#same with theonsa

[daenerysstormreborn]

I was scrolling through someone’s blog and saw that she’d made a post shitting on people shipping Podrick and Sansa and insinuating that people only do it to spite other shippers and because they don’t ship her with Jon????? Bestie please this is such a niche ship why are you going out of your way to attack it? And sure I do not ship her with Jon but many of the people who reblogged my Podsa post DO like bffr does anyone actually ship something out of spite?

[trashy-greyjoy]

sometimes, it's not so much about the romance as it is about the devotion. the adoration.

[weirwooddreams]

May the flowers remind us Why the rain was (so) necessary

Xan Oku

[atopvisenyashill]

listen i know i’m always on the jonsa train re: “sansa’s Hero From The Stories coming to help her save her home” but i am genuine about the briensa theonsa and podrick/sansa stuff okay i understand that may be like crack theory territory but i think sansa’s longing for someone who will ~love her for who she is~ + wanting a True Knight (tm) by her side + the introduction of the concept of claiming your children were fathered by an animal points to a really specific type of person coming to rescue her BUT actively placing power in sansa’s hands so she does not feel helpless in their relationship. and brienne AND pod AND theon (and jon obvi) have those moments where they save someone at great risk to themselves not for any gain but simply because it’s the right thing, the only thing to do + all three of them are confronting the idea that “life is not a song” and grappling with the world and their own lives being so much more gray than they ever wanted or expected it to be, and i think that puts them on a collision course with sansa’s story and i don’t think they’re going to be with her temporarily, i think it’s likely they’re sticking with her for the long term as they figure out together what being a True Knight (tm) or a Good Person (tm) or a strong person even looks like thank you for coming to my ted talk!!!

[winterreigned]

"I can tell when somebody still wants me." modern theonsa! @prodigum

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐄, her eyes roll out of irritation. though frustration lies within herself , for he is entirely right in his accusations. sansa lingers in her dormitory door way , body leaning against the doorframe. slender arms cross over her center to signal her disinterest in the man before her , though clearly her acting skills could still use some work. in truth , theon greyjoy hasn't left her mind , he's plagued dreams and thoughts for three days now. sansa can still feel him , can hear words murmured for her ears only. these memories have been locked away , a private film for herself to enjoy in the late hours of night...

despite it being a night of indulgences and ecstasy , redhead has vowed to never allow it to happen again. theon had been abundantly clear , there would be others in her bed. it wasn't the sacred sanctuary to him that she had donned it to be for her. she was so high on pleasure she didn't truly take his words for what they were , and sansa was no fool. she would never yield to him again , it is self preservation. she truly fears the risk of falling , the risk of growing reliant on him. walls would be erected , she was good at that , after all. besides , she didn't think it would be too much an issue. he seemed eager to make this a one and done.

his text surprises her , asking what she was doing. it could only mean one thing to sansa , they didn't have that type of friendship before. he was always just sort of around , she cannot quite remember a time where there was no theon greyjoy. yet , she's now desperate for a time where she can forget him : just enough to ease this transition. when sansa replies to his text , she offers that margaery went back to highgarden for the weekend. what she hadn't expected was how quickly he had shown up at her dorm ( truthfully , she wasn't even sure he even knew where her dorm room was ). but , here they were now , all the same. sansa had invited him over to gloat , theon very clearly had other ideas.

seeing him in daylight is blinding , regret and yearning , annoyance and lust , they're all a discombobulated coat she wears so thickly. sansa is eager to rip it off , falling victim under the weight of it. ❝ ──── oh, can you? ❞ she leaves him in the doorway , retreating back inside. she is intentional in avoiding the bed , refusing to give him such opportunities and liberties once more. instead, sansa settles on sitting atop the tabletop of her desk , an obvious distance put between them. she isn't sure who she trusts less , theon or herself. still , walls and guard are up. sansa refuses to be another scorned lover of his , she must maintain dignity in this situation while she still has it.

❝ tell me , theon , what is it that tells you i want you? in all honesty , the only thing i want from you is to shut up. ❞ blue eyes watch him cautiously , like a predator stalking its prey. ❝ i get it , i left you wanting more , but as you said , i have pretty boys to go screw. ❞ her words are pointed , intended to be a strike to his exterior. I HADN'T FORGOTTEN , she says without having to truly say it. sansa pauses , afraid this exposes a layer of hurt she will not allow him to see. a quick save is offered up instead , ❝ you must be really bored with robb away that you're coming to hang out with me. ❞

[weirwoodsea]

Thank you so much to everyone who either prepared or feasted on the DELICIOUS soup this year! You may absolutely share leftover soups! Just remember to tag me so I can add it to the list and reblog you here! See you next year, same time, same place! Also I'm here all year so if you ever want to send any Theonsa gifset requests, feel free! Links to all the creations are under the cut:

ART

You'll be the Prince and I'll be the Princess by @sansas-amythest-hairnet

FIC

Like Water by @grey-joys

GIFSETS

a candle in a broken tower by @weirwoodsea Brave, Gentle, Strong by @weirwoodsea Regret by @weirwoodsea Take off Your Armor by @weirwoodsea Theonsa as The Fallen Angel by @weirwoodsea

GRAPHICS

The Intimacy of Being Understood by @lavenderfroggy

[oatflatwhite]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @redbelles @clusterbuck and @buckactuallys <3

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

119 lmao

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

523,497

3. what fandoms do you write for?

um like so many lol. lately it's been masters of the air but my other two big/consistent ones are band of brothers and 9-1-1

4. top five fics by kudos

no morning fears, no mountains to climb (911)

the handyman can ('cause he fixes it with love) (911)

'cause i like the sense of falling (she-ra)

how to peel oranges (911)

75 best knitting puns that will have you hooked (911)

5. do you respond to comments?

yes i try to!! the only ones i don't really respond to are where the comment is just like. an emoji lol.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

well my ongoing series what took you so long? is all pretty fucking angsty right now lol

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

soooo many. love a happy ending. my cheesiest stuff is probably the fic i put together from a bunch of buddie kiss prompts a couple years ago, to keep still holy (your kiss upon my mouth)

8. do you get hate on fics?

no, but then again my fics are locked to registered users only, so

9. do you write smut?

occasionally! don't know how good i am at it but i try

10. craziest crossover:

nothing much really on my ao3 lmao. have some old stuff back in the ff.net days lol. actually i just looked the only crossover i really have published is a baberoe high school au (The Art of Perseverance) with band of brothers and the pacific characters. which isn't that crazy lol.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

um, kinda. there was a shadowhunters one that was really similar to one i had published but i worked it out with the author lol

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

yeah a couple! it's a very humbling feeling

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

no. in high school i wrote a hunger games oc fic with my friend's oc and we planned out all the characters/deaths together but i wrote it solo after that lol. she clocked in at almost 40k woof

14. all time favorite ship?

i can't read suddenly.gif < stealing that from meg lmao!!!!! it's probably winnix though. baberoe and clegan my beloveds too. and god. theonsa. *drowns myself*

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

To the Harbormaster... girl i'm so sorry

16. what are your writing strengths?

description and characterisation 100%. i think my dialogue is pretty good too

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

lmao same meg, plot. i'm trying to write an original work for uni and it's goddamn struggle street let me tell

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

listen yeah i've done it. i would do it differently now than i did when i was 17 lol. i think yeah prev if you're a native speaker or know someone who is who can go over it for you... then sure. but also, you can just work around it by saying "he said in french" or whatever. nora sakavic does it all the time

19. first fandom you wrote in?

DELTORA QUEST! lief/jasmine babes <3

20. favorite fic you've written?

hm. i like a lot of the hbo war stuff i've written but i think this has to go to my heartstopper uni nick fic go ask for joy division. it took so much out of me. there is so much of me in that fic. fuck. also same kind of goes for my steddie/ronance future fic my future's in hand. i feel like i write best when it flays me open inside <3

i'm not sure who hasn't been tagged! but ping @ww2yaoi @raylangivins @anachilles @rosiethals and @newcathedrals if you guys want <3

[electricbluebutterflies]

"ever since i was a little girl i found this sweet."

Theonsa, post-canon-divergent, PG-ish, also on ao3.

Sansa feels light like she so rarely does.

She had vowed to restore the heart of the North not just everything that was physically damaged, the warm memories she keeps safe in the depths of her mind, and while it will always be different she can still-

There is life again in this hall, and let her be remembered for what she cultivates, and let her slowly begin anew.   

She stands closer to the edges than she would normally like, observing what she has done, no occasion beyond the obligation of her power. She is more like her mother than she realizes sometimes, more in love with all that could be and-

Sansa turns her head and sees her husband in similar position, less happily so. He does this for her, as he does most things; given a fair choice he would have slipped away by now, but the worry he feels for her and the ghosts of this place that was never such a home for him keep him close, and-

This is the kind of music that would get babies made later, her mother would’ve said. Sansa feels a flicker of a loss she has not allowed herself to feel, the want of life beyond life and the uncertainty of it, but the energy is still there and her mind wanders, and-

She clears the slight distance between herself and her beloved, half an idea formed in her mind, braced for polite rejection, and-

“Dance with me?”

She turns her head for a moment, gives space for an answer and assesses the situation around them. No one else is moving on the floor, but if she does then others will follow, if she does-

She’d wanted this once, with him. When they were children he’d always been so hard to get tangled in her games, but this had always been easier, something about their respective ranks and she’d still felt the misery radiating off him then but little resistance to obliging her for a few minutes and-

They are married now, she reminds herself, by her idea and her desire. There is nothing wrong with feeling the want of it for a few present moments.

“You’d have me?”

His voice is always so shaky when she asks for anything, and she will take that in time, she will take that fear and make a nest for it and-

“It would look proper,” she justifies. “You could slip away if someone else-“

“That’s not what you want.”

