#affc summary

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

A FEAST FOR CROWS

Summary & Foreshadowing Smorgasbord (Part III)

The epic conclusion of the blockbuster trilogy.

AFFC PART III: UNDER THE CUT

Chapter Transitions

JONSA 🐺❤️❄️

AFFC Part I: CLICK

Sansa Stark, Queen in the North

Jon Snow, King in the North

Jon (Aemon?) Snow

Ahoy Matey! Arya Stark Sails the Ocean Blue

Bran the Broken, King of Westeros

High Septon Rickon?

Pick Your Poison: The Twins Meet Their End in the Bowels of Casterly Rock . . . or King's Landing

Younger and More Beautiful Cersei

AFFC PART II: CLICK

Dark Daenerys Highlights & Laughs

Let's Dance: Stark vs. Targ

A Rat in a Maze 🐀🔪

The Usurper's Knife

Storm x Storm 🦑🖤🐉

Squid Game

Previous books:

AGOT Summary & Foreshadowing: CLICK

ACOK Summary & Foreshadowing: PART I / PART II

ASOS Summary & Foreshadowing: PART I / PART II / PART III / PART IV

Stumpy note:

If I didn't give you credit for discovering something or if I missed any foreshadowing, please contact me and I'll rectify that.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the reread project. All of you have great observations and comments, I wish I could highlight them all. 🙂

CHAPTER TRANSITIONS

Damn that man for breaking up this book, and ruining the chapter transition foreshadowing.

Prologue -> <- The Prophet

The storm is coming.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

"No," said Alleras. "It was Prince Rhaegar's young son Aegon whose head was dashed against the wall by the Lion of Lannister's brave men. We speak of Rhaegar's sister, born on Dragonstone before its fall. The one they called Daenerys."

"The Stormborn. I recall her now." - Prologue, AFFC

x

A storm was brewing, he could hear it in the waves, and storms brought naught but evil. 

[...]

He was born a lord's son and died a king, murdered by a jealous god, Aeron thought, and now the storm is coming, a storm such as these isles have never known.

[...]

Aeron tugged his beard, and thought. I have seen the storm, and its name is Euron Crow's Eye. - The Prophet, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne I -> <- Samwell I

Two protagonists want to live up to their swords.

"A sword is only as good as the man who wields it."

[...]

When she slid Oathkeeper from the ornate scabbard, Brienne's breath caught in her throat. Black and red the ripples ran, deep within the steel. Valyrian steel, spell-forged. It was a sword fit for a hero. When she was small, her nurse had filled her ears with tales of valor, regaling her with the noble exploits of Ser Galladon of Morne, Florian the Fool, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, and other champions. Each man bore a famous sword, and surely Oathkeeper belonged in their company, even if she herself did not. - Brienne I, AFFC

x

Once, when Jon came to consult with Maester Aemon, Sam had asked him why he spent so much time at swordplay. "The Old Bear never trained much when he was Lord Commander," he had pointed out. In answer, Jon had pressed Longclaw into Sam's hand. He let him feel the lightness, the balance, had him turn the blade so that ripples gleamed in the smoke-dark metal. "Valyrian steel," he said, "spell-forged and razor-sharp, nigh on indestructible. A swordsman should be as good as his sword, Sam. Longclaw is Valyrian steel, but I'm not. The Halfhand could have killed me as easy as you swat a bug." - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne I -> <- Samwell I

Encounters with mice.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

"Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen. Some call me the Mad Mouse." He turned his shield to show her his sigil, a large white mouse with fierce red eyes, on bendy brown and blue. - Brienne I, AFFC

x

Sam was reading about the Others when he saw the mouse. - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Samwell I -> <- Arya I

Three characters are on a collision course.

Dareon will join you at Eastwatch. My hope is that his songs will win some men for us in the south. The Blackbird will deliver you to Braavos. From there you'll arrange your own passage to Oldtown. - Samwell I, AFFC

x

Braavos might not be so bad. Syrio was from Braavos, and Jaqen might be there as well. - Arya I, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei II -> <- Jaime I

Play-by-play on the state of Tywin Lannister's rotting corpse.

+.+.+

Jaime I -> <- Brienne II

Royal blood in back-to-back chapters.

"I see you wonder, what sort of name is that?" the man had cackled when Jaime went to question him. "It is an old name, 'tis true. I am not one to boast, but there is royal blood in my veins. I am descended from a princess. My father told me the tale when I was a tad of a lad." Longwaters had not been a tad of a lad for many a year, to judge from his spotted head and the white hairs growing from his chin. - Jaime I, AFFC

x

"Well, there's Darkes, I'm one myself. My husband says I was Darke before we wed, and darker afterward." She laughed. "Can't throw a stone in Duskendale without you hit some Darke or Darkwood or Dargood, but the lordly Darklyns are all gone. Lord Denys was the last o' them, the sweet young fool. Did you know the Darklyns were kings in Duskendale before the Andals come? You'd never know t'look at me, but I got me royal blood. Can you see it? 'Your Grace, another cup of ale,' I ought to make them say. 'Your Grace, the chamber pot needs emptying, and fetch in some fresh faggots, Your Bloody Grace, the fire's going out.'" She laughed again and shook the last drops from the pail. - Brienne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime I -> <- Brienne II

Crows are feasting.

On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king? There were crows circling the seven towers and great dome of Baelor's Sept even now, Jaime suspected, their black wings beating against the night air as they searched for a way inside. Every crow in the Seven Kingdoms should pay homage to you, Father. From Castamere to the Blackwater, you fed them well. - Jaime I, AFFC

x

The looters come with the carrion crows after every battle. 

[...]

Lord Tarly's own striding huntsman appeared on many a badge and brooch and doublet. Friend or foe, the crows care not. - Brienne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne II -> <- Sansa I

Blood calls to blood. Somebody is noticeably missing the second time we get the rundown.

Or would she seek her own blood instead? Though all of her siblings had been slain, Brienne knew that Sansa still had an uncle and a bastard half brother on the Wall, serving in the Night's Watch. Another uncle, Edmure Tully, was a captive at the Twins, but his uncle Ser Brynden still held Riverrun. And Lady Catelyn's younger sister ruled the Vale. Blood calls to blood. Sansa might well have run to one of them. Which one, though? - Brienne II, AFFC

x

She would have fled them both, perhaps, but there was nowhere for her to go. Winterfell was burned and desolate, Bran and Rickon dead and cold. Robb had been betrayed and murdered at the Twins, along with their lady mother. Tyrion had been put to death for killing Joffrey, and if she ever returned to King's Landing the queen would have her head as well. The aunt she'd hoped would keep her safe had tried to murder her instead. Her uncle Edmure was a captive of the Freys, while her great-uncle the Blackfish was under siege at Riverrun. I have no place but here, Sansa thought miserably, and no true friend but Petyr. - Sansa I, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne II -> <- Sansa I

Sansa's hoarding gods.

But when Brienne asked about Sansa, she said, "I'll tell you what I told Lord Tywin. That girl was always praying. She'd go to sept and light her candles like a proper lady, but near every night she went off to the godswood. She's gone back north, she has. That's where her gods are." - Brienne II, AFFC

x

They hadn't, though, not for a year or more. Sansa had prayed to the Seven in their sept and old gods of the heart tree, asking them to bring the old man back, or better still to send another singer, young and handsome. But the gods never answered, and the halls of Winterfell stayed silent. - Sansa I, AFFC

+.+.+

Sansa I <- The Kraken's Daughter

Asha's hilarious reunion with a fostered ghost from her past.

"Asha?" A shadow stepped out from behind the well.

Her hand went to her dirk at once . . . until the moonlight transformed the dark shape into a man in a sealskin cloak. Another ghost. "Tris. I'd thought to find you in the hall."

"I wanted to see you."

"What part of me, I wonder?" She grinned. "Well, here I stand, all grown up. Look all you like."

"A woman." He moved closer. "And beautiful."

Tristifer Botley had filled out since last she'd seen him, but he had the same unruly hair that she remembered, and eyes as large and trusting as a seal's. Sweet eyes, truly. That was the trouble with poor Tristifer; he was too sweet for the Iron Islands. His face has grown comely, she thought. 

[...]

"If you like. It's nought to me. You look so lovely in the moonlight, Asha. A woman grown now, but I remember when you were a skinny girl with a face all full of pimples."

Why must they always mention the pimples? "I remember that as well." Though not as fondly as you do. Of the five boys her mother had brought to Pyke to foster after Ned Stark had taken her last living son as hostage, Tris had been closest to Asha in age. He had not been the first boy she had ever kissed, but he was the first to undo the laces of her jerkin and slip a sweaty hand beneath to feel her budding breasts.

I would have let him feel more than that if he'd been bold enough. Her first flowering had come upon her during the war and wakened her desire, but even before that Asha had been curious. He was there, he was mine own age, and he was willing, that was all it was . . . that, and the moon blood. Even so, she'd called it love, till Tris began to go on about the children she would bear him; a dozen sons at least, and oh, some daughters too. - The Kraken's Daughter, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne III <- Samwell II

Someone gets an escort to Eastwatch with one of Brienne's ancestors.

He sent me north aboard the Golden Dragon, and insisted that his friend Ser Duncan see me safe to Eastwatch. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne III -> <- Samwell II

Where's little Dickon Tarly? Not at Horn Hill.

"Mooton's daughter, she's a maid," the man went on. "Till the bedding, anyways. These eggs, they're for her wedding. Her and Tarly's son. The cooks will need eggs for cakes."

"They will." Lord Tarly's son. Young Dickon's to be wed. She tried to recall how old he was; eight or ten, she thought. - Brienne III, AFFC

x

"I am a man now, Mother," I could tell her, "a steward, and a man of the Night's Watch. My brothers call me Sam the Slayer sometimes." He would see his brother Dickon too, and his sisters. "See," I could tell them, "see, I was good for something after all." - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne III -> <- Samwell II

Two sides of Hyle Hunt.

They had a wager.

Three of the younger knights had started it, he told her: Ambrose, Bushy, and Hyle Hunt, of his own household. As word spread through the camp, however, others had joined the game. Each man was required to buy into the contest with a golden dragon, the whole sum to go to whoever claimed her maidenhead. - Brienne III, AFFC

x

Looking at the water only made him think of drowning. When he was small his lord father had tried to teach him how to swim by throwing him into the pond beneath Horn Hill. The water had gotten in his nose and in his mouth and in his lungs, and he coughed and wheezed for hours after Ser Hyle pulled him out. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime II -> Cersei IV

Kingsguard having affairs with their queen.

"Who?" Ser Loras craned his head around to see. "Ten black pellets on a scarlet field. I do not know those arms."

"They belonged to Criston Cole, who served the first Viserys and the second Aegon." Jaime closed the White Book. "They called him Kingmaker." - Jaime II, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei IV -> <- The Iron Captain -> <- The Drowned Man

Who is smart enough to give Asha some land for her help?

"Could we make use of the ironmen?" asked Orton Merryweather. "The enemy of our enemy? What would the Seastone Chair want of us as the price of an alliance?"

"They want the north," Grand Maester Pycelle said, "which our queen's noble father promised to House Bolton."

"How inconvenient," said Merryweather. "Still, the north is large. The lands could be divided. It need not be a permanent arrangement. Bolton might consent, so long as we assure him that our strength will be his once Stannis is destroyed." - Cersei IV, AFFC

x

"To end this war before this war ends us. We have won all that we are like to win . . . and stand to lose all just as quick, unless we make a peace. I have shown Lady Glover every courtesy, and she swears her lord will treat with me. If we hand back Deepwood Motte, Torrhen's Square, and Moat Cailin, she says, the northmen will cede us Sea Dragon Point and all the Stony Shore. Those lands are thinly peopled, yet ten times larger than all the isles put together. An exchange of hostages will seal the pact, and each side will agree to make common cause with the other should the Iron Throne—" - The Iron Captain, AFFC

x

"Peace," said Asha. "Land. Victory. I'll give you Sea Dragon Point and the Stony Shore, black earth and tall trees and stones enough for every younger son to build a hall. We'll have the northmen too . . . as friends, to stand with us against the Iron Throne. Your choice is simple. Crown me, for peace and victory. Or crown my nuncle, for more war and more defeat." She sheathed her dirk again. "What will you have, ironmen?" - The Drowned Man, AFFC

+.+.+

The Iron Captain -> <- The Drowned Man

Fun times at the kingsmoot.

+.+.+

Arya II -> <- Alayne I

Two sisters have new names.

She bit her lip. "Could I be Cat?"

"Cat." He considered. "Yes. Braavos is full of cats. One more will not be noticed. You are Cat, an orphan of . . ." - Arya II, AFFC

x

As the rising sun came streaming through the windows, Alayne sat up in bed and stretched. - Alayne I, AFFC

+.+.+

Alayne I -> <- Cersei V

Time to pluck the roses.

"How old are you, child?" asked Lady Waynwood.

"Four-fourteen, my lady." For a moment she forgot how old Alayne should be. "And I am no child, but a maiden flowered."

"But not deflowered, one can hope." Young Lord Hunter's bushy mustache hid his mouth entirely.

"Yet," said Lyn Corbray, as if she were not there. "But ripe for plucking soon, I'd say." - Alayne I, AFFC

x

"Only?" The queen let a hint of anger edge her words. "I must confess, I am running short of patience with dear Osney. It is past time he broke in that little filly. I named him Tommen's sworn shield so he could spend part of every day in Margaery's company. He should have plucked the rose by now. Is the little queen blind to his charms?" - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Samwell IV -> <- Cersei IV

Summer Islanders and the Faith have very different views on sex.

"You do not understand. Last night we . . ."

". . . honored your dead, and the gods who made you both. Xhondo did the same. I had the child, else I would have been with him. All you Westerosi make a shame of loving. There is no shame in loving. If your septons say there is, your seven gods must be demons. In the isles we know better. Our gods gave us legs to run with, noses to smell with, hands to touch and feel. What mad cruel god would give a man eyes and tell him he must forever keep them shut, and never look at all the beauty in the world? Only a monster god, a demon of the darkness." Kojja put her hand between Sam's legs. "The gods gave you this for a reason too, for . . . what is your Westerosi word?"

"Fucking," Xhondo offered helpfully. - Samwell IV, AFFC

x

Septon Raynard assumed a regretful tone. "His High Holiness sent me in his stead, and bade me tell Your Grace that the Seven have sent him forth to battle wickedness."

