#alayne i will SAVE you

[amber-laughs]

when alayne stone casually hears in conversation that the lord commander of the night’s watch was murdered and has an emotional reaction that draws the suspicion of the people around her what then? the very last of her family is dead and she’s gonna hear about it sitting between losers harry hardyng and littlefinger and someone’s asking her to pass the mashed potatoes

[kitnjon]

Any Jonsa fics in which characterization and physical appearance of Jon is closer to Canon?

Hi,

I am assuming you mean closer to book canon? Honestly I haven't really read that many book jonsa fics. I am more of a show jonsa fan and mostly read modern AUs 😅

Few book fics I have read are post ADWD. Sharing them below -

1. The Wolves of Winter by JustAWhiteQuill

~When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.~ Beneath a wall of ice, a crow died and came back a wolf. Now, he is crowned King in the North and faced with the immense task of preparing his battered kingdom for the Long Night. Atop the lonely mountain, a little bird grew fangs and came back a wolf. Now, she is the Princess of Winterfell and taking care of the only family she thinks she has left. When news reaches them of the other still being alive, a chain of events is set in motion. Winter is coming, and with it, the darkest hour of the night. The time for wolves is here. All the while, the dragons and lions south are battling for a throne covered in fire and blood.

2. I Can't Steal You (Like You Stole Me) by @thewolvescalledmehome

Seeing the only family Sansa Stark had left to her was the only motivation keeping her astride the horse. Jon Snow is at Castle Black. He’ll protect you. It had been so long since she felt safe, felt protected. She yearned for the security of familiar arms and someone who cared for her because she was Sansa and not a Stark. The nerves she may have felt over arriving at Castle Black alone to see the half-brother she had not seen—had barely thought of—in years did not consume her, nor did she allow herself to feel disappointment that it was not Robb or a trueborn brother to save her. Only, upon her arrival, she is told of the mutiny. Then she is asked an impossible question: What would she give to have him back?

Lyric title prompt on Tumblr from the song "You" by The Pretty Reckless.

3. Beasts of Seasons by Simonetta

She had prepared her words and her actions meticulously. She hadn’t prepared to actually see him. Or, Jon and Sansa reunite and things don't go according to plan, forcing Sansa to reevaluate her identity and her loyalties and forcing Jon to come back to himself. Post-ADWD, bookverse fic. Jon and Sansa reunite on campaign to win back Winterfell.

4. The Thawing of Winter by @jade-masquerade

Sansa knew Jon married her—married Alayne—for the Vale, or maybe, because of his past, he saw her as a fellow bastard and meant to raise her up the same as his people did for him, how they chose Lord Eddard’s sole surviving son as King in the North. But when she looked at him, she saw nothing of the sort in his eyes, only a flash of desire, the way a man ought to look at his wife, before he steadied his gaze. If this was truly wrong, she wondered, then why did the gods let it feel so right?

Putting this in tag so others may add in as well.

Thanks for the ask!

[agentrouka-blog]

do you think jeyne poole will live? like a long and peaceful(or will try) life or?

Oh yes, absolutely.

GRRM used her character for plot reasons, and to make a big terrible point about hypocrisy and classist disregard in a big number of people. But he won't end it there.

From Jaime Lannister to the collective Northern nobility, no one would bother raising a hand to protect Jeyne Poole for her own sake. It's inconvenient. It would raise a fuss no one can bother to deal with. Only Theon comes to care for her as a person. Only Sansa remembers her friend.

Jeyne is only barely a step above the peasant girls Ramsay hunts for sport. He names his dogs after them, several are called Jeyne.

Even after she escapes with Theon's help, she must remain "Arya".

Jeyne Poole had wept all the way from Winterfell to here, wept until her face was purple as a beetroot and the tears had frozen on her cheeks, and all because he told her that she must be Arya, or else the wolves might send them back. "They trained you in a brothel," he reminded her, whispering in her ear so the others would not hear. "Jeyne is the next thing to a whore, you must go on being Arya." He meant no hurt to her. It was for her own good, and his. She has to remember her name. When the tip of her nose turned black from frostbite, and the one of the riders from the Night's Watch told her she might lose a piece of it, Jeyne had wept over that as well. "No one will care what Arya looks like, so long as she is heir to Winterfell," he assured her. "A hundred men will want to marry her. A thousand." (TWOW, Theon)

But names are important, even if they aren't convenient.

And suddenly there came a wild thumping, as the maester's ravens hopped and flapped inside their cages, their black feathers flying as they beat against the bars with loud and raucous caws. "The tree," one squawked, "the tree, the tree," whilst the second screamed only, "Theon, Theon, Theon." Theon Greyjoy smiled. They know my name, he thought. (TWOW, Theon)

It's only when he embraces his true identity, in the first chapter that carries his name in ADWD, that Theon can rise to save Jeyne. He is filled with joy at remembering himself, even after all he endured. Even while still pushing Jeyne into the pretense of a different name.

GRRM isn't using mirroring language for nothing. Jeyne will return to herself. Even after all she endured, she will know joy and belonging. There is life after trauma.

AFFC and TWOW contain the first mention of Jeyne Poole from Sansa's end since ACOK.

She had not had a friend to gossip with since poor Jeyne Poole. (AFFC, Alayne II)

For just a little while, as she ran, she forget who she was, and where, and found herself remembering bright cold days at Winterfell, when she would race through Winterfell with her friend Jeyne Poole, with Arya running after them trying to keep up. (TWOW, Alayne I)

The mentions tie her to friendship and to Sansa's own true identity.

