BUT

i think it’s going to ALSO echo bran’s coma and mance rayder’s recovery from the shadow-cat attack…because sansa will be there as the girl in grey.

catelyn sits by bran’s bedside day and night, feeding him the mixture that sustains like while the wolves sing outside his window. he’s nearly assassinated…but he lives, thanks to catelyn and his wolf! (she also tells jon it should’ve been him, quite ominously foreshadowing a similar fate to bran’s).

the night’s watch brothers thought mance rayder would die after being attacked by the shadow-cat, so they took him to a wise woman, who was dead but whose daughter had learned her healing craft. the daughter cleaned and bound his wound, fed him, and repaired his cloak with silk from asshai…and he lived! (she might have given him a kiss, and she is definitely the reason he left the night’s watch).

mirri maz duur learned songs and spells and healing from her mother (like the wise woman’s daughter) and she acquired magic in asshai (where the daughter got her silk from). she cleaned and bound drogo’s wound, using silk thread to sew it closed. she uses a singsong chant while she heals and later sings a spell like a funeral dirge when resurrecting him (not unlike the melancholy howling of the wolves during bran’s coma, and wait doesn’t dany see the shadow of a wolf in the tent?).

melisandre learned magic in asshai and she wears red silk…but has she learned healing? jon says his wolf’s name as he dies…but his wolf is mute. ghost won’t be able to sing him a healing wolf song like bran’s wolf did. but what if another wolf is there, or at least a girl who was said to have turned into a wolf? a girl who is the daughter of the woman who tended bran and helped to save him from assassins but who is now dead? a girl whom arya thinks only knows songs, not spells…unaware that songs CAN be spells?

melisandre may have learned magic in asshai as mirri maz duur did, but we have no evidence that she has studied the healing arts like mirri.

jon’s “resurrection” will be the mirror image of drogo’s. instead of a woman performing a dark ritual while the girl who loves him is helpless, it’ll be the witch who is helpless while the girl who loves him tends him and sings him back to life…

I'm not new in jonsa crowd but not old enough. I silently read mind-blowing metas and amazing fanfics, everything that i see and can reach

Couple of days i have a question on my mind. Maybe there's a list of fanfics that everyone should read? List of masterpieces from begging of fandom till today? What's your recommendation to read then?

I really afraid that i might miss some good jonsa gems

And another topic is jonsa metas. Is there a special list of analysis that should be read?

There has already been a lot of discussion around Jon and Sansa’s dynamic and the idea of their love, but if we look deeper into their characters, it becomes clear that they are not just a “should have been” romance. Their connection reflects something far more essential. It is a crucial dynamic that aligns with their character growth and emotional needs, something that could have meaningfully elevated their story.Jon and Sansa share underlying qualities that often go unspoken, yet they are central to understanding their bond. These are not traits that could have been fully recognized or fulfilled by others around them.

The two of them are defined by very different characteristics, and their journeys differ in how they adapt to their life experiences. Yet, despite these differences, they arrive at a shared emotional ground, carrying a similar kind of pain shaped by those experiences, a pain that deeply resonates with one another.

Their loyalties and dreams were deeply self-defined, shaped by the purpose each of them chose to serve. For Jon, that purpose was the Night’s Watch

For Sansa, her purpose was to become a queen, to grow within the walls of a castle, with her loyalties devoted to the people she believed she loved and could trust.

However, the very purposes they chose for themselves are ultimately turned upside down by their fate. Both of them are betrayed and deceived by the same paths they once believed in, by the very people and ideals they had trusted when they made those choices.

This parallel is crucial. It establishes a clear thematic connection in their journeys, where despite their different experiences, they share the same underlying pain of being undone by their own choices. This becomes a defining thread between them from the very beginning.

However, what follows is where their paths truly diverge. Their characters are shaped in entirely different ways, particularly in how they adapt to and process these experiences. The way they navigate and unravel their journeys ultimately reveals why Jon needed someone like Sansa.

For Sansa, after everything she endures in King’s Landing, her exterior begins to change in response to what she learns from her surroundings. She does not simply build a protective shell to survive. Instead, she becomes more resilient through adaptation, shaped by the strategies she observes in those around her. Influenced by figures like Cersei and Littlefinger, she witnesses how Self- Preservation is maintained through calculation, restraint, and awareness. Rather than being consumed by her circumstances, she absorbs these lessons and evolves through them. Her growth is quiet but deliberate, rooted in observation and understanding, something she herself eventually acknowledges.

She grows into someone practical and strategically aware, capable of identifying weaknesses and warning against them. In contrast, Jon’s adaptation to his experiences manifests as fatigue, restraint, and emotional exhaustion. This is understandable, given the life he has lived. He has fought relentlessly, carried the burden of doing what is right, and lost much in the process. His strength has been poured into battles and responsibilities that have steadily worn him down.

Despite this, Jon remains deeply driven by loyalty and emotion, often blurring the line between conviction and practicality without realizing it. He does not see that he is at risk of repeating the same mistakes that defined Ned and Robb, until someone forces him to confront it. This is where Sansa becomes essential. She reminds him of that missing practicality, not to challenge him, but to steady him, to prevent him from falling into the same patterns that have already cost their family so much.

This is not Sansa trying to appear smarter than Jon or undermine him. She is stepping into the space where Jon is at risk of repeating the same mistakes. Sansa is not Jon, and she is not meant to be. Jon is a strong battle strategist, but at times he needs someone who can ground him with practical judgment, something that has worn down in him over time due to everything he has endured, including loss and even death.

