#Leah reads asoiaf | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hamliet · 2 years

Text

Rereading Fire & Blood

And random commentary I took while reading. First read it when it came out and read it a lot more closely this time.

Family Tragedies

The entire story is about loving families falling apart because they fail their kids. Aegon and Aenys. Visenya and Maegor. Alyssa and Rhaena and Aegon. Rhaena and Aerea. Jaehaerys, Alysanne, and... all of their kids? Especially Saera, Daella, and Gael. Alicent and all four of her kids.

Alicent really should have learned from Jaehaerys' death, because it foreshadowed her own. Jaehaerys was a good king but a terrible father, and he dies in the end thinking Alicent is Saera, the daughter he mistreated possibly more than any other child of his, come to make amends and forgive him. Alicent dies having lost all her children, wishing she'd prioritized her kids instead of prioritizing the throne for her kids. It's perfect tragedy.

Foreshadowing for ASOIAF

Princess Daenerys, the eldest child, the loving, compassionate, kind princess who cares for her little siblings, dying of the Shivers (aka cold: the disease) seems like pretty Obvious Foreshadowing Is Obvious that Dany will sacrifice herself against the Others, the literal embodiments of ice.

During the Dance of the Dragons, there're also some parallels between other characters in the Dance and those in the main saga. Again, these are not 1=1 parallels. The character's fates are not definite exact matches for where the main saga is going. But there is definitely some foreshadowing.

Baela is clearly Arya in that she's a kickass queen. She also marries Alyn Velaryon, a legitimized bastard. Wouldn't be surprised again if there's romance between Gendry and Arya at some point. There already kinda is.

Rhaena and Jeyne Arryn are both Sansa, right down to the Vale locale.

Sam Tarly is a girl this time who married her first husband's son for love and is thus accused of incest and there's a clear connection to our Samwell Tarly and his love for Gilly, who was subjected to incest. Again. Not a 1=1, just general ideas.

Sara Snow and Jacaerys, with the Pact of Ice and Fire, are clearly foreshadowing for Lyanna and Rhaegar and Jon and Dany, even if it's left very vague. Again, foreshadowing: rarely a 1=1!

The Red Kraken is Euron, and I do expect that much like the Red Kraken is destroyed by his own "prizes" because he doesn't see his wives as humans, Euron will probably destroyed by accomplishing his goals.

Cregan Stark and Aegon III remind me of Bran, in that George has said Bran gets the throne, but... it's probably more in terms of helping create the new world post-wars, and done in terms of delegating up power rather than like, lording it all for himself.

Daeron reminds me of f!Aegon because he's generally well-liked and seems like a good kid. However, he goes down in a city of flames that burns because of the Dancing of the Dragons--the one place they actually dance--which I'm pretty sure is Young Griff's fate. Plus, the sheer amount of times it was stressed that Tessarion is an unusually blue-colored dragon kinda reminds me of how Young Griff disguises himself by dying his hair blue.

Alys Rivers reminds me of Melisandre in that both are much-older powerful witches who have royal children although Alys's isn't a shadow thank the seven. Still, she works some kind of strange magic...

Biblical Allusions

Aegon's dynamic with his sister-wives reminds me a lot of the biblical Jacob and how he married Leah out of duty and Rachel out of desire (well, was tricked into it, but the same dynamic). Like Rhaenys, Rachel is beloved and dies young, but leaves behind a beloved son who is favored by the father.

Jaehaerys reminds me an awful lot of David from the Bible. Not saying in any way that there's a 1=1 intended retelling because there isn't, but there's definitely inspiration.

Maegor the Cruel dies impaled upon the throne's sword and the young nephews he tormented take over. Saul died falling on his own sword and David takes over; David is, like Jaehaerys, the youngest and so unexpected, good-looking, and ends up largely good at ruling. His tragic flaw is his misogyny even if it's not like, the obvious kind, and his terrible parenting despite truly loving his children. Also, Jaehaerys, like David, has a lot of kids and a lot of tragedy with said kids.

But wait: there's more! Jaehaerys is dying and that's how Alicent's introduced at court. She cares for him on his deathbed. In the Bible when David's dying, a girl named Abishag comes to court and cares for him on his deathbed. The Bible notes he doesn't sleep with her, but there are still rumors, much like with Alicent.

