u/mxlevolent

What happened next occurred within the space of a blink. Right when Voldemort had been certain of his body taking form... he'd been pulled away. Yanked, as if by a great hand.

He'd been dragged away from his cauldron and pulled through the air, the rudimentary body as well as his new one being left empty at the bottom of that cauldron.

Harry Potter was equally confused. At first, he'd been elated - he thought that the weird, pale baby-thing had actually drowned, just like he'd wanted. The pain from his scar had sizzled out-

-and then he (both of them) blinked.

Harry Potter's face flattened into something sinister before his brow furrowed slightly in confusion. With a burst of wandless magic, he escaped his bindings... and he had no clue how it was that he'd just done that.

His cold stare turned towards Pettigrew, who paled rapidly at the sight. His missing hand, that bleeding stump gushing blood, went forgotten.

"My- m-m-my l-lord?" He whispered, terrified.

Harry Potter's face blinked, slowly. His eyes remained cold, and sharp. "I'm not your lord, Wormtail." He hissed. The voice wasn't high, cruel, or cold... but it was sibilant. English spoken with a Parseltongue accent.

Wormtail was panting like a scared and dying animal.

"I don't know what I am, now." The thing wearing Harry Potter's body said. "I remember nothing of Lord Voldemort, and yet... I was him, except I am not. I remember everything of being Harry Potter, yet... I am not him, except I am."

With a lazy flick of his holly and phoenix feather wand, Wormtail was hung in the air by his ankle. The bloody stump gushed blood, pump-pump, pump-pump, in sync with the rat's beating heart.

"What have you done to me, Wormtail?"

"Mate. Mate - look!" Ron whispered, slapping Harry's shoulder.

Harry turned to see an argument that was clearly going to escalate between a group of three Hufflepuff girls and two Slytherin boys. Oh, how scandalous. Judging from the size of them, were second years. Harry knew none of them. Even so, he was secretly quite fond of this sort of thing. Bickering and gossip, tea if you would. Aunt Petunia had passed something onto him... although she'd want everything to stop short of an actual fight.

"D'you wanna jump in?"

Harry frowned, turning to his friend. "Jump in?"

Ron shrugged. "A scrap's a scrap."

Harry... was conflicted. He'd never had a friend by his side before, and all the fights that he'd been in had been rather one-sided, growing up. Typically, Dudley and his gang would hunt him down and beat him into next Tuesday. Following that train of thought, though... was fighting something that a group of friends did?

"Fuck it." Harry said, walking briskly towards the rapidly escalating argument.

And if he enjoyed himself, fighting a couple prats with his first (and best) friend by his side? Well... it'd be the start of something brilliant.

*****

Ron was laughing as he and Harry, with a few others, ran the entire length of the Quidditch Pitch to where they'd last seen Malfoy and his clique dragging away Colin Creevey and co. The kid was annoying, sure, but he was still a Gryffindor. All of his friends were honorary Gryffindors, and Draco Malfoy and his band of twats were just that: twats. They should pick on somebody their own size, or bigger. You don't punch down. It's just not done.

Harry jumped up and kicked Malfoy square in the back with both of his feet as Ron tackled Crabbe to the floor. To his immense joy, he saw Dean Thomas taking care of Goyle - and Colin Creevey, together with his friends, escaped their tormentors.

These fights were few and far between, but they were always so much fun!

*****

"Oh, you two had better not!"

They were not. The fight had started without them, this time. They'd been walking, minding their own business, they saw it. Apparently some Ravenclaw shithead got handsy with a Slytherin girl in a crowded hallway. The fight had broken out, and moved organically into a classroom.

Ron looked as if he were barely restraining himself. Harry looked much better, but he honestly felt about the same.

"Let me throw a chair in there." Harry begged, grinning, to Hermione's exasperated eyes. "Come on, please. I've never thrown a chair before. They won't even know it was me."

