A/N:

Greetings fellow fanfiction enthusiast,

This is my very first attempt at writing a fanfiction story. Admittedly, I have never read the ASOIAF books nor watched the GoT TV series, so nearly all of my knowledge of this comes from the online wiki or other third-party sources. It's probably because I'm too damn lazy to bother doing it. Anyways, most likely I will miss some important info covered in the primary sources – sorry about that.

There are already plenty of self-inserts for ASOIAF/GoT fanfics, but so far, I haven't seen many SIs for Brandon Stark (you know, the guy who strangled himself to death in King's Landing). The ones that exist usually start off with the main protagonist inserted into Brandon at birth, which to me drags the plot too long and leads to most of the stories being abandoned or rushed. I mean, almost 35-40 years living in Westeros is a long time to cover, and I'm not writing an entire damn series consisting of a guy trying to make improvements to the North (never mind my lackluster knowledge of medieval history). As such, the self-insert in my story – well, not really a self-insert, but more of an OC dying and being reborn – will wake up in Brandon's body just as Robert's Rebellion is starting.

What you are about to read is the prologue to this fanfic. It contains much of the backstory for my SI. Apologies if this chapter might be boring, but I have read so many SI fanfics that never really bother to provide the backstories for the SI's original lives. To me, it's essential to set the background for the main protagonist, otherwise, he/she comes off as bland and confusing to the audience. I'm starting to ramble here, so I'll stop now and hope that you enjoy my first fanfic. Thanks!

-pattyboy227

Prologue

11:55 PM, December 24, 2019

Seattle, Washington, USA

Third-person POV

A light cover of snow litters an otherwise-deserted two-way, six-lane interstate highway as fresh snow continues to trickle down from the black sky. With it nearing almost midnight on Christmas Eve, most people are comfortably tucked inside their homes, sleeping in anticipation for Christmas Day. The atmosphere is eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional cry of a bird or a rustling of the branches by a nocturnal predator. Suddenly, the relatively unchanged silence is broken by the roar of a Lamborghini Aventador's powerful engines screaming as it races down the center lane of I-90 going towards downtown Seattle, clearly ignoring the occasional speed limit sign posted on the right shoulder of the freeway. The high-quality Michelin tires of the electric blue sports car grip the pavement tightly, preventing the driver from losing control in the snow-covered freeway. At this time of night, most police patrols have ended their shifts, and given the usually light traffic during the holidays, a vehicle going 25 MPH above the speed limit isn't going to attract much attention. Not that the driver seemed to care, as the Lambo failed to slow down despite the hazardous weather conditions. A less competent person would have likely veered off the road already, but the fancy car showed signs of an experienced hand operating it. A hand that happened to belong to someone who had an unfortunate connection to this very section of this freeway.

That someone was Brandon Johnathan Stevens. Blue-eyed, blond-haired. Caucasian male. 36 years old. Former CEO of Panacea Management, the largest hedge fund firm in the United States. And a recently widowed husband who had lost his wife and two children in the same section of I-90 that he was driving through, at midnight on Christmas Eve the year prior. The middle-aged man knew this and gripped the steering wheel fiercely in a vortex of anger and sadness as he raced towards the Emerald City, the plethora of times he had gone through this area of I-90 between work and home during his time at Panacea ensuring he didn't make rookie driving mistakes. Panacea had recently gone through an internal restructuring process, and for the first time in six months, he had been persuaded by his father to finally get off his ass and attend a C-Suite meeting on the matter. It just so happened to coincide with the first-year anniversary of the loss of his entire family. Brandon switched the radio station to a familiar Chopin piece he liked as he tried to occupy his mind with corporate matters. Definitely not the uncomfortable memories of that terrible night. A night that shattered life as he knew it. A night that left him in constant depression and countless therapy sessions that only served to aggravate him even more. A night that he wished – if he could go back in time – to change everything for the better.

