#the kingsmoot

[thebeesareback]

There's something which bothers me about asoiaf.

The night's watch, we've heard, was established after the long night, about 8000 years ago. Jon is (supposedly) the 998th Lord Commander, which approximately tracks.

We're led to believe that the vows have not changed at all during this time. I ask you to find the oldest book you can. For me, in the UK, that's probably Shakespeare, who was writing late 1500s/early 1600s. I have an English degree and i struggle with some of the language. Words fall in and out of fashion, understanding of concepts like, hm, marriage, change over time (Measure for Measure, I'm looking at you), and invasions will impact linguistics.

Therefore, a vow written by Shakespeare 500-ish years ago would have totally different connotations to a contemporary person vs a modern one, and someone with little/no formal education (like most of the nights' watch) probably wouldn't understand most of it. And that's 500 years! The nights' watch vow is 8000 years old! If someone handed me a peice of writing from 8000 years ago, which is technically the stone age, i wouldn't even know if I was holding it the right way up. Those vows aren't just dated: they're complete jibberish.

To add to this: Westerosi history generally seems pretty strange. We're supposed to understand that the maesters carefully destroyed lots of information about dragons, which helped contribute to their extinction. Yet, somehow, Asha Greyjoy knows about Kingsmoots, when the last one happened 5000 years ago? Again, a UK based example: stonehenge is about 5000 years old. Nobody knows what it's for. There are theories, there are people who worship there, but mostly it's a bunch of cool rocks. So it doesn't make sense that all of the information about dragons is lost over about 200 years from the Dance to Dany asking her handmaidens for info, but Asha, who comes from a culture where learning and reading aren't exactly celebrated, suddenly has access to all of this ancient information.

We do, of course, love, respect and stan one (1) Rodrick the Reader for his contributions to Asha's education and understanding of history, but one person isn't enough to keep history/culture/customs alive for 5000 years.

#grrm #george r r martin #game of thrones #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #got #a clash of kings #a storm of swords #a feast for crows #a dance with dragons #jon snow #samwell tarly #the nights watch #the iron throne #the iron islands #yara greyjoy #asha greyjoy #the kingsmoot

[visenyaism]

How does Jaime have any money at all? Does he get like. An allowance from Tywin? Does Tyrion? Is his less than Jaime's? What is the Westerosi equivalent of a trust fund

this is a good question I have no idea. I remember at several points Tyrion just sort of points people and tells them the Lannisters will pay for whatever he is taking. and I know Brienne has a line of credit technically. but how does it actually work

#it’s not a plot hole they are just so rich they never think abt money #asoiaf #tumblr user kingsmoot you always seem to know these things

[lemonhemlock]

if tywin freaking lannister, with his daughter the goddamn queen of the seven kingdoms and his grandson in line to inherit the iron throne, CANNOT DISINHERIT tyrion, even though he REALLY would NOT want casterly rock to pass to him,

you bet your bottom dollar that corlys/laenor CANNOT legally & rightfully disinherit baela/rhaena from getting driftmark and pass it on to a bastard (that's not even of their blood!) ‼‼

what they're doing is called "breaking the law" and "an abuse of power" and, frankly, they should be lawfully sanctioned for aiding & abetting rhaenyra in their quest for personal ambition

#YOU CANNOT CHOOSE YOUR SUCCESSOR #tywin can't reimpose jaime as heir either since he's kingsguard #although he fucking tries!!!! but it's super messy legally-speaking #what jaehaerys did to rhaenys was another transgression #also before anyone starts yapping abt this #WHEN CALLING A KINGSMOOT ALL BETS ARE OFF AND YOU CAN VOTE FOR WHOMEVER YOU DAMN WELL PLEASE THE LAWS BE DAMNED #bastardposting #succession for the iron throne #anti rhaenyra targaryen #asoiaf succession crises #if everything was so fucking simple there wouldn't be an entire branch of law dedicated to SUCCESSION and INHERITANCE rights 🤦‍♀️ #corlys & laenor are fucking their own house in the a*se and muddying this issue for everyone else #they are being irresponsible

[sowthetide]

Dany Flowers by @ashenonion

War grips the Seven Kingdoms, and the Ironborn are choosing a new king. But on the beaches of Old Wyk, a new Salt 'Wife' is more busy with personal matters like escape.

