#whose name is VALOR in english

[idontliketomatoesleavemealone]

german translators, seeing a guy named Fearless: lol how about Heldenmut (Hero‘s Bravery) instead

[epicspheal]

Not Yet! We can fight on! An Iris Analysis

Ah Iris…I remember when we first got information about her through anime leaks how Serebii.net forums were going wild. A dark-skinned female as Ash’s companion? I was fighting for my life trying to defend her because people were…not that accepting of her to say the least.

I like Iris, both her anime and game counterparts. But this analysis is going to be centered on her game counterpart (since this blog is mostly gameverse centered). While our time with her in both Black/White and Black 2/White 2 is overall pretty limited we can still gain a lot of information about who she is in the game’s world

Let’s start with her name. Fun fact! Iris is the only champion (bar Red) whose name is the same in both English and Japanese. The name Iris comes from the plant genus named Iris which actually comes from the Greek Goddess of Rainbows, Iris. Now this Greek Goddess doesn’t have a whole lot of mythology around her, but her key role was to be the connection between humans and gods. A divine messenger of sorts. Given Iris’ ability to understand the hearts of dragons, the Tao Trio being revered in Unova, and her being from a Village that lives as one with dragon types it makes sense why this is her name. She’s a bridge between humans and dragon types which I think is really sweet.

Now back to the Iris flowers, we know Pokemon loves floral and plant symbolism. And the Iris flower has no shortage of symbolism with it meaning faith, courage, valor, hope and wisdom. Iris as a character certainly has a lot of courage being a dragon tamer of some pretty fierce dragon types at such a young age. She has a lot of faith and hope in her and her team’s power. She shows plenty of valor by offering to be Bianca’s bodyguard in Castelia city and stepping up against Team Plasma in the Plasma Castle. And as we see in Pokemas, she is growing in her wisdom.

But wait there’s more! Even the individual colors of the Iris flower (of which there are many) also have their own unique meanings. Since Iris is very much related to the color purple, let’s use that one for more analysis. The purple iris symbolizes royalty, wisdom, strength and courage. Wisdom and Courage are repeated themes for Iris as we see. Strength and Royalty can be tied to her status as champion as they’re the strongest trainers of the regions and (especially in places like Galar) can be seen as royalty among the league.

Now let’s take a look at her team. For this I’m going to be only using her normal mode team

We see here that she uses a mix of Dragon-Type Pokemon and Pokemon that are dragon-adjacent much like Lance. However unlike Lance, she doesn’t repeat any species (which is mainly due to Unova having more variety in Dragon Types). She uses 12 of then (at the time) 17 types with a fair spread of both physical and special damaging moves showing that she does value coverage a lot. She has a lot of coverage for ice types with fire and fighting to combat ice, and fire, fighting and ground to combat steel which resists dragon moves. Even though the fairy type had not yet debuted, it seems like Iris was already future-proofing her team with the addition of Aggron. She also tends to favorite spread moves (Surf, Earthquake, Rock Slide) and some high-risk/high-reward moves (Double Edge, Focus Blast, Endeavor, etc) which gives the impression her style of battling is very high-powered and likely means her champion room needs to be pretty sturdy to withstand the level of her attacks.

"I heard this lady's scream and ran after the thief as fast as I could. But this city is so big and so crowded… I'm afraid I lost them. […] But that's so bad! Taking people's Pokémon is really bad! 'Cause it's really nice when people and Pokémon are together! They each have something the other doesn't, and they help each other!"

This is our first introduction to Iris after she helps out Bianca after she gets her Pokemon stolen from her. We can see right off the bat that despite being young she’s very eager to help others, which gives me the vibes that in another universe she’d be a perfect Pokemon Protagonist. Also we see that she truly values the relationship between people and Pokemon which again tracks since she not only grew up in the Village of Dragons, her empathic abilities that allow her to connect with Dragon types at a deeper level would increase her love on the bond people and Pokemon typically share.

We also see in the Castelia City events that she does struggle bit with getting around the city, but that seems to be more of a result of Castelia being so unfamiliar to her versus her being like Lillie or Leon who have more overall struggles with with direction, since she can navigate Opelucid City just fine.

"That single Dragon Pokémon, along with twin heroes, brought a new region into being. And people and Pokémon had happy lives!! In its pursuit of truth, the white Dragon-type Pokémon sought to usher in a new and better world… Its name was Reshiram. And the other, the black Dragon-type Pokémon, sought ideals and to usher in a new world--a world of hope. Its name was Zekrom. But, but… The two heroes' sons started the battle again! And an instant later, Reshiram and Zekrom destroyed Unova with fire and lightning! Then, they disappeared! But, but… If people work with Pokémon in the right way, we don't have to worry anymore about the world being destroyed. I mean, Reshiram and Zekrom worked hard for everyone and made a new region! So, it should be all right, I think."

Iris is also the one in both versions to tell us the origin story of Reshiram and Zekrom showing her deep knowledge of Unova cultural history. Now here we get a bit of a divide where in Black she is Drayden’s apprentice and will teach the move Draco Meteor to your Pokemon, but in White we actually face her as the gym leader.

"The pain of my Pokémon… I feel it, too!"

Here we get a glimpse of her powers in action, albeit subtly. It’s very clear she’s an empath and that the bond between her and her Pokemon is so strong that she can feel when they take hits. Which when you think of the attacks she puts on her teams, shows that she tries to finish battles quickly to minimize the shared pain.

We see her again at N’s castle bravely fighting against the seven sages so Hilda/Hilbert can face N, once again showing her courage and I swear in another universe she was the BW protagonist. She fits the bill so well

"Sometimes I think about the village where I was born, but I'm totally OK! Because I met lots of Pokémon--and all of you!"

This quote comes from Caitlin’s Villa where she remarks about her time in the Village of Dragons, showing that she doesn’t mind being away from it because she’s made so many new friends!

"… Looking for Team Plasma? But Team Plasma disbanded two years ago!"

Fast forward two years in-universe and meet her once again in Castelia City as Hugh and Nate/Rosa are giving chase to Neo Team Plasma. As she helps them to the sewers we can see she’s gotten a better grasp on navigating the big city as she no longer complains of getting lost. We can see though, she is taken aback a bit by the claims that Team Plasma is still around, but nevertheless she still helps out.

"Yahoo! I haven't seen you since I ran into you in Castelia City! Are you here to battle Grandpa? Yep! Opelucid City's Gym Leader, Drayden, is my grandpa. We're not really related, though! Oh! The Gym is that way! Before challenging it, you might want to go to Route 9! Still, your Pokémon really respect you! I feel how much fun your Pokémon are having, even from inside their Poké Balls! Good luck!"

We meet up with her again in Opelucid City where we see in both versions that Drayden is now the one gym leader for the city which is foreshadowing that Iris has ascended to a higher position. But also we get a confirmation that Drayden and Iris have a grandparent-grandchild relationship even if they aren’t blood related. And once again we get a bit of hint of her powers as she can sense the fun the player’s Pokemon are having, showing that although her powers seem most related to draconic , she can still sense the feelings of other Pokemon too.

"Know what? I really look forward to having serious battles with strong Trainers! I mean, come on! The Trainers who make it here are Trainers who desire victory with every fiber of their being! And they are battling alongside Pokémon that have been through countless difficult battles! If I battle with people like that, not only will I get stronger, my Pokémon will, too! And we'll get to know each other even better! OK! Brace yourself! I'm Iris, the Pokémon League Champion, and I'm going to defeat you!"

I really love this quote in particular because it shows how much she looks forward to tough fights as it helps her deepen the bonds between her and her Pokemon. This is in contrast to at the time, the only other kid champion of the series, Blue, who was more concerned about gloating about his tactical mindset in assembling a powerful and versatile team. It shows the different mindsets we see between the two child-prodigies (thankfully though, Blue does change his mindset). The fact that we both began and end the 2D era of the franchise (Gen 1 to Gen 5) with the champion being a child is a nice way to bring it all together for that time of Pokemon.

Iris’ pre-champion fight quote also ties into a quote you can only access in the memory link cutscenes

"I've already decided! I know what kind of Champion I will be! There's a myth in Sinnoh that says that the reason why Pokémon jump out is because they want to thank people. I'm sure that we and Pokémon have helped each other and enriched the world since ancient times. These memories have been engraved in each Pokémon's heart! So, I want Pokémon and people to get closer and closer! As the Champion, I want to tell that to everybody!"

Here we can see once again how knowledgeable she is about myths, not just in Unova but Sinnoh as well. But also we can see how this helps inform how she wants to be a champion. That she wants to help facilitate the bonds between Pokemon and People. This really shows her mindset as being quite mature for her age as she’s not focused on showing off her strength as much, even though yes she still doesn’t like to lose.

"So, this room is the Hall of Fame! Your name and your Pokémon's names will be recorded here so these important things will never be forgotten: That you are an excellent and kind Trainer! That you are considerate toward your Pokémon, and you give them your whole heart! And that your wonderful Pokémon believe in their Trainer with all their hearts, and together you have a strength that knows no bounds! Hey, c'mon! Oh, excuse me… ! To the Trainer standing before me! And to the Pokémon at your side! Your beautiful bond has grown strong through battle! In order to make this bond an eternal treasure, your names shall be recorded here!"

I also find this quote really endearing as you can see that even though she’s giving a serious impactful speech, she’s still just a kid and sometimes slips up a bit. She is really trying to live up to the role of being champion which we see impacts her a lot in one of the Pokemon Masters EX events- The Shining Hearts of Dragons

Is he saying…I'd be an embarrassment to Unova?"

Oof…if ever I wanted to jump through my screen and throw hands with NPCs, it was those jerk adults who were calling Iris an embarrassment. It seems being a kid does not protect you from the harsh criticism of people who keep an eye on the league. We see Iris definitely feels pressure as being the youngest champion at the event. All of the other champions are adults (or in Blue’s case an older teen) and she’s coming off the heels of Alder who is a wise veteran champion.

"It's just…Diantha is so pretty, calm, and mature… […] Diantha is amazing…I wanna be that elegant and cool when I grow up, too."

You can see of all the older champions she definitely looks up to Diantha the most. Which is very fitting considering it’s Diantha who ultimately mentors her to help her get out of the funk once her Hydreigon goes berserk thanks to the actions of Team Break

"I wanted to make sure people knew me…and accepted me…I just wanted to make everyone happy. I wanted them to know that I'm the proud Champion of Unova… […]"I remember thinking I'd become a great Champion, just like Alder was! But I don't think I can do it anymore…I don't have the experience…and I'm just a kid…"

We can see how much the incident (and Lance’s stern warning) affected her. Hydreigon going out of control was also a hard blow because we learn in her “Day with Iris (Champion Alt)” story that she struggled to control it initially (again drawing more parallels to Blue as he also couldn’t handle his Aerodactyl at the start of his journey). So having Hydreigon act up again right when she was trying to show how capable she is as champion was a huge blow. She wants to be seen as mature and to be accepted. The acceptance part likely stems from her being from the Village of Dragons which has a vastly different culture than Unova and how she likely feels like an outsider at times. Poor Iris, she needs a hug.

Thankfully though she manages to find her way and get back to her peppy self by the end of the event. Feeling more confident in her abilities as champion. Which is important once we see her in the multiple Unova Neo Champion events where she presides as the main judge. In all the events she definitely seems to prioritize how people and Pokemon connect via their hearts and their ideas of strength

While Iris has certainly stepped up to the plate in showing her ability to be a mature, albeit young, champion. She thankfully still has time to still be a kid. A lot of her dialogue in the Pokemon Center talks about playing and having fun. But more importantly she got to get a whole bunch of candy, and new friends in Allister and Naganadel in the “Otherworldly Encounter” Halloween event. It was really adorable to see her team up with a ghost type expert like Allister who also happens to have supernatural powers much like her and just be able to hang out and enjoy getting a bunch of candy.

“But I can tell how it's feeling! I bet it was just afraid because it came to a place it doesn't know well!  was the same when I moved to the large cities of Unova from the Village of the Dragons! I was really nervous since there were so many tall buildings–and a lot of people."

I really liked this moment where she stands up to someone as domineering as Lusamine in defense of Poipole as she could relate to how the ultra beast felt being in an unfamiliar place.

“Yeah! I bet a concert with Roxie is gonna be so much fun! I understand how you feel, Roxie! I have an important dream as a Champion too...So I think I can sing with the same feelings as you!"

Lastly, I wanted to point out this small bit of dialogue from “Who’s the best singer” Where we see that Iris not only enjoys Roxie’s music but that she has a bit of musical talent as well. I really love instances like this in Pokemon Master’s where we can see characters step beyond just their defined role in-game. So not only have we gotten a chance to see her play with kids around her age and get candy, but we also get to see her sing with a rockstar! All in all, Game!Iris is a really incredible character who I’ve enjoyed since I first played White all those years ago. She’s certainly gone through a lot in her young life and I’d honestly love to see how she’s grown up since the events of BW2.

[queenoffishingandcookies]

Something that made me feel like an idiot was not getting how the written form of Battler’s name was actually read (in Kanji).

I knew it was weird because it was foreign, and the way that the kanji was read was strange and different from normal readings.

However, I did not get that the jist of why Battler’s name is so weird is because the kanji isn’t read the same way that it is pronounced.

As in, the actual reading of the kanji doesn’t matter - it’s the meaning of the two together where Battler gets his name from).

(I spent way too long trying to figure out why 戦人 = Battler, when none of the different readings had the sound of ‘ba’ or ‘tora’. I was literally looking at the reading of them. This is what screwed me over when trying to make a name for Fem! Battler a while back until I figured it out).

戦人 is two kanji, which have several readings.

Kun’yomi is the Japanese reading usually used for singular words. On’yomi is the original Chinese reading usually used for compounds (and that also differs depending on what period of time they come from), and lastly Nanori - readings of the kanji that are usually only used for names.

戦:

- ikusa, tatakau (いくさ、たたかう) = Kun’yomi

- sen (セン) = On’yomi

- se (せ) = Nanori

人:

hito, ri, to (ひと、〜り、〜と) = Kun’yomi

jin, nin (ジン、ニン) = On’yomi

ji, ne, hiko, fumi (じ、ね、ひこ、ふみ) = Nanori

Neither of the kanji are read as syllables for Batora, or, anglicized, Battler (though in the valor post I needed to break them down that way for her kanji or I’d lose my mind). In the VN, Battler himself mentions that most people misread his name as Sento.

However, the translated meaning of the two kanji together can mean Battler.

戦 means war, or battle, or fight.

人 means person.

So - taken literally - his name is Fighting Person, War Person, Fight Person, etc. Transliterated, it could be either Soldier or Battler.

In English, Battler literally means a person who fights, a soldier, etc.

Battler’s name isn’t meant to be read with any sort of native kanji reading, On’yomi or Kun’yomi, at all.

It’s pronounced as a foreign word that the meaning of the Kanji translates into - Fight + Person = Battler.

The reading doesn’t matter, the meaning does.

Which I find interesting, considering the rest of his families names.

Example: Jessica.

Different from Battler, whose name is read not from Kanji pronunciation but their translated meaning, the kanji in Jessica’s name seems to have been selected for the sounds they made - not their meaning.

In Kanji, Jessica’s name is written as 朱志香.

朱 means red, scarlet, vermillion, cinnabar, bloody, etc. From what I can tell, there’s only an on’yomi reading - シュ (shu). In Nanori, it can be read as a, aka, aki, and su (あ、あか、あき、す).

志 means intention, plan, resolve, motive, hopes, etc. It’s Kun’yomi reading is こころざす or こころざし - romanized as kokoroza(su) or kokorozashi. In On’yomi, it’s read as shi (シ).

The Nanori for it is: じん、べ、べし、ゆき - jin, be, beshi, or Yuki.

香 means incense, fragrance, perfume, smell, etc. In Kun’yomi, it’s read as か、かおり (ka, kaori). In On’yomi, it is either コウ or キョウ (kou, kyou).

The Nanori readings are こ、こお、ひゃん、and よし (Ko, kō/ko-o, hyan, yoshi).

In Jessica’s case, the kanji reads On’yomi for the first two characters and Kun’yomi for the last one - romanized as shushika, though it is pronounced as Jeshika, or, Jessica.

In English, the name Jessica means foresight, to behold, to see something (oh the irony). This doesn’t align with the kanji used to spell her name, though the sound does.

Jessica’s name, in Kanji, can be read as the crimson fragrance of purpose or perfume of crimson purpose - or something along those lines, I think. They were chosen not for their meaning, but for the sounds they read as which were closest to the pronunciation of the name elsewhere.

I’m…pretty sure the rest of the family born into the Ushiromiya Blood (Kinzo notwithstanding) follows Jessica’s naming tradition, where the kanji is based in the sound they make and not the meaning.

So Battler is the only Ushiromiya whose name isn’t meant to be read by the kanji, but by the translated meaning, whereas everyone’s else’s names are read with either On’yomi or Kun’yomi or both.

(I can not remember for the life of me where it is mentioned, but I think it’s implied that Kinzo either named or had a hand in naming his grandchildren? Rosa mentions in a conversation regarding the epitaph I think, he was very upset when she named Maria without his input.

So Battler’s complaints about their parents giving them their weird names can actually be pinned on Kinzo, depending on how involved he was).

[norvgchar]

Deadlock from Valorant is a Norwegian character, whose real name is Iselin, a typical Norwegian name that was popular through 1990 to 2010.

Iselin is voiced by voice actress is Nora Gjestvang, a Norwegian voice actress who appears to be from the Norwegian district Romerike. Gjestvang speaks in a typical eastern Norwegian or capital-adjacent dialect, which is carried over to the character. Gjestvang has previously been the Norwegian voices for characters like Moana/Vaiana (from Disney’s Moana/Vaiana) and Tulip Olsen (from Infinity Train). Compared to other Norwegian media, her type of voice, way of speaking and dialect are very commonly seen in television series and movies aimed at a younger audience.

In the introductory cinematic for Iselin, as well as in-game, there is Norwegian dialogue. The cinematic’s Norwegian lines are grammatically correct, but they remain stiff, unnatural and unexpected. It is clear, however, that the voice actors hired are Norwegian speakers. Examples of these weird lines are such as “Du blir tilintetgjort!”, roughly translating to “You are being annihilated!”, when Deadlock attacks a polar bear on Svalbard.

In-game, the voice lines remain short and leave little room for cringe, though they are full of swears. In one of the voice lines, she says her own name, “Iselin”, in a weird fashion. Otherwise, there seems to be voice lines that randomly insert Norwegian in an unnatural fashion, but they’re there none-the-less. Some of the lines seem to be pieced together or like an off-take. The voice actress, Gjestvang, seems to have an issue with the word “smørøyet” (”the butter eye”, a term used here as “in the middle”/”bullseye”), which she pronounces “smørje”. Spoken Norwegian is not standardized the same way as written Norwegian, and this might be a weird eastern European dialect thing. Her accent in English is pretty on-point, and is offensively apparent or German.

There is not a lot of lore available for Iselin. She is or was part of a fictional group called Ståljeger (”steel hunter”), and doesn’t seem to be fond of talking to strangers.

Verdict: Her ass IS Norwegian.

Fun fact: While Norwegian voice actors are often omitted when it comes to portraying Norwegian characters, Valorant has a Swedish character, Breach, voiced by Norwegian-American David Menkin from Moss, Norway. This makes Nora Gjestvang the second Norwegian voice actor for player characters in Valorant, which is two more than video games usually have!

[shimyereh]

Just came across the word “welkin” [heavens, firmament] in Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor:

NYM I have operations which be humors of revenge.

PISTOL Wilt thou revenge?

NYM By welkin and her star!

[I.iii.92-4]

The other place I know I’ve seen this word is in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore, when the chorus of bridesmaids announce the arrival of Richard Dauntless in Act I:

From the briny sea Comes young Richard, all victorious! Valorous is he — His achievements all are glorious! Let the welkin ring With the news we bring! Sing it — shout it — Tell about it — Safe and sound returneth he, All victorious from the sea!

I realized I didn’t know where this word comes from, other than a sense that it feels old and Germanic. My instincts were right!

Modern English “welkin” comes from a Middle English word (welken, welkne, wolkne) describing a range of sky-related concepts: cloud, sky, heavens, the celestial sphere, and (possibly) weather. This in turn comes from an Old English word whose singular (wolcn) means “cloud” and whose plural (wolcnu) means “sky, heavens”. (I love the idea of conceptualizing the sky as the plural of “cloud”! A reflection of typical weather patterns where that usage emerged?) And then, that Old English word traces back to Proto-Germanic *wulkaną [cloud], which in turn traces back to Proto-Indo-European *welg- [damp, wet]. (The defining salient feature of clouds in early Germanic languages was, apparently, that they are wet!)

That same PIE root also turns out to be the source of Proto-Slavic *volga [moisture, wetness] — which is the root of Russian влага/vlaga [moisture] and влажный/vlazhny [moist, damp, humid] *and* of the name of the River Volga!

[amilst]

Aster Amellus, Michaelmas Daisy. This is always the last flower to bloom in the garden and it never disappoints. Ours has spread to almost six feet wide and has about a thousand blooms.

 Aster means star. According to legend, the plant was formed when Astraea, the Greek Goddess of Justice, Innocence, Purity,  and Precision cried when she saw there were no stars upon the earth.  Her tears then brought  forth the flowers. 

The more difficult question is what is Amellus. The name was first coined by the Latin Poet Publiius Vergilius Maro, commonly known as Virgil.  He wrote:  “Flow'r there is that grows in Meadow Ground, Amellus call'd, and easy to be found; For from one Root the rising Stem bestows A Wood of Leaves, and vi'let .”