As his Lamborghini Aventador roared down the interstate freeway, Brandon Stevens found himself reminiscing his life up to now rather than the details of his upcoming meeting with his fellow C-suite executives. He was born June 6th, 1983, to a wealthy West Coast family. His father was the very successful co-founder and CEO of Panacea Management. His mother worked as a partner at one of the largest corporate law firms in the country. From a young age, his parents had aggressively pushed him to excel in academics. He never had any semblance of a normal childhood; his days consisted of private tutoring, job shadowing his father at work, and learning from his mother's experiences as an accomplished attorney. In essence, he was the stereotype of a spoiled, rich kid. But while the young Bran was grateful for his privileged upbringing and the grooming for when he would replace his father as CEO, he felt rather distant from his parents. Yes, his family did love him, but Brandon held no delusions that he would not be disowned from the family should he choose an alternative career path. Moreover, since he was an only child, Bran spent most of his free time (the little he had) all alone, as his parents were too busy to spend much time with him. It was overall a pretty lonely and miserable childhood, but Bran wasn't one to complain when there were billions of others who would kill to be in his position.

And so, with his parent's substantial backing, the young Brandon would be privately homeschooled within the family estate. Consequently, the child prodigy never had any friends, but there wasn't much opportunity to make some anyways when he was so busy with the obligations foisted upon him. Upon finishing his secondary education in 2001, Bran was easily accepted (read: bribed) into his parents' alma mater, Harvard University. The power of legacy admissions was truly advantageous, not that the eldest Stevens son was oblivious to this. He was also not oblivious to his uncomfortableness in living and learning next to so many people on campus, having been homeschooled his entire life. Nevertheless – though it took some time to adjust to his new environment – Bran quickly proved why a wealthy upbringing is extremely rewarding, acing course after course and drawing praise from his professors and fellow students. Of course, being the son of the CEO of America's largest hedge fund certainly drew substantial attention to him before he evening stepped foot on Harvard's campus, but his academic prowess merely augmented his popularity, and soon enough he was getting countless job offers from various investment banks, private equity firms, and even rival hedge funds of his father's company.

Since Brandon was already set to join Panacea after graduation, he politely rejected all their offers. However, there was someone he simply could not say no to: Ashley Sanchez. The first time he met her in first-year literature class, Bran was almost instantaneously smitten with the Hispanic beauty. Having lived a sheltered childhood, the Stevens heir had little to no romantic experience with the opposite sex and was initially too intimidated to start a conversation when he sat next to her in class. On the other hand, Ashley had no compunctions not to converse with the handsome male stealing nervous glances at her and amusedly began talking with her admiring classmate to pass the time before class started. To each other's mutual surprise, they found an instant connection with each other. By the time the professor walked in, both Ash and Bran were laughing uproariously at their awful jokes, and by the time class ended, both had exchanged phone numbers and promised to contact each other soon.

Over the course of his first semester at college, the two friends hung out on many occasions, and Bran learned much about Ash's personal life from those interactions. And boy, could their lives be any more opposite! Ashley Sanchez was born the same year as Brandon, but unlike the latter's wealthy lifestyle as an only child, Ashley grew up as the eldest of six children of impoverished Mexican immigrants. And while Bran's parents had highly lucrative careers, Ash's father worked as a farmhand while her mother worked as a cleaning lady at a motel. Even still, the family struggled to pay their bills and feed their mouths, made worse by the fact that they lived in one of the most crime-ridden areas of LA. As such, the young Sanchez had to babysit her younger siblings, study hard at an underfunded public school, and (when she was in high school) work part-time as a waitress at a diner. But the eldest Sanchez daughter was not a quitter, and she excelled academically so much that she was eventually granted a full, need-based scholarship to Harvard, where she planned to major in biology and later become a doctor.

Hearing about Ashley's hard upbringing made Brandon feel guilty about his resentment at his own privileged life (when he should have been fucking grateful for not living in a dirt-poor environment), but his beautiful friend wasn't jealous or resentful of his class status. Rather, she was the complete opposite: kind, sympathetic, and surprisingly humorous at times. It came as a shock to the ever-cynical Bran, who had learned from his parents the art of negotiating with those expressing false emotions, and this only made him happy for meeting Ash. His surname and academic achievements had made some fellow peers jealous of him, and Bran was glad he did not sense the same disposition from Ash.

