#and everyone was so overjoyed when he was once again able to swing an axe. idk it just left me with a bad taste in my mouth in particular

[wizardnaturalist]

I have thoughts about the theme of disability in realm of the elderlings, but to be honest, I read the books over such a long course of time that it's difficult to remember now much of how it was handled in detail.

mostly, Im thinking about the pervasive idea of "uselessness", from fitz's nigh constant internal monologue in farseer and tawny man, to the fool's opinion of themself in f&f, to the end of burrich's life, to kennit after the sea serpent.

in some areas, the commentary is a clear result of ableism, espcially in fitz's case. his self worth is almost entirely contingent upon his ability to Serve the Crown, and he feels that he cant do that effectively if he can't fight or Skill with proficiency.

in other cases, it is an idea presented far more through how the narrative is constructed. with kennit, for instance, the loss of his leg and the "feebleness" that afflicts him after the sea serpent attack is the beginning of his fall from power. it is during this time that wintrow truly begins to pull control of the ship and crew away from him.

and it even occurs with nonhuman characters. during the rain wilds, we are continuously being asked, what is the point of a dragon that cannot fly? is it even worth saving their lives? and from tintaglia and icefyre, are they even Real Dragons?

theres some interesting conflict in the ways different disabilities are handled and how they are used in the narrative. notably, no character was (naturally) born disabled. all were Made Disabled in some way- fitz and the fool through torture and poison, the sea serpents through natural disaster, wintrow through abuse. even thymara and the other rain wilds denizens, who were in fact born as they are (and can be considered disabled under a social model, and some few in a medical model) were Made disabled by their unwitting association with dragon magic.

I dont really have a specific point to make, and completely dissecting the topic would require an entire essay that I dont have the time or inclination right now to write or find references for. I guess Im just saying theres a lot about it to consider and Im not really sure what it all means

#also the way fitz's physical disability was cured and it did in fact make him 'useful'again #the way his friends. instead of finding new ways for him to help that would not put undue strain ipon him #instead just kept asking him to fill his old role and then being disappointed when he couldnt perform at the same quality anymore #and everyone was so overjoyed when he was once again able to swing an axe. idk it just left me with a bad taste in my mouth in particular #rote #realm of the elderlings #disability

[book-boys-are-my-guilty-pleasure]

Imagine: Pretending to be a man and joining the Night’s Watch, eventually causing Jon Snow to fall for you.

A/N: This was supposed to be an entry for @that-was-not-supposed-to-happen’s Disney challenge, it’s a Game of Thrones and Mulan crossover, however, I was not able to submit it in time because life got in the way, I still wanted to finish and post it though. A lot of this is not going to follow the plot of Game of Thrones, for example I know that Cersei doesn’t have a cousin named William, but I did what I thought would fit the story. Anyways, ENJOY!

Warnings: This is a Game of Thrones imagine so there is some violence!

Y/B/N = Your Boy Name (as in the name you choose to use to disguise yourself)

Another braid, another flower, you sigh as your handmaiden styles your hair, “Please stop moving Lady Y/N.”

“Why is this necessary Mary, I don’t wish to please Lord William or his family, I don’t even wish to get married, so why must I get ready for them,” You groan, you were the fourth child of House Y/L/N, and your elder sisters were both happily married, you however, were not like them. You did not wish to marry a nobleman and live a peaceful life of royalty, you had always wanted to be a warrior like your older brother.

“Your mother and father wish for you to marry Lord William. This will be perfect for you mi’lady, he is the cousin of the Queen, you will live a wonderful life.”

“Father and mother do not want me to marry him to give me a better life Mary,” Mary pins down your last strand of hair, then sits to face you with a confused expression on her face, “They want my younger brother Edward to marry William’s sister, and the only way the Lannisters will agree to that is if I marry William.”

“Mi’lady-”

You turn away from Mary, and look at your reflection in the mirror, “You know that that’s the truth Mary, I’d never pass a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter. I’ve always been the strange one, I’ve always been the daughter they wish they never had, and now’s their chance to send me away. If I were to show who I really am, I wou-I would break my family’s heart.”  

“They love you very much mi’lady.”

“I’m not like my sisters Mary, I’m an imperfect girl, I can’t live a perfect life.”