Anyways after a lot of brouhaha where Solomon is the heir but Solomon's older brother Adonijah tries to take the throne from Solomon, and there's a lot of split in the kingdom before David intervenes with like his last breath, David dies. Solomon takes the throne.

Then Adonijah asks for Abishag as his wife! And Solomon freaks the fuck out! Because asking for a carer of the former king is like asking for the throne (in the olden days of the Near East, it was practice to marry the previous king's wives if you conquer a land); he knows it's a ploy to get it, and also that Adonijah is subtly threatening him. He kills Adonijah for it.

Sadly in this case Otto convinces Viserys to marry Alicent which is. Indeed. a plot for the throne, basically like "what if" of the Abishag story.

There's also stuff where David's family is prophesized to bring the Messiah.

Oh and Solomon's wife leads him astray and as a consequence his son gets the kingdom split in half. Sounds a little familiar to Viserys and what would happen to his kids.

If we're going here why not point out Keeping Up With David's Family, aka the books of Samuel, also include brother-sister incest, kinslaying, and rebellions. Somehow this stuff is fine for Sunday school.

Alchemy in Fire & Blood

There are a lot of alchemical references starting with Aegon's conquering. "On the seventh day, a cloud of ravens burst forth from the towers of Dragonstone" makes me think of this image:

The overall idea is that this starts the alchemical process, which will end in the prophesized Azor Ahai I suppose.

Maegor the Cruel deliberately casts aside the golden crown and wears one made of iron instead, to show his appetite for violence, because iron is ruled by Mars in alchemy, and Mars is the god of war; hence, it signifies violence.

It definitely seems like Visenya did some sort of dark magic to keep him from dying and it rendered him impotent. Kind of reverse alchemy.

Tyanna the alchemist is terrifying.

Jaehaerys riding a bronze dragon and Alysanne riding Silverwing, plus their eldest brother riding Quicksilver... kind of like an early version of what could have been the philosopher's stone, where the final three "elevated" metals are mercury/quicksilver, silver, and gold. But instead of gold, it's bronze, showing that we're nowhere near completion.

During the Dance of the Dragons: Sunfyre and Moondancer fight. Moondancer is green in color and tears parts of Sunfyre out. Reminds me of this classic alchemical image:

Of course, the sun and moon are also major symbols in alchemy. The sun is associated with the masculine; the moon, femininity. This seems relevant because, well, y'know, the entire Dance of the Dragons is founded on sexist principles. Okay, also on incompetence. But also sexism.

Moondancer is ridden by a woman (Baela). Sunfyre is ridden by Aegon (a man). The moon (woman) dies first, much like Rhaenyra. However, the sun (man) dies later of the injuries dealt to him by the moon/Baela, much like Aegon will die because of this war. The female rider, though, still very much a child in some ways, (Baela) lives a long, good life, and her legacy continues while the man's dies. Rhaenyra's line continues on, and she's the ancestor of so many of our characters in the main saga: Stannis, Robert, Renly, Arianne, Quentyn, Doran, Daenerys, f!Aegon, Jon, Varys most likely, and more.

#fire & blood #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #alicent hightower #baela velaryon #rhaena velaryon #jaehaerys targaryen #alysanne targaryen #cregan stark #sara snow #jacaerys velaryon #house targaryen #asoiaf meta #fire & blood meta #house of the dragon #hotd

120 notes · View notes

luxheroica · 1 year

Text

Fandom Fic Rec: Throwback Edition

Tagged by @blackestglass

Choose 5 fandoms you are no longer active in (as in actively participating/creating in), and then choose 1 fic for each fandom that's stuck with you. Tag 5 people when you're done!

1. The End of the World by FernWithy and sequels (Hunger Games, Haymitch/Effie)

I don’t consider myself a Hunger Games fan. I consider myself a The End of the World by FernWithy fan, and that it incidentally happens to take place in the same universe as The Hunger Games is incidental. I came to these fics having not read anything in The Hunger Games, having only watched the first Hunger Games movie to give me any familiarity with the characters and the stories, and absolutely fell in love. FernWithy has written six full novels and three interstitial novellas clocking in at nearly a million words to tell the story of Haymitch Abernathy (and Effie Trinket) from age 16 to adulthood and they are masterful. Her worldbuilding and plotting are top notch and her ability to mimic the styles of other authors is superb. (I came to know FernWithy through her Harry Potter fanfiction, which is about as stylistically different as it is possible to be.) I come back to reread these once ever few years.

