#valyrian scrolls

[daenerysstormreborn]

Time to ramble. I’m thinking about the way Arya and Sansa fans seem to get into this debate about who was more lonely and neglected in Winterfell. Which is kind of funny because then the arguments get totally reversed when debating other aspects of the characters. But anyway. The general arguments seem to be:

1. Arya was clearly the neglected outcast. This is clear in the meta narrative because of her connection to Jon and the fact that she doesn’t look like her true born siblings. The more direct evidence comes from the way Sansa and Jeyne teased her, the harshness of Septa Mordane, and Catelyn’s exasperation. It can be inferred that Arya feels a sense of insecurity wrt to her family ties as she wonders if her own mother would want her back after everything that happened. It can be assumed that she was a bit of an outcast based on her disinterest in the things expected of her as a girl, and we see the way many characters look down upon non-conforming women and girls in-universe. Sansa, on the other hand, receives praise from her mother and the septa and has two named close friends in Winterfell. She happily conforms to what is expected of her as a highborn girl and we can assume she would fit in in Winterfell.

2. Sansa was clearly the neglected outcast. This is clear in the meta narrative because she is the only one to lose her direwolf, which is the family symbol. The more direct evidence comes from contrast with Arya, whom Sansa observes can “make friends with anybody,” seemingly in contrast to herself. Ned agreed to kill Lady despite knowing she was innocent and indulged Arya’s interest in swordplay whilst being unenthusiastic about indulging Sansa’s interest in tourneys. Arya is demonstrated to be beloved by Ned’s men in a way we do not observe with Sansa. We can assume that Sansa didn’t feel like she belonged because of her interest in sothron culture, something none of her siblings share. Arya, on the other hand, is extroverted, makes friends easily, is northern in appearance, and has no interest in sothron culture, so we can assume she fit in in Winterfell.

I actually don’t think a lot of the points in the two arguments is mutually exclusive. We also have to remember POV bias. Arya doesn’t reflect on Any friends her age she had at Winterfell (I am not including Mycah because I am under the impression they became friends on the way to King’s Landing), but Arya is not one to reflect and reminisce. Sansa notices that Arya can make friends with anyone, but she doesn’t experience Arya’s inner world. What does Sansa mean by making friends? Does she see Arya having fun and being at ease talking to anyone and feel envy, since she herself feels like is performing, always minding her manners, when she’s socializing with most people? Could it be that Arya is friendly but struggles to find long term close friends like Jeyne and Beth, attributing this disparity to Sansa’s “ladylike” interests? Could it be that being teased by Sansa and her friends and scolded by Catelyn and Mordane has made Arya assume that other girls wouldn’t be interested in close friendship with her, causing her to be friendly but keep a certain distance? (**please note I am not trying to make a case for nlog Arya. I think keeping a distance because you assume you’ll be rejected is different and does not require that she looks down upon other girls, because there is no evidence for that here**)

I don’t have a good conclusion I just think it’s interesting that this is something that gets debated because the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. We can’t know because we get very few flashbacks and the story picks up when their normal lives in Winterfell end. I can’t speak to George’s intentions but if we pretend they’re real people I’d speculate that both would have felt misplaced within Winterfell at times, envying certain traits about the other

#asoiaf #valyrian scrolls #valyrianscrolls #arya stark #sansa stark

[amber-laughs]

that fucking royal feast at winterfell haunts me. did they toast to the royal house baratheon? did robert shout out his war stories about taking down a once great dynasty? did ned watch jon snow cheers to the death of his own father? raise a glass to the death of his future, the loss of his identity? would he even notice if he had?

