#and also jon is afraid of her after she was dead he is not brave enough to have killed her nor appears to have considered it would've worked | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jackoshadows · 3 years ago

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“You,” Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, “will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be Knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.” - Eddard, A Game of Thrones

My featherbed is deep and soft, and there I’ll lay you down, I’ll dress you all in yellow silk, and on your head a crown - Arya, A Storm of Swords

“Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them.” - Kevan, A Dance with Dragons

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So this is an essay of sorts on my speculation/theory that Arya is going to end up as a leader of the North by the end of the series. I will split this into several parts:

Arya and leadership

Arya and Northern leadership

Arya and Nymeria

Skillsets

Importance of being a Warg/Skinchanger

Succession

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Arya Stark and leadership

“Know the men who follow you,” she heard him tell Robb once, “and let them know you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger.“ - Arya, AGoT

Arya has always been a leader rather than a follower. Just like Jon at the wall, she initially chafes at having to follow orders instead of doing what she thinks is the right thing to do. Despite Gendry and Hot Pie being older than her, she’s the one giving the orders and making the plans. She manipulates or forces characters into doing what she wants – getting Gendry to leave Harrenhal and forcing Jaqen to help her free the Northmen.

Arya took the lead, kicking her stolen horse to a brisk heedless trot until the trees close in around her. Hot Pie and Gendry followed as best they could. From time to time Arya glanced over her shoulder, to make sure the two boys had not fallen too far behind, and to see if they were being pursued - Arya, ASoS

Like most of our protagonists, Arya is ambitious and interested in being an active participant at the top. She wanted to become a King’s councilor and build castles. That entire little speech that Varys gives about the ideal candidate for ruling fits Arya to a T.

Arya has gone hungry, scrubbed and cleaned, cooked and kept house, sewed and mended clothes, bound up wounds, been hunted, been scared for her life – and done all this with limited protection. Just survived on her wits. Arya can wield a sword, is fluent in several languages and has studied with a Septa.

We also see war torn Westeros and the suffering of the smallfolk through Arya’s eyes in ACoK and ASoS. It doesn’t matter if it’s Stark or Lannister, the smallfolk suffer the same – Septon Meribald’s ‘Broken Men’ speech in AFfC embodies what Arya observes. After Arya frees the Northmen using weasel soup and Vargo Hoat betrays the Lannisters, there are reprisal killings, torture and rape enacted by Stark bannermen and the sellswords. The smith, Maester and the head maid are executed for merely serving Tywin – something on which they had no choice. Gendry points this out to Arya and she feels guilty for her part in all this.

“I hate this lot worse. Ser Amory was fighting for his lord, but the Mummers are sellswords and turncloaks. Half of them can’t even speak the Common Tongue. Septon Utt likes little boys, Qyburn does black magic, and your friend Biter eats people.”

The worst thing was, she couldn’t even say he was wrong. The Brave Companions did most of the foraging for Harrenhal, and Roose Bolton had given them the task of rooting out Lannisters. Vargo Hoat had divided them into four bands, to visit as many villages as possible. He led the largest group himself, and gave the others to his most trusted captains. She had heard Rorge laughing over Lord Vargo’s way of finding traitors. All he did was return to places he had visited before under Lord Tywin’s banner and seize those who had helped him. – Arya, ACoK

"It’s not a village, it’s only black stones and old bones. “Did the Lannisters kill the people who lived here?” Arya asked as she helped Anguy dry the horses.

“No.” He pointed. “Look at how thick the moss grows on the stones. No one’s moved them for a long time. And there’s a tree growing out of the wall there, see? This place was put to the torch a long time ago.”

“Who did it, then?” asked Gendry.

“Hoster Tully.” Notch was a stooped thin grey-haired man, born in these parts. “This was Lord Goodbrook’s village. When Riverrun declared for Robert, Goodbrook stayed loyal to the king, so Lord Tully came down on him with fire and sword. After the Trident, Goodbrook’s son made his peace with Robert and Lord Hoster, but that didn’t help the dead none.”

A silence fell." - Arya, ASoS

"Wolves, she thought again. Like me. Was this her pack? How could they be Robb’s men? She wanted to hit them. She wanted to hurt them. She wanted to cry.” - Arya, ASoS

The smallfolk in the Riverlands are caught between the Starks, Tullys and Lannisters with no good choices. And on the ground level, Arya sees this, understands this and acknowledges this. Her actions benefited house Stark and no one else. She understands the cost of war.

Arya is also very keen on justice. In that she not only thinks that characters deserve justice, but she wants to actively participate and deliver justice. She considers the execution of Dareon from the NW as a just one.

Dareon had been a deserter from the Night's Watch; he had deserved to die. - Arya, AFfC

“Guilty!” Arya shouted with the rest. “Guilty, guilty, kill him, guilty!” …

Arya could only think of Mycah and all the stupid prayers she’d prayed for the Hound to die. If there were gods, why didn’t Lord Beric win? She knew the Hound was guilty… - Arya, ASoS

Her father beat her so often and so brutally that she was never truly free of pain or fear until she came to us.”

“Did you kill him?”

“She asked the gift for herself, not for her father.”

You should have killed him.�� - Arya, ADWD

Arya drew back from him. "He killed the slave?" That did not sound right. "He should have killed the masters!" – Arya, aDwD

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Arya and Northern leadership

I would sooner my men die fighting for the Ned’s little girl than alone and hungry in the snow, weeping tears that freeze upon their cheeks. - Hugo Wull

The North has famously never had a female leader in House Stark. So is it possible for valiant Ned’s precious little girl to become the first Lady Stark to lead the North?

In terms of personality, Arya resembles some of the other female leaders/members of Northern houses. She is bold and forward like Lyanna Mormont and Wylla Manderly. She has trained with the sword and learned how to use a bow and arrow. She proactively engineers her own escape like Alys Karstark. Characters like Ygritte and Alys remind Jon Snow of Arya.

Arya venerates Ned Stark. She follows his advice as much as Robb, Bran and Jon do. Even more so. She executes a NW brother for desertion. And that is important for the Starks.

I should kill them myself. Whenever her father had condemned a man to death, he did the deed himself with Ice, his greatsword. - Arya, ACoK

The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. - Bran, AGoT

“The Starks do not use headsmen. Ned always said that the man who passes the sentence should swing the blade, though he never took any joy in the duty.” - Catelyn, ACoK

“Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold.” Robb lifted the heavy axe with both hands. “Here in sight of gods and men, I judge you guilty of murder and high treason. In mine own name I condemn you. With mine own hand I take your life. Would you speak a final word?” - Catelyn, ASoS

The pale morning sunlight ran up and down his blade as Jon clasped the hilt of the bastard sword with both hands and raised it high. “If you have any last words, now is the time to speak them,” he said, expecting one last curse. - Jon, ADwD

Arya is one of the Starkiest Starks of the whole lot. She is also the only Stark to actually have the Stark look. She is stubborn and determined to do things the Stark way. She often uses her father’s advice to guide her way.

Her father used to say that a lord needed to eat with his men, if he hoped to keep them. “Know the men who follow you,” she heard him tell Robb once, “and let them know you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger.“ - Arya, aGoT

Arya had loved nothing better than to sit at her father’s table and listen to them talk. She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms.- Arya, AGoT

Whenever her father had condemned a man to death, he did the deed himself with Ice, his greatsword. “If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him go look him in the face and hear his last words,” she’d heard him tell Robb and Jon once. - Arya, ACoK

Now there are theories that it is future Bran who was communicating with Arya through the weirwood at Harrenhal, but she does gain strength from her father’s words when she prays to the Old Gods.

Gooseprickles rose on Arya’s skin, and for an instant she felt dizzy. Then, so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father’s voice. “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives,” he said. “But there is no pack,” she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. “I’m not even me now, I’m Nan.” “You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you.” - Arya, ACoK

And while Arya is travelling incognito, GRRM keeps her connected to the North, house Stark and the Northern plot. She starts her journey from KL with a NW brother Yoren. She’s disguised as a boy like Danny Flint, Manderly requests a song about brave Danny Flint at Ramsay’s wedding with ‘Arya’. In the Riverlands, Arya’s plot intersects with her father’s bannermen, she participates in the capture of Harrenhal for house Stark and is there for Roose Bolton’s war council. She meets both Roose Bolton and Aenys Frey – our antagonists in Winterfell facing off against Stannis in ADwD. She meets Robett Glover – who is currently in White Harbor - when she lets him out of the dungeons. She gets Jaqen to help her father’s men.

“Vargo Hoat’s come back with prisoners. I saw their badges. There’s a Glover, from Deepwood Motte, he’s my father’s man. The rest too, mostly.” All of a sudden, Arya knew why her feet had brought her here. “You have to help me get them out.” – Arya, ACoK

Arya looked. She knew all of her father’s men. The three in the grey cloaks were strangers. Arya, AGoT

Twin towers. Sunburst. Bloody man. Battle-axe. The battle-axe is for Cerwyn, and the white sun on black is Karstark. They’re northmen. My father’s men, and Robb’s. - Arya, ACoK

Harwin?” Arya whispered. It was! Under the beard and the tangled hair was the face of Hullen’s son, who used to lead her pony around the yard, ride at quintain with Jon and Robb, and drink too much on feast days. He was thinner, harder somehow, and at Winterfell he had never worn a beard, but it was him—her father’s man. Arya, ASoS

“I bet there are Winterfell men too.” Her father’s men, the Young Wolf’s men, the direwolves of Stark. - Arya, ASoS

Arya is also involved in betrothals/marriage – first to Elmar Frey and then married off to Ramsay Bolton to hold the North. As a side note, her connection to all these bastards is indeed interesting - Elmar Frey, Ramsay Bolton, Gendry and Jon Snow. Is GRRM trying to say something here?

We now have the Northerners and Freys that Arya sees in Harrenhal transposed to Winterfell and ‘her father’s men’ rising up for Arya Stark.

Now, we can speculate and assume that these Northerners would have done the same for the other Starks, but that’s not the point here. In the books, GRRM has written this story to revolve around Arya. The mountain clans are marching for ARYA. The Northern houses are fighting alongside Stannis for ARYA. When lady Barbrey Dustin points out the anger of the Northmen at the treatment of ‘Valiant Ned's precious little girl’ she is talking about ARYA.

GRRM has Stannis wanting to rescue Arya for Jon. He has Mance trying to rescue Arya for Jon. He has Jon breaking his vows and dying trying to rescue Arya. A large part of what drives this plot forward is that it’s Arya, and her special relationship with Jon Snow influences a lot of what is happening south of the wall. The story only happens this way with Arya in the North. And that’s why it’s Arya’s story and not that of any other Stark. Superimposing this or that Stark in place of Arya to make a case for why they would be leader of the North makes no sense. GRRM writing in the marriage of Arya Stark to hold the North makes the case for why Arya is important to the North.

So, Arya has actively helped free Northmen in the Riverlands, engaged with important Northerners and Freys at Harrenhal and drives the plot to take down the Boltons in the North. With her leadership skills, her ability to wield a weapon and fight, looking like Ned, following in Ned’s footsteps and advice, her fierce personality, her loyalty to bannermen, her desire for justice and to help the weak and powerless, her huge direwolf - she would be like the Kings in the North of yore. I think the Northerners will be fine with Arya Stark being the Stark in charge.

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Arya and Nymeria

“What if the wolves come?” “Yield,” Arya suggested - Arya, ACoK

The direwolves are an important part of the books, and an important aspect of the Starks.They are as much a part of the Starks as Dany’s dragons are a part of her. They cannot be ignored as unimportant pets who will end up serving no purpose.

“He is part of you, Robb. To fear him is to fear you.” - Catelyn, ASoS

Ghost did not count. Ghost was closer than a friend. Ghost was part of him - Jon, ADWD

“Part of you is Summer, and part of Summer is you. You know that, Bran.” - Bran, ACoK

“Wolves and women wed for life,” Haggon often said. “You take one, that’s a marriage. The wolf is part of you from that day on, and you’re part of him. Both of you will change.” - Varamyr, ADWD

You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord…The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. - Bran, AGoT

“Roose Bolton has Lord Eddard’s daughter. To thwart him White Harbor must have Ned’s son … and the direwolf. The wolf will prove the boy is who we say he is, should the Dreadfort attempt to deny him.“ - Davos, ADWD

GRRM has mentioned several times that they are important.

The Lannisters are always likening themselves to lions, for example, and their motto “Hear me roar” speaks of a certain way of looking at life. But I think for the Starks it goes a little bit beyond that, especially in this generation, with these direwolves. It’s more than just a handy metaphor with them - GRRM, interview

"Wolves have been part of European folklore, of which America's descended, going back thousands of years. In Rome, Romulus and Remus -- there's always been this relationship between wolves and men." That relationship is seen time and again in Martin's series, and it's one that will Martin says will continue as the last two books are eventually released. Arya's wolf, Nymeria, in particular, will play an important role. "You know, I don't like to give things away." says Martin, a grin spreading across his face. "But you don't hang a giant wolf pack on the wall unless you intend to use it." - GRRM interview

The direwolves are important especially for Arya whose theme is ‘The lone wolf dies but the pack survives’ and there are constant mentions of the pack in her POV chapters. Nymeria is an alpha, a leader of her pack like Arya is a leader of hers.

“She says there’s this great pack, hundreds of them, mankillers. The one that leads them is a she-wolf, a bitch from the seventh hell.” - Arya, ACoK

Throughout ACoK and ASoS, Arya mentions the wolves in the Riverlands. They appear to be just ahead of her or behind her. In her chapters there are mentions of wolves eating people, of Roose going wolf hunting. It’s almost like the wolves are traveling with her. They even help her escape – the wolf howl giving the signal – from harrenhal. And it’s possible the pack was picking off Roose Bolton’s riders chasing Arya because they were following right behind.

She could hear the sound of her own breath, and the wolves as well, a great pack of them now. They are closer than the one I heard in the godswood, she thought. They are calling to me. - Arya, ACoK

Once, from the crest of a ridge, she spied dark shapes crossing a stream in the valley behind them, and for half a heartbeat she feared that Roose Bolton’s riders were on them, but when she looked again she realized they were only a pack of wolves. She cupped her hands around her mouth and howled down at them, “Ahooooooooo, ahooooooooo.” When the largest of the wolves lifted its head and howled back, the sound made Arya shiver. - Arya ASoS

Nymeria keeps amassing this huge wolf pack and Arya being a strong warg can sense this

She was no little girl in the dream; she was a wolf, huge and powerful, and when she emerged from beneath the trees in front of them and bared her teeth in a low rumbling growl, she could smell the rank stench of fear from horse and man alike. - Arya, ASoS

She dreamed of wolves most every night. A great pack of wolves, with her at the head. She was bigger than any of them, stronger, swifter, faster. And her brothers and sisters were with her, many and more of them, fierce and terrible and hers. - Arya, ASoS

In her wolf dreams she was swift and strong, running down her prey with her pack at her heels. - Cat of the Canals, AFfC

The wolf dreams also helps Arya connect to Bran, Jon and Rickon. We see Ghost able to sense the other direwolves and Bran trying to communicate with Jon.

Nymeria is a grey wolf and the stark sigil is a grey wolf on a white background.

“The rain had washed the guard’s blood off her fingers, she wore a sword across her back, wolves were prowling through the dark like lean grey shadows, and Arya Stark was unafraid.” - Arya, ACoK

“Arya had her father’s eyes, the grey eyes of the Starks.” - Reek, ADwD

What’s in a name? I have already mentioned in another post, the symbolism of the names for the direwolves and them being an indication of the future for the Starks. Arya’s direwolf is named Nymeria – a Rhoynish warrior queen who led her people to safety. Something that Arya may well do in the future when the North is under attack from the Others.

More importantly, Nymeria in Dorne changed the customs and rules of house Martell to follow those of Rhoynar and allowed for female rulers. Nymeria herself was the first female leader and was followed by her daughter. Nymeria changed the norm for Dorne and we could see the same happening with Arya Stark in the North.

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Skills and Education

Look with your eyes, Syrio had said, listen with your ears.- Arya, ACoK

Education at Winterfell:

Arya was mainly taught by Septa Mordane and received the same education as Sansa. She would have been taught history and about the Faith by the Septa, she can read and write, and is good with sums. She’s better than Sansa at managing a household. She can ride a horse like a Northman and is an excellent swimmer. She knows some high Valyrian. Besides the Septa, Arya also hangs around Ned Stark when he is teaching the boys. Many of his words of wisdom that she remembers is from when he is teaching the boys. She mingles with her father’s men, the cooks, the stable boys etc.

Kings Landing:

Water Dancing style of swordfighting from Syrio Forel.

Harrenhal:

Being incognito allows Arya to move around like a mouse or the ghost of Harrenhal and observe and learn things. She is privy to Roose Bolton’s war council and listens to them discuss the Northern campaign against the Lannisters. We get the first inkling of the Red Wedding in these chapters between Roose and the Freys.

Arya observes the different people, analyzes their movements and figures out how to approach them.

The night she was caught, the Lannister men had been nameless strangers with faces as alike as their nasal helms, but she’d come to know them all. You had to know who was lazy and who was cruel, who was smart and who was stupid. You had to learn that even though the one they called Shitmouth had the foulest tongue she’d ever heard, he’d give you an extra piece of bread if you asked, while jolly old Chiswyck and soft-spoken Raff would just give you the back of their hand. - Arya, ACoK

And as lords and ladies never notice the little grey mice under their feet, Arya heard all sorts of secrets just by keeping her ears open as she went about her duties. Pretty Pia from the buttery was a slut who was working her way through every knight in the castle. The wife of the gaoler was with child, but the real father was either Ser Alyn Stackspear or a singer Lord Lefford made mock of ghosts at table, but always kept a candle burning by his bed. Ser Dunaver’s squire Jodge could not hold his water when he slept. The cooks despised Ser Harys Swyft and spit in all his food. Once she even overheard Maester Tothmure’s serving girl confiding to her brother about some message that said Joffrey was a bastard and not the rightful king at all. “Lord Tywin told him to burn the letter and never speak such filth again,” the girl whispered. - Arya, ACoK

She aids in the escape of the near hundred Northmen imprisoned in the dungeons and even Roose is impressed enough to make her his cupbearer. And the next time, she conceives of, plans and executes their entire escape all by herself. She plans for the logistics – weapons, transportation, people, travel route, what to wear. She makes sure she is warmly dressed, takes the map from Roose’s chamber, uses her position of cupbearer to manipulate several men, manipulates Gendry into escaping with her, takes down the guard and leads them away. It’s an endeavor that showcases her intelligence, cunning, determination, ability to strategize and lead.

Arya also shows a lot of restraint and keeps her secrets. She doesn’t trust the Glovers or any of the Northmen in Harrenhal - and considering the Red Wedding, it’s a good decision.

Their captors permitted no chatter. A broken lip taught Arya to hold her tongue. Others never learned at all. - Arya, ACoK

Arya watched them die and did nothing. What good did it do you to be brave? One of the women picked for questioning had tried to be brave, but she had died screaming like all the rest. There were no brave people on that march, only scared and hungry ones. - Arya, ACoK

On the road Arya had felt like a sheep, but Harrenhal turned her into a mouse. She was grey as a mouse in her scratchy wool shift, and like a mouse she kept to the crannies and crevices and dark holes of the castle, scurrying out of the way of the mighty.- Arya, ACoK

Braavos:

Arya’s education here is not limited to killing for the Faceless Men. She is also educated in poisons and languages. She improves on her high Valyrian and is now fluent in Braavosi and other Essosi languages. She learns acting/mummery. Not showing emotions on one’s face, detecting emotions in another person.

“A man does not need to be a wizard to know truth from falsehood, not if he has eyes. You need only learn to read a face. Look at the eyes. The mouth. The muscles here, at the corners of the jaw, and here, where the neck joins the shoulders.” He touched her lightly with two fingers. “Some liars blink. Some stare. Some look away. Some lick their lips. Many cover their mouths just before they tell a lie, as if to hide their deceit. Other signs may be more subtle, but they are always there. A false smile and a true one may look alike, but they are as different as dusk from dawn. Can you tell dusk from dawn?”

Arya nodded, though she was not certain that she could. “Then you can learn to see a lie… and once you do, no secret will be safe from you.” - Arya, AFFC

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People skills

“I will remember, Your Grace," said Sansa, though she had always heard that love was a surer route to the people's loyalty than fear. If I am ever a queen, I'll make them love me.” - Sansa, ACoK

Arya’s ability to make friends wherever she goes highlights her people skills. And Arya is able to communicate and connect with people from all walks of life.

Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. - Sansa, AGoT

She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms. She used to throw snowballs at them and help them steal pies from the kitchen. Their wives gave her scones and she invented names for their babies and played monsters-and-maidens and hide-the-treasure and come-into-my-castle with their children., Arya, AGoT

Cat had made friends along the wharves; porters and mummers, ropemakers and sailmenders, taverners, Brewers and bakers and beggars and whores - Cat of the Canals, AFfC

Her girls were nice as well; Blushing Bethany and the Sailor’s Wife, one-eyed Yna who could tell your fortune from a drop of blood, pretty little Lanna, even Assadora, the Ibbenese woman with the mustache. They might not be beautiful, but they were kind to her - Cat of the Canals, AFfC

She’s also loyal to her pack. She doesn’t betray Jon even to her father. She helps free her father’s men. Despite Gendry talking of leaving Lommy or Weasel behind, she refuses. And despite the odds, she tries to help Gendry.

It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that they had Gendry. Even if he was stubborn and stupid, she had to get him out. She wondered if they knew that the queen wanted him. - Arya, ACoK

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Importance of being a Warg/Skinchanger

She was the night wolf, no scraps of skin could frighten her. - Arya, ADwD

Since this is a fantasy series, magic is a big part of the story with a magical existential apocalyptic threat on the horizon. The North is the first bastion facing this threat. Jon and Dany both have magical pets and prophetic dreams. Bran is the 3ER. They are leaders or will become leaders by the end. Arya is a strong warg/skinchanger. Apart from Jon and Bran, she’s the only other Stark to use these abilities so far. As GRRM as indicated, having a direwolf is going to be useful in battle – we are going to be seeing direwolves involved in the battle for Winterfell for example. Arya is able to warg Nymeria from all the way over in Braavos. She skinchanges cats and sees through their eyes, when she is blind. She is deft with a sword, knife and decent with a bow and arrow (she could be better now using her FM senses). She would be an effective fighter to have against the Others and her warging skills could prove useful in battle.

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Succession

I’m not a lady, Arya wanted to tell her, I’m a wolf. - Arya, ASoS

And finally we come to succession. This is the hardest part and entirely speculation and we need the next book to get an inkling of where GRRM is heading towards. I am also basing all of this on Hibberd more or less confirming that King Bran on the Iron Throne is GRRM’s ending.

So of the true born Starks, Arya is pretty much last in line. With the inclusion of Robb’s will, we have 5 Starks left. Bran is the rightful heir to the North. Taking him out of the running, leaves Jon, Rickon, Sansa and Arya. Assuming Jon ends up North of the wall – in his dreams the Old Kings in the North in the crypts reject him, maybe foreshadowing that he doesn’t belong in Winterfell - that leaves Rickon, Sansa and Arya.

As for Sansa, again there is a plot significant reason for why GRRM has put an obstacle in her path, allowing for Arya to jump the queue. Sansa is currently married to Tyrion Lannister, a marriage that cannot be easily annulled (With an enemy regime in KL) or ignored like the show did. Robb Stark has most likely disinherited/removed her from the line of succession and named a legitimized Jon Stark his heir and Lord of Winterfell. If he has the support of the Northern houses who want an experienced, older Stark to lead them, Jon Stark could well be the next KITN over Rickon Stark. I don’t think a 7 year old Rickon would object to Jon in charge. So that makes it Jon Stark, Rickon Stark and Arya Stark.

Does Rickon have to die for Arya to become Wardeness of the North? It’s possible Rickon dies, but it’s also possible he doesn’t. It could be that Rickon does not want to lead the North – by the end of the book, he would be 8 or 9. Of course there’s the argument of a regent doing the job for Rickon until he’s ready. Or, he could just give way to his sister because he wants to. Something similar to Aemon refusing the throne and it passing to his younger brother Aegon.

Or we could have the traditional situation where Rickon becomes lord of Winterfell as next in line, while it’s Arya who is involved in running the day to day affairs. However, that would very much be status quo - with Rickon at WF and Bran down south in KL, it would be men ending up in positions of power everywhere once again, except maybe Dorne. If this happens, then Arya would be a leader of the North, but the Stark line would continue with the male line.

It’s possible Jon Stark as King could change things for the North. Jon treats the spearwives the same as the brothers of the NW, he respects Val’s abilities, he trusts in Alys Karstark. If Rickon refuses the mantle, it could very well be that Jon Stark relinquishes his position to his favorite person ever, Arya Stark, to be the next Wardeness of the North. Thus paving the way for Arya Stark to be the first female leader of the North like her hero Nymeria in Dorne.

It would be fitting for the character who introduced Jon Snow to equal rights for women.

“The Lannisters are proud,” Jon observed. “You’d think the royal sigil would be sufficient, but no. He makes his mother’s House equal in honor to the king’s.”

“The woman is important too!” Arya protested. - Arya, AGoT

Could King Jon reverse Sansa’s disinheritance after her marriage is annulled when KL is in friendly hands? Sure. But we don’t know how the Sansa/LF/Vale group will react to Jon as KITN and whether they will mount a challenge in Sansa’s name. And if Jon has to choose between Sansa and Arya as to whom he wants in charge of Winterfell, we know who it is he will think is more capable and will always choose.

I do think Winterfell succession will not be as clearcut as many Stark fans are hoping. Too many factions supporting the different Starks. GRRM loves to write about dysfunctional families and the Starks are not anything special in that regard. TWoW will tell us of whether there will be any kind of Stark civil war.

