#but frey… if he ends up in a place where he can make his own moves/decisions. id be very interested in what he’d choose

[venti-death-watch]

yknow based on freminet’s emphasis on being controlled & the director’s weapon vs making his own decisions, and looking at xiao’s everything, if one of the house of hearth kids is going to betray the fatui/join the traveler i’d kinda expect it to be him

[lemonhemlock]

Thoughts on alys/aemond and alys in general

It's very hard to get a proper reading on Alys' character because she is tied with the supernatural and the maesters writing the histories do not understand and tend to dismiss magic. She is supposed to be twice (or thrice??) Aemond's age, but looks unusually young. Is she just a MILF with a good skin care routine? Is she a fire priestess like Melisandre? Can she even get pregnant anymore? Does she conceive the child via magic?

Their dynamic is also open to discussion. Aemond puts House Strong to the sword, but spares Alys. What does she feel about this? Some of those children must have been in her care; she must have breastfed them herself. Is it true that she gave them up willingly? Did she betray them because she was afraid? Did she give them up because she hated them and felt mistreated by them? Did Aemond abuse his power differential in regards to her? Is Alys the one actually manipulating Aemond here?

In any case, Aemond's relationship with Alys is a norm-transgression. This is where I disagree with the majority of green takes on Aemond. By entering in a relationship with Alys, he disrespects his betrothal with the Baratheon girl. Green Knights like to argue that dutiful Aemond would lawfully marry Alys, so that their child wouldn't be born a bastard, but the text isn't clear on whether this actually happened. I would counterpoint that Aemond marrying Alys makes things even worse. The reality is that he can get away with having bastards because he is a man. If he marries her, he completely breaks off the Baratheon pact, bamboozles his brother's alliance with an important military player and effectively endangers the lives of his family by making them vulnerable to a Baratheon coup.

We joke about Robb being irresponsible with Jeyne Westerling, breaking his betrothal and ultimately contributing to his own downfall. We should extend the same type of criticism to Aemond. Bear in mind that, as compensation, Robb offered Walder Frey another very profitable marriage pact. Edmure was not just Some Guy, he was the Lord of Riverrun and Walder Frey's liege lord. And, yet, Walder Frey still orchestrated the Red Wedding in revenge. He wasn't content with Edmure, he wanted the King as his brother-in-law, as promised.

Similarly, the Baratheons were promised Aemond, the second son, with the biggest dragon. Would they settle for Daeron, the third son? Maybe, maybe not. But what about the shame of one of the Four Storms being set aside for a bastard wet nurse? Rhaenyra also has sons they can request for betrothals. This is why Alicent moves quickly after Aemond's and Helaena's deaths to betroth Aegon to Cassandra Baratheon. They are important military allies they need to keep no matter what.

From a story writing standpoint, by introducing Aemond's and Alys' relationship, the author places Aemond on a slippery slope towards the point-of-no-return. Aemond cannot come back from the God's Eye now, because there is no place for him in the narrative anymore. He cannot reunite with his family, because he would have to set Alys aside and marry the Baratheon girl. That is impossible, because his obsession with her becomes all-consuming. He is effectively snatched away from his own story by the paranormal. Alys is a witch with a terrifying aura about her; as an extension of the supernatural, she cannot be contained within the Red Keep as Aemond's mistress.

Their relationship signals the beginning of the end for Aemond. It traps him in a limbo from which he cannot exit, but also cannot go on indefinitely. His arc can only end with Daemon and Caraxes.

My reading of Aemond is that he is a person struggling with his sense of duty, after keeping to his principles and to societal rules for so long. He receives no compensation. He loses an eye and is denied justice. He becomes more suited than Aegon for kingship, but it is all in vain, because unworthy Aegon will always be ahead of him in the line of succession. Aemond has followed the rulebook to a tee, only to end up feeling slighted and disregarded.

The one time he unleashes his buried feelings of injustice and rage, he loses control of Vhagar, kills Luke and inadvertently starts the war. He will blame himself for Blood & Cheese, for causing his family unimaginable pain, for crushing his sister's soul. He will spiral and lose impulse control and drown before he can save himself.

Aemond is a very tragic character and the story advertises his doom very noticeably with the inclusion of Alys. But, ultimately, an analysis of Aemond shouldn't ignore the fact that, textually, he is an oathbreaker and a hypocrite. He interacts with the issue of bastardy both by sleeping with a bastard of House Strong (!) himself and by fathering a bastard child on her. He endangers his family by breaking his vows to the Baratheons. Dutiful Aemond fights for his brother's claim till the very end, but he threatens the success of his brother's campaign precisely by not carrying out his duty.

[cruelfeline]

I like the joke that Frey can handle Cuff - resist his corruption - because she's from NYC, but I also like to consider the deeper reasons.

We don't know exactly how Cuff corrupts the Tantas, but we can see that he essentially turns them into the worst versions of themselves. Tanta Sila's warrior spirit becomes an obsession with strength and violence. Tanta Prav's sense of justice becomes rigid and overly harsh. Tanta Olas retreats into her illusions. Tanta Cinta... well, I don't really know how becoming a dragon subverts love, but I'm sure there's some reasoning in there somewhere.

The point is, Cuff drags these women down and twists them into the worst versions of themselves.

And when he and Frey meet at the beginning of the game... well, she's kind of already there. We meet Frey at her rock-bottom, so to speak.

The irony of the situation is that Cuff meets her when she is at her most broken, and he has to actually build her up in order to have her help him in the way that he needs. He has to take her aversion to making connections with others, to accepting duty, and he has to reverse that. He has to take her abysmal views of herself as a worthless, pointless individual and prove them wrong.

The demon whose purpose is to destroy everything he touches has to do the exact opposite: help this broken woman believe in her own worth!

So in the post-game, when the time comes for him to try to do to her what he did to the Tantas... well, it doesn't really work, does it?

Cuff can't be a harsher critic of Frey than Frey has already been of herself. He can't make her feel worse about herself than she already has. He can't really go lower than "ready to throw myself off the Holland Tunnel."

as an aside, did any of y'all watch Steven Universe back in the day? that scene where Lapis is barely affected by Blue Diamond's depression-powers because she's already felt worse? it's basically that

On her end, Frey has grown and strengthened over the course of her journey, in no small part due to Cuff's influence and mentorship. She's hit that rock-bottom and clawed her way back up. She's learned to embrace purpose and duty. She's learned to believe in her own innate worth and abilities. Ironically, she's done all of this with Cuff's direct help.

And besides being inoculated by prior hardships... well. Frey also knows how to handle and interact with Cuff in ways the other Tantas did not: not as an ancient demon-weapon, but as a person, and I imagine this makes their relationship far different than the ones he had with the Tantas before her. I imagine it makes her less susceptible to his corruption solely because she just doesn't take him fully-seriously in that way. To her, he's not "Susurrus: ancient demon come to burn Athia to the ground and corrupt her beloved leaders." He's "Cuff: little guy who makes a pretty good shield but also can't shut up and gets excited over the concept of an umbrella."

That's the crux of it, I think. That Cuff has, for possibly the first time in his life, built someone up instead of tearing them down. And he's done so with such success, and while fostering such a familiar relationship, that undoing it just seems beyond him.

That Frey is the one who can withstand Susurrus because she's already felt lower than he could ever hope to bring her. And that she can shrug off his corruption because she knows him to be an annoying dork who can't pronounce "New York" and only recently figured out what makes a place appropriate for humans to sleep in.

Ah, I love them both. I want to see them grow together.

[jackoshadows]

Do you think that Littlefinger is going to make it to the final book or could he potentially be defeated in TWOW? I'm trying to imagine a vague outline of events but what's going on in the Vale feels like the biggest unknown. Littlefinger is a major obstacle that needs to be removed for things to progress but Sansa isn't currently at a place where that can happen, so I'm trying to imagine how that will play out.

I do think Littlefinger, as a major human antagonist, will continue into the last book ADoS. There's just so much happening in the Vale and the politics of the south in general, so many loose ends that needs tied up.

The Sansa in the TWoW sample chapter is different from where Sansa ends AFfC, so it does feel like GRRM had a bit of a time jump in terms of some character growth. However, she still has a way to go in terms of connecting the dots and figuring out what LF is really up to. She then has to get the Vale Lords on her side and control the Vale's resources through whomever is in charge. That's lots and lots of pages and story.

A while back I was speculating on chapter counts for each of the POV characters in TWoW here and here. I put Sansa at around 4 chapters. I doubt that's enough to get rid of LF considering it's very possible for LF's plot to intersect with what's happening in the Riverlands and with Varys/fAegon

“I think LF has a better idea of what Varys wants than Varys has an idea of what LF wants. LF is an agent of chaos who likes to be unpredictable and succeeds in that”  - GRRM

GRRM in 2002:

Who is over lord of the Riverlands? (Since the Freys have Riverrun yet Littlefinger was named Lord Paramount). George says that Littlefinger is the Lord of the Riverlands but that he is going to run into trouble. I commented that Littlefinger is really powerful now that he has the Riverlands and supposed control of the Eyrie. GRRM laughed and said that I need to remember that for all his power Littlefinger has no army. (I thought that was interesting). GRRM also commented that (I forget which Frey, Emmon?) the Frey given Riverrun really wants to be Lord of the Riverlands and has dreams of having his father be his vassel. (I thought that was interesting also)

The Vale itself has so much plot to cover - SweetRobin, Harry the Heir, The mountain clans possibly planning an attack, the Vale Lords and Ladies like Myranda Royce etc. And Sansa is the only POV there. Without Sansa we don't get to see what’s happening at an important location in the books. This is why it’s absolutely mind boggling for me that people see Sansa going North at the start of the next book! Like how?!

So yeah, I see Sansa/LF covering the next two books. If Arya does end up going south for a tryst with Lady Stoneheart it’s very possible this is where Arya and Sansa meet to resolve their issues - something that GRRM has said will happen. Lady Stoneheart with both her daughters and a final confrontation between Littlefinger and Lady Stoneheart is something I can see happening.

