#i like being an only child which was after he killed roose

[flaysmen]

@brokenalibi​  said:  ❝  I  need  more  bastard  content  thanks  Jen.  ❞

     I  didn't  think  anyone  would  be  interested  in  anything  else  bastard  related  but  once  again  Zatan  proves  me  wrong.  In  the  original  post  with  their  sketched  out  concepts  I  mentioned  that  I  was  looking  into  Roose's  book  based  lore.  I  will  be  reading  the  books  as  soon  as  I  finish  the  show,  and  honestly  with  the  information  I  pulled  from  the  book  series  wikis  I  most  definitely  plan  on  basing  Roose  on  the  book  series  rather  than  the  TV  series.  While  glazing  through  the  wiki  I  found  out  what  the  First  Night  tradition  was.  Considering  that  Ramsay  came  to  be  from  this  I  thought  it'd  be  interesting  if  Ramsay  had  more  bastards  because  of  this.

     So  here  are  his  bastard  twins,  Segovia  and  Lucius  Snow.  Their  mother's  name  is  Astrid,  her  husband  is  Nikolai  Ashborn.  Thankfully  for  Astrid's  sake  Nikolai  doesn't  enjoy  having  a  woman  in  his  bed,  their  marriage  a  ploy  to  those  around  them.  A  year  after  the  birth  of  the  twins,  Nikolai  and  Astrid  did  have  their  own  child  since  it  was  obvious  that  the  twins  weren't  his.  On  the  first  night,  Astrid  actually  enjoyed  her  time  with  Roose  and  insisted  that  the  night  go  on  longer.  She  never  told  the  twins  who  their  father  was,  but  Segovia  was  able  to  figure  it  out.  While  she  wasn't  quite  book  smart  like  her  brother  Lucius,  Segovia  learned  how  to  read  and  work  people.  Just  based  off  how  her  mother  would  speak  about  the  Lord  of  Leeches  and  how  she  looked  at  him  when  he'd  pass  through  their  village  for  annual  checks.  After  she  knew  the  truth,  the  next  time  Roose  Bolton  passed  through  the  small  village,  she  threw  a  straw  doll  with  nails  jammed  into  its  head,  hands,  and  feet,  trying  her  best  to  replicate  his  house  sigil.  The  two  made  eye  contact,  and  without  any  words  falling  from  her  lips  Segovia  told  him  ❛  I  know  our  secret.  ❜  She  of  course  told  Lucius  what  she  knew  and  about  two  other  bastards  who  were  clearly  their  half  siblings.

     The  third  bastard  is  Clauneck  Snow,  his  mother  being  Eissa.  When  she  was  wed  to  Ivan  Erikson,  Roose  claimed  the  first  night.  Ivan  had  no  objections  but  was  disgusted  with  his  wife  afterwards,  he  never  laid  with  her.  When  he  found  out  she  was  pregnant  he  abandoned  her,  his  body  was  found  in  the  woods  weeks  later,  his  death  caused  by  being  attacked  by  a  wild  animal.  After  Clauneck  was  born,  Eissa  started  working  in  a  brothel.  She  never  tried  to  make  contact  with  Roose  when  her  son  was  born,  Roose  found  out  about  Clauneck  after  one  of  his  banner-men  had  seen  Clauneck  playing  with  other  children  in  the  area.  Segovia  later  sought  out  Clauneck,  curious  to  who  her  half  brother  was.  Clauneck  thought  Segovia's  interest  in  him  was  because  she  was  attracted  to  him,  he  found  out  the  hard  way  that  it  wasn't  when  he  tried  to  kiss  her  which  resulted  in  her  kneeing  him  in  the  crotch.  She  yelled  at  him  stating  that  they  were  siblings,  Clauneck  followed  it  with   ❝   Just  because  our  last  names  are  Snow  doesn't  mean  we're  related.  ❞   She  kneed  him  in  the  groin  again  then  informed  him  of  who  their  father  was  then  called  him  a  ❝  half  wit  whore.   ❞

     Clauneck's  strengths  are  his  swordsmanship,  his  physical  strength,  and  quickness.  Lucius  is  incredibly  book smart  and  well  versed  in  the  art  of  healing.  Segovia's  strong suit  is  being  able  to  read  people,  figure  out  what  drives  them,  their  intentions,  and  so  on.  The  three  grew  close,  almost  inseparable.  Roose  took  notice  of  this  and  started  watching  them  closely.  Out  of  all  his  bastards,  Clauneck  was  the  first  to  be  legitimized.  After  he  earned  his  father's  family  name,  he  met  Ramsay  who  told  him  the  fate  of  Domeric.  Clauneck  took  this  tale  as  a  threat,  out  of  fear,  Clauneck  ran  off  to  The  Wall  to  join  The  Night's  Watch.  

     Seeing  that  Roose  lost  another  son,  instead  of  just  giving  Lucius  his  last  name,  he  asked  if  he  wanted  it.  Lucius  said  he  wouldn’t  mind  having  it,  seeing  on  how  he  had  planned  on  going  to  Oldtown  to  study  in  the  Citadel  it  wouldn’t  matter,  but  he  would  return  after  finishing  his  chain  to  be  the  Dreadfort’s  maester  if  that’s  something  Roose wanted.  Lucius  did  take  on  the  Bolton  name.  Segovia  is  legitimized  after  Ramsay,  it’s  not  because  Roose  was  particularly  fond  of  her,  or found  her  useful  in  anyway,  his  thoughts  on  it  being  that  he  might  be  able  to  arrange  a  marriage  with  another  house  to  strengthen  an  ally  ship.  Segovia  wasn’t  pleased  with  this  when  she  found  out.

Here  is  a  piece  I  did  of  Segovia  and  Lucius.

     Below  the  cut  is  something  short  I  wrote  up  on  the  twins  and  their  mother.

     Roose  Bolton’s  bastard  twins  may  have  his  blood  flowing  through  their  veins,  yet  they  lack  the  coldness  of  his  heart.  Instead,  what  beats  in  their  thoracic  cage  is  their  mother’s  love.  The  warmth  that  it  brings  in  their  chest  is  one  that  can  combat  the  Northern  winds.  Their  compassion  could  never  be  hidden  by  ghost  grey  eyes  ;  their  only  feature  that  proved  they  were  Roose’s.  Every  other  trait  they  hosted  was  gifted  by  their  mother,  a  lowborn  with  a  queen’s  beauty,  if  only  she  was  born  to  a noble  family...  maybe  her  children  would  be  fully  acknowledged  by  their  father.

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

Rewatching 8x05 for writing reasons, which is just a brilliant episode, despite any reasons some might have to hate it, valid or invalid. Miguel Sapochnik is directing and you see his talent and epicness in every shot (that man deserves a freaking Emmy already, I said what I said) but also there are so many things being shown here that if you muted the episode after Daenerys makes her decision, during the battle scene, you would be able to tell exactly what each character is thinking and what's really going on in the story besides the surface action.

Which brings me to that one scene that a lot of people said the woman being attacked as a stand-in for Sansa in the episode for Jon. They are correct and here's how.

Jon is walking through the melee, only coming to life to defend himself when Lannister soldiers are trying to attack him. The Northerners aren't listening to him, they're attacking innocent civilians, Grey Worm is on a killing spree, Davos is trying to help people get away from the bloodshed, Dany is burning the city, Tyrion is off somewhere horrified, Cersei is watching in terror from the Red Keep... But during this scene, the sound is muted to a point where the sounds of battle happening all around Jon sound very far away. We're now seeing what Jon sees, we're in his shock fugue with him. We see on his left civilians, namely women, being brutalized by soldiers -> he keeps walking. We on his right a woman being knocked down to the ground while a child is watching in horror, blood spatter and bodies all around her (and obviously traumatized & also in danger herself since no one is left to protect her) -> he keeps walking. He then sees a Lanniser soldier telling people to run, something his soldiers should be doing (and something he himself should be doing like Davos) but he's not. While the sounds are still muted, Jon notices another Lannister soldier about to rush him and he goes into autopilot & fights the soldier off. He then looks around in horror.

This is not what he signed up for and he almost looks lost, like he doesn't know what to do. Then the sound comes back fully and he hears a scream. In all of the melee, chaos, and death around him, he hears this one woman above the rest and turns to see her being dragged into an alley to presumably be assaulted by one of his own men.

Sure enough, she's about to be and she is trying to crawl away when the man catches her again. Jon ends up saving her, threatening to run his sword through the man. When the latter tries to fight him off to go back to assault this woman, Jon kills him and tells the woman to hide.

So how is this woman standing in for Sansa besides the obvious?

Two ways.

1) Ramsay was the former Warden of the North, the former bastard of Roose Bolton who was a Northerner who "served" Robb Stark, the first King in the North, before betraying him to the Lannisters. The soldier Jon faces off with is a Northerner and is supposed to be under Jon's command as Warden of the North and the former second King in the North.

2) Sansa is who stirs Jon into action when he feels lost.

Every.

Time.

And the parallels between the gif above with Dany and the dagger to the Northern soldier that had Jon's sword run through him, and Jon's staring almost sadly at the man, realizing he had to kill one of his own are far from being coincidental.

Not only was this a precursor to what would occur in 8x06 (and why Jon would make the decision he did) but it also is symbolic of the dynamic between Jon and Sansa as a whole. She's the one who stirs him into action, no matter how terrified or traumatized or angry he might be in that moment (like the shock fugue). No matter how lost he might feel. She gives him direction and dare I say a purpose when he has none (after his death; after the WW are defeated & Dany has gone into tyrant mode).

No wonder we weren't allowed to see Sansa's (or Arya's) reaction to the news of his being a Targaryen.

No wonder Jon told Melisandre not to bring him back if he lost the Battle of the Bastards (after Sansa told him if he lost, she wouldn't be going back to Ramsay alive).

No wonder Jon was not happy with Sansa on the dock in 8x06.

She's always stirred him into action when he doesn't want to be or know how to do it himself (after his death).

He passed a woman he could have saved.

He passed a child he could have helped.

He saw someone on the other side helping and doing the right thing.

The only time he steps in to help someone else is the woman about to be assaulted.

(x) "You are the shield that guards the realms of men. You've always tried to do the right thing. No matter the cost. You've tried to protect people. Who's the greatest threat to the people now?" (no reaction)

"Do you think I'm the last man she'll execute? Who is more dangerous than the rightful heir to the Iron Throne?" (no reaction)

"And your sisters? Do you see them bending the knee?" (a little bit of a reaction)

"Why do you think Sansa told me the truth about you? Because she doesn't want Dany to be queen." (more of a reaction)

"No, but you do. And you have to choose now." (he hesitatingly goes to confront Dany and then 🗡️)

It's not just about her being his "sister" or because she's Lady Stark or family or because they were the last two Starks once upon a time. She literally stirs him into action and gives him purpose. Her pushing to go back to Winterfell led to him caring about the WW invasion again. Her being the one he chooses to protect ended a tyrant and changed history, leading for her to become the first Queen in the North and regain Northern Independence, where she can be forever safe.

It was always Sansa for him, starting in 6x04.

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

Are there other Theon ships you like?

EDIT: I am sorry for this lateness anon. I thought I had posted this back in September (around the time I was getting survey related asks) shortly after it was sent but I just found it on the queue while searching for something else. Sorry. It was very sweet of you to ask so I feel abad about not realising I didn't post it any sooner.

I have weird feelings regarding ships in this fandom so most of the time with "ship" I just mean "I want to see them interact in emotionally intense situations of conflict, affection and resentment" but here are the ones I could think of in which some sort of romance/attraction/affection is part of my preferred dynamic.

Theon/Jeyne (already explained it here. Basically it's just that I am really into circumstantial affection, codependency and the themes of accountability for past misdeeds and irredeemability vs redemption. I like it at best when it's not outright shippy but ambiguous and open to interpretation. I always recommend Girl On Ice (and I won't stop now) but also I honestly feel that Little Brother, although the focus is truly on Asha and her anxiety over her entire situation in the end of ADWD, has probably my favourite post-adwd dynamic for them and it's even more ambiguous in a very tongue-in-cheek manner that I appreciate.)

Jon/Theon (Similar feelings about circumstantial affection but without the same themes. Like the idea of the two unwelcomed somewhat unwilling members of Winterfell being some of the last remainings of it. Also prefer it as something ambiguous and open to interpretation but with slightly more antagonistic feelings between the two. I like Jon but he'll be ultimately relieved to know Theon actually just killed the Miller's boys and that is not necessarily a good thing for me (although I understand and won't blame him for that possible reaction). I admit to being picky because I disagree with some popular takes about Theon having bullied Jon or them hating each other and I also am very strongly against Stark romanticism which often appears in fics focused on them.)

