#sansa x jeyne w

[alleyskywalker]

NEW ASOIAF Fics

A Son for Riverrun - 1,750 - PG - Asha-centric; Asha/Edmure Riverwife 'verse. Asha gives birth to Edmure's heir. She's got some complicated feelings about it.

Love Again - 1,309 - PG - Sansa/Jeyne W After the war, Jeyne came to Winterfell in a search of peace and a family that can understand her. By the start of summer, she and Sansa realize they've found more than that with each other.

The Sweetest Marriage - 1,861 - PG - Tris/Sansa Sansa spends a peaceful evening at home.

Three Letters - 1,410 - PG - Tris/Theon, Tris/Asha, Tris/Baelor Tris writes three letters, at three different times in his life, to three very different love interests.

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

EDIT UPON LAST READING:

This was written on the 30th of may mostly because I got in trouble with a subset of sansa fans at the time and I felt like I should try to joy in her character again. I am no longer sick, I no longer feel like talking about romance, I no longer feel like talking about Sansa but doing this was fun and I am always curious

For the sake of this post, and only this post, I will refer to the term "ship" or any derivatives of the word as "feeling interested by a dynamic's fanon, semi- or canon romantic connotations".

Can't believe I have to say this but god people can get so unnecessarily mean. Before people start being pedantic about something as harmless as rarepairs, it seems like I really will have to say: I don't believe in any of these options possible canon endgames. Many of these have not even interacted. I deserve to have fun with stuff as trivial as dumb inconsequential fanon ships. 

Under the cut I wrote down my preferences + linked some fanwork simply because I’m in a shipping mood after reading some folkloric myths and I don’t really have any strong opinions on ships, and the few NOTPS I have are more about the way fandom treats the ship than the actual ship on itself, but I am completely ill and not healthy enough to do anything more serious and rarepairs are fun. You don’t have to read it or write one yourself, I just feel like talking and recommending fanfics.

On the other hand, if you do want to recommend me fanwork of any type, or share a prompt or show me a wip or just simply hype your rarepair please do so! Everything goes as long as it's a rarepair (less than 500 fics on ao3).

1. Sansa Stark x Brienne of Tarth

Listen, were it not for Brienne and Jaime being clearly written to be read as semi-canon-going-canon and were this book not written by a straight cis white male US American baby boomer democrat, I would be delusionally screaming this is going to be the one canon ship! This would be my protagonist endgame ship for which I would take the mildest coincidence as foreshadowing and die on that hill.

I am coming for you, Lady Sansa. Be not afraid. I shall not rest until I've found you. - Brienne I, AFFC

(Subversions of lady/princess & knight/prince where both are women and one of them is searching for the other and I'll become her Prince and save her! and-)

I just really love how so many of Brienne's issues are tied to her femininity. She does not fit into the traditional idea of womanhood, she wishes she would, she does not want to, she is rejected by the concept and she rejects the concept. And yet, when she distances herself from every possible reminder of her own femininity and takes up a man's armour and sword, she is reminded of her place as a woman and told to conform to her gender.

And then we have Sansa, who romanticises stories about Ladies and Knights; first out of genuine love and admiration for them, and later as a coping mechanism when cruel reality tells her that those ideals are sadly nowhere near true.

This is her knight. This is her strong, brave knight.

My only problem with Briennsa is how we shippers sometimes tend to put Brienne in a position of servitude to Sansa or the Starks and ignore how she is the heir to an island, has a father whom she loves and wishes to see again, and is still on a quest. Hell, she might be Azor Ahai, with her weirwood dream in which she fights White Walkers + her father's sword Lightbringer, out of all the Azor Ahai tinfoil theories this is the one I think has the most canon support. She is not a Hyle Hunt type of errand knight who is just walking around Westeros for the sake of traveling and finding a job, and once the war is over and she has kept her oath, it would be nice to see her going home and proceeding with her life and independence, maybe taking Podrik with her. I would like her to see her father again and see there being love between them.

My nonsensical fantasies involve Brienne being like "Alright, I found one of the Stark girls, still have to find the other one. I'm taking her to Tarth where she'll be safe and have no creeps around who would bother her." and Sansa just completely falling in love with Brienne on the way there.

Also, I would die for the comedic potential of Brienne of Tarth, mockingly refered to as "Brienne the beauty", having a trail of people fawning over her. This post is one of my favourite posts in the world.

To be honest, while I do enjoy the idea of Sansa going North to reunite with her family, I also have a strong fondness for the concept of her actually staying South. I know this is an unpopular opinion that Sansa fans seem to particularly dislike because of the whole "SaNsA iS nOt A rEaL sTaRk" thing, but there is something about lands of childhoods being unretournable. Stepping out of home means never seeing it again. "I am stronger within the walls of Winterfell" perhaps, but the walls of Winterfell were burned and the one Winterfell native who got to go back to Winterfell didn't get to be strong or safe.

I would like to be wrong though, and I think I will be wrong! But still, it would be nice for her to discover a South that is closer to the dreams of chivalry and court she had and perhaps Tarth could be that place, even if only for a short time.

Well, here is a canon-divergent AFFC fanfic in which Brienne finally makes it to the Vale. It has a lot of fairy tale imagery and an interesting characterisation between the Sansa-Alayne personas.

2. Sansa Stark x Jeyne Westerling

"That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother's head." A kind of madness took over her then, and she heard herself say, "Maybe my brother will give me your head." - Sansa VI, AGOT

You know how Catelyn and Ellaria both at least got to say goodbye to the remains of their loved ones? Jeyne didn't. Neither did Sansa.

My weird fantasy involves Jeyne Westerling (MY Queen in the North) finally getting Robb's head, even if it's just the skull, and showing it to Sansa. A subversion in a way. Joffrey would have done it in malice and sadism, Jeyne would do it it with care, maybe a feeling of responsibility over what remains of her husband's family.

I have a lot of issues with Robb Stark and the way he is perceived in fandom, I keep hating him until I read the source material again and realise "oh wait, fanon≠canon", but I just think his relationships with the women surrounding him are fascinating and they don't get explored a lot. Sansa doesn't know about him cutting her out of the inheritance line and I wonder how she and Jeyne, the other woman who is a Stark but would no longer be accepted as one by a majority of the Northern lords, would feel about him. I wonder how love, resentment, grief and guilt would mix between the two. I don't think Jeyne is pregnant, but if she somehow ends up caring for Robb's heir (be it Jon, Sansa, or an eventual child we refer to as his) I would love that. I like imagining that Jeyne could learn more about Robb, the boy, since she seems to have only gotten to know Robb, the man and King. I like daydreaming of Sansa and Jeyne talking about Catelyn, whom both admire.

I think both of them, based on what we know of Jeyne, share some similitudes in the way they behave conforming to their gender and what is considered a Lady's attitude while still having moments of defiance and I think Sansa could maybe appreciate that. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, she speaks of "madness taking over her" and, in my opinion, this is usually when she steps out of her own safety to be brave or bold (standing up to Joffrey, trusting Dontos, trying to hide her first menstruation) and I think it could be nice to see her realising these are not things she should be ashamed of. It always reminds me of Jeyne tearing up her clothes and fighting her mother. Jeyne Westerling, like most Jeynes, doesn't get treated very well in fandom. I hate how the interpretation of Robb breaking his vows to marry her is always one putting him as a selfless saint who practically sacrificed himself for a girl he didn't even love when the fact this all plays so mysteriously can open so many possibilities.

And it seems to me people forget how metal she became.

Sometimes Sansa's f/f ships tend to get simplified to "girls being girls and doing girly things together" and I understand why people enjoy that and they are valid for doing so, but in my case I usually prefer to have a little more conflict to it and I think this ship can balance the "girls making flowercrowns and braiding each others hair" and "exploration of complex feelings and estrangement" well enough for me to find it interesting.