In the Battle of the Bastards, when Sansa advised him that they should have waited until they have a stronger army, Jon holds onto the belief that battles can still be won against greater odds. His restraint and willingness to act on that hope come from his experiences, from exhaustion, from reaching a point where he feels there are no better options. It becomes a reactionary state, where he moves forward without fully expanding the possibilities in front of him.

Sansa, however, is not just there to remind him of past mistakes. She is there to restore what he is beginning to lose. Her role is not about creating a power imbalance or opposing his ideology, but about unifying their experiences and projecting those lessons in a way that strengthens them both. She does not pull him down, she helps lift him back into his strength.

Ever since Jon left home, his journey has been defined by constant fighting and isolation. The battles he has faced have taken a significant toll on him, leaving him exhausted both physically and emotionally. His growing reluctance toward further conflict is not weakness, but a natural response to reaching a point of saturation after enduring so much.

This is where Sansa becomes essential to his arc. His growth can no longer continue in isolation. He needs someone who does not seek to overpower him, but someone who can guide his strength in the right direction and help restore what has been worn down over time.

Because of this, we see a recurring pattern where Sansa reminds Jon of his own power, especially in moments where doubt begins to take hold. She does not replace his strength, she helps him reclaim it.

She becomes the force that urges him to fight for their home, restoring the support and trust he had long been missing.

Beyond this, Jon’s deepest desire has always been to belong to the Stark name, to be recognized as one of them. He loved Ned, yet Ned could not give him that identity. He loved Robb as a brother, but even that bond could not change what he was in the eyes of the world. Despite being loved, he was never fully acknowledged as a Stark. That absence remained a quiet but profound void in his life, something he could never truly fill on his own.

It pained him to never be fully recognized as a Stark by the very people he loved, despite how deeply that love existed.

Then there comes one person who sees him differently, not just as Jon, but as someone who truly belongs. She recognizes him as what he has always wanted to be, without hesitation and without him having to ask.

Her offering Jon Ned and Catelyn’s room is not merely an act of affection, it is a reflection of her understanding and acceptance of who he truly is, something very few people ever gave him. She recognizes what he has always desired, even without him having to say it, and responds to it with quiet certainty.

In doing so, she affirms that identity for him. She gives him a sense of belonging without him ever having to voice it aloud. It is the very thing he has always longed for. By placing the Stark cloak on him, she not only recognizes who he is, but also gives him the space to embrace that identity for himself.

It is Sansa who restores his strength to fight, helping him reconcile with and fulfill his long-held desire to be recognized as a Stark. That is what Jon had always wanted at his core.

Even their conflicts reflect this. No matter the situation, their arguments become extensions of Sansa trying to protect him, to keep him grounded, and to prevent him from repeating the same mistakes that their family made.

Their argument in 8x01 is one such instance. Sansa fears that Jon may be repeating the same pattern as Ned and Robb by bending the knee to an outsider she does not yet trust. Her concern is rooted in the history of their family, in the cost they have already paid for placing trust in the wrong people.However, she does not approach this as a matter of proving herself right or Jon wrong. Instead, she questions him based on her experiences, urging him to look deeper before committing to his decisions. Her intent is not to oppose him, but to guide him, to make him reflect on whether he is truly making the right choices.

Jon does question her in return, yet despite everything, Sansa continues to believe in him. Her trust in him does not waver. She questions him because she cares, because she wants to protect him and prevent him from making choices that could cost him everything. In doing so, she helps him hold onto his sense of judgment and the power he carries.This is why Sansa fits beside Jon in a way that feels necessary. He does not need a relationship that pulls him away from his identity or weakens his claim. He needs someone who stands beside him, who looks out for him, trusts him, and continually helps him hold onto that power.

And because of this, Jon perceives Sansa trying to present herself as very smart through her questioning.

But he comes to realize, with time, that Sansa had been warning him and questioning him for his own good and for the sake of everyone else. She had seen what he could not, and she had been trying to protect him from it all along. It is only when he witnesses the horrors , when he sees King’s Landing reduced to ashes, that every word she once said begins to make sense. In that moment, her doubts, her caution, and her insistence are no longer questioned, they are understood.

And through all of this, we begin to see how much Jon’s character is guided in the right direction with Sansa beside him. With her, he is able to reconcile with his identity, with his long-held desire to truly belong as a Stark. She helps him find the strength to fight again, even after everything that has exhausted and worn him down over time.She questions him constantly, not to oppose him, but to ensure he does not repeat the same fate as those before him. At the same time, she continues to remind him that she believes in him. She reinforces his sense of self, helps him trust in his own power, and encourages him to hold onto it, because in her eyes, he is the rightful one to lead.

And this is what Jon needed. This is what his arc truly required, rather than being reduced to a point where he rejects his own claim and loses himself in choices that take him further away from who he is. He needed someone who could keep him grounded in his identity, someone who could guide him when he Wavers. HE NEEDED SANSA.

Because she always recognizes his true identity and never wants him to turn away from it, even in the end. That is why, when he is leaving in 8x06, she addresses him as the “king they have lost.”

She believes that he always was a true king, and that is exactly what Jon needed to be recognized as. And over time, Jon comes to place the same kind of trust in Sansa that she has always had in him.

