#ned cat 2.0

[fromtheseventhhell]

"Sansa = Ned 2.0 and Arya = Catelyn 2.0" is one of those takes where you can just tell people are more attached to the aesthetic than anything. "The Stark girls are most like the parent they look least like" sounds good on paper and people run with the idea, regardless of how it actually fits into the story. A majority of the justification relies on misinterpreting all of their characters + a healthy dose of fanon. What gets me is that this is the same fandom that insists that Lyanna, only compared to Arya in the text, is equal parts Arya and Sansa but Ned and Catelyn, two fully fleshed-out and complex characters, have to be more like one girl or the other? There's just nothing in the story to justify being so adamant about these comparisons. Arya and Sansa have parallels with both of their parents but at the end of the day, they are unique characters with their own stories. I'll never understand why people want to flatten these complex characters down to their most basic tropes and fit them into restrictive boxes just for a "poetical~" comparison.

[lilianacrouch]

Starks 2.0:

The Starkslings as grown ups (because they all survived to the end of the books of course)

Continued from the lookbook of them in their bookcanon ages, also see this to see Catelyn and Eddards looks:

https://www.tumblr.com/lilianacrouch/740888243791380480/starks-some-inspiation-from-keanu-reeves-on?source=share

Robb, Sansa and Bran looks the most like Cat, and Jon, Arya and Rickon looks the most like Ned, but all the children have features from both parents

I also imagine Rickon ending up as the tallest sibling

[daenystheedreamer]

"Grand northern conspiracy" what part of the last 5 books makes you think ANY of these people have the ability to collaborate with each other independently be so real rn. ned had been IMPRISONED and the manderlys and umbers were fighting over hunting lands they are NOT planning anything together they just all hate roose that much

exactly plus what have we learned about people. They Do Not Shut The Fuck Up EVER. r+l=j only stayed secret because it was JUST ned and howland and they never said anything ever ned lied to his wife for fifteen years. there is no way, in such a tense climate, every lord and lady in the north could a) keep their mouth shut b) coordinate despite conflicting loyalties c) not have any of their hundreds of men blab even accidentally. also ravens is not texting its not immediate and you can just shoot that raven dead. the grand northern conspiracy is several seperate minor quests that slightly overlap.

my thoughts on the gnc (based on the ASX video, i hate the forums) below the cut

WINTERFELL

the snowmen lords (barbrey, wyman, harwood stout, whoresbane umber) have their rickon conspiracy. this is the davos one, most obvious, confirmed etc. i believe what has been explained and hinted is straightforward.

ROBB'S WILL: MAEGE AND GALBART

maege and galbart are ambiguously with howland in the neck with robb's will that says jon is heir. there's evidence they made it and maege is "with lyra and [jorelle]" but probably not at bear island, because lyanna is the only one there. there have since no mentions of galbart's whereabouts

howland of course is the last living person with knowledge of r+l=j

robb's will was made under the belief that bran and rickon were dead and that sansa and arya were ???, leaving that document in limbo. also jon is dead

my belief is maege and galbart had their meeting with howland and are in some kind of hiding rn. i don't think howland told them about r+l=j because it's honestly sooo unrelated to the northern political situation. all it does is make things way more chaotic and puts jon in a really precarious position.

ROBB'S WILL: LADY STONEHEART

LSH has robb's crown and since cat was at the signing of the will it's possible she could crown jon. people link her to maege and galbart but lsh is clearly doing her own thing right now and does not gaf about her bastard stepson

the lannister/freys lost the brotherhood somewhere in the neck so its possible LSH is up there slaying it up with howland.

i think the LSH/howland collusion is a little iffy. LSH is not in her right mind because her brain is rotting in her cracked skull. i just dont see her scheming a huge political conspiracy rn.

personally im of the opinion LSH is on a course towards arya and/or sansa, not jon. or at least her nexus is at her daughters. she is on a revenge quest, not avenge quest. she wants to kill RW participants, not complete robb's will.

plus imo if LSH and the brotherhood are scheming anything, its a red wedding 2.0 massacre

RIVERRUN

tom of sevenstreams is spying on the lannister riverrun camp on behalf of the BWB and is clearly colluding with edmure.

edmure frees brynden

brynden is a robb loyalist and is now running around possibly knowing whatever edmure knows from tom

two riverrun tully guards choose to join the night's watch. where JON is!!!

also jeyne westerling is confirmed to feature in the TWOW prologue

this stuff is wayyy more circumstantial. the line of thought is that the BWB knows about robb's will -> tom knows -> tom tells edmure -> edmure tells brynden -> brynden becomes jon snow #1 fan or whatever. + those tully men are sent judge jon/inform him/whatever

again this is all under the assumption that this is LSH's plan, which i doubt. i think this part of the conspiracy is the least credible and i think a lot of these 'clues' or whatever are probably about a possible red wedding 2.0 (or attack on the lannister camp) as opposed to Everything Is About Jon. those tully men are sus though...