Thank you so much for this amazing fic ♡ It's a distant, outsider POV of the events of Chapter 32 of Sow the Tide, Reap the Storm, courtesy of Dickless Lennard of the Honeywine ;-)

#iron islands #kingsmoot #asoiaf #asoiaf fanfic #a song of ice and fire #a game of thrones #house greyjoy #i'm still blushing and giggling over this. SO amazing #such an interesting pov i'm still reeling over it #gnawing on this fic. ripping chunks off of it and eating them

[empressofmankind]

Medieval democracy working as intended, right? Right.

#euron greyjoy #house greyjoy #if him winning the kingsmoot doesnt underline the flaw in the system idk what does #steamrolled the competition by simply telling the ironborn what they wanted to hear #that was literally it #a lil boast a lil smile a lil gift and they ate it right up #and off they go choosing the mad rat for king #smh #asoiaf #asoiaf fanart #got fanart #ironborn #a saga of bears & lions #imperial art farts #valyrianscrolls

[muadweeb]

The Grey King is so named because his hair, beard, and eyes were grey as the winter sea, and at the end of his life even his skin had turned grey.

#yall dunno how hard it is to find a guy who has long white beard that's not dumbledore or gandalf #cant believe i finally decided on pai mei im literally going kill myselg #the grey king #age of heroes #asoiaf #iron islands #high king of iron islands #kingsmoot #asoiafedit #valyrianscrolls #valyriansource

[asoiafreadthru]

HOUSE GREYJOY

The Greyjoys of Pyke claim descent from the Grey King of the Age of Heroes. Legend says the Grey King ruled not only the western isles but the sea itself, and took a mermaid to wife.

For thousands of years, raiders from the Iron Islands—called “ironmen” by those they plundered—were the terrors of the seas, sailing as far as the Port of Ibben and the Summer Isles. They prided themselves on their fierceness in battle and their sacred freedoms.

Each island had its own “salt king” and “rock king.” The High King of the Isles was chosen from among their number, until King Urron made the throne hereditary by murdering the other kings when they assembled for a choosing.

Urron’s own line was extinguished a thousand years later when the Andals swept over the islands. The Greyjoys, like the other island lords, intermarried with the conquerors.

The Iron Kings extended their rule far beyond the isles themselves, carving kingdoms out of the mainland with fire and sword. King Qhored could truthfully boast that his writ ran “wherever men can smell salt water or hear the crash of waves.” In later centuries, Qhored’s descendants lost the Arbor, Oldtown, Bear Island, and much of the western shore.

Still, come the Wars of Conquest, King Harren the Black ruled all the lands between the mountains, from the Neck to the Blackwater Rush.

When Harren and his sons perished in the fall of Harrenhal, Aegon Targaryen granted the riverlands to House Tully, and allowed the surviving lords of the Iron Islands to revive their ancient custom and choose who should have the primacy among them. They chose Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke.

The Greyjoy sigil is a golden kraken upon a black field.

Their words are We Do Not Sow.

#a game of thrones #appendix #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #house greyjoy #pyke #iron islands #ironborn #the grey king #age of heroes #ibben #summer isles #kingsmoot #urron redhand #andals #qhored the cruel #the arbor #oldtown #bear island #harren the black #riverlands #house hoare #harrenhal #aegon's conquest #aegon the conqueror #house tully #vickon greyjoy #we do not sow

[unluckytoleavetown]

The Farwynds there were even queerer than the rest. Some said they were skinchangers, unholy creatures who could take on the forms of sea lions, walruses, even spotted whales, the wolves of the wild sea.

Lord Gylbert began to speak. He told of a wondrous land beyond the Sunset Sea, a land without winter or want, where death had no dominion. "Make me your king, and I shall lead you there," he cried. "We will build ten thousand ships as Nymeria once did and take sail with all our people to the land beyond the sunset. There every man shall be a king and every wife a queen."

