#I really believe that they were more harmful to jon

[whynotlol9]

I’m still not over TMA. So here are my ladies, my worm wife Jane Prentis, love her forever) Nikola is just so fun and Jude is just cool (and hot ;)

[spxllcxstxr]

Being Eddard Stark’s Second Wife • Headcanon

(Gif not mine)

Request: Eddard Stark second wife headcanon? ❤️❤️❤️ -m — anon

Warnings: fem!reader, heavy canon divergence, mention of dying in childbirth (not reader, no other mention of pregnancy/having children), assumed age gap? Ned stark being THE man <3

A.N: I feel like these are a little short but I actually like this one! I love Ned so much so these were also just fun to write…I hope you like them! :) also I always struggle to find more diverse gifs along these romantic lines and I’m so sorry about that, my works are always inclusive

•

You marry Ned Stark after Catelyn dies delivering Rickon, her youngest

Ned certainly did not believe that he would marry again, he was incredibly heartbroken by the death of his wife

Additionally, he now had to look after 6 children and be the Lord of Winterfell

Even though he had servants and teachers and maesters to look after his children and keep them preoccupied, he was still stretched very thin due to stress and lack of sleep

You had been a close friend to the Starks even before Robb was born; some daughter of a lesser known Northern house who had come to Winterfell for a change of scenery

Despite your lower ranking, Ned and Catelyn became close friends of yours

When Catelyn died Ned’s grief almost consumed him; but you were his light in the deep and dangerous darkness that had fallen over his life

While throughout the many years of knowing Ned you occasionally felt a spark, not love, but it certainly wasn’t platonic, you pushed it down, never rushing anything that would harm your friendship and Catelyn in particular

Becoming Ned’s second wife is a gradual process

Ned comes to you almost every day, whether it is due to his grief or to ask your opinion on something, you become even closer than you were before

It takes maybe around 2 or 3 years of mutual pining for the two of you to really acknowledge what’s going on

Robb, Jon, and Arya definitely have a hand in this, they’re old enough to see what’s going on, they certainly drop hints to the two of you

“Tell me, my Lady, why I cannot stop thinking about you…”. He takes off his gloves, just to place his rough palm gently on your cheek. “You are the first thing in my mind when I wake, and the last thing when I finally succumb to sleep.”

“Ned…”

“If you do not feel the same tell me now, before I kiss you,���

The kiss is obviously what starts it, and the wedding comes very quick after that

Ned is very protective of you

With anything

He knows how harsh the Northern wind is, so he makes sure you have the finest furs and the warmest boots

Even if you say you’re fine he will insistently add another layer onto you

He does it with a grin on his face and a kiss on the forehead

Ned loves you so much

He will also teach you how to defend yourself

He is already teaching his children so training you isn’t a problem, he doesn’t like to think about it, but he knows there might come a day where he may not be able to protect you from the evil things of Westeros (or beyond)

His kids are mostly used to you before you end up marrying him

Sansa is really the only one to have a bigger issue with her father taking a second wife but she quickly warms up to you

You know you aren’t their mother and you try not to smother them like you are, but you are protective of them as if they were your own

Ned loves watching you help them with their studies or their interests

He’s seen you sneakily teach Arya how to punch properly

And Sansa’s needlework has improved since you moved into the castle

He adores how you treat Jon no differently than the others, Catelyn always did. He doesn’t blame her, he had to lie to her, but it warms his heart to see you act so kind to him

Ned is a loving husband and he shows that to you every day

He’s always gentle towards you and respects your opinions and what you have to say

He’s truly #NotLikeOtherMen lmao

•

[phntmeii]

♡ Dating Margaery Tyrell Headcanons

❝ ...a lovely young girl with doe's eyes and a cascade of soft brown hair.❝ 

[ SFW + Fem Terms Used]

Pairing: Margaery Tyrell x Fem!Snow!Reader

A/N: I miss her to a concerning level. She really was a queen in every aspect and I personally need her so bad.

🌷 You’d been one of the famed Stark bastards. Twin to Jon Snow. Growing up was odd. You were raised beside the Stark family yet felt like an outsider. Some family were kind enough: Ned, Arya, Robb. But some were more critical like Catelyn and Sansa.

🌷 You were made to be a proper lady although you’d never live the life of one. When Ned had to go to King’s Landing, you went as well. After all, Catelyn would dislike seeing lingering around still.

🌷 And so you endured King’s Landing beside Sansa as one of her ladies-in-waitings. Even in her grief where she would scream at you, you were always there still. She was your sister even if you were a bastard.

🌷 And then came the Tyrells to save the Battle of Blackwater. You watched along with Sansa as Margaery presented herself to Joffrey, wanting to be his new queen. You couldn’t even pay attention to the weight of her words when she glanced over at you by the rafters above and your heart stopped.

🌷 Margaery was beautiful and she knew it as well as anyone. She was the definition of a lady and you swore you seemed more like a desperate man in love the way your eyes followed after Margaery in the hall.

🌷 And the worst part was how she met your eyes and kept the gaze while she left.

🌷 Margaery was no Varys or Littlefinger, having spies all across the land to tell her information but your eyes were evident in what they said.

🌷 Love was always apparent in someone’s eyes.

🌷 Margaery’s personality molds into whoever she needs it to be for a specific situation or toward a specific person. And she’d use this ability to her advantage.

🌷 You didn’t know when it started that Margaery would find a way to sneak into your chambers. She had a coy smile as she came up from behind to purposefully frighten you before kissing you.

🌷 Her playfulness was something that made you fall harder. She seemed to always be smiling. Always laughing. She was perfect and yet so simply elegant.

🌷 You two had to be secret for a number of reasons.

🌷 Firstly, Joffrey was her betrothed and he certainly wouldn’t hesitate to put you both down for finding out what you had done with Margaery.

🌷 If Joffrey didn’t, the church would certainly love to. They’d spin the story of the dishonest Stark bastard who seduced the lovely rose of Highgarden.

🌷 And, lastly, you were a bastard. Period. There was no world where you could be with her if it wasn’t in secret.

🌷 But you couldn’t pull yourself away from her. Whenever you worried of the consequences, Margaery was coiled around you, whispering your worries away.

🌷 “My love… There is nothing to fear. This is our secret. One we’ll keep for a lifetime if need be. When I’m queen, I will make sure no harm ever comes to you. I promise you.”

🌷 And Margaery knew how to play her cards right. If Joffrey questioned why she spent time with you at all, she always held a reason for it. Stroke his ego just enough to keep you beside her.

🌷 Her family were not idiots either. They were perhaps the only ones to notice how Margaery looked at you. It was dangerous for her plan of being queen if found out but, with that boy wrapped around her finger, who’d believe such a rumor?

🌷 Margaery enjoyed listening to you talk more than she liked to. Learning everything she could about you, interests, hobbies, and life story—She was fascinated by all of it.

🌷 Surrounded by flowers and flower imagery constantly from birth made Margaery’s head ache in truth but being in love with you made her want to give you flowers. And her flowers were not random picks.

🌷 Margaery would leave you a bouquet with a note in black ink or red ink. Black ink meant the bouquet were of healing herbs. Red ink meant the bouquet were of poisonous flowers.

🌷 Just like her, they were gorgeous on the outside but devious in use. Whatever kept her secret beloved safe.

🌷Margaery’s main Love Languages to give are: Acts of Service and Physical Touch.

🌷 Margaery knows the power that she holds in court and is no stranger to using it to her advantage or wants.

🌷 She appointed guards to protect you and Sansa to make sure of your safety. It was ever important to her.

🌷 She was the one to allow more of your freedom to roam about rather than be trapped solely in your chambers that felt more like a prison cell.

🌷 Margaery enjoyed sending off lemon cakes to your chambers as a little gift while you were out so you'd come back with them ready for you.

🌷 Margaery's favorite Love Languages to receive are: Physical Touch and Quality Time.

🌷 While Margaery has accustomed to playing herself up with a mask, she can't help but swoon when it comes to physical touch.

🌷 Alone in your chambers at night, she's dying to be kissed and held by you. It's as though you were a safety where she could just melt completely in your arms.

🌷 Anytime she gets time with you, she's overjoyed. It's so much more comforting than to be around the Lannisters in a game of lies.

🌷 One of her favorites is to just listen to you talk about your hobbies and your life in Winterfell.

⤷ divider credits: @cafekitsune

[zephyrrr101]

Happened, Happening and Will Happen.

Pairing: Robert Baratheon x Named Targaryen OC

TW: Abusive Words, Mention of Forces Intercourse, Harrasment, Mention of Incest and Death, Robert Baratheon being and ass, All of ASOIAF warnings.

Note: English is not my first language, hons. You can tell me if I made a mistake somewhere. Don't know why this took me this long despite having everything in mind of what I wanted to do.