And yes, Sansa will eventually take down Littlefinger. However she has a lot of ground to cover. Littlefinger is a master at his game and as GRRM puts it, Sansa is just beginning to get there in AFfC:

“…She is beginning to at least try to understand how she can play the  game of thrones and be not a piece, but a player. With her own goals, and moving other pieces around. And she’s not a warrior like Robb, Jon Snow. She’s not even a wild child like Arya. She can’t fight with swords, axes. She can’t raise armies. But she has her wits! Same as   Littlefinger has…”

So yes, Littlefinger will be around in ADoS.

[gloriouswhispers]

SASHA ACKERMAN

Age & Birthday: 39 years old, April 4th

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Female / She/Her

Species: Witch

Birthplace: Syracuse, New York 

Connection to Asphodel and/or the Syndicate: Frey

Job/role: Instructor

Positive personality traits: Quick-Thinking, Empathetic, Opportunistic

Negative personality traits: Devious, Stubborn, Blunt

ABOUT

Eccentricity might be an Ackerman trademark, but who can really say? Sasha has always been a bright and brilliant personality, witty and quick-thinking which eventually came to serve her well as she got older. Her trials and tribulations were quite small in the grand scheme of things, little white lies and bends of truths that saw her in and out of trouble. Besides, it was especially needed when her younger brother was born, and slowly Jeremiah entered his own trials and tribulations when he grew. It became clear her brother was different, a host of mental health issues that made navigating his magic ten times more difficult. Considering he’d wake up as Jerry and forget he even had any. Sasha tried her hardest to be the responsible older sister, and she had every intention to help him through all of his hardships.

But Sasha longed for freedom, in similar ways Jeremiah did when he he took himself off on adventures. When she turned twenty she decided to hit the road herself with a group of friends, feeling a tinge of guilt for leaving her brother behind and also her parents to deal with Jeremiah’s erratic ways. She’d visit whenever she could, always returning home with bent-truths of stories to conceal all of the small scale cons she needed to make money. Not wanting to burden her parents when they had enough on their plate. She’d also always return home to check in with Jeremiah, whenever he was around for her to do so.

One day she returned to the discovery of her home burned to the ground by a group of hunters. Her family dead, and it was the first time she was so thankful to learn that Jeremiah had taken himself on one of his own adventures when it happened. Sasha remained close by for the following days, not only dealing with the aftermath of the losses but waiting for her brother to show his face again. As always, he did and once the loose ends were tied up, they were on the road together and Sasha finally learned how to step into the big sister boots she always wished she could fill.

While traveling together, it became apparent that while she loves her brother, she simply isn’t equipped to keep him safe. At least not alone. When they eventually settled back around in New York, Sasha requested the help from Asphodel Institute while knowing that they were better equipped to support her brother. Simply living out of motels and running scams to feed themselves was never going to cut it and Sasha still harbors guilt that she can't be the perfect big sister for him. As Jeremiah attended the institute, he and Sasha started up a stall at The Frey where they specialize in magical inventions.

It's been this way for a few years now, and Sasha considers herself to be at home. Until recent months have shaken her belief that New York is even a safe place to be. It doesn't help that her brother is taking it upon himself to be a sleuth, but of course, when he's Jerry and has no idea he has magical powers that can protect him. This is why Sasha doesn't take any questions about her chain smoking seriously. She just gestures around herself at her life.

[scratchtovoid]

Some themes I would like the show to explore in season two: (spoilers ahead!)

1. Political Propaganda - The show has already introduced the idea of symbols of legitimacy and how those symbols do not actually determine legitimacy. But I think because the show fully committed to Rhaenyra’s first three sons being Harwin’s we lost a little of the propaganda element. It’s key to the story though. Especially the idea of who gets to be a political operative and what makes people believe the message.

I fully expect the Greens to continue to lean into showy public displays of symbolism. But I’m also really interested and seeing if Mysaria’s plot gives us the other side - can whispers among the smallfolk be their own form of propaganda? I think there’s great story potential to explore the political side of the war.

2. Daemon’s Failure - In my opinion season one firmly set up what is going to be a show long theme for Daemon with his failure to protect his family. And a large part of it is due to his own actions. He couldn’t help antagonizing Viserys and so Viserys sent him away.

Then we get to episode 10 and his whole family falls apart. He couldn’t prevent the coup. He stood there listening to Rhaenyra’s labors knowing he had no sway over if she lived or died. And he reacted to all that with a rage that he took out on his family. And then it caused him more problems. And this all culminates with Luke’s death which I’m sure he sees as another loss he failed to prevent.

I think there is a lot of story there. Because Daemon does want to protect his family. But his own chaotic nature gets in his way. And it creates this cycle of failure and anger he can’t get out of.

3. Jace and Baela as Heirs - I really hope the show moves these two characters in particular into the role Rhaenyra had in season one. I want to see them learning from Rhaenyra as she learned from Viserys. Jace will return to Dragonstone with some real wins. And I hope the show allows him to get those wins with some actual politicking.

Once he’s back I hope the show takes advantage of the fact Baela chooses to stay at Dragonstone and makes her Jace’s equal as they prepare for not only the war but the potential life that would come with Rhaenyra taking the throne. This was so key in the book for Jace but it would be a huge missed opportunity not to show Baela acting as a future queen too. Especially since depending on where the show ends we should get the sense she is one of the main political advisers post-Dance.

4. What Place Do Women Have? - We’re about to meet several women who fight for Rhaenyra’s cause, all the while watching Alicent move into fully upholding Aegon’s cause against Rhaenyra. People who are hardcore TG won’t want to hear this but these two factions have far different capacity for women leaders. So how does Alicent operate and move through a monarchy where she is only the King’s mother. Will men still turn to her when they have their new King?

And then how does the show contrast that with characters like Rhaenys fully embracing her Queen, and (spoilers!) dying for the cause? We’ll likely be meeting Sabitha Frey and Aly Blackwood this season. Two women who not only support Rhaenyra’s cause but lead military exercises! They will be in battle!

I want to see how the show handles this seemingly contradictory political stance that women can’t lead while giving us women clearly leading.

[swordduels]

Headcanon: Clarimonde as a witch

When thinking about Clarimonde being a witch I started to think of Loki in norse mythology but also Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch from the Marvel comics. Clarimonde’s role as a witch

Clarimonde will be a witch connected to nature, changes and growth while they learn to walk their own path in life. While figuring themself out they might or might not want to help others and show kindness despite their violent past. I believe their role will look different depending on the starting point. If Clarimonde is still heavily influenced by the cult’s teachings their role as a witch can be destructive and based on a selfish belief system. But if Clarimonde for one reason or another wants to change it will affect how they view and use magic as well. The core issue with Clarimonde is that they struggle to make personal connections and are starving for love, mainly platonic but can also be romantic love. They also struggle with their own identity since the cult has brainwashed its members to mainly serve the chosen deity Blood Father while working for a collective identity.  Redeeming arc The theme of redemption is rebirth. In a redeeming arc they will carry a lot of guilt mixed with doubts about themself and their place in the world as a witch. A part of Clarimonde feels like they cannot be redeemed because of the horrific acts they had done. How can someone who has slaughtered people with glee live normally in a society? Do they have any right to still live and help others with their new abilities? It’s a big responsibility and something they have never been taught. What fuels Clarimonde’s desire to walk the narrow path is their childhood dream of becoming a preacher but instead of using it to spread violence they want to do good deeds.

At the start they will make many mistakes as well as selfish deeds. Clarimonde will learn the hard way that magic has its own set of rules that need to be followed or else there will be heavy consequences. 

Inspirations

Here I want to point at Loki who per say is not entirely connected to nature as far as we know, though the scholars have different opinions about his place in norse mythology. From what I’ve heard Loki can very well be connected to chaos but also changes since he is a deity who always creates and solves problems. It’s thanks to him Thor has his hammer, Odin got his horse Sleipnir, Frey has the ship Skidbladnir among other things. He has great value among the Gods and is often mentioned in stories but at the same time they have distrust for him. Loki kickstarts a series of events that lead to the beloved Balder’s death, the sun is swallowed which lead to twelve years of winter and then the ship Nagelfar steered by the death Goddess Hel arrives as well as hordes of soldiers. Ragnarok is known as “The twilight of the Gods” where many of the known deities are killed in battle before the world is ending and a new era of men and Gods starts. I’ve heard one theory that the story about Ragnarok, if it’s not entirely made up my christian monks, could be a story about seasons changing and rebirth as the sun returns again. It would fit very well as the nordic winters at the time were dangerous periods of cold, darkness and death. 

Using magic Magic is not entirely good or evil, magic is magic and as I mentioned before each spell or curse has its own rules. There can be grave consequences if one breaks rules or makes mistakes but a spell in itself can be dangerous towards the spell caster or the ones getting hit by the spell. Since Clarimonde never studied magic before they are first obvious to the things happening. They can’t understand or control it which creates dangerous situations. Trying out spells without grasping the basics would be like handing out chemicals to toddlers. Clarimonde wasn’t born with magic but was for one reason or another hit with it by accident from a magical storm cloud. There is some magical electricity which moves along their skin and has taken place in them. At the start of the journey they are like a massive magnet to all forms of magic as their gate is wide open. Knowledge is seeping into their mind without any form of filter, some things come in fragments, half a spell or half a story. They can sense things in the air. Suddenly they know that there is war on a continent they have never heard of, the wind brings them memories from places or there are instructions on how to enter someone's mind. Other times Clarimonde accidentally walks outside their own body while sleeping and is fully aware of doing so or they can transform people into animals. 

As the gate is open constantly I imagine it would attract magical beings from other realms with less than friendly intentions. It could open up for experiences they don’t want to deal with, like spirits of dead people whispering in their ear at night or some ghoul trying to grab their foot. The gate will be open until they learn how to close it off. 

Since there is a strong connection to nature and magic their own emotions or silent wishes come through with magic. If they are scared there is a turbulence in nature itself with large cracks, shakings or buildings being destroyed. When Clarimonde has a strong wish to become a preacher with a community built with their own hands they suddenly have a filled church but it’s up to them if people decide to stay or leave.  

When I write about characters with powers I always want to make sure it’s not too easy for them. My characters either make horrible mistakes or are burdened with something which makes it hard for them to use powers. When it comes to Clarimonde I want to make it clear they have no idea how to properly use magic or guard themself from attacks in the beginning. In one moment Clarimonde manages to turn someone into a donkey but if someone tosses a fireball they have no idea how to counter it. A lot of it comes from insecurities, mental trauma and inexperience. 