Is Arya too young for all this? I predict that by the time we get to the end of the books, about 5 years would have gone by. At 14, Arya would still need a regent – one of the many lords of the houses in the North. But I think considering her experiences, skillsets, a huge direwolf, Ned Stark’s wisdom and strong connections to the North, she will be an able leader. As GRRM said,

“[Arya is] older than some of the 40-year-olds in the book.” - GRRM

Either way, whether she gets Winterfell or not, Arya will end up as a leader in the North. Either she rules for Rickon and takes care of the day to day responsibilities or she does so in her own right as Lady of Winterfell/Wardeness of the North. She’s not going anywhere or sailing off on a boat. The show’s ending makes absolutely no sense for a character yearning for home in 5 books after going on the nightmare ‘adventure’ from hell. She will be in the North, in Winterfell, being a leader and continuing Ned Stark’s legacy. She will counsel her brothers and build and her people will love her just like they loved her father.

So in conclusion, I think there is enough story, character build up, characterization and set up for Arya to go North and take over as a leader of house Stark to face the threat of the Others along with Bran, Jon, Dany and Tyrion.

#Arya Stark #asoiaf #TWoW speculation

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spider-jaysart · 3 years ago

Note

top ten fictional characters? ships you'll never be over? and what crossover meeting of characters do you want more than anything?

@batboyblog

Top 10 characters that I love:

#1 Spider-man (My #1 favorite hero and character since I was very very little, especially after seeing the Sam Rami movies, I always loved his stories and always had thought his outfit was really cool, I also really loved the nerdy and funny part of his character. He was always so cool and fun to watch in fight scenes, with all the web swinging and flips and stuff, he's still my #1 favorite till this day)

#2 Starfire (She's such a sweet and caring character who's always there for her friends no matter what, she's my most favorite out of the whole team, she's also my most favorite female superhero. I instantly fell in love with her character when first watching the og Teen titans series on Cartoon network, I also always really loved her red hair and green eyes and she looks so cool when fighting with her starblots and the green lasers that come out of her eyes)

#3 Clementine (from the walking dead Telltale video game series, I loved her ever since I had met her in the first game, she was always very caring about others in the group and was so smart for her age, I also got to grow with her through all 4 games, seeing all her struggles and what she's had to go through that made her who she is today, she's a very strong girl now and still a caring person, even after all she's been through (she was also a little tough when she was younger but she's more stronger now as a person) and that's what I admire most about her. She's my #1 favorite female character in video games. Also you guys should definitely play the game it's a really great series that knows how to make players emotional, though I recommend getting the definitive edtion cause you'll get all 4 games and the dlcs without having to download it)

#4 Damian (I just really admire his toughness and bravery, it really encouraged me to be a little more tougher when I needed to be, same with Clementine it just really inspired me to see two very young characters who weren't afraid to speak up or stand up for themselves, also I just think he's a really cool character and is like my most favorite Robin out of the other Robin's)

#5 Grizz, Panda and Ice bear from We bare bears (I just love that series so much! I love all 3 of the bears personalitys, and they're always very caring and supportive towards each other like actual brothers and that's what I always really loved most about them! Also the show is really, really good, I definitely recommend checking it out, it's such a fun series with a lot of great episodes and it's such an underrated show. Also, there's a new spin off series from the show about there adventures from when they were just baby bears, it's called We baby bears)

#6 Moana ( I just love how she makes being in the water look like so much fun and refreshing, it really made me like being in the water a lot more and she's a very determined person when trying to reach her goals and is very brave for going that far, especially in the water, I also love her hair and her design!💕)

#7 Jon kent, when he was still ten years old (He's a very fun and sweet character, he's always so fun to read about! I really love his character, I would have loved to actually have grown with his character instead of him just magically becoming 17 years old and just suddenly become Superman, even as a 17 year old I feel he should still be Superboy, like him becoming Superman or something is something I would expect to see when I'm much much more older maybe, I would like to see him as his 10 year old self again, thats probably the thing I would like to see most from DC right now)

#8 Ellie Williams (from the last of us 1 specifically, I really loved how she could be a very fun and funny person despite the type of world she lives in, she really felt like great company when I played as Joel, the game was just better when she was always around and I like how she was able to get Joel to learn how to just laugh and be able to have a good time again and stuff like that, though in part 2 something felt missing from her character or something idk maybe it was because she was more older now and the second game was more of an angst story then the first one was)

#9 Vanellope (she's a very funny and cute character, I love how fun her design looks and I always loved the little candies she had in her hair along with her licorice hair band and her car is so cool and awesome!)

#10 The Powerpuff girls ( I loved watching that show a lot when I was younger, I loved how different the girls were from each other, they were very unique in they're personalitys and style and they each had 1 special power that was different from eachother, they're also very cute!💕 And I always loved seeing all 3 of they're colors when ever they flyed into the sky

Ships I will never get over:

Damijon (My otp💖 they just match so well together, they're dynamic is just so good👍✨💖 and they're so adorable together💖💖💖💖)

Robstar/Dickkory ( Starfire is the only person I will always see Dick with as the person he would want to have a future with, the person he would marry and raise a family together with. Also they're so sweet together💕)

Bbrae (this was actually my first ever ship when I started rewatcing some of the og Teen titans episodes a few years ago, I just always thought they were cute together and I guess I liked the opposites attract thing for them, like Beast boy as the funny happy guy who can make Raven the quiet introvert girl laugh, I just thought it was always really cute)

Timkon (last year during December I think, my sister told me she shipped it and then I started shipping it and thought it was a really cute ship)

And the crossover I would ever want the most is the Spidey cross over with all the 3 actors Tobey, Andrew and Tom and that has finally happened and I am so happy that it did, but if I had a second crossover I would want to see I would say Spider-man and the Supersons maybe? Idk I just feel like maybe some fun could be done with that😃

@batboyblog Thanks for the ask!😃 This was one of my biggest ones for me to answer! It was really fun!

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ladyofasoiaf · 4 years ago

Text

Jon ‘One Eye’ & Sansa Stark

In this meta I will try to point out the clues of Jon’s death- warging into his direwolf- coming back to life process.

Our main hint is going to be : ONE EYE motifs...

And interestingly this hint is always close to Sansa...

[Most of these clues etc have been already examined by many people but I will try to put them all in order to show the pattern..]

A GAME OF THRONES:

Waymar Royce

Waymar Royce appearence and story are very similar with Jon’s.

They look similar:

Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife.

[AGOT; Prologue]

Jon’s eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. He was of an age with Robb, but they did not look alike. Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast.

[AGOT; Bran I]

They are both young men of Night’s Watch but they were not very welcomed by their other black brothers:

His cloak was his crowning glory; sable, thick and black and soft as sin. “Bet he killed them all himself, he did,” Gared told the barracks over wine, “twisted their little heads off, our mighty warrior.” They had all shared the laugh. It is hard to take orders from a man you laughed at in your cups, Will reflected as he sat shivering atop his garron. Gared must have felt the same.

[AGOT; Prologue]

“Yes, life,” Noye said. “A long life or a short one, it’s up to you, Snow. The road you’re walking, one of your brothers will slit your throat for you one night.” “They’re not my brothers,” Jon snapped. “They hate me because I’m better than they are.” “No. They hate you because you act like you’re better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he’s a lordling.” The armorer leaned close. “You’re no lordling. Remember that. You’re a Snow, not a Stark. You’re a bastard and a bully.”

[AGOT; Jon III]

Others are a very important part of Jon’s arc and story and Waymar meets with them in Prologue:

Ser Waymar met him bravely. “Dance with me then.” He lifted his sword high over his head, defiant. His hands trembled from the weight of it, or perhaps from the cold. Yet in that moment, Will thought, he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night’s Watch.

[AGOT; Prologue]

This phrase also reminds us Jon:

It is more than impatience, Jon realized. They are afraid. Warriors, spearwives, raiders, they are frightened of those woods, of shadows moving through the trees. They want to put the Wall between them before the night descends.

A snowflake danced upon the air. Then another. Dance with me, Jon Snow, he thought. You’ll dance with me anon.

[ADWD; Jon XII]

In Prologue, Waymar gets killed by Others:

Royce’s body lay facedown in the snow, one arm out-flung. The thick sable cloak had been slashed in a dozen places. Lying dead like that, you saw how young he was. A boy.

[AGOT; Prologue]

And Jon dies in ADWD:

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …

[ADWD; Jon XIII]

But Waymar comes back to life as a wight with ‘ONE EYE’:

Will rose. Ser Waymar Royce stood over him. His fine clothes were a tatter, his face a ruin. A shard from his sword transfixed the blind white pupil of his left eye. The right eye was open. The pupil burned blue. It saw.

[AGOT; Prologue]

So: A young man of Night’s Watch who looks like Jon dies and comes back to life with ONE EYE.

Let’s continue with the second book...

A CLASH OF KINGS:

Orell

Orell is Wildling who is also a skinchanger. His animal is an EAGLE.

Jon kills Orell in ACOK; Jon VI:

Jon nodded toward the one by the fire. It felt queer, picking a man to kill.

[...]

Jon’s man leapt to his feet, thrusting at his face with a burning brand. He could feel the heat of the flames as he flinched back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sleeper stirring, and knew he must finish his man quick. When the brand swung again, he bulled into it, swinging the bastard sword with both hands. The Valyrian steel sheared through leather, fur, wool, and flesh, but when the wildling fell he twisted, ripping the sword from Jon’s grasp.

[...]

“You ought to burn them you killed,” said Ygritte.

[ACOK; Jon VI]

But due to the magic of skinchanging, a portion of Orell’s consciousness remained in the eagle, which developed a fierce hatred for Jon.

And in ACOK; Jon VII he dreams of an eagle attacking him and people talk about vargs and skinchangers:

Then a sudden gust of cold made his fur stand up, and the air thrilled to the sound of wings. As he lifted his eyes to the ice-white mountain heights above, a shadow plummeted out of the sky. A shrill scream split the air. He glimpsed blue-grey pinions spread wide, shutting out the sun… “Ghost!” Jon shouted, sitting up. He could still feel the talons, the pain. “Ghost, to me!” Ebben appeared, grabbed him, shook him. “Quiet! You mean to bring the wildlings down on us? What’s wrong with you, boy?” “A dream,” said Jon feebly. “I was Ghost, I was on the edge of the mountain looking down on a frozen river, and something attacked me. A bird… an eagle, I think…”

[...]

“Skinchanger?” said Ebben grimly, looking at the Halfhand. Does he mean the eagle? Jon wondered. Or me? Skinchangers and wargs belonged in Old Nan’s stories, not in the world he had lived in all his life. Yet here, in this strange bleak wilderness of rock and ice, it was not hard to believe.

[ACOK; Jon VII]

So: There is a skinchanger who dies because of Jon but a part of him keeps living in his animal: eagle.

The interesting thing is that between these two Jon chapters (Orell and eagle dream) comes a very important Sansa chapter which has many parallels with Jon VI chapter...

An example of parallels:

[…] ‘All I ask is a flower,’ Bael answered, ‘the fairest flower that blooms in the gardens o’ Winterfell.”

“Now as it happened the winter roses had only then come into bloom, and no flower is so rare nor precious…

[ACOK; Jon VI]

Sansa lowered her head. “The blood frightened me.”

“The blood is the seal of your womanhood. Lady Catelyn might have prepared you. You’ve had your first flowering, no more.”

Sansa had never felt less flowery. “My lady mother told me, but I… I thought it would be different.”

[ACOK; Sansa IV]

For more, please check: Jonsa Book Hints: B5

In this chapter Sansa says she wants to be loved and Cersei warns her that “love kills too...” Next chapter is Jon with his eagle dreams and warging abilities:

A half smile flickered across the queen’s face. “[…]Robert wanted to be loved. My brother Tyrion has the same disease. Do you want to be loved, Sansa?”

“Everyone wants to be loved.”

“I see flowering hasn’t made you any brighter,” said Cersei. “Sansa, permit me to share a bit of womanly wisdom with you on this very special day. Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.”

[ACOK; Sansa IV]

Let’s move on to third book...

A STORM OF SWORDS:

Orell and Wargs

In ASOS; Jon I, we learn the name of the Wildling that Jon has killed in ACOK; Jon VI:

“He slew Qhorin Halfhand,” said Longspear Ryk. “Him and that wolf o’ his.”

“And did for Orell too,” said Rattleshirt.

“The lad’s a warg, or close enough,” put in Ragwyle, the big spearwife. “His wolf took a piece o’ Halfhand’s leg.”

[...]

“What’s this?” he said. “A crow?”

“The black bastard what gutted Orell,” said Rattleshirt, “and a bloody warg as well.”

“You were to kill them all.”

“This one come over,” explained Ygritte. “He slew Qhorin Halfhand with his own hand.”

[ASOS; Jon I]

This Jon chapter comes after ASOS; Sansa I.

And these chapters have many parallels such as:

Sansa knelt at the feet of her future queen. “You do me great honor, Your Grace.” “Won’t you call me Margaery? Please, rise. Loras, help the Lady Sansa to her feet. Might I call you Sansa?”

[ASOS; Sansa I]

“I would be pleased to eat, Your Grace. And thank you.”

“Your Grace?” The king smiled. “That’s not a style one often hears from the lips of the free folk. I’m Mance to most, The Mance to some. Will you take a horn of mead?”

[ASOS; Jon I]

For more, please check: Jonsa Book Hints: C1

We also learn about Sansa’s new betrothed: Willas Tyrell..

Willas has a bad leg and so does Jon, in ASOS:

“Willas has a bad leg but a good heart,” said Margaery. “He used to read to me when I was a little girl, and draw me pictures of the stars. You will love him as much as we do, Sansa.”

[ASOS; Sansa I]

If the mare had gone down, he would have been doomed. “A lucky thing my leg got in the way,” he muttered.

He rested for a while to let the horse graze. She did not wander far. That was good. Hobbled with a bad leg, he could never have caught her.

[ASOS; Jon V]

Let’s keep reading...

In ASOS; Jon II chapter Jon’s eagle dream from ACOK comes true and Orell’s eagle attacks Jon’s eye:

He could still hear wings, though the eagle was not in sight. Half his world was black. “My eye,” he said in sudden panic, raising a hand to his face.

“It’s only blood, Jon Snow. He missed the eye, just ripped your skin up some.”

[…]

Can a bird hate? Jon had slain the wilding Orell, but some part of the man remained within the eagle. The golden eyes looked out on him with cold malevolence.

[…]

I will need to get this tended, he thought, but not just now. Let the King-beyond-the-Wall see what his eagle did to me.

[…]

The look Mance gave Jon was grim and cold. “What happened to your face?”

Ygritte said, “Orell tried to take his eye out.”

“It was him I asked. Has he lost his tongue? Perhaps he should, to spare us further lies.”

Styr the Magnar drew a long knife. “The boy might see more clear with one eye, instead of two.”

“Would you like to keep your eye, Jon?” asked the King-beyond-the-Wall. “If so, tell me how many they were. And try and speak the truth this time, Bastard of Winterfell.”

Jon’s throat was dry. “My lord… what…”

[ASOS; Jon II]

Jon almosts loses his ‘one eye’ and becomes Jon ‘One Eye’ Snow because of this attack..

After this eagle attack Jon chapter comes ASOS; Sansa II

And these chapters have many parallels such as:

Jon wheeled and followed Tormund back toward the head of the column, his new cloak hanging heavy from his shoulders. It was made of unwashed sheepskins, worn fleece side in, as the wildlings suggested.

[…]

“I wear the cloak you gave me, Your Grace.”

[ASOS; Jon II]

A new gown?” she said, as wary as she was astonished.

“More lovely than any you have worn, my lady,” the old woman promised. She measured Sansa’s hips with a length of knotted string. “All silk and Myrish lace, with satin linings. You will be very beautiful. The queen herself has commanded it.”

“Which queen?” Margaery was not yet Joff’s queen, but she had been Renly’s. Or did she mean the Queen of Thorns? Or…“The Queen Regent, to be sure.”

[ASOS; Sansa II]

For more, please check: Jonsa Book Hints: C2

And after the chapter of an eagle attacks Jon’s eye we learn in next chapter that Sansa’s betrothed Willas Tyrell flies EAGLES:

“Willas has the best birds in the Seven Kingdoms,” Margaery said when the two of them were briefly alone. “He flies an eagle sometimes. You will see, Sansa.”

[ASOS; Sansa II]

Why is Almost One Eye Jon and Sansa Stark being near to each other important?

Because the first Sansa Stark in Stark family tree was married with her half-uncle Jonnel ‘One Eye’ Stark:

So another Sansa being close to another Stark family member who almost had lost his one eye sounds interesting.

Well, Jon didn’t lose his eye but his face got scarred:

He had almost forgotten about his face. “A skinchanger tried to rip out my eye.”

Noye frowned. “Scarred or smooth, it’s a face I thought I’d seen the last of. We heard you’d gone over to Mance Rayder.”

[ASOS; Jon VI]

Who else has a scarred face? Sansa’s husband- Tyrion Lannister:

“I like your scar.” She traced it with her finger. “It makes you look very fierce and strong.”

He laughed. “Very ugly, you mean.”

“M’lord will never be ugly in my eyes.” She kissed the scab that covered the ragged stub of his nose.

[ASOS; Tyrion II]

Varamyr

What happens to this eagle later?

Skinchanger, Varamyr Sixskins, takes control of Orell’s eagle. Varamyr uses the eagle to scout Castle Black and spots Stannis Baratheon’s arrival at the Wall.

The eagle bursts into flames during the attack on Castle Black with Melisandre claiming she was responsible.

The skinchanger was grey-faced, round-shouldered, and bald, a mouse of a man with a wolfling’s eyes. “Once a horse is broken to the saddle, any man can mount him,” he said in a soft voice. “Once a beast’s been joined to a man, any skinchanger can slip inside and ride him. Orell was withering inside his feathers, so I took the eagle for my own. But the joining works both ways, warg. Orell lives inside me now, whispering how much he hates you. And I can soar above the Wall, and see with eagle eyes.”

[...]

“Banners,” he heard Varamyr murmur, “I see golden banners, oh . . .” A mammoth lumbered by, trumpeting, a half-dozen bowmen in the wooden tower on its back. “The king . . . no . . .”

Then the skinchanger threw back his head and screamed.The sound was shocking, ear-piercing, thick with agony. Varamyr fell, writhing, and the ’cat was screaming too.... and high, high in the eastern sky, against the wall of cloud, Jon saw the eagle burning. For a heartbeat it flamed brighter than a star, wreathed in red and gold and orange, its wings beating wildly at the air as if it could fly from the pain. Higher it flew, and higher, and higher still.

[ASOS; Jon X]

Melisandre burns the eagle. Who else got burned in the books?

Jon Snow in AGOT:

He had burned himself more badly than he knew throwing the flaming drapes, and his right hand was swathed in silk halfway to the elbow. At the time he’d felt nothing; the agony had come after.

[AGOT; Jon VIII]

And Jon burns himself in AGOT; Jon VII:

Jon tried to shout, but his voice was gone. Staggering to his feet, he kicked the arm away and snatched the lamp from the Old Bear’s fingers. The flame flickered and almost died. “Burn!” the raven cawed. “Burn, burn, burn!”

Spinning, Jon saw the drapes he’d ripped from the window. He flung the lamp into the puddled cloth with both hands. Metal crunched, glass shattered, oil spewed, and the hangings went up in a great whoosh of flame. The heat of it on his face was sweeter than any kiss Jon had ever known. “Ghost!” he shouted.

The direwolf wrenched free and came to him as the wight struggled to rise, dark snakes spilling from the great wound in its belly. Jon plunged his hand into the flames, grabbed a fistful of the burning drapes, and whipped them at the dead man. Let it burn, he prayed as the cloth smothered the corpse, gods, please, please, let it burn.

[AGOT; Jon VII]

This Jon chapter comes after AGOT; Sansa IV:

And these two chapters have many parallels such as:

So she went to the queen instead, and poured out her heart, and Cersei had listened and thanked her sweetly … only then Ser Arys had escorted her to the high room in Maegor’s Holdfast and posted guards, and a few hours later, the fighting had begun outside.

[AGOT; Sansa IV]

They took his knife and his sword and told him he was not to leave his cell until the high officers met to decide what was to be done with him. And then they placed a guard outside his door to make certain he obeyed. His friends were not allowed to see him, but the Old Bear did relent and permit him Ghost, so he was not utterly alone.

[AGOT; Jon VII]

Yet somehow it seemed colder with Jeyne gone, even after she’d built a fire. She pulled a chair close to the hearth, took down one of her favorite books, and lost herself in the stories of Florian and Jonquil, of Lady Shella and the Rainbow Knight, of valiant Prince Aemon and his doomed love for his brother’s queen.

[AGOT; Sansa IV]

Yet he was trembling, violently. When had it gotten so cold?

[…] 

Metal crunched, glass shattered, oil spewed, and the hangings went up in a great whoosh of flame. The heat of it on his face was sweeter than any kiss Jon had ever known. “Ghost!” he shouted.

[AGOT; Jon VII]

For more, please check: Jonsa Book Hints: A10

What happens to skinchanger Orell and warg Varamyr after the eagle burst into flames?

The incident greatly affects Varamyr and supposedly kills the remnants of Orell inside the eagle.

After the defeat of the wildlings at the battle beneath the Wall, Varamyr has lost all his possessions in his madness from experiencing the eagle’s death; he has also lost control of his snow bear and shadowcat, but his wolves remain.

[Orell dying completely and Varamyr gets mad also reminds me another resurrected character Beric Dondarrion who also has ONE EYE and him dying for good to bring Catelyn Stark back to life... And like Varamyr, Lady Stoneheart loses her mind too... ]

Let’s move on to fourth book...

A FEAST FOR CROWS:

Jon is not even in this book?

But Sansa is and we learn few things about her crushes:

Waymar Royce:

She had fallen wildly in love with Ser Waymar, she remembered dimly, but that was a lifetime ago, when she was a stupid little girl.

[AFFC; Alayne I]

Grrm reminds us Waymar Royce aka the biggest foreshadowing for Jon in AFFC book via Sansa’s chapter...

Loras Tyrell:

Loras was another crush of Sansa and we learn that he got burned really bad in AFFC.

Like the eagle and Jon.

“Tell me,” said Margaery. “I command it.” Command it? Cersei paused a moment, then decided she would let that pass. “The defenders fell back to an inner keep once the curtain wall was taken. Loras led the attack there as well. He was doused with boiling oil.” Lady Alla turned white as chalk, and ran from the room. “The maesters are doing all they can, Lord Waters assures me, but I fear your brother is too badly burned.”

[AFFC; Cersei VIII]

More about Loras // Jon, please check: Jonsa Book Hints: A8

Let’s keep reading the fifth book...

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS:

In ADWD; Prologue Varamyr encounters with Others (just like AGOT; Prologue) and Varamyr’s body dies, but his mind lives on in his wolf One Eye.

And Varamyr also thinks about Jon and his direwolf..

So we have dead warg who kept living in his animal: A WOLF whose name is ONE EYE.

Varamyr could feel the snowflakes melting on his brow. This is not so bad as burning. Let me sleep and never wake, let me begin my second life. His wolves were close now. He could feel them. He would leave this feeble flesh behind, become one with them, hunting the night and howling at the moon. The warg would become a true wolf. Which, though?

[...]

“They say you forget,” Haggon had told him, a few weeks before his own death. “When the man’s flesh dies, his spirit lives on inside the beast, but every day his memory fades, and the beast becomes a little less a warg, a little more a wolf, until nothing of the man is left and only the beast remains.”

Varamyr knew the truth of that. When he claimed the eagle that had been Orell’s, he could feel the other skinchanger raging at his presence. Orell had been slain by the turncloak crow Jon Snow, and his hate for his killer had been so strong that Varamyr found himself hating the beastling boy as well. He had known what Snow was the moment he saw that great white direwolf stalking silent at his side. One skinchanger can always sense another. Mance should have let me take the direwolf. There would be a second life worthy of a king. He could have done it, he did not doubt. The gift was strong in Snow, but the youth was untaught, still fighting his nature when he should have gloried in it.

[...]

A sleeping direwolf raised his head to snarl at empty air. Before their hearts could beat again he had passed on, searching for his own, for One Eye, Sly, and Stalker, for his pack. His wolves would save him, he told himself. That was his last thought as a man. True death came suddenly; he felt a shock of cold, as if he had been plunged into the icy waters of a frozen lake. Then he found himself rushing over moonlit snows with his packmates close behind him. Half the world was dark. One Eye, he knew. He bayed, and Sly and Stalker gave echo. When they reached the crest the wolves paused.

[...]

The things below moved, but did not live. One by one, they raised their heads toward the three wolves on the hill. The last to look was the thing that had been Thistle. She wore wool and fur and leather, and over that she wore a coat of hoarfrost that crackled when she moved and glistened in the moonlight. Pale pink icicles hung from her fingertips, ten long knives of frozen blood. And in the pits where her eyes had been, a pale blue light was flickering, lending her coarse features an eerie beauty they had never known in life. She sees me.

[ADWD; Prologue]

Jon dies in his last ADWD chapter and his last word was his direwolf’s name: GHOST...

[ADWD; Jon XIII]

So we have a full circle:

It started with Agot; Prologue

and ended with ADWD; Jon XIII

Let’s not forget that Jon’s death was foreshadowed in ASOS; Sansa VI chapter.

Lord Petyr dismissed him with a wave, and returned to the pomegranate again as Oswell shuffled down the steps. “Tell me, Alayne—which is more dangerous, the dagger brandished by an enemy, or the hidden one pressed to your back by someone you never even see?”

“The hidden dagger.”

“There’s a clever girl.” He smiled, his thin lips bright red from the pomegranate seeds.

[ASOS; Sansa VI]

Next chapter was Jon:

Fore more about Jon’s death and Sansa; please check:

Jonsa Book Hints: C12 & E7

“Do not be so certain.” The ruby at Melisandre’s throat gleamed red. “It is not the foes who curse you to your face that you must fear, but those who smile when you are looking and sharpen their knives when you turn your back. You would do well to keep your wolf close beside you. Ice, I see, and daggers in the dark. Blood frozen red and hard, and naked steel. It was very cold.”

“It is always cold on the Wall.”

“You think so?”

“I know so, my lady.”

“Then you know nothing, Jon Snow,” she whispered.