“You could say no and I wouldn’t be-“

His fingers tangle with hers, and she has gotten so used to the feeling of fine leather gloves under her skin – she has asked for some compromises and been delighted by them – and she knows it will not be-

“Anything to see you happy.”

They are not the same, not anymore, not as she’d once wondered if they could be. He lets her lead, and it takes her a few moments to decide what pace to set, what movements will feel right with the music, and the playful re-placement of hands and still the comfortable awkwardness of them and-

She is young still, and in love, and as safe as she could ever be. Forgive her the fear of it all.

She will not twirl as she once did, her body not so suited for it anymore, but they still move as one and she feels it take the tension from him just a little bit. Later she will feel a different calm when she touches his skin, later-

“Is this what you wanted?”

She presses a feather-kiss to the side of his face. “Completely. And you?”

“More than.”

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

You asked about personal experience and background in the poll. I don't know if many responders filled it out, but if so, were there correlations to certain preferences?

I am very sorry for how long this took! You sent this almost a week ago and I've barely had time to log into Tumblr and make the post, but yes, there were! And some of it was clearer than I expected.

I couldn't find strong tendencies in each group, but under the cut are some things I found remarkable.

Also overall warning for this being a mix of opinions, some you might strongly disagree with. If I could keep down the bitterness for more than a month, so can you. Read, but please be mindful of how the people quoted here can't defend their positions. Don't take advantage of that. Bitch about it with your mutuals if you really need to. I encourage that! I highly encourage bitching to your mutuals instead of writing aggressive vague posts about things that can't be debated fairly by the author of the text. If you want to criticise my wording, that's fair, I tried to limit myself but I might have been more lenient than I should.

(mixed-)Indigenous people of (former) colonies (8/105≈7,6%)

This and the demographic below (which intersected four times) were the clearest when it came to interpretative tendencies and preferences. As a mixed-indigenous person of a former colony and a third culture kid, it wasn't very surprising but it felt very validating. I won't deny that often I'd be reading through their forms thinking "I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH THIS PERSON". *sighs* the woes of not being in an ostrich farm filled with red diaper TCKs and indigenous people of the south hemisphere...

Theonsa & Throbb shippers were in the minority (only one of each) and were picked equally as the ship others liked engaging with the least (three votes each). House Stark tended to rank lower, with 5 voters giving it a 2/10 rating, 1 voter giving it a 5/10 the Theonsa & Throbb shipper giving it a higher ratings (8/10 & 10/10). The concept of Robb Stark being a gift was also somewhat debated with 5/8 being very rejecting of that idea.

The possible endgame of him somewhere in the North was also strongly disapproved, only 2/8 marking those as options they'd be content with.

In regards to whether Theon would have fitted in the Iron Islands, the answers were unanimously positive.

Yes! I think people would have gotten used to him being gay and fabulous, they seem like they can get used to most things, as long as they're an exception and not the rule. Would theon have been happy and fulfilled? Unclear, likely not. Would Balon have been fully satisfied in his son? Unlikely, but I don't think he'd go all Randyll Tarly on his ass. I think he would just be like "woe is me to have an effeminate son and a butch daughter. Oh well."

Barbrey Dustin was the leading MILF among this and the demography below. (WOOHOO)

All these factors were somewhat intertwined in my opinion. Again, linking this in case someone wants to hear about the Theon & children of colonialism experience through slam poetry.

While observing the results from this demographic I also recognised how the the majority of those who preference Dany over Sansa came from this and the TCKs, but among those who identified as "(mixed-)Indigenous people of (former) colonies" the feelings for Sansa were less negative.

Third Culture Kids (8/105≈7,6%)

Very much what I explained above with some small differences.

The "Robb Stark is a gift" concept was almost fully rejected. Only 1 person defended that idea. The House Stark average rating was the same as above and we only had one throbb preferring person among us, with no trace of Theonsa people, but three Theonsa-dislikers and four Throbb-dislikers. The reasoning was not quite that of an anti, but it was HIGHLY critical and often attributed the ships popularity to show made dynamics and scenes.

I'm really not big on Throbb, I know a really large demographic are into it, and it's all very aah 'Robb is a gift' and whatnot but I don't like it! Or, I don't like it how people make it (???). It's not that I particularly dislike Robb, though he is the most nothing out of the stark children to me, but how people always name Robb as a good boy who's done nothing wrong grates on me especially in relation to Theon (does the hunting scene from that Bran chapter in AGOT mean nothing to you?). He's also Mr Feudalism junior. Can we talk about that. Robb does nothing wrong goes hand-in-hand with the freeloader fuckboy Theon which I think is reductive of both. I really just prefer him as a sort of dead Lyanna 'absence defines the narrative where his existence never could' type where his memory is like a shrine everyone flagellates at; snowflakes-melting-in-his-hair couldn't-cut-the-head-off-Karstark-in-one-go fifteen-year-old-boy-we-view-through-his-mother's-perspective. There may have been something, but I think that's just typical best friend homoeroticism that wouldn't have come to fruition proper and would just have existed as a weird tension [...]. I think the show contributed a lot towards its existence and to be real Throbb shippers would be nothing without "I should have been there. Where was I? I should have died with him."

