Fanfic / Avatar: Song of Ice and Fire

Avatar: Song of Ice and Fire by CatelynTsukino is a crossover Fanfic of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Game of Thrones.

The Avatar. One of the greatest legends, recounted for centuries across Westeros and Essos. It is said the last Avatar died in the battle against the Others, before the Wall was even built. Ever since then, many await their return.

Of course, the Maesters dismiss those stories. They always do. It is impossible to bend more than one element, they say. But how can they deny now that a bastard in the far North has bent ice and fire? And what threat prompted the Avatar's rebirth? Will he be enough to save the world from its doom?

The series is a rewrite of Game of Thrones in which many of the cast possess bending and Jon Snow is the Avatar. Side stories also explore his past lives.

Also has a prequel: Ashes of the Dawn following the Avatar Aang and the rise of the Bloodstone Emperor.

---

Tropes from all affiliated works include:

• Action Girl: Bending turns many pacific female characters into warriors and improves the abilities of canon warrior women.
  • Women from Bear Island, Iron Islands and Dorne are often praised for their fighting skills.
  • As a side effect of being taught by her father, a warrior icebender, Sansa accidentally becomes one early in the story. When she joins the fight against the Boltons, she freezes Ramsay's blood.
  • Arya always wished to learn to use her bending to fight. Her time held captive by Koh makes her a powerful bender, since she now not only bends water, but ice, blood and other water specialties, something extremely rare to find in this story's world.
  • Brienne's training is accepted with far more grace by her father. Justified due to Galladon's impairment after the drowning accident that nearly killed him in childhood (and actually did it in canon).
  • Zig-Zagged with Cersei. For most of her life, her father denied her the opportunity to fight or even improve her bending, making her weaker than her twin Jaime. In contrast, it means all her knowledge comes from self-teaching, something Jaime greatly admires and that comes in handy in exile.
  • Mostly averted with female water and bloodbenders, who are expected to be healers while their male counterparts fight.
    • This aversion is subverted with Theon, who learned plenty about bloodhealing with his mother and uses it to restart Jaime's heart.
• Action Mom: A post-mortem example in Ygritte's mother. She was the one who killed Wight Kyoshi around the time Jon was born, allowing the Avatar Spirit to pass to him.
• Adaptation Deviation: The presence of bending greatly affects certain characters and plot points.
  • Sansa loses her rose-tinted glasses for the south when, while on a trip to Riverrun, she discovers that her icebending is weaker due to the warmer climate.
  • The Lannister Twincest is exposed due to their metalbending while in Winterfell.
  • Zuko is mentioned to have been alive centuries after Aang, while the rest of the Gaang were born as his contemporaries, and Aang is never frozen in this story.
  • Hou-Ting and Wu, characters from Legend of Korra, play significant roles in Aang's story. Both are dead by the time Korra rises as the Avatar.
  • Kyoshi is the immediate predecessor to Jon as Avatar, succeeding Roku, Aang, and Korra. In canon, all three of them were her successors, with her being the direct predecessor to Roku.
  • The Night King was not a Lord Commander of the NW who married a corpse queen (like in the books) nor is he a human transfigured by Children of the Forest (like in the show). He is the result of a fusion between an evil spirit and Wu, the Bloodstone Emperor, after he was betrayed and killed by the spirits he allied himself with.
• Adaptation Distillation: Daenerys' arc is rushed at the start both for readers' sake and to conform to changes previously established.
• Adaptation Expansion: the fanfic includes a completely new storyline about Gregor Clegane taking over Harrenhal after being dismissed by the Lannisters. It serves to bring Brienne to Team Avatar and to introduce the Brotherhood Without Banners.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Rhaegar and Lyanna, whose relationship is ambiguous like in the books as opposed to being explicitly in love like in the show. Ned believes Lyanna did have some affection for Rhaegar, but was never able to get the truth of what really happened between them out of her before she died.
  • Cersei and Daenerys. In canon, they're mortal enemies. Here, because Cersei's affair with Jaime is discovered by Robert, she's exiled to Essos and meets Daenerys early due to deciding to deliberately seek out Viserys as a new husband in hopes of finally returning home. While her marriage to Viserys is fairly miserable on her end, she ends up genuinely befriending Daenerys and telling her of Westeros, offering advice to her and caring for her when she becomes pregnant with Rhaego. This leads to her becoming Daenerys's Hand after the latter hatches her dragons and decides that she's going to pursue her claim to the Iron Throne.
  • Quentyn and Daenerys. In canon, Quentyn came to woo Dany to gain her army to get revenge on the Lannisters. Dany laughed at him, and essentially dismissed him. Here, with their vengeance sated by the Lannister humiliation and the deaths of Gregor & Tywin, Quentyn instead comes with wishes for a place on the small council, but no greater need as The Avatar makes their journey more benign. And Dany accepts with no greater issue with this purely political move.