2. Yggdrasil Dreaming by Barkour (MCU, Sif/Loki)

Ah, Sif/Loki, my beloved ship of yester year. This was the fic that really got me shipping them and I never looked back. It goes so hard with the dream imagery and the mythic storyline that draws a lot from Norse myths. The characterization is absolutely top notch, and Barkour has the most gorgeous lyrical prose I’ve ever read. This provides an alternate (ie, written pre-Avengers) take on Loki’s storyline post Thor (2011) and is absolutely beautiful.

3. Cowboys and Indians by Minisinoo (Twilight, Gen Fic Jasper & Leah)

Taking a page out of Trish’s book and rec’ing a fic by Minisinoo. This is what I think of when I consider a fanfics power to be transformative. Obviously the big glaring problem (of many big glaring problems) at the center of the Twilight series is the treatment of the Quileute Tribe. This takes that premise and turns it on its head and creates a deeply poignant metaphor for the relationship between white people and Natives in the offering. Minisinoo is Native (though not Quileute) and the perspective offered in this bit of fanfic is fascinating as it explores an unlikely friendship between a former Confederate soldier turned vampire and a 21st century Native woman turned werewolf.

4. Cutting Water by NessieGG(Naruto, Neji/Tenten & Sasuke/Sakura)

This is basically a wuxia AU and... what a knockout premise for an alternate universe, frankly? This reads like a Chinese fantasy drama in all of the best ways. Technically it’s a Naruto fic, but also I don’t know that you need to know a thing about Naruto to enjoy this. This is high drama, with lots of adventure and action and factional politics with no side necessarily being completely wrong. I love the worldbuilding, and I love the two romances which both are quite distinct and interesting!

5. Baiting the Beauty by @glamaphonic (Game of Thrones/ASOIAF, Jaime/Brienne)

Technically it’s unfinished, but only by a few chapters and still absolutely worth a read. Jaime/Brienne Regency AU in the style of the Regency Romance Novel. This is pure romance novel tropes in the best ways. Brienne makes such an excellent unconventional heroine, a wallflower through and through, and Jaime absolutely fits the role of the rake. The rest is all enemies to lovers and sexual tension and uncovering one anothers hidden hurts and furtive misunderstandings. As befits George RR Martin’s reversal of the Beauty and the Beast trope, they fit the roles of hero and heroine of a romance novel perfectly, and yet they are still recognizably Jaime and Brienne.

6. Mass Effect: Discovery by @pigeontheoneandonly (Mass Effect, Shepard/Kaidan Alenko)

Bonus sixth rec because while I still consider myself in the Mass Effect fandom this fic rearranged my entire brain and I still think about it constantly since I read it. This is a narrative retelling of Mass Effect 1 (with a WIP sequel telling the story of Mass Effect 2) with Shepard/Kaidan as the main pairing. And the characterizations in this are absolutely fantastic. There is a tendency in Mass Effect fanfic to idealize Commander Shepard a bit (owing both to the game idealizing them and their placement as player proxy) that this fic elides. Nathaly Shepard is a fully formed and deeply flawed character from moment one, and Pigeon manages that neat writerly trick of making all of Shepard’s flaws her strongest traits as well. That same level of incisive characterization is applied to everyone else, all woven together with some of the most interesting and tense action scenes I’ve read.

Tagging

@rogueimperator @blindvogel @siderealsandman @wheremermaidsdwell @deliriumsdelight7 and honestly anyone else who wants to do this give me fanfic recs.

10 notes · View notes

the-common-cowgirl · 5 months

Note

Hey, Leah!! Just wanted to say that i’ve just finished reading “False Dragons” and it’s amazing. But i have a lot of questions dhhdjsjs.

How did you come up with the decision of ending the ocs path that way? Did you write it with criticism (not about your story, but on the patriarchy, the idea that woman couldn’t be powerful in that context) in mind?

I was just wondering, cuz I really felt bad for her and found it so sad that people perceived her that way, including her husband. To me she was really misunderstood.