“Y/N, mother is calling for you, the Lannisters are almost here!” Your sister called as she entered your chambers.

Mary urges you to get up, “We must go Lady Y/N, we do not want to upset your mother.”

Your family stood at the gates of your home, as the Lannisters approached. Your mother frantically looks around to find you, you rush down the stairs, praying to the Seven Gods to protect you from falling in your pathetic dress.

“There you are Y/N! Cover up those scratches on your arms!” You mother scolded, gesturing to the scrapes and scars on your arms from years of fighting, “And stand properly Y/N, you are a lady of the house Y/L/N for heaven’s sake!”

“Yes mother,” You sigh, pulling a shawl over your arms.

The Lannisters finally reach you, and one by one you greet each other. William approaches you and bows, he takes you hand and places a light kiss on it, “Greetings my lady. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you Lord William,” You respond, William is incredibly handsome, and any normal girl would feel insanely giddy if he greeted her in such a way, but you felt nothing.

The next few days go by, and you’re forced to spend time with William. It’s not entirely bad, he’s a very kind man, but you couldn’t be yourself around him. Your brother, Edward, on the other hand was really falling for William’s sister, so everyone was counting on you to impress William.

You were currently practicing your sword skills in the woods by the riverbed, hoping that no one would find you. You hear footsteps approaching you from behind, and in force of habit, you quickly turn on your heel and point you sword out, “Easy there!”

“Lord William! I-I...” You drop your sword, feeling at a loss for words.

“Lady Y/N,” He pauses, trying to collect his thoughts, “I did not expect to see you like this, I-I didn’t realize how...vicious you were.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay for you play around like this sometimes.”

“Play around?” You asked, feeling slightly upset by his choice of words, “William, I’ve been training since I was a little girl! I’m not playing.”

He chuckles, “Training? What would you need to train for my lady?”

It’s now or never Y/N, just tell him, maybe he’ll understand, you know he likes you! You sigh, “I want to be a warrior William.”

“W-what?” He looks genuinely confused, “You can’t be serious Y/N?”

“I am.”

“LEAVE. I WANT YOU TO LEAVE MY HOME AND NEVER RETURN!” You have never seen your mother so angry. William refused to marry you upon learning how you feel, and the Lannisters decided it would be best to leave. Edward was heartbroken, and the rest of your family refused to even look at you.

“Fine mother, I’ll go,” you spat venomously, “and I swear to you, I will never come back.”

You rush up to your room, and grab your knife. You stare at your tear stained face and slice off a strand of your hair, then another, and another, until all of it is shoulder length. You strip out of your horrendous dress and begin wrapping a long strip of cloth around your chest, hoping to make yourself look as flat as possible. You slip into your brother’s clothing and emotionally blackmail Mary into helping you escape.

You spend the next few days marching north, you finally reach the Wall and within the following week you have taken your vows and become an official member of the Night’s Watch. Your struggle, however, has not ended. Every night you go to bed relieved that no one discovered your secret, and every morning you wake up with the fear that today might be the day they find out.  

You make your way out of the food hall, it was your first official day of training - up until now they were just trying to figure out what you were and were not good at - you were a good fighter, but apparently you weren’t good enough. You see the men gathered outside, you’re a few minutes late and from what you’ve heard, the trainer was not very lenient.

“And you must be Y/B/N, glad to see that you could join us,” He chided.

“I’m sorry,” You look down at your feet, he’s quite attractive...stop it Y/N!

“Since you clearly think you’re too good for this, take a sword and fight with me,” He throws the sword in your direction, and you catch it. The other men stare hungrily, waiting for the fight to begin.

He swings his sword at you and you duck away, you were good, but you’d never gotten into an actual fight like this. You hear a few men laugh, “Get him Snow!”

Snow? As in the Jon Snow, infamous bastard of Lord Eddard Stark? You heard rumors about him joining the watch, but you never thought you’d be fighting against him. He takes your moment of distraction, to punch you and throw you to the ground.

You sit up, coughing as you try to catch your breath, and you wipe a small trickle of blood off the side of your mouth.

“Pathetic,” Jon mutters, before deciding to continue with his usual lesson.