GRRM isn't building that up for nothing, and the theme of identity and friendship, the mirror to Theon suggests a reunion that will validate Jeyne as a person worth of consideration for her own sake.

And that's where the idea of justice will come in. Jeyne is the perfect crown witness against Littlefinger, who is complicit in the plot of false identity to tamper with legitimacy of Northern rulership and the rights to Winterfell. He's a collaborator with not just the Lannister regime but House Bolton. There's barely any proof for his crimes, and none that Sansa can safely divulge, but this is a proper witness account for a trial.

Just like it's extremely likely that the dogs, with their various Jeynes, will be involved in the demise of Ramsay (though not the way the show did it) in order to give justice to the peasant girls he murdered, it's likely that Jeyne Poole will have a hand in creating justice against Littlefinger, one of the architects of her misery. And with the protection and regard of Sansa (and Arya), it will be made clear that even a person of lower rank like Jeyne Poole has a voice and importance.

And then she will go on and live her life.

[catofoldstones]

Why do antis act as if Alayne is a completely different character from Sansa??? Like... that is Sansa, just under a different disguise. It's still her. It's no different than Arya currently with different identities. But the way they talk its as if Sansa suddenly morphed into a different girl and everything about her old identity is now dead and now Sansa Stark doesn't exist.

I really don't know how to describe this but I've seen posts saying things like Sansa is 'too deep' into the Alayne persona and can't go back to her old name. Thats not how this works???

Because it pushes their agenda that Sansa is not a member of House Stark and therefore not important to the story. Sansa forever being Alayne eliminates the threat she poses to Arya becoming the queen in the north and/or Jon, Dany, Arya becoming this ragtag group of ya teenage underdogs who save the world from the Others. It’s the same idea as behind the theory that Sansa is going to die or is no longer a Stark because Lady died.

They also don’t want to see Sansa in a position of power because they still blame her for lying about Arya hitting Joffrey (never mind realising who the real villains here are), and later getting Ned killed by ratting him out to Cersei (which has been debunked time and again). Furthermore, if she is Alayne and not Sansa, then she clearly does not have the Starks’ best interests at heart considering that she is Baelish’s protégé and holds similar motivations as him - which actualises her as a villain. And if she’s a villain, then she obviously can’t be the Lady/Queen of Winterfell, or just someone who deserves a happy ending in the least. Are you looking at the mental gymnastics?

As for Sansa being too deep into Alayne, I can only say that she constantly thinks of herself as Sansa during the Alayne chapters. In fact, she thinks like she is Sansa, not Alayne, no matter how hard she tries.

The Freys had broken all laws of hospitality when they’d murdered her lady mother and her brother at the twins…

Alayne I, AFFC

Before this she’s just reminding Baelish who she actually is saying Bronze Yohn will know who she really is as soon as he looks at her. She blurts out Jon Snow’s name and thinks of him fondly. None of which she would do if she were “in too deep” Alayne. Her pre-released TWOW chapter is littered with her still thinking as Sansa.

She felt alive again, for the first since her father… since Lord Eddard Stark had died.

For just a little while, as she ran, she forget who she was, and where, and found herself remembering bright cold days at Winterfell, when she would race through Winterfell with her friend Jeyne Poole, with Arya running after them trying to keep up.

Alayne I, TWOW

She others Alayne a lot too, as if Alayne is a friend she knows and not her own disguise.

“No, my lady. I am from Gulltown.” And I am not, though Alayne was born there.

Alayne I, TWOW

And these are just some of the examples. Moreover, the recently leaked outline, even in its scarce information, has bashed the final nail in the coffin of this argument and that has obviously caused much anxiety amongst the antis. Never mind it not working like that because these arguments are clearly bad faith and hold no water next to the deluge of evidence saying otherwise.

[atopvisenyashill]

Asking this because I (for some reason) have yet to see a theory stating this (even though it must exist!) but waht do you think the changes are of Brienne being the person who gets Alaynes favor and her potentially competing on Sansa's behalf in a trial for the kinslaying allegations? Obviously Brienne and Sansa even meeting is hotly debated but with the direction the show went in I can't see Briensa (platonic) not happening!

First I'm assuming you meant kingslaying because I was like wait how did I forget Sansa being accused of killing one of her siblings omg?? alsdjf unless you mean "kinslaying allegations" ie she betrayed Ned in which case, if that does come up (it's certainly possible) it's not likely to come up until waaaay later because the only person who would care is like, Arya, really, (I think both Jon and Bran would understand Sansa's actions here) and I don't think it will escalate to Brienne having to fight a trial by combat for her in that case.

BUT.

THAT'S AN INTERESTING THEORY. I think the general consensus here is that they're going to meet somehow at the tourney and escape it together, and also, Shadrich will be involved and probably Bronze Yohn as well, but that's pretty much as concrete as I've seen anyone get (altho if anyone does have a more concrete theory, let me know!!!).

