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vivacissimx · 16 hours

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died 129 AC. reborn 2024. welcome back viserra & faline snow from ao3 love doesn't live here

#ldlh

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vivacissimx · 23 hours

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“Theomore is a good man,” Alysanne told her daughter, “a wise man, with a kind heart and a good head on his shoulders. His people love him.” The princess was not persuaded. “If you like him so much, Mother, you should marry him.”

Princess Viserra Targaryen

I added this to my print shop!

#this is THEEE viserra art btw amora crushed this one #viserra targaryen #alysanne targaryen #theomore manderly #[whispers softly] bitch #q

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vivacissimx · 3 days

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“In 86 AC, Queen Alysanne announced the betrothal of her daughter Viserra, fifteen years of age, to Theomore Manderly, the fierce old Lord of White Harbor.”

commission of my bby Viserra from @wodania

#OHHH MY GOD #viserra targaryen #alysanne targaryen #jaehaerys targaryen #they're not even looking at her...#everyone looks at viserra because she is beautiful. but when she is sad #heartbroken #or begging #everyone looks away

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vivacissimx · 4 days

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Arya with the skull of Balerion and Daenerys with Drogon by Justin Sweet

[T]he greatest of them, Balerion, the Black Dread, could have swallowed an aurochs whole, or even one of the hairy mammoths said to roam the cold wastes beyond the Port of Ibben. (AGOT, Tyrion II)

Another skull loomed ahead, the biggest monster of all, but Arya did not even slow. (AGOT, Arya III)

This time the monsters did not frighten her. They seemed almost old friends. Arya held the candle over her head. With each step she took, the shadows moved against the walls, as if they were turning to watch her pass. "Dragons," she whispered. (AGOT, Arya IV)

The Dothraki looked at her hatchlings uneasily. The largest of her three was shiny black, his scales slashed with streaks of vivid scarlet to match his wings and horns. "Khaleesi," Aggo murmured, "there sits Balerion, come again." (ACOK, Daenerys I)

#arya stark #daenerys targaryen #agot #acok #q

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vivacissimx · 5 days

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listening to the columbia student radio show covering the ongoing situation around student arrests and protests, something easy to put on to feel less disconnected right now

#palestine

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vivacissimx · 6 days

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First of Her Name

#rhaenyra targaryen #syrax #q

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vivacissimx · 7 days

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Aerys and Rhaegar after Duskendale | Text from Franz Kafka's unsent letter to Hermann Kafka, later published as Dearest Father

Aerys ordering the execution of House Darklyn following his imprisonment at Duskendale by Marc Simonetti / Mad King Aerys by Jake Murray / The Tourney of Harrenhal from The World of Ice and Fire / Aerys & Rhaella's unhappy wedding / Rhaegar & Elia Martell's wedding, from which Aerys was absent and Aerys looming over his Hand, Tywin Lannister / Aerys executing Brandon and Rickard Stark

#aerys targaryen #rhaegar targaryen #pre asoiaf #franz kafka #web weaving #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls

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vivacissimx · 10 days

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I know you have analysed them a lot but what is your fav part of rhaelya? And what's a fic idea you would like to write about them?

oh Rhaegar & Lyanna are the reason I joined fandom for the first time, so you know my love for them is special 😅 as for my favorite part: I have probably talked about this before but I'm very touched by the concept of 'human connection in a hurricane.' It's about how chaos causes panic & panic can overwhelm us but it's true purpose is clarity. In the mire of asoiaf political intrigues and betrothals, Rhaelya represents that clarity. In general, I find Rhaelya to be more similar than not (for all the icefire chatting). What do you do when you love your father but he's the reason you can't go home? If the people who love you can't help you or save you, does that turn you cruel or empathetic towards the world? When do/don't we trust?

There is also the obvious which is that Rhaegar & Lyanna fall in together because the other is what they admire. It may seem like a random & sudden pairing but really there's a mirroring from the beginning. Rhaegar sings a song to an audience which doesn't understand—Lyanna cries for a reason her family doesn't get either. Their coming together is about hiding the Knight of the Laughing Tree's identity and in that moment they see each other. Lyanna jousts for Howland—Rhaegar does it for Lyanna. Ostensibly the latter are chivalrous acts (defending the weak/honoring the maiden) but because they're not performed within the usual paradigm as expected these actions are a) reviled and b) reveal what truly motivates the two: Compassion. Justice.