Besides my questions just know that you’re an amazing writer and I’m definitely going to explore your other works! x

Hi Nonnie!! So glad you liked my work!

“False Dragons” was my very first fic ever. If you read it closely and analyze the text, you can pretty clearly see the growing pains and mistakes I made writing it. I did absolutely no prior research going into the fic (other than my extensive knowledge of the ASOIAF world) and had no mentors or anyone to look up to and ask for help.

I did not plot False Dragons at all. I had an idea about where I wanted to take it and knew I wanted a tragic ending (for the viewpoint of the reader who had grown close to the OC). I also wanted to be an unreliable narrator and have bias for the OC. Both of those attempts were poorly executed.

If I ever have the chance to rewrite “False Dragons” I would, without a doubt, do it. Despite what I feel I did wrong with the fic, it is still by far my favorite fic I’ve ever wrote. I love the original ideas that I came up with and I love the tragedy of the character. I think for a very first fic, I picked some extremely difficult ideas to write. Nevertheless, I think that I didn’t do my idea justice.

Last but not least, to answer your question, I wanted the OC doomed from the start. I wanted her to suffer and I wanted her to peak in happiness right before being blindsided by betrayal. Although I didn’t really know who I originally wanted to betray her (I actually went back and forth between Jamethon, Aemond, and her own daughter) I knew she had to perish horribly. She was never going to be allowed a happy ending.

I stand by the fact that I believe the Targaryens are canonically cursed in the world GRRM built. I believe they’re doomed by the narrative by their own actions and elitism. I wanted to portray that theory within my fic but give it my own personal flair.

Sorry for the super long winded reply, I absolutely love talking about “False Dragons” and what I tried (and failed) to do with it. I’d love to find the time to rewrite it properly someday. I’m so in love with that fic.

Thank you so much for asking 💞💞💞

#sweet anons 💞#asked and answered

0 notes

leahmovedagain · 4 years

Text

literally the prologue of the entire series is about how the enemy is the real cold. how dumb are some of you guys.

#grrm: the real enemy is the cold #y’all: omg dany is gonna be the big bad villain of the series #me: ah yes the 15 year old girl is the ultimate evil #JEJEJE #anyways reading asoiaf #leah reads asoiaf #.txt

29 notes · View notes

daenerys-targaryen-moved · 4 years

Text

“all daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known.”

#I’M SAADDDDD #GIVE MY BABY I HAD A HAPPY ENDING!!!!! AT LEAST A DECENT ENDING!!!!!!#GIVE HER A HOMMMEEEEEE #AND PEOPLE TO LOVE AND PEOPLE WHO LOVE HEERRRRRRR #aruellia.txt #daenerys targaryen #:’(#leah reads asoiaf

57 notes · View notes

miwtual · 2 years

Note

make an appreciation post for 3 of ur mutuals GO 🔫

omg only three?!!?!?!??!?! ok hold on

@daenerys-targaryen we are basically in love at this point <3 HBSDKLF im jk but has genuinely gotten me to get to watching and reading new things. like i literally would never have touched asoiaf if not for leah being so in love with them and idk i just very much love and appreciate u leah :) <3

@userbuckynat the bucky mutual ofc ofc i have to bring that up KSDNLF but genuinely lanie is so nice and genuine and fun to be around and talk to about our favorite fictional characters, its an honor to be ur loki mutual bestie <3

@jonathan-byers my favorite afton simp JSBDHKNLFKSDF angel is so kind and cool idk how we are mutuals bc ur so much cooler than i am bestie LMAO also extremely talented and very funny. leaves fun tags on posts that either ive made or made her think of me <3

#kai.answer #leah 🐉#lanie 🌺#angel 🦇#much love for all my mutuals <3333333 #anonymous

3 notes · View notes

yocalio · 4 years

Note

what are your favorite tumblr people? (: and why

In no particular order! (and these are just !some! of my faves I love you all sm)

@mistress-light Long time tumblr bffs. I go to her when I have something I gotta say but wouldn’t dare post on my blog and she’ll just give a “yep lol” and I feel validated. She helped get me through my 18 month banishment to Iowa with countless hours of GTAV and she’s just honestly one of the sweetest people and we’re super excited for The Witcher (which is how we met years ago) series of which we are running a blog together!