  • Cersei and Jaime move on from each other with other people after they are separated as punishment when their affair is discovered. They become aware of this as time goes by and affirm it to each other when they meet again in Astapor.
  • Some of Jon's closest allies are people he had little to no interaction with in canon: Jaime, Brienne, Mya Stone, Ashara Dayne, House Martell and so on.
  • The Starks in general are far more friendly to Jaime even though he still pushed Bran out of the window. Justified because (1) it was an accident, (2) Jaime became Jon's metalbending teacher and friend and (3) Bran himself quickly forgave him for it.
  • Margaery's friendship with Sansa is way more genuine, despite the less favorable circumstances and her own grandmother's plot to kill Robert and blame the Starks for it.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Hou-Ting, The Earth Queen, a villain in Legend of Korra, is an ally of Aang in this canon.
  • The Lannisters, thanks to the Lannicest being discovered early and exposed, delivering some much needed Humble Pie to all of them. Jaime is one of the main characters and a solid companion and friend to Jon and Ygritte, while Cersei befriends Daenerys after marrying Viserys and later becomes her Hand. Tyrion, forced to become the true heir also takes on greater responsibility and is truly kind and courteous to his nephews and nieces. Even Joffrey, of all people, is given this, becoming quite contemplative and remorseful of his previous behavior after he's disinherited and named a bastard. He becomes much friendlier to Myrcella and Tommen, and ultimately gives his life to save his uncle Tyrion, causing his family to genuinely mourn his death.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • Sansa and Arya are a lot closer because Sansa is less enamored of the south because her bending is weaker there.
  • Knowing that Jon is not Ned's son allows Catelyn to be a far kinder aunt to him that she is in canon.
  • Dany, now having a goodsister who's also politically more practiced along with finding out hard truths sooner in her journey, is overall less vengeful compared with how her canon counterpart began to lean more towards Fire and Blood during her stay in Slaver's Bay.
  • Due to all she's witnessed and lived while in exile, Cersei becomes far nicer and works on becoming a genuinely good person.
  • Bloodraven is far nicer than his book and show counterpart.
• Adaptational Protagonist: Jon, who shares the spotlight with many other characters, gets the sole protagonist title.
• Adaptational Secrecy Downgrade: Jon's real parentage and Jaime/Cersei are revealed very early on.
  • House Martell's secret alliance with House Targaryen is revealed far sooner than in canon.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • Prince Wu, canonically a spoiled, but ultimately well-meaning ally of Korra's, is not just an enemy of Aang's but the villain responsible for his death.
  • In canon, Arya joins the Faceless Men of her own free will, albeit during a period where she has clearly crossed the Despair Event Horizon. Here, Syrio abducts her to send her to them. It makes a lot more sense when it's revealed that they're disciples of Koh, the Face-Stealer, who is one of the evilest and most dangerous spirits of Avatar canon.
  • In canon, while not necessarily heroic, Olenna Tyrell killing the king is portrayed as sympathetic since Joffery is The Caligula and an abusive psychopath who would cause harm to Olenna's granddaughter Margaery, if he was allowed to marry her. By comparison in this story, when she kills Robert it is played more as a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness since he has already married Margaery and given her a daughter who can inherit the throne.
  • Robert Baratheon's hatred for House Targaryen makes him fall in this category after he learns Jon is Rhaegar's son. He arrests Ned and Sansa and begins a nationwide hunt for the Avatar, forcing Jon to flee and leading the North to declare independence and war.
    • Renly is aligned with his brother's goals and take over the task of hunting the Avatar, blaming him for Robert's death. His thirst for revenge makes him turn against his own brother Stannis, who fails to make him see reason.
• Adaptational Upbringing Change: Jon grows up in the Wall after his firebending is revealed, raised mostly by his uncle Benjen and his tutor Aemon.
• Adaptational Wimp: Bending in this universe is split into all the different disciplines: for example, Sansa is an icebender, Arya is a waterbender, and Jorah is a snowbender, whereas in Avatar canon, a waterbender like Katara could do all these things. While not as bad as bending is nerfed in The Last Airbender, it still results in a significant downgrade. This influences several key points in the story, including Sansa's reduced interest in the south, as her icebending is much weaker there, or the importance of the Faceless Men, who can bend any discipline of a particular elemental class.
  • Margaery Tyrell has a little less "flint" in her soul compared to canon. While she's still got very much a will of her own, she lacks the same drive for power and loyalty to house Tyrell compared with how she's presented in Canon.
• Adapted Out: ASOIAF has several characters, and many of them didn't make it to the fanfic (at least, not until chapter 69).
  • The huge list includes (but isn't limited to): Jeyne Poole (Sansa's friend), Septa Unella, Podrick Payne, Josmyn 'Peck' Peckledon, Pia, Roslin Frey...
  • Out of Robert's several bastards, only Mya and Gendry appear, with Edric getting a quick mention by Robert himself. The rest may or may not exist.