I am also partial to the complication of returns/how leaving a place that is no longer safe is a love story/the moments that beg you to run headlong into them and you, human as can be, make that choice. All of these are part of Rhaelya's story. It's true that Lyanna left her family who she loved. People will say ah she was young, she was stupid, she was blinded by Rhaegar's charisma; but again, this is a moment about clarity. About certainty. Justice is about what happens in the future. Lyanna ran to the future & left behind only those whose love mattered less than their ability to possess her.

Rhaegar I have recently longposted about so it's clear how I formulate him. On the Lyanna part I've definitely said this but basically once the war kicked off there was no way for him to transport Lyanna anywhere without further endangering her and/or him family with Elia—you need to understand that Rhaegar loved his children to understand him at all. That he loved his mother, his father, had seen them broken down & turn apathetic or even cruel towards the world. You need to understand that Lyanna represented a shining light of hope against this backdrop for him. I am also one of the people who believe that Rhaegar & Lyanna's sexual relationship only started after Brandon/Rickard were executed so clearly this is a complex but also painfully simple story about the human heart for me. I love people at their most human. Affirming people's dignity during suffering or crisis is an ethical duty I feel I have towards others. And GRRM did exactly that for Rhaegar and Lyanna, so how can I not love them? I'd ship Rhaelya if I was born in a small Bavarian village in 1753, etc etc.

As for the fic I'd love to write, there are two:

1—

Rhaegar riding through the Riverlands on his way to the Ghost of High Heart. He's with Myles Mooton, Arthur Dayne, Richard Lonmouth, Oswell Whent. They stop at the Inn at the Crossroads. Everyone's laughing and drinking, Myles is flirting with the one pretty barmaid while Rhaegar is ContemplatingTM—Bess is her name. Bess boasts about all the ladies and lordlings who stopped at their inn recently & gives a description of what sounds like Brandon and Lyanna Stark. They enjoy riding out on their lil horses. But, Bess says, the Northern lord didn't like the look of our little lordling so they didn't stay long & haven't been bacj. The girl was kind though! She gave a few coins for the boy after slipping away from her wroth brother. Suddenly, Rhaegar's tuned in and the little lordling is trotted out...

A toddler with black hair and blue eyes. Soon after, the plans change.

2—

Their first meeting including Rhaegar nerding out a bit over meeting a crannogman after Howland uses lite magic to try and help them escape. Benjen & Howland trying to take responsibility for being the KOTLT and failing. Lyanna not just a winter maiden but a stubborn Northern bitch hardened by winter (it's the iron underneath baby!!). Sussing each other out during a long silent stare down. Maybe somebody even cracks a Joke? That kind of thing.

OK long answer 💀 sorry but I can't help myself!

#text #rhaegar targaryen #lyanna stark #rhaelya

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vivacissimx · 12 days

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The Knighting of Jaime Lannister

#arthur dayne #jaime lannister #asos #the image of Arthur wrapping jaime in his own cloak oh I know Jaime added that bit in post LOL #but the implications of jaime bleeding lannister red bloodstains into it…#i’m having a brain bunny I did not anticipate 30 seconds ago #THE KNIGHTING OF JAIME LANNISTER

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vivacissimx · 12 days

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I think you gonna like this fanart:

https://www.tumblr.com/perunikaart/673470714994655232?source=share

good lord i LOVE it x

#asks

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vivacissimx · 23 days

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tragedy enjoyers when even good intentions lead to ruin

#q

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vivacissimx · 25 days

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lyanna my soul 🤧🤲🌷

#OH??#rhaelya #rhaegar targaryen #lyanna stark #q

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vivacissimx · 1 month

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Tyrion’s Seasons of Love ❦ A Dream of Spring

Tyrion and Sansa decide to remain married when they reunite in the future. They have a daughter whose exuberance and love of flowers reminds Sansa of Arya.

