justadram:

Purple with rage, the king lashed out, a vicious backhand blow to the side of the head. She stumbled against the table and fell hard, yet Cersei Lannister did not cry out.  Her slender fingers brushed her cheek, where the pale smooth skin was already reddening.  On the morrow the bruise would cover half her face.

Cersei, Sansa, Jeyne Poole, and others are victims of violence perpetrated by the men to whom they are engaged or married.  GRRM is accused in some quarters of fetishizing violence, particularly violence against women.  This might be construed, however, as merely reflective of the era that inspires much of ASOIAF.  Since violence is endemic to Westerosi society and perhaps to the Middle Ages as well, we will revisit violence in upcoming weeks, but today’s topic will focus on domestic violence.  Was violence of this sort the accepted norm in medieval society?

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mrstater:

“The common people pray for rain, healthy children and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.”

“What do you pray for, Ser Jorah?” she asked him.

“Home,” he said. His voice was thick with longing.

—Jorah Mormont & Daenerys Targaryen, A Game of Thrones

I was thinking about these lines today and the significance they hold for Jorah, personally. Obviously he’s giving Dany a lesson about the people who would be her subjects, but considering what we know of Jorah—how his goals in life are both single-minded and simple—home, at first, and eventually, Dany—and that he has no aspirations for power or even wealth (“The island lies far to the north, and our winters are more terrible than you can imagine, Khaleesi. Still, the island suited me well enough…” (A Clash of Kings)) beyond what was necessary to keep Lynesse happy—I’m struck with a sense of Jorah’s sense of rugged individualism. Perhaps because he’s a lowborn lord of a poor house, he relates more to the common people than to the other noblemen.

Also interestingis the fact that while we see repeatedly throughout the series that Jorah is a skilled swordsman and a gifted military strategist, he only wins his knighthood nine years prior to the start of AGOT. He’d have been over 30 then, which, in comparison to other knights in ASOIAF, seems rather late in life to be knighted. Even more significant is that fact that Jorah wins his spurs for his valor not in Robert’s Rebellion, in which he’d surely have fought as a bannerman of Eddard Stark, but in the Battle of Pyke, in the Greyjoy Rebellion, which would have had no little amount of personal significance for a Mormont. (“Every child growing up on bear island learns to fear Krakens rising from the sea” (A Dance with Dragons.)

All that to say: I don’t think Jorah much cares who sits the Iron Throne (whether he truly believes Daenerys can or will is another discussion for another day), so long as he is allowed to live freely in his own land.

How fitting a Scotsman was cast in the role. ;) (Because Mormonts are Scots and Greyjoys are totes Vikings.) 

Should GRRM be kind enough to let Jorah survive and be one of the few left standing in the end, I really hope he gets to go home to Bear Island.

Preferrably with Dany so they can have sex on bearskin rugs in front of the fireplace.

mrstater:

Title: Beautiful Is the Mother
Author: MrsTater
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire
Characters & Pairings: Tyrion Lannister/Sansa Stark
Rating & Warnings: rated PG-13 for sexuality and references to childbirth
Format & Word Count: one-shot, 3308 words
Summary: After the birth of their children, Sansa makes a rather surprising confession to Tyrion about her fears. [Companion to Of the Fathers’ Love Begotten]

Read it @ AO3 | @ FF.net | @ LJ

mrstater:

Title: Of the Fathers’ Love Begotten
Author: MrsTater
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire
Characters & Pairings: Jaime Lannister, Tyrion Lannister; Tyrion/Sansa, past Jaime/Cersei and Tyrion/Tysha
Ratings & Warnings: PG-13 for innuendo, drunkenness, and other adult themes consistent with ASOIAF canon; the P is for Puns. Lots of them.
Format & Word Count: one-shot, 1635 words
Summary: Impending fatherhood dredges up Tyrion’s daddy issues. But does he have the lion’s share of Tywin-inspired angst? And what surprise awaits in the birthing chamber?

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mrstater:

Title: The One Left Behind
Author:  mrstater 
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire
Characters & Pairings: Jorah Mormont, unrequited Jorah/Dany
Ratings & Warnings: rated PG, references to slavery
Format & Word Count: ficlet, 605 words
Summary: Daenerys thinks Arstan Whitebeard’s the man for the job. Jorah disagrees. [ASOS, Daenerys II]
Author’s Note: Written for the November theme of “rivalries” at valyrian_forged. Go House Tyrell!