Gradually, their friendship slowly blossomed into romantic love for one another. They say opposites attract; maybe this was the case for Ashley Sanchez and Brandon Stevens. The smitten couple couldn't recall who initiated the first kiss; probably Ash, since she was usually the one pushing the barriers in their relationship. Regardless, Bran and Ash dated all four years at Harvard. The most memorable time during his college years with her, Brandon recalled, was when they lost their virginities to each other. Eventually, Ash started hinting that she wanted more than a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, and Bran realized he also wanted someone with who he could share his deepest secrets and desires for the rest of his life. So, on graduation day, Brandon – as the class valedictorian – popped the question to his girlfriend during his graduation speech. Ashley had actually jumped into his arms like a spider monkey and started making out with him, embarrassing the hell out of Harvard's new valedictorian. Thankfully, the audience had a good laugh at their expense and cheered madly for the newly engaged couple. Just three months later, on a sunny August afternoon in 2005, Ashley Sanchez became Ashley Stevens as she married her fiancée in a private wedding ceremony in Acapulco, Mexico.

The reaction of the couple's parents to the wedding was mixed. Ashley's parents were exhilarated not only because their daughter would be marrying a wealthy man but also because they supported Ash's decision to marry someone she loved, akin to their own marital situation. Conversely, Bran's parents were more disapproving of the marriage. Especially, Bran's dad had wanted to arrange for his son to marry the daughter of a wealthy family friend, as his own marriage to his wife had been partly arranged. Not to mention they didn't like the idea of Bran marrying a brown-skinned girl of a poor family (not that they would say that in front of Ash's family, of course). Bran wouldn't budge, however, and it would be years before he fully reconciled with his parents, who would finally accept their son's wife reluctantly.

Once the honeymoon was over, the newlyweds got busy adjusting to their new lives after college and as husband and wife. They moved into a wealthy, safe neighborhood not far from Seattle. Not unexpectedly, Brandon joined Panacea Management, quickly climbing up the corporate ladder due to his father's position as well as his own exemplary performance. As for Ashley, she spent the next several years studying at Harvard Medical School, eventually graduating near the top of her class with a doctorate degree. She then spent several more years as a resident of Columbia Hospital before becoming a licensed physician. It was time-consuming, difficult work for the couple, and the first years of their marriage were tough in maintaining some semblance of a work-life balance. Over time, the time available to be spent with each other increased as Bran quickly found his way into upper management and Ash began her full-time duties as a doctor.

Unfortunately, this was not to last. Ashley soon became pregnant with the couple's first child. When Maria Esmeralda Stevens was born in 2010, her mother had to take maternity leave to raise the newest member of the Stevens family, temporarily halting her career progression and harming the family income. This was partly offset by Bran's later promotion to the C-Suite at Panacea, but this also meant more responsibilities and time spent at work. Thus, Maria did not experience much time with her father during her first years of existence, and this took a toll on her parent's marriage.

Despite this, Ash and Bran still deeply loved one another and weren't struggling by any means, so in 2012 they had their second child, a boy named Thomas Rodrigo Stevens. By this time, Ash had chosen to give up her career in medicine to help raise her kids, as she didn't want them to grow up with only a babysitter to aid them like Ash had to do for her younger siblings during her childhood. However, Bran – having been raised as an only child of a wealthy family – was more inclined to prioritize his career progression over spending time with his family. In his mind, as long as there was at least one parent taking care of the kids at home, he was free to aggressively advance his career without fearing his kids growing up lonely and miserable as he had.

