@aerltarg / aerltarg.tumblr.com
It is time to cross the Trident, Dany thought, as she wheeled and rode her silver back.
Dany and Rhaegar in armour inspired by Daemon's in the first episodes of House of the Dragon! This show reminded me why I fell in love with this story all those years ago, and also that I miss her.
don't forget to click for details!
Daenerys and flowers
Somewhere beyond the sunset, across the narrow sea, lay a land of green hills and flowered plains and great rushing rivers, where towers of dark stone rose amidst magnificent blue-grey mountains, and armored knights rode to battle beneath the banners of their lords. The Dothraki called that land Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the Free Cities, they talked of Westeros and the Sunset Kingdoms. — Daenerys I, A Game of Thrones.
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The outer gates were banded with copper, the middle with iron; the innermost were studded with golden eyes. All opened at Dany’s approach. As she rode her silver into the city, small children rushed out to scatter flowers in her path. They wore golden sandals and bright paint, no more. — Daenerys II, A Clash of Kings.
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A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness… . mother of dragons, bride of fire … — Daenerys IV, A Clash of Kings.
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Most of those born free had returned to their birth names; those who still remembered them, at least. Others had called themselves after heroes or gods, and sometimes weapons, gems, and even flowers, which resulted in soldiers with some very peculiar names, to Dany’s ears. — Daenerys IV, A Storm of Swords.
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On the road from Yunkai, Daario had brought her a flower or a sprig of some plant every evening when he made his report … to help her learn the land, he said. — Daenerys V, A Storm of Swords.
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Starlight and seafoam, Dany thought, a wisp of silk that leaves my left breast bare for Daario’s delight. Oh, and flowers for my hair. When first they met, the captain brought her flowers every day, all the way from Yunkai to Meereen. — Daenerys IV, A Dance with Dragons.
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“It is only dawn, sweet queen. The day is long. Time enough for one last sortie. I will bring you back the head of Brown Ben Plumm for a wedding gift.”
“No heads,” Dany insisted. “Once you brought me flowers.”
“Let Hizdahr bring you flowers. He is not one to stoop and pluck a dandelion, true, but he has servants who will be pleased to do it for him. Do I have your leave to go?” — Daenerys VII, A dance with Dragons.
I love the prologue of A Game of Thrones so much.
Right in the beginning of his story, even before introducing the key five and other important characters, GRRM took care of establishing the real enemy, the main threat: the Others.
All the winter imagery evoked; the biting and harsh cold; the eerie silence of the Others and the swiftness with which they move; also their brutality. The way characters like Will can feel their threat through the air, and the feeling of fear and wariness it awakes, even before facing them.
JON SNOW APPRECIATION MONTH 2022: ↳ Day 10: Friends (🪦)
A north wind had begun to blow by the time the sun went down. Jon could hear it skirling against the Wall and over the icy battlements as he went to the common hall for the evening meal. Hobb had cooked up a venison stew, thick with barley, onions, and carrots. When he spooned an extra portion onto Jon's plate and gave him the crusty heel of the bread, he knew what it meant. He knows. He looked around the hall, saw heads turn quickly, eyes politely averted. They all know.
His friends rallied to him. "We asked the septon to light a candle for your father," Matthar told him. "It's a lie, we all know it's a lie, even Grenn knows it's a lie," Pyp chimed in. Grenn nodded, and Sam clasped Jon's hand, "You're my brother now, so he's my father too," the fat boy said. "If you want to go out to the weirwoods and pray to the old gods, I'll go with you."
The weirwoods were beyond the Wall, yet he knew Sam meant what he said. They are my brothers, he thought. - jon vii, adwd
"Dead," said the raven. It was one of the bird's favorite words. "Dead, dead, dead." - jon i, adwd
(more art under the cut)
day 8 → ghost
The Wall, the largest structure known to man, is a conglomeration of ice, magic, stone, blood (!), and something eerily alive. It wasn't actually built by men, but a legendary line-up of three races who had been at war with each other for centuries prior.
Whether the legends are true or not, it is plain that the First Men and the children of the forest (and even the giants, if we take the word of the singers) feared something enough that it drove them to begin raising the Wall. And this great construction, as simple as it is, is justly accounted among the wonders of the world.
-TWOIAF: The Night's Watch
According to Ygritte, the wildlings have a different view of it (although of course the threats of the Others is greatest against them):
"You know nothing, Jon Snow. Daughters are taken, not wives. You're the ones who steal. You took the whole world, and built the Wall t' keep the free folk out."