By the end of the day you were sore and completely out of breath, “Alright men, the last task of the day will be climbing. Everyone get your equipment and begin.”

You tilt your head up to see the top of the wall that you’ll be climbing, that thing must be nearly 100 metres high...bloody hell! You take your ice axe and strike the wall, it barely goes in, that would never hold. By the time you finally lodge your axe into the wall, most of the others are already at least 20 feet up. Determined to catch up to the others, you climb up and lodge your axe a bit higher. You’re about 10 feet off the ground when the axe comes loose. Before you know what’s happening, you go tumbling to the ground, you let out a feminine scream and groan when you hit the hard ground. As your vision refocuses, you see Jon standing above you, he gives his hand and the look on his face shows exactly how disappointed he is, “Get up.”

“I-I’m sorry! It slipped and...”

“Enough. You have no hope to become a Ranger, just leave Y/B/N.”

“But-” Before you can finish, Jon has already turned around and is dismissing the others.      

No! No Y/N, you did not come all the way to Castle Black for this, you did not leave your family and future to become a steward! As everyone walks away, you march back towards the wall, take your equipment, and attempt to climb once again.

Night falls, and you are nearly at the top. A couple more feet Y/N, come on! Your body screams from exhaustion, but you continue. Finally, you reach the top. You sit on the edge of the wall and nearly cry from happiness.

The men who work the night shift circle the ground below you, and Jon walks over to speak to one of them.

“Snow!” You shout, “Am I still too pathetic to become a ranger?”

He stares up at you in shock for a moment before his face breaks into a charming smile, causing you to smile cheerfully as well.

“Men!” Jon calls everyone to attention, “A group of Wildlings have crossed over to our lands and are acting as a threat to our people. I will be leading a troop of Rangers to fight.”

You have only been training for a few weeks, and though you have become one of Jon’s favourites, you do not expect to be taken along on this trip, so when your name is called you’re taken aback but overjoyed at the same time.

The fight is in full force when you notice a Wildling sneaking up behind Jon with an axe in his hand. You rush forward and block the blow with your shield a second before it has a chance to hit him. Jon quickly turns towards you and shoots you a grateful look before continuing his fight.

Eventually, the fight ends. Most of the Wildlings are dead, and a few have fled. Jon walks over to you, “Y/B/N, what were you thinking jumping in front of that axe? You are the craziest man I’ve ever met, and for that I owe you my life. From now on, you have my complete trust.”

You smile at him, but your moment of happiness is short-lived, “Y/B/N! Watch out!”

You spin around to see what’s happening, and you’re met with a dagger to your stomach. You cry out in pain, and fall to the ground. With a swift movement of his sword, Jon beheads the man that stabbed you, and he’s instantly by your side, “He’s wounded! Get help! Y/B/N, hold on.”

You are woken up by a dull pain to the side of your stomach, you look around and find yourself in some sort of tent. You see the shadow of two people talking outside, and suddenly Jon walks in. You get up, and your blanket slides off your shoulders, Jon’s eyes go wide, you look down only to realize that you are in nothing but bandages that are tightly wrapped around your chest and torso, showing off every curve of your body.

“Jon, please! I can explain!” He looks away in disgust.

Peter, a man who’s hated you from the moment you joined the Watch, bursts into the tent, “So it’s true!”

He pushes past Jon and takes your arm, roughly dragging you out of the tent, he throws you to the ground as the rest of the men surround you, “I knew there something wrong with you! A woman!”

“My name is Y/N!”

He scoffs, “A woman in the Night’s Watch! This is treason! You’ll surely take care of this, will you not Snow?”

Jon looks down at you in disappointment, he sighs and takes his sword out. You look away, at least you get to die as yourself Y/N. He draws his sword back and drops it by your knees. You look up at him in confusion, “A life for a life. Now my debt has been paid.”

He turns away from you, “Jon...”

“Move out men!” He calls before mounting his horse.

You watch as the men recede in the distance.

“What did you expect?” You ask yourself out loud, “They’d see that you could fight, and take you in with open arms? Jon was right... I’m pathetic.”

You make your way back to the wall as it was your only way back home, when you hear two men approaching, “If they only knew, that was just the smoke before the real fire starts up. Those bloody fools will never know what hit them. We distracted the Night’s Watch long enough to get our people into the surrounding villages, their land will be ours in no time!”