Here is a fanfic I'd recommend that takes place in Winterfell with a reluctant Queen Sansa and lots of survivor's guilt + an edit done for said fanfic!

3. Sansa Stark x Garlan Tyrell

When Joff had her beaten, the Imp defended her, not Littlefinger. When the mob sought to rape her, the Hound carried her to safety, not Littlefinger. When the Lannisters wed her to Tyrion against her will, Ser Garlan the Gallant gave her comfort, not Littlefinger. - Sansa I, AFFC

(Yes, I know all those allies are kind of perpetuating her misery too, but she seems to have some affection for them. The reasons behind the affection can be discussed and dissected to examine whether that affection should be there or not, but as of now I don't want to talk about that. People can cherrypick to their own wishes.)

Not something I like to visualise as an endgame because Garlan seems to be quite happy with Leonette and I honestly think Margaery and Sansa's break up/middle school betrayal might not be as easily solvable as we wished, but I like thinking about Sansa & Garlan.

I like Sansa but she is fetishising a gay man who just lost the love of his life when she has a broader shouldered, bearded, straight person who looks very similar to said gay man who is called Garlan the Gallant and how can she be so blind? Why is her unrealistic teenage crush so poorly chosen? Garlan is so humble and his name is so fitting. He is more chivalrous and mature than Lawrence and he is so strong and agreeable and he treats her and Tyrion with respect. He takes her out to dance and makes her laugh and if going by how she describes the Tyrells, then he is so very handsome too and- Why are you laughing? - My father, swooning over Garlan the Gallant on the phone

I do like imagining her having a bit of a very one-sided mild crush sometimes, not something serious but one of those light early adolescent crushes you won't ever act on. Sansa finding moments to daydream and cherish in the hell of a life she is living in King's Landing where se feels cared for, even if it is by someone who is not particularly invested in her. Admiring Leonette and wondering how happy she must be, without ever being truly envious or malicious but simply wishing she had something similar. So, less actual romantic interest but more of a one-sided "I wish" in response to unexpected and (hopefully) genuine emotional help.

I usually prefer gap fillers in fanfiction and I am so eagerly waiting for a gap filler of Sansa's time in King's Landing where she gets to interact more with Garlan and Leonette. Where we see her being wistful and melancholic, longing for her dreams of courtship, chivalry and the sort of love that would be a mix between that which she has heard in songs and witnessed between her parents. Having small moments of joy feeling like a girl again for allowing herself those dreams and realising they can be true.

It's a pity there aren't many fanfics or fan art focusing on their canon or fanon dynamic. I like them a lot.

4. Sansa Stark x Myranda Royce

This is the light to C€rsei x Ta€na's darkness. I love them as friends and I would rather keep them as friends, and for some reason I ship Myranda x Mya, but I enjoy the ship A LOT! Out of the female connection's Sansa builds as the story goes on, I think their dynamic is the most endearing one, and I live in fear of GRRM turning Myranda into Sansa's new villain. I talked a bit about them in the later part of that one post, and I don't have a lot more to add, I just genuinely enjoy their dynamic and how natural Sansa's friendship with her is. I think Myranda embodies certain aspects of Margaery and Jeyne, but until now she is more genuine than Margaery was, and Sansa is also more mature in her treatment of her compared to Jeyne. I just like them.

So, if Myranda gets to wake up the sapphicness in Sansa, I would not complain. She spends so much time flirting with her! I love her for that. "You do turn such a pretty shade of pink.”, "So you're brave as well as beautiful, "I can see how virtuous you are just by looking at those rosy cheeks and big blue eyes of yours."

Sometimes I see this small fraction of fandom being mistrusting of Myranda and I honestly think we are just falling into Littlefinger's trap when we do that. If Petyr tells Sansa not to befriend Myranda, then I will 100% hope Sansa has the common sense to befriend Myranda. Don't take Myranda's derogative comment about Alayne's "Bastard breasts" as genuine, her literal bff/girlfriend is a bastard herself. Nah, but seriously, do we really think that Mya Stone who has been struggling with feelings of abandonment since before we even met her would be "as close as sisters" with Myranda Royce if she truly were a classist evil schemer? I honestly think Littlefinger might be a little afraid of her. She is shrewd, she might not be on board with her father's alliance with Petyr. Maybe that is why she is being threatened by her father to be married to a suitor she wouldn't approve of.

I might be wrong though, who knows. I do understand how her constant bawdy jokes could have also been a method for disorienting and questioning her but the twow preview chapter made me doubt it. For some reason I find her more genuine than Margaery, but as said I'm open to being very wrong about this.

Anyway, here is a small Drabble + art someone made and it's cute and Myranda is funny. I love Myranda.

5. Sansa Stark x Harrold Hardyng

I didn't have a strong opinion on them but then I was sold on them by a fanfic. It seems like this is where canon might be heading and I'm honestly happy for Sansa if she gets to have her high school movie annoyance to lovers romance with a handsome-popular-everybody-wants-him Prep/Jock guy. Good for her. I don't think Harry is an evil person and I hope it remains that way. Depending on which approach GRRM takes to their relationship it could be very comedic while still holding the political plot for the Vale. Their interactions during the Alayne TWOW preview chapter were gold and everything I would expect from the high school AU set in the Middle Ages, this post encapsulates it, I want them to be cringe and weirdly out of place. All the important lords and ladies are talking politics while these two are constantly making everyone uncomfortable with weird one liners.

On the other hand, depending on how long Sansa has to keep up with the Alayne farce, it could also provide for some angst and explorations of identity issues. Lady Waynwood agreed to the betrothal on the condition that Harry himself would agree to it and find "Alayne" to his liking. And I will admit there is something that would be so sweet about Sansa being loved by Harry THE HEIR, as Alayne Stone, some petty lord's bastard.

It is not me she wants her son to marry, it is my claim. No one will ever marry me for love. - Sansa VI, ASOS

I would be so genuinely happy if she is proven wrong. And yes, the Alayne persona is not simply Sansa with another hair colour and name, but it is still part of her. It is a mask of her own face, smoother and only presenting that which she wants to present. It would be interesting to see an actual love story blossom out of this, while she is still painfully aware of their union being a machination of Littlefinger, maybe feeling guilt and insecurity over Alayne being made to play the seductress while Sansa is still underneath that facade wanting to be loved, being loved but not fully aware of it.

Anyway, here is a light angst fanfic about the Sansa-Alayne identity and Harry! It's probably one of my favourite Sansa fics ever, but warning for Petyr Baelish being himself!

+ I think people sleep on the concept of us readers getting to see Littlefinger "losing the girl" for the supposed prep/jock fuckboy again, that would be great.

Not a favourite, because I don't know a lot about Harrold except for that he is kind of a jerk, but I am a very canon person, so I'll probably end up tolerating/liking it if it actually gets to happen.

6. Sansa Stark x Myrcella Baratheon

I feel very weird about this one because I personally tend to distance myself from the captive x captor (including captor's family) ships in asoiaf when they are portrayed as something positive (nothing against those who like them, it's just a personal preference), but maybe because in this case both of them experience the position of hostage/ward and they didn't get to spend a significant amount of time together (two years at most), I am less appalled about possible scenarios in which they meet again in the future. Myrcella being passed off as legitimate when she is a bastard, Sansa being passed off as a bastard when she is legitimate, becoming pawns in political intrigues of others, being isolated from their families at a young age. Dorne treats Myrcella significantly better than King's Landing treated Sansa, but it still is the place where she was maimed and almost killed.

+ The fact that Myrcella is supposed to look almost exactly like Cersei (someone Sansa admired and wanted to emulate only to come to fear and hate her) but has none of her cruelty could be very interesting and torturous to explore if people want to write angst and get into Sansa's psychology. You can make this dark and macabre without having to open the bag with the dead dove.

