starwarsprincess1986

[starwarsprincess1986]

GRRM has projected his love for medieval tourneys, heraldry, pageantry, knights and chivalry on Sansa Stark

Art credit: Heinrich von Breslau (Codex Manesse, 14. Jahrhundert)

GRRM:

“That whole story (The Hedge Knight) is built around a tournament. I love medieval tournaments, reading about them, writing about them. There’s of course some of them in the main books, but this was an opportunity in a time of peace, not war, to look at a medieval tournament with all its pageantry and the jousting and the combat and reveal a little of Westerosi History”.

—In conversation: George R.R. Martin with Dan Jones FULL EVENT- August 2019

SANSA:

“The talk in the yard is we shall have a tourney, my lord,” Jory said as he resumed his seat. “They say that knights will come from all over the realm to joust and feast in honor of your appointment as Hand of the King.”

Arya could see that her father was not very happy about that. “Do they also say this is the last thing in the world I would have wished?”

Sansa’s eyes had grown wide as the plates. “A tourney,” she breathed. She was seated between Septa Mordane and Jeyne Poole, as far from Arya as she could get without drawing a reproach from Father. “Will we be permitted to go, Father?”

“You know my feelings, Sansa. It seems I must arrange Robert’s games and pretend to be honored for his sake. That does not mean I must subject my daughters to this folly.”

“Oh, please,” Sansa said. “I want to see.”

Septa Mordane spoke up. “Princess Myrcella will be there, my lord, and her younger than Lady Sansa. All the ladies of the court will be expected at a grand event like this, and as the tourney is in your honor, it would look queer if your family did not attend.”

Father looked pained. “I suppose so. Very well, I shall arrange a place for you, Sansa.” He saw Arya. “For both of you.”

“I don’t care about their stupid tourney,” Arya said. She knew Prince Joffrey would be there, and she hated Prince Joffrey.

Sansa lifted her head. “It will be a splendid event. You shan’t be wanted.”

—A Game of Thrones - Arya II

Sansa rode to the Hand’s tourney with Septa Mordane and Jeyne Poole, in a litter with curtains of yellow silk so fine she could see right through them. They turned the whole world gold. Beyond the city walls, a hundred pavilions had been raised beside the river, and the common folk came out in the thousands to watch the games. The splendor of it all took Sansa’s breath away; the shining armor, the great chargers caparisoned in silver and gold, the shouts of the crowd, the banners snapping in the wind…and the knights themselves, the knights most of all.

“It is better than the songs,” she whispered when they found the places that her father had promised her, among the high lords and ladies. Sansa was dressed beautifully that day, in a green gown that brought out the auburn of her hair, and she knew they were looking at her and smiling.

They watched the heroes of a hundred songs ride forth, each more fabulous than the last.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa II

GRRM:

“Tolkien imitators who came after him, a lot of them created a sort of Disneyland Middle Ages, you know, a sort of Middle Ages like you might see at a Renaissance Faire, but you don’t have the dysentery, or the torture, or the leprosy, or the innate sexism, or classism, or racism that was so built into so much of that world for so many centuries, you really have to take, you know, I like the knights in shinning armor, the heraldry and pageantry as much as anyone, but you also have to include the fleas.“

— Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival - NIFFF 2014

The novelist is midway through something of a European tour. After his trip to Switzerland, he is due in Scotland for the Edinburgh book festival. It has often been suggested that Ivanhoe (by the Scottish 19th-century novelist Walter Scott) was, alongside the War of the Roses, a major influence on A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones.

Martin was first turned on to Ivanhoe by the 1952 MGM movie starring Robert Taylor, George Sanders and a young Elizabeth Taylor. "I think it was Elizabeth Taylor at the peak of her…,” his voice tails off before he clarifies. “She was the most beautiful woman in the world. I think I was nine years old when I saw that movie. How could you not fall in love with her? But the jousting and the pageantry of it made me love that story. Later, in high school, I did read that book. For a modern reader, it’s a little tough to get through. The prose is very Victorian and thick but if you fight your way through it, the story is there. It has everything the movie has and more – the heraldry and jousting and the insight into the times. It was an influence in that sense.”

—GRRM - Independent - 2014

SANSA:

The green knight laughed again. “Barristan the Old, you mean. Don’t flatter him too sweetly, child, he thinks overmuch of himself already.” He smiled at her. “Now, wolf girl, if you can put a name to me as well, then I must concede that you are truly our Hand’s daughter.”

Joffrey stiffened beside her. “Have a care how you address my betrothed.”