You stand in shock, this was a part of their plan! I have to warn the Watch! When you finally approach Castle Black, you are met with disapproving stares and whispers. You walk up to a close friend of yours but even he turns away, “Matthew please, I must speak with the commander, it’s urgent!”

“It’s best if you turn back, you are no longer welcome here,” He says, the betrayal he’s feeling is evident on his face.

“Please, just...just listen to me. Once. Matthew, I’ve been living here for weeks, you’ve become one of my closest friends, have I ever done anything to hurt you?” He stares at you in silence, “Just hear me out.”

“Fine, but this will be the last time.”

“The Wildlings have planned to raid our villages, the fight that took place earlier was only a distraction. I’m going to help, if you believe, then please, send help,” With that, you mount your horse and head off towards the nearest village.

As you approach the village, you see a man holding an axe to a young boy’s throat. You slyly approach him, and point your sword towards his back, “Drop your weapon or my sword will go right through you.”

He laughs, “You don’t want to fight me girl, stand down.”

“I said, let the boy go,” You hiss venomously.

“And I said no,” With one swift motion, you push your sword through the man’s back, he cries out and falls to his knees, “You filthy bitch!”

Ignoring his final words, you crouch down next to the fearful boy, “I won’t let them hurt you. I promise.”

“And we’re not going to let anyone hurt you either Y/N,” You turn your head to see Jon approaching on his horse, followed by Matthew and other men of the Watch.

“Jon, you came!” You smile.

He walks up to you and places his hand on your shoulder, “I was wrong to judge you Y/N. You are very brave for a woman.”

“Thank you,” You blush.

After you final fight in the village a year ago, you were sent back to your family. After hearing of your bravery, your eldest brother had decided to take you in, you trained and fought alongside him, and no one pressured you to marry anymore.

You woke up one morning and heard a familiar voice as you passed by the balcony. You looked down and so none other than Jon Snow talking to your brother. Blush crept up your neck as you ran down the staircase to greet him.

“Jon!” Jon and your brother turned to you with smiles, “What are you doing here.”

“As you probably heard, my father and brother, have been killed, I left the Watch and reclaimed Winterfell.”

“My brother has told me about how you bravely defeated Ramsay Bolton and his army, I meant, what are you doing here?” You ask, gesturing around yourself.

“I think it would be best if I told you Y/N,” Your brother answers, “Lord Snow has come here to ask for your hand in marriage.”

You blush harder and look down, Jon adds, “But your brother was telling me that you were not interested in marrying anyone.”

“I never said that!” You say defensively, “I just wanted to wait for the right man.”

Your brother chuckles, “So, are you saying that you would like to marry Lord Snow?”

“I-um-yes,” Despite the cool air around you, your face burns furiously. Your brother mutters something about how your mother would never believe the news, and rushes off, leaving you alone with Jon.

“It’s really nice to finally see you again Lady Y/N.”

“You as well Lord Snow.”

End.

Masterlist // Rules List // To-Do List

#nessi's writing challenge #jon snow #jon snow imagine #jon imagine #jon snow x reader #game of thrones #game of thrones imagine #got #got imagine #jon snow game of thrones #jon snow got #imagine #fandoms imagine

[meowingjasper]

Lost Souls Ch 12 Anastasia - What in Hades?

Percy raised his blade to our group and ordered with a chilling sternness, “If you want to leave, I demand you return Nadia. Nadia, you don’t want your friends to get hurt anymore because of you, right?” 

Nadia snapped at him, “Yeah right! You’ll probably just hurt them anyways!”

Percy turned his gaze to the new girl, “Tyche, you said you would do anything to show your gratitude, right? Then prove yourself to be true to your words and grab her. I might be able to forgive your vile betrayal.” 

Tyche looked between us and him, holding up her hands, “No, I’m sorry Percy. But I won’t help you fall deeper into darkness. What you’re doing is evil, don’t you see? But you can still be saved! You’ll just have to find another-”

Percy screamed, his voice seething in rage, “There is no other way!” Everyone froze. Time itself seemed to hit pause. Negativity and tension weighed in the air, anticipating what came next. An arrow shot through the silence, grazing Percy’s ear. 