Part One

Alyssanne couldn't believe it was actually happening. She was really standing in front of the door of the Great Sept, many guards around her to stop what was left of King's Landing's population to reach her.

More like to stop her from running away.

She couldn't believe that she was standing there in a white dress, a dress of a maiden about to be wed.

Jon Arryn stepped inside the door of her chamber, closing it behind him as he looked at she hesitantly. “I hope it would be better if we could sit down for this talk, my princess,"

"Why?" She asked, hands clenching at the fabric of her dress as she stood away from him by the window that overlooked the Blackwater Bay. "What is it that we must sit for?" She wouldn't have been this rude to him but these were not pleasant times. At least not for her.

Jon Arryn sighed, it was evident that he was not ready for this coming conversation, "It is of utmost importance that we talk and I think you would find it better. Please, I mean no harm to you."

"Just like that man means no harm to me or my family?" Jon did not miss the disgust in her tone. It was enough to understand that no sympathies were going to work with the young girl. "I know you are here to tell me what would be done to me, Lord Arryn. Do us both a favour and just be done with it."

"I understand that this is not something you will want, but the small council has come to a decision. We all agree that you should wed King Robert within a sennight."

She looked at him in utmost shock, her mouth hung open in shock. A wave, no, a storm of emotions was flowing through her. Was it anger? Pity? Relief? Or was she going mad just as her father?

Whatever it was, it all this was enough to elicit a laugh out of her mouth. "Say again? Wed to Robert Baratheon? You all must have lost your minds!” She hissed at him.

"There are still those who had supported your brother—"

"Of course they are!" She scoffed, "and I am to a bargaining lot for you all to quell it down, aren't I?"

"The king does not like this arrangement any more than you do, princess. You must marry him. Or you would be put to sword. Would you rather be dead?"

"There is another way! Let me go! Let me leave Westeros. I will sail across the Narrow Sea, find what is left of my family and you can assure your King Robert that none of us will ever return to threaten his reign!" Her words were strong but the plead of last evening was still present.

"You have my apologies, princess, but the King has declined to even think of this. His words are clear. You must marry him to settle Realm's peace."

She had tried to argue with the new Hand for a few more moments before he had sorrowfully left her alone as she had started to weep.

It had taken Ser Barristan a good few hours to make her understand that it might be best for her to accept this marriage, as this could be a way to stall time for her younger siblings and maybe with time she and Robert could even come to love each other. Her siblings could be allowed to come back home.

Alyssane knew it was all just hollow words. Robert Baratheon was a man as stubborn as mule. If he wanted to kill Viserys and Daenerys, he would stop at nothing. But the decision was made. There was little she could do alone in a place where everyone now was loyal to Robert Baratheon. How did the Small Council convinced him for this marriage will forever be a mystery for her.

The doors were opened. And in front of her was a hand which belonged to Lord Stark.

Eddard ‘Ned’ Stark. The new Lord Stark.

Since no one from her family was there to give her away, it was him who had volunteered himself.

From what she knew, he was almost, if not more, of a brother to Robert. Last she had seen him was before the rebellion at the tourney at Harrenhal, the damned tourney.

She had danced with him after Rhaegar in the music where partners were changed. He had been utmost respectful and she found him the most handsome man after Ser Arthur. She remember dreaming of maybe marrying him one day too.

Now all was lost to a mistake made by her brother.

It never extinguished her surprise how he didn't throw insults at her considering it was him who had dealt the most casualty at her father's hand. His father and brother killed. His sister raped by her brother. She respected him, perhaps she felt comforted that it was him giving she away.

"I hope you will be able to find some solace in your coming life, your grace," He spoke as her hand left his and was placed in calloused one of her to-be-husband in moments. She didn't want to but she had glanced at him for once and looked away, never raising her eyes until she didn't have to.

Robert looked as if someone had forced him to eat and swallow sourest of lemons. She couldn't help but clench her jaw at sight of her father's crown on his head. It belonged to Rhaegar. And Viserys after him. Not Robert. He did not deserve it.

Time passed, the septon spoke his prayers and her Red and Black Targaryen cloak was changed for the Golden and Black one that House Baratheon.

"I am his and he is mine." She had never felt much more empty or false words leave her mouth. She did not even realise when he had pulled her close and kissed her until their lips had met. It was painful. Not just in her mind but in reality. He was rough. As if trying to pour all his anger in one act. The people cheered and she held her tears back.

The ceremony ended just quickly in her mind and now she was sat on the royal table with Robert beside her, sinking into cups and getting handsy with the maids that were serving food and wine.

She wanted to feel humiliated. She wanted to feel angered but she didn't. If anything she was much glad that Robert would give into his drunken state and fall unconscious soon.

She could feel Stannis' glare on her. From the day she received the news of wedding to this day, Ser Barristan had been kind enough to tell her what was happening around the palace. Stannis had been made Lord of Dragonstone. Something which she think he did not like. Well, Stannis rarely did like anything. Even before this damned war.

Jaime Lannister stood by her side as her sworn shield. This was the perfect jape from Robert. He probably hoped that the Lannister knight would stab her from behind as well.

Kingslayer, they all named him.

Her father was a monster. She knew. Had also been a witness and victim of it all first hand.

But to be forced to face the man who killed him, she hated it. It was a punishment. A punishment for the crimes she hadn’t even committed.

She hated him.

She hated him.

She hated him.

She hated him and all she could do was push around the food on her plate, try to swallow what was in her mouth and try to forget where she was, copying Robert’s method.

She wondered if things would have been different if she had married Rhaegar as her father had originally wanted. She, by no chance, loved Rhaegar as a husband or a lover but knew that she was hale and healthy to be able to bear children that Rhaegar would have wanted.

Rhaegar’s three children.

Her brother was obsessed with creating the Conquerors reborn, always saying how a dragon must have three heads.

She only wonders if she didn’t cry to Cersei Lannister about her hesitance to marry Rhaegar, the golden haired lady would not have promised to her that she would never have to marry her brother.

She wasn’t a fool. She knew that her freedom of few year was a boon from Tywin Lannister or Lord Varys, perhaps. She also knew how the Warden of West desired to marry his daughter to her brother.

As much as she loved Cersei, she knew she wouldn’t make a good queen, especially not for Rhaegar. But at that moment Alyssanne hadn’t cared. She was free.

She was free.

Until she wasn’t.

She felt hands around her, pulling her away from her thoughts and her chair it was when she noticed men surrounding her, some grinning, some scowling, some drunk, some sober.

Her turns to look around her only to find ladies surrounding Robert. And it finally clicked her.

The horrendous Bedding Ceremony.

Lords, old and young, all started to grab her, taking hold of her gown and veil from various parts. She even felt one hand grasping her pearl necklace before pulling at it, the pearls shattering against her chest and they fell, jumping on the floor, before stopping.

Her necklace.

It was a gift from her mother, the Queen Rhaella. And now it was broken. Alyssanne felt tears come in her eyes.

Was this how it was going to be?

Was she was going to taken away from every little thing about her family one by one, just like how men tore at her clothes, was she going to torn to be left as nothing.

The way from the Grand Hall to the Maegor’s Holdfast has been long enough, it had felt like eternity to Alyssanne. The men grabbing and pulling at her skin, as the picked up her bare self, she could feel one of them having too much of a tight grip on her, it almost made her cry more.

But she took a deep breath, and kept her eyes around the places she was being carried through, ignoring the hands fondling with her.

That archway, she remembered hiding there when she was playing with Rhaenys.

The inner kitchen, she had stolen lemon cakes with Viserys there.

The broad banisters of the serpentine stairs, she remembered how Elia had shown her a way to slide on them, but both of them ended up falling on the stairs. Thankfully there weren’t any injuries that would be needed to alert anyone, for it was only them and Ashara Dyane.

Ashara, another good friend claimed by the war.

How many names had she forgotten and would be reminded like this every time, with every breath and step she took in the place.

And she felt coolness under her feet, her eyes snapping to the open doors of what ones used to be her father’s chamber just a moon before.

The men around her and the women who had been waiting outside the open door all pushed her, surprising her with the fact that she hadn’t fallen face flat at floor.

There was loud thud of the doors closing.

Alyssanne pulled her hands around her, feeling a sudden chill around her.

He was here.

The women being outside was just a confirmation.

But she couldn’t bring herself to look around for where he was.

She’d rather ignore it to the end of the world if she could.

Only it wasn’t in her hand.

“Stop being so prudish,” she heard Robert behind her. “You are just like you brother.”

“I’m not my brother!” The reply was out before she could consider it. Well, what’s the worse he could do now? She thought and continued. “Nor were my mother and little brother and sister. Why are you punishing us? Rhaegar’s dead.”

“Aye, he is. Haven’t forgotten. I killed him, after all.” Robert walked over to her, his feet thumping on the floor. Despite the number cups and flagon he’d finish, his voice was as clear as the moon that was shining in the dark sky. No cloud of slurs, nothing.