#asoiaf #arya stark #this girl really is underfoot showing up at the kingsmoot of all places?? #i forgot just how much she gets referenced in affc #and all the queen nymeria references we get

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

#asoiaf art #art reblog #themico #not mine #ironborn #dagmer cleftjaw #erik ironmaker #black lorren #andrik the unsmiling #dunstan drumm #cragorn #gylbert farwynd #a clash of kings #a feast for crows #kingsmoot #valyrian scrolls art

[garashir]

me rooting for Asha, Myrcella, Arianne, and Cersei to rule because they are rightfully next in the line of succession:

them being thwarted:

#like when Euron won the kingsmoot I was like…I guess this is what makes it interesting and makes you root for asha more buttttt #I want justice! #she should be Queen !! #also I know Cersei is totally problematic BUT the fact that she’s not in power JUST BECAUSE she is a woman makes me root for that equality #and it makes her story more compelling that she has that setback #and if we go with the natural succession of child of the ruler Myrcella should 100% be queen before Tommen be king #a feast for crows #affc #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf spoilers #my posts

[2maegor2cruel]

i've spent the last year getting my degree in genderbent theon studies so lemme say some shit real quick. i'll probably make a seperate post about The Themes, but this is about the logistics, babeyyy 🫶

"thea" vs. asha: pick your hostage

from the get-go, whether it is theon ("thea") or asha who is taken hostage, the intent would be to 1) shore up the power of the loyal regions in mainland westeros, and 2) "neuter "the iron islands. a northern or riverlands match is the best option, as both lack any significant fleet (which is bizarre in and of itself, but that's what grrm went with), balancing out the reach's naval superiority with the redwyne fleet.

in canon, we don't get any in-depth explorations of how women experience the hostage system. we know of dorna swyft, who was given to house lannister as a hostage until house swyft could pay off its debts. dorna would later marry kevan lannister, which tyrion describes as ser harys swyft's "greatest accomplishment". tyrion is naturally biased, but a relatively minor vassal getting to marry into the ruling house IS a serious step up. however, this is only one case, with it's own unique circumstances.

which brings us to my original question: would asha or "thea" be taken? asha is the obvious choice in a two-greyjoy-daughters scenario, as she's the legal heir, but asha is also a lot less malleable. she's around 13 by the end of balon's rebellion, and though women's opinions or identity wouldn't be given much weight or consideration in this context, the intent of a marriage pact would be to build a working alliance and mend rifts between regions. that's a lot more difficult when the conquering party doesn't have a mostly blank slate to work with.

also, theon was balon's last son and legal heir, but even he was essentially written off as dead in canon. i imagine a daughter would be regarded as similar to a salt wife, taken from her family by conquest due to her male relatives "weakness"/inability to protect her. it would be too much for balon's ego and sense of ironborn masculinity to bear, so i don't doubt he would consider her "as good as dead" as well, even if the conquering party (robert baratheon & co) couldn't have anticipated this.

most importantly, as we see AFFC, "the laws of the green lands" do not count for much on the iron islands. so let's get into it.

to start, the greyjoys themselves are relatively new major lords, having ruled for only 300 years (compared to the starks' alleged thousands of years of kingship). and, as we can intuit from the kingsmoot, the greyjoys do not command unquestioning loyalty from the ironborn. dunstan drumm, gylbert farwynd, and erik ironmaker all put forth their names at the kingsmoot, and some receive a levels of support that is surprising to the greyjoys in attendance, particularly aeron, who has a very skewed perception of balon (and therefore an overly rosy view of balon's legacy).

if it had been asha who was taken as hostage-bride, i honestly don't think any tully-greyjoy or stark-greyjoy children (who would have been ~9 years old MAX at the time of the kingsmoot in canon, assuming asha was forced to have children immediately after the rebellion) would have stood a snowball's chance in hell of inheriting. euron would likely have them killed in some clandestine way, and victarion, should he win, would be pressured to neutralize them in a less kinslay-ey way (though he could potentially take a male child on as heir, given his own lack of progeny).