Ron's eyes widened, and he started patting himself down. "Hang on, I think Fred and George gave me a few of their new-"

These articles and these takes are dime-a-dozen and they're absolutely ludicrous, each and every one. I could talk about any of them, but you know which one I'm going to pick? The one I'm going to choose to focus in on, that encapsulates every problem with takes like this?

"Gen Z does not care about superhero movies. That genre belongs to the millennials."

That is a verbatim quote from a studio executive that you can look up and read articles about. I've read so many takes from so many executives all to the tune of "Gen Z don't care about [insert normal thing]", but this one has rankled me the most.

Millennials were grown adults when superhero movies were, generally, said to have peaked. You know, when Marvel started to pop off in the 2010s to early 2020s with the Avengers movies. These people don't know how old/young Gen Z are.

Every - fucking - child who went to see those movies in cinemas WAS GEN Z! THAT WAS US! We were the main ones losing our goddamn minds over this. We were the main ones falling in love with these characters and these universes. We were the ones who had the toys! We grew up with them!

Why do you think Spider-Man 3, with all the different Spider-Men, was such a huge success? Because it appealed to the millennials alone? WE GREW UP WITH ALL THREE OF THOSE CHARACTERS! We saw one at home, one might've been our first experience in the cinemas (it was for me), and the other we still head out to go see!

And on THAT topic, do you know why we still head out to go watch Spider-Man movies? It's not just that Spider-Man is a popular character. It's not just that Spider-Man movies aren't risky, and a safe bet that we'll have a good time. You know why Gen Z turn out for those movies? HOLLAND'S SPIDER-MAN IS GEN Z!

HE'S US! In the newest movie he's lonely, flat broke, and in his early twenties! THAT'S US!

And this take, you know: "Gen Z don't care about [x]"? It always comes down to the fact that we're not doing that thing. Right? And there's a kernel of truth, sure. In this instance, Gen Z aren't watching most superhero movies...

BECAUSE WE CAN'T AFFORD TO!

WE CAN ONLY AFFORD TO WATCH THE GOOD ONES! THE GUARANTEED HITS! Have you SEEN the prices of tickets to the cinema nowadays? The prices of the food there? NONE OF US HAVE MONEY!

"Gen Z don't drink" WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY

"Gen Z don't watch live concerts" A DECENT TICKET COSTS MORE THAN MY BANK BALANCE

"Gen Z don't watch shows on our services" A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION?!

Gen Z is not the age that people think that we are, and we would all do almost everything that we're accused of not doing en masse if we could afford to.

Man, I wanna go out drinking. I wanna go to a live concert. I wanna go watch a movie every now and then, one that I might not enjoy, and not have to worry about the price of the ticket. All of these things cost too much for us because the world and the global economy went to shit the very moment that we all became adults.

"Gen Z don't do [x]"

The next time you read that, and [x] is a pretty normal thing? Most of us don't because we can't.

I understand that there’s no way to answer this question with absolute certainty. To a certain degree, this question is almost… mathematical.

BUT:

A common statement regarding death is that “It’ll be the same as the time before you were born, so nothing.”

I feel like this is always a bit of a weaker explanation than people mean it, though. Sure, it helps me understand what nothing means in this context, but it obviously came to an end. I was born. It was not nothing into forever and ever, it was nothing until it’s time for me.

Likewise, before I was born does not help me face or prepare myself as to what is in front of me. That nothing looming at the end of my line remains daunting. Time moves forward, toward it.

And when it comes, it’ll move through it, and through it, and through it…

To what?

You could just say nothing again, and that’s fair — but could it not be? It might not be ME, per se, and it might not be life as we understand it (at least as a human being on Earth, with memories) but could I get another something?

Before the universe existed, there was stuff. Space is a vacuum, but it’s got plenty of interesting things inside of it. Hell, there’ll [probably?] till be matter in the universe after heat death, it’ll just be cold and miserable. Nothing seems to always have a bunch of caveats, and is remarkably not absolute. Is death somehow an exception?

For some things to butterfly and for some things to remain the same, let’s say that Baelor Targaryen (named after Baelon, the brother who Aemon is closest to) is born in 87AC.