-ASOS, Jon V
Regardless the point of this post is about how the Wall manages to weaken connections between humans and their animal familiars, whether these be wargs or dragonriders as we've seen:
The direwolf had run off three times as they climbed, twice returning reluctantly to Jon's whistle. The third time, the Lord Commander lost patience and snapped, "Let him go, boy. I want to reach the crest before dusk. Find the wolf later."
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But when they reached the ringfort, Ghost balked again. He padded forward warily to sniff at the gap in the stones, and then retreated, as if he did not like what he'd smelled. Jon tried to grab him by the scruff of his neck and haul him bodily inside the ring, no easy task; the wolf weighed as much as he did, and was stronger by far. "Ghost, what's wrong with you?" It was not like him to be so unsettled. In the end Jon had to give it up. "As you will," he told the wolf. "Go, hunt." The red eyes watched him as he made his way back through the mossy stones.
-ACOK, Jon IV
Though it was summer and the Wall was weeping, the chill of the ice could still be felt whenever the wind blew, and every gust would make the dragon hiss and snap. “Thrice I flew Silverwing high above Castle Black, and thrice I tried to take her north beyond the Wall,” Alysanne wrote to Jaehaerys, “but every time she veered back south again and refused to go. Never before has she refused to take me where I wished to go. I laughed about it when I came down again, so the black brothers would not realize anything was amiss, but it troubled me then and it troubles me still.”
-Fire & Blood: Jaehaerys & Alysanne
Is it that the dragon couldn't go, or wouldn't? Ghost certainly could but direwolves still exist beyond the Wall (per Benjen) as do wargs of whom most commonly warg into wolves/direwolves. The Wall doesn't sever these ties because Alysanne continues to ride Silverwing and Ghost returns to Jon.
“Gods, wolf, where have you been?” Jon said when Ghost stopped worrying at his forearm. “I thought you’d died on me, like Robb and Ygritte and all the rest. I’ve had no sense of you, not since I climbed the Wall, not even in dreams.”
-ASOS, Jon XII
Notably Arya experiences wolf dreams with Nymeria all the way from Jupiter so the Wall is the factor of separation, not the distance.
Varamyr also steers Orell's eagle above the Wall and there seems to be no problem (although he's killed by Melisandre's magic):
"Once a beast's been joined to a man, any skinchanger can slip inside and ride him. Orell was withering inside his feathers, so I took the eagle for my own. But the joining works both ways, warg. Orell lives inside me now, whispering how much he hates you. And I can soar above the Wall, and see with eagle eyes."
-ASOS, Jon X
What I think is interesting is that the Wall is built on magic from men, the Children (who forced the separation of the Arm of Dorne & the Neck), the First Men, and giants alike. It locks away the Others, presumably, but it also seems to have mutual safeguards against each other built in. Whatever Coldhands is, he can't travel to the other side of the Wall. The Black Gate that Bran travels through only allows Black Brothers in and out. Giants can only enter through one door, too large and heavy to climb, and that door is right beside Castle Black. The Wall defends itself, the Wall has moods of it's own, the Wall is weeping. These are all Jon Snow's descriptions of the beast.
This is where we get into my personal theory.
The King's Crown was the Cradle, to hear her tell it; the Stallion was the Horned Lord; the red wanderer that septons preached was sacred to their Smith up here was called the Thief.
-ASOS, Jon III
"It is not that we fear these barbarians," Illyrio would explain with a smile. "The Lord of Light would hold our city walls against a million Dothraki, or so the red priests promise… yet why take chances, when their friendship comes so cheap?"
-AGOT, Daenerys I
"Ghost." Melisandre made the word a song.
The direwolf padded toward her. Wary, he stalked about her in a circle, sniffing. When she held out her hand he smelled that too, then shoved his nose against her fingers.
Jon let out a white breath. "He is not always so…"
"…warm? Warmth calls to warmth, Jon Snow." Her eyes were two red stars, shining in the dark. At her throat, her ruby gleamed, a third eye glowing brighter than the others. Jon had seen Ghost's eyes blazing red the same way, when they caught the light just right. "Ghost," he called. "To me."
The direwolf looked at him as if he were a stranger.
Jon frowned in disbelief. "That's… queer."
"You think so?" She knelt and scratched Ghost behind his ear. "Your Wall is a queer place, but there is power here, if you will use it. Power in you, and in this beast. You resist it, and that is your mistake. Embrace it. Use it."
-ADWD, Jon VI
The magic in the Wall is a mix of things, but the fire magic Melisandre wields is clearly part of it. Her touching Ghost mimics the separation effect Jon experiences when Ghost is beyond the Wall. It's one of the "hinges of the world" according to her, as in, it both strengthens her and... confuses her.
