#plus bran and arya

[melrosing]

ok so over the years I have had a LOT of asks about whether I really believe that Jaime's story is a redemption arc and I don't humour them as much as I used to bc apart from having made most of the pertinent points many times over, I do think it's just self-evident in the text, and indeed in GRRM's own statements in interview.

plus, it is an extensive and detailed arc - it's like being asked over and over again to explain why I think Arya's arc is about identity. there are any number of answers you can give, but just how long is an exhaustive answer, who has the time, and isn't it obvious anyway???

and the thing is that when ppl come to u asking you to contradict an 'anti-redemption' take, what they're generally asking u to argue with is like. a carefully curated twt thread of quotes that, sure, compiled like that can look like an argument.... but honestly, you can make any argument you like in that way. and such 'arguments' are exhausting to disagree with because you'd have to carefully re-contextualise each and every quote, which ofc, have been deliberately de-contextualised, and frame your argument around each. and I think that just brings me to the plainer point that these people are not writing real analysis of the text. they're running through a book with a highlighter pen, which is really only the prep for an actual analysis.

you cannot make a point about a character's arc by isolating lines to say 'quotes that show X being Y, therefore foreshadowing Z', or, for example, 'quotes that show Jaime thinking about Cersei, therefore foreshadowing that he will romantically return to her' or whatever. this doesn't work because what this style of 'analysis' completely fails to do is account for the structure of the story they're reckoning with.

I think a lot of ppl like to pretend with ASOIAF that structure does not work the same way here as it does in another narrative, because GRRM likes twists. and I disagree. for example, something people like to say about ASOIAF is that you can never consider your faves truly safe, but I think that's been vastly overstated. we know Arya isn't dying before she returns North, because fundamentally we know how stories work. we know Arya's story points back to Winterfell - that her story is about the long journey home. we know she's not dying in Braavos because: we just do. there's a reason that if you poll people on who is surviving this story, Arya will rank pretty highly, along with Sansa and Bran. people sense the structure behind the Stark kids' stories - they somehow know, without being told, that the story is not building to their deaths.

because all of us have grown up with stories, we have an innate sense of their rhythm, and how they're supposed to go. they can surprise us, but if we've learnt anything from Game of Thrones, I hope it's that the twist cannot come from nowhere. ASOIAF succeeds because GRRM pays close attention to these rhythms. even as he's making it up on the fly, he is clear about what beats go where. they may last longer than in a different story - in another book, Arya would probably be home by now - but we still understand what each beat plays in a broader arc.

and an arc is SUPPOSED to broadcast itself. sometimes it's subtle, other times it's not, but generally it is not something that you can only recognise has taken place at its very end point. even though Arya has not yet fully reclaimed her name, we know she will. likewise for Sansa. even though Bran has not come into his powers, we know he will. we DO actually understand that.

so when people say that Jaime is not redeemed yet and his prevarications in the Riverlands means he never will be, they're either 1) consciously or subconsciously denying the arc they can sense GRRM is writing, or 2) they're just not that media literate. it's there, it's obvious, it's broadcast clear as day. Jaime starts bad. we get to know him. he proves himself capable of better. he decides to pursue better. he is constrained in his pursuit of betterment. he breaks free of that constraint to pursue betterment properly. and yes, this probably is a tragedy where Jaime's best efforts will still cost him dearly, and there's a strong chance he does die! but your baby trebuchet quote collection is not accounting for the clear narrative beats of a redemption arc, which the baby trebuchet actually feeds into if u were paying attention! this arc has not been painstakingly set up for a rug pull. Arya is not being set up to go 'fuck it actually I'm no one and I'm staying in Braavos'. that is not satisfying. that is not what stories are for. that is not what GRRM is doing.

so when GRRM tells you that this is a story about redemption: believe him! he knows what he is writing! the struggles of some twt user who hates Jaime should not be concerning you! and as we've said 100 times: it IS up to you whether you forgive Jaime, same as it's up to you if you forgive Sandor, or Theon, or Zuko your spiritual king! that choice is yours! but your feelings do not change what trajectory this story is taking! so yes MY GOD it is a redemption arc now let me die

[syndrossi]

This verse is SO GOOD.

I can't decide which scene I want to see next. Look at all these options:

Robb telling a heartbroken Catelyn? Ned explaining all his awful secrets to furious Catelyn?

Bran and Arya sneaking into Jon's room to meet their new half-brothers? Maybe with bonus puppies?

Midnight crying and comfort hugs/chats with Jons+Rhaegar? I find it difficult to believe they'll sleep well tonight...

Morning training when Rhaegar gets to let out some grief and fury and hit his terrible, awful, lying, secret-keeping brother-son with a sword?

Daemon terrorizing the Vale as he tries to find his sons???

Something I haven't even thought of??

I want to read everythingggggg. 😍😱😵

I still haven't decided if Ned confesses to Cat yet! He desperately wants to keep that secret to himself. I could see him trying out this "yep I've got two more bastards" story for a bit, hoping that it's a manageable cover, and perhaps being forced to scrap it when he sees just how much it's a) tearing her apart and b) hurting Jon and the twins when she lashes out. He can't really risk internal dissent with Robert on his way; they need a united front.

Bonus puppies is quite the temptation! You're right that JJR are gonna need some extra comfort tonight (and Jon is gonna have extra questions that Rhaegar will be the one stuck answering because he's the best liar).

Oooooh the fun parallel of Rhaegar dealing poorly with his emotions via a training outlet (and Jon, feeling he deserves it, just accepting it, which makes Rhaegar feel even worse). And he doesn't even know the full truth yet! Just that he was almost certainly Jon's father and Jon knew Rhaella's fate but didn't tell him either of those things. Is this perhaps going to be our very first Rhaegar POV?

(Plus the sheer WTFery of the twins' swordfighting talents. Pretty sure Ned doubles down on his "yep their father was a Blackfyre and they were raised amongst the Golden Company" theory.)

I'm looking forward to writing Daemon I, whenever it comes!

[thaliajoy-blog]

Honestly becoming a bit obsessed with the secondary animal association of some ASOIAF girls this Brienne symbolism has made me spiral...

Like level one you've got Sansa who's associated to several bird species - she's a little bird (evoking a sparrow or a dove), she's compared to an exotic talking bird (so a parrot or a parakeet), her false father Littlefinger has a mockingbird as a symbol, & she takes refuge in the Vale, home of the Arryn falcon. Bran wishes he was associated to so many birds...

Then you've got Brienne, who is associated to the bear and to the lion indirectly with Jaime. From there there's the whole maiden & the wild beasts dynamic to consider, this magical connection virgin women have to nature & wild animals (like the unicorn for one), how they "tame" them with their innocence and purity. Brienne "tames" Jaime physically, same with the bear, but she also most importantly does with her purity of heart & dedication to knightly values (and once "tamed" he fights to protect her). You could say Brienne has to deal with a lot of human beasts - like Vargo Hoat, "the Goat", or Rorge & Biter, who are each acting or described as animalistic men, & she fights or kill most of them.

And then you've got Arya - I found it interesting that outside of her wolf self she's associated with either much smaller & tamer animals. She's a grey mouse in Harrenhal, or a weasel & a squirrel... she's also a horse as Arya Horseface (plus association to her aunt Lyanna, the "centaur"), and a cat as Cat of the Cannals.

[agentrouka-blog]

in your opinion, is Sansa the character least connected to magic in the main series?

What are you talking about she had a magic hairnet!

In seriousness, she is definitely the most removed from magic among her sibling POV characters.

Her plot doesn't touch on any of the major magical storylines (yet) - be they northern warging and greensight, R'hllor, prophecy, or any transactional blood magic.

The most heavily enmeshed in magic are Daenerys, Arya, Jon, Bran and Stannis through Melisandre. Then you have Victarion and Euron diving right in there.

Arya by far has the most variety of magic in her arc (Berric Dondarrion & Lady Stoneheart representing R'hllor, plus warging and the Faceless Men).

Other major characters are also only just now grazing those storylines from afar, like Jaime, Asha and Theon, while others still have no connection to magic and are unlikely to gain it (Dorne, Aegon), while others have had significant encounters (Brienne, Sam, Davos) and others still remain disconnected from actual magic for now but might encounter it as witnesses in the future (Tyrion, Sansa). Then there's Cersei giving life to a prophecy that was clearly magical in part but is only given real power through her own actions.

There's a big spectrum. Magic is one of the tools GRRM uses to examine the effects, use and abuse of power. And the less politically powerful a character is the more useful is it for revealing similar dangers (Arya, Bran), while others engage with unmagical political dynamics (Tyrion, Sansa, Theon, Jaime, Cersei) and then you have both things together, to show how they interact with each other (Dany, Sam, Stannis).

