Sansa Stark | Alayne Stone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dohaeris) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2022-04-07 11:20 pm
dohaeris) wrote in deercountry2022-04-07 11:20 pm
Entry tags:
you're not my homeland anymore
Who: sansa and her crs
What: catchall for non-event logs. mostly she wants to tell some friends her name. also for some prompts that are simply too long for the event post
When: early april, broadly. late april for sibling-based event prompts
Where: her house (or wherever windows into the world of ice and fire can be found)
Content Warnings: canon-typical violence. character warnings in her app. uhhhh spoilers for asoiaf as if her canonpoint wasn't enough
[starters in the comments I just really wanted to use the taylor swift lyrics for this]
What: catchall for non-event logs. mostly she wants to tell some friends her name. also for some prompts that are simply too long for the event post
When: early april, broadly. late april for sibling-based event prompts
Where: her house (or wherever windows into the world of ice and fire can be found)
Content Warnings: canon-typical violence. character warnings in her app. uhhhh spoilers for asoiaf as if her canonpoint wasn't enough
[starters in the comments I just really wanted to use the taylor swift lyrics for this]
no subject
Be kind to the patient, Winter.
["I'm always kind," he says diffidently. sansa smiles at the patient and walks into the kitchen.
'lady laynie' is very sweet. she smiles softly and almost regrets what she has to say. she sits at the table and takes a biscuit.]
I wanted to tell you my name is Sansa Stark. I've been using the name Alayne Stone to hide from the people who murdered my family. They put a bounty on my head, in my world. I had to be sure that none of them were here, nor any that would seek their favor.
[her tone is light, and a little self-deprecating. she doesn't expect richie is used to this sort of thing, except in videos. she delicately nibbles her biscuit.]
I don't mean to say that I thought you were one of them. Only, I've been Alayne for so long, when they asked my name on the beach I didn't think to say anything else. And if after that I said otherwise, people might hear about it and think I was lying without giving me a chance to explain.
tw internalized homophobia
But then again...she did say her family had been murdered. Maybe these people wanted to make damn sure the whole line had been wiped from the face of the earth.
Still, despite all that understanding—some part of Richie's a little hurt, initially, that she hadn't trusted him from the start. It is, he knows, a stupid thought to have, because she's got a good reason for it, and that's why he keeps quiet as she talks, watching her while sipping some lemonade.]
Holy shit. [Yeah, that's the first thing that comes out of his mouth.] Alayne—Sansa, I mean? That's just really fucked up of them.
[She's, what, his age? Maybe even younger than he is. It's why he doesn't really bother to hold on to the hurt, that, and—he's heard a tale like this before. Ange's story isn't entirely the same, but at the core of it is the same loss, the same all-encompassing heartbreak of all of the family dying, all at once, and in such a violent way.
He reaches his hand across the table, puts it there in the middle for her to take, if she needs it. Venkman hops down from his sentinel position, then gently bumps into Sansa's leg, as if to offer some comfort as well.]
I get it. It's... [He hesitates a moment, then huffs out a breath. When he next speaks, his voice with heavy, not just with sympathy, but with experience.] You had to keep this a secret, 'cause otherwise you'd be fucked. They'd find you and hurt you, or worse they'd kill you, all because of something you couldn't help. Not really. And then you get pulled here, and even though you know it's safer, you still can't help it. Some part of you's still stuck back there, and you can't unstick it, because it's the only thing that kept you alive for so long.
[Doesn't that sound just familiar, to a little gay boy from Derry. His life isn't really anything like Sansa's, he only had to deal with the one monster before he started hopping around the multiverse, but—he gets it.]
...d'you still want me to call you Alayne, out in public? Keep an eye out for the assholes trying to kill you, and—and maybe your family, too?
no subject
I don't mean to hide forever, but it's important that people hear about it from me. My friend Adaine's crafting a spell to alert us should any of my enemies arrive here, and I would never ask you to put yourself in harm's way.
[in fact the idea of richie cursing at littlefinger or joffrey, while very amusing, is a concern all on its own. she frowns, thoughtfully.]
And I think...I would know it my family came here--or Lady would, at least. It's part of how my magic works. But I very much hope you can meet them, someday.
[she grins, a little wistful, a little sly.]
If you like me, you'd love my sister Arya. They called her Arya Underfoot, she was always running around and causing trouble. She always said whatever she wanted, no matter if it was rude, and she loved to play tricks--on me, especially. And my brother Bran was only a year younger, they were always running around and doing mischief together.