I’ll make another post about what would be Clarimonde’s magical abilities, limits and more details about how it works for them once I’ve developed my thoughts. 

Inspirations Wanda Maximoff is a character who has done horrible things and tries to redeem each action with good deeds while also suffering from mental issues. 

I’ve only read a few comics about Wanda but I really enjoy the chapters where she tries to help people with magical problems. It feels more occult rather than the classical super power fantasy. Every spell she casts affects her body and there are rules to follow that more resemble folklore’s view on magic. Certain rituals that need to be done at a specific time or place. Things that can protect people from being cursed. Someone having a poltergeist, another who has been taken over by a demon and so on.  

She can affect reality by creating sentient beings as stand in sons, she can walk through different realms or take away the powers of every mutant on earth with one sentence. Her skills are gigantic but the lore of magic usage and actions creates a very flawed character which makes her feel more human which I find interesting. 

Hopefully I can develop Clarimonde into something interesting and nuanced when exploring their identity as a witch.

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 8.1: Dances On Purple Rocks

No, this ain't a cop out. These are parallel chapters taking place in an alternate universe featuring our main cast. Personally, I think these are the pilot chapters that the author wanted us to see. Either way, let's begin.

We start with Cooro watching a couple of guys fight. Unfortunately, one of them punches the other into a bunch of kebabs. Cooro is furious...because he was planning on stealing those kebabs himself.

Yeah, we can already tell that this Cooro is not as nice as our main one.

He straight up sweeps the leg of the guy who punched the other one and grabs an axe to throw in front of his face, saying he's chopping off his nose next. Cooro uses this as an opportunity to eat food off the ground (as the guys move aside for their advancing boss) as this universe's Nana steps on his hand, telling him not to do dirty things. Anyway, the boss approaches him, saying he hasn't seen him around here before. Cooro nearly spills the beans that he and Nana were chased out of another city but she hits him, lying and saying that they're travelers. Seeing that Cooro's hungry, he leads them away to feed them. Meanwhile, they're being watched by a (blind) Husky and a (half-blind) Senri.

At the bar, Cooro and Nana are surrounded by ruffians of ill nature, much to Nana's displeasure. The boss introduces them as the new members then follows through on feeding them tasty food. Nana notices that everyone is wearing red bandanas and the guy Cooro beat up was wearing blue bandanas. A guy explains that they're the Frey gang and the blue colors are the Bruno gang. He then points out the window, showing off a rock mountain called the "Purple Blocks" which is where the old boss of the city hid the treasure. The new boss of the city will be whoever can find the treasure first.

The old boss died a month ago, so Bruno and Frey, both of his underlings, are competing to see who can lead the new group. Cooro asks why don't either just go and get the treasure already. The guy explains that there's a giant crimson rock lizard at the mountain so that rules out just going there. Plus, the Bruno gang has their eyes set on the place too so both sides have to stock up on weapons and men. When the guy finally shuts up and walks off, Nana pulls Cooro aside to complain about joining a literal gang. Cooro points out that when their gang wins, Cooro and Nana will most likely be let go since they don't do much. Until then, free food huh? Cooro benefits from the patriarchy as Nana has to overhear older men salivate over her, guessing she'll be hot in five years...

MEANWHILE, AT BRUNO'S LAIR: Bruno hears that Freya has recruited two kids. So has he: with a Senri and a (apparently no longer blind) Husky.

At night, Freya is awoken by a member announcing that Bruno is heading towards the Purple Blocks. Husky and Senri, with the Brunos, wonder if Cooro and Nana will show up...

Anyway, The Freyas make it to the Blocks, ready to battle. Before Cooro (Nana wanted to stay and watch her possible assaulters get killed.) can join, the Freyas are indeed attacked by a giant crimson rock lizard. Husky joins in the fight them off and the Bruno gang surround Freya, who refuses to back down. However, the lizard turns its eyes on him...only for Senri to cut open its throat with a sword (damn).

Cooro fights Husky with his axe as Nana follows after them, only to have to end up warning them about another giant lizard. Senri kills that one with his bear claws, exposing his +Anima status. Cooro joins in by chopping the thing in the eye while flying, showing he's a +Anima too. After the lizards are dead, they spot the treasure chest! Freya and Bruno run for it but Cooro snatches it up before they do, sending the two falling into a pond. Cooro follows much to his own shock, forcing Husky to jump in after him. Pulling him up, Husky calls him out for getting dunked when he knows he can't swim (Cooro somehow didn't think a treasure chest would be heavy.).

They open the chest to discover treasure. All four already know each other, having separated since they were kicked out of the city. The chapter ends with a giant tongue taking their treasure.

[idahofallshq]

one thing is for sure, and that is idaho falls will need more people like liam, with the patience to (hopefully) make the best decisions for the QZ as a whole. despite his stained hands, we look forward to seeing how liam’s heart will influence his decisions. liam has put himself in a dangerous position helping gabriel, and even more so to have showed up in idaho with the grizzlies so close, will he face up to that danger, or will idaho falls become another place he left behind for his own safety?

welcome to idaho falls, liam calhoun! please make sure to complete the accepted checklist so we can invite you to our servers. we can’t wait to start writing with you!

OOC.

name: fran age: 29 pronouns: she/her timezone: est previous roleplay blog: redacted Triggers: redacted wanted connection?: Applying to Erin’s wanted connection for Gabriel Reyes

IC.

2,000 word limit for this section.

Name: Liam Calhoun gender & pronouns: cis man, he/him faceclaim: Ryan Gosling age & birthdate: 41, 9th January 2003 occupation: Soldier Immunity: not immune

Skills.

Marksmanship: His father was a marksman in the Military. When the infection started spreading in states, his father took it upon himself to train young Liam. While Liam grew up on a farm, and had already some skill with shooting, mostly at coyotes, his father taught him the ways of the sniper. His farthest confirmed kill was about 3,150 meters. The sniper he uses now, once belonged to his father.

Livestock Knowledge: Before the end of days, the Frey family used to have a dairy farm. During his time in QZ where there were animals that needed tending, it was his family that stepped up to take care of them. While his family’s farm dealt mostly with cows and chickens, pigs and other animals are not foreign to him.  

Drawing: A pastime hobby that lead to be more useful than anyone ever expected. Being a sniper usually had him up high somewhere and with a good view, which meant him sketching out a map of the land. With each mutation of infection, he sketched those too to help people see the differences between them and help know what they were up against should they run into them.

Positive traits.

Resourceful: Having no real allies in the world, whether that be by his own volition or not, Liam was left to fend for himself most, if not all of the time. He has relied on his own skills to get him out of hairy situations, rarely did he rely on those around him. From outsmarting a group of infected by creating makeshift traps and bombs from supplies he was about to scrounge up, to doing the same with the living. 

Pragmatic: He would never consider himself a pessimist, nor would he consider himself a optimist. Tending to deal with things in a realistic way rather than deal on what could or should be. He is more of a result and consequences, type of person. I pull this trigger, this person will die.  

Patient: If it was one thing, Liam was never in a rush for things. He was a sniper, which meant having to wait long hours, sometimes days, for his target(s) to show up. He’d rather take his time and do things properly than rush through and have the situation/task come out horrible.  

Negative traits.

Distant: Liam has always been a quiet person, even before there were infected. As a kid, it was mostly due to being shy and being unsure on how to deal with people. Now, he kept people at a distance because it was safer that way. He has seen the lengths that people would go to, to survive, himself included. He has watched supposed friends leave one another as live bait to get away. Has watched supposed comrades betray one another, kill one another, just for a few scraps of food. 

Sarcastic: For those who have had the pleasure of meeting Liam, they would describe him to have a dry sense of humor. Whether the man is staring down a barrel of a gun, or dealing with an overconfident person, let it be known his last words were either words spoken in a deadpan tone, or a deadpan expression.   

Enigmatic: There are a lot of things Liam does that are hard to interpret. For someone who has done terrible things to survive, had spent years working under Yennefer in the wyoming militia, help someone escape after being the reason for their capture? Why would someone with a supposed heart made of ice, befriend a small child. Many people view Liam as one thing, then he is shown to be another with no reasoning behind it. He gives them no explanation for the things he does, and he never intends to.  

Biography.

Tw. murder (if you think about it.), mention of fertility treatment, Liam being terrible

2002-2003. After years of treatment, and trying, the Calhoun family is surprised, and also excited, to find themselves expecting. On the 9th of January in Raleigh, NC, Liam Calhoun is brought into the world. Both parents are both overjoyed, if not a bit tired.

2003-2012. (age 0 - 9) Liam starts his journey. He grows up on the family dairy farm, where he helps take care of the livestock. When school begins, his mother decides to homeschool him. He spends most of his days helping his father around the farm in the morning and learning math and subjects at night.

2013-2018. (age 10 - 15) He is 10 when the cordyceps outbreak reaches America. Due to his father’s military background, his father is drafted and his family moves to one of the many quarantine zones. It was during this time his father would teach him how to survive, and how to properly use a gun, no more shooting at coyotes. Found out he had a talent for the sniper, much to his fathers delight.

2019-2020.(age 16 - 17) The QZ his family resided in is overrun with infected. His mother is bitten during this time. Liam ends up shooting his mother after noticing his father’s hesitation.

2021-2024. (age 18 - 21) Liam’s father goes missing. Nobody seems to know, or care, where his father wandered off too. Liam becomes suspicious of the FEDRA, and begins to think they had something to do with it. At twenty, His suspicions are confirmed when one of the FEDRA let slip that his father was put down for going against the idea of hoarding rations. As a sort of revenge, Liam leaves a gate open to the infected, and leaves the QZ with his father’s sniper.

2025-2028. (age 22 - 25) Since leaving the QZ in North Carolina, Liam begins to move west. He has a few close calls with the infected, but ultimately is able to either avoid them, or neutralize them. A few times he stumbles upon a group of survivors and gives them a chance. They end up being more of a liability and a hindrance to his survival. After some time, Liam decides to make his leave of the group, stealing their supplies in the process.

