#they don’t always understand but it’s more of understand eyrie’s feelings

[impossible-rat-babies]

two wildly different thoughts but like. thinking about eyrie’s mandated therapy + grief counseling in post-EW

[nyracel]

so i don’t understand what is *so* hard to get about the idea that rhaenyra being crowned as queen *peacefully* would’ve at least introduced the baby-step process that women can inherit the iron throne, even if it doesn’t automatically lead to absolute primogeniture and prompt benefits being established for -all- women.

book-wise we have one (ONLY one) inkling of how rhaenyra feels about the succession, and it’s that she doesn’t wish to alienate any more allies than she already had:

show-wise we have a vague and contradictory line of jace and baela’s sons inheriting the iron throne followed by luke and rhaena’s children inheriting the driftwood throne, which just seems like an inconsistency in the writer’s room, but why is that *such* an issue for those that support aegon’s claim to begin with? rhaenyra only has sons (biologically) at this point, so we really don’t know whether or not she would’ve named a daughter as her heir over a son, but this thought process derives from real history. eventually female heirs were allowed in certain circumstances but male children were *always* preferred (until recently). this still doesn’t change what her reign would’ve entailed had there not been war. rhaenyra is allowed to fight for the right her father granted onto her when she was 8 years old, aegon was not entitled to it simply because he was born with a penis and his mother raised him to believe that made him special.

jeyne arryn, one of her staunchest allies, point blank states what will happen to women heirs and ladies in their own right if the greens are allowed to repudiate the succession, because it’s something she -personally- had gone through:

“in this world of men, we women must band together,” the green council states that they cannot rely on the eyrie for support due to is presently being ruled by a WOMAN. they knew what this would mean for women moving forward.

if we were to look into the history of english monarchs the first (official) queen regnant of england was mary i, who ruled for five years, and didn’t make any changes to the rules of succession during her reign (any that involved gender, any battles she faced mostly had to do with religion). she was followed by her sister elizabeth i, who ruled for 45 years, and made no changes to the rules of succession. both of whom ascended as queen because there were no male relatives alive at the time, but each obviously proved that women were just as capable of men ruling, releasing at least some of the stigma surrounding that subject during their time alive. it wasn’t even until recently, during the reign of elizabeth ii (in 2013, specifically), that absolute primogeniture was enacted into law, ending the system of male-preference cognitive primogeniture. mary became queen in october of 1553, so it took 460 years for this change to occur.

rhaenyra is based off empress matilda, daughter of henry i, who would’ve been the first queen regnant of england had she not been challenged and deposed by her cousin, stephen of blois, in a war known as the anarchy; with it ultimately ending when a peace treaty was signed by both stephen and matilda, with her son henry ii named as stephen’s successor upon his death (which happened a year later). this war began in 1135, which was 878 years before the succession was formally changed and 418 years before england would actually see a queen on the throne. this is just to put it into perspective how one queen is not going to immediately enact change for the betterment of all women whilst attempting to rule an age-old abhorrent system, but saying that they had no bearing on succession laws and gender equality moving forward is wild.

not only did rhaenyra only reign for six months, she was in the middle of a civil war that had resulted in the deaths of four of her children (as far as she knew) at that point. among that the treasury had been depleted and sent to green loyalists, so she was taking over a country with virtually no money at hand. her reign was damned from the start, and her near broken mental state led her to make some bad decisions. from the beginning of her heir ship she was looked down upon for being a woman; her stepmother spread vile rumors about her virginity when was in her early teens, her sworn shield groomed and took advantage of her, her siblings were raised to hate her and view her as a threat to THEIR birthright and lives, her father was nigh on useless in protecting her against any of this due to his pacifist and pushover nature. she was usurped because she was a woman, and ultimately killed because she was a woman. denying the tragedy of her life is refusing to understand the deeper components of the story being told.

if women aren’t even able to hold offices of high power how is anything supposed to change for those in even worse circumstances? women didn’t gain semi equal rights by being silent and subservient to the men around them, they gained them by fighting back against the status quo; by marching, lobbying their politicians, lecturing those willing and unwilling to listen to their plight, causing civil disobedience, etc. we shouldn’t condemn those that do not have the will nor the ability to participate in these events, but refusing to understand their opposites and overtly criticizing how imperfect they are or blaming them for their suffering is not the way to go.

once again, rhaenyra is not a feminist, but she should be seen as a proto-feminist figure by us, the audience, for her will to stake her claim as the first woman to sit the iron throne. her usurpation and subsequent murder leads to the death of all dragons, a catastrophic consequence considering her parallels to the amethyst empress and the dire stakes at hand in regard to the second long night.

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

And imagine if the North ever found out that it was Sansa’s information to Cersei that led to Ned’s imprisonment, and subsequent death, and the slaughter of all of his Northern household.  Am I supposed to believe that the North will just forgive her?  Yes, she was a little girl, but in Westeros that’s not going to matter, especially with the Northerner’s.  The fact that she did this, stayed betrothed to Joffrey, only to then be married to Tyrion, another Lannister, is not going to look good.  They are not going to know for sure that Sansa’s narcing wasn’t for more malicious reasons, and they aren’t going to know for sure that Sansa wasn’t genuinely loyal to the Lannister’s while in KL, or at least to her husband Tyrion.  After all, good little wives are supposed to support and love and be loyal to their husbands no matter what, so if Tyrion kinslayed/kingslayed Joffrey, that means he should have had her full support, thus making her also a kinslayer/kingslayer, even if they killed the Northerners enemy.  The Northerners don’t have access to Sansa’s POV like the audience so to me it’s hard to believe that they would ever trust her.

And let’s not forget that it seems entirely likely Sansa will marry Harry the Heir in TWOW, which will make her a bigamist since her marriage to Tyrion was not annulled and Tyrion is very much alive and will definitely show his face again.  And sorry to say this, but we can’t ignore the possibility that Sansa could become pregnant if she marries Harry in TWOW, which would make any children of theirs illegitimate.  And I say this because even though a lot from the OG outline is different, the broadstrokes at their barest forms aren’t different for the most part, and in the OG outline Sansa was married with children.  So I do think it’s entirely possible this could stay the same to some extent.  And if Sansa is still embroiled with LF when she makes herself known to the North, it wouldn’t take long for them to see that LF has entirely too much influence on her, and a creepy influence at that, which might make them think she’s an adulteress twice over.  And while they may not know the full depth of the things he’s doing, it’s still not going to look good that an upjumped southerner, who once was on Joffrey’s King’s Council, is whispering in Sansa’s ears.  All in all Sansa’s situation does not look good, and there are possible things that may happen that could make Sansa look even worse when confronted with the Northerners in the future.

People in this fandom like to pretend that there is literally nothing standing in Sansa’s way when it comes to claiming the North and ruling it, but in reality there are a ton of things that are there in the narrative, even at this time, that are preventing it, and even more things that could be added to it.  They also don’t seem to understand that if Sweetrobin dies under mysterious circumstances, that allows Sansa to become Lady of the Eyrie, when Sansa is accused of being in cahoots with Tyrion in the kinslaying/kingslaying of Joffrey, it’s not going to look good for Sansa at all.  This is one of the reasons why Sansa needs to snap out of it for her own self-preservation and try to help Sweetrobin instead of complying to LF’s every wish without question.

And I don’t think the North really knows Sansa all that well from her childhood.  I feel she kept her distance from anyone who wasn’t nobleborn, so I don’t think anyone really knew her.  I get the distinct feeling that she was very aloof from almost everyone.  And suffice it to say the very fact that Sansa bullied Arya for her Northern Stark features, which she considered common despite her looking like Ned, should tell us everything about how she regarded the North and the Stark side of her heritage, even if she never acknowledged it herself.  So I don’t get the impression that Sansa endeared herself to many of the Northerners, especially since her head was always full of dreams about living in the South.

Anyway, I completely agree.  I don’t think the North will really accept Sansa, especially as a ruler.  They won’t demand for her blood, or kick her out, but I don’t think she would be much loved or trusted.  I also think that if the Stark’s learned about Sansa narcing to Cersei, they would have a hard time accepting and trusting Sansa as well.  

The more i read the books, the more I think that when Sansa comes back to the North, she won't be as welcomed as she thinks she will, nor as Littlefinger thinks she will. Not that it would be total rejection. More like surprise, but no real enthusiasm by itself.

Largely, the people talking about her as a Northern girl, and one time as a wolf girl after Joffrey's murder, are from the South, not from the North, and it is to paint her as the figure of the enemy, and paint the North as such. But the North? The families from the North are talking more about Arya, not Sansa. Arya made a bigger impact because she was at her father's side. Sansa wasn't, because she had other interests, and when she was there, she was dreaming about the South and its songs, and the North did not feature in these dreams, so she took a less active part, not really interested in its people (at least, she is not shown thinking about its people; and considering she was not quite fan of her sister's fréquentations, it may be she avoided contact with the small folk).

But imagine. Sansa, married twice (if she succeeds marrying Harry) in the South, so what she is supposed to inherit should by the conception, come to her (here, southern ) husband, and with a southern army? When the North despises the South (while being on war among itself)? Are the people of the North supposed to be overjoyed? Seems a bit too much to me, for a North that is already quite divided, and talks more about Ned's valliant girl.

Not to mention the Northern lords began to respect Robb when he proved himself strong, and also when his wolf bit Jon Umber's fingers. You would have me think she would have to just come and say "let's rebuild Winterfell, I'm claiming my inheritance", without people looking askance at her? Add it Robb's will if it is discovered, and she has even less chance. She will have to prove herself as a Northern girl. But does she even pray the same Gods?

The more positive réaction I could see for the moment is a tired "get in line", with all the plots coming in the North.

[jackoshadows]

I always find it amusing that Sandor shows more anger and aversion upon hearing Tyrion and Sansa got married than Jon. But you won’t hear none of that from #those fans of hers lol

No, you don’t understand - Sandor shows anger and aversion after hearing about Tyrion and Sansa getting married ON THE PAGE! Which means, he doesn’t care about her unlike Jon Snow. That’s just how GRRM builds up relationships and writes romance, sorry 🤷🏽‍♀️

Unlike Sandor, it's too painful for Jon to even think about Sansa! He's too ashamed as a bastard to love beautiful, high born Sansa and is repressing his feelings because he is not worthy of her love 😭😭. The beauty and beast story GRRM is telling us is about beast Jon Snow - he got a scar over his eye! -  being worthy of the love of beautiful Sansa.

GRRM’s romance plots in the series tend to happen off page and only really smart book readers have figured this out. For ex. there is nothing between Jaime and Brienne simply because Jaime rescued Brienne or Brienne is starting to care for Jaime - that’s all written on the page and hence fake. 

I mean, we can see so clearly in ADwD that Jon doesn't care as much about Arya as he does for Sansa because he is worried and conflicted and concerned for Arya.  It’s not at all painful for Jon to think of Arya married to Ramsay ...

By now she’d be eleven, Jon thought. Still a child. “I have no sister. Only brothers. Only you.” Lady Catelyn would have rejoiced to hear those words, he knew. That did not make them easier to say. His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton’s throat as easily. - ADwD

Or look at Robb and Catelyn reaction to the Sansa/Tyrion marriage.

Robb took her hand. “They married her to Tyrion Lannister.” Catelyn’s fingers clutched at his. “The Imp.”

“He’s the Kingslayer’s brother. Oathbreaking runs in their blood.” Robb’s fingers brushed the pommel of his sword. “If I could I’d take his ugly head off. Sansa would be a widow then, and free. There’s no other way that I can see. They made her speak the vows before a septon and don a crimson cloak.”

Catelyn remembered the twisted little man she had seized at the crossroads inn and carried all the way to the Eyrie. “I should have let Lysa push him out her Moon Door. My poor sweet Sansa … why would anyone do this to her?” - Catelyn, ASoS

Catelyn and Robb don’t care about Sansa as much as Jon Snow either. We know for sure that only Jon cares about Sansa the most - because it’s not on the page and that’s how any good author and GRRM builds up a proper romance story.

It’s not like when GRRM wants to actually showcase or depict a character not wanting to think about someone they are starting to like or be attracted towards...

Yet he was growing fond of Tormund Giantsbane, great bag of wind and lies though he was. Longspear as well. And Ygritte … no, I will not think about Ygritte. - Jon, ASoS

No, with Jonsa it’s this big super secret romance happening off page that only the smartest, cleverest people in this fandom have figured out. GRRM cannot even mention Sansa in any of Jon’s childhood memories and emotional nostalgia about the people he cares for and loves

He remembered the day he had left Winterfell, all the bittersweet farewells; Bran lying broken, Robb with snow in his hair, Arya raining kisses on him after he’d given her Needle.

Even the thought made him feel foolish; he was a man grown now, a black brother of the Night’s Watch, not the boy who’d once sat at Old Nan’s feet with Bran and Robb and Arya.

That might mean Lord Eddard would return to Winterfell, and his sisters as well. He might even be allowed to visit them, with Lord Mormont’s permission. It would be good to see Arya’s grin again and to talk with his father.

Jon Snow straightened himself and took a long deep breath. Forgive me, Father. Robb, Arya, Bran … forgive me, I cannot help you. He has the truth of it. This is my place.

Playing, Jon thought in astonishment, grown men playing like children, throwing snowballs the way Bran and Arya once did, and Robb and me before them.

because GRRM wants to subvert expectations, like David Benioff and  Dan Weiss did superbly in GOT for which they received critical praise, and have random events just happen out of nowhere. That’s how a good romance story in the same vein as Sense and Sensibility is written. 

Jon’s desperation to save Arya, breaking his NW oaths to go attack the Warden of the North etc? That’s not because of Arya. Subconsciously it’s about Sansa - she’s in his subconscious thoughts - off page - all the time, his great love for her is what motivates his decisions. Don’t ask me how I know this because it’s not in the books, I just do.

Oh and all Jon Snow wants in a wife and partner is lots of babies. For real. He is attracted to women who are willing to be broodmares and so Daenerys who cannot have children (Despite her possibly having a miscarriage at the end of ADwD) and Arya, who at 9 years old wasn’t a fan of marriage and babies, are out as candidates. Jon doesn’t even know his own mind when he loves Ygritte and is attracted towards and admires Val - they kill people😱. He is actually, secretly repulsed by them (All happening off page) just like he will be repulsed by Arya and Daenerys for killing people omg.

Which is how GRRM is giving us those hints and clues that Jonsa is happening because 11-13 year old Sansa loves marriage and babies and Jon hoped to have kids one day just like Daenerys and Tyrion.... Wait, Tyrion also wants children and so does Sansa and they are already married and Sansa is missing Tyrion in the Vale (While pretty much admitting to forgetting about her bastard brother Jon Snow)...

Nevermind! Moving on...

Mel telling Jon about Arya being a girl in grey heading towards them? Jon referring to Arya as his heart, sending Mance to rescue Arya, his excitement thinking that Alys was Arya and then comparing Alys’ bravery to Arya? GRRM is simply using his tertiary, side character Arya Stark for setup -  this is actually foreshadowing for Arya being a Jonsa cheerleader and matchmaker.

Just wait and see, GRRM is going to rewrite that whole plot again with beautiful, sweet, gentle Sansa getting to the wall as a ‘Grey Girl’ , singing Jon Snow back to life with singing magic (Don’t ask me about this singing magic, it’s 100% there), she will then reclaim the North, and realize Jon Snow was her fairy tale prince all along, marry him, teach him diplomacy and politics and give him the Stark name ❤️❤️❤️.  The North will then transform into a magical Disney kingdom and everyone will burst into song and dance. The End.

[fandom-puff]

A Lion’s Feast

Pairing: tywin lannister x younger!wife!reader

Requested by: anon ‘Could you write a modern au for tywin lannister x younger wife reader. Maybe they have a Lannister family dinner and its all just chaotic.’

Notes: I didn’t end up doing this as a modern AU, because I found it easier to work with everything in like... Westerosi time frame, but I hope this is okay.

Warnings: older man/younger woman, political/arranged marriage, Joffrey, use of words like slut/whore etc (cheers, Cers), reference to Jaime and Cersei’s incest, awkward family dinner

Gif creds to owner

“We will be dining in the Queen’s chambers tonight,”

You tensed up, staring straight ahead as you walked through the gardens of the Red Keep with your lord husband. “Am I… in trouble?” You asked softly. You were new to King’s Landing, shipped over from the Vale to marry the Lord of Casterly Rock, and you weren’t quite used to the way King Joffrey’s court worked.

“No. I’ve arranged for us to dine together as a family. You have not properly met my children and grandchildren. You are a Lannister by marriage, you are their mother-in-law, whether they like it or not, and it’s high time we acted like it,” his voice had a bitter edge to it; it hadn’t taken long for Queen Cersei to make her distaste clear. While no one in court would dare insult Tywin Lannister, the girl from the Vale was an easy target for gossip. You had been called every name under the sun, but the Queen’s favourite jibe was ‘whore’.

“Alright,” you murmured, lowering your eyes. You knew there would be no point in arguing. You had quickly learnt that when your husband put his mind to something, there was no turning back. As a few men of the court crossed your path, you felt Tywin’s hand come to rest on the small of your back, and it did not move until you were in the tower of the Hand. You smiled softly as you caught sight of the steaming tub of hot water, scented with sweet oils as you entered your bedroom. “You’ve had this all planned out, haven’t you, my Lord?” You asked, a small smirk gracing your lips. “You should’ve just told my handmaidens to do it in my chambers, to save the walk up all of those stairs,”

Tywin smiled ever-so-slightly. “You’re hardly ever in your own chambers downstairs, wife,” he reminded you.