“I can answer,” Sansa said quickly, to quell her prince’s anger. She smiled at the green knight. “Your helmet bears golden antlers, my lord. The stag is the sigil of the royal House. King Robert has two brothers. By your extreme youth, you can only be Renly Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End and councillor to the king, and so I name you.”

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa I

No one ransomed the northmen, though. One fat lordling haunted the kitchens, Hot Pie told her, always looking for a morsel. His mustache was so bushy that it covered his mouth, and the clasp that held his cloak was a silver-and-sapphire trident. He belonged to Lord Tywin, but the fierce, bearded young man who liked to walk the battlements alone in a black cloak patterned with white suns had been taken by some hedge knight who meant to get rich off him. Sansa would have known who he was, and the fat one too, but Arya had never taken much interest in titles and sigils. Whenever Septa Mordane had gone on about the history of this house and that house, she was inclined to drift and dream and wonder when the lesson would be done.

—A Clash of Kings - Arya VII

Petyr had given her a roll of arms to study, so she knew their heraldry if not their faces. The red castle was Redfort, plainly; a short man with a neat grey beard and mild eyes. Lady Anya was the only woman amongst the Lords Declarant, and wore a deep green mantle with the broken wheel of Waynwood picked out in beads of jet. Six silver bells on purple, that was Belmore, pear-bellied and round of shoulder. His beard was a ginger-grey horror sprouting from a multiplicity of chins. Symond Templeton’s, by contrast, was black and sharply pointed. A beak of a nose and icy blue eyes made the Knight of Ninestars look like some elegant bird of prey. His doublet displayed nine black stars within a golden saltire. Young Lord Hunter’s ermine cloak confused her till she spied the brooch that pinned it, five silver arrows fanned. Alayne would have put his age closer to fifty than to forty. His father had ruled at Longbow Hall for nigh on sixty years, only to die so abruptly that some whispered the new lord had hastened his inheritance. Hunter’s cheeks and nose were red as apples, which bespoke a certain fondness for the grape. She made certain to fill his cup as often as he emptied it.

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne I

Harry was staring at her. He knows who I am, she realized, and he does not seem pleased to see me. It was only then that she took note of his heraldry. Though his surcoat and horse trappings were patterned in the red-and-white diamonds of House Hardyng, his shield was quartered. The arms of Hardyng and Waynwood were displayed in the first and third quarters, respectively, but in the second and fourth quarters he bore the moon-and-falcon of House Arryn, sky blue and cream. Sweetrobin will not like that.

—The Winds of Winter - Alayne I

GRRM:

Firstly, thanks for that very thorough response on the tournaments and knighthood. Fascinating. In particular given the notes about _Ivanhoe_ and its influence – I’ve only witnessed the A&E production of it, although maybe about time I read it. Seems it might be ripe for ideas.

IVANHOE is well worth a read, although the style is very old fashioned, of course. Still it has some fabulous characters and scenes, and so far as I know the definitive portrayal of a medieval tournament, both melee and joust.

It has been filmed three times that I know of. The recent A&E production had some good moments, as did the older Sam Neill version… the CLASSIC version, however, is still MGM’s 50s version, starring Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, and George Sanders. The jousts are wonderful, Liz is radiant, and George Sanders steals the film as Bois-Gilbert. You should definitely rent that one and have a look.

—GRRM - 1999

SANSA:

She loved King’s Landing; the pageantry of the court, the high lords and ladies in their velvets and silks and gemstones, the great city with all its people. The tournament had been the most magical time of her whole life, and there was so much she had not seen yet, harvest feasts and masked balls and mummer shows. She could not bear the thought of losing it all.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa III

She closed the window, gathered up the fallen papers, and stacked them on the table. One was a list of the competitors. Four-and-sixty knights had been invited to vie for places amongst Lord Robert Arryn’s new Brotherhood of Winged Knights, and four and-sixty knights had come to tilt for the right to wear falcon’s wings upon their warhelms and guard their lord.

The competitors came from all over the Vale, from the mountain valleys and the coast, from Gulltown and the Bloody Gate, even the Three Sisters. Though a few were promised, only three were wed; the eight victors would be expected to spend the next three years at Lord Robert’s side, as his own personal guard (Alayne had suggested seven, like the Kingsguard, but Sweetrobin had insisted that he must have more knights than King Tommen), so older men with wives and children had not been invited.

And they came, Alayne thought proudly. They all came.

It had fallen out just as Petyr said it would, the day the ravens flew. “They’re young, eager, hungry for adventure and renown. Lysa would not let them go to war. This is the next best thing. A chance to serve their lord and prove their prowess. They will come. Even Harry the Heir.” He had smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. “What a clever daughter you are.”