Theon/Barbrey (Everyone thinks I said this as a joke but I actually mean it. Their conversation during the Turncloak chapter made me cry like a child when I first read it and I haven't been the same person ever since. It completely rewired the way I perceive things. I like relationships that grow not out of love but hatred and feelings of mutual hurt originating from similar issues. I like the idea that she might at some point be the one to fully take the Stark goggles off him. Also prefer it as ambiguous rather than straight up romantic. This is one of my favourite fics ever and it sometimes makes me cry. Canon divergent ADWD where she takes him away from Ramsay and Roose (also "Arya" gets saved anyway, don't worry))

Theon/Kyra (Prefer it as horror from Kyra's side but mixed with the possible former feelings of teenage love they might have had. They seemed emotionally close and I can imagine she might have felt more for him than he ever did for her. That's interesting for me given what happens later on during ACOK and that she still tries to save him from the Dreadfort. I like the idea that when he kissed her on the other side of the river she could only feel fear and indignation)

Theon/Patrek (one of the more wholesome ones here and to be honest it only started really interesting me once Patrek was used as a leverage against his father and they literally tied a noose around his neck. I like it a lot more than I express. I like to think that the anger Patrek might have felt towards Theon at that point was somewhat mitigated or that it will be mitigated now that he has been on a similar position. Preferred daydreams involve small one-night reunions when Theon finally gets to go to the Islands and has to stop at Seaguard where Patrek is. Strange type of meetings between people who were very happy and close during a brief time that was violently and abruptly cut get to reminiscence about a past they feel conflicted about. I like to think their relationship would be re-contextualised given Patrek has been used against his father now).

Theon/Baelor (Absolutely no canon foundation which is weird given I am who I am but I have such a desire for a gap filler where the two get to interact during Theon's time in ACOK and Theon is able to see this somewhat well-adjusted version of himself that has even turned into a figure of influence and just feels completely irritated and hateful by the situation.)

Theon/Falia (Been ruminating on this for a long time now and she could embody aspects of the Kyra to his Theon and he the Euron to her Falia so yes enjoy it a lot. Although I've only seen it written once and it was in a post-ados ambiguously hopeful fic. Really liked it. It was very sweet. However on a long term not I'd really like her becoming a strange type of second chance for what he had with Kyra and him a second chance for what she had with Euron. Horny on main ironborn comes to take the castle of the feudal lord whose lands you live in and takes you, a lowborn woman who seems rather willing, to live there for a while and sleep in the bed of said feudal lord. Things change suddenly and you find yourself physically and sexually abused by someone you trusted.)

Sexual relationships I do not ship but read anyway because of interesting dynamics

Theon/Ramsay (It has to be fully non-consensual, full horror and as canon-compliant as possible. If I see Theon referring to him as "master" I am out. Also I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that erotically written stuff triggers me so it's difficult. Implicit rape/non-con mixed with the horrors of depersonalisation and contradicting feelings about whether he deserves any of what happened to him or not are very welcomed though!)

Theon/Cersei (Talked about it here. People take it as comedic and I see why and it makes me laugh but it only caught my attention once I started thinking more seriously about it and I weirdly enough I can somewhat enjoy it as long as the characterisation isn't purely hedonistic-cringe-fail-milf-hunter. Something I think could be interesting is if the marriage were to take place after Theon had spent a significative amount of time at the Dreadfort but hadn't gone through a drastic change in appearance and thus was not visibly weakened and hurt. Anyway, go read Broken Cage! The Cersei POV voice is perfect.)

Open but not fully into it

Theon/Tris (theoretically I think I'd like it and it fits into themes I enjoy. Both of them at some point pursue(d) Asha due to misreading who she really is and are questioned in regards to whether they truly fit to Ironborn culture (they do!) by the same woman who looks down on them a little. So yeah could be cool! but until now what I've perceived of it is basically "Theon gets a wholesome boyfriend who is kind of wholesome in canon too and isn't romanticised by fandom so he doesn't fell ooc!" and that's very nice and makes me happy for him but it's not very interesting to me.)

Theon/Jory (There was this really good fanfic back in 2017 Russian fanfic website and it has sadly been lost to humanity but it was good.)

Theon/Brienne (Irl friend proposed it as a joke but pre-ramsay he fits her type as snarky, fashionable, mockish young man and it could be interesting because he would be a tremendous asshole and would probably emotionally scar her. That's all I have to say.)

Theon/Meera (Quite surprised at how no one has developed anything complex based on his not very-pure-thoughts back in ACOK and their connection to Bran. Could be interesting.)

[star-stell]

hi! could you go more in detail on lucia and your other boltons? like, who are they,who is luc, what is her place in the story/world, how did her bolton mom got shacked up with a dothraki guy, how did lucia got shacked with a lannister boy etc etc

LOVE them all btw!!

AND I LOVE YOU ANON.

Ok, I literally have a folder of lore, so get comfy, and lets start by the basics:

Atenea Bolton:

Daughter to Roose and his first wife, which makes her an older sister to both Domerik and Ramsay. She's a little bit like Cersei, in the sense that she wishes to have been a son. She had a fast and badly hidden love affair with a young manservant, which was cut short by her father. Her lover was killed and they tried to force an abortion on her but it didn't work and now they had a bastard, an unwanted child. Atenea doesn't love any of her kids nor her husband, she only loves power and those who can give it to her. The story of how she got married has nothing of loving nor romantic: Roose saw the posibility that would open marrying his daughter to a dothraki merchant and took it. There's a few dothraki who are merchants and they are rich and powerful, specially in the free cities, but no dothraki woman would marry someone who travels trought sea, so most of them find brides at Westeros. Their marriage was basically a punishment against Atenea.

• Sammuel Bolton Snow:

The first son, he would have had a great future had he been born legitimate or in another family. From the moment he was born his mother had been disgusted by his mere existence. He was raised by servants and as one, even if he knew who his mother and sisters were. Sam, still, tried his best and found a place in Dreadfort as a musician and music teacher to his half sisters. Lucía felt certain anger against him for what she percived as his status as the firstborn son and tried to peel off his face at age nine, in the other hand Eliza sees him as this free person (that he is not, he can't go anywhere for being a bastard and knowing it) and envies him both for it and for the man he married in secret, whom she's deeply in love with, still they try to have eachother's backs.

Elizabeth Bolton

She's the firstborn of Atenea's marriage and was raised with all the conformities that come with it. Outside, she seems like the perfect lady: found a husband early, beautiful, and inocent looking, but in the inside Eliza is a very angry, very rebellious person. She wants to travels, to see world, to dance, and sing, and act, and scream. Maybe it's for this that she fell hard for Charles, the young musician of Dreadfort, varely some years older than her and so handsome. She's a little bit of a Sansa character, if Sansa got married too young and grew out of her romanticism in a less overtly violent way. Her husband, Darnlo Reed, is all things considered a good man, even if dilikeable at times.

Lucía Bolton:

Lucía is the last of the three children and her father's favourite daughter, she's the most obviously dothraki looking of the two, and also the one he could have for longer. Lucía is also more eternally rebellious than her sister, going out hunting, learning to use a sword and riding horses without the care of a lady. Is maybe for this that Ramsay can't stand her, because she's this eternally rough girl who won't back down, who he left alone in the forest to die and came back (more of that in a minute). While Lucía is all of this things, she's also a strategist, and infinitly cruel, like most of her family. She's stuck in this weird limbo where she's not son nor daughter because of her habilities, she would have been the perfect son to the Boltons, a Red King. Sam once tried to cut her throat with a lute's cord after what she did to his face, which have her that nasty scar on her neck, the rest of them are from punishments and hunting accidents.

Ok, now that the basics are covered, time for the actual fun part!

What is Lucía's place in the story?

She's a product of her times, a Bolton with al the things that it brings, but who also is deeply diferent from her family, where her mother, uncle and grandfather can only see power as fear, she sees power as a way of love, something that forces you to give. She's a bit of a haunt, too, as much of Domerik's description was used to create the basis of her character, which makes her hated and loved by her family.

Her arc starts way before the Starks leave Winterfell, when she's eleven and Ramsay takes her for a "hunting trip" where he leaves her in the forest during a snow storm, in whises of her dying. For good or bad, Lucía was way too headstrong to just die laying down, so she tried to come back to Dreadfort. At some point she starts hearing voices that might just be hunger alucinations of the Old Gods, who know? But when a starved wolf attacks her, those voices tell her to fight back, to kill it, eat it's meat and wear it's skin. And she does. She also pull it's teeth with her to Dreadfort, and when she finally comes home, dressed with a wolf skin, bathed in blood, a week after the ""hunting trip"" where she allegedly fell from her horse and died, eyes crazed with hunger, she goes straigth to Roose and gifts him one of the teeths.

"One for you, one for me, the rest for the gods."

(I don't write here the rest of the scene bcs i'm working on a drawing for it!)

How does Lucía got shaked up with a Lannister?

[...] It was the knowledge of the young lady's affiliation with unladylike activities and her lack of southern belle that made her a harder sell than one might expect from a Bolton lady. It was in the year 297 after the Conquest that Lady Bolton and her fourteen-year-old daughter made a journey to Casterly Rock. On the tenth day the two arrived at Casterly Rock, and by the twentieth day, Maeele Lannister, first-born grandson of Tywin Lannister, was betrothed to Lucia Bolton.

To be completly honest, I think that the Boltons would jump at the oportunity of having alliances with the Lannisters and for the Lannisters is a good way of having allies in the north. Also, it sets up the red wedding with more strength: these families are allies, the Bolton youngest is about to become a Lannister. Also, in a less serious note, it's because they both are such cunts no one else would marry them.

Woah! Yeah, I think this is all! But, hey, if you want more deep study about someone/something, PLEASE TELL ME!! I LOVED to do this!

[astradrifting]

This is kind of inspired by this recent ask I sent to @esther-dot about Jon’s characterisation and Jonsa shippers’ apparent disregard for it, because it made me think of another part of Jon’s characterisation that is really integral to who he is. Mainly, that Jon really loves his brothers. Especially Robb. His rival and best friend and constant companion. Jon envies him, competes with him, buried a formative traumatic memory where he was deeply hurt by him... but ultimately loves him. Complex relationships with his brothers, both the Starks and his Night’s Watch brothers, are a running theme in Jon’s chapters.

Speaking of Jon’s brothers...

Aegon VI and Robb have a lot of potential parallels, actually. The “Young” moniker, red-haired counselors who are also their parents, trained to be the heir to a great kingdom from a young age, the barely younger half-brother Jon borne of their father’s dishonour of their mother… one that they might both have a good relationship with despite that?

The show tried to play with Jon ‘accepting’ his Targaryen lineage through the jonerice romance, very unconvincingly because it was simultaneously undermining it at every opportunity, in what was maybe a half-assed attempt at Pol!Jon (”They’ll all come to see you for what you are” isn’t anything but a threat in all contexts).

Jon will ultimately choose the Starks over everything else, that’s not really a question. But if Jon were to genuinely connect with another Targaryen, it’d likely be easier for him to find kinship with a half-brother than with an aunt - he has a basis for positive relationships with trueborn half-brothers, while the only aunt figure he’s ever known about is a) long dead and b) actually his mother. I think it’d both make more sense and be more compelling for GRRM to leverage Jon’s existing complex relationships with brotherhood by having him interact with and build a relationship with Aegon, than a rushed and out-of-character romance with Dany. 

Jon also is already primed to believe that Aegon is the real deal, that he was saved as a baby, because he’s already done the exact same thing himself - he swapped out a baby of royal blood who was in danger for a common-born boy, and then sent him halfway across the world for safety (side note: if Septa Lemore is Ashara, and if the baby was actually Ashara’s son as theorised here by @agentrouka-blog, that would just strengthen the parallel, because it would be his body double’s mother caring for him, as Gilly has to do for Mance’s son).

They’re definitely going to come into conflict first - politically, Jon will likely be in a position of power in the North by the time they meet, maybe as the KitN through Robb’s will or regent for Rickon, and probably will fight for Northern independence, while Aegon is fighting to be king of the Seven Kingdoms, not 6. Personally, it will be hard to get past the fact that Jon is the direct result of Rhaegar dishonouring Elia, plus that the Kingsguard who should have been protecting her were all stationed in Dorne, guarding Jon’s mother (in whatever capacity). But these interactions, a conflict and eventual friendship/brotherhood between them, would all be a lot more layered than jonerice can really offer. If a relationship between Jon and Dany was truly all that GRRM has been building up to, then there would have been no need for R+L=J - it adds nothing to that storyline, it doesn’t even make it a forbidden romance, because aunt-nephew is hardly the worst incest the Targaryens have engaged in.

It’s almost inevitable that Da*nerys is going to kill Aegon VI/Young Griff in the books, likely by burning him with dragonfire, in the Second Dance of the Dragons. The weird Dragonpit meeting in the show was very contrived, but it does make sense for Dany to meet the ruler on the Iron Throne at least once in a semi-peaceful context. In the show, she used her dragons only to intimidate Cersei, but she didn’t have a personal grievance with her. Aegon is in much more danger during such a meeting. After all she will think he is a pretender, and she doesn’t much care for the rules of safe conduct, as she showed to the envoys from Yunkai.

Dany shrugged, and said, "Dracarys."

The dragons answered. Rhaegal hissed and smoked, Viserion snapped, and Drogon spat swirling red-black flame. It touched the drape of Grazdan's tokar, and the silk caught in half a heartbeat. 

[...]

"You swore I should have safe conduct!" the Yunkish envoy wailed.

"Do all the Yunkai'i whine so over a singed tokar? I shall buy you a new one... if you deliver up your slaves within three days. Elsewise, Drogon shall give you a warmer kiss." She wrinkled her nose. "You've soiled yourself. Take your gold and go, and see that the Wise Masters hear my message."

(ASOS, Dany IV)

"Ah, there is the thorn in the bower, my queen," said Hizdahr zo Loraq. "Sad to say, Yunkai has no faith in your promises. They keep plucking the same string on the harp, about some envoy that your dragons set on fire."

