#I know Jaime also is not that kind of southern either

[whalehouse1]

Also as a BluePulse shipper, finding out Bart is based in Alabama (I know, I know his vernacular would be different due to his age and upbringing along with his culture but I’m going to do what comics do with language and culture just for this) has been a gift for this reason alone.

JL member: What are you two doing?

Bart: Why nuthin’ much stranger. We’re just two swee’d yun’ southern boys havin’ a swell ol’ time.

Jaime: We’re jus’ ea’din’ sum go’ ol’ American apple pie an’ enjoyin’ the pleasure of eachothah’s company.

[she-wolf-of-highgarden]

As someone that likes both Sansa and Arya, what’s your take on Ned’s parenting? I feel like Ned really needed to sit them down together after the trident and explain to them the dangers of the Lannisters as well as drawing a line for acceptable behavior. Say to Sansa: you cannot tell Arya you wish she was dead. Say to Arya: it doesn’t matter what Sansa says, you cannot beat her up. Ned never talks to Sansa after he kills Lady and his talks with Arya aren’t enough. (Sorry for sending all the asks

Oh my gosh don’t worry about it. I love asks…I’m just sometimes slow with them. Fair warning, this got...long

At his core Ned loves his children; he really does. He also doesn’t know them super well or at least isn’t super in touch with them and he is not in charge of raising them. Which is pretty on par with the Westerosi fathers we see. He’s still a heck of a lot better than Bobby B and Roose Bolton over there. There’s still some distance there. Which again considering the universe Martin has made and the social standing it makes sense.

Ned does kinda sorta address the don’t-hit-your-sister thing with Arya when he finds Needle. But, admittedly, it is kind of a joke.

“For true." He smiled. "If I took it away, no doubt I'd find a morningstar hidden under your pillow within the fortnight. Try not to stab your sister, whatever the provocation.” – Arya II, AgoT

But I think part of the reason he isn’t that worried is that even Sansa is surprised when Arya hits her.

“Arya, stop it!" Ned shouted. Jory pulled her off her sister, kicking. Sansa was pale and shaking as Ned lifted her back to her feet. "Are you hurt?" he asked, but she was staring at Arya, and she did not seem to hear.” – Eddard III, AGoT

After that the worst Arya does to her is throw a piece of orange at her and while it was unkind and Arya needed to be reprimanded for it, it wasn’t like it was unprovoked. This isn’t like the show where Arya sheep-shifted Sansa’s bed (that still annoys me) and threw fruit at her at the feast for the king for fun. When Arya does it, they are arguing about Mycah…the same subject that had Arya kicking her sister.

“Arya screwed up her face in a scowl. "Jaime Lannister murdered Jory and Heward and Wyl, and the Hound murdered Mycah. Somebody should have beheaded them."

"It's not the same," Sansa said. "The Hound is Joffrey's sworn shield. Your butcher's boy attacked the prince.” – Sansa III, AGoT

Feels like the adult sitting right there should have ended that conversation.

It doesn’t matter if Sansa is in the right not to be mad at the royal family or that she can’t. The issue is that Arya is 9 and has a thing about lying and is traumatized. Remember even though it is never brought up again, Arya is hiding in the woods for three days. A 9-year-old little girl. In the woods. In Westeros. The fact Ned didn’t turn around or send at least Arya back is honestly one of the times I wish I could shake a fiction character and demand answers. Why Arya was in the south in the first place still boggles me, but I’ll get back to that.

It takes Ned until Sansa III to actually talk to the girls together. This should have been like Eddard IV or Sansa II or something. Sansa III is a bit too late and we can see that because Sansa is just plain mean in this chapter, the girl has reached a breaking point. Arya ruins her dress. Which is bad, no argument here. The issue is that she gets an apology. She gets one in front of Ned and refuses to accept it.

“Enough, Sansa." Lord Eddard's voice was sharp with impatience.

Arya raised her eyes. "I'm sorry, Father. I was wrong and I beg my sweet sister's forgiveness."

Sansa was so startled that for a moment she was speechless. Finally she found her voice. "What about my dress?” – Sansa III, AGoT

This conversation between the girls goes on for a pretty minute in front of Ned. Instead of just standing there he could have given some Stark speech about forgiveness or something. Instead he just lets it go until he tells them that they are leaving and just kind of does his best to comfort Sansa about not being queen and dips. That’s it. He doesn’t mention that fact that Arya came up with two different ways to make it up to Sansa. What he should have done was tell Arya she had to mend the dress or clean it or whatever because she messed it up and tell Sansa that that was the way her dress is getting fixed. You don’t let it just go on like that. They are 11 and 9, they don’t know when enough is enough it why some voice of reason is needed. 

Part of the issue is, as mentioned above, Westerosi highborns parents aren’t how we think of parents. They are pretty hands off. Martin doesn’t even let us see Arya and Cat together. Ned bit off more than he could chew. To be honest, I’m still unsure why he brought Arya along. He never really tells us and even Cat just chalks it up to her needing refinement.  

“You must," he said. "Sansa must wed Joffrey, that is clear now, we must give them no grounds to suspect our devotion. And it is past time that Arya learned the ways of a southron court. In a few years she will be of an age to marry too.” - Cat II, AGoT 

I guess the plan was to marry Arya off to a Southern lord? He didn’t need her to go to keep Sansa company, Jeyne was already going. It was just a bad plan. And then you add the incident at the Trident (aka Joff “kitten killer” Baratheon is left unsupervised and adults suck at the Trident) and the depression and trauma that both girls face and it gets worse. 

At least he gets Arya Syrio. What does Sansa get? She wanted high harp lessons, find a harpist or whatever. If you can find the first sword of Bravos just wandering around you can find someone who plays the harp. It would have given Sansa an outlet that she needed as well as maybe putting a balance in her life. A different perspective or something. 

Ned should have talked to both girls about going to KL. He should have had joint and separate conversations. Contrary to fandom belief 11 and 9 are different ages. Sansa can take a little bit more information because she is older. Why he doesn’t give it to her is a different question. I think he relies on the Septa to do it. If Arya hadn’t spiraled and had a weapon, I dont think he’d have a big sit-down with her.  The issue with letting the septa take charge instead is that the septa doesn’t really get the political intrigue either because that just isnt her job. 

I think Ned is a man who loves his children and got way in over his head. In different universe where the incident at the Trident doesn’t happen and the court is a bit more stable (IDK Baelish gets lost at sea or something), then i think it might be kinda okay. There would still be problems, but they might seem less severe. 

[hamliet]

Background info like Sansa was originally going to die in the first outline, she was created last of the Starks because they were getting along too well in GRRM's mind, etc. While I don't think that means anything about her character, I would guess GRRM had the ultimate ending of Winterfell's ruler in mind when he outlined the story. Set up meaning she's completely detached from Northern politics/that storyline and instead been entrenched in the "game of thrones"/King's Landing/southern politics

Honestly there's probably too much to type over anon but even within her story, leadership (like ruling Winterfell and what we've seen of those who have) is very different than what Sansa's arc focuses on (politics, manipulation- like meaning her mentor figures are people like Littlefinger, Cersei, antithesis characters to northern rulers). The show sent her up north by making her Jeyne Poole, but her actual arc is detached. By contrast, Bran rules Winterfell for a time then goes further North,

Jon spends a lot of time entrenched in Northern affairs at the Wall and is discussed as being an heir, Arya has a lot of dealings with North men in Harrenhal and with the Brotherhood & multiple times thinks back to Ned's lessons of ruling he taught to Robb/Jon, etc. This isn't even getting into the fact that Sansa was disinherited by Robb right before his death (which seems purposeful by GRRM & done for some reason). Not Rickon & Bran'll be King of 7K but I could see Jon or Arya making sense

Ah, thanks for clarifying!

So that background I'm actually aware of, but I think we can safely say Martin has significantly discounted the original outline, which included a Tyrion/Jon/Arya love triangle, had Jaime remain evil (and be worse than Cersei), and presumably included some kind of Jonryaerys situation (look... alchemical stories having weird relations in romance is not unheard of). I also think Sansa has had more prominence than originally planned for sure (as has Jaime, whose arc in the books is barely even remotely comparable to the outline), and so I see the outline as in flux. Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if Rickon might have initially been invented for that purpose (taking Winterfell) and much of his storyline has now gone to Sansa, for example (also because I struggle to understand the narrative point of Rickon). But this is something we simply can't know until we have the books... I also don't mind either way. But I do think Sansa has become part of a Big Six now instead of a planned Big Five (Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Arya, Bran) as the novel seems to set up.

I also have disagree about the set up. Sansa is now in the Vale and clearly aiming to marry Harry the Heir, and as soon as Harry and the Vale realize who she is, they will absolutely want to take the North (especially since as far as they know, Rickon and Bran are dead, leaving Sansa the only heir; she is ahead of Jon in succession). The North is also going to need the Vale's troops, but instead of the senseless way Littlefinger had the Vale fight Ramsay Bolston in the show, it'll make a lot more sense for the Vale to fight for their lady against outside threats (probably not the Boltons). Sansa’s arc, in contrast to Arya’s, is about learning to rule and be wise, while Arya’s is distinctly not. Considering how GRRM has stressed the importance of wanting to know what makes good rulers good, I think the fact that Arya’s arc has not included the concept of ruling or learning to govern at all rules her out. Jon... I think he has a different destiny. 

But again, we'll see! Or, we might not. @ grrm, please, I'm begging you. Finish the books. At least finish TWIW. Please. For me?

[ksmetrp]

SANSA STARK

portrayal notes:

- played to canon. book and show canon. 

- potential triggers in my portrayal include canon typical violence, mentioned rape and sexual abuse.

plot ideas:

- sansa x tywin. sansa is married to tywin instead of tyrion. sansa getting the opportunity to show off how smart she can be when she’s completely protected by the lannister name. tywin taking further steps to teach her how to play the game.

- sansa x jaime. either an arranged marriage with jaime taking the place of tyrion or something that happens with sansa as queen in the north, jaime as a loyal knight (heck, or her kingsguard if you want the poetic irony of him falling for another queen he’s not supposed to)

- queen in the north sansa x queen in the south margaery. an unofficial alliance of sorts, so there is no war between their countries. sansa as queen regent for rickon, marg as queen regent to a son by joff or tommen. yearning type relationship since they have to be apart for so long, maybe a letter exchange type thread? eventually stepping down as queens so their respective brother or son can take the throne, and settling together somewhere. 

- hades sansa x persephone margaery. i mean, come on, that one writes itself.

- hades petyr x persephone sansa. i mean, come on, this one also writes itself.

- sansa x sandor, escape together during the blackwater, make a life in essos. or queen in the north sansa marrying the one man she knows she can trust. 

- sansa x jon. i see the potential in an arranged marriage idea or something like sansa wanting to marry him just because he’s the one man she knows she can trust (in show verse, and she knows she needs an heir eventually.) with, of couse, love blossoming over time.

- sansa x stannis. queen in the north sansa becomes queen of the seven kingdoms when stannis proposes an alliance to fight the lannisters. that, or ned manages to get the girls out of king’s landing before everything goes down and sends them to dragonstone, leading to an eventual betrothal between sansa and stannis.

- sansa as rickon’s regent. sibling bonding times! sansa trying to be forced to civilize rickon. could end with her successfully managing it, or rickon abdicating to let her become queen in the north so he can run more free.

- sansa x smalljon umber. sansa is horrified to be engaged to a giant beast of a man who’s further north when all she ever wanted was to go south. smalljon must win her over, but he isn’t exactly pleased about being betrothed to a prissy, wannabe southerner either.

- tbh, sansa is just the easiest character ever for me to ship with, since she is surrounded by people or able to be betrothed to many eligible bachelors across the realm. so she’s kind of my ship pony lol.

- open to plotting.

[testingcheats0n]

Daenerys II I enjoyed a lot the first time around- . As a 15 y/o reading the last half, I was understandably scarred, but the first part if pure worldbuilding and that's why I read the book the first time. It has this girlish charm that resonated with me as a fellow girl that was charmed. The theory that Drogo was originally in possession of the eggs and made Illyrio gift them still holds up, as does the Dragonrider genetics one which is very interesting- idk what that implies for Illyrio's plans though, marrying the only woman capable of hatching dragons to a Dothraki Khal is an odd decision since her death is very propbable.

Eddard II.

This is one weird chapter. Eddard Stark is one unusual man. Idk if it's the little amounts of pagetime he's had, how odd he is compared to the rest of the people around him or Gyrm's unreliable narration. There are multiple things that puzzle me and I find suspicious.

1. His hate for the Lannisters- he's more worried that Tywin and Jaime betrayed the king- who killed his brother and father- rather than their indecisiveness. He was angry that Jaime sat on the throne smugly which is ????

2. His unwillingness to speak about Jon's mother. Either it's Ashara and he really fathered Jon (which is problematic to me for several reasons), everything they say about him is true, and he really dishonored himself, Ashara, and Catelyn, and he keeps it secret from everyone for no reason, or there's something more to Jon's parentage, like say R+L=J, which doesn't fit thematically and might be a red herring.