“Only because you’re the only person I really know in this godforsaken keep, and even then I don’t know you that well. Besides, if I stayed in my own chambers, I’d get lost and end up in the maze of dragon skulls below the keep,”

Tywin smirked, giving you a little push by the small of your back. “Bathe. Wear red, and preferably rubies and gold,” he said sternly. You sighed, knowing Tywin wanted you to dress the part, to look like the Lady of Casterly Rock. You bathed and dried, perfuming your skin and hair before pulling on your smallclothes, calling in your handmaiden to tighten your bodice, then help lace up your dress. It was a deep red, with golden embroidery on the bodice and cuffs that glimmered when you moved, just covering your shoulders and showing the swell of your breasts, and you fastened a pendant around your neck- a golden lion with tiny rubies for its eyes, tongue and claws. You braided back the front of your hair, but let the rest fall down over your shoulders.

You emerged from the room into Tywin’s main office, your hands folded in front of you. He surveyed you briefly before nodding, offering his arm.

**

You sat in silence as you ate, eyes fixed on your plate. Tywin was sat to your left, Jaime to your right. Cersei and Joffrey occupied the heads of the table, and Tyrion sat across from you, in between Myrcella and Tommen.

“More wine, my Lady?” Tyrion said out of the blue, holding up the jug. He gave you a slight smile, knowing how you must feel to be the outcast, like a stranger with the people you were meant to call family.

“I... yes, please. Thank you, my Lord,” you said.

Tyrion smiled as he poured, before filling his own glass. “Just Tyrion will suffice. Let us leave formality at the door,” you smiled slightly and nodded.

“I agree,” said Jaime, earning himself a sharp look from Cersei, who was used to her twin almost always siding with her. “Wasn’t the whole point of this evening to introduce you to us? As a family,” Cersei scoffed into her goblet. “We won’t get very far with ‘my lords’ and ‘my ladies’, will we?”

Tywin nodded his approval at his sons’ attitude and you smiled, beginning to relax a little, though the presence of Cersei and Joffrey kept you on edge. “Tell me, Lady YN, how is the Vale at this time? Have the northerners got their grubby claws on it yet?” Joffrey suddenly asked.

You froze slightly. You were here to talk, yes, but not talk politics. “The Vale... your grace, is not quite like the Reach, or the Riverlands, or even like Winterfell or Casterly Rock,” you said carefully, fully aware of all of the eyes on you. You looked at Tywin, and when he gave you an approving nod, you turned back to the king and continued. “The majority of the Vale is mountain, with the valley you desire buried between them. Even Robb Stark’s best men couldn’t seize it. No one could. To take the Vale, one must take the Eyrie. To take the Eyrie... well... you just couldn’t,” you were happy sharing this fact, as it was known across Westeros that the Eyrie was impenetrable.

“There are other ways to the Eyrie, though. Marriage,” Cersei said. It was the first time she had spoken, and she had a conniving gleam in her eye.

“There is only one heir to the Vale. Jon Arryn was murd-died before he could have any more children. Only little Robert Arryn is the Lord of the Vale, and he’s just past his sixth name day I believe. Besides, his mother is... very protective of her boy. As I’m sure you can understand, your grace, as a mother yourself,” you said cooly. You didn’t know what possessed you to speak that way to the Queen, but something about speaking of your home, your true home filled you with confidence.

“Indeed. There is nothing quite like a mother’s love,” she responded, fixing you with a cold stare.

“I’m unfamiliar, having lost my mother when I was seven,” you said.

“Does the Eyrie really have a trap door that leads nowhere?” Tommen Baratheon suddenly asked, breaking the silence between you and his mother.

You smiled softly at the little boy. How could someone so innocent come from the loins of a beast like Cersei. You supposed some of the good nature came from his father- his true father, that is, Jaime Lannister. “Yes,” you said. “They call it the Moon Door. It’s a big trap door that opens into the sky. If the Lord of the Vale commands, prisoners can be thrown from it,” you stopped, realising quickly how gruesome that must sound to a little boy.

Tommen simply shrugged. “I suppose that must be less messy,” he said, returning his focus to his food. Soon Tommen and Myrcella were bundled off to bed, and Myrcella told you rather sweetly that she liked the way you did your hair.

Once the children were gone, it left only you and Tywin, his three children and the King. Tywin suggested you move away from the dining table to sit and drink wine. Joffrey excused himself, utterly disinterested with continuing on with the evening. You felt a little lighter after he left, although you could feel Cersei staring daggers at you.

“It must feel strange,” Jaime said. “Coming down here from the Vale. I imagine it’s all rather confusing, and daunting,”

“You can say that again,” you said. “I thought I’d just get bundled off to Casterly Rock, never seen or spoken to,”

Tywin laughed slightly. “Come now, wife, we do have some level of decency in this family,” he said. You smiled shyly, looking at your lap. He was often a little more... relaxed after a few glasses of wine.

“Ha!” Cersei said, having also drunk a fair bit. She had been holding her tongue all night, and it seemed now it had loosened. “Once he puts an heir in your belly, you’ll be shipped off to Casterly Rock. And if it���s a girl, you’ll be spared a visit or two, until you give us a son. That’s all you’re here for, that’s all you’re good for,”

You sat up a little straighter, responding before Tywin could. “I am aware of the general concept of political marriages. Your father gets a wife and an heir, my family gets money, or protection or something of the sort. The Seven know, you Lannisters have gold pouring out of your ears,”

“I believe the phrase is that we ‘shit gold,’” Tyrion supplied with a smirk, making you chuckle.

“You think this is a game,” Cersei hissed. “I’ve seen you, prancing around court, dressed in red and gold, following father around like a lost dog! Fluttering about like a common slut,”

“Cersei-” Jaime said lowly.

“No! No! Can’t you see, she has her claws in father the same way Margaery has her claws in Joffrey! And you want me to accept that whore as my mother,”

It was silent. Cersei panted, now standing up. Jaime and Tyrion looked between her and Tywin. Tywin remained stoic, although his eyes revealed the way he seethed. But it was you who spoke first.

“I don’t expect you to accept me as your mother. I am not your mother. Nor will I ever try to be, or call myself that,” you said quietly, contrasting the Queen’s outburst. “I will, however, do my best to serve my husband, to provide him with the heir that is expected of me, the same way you provided King Robert with his heirs,”

Cersei snorted. “I’m sure you do a fine job of serving, you brazen little who-”

“Enough, Cersei!” Tywin finally said, standing up. “Whether you like it or not, I have married YN. She will give me an heir, or two, or more. And she will remain the lady of Casterly rock, no matter how much you protest,”

“She’s not fit to be lady of Casterly rock. She can barely curtsey,” she spat. “You have heirs, father,” she said, almost pleasing. “What need have you for a little whore,”

“I have a son who swore an oath, another who has more interest in wine and whoring, and a daughter who is not nearly as clever and tactical as she thinks she is. Casterly rock will not be left to either of you when I’m gone. It will be left to mine and YN’s son,”

“It could be! It could be left to one of my children,” Cersei hissed.

“One of your children? I wouldn’t put a bastard on the seat of Casterly Rock,” Tywin said cooly. Cersei opened her mouth to argue but Tywin held up his hand. “Give it up, Cersei. You told me yourself, my legacy is a lie. You have had your chance to build the Lannister name. Now it is time for YN and I to rebuild what you have trampled into the ground with your lies and your... acts,” he said with disgust. “And if I so much as hear the words whore or slut to describe my wife, I will resign as hand, withdraw my knights and my gold, as well as that of the Vale and leave you to pick up the pieces of this kingdom that I have been holding together. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from the Tyrells. Come YN,” he said, turning away from his daughter and resting his hand on your waist, guiding you out of the Queens chambers and back to the tower of the hand, not giving you a chance to curtsey to the Queen.

As the door slammed shut, Tyrion drained the rest of his wine and clapped his hands as he stood. “Well. That went well,”

Tags: @sociallyawkward-princess @lazyotakujen

[alwaysdaenerys]

The consequences of King Bran

I had this sudden thought about the end of Game of Thrones, in comparison to the theorized end to ASOIAF, in regards to King Bran. I’m not a huge fan of this ending, and yes this is obvious because of my username, I’m aware! But at least in the show, it was lackluster and not foreshadowed in the slightest. Things may be different in the books in any case, though this is not truly what I want to put on the table for others to discuss and analyze. 

I’ve read and talked about with other fans about how making Bran king at the end of the book series may be advantageous, because the realm is healing from the significant massacre of its citizens during the Long Night. And if this is the case, the showrunners and writers missed a huge opportunity to kill more people. I’m not necessarily saying more main characters—though this is another problem I have with the show—but actually more smallfolk, more un-named or lesser lords, etc. The fact that D&D decided that the War for the Dawn was only going to last one fucking night is preposterous for many reasons, but the main one is: the Others and their wights would have never tired because they don’t need food for water or rest, and could have totally swept through the weak and depleted Riverlands, Reach, Stormlands, Crownlands even, with ease.

And because the writers did not extend the Long Night, because they didn’t kill half the humans in Westeros like the Others had the means to do, there are so many contenders left for seats of power. There is a logical argument in saying that Bran may be a good leader because there is literally no one else to take on the mantel; I will concede to that. But there are SO MANY CHARACTERS LEFT AT THE END OF THE SHOW. Bran has no army to defend him from all these people who command thousands of noticeably-alive soldiers. Who, if they were in character in the last season, would have had more to say about this tiny kid who they just met today being king of the fucking world. 

And because he just hands the North its independence without asking anyone else if they’d like to petition the same thing, it will snowball out of control quite quickly.

Yara remains: the Iron Islands have a long history of coveting independence and now that their last liege, Daenerys, is no longer living, it won’t take them long to realize that they have no opposition on the high seas, or the battlefield. Who cares if land is not their strong suit? It will be against, you guessed it, an army of Tyrion and a wheelchair-bound Bran. Yara will raise her men, who, once again, are not walking dead, and they secede from the mainland for good. And Bran cannot do a thing because his faction has neither strength at sea nor land.

Dorne and its unnamed prince: another example of a region in Westeros that was continuously on the outs with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. They were not truly “conquered” until the Daeron II married a Martell princess. The dragons were never able to hold Dorne on the battlefield so what makes anyone think that Bran Stark and his lack of dragons will? They’ll be the first to go, in my opinion, because at least Yara had a previous somewhat-working relationship with the Crown, whereas the unnamed Prince of Dorne has no obligations to a single person at that Great Council. 

Edmure and the Riverlands: this region, in the show and in the books, is always the most affected my war. If the Others would have made it past Winterfell, the Riverlands would be next. The smallfolk suffered during the War of the Five Kings and Edmure knew it and wanted to help. I always thought it was clever of GRRM that he chose Edmure Tully to be one of the only lords that actually cared about his people, because of his region’s proximity to the conflict. Yes, Ned Stark may have cared for his people as a whole, but we never see him do anything as protective as Edmure is by letting the smallfolk into his keep, for the poor of the North. And in the show, since the Others did not even glimpse Riverrun and its vassals, the Tullys have the army they do at the end of season 6. Edmure won’t like that he was insulted by the Queen in the North, and will take his next move from Yara.

The Stormlands are a toss-up for me: Gendry owes his legitimization to Queen Daenerys, not Bran. So either he will be overthrown and/or killed by the other Stormlords immediately upon entering his keep, or they will persuade him to secede as well. Arya jilted Gendry and if we are to believe she plans to never see him again, there’s a pretty good chance Gendry won’t care about the consequences of his actions because he has nothing to lose. It seemed pretty obvious that he didn’t want to do all this lord stuff without the love of his life, so it’s not much of a leap to assume he wouldn’t care about the trappings of royalty anymore. Storm’s End is nearly impregnable and Bran has no army to besiege the castle like Mace Tyrell did during Robert’s Rebellion. I have no doubt that with or without Gendry, the nobles or the Stormlands will not be appreciative of Bran or Tyrion. Maybe they haven’t flirted with independence quite as much as others have since Aegon the Conqueror, but it will feel monumentally better than watching all the other kingdoms secede and stay silent.

The Eyrie seems to the most realistic example here, as far as what the regions will be like after the defeat of the Others: the Knights of the Vale participated in the War for the Dawn, therefore the fighting force has been depleted. And I would argue that they have a very similar situation to the Stormlands; Rhaenys was only able to bring the Arryns into the fold by flying her dragon to the castle. Once again, without dragons, I don’t see how Bran is going to be as successful. Robin Arryn doesn’t know Bran; he was all in for Sansa. But since Sansa decided to leave him in the lurch to declare independence, I don’t think he and his advisors are going to stay besties with her. Sitting out the War of the Five Kings makes it even easier for me to theorize that they would be just fine on their own.

The state of the Reach is the most embarrassing thing that happened on Game of Thrones: the fact that we have to watch Bronn of the fucking Blackwater sit in the Queen of Thorns’ seat of power is a travesty. I always liked him on the show and in the books, but this, I cannot forgive. He is woefully ill-equipped to be lord of a keep, let alone Highgarden, and putting him on the small council as MASTER OF COIN when he can’t read or understand loans was beyond lazy. As far as the state of the Reach, they are pretty depleted from the sack of Highgarden, but even so, it seems painfully obvious that his lack of support from the other lords in the region will be his downfall. Maybe they weren’t 100% supportive of the Tyrells either, but there’s no way any of them will allow some up-jumped sellsword who’s best friends with Tyrion Lannister to lead them. Since Bronn has no army of his own, he’ll be dead soon enough and someone who was decidedly not killed during the Long Night, will take his place and give a middle finger to the Iron Throne, just like Olenna.

The Westerlands are the weakest of the remaining Six Kingdoms, I think: they don’t have much of an army after the Battle of King’s Landing. I think they’d be the only support of Bran after he is crowned, and that’s because Tyrion is the Hand. After Daenerys took Casterly Rock, most everyone bent the knee or died, so Tyrion doesn’t even have a suitable army to defend him, let alone the castle. I can’t imagine the soldiers remaining after all this would be enough to take on all the rebellions that are destined to occur after the secession of the North.

Lastly, the North: how will Bran react when his home region is starving and begging for aid? They have nothing to feed their people in the cold, white North. Yes, a lot of people died in the war, but there are plenty who didn’t participate and since it didn’t get past Winterfell, only those involved in the Battle—and the Umbers—were affected. Will the new king give it, even though they have no right to ask for it? Will he defy the laws of the realm for his sister? Because as far as I’m concerned, the North cannot sustain itself without the help of the other kingdoms. It’s not warm enough for farming, while the livestock trade was probably diminished when the Boltons were Wardens. Sansa would rather be in the Queen in the North than actually take care of her subjects; because by choosing independence, she has doomed everyone. Nothing changes for the smallfolk; it’s just another feudal overlord.  

In conclusion: if Bran becomes King, there would have to be an apocalypse for it to be successful. There definitely wasn’t on the show, therefore several events will cause his coronation to be all for naught before Tyrion’s ten years are up. As GRRM has stated, the Others are the focus of the story and who sits on the Iron Throne is a secondary plot to distract from the actual horror. I’m not usually someone to ask for more horror, but when it comes to the future of Westeros under King Bran, things are looking terribly bleak without more of it.

[a-libra-writes]

hello, i am here! Stannis with the prompt: a diary where you can communicate with your soulmate, please. it can be hc's or scenario; however you choose to quench my thirst for him, I will be grateful.

hi molly, thank u for giving me such a treat!!! bc this was my first prompt and it... uh ....................

really got away from me

(LOTS OF ANGST BUT ITLL BE OK I PROMISE MAYBE)

The first thing he felt about it was annoyance. The six year old second son of Lord Baratheon looked down and saw that someone had doodled all over his book. He figured it was Robert, though he'd never seen a quill in his brother's hand unless it was being forced by the maester. He set the leather bound book in front of his mother expectantly, silently waiting for an explanation. When she looked at it and gave him a curious glance, he finally spoke.

"Robert's been drawing in it," Stannis said. He placed it right on top of her embroidery so she'd see. Lady Cassana wasn't bothered, rather, she was curious. She picked up the book and flipped through the pages.

"Did you see him do it, sweetling?"

"No." The lack of evidence didn't deter him - no, this was evidence enough. He didn't understand what his mother was so amused about.

Lady Cassana stopped on one of the pages. She smiled at the messy drawing of what was probably a cat catching a mouse. Under that was a tidy little castle with a series of smiling figures. "I don't think it's your brother, Stannis."

Stannis frowned, ready to argue that fact, but she asked, "Do you know what a soulmate is, sweetling?"

“No.”

“It’s a special person that only you can speak with this way,” She touched the book. “It's a special thing, I did it when I was your age. It’s the will of the gods, my love. You should write something back."

He hesitated. “Do I… have to?”

“Not if you don’t want to. But perhaps say hello, give it a try.” Lady Cassana said. She was smiling broadly now. “Enjoy it while you can.”

"What if they're not literate?"