"How? By preaching chastity along the Street of Silk? Does he think praying over whores will turn them back to virgins?"

"Our bodies were shaped by our Father and Mother so we might join male to female and beget trueborn children," Raynard replied. "It is base and sinful for women to sell their holy parts for coin." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Brienne VII -> <- Jaime VI

Talk of diverting the Trident.

The innkeep never hung another sign, so men forgot the dragon and took to calling the place the River Inn. In those days, the Trident flowed beneath its back door, and half its rooms were built out over the water. Guests could throw a line out their window and catch trout, it's said. There was a ferry landing here as well, so travelers could cross to Lord Harroway's Town and Whitewalls."

"We left the Trident south of here, and have been riding north and west . . . not toward the river but away from it."

"Aye, my lady," the septon said. "The river moved. Seventy years ago, it was. Or was it eighty? - Brenne VII, AFFC

x

When the castle falls, all those inside will be put to the sword. Your herds will be butchered, your godswood will be felled, your keeps and towers will burn. I'll pull your walls down, and divert the Tumblestone over the ruins. - Jaime VI, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime VI -> <- Cersei IX

Cersei's titles.

On her head a circlet of hammered bronze sat askew, graven with runes and ringed with small black swords. When she saw Jaime, she laughed. "Who in seven hells is this one?"

"The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard," Jaime returned with cold courtesy. "I might ask the same of you, my lady."

"Lady? I'm no lady. I'm the queen."

"My sister will be surprised to hear that."

"Lord Ryman crowned me his very self." She gave a shake of her ample hips. "I'm the queen o' whores."

No, Jaime thought, my sweet sister holds that title too. - Jaime VI, AFFC

x

"We waited long enough." He thrust his fingers inside the bodice of her gown and yanked, and the silk parted with a ripping sound so loud that Cersei was afraid that half of the Red Keep must have heard it. "Take off the rest before I tear that too," he said. "You can keep the crown on. I like you in the crown." - Cersei IX, AFFC

+.+.+

Alayne II -> <- Brienne VIII

Brienne won't show her fear.

And yet the thought of leaving frightened her almost as much as it frightened Robert. She only hid it better. Her father said there was no shame in being afraid, only in showing your fear. "All men live with fear," he said. Alayne was not certain she believed that. Nothing frightened Petyr Baelish. - Alayne II, AFFC

x

I will not be afraid, she told herself, but it was too late for that. I will not let them see my fear, she promised herself instead. - Brienne VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei X -> <- Jaime VII

Cersei's ripping up her clothes.

I will teach them what it means to put a lion in a cage, Cersei thought. She tore the shift into a hundred pieces, found a ewer of water and smashed it against the wall, then did the same with the chamber pot. - Cersei X, AFFC

x

Jeyne never saw him at all. The widow rode with downcast eyes, huddled beneath a hooded cloak. Underneath its heavy folds, her clothes were finely made, but torn. She ripped them herself, as a mark of mourning, Jaime realized. That could not have pleased her mother. He found himself wondering if Cersei would tear her gown if she should ever hear that he was dead. - Jaime VII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei X -> <- Jaime VII

Right before walking into a disaster (a book delays Jaime), the twins are cold as ice.

Cersei could feel the eyes of the Seven staring at her, eyes of jade and malachite and onyx, and a sudden shiver of fear went through her, cold as ice. I am the queen, she told herself. Lord Tywin's daughter. Reluctantly, she followed. - Cersei X, AFFC

x

He woke in darkness, shivering. The room had grown cold as ice. Jaime flung aside the covers with the stump of his sword hand. The fire in the hearth had died, he saw, and the window had blown open. He crossed the pitch-dark chamber to fumble with the shutters, but when he reached the window his bare foot came down in something wet. Jaime recoiled, startled for a moment. His first thought was of blood, but blood would not have been so cold.

It was snow, drifting through the window. - Jaime VII, AFFC

+.+.+

Prologue -> <- Samwell V

AGOT

Prologue: ice threat introduction.

Final chapter: fire threat introduction.

ACOK

Prologue: cold-hearted King Stannis with his dying maester.

Final chapter: kindhearted King Bran with his dying maester.

ASOS

Prologue: Cursed snowflakes, and Jon Snow.

Sansa VII: Drifting snowflakes, and Jon Snow.

AFFC

Prologue: Pig boy Pate.

Samwell V: Pig boy Pate, back from the dead.

The alchemist pulled his hood down.

He was just a man, and his face was just a face. A young man's face, ordinary, with full cheeks and the shadow of a beard. A scar showed faintly on his right cheek. He had a hooked nose, and a mat of dense black hair that curled tightly around his ears. It was not a face Pate recognized. "I do not know you."

"Nor I you."

"Who are you?"

"A stranger. No one. Truly."

[...]

The cobblestones rushed up to kiss him. Pate tried to cry for help, but his voice was failing too.

His last thought was of Rosey. - Prologue, AFFC

x

"My thanks." There was something about the pale, soft youth that he misliked, but he did not want to seem discourteous, so he added, "My name's not Slayer, truly. I'm Sam. Samwell Tarly."

"I'm Pate," the other said, "like the pig boy." - Samwell V, AFFC

+.+.+

JONSA 🐺❤️❄️

Once again, thank you to @ladyofasoiaf for making the manual on all things jonsa. I heavily rely on it when making these posts. :)

Where would a girl in grey go?

If Dontos and this northern girl helped murder our sweet king, it seems to me that they would want to put as many leagues as they could betwixt themselves and justice. Look for them in Oldtown, if you must, or across the narrow sea. Look for them in Dorne, or on the Wall. Look elsewhere. - Brienne II, AFFC

x

But when Brienne asked about Sansa, she said, "I'll tell you what I told Lord Tywin. That girl was always praying. She'd go to sept and light her candles like a proper lady, but near every night she went off to the godswood. She's gone back north, she has. That's where her gods are." - Brienne II, AFFC

x

As they were making their way to the next pier, Podrick shuffled his feet, and said, "Ser? My lady? What if my lady did go home? My other lady, I mean. Ser. Lady Sansa."

"They burned her home."

"Still. That's where her gods are. And gods can't die." - Brienne V, AFFC

+.+.+

Coming after a Brienne chapter, we learn Brienne's ancestor once escorted a royal to Eastwatch.

He sent me north aboard the Golden Dragon, and insisted that his friend Ser Duncan see me safe to Eastwatch. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Not yet.

She's a clean ship, 'Strider, not so many rats as most, and we'll have fresh eggs and new-churned butter aboard. Is m'lady seeking passage north?"

"No." Not yet. She was tempted, but . . . - Brienne V, AFFC

+.+.+

The same breakdown appears in back-to-back chapters, only Sansa forgets someone.

Or would she seek her own blood instead? Though all of her siblings had been slain, Brienne knew that Sansa still had an uncle and a bastard half brother on the Wall, serving in the Night's Watch. Another uncle, Edmure Tully, was a captive at the Twins, but his uncle Ser Brynden still held Riverrun. And Lady Catelyn's younger sister ruled the Vale. Blood calls to blood. Sansa might well have run to one of them. Which one, though? - Brienne II, AFFC

x

She would have fled them both, perhaps, but there was nowhere for her to go. Winterfell was burned and desolate, Bran and Rickon dead and cold. Robb had been betrayed and murdered at the Twins, along with their lady mother. Tyrion had been put to death for killing Joffrey, and if she ever returned to King's Landing the queen would have her head as well. The aunt she'd hoped would keep her safe had tried to murder her instead. Her uncle Edmure was a captive of the Freys, while her great-uncle the Blackfish was under siege at Riverrun. I have no place but here, Sansa thought miserably, and no true friend but Petyr. - Sansa I, AFFC

+.+.+

A stag won't find Sansa, but a dragon might.

"Where?" Brienne slapped another silver stag down.

He flicked the coin back at her with his forefinger. "Someplace no stag ever found . . . though a dragon might." - Brienne III, AFFC

+.+.+

Of course it could never be.

There's a new High Septon, did you know? Oh, and the Night's Watch has a boy commander, some bastard son of Eddard Stark's."

"Jon Snow?" she blurted out, surprised.

"Snow? Yes, it would be Snow, I suppose."

She had not thought of Jon in ages. He was only her half brother, but still . . . with Robb and Bran and Rickon dead, Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. But of course that could never be. Alayne Stone had no brothers, baseborn or otherwise. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Someday a man will drown in her eyes.

Petyr studied her eyes, as if seeing them for the first time. "You have your mother's eyes. Honest eyes, and innocent. Blue as a sunlit sea. When you are a little older, many a man will drown in those eyes." - Sansa I, AFFC

x

The man kept staring at him, with eyes as big and black as wells. I will fall into those eyes and drown. - Jon V, ASOS

+.+.+

Coming after a Sansa chapter, Asha has an amusing reunion with an old ghost who was fostered at Pyke.

"Asha?" A shadow stepped out from behind the well.

Her hand went to her dirk at once . . . until the moonlight transformed the dark shape into a man in a sealskin cloak. Another ghost. "Tris. I'd thought to find you in the hall."

"I wanted to see you."

"What part of me, I wonder?" She grinned. "Well, here I stand, all grown up. Look all you like."

"A woman." He moved closer. "And beautiful."

Tristifer Botley had filled out since last she'd seen him, but he had the same unruly hair that she remembered, and eyes as large and trusting as a seal's. Sweet eyes, truly. That was the trouble with poor Tristifer; he was too sweet for the Iron Islands. His face has grown comely, she thought. 

[...]

"If you like. It's nought to me. You look so lovely in the moonlight, Asha. A woman grown now, but I remember when you were a skinny girl with a face all full of pimples."

Why must they always mention the pimples? "I remember that as well." Though not as fondly as you do. Of the five boys her mother had brought to Pyke to foster after Ned Stark had taken her last living son as hostage, Tris had been closest to Asha in age. He had not been the first boy she had ever kissed, but he was the first to undo the laces of her jerkin and slip a sweaty hand beneath to feel her budding breasts.

I would have let him feel more than that if he'd been bold enough. Her first flowering had come upon her during the war and wakened her desire, but even before that Asha had been curious. He was there, he was mine own age, and he was willing, that was all it was . . . that, and the moon blood. Even so, she'd called it love, till Tris began to go on about the children she would bear him; a dozen sons at least, and oh, some daughters too. - The Kraken's Daughter, AFFC

+.+.+

Newly flowered Asha had an awakening during the war.

Her first flowering had come upon her during the war and wakened her desire, but even before that Asha had been curious. He was there, he was mine own age, and he was willing, that was all it was . . . that, and the moon blood. - The Kraken's Daughter's, AFFC

+.+.+

Fourteen-year-old Arianne loses her maidenhead to a bastard.

My father is many things, but no one has ever said he was a fool. The Bastard of Godsgrace had my maidenhead when we were both fourteen. - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

+.+.+

Experienced but still green after taking the black white.

It was her turn to flush. Her seduction of Ser Arys had required half a year. Though he claimed to have known other women before taking the white, she would never have known that from the way he acted. His caresses had been clumsy, his kisses nervous, and the first time they were abed together he spent his seed on her thigh as she was guiding him inside her with her hand. - The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

+.+.+

The Dornish (Aegon), the ironborn (Daenerys), and the north (Jon) are wedding dragons.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

Oh, but they must, or see the realm riven once more, as it was before we wed the dragons. - The Captain of the Guards, AFFC

x

None is fit to sit the Seastone Chair, much less the Iron Throne. No, to make an heir that's worthy of him, I need a different woman. When the kraken weds the dragon, brother, let all the world beware. - The Reaver, AFFC

x

"Why shouldn't we rule ourselves again? It was the dragons we married, and the dragons are all dead!" - Catelyn XI, AGOT

+.+.+

The blood of Winterfell.

I am not your daughter, she thought. I am Sansa Stark, Lord Eddard's daughter and Lady Catelyn's, the blood of Winterfell. - Sansa I, AFFC

x

Ygritte was with him, laughing at him, shedding her skins till she was naked as her name day, trying to kiss him, but he couldn't, not with his father watching. He was the blood of Winterfell, a man of the Night's Watch. - Jon VI, ASOS

+.+.+

She likes them bold.

If not for Petyr Baelish it would have been Sansa who went spinning through a cold blue sky to stony death six hundred feet below, instead of Lysa Arryn. He is so bold. Sansa wished she had his courage. - Sansa I, AFFC

x

Surprisingly, Stannis smiled at that. "You're bold enough to be a Stark. Yes, I should have come sooner. If not for my Hand, I might not have come at all. - Jon XI, ASOS

+.+.+

Sister and brother, Maiden and Warrior (more).

"Why would Cersei need the Warrior? She has me." Jaime turned his horse about, his white cloak snapping in the wind. - Jaime II, AFFC

x

I thought that I was the Warrior and Cersei was the Maid, but all the time she was the Stranger, hiding her true face from my gaze. - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

The Maiden lay athwart the Warrior, her arms widespread as if to embrace him. - Davos I, ACOK

+.+.+

Radiant sisters.

"How is Cersei? As beautiful as ever?"

"Radiant." Fickle. - Jaime V, AFFC

x

He was twelve, younger than Jon or Robb, but taller than either, to Jon's vast dismay. Prince Joffrey had his sister's hair and his mother's deep green eyes. A thick tangle of blond curls dripped down past his golden choker and high velvet collar. Sansa looked radiant as she walked beside him, but Jon did not like Joffrey's pouty lips or the bored, disdainful way he looked at Winterfell's Great Hall. - Jon I, AGOT

+.+.+

The author gives Snow & Stone some space.

She could see Sky six hundred feet below, and the stone steps carved into the mountain, the winding way that led past Snow and Stone all the way down to the valley floor. - Alayne I, AFFC

x

Steep stone steps crept up the mountainside past the waycastles Stone and Snow, but they came to an end at Sky. - Alayne I, AFFC

+.+.+

Jon's heart is all Stone.

Thank you, @winkydinkle!

He could not blame Gilly for her grief. Instead, he blamed Jon Snow and wondered when Jon's heart had turned to stone. - Samwell III, AFFC

+.+.+

Sansa has a crush.

"Bronze Yohn knows me," she reminded him. "He was a guest at Winterfell when his son rode north to take the black." She had fallen wildly in love with Ser Waymar, she remembered dimly, but that was a lifetime ago, when she was a stupid little girl. - Alayne I, AFFC

x

Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. - Prologue, AFFC

x

Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast.