Jon also places deep trust in Sansa’s abilities. He elevates her with the same grace and respect that she offers him. This is not a one-time instance, he consistently believes in her, as seen when he entrusts the North to her in Season 7. What they share is an equal and uplifting dynamic, one that benefits and complements both of them in the most fitting way.

Another important and grounding aspect of their dynamic is how deeply they begin to adapt to each other’s values and reflect each other’s qualities. It is as if, over time, they learn from one another and come to value those traits the most.Jon’s defining qualities have always been his loyalty and kindness, traits that remain consistent throughout his journey.

Sansa grows into those qualities as well. She is inspired by Jon, just as she inspires him in return, creating a mutual exchange where both of them shape and strengthen each other.

They consistently bring out the best in each other. The kindness, compassion, loyalty, and quiet bravery they both carry become even more evident in each other’s presence. In many ways, they reflect the same core values, mirroring one another in how they act, endure, and care.

So from character requirement to growth, to love, to story, Sansa stands as the most logical and justified person Jon should have been with, considering everything they have been through and shared.

**********calling all JONSA fam********

(So I did something crazy, and I did a word search for "old enough" in all five novels of asoiaf, and every time I looked around the chapter that this word makes an appearance, like a stone thrown in the water and the ripples it makes, it screamed out at me! Here it is! it's like a conversation happening with Bran and Jon at the end of the series, after Jon has killed Daenerys Targaryen. The first use of the phrase old enough happens in Bran I POV in AGOT and it sets up who is part of the conversation: Bran, Sansa, and Jon, and then after the war.)

A Game of Thrones

This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran’s life. – Bran I, AGOT

Dany was thirteen, old enough to know that such gifts seldom come without their price, here in the free city of Pentos. – Dany I, AGOT

“She has had her blood. She is old enough for the khal,” Illyrio told him, not for the first time. – Dany I, AGOT

“Sansa is only eleven.” Robert waved an impatient hand. “Old enough for a betrothal. The marriage can wait a few years.” The king smiled. – Eddard I, AGOT

He missed the girls too, even Sansa, who never called him anything but “my half-brother” since she was old enough to understand what bastard meant. – Jon III, AGOT 

“Ser Loras is a true knight. Do you think he will win tomorrow, my lord?”                “No,” Joffrey said. “My dog will do for him, or perhaps my uncle Jaime. And in a few years, when I am old enough to enter the lists, I shall do for them all.” – Sansa II, AGOT

Ser Brynden snorted. “Nor do I, but…it seems to me Lysa is only playing at courtship. She enjoys the sport, but I believe your sister intends to rule herself until her boy is old enough to be Lord of the Eyrie in truth as well as name.” “A woman can rule as wisely as a man, Catelyn said.                “The right woman can,” her uncle said with a sideways glance. “Make no mistake, Cat. Lysa is not you.” – Catelyn VI, AGOT

It was Chett who answered Jon’s knock. “I need to speak with Maester Aemon,” Jon told him.                “The maester is abed, as you should be. Come back on the morrow and maybe he’ll see you.” He began to shut the door.                Jon jammed it open with his boot, “I need to speak to him now. The morning will be too late.”                Chett scowled. “The maester is not accustomed to being woken in the night. Do you know how old he is?”                “Old enough to treat visitors with more courtesy than you.” Jon said. “Give him my pardons. I would not disturb his rest if it were not important.”                “And if I refuse?”                Jon had his boot wedged solidly in the door. “I can stand here all night if I must.”                The black brother made a disgusted noise and opened the door to admit him. – Jon V, AGOT

“Sweet one,” her father said gently, “listen to me. When you’re old enough, I will make you a match with a high lord who’s worthy of you, someone brave and gentle and strong. This match with Joffrey was a terrible mistake. That boy is no Prince Aemon, you must believe me.” -Sansa III, AGOT

“I’m four now,” Rickon said. He was peeking through the lens tube at the gargoyles on the First Keep. The direwolves sat on opposite sides of the large round room, licking their wounds and gnawing on bones.                “—too young, and—ooh, seven hells, that burns, no, don’t stop, more. Too young, as I say, but you, Bran, you’re old enough to know that dreams are only dreams.”                “Some are, some aren’t.”- Bran VII, AGOT

A Clash of Kings

“I’m old enough to remember Lord Steffon before the sea took him, and I knew those three sons of his since they got their names. I tell you this—Robert was never the same after he put on that crown. Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.”                “And his brothers?” Jon asked.                The armorer considered that a moment. “Robert was the true steel.” – Jon , ACOK ch 6

“You would be farther from the fighting, and you could acquaint yourself with Lord Frey’s daughters to help me choose my bride when the war is done.”                He wants me gone. Catelyn thought wearily. Kings are not supposed to have mothers, it would seem, and I tell him things he does not want to hear. “You’re old enough to decide which of Lord Walder’s girls you prefer without your mother’s help, Robb.” – Catelyn I, ACOK ch7

Lord Eddard Stark had tried to play the father from time to time, but to Theon he had always remained the man who’d brought blood and fire to Pyke and taken him from his home. As a boy, he had lived in fear of Stark’s stern face and great dark sword. His wife was, if anything, even more distant and suspicious.                As for their children, the younger ones had been mewling babes for most of his years at Winterfell. Only Robb and his baseborn half brother Jon Snow had been old enough to be worth his notice.  The bastard was a sullen boy, quick to sense a slight, jealous of Theon’s high birth and Robb’s regard for him. For Robb himself, Theon did have a certain affection, as for a younger brother…but it would be best not to mention that. – Theon I, ACOK ch 11