Maester Cressen looked up from his papers, surprised the usually quiet boy was speaking during lessons. Stannis repeated, “What if my… soul mate doesn’t know their letters? You said the smallfolk don't."

The Maester stood and walked over to the leather book. Two years later, and it still looked in good condition. Stannis took care of this things, especially this. As usual the page was covered in whimsical drawings.

“Have you tried to write to them, my lord?”

“Not yet.” Stannis was furrowing his brow already, wanting his questions answered. “What happens if one soul mate can’t write, but the other can? What if both can't?"

“My lord, there's no need to worry about things that are irrelevant to you.”

“What do the smallfolk do?” Stannis pressed on. “Draw pictures like this? How do they find each other? How do they know what the other person looks like?"

Maester Cressen was already turning back to his papers. “Soulmates don’t always find each other, my lord, nor should they expect to.”

“Why not?”

“Distance, lack of communication, familial duties.” The maester said dismissively. “If you’ll return to your lessons—”

“I finished. What’s the point of soulmates if they can never meet?"

Maester Cressen sighed. There was no escaping this anytime soon, he feared. “It’s the will of the gods, my lord, and a great mystery we maesters have studied for centuries. It’s best not to think much of it, however. Draw or write back in the book, if you wish, but do not spend too much time with it. It’s best not to get expectations of someone you will likely never meet.”

Stannis looked down at the book, startled by a new drawing already appearing. He couldn’t see them being made, only when they were finished. It was a school of fish, or maybe a flock of birds. Wouldn’t it be simple to ask where this person lived, and go see them? What was the point of all this if he was just meant to ignore it? He wanted to ignore it, but this mysterious person kept drawing all over his notes and it was distracting.

“Mother said it’s 'the will of the gods', too. Does that mean it’s bad to ignore it?”

The maester stood up and closed the leather book. He replaced it with a chart of various colorful coat of arms and a map. “I daresay it’s time to move on to the next lesson."

It took him a few days, but the lordling decided to write in the book. Stannis wasn't much of an artist, so Hello seemed like a good start. He was relieved when there was a simple ‘hello!’ written back within a few minutes, and later, a scribbly flower with a long stalk underneath. Seeing the words form on their own so quickly, and in response to him, unnerved Stannis. He closed the book and tried not to think about it the rest of the day.

He checked a week later, where more drawings were present, with more words: whats your nam?

He wrote back, Name has an 'e'.

And before his eyes, a minute later, there was a name… and a house, and a title. Caspian.

She was a highborn lady? Stannis looked at the page, not sure what to think about it. It’d be alright to write to a lady, wouldn’t it? Maester Cressen was the one worried about this soulmate business. Perhaps it was because a lord and peasant couldn’t be together? Stannis knew that rule already. He knew the decorum and niceties his parents rehearsed him through, even at his young age. He walked to the library to find a map, and in the time he finally located it and rolled it out, there was more on the page.

A drawing of something weird and arrow-shaped. this is our sigil. its a manta ray.

Stannis had never seen one, but he had a sense that wasn’t what they looked like. He tried looking through the map, but words kept appearing.

whats your nam where are you from? ?? are you a boy or girl do you like horses ? I like swiming and horses! im good at it

He considered closing the book again, rolling up the map, going back to whatever he was doing before. If there was no point, then why bother with this? ... Then again, he’d have to go back to the training yard, and Robert was there swinging around a huge wooden sword.

Stannis frowned, deciding this was the less annoying (and painful) activity for now. He found an ink pot and quill, held it tightly and wrote in a fine penmanship—

My name is Stannis Baratheon.

The last part smudged, and it didn’t look exactly how his father signed it, but it was his best. The response wasn’t immediate, and he quickly saw why. A drawing of a stag appeared on the paper before the words did.

Its good to meat you! lets be friends

Friends? Friends. He thought about it. Stannis didn’t have friends, just brothers. He didn’t think he needed any. This didn’t have to be so bad, though, he could try. If it was too tiresome, or too... strange, he could stop. Maester Cressen wanted him to stop, anyhow, and his mother said he didn't have to.

It’s spelled ‘meet’. We can be friends.

Lady Cassana patted his mess of black hair, and Stannis didn’t flinch away this time. Instead, he asked, “Were you and father soulmates?”

“No,” She answered honestly. She was always honest, and he liked that. His father joked too much. “Do you remember what I told you about duty? Sometimes we have to set aside our hearts to best serve our realm. Sometimes we have to set aside this.”

She gave the leather book back to him. Maester Cressen had taken it, and he was determined to accept the punishment, but it bothered him more than he wanted to say. He was grateful his mother returned it, though he was struggling to meet her eyes. His ears were still red from embarrassment, but she wasn’t upset, or teasing, or scolding.

“It hurt me to set my own down, but I knew it wasn’t meant to be. Your father had one that he never wrote to. The idea of having it and setting it aside was too much for him. And yet, we love each other very much, and we love our sons.” Lady Cassana stopped touching his hair when he finally squirmed away. Stannis ran his fingers along the leather spine and the uneven parchment bound inside the book.

When he took a long time to answer, she spoke softly. “It’s your decision, Stannis.”

That night, he wrote in the book, asking what she’d do when they grew up. When she'd stop writing. The response was instant. There was a drawing of a sad girl next to her words.

your my friend! i like writing to you. do you want to stop?

I don’t. Stannis decided, and that was it.

The talks still came, though. It happened before, several times, and here it was again. It didn’t matter that he stopped bringing the book to his lessons, or that he only wrote in the privacy of his room. Maester Cressen always seemed to know.

“It’s for your own good that you begin to set it aside, Stannis,” The old man said. He always seemed old, but when he was scolding it was especially so.

Stannis wasn’t one to talk back, but he still struggled to hide his scowl. This wasn’t the first time the maester made him set his jaw and tense it up. It wasn’t his business. She never discouraged it, so he didn’t understand why Maester Cressen had to.

“It’s not inappropriate,” He said. “She’s a lady. I never write improperly, it's like sending letters."

“Sending a strange lady letters is inappropriate,” The Maester sighed. “Especially without the knowledge of her family. What would they say?"

“She could tell them at anytime."

“Do you tell your lord father and lady mother all that you write, then?”

Stannis gritted his teeth and turned away. At ten and three, Stannis could already see over the old man’s head, and he didn't feel like a child, so he didn't appreciate being talked to like one. “You don’t speak to Robert about these matters.”

“Robert is at the Eyrie, no doubt being told the same by Lord Arryn. Stannis, do you understand why I say these things? Do you understand the trouble it could cause you, and worse, her?”

Maester Cressen often referred to ‘her’, or the girl, even if she was just as grown as Stannis. He didn't ask her identity, and Stannis didn't give it. He hated having to hear this conversation again. Of all the trouble Robert was already causing in the Eyrie — he saw those letters, it was his duty to attend to them while his parents were at sea — Stannis felt like his own actions were hardly important. There would be weeks where he couldn’t write to her at all, or she was busy as well. If anyone tried to read what they wrote, gods forbid, it was mostly idle talk and drawings.

Lots and lots of drawings, she still had that habit. She was getting very good at them. Stannis brought his mind back to the present. “I understand.” He said, in a tone that made it clear he didn’t actually intend to stop.

Case in point, he pulled out the worn leather book that evening. It was the second, or maybe the third one. If she didn’t draw so much they’d have more room, but sometimes Stannis wrote a lot, too. She made it easy to do that. It was alright if she didn’t answer right away, or if at all. It was good to just write it.

He frowned as he moved to the most recent page. It was a short, curt sentences, which wasn’t like her. There were no pictures.

My cousin died this morning. We were riding together, and she fell from her horse. I couldn’t help her. No one blames me, but I feel terrible. I’ve been crying all day. I’m going to the Godswood tonight to pray for forgiveness. I might be quiet. I'm sorry.

‘I might be quiet’. ‘I might not write tonight.’ ‘I’ll write to you tomorrow’. ‘I’ll tell you about it when I can’. Those were phrases the two of them were used to. It was expectant. They may not write every day, or every week, but eventually they will.

Take the time you need. I’ll be here for you.

It made his chest hurt to write that, but he knew it was the right thing. It’s what she would always say to him, and without fail, he’d eventually come around and tell her. She was the only one he really told… anything. He wondered if the same was true for her. She mentioned visiting ladies now and again, a knight’s daughter she played with, and… this cousin.

He kept the book beside him the rest of the evening, knowing she likely wouldn’t respond. By the time she did, the earlier conversation with the maester had left his mind.

The longest they’d gone without writing was during the following year. It took months before he could pick the book up again, even look at it. It was months using all the willpower he had to get out of bed and carry on. There was Renly to look after, and Storm’s End to attend to, and the duties that Robert neglected when he returned to the Eyrie. He should have stayed, but he didn’t. So Stannis took care of it. He did what was right.

When he was finally able to pick up the book, when the choking pain keeping him up at night had dulled to just a constant ache that allowed sleep now and again, he hesitated.

The latest page was inquiries of how he was, where he was. There was a variety of pictures, black and some colors she’d managed to get ahold of. Her manta rays looked like proper rays, and so did the stags she had become so fond of. She drew some ships she’d seen in the harbor, a cat that liked to hide away in her bedroom. Then the pictures stopped.

My father told me what happened. Stannis, I’m here. You can write to me, whenever you can. I’ll always be here.

It hurt again. He closed the book, listened to the fire flickering loudly in the hearth in his room. It was becoming stuffy, but he didn’t want to open a window. He could hear the waves and the crashes against the rock from his window, and that would lead to the sounds of broken wood and screams in his sleep.

He moved closer to the fire, away from those sounds. Flipping through the old book’s pages, looking at the art and some of the sillier things she wrote. Apparently when he’d make her laugh, she’d screw up some letters. She told him as much. When he corrected any spelling, she liked to make the same mistake and circle it. She liked to draw little figures that were supposed to be them, but it was awful on purpose, and they were usually doing something ridiculous like riding a dragon.

Looking back on those gave him the strength to flip to the newest page. He stared at it, wondering if he should stop. He was acting Lord of Storm’s End. Wasn’t his duty even more important than this, and wasn’t her reputation in danger? ‘Willed by the gods’, they said, but he no longer believed in those. What gods would smash his parents and their great ship against the rocks of their own castle? The same stupid gods that would create this... this connection in a world where it would inevitably be severed.

He gritted his teeth, feeling the pain shoot up across his jaw and straight to his head, where a headache would start. The fire was right there. It would be easy to …

His hands moved on their own. The words were sloppy and left heavy ink blotches on the paper. I’m here.

I am too. I missed you.

The response was near instantaneous. Perhaps if she waited, he could’ve done it. He could’ve burned it, if she hadn’t wrote that. Maybe it didn’t matter what she’d say. The sudden longing and loneliness hit him all at once, but it was easy to respond.

I won’t do it again. Being gone for this long.

A pause, a heartbeat, and a tensing of his jaw that made his head ache again. He added in an anxious scrawl, I missed you too.

It was another sleepless night, but for once, it wasn’t because of the nightmares and the crashing waves. The sun came up as he wrote in the margins of the last page, promising to find a new book.

There was modest wooden box he kept them in, hidden under his bed. He was good at hiding it now. No one had bothered mentioning Stannis’ old habit anymore, assuming he’d grown out of it. He’d dated all of them to the best of his knowledge, though he rarely went back to read them. He used to, but that simple act flustered him horribly. They were still in good condition, except for one that had been partially chewed by a hunting hound. The one time he was careless.

The hound was no longer around, and he regretted that. He liked dogs. He liked that one, upset as he was when she chewed the diary years ago. She was still a good, loyal dog. He had to butcher her with the rest.

Stannis tried to remember when they ate the dogs. Thinking was a slow, laborious process now. He had to sit down to do it, and getting up was even worse. He stayed standing as long as possible, afraid of what would happen if he stopped. He couldn’t stop, not while his men needed him, and Renly, and Robert.

He moved slowly. It was hard to tell if it was to conserve energy or if he simply had no energy left. Stannis carefully unwrapped the small leather strap that kept the diary bound and closed. His shaking hands struggled to grasp the paper and turn the pages, but he managed. It was the writing that was the hardest. At least there was plenty of paper and ink, only because no one could eat it.

When he looked at the page again, the lighting was different. The candle was lower than before. He’d dropped his quill on the floor — no, he was on the floor, leaning against the cool stone. Stannis didn’t remember falling. He wasn’t sure if he passed out, or fell asleep. Again he turned to the proper page and picked up the quill. He tried to write before he remembered he needed ink. The ink dragged across the page as he wrote languidly, Are you there

The question mark was more of an ugly splotch that spread across the paper.

Yes, always.

Her family supported the rebellion, being sworn to Eddard Stark, and outraged at what the Mad King had done to his father and brother. Stannis told himself it made writing easier, not that he’d ever give her any information that could endanger her. Early on, they didn’t speak of it. Especially now, he couldn’t. He couldn’t…

He couldn’t… think. Stannis struggled for words. He mentioned what day it was, how many men he had left. A log that helped keep him grounded, something he hated to subject her to, but he needed the clarity. Sometimes she corrected him on the day, and that startled him. As he finished his short report, his hand trembled, and he dropped the quill again. Stannis exhaled, forcing the air through his lungs, then struggled to breath in again.

Not for the first time, he wondered if this was dying.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before he looked at the page again. She wrote a lot, and he couldn’t remember when it was there.

When you make it through this disgusting siege — and you will make it, Stannis — I’ll be there. I swear it, I’ll sail down to Storm’s End with my family’s ships. I don’t care anymore. I want to be there.

She’d said as much before, when this started. Stannis discouraged her. He didn’t have the strength for that anymore. Instead, he fought to keep his eyes open, fought to think about it, difficult as thinking was. Thinking of their meeting used to be a surefire way of a day full of anxious thoughts, but now it was… grounding. He couldn’t see the end of the rebellion, or the end of this siege. He just had to endure it. That’s what Robert said: Endure it, brother. Hold it for me.

But he could see her, in his thoughts. He could try. Some years ago, she asked what he looked like, and he responded as such: Blue eyes, black hair, like his father and brothers. Asking the same of her felt… strange. She didn’t answer right away, so he panicked. He said she didn’t have to do such a thing. It was inappropriate. She told him to wait, which he thought was odd.

Several hours later, she took up nearly a whole page with a ‘messy’ self-portrait: her words, not his. It was only a bust, but it still transfixed him. It was clear from the drawing she had looked in a mirror, and it was messy, and it was surrounded by words describing her hair color and her favorite dress and her eyes. Stannis couldn’t look at the page for days after that. He’d break out in a sweat just thinking about it.

It was comforting to think about the old picture now. Maybe 'comforting' wasn’t the right word, but she was the one who was good with words, and pictures, and little fantasies like this. She liked to write about what they could do if they met.

Maybe he took too long to respond again. She had written more. We’ll meet and you’ll show me the drum walls around Storm’s End. You promised. I’ll bring my best paintings, I made one for you. I don’t care if it’s allowed or not, it’s a gift. I want to see you so badly it hurts.

Stannis touched the letters. He was startled by how his pale hands seemed to blend into the parchment. He didn’t recognize the knuckles sticking out. He wondered what she sounded like, and how she laughed. He didn’t think he could manage it now. Stannis glanced around for the quill, dipped it into ink with a great deal of effort, and slowly slid it across the paper. He stopped abruptly, ruining the words.

You’re the strongest, most noble man I know. You will make it through this and the rebellion will end, and I’ll be with you. I swear it before the old gods and new.

The ink seeped into the paper, the quill trembled in his hand as he tried to hold it properly. He was dying, he decided. Only dying men ate disgusting leather they tried to boil into water and infected rats. Even the latter was becoming scarce. He scrawled a response, struggling to pull the words together.

I miss you.

I miss you too, Stannis.

[mrsjadecurtiss]

What do you think of Robert? What are your opinions on him, do you think that if the war never happened that he'd still go down this self destructive path?

I think Robert was fundamentally not made to be a king - He has the charisma and the looks and is an able warrior, but his negative character traits are indulged and enhanced by his position and led him down an almost unavoidable path.

Robert is someone who above all wants to enjoy and live an easy life:

"You need to come south," Robert told him. "You need a taste of summer before it flees. [...] Flowers everywhere, the markets bursting with food, the summerwines so cheap and so good that you can get drunk just breathing the air. Everyone is fat and drunk and rich." He laughed and slapped his own ample stomach a thump. "And the girls, Ned!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. "I swear, women lose all modesty in the heat.[...]" The king laughed happily. Robert Baratheon had always been a man of huge appetites, a man who knew how to take his pleasures. - Eddard I, aGoT

"Robert wanted smiles and cheers, always, so he went where he found them, to his friends and his whores. Robert wanted to be loved." - Sansa IV, aCoK

He has just enough of a moral understanding to at least know when he is doing wrong and to even feel bad about it at times, but not enough to actually change anything about himself.

The rage was gone from him now; in his eyes Ned saw something sad and scared. "I should not have hit [Cersei]. That was not … that was not kingly." He stared down at his hands, as if he did not quite know what they were. - Eddard X, aGoT

Robert desires to have an easy life, he wants to be loved, he wants to have fun, but he does not want to deal with the hard and unpleasant things. In times of crisis, he wants to take the easy way out, and he prefers to avoid uncomfortable truths.