In Sansa's case, specifically, he is giving us a character with almost zero power. She has status and claims, yes, but no power to even portect herself. And that's very deliberate, because that's what GRRM wants to examine through her, her survival and perseverance and the lessons she takes from it.

[pixiecactus]

I never thought that the Stark bloodline could continue through Arya, and that this is one of the reasons why she has the classic look of them. I feel so fucking silly cuz she looks like Lyanna who is associated with the winter rose/stark maiden (Jon is also represented by the winter/blue rose, since he is Lyanna's son so could also be the one who continues the lineage) and they all bloomed in the winter, just like Arya will do too in future About the next generation, well, it's not really a big deal, just some funny speculation. And yeah, the Baratheon genes really are dominant. I checked multiple cases and the male line is usually stronger. Rhaenys is one of the rare cases, actually the only case, but she comes from a Valyrian bloodline as well. Her grandmother was a Velaryon. And her father, a Targaryen. In other words, it takes generations to be ~diluted~. The seed is really strong with the baratheons lmao It seems there are some rules. When Targaryen men marry other women, their first child often looks like their mother. Lyanna had lived long enough to give birth to a second child, the boy or girl would look like Rhaegar. And considering that all the dark haired targs never get to the throne like Baelor and others. I think it's a pattern for each house to have a specific appearance, and that seems to be extra important in some way in terms of succession and who will continue the line. Since these appearances magically prevail for decades or hundreds of years

it's been exactly a month since this ask was sent; sorry!!

i've to admit that when i was reading the books the first time around, i didn't notice it either; my first exposure to that idea was due to a stansa's post, i don't remember how it went at all, so take this with a big grain of salt, but what i got after reading the whole thing was something like: "so you're making the case that people saying something about the conservation of the stark's looks and how is important in arya and jon's plots equates to them being racist to ginger people (?)"

the part you wrote about how winter roses bloom in the winter and arya will do the same in the future was so nicely put; those were some bars!!

the thing with arya is that she's the sociable one of the starks, (unpopular opinion coming up: but i honestly think that family had one extrovert, who is arya, one ambivert, who is bran and the rest of them are mostly introverts; well rickon is still a mystery to me so i'm going to ignore his existence just like the books do) arya is the one that seeks connection with other people to make her own pack, and don't get me started about how she is the motherly one of the two stark daughters; she cares greatly about other people and she has a lot of fertility symbolism all around, dany is the one with the most motherly imagery but arya comes in a close second place.

i do think that grrm's original plan was to have arya and jon together restore the stark line, with the added plus that these future starks will also have the recognizable stark look to them. which, if you think about it, really sounds like catelyn stark's worst nightmare coming to realization, with the child she hated, her husband's bastard, becoming the heir and married to her least favourite child...

(okay, time to cover up my bases... catelyn loves arya, i do believe that, she loved all of her children, and i believe she's a great character, but as a mother, catelyn really did the poorest job in showing arya that she loved her unconditionally... and maybe i'm not as forgiving as other people with her because catelyn stark reminds me so much of my parental figures and i did have a lot of the same problems that arya had with her mother with them... also i've a bone to pick with catelyn because she seemed to be "weird" i really don't know how else to put it, about the fact that jon looked like ned but her children did not, and that makes me go... excuse me, arya is right there!!)

coming back into future gendrya speculation, i want to say that the shipper in me obviously wants to point out that we've never seen a stark and someone with baratheon genes union before, so even with the beforehand knowledge that "the seed is indeed strong" maybe the stark genes are stronger... but yeah, i admit that sounds as if i've gone overboard with the copium and really dumb as fuck, because it seems like a plothole waiting to happen.

also it's really interesting the part that you wrote about how dark-haired targaryens never get the throne and how that's going to play out in the future, but... i've to admit as well that with jon dying and then coming back to life, because let's be honest, that boy was never going to stay dead for long, i can't see jon being the one who continues the stark line; i can't see death bringing life again, no matter how poetic it sounds, but maybe that's just a skill issue on my part.

so if the stark look has to be preserved and continue down onto future generations, i think that arya is the obvious option, for me at least.

what is funny is that before i got the last ask about this, i was thinking really hard about what's going to be the thing that breaks up gendrya if they happen in the books, because i see them as a first love kind of deal that's not meant to last, and of course the most popular conclusion is that gendry probably will die, because he's a minor character against arya, who is one of the key five, but i don't want that, because i love my boy as well, and i want to see him live better times.

but yeah, thank you for your ask and for your patience as well!!

[starry-eyer]

magic in asoiaf is genetic. and that is intresting. and the fact that grrm doesn’t shy away from the implications of this makes me love asoiaf even more.

because it’s very understandable that these people who could ride dragons would see themselves as more gods than men. it’s understandable that the practice of sibling-sibling incest would become common in order to keep this ability in the family/to not lose said ability. it’s also understandable that these people would see their race as superior because they are able to do these things that others could not.

it also makes complete sense that this human civilization collapsed in a horrific magical event due to their own hubris because they saw themselves as gods when they were always only men.

and that is peak world building.

some more peak world building is that the noble houses of westeros also clearly gained power and held onto their power through the use of their magical abilities inherited from their ancestors.

a godlike existence like Garth the Green being the ancestor of all the oldest and most noble of the reach houses makes perfect sense for this world!and it also makes sense that the lords without this ancestry are discriminated against in this region that still holds onto the values their society cultivated in the past in order to maintain their magical superiority, even though most of these noble and old houses no longer exhibit these abilities.

and it also makes sense that these people no longer have access to these abilities as they no longer practice the religion that was centered around these powers; plus their blood is simply diluted at this point as these houses have married into a different ethnic group so often that the magical gene just doesn’t surface anymore.

but the fact that it still matters if you can trace your ancestry back to Garth the Green? peak! peak! peak!

george does such an excellent job showcasing the stagnation of westerosi society here because why should it matter if you’re connected to this magic guy if magic is no longer commonplace? however, it also makes total sense that the ruling class of the reach still harps on and on about this as it’s how they maintain the status quo and differentiate themselves from those they consider lesser now that they no longer have access to magic themselves.

and this is also why it’s very important that the Starks still retain the blood of the first men. because the first men interbred with the children of the forest and other elder races, which is what gave these humans these powers. it’s also worth noting that before the direwolves connected with the Stark children, none of our current Starks were able to awaken their abilities by themselves, which shows that even now they are very far removed from their ancestor who’s genetic makeup gave this bloodline these abilities. and it makes sense that the Starks experienced this slow magical decline because magic itself was declining in the world after the doom of valyria.

another reason for this decline is because Andal culture started heavily influencing the North and slowly changed the way magic was perceived. so now in the present, a warg/skinchanger/greenseer has become something to fear being because that’d make you different and therefore puts your life at risk, which means that there’s now practically no safe environment to cultivate these abilities and no secure way to pass down any knowledge you do have about said abilities.

i can’t help but be reminded about how Jon Snow has rejected his nature and how that has led to the stagnation of his abilities, and then i think about Arya and Bran and how their new environments have led to an astonishing growth in their abilities, which shows that it’s not just genetics that matter, environment is also just as, if not more, important.

i bring all of this up because magic being genetic in asoiaf is not as problematic as people try to make it out as. in real life, sometimes people just have genetic gifts. some people can become olympians, and some people are disabled. some people are born 10 times smarter than the average human, and some people believe that covering their faces in lemon juice would turn them invisible. that is reality. and in this universe, some people have access to magic and some don’t, and it’s all based on genetics. it’s unfair! and that makes it realistic.

not everyone gets to ride dragons and not everyone gets to travel back in time, and that grounds asoiaf, which is what grrm was going for.

and how these societies have organized themselves in response to these genetic abilities and the dangers they pose makes absolute sense. on one hand we have the valyrian freehold, which was a magic hotspot and the people who lived there used magic to propel their society to new heights, and on the other hand we have the seven kingdoms that demonize anyone too different, and all magic practitioners are different from normal humans.

and the fact that george decided to go this route with asoiaf is so juicy to me cause:

we have characters like Varamyr and Euron who use their abilities to commit great evils and we know that their powers have influenced the way they see and interact with others. on the other hand we have characters like Dany who use their abilities to fight against evil violent institutions. and through characters like her we learn how vulnerable fledgling magic practitioners/characters with these abilities are to these older and more dangerous institutions and individuals who are perfectly aware about the knowledge gap between them and these younger characters and know exactly how to exploit them.

