I think it's completely fair and even expected that R + L = J should be an option for the mod players to activate in the pre-game menu. It's a popular fan theory and it's earned its place among the major speculations surrounding Game of Thrones. That being said, I do think that if R + L = J merely being popular warrants its inclusion, then the mod should probably go ahead and include an option for R + L = D, considering the wealth of evidence in the books supporting this outcome versus R + L = J.
What do I mean by this? If you have no idea what either of these terms mean, consider this a spoiler warning for the books and don't proceed any further if you care about that sort of thing..
Dany is Rhaegar and Lyanna's daughter, to put it simply. There's a lot of stuff floating around in the books that haven't had a solid answer and yet are clearly important. Where is the House with The Red Door, what is Quaithe's deal, why was Eddard Stark thinking of Lyanna in King's Landing, what did Eddard do for House Dayne that Edric Dayne, Ned for short, was named after him because of the House's affection for him, why does Rhaegar figure so heavily into so many of Dany's visions while Aerys figures into pretty much precisely zero.
Under R + L = J, the fan theory that Jon is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, these questions are kind of just brushed aside; extra tid bits that despite the importance given to them in the text that they don't actually have an answer and are just fluff, but these are all answered and succinctly if Dany is Rhaegar and Lyanna's child.
Let's start with the first; in the books, Dany often dreams and has visions of a House with A Red Door; a single story house made of stone with wooden support structures and interiors, animal heads carved out of wood, in a huge, sunny grassy field with a lemon tree outside of her window, in which 'an old bear' is dying and where she apparently grew up.
Now, Viserys tells us that he and Dany grew up in Bravos; that after they fled Dragonstone they immediately sailed for Dragonstone along with Willem Darry, who Dany marks as the old bear, and that is where they spent their formative years until Willem Darry died of illness.
As far as the basic outline of these events are concerned we know this is true: in Dance Quentyn Martell reveals a secret treaty between House Martell and Willem Darry, signed by Oberyn and Willem, that wed Viserys to Arianne in order to secure Dornish loyalty in a future plot to overthrow Robert and replace him with Viserys. It was even overseen and signed by the Sealord of Bravos.
While this was kept secret by Viserys, it does confirm for us book readers that Viserys and Willem Darry were in Bravos at the time ten years before the events of Game of Thrones which wouldn't have been that long after the end of Robert's Rebellion timeline wise.
That being said we also do know he's lying about the Red House that Dany remembers in her dreams. Because there's no way the House with The Red Door is in Bravos for multiple reasons. Arya's Chapters in Feast and Dance describe Bravos in vivid detail; no building in Bravos is made from wood, it's all stone buildings clumped together because Bravos is essentially Venice.
There's no great grass fields aside from the grassy flats that approach the Sealord's palace and the climate is way too cold for Lemon Trees to grow; the idea that citrus would grow in the Riverlands is explicitly mocked in the books and Bravos is even further north than the Riverlands. We also know that it isn't Bravos because the climate doesn't match up; Dany's warm home with the green grass and the sun shining doesn't match with the climate of Bravos; cold and either constantly foggy, raining or hailing.
Hell, we can even guess that the Old Bear Dany describes in her House with The Red Door isn't Willem Darry because, well, Willem Darry just isn't that old. He's the youngest of four sons who, when Aerys initially appointed him as Master of Arms, was decried by Tywin as too inexperienced and young for the position compared to one of his Uncles. Now, Willem Darry does still die from sickness we can assume but based on the evidence he can't be the old bear of a man Dany remembers dying in her childhood.
It gets even more interesting when you consider that multiple times when sailing Dany reminisces about sailing 'back and forth' across the Narrow Sea before she and Viserys became beggars. In Bravos though this would be insane; the closest points to Bravos in the Seven Kingdoms for this kind of back and forth would be The North, The Vale and Dragonstone, the Crownlands at a stretch, not exactly places the two Targaryen royalties would be gladly accepted and hidden all things considered.
But because of the Martell Marriage Pact we know that Viserys and Darry were in Bravos with the Sealord. Dany's memories are right but she's attaching them to names and places provided to her by Viserys; Viserys is lying to her when he's talking to her about Bravos. Dany's complete and utter absence in the marriage pact is another big hint as to this.
