#sam trotter

[the-record]

YOU’RE GONNA GO FAR

SUMMARY: you’d wait up for the rest of your life for nelly.

PAIRING: nell jackson x readership

WARNINGS: honestly a homoerotic friendship bc duh!!! death and grief

A/N: disclaimer that i have no idea if these times and dates r accurate but used my best context clues!!! anyways i actually like this one a lot :))

‘YOU’RE THE GREATEST THING WE’VE LOST’

tottenham, 1698

you didn’t understand. she was leaving? with some man, captain jackson, none of you knew.

“but why?” you ask, feeling out of breath. “what about george and roxy?” your eyes fill with tears as you pace in-front of nelly. “what about me?” 

she stops you, grabbing your hands and pulling you in-front of her. she’s sitting on your bed, legs spread just enough to be ‘un-ladylike’. “george and roxy have pa, they’ll be fine.” her hands grip yours tighter than they ever have as she stares into your eyes. youre sure she can see your soul, can read your every thought. “and you’ll be fine. some fella will want you, im sure of it.” 

you scoff and shake off her hands. “i don’t want some fella nelly, i want you to be here!” you laugh as you shake your head in disbelief. “don’t know why i try, you wont listen anyways.” the sun sets slowly outside your window and you watch as it gets darker. “think you should be getting home.” nelly sighs like she wants to say more but you shake your head. “not a suggestion, go home.” 

she knows better than to fight you on it, no matter how much she wants to stay here and help you make sense of it. you avoid her gaze as she walks out, not responding to the quiet ‘bye’ she says as she leaves.

it’s been days since nelly talked to you, she was getting nervous you wouldn’t say goodbye when they left tomorrow.

“nelly,” roxy’s got george in her arms as she helps around the pub. “she came round, said to meet you by some tree.” nelly doesn’t need roxy to clarify who ‘she’ is before she sets off.

she finds you sitting the base of the tree, your back against the trunk. hair tucked in a bonnet and laundry dress on, nelly doesn’t think you’ve ever looked more beautiful.

she slows down as she gets closer, taking the time to walk the distance and pray you dont hate her. she doesn’t think she could handle that. you look up when she’s just a few feet away and give her a gentle, friendly smile. nelly is out of breath, but trying, and failing, to hide it. flopping down beside you, she stares while waiting for you to speak.

“i’m sorry.” it’s quiet, and maybe unsure. you don’t look at her when you say it, eyes favoring the field across the path. “wasn’t trying to be mean,” you start. “feel like im gonna be here forever. and i just…” you trail off and pick at the grasses. “just scared of missin’ you.” your heart feels like it’s going to fall out of your chest at the admission. 

but she finds it endearing and sweet. and she finds that a part of her feels the same. “i hope you do,” she teases. “need a reason to come home, don’t i?” you smack her shoulder, but you laugh. nelly saves the sweet sound in the back of her mind. 

“i’m always gonna be waiting up for you, nell.”

true to your word, you wait for six years. 2,361 days of waiting when word finally comes. 

nelly, your nelly, dead. alongside that horrible captain jackson who stole her all those years ago. you blame him. 

a light switches off after that.

roxy becomes bit more reserved, she works more. she dedicates the rest of her free time to her pa and george. they fight over nelly, over the gravestone he wouldn’t buy.

sam was always hardheaded, but even more so now. he pretends her death doesn’t affect him, but in the quiet at night in the privacy of his room, he thinks of her.

george was too young to ever really know nelly, but she feels a sort of loss. she grieves the sister she never got to truly experience. 

you cut off the trotters, suddenly their existence being to strong of a reminder. you dream about her nearly every night.

“m’lady,” nelly snatches your hand and pulls you towards her as you walk through the field. she kneels and you fake gasp. “will you give me your hand in marriage?” her toff impression makes you laugh but you try to hold it in as you nod. a dandelion turned ring is placed on your marriage finger. “connects to your heart y’know.” 

you inspect it carefully, catching it in the low sun. “i suppose that’ll do.” 

you don’t sleep much anymore.

you’re on your way to your shift at the laundry when roxy shows up in-front of you, completely out of breath. she doesn’t say a word, just takes your hand and pulls you with her. you trust the girl not to question it and follow her to the talbot. 

an army man stands talking to sam by the bar but youre only confused for a moment. 