So firstly, I think this would match up with the Ashford Tourney Theory very well -> Sansa having all the same suitors, only for the tourney to get upended by a trial by the seven/the appearance of The Truest Knight In All Of Westeros. Brienne, being both a True Knight and a descendant of Dunk, makes the most sense for being part of the foreshadowing of this theory in my opinion. And that little note we got of GRRM's outline included that line "kill the mouse" which points to Shadrich being a problem for Sansa or Brienne or both in the coming twow chapters. However...some random hedge knight can't just make off with either Sansa Stark, Last Surviving Stark or Alayne Stone, Only Child Of Lord Protector Baelish, without causing a HUGE ruckus (look at her escape from KL - they needed a huge ruckus to cover up their movements!). SO. Considering he showed up with a bunch of other guys...maybe Shadrich and several others looking for Sansa accuse of her being a kingslayer and say they are arresting her and taking her back to King's Landing to face the king's justice. And just like Tyrion got free by having Bronn defeat someone, perhaps Brienne, who enters in the lists in the hopes of getting close to Sansa as a mystery knight, steps up to call for a trial by the seven. That would be a parallel to Dunk as well!

And in the chaotic aftermath, when Brienne (and Bronze Yohn maybe!!) has cleared Sansa's name, something goes awry (maybe Harry dies fighting in the trial, maybe Sweetrobin dies and Sansa tells Brienne she doesn't want to marry Harry), the girls decide to make a run for the Wall, to the only other known relative Sansa has left alive outside of the Tullys - her recently revived bastard brother Jon Snow.

As for gaining her favor...while I'm fairly confident that Brienne saves Sansa and they leave together from the Vale, the state in which Brienne shows up is really up in the air. She's just leaving from whatever the fuck has happened with Lady Stoneheart and Jaime. Maybe she's injured. Maybe she has no money. Maybe she sees Ser Shadrich there and decides she's better off disguised. It could make sense that she enters the tourney in an attempt to see if she can find Sansa in the crowd, spots her, and asks her for her favor. Cue Shadrich accusal, trial by seven, and escape.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Interesting prediction anon, I'd love to hear what other people think.

[esther-dot]

Hiii! Just read your reblog of what we prefer, Sansa meeting Dark Jon post resurrection or Jon x Alayne. So of course I was wondering if you knew Jonsa fics with this kind of plot?? Thanks💚

(about this reblog)

Here are a few, but if people would like to add on their favs, that would be great!

Jon x Alayne

godless 3k

Lies / Luck 1k

if i can't relate to you anymore than who am i related to? 13k

as i stare on and into the past in the end you emerge 12k

alayne au drabbles 4k

Buried under with my desires 2k

The Thawing of Winter 100k

Post Rez Dark Jon/Feral Jon

a wind with a wolf's head 13k (wip)

tale as old as time 22k

came back 3k

Varg-hamr/Wolf-skin 1k

call my name and save me from the dark .6k

let me sing you, and we'll make each other last 3k

i fall to pieces (when i'm with you) 70k

if only we were 7k

[alaynasansa]

‘ She is beginning to at least try to understand how she can play the Game of Thrones and be not a piece but a player. With her own goals, and moving other pieces around ’

George R. R. Martin

“Father asked if there were any knights in the hall who would do honor to their houses by taking the black, but no one came forward, so he gave this Yoren his pick of the king's dungeons and sent him on his way. And later these two brothers came before him, freeriders from the Dornish Marches, and pledged their swords to the service of the king. Father accepted their oaths...”

Ser Loras is a Tyrell, Sansa reminded herself. That other knight was only a Toyne. His brothers had no armies, no way to avenge him but with swords. Yet the more she thought about it all, the more she wondered. Joff might restrain himself for a few turns, perhaps as long as a year, but soon or late he will show his claws, and when he does... The realm might have a second Kingslayer, and there would be war inside the city, as the men of the lion and the men of the rose made the gutters run red

He saved Alayne, his daughter, a voice within her whispered. But she was Sansa too... and sometimes it seemed to her that the Lord Protector was two people as well. He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle... but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she'd known at King's Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei's ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers. When Joff had her beaten, the Imp defended her, not Littlefinger. When the mob sought to rape her, the Hound carried her to safety, not Littlefinger. When the Lannisters wed her to Tyrion against her will, Ser Garlan the Gallant gave her comfort, not Littlefinger. Littlefinger never lifted so much as his little finger for her.

Except to get me out. He did that for me. I thought it was Ser Dontos, my poor old drunken Florian, but it was Petyr all the while. Littlefinger was only a mask he had to wear. Only sometimes Sansa found it hard to tell where the man ended and the mask began. Littlefinger and Lord Petyr looked so very much alike. She would have fled them both, perhaps, but there was nowhere for her to go

Though his hair was grey and his face lined, Lord Yohn still looked as though he could break most younger men like twigs in those huge gnarled hands. His seamed and solemn face brought back all of Sansa's memories of his time at Winterfell. She remembered him at table, speaking quietly with her mother. She heard his voice booming off the walls when he rode back from a hunt with a buck behind his saddle. She could see him in the yard, a practice sword in hand, hammering her father to the ground and turning to defeat Ser Rodrik as well. He will know me. How could he not ? She considered throwing herself at his feet to beg for his protection. He never fought for Robb, why should he fight for me ? The war is finished and Winterfell is fallen. “Lord Royce,” she asked timidly, “will you have a cup of wine, to take the chill off ?”

Bronze Yohn had slate-grey eyes, half-hidden beneath the bushiest eyebrows she had ever seen. They crinkled when he looked down at her. “Do I know you, girl ?”