“She was pretty enough for a camp follower, but I’m no longer in camp. Little men have big appetites, and I’m told the girls here are fit for a king.”                “Is the boy old enough?”                “Not Joffrey. Robert. This house was a great favorite of his.” Although Joffrey may indeed be old enough. An interesting notion, that. “If you and the Black Ears care to amuse yourselves, feel free, but Chataya’s girls are costly. You’ll find cheaper houses all along the street. Leave one man here who’ll know where to find the others when I wish to return.”                Bronn nodded. “As you say.” The Black Ears were all grins. Inside the door, a tall woman in flowing silks was waiting for him. She had ebon skin and sandlewood eyes. “I am Chataya,” she announced, bowing deeply. “And you are—”                “Let us not get into the habit of names. Names are dangerous.”- Tyrion III, ACOK ch15 P.S. SAME CHAPTER

“Titles can be as dangerous as names,” Tyrion warned. “Show me a few of your girls.”                “It will be my great delight. You will find that they are all as sweet as they are beautiful, and skilled in every art of love.”

“She’s young.”                “She has sixteen years, my lord.”                A good age for Joffrey, he thought, remembering what Bronn said.

“Does she come from your home lands, this girl?”               

“I will gladly accept your suggestion.”                “I shall summon my daughter. Come.” The girl met him at the foot of the stair. Taller than Shae, though not so tall as her mother, she had to kneel before Tyrion could kiss her. “My name is Alayaya,” she said, with only the slightest hint of her mother’s accent. “Come, my lord.” She took him by the hand and drew him up two flights of stairs, then down a long hall.

There was only one door. She led him through and closed it.

               “Yes,” she said. “If my lord will open the wardrobe, he will find what he seeks.”                Tyrion kissed her hand and climbed inside the empty wardrobe. Alayaya closed it after him.

“Well, I’d hate to think I was climbing through wardrobes and suffering the pangs of frustrated lust all for naught.”                “Scarcely for naught,” Varys assured him. “They know you are here.”

               “How is it a brothel happens to have a secret entrance?”                “The tunnel was dug for another King’s Hand, whose honor would not allow him to enter such a house openly. Chataya has closely guarded the knowledge of its existence.”                “And yet you knew of it.”                “Little birds fly through many a dark tunnel. Careful, the steps are steep.”                “Men see what they expect to see.”                “Dwarves are not so common a sight as children, so a child is what they will see. A boy in an old cloak on his father’s horse, going about his father’s business. Though it would be best if you came most often by night.”                “I plan to…after today. At the moment, though, Shae awaits me.”

--

               “Which horse will you have?”                Tyrion shrugged. “This one will do well enough.”

--               (This one is the conversation piece between Bran and Jon and the dialogue is highleighted in the purple for Bran speaking, and green for Jon)

               “You missed a lively council. Stannis has crowned himself, it seems.”                “I know.”                “He accuses my brother and sister of incest. I wonder how he came by that suspicion.”                “Perhaps he read a book and looked at the color of a bastard’s hair, as Ned Stark did, and Jon Arryn before him. Or perhaps someone whispered it in his ear.” The enuch’s laugh was not his usual giggle, but deeper and more throaty.                “Someone like you, perchance?”                 “Am I suspected? It was not me.”                “If is had been, would you admit it?”                “No. But why should I betray a secret I have kept so long? It is one thing to deceive a king, quite another to hide from the cricket in the rushes and the little bird in the chimney. Besides, the bastards were there for all to see.”

               “If you were not this whisperer, who was?”                “Some traitor, doubtless.” Varys tightened the cinch.                “Littlefinger?”                “I named no name.”                “Lord Varys,” he said from the saddle, “sometimes I feel as though you are the best friend I have in King’s Landing, and sometimes I feel you are my worst enemy.” “How odd. I think quite the same of you.” – Tryion III, ACOK ch 15

---

“Stark!” they called as Bran trotted past, rising to their feet. “Winterfell! Winterfell!”               He was old enough to know that it was not truly him they shouted for—it was the harvest they cheered, it was Robb and his victories, it was his lord father and his grandfather and all the Starks going back eight thousand years. Still it made him swell with pride. For so long as it took him to ride the length of that hall he forgot that he was broken.— Bran III, ACOK ch 21

“I was expressly forbidden to take you to court.”“By your stupid father.” Shae pouted. “Your’re old enough to keep all the whores you want. Does he take you for a beardless boy? What could he do, spank you?”—Tyrion X, ACOK ch 44

A Storm of Swords

(more conversation between Bran and Jon: Daenerys is red.)

Jaime said, “You are not old enough to have known Aerys Targaryen…”                She would not hear it. “Aerys was mad and cruel, no one has ever denied that. He was still a king, crowned and anointed. And you had sworn to protect him.”                “I know what I swore.”                “And what you did.”                “Yes, and what you did as well.”                -- Jaime II, ASOS Chapter 11

“I’m not a little girl,“ she said angrily. “Who else is there? You said friends.”                “Sharna’s husband, and an orphan boy they took in. they won’t harm you. There’s ale, if you think you’re old enough. Fresh bread and a bit of meat.”– Arya II, ASOS ch 13

Not since Tywin Lannister had been old enough to go to war…                The maid came forward last, and very shy. Robb took her hand. “Mother,” he said, “I have the great honor to present you the Lady Jeyne Westerling. Lord Gawen’s elder daughter, and my… ah… my lady wife.”—Catelyn II, ASOS ch 14

“You asked me to reward you for your efforts in the battle,“ Lord Tywin reminded him forcefully. “This is a chance for you Tyrion, the best you are ever likely to have.” He drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. “I once hoped to marry your brother to Lysa Tully, but Aerys named Jaime to his Kingsguard before the arrangements were complete. When I suggested to Lord Hoster that Lysa might be wed to you instead, he replied that he wanted a whole man for his daughter.”

