bellegereotherys:

ORIGINALLY POSTED HERE: http://bit.ly/YVrJ5f

Before I begin, I just want to clarify that some of these thoughts are all over the place and therefore might appear to be incoherent. I was hoping, with the collective pooling together of our mental faculties, we might be able to sort through some of them.

I’ve attempted to enumerate my ideas below and attempt at elaborating each as to how they would seemingly fit into my crackpot theory.

Hypothesis: There are numerous parallels between both Bran and Arya Stark’s story-lines, leading me to conclude that there may perhaps be some sort of connection between Braavos and the North. These similarities are specifically manifested within the House of Black and White (HoB&W) in Braavos- the headquarters of the Faceless Men- and the North, specifically Bloodraven.

The Moon

Arya’s POV

- In the novel AFfC, we are told that Arya returns to the order of the Faceless Men (FM) at the HoB&W every “new Moon”, when the Moon itself is faceless. Arya assumes the identity of “no one” in this time, during this PHASEless Moon.

- The Faceless Men change their faces as the Moon changes faces (known as the “phases” of the moon- etymologically speaking, the word “phase” derives from the Ancient Greek word “appearance” )

• Interpretations:

When the Moon is waxing, waning or full, Arya goes about her business as Cat of the Canals- valar dohaeris – until the new Moon (aka no Moon; faceless/phaseless Moon) where she sheds her assumed identity and returns back to the HoB&W to pay tribute to the Many-Faced God of Death- valar morghulis.

- Furthermore, the HoB&W is situated in between the Red Temple of R’hllor and The Moonsingers Temple; this is what is described of the latter Temple:

It was one of those that Arya had spied from the lagoon, a mighty mass of snow-white marble topped by a huge silvered dome whose milk glass windows showed all the phases of the moon. A pair of marble maidens flanked its gates, tall as the Sealords, supporting a crescent-shaped lintel.

Bran’s POV

- In ADwD, after Bran consumes the suspicious paste given to him by Bloodraven and the CotF, he assumes the eyes of a weirwood tree. This weirwood tree, it’s important to note, is the very same heart tree that resides at the godswood in Winterfell.

Near the end of Bran’s vision, he sees a white-haired woman holding a bronze sickle who uses it to perform a blood sacrifice before the weirwood.

• Interpretations:

The “bronze” link at the Citadel, represents astronomy. The vast majority of the sickles we see throughout the series are made of bronze (Mirri Maz Duur uses one in AGoT, used in the weirwood sacrifice in Bran’s vision in ADwD, etc). My belief is that ‘bronze’ is specifically linked to the Moon (astronomy), and with sickles shaped as a crescent, perhaps bronze sickles and the Moon are linked to sacrificial rites or blood magic.

This could possibly recall to:

1) Temple of the Moonsingers in Braavos, specifically the two maidens carrying “a crescent-shaped lintel”

2) Mirri Maz Duur telling Dany that she learned birthing songs from the Moonsingers of the Jogos Nhai

3) The legend Doreah recounts to Dany in AGoT:

“He told me the moon was an egg, Khaleesi,” the Lysene girl said. “Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame. One day the other moon will kiss the sun too, and then it will crack and the dragons will return.”

4) The Dothraki myth of celetial objects:

“Moon is no egg. Moon is god, woman wife of Sun. It is known.”

5) The Azor Ahai myth as told by Salladhor Saan:

“Azor Ahai thrust the smoking sword through [Nissa Nissa’s] living heart. It is said that her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon, but her blood and her soul and her courage all went into the steel. Such is the tale of the forging of Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes.”

Things to Consider with the Moon in Bran & Arya’s POVs:

At the Temple of the Moonsingers, why only 2 maidens? In many cultures, the Moon was represented as a triumverate (Artemis, Selene, Hectate) with three faces as the Waxing Crescent Moon, the Full Moon, and the Waning Crescent Moon, respectively. (Maid, Mother, and the Crone). And why holding up a crescent? Does that indicate both the waxing crescent AND the waning crescent?