---

jesus okay i got bored here once i got to the part about stannis army politics. i only have enough space in my head to care about one conspiracy per contingent and i picked night lamp for stannis' army. i think there are conflicting loyalties and the fArya situation + bran rickon thing will complicate it further but jesus christ theyre on a military campaign. they do not have time to hook up with fuckn wyman manderly. everyone is freezing and starving okay.

flint and norrey have some shit going on. plus the fuckin liddle that met bran. god. what ever. basically its several minor conspiracies that happen to overlap and some are probably unrelated. but anyway everyone go watch and draw your own conclusions<3

i think the bolton-held winterfell is a powder keg waiting to explode is the Point or whatever. everyone runnning around with conflicting loyalties lying hating each other loving their family etc etc human heart in conflict with itself. way more fun and thematically appropriate. plus its so unneccessary... its like how people try and make littlefinger have bigger and crazier plans. his plans are already big and crazy you dont need to throat him so hard. now i think wyman does deserve a good throating but he's already an awesome schemer do we need to include lady stoneheart. let her murder more people on her own for her own reasons. god forbid women do anything

[ariamariastark1]

Parallels and Foils: how Cersei, Lysa and Catelyn are a warning.

It isn’t news that Cersei and Daenerys, Arya and Catelyn and Lysa and Sansa are deeply connected narratively and that you can learn a lot about them through each other. When you look into it, Cat, Cersei and Lysa are more than just parallels and foils, they also are warnings and a preview of what each girl will or was supposed to become! They warn us about the worst possible outcome for the girls and what they must recognise and avoid.

They are in three different parts of the journey through the books:

Arya, I think, has already won her battle against becoming Catelyn and is now fighting other battles; despite her personality, she had a chance of becoming just as sour and prejudiced as Cat in the beginning and even after Ned died, however, Arya’s ability to be friends with everyone from everywhere as well as her empathy to others, even those who hurt people, made it so that any chance of that happening was destroyed. Jon's love and validation also gave Arya a base of support that Catelyn probably didn't have. ---- Arya Stark has avoided her fate and now is moving on to other things.

Daenerys and Cersei are foils of each other, Cersei being essentially what people believe Daenerys is going to become (the show's Ending doesn't help). Many people, both readers and In-Universe characters, believe Daenerys to be a Mad Queen or that will she burn KingsLanding, however, Cersei is the one that will be known as the Mad Queen (she is literally going crazy) and she will burn KingsLanding. And while we can say with certain confidence that Daenerys will never be like Cersei, in the books she still needs to work and prove herself a bit more. ---- Daenerys is still avoiding this ending.

Sansa, unfortunately, we can't say with certainty that she won't be like Lysa Tully. Maybe in the beginning Sansa wasn't going to become like her aunt but as the story progressed and Sansa continued with the same beliefs and with a general lack of character growth, it is becoming harder to see an ending for Sansa that won't make her Lysa 2.0; Unless Sansa either drastically changes her views on every one that isn't her, stops being willfully ignorant, starts taking care of herself and makes allies or has a deeply life-changing journey in the next two books, I don't see how can Sansa avoid becoming a deeply sad, lonely woman (Sansa is isolated from her family) who was essentially tricked and manipulated her whole life (tricked by society into believing that acting certain way would guaranty her a good life/ manipulated by almost everyone) and that is trapped in a deeply unhappy marriage (Lysa married to an older sexist dude/Sansa possibly married to Henry, who has bastards and probably won't stop having affairs). Thankfully there is a chance that a life-changing journey might happen in the next two books since Little Finger might get caught trying to poison SweetRobin and the fact that Sansa is not his bastard daughter but a lady accused of conspiring to assassinate the king. That might force Sansa to live with the Small Folk and finally force Sansa to grow. -------- Sansa is losing

[jozor-johai]

Re: cycle of violence and red wedding 2.0

I'm partial to the idea that arya will be the one who ends the LSH reign of terror on the riverlands. Do you have any thoughts on this?

This is such a tough question because imo there are so many people for whom killing Stoneheart would be narratively satisfying. I'll give you my thoughts on Arya first but I'll confess in advance that my opinion is 100% biased because I have my own pick for who I'd rather see do it.

The part I very much like about the Arya idea is how the two of them are mirroring each other's quest for vengeance, and how Arya deciding to kill LSH would symbolically mean she's killing the desire for revenge within herself after seeing what a monster that makes someone.

There are parts I don't like about it though. Selfishly, I don't want Arya to see her mother like that. Arya has that heartbreaking line about wondering whether her mother would still love her after what she's done, and I want Arya to remember her mother as Cat, who would love her, and not as LSH, who might be incapable of love. Arya meeting LSH now might affirm Arya's fears: she returns to her mother, and there's only death and the wedge that revenge drove between them. I see the poetry, but... I don't want it for her.

Part of me also thinks: Arya shouldn't quell her quest for revenge by killing something, let alone her mother, even if she is a murder zombie now. I know Arya's being trained as a killer, and I'm sure those are skills that will serve her in the future (else what's the point), but when it comes to her relationship with vengeance, I think that the turning point should be a moment where she recognizes the possibility of hope and rebirth, (the ghost of christmas present) rather than the doom of her future should she continue her quest for vengeance (the ghost of christmas future). Now that I've made the Dickens comparison, though, maybe she does need both.

I wouldn't dislike the story if Arya did it, I think it really works, and I know if GRRM wrote it that way it would work even better than I'm imagining. But

Personally, I'm partial to the idea that it will be Brienne who kills LSH. I like that Brienne is so completely driven right now by her oath to Catelyn; Catelyn took her in and offered her a female role model that Brienne could integrate into her worldview: "You have courage. Not battle courage perhaps but . . . I don't know . . . a kind of woman's courage."

Brienne is so committed to this oath to return Cat's children that she spends the entirety of Feast on a doomed quest to achieve this goal, armed with the sword that was forged from Ned's, named Oathkeeper. But now, to save Jaime, who represents the chance at change, forgiveness, and redemption, (the polar opposites to Stoneheart's absolute vengeance) Brienne will kill her liege, the woman she personally swore her loyalty to in ACOK.