The English common name derives from the flowers being in bloom during Michaelmas, the Feast of Saint  Michael. Michael was not just a Saint,  but an Archangel whose name מִיכָאֵל ‎, in Hebrew, means “Who is like God.  He certainly deserves the title. He is featured as a significant player in the holy books of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, quite a feat. He saved Lot, told Sarah she would bear a son, then rescued Isaac from his mad father, rescued Jacob when he was just an embryo, and won the argument over Satan not to drown the Jews in the Red Sea, along with the Egyptians,  because they worshipped idols. If that were not enough, in the New Testament,  he led God’s army in the war of all wars against Satan in the Book of Revelation. Fittingly: “The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds.”

In the movie, Michael returns to earth, played brilliantly by one of my favorite actors John Travolta. In the scene below, his power is evident as Travolta does what does best: dance.

The flowers are about the size of a half dollar and composed of thirty or so  one inch purple strands arranged in a circle around a golden center. Because nothing else is in bloom, the few remaining bees jump from flower to flower gathering the last nectar of the season.

 These purple asters also have a history of medicinal uses. The Iroquois mixed them with bloodroot for preparing a laxative and for treating certain infectious diseases. Scientific studies show that various compounds in the flowers and roots produce anti-inflammatory actions. The Nepalese make a juice from the plant’s roots to treat both topically and internally indigestion and boils.

The Michaelmas Daisy’s favored use, however, is to drive away evil and the dark as well as to repel serpents. Ours works quite well because there has been nary a serpent in the garden as long as I can remember.

[impeccablenest68]

20+ Japanese Names Meaning Warrior: Strength, Courage, and Perseverance – Impeccable Nest

There are several Japanese names that directly translate to "warrior" in English. Some common ones include:

Takeru (武 光 or 武 乾) - Originally meant "hero" or "brave man," it came to represent warriors and soldiers. It contains the kanji for "military" and "shine" respectively. Takeru was the name of a legendary prince in Japanese mythology who was a brave warrior.

Kakeru (香 陵) - Means "warrior fragrance" and contains the kanji for "perfume" and "remains." It suggests a brave fighter whose memory lingers like a sweet scent.

Yukimura (幸村) - Literally translates to "fortunate village." However, it became famous as the name of Sanada Yukimura, a famous warrior who defended his home province during the Warring States period. Now it strongly represents valor and military skill.

Takamaru (高丸)- Contains the kanji for "high" and "circle," referring to one who rises to leadership in battle. It brings to mind an exceptional soldier who leads from the

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Daenerys and Jon | Venus and Mars

Venus, the goddess of: Love. Fertility. Prosperity. Victory. Desire. Beauty.

Epithets: The Mother. The Victorious. The Freedwoman. The Lucky. The Purifier. The Changer of Hearts.

Venusian deities include: Aphrodite, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Astoreth, Asherah

In ancient Babylonia, Venus was known as the ‘divine lady’ and the ‘illumination of heaven’. As the evening star, Venus appears after sunset in the night sky, disappearing for several days before re-emerging as a morning star on the sun's opposite side. The unique path of Venus through the sky has given rise to many prominent myths spanning cultures throughout history. The morning aspect of Venus was designated ‘Lucifer’* by the ancient Romans, literally translating to 'Light-Bringer', a figure presented in poetry as the herald of dawn. Venus has associations with sweet-smelling flowers such as roses and myrtle. The circle-and-cross symbol for Venus, like the Ankh, may represent life or sexual reproduction, and denotes the female sex.

*While the latin word for morning star, Lucifer, has since been applied to the allegorical fall of Satan, it's important to note that another allegorical Venusian figure, Jesus Christ, is also referred to as ‘the bright morning star’ and ���tu verus mundi lucifer’, or, ‘the true light-bringer of the world’.

Mars, the god of: War. Spring. Virility. Valor. Fertility. Agriculture.

Epithets: The Father. The Protector. The Avenger. The Venerable. The Healer. The Peacekeeper.

Martian deities include: Ares, Nergal, Laran, Maris, Lenus, Mangala

In ancient Mesopotamia, Mars was seen as a ‘star of judgment’ and the ‘fate of the dead’. In Roman art and literature, the wolf appears as a sacred animal or symbol of Mars. In one depiction of Mars on the Altar of Peace, he can be seen alongside a wolf, holding a spear wreathed with a garland of laurel, symbolizing peace gained through martial victory. Often, Mars is depicted as nude, representing his fearlessness in battle. Similar to Venus, Mars takes a notable retrograde path through the night sky—appearing to move backward and further east each night before continuing west. The symbol of Mars depicts a sword and shield, used to denote the male sex, as well as the element of iron.

(Venus and Mars by Geraldine Arata)

While Venus represents the watery female essence, and her male counterpart, Mars, represents the fiery male essence, attributes of both deities can be found in Daenerys and Jon alike—from the warlike aspects of Mars to the path Venus takes through the sky and its association with ‘lightbringing’.

The journey that Daenerys takes seems to correspond with the planet's movements through the heavens:

“To go north, you must journey south, to reach the west you must go east. To go forward you must go back and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.”

Venus rises first in the summer sky as the evening star, plunging into the darkness during winter to rise again on the sun’s opposite side as the morning star to herald the sun.

Jon is, likewise, experiencing the path of the planet Venus in an allegorical sense—descending to the underworld only to rise again through resurrection.

Similarly, when it comes to Azor Ahai, we see Daenerys filling the prophecy literally:

“When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.”

In Jon's case, he fits the prophecy figuratively:

After his first two swords shatter (Rhaenys and Aegon), Azor Ahai (Rhaegar) plunges his sword (phallus) into a willing (consenting) Nissa Nissa (Lyanna), whose cries of anguish and ecstasy crack the moon (her womb). Her blood, soul, strength, and courage went into the steel (her baby), and thereafter, Lightbringer (Jon) was never cold to the touch, but warm as Nissa Nissa (his mother) had been warm.

Jon even describes himself as a sword:

     I am the sword in the darkness

And while it is still mere speculation that his true name is also Aegon Targaryen in the books (though there are arguments to be made), bearing such a name would give him further association to Mars and his shield:

Aegis is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, depicted as an animal skin or shield

Targe means shield in late Old English

Aryan borrowed from the Sanskrit word ā́rya/ari- meaning attached, faithful, devoted kinsman

     The shield that guards the realms of men

As for Daenerys, her name might literally translate to ‘light lady’ or ‘lady of light’:

Dae (alternate spelling of 'day’), of American origin, means ‘light and hope’

Nerys means ‘lady’ in Old Welsh

     I am the light that brings the dawn

According to director Alan Taylor, George R.R. Martin confirmed during the filming of season one of Game of Thrones, that:

“It really is all about Dany and Jon.”

But just as both characters encompass the role of Lightbringer, Daenerys and Jon, together, represent the complementary opposites of Venus and Mars: Love and war. Water (ice) and fire. Female and male.​

Born of Venus (Aphrodite) and Mars (Ares):

Concordia (Harmonia), who represents social, marital, and political agreement.

Twins Formido (Deimos) and Pavor (Phobos), who represent dread in the midst of battle and the personification of the fear brought by war, respectively.

Cupid (Eros), who represents desire, love, attraction and affection.

Thus, the union of Venus and Mars:

Inspires fear and dread in battle

Creates ideal social concord

Begets love

A Dream of Spring

“People know an ending—but not the ending.” —George R.R. Martin

Spring marks the end of winter. It is associated with renewal, rebirth, rejuvenation, regrowth, and resurrection. March, the month in which spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, was named for the Roman god Mars, the god of Spring. The second month of spring, April, or Aphrilis, was sacred to the goddess Venus—its name perhaps derrived from equivalent Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Venus, as the ‘light-bringer’ appears most brightly in the December sky, signalling a phase of rebirth, where winter comes to an end, or spring. To the ancient Greeks, the planet Venus was known as Phosphorus, or ‘bringer of light’. The morning star also went by another name, Heosphorus, meaning ‘dawn-bringer’.

Dawn is described as:

"The first appearance of daylight in the morning; daybreak; sunrise”

However, dawn has another definition that might suggest further positive connotations:

“The beginning or rise of anything; advent: the dawn of civilization"

Art commissioned by @dragonanddirewolf​​

“It was only when a great warrior arose with his blazing sword Lightbringer that the darkness was put to rout, and light and love returned once more to the world.“

[butterflies-dragons]

Lúthien and Sansa

Art credit: Lúthien by Aerankai and Sansa by denvertakespics

Recently I started reading about Beren and Lúthien and got really fascinated about how similar Lúthien and Sansa are.

Summary:

1. Beauty

2. Flowery names

3. From dusk to dawn

4. Little birds: nightingales

5. Big birds: eagles and falcons

6. Big cats and big dogs

7. Bat and wolf imagery

8. Singing and dancing

9. Other parallels

10. Beren and Lúthien as inspiration for Jon and Sansa

11. Bonus: from real life to fiction

1. Beauty

Ah, Lúthien! Ah, Lúthien,

more fair than any child of Men!

Oh, loveliest maid of Elvenesse,

what madness doth thee now possess?

Ah, lissom limbs and shadowy hair

and chaplet of white snowdrops there;

oh, starry diadem and bright

soft hands beneath the pale moonlight!

She left his arms and slipped away

just at the breaking of the day.

—Canto VI, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

It is told in the Lay of Leithian that Beren came stumbling into Doriath grey and bowed as with many years of woe, so great had been the torment of the road. But wandering in the summer in the woods of Neldoreth he came upon Luthien, daughter of Thingol and Melian, at a time of evening under moonrise, as she danced upon the unfading grass in the glades beside Esgalduin. Then all memory of his pain departed from him, and he fell into an enchantment; for Luthien was the most beautiful of all the Children of Iluvatar. Blue was her raiment as the unclouded heaven, but her eyes were grey as the starlit evening; her mantle was sewn with golden flowers, but her hair was dark as the shadows of twilight. As the light upon the leaves of trees, as the voice of clear waters, as the stars above the mists of the world, such was her glory and her loveliness; and in her face was a shining light.

[...] The fame of the beauty of Luthien and the wonder of her song had long gone forth from Doriath.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

Lúthien was an Elf maiden/half Maia of incomparable beauty and grace, with night-dark hair, sparkling grey eyes, luminous skin, and a clear heartbreakingly lovely voice that was said to cause winter to melt into spring.

Lúthien was said to be the fairest maiden to have ever lived (a description later shared also by Arwen).

Why, O king, I desire thy daughter Tinúviel, for she is the fairest and most sweet of all maidens I have seen or dreamed of.’

Then was there a silence in the hall, save that Dairon laughed, and all who heard were astounded, but Tinúviel cast down her eyes, and the king glancing at the wild and rugged aspect of Beren burst also into laughter, whereat Beren flushed for shame, and Tinúviel’s heart was sore for him. ‘Why! wed my Tinúviel fairest of the maidens of the world, and become a prince of the woodland Elves—’tis but a little boon for a stranger to ask,’ quoth Tinwelint.

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Lúthien inherited her beauty from her mother Melian:

Melian was a fay. In the gardens of [the Vala] Lórien she dwelt, and among all his fair folk none were there that surpassed her beauty, nor none more wise, nor none more skilled in magical and enchanting song.

—Beren and Lúthien, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa is a beautiful maiden as well, she inherited her beauty from her mother Catelyn Tully:

Worse, she was beautiful. Sansa had gotten their mother’s fine high cheekbones and the thick auburn hair of the Tullys.

—A Game of Thrones - Arya I

"Sansa was a lady at three, always so courteous and eager to please. She loved nothing so well as tales of knightly valor. Men would say she had my look, but she will grow into a woman far more beautiful than I ever was, you can see that. I often sent away her maid so I could brush her hair myself. She had auburn hair, lighter than mine, and so thick and soft . . . the red in it would catch the light of the torches and shine like copper."

—A Clash of Kings - Catelyn VII

About Sansa's beauty, as I said before in another post:

I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are certain consensus and there are also certain conflicting reports about “beauty” in the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire. [...] On the other hand, we have characters like Catelyn Tully and Sansa Stark, mother and daughter, that are consensually considered beautiful. Zero conflicting reports. [...] Sansa Stark is called beautiful the most times in the entire series and by so many characters, friends and foes. There is no doubt about her beauty, and sadly that’s why her big lot of haters want for her to be disfigured so badly……….

As you can see, in a series of books full of unreliable narrators, Sansa's beauty is an absolute truth.

As I'm going to explain in the next section, Sansa's beauty is said to be "bewitching". Sansa is an "enchantress" thanks to her beauty.

Here a compilation of all the quotes about Sansa's beauty.

2. Flowery names

Lúthien was born in a forest under the stars, and niphredil first grew at the moment of her birth.

Niphredil was a small white flower that grew first at the moment of Lúthien's birth.

In one of his letters (Nº 312), Tolkien said that niphredil would be a delicate kin of a snowdrop.

The fact that a flower first grew at the moment of Lúthien's birth makes sense with the etymology of the name:

Lúthien is a Sindarin name meaning "Daughter of Flowers". The first element in the name is lúth ("blossom, inflorescence"). The second element is the feminine suffix -ien ("daughter").

In early writings, Doriathrin Luthien and Noldorin Lhūthien meant "enchantress", deriving from Primitive Quendian luktiēnē ("enchantress"; from root LUK "magic, enhantement").

And as it will be explained later, Lúthien wore fragrant flowers in her beautiful black hair.

Lúthien may have been derived from the Old English word Lufien, which means "love".

Sansa is also a flowery name:

The names Arya and Sansa are meant to represent the polar opposites of their characters, Arya being a hard sounding name, Sansa a softer more pretty name, etc.

—GRRM about The Stark Sisters’ Names

Arya, I say it ar-ya, two syllables, not three, not a-ri-a, like an operatic thing, but Arya, very sharp. I wanted something that was like a knife, that was sharp and hard sound, to be a contrast to the flowery Sansa.

—DAYS OF ICE AND FIRE Q&A (Nov. 13 2010)

Sansa is strongly linked with flowers as well (the rose of Winterfell legend, blue winter roses, the scent of flowers along the north bank of the Trident, Loras’s red rose, Myrcella’s garden, the Roadside Rose song, etc).

Sansa wore the red rose that Loras gave her in her hair.

Sansa has a lot of parallels with Jennys of Oldstones, a lady in a song famous for wearing flowers in her hair.

And about "magic", "enchantment" and "enchantress" we have these very telling quotes:

The pale pink light of dawn sparkled on branch and leaf and stone. Every blade of grass was carved from emerald, every drip of water turned to diamond. Flowers and mushrooms alike wore coats of glass. Even the mud puddles had a bright brown sheen. Through the shimmering greenery, the black tents of his brothers were encased in a fine glaze of ice.

So there is magic beyond the Wall after all. He found himself thinking of his sisters, perhaps because he'd dreamed of them last night. Sansa would call this an enchantment, and tears would fill her eyes at the wonder of it, but Arya would run out laughing and shouting, wanting to touch it all.

—A Clash of Kings - Jon III

"Do you require guarding?" Marillion said lightly. "I am composing a new song, you should know. A song so sweet and sad it will melt even your frozen heart. 'The Roadside Rose,' I mean to call it. About a baseborn girl so beautiful she bewitched every man who laid eyes upon her."

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VII

Bringing Harry here was the first step in our plan, but now we need to keep him, and only you can do that. He has a weakness for a pretty face, and whose face is prettier than yours? Charm him. Entrance him. Bewitch him."

[...] Ser Harrold looked confused. "Please. One dance."

Charm him. Entrance him. Bewitch him. "If you insist."

—The Winds of Winter - Alayne I

As you can see, Sansa's beauty is said to be "bewitching". Sansa, like Lúthien, is an "enchantress."

3. From dusk to dawn

Lúthien is also called Tinúviel:

Tinúviel: ‘Daughter of Twilight’ [...].

—List of names in the original texts, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Tinúviel literally means "Daughter of Twilight".

Beren first saw Lúthien dancing and singing in the twilight:

Now the lies of Melko ran among Beren’s folk so that they believed evil things of the secret Elves, yet now did he see Tinúviel dancing in the twilight, and Tinúviel was in a silver-pearly dress, and her bare white feet were twinkling among the hemlock-stems. Then Beren cared not whether she were Vala or Elf or child of Men and crept near to see; and he leant against a young elm that grew upon a mound so that he might look down into the little glade where she was dancing, for the enchantment made him faint.

[...] “By dawn and dusk he sought her, but ever more hopefully when the moon shone bright. At last one night he caught a sparkle afar off, and lo, there she was dancing alone on a little treeless knoll and Dairon was not there. ”

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

At length Beren fled south from the ever-closing circle of those that hunted him, and crossed the dreadful Mountains of Shadow, and came at last worn and haggard into Doriath. There in secret he won the love of Lúthien daughter of Thingol, and he named her Tinúviel, the nightingale, because of the beauty of her singing in the twilight beneath the trees; for she was the daughter of Melian.

—A passage extracted from the Quenta, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

While Lúthien is associated with the twilight and the moon; Sansa is associated with the dawn and the sun:

All through the dark hours he kept his vigil alone. When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon’s breath surrounded the girls where they lay. “I dreamed of Bran,” Sansa had whispered to him. “I saw him smiling.”

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard V

One more step, she told herself, one more step. She had to keep moving. If she stopped, she would never start again, and dawn would find her still clinging to the cliff, frozen in fear. One more step, and one more step.

The ground took her by surprise. She stumbled and fell, her heart pounding. When she rolled onto her back and stared up at from where she had come, her head swam dizzily and her fingers clawed at the dirt. I did it. I did it, I didn't fall, I made the climb and now I'm going home.

[...] The eastern sky was vague with the first hint of dawn when Sansa finally saw a ghostly shape in the darkness ahead; a trading galley, her sails furled, moving slowly on a single bank of oars. As they drew closer, she saw the ship's figurehead, a merman with a golden crown blowing on a great seashell horn.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa V

When Sansa opened her eyes again, she was on her knees. She did not remember falling. It seemed to her that the sky was a lighter shade of grey. Dawn, she thought. Another day. Another new day. It was the old days she hungered for. Prayed for. But who could she pray to? The garden had been meant for a godswood once, she knew, but the soil was too thin and stony for a weirwood to take root. A godswood without gods, as empty as me. 

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VII

More about Sansa and the dawn here.

4. Little birds: nightingales

Tinúviel is also a term to refer to the nightingale:

Tinúviel: [...] nightingale: name given to Lúthien by Beren.

—List of names in the original texts, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Tinúviel is a Sindarin poetic term, though not a literal name, for the 'Nightingale'. This name was first given to Lúthien of Doriath by Beren when he first saw her dancing in the forest.

Lúthien's mother, Melian, is strongly associated with nightingales:

Melian was a fay. In the gardens of [the Vala] Lórien she dwelt, and among all his fair folk none were there that surpassed her beauty, nor none more wise, nor none more skilled in magical and enchanting song. It is told that the Gods would leave their business and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that Valmar’s bells were silent, and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the mingling of the light Melian sang in the gardens of the God of Dreams. Nightingales went always with her, and their song she taught them. But she loved deep shadow, and strayed on long journeys into the Outer Lands [Middle-earth], and there filled the silence of the dawning world with her voice and the voices of her birds.

The nightingales of Melian Thingol heard and was enchanted and left his folk. Melian he found beneath the trees and was cast into a dream and a great slumber, so that his people sought him in vain.

—Beren and Lúthien, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

In an early version of the tale of Beren and Lúthien, she is called "little bird" by Tevildo:

Now gazing therethrough, for it was ajar, she saw the wide vaulted kitchens and the great fires that burnt there, and those that toiled always within, and the most were cats—but behold, there by a great fire stooped Beren, and he was grimed with labour, and Tinúviel sat and wept, but as yet dared nothing. Indeed even as she sat the harsh voice of Tevildo sounded suddenly within that chamber: ‘Nay, where then in Melko’s name has that mad Elf fled,’ and Tinúviel hearing shrank against the wall, but Tevildo caught sight of her where she was perched and cried: ‘Then the little bird sings not any more; come down or I must fetch thee, for behold, I will not encourage the Elves to seek audience of me in mockery.

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Tevildo was a big black cat, tiger size, considered the Prince of Cats:

Tevildo: The Prince of Cats, mightiest of all cats, ‘possessed of an evil spirit’; a close companion of Morgoth.

—List of names in the original texts, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

In contrast to Lúthien being called "little bird" by a big black cat, Sansa is also called "little bird" by a big man dubbed the Hound:

He was mocking her, she realized. "No one could withstand him," she managed at last, proud of herself. It was no lie.

Sandor Clegane stopped suddenly in the middle of a dark and empty field. She had no choice but to stop beside him. "Some septa trained you well. You're like one of those birds from the Summer Isles, aren't you? A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught you to recite."

"That's unkind." Sansa could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. "You're frightening me. I want to go now."

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa II

As you can see, Lúthien and Sansa are called little birds by a big cat and a big dog respectively, but those beast-like creatures were antagonist figures to our heroines and the term little bird was no endearment but a way to mock and threat them.

We will come back to this cat versus dog issue later.

About Sansa and the nightingale, as I said before in another post:

She [Sansa] is also called “little bird” and a very special little bird, the one that makes the sweetest sounds, is the Nightingale.

The hours in ASOIAF have names. The hour of the Wolf is “the blackest part of the night”, and the hour of the Nightingale, comes after the hour of the Wolf. This means that the hour of the Wolf is exactly before the Dawn or the Hour of the Nightingale. Awesome right?

The song of the nightingale has been described as one of the most beautiful sounds in nature, inspiring songs, fairy tales, opera, books, and a great deal of poetry. And who is the character often described with the sweetest voice in ASOIAF? Yes that’s Sansa Stark, she sings beautifully with the sweetest voice.

So after the Long Night, the Dawn will come. The Starks will be there. Sansa will be there.

