sansaregina:

asoiaf meme (minor characters): 7/8 relationships ~ ellyn reyne and jeyne marbrand

Ellyn Reyne, now Lady Tarbeck, departed Casterly Rock with her husband, never to return, but the rivalry between her and Lady Jeyne was not at an end. If anything, it seemed to intensify through what Lord Toad came to call the War of the Wombs. Though Lady Ellyn had not been able to give Ser Tion an heir, she proved more fertile with Walderan Tarbeck (who, it should be noted, had a number of older sons from his first two marriages), giving him two daughters and a son. Lady Jeyne answered with children of her own, the first of whom was a son. // meryem uzerli as ellyn reyne, leyla feray as jeyne marbrand

With Theon if he doesn’t go to Pyke, what happens to him during the Ironborn invasion? How does he deal with it personally? No way in hell Robb hurts him. Ned maybe? Depending if Robert is still alive (man likes murdering kids). What are his prospects?

Well, here’s the thing. Balon is freaking stupid but trying to invade the North or declaring independence again when the realm is still (kinda) united, and Robert is still able to mobilize six kingdoms against him is beyond even Balon. What would have changed from the last time he tried his ill-fated rebellion? Nothing. Last time proved that the Iron Islands could not withstand the alliance under Robert’s command. Balon only moved when the other Great Houses were in open conflict, and the North’s main fighting power was engaged in the Riverlands – and his plan was still bloody stupid even then. So the scenario of him attempting his invasion while Robert and Ned still lived just refuses to compute in my mind.

As for what happens if Theon simply isn’t sent to Pyke during the War of the Five Kings, well, the Northern lords would definitely want him executed but Robb is not gonna budge on his refusal. Certainly, he’d argue that Theon fought bravely for him in the Whispering Wood and acknowledged him as king (and probably swore him fealty); doesn’t a man who has proven to be a Stark loyalist and proven his valor and his willingness to die for the Starks deserve to be judged on his own actions rather than the actions of his kin? Hasn’t Theon earned his place as a a faithful friend and vassal? He may be a Greyjoy by birth but he grew up under the tutelage of the venerable Eddard Stark and as a brother to his children. He saved the Northerners’ would-be prince’s life back in Winterfell and was a part of their would-be king’s personal guard in the Whispering Wood. Hasn’t he earned the right to be seen as more than a hostage? Is it honorable to condemn such a faithful friend for crimes he had no part in, simply because the culprits share his blood?

It’d be awful for Theon in more than one way. He’d have to deal with the fact that his father cares nothing for him – because Balon knew that his invasion means that his son’s life would be forfeit – severing that last small connection to his family and obliterating any hope for him to return to the Iron Islands some day, while dealing with the fact that the fear that hung over him for all his life has now become a reality and his death is staring him right in the face.
To make it worse, he’d have to face the people whose homes his father just
attacked and see their hostility and their call for his blood, the same people he was fighting alongside just
yesterday, and try to convince them he is not to blame for his father’s
actions.

He’d be living only by Robb’s good will, and he’d know it.

He would end up isolated within Riverrun, almost certainely under protective custody for a time. Robb would have to keep him far away (and protected) from the lords whose seats were attacked by the ironborn to preempt any vengeful attacks. There is a slim chance that he’d be accepted within army ranks as lots of people would distrust him and expect that he’d either turn on Robb or at least desert and seek his kin. Perhaps in time Robb might hope to install him under someone like the Blackfish to give Theon a chance to prove his loyalty, but how long would that take and how successful it’d be is highly speculative.

georgeorwell:

#I KNOW I’VE ALREADY LOST MY SHIT IN TAGS ABOUT THIS SCENE BUT#LAST TIME IT WAS ONLY THE LEGOLAS AND GIMLI BITS AND TBH I LIKE #FORGOT???? #ABOUT HOW IT’S ARAGORN THAT HAS TO KNOCK LEGOLAS’S BOW DOWN #AND BE LIKE ‘CHILL BRO’ #and it just makes me wonder #how many times poor aragorn has had to get in the middle of  #a) legolas losing his shit because someone threatened gimli #b) gimli losing his shit because someone threatened legolas and #c) LEGOLAS AND GIMLI THREATENING EACH OTHER #like seriously how many fires do you think aragorn has stared into mournfully #while legolas and gimli sniped at each other in that we’re-arguing-totally-arguing-not-flirting-at-all #way they have #how many times has aragorn stepped into the middle of a barfight-to-be #to be like ’legolas that guy wasn’t calling gimli pint-sized he was ORDERING A PINT please say some soothing elvish words to your tits man’ #or #’gimli it was a blonde joke they weren’t talking about legolas specifically PUT THE AXE DOWN OH MY GOD’ #like seriously #after all that time traveling with them kinging must be such a relief #all these years aragorn dodged his destiny #but now that it’s here he’s like #oh. diplomacy. i can do this. #lucky thing i was trained by THE WORST PEOPLE I KNOW in diffusing NEEDLESSLY TENSE SITUATIONS 

Is there any Mary Sue character in ASOIAF? Some might say Arya is a tomboy Mary Sue.

turtle-paced:

First, I have a somewhat idiosyncratic take on what makes a Mary Sue, since I believe that even the most wish-fulfilment-y of wish-fulfilment characters can star in good stories, and I hate how the term’s used to denigrate competent female characters and the work of young writers (mostly female). That said, when people say “Mary Sue” I know what they mean, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a term for the phenomenon. I personally don’t consider a character a Mary Sue until and unless the characters around the supposed Sue stop acting as characters in their own right, breaking my suspension of disbelief that I’m reading about people.

To use a non-ASoIaF example, it’s the difference between Batman in the opening stages of Knightfall, where the plot hinges on the fact that in spite of Batman’s implausible skillset and assets, Bruce Wayne is still a human being who needs sleep and downtime, and Batman in Act of God, where no matter what’s going on in the lives of other characters, they keep coming back to the central point of “Oh, Batman’s so amazing!”

GRRM is very, very good at avoiding this.

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