[ADWD; Jon I]

In conclusion:

Jon’s death, him warging into his direwolf during his death and him coming back to life arc has been foreshadowed since AGOT; Prologue and its most obvious hints were given in ADWD; Prologue by echoing AGOT; Prologue.

The ‘ONE EYE’ motif seems like a key hint for his resurrection.

And Sansa is always close to this motif or she has some connections with this motif via other characters or her chapters.

A Sansa Stark being close to another ‘ONE EYE’ Stark is interesting because of the historical couple: Jonnel ‘One Eye’ & Sansa Stark in Stark family tree..

Even the hints of Jon’s death can be found in Sansa chapters.

All of these tell us that Sansa will be important in Jon’s past resurrection story.

Thanks for reading.

Some sources:

Waymar // Jon

Disfigurements

Jonnel / Sansa

Jon’s fate and losing an eye

#jonsa #jon snow #varamyr #orell #jonnel one eye stark #sansa stark #agot #acok #asos #affc #adwd #actually jonsa #jon snow x sansa stark #waymar royce #one eye #meta #mine

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anastasiabeaverhousen87 · 4 years ago

Text

Fever Dreams

NOTE: Sorry guys for the delay but work kept me from having free time but I was able to come up with this. someone requested a sick baby Danvers getting a fever after some stressful event and then being taken care by her sisters. Hope you like it, I now figured out I cannot do small stories or prompts. I kept writing until I saw the number of pages lol anyways, enjoy.

word count: 5937

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You were discussing some ideas with your boss, Regina, she laughs at something you said when suddenly she received a call. She holds up her hand signaling for you to wait for a moment so she can take the call.

Regina: “yes? , yes she is here. Oh, I see. Yes, I understand. Ok, I’m sending her downstairs right away. No thanks are needed.” - her smile fell and started at you with sorrow in her eyes. She walks to you and holds your hands looking straight into your eyes-

Y/n; “was that about me?” - you asked afraid of the answer.

Regina: “ y/n I need you to listen and don’t panic. There was a situation involving your sisters. I don’t know the details, but you are needed downstairs. Lena Luthor is here for you; you need to go with her. Don’t worry about work, please take off the time you need and don’t forget that whatever you need I’m here for you”

At the mention of situation involving your sisters, you pale and basically ran from your boss’s office to the reception area where Lena Luthor was already waiting for you, her face hard and imposing. Not really reflecting any emotion. So, you couldn’t really get how bad the situation was.

Y/n: “please tell me they’re are okay?” - you tear up not knowing what to expect.

Lena grabs ahold of you and hugs you hard and in very calm and soft voice for only you able to hear says: “they’re alive. They were taken to the DEO. Their condition is unknown, I came for you as soon as I found out. Come on sweet girl. We need to go”

You just nod and let Lena drag you into her car. Your mind and heart running a hounded miles per hour thinking of all worst-case scenarios possible. You are even dreading one them is dead or worse both and you are not being told the truth. You feel your anxiety rise and your hands are a tremble mess.

Lena notices but when you look at her, you schooled your emotions and try to look detached from your thoughts, you need to be strong for your sisters. You need to focus on them, and you can’t let Lena or anyone else worry over you on top of everything. So, you just swallow and bottle everything up.

Y/n: “I’m okay Lena, I just need to see them” - you say in a monotonous tone and hold your hands in your lap.

Lena: “I’m worry too sweetheart. But we are almost there” - she gives your arm a gentle squeeze and turns to look at her phone. You know she must be running all possible scenarios and outcomes in her head; Lena is a very analytical person. You take a deep breath and try to comfort her; Lena needs you too.

Y/n: “you know we are talking about the two most stubborn and powerful women we know. They are highly trained and one of them is basically indestructible. And the other is pretty much a ninja” - you give Lena a warm smile and you can see a hint of a smile on her and you grab her hand in yours.

You both arrive at the DEO and you are immediately received by Jon and lets you know what happened and the current condition of both Danvers sisters.

The mission was compromised, and Alex was taken out of the location unconscious, blood in the back of her head, a contusion and is currently in the intensive care unit because they are monitoring her heart. The worse of the attack was inflicted upon Kara. Somehow the unsubs got ahold of green Kryptonite lined spears and Kara was hit with 6 of them. She lost a lot of blood and she was currently in a coma due to the severity of the injuries and blood loss.

Lena asked to be able to see Kara and foresee the blood transfusion with the blood the DEO was able to get from Kara previously and she kept guarded in her lab for situations such as this.

You let her, not quite ready prepare to see Kara in such state. You also didn’t want Alex alone, so you asked to be taken to her. They were in different areas for their treatments and would take a while before they could be placed in the same room.

You are now siting next to Alex in the ICU, she has some bruises and cuts littering her arms and face. A bandage on the back of her head, she looks peacefully asleep. However, there’s a bunch of wires and tubes everywhere and they are keeping close watch on her heart rate and they have her under sedation. After a while of you holding your big sister hand, the door opens, and you can see Lena on the other side. you walk out of the ICU room to speak with her. She gives you a rundown of the status with Kara, and asks you if you want to see her while she stays with Alex. You nod and walk to your blonde superhero sister medical room. You steel yourself, prepare for what you are about to see and make sure you don’t show any anxiety or discomfort you sister can pick up on. They need to focus on healing, no worrying on their baby sister. You again put on a brave face and keep walking.

When you enter the medical wing where they have the sunlamps installed, you are face with the vision of your powerful and bubbly blonde sister, she looks so still and small in the bed, she is covered with a white blanket but you can definitely see bruises on her, bruises!!! She never bruises. She looks so pale, and there’s a bag of blood next to her arm, the transfusion they mentioned before. And you take a shuddering breath and walks further into the room, you place a gentle kiss on her forehead and sit next to her. You take her hand in yours, and you note she feels cold and she is never cold. She is quite the opposite; she is a furnace all the time. But her hands are cold, and she looks pale and she has bruises and cuts on her arms. You feel so sad and lost, she is supposed to be almost indestructible and somehow someone made sure to have available the one thing that could bring Supergirl to her knees, to hurt her …to kill her.

You push your worries and anxiety away and try to calm and look this the positive way, they are here. They are both alive and they will recover from this. You stay with Kara for a long time, you are not sure how long, but after a while you are being asked to step out so they can check on Kara and move Alex from the ICU to Kara’s medical room.

For the next two days you stay strong, keep a brave face and make sure to leave and get food and coffee for Lena and the team taking care of your sisters. You need to feel useful, make sure you don’t crumble under pressure and anxiety at looking at your sisters so beaten up. Alex woke up after 12 hours and she was very out of it for the concussion and looked terribly exhausted. Kara was doing better the sunlamps working their magic, but she did end up blowing off her powers and she was healing slower than usual, but on the mend. she was mostly recovered after 36 hours but was kept at the DEO anyways.

You walk into one of the labs Lena is working on some samples to bring her lunch. She’s been working nonstop on getting a suit or artifact to make sure Kara never gets affected by kryptonite like this again. She has her tablet on her hand and looks furious.

y/n: “knock knock… hi Lena, here I brought you lunch., I noticed you haven’t left this place so here. Salad, a chicken wrap and iced tea. Healthy enough right?”

Lena changes her demeanor instantly and covers her tablet, facedown on the table.

Lena: “Hi sweetie, you’re a Gods send, no I haven’t eaten so I’m starving. Thank you so much.” – she is about to dig into her food when there’s a phone call to one of the phones in the lab. She perks up immediately.

Kara: “Kara woke up from her nap, do you mind if I go and say hello? and then you can stay with her ill come back and eat lunch and you can have yours with Kara”

Y/n: “Of course, I don’t mind your dork, Ill stay here while you say hello and then we will switch spots.”

Lena almost runs into the med bay to see Kara and she forgets to lock and take the tablet with her. You notice the tablet and got curious, whatever Lena was watching seemed to make her very mad, so you decided to be nosy and took the tablet. It was a video, you hit play and what you see is the worst things you could’ve witness.

Is the footage from the mission, you can see how Kara is getting attacked by the spears, embedding into her skin like butter. She shouldn’t be hurt that easily and you see your sister bleed from different spots. Then there’s movement and lots of people getting hurt and all of sudden Alex and Jon run into the place Kara is kneeling and bleeding. Jon is now trying to control de attacker, Alex notices something and her eyes go wide with worry and gets in between whatever she is seeing and Kara. A sort of electric wave or shock hits Alex and she becomes airborne and then hits the floor hard, she is now unconscious on the floor. You can hear the most painful and devastating scream coming out of Kara, who is desperately trying to move to get to Alex the best she can with kryptonite om her body. She Is screaming Alex’s name and what follows makes your blood run cold.

[[Kara (voice from the video) “ Nooo Alex!!! Jon help her heart just stopped!”-Jon finishes to subdue the enemy and runs towards Alex and you cant look away from the footage. Jon is shouting orders and he is doing CPR and Alex. Some agent runs with a black box and looks to be a defibrillator and they began to work on getting Alex back. She is basically dead; she has no heartbeat. They shock her 4 times before you can see Jon’s shoulders sag with relief and then Kara goes limp next to Alex. ]]

You stop the video and lock the tablet. You have tears running down your cheeks, what you saw its just awful, you know your sisters are okay now, but they could’ve been killed, and they barely made it out there with their lives this time. how many times has this happened before? Are they always getting hurt like this? Would they die eventually on missions? Many scenarios began to pop up In your mind and how any day now you could lose them and become completely alone in the world. They are everything to you and now you just saw how bad things can get for them. You can breathe you feel like all air is leaving your lungs. So, you run, you don’t want for Kara or Alex finding out your saw that or that you need help, they don’t need to be looking out for you. You run to a led lined room and try to control your panic attack. You fall to the ground and pull your legs up towards your chest and try to control your breathing, you force yourself to steady your heart rate. You must control it; you need to shove it inside deep inside and don’t let it show. For them, you need to keep this from them. After a very long time you feel yourself drifting out from exhaustion and then you sit there alone until you can feel more normal.

You find a restroom and clean your face and then you look at your reflection, you look haunted and exhausted. You wash your face and try to compose yourselves. You leave the room and then you see Lena walking towards you.

Lena: “There you are! I’ve been trying to find you for almost an hour. Are you okay? Are you sick or hurt?” - Lena is looking at you from head to toes trying to see what’s wrong. You need to control it.

y/n: “I’m fine Lena. I was waiting for you, but I was starting to get sleepy, so I just left to walk it off for a bit and clear my head. I guess time slipped from me”

Lena didn’t press much, but you could see she didn’t buy it completely she looked suspicious of you but let it slide for now “Ok, that’s okay. Kara and Alex have been asking for you. Why don’t you go see them? They will be able to go home tomorrow”

Y/N: “Yeah totally I’m om my way and finally and can’t wait to have them home. Are you coming or what?”

You and Lena spend the afternoon with the Danvers sisters and Alex noticed something was off with you, so you tried to deflect and avoid getting any attention from them, they needed to focus on themselves. Not you.

Alex: “Kiddo you look tire why don’t you just jump in bed with me and sleep for a while? Come on!”- the red head pats the bed next to her and you want it so bad, to lay there and be comforted by your sister but you can’t. You need to show them you are strong and can be the one looking out for them this time.

y/n:”I’m not tired Alex, I’m okay. Do you need anything water, food or a snack?”

Kara: “Sweet girl stop, we are good. But you do look a bit run down. You been here for days and you haven’t slept or eaten enough. Just rest for a little; if not with Alex come on, you can sleep with me, Please? I really could use on of your certified hugs? - Kara gives you the best puppy eyes she can muster.

Alex “Hey, I asked first, and I want a hug too” – she pouts

You chuckle at her antics and you can see Lena looks quite suspicious of you and is looking more at you than any of the remaining Danvers in the room. So you walk to Alex and give her a hug and a kiss “I love you, but I will lay down with Kara because you still have burnt marks on your chest and I don’t want to hurt you”

Alex just pouts but she doesn’t really care about who you end up crashing on, she just wants you to rest and sleep for a while. So, you comply. Besides you lied, because you know Kara is always running hot, she hardly notices when you are running a fever and you can feel yourself getting a headache and you do feel a bit warm. But you think is just stress and if you sleep for a while it will go away.

Kara opens her arms and smiles broadly “Come on little one, jump in and give me some sugar”

You walk to Kara and get comfortable next to her and you inhale her scent, you can always find comfort in their smell and their touch. You let yourself drift off and then, you’re out like a light. You might be more tired than you pretended no to be.

The room becomes silent for a few minutes.

Alex: “Is she out?” - she asks Kara who nods in approval.

Kara is running her fingers through y/n hair and Lena walks towards Kara and y/n.

Lena: “She is out. Something is off with her. She’s been extremely quiet, not in a bad way but like she seems to be trying to avoid breaking down or look too preoccupied. She took into herself to run food and drink errands for everyone, trying to keep busy at all times. Even when she was siting with any of you, she would look a little detached.”

Alex: “she is deflecting, and she does looks exhausted. Poor thing. I bet it was awful on her getting both her sister hurt. She needs to rest too, and we will make that happened”

Kara just hums in approval; she is too preoccupied looking down at y/n running her fingers through her hair and hummin softly a song. Lena just keeps watching Kara make soothing strokes on y/n.

Lena: “well, I leave for now to make sure the fridge is stocked up and have your beds ready with fresh sheets. Alex, Kara and I think its better if you stay at Kara’s and Y/N for a few days. y/n said you can have her room, I will stay with Kara and even tough y/n said she was taking the couch, she is most likely than not be using you as her human teddy bear and sleep with you”

Alex: “ yeah, I guess that’s the best. I want to keep a close eye on y/n. make sure she really is okay. And she will feel better if she has us around for the next couple of days”

Y/n moves in her sleep and scrunches up her face in disapproval of the noises in the room.

Kara just hums and keeps the soothing patterns “Shh sleep little one. You’re okay”

Lena whispers “Ok I’m leaving I’ll be back in the morning to take you all home” – she then gives Kara a sweet kiss on her lips and runs down gently her fingers on y/n temple. –“Sleep good sweet girl”

Kara “Good night baby. See you in the morning”

Alex: “Good night Lena, thank you for everything. See you in the morning”

Lena: “None needed Alex, it’s my pleasure besides who kept everyone motivated and going was here our sweet y/n. She deserves the credit for keeping us sane and fed. Now she deserves a good night rest”

Alex and Kara nod and say goodbye and continue to watch over y/n during the night. In the morning Lena arrives early so they all can leave. But she is concerns when she sees that y/n still asleep.

Kara: “good morning my love. We are ready. I´ll carry the goober here I have pretty much all my strength back so I’m good to go. She woke up a little while ago to eat some fruit and a jell-O. But she pretty much passed out after that. She is completely exhausted”

Kara is now wearing pants and looks like she just took a shower. y/n is passed out on the hospital bed slightly snoring next to Kara.

Alex walks into the room also wearing DEO issued pants and carrying a small bag. “I’m ready to go”

They all arrive at the Danvers apartment and settle down for the day. Kara carries y/n to her own room to let Alex in y/n room rest for a while. Being human she is not at 100% like she is. Lena and Kara end up in the kitchen deciding on lunch and Alex is now napping for a little bit as well.

A little while after Kara walks into her room to check on y/n, she is still asleep which is now a bit worrisome.

Kara: “y/n baby. Wake up. Come on, just wake up for a little bit to eat something”

You began to stir in bed and give a cute yawn and waking up a bit more. You feel a headache and you don’t feel so good. But you remember what happened and notice you are in your sister room. You bolt upright.

y/n: “what happened? what time is it? Why I’m I in your room?- you look frantic.

Kara: “Calm down kiddo. We’re home. You were so tired, so we just let you sleep for a while. I brought you here to let you rest more. And Alex took your room. Are you hungry?”

y/n: “ohh ok, I guess I was more than tired than I thought. Yeah, I could eat”

You walk to the kitchen next to Kara and you see Lena there platting some food.

Lena “Hi there sleepy head, feeling better?” – Lena approaches you and gives you a peck on your cheek.

Lena frowns at the warm feeling on your cheek and touches your forehead and cheeks with her hands.

Lena: “Sweetie you feeling okay? You are a bit warm and your cheeks look a bit flush”

Y/n: “I’m good, just tired. I think I’ll grab a bite and sleep some more”- you sit on one of the chairs at the counter and slump yourself on the table.

Kara looks worried at you and she then looks back at Lena. “how warm, should I bring the thermometer?”

You just grunt- “No Kara, I’m fine I just need food and more sleep. I’m okay no need to worry. You and Alex are the ones that were attacked and are recovering. I’m just sleep deprived”

Kara: “y/n, don’t lie to me baby girl. Or I will go and get Alex to make sure you are really okay”

y/n: “NO!!!, don’t bother her with this. Let her sleep, she needs it. I’m fine but if it does make you feel better bring the thermometer but just let Alex sleep”

Lena and Kara look at you, confuse at your outburst. You seem to be a little on edge.

Alex: “No need to worry about me sleeping. I’m up. What’s this all about?”

Lena: “y/n feels a Little too warm and she seems tense”

You give Lena a dirty look – “No I’m not, and I’m FINE. I just need more sleep to feel better and that’s all”

Alex approaches you and feels your forehead and cheeks. She also puts her lips to your forehead, and you sigh in appreciation of having your sister near you. You rest your forehead on her shoulder and Alex just hold your near her.

Alex: “You are a little warm, but nothing too bad. I’m giving you Tylenol for the headache and mild fever. Just eat something first”. - she hugs you for a little bit more and kisses your head and sits down next to you.

After lunch Alex gave you Tylenol and the four of you ended up in the living room watching a movie. You avoided mentioning anything in regard the attack and the injuries your sisters sustain no wanted to let them know you saw what really happened to them. However, the movie you were all watching, was a Sci-Fi movie. Alex and Lena making remarks on how bad and unreal the effects were and you felt yourself tense at the images. There was one in particular, where a laser beam was aimed towards someone and you could see Alex being hit and then lying down on the ground dead. You couldn’t keep watching that it was all too raw. You could feel the anxiety and stress of those couple of days and you just turn into Alex to hold her close and hide your face in her neck, not wanting to keep watching or listening to the movie.

Lena noticed your demeanor change as well as your sisters. Kara got back her powers and could feel your heart rate increased and she paused the movie.

Kara: “You okay little one?”- she asks but you just shrug and hide further into Alex.

Alex is combing her fingers through your hair, but you nudge a bit to hard and you can feel Alex stiff a little and hiss in pain. You accidentally touched one of the burn marks on her chest. You sit up and release your hold on Alex.

You have tears in your eyes and feel so bad for hurting Alex: “I’m So sorry Alex. I, …I forgot you were still healing I didn’t mean it. I’m just tired. I think I´ll just go to sleep; I don’t feel like watching the movie anymore. I’ll get the air mattress so you can still watch the movie or whatever you want. And whenever you are ready you can take the bed Alex. Good night” - you rambled nonstop and try to leave as fast as you can, but Alex grabs you by your waist and pulls you into her and prevent from you to run way.

Alex: “hey hey none of that, you didn’t hurt me. It was an accident and I’m okay. Please calm down for a bit, take a deep breath. That’s it, deep breaths.” Alex holds you near and rubs up and down you back in a soothing way – “Don’t shut us out. You don’t have to pretend that what happened didn’t affected you and to be strong for us. We are okay, we are here with you and I know see us like that wasn’t easy for you. We know the risks but it’s different for you. So please let us in.”

And that’s too much for you to handle and you just break down completely all the fears and anxiety you been building up for days now comes out through Gut-wrenching sobs that tore through your chest and you cling to Alex like a lifeline. You try to follow Alex’s instructions, but you just can’t, you feel tightening in your throat and you take short intakes of breath. You starting to feel lightheaded and you faintly can hear her voice and now Kara’s, not sure who’s.

You feel your legs being swept from under you and you know its Kara strong and caring arms carrying you.

Alex: “Take her to the bedroom I’m getting her inhaler just keep trying to calm her down a little. Lena can you grab a cold compress and bring it to her room, please” – Alex says in a hurry and everyone moves.

Kara: “Little one, I know I know please try to take a deep breath”- and you try but you start to cough and try to take a breath, but you keep choking.

Alex: “I got it, here baby please take a puff” – you feel the inhaler being pressed to your mouth and try to get in the medication. You fail the first time and choke on air. “That’s Okay sweetie try again, here we go, breath in…” – this time you can get the medication in and you give rest to your burring lungs. A second time and you feel like you can breathe again.

Kara: “that’s it little one, slow but deep breaths. Just like that” – Kara soothing voices echoes through your head as well as Alex’s. You feel something cold being pressed to the back of your neck and forehead.

You feel the relief of been able to breathe properly and you began to calm down a bit. Your sobs turn into sniffling and you are limp against Kara. But then you are being moved one more time, you feel a second pair of arms, Alex. Her soft and firm arms are embracing you and you feel more relaxed now. You want to apologize for the outburst, but you feel so very tired you can barely keep your eyelid opens anymore.

Alex: “go to sleep sweet girl. We are here, you’re not alone and we are not going anywhere okay”

Kara” Just sleep baby.”- you feel Kara fingers in run through your head and neck. And then you are out like a light.

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You can see Alex lying on the ground dead, her eyes wide and void. No life in them. Just Gone. And Kara next to her barely alive, you run to her and put her head on your lap. Tears are running down your cheeks and you feel your chin trebling. Kara is so pale and cold; she is barely breathing. and you can see her eyes are so sad, she knows Alex is gone and now your about to lose Kara too. And then her eyes start to close. And you cant stand that,” Kara no, no, no,no,no please wake up. You can leave me, please hang on wake-up Kara”- but Kara is too weak and tries to give you a small smile “I’m sorry sweet girl…” and she is gone…

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y/n: “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!” – You bolt upright screaming and great tremor overtake you. Body wracked with an onslaught of sobs and tears. You try to move and then you feel arms around you.

Kara runs into the room followed by Lena who notices you are being cradled by Alex and you look to be completely out of out of it. Sweat pouring down your face and body. Your cheeks red and blotchy.

Alex: “her fever spiked, pass me the thermometer please”

Lena presses the device to read the temperature on you and when there’s a beep 104°F Everyone’s eyes go wide with worry.

Alex: “Kara take her to the bathroom; we need to lower her core temperature STAT”

You are mumbling incoherent things through choked sobs “No Kara, don’t leave, Alex dead. Please No…” -you keep crying and Kara takes you into the bathroom while Alex works on getting lukewarm water running in the bathtub, she steps inside and signals to Kara to lower you on her lap. You sister stripped you down to your underwear. You feel water on your body, and it feels like icy pricks all over and you try to move and scape the cold, but you can’t. you are being held down.

Alex: “y/n baby please calm down; you are going to be fine. I’m here. We need to bring your temperature down” -she keeps holding you and trying to sooth you while Kara keep pouring water down your head, back, neck and arms. You stay in the water for a very long time, you are not sure for how long.

y/n: “Why did you leave me Alex?” – you mumble softly and hide you face into the crook of her neck, Tears welled from deep inside and coursed down your cheeks.

Alex and Kara look at loss, obviously they know their sister is hallucinating from the high fever.

Lena: “I Noticed something was off since that day at the DEO and I couldn’t find her. I forgot my tablet at the lab, and she was there. I wasn’t sure if she saw the footage but guessing from how she thinks you are dead; I think she took the tablet and watch the video from the mission”

Alex nods and keeps trying to calm you down and bring down the fever “That’s okay sweet girl, I’m here. I’m here with you, I did not leave you” -she keeps her mantra of soft words and holding you. “Lena do you have the a FeverAll suppository.?”

Lena nods.

Alex: “Okay, Kara I need you to take y/n I’m going to dry myself a little bit. Take her into her room and change her into a clean set of under wear and just gently remove the excess water, don’t dry her completely. That will keep her cool enough. Don’t put any pajamas on her, maybe just a lose tank top. Lena if you could bring more cold compresses and water or if we have Pedialyte. And just leave the medication in her night stand I will administrate that in a moment”

Kara paces you in you bed and Lena walks in setting the things Alex requested on the nigh stand while touching your cheeks and forehead and you feel cooler to the touch. “She feels more cooler now, I’m going to leave the suppository here and the water. I´ll be in your room, so Alex and y/n have a little privacy for her to administrate the medication”

Kara: “poor baby, she hates those. But they better for her. Ok Love I’ll be there in a bit. I just want to make sure she is okay and comfortable after Alex gets here”

Lena: “Of course baby. Let me know if you need anything else”- Lena leans down to kiss your forehead and then kisses Kara and leaves the room.

Alex walks in and checks y/n temp. still a mild fever, but not in comparison to what it was before the bath in lukewarm water.

Alex: “She is definitely cooler now, but I need to administrate the fever reducer suppository. Lower her underwear and Can you move her to lay on her left side please, and just bent her upper leg towards her abdomen?”

You tense at Alex words; you really don’t like this kind of medication it’s too uncomfortable. You try to move away. Kara keeps you steady.

Kara: “I know you don’t like them, and you don’t need to be embarrassed, this will help you feel better soon.” – you just looked at her with glazed eyes and sniff, resigned you knew she is right. But still you don’t like it.

Alex put on a rubber glove and a bit of water-based lubricant on her finger to make things easier for you.

Alex: “This will be quick I promise sweet girl just relax take a slow deep breath through your mouth”-you feel Alex push your leg a little bit more into your abdomen and Kara holds you still. You take a deep breath and you feel the uncomfortable sensation of the intrusion of a foreign object being pushed into your body that way. Alex is very gentle and does a quick job and waits a moment to prevent the expulsion of the suppository and then removes her glove and goes to wash her hands.

Kara: “That was all. You did great little onel. Now close your eyes and relax, go back to sleep”

Alex returns to the room and you are almost asleep on Kara, but when Kara sees Alex walk back into the room she moves you so you can still be lying down on your side but this time near Alex. The red head in turn gathers you in her arms and begins running a hand up and down your spine so you can relax and fall asleep. You feel Kara move from the bed and you tear up.

Y/n: “Sissy can you stay too? Please, just tonight”- you don’t feel good and now you are definitely not trying to prove anything to anyone, you feel like shit and you want your sisters.

