#chena h

[atopvisenyashill]

Do you think it's likely someone like Sansa (or anyone else) may advocate for clemency for Theon in regards to his attack on Winterfell? Trying to figure out how he survives in the North in TWOW if he's still regarded as a turncloak.

YES OKAY

So I think probably what happens is that Bran speaks through the trees in the godswood which stops Theon's execution for awhile. I also think, at some point, Asha and Theon are getting wrapped up in the politics - not exactly sure how, maybe it's news of Davos & Rickon, maybe it's the entire fact that Bran spoke through the trees, maybe it's some word about Sansa or real Arya showing up somewhere, but essentially it triggers a discussion of what Theon faked between a handful of Northerners that convinces them to not kill him....but just for now.

I go back and forth a lot on what Theon and Asha are up to. I think they're going to stick together, but I think that'll be in the north. Whether Stannis & the Bolton-Freys play hot potato with Winterfell (which is what I think will happen that triggers the Shireen burning - Stannis gains, and is then chased out of Winterfell, which makes him desperate enough to do something like that), OR Stannis keeps it and it's a more straightforward sort of getting caught up because now Theon is Chosen By The Old Gods and if he didn't kill the boys he might know where they are OR Stannis never takes it at all and him and Asha escape (probably with Aly Mormont and/or Justin Massey is my guess) and get pressed into looking for the boys.

So mostly, I think how Theon survives is tied to exactly what happens in the godswood. I think Stannis will take part of Asha's words to heart and burn Theon in the godswood (I remember Stannis mentions wanting to burn the godswoods, I can see it being like a let's burn part of hte godswood too), but once the fire lights, Bran just straight up starts speaking through the tree to get it to stop. I'm not sure what he's going to say - like, it could be Bran from the future (if that theory is right) (it is right, i'm right), it could be Bran right now, he probably won't be saying much and what gets through will probably be confusing. I think it's important to keep in mind George's idea about how magic should work, which is that it should be fantastical. He doesn't like really obvious flashy displays of magic happening all the time, so what we're likely to get is going to look like a miracle of sorts. Of course, it's not a miracle, it's probably Bran just trying anything and seeing what happens out of desperation but Stannis & the Northerners don't know that. And if a tree is literally talking, and the crows are all saying Theon's name, I imagine that shakes Stannis' faith a lot. But what is Bran saying besides "please don't kill Theon, I forgive him, and I'm alive"? I really don't know what he's going to say.

But after that, probably I figure until like halfway through TWOW, it's going to be a lot of running around which means anyone who wants to kill Theon is going to have to catch him first. And once Winterfell is back under Stark control, I think literally all of them - even Jon! - are going to grant him clemency on a more official status.

[atopvisenyashill]

@chena-h yeah that’s a fair one. and it leads into what i think is another kind of “alright i guess” sort of thing when it comes to the night’s watch - it’s notable that there are Several rapists including serial rapists & serial murderers that are part of the watch but the hazing that goes on….is never sexual. yes i get danny is a woman but the extreme gang rape she faces is just very like okay, feels like set dressing when you factor in that neither jon nor satin nor sam face sexual violence from their brothers. this despite sex & sexuality being a Big Issue with both satin & sam, and imo despite maester kerwin being raped pretty specifically as punishment for not being masculine (bc he’s a maester) and being a bit too “proud” of himself despite his lack of masculinity by the ironborn - like, this is something that happens in the books. just notably not within the night’s watch EXCEPT for danny flint. and jon Does experience sexual coercion but it’s got nothing to do with the watch - it’s ygritte & the entire concept of bride stealing that jon is dealing with, not the night’s watch. i’m certainly not saying i WANT sam to have experienced sexual assault but it is something that makes me look a bit sideways. if danny flint wasn’t there i think it wouldn’t be as noticeable but with her story it’s just a bit eh for me.

[atopvisenyashill]

@chena-h lannisters tremble before him!!