Here is a (sadly abandoned) post ados fic in which Myrcella travels North as a ward to Lady Sansa, Warden of the North, sent by Queen Daenerys. Othe ships are also tagged, but since it was discontinued they don't appear. It has a very entertaining characterisation for Myrcella and it doesn't bash any of the girls mentioned, so I liked it.

7. Sansa Stark x Lancel Lannister

So, imagine a universe where Sansa chooses Lancel over Tyrion.

At the time, Lancel is still recovering from his wounds, if I remember correctly, and is experiencing his religious awakening. Imagine how different Sansa's arc would have been. Would she be the one seeking for some sort of connection between her and her husband? Lancel would probably have no interest in any possible romance, but he might be less indifferent with Sansa than he was with Amerei given how she aided him when he was wounded even when he had always been a passive participant in her abuse. Would she keep plotting and hoping for an escape with Dontos? Or would Lancel take her away from King's Landing? If he's not marrying Amerei, then he is not getting Derry, but perhaps Sansa could become a claim to Riverrun post-Red Wedding and that would be interesting to see. Sansa in her mother's home, retracing the steps of her parents, but this time differently, as an unwilling usurper to her uncle. Would she meet Jeyne once the Lannisters retake Riverrun?

Would there be a religious conflict between the two? I am an agnostic theology enthusiast, so I really love seeing how religion plays out in the story and since Sansa believes in the Seven Gods and the Old Gods, I think her dual faith would be interesting to see in opposition to Lancel's devotion for and indoctrination by the faith of the Seven.

+ both have Cersei related trauma and I am a sucker for "we share an abuser" dynamics.

I actually really love this possibility, but didn't came up with any of it on my own! What I wrote above is based on conversations between @team-mom-wannabe, @selkiewife and @nosafeanchorage. They created an entire AU for these two, with an astonishing amount of details and care, and then I had to go through the disappointment that is realising no one has ever written a fanfic centred on their possible marriage.

8. Sansa Stark x Val the Wildling

I really like Val. I know some people hate her because they claim she is "not like other girls" or because she wants Shireen to be killed, but I hate the way nlog rhetoric has developed and I come from a continent where 95% of the population was killed by foreigner's diseases (and also by the foreigners themselves of course), so yeah, I will never hold that against her. I understand why that is upsetting to others, but I'm different.

It's weird to me that although show!Sansa was given traits and storylines from many erased female characters and was kind of deprived of her own (and I still hate that show for that and so many other things), they never teased the concept of giving her a wildling partner! Tormund was a completely different character compared to his book counterpart, he was much younger, conventionally attractive and acted as the main leader of the Free Folk after Mance, so I thought they would maybe merge him with Sigorn and tease him and Sansa, but that didn't happen (I don't remember what happened to him. Did he die?). And I won't deny that the lack of a wilding/northerner marriage lead me to have some thoughts about how interesting it could be for her to meet someone from the free folk. And then, because I'm very very sapphic, Val came to my mind, another cool woman they erased. Beautiful and deadly. A subversion of the princess in a tower.

It's fun to see how both, Sansa and Val, are considered the keys to the North/the Free Folk when their titles are practically honorary; Val is not a real princess and the Free Folk wouldn't submit to anyone who forcibly married her, Sansa has been cut out of the inheritance line because she was made to marry an enemy whom the North would never allow into its territory. I think it would be entertaining to see them meet and observe possibly feelings of mutual respect grow and I just really like seeing people from different cultures interact. Free Folk's beliefs around courtship and how romance and marriage are always meant to carry some sort of violence are fascinating to me. The idea of being "stolen" is a concept I initially associated to non-consensual dynamics, but in fairy tales we often have characters saving the female heroine/love interest by stealing/rescuing them. The way women are often made to be objects of conquest or rewards in most folkloric stories and fairy tales conditions their rescue as theft, since they often belong to the villain only to be passed to another male character. This also is somewhat true in Sansa's case specifically with Tyrion and Petyr, although I would argue Petyr is a lot worse for Sansa than Tyrion. Anyway, I would really like to see how Sansa, who has always been on the edge of rape but has managed to avoid it (she has still been mistreated and fondled in situations of dubious consent, but not violated like Jeyne or Dany), would react to their customs.

+ depending on whether you believe in Sansa's possible complicity in the poisoning of Sweetrobin there could be soooo much room for projection and angst if she gets to see Val being motherly and so very loving to "her nephew" (even when it's not really her nephew and she knows) while still advocating for Shireen's death. Oh, that could be very very fun to read.

9. Sansa Stark x Podrick Payne

awwww he is crushing on his boss's wife! :D

I feel weird about this one being so low given how it's the only one in this bunch with some canon support. This is uncommon for me. It's probably simply because I find her dynamic with Tyrion more interesting, but this is cute anyway!

I do wonder why no one has thought more seriously about them in canon given how Pod is Brienne's traveling companion and might come to meet Sansa again sometime soon (if they survive LSH (on that note, I'd love it if he gets to tell her about Catelyn/LSH)).

I don't know. Podrick is a good kid and Sansa deserves good things. I just haven't found a lot of thematics in their possible dynamic that interest me, but I'm open to them.

+ Sansa's weird traumatic dreams involving Ilyn Payne. Someone make something out of this.

Sadly haven't found many fanfics that have sparked my interest, but I really like this gif-set!

10. Sansa Stark x Tristifer Botley

I had been wondering about this concept for a while and thought that in another universe where the war didn't happen or the possible Iron Islands/The North alliance was settled in terms that included more marriages between them, this could have been interesting, albeit improbable since House Botley isn't as relevant as House Stark, but interesting! And then I came across this really sweet post-ados fanfic by @/alleyskywalker in which Sansa is married to him to build bonds with the Islands since all realms are now independent again and I thought it was cute. Tris was lovely and I liked reading him. He is a character I feel conflicted about, but I don't think he is evil, I just didn't like the way he approached Asha. I jokingly refer to him as a nice guy™, but honestly he is just an actual nice guy with a gentle nature and romantic tendencies and I really love how he is a character whom Asha deems "too sweet for the Iron Islands", and still he is part of the Iron Islands and is accepted as one by the other Ironborn. Her claim is never backed on by anyone else.

His courteous and polite ways could probably match Sansa's dreams of chivalry very well. It would also be fun to see her adapt to the Islands, considering the Northerners' mistrust (and also some bigotry) for the Ironborn and how different their culture is compared to that of the southern courts that Sansa dreamed of and idealized. It could be fun.

My honour mentions in no particular order

Sansa Stark x Harras Harlaw

For similar reasons to Tristifer Botley, but although we know less about Harras' personality, we know he is a salt son and a knight, something most of his fellow Ironborn frown upon. To me, that is odd and fun to think about. Does he worship the Seven Gods AND the Drowned God simultaneously? His mother is a Serret of the Westerlands. Could she have been the one to make him be more fond of southern culture? I don't know, but I like to think that is the case and if so, I think him and Sansa could possibly have some things in common.

Sansa Stark x Mya Stone

Not one I'm actively searching stuff for, but I get a visit from my good ol' friend Sarah Tonin whenever I stumble upon it and I can understand why people are into it:

Baratheon x Stark (but f/f)

Bastard x Noble (but f/f + subverted because "Alayne")

Mya's connection to Catelyn (Lady Stoneheart would approve)

There is also the fact that Mya is one of the most honest and frank characters Sansa has met ever since the story began. I will defend Myranda but I think she is shrewd, Margaery...well we know how that ended...Mya is different! She doesn't seem to be hiding any secrets or have any ulterior motives in her friendliness. Her abandonment issues would be interesting to explore among with Sansa's overall introspection + her isolation in King's Landing and her new (and sadly well) founded mistrust for others.