Sansa Month 2023 : day sixteen - politics

[g0lightly]

(image credits)

the hounds of harrenhal is a slow-burn brienne x sansa romance within a whimsical adventure with a good mix of found family + re-found blood family fluff. don’t get it twisted, this is still pretty plot heavy. since this is a rather expansive work, there are plenty of other eventual pairings such as gendry/arya and jon/satin (i hc jon snow as the most clueless bisexual to ever live and i love him) in addition to some surprises for later.

can you spot the jenny of oldstones and prince duncan of dragonflies reference(s) in the collage? in addition to rhyming with past asoiaf-verse love stories (dunk x rohanne, jenny x duncan, elissa farman x queen rhaena, lyanna x rhaegar), THOH draws on the persephone/hades abduction myth to subvert both the hound's offer to escape with sansa during the blackwater and littlefinger's "rescue" of sansa from king's landing.

for the purposes of the fic (curse you, abandoned five year gap), sansa's been aged up to robb's twin and two years have passed in-universe.

brienne becomes the newest wearer of the hound's helm after lem when jaime sacrifices himself to lady stoneheart following an escape plan gone very wrong. as the hound, brienne enters a tourney at the eyrie as a mystery knight to win some much needed coin to help the brotherhood without banners through winter. there, lady alayne arryn begs for help escaping a doomed marriage; brienne temporarily sets aside jaime's honor-saving mission for sansa to help her. petyr baelish announces that the hound has abducted sansa stark from the eyrie and advertises a large reward for her safe return. meanwhile, tyrion is trying to use his previous marriage to sansa to claim the vale for the mountain clans and daenerys. sansa hides out in the riverlands’ magical hollow hill with brienne and the brotherhood, falling in love as tensions within the realm build up to a second dance of the dragons amid a years-long winter. when love is the death of duty, what happens when your duty is to the one you love? this work will ultimately take place over the course of several years, weaving in new allies and foes for our star-crossed lovers as the realm moves from crisis to crisis. for generations to come, all of westeros will sing of harrenhal’s hounds and its witch queen. but life is not a song; in this story, it is far sweeter.

meta thoughts below the cut on why a future briensa is objectively one of the best ASOIAF ships in terms of thematic potential.

briensa has the best elements of the far more popular s*ns*n and br*ime ships except they're both teenagers and, crucially, brienne has never held sansa at knifepoint 🩵 no shade to either ship though bc the themes those relationships explore have sent brienne and sansa on journeys that have made them kind of perfect for each other; ie, the subversion of brienne being a protector to sansa rather than a threat is especially relevant if brienne is the next hound after lem!!! alexa play god bless the broken road

brienne is the hero sansa prayed for!!! sansa has learned to put more trust in disfigured people than "beautiful" people which means she can see brienne's beauty in a way she cannot!!! thematically it would be well supported yet subversive for sansa’s true knight and true love to be a jonquil darke type rather than a florian type 🥹 thematically i think the surest route to true love for sansa is a naerys + aemon situation so why not make it like alysanne and jonquil if they ✂️? it's not my fault grrm accidentally (?) wrote sansa as a closeted femme4butch!!!!

[cappymightwrite]

Can you recommend some media with jonsa vibes?

Hmm, the only thing coming to mind is the relationship between Uhtred and Aethelflaed in The Last Kingdom? I know someone made a sort of slideshow comparison between them and Jonsa, though I can't find it at the moment. I'd say there's a closer show-verse parallel than book-verse parallel, but still worth checking out maybe.

Otherwise, I don't really have any other TV or movies... I can give you some music and artwork though:

Silent Noon, John Byam Lison Shaw

Vampyre II, Edvard Munch

I mostly listen to a lot of instrumental stuff when I'm writing my fics, but here's lyric songs I also listen to that give me Jonsa vibes:

Hard Road, Johnny Flynn

This always makes me think of Sansa as 'the girl in grey', making her way towards Jon at the Wall. It comes in with these marching drums in the latter half which just really amps it up in a great way, imo. It feels motivational — yes, it's a hard road, but she keeps going.

This is my favourite verse:

She knows how and she knows when She's born to die and live and again She goes from moor to build a nest She knows the dance that burns her best From the ashes, fair to share The purest sounds to leaden heads Sung from her breast and bends the old trees Wing-ed wind songs sung so holy

I just feel it speaks to the Sansa-Alayne arc in a really cool way — there's the symbolic 'death' of Sansa, the whole "Sansa Stark went up the mountain, but Alayne Stone is coming down," but then the inevitable 'rebirth' of Sansa. There's some lovely bird imagery here which I strongly associate with Sansa, as well as singing and dancing. Plus there's the mention of burning and ashes, which speaks to Melisandre's prophecy of "a girl as grey as ash." At least I think so!

Black is the Colour, Isobel Anderson & Ruby Colley

Ohhh love this one — it's so haunting! I've been saving this song to include in either the 3rd or final chapter of My Maid of Stone, though with some slightly altered lyrics... mainly switching black for red.

The mention of "the gentlest hands" is very Jonsa to me, considering I think 'gentleness' in a lady is a bit of a romantic ideal for Jon and well, "Sansa silenced the wolf with a gentle hand to the head."

Song to the Siren, Wolf Alice

This is a cover of Tim Buckley's original, but I probably do prefer this version? I suppose this one really speaks to the romantic longing in both Jon and Sansa, which I don't believe can be resolved except with each other. There's something tender, a bit bruised and uncertain, about the speaker in this song, who "shies from the sorrow," who is constantly questioning, "puzzled as the oyster." I think you find this questioning in Sansa and Jon quite a bit, questioning what they want, what they desire, have always desired (LOVE) etc.