3. He rarely talks about or thinks about Jon, his sister, his father or his brother. He obviously cares about them- or feels some kind of duty toward them, but there's that. I think that he distanced himself somewhat from Jon because of his parentage whatever it might be (at this point I'm willing to believe that none of them are right and Jon is Ashara's by some other man or something crazy like that) and it his distance from his family is because he was fostered away, but idk...

4. He is somewhat apt at southern politics- but that's for later.

5. He just... doesn't care about the Targaryens- it IS justified taking into account the political climate and his personality- but there's something very suspicious of his disregard of Dany and her marriage- it could lead to another Blackfyre dynasty and that's very dangerous.

Robert on the other hand is just like he was in the show. We get a first namedrop of Wylla who makes Jon, Edric and... Bran I think? milk brothers. I wonder if that's actually a thing that matters and has some substance. Also again, Ned lied to Bobby B about Jon's mother- if it's Ashara- a girl that's dead and won't reap the consequences of this fairly expected answer- why not tell Robert? Why doesn't he know her identity to begin with? It would be funny if Wylla was the mother tbh, 20+ years and we knew the answer from day 1.

Also... Robert frightens some crows... I wonder what were they doing this close to a plain field with no trees... There are no ravens in Essos are there?

[devertigozation]

My matryoshka theory

about this post - https://devertigozation.tumblr.com/post/189485408602/kuma-la-la-i-couldnt-decide-which-version-i and my tags under it.

So. I’ll start right from the top, so as not to miss anything, and will pull this theory forward by strings, so hold on with me, seeing as I don’t know how much of the knowledge on which this theory is based is considered to be common knowledge.

So, let’s start from the beginning. Grrm is fairly well-known for his kill-the-main-character kind of trope (yes, I’m going to take this from beginning-beginning, but this is important so bear with me). He’s been famously criticized for this choice, and to the critics, he has said that even though he kills the main characters, their lines/narratives/arcs don’t just randomly disappear with those murders (so, the deconstruction of the most well-known trope is deserved, grrm argues) - those lines are being inherited or being passed to another character who absorbs the narrative of his predecessor.

Let’s look at this through the narrative of the character who has been first victim of this trope, and who’s death (arguably) is one of the most important/purest in establishing the rules by which grrm deconstructs the trope. Ned Stark.

-I’ll hide the rest bc this is growing to be a monster -

Ahead I present you a matryoshka narrative theory.

So Ned’s line - he goes to the South in order to uncover the plot of Arryn’s murder. He uncovers that Robert’s children are not his legitimate heirs, but Jaime’s, which’s why Jon Arryn’s been murdered, and same happens to Ned Stark. So even though (famously) Ned Stark is the reason why the rebellion for Northern independency has begun, Ned himself never wished to set that particular line in motion, never had that goal in himself. But - his work undermined the power of the person who sits on the Iron Throne after Robert’s death. So Ned discovered that the “official” heir to Robert isn’t an actual heir.

This is also grrm and so there are actually some pretty cool moments in which the continuation is foreshadowed - Robert mentions that Ned should’ve sat on the throne, the rebellion against the crowd itself ended well for Baratheons who got the throne, but Starks got nothing (redistribution towards fairness is something that grrm surprisingly tries to do in his story).

Robb Stark who has begun his rebellion, first in the name of his father/demanding freedom to his father+sisters, after Ned’s death has inherited Ned’s line, and continued it - saying that Joffrey isn’t the King for the North. And now, comes the most important part of my matryoshka theory. Even though the real matryoshka dolls get smaller with their uncovering, it is grrm and so the narrative doesn’t get smaller, but each new doll as it opens up gets bigger. Robb Stark, quite naturally, grows that narrative out - and Northern Independence gets added to the line. (So if it isn’t Joffrey, who is the King for the North? Answer gets clear, Northerns can’t support neither Renly, nor Stannis, it must be a Stark).

Next, Robb’s clear heir is Jon, we know it - the books had Robb officially establishing Jon as his heir, and TV-series already hailed Jon as KITN.

How much can we trust the TV-show? Well, obviously lots of changes, but I think some big plotlines were given by grrm and had to be hit - Bran will be King, North will get independence and Sansa will be the Queen in the North. And Jon will be, for a time, a King in the North. (I don’t, by the way, believe how Battle for the Dawn was depicted - like I don’t necessarily believe that this is the way in which it will go, and Arya might not be Azor Ahai, though I’d really like that, I rather really like the idea that Bran is the Night King, y’kno, but that’s not for here…)

So, Jon is Robb’s heir, and he will inherit also Robb’s line, which at this moment is Northern Independence.

This kind of narrative line, which will get with every heir more complicated, and in which every heir will add something to the line, I think will continue with Jon, and subsequently with Sansa (considering the she ends being QITN, she is the natural heir to the Northern Independency narrative). My prediction is that Jon will add another thing to the ~Stark against the Throne/North line~ - he will add the wildings line. (TV-series definitely didn’t explore that, but I think grrm will explore something through wildings - Jon who’s lived with them, Jon who fell for one of them and could even become their king, those things aren’t some empty promises, they lead somewhere). Perhaps Jon will establish North as even greater region (esp. considering that the wall will fall) - it will be North all the way through the wild region.

And now - I consider Sansa to be the true/last heir to that narrative (established and cannoned in TV-series), so what will she add? In my opinion she will be a needed/healing link for North - she will be the person who will at long last establish good relationships with Six Kingdoms (basically established in TV-series), she will end the war between two regions through her connection to both of them. While her predecessors have ripped North away from 7K, she will heal the relationship between the torn regions - while recognizing the need for Independence, she will also recognize the need to stop the war, this is why she is the most ~Southern~ of Starks, her Southerness is important for the North. (Appearance wise, it is a bit interesting, too. In this line we have Ned, first, who looks Northern - and he begins by undermining Southern King in the South; second Robb, who looks Southern - who will start Northern Independence; and the two last ones will flip out the established routine, Jon, who looks most Northern, will add further North to the North line, and Sansa, who looks most Southern, will establish good relationship with the South).

But what is truly cool about this narrative, I write it as I realize it, is that it isn’t some thing that has only the big line in it - Northern Independence, but it has some consequences to the characters themselves and the way in which their lines will progress. And what I mean by that, is that Jon, for example, has struggled to identify himself - he feels a bastard, he tries to establish himself as a brother of the Night’s Watch, becomes a wildings, a lord, he has a chance to become a King of free folk, he declines the chance to be Lord Stark, he will become Targaryen and through it a Southerner, and heir to the Iron Throne, it is a big theme for Jon, the person, - the self-search. The fact that he will be an heir to this line, will either form another question which he will have to resolve for himself - is he the true Stark? Is he the King in the North, after all, or will this become yet another identity which he will try, but that won’t fit him either. I still don’t know what the show’s finale actually meant for Jon - he won’t be, after all, a King in the North, no more than he will be King of Six Kingdoms. Maybe it will be a modern way of grrm establishing that after all, we aren’t meant to be heirs to our identity, getting them from our parents or our guardians, but are meant to establish them ourselves, and this is why, after all searches, he will be a brother of night’s watch. So this self-search will end in realization that we can’t search for who we are, but we have to make choices as to who we will be. Jon’s first choice is the one most important in establishing him as a person. It of course, will require another choice for Jon - he will have to choose Night’s Watch again in the end. It will also be important because for Jon it was actually a very important dream of his - to be his father’s true son, to be Robb’s true brother, to be real protector of Sansa, because she, too, is his sister. For him to be in this line, will be healing for him, and maybe, even more important, is that he will also be able to leave that dream behind him, to have a chance at becoming a true Stark, but choosing to be Jon.

But what is also cool is that to the second most important question of the show (after - who is the best ruler? the answer’s Bran and everything he symbolizes), the - who is the true Stark? (and everything that symbolizes), the answer is - Sansa. And it means a lot to Sansa, the character - who, too, struggled with self-identity (Joffrey’s bride, little bird, Lannister, Alayne, that grey girl?). She will remember that she is a true Stark (ahh let’s imagine a Lion King moment - Remember who you are! will tell her Ned Stark reminding her to kill Littlefinger), but it is even more important to the readers, who fell for Starks above all else, and everything Starks are meant to be - the good family, good morals, perseverance, connection to the nature and culture (First People), inner strength in the face of hardships, survival, etc, for all of the readers who fell for Starks, the answer as to who is the grandest of Starks, who is the true Stark, the answer is - the little girl who dreams, who falls in love and cares for songs and chivalry.

So, not only this narrative explores the grand theme of the plot - North region, it also explores the identities of the characters, but also through that quest establishes some important answers for the readers - that we choose our identities, that there is a great source of strength in dreaming and being kind, through the fact that the heir to the harshest/strongest line is a kind, sensitive girl.

So this is what my tag has been about - “A pretty cool matryoshka-type of narrative in which literally Ned and Robb are literally pulled apart to give way to their heirs”. This is the narrative. And they are literally pulled apart and from it springs their heir.

What I meant by other tags is that similar narrative lines have concluded in some other surviving Starks. For example, the most important question of the show is - who is the best ruler?, explored through Ned Stark, Tyrion, Robert, Stannis, Daenerys, Robb, Jon, Renly, Tywin and the answer to it turned out to be Bran. (!)

I think that Caitlyn’s line is the another important theme for the show/book. It is well known for it’s cruelty, for it’s savageness, explored through (long before Caitlyn) Joffrey, Ramsay and his father, Cersei, Tywin, Mountain, Daenerys will fall here. Caitlyn’s line will establish her as another terror of war - that sometimes the most savage/terrible of the characters are not necessarily bad (like Joffrey and Ramsay). I do think that Caitlyn’s consequent murders will become so graphic and terrible that they will be comparable to Joffrey and Ramsay’s. Plus - a lot of crimes do get committed for the religion and Arya from her little (cult) trip will be an answer to that, too. Arya will inherit and be the last in the line of cruel people, the little girl who’s seen terrors of war, and we will be forced to question just where exactly does the line of good and bad people lie (tv were too cowardly to explore that). Plus - Arya is probably the younger, more beautiful queen from Cersei’s prophecy (Cersei will grow uglier bc of something, this how Arya will be more beautiful, or Arya will pull the face of Lyanna or some other face), she’s been near enough in the show, too, during Cersei’s death, so she is also the heir to Cersei’s line - the cruelty and madness, where it begins and what can we do with it? And I think (though this is one of the under-developed thoughts) that the answer to the theme of cruelty and madness and crimes of war will not only become an answer to that plot, but to Arya herself, and through her - an answer to the readers.

Anyhow, I think, that’s enough, it is already a monster, but please go on asking me about my theories, because this’s been f.u.n.! (ask me about Weasley twins if you’re hp fan)

[tacitwhisky]

Every time I read a fic that has Robb cast in the role of this great older brother I think about how he wouldn’t even try to trade Jaime for his sisters (plural, because they thought the Lannisters had both). I get his reasons, but it also tells me that his war wasn’t about protecting “the pack” anymore. Jon on the other hand is trying really hard to rescue “Arya”. Do you think this is supposed to show us something about their characters in contrast?

The conflict between love and honor is one that constantly recurs throughout ASOIAF, and honestly it’s hard to overstate just how crucial it is Jon and Robb. Both are forced to push away what they want for duty, and both stumble and are punished for it (the Night’s Watch mutiny and the Red Wedding, respectively). That being said, I don’t really think Martin is drawing a contrast between them on this count, mostly because I’m a bit of the odd one out in fandom in that I don’t think Robb not trading Jaime for Sansa and Arya is a terrible decision.

The thing to understand about the trade is that Jaime is a powerful military asset, and the girls... aren’t. It’s not as though Robb captured some high ranking male civilian Lannister he was unwilling to trade: Jaime is the (kind of) heir of Tywin, an incredibly dangerous swordsman who nearly kills Robb in the one battle where they meet, a morale booster to the Lannister host, and a highly capable commander.

Whatever his personal wants or needs, as a king Robb has a duty to his people to win the war. Robb is especially accountable to his people because he was more or less elected king by the northern lords, and thus he needs to abide by their wants more than, say, Joffrey. As he says to Catelyn in ACOK:

"I can't release the Kingslayer, not even if I wanted to. My lords would never abide it."

"Your lords made you their king."

"And can unmake me just as easy."

"If your crown is the price we must pay to have Arya and Sansa returned safe, we should pay it willingly. Half your lords would like to murder Lannister in his cell. If he should die while he's your prisoner, men will say—"

While it’s a nice sentiment to give up his crown for his sisters, it’s one of many examples of Catelyn getting tunnel visioned when it comes to her children: there’s simply no way to wind down the war at this point, no way to apologize to the Lannisters and back down. Robb needs to win decisively or there’ll be bloody reparations for the Stark family, northern lords, and river lords. In the game of thrones you win or you die.

It’s also worth pointing out that fandom tends to misinterpret this scene and forget how this scene actually plays out (in the book; dunno about the show). Neither Robb nor Catelyn know about how Sansa is currently being abused, and honestly in the westerosi social contract there’s no reason to expect a noble prisoner to be treated badly at all. Catelyn’s main concern isn’t Sansa’s abuse, it’s that Sansa and Arya might be killed if Jaime is harmed while in Robb’s custody.