Colors and Imagery:

Bloodraven (Bran POV in ADwD):

The only thing that looked alive in the pale ruin that was his face was his one red eye, burning like the last coal in a dead fire, surrounded by twisted roots and tatters of leathery white skin hanging off a yellowed skull. The sight of him still frightened Bran — the weirwood roots snaking in and out of his withered flesh, the mushrooms sprouting from his cheeks, the white wooden worm that grew from the socket where one eye had been.

The Kindly Man (Arya POV in AFfC):

“‘Do you fear death?’

She bit her lip. ‘No.’

‘Let us see.’ The priest lowered his cowl. Beneath he had no face; only a yellowed skull with a few scraps of skin still clinging to the cheeks, and a white worm wriggling from one empty eye socket.

‘Kiss me, child,’ he croaked, in a voice as dry and husky as a death rattle.

Does he think to scare me? Arya kissed him where his nose should be and plucked the grave worm from his eye to eat it, but it melted like a shadow in her hand.

The yellow skull was melting too, and the kindliest old man that she had ever seen was smiling down at her. ‘No one has ever tried to eat my worm before,’ he said.”

Compare the description of Bloodraven to Arya’s first encounter with the Kindly Man changing his face.

Another possible indication of a connection between Arya-Bran and the environments in which their training takes place was Arya’s first encounter ever with the Kindly Man Arya upon entering the HoB&W. This is prior to the aforementioned quote from the very same Arya POV in AFfC:

The hooded man was tall, enveloped in a larger version of the black­ and­ white robe the girl [the Waif] was wearing. Beneath his cowl all she could see was the faint red glitter of candlelight reflecting off his eyes.

Hmmm.

Again, we see the colors black, white and red. What’s more fascinating here is that the red of the candles Arya sees is reflected onto his eyes, making them appear red.

Lord Bloodraven is dressed in “ebon finery” and the black soil when Bran first encounters him. He’s noted to be “pale lord” with white weirwood roots snaking through his body. The only thing that’s alive-seeming is the red of his one eye.

Also in the HoB&W Arya notes the color around her:

“Around [the statues] feet red candles flickered, as dim as distant stars.

In the center of the temple she found the water she had heard; a pool ten feet across, black as ink and lit by dim red candles.”

There are three colors in the HoB&W - black (ebony of the carvings), white (weirwood carvings) and red (candles that smell of what you love the most)

There are three colors in Bloodraven’s cave - black (soil), white (weirwoods), and red (his eye)

There are three colors of weirwoods - black (soil), white (bark), and red (the sap and leaves)

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queen—of—thorns submitted to asoiafuniversity :

We’ve all heard it before. Or at least, I have.

“Sansa has too much Tully in her!! She’s just like her mom!!!!!! She’s not a wolf!!! blahfuckingblahfhfhfh”

But what if I were to flip the script? What if I were to say that no, Sansa isn’t just like her mother? What if I were to say, however, that Arya is strikingly similar to Catelyn and that no, that’s not a bad thing at all?

I know, I know. Just hear me out.

See, I think a lot of people do this as a way to discredit both Sansa and Catelyn or to simply lump the two traditionally feminine women together. But even if this wasn’t the case, I’d still disagree with it. Why? Because I see a lot more of the idealistic, naive, internal Ned in Sansa than in Arya. And I see a lot of the pragmatic, fierce, fiery, assertive, unforgiving Cat in Arya, not in Sansa. Does this mean I think either Sansa or Arya is better than the other because one is more like Cat and one is more like Ned? Absolutely not. And nor would I ever argue that either is just a copy of one of their parents - they’re clearly their own people with a mix of inherited traits on the side. But I’m kind of digressing. Let’s begin.