He had gotten close. So close that she could feel his skin on hers and stiffened at the feel of it.

Alyssanne crashed in him, her hair being pulled at the very base of her head and winced, trying not to cry at the feel of her head being tore into half.

Robert tilted her head towards him. A sneer and hatred, that’s what outshined on him. And she closed her eyes as he pulled her more towards him, his rough beard felt like scratching her cheek as he spoke in her ear.

“I killed him, hit my hammer right in his chest,” His breath smelled of all the alcohol he had drunk. “Do you know what they call the place when I killed him? Ruby Ford. All those rubies fell off that place? son of whore when I hit him.”

“He’s dead, Robert.” Alyssanne whispered, her breath strangled.

“So is Lyanna!”

“It’s not me who killed her!” Alyssanne grasped at his hand, trying to pull it away. She went as far as digging her nails into him but there wasn’t even a grunt. It was as if he was made of iron or something.

“Shut up, you whore!” Robert spat, his hands moving, one of them, grabbed her from her waist and under her knees. And the next moment she was on the bed.

Alyssanne gasped, her breath leaving her for a moment, a moment she missed where Robert had climbed the bed, a moment in which he was on her.

Her senses came back to her when he shoved her legs apart, sat himself between them in front of her core.

No.

No!

No!

No!

“No!” Alyssanne gasped, pushing herself away but to no avail.

Robert had grabbed her hips and leaned over her, his hand capturing both of her and other had a deathly grip on her jaw. She wouldn’t be surprise if he actually broke it.

“No point in making a scene, woman! Just take it and be done!”

She felt herself being torn into halves before she could even register his words, her scream drowning in his mouth.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

And on and on.

She could feel her cheeks getting wet, her vision clouded by her tears.

And she cried.

For what has happened.

For what is happening.

And for what will happen.

[mellybouboulove]

My guardian angel🤍𓆩♡𓆪☁️

Chapter 4

Plot summary: Drug Dealer Ellie Williams X OFC slowburn fic, out of universe and takes place in college, set in the 2000s. Smut content to come.

previous: Chapter 3 next: Chapitre 5

Tags: #wlw #sapphic #drugdealer!ellie #modern!ellie #tlou #slowburn #smut #fluff #tlouau #au #modernau #drugs

CHAPTER 4

Monday morning: Ellie told me she had a lot of work today so she left early in the morning. After my encounter with Emily, I had set my mind to make things better, at least that’s what I was planning for today. I woke up with a severe stomach ache and migraine; my body begging me to take drugs but I tried to stay focused on my goal; I got ready and went to the hospital. Starting with Jonathan who’s in a coma will be easier than facing Emily who could punch me. 

Stepping into this hospital again made me feel weird but I knew I had to do it. I found my way to Jon’s room, the atmosphere was heavy which is weird considering it as filled with flowers and gifts. The only sounds in the room were the beeps of the machines and his artificially controlled breathing, all of this because of me. I sat next to him and started to talk. I felt stupid at first as I didn’t even know if there was a chance he could hear me but it actually did make me feel better to let it all out. I told him how sorry I was and how much I hoped he would get better; how I would’ve rather been in his place instead. I left flowers and a note on his bedside table hoping he would wake up in the following weeks and would be able to see it, knowing we kept him in our minds. 

I already felt relieved from this talk but I still had to give Emily a visit. My body was still shaking, my head and stomach were still hurting. I hope these symptoms will be gone soon enough. 

Once in Emily’s front door, I felt reluctant remembering everything that she told me this weekend. Leaving now would make me a selfish coward; I have to talk to her. I knocked and after a couple seconds she opened. Her eyebrows furrowed as she saw me, she was about to close the door at my face but I stopped it. 

-Please give me a chance to talk. I know, you were right. You were right about everything, I’ve been acting selfishly; I just wanna talk, please.

She let out a sigh, quietly opening the door for me to come. 

-May I use the bathroom first? I’m not feeling very well.  -You already know where it is. 

After refreshing my face in her bathroom to calm myself, I opened the pharmacy without thinking and noticed she had the same treatment as me. I contemplated it for a second and decided to empty the bottle in my pocket. Just in case. At this point, this is not a big deal, I've already wasted her life. 

We sat in her living room, a blank silence surrounding us until I decided to break it to tell her everything that was killing me inside. 

-I have no excuses for my behavior but believe it or not, you and Jonathan have both been on my mind everyday since that day. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for what I did to you. If I didn’t come earlier it was just because I was in a really bad place and didn’t think I would have the courage to face you knowing I ruined your life and almost killed my two best friends. I’m not expecting you to forgive me but I think we should communicate; I don’t want to cause any more harm to you. I really miss you and our friendship and if I could, I would switch places with you.  -Are you done now?  -Ugh, yes I guess. -Okay great now leave.  -What?   -Do you really think that’s how it works? Acting like a victim, giving a clingy monologue after all your bullshit thinking this is enough to fix everything ? You’re dead to me and I don't have anything to do with you. You didn’t come here for my forgiveness nor for the sake of our friendship; in fact, you don’t give a fuck about this. All you want is to make yourself look good, to make your conscience lighter, just to manage to look at yourself. If you really did care, you would’ve come earlier, you would’ve visited Jonathan and checked on me but you just disappeared. You were in a bad place when it came to facing your responsibilities but you felt good enough to find yourself a girlfriend to take on dates. You’re a horrible person Maya, you’re not even able to understand what you’ve done. Get the fuck out of my house, you can die for all I care.  

I was flabbergasted by her reaction, I didn’t expect her to forgive and forget nor for everything to come back to normal but I thought she would be more understanding and willing to save our friendship. But she’s right, it’s too late. I became somebody I don’t know, I’m just a worthless piece of shit who only cares about itself. I felt my heart pounding louder and louder, my breathing speeding up; I don’t have anyone anymore. I need drugs. 

Without even counting them, I took a handful of pills from my pocket as I was making my way back home. When I finally reached home, it felt like this was not enough. I looked around all my drawers and finally found a bottle of vodka that I quickly emptied. As I was about to swallow the last drops of alcohol, I heard the bell ringing and used the energy I had left to open it. Ellie was standing there, she looked at the bottle in my hand then she looked back at me. 

-What the fuck are you doing??  -I guess I’m.. n-not feeling so good.

Suddenly my eyelids felt so heavy and closed themselves; then everything was pitched black. When I opened my eyes again, I was on the couch, Ellie sitting next to me with a bunch of medicine, food and water on the table. 

-Are you awake? -Yes, I think so.  -Are you feeling better?  -Yes. -Ok good. Now tell me, what happened Maya? Why did you do this?  -There was nothing left to do. I couldn’t control myself anymore, I’m sorry. I said bursting into tears. -It’s fine, but you have to think and be more careful. This is not a game, if I wasn’t here to take care of you and give you pills you could’ve been dead by now. She was very gentle in her tone. I could tell she was worried.  -Wouldn’t have been so terrible to be honest.  -I was planning to go back to my house but I guess I’ll stay a little longer. Drink a lot of water. She handed me a bottle of water as she said that and I thanked her and drank it without further questions, then fell back asleep.

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 16, MAG 16 Arachnophobia

Oh mirror characters, we're really in it now.

MAG 16 analysis, spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Carlos Vittery regarding the manifestations of his arachnophobia. Statement given May 1, 2016.

Statement Notes: oh no.

Okay, starting gently. I was particularly intrigued by Vittery's methods of denial and level of cognitive dissonance. He always knew there were spiders in his garden, but didn't feel the need to move until he actually saw them. He knows Major Tom probably isn't killing every spider, but he's okay pretending to believe it. He lives in a state of willful ignorance because what else could he do? With such a crippling phobia, how else could he be expected to live if not in denial?

I also noted Carlos' increasing bravery, as well as his increasing willingness to commit acts of violence. Bravery may actually be a strong word, as he is simply more willing to kill spiders to eliminate his fear. This is a strategy the Web utilizes often to push people into becoming, if not avatars, harmful to others. Can someone be called brave solely because they enact violence on that which they fear? Did Vittery become stronger or weaker? Did he become more courageous or more of a coward?

Carlos also becomes increasingly isolated as the episode progresses, largely due to his fear of spiders outside his flat and the way the spider may take over when he leaves. He also doesn't seem to have any close friends or family to intervene or help him as his phobia worsens. This is notable because, with no one to rationalize what is happening to him, Carlos descends further into fear.

Vittery also strangely emphasizes the "stylized blue owl" on his mug. Does this come up again? It seems like a logo, but for what?

"Completely encased in webs." Not a few. Not covered in spiders. But completely encased in webs.

Entity Alignment: If Hill House can't be called the beginning of The Web's ritual and Annabelle Cane's plot, this episode can be:

Vittery didn't move into the new flat until he saw the spiders in his old one. He lived there for years and sat in that garden many times without seeing any spiders, when suddenly dozens descended on him. The Web forced Vittery to move so that he would become Prentiss' victim. His new flat holds the silver worms that infect him. This is where Martin is attacked. This kicks off the season 1 conflict. This begins the end. This gives the Spider everything she wants.