I mean, what they both wouldn't give to hear this call:

Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you Here I am, here I am, waiting to hold you

Narratively speaking, we as readers are also waiting, waiting for romantic resolution for these two romantic characters. Because come on, it's got to come to a head somehow! And with each other ;)

Thanks for the ask! I hope this sort of answered it?

[kellyvela]

You are getting a lot of winter rose related anons because rhaelyas have decided to gatekeep winter roses from characters unrelated to Rhaegar/Lyanna and Jon Snow. Someone tell them winter roses grow in the glass gardens of winterfell so people are not 'stealing' when they headcanon Sansa, Arya, Catelyn and all the other Starks with those flowers

The question is, is Sansa really unrelated to Rhaegar/Lyanna, and hence to Jon??? Obviously certain shippers will scream that Sansa has nothing to do with Rhaegar/Lyanna and the blue winter roses, but they are wrong, big time!

I already said that the blue winter roses grow in Winterfell's Glass Gardens, so any woman of House Stark has probably been given at least one of those blue roses in her lifetime. I also said that the first Stark girl associated with a blue winter rose was the one from the legend of Bael the Bard and The Rose of Winterfell. See here.

Bael the Bard and The Rose of Winterfell are obviously a proto version of Rhaegar/Lyanna.

The tale of Rhaegar/Lyanna has their own features that differ from Bael the Bard and The Rose of Winterfell. For example, it happened during a tourney, the Great Tourney at Harrenhal. And who is the ASOIAF character most associated with tourneys??? The obvious answer is Sansa Stark.

Sansa was the unofficial Queen of Love and Beauty of the Hand's tourney in honor of her father at King's Landing, where Loras Tyrell, wearing an armor of blue sapphires forget me nots, gave Sansa a red rose. Fact that is a clear allusion to Rhaegar Targaryen, wearing an armor of red rubies and crowning Lyanna with blue winter roses during the Great Tourney at Harrenhal. And what did Sansa's younger sister say about attending this tourney??? She called the event stupid . . . .

Sansa also saved Dontos Hollard's life during the Tourney in honor of King's Joffrey 13th name day. Fact that is a clear allusion to Lyanna saving Howland Reed from the abuse of three squires during the Great Tourney at Harrenhal.

And right now Sansa/Alayne is forever organizing a tourney at The Gates of the Moon in the Vale of Arryn. Alayne Stone is the daughter of the Lord Protector of the Eyrie and the Vale, who is also the Lord of Harrenhal. Fact that is a clear allusion to the Lord of Harrenhal organizing the Great Tourney at Harrenhal in honor of his daughter.

And last but no least, Sansa is profoundly associated with the Tourney at Ashford Meadow, event that take place during the first tale of Dunk and Egg: The Hedge Knight. The five champions's surnames at the end of the first day of competition are: Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrell, Hardyng and Targaryen. Four out of five of those surnames match with the surnames of every Sansa's suitors so far: Joffrey Baratheon, Tyrion Lannister, Willas Tyrell and Harrold Hardyng . . . . Other tourney contestants and melee fighters mentioned in this tale, also match with men in Sansa's arc, there's a Ser Donnel of Duskendale and the Lords Arryn and Royce . . . .  

The Tourney at Ashford Meadow was organized by Lord Ashford in honor of his daughter's 13th name day. Among other allusions to Sansa's arc.

Anywas, back to the blue winter rose, the rose motif is strongly related to Sansa Stark. As every girl of House Stark she is obviously associated to the blue winter roses that grow in Winterfell's Glass Gardens. She was befriended by the Tyrells, whose sigil is a golden rose, Loras Tyrell gave her a red rose during the Hand's Tourney, Marillion told her that he was composing a song for her called the Roadside Rose.

But we also have the so many times mentioned beauty and the beast motif in Sansa's arc. The ancient tale, in its many versions, usually starts with a especial rose.

Obviously most readers want for Sansa to be the beauty for their fave beast, like cujo, Tyrion and Baelish. But none of those men are cursed princes, that have skinchanging abilities, live in a magical castle with magical companions and with a strong relation with a special rose . . . . You know who has all those requirements checked??? Yeah, Lyannas's baby boy.

Thanks for your message :)

[greenhikingboots]

More about the Mad Mouse

So a few weeks ago during excitement about the new outline reveal, I posted a few mini metas / speculation pieces. In one, I said — not for the first time — that I’m in favor of the Howland Reed = Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse theory. Now I’m finally back to share my favorite canon evidence. (Clarity! This isn’t a comprehensive list of evidence for the theory. It’s a post to focus on one piece I haven’t seen discussed before). I’ve already posted about it once or twice, but always buried in longer posts with tangentially related, more tinfoil-y theories, so I assume most people never read far enough to see this part. But you really, really, really need to see this part. To get to Ser Shadrich I first need to talk about Lyn Cobray. Recall that in AFFC there’s a moment where he threatens Littlefinger, but Littlefinger later tells Sansa not to worry, it was an act; Littlefinger is paying Lyn to fein hatred, join every conspiracy against him and report back.

Okay. So. In TWOW Alayne/Sansa chapter, she and Myranda talk with Lyn. Basically, the reader finds out that Lyn is pretending to be unhappy with Littlefinger because it’s his fault Lyn won’t be his brother's heir much longer. Littlefinger helped Lyn’s brother find a second, more fertile wife after his first wife died, and now a baby is on the way to push Lyn to a lower rank.