2030. (age 27) Liam makes it to Wyoming, and has a run in with the militia. He gives them a run for their money using mostly his marksman skill, among others, before ultimately being cornered. He is surprised that instead of being killed or taken as prisoner, is offered a spot in their ranks. Liam joins the Wyoming Militia.

2033-2039. (age 30 - 36) During his time with the Grizzlies, Liam began to disapprove of Yennefer. While he, himself, has done many terrible things to survive, Yennefer’s actions leave a bad taste in his mouth. Yet, despite this, Liam makes no attempt to leave. One day, while on guard with a few other Grizzlies, Liam spots a group heading their way followed by a pack of infected. He stays up in his crowsnest and takes a shot at one of the living, while the others of his company run down to engage with the group. When everything settles between the two groups plus the infected, Liam convinces his group to take the remaining survivors as prisoners after seeing that they could be useful.

2040. (age 37) Being assigned to guard the prisoners, Liam becomes close to Gabriel Reyes. With his disapproval of Yennefer continuing to grow with each passing day, it doesn’t take long for Gabe to convince Liam into helping him and his friends escape. It takes a month of planning for the escape to happen. No one suspects Liam, or so he thinks.

2042. (age 39) Liam plans his own escape and heads to Idaho Falls with nothing but a fool’s hope and a maybe promise. He is captured by one of their patrols. It is only with luck that he is able to convince them that he means no harm, and to take him in.  

2044. (age 41)  It’s roughly been two years since Liam came to Idaho Falls. He is aware of people’s distrust of him. He doesn’t blame them for it, because the feeling is mutual. He keeps to himself, unless necessary, or on patrol. In truth, he debates his time here, and wonders if he made the right decision.

Potential arcs.

Can’t Run. He’s not the only one from the Wyoming militia here in Idaho Falls. Has Liam wrong them in the past? Or perhaps they wish to blackmail him? Regardless, while he wishes to keep his past deeds to himself, the other Grizzlies seem all too eager to make his life miserable. Rumours are spread, some true, some false.

Make Me Soft. It’s been so long since he had a friend, let alone felt feelings for someone, if ever. The process is slow, and almost annoying. He can’t stand them, let him be alone. It’s better, safer, that way. Yet, why does he crave their company? Their touch? Why, should anything happen to them, would he burn the world to the ground?

Extras.

pinterest

[fursasaida]

A lot has been said about Pelosi’s idiotic, offensive, bullshit statement about the Chauvin verdict, but what’s sticking in my craw more is actually Mayor Frey’s (of MPLS) similarly fuckshit statement. Please note the emphasis I’m adding to this with the bolding:

George Floyd came to this city to better his life. But ultimately his life will have bettered our city. The jury joined in a shared conviction that has animated Minneapolis for the last 11 months. They refused to look away and affirmed he should still be here today.

This is similar to Pelosi’s statement in that it casts George Floyd’s death as a kind of redemptive martyrdom for which “we” should be grateful, rather than a horrific tragedy that should make us angry or active or otherwise something other than placid and self-satisfied. But it exposes the underlying idea more clearly, and that idea is extraction.

This formulation says: George Floyd came to the city with hopes and intentions, and the city ate him to fuel itself. (It has been animated!) It says, the city robbed this man. It says, his future was never his future; it was fuel to continue and even improve the city. There is nothing mutualistic about what this says--no sense that people come to the city because of what they hope it can help them do, and in the process of achieving it their efforts also become part of the city, and all of these efforts, together, make the city what it is and make it better and more, even as they also make the city a place where people can achieve the things they want. (Even dry, conservative economists are capable of articulating “the city” this way, in their own terrible jargon.) The city apparently does not need people to live in it to be bettered. It only needs people to bring themselves to be ground up.

I wrote a paper in January about the carceral system as a system for extracting time, as a “natural resource,” from the lives and bodies of racialized and criminalized people. In the paper I pointed out that “time” can mean a lot of things, and if we are going to talk about its extraction then we need to ask what it is in its “raw” form and what it is processed into and used for upon being extracted. I said that raw time was simply potential and possibility, and that from this potentiality of life state practices like harassment, surveillance, arrests, killings, incarceration, prison transfers, parole, all manner of political theater, and so on produce temporal products the state can use like duration, events, and rhythms. Rhythms are useful because they synchronize and organize the workings of the state’s various systems and integrate them into the coherent whole called territory. Duration means sustenance or maintenance: the continuation of the state’s current configuration. And events are useful because they a) can be used to construct other rhythms (like cycles of “reform” followed by crackdowns, adjusted for various political purposes) and b) are the things you hang a narrative on.

What these politicians are doing with their rhetoric is very literally processing the time, the potential and possibility, what Ruth Wilson Gilmore called “the resource of life,” that was taken from George Floyd into an event. (The trial itself was already doing that, of course, but now they are eventalizing the event further.) This event is supposed to link into the sanitized--”folkloric,” as Osita Nwanevu put it--narrative of the Civil Rights movement. The nature of that narrative is to lock struggle into the past, to treat the losses that were part of it as finished, justified, nobly necessary, and the objects of awe and respect rather than sources of grief or motivation. (ETA: Decent thread here pointing out how Biden’s explicitly linking last year’s protests to the 60s skips over decades of public mobilization in between, including the formation of BLM in 2014 when Biden was still VP.) Whether we regard this as extending that narrative into the present or shunting George Floyd’s life and death into the past doesn’t really matter. Either way, the future that is left open here for those of us alive to encounter it is what is called “the future anterior,” a future that is only an extension of the past--more of the same. The “future to-come,” as a meaningfully different and significantly unknowable future, a future with the “raw time” possibility of being different that makes the future what it is, is deferred. All these practices do that--separate future anterior from future to-come, and use the predictable guarantees of the former to generate value while deferring the latter.

Many, many Black and other intellectuals have written about how liberalism and capitalism have been built on extracting value from the people they racialize and criminalize. I doubt anyone reading this far needs that explained. I just find it revolting how clearly Frey has articulated that here. “Our city is better because it killed George Floyd. Be uplifted.” Yes, he ended on “he should still be here.” I suppose that’s better than if he hadn’t. But I can barely hear that closing over the first two sentences ringing in my ears.

[vivacissimx]

This is a disorganized post but part of what is so precious about Jon & Arya's relationship is how parallel their interior worlds run. They're separated by distance and maturity but from the very beginning, they're finishing each other's sentences and worried Robb won't want them. Making a brief list so I don't go all over the place

TO HELL WITH FORGIVENESS

Arya stepped away from him. "You don't deserve the gift of mercy."

The Hound watched her saddle Craven through eyes bright with fever. Not once did he attempt to rise and stop her. But when she mounted, he said, "A real wolf would finish a wounded animal."

Maybe some real wolves will find you, Arya thought. Maybe they'll smell you when the sun goes down. Then he would learn what wolves did to dogs. "You shouldn't have hit me with an axe," she said. "You should have saved my mother." She turned her horse and rode away from him, and never looked back once.

-ASOS, Arya XIII

This is so... Arya has spent a long time with Sandor at this point. She's seen him at his most human, struggled with the losing the memory of Mycah, and she's just spent a whole night washing Sandor's wounds as best she can. Sandor is begging her to kill him and by walking away she serves him the most devastating blow possible.

Ser Alliser seized Jon by the arm.

Jon yanked away and grabbed the knight by the throat with such ferocity that he lifted him off the floor. He would have throttled him if the Eastwatch men had not pulled him off. Thorne staggered back, rubbing the marks Jon's fingers had left on his neck. "You see for yourselves, brothers. The boy is a wildling."

-ASOS, Jon IX

Janos Slynt's face went as white as milk. The spoon slipped from his fingers. Edd and Emmett crossed the room, their footsteps ringing on the stone floor. Bowen Marsh's mouth opened and closed though no words came out. Ser Alliser Thorne reached for his sword hilt. Go on, Jon thought. Longclaw was slung across his back. Show your steel. Give me cause to do the same.

-ADWD, Jon II

Glendon Hewett was a seasoned man and a strong one, a sensible choice to command in Cotter Pyke's absence. But he was also as much a friend as Alliser Thorne could boast, and a crony of sorts with Janos Slynt, however briefly. Jon could still recall how Hewett had dragged him from his bed, and the feel of his boot slamming into his ribs. Not the man I would have chosen. He rolled the parchment up and slipped it into his belt.

-ADWD, Jon X

Jon's feud with Janos Slynt is deadly, based in Ned's execution, but his relationship with Ser Alliser is entirely his own. Jon takes Ser Alliser's taunts personally. Inarguably ADWD is showing Jon's political prowess but no small part of that is Jon's personal feelings to the point that even when Alliser Thorne is off ranging, Jon mistrusts the man's friends.

Jon & Arya both hold grudges close to the chest.

NORTHERN POLITICOS

While Robb understands that the loyalty of his bannermen doesn't come without effort on his part, Jon and Arya's relationship with Northern politics includes a healthy amount of... not mistrust, but wariness. A realism as to where loyalty begins and where it ends. In Arya's case this is marked by a growing wealth of experiences in the Riverlands, whereas Jon was 14 when he left Winterfell and gleaned it from his time there.

When she got closer, she saw that he was a northman, very tall and thin, huddled in a ragged fur cloak. That was bad. She might have been able to trick a Frey or one of the Brave Companions, but the Dreadfort men had served Roose Bolton their whole life, and they knew him better than she did. If I tell him I am Arya Stark and command him to stand aside. . . No, she dare not. He was a northman, but not a Winterfell man. He belonged to Roose Bolton.

-ACOK, Arya X

This is not just because Roose has terrible vibes - Arya also doesn't tell Robett Glover (who she has zero reason to mistrust) who she is, nor does she give more than a passing thought to finding the Karstark men in the Riverlands after she hears of their various crimes. She's just naturally wary and inclined to have her trust earned.

"If Your Grace wishes to lose all of my lord father's bannermen, there is no more certain way than by giving northern halls to southron lords."

-

Maege Mormont had ridden south with Robb, Jon knew. Her eldest daughter had joined the Young Wolf's host as well. Even if both of them had died, however, Lady Maege had other daughters, some with children of their own. Had they gone with Robb as well? Surely Lady Maege would have left at least one of the older girls behind as castellan. He did not understand why Lyanna should be writing Stannis, and could not help but wonder if the girl's answer might have been different if the letter had been sealed with a direwolf instead of a crowned stag, and signed by Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell. It is too late for such misgivings. You made your choice.