...And so Brienne will mirror Jaime the Kingslayer, the Oathbreaker, and fully understand what that meant, and what that feels like. With Ned's own steel, no less, because Ned would not have wanted what Cat became. (am I going overboard with that?)

I'm not exactly sure how the timing works out, because she can't kill LSH now before Stoneheart & the gang pull off the Red Wedding revenge plot. I have totally bought into the idea that Stoneheart etc. are going to turn Daven's wedding into a massacre, and I also fully expect it to be gruesome and not cathartic. I suspect that Jaime is integral to that plan, somehow, which is how Jaime survives so long and isn't immediately killed, but I don't know how they manage to get Jaime to aid them. He's having a change of heart, sure, but he's not going to roll over and let them kill his family, so maybe they have some more important leverage. Could even be Brienne, if they understand that bond, although I don't know how they would.

The way I see it working is that Jaime somehow abets Stoneheart carrying out the Red Wedding 2.0 plan, even though it costs him so much. Then, Stoneheart and the BWB move to kill Jaime afterward, anyway, despite it all. Then, seeing the horror of what LSH has become and done, Brienne kills LSH.

Then and her and Jaime kiss run away and live happily ever after back to Casterly Rock, just like in the weirwood dream he had.

Kind of a long-winded response, but those are my thoughts on the end of LSH.

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

Not to demonize Cat but the woman literally said Arya was a trial and she wanted her to be like Sansa; she admired Edmure’s efforts to look after his people but at the same time she saw them as useless mouths to feed; she wanted 14 year old Jon out of his own home in Winterfell. How is that supposed to be similar to him? Same with Sansa being Ned 2.0 just because she’s in the Vale. She doesn’t recall any of his lessons like his other kids do. He is a man who lived and died for his family and was overall well liked by his people. He carried Lyanna’s secret to his grave. Sansa snitched on her family (bitterly regretting it) because she was in love with the little psycho who tried to murder her sister and she barely had any contact with the smallfolk. The math doesn’t add up. Just reads like a Jon/sa fetich of NedCat 2.0, same people who insist Jon longs for Cat’s love and approval since he has oedipus complex or whatever. But one can not erase canon and none of the women Jon felt attracted to had anything to do with Cat. They need milk of the copey.

Yes, I agree with you.

Comparing Catelyn saying that Arya was "a trial" while the latter was missing to Jon gifting Arya the Needle, it's clear that those two characters view Arya's behavior differently.

Arya herself was doubting that her mother would want her ( which mind you wasn't true, Catelyn wanted both her daughters back. But it says a lot about the impression she had given to her child through her behavior). Meanwhile, she was certain that Jon would want her even if no one else would. Jon's acceptance is wholeheartedly, he doesn't criticize Arya's parts their society considers unwomanly ( and in fact, all the girls he finds attractive share those traits of hers).

Here is the thoughts of Catelyn when her brother gives shelter to innocent people in Riverlands war zone:

Only my sweet brother would crowd all these useless mouths into a castle that might soon be under siege.

ACOK - Catelyn I

Jon Snow in ADWD is doing exactly what Catelyn is criticizing her brother for, he gives shelter to "useless mouths" ( aka all the Wildings that can't contribute to the fight against the Others).

Jon's worldview, beliefs and behavior is so different from Catelyn's that it's laughable to claim that "he's Catelyn with Ned/Lyanna's characteristics". Do they have a couple of things/ traits in common? Surely, but so does almost any pair of pov characters. That doesn't mean all of them are copies of each other.

Moving to Sansa, I disagree with the fandom's notion that she's Ned 2.0. As you said, she doesn't recall his lessons like his other children do. That's not to condemn her because Ned taught mainly the boys and Catelyn was responsible for the girls ' education ( Arya is the exception here because we know that she liked to follow her father and see him performing his duties as the Castle's Lord).

And then there is the scene where Sansa tells Cersei her father's plan. Again, I'm not gonna codemn a 11 years old for making a silly decision but considering that a major theme in Ned's story is that he never revealed his sister's secret, preferring to soil his honor in order to protect it I fail to see the similarities between father and daughter in terms of personal values and priorities.

As I often say, Sansa was way closer to her mother than she ever was to her father and she shares some core beliefs with her ( plus her narrative comparison to Cat is important due to the Littlefinger obsession with both of them). So if the fans want to link Sansa to any of her parents, Catelyn the correct choice imo.

On a side note, I'm sure that you probably meant no harm but I don't like the word "psycho" to describe awful characters. Joffrey was a little shit but that was because he was spoiled by his mother and neglected by his father. He didn't have any psychosis. Mental illnesses affect real people and that's why I don't like seeing them being used as slurs.

[agentrouka-blog]

It's strange how people are obsessing over Sansa as Ned 2.0 while denying the more obvious paralleling relative that is her aunt Lysa. Maybe parallels with a tragic villain does not bode well for Sansa.

You think?

I made a post on the subject of parallels between Sansa and Lysa in the past. Hint: foils.)

Also let's not be hoarding Lysa just for Sansa, shall we? Just as they both share parallels with Lyanna (triggered yet?) they also both share some parallels with their other aunt. Willful, jealous younger sisters who know how to plot, aren't afraid of poison or violence, champions of their father's less privileged ward who grew up like their brother? Arya is also Lysa's foil.