  • Missandei is almost certainly out of the story, with her roles being filled by the many Westerosi members of Dany's court.
  • Due to the lack of a Citadel arc (consequence of Samwell's Demoted to Extra status), Pate and other characters in Oldtown fall in this category.
  • Since Jon has no Night's Watch arc, members that live in other settlements (like Shadow Tower and Eastwatch) are absent. Also, many Free Folk characters (like Varamy Sixskins) are absent from the main story, as they presumably play no role in it.
  • Roose's wife Walda makes no appearance, as he allies himself with Balon Greyjoy instead of Walder Frey and dies without a promised wife.
  • Characters from Qarth and Meereen arcs haven't appeared (yet), as Daenerys goes straight to Astapor and stays there.
• Ascended Extra: When you shuffle the deck, some people will get more spotlight.
  • Compared overall to how often she's appeared in the base series, Mya Stone (Soil in this fic) has a little more plot importance as a supporting character and friend of Ygritte.
  • Ygritte herself gets far more story time, since she has been steadily featured since the earliest chapters and even narrates on occasion.
  • Ashara Dayne goes from a backstory character to a major supporting character in the journeys of Jon and Aegon.
  • A minor example with Doran's wife Mellario: she has only appeared twice in the story (at least so far), but it's already an upgrade from being merely mentioned in the source material.
• Badass Normal: Bronn compensates his lack of bending abilities by being a two-handed swordsman. This leads him to be the first character to kill an Other.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Margaery desperately wants to be Queen so she can help the people of Westeros. Once she finally is Queen though, she finds she has no real power and is seen little more as a glorified Baby Factory for Robert to have legitimate heirs. This doesn't change even after Robert is dead, despite her brother Loras being in the bed with her daughter's regent, Robert's brother Renly. Margaery realizes that all her family and the rest of the court of King's Landing really cares about is having more power, and after another assassination attempt nearly takes Renly's life, she decides that being Queen is no longer worth it, grabs her daughter, and leaves the city with Varys.
• Beta Couple: Jaime/Brienne to Alpha Couple Jon/Ygritte, though they get more development in Book 2.
• Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Presumably what happened with Wight Kyoshi and Jon.
• Brought Down to Normal:
  • Functionally Jorah Mormont is this; as a snow bender in the hot and arid environment of Essos, Jorah is unable to bend, functionally rendering him a nonbender.
  • Young Griff was this as well, having been permanently Chi-Blocked to avert Cover-Blowing Superpower (see below), until Dany boosted all benders on the firebending spectrum, overpowering the Chi-Blocking.
• Came Back Strong: After Theon restarts his heart, Jaime is not only glad to be alive, but happy that coming back restored the functionality of his bad hand too.
• Chastity Couple: Jon/Ygritte. Both of them hold back first due to a vague fear that something will happen if the Avatar has sex with someone. Later, this fear is traded for a more concrete one: Ygritte getting pregnant with the Avatar's child before the Long Night is over.
  • Jon thinks of having sex with her after a big fight, only for Jaime to warn him it will do nothing to mend their Second Act Break Up.
  • Jaime/Brienne become this when Jaime claims he doesn't want to 'taint' their love by having sex too soon, right after he declares his love and proposes. It doesn't last long, though, especially after Jaime realizes he lost his chance of marrying her when they leave Lys and go further East.
• Chekhov's Skill
  • In chapter 41 (Brienne III), Sansa reveals she tried to cool her blood and play dead in order to escape the Silent Sisters. In chapter 53 (Sansa III), she uses her self-taught ability to kill Ramsay by turning his blood to ice and breaking it. It also calls back to Sansa's icebending training in King's Landing.
  • Chapter 53 also features another example: Sansa remembers that Jaime accidentally metalbent the tower he and Cersei sneaked into and instructs Brienne to bend the whole building down on the Bolton soldiers. It works.
  • In chapter 46 (Theon I), Theon's mother says bloodbending should be used to give life to those who need it. Ten chapters later (Theon III), he gives Jaime's life back by restarting his heart.
• Child Prodigy: A few crop up around the history of this world.
  • Aang somehow got it even better than in canon, as he found out he was avatar at the age of 4, and was a functional avatar master at 12.
  • Sansa was already learning to be decent with icebending, but then when she was sent away to the silent sisters, she learned to FREEZE HER BLOOD to "play dead" to escape. Maester Luwin is so impressed that he actually gets Sansa accredited as a bending master and she's not even a teenager yet.
  • Arya, being taken in by Koh and the Faceless men becomes a near full spectrum waterbender (something that's not normal in modern Planetos) before the age of 10!
  • While it was a necessary path to take to be ready for the long night, Bran takes up his destiny and becomes the last living Spiritbender to be ready to teach Jon when he returns home.