Now where in setting do Lemon Trees grow in abundance? Dorne. Dorne simple fits the criteria far more; the warmer climate, if they were in and around the Sunspear not only would it be easy for Dany to sail back and forth across the Narrow Sea as a child (presumably with Oberyn during his travels) but there's also grassland around the Sunspear due being on the bank of the major river.
Dorne's also in the Seven Kingdoms so, unlike Bravos where everything is made of stone, the wooden highlights of the home Dany would remember would be readily available to see there.
This also explains Quaithe's deal; throughout the series she's been popping back into Dany's dreams in order to warn her about the various prophecies she's made. But one thing she always comes back to is this idea; that Dany needs to remember who she is.
Now this is nonsensical; Dany is following Quaith's guidance and she's doing what she should be doing, at least as far as she's concerned, so the line has always stood out; what the Hell is Quaithe talking about? If Jon was the child in the Tower of Joy, this would still make no sense; but if it's Dany then suddenly Quaithe snaps into place; she's not metaphorically telling Dany to remember who she is ala Mufasa.
She's literally telling her to remember who she is, to remember she's Rhaegar and Lyanna's daughter.
This also explains a lot of Dany's visions involving Rhaegar; by far, more than any other of the Targaryens, Rhaegar is the person that Dany most often dreams of and sees visions of. In one of her Dragon Dreams she's literally Rhaegar; the vision is from Rhaegar's point of view but she's living it through him, as him.
All of this would even explain why the secret marriage pact wouldn't involve Dany in any way; at the time of it being signed, it just didn't involve Dany because she wasn't a part of Viserys group at that point.
As far as the fact that people know (or think) that Aerys' wife gave birth on Dragonstone during the Storm, we even have an answer for how that could be true but still not Dany; the series mentions through magical folks speaking prophecy a few times that Dany is of one of three siblings but, actually, this would be wrong under the normal circumstance. Because Aerys and his wife had way more than three kids (still counting Dany); they had eight.
A few were stillborn and others died young after a couple years but the fact remains that Aerys and his wife tried and tried again for kids. Rhaegar and Viserys lived to adulthood but they had other living siblings at some point in time. Aerys' wife did give birth on Dragonstone but, as evidenced by the marriage pact not bringing up Dany at all, the child likely died. Stillborn or young from sickness like so many of Rhaegar and VIserys' other siblings.
Incidentally, that Dany is one of three siblings fits no matter how you count it if she's Rhaegar's daughter; she's one of three siblings with Rhaella and Aegon.
Then there'd Eddard. In his early POV chapters of AGOT two odd things happen; he only thinks about his promise to Lyanna twice, both in the Winterfell Crypts, and he admits that he hasn't thought about Rhaegar at all in years. The former isn't so odd; after all, if Eddard is doing a good job of keeping his promise it'd make sense that he wouldn't think of it except when down in the Crypts with the statue of his sister.
The second however is bizarre; because if it's true, as the series tries to lead us to believe, that Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna's kid then... well, I'd think that raising the son of Rhaegar Targaryen for his entire life would lead you to think a lot about Rhaegar Targaryen.
But this is even further compounded by what happens later on in the books; Eddard actually goes on for a long time not thinking of the promise he made to Lyanna, even as Jon's going off to the Wall. The next time he does think of the promise he made Lyanna is, coincidentally, after the big Small Council meeting with Robert where the discussion about assassinating Dany takes place.
From the fever dream he has soon after up until Robert's Death Bed, Ned starts thinking a lot about his promise to Lyanna. Robert gives the order to not assassinate Dany and, just before he does so, Ned remembers the promise again. However, soon after Varys informs Ned that the Ravens have already flown off with the order to assassinate her, Eddard thinks again about his promise to Lyanna... and how he's broken it. Another broken promise, another broken oath, to add to the pile.
Now, in R+L=J this is all weird but swept away; Eddard doesn't have much reason to think of Jon in these circumstances, safe as he is at the Wall, except maybe as sympathy pangs for failing to protect another Targ kid. The timing is bizarre but it's just one of those things you have to accept.
However, under R+L=D, the timing makes perfect sense. Why doesn't Eddard think of Rhaegar in all of those years? Because Jon isn't Rhaegar's son. Why does Eddard think so hard about his promise to Lyanna in King's Landing after Robert gets his hard on for assassinating Dany? Because Dany is Lyanna's daughter, the person that Ned made that promise about.