[...]

Jon's eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. - Bran I, AGOT

+.+.+

The princess in the tower wishes she had wings.

A falcon soared above the frozen waterfall, blue wings spread wide against the morning sky. Would that I had wings as well. - Alayne I, AFFC

x

"The little bird thinks she has wings, does she? Or do you mean to end up crippled like that brother of yours?" - Sansa IV, ACOK

x

The northern girl. Winterfell's daughter. We heard she killed the king with a spell, and afterward changed into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat, and flew out a tower window. - Arya XIII, ASOS

+.+.+

Sansa gets the head, but still needs flowers.

One of the Mountain's men had tried to rape the girl at Harrenhal, and had seemed honestly perplexed when Jaime commanded Ilyn Payne to take his head off. "I had her before, a hunnerd times," he kept saying as they forced him to his knees. "A hunnerd times, m'lord. We all had her." When Ser Ilyn presented Pia with his head, she had smiled through her ruined teeth. - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

"Ser Harwyn says those tales are lies." Lady Amerei wound a braid around her finger. "He has promised me Lord Beric's head. He's very gallant." She was blushing beneath her tears.

Jaime thought back on the head he'd given to Pia. He could almost hear his little brother chuckle. Whatever became of giving women flowers? Tyrion might have asked. - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

Frog-faced Lord Slynt sat at the end of the council table wearing a black velvet doublet and a shiny cloth-of-gold cape, nodding with approval every time the king pronounced a sentence. Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, wishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. - Sansa VI, AGOT

x

The smile that Lord Janos Slynt smiled then had all the sweetness of rancid butter. Until Jon said, "Edd, fetch me a block," and unsheathed Longclaw. - Jon II, ADWD

x

"What's wrong with flowers?" - Jon V, ASOS

+.+.+

A ghost wolf.

There was ice underfoot, and broken stones just waiting to turn an ankle, and the wind was howling fiercely. It sounds like a wolf, thought Sansa. A ghost wolf, big as mountains. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Roses kissed by frost.

"When he is a man grown," said Cersei.

Their smiles withered like roses kissed by frost. - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Children of the mountain.

Thank you, @butterflies-dragons!

She pushed her hair back. "Then one day he wasn't. Men come and go. They lie, or die, or leave you. A mountain is not a man, though, and a stone is a mountain's daughter. I trust my father, and I trust my mules. I won't fall." - Alayne II, AFFC

x

"The mountain is your mother," Stonesnake had told him during an easier climb a few days past. "Cling to her, press your face up against her teats, and she won't drop you." Jon had made a joke of it, saying how he'd always wondered who his mother was, but never thought to find her in the Frostfangs. - Jon VI, ACOK

+.+.+

Ser Byron enters Sansa's story.

"Dutiful and beautiful," said an elegant young knight whose thick blond mane cascaded down well past his shoulders.

[...]

"Knights they are," said Petyr. "Their gallantry has yet to be demonstrated, but we may hope. Allow me to present Ser Byron, Ser Morgarth, and Ser Shadrich. Sers, the Lady Alayne, my natural and very clever daughter . . . with whom I must needs confer, if you will be so good as to excuse us."

The three knights bowed and withdrew, though the tall one with the blond hair kissed her hand before taking his leave. - Alayne II, AFFC

x

The character I'm probably most like in real life is Samwell Tarly. Good old Sam. And the character I'd want to be? Well who wouldn't want to be Jon Snow — the brooding, Byronic, romantic hero whom all the girls love. - George R. R. Martin

+.+.+

A fool or a knight?

"Ser Galladon was a champion of such valor that the Maiden herself lost her heart to him. She gave him an enchanted sword as a token of her love. The Just Maid, it was called. No common sword could check her, nor any shield withstand her kiss. Ser Galladon bore the Just Maid proudly, but only thrice did he unsheathe her. He would not use the Maid against a mortal man, for she was so potent as to make any fight unfair."

Crabb thought that was hilarious. "The Perfect Knight? The Perfect Fool, he sounds like. - Brienne IV, AFFC

x

"A fool and a knight?" said Jonquil. "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Sweet lady," said Florian, "all men are fools, and all men are knights, where women are concerned." - The Hedge Knight

+.+.+

Who's the pig boy?

Thank you, @fedonciadale!

Spotted Pate the pig boy was the hero of a thousand ribald stories: a good-hearted, empty-headed lout who always managed to best the fat lordlings, haughty knights, and pompous septons who beset him. Somehow his stupidity would turn out to have been a sort of uncouth cunning; the tales always ended with Spotted Pate sitting on a lord's high seat or bedding some knight's daughter. But those were stories. In the real world pig boys never fared so well. - Prologue, AFFC

x

His face darkened. "I am. I'm your father, and I can marry you to whoever I like. To anyone. You'll marry the pig boy if I say so, and bed down with him in the sty." His green eyes glittered with amusement. - Sansa III, ACOK

+.+.+

Jon and Sansa know the power of song.

Thank you, @agentrouka-blog!

Dareon will join you at Eastwatch. My hope is that his songs will win some men for us in the south. - Samwell I, AFFC

x

A harp can be as dangerous as a sword, in the right hands. - Sansa VI, ASOS

+.+.+

King Robert liked to play with his cousin.

There had been a female cousin too, a chunky little widow with breasts as big as melons whose husband and father had both died at Storm's End during the siege. "Her father was good to me," Robert told her, "and she and I would play together when the two of us were small." It did not take him long to start playing with her again. - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Sansa wants to dance.

What would she do when the music began to play? It was a vexing question, to which her heart and head gave different answers. Sansa loved to dance, but Alayne . . . - Alayne II, AFFC

x

When the musicians began to play, she timidly laid her hand on Tyrion's and said, "My lord, should we lead the dance?"

[...]

Perhaps she ought to have remained beside her husband, but she wanted to dance so badly . . . - Sansa III, ASOS

x

"You could dance with me, you know. It would be only courteous. You danced with me anon."

"Anon?" teased Jon.

"When we were children." She tore off a bit of bread and threw it at him. "As you know well."

"My lady should dance with her husband." - Jon X, ADWD

x

A snowflake danced upon the air. Then another. Dance with me, Jon Snow, he thought. You'll dance with me anon. - Jon XII, ADWD

+.+.+

Prince Aemon's back.

"And the Dragonknight?" She flung the bedclothes aside and swung her legs to the floor. "The noblest knight who ever lived, you said, and he took his queen to bed and got her with child." - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

+.+.+

Who could ever love a bastard?

Ser Loras had given Sansa Stark a red rose once, but he had never kissed her . . . and no Tyrell would ever kiss Alayne Stone. Pretty as she was, she had been born on the wrong side of the blanket. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

Poisoned gifts.

Petyr arched an eyebrow. "When Robert dies. Our poor brave Sweetrobin is such a sickly boy, it is only a matter of time. When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. That's worth another kiss now, don't you think?" - Alayne II, AFFC

x

"Jon." Melisandre was so close he could feel the warmth of her breath. "R'hllor is the only true god. A vow sworn to a tree has no more power than one sworn to your shoes. Open your heart and let the light of the Lord come in. Burn these weirwoods, and accept Winterfell as a gift of the Lord of Light."

[...]

Stannis gave him a measuring look. "Does this mean you will not wed the girl? I warn you, she is part of the price you must pay, if you want your father's name and your father's castle. This match is necessary, to help assure the loyalty of our new subjects. Are you refusing me, Jon Snow?"

[...]

Stannis put a thin, fleshless hand on Jon's shoulder. "Say nothing of what we've discussed here today. To anyone. But when you return, you need only bend your knee, lay your sword at my feet, and pledge yourself to my service, and you shall rise again as Jon Stark, the Lord of Winterfell." - Jon XI, ASOS

+.+.+

Lancel Lannister's story continues to raise eyebrows.

Lancel had taken to quartering the lion of Lannister with the Darry plowman, it would seem. He saw his uncle's hand in that, as in Lancel's choice of bride. House Darry had ruled these lands since the Andals cast down the First Men. No doubt Ser Kevan realized that his son would have an easier time of it if the peasants saw him as a continuation of the old line, holding these lands by right of marriage rather than royal decree. - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

Maybe he is praying for his cock to harden. In King's Landing it had been rumored that Lancel's wounds had left him incapable. Still, he ought to have sense enough to try. His cousin's hold on his new lands would not be secure until he fathered a son on his half-Darry wife. - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

When his coz did not answer, Jaime sighed. "You should be sleeping with your wife, not with the Maid. You need a son with Darry blood if you want to keep this castle." - Jaime IV, AFFC

+.+.+

More men marrying into houses.

When he was not singing, Nimble Dick would talk, regaling them with tales of Crackclaw Point. Every gloomy valley had its lord, he said, the lot of them united only by their mistrust of outsiders. In their veins the blood of the First Men ran dark and strong. "The Andals tried t' take Crackclaw, but we bled them in the valleys and drowned them in the bogs. Only what their sons couldn't win with swords, their pretty daughters won with kisses. They married into the houses they couldn't conquer, aye." - Brienne IV, AFFC

+.+.+

Val does cosplay. Again.

King Stannis had plans for Val, he knew; she was the mortar with which he meant to seal the peace between the northmen and the free folk. - Samwell I, AFFC

x

"Whoever?" Stannis gave him a measuring look. "Does this mean you will not wed the girl? I warn you, she is part of the price you must pay, if you want your father's name and your father's castle. This match is necessary, to help assure the loyalty of our new subjects. Are you refusing me, Jon Snow?" - Jon XI, ASOS

x

"The girl's happiness is not my purpose, nor should it be yours. Our alliances in the south may be as solid as Casterly Rock, but there remains the north to win, and the key to the north is Sansa Stark." - Tyrion III, ASOS

+.+.+

Sansa -> Bolton requires a Stark daughter to claim Winterfell -> Jon.

"Your Grace has forgotten the Lady Sansa," said Pycelle.

The queen bristled. "I most certainly have not forgotten that little she-wolf." She refused to say the girl's name. "I ought to have shown her to the black cells as the daughter of a traitor, but instead I made her part of mine own household. She shared my hearth and hall, played with my own children. I fed her, dressed her, tried to make her a little less ignorant about the world, and how did she repay me for my kindness? She helped murder my son. When we find the Imp, we will find the Lady Sansa too. She is not dead . . . but before I am done with her, I promise you, she will be singing to the Stranger, begging for his kiss."

An awkward silence followed. Have they all swallowed their tongues? Cersei thought, with irritation. It was enough to make her wonder why she bothered with a council.

"In any case," the queen went on, "Lord Eddard's younger daughter is with Lord Bolton, and will be wed to his son Ramsay as soon as Moat Cailin has fallen." So long as the girl played her role well enough to cement their claim to Winterfell, neither of the Boltons would much care that she was actually some steward's whelp tricked up by Littlefinger. "If the north must have a Stark, we'll give them one." She let Lord Merryweather fill her cup once again. "Another problem has arisen on the Wall, however. The brothers of the Night's Watch have taken leave of their wits and chosen Ned Stark's bastard son to be their Lord Commander." - Cersei IV, AFFC

+.+.+

The author's constant reminder.

Jaime sighed. "Then let them wed. It will be years before Tommen is old enough to consummate the marriage. And until he does, the union can always be set aside. Give Tyrell his wedding and send him off to play at war." - Jaime I, AFFC

x

"I said some words and gave her a red cloak, but only to please Father. Marriage requires consummation. King Baelor was made to wed his sister Daena, but they never lived as man and wife, and he put her aside as soon as he was crowned." - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

"She is old enough to be Lady of Winterfell once her brother is dead. Claim her maidenhood and you will be one step closer to claiming the north. Get her with child, and the prize is all but won. Do I need to remind you that a marriage that has not been consummated can be set aside?" - Tyrion IV, ASOS

+.+.+

Jon vs. Tyrion Pregame.

"Well," said Sam, "he will not want it said that Stannis rode to the defense of the realm whilst King Tommen was playing with his toys. That would bring scorn down upon House Lannister."

"It's death and destruction I want to bring down upon House Lannister, not scorn." Jon lifted up the letter. - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Big brothers.

My betrothal was announced at a feast with half the west in attendance. Ellyn Tarbeck laughed and the Red Lion went angry from the hall. The rest sat on their tongues. Only Tywin dared speak against the match. A boy of ten. Father turned as white as mare's milk, and Walder Frey was quivering." She smiled. "How could I not love him, after that? That is not to say that I approved of all he did, or much enjoyed the company of the man that he became . . . but every little girl needs a big brother to protect her. Tywin was big even when he was little." - Jaime V, AFFC

+.+.+

That uncomfortable subject.

"How old are you, child?" asked Lady Waynwood.

"Four-fourteen, my lady." For a moment she forgot how old Alayne should be. "And I am no child, but a maiden flowered."

"But not deflowered, one can hope." Young Lord Hunter's bushy mustache hid his mouth entirely.

"Yet," said Lyn Corbray, as if she were not there. "But ripe for plucking soon, I'd say." - Alayne I, AFFC

___

"A child?" said Sansa, uncertainly.

Lysa waved a hand negligently. "Not for many years. You are too young to be a mother. One day you shall want children, though. Just as you will want to marry." - Sansa VI, ASOS

x

"I will." He cuddled close and laid his head between her breasts. "Alayne? Are you my mother now?"

"I suppose I am," she said. If a lie was kindly meant, there was no harm in it. - Sansa I, AFFC

___

She studied Alayne's face and chest. "You are prettier than me, but my breasts are larger. The maesters say large breasts produce no more milk than small ones, but I do not believe it. Have you ever known a wet nurse with small teats? Yours are ample for a girl your age, but as they are bastard breasts, I shan't concern myself with them." - Alayne II, AFFC

___

"The gods made men to fight, and women to bear children," said Randyll Tarly. "A woman's war is in the birthing bed." - Brienne III, AFFC

x

"How apt. The men will bleed out there, and you in here." The queen signaled for the first course to be served. - Sansa V, ACOK

___

Jeyne Westerling had been Robb Stark's queen, the girl who cost him everything. With a wolf in her belly, she could have proved more dangerous than the Blackfish. - Jaime VI, AFFC

x

"A child born of traitor's seed will find that betrayal comes naturally to her," said Grand Maester Pycelle. "She is a sweet thing now, but in ten years, who can say what treasons she may hatch?" - Sansa IV, AGOT

___

To break her fast the queen sent to the kitchens for two boiled eggs, a loaf of bread, and a pot of honey. But when she cracked the first egg and found a bloody half-formed chick inside, her stomach roiled. - Cersei III, AFFC

vs.

