#myriame manderly

[coldraindropsss]

Jeyne Manderly, wife of Rickon Stark, son of Cregan Stark.

Myriame Manderly, wife of Rodwell Stark, son of Brandon Stark, the youngest son of Cregan Stark and Lynara Stark.

[myriamas]

❂

the confirmation had brought what felt like a mighty heart to rest within the back of her throat; how rare was it for myriam with god's grace to be rendered momentarily speechless, and yet, how was it the words of the riverman made her feel more free than she ever had since the age of seven and ten? how was it she felt no sense of heaviness, or a lack of belonging weighing upon her shoulders: there was a straightness to which she stood, and a momentary shine that glistened over deep kohl lined orbs. one of hope, the purest, most glistening form of innocent hope.

knew her well? "he was an advisor within the household during the years in which my late husband remained across the narrow sea."

lies. it were not as though she would speak on the history between herself and dantis sand, or any man she had taken to enjoying the game with. the game she saw where the sand met the shore, before it retreated once again; it had always been those with a sense of familiarity she found herself drawn toward in those early years as a princess. those who would not look at her differently for her blood, or believed her an unworthy match to the future prince merely for her murky beginnings.

what years were those; the shiny excitement of being a new bride almost immediately turned to rubble upon the realisation that she would be in sunspear alone, and her husband would remain across the narrow sea for the sake of business. "i am glad to hear of his wellbeing." she responded, the sounds of her bangles twinkling as she raised a hand to push a strand of her hair back.

and yet still, the glistening orbs of hope did not come at the expense of some grand meeting with dantis sand once again: he were a companion, an advisor, whose life had ran parallel to hers. with connections across the narrow sea that she did not have, and the only person she would ask - despite mors being across the sea at the time, she would not wish to shed light on anything that could make him change heart toward his new bride. and when the newly married princess of dorne chose to take her husband's best friend to bed that night, she knew she would do it again, and again.

"i do not intend to keep you from lord manderly for too long." myriam had never spoken to lord manderly, but she knew of him. and lord roote. for reasons.

what myriam needed from dantis, was the information he had been looking into, information he did not manage to share with her before it all came to a head. before mors returned, and their lives had turned upside forever; but she would not think of that. not now. her smile crossed over her features, dark tresses remaining on either side of her shoulders as she noticed how formal he suddenly appeared to become. he could not be uncomfortable if she wished to obtain what she needed from him. she would get those answers - even if dantis were not here.

"i have been wishing to reach out to him, yet i have only been met with dead ends." there was an implication to her words. she would not directly ask him. but there was a look which said it all on her face.

the lord of lord harroway's town had taken a detour in the square of lannisport, away from all the chaos and faux chilvary that seemed to be happening within the great hall on this lann's day. he adorned a mask, of course, in keeping with the spirit of the event, but he were ever so cautious. his queen had been attending meetings and discussions, and so he had tasked his two best men to keep watch over her while he temporarily relived himself of his station to simply...breathe.

it were not long before he came upon amir manderly, who undoubtedly did not care to be here. if it weren't for the heat of the south, it were more deeply for the way in which the west had all, but declared those of the old way unaccepted within their lands. he would not bring such matters to light, unless his friend spoke of them first, instead discussing more simple matters, matters of life at home, adjusting to his duties, and family.

family had always been greatly important to lysano, albeit, complicated, for it seemed as if half of himself were in the land of the rivers, and the other half in braavos. he still remembered the weight of the thin blade his uncle bestowed him as he taught him the water dance, a thing he likely knew little of the steps of now, and instead was more accustomed to a heavier broadsword, but nevertheless, it were a fond memory he found himself dwelling upon often. it were so often he heard from his family in braavos, even those who would not be looked upon as kindly here in westeros.

it were mindless chatter, really, and suddenly a woman's voice came from behind him. he almost continued at first, as he did not believe she were calling his attention, but then he turned around after the second call, and that of his name. he looked upon her more closely know and realized she were the mother to the princess of dorne. "yes, your grace. i apologize i did not think you were calling for my attention." he turned to amir, a quiet look to the other that he would catch up with him in a moment.

he turned back to the lady, feeling his posture straighten a bit more, his more social-political persona coming over him. his time in the second sons had worn down his more proper side, and he were perhaps overcompensating to ensure he did not offend, somehow. "yes, your grace, it is." he could not mask the slight look of confusion upon his face when she asked of dantis, but being that his cousin was of dorne, it were clear she knew him in some fashion. "he is. we've much family in braavos. seems to have found his feet there." he let a moment pass before he asked, what may have been the obvious question that came to the forefront of his mind. "i hope it's not too much to ask, did you know him well?"

[beyondmistland]

any head cannons about the she wolves of winterfell?

I see Lorra Royce as a proto-Catelyn. Coming from a southern, Seven-following family, she may have felt very much like an unwelcome interloper. Any such feelings would be exacerbated by her status as the only post-conquest wife who is neither a Blackwood nor a northwoman. As a result, I imagine her as being very close to her good-sister, Myriame Manderly, who may well have understood Lorra best given their shared background.