               So he wed her to Jon Arryn, who was old enough to be her grandfather. Tyrion was more inclined to be thankful than angry, considering what Lysa Arryn had become.

“If you will not have the Stark girl, I shall find you another wife. Somewhere in the realm there is doubtless some little lordling who’d gladly part with a daughter to win the friendship of Casterly Rock. Lady Tanda has offered Lollys…”                Tyrion gave a shudder of dismay. “I’d sooner cut it off and feed it to the goats.”                “Then open your eyes. The Stark girl is young, nubile, tractable, of the highest birth, and still a maid. She is not uncomely. Why would you hesitate?”                Why indeed? -- Tyrion III, ASOS ch 19

“Sansa is too young.”                “She is old enough to be Lady of Winterfell once her brother is dead. Claim her maidenhood and you will be one step closer claiming the north. Get her with child, and the prize is all but won. Do I need to remind you that a marriage that is not consummated can be set aside?”

Tyrion IV, ASOS ch 32

Lancel and Devan must marry Frey girls, Joy is to wed one of Lord Walder’s natural sons when she is old enough, and Roose Bolton becomes Warden of the North and takes home Arya Stark.”                “Arya Stark?” Tyrion cocked his head.

****(sounds like Bran is teasing Jon with Arya...)****

“Lest you forget, it is not only Joffrey who must needs take a maidenhead.”                I had not forgotten, though I’d hoped you had. “And when do you imagine that Sansa will be at her most fertile?”

 – Tyrion VI, ASOS ch53

Yet Edric Storm was three inches taller and broader in the chest and shoulders. He was his father’s son in that; nor did he ever miss a morning’s work with sword and shield. Those old enough to have known Robert and Renly as children said that the bastard boy had more of their look than Stannis had ever shared; the coal-black hair, the deep blue eyes, the mouth, the jaw, the cheekbones. Only his ears reminded you that his mother had been a Florent.                “Yes, good morrow, my lord.” Edric echoed. The boy could be fierce and proud, but the maesters and castellans and masters-at-arms who’d raised him has schooled him well in courtesy. “Do you come from my uncle? How fares His Grace?” – Davos V, ASOS ch 54

“What…what game?” “The only game. The game of thrones.” He brushed back a strand of her hair. “You are old enough to know that your mother and I were more than friends. There was a time when Cat was all I wanted in this world. I dared to dream of the life we might make and the children she would give me…but she was a daughter of Riverrun, and Hoster Tully. Family, Duty, Honor, Sansa. Family, Duty, Honor meant I could never have her hand. But she gave me something finer, a gift a woman can give but once. How could I turn my back upon her daughter? In a better world, you might have been mine, not Eddard Stark’s. My loyal loving daughter… Put Joffrey from your mind, sweetling. Dontos, Tyrion, all of them. They will never trouble you again. You are safe now, that’s all that matters. You are safe now, that’s all that matters. You are safe with me, and sailing home.” – Sansa V ASOS ch61

A Feast for Crows

“Look,” the prince repeated. “I command you.”                A few of the older children lay facedown upon the smooth pink marble, browning in the sun. Others paddled in the sea beyond. Three were building a sand castle with a great spike that resembled the Spear Tower of the Old Palace. A score or more had gathered in the big pool, to watch the battles as smaller children rode through the waist-deep shallows on the shoulders of the larger and tried to shove each other into the water. Every time a pair went down, the splash was followed by a roar of laughter. They watched a nut-brown girl yank a towheaded boy off his brother’s shoulders to tumble him head first in the pool.                “Your father played that same game once, as I did before him,” said the prince. “We had ten years between us, so I had left the pools by the time he was old enough to play, but I would Watch him when I came to visit Mother. He was so fierce, even as a boy. Quick as a water snake. I oft saw him topple boys much bigger than himself. He reminded me of that day he left for King’s Landing. He swore that he would do it one more time, else I would never have let him go.”                “Let him go?” Obara laughed. “As if you could have stopped him.  The Red Viper of Dorne went where he would.”—ch2

P.S SAME CHAPTER

“My prince?” the little round man asked. “Do your legs hurt?”—

When the raven arrived with word that my mother had been brought to bed a month too soon, I was old enough to understand that meant the child would not live. Even when Lord Gargalen told me that I had a sister, I assured him that she must shortly die. Yet she lived, by the Mother’s mercy. And a year later Oberyn arrived, squalling and kicking. I was a man grown when they were playing in these pools. Yet here I sit, and they are gone.”—The Captain of Guards, AFFC ch 2

The Warrior had been Jaime’s god since he was old enough to hold a sword. Other men might be fathers, sons, husbands, but never Jaime Lannister, whose sword was a golden as his hair. He was a warrior, and that was all he would ever be. – Jaime AFFC ch8

Jaime sighed. “Then let them wed. It will be years before Tommen is old enough to consummate the marriage. And until he does, the union can always be set aside. Give Tyrell his wedding and send him off to play at war.”