An immense round fat man, as big as three Moon Boys, he came cartwheeling into the hall, vaulted onto the table, and laid a gigantic egg right in front of Sansa. "Break it, my lady," he commanded. When she did, a dozen yellow chicks escaped and began running in all directions. - Sansa I, ASOS

+.+.+

A king must have an heir.

And Cersei … I have Jon Arryn to thank for her. I had no wish to marry after Lyanna was taken from me, but Jon said the realm needed an heir. - Eddard VII, AGOT

x

"Jeyne," she called after, "there's one more thing Robb needs from you, though he may not know it yet himself. A king must have an heir." - Catelyn III, ASOS

x

"Young, and a king," he said. "A king must have an heir. If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. - Catelyn V, ASOS

x

He had not touched another woman since he gave her to the crabs. I will need to take a wife when I am king. A true wife, to be my queen and bear me sons. A king must have an heir. - The Iron Captain, AFFC

x

Victarion was turning to go when the Crow's Eye said, "A king must have a wife, to give him heirs. - The Reaver, AFFC

x

Many promised him their voices: Fralegg the Strong, clever Alvyn Sharp, humpbacked Hotho Harlaw. Hotho offered him a daughter for his queen. "I have no luck with wives," Victarion told him. His first wife died in childbed, giving him a stillborn daughter. His second had been stricken by a pox. And his third . . .

"A king must have an heir," Hotho insisted. "The Crow's Eye brings three sons to show before the kingsmoot."

"Bastards and mongrels. How old is this daughter?"

"Twelve," said Hotho. "Fair and fertile, newly flowered, with hair the color of honey. Her breasts are small as yet, but she has good hips. She takes after her mother, more than me." – The Iron Captain, AFFC

+.+.+

Does the moon tea have anything to do with jonsa? I'll include it, and let you decide.

She had surrendered her virtue at six-and-ten, to a beautiful blond-haired sailor on a trading galley up from Lys. He only knew six words of the Common Tongue, but "fuck" was one of them—the very word she'd hoped to hear. Afterward, Asha had the sense to find a woods witch, who showed her how to brew moon tea to keep her belly flat. - The Kraken's Daughter, AFFC

x

"I swore a vow . . ."

". . . not to wed or father children. Well, I have drunk my moon tea, and you know I cannot marry you." She smiled. "Though I might be persuaded to keep you for my paramour." - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

x

"The little queen has appetites that Tommen is as yet too young to satisfy." That was always a danger, when a grown woman was married to a child. Even more so with a widow. She may claim that Renly never touched her, but I will not believe it. Women only drank moon tea for one reason; maidens had no need for it at all. - Cersei IX, AFFC

x

"As you will." Jaime turned to the daughter. "I am sorry for your loss. The boy had courage, I'll give him that. There is a question I must ask you. Are you carrying his child, my lady?"

Jeyne burst from her chair and would have fled the room if the guard at the door had not seized her by the arm. "She is not," said Lady Sybell, as her daughter struggled to escape. "I made certain of that, as your lord father bid me." - Jaime VII, AFFC

x

"You're bastard-born yourself. And if Ygritte does not want a child, she will go to some woods witch and drink a cup o' moon tea. You do not come into it, once the seed is planted." - Jon II, ASOS

x

Tears ran down her aunt's puffy red face. "I gave you my maiden's gift. I would have given you a son too, but they murdered him with moon tea, with tansy and mint and wormwood, a spoon of honey and a drop of pennyroyal. It wasn't me, I never knew, I only drank what Father gave me . . ." - Sansa VII, ASOS

+.+.+

Two prophetic conversations have Sansa and Cersei on the same path.

"When will I wed the prince?" she asked.

"Never. You will wed the king." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

x

"No," Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. "Yet someday he may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king's council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the Sunset Sea, or enter your mother's Faith and become the High Septon." 

[...]

Arya cocked her head to one side. "Can I be a king's councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?"

"You," Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, "will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon."

Arya screwed up her face. "No," she said, "that's Sansa." - Eddard V, AGOT

+.+.+

Ashford Tournament!

Thank you @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly for the theory! (lol)

Thank you @butterflies-dragons for the additional parallels!

"Will there be another champion in Ser Humfrey's [Hardyng] place?"

"Lord Ashford had a mind to grant the place to Lord Caron, or perhaps the other Ser Humfrey, the one who gave Hardyng such a splendid match, but Prince Baelor told him that it would not be seemly to remove Ser Humfrey's shield and pavilion under the circumstances. I believe they will continue with four champions in place of five."

Four champions, Dunk thought. Leo Tyrell, Lyonel Baratheon, Tybolt Lannister, and Prince Valarr [Targaryen]. - The Hedge Knight

___

Lyonel Baratheon

Sansa must wed Joffrey, that is clear now, we must give them no grounds to suspect our devotion. - Catelyn II, AGOT

x

___

Leo Tyrell

The words came tumbling out of her. "Yes. I will. I would like that more than anything. To wed Ser Loras, to love him . . ." "Loras?" Lady Olenna sounded annoyed. "Don't be foolish, child. Kingsguard never wed. Didn't they teach you anything in Winterfell? We were speaking of my grandson Willas. He is a bit old for you, to be sure, but a dear boy for all that. Not the least bit oafish, and heir to Highgarden besides." - Sansa I, ASOS

x

Willas Tyrell was green as his surcoat and had no business riding in such company. The Fat Flower thrust him into tourneys at too tender an age, just as he did with the other two. He wanted another Leo Longthorn, and made himself a cripple. - Tyrion V, ASOS

___

Tybolt Lannister

"Yes. You are a ward of the crown. The king stands in your father's place, since your brother is an attainted traitor. That means he has every right to dispose of your hand. You are to marry my brother Tyrion." - Sansa III, ASOS

x

The Baratheon and Lannister defeat the maiden's brother(s).

Tybolt Lannister and Androw Ashford rode against each other thrice more before Ser Androw finally lost shield, seat, and match all at once. The younger Ashford lasted even longer, breaking no less than nine lances against Ser Lyonel Baratheon, the Laughing Storm. Champion and challenger both lost their saddles on their tenth course, only to rise together to fight on, sword against mace. Finally a battered Ser Robert Ashford admitted defeat, but on the viewing stand his father looked anything but dejected. Both Lord Ashford's Sons had been ushered from the ranks of the champions, it was true, but they had acquitted themselves nobly against two of the finest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. - The Hedge Knight

___

Humfrey Hardyng

When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. - Alayne II, AFFC

x

A lady's armor is her courtesy. Alayne could feel the blood rushing to her face. No tears, she prayed. Please, please, I must not cry. "As you wish, ser. And now if you will excuse me, Littlefinger's bastard must find her lord father and let him know that you have come, so we can begin the tourney on the morrow." And may your horse stumble, Harry the Heir, so you fall on your stupid head in your first tilt. - Alayne I, TWOW

x

At the last possible instant, Ser Humfrey's stallion reared away from the oncoming point, eyes rolling in terror, but too late, Aerion's lance took the animal just above the armor that protected his breastbone, and exploded out of the back of his neck in a gout of bright blood. Screaming, the horse crashed sideways, knocking the wooden barrier to pieces as he fell. Ser Humfrey tried to leap free, but a foot caught in a stirrup and they heard his shriek as his leg was crushed between the splintered fence and falling horse. - The Hedge Knight

___

Prince Valarr Targaryen

Jon Snow was the only brother that remained to her. I am a bastard too now, just like him. Oh, it would be so sweet, to see him once again. - Alayne II, AFFC

x

But they were all dead now, even Arya, everyone but her half-brother, Jon. Some nights she heard talk of him, in the taverns and brothels of the Ragman's Harbor. The Black Bastard of the Wall, one man had called him. - The Blind Girl, ADWD

x

Six pups they'd found in the late summer snows, him and Robb; five that were grey and black and brown, for the five Starks, and one white, as white as Snow. - Jon XII, ASOS

x

He was a shorter, slimmer, handsomer version of his sire, without the twice-broken nose that had made Baelor seem more human than royal. Valarr's hair was brown, but a bright streak of silver-gold ran through it. - The Hedge Knight

x

The last pavilion was Prince Valarr's. Of black silk it was, with a line of pointed scarlet pennons hanging from its roof like long red flames. The shield on its stand was glossy black, emblazoned with the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen. One of the Kingsguard knights stood beside it, his shining white armor stark against the black of the tentcloth. 

[...]

And the black-and-white knight, Lord Gawen Swann, challenged the black prince with the white guardian. - The Hedge Knight

+.+.+

[alicole-sideblog]

show!Criston is 70% Arys Oakheart by volume

Criston Cole's references in the series proper are:

AFFC, chapter 13, "The Soiled Knight" (Arys Oakheart)

AFFC, chapter 16, "Jaime II" (Jaime Lannister)

For ages I was just looking at the quotes in isolation on asearchoficeandfire.com. If you look at just the lines where they namedrop Criston, what stands out is that Arys judges Criston harshly, while Jaime has a more nuanced read on him.

However, I finally took the time to re-read the fuller context. What's glaringly obvious that the Arys chapter was undoubtedly the biggest inspiration for the direction the show took with the Criston and Rhaenyra thing.

Arys chapter summary: He meets with Princess Arianne, who he's having an affair with. He feels really guilty about the affair and tells her so, trying to end it. Arianne brushes that off. She tries to recruit him for her plot to make Myrcella queen; he says no; she's like, "You're being very Criston Cole right now." She talks about how her (actually quite indulgent) dad is being shitty and wants to disinherit her, and everyone's plotting against her, so she needs Arys on her side. He relents and agrees to the Myrcella plot.

Does this sound familiar, by chance?

I mean look at this — more than half this dialogue could be given to show!Rhaenyra and show!Criston verbatim!

Arys: It had been ten years since . . . I never touched a woman until you, not since I took the white. I never knew what love could be, yet now . . . I am afraid. Arianne: What would frighten my white knight? Arys: I fear for my honor, and for yours. Arianne: I can tend to my own honor. [...] You are not your white cloak, ser. Arys: I am. I am my cloak. And this must end, for your sake as well as mine. If we should be discovered . . . Arianne: Men will think you fortunate. Arys: Men will think me an oathbreaker. What if someone were to go to your father and tell him how I'd dishonored you? [...] Arianne: My father is very good at doing nothing. He calls it thinking. Tell me true, ser, is it my dishonor that concerns you, or your own? Arys: Both. That is why this must be our last time. [...] I swore a vow . . . Arianne: . . . not to wed or father children. Well, I have drunk my moon tea, and you know I cannot marry you. Though I might be persuaded to keep you for my paramour. Arys: Now you mock me.

They're doing a little irony: The one who kinda identifies with Criston (Jaime) is less like him, while the one who reviles him (Arys) is more like him.

[bruiisedpetals-a]

[A]GOT. oc daughter of LORD SAWANE BOTLEY OF LORDSPORT

𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐒𝐘𝐌 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐘, twin of symond, only daughter. thirdborn.

LORE. (ASOS - AFFC) After King Balon Greyjoy's death, his brother, Euron Greyjoy, returns to proclaim himself King of the Iron Islands. Sawane refuses to do him fealty, stating that the Seastone Chair belongs to Theon Greyjoy by rights. Euron has Lord Sawane drowned. Sawane's sons are dispossessed of the lordship. Half of the lands are given to House Wynch, while the remnants are left to Sawane's brother, Germund Botley, the new Lord of Lordsport, who supports Euron.

SUMMARY. the only daughter of lordsport, heir to the captaincy of her fathers ship swiftfin, twin sister of symond botley and the thirdborn child as she is slightly older than symond. more comfortable on deck than on land + she sided with her father after king balon's death. sym was disposed of her ladyship alongside her still-living siblings, and was said to be mad with rage upon finding out her uncle had sided with euron. sym plans to avenger her father, reclaim swiftfin as her own (currently in the hands of her uncle germund) + reclaim house botley's lands from their traitorous kin and that of house wynch. if she has to kill her uncle to make that happen, she will.

PARENTS. sawane botley † (father) + eura botley nèe tawney † (mother) SIBLINGS. harren botley †, tristifer botley, symond botley (twin brother), harlon botley, vickon botley + bennarion botley ELDERS. germund botley (uncle) & her fathers half-brothers: lucimore botley (uncle), sargon botley (uncle) COUSINS. balon botley, quellon botley (sons of germund) + wex pyke (bastard son of sargon)

INSP. lady / captain asha greyjoy, pirate king elizabeth swann, captain hector barbossa, lady lyanna mormont.

[scum-belina]

I sort of miss when you posted a lot about GoT and pxs :( I never watched it myself but felt like I had through your posts lol

I miss it too but I'm just burnt out on it. A while back I was rereading the books and realized the last book that had Petyr and Sansa in it was AFFC, which was released in 2005. There has not been any new official content with Petyr or Sansa in seventeen years. It's insane. I'm starved. Undernourished. And ADWD was 12 years ago. At this point if TWOW actually ever gets released, I might just wait to read a summary of it to see if it's even worth the time. GRRM got that HBO money and got lazy and I'm fed up with it. I will ALWAYS love the books and the countless characters I love in it tho.

[musing-and-music]

I smelled your secret

Written during the Night of Chaos (150th night for the Nuits du FoF on ffnet), on the themes "The Secret of the Unicorn" (from the Tintin album), and "J'ai flairé son foie son visage"="I smelled her kidney, her face" (a miss-transliteration of "J'ai effleuré cent fois son visage" from Dernière danse by Kyo)

Part 3 of A few nights in Westeros

Rating T | 1312 words | Post ADWD, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, You know that comfort Brienne craves for in AFFC | Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth

Summary: As Brienne leads Jaime to Lady Stoneheart, she's overcome by pain and guilt, until Jaime notices them

Read on AO3 / Read in French

[melrosing]

AFFC cers POVs do have elements of ‘Garfield minus Garfield’ I JUST DID A SPIT-TAKE!!!

[onthesandsofdreams]

Of Sansa & Sandor [4/?]

Pairing: SanSan Rating: T Summary: “Little bird.” The voice startled her. What she had come to think of a term of endearment, startled her. Alayne freezes, and something inside her stirs. It’s strong and fierce, and it’s someone. Sansa Stark rears her head and howls like the she-wolf that she is. “Ser.” Is all that she manages. Words: 500 Notes: Takes place after AFFC/ADWD

Read @ AO3

“Little bird.”