#sansa stark #tyrion lannister #arya stark #😢#q

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vivacissimx · 1 month

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my little sketch with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen with her firstborn Jacaerys Velaryon 🌟

I wanted to say to my strong and beautiful side of followers, Happy International Women’s Day 🐉

#rhaenyra targaryen #jacaerys velaryon #woah okay this is my favorite art ever now #jace her first and favorite fr #q

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vivacissimx · 1 month

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meereenese + dothraki wedding

#incredible concept #the fluidity.... almost feels underwater #daenerys targaryen #the bells in her hair 😭#agot #adwd #q

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vivacissimx · 2 months

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Theon's choice not to visit Alannys was not a choice

Cannot believe it took this long for me to get around to this meta—also, feel free to read my whole spiel about Theon's father figures in Ned, Balon, and Roose here, because it does inform my view.

OK, Alannys Harlaw hours.

The conception of Theon's motivations in the situation where he does not go to see his mother when he returns to the Islands is a bit harsh on Theon. It ignores that Theon has not been avoiding Alannys all these years: he has been kept from her. Theon's access to her has always been controlled by the NedBalons in his life.

I want to get into the idea that this is not happenstance. That Theon's father figures control his access to his mother, which is not even a novel concept in ASOIAF. Jon Snow, who is Theon's foil, also has access to his mother restricted by—woah! Ned Stark as well!! (And both Jon and Theon are expected to be grateful for this too.)

Theon's homecoming to Pyke does not result in him rushing triumphant as the prodigal son into his loving mother's arms because in fact Alannys is not even on Pyke (though Theon thought she would be). Nope, it's Theon's suspicious, resentful, and yes "homophobic" uncle as well as father who Theon meets. From here it is just assumed that Theon has perfect access to Alannys, and that him not hopskipping over to Harlaw is purely his preference. (Are you catching on to the idea that I disagree with this, yet?)

Getting into Theon as a character & how he acts under suspicious/mistrustful eyes:

As a boy, he had lived in fear of Stark's stern face and great dark sword. His wife was, if anything, even more distant and suspicious. [ACOK, Theon I]

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“What I am about to tell you must not leave this room,” she told them. “I want your oaths on that. If even part of what I suspect is true, Ned and my girls have ridden into deadly danger, and a word in the wrong ears could mean their lives.” “Lord Eddard is a second father to me,” said Theon Greyjoy. “I do so swear.” [AGOT, Catelyn III]

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Ned turned back to his wife. “Once you are home, send word to Helman Tallhart and Galbart Glover under my seal. They are to raise a hundred bowmen each and fortify Moat Cailin. Two hundred determined archers can hold the Neck against an army. Instruct Lord Manderly that he is to strengthen and repair all his defenses at WhiteHarbor, and see that they are well manned. And from this day on, I want a careful watch kept over Theon Greyjoy. If there is war, we shall have sore need of his father’s fleet.” [AGOT, Eddard IV]

Theon knows he is not trusted in Winterfell. Catelyn including Theon in this circle of ooh secrets is mostly due to the fact that Robb physically brought him & also because she knows that Theon does not really even have the ability to betray her on this front. He definitely knows that. Ned does not have a paternal relationship with Theon & does not perceive himself as Theon's father any more than Theon believes he is Ned's son (in the manner that Robb or Bran or even Jon is), so why does Theon lie here?

HE IS OVERPERFORMING HIS COMMITMENT TO THE PATRIARCH FIGURE IN WHOSE HANDS HIS LIFE/FUTURE LIES.

Theon predicates his vow to Catelyn with an affirmation of his willingness to do service to Ned, and in fact that's what his access to her relies on. That's probably why he makes such a production of incessantly flirting with her too; because of how it implies he is in Ned and later Robb's good graces! Of course AGOT Theon is also just a flirt for the purposes of producing his masculinity in general. But does anyone really disagree? Moving on.