[atopvisenyashill]

@chena-h they’re his friends

[atopvisenyashill]

Do you have any thoughts on Nymeria and her ten thousand shi-I mean wolves? As in, any ideas on how that situation might get resolved?

haha. i'm of a few minds as i am always am with arya.

the first is like - it would be really easy and really cool to have arya ~reclaim her identity~ by meeting nymeria, taking control of her, and riding her north. no one would ever doubt she's arya if she comes up riding on a direwolf with a wolf pack behind her. and i have thought about that several times as a potential but i also think it might be a bit too neat? but maybe it seems so neat because it's just been well built up.

the second is where i get into like, what the direwolves represent. important that while the dragons are often associated with destruction and freedom, the direwolves show up more like vultures. after the fight, they feast on flesh. after the lannisters have sacked the riverlands is when nymeria starts to build her man eating pack. this could signify a lot thematically. you could follow to the idea that the starks themselves are vultures - perhaps stealing the stories of the children (and their magic, and their religion) and making it their own. perhaps the idea that the starks are always late to a fight in a not dissimilar way to like, walder frey (although that's complicated by the idea that like, it's just geographically difficult to get from the north to the south lol).

but the wolves, like the dragons, do have some positive associations. there's ~the pack, which is why arya riding nymeria north does feel like an option in some respect. to represent both being a vulture but being Part Of A Family....idk, i think we'd get some like, arya saying goodbye to nymeria, but not the way the show did it, more like a parallel to dany locking up the dragons. like, nymeria being led to the far north with her man eating wolf pack because she's not safe to be around other people, and arya making the decision to prioritize the people she's responsible for over the wolf she's bonded with., and helping to settle human refugees from the Long Night.

There is also of course the fact that Nymeria of Ny Sar travels to several places before settling in Dorne, which is why I think Arya's travels are going to be two pronged - settling her wolves and settling the refugees.

[atopvisenyashill]

@chena-h jace has spent a lot of time on driftmark completely ignoring the problem bc every time he bitches about it everyone starts dunking on him lmao.

he is focusing on the factors he can control, and since daeron was sent p young to foster in oldtown, aegon is the one who is like “hey shouldn’t we foster one of your kids with their grandparents or at least let them get to know their betrothed better?” and rhaenyra can acknowledge that if she wants rhaenys & corlys to stick to the betrothals & continue to have her back, she has to continue nurturing the relationship. so jace & luke are there a lot the way that like, brandon was seemingly in the riverlands a lot to get to know catelyn & robert and ned were fucking around all over.

we don’t get a lot of particularly wild rumors that spring up out of dragonstone in the books - it seems like it’s easy to just hang out & plot there & it doesn’t get back to the mainland, i mean no one really knows how religious & weird stannis has turned until after he breaks his silence. so all anyone in kl knows for several years is “rhaenyra & aegon seem to get along pretty well but they haven’t had any kids yet” and this has helped jace’s blood pressure immensely. but rhaenyra lets them know she’s pregnant & they’re going to stay in kl for the duration (they’re bringing gerardys with them, the whole move is aegon's idea bc he wants his mommy to meet his first kid) and jace’s first reaction is “how the fuck did she even get pregnant aegon is the one wearing the dresses isn't he” and his second thought is “oh my god why would you do that” and he absolutely follows them to the capital (he is in fact also just, a worrier and this’ll be the first kid rhaenyra has had since joffrey, he’s her heir and he reserves the right to pace anxiously outside the birthing room the entire time she’s in labor).

and of course like. aegon throws a rager immediately upon arrival to the capital & wears a dress there & is surrounded by a posse of hotties both men & women and there’s some sexy lyseni sailor on his arm the whole night & alicent and otto are fucjing sick over it & viserys, known party king, does not see the issue with aegon liking to party, it’s not like anything particular awful happened at the party (“but the dress-“ “it’s a party!”) and more importantly, clearly rhaenyra has learned she can’t go to such places bc she wasn’t there, so as far as he’s concerned, the whole thing is chill.