The voice startled her. What she had come to think of a term of endearment, startled her. Alayne freezes, and something inside her stirs. It’s strong and fierce, and it’s someone. Sansa Stark rears her head and howls like the she-wolf that she is. “Ser.” Is all that she manages.

“That hair is a poor costume.”

It is then when she turns, and she can’t help the sharp inhale of breath that she takes. In front of her stands Sandor Clegane. He is dressed as an errant knight, but there is a hood atop his head. And she’s glad that he spoke to her alone, and looking around, they are well hidden. “I had no choice,” she feels the odd need to defend herself. “There is a price to my head.”

“I know,” Sandor says. “But you still remember Lady Stark.”

Another sharp inhale of breath. She knows it, she can see parts of her mother and father on her face. “I know,” she whispers. “But I have no choice. Joffrey’s dead and I’m wanted for it.”

“And I know you didn’t do it, at least not with a spell, as the bloody idiots say you did.”

“It was the Tyrells,” she whispers with a shaky voice. “They made me carry the poison, I didn’t know until it happened.”

“Bloody bastards. I’m sorry.”

“I should have come with you.”

Sandor shakes his head. “No, I nearly died on the road. I found your sister, but she’s gone and I have no idea where she is, found some outlaws too who wanted to pass their idea of justice on me.”

Her vision blurs, “My sister? Arya is alive?” Oh how sweet it is to hear that a part of her family still leaves, and she hopes that Arya is well and safe. How she longs to hold her sister and beg forgiveness for her foolishness.

“Last I saw her. And there’s this woman too, Brienne of Tarth, she’s looking for you on your mother’s command.”

Her mother didn’t gave her up. Her mother still wanted her safe and back home. “You swear?”

“Aye. I heard her speaking, she is looking for you. I have no idea where she is now, but she’s looking for you and your sister.”

“I want to go home,” she whispers. “It’s all I wanted. I wanted to go North.”

Sandor looks at her for a long moment, then nods. “I came here with some others, people from the place I was resting and recovering. I will speak to them, but be ready to leave as soon as the tourney ends.”

She is shaking, she knows, she feels herself. Home. Here he was Sandor promising again to take her home. “I want to go home, at least White Harbour. I’d be safe there.”

And Sandor surprises her, he pulls his sword from his scabbard and walks to her, placing her at her feet. “My sword is yours my Lady.”

She smiles and says, “Thank you.”

[janiedean]

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister & Brienne of Tarth Characters: Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister, Roose Bolton, Vargo Hoat, Rorge (ASoIaF), Urswyck (ASoIaF), Shagwell "The Fool" (ASoIaF), Qyburn (ASoIaF), Podrick Payne, Lady Stoneheart, Ronnet Connington Additional Tags: Meta, Nonfiction, Essays, Character Analysis, Book 3: A Storm of Swords, Book 4: A Feast for Crows, Book 5: A Dance with Dragons, in which I'm done with a lot of things so have text analysis on how they're meant to be, Peace Series: Part 2 of in which I stash meta/essays/everything that's not fanfic Summary: In which I meta-ed and spent an unholy amount of words doing some asos/affc text analysis to break down the Jaime/Brienne relationship and bring up all the actual textual reasons of why I think they're book-canon headed for romance, of how they relate to each other and how their journeys intersect and parallel each other.

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

A FEAST FOR CROWS

Summary & Foreshadowing Smorgasbord (Part I)

Get in loser, it's foreshadowing time.

AFFC Part I: UNDER THE CUT

Sansa Stark, Queen in the North

Jon Snow, King in the North

Jon (Aemon?) Snow

Ahoy Matey! Arya Stark Sails the Ocean Blue

Bran the Broken, King of Westeros

High Septon Rickon?

Pick Your Poison: The Twins Meet Their End in the Bowels of Casterly Rock . . . or King's Landing

Younger and More Beautiful Cersei

AFFC PART II: CLICK

Dark Daenerys Highlights & Laughs

Let's Dance: Stark vs. Targ

A Rat in a Maze 🐀🔪

The Usurper's Knife

Storm x Storm 🦑🖤🐉

Squid Game

AFFC PART III: CLICK

Chapter Transitions

JONSA 🐺❤️❄️

Previous books:

AGOT Summary & Foreshadowing: CLICK

ACOK Summary & Foreshadowing: PART I / PART II

ASOS Summary & Foreshadowing: PART I / PART II / PART III / PART IV

Stumpy note:

If I didn't give you credit for discovering something or if I missed any foreshadowing, please contact me and I'll rectify that.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the reread project. All of you have great observations and comments, I wish I could highlight them all. 🙂

SANSA STARK, QUEEN IN THE NORTH

The lady of the house has duties to perform.

"In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you've planned for them. Mark that well, Alayne. It's a lesson that Cersei Lannister still has yet to learn. Now, don't you have some duties to perform?"

She did indeed. She saw to the mulling of the wine first, found a suitable wheel of sharp white cheese, and commanded the cook to bake bread enough for twenty, in case the Lords Declarant brought more men than expected.

[...]

The solar next. Its floor was covered by a Myrish carpet, so there was no need to lay down rushes. Alayne asked two serving men to erect the trestle table and bring up eight of the heavy oak-and-leather chairs. For a feast she would have placed one at the head of the table, one at the foot, and three along each side, but this was no feast. She had the men arrange six chairs on one side of the table, two on the other.

[...]

It might be that the lords would talk late into the night. They would need fresh candles. After Maddy laid the fire, she sent her down to find the scented beeswax candles Lord Waxley had given Lady Lysa when he sought to win her hand. Then she visited the kitchens once again, to make certain of the wine and bread. All seemed well in hand, and there was still time enough for her to bathe and wash her hair and change.

[...]

Alayne met them in the Crescent Chamber beside a warming fire, where she welcomed them in Lord Robert's name and served them bread and cheese and cups of hot mulled wine in silver cups.

Petyr had given her a roll of arms to study, so she knew their heraldry if not their faces. - Alayne I, AFFC

x

"Then he has none to throw at me. Isn't there some work you should be doing? And you, Maddy . . . are all the windows closed and shuttered? Have all the furnishings been covered?"

"All of them, m'lady," said Maddy.

"Best make certain of it." - Alayne II, AFFC

x

"Lord Robert is feeling stronger," Alayne told the serving women. "Fetch hot water for his bath, but see you don't scald him. And do not pull on his hair when you brush out the tangles, he hates that." One of the squires sniggered, until she said, "Terrance, lay out his lordship's riding clothes and his warmest cloak. Gyles, you may clean up that broken chamber pot." - Alayne II, AFFC

x

Petyr Baelish was clear across the Vale, though, attending Lord Lyonel Corbray at his wedding. 

[...]

Alayne understood all that well enough, but it meant that the burden of getting Sweetrobin safely down the mountain fell on her. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

JON SNOW, KING IN THE NORTH

Are you sure?

Mance's blood is no more royal than mine own. He has never worn a crown nor sat a throne. He's a brigand, nothing more. There's no power in brigand's blood. - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

Jon's acting like a king.

Lord Janos would have sent Snow ranging naked on a mule. 'Scamper on up to Craster's Keep,' he would have said, 'and fetch me back the Old Bear's cloak and boots.' We saved him from that, but now he has too many duties to drink a cup of mulled wine by the fire?"

Grenn agreed. "His duties don't keep him from the yard. More days than not, he's out there fighting someone."

[...]

Jon, he'd said, but Jon was gone. It was Lord Snow who faced him now, grey eyes as hard as ice. "You have no father," said Lord Snow. - Samwell I, AFFC

x

Only Robb and baby Rickon were still here, and Robb was changed. He was Robb the Lord now, or trying to be. He wore a real sword and never smiled. His days were spent drilling the guard and practicing his swordplay, making the yard ring with the sound of steel as Bran watched forlornly from his window. At night he closeted himself with Maester Luwin, talking or going over account books. Sometimes he would ride out with Hallis Mollen and be gone for days at a time, visiting distant holdfasts. Whenever he was away more than a day, Rickon would cry and ask Bran if Robb was ever coming back. Even when he was home at Winterfell, Robb the Lord seemed to have more time for Hallis Mollen and Theon Greyjoy than he ever did for his brothers. - Bran IV, AGOT

+.+.+

Many monarchs are implicated, so we'll put it everywhere.

Should Jon fear his black brothers?

On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king? - Jaime VI, AFFC

+.+.+

Sounds like a steward with royal blood.

Thank you, @agentrouka-blog!

Did you know the Darklyns were kings in Duskendale before the Andals come? You'd never know t'look at me, but I got me royal blood. Can you see it? 'Your Grace, another cup of ale,' I ought to make them say. 'Your Grace, the chamber pot needs emptying, and fetch in some fresh faggots, Your Bloody Grace, the fire's going out.'" She laughed again and shook the last drops from the pail. - Brienne II, AFFC

x

"There is no shame in being a steward," Sam said.

"Do you think I want to spend the rest of my life washing an old man's smallclothes?" - Jon VI, AGOT

+.+.+

Looks can be deceiving.

"Looking for mermaids, Slayer?" asked Dareon when he saw Sam staring off across the bay. Fair-haired and hazel-eyed, the handsome young singer out of Eastwatch looked more like some dark prince than a black brother. - Samwell II, AFFC

+.+.+

Sworn to protect the realm.

"The Iron Throne must defend the Faith," growled a hulking lout with a seven-pointed star painted on his brow. "A king who does not protect his people is no king at all." - Cersei VI, AFFC

+.+.+

JON (AEMON?) SNOW

Sounds familiar.

"He was a good man," he began . . . but as soon as he had said the words he knew that they were wrong. "No. He was a great man. A maester of the Citadel, chained and sworn, and Sworn Brother of the Night's Watch, ever faithful. When he was born they named him for a hero who had died too young, but though he lived a long long time, his own life was no less heroic. No man was wiser, or gentler, or kinder. At the Wall, a dozen lords commander came and went during his years of service, but he was always there to counsel them. He counseled kings as well. He could have been a king himself, but when they offered him the crown he told them they should give it to his younger brother. How many men would do that?" Sam felt the tears welling in his eyes, and knew he could not go on much longer. "He was the blood of the dragon, but now his fire has gone out. He was Aemon Targaryen. And now his watch is ended." - Samwell IV, AFFC

+.+.+

Little Aemon Steelsong (he has a song!) with the royal blood will be passed off as a bastard.

Thank you, @sherlokiness!

"Maester is not a name. You could call him Aemon, though."

Gilly thought about that. "Dalla brought him forth during battle, as the swords sang all around her. That should be his name. Aemon Battleborn. Aemon Steelsong." - Samwell IV, AFFC

x

"I do," said Sam, "but I could lie in a letter. I'm better with a quill in hand. I had a . . . a thought. When things are more settled here, I thought maybe the best thing for Gilly . . . I thought I might send her to Horn Hill. To my mother and sisters and my . . . my f-f-father. If Gilly were to say the babe was m-mine . . ." He was blushing again. "My mother would want him, I know. She would find some place for Gilly, some kind of service, it wouldn't be as hard as serving Craster. And Lord R-Randyll, he . . . he would never say so, but he might be pleased to believe I got a bastard on some wildling girl. At least it would prove I was man enough to lie with a woman and father a child. He told me once that I was sure to die a maiden, that no woman would ever . . . you know . . . Jon, if I did this, wrote this lie . . . would that be a good thing? The life the boy would have . . ."

"Growing up a bastard in his grandfather's castle?" Jon shrugged. "That depends in great part on your father, and what sort of boy this is. If he takes after you . . ." - Samwell IV, ASOS

+.+.+

AHOY MATEY! ARYA STARK SAILS THE OCEAN BLUE

Did Princess Nymeria do anything other than sail on ships? It's hard to tell.

There were two seats on the dais, near twin to one another, save that one had the Martell spear inlaid in gold upon its back, whilst the other bore the blazing Rhoynish sun that had flown from the masts of Nymeria's ships when first they came to Dorne. - The Captain of the Guards, AFFC

x

He rolled off of her to sprawl staring at the ceiling. A great crack ran across it, from one wall to the other. He had not noticed that before, no more than he had noticed the picture on the tapestry, a scene of Nymeria and her ten thousand ships. - The Soiled Knight, AFFC

x

She leaned her back against a fluted pillar and wondered if her brother was looking at the same stars tonight, wherever he might be. Do you see the white one, Quentyn? That is Nymeria's star, burning bright, and that milky band behind her, those are ten thousand ships. She burned as bright as any man, and so shall I. - The Queenmaker, AFFC

x

We are in part, Your Grace. Nymeria's blood is in me, along with that of Mors Martell, the Dornish lord she married. On the day they wed, Nymeria fired her ships, so her people would understand that there could be no going back. Most were glad to see those flames, for their voyagings had been long and terrible before they came to Dorne, and many and more had been lost to storm, disease, and slavery. - The Queenmaker, AFFC

x

Arianne would have given much and more for a copy of Ten Thousand Ships or The Loves of Queen Nymeria, anything to occupy her thoughts and let her escape her tower for an hour or two, but such amusements were denied her. - The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

+.+.+

We could be like Nymeria, and sail beyond the Sunset Sea.

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

+.+.+

The ship has a name.

"Just so. Your father was oarmaster on a galley. When your mother died, he took you off to sea with him. Then he died as well, and his captain had no use for you, so he put you off the ship in Braavos. And what was the name of the ship?"

"Nymeria," she said at once. - Arya II, AFC

+.+.+

Arya dreams of home while on a ship.

His father was shouting orders. Sailors scrambled up and down the three tall masts and moved along the rigging, reefing the heavy purple sails. Below, oarsmen heaved and strained over two great banks of oars. The decks tilted, creaking, as the galleas Titan's Daughter heeled to starboard and began to come about.

The star of home. Arya stood at the prow, one hand resting on the gilded figurehead, a maiden with a bowl of fruit. For half a heartbeat she let herself pretend that it was her home ahead. - Arya I, AFFC

+.+.+

Like any other person who seeks adventure.

Arya never seemed to find the places she set out to reach. - Arya I, AFFC

+.+.+

Arya prefers the boat.