The most rewarding part will be seeing Arya and Sansa reconcile in the way Cat and Lysa never could. ❤

[esther-dot]

Hiii! Do you ever see GoT writers, actors or even D&D confessing their plan of Jonsa or the reason Jonsa parallel Ned&Cat and even Jaime&Cersei? Something in the line of: okay, this was the plan but we changed our minds because X. That would give me soooo much peace. The foreshadowing and parallels were so obvious it makes me anxious when I remember the real ending.... even if they never get together. But what happens in between.

I would love an explanation too! I sometimes try to put myself in D&D's shoes and imagine what their platonic explanation could be for all the parallels/contrasts they created for Jonsa, and I actually think that the Cersei and Jaime connections would be the easiest to rationalize, but the fact that they also paralleled them with Braime is what makes it seem like it wasn't just a healthy sibling duo in contrast to Cersei/Jaime, it wasn't just about showing us the difference between Cersei and Sansa as leaders, it felt romantic! Especially as that convo carried through to the ending, Jon and Jaime were being paralleled and juxtaposed, both choosing their sisters over someone else, but Jaime choosing his "evil queen," Jon rejecting his, which means, you can't say it was accidental, they were intentionally doing that in s7-8.

Obviously, in the books the NedCat 2.0 idea will be a thing, we've already gotten comments about Jon and Sansa individually looking like the og, so D&D inserting that with the redux of NedCat scenes, ok, not necessarily romantic, maybe just a nod to the books, maybe they overdid it, but their motives were pure. Except, they included the choking LF scene. Jealously, rage, desire to kill. Sure, of course, LF deserved it, but then they also had Sansa be angry and jealous in s8, and again, there are platonic explanations for some of it, but it crosses the line, particularly in the feast scene. At that point it feels like it's more, something else.

(And let's not even talk about the parallels with Robb and Talisa, Sam x Gilly, or Gendrya.)

But will they ever tell us anything? Well, let's say TWOW comes out in a year or two and Jonsa is a thing in the books. We absolutely would have the entire fanbase revisiting Jonsa's odd chemistry in the show and rethinking things, and I bet, yeah, we'd finally get a reporter who would ask a useful question regarding the Jonsa scenes. Or, say Kit goes for it in Jon's spin-off, we'd definitely get some new insight into the acting choices he made in s6-8.

Absent of that, I can't imagine getting confirmation? Mainly because, it's not just an unpopular ship, it's hated. Dany stans, Targ stans, Jon stans, I saw all of them taking comfort in the midst of their rage and grief that at least Jonsa didn't happen. Any hint that show Jonsa in some form was real is probably the only thing that would make people hate the last season/finale more. Considering how disgusting our fandom is (they harassed child actors because they hated the characters they played, they ship the actors with other actors, bully them off social media, stalk them...) I don't see the upside of bringing it up and there is a big downside.

If they had the cover of Martin's books or a new show, D&D could say they didn't do it because it was weird but here's how they hinted at it or Kit could say it grossed him out but he tried to subtly include it. Presented that way, people could be sympathetic to them, not blame them, so I could see that. But if they just announced, "Yep, Jon had Targy feelings for Sansa," I don’t think people would take it well!

[alaynestcnes]

how do you think the series is going to end? obviously jonsa ;) but do you think it'll be similar to the show?

I go backwards and forwards tbh. I do feel like where most of the characters ended up in the show is probably a good indicator for their book ending (I think D&D got told the broad strokes of GRRMs ending but they just got too turned around w what they wanted/thought would make good TV).

More under the cut bc I rambled on for longer than I thought I would ���‍💫

I do think Jonsa will be canon in some capacity and to me there’s only really two realistic routes;

1. Tragic star-crossed lovers who are tortured by their forbidden feelings (a la the original outline). Honestly if it goes this way I can see their romance being a subplot that isn’t entirely focussed on tbh. GRRM is a romantic but it’s usually subtle - look at Ned/Cat, Jaimie/Brienne. Even with Robb/Jeyne, it was bare bones. These are definitely love stories, but the love is so truthfully woven into the workings of the narrative that it’s barely a plot point itself. Jon and Sansa will have the same, where it’s there and unspoken and painful and probably motivates some of their decisions, but it’s not some epic Romeo and Juliet thing that consumes them. If they do have this plot where they have feelings, I doubt they’ll end up together (I don’t think we can have both). It’ll probably end like the show with everything unspoken/unresolved with Jon exiled or dead and Sansa on the throne.

2. Ned/Cat 2.0 political marriage. I generally lean more in this direction. Jon and Sansa are both political characters and their plots/desires are leading them to Winterfell. They are both positioned to be leaders of the North - it makes sense that it would be together. I think there will be Northern conspiracies that will lead to a politically fractured North with the various Starks becoming figureheads for the different remaining houses vying for power (Manderly wanting Rickon on the Northern throne, Petyr/the Vale wanting Sansa, and miscellaneous others wanting the newly resurrected Jon). Rickon will probably die (I hate it but I can’t see another way for him 😭), his followers split between Jon and Sansa’s camps. Targ reveal will happen, which will lessen Jon’s claim. But he’s a god-like figure after his resurrection so he’ll still have followers and he’ll know he needs the power of the entire united North to fight the WW. Makes sense that some advisors would suggest a marriage instead of tearing the North apart, especially with Jon wanting to go off to face the WW threat immediately. Sansa will want peace and she’ll see sense in marrying a man she knows (who I’m sure LF (if he’s alive atp) will imply that Jon will accidentally die in the war anyway and leave it all to Sansa). So they get married to unite the North, despite being essentially strangers atp. As above, I don’t think we’ll get much of an actual love story, but they are suited to each other and I think by the end of the series we’ll come very full circle with Ned/Cat ‘love didn’t just happen, we built it’. And ofc with the final book being A Dream of Spring (i.e rebirth, new life, hope) I’m betting on a Stark baby.