Honestly, my favourite daydream just involves them having a conversation about Sansa's parents and Mya telling her all she can remember and consoling her, while being open about her own issues, but sadly I don't have any creative abilities and can't come up with anything beyond that.

Here is a short, but interesting, fanfic that takes place post AFFC, but was written before the TWOW preview chapters came out. I thought it was lovely.

Sansa Stark x Jeyne Poole

Kind of an obvious one and one I struggle with because I can see the appeal of childhood friends torn apart by war and then reuniting after both went through different hells, but the way fandom treats it often just annoys me. I think there are a few unaddressed issues that make it more difficult for me to enjoy the way it's portrayed in fanon. I guess we could say I like it as a rhænicent that never got truly toxic and just remained bittersweet with a few kneeps of resentment, feelings of inferiority and maybe some misplaced anger coming from Jeyne . There is a fanfic though that I think is unmatched when it comes to what I would like : (1) + (2) but warning for canon compliant Jeyne storyline fucked upness + mild ambiguous Theyne (the Jeynsa is ambiguous too, but in my opinion less than the theyne, and it is just as important, not a side-ship. Overall one of my favourite fics ever).

Rolly Duckfield

"He is as tall as Griff now. Three days ago he knocked Duck into a horse trough." "I wasn't knocked. I fell in just to make him laugh." - Tyrion III, ADWD

I love Duck. He reminds me of my best friend and I think Sansa could use someone like that in her life. I have nothing else to add.

[imagineagreatadventure]

20 questions for fic writers

i was tagged by the wonderfulll meg @ladyfenring thank you!!!! sorry i took weeks to do this lol

1. how many works do you have on AO3? 62

2. what's your total AO3 word count? 578,129

3. what fandoms do you write for? asoiaf mostly

4. top five fics by kudos: my austenland jxb au, puppets dancing on strings (my 12 dancing princesses au), my hp au (i debate about orphaning it due to joann shenanigans except it has one line that still touches my heart too much to do so), the maiden of the tree (gendry is a trueborn child of cersei and robert au and betrothed to arya), and no chance and no choice (post s7 ep3, basically right before the show went even more to shit)

5. do you respond to comments? usually but often waay later. the only time i don't is if someone does a lot in a row (like they're marathoning and commenting every chapter which I loveeeee) - I just try to respond to their most recent comment unless they're going in deep with their comment

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? my Theon/Jeyne fic "That's One Hell of a Mess"

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

8. do you get hate on fics? sometimes! sometimes people are just kind of dicks.

i think the funniest one was when some idiot went around asking when sansa was going to get spanked and i was like: wrong fic brah

9. do you write smut? yup

10. craziest crossover? probably disney x asoiaf lol

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? ummmm honestly i think so but I can't remember for sure

12. have you ever had a fic translated? yes!! into russian a few different times. and i appreciated they asked for permission.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? yup but not on ao3 - olden days

14. all time favorite ship? jaime x brienne who are we kidding

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Tempered Kingdoms - I honestly love the universe and i find it really interesting but I'd have to go deep into fandom lore and that's also the one i feel like brings out the fandom wank more than the other fics.

people get mad if i'm nice to dany or mean to dany or mean to sansa or nice to sansa or sympathetic to cersei or arya (notice it's always the women). and honestly in addition to the research and reading involved, i don't want to deal w/that lol

16. what are your writing strengths? characterization and dialogue

17. what are your writing weaknesses? honestly right now I feel like everything is but I feel like planning the story because I'm definitely a "gardener". not that it's always a bad thing but it can really cause a problem in a situation where you're posting as you go and you change your mind about something later.... :////

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? highly dependent on context

19. first fandom you wrote in? ella enchanted

20. favorite fic you've written? this was difficult but probably Brienne of Sapphire Island. It was a fun world to build and it makes me emotional in a good way when I reread it

[myrxellabaratheon]

I’m currently writing three different fics at the same time + editing another + planning another one which will need gifs in it so have another poll

The last one is canon divergence in which Theon comes back to Robb after his father attacks the North but Robb doesn’t know yet so he goes down on Jeyne and marries her.

You have a week to vote, PLEASE REBLOG THIS for a bigger audience

[istaricelebelasse]

It’s angsty thoughts about Sansa and Jeyne W again...

Like their relationship could be so beautiful and sad and kind. The weight of their memories of Robb hanging between them; the knowledge that Robb died for marrying Jeyne, leaving Sansa without hope of a rescue by her family...

The knowledge that both would have of being a prisoner of the Lannisters. The ghosts of what could have been between them.

And yet despite it all, them choosing to find happiness again, them choosing to share power and see that Robb’s death was not in vein, it’s just such a lovely image.

[asoiafrarepairs]

Did you miss out on the last amazing event? Do you still feel like your ship is overlooked by the fandom? Well We have good news for you because ASOIAF Rare Pair Week is happening again–and this time with a theme! 

This is another week long event for rare pairs* in the ASOIAF/GOT fandom, it will take place from February 24- March 2. The overarching theme is Ice and Fire with each day having a prompt representing both extremes. You can use either or both and create any kind of fanwork you want; fics, gifsets, edits, fanart, videos, let your creative desires go wild!

February 24

Ashes // Snowflakes

February 25

Burning // Freezing

February 26

Summer // Winter

February 27

Silks // Furs

February 28

Day // Night

March 1

Dorne // Beyond the Wall

March 2

Free Day

Post your work on the corresponding day and tag us @asoiafrarepairs and use #asoiafrarepairs or #asoiafrarepairweek so we can reblog it! We also always encourage you to post your work to our ao3 collection. 

*please see FAQ for rules regarding what ships and content will be accepted!

[istumpysk]

aspaceoficeandfire[dot]quora[dot]com/Okay-I-m-now-damn-near-certain-that-Jeyne-Westerling-is-pregnant-No-one-knows-what-Stannis-has-been-doing-on-Drago?ch=15&oid=17708656&share=13aaabad&srid=uhgzj2&target_type=post

Add the phantom fetus in Jeyne W’s womb to the list of women with better odds of ruling Winterfell than Sansa. 🧠🚫

If it’s a girl, they simply marry her to Rickon. (Marrying cousins is only wrong when it’s Jonsa, right? Rickon being 5 years old and Jeyne’s foodbaby not even born yet is no problem and far more likely.)

*disappointed sigh*

Boy, that was a roller coaster. Thank you anon, I loved it.

Let's see.

1.

"As you will." Jaime turned to the daughter. "I am sorry for your loss. The boy had courage, I'll give him that. There is a question I must ask you. Are you carrying his child, my lady?"

Jeyne burst from her chair and would have fled the room if the guard at the door had not seized her by the arm. "She is not," said Lady Sybell, as her daughter struggled to escape. "I made certain of that, as your lord father bid me."

x

The girl smiled at that. "My mother says the same. She makes a posset for me, herbs and milk and ale, to help make me fertile. I drink it every morning. I told Robb I'm sure to give him twins. An Eddard and a Brandon. He liked that, I think. We . . . we try most every day, my lady. Sometimes twice or more." The girl blushed very prettily. "I'll be with child soon, I promise. I pray to our Mother Above, every night."

Enough said? Do I have to point out the second passage appears right after all the tansy business?

2.

Timeline.

I forget who originally pointed this out when we discussed it (@agentrouka-blog?) - it would be nearly impossible for Jeyne to not be showing when she encounters Jaime in AFFC.

At the very least, Jeyne and her mother would know she's pregnant. So why the hell would she burst from her chair and attempt to flee the room sobbing at that question?

I think that covers it.

How pissed off am I that I didn't include Jeyne's offspring in my Queen in the North office pool? I can't even clown right.