She had crossed the narrow sea to get here, but if the captain had asked she would have told him she wanted to stay aboard the Titan's Daughter. Salty was too small to man an oar, she knew that now, but she could learn to splice ropes and reef the sails and steer a course across the great salt seas. Denyo had taken her up to the crow's nest once, and she hadn't been afraid at all, though the deck had seemed a tiny thing below her. I can do sums too, and keep a cabin neat. - Arya I, AFFC

+.+.+

Arya likes the sailors and harbors best of all.

Only Braavosi were permitted use of the Purple Harbor, from the Drowned Town and the Sealord's Palace; ships from her sister cities and the rest of the wide world had to use the Ragman's Harbor, a poorer, rougher, dirtier port than the Purple. It was noisier as well, as sailors and traders from half a hundred lands crowded its wharves and alleys, mingling with those who served and preyed on them. Cat liked it best of any place in Braavos. She liked the noise and the strange smells, and seeing what ships had come in on the evening tide and what ships had departed. She liked the sailors too; the boisterous Tyroshi with their booming voices and dyed whiskers; the fair-haired Lyseni, always trying to niggle down her prices; the squat, hairy sailors from the Port of Ibben, growling curses in low, raspy voices. Her favorites were the Summer Islanders, with their skins as smooth and dark as teak. They wore feathered cloaks of red and green and yellow, and the tall masts and white sails of their swan ships were magnificent. - Cat of the Canals, AFFC

+.+.+

No matter where she goes, Arya always comes back to the harbor.

Some days she rolled her barrow past the towers of the mighty to offer baked clams to the guardsmen at their gates. Once she cried her catch on the steps of the Palace of Truth

[...]

Customs officers from the Chequy Port would buy from her, and paddlers from the Drowned Town

[...]

One time, when Brea took to her bed with her moon blood, Cat had pushed her barrow to the Purple Harbor

[...]

Other days she followed the sweetwater river to the Moon Pool.

[...]

But she always returned to the Ragman's Harbor. – Cat of the Canals, AFFC

+.+.+

A young man hurts his hand, and has to become an oarsmen. I don't want to get into it, so you'll have to trust me that the Arya is strong on this one.

"You come work with me, Cat," urged Tagganaro as he was sucking mussels from their shells. He had been looking for a new partner ever since the Drunken Daughter put her knife through Little Narbo's hand. "I give you more than Brusco, and you would not smell like fish."

"Casso likes the way I smell," she said. The King of Seals barked, as if to agree. "Is Narbo's hand no better?"

"Three fingers do not bend," complained Tagganaro, between mussels. "What good is a cutpurse who cannot use his fingers? Narbo was good at picking pockets, not so good at picking whores."

"Merry says the same." Cat was sad. She liked Little Narbo, even if he was a thief. "What will he do?"

"Pull an oar, he says. Two fingers are enough for that, he thinks, and the Sealord's always looking for more oarsmen. I tell him, 'Narbo, no. That sea is colder than a maiden and crueler than a whore. Better you should cut off the hand, and beg.' Casso knows I am right. Don't you, Casso?"

The seal barked, and Cat had to smile. She tossed another cockle his way before she went off on her own. - Cat of the Canals, AFFC

+.+.+

BRAN THE BROKEN, KING OF WESTEROS

I bet they trade places.

"A letter to King Tommen?"

"At Winterfell Tommen fought my brother Bran with wooden swords. He wore so much padding he looked like a stuffed goose. Bran knocked him to the ground." Jon went to the window. "Yet Bran's dead, and pudgy pink-faced Tommen is sitting on the Iron Throne, with a crown nestled amongst his golden curls." - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

The five year gab is abandoned, and the author immediately produces new history of a 10-year-old Stark chosen to rule.

"My lord, when I was looking through the annals I came on another boy commander. Four hundred years before the Conquest. Osric Stark was ten when he was chosen, but he served for sixty years. That's four, my lord. You're not even close to being the youngest ever chosen. You're fifth youngest, so far." - Samwell I, AFFC

+.+.+

He meant to call a council.

Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime's shoulder. "When this battle's done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but . . . well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return." - Jaime I, AFFC

+.+.+

A man who sounds a bit like Bran tries to win an election.

Thank you, @decadelongsummer!

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

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

+.+.+

Many monarchs are implicated, so we'll put it everywhere.

(Three-eyed?) Crows are dining on kings.

On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king? - Jaime I, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime Lannister slays kings, and makes kings.

"They belonged to Criston Cole, who served the first Viserys and the second Aegon." Jaime closed the White Book. "They called him Kingmaker." - Jaime II, AFFC

x

The man looked over at the woman. "The things I do for love," he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove.

Screaming, Bran went backward out the window into empty air. There was nothing to grab on to. The courtyard rushed up to meet him. - Bran II, AGOT

+.+.+

Crowns switched to bells, then passed to a cripple.

Jaehaerys and his queen slept there during their journeys, it is said. For a time the inn was known as the Two Crowns in their honor, until one innkeep built a bell tower, and changed it to the Bellringer Inn. Later it passed to a crippled knight named Long Jon Heddle, who took up ironworking when he grew too old to fight. - Brienne VII, AFFC

+.+.+

HIGH SEPTON RICKON?

An eight-year-old boy is selected as High Septon.

"After that one died, an eight-year-old boy was elevated, once more at King Baelor's urging. The boy worked miracles, His Grace declared, though even his little healing hands could not save Baelor during his final fast."

Lady Merryweather gave a laugh. "Eight years old? Perhaps my son could be High Septon. He is almost seven." - Cersei VI, AFFC

+.+.+

Any number of boys.

Cersei did not doubt that there were any number of boys who would do more honor to the crystal crown than the wretch on whom the Most Devout had chosen to bestow it. - Cersei VI, AFFC

+.+.+

Might not have to look too hard.

Are you a priest or a greengrocer? "And what might I do to make it . . . riper?" If he dares mention gold, I will deal with this one as I did the last and find a pious eight-year-old to wear the crystal crown. - Cersei VI, AFFC

+.+.+

PICK YOUR POISON: THE TWINS MEET THEIR END IN THE BOWELS OF CASTERLY ROCK . . . OR KING'S LANDING

You're going to need the original theory to make better sense of this.

If you want to read the theory in its entirety (including the new evidence below), click on the link. I strongly suggest this option.

If you're familiar with the theory and only want the AFFC additions, keep reading.

To summarize:

Jaime and Cersei will intentionally drink poison as a castle crumbles above them.

The valonqar prophecy.

The old woman was not done with her, however. "Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds," she said. "And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei wakes from her valonqar nightmare choking in the same manner as Joffrey. . . when he drank poison.

The valonqar shall wrap his hands about your throat, the queen heard, but the voice did not belong to the old woman. The hands emerged from the mists of her dream and coiled around her neck; thick hands, and strong. Above them floated his face, leering down at her with his mismatched eyes. No, the queen tried to cry out, but the dwarf's fingers dug deep into her neck, choking off her protests. She kicked and screamed to no avail. Before long she was making the same sound her son had made, the terrible thin sucking sound that marked Joff's last breath on earth. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Like what?

Father found no better man. Instead he gave me Robert, and Maggy's curse bloomed like some poisonous flower. - Cersei V, AFFC

x

He touched one of the crystals lightly with the tip of his little finger. Such a small thing to hold the power of life and death. It was made from a certain plant that grew only on the islands of the Jade Sea, half a world away. 

[...]

Cressen no longer recalled the name the Asshai'i gave the leaf, or the Lysene poisoners the crystal. In the Citadel, it was simply called the strangler. - Prologue, ACOK

+.+.+

The twins are dry, and need some wine.

It's ill luck not to eat the pie," he scolded as he filled his mouth with hot spiced pigeon. "See, it's good." Spitting out flakes of crust, he coughed and helped himself to another fistful. "Dry, though. Needs washing down." Joff took a swallow of wine and coughed again, more violently. 

[...]

The boy's only thirteen. Joffrey was making a dry clacking noise, trying to speak. - Tyrion VIII, ASOS

x

The little queen is making excuses for her brother. Cersei's mouth was dry. I need a cup of Arbor gold. - Cersei VII, AFFC

x

"I was just . . . remembering." Her throat was dry. "You are a good friend, Taena. I have not had a true friend in . . ." - Cersei VII, AFFC

x

"It was. I know it was." Cersei shuddered. "My throat is raw. Be a sweet and pour me some wine." - Cersei IX, AFFC

x

So passed the longest night that Cersei Lannister had ever known, save for the night of Joffrey's wedding. Her throat was so raw from shouting that she could hardly swallow. - Cersei X, AFFC

x

"I've sent him wine."

"Wine?" Brienne was lost. "Robb? Or . . . Theon Greyjoy?"

"The Kingslayer." The ploy had served her well with Cleos Frey. I hope you're thirsty, Jaime. I hope your throat is dry and tight. "I would like you to come with me." - Catelyn VII, ACOK

+.+.+

Ser Ilyn keeps mocking Jaime.

The boy's only thirteen. Joffrey was making a dry clacking noise, trying to speak. - Tyrion VIII, ASOS

x

Ser Ilyn opened his mouth and made a clacking sound. A laugh, Jaime realized. Something twisted in his gut. - Jaime III, AFFC

x

The pockmarks on Ser Ilyn's face were black holes in the torchlight, as dark as Jaime's soul. He made that clacking sound.

He is laughing at me, realized Jaime Lannister. - Jaime IV, AFFC

x

He made that clacking sound that might have been a laugh and drew his sword up Jaime's throat till the point came to rest between his lips. Only then did he step back and sheathe his steel. - Jaime V, AFFC

x

"If I keep at this for another year, I may be as good as Peck," Jaime declared, and Ser Ilyn made that clacking sound that meant he was amused. "Come, let's drink some more of Hoster Tully's good red wine." - Jaime VII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei's feeling tight.

It is blood I need, not water. Tyrion's blood, the blood of the valonqar. The torches spun around her. Cersei closed her eyes, and saw the dwarf grinning at her. No, she thought, no, I was almost rid of you. But his fingers had closed around her neck, and she could feel them beginning to tighten. - Cersei I, AFFC

x

Seated on her gold-and-crimson high seat beneath the Iron Throne, Cersei could feel a growing tightness in her neck. - Cersei VII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei's going to have Jaime kill the younger and more beautiful queen.

Cersei is the younger and more beautiful queen. (Next section)

Anger flashed across the child's face. "If she tries I will have my brother kill her." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

x

She did. I knew it all along, she thought. Even in the tent. "If she tries I will have my brother kill her." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime Lannister, The Kinslayer.

He never said he meant to kill our father. If he had, I would have stopped him. Then I would be the kinslayer, not him. - Jaime I, AFFC

x

The height of folly was reached when a plump fool came capering out in gold-painted tin with a cloth lion's head, and chased a dwarf around the tables, whacking him over the head with a bladder. Finally King Renly demanded to know why he was beating his brother. "Why, Your Grace, I'm the Kinslayer," the fool said.

"It's Kingslayer, fool of a fool," Renly said, and the hall rang with laughter. - Catelyn II, ACOK

+.+.+

A dragon's coming for the twins.

"The puppet lions grow greedy and arrogant as this treasonous tale proceeds, until they begin to devour their own subjects. When the noble stag makes objection, the lions devour him as well, and roar that it is their right as the mightiest of beasts."

"And is that the end of it?" Cersei asked, amused. Looked at in the right light, it could be seen as a salutary lesson.

"No, Your Grace. At the end a dragon hatches from an egg and devours all of the lions." The ending took the puppet show from simple insolence to treason. "Witless fools. Only cretins would hazard their heads upon a wooden dragon." - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

But where will it happen: King's Landing or Casterly Rock?

King's Landing

Cersei's asking for a storm to rock the Red Keep.

"No one wants rain," said Cersei. For herself, she wanted sleet and ice, howling winds, thunder to shake the very stones of the Red Keep. She wanted a storm to match her rage. - Cersei III, AFFC

x

"Even if Tyrion were still hiding in the castle, he won't be in the Tower of the Hand. We've reduced it to a shell."

"Would that we could do the same to the rest of this foul castle," said Cersei. - Cersei III, AFFC

+.+.+

God forbid dragonfire enters into the equation.

Jaime ignored that. "If these flames spread beyond the tower, you may end up burning down the castle whether you mean to or not. Wildfire is treacherous." – Cersei III, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei's front row seat.

The Tower of the Hand gave out a sudden groan, so loud that all the conversation stopped abruptly. Stone cracked and split, and part of the upper battlements fell away and landed with a crash that shook the hill, sending up a cloud of dust and smoke. As fresh air rushed in through the broken masonry, the fire surged upward. Green flames leapt into the sky and whirled around each other. Tommen shied away, till Margaery took his hand and said, "Look, the flames are dancing. Just as we did, my love."

"They are." His voice was filled with wonder. "Mother, look, they're dancing." - Cersei III, AFFC

+.+.+

Who's going to die beneath the Red Keep?

Unless my brother murdered Varys too, and left his corpse to rot beneath the castle. Down there, it might be years before his bones were found. - Jaime I, AFFC

x

Tyrion hung back a moment. Varys had already betrayed him once. Who knew what game the eunuch was playing? And what better place to murder a man than down in the darkness, in a place that no one knew existed? His body might never be found. - Tyrion XI, ASOS

+.+.+

A dragon has been waiting for Jaime beneath the Red Keep.

He remembered the sullen orange glow of the coals in the iron dragon's mouth. The brazier warmed a chamber at the bottom of a shaft where half a dozen tunnels met. On the floor he'd found a scuffed mosaic of the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen done in tiles of black and red. I know you, Kingslayer, the beast seemed to be saying. I have been here all the time, waiting for you to come to me. And it seemed to Jaime that he knew that voice, the iron tones that had once belonged to Rhaegar, Prince of Dragonstone. - Jaime I, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime's going to have some problems if he's ever down there again.

Jaime had led a dozen guards below, with torches and ropes and lanterns. For hours they had groped through twisting passages, narrow crawl spaces, hidden doors, secret steps, and shafts that plunged down into utter blackness. Seldom had he felt so utterly a cripple. A man takes much for granted when he has two hands. Ladders, for an instance. Even crawling did not come easy; not for nought do they speak of hands and knees. Nor could he hold a torch and climb, as others could. - Jaime I, AFFC

+.+.+

Casterly Rock

Tywin's under the Rock. Is he asking for company?

Her brother was growing his beard again as well. The stubble covered his jaw and cheeks, and gave his face a rough, uncouth look. He might at least have waited till Father's bones were interred beneath the Rock. - Cersei II, AFFC

x

There were watery caverns deep below Casterly Rock, but this one was strange to him. "What place is this?"