“Even sieges have their dangers,” she murmured. “Why, our Lord of Highgarden might even lose his life in such a venture.”                “There is that risk,” conceded Jaime. “Especially if his patience runs thin this time, and he elects to storm the gate.”                Cersei gave him a lingering look. “You know,” she said, “for a moment you sounded quite like Father.”—Jaime AFFC ch 8

“My fealty’s owed to House Hayford, and Lady Ermesande bends her little knee at King’s Landing, or will when she is old enough to walk.”

“The wolves come later, the ones on four legs.”

“What should we do, my lord?”                “Plant,” said Jaime, “and pray for one last harvest.”— Jaime III ch 27

“Did you chance to see the marriage bed the morning after?” Cersei asked. “Did she bleed?”

A lord’s daughter was more like to give her maidenhead to a horse than a husband, it was said, and Margaery had been riding since she was old enough to walk.

“What of our brave Ser Loras? How often does he call upon his sister?”

“More than any of the others.”

“Every morn and every night he visits, unless duty interferes. Her brother is devoted to her, they share everything with..oh…”

“I have had the most wicked thought, Your Grace.”

–Cersei AFFC ch 28

“Why would you give up knighthood ?”

               “I never chose it. My father was a knight, and his before him. So were my brothers, everyone. I was trained for battle since the day they deemed me old enough to hold a wooden sword. I saw my share of them, and did not disgrace myself. I had women too, and there I did disgrace myself, for some I took by force. There was a girl I wished to marry, the younger daughter of a petty lord, but I was my father’s thirdborn son and had neither land nor wealth to offer her…only a sword, a horse, a shield. All in all, I was a sad man. When I was not fighting, I was drunk. My life was writ in red, in blood and wine.”                “When did it change?” asked Brienne.

               “When I Died in the Battle of the Trident. I fought for prince Rhaegar, though he never knew my name.”

---Brienne AFFC ch 31

“We could name the little one Maester, if you like. When he’s old enough, not now. We could.”                “Maester is not a name. You could call him Aemon, though.” “Yes. Call him that.”—Samwell AFFC ch 35 * (Gilly and Sam have sex for the first time after this in this chapter) “I am your wife now,” she whispered, sliding up and down on him. And Sam groaned and thought, No, No, you can’t be, I said the words, I said the words, but the only word he said was, ”Yes.”

“Are you afraid of a few children?”                “Four would be a few. Ten would be a surfeit. This is a cacophony. Children should be wrrapped in swaddling clothes and hung upon the wall until the girls grow breasts and the boys are old enough to shave." --Brienne VII AFFC ch 37

“Marriage would serve the both of us. Lands for me, and a castle full of these for you.” He waved his hand at the children.

The children fell upon the supper like wolves upon a wounded deer, quarreling over codfish, tearing the barley bread to pieces, and getting porridge everywhere.– --Brienne VII AFFC ch 37

“Are you my mother?”                “No.” She put down the food. “Who was your mother?”                “What’s that to you?”                “You were born in King’s Landing.” The way he spoke made her certain of it.

“How old are you?” Brienne asked. “Is your mother still alive? And your father, who was he?”                “You ask too many questions.” He set down the sword. “My mother’s dead and I never knew my father.”               “You’re a bastard.”—--Brienne VII AFFC ch 37

“Why?”                “Consider it a wedding gift.”                “A…wedding gift?”                “Once you have eaten, my men will escort you to Riverrun. What happens after that is up to you.”                “What do you mean?”

“She is carrying my child.”

               “Your uncle is an old man. Valient, yes, but the best part of his life is done. He has no bride to grieve for him, no children to defend. A good death is all the Blackfish can hope for… but you have years remaining, Edmure. And you are the rightful lord of House Tully, not him. Your uncle serves at your pleasure. The fate of Riverrun is in your hands.”                Edmure stared. “The fate of Riverrun…”                “Yield the castle and no one dies. Your small folk may go in peace or stay to serve Lord Emmon. Ser Brynden will be allowed to take the black, along with as many of the garrison as choose to join him. You as well, if the Wall appeals to you. Or you may go to Casterky Rock as my captive and enjoy all the comforts and courtesy that befits a hostage of your rank. I’ll send your wife to join you, if you like. If her child is a boy, he will serve House Lannister as a page and a squire, and when he earns his knighthood we’ll bestow some lands upon him. Should Roslin give you a daughter, I’ll see her well dowered when she’s old enough to wed. You yourself may even be granted a pardon, once the war is done. All you need do is yield the castle.” –Jaime AFFC ch38

“The pact was sealed in secret. I meant to tell you when you were old enough…when you came of age, I thought, but…”---Arienne AFFC ch40

This we do know: Cregan Stark and Jacaerys Velaryon reached an accord, and signed and sealed the agreement that Grand Maester Munkun calls “the Pact of Ice and Fire” in his True Telling***. Like many such pacts, it was to be sealed with a marriage.*** Lord Cregan’s son, Rickon, was a year old. Prince Jacaerys was as yet unmarried and childless, but it was assumed that he would sire children of his own once his mother sat the Iron Throne. Under the terms of the pact, the prince’s firstborn daughter would be sent north at the age of seven, to be fostered at Winterfell until such time as she was old enough to marry Lord Cregan’s heir.