• A Child Shall Lead Them: Discussed and eventually subverted with Margaery and Robert's daughter Arwyn. Renly and Stannis fight over whether she should be Queen, considering the bad precedent for infant kings in the Targaryen era. The conflicts escalates to the point Margaery grabs Arwyn and runs away, eventually seeking refugee with Daenerys.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Bending blows several noteworthy secrets in this story.
  • Jon being a firebender, before he is even revealed as the Avatar, allows Catelyn to deduce his true parentage; the only firebenders in Westeros are the Targaryens, and as the only female one of child-bearing age at the time Jon was born was Queen Rhaella, he cannot possibly be Ned's son, from there making it obvious whose child he really is. Littlefinger and Lysa later use the same logic to expose Jon's parentage to the rest of Westeros.
  • Jaime and Cersei's affair is exposed because instead of shoving him, Jaime instinctively bent a metal spike at Bran when he discovers them. Robert had already been suspicious because his children were all metalbenders like the Lannisters and not earthbenders like the Baratheons.
  • Young Griff unlocking his lightningbending reveals to him that he is not Aegon Targaryen as he had previously assumed. This is because the only known lightningbender in House Targaryen was Aegon IV — but while his bastard son Daemon Blackfyre was a lightningbender like him (as were all of Daemon's descendants), his legitimate son Daeron II was a firebender. Meaning Aegon is more likely to be descended from the former than the latter, and even if that weren't the case, his claim would've been called into question by his bending alone. Combined with his honorable upbringing, Aegon decides not to put up with the charade any longer after it's confirmed he's a Blackfyre, and goes traveling on his own, ironically leading to him joining up with Daenerys as one of her advisors.
• Death by Adaptation: It's all but stated that Gilly and other women died when Craster's house was attacked by Others.
  • Characters who have died in the TV show but are still alive in the books count as this. The list includes Lancel Lannister, Rickon Stark, Petyr Baelish, Olenna Tyrell, Roose Bolton and Ramsay Snow/Gore.
• Demoted to Extra: Stannis, despite still having some important things to say about the happenings of the kingdom, doesn't appear or is mentioned nearly as much as in the base series.
  • As a consequence, Davos is also demoted, being little more than a cameo.
  • Samwell Tarly, one of Jon's closest friends and allies in canon, barely shows up, and only does because he happened to be sent to the Wall shortly after Jaime.
  • After House Bolton fails to conquer Winterfell and Theon betrays him, Balon Greyjoy's plot to become king loses importance, especially after Team Avatar leaves Westeros in Book 2.
  • Tywin loses plot relevance after his children's incestuous affair is exposed and he loses power in court. He settles back as Lord of Casterly Rock and focuses on mentoring his remaining son Tyrion and his bastardized grandchildren. It doesn't last long, however, since he soon dies in a lavabending accident in Starfall.
  • House Frey as a whole is demoted to cameo status, caused both by their status as nonbenders and lack of a Red Wedding-like event.
  • The Brotherhood Without Banners only show up in Harrenhal arc, being quickly Put on a Bus when they follow Jon's instructions to go to the Wall.
• Description Cut: Margaery goes to her new husband Renly to try and get him to see reason. "He does not."
• Dramatic Irony: Beyond what we know from canon readers know that Daenerys' baby cannot be the Avatar reborn, as the prophets predict, as Jon is already the Avatar.
  • Also, after the Blackfyre plot is exposed, Ashara Dayne went back to Braavos to just rest and rethink her next steps in peace. This then made her perfectly positioned to become the last lavabender and the only possible teacher when Jon comes into town.
  • A somewhat funny example: when Galladon points out Jaime Lannister no longer counts as Westeros' top metalbender because he's 'wasting away on the Wall', Brienne thinks of defending the Night's Watch, but refrains herself because it would mean defending the Kingslayer. If you read the fic's tags, you already know she will soon change her mind.
    • On that matter, in Brienne II, Brienne holds Jaime down as Jon heals his hand, and Jaime sings to calm himself. The song? Can't help falling in love by Elvis Presley. To add sugar to the moment, he is agitated with pain, but gets calmer with one look into her eyes. And neither of them are in love (yet) at this point.
• Die or Fly: How Jon reached the Avatar State the first (and so far only) time.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • Instead of being poisoned by Oberyn or getting in a Mutual Kill with Sandor, Gregor in this world gets his helmet metalbent by Jaime, killing him.
  • Robert Baratheon is poisoned by the Tyrells rather than getting gored by a boar.
  • Instead of being poisoned at his own wedding, Joffrey dies protecting Tyrion from Ironborn raiders.
  • In a shocking turn of events, Tywin, Kevan and Lancel are all killed alongside Edric Dayne and his parents after a lavabending accident which nearly destroys House Dayne.
  • Rickon isn't shot with an arrow by Ramsay Snow, but gets his heart crushed by Ramsay Gore.
  • Ramsay himself also gets a different kind of death. Instead of being eaten by his own hounds, Sansa freezes him solid.
  • Instead of falling victim of kinslaying like in the show, Roose Bolton is killed off-page by Ygritte's arrows.