@amayanocturnaMisa Misa Misa. All of the above applies ^ to this person too. She’s a literal sunshine bean that can do no wrong. Long time friend and tumblr bff. Always there when you need to chat. Like I remember us yelling on the phone to each other over Game of Thrones season 8. God that was cathartic lol. Also she sends me the fluffiest of fluff feels videos that always make me smile and she’s a wonderful artist!

@daenerys-targaryenThe wonderful beam of pure sunshine that is Leah. Where do I begin. This girl literally got me through and is still getting me through the disaster season 8 of game of thrones. She’s is easily the most valid hardcore Dany/Emilia stan on this website (look at that beauty of a url i me) and always has the most hilarious reaction pictures on hand for any given situation.

@arwenevenstarLiterally my Game of Thrones/Jonerys sensei back when we cared. Her arguments are always so well thought out and concise. She’s so confident in her opinions and I’ve always been so in awe of how she’s able to take down antis with such swiftness and grace. Pure class. A true legend among us and friend that I can’t wait to get into The Witcher feels with!

@ladyofdragonstoneThis bitch lmao. I love her. She tried to warn me about GoT. She really did. And now she is the only asoiaf blog I follow. She gives me some semblance of hope that this story wasn’t as shit as it turned out to be on the show and that the books may save us. Also *ahem!* hopefully she got back to reading the Witcher books so we can talk about them lol.

@unburntdaenerysGirl is braaaaaaave. The amount of salt she’s will to spill is actually inspiring. Her posts are so cathartic to read and I always look forward to her snarky replies to my always inevitable GoT rants. She always makes me laugh!

#i'm so shit at this kind of thing so sorry if i'm super awkward turtle #ask #ask meme

24 notes · View notes

battlestar-royco · 5 years

Note

For some reason, I always thought Leigh was pronounced like Leah and not Lee.

It’s the “gh” sound. English... yikes. Though, cough, rough, and plough all sound different, so if you’d never seen the name before, there are multiple ways it could go. Luckily we have author interviews to set us straight. I had no idea SJ/M’s surname was pronounced “Mass” instead of “Mahss” until like 3 years after reading T0G. And this is why my mom and I were perplexedly talking in circles around each other about these mysterious characters named “Den-air-iss” and “Deh-nair-reez” when we first read ASOIAF.

5 notes · View notes

dykedteach · 5 years

Text

tagged by @plushvelvetsondheims, cheers aislinn x

Favorite color: sunny yellow

Top 3 ships: brienne/jaime (alt. brienne/someone who would treat her right, like me), james flint/thomas hamilton, and maeve/hector because i watched the new westworld trailer just now and actually screamed

Lipstick or chapstick: lipstick

Last song: drove me wild - tegan and sara

Last movie: me and leah watched bright young things last weekend over a classy boozy breakfast and it was fab

Currently reading: i recently started an ASOIAF reread, but i also have the persephone book of short stories on the go too

tag nine people: @betanoiz @ourrealitiesaredifferent @lena221bee @pyotr-verkhovensky @bisexualpirateheart @beneaththeblacksails @wrenwalker @venatohru @thiccflint if you fancy it! x

6 notes · View notes

daenerys-targaryen · 8 months

Text

thinking about how dany had less rights than her husband's horse yet some ppl still act like she had any sort of agency in the relationship

#fandom: dany is a free woman who has just as much power as drogo as Khaleesi and is to blame for all his crimes #dany: I’m glad my husband doesn’t allow his friends to gang rape me #can y’all be so serious 😭#rape tw #abuse tw #daenerys targaryen #asoiaf #leah rambles #Leah reads asoiaf

146 notes · View notes

liesandarbor · 7 years

Text

Falling Stars and Mary Magdalene

Growing up in a Roman Catholic family, I did everything I could post-catechism to push away religious learning. Funnily enough, here I am pouring over the bible to write a comparison analysis.

Today we’re going to take a look into Ashara Dayne, the fair Lady who threw herself from the Palestone Sword tower in Starfall of Dorne. The blessed Ashara Dayne- desirous of sovereign contemplation.