Kara: “Of course I can stay. Just let me go and say goodnight to Lena and I’ll be right back”

y/n: “okay”- you say in small voice and you began to move more into Alex. She holds you near and presses a cold compress to the back of your neck and face.

Alex: “Close your eyes baby, Kara will be right back. We are here and we are not leaving you sweet girl”- she keeps the soothing touches and you start to feel the heaviness of sleep and you are almost asleep when you feel the bed dip and a second touch on your temple.

Kara: “Lena says good night sweet girl and she promised to make chocolate chip pancakes in the morning, Yaaay” – Kara keeps her touch light and you feel her near, but not as close as Alex. They don’t want to overheat your skin and you feel their presence near you to be just perfect and you drifted-off into a dreamless sleep.

note II: all mistakes are mine, its late and I just finish this and post it like that. I need sleep.

#sickfic #baby danvers #baby!danvers #alex x baby danvers #baby danvers x lena #baby danvers x kara #alex danvers #alex danvers imagine #supergirl #supercorp #lena x reader #lena luthor imagine #lena x supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers imagine #kara x reader #kara danvers

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sailorshadzter · 4 years ago

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a loyal lord.

She was not afraid to face Ramsay, nor even Joffrey, and so she is not afraid of the dragon queen. Not even Daenerys' dragons could frighten her, despite the flames that they belched and the shrieks that came as they streaked through the Northern skies. No, she was resilient as stone, like Winterfell, like her father; she was a Stark and so she could be brave. And yet... She was afraid. Not of Daenerys, not of her dragons, but of death itself. Of the army that would soon march towards Winterfell, towards her home and those she loves most. She is afraid, afraid to lose those she's only just gotten back.

"My lady?"

It's Lord Royce standing there in her doorway, head tilted as he takes a moment to observe her there behind the oak desk. If he notices the unusual paleness to her skin, or even the tired look upon her features, he mentions it not. Instead, he approaches the desk she sits behind and bows, as he would to a queen, as he thinks she's always should have been. "The men are prepared to keep the gates open until nightfall." It is the agreement she and the other lords have come to- keeping the gates open so late into the night could put they themselves into harm's way... But all she can think about those still coming to Winterfell for safety, closing the gates too soon could mean the death of innocent people. She knows she cannot save them all, though she wishes she could, but she is willing to do what it takes to save as many as she can.

"Thank you," she nods, unable to help but to let out a long, slow sigh. Relief rushes through her, warm and steady, and for a moment she can breathe easy. She locks eyes with her ever faithful lord and offers him a smile, which catches him off guard- but he finds himself smiling back. This was a young woman he would bend to, be loyal to, a young woman he knew would lead the North into a golden era, if only given the chance. "They say if not tonight, then surely by tomorrow," she speaks suddenly, her moment of relief fading as she's reminded yet again of what's to come.

"Aye, they do," Lord Royce replies, shifting back towards her. In that moment, she is not a lady, she is but a frightened young woman hoping that no one notices. "But all will be well," he goes on to say, offering her another smile, one he hopes she finds encouraging. "Fear not, my lady." As she stares up into the older man's eyes, Sansa has no choice but to believe him. His kind gaze is strong, steady, and it brings the once fleeting relief back.

Though she opens her mouth as if to reply, there comes a knock to the half open door, and Jon Snow is there, peeking through the crack. "Sorry to interrupt," he says as he slips inside, acknowledging Lord Royce with a nod. "But I thought I might have a word with the Lady of Winterfell," he casts those Stark eyes towards her and Lord Royce can't help but to notice the glimmer of a smile upon her face.

"My lady," he bows for her before he backs from the room, pausing only when he's stepped into the hall, just so he might look back one last time. By then, Jon has slid into place atop the desk, seated just to the right of where Sansa sits behind the desk. She's smiling as she looks up into his face, every trace of her fear gone as she basks in the glow of what one might call love. Lord Royce can only chuckle, shaking his head as he turns away, allowing the door to the solar to fully close, leaving the pair alone behind it.

He supposes it's wrong, the nature of the relationship between those two, but in a world such as theirs... One full of fear, of anger, of war... In a life that has been far too full of horror, of grief.... Of all people, Sansa Stark deserves any bit of happiness she can get. And so he walks away, content in knowing the lady he serves so willingly, can find a moment of joy in what could be their last, lingering hours in this life.

[ x x x ]

When the dawn breaks, they are alive.

Somehow, someway, they have survived. There was a cost, of course, lives had been lost and the horrors of war were not limited to a battlefield. Even now, hours later, he shudders at the memory of a white walker rising from it's icy grave, of the sound of tearing flesh, of piercing screams.

As night falls once again, they are raising their glasses in a toast to those who had died so they might live on. They, the survivors, feast and drink and celebrate, if only to avoid the empty feeling of loss, of guilt, of being the ones left behind. He watches, silently, from where he sits at a table with several others, as when they think nobody is watching, his lady and her half brother share the most tender of stares. Beside them, the cold but beautiful dragon queen seethes in silence, as if she too is aware of the warmth between siblings, as if she already knows she can never come between them.

The night goes on and when he rises up to finally head to bed himself, Lord Royce realizes his lady is no where to be seen. A quick scan of the room tells him that Jon Snow is also missing from the room, though his rowdy wildling companions still are raising their goblets in his honor. He slips from the room out the back door and the hall he steps into he finds to be empty aside from the great white wolf that lingers outside a door. The wolf does not cause him fear, he's grown used to him after all, for he never strays far from his lady.

Ghost raises those eerie red eyes to look upon him as he approaches, but does not raise his head from his paws, laying there on the floor in front of the door. The wolf is as used to him as he is with him, for which Lord Royce supposes he should be thankful. Pausing outside the door himself, it takes but a single moment for him to hear the voices, soft and somewhat muffled, passing through the thick wood. It's her of course, Sansa was there in that room with Jon Snow, who he can hear speaking lowly to her, words he's unable to make out. Now he understands, the wolf is their guardian. "Keep her safe," Lord Royce speaks softly, as not to alarm them inside the room, and leans down to pat the wolf upon his head. As if he understands, the wolf thumps his tail once against the stone floor, and closes his eyes again. Tonight, the wolf will keep watch.

And so he moves on his way, smiling to himself.

[ x x x ]

"My lady?"

Lord Royce finds her upon the battlements, staring forlornly out at the retreating back of Jon on horseback, leading an army away from Winterfell, away from her. She does not cast a glance his way as he approaches and it's only then that he realizes she's been crying. "He swears he will return," she whispers after a moment, voice breaking, her eyes closing as she sucks in a breath. In that moment, she is uncaring of what harm the truth might bring. In that moment, she is but a young woman full of heartbreak, full of anguish. A young woman who must, once again, watch the man she loves walk away from her.

"And so he will," Lord Royce replies without thinking, without hesitation. She turns to him then, widening eyes full of surprise, rosy lips falling open as if she means to speak, but cannot find the words. "If there is one thing that I know, my lady, it is that Jon Snow is a man of his word. If he says he will return, then return he will." She holds fast to his gaze and a moment later, her features soften, and to his surprise she's smiling.

"You're right," she says, feeling far more clear than she has in days. "You're right," she repeats, turning away again, only to see that Jon has finally disappeared from her line of sight. "Thank you, Lord Royce," she says after a few moments of silence, shifting slightly so she might face him again. "It seems as if you always know just what to say."

When she's gone, Lord Royce offers a silent prayer to any of the gods that might have been listening... A prayer to return Jon Snow to Winterfell, back to his lady, just so she might be happy once again. But until then, he would keep watch over her.

[ x x x ]

It's late when he hears the call at the gate.

He's already shrugging on his cloak when the knock on his door sounds; a man in Stark livery stands there to tell him Jon Snow has come through the gate, with Arya Stark and the others that went South, though just as rumors said, Daenerys Targaryen did not return with them. She was, as it was said, dead, her one remaining dragon gone off towards Essos, perhaps never to bother Westeros again. Perhaps, but not certainly.

"Do not tell our lady," he commands as he exits the room, the man on his heels.

As they descend down to the main hall, Lord Royce can see that the torches have already been relit, casting Winterfell into a hazy light. Tugging his cloak a bit closer, he steps out into the night and sure enough, already sliding down from his horse in the courtyard is Jon Snow. Others come through, such as the redheaded wildling Tormund, though young Arya Stark is nowhere to be seen. "Jon Snow," he greets as he approaches, uncertain if he's to bow to the man that surely is to be proclaimed King of the Seven Kingdoms. Though, Jon certainly seems not to care, for his eyes are wildly searching for one face and one face alone. "She is in her rooms," he says, knowing, understanding. Jon blinks, grinning, before he reaches out to clasp the older man on the arm before he darts away, through the freshly falling snow and up the stairs, disappearing through the main doors.

By the time he reaches her rooms, Lord Royce can hear their voices from within.

He pauses, only for a moment, so he might crack the door and peek inside. In the center of the room they stand, arms around one another, holding onto the other as if their lives depended upon it. Lord Royce smiles and lets the door close once again. He returns down the hall, shooing away the maids that approach, thinking they might bring food and ale for the newly returned King.

Stopping at the end of the hall, he sinks onto the guards bench, intent on ensuring they remain undisturbed. It takes only a few minutes for the white wolf to appear, settling himself at Lord Royce's feet, his intentions the very same. Reaching down, he pats the wolf's head and then sits back, knowing that his watch had begun again.

#jonsa #actuallyjonsa #jon x sansa #i love talking about jonsa through other characters #my usual is brienne or arya so this was fun!#plus i think lord royce would be faithful to sansa and would be hella supportive #also hello its almost 2am i need to be in bed #my writing #i wrote this

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megashadowdragon · 3 years ago

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Love is the bane of honor

I think Aegon's role narratively is "don't put all your faith in perfect kings", especially not a kid. It's all about the pressure of being a hereditary ruler, the pressure of duty, of others' expectations being placed on a child solely due to his birthright, and of a life sacrificed to duty.

"He is here. Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them."

What Varys has said is all about Aegon ruling for others. That implies serious self-sacrifice. But is Aegon truly fit for this? Note how Varys never speaks of love, it's all about Aegon being raised to fulfill his duty, and one that has been placed on him based on his supposed birthright by others, which to us readers is uncertain to begin with and could even become uncertain to Aegon himself at some point.

"Jon, did you ever wonder why the men of the Night's Watch take no wives and father no children?" Maester Aemon asked.

Jon shrugged. "No." He scattered more meat. The fingers of his left hand were slimy with blood, and his right throbbed from the weight of the bucket.

"So they will not love," the old man answered, "for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty."

We have here the literal kryptonite to Varys' expectations.

Aegon is still young and we have no indication he has any experience with women other than being raised by a septa, which considering the faith's tenants has served the opposite interest.

Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature

Arianne, a very intimidating woman, is coming to push herself onto Aegon, yet Aegon's entourage believed the support of Dorne was expected due to their existing blood ties to Aegon, not thanks to a new union between Aegon and a Dornish princess, a union which would also alter Doran's current plans which did not factor in Aegon at all.

A union to Aegon, from Doran's perspective, might also cast uncertainty into the master-strategist's mind; what will Dorne do when the real dragons come? And what if Dany's entourage sends a letter to Dorne along with Quentyn's body, telling them the prince was burned by the dragons he tried to steal? Would Arianne and the Sand Snakes believe it at all, especially if Arianne is trying to put herself between Aegon and Daenerys?

Daenerys on the other hand is preferred by Connington, who says the prince must hold off on any marriage as she may yet come, and he holds no found memories of Elia Martell, which might tarnish his view of Arianne no matter how "healthy" she might appear:

A bride for our bright prince. Jon Connington remembered Prince Rhaegar's wedding all too well. Elia was never worthy of him. She was frail and sickly from the first, and childbirth only left her weaker. After the birth of Princess Rhaenys, her mother had been bedridden for half a year, and Prince Aegon's birth had almost been the death of her. She would bear no more children, the maesters told Prince Rhaegar afterward.

"Daenerys Targaryen may yet come home one day," Connington told the Halfmaester. "Aegon must be free to marry her."

"My lord knows best," said Haldon. "In that case, we might consider offering potential friends a lesser prize."

Pushing lesser prizes onto Dorne is unlikely to be well received, chiefly by Arianne herself.

Connington is trying to shield the prince from doubt:

"I like the sound of that. My army." A smile flashed across his face, then vanished. "Are they, though? They're sellswords. Yollo warned me to trust no one."

"There is wisdom in that," Griff admitted. It might have been different if Blackheart still commanded, but Myles Toyne was four years dead, and Homeless Harry Strickland was a different sort of man. He would not say that to the boy, however. That dwarf had already planted enough doubts in his young head. "Not every man is what he seems, and a prince especially has good cause to be wary … but go too far down that road, and the mistrust can poison you, make you sour and fearful."

Yet Connington is joined by Tyrion's proposal, even if unknowingly, to wait for Daenerys:

"You do not need to win," Tyrion told him. "All you need to do is raise your banners, rally your supporters, and hold, until Daenerys arrives to join her strength to yours."

Tyrion sold the idea to Aegon as follows:

"I told you, I know our little queen. Let her hear that her brother Rhaegar's murdered son is still alive, that this brave boy has raised the dragon standard of her forebears in Westeros once more, that he is fighting a desperate war to avenge his father and reclaim the Iron Throne for House Targaryen, hard-pressed on every side … and she will fly to your side as fast as wind and water can carry her. You are the last of her line, and this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer. The girl who drowned the slaver cities in blood rather than leave strangers to their chains can scarcely abandon her own brother's son in his hour of peril. And when she reaches Westeros, and meets you for the first time, you will meet as equals, man and woman, not queen and supplicant. How can she help but love you then, I ask you?"

The temptation is that of a mother figure and a rescuer who would fly to him like the wind, her brother's son, a boy becoming a man. Similarly, agreeing to this would place trust in his father-figure's plan. There is reassurance in taking this road, the one of parents he never had.

One way or another, Aegon must chose, at a time when war rages. But there is much room for doubt to keep him undecided, and if word reaches them that Daenerys has hurriedly flown away on her Dragon, could it be that Tyrion and Connington were right? Is the Mother of Dragons flying to the prince as fast as wind can carry her?

Aegon might hear the echo of Tyrion's words:

"Your father knew the dangers of being overbold."

The prince stared at the playing board. "My dragon—"

"—is too far away to save you. You should have moved her to the center of the battle."

Wait, and wait, and wait, but the war does not.

The death of duty

As the pressure mounts on Aegon to either keep on waiting for Daenerys or secure an alliance with Dorne, will Aegon break? And more importantly, if he does, how?

What if this is exactly what happened with Rhaegar? What if Rhaegar buckled under all the pressure that was on him? From prophecies to the duty of kingship.

"Lingering here will never bring it any closer. The sooner we take our leave of this place—"

"I know. I do." Dany did not know how to make him see. She wanted Westeros as much as he did, but first she must heal Meereen. "Ninety days is a long time. Hizdahr may fail. And if he does, the trying buys me time. Time to make alliances, to strengthen my defenses, to—"

"And if he does not fail? What will Your Grace do then?"

"Her duty." The word felt cold upon her tongue. "You saw my brother Rhaegar wed. Tell me, did he wed for love or duty?"

The old knight hesitated. "Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her."

That answer from Jorah is fairly clear; Rhaegar married Elia out of duty, and maybe a hint of prophecy for all we know. He did not do so out of love.

Remember, Rhaegar thought he was expected to become a warrior. So we have another self-sacrifice for duty's sake:

"As a young boy, the Prince of Dragonstone was bookish to a fault. He was reading so early that men said Queen Rhaella must have swallowed some books and a candle whilst he was in her womb. Rhaegar took no interest in the play of other children. The maesters were awed by his wits, but his father's knights would jest sourly that Baelor the Blessed had been born again. Until one day Prince Rhaegar found something in his scrolls that changed him. No one knows what it might have been, only that the boy suddenly appeared early one morning in the yard as the knights were donning their steel. He walked up to Ser Willem Darry, the master-at-arms, and said, 'I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.'"

And there is another hint that Rhaegar may have wanted to move away from the pressure of ruling, although a subtle one that remains to be cleared up:

Prince Rhaegar shook his head. "My royal sire fears your father more than he does our cousin Robert. He wants you close, so Lord Tywin cannot harm him. I dare not take that crutch away from him at such an hour."

Jaime's anger had risen up in his throat. "I am not a crutch. I am a knight of the Kingsguard."

"Then guard the king," Ser Jon Darry snapped at him. "When you donned that cloak, you promised to obey."

Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime's shoulder. "When this battle's done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but . . . well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return."

But love is the bane of honor, the death of duty:

"Swords win battles," Ser Jorah said bluntly. "And Prince Rhaegar knew how to use one."

"He did, ser, but . . . I have seen a hundred tournaments and more wars than I would wish, and however strong or fast or skilled a knight may be, there are others who can match him. A man will win one tourney, and fall quickly in the next. A slick spot in the grass may mean defeat, or what you ate for supper the night before. A change in the wind may bring the gift of victory." He glanced at Ser Jorah. "Or a lady's favor knotted round an arm."

So I posit that the fear of it all frightened Rhaegar into the arms of Lyanna, who similarly ran from a duty imposed on her in marrying Robert, and as the war began to rage on both escaped away from it all to the Tower of Joy.

Kill the boy and let the man be born

Many wonder what Arys Oakheart's narrative point was. He is a good example of a man who struggled between love and duty.

You know I have no other woman. Only... duty.

Which led him to his death:

Arys, my sweet knight, why did you do it? You should have yielded. I tried to tell you, but the words caught in my mouth. You gallant fool, I never meant for you to die, or for Myrcella...

I believe that as history seems to so often repeat itself in the world of Ice and Fire, Aegon will flee into the arms of love. But whose' love?

Come break of day, they were off again. Elia Sand led the way, her black braid flying behind her as she raced across the dry, cracked plains and up into the hills. The girl was mad for horses, which might be why she often smelled like one, to the despair of her mother. Sometimes Arianne felt sorry for Ellaria. Four girls, and every one of them her father's daughter.

Elia Sand, who bears the name of Aegon's mother, is similar in more ways than one to Lyanna Stark.

"We will see about that." Valena wheeled her big red around and put her heels into him, and the race was on, through the dusty lanes of the village at the bottom of the hill, as chickens and villagers alike scrambled out of their path. Arianne was three horse lengths behind by the time she got her mare up to a gallop, but had closed to one halfway up the slope. The two of them were side-by-side as they thundered towards the gatehouse, but five yards from the gates Elia Sand came flying from the cloud of dust behind them to rush past both of them on her black filly.

"Are you half horse, child?" Valena asked, laughing, in the yard. "Princess, did you bring a stable girl?"

"I'm Elia," the girl announced. "Lady Lance."

Lyanna was also a horse-rider:

Arya was breathing hard herself then. She knew the fight was done. "You ride like a northman, milady," Harwin said when he'd drawn them to a halt. "Your aunt was the same. Lady Lyanna."

And she was literally said to be "half a horse"

Horses … the boy was mad for horses, Lady Dustin will tell you. Not even Lord Rickard's daughter could outrace him, and that one was half a horse herself.

And similarly to Elia, Lyanna could fight:

"Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it.

And we have this in Bran's vision:

Now two children danced across the godswood, hooting at one another as they dueled with broken branches. The girl was the older and taller of the two. Arya! Bran thought eagerly, as he watched her leap up onto a rock and cut at the boy. But that couldn't be right. If the girl was Arya, the boy was Bran himself, and he had never worn his hair so long. And Arya never beat me playing swords, the way that girl is beating him. She slashed the boy across his thigh, so hard that his leg went out from under him and he fell into the pool and began to splash and shout.

Elia can joust, and we all know that the Knight of the Laughing Tree is believed by many to have been Lyanna:

"I am almost a woman grown, ser," she responded haughtily. "I'll let you spank me, though... but first you'll need to tilt with me, and knock me off my horse."

"We are on a ship, and without horses," Joss replied.

"And ladies do not joust," insisted Ser Garibald Shells, a far more serious and proper young man than his companion.

"I do. I'm Lady Lance."

Arianne had heard enough. "You may be a lance, but you are no lady. Go below and stay there till we reach land."

Note the point earlier where Elia surprises Arianne by racing ahead of her? It is a very tempting hint that Elia will steal Arianne's place and become Aegon's love interest, one no one is pushing on him. Her playful and courageous nature might attract him, comfort him at a time of incredible pressure, just as Lyanna may have with Rhaegar before.

But Rhaegar in the end found his courage, and went into battle. He killed the boy to let the man be born. And died.

"Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?"

"That is the only time a man can be brave," his father told him.

But the question, what bravery will Aegon be pushed into?

"Your father knew the dangers of being overbold."

I won't theorize on what Aegon might throw his courage at here, as the above might bring enough down-votes on its own. I'll just say that Elia, the lance-wielder, has a strong connection to Aegon already:

"Vengeance for Oberyn and Elia."

"Prince Aegon was Rhaegar's heir by Elia of Dorne"

"You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children."

TLDR: Aegon's and Elia Sands' story parallels Rhaegar and Lyanna's, and will end tragically. “

#asoiaf #A Song of Ice and Fire

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theusurpersdog · 6 years ago

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So Game of Thrones ended on Sunday, and for now it’s going down as potentially the worst ending of any TV show ever. Some of the backlash has come from the more nonsensical elements, such as Bronn being on the Small Council, anyone in Westeros defending Daenerys (the show literally framed her like Hitler, come the fuck on), Tyrion deciding who was King while in shackles, etc. But the truth is, none of that would’ve mattered if the emotions rang true. And that’s been a problem since the show started; go all the way back to Winter is Coming and you’ll see that the Starks have always been sidelined - both as individuals and as a family - in favor of the Lannisters. George Martin is writing a character piece about the Starks and how they survive, and the show was never going to stick the landing when they fundamentally didn’t understand that.

I’m not the first to point this out, but man did it really bother me this episode. D&D really could’ve phoned in 95% of this story and just shown up to love the Starks and everyone would’ve been at least satisfied, and they just couldn’t do it. So many years of bad writing and idiot plots and plain stupidity hasn’t lost Game of Thrones hardly any fans, because the ones they had were deeply invested in the characters GRRM had created and were willing to overlook just about everything to see those characters have some sort of conclusion. That’s why their entire audience has turned against them now - they didn’t care about the Starks for 8 seasons, and GRRM’s ending required the audience and the writers care deeply for Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Bran.

For all of GRRM’s talk about wanting to break his reader’s hearts, and D&D’s version of his story as this GrimDark nightmare, GRRM’s story has a real, emotional heart to it. People debate whether it was a fantasy story with the false premise of a political period piece, or a political story with a touch of fantasy intrigue - but the truth is, this story is and always has been a character piece centered around the Starks and how they survive and rebuild after family tragedy. In number of povs and chapters, they literally overwhelm the series. Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Catelyn all are in the top povs as well as Ned, who is still competitive despite being in exactly 1 book of the series. Having the Starks as the center of the story, the point in which almost all the action revolves, is what grounds all of Martin’s series even as his povs reach 30+. Martin was being very serious when he said Arya, Sansa, and Bran were the heart of his series. You need them because they make it worth it.

So let’s break down how D&D ripped the heart out of asoiaf’s chest. The biggest problem the show had was something book readers have known for a long time, but didn’t fully realize until Sunday night: The Bran Problem. GRRM has stated multiple times that Bran is his hero, yet the show has never had any interest in his story. They made an entirely random decision not to include flashbacks or dream sequences, which immediately cuts out about half of Bran’s content. But not only did they take away his magical importance, they also stole his political importance. Bran was Robb Stark’s heir, Lord of Winterfell and first in line to be the King in the North. Yet they took Bran’s story away from him and gave the focus to Theon Greyjoy, a character more appealing to the tastes of David Benioff and Dan Weiss. So we never got to see the King of the Six (should be eight but whatever I’m just dying inside) Kingdoms acting in any leadership capacity. And, last but certainly not least, D&D took all emotion from Bran. And no, I don’t mean when he came back from beyond the wall a husk of a person. That was awful, but the damage was done seasons before. If you’ve read the books, you’ll know and love Bran Stark because this is who he is:

He sent sweets to Hodor and Old Nan as well, for no reason but he loved them

Bran was a sweet boy. Everyone loved him

The roots of the trees grow deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought, I'm not dead either

Old stories are like old friends, she used to say. You have to visit them from time to time

He is a sweet boy, quick to laugh, easy to love

Bran has always represented happiness and people coming together in GRRM’s story. Ned wants to bring him to King’s Landing because he’s universally loved and will ease the conflict between Joffrey and Robb, and just the thought of him being alive makes Jon bury his ego and reach out to his Night’s Watch Brothers. He is Meera’s little Prince, someone that Howland Reed’s children are willing to go beyond the wall and die for. He accepts food on the road beyond the Wall, and promises he’ll repay his debt many times over. He’s the boy who looks back into the past and just wants to see his dad again; who reaches out to save Theon, even when Theon took everything from him. He is Eddard Stark’s son, soft and kind and loving, brave when he is afraid, loyal and honorable, and he is a good person. He’s young, but he is fit to be a King one day.

But no, D&D didn’t stop at Bran. Let’s talk about Arya Stark, and the little girl who never was. Was there ever a character more suited to D&D’s tastes than a little murder girl hellbent on revenging her family’s killers? But was there ever a character further from Arya Stark? She is nine years old when Ser Ilyn takes her father’s head, of course she is brash and reckless and childish, wanting to avenge him. But she is all of those things because she is still a kid. Below the surface, she is very scared and very hurt. Unlike the show’s version of Arya, who is upset Joffrey died because she couldn’t do it herself, the Arya of the books has a realization that Joffrey dying means nothing because she’ll never get Robb back. Arya isn’t turning into an assassin because it would be cool, she’s running away as far as she can.