"And your sisters?" Catelyn asked sharply. "Will they deserve their deaths as well? I promise you, if any harm comes to her brother, Cersei will pay us back blood for blood—"

“Lannister won't die," Robb said. "No one so much as speaks to him without my warrant. He has food, water, clean straw, more comfort than he has any right to. But I won't free him, not even for Arya and Sansa.

Robb is right here: so long as his guards are careful there’s no real reason to think Jaime is in particular danger.

Her son was looking down at her, Catelyn realized. Was it war that made him grow so fast, she wondered, or the crown they had put on his head? "Are you afraid to have Jaime Lannister in the field again, is that the truth of it?"

Robb gets defensive at this point and says he’s not afraid of facing Jaime again, but that’s pretty clearly bravado talking. Jaime is dangerous and a valuable military asset for the Lannisters, and Robb is shown to be a capable enough commander that he has to realize that.

He pushed a fall of hair out of his eyes and gave a shake of the head. "I might have been able to trade the Kingslayer for Father, but . . ."

". . . but not for the girls?" Her voice was icy quiet. "Girls are not important enough, are they?"

Robb made no answer, but there was hurt in his eyes. Blue eyes, Tully eyes, eyes she had given him. She had wounded him, but he was too much his father's son to admit it.

That was unworthy of me, she told herself. Gods be good, what is to become of me? He is doing his best, trying so hard, I know it, I see it, and yet . . . I have lost my Ned, the rock my life was built on, I could not bear to lose the girls as well...

Robb would’ve traded Jaime for Ned because Ned is a valuable military asset, moreso even than Jaime, and not because he thought the girls were worth less as people. And despite lashing out, even Catelyn doesn’t ultimately think Robb thinks so either.

This is one of the reasons in my Southern Wolves fic where Jon goes south to save Sansa and Arya I don’t frame it as Jon defying Robb or looking down on Robb for not trading for them like the other two fics I’ve read with the same premise do. It’s fair for Sansa to feel abandoned by Robb if she ever finds out, but it’s the right decision for Robb to make.

[kitten1618x]

GoT Afterthoughts ep. 08x01 ‘Winterfell’(Part 3)

Annnnd I’m back again! So where were we? Oh yes, back in Cersei’s boudoir...

~

The first thing I noticed is Cersei is drinking wine again. I’m still not 100% sure she was pregnant to begin with, guys. They were very secretive and ambiguous about the whole thing if you think back on it — and those leaks about her miscarrying turned out to be a wash.

~

Cersei is still salty about those damn elephants.

Same girl, saaaaame.

~

Euron wants to know how he compares to her past lovers. She strokes his massive ego a bit until he brings up Jaime—still a tender wound, she warns him to tread lightly, then simultaneously insults and compliments him as he lays a possessive hand on her stomach and declares he’s going to put a prince in her belly. She promptly dismisses him.

~

What’s striking here is that Cersei appears to be fighting off tears. Clearly, she didn’t want to sleep with Euron, but did so to keep him loyal to her. Love her or hate her, it’s sad to see her at such a desperate and low point where she’s basically whoring herself to keep an ally. Especially when Euron is such a wildcard, and now that he basically got exactly what he wanted—who’s to say he’ll stick around?

~

But, if you believe in political!jon, this is quite the parallel to Jon essentially doing the same to hold onto a wildcard ally in Dany.

~

I’m still not sold on a Cersei pregnancy/miscarriage guys...

~

While Euron is distracted, Theon and what remains of the Iron Born loyal to them, free Yara. She promptly headbutts him for leaving her ass, then helps him up. Now they’re even. 10/10 realistic sibling behavior. lol

~

Yara wants to head back to the Iron Islands, but senses Theon’s need to make amends to the Starks. She sends him to Winterfell with her blessing. I truly love these two as a strong family unit!! Gahhhhhh

~

We drop back into Winterfell where Lord Royce greets Alys Karstark and her people. And why this is necessary got me like 👀. Almost as much as why Alys was cast as a tall, red-headed girl... perhaps to fake a death scene of another important tall red-headed girl with the battle of Winterfell right around the corner?

~

Davos schools Tyrion and Varys on Northern stubbornness and loyalty. Then he proposes a marriage alliance between Jon and Dany if the world should survive. And fucken gag me, Dadvos... I expected better of you! lol I believe the words he uses are “a just woman and an honorable man.” And I’m sorry, it’s just hard for me to reconcile this statement with the same Davos who was extremely skeptical of the things Missandei was saying about Dany last season. Or the same Davos who looked extremely uncomfortable with Dany’s tantrum on the beach when she accused her hand Tyrion, of not wanting to murder his family... but, I digress.

~

We end this scene on Varys’ ominous words, sure to leave a bitter taste in your mouth: NOTHING LASTS. Drop those truth bombs, Varys.

~

A marriage alliance between a truly just woman and an honorable man is probably still in the cards... just sayin’.

~

We drop down from the battlements where Dany and Jon are strolling amongst the battle preparations. Of all the things they could be talking about: the wall falling, the issue of food shortages, etc. Dany brings up Sansa, of course. (no love triangle brewing here folks, none at all).

~

Dany licks her lips and looks around coyly, as if annoyed. “Your sister doesn’t like me.” — well neither did Bran really, or any of the northern lords, but it’s only Sansa’s name on Dany’s tongue—how curious. (Not really).

~

Jon’s eyes shift nervously before he turns to face her and sighs (because I’m telling you, he knew this was coming and it’s no coincidence that he’s kept his mouth shut and stayed out of the conflict). “She doesn’t know you.” Truth. He attempts a joke at how Sansa didn’t like him much either when they were growing up, but Dany isn’t amused.

~

“She doesn’t have to be my friend, but I am her queen. If she can’t respect me…” Dany leaves the threat and it’s implications hang in the air between them, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

~

Dark!dany is here, y’all.

~

I’m sure Dany stans and the jonerii are twisting themselves into pretzels to explain this away.

I mean, it’s not like Emilia herself didn’t warn us all that her character would be doing some ‘weird shit’ and we’d know when we saw it...

~

But Jon’s face here is strikingly similar to these various scenes...

And...

And...

Same. Ass. Energy. You do the math friends, but he’s certainly not looking upon her lovingly.

~

Luckily for Sansa and Jon, the Dothraki steal Dany’s attention to inform her of the livestock count of the dragons’ current dinner menu: 18 goats and 11 sheep. Dany looks alarmed—the dragons are barely eating. Barely. Do you have any idea how many people that amount of livestock could feed?

~

That’s why it’s really hard for me to not be critical of Dany’s character here. I realize she loves her dragons and they are her ‘children’, but in this moment she shows more empathy for the dragons lack of food (who truly can fly off and hunt) than that of the actual people who quite possibly could starve—and was irritated with Sansa for bringing it up.

~

And I will show this fucken gif as many times as I want because it’s so important!!

Food is so important. Don’t let the antis try and tell you otherwise.

~

Jon and Dany go to check on the dragons, and we have the scene we were treated to from the early released stills.

Jon asks what’s wrong with the dragons and Dany replies “they don’t like the North.” — and there is definitely a double meaning behind her words, as I don’t think Dany much likes the North, either. She climbs atop Drogon while Rhaegal expresses a curious interest in Jon.

~

“Go on.” Dany encourages Jon. Not the brightest move to give your bf of 10 minutes the keys to one of your WMD’s, and especially since there are surely much more important things to be done since being made aware that the wall is down and your other child is now a flying ice demon, but hey, joy ride time you crazy Targ kids!

~

So this must be the comedic scene the D’s talked about. I know everyone had mixed feelings about Jon riding a dragon, but I must say, I rather enjoyed this scene—except for the music, which for awhile seemed like a very jarring variation of the Truth theme. The music is very important in this show, so I’ll be curious to know when this pops up again, and where. Perhaps a dragon face off in another dance of dragons? Hmmm?

~

Drogon takes the lead, and Dany seems rather amused at scaring the pants off of Jon when she nose dives Drogon into a ravine and Rhaegal follows. Oh, but what’s this? Jon has realized he can control Rhaegal on his own, and brings the dragon in for a landing. Dany—a bit surprised at this—follows suit. Girl, you should be worried.

~

But she’s not, of course—at least not for long, because she’s busy being ‘twitterpated’ a’la a typical Disney flick, at the impressive place Jon chose to land—right beside an amazing waterfall. Props to loverboy, this is 10/10 primo scenery on the romance scale.

~

I would like to take a moment here to be petty af and point out that it is Daenerys that says the “we could stay here a thousand years” line—not Jon. And who could forget his super-romantic and witty come-back; complete in his Northern drawl: “we’d be pretty old.”

and Dany’s expression says everything! lol This from Mr. ‘I’d like to see you in a silk dress so I can tear it off you’. Pretty weak, Jon. You’re losing romance points for that!

~

Okay, but all joking aside, because I know a lot of my fellow Jonsas were probably a little put off by this scene; let’s break it down. After Jon’s crappy comeback, Dany moves closer to him, and he says something kind of flirtatious and sweet: “It’s cold up here for a southern girl.”

~

This is actually a very Jon-like thing to say, and I could even see this kind of banter between him and Ygritte. It’s also a very ‘equal’ thing to say—here, where no one is around, and formalities aren’t necessary. After all, had he said, “it’s cold up here for a southern queen,” it wouldn’t have had the same punch, now would it?

~

However, Dany has no interest in being Jon’s equal — even here, alone, her first instinct is to remind Jon she’s the queen: “then keep your queen warm” — not, “then this northern boy better keep her warm”, or “then keep your southern girl warm.” Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but that’s what hopped out at me.

~

Now the kiss. Sigh. Yes, I’m not gonna lie, it definitely looks like Jon’s into it. But my darling Jonsas, before you’re ready to throw Jon under the bus (as I imagine quite a few of you did while I took an entire week to write up my recap) the parent reveal hasn’t happened yet! Simmer down and find your zen, Jon is not a northern fool!

~

And for you antis lurking around: NO. This doesn’t negate political!jon. Not even a little bit. If political!jon is true, then he’s doing exactly what he committed to do—keeping Dany happy and keeping her North. The unfortunate trade-off is, she’s now their queen.

~

But what do we have here? Drogon seems a little restless, and Jon immediately breaks the kiss, and casts nervous eyes in the dragons direction. (Gods yes, this is so romantic). Dany laughs it off and tells Jon not to be afraid, pulling him back into the kiss. But while she’s all oblivious and lost in the kiss, Jon leans her body sideways and opens his eyes to eyeball Drogon, who’s giving him a look like ‘bitch, I know who you are, and I know what you’re doing. Watch your back.’

~

Is it a wonder why every single Jonerys love scene has been interrupted by weirdness? Bloody birth flashbacks, creepy brother voice-overs, no first kiss, growling stink-eyed Drogon... it’s almost like they’re trying to tell us that this isn’t really a romance.

~

And this is where I leave you, for now. The last part will follow shortly, and NO, I won’t break my future recaps into parts. I only did it this way because myself and half my house are sick.

[gascon-en-exil]

Joining the Game Late: S4E2 “The Lion and the Rose”

Synopsis

It’s the most dangerous game with Ramsey, who has his father gauge his sub while they act out a scene from Sweeney Todd. Jaime trains with Bronn, who’s otherwise stuck in the middle of his boss’s bad breakup. Mace Tyrell is the most Anglo Frenchman ever. Joffrey uses a newly forged legendary blade to chop up a book. Burning infidels gets Melisandre in the mood to talk backstory. Bran might be turning into a furry. There’s a royal wedding, and everyone’s invited - Loras and Oberyn eye-fucking each other, Jaime and Cersei defending their twincestuous territory, Pycelle being a lecher, and Margaery showing the Lannisters how to MC. Joffrey dramatizes the War of the Five Kings; it gets abysmal reviews. He then has some fun at Tyrion’s expense before dying suddenly and horrifically - a murder mystery, and this isn’t even episode 9!

Commentary

You know how I said last episode that Season 4 was promising to be a Lannister-centered story? Well, in this hour the family implodes. It’s the fan-dubbed Purple Wedding (a term I will not be using because I think one shockingly death-filled wedding with a colorful name per series is enough, thank you) wherein Joffrey is poisoned and Cersei is quick to finger Tyrion for it. There’s some other stuff going on, and some of it kind of compelling - like Melisandre’s bizarre place in Stannis’s family - but at heart this episode is all about the royal wedding and its disastrous fallout. Both its title and some carefully chosen camera angles during the wedding do their work in identifying the true culprit, but in the moment this is all about the Lannisters - by now the de facto leading family of the show now that the Starks are all either dead or scattered to the winds.