Which parent do you think Arya was taking after when she acted wary and mistrustful? Which parent do you think Arya was taking after when she chafed against societal constraints? Which parent do you think Arya was taking after when she (almost paradoxically) flipped and went into a rage? Not Ned. Yes, it can be said that Arya takes after Lyanna, but 1) we don’t know a lot about her and 2) can it not also be said that it’s quite likely she’s taking after her mother, too?

I mean, when people say Arya and Cat have nothing in common, I have to wonder what books they’re reading. Feeling like an outsider in the situations they’ve been placed in? Check. Fierce natures being stifled by gender constraints? Check. Assertive and active personalities? Check. Sansa is more apt to sit and watch, to wait and see - not so, with Cat and Arya. They can be rash, and while both are highly intelligent (ah, another similarity!), their natures sometimes get the better of them (Arya much more than Cat, but then, she is a child). Inherently mistrustful, keen outlooks? Check. Pragmatism? Check. Less likely to be swayed by empathy/sympathy than Ned and Sansa? Check, check, check.

Remember when Cat released Jaime Lannister in order to get her girls back? No, she’s not like Arya in that she enjoys physical fighting, but she will use any means necessary to protect her family. Remind you of anyone? Arya’s passionate loyalty to her family is what fuels her for a significant portion of the series. And what keeps Cat going? Not to mention: what gives her a purpose as Lady Stoneheart? Family. And as Stoneheart, she’s avenging the ones she loved. Speaking of vengeance, again, does Stoneheart’s revenge-fueled bloodbath ring any bells? Who has a list of people she wants to kill? (I’d go so far as to say that Stoneheart is not a complete departure from the living Cat, but that’s an unpopular opinion and I don’t want to bog down this post with it.)

Remember when Cat stuck up for her daughters?

“I might have been able to trade the Kingslayer for Father, but…”

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

I love that quote, and it reminds me of something Arya would say.

And do you also recall Catelyn’s remark about Cersei?

“Give me Cersei Lannister, Lord Karstark, and you would see how gentle a woman can be,” Catelyn replied.

Here is yet another time she reminds me much more of Arya than of Sansa. Not to mention that a lot of Arya’s and Cat’s thought processes and inner dialogues are remarkably similar in ways. I admit I didn’t pick up on this until more perceptive readers pointed it out, but it’s undoubtedly there. There is a brilliant, almost startlingly vivid, violent quality to some of Cat’s thoughts, along with Arya’s, that is notably missing in Sansa. There is also a strong desire for justice - both of them are driven by it.

And jfc don’t get me started on all the significance of water and the formidable amount of water symbolism in Arya’s storyline, which is yet another connection to her mother. Don’t bring up how it’s Arya who is traveling the Riverlands. And please, please don’t remind me how it’s Nymeria who pulls Catelyn’s body from the river, because that just breaks my heart. (As an aside, does anyone else find Arya’s connection with cats funny? Because, I mean, cats .)

So what do I have to say about Arya and Catelyn? Both are incredibly strong, resilient people. They’re both excessively active characters, not content to sit back and watch. Nor are they content to be the meek, voiceless women that society demands them to be. They’re assertive. They’re essentially pragmatic. They’re flawed - they can be rash, they can lose their cool, they can be single-minded, they can be cold and dismissive and unforgiving. They’re shrewd. They will do anything - anything - for their families. And I think they have a much greater connection than some corners of the fandom give them credit for.

headtrip-honey:

That’s one of my favorite lines from Sansa, and I’m sad that we lost it. Granted, it was an internal monologue in the books, but I can’t help but think it, or something like it, could have made it into the show dialogue.

More than being upset over Sansa kneeling, I’m upset by the way the show has continually stripped Sansa of her agency and her actual storyline.

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onlyalittlelion:

limulidud:

ofhouseadama:

you know who else told sansa he could be good to her and would never hurt her?

motherfucking joffrey baratheon

all y’all haters keep telling sansa that she needed to learn a lesson. 

well she fucking did so shut your fucking mouths sansa stark doesn’t own tyrion lannister shit. 