Lord Tywin stared at him as if he had lost his wits. "[...] When I laid those bodies before the throne, no man could doubt that we had forsaken House Targaryen forever. And Robert's relief was palpable. As stupid as he was, even he knew that Rhaegar's children had to die if his throne was ever to be secure. Yet he saw himself as a hero, and heroes do not kill children." - Tyrion VI, aSoS

"Well, now I know Jaime's dark sin, and the matter can be forgotten. I am heartily sick of secrets and squabbles and matters of state, Ned." - Eddard II, aGoT

"Most likely the king did not know," Littlefinger said. "It would not be the first time. Our good Robert is practiced at closing his eyes to things he would rather not see." - Eddard IV, aGoT

He feels most comfortable when he is surrounded by people who love him and know how to handle him/want the best for him, and steer him onto the right path in a way where he can still feel good about himself.

"These are difficult times. I need good men about me. Men like Jon Arryn. He served as Lord of the Eyrie, as Warden of the East, as the Hand of the King. He will not be easy to replace." - Eddard I, aGoT

In an environment that works against him, or goes against his wishes even if it is for the better, it creates a destructive energy in him. He cannot stand dissent to his wishes because it robs him of a pleasure he desires, and creates unwanted conflict. He also cannot handle constructive criticism because it makes him confront unpleasant truths - he always wants the easiest path with the least tension. If he is presented with a situation that strains his limits as there is no amiable solution to a difficult/disturbing problem, his reaction is a toxic one; turning to rage and violence even towards his own child.

Not for the first time, he wondered what he was doing here and why he had come. He was no Jon Arryn, to curb the wildness of his king and teach him wisdom. Robert would do what he pleased, as he always had, and nothing Ned could say or do would change that. - Eddard II, aGoT

He may act against what he knows is right, because it is the easiest route; like when he has the wolf Lady killed to please Cersei:

“A costly pelt,” Robert grumbled. “I want no part of this, woman. You can damn well buy your furs with Lannister gold.” [...] "We have a wolf," Cersei Lannister said. Her voice was very quiet, but her green eyes shone with triumph. It took them all a moment to comprehend her words, but when they did, the king shrugged irritably. "As you will. Have Ser Ilyn see to it." - “Robert, you cannot mean this,” Ned protested. The king was in no mood for more argument. “Enough, Ned, I will hear no more." - Eddard III, aGoT

"I am sorry for your girl, Ned. Truly. About the wolf, I mean. My son was lying, I'd stake my soul on it." - Eddard VII, aGoT

And when Ned reprimands him about Daenerys he will not hear dissent, even though he knows deep down that it is wrong:

He gave the king a long cool look. “Would [the man who spared Barristan] were here today.” Robert had shame enough to blush. “It was not the same,” he complained. “Ser Barristan was a knight of the Kingsguard.” - “Whereas Daenerys is a fourteen-year-old girl.”

[...] “Not another word. Have you forgotten who is king here?” - “No, Your Grace,” Ned replied. “Have you?” - “Enough!” the king bellowed. “I am sick of talk. I’ll be done with this, or be damned."

[...] “I will not be part of murder, Robert. Do as you will, but do not ask me to fix my seal to  it.” For a moment Robert did not seem to understand what Ned was saying. Defiance was not a dish he tasted often. Slowly his face changed as comprehension came. [...] “You are the King’s Hand, Lord Stark. You will do as I command you, or I’ll find me a Hand who will.” - “I wish him every success.” Ned [...] laid [his badge of office] on the table in front of the king, saddened by the memory of the man who had pinned it on him, the friend he had loved. “I thought you a better man than this, Robert. I thought we had made a nobler king.” Robert’s face was purple. “Out,” he croaked, choking on his rage. “[...] Go, run back to Winterfell. And make certain I never look on your face again, or I swear, I’ll have your head on a spike!” - Eddard VIII, aGoT

“Gods have mercy,” he muttered, swallowing his agony. “The girl. Daenerys. Only a child, you were right . . . that’s why, the girl . . . the gods sent the boar . . . sent to punish me . . .” - Eddard XIII, aGoT

Robert is a man who always wants it easy, he wants his demands to always be fulfilled, to be loved and have fun without dealing with the bad things; but an important theme that is repeated over and over in asoiaf is that you can only act good if you are willing to face the bad that may come with it, and if you cannot live with the consequences, your action might not be justified.*

Bran thought about it. "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?" - "That is the only time a man can be brave." - Bran I, aGoT

"Sacrifice . . . is never easy, Davos. Or it is no true sacrifice." - Davos VI, aSoS

"The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die." - Bran I, aGoT

Ned stood, gently disengaging himself from Sansa's grasp. All the weariness of the past four days had returned to him. "Do it yourself then, Robert," he said in a voice cold and sharp as steel. "At least have the courage to do it yourself." - Robert looked at Ned with flat, dead eyes and left without a word, his footsteps heavy as lead. Silence filled the hall. - Eddard III, aGoT

This is why putting him on the throne was poison - all the power in the world, and noone who would dare go against his wishes. It indulges all of Robert's worst traits, and buries anything he had inside him that was salvageable.

Ser Barristan Selmy spoke up. "Your Grace," he said, "it is not seemly that the king should ride into the melee. It would not be a fair contest. Who would dare strike you?" - "Ser Barristan is right. There's not a man in the Seven Kingdoms who would dare risk your displeasure by hurting you." - Eddard VII, aGoT

I am surrounded by flatterers and fools, the king had insisted. Ned looked down the council table and wondered which were the flatterers and which the fools. He thought he knew already. - Eddard IV, aGoT

And Robert knows it - he knows being a king isn't for him, that he doesn't enjoy the actual work that goes into governing, that he doesn't have the personality for such politics or to deal with the people involved, and that he would much rather spend his time enjoying life and doing what he loves...

"Look at what kinging has done to me. Gods, too fat for my armor, how did it ever come to this? [...] I swear to you, I was never so alive as when I was winning this throne, or so dead as now that I’ve won it." - Eddard VII, aGoT

"I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one. Laws are a tedious business and counting coppers is worse. And the people … there is no end of them. I sit on that damnable iron chair and listen to them complain until my mind is numb and my ass is raw. They all want something, money or land or justice. The lies they tell … and my lords and ladies are no better. I am surrounded by flatterers and fools. It can drive a man to madness, Ned. Half of them don't dare tell me the truth, and the other half can't find it. There are nights I wish we had lost at the Trident. Ah, no, not truly, but …" - Eddard I, aGoT

Robert groaned with good-humored impatience. "If I wanted to honor you, I'd let you retire. I am planning to make you run the kingdom and fight the wars while I eat and drink and wench myself into an early grave." - Eddard I, aGoT

"Let me tell you a secret, Ned. More than once, I have dreamed of giving up the crown. Take ship for the Free Cities with my horse and my hammer, spend my time warring and whoring, that's what I was made for. The sellsword king, how the singers would love me." - Eddard VII, aGoT

And yet he doesn't do anything about it and keeps staying at the position he hates - he does not want to deal with the uncomfortable consequences that would come with upsetting the status quo, or making changes to his own personality and going through growth, or confronting ugly truths about himself in a productive way, etc etc.

He does make a talk of changes at times during aGoT, and seems to have a sense of responsibility about his Job, but as it is his desire for changes came too late, and what responsibility he felt mostly served to paralyze him in place.

"The sellsword king, how the singers would love me. You know what stops me? The thought of Joffrey on the throne, with Cersei standing behind him whispering in his ear. My son. How could I have made a son like that, Ned?" - Eddard VII, aGoT

"I'm still young, and now that you're here with me, things will be different. We'll make this a reign to sing of, and damn the Lannisters to seven hells." - Eddard VII, aGoT

In a way Joffrey is to Robert what Ramsay is to Roose: an exploration of the inherent flaw in their way of life, demonstrated in the most extreme case. In Joffrey's case, it shows what happens to give someone unlimited power with noone daring to oppose them.

Do you think that if the war never happened that he'd still go down this self destructive path?

It's a little unclear which war you mean, so I will briefly touch on several points:

There could have been ideal circumstances where he might have worked out as a king, if he was surrounded by people who know the perfect way to deal with him and make him work past his flaws (intuitively doing the work of a modern therapist), but the average life is not ideal and grrm shows the realistic fate of a man like Robert.

I think by the time Ned arrived it was sadly too late to change - maybe if the Lannisters didn't exist, or this or that event hadn't happened, but Grrm shows that most of what lead to Robert's downfall was in the end caused by himself. Cersei kills him because she came to despise the man he was, and for good reason as he abused her during all her marriage - and while he has some scenes of feeling bad or even apologizing for it, he never made any attempts to actually change the terrible way he was treating her.

If Robert's Rebellion never happened, he would have probably made an able enough Lord of Storm's End; delegating his "boring" administrative duties to his advisors and maester, enjoying the privileges of highborn life, and having just enough responsibility to feel like the alpha male of his society yet not enough to do as lasting damage as he did for the throne. He would not have been the best Lord, but sadly there are many worse in Westeros, since the entire dynastic ruling system is inherently flawed. If he would have been a better person depends on who he is surrounded with, if circumstances would have motivated him to change, or if perhaps his position of power and outward influences would still just have indulged him into the man he was in aGoT. Ultimately, there are a lot of butterfly effects leading to different results that i’m sure have been explored in many fics.

"Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature." - Eddard IX, aGoT

This was the boy he had grown up with, he thought; this was the Robert Baratheon he'd known and loved. If he could prove that the Lannisters were behind the attack on Bran, prove that they had murdered Jon Arryn, this man would listen. Then Cersei would fall, and the Kingslayer with her, and if Lord Tywin dared to rouse the west, Robert would smash him as he had smashed Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident. He could see it all so clearly. - Eddard VII, aGoT    

What do you think of Robert?

Since i am someone who frequently enjoys morally grey and villainous characters, despite his many negative traits i have a fondness of Robert; I think he is an interesting character and very human in his flaws, and there is a lot of melancholy to his story that makes me somber about him even if it obviously does not excuse his bad actions. I also think he has a great character design that's fun to draw and some fun boisterous scenes, and some of his positive qualities remind me of people i know.

*Stannis is an interesting character as Robert’s brother, as he is the opposite to him in this regard, as well as in many aspects of their personality and even their outward presentation (like how Stannis crops his beard short to contrast Robert’s wild one)

[clevercatchphrase]

2021 Year Review~

Sometimes I can’t stand the fact that time is constantly progressing forward. What do you mean Christmas was almost two weeks ago? Wasn’t it just yesterday? What do you mean it’s been a year since the coup happened?? Already??? I’m due for an oil change again? I’m due for a dentist appointment AGAIN?? Can... can time please just stop so I can catch my breath... so I can take a nap? I don’t like how recent-and-yet-spaced-out all these life events feel to me. It’s all moving too fast and I can’t keep up, please stop the ride I want to get off.

But sadly it doesn’t stop, so the most I can do is look back on the year, reflect on what I accomplished, and write down what I remember to keep my mental time line organized and sorted as more years pile on. I’m a little late in making this retrospective, but just like in years prior, I’ll start by looking back at my 2021 goals, go over them, then move on to my goals for 2022. Let’s begin...

I had 11 goals for this year. They were the following;

Read 12 new books (roughly 1 book a month)

Finish the first draft of 2019’s Nanowrimo project and rewrite it

Script TDV

Finish Scripting Ghost Switch

Build A Comic Buffer

Sew 1 Stuffed Animal

Finish 1 Song Comic

Make another Enamel Pin

Finish 2 short original comics (this one counts as 2 goals)

Finish the 5 remaining one-shot fics

Right of the bat I know I didn’t accomplish 6 of these 11 goals, which is a really bad ratio, but pretty much the same outcome as 2020 surprisingly enough. Now let’s dig a little deeper...

Read 12 new books: I did this! I read a lot of free books through the kindle app, and a few books that have been siting on my shelf for a couple of years now. In no particular order, the books I read this year were;

Ancient, Strange, and Lovely

The Griffin’s Feather

Dragon Slippers

Dragon Flight

Dragon Spear

The dangerous Gift

The Bastard Prince

The Black Egg

Eyrie

Skyfire

Shard of Sun

By the silverwind

The Junglebook

Rise of the Dragons

14 books again this year! That totally wasn’t planned. I wish I could say I had a fun time reading these books, but sadly, I only enjoyed about 6 of them. Ancient, Strange, and Lovely, by Susan Fletcher. It was the first book I read in 2021, and I absolutely hated it. The condescending enviornmentalist message, the weird teen-speak and “clipped” sentence structure, and bland characters. I hated the repetative use of the words “critter”, “sesmic” and “monster”. I hated the “new” words used, like “sleep-dep”, “skwebbing”, and “phaging.” At one point she used the word “grok”, and I had to put the book down and stare out of my window for a solid ten minutes. This book was written in 2010. How many people does miss fletcher think will understand that reference. Heck, I only understand it because I saw OSP’s video on A Stranger in a Strange Land this same year. (also does miss fletcher really think the word “fuck” is going to go out of style?? or is she just trying to be more pg?) the plot was a blatant rehash of her previous books, Dragon’s Milk, and Sign of the Dove. Infact, I had to go back and reread dragon’s milk just to make sure I still liked it, and I do, so it’s not like her writing was always bad and I just didn’t notice. This entire book reads like a college student’s shorthand lecture notes, and the only positive I can say is that my reading experience only went up hill after this, compartively. (but as I said I only enjoyed 6 of these books, that hill didn’t go up very high).

The next books I read were Dragon Slippers/Flight/Spear by Jessica Day Georce. I’d owned the first book for years (and read it years ago, too) but it was only fairly recently that I learned this book had two sequels. I had completely forgotten everything about the first book aside from stained glass, embroidery, and magic dragon hide slippers, so reading it again was like reading it blind. I read all three of these books in the span of 3 days during the february freeze down here in texas. Over all? This series is really good! Although, after reading the first book again, I can’t help but wonder why no one, especially Shardas, just doesn’t TELL the main character anything important. I can’t help but feel like a lot of strife would have been avoided if he just TOLD Creel the truth about the slippers upfront. Overall, again, It’s a nice series. The third book got a little weird and there was one scene that felt like a boarderline description of blackface, but if people complain there aren’t enough “Strong female protagonists who like girly things but also stand up forthemselves”, look no further than Creel. She ticks all those boxes, and it was refreshing to see a character enjoy dress making, and rescuing dragons at the same time. (Can’t for the life of me figure out why it’s called dragon spear, though. Spears were made, but never used, and the scene is so minor, I honestly feel like it could have been cut with no consequence)

The next book I read was The Dangerous Gift, by Tui T, Sutherland, which is the 4th book in the 3rd Wings of Fire Series, and 14th book overall. My general thoughts are... it was alright? No where near as action packed, or as thought provoking the previous three in this arc, but I didn’t think it was boring either. I don’t care for snowfall, and I felt her constant paranoia got repetative at points.I’m a little nervous how miss Sutherland is going to wrap up this arc with only one book left to go. Glad to see Sky and Wren back, though I half wish they didn’t get tied in to the “main series”. I can’t help but feel it shrinks the world if all the “main characters” know each other, if you know what I mean. it makes it feel like.... there’s only one epic story happing in the WoF world at one time, you know? I think it would have been neat if The dragonslayer storyline continued concurrently with the pantala storyline, because people all over the world are all doing interesting things at the same time, and if they never interacted or crossed paths with one another, then the world could branch and grow, instead of feeling... sequental? History is not a single chain of events, it’s a web of complex people with complex feelings and thoughts crashing and bumping into eachother, each changing the course of history a little bit at a time, but when all the “main characters” get together, it feels like the rest of the world is put on pause because it’s not allowed to do anything unique or epic if the fan favorites aren’t there to witness it. I also kinda sorta didn’t like the jerboa chapters. I think it would have been much more interesting as a standalone novel like Darkstalker, seeing Jerboa’s slow descent into a controlling, manipulative monster, and Boa’s slow realization of what’s happening to her. (I was half hoping we’d find more unique dragon races on Pantala, as well. You know that mountain-y area up in the “wing” of pantala? How come we never go there in the books. what’s up there. What if there’s a race of dragons who have feathery wings instead of bug/leaf/bat wings. They could be called Birdwings and I hope we see more unique draogn races in the future)

Rise of the Dragons by Morgan Rice was bad. I didn’t even know that Morgan Rice was apparently contentious in the Author World until I finished this book and did a little more research on her. The writing is juvenile, super repetative and straight up unedited. At one point the main character straight up says “Sorry I’m not like the other girls, father.” and I had to put the book down for a solid two days. It was a fun hate-read, though, and I will be reading the follow up books illegally for free later this year~

The Bastard Prince by Patty Jansen and The Black Egg by James E. Wisher are both books in a collection of 9 dragon-themed books all for free on kindle, called “Dragons and Lore”. I think each of these books are part of their own seperate series, but the first are bundled together for free for people to sample and get interested in. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t work! The Bastard Prince is a unique story about a 50 year old woman working for royalty, but my god. The dragon doesn’t come into the picture until the very end. This book feels like nothing but gossip and eavesdropping, and it was a slog to get through. The black egg was MILES better, and reminded me heavily of How To Train Your Dragon, strangely enough (mostly because of character descriptions). I almost wanted to read more, but when I learned that the series was 9 books long, I quit on the spot. The Black Egg WAS more dragon focused, but the dragons weren’t the main focus, and I didn’t want to read a 9 book series were draogns were on the sidelines most of the time. There are still 7 books left in this collection, but honestly, I was getting burnt out by this point.

