Sansa is of the unyielding Stark family of Winterfell [a cold place way up north]. More specifically, she is the second child and eldest daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark. Like her other siblings, Sansa has a pet/guardian direwolf [basically, very, very big doggie], named Lady. Betrothed at age eleven to Crown Prince Joffrey Lannister Baratheon when her father is appointed Hand of the King, courtly Sansa is delighted to move south to the capital of Westeros, King's Landing.

[GOT Spoilers--and trust me, you don't want to be spoiled!!!!] Although Sansa expects everything in her life to play out like a fairy tale, things go wrong before they even reach the capital. Sansa is punished by her wild little sister Arya's misbehavior when Queen Cersei demands Lady's head. Her father kills Lady and has the direwolf's bones sent back to Winterfell. Despite her loss, Sansa falls in love with the court world of tourneys and feasts, but when Joffrey's father dies and he ascends the throne she becomes a Lannister hostage. Widdle Sansa doth pleads for the life of her father, but Joffrey has Ned's head chopped off and sticks it on a pike. The little child-of-incest also delights in showing her said head after it's molded for a few days. Sansa toys with the idea of shoving him off a parapet. As if reading her mind, the Hound, Joff's disfigured bodyguard, steps in the way. Needless to say, her crush on Joff goes poof, but the engagement sticks.

[COK Spoilers] Trappped in the Lannister Court, Sansa must suffer further abuses at her betrothed's hand. Joff has her regularly beaten by his knights, seemingly in retaliation against the actions of Robb Stark, Sansa's elder brother, who has declared war against the Lannisters, captured the Queen's brother Jaime, and styled himself as the King of the North. During one of the beatings, Joff almost has her stripped naked in public, but Tyrion Lannister, the Queen's dwarf brother, saves her. Sansa manages to save the life of a drunken knight, Ser Dontos. To pay her back, Dontos promises to help her escape. Sansa gradually comes into her own as she goes through menarche while King's Landing is attacked. During the battle, Sansa encounters the drunken Hound and pseudo-snogging, helps Lancel Lannister when she should be killing him, and tries to rally the courage of the women sheltered in Maegor's. She vows never to rule like Queen Cersei. "If I am ever a queen, I'll make them love me."

[SOS Spoilers] Her engagement to Joffrey is broken--he cannot marry a traitor's sister--but Sansa Stark remains trapped at King's Landing. Catelyn Stark has agreed to exhange hostages, Jaime for Sansa, but Sansa is too valuable to the Lannisters. With her younger brothers presumed dead, Sansa is the only known surviving heir to Winterfell and Robb Stark's crown. Olenna Tyrell, grandmother of Joff's new fiancee, schemes to whisk Sansa south to Highgarden so Sansa can wed cripple-heir Willas--so the Tyrells can claim Winterfell if anything ever befalls Robb. But the Lannisters move faster, quickly wedding Sansa to the imp Tyrion. Robb and Catelyn Tully die from a Lannister/Frey plot, solidifying Sansa's claim for Winterfell. Once she gives birth to a Stark-Lannister heir they plan to off her, but noble Tyrion doesn't horizontal tango her. Sansa inadvertantly carries the poison used to murder Joffrey to his wedding. As Joffrey dies, Sansa flees with Dontos and goes into hiding in the Vale. Her new alias: Alayne Stone, bastard daughter of Peytr "Littlefinger" Baelish.

[Speculations and Spoilers beyond SOS] Prevailing theory is that Sansa will learn the game of thrones from Littlefinger (and become Minifinger.) She may become the surrogate mother of young, epileptic Robert Arryn. She might hook up with the Hound, again. Some people expect her to win the throne by the end of the series. Her current naive state means she has a long ways to go.

What is A Song of Ice and Fire?

"A Song of Ice and Fire" is an incredible book series written by renowned scifi/fantasy author George R.R. Martin. The series chronicles the travails of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as powerful ruling families contend for the Iron Throne. It is currently scheduled for 6-7 novels. The currently available novels are "A Game of Thrones" (1996) "A Clash of Kings" (1999) and "A Storm of Swords" (2000). The next novel, "A Feast for Crows", will be released god knows when. All three books are out in mass market paperback and they retail for about $8 USD.

Why is the Sansa in your layout so creepy?

This is, ideally, Sansa during "A Feast For Crows". The girl in the image is more in the 14-18 age range than the GOT-SOS 11-13 range. Why? Because ideally this fanlisting will have longevity, and Sansa's supposed to get older and hopefully creepier. The little bird is free! A lot of stuff has happened to her--she's not just a bimbo ditz; she's proven to be empathetic, observant, and at times even reckless. In the background I've faded in the Hound, Loras's rose, direworlf Lady, a mockingbird for the Baelish, and a birdcage.

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