so, while it’s understandable that the fandom is uncomfy with the practices and values that grrm has written about, this isn’t bad world building by any means. it’s logical and well thought out. and i truly enjoy that grrm doesn’t shy away from writing about the more worrying aspects and implications of magic being a matter of genetics. i also like how the seven kingdoms and the valyrian freehold are kinda extremes on the matter of magic and how this is/was detrimental to both of these societies and at the individual level. a horrific magical firey doom is not any better nor any worse than a slow drawn out icey decline.

imo, what is important to remember is that in the world of asoiaf, people with magic are the ones who are discriminated against (bc most POV characters are in Westeros and magic is a no no there). so they are the ones who are in danger if they out themselves as magic users. now, it is true that some societies are more tolerant (Qarth is a great example of this and Valyria before the doom was likely the most tolerant to have ever existed in this world), but as of now most societies simply aren’t. remember jojens warning? he didn’t pull that out of his ass. bran would’ve been in a lot of danger if he came out and told the wrong people about his dreams/abilities. also, jon’s assassination may have been partly motivated by the mutineers fear of wargs. this is the life-threatening danger magic practitioners are in for simply existing in an intolerant society.

tbh the reason i typed all this up is because it’s very annoying when people try to ignore the reality, which is that the dragonbond depends on genetics. now, i’m sure there are other ways to ride a dragon, as dragons are magical animals so of course there may be a one in a million chance of a dragon allowing some rando to ride it, but this doesn’t change the fact that there is such a thing as a genetic ability that gives these certain humans the ability to form a connection with a dragon.

(another example that i can’t help but remember is that melisandre was able to get ghosts approval by using some of her tricks. of course there could be other reasons for ghost to have done this, but the most likely reason is that ghost simply fell for melisandre’s trick and this influenced how jon saw mel. but this doesn’t change the fact that melisandre will never have the kind of bond jon and ghost have because melisandre is not a warg. this is also another example of how vulnerable fledgling magic practitioners are to older ones.)

so, sorry not sorry that george decided to create a realistic representation of what a society would look like if only certain bloodlines were able to ride dragons <\3.

[amber-laughs]

I frequently think about the fact that the must fuck up Jon cate interaction possible never happened cus my boy wasn't present for the 5 kings war

Picture this robb going to complain to Jon from his mum wanting to exchange Jaime for his sister and jon is just like she right of course she right

Cat going to start her no trusting theon and balon is dumb as fuck discourse just for Jon to say it word for word before she can ever speak

Like they would both be mortified but they have the same opinion a 100% of the time on every thing

I need your opinion on this

I'm so glad you asked about this because it's one of my favorite what ifs. So I will start off by saying a lot of the wisdom Jon has opposed to Robb he gains from being at or beyond the Wall so for a lot he and Robb do start off at the same baseline but like you said anon he and Catelyn have very similar priorities and suspicions from the jump that Robb either never had or was forced to give up.

We know Jon never trusted Theon and has had no reservations telling Robb in the past "Jon always said you were an ass, Greyjoy," Robb said loudly. So yes he would 100% be on Catelyn's side and I think we have enough background Robb/Jon info to say that even with Robb's coronation they would maintain the type of relationship where Jon could speak his mind in private like Catelyn does.

And we know from when Jon frees both Mance and Val he's willing to let prisoners go if he thinks he'll benefit from it. Not only that but just like Cat wants peace with the Lannisters Jon wants peace with the wildlings. I know Jon has the line "It's death and destruction I want to bring down upon House Lannister, not scorn." but at that point they've killed Robb and Ned plus thinks they killed Arya, trapped Sansa in a marriage and thinks Bran and Rickon are dead as well. If faced with the option to trade them for Jaime when Catelyn brings it up in Clash I think Jon is on her side. Even when Stannis is offering him lordship as Lord of Winterfell he declines it because he doesn't want to burn weirwoods not because he'd be a vassal to King Stannis. He doesn't seem to care about Northern Independence, in fact he's never mentioned it at all unless I'm forgetting something.

This is all if Jon never goes to the Wall at all. If somehow-someway Robb and Cat survive the Red Wedding and Jon shows up as Robb's heir after all he's learned I think Catelyn gets one fuck of an ally unfortunately I don't think she could handle having Jon there and he never brings it up again but in AGoT before Ned dies Jon says he would blame her as much as Cersei so that might come back if they're face to face, like you said I don't know if they could stand it but they would probably agree on most things.

also if you're reading this and want more Jon-Catelyn similarities feel free to click here

[nessataleweaver]

FIC: You and I are like the ink staining all the other pages (Game of Thrones, Jon/Sansa)

RATING: Explicit (m/f sex); step-incest; possible dubious consent; underage sex

SUMMARY: (modern AU) Step-siblings Jon and Sansa have been in denial about their mutual attraction for a long time. When the Stark-Tully kids head out to the Halloween carnival, Jon is the only one willing to go through the ‘lame’ Ghost tunnel with Sansa. But they don’t know it’s been re-purposed from a Tunnel of Love, that’s been given an extra kick via magic...

PROMPT: For jonsa-halloween for their 2024 event, using the October 30th prompt ‘Magic’. 

NOTE: I originally had this idea for ‘curse’, but that would have involved Joffrey being stupid and vengeful, and I don’t really want to give his royal skidmark any page time, so I switched tracks somewhat.  While doing so, I realised I was actually writing a prequel to one of my stories from the 2020 event, ‘What you are in the dark’. So to clarify: this is a modern AU, where the Starks are a blended family.  Jon and Arya are Ned’s children, while Robb, Sansa and Bran are Catelyn’s kids.  Rickon is theirs, and is still a toddler. Theon, Robb, Jon and Sansa are all in high school. Arya and Bran are thirteen and twelve.

Can also be read on AO3

ONE YEAR EARLIER

“Agatha... what are those symbols you’re painting?”

“You seriously don’t know?”

“Well, from here they look like several examples of ‘surrender to your desires’, ‘increase affection’, and ‘increase libido’.”

“So why did you ask?”

(sigh) “Agatha, I was asking with the sub-text “Why in Hecate’s name are you painting magic symbols inside our carnival attraction, which we will be exposing many members of the public to?” Do you want us to get sued? Or called in by the Misuse of Magic Office?”

“Don’t be silly!  It’s not mind-altering or anything, it’s just giving things a little... push.  This is going to be a ‘Tunnel of Love’, so the couples that go through it will come out feeling lovey-dovey and horny.  Just think about the Yelp reviews we’ll get!”

“And what about people who aren’t couples, who are just going through it for laughs? Or people who are going on this because they get sick on other rides, and who’s significant others are on the coaster?  Or tweenage girls going through with their besties because it’s so romantic?”

(eyeroll) “It’s like you think I’m stupid or something. All the boats are floating on water, so the customers won’t be around any of the symbols long enough for anything to happen inside the ride. If anything, their partners will have a good time when they get home, or they get to discover the joys of masturbation. Honestly, the worst that will happen is that a few of the security guards might bust some couples fucking in the parking lot because they don’t want to wait to get home.  So what?”

(deeper sigh) “If something goes wrong, I’m throwing you off the flying carpet.”

“Fine, Miss Scaredy-cat!  And when we get asked to hire it out all over the North, I get all the bragging rights!”

ONE MONTH EARLIER

“Agatha, did you hire out our Tunnel of Love to a Halloween carnival?”

“Yep!  Their Ghost train got derailed somewhere in the Neck, and they’re paying us triple the usual hire fee plus ten per cent of the gate!  It’s easy to re-decorate – the whole tunnel looks like a cave anyway.  We put Halloween costumes on all the dummies, add in a few fake coffins and bubbling cauldrons and maybe put in a mad scientist lab or zombie graveyard to replace the masqued ballroom?  We hang fake spider-webs and black drop-cloths from the ceiling with ghost outlines, and instead of the love songs we play spooky sound effects over the sound system.  We haven’t painted the spare set of boats yet, so we make them black and use stencils for skulls and bones over that. Hey, if we keep them that way maybe we can add a pirate cave option?”

PRESENT DAY - LAST FRIDAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN

“Sheesh, Sansa, you’re such a scaredy-cat. We wait any longer to hit the really good rides, we’ll be stuck in line for ages.  All the college students will hit the carnival soon – trust me, I know.”

“I’m not scared, Arya,” Sansa told her step-sister.  “I just get motion-sick easily, remember?  I ride the roller-coaster, the Hurricane and the Zipper within an hour, and I’ll be bringing up dinner with a vengeance.  Just go without me.”

Arya made an expressive face.  “I forgot about all those meds you had to take for our family honeymoon.  But seriously, what was the point of getting to leave Rickon and the parentals at home if not to go on all the rides?”

Jon ruffled her hair affectionately. “You can still go on all the rides.  At least the ones you’re tall enough for.”