Got it? Okay, good. Because right after that part in TWOW chapter, there’s this absolutely insane line that needs to be dissected. *

“The venom in his voice was so thick that for a moment [Sansa] almost forgot that Lyn Corbray was actually her father’s catspaw, bought and paid for. Or was he? Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man pretending to be Petyr’s foe, he was actually his foe pretending to be his man pretending to be his foe.” *

Whaaaaat? What's Martin doing here? Why have Sansa think this line? What purpose does it serve? Sure, you can argue it’s just to make readers watch out for Lyn, to be suspicious of him and on the lookout for what he’ll do in upcoming chapters. I think that could be a large part of it. But I don’t think that’s *all* of it. Because guess what happens next?

“Just thinking about it was enough to make her head spin. [Sansa] turned abruptly from the yard… and bumped into a short, sharp-faced man with a brush of orange hair who had come up behind her. His hand shot out and caught her arm before she could fall.”

That’s right, team. Right after Sansa thinks the insane thing about Lyn being a friend or a foe, who should appear but Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse!? 

Who is definitely Howland Reed. Because check this out: * “Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man (a hedge knight Petyr is paying for) pretending to be is foe (telling Brienne he’s working for Varys when they met in AFFC), he was actually his foe (a Stark loyalist trying to save Sansa) pretending to be his man (again, a hedge knight) pretending to be his foe (again, lying to Brienne).” *

I mean, honestly that’s enough to convince me. But also the alternative just doesn’t carry a lot of weight in my opinion.

If Ser Shadrich really is working for Varys but Sansa is going to make it to the North despite his attempt to intervene, then how much is he serving the story? Just one more enemy for her to overcome among so many? Plausible enough, I guess, but boring.

Whereas the Howland Reed theory? If it’s true, it could support elements of the Grand Northern Conspiracy — and if we’ve got Stark supporters tracking down Rickon, so why not Stark supporters tracking down Sansa — as well as support elements of R+L=J and Jonsa (or complicate the reveal as speculated in my earlier link).

I get that there are so many secret identity theories that they get tiring and tempting to dismiss. But GRRM certainly isn’t shying away from using them to explore themes and advance plots. So before you shoot down the idea, I hope you’ll at least consider an avenue where this theory could be true and done well.

And if it turns out to be true, I hope you’ll all say, “Hey, Green called one right!” ;)

Thank you and goodnight.  (other posts inspired by the latest outline reveal: 1 and 2)

[petitmortes]

𓉸ྀི interview with the vampire (1994) ; accepting .

@azmenka said : evil is a point of view. god kills indiscriminately, and so shall we.

the   illustrious   we.    perhaps   not   a   sticking   point   for   others        –        a   minute   point   not   worth   ruffling   feathers   over;    but   for   sansa,     always   for   sansa,    did   it   barb   and   prickle.    her   nose   wrinkles,    distaste   and   discomfort   present   on   the   fine,    porcelain   features   of   her   face   as   her   gaze   flickers   up   from   her   lap,    where   she'd   been   forcing   herself   to   study   the   stitches   in   her   gloves        –        forcing   herself   to   not   communicate   nor   involve   herself   in   a   conversation   where   her   tongue   would   sooner   get   her   into   trouble   than   it   would   anything   else. 

she   is   meant   to   be   a   bastard   here        –        she   is   meant   to   hold   her   tongue,    and   to   not   recognize   maron   greyjoy   for   his   familiarity   to   his   brother.    alayne   stone   would   not   know   him   from   any   other   ironborn,   would   not   know   that   he   held   the   same   quirk   of   his   lips   as   theon   once   had.    surely,    this,    like   all   of   other   lord   baelish's   insistences,    was   a   test;    a   consideration   of   how   deep   she   was   willing   to   sell   his   lies.    

her   distaste   flickers   away   as   quickly   as   it   had   presented,    gone   in   an   instant,    replaced   with   a   cool,    uninterested   glean   as   nimble   gloved   fingers   tuck   dyed   black   hair   behind   her   ear. 

“killing   without   thought   or   care   makes   you   no   better   than   a   lannister,    no   better   than   cruelty   reborn.    the   gods   do   as   they   will,    that   does   not   mean   you   should   not   hold   yourself   to   a   standard,    lord   greyjoy.” 

cold,    winter   chill        –        held   in   her   tone   as   tully   blue   eyes   shift   around   the   room,    cursing   petyr   for   leaving   her   to   meet   with   the   man;    cursing   theon   for   what   he'd   done   to   her   home,    cursing   herself   for   the   way   her   fingers   flex   within   her   gloves   and   then   settle   again   into   her   lap.    she   wasn't   arya,    she   was   not   strong        –        she   had   no   fight   within   her,    no   capability   for   killing   or   death.    

“your   choices   are   yours   alone,    but   do   not   think   to   act   rashly   within   the   vale,    'less   you   wish   to   find   yourself   at   home   within   the   skies.    i   hear   the   nightly   winds   oft   cause   men   to   consider   jumping   to   save   themselves   the   remainder   of   their   sentences.” 

[agentrouka-blog]

I actually don't understand Sansa trusting Dontos and his supposed friend to help her escape from kingslanding. How come Sansa never become suspicious of it? Plus Dontos giving her silver hairnet was also sounds dubious. I get that her priority was to escape the KL and from her abusers but it still make me confused. Also WF was in the hands of Grejoys later Boltons after her brothers death. So what was actually her plan even after if she reached WF? Do you think it's for plot purpose?

