Grieve AND organize.

Good article by David Hunter on how to survive the Trump presidency, both on the personal and on the political plane.

This is an excellent article. It talks about the psychology of tyranny, the history of resistance and the paths we have to take to rescue each other and recover.

Aaaaand…now that I’ve read it, I think you are onto something. Is it film vs. digital? Hmmmm…

Turning your passions into work is really popular advice. At my day job, I’m mentoring a fresh crop of school-aged interns. One of them learned that I had a blog and was super excited to ask me about it.

“I run an Instagram account where I talk about beauty and self-acceptance,” she told me, “and I LOVE it.”

And I could tell that she meant it! Her whole face lit up. She was practically wiggling in her seat with excitement. She described the positive, loving feedback she received from doing it, and how it gave her a true sense of purpose. “I want to eventually figure out how to monetize it and potentially turn it into a career. Any advice on how to do that?”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “Don’t.”

How many times have you heard some variation of the following?

“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life!”

If you’re anything like me, the answer is “thousands of times.” I’d even describe it as foundational to how modern Americans have been taught to think about careers.

Let me tell you why I’ve come to regard it as one of the worst, most destructive pieces of faux wisdom out there.

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“He kissed where her crown had rested along her brow, and she thought of the wolves, howling. His lips lingered too long—another memory. She chased it, traced its soft edges with a brush of her forehead to his, rubbed off the tarnish with the bristles of his beard against her cheek.”

Written for @jonsa-creatives‘s Queen Sansa event last weekend – I finally got around to making a moodboard for it! 

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Three treasons will you know

For any prophecy to work, it needs to be either impossible or unintelligible at first blush, but be completely obvious once fulfilled, in the tradition of  ‘birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come ”. Like all good twists, I believe my interpretation is both obvious in retrospect but also surprising.

Before I start, I want to acknowledge the incredible meta by @thelawyerthatwaspromised titled Are We All Missing The Point Of Dany’s Three Betrayals Prophecy?   Yes, Dear Lawyer, I believe we are. Lawyer details why the third betrayal will be by Dany against Jon, and I concur.

Since the season 7 confirmation that Jon Snow is in fact the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen, I believe we can view the three treasons prophecy in a completely new light.

I’ll explain how I have interpreted the prophecies and visions  in the HotU in another post (evenually, I am a slow and reluctant writer) as I don’t want this post to go on indefinitely. This post is only in relation to the “three treasons”. It is clear to me that the three treasons are linked to the three visions Dany is shown before receiving the descriptor “Daughter of Death”.

The Laws Of Succession

First I would like to make a little foray into the law of succession. Please be patient. I do have a point and I’ll try not to make it too dry.

After the Dance of the Dragons, ascension to the Iron Throne was determined by the law of agnatic primogenitor. All the male heirs must be dead or unable to inherit before any female heirs can inherit. It is unclear if Rhaegar’s previous children were still in the line of succession after the annulment from Elia, but what is clear after Season 7 is that Jon is in the line of succession. The Targaryen line of succession by the middle of the first book and season was:

As you can clearly see, Daenerys was at the bottom of the list. Even if succession for the Iron Throne was determined by male preference primogenitor, as it is in every place other place in Westeros except for Dorne, Daenerys would still have been last in line.

So rather than be ‘born to rule the Seven Kingdoms’ she was at the bottom of succession and could only aspire to the Iron Throne if everyone before her has died.

Treason

A lot of analysis of the ‘three treasons” prophecy assumes ‘treason’ has its broader meaning of betrayal. Daenerys herself believes it takes the broader meaning. Furthermore she assumes the treasons are against herself.

But I believe that treason in this context has the very specific meaning of attempting to overthrow the sovereign either by killing them or asserting a competing claim over another with a stronger claim.

As mentioned previously, to have a claim to the Iron Throne Jon, Viserys and her unborn child would all need to die or somehow be removed from the line of succession. To kill a person before you in a line of succession is the very definition of treason. I should also point out that your motive for killing that person does not absolve you.

“…shall you know”

This part of the wording of the treason prophecy is strangely passive. If the treasons are against her surely the wording would be “three treasons shall you suffer”. “You shall know” can mean treasons against her, but it could just as easily mean treasons by her.

Dany herself assumes the treasons are against her and her subsequent chapters show her becoming increasingly paranoid as she tries to determine who might be plotting against her. The irony is, or course, that she is the one who has and will commit treason.

Treason for blood

The second vision shown to Dany in the HotU is of a “A tall lord with copper skin and silver-gold hair stood beneath the banner of a fiery stallion, a burning city behind him”. This is her son Rhaego as he would have been had he lived. Truly Mirri Maz Duur did the world a solid by ensuring he would never be born.

But this was not only Mirri Maz Duur’s treason. Dany caused the death of her own son through agreeing to try to save Khal Drogo with blood magic. The treason is mis-named - it is a treason BY blood, or blood magic more specifically.

Interestingly, this passage is also the first time we see the phrase “If I look back I am lost.” This is where we see Dany’s refusal to reflect upon her actions and her motivations. If she does look back surely her guilt will consume her. Far better to dwell in denial.