The idea of him being somewhere in the North as his possible endgame, regardless if as a ruler/advisor/peasant passing was fully rejected, no exceptions.

In regards to whether Theon would have fitted in the Iron Islands, one person didn't answer and all the other seven were unanimously positive.

Definitely! I know a lot of people subscribe to the notion that Theon was a soyboy infant and that his father smelled his weakness or some such, but we really have to think about how the environments we're raised in affect us as people.

The Dany standom was more prominent (only one person being somewhat accepting of the Mad Queen theory, but still being very hopeful for a Queen of the 7K/happy somewhere else Dany), while 7/8 of the voters were somewhat accepting of Sansa going down a darker and less happy path. None of them chose anything more pessimistic than that though.

Dany and Theon's struggles with rootlessness and the way they have been made to adapt to different cultures is something I find very touching and many of my irls who are also indigenous people and/or TCKs also shared this feeling among the more (maybe almost anti-)Stark critical views.

It's really hilarious how even his fans won't let him be free of the Starks. Forever chained to fan-made dynamics. Really Robb and him were inseparable? Who told you that? Bran who randomly hates him and also feels jealous? Oh yeah he was seducing Cat, of course...and who was your source? Rodrik Cassel?

was said by one of my irl friends who answered the survey and whose answers were quite similar to those described here but more radical and less apologetic. I hate admitting I've often thought similarly.

Victims of sexual abuse (25/105≈23,8%)

Warning: Rape

Sometimes I've seen people who feel appalled by Thramsay as a ship try to justify to themselves why someone would ship or at least be so invested in a dynamic like that and often they come to the conclusion that the shippers must be coping with their own trauma and sexual abuse, and that might be a possibility but it wasn't one that was reflected on the survey. Only 4/25's preferred ship was Thramsay and the rest were mixed pretty proportionately when it came to ships.

The opposite, on the other hand, was very visible and rather surprising. 18/25 chose Thramsay as the ship they liked engaging with the least and about half of them had a reasoning resembling that of an anti rather than a simple "it's not for me" or actual criticism to the fanon portrayal.

I feel people who like TheonxRamsay are probably mental ill and working through something.

They aren’t real Theon stans they’re just pervs

What really stood out for me though was a strongly polarised view in regards to Kyra, along with some relatively strong criticism of GRRM handling the character and narrative in ADWD.

He sent for Kyra, kicked shut the door, climbed on top of her, and fucked the wench with a fury he'd never known was in him. By the time he finished, she was sobbing, her neck and breasts covered with bruises and bite marks. Theon shoved her from the bed and threw her a blanket. "Get out." - Theon V, ACOK

As I read the answers about Kyra I categorised them between three options;

Apparent indifference: Didn't answer or left a small comment with little to say (8/25)

Comfortable with Theon as a rapist: Self explanatory. Didn't mind or felt guilty about Theon being a sexual abuser. Always saw Theon and Kyra's later encounter as sexual abuse, and was often dubious about the true initial consent because of Theon & Kyra's inherent power difference due to their social positions. (5/25)

Uncomfortable with Theon as a rapist: Also self explanatory. Was critical of GRRM's choice of making Theon rape Kyra and considered it "overkill" or "ooc", tried to justify or twist the narrative into convincing themselves Theon didn't (or at least didn't mean to) rape her, and/or admitted they wilfully ignore that part and don’t read it as canon. (12/25, out of which I am only allowed to quote five in regards to this question)

Ex. Comfortable with Theon as a rapist:

I'm not sure how I feel about the rape though. I lean more towards appreciating that GRRM included that though, because that feels more accurate to how violence is actually perpetrated in life. Having raped before doesn't stop you from falling victim to it, and having been raped doesn't absolve you from the guilt/crimes of what you've done in the past. It's not a moral statement on your character to have been hurt before. [...] I think GRRM very aptly conveys that rape is only ever a false way to seize power over another person, it doesn't prove any inherent superiority in you that you are able to enact this type of violence against another person, especially because this violence is indiscriminate, and happens even to the rapist.

Ex. Uncomfortable with Theon as a rapist:

It's just GRRM using rape as a trope again and it's way too much imo. Idk I don't see why Theon out of all characters in this story is made to rape his girlfriend when they never had a violent relationship before that. It's almost character assassination and lousy writing so I don't read it as canon. I also hate how some readers try to tell others the relationship was always dubious. She was glad to go to his bed when he took over Winterfell so it irks me the wrong way when they try to show her as his victim before the incident went down. It's unnecessary and Theon is always blamed for his actions more than any other character in this series

The majority of all the answers submitted in the poll would have fitted into the "apparent indifference" category. At the end of the day Kyra has little page time, doesn't have a strong characterisation, the only time I saw someone trying to hype her up as a character and obsessing over her it was just so they could juxtapose her as a good example of victimhood compared to Jeyne Poole, whom they hated, and she also happens to be the canon love interest of one half of ASOIAF's most popular M/M ship. She never stood a chance. In truth both of them share a lot in common in how they are narrative props for Theon's arc and have been mistreated and replaced by D&D and the major fandom. It didn't surprised me to see people not reacting to her. The 12 responses I got here did surprise me tremendously.