And with the possible exception of Sansa being abruptly spirited away by Dontos (the cameo from last episode) at the end it all lands wonderfully, meaningfully well - whether that’s Cersei’s multiple bouts of petty cruelty or Tyrion being made a laughingstock over and over again by his nephew in the final moments before Joffrey’s death or Joffrey himself and his childish and horrific “pageant,” a bawdy parody of the war that comprised the main plot of Seasons 2 and 3. Just about everyone finds it distasteful and uncomfortable, but as with every other ill-advised act Joffrey has ever taken nothing can be done about it. My personal favorite moment from the wedding might be the sniping between the Lannisters and the Dornish, ominous threats on the one side and lazy swipes at the indulgent lifestyles of southern Europeans on the other (although the Dornish thoroughly embracing their bastards must come from some other cultural influence). It also reminds me how much I don’t like the show’s version of Mace Tyrell, a pompous, overweight Anglo with a ridiculous mustache to round out the assortment of Anglos playing the not!Frenchmen of the Reach. The Dornish are perceived to be sufficiently exotic enough to the show’s primary audience to cast Spaniards and other Mediterranean actors in those roles, but as is so often the case in (pseudo-)historical English language media the French are not offered the same courtesy. I suppose that Anglos think we all just look like them, but hotter.

Anyway, that’s nitpicking. I realize that this is just the start of a sharp swerve in Tyrion’s character arc, but he’s really run through the wringer even here. His cruelty to Shae when he breaks up with her in an attempt to save her is painful to watch, as is the humiliation he has to endure because Joffrey insists on paying him back for all those satisfying slaps from earlier seasons. It’s just enough to convince the audience that Tyrion might have been the one to poison Joffrey, even as the framing of the episode’s last moments makes it fairly obvious that Cersei’s accusation is false. This will naturally bode terribly for him in the immediate future, so I expect I’ll be finding more reason to talk about Tyrion at length soon enough. At least this episode does offer him one bright spot early on, an exchange between him and Jaime reminding us that theirs might be the only truly healthy relationship in their entire family. 

[batmansymbol]

a compleat list of what i want to happen in GoT season 8.

i’m not going to call them “predictions” or “theories” because i really don’t think most of them will happen, but here, ranked in order of how important they are to me, are the elements i would find most satisfying to see in season 8!

(also, sorry for not putting this under a readmore, but on the impossible chance that any of this does come true i want hard solid time-stamped proof that i guessed it. cheers lol)

jaime and brienne finish falling in love. i think this remains one of the most emotionally potent subplots of the show, simply because it hasn’t had that much airtime since the plotting started to slip. brienne represents everything that jaime has developed toward: a sense of reclaimed honor in the face of a disgraced past, plus friendship, trust, and attraction outside the lannister family. in kind, jaime represents everything that brienne has needed to grow: from trusting him, she’s developed a more complex sense of morality than her original black-and-white honorable-and-dishonorable views.

that said, i don’t think it makes much sense for them to have anything approaching a happy ending. i'm hoping for this much: brienne will redeem jaime in the eyes of the North with the revelation of why he killed the mad king. he’ll realize how much their relationship means to him, they’ll have a brief time together, and he’ll die tragically in her arms.

sansa stark takes the iron throne (or becomes Queen in the North). it’s always been my opinion that sansa stark operates as an audience surrogate. the series was originally written as a kind of counterpoint to traditional fantasies, in which plot armor rules the day, good wins over evil, and characters cleave toward archetypes. i’m sure all the dudes people who hated sansa stark at the beginning would hate to think this, but we were her: sansa started out believing in fantastical songs and stories, believing that chivalry was a protective force. if you were shocked by ned’s death or by the red wedding, congratulations! you believed in the same kind of literary tradition that sansa did back then. you believed that people were safe because they were good or important.

since then, sansa has undergone the same disillusionment and transformation that we have as an audience. we’ve grown up alongside her, learned how this world operates as she does. and yet, even while she’s learned to play the game, out-manipulating an increasingly impressive list of players (i have all sorts of problems with how the littlefinger plot was played, but the broad strokes are there and i’m sure it’ll be better in the books), she’s still maintained a sense of goodness. while we all tense up in anticipation for a great battle, sansa is thinking about the smallfolk starving. she has never sought power, but in power, has been fair, pragmatic, and effective. “if i am ever a queen,” she thinks in A Clash of Kings, “i’ll make them love me.” that still rings true.

i don’t think sansa deserves the throne because of her suffering (i’m not sure anyone deserves it). but i’m convinced she would be the best candidate because she’s displayed innate intelligence and adaptability, and especially because of how wonderfully her narrative operates on a meta level.

daenerys goes dark, resulting in jon’s death. i think it would be some great plotting for this underdog Great Emancipator character to turn out to be an ultimate antagonist (therefore underscoring the issues with the conqueror & savior elements in her narrative). dany is obsessed with loyalty. it’s helped her survive, but i think when jon reveals his parentage, there’s no way she’ll see that as anything but an immediate and existential threat.

i think it would be satisfying if daenerys turns out to be azor ahai, the prince/ss who was promised, and destroys the Night King. i say this because i think adding this title to her long list could prove an important tipping point: if dany defeats the night king, there’s no way anyone is ever convincing her to give up or even share the throne. the belief that she was born to be the savior of Westeros is now bulletproof, and importantly, if she is azor ahai, Melisandre and the followers of the Lord of Light would now be at her back (eta: forever), reinforcing her belief that she is essentially a god. this is a crew who really loves burning people and hero worship.

i don’t think it would make sense for dany to kill jon, but i’m imagining that during battle, she has the chance to save his life and makes the ultimate and horrible choice not to, eliminating her major challenger to the throne. separately, but similarly: i think if word about gendry’s parentage gets out, daenerys would have no qualms whatsoever about killing him, since he’s the child of the Usurper. (related: if arya sees either of these deaths happen, there goes her uneasy neutrality wrt daenerys. i think it could be kind of thrilling for dany’s name to be last on arya’s list, but if this happens, arya isn’t making it out alive.)

in conclusion: this leaves us with a North ever more hostile to daenerys’s reign and cersei still preparing to stage her final play for the throne. depending on how the night king ... uh, works, the army of the dead could still be in play, too.

arya kills cersei wearing jaime’s face. does this count as fulfilling the valonqar prophecy? i think so? idk: i used to think jaime had to kill cersei himself for it to feel satisfying, but his leaving king’s landing at the end of last season was played so dramatically that i don’t think that’s necessary anymore.

i imagine cersei killing arya while this happens. i think there’d be something poetic in cersei stabbing "jaime” while he throttles her, and thinking all the usual cersei thoughts about how they do everything together, they were born together and lived together and now it’s time to die together, etc.—only for arya to reveal that it’s her, a stark, and jaime actually already died, having moved on from cersei’s influence in the arms of a woman who made him a better man.

some other scattered hopes:

you know, the more i think about it, the more i like the Tyrion Targaryen theory. there’s an awful lot of literal language in Tywin’s show dialogue (”i raised you as my son,” “you’re no son of mine,” etc.) that makes me think the showrunners were writing toward something they wanted people to rewatch with new ears.

theon dies in a final redeeming moment of bravery, as his throughline so far has been about how craven he is

sandor wins cleganebowl. damn it, i want that crotchety old fucker to make it out of this.

euron dissolves into obscurity. ugh, euron

if the 7 kingdoms remain divided at the end, gendry takes the southern throne, with arya on his kingsguard. this is way too optimistic and won’t happen, but it makes me happy to think about.

you’ll notice i haven’t said one (1) word about bran stark......... i am sorry to confess that i can see no satisfying way to resolve absolutely anything pertaining to bran stark, as i haven’t been satisfied with anything that’s happened in his storyline since The Door.

that said, i also am pretty certain that bran will turn out to be sort of the key to the whole thing, which is tragic as i Just Don’t Care about anything he does, and so i can’t waste any energy theorizing about what might happen to or with him.

if u have any bran theories, feel free to send them to me... or tack them on here... except the night king one, i’ve read all about that already

annnnnd that’s all i’ve been thinking about for the past two months. cheers!

[greyestjoy]

CHAPTER FIVE

Fandom: Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire 

Rating: It’s Game of Thrones

Summary of the whole thang: 

Joanna Lannister, Tywin Lannister's youngest, is a bastard. Even being named a true Lannister after proving herself as a child, the young lady is still struggling to find her true self. On top of that, she has been nicknamed a shrew, after scaring away every young suitor she meets. On her eighteenth name day, Joanna is given a choice by her father. Marry an old man or become a Silent Sister, devoted to the gods and virtue. But the opportunity to woo Robb Stark arises, and the young lioness agrees, determined to win the north in her favour. Who can say no to gain power in their country? Definitely not a Lannister.

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter

"Never disrespect those who are higher than you. If done right, looks should be enough to put them in their place."

- Tyrion.

"Must you flirt with every woman you lay your eyes on?" Robb Stark joked as he planted himself in his seat, eyes immediately absorbing Joanna's face.

"Only the pretty ones," Theon said smoothly, smirking at Joanna. It seemed painful for Robb as he had to tear his gaze away from Joanna to glare lightly at him before he heard the girl chuckle. The auburn haired boy smiled at the blonde, looking at her again.

As the night wore on, Joanna noticed many things. Some she liked and some she didn't. She grinned when she saw how much the northerners drank, to which led her grin to turn mischevious as she envisioned the nights to come, drinking away her anxieties with Tyrion. Joanna also liked most of the Starks. Early on in the evening. Joanna had introduced herself to Catelyn, who had maintained a tight smile all throughout the conversation.

Joanna had taken a sip of her wine, trying to push back the fear of meeting Catelyn, whom she hoped would be impressed by her. After excusing herself, Joanna had stalked up to the table where the woman sat alongside Cersei.

"Good evening Lady Stark," Joanna smiled sweetly, a trick that Cersei had taught her when she came to the High Table. "Sister," she addressed Cersei, who was watching her with careful eyes. "You look magnificent as always." A woman will be more keen to trust another one when she sees her being kind. Cersei had not taught Joanna this trick, as making friends was not Cersei's greatest skill or focus.

"As do you, darling," the older blonde smiled out of duty, but her eyes stayed watchful.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Catelyn spoke. Her voice was strained from trying to pick apart every inch of Joanna's image, while also focusing on her own look and how she presented.

"The pleasure is all mine, my Lady," The young Lannister was always fearful of sounding desperate. With most of the women Joanna had met, they seemed to enjoy being lathered in compliments, however, the Tullys, Catelyn's original family, is a proud house, not one to succumb to flattery, same with the Starks. "My apologies for not coming North a moon ago, as we had planned."

"It is no problem, Joanna," Catelyn spoke. "The passing of Jon Arryn was tragic, yet ill-timed." The younger woman nodded, solemnly thinking of the man who had orchestrated the possible betrothal. He had written to Eddard and Catelyn when Joanna had returned to Kingslanding once again without a betrothal. The Starks had not quite agreed to marry Robb to her but to give the girl a chance to come to Winterfell and prove that she is not as unmarriable as the rumours seem to make her. Of course, the Starks hadn't mentioned the rumours of the 'Golden Shrew', but it was implied. "How are you finding the North?" Catelyn asked. Joanna could tell that the woman truly wanted to know.

"I am enjoying it," Joanna said. Catelyn Stark gave her a look telling her to continue. "The landscapes are shockingly different, however, it is much more pleasant to look at than the bustling of King's Landing. I have not yet spoken to many northerners, but they all seem kind." Catelyn Stark seemed to ponder what Joanna said for a moment. "I look forward to spending time here," the young Lannister said quickly.

"I look forward to getting to know you," Catelyn said finally. There was an awkward silence which was interrupted by Sansa.

"Hello, little dove," Cersei said to the young Stark. "But you are a beauty." She continued. Joanna watched as Sansa beamed at the Queen's compliments. "How old are you?" Joanna offered Catelyn a smile, which the lady tried to return. Quickly, the young Lannister stepped away from the High Table, with a peek back at Sansa. The girl was already enamoured with Joffrey, Joanna had seen it early on in the feast, as the redhead was unable to keep her eyes off of the Prince. Joanna pitied the child's naïvety.

"Do all Southern girls look like you?" Joanna heard Theon say to her as she kept replaying her meeting with Catelyn over and over in her mind.

"Theon..." Robb warned. That was another thing Joanna liked. It brought a true smile to her face as she watched him take a liking to her. She probably would've been blind to his admirations, had Theon not constantly flirted with her, bringing out Robb's naturally protective nature.

"Because if they do," The Greyjoy completely disregarded Robb, and continued. "I might never go home to the Iron Islands." The alcohol on Theon's breath was easy to smell when leaned in. "I'll skip on down to Kingslanding and fuck every woman there." There was an awkward pause, one that Theon didn't seem to notice.  Robb's posture suggested that he was angry, but his eyes were trained on Joanna, who was also silent, before bursting out laughing. The awkwardness broke, as Robb joined in, followed by Theon's drunken cackles.

"You know, Theon," Joanna began once they quieted down. "If you want a green eyed-blonde, you should go to Lannisport. There are hundreds of Lannisters wandering around there," Theon nodded, taking it into consideration, as Joanna leaned in closer, as Theon had done minutes ago. "However, no matter where you go, you'll never quite meet a woman like me." This line was directed at Robb, who blushed when Joanna winked. A seat away, she heard someone scoff.  

"You'll never find another woman like her because no other Lannister's are tainted with bastard blood," Joffrey snaped. Straightening up, Joanna looked over and spotted her nephew looking at her with a sour expression.

"Thank you for your input," she said genuinely, with her eyes showcasing her true viper. "Your grace," again, Joanna purred but shot swords through his chest with her emerald eyes.