Consequently, this arrangement only made things worse. Brandon eventually became CEO of Panacea in 2016 after his father retired, seeing that his son would be better at running the family business than he could. When he became CEO, Bran's time at the workplace only increased from there, as he began taking a lot more responsibilities in leading America's largest hedge fund. Subsequently, the middle-aged father spent even less time with his children, leaving most of the childrearing to be done by his wife. Ash did not like this situation, and had tried to convince Bran numerous times to step down – or at the very least reduce his responsibilities by becoming chairman – but her stubborn husband refused to listen, believing that he could still find time for his family once he was fully adjusted to his new job role.

To make matters worse, the wedded couple started arguing. A lot. Their marriage was turning sour, and they attended many marriage counseling sessions to no avail. It didn't help when Maria and Thomas were old enough to be legally required to attend school. Brandon wanted his children to be homeschooled, as his childhood experience being privately tutored by excellent teachers had proven to him that homeschooling was superior to attending a formal institution. On the other hand, Ashley was worried about the potential friendships and student interactions her children would miss out on if they were homeschooled and wanted them to attend a local private academy. Though she wasn't certainly fond of her public-school experience, Mrs. Stevens had made many friends through school and wanted the same opportunities for the kids. This disagreement was sadly the cause of many shouting matches, and in the end, Bran relented to his wife's demands.

The parents of Thomas and Maria Stevens still loved each other at this point and weren't going to divorce anytime soon, but it was certainly heading that way.

Sadly, on Christmas Eve, 2018, the marital arguments finally led to a breaking point. Brandon had come late home from work, intoxicated after celebrating a recent explosion in their firm's valuation. Unbeknownst to the drunken Bran, one of his female colleagues had passed out against him while he was also passed out, resulting in a considerable amount of feminine perfume rubbing onto his suit. Meanwhile, Ashley had prepared an intimate Christmas Eve dinner for her and her husband after putting the kids to bed. Their sex life had started to become stale because of their fracturing marriage, and she wanted to spice things up with Bran to reignite the passion of their early marriage years.

So, when a drunk Bran stumbled into the dining room while smelling of female perfume, Ash understandably misinterpreted the situation and thought her husband had brazenly cheated on her. Furious, she screamed at Bran, accusing him of being adulterous and not caring about their children's livelihoods. Bran was too intoxicated to comprehend the shitty situation he was falling into, so his response was to berate his wife over not supporting his career interests. Their argument quickly devolved into a screaming match. Ashley angrily sobbed as she collected her scared kids to travel to a hotel and stay the night there until she could calm down. Meanwhile, Bran quickly passed out again due to his intoxication as well as the energy expended in his shouting match with his estranged wife. The last thing Brandon heard before fading to blackness was a sleepy Maria asking her mom if "daddy was okay" before an upset Ash urged Thomas and Maria to get into the family SUV, its engines already roaring.

Looking back now, Brandon would give up his entire fucking career and every goddam cent of his wealth if that meant not being a drunken fool that fateful evening.

On the morning of Christmas Day, Brandon Stevens was woken up by loud banging on his house's front door. Still sporting a serious hangover from last night, he slowly trudged his way to the door and opened it, only to be surprised at two policemen standing across from him. Suddenly, Mr. Stevens had a sinking, nasty feeling that something had gone terribly wrong with his wife and kids.

"We're deeply sorry about your loss, Mr. Stevens. Last night, your wife was driving on I-90 when she lost control of her vehicle and crashed into an oncoming truck. There were no survivors from this incident", one of the policemen forlornly stated.

At this, Brandon had collapsed onto the floor and sobbed loudly. Ashley was gone. Maria was gone. Thomas was gone. How had it gone all wrong for him? His entire family had been killed. He would no longer hear his son Thomas's excitement when he visited his workplace, no longer play chess and sometimes manage to lose against his intelligent daughter Maria, and no longer feel the soft flesh and comfort of his wife Maria's body as he made love to her many a night. All his loved ones were gone because he had been too fucking selfish to spend even one full evening with them. His obsession over bringing Panacea Management to new heights, his basking in the media frenzy, and his gloating to his colleagues over his newest corporate achievements had all taken priority over his own family.