Arya scowled and hit her older brother in the side. “I haven’t had my growth spurt yet! That’s why Sansa found me these platform combat boots.”

Jon smiled, not even feeling Arya’s punch.  While Sansa had corralled Arya and Bran through the shooting games and stashing Arya’s armful of prizes in the car, Theon had split a joint with him and Robb.  As a result, Jon was feeling as chilled as a capybara.

“Robb and Theon are coming back now,” Sansa pointed down the midway.  “Robb loves those rides, too.  If he hesitates, tell him it’ll be a sibling bonding moment – that always gets him.”

Bran snickered. “Sansa, the mastermind.  But seriously, Theon loves the arcade but hates admitting it.  I’ll ask him to go through it with me and that’ll leave Robb for you.”

Sansa grinned.  “That leaves Jon to go through the haunted house with me.”

“No it doesn’t!  I want to go through the haunted house too!” Arya protested.

“And me!” Bran added.  “What about the mirror maze, or the Ghost Tunnel?  I think you’re the only ones who wanted those.”

“Um, maybe not the maze,” Jon mumbled.  “Reminds me of my ex.”

“The one who shot you with an arrow or the one who’s now running that cult?” Sansa asked.

“Dany,” Jon replied. He hadn’t even told his best friend Sam, or Robb, that his narcissistic to the point of God-complex girlfriend had once hired out the entire mirror maze for an hour so she could make him fuck her while she watched their reflections in about ten different mirrors. There were reasons he’d stayed with her as long as he had - almost all of them sexual.

“Ghost Tunnel then?” Sansa asked brightly.

“Sure,” Jon said agreeably. “It hasn’t been here before, so I’m up for the new experience.”

Leaving their younger siblings in Robb and Theon’s sometimes-capable hands, Jon and Sansa headed across the fairgrounds.

Sansa looked up at the night sky, and smiled.  “I love full moons, and this one’s special, did you know?”

“Wasn’t Bran talking about this at breakfast the other day?” Jon asked.  “It’s a blue moon, yeah? The second in a month?”

“Exactly.  It’s very good for charging spells and ceremonies.”

“You don’t talk much about your magic studies,” Jon remarked curiously. “Even when I helped you study for the botany section.”

“It tends to upset Mother.  I inherited the talent from her, but she’s so devoted to the Seven she always refused to do anything with it.  At least she’s never tried to keep me from it.  Though I think it’s partly because Uncle Brynden and Aunt Lysa had a discussion – the kind with a capital D - with her about it when I was younger.”

“So you’re not doing any of those spells or ceremonies?”

Sansa shook her head. “My mentor’s doing something tomorrow, but as a solo practitioner I’m not at the stage yet where it would be useful for me. At my level, without a circle or coven, I might even do myself some damage.”

Arriving at the head of the line, Sansa and Jon tore some tickets off their pre-bought roll, and handed them over to the attendant, dressed in what looked like a Shakespeare heroine costume with a fake vampire bite dribbling down her throat and pale sparkly face paint.

“A water ride? I haven’t seen one of those in a Ghost tunnel before,” Sansa remarked, as Jon handed her into the boat.  She stashed her messenger bag in a cage underneath the prow, before she settled into the seat.

The boat’s shape forced them to sit very close together and it took several attempts to find a comfortable position, Jon having to put his arm around Sansa as they headed off into the dark.

A lifelong connoisseur of haunted attractions, Sansa murmured comments to Jon as they slowly floated along.

“Glow in the dark paint usually looks a bit tacky, but these ghosts are painted really well.”

“Oooh, that’s a lovely effect on those floating candelabra!  Maybe there’s some actual magic being used here?”

 “I wonder why there are no scare actors?  There should have been at least one by now if this ride has them.”

 “Can you hear a crackle? You think there’s a set-piece up ahead with lightning effects?”

Just as Jon muttered his agreement, they rounded the curve and saw a large alcove holding what looked to be Frankenstein’s laboratory, complete with a semi-covered body on a lab table, and even a pseudo-skylight above showing lightning constantly flashing.  Their boat settled to a halt, either to change passengers at the beginning or to let them admire the showpiece, when a particularly large thunderclap made them jump.

Then the already dim lighting went out, leaving them in pitch darkness.

“What the hell?”

Silver runes glowed at several points along the wall, and Sansa exclaimed, “So they are using real magic!”

A soothing voice echoed through the darkness. “We are currently experiencing a power failure, and are working to restore the lights and movement of the boats.  In the meantime, we are providing an alternative soundtrack.”

Piano music echoed in the tunnel, and Jon absently identified, “Tchaikovsky. Kind of romantic for a haunted tunnel.”

“Still better than the creepy sound effects, given the situation,” Sansa murmured.

Sansa wasn’t sure how long they floated in the dark, before she found herself snuggling closer to Jon.  His arm tightened around her in response.

“Cold?” he asked quietly.

“Not exactly.”

Actually, she was feeling quite warm. Sansa opened up her zippered hoodie and pulled her sweater out from the waistband of her short skirt. She turned her head sideways to bury her face in Jon’s neck.  He smelled really good, and Sansa absently pressed her thighs together, enjoying the sensation.

Jon rested his head on top of Sansa’s, as his hand curved around her hip, his thumb at just the right angle to dip under the hem of her sweater to stroke her soft skin just above the waistband of her skirt. It felt really good, holding her close; her slim form fit perfectly into the angles of his own. He felt her lips on the sensitive skin on his throat, and bit back a groan as his cock stirred. Now was probably a bad time to remember all the times he’d fisted his cock to thoughts of his lovely step-sister. Even if those pretty tits of hers were pressed softly against his chest, and he was fairly sure that he could feel her hardened nipples through her sweater and his shirt.

Sansa could admit to herself, here in the dark, that her panties were wet and her breasts ached with need.  That she wanted to be even closer to Jon.  She wanted to feel his bare skin against hers, and to wrap her arms and legs around him. Her heart pounding, Sansa let her hand drift along the contours of his torso and down, until she could feel the hard bulge between his legs.  She sighed as she curved her hand around it, then gasped as she felt Jon’s lips against her ear.

“Let me,” Jon murmured, his voice almost soundless as he brought his free hand down to cover the fingers rubbing at him through his jeans.  He moved them aside just enough to undo the button and zip, and groaned in relief as he parted the slit in his boxers to free his erection.  Had Theon added something to that joint?  He was so horny he was pretty sure he could hammer nails with his dick.

Jon couldn’t see Sansa’s fingers gently, tentatively wrap around his rampant cock, gingerly fisting and stroking him, but it was really working for him. The hand he’d latched around her hip slid up and under her sweater, until he could feel the lace of her bra.  He ran his fingertips along the curve of her breast until he found the hem of the cup, gently tugging until her now-exposed breast fell into his palm, where his fingers could rub and flick at her nipple. She was half-way in his lap, her knee hooked over his thigh, and Jon used it as a guide for his other hand, gliding his fingers along her inner thigh until he found her mound.

Sansa whimpered as he stroked and rubbed her pussy through the soaking wet fabric of her underwear, but he wanted more.  Jon pulled and fumbled until he felt her bare folds, and expertly found her clit.  Sansa moaned, and Jon’s cock all but jumped in her grip in response.

Sansa’s head was spinning, and in the dark she was blind to everything but Jon.  His touch on her breast and between her legs, and the hot throbbing rod of muscle in her hand.  She felt so good, and she loved it.  Why had no one ever told her she could feel so good? She moved her hips against Jon’s hand, and his thick fingers slid in her slick folds until one slipped right inside her. She felt herself squeeze down on him in reaction.

“More. Jon, I want more,” she whispered.  Another finger pushed it’s way inside her, and they both wriggled and curved, and when Jon touched a certain spot Sansa slammed her hand over her mouth as she shivered and writhed through her first climax.

Jon had never fucked a virgin before, but Sansa was so tight around his fingers he was sure he was about to.  She was so wet she was dripping onto his hand, and he wouldn’t have any issues working his dick into Sansa’s cunt even though he was on the larger side and she was so tight.

“You need to sit on my lap,” he murmured.  It took some manoeuvring, untangling their legs by feel, but both Jon’s hands latched on Sansa’s hips, and he pulled her body flush to his with her knees bracketing his hips. His cock rubbed against her soaked underwear, and Sansa sighed and rocked her pelvis to increase the friction.  Jon could already feel the pressure building along his spine; he needed to move quickly. “Sansa? If I lift you up, can you put me in the right place?”

Sansa reached down and gripped his cock in answer. He felt her pull her underwear aside with one hand as the tip of cock brushed against her folds. As it notched into her opening, Jon eased Sansa down, groaning as he sank into her tight, slick cunt.