The following is a quote I categorised as "Uncomfortable with Theon as a rapist" when going over this due to the last sentence, but I also find my own categorising reductive when it came to it. I can't say I feel the same since I very deeply long for a fanfic in which Theon acts as the secondary/less threatening villain to Kyra's failed final girl and is rightfully seen as someone to be frightened of and I sometimes enjoy reading metas in which Theon is called out as a rapist, but I did found this response very honest and felt somehow touched by it. It didn't try to justify itself.

I would hope that when Theon sent for her after his conquest of winterfell it was at first welcome and joyful for her, but I think it was complicated. Being Theon's concubine was a bad and dangerous position for her from the start and I don't think Theon cared. I'm personally uncomfortable with Theon/Kyra as 'normal' pairing that went vaguely wrong, as well as with AUs where everything is fine somehow. I also struggle when they heroically escape or Theon acts as hero towards her in any way. I'm also uncomfortable with AGOT/ACOK prequels where it's a cute teen romance. However I also don't want to read people's fics that are about how much Kyra was hurt by Theon in ways that cannot be redressed nor anyone's Theon rapist metas or fics, even though I agree. In other words I cannot suffer any artistic attempts to make Theon 'look good' or but I also don't like reading about it generally. I guess I wished GRRM didn't do that to me...

I wonder if the overall situation regarding this demographic, this hesitance at accepting one of their favourite character as a rapist and rooting for one, comes from how real the abuse feels in comparison to other much more extreme characters in the story. A man kidnapping you, hunting you with dogs, raping and then flaying you sounds like something out of a gothic novel or a horror movie. A man taking his frustration out by having violent sex with his kind-of-girlfriend, even if she is crying and visibly hurt, and then throwing her from the bed is something a friend could tell you about her abusive ex during a moment of emotional intimacy. The abuse is less exaggerated, so it feels more real and is thus maybe more upsetting, something you want to ignore. However, this is all just my speculation and it might be as wrong as the myth about Thramsay shippers being overwhelmingly victims of sexual abuse.

Victims of domestic violence (20/105≈19%)

There weren't many strong tendencies between them that I could recognise, but maybe some minor things to remark on. Most and least liked ships were spread proportionately, there wasn't any strong criticism against GRRM and the overall Sansa over Dany preference was present here too, but not in a specially drastic manner.

A few things I found remarkable

The highest House Stark scores came from here (with an average of ~8/10 in this subset of answers)

There was a huge love for Theon III, ACOK and Theon IV ACOK. Both of these chapters were on the lower ends of popularity compared to the rest of the survey and I found it really curious to see so many in this subset choose them as part of their favourites (Theon III: 13 votes, Theon IV: 12 votes)

I wonder if at least when it came to Theon III, this might have had something to do with Dagmer Cleftjaw as (up to this point in the story) the only (not-biologically) familiar figure in his life that has treated him with warmth and affection. He warms my heart a lot, but maybe he plays a significantly more emotional role to people who can relate to the domestic abuse and overall lack of positive familial bonds.

11/20 of the voters strongly argued for Theon not having been able to adapt to the Islands had he stayed there or returned sooner. Many of them quoted Asha's description of him as a sweet and timid child and also Theon's own thoughts about Rodrik and Maron, but even more of those based this on Balon and overall Ironborn culture being perceived by them as more brutal, toxically masculine and restrictive.

I think it was his mother who said he had a too kind heart, except for Yara(Asha) the islanders are not known for their loyalty, and living as Balon Greyjoy’s heir wouldn’t have been it for Theon, he deserved his Stark side of that makes sense

no, he already didn't fit into the masculine, blue collar, "you're not a man until you've ripped someone's heart out" culture when he was a young boy, as evidenced by how he was picked on frequently by his brothers and preferred to play with his sisters. he either would've had to repress it and had it eat him alive or he'd just fuck off on a ship until his dad died

Again, I am very sorry for taking so long to answer. I finished writing this a few days ago and then I had to go over it many times. Thank you for your patience and have a nice time. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

[ship-ambrosia]

The Shattered Remains of Theon Greyjoy

Theonsa Soupversary 2023

Happy Theonsa Soupversary 2023! This is dedicated to the wonderful fic writers and fans of Theon/Sansa for welcoming me into the fandom with open arms :) Here’s the link to the fic on AO3 as well!

Sansa made a noise that sounded like it could almost be a laugh. “That’s probably because of the soup.”

  It was very good soup.