Well…now, he had the dream job and achievements that he wanted, but at the expense of his home life. There were no second chances at life, no second chances at being with Ash, Thomas, and Maria again. They were all gone from this world, and now Brandon had to somehow figure out how he was going to move on from this life-changing tragedy.

Reflecting on his life since the death of his family, Bran mournfully lamented the lack of progress in getting over it. His life had turned to complete shit after his wife and kids died. After a difficult funeral for Ash, Thomas, and Maria, the first thing he tried to do was step down as CEO of Panacea. After all, what was the point of earning millions of dollars in salary when you had no family to share it with? His father had been outraged at his decision, but frankly, at this point, Brandon didn't give a single flying fuck about what his parents thought of him. His real family had vanished with a single car accident, all because he had tried to be the "model son" for the Stevens family. And so, he stepped down as CEO as his father retook the leadership mantle of the family business once more.

Yet, this decision only seemed to make his growing depression worse, as Bran was now alone at his house every day with virtually jack-shit obligations to do. He started drinking heavily and binging books and films as a form of escapism and wishful fantasizing. His parents, worried about their son's worsening mental health, pressured him into attending weekly therapy sessions. Bran had nothing noteworthy to do, so he simply attended the sessions to pass the time absentmindedly. He was sure that the therapist was trying all she could to be helpful, and Brandon did feel admittedly a bit guilty at wasting her time, but he just couldn't give a fuck about living a "productive" life or any of that bullshit anymore. Without his beloved Ash and his beautiful children, there was just nothing to live for. Six months after the car accident and Brandon is already feeling ready to end his own life…

Brandon Stevens is snapped back from his reminiscing as his car suddenly jerked to the right. Damn it, I need to pay attention to the road, he thought grimly. Sighing, he changes the radio station again, this time to an unfamiliar musical piece that he suspects was composed by Debussy. A melody recognizable as belonging to the 20th century period of piano music fills the car cabin, easing the tension in Bran's shoulders. The sole occupant inside the vehicle stares ahead, the only illumination outside being the lamplights and the vehicle's high beams. The glowing display on his iPhone's Google Maps showed that he was still 24 minutes away from his destination. Looks like I still have some time before I have to drag my sorry ass into that stupid meeting.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Bran glances to his right. The time on the center console now reads 11:56 PM.

The middle-aged Stevens groans as he creaks his neck, producing audible *pops* of his neck bones. He tiredly reaches for a Starbucks coffee cup. Lately, he hasn't been sleeping well. Nightmares continue to plague his thoughts. Cruel nightmares of Ashley's skull being smashed to a pulp against the windshield. Cruel nightmares of Maria's head being smashed through a broken window and decapitated from the rest of her ruined body. Cruel nightmares of Thomas slowly dying from blood loss as he cries out for his father, the very father who truthfully didn't give a shit about him. Bran knows these are just nightmares; the autopsy report he received from the police indicated that all three occupants in the family SUV were instantly killed, perhaps painlessly. Yet, his mind is continuous bombarded with these horrible scenarios, so much so that the widowed Stevens is starting to wonder if there really was some truth to those nightmares.

The time on the center console now reads 11:57 PM.

Putting the coffee cup back to its original place, Brandon smacks his wet lips and checks his mirrors. Strange, there haven't been any incoming vehicles for a while now. Though he deduces that this is due to the holidays, he still finds the lack of traffic unusual. He had driven on I-90 many times over the years during the holidays for late-night office work, and there had always been a few vehicles here and there. But Bran estimated that it had been nearly half an hour since he had last seen a passing car on the freeway tonight. Shaking his head, the former Panacea CEO reconcentrated his focus on the hazardous road. I'm probably overthinking this. Goddam, I really need to get a good night's sleep if I am worried about the number of fucking cars on the freeway.

The time on the center console now reads 11:58 PM.