S1 Sansa would have been less than psyched about marrying Tyrion (like she was less than psyched but marrying Willas) but its the lessons the Lannisters/the court at large have taught her

     everyone lies

     the only reason people bother with her is her title

     promises of her safety mean nothing

that make her so miserable about the idea of marrying Tyrion now. 

And really… Tyrion might be the least corrupt/morally questionable Lannister (not that that’s saying a lot), and yes, readers and viewers can tell he’s not a Joffrey, but remember that Tyrion goes around dressing in red and gold, wearing those obnoxious lion rings, flashing his money and buying people’s loyalty and asking how high every time Tywin says jump and generally waving the “GO TEAM LANNISTER” banner.  And he does it because he’s trying to compensate for being what Tywin calls “the least of the Lannisters” but Sansa doesn’t know that.

abigailxhobbs:

I’m gonna need you all to take a few seconds to consider something really important.

Back in book two when Sansa got her first period she described it as her body betraying her and she described the blood as looking like a Lannister banner. You know why? Because getting her period means the Lannisters own her. And scrap of agency she was allowed is gone because she reached the age of maturity.

Marrying a Lannister, any Lannister, means that Sansa’s own body is being used to betray her family and she can’t stop it. It means that the Lannisters are using her body to make sure the Starks never rule Winterfell.

If your body was being used to take away everything your family worked for you would be less than enthusiastic too.

eta: It should also be noted that being married to Tyrion offers her zero protection from Joffrey

onlyalittlelion:

anonymous asks:

was the wedding everything you wanted it to be or were you disappointed and underwhelmed? and what did you think of that sansa/tyrion/shae breakfast scene?

I’m torn.  Part of me was steeling myself for it to be ABSOLUTELY DREADFUL (by which I mean faithful to or even harsher than the book version; I seriously did not put it past D&D to make the wedding night really rapey and gross) and so the way they eased up on it made it kind of anticlimactic.  I felt like I was watching a horror movie and never got the release of the expected jump scare.

On one hand, the nastiness of the original (i.e. Sansa’s refusal to kneel at first, Tyrion’s humiliation with having to stand on Dontos, “time to smash your portcullis,” Sansa getting undressed and Tyrion touching her breast, “the gods made whores for imps like me”)—all of those things are really important to the characters and the relationship and cutting them is problematic.  On the other hand, I love Tyrion and Sansa and I don’t want to see those awful things happen to them and I don’t wanna hear the fandom screeching about how much they hate them as a result.  It’s basically a case of Critic Me vs. Fangirl Me.

But overall I thought it was splendid.  Sophie was very good (I think her role is a difficult one because Sansa is supposed to be very still and expressionless; it’s part of her defensive camouflage) and Peter knocked it out of the fucking park.  His drunken misery made me want to cry.  Cersei, Joff, and Tywin’s parts were all utterly perfect as well.  

I have mixed feelings about this whole Shae’s jealousy thing.  I felt like last week’s scene implied that she’s worried about losing her security (“I’m your whore, and when you get tired of me I’ll be nothing”), which I can certainly buy.  I can even buy that she feels a certain amount of affection for Tyrion—but not that she’s in love with him and jealous of his sleeping with Sansa.  If there’s one thing about Tyrion that Shae just fundamentally does not get, though, it’s what a hold Tywin has over him and how powerful Tywin truly is (which they might be doing to set up certain future events?).  If she did she’d be telling him to consummate that marriage to protect himself (and by extension her). 

secretlyatargaryen:

onlyalittlelion:

“When Sansa turned, the little man was gazing up at her, his mouth tight, his face as red as her cloak.  Suddenly she was ashamed of her stubbornness.  She smoothed her skirts and knelt in front of him, so their heads were on the same level.”