Thanks for the question, anon

[goodqueenaly]

Who do you think some of the she-wolves of Winterfell could be? I think strong contenders are one of Rickon Stark's daughters, Serena and Sansa, Myriame Manderly, Lorra Royce, maybe Melantha Blackwood if she's in the North yet. What do you think?

Per GRRM (at least back in 2006), the story of “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” will feature “five Lady Starks running Winterfell ... with four of them widows of a bunch of fairly recent former Lord Starks, and the current Lady Stark, whose 30-something husband is fading fast from a wound taken from fighting the Ironborn”. That Lord Stark would be Beron, which means that the “current Lady Stark” would be Lorra Royce (though whether she was from the senior line Royces of Runestone, or the junior line Royces from whom Nestor descends, we don’t yet know). Beron’s predecessor as Lord Stark was his brother, Rodwell, whose wife was Myriame Manderly, so presumably she will be the first of those Stark widows. Rodwell was the eldest son of Lord Brandon Stark, so I expect his and Beron’s mother, Alys Karstark, will be alive as well. (Hopefully she’s as brave and awesome as her name twin in the main novels.)

What makes this calculation somewhat tricky from here is that, according to the Stark family tree from TWOIAF, Barthogan (Brandon’s immediate predecessor as Lord of Winterfell) was unmarried. Barthogan’s own predecessor, Jonnel, was married, twice in fact - but unless he took a rather extraordinary step in putting aside one of his wives to marry the other, presumably we’ll only meet one of them. My money would be on Sansa Stark, because of the rich succession questions her presence could raise; as one of the daughters of Rickon Stark, Sansa had arguably a far better right to Winterfell than any of Cregan’s younger sons or their descendants. It’s remotely possible that either Jeyne Manderly (the wife of Rickon Stark) or Lynara Stark (the wife of Cregan) would have still been alive at this time, although my feeling would be no. If Jeyne was of an age with Rickon she would have been in her early 80s by the time of this story, and while that’s not the oldest age any (non-magical) person has reached in Westeros, it is certainly old by Westerosi standards; as for Lynara, while I would guess she was younger than Cregan, I can’t imagine that even at the youngest she was too much younger than her own stepson Rickon, and so probably the same calculus as with Jeyne would apply.

That’s only three Stark widows, of course, though I wouldn’t say that that would necessarily be all the fierce Stark ladies hanging around Winterfell (and let’s remember, not only has this been a work in progress long before the formalization of the Stark family tree in TWOIAF, but GRRM can’t math). Serena Stark was not a widow of a Stark lord (as Edric Stark, her uncle-husband, died before he could succeed), but she was still the senior heir of Rickon as well as the widow of a Stark. Serena also had four children by Edric, and while I’m suspicious their twin boys died young (they never ruled Winterfell either, and the family tree didn’t show them marrying or having children), their daughters lived to marry and have children of their own; indeed, I could see where Serena and her daughters would have emphasized that they were “Starks”, the rightful heirs to Winterfell. Cregan’s daughters by Alysanne Blackwood might have been alive, albeit probably in their 70s at least (although we don’t know if they ever married; no spouses were listed on the lineage). Cregan’s youngest daughter, Lyanna (how could GRRM ignore the thematic possibilities with that namesake?) and his granddaughter, Arsa (Beron’s sister), may also have been around Winterfell (though their marital fates are unknown as well).

It’s also worth pointing out that there may be one other lady around Winterfell around the time of “The She-Wolves of Winterfell”: Wylla Fenn, the mother of Brandon Stark’s bastard, Lonnel Snow. Although Lonnel, as an unlegitimated bastard, would not legally have any rights to Winterfell, as a son of a Stark lord (and his son by a northern noblewoman) in a period of uncertain succession, Lonnel might well have come forward (or been put forward by his mother) to grasp at power in the North. (And let’s be real, could it really be coincidental that GRRM named the mother of a bastard son of a Stark lord “Wylla”?)

[patrocles]

LORDS OF WINTERFELL + THEIR BASTARD SIBING - Rodwell Stark & Lonnel Snow

When the young Brandon Stark was caught abed with a woman named Wylla Fenn, a noblewoman of the Neck, this affair was quickly put down by his eldest brother, Lord Jonnel, and Brandon was quickly married to Alys Karstark. However, the first affair resulted in a bastard boy named Lonnel. But the months after his birth arrived his trueborn son, Rodwell.

Throughout the years, Rodwell and Lonnel (called Lonny), were as close as twins. They say that Rodwell was as wild as winter, but Lonny was as sweet as summer. In those days, Winterfell was full to the brim with Starks and no one paid attention to the pair of wild boys who made home in the Wolfswood as well as the castle. But one by one, the sons of Cregan Stark who ascended one after the other as Lord of Winterfell until finally Brandon Stark took the mantle and Rodwell became heir.

As the boys grew into men, the days of living in the bush were exchanged for lessons in leadership and Rodwell's marriage to a Manderly girl named Myriame. When their father died, Rodwell became Lord of Winterfell. This tenure was cut short, however, when within just a year of being Lord, Rodwell was set upon by a blackbear during a hunt and died of his injuries. With no children to succeed him, Winterfell passed to their younger brother Beron. Lonny was lost without his twin flame and felt no home in Winterfell without him. He left, either to live in the wild or to his mother's home in the Neck. Either way, no one heard from him again. They were only nineteen. As young as spring.