-ADWD, Jon I

"Why should I beg for what is owed me?"

"Ask, I said, not beg." Jon pulled back his hand. "It is no good sending messages. Your Grace will need to go to them yourself. Eat their bread and salt, drink their ale, listen to their pipers, praise the beauty of their daughters and the courage of their sons, and you'll have their swords. The clans have not seen a king since Torrhen Stark bent his knee. Your coming does them honor. Command them to fight for you, and they will look at one another and say, 'Who is this man? He is no king of mine.' "

-ADWD, Jon IV

JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER

By this I mean both Jon and Arya perseverate over whether a person deserves to die. They can't help but juxtapose death with honor and judgement. It's Ned in both of them.

"He is an evil man," she announced that evening when she returned to the House of Black and White. "His lips are cruel, his eyes are mean, and he has a villain's beard."

The kindly man chuckled. "He is a man like any other, with light in him and darkness. It is not for you to judge him."

That gave her pause. "Have the gods judged him?"

-ADWD, The Ugly Little Girl

He raised Longclaw over his head, both hands tight around the grip. One cut, with all my weight behind it. He could give her a quick clean death, at least. He was his father's son. Wasn't he? Wasn't he?

"Do it," she urged him after a moment. "Bastard. Do it. I can't stay brave forever." When the blow did not fall she turned her head to look at him.

Jon lowered his sword. "Go," he muttered.

-ACOK, Jon VI

The wind whistled through the bars, and Jon Snow shivered. His leg was throbbing, and his head. He was not fit to kill a kitten, yet here he was. The trap had teeth. With Maester Aemon insisting on Jon's innocence, Lord Janos had not dared to leave him in the ice to die. This was better. "Our honor means no more than our lives, so long as the realm is safe," Qhorin Halfhand had said in the Frostfangs. He must remember that. Whether he slew Mance or only tried and failed, the free folk would kill him. Even desertion was impossible, if he'd been so inclined; to Mance he was a proven liar and betrayer.

-ASOS, Jon X

YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE...

"Who are you?"

"No one."

"A lie. A sad little lie, child."

-AFFC, Arya II

[Varamyr] had known what Snow was the moment he saw that great white direwolf stalking silent at his side. One skinchanger can always sense another. Mance should have let me take the direwolf. There would be a second life worthy of a king. He could have done it, he did not doubt. The gift was strong in Snow, but the youth was untaught, still fighting his nature when he should have gloried in it.

-ADWD, Prologue

"You think so?" She knelt and scratched Ghost behind his ear. "Your Wall is a queer place, but there is power here, if you will use it. Power in you, and in this beast. You resist it, and that is your mistake. Embrace it. Use it."

I am not a wolf, he thought. "And how would I do that?"

-ADWD, Jon VI

...BUT YOU'LL LEARN

Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. He used to mess my hair and call me "little sister," she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.

Polliver had stolen the sword from her when the Mountain's men took her captive, but when she and the Hound walked into the inn at the crossroads, there it was. The gods wanted me to have it. Not the Seven, nor Him of Many Faces, but her father's gods, the old gods of the north. The Many-Faced God can have the rest, she thought, but he can't have this.

-AFFC, Arya II

"Who could have done this thing, I wonder?"

"Arya of House Stark." She watched his eyes, his mouth, the muscles of his jaw.[...] When she woke the next morning, she was blind.

-AFFC, Cat of the Canals

This is after she kills Dareon for desertion of the Night's Watch, and the first time she answers the Kindly Man's question with something other than "no one." And as soon as she does that, she has a wolf dream, and she loses her sight.

He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon's breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady's coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell… I want my bride back… I want my bride back… I want my bride back…

"I think we had best change the plan," Jon Snow said.

-

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger's hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. "Ghost," he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold…

-ADWD, Jon XIII

Jon decides to ride to save Arya & kill Ramsay, and he loses his life! They're both pulled in two directions but ultimately they choose honor over duty, and to nobody's surprise they choose each other.

The choice to be Arya Stark and Jon Snow above No One/Lord Commander Snow, even if for just a moment, is a parallel one with parallel consequences.

Jon and Arya represent to each other the choice they will always make; they're what breaks the stalemate of the human heart in conflict with itself.

I don't think there's any possibility of an Jon Arya reunion being jarring. It's another post, comparing how Jaime & Cersei fracture to how Jon & Arya can't even when they try, but we don't need to get into that it to see the point. They are and always have been too similar, and years apart haven't changed that. If anything, they're two of the few people in asoiaf who both love & can still truly understand each other.

[cruelfeline]

Hello, back with more bullshit about the abomination comment:

The comment is interesting regarding Frey and Cuff's dynamic of being foils to each other as well.

Frey most likely spent the majority of her life thinking that she was fundamentally unwanted and unlovable, that she didn't really have a place in the world. How could she not? But by the end of the game, she's been offered a chance to readjust her perception of herself and move on— not really heal, not yet and not from such a deep wound, but her relationship to the people of Cipal and the plight of Athia, Cinta's admission of love and the understanding of the frought nature of her birth and arrival in New York, give her a point to pivot from. She has worth, she has agency, and people can love her, do love her. Frey has a place in the world and was always wanted, even if her life didn't pan out in a way that made it easy for her to know that.

Cuff, on the other hand, has a strong belief in both his purpose and his existence being wanted— he has a task, and he was purpose made for it, so of course he's intentional and a desirable asset for the Rheddig, and of course he should be loyal to them and their whims, they made him! He's willing to do things he's clearly conflicted about just because it's what he's for, and cape for the Rheddig just because he's tangentially linked to them. It'd be easy to think, then, that the Rheddig might appreciate him as a part of their faction to instil such loyalty (as Frey kind of does, because she sees Cuff as a person), but no, the game goes on to show that no one else really sees Cuff as either a person or as something that should exist at all. Unlike Frey, though, he doesn't really acknowledge it aside from is comments during their fight about his duty, but even then it's not to judge how others perceive him, just to kind of internalise that view of him and make it acceptable within his framing of himself.

Idk, it's just kind of neat that they sort of end up at opposite points to each other in this regard— even if Cuff ends up there from us gaining knowledge of him, rather than his character gaining knowledge of himself.

(Sorry for the word vomit haha, hope you're having a good day)

I am having a lovely day, and your commentary has brightened it further!

You're absolutely right.

One of the most interesting contrasts between Cuff and Frey pertains to their sense of self and their sense of duty.

As you say, they're opposites. Frey starts out with a very low opinion of herself, convinced that she's a screw-up whom no one could love, only to eventually understand that she was loved and had value all along.

Cuff maintains this sense of pride in what he is, apparently believing himself to be valued by those who made him and secure in his purpose, but as time goes on, this seems less and less grounded in reality. He is an "it" to everyone save for Frey. And, ultimately, he seems very unaware of any of the machinations involving him, as evidenced by his ignorance of his own rebirth in the DLC. Slowly but surely, it feels like we're approaching the realization that he has no revelation of love and want waiting for him in Rheddah.

In terms of duty, Frey goes from shying away from it - believing herself unable to rise to meet it - to choosing, willingly, to devote herself to it. Whereas Cuff starts from a place of devotion that he did not choose, yet still believes he must remain true to, and ends up... well, we don't fully know. But the final battle's dialogue certainly suggest some doubt starting to emerge.

And all of this ultimately reverses their states of power!

Frey goes from unsure and frightened and depressed to confident and certain and strong. Where she had little agency before, she has plenty now, and she's willing to use it.

Cuff starts off with that confidence and certainty only to seem less sure by the end. He's less able to grasp his agency and use it, and he exhibits far more anxiety and concern in, say, the DLC than Frey does.

Frey gets better and grows healthier; Cuff gets strangely worse.

Gosh, I wish we could have seen how it all progressed!

[weirwoodking]

I have a small headcanon that Sansa has already skinchanged into a bird without her knowledge once before. This passage about Marillion in the sky cells in particular:

“When she closed her eyes she could see him in his sky cell, huddled in a corner away from the cold black sky, crouched beneath a fur with his woodharp cradled against his chest.”

What do you think?

Oh, absolutely. I do think that she’s experienced her powers in some way, she just hasn’t thought about them.

George does leave these little subtle hints in the text that point to the Stark kids abilities, the earliest being in chapter one:

Halfway across the bridge, Jon pulled up suddenly.

“What is it, Jon?” their lord father asked.

“Can’t you hear it?”

Bran could hear the wind in the trees, the clatter of their hooves on the ironwood planks, the whimpering of his hungry pup, but Jon was listening to something else.

“There,” Jon said. He swung his horse around and galloped back across the bridge. They watched him dismount where the direwolf lay dead in the snow, watched him kneel. A moment later he was riding back to them, smiling.

“He must have crawled away from the others,” Jon said. (Bran I, AGOT)

While on horseback, and halfway across the bridge, already far away from where a mute direwolf puppy was, Jon was able to “hear” him. Obviously, he didn’t hear Ghost, he sensed him. Already, he was bonded with Ghost, even though this was about a year and half before Jon had his first “true” wolf dream. And furthermore, it takes a while before he’s able to clearly remember these dreams:

The wolf dreams had been growing stronger, and he found himself remembering them even when awake. (Jon I, ADWD)

So, yes, I definitely think that Sansa could already be having skinchanging dreams with a bird/birds. She just might not remember it. Also, she doesn’t have to have been having direct dreams, but moments of using the bird’s senses. Not fully in the animal, just sharing it’s space for a moment.

Unlike the sh*w, where skinchanging is an on/off switch (you’re either inside the animal or not inside the animal), skinchanging in the books is more nuanced. Jon is able to brush his hand up against Ghost and tap into the wolf’s senses, without fully warging him. He can even taste blood in his mouth after Ghost kills, and he can feel the wolf’s hunger. The most notable instance of this “one mind in two bodies simultaneously” thing is with Arya and the Braavos street cat:

That night she dreamed she was a wolf again, but it was different from the other dreams. In this dream she had no pack. She prowled alone, bounding over rooftops and padding silently beside the banks of a canal, stalking shadows through the fog. (Cat of the Canals, AFFC)

The tavern was near empty, and she was able to claim a quiet corner not far from the fire. No sooner had she settled there and crossed her legs than something brushed up against her thigh. "You again?" said the blind girl. She scratched his head behind one ear, and the cat jumped up into her lap and began to purr. Braavos was full of cats, and no place more than Pynto's. The old pirate believed they brought good luck and kept his tavern free of vermin. "You know me, don't you?" she whispered. Cats were not fooled by a mummer's moles. They remembered Cat of the Canals.