[she definitely thinks richie is closer to arya's age than her own. it's only a difference of two years, anyway.]
no subject
[That's the problem with spending his teenage years in nightmare worlds full of horror and monsters, he supposes.]
Oh, you and Lady have magic? That's cool! Did you learn it here or was it something you carried over from your world? [Wait, that's a tangent. Time to get back on track:] I hope so too. They must've been good, if they raised somebody like you.
Look, I'm not gonna put myself in harm's way on purpose. Promise. But...can you tell me their names, so I know who to avoid if they show up on the network? [Either that, or more likely, go anonymous and bully them incessantly. But he doesn't say that to Sansa, mostly because he knows she's going to be displeased to hear that.]
I like this Arya chick already. I bet she's a fucking menace and she'll raise all sorts of hell if she ever gets here. I think—I knew someone like her, once. [But he can't quite remember her face as well. Did she have red hair? He's pretty sure she did. What was her name again, Bev? Ben? No, Ben's a boy's name, it belonged to another Loser.] Tell me more about them?
no subject
Arya was a menace! She was learning to fight with her little sword. I'm afraid she--tried to fight someone she shouldn't have. King's Landing was very dangerous. Not like here. You couldn't even walk around, really. Even my father took our guards. It was the people that were dangerous, so you couldn't avoid them, or burn incense, or anything. But that's not where I'm from. I'm from Winterfell, where people are kind, and the only trouble we ever had was snowstorms, and seeing everybody through until spring. I was only a baby then, after Arya was born it was the Long Summer. Bran and Rickon were born in it. Rickon was only little. He should have--he called his wolf Shaggydog. Bran called his Summer. I only knew that because my mother told my father when she came to see him, it took him the longest time to pick a name! He--he fell, climbing around our home, and then he was asleep for a while. The king made us leave before he woke up, and then he had lost the use of his legs. I didn't get to see them, or my mother. The king made my father his hand--a sort of advisor, who can speak for the king sometimes--and Arya and I went to the capital with him. When that king died, his son and the Queen Regent had my father arrested, because he found out the new king was illegitimate. They killed our whole household, and I begged Joffrey to spare my father--he said he would grant him mercy, but then he said he only meant the mercy of a quick death--after my father apologized and told everybody he was wrong, even though he wasn't. And Arya disappeared, so I was the only prisoner, and my mother and brother Robb raised the banners to kill Joffrey and save me, but some of their bannermen turned cloaks and murdered everyone before they could. Robb's friend, he was supposed to help too, but instead he stole Winterfell and murdered our little brothers. And I couldn't say anything--but I do have one brother who still lives. He's called Jon Snow, and he joined the Night's Watch to defend our realm. He's Lord Commander now, and he's sworn to stay at the Wall at our northern border. I don't know if I'll ever see him again. His wolf's name is Ghost, because Ghost is white with red eyes and he never makes a sound.
[her smile had slowly given way to a steely anger, but now she smiles again, albeit more faintly.]
Robb's wolf was named Grey Wind, and Arya's was Nymeria. Nymeria was the famous queen who led her people out of exile and into Dorne, where they live now, at the southern end of the Seven Kingdoms. My brothers found the litter in the Wolfswood; their mother had been gored by a stag. We raised them all from little puppies. Lady--never reached her full growth. Joffrey and his mother had her killed because Nymeria tried to stop him from hurting a boy from our home. Arya was clever enough to send Nymeria away, but I never thought anyone would punish Lady for it.
[her face and voice are steely again. she takes another sip of lemonade.]
You must avoid anyone called Lannister. And--Petyr Baelish. If he tells you anything, don't listen. Everyone thinks they can tell when he's lying, or what he's planning, but they can't. But it doesn't matter, Adaine is working on a spell that will send him back to the sea if he ever comes here.
no subject
But he's older now, and underneath all that grand tragedy, he sees the simple, awful heartbreak of losing all the people she's ever loved. God, even the dogs.]
Joffrey and his mom sound like total bitches. I'm glad you're away from them. [Wait, hang on.] Illegitimate? What, did she fuck some rando from the kitchens or something? Is that why he's so fucked up, 'cause he has daddy issues?
[Aw, Richie, you sweet summer child.]