It was clever. The tourney, the prizes, the winged knights, it had all been her own notion. Lord Robert’s mother had filled him full of fears, but he always took courage from the tales she read him of Ser Artys Arryn, the Winged Knight of legend, founder of his line. Why not surround him with Winged Knights? She had thought one night, after Sweetrobin had finally drifted off to sleep. His own Kingsguard, to keep him safe and make him brave. And no sooner did she tell Petyr her idea than he went out and made it happen.

—The Winds of Winter - Alayne I

GRRM:

Amon Shin in Maine asks, “If you lived in Westeros, which house would you like to be part of, or in which area would you like to live?”

Well, you know, there’s something to be said for being an honorable Stark, but you’re kinda cold all the time and poor and so forth. And you have a lot of land, but there’s not a lot of stuff on it, you know? On the other hand, if you’re a Lannister, you have a nice house and all the gold you want and all of that stuff.  So, there’s a lot to be said for being a Lannister.  I don’t know.  Maybe I could probably see me being a Lannister.  And I would always pay my debts.

—A Dance with Dragons | George R.R. Martin | Talks at Google - July 2011

SANSA:

They were going to take it all away; the tournaments and the court and her prince, everything, they were going to send her back to the bleak grey walls of Winterfell and lock her up forever. Her life was over before it had begun.

—A Game of Thrones - Sansa III

* * *

Art credit: Loras Tyrell gives Sansa Stark a rose at the Hand’s Tournament by Jonathan Burton.

As you can see, Sansa loves tourneys because GRRM loves tourneys.

During the events that take place in the ASOIAF Books, we find 5 tourneys and Sansa Stark is directly or indirectly linked with all of them:

The Hand’s tourney, a tourney in honor of Sansa’s father, Eddard Stark. Sansa was unofficially crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty by the Knight of Flowers, Loras Tyrell. GRRM wrote this passage as a resemblance to the Great tourney at Harrenhal, hiding hints and reversing colors. 

Tourney on King Joffrey’s name day, a tourney in honor of Sansa’s betrothed. Sansa defended and saved Dontos Hollard’s life.

Melee at Bitterbridge, Brienne won the melee and earned a place in Renly’s Kingsguard. Later she swore his allegiance to Sansa’s mother, Catelyn Stark, and made an oath to find Sansa Stark. Brienne also wields Oathkeeper, a sword made of Ice (House Stark ancestral sword).  

Melee at Runestone, this event was organized with the sole intention of knighting Harrold Hardyng, Alayne Stone’s betrothed.

Tourney at the Gates of the Moon to select the members of the Brotherhood of Winged Knights, created and organized by Alayne Stone.

Sansa is also linked with other important tourneys that happened previously to the events of the ASOIAF Books:

Tourney at Ashford Meadows (The Hedge Knight), GRRM wrote the Hedge Knight when he was in the middle of writing A Clash of Kings, and he made sure of link the five initial champions of the Tourney at Ashford Meadows (Baratheon, Lannister, Tyrell, Hardyng & Targaryen) with Sansa’s suitors and betrothed. So Willas Tyrell and Harrold Hardyng are not a coincidence in Sansa’s arc, GRRM had already planned for this since he was writing A Clash of Kings.    

Great tourney at Harrenhal, this tourney was won by Rhaegar Targaryen and as the champion he crowned Lyanna Stark (Sansa’s aunt & Jon Snow’s mother) as his Queen of Love and Beauty. And take note at this very interesting detail: Rhaegar Targaryen wearing an armor adorned with rubies (red) gave Lyanna Stark a crown of winter roses (blue), while Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, wearing an armor adorned with sapphires (blue) gave Sansa a (red) rose.

Sansa loves knights because GRRM loves knights. Remember that George’s Catholic high school (Marist) football team is called the Royal Knights: 

Sansa loves pageantry because GRRM loves pageantry. Just look at his collection of knights and ladies figurines:

Sansa loves heraldry because GRRM loves heraldry. Take note that GRRM took inspiration from the antagonist of Ivanhoe, Brian de Bois-Guilbert’s sigil, to created House Corbray’s sigil:

Bois-Guilbert’s new shield bore a raven in full flight, holding in its claws a skull, and bearing the motto, Gare le Corbeau.

—IVANHOE: A Romance

The youngest man in the party had three ravens on his chest, each clutching a blood-red heart in its talons. His brown hair was shoulder length; one stray lock curled down across his forehead. Ser Lyn Corbray, Alayne thought, with a wary glance at his hard mouth and restless eyes.