[dwellordream]

them: jeyne westerling is gonna die me: years post-canon jeyne w and sansa are gonna fall in love (im a jeyne poole x sansa shipper usually so in this universe they're just bfs) and their love affair is gonna be the center of historical debate for years to come. i am god, my will will be done.

Listen to this prophet, everyone

[rainhalydia]

Because I need to hear my boy praised: fandom ASOIAF; ship: Throbb; character: Theon Greyjoy

Hi, anon! Great to know I’m being recognized as the local Theon-apologist, you’re absolutely right in your assessment!

001 | Fandom: ASOIAF

Favorite character: Theon Greyjoy

Least Favorite character: tough call, but I guess Littlefinger in terms of who I hate the most. In terms of who doesn’t work that much as a character for me, Garlan Tyrell

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Throbb is the OTP, then in no particular order: NedCat, Sansan, Asha x Qarl and Jaime x Brienne

Character I find most attractive: Theon is my type to a T, physically. Personality wise, probably Asha.

Character I would marry: Oddly enough, Renly! He could go off with Loras and leave me to be a powerful lady and he’d probably be okay with recognizing any bastard I could get as his.

Character I would be best friends with: Sansa. Playing harp and doing crafts are my ideal bonding activities. My sense of adventure also begins and ends with stealing stuff from the kitchen.

a random thought: the world building is seriously lacking more of a merchant class and artists, but it’s something that’s only really noticeable when you’re a hardcore fan. I feel like people reading casually won’t miss it because Martin’s writing is just that good.

An unpopular opinion: Probably very unpopular, but I’m not bothered in the slightest with all the rape and sexual violence towards women in the books, except for maybe the Dothraki. With the Dothraki, it feels like a way to signal how violent they are as a society, but it’s too caricatural to work for me. They rape people in the middle of a super important wedding, come on! But with the rest, I find it sadly plausible. ASOIAF also deals a lot with sexual violence towards men, in a more nuanced and respectful way than most media, so I feel like sexual violence is a theme in general, not just something thrown in for shock value or to degrade women.

My Canon OTP: Throbb is canon probably Ned x Cat.

My Non-canon OTP: Asha x Alysane.

Most Badass Character: There are so many! I guess Tyrion wins because he’s going to ride a dragon with no magic

Most Epic Villain: Euron Greyjoy

Pairing I am not a fan of: Robb x Margaery, Sansa x Margaery, Robb x Jon

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): the Dothraki as a whole are very under-developed when compared with the rest of the cast, though Irri and Jhiki arguing over Rakharo is a breath of fresh air.

Favourite Friendship: probably Arya and her Riverland gang

Character I most identify with: Theon and Sansa, maybe Sam

Character I wish I could be: they’re all much braver than I am, but I’ll pick Brienne

002 | Ship: Throbb

When I started shipping them: I don’t really remember? It was on my second read of the series, because I barely remember the first read. ADWD was already out, so after 2011 for sure... If we’re talking about a moment in the books, when Theon thinks he should have died with Robb.

My thoughts: They’re really, really good together. It’s surprisingly balanced for the circumstances they’re in. Even if you don’t ship them, their affection for each other is plain in the text and it drives me up the fucking wall when people say they didn’t like each other. They did! Theon still does! They’re important to each other!

What makes me happy about them: How much they loved and trusted each other. That they really knew each other, in ways other people mostly didn’t.

What makes me sad about them: I mean, theirs is a tragic story, so everything? But especially that Robb died thinking that Theon killed his brothers, and that Theon knows Robb died thinking that about him. That there will be no reconciliation.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: With the caveat that everyone can do what they like, Robb is not a goody two shoes, his patience is not endless, he has a temper and he thinks Theon is awesome and it’s not a fucking favor on his part being friends with him. Theon, on his side, mostly fools everyone with his cool persona, except for Robb, Asha and the rest of his family.

Things I look for in fanfic: Theon being a charming asshole is my number one priority. I can roll with most scenarios, though.

My wishlist: Let’s see... my favorites things ever for Throbb are friends to lovers, mutual pining, secret relationship, preferably with smut.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Jeyne W. is alright, but I can’t help thinking Robb is gay, so Robb x Olyvar. For Theon, Theon x Jeyne P.

My happily ever after for them: They reunite in the afterlife after Theon dies of very old age.

003 | Character: Theon Greyjoy

How I feel about this character: I love him! My problemaic squid son! He does not deserve a tenth of the hate he gets!

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: In order of preference: Robb, Jeyne, Kyra, Patrek Mallister.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Dagmer, Asha and Wex. The Thramsay dynamic is terrible but interesting, if done well. I wish Theon had never gone through any of that, but at the same time, where would his story even be without it? And he could have been real friends with Patrek if they had time.

My unpopular opinion about this character: He owned the Starks, including Robb, nothing. He did nothing worse than other characters fighting a war until he killed the miller boys and raped Kyra - not to say his actions were good or anything, but they’re about the same as other characters’, including fan favorites. It’s awful but understandable that he didn’t visit his Mom. He’s actually pretty competent as a warrior, but he doesn’t think long-term when making plans. And probably most unpopular of all in my corner of fandom: though he has all the identity issues and belonging issues, he’s actually very ironborn, and his ironborn upbriding, while terrible and abusive even by in-universe standards, actually helped him survive being a captive for so long.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish someone who loved him had gone to met him when he arrived on Pyke and that Asha hadn’t pulled that “prank” on him. I wish him to live to an old age with people who love him, to get his teeth fixed as much as possible, and to do something important for the Iron Islands.

Favorite friendship for this character: Robb and Wex. I love Asha, but she’s such an older sibling that they’ll always have that dynamic first and foremost to me.

My crossover ship: Super out there, but probably Olivier Mira Armstrong. Theon will drink that respect women juice if he wants to or not!

[janiedean]

I think with the Cersei vs Cat, Cersei has been harmed more by the patriarchy (women are "owned" by their men and for Cat this is Hoster+Ned and for Cers it's Tywin+Robert like case closed.) and people confuse this with being more feminist. Cersei feels the leash more keenly and her struggle is more explicit but the thing about her is that she's SO damaged she can't accomplish anything positive. Cat doesn't think of herself as fighting the patriarchy but she does more for other women

(2) than ever occurred to Cersei. Cat befriended Brienne and saved her life, Cersei betrays Falyse and hands her over to Qyburn, Cat tries her best to make Jeyne W. her daughter while Cersei abuses Sansa and plots constantly against Margaery. And yes, I do blame the patriarchy and I have a lot of sympathy for Cersei but she should not be admired for what she does. Actually in that respect she does resemble Catelyn Stark: Undead version.

yeah I 100% agree and exactly like the moment cersei gives qyburn people to torture/experiment on among which women and she’s 100% fine with other women being raped and that should completely kill the whole feminist angle, I mean she does that while cat’s taking female knights in her service but that’s apparently less feminist? X°D I mean like I already don’t like attaching feminist to stuff set in the middle ages fantasy or not because feminism is a modern concept but like if fighting the patriarchy = agreeing to have other women raped or tortured then…. guys no X°D I’d like to think feminism is also sticking up for other women not throwing them under the bus - BUT THEN AGAIN that’s like… 99,9% of tumblr sanctioned performative feminism (I mean, throwing other women under the bus the moment they’re not in line) so I’m not surprised people think cersei’s more feminist than whoever but like a) spare me, b) let me dislike her in peace. -__-

[imagineagreatadventure]

what are all your got ships?