"Only his tokar was burned," said Dany scornfully.

(ADWD, Dany VI)

So Dany will burn the Blackfyre pretender, and everyone will be happy and cheer to see the rightful queen, the last Targaryen, Slayer of Lies, Breaker of Chains, Insert-The-Million-Other-Titles-Here. Right?

Except how would she prove that he’s an imposter? She can’t exactly roll up with an Alt Shift X video pointing out that Illyrio has said some weird things about Aegon. Is Varys going to have an attack of remorse and explain his whole plot, complete with Blackfyre family tree? Or maybe she’ll explain that she went on a vision quest in Qarth and Aegon totally matches up with the vague symbolism that a bunch of drugged up warlocks told her before she set them on fire?

I don’t think it’s going to matter if Aegon is fake or not, and we might never find out either way. The mystery of his identity isn’t his main narrative, and all of his significance to the story and to multiple other characters is removed if he’s proved to not be Aegon VI. Him being proved fake would just make this plotline a weird, unnecessary digression on Dany’s journey to being the righteous and true queen, his death just another #girlboss moment for her. That’s definitely going to be her perception of it, but once she reaches Westeros we won’t have to rely on only her POV of her actions. History is written by the winners, and no one’s going to miss that it’s a lot more convenient for Dany if the boy with a stronger claim than her turns out to have been fake all along. Arianne and the Dornish are definitely not going to take it lying down, and neither is Jon. He’s not going to fall in love with the woman who murdered his brother, especially by burning him alive. ADWD has plenty to say about how much he hates death by fire.

“Men say that freezing to death is almost peaceful. Fire, though … do you see the candle, Gilly?”

She looked at the flame. “Yes.”

“Touch it. Put your hand over the flame.”

Her big brown eyes grew bigger still. She did not move.

“Do it.” Kill the boy. “Now.”

Trembling, the girl reached out her hand, held it well above the flickering candle flame.

“Down. Let it kiss you.”

Gilly lowered her hand. An inch. Another. When the flame licked her flesh, she snatched her hand back and began to sob.

“Fire is a cruel way to die. Dalla died to give this child life, but you have nourished him, cherished him. You saved your own boy from the ice. Now save hers from the fire.”

(ADWD, Jon II)

Funnily enough, the same fire as a kiss imagery from Dany burning the envoy’s tokar appeared there too, also used as a threat. 

If he is not a kinslayer, he is the next best thing. [...] What sort of man can stand by idly and watch his own brother being burned alive?

(ADWD, Jon IX)

So Aegon’s death is not going to be a triumphant victory for Dany, after which everyone proclaims her the true queen. It’s likely to just solidify opposition to her, from every corner of Westeros. If it happens during a summit or negotiation, it’d be even more of a tragic parallel to Robb and the Red Wedding; the young king murdered off of the battlefield, at an event where he was promised safe conduct. Featuring Dany in the role of Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister. Tywin’s already died a very undignified death, and Roose Bolton looks to be on his way too.

I think the tragedy of Aegon’s death would also hit harder if we see it through Jon, as a main POV, or at least the aftermath of it. Jon was integral at the Dragonpit meeting after all, and probably would be at a peace summit or negotiation between the leaders of Westeros and the invading force.

In ASOS, there’s a curious lack of Jon’s reaction to Robb’s death. We see his initial reaction to Bran and Rickon’s supposed deaths when he gets back to Castle Black, but he doesn’t even know about Robb’s death until Stannis arrives to defeat the wildlings, and we’re not shown the moment he’s told about it. He barely even thinks about it, not even a mention until he meets with Stannis on top of the Wall:

“Your brother was the rightful Lord of Winterfell. If he had stayed home and done his duty, instead of crowning himself and riding off to conquer the riverlands, he might be alive today. Be that as it may. You are not Robb, no more than I am Robert.”

The harsh words had blown away whatever sympathy Jon might have had for Stannis. “I loved my brother,” he said.

(ASOS, Jon XI)

And that’s literally all we get that is specifically about Robb’s death - the rest of Jon’s chapters, his guilt and grief is about the loss of all his siblings, and the idea of stealing Winterfell from them. It doesn’t really make sense for him to not think about it at all, considering how close they were. This reminds me of how he has a non-reaction to Sansa’s marriage to Tyrion as well, as talked about in this post by @agentrouka-blog. Part of this could be Jon’s tendency towards denial and suppression of all his feelings, but it also points to GRRM explicitly obscuring his reaction - perhaps because he’s going to explore it in the wake of another brother dying a very similar death? One that this time he’ll be there to witness?

[wolfsneedles]

My Re-read of a storm of swords and i just cant get over how interesting it as book with iconic lines and carefully crafted dialogues and some miserable important deaths of some of my fav characters. Like this book, is really the iphone of asoiaf lol. A fine wine. Arbor gold. It starts from same events left incomplete in clash of kings but only that now every person meets their consequences and disastrous results of wrong moves & mistakes end so perfectly and painfuly in conclusive way. A feast for crows obviously focuses more on king's landing events and some of the riverlands with brienne and jaime. Might say it isn't my fav book yet since im reading it too apart from some breathtaking prophecies and aemon declaring how prince that was promised could be --> dany

However, ASOS is best best book ever. So much mess and bittersweet endings.

You see catelyn, robb and riverlands arc ending in the most tragic way as result of all small excusable mistakes to the reader that piled up and finally execution of red wedding with bangs and drums, not to mention this event was so catatonic and an irreversible tragedy that almost all characters had visions and dreams of it (patchface, Ghost of high heart, theon, daenerys, jon perhaps later) knowing half of these characters never met the victims of the red wedding.

This event also meant - northern power of houses and faith of independence and somewhat retribution they deserved or wish they had is thwarted now and almost all of them die there esp strength of dustin, manderlys along with boltons betraying them and roose coming out as an iconic cold hearted brute and villain somewhat.

This book also shows how stark sisters had their paths turned after the tiring chasing and running away like arya through war torn lands and sansa finally fleeing KL to Vale with littlefinger - in a way a complete revival again of her and arya embarking on to braavos with an entirely different name now and somewhat purpose we dont know yet also ends her arc of sadness and despair she felt when chasing and running towards her lady mother and robb at the twins. kind of tragic tbh more for her how she saw or heard almost every death of a stark. near to her or family, she saw horror unfolding in front of her eyes.

You have lannisters coming off as victorious ( not really then...) since tywin and tyrion's last scene is iconic. Its like how the might of house lannister which in case tywin refers to himself is broken on a freaking privy - somewhat bittersweet ending since we know cersei and jaime are already not so in a good mental state to make up for heir of casterly rock - and then we have tyrion fleeing too again, once more, finally, to essos as we know. This ending of his arc in KL is also imp since he entered this city like tywin as hand of the king and is leaving like a prisoner. Idk seems perfect to me how he runs and tywin who came as hand of king replacing his son, now goes back in ehh coffin...glory indeed.

You have bran and rickon already parting in ACOK, BUT now the most importent part of brans journey also begins somehow. and therefore him abandoning winterfell and that side of north for further journey is too sad for me too in a lot of ways. His connection to his own home as the last stark who was residing there has ended too (prob bloodraven has more action for my boy i hope).

You have Lysa Tully in the Vale before sansa arrived there with baelish, and she also ultimately gets too much of frightening end in same castles and doors she never opened for anyone - even refusing to help her sister during war because now i wonder had the vale signed for stark side, how different circumstances would be but then tywin wanted to play rains of castamere so bad (i hate him sorry)

Jaime and Brienne still were busy in their road ventures and romantic comedy but him arriving as cripple and maimed to KL, is again of uttermost importance since he in his thoughts lose a lot of confidence in himself now not really making him a perfect candidate for so many things,,, again he has to sort out some issues with his big of bully sister and not-so-accommodating power hungry deluded father but he chose to argue and decline offer for heir of rock and also confessed his utter disregard for poor kids he have, joffrey especially. Idk im so confused what this golden lion & a trained chivalrous warrior is onto since jaime's chapter is like a realistic slap on your face & we see his POV in ASOS only and then he just goes thru huuuge turmoil lol. (not good day or year for him tbh)

Lastly we have daenerys who then vows to settle in mereen making it evident in way how she isn't obsessed with utter power and throne of her ancestors as some ppl speculate, ofc she appears in ADWD again but her freeing slaves and singing dracarys is my another fav momet of ASOS, since dany is really not a frightened confused child she was, she is getting hold of things in realistic way too, and meets barristan, gets to know abt their betrayals, basically gets Unsullied, idk a major iconic moment if u see in contrast to how everyone is losing war now in westeros and wo5k is coming to kind of an end, with balon dying, robb and joff dead, and stannis...(well he is another spiritual case) going to the wall, we see how horrifying brutal war did come to an end in ASOS in the end eventually with tywin also dying. So dany getting an army of unsullied opposed to all other armies kind of dissolving in westeros is quite a distinction. ( bonus points she is young and woman and alone and has 3 dragon )

On the Wall - jon plays and practiced swords with emmett and then struck by memory of him and robb playing & above all how he wants to be lord of winterfell. In the end Jon Snow wins the vote in a landslide victory and is named the 998th Lord Commander. His entire journey from start of ASOS was with ygritte and Wildlings and then finally giving up on mance and returning to Wall with no expectations of him being commander after having spent moments alone and with wildlings and others with him just a ranger.

Realising in the end now, how storm of swords puts people in power like jon and dany and others like boltons and freys in north & riverlands, at the same time starks and lannisters are in way battered and struck by at a time tragedies. Half of people who were away from their families unite or return back like jaime while other half return somewhere more far (arya sansa at vale and braavos with bran more far from winterfell, rickon too), most of the 5 kings are dead too. Also aftermath of war at end of ASOS and AFFC also describes perfectly the attitude and responses of smallfolk towards whoever results in being the king of no concern to them. Most of the small roads and inns were damaged and plundered with woman and children killed or raped and men usually dead too. When we see arya or jaime and brienne usually, we read their POVs, we also see the wrenching elements of war too and how main message could also be that lords play their game of thrones but peasants suffer dreadfully more, we also see how smallfolks have no trust or loyalties towards any house or liege lord. They usually refer to starks and lannister conflict as 'wolves came...or lions did this'. Major point i noticed.

not to mention again, in essos and on the wall 2 different realities and places that mid westeros, we see dany and jon and their ingrown different experiences and attitudes towards smallfolks. freeing of slaves and getting some loyalties tied to you, while living with wildlings and seeing how they rule and eat and sleep like a commoner is so important. The Wall also gives meaning to how real breathing humans are segregated from westeros and other houses as result of prejudice and inborn enmities. The slaves in chains indicate how their little lives in Yunkai is not of importance when they are...utterly children. some of them.

ASOS has major shifting thoughts and stories tbh. Its like gospel of asoiaf for me.

[mrsjadecurtiss]

A different ask! What do you think Roose actually feels about Ramsay? Just before the Red Wedding he talks very dismissively about how Ramsay could be executed for his crimes, but obviously he knows Robb's never gonna get the chance so maybe he cares more than that. But Ramsay (probably) killed precious Domeric? What does he actually feel about him and potential Walda baby(-ies)?

Thank you for your question :) I have divided my answer into points regarding the different aspects of your ask.

What do you think Roose actually feels about Ramsay?

In regards to the Roose-Ramsay relationship, some facts are important:

Roose did not raise Ramsay, and as far as we know did not interact with him in his childhood beyond the two times the miller's wife came to him after his birth. ("She was never to tell the boy who had fathered him." - Reek III, aDwD) All he knew about Ramsay was that he was his son, had his grey eyes, and was "wild and unruly" (the reason Ramsay's mom demanded a servant).

"Lord Bolton has never acknowledged the boy, so far as I know," Ser Rodrik said. "I confess, I do not know him." - Bran II, aCoK

Ramsay only came to the Dreadfort in 297AC (after Domeric died). This is extremely recent - for context, we have Dany chapters in aGoT taking place as early as 297AC, and the War of the five Kings starts at the end of 298 AC according to this timeline.

As a consequence, since Roose leaves the Dreadfort for the War of the five Kings, he assumed a paternal role for Ramsay in between 297AC and at most very early 299AC (The timeline has the battle of the green fork in January 6 and he'd need to travel to the south before that in the first place). This is only between 1-2 years depending on how early or late that year Domeric died (Shoutout to @blueagia who made me realize this timeline years ago).

Ramsay is violent and cruel, but not stupid (Roose even says he is “cunning” in Catelyn VI, aSoS). He was able to present himself as an ally to Theon in aCoK, and it stands to reason he might have given a salvagable impression to Roose at the beginning while he was testing the waters. Ned Stark is a just man who tried to execute the remote-living Jorah Mormont for slave trade; Since he never went after Ramsay, we can assume whatever Ramsay did during his time with Roose was discreet enough that word did not get to Lord Eddard, and so at the beginning Roose must have had no reason to complain too much about Ramsay's conduct either.

