#Sansan

[koryuoftheriverflow]

"He took a song and a kiss, and left me nothing but a bloody cloak."

[mcknotanniegrey]

obsessed with the line "he's just the guy that locked her door."

If Sansa didn't already have feelings for Sandor, do you think she could have grown to love Tyrion?

No, because her feelings for Sandor (that I wouldn't even fully describe as being in love just yet) have nothing to do with why she never developed the same level of attachment/compassion towards Tyrion.

Despite her already strong bond with Sandor, she constantly notices Tyrion's attempt at being kind to her. Before anyone ever thinks of marrying them to each other he already tries to comfort her when she's upset and protects her from Joffrey's violent outbursts, and when they're ordered to get married he offers Sansa the chance of marrying one of his cousins instead (someone younger and more handsome), doesn't let Joffrey humiliate her with the whole "undress the couple and lead them to the marriage bed" thing, and even full on tells Sansa that they don't need to have sex until she wants it - and that he'll just cope with some prostitutes if she decides she never wants it.

Truly, Sansa could not ask for a kinder captor.

Because yes, that's what Tyrion actually is: her jailer. He's another person forcing her to stay in King's Landing, submiting to the Lannisters, and he actually fought against her brother Rob, who wants to rescue her and free the North.

Tyrion himself even admits in one of his POV chapters that he's not marrying Sansa just because his father told him, but because that marriage is benefitial for him. It gives him Winterfell and a pretty wife. He knows Sansa doesn't want this marriage, yet he's playing a role in forcing her into it, even if he's willing to step aside and let someone else be the groom.

The fact Sansa is not allowed to state the obvious aloud ("I don't want any Lannister") despite everyone being well aware of it is the biggest proof that Tyrion is willing to be a kind captor, but never a true savior, ally or just neutral. If it benefits his house, benefits him, then he'll go for it, regardless of what it means to Sansa, physically or psychologically - there's even a moment in which all he has to say about how Sansa is obviously depressed after the Red Wedding is that her grief made her more beautiful. This poor girl's entire family (as far as they know) has just been killed, and all Tyrion can think is "Wow, my hot wife somehow got even hotter."

Now compare that to Sandor - Sansa COULD ask for a kinder bodyguard, and by God, she does. Over and over. In her prayers, by plotting with others who offer her help, and, more importantly, by telling Sandor himself that he's being a vile person.

And as much as he hates to admit it, her opinion matters to him to the point that he actually tries to improve himself. Little by little, without even realizing it. But Sansa very much picks up on it, to the point that she constantly thinks about him, wishes he were around, assumes that a man who saved her from being assaulted MUST be Sandor even if she knows that's impossible, and even has moments in which she questions her decision to not leave with him at the end of the second book (despite the fact that he had been in a middle of a PTSD episode and held a knife to her throat).

That's THE key difference between Sandor and all of Sansa's other potential suitors. He's in love/lust with her, yes, and he would certainly not complain if she decided to reward his compassion towards her by becoming his wife/lover - but he doesn't believe he's OWED that, and when she tells him he's not getting what he wants, not only does he back off, but he lists his inappropriate advances towards her (as well as his shortcomings as her protector, something NONE of the other men ever admit to also being guilty of) as one of the main reasons why he deserves to DIE.

When Sansa disappears after supposedly killing Joffrey and not taking her husband along, Tyrion can only throw himself a pity party about how she was so "false" when making her vows to him - nevermind that she made these vows under duress and that he broke them first by playing a role in her family's downfall. When he "saves" (kidnaps) her, Littlefinger is constantly trying to brute force Sansa into the role of his daughter AND lover, despite her obvious discomfort, and keeps implicating her in all of his crimes to keep her trapped.

But Sandor literally goes "I failed to protect her and even posed a threat to her myself, why don't I just die?" And now he's in rehab/therapy, despite thinking he'll never see her again and will thus never be rewarded. He's just genuinely sorry and adjusting his behavior accordingly because it's the right thing to do and what Sansa would want, and he wishes to honor her.