Treason For Gold

No doubt the reason why GRRM used the phrase ‘treason for gold’ was to be deliberately misleading. Let’s face it. Saying “treason by gold” would have totally given the game away.

Treason for Love

First in line for the Iron Throne (Targaryen edition) was Rhaegar and after him his children. Upon the reveal of Jon’s parentage and legitimacy, the full import of this vision becomes clear.

Seven seasons in and we have Dany and Jon making sweet .. er .. love on a ship. Yay for true love! What could possibly go wrong?

Cool piece!

I also love the fact you brought in the agnatic inheritance bit because in the books it’s important to remember.

The show as we know doesn’t always follow….

I think you might be right.

This is from an interview with GRRM:

based on how GRRM writes, I’d say that it is more likely that GRRM will do a Prophecy Twist rather than just have his prophecies be a guessing game. Having Dany be the betrayer when she’s the one afraid of being betrayed would also be deeply ironic - and GRRM writes in the ironic mode.

Thank you so much for answering!

I totally buy the idea that knowing Jon had to kill Dany (or that she would die—some people think it’s Arya who will do it), D&D opted to go the romance instead of enemies route because ultimately, the only thing they were dedicated to was Dark Dany and keeping it a surprise. The ending didn’t make sense because they were willing to make Sansa/Northerners seem like the bad guys in order to keep the audience sympathetic to Dany until she went from savior to mass murderer. It was a horrible decision, but in hindsight, not that surprising. I really like your version of events because if the North/Starks are the ones who defeat Dany, endgame King Bran could be a feasible outcome once Jon abdicates.

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y'all I wanna write a jonsa reincarnation au because that’s my actual kink but in the meantime can someone rec me some please?

The Here and the Now by @jillypups​

Five Times They Missed the Mark and One Time It Hit by @riahchan​

Endless which is a series by @bulletandsophia

Jon made her the smallest bit uneasy, with his dark grey eyes and the two scars glinting in his pale skin. He might have been a hero from one of her stories; he might have been a villain. OR, a strange boy arrives at the Stark farmhouse one day, and they take him in.

On AO3

Stark Timeline in TWOW

Okay, I am still working on my "Three in One" - theory it is just that I have to write a Part of the Theory where Daeny comes into play and I really don't like her Chapters that much. So I tend to avoid reading them, which now comes back at me, because I have to find my "Quotes" for my reasoning and it is difficult when you know they were written you just don't remember where!

So I read all of Daenerys's Chapters again and they are as boring and frightening as they were during my first read. I know why I avoid them, not even the Others are that scary to me. So after I am now done with the Astapor Part in ASOS I needed something to cheer me up, sorry when you have to reread the Death Sentence for children who even look over twelve, because I doubt the Unsullied checked the Age by asking their victim for their Age, even then, most would have lied only to survive. But yes after that I needed something that is uplifting to me.

So I checked some of the Hashtags which I follow and stumbled upon @agentrouka-blog Resurrection theory about Jon being in a magical Coma. First thank you for that Hashtag it really cheered me up.

So I wondered how will everything work for the Stark Kids in the North. So I made a Timeline with that Theory in my Head.

I will start with the Reason why I think that could happen. 1. GRRM said Daenerys's Fire-Sacrifice to awaken the Dragons was a once in a Lifetime Event 2. When Mirri Maaz Duur actually killed Drogo's Horse she was not supposed to resurrect him but to save him from a guaranteed Death so seeing something similar with a different outcome is more likely to happen than a Funeral-Resurrection 3. I don't think Shireen will be killed for him, mostly because if Shireens Death will happen as a Sacrifice that is pointless, don't ask me why but I have a feeling Shireen's sacrifice will be more important to Melissandres Story than to Jon's. 4. We know enough about the Magic of the Lord of Fire, it is time that we see a little more about Bran's and Bloodravens Magic and the Magic of the Children of the Forest a.k.a. the Magic of the Old Gods. Beyond Time-Travel I mean. 5. Melissandre will leave the North at some Point and travel South, it is possible that she joins Euron during his War. I mean if we can believe the Vision of Aeron during the Sample Chapter, there will be a woman who is connected to Fire by Eurons Side at some Point and Daenerys is still not in Westeros and most likely won't be until a Dream of Spring, which leaves Cersei and Melissandre to be that Woman. So if Cersei is Eurons opponent for the Iron Throne, that leaves Melissandre for that Role.

So now to the timeline: Let's start with Jon, first he wargs into Ghost and somehow escapes his prison in Jon's Chambers. He finds his Body in the chaos that is currently happening and realizes, he is not dead yet, but he will be if he doesn't find someone who takes care of his Body. So he gets Melissandre who with the Help of some of Jon's Friends who are still alive in the Books and at the Wall with him. takes care of his Body. She KNOWS that Jon's Body is alive, but she pretends that he was dead and that she brought him back with the Help of the Lord of Light. In the Meantime Jon switches between his Body where he can hear Bran's Voice in his Head and has weird Dreams and Ghost's Body. At some point, he wakes up and thanks to some Bloodmagic, for which Melissandre used one of his Eyes, his Body is better healed than normally. But he still needs time for recovering.