Aemon and Jocelyn are in their early 30s, so it’s not too late for another child. They obviously had some trouble having kids, considering that Rhaenys was their only child in canon and was born when they were around 20, in 74AC. There’s 13 years between Rhaenys and her little brother.

Aemon likely still dies in 92AC by a crossbow bolt to the neck. The reason why I made the kid so young AT ALL is because if he were older — let’s say a twin to Rhaenys — he’d likely have either been there too, or gone there instead. This way, Aemon still dies, and the role of heir is passed on to… a child.

Alysanne believed wholeheartedly that women should, if born first, rule first. She believed that Daenerys should’ve been a ruling Queen even though Jaehaerys proclaimed Aemon to be his heir from the moment that he was born. Rhaenys, likewise, would’ve somewhat expected to have been heir for the first thirteen years of her life. Until her mother had a surprise pregnancy, she was their only child.

However, I don’t see anybody STRONGLY contesting the fact that Baelor deserves the crown, here. Rhaenys — regardless of her personal/past feelings — wouldn’t wish any harm on her younger brother. Alysanne may still quarrel with Jaehaerys, but it wouldn’t be as bad as it was in canon.

From the age of about five years old, and with more urgency considering the King’s age, Baelor is getting prepared for the crown.

When Jaehaerys dies, Baelor Targaryen would be sixteen years old. He’d be of an age to rule, immediately. Jaehaerys might’ve been king since he was fourteen under a regency, but he likewise had ruled properly from the age of sixteen. The realm would, likely, settle in for another long kingship.

Who do you think would be this Young King’s hand? If Baelon is influenced, in some minor way, by the butterflies in this scenario… he might not die of appendicitis. He’s an obvious choice, then, but what if he still does? Does Otto Hightower work his way in there? Would Daemon have had some influence over his younger cousin, and left him thinking that Hightowers cannot be trusted? Maybe Corlys would be Hand, Baelor’s brother by marriage, or maybe even Rhaenys.

Who do you think he’d marry? Aemma is some years older but could still marry Viserys, although Laena is some years younger. He could also marry Alicent Hightower, since they’re relatively close in age, or a daughter of some other house.

What problems do you think this king’s reign would see? If the Dance, and other Targaryen divisions since there’s no Great Council, are avoided with this scenario… what might occur over this king’s long reign, if it were to last as long as Jaehaerys’?

In terms of character and competence, think of this king (baring in mind that he starts at 16) as somewhere between a young Baelor Breakspear and Jon Snow.

Baelor Breakspear because people like him and he’s got a decent head on his shoulders, but he’s young and isn’t exactly the “safe pair of hands” that Breakspear is known as by Ashford Meadow. Jon Snow because he’s a solemn guy with a dead father and who’s thrust into responsibility and command as a teenager (much like Jon becoming Lord Commander of the Watch at 16). So, this kid is confident and can be a good king… but he’s just starting out.

My idea for this fic has a lot of mystery and intrigue. To invert the whole “X Character wakes up in another world” thing, Jon Snow would be the perspective character here, but he’s just trying to understand this new world that he’s been born into.

The gods have brought him into a world in which he’s the last of his family, following a tragedy that wiped everybody else out. Each of the Seven Kingdoms has a cast of characters that are similar to those in his own world’s… but different.

For example, Eddard Stark is the King of Winter, but he’s married a Bolton woman because the Riverlands are under House Hoare’s control, and his children are different as a result.

The Lannister family is pretty much the same because Tywin and Joanna were both Lannisters, but Robert Baratheon is married to an Estermont with Edric as his son and heir.

And amidst all of this uncanny horseshit, is the differences in the world itself because of the three SI’s, those years ago. Instead of the conquerors, they’re called “the Great Ones”, or “our Great Ones” on Dragonstone.

Now, I know the motivation of the conquerers, and it was fairly simple: they wanted showers. Showers, and toilets. Everything else was borderline incidental, and much of their achievements didn’t come about from some urge to uplift the world around them. These were three people who were fully motivated in their efforts to not live like medieval people, despite their being in a medieval world.