Eddard Stark had never had any reason to complain of the Lord of the Dreadfort, so far as Jon knew. - Jon VII, aDwD

"No tales were ever told of me. Do you think I would be sitting here if it were otherwise? Your amusements are your own, I will not chide you on that count, but you must be more discreet. A peaceful land, a quiet people. That has always been my rule. Make it yours." - Reek III, aDwD

Roose gets a legitimization for Ramsay as part of his benefit from doing the Red Wedding, showing that back then he still had an intention of keeping him as his son and heir. However, returning from the war in the south shows Roose how bad Ramsay's political decisions are when left on his own, including:

Leaving Donella Hornwood for dead, horrifically abusing Theon who is a valuable hostage and a potential ally, being unable to keep good optics and alienating his allies ("Surely you misspeak. You never slew Lord Eddard's sons, those two sweet boys we loved so well. [...] How many of our grudging friends do you imagine we'd retain if the truth were known? Only Lady Barbrey, whom you would turn into a pair of boots … " - Reek III, aDwD), abusing his wife "Arya Stark" who is beloved by their Northern allies, and more...

We see in the aDwD Theon chapters that Roose is still giving Ramsay advice and counsel (see again the Reek III quote), however he also appears to be despairing of him:

"I know." Lord Bolton sighed. "His blood is bad. He needs to be leeched. The leeches suck away the bad blood, all the rage and pain. No man can think so full of anger. Ramsay, though … his tainted blood would poison even leeches, I fear." - Reek III, aDwD

We also see in later Theon chapters that he frequently holds meetings without Ramsay:

[Roose:] "The hall is not the place for such discussions, my lords. Let us adjourn to the solar whilst my son consummates his marriage. The rest of you, remain and enjoy the food and drink." - The Prince of Winterfell, aDwD

Lord Bolton was not alone. Lady Dustin sat with him, pale-faced and severe; an iron horsehead brooch clasped Roger Ryswell's cloak; Aenys Frey stood near the fire, pinched cheeks flushed with cold.  - A Ghost in Winterfell, aDwD

[Lady Dustin said] "Roose is not pleased. Tell your bastard that." - The Turncloak, aDwD

Implying he is losing faith in his son, or otherwise does not trust him or value his input when it comes to political situations; a bad omen considering heirs like Robb usually sit with their fathers in councils.

My impression is that Roose initially adopted Ramsay as an heir for the following reasons:

- Sentimentality, since Ramsay is a son of his own blood ("I should've had the mother whipped and thrown her child down a well … but the babe did have my eyes." [...] "Now [Domeric's] bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord … if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?" - Reek III aDwD). As a member of a patriarchal society, Roose was raised with the expectation that he will continue his bloodline, and so likely has the wish to be succeeded by his son.

- Practicality, since Ramsay is already an adult, so he doesn't have to raise and invest in another child for years ("That's for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House." - Reek III, aDwD). [Speculation: For a new son, he would also have to remarry, and both his prior wives are implied to not have liked him ("The two before her never made a sound in bed" - Reek III, aDwD) while he also doesnt speak of them with fondness - so he might also prefer to be single and raise his bastard instead of having to deal with yet another unpassionate/unloving marriage (considering he's middle aged and uncharismatic, a young new wife wouldn't be thrilled about him), until he finds a marriage that provides him a good benefit (like the Frey money + alliance).]

- The belief that, despite Ramsay being raised a peasant and having violent tendencies, it is possible to "educate him" so that he becomes a functioning member of society (see again my point about Roose counseling him). Roose possibly initially projects some of his own personality on Ramsay (Compare this meta i wrote).

During aGoT-aSoS he must have still thought Ramsay viable, which is why he has him legitimized by the crown. He has not known Ramsay closely for long; This explains why he kept him around even though he is so unfit as an heir (it takes time to fully realize that), but also explains why he is so dismissive of him, as that short time of knowing him as an adult would not make him fond of Ramsay the same way one might be fond of a child they raised.

Roose then realizes after the war, as seen in a Dance with Dragons, that Ramsay is not a fitting heir. What this means for the later books is open for now... Will he abandon Ramsay? Use him as a scapegoat? Or still try to salvage him? I personally believe he is starting to see Ramsay as a danger, and is starting to think about how to best get rid of him.

Just before the Red Wedding he talks very dismissively about how Ramsay could be executed for his crimes, but obviously he knows Robb's never gonna get the chance so maybe he cares more than that.

My belief is that Roose is fundamentally selfish and worried about his own skin. While he has the goal to establish Ramsay as a capable heir, he prioritizes his own safety and reputation. By distancing himself from Ramsay's crimes in front of the other Northmen, he can't be blamed for them; by using Ramsay as a scapegoat for Bolton crimes, he himself can wash his hands from the involvement and won't be hurt if any crimes come to light. If he keeps pointing attention at how Ramsay is wild/cruel/treacherous, then the northmen are more likely to suspect/blame Ramsay than the "peaceful" Roose. Also, even if he cared for Ramsay, he would never openly admit it because it's something that could be used against him (same reason as to why he generally keeps his emotions under wraps).

If you compare this scene from aCoK (where Ramsay is believed dead) with the scene you mentioned from aSoS, you can see that to prioritize his own safety and reputation he will sacrifice Ramsay; but he will also defend Ramsay ("Yet he is a good fighter, as cunning as he is fearless.") as long as it serves his interests, of course while still keeping an emotional distance.

One important thing about Roose is that he does not always say the things he actually thinks; When looking at his quotes it is not only important to look at what he says, but which intentions he has with his words and what effect he wants them to have on the person listening. Compare this quote by grrm:

Lord Bolton may well have all sorts of things in mind. Whether or not he would act on any of those thoughts is another matter. Roose is the sort of fellow who keeps his thoughts to himself. - SSM

But Ramsay (probably) killed precious Domeric

"Ramsay killed him. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison." - Roose in Reek III, aDwD

This is speculative, but I personally believe that case is not as clear-cut as it is made to look. Poisoning Domeric does not necessarily seem like Ramsay's style; i often see people in fandom suspect that his mother is actually the culprit. I personally suspect the first Reek of killing Domeric - we know he once stole perfume, meaning he knows his way around the castle, and he also got looked at by a maester implying he might know the maester’s chamber where poisons could be kept. He has ample reason to hate Roose, who let him live with the pigs and had him whipped and later sent him to live with Ramsay, but also seems to have interest in improving Ramsay's status ("She made him, her and Reek, always whispering in his ear about his rights." - Reek III aDwD). He is also known to be inseperable from Ramsay, so if Ramsay went to meet Domeric, Reek would come with him.

Either way it could be that Roose just didnt initially believe Ramsay killed Domeric since it looked like he died from sickness, and only later changed his mind on this issue - note that Barbrey Dustin, whom he is implied to have regularly spent time with shortly before the quote about Ramsay killing Domeric, seems to be a believer that Ramsay was the murderer, so she might be the one who convinced Roose; And maybe Ramsay's bad conduct during the time of the war aided to make Roose believe her. Changing his mind on this could influence his decision on what to do with Ramsay come the Winds of Winter.

Or alternatively, if we’re keeping closer to the text, he just thought the positives of keeping Ramsay outweigh the negatives of him being a kinslayer; however it seems odd that Roose, who is so worried about his safety, would adopt a man if his first act he knows of was this treacherous and dangerous. Then again he frequently verbally states that he does not see Ramsay as a threat, which can be read in different ways depending on if you take it as a literal statement or as a tool to enact dominance over his dangerous son.

"All you have I gave you. You would do well to remember that, bastard.” [...]

“I know what he said. You're to spy on me and keep his secrets." Bolton chuckled. "As if he had secrets. Sour Alyn, Luton, Skinner, and the rest, where does he think they came from? Can he truly believe they are his men?"  - Reek III, aDwD

What does he actually feel about him and potential Walda baby(-ies)?

I think he would like to have a son that continues his values and manages to be a capable heir to continue the Bolton line. Domeric was the ideal son, talented and competent, and Roose invested a lot of time and money in giving him a great education. Now that Domeric died and all of this is down the drain, and Roose himself isn't getting any younger, he wants to have a new heir in a way that's the most convenient for him. It appears to me like he is currently weighing the positives of each option (Ramsay or new Baby), and it might even be that he has already come to a decision, considering how he is starting to grow frustrated with Ramsay.

"I have become oddly fond of my fat little wife. [...] Ramsay will kill [all the sons she bears me], of course. That's for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House." - Reek III, aDwD

In line with my earlier point about Roose’ words also being about the effect and not just the message, I believe the line about him being ok with Ramsay killing his sons might be very calculated towards the fact that Roose knows Theon is to report everything he hears back to Ramsay. If Ramsay hears this, he is placated, because it confirms that he is still the main Bolton heir - which means that he does not have to think about harming Lady Walda (because the sons are no threat to his position), and he does not have to think about harming Roose (because he just has to wait until he can succeed him).

Of course all of this post is based off the first five books, so the interpretation may change once the next book comes out or through a different reading of the lines.

[boneswept]

so! my google doc isn’t super neat or anything but i just wanted to talk a little bit about who domeric is for people that aren’t familiar with him. which is totally fair, as he’s only mentioned in (2) paragraphs in the entirety of asoiaf. domeric was roose bolton’s only trueborn son & he died literally the year prior to a game of thrones.

the only real information we were ever given about him was that he was an exceptional rider, he played the harp, he was a page for under his aunt & then a squire in the vale before returning home. he missed the companionship of the other boys he had grown up with. he sought out his brother against roose’s wishes because he ached for companionship. pretty soon afterwards, he died under mysterious circumstances. though the maester described his death as ‘ a sickness of the bowels ‘ there were many whispers that ramsay killed him with poison.

on this blog, domeric didn’t die upon falling sick. in fact, he survives & connects the dots & realizes he was poisoned. it takes him a few months of digging & gathering to find out that his brother had gotten his hands on some poison & had tried to kill him. domeric does not tell roose, as he feels it’s his right to get his revenge & roose will just kill the boy if he finds out. this leads to a very dangerous back & forth between he & ramsay where they basically constantly try to tear each other’s lives to shreds. after being poisoned, domeric suffers for seizures for the rest of his life. he also has difficulties with his blood pressure & is prone to passing out, which makes it difficult for him to pursue his passion for riding horses. On top of this, he also has complications with his kidneys, though he ignores the maester’s advice against drinking.

domeric really parades his trueborn status over ramsay during the first chunk of the war, serving under robb stark. though he’s not physically well enough to join the fighting, he does have a nearly unmatched tactical mind. he doesn’t care about the casualties, so long as they have enough men to fight the next day. this is something that drives he & robb to be at ends with one another. ramsay is left with free reign of the dreadfort at this time & he gains the support of a lot of their father’s men. though ramsay’s cruelty is unmatched & his erratic nature leads to some trouble, he proves himself to be a strong & sharp man. he inspires fear & respect in the boltons’ men, which is something domeric doesn’t have either of. he was raised almost entirely away from the north & again, is prone to seizures & fainting, which definitely makes him appear weak. 

he’s there at the red wedding & knows about the deception. i actually like to think that he’s the one that wields the knife that kills robb stark & takes part in mutilating his body. this is something he does with reluctance in reference to the books, as robb is literally a child. as for the show’s interpretation? he takes a little more joy in the process, as the situation at hand was a lot more avoidable. he pity’s innocence & cannot stand stupidity. 

what happens after that is up to plotting / what kind of interactions we might be seeking out. default, he’ll return to the dreadfort & find out about his brother’s reek. it scares him enough to want to run away & never look back, but he likely wont as he needs treatment / help with his physical ailments so he probably wouldnt without reason or support right away. however, after ramsay kills roose he runs for his fucking life because he’d father die by falling off of his horse than the fate that befell theon.

things that are important to think of for my characterization of this very niche character: domeric isn’t a kind man. he’s softer hearted, he has the ability for empathy... but he does have the ability to totally turn that off on a whim. he’s been molded into the kind of person who doesn’t care about the casualties, only about success. he’s not particularly intimidating, but he has an innate ability for cruelty... even if it’s a dryer, more contained sort than what can be seen in his brother. he usually keeps any kinder feelings at bay to serve himself & his father. 

[agentrouka-blog]

I know you don't write much about Stannis, but I'm curious to hear your speculation here. It's a pretty established theory that he is going to burn Shireen (I mean, it happened in the show) and there is some textual and thematic evidence... but I'm having trouble figuring out how and when that would happen in the books.

He is off, about to fight Ramsey (or maybe already did... the end of ADWD is obviously confusing as to his precise location) and Shireen is up at the wall. I think Stannis is going to die pretty early and not make it back to the Wall. He even tells Justin Massey to support his daughter's claim if he dies...so...back to my question.

How, when, and why does he burn his daughter?

To me, it seems far more likely that Mel and Selyse would make that decision.

Anyway, I'm curious on your thoughts.

Oh hello!

I admit, I do base my ideas there mostly on the thematic aspect of it, and on the fact that it would be incredibly boring if Selyse and Mel did it, mostly because that is the obvious choice. Evil fire hungry women burning babies! Poor Stannis!

But let me think about this logistically for a second.

As per the TWOW Theon sample chapter, Stannis is still lurking in the crofter village in the Wolf’s Wood not far from Winterfell, and travel conditions are at least passable in spite of the snow storms, since everyone and their second cousin are moving about the entire North. Tycho Nestoris managed to make it all the way from the Wall to Deepwood Motte to said crofter’s village since he left Castle Black shortly after arriving there with Queen Selyse. Expecting imminent battle, Stannis sends Justin Massey back to the Wall with Tycho, Alysanne and “Arya”, to go buy an army in Braavos, explicitly mentioning that he is to crown Shireen in his stead should he die. Theon speculates that Roose is going to send the Freys and Manderly men with Ramsay to fight Stannis, and that they would attack separately, which would be awesome because obviously Manderly is conspiring against Roose. Since Stannis also just eliminated the traitorous Karstark’s and took control of their men, shouldn’t he be in a good position to beat Ramsay? But will that battle happen? Or how?