all of this to say, the greyjoy line of succession is inevitably thorny. in my predominately vibes-based opinion, in the absence of a clear male heir like theon and knowing the ironborn's lack of deference to "green land law", "thea" might be taken over asha. i imagine lords like ned stark or hoster tully would be afraid that an asha match would basically be throwing their grandchildren into the greyjoy succession meat grinder, when asha/"thea" still have so many living and powerful male relatives.

anyway, thank you for coming to my female theon succession and hostage logistics tedtalk, and please tell me how wrong i am in the replies/reblogs 🫡

#exposing myself as insane. which some of you already knew #theon greyjoy #house greyjoy #asoiaf

[visenyaism]

feastdance dashboard simulator

💋queen-cersei-defense-squad Follow

it’s so sick that people keep criticizing queen cersei as if she’s not the first female ruler of westeros??? literally elevating bastards and women to her small council is super fucking progressive as is creating the precedent of dismissing unfit kingsguard??

🪨dragonstoner Follow

aren’t all of her children literally bastards born of incest

💋 queen-cersei-defense-squad Follow

oh so now you’re going to listen to stannis baratheon, known misogynist, kinslayer, fornicator, team green supporter, and homophobe, huh.

🦑pykedyke

okay guys i know there’s no “perfect candidate” but you have to vote in the kingsmoot anyways not voting is how someone like e****n g*****y wins and literally anyone is better than him. suck it up and row to the polls

🦈reaveherihardlyknowher

ohhhh not this “vote your crew no matter who” “blue lips man bad” bullshit again. fuck off idgaf which godless man sits the seastone chair i’m not voting for asha shes literally a neoliberal

🦷 lastoftheegiants

first i had to give up my rights and then i had to give up my gods just to not get killed by fucking wights but i literally cannot believe the nights watch made me give up my strap as part of the treasure ransom. shit was expensive it was IVORY. i hate southerners so much i hope the lord commander dies

🌪️kinslayerr

DO NOT COME TO THE RIVERLANDS

🍓silverspurs Follow

why

🌪️kinslayerr

there’s riverlands here

🧜‍♂️theythemderly

freys

🌾maidencool

my cousin got eaten by rats in harrenhal

🐎brackennation Follow

dumb cunts wearing raven feather cloaks strutting around who think they’re better than you but they’re not better than you

🌟sevenstar

i saw a guy get killed and then just stand back up and start fighting again because his friend kissed him on the mouth down here once

🦌whitehart

giant feral pack of 60 wolves running around

🍓silverspurs Follow

ok understandable have a nice day

🫧bastardwaters

i hate the fucking sparrows can we be normal for five minutes or can we just not have shit in the crownlands

☠️real-stormlands-patriot Follow

ITS LORD COMMANDOVER #RIPBOZO

🐦‍⬛mormonts-raven-bot Follow

CORN! DEATH! CORN!

(CAW! I follow members of the Night's Watch to remind them of their oaths!)

🦷 lastoftheegiants

????

🍋floriansjonquil

Loras Tyrell x Queen of Love and Beauty!Reader Imagines

Keep Reading

🪻maidens-smile Follow

girl this is notttttt the time he literally just fucking died at dragonstone?

💎oathkeeper

should’ve stanned jaime #LORASFELLOFF

💐flowerknight

one kill yourself jaime lannister is an honorless kingslaying turncloak two i heard loras tyrell was literally fine?

👊fleabottomtop

lord davos seaworth, the class traitor from the stannis baratheon administration, is a nasty little thottie and just died from making it clap in white harbor

🌅girlheir

this tower fucking sucks.

🌅girlheir

i’m just like rhaenyra targaryen for real

🌅girlheir

🐀ratcook5000 Follow

people meat tastes good asf when you don’t have a wench in your ear saying it violates guest right

🐺threeeyedwolf

🍒ladylance

need that targ girl in mereen to get those lizards over here and liberate this website by any means necessary cause what the fuck is going on

#asoiaf #affc #adwd #its been so long since i did one of these. missed it #valyrianscrolls

[sad-endings-suck]

GRRM Loves Convoluted Succession

Stark Succesion

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

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

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

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

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

Targaeryan Succession

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

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

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

Lannister Succession

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

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

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

Greyjoy Succession

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

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

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

Victarion… lmfao

Aeron. This is even more pathetic somehow.