This theory is furthered by the fact that the spider haunting him prevents Carlos from leaving his flat and encourages him to give up Major Tom, removing his ability to escape or kill the worms.

The Web is known to play the long game, so it's entirely possible that it has been arranging this since 1991 by sending the spider to scare young Carlos. However, I also like the idea that the Web had several options it could send to the Boothby Road Flat, but specifically chose Vittery due to the intensity of his fear.

Character Notes: This has been said before, but it is so eerie how similar Vittery is to Jon. They both live in willing denial of their fears. They both act irrationally in the face of common problems. They both respond to their feelings in extremes or not at all. They both are proven right. They are both haunted by the ghost of the spider that ruined their childhood.

I have a...concern about the implications of my earlier web theory. Many fans cite MAG 22, in which Martin describes his escape from Prentiss after investigating Vittery's apartment, as the moment when Martin and Jon's relationship softens. I personally believe this is when Martin's feelings for Jon began to form, and Jon began considering his feelings for Martin before fully experiencing them in the season finale.

But if this episode is prompted by the Web and Martin's investigating part of Annabelle Cane's manipulation, then is Jon and Martin's relationship also a part of their plan? Cane clearly needs Jon to open the other universe. She really only seems to use Martin as a lure for Jon before the series finale, kidnapping Martin to tempt Jon to Hilltop Road. Is that the whole point of Jon and Martin being together? Would they ever have found each other if Cane didn't need to prepare her bait five years in advance?

[goodqueenaly]

If Oberyn could see the fighting in his family after he died, what do you think he would think about their actions and choices regarding his death? It made me mad when Nymeria said Ellaria didn’t understand Oberyn because they really loved each other, but he was pretty dead set on revenge and settling things himself to a really reckless degree. Do you think he would understand Ellaria’s desire for peace (or just not immediate revenge in the case of Doran) and his daughters plans for vengeance? I’m afraid that he’d be disappointed in Ellaria for not wanting revenge.

The major caveat to this question is that we’re not in Oberyn’s head and don’t know exactly what he was thinking at any given point (much less what he would think posthumously).

That being said, I think this question reflects how two characters or groups of characters can each love another character and yet come away with very different interpretations of that other person (or what happened to that person), based on their respective relationships with that individual. The obvious comparison here might be Ned: while Robb and Catelyn both clearly loved him and were devastated by his execution, Robb as his heir reasonably saw politico-military retribution on behalf of the dynasty Ned had raised Robb to inherit as the obvious solution to Ned’s murder, while Catelyn as his wife and the mother of his children (Jon the adopted son excluded) prioritized the safety and security of her and Ned’s family in the wake of his death (unconsciously sharing in Ned’s own desire to protect his daughters via his own (albeit limited) willing self-sacrifice).

The same, I think, may have been true of Oberyn’s memory for his daughters and his paramour. The three eldest daughters of Oberyn were correct in believing that Oberyn wanted vengeance for the wrongs done to House Martell, as Oberyn had very publicly demonstrated in his violent interrogation of Gregor Clegane (and indeed, though the Sand Snakes did not know it, Oberyn had been secretly and not so secretly plotting for the downfall of the Baratheon-Lannister regime for the better part of two decades). Yet it’s very obvious - by his apparent fidelity to her for more than a decade and his open, and openly romantic, regard for her - that Oberyn loved Ellaria, and though we don’t see their interactions I’d be willing to bet he loved their daughters too. The adult Sand Snakes, raised by their father to be fighters themselves, could reasonably believe that Oberyn would have cheered their desire to follow in his footsteps for war and vengeance in the name of House Martell; Ellaria, Oberyn’s spouse in all but name, could reasonably believe that the man who had loved her and their young daughters for so long would not willingly want that family put in harm’s way.

[ladysanza]

Jonsa - The Americans Au inspired

Right hand firm, she slowly stands the gun from the side table and points at the door. The clock-lamp says its only midnight but, in her mind, it could have been anytime at all. Between feeds, naps, changings and crying – God, so much crying – she doesn’t have a sense of time anymore, she just knows that she finally managed a quick shower and that she should probably get some sleep now, even though she knows that she won’t.

Not that it matters anymore.

There is someone inside her house.

Please don’t wake up, she begs internally as she slides the bassinet under the bed without taking her eyes from the damn door. She can hear the steps approaching, whoever it is it’s not even trying to be quiet. They must be in the very last flight of stairs now… and coming directly to the room. She puts her back to the wall right next to the entrance and looks at the handle slowly turning…

--------------------------------------------------------

After a day of sneaking around, trying not to get caught as he made sure those recorders were inside the office of the Secretary of Defense himself, the last place Jon expects to be attacked is inside his own home by his own wife. But as soon as he opened the bedroom’s door she had him face on the floor, knee on his neck and a gun to the back of his head.

“What the fuck?? Sansa, it’s me!” he tries to say while getting a tight grip on his hair.

She is breathing hard and not letting go of him.

“Sansa, breathe, it’s me” he asks calmly and then more softly “Let go of my head, love”. That seems to snap her out of it, and she relaxes her hand while slowly sliding her knee of to the side.

He winces and starts to turn on his back. She was not joking around. If he was anyone else, he would have a bullet making home in his skull right now.

“Jon?” she asks, and he can hear the tremble in her voice “No harm done” he says, taking the gun from her and reaching to put above the bed. “Come here” he takes her to lie above him, shushing her as she sobs on his neck.

He shouldn’t be surprised. He knows she is good in combat, has seen it firsthand a few times. But Sansa’s abilities have always fallen more on the realm of disguise, manipulation and perfect to a t strategic planning. She has half of this suburban neighborhood in love with her and if anyone asked, yes, the Snows are as normal as a young couple can be, with just the right amount of American pride and cynicism towards their government. Nothing to see.

“You told me you would be home late; how could I forget that?” she says once she is calmer.

“It’s ok, we are both tired.”

“I almost killed you, Jon! Trust me” and he can hear the desperation in her voice.

“oh, I trust you all right, but you didn’t” he says making her look in at him “you didn’t.’’

“How can you be so calm?” He sighs and the movement makes him aware of a throbbing on several different parts of him. He is going to take at least two Tylenols before going to sleep tonight. “We hardly live normal lives and the matter of fact is, we are tired, you even more so with Lyra all the time insi”- he pauses looking around – “Sansa, where is Lyra?” he asks starting to feel a panic bloom in his chest.

“Oh” she jumps from the floor and goes to the side of the bed “I put her under the bed.”

He goes close to her while she gently pulls the bassinet.

 “I can’t believe she didn’t wake up after all this.”

She really didn’t seem bothered at all, Jon noticed, while looking at his sleeping daughter. Every day he comes home and he is amazed anew when he looks at her. Not too long ago he didn’t even dare entertain the thoughts of having a family of his own. And now they have Lyra. The moonlight coming from the window makes her look like a little angel delivered to them straight from heaven.

“Sometimes when she is sleeping.” Sansa breaks the silence “I get scared that she isn’t breathing. So, I just stay up looking at her. Seeing if her chest is moving.”

He frowns.

He did not know that.

“After finishing this assignment today” he says pulling her to him “I don’t think we are going to be called for another task for some time. You will sleep more; I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Thank you” she says softly.

He kisses her shoulder “We are a team.”

“Perhaps you can start wearing a bell then.”

“Too soon” he says even though he chuckles.

“Jon” she turns in his arms, serious “I am so, so sorry.”

“I know Sans” he kisses her forehead and then her lips for good measure “I know.”

[atopvisenyashill]

idk if this is where I should be but i like your hotd opinions so….

idk if i am crazy but i always understood that rhaenyra killing her siblings would do nothing but make a problem for her

like we know being a kinslayer is bad, but we also know being a woman in westeros who wants to be a queen in her own right is also bad lol, so how would killing her siblings aid her in anyway??? killing them makes everyone’s thoughts on women ruling real and if they aren’t causing problems she looks crazy

but if she doesn’t, rhetorically she’s faced with war even if the dance doesn’t happen the way it did, but if aegon isn’t veering for the throne, wouldn’t it be easier to just… imprison, tax and kill the lords rebelling against her instead of kill aegon??