My question is this: what uplifts would come about laterally in their dogged pursuit to create showers and toilets, indoor plumbing?

Additionally, what else do you think would you be interested to see in this world? What else do you think that three “selfish” SI’s might have their lives trying to create? Mirrors? Better glass? Better medical utensils, because they didn’t want to get infections? Better comforts, or roads because they wanna travel to places easier — incidentally recreating Roman concrete as a result?

In my mind’s eye, I was picturing Dragonstone in this fic has being some strange mix of the 14/1500s and the 1800s in aesthetics and technology.

The fic that got me thinking about this was an Aerys the First SI that’s fairly recent, and it’s particularly unique because this isn’t even when Aerys is king. He’s basically just a second son, at this point, and that was what started me off.

Canon is particularly loose about these areas — we get some more through Dunk and Egg, and we’ve got a decent bit about the Dance now, but what about outside of that? Or even through that, but someone unusual?

Like an Aerion fic where it’s basically just “What if the guy isn’t mad?”, or a Daeron (son of Maekar) fic where he’s less of a drunken weirdo? A bastard son of Aegon the Fourth who does cool shit?

Even less focussed on kings would be interesting to see. Daeron the Young Dragon fanfics? What about Aegon the Unworthy himself, but the SI just makes him SUPER worthy? Baelor the Blessed but he’s actually pretty cool? Valarr Targaryen, but he’s alive to rule instead of his uncle?

I feel like you get what I’m going for here, and I really would love some recommendations.

Like to the Aerys fic, though, anyway: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85195266/chapters/224964686

In TWOIAF, it's specified that Rhaegar Targaryen left Elia Martell and his children on Dragonstone. This is on Page 127 of my version, but it might differ based off of the edition or if it's a digital book, I dunno.

We can assume they were left there because Dragonstone was his, and he imagined that they'd be safe there (however foolishly, we don't know what kind of control he had over the island despite being its prince).

Anyway, 2 pages later, we hear that Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys are evacuated to Dragonstone right after Rhaegar is confirmed to be dead. At the same time, it's specified that Elia Martell and her family are forced to remain in the Red Keep, implying that they were already there.

When were they moved off of Dragonstone and into King's Landing?

The Tower of Joy dream is awesome. The dialogue is great, it's quotable, it's all very memorable (ironic), but seriously:

The entire scene is just Ned ultimately asking "What the fuck are you guys doing here?"

It's sort of hysterical.

>“I looked for you on the Trident,” Ned said to them.

"You weren't at the most important battle in the war. Rhaegar was there, and he died. He's dead. He's gone." The question is subtext, here.

>“We were not there,” Ser Gerold answered.

>“Woe to the Usurper if we had been,” said Ser Oswell.

"We weren't there, obviously."

>“When King’s Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were.”

"The King is dead. Not just Rhaegar. The King is dead as well. Where were you?"

>“Far away,” Ser Gerold said, “or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells.”

"We were here, obviously."

>“I came down on Storm’s End to lift the siege,” Ned told them, “and the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne dipped their banners, and all their knights bent the knee to pledge us fealty. I was certain you would be among them.”

"The war is over. Nobody is even fighting any more. Everybody has knelt - but you guys weren't there, either!"

>“Our knees do not bend easily,” said Ser Arthur Dayne.

"Well, we're still here."

>“Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him.”

"Your Queen and the only Prince you guys have left have have both straight up gone. They've fled with some loyalists. You didn't kneel - I understand that, you can still think they're the royals - but you should at least be with them! Why are you here?"

>“Ser Willem is a good man and true,” said Ser Oswell.

>“But not of the Kingsguard,” Ser Gerold pointed out. “The Kingsguard does not flee.”

>“Then or now,” said Ser Arthur. He donned his helm.

>“We swore a vow,” explained old Ser Gerold.

"Ser Willem Darry went with them because he's a good person, but we stayed here because we're the Kingsguard. We didn't flee then, and we won't flee now."

