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Fic Covers | Heart Full of Gasoline by @ajoblotofjunk for @tkafuckme​

Jaime Lannister is a Formula 1 driver with a sordid past, dubious future, and nothing left to lose as he hits the far edge of his career. He thinks all he wants is the world championship title he’s never quite been able to reach and to finally give up smoking. What he finds to his great surprise is what he really wants might be Brienne Tarth.

I love Brienne of Tarth so much. I love her in book canon, and show canon, and canon divergence, and modern AUs. There isn't a world where she exists that I'm not willing to trail after her with blind devotion and big heart eyes.

More people should feel this way (clearly) and I once prompted a canon-set Brienne, surrounded by women, teaching them that a woman isn't limited by her sex or gender, and just as importantly, her learning from them that part of being a woman is that unity that can be found with other women, no matter their station or style. Another prompt was chosen for that exchange (and pulled off wonderfully) and I decided I'd just re-use my "Brienne Loved By All Ladies" prompt in the future.

But now I don't have to.

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

1.    As usual, Brienne has booked a room in a mid-priced hotel called The Quiet Isle on the outskirts of King's Landing. (Snuggle Bunny; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

2.    When she was a girl, Brienne had believed life was long because every day was a struggle. (never to be torn asunder; Jaime/Brienne; rated T).

3.    “I want a baby,” announced Cersei one evening when the two of them came back from a depressing night at the Iron Throne Awards, Cersei having not won a prize for her recent starring role as Argella Durrandon in The Storm Queen. (Baby Mama; Jaime/Brienne; rated E).

4.    The Rosby Festival was the biggest music festival in the Seven Kingdoms. (A Good Knight Sleep; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

5.    Brienne bet that Bruce Wayne never spent his spare time sat in his Bat Cave, eating noodles in his pyjamas, while swiping through Tinder. (The Blue Knight vs. The Kingslayer; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

6.    It had been Brienne's idea to get away. (Cold Harbour; Jaime/Brienne; rated E).

7.    Given that she and Jaime were finally about to have sex, Brienne could not help but wonder if the author had made a massive mistake by telling this important narrative beat in her romance arc from her perspective rather than Jaime's. (A JB Sex Scene That Even Reddit Will Understand; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

8.    "I swear he's someone important, Sharna." (always, always, always; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

9.    When Brienne becomes Lady Lannister - the petty queen of Casterly Rock - the thing that most intimidates her is not the castle's sheer size, nor the bannermen's weighty expectations, nor the ancient name heavy on her shoulders. (My Last Duchess; Jaime/Brienne; rated E).

10. Elisabeth watches, transfixed, as he moves through the darkness. (A Circle in A Spiral; Elisabeth/Noah; rated M).

11. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a girlfriend (or boyfriend, whatever floats your boat). (Catelyn Stark: Millionaire Matchmaker; Jaime/Brienne; rated T).

12. The wench is crying, big blue tears that could fill an ocean. (forever, together; Jaime/Brienne; rated T).

13. The winds at the Wall are cold - biting even - enough to turn lips so blue no kiss can warm them, even kisses rendered scalding by memory. (my love, we are bound; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

14. The deaths start almost the moment the North surrenders. (and never let me go; Jaime/Brienne with a side of Jaime/Cersei; rated M).

15. "TEN!" (Happy New Year!; Jaime/Brienne; rated T).

16. At the beginning of December, Jaime had driven Brienne to Rosby airport just in time for her flight to Winterfell, with only the slightest bit of whinging, while the snow whirled around them like they were trapped in a snow globe. (tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow; Jaime/Brienne; rated T).

17. "It has been so nice to meet you, Brianna," says Alerie or Alysanne or Alys, Brienne's Dad's latest inappropriately youthful girlfriend. (Last Christmas (i gave you my heart); Jaime/Brienne; rated E).

18. They still whispered about Margery Jourdemayne sometimes. (False, Fleeting, Perjur'd; George Plantagenet Duke of Clarence/Isabel Neville; rated T).

19. Getting married was sensible, all things considered. (so keep me close; Jaime/Brienne; rated M).

20. "It was not a real wedding, my lady," Podrick mumbled, as he tried to feed her some of the particularly disgusting looking pottage that the brothers on the Quiet Isle subsisted on. (than your dark eyes; Jaime/Brienne; rated T).

Patterns: I like starting with speech, or some short little statement. I really like Jaime/Brienne.

Favourite: For comedy value, probably 5 or 7, and for evocativeness probably 10 or 13.

This one exists entirely thanks to you! 😊

I know I’m planning on making a lot of adjustments to the original’s approach to gender in general, but the primary things are that Brienne dressing as a man is something she/they does/do enjoy, and Jaime isn’t upset that he thinks initially she’s/they’re a dude, especially as they try to make a relationship work within Brienne playing around with her/their own gender identity.

My document right now is a giant mish-mash of notes, and this single line to sum up Jaime’s respection for whoever Brienne/Brenden decides to be.

I am working on the next chapter of She’s Beauty at the moment. It’s not far off being done but it’s a big chapter and I’m anxious about it and that is probably why it’s taking me so long.

11. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most?

In terms of who, and in terms of JB, I think I’m probably about evenly split between Jaime and Brienne, with possibly a bit more Brienne than Jaime overall, but only by a little bit. That’s fairly unusual for me: in most fandoms I have a clear favourite character, at least when it comes to which character I usually focus on when I write. But hey, GoT is not my usual fandom in quite a few ways.

In terms of what... I guess the struggle towards communication is what I write about, taken at its broadest. Character exploration through smut is another one of my greatest hits.

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

I’m keen to get back to History Never Repeats, which I have many plans for. Brienne is an archivist, Jaime is a (historical) reality show host, and they’re both more interested in certain specific aspects of history than is going to be good for them. It’s very hard for me to talk about this story without getting spoilery, so I’ll just say that there are certain plot points in this one that I’m REALLY looking forward to writing. (Once I finish the rest of my terribly belated chill fic, which has been delayed by me being unwell recently. Soooon, though. I hope.)

This became decidedly longer than I thought it was going to be, but still fairly short? I hope you like it <3 

19.  parents meeting when they take their kids to class au

Brienne stepped into Ms. Cat’s first grade classroom on the second floor slightly out of breath, with little Podrick in tow looking like he could barely breathe from climbing all the steps. 

“Sorry, Ms. Cat,” she said, meekly, as she shooed Pod to his little table that he shared with Cat’s son, Bran. Pod diligently set upon his day, like Brienne had taught him, pulling out his little workbook and carefully choosing a crayon from the shared supply cup in the middle of the table. 

Catelyn approached her in good humor, “Oh, don’t worry about it, Brienne. You know the first twenty minutes are to get the kids settled and for any stragglers.” She regarded Brienne with a smile, “But Pod is usually not one of those stragglers. Long morning?” 

Brienne glanced around her quickly, all the kids around preoccupied with the morning’s coloring sheet before whispering to Cat, “No, some obnoxious prig in a red Valerian cut me off, going way above the speed limit. They could’ve hit someone and--”

A commotion from the hallway cut Brienne off. Catelyn poked her head out, concerned, before turning back to Brienne. “I’m sorry to ask you this, but could you watch the kids for just a moment while I see what that racket is. It sounds like someone is trying to start a war out there.” 

Brienne nodded quickly. She volunteered for the classroom regularly, and was familiar with all of Cat’s students already. As Cat stepped out to investigate, Brienne surveyed the room with a small smile. 

Her eyes naturally went back to Pod’s table where Pod was holding onto Bran’s ankles as Bran was hanging out the second floor window of the classroom.