When she looked back, Joanna was met with bright blue eyes. The colour reminded her of her home in Casterly Rock when the doors to an outdoor patio would overlook the ocean underneath. Right now, the eyes looked like a sunny day, full of amusement and so much to be discovered. However, the staring was cut short by Sansa, who had returned to the table not long ago, letting out a shriek of her younger sister's name.

"It's not funny!" The auburn haired girl screamed while her friend quickly tried to clean the food from her face. Joanna could practically feel the table shaking from the hollering coming from Theon and Robb. "She always does this!" Sansa shouted. Joanna took the event as an opportunity to watch how the table reacts. Arya was sporting a mischevious grin while the ladies on either side of her looked confused about what they should do. Myrcella was giggling along with Tommen, who's own caretaker was splitting her sides. Sansa's friend looked like even she wanted to laugh, however, she stayed quiet upon seeing Sansa's red face. Joffrey's evil smirk was on display, which Joanna wanted to smack off. Both Bran and Rickon had gone to bed.  It seemed to Joanna that Arya would not be far behind her brothers as Robb politely turned to the Lannister girl and excused himself.

"Time for bed," Joanna could hear Robb say to his little sister as he picked her up, and carried her out of the hall. The table went quieter, and soon the typical conversations returned. A few more jokes were shared between Joanna and Theon before the young lady spotted Tyrion, whom she hadn't seen since the night before.

"Excuse me," Joanna said to Theon before climbing to her feet. Her slippers carried her over to the dwarf, who was currently sitting at the end of a table, sipping wine.

"Sister!" The drunk man said as he beckoned her over. Joanna slipped between the mass of intoxicated bodies to join her brother at his table. She pulled up a chair and plopped down next to him.

"I thought I wouldn't see you tonight," Joanna said to him, with a grin. "I thought you were clear on your plans."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tyrion feigned class.

"Were the Northern girls not good enough?" She teased.

"No." Joanna's eyebrows shot up. "They were wonderful." His eyes seemed practically glazed over as he thought about this afternoon's escapades.

"Then how come you're here?" She asked, not noticing Jaime approach them.

"He wanted to watch a boy fall in love with his sister." Joanna's eldest brother spoke as he took a spot on the other side of Tyrion.

"I am doing wonderfully, aren't I?" She fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously, causing Tyrion to laugh.

"You look ill when you do that," Jaime told her.

"But I look like a damsel in need of saving, do I not?" Joanna shot back.

"Only if it's a maester that will be doing the saving," Tyrion added, causing the three of them to laugh.

Soon, Robb returned from putting Arya to bed, however by the time that he came back, Joanna was ready for sleep. The young lady bid goodnight to her brothers, her sister, and Catelyn, followed by the members at her table. Robb offered to help her find her way to her room, as it was much too dark for a young woman to walk alone. Joanna took his offer, smirking inwardly at her successes.

"I enjoyed your company this evening," Robb spoke, as they entered the cold air of the evening. It was freezing compared to the stuffed air of the Dinner Hall.

"And I you," Joanna replied, soon after. The two of them glided in the night, passing people who were off to their own chambers, some straggling alone, while others were intimately tangled and stumbling.

"I look forward to spending more time with you," Robb said as they neared the Guest House. Joanna nodded, unsure of what to say, so she stayed silent. Robb spoke again when they stood outside the building. "I'm leaving to go hunting tomorrow morning," he told her. He seemed nervous, his hands were running through his thick auburn hair. "Perhaps we could go for walk or a ride when I return." His suggestion made Joanna smile, she was winning him over. The North was a vast country, full of proud and strong people. With the friends, she had in the West, East, and South, Joanna could build an empire, much like her father. He will be so proud!

"I would love to," Joanna said as sweetly as she could. Everything was falling into place.

Next Chapter

TAGS: 

@kingniazx

(Tags are 100% open lol) 

[thoughtfulpaperback]

People crying like they never watched the show before.

So like the GOT fandom is going crazy over certain deaths like "_______ didnt deserve to die like that"... and Ned deserved to die the way he did what about Mance Ryder, Cat, Robb, Lady, and Rickon? Like this is a story wereany characters either through thier decisions or through another person's actions die. They are good, complicated characters, that have emotional growth only to be torn down. Robb made stupid decisions but he wasnt the same boy he was when his father died. He grew into a good military leader and prospective king. His bad decisions were ones that made sense to his character and for sure didnt deserve to be massacred. But it happened. And for arguably didnt make sense to build up this character, show him on a journey of growth only to decimate what he built with like 3 bad decisions made in the season he dies.

I don't think D and D hate women or are racist. Cat was a strong female character and was butchered. Because what game of thrones does best kills off all people across the spectrum of good and bad. Talisa didnt need to be a medically trained foreigner from volantis because in the books she was a southerner or more south than riverrun if I remember correctly. So on one hand I appreciated them not going that route and giving us a stronger female partner to Robb than the books did, but it was crappy that she died, but made sense since unlike the book wife she wouldnt have had been staying with her family who was in on it.

Shae dying was sad, but it happens in the books (granted books shae wasnt nearly as interesting or that compelling of a character and was not in love with Tyrion (arguably)) Book Gilly isnt as developed as show Gilly and show gilly is pretty great. Arya and Sansa are two women who have gone through crap but are strong and fierce characters in thier respective ways. Book missandei is like 9 so I think the plot with grey worm was D and Ds add in and it explored both the characters and developed then in a way that made us love them even more. Like the women arent treated differently then the men writing wise.

Then the there is the argument about women being pitted against each other... so like did we forget this is the game of thrones and everyone is playing. Did we forget that Margery was moving against Cersei the whole time she was at kings landing. That was what made the characters compelling was that admist this War of 5 kings the women were fighting just as hard in thier own ways. And now these women have armies and are in actual positions of power and have differing interests. And we dont expect them to have tension or to distrust each other??? They did it when they had nothing so of course now that they are in charge they are gonna keep doing it.

Also the idea that Dany's character is being slaughtered to service Jon's is a total slap to his character development. Danys people have been murdered before and she has decimated those who were responsible in her eyes before too (not on that scale but not out of character). She has trusted the wrong people, hurt those that were loyal to her (mostly jorah) similar to Robb( justified in the desicion but it still wasnt the best one), etc.

Jon has been betrayed bullied killed and he even had to do some betraying too. Also as a bastard he was treated more poorly than noble women (social structure wise).He hasnt had it any easier in that sense than other characters and has earned the respect of his people just as dany did hers. Again as a woman I feel that the women of the show have had it tougher because they have to deal with that extra societal level of crap. Dany and sansa have been sexually harassed and raped, and treated poorly because they are women. But the point is that Jon hasnt had it easy either and earned the respect just as much as Dany and Sansa.

Her character isnt being butchered to make him look better. In the context of Westeros he is the better option. Dany is a foreigner with a an army made up of foreigners. The locals are there because of jon (its him they trust). All the locals know of targs since the mad king is that they are incestual, violent, dragon obsessed and conquerors. And from a small folk perspective Dany fits the bill. Of course we've seen dany from the beginning so we sympathize with her experience. But I mean Dany has been pulling some shade crap since season 3 imo. I started to dislike her character then or I should say I started to dislike they way her character went around conquering and ruling.

I think it is disappointing that we will be left with little or possibly no POC characters and that I feel could have been fixed by D and D (who arent strangers to adding or replacing character with thier own characters or changing the backgrounds). And I think that other television shows should take note and add more POCs across the board so that you arent killing off all the POCs.

But I dont think that makes them racist, they could have done better but working with so much material and so many characters I can understand how they dropped the ball. If a show has like four characters and the kill of the only POC, lgbtq+, trans, character or a character that doesn't conform to ableist standards I riot because like there is not excuse at that point when you are working with very little.

I just feel like people have been dying on this show like crazy since the beginning and so many "unfair" things have happened we like game of thrones for doing that. But now that the end is near people are more upset over these things than they were before.

I think my favorite thing about GOT is that everyone has a justification for thier actions. To Just say that Dany is suddenly going insane is unfair to her. Again books wise it seems more obvious since we get things from her perspective, but Danys experience shaped her yes she is compassionate but like she is ruthless too she has had to be to conquer cities in essos. She is just as emotional and volatile as other characters only unlike jon and sansa she has a dragon and the actual power to cause massive damage. She basically has a nuclear bomb and that kind of power in anyone's hands is dangerous. And she doesn't have to go through others to use it.

Dany is complex flawed and angry, so I dont think "Mad" as in insane is correct but she is super charged and that is a threat to many people. Always was, but now we get to see it while she is with the other main POV characters.

Again could the writing have been better..

Yes. But don't think it would change anything because Dany, Jon, sansa and the remaining characters are all justified. We have example of them being good and bad at leading, strategy, and so on, they also represent different styles and ideology that political scientists still argue about. So of course Dany stans will still stan her and people like me who sympathize with her character but cannot ideologically align themselves with her will not.

I am not saying people shouldn't be upset with the way thier fav dies. I cried so hard during the red wedding. But can we not pretend that the whole show wasn't built on that. Jaime destroyed jaime's character development he is constantly one step forward 2 steps back as a character when it comes to his family. He always has the most growth Way from them but he always goes back. This is not D and D's fault. How else could they write his character to get that across? I will see how George does it and decide if they did it justice or not. I mean again from the book people guessed that jaime would die with cersei.

I dont know yall. I do think the show is flawed and wished somethings were done better but then there are somethings that I am just like...it is game of thrones they have been doing it since the beginning why are we more mad about it now versus then?

[1776countrygirl]

Sorting the Guardians into Hogwarts Houses

So to sum up this one shot, Katherine (Mother Goose) decides to read Harry Potter and sorts every last Guardian into their Hogwarts houses with the help from Jaime Bennet.  This was originally posted on Fanfiction.net but I decided I would rather have that be where my full fics go and this blog where my one shots and fluff goes.

Word Count: 1942 

Katherine loved books, always was going on about Ombric's library in Santoff Claussen., until she saw my library that is. Considering it was tree branches all formed into bookshelves with a thick layer of leaves to keep the books safe from the weather that occasionally hit my empire. I had a copy of every book that Ombric had and more, and it expanded every time a new book was published. Katherine began adding books that she found as well, books that peaked her interests more than mine, as well as those that she would write herself.

She had the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and so many more. In 1997 she found the Harry Potter books…and I had to deal with all of the crying, and there was a lot of crying. She found herself wondering which house she would be sorted into at Hogwarts. She thought herself a Ravenclaw, but she also thought Gryffindor, none of this made sense to me and it was quickly forgotten in the shuffle of recent events.

Unfortunately now that everything was calm again it meant that she had time to yet again pick up reading, she only picked up Harry Potter again because Jaime was getting to the point where he was beginning to love books and of course wanted suggestions about what to read. Katherine squealed in delight and gave him all seven books.

She said that she and Jamie had something that they wanted to say at the next Guardian’s meeting, well at least Katherine was going to say it, she was going to ask North for permission to bring Jamie to the pole.

The Guardians were meeting far more often, every month in fact, and things were rather orderly, since I decided I would preside over the meetings to make sure that everyone got heard. We rotated where we met also, and it was always between the Warren, the Pole, my Empire, or the Tooth Palace. We tried to meet at Sandy's Island and my Father's "lair" but those were not good times for anyone. Phil the yeti catered these events, making all of the food that everyone liked, except he couldn't get the drinks quite right, so I had to take that over from him.

It was January the first of a new year we were meeting at the pole, because despite it being a mess before and around Christmas, North's yetis cleaned it all up nicely. I walked past the elves, they were getting themselves tangled in the Christmas lights again, typical. I was one of the first to arrive, and I headed toward the Kitchen where Phil was busily preparing various tarts and cookies.

"Hello Phil," I said

He yelled at me in the yeti language, "Put your hair back, can't have hair in the food."

"Yes sir," I said with a laugh as the Northeast wind braided my hair back. I speak every language on the planet, ranging from the tiniest bug to the eagles that soar through the sky. It's how I get updates about the weather. and of course my seasonal spirits. The northeast wind was being very helpful today allowing me to get each of the mugs down from the cupboards. I had gave my seasonal each one of the four winds to take charge of, Rowan as the Summer seasonal got the South wind, Ash as Autumn got the West, Willow as Spring got East and Jack of course had the North. I got the odd winds which were much calmer than the pure directional winds, but still had a fury that could be deadly.

I got to work with the drinks, each one of the Guardians liked something different. For Bunnymund, he liked Herbal tea, and once Phil accidently added some chocolate to it, that was a disaster, hence why I took over getting the drinks ready. North liked a good cup of Hot Chocolate, with peppermint flavor, lots of marshmallows and a hint of cinnamon. Tooth drank either water or green tea, she wouldn't drink anything that had sugar in it, when Phil did that she nearly had a heart attack. Nightlight really started liking Pink Lemonade with Strawberries, I think because it reminds him of Katherine when she was younger. Katherine likes a White Mocha with extra whipped cream and caramel flavor. Sandy likes warm milk and honey, as long as he doesn't fall asleep because of it he's fine. My father took a liking to Dark Roast Coffee with a little bit of chocolate and cream. Jack oddly like Iced Sweet Tea with strawberries, and lemon, he said that it reminds him of my smile. I like sun tea with mint leaves, Katherine asked why once and I told her the mint reminded me of Jack's eyes, both the brown and the blue, her response was a very long and drawn out awwwwwww….I really wanted to smite her but I restrained myself.