—A Feast for Crows - Alayne I

(Not to mention that Sansa loves books because George loves books…)

There you have it, GRRM self inserts in a few of his ASOIAF characters, and Sansa Stark is one of them.

#sansa stark #grrm #asoiaf

[starwarsprincess1986]

okay, friend, help me out here. acok, jon i, jeor mormont is explaining maester aemon's backstory to jon and mistakenly claims that aerys i married his sister. awoiaf says that aelinor penrose was aerys i's cousin. jon mistakenly being told that a cousin is a sister...that a man married his sister rather than his cousin. is this...jonsa? [insert meme of man pointing at pigeon]

i actually wonder ALL THE TIME if this was a purposeful slip, ie, he had always planned for Aelinor to be a Penrose by birth and not a Targaryen, but wanted to introduce a kind of muddled history to Say Something - maybe about how much The Average Person doesn’t give a shit about The Game Of Thrones? About how the Targaryens were incest marrying so much, everyone just assumes all the marriages were brother-sister even when they weren’t? Perhaps hinting at how the Targaryen descent women often remarried back into the family tree, which did have the unfortunate effect of continuing to isolate them politically bc they have no cousin branches anywhere defending them? OR IS IT A WEIRD JONSA HINT LIKE JONNEL & SANSA???? - or if George pre Elio & Linda was like “fuck i can’t find that family tree i wrote up, I think I threw it away, lemme just redo it real quick I think that’s how it looked” and messed it up or pulled a “baby Daenerys” thing and just straight up added another child For The Themes bc he doesn’t give a shit about continuity akskdjdj THERES SO MANY OPTIONS HERE AND I WILL CHOOSE THE ONE THAT MAKES ME HAPPIEST UNTIL GEORGE HIMSELF TELLS ME ITS INCORRECT AKSKDJ

#jonsa foreshadowing

[starwarsprincess1986]

There is something so beautifully anvilicious about these quotes;

" I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. But of course that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise." (AFFC, Alayne II)

"The dream was sweet . . . but Winterfell would never be his to show. It belonged to his brother, the King in the North. He was a Snow, not a Stark. Bastard, oathbreaker, and turncloak . . ." (ASOS, Jon V)

Both Jon and Sansa are yearning for Winterfell and the feelings/memories/family associated -but both are intrinsically restricting themselves based off of their bastard status. The notion of Sansa being the only Stark (and character) to transition from a high-born noble lady to a baseborn bastard cannot be overlooked. (And then of course, the notion of Jon being the only Stark (and character) to transition from baseborn bastard to lord commander, cannot be overlooked.) Jon has risen to the top whilst Sansa has lowered to the bottom.

She (GRRM) makes the comparison to Jon herself, meaning that GRRM makes the comparison himself. this isn't something interpreted by fans - it is right there, explicitly within the text.

Sansa's desire to reunite with Jon is "sweet," it'd be almost like a dream come true. Jon's "dream was sweet" as well. But "Winterfell could never be his" and seeing her brother once again "of course, could never be" (possible).

And then later on in the text, Jon is offered the chance to become Jon Stark, and have Winterfell in name. Thus his decidedly unsubtle desire (that he dismisses as an entirely impossible dream) is fulfilled by Stannis' offer, even though he eventually rejects it in truth "Winterfell belongs to my sister Sansa."

There is also the quote that precedes Jon's "sweet dream," where he fantasises about a beautiful little romance with Ygritte; showing her a flower from the glass gardens, feasting her in the great hall, bathing in the hot pools, and loving beneath the heart tree. This dream is directly connected to Winterfell and is obviously sexually + romantically charged.

So whilst Jon's desire is partially fulfilled (even if he doesn't accept it) can we possibly assume that Sansa's simultaneously unsubtle "that could never be" may also be fulfilled? Since GRRM seems to really be beating us over the head with how 'that could never happen' from Sansa's internal monologue "no one will ever marry me for love" is reiterated multiple times (just you wait sweet one!) and Sansa desiring to reunite with her brother who she has modelled her bastardry after, who is supposedly the only brother left to her, is immediately dismissed by Sansa because she's accepted the fact that she'll never be with her family again, (and that she shall never encounter true love).

The connections only keep connecting!

So to summarise:

Jon & Sansa both have "sweet" dreams/desires that connect to Winterfell/family.

Jon's dream is sexually/romantically charged, involves a red-headed girl, and establishes Jon's suppressed desires as actually romantic.

Both Jon and Sansa are bastards in these contexts.

Both Jon and Sansa woefully dismiss these dreams/desires as impossible as "that could never be" and "it could never be his to show."