Was it her delectable pussy that felt so good, or was it because he’d never fucked raw before? Either way, Jon was pretty sure he was having the best sex of his life.

 “Your thing is inside me!” Sansa whimpered.  “It’s so big, I’m so full.”

“Are you hurting?” Jon rumbled softly in her ear.

“Mmmph, ah!  It feels really good, though,” Sansa gasped. She wriggled and squirmed, not sure whether she was trying to get Jon deeper inside her or find a position that didn’t feel like she was going to burst.  She pushed her sweater up to her armpits, and wrenched at the front hooks of her bra.  As Jon’s grip on her hips urged her to rock back and forth, Sansa slid her arms around his neck and rubbed her bare breasts against the soft cotton of his t-shirt.

“Lean back a little,” Jon ordered.

Sansa arched her back, mourning the loss of stimulation to her breasts, but Jon somehow shifted his hips, changing the angle of his hardness and Sansa yelped as he rubbed against the place inside his fingers had found earlier, making her feel like a lightning-bolt, sizzling and ready to strike. He did it again and again, and Sansa felt herself explode.

“That’s it, sweetheart, clench down hard on my cock,” Jon growled in her ear, and Sansa convulsed, her inner muscles trying to squeeze the delicious intrusion that already stretched her open without remorse.

Jon moved his hands to her tits, just the right size to fill his hands, and clutched them as his own climax slammed into him.

“Ah!  I can feel your hot stuff coming out, it’s squirting inside me,” moaned Sansa.

Thing? Hot stuff?  In the fragment of his mind that wasn’t drowning in pleasure, Jon wondered just what version of The Talk his stepmother had given the girl taking his dick like she was made for it. At least he could cum inside her without reservation; having helped Sansa study for her herbalist lessons, he knew she was licensed to brew moon tea.

Sansa pressed her forehead against Jon’s as she gasped for breath, and his tight grip on her breasts softened, gently cradling them in his big hands.

The rattling of chains broke their silence, and the boat jerked.  Sansa sat bolt upright as the boat started to move.

“Fuck, we’re moving! You need to get off me!” Jon yelped.

Sansa nearly fell out to the boat, trying to disentangle herself from Jon and sit back down while shifting her panties back into place.  At the same time, Jon was cursing beside her; Sansa caught a glimpse of his still-hard cock as he pushed it back into his jeans, and a swift after-shock of need ran through her. The dim light grew brighter, and Sansa gave up fumbling with her bra to yank her sweater down, hurriedly zipping up her hoodie, glad she’d borrowed it from Jon earlier in the evening and it was thus two sizes too big.

Their boat cruised through a curtain of strings of moss, and bumped into the dock.  Blinking away after-images of the bright carnival lights, Sansa ignored the ride attendant’s droning voice.

Looking down at the bottom of the boat, Sansa’s eyes widened in horror at the obvious stains surrounding Jon’s fly. His leather jacket wasn’t long enough to cover them.

“Hang on, I need my bag!” she exclaimed.  Bending forward, half-over Jon’s lap, Sansa groped for her messenger bag with one hand.  With the other, she passed her fingertips, faintly glowing river-blue, over Jon’s crotch while she whispered a key-phrase.

Jon had to help her out of the boat, too – her legs could barely hold her up.

Jon’s fingers circled her wrist, as he led her away from the ride, the attendant’s smirk not hidden by the fangs of his B-movie Dracula costume.

“There’s bathrooms under the stairs to the grandstand, hardly anyone should be there until it’s time for the fireworks,” Jon told her.  “Meet you outside once we’ve both cleaned up.”

Keeping his body turned away from the man at urinals, Jon shut himself into the farthest cubicle with a sigh of relief.  What in the seven hells had Sansa been playing at, fondling his crotch like that in front of that vampire jerkass?

Jon grabbed a fistful of toilet tissue and looked down to assess the damage.  In the bright light of the bathroom, he could see no tell-tale stains. Looking in the direction of the ladies’ room, Jon sent a mental apology to Sansa.  She’d been using her favorite cleaning spell; if he’d been paying attention to her words instead of her touch he’d have recognised it.  She’d certainly used it on Arya and Bran to help them avoid Catelyn’s wrath enough times.

In the only available stall in the ladies’ room, Sansa hung her messenger bag and hoodie on the hook on the back of the door.  Reaching underneath her sweater, she pulled the cups of her bra back into place but couldn’t quite fasten it.  With a sigh of exasperation, Sansa pulled off her sweater, static electricity making her hair crackle, and shrugged out of her bra.

Standing topless in the small concrete-walled building, Sansa felt her nipples harden again from the chilly air as she inspected her bra.  She’d somehow managed to pop the stitching that kept the hooks in place.  It would be quite uncomfortable if she tried to wear it now and she was sure to lose at least one set of hook-and-eyes. Folding the garment carefully, Sansa slipped it into the laptop sleeve of her messenger bag. Sitting down on the toilet, Sansa needed three lots of tissue to clean Jon’s spend from between her legs, and two castings of the ‘neaten-up’ spell to make her sodden panties wearable again.

Dragging her sweater back over her head, Sansa inhaled sharply as she tugged it into place over her hips.  The soft wool felt so good against her still-sensitized breasts, and the place between her legs ached with longing.  Even though she was sore down there from being forced wide open, she missed the fullness.  Shrugging on the hoodie, she left it open. After washing her hands at the communal sinks, Sansa settled the strap of her messenger bag in a cross-body position between her breasts.  Looking at her reflection, Sansa could see her hard nipples ever so slightly distorting the surface of her sweater, her unencumbered breasts framed by Jon’s hoodie at the sides and the bag-strap pulling the wool flat between them and taut across them. How easy would it be, for Jon to slide his hand under the hem of her sweater and feel her bare breasts?

Sansa smiled at her reflection as she smoothed the static from her hair.

When they met outside the bathrooms, Jon and Sansa were almost as immaculate as when they went into the Ghost tunnel. Maybe Jon’s curls were a little wilder, and Sansa’s lips were so red it looked like she’d been drinking the smoothie van’s ‘Bloody Brew’.  But so what?

Jon’s eyes traced along the curves of his step-sister’s breasts, which he was certain were bare beneath the jack-o-lantern patterned sweater.  He had to fight the urge to drop to his knees and bury his face between her thighs.  He’d come inside her fifteen minutes ago, and all he could think of was getting Sansa somewhere private enough that he could see her naked before driving balls-deep inside her.

Sansa licked her lips as her gaze flickered from his eyes to his crotch and back, and Jon knew without a doubt that she wanted the exact same thing.

“We could say that you’re not feeling well.  Theon can fit everyone else into his Rover, and we can take the car and find somewhere to park on the way home.”

Sansa shook her head, her face regretful.  “If I’m sick, Robb would insist on taking me home himself.  We’ll have to wait.”

“How long?” Jon asked, his voice gravelly with need.

“I’ll get Theon to invite Robb to stay over, so we can drive Bran and Arya home. Once they’re in bed, come to my room.  I can close the curtains around my four-poster so no one can see in even if they open the door.”

“Keep the curtains open to the window,” Jon ran his eyes slowly, deliberately over her breasts, tracing every covered curve with his gaze.  “I want to see you naked by moonlight.”

Sansa moved closer, until he could feel the heat of her body against the bare skin of his hand.

“Same here.”

ONE WEEK LATER

“I have to admit, Agatha, that ghost caves idea made us a mint.  Maybe we should look into leveling up the spooky decorations, and offering it as a permanent alternative option?  Could be in more demand than the Tunnel of Love for things like school carnivals.”

“Ha!”

“Agatha, what are you doing?”

“I’m doing the ‘Agatha was right and she’s telling you so!’ dance.”

“Well, could you please point your booty that way,” (point) “before you shake it?” (mutter) “Like I don’t see enough of your ass during sky-clad ceremonies.” (paper rustling) “The switch from romance to spooky takes, what, a day? And that’s mostly covered during set-up anyway.  The only thing I don’t have a cost breakdown for is the spell-paint and spell-removal.”

(full-body pause) “Spell-removal?”

“Yeah, what did it cost to erase the lovey-dovey and horny spells?  And what will it cost to re-apply them for the Tunnel of Love?  It’s not like that shit works off decals.”

(silence)

“Agatha... you did remember to remove the lovey-dovey and horny spells, right?”

“Um...”

“RIGHT?”

DISCLAIMER: Neither Kathryn Hahn or Elizabeth Olsen were fan-cast in this fic. Aubrey Plaza maybe.

Title comes from the song ‘Counterpane’ by The Birthday Massacre; mostly because I didn’t like the original title, and I was listening to the song during final edits.