No, she doesn’t kneel right away; yes, it’s important that she doesn’t, and it’s highly problematic that the show changed it.  But stop screaming that “Sansa Stark doesn’t kneel for anyone,” guys.  She doesn’t kneel for House Lannister; she does kneel for Tyrion, if only out of pity.   

The whole kneeling thing is about the oppression that both of them face, although in different ways. Remember what Sansa thinks when she refuses to kneel? “Why should I care about his feelings, when no one cares about mine?” And then everyone is laughing at Tyrion. Because haha the dwarf can’t reach his bride’s shoulders, in this wedding that he didn’t choose, that neither of them chose. And then Sansa realizes that no one thought to bring Tyrion a stool. Because even the Lannisters don’t care about Tyrion. Because this wedding isn’t about Tyrion, it’s about politics. No one cares about Sansa’s humiliation, or about Tyrion’s. In fact they’re more than willing to laugh at them. That’s why she kneels in the book, and it doesn’t make her initial refusal less powerful, but it does say something about Sansa’s ability to have compassion for someone even though she has it worse. She doesn’t kneel because she owes Tyrion anything. She kneels because this isn’t right for either of them.

(via nobodysuspectsthebutterfly)

sapiosexual-dyke:

As an avid shipper, you’re probably not going to expect me to be objective about the scenes from the last episode, The Bear and Maiden Fair. If you’ve been following me since my self-imposed Sanrion advocacy where only Sansa and Tyrion-related posts will occupy my tumblog until their long-awaited nuptials happen, you should know by now that these characters are my utmost favorite of the book/show series, and their pairing is a ship I will sail to the edge of the world with. Nevertheless, I’m aware of the circumstances surrounding their marriage which are hardly pleasant for either of them. They have also suffered so much injury in the previous seasons which is primarily what hinders them from truly connecting. There is a history of bloodshed between their families too, and their arranged marriage is a political move from Tywin Lannister to secure the North if/when Robb Stark has fallen in battle.

I understand the point of views from many non-book readers about this engagement, and the variety of reactions from both Sansa loyalists/haters and Tyrion loyalists/haters who do not approve that such an alliance should happen. But there a number of book fans who are also a fan of this complex pairing who have always known this day of reckoning is coming but have realistic expectations and reactions about what will come to pass between Tyrion and Sansa.

Let me just state for the record that we shippers ship them the way we do not because it’s a happily-ever-after situation. In marrying these two, their insecurities, fears and dreams will not diminish; they will not eagerly fall in love with each other or conveniently decide to be supportive of the one another’s plight as soon as they develop genuine feelings in the long run. It’s far from that. Sure, we wanted these things for Sansa and Tyrion—of all the characters they were the only ones who actively pursue love because they both believe so desperately that they deserve it. They cope with people’s prejudices through sheer will and tenacity; Sansa clings onto hope while Tyrion utilizes his wits, and both want nothing more but to restore a sense of completeness—and in a mirror-effect sort of way, they seem utterly perfect for each other. At least that’s how we shippers believe it. With the events that surround  them for now, they’re not ready to be together just yet. There are so many experiences to learn and grow from in either side, and it is our dream that they will overcome the obstacles and get a second chance someday.

For now, we keep our faith in anticipation of the actual nuptials to occur but we are also content to talk about what happened in the recent episode. Let me start first with Sansa and Margaery’s girl  talk.

