━━ ,∙˚✧ thalassophilia
[ arya stark. ]

❝ there were girls of daggers and
diamonds, and then there were
girls of swords and sea salt. ❞

in which a pirate queen shows an assassin what lies west of westeros.

     bellegera otherys was famed for her great, great grandmother's reputation as the black pearl of braavos—and much like her sister, bellegere, bellegera had taken up the title of the black pearl herself. unlike her sister, however, instead of remaining a courtesan in the way of their mother, bellegera had followed in the footsteps of the first black pearl, in sailing the seas of the world of ice and fire. she had her great grandmother's looks, she was often told—her sharp set eyes, her black skin, body wired with muscle. and her affinity for captaining, it seemed too.

     arya stark wanted to go as far west of westeros as she could possibly go. whether the world looped around or the sea dropped off into nothingness, she wanted to see it all. fortunately, there was a single captain in braavos who was willing to take her in such direction. unfortunately, it's going to cost her a shit-ton of gold, time, and dealing with the incessant flirting of said captain (okay, maybe that part isn't so bad).

     but the things west of westeros are strange and not at all as suspected. menacing lands, foreign beasts, waters which have never been touched by the boats of a traveller. creatures which make the legends seem small.

melas.goddess as bellegera otherys
—the black pearl of braavos.

❝ this world has no more room for strange creatures. ❞

maisie williams as arya stark
—the winterfell princess.

❝ that's the smallest bit of land i've ever seen. ❞

mixtape.
i. the last of the starks, ramin djawadi
/ ii. black sails ost, bear mccreary / iii.
the winds of winter, ramin djawadi /
iv. everybody wants to rule the world,
lorde / v. trust each other, ramin
djawadi / vi. winter has come, ramin
djawadi / vii. paint it black, ciara /
viii. the bells, ramin djawadi / ix.
battle for the skies, ramin djawadi /
x. black sea, natasha blume /
xi. stay a thousand years, ramin
djawadi / xii. into the fire, ramin
djawadi / xiii. land of confusion,
hidden citizens.

disclaimer.
i do not own game of thrones or a song of ice and fire. i only own bellegera, the lands beyond westeros, and the pieces of plot in this story that are my own creation ( so like 93% of it ). all other characters and plot belong to hbo and george r.r. martin.

the art in the cover is by sibylline_m !!!

warning.
this story contains graphic violence, strong language, mental illness, death, disturbing imagery, brutality, and mature themes. this whole story obviously contains spoilers for game of thrones season 8.

dedications.
notmakayla theeffingunicorn -voidkhaleesi -sarcasticpotter dorcasmeaddow-s depurate
guess who's posting two stories from the same series at the same time

author's note.
i love this plot so, so much. i started writing it right after the final episode of game of thrones aired bc I KNEW it was a perfect time for arya to get a gf while sailing, and you know i LOVE writing about new worlds and fantastical creatures. this is also in the same universe as hiraeth ( the otherworldly women series ) & my other game of thrones / asoiaf fics !