#how many time has jon heard those stories and not understood what it meant for him? #jon snow #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #ned stark #r+l=j #valyrian scrolls #game of thrones #house targaryen

[highgardenart]

Princess Shireen Baratheon

“She would be ten on her next name day, and she was the saddest child that Maester Cressen had ever known”

#shireen baratheon #house baratheon #a song of ice and fire #game of thrones #asoiaf #fan art #digital art #asoif fanart #got #asoiaf fanart #valyrian scrolls

[artist-ellen]

The Queen of the North

Potentially random illustration but I had the idea in my head and a new brush I wanted to try out…. So… here we are (*´▽｀*). Keeping with my theme of revisiting parts of previous designs and adding them to backgrounds/scenes. I also want to keep challenging myself, and going for more painterly styles is very much out of my comfort zone. What do you think? I had a bit of fun, learned some things, tested some things out, maybe I’ll try more in this style? (And before you ask yes I know there are supposed to be weirwood leaves, I didn’t have the energy to include them, that’s just the way it is).

I am the artist! Do not post without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: instagram.com/ellenartistic or tiktok: @ellenartistic

#queen of the north #redesigning game of thrones #game of thrones #valyrianscrolls #character design #costume design #ellenart #lnart #redesigning heroines #historical fashion #historical costuming #valyrian scrolls #sansa stark #house stark

[llutik]

inspired by the last dany chapter in a dance with dragons

the empress card for twitter user toadpeee tarot deck. Big thanks to her for her patience with me

#a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #my art #adwd #daenerys targaryen #drogon #a dance with dragons #valyrian scrolls #valyrianscrolls #asoiaf art #house targaryen #i feel like she is not tattered enough #that hair suits her too much my bad #don't look too closely on ...anything #i feel like this card represents the star theme much better #but it's probably because she does seem a lot like a star to me #idk i think i shouldn't speculate on it

[whoknowsnugget]

look at my lord commander dawgggggggg i’m goin to die beyond the wall 😫🤯🤣

#a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #small artist #valyrian scrolls #jon snow #book jon snow #fire zombie jon #asoiaf art #asoiaf fanart #game of thrones art

[thewatcher0nthewall]

The Grim Lady of Pyke

#alannys harlaw #iron islands #pyke #fanart #drawing #illustration #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #the winds of winter #game of thrones #asoiaf fanart #valyrian scrolls #art #ironborn #theon greyjoy #asha greyjoy #house harlaw

[buildoblivionthenwewilltalk]

long live the queen

#Meereen!dany my beloved #not the most accurate ghiscari tokar but I wanted to be distinct from my more mid Tudor westerosi dresses #whilst still taking inspiration from my Shakespeare based reference 🥰 #Daenerys Targaryen #Daenerys stormborn #dany #queen of Meereen #fashion of ice and fire #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #Valyrian scrolls #Valyrianscrolls #minsart #my art #fanart #grrm #adwd #a dance with dragons #house targaryen

[greenbloods]

(9) a son or a daughter.

'where's 'ned loves my hair?'' nowhere. you must choose.

#working against tumblr poll word count restrictions on this was frustrating #asoiaf #asoiaf polls #valyrian scrolls

[daenerysstormreborn]

The whole concept of left brain/right brain isn’t super solid but I think it’s the most accurate way to describe the difference between Arya and Sansa’s skill sets. I think with training either girl could be a politician or a warrior. I think they both could’ve survived if their roles were swapped. Both have demonstrated the ability to adapt.

Arya specializes in the concrete and logical, in immediate observations and perceptions, and intuitive reactions to those. Arya is quick on her toes and great at making on-the spot assessments and reacting appropriately. She’s extremely observant and perceptive and these things come very naturally to her. She’s great at learning language, but isn’t said to write poetry and doesn’t take marked interest in story or songs. Her focus is typically on her immediate environment and current situation. She doesn’t spend time ruminating or crafting distant future lives for herself. She is alert and attuned to the facts and the present.