[muadweeb]

Myriame Manderly

Lady of Winterfell, Wife of Rodwell Stark

[theasexualscorpio]

🌹

Thank you!! :D @amymel86

I’ve kinda been working on a spooky, horny, hella gothic Jonsa role reversal fic. Taking a leaf out of your book, because single sentences are for squares. 

He’s still in that alcove when he hears a child’s voice right behind him. He turns, but instead of young Willem Manderly, he sees Septa Myriame’s wizened, hateful face on a three year old boy’s body.

“Godless!” the woman-boy shrieks. Jon turns back to his lover, and she turns into a flock of ravens.

Jon wakes up.

[racefortheironthrone]

Who were the "She-Wolves of Winterfell"?

“a group of formidable Stark wives, widows, mothers, and grandmothers that I dubbed ‘the She-Wolves“

Based on the timeline, we can work out who most of them are:

Larra Royce, wife/widow of Lord Beron Stark, mother of Donnor, Willam, Artos, Berena, Alysanne, Errold, and Rodrik. 

Myriam Manderly, widow of Lord Rodwell Stark (Beron’s older brother), no issue.

Alys Karstark, widow of Lord Brandon, mother of Lord Beron and Lord Rodwell.

Those are the three I’m most sure about. However, we know the She-Wolves were five in total, so there’s room for two others, and there’s a bunch of possible candidates to fill those slots:

Arrana Stark, daughter of Edric and Serena Stark, wife to Osric Umber, who has kids AND/OR Aregelle Stark, daughter of Edric and Serena Stark, wife to Robart Cerwyn. Either or both would be an interesting pick, because they both have issue, and they represent competing succession claims: Edric Stark was the third son of Cregan, whereas Beron and Rodwell succeeded from Brandon, who was the youngest of Cregan’s sons; moreover, Serena Stark was the daughter of Rickon Stark, Cregan’s oldest son (and was married to Edric to reconcile the claims). So they could plausibly argue that their claim is better than that of Beron and Rodwell and their heirs.

Serena Stark, if she’s still around, would probably want her line to regain the lordship that was lost to them when Rickon’s daughters were passed over in favor of his half-brothers. (Which does sort of muddy the “In the north the children of a man’s body still come before his uncles, ser.“ thing from Jon IV of ADWD.)

Wylla Fenn, highborn mistress of Lord Brandon Stark and mother of Lonnel Snow, the last surviving son of Lord Brandon’s body. 

Am I forgetting any? This period of Stark history is tangled indeed. 

[myriamas]

❂

she was finishing off her morning puja when the winter king entered her chambers, just as she raised to her tiptoes to ring the bell, before turning to look upon the man. why was he swearing? "why are you swearing, your grace?" myriam asked, a brow raising slightly as she looked upon him. she wafted her incense smoke in her direction out of respect, for a guest in their quarters was equal to god.

it seemed as though all myriam of godsgrace seemed to be doing in these past few days were asking herself questions of why men behaved in such ways, or done certain actions without an inch of thinking or contemplation behind it. what was it that brought about the first minister of dorne to bring his thunderous fists upon the river king's master of whispers? well, she knew the answer to that; even if she did wonder whether there was any truth behind it.

"it is to all's benefit the men remain separate moving forward." myriam advised; for seven knew the youngest manderly had just been made a permanent name.

still, she found herself wondering why he would bother to do such a thing: especially when it only drew unwanted attention back to a certain association that was long dead and left in the dust. follow it up with the younger of the manderly lords deciding to take an opportunity where the sword of the morning was with his sister, and we had various men with insulted prides. she could almost not believe it when she had heard of what had happened, and knew the last thing the sword of the morning would want was for there to be some enormous peace talks between the two realms.

a personal matter, it appeared. for she remembered the closeness between the manderly lord and the lord of maidenpool. "you need not apologise; it is a personal matter. better they use their fists than their blades." she was half joking as she looked upon the winter king. genuinely, do not let baashir get his hand on a blade to sort this, were the words she silently thought. he would be furious still, no doubt still somewhere in hayford taking no visitors with a wounded ego.

| @myriamas | | setting :: hayford, dornish apartments | | coronation event | | summary :: after baashir dayne cancels their meeting, the king of the north meets with dorne's regent |

When Amir Manderly told him what happened it was the first time in some time the king in the north laughed a true laugh. It could be a seri ous misstep. He didn't foresee the Dornishmen declaring war over a fight nor did he think they would demand some shame be placed on Amir. Men were men. And men were the sort to fight with their fist over words. Nothing was hurt more than pride. From what he understood it was more of a personal issue. Though, he'd seen personal issues turn into wars, most every war was rooted in personal issues.