[jackoshadows]

What I don't understand is why Sansa stans, who want to get rid of Arya in Winterfell, go for the laziest fanon of Arya being a tourist - a theory that's borrowed from ultimate hacks D&D and the garbage TV show and which ending GRRM has repeatedly disavowed.

Arya becoming some kind of world explorer at the end pretty much ignores her book story, narrative arc, characterization and throws away the material in her so far written 32 pov chapters for an ending they came up with because of a made up headcanon. An headcanon which is far removed from the book character.

If one wants to get rid of Arya in Winterfell to make way for Sansa, the least they could do is actually read Arya's chapters and attempt to come up with an ending that makes more sense for the character.

Arya is a character who wants to help. From Mycah to Weasel to Samwell Tarly, Arya is someone who stands up against injustice even at great risk to herself. She's selfless and would sacrifice her personal happiness for the greater good. She wants things to be better, for herself, for her friends, for the smallfolk.

One ending could be Arya Stark as a leader of the Riverlands, helping rebuild from the ravages of war, helping the people who survived. Arya, who has the empathy and the skillsets to help them, who has listened and learned from her father on how to govern. We see Willow Heddle take care of orphans and managing an inn with a quiet efficiency that mirrors Arya's and Gendry hanging around helping her. I could see Arya and Gendry continue their relationship, fall in love, marry and settle down in the Riverlands while Arya either rules the Riverlands as the Tully heir/Cat's daughter or as Lady of Harrenhal helps Edmure Tully rebuild the Riverlands.

Or, if Jon Snow leaves for beyond the Wall as the leader of the new territories and lands there, maybe Arya goes with him. Considering their close bond and love for each other and the fact that home is where each other is - something else that is again established in the books - if she had no choice but to leave Winterfell, going with Jon Snow to help him lead the freefolk beyond the Wall could be another option.

Or if Bran does end up becoming King on the Iron Throne, then she could stay in KL to help her much loved baby brother. She wouldn't like leaving Winterfell, but Arya is a character who sacrifices and does what's right, no matter how hard it is for her to do personally. Plus, she wanted to be a king's councillor and build things. Her training and skillsets with the FM would also make her alert to any future LF/Varys types trying to plot against Bran - not that someone who can see into the past and present needs a master spy...

Or Arya and Brienne start a school for young girls who are interested in learning different things and have teachers who actually develop their talents based on what they are good at instead of being hateful for what they cannot be.

In my opinion, any of these endings is better than 'Arya, world explorer' an empty, nonsensical ending that has no connection to the character's book story and is actually contemptuous of the suffering and trauma this child has been through over several books. Meet new people and learn new languages? What do these folks think Arya has been doing so far? The girl's been traveling from her second AGoT chapter, meeting countless people. sailed the narrow seas, engaged with new cultures, learned new languages. She's been there, done that.

What's even more ridiculous is that it's Sansa stans who often engage in the oppression olympics of Sansa having suffered the worst, that Sansa 'deserves' Winterfell because she suffered the most abuse, that the only ending that makes sense for Sansa is being back in Winterfell because she suffered so much etc. And yet according to these very same folks, Sansa is going to roll up her sleeves and tirelessly work to lead the people of the North, while Arya is going on a cruise ship vacation and vlog about the new cuisine she is trying out...Hey, maybe after having suffered the most of ALL characters in the series, maybe it's Sansa who deserves the cruise ship vacation, you know?

We have the author himself saying that Arya's harrowing experiences and journey through Westeros and Essos has aged her up so much that he considers the character older than some of the 40 year olds in the books! And yet there are still people harping on and on about tourist Arya ffs.

I personally think Arya will be in Winterfell at the end of the books, either helping her younger brothers Bran/Rickon lead the North or more probably as a leader in her own right.

Arya is a central character in the series, the female character with the most POV chapters. There's no way GRRM has one of his lead female characters end up playing a supporting role in her brothers or sister's story. No way.

The author has given her the character development in the books to lead the North. She has a hulking huge grey direwolf at her side - the sigil of house Stark. She is the lone Stark who has the Stark look. Her direwolf is named after the first Dornish princess who changed female inheritance in Dorne - a big clue for a character who has chafed against patriarchal restrictions on what women can and cannot do. I mean this is how we are introduced to Arya Stark in her very first AGoT chapter:

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

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

It's clear to me that her arc is heading towards her being the first Lady of Winterfell/Wardeness of the North, nicely bookending her arc which started with her wanting the woman to be as important as the man, arguing for equality when it comes to their house. That's how organic story telling and building a narrative actually works.

I am aware of the principal Internet forums about A Song of Ice and Fire and I really used to look at the American and English groups. Nowadays, the most important site is Westeros, but I started to feel uncomfortable and I thought it would be a better idea not to get to these sides. The fans use to come up with theories; lots of them are just speculative but some of them are in the right way. Before the Internet, one reader could guess the ending you wanna do for your novel, but the other 10.000 wouldn’t know anything and they would be surprised. However, now, those 10.000 people use the Internet and read the right theories. They say: “Oh God, the butler did it!”, to use an example of a mystery novel. Then, you think: “I have to change the ending! The maiden would be the criminal!” To my mind that way is a disaster because if you are doing well you work, the books are full of clues that point to the butler doing it and help you to figure up the butler did it, but if you change the ending to point the maiden, the clues make no sense anymore; they are wrong or are lies, and I am not a liar. - GRRM

[argelladurrandaun]

no bc sansa is so annoying especially the show version like so annoying that makes me want to punch her. her fans are so biased because the show version was so far from iconic in comparison to dany arya cersei. the acting mediocre and sophie just gave those secondary character vibes that are shallow and annoying but that they have fans bc people feel insecure about actual powerful characters like arya and dany and olenna asha margaery little lyanna etc. and the show really started to go downhill in s5 when they tried to shove sansa in our faces everywhere and give her importance lmfaoo. plus sophie is such a loser and racist but she really was such a narcissist that she went to therapy just because people aren’t loving her and sansa as much as arya or dany lol. and now is trying to stay relevant by making a movie with kit for the jonsa fans😂😭 both are so annoying and they are friends bc only they can stand each other from the cast istgg

I don't like any version of sansa. But you are right the show version was the worst. They tried to make her centre of everything in the show while sansa is a secondary character at best in the books. They also gave her aryas iconic dialogs which are said by ned only to arya and only ever appear in aryas arc like 'the lone wolf dies but the pack survives' also they stole aryas needle aesthetic and gave it to sansa too. They stole so many things from aryas actual character and made arya a robot.

Arya and Dany are the protagonists and the showrunners wanted that for sansa too much when she is not. Sansa is not even on the same level as arya and dany. And she is not a part of key five characters dany, arya, jon, bran and tyrion.

And don't even get me started on 'jonsa' its a craship for hell and based on complete going against jons character. Of course for these people its about the actors. And didn't turner many times used the 'n' word? She is a proved racist and narcissist. That ship is cancer for me.

[greenbloods]

Literally every single thing we know has to happen in The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, plus a bunch of things that will probably happen:

(according to me); post below cut

In the East

In the Battle of Blood at Meereen, Dany's forces against the Ghiscari armies will prevail in a costly victory

most likely: Barristan will die in the Battle for Meereen, though Daenerys' forces will prevail; most likely, Victarion's Dragonbinder will be blown, causing confusion and a false charge in Barristan's forces, leading to his death, while the blowing of Dragonbinder will have unexpected consequences for Victarion

I have no idea with Dany tbh. All I know is that she has to fulfill Quaithe's prophecy and the House of the Undying prophecies somehow and come to Westeros, and probably fight in the War for the Dawn. (maybe kill Khal Jhaqo, fly to Vae Dothrak to fulfill the House of the Undying Visions and "to reach the west you must go east", fly to Asshai to "pass beneath the shadow", fly to Meereen and Volantis and Pentos and return to Westoros, maybe even with Victarion's ships, and meet Maester Marwyn in Meereen?? who even knows)

Dany will find out what Quaithe's deal was

the Tattered Prince will get somehow get his price of Pentos

Lynesse Hightower being the consort of a Triarch of Lys will become relevant; perhaps: she uses her influence in Lysene politics to cause Lys to side with Dany (parallel: Johanna Swann in the Dance of the Dragons)

the ailing old Sealord of Braavos will die, and Tormo Fregar will become the new Sealord as Arya predicts, and will come out in support of Dany

In the North

the Night's Watch will disintegrate into chaos in the aftermath of Jon's death, similar to the Republic after Caesar's death

the corpses in the cellars of Castle Black will rise

the free folk will sail to Hardhome

the Wall will fall at least in part, and the War for the Dawn will finally begin with the crossing of the Others

Jon will be resurrected from warging into Ghost (probably only after the Wall falls); will be resurrected either by Melisandre (likely) or Lady Stoneheart (less likely)

Jon will find out that he is the heir to Robb's will

Jon will find out the truth about his parentage

Howland Reed will finally appear on-page

the Others will seize the freefolk at Hardhome and march upon the Wall, as the freefolk and Night's Watch (remnants) rally Stannis & the Northern lords to beat back the Others' forces. as the Wall crumbles and the North is consumed by the forces of the undead

Davos will find Rickon in Skagos

Stannis will defeat the Boltons in the Battle on the Ice, meet with then take up the Northern alliance to beat back the Others; he will die

Hodor's name origin will be revealed as he "holds the door"

Jojen and Hodor and Meera and Summer will die ("One by one his friends died, and his horse, and finally even his dog, and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it. And the Others smelled the hot blood in him, and came silent on his trail, stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds...")