Idk i just think there is a lot of options and things that need to happen before killing alicent’s children is mandatory especially if everyone is playing nice in the family, or as nice as they can play since everyone has loose lips

i definitely feel like often when people analyze both the books and the show, when it comes to ~competing claims~ they tend to go for a very typical westerosi way of dealing with it ie murdering the competition or isolating & neutralizing them in some way. the thing is, and i know i sound like a broken clock here but….this never works!! there’s lots of reasons for this, fundamental to it being that feudalism is just a bad, self destructive system but also, not for nothing here, but ned raises jon to love his siblings and jon not only defends sansa and is likely to defend both sisters and bran later on, but robb names jon as his heir. i mean hell, if roose had let ramsay and domeric grow up as brothers, he could have avoided his damn heir getting merked because domeric had an interest in knowing his brother!

so YES i do agree that rhaenyra killing aegon is not only a stupid, reckless decision fueled by anger and nothing more it is also politically just so fucking dumb. and that was part of my frustration with that scene, is i can't believe alicent didn't say that! kinslaying is stupid, people already think rhaenyra is a tyrant (in both the books and the show - the silent six thing does not help her even if i think the velaryons were asking to get got there they're so fucking stupid, and b&c really destroys any and every shot of working towards a quick resolution of this war. thanks daemon you fucking idiot!), adding another incident of kinslaying is so dumb. it's just more needless violence.

and to be honest, this is also the argument against like "rhaenyra will need to kill alicent's children to ensure her own rule and that's why the greens are justified" first of all, wildly misogynistic reasoning here thanks but second of all, no she really does not need to kill them. in fact, it actively harms her cause if she does! she needs to neutralize them somehow, which is a vastly different beast! and something that could be relatively peaceful if anyone involved in this situation wasn't mindlessly and stupidly violent especially on a certain side. "oh but the princes in the tower" that's a wildly different situation and also, idk if anyone pushing "well richard iii killed the princes so that means rhaenyra would have to kill her brothers" know this but like, richard iii got overthrown by henry tudor so i'm not sure child murdering really worked out for him in the end there. which is again, the fucking point!!! turns out when you escalate violence constantly over some stupid fucking chair, it opens the playing field up to getting your own ass whacked by someone else for that stupid fucking chair. rhaenyra and her brothers' best shot at life was to make peace with each other and make sure they were really loud about how much they tried to make peace with each other. you can't murder your own brother and expect people not to think "well shit what's she gonna do to ME if i piss her off?" and considering rhaenyra's dedicating to making sure She Personally did not murder any of her siblings, she clearly knew that.

[scarystickers]

THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES IMPRESSIONS: EP 121 - 124

EP 121: Far Away

New character??? Also I just realized that only half of the og gang remain. I don't really get this guys abilities. "But you know better than anyone how the spiders can get into your head. Easier to just do what she asks." HUH? Is Oliver an avatar???? "You’re not quite human enough to die, but still too human to survive. You’re balanced on an edge where the End can’t touch you, but you can’t escape him" Rip Jonathan Sims, you were much more interesting before you became a vegetable. GEORGIE!!! Aw Georgie is such a real one. Y'all what was that ending, I need to read the transcript. OHHHH OLIVER IS THE WEIRD DREAMER GUYYY

EP 122: Zombie

JON IS AWAKE!!! SIX MONTHS??????? Help he wakes up and the first thing he does is read a statement. I hate that philosophy sooo much because it's like do you really think you're important enough that only you exist as a real person?? Also it's so unnecessarily depressing, like who cares if everyone else isn't real, what's the harm? It doesn't change the way you live your life. The "better?" after reading the statement reminds me sooo much of those candy ads where they're freaking out before they have them and then they eat them and they're all okay. Jon's immediate concern for Martin lmao. Y'all if Martin and Melanie aren't okay I'm losing it they're my favorite characters. I would just like it to be known now that I heavily believe that by the end of this season some weird stuff is going to happen to Martin where either he's temporarily made into an antagonist OR he becomes an avatar for something (possibly temporarily?)

EP 123: Web Development

HELP I love this intro. Melanie nooo. I love her so much. Somebody, not naming names, very clearly did not make use of the counseling services that Peter Lukas provided!! JON IS SO JEALOUS LMAOOO?? I love Basira so much but I'm so sad cause she's so much less silly this season, like her voice is so much more 'hardened?' "I don't want to impose on Martin, Melanie or Basira" It's their job??? Oh????? People who went to the institute?? "I wish I could talk it through with Martin or Tim or Sasha." :( Y'all idc Tim and Sasha aren't dead because they're alive in my head! :)

Sidenote: Martin is definitely dying by the end of all this because there's no way he doesn't like I'm convinced

Sidenote Sidenote: Has Jon listened to the tape from Elias's office yet? This is vital information and I need to know and have it mentioned.

EP 124: Left Hanging

Omg the sound is sooooo good for this episode. Don’t got too much to say about the statement itself. MARTIN JON REUNION!!!!!!! OMGONGOMG???? Complicated working for Peter Lukas??? Jon actually engaging with Martin omg. This convo is so awkward and actually such a role reversal. Y’all. I was so hyped and for what :’)

[fazedlight]

mel!!! your cat grant & max lord interlude ficlet got me to thinking - i was wondering if you had any thoughts on if they had kept maxwell lord in national city when lena luthor had arrived, what would that look like if he were a ‘tech industry’ foil instead of/in addition to morgan edge?

Oohhh yes!!! (Ficlet for reference.)

I honestly really liked Maxwell Lord’s character on the show. I was not digging the Max/Alex romance that seemed to be brewing (I just don’t think it’s possible for Alex to develop interest in someone with such clear disregard for her sister), but I really liked him being the tech foil. I think he makes a far better one than Morgan Edge, who was just a boring old out-for-himself psychopath.

Maxwell Lord, on the other hand, did feel driven by a mission. He had a deep distrust of the government due to his parents’ deaths, and I do genuinely believe that he wanted to do good in the world. But unlike Kara, he is much more cynical and practical in his approach. And much more willing to allow for collateral damage.

It kind of reminds me of the difference between Lex and Lillian. Lex is just power tripping (Jon Cryer absolutely kills it in this role, otherwise I’m not sure I’d like Lex nearly as much as I do). But Lillian is the much more interesting Luthor villain, because she genuinely thinks she’s doing good for the world - her view of the “world” is just very narrow, because it only focuses on humans, and she’s perfectly fine being a bigot. If we take it a step further with Lena’s villain era, she really served as an anti-villain - Lena’s cause was fundamentally good, but her methods were deeply misguided.

I’m trying to imagine how Max and Lena would’ve gotten along. I think, like with the Daxamite invasion where Lena and Lillian kind of team up, we could see reluctant teamups between this pair as well. But unlike Lillian, Max doesn’t really have a reason to hide the truth of Kara’s identity from Lena. Would she have figured it out sooner? Would he specifically have left clues that led Lena there?

He might even have walked in assuming that Lena knew, before realizing that she really didn’t. And from there, maybe he would’ve driven a very different type of wedge, maybe try to sow distrust. Canonically he starts out as a powerful business man, and eventually becomes involved in Cadmus...

Hear me out, but it might’ve been interesting to watch Maxwell Lord sliding into darker territories (working with Lillian, Cadmus, etc) and trying to take Lena with him. We know he’s attracted to powerful women (like Cat), and he’s smart enough that Lena might’ve found him initially interesting (like, let’s be real, this would’ve been a far more interesting romance arc than Lena/James… though in this case, I’m imagining more of an antagonistic FWB where Lena starts to see some of his points).

Lena would never join Cadmus, she’s not anti-alien. (Max might not be overtly anti-alien, but it's not important enough for him to avoid either.) But she has blind spots that it takes time for her to see (eg the alien detector), and maybe she feels more and more sympathetic to Max’s positions over time.

That puts Kara - who is more than a little in love with her best friend - in the tough spot of knowing that Max joined Cadmus, knowing he’s basically trying to seduce Lena into darkness (Kara is definitely not jealous about his other successful seduction nope nope nope it has nothing to do with that!!), and while she knows Lena would never set out to cause harm... she’s falling into a trap.

So what does Kara do? She tells Lena she’s Supergirl, and Lena now knows that both her best friend and her fuck-buddy-sometimes-romance have been lying to her all along.

I’m not imagining a villain era for Lena here, because I still think that was mostly prompted by Lena’s murder of Lex (you can see a clear delimination in my fics of when she is vs. isn’t angry about the secret, and when her anger is vs. isn’t leading to a villain era).

But she might try to go it alone, close up again and avoid people. She’d dive deep into her lab work, trying to cure cancer or something, improve humanity without interacting with anyone. The lab is safe. Science doesn’t betray you. Statistics don’t lie to you. (Statistics do lie, but she has character flaws.)

She’s content to live her life as a science-inventor-hermit…

Until Kara shows up bloodied at her door, and says “I need your help”.

[imzsuzsis-blog]

I stood and watched the team, totally shocked, I didn't realize I had won the first training session.

"Did I win, guys?"

I was swallowing large ones, I really couldn't believe it, I thought my friend was going to win.

"Yes, it looks like you won, Lando."

I slowly sat back up there and shook my head.

"Honey are you okay?"

Loki looked at me, he was shocked, like me, he also said that if we make the top ten, we are good in this weather. It's just that I overshot the whole thing and won.