I heard arguing from the globe room and sighed, "Phil, the drinks are done, I better go settle a dispute"

I stepped out into the chaos of a snowball fight, "Jack Frost, clean up this snow right now," I said stopping a snowball from hitting my face by raising my hand up.

"Aw but we were having fun," said the boy from the rafters.

North was buried in snow and cursing like a, well like a Cossack, and Bunnymund was holding his feet, Katherine's convincing to bring Jamie must have worked cause they were both sitting on top of a snow slide laughing their heads off.

"Clean this up now Jack, otherwise no causing any snow days for a month,"

"Awwww," said Jamie "That's no fun."

Jack laughed, "I can't melt snow that's the other guy's jobs, I just create it."

I raised my hands and the snowflakes obediently all went flying out into the white vast space of the North Pole. "Never start a snowball fight indoors again Jack,” I glared at him, but not as sternly as I could have, “Shall we get started with the meeting?" I said walking over to the table.

The guardians all walked over to the table, and my father stepped out of the shadows, where had he been?

"Alright so for old business, North how was Christmas?"

"It was tight schedule but we managed, minor weather delays caused slightly late deliveries in some areas of the southern hemisphere."

"That's Rowan's zone this time of year, I will have to follow up on that, thank you North. Is there any other old business?" there was silence, "Alright how about New business, Bunny how's Easter looking?"

"On track to be a record year."

"Will you need help this year?"

"Unless there are weather disruptions we should be on track," He said looking at Jack who began whistling

"Excellent, any other new business before we get to announcements?"

"I have something," my father said, standing from his chair, he'd only been a Guardian for less than a year but considering the odds that were against him he was doing an excellent job.

"Yes?"

"It seems that not all of the Fearlings and Dream Pirates were banished back to their dark planet, I have discovered some roaming, too weak to try anything, but they are there."

"Good to know, thank you, Nightlight I want to keep an eye out, but everyone should be ready at a moment's notice to assist in battle."

Everyone nodded, "Alright, is that everything for new business?" Nobody said anything Katherine and Jamie were getting anxious. "Alright now for some announcements from Katherine and Jaime, go ahead you two,"

I sat down and Katherine stood up with Jamie, Jamie had a list in his hand, Katherine pulled all of the Harry Potter Books out from her bag.

"So as you all know I've been reading these books that Katherine let me borrow, well I was thinking and she agreed, what if the Guardians went to Hogwarts? What houses would you guys be in. So we did thinking and made a list so we will go around the table and tell you what we think and why."

I inwardly groaned, why did I agree to this?

"North, you would be in Gryffindor, you are brave, selfless, and chivalrous." Katherine said, handing him a badge with a lion emblazoned in red and gold. He beamed with pride even though I was certain he didn’t understand it.

"Bunny, you would be in Slytherin, you are ambitious, and a strong leader when the time arises." Jamie said handing him a badge with a snake in emerald green and silver.

"Nightlight, you're a Hufflepuff, you are loyal and honest, you are very patient," Katherine handed Nightlight the badge of a badger in yellow and black, before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Tooth, we had a hard time with you, it was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and we decided on Hufflepuff, you are dedicated to your fairies, and to the children, you work hard to protect the children's memories, and you have a kind heart." Jamie said handing Tooth the same badge as Nightlight.

"Sandy you are also a Hufflepuff, you embody all of the traits, you are dedicated, you work hard, your fair, and patient, kind and tolerant, and you are loyal to your friends both old and new," Katherine said, giving him again another yellow and black badge.

"Jack, you are a Gryffindor, like Sandy embodies all of Hufflepuff, you also embody all of the traits of a Gryffindor, you are brave, are chivalrous, you have the most courage of anyone I've ever met, and you are very daring." Jamie said handing Jack the Gryffindor badge.

"Even though Ombric lives in the moments between he is a Ravenclaw full of intelligence and wisdom beyond all compare." Katherine said

"Katherine would be in Gryffindor, she's courageous, daring, and brave, she made me sort her because she didn't trust her own judgement," Jamie said handing Katherine her badge.

"Pitch, you would be in Ravenclaw, you are intelligent, and you've accepted who you were and who you are," Katherine said handing my father a badge with an Eagle in Blue and Bronze colors.

"The Man in the Moon would be in Slytherin, he's ambitious, he's resourceful, and is quite clever." Jamie said

"Now Mother Nature, you would be in Ravenclaw, you are intelligent, you are witty and wise, creative and original, you praise the original ideas of your seasonals and are proud of how different they are. You have also accepted your flaws and made them your own," Katherine said handing me the badge with the Eagle. I stared at it for a few moments, I might not understand everything about Harry Potter or these Hogwarts houses but I definitely knew that Katherine and Jaime got everyone spot on.

"Alright that's all we've got for now, I might have something later if I'm allowed back to one of these meetings,"

"Of course, you will be allowed back Jamie, the next meeting will be held in the Warren," I said, "This meeting is dismissed, go enjoy the food and drinks in the kitchen."

I smiled as I stared back down at the badge in my hand, Father walked over to me,

"I was expecting to be put in Slytherin," He said

"And why is that?" I asked a bit surprised he would know about these.

"From what I've gathered that's supposed to be the house for villains,"

"You are not that person anymore, and you never will be again," I said walking with him toward the kitchen to grab food and our drinks.

[laughingupfromhell]

My Gillette Experience + Pre-Show M&G.  7.28.18 -- Extended Edition

I’m sorry this has taken so long to post, but it’s literally so hard to get my thoughts together because I’m still so overwhelmed by the fact that this even HAPPENED to me. I’d convinced myself it wasn’t in the cards, that Taylor didn’t know me, and that I needed to find a way to be okay with never meeting her. But then, IT HAPPENED. (I’m going to write the whole story from the time I got the DM and it’s going to be really long, so if you just want to read the Taylor part, I’ll write it in bold so you can skip to it easily. Just keep scrolling. I’m just posting the long version so I can look back on it whenever I want and never forget anything. I’ll post just the Taylor part individually too in case you don’t want to hunt for it.)

Friday, July 27th, I had the worst day at work. I work in a cafe, and the AC was out in the kitchen which made the entire place SO hot. Literally, it was 92 degrees in the building and we had the ovens on. I live in Florida, so it was disgusting and I felt so sick. We were shorthanded, I was stressed out about my flight, dealing with some pretty intense anxiety about meeting people I had never met before because I’m shy af, and just overall feeling kind of bleh despite being so excited for the concert the next day. I found out as I was on the way to the airport that my flight had been delayed nearly three hours and that set me into panic mode, because it would put me in Boston around 2 in the morning instead of 10pm. Eventually it got pushed back to only an hour delay, which made me feel a little better, and I passed the time in the airport just walking around the shops and scrolling tumblr. Jaime @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes texted me to tell me that one of my best friends Meredith @meredithswift had just met Taylor and I was SO excited for her because I’ve known how much she wanted this since we started talking in 2008. Jaime was like “you next!” and I was like “noooo, it’s not going to happen for me.” Taylor was intent on making me look like boo boo the fool.

Right before I boarded the plane, around 8pm, I took a selfie at the gate because I was bored and tagged Taylor in it on tumblr and said “I’m coming for you, Taylor!” I didn’t even know she was online, and she never liked the post, so I didn’t think anything of it after that.

 I boarded the plane, but there was a RIDICULOUS thunderstorm going on so we sat on the tarmac for nearly two hours, and I had been DMing back and forth with Jeannine @it-feels-like-a-perfect-night all day, so when I saw a notification on tumblr, I thought it was her...until I opened it and it said taylornation. All of my internal organs came flooding out of my ass in that moment and landed on the plane floor beneath me, not clickbait. I literally didn’t believe it was real for a whole hot ass minute because things like this do not happen to me and I was LITERALLY sitting on a plane about to go to Boston so WHAT WAS HAPPENING??? I open it, and they asked for all my information, and when the best time to call was. I was like????!!!? I’m LITERALLY SITTING ON A PLANE LESS THAN 24 HOURS BEFORE MY SHOW AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHEN THE BEST TIME CALL IS???? YESTERDAY???? I ALREADY HAVE MY BAG CHECKED, I DON’T HAVE TIME TO BUY ANOTHER OUTFIT, I LOOK LIKE A RAT!!!! So obviously I said “I don’t land until midnight but anytime after that, thank you so much!” 

At this point I’m in such shock I literally have no reaction other than to stare unblinking at the seat in front of me and go into full body tremors. I’m pretty sure the girl next to be me on this flight thought I was scared of flying or something, because I was literally shaking so hard I could hear my teeth chattering together. My heart rate shot through the goddamn roof. If you don’t believe me, here is a helpful graph from my Fitbit. I hit 117 BPM from 58 BPM. I’m pretty sure that is indicative of an actual heart attack.

I didn’t know what to do, so I immediately texted my mom and I KNOW it says the message is confidential and you’re not supposed to tell anyone but I needed my mother to know that if her only child died mid-flight, it was taylor nation’s fault and to tell Taylor I loved her. It was VITAL. The southern jumped out -- I literally haven’t called her mama since I was 10, I don’t even know. 

I also told my friend Lindsey @lskbe because I once promised her she’d be one of the first to know if it was ever going to happen and she was a GEM even though she DIDN’T ANSWER ME RIGHT AWAY BUT ANYWAY!!!! (screenshot provided by her). She made me a playlist titled 7.28.18 on spotify and everything for the occasion because she is extra and I love her. 

 I spent the next 2 1/2 hours literally trying not to pee myself with anxiety and excitement because then of course I start thinking WHAT IF THEY FORGET TO CALL? What if it’s just merch? What if I’m boo boo the fool? What if this isn’t real life? Then we hit turbulence and my thoughts turn darker like WHAT IF THE PLANE CRASHES AND I DIE BEFORE I MEET HER? I literally had to make Jaime reassure me multiple times that turbulence wouldn’t make the plane crash and that I would survive. We love her logical brain. So obviously now that I’ve stopped panicking it’s time to take selfies to post later.

 I finally make it to Boston and at this point I think I’ve dissociated because I just can’t even think about it anymore. My brain was on overdrive and I didn’t even know how to process. It was either shut it down or shout it from a rooftop and I COULDN’T TAKE THAT RISK. 

I got to meet my sweet honeys @straightlinedownx and @heypay FINALLY and it’s up there in my top ten best moments of life. They’d just gotten home from Night 2 so they were pretty spent and it was 1:30 in the morning, so we all headed to bed, but if you thought I was sleeping, you’re WRONG because I was literally peeing every half hour because I was so nervous and excited. I was like a chihuahua I swear to god. I was talking to Brittany @messthatuwanted for most of the night trying not to be suspicious and I guess I did a pretty good job because she NEVER FOUND OUT until I wanted her to. Which is what her snake ass deserves tbh. I literally didn’t get to sleep until 4:30 in the morning and then I woke up at 6:45 am and was like...well they said they’d call me in the morning, and technically it is morning, so I should stay up. Clearly logical. Obviously. We love anxiety. I couldn’t turn the ringer on for my phone because I was sharing a room with people and I didn’t want to wake anyone up so going back to sleep was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. 

I spent most of the morning internally exploding, and I eventually told @heypay because I needed someone to tell me I was being crazy and that they would call and she did a very good job at this, so thank you Paige, you’re the love of my life. We were all laying around, relaxing, watching Lejla and Liana’s pet rabbit eat a salad, you know...typical things friends do, when I got a call from a NYC number and shit my pants. I got up from the floor so fast and ZOOMED to the kitchen and Paige followed after me and practically shoved me out of the apartment door so I could have some privacy lol. It was Sydney from Taylor Nation and she was a sweetie and asked how my flight was and and rambled on about delayed flights and I was like....I literally do not care, I’m so sorry, please tell me what I NEED TO KNOW WOMAN I AM DYING!!!! Eventually she cuts to the chase and is like “have you ever had an opportunity before?” And I was like um...hehe..it depends on what you mean by an opportunity because I REALLY JUST WANTED HER TO SAY THE WORDS and she was like “have you ever met taylor before?” and I was like NO!!! I HAVEN’T!!!! At this point I’m shaking so hard I had to lean against the wall for fear of falling down the stairs because THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING, HUH? Then she asks if I’m going to the show with anyone who hasn’t had an opportunity before and I said YES, my precious baby Emily @straightlinedownx. So she asks for Emily’s information and thank god I had checked her facebook to find out her birthday before just in case they asked (since they asked for mine) because IT WAS A STRESSFUL TIME. So she tells me I’ll get a DM within the hour letting us know when we’re verified and where we should pick up our envelope between 4 and 5 pm and I’m just saying thank you over and over and over again because WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO LIKE WTF IS EVEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!! 