You can watch the season finale of Game of Thrones s4, and be right in concluding that Arya Stark leaves The Hound for dead in a ruthless move of brutality as she goes to pursue her dreams of being an assassin. Now read the end of A Storm of Swords, and you’ll find an Arya who refuses to let Sandor take a piece of her no matter how he abuses her, and goes to Braavos because she is so afraid that no one could love her anymore - and most of all she leaves because with Winterfell sacked and held by the Boltons, she genuinely thinks she has lost her home. Arya doesn’t make a well-adjusted decision to leave Westeros, she’s trying to keep her head above water before she drowns in grief. Disassociating from her pack is the only way she can cope with the unbearable amount of loss she has suffered, especially at such a young age. But GRRM’s version of Arya is fierce, brave, loyal, loving, and above all she loves her family.

Then there is Sansa, the most empathetic character in GRRM’s whole world. The unfailing hope and kindness in which she views the world are her defining character traits; she echoes GRRM’s own worldview, one where you can see the good and the bad in everyone, and choose to forgive - and if not that, still refuse to be cruel in kind. Sansa is the only one who looks at Sandor Clegane, looks at the ruin fire made of his face, and see that his eyes are why he’s so ugly - and then reach out to show him mercy. The girl who was beaten everyday of her time in King’s Landing, and still mourned Joffrey because he was a person and he died and she understood that it was still awful. She wishes knights who literally beat her bloody would fall off their horse, then feels bad and ashamed when they do. Sansa Stark is kind above all.

And the show took this character and made her cold. They tried to make her Littlefinger. Surprise! Nobody cares about the emotional well being and happiness of Petyr Baelish for a reason. Thankfully Bryan Cogman was there to run interference between Sansa and D&D, so she wasn’t fully the Ice Queen D&D wanted her to be, but goddamn how do you take Sansa “if I am ever Queen, I’ll make them love me” Stark and make her cold?!

The biggest problem with stripping the Stark kids individually of their emotions, is that they can no longer exist as the family GRRM created them to be. Without Arya, Bran, and Sansa’s emotional arcs, everything becomes meaningless. Who cares that Ramsay Bolton is the one to rebuild Winterfell in the show? Certainly not an audience that hasn’t been told to care.

You’ll notice a trend in the type of chapters that D&D decided not to adapt into Game of Thrones; think of all the chapters that are the emotional heart of GRRM’s story. Not the shocking character deaths, or dragons, or plot twists. The moments of intimacy between GRRM, his character, and you as the reader. The moments so small yet so impactful, the lines you remember not because they pushed the plot forward but because they honestly moved you in a way that you felt hope, longing, love? Those chapters are almost always either from Bran, Sansa, or Arya; and are always about their connection to their family. D&D adapted none of them. Here’s three great examples:

Done with Wooden Teeth

When Arya is a serving girl at Harrenhal during A Clash of Kings, it really sucks. Unlike the show, she is not cup bearer to Tywin Lannister; she is just like everyone else: abused, mistreated, underfed, miserable, and uncared for. She’s already at a pretty low moment in life, then the news breaks that Bran and Rickon were murdered by Theon Greyjoy and Winterfell has been sacked. And Arya doesn’t even have someone to grieve with; the one person she tries to tell, Elmar Frey, tells her nobody cares about a serving girl’s brothers when he’s just lost his Princess (the irony...).

The news that her family is dead almost breaks her:

As Arya crossed the yard to the bathhouse, she spied a raven circling down toward the rookery, and wondered where it had come from and what message it carried. Might be it’s from Robb, come to say it wasn’t true about Bran and Rickon. She chewed on her lip, hoping. If I had wings I could fly back to Winterfell and see for myself. And if it was true, I’d just fly away, fly up past the moon and the shining stars, and see all the things in Old Nan’s stories, dragons and sea monsters and the Titan of Braavos, and maybe I wouldn’t ever fly back

This is Arya giving up. Everything she’s done in this book so far has been to get back to Winterfell, or to Jon at the Wall. Her making the decision to fly away (which she’ll follow through on in A Storm of Swords) is a defeat, the acceptance that she’ll never get her family back.

If the chapter had ended here (it doesn’t), D&D still would’ve gutted it, because no Stark gets to react to Bran and Rickon’s death in the show. Not even a minute of screentime given to the Heir to the North and his brother dying; not a moment where their family can grieve the tremendous loss.

But Arya is a Stark, so before she gives up on her identity, she visits the Godswood:

“Tell me what to do, you gods,” she prayed.

For a long moment there was no sound but the wind and the water and the creak of leaf and limb. And then, far far off, beyond the godswood and the haunted towers and the immense stone walls of Harrenhal, from somewhere out in the world, came the long lonely howl of a wolf

The Godswood is very important to the Starks for a couple different reasons. First, only the men of the North worship the Old Gods, and the trees is the connection they have to them. The Old Gods were who Ned went to for guidance, and every single Stark has huge moments of understanding in front of a Godswood (none of which made it into the show...). But, more specific to the Starks as a family, Bran speaks to his family through them and guides them toward home. So even though they don’t understand that Bran is calling to them, the Starks are drawn to the trees for help.

And the trees always answer them. The Starks get a real, physical response when they ask the Godswood for help:

Then, so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father’s voice. “When the snows fall and the white wind blows, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives,” he said.

“But there is no pack,” she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. “I’m not even me now, I’m Nan.”

“You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you.”

“The wolf blood.” Arya remembered now. “I’ll be as strong as Robb. I said I would.” She took a deep breath, then lifted the broomstick in both hands and brought it down across her knee. It broke with a loud crack, and she threw the pieces aside. I am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth.

In her lowest moment, Arya re-finds her strength by remembering she is a Stark, a direwolf who belongs to a pack. The Godswood gives her Ned as comfort, as a reminder of who she is and what she should do. There is an incredible emphasis on family here. It would be impossible to adapt this chapter unless the writers and audience fully understood just how committed to each other the Starks are - which is why they didn’t adapt it.

I’m Not Dead Either

When Bran finally leaves the crypts at the end of A Clash of Kings, he’s close to giving up on himself entirely. He spent three days inside Summer, and returning to the body he views as broken (”Bran the Broken” is something he calls himself when he feels upset, not the monikor he’d give himself as King) is really hard for him. And when he finally leaves the crypts, he comes out to a Winterfell that has been destroyed; Ramsay has set the place ablaze and killed everyone. Bran knows Ser Rodrik is dead and Maester Luwin is soon to be as well. He looks around him and sees all this destruction, all he smells is fire or blood. But one thing in Winterfell stands unharmed; Summer takes off running for the Godswood:

The air was sweeter under the trees. A few pines along the edge of the wood had been scorched, but deeper in the damp soil and green wood had defeated the flames. “There is a power in living wood,” said Jojen Reed, almost as if he knew what Bran was thinking, “a power strong as fire.”

After Bran says goodbye to Maester Luwin, and him and Rickon part ways with no idea where either is heading, Bran has one last moment to look on Winterfell and find hope:

Beyond, the tops of the keeps and towers still stood as they had for hundreds of years, and it was hard to tell that the castle had been sacked and burned at all. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought, I’m not dead either.

Bran looks back at Winterfell, and because he’s able to see the unharmed Godswood and the Kings of Winter still seated on their thrones, he can understand it’s not dead, just like him. Again, a Stark is drawing strength from their connection to each other, and through a Godswood.

I Am Stronger Within the Walls of Winterfell

This next one, you’re probably thinking “but the show did adapt Sansa’s snow castle chapter”, and I’m here to tell you they didn’t. I could write an entire book on how that scene is the perfect example of how adaptations fail; they *technically* adapted it, with pretty much the same events, but it was completely stripped of its emotional impact and narrative importance. It is the perfect microcosm of why Game of Thrones was a bad adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as how D&D consistently missed the emotional beats the Starks were supposed to have.

The show’s version of this chapter somehow centers it around Littlefinger, while simultaneously underselling the fact that Lysa killed Jon Arryn (they sandwiched this episode and scene between Tyrion’s trial and Oberyn’s death, when this chapter ends A Storm of Swords. All of the climaxes in that book, and GRRM saved this one for last). The end product is a rather forgettable scene that most people overlook.

In the book, this chapter is everything. It is the best chapter in asoiaf, and the best writing of anything ever. Period. And it’s a chapter centered around Sansa’s relationship to her home, to Winterfell. Unlike the very small castle of the show, Sansa spends hours building a castle big enough that she can step inside and continue building details. The fact that she can stay outside for hours, while several onlookers get too cold and go back inside, is a reminder that she is a Stark.

And this chapter is centered around a Godswood. The tree never took root, because the Eyrie is too high for weirwoods, but the courtyard Sansa’s in was meant to be a Godswood. And since she doesn’t have a real one, Sansa builds her own inside her snowy Winterfell.

Being up in the mountains is also the first time Sansa’s seen true snow since she said goodbye to Robb in Winterfell, and just the thought of it makes her dream of home and of memories with Bran and Arya. She wakes up having dreamed of home, and thinks she’s sleeping next to her sister until she wakes up enough to realize she’s not in Winterfell.

When Sansa’s alone with no real connection to home, she finds the closest thing to Winterfell (the failed Godswood) and builds her own. She literally gains strength from it:

She wondered where this courage had come from, to speak to him so frankly. From Winterfell, she thought. I am stronger within the walls of Winterfell.

Her home and her family give her strength to stand up to her abuser, just as Arya was able to escape the abuse of Harrenhal and Bran escaped the Boltons.

There is way more than these three instances, but these are the best examples of D&D failing to adapt the Starks as a pack, or as individuals with feelings. Of course the ending didn’t feel right emotionally, because we had no explanation for what emotions led our Starks to their destinies.

I’ll probably make a post specifically about this in a couple days or weeks, but I can see GRRM’s ending stuck within D&D’s sloppy rush to the end:

The first time Arya leaves Westeros, she leaves because she thinks all her family is dead or taken, and that Winterfell is gone forever. At the end, she’ll leave because she is sure her family loves her, and that she has a room in Winterfell whenever she wants to visit Good Queen Sansa. Arya is also fast to make friends of all different people, and would start her own pack of rogues as she travels the world.

Sansa won’t be alone because she, like Arya, is good at finding her own pack. (And GRRM has built his world out so extensively, it’s honestly a joke to think we could be in a crowded room and recognize no one). Sansa’s friends are her people. She throws feasts constantly, and like Ned, always has a seat at the High Table for the small folk. She has many ladies in waiting, true friends of hers that help her write songs and stories, and sew dresses. She is a good and kind Queen, and visits the Wall constantly as she helps the Lord Commander resettle the Gift.

King Bran the Wise (or ya know, just not broken) rules from his Weirwood Throne on the Isle of Faces, at the heart of his kingdom. After Daenerys burns King’s Landing, he moves the capital since The Red Keep was a monument to Aegon’s Conquest - a symbol of tyranny King Bran is trying to move forward from. He fills his council with highborn and lowborn alike. He constantly talks to his siblings; Sansa waits for him at the Godswood, and Arya and Jon see him through Ghost and Nymeria.

Just because they’re far in distance, doesn’t mean they aren’t a pack. They all know the others are safe, and that they’ll see see each other soon. GRRM will invest the right amount of time explaining the emotional beats of this ending to make it feel right. He cares so much about the Starks. He wrote them a whole epic fantasy because he saw Bran finding pups in the snow. He loves them more than we do, guys.

The Starks are the Giants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#game of thrones #Sansa Stark #Arya Stark #bran stark #asoiaf meta #if you're wondering why Jon wasn't included #it's because that boy was a whole mess #needs his own post to explain the unique injustice that was done to him

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alukardtheabysswalker · 5 years ago

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Sasha: Dead or Alive?

So I know I’m not a big figure of TMA theories, not even close, but I’d like to put my thoughts in one place and if you feel like reading a bit of narrative analysis of a very well written series then please, suit yourself. And of course, Spoilers ahead.

So, Sasha. With all that’s been happening in this season one gets the feeling that not only is her memory that is getting a lot of narrative attention but also her position. Now, I’m aware and even participated in theories regarding the possibility of characters in our story coming and going, knowingly or not, in and out of different universes and I’m sure that will have it’s own narrative pay off. But I want to focus a bit more on what we have right here and now. So I’m going to name all the points I think the story and narrative has given us thus far to believe our dear Almost Archivist could be either dead or alive. Bear in mind I am not that good at checking the many little details and much of this could be more gut feeling than precise data, but I’m listening to the podcast for the third time now and I feel like I have enough points to make a statement(pun very much intended) on the case. But if you want to provide more evidence feel free to do so! I am very much inviting discourse on the matter. Without further adieu, let's get to the point/s.

Alive:

Sasha’s initial role was a bit more heavy in the story. However given that her VA couldn’t keep working due to her own schedule they resorted to giving said role to Tim. You can see this change in narrative in the fact that Tim’s VA had to adapt a bit. Not only is he a producer of the show but now a very important character who was originally going to be the first tragic Death of the series, and now has to adapt his acting to a character that is scarred by the events that haunt him. Which he did marvelously btw. And with the tape presented in the second episode of this season you can see how they're adjusting the narrative to fit his tragic past and Sasha’s importance to the Archive. Hell when I was listening to S1 ending I was convinced Tim or Martin were going to be the victims of the attack. Narratively it all pointed to Sasha being the powerhose of the group. Which made it all the more hurtful when she was taken.

Speaking of said tape, in there she talks about how who you are is what you do and what you show to other people. She specially mentions Masks. Which if you paid attention to MAG 165 is kind of the whole theme. Faces being changed and with that memories, people, personalities. Maybe, as it’s been pointed out, she was not killed but was robbed of her face and she’s been wondering about, without even knowing who she is.

And on THAT regard we can look at what Not!Sasha said. She took her life. If you were to take this at face value (again, pun intended) it would mean literally killing her. But let’s think about that for a second. What the Not!Them does is take the lives of the people they attack. They put themselves in their place and change enough of R E A L I TY to fit themselves in. Photographs, memories, clothes, everything adapts to them, save for a few things, enough to make someone paranoid and afraid of them. Even Gertrude herself mentions how it is that they always seem to miss someone but I think it is rather the point that they do. If no one is aware of this supernatural identity theft then who is left to scare? Going back to our original point, what if Not!Them doesn’t kill their victims but instead take their lives? As in, everything else except killing them. There is also this proposal that every entity or at least many of them have their own dimension or pocket dimension. The Lonely has its misty shore, The Vast literally just casts you into an endless sky or the void of space, The Spiral has The Distortion trapping people inside of their halls, you get it. This leads to our next point.

This strange carrousel that appears as the Nightmare of many people fearing The Stranger gave us three very interesting bits of information to chew on: One, it shows what many people have theorized would be The Stranger’s or at least Not!Them's dimension. People who do not know who they are and are desperately trying to find out, even stealing other peoples faces, memories, names...their lives. Two, not only that but the creature that is controlling this IS Not!Them, Martin even calls them “It’s Goddess”, and mentions how it must have full control over it. Third, Jon rode one of these a few years ago. No this is not important to our conversation (I think) but I WILL chew on it because I love this adorable man and I wish I was as brave as him to get on a carousel at my age (25) because I’d love it. Anyway, going back to our second bit of info: Not!Them is dead. In a delicious moment of revenge Jon destroyed them and Martin asks what would happen to this place without them? Well, maybe the people that were inside were freed, at least for a moment, maybe with enough time to remember or search for who they were?

This all could mean that not only is Sasha alive, granted having been in a horrifying Nightmare for YEARS now but it may also mean that she is also finally free. There’s still the theory of other universes and I like to play with it because not only would resolve some stuff that looks to be narratively incoherent(tho nothing definitive there) but it would also explain a lot regarding Jon’s shifting memories of the events of the series. Again I am not that versed in this topic to bring it into question.

Finally it would seem that the story is focusing a lot on Sasha as an important entity(yes, still intended) not just as a deceased character with a potential role but as one that still can and will bring change to the story.

So, we seem to have a lot of reasons given to us by the story and how it is being told to believe that yes, Sasha is alive and important to the story. And here comes the dreaded buts/s.

Dead:

The most important fact that I want to point out in this regard is that The Magnus Archives takes death very seriously. Not only death in the real world, brought by cruel beings and people, supernatural creatures and evil systems that send people to die and be killed by the interest of others. But as probably many of you know the writers and producers of the show want death to be important, to have weight in the story. Both Jon and Alex have said so in QAs and you can tell just by listening to the show. When a character dies, they stay dead. Death is final and even people that “cheat death” must pay a high price, usually living miserable “lives” killing other people or regretting their so called luck in avoiding their final destination. Death makes every character aware of the danger they are in and when it is granted so easily it is shown as the result of corrupted, sadistic people and monsters (cough police cough acab cough). Therefore, bringing back a character from the dead would feel cheap, it would take the weight out of the story. That is not to say they haven’t faked deaths before, Trevor is a good example, and you have an Avatar of The End very much alive-ish after having a Satellite dropped on him (Man I love this podcast) but the key difference, to me at least, is that Sasha was The First. The important character that we were sure either wouldn’t die because of plot armor or the aforementioned narrative importance she was given. But no, everybody can die, and that makes everyone afraid and wary of their actions.

It would also make Not!Them less scary, less imposing which would rob them of their position as a horrifying monster. We either knew or suspected that they had killed and surely replaced Sasha, now we feared for what might happen to the rest of the team. In the end, they were not only very much dangerous but also yes, they killed Sasha in a gruesome way, now maybe even do the same to Jon. You could argue that being trapped in that hellscape of The Stranger is an equally fearsome destiny, but at this point we´ve seen Jon disregard said dangers and literally rescue TWO people from TWO different nightmarish dimensions. Yes it is stated as the almost miracle that it is and it is important to show Jon’s improvement and growth but it also robs them of their weight. Not completely of course, but as long as Jon is around they aren’t that scary anymore, and given that he is our protagonist well, he is always around. There is also that beautiful scene in which he gets a very much earned revenge. If Sasha was not dead then it kind of loses its value.

Now I am going to cheat a little bit because here I am going to take our previous points and turn them on their heads inserting an “Alive” point here. You could argue that of course it still has value. They don’t know that Sasha is alive and technically neither do we, killing Sasha or not this monster definitely tortured our crew and this is a well earned punishment. Plus it is very well written and presented. You could even make a point that, with the death of Not!Sasha comes the revival of Actual!Sasha. And getting this far after so many real deaths it could even make sense to have one narrative rebirth of a character that was robbed of her chance of glory. Which can fit in this established narrative of:”She could have been The Archivist! The Protagonist”.

And here comes the but: What if this is not about Sasha but instead Other!Sasha? Remember when I said I wasn’t going to take into consideration theories regarding parallel universes? Well I might have lied a little bit. You see, from the moment Jon played Gertrude’s tape regarding her successor I began to have this thought:”This is a theme of what ifs, of potential possibilities and different timelines”. Now, I have to say again that I’m not an expert on this topic, this is more of an analysis of what I think or feel I’m seeing the narrative of this season is heading towards. Maybe there is an alternative reality, with a different crew. One that might sound like our dear Archival Buddies but are actually very much different. On the surface, their masks if you will, they are our Sasha, our Tim, our Martin, but once we get to know them, to know about them, they are different people. There is this theory that the house cleaner that got trapped by the house on Hilltop Road is an alternative version of the nurse that worked close to said house. She mentions how her friends are different, how they almost don’t recognize her. But I mean, they didn’t reject her, they even helped her and recommended her that she make a statement at The Magnus Institute. What if there is another Sasha, but not quite the one we’d want. And even if Sasha was alive, if we disregarded all of this, what kind of person would she be after everything that's happened to her?

I’m not sure I can give you a conclusion here. We are after all barely in episode five of this 40 episode season and this might all be proven wrong next chapter, or the next, or all 35 that come after that, but I’ve seen many people talking about how they are completely sure that Sasha is definitely alive and kicking, and while I agree in many points I also have seen a lot of evidence, especially when it comes to the narrative, that would point to the contrary. It honestly crushes my heart to think that we have more than thirty weeks of content ahead of us and many people will keep the hope that this amazing character is still alive but would end up having said hopes utterly crushed by the end of it. But I can also see where you’re all coming from and can see why you would think that way, so I wanted to present what evidence and conjectures of my own I had on the topic. If you’ve gotten this far I want to thank you for joining me in this attempt at a presentation or...expose? Feel free to add any other points that you think or believe would favor one end or the other and I hope you had a good time while reading this. Love you all <3

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agentrouka-blog · 5 years ago

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Sweet Lady - a Sansa key phrase

The wonderful @esther-dot was so kind as to introduce me to the precious resource that is asearchoficeandfire.com and I have been down a rabbit hole ever since. Or more so than usual. (As far as quarantine with toddlers and work, both, allow me, anyway.) It's marvelous for letting you do unfocused word combinations, which really does wonders for finding text parallels and such. But that is a post for another day.

It did inspire me to search all my book files for an exact phrase, though. "Sweet Lady". It doesn't count all the other instances for sweet, lady, my sweet, sweet queen, sweet XYZ, sweetling or what have you. We already know that "sweet" can be a code for falseness. So I didn't want to confuse the issue. Only the exact phrase. "Sweet Lady". It's enlightening.

There are 23 instances in all 5 books, the TWOW sample chapters and all the other searchable publications. They appear as follows:

Sansa: 9 (3 x Joffrey, 1 x Ser Loras, 4 x Dontos ("Florian"), 1 x Marillion)

Catelyn: 5 times (3 x Varys, 2 x Petyr Baelish)

Jonquil: 1 (Florian the Fool, "The Hedge Knight")

Lysa: 2 (1 x Morton Waynwood, 1 x Marillion)

Shae: 2 (1 x Varys, 1 x Symon Silver Tongue, ironic)

A mare: 1 (Jon, soothing a mare, about to betray the Watch)

Daenerys: 1 (Hizdahr, her "loyal" husband)

Asha: 1 (Quarl the maid, murky lover)

Lady Taena Merryweather: 1 (sneaked in, traitorous lover to Cersei - Everything there a big spotlight for Political!Jon and such, btw.)

To make it short, the phrase is a direct reference to Sansa. 9 direct references, 10 if you account for the fact that Sansa = Jonquil. (22 Jonquil mentions in all searchable publications, only 5 are not in Sansa's chapters: Jaime referencing the song or the puppetry in The Hedge Knight. Sansa is Jonquil. Case closed.) The rest of the usage concerns foils, mirrors or other characters deeply connected to her. It's a spotlight for Sansa.

In most instances, it is a marker for erroneous or "false" knights (Dontos, Florian, Loras, Waynwood), or "false" Ladies (Shae,Taena Merryweather, Alayne), immoral singers (Symon, Marillion), rape (Marillion), Rescue (Sansa/Alayne and Tanselle), political scheming (Cat, Varys, Littlefinger, Lady Merryweather and Cersei) and betrayal (ALL of them, save the true Florian and Jonquil). Also, curiously, the injury of hands. (Symon, Marillion, Catelyn, Jon, Tanselle the Jonquil puppeteer).

So now that we do know that when the phrase shows up, it's a marker for Sansa and that what surrounds it concerns Sansa, let's look at when it's used to see if we recognize anything or if it reminds us of anything. (This is where the rabbit hole comes in because there's a jumping off point for more references in almost every example.

First Mention: Sansa I, AGOT

“Leave her alone,” Joffrey said. He stood over her, beautiful in blue wool and black leather, his golden curls shining in the sun like a crown. He gave her his hand, drew her to her feet. “What is it, sweet lady? Why are you afraid? No one will hurt you. Put away your swords, all of you. The wolf is her little pet (!), that’s all.” He looked at Sandor Clegane. “And you, dog, away with you, you’re scaring my betrothed.”

The Hound, ever faithful, bowed and slid away quietly through the press. Sansa struggled to steady herself. She felt like such a fool. She was a Stark of Winterfell, a noble lady, and someday she would be a queen. “It was not him, my sweet prince,” she tried to explain. “It was the other one.”

The two stranger knights exchanged a look. “Payne?” chuckled the young man in the green armor. The older man in white spoke to Sansa gently. “Ofttimes Ser Ilyn frightens me as well, sweet lady. He has a fearsome aspect.”

Payne, the mute. Who else is mute? Ghost. A fearsome wolf pet. Where have we heard the word "pet" before… Oh, Right. ASOS.

“The good woman at the brazier,” Mance Rayder went on, “is Dalla.” The pregnant woman smiled shyly. “Treat her like you would any queen, she is carrying my child.” He turned to the last two. “This beauty is her sister Val. Young Jarl beside her is her latest pet.”

“I am no man’s pet,” said Jarl, dark and fierce.

“And Val’s no man,” white-bearded Tormund snorted. “You ought to have noticed that by now, lad.”

Aaaand...

Jarl was with the Magnar; Mance had given them the joint command. Styr was none too pleased by that, Jon had noted early on. Mance Rayder had called the dark youth a “pet” of Val, who was sister to Dalla, his own queen, which made Jarl a sort of good brother once removed to the King-beyond-the-Wall.

And isn't that some precious phrasing. A "good brother" once, removed.

Contrast Dany, ADWD:

“What, o’ the queen’s little pets?” Brown Ben’s eyes crinkled in amusement. The grizzled captain of the Second Sons was a creature of the free companies, a mongrel with the blood of a dozen different peoples flowing through his veins, but he had always been fond of the dragons, and them of him.

“Pets?” screeched Reznak. “Monsters, rather. Monsters that feed on children. We cannot —”

“Silence,” said Daenerys. “We will not speak of that.”

So the Sweet Lady will have a pet wolf, literally and figuratively. *wink*

But on to other "Sweet Lady" instances. Two involving Catelyn:

AGOT, Catelyn:

“How could you know all that?”

“The whisperings of little birds,” Varys said, smiling. “I know things, sweet lady. That is the nature of my service.” He shrugged. “You do have the dagger with you, yes?”

Catelyn pulled it out from beneath her cloak and threw it down on the table in front of him. “Here. Perhaps your little birds will whisper the name of the man it belongs to.”

AGOT, Eddard:

Littlefinger smiled. “Leave Lord Varys to me, sweet lady. If you will permit me a small obscenity—and where better for it than here—I hold the man’s balls in the palm of my hand.” He cupped his fingers, smiling. “Or would, if he were a man, or had any balls. You see, if the pie is opened, the birds begin to sing, and Varys would not like that. Were I you, I would worry more about the Lannisters and less about the eunuch.”