This is going to be looked at pre resurrection, analyzing solely Mary of Magdalene and not her relation to Jesus, but her caricature. While there are many, many, many Ashara Dayne theories out there- and booooy, do I believe in a couple crazy ones- I am writing solely based on what we ‘know’ to be true *which, as I’ll go into, isn’t much!*.

“"She turned the mass of her crimes to virtues, in order to serve God entirely in penance. “

Footwasher. Whore. Penitent. These are just several words that could describe Saint Mary of Magdala by a modern day Western Christian, but as all historians and readers know, history as we consume it is not always what truly happened. We all know that text and word gets twisted- it’s a classic game of telephone. Many accounts of Mary Magdalene (in Hebrew, of Midgal, meaning Tower ;]) canonically consider her to be virtuous (the four canonical gospels); some do not. Mary was a Jewish woman who traveled with Jesus as one of his most loyal followers. Mary witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, though we won’t be covering much of that today.

Beauty. Dishonored. Dead. Those are words that could describe the Lady Ashara Dayne by any Westerosi, but not every account is the same of Ashara, much like with Mary. Texts from different POVs in the ASOIAF narrative have told us little to nothing about Ashara, and barely anything canonical. One thing is certain among the characters we meet: the beautiful Dornish Lady Ashara Dayne, Lady-in-waiting to Elia Martell, was dishonored, and threw herself off of the Palestone Sword Tower into the summer sea.

And they told how afterward Ned had carried Ser Arthur’s sword back to the beautiful young sister who awaited him in a castle called Starfall on the shores of the Summer Sea. The Lady Ashara Dayne, tall and fair, with haunting violet eyes.

Painting a Portrait

Mary Magdalene and Ashara Dayne are depicted as beauties in text by surrounding eyes. Most paintings and text depicting Mary tend to depict her with her long hair flowing around her shoulders, to cover her indecency while walking nude through the desert, and to dry the feet of those she washes.

Even after all these years, Ser Barristan could still recall Ashara’s smile, the sound of her laughter. He had only to close his eyes to see her, with her long dark hair tumbling about her shoulders and those haunting purple eyes.

The Women Who Walked the Desert

Mary Magdalene was present in some of the biggest plot points in the bible (see what I did there ;] ). Mary was present in Pilate’s Hall when Pontius Pilate pronounced Jesus’ death, witnessed and wept as He was led to Calvary’s fatal mount, and witnessed the resurrection of Christ. While Mary had accomplished and seen much, the ‘sexy’ parts of her story always seem to reign supreme; much like Ashara Dayne. Mary Magdalene’s story highlights the woman with the bad name, who had committed sins, her loose hair, her rubbing, washing and kissing of feet. These are the dramatic high points of her story- the sexualization of Jesus’ arguably most loyal companion, and the overtly erotic overtones of anointing Jesus with oils and loosened hair, something seen at that time in the intimacy of a bedroom only.

Past a certain point Ashara Dayne is someone only to speculate upon (due to limited text on Ashara in ASOIAF). She was present for some of the biggest plot points of the rebellion. (likely) during the wedding of Rhaegar and Elia, the Tourney at Harrenhal, and speculatively in a circle of “knowing” more than the rest of Westeros when it comes to what really happened at the Tower of Joy. Many (including me) infer and speculate Ashara may have told Ned Stark that Lyanna was being held at the Tower of Joy, due to Wylla being a Dayne Servant and Ashara’s brother, Arthur Dayne, guarding the tower and the savior being born inside of it.

While Ashara’s story ‘ends’ in tragedy in some accounts, though others (again, me) believe she may be in hiding, the dramatic high points of Ashara’s story- being the sought after dancing partner at the tourney of Harrenhal, producing a child out of wedlock, scorned with grief and shame and tossing herself off of the Palestone Sword tower- she is remembered for her scandalous events and the erotic overtones of a tourney, and blood running hot in the false spring.

“Lady Ashara Dayne. It’s an old tale, that one. I heard it once at Winterfell, when I was no older than you are now. I doubt there’s any truth to it. But if there is, what of it? When Ned met this Dornish lady, his brother Brandon was still alive, and it was him betrothed to Lady Catelyn, so there’s no stain on your father’s honor. There’s nought like a tourney to make the blood run hot, so maybe some words were whispered in a tent of a night, who can say? Words or kisses, maybe more, but where’s the harm in that? Spring had come, or so they thought, and neither one of them was pledged”

Eastern Orthodox maintains that Mary Magdalen was virtuous, by their canon, even before her conversion to Christianity, and does not celebrate her as penitent. Roman Catholic traditions via Gregory of Tours (6th Century) support the Eastern belief that she retired to Ephesus in the end of her days, but the Western Church believes Mary traveled south of France and died there.