Idk about the other characters ngl I don’t spend half as much time theorising on them 🙃

Jon will likely seek out Dany to face the WWs. I think it’ll be pretty similar to the show where she’ll be split between wanting to help and wanting to take KL. Maybe a bit of the politcal!Jon theory here to convince her (we do need that betrayal for love, which I 100% believe is Jon - maybe with him knowing the war/their plan will likely be her doom but he goes through with it to protect the North). Ultimately, I think she’ll die fighting the WWs in like an epic sacrifice. BUT while she dies, at least one of her dragons will survive. Which means that while Dany saved the world, she also doomed them to another terrible fate - having a grown, enraged, untamed dragon loose upon the world with the only woman able to control them gone. So, even though the WW will be defeated, in the remaining/following book there’s still a Big Bad to cause drama. I like the idea of Dany’s end being conflicting - she dies a true hero but also her great act is her worst act and has long lasting consequences for the survivors.

Cersei will probably try to capture Drogon in her greed for power and in doing so causes KL to burn (Drogon’s fire + all that hidden wildfire). This is actually based on nothing but vibes haha but I like her end being caused by her own hand and greed, reaching for more when she could have lived with the power she already had. I’m choosing to ignore the Valonquar bc idc I’m not GRRM.

Bran King of Westeros bc why not.

Arya’s ending has me lost. I think she def meets Lady Stoneheart and it will make her question her own pursuit for revenge. I don’t think Arya’s story is meant to end with her becoming a heartless professional assassin dedicating her life to killing the enemies of her family; she is so much more than that. Seeing LSH will make her witness the horror of being entirely consumed by hate and bloodshed. She’ll kill LSH out of mercy and it will also symbolise her putting to rest her own anger and desire for revenge. Idk where she’ll finally end up tho so she gets a wildcard and can do whatever she wants.

Andddd all of this is subject to change on any given day. I’m just rocking w whatever feels right atp bc god knows we’re never seeing Winds.

[ecce-felix]

What’s funny about that most recent post is a couple posts down i reblogged a photo set made by a sansa fan displaying show cat/sansa Arya/Ned hair parallels. Even though we supposedly only push sansa = Ned 2.0 / Arya = cat 2.0

[fromtheseventhhell]

A Sansa daily blog reblogging the stansa comments on my Sansa and Arya =/= Ned and Cat 2.0 post, here we go again 🙄

[my-weird-news]

SHOCKING Update: Try Guys Spill Secrets on Ned's Exit and 4th Member!