I spun around to see Silena responsible, yelling, “I’ll stop you, no matter if you’re a legendary hero or peasant on the street!” She hooked one of her fire arrows and fired it straight at Percy’s face. He caught it between his fingers and threw it back at Silena. The explosion threw Thalia and Keith towards the creek and Silena over the edge. No, no! That… That can’t be right! No! Keith and I ran to look over the edge. All there was were pale ash clouds, no life in sight. My mind short-circuited. No. No! Oih no…

Realization hit me as I looked at Keith, his expression pure ice. His eyes became infernos of fury and hatred. He stood up and turned towards Percy, who was now halfway to our group. His voice exploded as he boomed, “I’ll Kill You!” His axe erupted in blue flames as he charged towards the hero, the ground turning to ash beneath his feet. Reaching him, Keith swung his weapon, but Percy blocked with ease.

Percy growled, “So it is you, Leo. I’d recognize those fiery eyes anywhere. I wish you stayed dead.” With that, he kicked the shorter boy in the side, sending him flying. Keith managed to flip and land on his feet. Terror set in when I realized what he was in front of. A creek. Percy smirked as the water swirled around Keith, concealing him in a hurricane. Despite the cocky smirk, Percy’s eyes revealed regret and guilt. 

I snapped to attention as Nadia yelled, “Like I’ll let you guys fight alone!” She shot towards the black-haired boy and tried to strike him with her umbrella, but he blocked with ease. I noticed the smirk on Nadia’s face as she slid her weapon up so the handle hooked on the other’s blade. She yanked the weapon to the side and kicked Percy in the chest. Sliding back, he glared at her. She vanished and reappeared behind him. She tried to strike his back, but he spun around and caught her weapon. Before she could react, he kneed her in the stomach. Falling back, she slid along the snow; her weapon slid out of reach. As she got up, the snow around her melted and covered her legs, refreezing to ice as they took their shape. Panic finally gave my body the option to move, but Tyche grabbed me and held her blade across my chest. 

She hissed, “I’m still gonna protect him, evil or not. So you’re staying here.” I looked back to the fight to see Percy approaching Nadia, who struggled to break free. I called out to her as Percy raised his blade. 

To my luck, a shield came between them and blocked the strike. Standing there was Thalia, tears pouring down her cheeks. The two pushed against each other as Thalia cried out, her voice cracking, “Why? You’re a hero Percy! Not a villain! Why are you doing all of this? Answer me!” But Percy stayed silent, fury painting his expression. I looked into his eyes to see desperation, sadness, and overwhelming guilt. But Thalia didn’t catch on as her expression darkened, seething with pain, “Fine then.” She lifted her spear, which crackled with blue-white electricity. Her eyes glowed with the same energy, “I won’t hold back.” she shoved her shield forward, sending the other boy stumbling back. She threw down her spear at his chest. But, to everyone’s surprise, Percy caught the spear in his gloved hand. He spun in a circle, snapping the weapon and cutting her across the chest all in one motion. He kicked her back and she slammed into the rock wall, leaving cracks and stains of blood. I watched in horror as she slid to the ground, unconscious. No, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, 

“NO!” A bright beam came from above and struck Tyche and Percy in the eyes, blinding them and forcing Tyche to release her grip. I ran to Thalia and tried for a pulse. 

Underneath my breath, I begged, “Please, please oh gods Thalia. Please don’t die. i-I don’t want to lose anyone else!” A bright glow grew inside me and washed over the girl. A second passed before I noticed the wound slowly closing. Smiling with pure relief, I looked up to the others and my joy died as quickly as it came. Percy recovered from the attack and attempted to go for another swing, but was cut off by a loud slam. I followed his gaze to the cliff. 

Standing there was Silena in the hero pose, a hook and rope on the edge behind her. She stood up, shouting, “Grappling hook motherfuckers!” She fired an arrow at Percy and… it whizzed past him. But Silena’s composure didn’t crack.