So in my head I had this beautiful thing planned for how I would tell Emily she’s meeting Taylor, but it turns out beautiful plans can’t happen when your brain is literally exploding, so instead of doing this elaborate thing where I filmed her reaction and everything, I just went over to where she was lying on the ground and kicked her. As friends do. She turns around and I’m like “Come. Here.” I was probably terrifying, I’m so sorry Emily, but I didn’t KNOW WHAT TO DO. So she follows me out to the kitchen and WHAT DO YOU SAY OTHER THAN WHAT IS HAPPENING???? SO I JUST SPIT IT OUT AND SAID “We’re meeting Taylor” and she deadass goes “No we’re not.” Just so casual.  And I’m like “We are. We’re meeting Taylor tonight. I got a DM on the plane and they just called me. I’m bringing you. We’re meeting Taylor.” AND THIS DUMB BICTH GOES “ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO BRING ME????” AND I’M LIKE “BICTH YES????? OF COURSE I DO???” And then she just kept doing this the rest of the day and it was my favorite thing. Here she is in Starbucks ten minutes after finding out. 

So we spent the rest of the day obsessing over make up and hair and we headed to the stadium around 2 PM because we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to meet up with people and buy merch etc. Here’s us waiting for our ride (photo credit to angel @iknowplacesclean and a big thank you for letting me stay at your apartment spur of the moment!!!)

 We met up with Steph ( @thesethingswillchange), Leyton, Jess ( @jtmaster13) , and Sammi (@slytherinraven13) and I got to tell them all what was happening and they were SO happy for us because they’re literal angels on earth.

 Once we made it to will call and gave them our names, THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT so I started to panic, naturally, but it was chill because they found it eventually and we immediately started taking pictures with the paper. Some nice lady offered to take one for us, bless her, because the struggle was so real. 

By this point I had told all of my friends but Jaime @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes and Brittany @messthatuwanted because I was planning on snaking them the way they snaked me when they met Taylor, and it brought me the greatest joy in life since they both thought I was incapable of it. Little did I know that Jaime was on her way to SURPRISE ME AT THE SHOW which was a MESS since I was in REP ROOM WHEN SHE WAS LOOKING FOR ME! But more on that later. So we met @ninetay89 at will call and we were all so excited for each other because honestly it’s what we all deserved and we just kind of hung out, waiting in line for the gates to open and that’s when Meredith @meredithswift came RUNNING towards me full force. Meredith and I met when we were 13 and 15. We were each others first online friends, and we became full blown stans together. She was the one that convinced me to make a taylor tumblr blog in the first place way back in 2010. We’d never, ever met before that moment and it was honestly one of the highlights of my entire life. I love her with my whole entire heart and it was one of the best hugs I’ve ever gotten. We didn’t let each other go for like 3 minutes. It was great. 

The gates finally open and me and Emily ZOOM up to the 100 level bathrooms to fix our make up because the humidity was KILLER and we were legitimately melting. Then we had to run back down the stairs to meet at the bottom of 129/30 and met up with @sunflowershealing and she was SO sweet! I’m so glad we got to meet! 

So a security guard comes up to us and tells us we’re actually supposed to meet at the TOP of 129, which isn’t what the paper said but it’s FINE, so we go up MORE stairs and it’s honestly beginning to feel like gym class now but it’s fine because I will do hours of cardio for Taylor Swift if need be. So we go up only to be told to go back down the stairs AGAIN because what is organization and they give us our wrist bands and we’re GOING TO REP ROOM BITCHES. 

Let me just say that I was chill literally the entire day. I was excited, yeah, but I wasn’t nervous or anything. Even when we got to Rep Room, I was totally fine. But when I saw the Rep Room doorway, I was jumping up and down like a five year old because how was this REAL LIFE? I never in a million years thought when Taylor shared the fact about Rep Room and showed us the inside that I would ever see it in PERSON. And here I was, walking through the arch??? SOUNDS FAKE. So we get in there, and there are three polaroid cameras sitting on a table next to the throne, but I wasn’t sure if we were allowed to touch them since I’ve heard that a lot of pre-show meet and greets weren’t allowed to do much in rep room. So Emily and I just kind of hang out next to them and hope for the go ahead, which Steph from Taylor Nation eventually gives us and then she has to help our dumb asses put film in them because we’re USELESS. But it’s fine. We take pictures on the throne first, and they came out so iconic honestly I will never take a better picture. 

Obviously I had to take a picture with the iconic rainbow dress.

My one singular complaint about the polaroid idea is that rep room is SO dark and it doesn’t really work well with the film. 

There was water, coke, diet coke, and sprite available to us, but not the booze or the cookies that were in previous rep rooms. Probably because it’s pre-show or because there wasn’t media that night, I’m not sure. Anyway, we’re able to mingle for about 8-10 minutes maybe? Maybe shorter than that, but Steph tells us to put the cameras up and line up. We were third from last to go in of about 5-6 groups. I’d say there were about 10-12 people in there. I’m pretty short, so  I couldn’t see Taylor when they opened the curtain to let the first group in, but I heard someone say “She’s wearing the purple Olivia shirt” and I was like...I literally hate her. Everyone keeps talking and I just wanted them all to shut UP so I could HEAR HER SPEAKING. Eventually, we’re a few groups from going in and I hear her laugh and that’s when it really started getting real. This was really happening. I was about to meet Taylor. Surprisingly, I managed to STILL hold it together. Right before we went in, “Type” by Todrick Hall comes on and I was screaming because I KNEW that would be her favorite song on Forbidden. 

So they open the curtain and she’s standing RIGHT there and she opens her arms so wide and goes “oh my god hiiiiii” and without hesitation I just go right into her arms and wrap her up so tight and said “Hi, I’m Megan!” and she starts laughing and goes “I know! I picked you last night, I see your posts all the time, I saw your selfie like I’m coming for you...and I was like I’m coming for you, I sent your post to TN and was like I need her, bring me her.” Literally I wish I could describe in detail the noise that came out of my mouth when she said I know, because it definitely wasn’t human. I was like “YOU KNOWWWWW???” But i literally growled it like some kind of rabid animal, I’m SO sorry, Taylor. That was the first time I lost my chill, which surprisingly only happened twice. 

As soon as she drops that bomb on me she turns to Emily to hug her which is what she DESERVES but I was so shook by what she said that I was leaning in for another hug but her back is to me now so I kind of halfway climbed her back I HATE MYSELF. Like my hand was gripping her shoulder and my other hand was pressed against her back and I had to physically talk myself off the ledge like BE COOL BITCH, BACK UP, DON’T BE WEIRD! So I just subtly slide my hands off of her and step back...only to embarrass myself further by stepping closer to Emily, aggressively rubbing her back and shouting “THIS IS EMILY! WE LOVE HER!!!!” Honestly what the fuck is wrong with me? She goes “Thank you guys so much for coming!” And I literally PANTED out “THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVITING ME!” Literally I was malfunctioning. I needed to be rebooted.

She turns back to both of us and shimmies her shoulders because she clearly wants me dead and goes “Sooooooooo....” and without hesitation I go “We need to talk about ‘Look What You Made Me Do’” and she’s like “okay, what do we need to talk about?” And then...I did it ladies. I literally told her I didn’t get the joke when it first came out, it flew right over my head and I thought she was being serious about the old taylor being dead and I was so worried about her that I threw up in a parking lot. She goes “Oh my god WHAT? That makes me so sad!” But she was laughing so hard, she threw her head back and covered her mouth, and for a split second I’m like DID I HURT HER FEELINGS??? DOES SHE THINK I HATE THE SONG??? So I was like “NO NO BUT I LOVED IT!” and she goes “You threw up!” And I’m like “BECAUSE I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU! I WAS LIKE IS SHE OKAY????” And she literally can’t stop laughing, she’s doing that stupid dolphin laugh she does and I literally wanted to smoosh her face between my hands because I adore her so much and she is so fucking cute and GOD I WANT TO DIE. So she goes “I was literally climbing out of a grave dressed as a zombie, you didn’t get how that was supposed to be funny???” And I was like “NO, I understood it was a joke when the video came out but for a whole week before I didn’t get the joke!” And she goes “Ohhhh, when the single dropped and you listened you were like WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER???” And she just kept laughing like honestly what the fuck is my life? I made Taylor Swift LAUGH? ME??? (Emily said everyone in the room was laughing, like the security at the door and everything I literally want to jump off a cliff.) So I was like “YES EXACTLY! I was like is she okay? I’m so worried about her, I need to know that she’s okay!” And she like...touched my arm and goes “But you’re okay now, right?” and made the most INTENSE eye contact like...if there is one thing I will say about meeting her, it’s that she keeps eye contact with you the WHOLE time and you know she’s hearing everything you say, she’s paying attention to every word and you KNOW she cares. And I’m like “yeah! I get the joke now, I get it, I swear!” And EMILY GOES “I don’t think she’s okay...” like honestly... drag me.

So I attempt to change the subject and the bitch CUTS ME OFF and leans in to me, looks down at me with this smirk on her face and goes “....do you need me to explain the joke to you?” like she was TEASING me, but I was being DRAGGED. I was like “NO, I get it now! I get it!” BUT SHE EXPLAINED IT ANYWAY. She explained that the whole concept of the line came from how people were saying Taylor Swift is over, she’s dead, and she was making fun of the whole cancellation culture that social media and media in general has, so she decided to just be like “Ohhhh, cause she’s deaaaaaad” (and she said it in the funniest, whiniest mocking voice I literally can’t stand her) to show them all how stupid they sounded when they said things like that. To paraphrase because I don’t remember exact wording, she said that’s really just the whole tone of the album, reputation, itself. That there are a lot of things that go into building a reputation, but that a reputation isn’t real, it’s a perception that can be formed by any number of things, true and false, but isn’t always based on what is actually happening. It’s fake, just like the old taylor being dead is fake, it’s a joke. I think the entire time she was saying this I kept repeating “No I get it, I get it” because I wanted to be sure she knew that I got it, but I think she really just wanted to explain it in general and I’m so glad she did, because I loved the insight. And then she goes “BUT IT’S SO FUNNY NOW because they’re like ‘What is she doing with the snakes? Why is she doing that? She’s so annoying!’ And I’m just like BECAUSE YOU TWEETED IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN EVERY SINGLE DAY! YOU’RE JUST MAD BECAUSE IT DOESN’T BOTHER ME ANYMORE!” And I shit you not, she was literally screaming this in my face, and acting like she was scrolling through her phone and laughing like...I was scared lmao. I just kept saying “I’m so proud of you, you just took it back, it’s what you deserve!” God, she’s so pretty when she laughs I can’t stop picturing it and hearing it and I don’t know where I could possibly go from here, I’ve peaked. 

She turned to Emily then, and I’m not going to share what happened there because it’s Emily’s story to tell, but I’m literally so happy that she gave her the love she deserves. The moment they shared touched me so much. 

When she looked like she was stepping into position for a photo, I suddenly flashed back to everything my friends who had met her already told me -- that if you stop talking, the M&G will end, but if you keep talking, so will she, so I sort of side stepped and started talking to her about how I’ve dealt with some pretty toxic relationships in the past couple years, and how it breaks my heart to think she’s ever felt the same way as I have in those moments of vulnerability and hurt, but that I was so thankful for songs like Dear John and Better Man because it made me feel less alone. And she goes “it’s always nice to know that you’re not alone in feeling the way you do, I totally get it. But that’s why we’re all here, isn’t it? That’s why we come to a stadium and we sing and dance and cry (we said cry at the same time, what kind of shared brain bullshit?) with each other, because we understand each other. We have that connection.” 

From there it got a little personal for me, and I want to keep that for myself, but she gave me the biggest, tightest hug and said some of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me and I’ve never felt more loved in my entire life than I did in those few minutes in a room with her. She said “I love you sooo much” and I said I loved her too, and then she asked what we wanted to do for a picture and Emily goes “I wanna do a smoosh...” because she’s the cutest person that has ever BREATHED and Taylor looked so confused so we both said at the same time (at the suggestion of Paige) “Can we do a Taylor face sandwich?” and she got so excited and was like “YEAH, I’ll smoosh your faces to mine!” So we got in position for that I knew I grabbed onto her, but I didn’t actually know what part of her I grabbed, I think I was reaching for her hand forgetting that her hand was on my face LOL. 

Anyway, we got our picture, she told us she loves us and hopes we have fun at the show and that she was so happy we were there and Emily manages AT THE LAST SECOND to go “CAN YOU PLAY COME BACK BE HERE.....please” and I’m like “Yeah, like....tonight.” And I felt so bad because I know I sounded so forceful and I DIDN’T MEAN TO. And she goes “Well, I can’t tonight because I promised someone else I’d play a different song, but I promise I will play it at a show soon, I know how much you guys want that one, I promise.” And we thanked her and told her we loved her and took our autograph and our dignity and got the hell out. 

I remember I was shaking when I came out of rep room, but I wasn’t freaking out really. I was still pretty chill. Chiller than I expected to be. We got about halfway back to her seats and I screamed “WHAT DID SHE SAY???” because for about five minutes, I blacked out completely. It was such a whirlwind of emotion that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel again. When we got back to our seats, the sweet angel that is Steph came over to me and asked how it went and I managed to get out “I said Hi, I’m Megan and...and....and...” and then I completely LOST MY SHIT and started SOBBING in Steph’s arms. I literally could not process that she KNEW WHO I WAS! I’M A LITERAL GARBAGE CAN! WHY DID SHE KNOW ME??? WHY DID SHE LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT? WHY DID SHE LAUGH SO MUCH? I COULDN’T PROCESS!

