Thank you for the reviews RWIW, Princess Rosalind of Underland, and RhaenaTargaryen

100% agree fried grubs would be a gross thing to eat. They never seemed to show it on the show, but realistly you'd think they had to be eating such things with that many soldiers suddenly there. They wouldn't have had near enough food on such short notice. I would never try them but I googled how they taste and this came up:

They can be eaten raw or cooked over coals or in the ashes of a Eucalyptus fire. Their raw flavor is described asnutty and garlicky, with notes of roasted red pepper. Others say that when the grubs are cooked, their skin crisps up nicely and they take on a flavor reminiscent of scrambled eggs and chicken.

Glad you find the mix of humor and sadness to fit together well here. :)

Haha Ros, well I think everyone there had questionable hygiene, but yeah, Brienne in particular doesn't strike me as someone who is concerned with cleanliness.

I also agree with RWIW that she would get on better with the wildlings. They'd value her, and hell, she might even have her pick of them if she doesn't want Tormund.

RWIW, Yeah the ship wars (and antis too) are crazy over on ao3. This site has it's problems too and I've definitely had trolls here; but they seem more general trolls rather than shippers. Must admit though that I am still very confused as to how my reply resulted in a ban while the user harassing me got away scot free. I am guessing their must be extreme bias, as my research showed me that the user harrassing me (whose name begins with bleep) is friends with, or at least has an ao3 mod who writes in the hitman fandom comment on many of their fictions.

Yeah the valonqar part of the prophecy just says "And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."

So it doesn't go into detail as to what the valonqar's motives are. It very well could be a mercy killing.

Also, the valonqar part might not necessarily mean she dies either. It could mean a forced miscarriage or maybe even a forced early labor. I actually have fics I'm writing where such scenarios will happen.

And tears have drowned you might not even mean she's sad. Maybe it means tears of lys? And maybe the poison causes her pain, where she slowly drowns because her lungs get damaged or something and that's why the valonqar kills her.

Good point before on how the valonqar could be someone elses little brother. It does say "the valonqar" not "your valonqar". Maybe it could even mean Tommen as sad as that would be. I know he's younger in the books but maybe there will be a time skip or something. Either way it can't simply be just anyone, it has to be someone who is known for being a younger brother. If it is gender neutral then of course it could be Arya, she's known for being a younger stark sibling. The whole Arya wearing Jaime's face would be a tad predictable but would make sense.

Great point on Jaime's characterization in season 8. Jaime is definitely full of self pity too. I think he has a lot of resentment towards the innocents too, because of how they view him. He wants to care about them, but also hates them in a way. But I think he also said what he said about the innocents as a way of coping - he realized he couldn't do anything for them so wanted to convince himself he didn't care.

And I could totally see Cersei and Jaime as being Aery's children. It would explain a lot. And Aerys was obsessed with Joanna so it could be possible, but from what I read the timeline of Tywin/Joanna being in Kingslanding doesn't add up.

" I wouldn't be surprised if Westeros ended up with an attractive blonde claiming to be Cersei the Returned. ('Absolute rot, the sow isn't even a real blonde,' sniffs Joanna Hetherspoon, Essosi merchant, before yelling for her one-handed husband to hurry up with getting the merchandise set up for the day.) :P"

Ahahaha. The name would give them away though I'm afraid but the idea of Cersei running a store and finding this out is hilarious. She would definitely travel back to expose the pretender.

Now on with the chapter!

"You weren't a maiden? But...you seemed in such pain last night." he said, surprised.

"I was in pain last night. You weren't exactly gentle."

"Well...I...it had been a while since I've...never mind that, how were you not a maiden before we...?"

"I didn't want to die a maiden. So about a fortnight ago, I asked Podrik to help me out."

"You and Pod?" He asked, shocked.

"Of course not! I asked him to help me find a suitable man for the deed. Knowing my feelings for you, he naturally picked you. But I knew you'd never...well thought you'd never...so I asked him to find another."

He shifted awkwardly. "So who did he pick?"

"Several men. They all declined his proposal, even the hound. Until finally one man accepted."

"And who would that be?" He asked, curiously.

"Your friend, Ser Bronn"

His eyes widened and he couldn't hide his shock. "Bronn and you? Wow, he never told me."

"Yes, well, we didn't quite...you see Tormund..." trailed off Brienne, blushing furiously.

"Wait, whos Tormund?" He asked.

"That red-headed fellow with the beard, the wildling."

"Aye. You mean Commander Giantsbane. Didn't know you two were on a first name basis."

"I...well...well...as I was saying, Tormund spotted us." Her face became crimson red as she continued. "He asked Bronn where he thought he was going with me. Well as it turns out, your dear friend Bronn has absolutely no class or subtlety."

He laughed. "No, no he doesn't. What did he say?"

"He said and I quote, "Going off to fuck the big woman cause ain't nobody else gonna do it. Not that I have any problem with that cause I'd have fucked her two seasons ago."

He raised an eyebrow. "Fucked her two seasons ago?"

"Yeah. Don't ask me what he meant by that. Anyway, things got quite interesting from there."

Cliffhanger! What do you think happened next?