TryPod Chronicles: Ned's Hilarious Exit Unveiled! Well, gather 'round my fellow detectives, because yesterday, the Try Guys served up a piping-hot scoop on their podcast, TryPod, and let me tell you, it's juicier than a watermelon at a fruit fight! If you missed it, here are a dozen nuggets of gold you'd better catch up on, or you'll be out of the loop like a hula hoop with a missing segment: - 🕵️‍♂️ Sleeve Sleuthing Success: Keith cracked the code on a fan theory wilder than a giraffe riding a unicycle. Someone spotted Ned's sleeve lurking in the shadows of a single frame, igniting the internet detective brigade. Side-by-sides, magnifying glasses, and teenage sleuths galore! - 🤐 Legal Tap Dance: It was like a secret society, folks. The remaining Try Guys were handcuffed by the law, unable to spill the beans on Ned's vanishing act until the paperwork wizards gave the nod. Hush-hush like a library full of church mice. - 📜 Matching Statements, Oopsie: Zach spilled the beans that Ned and the Try Guys released their parting statements in the same font. Coincidence? Nope, it's the font of friendship! Or maybe Ned just raided their font closet. Fontgate anyone? - 🛒 Skittles of Anxiety: Keith got caught in an anxiety storm while grocery shopping, convinced everyone was peeking at him like he was a celebrity coupon collector. Meanwhile, Zach's wedding tour turned into a buffet of “news Skittles” for hungry guests. - 💼 Brand Anxiety Bonanza: Keith had nightmares of their brand getting tarnished like a spoon in a garbage disposal. The horror! They were more worried than a cat at a dog convention. - 😨 Twitter Tumult: The Try Guys offered a shoulder for the person involved, claiming that no matter what you mess up, being trending topic #1 with the New York Times lurking is like being a misbehaving penguin in a spotlight. - ☠️ Death Threat Drama: Zack confirmed that some folks involved got death threats. Even the bravest warrior might have turned into a shaking chihuahua in the face of such online aggression. - 🎙️ Podcast Pandemonium: With three Try Wives in the picture, the future of the "You Can Sit with Us" podcast hung in the balance like a seesaw with a confused elephant on one side. Ariel gets some personal space, and the show's future is in limbo. - 🎬 Meta Metamorphosis: Zach burst the bubble that their BuzzFeed era was like last week's leftovers—it's over, baby! The Try Guys 2.0 are on the horizon, like a shiny new toy with extra sprinkles. - 🚫 Return to Sender: Zach and Keith chimed in like a gong at a meditation retreat—no, no, a thousand times no! If Ned’s shenanigans stayed secret, it'd be like hiding a rhinoceros in a bouncy castle. - 🎙️ Eugene's Podcast Panic: The scoop on Eugene? He’d rather wrestle a wild porcupine than do a podcast. Zach and Keith declare their partnership like a bold neon sign, leaving Eugene in the shadows. - 🚫 No Try Guy Round Four: They're waving the "No New Try Guy" flag like a lifeguard at a wave pool, making it clear they're not playing matchmaker for a new member. You heard it here, folks: no replacement, no pressure. And there you have it, the Try Guys' saga sliced and diced with the comedic flair of a banana split served with a side of laughter. So, if you’re not caught up yet, don't be the last person to the laugh fest! 🎉# TryPod Chronicles: Ned's Hilarious Exit Unveiled! Well, gather 'round my fellow detectives, because yesterday, the Try Guys served up a piping-hot scoop on their podcast, TryPod, and let me tell you, it's juicier than a watermelon at a fruit fight! If you missed it, here are a dozen nuggets of gold you'd better catch up on, or you'll be out of the loop like a hula hoop with a missing segment: - 🕵️‍♂️ Sleeve Sleuthing Success: Keith cracked the code on a fan theory wilder than a giraffe riding a unicycle. Someone spotted Ned's sleeve lurking in the shadows of a single frame, igniting the internet detective brigade. Side-by-sides, magnifying glasses, and teenage sleuths galore! - 🤐 Legal Tap Dance: It was like a secret society, folks. The remaining Try Guys were handcuffed by the law, unable to spill the beans on Ned's vanishing act until the paperwork wizards gave the nod. Hush-hush like a library full of church mice. - 📜 Matching Statements, Oopsie: Zach spilled the beans that Ned and the Try Guys released their parting statements in the same font. Coincidence? Nope, it's the font of friendship! Or maybe Ned just raided their font closet. Fontgate anyone? - 🛒 Skittles of Anxiety: Keith got caught in an anxiety storm while grocery shopping, convinced everyone was peeking at him like he was a celebrity coupon collector. Meanwhile, Zach's wedding tour turned into a buffet of “news Skittles” for hungry guests. - 💼 Brand Anxiety Bonanza: Keith had nightmares of their brand getting tarnished like a spoon in a garbage disposal. The horror! They were more worried than a cat at a dog convention. - 😨 Twitter Tumult: The Try Guys offered a shoulder for the person involved, claiming that no matter what you mess up, being trending topic #1 with the New York Times lurking is like being a misbehaving penguin in a spotlight. - ☠️ Death Threat Drama: Zack confirmed that some folks involved got death threats. Even the bravest warrior might have turned into a shaking chihuahua in the face of such online aggression. - 🎙️ Podcast Pandemonium: With three Try Wives in the picture, the future of the "You Can Sit with Us" podcast hung in the balance like a seesaw with a confused elephant on one side. Ariel gets some personal space, and the show's future is in limbo. - 🎬 Meta Metamorphosis: Zach burst the bubble that their BuzzFeed era was like last week's leftovers—it's over, baby! The Try Guys 2.0 are on the horizon, like a shiny new toy with extra sprinkles. - 🚫 Return to Sender: Zach and Keith chimed in like a gong at a meditation retreat—no, no, a thousand times no! If Ned’s shenanigans stayed secret, it'd be like hiding a rhinoceros in a bouncy castle. - 🎙️ Eugene's Podcast Panic: The scoop on Eugene? He’d rather wrestle a wild porcupine than do a podcast. Zach and Keith declare their partnership like a bold neon sign, leaving Eugene in the shadows. - 🚫 No Try Guy Round Four: They're waving the "No New Try Guy" flag like a lifeguard at a wave pool, making it clear they're not playing matchmaker for a new member. You heard it here, folks: no replacement, no pressure. And there you have it, the Try Guys' saga sliced and diced with the comedic flair of a banana split served with a side of laughter. So, if you’re not caught up yet, don't be the last person to the laugh fest! 🎉 Read the full article

[winterfellchild]

Littlefinger and Jonsa

So I want to talk about an old and totally strange spoiler/news/fanprediction ( not sure what it was because there is not much to read about it) about Littlefinger and Ghost deleted scene from season 6.

I found not much at all related to this deleted scene but from what I understood after his talk with Sansa in the godswood of Winterfell the scene was not supposed to end like we saw it but with Littlefinger turning his head around to see Ghost staring at him.

Now if it’s true can you imagine the great importance of it?

Ghost=Jon Snow and it would have been epic to see him looking after Sansa, protecting her from afar... sadly this was cut out in the final edit... or more probably this was never a real scene.

Anyway true or fake doesn’t really matter because I already had this idea in mind and I really like the meaning behind a scene like this hypothetical scene and most of all I hope for something like that to happen in season 7.

We know Jon will leave Winterfell ( not because of the fanfiction/spoilers but because of the photos) and it's not so wrong to think that he will not take Ghost with him so I really hope he will leave Ghost behind as Sansa's protector, or in other words I really hope that the writers will use Ghost as Sansa's protector in season 7 and not forget about him again.

It may look like nothing really important ( mostly because the show cut direwolves scenes too much) but since direwolves represent their owners I like the idea that Jon will somehow keep his promise even while he will be gone... he can't promise "I'll protect you, I promise" and just leave her: it's not right, it's not fair, it's not proper. I really think it will be anticlimactic if Jon will just go without making sure Sansa will have all the protection possible and Ghost is the strongest protector for sure, his instinct is more reliable than any man ( Tormund) or woman ( Brienne), and Jon and Ghost like all the Starks share a powerful connection so it will be a strong statement about how much he cares for her because no Starks ever left their direwolves behind (not even for a family member) and when it happened it was not intentional.