Shireen's greyscale will infect others, perhaps spread by Patchface biting ("I have seen that one with his lips dripping with blood"), waking the stone dragon of grey plague at the Wall, fulfilling Melisandre's and Patchface's prophecies

Bran will leave the cave to join the war against the Others

Robb's crown will come back into importance, probably given to Jon by Lady Stoneheart [???]

the Starks will reunite

the heart of winter in the far North will be explained and perhaps will even be explored

the "dragons can't go beyond the Wall" Chekhov's gun (Queen Alysanne and Silverwing) will fire and the dragons will go north ("I see them in my dreams, Sam. I see a red star bleeding in the sky. I still remember red. I see their shadows on the snow, hear the crack of leathern wings, feel their hot breath. My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and the dreams killed them, every one.")

(In the Riverlands)

Arya will leave the Faceless Men with Needle & reunite with Nymeria in the Riverlands

Jaime will escape his Lady Stoneheart execution (somehow)

Blackfish will continue to resist Lannister rule as an outlaw, and might reunite with Lady Stoneheart

Lady Stoneheart will die a final death

Walder Frey will die and his children will squabble for succession (Frey civil war, possibly Red Wedding 2.0)

In the South

Myranda Royce's knowledge of 'Alayne's' true identity will become important; she will tell her father Nestor Royce that Alayne is Sansa, and Nestor's supposed siding with Littlefinger against the other Valelords will be used for Littlefinger's downfall

Sansa will play the game of thrones and gain the support of the Valelords, outplaying and killing Littlefinger ("and later I dreamt that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow")

Young Griff + Joncon will win Storm's End and the Stormlands "by guile" (probably involving Edric Storm)

Young Griff will form an alliance with Dorne by marrying Arianne (who wants to be queen), and will march on King's Landing

Quentyn's death will affect Dorne; most likely, Doran will hear of it and refuse to ally with Daenerys, siding instead with Young Griff

(In Oldtown)

Euron will unleash 'krakens from the deep' in the Battle of Blood off Oldtown and destroy the Reachman fleet

Euron's magic will be resisted by Hightower sorcery and by Alleras' glass candle

[??] Sam's warhorn will be revealed as Joramun's Horn, and Euron will blow it, triggering the fall of the Wall

the dragonlore that the Faceless Men stole in the AFFC Prologue will be used, either by Euron or by the Faceless Men themselves

Gilly and Dalla's babe will find a home, either in Oldtown or at Horn Hill

Sam will go back North to fight for the war for the dawn (Marwyn: "A time will come when you'll be needed on the Wall")

(In King's Landing)

Tommen will die, and Myrcella too ("gold will be their shrouds")

Joncon, hearing the bells of King's Landing, will go mad and attack wildly, setting off the wildfire caches under the city

Jaime will choke Cersei to death (valonqar prophecy), dying together ("we were born together and will die together")

the words of House Dayne will be revealed

the true identity of Azor Ahai's sword Lightbringer will be possibly revealed (probably Dawn)

the Sword of the Morning will be wielded in battle against the Others in the War for the Dawn

Darkstar's actual motives as part of the Dornish intrigue will be revealed

the reason for Ashara's death will be revealed

Tyrion will join with Daenerys and bring fire and blood to Westeros, confronting his siblings one last time before they die

Edric Storm and Gendry will return to the narrative

Loras will reappear, with his injuries likely recovered or non-existent

Illyrio and Varys' full plot and their full relation to each other will be revealed to us

Joncon, hearing the bells of King's Landing, will go mad and attack wildly, setting off the wildfire caches under the city set by Aerys' orders seventeen years ago; King's Landing will burn

[sad-endings-suck]

GRRM Loves Convoluted Succession

Stark Succesion

Bran is technically heir to Winterfell except he is believed to be dead and cannot father children/heirs.

Which would make Rickkon heir to Winterfell, but he is also believed to be dead.

So Sansa is heir to the North, but she has been disinherited due to marrying into the Lannister family. However, if Tyrion is believed to be dead then she could potentially be restored to succession as the Northerners know her Lannister marriage is the only reason she was removed from the line of succession.

Though if that never comes to pass, then Arya is heir, but she is also believed to be dead.

Ah, and Jon has been legitimized by Robb, which makes Jon heir to the North, but only if the Northmen come out of the war victorious with a Stark monarch. Because only a King can legitimize a bastard (and whether or not Robb was a proper King is debatable and depends on if the North successfully achieves independence). Not to mention how Jon’s Targaryen blood could further complicate things.

Targaeryan Succession

If Young Griff can actually prove he is Aegon son of Rhaegar, then he would be heir to the iron throne (never mind the Targaryen’s were usurped). However, Rhaegar and his children were taken out of the line of succession and Viserys was made Aerys heir (whether or not this is valid who knows).

If it is valid, then that means Daenerys’ claim is the best. Plus, she can actually prove she’s who she says she is, and more importantly she has dragons and possibly lots of powerful backers in the near future.

Jon would have a solid claim if Lyanna and Rhaegar were married, except even if they were no one would see that marriage as valid (the show was so dumb for that). Because Rhaegar had consummated his marriage to Elia and produced heirs with her. Ah, but if Young Griff is a Blackfyre then Jon’s claim would potentially still be better than his. Also, regardless of his bastardly, if Jon were to become consort to Daenerys that could strengthen both their claims and Young Griff would be in a very poor position politically if they did so.

Lannister Succession

Jaime would be heir to Casterly Rock, except that he is a member of King’s Guard and cannot hold lands or titles. However, he could potentially be released from his King’s Guard vows (due to the precedent set by releasing Barristen Selmy), and in that case he would be heir to Casterly Rock.

Tyrion would be next in line in Lannister succession, except that he is a kinslayer and for all intents and purposes an exile with no real claim. Unless of course the throne was usurped again, and the new monarch restored Tyrion as heir to Casterly Rock.

As it stands right now, Cersei is the rightful Lady of Casterly Rock. However, as stated above, that is likely subject to change once she no longer possesses the Iron Throne. Plus, if Jaime were released from his vows he could challenge her claim (he probably wouldn’t, but who knows).

Greyjoy Succession

So technically Theon is the heir to the Iron Isles, except that he is believed to be dead, was presumably passed over in favour of Asha, and cannot produce heirs himself.

Which leaves Asha with the best claim. Except that a Kingsmoot was called (fuck you very much for that Aeron) and Euron was declared King of the Iron Isles.

Except, that due to the fact that Theon is actually alive (and has the best-ish claim) but was not allowed to press his claim at the Kingsmoot, that makes the Kingsmoot, well, moot. Seeing as Theon is alive and was not allowed to be “voted for” so to speak. Making Euron’s claim via the Kingsmoot invalid. Also, it’s already tricky enough for a brother to press a claim against a daughter, but for a brother to press a claim against a daughter and a son is a hell of a lot harder. Especially when your whole claim relied on, A) a man having more rights than a woman, and B) a one night popularity contest. Still, he’s a King as of now and will be hard-pressed to give it up.

Victarion… lmfao

Aeron. This is even more pathetic somehow.

Martell Succession

Arrianne was heir to Dorne, but then (presumably) she was betrothed to Viserys with the intent being for her to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. But Viserys died, which means she is again first in line for Dorne.

Quentyn was (presumably) meant to rule Dorne until Viserys died and he was pushed back in succession.

Tully Succession

Edmure is now Lord of Riverrun, except that he has no heir. So if for some reason he and his wife Roslin Frey die before they have children, then one of Catelyn’s kids would be heir to Riverrun (as she is the next in line due to seniority, but dead herself).

Arryn Succession

Robert Arryn of course, has the best claim, but if he doesn’t make it to the end of the series then Harry the Heir is next up. And who knows who would be next after him.