1) oh boy what have you got me into admitting in writing

2) oh god this is gonna take forever

3) i’m including asoiaf cause yolo

4) also crack ships and stuff that would only work in v. specific aus cause shut up

5) bolding the top three cause it me

in order of…. whatever i think of first tbh:

My Asoiaf/GoT ships (in no particular order):

Arianne x Willas 

Willas x Sansa

Sansa x Jon

Sansa x Podrick

Sansa x Theon

Sansa x Margaery

Sansa x Brienne

Sansa x Jeyne Poole

Sansa x HAPPINESS

Jaime x Brienne (yeah i know you all know this already)

Brienne x Dickon (s7 showverse)

Jaime x Arthur Dayne

Arthur Dayne x Rhaegar

Arthur Dayne x Lyanna

Lyanna x Elia

Oberyn x Ellaria

Arya x Gendry (my first real pairing in asoiaf/got tbh)

Theon x Robb

Theon x Jeyne Poole

Robb x Jeyne W (moreso than Talisa tbh – love oona chaplin but was kind of eh about the show’s storyline, wish they kept oona chaplin as jeyne w instead)

Dany x Daario (show)

Dany x Jorah (SHOW ONLY)

Grey Worm x Missandei (SHOW, missandei is a baby in the books

Hyle Hunt x His own butt (crack ship i know)

Harry Hardyng x his own butt (like what else can i do with douchey guys whose first and last names start with H)

Robb x Wylla Manderly 

Jon x Tormund

Jon x Sam

Jon x Ygritte

Jon x Mance (don’t look at me)

Sam x Gilly

Sandor x HEALING

Myrcella x Trystane

Thoros x Beric

Dany x Asha/Yara

Jaime x Cat (don’t look at me)

Catelyn x Ned (OTP– like i can’t even say i ship them exactly cause it’s so automatic. twu luv)

Robert x Boar

Renly x Loras

Stannis x Davos

Davos x Stannis x Melisandre

Tyrion x Jeyne W (but only specifically in my little story universe that i’ve neglected for years now whoops)

Tyrion x A Therapist

Tywin x A Therapist

Cersei x A Therapist

Jaime x A Therapist

Aerys x Jaime’s sword being stuck inside of him

Tywin x Joanna

Mya Stone x Myranda Royce

Dunk x Rohanne 

edit forgot one!: Bran x Lyanna Mormont (book verse bc i believe they’re like the same age there)

edit forgot another!!: Garlan x Leonette his awesome wife (i love garlan tyrell)

and tbh there’s probably a lot more ESPECIALLY from the fire and blood series but I read it months ago and, well, i am sick rn and my brain is kind of melting so I can’t recall those faves as well ( i should buy the book tbh, i really loved it, way more than i thought i would). also you can tell i’m sick by how many joke ships are above whoops

[kaorym]

Ships that made more sense and are better than Jonerys

Ned x Catelyn

Jaime x Brienne

Theon x Robb

Jeyne W x Robb

Jeyne P x Theon

Sansa x Sandor

Sansa x Theon

Gendry x Arya

Margaery x Sansa

Sansa x Brienne

Cersei x Brienne

Obara x Darkstar

Stannis x Davos

Renly x Loras

Missandei x Grey Worm

Tristran x Myrcella

Arianne x Damon

Oberyn x Ellaria

Jon x Ygritte (obviously)

Jon x Val

Jon x Sam

Jon x Theon

Jon x Satin

Jon x Tormund

Jon x Gendry

Jon x Stannis

[istaricelebelasse]

Ok, hear me out, a cracky fic where Theon, Robb, Sansa, and Jeyne W are all out for a meal.

The crack bit? Theon used to date Sansa, but is currently dating Robb; while Jeyne used to date Robb but is currently dating Sansa.

Sansa and Robb refuse to refer to Theon and Jeyne as anything other than ‘my ex’ just to annoy their sibling

[bitchfromtheseventhhell]

over vacation, i kept thinking about this dumbass jon x daenerys p&p au, kinda inspired by bloomsbury’s art except that jon and dany are genderbent bc i think it works way better both for their characters and for their family situations.

like, jeyne (jon) is the second daughter of a four daughter family (sorry sansa and arya you’re not in this one my loves but it’s probably for the best bc this AU is ridiculous) (also weirdly jeyne is catelyn’s daughter hmmmmmmmmm you see this gets nutsier by the second) and she’s a bit of a smartass and doesn’t really give much of a shit about expectations because she’ll never be the golden child (robberta).  (bran is branda--a hybrid mary kitty, rickon is.....¿¿¿¿¿¿¿rickarda i guess???????? lmao rickon lydia lmao) 

then daniel (daenerys) is this v wealthy super stubborn (self-)righteous dude with like 80,000 or w/e a year and sam is probably charlotte and missandei can be georgiana and i think i decided a genderbent dacey was bingley bc the backstory can be that they became friends through old jorah and idk it went off the rails fast but i can’t stop thinking about it and cackling at how ridiculous it is.  

[geekprincess26]

Prince Charming and the Pencil

Written for Day 10 of Jon x Sansa Fanfiction’s 15 Days of Valentine’s challenge.  Companion fic to “Blue Pencils and Bravery,” which I wrote for Day 8.  I’m sorry for posting it a day late - real life has a funny way of sticking its tongue out at me and preventing me from posting my fics when I want to post them sometimes.

Harry Hardyng was late.

 Sansa swept into the upstairs bathroom she shared with Arya for the fifth time in the past ten minutes to check herself in the mirror.  She had readied herself for Casterly Rock Preparatory High School’s senior class’s Valentine’s Day ball in record time, having spent until nearly five o’clock decorating the school’s community hall with the other students on the ball’s planning committee.  Her makeup was done flawlessly; the blush-colored gown she had so painstakingly sewn for herself fit her like a glove; wonder of wonders, her fresh blush-and-gold manicure had not been scratched as she and the other students had rushed to put the final touches on the community room; her gold jewelry glittered beautifully; and she had finished preparing for the ball a full five minutes before Harry was supposed to pick her up.  Harry was never late, and did not like it when she ran behind.

 Sansa’s phone buzzed, and she lost no time swiping the screen open.  

 Brandon and I r on the way.  

Sansa hung her head in disappointment.  She had certainly hoped it had been Harry, texting her to tell her he was here, but it was only Jeyne Poole, reporting in to the text group Margaery Tyrell had set up for the planning committee members.  They and their dates had agreed to meet at the school half an hour before the ball officially began in order to take photos and iron out last-minute details. Sansa was not particularly looking forward to that half-hour.  She was tired from spending the entire day decorating and still smarting from a spat she’d had earlier that afternoon with Jeyne, who had taken it upon herself to point out how little Sansa understood about decorating for major school events. After all, Jeyne had snidely reminded her, this was the first event that school year at which Sansa had served on the planning committee, whereas she, Margaery, and Beth Cassel were all on their fourth.  “But naturally, you were busy hanging with the weird computer geeks doing stuff for community theater,” she’d continued, and it had been all Sansa could do not to dump a bag of confetti over Jeyne’s head.  Instead, she’d retorted that Jeyne clearly understood little about volunteering at the community theater or about computer geeks.  She had first started doing artwork for the local community theater a year prior at the request of only one computer geek, Jon Snow, and Jon was not weird, simply a bit shy.  But after she saw how much work it took with both computers and other pieces of machinery she didn’t understand just to put on a morning rehearsal, let alone a full evening production, Sansa had also realized just how talented Jon and his buddies on the production crew were.  She had also seen how much help the theater’s owners needed and had gladly agreed to help in the art department, even though it had meant she couldn’t put as much time into planning school activities as she had anticipated.  

 Sansa sighed as another message popped up on her phone screen.  Great.  Sansa, what about you and Harry?

 That message was from Margaery, to whom out of her three best friends Sansa was still the closest. Even Margaery, however, had not hung around Sansa as much during their senior year as she had during their previous years at Casterly Rock.  Sansa supposed it was partly because they both had boyfriends now and partly because Sansa had spent so much of the past several months working hard on the portfolio she had included with each of her college applications.  Sansa had always known that if she wanted to get into a good art therapy program, she would need an excellent portfolio, and Sansa Stark never did anything halfway.  Still, Sansa felt bad about not having time to serve on the other three planning committees with her friends, and it had hurt during the prior weeks as they had all prepared for the ball together to see that they had a better rapport with each other than any of them did with her.