The Lady Ashara Dayne’s tragic end story is similarly viewed: most agree she jumped from the largest tower in Starfall, but no body washed ashore, and no body was ever found. Again: perspective in Westeros gives us this ‘canon’ information, however we all know that George RR Martin does not entirely tell us the truth all of the time.

In Regards to the Mother Mary vs Mary Magdalene, and Lyanna Stark vs Ashara Dayne

Before we move forward, as that was an extremely spicy title, let me preface with: I am not pitting Lyanna Stark and Ashara Dayne against each other, merely analyzing from a literary standpoint the foil-like qualities they bear on each other.

From a normal Westerosi standpoint, the narrative is as follows: Lyanna Stark was plucked from the Storm Lord by the Dragon Prince, raped, and died in a tower.

From what we as the reader are aware of, we know that Lyanna conceived a child more than likely in part due to prophecy (not immaculately, but the idea stands and resonates with the prophecy/immaculate conception idea) to bring forward the savior of the world.

We are told in the bible that Mary, mother of the King of Kings, immaculately conceived Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Siddiqah, she who confirms the truth, was visited by the angel Gabriel, and bestowed this blessing. Now, do I believe this young girl got knocked up by the lord’s thoughts? No, I don’t believe that. Not at all. While I won’t bear into that, I think yet again we are reminded of perspective and what we are being told- the young virgin Mary may not have been a virgin, who knows how the conception occurred, but I digress. “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according your word.”

Both Mother Mary and Lyanna Stark are esteemed and held in mind as holy, maternal, pure creatures, looked upon in their death and their legacy as the Queens of Heaven, the God-Bearers, the Ever-Virgins.

Comparatively, we have both Ashara Dayne and Mary Magdalene. Both are considered by perspective dishonored, broken women. Neither are associated with purity or with a maternal eye (though Mary’s maternal side showed with caring for Jesus, washing his feet, being kind to him through his pain and torture, and Ashara’s through bearing a child), and both have been given hideous reputations with no pure truth behind them.

While the parallels aren’t perfect, I feel a lot of information in ASOIAF and in the bible tends to be pulled from perspective only- which we see, hear and consume. Each character that tells their version of the story has a different mind and eye, and it’s interesting to look at the big picture.

Where in the World is Ashara Dayne?

What do I believe?

I truly believe that Ashara Dayne is out there, whether we have met her in the text or in passing we do not know. Many of the various theories and speculation surrounding Ashara.

I don’t particularly agree with Ashara as Septa Lemore, although textually it would fit as a great comparison to biblical text for her to loyally be championing Christ’s Son (Aegon), as Mary of Magdalene loyally championed Jesus.

Further exploring the ideas in the text, I don’t believe that Ashara’s Daughter was stillborn- I think that Ned Stark ‘dishonored’ her at Harrenhal, when he was unpromised, and that the Dayne family passed Ashara’s daughter off as their own child once Ned had to fulfill his duty to the Tullys. I believe the Tower of Joy conspiracy goes deeper than we know, and that deaths were faked, (appropriately, Ashara’s) in order to keep the secret of the prince that was promised, the chosen one, the ‘King of Kings’. I do believe we’ll learn the truth of Ashara Dayne eventually, whatever it may just be.

She turned the mass of her crimes to virtues, in order to serve God entirely in penance

to close on a quote I threw in earlier, Ashara and Mary both made mistakes in their lifes, and the sacrifices Ashara made in the rebellion ring true. ——————–

Anyway, thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun looking into this and pulling some comparisons out. Thanks to Lady of Spears from TPOMF for listening to me rattle all day about this, and look out for others in the series- Leah and Rachel, Sisters and Wives to Jacob v. Catelyn, Lysa and Littlefinger, Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus and Lyanna Stark and Jon Snow, and possibly some other fun writeups!

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #ashara dayne #mary magdalene #house dayne #ashara meta

88 notes · View notes