On the other side of Percy, the creek exploded in green flames. Keith stood in the center, hair, eyes, and axe covered in the fire. He let out a murderous yell and sprinted towards Percy. He threw down his axe and a green strike shot forward and came between the two. Percy jumped back as the heat melted the ice. She rolled out of the way of Percy’s jump strike and snatched up her weapon. Leaping to her feet, she held up her open umbrella to block Percy’s strike. She shoved the weapon forward, closing it in the process. The attack grazed his side and he fell to his knees. Meanwhile, the others ran over to the two of us. 

As the darkness washed over us, the last thing I heard was a psychotic scream of pure agony. 

-Keith-

How could this happen? Why Percy? Why us? What went wrong? My mind flashed through memories of meeting the teen, our jokes, the pain of losing him, the relief of seeing him again, the tight chested guilt of leaving him, seeing the joy in his eyes when all of us reunited. I compared his warm eyes with the stormy eyes which haunted dreams. Seeing him there, what he did, what he said, it all cut though my soul deeper than if he died.

“I wish you stayed dead.” 

Those words haunted my soul. A chord had been struck, no, snapped within me. My mind conflicted between my friends of the past and protecting my family of the present. One group I traveled across the globe with, the other I traveled across the country with. One group brought me back from the darkest times, the other stayed with me even when I was lost. I have to go find Percy and try to talk him out of it. No! I have to stay and make sure the others get to safety! N-No!

These memories hurt. My whole being in torn in two. Even my own name is thrown into question in this mental war. What do I do? Who do I go with? What can I do? What happens now? What would I think’s right? Who… who am I now? 

“Keith!” A voice snaps me back as one. Th-That’s right. I used to be Leo, but no longer. Keith, that’s who I am now. Keith Volace, it sounds right. Blinking, I looked around and took in my group around me. Silena was next to me, behind her Nadia and Anastasia were supporting Thalia, Anastasia still healing her. Silena stepped towards me and rested her hand on my shoulder, “You alright?” 

I smiled at them, “Yeah.” And, for the moment, it wasn’t a lie. At least, for that one moment my past and present self were synced. A memory flashed in my mind as I blurted out, “Oh! I know where we can go for help! Follow me!” Without another word, the others trailed behind me as I let the way through the city. Part of me was overjoyed at the aspect of standing in the front of it all instead of hiding behind others like a shield. But another part shook in terror at the thought of leading them into a trap. My mind flashed back to older people looking down at me with fury and disgust in their eyes. I fell further, to campers of various ages looking at me with fear or hatred. Further, to a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, Jason, watch me with annoyance. Further, to looking up to a woman, a nanny, and feeling the core of me with pure rage. Burning, destroying, running, all boiling inside me, all challenging each other, all threatening to spill over. Make it stop! Stop! STOP!

“Keith stop!” I halted in my tracks. The roaring in my brain quieted once more and I realized what I was doing. My hair was in a mess, my eyes stung, my legs were quaking. My whole body entered panic mode. I looked to the side to see that Anastasia handed off Thalia to Silena so she could grab my shoulders. Looking down, I saw her eyes act like windows to reveal the fear, worry, and concern hidden beneath. What have I done? 

I pulled the girl into a hug, whispering, “You just can’t stop saving people, can you?”

Unfortunately, Nadia ruined the moment, “Uh Keith, are you sure you know where you’re going? Because you’re kind of leading us to a sewer tunnel.” Looking back ahead of me, I smiled when I saw she was right. Across the street was a tunnel that appeared to head into pure darkness. Standing in front were two armed teens around our age. The girl had long brown hair with a bow in her hands, and the boy had bright blond hair with an axe in his hands.

The girl raised her head and shouted, “Hey! Keith! You’re here! Wait, why are you here?” I ran over to them.

The boy raised his weapon at the others, “Wait, who are they?”

Silena replied, “Shouldn’t we be asking you that?” Ironic, because I knew she already knew the answer to the question. 

I opened my mouth, but the girl noticed our fifth member,  “Wait, is that Thalia Grace?”

Nadia groaned, readjusting her grip, “Ugh, yeah and she’s sort of in need of emergency medical attention. Now.” 

Reluctantly, the boy nodded, “Right. You better come in.” The two walked into the tunnel and vanished from sight. The others, minus Silena, just shot me a look that screamed, ‘Are they serious?’ To respond, I just gave them a demigod-classic smirk and vanished into the tunnel.