Currawong

LOL - I'm older than that, and I still have fun. I have a few people who understand the fascination with fantasy works (several in the HP fandom), but others just continue to think I am eccentric! Of course, I just assure them that there are much more harmful ways I could be spending my free time than having fun chatting about books, fictional characters and romances. Besides, I have met some really lovely and interesting people IRL through this sort of thing. And I *so* get you about getting involved and procrastinating about work - I used to do that too.

But if GRRM doesn't do 'something' nice for Jaime and Brienne in the next two books - even if either or both die in the end - I will be Extremely.Upset.Indeed.

They've sometimes been described as outsiders, which I sort of agree with. But when you get through their tough / snarky outer shells, they are also both very much 'damaged' people inside, and in a way, I think that is an important part of their relationship and perhaps why they 'get' each other. Catelyn described Brienne as having 'walls'around her higher than those around Winterfell: we only start to understand what's inside those walls when we get Brienne's POV in AFFC, and see the sort of hurts she's been subjected to over the years. She IS still sweet and innocent in many ways, despite what she's been thorough and had to do, and there's so much gentleness and kindness buried under that tough outer shell. But few will ever get to see or understand this. She even admits that Jaime's taunts cut her deeply, though she also seems willing to forgive him.

And as for Jaime himself - there is just so much hurt and anger buried deep inside. The pride and then the abrupt let-down of joining the KG, all the horror of Aerys's reign, and the terrible things he was forced to witness as a very young man while being powerless to do anything about them. Jaime was incredibly proud to become a knight at such a young age, and I have the impression he took that honour and his oath as a knight very seriously. So being forced to stand by and watch what Aerys did to the innocent would have been quite traumatic on many levels. As he says, he doesn't regret killing Aerys at all, but wearing the tag of 'Kingslayer' ever since has hurt him deeply, especially as he knows that even if he'd just taken Aerys hostage and not killed him, Robert, Ned or even Tywin would have killed Aerys the minute the rebel armies got to KL. Jaime has as many high walls around him as Brienne, it's just that his are a cultivated air of being 'dangerous', full of bravado, confidence, sarcasm and wit, and of course, his skills as a sw0ordsman and fighter. You get the impression that he IS self-aware, but unti the loss of his hand, he's never allowed himself to get too introspective because those dark places are very painful.

Brienne intuitively 'gets' this damaged aspect about Jaime, but he is a little further behind with respect to her. He gets an inkling when Loras tells him that Renly thought she was absurd, but I think he only really comes to appreciate how much she is hiding when Red Ronnet reveals the betrothals.