  • Olenna Tyrell, instead of being poisoned, is killed outright during Ned Stark's rescue.
  • Littlefinger was executed in the TV show by the Stark sisters. Here, they are also executed, but by Yohn Royce and the Vale lords.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Joffrey goes down killing an Ironborn and saving Tyrion.
• Faking the Dead: As Brienne is now helping an outlaw to the crown, her brother says she died at Harrenhal to cover up her involvement after they visit Tarth and he returns to court.
  • Ashara Dayne did this for fifteen years.
• Fate Worse than Death: many backstory characters face this.
  • The last Avatar before Jon, Kyoshi had her soul imprisoned in her body as a wight before it had any chance to continue the Avatar Cycle.
  • After Korra's death, Asami, Katara and Sokka searched for the Heart of Winter. Asami was killed and turned wight, though it was short-lived. Katara and Sokka entered the cave and fell victims to evil spirits who turned them into Others, trapping their souls.
  • The First Long Night began when the Bloodstone Emperor killed Aang and then his sister, the Amethyst Empress. He used the latter's body as a vessel for the Night Queen. Later, he was betrayed by the spirits he served and had his own body made a vessel for the Night King.
• First-Episode Twist: The Lannicest being exposed to Robert is this. It happens in the first major arc after Jon's childhood and has wide-reaching consequences for the rest of the story since both Jaime and Cersei remain major supporting characters, which is why there are no spoiler tags for it.
  • At the very first chapter, Jon is revealed as the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark (a reveal that has yet to happen in the books) when he accidentally firebends.
• Forbidden Love: Jaime gets this twice.
  • His years-long secret affair with Cersei is exposed in Winterfell, and only Jon and Ned's scheming spares their lives. Jaime is sent to the Wall to become Jon's metalbending teacher and Cersei is exiled to Essos, while their children are bastardized and sent to Casterly Rock.
  • Later, as a member of the Night's Watch, he falls in love with Brienne, only to hide his feelings as best as he can (which isn't much) as to not dishonor her. When he's released from the NW, his first decision is to woo Brienne, since now there is nothing in their way.
  • Brandon/Ashara, as the former was already betrothed to Catelyn. He dies without knowing of his bastard child, a stillborn girl.
  • Lyanna/Rhaegar, though it may not have been a romance per se, was still forbidden due to Rhaegar's marriage to Elia and Lyanna's betrothal to Robert.
  • As in canon, Renly/Loras. It may or may not have been exposed after an assassin breaks into Renly's chambers with Loras inside.
  • During their first meeting, Korra asks Jon if Kyoshi's story would have made to present day if people knew she had taken a female lover... like Korra herself did.
• Great Escape: a few moments count as this.
  • When Team Avatar is ambushed in the Eyrie, Jon activates the Avatar State to take Jaime and Ygritte to safety. He travels so fast they land in the middle of the riverlands.
  • Shortly after that, they are captured by the Mountain's men and imprisoned in Harrenhal, where they meet Brienne. Not only do they escape prison, they also rescue Jonquil Whent, while Jaime kills the Mountain as he shouts Elia's, Aegon's and Rhaenys' names.
  • Brienne's rescue of Sansa from the Silent Sisters. Bonus when Sansa reveals she learned to freeze her blood and planned on using her ability to fake her death and escape.
  • Ygritte and Jaime free Ned Stark from prison just as Olenna is taunting him with his imminent death. Barristan catches them in the act, but Jaime sways him to their side with a rousing speech:
    Jaime: Are you sure you want to go against the Avatar, Ser? Because no Kingsguard vows will spare you from shame if you do. All your good deeds, all your glories… all thrown away because you valued petty politics over what truly matters: humanity's salvation.
    • Barristan gives them much needed help to escape after that. Later, he flees Westeros and joins Daenerys' Queensguard, as he figured the Avatar's cousin would be a better monarch to serve than his enemies.
• Heir Club for Men:
  • Downplayed and eventually subverted. After Jon is revealed to be the Avatar, whether he's a legitimate child of Rhaegar or not no longer matters because the Avatar traditionally doesn't take on any political positions or swears themselves to any orders. With Viserys dead and Young Griff revealed to be a Blackfyre, Daenerys is the only legitimate option for a Targaryen restoration. Instead of dismissing her because of her gender, people decide to back her anyway since the Baratheons have proven to be either unsympathetic or incompetent, especially after learning she's a firebender who hatched dragons.
  • Discussed with the Starks. Since the Starks are historically icebenders, there's a preference for the heirs to be the same. Robb's position as the heir is assured until Bran, a very powerful icebender male, is born, mucking up the succession since Robb is a waterbender. After Bran's fall, technically Winterfell defaults to Robb, but there's still some contention as Sansa is also an icebender and a fairly powerful and skilled one too. The Starks, for their part, don't really care about who inherits Winterfell as long as it stays in the family, so with the Others as a problem they decide to put the issue on the backburner until a later time.