Martell Succession

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

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

Tully Succession

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

Arryn Succession

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

Baratheon Succession

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

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

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

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

#asoiaf #house stark #house targaryen #house lannister #house martell #house tully #house arryn #house baratheon #house tyrell #house greyjoy #Jon snow #daenerys targeryan #aegon targaryen #young griff #tyrion lannister #cersei lannister #jaime lannister #sansa stark #arya stark #bran stark #rickon stark #arianne martell #asha greyjoy #euron greyjoy #theon greyjoy #robert arryn #edmure tully #stannis baratheon #shireen baratheon #valyrianscrolls

[undeniablespice]

drowned god the weak little beast you put on this earth to write fanfiction and like greyjoys has been neglecting homework in order to reread the affc ironborn chapters and have way too many opinions about the soggiest man in the world. i have Had Some Thoughts on aeron, theon, and names

it really is striking to me just how little people refer to aeron by his name. not just in conversation, but in the narrative itself, with the most notable example of this being aeron himself in his pov chapters constantly thinking of himself not as aeron but as damphair or just The Priest. he refers to himself as damphair or The Priest instead of aeron like twenty times throughout the prophet, to the point where it's used almost as frequently as his actual name. in the drowned man it's only like eight times (which i think is mostly because the vast majority of this chapter is given over to the kingsmoot, where aeron is mostly a spectator and the narrative focus is on the events taking place rather than his reaction to them). in the forsaken, it's ten times, though while aeron is actively imprisoned he mostly thinks of himself as aeron, with damphair being used four times in flashbacks to events that took place in the past, once during a conversation with euron while aeron is defying him, and then three times after he is freed and he can see the sea again

the consistency and frequency of aeron in his own mind thinking of himself as something other than his name reads to me almost like a foil to theon and reek. the identity of the damphair allows aeron to dissociate himself from the burden of his past weaknesses and sins: his pre-drowning frivolity and alcoholism and euron's sexual abuse. for aeron, being damphair is as empowering as being reek is degrading for theon. he is constantly affirming to himself that he is a loyal servant of the drowned god and that this makes him strong. it gives him status and purpose he never had as aeron the boy, who was the youngest and weakest of his brothers. aeron-the-priest cannot be frightened by any mortal man any more than he can be frightened by the dark or by memories. kill the boy to become the man -> drown the boy to become the damphair

(although, of course, when aeron tells himself all this about how god chose him and it makes him strong and special and immune to fear, he is deluding himself. the damphair is haunted incessantly by his brothers. aeron has the tendency to reconcile his lasting fear of euron with his special god-given immunity to such mortal flaws as feeling fear by believing that euron is ungodly/an avatar of the storm god/literally the devil, and therefore not really a mortal man in the same way that balon and victarion are

which is a really interesting parallel to how euron must see himself, what with the whole apotheosis god-king thing he's got going on by twow. in a way, euron is aeron's real god. it is euron's abuse that first connected aeron with faith, and it is faith that aeron uses to cope with and overcome the lasting psychological scars of that abuse and urri's death. aeron doesn't think of euron as a mere flesh and blood human being anymore. he's mythologized the crow's eye in his own mind: euron is not just his abuser, he's a boogeyman, a devil, quite literally the thing that goes bump in the night. and euron knows this, and delights in knowing it and in taking every chance he can to tear down aeron's faith and replace the drowned god with himself as the backbone of aeron's life. which he does not actually succeed in doing, as of the forsaken! aeron keeps his faith like theon keeps his name. it cannot be taken from them)