(Fire and Blood: The Dying of the Dragons, A Son for a Son)

A Dance with Dragons

so let me first lay out roughly what i think is going to happen should jonsa become canon. I personally love going down meta and graphic spirals, so I'm including links to other people’s theories/explanations/graphics of events too - also I would like to shout out @istumpysk because half these metas and gifsets were stuff I found on their blog initially, and also was the one who really convinced me that jonsa is less of a crackship and more of a contender for an actual canon theory, and from there i really found my niche in this fandom. specifically this meta about jon being the mummer's dragon is what pulled me out of my "we're never getting twow and if we do it's just gonna be that stupid dany has jon's magical baby while tyrion watches, then they all die theory" slump and lit my brain on fire again. let's goooo:

The Ashford Tourney Theory - Something Shady goes down at the tourney Petyr has planned that requires Sansa to make a quick getaway, and likely causes her to run into Brienne while fleeing. This theory for me is about hinting at Sansa's romantic future, allies, and how she's getting the hell out of the Vale: both the dark haired, Not Targ Looking Targ Prince that is the son of A Great Prince That Never Was being her romantic endgame but also it's about Brienne (/Dunk) getting her the hell out of there and becoming Sansa's number one ally and protector (with Sansa's number two being Bronze Yohn!! But he's not fleeing with her - if he helps her get out of the Vale, it'll be to cause a distraction or a fight so Sansa can slip away unnoticed. Bronze Yohn is coming with the knights of the Vale later to help defend his girl!).

The Girl In Grey - Out of options on where to go, Sansa & Brienne makes a long, fast, and dangerous trek to the only family she knows is still alive: Jon Snow at the Wall. No, I don't think Alys Karstark is the girl in grey on a dying horse; I think she's a red herring, the same as the scene where Sweetrobin destroys the snow castle, and that the real girl in grey (who slays the savage giant) is Sansa. Melisandre says that she sees "Jon's sister" but doesn't specify more than that, or how she knows it's Jon's sister, even - why would she assume Alys is Jon's sister and not some random Northern girl? Why was she so sure that it was his sister? It's because Alys isn't the girl in grey, it's Sansa, her horse dying because she's traveled halfway across the continent with Brienne and Pod, desperately trying to keep ahead of the dozens of people hunting her down.

The Blood of Winterfell - Sansa and Jon will reclaim winterfell together. This one is similar to above; just like Alys was a red herring, the scene where Sansa rebuilds the castle has a lot of foreshadowing (imo) but that isn't the moment in the prophecy Arya hears. The Savage Giant is Littlefinger, the castle of snow is Winterfell, and Sansa is going to liberate her home alongside Jon and what's left of the Northern lords.

Stone and Snow Remains - THIS is where Sansa and Jon will fall in love while fighting for the North. This is also the part where you lose a lot of people, because they think the evidence is real weak sauce but like, I also think the Jonerys "evidence" is weak af too (and no wonder, we have at minimum 2k pages left to get through!!). There's several believed foreshadowing points to this one, bare with me for this weird ass formatting because I can't do sub bullet points on tumblr:

1. Sansa's linking of snow with love and affection - "drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover’s kisses, and melted on her cheeks...She could feel the snow on her lashes, taste it on her lips. It was the taste of Winterfell. The taste of innocence. The taste of dreams." along with her snow maiden and snow knight.

2. Bael the Bard and the Rose of Winterfell - the chapter where Sansa gets her period for the first time, Cersei refers to it as “flowering” a dozen times, linking being a maiden (a young girl, not quite of age or just barely of age) to flowers and several people refer to sex as ~plucking. Also notice the one who stole her from KL is Lord BAELish.

3. Aemon the Dragonknight & Queen Naerys - Sansa compares herself to Naerys, Joffrey to Aegon, and wishes for an Aemon, among the many similarities between her life and Naerys'. Jon not only calls himself Aemon, he has a deep connection with a different Aemon Targaryen. And if you’re thinking “Sansa isn’t Naerys, X is Naerys” I would remind you that Sansa as a character existed first, George purposefully had her compare herself to Naerys, and parallels don't belong to just one character.

4. Jenny of Oldstones and The Prince of Dragonflies - there's honestly a lot of parallels between them but like the Aemon/Naerys parallel, the Jenny/Duncan one stands out to me.

5. Janos Slynt - I mean. Iconic. This was the scene that made me first think about what their relationship could be in the future and there’s a reason Jonsas fixate on it. It’s about Sansa being desperate for a hero and the hero she dreamed about being Jon the whole time. 6. Societal Alienation - There's the bastard parallels here, the "it would be so sweet to see him again", the "Winterfell belongs to my sister, Sansa." It's about how Jon, through circumstances of his birth, finds himself alienated from the rest of society and reconnects with his prim and proper sister Sansa, who finds herself alienated from the rest of society as well but for vastly different reasons.

Robb’s Will - Howland is going to show up in the North, along with Maege and Galbert, with some WILD news about why Jon can’t rule Winterfell. There’s a lot of contention around this. Bran probably shows up around this time too, and Arya gets to the Riverlands to discover Lady Stoneheart and give her the gift of mercy. This is where all the inheritance stuff is going to happen and I have no idea how it's going to go down besides it's going to be messy as all fuck.

The Pact Of Ice And Fire - Jon & Sansa get secret married bc they’re in love, not siblings, & jon is the only man she trusts not to steal her claim. This isn't the only possible foreshadowing instance of a marriage either - some believe the Sandor/Sansa scene during the Battle of the Blackwater is foreshadowing as well (personally I feel that's a bit of a stretch but I wanted to include it anyway).