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mrstater:

phoenikxs:

mrstater:

Or, Why I Think Jorah Has a Future With Dany (slightly spoilery for Jorah’s storyline in ADWD)

Is there any character in ASOIAF who reaps what he sows quite like Jorah? Consider his basic storyline:

#1, He marries an unsuitable woman who bankrupts him, so,

#2, desperate for the funds to keep her happy, he catches some poachers on his lands and sells them into slavery, and,

#3, because this is a crime punishable by death in the Seven Kingdoms, he must go into exile,

#4, where he brings in a little income as a sellsword while said wife becomes a concubine to a merchant prince who then

#5, dispatches Jorah by threatening him with enslavement for debt if he doesn’t get the hell out of Lys. Karma, if I ever saw it. (I’d be very interested in fanfic dealing with how Jorah and Lynesse fall in with Tregdar Ormallen, btw.**)

#6, But Jorah temporarily escapes this punishment, and winds up in service to and madly in love with Daenerys Targaryen, who

#7, makes it her mission to free all the slaves in Essos. Ironically, with an army of slaves which Jorah encouraged her to buy.

#8, Fate eventually catches up with Jorah, however, when, after Dany sends him away for spying on her (but he quit after he fell in love with her!) where he

#9, winds up getting captured by slavers. Karma finally catches up to Jorah. BUT THAT’S NOT THE END FOR JORAH MORMONT. 

#10, In true Jorah fashion, he eventually gets away, still with the single-minded plan of getting back to the woman he loves.

And I think he’ll do it. And I think Dany, with all her passion for freeing slaves, will take it upon herself to “free” Jorah from all he has suffered. Now, it may not last—whether Jorah has actually learned anything from his cosmic payback is yet to be seen—but I think he will get something of what he desires from her. At the very least, some pity sex.

**The icing on the cake would be a scene where Dany goes to Lys, where she meets Tregdar Ormallen and his Chief Concubine Lynesse, whose karmic retribution is seeing Jorah as Consort to Queen Daenerys.

Perfect post is perfect! Looking at Jorah from the kharma angle is obviously a brilliant idea!

#5**: Seconded! There needs to be fic about Dany and Jorah meeting Lynesse in Lys. This needs to happen!

#8: I just hope at some points he gets to explain himself to her and she’ll actually listen (maybe he already did that, but by the end of ASoS he didn’t get the chance).

I do hope we get more than a short dalliance and pity sex, though. I’m just greedy that way :D

Oh, believe me, I hope Dany actually falls in love with Jorah (and certain Things in ADWD lead me to believe she’s coming to). But I’m not sure I trust Martin—and he makes me nervous with the whole unresolved thing where Jeor’s dying wish was for Jorah to take the black. I really don’t want Jorah to end up at the Wall, doomed to a celibate life to further punish him for being such a fool in love. I worry that’ll happen, though. :/

I also wonder whether Dany will feel he’s been sufficiently punished for spying on her, or if she really ever felt he should be punished beyond his exile for selling slaves in the first place. Interestingly, she almost seems to, if not excuse him for it, get why he did it and even empathize to an extent:

“When I leave Astapor it must be with an army, Ser Jorah says.”

“Ser Jorah was a slaver himself, Your Grace,” the old man reminded her. “There are sellswords in Pentos and Myr and Tyrosh you can hire. A man who kills for coin has no honor, but at least they are no slaves. Find your army there, I beg you.”

“My brother visited Pentos, Myr, Braavos, near all the Free Cities. The magisters and archons fed him wine and promises, but his soul was starved to death. A man cannot sup from the beggar’s bowl all his life, and stay a man. I had my taste in Qarth, that was enough. I will not come to Pentos bowl in hand.”

“Better to come a beggar than a slaver,” Arstan said.

“There speaks one who has been neither.”

—A Storm of Swords, Daenerys II

“Oh, believe me, I hope Dany actually falls in love with Jorah (and certain Things in ADWD lead me to believe she’s coming to).”

Arghdghdgd, don’t tell me stuff like that (except, yes please do!!). Now I’ll have to read faster. Still not finished with ASoS (unless you only count Dany’s chapters, then I’m done.; couldn’t help but skip ahead on her storyline after the kiss).

“I really don’t want Jorah to end up at the Wall, doomed to a celibate life to further punish him for being such a fool in love. I worry that’ll happen, though.”

After reading the Old Bear’s dying wish just last night, I’ll have to agree. It felt like GRRM was setting the stage for Jorah. DO.NOT.WANT.

“I also wonder whether Dany will feel he’s been sufficiently punished for spying on her, or if she really ever felt he should be punished beyond his exile for selling slaves in the first place.”

I do so hope she’ll forgive him (or at least listen to and accept his reasons for spying on her). And I completely agree with your assessment that she could not help but make excuses for his crimes all along. She probably couldn’t help herself :D

mrstater:

Title: Sweeter Than Honey
Author: MrsTater
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire
Characters & Pairings: Daenerys Targaryen/Jorah Mormont
Ratings & Warnings: NC-17 for explicit sex, including oral sex; references to slavery; and sketchy uses of The Bear and the Maiden Fair
…

Gonna keep reblogging until everyone has read this!