A soft rubbing sound occurs as the driver's right-hand fingers caress the soft leather of the steering wheel. The morose businessman can't help but smile forlornly at the car he is currently driving. The Lamborghini Aventador had been gifted to him by his wife for his 30th birthday. Humorously, she had thought that he needed to look "cooler" when he drove to work every day to the largest hedge fund in the US, despite him being totally fine with his cheap-ass Mercedes. God, it feels like it was just yesterday when I saw this baby sitting in the garage. Maria had been ecstatic when she saw it too, begging to ride with him on his first test drive of the luxurious sports car. The melodious laugh that came from her mouth when he spectacularly failed in drifting his car was worth every dollar in the world (luckily, his driving skills weren't that atrocious that he wrecked his new car on the first day). The lingering grin on Brandon's face at the memory fades as he remembers the dark fate of his family. If only Ashley had chosen to drive the Lambo on that night, then she likely wouldn't have died. Or maybe not. This very car I am driving is just a painful reminder of how much I fucked up that night. I shouldn't jinx myself, but I won't be surprised if this Lambo will be ironically the death of me.

The time on the center console now reads 11:59 PM.

A trickle of tears flows down Bran's left eye as he attempts to clear his memory of his now-dead wife and kids. Damn it, I should be concentrating on getting to the meeting, not fantasizing about lost causes! Recently, he had been having increasingly suicidal thoughts. When he had nothing to live for, he supposed that he shouldn't be trying to live. Despite this, he had promised his father that he would attend the Panacea meeting, just to see if he could still get some semblance of his old life back. He doubted it would change his current life trajectory. The idea of his parents being distraught at him committing suicide didn't even cross his mind. To Bran, his true family was already gone; the "family" he had left he just didn't care that much about anymore, unfortunately. Well, I'll probably overdose on some of those meds the therapist gave me after this meeting. Seems like those therapy sessions might be useful in one way, heh. Closing his eyes, Mr. Stevens wipes his tears and tries to empty his mind of such vile thoughts.

The time on the center console now reads 12:00 AM.

A rumbling sound of a distinct truck engine breaks his thoughts. Finally, another vehicle! No need for any more paranoia. Looking to his left, Brandon's eyes rapidly widen at the sight of the large truck veering in his direction. He needed to avoid that damn truck! Quickly, he steps on the brake and attempts to swerve hard to the right. But in his moment of desperation, the troubled Stevens had completely forgotten that he was driving on a snowy road. When Stevens' foot hit the brake, the Lamborghini lost its grip on the road and spun out of control…right towards the looming truck. Perhaps if Bran had opened his eyes a few seconds earlier, he could have safely maneuvered his vehicle away from the truck. Now, there was nothing Brandon could do but watch with a horrified expression as the individual grills of the truck's front came into clear view. The truck's headlights momentarily blinded Bran as a screeching horn sounded from within its depths. Brandon Stevens knew that he was going to die now, and resigned himself to his fate with a soft chuckle. Perhaps my atheist views will be challenged when I find Ash and my kids in heaven…or maybe I suffer in hell for fucking up my entire family. It was painfully ironic, Brandon lamented, that he would die in a car accident at the same time as his wife and children, but only a year apart. As the last note on the Debussy piece was played on the radio, and the sound of crunching metal could be heard as the truck finally collided with the sports car, Brandon Johnathan Stevens uttered his last words on planet Earth:

"I'm so sorry."

A/N:

Alright, finished with the prologue! I hope that provided a good enough backstory to understand what Brandon Stevens' life was like before he is reborn as Brandon Stark in Westeros. I was originally going to write more for the prologue, but it's over 5000 words at this point, so I'll leave the extra content for chapter 1 instead. Anyways, please let me know politely how well I did for my first fanfic. Honestly, it was way more fucking difficult writing a competent fic than I imagined, and it's still only the first chapter.

As for updates, they are unfortunately going to be slow and arbitrary. I am pretty damn busy right now, so I don't have a lot of free time to write this story. Also, I am still trying to figure out how the final parts of the story will pan out. Hopefully, I won't abandon this story like so many other SIs on this site, but I can't promise that I won't do the same thing, however. Oh well, let's not dwell on that. Hope you enjoyed the prologue!

-pattyboy227