“nelly?” roxy’s voice is breathless, ever so slightly deeper than the last time you talked. more mature. but you don’t have time to worry about that when the army man turns.

and nelly makes sense now. 

she’s here, ginger curls tucked under a hat. freckles still decorating her cheeks. lips cracked and split on one side, but forever the prettiest shade of pink. 

she catches roxy and you think you may fall over yourself. because she’s dead. for a year now. you worry your imagining it all, stuck in a nightmare. but when she calls your name and youre pulled out of a trance, you know she’s real. she’s here. alive.

“you’re dead.” you whisper, not truly meaning to. she’s confused for a moment, looking over to roxy who nods in agreement.

nelly raises her eyebrows. “well that explains the way everyone’s looking at me.” 

your head shakes and you have to take a step back, then forward, before ultimately turning on your heel and leaving. walking as far as your tired legs will take you. over to the graveyard and to her ‘headstone’ roxy and george made her. 

nelly jackson. 1683-1704. 

you didn’t imagine it. youre not sure how long you’ve been there when they girls come up behind you, chatting away. making up for lost time. you still can’t wrap your head around it.

a letter told you all of her passing alongside captain jackson, her husband. you grieved the girl for months. watched as the trotters changed to fit the loss of her soul. 

yet now she walks side by side the girls and stops beside you at the wooden cross. “well.” you stand up and look from her to the cross. “roxy, george, give us a minute. yeah?” the girls walk away, a newfound pep. 

“i don’t get it.” you say as your hand wipes down your face. “you dont write, visit, send any word for six years. you die, and now youre here.” your hands flail as you speak. “seven years, nelly, seven. and now youre back?” 

she’s quiet for a moment, thinking of what to say. “nell.”

you laugh sarcastically, utterly confused. “what?”

“nell.” she says again. “not nelly anymore.”

you could slap her. she deserves it. “are you bloody serious?” and when you laugh again, it’s not the one she saved in a box in her mind. it’s empty. “that’s all you have to say.”

“i was widowed, captain jackson, he was blown up at the battle of blenheim.” nelly, nell, explains. “apparently i was too.” she adds. “didn’t know or i would’ve found someone to write.”

it’s enough for now. enough to satisfy you and break your heart. enough to fill you with guilt. “oh nell.” your arms find their way around her neck, clicking into place like a puzzle piece. her own wrap around your waist and bring you close. you stay like that for a moment, not nearly long enough. “i waited for you.”

nell laughs, a real true laugh that lets your reality set in place. she’s here. truly really here with you. “i knew you would.”

childish as it may be, you slept over at the trotters several times after nell’s return. you had a lot to catch up on after all.

the night’s were quiet, the both of you speaking softly as to not wake anyone.

“my mum’s hounding me to find a husband,” you sigh, playing with a rogue curl by her face. her own hand traces along your side while she listens intently. “i dread the day she finds one for me.”

nell’s quiet for a moment. she takes in the moment. you laying down beside her with your arm reaching towards her face. she’s propped up her head with a hand and is memorizing your features. not new, but now different than they used to be. a part of her wishes to stay here forever. another dreams to explore the world.

“i could make a good husband.” she jokes. but you don’t laugh, don’t even smile. she sees you adopt this far off look and she worries she’s upset you. “hey,” you snap back and nod, a fake smile adorning your face after a moment. “what’s wrong?” she whispers, leaning ever so slightly closer.

but you shake your head and dismiss it. “tired.” nell knows you’re lying, you could stay up all night. but she doesn’t push, she instead nods and blows out the candle. she lays down and let’s you slide closer until your head finds her shoulder and your eyes close. “take me with.”

nell hums, confused. “what’d you mean?”

“next time you leave.” you say softly.

“i’m tired of waiting up.”

‘AND WE’LL ALL BE HERE FOREVER’

[star-rail-updates]

Topaz (and Numby)

"Money is a means, not an end. Work should make you happy... That's the most fundamental principle."

Topaz, Senior Manager of the Strategic Investment Department in the Interastral Peace Corporation, and leader of the Special Debts Picket Team.

Already a member of the "Ten Stonehearts" at a young age, Topaz's core stone is the "topaz of debt retrieval."

Her partner, the Warp Trotter "Numby," is also capable of acutely perceiving where "riches" are located. It can even perform jobs involving security, debt collection, and actuarial sciences.