Well, I think her priority being escape is a pretty solid reason that can well stand on its own. She has no alternatives, and it's not like she is unaware of the fact that this is an uncertain risk. Dontos is stingy with information but he's her only hope for escape. She tries to take the alternative route through the Tyrells, which she deems safer! But that one doesn't work out, so she takes that barely calculable risk.

It's not so much that Sansa has a plan so much as she is simply that desperate to leave, plan or no plan.

These quote from the chapter where she agrees to the escape sum it up pretty well:

Oh, what am I doing? she asked herself as she dressed.  This is madness. [...] Sansa threw a plain grey cloak over her shoulders and picked up the knife she used to cut her meat. If it is some trap, better that I die than let them hurt me more, she told herself. She hid the blade under her cloak. [...] Slowly, Sansa lowered the knife. Her head seemed terribly light, as if she were floating. This is madness, to trust myself to this drunkard, but if I turn away will the chance ever come again? "How . . . how would you do it? Get me away?" [...] He swore. A solemn oath, before the gods. "Then . . . I will put myself in your hands, ser. [...]" (ACOK, Sansa II)

She's taking a fruit knife for the purposes of self-defense or suicide. She chooses to trust this man she saved from certain death, even without knowing where this will take her. Turns out he's paid off by Littlefinger, but, you know, she's twelve and shouldn't be dealing with any of this. It's not like she had good options otherwise.

"But . . . my lord, you said . . . you said we were sailing home." "And there it stands, miserable as it is. My ancestral home. It has no name, I fear. A great lord's seat ought to have a name, wouldn't you agree? Winterfell, the Eyrie, Riverrun, those are castles. Lord of Harrenhal now, that has a sweet ring to it, but what was I before? Lord of Sheepshit and Master of the Drearfort? It lacks a certain something." His grey-green eyes regarded her innocently. "You look distraught. Did you think we were making for Winterfell, sweetling? Winterfell has been taken, burned, and sacked. All those you knew and loved are dead. What northmen who have not fallen to the ironmen are warring amongst themselves. Even the Wall is under attack. Winterfell was the home of your childhood, Sansa, but you are no longer a child. You're a woman grown, and you need to make your own home." (ASOS, Sansa VI)

It's a setback, and not the last one facing her, but GRRM makes it clear that Winterfell remains on her mind. Her next move is to rebuild it from snow. She dwells repeatedly on how there is nowhere left for her to go, while in the Eyrie. But Littlefinger knows that the only way to keep her cooperative long-term post-Lysa is to make her this promise:

 . . . 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. (AFFC, Alayne II)

So you could say, Sansa isn't yet one for making concrete plans. She's going with the options presented to her at this point, trying to make the best of it. But she knows where she wants to end up.

[snowsandstones]

"The Wall is a hard place for a boy, Jon." “I am almost a man grown," Jon protested. "I will turn fifteen on my next name day, and Maester Luwin says bastards grow up faster than other children." […] A bastard can have honor too," Jon said. "I am ready to swear your oath." -AGOT, Jon I

quite often he imagined saving his father's life. Afterward Lord Eddard would declare that Jon had proved himself a true Stark, and place Ice in his hand. Even then he had known it was only a child's folly; no bastard could ever hope to wield a father's sword. […] “I would not be sitting here were it not for you and that beast of yours. You fought bravely.” -Jon VIII

"Look up, not down," she said . . . but that was not possible on the descent. I could close my eyes. The mule knows the way, he has no need of me. But that seemed more something Sansa would have done, that frightened girl. Alayne was an older woman, and bastard brave. -AFFC, Alayne II

***

Jeyne covered her eyes whenever a man fell, like a frightened little girl, but Sansa was made of sterner stuff. A great lady knew how to behave at tournaments. Even Septa Mordane noted her composure and nodded in approval. -AGOT, Sansa II

He can make me look at the heads, she told herself, but he can't make me see them." This one is your father," he said. "This one here. Dog, turn it around so she can see him." Sandor Clegane took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real. "How long do I have to look?" Joffrey seemed disappointed. "Do you want to see the rest?" There was a long row of them. “If it please Your Grace."-AGOT, Sansa VI

Val stood on the platform as still as if she had been carved of salt. She will not weep nor look away. Jon wondered what Ygritte would have done in her place. The women are the strong ones. -ADWD, Jon III

[jackoshadows]

i was wondering what do you think is going to happen with the vale plot? it feels so disconnected from what’s happening outside of the vale. particularly i think sweetrobin will die due to poisoning and negligence, i don’t think the maester can do anything to save him and i think a harry/alayne marriage will happen without consummation for whatever reason. a sort of twice a miss, third a hit deal.

The Vale feels so disconnected because we have only Sansa's POV there and she's a very insulated character who only gets her information through Littlefinger info dumps and exposition and Littlefinger is secretive for a reason. GRRM deliberately does not want the readers to know of his plans.

We get more information about what is happening in Westeros and Essos in Arya's chapters in Braavos because she is going out and getting information and hanging out on the docks and hears what the sailors and visitors are saying. Jon Snow keeping himself updated on events south of the Wall means we can connect the events happening at the Wall with whats happening in the rest of the realm.