More about Sansa and the nightingale here.

Now, the association of Lúthien's mother, Melian, with nightingales:

Melian sang in the gardens of the God of Dreams. Nightingales went always with her, and their song she taught them.

—Beren and Lúthien, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Makes me think about the Children of the Forest and the Old Gods, that are also related with the Starks.

Melian is associated with songbirds, and it is said she taught nightingales how to sing and their music followed her paces. In Valinor, she dwelt in the gardens of Lórien tending its trees, and she was the most beautiful, wise and skilled in songs of enchantment of all the people of Irmo. However she journeyed often to Middle-earth for she loved the deep shadows of trees and forests.

Melian was a Maia. The Maiar were spirits that descended to earth and help to create the world, almost like angels, almost like gods.

The Children of the Forest are called singers, and after their death part of them remains on earth and lives longer inside birds:

Bran knew. "She's a child. A child of the forest." He shivered, as much from wonderment as cold. They had fallen into one of Old Nan's tales.

"The First Men named us children," the little woman said. "The giants called us woh dak nag gran, the squirrel people, because we were small and quick and fond of trees, but we are no squirrels, no children. Our name in the True Tongue means those who sing the song of earth. Before your Old Tongue was ever spoken, we had sung our songs ten thousand years."

—A Dance with Dragons - Bran II

"Someone else was in the raven," he told Lord Brynden, once he had returned to his own skin. "Some girl. I felt her."

"A woman, of those who sing the song of earth," his teacher said. "Long dead, yet a part of her remains, just as a part of you would remain in Summer if your boy's flesh were to die upon the morrow. A shadow on the soul. She will not harm you."

"Do all the birds have singers in them?"

"All," Lord Brynden said. "It was the singers who taught the First Men to send messages by raven … but in those days, the birds would speak the words. The trees remember, but men forget, and so now they write the messages on parchment and tie them round the feet of birds who have never shared their skin."

—A Dance with Dragons - Bran III

As you can see, the Maiar sounds really similar to the Old Gods and the Children of the Forest. Particularly Luthien's mother, Melian, that is associated with trees (Old Gods, weirwoods) and nightingales (crows, ravens).

5. Big birds: eagles and falcons

Lúthien's father, Thingol, locked her up in a tree house, that is basically a bird's nest, since Lúthien is also called Tinúviel that means nightingale:

Now Tinwelint let build high up in that strange tree, as high as men could fashion their longest ladders to reach, a little house of wood, and it was above the first branches and was sweetly veiled in leaves. Now that house had three corners and three windows in each wall, and at each corner was one of the shafts of Hirilorn. There then did Tinwelint bid Tinúviel dwell until she would consent to be wise, and when she fared up the ladders of tall pine these were taken from beneath and no way had she to get down again.

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa, under the guise of Alayne Stone, is the prisoner of Petyr Baelish in the Eyrie, that literally means falcon's nest:

Alayne's apartments in the Maiden's Tower were larger and more lavish than the little bedchamber where she'd been kept when Lady Lysa was alive. She had a dressing room and a privy of her own now, and a balcony of carved white stone that looked off across the Vale. While Gretchel was tending to the fire, Alayne padded barefoot across the room and slipped outside. The stone was cold beneath her feet, and the wind was blowing fiercely, as it always did up here, but the view made her forget all that for half a heartbeat. Maiden's was the easternmost of the Eyrie's seven slender towers, so she had the Vale before her, its forests and rivers and fields all hazy in the morning light. The way the sun was hitting the mountains made them look like solid gold.

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne I

Beren and Lúthien were rescued by great eagles:

Thus the quest of the Silmaril was like to have ended in ruin and despair; but in that hour above the wall of the valley three mighty birds appeared, flying northward with wings swifter than the wind.

Among all birds and beasts the wandering and need of Beren had been noised, and Huan himself had bidden all things watch, that they might bring him aid. High above the realm of Morgoth Thorondor and his vassals soared, and seeing now the madness of the Wolf and Beren’s fall came swiftly down, even as the powers of Angband were released from the toils of sleep. Then they lifted up Beren and Lúthien from the earth, and bore them aloft into the clouds . . .

(As they passed high over the lands) Lúthien wept, for she thought that Beren would surely die; he spoke no word, nor opened his eyes, and knew thereafter nothing of his flight. And at the last the eagles set them down upon the borders of Doriath; and they were come to that same dell whence Beren had stolen in despair and left Lúthien asleep.

There the eagles laid her at Beren’s side and returned to the peaks of Crissaegrim and their high eyries [...].

—The Quenta Silmarillion, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa expects for the Knights of the Vale (falcons) to help her to re-claim Winterfell:

Her eyes widened. "He is not Lady Waynwood's heir. He's Robert's heir. If Robert were to die . . ."

Petyr arched an eyebrow. "When Robert dies. Our poor brave Sweetrobin is such a sickly boy, it is only a matter of time. When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. That's worth another kiss now, don't you think?"

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne II

Sansa also wishes to have falcon's wings:

A falcon soared above the frozen waterfall, blue wings spread wide against the morning sky. Would that I had wings as well.

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne I

Unbeknownst to Sansa, another kind of wings are reserved for her. More about this subject later.

6. Big cats and big dogs

During her adventures in order to help Beren, Lúthien interacts with a big black cat named Tevildo, and with a big dog named Huan, a great wolfhound.

As was said before, Tevildo was a big black cat, tiger size, considered the Prince of Cats:

Tevildo The Prince of Cats, mightiest of all cats, ‘possessed of an evil spirit’; a close companion of Morgoth.

—List of names in the original texts, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Tevildo was an evil fay in the form of a great black cat with a collar of gold, which gave him much of his evil power. He was considered a prince of the servants of Melko and lived in a hilltop castle near Angamandi with other tiger-size cats. During the Quest for the Silmaril, Beren was captured by Melko and forced to work in Tevildo's kitchens. However, the cat was defeated by his archenemy Huan and Tinúviel, who forced him to give up his collar and reveal the spell which held the stones of his castle together. Melko learned Tevildo had lost his power and the cats reduced to normal size and exiled them.

Later Tevildo's place in the narrative was replaced by that of the Necromancer, Thû (later renamed Sauron), in the later Legendarium. Thû (and later Sauron) was the "Lord of Werewolves", in contrast to Tevildo's position as "Prince of Cats"; the cat-versus-dog theme prominent in the "Tale of Tinúviel" was thus eliminated in later writings.

Here we can see an illustration of Luthien's encounter with Tevildo:

Art credit: “but Tevildo caught sight of her where she was perched” by Alan Lee for Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Don't you find this scene familiar? A beautiful lady encountering with a black cat while she is pressed against a wall?

When I read about Tevildo discovering Lúthien shrunk against the wall:

Now gazing therethrough, for it was ajar, she saw the wide vaulted kitchens and the great fires that burnt there, and those that toiled always within, and the most were cats—but behold, there by a great fire stooped Beren, and he was grimed with labour, and Tinúviel sat and wept, but as yet dared nothing. Indeed even as she sat the harsh voice of Tevildo sounded suddenly within that chamber: ‘Nay, where then in Melko’s name has that mad Elf fled,’ and Tinúviel hearing shrank against the wall, but Tevildo caught sight of her where she was perched and cried: ‘Then the little bird sings not any more; come down or I must fetch thee, for behold, I will not encourage the Elves to seek audience of me in mockery.

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

I immediately thought of Sansa's encounter with Balerion, that black tomcat of the Red Keep while she was pressed against a wall:

The noise receded as she moved deeper into the castle, never daring to look back for fear that Joffrey might be watching … or worse, following. The serpentine steps twisted ahead, striped by bars of flickering light from the narrow windows above. Sansa was panting by the time she reached the top. She ran down a shadowy colonnade and pressed herself against a wall to catch her breath. When something brushed against her leg, she almost jumped out of her skin, but it was only a cat, a ragged black tom with a chewed-off ear. The creature spit at her and leapt away.

—A Clash of Kings - Sansa II

And who was Balerion the black tomcat?

The Red Keep was full of cats: lazy old cats dozing in the sun, cold-eyed mousers twitching their tails, quick little kittens with claws like needles, ladies’ cats all combed and trusting, ragged shadows prowling the midden heaps. One by one Arya had chased them down and snatched them up and brought them proudly to Syrio Forel … all but this one, this one-eared black devil of a tomcat. “That’s the real king of this castle right there,” one of the gold cloaks had told her. “Older than sin and twice as mean. One time, the king was feasting the queen’s father, and that black bastard hopped up on the table and snatched a roast quail right out of Lord Tywin’s fingers. Robert laughed so hard he like to burst. You stay away from that one, child.”

—A Game of Thrones - Arya III

As you can see, Tevildo and Balerion sound very similar, both are black cats, both are called evil, both live in a castle, both are considered royals, Tevildo a prince, Balerion a king, and both found a beautiful lady pressed against a wall.

On the other hand, Lúthien befriends a great wolfhound named Huan.

Huan, the Hound of Valinor, was a great wolfhound, one of the hunting dogs of Oromë the Hunter.

Huan was given by Oromë to his friend Celegorm, one of the Sons of Fëanor and accompanied him on his huntings in the regions of Valinor. When the Ñoldor under Fëanor rebelled, Huan went with his master to Middle-earth.

Huan was with Celegorm and Curufin who were hunting when he smelled Lúthien and captured and brought the maid before Celegorm.

Celegorm captured Lúthien and plotted to marry her, thus forcing a bond of kinship with Lúthien's father, Thingol.

But Huan the hound was true of heart, and the love of Luthien had fallen upon him in the first hour of their meeting; and he grieved at her captivity. Therefore he came often to her chamber; and at night he lay before her door, for he felt that evil had come to Nargothrond. Luthien spoke often to Huan in her loneliness, telling of Beren, who was the friend of all birds and beasts that did not serve Morgoth; ad Huan understood all that was said. For he comprehended the speech of all things with voice; but it was permitted to him thrice only ere his death to speak with words. Now Huan devised a plan for the aid of Luthien; and coming at a time of night he brought her cloak, and for the first time he spoke, giving her counsel. Then he led her by secret ways out of Nargothrond, and they fled north together; and he humbled his pride and suffered her to ride upon him in the fashion of a steed, even as the Orcs did at times upon great wolves. Thus they made great speed, for Huan was swift and tireless.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

So, in a superficial layer, Huan could be paralleled with Sandor Clegane, dubbed the Hound, since Huan was Celegorm's hunting hound and the Hound was the sworn sword and later Kingsguard of Joffrey Baratheon.

Celegorm was dubbed the Fair, had fair hair and was a great huntsman, the same way Joffrey was blonde and comely, and loved hunting and killing.

Celegorm wanted to marry Lúthien while Joffrey was actually betrothed with Sansa.

There is also the fact that Huan helped Lúthien escape the imprisonment imposed by Celegorm, gave her back her magic cloak (made of her shadowy hair), and fled north together, that somehow reversely resembles Sandor Clegane's offer to Sansa to help her flee north the night of the battle of the Blackwater, offer that Sansa rejected. That same night after a sexual assault attempt, the Hound ripped his white kingsguard's cloak (stained by blood and fire) off and left it fell on the floor.

But in a deeper layer, Huan was to Lúthien the same way the direwolves are to the Stark children.

Indeed, Huan was a gift from a god, the same way the direwolves were a gift from the Old Gods to the Stark children.

Among the six direwolves, Ghost is the one that resembles Huan the most, not only because Huan, despite having grey fur, is often depicted as white, as you can see here:

Art credit: "Luthien and Huan" by Elena Kukanova

But because Huan, like Ghost, is mute.

Huan had been granted special powers by the Valar, he was as large as a small horse, immortal, tireless and sleepless, and was allowed to speak three times before he died. It was also prophesied that he could not be killed unless it was by the greatest wolf that ever lived; in this case a werewolf.

Huan, taking pity of Lúthien disobeyed his master Celegorm, helped her scape, joined Beren and Lúthien in their quest and adventures, turned against his master to protect Lúthien and ultimately died protecting Beren.

Huan used the three times he was allowed to speak to help Beren and Lúthien and say farewell to them.

In a similar way, despite being mute, Jon was the only one that "heard" Ghost in the summer snows when the Starks found the direwolves.

Now, in an early version of the tale of Beren and Lúthien, Tevildo the Prince of Cats clashed against Huan the great wolfhound. It was a battle between a cat and a dog, Tevildo and Huan were archenemies. But in later versions of the tale, Tevildo was replaced by Sauron, who clashed against Huan, after taking the form of a werewolf. Huan won that battle. But much later, Huan was mortally wounded by Carcharoth, the greatest, most powerful wolf to ever live, and Huan died according it was prophesied.

The clash and contrast between wolves and hounds is also present in the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire; but in this case, the direwolves are the heroes while the hounds are the antagonists (Bolton's bitches, the Hound, etc).

This wolves versus hounds theme is particularly depicted in Jon's and Sansa's chapters:

Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal.

Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

—A Game of Thrones - Jon I

Rattleshirt’s dogs greeted him with a chorus of snarls and growls and wild barking, as ever, but the direwolf paid them no mind. Six days ago, the largest hound had attacked him from behind as the wildlings camped for the night, but Ghost had turned and lunged, sending the dog fleeing with a bloody haunch. The rest of the pack maintained a healthy distance after that.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon I

"They’re dogs and he’s a wolf,” said Jon. “They know he’s not their kind.” No more than I am yours.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon I

It happened twice more that night, and again in the morning, when she woke to find him hard. The wildlings were stirring by then, and several could not help but notice what was going on beneath the pile of furs. Jarl told them to be quick about it, before he had to throw a pail of water over them. Like a pair of rutting dogs, Jon thought afterward. Was that what he’d become?

—A Storm of Swords - Jon III

Eddard Stark had left before dawn, Septa Mordane informed Sansa as they broke their fast. “The king sent for him. Another hunt, I do believe. There are still wild aurochs in these lands, I am told.”

“I’ve never seen an aurochs,” Sansa said, feeding a piece of bacon to Lady under the table. The direwolf took it from her hand, as delicate as a queen.

Septa Mordane sniffed in disapproval. “A noble lady does not feed dogs at her table,” she said, breaking off another piece of comb and letting the honey drip down onto her bread.

“She’s not a dog, she’s a direwolf,” Sansa pointed out as Lady licked her fingers with a rough tongue. “Anyway, Father said we could keep them with us if we want.”

The septa was not appeased. “You’re a good girl, Sansa, but I do vow, when it comes to that creature you’re as willful as your sister Arya.” She scowled. “And where is Arya this morning?”

“She wasn’t hungry,” Sansa said, knowing full well that her sister had probably stolen down to the kitchen hours ago and wheedled a breakfast out of some cook’s boy.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa I

Sansa woke and found the old blind dog beside her once again. “I wish that you were Lady,” she said.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VI

The same way Lúthien bonded with Huan, I can see Sansa bonding with Ghost when she meets with Jon Snow and the mute direwolf again. Oh it would be so sweet...

7. Bat and wolf imagery

At some point during their adventures, Lúthien took the form of a giant bat while Beren took the form of a werewolf.

To transform into a giant bat, Lúthien used the coat of a female vampire servant of Sauron named Thuringwethil, as a cloak. The same way Beren transforms into a werewolf by using the coat of a werewolf named Draugluin as a cloak as well.

And then the giant bat rode upon the werewolf:

Long he [Huan] had pondered in his heart what counsel he could devise for the lightning of the peril of these two whom he loved. He turned aside therefore at Sauron's isle, as they ran northward again, and he took thence the ghastly wolf-hame of Draugluin, and the bat-fell of ThurIngwethil. She was the messenger of Sauron, and was wont to fly in vampire's form to Angband; and her greatfingered wings were barbed at each joint's end with and iron claw. Clad in these dreadful garments Huan and Luthien ran through Taur-nu-Fuin, and all things fled before them.

Beren seeing their approach was dismayed; and he wondered, for he had heard the voice of Tinuviel, and he thought it now a phantom for his ensnaring. But they halted and cast aside their disguise, and Luthien ran towards him.

[...] By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien he was arrayed now in the hame of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of ThurIngwethil. Beren became in all things like a werewolf to look upon, save that in his eyes there shone a spirit grim indeed but clean; and horror was in his glance as he saw upon his flank a batlike creature clinging with creased wings. Then howling under the moon he leaped down the hill, and the bat wheeled and flittered above him.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

Huan stayed with Lúthien, and hearing of their perplexity and the purpose Beren had still to go to Angband, he went and fetched them from the ruined halls of Thû a werewolf’s coat and a bat’s. Three times only did Huan speak with the tongue of Elves or Men. The first was when he came to Lúthien in Nargothrond. This was the second, when he devised the desperate counsel for their quest. So they rode North, till they could no longer go on horse in safety. Then they put on the garments as of wolf and bat, and Lúthien in guise of evil fay rode upon the werewolf.

—A further extract from the Quenta, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Now there he laid

before their feet, as dark as shade,

two grisly shapes that he had won

from that tall isle in Sirion:

a wolfhame huge—its savage fell

was long and matted, dark the spell

that drenched the dreadful coat and skin;

the werewolf cloak of Draugluin;

the other was a batlike garb

with mighty fingered wings, a barb

like iron nail at each joint’s end—

such wings as their dark cloud extend

against the moon, when in the sky

from Deadly Nightshade screeching fly

Thû’s messengers.

—The narrative in the Lay of Leithian to its termination, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Draugluin: Greatest of the werewolves of Thû (Sauron).

Thuringwethil: Name taken by Lúthien in bat-form before Morgoth.

—List of names in the original texts, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa is said to have taken the form of a wolf with big leather wings like a bat:

"The Imp, it's thought. Him and his little wife."

"What wife?"

"I forgot, you've been hiding under a rock. The northern girl. Winterfell's daughter. We heard she killed the king with a spell, and afterward changed into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat, and flew out a tower window. But she left the dwarf behind and Cersei means to have his head."

That's stupid, Arya thought. Sansa only knows songs, not spells, and she'd never marry the Imp.

—A Storm of Swords - Arya XIII

Songs can be spells as well, Arya... Just ask Lúthien.

The image of a giant bat riding upon a werewolf sounds pretty similar to a wolf with big leather wings like a bat.

There is also the fact that GRRM has used "bat wings" as a reference to "dragon wings," and Sansa has a lot of bat/dragon wings imagery around her.

We will come back to this bat and wolf imagery issue later.

To finish this section, I leave you with this crossover fan-art where Lúthien, very impressed, asks Sansa about the rumor of her transformation into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat.

8. Singing and dancing

Before meeting Beren, Lúthien lived a peaceful life singing and dancing beautifully in the forest:

But Tinúviel’s joy was rather in the dance, and no names are set with hers for the beauty and subtlety of her twinkling feet.

Now it was the delight of Dairon and Tinúviel to fare away from the cavernous palace of Tinwelint their father and together spend long time amid the trees. There often would Dairon sit upon a tussock or a tree-root and make music while Tinúviel danced thereto, and when she danced to the playing of Dairon more lissom was she than Gwendeling, more magical than Tinfang Warble neath the moon, nor may any see such lilting save be it only in the rose gardens of Valinor where Nessa dances on the lawns of never-fading green.

[...] “Often and often she came there after and danced and sang to herself.”

[...] At length one day as she danced alone he stepped out more boldly and said to her: ‘Tinúviel, teach me to dance.’ ‘Who art thou?’ said she. ‘Beren. I am from across the Bitter Hills.’ ‘Then if thou wouldst dance, follow me,’ said the maiden, and she danced before Beren away, and away into the woods, nimbly and yet not so fast that he could not follow, and ever and anon she would look back and laugh at him stumbling after, saying ‘Dance, Beren, dance! as they dance beyond the Bitter Hills!’ In this way they came by winding paths to the abode of Tinwelint, and Tinúviel beckoned Beren beyond the stream, and he followed her wondering down into the cave and the deep halls of her home.”

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

As it will be explained later, Lúthien's singing and dancing are not only beautiful aesthetically, those skills were magic and worked as spells and enchantments as well.

Leaving out the actual singers, Sansa is the female character more connected with music, singing and dancing. She plays some instruments (high harp, bells), has a sweet singing voice and loves to dance:

Sansa could sew and dance and sing. She wrote poetry. She knew how to dress. She played the high harp and the bells.

—A Game of Thrones - Arya I

So the singer played for her, so soft and sad that Arya only heard snatches of the words, though the tune was half-familiar. Sansa would know it, I bet. Her sister had known all the songs, and she could even play a little, and sing so sweetly.

—A Storm of Swords - Arya IV

Winterfell, she might have said. I smell snow and smoke and pine needles. I smell the stables. I smell Hodor laughing, and Jon and Robb battling in the yard, and Sansa singing about some stupid lady fair. [...]

—A Feast for Crows - Arya II

“Of Sansa, brushing out Lady’s coat and singing to herself.”

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

When the musicians began to play, she timidly laid her hand on Tyrion's and said, "My lord, should we lead the dance?"

[...] "Lady Sansa." Ser Garlan Tyrell stood beside the dais. "Would you honor me? If your lord consents?"

The Imp's mismatched eyes narrowed. "My lady can dance with whomever she pleases."

Perhaps she ought to have remained beside her husband, but she wanted to dance so badly . . .

[...] Smiling, she let the music take her, losing herself in the steps, in the sound of flute and pipes and harp, in the rhythm of the drum . . . and from time to time in Ser Garlan's arms, when the dance brought them together.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa III

"Lord Nestor will have no singers at the feast, only flutes and fiddles for the dancing." What would she do when the music began to play? It was a vexing question, to which her heart and head gave different answers. Sansa loved to dance, but Alayne...

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne II

"Would you honor me with this dance, my lady?"

"You're very kind," she said, as he led her to the floor.

