#it's also quite tywin coded but that's because a lot of philippe le bel is tywin coded

[navree]

I'd love to hear about your thoughts on Tywin x Joanna!

So like I said, someone once compared Tywin and Joanna to two historical figures who were married that I like a lot (Philippe le Bel and Jeanne of Navarre my absolute beloveds, no one was doing it like you do, Hollywood needs to scrap all their bullshit MQOS treatments and let me do something about Jeanne cuz she did it first and did it better) so I was already predisposed to like them. But they just tickle me.

As a Tywin enjoyer, the fact that she's one of those select few that got through his layers of Asshole, as well as being the only one who wasn't immediate family (since the only others Tywin shows genuine affection and love for are his siblings) bears merit. Especially when you add in Tywin's misogyny and his general disdain for people who aren't him, Joanna, a woman who is bound to him through marriage and a lesser blood relation, worming past the walls that have been in place for so long is fascinating. I think it speaks to a definite intelligence and shrewdness on her part, since I don't think Tywin can really interact with people who aren't on his intellectual level. He doesn't have time for people he considers lesser in any respect, so Joanna was obviously able to keep up, likely in administration based on her role as the Lady of Casterly Rock. I think that's also what helped her push past his defenses, because Tywin's defenses exist for a very specific reason. Some of it is just who he is as a person, yes, but Tywin was very intimately shaped by what he viewed as his father's failings, and developed a lot of his traits in order to be a stark opposite to Tytos, which doesn't breed someone who is going to open his heart to anyone at all, least of all a wife. But they managed to forge a partnership, and a genuine connection, in spite of Tywin's myriad issues.

The love between them was real, and it was true, and considering who Tywin is, that's fascinating. There was an actual and genuine affection between them, a love that we might expect to see from a much softer and more openly affectionate character that eminates from Tywin fucking Lannister. And the fact that he did consider Joanna as much an equal as he could, within the confines of Westerosi gender roles and his own sexism, that she held such an influence over him and his home (a home he fought so hard to restore to glory after Tytos and clearly valued more than almost any actual person) does hold a significant amount of weight. It's kind of like a dark mirror to Ned and Catelyn, in a way. Ned clearly values Catelyn as not just a lover and romantic interest, but also as a partner with equal value and stake in the marriage and in his life, which appears to be how Tywin felt about Joanna, and with that we can assume that Catelyn's devotion to Ned could be mirrored with Joanna having a similar devotion to Tywin. But whereas Ned clearly pulled rank on Catelyn a few times (especially where Jon was concerned) it doesn't seem like Tywin ever did it with Joanna, though I think that was also part of Joanna shrewdness in that she intrinsically knew to keep to "her role" and not necessarily try to counsel Tywin on things regarding, like, statecraft unless he specifically asked. It's kind of like that post about how a villain's love is always gonna be more intense and all encompassing because villainy operates in extremes in a way heroism cannot, Tywin being the kind of person that he is offers a far more encompassing and devoted love as well, provided he considers you worthy of it, which Joanna was (and is part of why he reacted so strongly when she died).

This is all very disjointed because I don't actively think of these two a lot, but their relationship says a lot about who they were as people, both for Tywin and for Joanna (tho it is a shame we have to rely so much on her husband to know about her, George stop killing mothers challenge). It was clearly mutual and very loving, and clearly as close to a relationship between equals as could happen in Westeros,a dn certainly to someone like Tywin. And I love them. Hate that both Joanna and Jeanne had to predecease their icy husbands by so many years, it's tragic.