The door was grey wood studded with iron, and Theon found it barred from the inside. He hammered on it with a fist, and cursed when a splinter snagged the fabric of his glove. The wood was damp and moldy, the iron studs rusted. After a moment the door was opened from within by a guard in a black iron breastplate and pothelm. "You are the son?" "Out of my way, or you'll learn who I am." [ACOK, Theon I]

(Even the damn door is in on it LOL)

Theon knelt. He had a purpose here, and might need Aeron's help to achieve it. A crown was worth a little mud and horseshit on his breeches, he supposed.

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He was playing the part of a dutiful young prince for the moment, while he waited for Lord Balon to reveal the fullness of his plans. [ACOK, Theon II]

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"My father gave me the command here, Uncle." "And sent me to counsel you." And to watch me. Theon dare not push matters too far with his uncle. The command was his, yes, but his men had a faith in the Drowned God that they did not have in him, and they were terrified of Aeron Damphair. [ACOK, Theon III]

THEON IS PERFORMING FOR BALON. His father doesn't approve of him and Theon is playing the part. He is making every overture and concession to obedience, or piety, that is asked of him. Balon, Aeron, Asha, even Victarion make sure he knows when he's failing—whether it's with an express disapproval or just a knowing laugh. Theon notes all of this because due to how he was raised he's extremely perceptive of how those with power over him regard him.

And Balon does not criticize Theon for not visiting Alannys.

"Will I find my sister and my lady mother at Pyke?" "You will not. [ACOK, Theon I]

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Harlaw is only a day’s sail, and surely Lady Greyjoy yearns for a last sight of her son.” “Would that I could. I am kept too busy here. My father relies on me, now that I am returned. Come peace, perhaps...” [ACOK, Theon II]

Theon visiting his mother is not reliant on his own self-motivation, but on whether or not Balon grants him access to her. This is not to say Balon expressly forbade it or that there would have been any direct consequences if Theon had gone over... but it's about goodwill, not permission! What else changes between Theon asking about Alannys when he returns to Pyke and when he explicitly tells Asha that he can't go see her because Balon, because war? Simple: he needs to prove himself to his father as loyal and strong first. To make it explicit, Ned & Robb allowed Theon access to Catelyn in the same manner that Balon refuses (or, at the least, disapproves of) Theon's access to Alannys. Theon is sensitive to this disapproval and does not push the matter.

The only person who pushes Theon to go to Alannys is Asha. Asha obviously has Balon's trust, though, and it could be said she takes it for granted. Asha's level of understanding of Theon is complex; she recognizes him but she doesn't know him. When she says this:

You are blood of my blood, Theon, whatever else you may be. For the sake of the mother who bore us both, return to Deepwood Motte with me. [ACOK, Theon V]

it's actually wild how much is packed in here. For the sake of the mother who bore us both: Theon doesn't yet have the right to Alannys or even know how she'd receive him, given his other receptions on Pyke. Return to Deepwood Motte: the castle Theon believes he should have been tasked with taking above Asha, a concrete proof of his father's mistrust in him, which amongst other reasons spurs on his taking on Winterfell to begin with.

Personally I think Theon as a symbol of Balon's failed rebellion does make him, in Balon's eyes, also a symbol of his failed marriage. Theon does not confirm Baelon's masculinity as a son should, as Asha does. He is a reminder of the ways in which Balon lacks.

I also believe that Theon ~misses his mother, FWIW. He thinks back to his childhood sleeping in the Sea Tower while on his way to Pyke which is a mommy-coded memory; he expects to sleep in his old chambers again when he returns to Pyke—both that and his expectation of seeing Alannys are swiftly disabused. He will not be slipping into his old roles, Theon learns through the reunion with Balon which is violent in more ways than one. It's interesting because Theon actually expects to have to prove himself to his father (which is why he comes armed with a plan for taking Casterly Rock) but he doesn't expect to be punished for having been held hostage all these years.