Presently they are traversing the cosmos together, chasing down various debts and liabilities that negatively influence the IPC's commercial ventures.

English Voice: Sam Slade

[nellie-the-toad]

i'm losing my mind over the parallels between the trotters and the blanchfords (+amadin). all three children growing up together in the same place, with a father but without a mother. they all viciously care about one another (see nell with george when she's shot, sofia with her brother, amadin with sofia). but at the same time they are wildly different people. actually, the entire season can be read as a juxtaposition of the trotters and the blanchefords.

whereas nell voluntarily leaves her family in her late teens, amadin joins the family against his will as a child. the love-hate sofia feels for thomas is shown by her disapproval of his general behaviour (even disgust at times), but the fact that she later saves his life proves her love. nell loves george from the beginning on, despite not even knowing her. and while nell acquires power by chance without asking for it, sofia craves power at any cost and goes against her own morals to come by it.

the family dynamics of the blanchefords are characterised by power imbalances: amadin being a servant to his "siblings"/the people he grew up with. thomas being a bully to everyone in his life. the misogyny that sofia experiences. a cold, distant father with high (and specific) expectations of his children.

the trotters are shown as a warm family with loving dynamics. nell is not ostracised for wearing male clothing, and when she returns home her father almost immediately accepts her back. george is shown to be able to move around freely and play what she likes. both sam and roxy have to work hard, but that almost puts them in equal positions? neither of them own the tavern, it belongs to the blanchfords. and roxy being harassed by thomas is a different kind of misogyny than what sofia experiences.

and what is the underlying reason for their differences? what is established right on with the blanchfords living in a manor and the trotters running a tavern?

class.

the reason lord blancheford assures a strict upbringing of his children is because his son has to one day continue the legacy. there is a lot at stake because the family already has a lot of socioeconomic power. thomas is the way he is because he is an extremely privileged boy, who was taught (directly or indirectly) that his life is worth more than others. and the reason why sofia has this thirst for power is not just because she is a woman living under patriarchy but also because she is a rich woman, which makes land ownership something that is in reach but kept from her solely because she is a woman. and amadin is literally bought into the family (there's another aspect there concerning colonialism, but i'm not the right person to dissect that).

the two families are like two sides of the same coin. in contrast to the trotters, the blancheford family is extremely privileged but ultimately cold and twisted in their dynamics. and it all comes down to class difference.

[sco07ut]

ok one person asked about the reasonings behind my furry au so here’s (almost) every character in the show (sorry)

tubbs + edward: weird inbred pug adjacent dogs, i don’t even need to explain this one but the noses, the breed’s reputation for interbreeding, the viciousness untrained dogs can exhibit

val: deer, aside from the obvious visual link (mark gatiss’s lankiness and grace when playing val has undeniable deer-like qualities) deer are also surprisingly brutal at times despite being herbivores. they’ve been known to eat small birds to supplement nutrients & i feel like this ties into her matching harvey’s freak even though he usually seems to be weirder than her at first glance

harvey: toad, for obvious reasons

benjamin: frog, because despite being in the same (animal) family, he’s too different + wrong to ever be accepted by harvey. there’s this fundament divide between them that’ll never come together. (val being a deer could also be seen as her being more accepting of benjamin since she also isn’t a toad and doesn’t have those standards)

chloe + radclyffe: frog tadpoles (in that life stage where they still have a tail but have grown all four legs), doing an excellent job at pretending to be toads

geoff: pig, pig mask from apocalypse + him being the ‘fat one’. there are probably better choices but honestly idk i’m just feeling pig vibes for geoff. perchance for violence when you least expect it but also strangely endearing

mike: boar, the slightly better version of the pig, bigger and tusk-ier. also with a violent streak (asking geoff to kill his wife in the anniversary specials). they’ve got a sort of sturdy feel about them which for some reason i relate to mike

brian: mouse, pathetic and cowardly, he never stands up for himself against geoff + just endures what’s going on, though perhaps with a bit of snark (adjacent to a mouse biting you with their tiny little mouths)

pauline: fox, animal associated with a tricky & cunning nature and in fables is almost always the crow’s opposition. fated to be enemies etc. foxes in folklore are known to use deception for their own gain or to get where they need to be (the burger thing, going behind mickey’s back as part of the deal to be released from prison, pulling off the entire dementia life insurance scam)

