❅ Seven (Video)

[stonebird]

(It has been some time - see: years - since she celebrated her birthday, but since she has a chance, she wonders if she should take it. She lights a candle beside her, sitting at a simple vanity.)

Are naming days important to you? If so, how do you make them special?

(She picks up a brush and slowly releases her hair from its braids.)

I think I will be nineteen in May. (It had taken some time for her to determine an appropriate month - the days are counted/reckoned differently in Westeros - and May had seemed the most fitting.) I never thought I would reach such an age and remain an independent woman. I would not mind falling in love and I cannot lie that I would cherish children, but I am proud of what I have overcome and accomplished.

(Setting the brush down, she lifts a small bottle of perfume and spritzes her wrists and her neck.)

I am a child of Summer, yet Winter is part of me. I will do what I must to survive and no man will ever use me again.

Comments

[bythewaves]

So young, our Sansa. [ He says fondly ] Do you want a party?

[stonebird]

How can I be anything but young in comparison? (Thousands of years is ridiculous!) For me? I would not ask that of you.

[bythewaves]

You are not asking, pen neth. [ Maglor teases ]

I am.

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[hoperulesdespairdrools]

From the way you speak, it sounds like you've achieved a lot. How marvellous!

[Full of shining, wonderful hope!]

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[stonebird]

I believe I have, though it may not seem like anything to others. (More like a tiny ray of sunshine poking out on a very rainy day.)

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[hoperulesdespairdrools]

Overcoming your struggles with hope isn't anything? I mean, they'd have a point if it's a tiny thing but it doesn't sound like that from the way you're speaking.

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[1019]

[...Heyyyy, there, that's one cute girl...!

It's. A prrrrobably very different a reaction than she intended to get with this, given what she's saying, but Lucas isn't really cognizant of that kind of thing unless he wants to be. Stops at the video, brow lifting, mouthing an ooh...! and watching it play...

...The sum effect of this, at least, though, is that, well.

This is the least-detached, "I'm just trying to get info"-y attention anything on the network thus far's gotten out of him.

He stops for a sec. Leaning on a propped-up elbow, loose fingers and knuckle under a nose that...

...Gradually scrunches as he splits a grin, you know what, fuck it.]

What, you mean like a birthday?

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[stonebird]

(Birthday is such a strange way of putting it. It makes sense, of course, but she has spent her whole life calling it naming day.)

Essentially, yes. Sometimes parents will wait to name a child until they are certain they will live. There are little guarantees on Westeros. My parents had names prepared before their children were born, however. Even the ones that were lost have names.

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[1019]

From a rough place, huh?
Where I come from, parties, cakes, and presents, is the main stuff.
When it comes to how to make them special.

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[am_i_a_monster]

We celebrated birthdays back home. We would have climbed Eagle Mountain to celebrate my Mom's birthday if.. [she pauses] if things had been different.

I never thought I'd reach my age. I'm eighteen. I do what I have to, to survive too.

How do you want to celebrate your birthday?

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[stonebird]

Why climb a mountain? Was that something your mother enjoyed? (The view must have been spectacular if nothing else.)

We must do what it takes to survive. (If she were a man, it might be easier.) A quiet day spent with my loved ones would suffice.

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[am_i_a_monster]

It was. My mom really liked to spend time outdoors. The whole family did.

I wish more people understood that. Even if we can come from the dead here, we should try to stay alive.

[She pauses.]

Are they here? Your loved ones?

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[lemontree]

Well said, Lady Sansa. [ Honestly, who needs men?? ] I would be honored to join you in celebrating your name day.

[ Dany is only a few years older in show canon, but both women have been through so much. She finds that she wants to know the other better. ]

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[stonebird]

(Cruel men can take a hike off a short cliff with a long drop.)

Your Majesty. (She flushes with delight.) I would be honored! Do you like lemon cake, by chance?

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[lemontree]

Lemon cake? [ That brings a sort of surprised, but amused smile to her face. ] I'm not sure that I've ever had lemon cake, but I would be happy to try it.

[ It sounds delicious, in any case. ]

[utulien_aure]

The Westerosi celebrate the day one was named?

[Hmmm, that would have been an interesting yearly custom if the Noldor had kept it....]

[stonebird]

Indeed. It is a...formality. Many babes die - either in the womb or not long outside of it. It is considered an ill omen to name them too early.

(They would be partying every day.)

[paragonbrosca]

Good for you. Men can be awful, can't they? Finding the decent ones can take forever.

And nah, naming days aren't a thing where I'm from. That sort of thing takes money and if you don't have it, well...it's just another day. My friends did give me a birthday the first one I had on the surface, though! Pub crawl in Denerim.

[stonebird]

They can be worse than beasts. (She sets her brush down with a clack.) Not all of them, mind you. The good ones seem...few and far between.

I...understand. (That saddens her. Lives left unnoticed for lack of funds.) We can change that here. What do you like, my lady?

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[ctrlfu]

Oh man, your parents are Summer and Winter? That is so. Awesome.

Wait, does that make you Spring?Is Fall your brother?

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[stonebird]

I was referring to...our natures. In Westeros - my home - the children of Summer are considered softer and weaker than the offspring of Winter.

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[middleborn]

[Can he just watch her brush her hair forever, please?]

Is it when you were named, or when you were born, that is important to you? Are they different?

I was born in the Spring and I think I am now.... [He frowned a little, trying to remember. He was well past old enough that he was considered an adult in his community, which was all that really mattered.] Twenty...? [He looked away from the camera, pursing his lips thoughtfully, voice going a little quieter as he decided to share something a little more private as well.] I also thought I might have children by now.

[Clearing his throat, he moved on.]

What do you mean... about Winter? Why do you say Winter is a part of you? What does that mean?

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[stonebird]

(Her arm will get tired eventually.)

When I was named. It is considered an ill omen to name a child too early. So many perish in the womb or not long outside of it.

(The Starks were a little different. All of their babes were given names. As long as they were fully formed, they felt they were owed that much.)

Spring is not a season we acknowledge in Westeros. Only Summer and Winter exist and they can last for years at a time. I was born in Summer and it has been Summer my entire life.

(She gives a small nod and smile.) I know how you feel. (Well...to a certain degree.) I want children. I've dreamed about them, but I've been able to discover my worth. I think you need to stand on your own before you can - should - marry.

(Sansa frowns, her eyes dimming.) Winter is the harshest season for my home. I have never experienced it before, however -

My family - the Starks - have been the heralds of Winter for centuries. Our family motto is "Winter is coming". We are closely tied to Direwolves and the members of our family are usually quite strong. I was born during the mildest of seasons, but I can be strong like my family before me too.

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[redwinekindofgirl]

[Damn it, why does every other girl here give Julie hair-envy.

There's a lot to take in here, but Julie, from far more modern times than Sansa, decides on prodding at one particular thing first.]

What's wrong with being an independent woman?

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[stonebird]

(She is blessed in that department. The Tully genes are good!)

It is less...acceptable...in my world. Women are expected to marry and have children.