Sansa is more abstract and artistic, focusing on the qualitative aspects of life, engaging in creative pursuits. She loves the romantic and fantastical and is more attuned to ideas and concepts than the facts of her immediate surroundings. She absorbs history and heraldry and has a knack for aesthetics and mastery of her native language (i.e., writing poetry and being an eloquent speaker. Learning new language is “left brain” whereas mastery of your native language is “right brain.”), but isn’t said to be very good at math and her romanticized lens inhibits her perception of fact at times. She has a vivid imagination and spends a lot of time ruminating on her past and conjuring fantasies of idealized futures, comparing her own life to familiar narratives instead of being 100% present in her surroundings.

Which isn’t to say these skill sets are mutually exclusive to the girls. Arya can be very creative (she is excellent with performing and getting into roles as a faceless man) and Sansa can be quick on her toes (like when she saved Dontos). These skill sets also are not opposites and the girls do not “complete” each other. Both are full complete people on their own who are learning to apply their natural strengths to navigate their worlds.

What’s interesting to me is that they’re both a little aimless right now for different reasons relating to what I described above. Arya is great at taking action but doesn’t have a vision of her ideal future (at least not that we’ve seen) so she doesn’t know where to go next. Her biggest desires are “go home” and “go to the wall to see Jon” but those aren’t options to her so she ends up a bit directionless, traveling across the ocean and becoming a faceless man because she has to do SOMETHING because she’s a doer, but doesn’t know what to do. Meanwhile Sansa has goals for her future of being a lady with a loving husband and a family, but she is not a doer and doesn’t know what steps to take to escape her current situation, so she goes along with Littlefinger’s plan. Arya has inertia but no direction and Sansa has direction but no inertia

Of course, for both girls, age and and trauma are factors in them going down the paths they’re on and I expect that we’ll see them both grow!

#arya stark #sansa stark #asoiaf #valyrian scrolls #valyrianscrolls #if you think this post is at all negative toward either character #then I suggest you reflect on whether you subconsciously value one of these skillsets over the other

[amber-laughs]

i don’t think anybody could ever understand each other like Jon Snow, who’s learned he’s not ned’s son, and Young Griff, who’s learned he’s not rhaegar’s son. but i don’t think they’ll ever get to meet

#please george let them be brothers even if it’s just in a symbolic sense #my son’s who are foils #young griff #jon snow #r+l=j #faegon #valyrian scrolls #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #aegon son of elia

[vivacissimx]

The puzzle piece about Rhaegar that is really interesting but unfortunately often overlooked is that he was relieved when he realized he was not TPTWP. Yes, relieved. Conflicted too which I will get into. And I believe it is obvious that when Rhaegar first read about Aegon's prophecy, he was not enthused— It seems I must be a warrior is trotted out to talk about Rhaegar's gender expression, his disconnect with capital m Masculinity that is purposely contrasted to Robert Baratheon reveling in it (indeed only making sense within the context of violence, battle, war) but there is more to the compulsion involved in the words It seems and I must than just It seems I must become an archetype. Socially becoming a fighter was already expected of him but he was not, presumably, in compliance with this expectation. The prophecy motivated him in a different way than you will be socially rewarded for acting as a man does.

Which brings me to another point i.e. how Rhaegar perceived himself prior to reading what he read; his connection to the tragedy of his birth and the grief, the resentment, the awkward dynamics between members of his family. "Oh he was a child" yes but we're told that Rhaegar did not act like, think like, or even particularly get along with others his age. So it's safe to say he was aware of Summerhall and felt it's shadow surrounding him from a young age. And Aegon's prophecy, combined with the Ghost of High Heart's prophecy, the events of Summerhall, put this weight on his shoulders completely into context. It was not that Rhaegar desired to be TPTWP because he took to it with determination but no particular joy. Every indicator just seemed to demand he give himself over to fulfilling this role. TPTWP was coming from Aerys and Rhaella's line? Well, he was their only child. Consult Maester Aemon on the matter? Yeah kid it's you. Ancient scrolls? Dusty, but they agree. Dead ancestors? Oh wait, they died so YOU could live. Woah.