Queen Selyse meanwhile is at Castle Black making marriage plans, hating Jon’s Hardhome plans and being uncomfortable with all the Wildlings about, and Jon gets the Pink Letter claiming that Ramsay beat Stannis in seven days of battle. Tormund points out he could be lying and Jon says “There is truth in this”. The true thing is that Ramsay has found out about Mance and the spearwives after Theon escaped, which is shortly before the Stannis sample chapter, but what about the other thing that we have not seen confirmed, the one about the battle against Stannis, and his death?

Jon is about to take his Wildlings south on a three-week march to Winterfell before he is stabbed, and it might turn out that was a lucky thing because it smells like a trap. Ramsay wants Jon to come to him, and Jon was about to deliver.

Jon read the letter out loud in the Shieldhall meeting, so Selyse will hear that her husband is supposedly dead. Everyone knows that now. I don’t see how Selyse would allow Stannis’ heir to be harmed, but the others might no longer care to host her at Castle Black.

"Eastwatch is not safe." The queen put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "This is the king's true heir. Shireen will one day sit the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms. She must be kept from harm, and Eastwatch is where the attack will come. This Nightfort is the place my husband has chosen for our seat, and there we shall abide. We—oh!"

An enormous shadow emerged from behind the shell of the Lord Commander's Tower. Princess Shireen gave a shriek, and three of the queen's knights gasped in harmony. Another swore. "Seven save us," he said, quite forgetting his new red god in his shock. (ADWD, Jon IX)

If Selyse moves to the Nightfort, place of nightmares, or if the Watch decides to cast her out in the hopes of appeasing Ramsay, or whichever thing happens next, Selyse will be surrounded by her red god-loving knights. So will Stannis. 

Your brother's hands are soaked with blood. Farring is urging me to give him to R'hllor."

"Clayton Suggs as well, I do not doubt."

"Him, Corliss Penny, all the rest. Even Ser Richard here, who only loves the Lord of Light when it suits his purposes."

"The red god's choir only knows a single song." (TWOW, Theon)

Like in the Selyse quote, there are references to music when it comes to the red god followers. But while Selyse’s knights are a meagre harmony and one reverts to the Seven, Stannis is surrounded by a full choir of fanatics of his own making, hungry to burn people. His preoccupation is with the Iron Throne but he has fanned these flames and leaned heavily into the image of Azor Ahai, and they all know that the effect of Mel’s magic is real. 

Whatever happens with Ramsey, or with the Northern Conspiracy, Stannis might soon be under pressure by his hungry, freezing army to get results, and if by some happenstance Theon fails to be burned, they might look for king’s blood elsewhere. If he looses his foothold at the Wall, he will be effectively without any refuge at all. So will his men.

Agamemnon sends for his wife, who is elsewhere with Iphigenia, under false pretenses. Stannis might feel pressured to lure Selyse and Shireen to wherever he is - or he might even head toward them, in order to let his followers appease an angry god. It’s that or lose it all, and Stannis is too stubborn to back down, or he might no longer be able to control the fanaticism he fanned.

The show really emphasized the religious extremism in the South, unleashed by Cersei, and how it affected the little “stag” Tommen in his reign and in his death, but I suspect it will play a big role in Shireen’s death, as well. The little doe. There is more balance in making Stannis the victim of his own cynical use of R’hllor. And making Selyse turn back too late when no one is ready to save her own child, the way she was going to let the children at Hardhome perish, as opposed to making her blindly kill her own daughter.

Agamemnon chooses to burn his daughter because he killed a sacred deer and angered a godess. Stannis will kill a sacred “deer” in Shireen, which will be the true sacrilege, and spark the collapse of all he hoped to achieve.

I think.

[a-libra-writes]

🌸⛅🥊💋💖🏥 for Ramsay boy 😏 (sorry if it's too much, lol, I don't know if I can send several at the same time, you can just choose one, I just really liked these 😅😅)

(oh my, this is a lot! tho tbf I didn’t give a limit! 😂 okay, putting this under a cut bc its a long boi)

🌸 Kissing

Ramsay kisses you like he wants to steal your breath. It’s always so sudden, so rough, and he brings you close to him like you might run away. It’s crushing, really, so you have to push him back and breathlessly tell him to slow down.

... Does he listen? Not really. 

You usually end up pressed against his firm chest and the cold wall, holding onto him as he bites at your lips and eagerly takes your lips. He’s just as breathless as you as he bites and kisses down your neck, and you wonder what’s gotten into him this time.

In bed, it’s just as desperate, but he’ll leave hickeys and rough kisses across your neck, breasts and thighs. He’ll bite where he pleases, even drawing blood if that makes you cry out and gasp louder. 

If you sleepily give him a chaste kiss in the morning, or a sudden one on his cheek in the day, he isn’t sure what to make of it. He’ll try to initiate something deeper sometimes, but other days, he looks at you with those intense eyes, trying to puzzle you out.

⛅ Sunset

Dreary as the Dreadfort was, it was still a proper castle, and you could climb to the top of the ramparts to watch the sunset, like you used to do at your old home. When you first married Ramsay, it was one of your many escapes. You hid in one of the older parts that was crumbling and wasn’t guarded well. You could disappear for hours up here.

Ramsay ended up finding your little hiding spot, though by that point, you had learned to handle him and live with him. He didn’t understand the appeal of just sitting still and watching a sunset. He was more interested in watching you.

He used to say and do things just to upset you, to annoy you, to make you cry or scream, but you never rewarded his behavior with a response. He hated when you would ignore him, and when your attention was taken away by a sunset, he became agitated and impatient.

“Just go back to the hall, Ramsay. I’ll be there shortly for dinner.” Gods, he was so stubborn, but you wouldn’t let him take this from you.

Finally, you lost your patience and took his hand. You command him to sit and put his head in your lap. He was confused, but finally obeyed. Like a spoiled child - maybe dog was a more accurate word - he was content to sit there while you pet his hair and freely watched the sky again. You can’t believe it worked.

Sometimes that didn’t work, and he brought his bow up to shoot targets he set up below. You weren’t sure when he did that. It was hard not to be impressed with his skill, especially considering how far away they were, and he was always pleased when you paid attention to his abilities. 

🥊 Exercise/Workout

You already know the sort of things he gets up to in the forest, and you’ll have no part of it. As a result of his wild upbringing and those “hunting trips”, he’s very fit and athletic. Ramsay has a lot of energy, you learned. Not even the rain and snow will keep him cooped up.

He would be so insistent on teaching you how to use a bow. If you already knew, he’d be delighted, demanding you show him and hunt with him. But if you didn’t ... You’d find yourself in the middle of several private lessons that were almost impossible to squirrel away from. Ramsay would stand behind you, giving you surprisingly clear instructions as you learned to notch arrows and aim just right. He’d even have a bow made for your size and strength.

A good way to keep Ramsay in good spirits was to endure the lessons and shoot with him. He preferred you to kill something, like a rabbit, but shooting targets was fine enough, especially as you began to improve. 

Roose didn’t think a lady should learn such things, but you were keeping his bastard out of his hair, so he didn’t complain.

💋 Intimacy 

He is rough and there’s rarely a reprieve from that. He always holds you a little too tight, kisses a little too hard, leaves one too many marks along your neck and collarbone. It doesn’t help that he has the energy level of a terrier, so he wants to keep going well after your legs are jelly. 

It surprised you how close he wanted you, how he wanted your hands on him - he’d put them there himself if he had to. He’d want you to kiss him back, to bite him, drag your nails down his back until he bleeds. Almost like with the kissing, it was like he worried you’d just disappear into the air if he let you go for a moment.

His favorite is when you’re facing him or in his lap, so he can trap you and keep you from squirming away. He doesn’t care about children or heirs, so if you don’t want him finishing inside you, he’ll listen and do it elsewhere which is fine because he likes to lick it off you.

When you try to slow him down, try to be a little more tender, it confuses him. He gets an uncomfortable knot in his stomach, and he wonders what to do. When you hold his face gently, or brush his hair away from his sweaty brow, or gently apologize for the bright red scratches you left on him... He doesn’t know what to do. It isn’t familiar... It isn’t bad, but ... 

The nights you’re most in control is when he’s utterly exhausted, totally physically spent, but still insists on being intimate with you. That’s when you can push him on his back and tell him what you want, and he’ll go along, too intrigued and tired to argue with you.

💖 Pregnancy

No surprise, Ramsay doesn’t heed his father at all when Roose goes on about producing an heir. Seven hells, he’s only a lord in title, it’s you and Roose who are doing a majority of running the Dreadfort. Roose often directed his frustrations at you - should you fail to do your duty as a proper wife, he’d find a way for you to be ... replaced.

It’s not like it was difficult to end up with child, given how often Ramsay wanted you. It happened, and when you told him, he was confused for only a moment. Ramsay simply shrugged, saying his father would finally stop bothering the two of you about it. So that was that.

He continued to not think much about it, but then you became tired. You were so tired, so fatigued, and often forgetful. You had even less patience for his shenanigans, and when he went looking for you, a handmaiden would inform him that you retired early. As you began to show, and your fatigue increased, Ramsay finally began to accept the reality. He still didn’t think much of what it meant, he thought of it more as “Y/N will be back to her regular self once that damn pup is out of her.”

(Honestly, he had so little parental love growing up, the entire idea of parenthood and children was just ... foreign. Something he couldn’t imagine.)

Ramsay hates seeing you in distress and pain. He doesn’t understand it, and it angers him that he has these feelings, but it’s true. So when you begin to really get along in the third trimester, he frightens the servants and handmaidens into making you completely comfortable, not upsetting you, walking and talking quietly, getting you whatever you need. He’d busy himself with even more hunting, getting food you especially liked, making sure it was totally cooked so the smell wouldn’t make you sick.

Roose was surprised, but pleased. At one point he made a cold, off-hand comment about how you could die in childbirth - but as long as you had a son, it didn’t matter. Ramsay turned on him so quickly, a guard almost stepped between them. Roose blinked, unaffected, but made a mental note to ensure the maester had all the tools and supplies he needed.

🏥 Taking Care of Injuries

As stated before, Ramsay hates you being hurt. He hates that he hates this. Sometimes it makes him so angry, he has to walk away. He doesn’t understand the sick feeling he gets when you’re hurt. 

The first time you cried, he was startled. For all the times he tried to do it himself, it happened when you took a bad fall from your horse. The maester was tying your ankle, worried it was broken, and you were quietly crying as he wrapped it. Ramsay was so upset, he barked at the maester to move and did it himself. 

Ramsay is very adept at first aid, actually. He has steady hands to sew up injuries, he knows how to disinfect and change out bandages or stitches. It helped keep his victims alive, after all.

When your hands were blistered from all the archery lessons, he took them in his rough, totally calloused hands and carefully popped the blisters. You flinched and tears sprang to your eyes, and he fought back the angry bile in his throat as he patiently cleaned them and bandaged them. 

Now that you thought about it, tending to your wounds was the only time Ramsay sat still and quiet.

When you pricked your finger badly from a sewing needle or a small knife, he’d hear your quiet curse and instantly go to your side. Ramsay just had to take your finger in his mouth. He always did, looking at you with those mischievous blue eyes the whole time. 

Whenever you have a bruise from something silly, like hitting a piece of furniture, he likes to press on it. He likes the discoloration on your skin, but he doesn’t like the frown you give him. So he kisses it, playing at being sweet, only to kiss up the rest of your body and take you in a needy kiss.

[dwellordream]

Hey, I don't know if you are in the mood for such frippery, but would you do a director's cut on chapter 69? That is one of my most reread chapters of h/h, and not simply because Nell and Harry are arguing in church.

It’s been a long time since I did one, but I can try:

Nell starts off the chapter believing the Neck’s mystical reputation and location as the entry to the North is responsible for the return of her cryptic dreams.

She attempts to rationalize her old dreams of her mother and Sara Snow by telling herself it was just the subconscious manifestation of her insecurities and fears and guilt over her childhood, and also tries to dismiss the creeping sense that Robb and Grey Wind were linked from the very start, in a supernatural manner.

She also expresses worries and fears over the fact that Robb’s health has not improved during their travel north, and he and Grey Wind continue to avoid each other, whatever bond they had mangled. Meanwhile, Harry has confided in her his fears that they will start losing large numbers of men to desertion, as they enter the North and with the winter weather only worsening.

Nell acknowledges Harry’s more practical concerns but admits all she can focus on is getting Lysara back, and then goes into her latest nightmare. While pregnant she dreamed of a son leading her through a peaceful, sunny Riverrun. Now she’s left Riverrun, perhaps permanently, and dreams of an older Lysara leading her through the dungeons of the Dreadfort, the exact inversion of her old hopeful dreams.

Nell acknowledges that they are down in the crypts near her dead siblings, and is alarmed when Lysara runs ahead, leading her straight to a flayed figure. Nell initially believes the person is Bethany, then realizes in horror that it’s actually herself, comforting Lysara. Nell reacts furiously to her almost-dead self, commanding the figure to release Lysara; instead the flayed Nell begins to strangle her own child.