Rickon sounds like a fucking riot, naming a big-ass wolf Shaggydog. That's a very descriptive, no-nonsense kinda name. [This, from the guy whose direwolf is named S'mores. Although, granted, Richie's not the one who named her.] I'm shocked Bran took so long to name his and he came up with Summer, but I can give him a pass on account of the fuckin' coma. Poor kid.
[As flippant as Richie is, he sounds sympathetic to Bran there. He gets it—Eddie had a prosthetic arm, and Richie's only got the one ear, his unruly hair hiding the hole where the other one used to be.]
Your brother Jon's the leader of your world's border patrol? Damn. [Pause.] What, he has to stay there at the Wall? Don't you guys get holiday breaks to hang out, normally? We've got something kinda like the Night's Watch back at home, but it's mostly just a bunch of assholes and they're not sworn to stay there all the time. [Another pause.] But damn, this Ghost sounds fucking cool.
[He nods.]
Don't go near the Lannisters, or Petyr Baelish. Okay. [He drums his fingers against the table, out of an absent-minded habit.] Look, that's...that's good, but in my experience, whatever brings people in when it comes to worlds like these—it doesn't like getting messed with. The first world I went to, the thing that brought people in was called a Porter, and it could really fuck you up with if you tried to fuck with it, even just for answers.
I'm just saying, if the Pthumerians or the sea or whatever decides to bring any of them here, I don't know if that spell will work the way you wanted it to or if it'll hurt your friend Adaine. If it works, great. If it fails—d'you have a plan? 'Cause people don't stay dead, here.
no subject
The spell is only to kill him without spilling any blood. It's a sort of trap. If he were to come back, I can't imagine he would last very long here with the corruption. None of them would. And--he's very good at being useful, but he doesn't know how to make friends. If I told everyone he kidnapped me, which he did, though I had nowhere else to go but with him, I think people would believe me. I think people would want to believe me. I have friends here, and sworn swords, and Lady. And if anyone could ever manage to cross the Pthumerians, it would be him. They hold the power here, and he would try and play them against each other so he could seize it while they weren't looking. I don't think he would be able to help himself.
[she sips her lemonsweet.]
This is very good.
no subject
And even if he does come back, he'd just get killed all over again. If not by the spell, then by the rest of us. [People like Sansa. Richie himself likes Sansa, thinks she's positively cool, and this has raised his respect for her a notch.] Or by a pissy Pthumerian. They hate being played too. I'd hate to get on your bad side, Sansa, it sounds like a fucking scary place to be.
[He would be very entertained to watch other people on Sansa's bad side get wrecked, though.]
You said you're from Winterfell. It sounds a lot nicer than Derry—that's where I'm from, and it's. [A pause.] Well, if you're not a very specific kind of person, you're just fucked. Tell me more about Winterfell?
[Then he grins, and nods.]
Right? The ol' Tozier family trick to sweetening lemonade: a spoonful of syrup.
no subject
Your Derry sounds like much of the Seven Kingdoms. Winterfell has always been special. Not very many people live there, but my father always said that in winter all the nearby farmers would move into the Wintertown and it would be almost like a little city. I was only a baby in the last winter, though, and now...
[she doesn't know if any of them are even still alive.]
It was summer when I left, and very beautiful. It never gets very warm, except in the glass gardens, and it had little snow showers even in the summer, called summer snows. There's always water from the hot springs pumping through the walls, though, to warm it. There were three little hot pools we could swim in, in the godswood, and a big cold one in front of the heart tree. The weirwood I have in my house is a heart tree like we had, with a face carved by the children of the forest thousands of years ago. Most castles in the Seven Kingdoms have a godswood, but not all of them are old enough to have a heart tree. They're said to be sacred to the old gods. The one in Winterfell was ancient and huge, and our godswood was a proper little forest you could run around in. The ground doesn't really freeze, in the godswood. The hot spring runs too close to the surface. You could always see the grass, even when it snowed.
My family lived in the Great Keep at the center of the Castle, but there were halls for guests, and the guards, and everyone that worked there. We had our own forge and library, and a huge courtyard. My father built my mother a sept when they married, so she could keep the faith of the Seven as her family had done. And underneath everything are the crypts, where the ancient Kings of Winter are buried, with all the other Starks of Winterfell.
[she pauses, grinning, expecting him to ask some questions that would allow her to launch into some of the grim northern stories she suspects he'd enjoy. but first she learns forward.]
If you don't want to talk about your life before, I understand. But if you ever do, even a little, I would be very glad to hear about it.