The Tyrell women are seriously ahead of their time. Proving that she’s indeed the granddaughter of the Queen of Thorns, Margaery explicitly educates Sansa about sexual attraction and compatibility. For Sansa, the wedding itself is bad enough but she is even more terrified with the bedding that comes after. I’d like to add my perspective about the fact that she seems more than reluctant to sleep with Tyrion not only because he is an enemy of the family, but because he’s a dwarf—and that’s perfectly understandable. It’s certainly awkward. I would like to agree with Margaery when she said that Tyrion is rather good looking even with a scar—scratch that—especially with a scar. But being thirteen/fourteen years old, Sansa still perceives romantic attraction superficially. She starts to compare Tyrion to Loras who is her ideal of male perfection, apparently. But thanks to Margaery’s wisdom, she comes up with a delightful list on what women find attractive (and the casual way she throws in “pretty girls” was superb), and Sansa looks quite receptive to this new knowledge.She fancies Margaery to be her sister after all, and I think after their discussion, Sansa has began to consider Tyrion in a better light especially since Margaery seems to hint that Tyrion being ‘experienced’ is a good thing in the marriage bed.  Putting aside my being a shipper, this conversation wasn’t offensive for me at all. I’m not sure what other people think but I’ve read somewhere in twitter that Margaery and Sansa shouldn’t talk about matters like that. But hey, girls DO TALK ABOUT SEX but I find that when we do, emotional compatibility is also discussed.

And this brings me to my second point: When Margaery asked if Tyrion is kind to her, Sansa answered that “he tried”. 

It was an appropriate response. It may be argued that Sansa is already honest with Margaery at this point, but I think Sansa still withholds many things from her surrogate sister, particularly about how she feels about things she is unsure about. I know for a fact she is grateful to Tyrion for the kindness she eventually acknowledges. Besides, that statement didn’t mean “He tried to be kind but it’s not good enough” as most viewers seem to interpret it. I believe what she meant was: “He tried to be kind even when he didn’t have to be.” That’s how I interpreted it and it makes more sense because Sansa isn’t a snob/dumb bitch as many of her haters like to argue.

And as a parallel to that scene, Tyrion and Bronn have a man talk about the situation too. I’d like to state for the record that I’m a Bronnthusiast/Jeromaniac for 2 years now, and bringing him in for this episode just so I could watch him drink and get sassy with Tyrion makes me very happy already. While Sansa doesn’t want to marry/have sex with Tyrion because he’s a dwarf, Tyrion’s reason is because she’s a tall child. Understandable as well, but Bronn was quick to counter that he wants to fuck Sansa but he just won’t admit it. It’s a fair assessment from a crass, insolent sellsword who always seems to enjoy poking fun at Tyrion all the time. But  the look on Tyrion’s face says it all. He dismisses that as an evil notion but I know for a fact that there’s a tiny portion of him that does lust after Sansa. And there’s nothing gross about that because it’s normal and you haters know it. You can hate and be disgusted about Tyrion wanting Sansa but not about Sandor wanting Sansa or Drogo fucking Daenerys (who is thirteen in the books)? That to me is prejudicial bias. Let’s not sugarcoat it. Sex between Tyrion and Sansa is disgusting to most of you because he’s a dwarf.

Well, I say to you what Margaery said to Sansa: you can never know unless you try. I’m not saying we should all go have sex with a dwarf now. What I meant is that it’s already established that Tyrion is a decent man despite the errors he has committed because he is kind to people who are mistreated like he was, and in that sense, marrying/having sex with him is not the worst thing that could happen to Sansa. And to think that most of you are Sansa haters too, but you’re not above her at all if you share her superficial outlook about having sex with a dwarf. I just feel like getting this message across because eventually, SanSan and Drogo/Daenerys in spite of the same gray area that Sanrion are going through now, gets approved by many shippers by now. So it baffles me that one of the reasons Sanrion is being dismissed is because she’s dumb/innocent or he’s one’s favorite badass/dwarf. 