He was her first partner of the evening, but far from the last. Just as Petyr had promised, the young knights flocked around her, vying for her favor.

[. . . ] When the dance was done she excused herself, and went back to her place to have a drink of wine.

And there he stood, Harry the Heir himself; tall, handsome, scowling. "Lady Alayne. May I partner you in this dance?"

—The Winds of Winter - Alayne I

As we will see in a next section, Sansa's singing already performed an act of magic/enchantment, she tamed a wild beast full of rage and lust.

9. Other parallels

9.1. Beautiful hair

Lúthien and Sansa have beautiful hair that is their signature feature:

[...] but dark as shadow was her hair [...]

—Canto I, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

[...] and the hair of Tinúviel which was dark and finer than the most delicate threads of twilight began suddenly to grow very fast indeed [...]

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa had gotten their mother’s fine high cheekbones and the thick auburn hair of the Tullys.

—A Game of Thrones - Arya I

I often sent away her maid so I could brush her hair myself. She [Sansa] had auburn hair, lighter than mine, and so thick and soft . . . the red in it would catch the light of the torches and shine like copper."

—A Clash of Kings - Catelyn VII

"You will be the most beautiful woman in the hall tonight, as lovely as your lady mother at your age. I cannot seat you on the dais, but you'll have a place of honor above the salt and underneath a wall sconce. The fire will be shining in your hair, so everyone will see how fair of face you are.

—The Winds of Winter - Alayne I

Lúthien wore fragrant flowers in her beautiful black hair:

[...] and from her hair the fragrance fell

of elvenflowers in elven-dell.

—Canto V, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

The perfume of her flower-twined hair [...]

—Canto IX, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

Behind closed doors

they sat, while Beren told his tale

of Doriath; and words him fail

recalling Lúthien dancing fair

with wild white roses in her hair [...]

—A second extract from The Lay of Leithian, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

This reminds me of Jenny of Oldstones, a lady in a song famous for wearing flowers in her hair:

"There's a song," he remembered. "'Jenny of Oldstones, with the flowers in her hair.'"

—A Storm of Swords - Catelyn V

As was mentioned previously in this post, Sansa is strongly linked with flowers as well (the rose of Winterfell legend, blue winter roses, the scent of flowers along the north bank of the Trident, Loras’s red rose, Myrcella’s garden, the Roadside Rose song, etc).

Sansa wore the red rose that Loras gave her in her hair.

Sansa has a lot of parallels with Jennys of Oldstones. You can read about it here:

WE’RE ALL JUST SONGS IN THE END. IF WE ARE LUCKY: JENNY OF OLDSTONES AND THE PRINCE OF DRAGONFLIES

THE BLACK PRINCE WITH THE WHITE GUARDIAN - Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, the Tourney at Ashford Meadow and the songs about Florian and Jonquil.

9.2. Radiant

Lúthien is often described as radiant:

[...] and there she dances all alone

upon a treeless knoll of stone!

Her mantle blue with jewels white

caught all the rays of frosted light.

She shone with cold and wintry flame,

as dancing down the hill she came,

and passed his watchful silent gaze,

a glimmer as of stars ablaze.

—Canto IV, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

[...] for Luthien was the most beautiful of all the Children of Iluvatar. Blue was her raiment as the unclouded heaven, but her eyes were grey as the starlit evening; her mantle was sewn with golden flowers, but her hair was dark as the shadows of twilight. As the light upon the leaves of trees, as the voice of clear waters, as the stars above the mists of the world, such was her glory and her loveliness; and in her face was a shining light.

[...] But suddenly some power, descended from of old from divine race, possessed Luthien, and casting back her foul raiment she stood forth, small before the might of Carcharoth, but radiant and terrible.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa is described as radiant by Jon:

His half sisters escorted the royal princes. Arya was paired with plump young Tommen, whose white-blond hair was longer than hers. Sansa, two years older, drew the crown prince, Joffrey Baratheon. He was twelve, younger than Jon or Robb, but taller than either, to Jon's vast dismay. Prince Joffrey had his sister's hair and his mother's deep green eyes. A thick tangle of blond curls dripped down past his golden choker and high velvet collar. Sansa looked radiant as she walked beside him, but Jon did not like Joffrey's pouty lips or the bored, disdainful way he looked at Winterfell's Great Hall.

—A Game of Thrones - Jon I

The word “radiant” has romantic connotations, especially if you consider that GRRM’s love for medieval tourneys started with the movie Ivanhoe (1952), years before he even read the actual book by Sir Walter Scott. In the movie Liz Taylor played the role of the Jew girl Rebecca, and little George fell in love with her. When the author remembered his young infatuation, he referred to the actress as “radiant.”  Read more about it here.

9.3. Skinchanging

As was explained previously, Lúthien had the ability of shapeshifting. She turned into a giant bat by wearing a female vampire's coat as a cloak and helped Beren to turn into a werewolf by wearing a werewolf's coat as a cloak as well. Then the bat rode upon the werewolf.

This image of a giant bat riding upon a werewolf is very similar to the image of Sansa turning into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat.

Sansa is a skinchanger as well.

Acording to GRRM, all the Stark children are wargs or skinchangers:

“I don’t think this is necessarily a ‘Stark’ ability, though all the children have it to one extent or another. They also realize it to one extent or another”. [Source]

Q: Are all the Stark children wargs/skin changers with their wolves? A: To a greater or lesser degree, yes, but the amount of control varies widely. [Source]

Oh, George said all the Stark children of this generation were full Wargs. I thought they were like one shot Wargs and were only bonded to their wolves but no they can warg into just about anything. Bran is just the only one working on it. [Source]

All of the Stark children were blessed with a direwolf and the ability to change skins with those magical creatures. The direwolves were sent by the old gods to protect and guide the Stark children. The direwolves are not only protectors and guides for the Stark children, they are also one with them.

Since Lady died, Sansa lost the opportunity to form a deeper bond with her wolf and to further develop and recognize her skinchanger abilities.

But I believe that Lady’s soul still remains in the world, and that’s why Bran calls and counts Sansa’s wolf as “Lady’s Shade.”

So it is possible that part of Lady still remains inside of Sansa, and that’s why Sansa always dreams with Lady (wolf dreams). Only Jon stopped dreaming with Ghost for a time, coincidentally, when they were separated by the Wall.

Most of Sansa’s dreams with Lady are about both of them running in a godswood (Lady’s bones are buried near Winterfell’s godswood), and although Sansa doesn’t remember much of her dreams, she always whispers and/or wakes up with Lady’s name on her lips. Even after her nightmares, she thinks of her Lady.

Some readers have speculated about Sansa and her link with other animals, and the possibility of Sansa changing skins with them, like the black tomcat of the Red Keep, the old blind dog of the Fingers, and even the blue falcon that she observed flying above the Eyrie.

During her encounter with the black tomcat of the Red Keep, Sansa “almost jumped out her skin.” This is a very interesting wording that almost sounds like skinchanging:

The serpentine steps twisted ahead, striped by bars of flickering light from the narrow windows above. Sansa was panting by the time she reached the top. She ran down a shadowy colonnade and pressed herself against a wall to catch her breath. When something brushed against her leg, she almost jumped out of her skin, but it was only a cat, a ragged black tom with a chewed-off ear. The creature spit at her and leapt away.

—A Clash of Kings - Sansa II

“Cats were vain and cruel, always ready to turn on you”, maybe, that’s why after approaching Sansa willingly, the black tomcat “spit at her and leapt away”. This scene happens when Sansa was coming to the godswood to meet with Dontos for the first time. After Sansa arrives, she immediately thinks of Lady.

Sansa bonds with the old blind dog of the Fingers fast and easily. The dog is affectionate, tries to defend Sansa from Marillion’s attack, and is next to her after the nightmares of past sexual abuse by the Hound and Tyrion, provoked by the singer’s attack:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived. On five of them it rained, while Sansa sat bored and restless by the fire, beside the old blind dog. He was too sick and toothless to walk guard with Bryen anymore, and mostly all he did was sleep, but when she patted him he whined and licked her hand, and after that they were fast friends. […] “Alayne.” Her aunt’s singer stood over her. “Sweet Alayne. I am Marillion. I saw you come in from the rain. The night is chill and wet. Let me warm you.” The old dog raised his head and growled, but the singer gave him a cuff and sent him slinking off, whimpering. […] “I’ll have a song from you,” he rasped, and Sansa woke and found the old blind dog beside her once again. “I wish that you were Lady,” she said.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VI

And once again trapped in a tower, Sansa wishes she has wings:

A falcon soared above the frozen waterfall, blue wings spread wide against the morning sky. Would that I had wings as well.

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne I

As you can see, Sansa warging abilities are hidden so deep in the text, they only shyly appear in the middle of George’s prose as little pieces of poetry:

My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel.

Now tell me, what is that if not skinchanging?

And talking about birds, Sansa has already changed her skin with some birds, she was a talking little bird of the Summer Islands (repeating the right things to survive), then a mockingbird (as Petyr Baelish daughter), and she’s about to become a falcon (if she marries Harry).

And since cloaks could also be considered another skin, Sansa has already changed various cloaks. She was cloaked by a Lannister, then by her new father Petyr Baelish, and is about to be cloaked again by an Arryn.

But Sansa is a wolf, no matter how many skins she wears, she will always be a wolf.

And while Sansa wishes she had feathery wings, unbeknownst to her, she became part of the popular folklore when the smallfolk began to imagine her as a witchy kingslayer that later vanished in a puff of brimstone or changed into a “wolf with big leather wings like a bat” and flew away:

“I forgot, you’ve been hiding under a rock. The northern girl. Winterfell’s daughter. We heard she killed the king with a spell, and afterward changed into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat, and flew out a tower window. But she left the dwarf behind and Cersei means to have his head.”

—A Storm of Swords - Arya XIII

“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.”

—A Storm of Swords - Jaime VII

In the same book and with a very similar wording, Jon dreams of a ghastly direwolf wandering around the Crypts of Winterfell:

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 her golden eyes shining sadly through the dark . .

—A Storm of Swords - Jon VIII

My personal theory is that the ghastly direwolf is Lady, because, among other reasons, this wouldn’t be the first time that Jon confused Ygritte with another redhead.

These legends of Sansa the witch, the unnatural warg, the beastling, the skinchanger, the winged wolf that flew away from a tower window or vanished in a puff of brimstone, are at the same level of the legends about Bloodraven warging into a one-eyed dog and turning into a mist from a century ago:

How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have? the riddle ran. A thousand eyes, and one. Some claimed the King’s Hand was a student of the dark arts who could change his face, put on the likeness of a one-eyed dog, even turn into a mist. Packs of gaunt gray wolves hunted down his foes, men said, and carrion crows spied for him and whispered secrets in his ear. Most of the tales were only tales, Dunk did not doubt, but no one could doubt that Bloodraven had informers everywhere.

—The Mystery Knight

If Sansa or Lady’s Shade have really changed skins with the old blind dog of the Fingers, that would be almost the same as Bloodraven warging or shapechanging into a one-eyed dog. By the way, the old blind dog’s master’s name was Bryen, a name way too similar to Brynden (Bloodraven’s name)…

But back again to the “wolf with big leather wings like a bat.” This interesting image reminds me of dragons instead of bats, and I think that was precisely George’s intention, he was subtly referring to dragon wings:

[…] “They say the child was …” […] “Monstrous,” Mirri Maz Duur finished for him. […] “Twisted. I drew him forth myself. He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with the stub of a tail and small leather wings like the wings of a bat.

—A Game of Thrones - Daenerys IX

In the center of the Plaza of Pride stood a red brick fountain whose waters smelled of brimstone, and in the center of the fountain a monstrous harpy made of hammered bronze. Twenty feet tall she reared. She had a woman’s face, with gilded hair, ivory eyes, and pointed ivory teeth. Water gushed yellow from her heavy breasts. But in place of arms she had the wings of a bat or a dragon, her legs were the legs of an eagle, and behind she wore a scorpion’s curled and venomous tail.

—A Storm of Swords - Daenerys II

Tyrion scarce touched his food, Sansa noticed, though he drank several cups of the wine. For herself, she tried a little of the Dornish eggs, but the peppers burned her mouth. Otherwise she only nibbled at the fruit and fish and honeycakes. Every time Joffrey looked at her, her tummy got so fluttery that she felt as though she'd swallowed a bat.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa IV

So, this fascinating image of a “wolf with big leather wings like a bat” could be foreshadowing of Sansa wearing a Targaryen cloak in the future. Or at least having the support and protection of someone related to dragons.

9.4. Hades and Persephone imagery

Beren and Lúthien have a heavy Hades and Persephone imagery around them.

Lúthien could melt winter into spring with the magic of her voice and song.

During their adventures, Beren was severely wounded many times, and while Lúthien had healing abilities, one time he was nearly dead and other time he actually died.

After losing his hand, Beren recovers only after a long period of unconsciousness, and it was said that when he woke the spring came again.

Later, when Beren actually died, Lúthien descended to the lands of death and winter came over the lands of her father. Then, after gaining Beren's life again, she came back to earth and ended the winter with the touch of her hands.

These quotes exempt me from further explanation:

The wind of winter winds his horn;

the misty veil is rent and torn.

The wind dies; the starry choirs

leap in the silent sky to fires

whose light comes bitter-cold and sheer

through domes of frozen crystal clear.

A sparkle through the darkling trees,

a piercing glint of light he sees,

and there she dances all alone

upon a treeless knoll of stone!

Her mantle blue with jewels white

caught all the rays of frosted light.

She shone with cold and wintry flame,

as dancing down the hill she came,

and passed his watchful silent gaze,

a glimmer as of stars ablaze.

And snowdrops sprang beneath her feet,

and one bird, sudden, late and sweet,

shrilled as she wayward passed along.

A frozen brook to bubbling song

awoke and laughed; but Beren stood

still bound enchanted in the wood.

Her starlight faded and the night

closed o'er the snowdrops glimmering white.

Thereafter on a hillock green

he saw far off the elven-sheen

of shining limb and jewel bright

often and oft on moonlit night;

and Daeron's pipe awoke once more,

and soft she sang as once before.

Then nigh he stole beneath the trees,

and heartache mingled with hearts-ease.

A night there was when winter died;

then all alone she sang and cried

and danced until the dawn of spring, [...]

—Canto IV, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

And he saw her afar as leaves in the winds of autumn, and in winter as a star upon a hill, but a chain was upon his limbs. There came a time near dawn on the eve of spring, and Luthien danced upon a green hill; and suddenly she began to sing. Keen, heart-piercing was her song as the song of the lark that rises from the gates of night and pours its voice among the dying stars, seeing the sun behind the walls of the world; and the song of Luthien released the behind the walls of the world; and the song of Luthien released the bonds of winter, and the frozen waters spoke, and flowers sprang from the cold earth where her feet had passed. Then the spell of silence fell from Beren, and he called to her, crying Tinuviel; and the woods echoed the name. Then she halted in wonder, and fled no more, and Beren came to her. But as she looked on him, doom fell upon her, and she loved him; yet she slipped from his arms and vanished from his sight even as the day was breaking.

[...] Now Beren and Luthien Tinuviel went free again and together walked through the woods renewing for a time their joy; and though winter came it hurt them not, for flowers lingered where Luthien went, and the birds sang beneath the snow clad hills.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

There the eagles laid her at Beren’s side and returned to the peaks of Crissaegrim and their high eyries; but Huan came to her, and together they tended Beren, even as before when she healed him of the wound that Curufin gave to him. But this wound was fell and poisonous. Long Beren lay, and his spirit wandered upon the dark borders of death, knowing ever an anguish that pursued him from dream to dream. Then suddenly, when her hope was almost spent, he woke again, and looked up, seeing leaves against the sky; and he heard beneath the leaves singing soft and slow beside him LúthienTinúviel. And it was spring again.

Thereafter Beren was named Erchamion, which is the One-handed; and suffering was graven in his face. But at last he was drawn back to life by the love of Lúthien, and he rose, and together they walked in the woods once more.

—The Quenta Silmarillion, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

For the spirit of Beren at her bidding tarried in the halls of Mandos, unwilling to leave the world, until Lúthien came to say her last farewell upon the dim shores of the Outer Sea, whence Men that die set out never to return. But the spirit of Lúthien fell down into darkness, and at the last it fled, and her body lay like a flower that is suddenly cut off and lies for a while unwithered on the grass.

Then a winter, as it were the hoar age of mortal Men, fell upon Thingol. But Lúthien came to the halls of Mandos, where are the appointed places of the Eldalië, beyond the mansions of the West upon the confines of the world. There those that wait sit in the shadow of their thought. But her beauty was more than their beauty, and her sorrow deeper than their sorrows; and she knelt before Mandos and sang to him.

The song of Lúthien before Mandos was the song most fair that ever in words was woven, and the song most sorrowful that ever the world shall hear. Unchanged, imperishable, it is sung still in Valinor beyond the hearing of the world, and listening the Valar are grieved. For Lúthien wove two themes of words, of the sorrow of the Eldar and the grief of Men, of the Two Kindreds that were made by Ilúvatar to dwell in Arda, the Kingdom of Earth amid the innumerable stars. And as she knelt before him her tears fell upon his feet like rain upon the stones; and Mandos was moved to pity, who never before was so moved, nor has been since. Therefore he summoned Beren, and even as Lúthien had spoken in the hour of his death they met again beyond the Western Sea. But Mandos had no power to withhold the spirits of Men that were dead within the confines of the world after their time of waiting; nor could he change the fates of the Children of Ilúvatar. He went therefore to Manwë, Lord of the Valar, who governed the world under the hand of Ilúvatar; and Manwë sought counsel in his inmost thought, where the will of Ilúvatar was revealed. These were the choices that he gave to Lúthien. Because of her labours and her sorrow, she could be released from Mandos, and go to Valimar, there to dwell until the world's end among the Valar, forgetting all griefs that her life had known. Thither Beren could not come. For it was not permitted to the Valar to withhold Death from him, which is the gift of Ilúvatar to Men. But the other choice was this: that she might return to Middle-earth, and take with her Beren, there to dwell again, but without certitude of life or joy. Then she would become mortal, and subject to a second death, even as he; and ere long she would leave the world for ever, and her beauty become only a memory in song. This doom she chose, forsaking the Blessed Realm, and putting aside all claim to kinship with those that dwell there; that thus whatever grief might lie in wait, the fates of Beren and Lúthien might be joined, and their paths lead together beyond the confines of the world. So it was that alone of the Eldalië she has died indeed, and left the world long ago. Yet in her choice the Two Kindreds have been joined; and she is the forerunner of many in whom the Eldar see yet, though all the world is changed, the likeness of Lúthien the beloved, whom they have lost.

—The Lost Cantos, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

It is said that Beren and Lúthien returned to the northern lands of Middle-earth, and dwelt together for a time as living man and woman; and they took up again their mortal form in Doriath. Those that saw them were both glad and fearful; and Lúthien went to Menegroth and healed the winter of Thingol with the touch of her hand. But Melian looked in her eyes and read the doom that was written there, and turned away; for she knew that a parting beyond the end of the world had come between them, and no grief of loss has been heavier than the grief of Melian the Maia in that hour. Then Beren and Lúthien went forth alone, fearing neither thirst nor hunger; and they passed beyond the River Gelion into Ossiriand, and dwelt there in Tol Galen the green isle, in the midst of Adurant, until all tidings of them ceased. The Eldar afterwards called that country Dor Firn-i-Guinar, the Land of the Dead that Live; and there was born Dior Aranel the beautiful, who was after known as Dior Eluchíl, which is Thingol's Heir. No mortal man spoke ever again with Beren son of Barahir; and none saw Beren or Lúthien leave the world, or marked where at last their bodies lay.

—Epilogue, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

Jon and Sansa have Hades and Persephone imagery around them as well.

Jon as Hades:

Despite being born in Dorne, Jon is a son of Winterfell.

In the Prologue of A Game of Thrones we can read that Waymar Royce, Jon's stand in, died at the hands of the Others, in an eriily similar way that Jon would die four books later at the hands of his brothers of the Night's Watch (foreshadowing of Jon's death Nº 1).

Jon played to be a Ghost at the Crypts of Winterfell (foreshadowing of Jon's death Nº 2).

Jon named his mute albino direwolf Ghost (foreshadowing of Jon's death Nº 3).

And in A Dance with Dragons, Jon actually died.

One of Jon's killers was Bowen Marsh dubbed the Old Pomegranate.

We can read the words "a dream of spring" in one of Jon's chapters (A Storm of Swords - Jon V).

Sansa as Persephone:

Persephone and Sansa are renowned beauties.

Sansa was born during winter, she is the Winterfell's daughter.

Sansa is heavily linked with the dawn and the sun (Battle for the Dawn to defeat the Long Night/Long Winter).

An important theme in Sansa's arc is rebuilding, which is connected with rebuild a life after the Long Night/Long Winter. A dream of spring.

GRRM has linked Sansa to the warmer seasons (spring and summer) through her favorite dessert, lemon cakes.

Sansa is deeply associated with flowers, thus with spring.

Sansa rejected the pomegranate from Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish.

Jon's death is foreshadowed (hidden daggers) in one of Sansa's chapters (A Storm of Swords - Sansa VI).

Sansa sensed Jon's death: "A ghost wolf, big as mountains." (A Feast for Crows - Alayne II).

Lady, part of Sansa, already died and is buried at Winterfell.

Read more about it here:

Some thoughts on Sansa and Jon, by Tze

The Pomegranate Imagery - Jonsa, ASOS.

Sansa as Persephone

The King and Queen in the North vs. the King and Queen of the Underworld

9.5. Daeron the minstrel

There often would Dairon sit upon a tussock or a tree-root and make music while Tinúviel danced thereto, and when she danced to the playing of Dairon more lissom was she than Gwendeling, more magical than Tinfang Warble neath the moon, nor may any see such lilting save be it only in the rose gardens of Valinor where Nessa dances on the lawns of never-fading green.

