elnysa | video; un: ironborn

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video; un: ironborn

I’ll not congratulate anyone for the beginnings of this cure.

[ Oh, look, it's that guy who pisses everyone off. The corner of his mouth quirks into a cruel smirk, but his teeth are clenched too tightly and his eyes burn too fiercely for any proper smile. It’s a struggle for him to remain as guarded as he would prefer, and there are cracks in his armor: he’s clearly angry and upset. ]

My sister was among the ill. Was. I have been informed that she has since returned to the pods—still uncured.

[ He tries to keep his tone even and cold, void of emotion, but his voice breaks ever so slightly. He and Asha weren’t close, not like he’s known siblings should be, but it’s a deep cut to be abandoned again, and it hurts to know that one of the few people he felt he could trust in this place is gone. Clearing his throat, he continues.]

Which leads me to the question at hand. What reason do I, or the worried, or any of the ailing, have to trust the maesters here? Healers--whatever name you may know them by. Months, this has gone on, to the point where someone is gone and remains unhealed.

[ He knows better than to critique those who have done nothing but help, but his anger is directionless otherwise, so he chuckles cruelly, and that cheshire smirk widens. ]

They’ve been all but useless.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rightful King of Westeros?

[ If you could hear him laugh...And yes, he knows. He knows he's a turncloak and he knows what he did and he knows that Robb died--in part because of it. His mockery of Stannis is very strange impulse, partially drawn from the part of him that is still loyal to Robb. ]

Did all of House Baratheon make their attempt to get Westeros to bend the knee? It didn't work out so well for any of you, did it?

AYE. RIGHTFUL KING OF WESTEROS.

[ and truth be told, he knows that the turncloak is right in a sense. at times, he wonders if all that has come to pass was his punishment for going against his rightful king and following his brother. but that is a foolish thought to dwell on.

regardless. ]

I YET LIVED, AND VERY NEARLY RECAPTURED THE NORTH, AS YOUR SISTER COULD HAVE ATTESTED TO. I DID NOT ASK FOR THE CROWN, BUT WITH THE LANNISTER WOMAN GIVING MY BROTHER HORNS, I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE.

[ as was the tale of his whole life. ]

I've been told that your brother made the same claim. Which of you claimed to be more rightful?

[ Robb never made such a large claim. He only wanted the North, and he had intended to offer the Iron Islands independence from the rest of the North. That had always seemed fair. If only Balon hadn't rebuked the offer. ]

"Very nearly" will get you nowhere further than "not at all", and perhaps my sister could attest to it, if she were here to do so.

[ Wow, that bitterness. ]

RENLY WAS THE YOUNGER BROTHER. HE COULD NOT HAVE INHERITED BEFORE I, JUST AS YOU COULD NOT INHERIT BEFORE YOUR BROTHERS IF THEY STILL LIVED.

[ he would know. he was there as they fell, one by one. ]

SHE IS NOT. THOUGH IT MATTERS LITTLE NOW. WESTEROS IS GONE, AND ALL THAT REMAINS IS ITS PEOPLE. WE MUST ABIDE BY THE LAWS HERE, TURNCLOAK.

[ he is not a cruel man. but he is a blunt one. ]

And Asha should not inherit before me.

[ He doesn't say as much, but Balon clearly intended for her to do so. He raised her as an heir because his only son was indisposed. The ironborn make their own rules and do as they like. Asha was known to them, and despite being a woman, she'd proven herself. If Balon wished to make her his heir, they would accept her as such. ]

Aye, but no law says that I need respect you or your false title.

AYE. YOU WERE MEANT TO BE HEIR TO PYKE AND WOULD HAVE REMAINED SUCH, IF YOU HAD NOT COMMITTED TREASON.

[ if nothing else, he agreed with Theon on that point. he had been the rightful heir of the iron islands. ]

IT WAS NOT A FALSE TITLE. BUT YOU ARE RIGHT. ONLY A FOOL WOULD ASK ANOTHER TO CALL THEM "KING" HERE.

A fool or not, you've no reason to ask another to call you "king" here.

You were a false king.

I WAS ROBERT'S TRUE HEIR. HE HAD NO CHILDREN, AND SO THE THRONE FELL TO ME. JUST AS IT FELL TO HIM THROUGH OUR FATHER'S MOTHER, RHAELLE TARGARYEN.

[ don't forget, he's a whole QUARTER Targaryen. ~~that's only a quarter less than Jon~~. ]

Aye, Joffrey was a false king as well.

All of you are. I do not care about your Targaryen blood.

[ He would call anyone but Robb a false king, tbh. He's just being petty. ]

YOU SEEM TO LACK UNDERSTANDING AS TO WHAT A "FALSE KING" IS, TURNCLOAK. BY LAW, I WAS THE TRUE KING

[ and the law is absolute. ]

I do not recall pledging anything to you, or to either one of your brothers, or to that yellow haired shit Joffrey.