This understanding basically necessitates us looking to ASOS Daenerys who also has some knowledge of TPTWP prophecy, and thanks to the Rhaegar-Daenerys pipeline, we can imagine that Rhaegar had similar thoughts to Daenerys, such as when she asks herself: The dragon has three heads. There are two men in the world who I can trust, if I can find them. I will not be alone then. We will be three against the world, like Aegon and his sisters. Who are Rhaegar's fellow two heads? Daenerys wonders at this, telling Jorah that her brothers are dead. Well Rhaegar's brothers die too, right in front of him. Rhaella suffers miscarriage after stillbirth after crib death. She is punished for this by Aerys via isolation and presumably Rhaegar is also kept separate from her— textually we know that Rhaegar was expected to take a sister to bride, i.e. further targcest was going to be enforced by Aerys, and to Rhaegar the loss would have also been of the other two people who would have fulfilled the requirements of the prophecy. Yes that's true. However, it was also the loss of his mother.

Rhaella was 13 when she had Rhaegar so it would be ridiculous to even think that she, a child, a Queen from when Rhaegar was 3, was this grand maternal figure to him. Of course she wasn't. There was too much on her shoulders. Too much on Aerys's shoulders as well, to be any sort of father except the kind who trotted Rhaegar out as an impressive little heir from time to time. Rhaegar was Aerys's success (it's the duty of the patriarch to sire sons who will continue the line) but as Rhaegar's siblings failed to survive, that success became a dicey thing. So when Viserys was born & survived, there is a thought that Rhaegar would latch onto such a sibling. This isn't the case— in fact, Viserys is Rhaella's. She coddles him. Keeps him close. Safe from Aerys (who already has Rhaegar). Viserys tells Dany stories about Rhaegar but this is done in the sense that he does not truly know Rhaegar. Why wouldn't Rhaegar have spent more time with Viserys, if he was motivated by fulfillment of the prophecy?

Because Viserys was Rhaella's, perhaps. Rhaegar never truly got to be his mother's son. To leech Viserys away from her... there's something in that. When Rhaella warmly welcomed Rhaegar's daughter, too. Rhaella's was Aerys's wife and property, which Rhaegar knew because he was also Aerys's property. Rhaella was mother to his brother. Rhaella was a grandmother to his daughter. She was everything but the woman who raised him.

"Rhaegar was a lonely man anyway due to his depression" yes that's true. There is an asceticism to Rhaegar Targaryen. The places he enjoys are bare and stripped, places he can keep his own company: Summerhall, the place of his birth, haunted, full of magic. Dragonstone where he retreats after his marriage, a place where the last embers of Valyria's magic died. Later the Tower of Joy is in a barren desert. But he finds a beauty in these places. He writes music that pushes him back into the shared world, songs he shares with people, about people, about lovers and those who sacrificed and who he is deeply moved by— almost like he's motivating himself. People are drawn to him.

Despite his lack of connection to Rhaella and Viserys he does bond with people. Arthur Dayne, who for all we can try and complicate, apply horseshoe theory to, is meant as the juxtaposition to characters such as the Smiling Knight. Brave as brass Myles Mooton whose memory his people still call upon. Richard Lonmouth and Jon Connington, both technically vassals to Robert Baratheon, funny little irony there. Princess Elia his wife who he is fond of along with the Dornishmen she comes to court with, "particularly" Prince Lewyn of the Kingsguard, who is in Rhaegar's confidence (per AWOIAF). These bonds seem strong because not a whiff of possible disloyalty on Rhaegar's part ever reaches Aerys despite it definitely existing and Aerys actively looking for it (again per AWOIAF). Do these confidantes know about Aegon's prophecy? IDK. At least in JonCon's case the answer seems to be no. However we also know JonCon wasn't actually the closest to Rhaegar. Nonetheless, I think we can assume that outside of Arthur Myles and Richard most of these were political relationships which Rhaegar pursued and all were concerned about Aerys's instability— there is also Tywin who Rhaegar performs certain overtures towards (such as knighting Gregor, Tywin's man, at a time when the Aerys-Tywin relationship had just grown particularly sour) indicating he'd like him as an ally. This is all straying away from TPTWP but I think it's important, it shows that even imbued with purpose, Rhaegar was in a position that did not lend itself towards him being able to take much action...