All of this frees up Eddard for the not so subtly hinted at love affair that existed between him and Ashara Dayne from the Tourney at Harrenhal and goes a way to explaining why the Daynes look upon Eddard so favorably they'd name their heir after him (Edric).
Eddard didn't just bring Dawn back to Starfall, he brought Dany as well and in the process made the swap with Ashara whereupon she faked her own death (GRRM confirms that her body was never found).
After all, Eddard couldn't bring Dany with him; you can hide Targaryen Features if everyone in the household is in on the conspiracy (Aegon with Illyrio) but there was no way that Eddard could hide Dany's purple eyes and Valyrian White hair from his entire household forever and they likely wouldn't have any more love for Dany than they would any other Targaryen.
(Now whether, under this theory, Jon is Brandon's (Eddard's brother) son with Ashara or Ned's son with Ashara is largely irrelevant, but this would also be where Jon is picked up).
From there it's fuzzy but not because there are details that don't fit but just because there's details that we don't know yet. We don't know when or why exactly Dany would've been brought into Viserys' care, we can assume it would've been before she was too old to properly remember anything other than the hazy memory of her old home with memories filled in by Viserys.
But we do know that VIserys lied and this also gives a motive for him to lie. If Dany is Rhaegar's daughter, even his bastard daughter, that's potentially another Targaryen claimant for him to worry about. One from the much more beloved Rhaegar rather than the much maligned Aerys. And it's not like preferred female Targaryens haven't been succession headaches before; that was essentially what the Dance of The Dragons was fought over way back in Westeros' history.
So VIserys lies, says that Dany has grown up with him the entire time in Bravos and then moves on, safe and ready to marry her off for soldiers at the earliest opportunity rather than marry her himself. Which is odd considering Viserys obsession with traditional Targaryen behaviors. But this would explain why Viserys not only doesn't marry Dany but why, in the books, he even insults Dany and her appearance; even when it's clear that Dany's maturing into a beauty Viserys insults her appearance as a way of demeaning Khal Drogo's taste.
He's not interested in Dany because she's not pure Targaryen; she's half bred between Lyanna and Rhaegar.
Now, the obvious answer is "But the TV Show confirmed R+L=J, so why are we still arguing Jon's parentage and Dany's parentage in 2019".
Because, well, consider this: around the time GRRM apparently gave them the outline when it was clear Book Six wouldn't come out in time (between Seasons 3 and 4 writing-wise) is when we start seeing a lot of changes happening.
Tysha, despite having scenes setting up her reveal, gets cut. Doran gets murdered and replaced by a revenge plot staring Ellaria. Stoneheart's cut, Stannis killed off so soon and with his plot so hilariously truncated, Sansa's plotline in the Vale is cut entirely and she's shipped off to the Boltons for reasons of getting raped.
In addition with the most recent season in our laps and utterly butchered I feel comfortable saying that Benioff and Weiss might've known this...
But just changed it.
Because even aside from answering plot points that R+L=J leaves utterly abandoned, this theory satisfies another critique with R+L=J.
Namely that, if this is where the books are going, it would easily be the least GRRM thing in the entire book series. I mean really, put aside your conceptions about R+L=J being already canon and think about what that being confirmed in the books actually means. Jon Snow, low key handsome hero, is the secret son of the Prince of The Last King raised in secret by his Uncle and plotted by Destiny to be Azor Ahai, the Prince That Was Promised and the One True Heir to The Iron Throne?
I get why R+L=J is popular and even easily jumped to; because it's typical. It's the most typical fantasy plot twist that could ever be included in a book, but it's so not Game of Thrones that it's always bugged me and other fans.
So not only does R+L=D answer far more plot points and fit way more consistently with what we've been shown. It also feels more like something GRRM would write. The secret Prince That Was Promised is a world away and is likely to never even interact with the White Walker subplot until maybe the very last moments. Leaving the business of saving the world to a bastard boy who wasn't destined for jack but has his heart in the right place.
All of this, not coincidentally, would put Jon back on track with the other Starks and their storylines. Namely, that they're all subversions; Eddard, Robb, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon.
Eddard is the noble, honorable protagonist who'd normally carry an entire series himself but dies in the first novel.