    • Eventually, fate ends up ironing out all the fine details. Rickon is killed by Ramsey, and due to now being a spiritbender, Bran can no longer be that traditional Icebending leader. And with the war being more important along with the reveal of his sister's mastery of her craft, Robb decides to forfeit his rights, making Sansa crown princess and heir to the northern kingdom.
  • Margaery is hit with this hard when Robert dies and leaves only his baby daughter Arwyn as his heir. As it isn't even clear if Arwyn is even a bender yet, her uncle Renly wastes no time naming himself as her regent and more-or-less usurping the throne from his niece. Stannis even brings this up as a potential issue because the precedent from the first Great Council and The Dance of Dragons could create problems down the line for Arwyn. This isn't because he wants the throne for himself mind you, but rather wants to ensure that the realm doesn't eat itself after the mess with The North.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the massive changes in worldbuilding thanks to bending, some historical and canonical events remained.
  • House Blackfyre and its rebellions. On top of Aegon IV being crowned at all (initially disguised as nonbender, then, already crowned, revealing himself to be a lightningbender), he legitimized his bastards and enabled the bender ones to created House Blackfyre, named not only after the sword, but to contrast with the standard surname for lightningbender children, Lightfyre. Illyrio Mopatis and Varys wanted Aegon IV's story to repeat with Aegon Blackfyre, but he refused to keep up the farce after his powers showed.
  • The Targaryen succession line remained the same, even if some kings turned out to bend a different element (see above with Aegon IV) or not bend at all (Aerys).
  • Bending did not change the outcome of Robert's rebellion, only details of how some things happened. (Examples: Robert crushed Rhaegar with a huge rock, and Jaime bent the Iron Throne's swords to impale Aerys.)
  • Viserys is still desperate enough to sell Daenerys to the Dothraki, though their status as nonbenders makes them an even weaker asset than in canon.
  • Daenerys still loses her husband and her baby to Mirri Maz Duur dark magic, though Cersei's presence helps reduce the emotional impact it had on her.
  • Renly and Stannis still fight each other over the Iron Throne after Robert dies, even if everything else changes:
    • In canon, Renly and Stannis fought over which of them would be king after Joffrey was deposed; this is because they knew Joffrey was Jaime's son, not Robert's. Here, Arwyn is Robert's no question, so each brother's strategy changes. Renly wants her to stay Queen so he can rule as Regent and carry on the hunt for the Avatar, who he blames for Robert's death. Meanwhile, Stannis question's Arwyn's ability to hold the realm united and stable (especially after the North declared independence) and advises for a Great Council. The conflict starts when Renly shuts the possibility down.
    • Melisandre's absence from Stannis' court leaves him with less power against Renly, but also helps him maintain his morality. It gives a hint to readers that the attempt on Renly's life was not ordered by him.
  • Daenerys still goes to Astapor and frees the slaves there. She also uses the same tactic of pretending not to understand what the slave master is saying, but she uses Aegon as a translator instead of Missandei.
  • Cersei still receives a prophecy predicting her downfall as queen and the death of her children, although details are changed. How true it will become remains to seen.
• It's All About Me:
  • The fact that he is the Avatar, and will be vital to an as yet unknown crisis, has no effect on Robert's desire to kill Jon once he discovers Jon's true heritage, due to Robert's obsessive hatred of Targaryens.
  • Similarly, Littlefinger exposes Jon in hopes of using the resulting chaos to his advantage, regardless of the risk to the world.
  • Jon himself suffers from shades of this, not always taking into consideration others' feelings in regards to what he needs. It's somewhat justified it that he is on a quest for the good of the world, but nonetheless this disregard causes him problems. In particular, ignoring Ygritte's feelings are what cause their Second-Act Breakup before Jon's trip to Essos. Unlike other examples on the list, this is unconscious and Jon does feel regretful when called out on his actions.
• Lighter and Softer: Not that it's free of the darkness inherent in Planetos' politics, but with The Avatar as a fixed point of light in this world, it makes the whole story more hopeful and lighter like the Avatar world.
• Loophole Abuse: Jaime is released from his Night's Watch vows after his death and revival at the Wall.
• Named by the Adaptation: Happens with some female characters:
  • Lady Shella Whent's daughter, the one the Tourney at Harrenhal was held for, is called Jonquil. Also counts as Spared by the Adaptation (since she's implied to have died before the series began).
  • Jorah's first wife is named Alys Glover. In canon, only her maiden last name was known.
  • Brienne's mother is named Alyssa Tarth (no mentions on her maiden surname).
  • Ygritte's mother is named Korra. Also counts as a (post mortem) Ascended Extra, as she was the one to kill Wight Kyoshi, at the cost of her own life, freeing the Avatar's spirit and enabling it to be passed to Jon.
• Noodle Incident: Sokka's almost marriage to Princess Yue is mentioned but never discussed.