[...]

The Lyseni took the table nearest to the fire and spoke quietly over cups of black tar rum, keeping their voices low so no one could overhear. But she was no one and she heard most every word. And for a time it seemed that she could see them too, through the slitted yellow eyes of the tomcat purring in her lap. One was old and one was young and one had lost an ear, but all three had the white-blond hair and smooth fair skin of Lys, where the blood of the old Freehold still ran strong. (The Blind Girl, ADWD)

"It is good to know. This is two. Is there a third?"

"Yes. I know that you're the one who has been hitting me." Her stick flashed out, and cracked against his fingers, sending his own stick clattering to the floor.

The priest winced and snatched his hand back. "And how could a blind girl know that?"

I saw you. "I gave you three. I don't need to give you four." Maybe on the morrow she would tell him about the cat that had followed her home last night from Pynto's, the cat that was hiding in the rafters, looking down on them. Or maybe not. If he could have secrets, so could she. (The Blind Girl, ADWD)

While Arya is not fully outside of her body and in the body of the cat, she’s able to use the cat’s eyes as her own. And she isn’t even aware that she’s doing it, it’s just occurring naturally. I do believe that the same cat she dreams as in AFFC is the tomcat that she sees through in ADWD.

So, yes, I do believe that Sansa could be looking through the eyes of a bird. She’s just not aware of it.

It does seem like the Stark kids are much more powerful than the average skinchangers/wargs, immediately bonding to the wolves without realizing it, and already connecting with other animals. Arya is able to warg Nymeria from an entirely separate continent, which probably isn’t standard behavior, especially not for someone who doesn’t even know what they’re doing and has no training. Even Varamyr, a man who has mastered the control of five animals, recognizes Jon’s power:

The gift was strong in Snow, but the youth was untaught, still fighting his nature when he should have gloried in it. (Prologue, ADWD)

So, the Starks seem to be pretty powerful. And that includes Sansa, as GRRM has confirmed that she is still a skinchanger, meaning that he’s definitely going to have a bond with an animal at some point. It would make sense for him to have already been leaving little hints about it.

A very important component to Sansa’s character, which could be affecting her skinchanging powers, is her memory. The way that Sansa’s mind has coped with her trauma is by suppressing and rewriting certain distressing, scarring, and confusing memories. This is something that all the Stark kids do, in different levels. For example, Bran believes that Rickon intentionally suppresses the memory of Ned being dead:

"Tell Robb I want him to come home," said Rickon. "He can bring his wolf home too, and Mother and Father." Though he knew Lord Eddard was dead, sometimes Rickon forgot... willfully, Bran suspected. (Bran V, ACOK)

Bran himself does this as well:

The dream he'd had... the dream Summer had had... No, I mustn't think about that dream. He had not even told the Reeds, though Meera at least seemed to sense that something was wrong. If he never talked of it maybe he could forget he ever dreamed it, and then it wouldn't have happened and Robb and Grey Wind would still be... (Bran IV, ASOS)

Sansa does this the most out of her siblings, it’s her primary coping mechanism. One example is how remembers (or tries not to remember) Jeyne Poole:

Sansa did not know what had happened to Jeyne, who had disappeared from her rooms afterward, never to be mentioned again. She tried not to think of them too often, yet sometimes the memories came unbidden, and then it was hard to hold back the tears. (Sansa II, ACOK)

She tries to not to think of her, because it’s too traumatic for her to do so.

Another example is how she’s trying to process the situations she’s in at the Eyrie.

I am not your daughter, she thought. I am Sansa Stark, Lord Eddard's daughter and Lady Catelyn's, the blood of Winterfell. She did not say it, though. If not for Petyr Baelish it would have been Sansa who went spinning through a cold blue sky to stony death six hundred feet below, instead of Lysa Arryn. He is so bold. Sansa wished she had his courage. She wanted to crawl back into bed and hide beneath her blanket, to sleep and sleep. She had not slept a whole night through since Lysa Arryn's death. (Sansa I, AFFC)

He is serving me lies as well, Sansa realized. They were comforting lies, though, and she thought them kindly meant. A lie is not so bad if it is kindly meant. If only she believed them...

The things her aunt had said just before she fell still troubled Sansa greatly. "Ravings," Petyr called them. "My wife was mad, you saw that for yourself." And so she had. All I did was build a snow castle, and she meant to push me out the Moon Door. Petyr saved me. He loved my mother well, and...

And her? How could she doubt it? He had saved her.

He saved Alayne, his daughter, a voice within her whispered. But she was Sansa too... and sometimes it seemed to her that the Lord Protector was two people as well. He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle... but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she'd known at King's Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei's ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers. When Joff had her beaten, the Imp defended her, not Littlefinger. When the mob sought to rape her, the Hound carried her to safety, not Littlefinger. When the Lannisters wed her to Tyrion against her will, Ser Garlan the Gallant gave her comfort, not Littlefinger. Littlefinger never lifted so much as his little finger for her.

Except to get me out. He did that for me. I thought it was Ser Dontos, my poor old drunken Florian, but it was Petyr all the while. Littlefinger was only a mask he had to wear. Only sometimes Sansa found it hard to tell where the man ended and the mask began. Littlefinger and Lord Petyr looked so very much alike. She would have fled them both, perhaps, but there was nowhere for her to go. Winterfell was burned and desolate, Bran and Rickon dead and cold. Robb had been betrayed and murdered at the Twins, along with their lady mother. Tyrion had been put to death for killing Joffrey, and if she ever returned to King's Landing the queen would have her head as well. The aunt she'd hoped would keep her safe had tried to murder her instead. Her uncle Edmure was a captive of the Freys, while her great-uncle the Blackfish was under siege at Riverrun. I have no place but here, Sansa thought miserably, and no true friend but Petyr. (Sansa I, AFFC)

Sansa knows deep down (not even that deep, just down) that Petyr is untrustworthy. She knows he’s fed her lies, but she wants to believe them. She wants to be able to trust him. She wants to feel like she can be safe with him. She wants to be safe. It bothers me a lot whenever people say Sansa is “stupid” for trusting Petyr, or “uncaring” for not thinking often of Jeyne. She isn’t stupid or uncaring, she’s a traumatized thirteen year old whose brain is trying to cope with what she’s gone through and what she’s currently going through.

So, she has built a wall. And behind that wall are the memories of Lysa’s death, the truth about Jon Arryn’s murder, and Jeyne Poole. I think it would make sense if skinchanging, something that involves the mind, is also something that she’s subconsciously repressing. I talked about this sometime a while ago, but I believe that a big moment for Sansa in TWOW is going to be her confronting her memories. And most significantly, confronting Baelish about what happened to Jeyne Poole and exposing the truth of Jon Arryn and Lysa’s deaths. Thus, defeating Littlefinger, the mockingbird.

It would make sense if this coincided with her skinchanging abilities truly awakening. As her mind opens, her powers become stronger. I’m pretty deadset on Sansa’s bird being a falcon, not just for the House Arryn connection and because she’s gone hawking with a falcon before, but also because of the symbolism. Falcons symbolize “vision, freedom, and victory. Hence, it also connotes salvation to those who are in bondage whether moral, emotional, or spiritual”. I think that Sansa bonding with a falcon and “flying free” would be perfect for the conclusion of her caged bird arc.

Sorry, this got really long, it just kind of turned into all my thoughts about how skinchanger-Sansa might come to be in TWOW. I think it’s going to be an important part of her story, as you don’t just give four of your POV characters the ability to control animals with their minds and not have that matter. (And, it’s already an important part of Jon, Arya, and Bran’s stories, so it most likely will be for Sansa, too.)

[jonnnysuh]

Dating Jay B would include:

A/N: So this one has been in my notes for over a year and I would constantly add to it bc Jay B is just so consistent and such a weirdo (I love it tho). Everything is more fun than romantic. Purely based off observation/ my perception of him. Updated with texts and Snapchats: 1/10/22

Watching romcoms and being like “that’s you” when the main character does something stupid

Conversations from the toilet

Weird conversations quickly turning into deep conversations and then going back

Having random spurts of energy but at different times and annoying the fuck out of each other 

Those silent laughs with each other where you’re both just clapping and gasping for air 

While he’s reading he’ll shut the book and say “do you know” bc he just learned something 

watching him fall over bc he’s mad clumsy

HE WILL FART SILENTLY IT WILL STINK AND HE WILL LAUGH BUT HE’LL DENY IT

“You okay bro?” “ya bro. but are you okay bro?” “ya bro.”

going 🤟🏼gang 😳 🤘🏼gang 😔 To greet each other

He thinks that he’s flirting but what he said was not remotely flirty 

He’ll come in and watch TV shows with you and then get invested on his own 

serving you food first before he serves himself

“I have a crush on you"  “Ya I would hope so we’re dating”

“Why do you look so serious? Smile” “Don’t tell me what to do”

doing shit for you even though he’s tired out of his mind

He stares intently which is sometimes intense 

“stop looking at me” but he stares even more and closer

“Don’t get mad but…” when you know youre going to be in trouble with him and he tries his best to stay calm but he wants to WHOOP YOUR ASS

“end the ft I need to go now” “No” “end it” “no you have your own hands end it yourself.” *looks at camera, sighing. “Okay bye I love you” “I love you too”

Doing something wrong so he takes it and fixes it for you

he finds out who casey frey is and can’t stop dancing like him “what’s poppin??? unhhhh”

Loves going on walks through nature // places that aren’t busy and quiet

Removes his socks any time he gets comfortable somewhere so there’s just a bunch of socks balled up in random places

You can tell he’s mad just by his eyes 

he’s originally very closed off and it takes a while to get him to open up, but eventually he can’t wait to share things with you

smaller fights turning into dance battles and then yall stop being mad at each other because you start doing stupid shit to make each other laugh

having quiet time away from each other

Staring contests just bc you randomly made eye contact and he’ll make his eyes as big as he can 

when you’re ranting he will let you go on for as long as you need to and THEN he’ll give you advice

his life is a mukbang. he’s just a dude who likes food 

Taking you to the places he went to when he was growing up

Sending animals memes to each other 

Has separate journals where he writes about his day, and dreams, and songs

Is the jealous type but will not admit he is the jealous type

his legs wrapping around yours when you sleep

feels like affection should be a private rather than public thing but will do a cute lil gesture every once in a while

Both being the funny one

switching between who’s the parent and who’s the kid in the situation

Has to pull you away when you want to beat someone’s ass !!! 