There aren’t a lot of fans of BOTH Sansa and Tyrion and who also ship them, and those who do are usually book readers like me who have seen the complexity and possibility of this pairing for ourselves.  I just hope D&D will treat with their relationship with same sensitivity and empathy like GRMM did during their POVs reflective of each other. I look forward to next Sunday because watching Dinklage and Turner interact as Tyrion and Sansa makes my heart flutter and I know there are many more scenes between them that I can talk about with fellow shippers once more :)

maidenvault:

It’s just so freaking weird to see these consecutive scenes of Sansa and Tyrion getting advice and encouragement from their BFFs about the sex they’re going to have to have with each other as if this situation is almost just supposed to be kind of funny and awkward. As if the arrangement of this marriage doesn’t mean that any other life Sansa might have hoped to ever have is over now. As if it doesn’t mean that now she’ll never be able to experience and enjoy having sex with someone she can actually trust, as opposed to a Lannister who regardless of his own moral character is still a Lannister who would reluctantly marry her before giving up what he has by defying his father, and therefore can never entirely have her trust.

And what’s also bothersome is how the conversation between Sansa and Margaery is full of these suggestions that their situations are necessarily comparable just because Margaery will be willingly marrying Joffrey. For Sansa, there can be no “making the best of this” and taking control of her own situation like how Margaery was able to see the advantage in marrying her brother’s gay lover and now knows how to take advantage of the Lannisters because she has a support system and protection from her own family in such a dangerous situation. Canon!Margaery I’d think would appreciate the difference and would probably find some more practical way to comfort her than telling her to try to be open-minded.

Especially since, for fuck sakes, Tyrion is quite understandably not comfortable with this either, even if he is attracted to Sansa. Even ignoring all the other factors that make this conversation ridiculous, is it at all reasonable to put this expectation in Sansa’s mind that Tyrion will totally be on his game with her and just might sweep her off her feet with his legendary skills in the sack? Give me a goddamn break.

It seemed like her advice was supposed to be empowering for Sansa somehow, but it really wasn’t anything that would realistically be of any help for her to hear. Is she supposed to take comfort in the idea of one day having a son who will be heir to Winterfell, which implies the eventual defeat of Robb in the war and the Lannisters assuming control of the North through this marriage? IS SHE SERIOUSLY SUPPOSED TO GIVE A CRAP RIGHT NOW ABOUT WHAT TYRION LANNISTER COULD BE LIKE AS A LOVER? SERIOUSLY??

Which is why it’s so hard to believe that this is a scene GRRM actually wrote himself. Unless it was actually the best he could possibly do with what had been decided in the writers’ room needs to be established in this episode given the direction D&D intend to take this storyline. After all, I’m sure he can only do so much to bandage up their overall catastrophe.

headtrip-honey:

daenerys-theconqueror:

let’s stop complaining about Sansa saying “but he’s a dwarf”, because even though in the books she never says something similar, part of her objecting to marry him is about his look, about how ugly he is.
Yes, first of all in the books she openly says she doesn’t want to marry him because he’s a Lannister! but let’s not pretend that his bad look,which includes his dwarfism, isn’t one of the reasons why she objects to marry him.
Besides, GRRM wrote the episode! basically you’re criticizing the man who created all the characters and knows their psyche more than any reader could ever understand.

A few things.

1. No, Tyrion being a dwarf didn’t have much to do with Sansa objecting to marrying him. It did, however, have a lot to do with her not being sexually attracted to him. And that’s okay! People are allowed to NOT be sexually attracted to people. Peter Dinklage is an incredibly handsome man, however book!Tyrion is NOT. (Honestly I’d have trouble being attracted to ANY person COMPLETELY MISSING THEIR NOSE but I guess I’m just shallow.)

Sansa’s first thoughts on hearing that she’s to marry Tyrion:

My claim, she thought, sickened. Dontos the Fool was not so foolish after all; he had seen the truth of it. Sansa backed away from the queen. “I won’t.” I’m to marry Willas, I’m to be the lady of Highgarden, please…

It’s funny, it’s almost as if the thought of his looks don’t enter into it all. It’s almost as if she’s horrified at being tied to the Lannister family, who is going to try to use her to usurp her claim…(additionally, when Cersei first refers to Tyrion in this conversation, she merely calls him a “gargoyle,” which Sansa interprets as Cersei referring to WILLAS)

She also thinks:

It had been the Imp who saved her from a beating that day, the same man who was waiting for her now. He is not so bad as the rest of them, she told herself. “I’ll go.”