On the one hand, this dream expresses a very literal fear of her own father and brother; if captured by them her fate is likely to be gruesome. On the other hand, this dream also reflects Nell’s childhood dread of her home- the place she should have felt safe, but never did- and the lost potential of a home with Robb and Lysara, as well as guilt over losing her daughter and blaming herself for the possibility of Lysara’s death.

It also acknowledges that Nell would rather Lysara be dead than grow up abused and terrified of Roose and Ramsay, something she cannot admit in real life, that she would rather Lysara have a quick death than a lifetime of suffering.

Upon waking angrily, Nell rejects her Bolton heritage and the Dreadfort’s claim on her once again, thinking that her only pride was always in her mother’s legacy, not her father’s. She trues to convince herself Lysara must be alive and unharmed, but admits she never believed Roose would betray and murder Robb, either.

Nell reflects on the crannogmen’s isolated existence; like the mountain clans they prefer to marry amongst themselves, as their insular, hard lifestyle is very hard for most outsiders, even fellow northerners, to adjust to.

Arden Greengood shows up to inform them that his father Karl Greengood has notified Greywater Watch, who is coming to them, rather than them trying to find it. Now the army just has to wait, not exactly a comfortable experience in the middle of the swamps and marsh.

Arya feels suffocated because she doesn’t have any child companions since Harry sent him back south to Starfall, judging the travel north too dangerous for Edric and that his aunt Allyria must be worried sick about him. Nell is sympathetic but unwilling to let Arya wander, after having just reunited her with her mother.

Nell also knows that Oldtown is in danger from Euron’s fleet, but is privately relieved the Ironborn are not trying to attack the North again for the time being.

Arya expressed worry for the former household of Winterfell, and wants to rescue whoever is still alive, remembering them all by name, to Nell’s surprise. There also seems to be a massive wolf pack following the army north, though Nell doesn’t connect them to Arya.

Nell wants to sacrifice a goat to the old gods for their continued safety as they travel north. She is unnerved by Robb’s disinterest and refusal to participate, not because he disagrees with sacrifice but because he is now apathetic towards the gods, and frightens Nell by telling her he didn’t feel them when he died, or like he was going to any kind of afterlife. He only felt the painful, horrifying sensation of his soul being unwillingly forced back into his corpse.

Nell argues that the gods meant to help them by returning Robb to her, and that they must have some great purpose for him. Robb denies this, and reacts angrily, telling her he doesn’t feel or think all the things she believes he should. He remembers he loves her, but that’s it, and blames himself for being ‘weak’ and not seeing the betrayal coming, which Nell rejects, calling himself a failure.

He reviled the fear he felt when Roose killed him, and tells Nell he no longer fears, so he won’t fail again. He wants her to give the goat to Grey Wind to eat instead, as hunger is one of the few things that matters to him anymore. Nell is distraught and refuses, telling him to go see Catelyn, who still loves him, even if she is afraid.

We then get to the infamous godswood scene. The godswood in the neck are all tiny islands and islets, not proper sprawling gardens. The baby goat obliviously accompanies Nell, and when she kills it she almost breaks down into tears at its trusting innocence. Despite this, Nell still arranges its entrails and prays, hoping the slaughter of the innocent goat will appease the gods, who, ironically, she views as hungry and unfeeling as Robb himself.

Harry then shows up to interrupt her alone time, much to her annoyance. They speak about the coming fight for Moat Cailin and he warns her that the North may not automatically flock back to Robb’s cause, and that Barbrey may sell them out. Nell is infuriated and insists Barbrey is only going along with Roose to protect Lysara, while Harry warns her not to depend on House Dustin or Ryswell for support, especially after the execution of her uncle.

This then devolves into a general fight over Robb. Harry flat out tells her Robb is dead, never getting better, and that most people know it. He also insinuates that while Robb can still fight, he could never rule as king again after this. Nell is incensed and accuses Harry of speaking treason, which he ignores, insisting she is in denial. He also accuses Robb of being a warg, which Nell takes as him calling Robb a heartless monster.

Nell calls him a power hungry fool blinded by his own fear, which be explodes at, reminding her that he helped get them this far in the first place, and reunited Arya with her family. If he wanted power he could have easily killed Robb (again) and left Nell to her fate. This is somewhat ironic as we later find out that Harry almost did kill Robb when he was being revived.

He reminds Nell that his family line descends from the Starks and that they want the same thing, while Nell realizes, despite her fury, that he is isn’t lying or trying to manipulate her. She almost feels she can read him better than she can Robb, which frightens her. This sense of intimacy with Harry is disturbing as Robb slips further and further from her.

Finally, Nell admits that Robb may not be able to rule after they take back Winterfell, but won’t consider what might happen to him, just insists that Lysara is still his heir and will someday be queen. She wants Lysara to be loved and respected, even if the North never loves Nell herself as her family’s actions.

Harry admits she will never be publicly loved, but points out the first Starks were not loved after conquering the North, either, even though they viewed their actions, like all conquerors, as part of the greater good. However the Stark name is still beloved now, even though they were hated by many at the start of their dynasty.

Harry warns her again against putting her faith in Robb’s rule, and that’s that.

Nell admits that what she and Harry just discussed was treason, and that she can no longer confide in Robb. He has no more room for nuance or understanding of these things and would kill Harry immediately. She also finally admits to herself that he is actively dying. Despite her desperate prayers, they will never live a long and happy life together, even if they get their daughter back. She is going to lose him again, and doesn’t know if she can go through the grief again.

Lying awake with Robb that night, he surprises her by asking about the color of Lysara’s eyes. Nell admits sadly that she doesn’t know, it’s been so long. Ruefully she asks what color he’d prefer, which he can’t answer. They fall asleep together dwelling on their loss, and in the morning Greywater Watch arrives.

[targaryen-stronghold]

Sexist Tropes in “Game of Thrones”

Missing Mom Trope / Death by Childbirth Trope

Missing Moms are considered more unusual than missing fathers, and they are more likely to have their absence explicitly explained (usually with death). Death by Childbirth is very often the cause of a Missing Mom, as not only does it get the mother out of the way whilst keeping her sympathetic but it adds an extra touch of tragedy to the protagonist's life

Lyanna Stark (Aisling Franciosi): Jon Snow’s mother

Rhaella Targaryen: Viserys and Daenerys’ mother

Joanna Lannister: Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion’s mother

Straw Matriarchy (Powerful Women are Evil) Trope

Women are shown to be fundamentally incapable of governing or utterly evil and castrating in their power-wielding

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey): Queen Regent; Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men and Protector of the Seven Kingdoms

Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie): Lady of the Vale

Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma): Prince Oberyn’s paramour

Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg): did whatever was necessary (including murder) for her family to remain in power

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea; Queen of Meereen; Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men and Protector of the Seven Kingdoms and Lady of Dragonstone

Hysterical woman Trope

Women as less rational, disciplined, and emotionally stable than men, and thus more prone to mood swings, irrational overreactions, and mental illness

Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie)

Myranda (Charlotte Hope)

Selyse Baratheon (Tara Fitzgerald)

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

Women Who Enjoy Sex are Evil Trope

Sex is regarded as fraught and dangerous

Doreah (Roxanne McKee): murdered Irri and helped Xaro Xhoan Daxos stealing Daenerys’ dragons

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey): murdered every enemy she could get her hands on to remain in power

Shae (Sibel Kekilli): betrayed Tyrion Lannister by blaming him for Joffrey’s murder

Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma): murders Myrcella Baratheon and Doran Martell

Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie): murdered her husband, Jon Arryn; lied to her sister, Catelyn, blaming the Lannisters for Jon’s death; tried to kill Sansa Stark out of jealousy

Myranda (Charlotte Hope): helped Ramsay Snow in his torture games; tormented and tried to kill Sansa Stark

Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers): alongside with her sisters, Nymeria and Obara, helped her mother, Ellaria, betraying House Martell

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): burns down King’s Landing

I Was Quite a Looker Trope

You all know them. That kindly old lady who lives down the street. The tiny, wrinkly, owner of the local dojo. The aged, fading seductress. Wrinkled, aged, musty... but they weren't always that way. Once upon a time they were attractive, very attractive.

Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg)

Disposable Woman Trope

This character has a familial or romantic relationship with a protagonist, which allows creators to derive heart-wrenching sorrow from her death.

Talisa Stark (Oona Chaplin): provided a minute of Man Pain to the protagonist Robb Stark before his murder by Roose Bolton

Ygritte (Rose Leslie): provided Man Pain to the protagonist Jon Snow

Shae (Sibel Kekilli): provided Man Pain to the protagonist Tyrion Lannister

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): provided Man Pain to the protagonist Jon Snow

Disposable Sex Worker Trope

The prostitutes are killed because they know something they shouldn't, or a villain thinks they do.

Ros (Esmé Bianco): Petyr Baelish gifts her to Joffrey Baratheon to torture and kill because she’s been working for Varys

Woman Scorned Trope

What’s the only type of woman more dangerous than a Mama Bear? A woman who’s been dumped, cheated on, or otherwise done wrong by her significant other. Especially if she’s been hiding some sanity problems,

Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie): tried to kill Sansa Stark out of jealousy

Ygritte (Rose Leslie): go on a murdering spree after being betrayed and abandoned by Jon Snow

Shae (Sibel Kekilli): testifies against Tyrion Lannister in his trial for Joffrey’s murder for believing he didn’t care for her and was shipping her off

Myranda (Charlotte Hope): tried to kill Sansa Stark out of jealousy

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): slaughters every men, women and child in King’s Landing after being rejected by Jon Snow

The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry Trope / Sibling Rivalry Trope

There are two sisters, close enough in age to have a relatively equal relationship, but light years apart in personality.

Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) vs. Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie)

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) vs. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams)

Tomboy and Girly Girl Trope

The "Girly Girl" will highly care about her appearance, pursue "girly" interests, and is often (though not always) The Chick. The Tomboy will be into sports, mechanics, or the like. The two ladies will have some sort of relationship with each other, whether they're best friends, sisters, on the same team

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) vs. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams)

Mama Bear Trope /  Motherhood Is Superior Trope

Like many other mammals depicted throughout history as predators, bears are actually passive animals, and won't attack humans unless provoked. Despite this, if you even think about getting between a mother bear and her cub she'll tear straight through you. Threaten her children, and you are in for a world of hurt.

Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley)

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey)

No Guy Wants an Amazon Trope

All Guys Want Cheerleaders, but no guy wants a girl who can beat him up.

Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) is unceremoniously dumped by Jaime Lannister because he wants to return to his traditional feminine ex-lover, Cersei

Female Misogynist Trope / Not Like Other Girls Trope

Considers other girls to be inferior- not like her. People will remind her that she's a girl herself, but she will deny it - or consider herself an "honorary dude" or claim she's "not like the other girls" (i.e. she's ''better'' than the other girls, in her mind).

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey): I should have been born a man. I’d rather face a thousand swords than be shut up inside with this flock of frightened hens

Arya Stark (Maisie Williams): Most girls are idiots.

Fiery Redhead Trope

A Fiery Redhead is a red-haired character who is strong, Hot-Blooded, outgoing, usually outspoken, and (if a love interest) often female. She has a big personality and she's not afraid to use it. Whatever you do, don't get on her bad side, or there will be hell to pay.

Ros (Esmé Bianco)

Melisandre (Carice van Houten)

Ygritte (Rose Leslie)

Sleeping Their Way to the Top Trope

There are many ways to rise to the top, some more pragmatic than others. Some people decide to use their charms and sex appeal to boost their career. It's usually frowned upon by other characters, and may have certain downsides to it, but for some it proves to be the key to their success.

Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer)

Real Women Don't Wear Dresses Trope

A woman is shown as weak, incompetent, and ineffectual unless she dresses and behaves in a masculine manner, or is otherwise applauded for being "not like other girls."

Arya Stark (Maisie Williams)

Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie)

Ygritte (Rose Leslie)

Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan)

Nymeria Sand (Jessica Henwick), Obara Sand (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers)

Madonna–Whore Complex Trope

A pattern of thought that divides female-humanity into two mutually exclusive categories: Madonnas and Whores. The virtuous Madonna figure, possessing and protecting social virtue is an object of worship and everything that all females should aspire to be. However, sex is not part of this. The Whore, always with massive sex appeal, catering to the male gaze, is often evil and scheming

“The Whore” Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) vs. “Madonna” Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)

“The Whore” Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) vs. “Madonna” Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)

“The Whore” Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) vs. “Madonna” Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)

Sour Prudes Trope

Accusing other women (or sometimes men) of being "skanks", "sluts", "cheap" and whatnot.

Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie) vs. Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner): Lysa falsely accuses her niece, Sansa, of sleeping with Petyr Baelish

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) vs. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke): Sansa implies Daenerys is (sexually) manipulating her brother, Jon Snow

God Save Us from the Queen! Trope

While kings and princes can be good or evil, and nice or mean, and princesses are (almost) always good, queens tend to be the royalty version of Always Chaotic Evil. Once a queen is in charge, things get nasty.

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey)

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

[jackoshadows]

This is a write-up regarding the situation in the North as of the last book A Dance with Dragons regarding the Starks and their claim to WF and the North. It’s a rather long post with book quotes that looks at why each character has a claim to the North/WF and how much support they have for that claim going from the character with the strongest claim/support to the weakest.