[ Nah, man. The law sucks. AND YES, HE KNOWS. TURNCLOAK. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL HIM. ]

YOU WERE NOT THE LORD OF THE IRON ISLANDS. BE THAT AS IT MAY, I THINK IT WAS EVIDENT HOW MUCH YOUR PLEDGES MEANT.

[ for while he might have claimed loyalty to Robb Stark, did he not betray him in the end?

~~not that Stannis could relate to this, choosing blood over honour. nor would he dare to compare to the situations in his mind.~~ ]

You know nothing of any of it. You were not in Riverrun when I bent the knee, and you were not at Pyke when I turned my cloak.

[ He still feels loyal to Robb. Part of him despises himself for it, while part of him hates that he ever betrayed his best friend to begin with. It's square one, right where he was when Balon refused to accept Robb’s alliance. He’s made no moves forward. He’s only moved backward and blocked himself in. ]

You seem to lack understanding as well.

I UNDERSTAND WHAT TREASON IS. THE REASONS BEHIND IT MATTER LITTLE, THEON GREYJOY. HAD YOU FOUGHT FOR YOUR FATHER, OR ROBB STARK THE ENTIRE TIME, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN HONOUR IN THAT. INSTEAD, YOU CHOSE TO BE A TURNCLOAK.

[ for he can admit that unlike Renly, both Robb and Balon had their own claims to their thrones. but treason is treason. ]

TELL ME, THEN? WHAT IS THERE NOT TO UNDERSTAND? DID YOU NOT BURN WINTERFELL? DID YOU NOT MURDER BRANDON AND RICKON STARK? UNLESS THERE IS SOMETHING I AM MISSING, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE FACTS ARE SIMPLE.

No. Not Bran and Rickon.

[ But as for the burning of Winterfell, it's difficult for him to say for certain now. When he woke, he was so certain. He thought he knew what he saw, he heard Ramsay make the orders, and it was all still so crisp and clear in his memory, but those are memories he can no longer rely upon. Everyone seems so intent on ripping them to shreds, on making certain that he can't trust even himself. But even Ramsay confirmed that the deaths of the Stark boys' were a charade, and Theon clings to that. ]

The Stark lordlings live still. All you've heard is a lie.

[ Except--he's heard things about Rickon, from Sansa and Jon. He doesn't know whether or not he can believe them anymore. ]

THEN WHO WERE THE BODIES THAT YOU DISPLAYED? I MUST ADMIT, WHILE I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU, THE ACCOUNTS WE HAVE ORIGINALLY CAME FROM RAMSAY SNOW, WHOSE CRIMES ARE WORSE THAN EVEN YOURS.

[ was it a ruse? and if it were a ruse, dare he...

no. none of it mattered anymore. Davos had perished in Westeros, just as Bran and Rickon had. ]

IF WE ARE FORTUNATE, THE BASTARD PERISHED WITH WESTEROS.

Two boys of a similar age. Dressed in Stark clothing. Their heads dipped in tar.

[ He's still plagued by nightmares of them, of what he thinks transpired. He remembers Ramsay flaying their faces as well to further disguise them, but he doesn't mention that. Ramsay tells him differently here, tells him that he was so shaken with guilt and grief over what he'd done that he'd fallen into a fit of madness. He believes it. It's the only thing anyone's told him here that he can believe. He had felt half mad in Winterfell. ]

I meant to fool them all. They saw what they wanted to see.

[ now this... this was something to think on. the turncloak had admitted to murder, true enough, but not the murder of the Stark boys. at this point, he had no reason to lie, and so perhaps, Stannis might conclude that there was some truth in what he said. ]

THEN YOU KILLED TWO INNOCENT SMALLFOLK? THAT IS STILL A CRIME, THOUGH YOUR WORDS MAY YET RING TRUE.

[ truly fascinating... ]

AND WHAT OF THE BURNING OF WINTERFELL? YOU HAVE SAID NOTHING OF THAT, AND I WOULD HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

[ for perhaps that might be the bastard as well. he cannot be sure, yet... ]

[ It’s some time before Theon responds. He’s been wavering on this response. He can’t trust his memories as the truth any longer, and Ramsay has told him nothing of the manner in which Winterfell was put to the torch. So he lies, but not entirely. He draws from those memories, whether they're false or not. ]

Whoever it was set Winterfell to the torch, his identity remains lost to me. All I can say is that he wore a red helm and rode upon a red stallion. I never saw his face.

[ Ramsay did tell him to be certain to include one detail, though: ]

Ramsay was never in Winterfell. Not while the ironborn occupied it.

now i am here too whoops sorry stannis

um now who is invading who's safe space

everyone already invaded theon's safe space ): so. he does what he wants

DON'T U DARE BRING UP RENLY WHO HE DEFS DID NOT KILL

SURE, BUDDY. EVERYONE BELIEVES THAT

HE HAS WITNESSES HIS HANDS ARE CLEAN

ALRIGHT, BUD. LET'S ASK BRIENNE OF TARTH

SHE'S THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM.

ALRIGHT PAL. IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANNA BELIEVE.

IT IS SO JOKES ON YOU

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