  Sokka: I almost wedded Princess Yue, but, if you ask Katara, she will claim I'm lying.
• Number Two: Jaime to Jon; Cersei and later Aegon to Daenerys.
  • Subverted with Ned and Robert, since Robert accuses Ned of betrayal by hiding Jon's real parentage from him.
• One-Steve Limit: Evoked by Ygritte and Jon when they first meet. Ygritte mocks the use of surnames by the 'kneelers', and Jon asks what her people does when two people share a name. Ygritte replies it never happens and says the 'southerners' should just make up new names if they are so many.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Jaime and Cersei outlive Joffrey. Catelyn and Ned outlive Rickon.
• Popularity Power: Stannis wanted to invoke this by calling a 4th great council to ensure Arwyn's legitimacy to the 7 kingdoms. That if she's voted for, it'd be great for her present and future, and if he gets it, he can ensure she's still the heir apparent and give the realm time to adjust to the idea.
• Put on a Bus: Any character that doesn't flee Westeros in Book 2 gets this treatment, as the plot turns to Essos.
• Relationship Compression: Jaime and Brienne get together a few months after their meeting. Justified as in their interaction have been way more amicable since the beginning (Jaime never insults her, and Brienne is open to see him in a new light after learning he's the Avatar's friend) and Jaime has already fallen out of love with Cersei by then.
  • Played with Jon/Ygritte. In the text, they meet in one chapter and are dating in the next. In the story's time, however, at least one year passed by before they got together, and the two chapters are separated by a 3-year time skip.
• The Reveal:
  • Chapter 43 gives a big one: a driving question in the background is why the Avatar cycle abruptly ended after the Long Night, before restarting with Jon. Chapter 43 sees Jon connect with Roku, Aang, Korra and Kyoshi, at which point it is finally revealed that Kyoshi was Wighted before the next Avatar could be born, trapping the Avatar Spirit within the Wight until it was killed, resulting in the Avatar Spirit passing to Jon.
  • A lesser one in chapter 47, since Robert's death at the Tyrells' hands it was left ambiguous if Margaery was a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, who gave Sansa hope of rescue, only to dash it by framing Ned for the murder, or was unaware of any plots. Chapter 47 gives us our first Margaery POV chapter, clarifying that no, she was not aware of the plot.
• Screw Destiny: After seeing Daenerys emerge with her dragons, Cersei makes a declaration to herself on recognizing that Dany could be the younger, fairer queen. Instead of turning against her, she bends the knee, on the hope that in doing so she will escape Maggy's prophecy.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After a near-miss with an assassination attempt, Margaery decides being Queen is no longer worth it, grabs her daughter Arwyn, and promptly ditches King's Landing with Varys's help.
• Setting Introduction Song: doubles with Character introduction song for the four previous Avatars. Jon's first meeting with each of them features a song.
  • Jon meets Roku in pre-Doom Valyria while he sings "Pompeii", by Bastille
  • When he finds himself in an Air Temple, he finds Aang by following his voice as he sings "They Live in You", from The Lion King's musical.
  • He finds Korra in her hometown singing "Scarborough Fair", which is known in-universe as a Free Folk fairytale song.
  • Finally, he meets Kyoshi in Yeen as she sings DragonForce's "Heroes of Our Time".
  • Averted when Jon meets Kuruk in old Stygai, as no songs are sung.
• Shout-Out: the fic makes direct or indirect references to its source materials (as expected) and other works.
  • Tyrion's famous line to Jon in A Game of Thrones is delivered to Joffrey instead, as he rages about the fallout of being Jaime's bastard son:
    Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.
  • Speaking of AGOT quotes, at the end of Book 1, Jaime tells Jon Aemon's famous line with few changes:
    I know your burden is cruel. No one should be the sole responsible for saving the world. But I think you have the strength in you to do what must be done. Kill the boy, Jon. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy and let the man be born.
  • Previously in the same chapter, when Jaime calls out on Oberyn for entering a cold pool without breeches, the prince replies with one of ATLA's memetic lines:
    Breeches are an illusion, and so is death.
  • When she arrives in Braavos, Arya notices a middle-aged man recollecting fallen cabbages.
  • While traveling across the Free Cities after becoming khaleesi, Daenerys recalls the times she and Viserys watched Pro Bending duels.
  • Upon meeting Daenerys, Ashara calls herself the last lavabender.
  • In the prequel Ashes of the Dawn, Aang has a dream that suspiciously resembles the scene in which Azula electrocutes him while in the Avatar State.
  • In Brienne I, when Selwyn tells his children about how the Mountain took Harrenhal by force and how Lord Beric Dondarrion tried to end things diplomatically, Galladon replies:
    One does not simply ''talk'' to the Mountain!
  • In Theon I, Alannys tells her son to never forget who he is, leading to a quote from Captain America: The First Avenger:
    Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.