Okay. So, I love all things dragon-themed, but by this point in the year, I was starting to get burnt out on them due to all the trash I had read. I thought to myself “you know... gryphons are a cool mythical creature, too. How come I don’t see any books about them?” A couple of years back I bought Song of the Summer King, by Jess E. Owen (fun fact, it was the first kindle book I ever “bought”, because I could get it for free with the kindle download) and I loved it! I loved the prose and description of the world. I had always known there were at least two sequels, and I read all of Skyfire, Shard of Sun, and By the Silverwind within two weeks of each other. Definately a good series over all, though I feel Shard of Sun is the weakest in my opinion. (aaand not too impressed by how the major conflict is resolved in the last book by teaching the Big Bad what “love” is) Still! after I’ve given myself a break from the series, I’d love to read the 5th companion novel, The Starward Light, later this year! I just don’t want to read it too soon, because I know it will be good, and if everything else I read this year is trash, I want to save something I know I will enjoy when I can’t stand all the garbage anymore.

Eyrie by K. Vale Nagle is another gryphon book, but it is subpar compared to the Summer King Chronicles. The writing is very flat, and at NO point do characters get physical descriptions or hints at their thougths or feelings. There were some unique worldbuilding ideas, but over all this book was just plain boring. It was free, though, so luckily it only wasted my time and not money.

The Griffin’s Feather is a relatively new book by Cornilea Funke, and you may recognize her name, because she has written beloved books such as The Theif Lord, Inkheart, Inkspell, and my favorite, Dragonrider. Dragonrider was first published in 2004, and then, 13 years later without me ever even knowing, she wrote a sequel. And that sequel had griffins! The book was slower paced than Dragonrider, and there was waaaay too much of Twigleg’s perspective with no payoff, imo. (He spent the whole book thinking about/looking for a jenglot, but never found any) I wish firedrake was in the book more, and Skrii, a newly introduced griffin character, needed WAY more screen time. Fun Fact, In refreshing my memory for this little review, I learned that Cornelia Funke wrote ANOTHER book in her now-dragonrider series called The Aurelia Curse, and it’s only been out a few months. Maybe I’ll check that out later this year~

The last book I read this year was the classsic The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling. I’d read excerpts of it in the past, (mainly rikki tikki tavi) but never the whole thing. It was enjoyable~ The one story with the elephant dance and the little kid felt kinda racist at points, but over all I’m glad I read the original story and now know more than just what the disney movies could tell me. I’m going to read Just So Stories later this year since I had a good time with this one.

WOW I SURE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE BOOKS I READ. Are you still there? Still reading? Thank you! I really appreciate it! Let’s move on to my other goals, shall we?

Finish the first draft of my 2019 NaNoWriMo project and rewrite it: I didn’t do this. Just straight up. After reading so many bad books this year, I got angry, and started plotting a new story instead, about things I WANTED to read about with dragons and gryphons and unicorns. Infact, it became my nanowrimo project for 2021, and I’m still working on that and enjoying it immensely~

Script TDV: Another thing I didn’t do. Parly because I got sidetracked with a new writing projet, and partly because I worked full time this entire year, and on my 2 days off each week, I focused more on my UT fan comic and fantasy novel instead. As for this year? Nah, this project is on perminant pause until either my current writing prject or fan comic is completed. THen maybe I can go back to thinking about game development.

Finish Scripting Ghost Switch: heh hhhhehhhh.... I didn’t do this either. I got the majority of waterfall planned out! And you might even be pleased to know it won’t be anywhere near as long as snowdin is! (maybe.. hopefully. The flash backs might end up making it just as long if not longerrrr...) I’m almost done with it though! It’s like... 4/5ths figured out. Then it’s just the hotland and new home arcs, and I’ll be done!... with the scripting... the making of the pages will still take me several years to finish *sobs in comic artist*

Build a comic buffer: I did this! It only lasted me about 2 months while I worked on a song comic and wrote some one shots! I wish it had been bigger, but any buffer I make allows me to work on other projects now and then. I’m building another one right now as you read this! Hopefully to last me a a couple months again! (But MAN, I wish I was proficient enough where I could post 2 pages EVERY week. We’d get done so much faster that way!)

Sew 1 Stuffed Animal: I did not do this for the same reason as last year. Hello delta and omicron variants. Please fuck off so I can go to the craft store again.

Finish 1 Song Comic: I DID THIS TOO! But the song comic I finished was one I completely didn’t expect to even start this year! The song comic in question was Wanderer’s Lullaby for the video game, Wandersong. Check it out HERE if you haven’t seen it yet!

Make anther enamel pin: I Didnt do this! Mostly because I was no longer having a life crisis, and partly because, while I have made a few sales of my other pins, they don’t sell frequently enough for me to justify making even more, and building up stock I may never sell back. Maybe in the future, but for now this goal is on pause as well~

Finish 2 Short Original Comics: I scripted one, but stopped at that. I probably won’t be doing much art that isn’t related to my fan comic for the forseeable future. Gotta save all my art motivation for the story. (I also kinda completely forgot this was a goal of my tbh)

Finish 5 one-shots: I only finished 3 one shots, and 2 of those three weren’t even planned, if you can believe it. I even started 2 of the 4 one shots I had originally planned, but they just weren’t coming out the way I wanted to, so I scrapped them, and will try to rewrite them again this year when I feel more inspired. (but hey, at if I never finish the oneshots, then in theory, there’s always more story to look forward to, because I’ll never be “done” which means a weak, but still very possible promise of more content for this ship!)

Aaaaand, that’s all I have to say about my goals from last year! Do I have any goals for 2022? Absolutely! I’ll list them next, but probably wong’t go into much detail on them. I’ve been typing this thing for over 2 hours non stop now and I would like to go to bed.

GOALS FOR 2022

Read 12 New Books on anything (1 book a month)

Finish and rewrite my 2021 NaNoWriMo project

Finish chapters 4 thorugh 8 of/and edit Clemency (2020 NaNoWriMo project)

Finish scripting the Waterfall Arc of Ghost Switch (and then maybe the Hotland Arc, but not the whole thing. I just know I can’t get that far yet)

Build a Comic Buffer for Ghost Switch

Reach 208 Pages of Ghost Switch by June 18th

Finish 1 Song Comic

Finish 4 one shots

Find a sulfate-free bodywash and hand soap.

Write that one crack fic.

I’m really tired and it’s almost 11pm at the time of writing this, so I’m not gonna go in depth about my goals for this year. But before I sign off, I’d like to just recap my year based on what I remember.  Ok? ok. Here we go.

FIRST OFF, the orical of Delphi thinks she’s reeeeeal fucking funny, hitting me with the baseball bat of prophecy last year. In my 2020 year review, which was posted on December 30th, one of the very last sentences I wrote was “why do I feel like shit is about to go down on inauguration day?” and then what happened exactly one wek later on January 6th 2021? HMMMM???? Coincedence? I! think! NOT!

Okay, now that that’s out of my system, I’d like to say that, for me, 2021 was the year of The GAMER! I bought... so many ps4 games and steam games. I’ve played so many new things that I now love and enjoy and reconnected with games I haven’t played in years. The Talos Principle, Untitled Goose Game, Wandersong, Hue, Abzu, and Unravel all for ps4, (as well as horizon zero dawn, and journey, which I haven’t played yet) Snakebird, the witness, typoman, chromagun, LINELIGHT, A short hike, carto, the first tree, and the ENTIRE humongous entertainment series of games for steam. I can honestly say I’ve played more games this year than I ever have in my life, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of every challenge.

I bought a lot of jigsaw puzzles this year, and have been doing them with my mom. we find we have to get the ones that are 2000 pieces or more or we just... finish them too fast. We’ve got puzzling down to a science, and they’re not really challenging when we can finish most puzzles in under 3 days. 

In addition to all the books I read above, I also reread the entire first WoF arc as well as darkstalker. the whole process only took me 5 days. I’m rereading the second arc now, but it’s a slog because I forgot how much I disliked darkstalker in this arc for being stupid, and how little I cared for the second arc characters accept for peril. 

Being an adult means trying new things. This year I decided to try to take better care of my hair, and I started by finding a new shampoo specifically for my hair texture and sensitivity. I found a really nice plant based shampoo that is sulfate free and it smells lovely. My scalp is slowly becoming less dry and itchy. Now I just need to do the same for body wash.

In a spur of nostalgia, I downloaded a Gameboy Color Emulator on my phone and have been replaying Pokemon yellow on it. I never beat the game as a kid because I was incompatent, but myabe this year I’ll try to nuzzelock it for shits and giggles. 

There is a very hig probablity I contracted corona virus this year, and didn’t know it. I got my booster early december, and just last week there was a confirmed case of it at my job. I had an itchy throat for a few days, but no other symptoms. Thank you face masks and vaccines!

Speaking of my job, I’m starting to get tired of it. There’s this one guy there who’s 5 years my junior but talks to me like I don’t know shit and it’s incredibly condescending. He’s trying to become a supervisor, and will likely succeed because he is the Owner’s grandson and the nepotism is rampent there, even though he self admits he is not emotionally or mentally stable. I will quit the minute he is put in a position of power over me because I will not tolerate even a second of his obnoxious man-splaining attitude. I will be sad to go when the time comes, but only because I wouldn’t get to see them crash and burn without me and I want to watch them struggle.

Spite can be good sometimes actually. It’s helped me stand up for better treatment of myself and a great motivator to boot. So do your worst to me 2022. I’ve conquored these last 29 years, and will gladly wrench my third decade from your unforgiving jaws. Bring it on. I’m ready for you.

[impossible-rat-babies]

Hit me with that interpersonal drama 👀

flksdhkhj okay this one....it's a rough wip, but it's a lot going on with eyrie's feelings of guilt in general, with some specifics in there, and all sorts of circumstances with thancred as just...they're both rough around the edges and eyrie's just hitting that straw that breaks the camel's back sorta moment. it's a moment for the both of them <3. I've shared tid-bits before, but there's always more:

“Is that why she bothers you so? A reminder?” Eyrie tilts their head, watching Thancred’s hand tighten even as he crosses his arms.

“She doesn’t bother me.”

“Clearly her presence isn’t helpful to you. Yet you still keep watch over her?”

“If there is to be no one else who looks out for her, best of all seems me.”

“You...” Eyrie starts, but purses their lips and holds the thought behind their teeth.

“I know, Eyrie--I am not blind to what is going on. Don’t think you understand just from looking.”

They frown, brow knitting together.

“I claim no such thing, Thancred.” There’s that tension back in his shoulders, tightening up once more. Clamming up. “I want...I want to understand though. Five years--”

“Yes, five years. It’s been that long and you wish to understand?” Thancred scoffs and walks away, heading deeper into the old library Urianger claimed as his own. Eyrie quickly gets up to follow, lips set in a frown and ignoring the questions from the twins. It’s a long hallway before they find him--standing in front of a window unopened. Still the light spills across the wood floors, dust motes fluttering in the night time sun.

“What would you have me say? What would you have me do, Thancred? If I am to apologize, then I would know if you even wish to hear it.”

“You would apologize--just like that?”

[ladyaryawolf]

People love to claim that Daenerys is mad, because she set the Masters of Yunkai and Meereen on fire, and later on the TV Show(that is not canonic in the books, thanks God, they ruined her in the last two seasons), to the Lannister Army and then King's Landing. (completly ooc the last One)

The whole people anti-dany comes with the same discourse: “This is a war crime. It is wrong to set people on fire. She is mad. Don’t you see what she is doing?”

Yeah. It is wrong set people on fire.

But why is always Dany that have to be called mad?

People don’t call Jon or Tyrion mad when they have done the exactly same thing? I believe that Jon is much more harsh when it comes to war. Much more than Dany ever was. I dare to say if he had a dragon, he would have done much, much worse to his enemies already. Don’t believe me? Read the books. You will understand from where I came from, because the show!Jon is not book!Jon. Show!Jon is like an innocent puppy close of his book counterpart.

Do you know something that is also wrong but you guys close your eyes? Feeding the dogs with a living person. Of course, this just happend in the show, but why you guys don’t come saying: Uh, Sansa is mad, look what she did.

Wait, but you don’t, do you? Because occording to you all “He was his enemy, he abused her, and he raped her.”

Do you think they would just kick her out of the city and everything would be okay?

No, they would rape her, humiliate her and then put her head on a spike. They would not just be like, “get out of here”. It is not a school fight, it is a war. You guys have to put it in your heads. A war where there is no Geneva Convention and no United Nations to help seeking a diplomatic solution.

Double standard much?

When it comes to comparing Dany to men, then? Sexism? Misoginy?

“Oh, but Sansa didn’t do it in the books.” No, in the books she is currectly helping poisoning an innocent child, so she can marry the next heir and become Lady of the Eyrie.

“Oh, but Dany conquered those cities and changed their culture and fucked their economy.”

First: She didn’t change the culture. She respected as long as there were no enslavement involved. She tried to please the Meereen lords, she studied their history, used their clothes.

Second: all the cities she conquered had the main “economy sustent” from slaves. Slave market. Do you support it?

If you had dragons, and an army, would you just look at them: Children, women and men treated as objects, treated like animals. Would you just turn your back, even knowing you could have done something to help? Or would you try to help?

Dany tried to help. She could just have burned the master and go with all her dragons, a dothraki/unsullied army and sail to Westeros, since according to most of you, she just wants to be Queen.

But she didn’t do it. She stayed and fought.

Jorah Mormont: Taking this city will not bring you any closer to Westeros or the Iron Throne.

Daenerys Targaryen: How many slaves are there in Yunkai?

Jorah Mormont: 200,000, if not more.

Daenerys Targaryen: Then we have 200,000 reasons to take the city.

This seems power hungry to you? Just to complement.

Do you know what it is like to be sold, squire? I do. My brother sold me to Khal Drogo for the promise of a golden crown. Well, Drogo crowned him in gold, though not as he had wished, and I… my sun-and-stars made a queen of me, but if he had been a different man, it might have been much otherwise. Do you think I have forgotten how it felt to be afraid?

She is not trying to change Yunkai, Meereen and Slaver’s bay so she can be queen. She is not doing this for power. She is not doing it for some selfish reason, she is doing it because she knows how is to be a slave, she knows what is to feel powerless. How it is to be objetified. And what else? She doesn’t want the others to feel the same. She doesn’t want others to feel like simple objects. Everything she has done in Slaver’s Bay was for selfless reasons. She is not doing it for herself. She is doing it for them, to rescue those people and the only way she believes that is possible changing the system is crowning herself Queen.

Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves?

This quote is so strong.

She doesn’t believe that Queen is just birthright, no, she believes that a Queen, a leader, has to put their people in first place. It is not about you and your crown, it is about the powerless, the poor, the children and the women. It is about protecting her people.

Also, leadership is not all flowers and glitter. She is fighting a war and when you are a leader, a King or a Queen, you have to make difficult decisions. It comes really close of Maquiavel principles “The Prince” and is really good to read it by Dany’s point of view. Her conflict.

It is such a long way. I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl.

Dany is not even 18. She is a child trying to help the others. Her actions are not out of madness. They are out of a selfless naivety and she is facing the consequences bravely.

They are not strong, she told herself, so I must be their strengh.

Bônus: Tyrion agrees with me.

[...]this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer.

Bye!💕✨

[butterflies-dragons]

The Direwolves’s Eye Colors

I always found fascinating that the Direwolves’s Eye Colors match the Children of the Forest’s Eye Colors: 

"In a sense. Those you call the children of the forest have eyes as golden as the sun, but once in a great while one is born amongst them with eyes as red as blood, or green as the moss on a tree in the heart of the forest. By these signs do the gods mark those they have chosen to receive the gift. The chosen ones are not robust, and their quick years upon the earth are few, for every song must have its balance. But once inside the wood they linger long indeed. A thousand eyes, a hundred skins, wisdom deep as the roots of ancient trees. Greenseers."

—A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

Ghost - Red Eyes

"He must have crawled away from the others," Jon said.

"Or been driven away," their father said, looking at the sixth pup. His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. His eyes were as red as the blood of the ragged man who had died that morning. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind.

—A Game of Thrones - Bran I

And suddenly Ghost was back, stalking softly between two weirwoods. White fur and red eyes, Jon realized, disquieted. Like the trees …

—A Game of Thrones - Jon VI

Red eyes, Jon realized, but not like Melisandre’s. He had a weirwood’s eyes. Red eyes, red mouth, white fur. Blood and bone, like a heart tree. He belongs to the old gods, this one.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon XII

Grey Wind - Golden Eyes

At first he did not notice her … but his wolf did. The great grey beast was lying near the fire, but when Catelyn entered he lifted his head, and his golden eyes met hers. The lords fell silent one by one, and Robb looked up at the sudden quiet and saw her. "Mother!" he said, his voice thick with emotion.

—A Game of Thrones - Catelyn VIII

Yet it was not the sword that made Ser Cleos Frey anxious; it was the beast. Grey Wind, her son had named him. A direwolf large as any elkhound, lean and smoke-dark, with eyes like molten gold.