This is the only bit that's actually, unequivocally plot.

They were ordered to stay there, and as Kingsguard, they cannot disobey their orders. They could not flee then - during all of the shit that Ned Stark brought up - because they had orders not to.

Now, though, when on the surface they have nothing? They're still the Kingsguard. Ser Willem Darry left with Prince Viserys, but he left because he isn't one of the Kingsguard.

The implication is that the Kingsguard should be there, and if they cannot flee... then their King must in there, in need of defending. They need to guard the king - that's their vow. Their original vow.

But Ned doesn't know that!

From his perspective - even if he might suspect what he'd find in there - these guys are just holding out for no reason. Seriously, they didn't answer any of his [implied] questions at all. He basically just kept asking "Why are you here?" and they kept responding with "Because we're standing here."

I've got a brain worm, and I can't decide whether or not I want to explore this.

Imagine, in this fic, that Lyanna's child dies alongside her, but N+A=J. Except, this isn't Jon Snow exactly. Even if the character and his personality, his core self, are the same, everything surrounding him IS and WILL BE different

For the purpose of this post, I'll be referring to Dayne!Jon as Artos (named after Arthur Dayne, Artos Stark, and the Daynes seem to like 'A' names), but...

Artos would be older than Jon. Assuming that his conception happened at the Tourney of Harrenhal in 281, then his birth would be around late 281, or early 282. That puts him around 1 or 2 years older than Robb (and Jon) in canon.

Ashara wouldn't be as heartbroken as she was, in canon. Her child survives, and she has him to care for. She might even live, and Ned - without a promise to bind him, as there was in canon - would probably leave Artos in Starfall with Ashara instead of ripping him out from the arms of his mother and taking him to Winterfell.

Bare in mind that Artos is Jon, deep down, but how might he grow to be different with this in mind? He's in Dorne, so bastards aren't as frowned upon. He's in Starfall with his mother, and he knows his father is the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North - there's no mystery parentage, Artos knows from whence he came. He knows that he has siblings, out there, though he's never met any of them.

I have to assume, given his circumstance, that he'd be sent to squire for somebody. I headcanon that Oberyn views Ashara as something of a sister (one of Elia's friends, and after she's passed away, I like to think he'd be protective), so could it be him? I'm unsure of the timeline - when Daemon Sand stopped being his squire - and if he'd even be available.

If not him, then could Ser Barristan Selmy be an option? I don't know when they'd cross paths, but Ser Barristan loved [loves?] Ashara, and respected Ser Arthur. And on that topic, could a bastard knight of House Dayne become the Sword of the Morning?

If we take canon to start at the book ages for the Starklings, then Artos here would be... anywhere from 17 to 19? I can't remember if Robb and Jon were 16 or 17 in the show, but if Artos is 1-2 years older, regardless, he's at maximum 19 years old.

What opportunity would Artos have to first meet his siblings? That's a meeting that I'd really like to write, and it's what got me on this whole thing to begin with. Bran would idolise his older brother, here - a knight of House Dayne, and potentially the Sword of the Morning, too - and Arya would as well. Robb might come to respect him, and I can't even begin to fathom Catelyn's reaction. On the one hand, he wasn't raised in Winterfell, as a constant stain on her honour, and he may care more for his mother's house than his father's. On the other, he was raised in Dorne, and is older than Robb.

I just need help pinning things down, to see if this is even worth exploring.

I cannot find this fic for the life of me because I honestly remember very little about the main plot of it.

Jon didn't go to the Wall (that might've been the main point of divergence?), but there were semi-frequent [brief] POVs there through Sam.

Sam discovers the threat of the wights in a book or something, before one actually shows up, and Jeor Mormont absolutely crashes out.

He starts shouting about how he should've listened to his nan, about how she told him stories and that he should've known why the Watch burnt their dead. I distinctly remember that - Jeor Mormont yelling while he storms around Castle Black, just going on about how he should've listened to his nan growing up.