The First Minister cancelled their meeting and as a man who would not be deterred he sent someone to seek a meeting with the Princess and when she agreed he made his way to Hayford that evening. The King travelled alone, rather foolish or brave depending upon who was asked. Owen believed he could trust the honor of these people. The Northmen had no conflict with the Dornish. It was a relationship where all stood to benefit. Perhaps.

"Good morning, your highness. Allow to extend a great thanks you and your household for welcoming me thing morning and a chance to freshen up. The city smells of horse shit, there's no reason I should." Own bowed before the Princess, his arms crossing behind his back. "Before we go any further this morning allow me to apologize for this altercation between our lords."

[coldraindropsss]

Aregelle Stark, Robyn Ryswell, Myriame Manderly

[wickedripeplum]

Brandon Stark was the youngest child of Lynara Stark.  He became Lord of Winterfell after the death of his brother Barthogan in Skagos.  He had four children.  Three by his wife Alys Karstark, Rodwell, Beron and Arsa, and one by Wylla Fenn, Lonnel Snow.  Rodwell married Myriame Manderly, but died without issue.  His younger brother Beron became Lord of Winterfell.  He married Lorra Royce, with whom he had seven children.  The fate of Arsa Stark is unknown.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Arya Flint is the next gen during the time the story is set, but she still might be one of the characters!

So, "The She-Wolves of Winterfell" (or whatever this Dunk & Egg story ends up getting titled) apparently has to do with the Winterfell succession drama after Beron Stark was gravely wounded fighting Dagon Greyjoy's invasion. The story involves “a group of formidable Stark wives, widows, mothers, and grandmothers” [source], including “five Lady Starks running Winterfell… with four of them widows of a bunch of fairly recent former Lord Starks, and the current Lady Stark” [source]. So these Lady Starks would be Lorra Royce as Beron's wife, and probably include Myriame Manderly (widow of Lord Rodwell), Alys Karstark (widow of Lord Brandon), Sansa Stark (widow of Lord Jonnel), and Serena Stark (widow of Lord Edric, who then married Jon Umber)... and maybe even Lynara Stark (widow of Lord Cregan, his third wife).

As for Arya Flint, her husband Rodrik is Beron's fifth son, and Beron's said to be "thirty-something" at this point, so Rodrik might not be old enough to be married yet. (Willam, Beron's second son, might or might not be married to Melantha Blackwood at this point, as his first wife Lyanne Glover had died in childbirth and young Nan came to Winterfell to nurse the baby, and Nan is commonly theorized to be the woman kissing Dunk in Bran's weirwood vision.) Still, even if Rodrik's not married yet, Arya Flint could be visiting Winterfell during this story anyway, as a future she-wolf and as potential foreshadowing for current ASOIAF.

Hopefully GRRM will get this story out at some point so we can actually see all these ladies...

Egg and Dunk are going to Winterfell, right ? So I was looking at the Starks lineage and I was wondering who are going to be the she-wolves of Winterfell...

Are we going to see the first Arya Stark (born Flint) or is it the generation above her ?

[bitchfromtheseventhhell]

“Arya, can you help me with the beds?”

Arya scrunches up her face.  She hasn’t had her coffee yet and she’s running on less sleep than she’d like. That’s the nature of law school, especially when you’ve spent the week trying to get ahead on work so that you can come home for pesach.

“Yeah.”  She stretches and makes a noise like a cat before pulling herself out of bed.  She glances at her phone and sees the bubbles that tell her she’s got some texts waiting for her eyes.  “Just a sec.  I need to see if Gendry’s texted.”

He has, saying that he’s at the airport, and that there don’t seem to be any delays, so he should be arriving in a few hours.  Robb and Jeyne will give him a ride with Myriame and Donnel.  She hopes that Gendry survives her niece and nephew, because they have more energy in them than even she could manage sometimes, and Gendry doesn’t have a big family to prepare him.

She puts her phone in the pocket of her—well, Gendry’s—sweatpants, snaps her hair into a messy pony tail, and goes into the hallway.  Her mother is at the other end, digging through the closet by the bathroom for sheets.

“Everything smooth?” Catelyn asks, and Arya nods.

“Yep.  He should be all set.”

“I hope Robb doesn’t give him a hard time,” her mother says, and Arya’s stomach twists.  She’d texted Jeyne to make sure that Robb didn’t get too intense about everything. He’d made poor Pod almost cry when he’d first met him, but then again Pod was more nervous than Gendry ever was.  But that wasn’t what she was nervous about.  Not at all.

“Where’s dad?” she asks.  Usually her dad is the first person that mom asks for help.  Rickon’s useless—still too much of a teenager to be remotely awake at this hour, and a college kid besides.  But usually dad’s here holding the pile of linens that mom keeps adding to until they’re ready to make their way through the house.

“He’s bringing his whiskey over to the Manderlys,” Catelyn says.

“What?” Arya asks.  “That’s late.”

“They couldn’t make the timing work.  It’s been in the car for the past week,” Catelyn sighs.  “Dad says hashem won’t mind so long as it’s not in the house.” She rolls her eyes.  Arya snorts.  It’s a very dad thing to say—at least about the whiskey.  God forbid that there be any chametz left in the house, or a loaf of bread in the garage, but his whiskey collection can be in the trunk of the car, so long as he sells it to Wyman Manderly for a dollar like he does every year.  