We know who the Little Bird is (Sansa), so here we know our Sweet Lady will spill important Secrets to the vast dismay of some people.

Now for some sweetness in AGOT. Jon's foils Loras and Joffrey lay it on thick:

To the other maidens he had given white roses, but the one he plucked for her was red. “Sweet lady,” he said, “no victory is half so beautiful as you.” Sansa took the flower timidly, struck dumb by his gallantry. His hair was a mass of lazy brown curls, his eyes like liquid gold. She inhaled the sweet fragrance of the rose and sat clutching it long after Ser Loras had ridden off.

Awww. So sweet, so fake.

Instead Joffrey smiled and kissed her hand, handsome and gallant as any prince in the songs, and said, “Ser Loras has a keen eye for beauty, sweet lady.”

Actually, we know Jon IS a visual creature. (Natural landscapes, handsome Kingslayers, Radiant Sisters, lovely Val, etc etc etc.) But we digress.

The mare whickered softly as Jon Snow tightened the cinch. “Easy, sweet lady,” he said in a soft voice, quieting her with a touch. Wind whispered through the stable, a cold dead breath on his face, but Jon paid it no mind. He strapped his roll to the saddle, his scarred fingers stiff and clumsy. “Ghost,” he called softly, “to me.” And the wolf was there, eyes like embers.

Jon is probably the only one outside of Florian the actual puppet fool to use the phrase honestly. Jon of the fool references is Florian to Sansa's Jonquil. Brienne is the True Knight she prays for, the Galladon, but Jon is the Florian, the fool knight. Also, "The wolf was there." Jon and Ghost will be a calming, gentle, protective presence in Sansa's life. Also "mare" is an occasional marker for Sansa.

Now for something else:

ACOK, Tyrion:

Varys glanced at Shae. “My lord, must we trouble your sweet lady’s sleep with such grim and bloody talk?”

“A lady might be afraid,” said Shae, “but I’m not.”

(ASOS, Tyrion:)

“You shall rise again, I am sure. A man like you. My sweet lady Shae tells me you are newly wed. Would that you had sent for me earlier. I should have been honored to sing at your feast.”

“The last thing my wife needs is more songs,” said Tyrion. “As for Shae, we both know she is no lady, and I would thank you never to speak her name aloud.”

Which all seems to lead to:

(AFFC, Alayne)

Up here where the slope was steepest, the steps wound back and forth rather than plunging straight down. Sansa Stark went up the mountain, but Alayne Stone is coming down. It was a strange thought. Coming up, Mya had warned her to keep her eyes on the path ahead, she remembered. “Look up, not down,” she said … but that was not possible on the descent. I could close my eyes. The mule knows the way, he has no need of me. But that seemed more something Sansa would have done, that frightened girl. Alayne was an older woman, and bastard brave.

and...

“Unhand me. You forget yourself.”

“Mercy. I have been singing love songs for hours. My blood is stirred. And yours, I know … there’s no wench half so lusty as one bastard born. Are you wet for me?”

“I’m a maiden,” she protested.

“Truly? Oh, Alayne, Alayne, my fair maid, give me the gift of your innocence. You will thank the gods you did. I’ll have you singing louder than the Lady Lysa.”

Sansa jerked away from him, frightened. “If you don’t leave me, my au—my father will hang you. Lord Petyr.”

“Littlefinger?” He chuckled. “Lady Lysa loves me well, and I am Lord Robert’s favorite. If your father offends me, I will destroy him with a verse.” He put a hand on her breast, and squeezed. “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes. You wouldn’t want them ripped, I know. Come, sweet lady, heed your heart—”

Sansa heard the soft sound of steel on leather. “Singer,” a rough voice said, “best go, if you want to sing again.” The light was dim, but she saw a faint glimmer of a blade.

The singer saw it too. “Find your own wench—” The knife flashed, and he cried out. “You cut me!”

“I’ll do worse, if you don’t go.” And quick as that, Marillion was gone.

There's a lot in this. There is yet another averted rape attempt, complete with rescue by a knight. (Lothor Brune.) Then, we have the implication that Sansa's virtue will be compromised ("Truly?" - Potentially by something horrible like on the show. The TWOW "Mercy" sample chapter is one big red flag.) and then we have the foreshadowing of Sansa losing her "innocence" by becoming a bad singer, a liar like Lysa, as we know she will when she lies about her death, or by "singing" loudly of secrets. Songs have the power to preserve and destroy, we learn, and Sansa will have to learn to weild that power benevolently. The fact that she is saved here, tells us that she will be "saved" from moral failure, as well.

Randomly, Marillion's Trial in AFFC:

“If I had eyes I should weep.” The singer’s voice, so strong and sure by night, was cracked and whispery now. “I loved her so, I could not bear to see her in another’s arms, to know she shared his bed. I meant no harm to my sweet lady, I swear it. I barred the door so no one could disturb us whilst I declared my passion, but Lady Lysa was so cold … when she told that she was carrying Lord Petyr’s child, a … a madness seized me …”

It may mean something, or it may not. But Sansa has a lot of bastard foreshadowing. Other characters have "madness" foreshadowing. And a history of miscarriages.

For something darker:

ADWD, The Wayward Bride (Asha)

A shy smile, strong arms, clever fingers, and two sure swords. What more could any woman want? She would have married Qarl, and gladly, but she was Lord Balon’s daughter and he was common-born, the grandson of a thrall. Too lowborn for me to wed, but not too low for me to suck his cock. Drunk, smiling, she crawled beneath the furs and took him in her mouth. Qarl stirred in his sleep, and after a moment he began to stiffen. By the time she had him hard again, he was awake and she was wet. Asha draped the furs across her bare shoulders and mounted him, drawing him so deep inside her that she could not tell who had the cock and who the cunt. This time the two of them reached their peak together.

“My sweet lady,” he murmured after, in a voice still thick with sleep. “My sweet queen.”

No, Asha thought, I am no queen, nor shall I ever be. “Go back to sleep.” She kissed his cheek, padded across Galbart Glover’s bedchamber, and threw the shutters open. The moon was almost full, the night so clear that she could see the mountains, their peaks crowned with snow. Cold and bleak and inhospitable, but beautiful in the moonlight.

Their summits glimmered pale and jagged as a row of sharpened teeth. The foothills and the smaller peaks were lost in shadow.

At first glance this could be sweet-ish, but the surrounding imagery is kind of sinister and I get reminded of two other things:

Lysa describing her rape of Petyr (Sansa, ASOS):

...and Petyr tried to kiss your mother, only she pushed him away. She laughed at him. He looked so wounded I thought my heart would burst, and afterward he drank until he passed out at the table. (…) That was the night I stole up to his bed to give him comfort. I bled, but it was the sweetest hurt. He told me he loved me then, but he called me Cat, just before he fell back to sleep. Even so, I stayed with him until the sky began to lighten.

And Cersei's wedding night with Robert, (Eddard, AGOT)

Her eyes burned, green fire in the dusk, like the lioness that was her sigil. “The night of our wedding feast, the first time we shared a bed, he called me by your sister’s name. He was on top of me, in me, stinking of wine, and he whispered Lyanna.”

We already had a moment of deeply screwed up consent for Jon during his first time with Ygritte. Suddenly, the scene when Dany asks Jon if he's drunk on the show in 8x04 after the victory feast and then pushes him for sex seems even more sinister. Lysa's rape of Petyr ended in pregnancy. I hope I am wrong about this!

Lastly, this is from The Hedge Knight. "Florian and Jonquil" are being destroyed, i.e. Sansa's very favorite song is getting viciously attacked, her romantic dreams put to the torch. If my horrible suspicion is true, Sansa will live some aspect of her Ramsey storyline, if not with Ramsey, then with someone else. This following Scene festuring Duncan the fake knight and Tanselle, the tall girl playing Jonquil's puppet, however, is very reminiscent of Jon's final encounter with Ramsey. No?

The puppeteer's stall had been knocked on its side. The fat Dornishwoman was on the ground weeping.

One man-at-arms was dangling the puppets of Florian and Jonquil from his hands as another set them afire with a torch. Three more men were opening chests, spilling more puppets on the ground and stamping on them. The dragon puppet was scattered all about them, a broken wing here, its head there, its tail in three pieces. And in the midst of it all stood Prince Aerion, resplendent in a red velvet doublet with long dagged sleeves, twisting Tanselle's arm in both hands. She was on her knees, pleading with him. Aerion ignored her. He forced open her hand and seized one of her fingers. Dunk stood there stupidly, not quite believing what he saw. Then he heard a crack, and Tanselle screamed.

One of Aerion's men tried to grab him, and went flying. Three long strides, then Dunk grabbed the prince's shoulder and wrenched him around hard. His sword and dagger were forgotten, along with everything the old man had ever taught him. His fist knocked Aerion off his feet, and the toe of his boot slammed into the prince's belly. When Aerion went for his knife, Dunk stepped on his wrist and then kicked him again, right in the mouth. He might have kicked him to death right then and there, but the princeling's men swarmed over him.

So the wolf pet/lover will curbstomp her attacker in some way shape or form.

Damn. To cheer us, let's look at some Dontos/Florian from ACOK, Sansa:

“I will,” she said. “Tell me who sent you.”

“No one, sweet lady. I swear it on my honor as a knight.”

“A knight?” Joffrey had decreed that he was to be a knight no longer, only a fool, lower even than Moon Boy. “I prayed to the gods for a knight to come save me,” she said. “I prayed and prayed. Why would they send me a drunken old fool?”

“I deserve that, though . . . I know it’s queer, but . . . all those years I was a knight, I was truly a fool, and now that I am a fool I think . . . I think I may find it in me to be a knight again, sweet lady. And all because of you . . . your grace, your courage. You saved me, not only from Joffrey, but from myself.” His voice dropped. “The singers say there was another fool once who was the greatest knight of all . . .”

“Florian,” Sansa whispered. A shiver went through her.

“Sweet lady, I would be your Florian,” Dontos said humbly, falling to his knees before her.

Slowly, Sansa lowered the knife. Her head seemed terribly light, as if she were floating. This is madness, to trust myself to this drunkard, but if I turn away will the chance ever come again? “How . . . how would you do it? Get me away?”

Ser Dontos raised his face to her. “Taking you from the castle, that will be the hardest. Once you’re out, there are ships that would take you home. I’d need to find the coin and make the arrangements, that’s all.”

“Could we go now?” she asked, hardly daring to hope.

“This very night? No, my lady, I fear not. First I must find a sure way to get you from the castle when the hour is ripe. It will not be easy, nor quick. They watch me as well.” He licked his lips nervously. “Will you put away your blade?”

Sansa slipped the knife beneath her cloak. “Rise, ser.”

“Thank you, sweet lady.” Ser Dontos lurched clumsily to his feet, and brushed earth and leaves from his knees. “Your lord father was as true a man as the realm has ever known, but I stood by and let them slay him. I said nothing, did nothing . . . and yet, when Joffrey would have slain me, you spoke up. Lady, I have never been a hero, no Ryam Redwyne or Barristan the Bold. I’ve won no tourneys, no renown in war . . . but I was a knight once, and you have helped me remember what that meant. My life is a poor thing, but it is yours.” Ser Dontos placed a hand on the gnarled bole of the heart tree. He was shaking, she saw. “I vow, with your father’s gods as witness, that I shall send you home.”

He swore. A solemn oath, before the gods. “Then . . . I will put myself in your hands, ser. But how will I know, when it is time to go? Will you send me another note?”

Ser Dontos glanced about anxiously. “The risk is too great. You must come here, to the godswood. As often as you can. This is the safest place. The only safe place. Nowhere else. Not in your chambers nor mine nor on the steps nor in the yard, even if it seems we are alone. The stones have ears in the Red Keep, and only here may we talk freely.”

“Only here,” Sansa said. “I’ll remember.”

“And if I should seem cruel or mocking or indifferent when men are watching, forgive me, child. I have a role to play, and you must do the same. One misstep and our heads will adorn the walls as did your father’s.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“You will need to be brave and strong . . . and patient, patient above all.”

“I will be,” she promised, “but . . . please . . . make it as soon as you can. I’m afraid . . .”

“So am I,” Ser Dontos said, smiling wanly. “And now you must go, before you are missed.”

“You will not come with me?”

“Better if we are never seen together.”

Nodding, Sansa took a step . . . then spun back, nervous, and softly laid a kiss on his cheek, her eyes closed. “My Florian,” she whispered. “The gods heard my prayer.”

And just to add some sweet speculation…

Jon, ASOS:

If I could show her Winterfell … give her a flower from the glass gardens, feast her in the Great Hall, and show her the stone kings on their thrones. We could bathe in the hot pools, and love beneath the heart tree while the old gods watched over us.

I'm such a hopeful fool for these two.

#Jonsa #asoiaf #asoiaf speculation #jon snow #sansa stark

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tgrlmls · 5 years ago

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WHY HER?

Game of Thrones, some over-analyzing scenes, characters and ships

Alright then…

I know that I am a little late to comment on the hot topic that was the Game of Thrones series finale extravaganza and anything that is “jonsa”. I have been very angry about the last two seasons for a long time, but it looked like everyone has said what needs to be said one way or another. But I love analyzing and I have loved and loved this show and its characters for so long I have the right to over-analyze it to hell… ok? Good.

So… let’s go to my beginnings. GOT shippervise beginnings. I have been waiting since Season 1 for Jon and Deanerys to meet. I was sure their story arcs would come together ok? And Kit and Emilia had some really cute pictures that were taken for magazines etc. Fan arts, theories, anything jonerys, I was all into them. Incest was the only thing that kept me openly shipping jonerys but I was intrigued and I was ready to accept that “well… they don’t know they are aunt and nephew…maybe that will cause them to be star-crossed lovers? The tragic but beautiful love story? Or maybe knowing the Targeryen traditions they will say “you know what? Never mind that related thing bygones “and be a power couple? I was open to all options.

Then came season 6 episode 4… THE REUNION…of Jon and Sansa…what? That scene was so beautifully acted and shot and the music oh my god feelings. But I said to myself that is sibling love. It is normal they have both been through a lot. It was poetic, in a platonic way. But that scene and a lot of scenes that season between them were so very well done. I found myself saying “oh please don’t ruin this by making Sansa trust Littlefinger and wanting more power please.” To their credit…they didn’t. But they toyed with this idea too much too long for my taste. Anyway, yay jonsa have platonic relationship and some Starks are content for a change so I was happy. But the big thing was coming right? Jon and Dany.

Then came season 7. Started nice enough. I liked the differences between Jon and Dany and their first encounter. Dany was interested that was obvious. She was curious about Jon. Jon was not on his knees by her beauty or her dragons. BUT then she kept him as a prisoner…and the annoying “bend the knee” scenes came. I mean this woman accepted Iron Islands to be independent over a conversation. And she was not helping thousands of people, unless they bend the knee. What was “Breaking the Wheel” exactly? That is a question that I still can’t find the answer to. Dany wanted to break the Wheel of great houses ruling the people, by coming there demanding they bend the knee to HER because SHE IS FROM A GREAT HOUSE?

Ok that is for another discussion but all these things and lack of emotion for me in Jon and Dany scenes made me a Jonsa shipper in season 8. And lack of wit and general lack of IQ from other characters like Tyrion made me a big Sansa stan. My girl was wise. She was right. But what broke my heart the most was the treatment of Jon.

My Jon, had a character. He was a leader. He didn’t want it, but he was good at it. He was a natural. He always tried to do what was right, by his conscience. My Jon, even if he was head over the heels in love with a woman would not be a doormat. He would not sit idly by when anyone is being burned alive. He was honarable, he was brave, he was just. He made mistakes, he failed but his intentions were always for the best. He left the woman he loved before because he was trying to do the right thing. And it was the right thing.

Anyway these issues aside, there are very interesting dialogues and acting choices in season 8 that does not make sense with what the writers were trying to sell us. And many scenes were analyzed in many great tumblr posts, probably this one had been too, but if I may, I want to over-analyze and ask my questions too.

That scene will be the “Why her?” scene or “Sansa betrays Jon’s trust and tells Tyrion his secret” scene and I can’t believe how the latter discussion can even be an issue with the way this scene was acted and shot.

So it begins “WHY HER?”

Let’s start with the beginning of the scene, shall we? Jon is leaving with Dany literally going to war, Tyrion -as it seems- seeks and finds Sansa, but she is so distracted and lost in her thoughts she doesn’t have have time for small talk she gets right to the point “Why HER?”

A very important thing to note here is that this is happenning very soon after Sansa learns that Jon is not her half-brother but her cousin. Of course we didn’t see her or Arya’s reaction to this. Hell we didn’t even properly see how Jon himself feels about this. Why would we care about these characters we loved for years learning such an impactful truth right? Sarcasm on. I mean they learn that truth right after they say they only need each other, we see the pack all together one last time and the scene cuts. Ok, sure!

But where I am getting at is that these characters are not robots and of course this information has someway affected them.

Sansa is watching the dragons all mighty powerful and scary here. But she is not afraid. She seems conflicted, and asks Tyrion why he is following Dany. She is trying to understand why Jon is following her as well maybe. Because Jon never gave her, or any of the Starks or the Northmen for that matter any reason other than Dany helped them with the Army of the Dead. Yes, but that doesn’t mean she’ll be a good queen. She didn’t help them because she is a great leader who cares about them and help them survive. No.

Tyrion:She loves your brother

Sansa:That doesn’t mean she’ll be a good queen

That is the thing that must be bothering actually. She agreed to help the North because she loves Jon.

And if it were not Jon and someone she wouldn’t fall for, she was going to refuse to help until that person bent the knee. Or maybe even after that. But again that was the stupidity of Season 7. So moving on to the scene at hand again,

Sansa looks sad here. Not plotting, not scheming, not angry…sad.

Tyrion: You seem determined to dislike her.

Yes she does and why is that? What reason Sansa Stark has to dislike Dany? Well, she made them bend the knee and took their independence? But that aside why is Tyrion and Jon are determined to like her? We will get to that in this same scene.

Tyrion talks about how a peaceful relations between North and the Iron Throne would be best for the people.

Sansa: Jon will be Warden of the North so good relationship seems likely.

She cuts Tyrion’s sentence as it looks like the “good relationships” part has triggered her somehow.

Tyrion stops and looks the other way almost apologetically

Tyrion:I don’t expect him to spend much time here going forward…

And Sansa cuts him again, more triggered and even more irritated than before

Sansa:Well I suppose it’s up to him.

Ok this one is really interesting, Sansa is very irritated about the relationship of Jon and Dany, this irritation right here is not about the North. She is angry at Jon. But this one, this anger right here is not because independence or anything political.

She says it’s up to him. Well the way the scene was acted,really leans into Sansa being jealous about Jon and Dany. She knows what Tyrion is implying. Jon will be in King’s Landing with Dany because of their relationship, the North and the IT will be in good relations because of that said relationship.

Sansa is very disturbed. It catches Tyrion’s attention, he asks her if she is alright, I mean look at her. She is on the verge of tears.

Many people argued Tyrion misreads this, I am not sure, it is possible but it also feels like he is somehow trying to console her, telling her she will be the real power in the North, that it is her word he is seeking of in this arrangements. He is trying to make sure Sansa has accepted these terms. BUT it is not for Dany’s claim. Tyrion is not afraid Sansa will oppose Dany and Dany will lose supporters. No he is afraid but for other reasons. Which we will come to.

Even Sansa realizes this, and asks him why he is concerned. Dany has everything right now.

She still has her armies, the northern armies, her dragons ...and JON.

Tyrion: She is your queen too!

Tyrion: You don’t have to be her friend, but why provoke her? How is that in the best interest of your family or the North..

Sansa: You’re afraid of her.

Tyrion is afraid. For Sansa, for the Starks. This is the first time Sansa realizes even the supporters of Dany are afraid of what she is capable of.

She comes clean to Tyrion, tells him what’s really bothering her.

Sansa: I don’t want Jon to go down there…the men in my family don’t do well in the Capital.

While it is true that North men were not able to fight with the schemings of southron Capital. The bigger part in this is “Sansa doesn’t want Jon to go.” She fears for his safety. He is going to the Dragon Queen’s war. It is dangerous. Cersei is dangerous. Dany is dangerous. And Jon is a big player in this game even if he doesn’t want to. He was born into this. Even if he was Ned Stark’s bastard he was still important he was made The King in the North, of course he was still a big player even after he bent the knee. But there was more. Jon was not a big piece in this game. He was the BIGGEST because of the truth of his lineage. So when Tyrion unknowingly brings this up, Sansa gets that there are even bigger things at stake here.

She doesn’t want Jon to leave but there is also something more on the line here. Jon is the true heir. Her expression is full of worry and sadness as she turns her head looking away.

Tyrion notices this of course asks her if she is alright. But he doesn’t get it. He starts to tell her about how he believes in Dany, trying to convince Sansa or maybe himself. Because how can you possibly believe in someone making the World a better place, with constantly fearing she will snap and burn people for some reason that is justified in her head at the same time?

She thinks about her options. She KNOWS this game, she saw first-hand. She lived the ramifications “when you play the game of thrones you win or you die”

And she decides to play the game actively. Trying to keep this secret was not going to protect Jon. Her father tried it. But Jon was sent to the Night’s Watch eventually. Now he holds so much importance even without this secret. And more importantly. Dany knows the secret. Her hand, Tyrion is even afraid of her, warning Sansa not to oppose her. How long will she be kept from unleashing her anger. How long till before someone calls Jon a King? How long till Jon opposes Dany because of something he doesn’t agree. We know Jon. Sansa knows Jon. (I mean real Jon, until he became a doormat, he must be there somewhere) trying to be passive will not have. They are in this game whether they wanted it or not. Ned tried to refuse to be in, he lost his life for it. His family almost lost everything. Jon tried to refuse to take a part of it but anywhere he went, anthing he did people followed him, chose him, put him in the game all the time. There is no middle ground.

Yes she betrays her word. She swore an oath and she broke it. Because “what is honor compared to a woman’s love” Or a man’s for that matter.

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jackoshadows · 3 years ago

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Let’s be clear here. Sansa did not lie in front of everyone and side with Joffrey over her own sister because it was protocol or to save Arya or because she was afraid of the Lannisters. She did it because she loved her beautiful prince Joffrey and thought that he was right and she wanted to marry him and become queen and do shit like this:

"Go ahead, call me all the names you want," Sansa said airily. "You won't dare when I'm married to Joffrey. You'll have to bow to me and call me Your Grace. "

After Joffrey sadistically tortures Mycah and attacks her little sister Arya with a sword:

After they had gone, Sansa went to Prince Joffrey. His eyes were closed in pain, his breath ragged. Sansa knelt beside him. “Joffrey,” she sobbed. “Oh, look what they did, look what they did. My poor prince. Don’t be afraid. I’ll ride to the holdfast and bring help for you.” Tenderly she reached out and brushed back his soft blond hair.

Just sisters being sisters, am I right? Yeah, my sister would also have more compassion for the guy who attacked me with a knife! That’s really how siblings are with each other!

Even later, she still victim blames Mycah for what happened when it’s just Arya and Sansa in the room:

“It’s not the same,” Sansa said. “The Hound is Joffrey’s sworn shield. Your butcher’s boy attacked the prince. ”

Much later, when Sansa is now the target of Joffrey’s abuse, she realizes that what Arya did was right:

He’d owned a sword named Lion’s Tooth once, Sansa remembered. Arya had taken it from him and thrown it in a river. I hope Stannis does the same with this one.

AGoT Sansa was a vain, self-centered, spoiled, snobby, classist bully who didn’t give a damn that another child was being tortured or that Joffrey attacked her sister with a sword, or that her 9 year old little sister was alone in the woods for several days and being hunted down by Lannister men. It’s more important that one’s hair is shiny and brushed when appearing before everyone to lie about what happened!

Joffrey’s lie - that Arya and Nymeria attacked him without any provocation - only stands because Sansa refused to support her sister’s side of the story. Joffrey knows that what he did to Mycah is wrong and that’s why he changes the story and lies. Noble children mingle and play with the small folk all the time.

Put any character in Arya’s spot - Brienne of Tarth, Jon Snow, Robb Stark, Bran Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Catelyn Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Ned Stark, Renly Baratheon, Barristan Selmy - and they would have all done the same thing that Arya did and protected Mycah from Joffrey’s sadism. Brienne of Tarth would have applauded the fuck out of Arya for what she did - and Brienne is exactly the kind of knight that Sansa claims to love in her songs.

What’s the point of Sansa loving all these songs of chivalry and knightly valor when she can’t tell right from wrong and recognize that in this case it was Arya who was the brave knight standing up to a bully. Just like her aunt Lyanna did before her and stood up for Howland Reed against a bunch of bullies. Oh, but the parallels are really between Sansa and Lyanna, right? Sansa and Lyanna - they both cry for songs aww ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️! But it looks like only one of them really understood the themes of these songs.

Every person in that room knew that Arya was right and it was Joffrey who provoked the attack. But the one witness to the entire thing lies and says she does not remember and turns it into a he said, she said scenario that allows for Cersei to demand punishment in the form of a dead wolf and a weak-willed Robert to give in and order Ned to do it. The loss of the direwolf here is symbolic because Sansa chooses the Lannisters/future family over the Starks/current family.

Does anyone think that Catelyn Tully - Family, duty, honor - the embodiment of family loyalty, would have been okay with Sansa siding with Joffrey against Arya?

It should have been Catelyn in that scenario and not Ned. Ned was wrong to not confront Sansa about her lying. And no, he does not explain to Arya why Sansa lied - because Sansa lied for a selfish, petty reason. He wants Arya and Sansa to stop fighting each other and puts the onus for all that on Arya. What he should have done was give Sansa a similar talk and explain why what she did was wrong and that she too had to put in the effort to get along with her little sister.

‘The lone wolf dies but the pack survives’ should have been something that Ned told Sansa since it is literally her wolf that dies. But Arya is GRRM’s central character and hence gets the thematic line and little talk from Ned about unity being more important than division and strife.

So no, Arya is not responsible for Lady’s death and Nymeria is not going to be Sansa’s direwolf as recompense.