WOW IT’S ALMOST AS IF SHE’S NOT EVEN THINKING OF HIS LOOKS????

The first time she thinks of his NOT being handsome, is when she sees him face to face. And the only thing she thinks is:

Tyrion wore a doublet of black velvet covered with golden scrollwork, thigh-high boots that added three inches to his height, a chain of rubies and lions’ heads. But the gash across his face was raw and red, and his nose was a hideous scab. […]

Should I tell him he is handsome? He’ll think me a fool or a liar. She lowered her gaze and held her tongue.

So, yes. She correctly notes that Tyrion is not handsome. His facial wound is hideous to look at - which is an objective fact. That doesn’t make her shallow.

And then:

“You did not ask for this marriage, I know. No more than I did. If I had refused you, however, they would have wed you to my cousin Lancel. Perhaps you would prefer that. He is nearer your age, and fairer to look upon. If that is your wish, say so and I will end this farce.”

I don’t want any Lannister, she wanted to say. I want Willas, I want Highgarden and the puppies and the barge, and sons named Eddard and Bran and Rickon. But then she remembered what Dontos had told her in the godswood. Tyrell or Lannister, it makes no matter, it’s not me they want, only my claim. “You are kind, my lord,” she said, defeated. “I am a ward of the throne and my duty is to marry as the king commands.”

He studied her with his mismatched eyes. “I know I am not the sort of husband young girls dream of, Sansa,” he said softly, “but neither am I Joffrey.”

“No,” she said. “You were kind to me. I remember.”

During the wedding she is “mortified” that Tyrion wants her to kneel for the placing of the bridal cloak, yes. She’s embarrassed, because it’s not the way she envisioned her wedding being. But then moments later she is “ashamed of her stubbornness” and kneels to kiss him.

Wow, gee, it’s almost like she recognizes that his being a dwarf isn’t that important in the scheme of things…

She does think he is ugly. But again, when offered a handsomer husband, she remembered that Tyrion had been kind to her. His kindness was more important to her than any physical deformity.

During the wedding feast she does her best to make the situation happy. She asks Tyrion to dance, and he rebuffs her. (wow what a bitch I know)

All throughout the bedding scene, Sansa is terrified. No matter who her husband was, she would have been TERRIFIED. Because she was about to be RAPED by a man she could not consent to marry, kindness notwithstanding. 

It’s not until AFTER he says that he won’t consummate the marriage that she thinks about his lack of beauty.

Look at him, Sansa told herself, look at your husband, all of him. Septa Mordane said all men are beautiful, find his beauty, try. 

Does Sansa find it? No. She finds nothing in his physical person beautiful. Is part of this likely due to his dwarfism? Yes. But Tyrion’s physical appearance had nothing to do with Sansa’s objecting to marry him. That had everything to do with his being a Lannister, and her being forever tied to a family that had and would continue to abuse her. The family that killed her father.

Had Tyrion been a Tyrell, yes - she would have been disappointed in his looks. But I am positive that she would have been much happier to marry him had doing so meant that she could escape the Lannisters.

2. As for GRRM writing the episode….bullshit. 

We can complain all we want, regardless of the author of the content. And we don’t know that GRRM wrote that scene. He has said before that scenes he didn’t write (like the Bronn/Sandor scene in Blackwater) have been inserted into his episodes. And we know that scenes from this episode were shuffled with scenes from another. The initial title for this episode was “Autumn Rains,” but after the scene-shuffling occurred, they re-titled it to be more appropriate.

So we absolutely do not know that GRRM wrote this scene. And even if he did, we can be upset that it seems to contradict or vastly over-simplify what was present in the books. That’s our right as viewers and readers.

If you don’t like seeing the complaining - block those who do it. Simple answer to a simple problem.