  It really had no right to be, not when it was just a jumble of whatever ingredients they had in the stocks of Winterfell, the only thing feeding the meager army shivering in the cold as they waited for doom to sweep down on them. But then it also had every right to be, to give the people stationed in Winterfell any modicum of hope before the dead were at the gates; keep the flame of life alive and burning in every single one of them like pockets of warmth in the dark, even if it was just the thought of wanting to live so that they may have a taste of the soup again.

  Theon felt that alone might have been enough for him.

  Or so he told himself, even as his eyes wandered to watch as Sansa brought her spoon to her lips. He had spent the last few minutes in blissful silence with her, away from the suffocating presence of the crowds. Her very presence was enough to ease his weary soul, and he knew that she sought the silence of him, who expected nothing from her but her companionship. With Sansa, he curiously found that the world fell away and he only ever saw her; only his salvation, one he hardly deserved but wanted so desperately anyway. She was the reason he was here. He wanted to protect the living realm, sure, but he wanted to protect Sansa more.

  As if she sensed him staring, Sansa raised her face to meet his eyes across the top of her bowl. The torches lighting the courtyard cast a golden glow across her face, igniting her hair into a wreath of flames. There was a hollow, dull ache in his bones that he distantly knew was from the cold, and yet his body was burning. Time froze around him under her attention, enough that he could forget for a moment what they were doing, what was coming; but that was all just a child’s fancy, the wishes of a child who thought himself a man, one who had died long, long ago. The look on Sansa’s face, he thought, was as close to a smile as she could manage, and he knew the one he gave her back was the same.

  It was dark, and it was snowing lightly; both of which were probably due to the monster that was leading the army of the dead their way, but Theon found the scene comforting. He watched the drifting snowflakes, like cold soft kisses, swirling around her, landing in her red hair, catching on her eyelashes. How lovely it would be, to sit here forever and count each one. Unfortunately, the dead were on their way to steal this moment from him.

  “How are you feeling?” Sansa asked him, softly.

  Theon considered her question for a moment as he ate more of the pottage. It had been a long time since he had wanted to taste something so warm and good. “There’s no fear,” he answered, then added with a lighter tone. “And not even a lick of cold.”

  She made a noise that sounded like it could almost be a laugh. “That’s probably because of the soup.”

  Theon hummed his agreement as he brought the spoon to his lips again. It could be the fire that he saw in her hair, or the smile playing at the edge of her lips. The same lips that had given his name back to him, the same hands that had held his face and given him back his soul. His thoughts from that terrible night came rushing back to him suddenly, a cold hand twisting around his mangled heart.

   Not her. Anyone but her.

  He had wondered, for the longest time, what it must have been like for her after her anger had died away. Once she had learned he hadn’t killed Bran and Rickon, she stopped looking at him with hatred. She couldn’t have ever trusted him fully - not after he’d betrayed her first plan to Ramsay - even after he tossed Myranda off the battlements, pulled her along the outer wall, offered his hand to her, and jumped. Not at the very least until they had landed in the snow drift, and he’d wasted no time in pulling her to her feet and running as fast as he could limp away from Ramsay Bolton.

  ‘Light a candle in the broken tower,’ she had begged of him, when she had already done it herself.

  For years he’d been with that monster of a man. It took a full year before he broke, before Ramsay created Reek from the shattered remains of Theon Greyjoy. He had tried to save himself in the beginning, the very, very beginning, but in truth he had given up long before Ramsay ever let him down from the cross. The weight of his betrayal, the weight of what he’d done to the farm boys, had been too much for him. He lost the strength to save himself. But the moment she had arrived, Theon found the strength to make himself save her. Even if it killed him. He was the broken tower.

  He thought it wouldn’t mean a thing if he survived the battle for the dawn, but she didn’t, that a Winterfell without Sansa was just a castle made of snow. She breathed life into its halls. She carried the same memories he did, and corrupted as his were, she made them whole again. He realized it as soon as Maester Wolkan brought them both to greet him and his men upon his arrival. Daenerys may have been the queen he swore allegiance to, but that was for the Ironborn; he had barely spared her a glance the moment she entered the room as well. Sansa was the one he wanted to fight for.

  Theon could have said more. He could have said a million things to her at that moment, sitting and eating their soup together. Things that would hurt; things that would make her smile, or cry, maybe even things she knew already. They both knew what he had volunteered for.

  The bells of Winterfell rang into the night, drowning out the words he hadn’t realized had been rising in his throat.

  Sansa gathered up her skirts immediately, her face steeling over as she took on her role as lady of Winterfell once again. Panic was setting in amongst the courtyard around them, and he knew just as well as she did that she had to be the one to organize the elderly and the children into the crypts. She met his eyes suddenly, a blue fire lit by the torches and by a ferocity he had grown accustomed to.

  “Come back alive,” she told him, and Theon knew he couldn’t make that promise. He would be in the Godswood, protecting Bran. He would be where the Night King would be.

  But he couldn’t help himself. “I will, Lady Sansa.”

   If only to find out why you would want me to.