 Sansa sighed again. Once Harry showed up and got her to the school, she would no doubt find that everybody’s tempers had improved with food and showers, and they could all relax (a bit) and enjoy the fruits of their labor.  And she and Harry would dance and put the fight from earlier this week behind them, the fight in which Harry Hardyng, a straight-A-earning trumpet player who had been accepted to four different Ivy League schools, had accused Sansa Stark of being a snob.  The accusation was ridiculous, of course, but that had not stopped Sansa from crying for an hour afterward.  She had tried her best to be a supportive girlfriend.  Despite her work on her art portfolio, she had spent as much time with Harry as she could; and, far from turning up her nose at Harry’s hobbies, she had attended every one of his cross-country meets and band concerts since they had begun dating.  And neither quitting band the prior year nor changing her planned college major from music therapy to art therapy had had anything to do with Sansa’s thinking she was too good for music.  Harry would no doubt understand that after taking a few days to cool off; he always did after one of their disagreements, even if he was never much of a one for apologies.

 So when Sansa’s phone vibrated and produced a text message from Harry saying Sorry, Sansa, she almost dropped it.  He must just be leaving his house, she thought; Harry never texted while driving.

 No problem, she texted him back.  We’ll still get there in time for pics.

 Three dots blinked on the left side of her phone screen for several moments.  Sansa inspected herself in the mirror one last time, then dashed down the stairs.  Her phone buzzed just as one glittering heel met the floor at the bottom of the staircase.

 No, I meant sorry I’m not going w you, the screen informed her. Sansa sat down so suddenly that she began to slide down the remaining stairs on her backside.  She clutched the railing to stop herself with her right hand while frantically swiping at the phone screen with her left.

 Are you OK?  Did you get sick?  she typed frantically.

 No, just not going, replied the blue text bubble that popped up on the left side of the screen almost immediately.  Sansa stared at the three gray dots that appeared under it a moment later, uncomprehending.

 Better get it over with now.  Would be fake if we went 2gether, said the next bubble.  You can go by yourself if u want.  2 different for each other.  You don’t want what I want.  Done.

 The bubbles stopped coming. Sansa kept staring at the screen, willing there to be more, willing the words to go away, willing Harry to take them back.  But there was not, and they did not, and Harry did not.

 Tears welled in Sansa’s eyes.  She used the railing to push herself upright as fast as she could, so the head rush would help her blink them away.  She did not want Harry Hardyng to have made her cry twice in one week, especially when he did it the second time by dumping her right before the Valentine’s Day ball.

 Sansa pinched the bridge of her nose.  If she could just think clearly enough to type for a moment, she might be able to distract herself long enough to keep the tears at bay, at least for the moment. So she swiped the screen of her phone and punched the cursor furiously.

 And what don’t I want? she typed.  She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the gray dots reappear on the left-hand side of her screen.  As long as she could engage Harry in conversation, she could focus now, even if it would only upset her all the more later on.

 Music, like real fine art stuff, not kids stuff @ com theater. Like music at all.  We don’t have same friends.  You like ur sister’s and J Snow and his friends better lately.

 Sansa pinched the bridge of her nose again.  If she knew Harry at all, he had been planning this since they’d had their fight earlier that week, during the time she’d thought he’d been cooling off. That hurt almost as much as the fact that Harry clearly thought she wasn’t good enough for him.  And he had had the nerve to call her a snob.

 I like doing art 4 “kids stuff @ com theater.” she typed back in a rush, suddenly more furious for the moment than she was hurt.  It’s respectable –volunteer & good 4 my portfolio @ good schools.  And I only missed 1 concert u wanted to take me to 2 hang out w my own sister & friends & u didn’t have a problem with me switching 2 art therapy which is also respectable.  There.  Her grammar was more atrocious than usual, but at least Harry knew he wasn’t the only one who could pride himself on doing “respectable” activities.

 Concert meant a lot 2 me, Harry replied.  U wanted 2 hang out w bunch of computer nerds more than me. & switching majors isn’t stable, what next, fashion design & sewing?

 The heat that had heretofore been confined to Sansa’s face began migrating down her chest and arms. If I did it would still be respectable, she replied.  Sorry if liking 2 make my own clothes isn’t good enough 4 u.  If I’m not good enough 4u you could have said face to face earlier nt left me stranded.  That’s not respectable either.  Goodbye.

 Sansa threw her phone into her purse, buried her face in her hands, and began to shake.  She should have known better than to try to distract herself from crying, she thought as the tears began running down her arms.

 The sound of the back door shutting six feet away startled Sansa bolt upright.  Just as her eyes recognized the familiar form of Jon Snow in front of her, the connecting door to the recreation room swung open, and Arya strode into the room.  Both of them stared with concern at Sansa’s tear-streaked face.

 “What’s the matter?  Jerkface late?” asked Arya, who always called Harry “Jerkface” and other less polite names after Sansa had a fight with him.

 “He’s not coming,” Sansa spat out.  “Happy?”

 “Whoa.”  Jon took a few tentative steps toward Sansa at the exact same time Arya screeched, “What?  Why in the hell not?  He’s still ‘punishing’ you for disagreeing with him, what, last week already?”

 “Arya.”  Jon shot a warning look at the younger girl before turning to Sansa.  “Sansa, what happened?”

 “He broke up with me,” sniffed Sansa.  She began crying again and pawed madly through her purse for a tissue.  

 “Right before the ball? What a cowardly, jerk-faced piece of shit – ” Arya began.

 “Arya.”  This time Jon’s voice came from almost directly above her.  Sansa looked up, startled, to see him holding out one of the handkerchiefs she’d made for him back in their middle school years.  Sansa’s face reddened again.  She’d made him half a dozen handkerchiefs back when she’d still been his secret admirer and made a point of giving him things she knew he’d like.  One of Jon’s odd habits was carrying around a handkerchief – mainly, Sansa supposed, to rub the sweat from his face that was automatically generated by his doing metallurgy in the applied arts lab or running to connect a thousand cords under the harsh lights of the school and community theaters.  She still thought it a strange habit, but now, as she added her tears to the mix on a square of black with music notes embroidered around the edges, Sansa found herself wholeheartedly approving of it.

 “Thank you,” she managed to mumble, too embarrassed to look at either Jon or her sister.  No doubt her makeup was running in ugly streaks all over her face.  

 Sansa’s phone buzzed again. Oh, no.  It had to be Margaery, furious that Sansa and presumably Harry were late, and –

 “Oh, flying heck!” she exclaimed, remembering what else she and Harry were expected to do at the ball. She tried to stand up but tripped over the hem of her dress, and she would have fallen back onto the stairs but for Jon catching her and helping her all the way up.

 “Thanks,” Sansa muttered as Jon stepped back.  Arya rolled her eyes.

 “‘Flying heck?’ Sansa, really.  Rickon’s not exactly around – probably off playing foosball with Dad – ”

 Sansa, who had long since grown accustomed to using slang expressions at home so as to avoid incurring her mother’s ire for using stronger language around her younger brother, waved her sister off.

 “Stuff it, Arya, you’re not the one who’s supposed to dance with her stupid date to open the ball and got dumped by him, and now I can’t – ”  Her phone buzzed again, and she picked up her purse from the ground and began rummaging through it again.

 “Oh.  Right.  Sorry.” Arya turned to Jon.  “Hey, wait, aren’t you supposed to be there too? Running all the music and everything?”

 Jon scratched the back of his head.  “Right, I just came back to get my USB drive with some of my files I need on it.  I left it here with Bran by accident.”  He was interrupted by a sob from Sansa, who could find her phone nowhere in her purse.  Jon bent to retrieve it from one of the stairs and held it out to her.

