Gilly, Ygritte, and Monster in Winterfell
art by @shebsart, commissioned by me
Shebsart came through once again guys!!! Iām so excited ^_^
For about a year and a half, since I got into ASOIAF, I have admired Shebsartās work. Their Theon in particular is the closest Iāve ever found to my vision of him, I adore his hooked nose (Ashaās too!). They also have such an amazing Barbrey design and the Starks, including Jon, are amazing. I have paid for some Ygritte commissions before with other artists, and I have liked all three of them, but when it comes to the closest look of what I think of when I imagine her book counterpart is some of Shebsartās old pieces of her (and Jon). I was looking for someone to draw Gilly and Ygritte and there was nobody whose opinion that I held in higher regard than Shebsart, as they were my favorite ASOIAF artist, so I asked them if they had any recommendations of who had their commissions open. They told me they actually considering opening their commissions and I have been working with them ever since, even though as far as I know they have not formally opened commissions. Shebsart has been really great to work with and patient, even though thereās been some trouble with payment barriers since we live in very different parts of the world. Theyāve been professional and worked hard.
I have long imagined the possibility of Gilly and Ygritte as friends; I thought it was high time I got it depicted in some way. I think it would really benefit Gilly if she had some female influences that werenāt family members. Of course, she does receive this to some extent, but I think it would be very interesting for her to find companionship with a girl around her age that shared the general Freefolk culture, although of course her upbringing was wildly different than Ygritteās. We know that Ygritte has some sort of soft spot for young children, or at least some sort of moral code that keeps her from killing them. This is one trait shown in both the books and the show. In the show, while I donāt consider anything that happened to it as canon, she specifically spared Gilly and Monster knowing that the others around her would not. I donāt think it would be much of a stretch that Ygritte would grow attached to Monster and have a soft spot there, even though we know she hates incest and would therefore consider his conception an abomination. Everyone in ASOIAF is misogynistic to some extent and some of the things Ygritte says about women are toxic, but I would like to think she wouldnāt victim blame Gilly or call her a whore as Stannis did. I definitely see Ygritte as a strong woman who would want to protect and stand up for someone like Gilly. And Gilly has great compassion and is all around a good person, so I think a friendship would be good for the both of them.
In the depiction above, Ygritte is Queen in the North, consort to Jon. This fits in the same AU as my previous Jon and Ygritte commission by shripscapi. Iāve said this many times, I respect people who hate Jon x Ygritte and they have very valid reasons, but knowing Jonās character, as long as Ygritte lives, which she would have in this AU as the Battle of Castle Black does not happen, thereās no other choice in Jonās mind for consort for him as King Beyond the Wall. For the timeline of this art, Jon was first crowned King Beyond the Wall and he went South with his people to get away from and prepare to battle the Others, seeking help from other rulers. His men battle the Boltons and because neither Rickon or Bran have been found yet, he is declared King in the North as well for the time being. His residence is temporarily taken up in Winterfell and the Freefolk settle nearby in close quarters. Jon goes towards the Vale as heās heard word about Sansa, but Ygritte stays behind with some of the Freefolk. This is when Gilly is her lady-in-waiting. I wanted to show that Ygritteās clothes are nicer than Gillyās, but I still wanted both outfits to be respectable. I wanted the fashion to be reasonable for a Northern climate, so that meant furs. Besides, they are both Freefolk and furs mean a lot to them culturally. I sent references for clothing and Shebsart went from there. Some people say Ygritte would never wear a dress but I disagree if it was comfortable enough and she was able to boss people around and be smug, I think sheād wear it as long as it was advantageous for her. And besides, I imagine that Jon designed the dress herself and thatās flattering enough for her to like it. What I did like to show is that Gilly is taking more towards traditional āladylikeā activities like embroidery, while Ygritte isnāt interested. Sheād rather sit around and talk and laugh.
Oh, and isnāt baby Monster precious????
Edit: Iāve seen someone say they think Ygritte would hate her life if this is what it was like, and Iām not mad at it or anything, but I donāt agree!!! To clarify more about this AU, Jon becomes King Beyond the Wall because the Freefolk believe that only someone with Stark blood would be able to negotiate with the Others, so theyād be doomed without him. So therefore itās not just about her feelings for Jon, sheās married to the person she believes will be able to save her people. The influence she has on him is also major and a source of pride for her. In the art above, she is living in Winterfell and yes sheās wearing a dress, but that isnāt her life forever. The reason she stays and doesnāt go with Jon to the Vale is not because sheās a woman and he refuses to let her fight, but because in the main timeline she has a child already (this art has a bit of a fudged timeline, if I were to write a fic on this idea sheād already have had a child before they breached the Wall) and if Jon were to die, the child still has Stark blood and would still be the only hope against the Others. If she had been South and had died with Jon (Jon doesnāt die at this point, but the prospect is why she stays behind), the child would have a regent with their own motivations and wouldnāt have its interests at heart like Ygritte would. This is an important role that I do think at the end of the day, despite Ygritte not being the smartest person, she would take pride and be protective over. Itās not simply that motherhood has changed her and is a role that took over her previous personality, because thatās not true. Itās that there are greater things at play and sheās a key part of protecting the source of the realmās salvation, so to say. She doesnāt live at Winterfell forever and when at Winterfell, she does boss around some Lords but doesnāt do any chores that she would find tedious. The most she does is sew together a wolf plushie for her child, which was incredibly poorly done. When Bran and Rickon are eventually found and thus Jon doesnāt have the title of Winterfell, they settle in lands previously ruled by the Umbers and she doesnāt wear a dress anymore, I have another commission by shripscapi that shows her usual attire but it is furs, she does hunt, she teaches her children to hunt and falconry. Her traditions are not stomped out in favor of Southron traditions. Her home is not a castle, but a small home slightly more impressive than the huts of the rest of her people, inspired by architecture during the Norman invasion. All in all, sheās really happy. The most important thing to her is that her people are safe, the Others are going to be defeated, and theyāve gotten past the Wall, a goal of her people for a long time. I guess Iāve just had a different view of Ygritte and the Freefolk than majority opinion. I think the Freefolk are more adaptable than people in the South generally are, and itās impressive how they rallied together despite their differences when faced with the Others. I donāt think the Seven Kingdoms would be able to do that. So I feel as if she, as well as most of her people, would be very happy and feel a sense of accomplishment for being able to live on and live among people that, before the threat of the Others, would never be able to tolerate them and vice versa.