Being super competitive with each other over stupid things 

Making To-do lists for each other

he makes breakfast shirtless

Always keeping you in check

cheering each other on whenever possible ,, literally being the loudest most obnoxious person

Playfully hitting him and he falls to the ground bc extra 

facetiming when one’s at the grocery store instead of calling because you want to show each other everything

museum dates

is always late to things

Taking sneaky candids of one another 

Taking selfies and he’s taking more pictures of you with different angles BC HE KNOWS THE MUTHAFUCKING ANGLES

Pointing out something only both of you would find funny and it’s usually at the most inappropriate moment so you have to hide your laughter but it makes it funnier 

not fighting often, but when you do fight it’s super intense and scary. Like you won’t talk for a few days, and you’ll sleep in separate rooms

And both of you will keep adding to the problems with irrelevant shit but shit that bothers them and the only way to solve it is having a long long talk to apologize and fix it

“Who can scream louder AHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Handwritten notes for birthday/ anniversaries

Will remember small details about you and bring them up later

standing on his back

He is just so clumsy JB please just watch where you’re going

footfiving ((high-fiving feet I KNOW this one is weird ok))

he’s a good listener and you can honestly go to him for anything 

Doing funny things with a serious face to see who will crack first

Honestly, he’s basically just your best buddy with the bitch face that has a heart of gold

[nashibirne]

DESPERADO - 3

Helen and August are back. Sorry it took me a while to write the next chapter but our holidays got in the way of writing. Anyway, here it is and it's getting a little steamy. I somehow struggled with writing the smut this time, it was somewhat hard to find the right balance in their dynamics but I think it turned out fine in the end. I hope you like it, too. As you know, writers live off validation, so comments, reblogs and likes are very much appreciated 💜

Pairing: Augut Walker x OFC (Helen Nichols)

Summary: August has survived the fight with Ethan Hunt and the fall from the cliff. A few lucky coincidences saved his life and he ends up with a woman that saves him and gives him shelter in her little hermit hut. He is at a turning point in his life. What is he going to do?

Word count: ~ 3.1 k

Warnings: Description of injuries, smut, NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, oral sex (f and m receiving), vaginal sex

NO BETA! English is not my mother tongue, so expect bad grammar, wrong spelling, chaotic punctuation and clumsy language. All mistakes are mine…

Credits: I don’t own August Walker and anything related to MI:Fallout. Pics for the moodboard from pinterest, face claim Helen: Rooney Mara

You can find parts 1 and 2 and my other fics on my masterlist.

Taglist (please let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen @a-little-counter-esperanto @starstruckkittyangel @mary-ann84 @sillyrabbit81 @emelinelovesjc

Let's go...

***************

Desperado

Oh, you ain't gettin' no younger

Your pain and your hunger

They're drivin' you home

Freedom, oh freedom

Well that's just some people talkin'

Your prison is walkin' through this world all alone

From Desperado by The Eagles, Lyrics: Don Henley, Glenn Frey

"She's dead. She died in an accident. She was gone. I stayed."

No matter how hard August tried to find out more about Allison, there was no way to make Helen tell him anything else but these simple basics. She'd worked hard on building a protective wall around that part of her heart and her mind, she had closed off the grief and the feeling of guilt and she wasn't willing to hand over the key to her memories to a random stranger who was lying about his identity.

Besides August's futile attempts to pry into Helen's past the next two weeks were quite harmonious. While Helen had decided to ignore the fact that Austin Peters was a fake persona to avoid any kinds of complications, August had decided to accept the inevitable and to be a nice houseguest and he grudgingly let Helen take care of him. They soon got used to the fact that her help made them share pretty intimate moments and August had a hard time granting her access to his personal space, letting her literally touch him everywhere when she had to treat his wounds or help him get dressed and undressed, but he also watched her blush and shy away from him with fiendish joy.

It made him feel better about his face that his body obviously still had a significant effect on Helen and he couldn't deny that seeing her running around in her underwear or imagining her standing in the shower naked had a certain effect on him too. And it wasn't only physical, he really started to like her. She was smart and tough but also witty and cheeky sometimes, and it was hard for him to admit to himself that he enjoyed her company. Stockholm syndrome for sure, he tried to tell himself but in the back of his mind he knew the truth.

He had no idea that Helen felt the same and that her aloof manner was mostly facade. Behind the mask of indifference she was growing warm feelings for him. Warm, foolish, irrational feelings for a man she actually knew nothing about and who was involved in an FBI investigation. She blamed her hunger for interpersonal interactions and warmth that resulted from her self-chosen isolation for these surfacing emotions and did her best to ignore them.

What was really bothering Helen most after only a few days was the sleeping situation. Despite the fact that the there-is-only-one-bed-trope was everything from hot to romantic in theory it was only leading to back pain in reality. August kept on offering to sleep on the couch but she wouldn't let him. He needed a comfortable place to sleep and her sofa was hardly big enough for her. A tall man like him wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep on it. So after 14 nights she decided to do something about it. She had made a call in the morning, August had heard her muffled voice from the kitchen when he was in the bathroom, and now a car was driving up to the hut. He started to panic.

"Who's that?"

He looked at Helen and she gave him a shrug.

"A friend. He's bringing me a folding bed, called him this morning. I'm not going to survive another night on the couch."

A car door was slammed shut with a thud and foot steps were coming closer to the front door.

"He can't come in, Helen", August whispered, giving her a pleading glance. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that?"

"He mustn't see me. Please."

Helen eyed him up and down and when it knocked August held his breath, his heart racing. She turned to the door without another word and August grabbed a large knife from the knife block before hiding in the corner of the room that wasn't visible from the entrance. Helen flinched when she realized that he'd armed himself but after taking a deep breath she opened the door with a nonchalant smile.

"Naseer. Hi. That was quick."

"Hi Helen. Yeah, it sounded urgent on the phone and you can't sleep in a broken bed so I thought I better bring you the folding bed as soon as possible."

August tried to imagine the man who belonged to the pleasant, warm voice. His English was very good but he clearly wasn't a native speaker. Someone from the village he guessed. From the village he would have erased without batting an eyelid just two weeks ago. His stomach twisted at the thought and it filled him with anger that he seemed to evolve something like a conscience lately.

"That's really kind of you."

He could hear the smile in Helen's voice.

"Let me help you unload it."

"No, I'll go and get it. Just tell me where to put it."

"Just put it here on the porch. I'll take care of it later."

Naseer gave Helen a funny look and she knew he was thinking she was acting strange but she could hardly let him walk inside the hut where August was awaiting him with a knife. She watched her only friend walk to his truck, grabbing the bed from the loading space and carrying it to the house.

"It's no problem to carry it inside", he said when he was standing in front of Helen again. "I could also fix your bed. I built it, it shouldn't be hard to replace a broken part."

He built it? The guy built Helen's bed? August started to wonder what kind of friend he was and why the question bothered him so much.

"No! No, that won't be necessary, Naseer."

Christ, woman, don't talk so fast. Her nervousness was showing in her voice and August was worried he might really have to use that fucking knife.

"Really, it's fine...I'm quite busy right now. In the middle of a creative phase...you know...kissed by the muse."

Good girl, back on track. August's heart rate went back to normal.

"You're working on your book again? That's great, Hel."

Hel? He rolled his eyes, annoyed and impatient.

"Yeah, it really is. My agent is pretty relieved too, my writer's block made him quite nervous. But I'm working almost non-stop on it...so yeah."

She shrugged with a sheepish grin, feeling terrible for lying to him.

"Is that why you needed all those supplies? Because you don't want to leave for grocery shopping in the next few weeks? Your truck was loaded when we met the other day."

"Exactly."

"I see...well…"

"Yeah…"

"I better get going then. Let you work in peace…"

"Thanks for stopping by, Naseer."

"Anytime. You know you can always call me when something's wrong or when you need help, right?"

"Of course." Her laugh sounded fake and nervous and for a moment she thought Naseer was going to ask her what was going on but he only gave her a worried look before he left. Helen let out a long sigh of relief, turned around and closed the door behind her.

"He's gone. You can put that away." She pointed at the knife August clung to, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"What?" He looked at her angrily, putting the knife back in the knife block. "I just wanted to be prepared."

Helen let out a snort. "For what? Naseer attacking an injured stranger?"

"I don't know him."

"But I do. He's a friend and you made me act rude without a reason."

"A friend, huh? Hel?" August said in a mocking tone wiggling his eyebrows. He tried to be cheeky and make her laugh to ease the tension but he knew it was a stupid move as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Yes. A friend. Austin."

She was still being deadly serious and stressed his false name pointedly crossing her arms in front of her chest. August didn't know what to say or do to keep the situation from escalating so he just shrugged.

"Fine."

"Fine? That's all you have to say? For fucks sake...tell me why you didn't want Naseer to see you. Explain to me why you armed yourself with a knife, hiding in a dark corner of my house. My fucking house, goddamn…in which you found shelter..." She was furious now and he made a step towards her, his hands raised up in surrender. "Okay, listen, Helen."

"I'm all ears."

"As I said, it was just taking precautions. I'm a mistrustful person, made some bad experiences in the past and got hurt too often."

"Bullshit." She shook her head. "Don't try to tug at my heartstrings. Just tell me the truth."

August took a deep breath, he was getting frustrated and annoyed by her insistence.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't, okay? Let's just leave it at that or…"

“Or what? Are you going to kill me?”

Her voice was full of sarcasm but her eyes showed him that a part of her was scared of him, wondering what he was capable of. The logical answer to her question would have been yes. His answer should have been yes, but when he said no, when he denied it, August meant it. He wasn't going to kill her nor would he ever hurt her.