ross: crow, animal associated with a tricky & cunning nature and in fables is almost always the crow’s opposition. basically same as pauline, they’re both tricky and manipulate the other into doing what they need to do. also, when it comes down to physical prowess, the fox is always going to win

mickey: capuchin monkey, s3e1. on a more serious note, monkeys are associated with being creative + cheeky which i feel just work with mickey’s personality. the capuchin part comes from the fact that they have adorable sweet faces and aren’t anywhere near as terrifying as your more well known species (chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, whatevs)

cathy: weasel, also often considered a tricky, cunning character in fables + in my mind a weasel would be like the fox’s enemy. idk if that’s a thing in real life

hilary: cow, his dvd extras bio having his fav animal be moo cow + the cow mask in apocalypse + his wife being a literal cow

maurice + his wife: llama and goat respectively. maurice being a llama is mostly just to contrast against his wife since they’re more reluctant to just eat what they’re given, compared to goats who’ll devour whatever they can get their trotters on (linking to cutting the special stuff into her own meat, making something subpar but still edible)

sam: politicians are often associated with snakes & snakes also have a reputation for eating whatever they can fit their mouths around (sam still eating the special stuff despite acknowledging that it ‘isnt right’ or whatever he said)

farmer jed tinsel: collie, hard working farm dogs but liable to going absolutely insane if left to their own devices (see, andrew)

chinnery: giraffe, linked to the giraffe from apocalypse + just as a personal aside, melman from madagascar 2 (who becomes a shoddy doctor). also visual similarities, being tall and blonde. this one is more of a stretch but you could argue that the way giraffes give birth (standing up to allow their newborn baby to fall six feet upon entering this world) could be analogous to chinnery’s veterinary practices - swift and brutal

charlie + stella: swans, someone accurately pointed out the whole ‘mated for life’ thing, which (if we ignore the specials) is what charlie n stella are pulling off. swans are also vicious little cunts which links to their personalities quite nicely. & another stretch but swans can be fiercely protective of their offspring, which in a way could parallel the way stella copes with julie’s death, she’s fiercely protective of her memories of julie

les: songbird, but like specifically one in captivity alone, doomed to sing forever but never find their calling (sorry)

babs: peacock, much to her displeasure, visibly amab but still undeniably beautiful + eye catching

iris: rabbit, we have all heard the phrase breeding like rabbits. also, does can start procreating at 4 months old which parallels iris having judee at 14 (sorry if this is how you found out about that). i think there’s also something to say regarding iris’ like neverending supply of energy to work as many jobs as she does + also (sort of) look after 11? kids vs rabbits/hares in folklore being swift + energetic

judee: pedigree cat, the very image of wealth and luxury, her entire existence came at a high cost. these cats are also very high maintenance, between properly looking after their fur + dealing with the medical issues that can stem from dodgy breeding. stereotypically quite bitchy animals too

bernice: sheepdog, i did have a brief debate with the gf over what sort of animal would best represent a religious leader. particularly in christianity, parishioners are referred to by their pastor as a flock (& it also ties into the biblical stories of shepherds travelling to see angels or the birth of jesus or whatever), so it would stand that their leader would thematically mirror an animal that could lead a flock. i did consider a ram (especially because the horns would be a fun nod to bernice’s utter demonic personality) but ultimately i settled on an english sheepdog since they also have a bit of a rough side + have cute little fringes like bernice

pop, richie + al: wolves, distinct hierarchy in their family, reflected by how wolves will generally always submit to pack members with more authority than them

ollie: chihuahua, ne’er before have i seen an individual so clearly afflicted with little man syndrome. yappy + annoying + prone to picking fights with everyone sorry i mean the wrong people

phil: cheetah, for cheating his way to the top by sleeping with that one guy. only half joking. also partially appearance based

dave: capybara, very tolerant, reflects him putting up with ollie for so long. genuinely struggled with this so that’s the only explanation i have aside from they both also have brown fair

tish: koala, also purely vibe based. she seems like she would have stds SORRY

lance: bearded dragon, a lizard species that can regrow their limbs (lol)

ernest (ableist guy): labrador, generally well-meaning but far more likely to mess something up than actually be of benefit to anyone