of course jace knows the sexy lyseni sailor was in fact rhaenyra who has gotten so good at passing as a man atp that he’s tricked mushroom multiple times into thinking he caught aegon with some random silver haired male whore & not rhaenyra & he thinks it’s hilarious bc he knows mushroom. jace’s life has never been harder. he can’t outwardly agree with the greens without exposing that his mom is there but he really agrees that this is super risky & dumb to do while they’re at the capital. and while aegon is boymoding during the day, rhaenyra just goes to small council wearing trousers now. THAT ONE viserys thinks is a bit much altho it is in line with rhaenyra’s ~willful nature , viserys just sees it as another way of acting out, and he doesn’t love it but it’s a bit quieter than the brothel escapades of yesteryear so he hasn’t done more than grumble (which - the reason they came back was bc aegon wanted to see her mom bc she’s becoming a parent for the first time & it’s nerve wracking & rhaenyra gave in bc we know rhaenyra has a very complex relationship with motherhood & birth too. but rhaenyra let alicent know that’s why they came back - even tho aegon did Not phrase it as “i want to see alicent” lol - and alicent is very thrown by this entire situation. is it an improvement or not?

and jace just has NO ONE to talk to about this alsjdfls. can't even publicly bitch about it. and now everyone knows because rhaenyra and aegon have decided to split their time between dragonstone and the capital and people are calling aegon "prince aegon the conquered" and make dick-less jokes about rhaenyra all the time and rhaenys and corlys told him not to react but the vein in his temple is getting a WORKOUT it's throbbing so much alsdfjl.

[atopvisenyashill]

Idk if you've answered this before, but like, what would be a scene between Theon & Sansa that you would look forward to reading in either TWOW or ADOS? For me, I get soft thinking about Sansa talking to Theon about his rescuing of Jeyne, but I also wonder if the scene where Theon asks to fight for the Starks in The Long Night will be adapted. These two, man ;w;

oh godddddddddd okay

i've always loved the idea of him telling her about his feelings on robb being super angsty. slight sidebar here but i guess one of my guilty pleasure sort of romance tropes is when someone marries the younger sibling of their dead lover, double points if its gay. one of my favorite romance novels, wrong to need you by alisha rai, does this (widow gets romantically involved w her dead husband's younger brother) and the current book i'm reading now has this but bisexual (younger sister marries her dead brother's male lover), i think it's soooo juicey on the ~yearning~ level, i love the concept of like, "I wouldn't have loved you so much if you didn't love this other person so much" and so the idea that Sansa is just so mad at Theon, even after the Bran/Rickon reveal, because he betrayed Robb and oh Robb loved you he treated you like a real friend and not a hostage and he trusted you and he would have backed you against your family and Theon blurts out the whole "i should have died with him at the red wedding" thing like that's GREAT for me. I need the ANGST.

I would also love to see him asking to fight for her in the books, Sophie and Alfie did such a good job with it, and I think the public aspect is what really gets me. Like, Sansa spending so many years never knowing if someone is interested in her for who she is and not what she can offer, all those times being trotted out at court to be abused or fawned over or insulted or whatever, and Theon shows up to ask her specifically not anyone else, not her house, just her if he can fight for her....amazing.

I'd also love some sort of similar soup scene. Like, a quiet, calm moment that's just for them. A moment where they choose to spend it with each other over everyone else.

[atopvisenyashill]

@chena-h @transdimensional-void had longer replies and tumblr ate them but these are good points so i’m just gonna sum up - single sansa might look similar to a romanced sansa & i think this is part of why d&d justified like, completely twisting sansa’s story - if they got her to the end point where she’s the stark in winterfell on her own, it’s fine if the journey there looks different, right? well, no lmao. romanced sansa exists in the context of conversations and goodbyes she has with her siblings, with brienne and podrick. romanced sansa exists in the context of the other people in winterfell - old nan, jeyne, beth, maybe even palla. a romanced sansa who has a lover who stands behind her or is separated from her frequently LOOKS single but it’s not actually true! and since those idiots clearly washed their hands of the show by like, season 6, i think it’s been abundantly clear that they didn’t actually care about the journey, they wanted to speedrun to the end!