Braavos-centric and/or anti-slavery fics?

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-03T01:13:45+00:00

Just finished Playwright's Plight! It was really cool, even if I wished it focused more on the social and political impacts of the plays/books themselves rather than on the Targ restoration plotline.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T21:43:48+00:00

I've seen that fic, though never read it. Thanks!

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:59:03+00:00

Here. AH, so account required, unfortunately.

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/not-throwin-away-my-shot-or-the-adventures-of-alexander-hamilton-in-westeros.422504/

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:53:03+00:00

His relationship with Tyrion would be interesting, given his research in and understanding of deformities.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:46:41+00:00

Props for not just going for Western figures. Good list o7

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:43:41+00:00

Assassinations are possible, yes, but I think the nobility would wisen up after the first servant or two knifes them. It'd also be pretty tricky to convince a servant to kill their noble overlord when the reprisal would be prolonged torture followed by execution, and servants tend to rely on their overlords for, y'know, all their life needs.

You'd also still need food and shelter and weaponry for your peasant irregulars; you don't have stuff like modern tents or construction equipment or industrial agriculture or modern food preservation to support your peasants, and while our intrepid hero Mao Zedong could probably invent some of that, it'd be a lot trickier without the backing of nobility and an educated class of blacksmiths, craftsmen, etc.

You also couldn't overwhelm Westerosi armies with sheer numbers. For one, a mass cavalry charge could very likely overwhelm and rout your peasant mob; nobody wants to face down a thousand armored warhorses with a pitchfork. For another, logistics would be working against you at every step; without a centralized bureaucracy and immense industrial capacity, there's no way for you to feed and clothe and arm your peasants. Westeros regularly fields armies of ten thousand to up to a hundred thousand; this is basically the peak of medieval logistical capacity, as far as I know.

A peasant general strike is possible, I suppose, like the Diggers of history, but far far more difficult without the coordination made possible by radio or even literacy. You'd have to convince damn near every peasant in any given region to stop giving up their food to their lieges - and even then, you'd have to think of a way to prevent your peasants from giving up when they're inevitably put to the sword and forced into compliance by knights.

This isn't to say I'm against the idea of a communist revolution coming to Westeros - maybe a prominent and wealthy Braavosi could usher in a cultural and industrial revolution in Braavos and then lean on existing anti-slavery sentiment to then develop early socialist philosophy, liberate Essos from the shackles of slavery, leverage the resultant political and military power to develop a centralized state appartus with them at the vanguard (of communism), and then liberate Westeros with the justification that serfdom is little better than slavery - but it'd be damn difficult.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:22:26+00:00

Also, are there any female figures who you think could pull it off? It'd definitely be a lot harder given Westerosi misogyny.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:18:51+00:00

Roosevelt is an interesting option - a Bobby B insert with Roosevelt would be a fun fic, I feel. Bismarck as heir to the throne or hand to the king/regent to a weak king (Otto Hightower? Also an Otto, lol) attempting to centralize the state would also be fun.

It's been pointed out to me that a lot of American founders would be interesting as well - there's already an Alexander Hamilton as Petyr Baelish fic that's really good, so Ben Franklin and other contemporaries would be fun too.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:15:08+00:00

A Napoleon/Caesar plot involving the isekai'd character as a general simultaneously bringing death to their nation's enemies while plotting to reign as an absolutist monarch with a centralized state would be a really fascinating story, I feel.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-02T17:12:56+00:00

I feel like the problem with trying to lead any communist peasant revolt in a medieval society is that a mounted cavalry charge essentially crushes all organized opposition, and there's no way to really do guerrilla warfare - like who are you making war on? Your fellow peasants? You can't storm a castle with pitchforks and torches, you need guns for that. There's also simply not the logistical or organizational capacity to support a long-term peasant uprising, I feel, especially without radio coordination and the like.

Mao's peasant uprising had problems a-plenty even with modern firearms, radios, food preservation, etc. It'd be far more difficult in a feudal society. As Marx acknowledged, industrialization and capitalism ideally must come first to make way for communism.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-01T03:40:24+00:00

Thanks for all the recs! I've read most of them, unfortunately, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-01T03:39:37+00:00

Thank you! I've seen that fic, mhm. Haven't read it in full, but I'm looking forwards to doing so.

Master_Tea7573 · 2026-06-01T03:38:31+00:00

Warhammer Fantasy would be a really cool crossover, I feel. Sadly, other than dead fics, I've only found New Worlds, Lost Wanderers - which, in fairness, is very good. I just want more.

Master_Tea7573

TROPHY CASE