#btw can you imagine littlefinger - instead of being a chaos agent and lying that he'd lost his valyrian steel dagger to tyrion in a bet

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Yes, exactly. The Darry trial simply illuminates why Lyanna begged Ned to promise her to keep Jon safe. At the time, he must have protested that even with the murders of Rhaenys and Aegon, that Robert loved Lyanna -- loved Ned -- he wouldn't hurt her baby‚ Ned's own nephew? Surely not. But Lyanna knew what Robert was. So she pleaded until Ned promised her, and only when he gave her his final promise, did she give up her hold on life.

It's not just because Robert hates Targaryens that he ignored the slaughter of Elia and her children. (And rewarded Tywin for it!) He will kill -- or allow to be killed -- any child, any innocent, even one of Ned's loved ones, if it's in his interest. Or if he can't bother to care, he'll just turn away. Despite Ned's own pleadings.

His old friend‚ closer than any brother. "Please‚ Robert. For the love you bear me. For the love you bore my sister. Please.”

Robert looked at Ned with flat‚ dead eyes and left without a word‚ his footsteps heavy as lead.

The face of the butcher's boy swam up before his eyes, cloven almost in two, and afterward the king had said not a word. His head was pounding.

And Ned knows he cannot trust his friend. Despite his suspicions that the Lannisters were involved in Bran's fall and the assassination attempt, Ned never goes to Robert about it because he does not want to know if Robert played a role in it. (And technically he did!) Because Ned cannot trust Robert not to kill children, because he's learned his best friend is a terrible person, he does another end run around his own plans to warn Cersei to take her kids and escape. And that, among many other factors, is what leads to his doom.

“If the queen had a role in this or, gods forbid, the king himself … no, I will not believe that.” Yet even as he said the words, he remembered that chill morning on the barrowlands, and Robert’s talk of sending hired knives after the Targaryen princess. He remembered Rhaegar’s infant son, the red ruin of his skull, and the way the king had turned away, as he had turned away in Darry’s audience hall not so long ago. He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once.” -EDDARD IV

love this passage. gives us so much insight into what ned really believes about robert even though he’s blocking it all out and trying to see the friend he once knew + some “ned thinks do jon as his son not nephew” fluff. he’s wondering if robert would allow someone to kill his son, bran, bringing him to lyanna’s pleas for jon’s life. yes, ned knows robert would kill ned’s son if it was in his best interest, he’s always known.

[blue-ink-pearls]

#ned's story in agot is a series of disappointments‚ realizing that his best childhood friend‚ the king he's loyal to and loves so much #is a terrible human being. the kind of man who beats women and doesn't care about the murder of children #and it may be true he's always known. or at least he knew *enough* to keep jon safe and keep that promise despite everything #but everything that happens is just another nail in the coffin of their friendship. the friendship that ned died for. i just... i just. #btw can you imagine littlefinger - instead of being a chaos agent and lying that he'd lost his valyrian steel dagger to tyrion in a bet #if he'd been a *different* kind of chaos agent and told the actual truth that the one who won the dagger was *robert*? seriously oh my god #maybe ned would investigate and figure out it was joffrey who sent the assassin... because of what robert said... ugh i can't (@nobodysuspectsthebutterfly)

“If the queen had a role in this or, gods forbid, the king himself … no, I will not believe that.” Yet even as he said the words, he remembered that chill morning on the barrowlands, and Robert’s talk of sending hired knives after the Targaryen princess. He remembered Rhaegar’s infant son, the red ruin of his skull, and the way the king had turned away, as he had turned away in Darry’s audience hall not so long ago. He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once.” -EDDARD IV

love this passage. gives us so much insight into what ned really believes about robert even though he’s blocking it all out and trying to see the friend he once knew + some “ned thinks do jon as his son not nephew” fluff. he’s wondering if robert would allow someone to kill his son, bran, bringing him to lyanna’s pleas for jon’s life. yes, ned knows robert would kill ned’s son if it was in his best interest, he’s always known.

[fandom-geek]

#ned's story in agot is a series of disappointments‚ realizing that his best childhood friend‚ the king he's loyal to and loves so much #is a terrible human being. the kind of man who beats women and doesn't care about the murder of children #and it may be true he's always known. or at least he knew *enough* to keep jon safe and keep that promise despite everything #but everything that happens is just another nail in the coffin of their friendship. the friendship that ned died for. i just... i just. #btw can you imagine littlefinger - instead of being a chaos agent and lying that he'd lost his valyrian steel dagger to tyrion in a bet #if he'd been a *different* kind of chaos agent and told the actual truth that the one who won the dagger was *robert*? seriously oh my god #maybe ned would investigate and figure out it was joffrey who sent the assassin... because of what robert said... ugh i can't

“If the queen had a role in this or, gods forbid, the king himself … no, I will not believe that.” Yet even as he said the words, he remembered that chill morning on the barrowlands, and Robert’s talk of sending hired knives after the Targaryen princess. He remembered Rhaegar’s infant son, the red ruin of his skull, and the way the king had turned away, as he had turned away in Darry’s audience hall not so long ago. He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once.” -EDDARD IV

love this passage. gives us so much insight into what ned really believes about robert even though he’s blocking it all out and trying to see the friend he once knew + some “ned thinks do jon as his son not nephew” fluff. he’s wondering if robert would allow someone to kill his son, bran, bringing him to lyanna’s pleas for jon’s life. yes, ned knows robert would kill ned’s son if it was in his best interest, he’s always known.