“What was wrong with the timing?” Arya asks.  The whole point was that Wyman and dad worked in the same office. Easy enough to do a swap after work one day.

“Wylis has been in the hospital.  Something about his heart.  So Wyman’s mostly been working from home, and you know your father—didn’t want to intrude. But when he suggested he store his whiskey elsewhere, Wyman blustered about breaking traditions.”  Catelyn began loading Arya’s arms with sheets.  

“I have Sansa and Podrick in the guest room and Robb’s kids in Sansa’s room,” Catelyn told her as she moved on to pillowcases.

“And Jon and Ygritte?” Arya asks calmly.  Her mother’s face keeps its expression.  “They’ll be down in the basement.  Your father and I had it redone.  Have you seen it?  It’s quite nice.  Gives them some privacy.”

Arya bites back a snort.  Last year, they’d all been able to hear Jon and Ygritte a little too clearly for them to end up on the second floor this year—especially now that Donnel was old enough to ask his parents why Uncle Jon was making those sounds.  It was almost too smooth a solution—keeping Jon out of her mother’s way.  

Jon said things were better now than they had been when they’d been kids. Something about therapy and changing his role in the dynamic, but he hadn’t elaborated much on that.  Arya knows from Bran that mom had been seeing a therapist too, but that would be more of a brick wall than Jon.  At least when it came to Jon.  She’d never known how to talk to her mother about Jon, or to Jon about her mother.  None of them really do.

Arya follows her mother into the guest room.  The bed had been stripped after whoever had last stayed there, and Catelyn hasn’t remade it yet.  Arya notices there is an egg-crate pad on there now.

“That’s new,” she points out.

“Yes.”  Catelyn sounds pleased with herself.  “Petyr suggested it when I last saw him.  Said it’s the perfect solution for someone who likes a firm mattress but doesn’t want to feel like they’re sleeping on a board.  I thought it would be good for Sansa, especially,” her smile widens, “given the news.”

“Right,” Arya says quickly.

Sansa is pregnant with her first child, and she and Pod are over the moon about it.  Doubly so for her mom, who wants nothing less than about eighty grandchildren, and Arya does her best to ignore the pointed look her mother is giving her as she placed the sheets on top of the dresser to find the queen-sized bottom sheets.  

She should have known better to expect that the question would go unasked, though.

“So, things are serious with Gendry?”

“I guess,” Arya says, and she hands two corners of the bottom sheet to her mother, who pulls them to the far side of the mattress.  

“You’ve never brought a boyfriend home for pesach,” Catelyn observed.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend at pesach,” Arya pointed out.  For the most part, her relationships all fell apart mid-spring.  She wasn’t sure why.  Maybe it was that relationships were for the winter—snuggling under a blanket and watching movies, but the moment the snow began to melt, Arya wanted to be outside, wanted to be moving, and the change didn’t sit well with the partner in question.  Law school changed that, she supposed.  Law school had changed everything.  

“Sure, sure,” her mother said, her voice too light, and Arya rolled her eyes.

“I mean it, mom.”

“I know, Arya,” her mother says, matching her tone.  Arya goes and grabs a top-sheet and she and she passes the corners over to her mother.  They air the sheet out, and Arya snaps some of the creases out before they put it on the bed.  Catelyn tugs at the corners, making sure that it’s smooth before she goes to the armchair in the corner and grabs the blankets that have been thrown there on top of the pillows.

“He hasn’t been to a seder before.” Catelyn doesn’t quite ask it, nor does she quite state it.  It’s that special kind of question that is more a demand for confirmation or denial than asking for an answer.  

“Not that I know of,” Arya says.  “I don’t think he had too much exposure to Jewish life growing up.”

“He’s not a child anymore, though.  You said he was an engineer?”

“Yeah,” Arya says.  “Product design for Mott’s.”

“I was reading an article about Mott’s the other day,” her mother says as they straighten the blankets.  “What was I reading?  Something about how they’re working on a rebrand of their sedan line.  Does he work on the sedans?”

“I think so,” Arya shrugs.  She doesn’t actually know what kinds of cars Gendry works on.  He calls them mostly by their work codes.  The Bull’s Head, or the Sword, and never the make of the car, and always the fucking driver’s side interface that no one can agree on, or the head of crash testing who keeps making snide comments about how nothing is ever done on time.  

“And he’s Robb’s age?” Catelyn presses.  Arya steels herself.  She supposes better to get it over with now before Gendry’s here.

“He’s a few months younger.  We met through Uncle Benjen’s friend Yoren after the election.  He’s an only child, and his mom died a few years ago, so he’s basically alone in the world.  He’s not Jewish.”

“I knew he wasn’t Jewish,” Catelyn says quickly, “I know—”

“I need you to not make a single comment about that at any point.” Arya says firmly.  If she can convince her mom, it’ll be easier with everyone else.  Her mom had loved that line from My Big Fat Greek Wedding about how the father’s the head of the family, but the mother’s the neck and the neck turns the head wherever she wants it to go.  And while Arya couldn’t quite say that was true of her parents’ marriage, Catelyn Stark is certainly capable of steering a conversation, or steering people clear of it, which is what Arya needs right now.  “I need no one to make a comment about it at any point.”