"Well, I think you should get dressed."

"Why, it's raining... Mother, how can we English people be so damned talking about the weather."

I pulled up the zipper, it was so cold outside, but we were all freezing inside, but unfortunately my cute belly was still visible and right on the projector.

"My belly sucks, it looks like gas."

I grimaced and got up because they called me to look at data.

,,Your baby is cute... As long as it rains, let's talk about other things, you are pure stress. Again.”

"Even though I was stressed all night, I didn't sleep a damn wink."

,, How much?"

"How would you solve it if you had twins... That is, would your boyfriend be pregnant with them? Suddenly they need two or more of everything, and we're even talking about moving."

"Moving? Where? What?"

Both Will and Jon looked at me confused.

"Lando, we know you're pregnant, but not twins, we're sorry. And also that it stimulated your brain in this way."

They hugged me while I cried because even the others didn't know about it.

"They will be girls, it will be difficult to choose a name. I know it should be special, but beautiful, unique, and the family will like it too."

I whispered to them and then with help I started to get dressed because they were really talking to me.

"FUCK ME, YOU NOBODY FUCKS!!!!!"

He got out of the car and the heat of the earth pissed off his gloves along with his shoes. I have never seen my boyfriend so angry.

"Lando calm down. By doing this, you are also harming the girls, not just yourself."

I followed him and grabbed his shoulders from behind and started kissing his neck. It wandered down, I clasped it under my hands and started rocking it, it calmed down, we intertwined its wandering down too.

"You feel a kick."

"They are a little too cute."

We started to smile, he put his neck on my shoulder and started blinking sleepily.

"I can't bear to watch, I'd rather go on."

"Who was he? Just by looking at him, he looked disgusted."

"Just Lance don't mess with it."

He yawned and closed his eyes and almost fell asleep on my shoulder.

"Sleep now baby."

"I know, I know... But I have to give an interview soon, I don't feel like it and I'm tired."

Mobile by mobile, I took photos of them again and, yes, put them online again.

"Fuck Oscar!!!"

A voice came from behind and I suddenly shuddered.

"Who the hell are you?"

I turned to my heart, crossed my two palms and calmed down. It was just Daniel, he has a stupid habit of making fun of others just like that.

"That wasn't funny."

"Well, it's not like you're uploading your teammate in an unmistakable situation on Insta again. Bullshit.”

"But, but this is not intentional on my part, believe me."

"How much do you suck????"

,,Hello!!!"

I started running so that Lando wouldn't find me, but he still found me because his imperfect, ex-teammate showed him where I was.

"You idiot animal... What do you think of yourself?"

"Nothing..."

I stuttered to him in horror.

"It's a good thing I put these up by accident."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

I stroked his hair and saw that he was afraid. And also that they call me gay again and fat gay pageant and tell me to fuck them, hence this is a sport for skinny people, and heterosexuals are not for cocksuckers. I held my mouth and started sobbing because it didn't even go as far as a death threat.

I saw that Lando was crying about something, then I went closer, showed him and hugged him.

"Once you survive, you will survive."

,,This?"

"Yes, this."

"But then it was written by horny guys and now by acne-prone teens."

I stroked his messy hair, I know he hates it, but now he's unhappy because of so many idiotic, jealous teenagers.

"Carlos, what happened?"

I don't see so many fucking bored teenagers.

"Fuck, my girlfriend sent me the whole thing, I'm going to fuck you!!!! Not only threats, but also bullying."

,,Hey... Hey George? Bullying?”

I read everything from the fat pig, the gay, to the whore, and these were only mild ones.

,,I said. Now I can only talk about fucking suicide, the only way out for me!!!!"

He ran away sobbing, we all went after him and didn't let him do that.

"Lando, that's crazy, many people like you even here in the field, many even look up to you, we won't let you do that."

He stood with his back to us and was shaking, but we couldn't understand a word he said because of his sobs, then he ran away.

[warsofasoiaf]

“Doran Martell isn't motivated by justice, although he believes himself to be.”

How so?

Anonymous asked: If Doran Martell isn't motivated by justice, what is he motivated by? Anonymous asked: I just saw your answer to another ask about how Doran Martell isn’t motivated by justice but thinks he is and I’m fascinated. Cause I can definitely see that, it makes sense. Would you mind talking about it in more detail?

I've already talked about this before. The idea that Doran finds the Iron Throne worthy of overthrow because thr Baratheon regime built it on the bones of the murdered innocent rings hollow to my ears, because Doran was perfectly fine with Eddard and Robert being murdered for no reason. He can't claim ignorance like he might for Rickard being murdered without a right to trial (although Lewyn Martell was there, so I doubt Doran didn't know). Aerys made the death sentence public and demanded Jon Arryn murder them. For Doran, this is fine; Aerys can kill Starks for no reason and his regime remains legitimate. Then, when Doran is personally wronged (and he was wronged, let it be plain) by Tywin, only then does it renders the entire enterprise illegitimate? What Doran experiences is absolutely horrible - it's brutal, it's heartbreaking. I have sympathy for Doran's pain for the losses he suffered (I've said this before, Doran would have had my support if he went for independence). But he's saying that it only is a problem when it happens to him - it was fine when Eddard had half his family murdered and was himself marked for death, that warranted no overthrow and indeed, doesn't render that line at all illegitimate. Yeah, I don't think that's being motivated by justice.

Compare this to what Robb Stark did. When his family was (repeatedly) wronged by the Iron Throne, he rebelled. When the Riverlanders were being brutalized by Lannisters, he protected them, earning their loyalty. So Robb's responding to the situation when the perpetrators are actively committing their crimes, and he's doing so defensively. This is the same issue when Robert's Rebellion happened - the Targaryens were the aggressors: they murdered Rickard and Brandon, they marked Eddard and Robert to die for no other reason then being tangentially related to people that Aerys already spuriously murdered (who comes next? Catelyn - Brandon's fiancee? Benjen - Eddard's brother? Do you really think Aerys will stop?) Doran's reserving the right to start a war and return a deposed monarchy...and this runs into snags when all of the perpetrators are dead. Amory Lorch and the Mountain are dead, Tywin is dead, Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn are dead. Everyone who was conceivably involved, even through omission, is dead. So now the crimes of Tywin are being laid at Tommen's feet. To Doran's credit, he recognizes this as "(t)he boy never did us any harm."

Now, some might say "sure, the criminals are dead, but they were never held to account for their crimes, and the system they established not made to answer for it." But again, this runs into the problem that Aerys was ousted for these very same crimes, so again, definitely rings hollow to me.

Thanks to @turtle-paced for her excellent breakdown of the entire thing, and thanks to all of you anons for the question.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

Are Jon and Sansa both "idealists" on AGOT that have their dreams being crushed?

(this is the second part of a meta inspired by a conversation I had with @docpiplup. You can read part one here)

I can see why would someone make the case for Sansa's agot arc to be expectations vs reality. Because it's only at the end of book one that she realises that her prince (and King's Landing in general) is far from the beautiful ideal picture she had painted in her head

It's not the same for Jon, though. He realises that the Night's Watch isn't an order of honorable people even before he arrives at the Wall (during his journey towards it). So the argument that those two go through a parallel arc in book one falls flat bc Jon has already realised that there is something rotten in the kingdom of Denmark the Night's Watch on the first third of the book.

Moving on, another thing these siblings don't have in common is how each of them reacts when they witness their "dream" being crushed.

In Jon's case, as I've already mentioned, he finds out while he's on his way to the Night's Watch. When Tyrion Lannister first points out the true nature of the Night's Watch, Jon angrily tries to debunk him but this has more to do with him being irritated by Tyrion's teasing attitude and less with actually believing it. Tyrion even says so:

"Well, no doubt the Starks have been terribly good to you. Lady Stark treats you as if you were one of her own. And your brother Robb, he's always been kind, and why not? He gets Winterfell and you get the Wall. And your father...he must have good reasons for packing you off to the Night's Watch"

"Stop it," Jon Snow said, his face dark with anger."The Night's Watch is a noble call!"

Tyrion laughed " You are too smart to believe that.[...]"

After he makes peace with Tyrion, Jon simply accepts the awful truth. No more sugarcoating.

"It's true, isn't it?" he said when he was done. "What you said about the Night's Watch."

Tyrion nodded.

Jon Snow set his mouth a grim line. " If that's what it is, that's what it is".

Which prompts to Tyrion to say this statement about Jon:

"That's good, bastard. Most men would rather deny a hard truth, than face it"

The same statement could never be said about Sansa. Because denying hard truth is her copying mechanism when she's dealing with unpleasant events.

First time Sansa witness Joffrey's cruelty is during the Trident incident. Despite the fact that she was present when Joffrey hurt Mycah and also attempted to harm her sister (and we witness the scene through her own pov chapter), she later fabricates a different version of the story and even believes it.