If we are indulging in symbolism, though:

Above the Sea Tower snapped his father's banner. The Myraham was too far off for Theon to see more than the cloth itself, but he knew the device it bore: the golden kraken of House Greyjoy, arms writhing and reaching against a black field. The banner streamed from an iron mast, shivering and twisting as the wind gusted, like a bird struggling to take flight. And here at least the direwolf of Stark did not fly above, casting its shadow down upon the Greyjoy kraken. [ACOK, Theon I]

The Sea Tower where Theon's childhood memories & hopes for return to his family lie is dominated by his father's banner. At least it's Balon Greyjoy and not Ned Stark, Theon tells himself. Yet the result is the paralleled, mirrored, as Balon and Ned often are with Theon: under Ned's control Theon can't see Alannys because he is Balon Greyjoy's son, while under Balon's control Theon is discouraged from seeing Alannys because he isn't son enough. Perhaps Theon does prioritize the goodwill of his patriarch because he views it as an essential ingredient to his survival and success... but he's also absolutely aware of the role the wife/mother/lady/queen plays in the whole arena too. As power, as leverage. It's pretty plain when you consider that he tells Barbrey she could claim leadership over the North if she so desired. He took such pleasure in being relatively intimate with Catelyn as well.

So, he knows. Yet they're still all held above his head like a little treat. Delicious.

#theon greyjoy #alannys harlaw #ned stark #balon greyjoy #asha greyjoy #aeron greyjoy #text #meta #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #gender in asoiaf

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vivacissimx · 2 months

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vivacissimx meta masterpost ✧˖°

We're about at the time where a post like this makes sense. If you see any missing metas it's likely because I no longer (entirely) agree with either a premise or phrasing and I'd like to rework it at some point—or I forgot. Feel free to ask!

I've bolded metas which I believe to be the most sound or that highlight a critical point which is overlooked by most ASOIAF analysis I have read. I also use the tags #text and #gender-in-asoiaf.

The Starks and the North

how jon being a bastard shaped the relationships between ALL members of house stark

on the abuse debate

how jon snow internalized catelyn tully stark's ideals

jon snow's heroes: an evolution from AGOT to ADWD

on jon snow and the R+L=J reveal

on jon snow's attraction to men

on jon snow forgiving theon greyjoy

on jon snow weaponizing his own competence

jon snow & women at the Wall: the question of rape

sansa stark & foreshadowed false testimony

sansa and ned have a foil relationship to lyanna and rickard

arya IS like other girls

arya stark: death and balance

arya & jon underrated parallels

the textual significance of the arya/lyanna parallels

the importance of lyanna stark's crypt statue

how lyanna influenced ned's acts of love for his daughters

how ned stark would perceive daenerys targaryen

what would happen to ned if robert discovered R+L=J?

Daenerys Targaryen

every daenerys ever: how dany's claim of a throne is foreshadowed throughout house targaryen's history

on the healing power of fire

on the myth that daenerys targaryen ruined meereen's economy

on the myth of a diplomatic solution in meereen

daenerys & ser barristan selmy: found family!

daenerys & bran: putting the first/last chapters of AGOT in conversation

daenerys & tyrion: how their TWOW alliance may come about

House Targaryen

on rhaegar targaryen and the prophecy of TPTWP

on alysanne targaryen, and how viserra's betrothal/the aftermath unfolded

viserra, alysanne, & baelon: a web weaving

viserra & saera

Theon Greyjoy

theon's gender: always broken, always under construction

[NOTE: this is the meta on which all my other theon meta relies. If you read nothing else I have ever said about theon, please read this.]

roose bolton as (another) father figure to theon

why theon greyjoy did not go visit his mother

theon greyjoy and the myth of return

theon greyjoy and winterfell's mirroring in ADWD

House Lannister

jaime & tyrion's awareness of cersei being abused

cersei lannister's brothers rationalization of cersei as being complicit in her abusive relationship

on cersei lannister's idealization of rhaegar, & also her dysphoria

ASOIAF Misc

breakdown of the grand maester conspiracy

unreliable narrators (and why we NEED arianne martell POV)

jon connington's memory

Dance of the Dragons Era

rhaenyra targaryen's maladaptive relationships due to abuse

rhaenyra & daemon's gender troubles

on the legality of claims of bastardry

on queen alicent hightower

alicent, criston, & daemon as rhaenyra's formative (abusive) influences

#meta #text #meta masterpost

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