Catelyn’s eyebrows had flown up at the steel in Arya’s voice.

“There’s nothing wrong with his not being Jewish,” her mother responds, sniffing slightly as if the conversation were undignified in some way. Arya grabs a pillow and stuffs it into a pillowcase.

“I know that,” Arya says.  “But if Robb brings it up, you know he’ll do it in a way that turns it into a thing, and I’ll know that it’s about Gendry’s not being Jewish, but I promise that Gendry will think it’s about Gendry’s being black, and no one wants that to happen, so please.”

Catelyn sighs and sits down on the newly made bed.  She pats the spot next to her and Arya sits down at her side, and Cat wraps her arm around Arya’s shoulder.

“I know you’re nervous,” she says.  “We love you and want you to be happy.  That’s the most important part.”

“Yeah, but if Robb pulls out the matriarchal Judaism discussion and Jeyne backs him up about how it’s proto-feminist I’m gonna flip a table,” Arya says gruffly, and Catelyn sniffs in a way that could be hiding either disapproval or laughter, depending on how fondly she is deciding to remember Arya’s and Jeyne’s Yom Kippur break-fast debate. “They’ll talk about Gendry converting the way Pod did, and I’m gonna be…”

“What’s the matter honey,” Catelyn says, and she runs her hair over Arya’s hair, smoothing it.  For the sharpest moment, Arya thinks of Jon, who always used to mess up her hair, and there’s a bittersweet connection of her mother fondly doing the opposite. Arya bites her lip and looked around the room.  It still had Sansa’s ballet paintings that she’d done in high school, framed and hung on the wall.  Arya had never really been much of a visual artist, though she had drawn stick figures in her physics notebook.  Nothing like Sansa’s paintings.  Arya gets to her feet and goes to get the sheets.  She jerks her head towards the hallway, and Catelyn gets up, following her.

“It’s that I…I don’t know how serious this is,” Arya says.  “We’re getting to start having that conversation. I really like him.  And I know he really likes me.  But I’m a 1L, and he is older than me, and I…” She begins unfolding the sheets for the bed that Robb and Jeyne will share when they arrive.  “I don’t know.  Most of my relationships have been such nonstarters, but Gendry’s good for me. And I don’t…” She looks at her mother carefully.  Now’s when her mother would historically start clucking and making noises about how she’s just being silly and that’s how all early relationships feel and start talking about when she started dating Arya’s father.  Arya wants that suddenly, something comforting from her mother.

But maybe it’s just that they’ve gotten older than when Arya was a girl, or it is the therapy that Bran had mentioned on the phone, but Catelyn says simply, “It’s scary.  To want someone and to think this might be it, but not to be sure.”

Arya blinks back…not tears.  She’s not close to crying by any means.  But there’s a sharpness in her eyes and she blinks it back.  “You’ve been dating for six months you said?”  Arya nods, and Catelyn hands her the corners of the fitted sheet to put on the bed.  “Six months can be a lot when you’re in your twenties.  It can be nothing, but it can be a lot.  And for what it’s worth, the reason we’re all so excited about him is not because he’s the first boy you’ve brought home for pesach, but because of the way you talk about him.”

“The way I talk about him?” Arya says blankly.

Catelyn nods, and there’s the comforting smile that Arya had wanted moments before.  But it’s not knowing, or motherly.  It’s something else that Arya can’t quite place.  “You have this steadiness to it.  It’s hard to describe.  I wouldn’t begin to call you steady.”  She looks at Arya hesitantly, and Arya laughs.

“Fair,” and Catelyn’s smile widens.

“But when you talk about him, or how your life is going, you seem peaceful. And it’s not that you’re not excited or stressed by school.  But you should hear yourself compared to when Robb was in law school.  He was in way over his head, and stumbled sideways into Jeyne and it worked, but it didn’t make him steadier.  You seem like you’ve got someone who can be your rock.”

Her rock.  Arya lets out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding, swallows and focuses on the top sheet that she and her mother are now spreading over the bed.  Her mom called dad her rock.  

“Did I scare you even more?” Cat asks as she spreads the blankets over the top sheet.

“Now you really can’t bring up that Pod converted for Sansa,” Arya says dryly and Cat chuckles and kisses her daughter’s forehead.

“You’ll get through it.  And if Robb says something, I’ll make him eat the extra matzah.”

Arya shudders.  “God, Gendrys’ going to love matzah isn’t he?”

“Pod still likes it,” Cat observes.  “Maybe they’ll eat us clear for the rest of the holiday.”

Downstairs, she hears the door slam and her father calls, “I’m without whiskey.  Here’s hoping he doesn’t stiff me this year when I go to buy it back.”

“Send Robb in to sue him?” she hears Bran say and Arya perks up.  

“Bran you’re awake?” she calls, and her mother nods at her and she scampers from the room and down the stairs.  Bran had been asleep when she’d gotten in last night and she wraps her arms around him and kisses the top of his head.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Bran grins, and he looks up at her from his chair.  He’s unshaven and his beard is redder than his hair, like Robb’s, which makes Arya grin.