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Daeron is mentioned as one of the greatest minstrels of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and only Maglor son of Fëanor is said to come close to his skill. Also in the Lay of Leithian there is named one called Tinfang Gelion who is counted among the three great minstrels, along with Maglor and Daeron.

Daeron loved Lúthien, but she did not love him. Nevertheless they were good friends, and Lúthien would often dance to his music. After Daeron found out about Lúthien's love for the mortal Beren, he betrayed them both to Thingol. When Lúthien later sought his help in assisting captive Beren, Daeron again betrayed her to Thingol, though this time in love and fear for her rather than jealousy.

Thereafter often she came to him, and they went in secret through the woods together from spring to summer; and no others of the Children of Iluvatar have had joy so great, though the time was brief. But Daeron the minstrel also loved Luthien, and he espied her meetings with Beren, and betrayed them to Thingol. Then the King was filled with anger, for Luthien he loved above all things, setting her above all the princes of the Elves; whereas mortal Men he did not even take into his service. Therefore he spoke in grief and amazement to Luthien; but she would reveal nothing, until he swore an oath to her that he would neither slay Beren nor imprison him.

[...] In the time when Sauron cast Beren into the pit a weight of horror came upon Luthien's heart; and going to Melian for counsel she learned that Beren lay in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth without hope of rescue. Then Luthien, perceiving that no help would come from any other on earth, resolved to fly from Doriath and come herself to him; but she sought the aid of Daeron, and he betrayed her purpose because he would not deprive Luthien of the lights of heaven, lest she fail and fade, and yet would restrain her, he caused a house to be built from which she should not escape.

[...] Upon Doriath evil days had fallen. Grief and silence had come upon all its people when Luthien was lost. Long they had sought for her in vain. And it is told that in that time Daeron the minstrel of Thingol strayed from the land, and was seen no more. He it was that made music for the dance and song of Luthien, before Beren came to Doriath; and he had loved her, and set all his thought of her in his music. He became the greatest of all the minstrels of the Elves east of the Sea, named even before Maglor son of Feanor. But seeking for Luthien in despair he wandered upon strange paths, and passing over the mountains he came into the East of Middle-earth, where for many ages he made lament beside dark waters for Luthien, daughter of Thingol, most beautiful of all living things.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

Daeron reminds me of Marillion, the singer that tried to seduce and rape Sansa.

Marillion witnessed Lysa's attempt to murder Sansa and did nothing but keep singing and playing his harp. Marillion's passion for Sansa/Alayne was unrequited, similar to Daeron's unrequite love for Lúthien.

9.6. Foes

During the events of the Quest for the Silmaril, Lúthien defeated mighty foes, among them were:

Sauron: Lúthien flung her cloak over Sauron's face, and he was struck by the blinding enchantment of weariness. Huan used the opportunity to take Sauron by the throat. Sauron tried to escape by shape shifting, but Huan held him down. Lúthien then demanded Sauron to yield the mastery of the tower to her, less Huan should destroy his mortal form. Sauron yielded, and fled the scene. Lúthien, having received mastery of the tower, laid waste to the fortress with her magic. The walls were destroyed and the prisons were broken. Lúthien found Beren and healed him.

Carcharoth: Suddenly some power, descended from divine race, possessed Lúthien, and casting back her raiment she stood forth, radiant and terrible. Lifting up her hand she commanded Carcharoth to sleep and he was felled, as if lightning had struck him.

Morgoth: Lúthien was undaunted by Morgoth and she offered to dance and sing for him in the manner of a minstrel. He beheld her with lust, of which came a secret desire to do some unspeakable evil to Lúthien. Morgoth accepted for this reason, but Lúthien sang a song of such enchantment and blinding power that all his court fell into a deep sleep and all the fires faded. The Silmarils in the crown on Morgoth's head suddenly blazed with a radiance of white flame and the burden of his crown and of the jewels bowed down his head, laden with a weight of care and fear that even the will of Morgoth could not bear. Then Lúthien, catching up her winged robe, sprang into the air and by casting her cloak before his eyes she set upon him a dark dream. Morgoth was cast down in slumber.

Mandos: Eventually Carcharoth was discovered by Thingol's warriors, and the wolf was attacked. Thingol was nearly slain, but Beren saved him and was mortally wounded. Huan then fought with Carcharoth and slew him, with both dying. The Silmaril was cut from Carcharoth's burned flesh, and Beren presented it at last to Thingol before he died. Thingol then held Beren with respect, but Lúthien commanded Beren to wait for her in the Undying Lands. Lúthien passed away in grief, and her spirit came to the Halls of Mandos. There she sang a song of such woe and lamentation, that even Mandos himself was moved to pity. He summoned Beren's spirit, and the two were reunited. Then he went to Manwë, who sought counsel from Eru and so the will of Ilúvatar was revealed. Thus, Lúthien was faced with a choice; to remain in Valinor and its eternal bliss, or for her and Beren to return to Middle-earth as mortals, after which they would die a second death. Lúthien chose the latter, and she and Beren returned to Doriath.

As you can see Lúthien defeated mighty evil enemies, including the death. Lúthien did all those deeds with her magic enchantments, singing and dancing, skills that can be compared with Sansa's kindness, mercifulness, courtesy and knowledge next to her sweet voice and dancing.

Sansa was also prophesied by the Ghost of High Heart to be involved in the death of the cruel King Joffrey Baratheon (that already happened), and in the slain of a savage giant in a castle made of snow, that is probably Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. Another candidates are Tyrion Lannister and Gregor Clegane.

There is also the prophecy of Maggy the Frog, that involves Sansa in the downfall of Cersie Lannister.

And finally, we have to count Sansa's song of mercy (the Mother's Hymn), that placated the rage and lust of Sandor Clegane during the night of the Battle of the Blackwater and prevented the Hound's assault, as parallel with Luthien enchanting Morgoth into slumber, that prevented his evil assault: "He beheld her with lust, of which came a secret desire to do some unspeakable evil to Lúthien."

10. Beren and Lúthien as inspiration for Jon and Sansa

Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures. And of these histories most fair still in the ears of the Elves is the tale of Beren and Lúthien. Of their lives was made the Lay of Leithian, Release from Bondage, which is the longest save one of the songs concerning the world of old. Here follows their tale and what remains of the Lay.

—Prologue, The Lay of Leithian - J.R.R. Tolkien

Lúthien's love of the mortal Beren, for whom she was prepared to risk everything, including her life, was legendary and lamented forever in song and story.

Lúthien's romance with Beren was one of the great stories of the Elder Days that were told for many ages after she lived, and it was said that her bloodline will never extinguish.

The union of Beren and Lúthien was the first between a mortal Man and an Elven maid.

Lúthien's romance with Beren is mirrored by the later romance between Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar.

According to legend, Lúthien's line would never be broken as long as the world lasted.

As you can see, the tale of Beren and Lúthien is a song that can be compared to the songs about Florian and Jonquil.

Sansa is the character that loves songs the most, particularly the songs about Florian and Jonquil, that are her very favorites.

I have speculated/theorized before that Jon Snow is the best candidate to be the Florian to Sansa's Jonquil.

And as other excellent meta writers have pointed out already, Jon Snow is the best candidate to be the Beren to Sansa's Lúthien.

So here I'm going to show you my take on the matter.

Singing

As I recently found out, we have this beautiful parallel between Beren and Lúthien & Jon and Sansa:

“Often and often she came there after and danced and sang to herself.”

—The Tale of Tinúviel, Beren and Lúthien (2017) - J.R.R. Tolkien

“Of Sansa, brushing out Lady’s coat and singing to herself.”

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

As you can see, a man observing a girl singing is an old and obvious romantic trope, especially used in fairy tales. Here a graphic example.

Dancing

Alys Karstark’ wedding, organized by Jon Snow, happened in a very similar way to Sansa’s dream wedding:

”It was not supposed to be this way. She had dreamed of her wedding a thousand times, and always she had pictured how her betrothed would stand behind her tall and strong, sweep the cloak of his protection over her shoulders, and tenderly kiss her cheek as he leaned forward to fasten the clasp”.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa III

“The Magnar all but ripped the maiden’s cloak from Alys’s shoulders, but when he fastened her bride’s cloak about her he was almost tender. As he leaned down to kiss her cheek, their breath mingled”.

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon X.

During Sansa's wedding she didn't dance with her husband. Her first dance as a married woman was with Ser Garland Tyrell, a knight that shares important parallels with Jon Snow.

Jon and Garlan are good with swords (better than Robb and Loras). Both Jon and Garlan like to train with more than one sparring partner to be better prepared to battle. Both Jon and Garlan have ghost imagery around them. While Jon was killed and got a direwolf from the old gods that he called Ghost, Garlan won the Battle of the Blackwater fighting under the guise of Renly’s Ghost.

During Alys's wedding Jon Snow rejected her offer to dance by telling her she must dance with her husband.

“You could dance with me, you know. It would be only courteous. You danced with me anon.”

“Anon?” teased Jon.

“When we were children.” She tore off a bit of bread and threw it at him. “As you know well.”

“My lady should dance with her husband.”

—Jon, A Dance With Dragons

Despite rejecting dancing with her, Jon Snow kept in mind Aly's wrong phrasing: "You danced with me anon."

Later he had the following thought:

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

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon XII

While snowflakes falling reminds Jon of dancing, snowflakes falling reminds Sansa of lover's kisses:

Drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover's kisses, and melted on her cheeks.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VII

I suppose that kisses, like loving, is another form of dance.

Bat and wolf imagery

We also have the bat and wolf imagery around Beren and Lúthien. These lovers, husband and wife, turned into a giant bat and a werewolf, an image that reminds me of Sansa turning into "a wolf with big leather wings like a bat."

Indeed, after Sansa ran away from King’s Landing the day King Joffrey Baratheon was killed, the rumors about her participation in the murder started. Among the smallfolk runs the tale that after killing the king, Sansa morphed into “a wolf with big leather wings like a bat”  and flew away.

As was previously explained, GRRM has intentionally connected bat wings with dragon wings. So, this fascinating image of Sansa as “a wolf with big leather wings like a bat” could represent Sansa (a wolf) wearing a Targaryen cloak (dragon wings). Or at least having the support and protection of someone related to dragons (that is, Jon Snow).

This image alludes to the protection of a marriage, since when a groom “cloaks” his bride, it is said that he takes her under his protection.

Hades and Persephone imagery

We also have the Hades and Persephone imagery around Beren and Lúthien.

Lúthien could melt winter into spring with the magic of her voice and song.

Thanks to Lúthien's love and cares, the moment Beren woke up from a long period of unconsciousness after losing his hand, spring returned again.

When Beren died, Lúthien descended to the lands of death and gained Beren's life back. Then Lúthien came back to earth and ended the winter with the touch of her hand.

And as was explained before, Jon and Sansa have Hades and Persephone imagery around them as well. See above.

This is yet one more legendary couple who shares parallels with Jon and Sansa.

And since Lúthien's singing was the weapon that gained Beren's life back, this could be foreshadowing of Sansa's singing having an important role in Jon's arc during or after his resurrection.

It is vastly speculated that Jon will come back to life beast-like since he would inhabit ​inside Ghost for a while, thus Sansa's singing could be instrumental for taming Jon's beast-like form or to make him gaining back his memory.

Beauty and the Beast imagery

Lúthien's renowned beauty was extensively discussed already. Now let's see the beast allusions related to Beren:

Thereafter for four years more Beren wandered still upon Dorthonion, a solitary outlaw; but he became the friend of birds and beasts, and they aided him, and did not betray him, and from that time forth he ate no flesh nor slew any living thing that was not in the service of Morgoth.

[...] But she vanished from his sight; and he became dumb, as one that is bound under a spell, and he strayed long in the woods, wild and wary as a beast, seeking for her. In his heart he called her Tinuviel, that signifies Nightingale, daughter of twilight, in the Grey-elven tongue, for he knew no other name for her. And he saw her afar as leaves in the winds of autumn, and in winter as a star upon a hill, but a chain was upon his limbs.

[...] Beneath the Shadowy Mountains they came upon a company of Orcs, and slew them all in their camp by night; and they took their gear and their weapons. By the arts of Felagund their own forms and faces were changed into the likeness of Orcs; and thus disguised they came far upon their northward road, and ventured into the western pass, between Ered Wethrin and the highlands of Taur-nu-Fuin.

[...] By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien he was arrayed now in the hame of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of ThurIngwethil. Beren became in all things like a werewolf to look upon, save that in his eyes there shone a spirit grim indeed but clean; and horror was in his glance as he saw upon his flank a batlike creature clinging with creased wings. Then howling under the moon he leaped down the hill, and the bat wheeled and flittered above him.

[...] As a dead beast Beren lay upon the ground; but Luthien touching him with her hand aroused him, and he cast aside the wolf-hame. Then he drew forth the knife Angrist; and from the iron claws that held it he cut a Silmaril.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

Beren also formed a strong bond with Huan, the great wolfhound, a magical creature gifted by a god. This bond resembles somehow the bond between Jon and Ghost.

Beren stood beside Thingol, and suddenly they were aware that Huan had left their side. Then a great baying awoke in the thicket; for Huan becoming impatient and desiring to look upon this wolf had gone in alone to dislodge him. But Carcharoth avoided him, and bursting form the thorns leaped suddenly upon Thingol. Swiftly Beren strode before him with a spear, but Carcharoth swept it aside and felled him, biting at his breast. In that moment Huan leaped from the thicket upon the back of the Wolf, and they fell together fighting bitterly; and no battle of wolf and hound has been like to it, for in the baying of Huan was heard the voice of the horns of Orome and the wrath of the Valar, but in the howls of Carcharoth was the hate of Morgoth and malice crueller than teeth of steel; and the rocks were rent by their clamour and fell from on high and choked the falls of Esgalduin. There they fought to the death; but Thingol gave no heed, for he knelt by Beren, seeing that he was sorely hurt. Huan in that hour slew Carcharoth; but there in the woven woods of Doriath his own doom long spoken was fulfilled, and he was wounded mortally, and the venom of Morgoth entered into him. Then he came, and falling beside Beren spoke for the third time with words; and he bade Beren farewell before he died. Beren spoke not, but laid his hand upon the head of the hound, and so they parted.

—Chapter 19, The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sansa's beauty is also renowned and was discussed above (Here a compilation of all the quotes about Sansa's beauty).

Sansa and Jon are also both wargs/skinchangers, but while Lady was the smallest, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting of the litter; Ghost is the biggest of the litter and is often described as a savage beast.

Now let's see the beast allusions related to Jon and Ghost:

Ser Alliser Thorne shattered the silence. “The turncloak graces us with his presence at last.”

Lord Janos was red-faced and quivering. “The beast,” he gasped. “Look! The beast that tore the life from Halfhand. A warg walks among us, brothers. A WARG! This … this creature is not fit to lead us! This beastling is not fit to live!”

Ghost bared his teeth, but Jon put a hand on his head. “My lord,” he said, “will you tell me what’s happened here?”

—A Storm of Swords - Jon XII

“Then you had best be on your way, boy.” Slynt laughed, dribbling porridge down his chest. “Greyguard’s a good place for the likes of you, I’m thinking. Well away from decent godly folk. The mark of the beast is on you, bastard.”

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon II

Dolorous Edd took hold of Slynt by one arm, Iron Emmett by the other. Together they hauled him from the bench. “No,” Lord Janos protested, flecks of porridge spraying from his lips. “No, unhand me. He’s just a boy, a bastard. His father was a traitor. The mark of the beast is on him, that wolf of his … Let go of me! You will rue the day you laid hands on Janos Slynt. I have friends in King’s Landing. I warn you—” He was still protesting as they half-marched, half-dragged him up the steps.

—A Dance with Dragons - Jon II

My friend @really-sad-devil-guy wrote a series of metas about Sansa and the Beauty and the Beast trope. This series is unfinished at the moment but you can read the parts already posted here:

Sansa’s “Beauty and the Beast” Arc, Part 1

Sansa’s “Beauty and the Beast” Arc, Part 2

Sansa’s “Beauty and the Beast” Arc, Part 3

Sansa’s “Beauty and the Beast” Arc, Part 4

Sansa’s “Beauty and the Beast” Arc, Part 5

You can also read the posts I wrote about this subject here:

In the original fairy tale ‘La Belle et la Bête’ by Madame de Villeneuve, Beauty and Beast/Prince are cousins 

Some fanon/made up things that certain shippers claim to be canon about their ship & the Beauty and the Beast Trope

There is a version of Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is a white wolf 

Endless lineage

As was mentioned before, the union of Beren and Lúthien was the first between a mortal Man and an Elven maid.

According to legend, Lúthien’s bloodline would never be broken as long as the world lasted.

Lúthien’s romance with Beren is mirrored by the later romance between Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar.

Aragorn and Arwen were first cousins many times removed and both descend of Beren and Lúthien.

In the case of Jon and Sansa, both are deeply connected to the continuity of the Stark bloodline.

I extensively wrote about Jon and Sansa and their connections to Winterfell in this post: i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my. Among these connections, here are the most noteworthy:

“The snow fell and the castle rose”

GRRM has directly associated Jon Snow and Sansa’s snow castle.

Jon and Sansa share the dream of rebuilding Winterfell, their ancestral home and seat of House Stark. This shared dream is beautifully represented by Sansa building a scale model of Winterfell out of “snow”.

What do I want with snowballs? She looked at her sad little arsenal. There’s no one to throw them at. She let the one she was making drop from her hand. I could build a snow knight instead, she thought. Or even…

[…] The snow fell and the castle rose. Two walls ankle-high, the inner taller than the outer. Towers and turrets, keeps and stairs, a round kitchen, a square armory, the stables along the inside of the west wall. It was only a castle when she began, but before very long Sansa knew it was Winterfell. She found twigs and fallen branches beneath the snow and broke off the ends to make the trees for the godswood. For the gravestones in the lichyard she used bits of bark. Soon her gloves and her boots were crusty white, her hands were tingling, and her feet were soaked and cold, but she did not care. The castle was all that mattered. Some things were hard to remember, but most came back to her easily, as if she had been there only yesterday. The Library Tower, with the steep stonework stair twisting about its exterior. The gatehouse, two huge bulwarks, the arched gate between them, crenellations all along the top…

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa VII

“Drink this.” Grenn held a cup to his lips. Jon drank. His head was full of wolves and eagles, the sound of his brothers’ laughter. The faces above him began to blur and fade. They can’t be dead. Theon would never do that. And Winterfell … grey granite, oak and iron, crows wheeling around the towers, steam rising off the hot pools in the godswood, the stone kings sitting on their thrones … how could Winterfell be gone?

—A Storm of Swords - Jon VI

Winterfell, he thought. Theon left it burned and broken, but I could restore it. Surely his father would have wanted that, and Robb as well. They would never have wanted the castle left in ruins.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon XII

There is also the fact that Jon is heavily associated with “snow” while Sansa is heavily associated with “stone.”

Winterfell is a grey “stone” castle that is cloaked by white “snow,” like a perfect marriage.

Jon and the Wall represent the “shield that guards the realms of men.” Sansa feels stronger within the “walls” of Winterfell.

All of these images allude to the protection of a marriage, since when a groom “cloaks” his bride, it is said that he takes her under his protection.

“The blood of Winterfell”

Among all the Stark children, Jon and Sansa are the only ones that are called, or call themselves, “the blood of Winterfell.”

Jon’s throat was raw. He looked at them all helplessly. “She yielded herself to me.” “Then you must do what needs be done,” Qhorin Halfhand said. “You are the blood of Winterfell and a man of the Night’s Watch.”

—A Clash of Kings - Jon VI

When the dreams took him, he found himself back home once more, splashing in the hot pools beneath a huge white weirwood that had his father’s face. Ygritte was with him, laughing at him, shedding her skins till she was naked as her name day, trying to kiss him, but he couldn’t, not with his father watching. He was the blood of Winterfell, a man of the Night’s Watch. I will not father a bastard, he told her. I will not. I will not.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon VI

“What if Lord Nestor values honor more than profit?” Petyr put his arm around her. “What if it is truth he wants, and justice for his murdered lady?” He smiled. “I know Lord Nestor, sweetling. Do you imagine I’d ever let him harm my daughter?” I am not your daughter, she thought. I am Sansa Stark, Lord Eddard’s daughter and Lady Catelyn’s, the blood of Winterfell. She did not say it, though.

—A Feast for Crows - Sansa I

This phrasing “the blood of Winterfell” implies blood lineage of House Stark, and Jon and Sansa both dream of having children that would bear the names of their siblings: Robb, Bran, Rickon and Arya.

Willas would be Lord of Highgarden and she would be his lady. She pictured the two of them sitting together in a garden with puppies in their laps, or listening to a singer strum upon a lute while they floated down the Mander on a pleasure barge. If I give him sons, he may come to love me. She would name them Eddard and Brandon and Rickon, and raise them all to be as valiant as Ser Loras. And to hate Lannisters, too. In Sansa’s dreams, her children looked just like the brothers she had lost. Sometimes there was even a girl who looked like Arya.

—A Storm of Swords - Sansa II

I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children. I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb. Val would want to keep her sister’s son, but we could foster him at Winterfell, and Gilly’s boy as well. Sam would never need to tell his lie. We’d find a place for Gilly too, and Sam could come visit her once a year or so. Mance’s son and Craster’s would grow up brothers, as I once did with Robb.

—A Storm of Swords - Jon XII

This is connected with the motif of rebuilding Winterfell, Jon and Sansa not only can rebuild the castle but the Stark family.

