#lyanna

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Before Lyanna's elopement they might have gotten along well. In terms of brothers, they both had one martial, hot-headed womanizing one and a more quiet, thoughtful one and were the only daughters.

Elia came from a gender-equal society founded by a warrior queen who would have had some sympathy for the young Lyanna. Neither never had any sisters, and Lyanna's mother died when she was young, so she might have liked an older sister figure. Lyanna might have expressed her misgivings on marrying Robert to which Elia having been through that would have given her some comfort. She would have respected Lyanna more for her Knight of the Laughing Tree gambit. I can even imagine Elia saying that she should have been born Dornish.

Had they met after the elopement, things would be a little more tense. Elia came from a society where paramours are socially acceptable, but polygamy is not. Even if Rhaegar and Lyanna weren't married, there is still the specter of feudal politics that would make them rivals.

They were both women raised by strict fathers and lost their mothers young, chafed at the yoke of patriarchy, desired the sword but responded in different ways.

Cersei is an abusive narcissist raised on the Lannister supremacy diet who sees power as something to be abused over others while Lyanna subscribed to chivalry in defending the weak. Give Lyanna a sword and she'll defend a crannogman against three squires. Give Cersei a sword and she'll assault smallfolk or Tyrion with it. Lyanna is idealistic while Cersei is cynical.

It's also reflected in their relationships with Lyanna's youngest sibling being her best friend while Cersei's is her worst enemy. Benjen ended up helping Lyanna into the armor and train which played a role in winning over Rhaegar while Tyrion helped Cersei win the war but she still abused him and now he's set to bring her down.

The differences can even be seen in simple things in terms of their preferred transportation with Lyanna loving riding while Cersei prefers to be carried by wheelhouse with someone else driving the horses. Lyanna chose to fight her own battles by learning to fight while Cersei lives through men using Jaime and later Robert Strong to enact violence for her. Lyanna is more hands on while Cersei prefers servants to carry out her work for her.

They fell for Rhaegar upon seeing him at a tourney, but Lyanna actually ended up winning him over with not just her skill but her idealism. Cersei saw in him her fairy tale ending where she is not just his wife but his queen, connecting him with her desire for status and power. Lyanna likely saw the person beneath the title, possibly connecting him with her desire for independence as he was the only choice she ever made for herself regarding her life. Cersei ended up with Robert and dealt with him by poison while Lyanna ran away with someone else.