"Your place." The voice echoed; it was a hundred voices, a thousand, the voices of all the Lannisters since Lann the Clever, who'd lived at the dawn of days. But most of all it was his father's voice, and beside Lord Tywin stood his sister, pale and beautiful, a torch burning in her hand. - Jaime VI, ASOS

+.+.+

Cersei's place.

Her uncle was unmoved. "If you are resolved against another marriage, I will not force it on you. As to the other, though . . . you are the Lady of Casterly Rock now. Your place is there." - Cersei II, AFFC

+.+.+

Rolling thunder echoed off the Rock.

She was ten when she finally saw her prince in the flesh, at the tourney her lord father had thrown to welcome King Aerys to the west. Viewing stands had been raised beneath the walls of Lannisport, and the cheers of the smallfolk had echoed off Casterly Rock like rolling thunder. - Cersei V, AFFC

+.+.+

Jaime practically asks for it.

Harrenhal had seen more horror in its three hundred years than Casterly Rock had witnessed in three thousand. - Jaime III, AFFC

+.+.+

Makes for a big target.

She's known no home but Harrenhal, he reflected. Every castle in the realm will seem small to her, except the Rock.

Josmyn Peckleton was saying the same thing. "You must not judge by Harrenhal. Black Harren built too big." - Jaime IV, AFFC

+.+.+

What will the queen do?

"This city is a cesspit. For half a groat I would move the court to Lannisport and rule the realm from Casterly Rock."

"That would be an even greater folly than burning the Tower of the Hand. So long as Tommen sits the Iron Throne, the realm sees him as the true king. Hide him under the Rock and he becomes just another claimant to the throne, no different than Stannis."

"I am aware of that," the queen said sharply. "I said that I wanted to move the court to Lannisport, not that I would. Were you always this slow, or did losing a hand make you stupid?" - Cersei's III, AFFC

+.+.+

YOUNGER AND MORE BEAUTIFUL CERSEI

Thank you for the theory, @agentrouka-blog!

The prophecy.

"I will be queen, though?" asked the younger her.

"Aye." Malice gleamed in Maggy's yellow eyes. "Queen you shall be . . . until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

One more time.

The younger her.

"I will be queen, though?" asked the younger her. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

While dreaming of her encounter with Maggy the Frog, Cersei frequently switches to third-person narration, giving the impression the girl is someone else.

She dreamt an old dream, of three girls in brown cloaks, a wattled crone, and a tent that smelled of death.

[...]

Cersei watched the girls huddling, whispering to one another. Go back, she tried to tell them. Turn away. There is nothing here for you. But though she moved her mouth, no words came out.

[...]

Lord Tywin's daughter was the first through the flap, with Melara close behind her.

[...]

Leave her be, the queen wanted to cry out. You little fools, never wake a sleeping sorceress. Without a tongue, she could only watch as the girl threw off her cloak, kicked the witch's bed, and said, "Wake up, we want our futures told."

[...]

The girl with the golden curls put her hands upon her hips. "Give us our foretelling, or I'll go to my lord father and have you whipped for insolence."

[...]

Beneath her golden curls, the girl's face wrinkled up in puzzlement. 

[...]

Anger flashed across the child's face. "If she tries I will have my brother kill her." Even then she would not stop, willful child as she was.

[...]

"What is a valonqar? Some monster?" The golden girl did not like that foretelling. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

One more time.

"Begone," she told the girls, in a croaking whisper.

"We came for a foretelling," young Cersei told her. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Are there two queens present?

"Here," she whispered, "give it here." When Cersei offered her hand, she sucked away the blood with gums as soft as a newborn babe's. The queen could still remember how queer and cold her mouth had been.

"Three questions may you ask," the crone said, once she'd had her drink. "You will not like my answers. Ask, or begone with you."

Go, the dreaming queen thought, hold your tongue, and flee. But the girl did not have sense enough to be afraid. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

In the middle of the dream, we're told Maggy the Frog was young(er) and (more) beautiful when she arrived at Lannisport, but age and evil had left their marks on her.

Sounds familiar.

The old woman's eyes were yellow, and crusted all about with something vile. In Lannisport it was said that she had been young and beautiful when her husband had brought her back from the east with a load of spices, but age and evil had left their marks on her. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

x

"You are being foolish. I am only here to help you."

"To help me to my grave. I asked for you to leave. Will you make me call my gaolers and have you dragged away, you vile, scheming, evil bitch?"

Cersei gathered up her skirts and dignity. - Cersei X, AFFC

+.+.+

In a later chapter, Taena Merryweather reassures Cersei by telling her she was young(er) and (more) beautiful than the hateful Maggy.

Taena took her hand and stroked it. "This was a hateful woman, old and sick and ugly. You were young and beautiful, full of life and pride. She lived in Lannisport, you said, so she would have known of the dwarf and how he killed your lady mother. This creature dared not strike you, because of who you were, so she sought to wound you with her viper's tongue." - Cersei IX, AFFC

+.+.+

Immediately after waking from her dream, Cersei calls on old Pycelle. Younger Pycelle used to be a magnificent man, but the cells and razor ruined him.

Sounds familiar.

Pycelle had been old as far back as Cersei could remember, but there was a time when he had also been magnificent: richly clad, dignified, exquisitely courteous. His immense white beard had given him an air of wisdom. Tyrion had shaved his beard off, though, and what had grown back was pitiful, a few patchy tufts of thin, brittle hair that did little to hide the loose pink flesh beneath his sagging chin. This is no man, she thought, only the ruins of one. The black cells robbed him of whatever strength he had. That, and the Imp's razor.

"How old are you?" Cersei asked, abruptly.

"Four-and-eighty, if it please Your Grace."

"A younger man would please me more." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

x

She screamed and kicked and howled until her throat was raw, at the door and at the window. No one shouted back, nor came to rescue her. The cell began to darken. It was growing cold as well. Cersei began to shiver. How can they leave me like this, without so much as a fire? I am their queen. - Cersei X, AFFC

x

They brought lye soap, a basin of warm water, a pair of shears, and a long straightrazor. The sight of the steel sent a shiver through her. They mean to shave me. A little more humiliation, a raisin for my porridge. She would not give them the pleasure of hearing her beg. I am Cersei of House Lannister, a lion of the Rock, the rightful queen of these Seven Kingdoms, trueborn daughter of Tywin Lannister. And hair grows back. - Cersei II, ADWD

+.+.+

Another prophecy.

The old woman was not done with her, however. "Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds," she said. "And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

Cersei and Jaime will intentionally drink poison.

+.+.+

Cersei says she'll have her brother kill the younger and more beautiful queen. In other words, Cersei will have Jaime kill Cersei.

Anger flashed across the child's face. "If she tries I will have my brother kill her." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

x

She did. I knew it all along, she thought. Even in the tent. "If she tries I will have my brother kill her." - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei wakes from her valonqar nightmare choking in the same manner as Joffrey. . . when he drank poison.

The valonqar shall wrap his hands about your throat, the queen heard, but the voice did not belong to the old woman. The hands emerged from the mists of her dream and coiled around her neck; thick hands, and strong. Above them floated his face, leering down at her with his mismatched eyes. No, the queen tried to cry out, but the dwarf's fingers dug deep into her neck, choking off her protests. She kicked and screamed to no avail. Before long she was making the same sound her son had made, the terrible thin sucking sound that marked Joff's last breath on earth. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

+.+.+

Cersei fears the prophecy because Maggy foretold Melara's death, yet it was Cersei who chose to kill Melara that evening. Cersei's actions are making the prophecy come true.

Cersei did not want to hear that. "This maegi made certain prophecies. I laughed at them at first, but . . . she foretold the death of one of my bedmaids. At the time she made the prophecy, the girl was one-and-ten, healthy as a little horse and safe within the Rock. Yet she soon fell down a well and drowned." Melara had begged her never to speak of the things they heard that night in the maegi's tent. If we never talk about it we'll soon forget, and then it will be just a bad dream we had, Melara had said. Bad dreams never come true. The both of them had been so young, that had sounded almost wise. - Cersei VIII, AFFC

x

A young girl sat beneath a fountain, drenched in spray, and stared at her with Melara Hetherspoon's accusing eyes. - Cersei II, ADWD

+.+.+

Cersei is destroying herself.

"You would not believe half of what is happening in King's Landing, sweetling. Cersei stumbles from one idiocy to the next, helped along by her council of the deaf, the dim, and the blind. I always anticipated that she would beggar the realm and destroy herself, but I never expected she would do it quite so fast. It is quite vexing. I had hoped to have four or five quiet years to plant some seeds and allow some fruits to ripen, but now . . . it is a good thing that I thrive on chaos. - Alayne II, AFFC

+.+.+

The beginning of the end.

In her final chapter, Cersei is imprisoned, but not before claiming the younger and more beautiful queen is finished.

Maggy the Frog should have been in motley too, for all she knew about the morrow. Cersei prayed the old fraud was screaming down in hell. The younger queen whose coming she'd foretold was finished, and if that prophecy could fail, so could the rest. No golden shrouds, no valonqar, I am free of your croaking malice at last. - Cersei X, AFFC

+.+.+

AFFC: Part II

Touch me.

Dark Daenerys Highlights & Laughs

Let's Dance: Stark vs. Targ

A Rat in a Maze 🐀🔪

The Usurper's Knife

Storm x Storm 🦑🖤🐉

Squid Game

+.+.+

[malyen0retsev]

I'm honestly terrified to start the books because I know enough of the plot of ASOIAF from the show that all the twists and surprises and such won't be as enjoyable to me. But then I remember all that stuff about GRRM creating nuanced and satisfying character arcs, and the writer in me that wants to learn and get better starts swooning a little. Like. From what I've heard, Book!Jaime Lannister's arc alone is worth the pain.

Nah, trust me - there’s a hell of a lot of twists and surprises that you don’t know. Like, it still makes me rock back and forth when I think about how show only fans don’t know who Lady Stoneheart is. You guys haven’t encountered dark!Gendry, good BwB, and their links to Lady fucking Stoneheart. Like, I go on and on about the way all the other character arcs are way more nuanced in the books (which they are) but LADY STONEHEART ALONE makes the books worth reading honestly. It’s ridiculous they cut her out.

And you’re right! Jaime’s book arc is amazing. And also, a summary of Jaime in AFFC is basically just him constantly thinking about Brienne when 9 times out of 10 it is entirely unnecessary for him to be, him going ‘I HATE THAT WENCH SHE’S SO ANNOYING’ then the moment someone badmouths her he’s like ‘HOW DARE YOU SHE IS A LADY STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE’ (literally sends that guy as far away from him as possible. I’m not exaggerating. He’s so pissed off that even that guy’s presence pisses him off) then goes back to ‘wonder where Brienne is nOT THAT I CARE SHE’S ANNOYING AS FUCK’. But book!Jaime has far more nuance and his arc is quite clearly about realising he and Cersei are separate individuals. He thinks she’s likely going to die and shrugs, carrying on with his own personal loyalties. Because he isn’t a slave to her in the books. He’s his own person.

Honestly, if you think the show plot twists were good, buckle up for the books. They’re done ten times better and there’s tons more of them that didn’t make the show. READ THE BOOKS I BEG YOU ANON.

[cygnustarth]

Cersei's chapters in AFFC - a summary

Cersei: I'm Tywin's heir. I'm the smartest person in the seven kingdoms. This plan I'm about to do is perfect and there's no way this will fail.

Jaime: Cersei no

Kevan: Cersei no

Pycelle: Cersei no

Me: Cersei no

Literally everyone: Cersei no

Cersei: CERSEI YES

Said plan blows up in her face

Cersei:

[oathkeepersfanzine]

Submission Guidelines

I’ve had some people say that they can’t access the Google Docs outlining the guidelines, so I’ll make them into blog posts as well!

-------------------------------

Oathkeepers: A Jaime and Brienne Fanzine Submission Guidelines

Edited 6/18/2019

Compiled by editor Ripley Moyers / Mothdogs

General Rules

All works must be original, not published before (not posted on AO3, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.) If you want to take an original piece and change it or add on to it (e.g. taking a drabble and expounding on the story or re-drawing a previous sketch) that’s fine, but the end result being published should be new and specifically created for the zine.

All works should be a celebration of Jaime and Brienne. I’m not going to say that you can’t include show canon (e.g. re-writing the scene where Jaime leaves Brienne from Brienne’s point of view), but there should be no celebration of or focus on Jaime/Cersei (or any other romantic ship.) Of course stories and art can include other characters, but overall, the focus should be on J/B. That’s what we’re all here for after all ;^)

This zine celebrates J/B in all forms. Show canon, book canon, and AUs are welcome. That means art can depict Jaime and Brienne as Nikolaj and Gwen portray them, or it can depict them in the artist’s own style or vision.

Fiction

Minimum of 500 words, maximum of 2,000 words.

Pieces should be submitted either in an e-mailed MS Word document or a document link on Google Drive.

Although it’s not required, it’s strongly recommended that your final submission be beta-read / proofread by another person. If you need assistance finding a beta-reader or have layout questions, message me.

Proposal must include: One- or two-sentence summary. Even if you don’t know exactly how your piece will turn out, the more info you can give (is it an AU? What type rating are you shooting for?) the better.

Finished piece must include: Title, Author’s name (whatever you want to be called by--real name, pseudonym, AO3 username, tumblr URL, etc.), one- or two-sentence summary, content rating (G for general, T for teen, E for explicit/mature), and any relevant trigger warnings.

Meta / Textual Analysis

Follows roughly the same rules as fanfiction. Minimum 500 words, maximum 2,000 words, proofread if possible, MS Word or Google Drive submission.

Proposal must include: One- or two-sentence summary. Please include the source of the analysis (e.g. which books or show episodes you’ll be focusing on.) If your piece is an analysis of the symbolism in Jaime’s weirwood dream, for example, your proposal should note that you’re referencing A Storm of Swords. Direct quotes should be followed by in-text citation of the character’s chapter number and book, e.g. (Jaime III, ASOS) or (Brienne IV, AFFC).

Finished piece must include:  Title, Author’s name (whatever you want to be called by--real name, pseudonym, AO3 username, tumblr URL, etc.), one- or two-sentence summary, and any relevant trigger warnings.