Here is what she says about the incident during one of the fights between her and Arya:

"It's not the same" Sansa said. " The Hound is Joffrey's sworn shield. Your butcher's boy attacked the prince".

On the passage below we witness how she convinces herself that Joffrey is not to be blamed so her idealistic dream can remain intact.

At first she thought she hated him for what they'd done to Lady, but after Sansa had wept her eyes dry, she told herself it had not been Joffrey's doing, not really. The queen had done it; she was the one to hate, her and Arya. Nothing bad would have happened except for Arya.

See? Totally different reaction to her "dream being crushed in front of her eyes" than Jon's.

I understand that people love to draw parallels between characters (I'm guilty of that, too)and I see nothing wrong with that. However, not all characters or all situations can be paralleled. Jon and Sansa have very different personalities and experiences decpite being siblings and growing on the same castle so it makes sense that their perspectives and the way they deal with things are different,too.

Making a plethora of characters who react different on various situations is one of the author's strong points. That's why I love reading all these POVs. Because each of them offers a different perspective.

[fiendishartist2]

until my fears come to fruition, i'm not scared– tma

"'Once I even saw him take one of Hector’s femurs and, after twisting it into a corkscrew spiral-'" Sasha spoke evenly into the tape recorder, voice soft as if giving words to the statement was a divine act. She felt it reverberate through her, a warm shiver that ran from the soles of her feet to the tips of her fingers. It wrenched her eyes open and she drank the words in as quickly as her own cadence would allow. Cold fear settled unpleasantly in her stomach, but the deep rightness of it compelled her to continue.

Just as she came upon the climax of the account, reading growing more frantic with each word inching closer to the heart of the victim's terror, the door to her office swung open.

It crashed against the wall with reckless abandon– old and rusty hinges shrieking alongside a startled Sasha. Tim strode into the room, waving around a handful of loose papers and manila folders.

"I told you– I told you!" He raged as he paced in front of Sasha's desk. Each harsh clap of Tim's loafers against the scuffed hardwood floors of the Archives punctuated the pounding of Sasha's heart. She almost couldn't catch her breath in all of the commotion; the last remnants of her prior excitement trickled out of her thoughts, replaced by quickly fading adrenaline.

Sasha mustered up a weak glare, "Tim, what the hell are you on about? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Tim continued to pace, completely ignoring Sasha. He muttered furiously to himself, talking in circles.

"Look, Tim," Sasha sighed, "I really need to get back to work-"

He whirled around and slammed the stack of statements onto Sasha's desk. His eyes were wild and hard with anger, but flitting about the room nervously, as if expecting something to sneak up on them. She flinched– she had been doing that a lot recently, especially around the people she once called friends.

Tim released the papers, moving his hands to grip the edge of Sasha's desk. Sasha pounced immediately, flipping through them hungrily.

"Wait, are these-?"

"Statements you've already read? Some of them," He shot a look over his shoulder, "Most of them aren't. Most of them are statements I've never seen before. I-I found them hidden in Document Storage- surely so we wouldn't find them…" Tim trailed off, babbling to himself.

Sasha's attention was glued to the unfamiliar statements. Her gaze jumped from paragraph to paragraph– page to page– as she tried to discern if she had seen them around the Archives or not. Something about these statements in particular repulsed her, even the ones she knew she had read prior. It felt wrong, like Tim had disrupted something important by taking them.

"So… what?" Sasha asked distractedly, "You found this lot of statements in storage. Gertrude probably hid them away for some reason or another. You know how she was."

A hand suddenly blocked her reading again as Tim slapped it down in front of her. He leaned in, mouth caught in a snarl.

"No." He said darkly, vitriol boiling just under the surface.

"No…?" Her voice climbed a few octaves as a different kind of fear wracked her.

Tim's erratic behaviour in the past few weeks had been causing her considerable alarm, but being faced with his rampage upfront was a whole other beast. She didn't want to believe Tim or Martin would harm her, but discovering Gertrude's body had changed things. The last Archivist was murdered, her death successfully covered up by someone working in the Archives. It rattled Sasha, made her wonder day in and day out if that would be her last– made her obsessive and confrontational and paranoid. The only person who could keep her anchored to reality was Jon; he kept her sane, in a way. On top of being a trustworthy friend in a place where she had lost all feelings of safety, he was incredibly helpful with Gertrude's murder investigation. He always seemed to get the perfect evidence just when she needed it. Sasha needed Jon, and she was grateful for it.

"Someone in the Archives is hiding these statements. Hiding them from you and me and Martin- a-and probably Elias too, for that matter!" He lowered his voice, once again checking over his shoulder before speaking, "I'm sure this is all Jon's doing."

Sasha burst into laughter.

All at once, the tension in the room dissipated. Of course Sasha was not about to be shot in her office, going the way of her predecessor; Tim was on another one of his 'Jon is evil' tirades. Tim sat back on heels and crossed his arms protectively over his chest. The faint blush creeping over his stony face prompted another round of giggles from Sasha.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just- Tim, please," She all but rolled her eyes, "I promise Jon did not squirrel away random statements for nefarious purposes."

He started pointing desperately at the papers again, "Look at them Sash- really look at them and-"

"Tim, I am looking at them. All I see is unrelated statements." Her hand moved of his own accord, settling on top of Tim's. She smiled, "You're getting worked up over nothing."

He looked disgusted for a moment, and then confused.

And then angry.

"You're not listening!" He shouted, before shooting a frightened look over his shoulder and lowering his voice to a growl, "If you just read them, you would see how they connect to Jon-"

"Spit it out already!" Sasha snapped. Her own frustration was bubbling up and the longer Tim beat around the bush, the more irritated she grew.

Tim dropped himself bodily into the chair in front of her desk– the one reserved for statement givers who thought the couch made it feel more like therapy than academia. He slid one of the folders towards himself, plucking the statement from within and holding it up.

"Read this one," he urged, "All of the writing in this file was done by Jon, but it's not anything coherent. Just the statement and pages of nonsense. I've never seen it before because it's been misfiled since Jon started working here."

"How do you know it's Jon's and you're not just using him as a scapegoat? You all started work on the same day." She asked cuttingly. She felt quite mean talking to Tim like this, but these baseless accusations against Jon were getting under her skin. She was just protecting a friend.

"Look at the handwriting- it's got to be Jon's." Tim handed over the open file and sure enough: Jon's characteristic cramped cursive littered each page.

As she flipped through the pages and pages of indecipherable 'research', she came upon the original statement: 'Statement of Darren Harlow, #0101811'. It looked relatively new; maybe a few years old, taken by Gertrude but untouched until Jon picked it up. Curiously, some parts of the statement were obscured– words, sentences, even entire paragraphs scratched out in pen. Otherwise, the statement appeared unharmed.

The visual of a marked-up statement made Sasha itch behind the eyes.

"'Annabelle Cane'? So, what, she turns into a spider monster by the end or something? Seems as normal as a statement can be."

Tim shook his head, "They're all like that, though! All about spiders and webs and- and puppets, for whatever reason. All follow-up done by or re-opened by Jon."

Tim snatched another piece of evidence from the pile, "A-and look at this one! I could have sworn you recorded this one right before Martin's run-in with Prentiss, but apparently it's been unfiled since Jon decided to 'continue Martin's research'," he mimed exaggerated quotation marks, "While he was absent."

Sasha remembered this one; statement #0150409, from the man who believed he was haunted by an immortal spider. She still regretted how hard she pushed Martin into proper follow-up on that one. In some ways, she felt like she had handed him over to Jane Prentiss on a silver platter.

However, she knew she could put Tim's skepticism to rest, now that she had a statement that was already on tape. Sasha pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk, where she kept all of her tapes. They were in neat stacks of six, ordered by date recorded. She shuffled through them, passing over the exact date where Carlos Vittery's statement should be. Real panic gripped her when she came up empty handed.

With more urgency, she dug out the entire stack it was supposed to be in and tossed it haphazardly onto her desk. The itch behind her eyes spread like a wildfire, filling her brain with an inescapable, searing buzz. She needed to find that statement– it was hers and the possibility of it being missing or- or stolen was inordinately wrong.

She pawed through the scattered tapes frantically.

"It's not here," she said faintly, turning back to her drawer to dig through the tapes with reckless abandon, "Tim it's not- it's not here. Why isn't it here?"

"I didn't see any tapes with the lost files, but-" Tim started tentatively, his own rage fizzling out as Sasha visibly spiralled. She stood abruptly, sending her chair careening behind her. It crashed into the bookshelf on the wall, dislodging a few books that fell to the floor with dull thumps.

Sasha marched around her desk. She pulled Tim out of his seat and pushed him out of her office.

"They were right here, I swear."

Tim had led her to the back of Document Storage. She had been trying to tame this room since day one in the Archives; so far, she had managed to record a considerable number of statements, but it had barely made a dent. There were still stacks of statements littering the floor and filing cabinets overflowing with manila folders.