I'm pretty sure a wight shows up at the end of that chapter, and in a rare bit of compassion, Ser Alliser Throne comforts Sam when he bursts into tears, afraid.

This is more a question about, like, backporting aspects of the series from later books and the wider world into the first book.

Jon hates his bastardy in GoT. Everyone thinks that there isn't really much for him to do, that he can't have a name or anything, and that he's basically just... got nothing. Much of it comes from Jon's angst, but we also get Ned despairing over what he's gonna do because Catelyn wants Jon out once he leaves. The Wall as 'a place for bastards' is also established here, although we later learn it's more of a penal colony, but still.

The implication is that bastards are really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

HOWEVER, in the later books, and in F&B, and in TWOIAF... bastards are everywhere. They're in positions of power, they're knights, they're sellswords of pretty great renown, they're on the small council, they're Hand of the King - they're EVERYWHERE! Not just that, we also see potential for ruling Ladies of certain lands taking on consorts, who maybe even take their names.

With this in mind, Jon Snow - who was raised in the North alongside Robb Stark, the heir to the North - is literate, is well educated for the time, and is connected.

This guy should've been able to do anything, right?

And I understand that George not only hadn't planned for any of this, but hadn't wanted it for Jon either, right. I understand that Jon needed to go to the Wall for the plot.

BUT, in terms of Jon's character and the ambition that he has, for all intents and purposes: the Wall should've been the last thing on his mind! Not only that, but Jon should've been getting arguably more offers for marriage than Robb, because he's far more 'reachable'. He's not expected to marry particularly highborn women, but he still brings a lot to the table, so lesser nobility should've been all over him - he's something that they can reasonably aspire to have!

Not ONLY that, but women who'd be the future ladies of their lands and in need of a consort should've been prime material. Jon SNOW could take on their name and connect them to a lord paramount.

So, I was rereading Arianne's chapters, and I noticed that Darkstar doesn't actually seem to be that much of an edgelord depending on how you read his lines.

Darkstar as a name is pretty lame, sure, but he straight up says that he's sticking with it solely because nobody would confuse him for anybody else. "At least it is mine own."

He doesn't seem to want to be there, and he doesn't take Arianne's plot seriously whatsoever. He calls them all stupid, he doesn't listen to any of them too much, and he even offers Arianne advice - which she follows, even though she doesn't say it.

A child asks him if he's the Sword of the Morning, and the famous line "Men call me Darkstar, and I am of the night." is in response to that. He just leaves at one point to take a piss and someone tells him to watch out for snakes - he responds by telling the guy that if a snake bites him, it would die instead because he was weaned on snake venom. After he's done, he calls the sand grateful, he comes back, and he says that he thought about Arianne's plan while he was pissing and thinks it won't pan out.

He complains about Ser Arthur Dayne being the only guy from his house who anybody remembers out of earshot because Myrcella hears his name and goes "Oh, like Ser Arthur Dayne!"

Every other character is all like "Oh that Darkstar, he's so scary, he's poison!", and we've all slandered him because of his cringle lines... but the guy himself just seems like he was messing around. He seems pretty ambitious, sure, and kinda mercurial, but he doesn't actually read like too much of an edgelord.

I'm mulling this idea over in my head, but don't know if I can make it work without it just being... man inherits throne, realm is stable, fic is boring. I can create problems, sure, but I just don't know if that's interesting.

If Rhaenrya had an older brother (one of Aemma's early miscarriages didn't happen, and she managed to birth a son), would Otto Hightower's ambition still cause problems for the realm? Would the Faith cause problems for the realm, again? Neither would manifest in the same way as they did in canon, of course, but would they manifest at all?

This son being alive doesn't remove Otto Hightower from the Tower of the Hand, and he's a rather ambitious man regardless. Corlys Velaryon is ambitious, but I imagine that he could be placated by betrothing this child to Laena. This, plus the Triarchy threat, means there's still going to be some conflict, but I just can't foresee what. Viserys will still be a malleable ruler, Daemon will still be Daemon, and Otto is still knocking around.