—A Clash of Kings - Catelyn I

Lady - Golden Eyes

"Lady," he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur.

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard III

Sansa sat up. "Lady," she whispered. For a moment it was as if the direwolf was there in the room, looking at her with those golden eyes, sad and knowing.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa III

Nymeria - Golden Eyes

Nymeria nipped eagerly at her hand as Arya untied her. She had yellow eyes. When they caught the sunlight, they gleamed like two golden coins.

—A Game of Thrones - Arya I

"Septa Mordane," Jon told her. "I don't think she'd like Nymeria helping, either." The she-wolf regarded him silently with her dark golden eyes.

—A Game of Thrones - Jon II

Summer - Golden Eyes

Bran looked back down. His wolf fell silent, staring up at him through slitted yellow eyes.

—A Game of Thrones - Bran II

The wolf was looking at her. Its jaws were red and wet and its eyes glowed golden in the dark room. It was Bran's wolf, she realized. Of course it was.

—A Game of Thrones - Catelyn III

Summer stalked out in the echoing gloom, then stopped, lifted his head, and sniffed the chill dead air. He bared his teeth and crept backward, eyes glowing golden in the light of the maester's torch.

—A Game of Thrones - Bran VII

Meera moved in a wary circle, her net dangling loose in her left hand, the slender three-pronged frog spear poised in her right. Summer followed her with his golden eyes, turning, his tail held stiff and tall. Watching, watching . . .

—A Clash of Kings - Bran IV

Summer raised his head from Bran's lap, and gazed at the mudman with his dark golden eyes.

—A Clash of Kings - Bran IV

Shaggydog - Green Eyes

Shaggydog ran at his heels, spinning and snapping if the other wolves came too close. His fur had darkened until he was all black, and his eyes were green fire. 

—A Game of Thrones - Bran IV

Unknown - Golden Eyes (But I bet It’s Lady)

The crypts were growing darker. A light has gone out somewhere. "Ygritte?" he whispered. "Forgive me. Please." But it was only a direwolf, grey and ghastly, spotted with blood, his golden eyes shining sadly through the dark . . 

—A Storm of Swords - Jon VIII

Reasons why I think the unknown direwolf is Lady

The other candidate is Grey Wind, that was killed like Lady, but I think the following reasons are enough to conclude that the unknown direwolf is Lady.

The direwolf is grey like Lady.

The direwolf has golden eyes like Lady.

Jon sees the direwolf in the Crypts of Winterfell.  Lady is buried in Winterfell’s lichyard.  

Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants. It was there they buried Lady, while her brothers stalked between the graves like restless shadows. She had gone south, and only her bones had returned. 

—A Game of Thrones - Bran VI

Jon confuses the direwolf with Ygritte.  This reminds me when Jon confuses Melisandre with Ygritte in ADWD (both redheads).  The two passages have similar wording with Jon feeling guilty for Ygritte’s death.  I also believe that this line: “At night all robes are grey. Yet suddenly hers were red.” foreshadows Sansa being the Grey Girl of Melisandre’s visions.   

When he turned he saw Ygritte.

She stood beneath the scorched stones of the Lord Commander’s Tower, cloaked in darkness and in memory. The light of the moon was in her hair, her red hair kissed by fire. When he saw that, Jon’s heart leapt into his mouth.

“Ygritte,” he said.

“Lord Snow.” The voice was Melisandre’s.

Surprise made him recoil from her. “Lady Melisandre.” He took a step backwards. “I mistook you for someone else.” At night all robes are grey. Yet suddenly hers were red. He did not understand how he could have taken her for Ygritte. She was taller, thinner, older, though the moonlight washed years from her face. 

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon VI

Later in ADWD Jon links Sansa and Lady with Ygritte: 

He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon's breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady's coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … 

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

The direwolf is described as ghastly. Ghastly means cadaveric. Lady had gone south, and only her bones had returned. Ghastly also sounds and writes very similar to Ghostly.  After its death, Lady is described as a Shade, and Shade is a synonym of Ghost. More about it here.  And we have another “ghostly & bloody direwolf” associated with Sansa:     

“May the Father judge him justly,” murmured a septon. “The dwarf’s wife did the murder with him,” swore an archer in Lord Rowan’s livery. “Afterward, she vanished from the hall in a puff of brimstone, and a ghostly direwolf was seen prowling the Red Keep, blood dripping from his jaws.”

—ASOS - Jaime VII

The direwolf is described spotted with blood. Lady’s fur got probably spotted with blood when Ned cut its throat. And I even saw a fan-art (for the graphic novel adaptation) where Ned beheaded Lady...  

The direwolf’s eyes are described as shinning “sadly”.  Lady is described with sad eyes.

Sansa sat up. "Lady," she whispered. For a moment it was as if the direwolf was there in the room, looking at her with those golden eyes, sad and knowing.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa III

So, if the unknown direwolf is indeed Lady, this creates a yet another Jon/Sansa parallel, Jon seeing Lady’s Shade while walking deeper (like descending) into the Crypts of Winterfell during a dream & Sansa, disguised as Alayne Stone, sensing a Ghost Wolf while descending from the Eyrie to the Gates of the Moon:

The crypts were growing darker. A light has gone out somewhere. "Ygritte?" he whispered. "Forgive me. Please." But it was only a direwolf, grey and ghastly, spotted with blood, his golden eyes shining sadly through the dark . .

—A Storm of Swords - Jon VIII

All around was empty air and sky, the ground falling away sharply to either side. There was ice underfoot, and broken stones just waiting to turn an ankle, and the wind was howling fiercely. It sounds like a wolf, thought Sansa. A ghost wolf, big as mountains.

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne II

There you have it. Jon saw Lady’s Shade in the Crypts of Winterfell during a dream.

[myocsfanfictions]

The Wolf, The Stag and The Snake (Book 1)

A Song of Ice and Fire Fanfiction

MASTERLIST

This fanfiction is about three girls who lives in Westeros and how their lives changed when the War began. Follow Antea Stark, Cassandra Baratheon and Cyel Sand in their adventures. There is more you have just to wait and see. This fanfiction follows only the books.

<< Previous - Next >>

Chapter 27

ANTEA

Antea Stark had never been the sweetest girl like her sister Sansa was, but everything she was feeling since the recent events made her doubt of herself. She felt nervous and she didn’t feel like talking properly as the Septa had always taught her. She felt hate towards the Lannisters for what they had done to Bran, for the unnerving mind of the Imp that had yet made a full of them, managing to escape to death with that cutthroat. That man had fought and won, so for the Gods the Imp was innocent. And that made her feel hate even towards them.  

She was feeling more anger towards the Kingslayer since when a crow arrived at the Eyrie announcing that her noble Father had been hurt and his guards killed, but she felt wrath when words arrived announcing the King’s death and her Father’s arrest once they landed in White Harbor.

“Treason?” had exclaimed Antea once her Mother announced her what had happened in King’s Landing “That’s outrageous! Under what charges?”

“Words say he wanted the throne” Catelyn said clenching in her fist the cloth of her gown as Antea kept walking back and forth inside their room of the inn where they had stopped. Her hands on her hips, feeling trouble breathing as her corset had been bound too tightly around her chest.

“Lies, lies. They do nothing but lie!” exclaimed Antea.

“Don’t speak too loudly” Catelyn warned her with a glare.

“Why should I?” she argued back with rage “I’m sick of Lannisters and their lies! Father would have never betrayed the King, he is no such man”.

Antea observed her mother, she knew what she was thinking; treason was a gruesome accuse. Punishable by death.  

“Are they trying to destroy our House?! Is that what they are aiming for?” she felt trembling with rage. She wasn’t even feeling like crying, she was beyond that. She was tired of those games.

“I honestly can’t understand what they are aiming to” Catelyn said trying to hide a worried tone “Such accusations will lead us all to war”

They were already close to war. They had been since the King’s party left Winterfell. They had known no peace after those days. And Antea was fearing that they would no live happy days for a long time from that moment on.  

“What of Sansa and Arya?” she asked with anticipations “And Father’s men?”  

Catelyn’s look made her fear even more and the anger grew with it.  

“They died?” the girl asked moving towards the window gripping the hard stone with her fingers.

“For your Father’s men I can just assume the worst, but for your sisters...” Catelyn took a deep breath, trying to not cry thinking about her little girls.

“I pray for the Stranger to take the Lannisters’ lives if someone else from my family is going to be hurt by them” Antea said with gritted teeth. She had sworn to all the Gods, Old and New that the Lannisters would have paid and now she wanted to see it done. They had crippled her brother, send a man to kill him; they had killed innocent Northerns, accused her Father and Lord, and only the Gods knew what was of her sisters.

“They are going to pay for all the offences”.

“A thought shared by your brother” Catelyn said standing up, making her daughter to look towards her with a frown.

“What do you mean by it?” asked Antea.

“He has called the bannermen and he is marching South” at her mother’s words Antea’s eyes grown wide.

“He is getting South?” she felt like in a dream, Robb wasn’t so far form them. Her mother nodded her head.

“Moat Cailin” Catelyn said “And there is where we are going”

“To Robb?” asked Antea not fully believing what her mother was saying.

“I need to speak with your brother” Catelyn said looking in her daughter’s eyes.

It didn’t pass long as they received Robb’s crow. Her brother had decided to go to war against the Lannisters. He had called the Bannermen and he was ready to march South. All the North had agreed on going as a warning to the Lords of the West that no one would have let this offence to sly. They were not people of the South, they were no liars or traitors. They were not afraid.

Even her mother’s uncle, the Blackfish, finally decided to leave her fool Aunt behind to follow them. He too couldn’t understand why Lysa didn’t want to help them, but there was no much to say about it. She was crazy and it was far better leave her where she was than have her fussing over her son every single moment.

“It’s a joy to have you with us, dear uncle” Antea said as they marched towards Moat Cailin, where Robb was marching too.

“It’s a joy for me to help you and your noble Father” he said making the girl bow her head in gratitude. That was all she wanted. To free her father and sisters and go back to Winterfell. Never looking back towards the South ever again.

They had traveled for many days, by horse and by ship all to reach Moat Cailin where Robb had warned them that he would have marched to. As they got closer Antea couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought of see her twin brother again. And Shadow was feeling the same. It felt like years since Antea had seen Robb last. She had missed him dearly and she couldn’t wait to held him in her arms again, making her feel safe like he did since they were just children. But she felt pride to, once she saw how many men had answered to his order. He was just Robb no more, he was Lord Stark now, a man grown, ready to go to battle. That thought scared her, thinking of him in the battlefield, but that was his duty as was hers to support him in every step and decision.

“I expect for you to restrain yourself” said her mother as they walked in the camp.

“What do you mean?” Antea asked with a frown.

“Do not hug him, do not cry” she said solemnly as men started to turn towards them “He is a Lord now, a man. His soldiers have to see him as such”.

Antea understood what her mother was saying, but she couldn’t help but feeling sad for that. She wanted to hug her brother and kiss his cheeks, but she would have done her best to not let the feelings get the best of her. She didn’t want for her brother’s men to think of him as a child.

They arrived at the Gatehouse Tower of Moat Cailin where they could see the Starks’ banner moving with the wind. That was where her brother had decided to make his sit. Her heart beat with joy as she saw him. His fur on and his bannermen all around him, deep in conversations of war. No one noticed them enter, but she had noticed her brother that seemed older and more confident and she noticed Theon Greyjoy always by Robb’s side. Not far from them she saw Grey Wind and a smile appeared on her lips when she saw Shadow already at his side, nuzzling silently her nose against his and then both direwolves looked towards them, observing them. As Antea looked up, she noticed Theon Greyjoy looking in her direction with slightly parted lips as the lords fell silent one by one.

“Mother?” Robb said, his voice full of emotion as his eyes once they landed on Antea that respectfully bowed her head.  

“You’ve grown a beard” Catelyn said solemnly as Grey Wind and Shadow moved towards her circling the woman with admiration “I like it”.

It was true. It suited him. It was the first time he had let it grown and it all helped establishing his lead.

One of the men, a Tallhart by the banner on his armor was the first to walk closer to them and kneel before her mother.

“Lady Catelyn” he said “You are as fair as ever, a welcome sight in those troubled times” then he turned to Antea, bowing his head “As is your daughter, Lady Antea”

“Gratitude, for your kind words” Antea said with a smile and a small bow.

Then one by one, all the men got closer kneeling before them; the Umbers, the Glovers, Bolton and all the others. The last was Theon. He got closer observing them, and as he knelt before Antea, his lips moved up in a smile.

“I had no thought of seen you here, my lady” he said looking straight in Antea’s eyes, making her smile before turning her head. Then Theon looked over to Catelyn “Nor you, Lady Stark”.

“We had no thought of being here” her mother said starting to explain to them what had led them there and why the Blackfish was with them. Robb thanked him for his service. Then she explained that she had decided to make Ser Rodrick go back to Winterfell to hold it until their return.

“My Lady, a question, as it please you” the man who had spoken must have been Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort, by the banner that he had sewn on his vest; the flayed man. Antea had never been before the man; he was pale, so pale that his skin and hair held no color. She had never met a man like that.

As her mother nodded her head, lord Bolton asked his questions “It is said that you hold Lord Tywin’s dwarf son as a captive. Have you brought him to us?” no words could make Antea’s anger her best, thinking about the vantage that they held that was now probably drinking and talking his way back to his family.

“I hold no longer such hostage” Catelyn said, not hiding her disappointment, telling the men that the Gods had favored the Imp helped by her fool sister. But then she took a breath.

“I would speak with my son alone. I know you will forgive me, my lords” her mother said before all bannermen bowed their heads and started to leave.

“Antea, Theon” she said making the two of them turn towards the woman “You too”. Robb and Antea looked at each other, both wanting to reply. But it was no time for discussions, they were children no more.

“Mother” she said bowing her head.

“I’ll come looking for you later” Robb assured nodding his head, just before Antea and Theon could walk away. Shadow nuzzled her snout against Grey Wind’s before following the Stark girl.

“Would you walk with me, my lady?” Theon asked, holding out his arm for her. Antea smiled to him accepting, intertwining her arm with his. She giggled as he smiled at her, before starting to walk around the camp.

“Words cannot describe how please I am to see you, my lady” Thoen said as they walked down the muddy road.

“And I you” she said gripping his arm. She had missed Robb dearly, but she had thought about Theon many times and as her brother he too seemed older than before.

“Even if I would have preferred a more peaceful time, in a more pleasant place”  

“Like Winterfell?” asked Theon, making her nod her head.

“Like Winterfell”.

She still dreamt of her home, like it was just a faint memory. She missed it, she missed everything of Winterfell. And she knew that from now on nothing would have been the same.

“I will take you back there” Theon said “We’ll win this war, for sure” Antea observed him as they walked.

“You always speak like everything is easy” she said looking away.

“Is it bad?” he asked, cocky as always.

“You’re going to fight on a battlefield” she said “Both you and my brother. I hope it is bravery and not foolishness that is making you speak” that made him chuckle a bit.

“Bravery is foolishness” he answered making Antea roll her eyes “We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t a bit of both” then he turned to her “And you wouldn’t have left if you weren’t a bit of both” Antea turned to him with wide eyes.

“Have you just called me a fool?” the girl said with wide eyes and Theon chuckled.

“Did I offend you, my lady?” the young man said tightening his hold on her arm as she was trying to move away “It was no my intent” he said with a smirk as they stopped in the middle of the road.

“You spoke as all of this is a game, but fear for your life will be as easy as breathing once it will be really at risk” she said with strong voice, making him frown, before his usual smirk disappeared to be replaced by a worried expression.

“Have you risked your life, Antea?” he asked seriously, making her look away “When?” he asked urgently “Where you hurt?”

Antea shook her head “We’ve been attacked by the people of the mountains” she said shivering at the thought “I’ve seen people die before my eyes. It was only thanks to Shadow that I’m yet alive”.

“I should have come with you” Theon said seriously, no smirk on his face “No one would have ever approached you, I wouldn’t have let them” his worry surprised her. He had always been a dear friend, but he was being so protective, she wasn’t expecting it.

Antea’s hand moved to grab his, making Theon look up in her eyes.

“I was glad you weren’t there” she said holding his hand strongly, wanting for him to hear every word “I would have never forgiven myself if you had perished just to protect me” she had worried about it, in the exact moment she had seen the first man die that her mind thought immediately at her friend.

“No death could be more honorable” Theon said holding her hand back.

“Or foolish” Antea answered with a small smile, yet a faint blush crept on her cheeks at his words.

“Antea” Robb’s voice made her turn, making the both of them to step away from one another, before Antea could walk towards her brother who smiled at her. They were in public, so it was no place for hugs and kisses, yet Robb looked towards Theon.

“I’m stealing my sister, Greyjoy” he said with a smirk “You’ve kept her long enough”.

“Not quite” Antea said turning to Theon “His company it’s always well appreciated”  

“As it’s my lady’s” Theon said bowing before walking away.

Antea observed him as he got moved down the path, still feeling the strange blush on her cheeks, but then she decided to ignore it to concentrate fully on her brother; that was now leading her toward his tent so that they could be alone for some moments. As they entered his private tent, Antea couldn’t help but jump in her twin’s arm, giggling as he twirled her around.

“My sweet sister” he said with a chuckle.