Anyway going back to Littlefinger, when I was searching more articles for that deleted scene I read again Aidan Gillen (aka Littlefinger himself) interview with The Huffington Post (here) and since I didn't use tumblr when I first read it I think now it's a good time to share my 2 cents on what he said... because if Littlefinger even remotely suggest that Jonsa it's a possibility I have something to say about it.

So what I want to talk about is this:

When asked if we should be worried about Sansa and Jon’s relationship, Gillen said, “Do you mean after the scene where it’s implied strongly who Jon’s parents really are? Well, their relationship has new potential now in light of that for sure. Although, I think having been brought up as siblings, they’re not going to want to go there. Anyway, while the viewers saw it in flashback, it’s a secret from a long time back, so who does know? But someone must, and I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

First of all... wow he right away talked about Jonsa. I would have had nothing to say if he started to talk about the infamous betrayal many think will happen in season 7 because his character is a main player in it, but in truth he didn't even address that topic if not asked expressly... first thing he just talked about Jonsa.

In my opinion this is an admission that in truth Jonsa is a possibility directly from Littlefinger the master player.

What does it mean for me and what do I hope for? That Littlefinger/Gillen is right and that the main point about Jon and Sansa relationship in season 7 will be the change in their relationship now that they are cousins.

I hope ( in truth I'm 90% sure, but since it's not my story I know I can be wrong) that the betrayal plot is just another red herring put at the end of the season to create more suspense. Like when Sansa showed up with black hairs and the black dress and everyone said she was going to be full evil the next season... how wrong they were since Ramsey was in her future. Sansa was strong as much as she could while she was with that monster but she wasn't the evil b**ch haters hoped she would become.

I'm not saying that Littlefinger won't try it, he will for sure. Littlefinger already told Sansa a couple of times that Jon is not really her brother, he is her half-brother... so he will have the perfect weapon if he somehow learn how true that statament is.

Maybe he already knows it but I don't think so. If you ask me during the time when Jon will not be in Winterfell Littlefinger will find out about Jon's true heritage as soon as Sansa will, thanks to his spy master ability, and will try to use it against him. Sansa will have to save Jon's throne from his scheming for sure ( there is no way she will betray him now that she has her family back) and in doing so she will slay a savage giant in a castle built of snow.

Anyway that's just my speculation about the betrayal but going back to Gillen saying “they are not going to want to go there” it’s probable that this statament means that in the next season we will see how Jon and Sansa will face the dilemma “Needs vs Wants” and possibly overcome it... maybe it will go on until season 8. In other words Jon and Sansa union can be something that they will need to do more than something that they will want to do... at first.

I read a lot about Jonsa and I agree with the theory that it will start as a political union to keep the North together when all hell will break loose and Jon's heritage will be releaved.

Because let's be honest Westeros is not the perfect happy world where a secret so big will have no serious repercussions in the political system that elected Jon KiTN ( as much as fans/shippers want it this is not the kind of world where the Northerners will happily bend the knee again so easily or will follow their leader no matter what... anyone remember the Karstark? Theon? the Bolton? Poor Robb learned it the hard way that Westeros is not a perfect world... and he was a true Stark ).

( sharing Robb gif because it's absolutely relevant even if the post is not about him)

Resuming the previous topic Gillen words totally fit with a plot in which Jonsa will happen because they need it politically. Since a true Stark lost his claim in the past anything can happen to an half Stark who in truth is a member of the most hated family in the North, hated as much as House Lannister ( yes, Jon is a Stark because Lyanna was a Stark but his father family is more important in the world the story is taking place in so he is half Stark).

The idea of a political union also fit very well with the Ned and Catelyn 2.0 parallels that are present in the show/books because Ned and Cat wedding wasn't a great love story from the start, it was something that they did out of duty, but with time it became a love union, not as exciting as secret passions in the woods, but stronger. It lasted longer.

"Love didn't just happen to us. We built it slowly, stone by stone, over the years."

From this perspective Jon never ending gazing, the obvious tension and the amazing chemistry in season 6 are perfect starting points to begin to slowly build the kind of relationship that they will need to create. Because in GoT world it's one thing to marry someone who is a sister to you, it's a different thing to marry someone who secretely deep down you don’t see like a sister, in truth someone who were never close as a sister to him.

In conclusion there is the part where Gillen said: "But someone must ( know), and I wouldn’t rule anything out" ( too similar to what Sophie Turner also said about Jonsa) that, like it's written in the article, let me hope that maybe they wouldn’t go “there“ right away, but still... Sansa and Jon... sitting in a tree... yeah, it's what I want.

I hope I won’t end up like Ned for trusting Gillen

P.S. Since I’m talking about Littlefinger and Jonsa, am I the only one that see a black man bun on the bottom of this photo?

Like in other photos that were shared from season 7 I see a person in the background that is blurred and the first image that was shared of Jon Snow was him talking to Sansa in a similar location... maybe the 2 images are linked. And if they are linked I’m just happy Jonsa images are the first images we get for the next season.

[queeninthenortay]

If Jonsa isn't endgame why s7 was about Littlefinger watching suspicious Sansa saying goodbye to Jon after he threatened his life WHAT WAS THE FUCKING REASON I AM GOING TO SCREAM

[queensqewed0722]

Jon Snow and Sansa Stark :  The Game of Thrones OTP that I never saw coming

I’m going to begin this post by saying that I never watched a single episode of the HBO series Game of Thrones.  Nada.  I tried with the very first episode of season 1 but at the time, I was in the middle of the second book “A Clash of Kings” so I dropped the series.  Being the purist that I am, I prefer to finish the novels first before getting into their film or television adaptations.  This allows me to compare and to fill in any missing pieces in the adaptation.  I told myself that I would finish all the novels, then just catch up with the series.  But I kept on putting off both the novels and the series so now, here I am, still in the middle of “A Storm of Swords: Part 1″, and on the eve of the first episode of the final season.  I doubt very much that I’ll be able to finish all the novels in time for the final season run.  But I do have all the books, except for the one with the maps, and I’m looking forward to the final novel “The Winds of Winter”.  