Jon's desire however is later offered on a silver platter by Stannis Baratheon, to which he mulls over and states that he "has always wanted it" (to be his). Though he later refuses Stannis' offer on the basis that "Winterfell belongs to Sansa" - twice over he says this.

Jon 'giving' Winterfell to Sansa is in direct contrast to Robb (Sansa's image of an honourably idealistic older brother) flat out rejecting Sansa's claim on the basis of her marriage to Tyrion.

Jon thus establishes himself as the only character who respects and protects Sansa's claim. Who does not abuse or exploit it. (Even though he was given the opportunity for it and it's been his innermost desire since childhood.)

In a way, this further conveys Jon as Sansa's unspoken, subconscious hero who is protecting her interests and instilling all those heroic ideals (such as the Janos Slynt situation) - though she does not realise it and has accepted that "there are no heroes" at all. But Jon is the true hero, hiding in plain sight.

So, whilst Sansa believes there are no heroes, Jon fulfils those ideals. Whilst Sansa believes no one will marry her for love, Jon exists as the embodiment of all the chivalric, romantic ideals that she's so desperately wanted.

Can we now assume that Sansa believing that she will essentially never see Jon again as entirely anvilicious as she will in fact see Jon again?

GEORGE I'M IN YOUR WALLS.

#jonsa #book jonsa is real

[starwarsprincess1986]

How Jonsa will happen?

Most likely like Sansa predicted, in Book One:

"I love him, Father, I truly truly do, I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, as much as Jonquil loved Ser Florian. I want to be his queen and have his babies."

In Case no one knows it, these love stories are inworld Songs about tragic and unfulfilled Love. Naerys was the Wife of Aegon IV and gave him Children, although she loved their Brother Aemon (according to this Song) and Jonquil and Ser Florian are Songs which are described as Sad in AFFC. So when Sansa says this in Book ONE, she thinks she is in Love with Joffrey, but given her relatively naive Outlook on Life, I would say she is more in Love with the thought of being in Love than with Joffrey.

I expect Jon and Sansa to happen with the realisation that their Love is not for the Best, in the middle of Winter, during a Food Crisis, with the Others on their Way, etc. And that won't miraculously change. And no, Daenerys won't be the solution to that problem, because what Jon and Sansa need is Food and/or Money, Daenerys has neither. So the best and easiest solution would be Marriage. Sansa marrying someone who can solve their problems, either someone with Money or someone with Food. The ideal would be both but in Westeros, there are either People indebted or soon will be indebted because Food will be needed and most likely will be bought.

And Sansa will marry someone, with one of these Things (I expect Littlefinger will be long dead by that point, so no luckily for all of us, this Creep won't be it) If Littlefinger dies without issue (because Sansa is revealed as Sansa stark and not Alayne Stone), it is most likely that Sansa will marry Sweet Robin, because, I think Harry the Heir will die, but Sweet robin will survive (mostly because Robin is the Reason that Baelish has Power in the Vale, not the Harding-Boy)

And because the Wall will be totally destroyed and never be rebuilt, Jon won't be at the Wall at the End of this Story, he most likely will become either Sansa's or Rikkon's Sworn Sword something similar to a Kingsguard. And what that means, I won't describe, but it will be very bitter-sweet. And Sansa will be in Love unfulfilled and married to someone else. And Jon will have his family back and only father Bastards, the very thing he never wanted to do.

#jonsa chicken #jonsa meta

[starwarsprincess1986]

Most of the fandom has not actually seen the depth of GRRM's statement that Theon and Jon are foils. That doesn't start in ACOK with the Sack of Winterfell, which stems out of Theon's trauma of being a political hostage. Even after Robb relieved him from that.

The roots of it are in Theon's misogynistic treatment and abuse of women without considering the repercussions because he is a high lord's son and could use that privilege to get away with it. He never cared what the women felt, the dubious consent of it all (which did go as far as assault/rape at times) or the possibility of fathering bastards (where we're suggested he might've - the merchant's daughter and the miller's wife - both unnamed, which tells you a lot). He didn't care that he was leaving those children without care or to deal with a life of shame because of the stigma around bastards. To Jon, that was a mockery of his own existence.

Sure, some of it was jealousy over not being judged for his higher birth and was allowed partake in certain things that Jon was excluded from. And, yes, Theon was still a privileged hostage as Ned's ward. But he used that as an excuse to take and take until it was so huge with the Sack of Winterfell and child killing that it couldn't be ignored. Theon and people like him were why Jon wanted to join the Watch.