Robb, the young Ace Warrior-King who ends up fumbling everything on the political end.
Bran, the crippled boy who goes off to become a wizard at the hands of the Three Eyed Raven... only to find that the Old Wizard is incredibly evil, feeding him Jojen Paste and is in all likelihood preparing him to be mind-wiped as his next vessel.
Arya, the Cool Revenge plotline that reveals that the more one sinks into Death, Revenge and Hatred the more 'No One' someone becomes.
Sansa, the girl you'd expect to eventually become Queen after all she's suffered instead realizing the benefits of Soft Power and becoming a figure more akin to the Queen of Thorns.
Rickon... ??? for now.
And then finally Jon. The guy that everyone, because it's so typically fantasy, picked out as Rhaegar's trueborn son since the early novels, the Prince That Was Promised... just being Jon. Jon Snow, son of Eddard Stark, who isn't destined for anything... but regardless does everything he can to save the world.
And look at all of this in comparison to the TV Show where Benioff and Weiss... played all of this straight. Arya becomes a super cool revenge ninja who's violence is glorified, Sansa becomes Queen while not actually doing anything, Bran becomes a cool wizard with the memories of everything, Rickon dies pointlessly because they had no attachment to him and Jon is the Prince That Was Promised, The One True Heir, the Destined Hero... but in order to not be seen as entirely trite they threw in some dumb subversions; giving the kill on the Night King to Arya and the Kingship to Bran, even though these decisions made no sense in the context of their plotlines and themes.
That there was no effort to be clever or articulate these character arcs in the way GRRM always has. That Sansa, Bran, Arya and Jon just walked away happy and in their typical fantasy places. I mean, Hell, looking at all of this you could easily imagine that if Benioff and Weiss were in charge of Robb and Eddard's endings that they would've gotten perfect, fairytale endings too... because they're hacks without a creative bone in their body who can't comprehend good storytelling.
It just screams that they saw the ending GRRM provided in his outline between Seasons 3 and 4, didn't like it and then just changed it to be something more typical of overly wrought fantasy tropes that GRRM specifically tries to re-contextualize or subvert in an intelligent way. Hell, it even explains why more and more typical fantasy fluff like The Night King came in during Season 4, but that's another topic entirely.
So yeah. Considering the evidence presented, I think an R+L=D option in the mod wouldn't be uncalled for.
What do I mean by this? If you have no idea what either of these terms mean, consider this a spoiler warning for the books and don't proceed any further if you care about that sort of thing..
Dany is Rhaegar and Lyanna's daughter, to put it simply. There's a lot of stuff floating around in the books that haven't had a solid answer and yet are clearly important. Where is the House with The Red Door, what is Quaithe's deal, why was Eddard Stark thinking of Lyanna in King's Landing, what did Eddard do for House Dayne that Edric Dayne, Ned for short, was named after him because of the House's affection for him, why does Rhaegar figure so heavily into so many of Dany's visions while Aerys figures into pretty much precisely zero.
Under R + L = J, the fan theory that Jon is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, these questions are kind of just brushed aside; extra tid bits that despite the importance given to them in the text that they don't actually have an answer and are just fluff, but these are all answered and succinctly if Dany is Rhaegar and Lyanna's child.
Let's start with the first; in the books, Dany often dreams and has visions of a House with A Red Door; a single story house made of stone with wooden support structures and interiors, animal heads carved out of wood, in a huge, sunny grassy field with a lemon tree outside of her window, in which 'an old bear' is dying and where she apparently grew up.
Now, Viserys tells us that he and Dany grew up in Bravos; that after they fled Dragonstone they immediately sailed for Dragonstone along with Willem Darry, who Dany marks as the old bear, and that is where they spent their formative years until Willem Darry died of illness.
As far as the basic outline of these events are concerned we know this is true: in Dance Quentyn Martell reveals a secret treaty between House Martell and Willem Darry, signed by Oberyn and Willem, that wed Viserys to Arianne in order to secure Dornish loyalty in a future plot to overthrow Robert and replace him with Viserys. It was even overseen and signed by the Sealord of Bravos.
While this was kept secret by Viserys, it does confirm for us book readers that Viserys and Willem Darry were in Bravos at the time ten years before the events of Game of Thrones which wouldn't have been that long after the end of Robert's Rebellion timeline wise.