Are there still threats enough to make for an interesting story, without it seeming forced?

Jon heads off to the Wall when he's 14. The Starks are still in Winterfell, and will be for the next two to three years. Robert Baratheon is still the sole ruling monarch, and he will be for the next two to three years.

Jon's entire arc, and all the discoveries regarding wights and Others, occur in an otherwise stable realm.

What are the points of divergence, and what changes?

I wanted to write a fic exploring an avoidance of the Dance of Dragons. It isn't necessarily a plot-heavy fic, but it's very much a Fix-It. You could sort of think of it as a 'Seven Kingdoms Fix-It' - really, most of it is kingdom building.

My idea was that after Jaehaerys I, the monarch who follows is very much a Conciliator redux, or reboot. The realm is 'young' enough that change is still possible with less friction than if it were to come circa-300, but it's also 'old' enough that it reads as fairly similar to canon, with many of the same issues. The cast of characters I can use is also fun, but in all honesty: I just wanted to write a kingdom building fic.

HOWEVER: I need a ruler who [mostly] avoids the Dance of Dragons.

Viserys I (unless I make him an SI/OC) would have all the same problems as canon.

Rhaenys would be good for the purpose of the fic in one regard (has motivation to want to bring change), but is also terrible for others (the misogyny means that the moment she tries to make any reforms, she's met with revolt)

I could, theoretically, make an OC who avoids the entire succession crisis and Great Council of 101AC - a twin brother of Rhaenys, for example - but that means I'd have to make massive changes to family dynamics. If Rhaenys has an older brother, she'd never have expected to be heir, I don't even know if she would've wed Corlys. If Rhaenys had a brother at all, would they have wed each other? Inventing a trueborn Targaryen means I have to reshuffle a decent amount of stuff.

That's where my idea started. The Great Council of 101AC had a bunch of claimants coming in, almost all of whom were passed over until it came down to a final vote between Laenor and Viserys.

Laenor was the only son of Rhaenys, who was the only child of Aemon - Jaehaerys' eldest son and heir before his death.

Viserys was the son of Jaehaerys' second son, Baelon, who was named heir once Aemon died.

Viserys won, in essence, because Rhaenys was a woman. Just like her own claim was passed over because of her sex, her son's claim was passed over because it came to him maternally.

BUT: if a bastard son of Aemon was to show up during the Great Council, how would he have been treated? Saera had three bastard sons show up, but she was a middle child embroiled in scandal who earnt the King's ire and who was never the heir of anything. Aemon's bastard, here, would be the only known son of Jaehaerys' eldest son and first heir. If legitimised, he'd have the strongest claim by far.

If he were born around 85AC (a relatively quiet period), he'd be 16 and of age, not a child like Laenor. If he had a dragon (throwing stuff at the wall, here) that'd be another thing to consider too: functional confirmation of his blood and could be read as a 'sign'. He could be betrothed to somebody to tie them in (maybe even Laena once she's of age), and depending on how he'd been raised/where he came from, he could have a certain appetite for change.

The main problem is, of course, his bastard birth, but given that bastards were putting forward their claims anyway, I have to assume that a sufficiently strong one would've been considered.

What do you think?

I don't necessarily have to go this way, as well. If you can think of other ways I could handle there being a ruler immediately post-Jaehaerys who ISN'T Viserys or Rhaenys, I'm all ears!

The first thing we see in AGOT outside of the prologue is - in Bran I - the execution of the Night's Watch deserter, and the direwolves. It might be one of the most recognisable moments in the entire series. The mother is dead, gored by a stag, but she birthed her pups anyhow.

Initially, we see five pups. Jon points out that Lord Stark has five trueborn children.

Jon points out that Lord Stark has three sons, and two daughters. There are three male pups, and two female pups.

The imagery is clear, and of course a direwolf killed by a stag is clear foreshadowing (Catelyn herself believes this to be an omen, even though she doesn't believe in the Old Gods), and Jon does a kindness and doesn't include himself in the count. He says he isn't a Stark, so him not having a direwolf pup is fine.