Contenders currently in the North:

Bran Stark: Currently in the lands beyond the wall with the 3ER. Prince Bran Stark was the Prince of Winterfell and the Stark in Winterfell when King Robb Stark was campaigning in the South. He ruled over the North until Theon’s betrayal and attack wherein Theon became the Prince of Winterfell with his father Balon Greyjoy as King. Ramsay then sacked Winterfell and Roose Bolton took over as Warden of the North with Ramsay Bolton as the Lord of Winterfell, by way of marriage to ‘Arya Stark’.

Rickon Stark: Currently in Skagos. Next in line to Bran Stark.  Has the support of the powerful Wyman Manderly to become the Lord of Winterfell/Warden of the North under King Stannis Baratheon as per the deal made with Stannis’ envoy Davos seaworth. Robett Glover also agrees to join Stannis’ campaign if Davos brings back Rickon safely from Skagos and sends weapons and hunters to Stannis to help in his march on Winterfell against the Boltons. Davos is currently headed to Skagos to bring Rickon back.

Characters that know that Bran and Rickon are alive: Theon Greyjoy, Wex, Wyman Manderly, Robett Glover, Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, Gilly, Osha, Hodor, the Reeds and the Liddle of the mountain clans.

Additionally, Bran is communicating with Jon, Arya and possibly Rickon through their wolf dreams and in Theon’s case through the WF Godswood. Jon sees Shaggydog eating a unicorn in Skagos through Ghost. He sort of ‘knows’ that Bran and Rickon are alive through the direwolves communicating with each other.

Jon Snow:  Ned’s bastard son only comes into the picture through Robb Stark’s will. So let’s take a look at this will. Before his death, Robb Stark creates a will to ensure that the Northern kingdom does not die with him. At this point, Robb thinks that Bran, Rickon and Arya are dead. First, he needs to make sure that the Lannisters don’t get the North:

By law Sansa is next in line of succession, so Winterfell and the north would pass to her.” His mouth tightened. “To her, and her lord husband. Tyrion Lannister. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that. That dwarf must never have the north.”

“No,” Catelyn agreed. “You must name another heir, until such time as Jeyne gives you a son.”

Robb and Cat seem pretty determined that Sansa, her husband and any children they have will never get the North/WF. This indicates that there is a provision in the will where Sansa is explicitly debarred/disinherited from getting the North. This seems to be a pretty popular idea as, up North, Stannis is of a similar mind –

"Lady Lannister, you mean? Are you so eager to see the Imp perched on your father's seat? I promise you, that will not happen whilst I live, Lord Snow."

So anyways, Sansa is out. Next, Robb decides to legitimize Jon Snow and he trusts Jon so much that he decides to do this before even knowing whether his wife Jeyne Westerling is pregnant or not. Catelyn is so distressed over this, that she would rather Robb select some cousin from the Vale to be Lord of WF/KITN than Jon Snow because she thinks that Jon will steal Robb’s child’s birthright. And that once Jon is legitimized it cannot be taken back. They argue over this:

He is set on this. Catelyn knew how stubborn her son could be. “A bastard cannot inherit.”

“Not unless he’s legitimized by a royal decree,” said Robb. “There is more precedent for that than for releasing a Sworn Brother from his oath.”

“If you make Jon legitimate, there is no way to turn him bastard again. Should he wed and breed, any sons you may have by Jeyne will never be safe.”

“Have you considered your sisters? What of their rights? I agree that the north must not be permitted to pass to the Imp, but what of Arya? By law, she comes after Sansa . . . your own sister, trueborn . . . ”

“ . . . and dead. No one has seen or heard of Arya since they cut Father’s head off. Why do you lie to yourself? Arya’s gone, the same as Bran and Rickon, and they’ll kill Sansa too once the dwarf gets a child from her. Jon is the only brother that remains to me. Should I die without issue, I want him to succeed me as King in the North. I had hoped you would support my choice.”

From all this we can speculate that the Robb’s will has provisions that disinherits Sansa, legitimizes Jon and makes him KITN if Jeyne does not have a child – since the only uncertainty at the time the will is written up is whether Robb will have a child or not. 

The following lords are signatories and witnesses to this will: Jason Mallister, Raynald Westerling, Greatjon Umber, Galbart Glover, Maege Mormont and Edmure Tully.  We don’t know where this will is – it’s speculated that Galbart Glover and  Maege Mormont are in possession of the will and were last headed for Greywater watch, the residence of Howland Reed.

If Robb’s will comes into play, then Jon goes from Jon Snow to Jon Stark and that automatically pushes him to the head of the queue as the eldest Stark, even if Bran and Rickon are alive. Of course, ultimately it all depends on which houses will support Jon Stark and which houses will support Bran, Rickon or Arya stark.

Contenders currently outside the North:

Because much of the North and house Stark is patriarchal, the girls come further down the line when it comes to their claims to WF and the North.

Arya Stark: Currently in Braavos. She is involved in the Northern plot in the book through Jeyne Poole – who marries Ramsay Bolton as ‘Arya Stark’ to help the Boltons hold the North. With Jon’s help, Stannis engages with the Mountain clans and they agree to fight under him to defeat the Boltons and free Arya. As Big Bucket Wull explains:

Winter is almost upon us, boy. And winter is death. I would sooner my men die fighting for the Ned’s little girl than alone and hungry in the snow, weeping tears that freeze upon their cheeks. No one sings songs of men who die like that. As for me, I am old. This will be my last winter. Let me bathe in Bolton blood before I die. I want to feel it spatter across my face when my axe bites deep into a Bolton skull. I want to lick it off my lips and die with the taste of it on my tongue.

So the clans and Stannis are fighting to save Arya. While Stannis himself is not interested in Arya as a heir to WF (he wants to rescue Arya for Jon’s sake and send her to him), the clans and some of the Northern houses in the game – who don’t know about Bran and Rickon being alive – could be plotting to get rid of house Bolton and restore WF/North to Arya as Queen in the North. Even Roose’s so called Northern allies are not pleased with the way ‘Arya’ is being treated.

Barbrey: The bride weeps ... Dressing her in grey and white serves no good if the girl is left to sob. The Freys might not care, but the northmen ... they fear the Dreadfort, but they love the Starks.

Theon: Not you.

Barbrey: Not me, but the rest, yes. Old Whoresbane is only here because the Freys hold the Greatjon captive. And do you imagine the Hornwood men have forgotten the Bastard's last marriage, and how his lady wife was left to starve, chewing her own fingers? What do you think passes through their heads when they hear the new bride weeping? Valiant Ned's precious little girl. Lady Arya's sobs do us more harm than all of Lord Stannis's swords and spears.

“Night work is not knight’s work,” Lady Dustin said. “And Lord Wyman is not the only man who lost kin at your Red Wedding, Frey. Do you imagine Whoresbane loves you any better? If you did not hold the Greatjon, he would pull out your entrails and make you eat them, as Lady Hornwood ate her fingers. Flints, Cerwyns, Tallharts, Slates … they all had men with the Young Wolf.”

“House Ryswell too,” said Roger Ryswell. “Even Dustins out of Barrowton.” Lady Dustin parted her lips in a thin, feral smile. “The north remembers, Frey.”

Meanwhile, Lord Commander Jon Snow at the Wall has send Mance Raydar – the King beyond the wall – to rescue his sister. After he receives a letter from Ramsay Bolton informing him that Stannis has failed and that Mance is dead, Jon rallies the Wildlings to go attack the Boltons and save Arya. He is assassinated at this point.

So while all this is happening in the North, the real Arya is in Braavos. How would she connect to this plot? Well, if Jon is dead at the wall, fake Arya/Jeyne Poole may end up going with Justin Massey to Braavos – where Stannis has send him to get more mercenary soldiers and men to fight against the Boltons. Imagine Arya’s surprise when she comes across Jeyne masquerading as Arya in Braavos while Arya is walking around with someone else’s face?! This could very well be the spur that pushes her to make a trip to the Wall or the North. The only obstacle is of course that Winter has come in the books and the snowstorms are so bad that Stannis and his army is stranded unable to march even to WF. It’s not going to be easy for Arya to get North at this point. It’s possible that Arya therefore travels to the Riverlands or even the Vale since weather wise that’s easier to do.

Sansa Stark: Currently in the Vale. She is LF’s nominee for the North/WF. The major obstacle for her getting the North is her marriage to Tyrion. Currently she is still married to Tyrion as of the last book. This marriage can only be annulled by the high Septon in KL – which means there should be a regime friendly to Sansa in KL before this can happen. Or Tyrion should die. This is what LF is hoping for - that Cersei somehow manages to kill Tyrion. LF’s plans depends on both Tyrion and SweetRobin dying. Hence why Sweetrobin is being given dangerous levels of sweetsleep, despite the Maester’s warnings. LF also thinks that Bran and Rickon are dead.

So according to LF’s plans, Cersei kills Tyrion, SweetRobin dies, Sansa marries Harry the heir and is unveiled as Queen in the North/Lady of Winterfell.She gets the North and the Vale in one swoop.

But unfortunately for Littlefinger, the North is moving full speed ahead with their own plots and games. Bran and Rickon are still alive, some Northern houses are pushing for Rickon, others support Arya and Robb’s will basically disinherits Sansa Lannister. LF does not know any of this. There’s also the fact that with winter coming to Westeros and the snow storms, no army is going to be able go North any time soon. No single person would be able to do the same. Alys Karstark nearly died riding from Karhold to the Wall. So Sansa is going to be stuck in the south for a while yet.

So with Sansa in the vale, Arya in Braavos and Bran beyond the wall, the closest contenders for WF and the North location-wise are going to be Rickon and Jon. And Jon is still lying dead in the snow. So it’s very likely that we will get either Lord of Winterfell Rickon Stark if Stannis wins or KITN Rickon Stark if Stannis dies in the next book.

[vanimeldes]

your top 10 ASOIAF characters and why?

Mmmok, anon, because I like talking about my favourite characters. I will list the POV ones, but below cut, for safety

1. DAENERYS TARGARYEN - needless to say, the image of G0T/AS0IAF. I fell in love with her innocence and inner resilience and willingness to learn as much as she could since her first chapter. Her arc (so far) is - or was meant to be, whatever - so inspiring, and in a series focused on elements of low fantasy, her character encapsulates almost everything I love in a high fantasy: epicness, mysterious magic, legends, dragons, prophecies, but also her own character, her heroic arc, caused by an utterly selfless goal. I might sound totally generic, but I want her to live happily ever after and be in a position of power, because she understands the grief of lowborn and has a huge potential of learning from her past mistakes and improve their lives. After a life full of loss, abuse, and fears, she managed to become a revolutionary figure and a ruler whose reputation spanns across half a continent, she struggles to find a way between dealing with bad people who really deserve the worst punishments and being compassionate and merciful - because she is compassionate and merciful. My queen, and the reason why this series is popular, sorry not sorry. 

2. TYRION LANNISTER - misogynisic to a fault and horrible in many places, but GRRM called him a good villain and I have always regarded him as such or as morally questionable at best. GRRM has his issues, but he KNOWS how to write complex characters. It`s impossible (at least for me) not to be fascinated by his twisted perspective on the world around him and his traumas and his tiny attempts to be good and nice. His constant conflict between what he stands for, what he wants to represent as a Lannister and what he actually wants is stellar.

3. JAIME LANNISTER - similarly to Tyrion, he actually starts off as more antagonistic, but once you get into his head, it`s impossible (at least for me) not to root for him and understand some of the reasons behind his deeds. He is a tragic character in many ways: he is not honourable enough (although he wants to be) and yet he`s neither Lannister enough (although he wants that too). I still loved him since page one, I loved how Brienne changed him and how he changed him because of her. Whether he dies killing Cersei/embracing Cersei or gets to live with Brienne forever (aaah pls GRRM make it happen), I will be satisfied.

4. CERSEI LANNISTER - bruh, she`s just fascinating. She`s tragic too because she really embodies everything that is fucked up in the Westerosi patriarchal society. She internalized the misogny of the society and, as a consequence, when she wants to keep her power, she lacks the proper imagination to come up with other options than sex and murder. Her thoughts regarding women and womanhood are horrifying, but so is the abuse and trauma she suffered for most of her life. I hate the statement that she is stupid. Yes, she lacks patience. Yes, she is not as political savy as she thinks she is, she is very rash in her decisions, but she is cunning and ambitious. And whether you like her or not, you all must admit she is brave, proud and a real fighter, like that lion of her House`s banners. Lannisters (& Targaryens) are the reason why I can`t hate this series. 

5. DAVOS SEAWORTH - I never expect to fall in love with him, but he is such an unique character. He starts off as illiterate, but tough and strong. Per GRRM, he was created to provide insight into Stannis` storyline, but I just love how he got a personality of his own. His loyalty, his inner intelligence, his sincerity, his resilience make it impossible for him not to root for and pray for him. 