Then winter breaks. Spring comes. Nobody knows it's false yet. Rhaegar's whole deal is this coming Long Night. Everyone takes, quite literally, a breath of fresh air, and the tourney of Harrenhal commences, with Rhaegar as a shadow sponsor, thinking to call an informal Great Council which will begin to deal with Aerys (step 1)(step 1 failed).

This is where matters of prophecy come back into focus. I've covered Rhaegar's various relationships, the shallowness of them, the stagnancy in Developments due to Aerys's paranoia, etc. Harrenhal is not a solitary place but it is flush with magic in a way similar to Summerhall and Dragonstone— all places where dragons have died Harrenhal is thematically the cannibal dragon let's not get into that. And this is important to Rhaegar's characterization because of how things unfold with Lyanna Stark in several ways: 1) Lyanna cries to his song. Before they formally meet Lyanna is touched by the magic and purpose and sacrifice and yes, love, of which Rhaegar sings. It speaks to her. Of course, many others likely cried too. Common occurrence, see: A song of love and doom, Jon Connington recalled, and every woman in the hall was weeping when he put down the harp. Not the men, of course. Rhaegar gender moment but I digress. 2) Rhaegar's discovery of her as the KOTLT despite Robert & Richard Lonmouth both vowing to do so, those raucous manly men, both of whom failed; Rhaegar's subsequent hiding of her identity to unknown consequence for himself if any. All he produces is her shield which is painted with a tree on it, a purposeful callback to Duncan the Tall's shield, both Lyanna and Dunk being 'false knights' yet, in their actions, true ones. Sorry I love Lyanna so much I can't resist plugging her greatest hits 3) Rhaegar winning the tourney, the only tourney he's ever won... and immediately tainting his victory by awarding it to Lyanna instead.

I bring this all up and frame it because here we see that Rhaegar is not really invested in his own victory or legacy or even really his honor. His wife Princess Elia is there and she is pregnant with his son, something he could commemorate in the same vein that Aerys "honored" Rhaegar by showcasing him at various tourneys, an ode to a future warrior king, but Rhaegar doesn't do that. It's not his victory as a Man. It's never been about his victory as a Man. It doesn't even need to be his victory.

Neither does Aegon's prophecy. Rhaegar rapidly realizes that on two fronts: second, the false spring ends. It wasn't real! Rhaegar's spring isn't the lasting one. First, though, is that Rhaegar and Elia's son Aegon is born, a difficult birth in which Elia is rendered infertile. Who does this remind you of? Oh right, Aerys with Rhaella— only Rhaegar does not go about trying to impregnate Elia again. Rhaegar becomes convinced Aegon is TPTWP— something he was already thinking, prior. Rhaegar was never so invested in himself being TPTWP that he could not be convinced otherwise. Maester Aemon: Rhaegar, I thought... the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King's Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. Rhaegar agreeing "when he was young" and being "certain the bleeding star had to be a comet" all indicate that he had been looking into the possibility that TPTWP was Not Him for a while. The visits to Summerhall— maybe they were a search for proof by encasing himself in the lingering magic of the place? He still messed up the prince/princess translation presumably because baby Rhaenys never seemed to be in the conversation. (The bleeding star was in fact a comet, funnily enough, a little consolation prize for the pretty boy.) Here's what we know: in Daenerys's vision, Elia asks if Rhaegar will write Aegon a son, we can assume because he wrote their firstborn Rhaenys a song, but Rhaegar says no, he already has one. The song of ice and fire. Aegon doesn't get a song. Why? Rhaegar believes he must be a warrior.

Yet, he sings for him anyway.

