, Tyrion finally turns to look at him. His mismatched eyes look absolutely appalled at his poor attempts at levity, but a moment later he does laugh, the flames making that scar he got at Blackwater look as red as dark blood, and - “You really won’t let me harbor resentment in peace. Never mind. You wouldn’t even when you weren’t there, anyway.”

“… What?”

“Never mind. I tried and I never quite managed it. It’s fine. And it would be ridiculous if I held on to grudges now.”

Jaime hadn’t known someone could feel so relieved at hearing on single sentence in his life, but now he does, and it becomes even more relieving when he raises an arm and Tyrion pretends to not notice but then moves against his side.

For the next short while, looking at those flames isn’t even hurting his eyes that much.

gendrya: domesticity, the wilderness, howling, illusion, insecurity

She did tell him, during the Long Night.

Once I thought we might ride off together like in the songs. We’d be outlaws together. But I thought it was stupid the moment it came to me.

Admittedly, he’s never been that great with fancy words, or fancy anything. So he had just said, it wasn’t stupid. She had looked up at him with those grey eyes of hers, the grip she had on her sword’s handle slightly going lax when she had been clutching at it hard enough her knuckles turned white from the moment she said she wanted to talk to him.

It wasn’t, she had repeated.

No, he had said, shaking his head. It would have been entirely more stupid if I had assumed someone like you would even have looked at me twice in different circumstances.

Now that is stupid, because I would have, she replied, and then her mouth had been tentatively on his, and -

There was no need for fancy words, after that.

But after the Long Night was over, when people were picking up the pieces and she looked increasingly uncomfortable with the prospect of staying here surrounded by people who’d ask her about what she planned to do with her father’s legacy and looked at her brother as if he would have to promise her hand to someone, he had said, you know, we could ride off together.

It had sounded downright stupid... except that then she had kissed him again and said yes even if her voice shook as she asked if he really wanted someone who couldn’t be a proper wife to him and didn’t know anything of what was expected of her in such a situation, and he had said that he didn’t give a single damn about that and after all her knowing how to sew wasn’t what got them out of Harrenhal, back in the day.

So they did run, even if she writes to Winterfell regularly. She said she would be back at one point. Just not now.

Gendry’s fine with that. It’s not like he ever cared for castles in the first place, and knowing that his father was a king hadn’t really changed that. They rode until they found some abandoned house in the Riverlands that was close enough to Riverrun and not too far from the Kingsroad, and they never quite left, and maybe sometimes they barely are there because they ride out to see what’s become of Westeros after everything is said and done, but when they are he cooks and she cleans, he mends their clothes and she takes care to check if their weapons need more sharpening, and maybe they haven’t married but they laid together so many times they’ve lost count, and so what if Arya takes the lead more often than not? He thinks he likes that, the way she seems to know what she wants, and the way she looks at him like he’s exactly everything she wants, and once she told him in a whisper that she liked how he looked at her the way most others only ever looked at her sister.

Well, your sister is pretty, he had said, but she’s really not the kind of that catches my eyes. Also, I couldn’t give her sharpened blades for her name day now, could I?

Arya had laughed at that, and she couldn’t have known that he had been planning to give her a new dagger the day he asked if she maybe wanted to find a heart tree because he hated treating this like it wasn’t permanent.

She says yes when he asks, immediately catching a stray tear falling from her eye and making him swear he’ll keep that for himself, and they don’t use cloaks because where would they even start making any, but she says it will be fine if he ties their hands together, and so he does, and when she says that even if they’re married now she’d rather stay in their small Riverlands now not so abandoned house for a while instead of telling everyone else he says of course, it’s not like he cares about where they are if she’s there with him.

He always thought that when she smiled, the few times she did, she looked way prettier than any proper lady could have in her best gown and corset. When she does it now, wide enough her teeth show, he knows it to be as true as it was the first time he did, and he tells her, and he doesn’t know if he’ll ever quite get the way she looks at him when he tells her such things, as if she can’t conceive that someone would actually mean that. But then her mouth is on his and she seems very enthusiastic about their current decisions, and so he stops thinking about it.

He should tell her that to him, the idea of some lady even knowing his name was so absurd, not even songs contemplated it, one day, and instead she did -

But maybe he can tell her later.

They do have all the time in the world, after all.

#sansan #gendrya #jaime lannister #tyrion lannister #my fic #janie writes #do i even know??#also hi my attempts at writing gendrya keep on happening #otp: you would be my lady #otp: one day I will have a song from you #brotp: handless and noseless #arcana prompts fic #OKAY I DID THESE YOU'LL GET MORE THIS EVENING >_>#haljathefangirlcat #janie replies

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