So why did I have to premise what I’m about to say with that?  That’s because I want to emphasize that I never had any preconceived notions when I found myself falling headlong and getting onboard this ship called “Jonsa”.  

Truth be told, I did have a little bias initially towards the Jon/Daenerys pairing, but this was purely because of my having read the first two novels.  It had nothing to do with me thinking that they would make a lovely pair.  I just thought that it would make sense, plot-wise, given who they were.  At the onset, I already guessed that Jon Snow was no ordinary bastard, that he had a birth secret that would turn the game of thrones upside down.  And Daenerys is the last known Targaryen princess.   I guess I’ve watched enough anime and KDramas to be very familiar with this kind of twist in the story.  In any case, I didn’t get into the novels for the romance.  I just found this whole complex universe fascinating.    

So I don’t recall anymore how I found myself aboard the ship.  I think I was browsing YouTube randomly and decided to check out some GoT clips.  Then I think I stumbled onto some MVs made by creative fans, or I found the clips of their reunion scene and other scenes of Jon and Sansa together in season 6.  Either way, I decided to check them out.  Lo and behold! I found myself practically hit between the eyes with the sheer chemistry and sexual tension between these two!  It was the last thing I expected to see.  

I think what really did me in were their reunion on Castle Black, and when Jon kissed Sansa’s forehead on the battlements.  

That reunion was just so emotional.  Without saying much, only with their facial expressions, it was more than enough to tell me how much seeing each other meant to them.  Of course, if you think about it, it was probably out of sheer relief and a bit of hysteria because I doubt they ever expected they would see each other again, much less see each other alive and well, or as well as can be expected after what they’ve gone through.  But then, there was Jon, watching Sansa sip her soup, and the way he looked at her, it was as if she was something precious and delicate.  Sansa was more reserved during that scene, her feelings more of a puzzle to me.  As if after the adrenalin rush of their reunion had died down, she was not entirely sure how she would conduct herself in front of Jon, whom she never really interacted with when they were growing up in Winterfell.  But Jon’s words at that moment were very sure:  they will stay together.  “Where will WE go?”  

And then, after the Battle of the Bastards, when they talked and he kissed her on her forehead, it was, to me, the physical manifestation of that look that he gave her when they first sat together after their emotional reunion.  That to him, Sansa has indeed become very precious and I guess he only realized at that moment exactly how much.  

One can always argue that the forehead kiss is a sign of brotherly affection and Jon’s reassurance that he trusts her, in spite of what happened.  In all honesty, that was what my mind was telling me.  However, my gut feel was saying otherwise.  The vibe that I got when I first saw that kiss, and even during several repeat viewings that I did afterwards, where nowhere near the area of filial love.  It was something else.  If I didn’t already have an inkling about who Jon really is even from the books alone, I would have icked myself out with what I was feeling.  But knowing what I knew about who he was, it just occurred to me that this, this thing between Jon and Sansa, makes much better sense than Jon and Daenerys.  This is of course, based purely on the scenes from the series that I saw, and not from anything that I’ve read yet.  I haven’t reached that point yet in the novel series where Sansa’ character has grown enough for her and Jon to make sense together.  But if the series reflects the direction of the novels as a whole, then I would expect them to happen eventually even on paper.    

There were also the other scenes in between of Jon and Sansa together, where Sansa’s feelings were more on the surface.  I don’t have to analyze them in detail anymore as I’m sure so many have done that before me.  In any case, I don’t need further convincing as far as these two characters are concerned.  It’s just that, after having seen what I’ve seen of Jon and Sansa together, I can’t unsee it anymore.  It effectively destroyed whatever little bias I had for the Jon/Daenerys pairing from the novels that I was initially expecting.  

If the drama were to still go the route of Jon/Daenerys, after everything that it made happen between Jon and Sansa, then I will feel very shortchanged indeed.     

*Credits to lauraZvidZ, the owner of the video that I quoted on this post.  This was one fanmade MV of the Jonsa pairing that I especially love, more so because it compared them to Ned and Catelyn, and Ned just happens to be my most favorite Game of Thrones character of all time.  

[throne-of-games]

Thoughts on the new promo pics:

Sansa’s new dress, absolutely loving it. She looks so good, so regal, like a true Northern queen and I am here for it. Whether it’s meant to replicate fish scales or dragon scales, I think the former is more likely though if it is dragon scales, it is most definitely in reference to Jon (the person she spent all of season 6 with, and all of season 7 defending) NOT Dany (whom she doesn’t know, will in all likely hood not be close to, and ultimately has conflicting goals with). 

Jon’s pose, replicating Ned’s pose, serving those Ned and Cat 2.0 vibes hard af. I also love that his pose is off-centered which for me just confirms what we’re already aware of—that he would be uncomfortable in a position of such immense power. 

Dany’s pose, she looks very dark, almost antagonistic. Her chin is down, shadows are darkening her expression. In addition to her expression the other thing I noticed immediately were the gloves. Blood red, Targaryen colors. I may be reading too deep into it but it got me thinking about her conquering roots and her subsequent actions because of those roots. "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." —Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2