“Do they even allow that on tv?” she asks him, patting his scruff.  Bran had not shocked but mildly surprised everyone by majoring in media and broadcasting, and had surprised everyone even more by landing a gig on a local news network right after college.  He’d gleefully told them it was his smile that had gotten the job, but also that he seemed somehow trustworthy in his reel submissions.  

“I’m on vacation, leave me be,” Bran says.  “I slept all the way til 6:30 this morning.  That hasn’t happened in months.”

“Is what’s-his-name Bolton going to try and steal your job while you’re away?” she asks seriously.

Bran shrugs.  “He can try but I don’t think he’ll get very far.  I’m contracted for the next six months.”

“It got renewed?” Arya asks, and Bran winks.  “Charmer,” she teases.  She looks up at dad and he gives her a smile.  She glances at her dad, who’s shrugging out of his sweater and gives him a hug too before her mother calls him upstairs to help with the rest of the beds.

Arya’s phone buzzes in her pocket, and sees a text from Gendry.  Just landed. They’re waiting in the cell lot so we should be on the road soon.  Her stomach lurches but this time, she takes a deep breath and looks down at Bran.  He’s watching her.  

“Hungry?” she asks.

“Always,” he replies, and she kisses the top of his head again and pushes his chair towards the kitchen for breakfast.

[fuckyeahhousestark]

The SHE-WOLVES of WINTERFELL, a group of formidable Stark wives, widows, mothers, and grandmothers, who sought to control the house during the reign of Aerys I Targaryen.

[goodqueenaly]

I’m really curious to see how much whatever “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” (which I’m just gonna call “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” for the purposes of simplicity but I know that won’t be its final title) parallels what might be coming up for our Starklings in TWOW. 

There is not much known about the plot of “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” at this point. However, there are a few key details that can be extrapolated from GRRM’s statements. This will be a story about “a group of formidable Stark wives, widows, mothers, and grandmothers that [GRRM] dubbed ‘the She-Wolves’”. These Stark women will consist of, perhaps, “five Lady Starks running Winterfell ... with four of them widows of a bunch of fairly recent former Lord Starks, and the current Lady Stark, whose 30-something husband is fading fast from a wound taken from fighting the Ironborn”. These so-called ‘She-Wolves’ won’t be a united front, though, as the story will specifically show “a lot of Stark widows struggling for power, with the current lord dieing [sic] from a wound taken against some Ironborn”, along with “10 children, from various Starks members”. 

So what I’m imagining at this point is that “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” will begin with Dunk and Egg showing up at Winterfell to take service with the Starks against the ironborn. This is, after all, was Dunk and Egg’s plan at the end of “The Sworn Sword” and into “The Mystery Knight”, and while it was put on pause while they attended the Whitewalls tourney, during the course of the story Dunk still reaffirmed their intent to head north; as he explained to Kyle and the disguised Bloodraven, “Lord Beron Stark is gathering swords to drive the krakens from his shores for good”. However, given the indication from GRRM’s statements that Beron Stark will have already been wounded, possibly fatally, by the ironborn, I think Dunk and Egg are going to show up to Winterfell to find that, instead of Lord Beron marshaling an army to fight the ironborn, Beron is dying, and various Stark factions are using the lack of a strong male leader (and indeed, that leader’s possibly upcoming death) to open up questions about the succession; fighting the ironborn has been put on indefinite pause while the ladies debate who should be controlling Winterfell, and if there is any talk of the war against Dagon, it might be only in the context of what any faction’s representative should do against Dagon’s army - should he/she sit the high seat of Winterfell, of course (e.g. “if I/my son were in charge we would do x”). 

I could see Dunk and Egg being totally caught off guard at this development. They came to swear their swords (or, at least, Dunk’s sword) to Winterfell - but who would they even be swearing to, when nobody can agree who exactly represents Winterfell? Even if I’m not sure who specifically the She-Wolves will be, I can imagine the different factions trying to convince Dunk and Egg to support them, especially if Egg’s royal status is no longer a secret (as “The Mystery Knight” ended with Egg wearing his father’s ring openly instead of stuffing it in his boot); this was Prince Maekar’s son, along with a man who by Egg’s cover story was Maekar’s agent in foiling the conspiracy at Whitewalls (even if Dunk himself had to explain to Bloodraven that that was far from the “true truth”), so their arrival at Winterfell could only mean official royal support for whichever faction they endorsed. Lorra Royce might be arguing for her and Beron’s eldest son Donnor; Myriame Manderly and/or Robyn Ryswell might be fighting for regency rights as a recent widow but face bias and blame - “if you had only had a son we would never be in this position” sort of thing - with Myriame perhaps even getting pushback about her heritage - “it was a mistake for Rodwell to marry you, the Manderlys are no true northmen” (also I’m calling it right now, Robyn Ryswell is going to be like her modern-day relation Barbrey Dustin née Ryswell - a smart, ambitious, older childless widow); Alys Karstark might be hoping that her son Beron makes a recovery and so put the Stark dynasty back on course; Wylla Fenn might suggest that her bastard son Lonnel, as the son of a Stark lord with noble northern lineage on both sides, should have the right to rule; Serena Stark might argue that as the legitimate (and presumably at that point only surviving, given Elio Garcia’s comment that Robyn Ryswell was Jonnel’s second wife) child of Cregan’s heir Rickon, she and her daughters should be considered the rightful heirs to Winterfell; Cregan’s daughters (especially the youngest, Lyanna) and/or Beron’s sister Arsa might take Serena’s argument but apply it to themselves, arguing for their own right to sit Winterfell.