“I almost didn’t recognize you with this beard” she said as Robb set her on the ground, caressing his face “Where is my young brother who played with wooden swords?” they both felt a bit of sadness as they talked about those days.

“We’ve both grown from there” he said kissing her forehead “I see you’ve grown in a brave woman” Antea smiled at him, hugging Robb once again. She didn’t want to leave him. Never again. Those days parted had been too much.

“I’ve got so much to tell you” Robb said turning to look her in the eyes “Bran had woken up” the word joy could not describe what Antea was feeling in that moment, finally the Gods gave them a blessing, even if just one.

“Is he well?” she asked not liking that her brother fell silent for a moment.

“What Maester Luwin feared is indeed the truth” Robb said “He will not walk again” Antea took a breath. She had hoped that her brother would wake and in a few days what the Maester had said would have been wrong. That Bran would have stood up and climbed and ran once again.

“What did Mother say?” Antea asked try to keep herself from crying. Robb took a breath.

“I received a letter from Sansa” Robb said making her smile.

“Sansa is yet alive?” Robb nodded his head seriously.

“Mother read the letter and for her those are Cersei’s words” he explained “They want for me and Mother to go in King’s Landing and swore loyalty to Joffrey” Antea scoffed at his words, starting pacing once again.

“They keep mocking us” she exclaimed angrily “You can’t go. Every Northerns remember what was of the last Starks that went South to swear an oath” her grandfather and uncle had perished in King’s Landing before Robert’s Rebellion; she would have not seen her brother die like that.

“We won’t” Robb assured her making her stop “Mother and I had discussed what to do. She agreed on my strategy of splitting the army in two, to get both Jamie and Tywin Lannister, a river between them, to not let one reach the other” he was so confident speaking on war and she felt getting braver and braver by the minute, entrusting the North to her brother.

“They will pay” Antea said feeling pride once again, making Robb nod his head.

“For Father, Bran, our sisters and the North” he said taking her head between his hands “I will win this war”.

“I’ll pray the Old Gods and the New” she said making their forehead touch.  

[makerkenzie]

Sansa learns the limits of Family.

An idea that keeps coming up in Sansa’s arc is what I describe as: “Family is not destiny.”

Does Sansa love her family? Of course. She loves them, she misses them, she will always regret not having more time with her mother and Robb. 

Westeros is a setting in which politics are tangled up with family dynamics. A noble family represents power as much as it represents love. Members of noble families, especially children, are treated as assets of their Houses before they’re seen as individuals. Examples: any noble marriage ever, fosterage, squiring, service, hostage-taking, and expectations of combat service. 

Sansa knows this; she’s lived it. Her marriage to Joffrey would’ve represented an alliance with House Baratheon and, because we’re talking about the royal family, it would’ve given House Stark much more influence on the governance of the realm. Her being kept as hostage was meant to affect her brother’s political ambitions. Her marriage to Tyrion was supposed to put House Stark’s assets under the Lannisters’ control. She grew up with Theon as a de facto sibling but his purpose in the Starks’ household was to keep his father under control. 

In this system, the family determines the individual’s reputation. Individuals from more powerful Houses are generally treated with more deference and generosity than those from poorer and lower-positioned Houses. From the perspective of a noble child, individuals from the “right” Houses are to be trusted and those from the “wrong” Houses are to be regarded with the most uncharitable assumptions.

In the culture of Westerosi nobility, one is viewed by one’s surname, first, and one’s actions...later. 

As the child of a Paramount-level family---especially, having grown up with loving parents and affectionate siblings---it would be understandable if Sansa bought into this culture. Her own mother’s House motto is “Family, Duty, Honor.” It would be understandable if Sansa were inclined to conflate family ties with one’s sense of duty and honor, and assume everyone else did the same. 

Having been forcibly separated from her family for so long, while kept hostage by people who don’t care to make her feel safe and welcome...it would be understandable if Sansa became more entrenched in the belief of surname as a representation of character.

She’s going in the opposite direction.

Sansa has interacted enough with the royal family to see that they are not a monolith. The non-viability of her marriage to Tyrion is a separate issue from his behavior. When Aunt Lysa asks, Sansa recalls Tyrion as...kind. 

She knows Podrick Payne is related to Ilyn Payne and she doesn’t hold that against him. He’s a nice kid trying to survive in the Red Keep and he didn’t ask to be born into the same House as the official headsman. 

In an early chapter in AGOT, King Robert is making a loud drunken scene at Cersei, and Jaime is the only man there who tries to get him to settle down. Even after Robert knocks him on his ass, he keeps his cool. This is in Sansa’s POV. Contrast that with Ser Barristan, and Renly, and oh, all the other men at the feast who could have intervened, and didn’t. 

When Joffrey was having his Kingsguard knights beat her, Tyrion was the one who put a stop to it, and Sandor Clegane--a kingsguard at that point--used his cloak to cover her. This happens in front of the court in the throne room. Tyrion’s move is the bolder one but Sandor’s kindness is still meaningful. By putting that cloak on Sansa’s body, he is quietly showing the court that he sympathizes with the Stark girl, not the king. Later, he rescues Sansa from the mob in Flea Bottom, and not on Joffrey’s orders. She remembers Sandor coming to her aid. Meanwhile his older brother is leading the Lannister troops’ invasion of the Riverlands. Sandor is nothing like his brother and Sansa knows that. 

She knows Tyrion is not like Cersei. Tommen is not like Joffrey. Podrick is not like Ser Ilyn. Jaime is not like the other Kingsguard. Sandor is not like his brother, not like the other Lannister vassals, not like the other Kingsguard, either. 

Either way, Littlefinger takes her out of the Red Keep and up to Aunt Lysa and Cousin Robin at the Eyrie. It’s the first time she’s been around blood relations since her father was executed. First of all, Aunt Lysa starts talking about marrying Sansa to Robin, which, first of all, yuck, and second: because Lysa is the only adult family member presently available to Sansa, she’s not really in a position to refuse. Anyway, because Sansa can’t catch a break from people trying to plant their flags on her ass, Littlefinger starts molesting her. Aunt Lysa, being the nearest equivalent to a parent in Sansa’s life...treats her like a homewrecker.

Aunt Lysa was born into House Tully, the one whose motto is “Family, Duty, Honor.” When she sees her new husband behaving inappropriately with her teenage niece, she tries to toss the girl out the Moon Door. Is that what Family-Duty-Honor looks like? Granted, Lord Hoster fucked up with Lysa pretty hard, but there’s no need to take that out on your sister’s daughter. 

Now this much is bad enough: Sansa’s own aunt is trying to kill her out of jealousy. There’s that. The much bigger issue is where the conversation goes as Littlefinger talks Lysa down from the literal and figurative ledge. She mentions that she killed her first husband, Hand of the King Lord Jon Arryn, using the poison Littlefinger gave her. She wrote to Catelyn, at Littlefinger’s instructions, and told her the Lannisters killed Jon. 

If we recall: Ned and Cat spent all of AGOT trying to prove the Lannisters killed Jon Arryn. The fallout from that investigation started the War of Five Kings and cost Ned his life. Because of that fallout, Sansa was held hostage at the Red Keep and forced into marriage with Tyrion. Because of that fallout, Cat and Robb have just been murdered at the Red Wedding and Arya is off who knows where doing Seven only knows what. Far as Sansa knows, her brothers Bran and Rickon were killed by Theon Greyjoy and she has no way of knowing Arya is even alive. Aunt Lysa is the only family member left in a position to take care of Sansa now, because of the war she and Littlefinger started. 

In more news of Littlefinger’s machinations: because he conspired with the Tyrells to frame Tyrion for Joffrey’s murder, Sansa’s life at the Red Keep went from uncomfortable to untenable, with Littlefinger being the only one ready to rescue her. She’s dependent on him because of his political sabotage, so now he’s molesting her at her aunt’s house, and her aunt has to be coaxed and cajoled out of killing her. 

It’s because of Littlefinger’s machinations that the Lannisters became the Starks’ enemies. Granted there’s no version of this story in which the AGOT-era Starks and Lannisters are buddies, but there could’ve been a story where they haven’t been actively trying to kill each other. 

Sansa’s been places and met people enough to know the Lannisters are not consistently villainous and her own family are not reliably safe. 

Unbeknownst to her Sansa (yet), Tyrion’s squire Podrick Payne is traveling around with a big warrior-lady carrying a Lannister-branded Valyrian steel sword. A gift from Jaime Lannister. Cersei’s twin brother, and the one man with the backbone to ask the drunken king to stop embarrassing himself. Unbeknownst to Sansa, Ser Jaime has just deserted his army because he’s helping Brienne and Podrick rescue Sansa out from under Cersei. 

They have this assignment because Catelyn stepped away from her animosity to the Lannisters for a moment long enough to give Ser Jaime a chance to do the right thing. That Jaime is rejecting the Lannister regime in favor of Stark-Tully interests has a lot to do with Brienne’s influence, while the likely success of their mission will probably have to do with Sansa’s conduct at the Red Keep. It’s Podrick Payne who’ll recognize Sansa with her hair dyed brown, and Podrick who has the best chance to convince Sansa that Lady Brienne is good and Ser Jaime is on their side. 

Winter is Coming. The Stark motto isn’t nihilistic; it is a call to action. The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. It’s the spirit of mutual protection, care, and cooperation that keeps the pups alive in the darkest and meanest times. 

Sansa is gradually learning that “the pack” isn’t just those who share her family tree. The pack is made up of the ones who show up. When the wolves are tossed to the four winds, the pack may welcome the strength of lions. Unbeknownst to Sansa, the Hound showed up for Arya and may yet appear and join her pack. The real danger is the mockingbird. 

It was Sansa’s own family---her mother’s sister and foster brother---who created the conflict that drove the Starks into war with the Lannisters. Now it’s Lannister associates coming to her rescue. There may yet be a story in which the wolf and the lion work together and learn to trust each other. Sansa can help write that story. 

[alinaastarkov]

Motherhood - Arya, Daenerys, Brienne and Sansa

So this is in response to an ask I got and it ended up really long so I thought I would post separately. I’m not great at writing proper metas but this is my poor imitation of one at least, so here goes.

Motherhood and children are key parts of Arya, Brienne and Dany’s arcs. They all act as mothers to other characters in their stories and seem to have a natural maternal instinct that you normally don’t find in female characters who are gnc because men usually just can’t write strong women. Ususally female characters get the choice between children or having skills, but Brienne, Arya and Dany get both in their arcs. On the flip side, Sansa on the outside is a prime candidate for motherhood - she dreams of having children, is romantic, traditionally feminine, etc. But GRRM deconstructs these tropes by almost making her not very maternal at all.

Sansa outwardly conforms to patriarchal gender norms but she doesn’t take joy in or have the instincts of a mother. Her dreams were usually limited to marriage and not much beyond that. She’s growing out of her superficial desires, obviously, but she always thought about romance and being a lady, and having babies was a part of that because of the society she grows up in. She never wanted to actually care for children, she was just told that was an essential part of a “happy ending” and so she bought it. Her dreams about children were only ever about babies. She wants the fantasy, not the reality of raising kids. We can see with her behaviour with Sweetrobin - though it is improving - she really doesn’t have those motherly instincts and disdains the truths of having to care for someone younger.

It was more than Sansa could stand. "Robert, stop that." Instead he swung the doll again, and a foot of wall exploded. She grabbed for his hand but she caught the doll instead. There was a loud ripping sound as the thin cloth tore. Suddenly she had the doll's head, Robert had the legs and body, and the rag-and-sawdust stuffing was spilling in the snow. Lord Robert's mouth trembled. "You killlllllllled him," he wailed. Then he began to shake. It started with no more than a little shivering, but within a few short heartbeats he had collapsed across the castle, his limbs flailing about violently. White towers and snowy bridges shattered and fell on all sides. Sansa stood horrified, but Petyr Baelish seized her cousin's wrists and shouted for the maester. - Sansa VII, ASOS

Robert's lip quivered. "I was going to come sleep with you." I know you were. Sweetrobin had been accustomed to crawling in beside his mother, until she wed Lord Petyr. Since Lady Lysa's death he had taken to wandering the Eyrie in quest of other beds. The one he liked best was Sansa's . . . which was why she had asked Ser Lothor Brune to lock his door last night. She would not have minded if he only slept, but he was always trying to nuzzle at her breasts, and when he had his shaking spells he often wet the bed. - Sansa I, AFFC

Alayne understood all that well enough, but it meant that the burden of getting Sweetrobin safely down the mountain fell on her. "Give his lordship a cup of sweetmilk," she told the maester. "That will stop him from shaking on the journey down." "He had a cup not three days past," Colemon objected. "And wanted another last night, which you refused him." "It was too soon. My lady, you do not understand. As I've told the Lord Protector, a pinch of sweetsleep will prevent the shaking, but it does not leave the flesh, and in time . . ." "Time will not matter if his lordship has a shaking fit and falls off the mountain. If my father were here, I know he would tell you to keep Lord Robert calm at all costs." "I try, my lady, yet his fits grow ever more violent, and his blood is so thin I dare not leech him any more. Sweetsleep . . . you are certain he was not bleeding from the nose?" "He was sniffling," Alayne admitted, "but I saw no blood." "I must speak to the Lord Protector. This feast . . . is that wise, I wonder, after the strain of the descent?" [...] "Just give him a cup of the sweetmilk before we go, and another at the feast, and there should be no trouble." "Very well." They paused at the foot of the stairs. "But this must be the last. For half a year, or longer." "You had best take that up with the Lord Protector." She pushed through the door and crossed the yard. Colemon only wanted the best for his charge, Alayne knew, but what was best for Robert the boy and what was best for Lord Arryn were not always the same. Petyr had said as much, and it was true. Maester Colemon cares only for the boy, though. Father and I have larger concerns. - Alayne II, AFFC

In the last quote she says she has “larger concerns” than Robin’s health. All these characters are forced into motherly roles, even if they don’t like it at first, but Sansa is the only one of them who never actually feels that instinct to care for the child over other concerns. Not all people have motherly instincts so this is not a bad thing, it is simply a truth about her character. She does not have the connection to motherhood and children that others do.

Brienne, Arya and Dany on the other hand don’t conform to gender norms but they don’t disdain traditionally feminine women and all have super maternal instincts. Motherhood and children are an important part of all these characters’ arcs. With Dany, it’s blindingly obvious, and Brienne and Arya have this on a smaller scale, but they all care for and protect people like mothers. Sometimes this means being forceful to ensure they listen and are protected, but all mothers do the same.

The fire leapt from one house to another. Arya saw a tree consumed, the flames creeping across its branches until it stood against the night in robes of living orange. Everyone was awake now, manning the catwalks or struggling with the frightened animals below. She could hear Yoren shouting commands. Something bumped against her leg, and she glanced down to discover the crying girl clutching her. "Get away!" She wrenched her leg free. "What are you doing up here? Run and hide someplace, you stupid." She shoved the girl away. - Arya IV, ACOK

They found Gerren too, but he was hurt too bad to move. As they were running toward the barn, Arya spied the crying girl sitting in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by smoke and slaughter. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet as the others raced ahead. The girl wouldn't walk, even when slapped. Arya dragged her with her right hand while she held Needle in the left. Ahead, the night was a sullen red. The barn's on fire, she thought. Flames were licking up its sides from where a torch had fallen on straw, and she could hear the screaming of the animals trapped within. Hot Pie stepped out of the barn. "Arry, come on! Lommy's gone, leave her if she won't come!" Stubbornly, Arya dragged all the harder, pulling the crying girl along. Hot Pie scuttled back inside, abandoning them . . . but Gendry came back, the fire shining so bright on his polished helm that the horns seemed to glow orange. He ran to them, and hoisted the crying girl up over his shoulder. "Run!" - Arya IV, ACOK

"Mostly just roofs," Arya admitted, "but some chimneys were smoking, and I heard a horse." The Weasel put her arms around her leg, clutching tight. Sometimes she did that now. [...] "If we see any leg potion, we'll bring it," Gendry said. "Arry, let's go, I want to get near before the sun is down. Hot Pie, you keep Weasel here, I don't want her following." [...] "You leave Weasel alone, she's just scared and hungry is all." Arya glanced back, but the girl was not following for once. Hot Pie must have grabbed her, like Gendry had told him. [...] Lommy and Hot Pie almost shit themselves when she stepped out of the trees behind them. "Quiet," she told them, putting an arm around Weasel when the little girl came running up. [...] "She ran off when she heard you coming," Lommy said. "You made a lot of noise." And Arya thought, Run, Weasel, run as far as you can, run and hide and never come back.  - Arya V, ACOK

She would make much better time on her own, Arya knew, but she could not leave them. They were her pack, her friends, the only living friends that remained to her, and if not for her they would still be safe at Harrenhal, Gendry sweating at his forge and Hot Pie in the kitchens. If the Mummers catch us, I'll tell them that I'm Ned Stark's daughter and sister to the King in the North. I'll command them to take me to my brother, and to do no harm to Hot Pie and Gendry. They might not believe her, though, and even if they did . . . Lord Bolton was her brother's bannerman, but he frightened her all the same. I won't let them take us, she vowed silently, reaching back over her shoulder to touch the hilt of the sword that Gendry had stolen for her. I won't. - Arya I, ASOS

Arya with Weasel is such a strong example of her motherly instincts. Even though Arya is only 9/10 herself, she takes it upon herself to care for others even when everyone else is telling her not too. Like every other mother, she forces Weasel to do what’s best for her, protecting her even if it makes Weasel upset for a while. At least she’s alive and safe. And she’s good at being motherly too. Eventually, Weasel is actively seeking out Arya as her protector, clinging to her leg, and Arya holds Weasel so casually and naturally, it’s pretty much automatic. And her attachment to her “pack” throughout is just an extension of this because she is always “at the head”, the leader, the protector, the mother.