Steph: Meg, Taylor wanted to meet you, how do you feel?  

 The sobbing didn’t last long and I recovered just in time to meet my sweet baby Lauren @iknowplaces13 which I was SO EXCITED FOR! She was so happy for me and such an angel BUT THIS WASNT THE END OF THE ANGELS because JAIME APPEARS OUT OF THIN AIR TO SURPRISE ME (even though Dani @screamedsooloud ruined the surprise by accident but it’s FINE) and at this point, I still haven’t told Jaime that I met Taylor and I’m squirming trying to get out of the vice like hug she’s giving me so i can pull up my sleeve and show her my wristband LOL. Eventually she lets me BREATHE and I yank my sleeve up and go “SURPRISE, Snake!” and she literally is the blinking man gif, just no actually expression, raises her eyebrows, looks down at it and back at me and just goes “....when?” and then LAUNCHES herself at me because she is the sweetest, purest bean on the planet and was so genuinely happy for me. She’s listened to me cry about how I was sure this would never happen for so long and she kept telling me she was sure it would happen in Tampa and it was SO fun to outsnake her for once. I started telling her the story and every time I’d tell her something new, she’d tackle me again, it was so PURE. I love her with my entire heart.  Here’s a picture after I’ve cried all my eyeliner off. 

And then I snaked Brittany @messthatuwanted for snaking me because it’s what she deserved: 

The show was obviously amazing and we had great seats near the B stage and were able to make it to barricade, which was such a highlight to an already amazing night. I danced so much and sang at the top of my lungs and had a full on breakdown during long live that Emily the angel had to hold me through because I literally could not cope. Just full on sobbing for half the song. I had so much fun with Emily, Steph, Jess, Sammi, Leyton, Lejla, Sarah, Paige, and everyone else I spent time with this weekend. I’m forever grateful to Taylor for bringing so many amazing people into my life, I don’t deserve any of you and I can’t wait to reunite with 99 percent of the people I met at Gillette in Nashville. 

I quite literally had the time of my life with you, @taylorswift. Thank you so much for loving me like I love you, thank you for loving my friends and for bringing them into my life. I’ll never forget you as long as I live.

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Can you tell me why you ship Jonsa in a political light rather than romantic?

Thanks for the ask!

So this question could have been asked from a couple different perspectives. I think you are asking why I focus so much on the political side of Jonsa rather than the romantic side? Either that or you’re asking why I ship Jonsa for political reasons when you might think that I don’t ship them for romantic reasons. I’m pretty sure you meant the first thing but either way my answer would look about the same so here we go!

First and foremost, Jonsa makes political sense (never a bad time to self-promote older metas, right??)

https://thelawyerthatwaspromised.tumblr.com/post/167528285911/why-does-jonsa-make-complete-political-sense

https://thelawyerthatwaspromised.tumblr.com/post/167559101411/jonsa-makes-political-sense-pt-2

TLDR of these;

Daenerys is left with very little support from the political players left in Westeros after losing Dorne and the Reach (and Yara). Once RLJ goes public, she’ll no longer have the “I am the rightful heir!” argument to lean on, not that it was ever that great of an argument as her claim rests on her father, the Mad King.

This same argument does apply to Jon too, but what Jon has that differentiates him from Dany is the loyalty of the remaining “players” of the game and he is the only way the North can ever be united (or, at the very least at peace) with the southern kingdoms. 

So we compare character loyalties in relation to Jon and Dany:

Jon > Dany for Theon - Iron Islands, if Yara survives, it was Jon who Theon turned to for sanctioning the mission for Yara

Jon > Dany for Gendry - Obviously Gendry needs legitimized but he’s the only character we know from the Stormlands and there was a lot of paralleling Jon as Young Ned and Gendry as Young Robert AND we have Gendry as a possible suitor for Arya Stark

Jon > Dany for Samwell Tarly - Jon is Sam��s best friend. Dany also executed Sam’s father and brother for refusing to bend the knee. (Yes, it was for their refusal to bend the knee as she offered a “pardon” for their treason, it had nothing to do with revenge for Olenna)

Jon > Dany for Sansa - This ought to be pretty obvious but here’s why Sansa’s support matters and how it adds to Jonsa politically...

Because Sansa holds as much support politically as Jon in this scenario.

[more after the cut]

Sansa > Dany for Edmure Tully

Sansa > Dany for the Vale - Robyn rules but Royce holds the influence and he specifically said he rode North for Sansa

Sansa > Dany for Theon - The Iron Islands really are the most speculative at the moment I suppose but it’s hard to argue that Theon has closer ties to Dany versus either one of Jon or Sansa and the two together representing the house that RAISED Theon speaks volumes.

The show has forgotten about Dorne so I can’t even speculate on Dorne but I think it’s pretty safe to say that Ellaria probably regrets linking up with Dany for Season 7. 

So there’s where it makes sense in that way. Jon and Sansa present an opportunity to present a king and a queen in a way that places each party with equal importance in reconciling a broken continent. 

The wildcard is the Westerlands with Tyrion/Jaime as the only likely characters left to rule there (assuming Cersei meets her demise). Tyrion showed all kinds of interesting reactions to Dany at the end of the season to the point where it’s widely speculated that he’s arranged some sort of betrayal on Cersei’s behalf. 

I’m more of the opinion that Tyion doubts Dany and turning to Cersei makes zero sense. Tyrion would need to be working to put someone in charge that Tyrion believes could actually improve the world...and we saw Jon giving speeches that Tyrion would have been more than willing to co-sign during his interactions with Dany. If Tyrion turns, it might involve Cersei, but it will be for Jon’s benefit.

Lastly, we were shown Sansa’s growing administrative acuity during Season 7 in a way that can’t be ignored as a narrative thread. She’s been exposed to the nuts and bolts of governing. She hasn’t been shown inciting riots and generally failing to connect with her ruled population. The pairing is set up with Jon as the military man and Sansa as the ruling lady. 

They are complementary pieces. A king and queen who need and trust each other. That’s a winning combination.

Now you might ask yourself; why do I focus on this aspect so much?

It’s because, at this moment, speculating on a Jon and Sansa romance really is just that; speculation.

You can try to quantify certain aspects of their dynamic:

https://thelawyerthatwaspromised.tumblr.com/post/166262551761/jon-statistically-acts-way-different-around

But you still are stuck in a subjective conclusion if you say that Jon and Sansa will have (or already have) romantic feelings for each other because we just haven’t explicitly seen it yet. 

The political aspect? Much less subjective, much easier to map out...

The pragmatism, coupled with our canon example of Catelyn and Ned marrying originally for political reasons but ultimately growing into a loving and respectful marriage, makes Jonsa the combination that can provide a parallel that both echoes the past but also solves a lot of problems at the same time. I think the bonus is that Jon and Sansa will feel very strong romantically about each other and so their “growing love” phase will much much shorter than Cat and Ned.

The alternative arrangement (Jon and Dany) absolutely must have Jon as a part of it AND absolutely must have Sansa persuading the forces that are logically loyal to her to be loyal to Jon (and Daenerys).

The most common argument against is old “politics won’t matter”.

Frankly, if that’s the argument you want to use, that’s even more confirmation that Jonsa is the correct answer. Politics will always matter in universe of ASOIAF and the Jonsa politics are infinitely more logical.

[wackygoofball]

Moodboard: Jaime x Brienne - Diplomat & Bodyguard AU

Brienne of Tarth never saw herself entering the realm of politics, at least not as a spokesperson of any kind. She supported Catelyn Stark in her negotiations, but rather acted in the background, arranged meetings, managed schedules, those kinds of things. However, crises kept striking between the Northern and Southern fronts as the parties of separatists and unionists kept clashing both politically and militarily.

After a gruesome incident that cost the lives of Catelyn, Ned, Robb, and his wife Talisa, Brienne found herself stuck in the middle of the negotiations and stepped up to the game. And surprisingly, she was able to mediate between South and North against all odds.

How she does it? Brienne doesn’t know exactly herself. All she knows is that she will keep fighting for a peaceful solution so long she has might in her body. And it may actually help that Brienne is the one party in the negotiations who has no political agenda beyond the peace as the tall woman from the Sapphire Isle has no interest in gaining power, something that even her harshest critics, at the very least, seem to acknowledge.

Which should not be confused with seeing the danger in the power Brienne thus wields in another way, because people who have stakes in the game are keen on keeping their power, no matter the costs, no matter the sacrifice, and that sacrifice seems rather small if it is just the middleman they have to get rid of.

Brienne is made painfully aware of the circumstance when she barely escapes a bomb blowing up the car she was about to get into to drive home after the tough negotiations leading up to the peace conference, and if not for her fast reflexes, this may well have been her end.

While she winds up injured, Brienne tries her best to play things down when she has her father on the phone, not wanting to worry the man any more than she does by virtue of working the job she currently inherits. However, her father saw the news and he is having none of her reassurances.

“You are my only living daughter – and you are telling me to just sit back and relax while you may have just died in an explosion? I don’t think so.”

Thus, Selwyn takes matters into his own hands, against his daughter’s explicit wishes, and hires Jaime Lannister as his daughter’s personal bodyguard, since the man is known to run one of the most successful security companies the country has ever seen.

Jaime knows that the stakes are high when he gets the call from Selwyn of Tarth. He saw the news, too, and kept a close eye on the negotiations, as his family is stuck right in the middle of it already.  Therefore, he agrees to travel to the capitol alongside his colleague Bronn Blackwater to see that the woman who already did a bit of impossible by bringing unionists and separatists to sit down at one table is under protection until the peace conference is over.

While her father warned Jaime in advance that Brienne is not going to be pleased, he is still surprised by the actual amount of resistance he is met with once he comes face to face with Brienne of Tarth for the first time. Not that this wavers him much, however. Jaime does love a challenge.

Brienne, for her part, still can’t believe it that her father dared to go behind her back to hire a security detail, two in fact, for her. She doesn't need anyone to defend her, she can protect herself, something that her father seemingly remains blind to.

However, Jaime doesn’t really care about her lamentations, set on doing his job, and thus sets up his equipment in her apartment, following through with is routines no matter how often she tells him to stay away.

When things remain tensed between the two for a while, Bronn decides that it may be time to create some common ground, which is why, one evening, he gives away some personal stories of their past jobs in the military, and then as security details, recalling quite fondly an incident involving a chicken suit and a handgun.

“I almost pissed my pants when I saw him in that chicken suit, I am telling you.”

While Jaime is more than annoyed about Bronn telling Brienne those kinds of stories, he is pleased to see that the woman seems to warm up to him as a result. Brienne is actually rather glad to finally see the more human side to her security detail instead of the suit-wearing, snarky man who only ever laughs at her whenever she opposes him.

Nevertheless, things remain tensed as Brienne does not wish to back down from attending the negotiations, even when the attempts on her life won’t wear down and pose greater and greater threats to her life each time.

Someone doesn’t want her to sign the treaties she manages to finally formulate between the two parties. That much is for sure. The one thing that remains an open question is who might be behind all this.

Jaime finds himself increasingly concerned for Brienne’s safety and wellbeing, which is not helped in the least by Brienne’s refusal of higher security measurements of any kind. After all, she has a mission to fulfill:

“For Cat and her family, for all those who lost their lives in this senseless war already.”

However, Jaime comes to realize rather soon that it’s more than his obligation towards his client that drives him, but that he earnestly cannot stand seeing Brienne in danger or hurt as his feelings for her keep growing to the point that he wished he could just keep her by his side at all times, just to be sure that she is safe.

At the same time, he has to come to grips with the circumstance that Brienne of Tarth can indeed well defend herself, once knocking an aggressor to the ground even before either Bronn or Jaime could do so much as react.

“You were saying?”

Yet, it isn’t just Jaime who has to see that things are not what they first seemed to be, as Brienne finds herself having to come to terms with the fact that she is indeed not invincible, not a machine that just keeps working, no matter the danger, no matter the circumstance. As the continuous threats and attacks take their toll on her not just physically but also mentally, she finds comfort in the arms of the man assigned to her protection, surprised and relieved that Jaime stays with her, even though that certainly was not part of the job profile.

“It’s alright, I am here. It’s alright. It’s going to be alright again.”

Nevertheless, her will remains unbroken and Brienne wants to finish those negotiations, till the bitter end.

As the final peace conference approaches, the two find themselves increasingly closer with each other, which does not help their cause atall, as Jaime struggles to keep his professional distance, a paradigm he lived by ever since he became a security detail.

However, when South and North collide during the conference, all know that this will be decisive not just for the whole country, but also for themselves, because danger is right within the ranks, waiting for an opportunity to see the one woman fall who may bring a war to an end – and the only things standing between her and that danger are her security details and her undying will to not only honor her vow to Catelyn, but also to return to the man she came to care for so very much…

Additional Image Sources: The Peacemaker (1997), (x), (x), (x), (x), (x). Note: More images taken from performances by Donald Sutherland as a fancast for Selwyn Tarth.