 “Thanks,” Sansa choked out, rubbing her eyes furiously.  “Sorry, I – oh, you probably want this back, and – ”  She held out the handkerchief to Jon, who waved it away.

 “It’s OK,” he said. “I do have some other ones at home.”

 Sansa managed a weak smile. She had indeed made Jon several other handkerchiefs before they had entered ninth grade and been assigned to different homerooms, by which time Jon had discovered his passion for metallurgy and begun helping out at the community theater, and the other students had stopped making quite so much fun of him, and Sansa had figured he did not need his secret admirer quite so much any more.

 “Bran!”  Arya’s belted exclamation brought Sansa sharply back to the present.  She flushed when she realized she was still holding Jon’s handkerchief out to him.

 “Sansa,” he was saying, “you OK?”

 Sansa nodded at the same time Jon hung his head.  “No, sorry, that was stupid,” he said.  She shook her head, but before she could think of what to say, Jon’s own head snapped back up.  His face had gone pink, but he looked her straight in the eye.

 “I – I – you can say no,” he said, “but I can take you to the ball if – if you want, and you can find a guy to dance with, or – or – I could dance with you for the first one – I mean, I’m not good at it and I’d have to help with the sound later, but you’d – you wouldn’t be left alone that way, and I could take you home after the first dance, or any time later, if you wanted to go, or if you wanted to go out to McDonald’s or wherever for a snack between dances if you just want a break. Sam knows how to do that stuff as well as I do, so I can leave and come back, no problem.  I can even change into my suit, if – if you want me to dance.”

 Sansa merely stared at Jon. She knew he was no Harry when it came to dancing, but she had no Harry or anybody else to dance with, and right now having somebody, whatever his skill level, was infinitely better than having no one to dance with at all – or even having Harry to dance with, at this point.  She and Jon would still get a lot of strange looks and whispers from her friends and everyone else, but then Jon was used to both the whispers and the looks, and Sansa was sure to get them anyway after everyone found out Harry had dumped her. At least she would get neither from Jon.

 “If you don’t want to, that’s fine, Sansa.”  Jon’s voice had lowered, and Sansa thought she could detect a hint of disappointment. She shook her head.

 “No, it’s – ” she began, but was interrupted when Arya, Bran, and Catelyn Stark all entered the room at once.

 “Sansa, honey, Harry’s not here yet?  What happened, sweetheart?”  Catelyn wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders while Bran handed Jon’s USB drive to him.

 Sansa smiled wanly at her mother.  “Harry’s not coming, Mom.  He – he broke up with me, but Jon’s going to take me to the ball and – and do the first dance with me.”

 A devilish grin spread across Arya’s face.  Catelyn, whose back was turned to her, wiped a tear off of her elder daughter’s cheek and drew her in for a hug.

 “Oh, I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she murmured.  “Are you sure you’re up for going?  You don’t have to go, you know, if you’d rather not, even if you don’t want to talk about it right now.”

 Sansa blew her nose into the handkerchief and gave both her mother and Jon a wobbly smile.  “No, Mom, it’s OK,” she said.  “Jon says he’ll take me home after the first dance if I want to go.” She gave Jon a wobbly smile, and he returned a steady one that reached and filled his dark brown eyes.

 Catelyn gave her daughter a searching look, then nodded and turned to Jon.  “Thank you very much, Jon,” she said.  “I’m sure you know that Sansa is expected to be home before midnight.”

 Jon flushed again and nodded.  “You’re welcome, Mrs. Stark,” he replied.  “We’ll be back before then.”

 Fifteen minutes later Sansa and Jon, she with her makeup reapplied and he sporting the dusty suit and tie he had hastily changed into while waiting for her to tidy up, arrived at school for the pre-ball photo session. Sansa spent the entire ride typing her apologies along with a brief explanation to the text group, but Jeyne Poole still shot her a dirty look when she arrived.  Fortunately, just before Sansa began posing with the others for photos, she caught Jon frantically trying to brush some of the dust bunnies off of his suit with, of all things, the blue pencil he had previously had tucked behind his ear.  The smile she produced for the cameras then was real.  So was the smile she gave Jon when he offered her his arm to escort her onto the dance floor.

 “I really, really appreciate it, Jon,” she said.  “I hope I didn’t make you late for Sam and the others; you can tell them it’s my fault their best sound person wasn’t there on time.”

 “You made Sam late?” said Jon, his expression perfectly deadpan.  Sansa giggled in spite of herself.

 “No,” she replied. “The best sound person there tucks blue pencils behind his ear.”

 Jon reddened and immediately reached behind his ear to pull out the pencil resting there, but Sansa shook her head.

 “I didn’t mean you should take it out,” she said.  “It’s enough that you’re offering to dance with me.  I don’t want to make you do it without the pencil, after all.”  She smiled warmly at him, and Jon smiled back, although his face was still red.

 “You’re not making me dance with you; I offered to do it,” he pointed out.  “Besides, I’m the one who should apologize in advance for stepping on your feet by accident.”

 Sansa opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Margaery Tyrell, who swept over with Joffrey next to where Sansa and Jon were standing.

 “One minute, Sansa,” she said.  Sansa did not miss the eyebrow the other girl raised pointedly at the pencil perched behind Jon’s ear.

 Joffrey, however, upstaged his girlfriend with a snort.  “Made hanging with the computer weirdos full-time, huh, Stark?” he said.  Sansa straightened herself up to her full height.

 “Yes, Baratheon, I have,” she replied.  “I find it a step up from my previous company.  I rather admire computer weirdos, in fact.”

 Both Margaery’s shocked look and Joffrey’s reply were cut off by the arrival of Mr. Arryn, who was Casterly Rock’s music director and also the teacher in charge of the ball. A few moments later, he and his wife swept onto the dance floor, and the planning committee members followed with their dates.

 True to his word, Jon spent much of the first dance stumbling and then apologizing to Sansa, but she kept waving away his apologies and redirected him to the correct steps. Teaching him proved a welcome diversion for them both from the strange looks they were getting from the other students, especially Jeyne and Joffrey – so welcome, in fact, that they continued for two more dances before Jon once again apologized, this time for having to take off backstage to help his friends with the sound.

 Sansa shook her head. “No, don’t be sorry,” she said. “And – and thank you, Jon.  I really, really appreciate it a lot.”

 Jon smiled.  “I really appreciate you trying to help me not look like total computer weirdo out there,” he said.  Sansa rolled her eyes.

 “You’re not a weirdo,” she replied.  “You never were.”  She took a deep breath.  “A weirdo wouldn’t have offered to bring me here when I – I didn’t have anyone else to take me, and – and a weirdo definitely wouldn’t have tackled Theon Greyjoy when he was picking on Bran and me on the playground.”  She felt her face flush red.  “Especially since you took the blame for me shoving Theon over it.”

 Jon stared at her, clearly bemused.  “Oh,” he finally said.  “That was a long time ago.  I’m not still mad at you for it or anything.  Besides, Theon deserved it.”

 Sansa nodded.  “I know,” she said.  “I’m still sorry, though.”

 Jon shook his head. “It’s – it’s all right, Sansa. Don’t worry about it,” he said, and after a moment he held out his right hand.  “No hard feelings?  Friends, or – or at least fellow weirdos?”  He gave her the lopsided grin she’d first seen when she had given him the box of pencils and the note apologizing for the detention Mr. Cassel had given him back in sixth grade for defending her and Bran in front of Theon. Sansa gave him her hand at once and smiled back.

 “Friends and fellow weirdos,” she said.  “Deal.”

[jeyne-stark]

Sansa x Jeyne W

Intriguing…hadn’t thought of that before, but I am definitely thinking about that now…