Jon As An Envoy - I talked about this in my "what's Jon's ending" a little but I believe Jon will act as an envoy for either Sansa or Bran to Aegon VI, essentially playing out a similar story that he does in the show with Daenerys. By which I mean, Jon is not the King because the ruler themselves do not go as an envoy, that’s stupid and dangerous, but he goes as an ambassador for Sansa or Bran, to treat with a new claimant to the Iron Throne that is gaining support - Aegon VI & Jon Connington. They will probably clash, Jon will probably have yet another identity crisis, there had BETTER be gay incest subtext, then Aegon dies, and Jon has his sixth quarter life crisis in a row.

“King” of the Gift - again, something I touched on in my Jon meta is that I think he’s going to have a hand in resettling the Gift. Personally, I think it's likely that Jon leaves to protect the claims of his siblings (see: Duncan and Jenny) and goes to the Gift to help resettle it to keep out of the way. This ending is typically referred to as the "bael the bard" ending but i like to think of it as the "brandon's gift" ending instead - though he is not physically with his family, Jon feels fulfilled having confirmed his family loves him through reclaiming Winterfell and marrying Sansa, being reunited with Arya, and being given the Gift by Bran. Sansa claims her children were fathered by a wolf.

So…what does all this do for the story?

Well, in my opinion, several things.

I think the main barrier here is that most people in the greater fandom describe Sansa's story as ~growing past childish wants~ and Jon's as ~rejecting love~ and I do not agree with either of those takes even a little bit. This is where (imo) the dividing line between Jonsas and the rest of the fandom is. I don’t think the answer to Sansa’s question “will anyone ever marry me for love” is going to be “nah" - that's not just a sad story to me (wanting to be married isn't childish! craving intimacy and understanding isn't childish! it's also not wrong for a child to be childish!), I think the idea that Sansa (or Jon) will not find another love just doesn't line up with how George approaches his story. Who Sansa's husband will be has been such a big question, and her story is so heavy into the more romantic tropes like courtly love and chivalry and the line between politics and love and identity, that the question of Sansa's hand in marriage will be plot relevant. I also think it's kinda naive of people to pretend like George isn't very interested in the sexual dynamics of the characters he writes about (yeah, sure, no woman needs a man but "needing a man" is not what this is about. look at everything this man wrote in F&B and tell me he is going to write a female character that longs for sex and desire and doesn't get it!).

After AGOT, nearly every time Sansa thinks about marriage involves her longing for love but believing she will never get it because a man will only ever love her for her claim. Giving her a man - like Jon - who not only will not steal her claim and in fact has defended it twice over already, who will love her for who she is and not what she can give him, is a really important aspect of her story in my opinion.

As for Jon, I am even more firmly against the opinion that his story is about rejecting love; Jon’s story is about wanting to be a good man, to measure up to his father ~despite~ his bastard blood. When Aemon asks if Ned would choose honor over love and Jon stubbornly says yes, Jon is wrong and it’s important to not forget that. Ned has never once in his entire life chosen honor over love; he chooses his daughter’s life over his honor, he chooses his sister & her son’s life over honor, he chooses Arya & Nymeria over honor, and on and on!!! Ned chooses love at almost turn but none of his children know that just yet - look at Robb choosing Jeyne’s honor over his own and how upset he is at the idea that Ned would be disappointed despite the fact that Ned would have understand Robb’s decision! Jon's whole arc is tied up in realizing that it is not wrong or dirty to feel and choose love, passion, and desire and if he never has another romantic arc again, I think you lose the second part of that lesson which is "you are responsible for how you act when you feel love but that doesn't mean that simply choosing love makes you a bad person."

There's also the fact that George has talked a lot about "who lives, who dies, who gets married" and yet we have not one marriage at the end of the show AND there's not a lot of guesses at what "who gets married" means besides Jon/erys (and even if Jonsa doesn't happen, I simply do not see Jon/erys happening. they are not similar enough, they will not be in the same space for long enough, and they are on wildlly different trajectories for their story, they are not getting married let alone having sex). I think Jonsa fits that bill very well.

This is a long one. Buckle up.

If there is one thing I have picked up on in the ASOIAF fandom, it’s the knee-jerk negative reaction towards any theory/parallel/connection between Jon and Sansa. This was exacerbated by the show, of course but even now - five years later, there is an insane amount of vitriol that my brain is unable to comprehend. And here’s the rub; the infamous 1993 outline is the irony of it all. 

Okay, Jonsa fam. I’ve seen a lot of great posts, especially in the last few months, about Jon’s reactions to Val. Among them, there’s one particular vein I like to assume everyone loves as much as I do. That is, when Jon thinks of Val’s hair as silver vs. when he thinks of it as the color of dark honey. You’ve seen those metas, right? They explain the likelihood of Jon’s future connection to Dany being negative — The air tastes cold. / My tongue is too numb to tell. All I taste is cold. — while his future connection to Sansa will be positive — It had been a long while since Jon Snow had seen a sight so lovely.

Well, in this post I want to expand on the angle of Val-is-sometimes-a-stand-in-for-Sansa. Only, I don’t want to speculate on what will happen between Jon and Sansa in the future, if we ever get GRRM’s last two books. Enough people have already done that, and they’ve done it so wonderfully that I have little to add. Instead, as the title of this post says, I want to focus on Jon’s pre-canon crush. More specifically: I want to focus on what Jon’s thoughts and feelings about Val say about his thoughts and feelings about Sansa.