She was stronger at the Wall, stronger even than in Asshai. Her every word and gesture was more potent, and she could do things that she had never done before.
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Melisandre had practiced her art for years beyond count, and she had paid the price. There was no one, even in her order, who had her skill at seeing the secrets half-revealed and half-concealed within the sacred flames.
Yet now she could not even seem to find her king. I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and R'hllor shows me only Snow.
-ADWD, Melisandre I
Melisandre is as at home with her magic as Jon is with Ghost (Ghost is a part of me). Yet both of them feel those bonds changed by the magic that exists in the Wall, just like Alysanne Targaryen did with Silverwing.
The Magnar nodded. "Even in far Thenn we know the tale of Arson Iceaxe and his tunnel."
Jon knew the tale as well. Arson Iceaxe had been halfway through the Wall when his tunnel was found by rangers from the Nightfort. They did not trouble to disturb him at his digging, only sealed the way behind with ice and stone and snow.
-ASOS, Jon III
Here's something both wildlings and Northerners know: the Wall will swallow you whole just to keep you out.
The Wall is an exclusionary force by nature. Ayesha A. Siddiqi said: every border implies the violence of it's maintenance. The magic in it isn't only about the Others; it creates binaries on every axis and then tears the two apart - Northerners from wildlings, human from animal, Others from humans. To even join the Night's Watch as stewards of the Wall, you have to swear off all family, effectively severing yourself.
The Wall survives on the chaos of separation because that's how it defends itself. It was raised by a coalition never seen before and it refuses to let that happen again.
The Wall is alive and that is a threat.
I decided instead of writing down my favourite Jon Snow quotes to write instead my favourite quotes others said to him or about him.
Bran saw his father’s face change, saw the other men exchange glances. He loved Jon with all his heart at that moment. Even at seven, Bran understood what his brother had done. The count had come right only because Jon had omitted himself. He had included the girls, included even Rickon, the baby, but not the bastard who bore the surname Snow - Bran Stark
The first chapter of the series introduces Jon Snow through the eyes of his younger brother, Bran. His brother watches him selflessly removing himself from claiming a direwolf so all his siblings will have one. This scene sets up two promiment Jon Snow traits: his unquestionable love for his family and his inferiority complex due to his bastard status.
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“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” - Tyrion Lannister.
Tyrion gave one great advice to Jon which came from personal experiance as society’s outcast. It’s known that Tyrion has a liking for “bastards, cripples and broken things” so it’s no wonder he took a liking on Jon,too and even offered him some words of wisdom. Over the years Jon went from being offered to be called bastard to use it to his advantage (ex: when he convinced Mance he was a turncloak because his bastard status never allowed to have what he wanted) so I can say that Tyrion’s advice was very helpful for Jon.
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“You will find little joy in your command, but with luck, you’ll find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.” - Maester Aemon
Jon takes Maester Aemon’s advice to heart and “kill the boy” is a repeating mantra in his chapters in ADWD.
And because Master Aemon is that awesome and also his advices have a great impact on Jon I decided to include a second quote from him:
“The craven can be as brave as any man, when there is nothing to fear. And we all do our duty, when there is no cost to it. How easy it seems then, to walk the path of honor. Yet soon or late in every man’s life comes a day when it is not easy, a day when he must choose.“ - Maester Aemon
I know that Maester Aemon told this specific quote when Jon was thinking to abandon the Night’s Watch in order to aid his family at war in AGOT but it also applies in so many situations of Jon’s life. Because this boy is always facing impossible choices.
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”Mine, as I’m yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we’ll live.“ - Ygritte
Jon, who is always thinking the consequences of his choices and even feels guilty for things he can’t control, needed to be told to live the moment. And when he fell in love with Ygritte for a while lived for the present. In was only for a little while but it was a nice break from his gloomy dutiful life.
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[…]Needle was Jon Snow’s smile. He used to mess my hair and call me “little sister,” she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes. - Arya Stark
When Arya thinks what her sword, Needle, symbolizes to her she recalls her home and people she loved. Her thoughts end with the most imporant person in her life, Jon , and his rememberance brings tears to her.
It’s beautiful to read how Arya despite being separated from him for hundreds of miles and for many years still thinks the world of him and also draws strength from his memory. Their shared bond is so beautiful.
a nice, but overlooked Dany & Arya parallel? they both physically resemble past queens of love and beauty Naerys and Lyanna, both crowned in tourneys that involved mystery knights.
in one case it was the prince crowning the queen (Knight of Tears) and in the other it was the girl who would be crowned in the end (Knight of the Laughing Tree).