(Not to mention, Sandor is a nobody in Westerosi society. He has no money, no influence, no powerful allies, literally nothing aside from pure physical strength that he's already promissed to use solely for the KING'S safety and best interests. Him going out of his way to help her, even screaming at the king in public so he'll stop hitting her, is VERY dangerous for him)

That is what makes Sansa (mostly retroactively) fall in love with Sandor. It wasn't just because he was the first potential knight in shinning armor to offer her his protection or the one who was around the longest, but because he's the only one that doesn't feel entitled to her, despite being the one that is taking the most risks and being the one that she actually feels safer with it and would eventually become attracted to. She trust him and that allows a genuine connection to form.

To all the others, Tyrion very much included, she's a potential trophy, a compensation for a lifetime of misery, their object of affection, a valuable asset that will help them with their politial ambitions -whether she likes it or not. To Sandor, she's a person, one that is free to choose not having him around, regardless of what kind things he does for her.

Tyrion could never mean as much to Sansa as Sandor did because, despite claiming otherwise, he does not actually respect her right to reject him. He won't full on sexually assault her, but he's still holding her hostage, allowing his family to coerce her into being his wife (meaning he already went further with her than any other man as he got to kiss her, see her naked and even grope her despite her CLEARLY not being okay with it), and playing a role in killing her family for wanting to save her from this fate.

He can lie to himself about it all he wants, but he's not the hero that simply looks like a monster but will ultimately save the princess that is trapped in the tower, prove everybody wrong and then be rewarded with her affection - he's just the guy that locked her door.

[ippoliya]

Sansa at a crossroads.

[azulolivart]

An unequal marriage in Westeros.

[knightingale]

The "Sansa reminds Sandor of his sister" motive that some people try to hitch to his character really just flies in the face of his actual attachments to her, doesn't it? Sansa reminds Sandor of himself. He sees the little boy who used to love knights in this girl who's been swept up by the same romanticism. He sees his abuser in her abusers, the much larger knight(s) beating on the helpless child. He sees how she is betrayed by every level of authority that should have saved her and remembers his father's neglect and Tywin and Robert's apathy for Gregor's crimes. He's protective of Sansa because he was Sansa.

And GRRM's design, that one of the strongest warriors in the series, a fearsome and cynical 6'8" guy who's "muscled like a bull" and has the face of death itself, sees himself in this soft and effeminate teen girl, and empathizes with her because he was an abuse victim too, is INFINITELY more compelling than "Oh yeah I bet she just reminds him of his sister," who he's never mentioned and who we know literally nothing about. Way to unnecessarily water down a character, you couldn't have ignored the black and white text more efficiently if you tried.

[duncanrohanne]

"I could keep you safe," he rasped. "They’re all afraid of me. No one would hurt you again, or I’d kill them."

— A Clash of Kings (art by Zhang Weber)

[sansastarkdaily]

GAME OF THRONES, 2.07 "A Man Without Honor"

[stheresya]

Men: *exist in Sansa's vicinity*

Sansa:

[chippedcupwrites]

the universal experience of trying to figure out why the Hound is being so gentle to that one girl

[sunshine-sansan]

How I started / How did I finish

Sketch for a very cool job - Monster Mayhem: Siren's Song

author - @dilatorywriting

[florianandjonquil]

GAME OF THRONES AU ↴

Having sworn to the Queen in the North, Sandor Clegane serves her with faithfulness, valor, and devotion.

[sansansource]

George R.R. Martin - A STORM OF SWORDS, Arya XIII

[polysucks]

when people ask me about my art style im just gonna show them this

more wild west sansa au bc she lives in my head still (does claires still do lobotomies?)

[adharaphoenix]

[azulolivart]

The Beauty and the Beast but it’s Asoiaf

Reference:

[george-martin]

A Feast for Crows — Brienne VIII // Beauty and the Beast — Angela Barrett // A Storm of Swords — Sansa I