Art

Art should be either digital or scanned. This means no phone photographs of your drawings. (The exception to this is if you’re submitting a picture of a physical oil/watercolor/acrylic/etc painting, in which case we can work out photograph parameters for you.) If you don’t have access to a scanner, message me and we’ll try to work something out.

Digital art should be submitted in either flattened .PSD (Photoshop document) or .PNG file format. Scanned art should be submitted in .PDF, .PNG or .JPG file format.

Art can be either full-color or black-and-white.

Art should be 300 DPI/PPI (this stands for dots/pixels per inch, which is a measure of how much detail ends up on the page when printing. Blurb requires 300 DPI to ensure fidelity in printing.)

Digital art should be drawn on a large canvas. The zine size will be a vertical 8”x10”. 2400x3000 pixels at 300 DPI is the suggested canvas dimension. 1000x1250 pixels at 300 DPI is the minimum canvas dimension. Your art may be cropped or slightly resized during the layout process (although we’ll try our best to avoid this), therefore the bigger the canvas, the better.

Keep in mind that the printing process darkens your art--the art you see on your screen will be darker when it’s printed on the page. Any areas of dark, saturated color (purple, brown, blue, etc) will probably come out closer to black after printing. This can be corrected after the proof is printed, if need be.

Backgrounds are encouraged, but not required.

Comic panels must be able to fit onto an 8”x10” rectangular page. For example, a 4-panel comic should be submitted in 2 x 2 panels, not 4 panels across.

Proposal must include: A description of the artwork. Will it be digital or traditional? If it’s digital, which program(s) will you use to create it? What will the focus be (e.g. if it’s Brienne and Jaime hanging out in an AU setting, what will they be doing? Etc.) It’s okay if you don’t know exactly how the piece will turn out, but the more detail and concept you have of it, the better. Sketches (even if it’s just a thumbnail) are highly encouraged.

Finished piece must include: Artwork in accepted format, title, artist’s name (whatever you want to be called by--real name, pseudonym, AO3 username, tumblr URL, etc.).

Cover

I will be collaborating with Alan (@apardonablemonomania on Tumblr) to create an original piece using his fantastic calligraphy for the cover.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

What does Cersei think of Catelyn? IIRC she occasionally mentions her as a political opponent during the WOT5K, but what does Cersei think of her with regard to her own perception of women and power in Westeros?

She’s dismissive of Catelyn, considering her weak.

The smell of him made her wrinkle her nose. “Take the quarrel out of him,” she commanded. “This is the King’s Hand!” And my father. My lord father. Should I scream and tear my hair? They said Catelyn Stark had clawed her own face to bloody ribbons when the Freys slew her precious Robb. Would you like that, Father? she wanted to ask him. Or would you want me to be strong?

–AFFC, Cersei I

“Snow, the boy is called,” Pycelle said unhelpfully.“I glimpsed him once at Winterfell,” the queen said, “though the Starks did their best to hide him. He looks very like his father.” Her husband’s by-blows had his look as well, though at least Robert had the grace to keep them out of sight. Once, after that sorry business with the cat, he had made some noises about bringing some baseborn daughter of his to court. “Do as you please,” she’d told him, “but you may find that the city is not a healthy place for a growing girl.” The bruise those words had won her had been hard to hide from Jaime, but they heard no more about the bastard girl. Catelyn Tully was a mouse, or she would have smothered this Jon Snow in his cradle. Instead, she’s left the filthy task to me.

–AFFC, Cersei IV

another anonymous asked:

Hello Butterfly! I just read your excellent summary of Cersei’s entirely reasonable hatred of her treatment by the patriarchy. Firstly, it’s most impressive that one of the more unhinged characters does have this very sympathetic status- though her actions in response may not be. Secondly, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this affects Cersei’s view of Brienne? And Jamie’s too, as he must have had some awareness of Cersei’s unhappiness? Brienne got a sword and is her father’s heir.

Cersei is also very dismissive of Brienne.

“[Jaime] took Raventree and accepted Lord Blackwood’s surrender,” said her uncle, “but on his way back to Riverrun he left his tail and went off with a woman.”“A woman?” Cersei stared at him, uncomprehending. “What woman? Why? Where did they go?”“No one knows. We’ve had no further word of him. The woman may have been the Evenstar’s daughter, Lady Brienne.”Her. The queen remembered the Maid of Tarth, a huge, ugly, shambling thing who dressed in man’s mail. Jaime would never abandon me for such a creature. My raven never reached him, elsewise he would have come.

–ADWD, Cersei I

She doesn’t even bother to think about how Brienne is her father’s heir – what Cersei notices about her is how ugly she is and how she doesn’t fit in, a woman wearing man’s mail.

Important note: just because Cersei is a feminist character in the sense that her character’s themes are highly applicable to discussion of feminism and the patriarchy, does not make her a feminist person. She is in fact extremely misogynist, self-hating and hating other women both for weakness and for not fitting perfectly into patriarchal society, or even hating them when they do fit in. Just because Cersei is angry at the way she’s been treated unequally by society and wants power for herself, does not mean she wants to empower anyone else. (This also applies to intersectionality, or the lack of it: “doesn’t Cersei see how Tyrion’s been treated so badly by society because he’s a dwarf, doesn’t she feel sympathy for how that compares to her situation?” No. She doesn’t.) Cersei doesn’t want to fix things for every woman, she doesn’t want to institute Dornish-style absolute succession across all Westeros, or martial training for women, or any of the “queer Dornish” edicts proposed by the pretender Gaemon Palehair; anything Cersei wants is for herself and herself alone.

Further note: Brienne is only her father’s heir because her brother died and Selwyn has not remarried to have other sons, and she only had martial training because he’s a very atypical person. She’s an exception, and one that I doubt Cersei would want for herself, if it required being an “ugly creature”.

Last note: Jaime has never thought of Brienne in regards to Cersei’s unhappiness. I don’t think Jaime has any awareness that Cersei is unhappy with the lot the patriarchy dealt her. (He knew she was unhappy with Robert, but thought it was because she wanted him instead (and because Robert was an abusive cheating lout), not because she hated being “sold like a horse” at all.) Cersei keeps many things to herself (she never told Jaime about her feelings for Rhaegar), and it doesn’t seem that she’s ever told Jaime about her wish for a sword or how different she was treated as a child when she wore his clothes and people thought she was him. (The clothes-switching incidents haven’t been mentioned in Jaime’s POV.) I believe Jaime’s lack of knowledge of Cersei’s unhappiness with her role in society is one of the reasons he just doesn’t understand why she won’t give up everything she has to marry him.

Hope that helps you both!

[goodqueenaly]

House Words Wednesdays: House Serry

Welcome to House Words Wednesdays! Each week, I take a House without known canon or semi-canon words and present what I think could make sense as that House’s motto. You’re free to suggest more as well, if your favored House has not yet been suggested; take a look at this link to see what has already been suggested, and shoot me an ask if you have another House you’d like to see.

House Serry is a noble House of the Reach, sworn to Highgarden. It's unclear where the Serrys originally came from, as the Shields were not initially inhabited by lordly reacher families (the initial male inhabitants were killed by invading ironborn, with the women claimed as salt wives or unofficial concubines). Instead, King Garth VII Gardener, the famed “Goldenhand”, staffed the islands with “his own fiercest warriors and finest seamen” after he drove the ironborn from the then-named Misty Islands, renaming them the Shield Islands in testament to their position as the first defense at the mouth of the Mander. From that point, the Serrys and their neighbors have been on the front lines of protecting their riverine entrance to the Reach (including attacking Quellon Greyjoy's forces at the tail end of Robert's Rebellion, killing Lord Quellon). The Serrys have also, in recent years, had the honor of a Tyrell match, with Lia Serry marrying Ser Theodore Tyrell, second cousin to Maragery and her brothers; their daughter is Margaery's companion Elinor, fiancée of young Arthur Ambrose.

The Serrys come dramatically to the fore in AFFC, during “The Reaver”. Under the command of the newly elected King Euron, Victarion and the Iron Fleet attack the Shield Islands, and Victarion himself faces off against Ser Talbert Serry, son and heir of the Lord of Southshield, whose ship he had rammed. Ser Talbert fights nimbly and ably against Victarion, but is no match for the Iron Captain's sheer brute strength, and is eventually thrown overboard in his armor. To what might be his credit, Victarion thinks after the battle that young Serry had been “almost ironborn”, and wishes him to feast in the Drowned God’s hall as well as he fought (the compliment is a fascinating summary of Victarion’s psyche and outlook). At the subsequent feast in Lord Hewett’s hall, the Serry seat of Southshield is given to Lord Drumm's right-hand man, Andrik the Unsmiling (with Euron's secret intention being to make him a sacrificial lamb to the Reach's vengeance forces). Still, Ser Talbert gets something of a last laugh: the wound Victarion took in gripping Talbert's “good castle-forged steel” longsword becomes infected during his journey east, and only the probably necromantic power of Moqorro saves the Iron Captain from an ignominious death from his festered wound.

The Serry sigil is a white rose upon a red escutcheon upon white, within a red embattled border. Given this sigil, I decided that the Serry words should be Do Not Pluck. The embattled border obviously recalls the battlements of a castle - entirely appropriate for a lord whose duty is primarily defensive - and so the sigil's message becomes one of defending the wealth and splendor of the flowered Reach. Likewise, these words are a fitting warning from the Serrys to their seaborne foes: the rose may seem sweet and pretty, but you would be wise not to pluck it, lest you meet our steel thorns. I like these words in particular for the fate of Victarion after his battle with Talbert Serry: having gripped what might be thought one of the steel thorns of the Serry rose and plucked it from Talbert's hand, Victarion found himself suffering near-fatal consequences on his voyage to the dragon queen.

Let me know what you think of these words for House Serry. Next week is another reacher House, though this time on land and in the shadow of the Hightower.

[leonalmalsy]

The Puppet Show in AFFC

A Feast for Crows is my least favorite in the entire series. Jon, Dany, Davos, and Tyrion don’t have chapters. The Ironborn chapters were weak in my opinion. However, the saving grace of the book is the Cersei chapters. I want to share my favorite moment from the book but first I need to set up the scene.

From A Game of Thrones to A Storm of Swords, we only see Cersei from the perspective of Ned, Tyrion, Sansa and Jaime. But in Feast, we finally get inside her head and see her thoughts. Her biggest desire is to be just like her father, Tywin, a brutal man who commanded respect from everyone. At the end of Storm, Tywin is killed by Tyrion. While angered by her father’s death, this gives her a unique opportunity. When Robert Baratheon dies, Cersei seizes the regency for her son, Joffrey. This was a necessity in order to secure Lannister influence. But Kevan tells her that she was never suppose to stay in that position, that Tywin had planned to remove her from her children. Now, with her father dead and Kevan refusing the office of Hand, Cersei can finally be queen regent without anyone else taking her authority. However, her time is limited. She can only legitimately rule until Tommen comes of age. Her desire to be greater than her father, to make Tywin only a footnote in her grand fantasy, drives her to make bold moves without thinking about the consequences. She sends Mace Tyrell and his army to take Storm’s End who will either take it and remove Stannis’s influence in the Stormlands or fail and sully the honor of the Tyrell army. She removes Reacher influence from the Small Council and fills it with sycophants. She has new ships built instead of repaying the debt to the Iron Bank and the Faith. And, most importantly, she is scheming to get rid of Margeary Tyrell.

In the middle of this, Qyburn, her new master of whispers of a puppet show in the city. We don’t get to see the play. Instead, Qyburn gives Cersei, and by extension us, a summary. The kingdom of the beasts is ruled by a pride of haughty lions. They begin to devour their subjects. When the noble stag objects, it is devoured by the lions, who roar that it is their right as the mightiest of beasts. At the end of the play, a dragon hatches from an egg and devours the lions.

Cersei sees the play as treason. She declares that any person of substance is to lose half their wealth and and any poor person is to lose one eye. The male puppeteers are to be put to death while the females are to be given to Qyburn. This is a callback to Clash when Cersei wants to rip out the tongues of those who spread the (true) rumor that her children were not Robert’s but actually Jaime’s. Tyrion and Littlefinger tell her that her actions will not result with the rumor being stopped. Rather, it will tell the realm that the crown is afraid of what these people had to say. So, instead of learning the lesson from before, she acts viciously, further causing a rift between the crown and its subjects.

However, if Cersei had taken a moment to examine this puppet show, she would have asked herself three questions.

Question 1: Who organized the play? There is no way a play with such an overt anti-Lannister message crops up with someone (pardon the pun) pulling the strings. And who do we know is linked to acting and plays? Varys. Now why he does it goes into the second question.

Question 2: What does the dragon represent? Cersei easily surmised that the lions represent the Lannisters and the stag represents the Baratheons in general and Robert specifically. But in her anger, she ignores the dragon and who it represents. Now we know that Varys is supporting Aegon Targaryen and, at this point in the story, she can be forgiven for not knowing of his survival. However, she has to know that Daenarys, someone else who can be represented by the dragon, is still alive. She has also been hearing rumors of unrest in Essos. However, like her father, she ignores this as stories on the other side of the world. This brings me to the final question.

Question 3: What is the purpose of the puppet show? Why bother including this in the story in the first place? Is this just superfluous writing on Martin’s part? No. The puppet show serves a small but important role. It’s use is for framing. This puppet show is to remind the people of king’s Landing of all the injustices they suffered under the Lannisters. They are not 20 years removed from the sack of King’s Landing, an orgy of looting, rape, and slaughter of thousands. More recently, the Lannister had King Robert killed. They caused the War of 5 Kings by killing Ned Stark. They were left to starve as the Riverlands burned and the Reach cut off trade. King Joffrey had his men kill the townspeople after they begged him for food. The Lannister army waged a total war on the Riverlanders, including against the Faith. They had a 77 course wedding meal while the city would kill for a turnip.

The purpose of the play is to remind the people of the atrocities that they have suffered under the Lannister regime. But it’s also telling them not to worry. A savior is coming. Varys is selling the people hope. He knows that in order for Aegon to win, he needs the smallfolk on his side. It’s not just about defeating the Lannisters. He needs them to believe that Aegon is the savior come across the sea to bind up the wounds of bleeding Westeros. He is a different leader who isn’t going ro slaughter his subjects, take their stuff or make them starve. He is going to be a good king. Look at his pedigree. We’re almost there. Just hold on.

In a few lines, Martin packs so much meaning. This small scene is my favorite in the book and it deserves to be lauded as an example of complex writing and hidden meaning.

[cloakruined]

a summary of him in affc tbh