  • As part of his airbending training in the Eyrie, Jon has to learn to fly, and Royce teaches him by pushing him out of a sky cell. When Jon shows fear, Sweetrobin tries to encourage him by saying he only needs a leap of faith.
  • As wights invade the cave they are in, Bloodraven urges the Night's Watch to protect Bran at all costs, saying he's the Avatar's only hope.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Petyr Baelish, while not having the most appearances is relentless in causing chaos in Westeros. First, by exposing Jon as the Avatar and thus getting the Starks in King's Landing arrested. Then, in Book 2, by undermining Stannis' attempt to call a Great Council as the potential stability it could give wouldn't be the chaos that Littlefinger likes to brag about using to rise on.
• Spared, but Not Forgiven: This is the initial position Margaery has with Ygritte after learning who it was that killed Olenna. Margaery understands the haste of the situation, and that as a member of the Avatar's traveling group, it's not a good idea to provoke conflict between Dany and Jon's groups. But, she can't bring herself to forgive Ygritte for it all.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Many characters have outlived their canon counterparts so far.
  • House Stark has thus far only lost one member, Rickon.
  • Fewer known members of the Night's Watch have died since the story began. Lord Commander Jeor and Maester Aemon are among those who (still) live.
  • Brienne's brother Galladon died in canon when she was four, in a drowning accident. In this world, he was rescued by waterbender healers and remains alive to this day, although not without life-lasting injuries.
  • Another character who died in canon backstory but is alive in this is Ashara Dayne.
  • The (in canon) unnamed last member of House Whent survives the invasion of Harrenhal by joining the Brotherhood Without Banners.
  • House Martell has all its members alive and well, away from the situations that killed them in canon. Jaime already killed the Mountain for Oberyn, and Quentyn and Daenerys are friendly allies.
  • Although Book 2 has left them in Ambiguous Situation, characters like Renly Baratheon, Lysa Tully and Balon Greyjoy have already outlived their canon counterparts. Additionally, several minor characters are implied to still be alive, such as those who died in the Red Wedding, which doesn't happen in this crossover.
• Unwanted Spouse: Robert. It's all but stated that Lyanna ran off with Rhaegar to avoid getting married to him, and the Starks become a lot more understanding of Cersei's decision to cheat on him with Jaime after seeing how he treats Margaery once they're married. Margaery herself is fairly miserable with the marriage but puts up with it because she wants to use her position as Queen to affect positive change for Westeros.
  • Interestingly, both women marry a second time, again to men they don't really want: Cersei to Viserys, and Margaery to Renly.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When Dany hatches her Dragons, it causes a massive surge of energy that boosts every discipline on the firebending spectrum. This causes Edric Dayne to lose control of his lavabending at exactly the wrong moment, killing not just him but also his parents and a significant portion of the visiting House Lannister, including Tywin and Kevan.
• Wham Episode: Jon VII. After doing some training in Dorne, hearing of Robert's assassination has team Avatar split up.
  • Cersei II: While the awakening of dragons is similar to canon version of events, it has worldwide effects that affect the plot, as it enhances all benders in the fire spectrum. Varys and Aegon, two secret lightningbenders, have their chi unsealed; Edric Dayne loses control of his suddenly increased lavabending and covers Starfall in lava, killing several people and himself; Jon activates the Avatar State in a life-threating situation. And after witnessing the hatching, Cersei renounces her ambitions to be a queen again, and instead decides to fully commit herself to Dany's cause as her new Hand of the Queen.
  • Theon III: Theon, Jaime and Robar Royce go fetch Bran, Benjen, Hodor and the Reed siblings from Bloodraven's cave. Wights invade the cave and attack them as they run away, killing Jojen. Jaime is fatally injured, but is saved when Theon uses bloodbending to restart his heart in magical version of CPR.
    • The following chapter (Jaime VI) deals with the aftermath and may also count as this, since Lord Commander Mormont considers Jaime died and, therefore, is free from his vows to the Night's Watch. With Bran now stretching his Spirit powers, he gives half of Team Avatar new directions: go meet Jon and Arya in Lys.
• World Tour: Justified. Jon is required to learn every form of bending there is as the Avatar in order to fight the Others. However, because bending here is far more segregated than it is in Avatar canon, he has to find masters for each specific discipline. As many disciplines have only one known family or so who are masters of it, that requires him to travel throughout Westeros and even Essos to find them.
  • Aang and Kuruk also traveled around the world in their lifetimes, though they stuck to Essos. Justified since, in their times, Westeros was considered irrelevant by outsiders.
    Katara: From what we hear, that wasteland is full of wars. People there seem incapable of talking things through.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After getting his wife gives birth to a legitimate child, Robert is killed by Olenna for no reason other than this.
  • Happens in the backstory with the Bloodstone Emperor, who triggered the Long Night by killing his sister and offering her body as a vessel to the Night Queen. He was given the same treatment shortly after his coronation, becoming the Night King and being forced to procreate with his sister and nemesis to make more Others.