As for Mycah - Unlike her sister and her fans, Arya rightly places the blame for that where it belongs.

Arya screwed up her face in a scowl. “Jaime Lannister murdered Jory and Heward and Wyl, and the Hound murdered Mycah. Somebody should have beheaded them.”

#Sansa Stark #Arya Stark #Joffrey Baratheon #Mycah #Ned Stark #GRRM #The incident at the trident #Had enough of this both girls were innocent but really it's Arya to blame bs #Only one of them lied about something important

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throne-of-games · 6 years ago

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Thoughts on 8x02

Episode starts off with Dany degrading Jaime for having one hand. Cool!

Lmao Varys casually leaning forward in the background while Dany roasts Tyrion

Jaime 110% shit himself when Bran said “the things we do for love” and you can’t change my mind

After Brienne’s speech, Dany’s looking like maybe she shouldn’t have mocked him for his disability. That’s right you little shit, better think twice before talking about my son like that!

Brienne bringing up Catelyn and Sansa’s unwavering faith in Brienne and her judgement give me all the feels

Dany, honey, take a picture it’ll last longer.

Jon siding with Sansa, Sansa getting up and walking out queen af while Jon hightails it after her? MOOD

Petty politics have no place here, huh? So then how come while Dany’s ripping Tyrion a new one about Cersei she’s focused on what it means for her in terms of getting the Iron Throne and not what it means for their chances against the Night King? Someone wanna riddle me that?

Gendry being all “but Arya, I just wanna protect you and keep you safe!!” Arya aptly demonstrating that she doesn’t need anybody’s help for that, and his reaction like yep I’ll just put a rush order on those weapons for you then was absolute gold

Bran reminds me of that one weird family member that only drinks kale smoothies and does yoga and goes to India to “find themselves” and you could like literally run them over with a car and they’d be all don’t worry about it man it’s all part of the universe’s plan

Jaime questioning Tyrion about Dany, that’s my trash son questioning authority and seeing through people’s bullshit!!

Omg this Braime bickering I’M DYING FDJKSAHFDKS

Tell me why the Dany x Jorah scenes are ten times better than the ones she has with Jon

“He’s made mistakes, serious mistakes.” Lmao she just gonna pretend like she hasn’t been fucking everything up since the first step she took into Westeros?

I love how it’s implied that Jorah told Dany to try and make peace with Sansa. Like even he recognizes her power. Ugh, queen

Okay why is no one talking about how Dany is literally admitting that her only goal her whole life was to get the Iron Throne and take revenge against the people who took it from her? No talk of “for the people” or any of that. Just straight up self serving ambition.

Wow she’s literally sitting here calling it “Jon’s war” and saying she’s there because she got her panties in a twist over him. Damn Dany, thanks for finally confirming what we’ve been trying to tell antis all along!

Sansa totally playing on Dany’s weaknesses right now. She sees Dany desires praise above all else and she’s not afraid to exploit it. *sobs* That’s my girl

And therein lies the reason why these two could never be friends. What about the North? What about the North?

Oh, now Dany’s concerned with Yara, huh? Nice.

This Theonsa scene...look I’m not saying I cried or anything but like, I think there’s something in my eye

Cute, brave little girl. Probably gonna bite it

Jon and Sansa standing together during the battle plans, those are my babies

Why do I feel like Theon’s gonna die protecting Bran

Lmao I’m sorry but Jon giving Dany the cold shoulder gives me life

GHOST!!!!!

Guess that filled the Direwolf quota for the season, lmao *cries*

Jaime’s what the fuck face while Tormund’s talking is literally me, like okay guys the Brienne/Tormund thing is funny and all but you’re beating a dead horse here

That’s right, Arya’s not sticking around you two she goin to get FUCKED

Omg okay this Gendrya scene is everything but like I had to watch it from between my fingers and I couldn’t stop screaming “MAISIE NO YOU PUT THAT SHIRT BACK ON YOUNG LADY, HEY YOU TWO STOP THAT OH JESUS OH THEY’RE ACTUALLY DOING IT”

Awh, Jaime knighting Brienne. It’s about damn time!

Dany in the crypts, gross.

Uh oh, she is pissed lmao. I also think it’s interesting that he called her “Dany” during the reveal, a nickname she herself has claimed to dislike and that has bad memories of her abusive brother attached to it

Overall this episode felt a little better than the last but it still feels very rushed and subpar to me. I didn’t think I’d be nervous for the next episode but like, fuck I’m nervous. People boutta die man

#sfw #jonsa #jon x sansa #braime #brienne x jaime #gendrya #gendry x arya #game of thrones #anti daenerys #anti jonerys

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multi-fandom-imagines8 · 6 years ago

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More Than Acqaintances

Request: Could you do a Jaime fanfic? Maybe something along the lines of dating or just becoming more than friends like flirting. Requested by @nowheresociety.

Word Count: 1072.

You were the only child of Benjen Stark and after your family was betrayed you went North to find your father. You found your cousin Jon at the wall and he told you that Benjen is believed to be dead but he doesn’t believe it. You stayed with Jon at the wall, hoping he’d return one day.

After Jon allowed the Wildlings south of the wall, some of his brothers betrayed him and stabbed him several times. They were coming for you next, but when Ser Davos saw the body, he warned you and you, the few men Jon trusted and Ghost locked yourselves in his room. Melisandre was able to resurrect him and that’s when he decided to leave the night’s watch. After reuniting with Sansa, defeating Ramsay and getting Winterfell back, Jon was crowned King in the North and he left for Dragonstone to meet the Dragon queen in hopes of making allies to defend the realm from the Night King and his army of dead.

You stayed with Sansa and helped advise her while she was in charge of the people.

Arya and Bran also returned home and you had your family back, almost.

“You shall go in my stead” Sansa told Brienne as she received a letter inviting her to King’s Landing.

“But the invitation was for you, my Lady”.

“What’s going on?” You entered the hall.

“Apparently, Jon managed to convince the Dragon Queen and Cersei to meet in order to discuss sending men North to fight. I was invited but I told lady Brienne to go, since I’ll never set foot in King’s Landing again” she informed you.

“I’ll go, if that’s alright with you” you volunteered.

“Why?”.

“To send a message. That we Starks attend when we’re invited and we’re not afraid. Besides, I haven’t seen Jon in so long, I miss him. Brienne can still escort me” you suggested.

“Alright, but be careful cousin”.

“I will”.

—-

You haven’t seen Jaime since he came to Winterfell eight years ago with King Robert. He had long hair back then and two hands. He was cocky and selfish, but now he was someone else. He changed a lot since you last saw him. And to be honest, you liked the new him even more than the old one.

“Lady Y/n!” he remembered.

“Ser Jaime, we meet again!” You greeted with a smile.

“Indeed. How long has it been?”.

“Too long”.

“You’ve grown more beautiful! So how come you still haven’t got married?”.

“Not that it’s any of your concern, but I haven’t found the right man yet. And maybe, I don’t want to get married” you shrugged.

“I see. Will if you do find the right man, do tell me” he smirked.

“What does it matter to you?” Before he could answer, Cersei entered the Pit, where everyone was gathered and now you were waiting for Daenerys Targaryen.

When she finally appeared, the council discussed whether they should or shouldn’t have a peace treaty and send men to the North, but all you and Jaime did, was steal glances at each other.

“Do you think that was wise?” Jaime asked after Jon informed Cersei that he served queen Daenerys.

“Maybe not. But we Starks are known for our honesty and honor. When enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies and lies won’t help us in this fight. What Jon did, was the right thing to do, even if it cost us so much” you defended Jon.

“You care about him?” he questioned.

“Of course I do, he’s my cousin”.

“That’s not what I meant”.

“Oh! No, we grew up together. He’s family. After our family was betrayed, he was the first one I saw and he was there for me when no one else was” you elaborated.

“Y/n, I-“ he was interrupted again when Cersei returned and agreed to send her men to the North. Jaime also pledged to fight for the living.

Of course, Cersei lied and was preparing to deal with what’s left of your army. Jaime on the other hand, decided to leave her and honor his word.

He travelled North and had to stand before the council to decide his fate.

Daenerys wanted to kill him, but you and Brienne vouched for him, so Sansa decided to let him stay.

“Why did you come? You knew the risk you were taking. You could’ve stayed with Cersei and never saw us again”.

“I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise.

Besides, someone told me that when enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything and I don’t intend on being one of those people who’d help make words meaningless” he explained.

“Whoever told you that, was a wise person”.

“She is and she’s beautiful” you gave him a look “what?”.

“Are you going to flirt with me every time you see me?”.

“Depends”.

“Depends on what?”.

“Whether you’ll respond or not”.

“There’s nothing to respond to. We have a war to prepare for” you left him standing outside.

Twas the night before the battle when he decided to tell you how he truly feels. You were in your chamber gathering strength and putting on a brave face or trying to.

“May I come in?” Jaime asked permission and you nodded.

“Are you alright?” He noticed you were tense.

“Yes. No- I don’t know. It’s hard to pretend to not be scared when you are” you admitted.

“Then don’t pretend”.

“I have to. For the sake of the people. They look up to me and when they see I’m not afraid, it’ll help them too. Aren’t you scared?”.

“I am”.

“You’ve done a good job hiding it” you complimented.

“That’s because I let my mind think of other things. Pleasant things, like you” he confessed.

“Jaime, I- it’s not the right time”.

“When is? If not now, when? We might not live to see another day. And if this is my last day in this world, then I want to spend it with you. I know you want the same” he expressed.

“But-“.

“Shh! No buts” he took a step forward, placed a gentle kiss on your lips, waited a few moments for you to react and then passionately continuing as if he was a starving man and you a delicious meal.

Tags: @simonsbluee

#game of thrones #got #jaime lannister #game of thrones imagine #jaime lannister imagine #jaime lannister one shot #jaime lannister x reader #jaime lannister x stark!reader #jaime lannister x you #game of thrones one shot #got imagine #got one shot #gif #gif imagine #imagine #one shot #jon snow #nikolaj coster waldau

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thebluelemontree · 6 years ago

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I can't seem to recall very well...but I believe that, after the beheading of her father, Sansa has been thinking more of the Hound than of Arya, her own sister who dissappeared at the same time. I mean, as her sister, it would be normal to be thinking more often about Arya's whereabouts and wellbeing but, as time goes on, she thinks less or not at all of her. But on the other hand she thinks a lot about Sandor, before and after the BoB.

Since the moment Sandor tells Sansa his secret, they don’t speak to each other again until the day Joffrey comes to get her out bed and show her the heads of her father and Septa Mordane. Their relationship starts to develop more from that point forward, but its still in its budding stages. So yes, she does think of him a lot; however, we have to remember she is alone and he’s her only tether to an authentic human interaction in the wake of her father’s beheading. Sansa cannot be honest about her feelings and frustrations with her enemies. Her maids are spies, and most of the people at court want nothing to do with a traitor’s daughter anyway. She must wear her lady’s armor and pretend to be loyal and obedient. Sandor is her outlet to an extent, and he helps her survive. Then after he’s gone, she wishes she had his counsel before she goes to meet the Tyrells. Sansa has no choice at that point but to navigate these decisions entirely on her own, but his memory has come to represent shrewd judgment in a gauntlet of liars with their own agendas. Of course, there’s the whole other layer of Sansa’s sexual maturation process and the development of her feelings for him which become more relevant as she’s having more adult experiences and interactions.

We also have to remember that Sansa thinks she already knows what happened to Arya before Ned’s execution:

“And at the end, near last, came the names Sansa had been dreading. Lady Catelyn Stark. Robb Stark. Brandon Stark, Rickon Stark, Arya Stark. Sansa stifled a gasp. Arya. They wanted Arya to present herself and swear an oath … it must mean her sister had fled on the galley, she must be safe at Winterfell by now … “ -- Sansa V, AGOT.

If they obviously do not have Arya and they want her to swear an oath, it has to mean she is alive and escaped on the ship her father had procured. Sansa then imagines Arya made it to Winterfell. Something she will think about later in Clash:

She missed Septa Mordane, and even more Jeyne Poole, her truest friend. The septa had lost her head with the rest, for the crime of serving House Stark. Sansa did not know what had happened to Jeyne, who had disappeared from her rooms afterward, never to be mentioned again. She tried not to think of them too often, yet sometimes the memories came unbidden, and then it was hard to hold back the tears. Once in a while, Sansa even missed her sister. By now Arya was safe back in Winterfell, dancing and sewing, playing with Bran and baby Rickon, even riding through the winter town if she liked. Sansa was allowed to go riding too, but only in the bailey, and it got boring going round in a circle all day. -- Sansa II, ACOK

This is a belief that keeps Sansa going and gives her some solace after Ned’s execution. Arya is okay. She’s safe and home. Admittedly, it’s a very Sansa-colored fantasy for Arya, but Sansa imagines her sister living a normal, idyllic life before everything went to hell. And she’s free. She can ride anywhere she wants to, unlike herself, but she’s heartened by that. It’s also tinged with sorrow and regret for disobeying her father and not getting on that galley because it recalls the last thing Arya said to her before Sansa lashed out in anger and before she understood who the real bad guys are:

"Stop that weeping, child," Septa Mordane said sternly. "I am certain your lord father knows what is best for you."

"It won't be so bad, Sansa," Arya said. "We're going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we'll be with Bran and Robb again, and Old Nan and Hodor and the rest." She touched her on the arm.

"Hodor!" Sansa yelled. "You ought to marry Hodor, you're just like him, stupid and hairy and ugly!" She wrenched away from her sister's hand, stormed into her bedchamber, and barred the door behind her. -- Sansa III, AGOT.

The aforementioned Clash passage also gives us a window into Sansa’s coping strategy. The fact that Sansa cannot afford to crack and lose that self-control is one reason why she doesn’t allow herself to think of her family (and Jeyne Poole) as much as we might think she ought to. It hurts too damn much. Sansa was in a suicidal depression in the days immediately following Ned’s execution. She was staying in bed, not eating, being plagued by nightmares and praying for dead, dreamless sleep. That chapter of raw vulnerability is when the mask came off, and she told Joffrey she hated him to his face, told him she hoped Robb would bring her his head, and thought about murdering him herself. As profound as that moment was for her own character arc's conclusion in AGOT (and Sandor seeing her mettle), it’s not going to be the way she endures, maintains her sanity, and eventually escapes.

It will continue into her period as Alayne Stone; however, despite her efforts to suppress her Stark identity and the pain associated with it, Sansa cannot help it. She does think of her loved ones often, including Arya, and many times it’s positive rather than negative before and after the BotBW. What Sansa says and thinks she is doing and what she actually does can be two different things. Remember she said “that day was done and so was Sansa” in regards to Sandor and the unkiss... then proceeded to think about Sandor a few more times in the same chapter. Rest assured with your concerns. She thinks of Arya and all the people she cares about even though she says she shouldn’t or won’t allow herself to do that. But let me lay out all the positives before discussing the negatives. Lots of quotes under the cut.

He'd owned a sword named Lion's Tooth once, Sansa remembered. Arya had taken it from him and thrown it in a river. I hope Stannis does the same with this one. "It is beautifully wrought, Your Grace." -- Sansa V, ACOK

She sang for mercy, for the living and the dead alike, for Bran and Rickon and Robb, for her sister Arya and her bastard brother Jon Snow, away off on the Wall. -- Sansa V, ACOK

Margaery's kindness had been unfailing, and her presence changed everything. Her ladies welcomed Sansa as well. It had been so long since she had enjoyed the company of other women, she had almost forgotten how pleasant it could be. Lady Leonette gave her lessons on the high harp, and Lady Janna shared all the choice gossip. Merry Crane always had an amusing story, and little Lady Bulwer reminded her of Arya, though not so fierce. -- Sansa II, ASOS.

In Sansa's dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya. -- Sansa II, ASOS.

That was such a sweet dream, Sansa thought drowsily. She had been back in Winterfell, running through the godswood with her Lady. Her father had been there, and her brothers, all of them warm and safe. If only dreaming could make it so . . . She threw back the coverlets. I must be brave. Her torments would soon be ended, one way or the other. If Lady was here, I would not be afraid. Lady was dead, though; Robb, Bran, Rickon, Arya, her father, her mother, even Septa Mordane. All of them are dead but me. She was alone in the world now. -- Sansa IV, ASOS. [Sansa’s inclusion of Arya here suggests she assumes she must have suffered the same fate as Bran and Rickon]

She had dreamt that she was little, still sharing a bedchamber with her sister Arya. But it was her maid she heard tossing in sleep, not her sister, and this was not Winterfell, but the Eyrie. -- Sansa VII, ASOS.

She had last seen snow the day she'd left Winterfell. That was a lighter fall than this, she remembered. Robb had melting flakes in his hair when he hugged me, and the snowball Arya tried to make kept coming apart in her hands. It hurt to remember how happy she had been that morning. -- Sansa VII, ASOS.

She remembered a summer's snow in Winterfell when Arya and Bran had ambushed her as she emerged from the keep one morning. They'd each had a dozen snowballs to hand, and she'd had none. Bran had been perched on the roof of the covered bridge, out of reach, but Sansa had chased Arya through the stables and around the kitchen until both of them were breathless. She might even have caught her, but she'd slipped on some ice. Her sister came back to see if she was hurt. When she said she wasn't, Arya hit her in the face with another snowball, but Sansa grabbed her leg and pulled her down and was rubbing snow in her hair when Jory came along and pulled them apart, laughing. -- Sansa VII, ASOS.

They made a race of it, dashing headlong across the yard and past the stables, skirts flapping, whilst knights and serving men alike looked on, and pigs and chickens scattered before them. It was most unladylike, but Alayne sound found herself laughing. For just a little while, as she ran, she forgot who she was, and where, and found herself remembering bright cold days at Winterfell, when she would race through Winterfell with her friend Jeyne Poole, with Arya running after them trying to keep up. -- Alayne I, TWOW.

I think there is an overall progression of Sansa reconnecting with Arya through her childhood memories of her and appreciating the sisterhood they had before septas, queens, and princes came into their lives. The sisterhood she’s finding again in the Vale with Myranda and Mya. The kind of sisterhood she hoped for from the fair-weather Tyrells, who did not reciprocate:

Sister. Sansa had once dreamt of having a sister like Margaery; beautiful and gentle, with all the world's graces at her command. Arya had been entirely unsatisfactory as sisters went. How can I let my sister marry Joffrey? she thought, and suddenly her eyes were full of tears. -- Sansa II, ASOS.

A while back, I once had some trouble with this passage. It felt like such a low and completely unnecessary blow for George to write this line for Sansa to think about Arya. I suggest you look at my ask to @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly dealing with this specific quote. We have to remember sometimes that while characters can be on positive change arcs, sometimes they have bumps in the road and mini-regressions. Change is hard, ya know?

And what will they do to me? Sansa found herself thinking of Lady again. She could smell out falsehood, she could, but she was dead, Father had killed her, on account of Arya. She drew the knife and held it before her with both hands. -- Sansa II, ACOK.

Yeah, that’s not a good look either. Sansa’s meeting Dontos for the first time, she’s freaking out that this might be a trap or she might get caught. She desperately wants her wolf by her side, but damn it, because of Ned and Arya’s actions, she’s now left high and dry to sort this out alone. Remember she thinks Arya made it out and escaped to Winterfell. She was legitimately grateful for that, but Sansa is also under stress here and sometimes people, because they are people, unfairly blame others when they are actually mad at themselves. If Sansa had got on the galley back then, she wouldn’t have to take her chances with a drunken slob. Lady’s death and who is responsible for that has nothing to do with the situation at hand.

These don’t point any actual malice toward Arya, but all too common human frailty. The fact that she believes Arya is alive and well, from her perspective, affords her that same latitude to make a few uncharitable digs at her sibling, as siblings sometimes do. No one wants to admit they had poor judgment or fucked up in hindsight. Especially having to admit your little sister was right about your ex-boyfriend from day one and she, the oh-so-much-wiser-and-mature big sister never saw the red flags. But hey, Sansa got over that. Later in Clash, when she thinks about that day on the Trident, she remembers Arya throwing Joffrey’s dumb, pretentious sword in the river. That becomes her prevailing memory. Not the resulting death of Lady. Suddenly Arya’s behavior isn’t wild and unruly anymore, but an appropriate response to a true villain. And through her experience with the Tyrells, she learns that sisterhood is about who has your back, not the pretty packaging. Then when Sansa believes herself the only remaining Stark, save Jon to an extent, her thoughts are not critical of Arya at all. It's bittersweet for Sansa to recall her family, but an emphasis is on the sweet. She draws strength from their memory. That TWOW quote is one of my favorites and IMO makes a strong statement about the future when the sisters reunite. I don’t think you need to worry.

#sansa stark #arya stark #sandor clegane #sansa stark meta #the stark sisters #house stark #in this house we love both start sisters #satan0vna

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damn-stark · 6 years ago

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Lost Dragon ch.19

A/N- I wrote only like half of it I’ll finish the rest in the next chapter. I just didn’t want it to get super long.

Warning- spoilers for those who haven’t seen season 8 yet

Episode- 8x01 (only half of it.)

Pairing- Podrick Payne

The cold air is bitter the thick blanket of snow looks beautiful untouched on the ground. Last time I was around I was more of in a panic to save people I didn’t get to enjoy and take in the beauty of the snow. Something that I never in my life have seen. The north so far was beautiful just like how Jon claimed it to be.

We passed by a town on our way to the castle. People were to the sides watching as all the lines of unsullied passed by before us. Their faces had no sign of exciment in seeing us. Not even for their King. Their long faces gave me some sort of uncertainty in being here. They way they look at us with deep frowns and some had confusion expression across their face. Probably because it was a very rare sight to see all these foreign armies come through their town. Even if Daenerys did blend in more because of her pale skin her violet eyes and silver hair still made her standout. Not compared to me who did not blend in at all. Even if I did share some Targaryen characteristics I still looked more Dornish then anything else. If it wasn’t for my violet eyes and my strand of silver hair I would only look like a Martell and it would be hard to tell if I was really a Targaryen. And dornish this far north is never really seen at all.

Daenerys looked as uneasy as me when we would pass by all the northerners. We shared a quick glance. And in that quick glance we shared unspoken words to one another. We felt what eachother felt in that moment. It was such a rare sight for Daenerys to see. Before she was greeted with smiles and cheers from the people because of what she had done to help them. But this time it was completly different. We weren’t greeted with that warm welcome.

“I warned ya, northerners don’t much trust outsiders.” Jon reminded us both. Before either of us could say anything the dragons were heard passing overhead. Sending all the people fleeing for cover. Afraid that something was going happen. Their fear also made more uneasy. This isn’t what we wanted either. But when I looked at Daenerys she had a smirk on her face. We made eye contact and I returned the smirk but mine was faked. She looked straight ahead as she straightened up her posture seeming more confident and more powerful as the dragons passed by.

We arrived inside the castle shortly after. When we got to the courtyard Jon’s sister the lady of winterfell and her people were their to greet all of us. They shared the same expression as the rest of the people we passed by. All those except for Podrick. Seeing him in between the people was comforting. The only familiar face I knew. His small smile when we saw eachother made me feel better. Made me flutter knowing he was their. He looked different since the last time we saw eachother. It wasn’t that long since the last time we did but he had already looked different. His hair was longer which I didn’t mind at all. He didn’t have the same Lannister colors he had before now he was dressed in the northerner colors.

I got off my horse and stood by Daenerys waiting for Jon to reunite with his siblings something that he had spoken so much about when we were on our way here. We were finally motioned to go over to where Jon was. I walked behind Daenerys letting her go ahead since she was the queen.

“Queen Daenerys of house Targaryen, Princess Visenya of house Targaryen.” Jon introduced us. “My sister Sansa Stark Lady of winterfell.”

“Lady Stark.” I bowed my head showing that I respected her and her title. She was beautiful just like how Jon had claimed. Her ginger hair and her blue eyes making her more so. I had recognized her from the wedding. She looked way younger there then she did now. Now she looks mature and more sure of herself then she did before.

“Thank you for Inviting us into your home Lady Stark, The north is as beautiful as your brother claimed as are you.” Daenerys complimented her. Daenerys wasn’t going to win her over so easily especially not with compliments.

“Winterfell is yours, your grace.” Sansa responded not returning the same warm welcome to Daenerys. Daenerys looked upset even if she still had the smile on her face it was now forced. She didn’t like that she didn’t receive the same welcome that she gave to Sansa.

“We don’t have to time for all of this, the night king has your dragon he’s one of them now, the wall has fallen the dead march south.” Jon’s brother Bran said. Daenerys smile completly fell as she heard what he had told her. How could’ve he have known about Viserion? He wasn’t there when we were passed the wall or at eastwatch.

After the warm welcome in the courtyard we headed to the hall to have a meeting with the other Lords and Lady’s of the north. A couple of them were very young. Something not rare but something I’m not used to seeing. I really liked the Little Lady of house Mormont. She spoke her mind and looked brave she didn’t hide or keep quiet. With the right training she could be a skilled fighter and a great lady of her house.

The meeting though had not gone pleasant. A lot of the lords and lady’s didn’t like at all how Jon bent the knee to Daenerys or how the Lannister army was headed our way to join the cause. But they have every right to be mad about that. We shouldn’t ever trust them or what they promised.

“Princess Visenya!” I hear my name and I instantly recognize the voice. I turn around with a smile on my face as I see Podrick approach me.

“It’s nice seeing you again.” I greet him. He smiles and his cheeks flush into a light pink.

“Nice to see you too.” He responds. We continue walking not really having a where to go.

“Your hair got longer since the last time I saw you.. I like it.” He gets flustered at my complement and stutters just a bit before clearing his throat to talk clearly this time.

“Really?” He asks.

“Really it suits you.” We make it out the courtyard and theirs already a lot men already at work preparing for the battle that could happen at anytime. I would get looks from the people that would pass by us walking. They’re weren’t very welcoming or warm looks either.

“I don’t think people here like me at all.” I say as a women passes by giving me a cold stare.

“They don’t know you that’s all they haven’t got to really meet you..... and if it helps I like you.” I feel my heart beat faster and my cheeks turn warm.