reek, meanwhile, is not an identity that theon chooses to assume to cope with his trauma. it is forced upon him in the middle of the trauma and he has no choice but to accept it for his own self-preservation. ramsay devastates theon physically: flaying him, starving him, beating him, removing his fingers and toes and teeth and genitals. imprisonment and violence are the tools he uses to take away theon's physical strength to resist him, but reek is how he gets to all the parts of theon that can't be bruised or cut. it's the psychological equivalent of a flaying knife. reek is the weapon he uses to attack theon's identity and sense of self and personhood. though it's important to me to note that those were things theon was already struggling with well before ramsay came on the scene, and that he has an absolutely unbelievably strong will that allows him to retain a degree of his original personality under ramsay and regain his own name later in adwd even after enduring all the torture and abuse. he is a greyjoy of pyke. his name is theon, and if he dies, he will die as theon, not as reek. when he leans into being reek, it is as a means of self-preservation and protection from harm. he basically says as much to jeyne when he tells her to be arya: he believes that serving ramsay and capitulating to his whim is the best way to stay safe. you have to know your name.

ultimately, theon is as relieved to be rid of the name reek as aeron is relieved to see the ocean again at the end of the forsaken. theon's name is a source of pride to him, something that he clings to after he has lost everything else, something that will always be his even after all that has been taken away from him. aeron's name is a source of shame, something that he is reduced to when he feels weak, something that he reverts to when he is powerless at the mercy of his abuser

#aeron greyjoy #theon greyjoy #house greyjoy #analysis #it makes me wonder actually at what point euron stopped assaulting aeron #from what i can see there's no textual evidence that it goes on until aeron's a teenager/young adult but also no evidence that it doesn't #it would be interesting if it stopped entirely after aeron was drowned #further supporting aeron's belief that as a devoted man of god he is now untouchable even by euron #and his faith will protect him #because it has to. because it must. because after balon dies it is all he has left #when the forsaken hits and what aeron wants is for his big brother victarion to come save him... #and it can't happen because victarion is gone and hope is gone with him #hoping against hope that your big sibling will come and save you #the theon-aeron paras are lelling at a dangerous rate #i've got more aeron meta and aeron-theon thoughts cooking in my sick little brain but we're not ready for that #op #religion #meta

[ser-zoras]

not to feastpost but oh my god. oh my god. the death of the boy happening in real time in the Sam chapter, with the death of vows as he moves away from the wall. Jaime spending the whole book trying to move on his grief from the boy HE killed (who is himself), but realizing he cannot when he has given the two most important women in his life (Cersei and Brienne respectively) pieces of that boy. Tywins death representing the culmination of Lannister Family Rot ™️ which is then contained in Cersei who is unable to handle it because she resents the rot as much as she thrives in it. Brienne choosing herself and the people around her over her ideals, realizing that her honor will not save her. Brienne and Jaime constantly mentioning each other in their chapters as a form of connection, romantic or not, that is reciprocated even if they don’t know it, meanwhile Cersei constantly mentions her connection to Jaime assuming they still share it and it fades and it keeps fading. Arya becoming no one, and yet she cannot be no one because she cannot escape herself or her blood. Sansa losing herself again and again, becoming no one more every day, out of fear. The struggle at the kingsmoot as a metaphor for identity and confirmation of it. Victarion grasping at straws and Asha demanding to be seen when no one looks at her. Aeron only having a good concept of his own identity because he gave up on the throne, and even then he is only the drowned god’s servant. The same thing happening in Dorne, Arianne losing herself as she loses her trust in Doran. Arys being unsure of himself as he sullies the white cloak and Areo understanding himself completely. Medieval roles and society as a metaphor for identity and loss of identity and THAT is why A Feast For Crows is unparalleled.

#asoiaf #my posts #a song of ice and fire #jaime lannister #cersei lannister #brienne of tarth #briennergy if you will #affc #a feast for crows #arys oakheart #areo hotah #asha greyjoy #samwell tarly #arya stark #sansa stark #alayne stone #victarion greyjoy #aeron greyjoy #arianne martell

[mummer]

i love when people say theon is the rightful king of the iron islands because of some vague kingsmoot lore loophole like first of all he doesnt want to do that…….😭

#like for gods sake let him chill