And there's more points of comparison, which go beyond his relationship with the Starks. It is partly because Theon refused to accept Balon making Asha his heir, that he decided to take Winterfell by force to prove himself to his father. It wasn't not just about showing his allegiance to House Greyjoy but to one up Asha and prove he was more worthy of Pyke than her. Just read his ACOK chapters. Asha is on his mind so much and with so much bitterness. Jon refusing Winterfell because it is Sansa's by line of succession - even though he had the most distant relationship with her - is actually a contrast to this. He is hurt by her calling him "half brother" and her distant behaviour influenced by Cat, but he never truly resents her even as he resents Cat. It isn't just about who gives into taking Winterfell out of the deep desire to be a Stark, even though that is also part of it.

When Jon realises he will never be granted any lands of his own, he chooses to join the Night's Watch voluntarily. Theon has to commit war crimes during the Sack of Winterfell to consider taking the black and finding a place to rise for himself.

A brother of the Night's Watch. It meant no crown, no sons, no wife . . . but it meant life, and life with honor. Ned Stark's own brother had chosen the Watch, and Jon Snow as well.

I have black garb aplenty, once I tear the krakens off. Even my horse is black. I could rise high in the Watch—chief of rangers, likely even Lord Commander. Let Asha keep the bloody islands, they're as dreary as she is. If I served at Eastwatch, I could command my own ship, and there's fine hunting beyond the Wall. As for women, what wildling woman wouldn't want a prince in her bed? A slow smile crept across his face. A black cloak can't be turned. I'd be as good as any man . . . (Theon VI, ACOK)

Even when he considered it, he thought of himself as a prince and as this foreshadowed Jon's wildling arc, Theon would likely make the choice Mance made. If any character POV fits the songs of Bael the Bard and Rose o' Winterfell and the narrator of Dornishman's Wife in stealing people's daughters and wives for amusement with the dubious consent angle, it would be Theon. Maybe not anymore, but it's also because he can't.

Jon's Lord Commander arc in ADWD also parallels Theon's Prince of Winterfell arc in ACOK. But it's also a contrast because even as Jon did cross the line at times, but never so far that he couldn't come back. He does a child swap too driven by Maester Aemon's "Kill the boy" and his own trauma of lacking a mother, but to save rather than to serve his selfish interests and kill. In his nightmares, he becomes the villain doing what Theon actually did. It doesn't mean he doesn't have blindspots because he does, but even as he is breaking vows, he is driven to save multiple sides while buying into the Machiavellan mindset and stewing in his desire for vengeance. He failed, just like Theon did, but the difference is he still used his power to save more than destroy.

Jon's arc in ADWD shows how difficult it is to be a hero because he so easily could end up like pre-Ramsay Theon. He so easily could end up like Mance or Stannis. He so easily could end up like Jaime, whose AFFC arc also is written as a comparison to Jon's ADWD arc. If read closely, it shows how they both are foils too, and hints that it's not a redemption arc truly, even if it seems like it. But that's for another post.

#jon snow #theon greyjoy #asoiaf meta #foils

[starwarsprincess1986]

They are all in line and on board ‘the things we do for Jon’ train.

Bran loves Jon

Sansa loves Jon

Dany loves Jon

That’s where you find Jon: sitting at the end of the line in the frame.

he really said this with the three of them in the background. i just can’t take it anymore.

#jonsa #bran stark #love triangle #but with bran in the mix it’s more than a love triangle

[starwarsprincess1986]

Thinking about Jonsa and how Jon will wish for once in his life that it would be better if Ned Stark wasn't his father. He will have his wish but at what cost?

#jonsa

[starwarsprincess1986]

THE WOLF THAT SLEW THE DRAGON

The other day I made this little post:

Here is Jon Snow killing his aunt to protect Sansa… Oh I’m sorry, this is Saint George killing the dragon to protect a redhead princess. In some versions of the tale Saint George marries the princess… [x]

I did it as a little funny post really, after reading some very bad takes about Targaryen dragons… But after just a small research the last couple of days the things I found are really amazing. Let’s see:  

Keep reading

#jonsa meta #saint george and the dragon #grrm

[starwarsprincess1986]

My fav jonsa foreshadowing is the 'blood of winterfell' bit. Because while all the Starks identify strongly with wolf/Stark/winterfell/north motifs, this term is only ever used for Jon and Sansa, and once by Stannis for a potential ruler of Winterfell. Its on the nose that whose blood will continue the Stark line.

hi, anon! that is a really interesting bit of foreshadowing. considering how often discussions of the stark family, winterfell, and the succession thereof come up over the course of the series, it seems pointed that this specific phrase—"the blood of winterfell"—exists but is only mentioned on these specific occasions.