6. EDDARD STARK - lol, he`s Ned. He WASN`T stupid, nor a POOR HONOURABLE FOOL. I think that even if honour was ultimately his doom, he still managed to keep his humanity and goodness. His POV chapters only showed me a really intelligent and observant man, tormented by what he thought it was a betrayal: rather the conflict between keeping his sister`s secret and raising her son and what was seen as a betrayal through his beloved wife`s eyes. He might have failed in some ways because he hadn`t prepared his children for the tough world they were living in BUT he loved his children and wife more than anything, as much as he loved his sister, he never held grudge against all the Targaryens, even though his father and brother died horribly in Aerys` hands. He genuinely wanted to be a good man, despite all the hardships that would have pushed another over the edge. I can`t not appreciate that. 

7. BRAN STARK - the other character that, IMO, encapsulates the classic high fantasy. Of course, GRRM put a twist when he had Bran falling over the window and breaking his legs, as well as because he wrote him as not yet prepared to used his magic skills properly. But his storyline is full of magic and mystery, but told through the eyes of an innocent 7 yr old child, who suffered enough loss and fear and grief for a whole life. Again, it`s impossible not to root for him. I really want him to end up as King in the North, rather than the next tree-man, because he actually has ruling experience and is also kind and receptive. 

8. ARYA STARK - reading Arya`s AGOT chapters felt like reading a book about me when I was of her age. I have to admit, in the later books, some of her chapters are too long, and too boring, but I totally get their point: through her eyes, we see the horrors of war, the poverty, the trauma of a child who suddenly found herself alone in a very dangerous world. And she survives on her own, even though she has to kill those who threat her security and life, but we know that she never enjoys killing people, we know that she kill them out of necessity. She is also smart (when she names Jaquen the third kill), observant, resourceful, tough and brave (I meaaan, serving as Roose Bolton`s cupbearer?). How she survives in the House of Black and White? How quick she is to learn a foreign language? And, most important, how she gives no shits if the people she meets are noble or lowborn and how she befriends everyone? Her relationship with her father and her respect towards feminity, even though she is a gender non-conforming girl? You rock, girl!

9. BRIENNE TARTH - I accused GRRM of misogyny many times, but I reckon that Brienne is a response to the very misogynistic society he created, the society where „there`s no creature as unfortunate as an ugly woman”, by giving her a storyline, a character that is utterly honourable, kind, gentle. While she suffered because she couldn`t fit the gender role she was supposed to fulfill, she never held grudge against the values of feminity - on the contrary, she holds them in great regard! And, why not, as „ugly” and „manlike” she is, she got to make „Westeors` most desirable knight” admire and respect her, which, IMO, is a win!

10. ARIANNE MARTELL - such a pleasant surprise. My smart, hot-tempered, sexually adventurous, but brave and capable Princess. If GRRM kills her, I will erase him from my memory. I just love how she defies all the stereotypes inflicted upon most of the women in these books, I just love her ambition and hot temper, but also her relationship with her cousins and friends. I like that, while she uses sex to get Ser Arys do her bidding, we still see that she is very clever and resourceful. 

Notable mentions of POV characters: ASHA!!!! MELISANDRE!!! and Jon

My favourite non-POV characters:  THE LANN DAD, TYWIN MOTHERFUCKING Lannister; Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Blackfish Tully; Edmure Tully, Val the Wildling; Loras Tyrell; Garlan Tyrell; Olenna Tyrell

[bigballofstress]

Hey there! Can I request a Jon Snow one-shot, where he is in love with a trueborn Baratheon!Reader and vice versa? R was previously married to Robb (though he has always known of her true affections for Jon and never objected), and managed to escape the Red Wedding (with Grey Wind by her side, who is now completely loyal only to her). When Jon dies, she is the one to bring him back from the dead (let's say her tears are unexplainably magical), and they quietly admit their feelings to each other.

Ok, so this is a little bit late coming out but I actually kind of like how it turned out.  Hope you do, too!

You weren’t sure when it happened, these feelings you had for him.  Perhaps at the feast, when the two of you had spoken for hours, much to your mother’s chagrin.  No matter when it happened, though, you had fallen and fallen hard for Jon Snow.

Of course, it had been only moments after you’d realized your feelings that your father revealed that you were to marry Ned Stark’s eldest son, Robb Stark.  So, you quickly forgot your feelings, instead loyally dedicating yourself to your new husband, even going so far as to follow him when he marched on your own family.

One thing that you truly could never have foreseen was the Red Wedding.  You were spared a bloody death due to your heritage, but that did little to comfort you as your husband and all of his men were murdered right in front of you.  You could still clearly remember Roose Bolton grabbing your wrist and attempting to pull you out of the hall.  Your mind clouded with fear, and you yanked your hand away.  Lord Bolton rolled his eyes and reached for you wrist again, but before he could, you punched him as hard as you could in the throat and ran as fast as you could to get away from him.

The scene outside was even more horrifying than that in the castle as hundreds of soldiers were massacred by the Freys.  Soon, a howling caught your attention, causing you to rip your eyes away just in time to see a few soldiers approaching the stables that Grey Wind was staying in with crossbows in their hands.

“Stop!” you screamed as the men took aim.  They whirled around to face you, suspicion evident in their faces.  You took a deep breath and steadied yourself, forcing yourself to remember all of the authority you had been taught to hold since you were a child.  “Do not lay a finger on that wolf.”

“And why not?” one of the soldiers sneered.

You narrowed your bright green eyes, black curls flowing smoothly down your shoulders as your long life of being taught to always have the confidence of a lion and the strength of the stag took over you.  “The King, my brother, would like to keep him as a trophy.  You wouldn’t want to disappoint King Joffrey, would you?” You asked calmly, the unspoken threat clear in your voice.  The soldiers glanced at one another but grunted a disdainful agreement before moving on to kill more Stark men.  Quickly, you rushed forward and swung open the gate.

“Grey Wind, come with me.  We must escape quickly,” you hissed at the wolf.  You could have sworn that he nodded just before leading you to the nearest cover -- the woods -- and from that moment on, he was loyal only to you.

Years went by, and you spent your time running from the many, many, many men sent to capture you and bring you back to your family, partly out of fear of what they might do when they caught you -- Joffrey didn’t take kindly to threats against his leadership, and with all of the rumors going around about your births, he could easily see your black hair as a threat.  More than that, though you were disgusted by who they were.  The things that they had done to other people -- to good people.  You simply couldn’t stomach it.  Eventually, though, you found yourself here, at the wall.

“You see, the moment I heard that you had been elected Lord Commander, I knew I had to come.  I knew that you would protect me from my mother,” you sniffed, still holding onto the cold hand.  You sighed and shook your head.  “No, that’s not true.  I came here because I loved you -- because I still love you -- and I needed to see you again.  Of course, this is not quite what I had in mind.”  You cut yourself off as a lump formed in your throat.  “I just... why did you have to go?” You gasped a sharp breath, and for the first time since the night you had lost your husband, you allowed yourself to cry.

Your entire body shook with sobs as you bent yourself over the lifeless body of the Stark bastard.  “I know it’s kind of pointless now, but...” your voice was thick as you choked out the words.  “I-I love you, Jon Snow.”

“I love you, too.”  You screamed and jumped back.  From the table before you, Jon smiled.

“You’re dead,” you said shakily.  “The red witch failed.  You shouldn’t be here.”

“I don’t feel dead,” Jon shrugged.  Silence fell for a moment before Jon asked, “Was it true?  What you you said, do you truly love me?”

Slowly, still rather shaken by everything that had happened, you nodded.  Tears filled your eyes as you made your way back to him.  “From the moment I met you,” you confessed.

“As have I,” he smiled gently.  He reached up and placed a hand on your cheek, gently pulling you to him until your lips met.  It was messy and desperate, but it was one that you would treasure for the rest of your life.

Before long, Jon pulled away with a groan.  You glanced down to find Grey Wind standing over the man, surveying him suspiciously. You chuckled and ran a hand through the course fur of the direwolf.  “I guess he’s a little protective.”

“I can see that,” Jon groaned, trying to push the wolf away without further angering him.  

You grinned and shrugged.  “He will adapt,” you said casually before bending down for another kiss, of which the two of you soon became lost in.

Before you could do much, though, a grey nose had shoved its way between you, its owner staring at you in an effort to make you give him attention.  You rolled your eyes and laughed.  “Sorry about him.”

“It’s alright,” Jon grinned.  “We’ll have plenty of time together.”

You gave him a large smile back.  “I look forward to it.”

[gascon-en-exil]

Joining the Game Late: S3E10 “Mhysa”

Synopsis

All hell breaks loose at the Twins. Sansa’s still not allowed to curse. Tywin takes the credit for the Red Wedding in the middle of a Lannister family breakdown. Old Nan taught Bran how to tell stories for maximum foreshadowing effect. Walder Frey and Roose Bolton twirl their mustaches while Roose’s son dines on some prime sausage that’s totally not what you think. Yara is so moved by the sight of her brother’s penis that she sets off to be a hero. Sam and Bran compare notes on their plotlines before parting. Davos takes a shine to Gendry and rescues him, only to escape punishment because Melisandre’s fire found the main plot. Arya takes her first vengeance, and Jon has a bad breakup with Ygritte. Shae’s still with Tyrion, but probably not for long. Jaime and Jon have significant homecomings under not so great circumstances, and the show remembers Dany exists just in time for her to crowd surf through her big white savior moment.

Commentary

Like the two previous season finales this one comes off feeling pretty cluttered, except this time even more so. As far as climaxes go the Red Wedding is a comparatively more localized event than the succession crisis and Ned’s execution or the Battle of the Blackwater, and on top of that this season covers only around half a book so its ending lacks much of a natural finality. There is some to be had, like in the sweeping away of the Starks, the two paralleled homecomings by Jaime and Jon, or Bran heading north of the Wall, but this is noticeably more of a midpoint than an ending. Some characters are just left dangling for later seasons, like Theon and his sister (you have no idea how hard it was for me to avoid a BDSM joke with the former...and I get the impression I’m going to have to keep resisting that impulse going forward), or Arya who at the moment seems like she’s going to spend each successive season roaming the countryside and learning how to kill more effectively. I’m not even sure what to make of Stannis being the only ruler to rally to the Night’s Watch call for aid; it really has more to do with what the Lord of Light actually is and wants (thanks, lore and history extras) than anything connected to Stannis’s character. As much as I’ve enjoyed the push and pull between what he wants and what Melisandre wants him to do his personal agency has notably diminished this season and I’m not sure I like it.

All this I’m getting out of the way now, because I need to talk about Daenerys - for longer than she appears in this episode, but for her this is more like a summation of her whole storyline thus far. It’s certainly been...something. For two seasons now GoT has been sort of coasting with Dany, padding her thin plotlines with new material in some places and stretching them out across multiple episodes in others. She’s not the only character given this kind of treatment *coughs*Theon*coughs*, but since she’s so geographically removed from the other events in the show the audience is likely to treat her story as a more distinct element. That’s not a good thing, because at this point it isn’t doing a good job of standing on its own. Season 2′s Qarth storyline wasn’t so bad; it had some good character moments for Dany and Jorah and was punctuated by a strong resolution. Season 3 started Dany off on a big note with her conquest of Astapor and acquisition of the Unsullied, but after that it spent something like five episodes waffling around outside of Yunkai and splitting up its climactic action sequence and this hour’s resolution, in which a crowd of former Yunkish slaves exalt Dany in near-worship for freeing them offscreen somehow because three guys invaded their city and opened it up to an army. Racial optics aside this ending has too many missing pieces leading up to it to feel entirely earned; had the whole Yunkai story been collapsed into two or three episodes at most and there been a stronger connection between the setup and the payoff (maybe, I don’t know, bring out that slaver again so he can be made to grovel and surrender and/or get roasted to death?). Nope, her special ops force backdoors the city and I guess all the slavers are dead now with no other casualties because that’s how sieges work.

The events of Yunkai do however give me the opportunity to talk some more about Daenerys’s motivations and how to fit her present actions into her dictatorial, war crime-laden future. Last season I praised the scene between Dany and Jorah where she admits that she can’t trust anyone (including him) and is able to back up that mistrust with multiple concrete examples. Dany remembers how her brother used and her and how the Dothraki turned on her, and she knows well that she has no allies in Westeros because the people over there are too busy killing each other to care that her roundly hated father still has one living child. It’s therefore not surprising to me that she builds up her follower base by liberating slaves; not only are they numerous and untapped as a political resource in her current surroundings, but Dany believes she can trust in their loyalty because they owe their lives and their freedom entirely to her. The former slaves of Yunkai call her “Mhysa” (”Mother”), drawing an immediate connection to her maternal bond with her dragons who are also unconditionally loyal if not exactly free-willed in the same sense as a free man who has never known slavery. She’s got those in her retinue as well, but they’re loyal to her out of either love/lust (Jorah and Daario along with his mercenary army) or fealty to her late father and disdain for the two men who sat on the Iron Throne after him (Barristan). This interpretation of her methodology may be cynical, but it aligns well with how we know she reacts to people who do not act sufficiently grateful in response to what she perceives to be her kindness (ex. the witch from Season 1) and also foreshadows her descent into Mad Queen-dom once in Westeros. I think there’s also a bookend here with Margaery’s charity work in Flea Bottom in the first episode of the season. Both women - and it is perhaps notable that they are women - are performing good works in service to the unfortunate and the downtrodden, but they’re doing so in a publicly visible way that endears them to the masses and increases their political clout. Daenerys the Breaker of Chains is just a more extreme version of Margaery currying the favor of the people of King’s Landing, and it’s a reminder that in the darkly political world they inhabit honor and compassion are as much tools as anything else.