That being said we also do know he's lying about the Red House that Dany remembers in her dreams. Because there's no way the House with The Red Door is in Bravos for multiple reasons. Arya's Chapters in Feast and Dance describe Bravos in vivid detail; no building in Bravos is made from wood, it's all stone buildings clumped together because Bravos is essentially Venice.
There's no great grass fields aside from the grassy flats that approach the Sealord's palace and the climate is way too cold for Lemon Trees to grow; the idea that citrus would grow in the Riverlands is explicitly mocked in the books and Bravos is even further north than the Riverlands. We also know that it isn't Bravos because the climate doesn't match up; Dany's warm home with the green grass and the sun shining doesn't match with the climate of Bravos; cold and either constantly foggy, raining or hailing.
Hell, we can even guess that the Old Bear Dany describes in her House with The Red Door isn't Willem Darry because, well, Willem Darry just isn't that old. He's the youngest of four sons who, when Aerys initially appointed him as Master of Arms, was decried by Tywin as too inexperienced and young for the position compared to one of his Uncles. Now, Willem Darry does still die from sickness we can assume but based on the evidence he can't be the old bear of a man Dany remembers dying in her childhood.
It gets even more interesting when you consider that multiple times when sailing Dany reminisces about sailing 'back and forth' across the Narrow Sea before she and Viserys became beggars. In Bravos though this would be insane; the closest points to Bravos in the Seven Kingdoms for this kind of back and forth would be The North, The Vale and Dragonstone, the Crownlands at a stretch, not exactly places the two Targaryen royalties would be gladly accepted and hidden all things considered.
But because of the Martell Marriage Pact we know that Viserys and Darry were in Bravos with the Sealord. Dany's memories are right but she's attaching them to names and places provided to her by Viserys; Viserys is lying to her when he's talking to her about Bravos. Dany's complete and utter absence in the marriage pact is another big hint as to this.
Now where in setting do Lemon Trees grow in abundance? Dorne. Dorne simple fits the criteria far more; the warmer climate, if they were in and around the Sunspear not only would it be easy for Dany to sail back and forth across the Narrow Sea as a child (presumably with Oberyn during his travels) but there's also grassland around the Sunspear due being on the bank of the major river.
Dorne's also in the Seven Kingdoms so, unlike Bravos where everything is made of stone, the wooden highlights of the home Dany would remember would be readily available to see there.
This also explains Quaithe's deal; throughout the series she's been popping back into Dany's dreams in order to warn her about the various prophecies she's made. But one thing she always comes back to is this idea; that Dany needs to remember who she is.
Now this is nonsensical; Dany is following Quaith's guidance and she's doing what she should be doing, at least as far as she's concerned, so the line has always stood out; what the Hell is Quaithe talking about? If Jon was the child in the Tower of Joy, this would still make no sense; but if it's Dany then suddenly Quaithe snaps into place; she's not metaphorically telling Dany to remember who she is ala Mufasa.
She's literally telling her to remember who she is, to remember she's Rhaegar and Lyanna's daughter.
This also explains a lot of Dany's visions involving Rhaegar; by far, more than any other of the Targaryens, Rhaegar is the person that Dany most often dreams of and sees visions of. In one of her Dragon Dreams she's literally Rhaegar; the vision is from Rhaegar's point of view but she's living it through him, as him.
All of this would even explain why the secret marriage pact wouldn't involve Dany in any way; at the time of it being signed, it just didn't involve Dany because she wasn't a part of Viserys group at that point.
As far as the fact that people know (or think) that Aerys' wife gave birth on Dragonstone during the Storm, we even have an answer for how that could be true but still not Dany; the series mentions through magical folks speaking prophecy a few times that Dany is of one of three siblings but, actually, this would be wrong under the normal circumstance. Because Aerys and his wife had way more than three kids (still counting Dany); they had eight.
A few were stillborn and others died young after a couple years but the fact remains that Aerys and his wife tried and tried again for kids. Rhaegar and Viserys lived to adulthood but they had other living siblings at some point in time. Aerys' wife did give birth on Dragonstone but, as evidenced by the marriage pact not bringing up Dany at all, the child likely died. Stillborn or young from sickness like so many of Rhaegar and VIserys' other siblings.