Tim had pulled out one of the drawers of a filing cabinet and pointed out the space behind it. She had to admit, she's not surprised Tim found it so easily. It was a horribly obvious place to hide something.

"I don't see the tape…" She mused. Calmness settled over her like a blanket, pinning her down underneath it.

When Tim had steered her toward Document Storage, the panic fuelling her started to lose steam. Despite everything that happened between them recently, Sasha loved Tim– he was one of her closest friends. But, ever since Jon joined the Archives, she had to admit he had become a bit… irrational. After Prentiss, his disdain for Jon reared it ugly head and, subsequently, so did the theories and the arguments and the paranoia. Looking at it from a calmer perspective, it was easy to see how Tim was just jumping to conclusions, like usual.

Document storage was a mess; a room where every nook and cranny had a statement shoved in somewhere. Sasha often found herself getting turned around in there. It was impossible to find anything in the nonsensical filing system as statements were, more often than not, incorrectly filed. She couldn't exactly blame Jon for just sticking all of his work behind a drawer and calling it a day.

Of course, that wouldn't explain the missing tape, but what reason did Sasha have for thinking Jon was the culprit? Maybe she had just misplaced it, even though she was impeccably organised. That pressing calmness was now almost crushing.

She must have misplaced it.

"Sasha…?"

Sasha squeezed out a chuckle. What a strangely humorous situation. How could she have gotten so wrapped up in this? Obviously Jon wasn't working against them just because he chooses to research spider-related statements. That's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

"Sasha, are you okay? You're acting a bit… weird."

Sasha felt a bit weird, but that was okay. She was so calm that she couldn't mind if she tried. The familiar force tugging at her thoughts was so helpful, so kind. It knew what was best for Sasha and wanted Sasha to know as well.

Wordlessly, she wandered back to her office, still chuckling under her breath.

When she pushed open the door, feeling a bit unsteady on her feet, she was greeted by the sight of Jon. Her desk was empty, cleared of statements and tapes. Something ugly squirmed around in her stomach, but that gut reaction was unreasonable. How utterly ridiculous she was being.

"Hello, Sasha. I was just coming to talk to you when I spotted my research work on your desk. Mind if I take it back? I believe there was some follow-up I hadn't quite finished up." He said innocently.

The ugly thing in her stomach was trying to crawl up her throat and out of her mouth. She wanted to scream at Jon– tell him no, tell him to leave, to stop doing whatever he was doing to all of them.

But Jon smiled that kind smile– the one that crinkled his eyes and thinned his lips and seemed to draw all attention to it– and numbness settled over her again.

Tim whipped you into quite the accusation, a voice in her head scolded. And of Jon of all people? That's ridiculous. That's absurd. How could that ever be possible?

The corners of her lips moved of their accord, manipulated into returning Jon's smile.

"Of course. Go right ahead Jon."

"Why, thank you, Sasha."

Jon shut the door softly behind him as he left. Sasha crumbled to the floor, her strings cut.

I'm going to find a way to tear your web apart, Jonathan Sims.

[stackslip]

Do you have any book recs on mormons and cults? I wanna know more about them for a school presention and I think you mentioned that they're your special interest a while ago, but I'm not sure. If you have any other media recs on them, that would be helpful too. Sorry in advance if I got you mixed up with another user, just ignore this if I did

yeah you got me there i am indeed the person who has a special interest in mormons for some fucking reason. anyhow.

my entry point to learning about them was actually the podcast mormon stories, who mostly do interviews with ex members or people who are a lot more nuanced today and went through a faith crisis. it's accessible to nevermos (aka people who were never mormon) and while it has its issues (the hosts being insufferably liberal for one) there are some genuinely great in-depth interviews from people from all walks of life who talk about being raised in the faith or converting, missions, gender roles and the construction of the mormon family, practices and other issues. many of them express that they believe mormonism to be a cult, some are more hesitant to do so--but they make compelling arguments that it's at least a high control group that has a high exit cost--in terms of family and friends cutting or icing you out, in terms of general support, in terms of how much it shapes your worldview and how difficult it is to even consider leaving, even when staying is actively harmful.

the podcast also hosts a series called LDS discussions which focuses on mormon truth claims--about the veracity of the book of mormon, historical developments in the mormon church (including polygamy and joseph smith), racism in the church, and more. however they're long and also i think you need a certain amount of familiarity with the subject--the goal of the series is mainly to reach out to members of the LDS church and try to give them information they might have been deprived from, since the church actively hides or partially obscures information about things such as polygamy or the construction of the book of mormon. this would be a bit too long to look into for a class tbh, so instead i'm gonna give you other resources and this is just if you ever wanna dig more into the subject.

the podcast unfinished: short creek is specifically about the flds cult--fundamentalist polygamists who are known bc their prophet warren jeffs was arrested for child sexual abuse. the podcast focuses on the history of the cult, including its origins in mainstream mormonism and how it's at odds with the lds church today, as well as how current members try to continue living their faith in increasingly restrictive conditions and while having to live in the same town as "apostates", ex members who either left voluntarily or were forced out of the flds but decided to stay in the city. it's a genuinely fantastic and compassionate podcast series which tbh is a good way to segway into the history of the modern LDS church and if you're interested in cults, compare and contrast this to the church.

in terms of books, here are a few that are definitely more accessible and digestable than these long podcasts. keep in mind in terms of sources you might be looking for that mormons have a long tradition of publishing their own histories on the subject (and sometimes doing semi decent to pretty good academic work, although the latter tends to be reprimanded by the church if it strays too far out of bounds) and that there's also a huge anti-mormon evangelical movement who will post a lot of true shit mixed with bullshit about the lds church not bc they're worried about its actual issues, but because they believe mormons are fake christians they need to save.

a bit of a pop book, but really fascinating entry into the subject of the mormon church and its culture past and present is the book under the banner of heaven by jon krakauer. it's a comparison to the origins of the LDS church in the 19th century and a murder that took place in the 80s by a splinter group of mormons who claimed to have rediscovered the true church. please do not watch the tv series.

if you want more "academic" stuff, the book mormon america by joan and richard ostling is a general decent overview of the history of the church, its theology and its practices by the early 21st century (keep in mind its practices are evolving and some aspects are outdated) and some of its main issues and demography. i think it tries a bit too hard to be "neutral" at times and it's written by christians who are sympathetic to (white, middle class) mormons and try to portray them to their fellow (white, middle class) christians in a more sympathetic light, but it's good in terms of giving some basic facts to non-mormons who might be confused about the basic theology and what makes mormons so different from Regular Christians

if you want more on the early history of the church, the book no man knows my history by fawn brodie, if you can get your hands on it, is one of the first real and non LDS church approved biographies of joseph smith, founder and key figure of the church.

unfortunately i haven't found any decent biography of brigham young yet--which is a shame because the dude is a way more fascinating figure than joseph imo, and *more* responsible for the continuation and establishment of the church than joseph is. blood of the prophets: brigham young and the mountain meadows massacre by will bagley is a good if dry account of one of the worst acts that was at least condoned by him, and it gives context for ealry mormon settlement in utah, but unfortunately not much more.

mormon polygamy: a history by richard van wagoner is a very good account of the practice of polygamy and it gives by proxy a lot of context of the early mormon church post-joseph, as well as the establishment of utah and conflicts between mormons and the federal government.

a book i haven't read yet but gotten extracts from and heard good stuff about it is watchman on the tower: ezra taft benson and the making of the mormon religious right by matthew l harris. it explains how a more recent mormon prophet's anti communist and anti civil right views and activism (and his involvement in the john birch society) have radicalized mormons to this day, leading to the vast majority of them being deeply conservative and voting republican en masse, despite being despised by other white christians. it also talks a lot about the role of race in the church. if you're interested specifically about modern mormons and their political uniformity, this is a good one to read into.

if you want to read more on the church's control on its members finances, i'd suggest to begin with the recent ensign peak scandal. mormon stories has a few eps covering the subject that explains to non members why so many people have been upset by it--including the fact that members have been threatened with excommunication and denied access to mormonism's highest sacriments because they weren't considered to pay enough tithing.

in general on the cult/high demand front, i'd suggest you also check out the subreddit r/exmormon, where a lot of members who are leaving the church discuss these issues and have a number of resources on the subject, including for people just leaving or doubting.

i have other sources but...... it is 3:24am lol. if you have questions on a particular subject please don't hesitate to ask

edit: i forgot to talk about missionaries FUCK. easily the most cultish aspect of mormonism. uhhhh STRONGLY recommend checking mormon stories and looking for stories about missions in particular, many of them talk about how high demand missions are and how their role is less to convert souls and more to radicalize and fully indoctrinate young mormons. they're incredibly unsafe and fucked up and mandate mutual surveillance and constant violations of privacy and tend to work young missionaries to the bone and grind them until they can do nothing but comply