( insp )
* JonCon and Arthur Dayne join the club because they are Rhaegar's besties but they already regret it*
Rhaegar would be reading Shakespeare on top of a wooden box, to the other two boys who thought that was supposed to be a gang meeting…
JonCon was too quick to choose Benvolio because it was the closest male character to Romeo, and a minute later he was bitter because he didn't realize that was an option
Aerys II: *thinks Rhaegar is meeting with people to conspire against him*
Rhaegar: *is actually just the leader of a book club*
Rhaegar, innocently and unassuming: I'm meeting with a number of other young lords later but it's something secret
Aerys: ?????!!???
Daenerys Targaryen Appreciation Month 2021 || Day 27 - Historical Parallel: Daenerys I Targaryen and Elizabeth I Tudor
The sister post of this edit can be found at asongoficeandfiresource
I know the city of Braavos is the grey city, but I can't help it, in my head, this city is incredibly colorful.
And I think part of that is the way Arya describe it as this multicultural city with people from everywhere in an environment where she is thriving (I do want to acknowledge the death-cult of it all that is putting somewhat of a downer on that)
This is why I really love Braavos, the dichotomy of it all. The city is gray and rainy and dreary, yet it’s a melting pot city with so many races, ethnicities, religions, cultures, and languages present. The city is a dreary backdrop but the people are so colorful! The gorgeous courtesans in their extravagant gowns and costumes and barges, the bravos peacocking around the city in their splendor, the feather cloaks of the Summer Islanders, etc. Even Arya as Mercy is extremely colorful in her purple cape with red silk lining. One of the things I’m most annoyed about when it comes to Michelle Clapton is how Braavos was depicted on GOT, which was extremely hideous. I think Braavos is one of the most richly described places in the books and yet we got that trash. :/
And imagine how lovely all those places of worship and harbours and ships from all over the known world would look, the dockside places and all those different cats wandering around. You've got people like Night's Watch deserters and maesters in the making and old Targaryen princes and young Stark princesses in one single place.
DAENERYS TARGARYEN APPRECIATION MONTH 2021
Day 12 - Bravest Moments:
14-year-old Daenerys refuses to passively accept “the price of the Iron Throne” by attempting to protect the Lhazareen women from rape (and by defying thousands of Dothraki warriors in the process) with her limited authority as khaleesi
Daenerys Targaryen Appreciation Month
Day 5 → Dresses and Costumes
Dany had wanted to lead the attack herself, but to a man her captains said that would be madness, and her captains never agreed on anything. Instead she remained in the rear, sitting atop her silver in a long shirt of mail. - Daenerys VI, A Storm of Swords
listen.... dany as aegon, jon as visenya, arya as rhaenys, and gendry as orys. the power they can have....
STAHP, THIS PERFECT only i would make arya “visenya” because they have a lot in common and jon “rhaenys” because well, he is the son of RHAEgar 😂 plus it would make jonerys and gendrya possible 👀 nevertheless THE MATH IS MATHING
Rhaegar Targaryen Appreciation Week
Day 7: Lyanna Stark
The Rasmus — Shot
George Harrison — Someplace Else
Rudolf Affaire Mayerling (Musical) — Wie jeder andre Mann
Artus Excalibur (Musical) — What does it mean to be a king?
Евгений Мартынов — Лебединая верность (Translation)
Paul McCartney — Maybe I’m Amazed
Ellie Goulding — How Long Will I Love You
Мельница — Любовь во время зимы (Translation)
Capercaillie — Price of Fire
Мельница Тристан (Translation)
The Greatest Showman — Tightrope
Alexander Rybak — Funny Little World
The Beatles — And I Love Her
Andy Williams — A Time for Us
Scorpions — Are You the One
RHAEGAR TARGARYEN APPRECIATION WEEK
DAY FOUR - QUOTES ABOUT RHAEGAR: The Rumoured Conspiracy of Harrenhal
Okay but can you imagine that in a world where everyone is alive, Jon out of nowhere says a botanical fact and everyone stares at him strangely and Jon explains that it is because of his mother, cousin and girlfriend?
PLEASE, 'lyanna was fond of flowers', dany's 'i want to plant trees' and arya picking up flowers for ned, JON'S GIRLS ARE A LITERAL EMBODIMENT OF THE COTTAGORE AESTHETICS I'M GONNA CRY
Why Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister are foils + Relationship with the common people (6/?)
Cersei and Daenerys are intended as parallel characters – each exploring a different approach to how a woman would rule in a male dominated, medieval-inspired fantasy world.—GRRM