So I’m imagining Dunk and Egg think they have to come up with a way to reconcile all of these factions. I can’t begin to speculate on the whole plot, but I would not be surprised at all if part of their argument is that the Starks have, pun fully intended, bigger squids to fry than debating the rulership of Winterfell. While the Starks of Winterfell argue among themselves about who should be its lord, the Greyjoys under Dagon are turning the northern coasts into their playground for pillage. While the crown under Aerys I had admittedly left the Starks high and dry (again, pun intended) against Dagon by refusing to give aid, now the Starks are hurting themselves instead; this intra-Stark conflict is proving a major distraction, undermining the ability and indeed responsibility of the Starks to respond to the Greyjoy crisis. Perhaps Egg will tell the quarreling Starks that if they can settle on a single candidate, he will have his father lead royal troops to help the Starks defeat Dagon once and for all (as we know from Victarion that while Dagon “bearded the lion in his den and tied the direwolf's tail in knots ... even [he] could not defeat the dragons” - but if they refuse and continue their private war among themselves, he would have his father assert the crown’s control over Winterfell and the North directly. (Indeed, if this story takes place after “The Village Hero”, then I’m curious whether Dunk and Egg would use the recent Pennytree affair, as I think it will go down in that story, to reiterate the point - the crown can take away your lands if you won’t do your part to maintain the king’s peace, we’ve done it before and we will do it again.) Again, I’m not sure what the exact story would be - it’s not like there is a suggestion Donnor Stark did not succeed his dad, after all - but I like the idea that this will let both Dunk and Egg stretch their political muscles, solving a crisis through diplomacy rather than force.

Where I think this could be really interesting (besides on its own, obviously) is how that might loosely parallel what we could see with the Stark kids coming back to Winterfell in TWOW. I firmly believe that all the surviving Starks are going to return to Winterfell in TWOW, but perhaps more importantly (and certainly so for this discussion), there are at least a few factions now, and maybe even more in the future, which are aiming to seat certain Starks in Winterfell’s high seat - all without knowing about the other factions or their plans. As was the case in the time of Beron’s possibly fatal wound, there is a surplus of potential Stark heirs at the moment; likewise, as might have been the case in Beron’s time, there is no perfect, uniformly agreed upon candidate for Stark rule. Jon Snow, like Lonnel Snow before him (hey, their names even rhyme!), was the (at least so it’s supposed, for Jon) bastard son of a Stark lord, with some argument to rule Winterfell - from at least his nobly born mother in Lonnel’s case, from the legitimization witnessed by Maege Mormont and Galbart Glover in Jon’s. (I don’t think it’s at all coincidental that Lonnel’s mother is a Fenn - that is, a crannogwoman - given that it’s a crannogman, Howland Reed, who is probably currently sheltering Maege and Galbart and who knows the truth of Jon’s parentage.) Sansa and Arya are legitimate, but female in a world and specifically in a dynasty which has not only never had a ruling woman but has specifically skipped over female heiresses, as in the case of Serena and Sansa, daughters of Rickon. (Again, is it coincidental that these were two sisters, one of whom was even named “Sansa”?) Bran and Rickon may have no specific parallels in “The She-Wolves of Winterfell” (other than, as legitimate sons of the former Stark lord, they would be in the same position as Donnor and his brothers), but they might likewise be debated as potential heirs - Bran for being disabled in a highly ableist society, Rickon for being very young and subject to a long, potentially troublesome regency (and perhaps any bias against Myriame Manderly might echo bias against Rickon’s chief supporter, Wyman Manderly).

I don’t think the Starklings themselves will fight each other for Winterfell, to be clear; I think they’ll just be happy to see and be with each other again after long and harrowing experiences for them all. However, I could see where we might have this same sort of factional quarreling, with the Stark kids themselves perhaps stepping into Dunk’s and Egg’s roles. After all, it’s very possible that as this debate is going on, news is going to come of Euron in the south and/or the Others beyond the Wall (the latter of which both Jon and Bran have good reason to know and warn about); this parallel may be especially potent with Euron (who may in turn empower the Others by bringing down the Wall), given that Euron is the most serious ironborn threat since his own great-grandfather Dagon, and is trying to outdo Dagon in his apocalyptic ambition for world domination. So the Stark kids might tell the quarreling factions around them that their energies need to be put not into deciding which one of them gets Winterfell but in preparing to fight the greatest enemy of humanity and, in fact, all living things. 

[womenofwesteros]

House Manderly🧜‍♂️