“Children of the Mountain”

Among all the Stark children, Jon and Sansa are the only ones that are called "children of the mountain".

Soon they were high enough so that looking down was best not considered. There was nothing below but yawning blackness, nothing above but moon and stars. “The mountain is your mother,” Stonesnake had told him during an easier climb a few days past. “Cling to her, press your face up against her teats, and she won’t drop you.” Jon had made a joke of it, saying how he’d always wondered who his mother was, but never thought to find her in the Frostfangs. It did not seem nearly so amusing now. One step and then another, he thought, clinging tight.

—A Clash of Kings - Jon VI

“You’re mistaken. I never fall.” Mya’s hair had tumbled across her cheek, hiding one eye. “Almost, I said. I saw you. Weren’t you afraid? “Mya shook her head. “I remember a man throwing me in the air when I was very little. He stands as tall as the sky, and he throws me up so high it feels as though I’m flying. We’re both laughing, laughing so much that I can hardly catch a breath, and finally I laugh so hard I wet myself, but that only makes him laugh the louder. I was never afraid when he was throwing me. I knew that he would always be there to catch me.” She pushed her hair back. “Then one day he wasn’t. Men come and go. They lie, or die, or leave you. A mountain is not a man, though, and a stone is a mountain’s daughter. I trust my father, and I trust my mules. I won’t fall.” She put her hand on a jagged spur of rock, and got to her feet. “Best finish. We have a long way yet to go, and I can smell a storm.”

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne II

Coincidentally in reference to two snowy mountains, the Frostfangs beyond the Wall and the mountains at the Eyrie.

The word Winterfell could mean “wintry mountain(s)” A snowy mountain is basically “stone” covered by “snow”, like a perfect marriage.

This is connected with the motif of rebuilding Winterfell and the Stark family.

You can read more about this subject (Beren and Lúthien as inspiration for Jon and Sansa) in this series of metas written by @fedonciadale back in 2018:

Tolkien and GRRM - The tale of Beren and Luthien and the allusions to Jonsa - part 1 - the meeting

Tolkien and GRRM - The tale of Beren and Luthien and the allusions to Jonsa - part 2 - Beren’s oath and first failure

Tolkien and GRRM - The tale of Beren and Luthien and the allusions to Jonsa - part 3 - Beren’s and Luthien’s get the Silmaril

Tolkien and GRRM - Aragorn and Arwen

11. Bonus: from real life to fiction

Lúthien was largely inspired from Edith Bratt (Tolkien's wife) and when she died, Tolkien asked his son Christopher to include Lúthien in her gravestone, as he considered her "my Lúthien."

In on of his letters (Nº 340), Tolkien said: "I never called Edith 'Lúthien' – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief pan of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos."

In the movie Tolkien (2019) the film recreates this scene, as you can see in this gifset.

In the same way, I believe that GRRM took inspiration from his wife Parris McBride, certain real life events and traits, and gave those to two of his heroines, Brienne and Sansa.

When Martin and McBride met, at a convention in Nashville in 1975, she told him that one of his stories, “A Song for Lya,” had made her cry. The gathering was in the free-spirited mode of the times—in an autobiographical essay, Martin notes that, when this conversation took place, they were both naked. (He does not elaborate.) He was, however, engaged to someone else. McBride went to work for a travelling circus for a while. By the time he moved to Santa Fe, in 1979, she was waiting tables in Portland, Oregon. They’d kept in touch, and after his marriage broke up they began what McBride calls a “fannish romance,” meeting at conventions and exchanging letters. In 1981, he persuaded her to move to New Mexico.

The New Yorker - April 11, 2011 Issue

And about they both being naked when they met, he later elaborates:

I met Parris for the first time at the 1975 Kublakhan in Nashville. A bunch of us were having a party in the women’s sauna and she walked in. I came to immediate attention.

Parris | George R.R. Martin

This naked encounter is compared by fans to this Jaime and Brienne passage:

She jerked to her feet as if he’d struck her, sending a wash of hot water across the tub. Jaime caught a glimpse of the thick blonde bush at the juncture of her thighs as she climbed out. She was much hairier than his sister. Absurdly, he felt his cock stir beneath the bathwater. Now I know I have been too long away from Cersei. He averted his eyes, troubled by his body’s response.

—A Storm of Swords - Jaime V

We can even draw some parallels between Beren and Lúthien and Jaime and Brienne.

Like Lúthien, Brienne dances, but she dances with her sword. While Jaime, like Beren, lost a hand.

The possibility that GRRM may have used his wife Parris McBride as inspiration for Brienne and Sansa, makes a lot of sense if we consider that, according to GRRM himself, Brienne is Sansa with a sword.

But it is the mention of Parris crying while reading “A Song for Lya”, a bittersweet ending story with a radiant auburn haired beauty, what reminds me very much of Sansa.

Sansa is fond of sweet and sad songs, of bittersweet tales and stories, and she is often moved to tears by their sadness and beauty:

Sansa listened raptly while the king’s high harper sang songs of chivalry [...]

—A Clash of Kings - Bran III

Later, while Sansa was off listening to a troupe of singers perform the complex round of interwoven ballads called the “Dance of the Dragons,” [...]

—A Game of Thrones - Eddard VII

She pulled a chair close to the hearth, took down one of her favorite books, and lost herself in the stories of Florian and Jonquil, of Lady Shella and the Rainbow Knight, of valiant Prince Aemon and his doomed love for his brother’s queen.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa IV

For those who remained, a singer was brought forth to fill the hall with the sweet music of the high harp. He sang of Jonquil and Florian, of Prince Aemon the Dragonknight and his love for his brother’s queen, of Nymeria’s ten thousand ships. They were beautiful songs, but terribly sad. Several of the women began to weep, and Sansa felt her own eyes growing moist.

—A Clash of Kings - Sansa VI

Lady Ashara was my aunt. I never knew her, though. She threw herself into the sea from atop the Palestone Sword before I was born.”

“Why would she do that?” said Arya, startled.

[…] "Why did she jump in the sea, though?"

"Her heart was broken."

Sansa would have sighed and shed a tear for true love, but Arya just thought it was stupid. She couldn't say that to Ned, though, not about his own aunt. "Did someone break it?"

—A Storm of Swords - Arya VIII

Sansa is often moved to tears at the presence of beauty, as Jon's fond memories of her tell us:

The pale pink light of dawn sparkled on branch and leaf and stone. Every blade of grass was carved from emerald, every drip of water turned to diamond. Flowers and mushrooms alike wore coats of glass. Even the mud puddles had a bright brown sheen. Through the shimmering greenery, the black tents of his brothers were encased in a fine glaze of ice.

So there is magic beyond the Wall after all. He found himself thinking of his sisters, perhaps because he'd dreamed of them last night. Sansa would call this an enchantment, and tears would fill her eyes at the wonder of it, but Arya would run out laughing and shouting, wanting to touch it all.

—A Clash of Kings - Jon III

So, in a similar way that Edith inspired Lúthien, I believe Parris inspired Brienne and Sansa.

It is evident that his first encounter with Parris deeply impacted GRRM, so much that he took certain real life events and certain traits of his wife and gave those to two of the heroines of his magnum opus. Particularly Sansa, since she is a main character and the princess of the story, that shares parallels with powerful women from History and with important characters of classic fantasy sagas, like Tolkien's Lúthien in this case.

There you have it. Sansa is the Lúthien figure in the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire.

I'm sure there are more parallels between Lúthien and Sansa, I'm not an expert in the LOTR books, the only book I read so far is the one I used to write this post: Beren and Lúthien (2017), so maybe I will be revisiting this post in the future with more findings.

[wexhappyxfew]

The Nightingales of Fortune Favors the Brave

A Band of Brothers Fanfic Coming Fall 2021 (or presumably whenever Landslide finishes up!) 

HELLO!! If you’re reading this, then as you can see, I’ve finally created a master post with all my Nightingales (well, not really mine THE PUBLIC’S but you’ve all gifted them to me ever so graciously, and it honestly, it means the world to me). Just to see the excitement and reception I’ve gotten from so many people in the fandom involving a female group of Pathfinders - an area of war, I have wanted to cover ever since nearly over 2 years ago I got involved in the fandom. All OC’s will have their creators name listed beside them - I did not create any of these OC’s, all credit goes to the lovely people who crafted and gifted them to me for FFTB!

Viewing where I currently am in my life, I’m going to going to college this year! I got accepted into the school I wanted, the program I wanted, even a scholarship! And I’m beyond excited. I really wanted to have something there for me when college does finally, you know, HAPPEN, and so Fortune Favors the Brave was the only way to go! To have a wonderful group of Nightingales, of female Pathfinders in the Band of Brothers fandom, seemed to be the way to go. Updates and such will definitely be different - I’m picking up more work hours this year, probably even summer classes, night classes, weekend classes - whatever I can do to benefit my degree and myself, I’m taking the opportunity. 

And so, updates will presumably be quite different, depending on a variety of things, but...this will be my college story! No matter how many years it takes to complete and update and write, this will be the thing I have with me through it all for when I need a mental break from school! And I am beyond excited for when I do finally get to share this story more than anything! 

We have such a great group of OCs here - different backgrounds, different reasons for joining, different creators who gifted them to me, different friendships, relationships and abundances of sisterhood and brotherhood moments. I’m truly beyond excited to showcase the Pathfinders side of the war in the light of 16 female OCs, whose stories will be told through their viewpoints based on different episodes whether whole or split! 

So thank you ALL!! These past 2 years have been a joy in the fandom and let’s hope for another few more! I’ve managed 3 fics and 4 books total and I’m excited to bring, presumably, my FINAL Band of Brothers fic in the fandom to you all in the near future. Thank you!! <3

THE NIGHTINGALES 

Team C DZ C for 506th PIR, 501st PIR 

-> 2/506 PIR (Stick 2/Plane #4) 

-- TOCCOA VETERANS --

Team Leader 

Captain Eleanor Graham - @basilone

Eleanor Graham had never met a challenge she couldn’t conquer - the eldest of four and a farmer’s daughter, teamwork and diligence were drilled into her mind like clockwork, along with being as much of a leader in the eyes of her family as she could. There was more to life than a farmer’s wife for her future though, no matter how much she adored the farm her family had grown to craft from the ground up. Iowa brought no opportunity except the farm life deemed fit for her, so upon seeing the advertisement “ It’s Your Fight Too “, OCS had never seemed like a better choice in her eyes. Because it was all their fights - man, woman, child, anyone - it was a World War, a fight for all their lives, for human lives. And with the capability to obtain Captain just before leaving for Camp Toccoa, it solidified her position for not only leading in Easy Company, but leading the Nightinagles - the first stick of female Pathfinders.

Assistant Team Leader

Lieutenant Florence Godfrey - @pxpeyewynn

A British lady and an artist at heart, from the little town of Avebury, set inside Wiltshire of Great Britain, her father made it big in New York just as the war that swarmed throughout Europe, erupted into spitfire. And suddenly thrust into the world of an America before war, was unsettling. Her country fought while America remained neutral. Yet, when the advertisement flooded throughout New York City - she couldn’t help but take it as her only way to get into war. OCS was beyond enough challenges, but walking in as a Lieutenant for Easy and for the Pathfinders, she was no longer the little girl who prayed at night to whomever was above to end the people’s suffering, or avoided interaction to instead draw in her notebook. She was a Lieutenant, and she was a woman at war - yet what was she even fighting for? 

Eureka Operators (each equipped with a Eureka Transponder each)

Sergeant (NCO) Marie Reynal - @thoughpoppiesblow

Grandmère Reynal always held her at night, under the dark night sky and sang in her soulful Cajun French, the words flowing from her lips and remaining an ever-present comfort in times where food was hardly ever on the table, or when she had to watch the other girls at school get the latest Mary-Janes and she was stuck with her old ones. Her grandmère taught her to appreciate the small things in life. But when the “It’s Your Fight Too” poster came out in the papers, Marie Reynal knew there were larger things in life than the newest Mary-Janes at school. Packing up what she could, Marie headed out to Camp Toccoa, equipped with nothing but some clothes and her fiddle. 

Corporal Edith Lockner - @mercurygray

Remember to look up - her mother would always tell her that. Especially when things on their little farm got hard in Stanford, Illinois where the only thing that occurred there was the wagering price of corn that fluctuated with the ever-changing times. So...she figured that’s why she always tended to look to the stars when her mother would tell her that before bed each night, looking out the wooden window under her quilt as a cold draft blew in. She always imagined herself up there, amongst the stars and for once seeing what the stars saw. But to be up with those stars and to get to study them, she’d need a lot more money than what ever amount the corn tended to bring in. And the Airborne with a fantastic pay grade, along with the Pathfinders and their earnings -- it seemed her ticket out. Maybe there won’t be stars - but anything’s got to be better than here. 

Wireman 

Corporal Chiyoko ‘Luna’ Omori - @papersergeant-pencilsoldier

Know your place. Eyes down, mouth shut. And most importantly, honor your family. Chiyoko Omori has never been one to step out of line, nor has she been one to speak when otherwise not spoken too. Trained in the art of kendo, the Japanese martial arts that her ancestors trained in, she leads with discipline and integrity amongst the group of Nightingales training as Pathfinders, as the solo wireman of the group. Her intelligence, more than once, has saved her and in war might just save her again and again. Her father’s garage had always been home to a multitude of repairs and many she had learned to do herself. But there she had been Chiyoko. But for war, she must forget who Chiyoko is and embody the only other name besides her family name that she will ever know - Luna. 

Lightmen (each equipped with 2 Halophane Lamps each) 

Staff-Sergeant (Senior NonCom) Sarah Prowse - @junojelli

For once in her life Sarah Prowse would not have her twin brother by her side. He hadn’t been by her side for years after he went back home to fight with the English and lost his life at Dunkirk. But this was real, this was happening - and the Pathfinders withheld the opportunity to prove to herself that Edmund had died with valor and courage. And he would not have died in vain. The nannies had always said they were inseparable but they weren’t those kids anymore. This was real life. And in real life, there was love and loss and pain. And sometimes the only way to get through it all was to do the thing to distract you most from it all. Some days she wished her family could’ve just stayed in England - maybe Mum would still be here. With her sharp mind, and the ability to read people like an open book, rising to the rank Staff-Sergeant had come easily - reading the field and reading people were pretty similar...right? 

Corporal Jean Dawson - @tvserie-s-world

Life in Louisville, Kentucky had always been a sort of cozy-comfort that Jean Doxon had always enjoyed. The weekend fairgrounds filled to the brim with people enjoying the night life it offered, early summers filled with watching her father race horses around the tracks sprinkled throughout the town and nights by her boyfriend, Glenn Hartley, where the sky seemed to stretch forever into the night. That is before the war sent him away to the Pacific. And their only form of communication was reduced to letters, with pressed flowers and the hint of rose perfume. Jean refused to mope about, when she knew this war was hardly far from over. Quick-thinking on her feet, and a town champion for knot-tying in her days in elementary, she packed what she could and left for Georgia the second she was able to take the first train out. The Airborne had much to offer, but more importantly so did the Pathfinders. 

Corporal Mercy Codonoa - @whoahersheybars

Mercy Codona always been a traveler, never staying in one place and always on the move to somewhere new that she might've never quite been before. This meant new neighbors, new friends and a new way of life. Something the United States readily offered. Each new town in a new state had a different way of life than the next. She figured that's why she was so quick to adapt to her surroundings - nothing was ever permanent, nor set in stone. Neither was family. Orphaned by 17 and left to fend for herself, left in the care of her mother's estranged sister, Mercy took the liberty by herself to do what she could to support herself. Taking up odd jobs in each town she traveled to and managing what she could to feed herself. But she was proud of her Romani-Croat heritage and what her ancestors had done in their past lives. She intended on continuing what their stories had not finished. If only she could continue to support herself. It was only when the "It's Your Fight Too" showed up newly on the Fort Wayne clipboard by the post office in April 1942 and then and there in that moment did she decided - with the extra money the Airborne offered, along with that of the Pathfinders, she'd be able to support herself in the future as well as possibly find people with the same dreams as herself for their futures, and for once finally belong.

Private Kennedy Rutlidge - MINE

Kennedy Docherty had always had quite a wild and exciting mind, always having a new idea, or a new method on selling the most recent paper that got her a few cents an hour. All through her schooling years and even up to her senior year, she took to the busiest corner on Lake Ave and Lyell Ave, calling out to sell her papers, before heading home for the night and running her normal routine the very next day. She spent summers at Lake Ontario, in her grandmother's home on the lake, where some of her fondest memories of her youth had been born. She always believed that's why she was always fascinated with flying, like one of the birds or hawks that flew out across the lake in the early morning. What she'd give to get that feeling just once in her life, away from school and away from the constant need to make as much money as she could to help with the family. The words "It's Your Fight Too" scrawled across the paper in early April had caught her eye within a second and left her running home just that night to break the news that she was signing up. And almost a week later, she found herself packed on a train towards Camp Toccoa, Georgia, bright eyes and the last bit of innocence fading from sight.

Security Personnel  

Sergeant (NCO) Alexandra Calypso - @iilovemusic12us

A Boston girl who grew up with her proud Jewish faith, with a Greek mother, knew hard work and sometimes it was pushing yourself to the very limit beyond what the human body could handle sometimes. So that meant falling, scrapping your knee a few times, sucking up the tears, sending a quick prayer to God and moving on with your life. Life had always been like that - they weren’t the richest, nor the poorest, but there wasn’t ever enough food on the table or enough money to fix the roof, or even to keep the mortgage paid. But her parents never stopped working. And she supposed what drove her to the Airborne and to the Pathfinders was seeing how hard they worked. And they paid well she had heard. She could work with it. And if anything, the Pathfinders were more accepting than any school in Boston she’d been to. 

Sergeant Nellie Shaw - @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant

Hailing from a small, coastal town in Maine, the proud Scot wanted more than anything to stay out of war when it finally came knocking on America’s doorstep. But Nellie Shaw, loyal as saint, knew that there was one thing she could do for this country and that was fight. Give her a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of gin, and she’d go in swinging for the war effort, even with her grumpy morning attitude that slowly became infamous in her elementary school days among the school children. She had no purpose on a farm on a mountain side anymore, rather destined to do what part of the fight she could. Taking Greer Riddell under her wing, the fellow Scot befriended the least likely person to enjoy her company and yet Nellie’s easy-going companionship slowly became integral to the entirety of Easy Company and the Nightingales. 

Private Greer Riddell - @leighinthesky

Schruz, Nevada was home for 21 years and by the looks of it, home for the rest of her life. A bee farm in a tiny town wasn’t idle for the rest of her life, but if she never got the money for college to get out of the small town, she feared she wouldn’t ever leave. And knowing the military had offered 16 women a stick of a plane to get their shot at becoming Pathfinders for the Army was her ticket straight to Toccoa, Georgia for training. The pay could send her not only to college, but could get her out of that tiny town which had confined her to nothing but her family and a cute little bee farm where hard work always paid off. Don’t be fooled by her subdue and withdrawn nature, the second her hands touched the rifle - the field was hers and yet so was the valley.

Codebreaker [Betchley Park Member]

Sergeant Laverne Robinson - @vintagelavenderskies

For her 23 years of life, Laverne Robinson had known just about every spot in London where you could catch a smoke break and not get caught by one of the older women and get scolded for doing so. She blamed her older brother, he blamed her. It was a mutual thing. But that had been the only thing to fear in London - until war struck, which sent every eligible man off to fight for the effort. Her brother included, leaving her staring out the rain speckled window all alone as the smell of her mother's soup wafted past her nose. Yet, like many women of the time, she wanted to fight too. Fluent in French and German and skilled in mathematics and code-work, Bletchley Park seemed the best fit. Working on codes, both sculpting and breaking them inside the building, keeping her lips shut and going on about her normal day when not inside the institution, life didn't seem as dreary as she had anticipated. Because she knew she was apart of the effort to end this war. That was until, she was called upon in late March 1944 to join up with the 101st Airborne with the first female stick of 12 pathfinders to make the jump into Normandy and assist them in anyway possible. Laverne knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and if her brother were there, he would've told her to run with it. Becoming a professor of mathematics would have to wait.

REPLACEMENTS

Corporal Alessandra Lisi - @tvserie-s-world

Alessandra Lisi had never known her parents. She was always told that sickness had taken them when she was just a child. Her brothers had been older than her and had tried to protect her from the sight of her parents dying. And so when their Nonna had taken them into her home without hesitation, Alessandra grew to look to her Nonna as the other parental figure she’d ever had. Of course, her brothers were always there for her, protective as they were, they never let her get into any sort of trouble without hearing about it first. Alessandra grew to adore her Italian heritage, cooking with Nonna on Sunday’s, inviting family over to enjoy the meals and even getting to stir the sauce as Nonna dropped in fresh, cut tomatoes. That was life and it had always been life as such. But when war sent her 3 brothers away, she knew she would not go down without a fight either. Upon receiving the paper in November 1943, she noticed the cover page withheld the picture of 12 women, adorned in jump wings as well as military grade goggles and scarves standing with wide smiles and bright eyes in front of a C-47, the title 'The Nightingales', lying just underneath. Female Pathfinders. If her parents were here, they would've been telling her what Nonna would've been telling her now. Fight for what you believe in, because while there's life, there's hope.