IN CANON, as the party is leaving, Jon (somehow) manages to hear the famously mute, albino Ghost. Different and separate from the rest of the litter, representative of himself as a bastard.

IN THIS WHAT IF, there isn't a direwolf pup. He overhears something just as quiet, and looks over his shoulder. Shaking off the snow is a tiny, clearly new-born dragon, although there's no clear egg. The dragon is also albino, or at least he's white as snow with weirwood red eyes, and he's also mute.

Ghost is a dragon.

Things get wild from here.

In my mind, Ned doesn't even let Jon take the dragon back into Winterfell. He swears the surrounding men to secrecy at risk of death (might even have to kill Theon if there's a whiff of disobedience), and immediately has Jon escorted to Greywater Watch. This is assuming that Jon manages to convince Ned not to kill Ghost, because that is also incredibly likely.

Assuming that canon plays out relatively similarly for a time... Robert's visit to Winterfell goes just about the same (provided the men from the execution remain quiet). Ned goes to King's Landing to serve as Hand.

I don't even know what decisions Ned would make while he panics, thinking "My nephew has a dragon, dear god", because Jon knows his parentage by this point - everybody who went to that execution and saw the thing could put two-and-two together.

A more paranoid Ned might smuggle Arya and Sansa out of King's Landing before he goes to Cersei, though - because Ned would still go to Cersei, in my mind. If Ned is the only hostage in King's Landing, I have to assume that he stays alive while Robb marches south.

The WoT5K happens much the same. Howland Reed didn't join the march personally in canon, and Robb is hardly going to call Jon in at a moment's notice saying "This is my cousin-brother. His dragon's body is about the size of a wolf right now, but don't worry. It'll grow. Oh, and don't think about it."

It changes if Ned dies, and when the Greatjon tries to get independence declared, though, because Robb is as stupidly honourable as Ned, and would think "There's somebody we could actually crown, I can't do this without telling him, or asking him, or presenting him as an option".

After that... how do things spiral? The North and the Riverlands rally (with some grumbling) around [Jon] Targaryen, his Stark blood and raising doing a lot of heavy lifting. If word of the growing dragon gets around, the Reach (assuming Stannis and Renly still duke it out, and Renly still dies) might jump in - or offer Margaery and say they'll jump in if Jon accepts the marriage.

Civil war in the Vale might break out sooner.

The Crownlands break away massively. The Velaryons and the Celtigars jump in with [Jon] Targaryen immediately. Half of Stannis' fleet desert him.

I imagine that small Targaryen loyalist factions show up here, there, and everywhere - especially once word of the dragon gets around. Tywin will pull out all the stops trying to get Ghost killed before he can grow any bigger. If Ghost's body reaches the size of a horse's body, he becomes (briefly) rideable, and that'd prove disastrous for him.

Renly MIGHT bend the knee, if he's still alive, and accept being a Lord Paramount of the Stormlands over Stannis.

I can't see Stannis bending the knee. Joffrey goes without saying. WoT5K becomes WoT3K.

This has potential, in my head, for a 'small-scale' crowning Jon fic without... too much wank, if any.

Miraculously, the wars aren’t the reason for the low attendance at Hogwarts, and the incredible amount of empty classrooms.

The purebloods just keep having squibs.

Draco Malfoy has 3 squib siblings. Theodore Nott has 2. Parkinson is the youngest child of her parents, and the only witch.

It’s effectively a miracle that Molly and Arthur Weasley had 7 magical children. Half the reason the other purebloods hate the Weasleys is out of envy.

This was the fic. It wasn’t PART of the fic, it wasn’t something that happened in the background — the story was about this.

James and Lily recorded a bunch of letters in case they died but Harry managed to live, because they knew they’d lay down their lives to keep him safe. Harry gets one for starting Hogwarts or being sorted Gryffindor right at the start, Harry gets one for making it onto the Quidditch team, Harry gets a few for his birthdays that’ve long since passed him by.

I can’t find this story for the life of me.