For example, it's Jon Snow who thinks of the food stores in the Vale that can come in use because the Vale is fertile and sat out the WOT5K. Sansa is in the Vale and despite observing a price gouging scheme has no thoughts on the food scarcity in the rest of the realm - no thoughts, head empty. Bran is the only other POV who is completely disconnected from everything else that's happening.

The Vale's food stores have been mentioned more times than not for it to not have plot importance. Come the Long Night, I think we will see more and more of the Northerners fleeing south for food and shelter. And places like the Vale and the Reach will be essential to feed the populace.

[Note: As an aside I just read one of GRRM's short stories called 'Guardians' . There's a lot of similarities between the Sea Monsters in that story and the Others/White Walkers in Asoiaf. In the story there is an Island called Vale Areen which is a fertile land and helps out with food supplies when Namor is under attack by the sea monsters. A fertile Vale Areen... Sounds similar to the fertile Vale ruled by the Arryns doesn't it?]

There's a chance SweetRobin survives. I would love it if he survives and finds out what Littlefinger and Sansa are doing and turns the tables on them. That's a long shot however - kid is suffering from epileptic seizures and being constantly drugged with dangerous levels of Sweetsleep that the Maester has warned will have long term consequences.

SweetRobin is doomed and Maester Coleman is going to be framed for the murder and get arrested - similar to how Marillion was arrested and executed for Lysa's murder. It could be that his death is what is going to be a wake up call for Sansa.

Sansa has to get her hands dirty to be any kind of effective player of the game. I find it hilarious that her fans think she will be some kind of Disney princess in the North or an 'embodiment of hope for the future' because she has good manners and says please and thank you. LF and Varys didn't get to where they are by being nice. Sansa will have to do shady stuff and will be hurting innocent people to play the game - like she's already doing when she threatens the Maester to drug SweetRobin despite it affecting his health.

At some point Sansa has to actively affect the plot - the way Jon, Arya, Bran, Dany, Sam, Arianne, Theon, Asha and all the other youngsters do. Thus far she's just following orders and simply moves wherever the tide takes her. The only plot consequential action she took of her own volition was when she secretly went to Cersei and tattled all of Ned's plans, way back in AGoT.

Sansa has more freedom in the Vale right now than ever before. There are servants under her. She can try to form her own networks, try to figure out what's happening. She has information at her finger tips - for ex what Lysa and LF did to Jon Arryn. Use it. Put out feelers about the Vale Lords.

The TWoW Alayne chapter was disappointing in that regard. I am expecting maybe 2 or 3 Alayne chapters in TWoW and hopefully there's long awaited character growth and development there for Sansa.

Will a Harry/Alayne marriage happen? Again, I am not sure if Littlefinger is telling the truth about his plans to Sansa. Littlefinger is all half truths and manipulation and until Sansa takes the initiative and tries to figure out what's happening that's all we have.

Sansa Stark is still legally married to Tyrion Lannister. Everyone knows this. That marriage has not been annulled. How is it that Harry and Alayne can get married and Sansa unveiled as Sansa Stark? Makes no sense. As the king Jon Snow supports points out, she's Sansa Lannister. Surely Littlefinger knows that it's going to be hard to rally the Vale to go North, amidst sea and snow storms, in order to get Winterfell for Sansa Lannister?

There's also the mountain clans headed by Timett son of Timett who are possibly gearing up to attack the Bloody gate. There's a tournament where Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse - who is seeking Sansa Stark - has arrived. It's possible some of the people in the Vale know that she's Sansa Stark. Who knows maybe the Hound may turn up there.

So yes, SR is most likely doomed. And no, I don't think Sansa is getting married anytime soon.

[esther-dot]

"And with him stood the great lords her brother had named the Usurper's dogs, cold-eyed Eddard Stark with his frozen heart, and the golden Lannisters, father and son, so rich, so powerful, so treacherous."- Dany(ACOK II).

"When she saw the Usurper's rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent."- Dany(ASOS III).

Dany enemies associated with cold and ice.

Oh shoot, I did not remember that description of Ned!

Understandably, frozen, ice, snow...those words don't show up much for Dany, so when they do they seem suspicious. I know a lot of people read that second quote as her facing off with the Others, and there were other things that did make me think she'd go North, but when you place those quotes together, and we think of how Dany sees herself as Rhaegar, takes on his "last dragon" shtick, and Jon is a variation of Ned (a little darker, a little more of the wolf blood, but there's a lot of him in there in addition to his looks), it does begin to look like Targ v Stark foreshadowing.

Funnily, the only other place I'm seeing "frozen heart" is as a description of Sansa. I gotta say, Sansa as QitN earlier, and Jon and/or Arya taking Dany out to save her/the North, I'd enjoy that! We've even talked about her being Ned's narrative heir. Also, LF's line about “the three queens" always sounded to me like he was planning to make Sansa queen and then have a Cersei, Dany, Sansa showdown which I would have loved.

He did not hold her kiss against her. "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. What little peace and order the five kings left us will not long survive the three queens, I fear." "Three queens?" She did not understand. Nor did Petyr choose to explain. Instead, he smiled and said, "I have brought my sweet girl back a gift." (AFFC, Alayne II)

There's this whole thing about how Sansa forgets about her own claim, doesn't think people will fight for her etc so it made me think here too, she isn't picking up on her own political importance. Obviously, LF's plans will not work out, but until we get TWOW, I'm gonna imagine this playing out in a way that gives me joy. 🥰