  He could swear he saw the way he felt mirrored in her eyes as they separated. A warmth spread across his chest, the feeling light and airy when her gaze lingered on him. It filled him with a strength unlike any he had ever felt before; crashing and surging through him, the strength of the sea finding purchase in an Ironborn. All for Winterfell. For Sansa Stark.

  Theon thought he might love her. He thought that he ought to tell her so when the sun rose again.

  But it was probably just the soup.

[lya-dustin]

Me looking at all my wips: okay how about a one shot where Alicent gets her wish in the worst way and ends up getting Rhaenyra Harwin and the Strong Boys killed because she got Viserys to acknowledge they were bastards?

Anyways i love the tragedy that is Alicent and the be careful of what you wish for trope.

The Price

Gif by @sansaery-theonsa

Vw: horror, murder, death, ghosts

In a strange turn of events, Rhaenyra is punished for her adultery.

Before the Iron Throne are the severed heads of Ser Harwin Strong, Princess Rhaenyra and the three children.

Maegor had decreed no bastard shall hold the throne, and no royal woman may cuckold her husband and live.

The children were not to be spared.

Not even moon old Joffrey who Rhaenyra tried to smuggle out of the keep in a laundry basket.

This law is what forces Viserys’ hand and makes Aegon his heir to continue the natural order of things.

They are all made to swear their oaths to him, swearing to never rise against the king’s new heir.

When Viserys’ health takes a turn for the worse, Alicent becomes the last to know of his will.

Should he die before Aegon reache majority, Corlys Velaryon, Princess Rhaenys, Ser Laenor, Prince Daemon, Lady Jeyne Arryn, Lord Borros Baratheon, and Lord Stark will all serve as his regents along with the Lord Hand.

Seven Regents in honor of the Seven Who Are One.

Alicent is to be sent away to the Motherhouse in Oldtown and none of her children would be allowed to see her the moment he dies.

You got what you wanted, now you pay the price.

When Larys Strong kills his father for their cause, it is not her father who becomes Hand of the King.

The Seasnake wastes no time in recalling Prince Daemon and his wretched family.

Lady Laena Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys successfully turn the court against her.

Even her own children see her as a monster not knowing she did it for them.

It was Rhaenyra and her bastards or her children, a mother knows there is only one choice she could make.

This she tells herself as she sees the utter loathing in the eyes of her own children who had been bursting with life just a few moons ago.

I had to, the queen tells to the headless victims who haunt her every waking moment.

“Did we do the right thing, Ser Criston?” the queen asks as they watch her victory against Rhaenyra taste like ash in her mouth.

“I cannot answer you, your grace.” The knight answered, the friendship they had washed away by the blood in their hands.

The Kingsguard refused to take their heads, Ser Harrold pleaded with the king for the lives of the children at the least.

Ser Criston had turned away as the children cried for him to save them.

‘You didn’t tell me he would kill the children too!’ he had shouted at her with his eyes as they watched the execution with faces of stone.

The only one at court willing to act as an executioner had been a household guard sworn to her uncle.

The guard had been beaten to death by the smallfolk and goldcloaks alike that same night.

Once the people had loved her, Queen Alicent the Pious, they had called her.

Queen Alicent who was the Maiden reborn with a heart full of compassion like the Mother.

Now they call her Alicent the Cruel.

The wicked stepmother who made the good king kill his own daughter and grandchildren and a man who may have been innocent.

Was not Princess Rhaenys a Baratheon with a mother with hair as brown as the boys had had? Was not Ser Laenor brown of eye like his father and sons?

Didn’t their eggs hatch like the Targaryens they were?

And if they were guilty, why would the queen and her party refuse to spare the children and their mother?

They could have been sent away like Lucamore Strong’s bastards. Lyonel Strong could have taken them to Harrenhal with him and let them live.

This Aegon shouts at her when he begins to drink heavily knowing she did this to put him on the throne.

Aemond asks her if it was all his fault, that because he told her about the Pink Dread that his sister and his nephews were slaughtered before their eyes.

Helaena does not speak to her, speaks to her cousins and everyone else who is not Alicent.

They hate her.

Her children loathe her for what she did.

Why couldn’t they understand that she did this to protect them?

Why couldn’t they understand that for them to live they had to die?

Her father is proud, he has never been this proud of her since she can remember.

Who was this monster that sired her?

Why did he make her this way? Why couldn’t he have been a father and not the second son consumed by the green fire of greed?

“Exhausting, wasn't it? Hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness, but now they see you as you are.” Rhaenyra’s ghost whispers softly in the mirror as she clutched her headless children.

“You would have done the same!” the queen lets herself be overcome by her new madness and punched the mirror to make it stop.

[salty-wench]

For the ships graph thing, I hope you don't mind if I send you a bunch :)

HOTD: Rhaenicent, Lucemond, Daemyra, Alicole

ASOIAF: Patheon, Throbb, Theonsa, Lannicest, Patrek/Edmure, Theon/Tris

HP: Regulus/Barty, Regulus/Evan, Severus/Evan, Jegulus, Lucissa

Below the cut because it's long!

This plotting doesn't necessarily translate into how much I like it.