Private First Class Bettie Smith - @sgtxliptons86

Brooklyn, New York had it all - the kids in the streets, the shops on the corners where you could get a piece of candy for as little as 5 cents, even the corner stores in the summer where you could get ice cream for a dime. And as Bettie Smith grew older, running the streets of Brooklyn became like a weekend job - checking in on the younger kids of friends, riding bikes past the floral shops and picking up flowers for her sister, getting a bag of charcoal for her father. Even throwing some curses towards the boys who would heckle her for the way she wore her hair or the old shoes laced on her feet. Her older sister wasn’t too pleased with it all, but ever since Ma had passed, she seemed to let it slide - it was an escape for Bettie. So when war came knocking on the Smith’s door, anger, yet pride for their country filled the home, as well as the streets of New York, as more men and women began signing up for the cause. More friends left to join the effort, leaving Bettie there on the concrete doorstep. So when Bettie received the daily paper in November 1943, showcasing the 12 female pathfinders of the 101st Airborne, front and center for all to see, Bettie took it in quite large strides and took the first train of December 1943 to Fort Benning, Georgia.

Private Annie Laine - @wereinadell

Annie Laine, the daughter of Finnish immigrants, had always dreamed of leaving the quiet countryside her parents had always preferred for their family for the big cities of the Midwest - maybe she’d go to Chicago and study theater, or maybe she’d go and finally attend college in Milwaukee. Anything to get out of the small town she currently resided in. But the countryside had brought alone its perks - orienteering and hunting were big in the Laine family and every child, her 3 brothers, her and her sister, had all been taught the noble art. Swimming the streams, fishing in the lakes, taking hikes through the forests and coming back with a deer for dinner - life had always been quite peaceful Annie felt. But she could always hope that one day it changed. And it seemed war rung those bells quite early on. Annie was tired of structured life and if anything, she knew that the start of structured life in the military would fall quite nearly to shambles once they hit war. The November 1943 issue of the daily newspaper brought upon not only sudden interest in the military, but in that of the female pathfinders who were paving their way in all of military history to be the first stick to jump into continental occupied-Europe. All it took was what cash she had saved for college and a small suitcase to get her on the way to Fort Benning, Georgia.

Private Marla Hughes - @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant

Lafayette, Louisiana had been home all her life - Baton Rouge just to the East and New Orleans just a little further. It had always been home for as long as she could remember. With the fancy parties her father always allotted for the family to attend, talking with the men in pristine suits, or the women with the big hats, some days Marla Hughes just wished to be able to go outside and enjoy nature instead of suffocating amongst the people who seemed to live in a world that didn’t even seem like real life. She supposed that was when she had hit her breaking point and joined the Airborne in Fort Benning, Georgia. She was tired of the life that did absolutely nothing for her. There was more to this world, so much more and yet she was confined to a party dress and an expensive glass of wine that tasted bitter when it rushed down the throat. There were small bars, where the music played, and you could dance until your feet grew tired, there were beer bottles awaiting to be clinked together with friends and there were people beside the stuck-up society she was forced into. The Airborne accepted anyone far and wide - and maybe she could strip of the posh life given to her and finally be set free.

THESE ARE THE NIGHTINGALES!!!

> if you have any questions, feel free to send them in! if not, it’s all good! these are our 16 nightingales! :) thank you to all of you who sent them in back in early December! It’s been an honor to craft these wonderful OC’s!

[midweekblues]

Names, Violence and Empire: a The Terror/Black Sails Rant

Ok I've been thinking of writing something coherent on this for ages, but I've given up on coherence and I'm just gonna rant about this because I found myself with extra time off and i need to get it out. Please feel free to chime in, I got so many Feelings. I’m putting this under a cut because it’s both rambly and spoilery AF.

Part 1: A tale of two Jameses

We are introduced to James Fitzjames (or rather, he introduces himself) as a war hero during the officer's dinner on Terror. He tells the story of being wounded during the Opium War, which earns him sympathetic looks, even a comparison to Lord Nelson, but also nonchalantly states that, as enemy soldiers burned, "the whole view smelled like roast duck", a jest received with polite, amused laughs. Both the wound and the smell of burning meat will come back to haunt him episodes later; for now, his narrative is that of the Imperial hero, who excels at violence sanctioned by the Empire. He's climbed the ranks through military prowess, but also, as we'll see later, through political luck, through his social connections and his ability to navigate the rigid Victorian society. Yet he believes himself a fake because of the circumstances of his birth: He's very much embedded in the morals and prejudices of the Empire (I'm not even fully English), and it's only after years in a space devoid of Empire, only after leaving the ships behind, after the Navy hierarchy has already started to disintegrate under his feet (Blanky's telling of Fury Beach was, indeed, a warning) that he allows himself to open up about it; and he opens up to Crozier (!) in a scene so full of vulnerability that it set HMS Fitzier to sail for a whole bunch of us. He introduces himself again, now as a man whose name was made up for his baptism, building himself a gilded life (I don't know much about the historical JFJ, but this post and the linked article bring up some interesting points) where war and imperialism are sources of anechdotes and glory.

The one character he chooses to disclose his origins to, Crozier, quite clearly dislikes him through the first few episodes; he does not seem to object to his violence though, but to how pompous he is about it, and how it seems to buy James credit and lift him up in the hierarchy. During the dinner scene, his retort about Birdshit Island seems to aim at demystifying his narrative, not discrediting his worth as a soldier; he will later call his feats acts of valor, reassure him he's not a fraud. In confessing It's all vanity, James becomes more real to Francis; at the revelation of his parentage, one can't help but think that Francis (Irish, middle-bred Francis) feels closer to him. Crozier is just as much a part of the Empire as Fitzjames, no matter how much he seems to disdain or resent it. But more on that later.

150 years earlier, Lieutenant James McGraw comes from a humble family and he's a rising star in the Royal Navy when he meets the Hamiltons; he's also an Imperial hero, no stranger to violence, very much concerned with propriety and rank but also indifferent to the brutality of the system he's part of. He views pirates as criminals, their violence as savage and opposed to civilization; he is utterly confused as to why or how would Thomas Hamilton try to solve the issue with pardons instead of sheer force. The glimpses we see of McGraw, of Flint's past, show us a man who's no stranger to violence as a way to achieve an end; it’s only that the man before Nassau, before the Hamiltons, seems happy enough with enforcing violence in the name of the very same England he will later despise; but only after England rejects him, strips him of his rank and takes his love from him. As we discover this, throughout the seasons, we see that James McGraw is at the very root of Captain Flint: his comfort with using violence to uphold the Empire is the very same he will show to try and tear that Empire down. He will don the mask of Captain Flint, the monster, after England calls him a monster, but the man he was before was no stranger to violence either.

The one person in Nassau that knows (knew?) James McGraw, Miranda Barrow, starts as an even more enigmatic character than him. As their backstories are revealed, we are forced to understand her longing for the Empire, for civilization. Not just the material comforts she enjoyed, but a sense of freedom, of safety, that she'll never find in the island. We see her living a recluse life, away from the vibrant but dangerous Nassau, alone but for the visits of a man she seems to both love and resent (and sometimes fear?). She seems the only one to see past through Flint's cries of Freedom, to see the anarchy of a Pirate Republic ends in the same amount of violence, or more, as England's rule. She is the last thread tethering him to the man he was before, to the man he loved before, and she almost, almost succeeds in finishing what the man she loved started. Almost.

Is it her death that finally brings Flint over the edge? Or is it the fact that she dies right after showing, for the first time, the extent of her pain and her rage? It is indeed her last words that get Charles Town burned to the ground, and as viewers we can't help but somehow thank her. We know Flint is a violent, manipulative bastard by now, but the catharsis of the season finale makes him transcend the pirate archetype, his rage now Achillean: we're left with a man that simply said I will wage war on the Empire that took you from me, and then did it, twice.

James Fitzjames will die a hero in the Arctic. Past the end of vanity, we'll see him fire rockets at a monster, we'll see friendship, brotherhood, and then him succumbing to the very wound he suffered, originally, while fighting England's wars. It is tempting to only remember the last words Bridgens says to him: There will be poems. But the bit before that is just as moving. You're a good man. Here where there's no Empire, no glory, no praise, a good man (a steward, a kind man, an intelligent man, a man who loves another) thinks you're good, James. Not even talking about Francis here because, There will be Fix-Its.

And James McGraw? We're led to think he'll live. That he'll get rid of Flint, like a snake molds its old skin, and live. But then again, as the show approaches its end, the narrative belongs less and less to him, and more and more to Silver, in more senses than one. And that deserves its own damn post because this one is getting long enough. Stay tuned for E.C., Long John Silver, and more Flint. And more Crozier. 

[human-enthusiast]

Absurd Person #1 - Monkey D. Luffy (kid)

 Let’s start with not only the main protagonist of One Piece but also the first character to give Luffy any sort of injury...

...his dumb, seven-year-old self...

*Disclaimer: I don’t own this image - screenshot from Episode of East Blue

The last time I wrote this, I forgot to hit save and my browser just reloaded the page and lost everything. After that I just went “I’m done” and rage quit Tumblr for the night (which I normally don’t do). That’s how my Sundays usually go😒🥴

Now Onward!

Basic Classifications

Real World Ethnicity/Nationality: Brazilian

Class: farm / country / lower class

Culture (the one he grew up around): Dawn Island - Sea-side village

Fishing community

Farming / Ranching community

Hard work ethic

Small and close community members; relatively friendly; little to non-existent conflict

Selective mix of being open towards strangers (especially with merchant vessels for better trading opportunities) and weariness towards those they expect to be harmful (likes Pirates; I’d imagine the people of Windmill Village were understandably unnerved with the Red-Haired Pirates first showing up).

Core values (personal to Luffy): pride, physical strength, adventures on and outside his home village,

Relation to authority: neutral - shifting slightly towards negative (no clear basis of opinion; can only go off on Luffy’s fascination with pirates as the main viewpoint)

(The added information feels a little scatter-shot but figured I give it a try based on little information from the manga panels and how it lines up with real-world similarities. Most information is based on logical speculation and could change with new information in later chapters.)

I know that the Romance Dawn arc consists of the chapters up until he meets Coby and Alvida (I think...), but the depiction of Luffy’s character in the first chapter seems different from when he is seventeen and setting out to sea. So, I’ll treat kid Luffy as a separate character for the first analysis.

First Impressions and Introduction

Now, I am an anime watcher, first and foremost, so my first impression of this character stems from the Anime. My introduction towards this ball of chaos was when he popped out of a barrel, that he put himself into after realizing that a whirlpool suddenly appeared (how he missed it? - It’s Luffy), and then inexplicably took a nap in. That was the absurd reason I was able to stick with One Piece in the first few arcs (until Baratie became one of the major reasons I stuck with it - I’ll explain why when we get there).

And since the first chapter was used for episode four in the anime, I was already somewhat familiar with how the story started and who Luffy was as a kid. However, reading the first chapter felt....different than what I would’ve expected. And because the anime cut out a few details from the chapter, there definitely are some things to take from kid Luffy at that point.

So my first impression was, as follows:

The kid is unhinged...That explains some things...

Complete wild child of a backwater village from Day 1. 

LIKE-- The anime episode DID NOT explain how he got that scar and the guy didn’t bring it up ever. To be fair, that wasn’t a big focus because the anime didn’t make it a focus. Reading that part though did more for his character and a little of his upbringing, through speculation, making it a rather slow-building but also fascinating introduction into this series.

Just a bit of an add-on, but if the manga introduced Luffy in the same level of neutrality as what the Anime did, It may not have fully made it clear if Luffy was going to be the main protagonist. Then again, it’s a shounen manga, maybe it was rather obvious to everyone else. Regardless, his introduction served to 

(1) Make his entrance memorable

(2) Establish his character that could either compare or set him apart from his teen self.

(3) Act as a sort of precursor towards the introduction of Luffy’s world and upbringing (which isn’t completely established until the last few arcs of Pre-Time Skip)

Personality

The best way I could describe Luffy at this point is a stereotypical kid...

Energetic, short-tempered, adventure-seeking, easily impressed, and ignorant...

That last description is actually something I brought up in a separate post about the “Fluid themes” of One Piece. Because I found that a small but overarching part in many (almost all) themes and world issues that One Piece reflects has some level of unawareness or apathy. Jimbe put it best during the Fishman Island Flashback when they found Koala (paraphrasing)

“They are afraid of us because they don’t know us.”

Know us referring to acknowledging them as people on the same level as humans.

Because of that and plenty of other instances from the East Blue, it can be a potential center for many characters who go up against or wish to explore the world and find that they are a frog in a well.

And that’s what kid Luffy represents. A rather aggressive frog in a well that wants out.

Granted, he is a seven-year-old, whose schooling has a closer equivalent to the 16th and 17th centuries of our world, living in what appears to be a farming community, so I’d imagine his education only focuses on at least the basic levels of reading/writing, mathematics, etc. A small, unexciting farming village probably has more concerns over their melon crops rather than what the world has going on. Adding in Luffy, you get a kid who dreams about being a pirate and adventuring outside the isolated village, making him avidly interested in a world he has no experience with. Or in a world he thinks is all fun and games.

That’s pretty standard for any child that has a mild and peaceful life. No doubt Shanks and his crew would tell him stories about their adventures. Not as a sort of attempt to make him a pirate, but because he was easily entertained by it, building up this expectation with stereotypical pirate personas. And whether he has his “destructive” tendencies before they became a fixture in Windmill Village, they definitely seemed to amp it up enough for Luffy to try and prove he was “man enough” to be a pirate at seven years old.

Then when you add in this idealistic expectation with the selfishness of a young child, it creates an opportunity to learn. Because, as any kid may go through, will find that their fantasy of the world won’t be what they expected, and will often react negatively. Luffy’s expectation of Shanks is that he is the strongest man worthy enough to be a pirate.

Now, Luffy’s view of a “real man” stems a lot from this stereotype of men solving their problems through fighting only. Which also embodies this rather damaging philosophy of never running away or backing down from a fight (which I refer to as stupid bravery - something that comes up in a certain other character).

The amazing thing about all the combined aspects of this kid is the ability to create a learning lesson for Luffy. Which can become a motivational factor in his pursuit as a pirate.

His easily impressed nature makes it known both when the Red-Haired Pirates talk positively about piracy adventures and when Shanks leaves the village. The difference between the moments can be showcased by the difference in determination and will to make an effort to achieve his dream. As he declared he wants to be King of The Pirates, he sets himself to work at it, rather than try and go with others.

How He Shapes the Story / World Around Them

I don’t know if anybody else made a similar connection (I wanna say someone DID but I can’t remember where) but in combination with Luffy’s general enthusiasm growing up hearing wild stories, his narrative reminds me so much of Don Quixote De La Mancha.

It’s been a while since I last read that story-- and by read I mean translate some paragraphs from Spanish to English during my Spanish I class in freshman year of high school. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Part I entails an old man who, after indulging himself with various stories of knights and valor, decides he wants to partake in his own adventures. Under various delusions and misadventures, his story becomes a rather well-known one.

Don Quixote was called the first “modern book”. That was something my Spanish teacher mentioned regarding its acknowledgment by the world and always stuck with me. It was one of the first stories of the early medieval period to focus on a regular man. Other stories before this tended to be about legends, gods, demigods-- individuals who often were referred to as legends because they were born into high status (often above humans). Either through original texts (often for religious purposes) and then through varying interpretations (such as the Arthurian Legends), these tales were a part of the status quo.

Kid Luffy is a person that reflects so much of the Don Quixote story (And not just because his village has windmills-- the most iconic scene about the knight’s story). He is that simple, normal boy that longs for his own adventures when there seemingly is already a well-talked-about story about someone who achieved infamy. In place of that is a man named Gold Roger whose execution we see in the manga’s opening. At this point, we don’t have much understanding about how it impacts the world as of yet, we just know it is setting up for something significant to the story.

Luffy becomes that “regular” person from a small-town with big expectations for a grand adventure.

That perspective can slowly build into the story by starting in a simple setting with a character going through one of the first dynamic changes in his life. Luffy’s experience with Shanks’s sacrifice sets a course in his own adventure. A story that trails into a rather bonkers adventure at the end of chapter 1.

His development is what shaped his world. It’s the way he learns when as it stems from the consequences of his actions. Especially ones where the smaller ones turn out to be very costly, making it a hard lesson that ingrains into the young kid. His actions created by his old ideologies sparked an intense reaction in the people around him. Especially Shanks, who felt he was worth losing an arm towards.

How The WORLD Shapes HIM

So, for the sake of the fact that kid Luffy’s “World” in Chapter 1 mostly consists of Windmill Village, I’m adding in Shank’s and his crew’s influence to extend and further give credence to his influence. Because, as of this point, Shanks represents a glimpse into the life of a pirate that Luffy strives for.

With Luffy being in a quiet environment all seven years of life, there is growth through basic schooling and healthy child development (theoretically since Makino seems to be the most likely one acting as his guardian), instead of doing things outside that norm. Now Shanks is the odd factor that creates new development into Luffy’s dreams and future ambitions. 

The crew’s stories, charisma, and connection towards the kid actively (and probably unintentionally) created a positive expectation if he chose to pursue his dream. While that sounds inspiring, there were also negative aspects. Such as driving his ignorance and impatient nature to seek it out too early in his life.

Shanks then became a mediator. Luffy often has mixed feelings with Shanks as the man begets a level of encouragement while verbally making fun of Luffy for being a kid constantly. Despite that, it doesn’t completely deter Luffy’s ambitions. All it does is slowly drop his high expectations in Shanks after the first bar incident. This is again done by his childish outlook of physical strength and bravery equating to his ideal of a real man.

With Higama, Luffy learns about real-world dangers, and how bravery won’t always be enough to win battles. The same can be said for physical strength but at that moment it doesn’t apply to Luffy. 

Shanks’ and the crew’s involvement helped Luffy’s views change. His expectations are fulfilled, which in turn reveal that he was wrong about them.

Finally, seeing Shanks’ sacrifice unfold drove Luffy into a pang of newfound guilt. By then, he was able to change one part of his world views from a childish fantasy into the beginnings of a mature way of thinking. 

He gains some level of patience. Along with a set goal to work with. Attributes which are identifiable with Luffy in the chapters last few panels.

Patience = Luffy took time to train and learn to set sail at age seventeen.

Set goal = Be King of the Pirates

Add-Ons

When I say that kid Luffy, after Shanks’ sacrifice, gained a level of patience, it is meant as a deduction during that chapter. By no means am I insinuating that it became a permanent trait for his character. Because as of chapter 1, all of Luffy’s personality has yet to be revealed.

And this will apply to other posts for various characters. They may behave in ways during or in response to a particular event but it doesn’t necessarily equate to that becoming a whole personality trait. Calling Luffy patient, with having full acknowledgment of his personality during the bulk of One Piece, is completely off. But, there can and will be moments where Luffy will act patient when he deems it necessary.

This is a little hard to articulate but I hope it makes enough sense.

🏴‍☠️🐒

After-Notes

Here’s my first attempt at this analysis. It felt scattered even after editing everything. Breaking down characters sounds easy (and most times it is) but articulating and connecting things takes a lot of work.

Here's to hoping it gets easier with the next character. And maybe shorter paragraphs.

Up Next: Shanks (East Blue)

[antifainternational]

January 25, Porto - We Won't Forget You - Porto January 25, Lisbon - We Won't Forget You - Lisbon

~ English below ~ No dia 25 de janeiro, relembramos todos aqueles que morreram a tentar chegar à Europa. Só em 2019, 1.277 pessoas morreram a atravessar o mar Mediterrâneo. Este número representa apenas as mortes reportadas, uma vez que ninguém sabe ao certo quantas pessoas partiram do outro lado do Mediterrâneo. Enquanto  a consciência dos indivíduos adormece, face à quantidade de más notícias e às mortes que se transformam em números anónimos, abandonamos a letargia de pensar que não podemos agir contra a miséria criada pelas fronteiras, pelo nacionalismo e pela ignorância. Vamos prestar respeito e homenagear todos aqueles que perderam a vida a tentar chegar à Europa. Vamos enviar um voto de esperança a todos aqueles que ainda estão à procura de um caminho seguro. Este evento tem a intenção de enviar uma mensagem pacífica e de encorajar cada um de nós não apenas a relembrar, mas a agir. Vestir-nos-emos de preto. Uma lista com os nomes de todos aqueles que perderam as suas vidas será lida em voz alta. Convidamos todos a fazer um barco de papel. Condenamos a forma como os requerentes de asilo estão presos em campos dos dois lados do Mar Mediterrâneo, onde direitos humanos são violados. Nenhuma fronteira deveria ter mais valor do que uma vida humana. Condenamos as políticas da União Europeia, que assistem a guarda costeira líbia a interceptar e retornar migrantes, nas chamadas "ações de recuo", à Líbia, onde os requerentes de asilo se encontram em condições que violam os seus direitos. Os direitos humanos deveriam ser a base fundamental de qualquer decisão política. Exigimos à União Europeia a criação de canais legais e mecanismos de passagem seguros para os requerentes de asilo. A UE precisa de apoiar ativamente missões civis de resgate, e de estabelecer uma rota de fuga segura através do Mediterrâneo. #WeWontForgetYou ///// On January 25th we will commemorate all those who perished trying to reach Europe. In 2019 alone 1.277 people have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea. This number is merely the reported amount of deaths, as nobody knows how many people leave the shores on the other side of the sea. As conscience gets numb under all the bad news and lives become anonymous numbers, let’s shake off the lethargy of thinking we are powerless against the misery created by borders, nationalism and ignorance. Let’s pay our respects and commemorate all the unknowns who lost their lives in hope of a better future. Let’s also send out a thought to the ones who are still trying to find their way to safety. This event is intended to send a peaceful signal to encourage each one of us not just to remember, but to act. We will be dressed in black. A list of the names of all those whose lives were lost will be read out loud. Everybody is invited to fold paper boats as a symbol of remembrance.   We condemn the way asylum seekers are stuck in the camps on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea, where human rights are violated. No border should be more worthy of protection than a human life. We condemn the European Union’s policy of assisting the Libyan coast guard to intercept and return migrants in so called push-back actions into Libya, where asylum seekers meet conditions which violate their rights. Human Rights must be the fundamental basis of every political decision. We demand the European Union to install more legal migration channels and a safe passage possibility for asylum seekers. The EU needs to actively support civil sea rescue and install a secure maritime escape route. #WeWontForgetYou

[ghoulishwriting]

Detention Blues || Marstonov

Luca shoved open the door to the classroom, his battered army green backpack resting on one trench coat covered shoulder as he walked into the room with a purpose. He nodded at a few students he knew as he strode towards a wooden seat in the back of the classroom. As often as the blonde teenager spent afternoons and weekends in detention, the chair practically had his name on it. Maybe it should have his name on it. He dropped his bag and flopped down into the seat, immediately leaning back to take in the room.