“No, but I still can’t tell you.”

She could tell by the expression on his face that he was torn. He wanted to open up to her, but he felt like he couldn't.

“Just give me something. A little part of the truth to help me understand who you are, where you’re coming from and what you`re up to."

“That’s not so easy, Helen. You might not like what you’re going to hear.”

He gave her a shrug and something that was supposed to be a smile.

“I don’t care. August.”

He blinked repeatedly. “Sorry?”

“Yes...August.” She rolled her eyes. “I know that you've been lying to me from day one."

He got up and started to pace the hut, still hobbling a little, though his ankle was much better. He wasn’t really worried just debating with himself. After a while he stopped by the window, staring outside. “You're right. My name is August. August Walker.”

"Thanks, but I already know that much", Helen snapped.

"How did you find out about my name?" He asked as calmly as his fluttering nerves allowed it, turning around to look her in the eyes.

"Why did you lie to me?" Helen threw him a challenging look.

"How much do you know?" August was not willing to leave his questions unanswered.

"Why. Did. You. Lie. To. Me?" Helen shouted at him.

"It's none of your fucking business", he yelled back.

Helen laughed out loud.

"It's none of my business? Are you kidding me? I saved you. I let you stay in my house, sleep in my bed, I treat your wounds, I take care of you, give you shelter, I've helped you in every possible way, no matter how many of my personal boundaries have been transgressed and now you're seriously telling me that it's none of my business that you've lied to me all this fucking time?"

"I've never asked for your help."

His voice was calm, his facial expression blank and stern but his eyes were blazing with emotion. His stare was so intense it made Helen shiver.

"You ungrateful ass", she whispered, stunned by his audacity. "You took all I had to give without saying thank you only once. And now you're…"

He was right in front of her with two big strides, his lips crashing on hers with unexpected passion. Helen was too surprised to think about her reaction. She instinctively kissed him back, granting him access, letting him deepen the kiss, allowing his hands to explore her body. 60 seconds later she was in control of herself again. She pushed him away, staring at him dumbfounded.

"Shit. What are you doing?"

"Expressing my gratitude."

He gave her an outrageously sexy smirk and it took Helen just a split second to grab him by his shirt and pull him close again to kiss him feverishly. She wanted him. She wanted him badly. She wanted him now.

August pressed her against the wall with his huge body, caressing her tits through her clothes while kissing her neck. She moaned and started to tug at his shirt. He took it off in a hurry and Helen got rid of her top and bra. When they kissed again she let her hands run over his chest gently, making sure not to hurt him. She pulled away and looked at him, at his scarred face that was still so handsome now that the wounds were healing and the swelling had gone down around his eye. August averted his eyes, burying his head in the crook of her neck again, withdrawing from her gaze.

"Turn around", he mumbled, taking her by her waist.

She did what he asked her to do but when she heard him fumble with his belt and the sound of his pants hitting the floor behind her back, when his hands tried to pull down her sweatpants impatiently, she turned around again. She reached up and cupped his face with her tiny hands, running her thumb tenderly over his burnt skin.

"Listen, August. This is not going to be a quickie, okay? You want to express your gratitude? Great. I like this. But do it properly. Fuck me rough, if you want to, fuck me hard, but don't you dare to hide from me. Look at me. Kiss me. Give me the feeling of being wanted. Pretend it's more than just some kind of job."

He looked at her with an unreadable expression, hesitating for a moment. He opened his mouth but instead of saying something he pressed his lips together with a nod. Helen smiled at him before stripping naked slowly.

When he kissed her again he took his time, enjoying the sensation of holding her naked body close to his now. She was surprised by his tenderness, by his gentle touch and the delicate kisses he covered her body with and blown away by the passion that soon erupted from deep within him. It was just a small step from long, slow kisses to making out like two hungry predators.

He lifted her up easily and carried her to her bed where he laid her down on her back carefully. He climbed between her legs and looked at her.

"Ready to get fucked like never before?"

She smirked. "Big words. I hope you're not all mouth."

"You don't like my mouth?" He started to kiss her belly, licking her skin, leaving a wet trace that led down south where his tongue met her soft pubic hair.

"I love your mouth."

Helen moaned when he kissed her pussy and parted her folds with his tongue.

"Yeah? You like my tongue too?"

He started to tongue fuck her and she grabbed his head, pressing his face closer to her sex.

"Shut up and eat me out."

She threw her head back when sucked on her clit.

"Oh fuck…" She moved her hips slowly to the rhythm of his actions, rolling them with intense motions, burying her fingers in his thick, curly hair. "Just like this...yes."

Her moans got louder and louder and his dick was so hard it hurt, leaking precum. He knew she was about to come but she stopped him before she climaxed.

"Lay down", she ordered and so they switched positions. August had always been a dominant lover but being bossed around by her was a great turn on. He loved how determined she was, it was incredibly sexy how she was chasing her high, not even trying to hide that she wanted to fulfil her own needs most of all. She was starved, desperately in need of this, of him. In this moment she needed him, she wanted him, she allowed him to give her what she was craving.

Helen was kneeling between his legs now, grabbing his dick. "I love your cock too." She grinned at him before she started to suck him off with a devotion that was new to him.

She turned him into a whimpering, panting mess soon, her lips and her tongue working their magic on his dick, and just like her, he grabbed her head to have some kind of control over her actions. He made her take him deeper and she took him deeper.

"Good girl. Taking me so well."

His voice was raspy and she locked eyes with him, her gaze telling him that she liked to be praised. August groaned when she slowly pulled back, licking his length one last time.

"Fuck, Helen...I need to feel you."

"I'll make you feel me."

Saliva was dripping from her swollen lips and he almost got off just by the sight of it. His saviour, his saint had turned into a shameless whore and he was willing to worship and adore her for being his dirty, little slut.

"Yes, you will."

He grabbed her by her waist and pulled her onto his cock. She sighed with pleasure when he entered her tight cunt, stretching her wet pussy and as soon as she got used to his size she started to ride him, rolling her hips slowly in a rhythm that was giving them both the greatest pleasure. August stroked her tits, caressed and kneaded them and she supported her body with her hands on his chest. She picked up speed and when August pinched her nipple she came with a hoarse shriek, her whole body trembling with ecstasy and lust.

Helen bent down to kiss him and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly while thrusting his hips. He fucked her without restraint now, his thrusts hard, fast and deep. He railed her mercilessly until his intense orgasm swept him away. He let out a long, satisfied moan and loosened his grip on her body.

He kissed her again but she seemed to be in a rush suddenly and rolled off him and went to the bathroom. August was kind of surprised and sobered to a certain degree when he heard that she was taking a shower. She either couldn't stand after-sex-cuddles in general or she really thought that he had just done her a favor to thank her for her hospitality.

He wondered how many times he would have to fuck her till she was willing to fall asleep in his arms afterwards.

*****

[ericanoelle]

What would happen between Petyr and Sansa if the red wedding never happened?

If the red wedding never happened, Robb would have gone through with marrying the Frey girl. Maybe he still had his affair but he wouldn't have married Jeyne Westerling. He marries the Frey girl and since the Karstarks abandoned him, this makes up for the men he lost. The Boltons do not rebel because they have the numbers.

This causes they to be able to march on Kings Landing, but not before the Purple Wedding. Petyr still smuggles Sansa out of the city and takes her to the Vale. When Robb marches on the city, Catelyn stayed behind with Arya, they do not find Sansa. The Tyrell's back Robb and change alliances immediately. Cersei, Tommen and all them are rounded up and executed. Tywin does not die in a privy but instead, by execution because Tyrion is still in the cells.

And does not know where Sansa is.

When the war is over, Lysa sends word that Sansa is in the Vale- safe. Catelyn and Arya immediately go to the Vale while Robb stays behind in King's Landing, waiting for Stannis. When Catelyn and Arya arrive in the Vale, the Lysa moon-door murder had already happened.

Catelyn is still angry with Petyr for his roll in Ned's death but Sansa tells her what happened with Lysa- that Petyr not only saved her from the Lannisters but from Lysa. She tells her about everything that happened in King's Landing- even Ned making a fool of himself.

While she never forgives Petyr, Catelyn is at least grateful for saving her daughter.

Petyr becomes Lord Protector of the Vale over Robin.

Stannis sits on the throne and Robb becomes Warden of the North (Stannis would not accept the North breaking free) and when Robb tried, Stannis refused to break the marriage between Tyrion and Sansa.

Tyrion is made Warden of. the West and given Casterly Rock- Sansa remaining his wife.

Catelyn, Robb, his wife and Arya all go back to Winterfell which is A MESS. Rickon is then brought to them by the Umbers but Bran is still out doing three-eyed raven shit.

Tyrion and Sansa move to Casterly Rock and a few years pass and they have ONE child. A young boy that they name Brandon Lannister that like a mixture of Jaime and Robb. Tyrion isn't exactly faithful but Sansa does not mind- they are friends more than anything.

Petyr and Robb negotiate a marriage between Robin and Arya (which the latter HATES). Tyrion and Sansa go to the Vale and see the wedding. Here, Sansa and Petyr have an affair. When she falls with child, Tyrion agrees to accept her bastard. She has a little girl with red hair and grey-green eyes. They name her Lyanna.

Now that Robin and Arya at head of the Vale, Petyr leaves (mainly because that marriage is a nightmare and there is no need for chaos when the parties create it themselves). He goes to Casterly Rock and Tyion figures out that Petyr is the father of Sansa's child.

Seeing that he has his own affairs, he lets Sansa and Petyr have their relationship- in his house.

The three of them lives together and Petyr takes a special interest in Brandon Lannister- who is probably the most well educated heir to any kingdom in the Seven Kingdoms (being taught by both Petyr and Tyrion and Sansa). Lyanna of course holds a very special place in Petyr's heart as well as Tyrion's. Petyr and Sansa end up having a third child, this time a boy with jet black hair- and by the time he arrives EVERYONE knows about this arrangement so there is no need to hide it.

It makes for very interesting dinners when any other member of Sansa's family come for a visit.

I can only imagine the snark between Petyr and Tyrion, purposefully making everyone as uncomfortable as possible for the hell of it.