jon calls himself "the blood of winterfell" in asos as part of a drug-addled fever-dream he has where he is bathing with ygritte in the pool beneath the heart tree at winterfell. specifically, he says it as a reclamation of his identity after having finally fled the wildlings. considering that he also repeats that he is a man of the night's watch, it seems as though jon is repeating what qhorin halfhand told him right before jon killed him and joined the freefolk. thus, the phrase bookends his time with them. this bookending imbues the phrase with even more significance. this is jon's mantra for reminding himself of who he really is even while he is playing traitor among the freefolk.

in the dream, he also says it as part of a denial of his relationship with ygritte: "i will not father a bastard." but of course ygritte's response in the dream is "you know nothing, jon snow." he didn't father a bastard with ygritte...so why is his declaration being refuted?

this phrase "the blood of winterfell" comes up immediately before jon speaks about fathering children...with his kissed-by-fire lover with whom he is in a sexually-charged situation in the godswood at winterfell. it's really hard not to see a huge amount of foreshadowing in this!

and then, as if that were not enough, the phrase "the blood of winterfell" shows up again twice more. once in sansa's POV in affc where she too is using it as a mantra to remind herself of her identity while playing the role of littlefinger's bastard. and once more in jon's POV in adwd when stannis is trying yet again to persuade jon to serve him as lord of winterfell and jon is yet again reaffirming that winterfell should be sansa's. so, first the phrase gets attached to jon's identity and then to sansa's, and then to both of theirs during the same conversation.

so, to review, the phrase "the blood of winterfell" is used to:

reaffirm jon's true identity while he is playing a role that goes against it

reclaim jon's true identity when is done playing the part

refute the idea that jon will father a bastard with ygritte, while hinting that he might still break his vow to father no sons

reaffirm sansa's true identity when she is playing a role that goes against it

describe who is worthy of becoming the future ruler of winterfell

the fact that this phrase is only used these four specific times, and these are the associations it has...? yeah, the foreshadowing is practically screaming at us.

#jonsa meta #the blood of winterfell

[starwarsprincess1986]

@babybells123 your tags!

No but you don’t understand . I need Jonsa to be a tangled mess of depravity and tenderness. Grief haunting them - the ghosts of their past connecting them in some irrevocable way, because perhaps that’s the only way they know how to bond - initially, at the very least. Estranged but bursting with love but not knowing how to show it because ‘we were never close.’ But Sansa used to teach me courtesy, and Jon used to sneak me lemon cakes when no one was watching. I love you so much but I feel as if you’re a stranger to me and I don’t know how to change that. Do you wish it was arya who walked through those gates or I should have been a better brother to you, I should have ridden north for you. Please just let me hold you in my arms until our hardened hearts soften again. Until something ineffable develops. And to their horror, they realise this raw and fresh and beautiful (damaged) bond that they have created. And then comes the angst. The yearning. The unspoken words. Religious disillusionment. Inadequacy. Shame shame shame. Understanding slowly burning brighter, until they realise how similar they actually are and oh my god , you were there the whole time and I never even realised. But she was radiant and glowed brighter than any star in the sky, how could I not ??? Now give me your hands and I’ll kiss your fingers one by one, I’ll gentle each tip the way you’ve deserved. And I’m here, I see you. I’m not leaving, but gods am I a vile being. Look at how this world has corrupted me.

#jonsa angst

[starwarsprincess1986]

"Drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover's kisses, and melted on her cheeks." -ASOS, Sansa VII

"When the blaze was all acrackle, he peeled off his stiff gloves to warm his hands, and sighed, wondering if ever a kiss had felt as good. The warmth spread through his fingers like melting butter." -ACOK, Jon VIII

Snow kisses and kissed by Fire

#jonsa kisses #book jonsa

[starwarsprincess1986]

Nedcat & Jonsa parallels [2/3]

1x01 // 6x10, 6x09, 7x02

Married life in a nutshell : protective & supportive hubby & wifey ❤

#jonsa #nedcat #parallels

[starwarsprincess1986]

#jonsa #😂

[starwarsprincess1986]

jonsa had chemistry, but did they have substance?

Well, what about their dynamic indicates that they don't have substance?

The first time in seasons that Sansa feels truly safe is when she and Jon reunite at Castle Black

Throughout his life, Jon has been reminded that he is an outcast, that he has no true place

even when he finally gets to Castle Black and inherits brothers, he's ultimately betrayed by them

and then you have Sansa who naturally views him and treats him as belonging to her, belonging to the North

who she galvanized

who she saved

Jon has a desire to protect her but an understanding and respect of her agency

Sansa learns from Jon's example

Jon values how she views him

They have a particular way of communicating

As I’ve mentioned before and quite a bit, an aspect I find really compelling about Jonsa both as a shipper and as an objective viewer of their dynamic is the passion they communicate, which you see in their arguments and disagreements and which you also see in the ferocity of their affection for each other.