Incidentally, that Dany is one of three siblings fits no matter how you count it if she's Rhaegar's daughter; she's one of three siblings with Rhaella and Aegon.
Then there'd Eddard. In his early POV chapters of AGOT two odd things happen; he only thinks about his promise to Lyanna twice, both in the Winterfell Crypts, and he admits that he hasn't thought about Rhaegar at all in years. The former isn't so odd; after all, if Eddard is doing a good job of keeping his promise it'd make sense that he wouldn't think of it except when down in the Crypts with the statue of his sister.
The second however is bizarre; because if it's true, as the series tries to lead us to believe, that Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna's kid then... well, I'd think that raising the son of Rhaegar Targaryen for his entire life would lead you to think a lot about Rhaegar Targaryen.
But this is even further compounded by what happens later on in the books; Eddard actually goes on for a long time not thinking of the promise he made to Lyanna, even as Jon's going off to the Wall. The next time he does think of the promise he made Lyanna is, coincidentally, after the big Small Council meeting with Robert where the discussion about assassinating Dany takes place.
From the fever dream he has soon after up until Robert's Death Bed, Ned starts thinking a lot about his promise to Lyanna. Robert gives the order to not assassinate Dany and, just before he does so, Ned remembers the promise again. However, soon after Varys informs Ned that the Ravens have already flown off with the order to assassinate her, Eddard thinks again about his promise to Lyanna... and how he's broken it. Another broken promise, another broken oath, to add to the pile.
Now, in R+L=J this is all weird but swept away; Eddard doesn't have much reason to think of Jon in these circumstances, safe as he is at the Wall, except maybe as sympathy pangs for failing to protect another Targ kid. The timing is bizarre but it's just one of those things you have to accept.
However, under R+L=D, the timing makes perfect sense. Why doesn't Eddard think of Rhaegar in all of those years? Because Jon isn't Rhaegar's son. Why does Eddard think so hard about his promise to Lyanna in King's Landing after Robert gets his hard on for assassinating Dany? Because Dany is Lyanna's daughter, the person that Ned made that promise about.
All of this frees up Eddard for the not so subtly hinted at love affair that existed between him and Ashara Dayne from the Tourney at Harrenhal and goes a way to explaining why the Daynes look upon Eddard so favorably they'd name their heir after him (Edric).
Eddard didn't just bring Dawn back to Starfall, he brought Dany as well and in the process made the swap with Ashara whereupon she faked her own death (GRRM confirms that her body was never found).
After all, Eddard couldn't bring Dany with him; you can hide Targaryen Features if everyone in the household is in on the conspiracy (Aegon with Illyrio) but there was no way that Eddard could hide Dany's purple eyes and Valyrian White hair from his entire household forever and they likely wouldn't have any more love for Dany than they would any other Targaryen.
(Now whether, under this theory, Jon is Brandon's (Eddard's brother) son with Ashara or Ned's son with Ashara is largely irrelevant, but this would also be where Jon is picked up).
From there it's fuzzy but not because there are details that don't fit but just because there's details that we don't know yet. We don't know when or why exactly Dany would've been brought into Viserys' care, we can assume it would've been before she was too old to properly remember anything other than the hazy memory of her old home with memories filled in by Viserys.
But we do know that VIserys lied and this also gives a motive for him to lie. If Dany is Rhaegar's daughter, even his bastard daughter, that's potentially another Targaryen claimant for him to worry about. One from the much more beloved Rhaegar rather than the much maligned Aerys. And it's not like preferred female Targaryens haven't been succession headaches before; that was essentially what the Dance of The Dragons was fought over way back in Westeros' history.
So VIserys lies, says that Dany has grown up with him the entire time in Bravos and then moves on, safe and ready to marry her off for soldiers at the earliest opportunity rather than marry her himself. Which is odd considering Viserys obsession with traditional Targaryen behaviors. But this would explain why Viserys not only doesn't marry Dany but why, in the books, he even insults Dany and her appearance; even when it's clear that Dany's maturing into a beauty Viserys insults her appearance as a way of demeaning Khal Drogo's taste.
He's not interested in Dany because she's not pure Targaryen; she's half bred between Lyanna and Rhaegar.
Now, the obvious answer is "But the TV Show confirmed R+L=J, so why are we still arguing Jon's parentage and Dany's parentage in 2019".