“That’s good because I like you.” We both stop walking and face one another. Our faces are inches apart from one another. I hear him swallow thickly and see as his eyes go down from my eyes to my lips and back to my eyes. I take that as I sign and I break the distance between us. He seemed suprised at first but he then eased into the kiss. He cupped my cheek with his hand and pulled me closer. I cupped his cheeks with both hands as we got deeper into the kiss. It was gentle and sweet something I enjoyed. And something I haven’t experienced in a long time. I didn’t care if other people saw or what they thought. This made me happy and I sure as hell wasnt going to stop because of what people thought. We broke apart giving him one last lingering kiss before resting my forehead on his.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time now.” He said quietly as he caressed my cheek with his thumb

“Me too.” I Respond. “Come I want you to meet you to someone.” I say as I grab his hand and pull him to guide him to where I want to go.

It seemed to grow colder and colder as we got further from the castle. I still had to tell Podrick where we were headed but I just wanted to keep it a suprise. I see the Dothraki walk down and stop in front of us. I saw that Podrick tensed up as he saw them stop.

‘How are they doing?’ I ask Qhono in Dothraki.

‘Only eighteen goats and eleven sheep.’ He responds. I nod and before they head down Qhono takes a look at Podrick and then at me and scoffs and then heads down. I just roll my eyes and turn to Podrick.

“Come on now we’re almost there.” I tell Podrick as we continue walking. I didn’t want Podrick to question what just happened between Qhono and me so I ignored it and we continued walking.

I saw them their on top of the hill where they had choosen to stay. Podrick had stopped in his steps as he saw Drogon and Rheagal. I approached the dragons who’s attention was fully on me and on the stranger that came with me. I smiled as both Drogon and Rheagal put their heads low so I could pet them. I turn over and see that Podrick stayed completly still where he was standing. His eyes were wide as he saw them. He was clearly afraid to get closer. Both the dragons outstretched their necks and covered me protectively as they looked over at Podrick and growled. I just laughed and ducked down and walked in front of them. I pet them once more trying to make them understand that Podrick was no danger to me.

“Come on, it’s okay to get close they won’t bite... maybe.” I joke he laughs nervously and only takes a step closer. I laugh and walk to him. “I’m right here as long as you don’t try to kill me they won’t do anything to you.” I take his hand and I take to where the dragons are.

“This one is Rheagal and this one right here is Drogon.” Both Dragons get their heads closer and sniff Podrick. He doesn’t move a muscle as both dragons are right next to them. Drogon pulls away and goes back to what he was doing before. Rheagal stays out where he his not leaving us. I outstretch my hand and pet him again. I look at Podrick and nod my head motioning that it was okay for him to pet him too. He extends his hand slowly and closed his eyes as his hand got closer to Rheagal. Rheagal instead moved his head closer to his hand. Once Podrick felt his hand on Rheagal he opened his eyes and took a deep breath of relief . Relief that the dragon had not bitten his hand off. A wide smile grew on his lips. I couldn’t help but smile with him.

“Was it everything you ever wished for?” I ask jokingly as he took a step back from Rheagal.

“Everything.” He takes a step closer to me cups my cheeks. Before he could do anything we both hear footsteps approaching. I turn around and see Jon and Daenerys.

“Your grace, My lord.” Podrick says bowing his head. Daenerys smiles at raises an eyebrow at me.

“How are they doing?” Daenerys asks as she goes to closer to Rheagal and drogon.

“They’re doing alright.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Jon asks as he also gets closer to them. Podrick and me step aside.

“They don’t like the north.” I say bluntly but also joking around. Jon doesn’t say anything instead he stands their looking as Rheagal is near him.

“Go on.” Daenerys insists from on top of dragon motioning for Jon to get on Rheagal. Jon looks up at Daenerys and then at Rheagal and then at me.

“I don’t know how to ride a dragon!” Jon argues.

“Until you ride one. You’ve been on one before you were just not doing well when you were riding it.” Jon still looks hesitant as he looks at Rheagal.

“What if he doesn’t want me too.”

“Then I’ve enjoyed you’re company Jon snow.” Daenerys responds. Jon takes a deep breath and gets on.

“Where do I hold onto?” Jon asks looking down confused.

“Whatever you can.” I tell him. He holds on tightly and leans forward. Seconds later Rheagal flys off. Daenerys looks down at me with a smug smile.

“Make sure he doesn’t die.” I tell her.

“He won’t.” She laughs and then flys off.

Podrick and I stand there and watch as they fly away. From the distance you can still tell that jon is struggling to fly with Rheagal.

“Was that a bad idea?” I ask him as we watch them go further.

“I think it was.”

#game of thrones #game of thrones imagines #podrick payne #daenerys targaryen #jon snow #sansa stark #bran stark #house targaryen #house martell #drogon #rheagal #fanficiton

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ghostladyofwinterfell · 6 years ago

Text

Phases of the Moon

Jonsa AU/ Buffy the Vampire Slayer Inspired

Summary: For some reason unbeknown to Sansa, the old gods had chosen her to be the next girl to have the power to stop the Wights and the Long Night. But they shouldn’t have.

Not this Stark girl at least. No, Sansa just wanted to be on the cheer squad and get into a good college far from the North. This hadn’t come into the equation.

But neither had Robb’s best friend Jon, whose absentee father had shown up out of blue just shy of his eighteenth birthday and taken off with him. Now he was back and changed. He had come back wrong.

Chapter Two: Lie To Me

"So, what is Robbs little sister doing out in the middle of the night when she's supposed to be at a sleepover?" Jon drawls out as he plays with the tip of her dagger.

"I was... er... you see I- I sleep walk. Yep, it's really bad. I can end up anywhere in the morning. Just like with here and now, its a condition you know."

One eyebrow rises up at her answer. "Right," he says incredulously at her, like he doesn't believe her, which yer, that’s not hard to do with that lame and stumbled out excuse.

"Yes it is right, what about you then?" she huffs as she yanks the dagger and herself back. Better to keep a safe distance she thinks, especially when he's looking like a predator with those sharp and gleaming teeth.

"Oh I've been following you most of the night." His eyes tighten at her as he searches her face for a reaction.

But it's blank in utter shock at his admission, so he continues on. "I was already in the woods when I saw you leave that coffee place at nine. Then I went to go after you, perhaps tease you for pulling one over on your parents about your little sleepover, but then I saw you leap right over the cemetery gates across town. No one could jump a gate that high, at least no one human."

Her heart squeezed in her chest. He knew. Maybe not everything, but he knew something wasn't quite right. All because she was being careless, she was too busy sipping on her caramel mocha to notice her surroundings.

And now he was looking at her all smug at his outright honesty. He's caught her out there. But fine, if he liked being so truthful two could play at that game, she also knew something wasn't quite right with him.

"I was out hunting Wights. Its been like, my job, for a few months now."

She can see from the smirk he's in a teasing mood, "Still in the training period then from what I've seen."

Ugh- when did he get so playful.

She knows it was in a jest but the comment stung all the same. Especially after Davos' comment earlier about the world being doomed with her as its protector.

"Wait a minute. Oh I see it now. You're her. The slayer. Well I never would have pictured her being you," he says quite matter of factly. Well he's all about dropping the truth bombs tonight.

She preferred it when they didn't talk. "Yer, well that makes two of us," she knows her eyes are big and sad she doesn't want him to see her like that, like his words effect her but she can't help it.

He starts rubbing at his neck nervously, "I'm just joking with you Sansa. You did great out there, a bit more practice and if you just let go you'd be unstoppable." He's trying to be nice she guesses, but now she's not in the mood.

"Thanks but I already have somebody on my back who tries to give me helpful pointers I don't need two. And anyway back to you stalker boy. Question one, how did you throw that Wight that far and question two, how did it just die without being stabbed by dragon glass?"

Because if other people can kill these things then Sansa's going on a little vacay for some me time.

"You remember I used to be on the high school football team right and I'm one of the star quarter backs at Castle College. I used one of the block and shove techniques, I've pushed off guys bigger than that."

Yep she did remember, his butt always had looked good in those tight pants.

He and Robb were naturals when it came to athleticism and had both gotten football scholarships for it. Cheering her brother on with the rest of her family on big game nights had actually made her try out for the schools cheerleading squad in softmore year. She was one of the youngest to ever get on the squad with it only being filled with seniors and juniors. She used to have so much potential.

But she's never been an idiot, Robb wouldn't have been able to launch it a few feet away. Sansa could have, but that was only because of the abilities she now possessed.

"You don't seem shocked by what's just happened. Something like that's not normal, how are you not freaking out?" She was being a little intense with her questioning she knew, but Jon was different now as well and she wanted to know why.

He shrugs, "You'd be surprised at the things I've seen."

Did he always have to be so ominous and talk in tongues. Now they're back to silence and side eyeing each other again.

After a moment she yawns quite loudly, the adrenaline leaving her body to be replaced with a tiredness she feels in her bones.

He takes some pity on her, holding his hands up as he suggests they head back.

She shouldn't let him go back to her home, where her little brothers and sister are. She feels pulled in two, she doesn't think he can be trusted but then he had been around her family since he changed and hadn't done anything untoward.

So she simply nods and gestures for him to lead on first as she grabs her bag.

On the walk home together they ensure a slight distance is kept, as they both seem to be on alert around one another.

As they head back they begin to talk. Which isn't a strange thing to do, but it is for them. Jon and Sansa don't really talk past pleasantries.

Maybe there's something about the night, about being shrouded in darkness with only the moon watching, that she feels more open. Or maybe she just craves to talk to somebody about this stuff with, other than a stuffy sixty year old librarian.

So she tells him about what happened when Davos came along and plucked her out her perfect bubble that was her life and dragged her into this. That she wasn't normal anymore and now even something as simple as school was becoming harder.

Because the flashes of her parents disappointed eyes enter her mind, over her slipping grades and her teachers comments that were no longer filled with praise and how she excelled but that she was only maintaining an average grade and her homework was rushed.

She tried to cover up the quivering in her voice at the end by masking it with another yawn but she failed miserably.

Jon tells her about the first time he saw a Wight when it ripped apart his mother when he was thirteen. She remembers that time he had to go live with Mr Aemon after it happened. The whole family had been in morning during that period.

She remembers how at school everybody had treated Jon differently, and how he hated it. The adults talked to him softly, afraid he'd burst into tears at any moment and handled him with kid gloves.

His jaw used to be permanently clenched and his hands always curled into fists like he was ready to pounce.

Instead when Ramsay Bolton had made a horrible comment about his dead mother he had just punched a wall and Robb had pulled him outside.

She's silent for a long time, what do you say to someone after that?

"I- I'm sorry," she murmurs, knowing it was a stupid thing to say, but that it was true nonetheless.

"Yer, everyone's sorry," he huffs out.

She grabs at his elbow to stop them, "I am Jon. So sorry. I couldn't even begin to imagine what losing my mother would do to me, and seeing it as well. I'm eighteen and can barely handle this situation I'm in and you were thirteen. So yes, I am sorry for you Jon and I wished it had never happened to you. Your mother was brave and beautiful and she should still be here, its not fair."

She cups his face, her thumb swiping at the tears that fall from the corner of his eye. All she sees is that sad little thirteen year old boy sat at their house on the front steps during his mothers wake. She had used her cardigan sleeve to wipe at his tears back then. He had been so mad, mad at the world, mad at himself for crying and mad at her for seeing him cry.

She had given him her sunglasses to hide his red rimmed eyes when they joined the others in the back garden.

She guides her hand from his cheek down his arm and hovers her open hand over his in an invitation. He grasps it up, interlocking their fingers as they moved forwards.

For a few moments they can pretend to just be Jon Snow and Sansa Stark. Normal teenagers sneaking around in the dead of night. And not deadly people with inhuman strength and secrets.

When they reach the back garden they stand before the big willow tree outside her bedroom, the one that she uses to help her get back inside.

She pauses turning to him, "You know you still didn't really explain how you threw it that far, or how it died?"

"I didn't did I." He ignores her questioning again, she thinks he likes annoying her.

He distracts her by asking how she's gonna explain being back when she's supposed to be at a sleepover.

"Oh I'll just put my alarm on vibrate to go off at half eight and come right through the front door like I usually have to," this is her new normal now.

"Hey you don't mind me using your window to sneak back in do you, it seems easier than scaling the drain pipe to get back into Robbs?"

She shakes her head and watches in stunned silence as he leaps up higher than a normal person should, onto one of the branches and flips his body onto her window ledge and steps into her room.

She should be concerned about that, but she's more worried about the fact a boy is in her bedroom. What if she's left some underwear out?

Oh god, she'd hardly been wearing black lace at the minute, they were all grey cotton and sports bras. That quickly spurs her into action and she follows him in.

She sighs in relief. He's not snooping, of course he's not, Jon wouldn't do something like that. He was just smiling at the photos on her wall.

Specifically, the one of all of them from the lake house two summers ago. They had been in the water, Sansa had given up trying to not get her hair wet after Arya and Robb made it their mission to nearly drown her after she moaned about it. When they had all gotten out, with wrinkled fingers, her mother had taken a photo.

She looks to the photo as well, seeing Jon's arm wrapped around her waist as they stand on the jetty smiling at her mother.

Jon comes right up to her and she freezes wondering what he wants to do so close to her. He still set her belly full of nerves and she still didn't know if it was a slayer thing or just a girl/boy thing.

But he just puts a simple kiss on her forehead and she's left in a daze at his rich and heady masculine scent that invades her senses.

He moves his lips down to her ear and whispers good night. Maybe he does it so he's quiet and he doesn't wake anyone up in the house, but she likes to think its so he can keep close to her.

His face stays at the side of her face, his hands hovering near his hips. She knows this is dangerous as she feels a heat rise within her. She should stop it, this was Jon, not only her brothers best friend but also something not entirely human.

She grabs a fistful of his shirt pushing him backwards as she stays close to him, nearly right up against his body. They only stop when she's backed him into the wall by her door, she leans back, her eyes darting to his mouth. She sees him lick his lips in anticipation, she leans in close and whispers goodnight as she opens her bedroom door with a click.

He huffs out a small chuckle at her.

She's going to reply until she sees movement on the landing. They really should have made sure everyone was in bed.

They both freeze at the person on the top of the stairs holding a glass of water. They all seem stiff and wide eyed at the situation. No one dares to move because then it all becomes real. She knows how this looks.

Coughing from her parents room seems to get them all off of pause as they spring quietly into action.

Bran thankfully goes silently to his room and Jon goes to Robbs, giving her a wink as he shuts the door behind him.

When she closes her bedroom door, she has to lean against it for a few moments to catch her breath.

Her alarm softly wakes her at half eight and she feels well rested, almost as if she had no dreams at all last night keeping her mind busy. She knows she did, but the memory of them had already been chased away at her waking.

She dresses slowly, putting on her coat and grabbing her bag before she sneaks back through her window and around the house to the front door.

She goes straight to the kitchen and adjoining dining room which was the heart of their house.

She enters to her parents hushed voices which she ignores as she greets them, plonking her bag on the counter top.

Her mother kisses her head good morning and Sansa pulls away sharply, looking at her mother weirdly, when she heard her take a small sniff of her hair.

Her mother just smiles, a rather large one that stretched right across her cheeks before she tells her to go put her things away. She needed to get cleaned up so she could set the table for breakfast.

There's a sinking feeling in her stomach that makes her go up the stairs slowly as they begin whispering again.

Her parents probably think she won't be able to hear them this far away, but she can now.

"And?" her father asks.

"I'm not sure, it was to faint to tell really," her mother replies as she begins getting pans out of the cupboard for breakfast.

"There we go then, you're getting yourself worked up over nothing."

"A mother knows Ned, you just don't want to think it because she's your little girl," her mother tells him finally.

That sinking feeling in her stomach does a one-eighty as it rises to her throat, so she shoots up the stairs not wanting to hear anymore.

Did they know too?

She supposes they had been picking up on her changes lately.

Gods, she was rubbish at this. Davos had warned her of how dangerous it would be if people found out.

Sansa fiddled with the strings on her sweat pants- she would never have been caught dead in these things before- and decided she would not tell her watcher.

It's not like she had gone and blurted her secret out to them all, they had either followed her and found out or just seemed to know.

A mother just knows Ned.

She doesn't know how she would, but mothers often did seem to know things. Especially her meddling one.

She flees past Robbs room as she hears deep and grumbling morning voices through the door and goes straight to Brans.

Poking her head round she waits until he looks up from his computer before she speaks, "You better keep your mouth shut."

Bran doesn't say a word, instead he pretends to zip his mouth and throw away an invisible key. At least that was sorted out easily enough.

Things go down hill once she's in the shower. Her hair is washed and now she's mindlessly scrubbing down her body when her thoughts keep going to a certain someone with dark eyes and darker curls.

Her hands just start to run away with her, but she can't help it when she's all slippery from her soap and starts to slowly caress over her breasts. Her hands drift lower, to where she's smooth and freshly shaven.

Its not her hand she's imagining is rubbing her in small circles, but Jon's. In her mind he's just finished kissing her neck before bending down right in front of her, pulling one of her legs over his strong shoulder as his mouth joins his fingers.

Just as her head falls back she has to yank her hand away as if its been scolded, as she had nearly cried out his name.

What was she doing, anyone could hear her.

She finishes washing off the foam from her soap and flees into her bedroom.

She's only half dressed when she gets side tracked and she stands in her room to replay last nights events with Jon. Where he had kissed her forehead and been so close to her lips. To where she backed him up against the wall and felt his hot breath on her. She saw the look in his eyes, he had wanted her to kiss him.

She bites her lip and looks down at her body, she's still flushed and now her chest is heaving.

Her mind wasn't on anything but on the throb between her legs which had only grown more demanding in her attention.

It held so much power over her that she hadn't even really thought about it before she had dived under her covers, not even fully dried.

Her hands trace over the same path again as what she did in the shower, her fingers gliding through her wetness. She can feel the difference of the water from the shower to her own slightly thicker wetness that makes her smooth through her folds with ease.

She closes her eyes and the Jon in her mind is now under the covers and has gone straight to eating her pussy. The Jon in her head calls it that, he's filthy and she loves it.

It doesn't take long for her to start keening softly, burying her face and biting at her pillow to quieten the moans that leave her lips.

She sings a song so sweet for him.

Imaging that it was Jon who wasn't being gentle and was shoving his fingers inside of her was bringing her quicker to the edge than ever before. He was currently whispering filthy things about what he wanted to do to her, about her whole family being just outside her door and anyone of them could hear her.

Her hips were now reaching for her fingers when she peaked, to keep riding out the blissful high it brings for as long as she could.

Once the waves have past, that feeling creeps up on her. Its not quite guilt, more a slight burning of shame and she quickly dresses, as if her mother and father are going to barge into her room shouting 'shame' at her.

She curses the gods, for who does she see as she's about to make her way downstairs but him.

Jon steps from Robb's room as he's pulls a grey hoodie down over himself, he pauses just out of the doorway and sniffs the air.

He zones in on her with blown pupils. There's a hungry look that has taken over his whole face and Sansa wants to whimper when the heat pools in her belly again. Again, she just had bleeding sated it.

He can't be looking at her like that because of what she'd just done could he?

He can't smell it on her, it wasn't possible. She still smelt the slight lingering sweetness of it but only because of her heightened senses.

But then Jon seemed capable of impossible things lately.

She knows her breathing had still not slowed down normally yet and her cheeks must be flushed.

His eyes drop to the hand at her side, the one that had a sheen of wetness on it moments ago before she wiped it on her bed covers as she fled the scene.

She fists her hand and hides it behind her back as if that would solve the problem, out of sight, out of mind.

It doesn't, he seems under no control as he stalks towards her.

His eyes are darker than she'd ever seen as he reaches her. Before he can say a word her eyes flicker to Robbs bedroom where her brother is coming out.

Jon doesn't seem too concerned at what this might look like. But she does.

"I have to set the table", she blurts out as she bolts down the steps, making it her first priority to scrub her hands raw before setting the table.

Jon makes sure he subtly brushes past her siblings so he can claim the chair next to hers and it makes her stomach flutter.

He wants to sit next to her, he wanted to kiss her. He wants her and she feels something strange, something like giddiness at the thought of it.

She wonders what would happen if she just stopped fighting things so much, so she gives him a secret smile hidden from the others through the curtain of her hair.

One of his hands grasps at her thigh under the table. It was strange how they had gone to this. From not really having a relationship to shared secrets, hand holding in the moonlight and grasped thighs. All in just one night.

She should be scared at how quickly things had changed between them, but she's not. All she feels is a weight lifted off of her shoulder that she thinks she can now talk to Jon about all of this.

She wants to tell him lots of things, she wants to be close to someone again.

As soon as her mother has put the last of the plates in the middle of the table it begins.

They're like a pack of wolves as they wrestle for spoons and forks to pile sausages and scrambled eggs onto their plates.

Sansa would have once had a little scoop of a few things, now her appetite is as large as Robb's and Jon's.

Her mother had loved when she started to laden more bacon slices and toast on her plate, because she thinks its to do with Sansa no longer caring much about her appearance and enjoying her mothers cooking more again. When in reality it was just that she needed more energy so had to consume a lot more now with how much she was burning off.

Her mothers not smiling though, as she picks up her tea cup and sips it slowly staring at Sansa until she finally relents and looks upon her mother. She has haughty look on her face and Sansa shrinks back, what had she done now.

"I rang Beth's mother last night just to make sure you got there alright," her mothers lips are pursed and she knows that means trouble.

Oh shit, she gulps.

"Why did you do that, I texted to say I did," thats right Sansa make this worse by getting defensive.

Her mothers eyes narrow at her respnce, "Well isn't that strange, because she said you weren't there and couldn't remember the last time you had slept? So then I rang Jeyne's mother as well. Can you guess what she told me?"

She knows her mothers being rhetorical but she can't help try to scramble a response, "Er-

Her mother beats her to it, obviously not in the mood for some half assed excuse by asking yet another question, "Is it some boy?"

Everyone whips there heads to look at Sansa now, she see's Arya smirk at the shit show unfolding right in front of her, thoroughly enjoying watching Sansa squirm.

Her father has the decency to roll his eyes at his wife's tactlessness and she had to agree, like really, right at the breakfast table mum.

Robb looks like he's going into big brother mode with a frown and accusing eyes like how dare she at seventeen even think about sneaking out to see a boy.

Which she didn't, which makes this all the more annoying.

At least Jon's keeping his big trap shut as chugs his whole glass of fresh orange.

She didn't have long to think of anything with them all waiting on her and what lie would actually sound believable in this situation that wouldn't get her grounded.

How was she going to explain the fact she that she left with her stuff to sleep out at her friends since her mother had proof.

Gods, was it getting hot in here.

No, she was just panicking and everyone was still looking at her and even Jon had turned his smarmy looking face to her as if he couldn't wait to see her try and get out of this.

"I wasn't feeling well just before I got to Beth's so I came home and quietly went upstairs because I didn't want to disturb anyone?" Well done Sansa, she cursed, say it like a question.

"That's what you're going with," Arya snorts.

"That's funny considering you texted saying you were there safe. And if you left at sevenish and came back from walking to Beth's you would have been home when I saw your room empty at around ten when I went to sort Rickon out after his bad dream."

Well she had her there. And Sansa did not work well under pressure.

"Maybe, I was sleep walking then?"

Jon snorts beside her.

A mother knows Ned, it means something different now.

Of course it wasn't about her mother suspecting she was a slayer, but about her mother suspecting she was having sex with boy.

How could she not have guessed that was what they were whispering about.

Her mother didn't believe her anyway. Which is why they were now sat in their family's doctors office waiting for the birth control prescription that Sansa now had to take.

She thinks both herself and Doctor Luwin, who has seen her grow from being a baby, will not look each other in the eyes for a long time.

It wouldn't have been so bad, most girls her age went on it, but her mother had to scandalise it with retelling her now being moody and secretive and all about her late nights of sneaking out in and out of the house at all hours and lying about it.

Probably for the best, rather she believe she was sneaking out with boys than what she was really up to.

All the way to the car Sansa had to listen to her mothers constant barrage of questioning.

"Who's this boy then, the one thats got you sneaking about? Is it just the one?"

"There's no boy and of course it would be one mother, gods."

"Do I know them or any of their family?"

"There's no boy."

"Do they go to her school? They better be school age, how old is he?"

Her mother cuts her off again before she can repeat that there is no boy. "Oh, or how old is she... that kind of thing is something to be proud of, you don't need to be worried about telling us if that's why you haven't mentioned it."

"Mom you can actually say the words 'are you gay Sansa?', and no I'm not. Also boys my age are stupid but yet again I say there is no boy."

"Maybe you could bring them for tea to meet me and your father."

Oh somebody save me please.

Her phone vibrates between them as the message pops up, her prayers are answered.

Only the message is there to be read as clear as day as it sits in between them both. Shit.

Jon: Last night was interesting. Perhaps we should sneak out again together...

Well that clearly made it look as if Sansa had been straight up repeatedly lying to her mother when a text like that comes through. Why couldn't one thing just go right.

She knows her mothers seen it. A gasp falls from her lips and her mother has to quickly right the car when they nearly swerve into a tree, because her eyes were to busy re-reading the message before Sansa could make a grab for it.

She slips it into her purse with flaming cheeks. She opens and closes her mouth several times before finally giving up on trying to recover the situation and stares out of the window.

Her mother waits until they've got home and are parked up on the drive before she speaks.

She unclips her belt and turns her whole body to face her.

Great, I'm so in for it now. Stupid Jon, sending that stupid text. Wait until I see him.

"Really Sansa, your brothers best friend. This could be messy you know, although a part of me is glad it's Jon. As a mother no one will be good enough for you but he comes pretty close. Of course he's a sweet boy and so handsome, a little troubled lately though. Oh this is strange, I'll see what your father says about it."

Why does she need to tell father.

She doesn't even try to explain, what was the point.

Wights kill me now.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy!!

#jonsa #jon x sansa #jonsa fic #jonsa au #jon and sansa #jonsa ao3 #jon x sansa ao3 #my fic #phases of the moon

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