And that is a Jonsa characteristic

When Arya and Jon disagree, they’re calm

like even in 8x01 Jon’s stare in response to Sansa is way more intense

Where is the lack of substance exactly?

#jonsa chemistry

[starwarsprincess1986]

🚨 THE DREADFUL 👹 UPDATE 🚨

God Bless Kit Harington for giving us new details about the Jonsa Movie The Dreadful 👹

[Source]

#kit harington #sophie turner #the dreadful #jonsa au

[starwarsprincess1986]

"Please make father say yes! Sansa! Please please!" "So take me when you go back! Jon! Father will let me if you ask him!"

"He'd have to leave home. He'd have to leave me. And so would you." "You don't understand what you'd be giving up! We have no families."

"It's the only thing I've ever wanted." "I don't care about that!"

#jonsa parallels

[starwarsprincess1986]

There is a speculation that Lady's death wake Bran up from his coma. What do you think about it?

I can understand anyone who subscribes to this theory, it's entirely respectable and it makes sense on its own.

I don't share it for two reasons:

The absurdity of the timeline.

The justification of life-for-life sacrifice.

Regarding the first point, we are given a specified timeframe between the Trident incident (Lady's death) and Tyrion's arrest at the Crossroads Inn. That's two sets of fortnights travelled on the Kingsroad in direct succession (First Ned, then Cat), four weeks. In those four weeks, Bran is supposed to have woken up, a raven dispatched to the Wall to inform Jon, Tyrion staying an additional day or two, Tyrion travelling all the way from the Wall to Winterfell, which took over three weeks one-way for on their way up, then trek down the kingsroad through the other half of the North, past the Neck and then the additional distance between the Neck and the Crossroads Inn. It's absurd to me. According to my own timeline calculations, Lady is killed around the time Tyrion arrives at Winterfell, giving him those four weeks to travel from Winterfell to the Crossroads. GRRM is no stranger to presenting chapters out of chronological order and I think it very much applies here. I don't judge anyone for disagreeing but that's how I read it.

Regarding the second point, it would give narrative justification to an absolute travesty of justice that shames every single adult involved. It would imply that Lady dying served a good cause. That Ned's failings here, the Cersei's cruelty, Robert's indifference, all of these things ultimately are good and necessary. I don't think that's probable, and I also think it's unnecessary. Bran had already magically survived with the help of the living direwolves and waking up is sufficiently explained by his inner decision to live:

He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks. Now you know, the crow whispered as it sat on his shoulder. Now you know why you must live. “Why?” Bran said, not understanding, falling, falling. Because winter is coming. Bran looked at the crow on his shoulder, and the crow looked back. It had three eyes, and the third eye was full of a terrible knowledge. Bran looked down. There was nothing below him now but snow and cold and death, a frozen wasteland where jagged blue-white spires of ice waited to embrace him. They flew up at him like spears. He saw the bones of a thousand other dreamers impaled upon their points. He was desperately afraid. “Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?” he heard his own voice saying, small and far away. And his father’s voice replied to him. “That is the only time a man can be brave.” Now, Bran, the crow urged. Choose. Fly or die. Death reached for him, screaming. Bran spread his arms and flew. Wings unseen drank the wind and filled and pulled him upward. The terrible needles of ice receded below him. The sky opened up above. Bran soared. It was better than climbing. It was better than anything. The world grew small beneath him. “I’m flying!” he cried out in delight. I’ve noticed, said the three-eyed crow. It took to the air, flapping its wings in his face, slowing him, blinding him. He faltered in the air as its pinions beat against his cheeks. Its beak stabbed at him fiercely, and Bran felt a sudden blinding pain in the middle of his forehead, between his eyes. “What are you doing?” he shrieked. The crow opened its beak and cawed at him, a shrill scream of fear, and the grey mists shuddered and swirled around him and ripped away like a veil, and he saw that the crow was really a woman, a serving woman with long black hair, and he knew her from somewhere, from Winterfell, yes, that was it, he remembered her now, and then he realized that he was in Winterfell, in a bed high in some chilly tower room, and the blackhaired woman dropped a basin of water to shatter on the floor and ran down the steps, shouting, “He’s awake, he’s awake, he’s awake.”

Bran wakes up because he chooses to wake up, even knowing - if subconsciously - that it means serving a specific, scary purpose.

#bran stark #lady the direwolf