Because, well, consider this: around the time GRRM apparently gave them the outline when it was clear Book Six wouldn't come out in time (between Seasons 3 and 4 writing-wise) is when we start seeing a lot of changes happening.
Tysha, despite having scenes setting up her reveal, gets cut. Doran gets murdered and replaced by a revenge plot staring Ellaria. Stoneheart's cut, Stannis killed off so soon and with his plot so hilariously truncated, Sansa's plotline in the Vale is cut entirely and she's shipped off to the Boltons for reasons of getting raped.
In addition with the most recent season in our laps and utterly butchered I feel comfortable saying that Benioff and Weiss might've known this...
But just changed it.
Because even aside from answering plot points that R+L=J leaves utterly abandoned, this theory satisfies another critique with R+L=J.
Namely that, if this is where the books are going, it would easily be the least GRRM thing in the entire book series. I mean really, put aside your conceptions about R+L=J being already canon and think about what that being confirmed in the books actually means. Jon Snow, low key handsome hero, is the secret son of the Prince of The Last King raised in secret by his Uncle and plotted by Destiny to be Azor Ahai, the Prince That Was Promised and the One True Heir to The Iron Throne?
I get why R+L=J is popular and even easily jumped to; because it's typical. It's the most typical fantasy plot twist that could ever be included in a book, but it's so not Game of Thrones that it's always bugged me and other fans.
So not only does R+L=D answer far more plot points and fit way more consistently with what we've been shown. It also feels more like something GRRM would write. The secret Prince That Was Promised is a world away and is likely to never even interact with the White Walker subplot until maybe the very last moments. Leaving the business of saving the world to a bastard boy who wasn't destined for jack but has his heart in the right place.
All of this, not coincidentally, would put Jon back on track with the other Starks and their storylines. Namely, that they're all subversions; Eddard, Robb, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Rickon.
Eddard is the noble, honorable protagonist who'd normally carry an entire series himself but dies in the first novel.
Robb, the young Ace Warrior-King who ends up fumbling everything on the political end.
Bran, the crippled boy who goes off to become a wizard at the hands of the Three Eyed Raven... only to find that the Old Wizard is incredibly evil, feeding him Jojen Paste and is in all likelihood preparing him to be mind-wiped as his next vessel.
Arya, the Cool Revenge plotline that reveals that the more one sinks into Death, Revenge and Hatred the more 'No One' someone becomes.
Sansa, the girl you'd expect to eventually become Queen after all she's suffered instead realizing the benefits of Soft Power and becoming a figure more akin to the Queen of Thorns.
Rickon... ??? for now.
And then finally Jon. The guy that everyone, because it's so typically fantasy, picked out as Rhaegar's trueborn son since the early novels, the Prince That Was Promised... just being Jon. Jon Snow, son of Eddard Stark, who isn't destined for anything... but regardless does everything he can to save the world.
And look at all of this in comparison to the TV Show where Benioff and Weiss... played all of this straight. Arya becomes a super cool revenge ninja who's violence is glorified, Sansa becomes Queen while not actually doing anything, Bran becomes a cool wizard with the memories of everything, Rickon dies pointlessly because they had no attachment to him and Jon is the Prince That Was Promised, The One True Heir, the Destined Hero... but in order to not be seen as entirely trite they threw in some dumb subversions; giving the kill on the Night King to Arya and the Kingship to Bran, even though these decisions made no sense in the context of their plotlines and themes.
That there was no effort to be clever or articulate these character arcs in the way GRRM always has. That Sansa, Bran, Arya and Jon just walked away happy and in their typical fantasy places. I mean, Hell, looking at all of this you could easily imagine that if Benioff and Weiss were in charge of Robb and Eddard's endings that they would've gotten perfect, fairytale endings too... because they're hacks without a creative bone in their body who can't comprehend good storytelling.
It just screams that they saw the ending GRRM provided in his outline between Seasons 3 and 4, didn't like it and then just changed it to be something more typical of overly wrought fantasy tropes that GRRM specifically tries to re-contextualize or subvert in an intelligent way. Hell, it even explains why more and more typical fantasy fluff like The Night King came in during Season 4, but that's another topic entirely.
So yeah. Considering the evidence presented, I think an R+L=D option in the mod wouldn't be uncalled for.