Zagan. Dorian. A few kids from Chemistry class. Many students whose names he didn’t know and didn’t care. His eyes took in every single one before coming to rest on a new addition to the motley crew. The kid looked familiar and the letterman jacket on the back of his seat told Luca everything he needed to know. A jock. Probably a fucking asshole. But something about him made Luca attentive, interested, confused. Probably just the fact that there were never jocks in here. God forbid the popular crowd ever have to be punished.

Mr. Richardson sat in the front of the class speaking while Luca closed his eyes and considered the number of hours until he could get outside for a smoke. He’d heard the spiel a thousand times and wasn’t about to pay any attention to it this time. Don’t leave the room. Don’t talk to anyone else. Do your homework. All three rules that Luca had every intention to break as soon as possible. His eyes flit back around the room, resting on the jock from earlier. Luca shook his head and turned away, reaching into his backpack for his iPod. He pulled the headphones out and shoved them into his ears, grabbing a notebook next. As Mr. Richardson went back to grading papers, Luca flipped a pocket knife out of his boot and went to work, carving his name into the desk, using the notebooks as cover.

He knew it wouldn’t be long before the teacher stepped outside. He hated it in the room almost as much as most of the students did. Then the fun could start. And maybe he could manage to smoke a cigarette before he came back. Luca said nothing and continued making headway on the wooden desk, an L making an appearance. He looked up every now and then to see if anyone was paying attention to him, feigning disinterest if the answer was yes.

Except this time there were blue eyes on his own and a look he couldn’t quite unravel. He raised an eyebrow at the jock, waiting for a response of some sort, before turning back to this work. Alkaline Trio played in his ears as he waited for Mr. Richardson to fucking leave. He was already sick of this shit. But it didn’t stop him from looking up again to see if the eyes were still waiting for his.

Detention.

He never got detention.

Valor Marsden had never served detention in all of his educational career, and yet here he was. Sitting in a desk in a familiar classroom, surrounded mostly by strangers. A few familiar faces but the name was a blank when blue eyes landed on them.

He was frustrated. He knew the teacher was just out to get him and that’s why he got detention but it was a ‘his word against mine’ kind of situation that left Valor helpless. People always took the Teacher’s side when it came to these things.

He sighed, tapping his pen in a rapid motion on the desk and staring out the window with a blank expression on his face.

When the door was slammed open Valor’s attention went toward the door, eyes lighting across one of the most notorious rebels in all of Westridge High. His name escaped Valor, but he remembered his face.

Who could forget a face like that? Valor turned his attention away, trying to shake off the unfamiliar feeling rising in the pit of his stomach at the sight of the rebellious male. Instead, his eyes fell forward to Mr. Richardson, listening to his quiet droll as he listed off his rules.

He pulled out his notebook and English book, planning on doing all the extra credit and homework owed for the next two days in order to get the teacher off his ass for at least a few days so he wouldn’t land right back where he was but a noise caught his attention.

The boy he had been watching was doing something at his desk, something quiet, unnoticeable, but had attracted Valor’s attention. He watched him with interest, and when he had glanced up from the desk to lock eyes with Valor he damn near felt his heart stop.

Valor always had a weakness for men with pretty eyes.

He had to snap himself out of it when he noticed the other raise his eyebrow and simply shrugged his shoulder in a nonchalant way before both went about their business. Valor attempting homework and the other doing whatever he was to his desk.

“Alright all of you, stay quiet. I’m going to be back in ten minutes and if I hear any type of noise I’ll make sure you get another week’s worth of detention.” came the threat from Mr. Richardson as he got up and left the room with his shoes squeaking every step of the way. The moment the door was closed everyone was up and moving about, muffled chatter racing around the room.

Valor looked around as everyone began to mingle, and turned his attention toward the male he had been watching. He opened his mouth to speak, say something to him. Anything.

When two others had made their move and began to converse with him instead, cutting off Valor’s opportunity to strike a conversation.

He let out a quiet sigh and turned back to his books, continuing on with his homework and ignoring the noise around him when suddenly his English book was swiped from him.

His head shot up and looked at the person who now held his textbook in their hands. “Hey, can I get that back? I’m actually trying to do some work.” He spoke calmly, leaning back in his seat as the other held his book out of his reach.

“I’m assuming you’re either done with your work or haven’t turned in any type of homework since the school year started, am I right?” he asked with a tilt of his head and a crooked grin flashing upon his face.

[necronomapple]

Diablo Angel Name Etymology

@mal-likes-biscuits​, I was planning on doing a post regarding the etymologies and implications of the archangel’s names but seems like you beat me to the punch. Regardless, here are some additional insights I gathered from my research that you might find interesting:

Imperius

It’s certainly logical to conclude that his name derives from the Latin imprīmīs and subsequent English derivatives, however, there is a less obvious suggestion that I believe is more compelling.

The Empyrean, which in ancient cosmology was the highest sphere of heaven and thought to be a realm beyond the physical universe made of pure fire and light.

Derives from the Medieval Latin empȳreus.

Further from the Ancient Greek ἐμπύριος (empúrios), from ἐν (en, “in”) + πῦρ (pûr, “fire”), meaning “in the fire” (from this the English pyre is derived).

In Dante's Paradiso, Dante journeys from the Primum Mobile sphere to the Empyrean which is the dwelling of God, the angels (including Gabriel), and the blessed souls of the Celestial Rose (Canto XXX - XXXIII).

Piecing this together, it seems likely that Imperius’s name is meant to evoke the image of the highest divinities, of god (Anu in this case), and of celestial eminence.

As well as the connotation of being the angel “in the fire”, not only because he wields fire magic but also because he’s nearly always depicted in the heat of battle against demons, and thus in the line of “fire” if you will. Such is his role as Valor, leader of the Heavenly Host.

Furthermore, the Ancient Greeks regarded fire (pûr) as one of the four Classical Elements posited by Empedocles.

Hippocrates of Kos (or some say Kosm) was the first to apply the Elements to the ancient medical theory of humorism, which proposed that the imbalance of four bodily fluids, or humours, (each corresponding to an Element) effected one’s health and temperament.

The bodily humour attributed to fire was yellow bile.  An excess of yellow bile was believed to generate feelings of anger, aggression, and vengeance. This was regarded as the choleric temperament.

However, stemming from Galen’s theories of temperament, choleric individuals we’re also regarded as ambitious, confident, extroverted personalities that served well as natural leaders.

So yes, Imperius has too much yellow bile and needs to chill the fuck out.

Lore Tidbit: It’s canon that the mortals of the Diablo universe apply the Theory of the Four Humours to explain shifts in behavior, or at least had done so in the past. In D3, we find a mention of this in King Leoric’s Journal, Part 2:

“A fetid, pallid malaise has fallen over the manor we now call home. Young Albrecht seems to be enjoying himself in our new home, however. Perhaps I am simply suffering from an imbalance of humours brought on by the recent change of clime.”

 Itherael

You may recall I had mentioned there being only four Classical Elements. Turns out there’s actually a fifth element, aether, introduced by Aristotle in his natural philosophy treatise, On the Heavens. It’s not too farfetched to speculate that Itherael’s name probably stems from this quintessence.

Aether, from the Anceint Greek αἰθήρ (aithēr) meaning “pure air” or “clear sky” (derived further from the root αἴθω (aíthō) meaning "to burn, to kindle"), was a substance thought to fill the upper regions of space that the gods breathed. Likewise, the Empyrean itself was alleged to be composed entirely of pure aether.

First proposed in the 1600s, luminiferous aether (“light-bearing” ether) was the theoretical medium thought to fill the vacuum of space and allow for the transmission of wave-based light.

However, the aether theory was later discredited by the results of the 1887 Michelson–Morley experiment. This led to the development of special relativity, which proposed that light traveled through a vacuum at a constant speed c (no medium necessary).

I suppose this all seems rather extraneous, however, let us consider the nature of Fate:

As the Archangel of Fate, Itherael was able to read the destinies of immortal beings of Creation and as such, the ultimate outcome of the Eternal Conflict. In this way, it could be said that Itherael had “clear” or “pure” insight into the workings of universe, unobscured by the fog of uncertainty.

However, his grasp on the future began to slip away once the nephalem entered the equation.

Talus’ar, the “medium” by which he was able to construe fates, ceased to provide a clear picture of the future when its prophecies failed to pass, unable to account for the intervention of the nephalem.

Likewise, Itherael’s predictions of the future become tenuous and insubstantial, one might even say ethereal, as his vision was forever blurred by the existence of the nephalem—beings whose fates remain ambiguous.

 Auriel

The Diablo series tends to draw heavily on the lore of the Judeo-Christian theology, particularly in the naming conventions of angels and demons.

Auriel’s name seems to be a conglomeration of two angelic names from Judeo-Christian lore: Uriel and Ariel.

1). Uriel translates from Hebrew as “fire of god” or “god is my light”.

Although he doesn’t appear in the Judeo biblical canon, Archangel Uriel is mentioned across various biblical apocrypha, gnostic texts, and Dead Sea Scrolls (including the Book of Enoch).

Uriel’s role and title seems to vary across all his mentions. However, the relevant ones boil down to the “angel of the earth” (in Heywood's Hierarchy of Blessed Angels), the “the keeper of beauty and light” (in Episcopal traditions), and “archangel of earth” linked with natural flora (in angelic mysticism of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn).

The recurring motifs of “earth” and “beauty” suggest Uriel’s prominence in protecting natural creation. It could be said that Auriel occupies a similar niche within the High Heavens as the overseer of the Gardens of Hope, a realm that is already a reflection of natural earthly beauty and resplendent with light.

2). Ariel translates from Hebrew as “lion of god”.

Canonically, Ariel was used in reference to the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 29) however in subsequent apocryphal and gnostic texts (e.g. Pistis Sophia), Ariel is considered the name of an angel who punished sinners.

In later mysticism, Ariel is regarded as the “angel of nature” or “Earth’s great lord” (sometimes considered an archangel). Ariel is said to hold power over aspects of the natural world, Empedoclean elements, and wildlife.

In essence, Ariel acts as a guardian and healer of wild animals and protector of the environment, a role which echoes Auriel’s own in the Heavens as the keeper of the Gardens and tender to the wounded.

The implication as a “lion of god” could also be applied to Auriel, whom, as we’ve seen in the Wrath animation, is no pacifist and wields considerable power in battle. Canonically, she is also said to settle quarrels between Imperius and Tyrael which, I’d imagine, demands considerable courage and fortitude: traits befitting of a lion.

Ariel is also associated with the color pink. Likewise, Auriel’s wings are sometimes depicted as pink, although at other times blue or teal, perhaps to further allude to Auriel’s close connection with nature and flora.

 Tyrael

Drawing from Judeo-Christian tradition, Tyrael’s name seems to derive from angel Turiel, whose name means “rock of god” or “mountain of god”.

According to the Book of Enoch, Turiel had been one of the Watchers, antediluvian angels who were sent to earth to watch over humanity.

However, the Watchers fell when they took human women as wives and taught humanity the forbidden knowledge of astrology, pharmacology, weaponry, cosmetics, medical sorcery, and various other arts and sciences. Their human wives also bore hybrid offspring called the Nephilim, indubitably the major inspiration for Diablo’s Nephalem.

This draws a nice parallel with Tyrael’s story, whom, like Turiel and the Watchers, fell from grace when he became too invested in humanity, becoming a pariah among his own kind.

Also similarly to the Watchers, Tyrael entrusted secret knowledge and artifacts (the Soulstones) to his chosen group of mortals, the Horadrim, without the approval of the Angiris Council.

Recall, Tyrael was the founder of the Horadrim, assuming a role as guide to humanity’s affairs with demons, and subsequently, as a mentor to the New Horadrim, serving overall as a sort of moral anchor for his nephalem companions.

Considering this, it is not such a stretch to suggest that he is a “rock” or “mountain” of moral fortitude and stability among both mortals and angels.

Supposedly, there exists a manuscript called The Secret Grimoire of Turiel which contains symbols of medieval magic and rituals on how to evoke angelic spirits, including Turiel himself.

While not directly analogous, the Book of Tyrael detail’s Tyreal’s own obscure knowledge of the Heavens, the Hells, and the history of Sanctuary.

 Malthael

It was difficult to find anything substantial regarding Malthael’s etymology beyond “mal is bad”.

However, if we assume for a moment that the root of Malthael’s name is not mal- but rather malth- or maltha-, then we might be able to infer another meaning.

It’s a bit of a stretch but let us assume his name actually derives from the Ancient Greek μαλθακός (malthakós) which means “soft”.

This further derives from the Ancient Greek μαλακός (malakós, “soft”, “mild”) which is where we get the English malacology from.

This “softness” could be insinuating Malthael’s taciturn and rather soft-spoken nature as the Archangel of Wisdom, as well as his penchant for sneaking up on others with soft steps, unheard.

Alternatively, his name could derive from the Ancient Greek μάλθα (máltha) which was the name used for a mineral pitch or tar or rather any mixture serving as cement, mortar stucco, or similar mineral pastes.

Two implications here:

1). Pitch and tar are both deeply black substances (from which we get the phrase “pitch black”). Moreover, tar pits are infamous for their ability to ensnare animals that stray out too far, leading to their slow and imminent deaths as they sink and starve.

This connotation could allude to Malthael’s own decent into madness, his mind “sinking” into dark thoughts, “starved” of the wisdom he once knew. In a sense, he “strayed off” too far from the path of Wisdom. This of course led to him embracing Death.

As the angel of Death, Malthael dons far darker armor and robes than what he had worn as the aspect of Wisdom. At the height of his madness he consumes the black Soulstone, an artifact which you could say is “pitch black”. Here, he has fully sunken into the tar.

2). Cement, mortar, and the like are mineral binding agents that are used in construction to hold assemblies together and provide overall structural integrity.

By this analogy, Malthael himself was that mortar, that maltha, that bound the Angiris Council together into one cohesive structure. He was the original leader whose wisdom brought stability and surety to the angels. It’s only after he left that the Council’s unity dissolved and eventually led to the fall of Tyrael.

So you see, our resident edgelord doesn’t have to be all bad.

Hopefully I’ve been able to further shed some light on the significance of the archangels’ names. Whether or not it had been Blizzard’s intentions for us to draw these parallels, it nevertheless grant us further insight into the complex natures of these seemingly enigmatic characters.

[mossy-covered-bones]

Undertale Soul Headcanons: Amnesia

I’ve been working on an Underground-centered Sans x Reader fanfic(Called Amnesia. Here’s the wattpad story link if you wanna check it out. It’s still in the early stages, though) , so I kind of had to set up some headcanon intricacies (diet, magic rules, souls) to run the world off of. I’m trying to make a mini encyclopedia thing for all of the details for the soul, and I was doodling little soul designs during class and now I really just wanna... rant about how I’m doing the souls?

Also, sorry for the long post. I kinda forgot how to do page breaks? They worked before and they aren’t now, anyways. Mobile’s a bit tricky.

I also color coded the terms, but since there isn’t a dark blue, integrity is purple while perserverence is pink. There isn’t a yellow, so both bravery and justice are orange.

Each of the soul traits is paired with a vice. Perserverence and inflexibility. Integrity and conceit. Patience and Idleness. Kindness and complacency. Justice and vengeance. Bravery and audacity. Determination and animosity. Since I’m matching each virtue with a vice, I figured it wouldn’t make sense to call the traits by their virtues. I didn’t want the importance of these vices to get lost in the names. So I picked a general term that fit the virtue and the vice and translated it into Latin to get some formal, general terms for the traits.

Perserverence is now Stabilis, which roughly translates to firm, stable, steadfast, steady, stationary, or lasting. I didn’t want the name to simply portray the ‘stick with it’-ness associated with perserverence, because of the side of inflexibility, so I went for a sort of ‘i cannot be led astray’ sort of feel to it, hence ‘stable, steadfast’.

Integrity is now Veritas, which translates to truth, reality, certainty, correctness, frankness or rectitude. The Reader character in Amnesia has this sort of soul, and I envisioned her as a sort of frank, ‘I only speak the truth’ sort of gal, whose only desire was that people don’t lie to her. That’s why she wants her memories back so bad, because her sense of truth is disrupted by her essentially lying to herself. Plus my ideas of Veritas souls include this whole ‘fact before emotion’ thing that shows a lack of empathy that I felt ‘frankness’ helped to cover.

Patience is now Exspectans, which translates as just waiting. This one just comes from the willingness to wait/inaction from the two sides of this trait.

Kindness is now Opsequor. This one translates as deference, allegiance, yielding, submission, discipline, compliance. I kind of took a more negative approach to this one because the positive side was ‘humanitas,’ which was too close to ‘humanity’ for my liking, since these are traits that are used in a sort of informal way towards monster souls(if that makes sense? I’ll explain more on monster souls in a bit).

Justice is now Reciprocum, which translates as reciprocation(there was more to this one but I couldn’t find it). I kind of took a ‘serving punishment’ sort of view with justice, since it could easily carry into vengeance, depending on intentions, and that’s kind of sums up this trait for me.

Bravery is now Robustus, which means strong, bouncing, burly, stout, robust, or sturdy in English. When it comes to bravery souls, i always kind of think of them as entergetic(like Papyrus), and the other translations kind of leaned too far towards valor or virtue to fit like I wanted them to.

Determination is now Imperium. I didn’t like the original (it was spite), so I switched it to animosity because the sort of energy I associate with this one is less of a ‘put everything into my current task’ and more of the absolute power that you see with Frisk’s dominion over the timeline and the fact that monster souls are too weak to have this trait. It implies such raw force that I chose imperium, the translation of which is command, Empire, government, rule, control, or authority. It was also the first result for the translation of ‘power’. I picked the flaw animosity because of the saying ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely,’ and the fact that people in power(that don’t have to gain public support) have the ability to act on their hate towards other groups of people. (My main view for this is pre-exploration era Europe, with monarchs and the legality of religion).

For this fic I’m going with monster souls being mostly magic, which is why they’re white and I (tried) to draw them as kind of wispy, barely together smoke. Because of the coloration it is much harder to determine a monster’s primary traits without running precise tests. It is generally accepted that monster’s and humans have the same soul traits (barring determination).

Human souls have less magic in them and more of the soul traits, which gives their souls more structure and makes them look more solid.

Amalgamate souls have the white magic mixing with a lot of determination(a soul trait). As a result, you get a fight between the ‘moving’ magical components and the ‘solid’ soul traits. The mean between a gas and a solid is a liquid, which is why the soul is kinda runny. The deformation of the soul’s form also makes it nigh impossible for amalgamates to use magic.

And that is because of how magic flows trough the body. Monsters, who all have upturned souls, can all use magic. In game, Frisk can use yellow magic when their soul flips around. My headcanon for this is that is the upturned soul makes it easier to conduct magic(that’s why mage souls are ‘upside down!’). Since the amalgamates’ souls are deformed and lack the vauguely heart structure they had before, they have lost most of their capacity for magic.

As for how souls appear during encounters, Amnesia’s soul system marks what appears in an encounter as a ‘representation’ of your soul, primed for battle. This is why monster souls appear more solid in a fight, and why you can’t see the secondary traits across the surface of your soul during encounters. Only in those fabled ‘intimate settings’ does your soul appear as it truly is, whether wispy or with secondary trait marks.

If you were to get caught in an encounter with your ‘true soul’ out, even an accidental hit could result in an instant kill. Your soul is just too vulnerable to appear unprotected in an environment where you expect to be harmed. Besides, all of those little details in your ‘true soul’ should be reserved for your soul mate/chosen life partner.

Each soul trait leans more toward certain stats. Determination, bravery, and justice have more attack while perserverence, integrity, patience, and kindness have more defense. Determination, patience, and perseverance have more initial hope, while kindness, integrity, justice, and bravery have more magical capacity

Every soul has a primary trait, which makes up at least half of their personality spectrum. A person can have anywhere from 0-3 secondary primary traits, which range from 10-40% of the personality spectrum. Most of the time these traits reinforce the primary one and fuel fallback solutions. In the case of the Reader from Amnesia, whose primary is Veritas, her secondary traits of Exspectans and Robustus help reinforce her integrity virtue by giving her the patience to gain the trust of people so that they will be honest with her as well as the courage to deal with any hard truths admitted to her. Her flaws, on the other hand, do not reinforce themselves as much. As much as audacity can help fuel her conceit, idleness goes against the constant search for truth her primary trait often entails.

Tertiary traits, while they do have effects of the soul, are barely noticeable in the full personality spectrum. They take up 9% or less each, and don’t manifest of the soul proper. Tertiary traits only come up when the person is on the fence about something, offering slight nudges in one direction or the other. Say, someone with Exspectans as primary, flanked by Reciprocum and Opsequor as secondaries, is caught between hanging back and letting things fall into place and helping right some wrongs. It would be their tertiary traits that would push them in one of the two directions. If they, perhaps, had Robustus as a tertiary trait they might help. Stabilis, on the other hand, might push them to stick with waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I also have a bit of a headcanon that the primary colors are the strongest traits, while the secondary colors are more common. Exspectans, being neither, is rare as a primary but a really common secondary/tertiary trait.