Baratheon Succession

As Robert and Renly are dead, Stannis is definitively Lord of Storm’s End. However, he only has one heir, Shireen. Who GRRM has confirmed will die, likely quite soon. Which leaves Stannis without an heir.

As such, Stannis could legitimize one of Robert’s bastards, probably Edric Storm. Since he has two high born parents, that like Shireen, are a Baratheon father and a Florent mother respectively.

However, that hinges on Edric Storm making it out of the series alive, because if he doesn’t, then the claim to Storm End’s is going to be a bloody free-for-all between all of Robert’s bastards, cousins and other relatives. And at this point the realm can���t survive too much more in-fighting.

The Tyrells are the only ones who have their shit together. For now.

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

The stansas are apparently complaining that Stannis not supporting Sansa? Like, don't get me wrong, I don't like Stannis, but how does it not make sense that he'd support Jon over Sansa? Let's go through the heirs of House Stark and where they are right now.

Let's start with the boys: Robb is dead, murdered at the Red Wedding, and Stannis was planning on either forcing him to bend the knee or execute him. So he's out of the question. Bran and Rickon are believed to be dead, so Stannis can't support them.

What about the girls? Well both are married to his enemies, sort of. Sansa is married to Tyrion Lannister and has gone missing, so no, he can't support her, to support Sansa is to support her husband, a Lannister. And no, it doesn't matter that they didn't consummate the marriage, they are married, end of story. Then Arya is supposedly married to Ramsay Bolton, so also allied with the Lannisters.

Now who does that leave? Well Jon Snow, Ned's bastard who can easily be legitimized. Now I saw a stansa saying that since Stannis didn't support the Joffrey and his siblings, he shouldn't support Jon. Why not? Jon was raised in Winterfell, the lords all know him as Ned's son, and he has Stark blood. Cersei committed treason by having her children and trying to pass them off as Robert's. Plus, her sons have no Baratheon blood, therefore, no claim to the throne (and before anyone tries to drag in anything about a certain Velaryon succession, that was a different situation).

All this to say, no, it makes a lot of sense why Stannis isn't supporting Sansa. Jon is his best option to claiming the North, not any of the other living Stark children. Plus, this whole debate is pointless, Stannis is pretty misogynistic, I don't think he'd support either Sansa or Arya considering how he viewed the Dance of the Dragons.

[queen-of-andor]

STARK KIDS BIRTHDAY CAKES

1. Robb's cake: Ned, Catelyn and all the younger siblings plus Theon worked together to make this cake. It was supposed to look like Winterfell but they failed to capture the castle xD Not that it matters much, Robb is gonna enjoy any cake made with love by his family (and he's able to eat it all by himself)

2.Jon's cake: Robb, Bran and Arya worked together for Jon's cake. Theon tried to sabotage it, but he wasn't successful xD Snow cake for the Snow boy!!

3. Sansa's cake: Catelyn together with Jeyne Poole and Beth Cassel made this one. They even put a mini Sansa alike little doll on it!

4. Arya's cake: Jon had the idea of making a sword cake for Arya and Bran & Robb helped him make it:

5. Bran's cake: everyone participated in making this one. Not only the family members but Old Nan and Hodor as well. No one is sure where they got the inspiration for the cake (Old Nan claims that a raven told them) but Bran liked it very much:

6. Rickon's cake: this will happen post Stark reunion where all the remaining Starks will work together to make a memorable cake for their youngest brother's birthday. And then Rickon will start biting the cake like the little wolf he is xD

7. Theon's cake: only Robb cared enough for Theon's birthday (:/) so he started making the cake on his own. A cook took pity on him and helped him achieve the final product:

Bonus!Theon's idea for Jon's birthday ( which was rejected by Robb, Arya and Bran):

[goodqueenaly]

Hello and happy new year! I had another question for you, an aspect of marriages in Westeros that I feel unsure about: do you think that in the North, marrying someone from one of the mountain clans would be considered less “prestigious” than someone from a more traditional (for lack of a better word) house? And as far as I can tell, it seems that different branches of House Flint aren’t necessarily described as all being mountain clans, although Arya Flint was from the mountain clan branch?

Do I think there could potentially be some level of snobbery from one or more of the noble families of the North toward the northern mountain clans, and specifically marriage with them? Possibly. While the severe disappointment and alienation experienced by Lynesse Hightower after returning with Jorah to Bear Island was certainly exacerbated by her culture shock after leaving the heart of southron, specifically Reacher, urban society, even some of the mountain clans’ fellow northern nobles might find life in the northwestern hills quite a bit different from their daily experiences. The lack of aristocratic finery characteristic of the mountain clans - no major cities or towns, no lordly titles, no chivalric tourneys, only “small and rude” castles - combined with the hardscrabble existence in these areas may strike northern families like, say, the southron and city-minded Manderlys or even the quasi-chivalric Dustins of prominent Barrowton as crude and strange, which in turn could extend to the families living in the hills. The Norreys, Wulls, Harclays, and their neighbors are as much vassals of Winterfell as any of the other families in the North, but their relative isolation and absence of aristocratic splendor may influence those other families to see such clans as somewhat strange, especially as potential marriage partners. Needless to say as well, daughters of the northern mountain clans would likely bring little in the way of liquid wealth, and perhaps not valuable land either, to serve as a tempting dowry for a non-clan House.

However, do I think that such an attitude is probably hugely prevalent across the North as a land and (sometime) kingdom? Probably not. No one, so far as we know, lambasted Cregan Stark for marrying Arra Norrey, nor Rodrik Stark for marrying Arya Flint. The historical closeness, both physical and politico-dynastic, between the Starks and the northern mountain clans likely, I think, limits the extent to which other northern families sneer at the mountain clans as fellow, equal aristocrats, including for the purposes of marriage. Likewise, while some families in the North might style themselves along the lines of southron noble Houses, and so distinguish themselves to some extent from the mountain clans, other families would probably find the lives of, say, the Wulls or Burleys much like their own; indeed, I speculated before that Mormont sons and daughters, used to the hardened and rustic existence of Bear Island, may regularly intermarry with daughters and sons of the mountain clans. Plus, the question of intermarriage between hill clan families and other northern families may simply not come up very often, given the relative separation of the northwestern hills and their residents from the rest of the North: both Bran and Jon allude to the fact that the mountain clan families tend to keep to themselves (apart from their trips to pay homage to Lord Stark, or when they have important business elsewhere). So a family like, say, the Hornwoods or the Karstarks or Lockes may simply not find the clan families as obvious a choice for dynastic marriage alliances as some closer neighbors.

As far as the mountain Flints go, Jon provides the answer on that family tree in ADWD:

It was a tale that any northmen knew well. "My father's grandmother was a Flint of the mountains, on his mother's side," Jon told her. "The First Flints, they call themselves. They say the other Flints are the blood of younger sons, who had to leave the mountains to find food and land and wives.["]

[jon-sedai]

I think something that often gets overlooked when we talk about what Jon would've done had Ned disclosed RLJ before he joined the Night's Watch is that Jon isn't going to the Wall solely because he's Ned Stark's bastard. He's going to the wall because he's Ned Stark's bastard who has no prospects, or so he thinks.

“I forget nothing,” Jon boasted. The wine was making him bold. He tried to sit very straight, to make himself seem taller. “I want to serve in the Night’s Watch, Uncle.” He had thought on it long and hard, lying abed at night while his brothers slept around him. Robb would someday inherit Winterfell, would command great armies as the Warden of the North. Bran and Rickon would be Robb’s bannermen and rule holdfasts in his name. His sisters Arya and Sansa would marry the heirs of other great houses and go south as mistress of castles of their own. But what place could a bastard hope to earn?

(Jon I, AGOT)

As far as he knew, all his siblings had a future. But not him.

Knowing of his parentage doesn't really change much. Think about it. It's not like he can take to King's Landing, show up in front of Robert and be like, "hey that's my chair you're sitting on!" He'd need to actually press his claim and that's a whole new can of worms: who would believe him? Who would even want to fight for him? Can he even make it? Plus it definitely seems that those involved in the whole ToJ fiasco were determined to keep him and his claim under wraps so Ned is for sure not going to want another war.

The biggest factor that contributes to Jon going to the Wall is that Ned never bothered to let him know that he had options, and that he would be provided a future that was most fitting for his skills and status. It's understandable that Ned's trauma prevented him from speaking too much about Jon's situation, but he also needed to approach the problem more delicately and with a lot more foresight. Ned needed to sit down and actually talk to Jon because his situation out of all the Stark kids' needed the most attention. But he never did. And so Jon had to grow up quick and make the fateful decision on his own.