Rhaegar's "it seems" and "I must" and distance from Viserys and inner conflict about Aerys and doubt about his own place in the grand scheme of things all come to fruition with Aegon's birth. Rhaegar isn't TPTWP— and it spurs him into action. A weight is off his shoulders so now he can act. As in the case of crowning Lyanna, when the purpose of a task is not to honor or elevate him, we see Rhaegar able to perform in ways he could not before.

Namely there are two veins: acting against Aerys and seeking out information of the prophecy, but Rhaegar's general direction (through the Riverlands past Harrenhal) seems to indicate that he was headed towards the Ghost of High Heart. Not Summerhall, a place of mysticism meant to soothe Rhaegar. Rather a place of pain. The Ghost of High Heart who gorged on grief at Summerhall, who only ever demands Jenny's song (which Rhaegar seems to have wrote), who sees in Arya who looks like Lyanna, who looks like Jon, death. But instead of ever making it there... Rhaegar meets Lyanna.

And then they disappear. There are the Rhaegarwars to consider so I'm just going to say that, at the least, Lyanna did not want to marry Robert though society dictated that she must, and in removing her, she was removed from this. From there she came to be in Dorne in a place that was desolate desert, but similar to Summerhall, which was also abandoned, held something of magic in that it was near where Those Who Sing The Song of the Earth had split the Arm of Dorne. We can say a lot more about this but that's not the point of the post. I have explained Rhaegar as a person disconnected from his mother, later a person who in several manners refuses to act as Aerys did towards Rhaella, indicating that disconnect troubled him — Rhaegar's limited amount of close relationships with people he admired and the deep loyalty shown to him, presumably for a reason — Rhaegar's willingness to interrogate himself & his assumptions about the world.

So when I say Rhaegar was relieved what I mean is that upon suspecting and, to his mind, confirming that he was not the fulfillment of Aegon's prophecy, Rhaegar became proactive in ways he had yearned for but not been able to before. The Rhaegar that died with Lyanna's name as his last word was not a Rhaegar who died thinking the world was doomed without him. I think the Rhaegar that died on the Trident was a Rhaegar who had escaped the shadow of fate only to meet it, face to face.

#rhaegar targaryen #asoiaf #valyrian scrolls #text #lyanna stark #gender in asoiaf #daenerys targaryen #rhaella targaryen #aerys targaryen #once again the tags are for my ownnn organization #rhaegarposting

[artist-ellen]

A Stark Family Portrait

Oof this was both nostalgic and painful to pull together. It hurts the same way being an adult watching 'Anastasia' hurts, we know she never saw her parents or siblings again. All that's left is the semi-abandoned castles and portraits sort of hurt.

Oh and I forgot to mention it on Ned's redesign post but way back when I read the first book, when season 1 was a twinkle in GRRM's eye, Ned was my favorite character. I am a sucker for honorable protagonists and was devastated. Who was your favorite character in book 1/Season 1?

I am the artist! Do not post without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: instagram.com/ellenartistic or tiktok: @ellenartistic

#house stark #asoiaf #valyrian scrolls #ellenart #redesigning game of thrones #character design #costume design #digital illustration #historically inspired #redesigning heroes #redesigning heroines #winterfell #game of thrones

[llutik]

arya was having trouble finishing her homework

it turned into a group project

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #agot #my art #arya stark #sansa stark #jeyne poole #septa mordane #jon snow #i think their .. embroidery hoops look too modern #valyrian scrolls #they pulled a realistic eye #it rocks

[a-thousand-eyes-and-one]

its hard to find a proper facecast for jon snow bc that guy isnt rlly doing movies. any guy who actually looks like jon is a longsuffering manager in the customer service industry or some such job. he is not and never will be an actor.

#jon snow #valyrianscrolls #valyrian scrolls #agatha speaks

[thewatcher0nthewall]

Red lord of Dreadfort

#roose bolton #house bolton #the north #dreadfort #fanart #drawing #illustration #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #the winds of winter #game of thrones #asoiaf fanart #valyrian scrolls #art #flayed man #first men #native