"They will not hurt me," she told him. "They are my children, Jorah." She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. She trotted, then cantered, then broke into a gallop, her braid streaming behind. The freed slaves parted before her. "Mother," they called from a hundred throats, a thousand, ten thousand. "Mother," they sang, their fingers brushing her legs as she flew by. "Mother, Mother, Mother!" - Daenerys IV, ASOS

Dany had left a trail of corpses behind her when she crossed the red waste. It was a sight she never meant to see again. "No," she said. "I will not march my people off to die." My children. "There must be some way into this city." - Daenerys V, ASOS

Safe. The word made Dany's eyes fill up with tears. "I want to keep you safe." Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. "No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don't always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …" "… mother," whispered Missandei. "Mother to dragons." Dany shivered. "No. Mother to us all." Missandei hugged her tighter. "Your Grace should sleep. Dawn will be here soon, and court." "We'll both sleep, and dream of sweeter days. Close your eyes." When she did, Dany kissed her eyelids and made her giggle. - Daenerys II, ADWD

The motherhood part of Dany’s arc is pretty much undeniable. She is the mother to dragons, mother to all her people. She calls them her “children”, they call her “Mhysa” and their care is her primary concern. As seen in the last quote, she agonises over not protecting them well enough, she worries constantly that she is putting them in danger when all she wants to do is keep them safe. Missandei reminds her that she is their mother and she is protecting them as best she can, and like Arya and Brienne she acts motherly in a more personal sense here, making Missandei giggle. Without a doubt, Dany is the best protector her children could have asked for. Motherhood I’m sure will only become more prevalent in Dany’s story going forward.

So far he had been true to his word, and Brienne had been true to hers. Podrick had not complained. Every time he raised a new blister on his sword hand, he felt the need to show it to her proudly. He took good care of their horses too. He is still no squire, she reminded herself, but I am no knight, no matter how many times he calls me "ser." She would have sent him on his way, but he had nowhere to go. Besides, though Podrick said he did not know where Sansa Stark had gone, it might be that he knew more than he realized. Some chance remark, half-remembered, might hold the key to Brienne's quest. - Brienne III, AFFC

Brienne had been betrothed at seven, to a boy three years her senior, Lord Caron's younger son, a shy boy with a mole above his lip. They had only met the once, on the occasion of their betrothal. Two years later he was dead, carried off by the same chill that took Lord and Lady Caron and their daughters. Had he lived, they would have been wed within a year of her first flowering, and her whole life would have been different. She would not be here now, dressed in man's mail and carrying a sword, hunting for a dead woman's child. More like she'd be at Nightsong, swaddling a child of her own and nursing another. It was not a new thought for Brienne. It always made her feel a little sad, but a little relieved as well. - Brienne III, AFFC

One of the women was very old, one was heavy with child, and one was a girl as fresh and pretty as a flower in spring. When Meribald took them off to hear their sins, Ser Hyle chuckled, and said, "It would seem the gods walk with us . . . at least the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone." Podrick looked so astonished that Brienne had to tell him no, they were only three marsh women. - Brienne V, AFFC

"Podrick has never harmed you. My father will ransom him. Tarth is called the sapphire isle. Send Podrick with my bones to Evenfall, and you'll have sapphires, silver, whatever you want." [...] Brienne felt the hemp constricting, digging into her skin, jerking her chin upward. Ser Hyle was cursing them eloquently, but not the boy. Podrick never lifted his eyes, not even when his feet were jerked up off the ground. If this is another dream, it is time for me to awaken. If this is real, it is time for me to die. All she could see was Podrick, the noose around his thin neck, his legs twitching. Her mouth opened. Pod was kicking, choking, dying. Brienne sucked the air in desperately, even as the rope was strangling her. Nothing had ever hurt so much. She screamed a word.  - Brienne VIII, AFFC

Brienne is similar to Arya in terms of motherly instincts. She maybe begrudges her responsibility to Pod at first, but she recognises that responsibility straight away and takes it on nevertheless, protecting him, teaching him, encouraging him. Pod meanwhile seems to love Brienne, taking pride in being her squire, wanting to be at her side at all times. In the end, honour, quite possibly the most important thing for Brienne, is sacrificed to save Pod’s life.

It’s another deconstruction of classic fairy tale characters. Motherhood is associated with protection, and so the gnc women in the series taking on protector roles of the more traditional sense (ruling, wielding a sword, knighthood, etc.) are also mothers at the same time, and the classic princess is what she would realistically be like - superficial and largely without those instincts. It’s another reason to think Arya/ Brienne/ Daenerys will end the series with children of their own.

[selkiewife]

Another perspective of the Sansa and Sweetrobin Dynamic

cw: contains mentions of rape, abuse, and sexual assault

@rhaenyra-snow I said I would tag you when I got my thoughts together. I am responding to your meta but also some of the comments and discourse I saw surrounding it. So if I get something wrong, let me know. But like I said, a large part of this is a response to the general discourse about Sansa and Sweetrobin. Obviously, you don’t have to read this, if it doesn’t interest you. It did get kind of long lol. And it’s primarily a Sansa meta. But I wanted to tag you, since you wrote the meta I am referring to. I am honestly not here to stir up any more drama, just offer another perspective of Sansa’s arc in regards to motherhood and her relationship with Sweetrobin.

First off, I completely unequivocally agree that Arya, Daenerys, and Brienne exhibit excellent maternal skills and I loved the parts of the meta that described those scenes. They were so lovely and I agree that it is a deconstruction of the typical “gnc character who isn’t maternal” trope. And I am totally here for that! For Arya specifically, as she is so compassionate and sweet and mature in the books!

And while I do think that it would be perfectly fine- and even very interesting for Sansa not to be maternal, I think it is too soon to tell that because of her age, the abusive situation she is in, and because I actually think that GRRM is doing something different in Sansa’s arc with motherhood than he is doing with Arya, Daenerys, and Brienne’s arcs. 

I think that Sansa’s situation with Sweetrobin is arguably more fucked up than the situations with Arya, Daenerys, and Pod- not their entire arcs (those are incredibly fucked up, poor children!)- just the specific “tasked with caring for a child” situation. Because even though Arya, Daenerys, and Brienne have been sexually assaulted or threatened with sexual assault, Sansa is still currently being sexually assaulted by Baelish while trying to care for her cousin, who she was almost betrothed to, who was breastfed until eight years old by Sansa’s Aunt, who Baelish murdered because she was trying to throw Sansa through the moon door... there are just a lot of fucked up levels to deal with here. There is a lot to unpack.

That being said, I am not blaming Sweetrobin at all for that. I agree that he is also dealing with PTSD. However, in real life, I would never expect a thirteen year old who is currently being sexually assaulted and groomed to be able to competently care for another child who is also dealing with PTSD, grief, etc. And I wouldn’t expect Arya, Daenerys, or Brienne to deal with it well either. If they do, that’s wonderful, but again, I wouldn’t expect it.    

The way I read it, the reason she doesn’t want Sweetrobin in her bed is because he nuzzles her breasts, trying to breastfeed- which is not his fault of course, he is seeking comfort after the death of his mother- but Sansa has a specific trigger because that is where she was groped on her forced wedding night. In the discourse, some fans were saying that Arya would let Sweetrobin sleep with her without any problems. That might be true. But whether or not Arya would allow Sweetrobin to nuzzle her in the same way isn’t really a fair measure of maternal capability because, though she is also an abuse survivor, she may have different triggers than Sansa. Recovery is different for everyone and I would never expect one abuse victim to be okay with a situation just because another abuse victim is.

That being said, I saw in a lot of the comments that people thought Sansa defenders were trying to sexualize breastfeeding. I don’t think that is true. They were saying that Sansa is being triggered. Sexual assault victims can be triggered by things that were not intended to be sexual assault. That’s what sucks about PTSD- it doesn’t care about intent. In fact, even though statistically many mothers who are survivors of molestation and sexual abuse do want to breastfeed in larger numbers than those who don’t- it still can be incredibly difficult and there are support groups and lactation therapy interventions set up specifically to offer support with this issue. That being said, she still allowed him in her room for many nights until she couldn’t take it anymore. And that is because she is compassionate to his situation. 

But even if she did not have that specific trigger, everyone has the right not to be touched if they don’t want to be- even if it is to make another person feel better. I know most people agreed with that. However, even though most fans agree with that, a lot of people were critical of the way Sansa handled getting away from her trigger- saying the way she handled the situation is proof that she is not maternal. 

I also saw people saying that Sansa was being deliberately cruel to Sweetrobin when she had his door locked. I am not going to try to defend that choice. I don’t think it was the right thing to do objectively. However, I can totally empathize with the fact that she is completely out of her depth here and does not know how to handle the situation. And like most people her age, I do not think she thought it through completely. And even then, she does let him back in her room after this incident and he sleeps with her multiple times afterwards:

He cuddled close and laid his head between her breasts. "Alayne? Are you my mother now?""I suppose I am," she said. If a lie was kindly meant, there was no harm in it.

Would Arya have made the same mistake? I agree that she would probably have been more direct. But like I said, I do think that Sweetrobin is a more difficult situation that Weasel, Missandei, or Pod. I can’t imagine any of those three children wanting to be breastfed by Arya, Daenerys, or Brienne. I also don’t remember anything described about them having horrible temper tantrums where they throw porridge bowls at people or threaten to execute people by throwing them down the moon door. I’m not saying that it is Sweetrobin’s fault- it is a result of how he was raised and how frightened and grief stricken he is- But that does make it a bit more difficult for Sansa to do the perfect motherly thing all the time in this situation. It would be hard for an adult woman to be perfect as well. Even though it is more difficult to care for Sweetrobin (through no fault of his own) Sansa is the only person that is able to do it- and people call on her to do so all the time when they can’t manage him- which I think does show that she is maternal:

"If m'lady can talk him out of bed nice," the knight said, "I won't have to drag him out." We can't have that, she told herself. 

and

"Be careful," Alayne told her. "He can hurt you, flailing. You wouldn't think so, but he can." They found a place for him, a cleft in the rock to keep him out of the cold wind. Alayne tended him until the shaking passed, whilst Mya went back to help the others cross.

This shows that she has compassion and understands that it is not his fault he has seizures. It shows that she is willing to stay and tend to him when others back off. She is also able to get him down the mountain when he is understandably terrified. 

He is afraid, she thought, and with good reason. Since his lady mother had fallen, the boy would not even stand upon a balcony, and the way from the Eyrie to the Gates of the Moon was perilous enough to daunt anyone.

"Mya will keep the mules from biting," Alayne said, "and I'll be riding just behind you. I'm only a girl, not as brave or strong as you. If I can do it, I know you can, Sweetrobin."

Alayne took Robert’s gloved hand in her own to stop his shaking.

“Sweetrobin,” she said, “I’m scared. Hold my hand, and help me get across. I know you’re not afraid.”

He looked at her, his pupils small dark pinpricks in eyes as big and white as eggs. “I’m not?”

“Not you. You’re my winged knight, Ser Sweetrobin.”

“The Winged Knight could fly,” Robert whispered. 

“Higher than the mountains.” She gave his hand a squeeze.

She makes him feel safe and she makes him feel capable. This in and of itself is an example of good mothering skills.

I said before that I think GRRM is doing something different with the maternal motifs in Arya, Daenerys, and Brienne versus Sansa. I think that in Arya, Daenerys and Brienne’s chapters the motherhood themes are there to reveal their characters- to show the readers how compassionate they are and establish them as protectors- on this we completely agree. 

I think where we disagree is that I don’t think that the motherhood theme in Sansa’s chapters are there to deconstruct her mothering skills as an individual but more to deconstruct mothering itself. Sansa is a learning character- her arc has a lot to do with unlearning the patriarchal lies she has been raised with while also learning how to survive within those constraints. She fantasized about knights and princes. So she learns the hard way that knights are not always virtuous, that handsome princes can be horrifically cruel, etc. She also fantasized about motherhood. And now she is learning that motherhood is harder than she thought. Yes mothering instinct is one thing- and Sansa’s instinct is to be compassionate to Sweetrobin. But what happens when the child is dealing with grief or has special needs, or you have no real help or you are dealing with traumatic stress yourself? Motherhood is hard as hell even for adult women who chose it, not to mention how hard it must be for girls who are Arya and Sansa’s ages. In spite of that, I do think that Sansa is rising to the occasion- not as immediately as Arya, Daenerys, or Brienne perhaps. But steadily- and I think that fits her arc since her motherhood themes are character development ones instead of character illuminating ones.

Because of this, it kind of reminds me of when people wrongly call Daenerys a bad ruler based on her ruling of Mereen. That pisses me off so much! Because Daenerys is given the most difficult ruling arc in the series. I agree wholeheartedly with the metas I have read that she is the answer to GRRM’s original question about the knitty grittiness of ruling instead of “and he ruled wisely and well.” She is an excellent ruler but her chapters are showing that ruling is fucking hard, even when you are excellent. Just as Daenerys is the answer to “he ruled wisely and well,” I think Sansa and Sweetrobin is the answer to, “she took the child under her wing and was a perfect mother to him.” Given the incredibly difficult circumstances, she is learning to be a truly excellent caretaker of him.

And look, I am not saying that Sansa is perfect! I’m not saying she is not mean spirited or petty at times. I’m also not saying that locking Sweetrobin in his room was the correct way to deal with the situation. I’m not saying any of those things. But what is compelling to me (and what I personally love about Sansa) is that she has done mean spirited things, but also extremely kind things. She is capable of sass and meanness and also true compassion. I’m genuinely not trying to erase her flaws. I know some fans do that. But fans do that with literally all the characters. I personally love her, flaws and all. I mean, I am a Theon fan first and foremost so... it doesn’t bother me when I read about her frustrations with Sweetrobin. I think it’s a realistic reaction and understandable.

And we do see that she is frustrated as hell with Sweetrobin at times, but she never lets it show- she is always sweet and soothing to him after Lysa dies. Real mothers also get extremely frustrated with their children sometimes and they strive to keep the same kind of patience that Sansa does. 

Perhaps we should view her locking him in his room as a thirteen year old abuse victim’s way of dealing with the fact that she didn’t trust herself to be sweet while voicing her frustrations with him. It was the wrong move, but she’s thirteen. Perhaps one of the actual adults in the situation could have stepped in at that point. But they don’t. And in spite of that incident, she does let him sleep with her again. She puts her own feelings aside for his. Which means that she lets him nuzzle her, even though it triggers her. It also means she gets up at night after he has a seizure to change the bed and to clean him up. This shows me that she is striving to overcome her own feelings in order to help this defenseless child. She even says here:

Why not surround him with Winged Knights? She had thought one night, after Sweetrobin had finally drifted off to sleep. His own Kingsguard, to keep him safe and make him brave.

This shows that she is continuing to let him sleep with her and also thinking about ways to protect him and give him a sense of security after he has fallen asleep. Which is incredibly maternal. Sansa is truly rising to the occasion of being motherly to Sweetrobin in spite of her triggers and her own current traumatic stress. But what is so heartbreaking is- she shouldn’t have to! And neither should Arya. They are both abused children that desperately need their own mother. So when they make mistakes with child care, I think we can view those mistakes with compassion. 

Now, I know that all I just wrote might sound ridiculous if you believe that Sansa is knowingly poisoning Sweetrobin. I personally do not take that view. I think it is just as unfounded as people who think that Daenerys will burn Kings Landing. 

I actually think that Sansa is going to eventually break out from Baelish’s manipulation and abuse and save Sweetrobin or at least try to. I think that Little Finger constantly making her an accomplice is similar to Theon with Ramsay and how he eventually saves Jeyne- but that is another meta for another time (which I do intend to write lol) and this has gotten way too long already.

Now, I could be totally wrong about all of this. As I said, this is just my interpretation- but who knows when it comes to GRRM? My faith in him has been significantly shaken based on the end of the TV series and the way he writes the sexual scenes in the books... Perhaps he is trying to say that Sansa is not maternal because she reacts the way she does to being triggered as a thirteen year old, while living in the same household as one of her abusers. But if that is the case, it is deeply misogynistic of him. 

It’s also odd that we even have to have this discussion about children caring for other children as if they were adults. Is it really fair to judge any of these characters about their maternal instincts or how they rise to the occasion of being motherly when they are all children themselves and put in such horrible situations that would be daunting for adult women? This seems to be largely on GRRM’s writing. Also the fact that we never debate how “fatherly” Jon, Robb, Theon, or Bran are, which again, possibly has to do with the writing itself. So perhaps instead of fighting each other over whose interpretation is more misogynistic, we should take a hard look at how misogynistic the writing is in and of itself. Hopefully GRRM can tie this up so that it is not as misogynistic as I fear it might be. (I truly hope so.) But that is a larger conversation to be had.