Post by shymaid on Jul 22, 2018 20:13:50 GMT


Haha! I aim to please, but rarely I manage to do that before the need is spoken!

I'm sure he's not Rhaegar, but even if I can't rule out Targ blood I'm also not convinced. But if he has it, Brynden is the most likely suspect. Also, I've always doubted that Mance is just Mance. Something's off with him! I do still plan on serving up some minced Mance, but it's taking way longer than I planned...

That jumped out at me in my first read, and I keep getting back to it from several angles.
Never really thought about what would've happened if he was; I keep getting distracted by that Dornishman's sword!


But Jon receives his burns in Game, Jon VII and he talks about his burns in great detail in Jon VIII, and then again in Jon IX we hear that Jon has his wrappings off but they still ache and burn and pain him. I am not sure how long it's been since the burns occurred but it seems like even though Jon reports that the fingers are scarred, he still feels more than a little pain. In Clash, Jon II we hear that Jon is taking off his gloves and letting the fresh air sooth his burned fingers, he thinks of it as "airing his burned fingers", which is rather vague and I doubt there are still open wounds on the skin, but it's an odd thing to say. At this point it has to be several months since his burns, and they should be past the initial stages of healing. In Clash Jon VI, when Jon is climbing the pass in the Frostfangs, he complains of his "burned" hand aching and stiffening up. I would think that both hands would feel equally bad from all the mountain climbing but it's only the burned hand that Jon mentions.
Granted, this could be misunderstanding what is in the text and how GRRM wants us to almost fixate on Jon's burned fingers, since the author has Jon fixated on those burns. Perhaps they are healed and Jon is just fixated on them, but months later when he is letting the air sooth his fingers, that seems more than a bit odd to me. From my first read of the series, I was stuck by Jon's burns and how (in my head canon, at least) that his hand and fingers seem to take a long time to heal. Of course, my head canon could just be incorrect! I have also been struck by the things that Jon reports soothed his burns, which are ice and water, snow, cool air. All things of the north that seem to sooth the burns that fire caused! Jon is off the north and soothed by things of the north!
Well, the focus isn't that weird in the beginning, I think. Never been burned, but I doubt it's something that is easy to ignore. So far I've gotten the opinion that he's flexing his hand for mobility training at the start, but by the time he's joining Mance's host it's a sign of nervousness or high tension. Not sure when the shift takes place, it's on my shortlist of checking up.
As for the time, I'm no expert on the timeline or burn, but wiki (I know...) says up to 8 weeks for serious 2nd degree burns. Sounded to me (from memory here) that his was within the range of this in both ends. So his focus could be due to his mobility being affected to some degree, and as said above related to tension. But I really should take another look at this before I comment any further, my memory could be a bit shaky!