Okay to Sansa who has at least 3-4 Chapters in the Vale, where the Tournament takes Place. In the end, it is most likely that she realizes that Littlefinger wants to marry her himself, most likely after she and Harry married and she is pregnant with his Child. She decides that she has finally enough of that bullshit, that she won't marry another old man (remember she found Lord Beric Dondadrrion old and he was only 22 in the Books by that time) and will head towards the North, to the Wall where Jon is. She will travel via Boat over the three Sisters to White Harbour where she will get her dying Horse and meet with Jon somewhere between Castle Black and Winterfell, most likely Queenscrown. Important to note: We have very bad Weather Conditions for travelling, so by the Time Sansa makes it that far into the North, many weeks probably Months have passed. So Jon is most likely so far healed that he can travel to Winterfell.

Davos will most likely find Rikkon halfway through TWOW and decide not to travel back to White Harbour via boat, because for safety reasons, the Sea is too dangerous for safe travel, especially with a Child like Rikkon. So he instead takes Rikkon to the Wall and travels with him and Osha to Castle Black and from there towards Winterfell. He will be behind Jon, but they will meet the two eldest Starks somewhere near Queenscrown, most likely because Jon takes Sansa on his own Horse because her Horse did die. Rikkon won't recognize Jon or Sansa because he was to young when they parted. But Shaggy Dog will remember Ghost, which is the Reason that Rikkon will ultimately accept Jon and Sansa as his Siblings, although reluctantly.

The three Starks arrive at Winterfell, now to the Reason why Jon started to travel there. It is because of Galbart Glover, Maege Mormont, Howland Reed and Jeyne Westerling who not only brought Robb's Will with them but also Ned Starks Bones, who they want to burry in the Crypts of Winterfell. They started to Travel to Winterfell when they heard that Stannis defeated the Boltons.

The following Events I think will be like that: Jon refuses to accept Robb's Will because he knows Robb wrote that believing that Bran and Rikkon are dead. They are not and he won't take away their Birthright. During or after Ned Starks Funeral Howland Reed tells Jon about his Mother and that he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, supposedly in Secret, but he is overheard and the Story makes the round.

The Lords want to punish him simply for being a Targaryen Bastard (we are talking about Howland Reed, he knows about Lyanna having a Baby and the Whole World believes she was kidnapped and raped by Rhaegar as we learned in AGOT, just because Howland KNOWS about Jons Birth and who his Parents are, doesn't mean he knows if or if not they were married) and now Rikkon comes into play, that Boy has a serious Trauma about his whole Family being killed and/or leaving him behind. There is no way a Child-Lord like that will allow to happen anything against the Person everyone told him until now is his Brother, even if he doesn't remember him, Shaggydog trusts him and Sansa, so Rikkon will not allow anything to happen to Jon. But the Lords in the North won't trust him, a Targaryen Bastard supposed deserter of the Nights Watch.

Now Sansa comes into play, because not only is she a very compassionate character, but Jon also is in a similar position as she was during her time in Kings Landing, which will be the Reason she and Jon start a connection beyond their relationship of Foster-Siblings.

As for Bran, I think he still is in the Cave under the Weirwood Tree in the North for most of the time and the "Hold the Door" - Moment comes when he arrives at the Wall with the Others and their undead Army who follow him. The Door, Hodor is meant to be holding is there and most likely he will succeed and prevent the Others from invading Westeros before they do so in A Dream of Spring, when the North defeats them for good this time.

So that is how I think the Envents in TWOW will happen around the Starks Kids, except for Arya. I think she will arrive at Winterfell together with Bran which will be in A Dream of Spring, her Storyline is about returning to Westeros meeting up and defeating her undead Mother and then starting her Journey back to Winterfell.

Or, Jon goes missing, and Sansa finds more than she's looking for.

read it on ao3 here

I shouldn’t really be finding this much foreshadowing for Dany being eaten by a dragon… 

because it’s such an outrageous death. But there is book evidence to support death by dragon food.

1. This line sounds like a throw-away when taken by itself:

But it’s odd when you consider that this passage contains the only other instance of “red door” in the books outside of Dany’s own chapters. 

Is Dany’s red door foreshadowing her death by a dragon’s mouth? 

Intrigued, I continued to look for references to doors, dragons, and mouths. I found more than I expected… (below the cut)

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What do dragons eat, anyway? 

Whatever they want. 

A low, sweet voice filtered through the noise of the storm, for a moment, he wondered if it was his mother, he wondered if this time death would be different, perhaps he’d hear the lullaby she never had the chance to sing.

Daylight Comes With Slow Fire -- A Post-canon Jonsa fic on AO3

or,

Robb agrees to let Sansa stay at his place for the summer.

Robb agrees to let his friend Jon stay at his place for the summer.

Robb forgets to tell either of them this.

.

read it on ao3 here