HOTD

Rhaenicent - No notes. Manages to feel like subtext canon in a compelling way.

Lucemond - Sorry, the ladies really stole the show for me. I don't really think about it.

Daemyra - Mildly interesting in being cross-generational and the whole rift thing but I'm not into this kind of age gap, and it's canon, and...

Alicole - they've got that whole courtly love thing going on. I like the idea of the yearning.

ASOIAF

Throbb - loses making sense points because Theon doesn't outright tell us about it but gains on literally everything else.

Patheon - they absolutely have a threesome, sons of rival families, very much fwb vibes though

Theonsa - [insert some commentary on it as a canon possibility in whatever universe]. Sweet with aged-up Sansa. They share interests.

Lannicest - loses points on actually happening outright

Edmure/Patrek - it's nice, they spend time together etc, shared interests, but ultimately it's quite patheon without the romeo and juliet story.

Theon/Tris - same as above only less of them together? (I don't know. The funny thing is I like both more than lannicest)... I might've moved them up if I could be bothered to get back to it and edit.

HP

Bartylus - No actual evidence on them together but lots of scope to put them in the same space and to think about what could be. They could just be so crazy together <3

Regulus/Evan - loses points in the same way as bartylus but less opportunity to link them. I like it, but what is Barty doing? (more compelling the angstier it gets if no Barty in there - is he dead or souless or what? but Regulus/Evan while Barty is just there? mj.exe stopped working)

Severus/Evan - makes sense, exist in the same space, but we know Severus' feelings for Lily and *shrug*

Jegulus - .... lots of you will know I enjoy best friend's sibling ships (especially if there's some level of angst or they were a little more under the surface than besties). I like the dynamic. I read it when the premise is good and/or I like the writer's works. Does it make sense... canon universe? very little. Does not stop it being compelling. To work well concessions have to be made, or it's something like hatefucking, OR someone has done some spectacular writing. But, let's face it, translating Regulus into a modern AU and keeping him true to character is tricky business. I enjoy thinking about what would happen if characters were under different circumstances and, well, you can move Regulus around less than others with this method. I like enemies to lovers, I like being convinced about ships, and as said before - I like the dynamic they're often written in. (That one in the very bottom right is Jegulus completely stripped of their characterisation and hurdles in a canon type au). Someone convince me, I dare you.

[bighound-littlebird]

How do you not go insane when people spam San/sa Tags with jn///sa? Idk if you like that ship but i am genuinely tired, i just want to appreciate my girl

I also post sansan content in Sansa’s tag, so it's easy for me to understand posting ships in the main character tags. It's all good.

Daensa, Sansa x Wyllas, Theonsa, Sansaery, Jonrya and Creepyshippers in my experience are all very nice and easy to get along with, even if we don't ship the same things. They respect my squicks, and I do the same. We tag appropriately. So I am happy to share the Sansa tag with other shippers.

I'm pretty ambivalent about J@nsa as a ship. With the unintended chemistry between the actors, it doesn’t surprise me. And some of the Jonsa shippers make beautiful edits.

My biggest peeve is a certain segment of the shippers who deliberately shit stir with everyone else. The whole "which ship is actually incest" arguments and comparisons made between real life sexual violence and other ships is especially gross to me as well. And the infighting among Sansa and Daenerys and Arya fans is just out of control.

Basic fandom etiquette and decency is to not harass real life people over which fictional characters you want to see kiss. No one has more right to these characters or fandoms, and I stand by that. I won't engage with anyone who can't or won't behave themselves, regardless of what they ship. So I block the shit stirrers and just enjoy the rest of the content, and remind myself that fandoms are communities and scroll past things whenever I feel annoyed.

[estrangedandwayward]

Question: how is theon like a goldfish?

Bran: swims

Jon: salty

Sansa: he's the snack

Robb: that smiles back (:

[atopvisenyashill]

do you ship theonsa in the books as well?

yes.

idk if you want my theonsa manifesto here or not aksjdj but i guess i’ll say while the show obviously played into the dynamic (bc sophie & alfie had good chemistry) and also kinda had to play up the dynamic because they replaced jeyne with sansa, the show definitely gave me more to work with, but i’ve shipped those two since i read adwd in high school lol.

idk, i think both of their stories hit on really similar themes, esp in the way those two handle trauma, and the allure of them meeting again, pushing on all those old bruises, and trauma bonding over it is really appealing to me. like, they don’t have to tortured by the same person to have that connection to robb, to identity, to being a child hostage, to struggling with dual identities & feeling worthy of affection, to have experienced trauma they can bond over ya kno, i think the wo5k has been highly traumatizing to both of them on its own without the added show stuff! tbh, i actually wish LESS content centered on show stuff bc i do think there’s something there for their book versions but alas. this fandom will ship sansa with every character but the characters i want her to be with aksksjs

[winterreigned]

macy and i both getting drunk on the same night just to be belligerent theonsa messes on discord and on main. sorry y'all, they have us in a chokehold. @prodigum