mick (cave guy): mole, underground vibes

sorry can you tell i don’t have many thoughts about some of the bg characters

ally + henry: hyenas, known to be violent animals + the obvious ‘laughing’ parallels to them being cunts in the cinema and also their appreciation for killingths

vinnie + reenie: two old hens, always clucking and tutting about something. slightly scratchy personalities vs chickens being known for scratching up the ground (it’s a stretch i knoww i’m running out of ideas)

pam, pamela, whatever: elk, the bugle. that or those baby seals you see on tiktok making stupid, weirdly human noises

herr lipp: donkey, ass jokes

frau lipp: bat, vampire jokes

i wish there was more to these but it’s literally what it boils down to

papa lazarou: some sort of freakish chimera, primarily a lion (ringleader of the circus and plays into the idea of there being one lion in the pride + a bunch of lionesses, him and his wives) but with other bits and bobs of other animals like a chimpanzee (evil) and a crocodile + elephant (representing the animals he stuffed wives into). my girlfriend was also like ‘what if his extra parts were bits he took from his wives’ which i thought was hilarious and am stealing

alvin: sheep(?), thematically used to represent people who follow the crowd + are quite mainstream, in this case this refers to his sexual practices. also considered to need someone else to be the decision maker, this could apply to both sunny and judith

sunny: dolphin(?), known to seek pleasure + highs by snorting sponges or whatever. sexual freaks

judith: praying mantis. pure vibes

@dangerliesbeforeyou @sleepysuburb (hope you guys don’t mind the tag, just saw u were interested in seeing more the tags :])

[stormcloudrising]

The Secret Song of Florian and Jonquil Part 10: The Shrouded Lord and a Mermaid's UnKiss

December 24, 2023

Shrouded Lord_AI Generated Image by Nuevoimg_123rf

I ended last chapter with an excerpt from 1 Peter that referenced Christ as the Living Stone and proposed that George was using the legend of the Shrouded Lord in the book to mirror the biblical one. And as I discussed previously, the myth of the Shrouded Lord is in the story to inform upon Jon’s resurrection.  So, with that said, let’s jump right back in to talk about Jon Snow, the Living Stone and the kiss of life coming his way.

JON, THE SHROUDED LORD AKA, THE LIVING STONE

The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer. —Oliver Wendell Holmes

We first hear mention of the Shrouded Lord in A Dance with Dragon where after the urging of Illyrio, Tyrion boards the Shy Maid to travel to Volantis with Griff and Faegon. While travelling on the Rhoyne, Haldon and Duck regal Yollo (Tyrion) with dark tales of the legendary pirates in the area.

Haldon gave him a thin smile. "If we should encounter the Lady Korra on Hag's Teeth, you may soon be lacking other parts as well. Korra the Cruel, they call her. Her ship is crewed by beautiful young maids who geld every male they capture." This time Duck laughed, and Haldon said, "What a droll little fellow you are, Yollo. They say that the Shrouded Lord will grant a boon to any man who can make him laugh. Perhaps His Grey Grace will choose you to ornament his stony court." Duck glanced at his companion uneasily. "It's not good to jape of that one, not when we're so near the Rhoyne. He hears." "Wisdom from a duck," said Haldon. "I beg your pardon, Yollo. You need not look so pale, I was only playing with you. The Prince of Sorrows does not bestow his grey kiss lightly." His grey kiss. The thought made his flesh crawl. Death had lost its terror for Tyrion Lannister, but greyscale was another matter. The Shrouded Lord is just a legend, he told himself, no more real than the ghost of Lann the Clever that some claim haunts Casterly Rock. Even so, he held his tongue. — A Dance with Dragons - Tyrion III

Four important things are revealed to us with the first mention of this mysterious figure. First, we find out that The Shrouded Lord is a Stone Man who lives in the Sorrows. Stone men are of course those in the last stages of greyscale who live in area of the Rhoyne where a thousand years previously, Garin is said to have called down the curse on the dragon lords of old.

Secondly, Tyrion associates him with Lann the Clever, the ancient ancestor of the Lannisters from the Age of Heroes who was said to have winkle Casterly Rock from the Casterlys with only his wits. Martin is usually implying something when he mentions these ancient figures in the text, and I have a couple of ideas why he had Tyrion think of Lann at this moment. One, I will write an essay on at another time, but the second reason is because I think his plan was to have Tyrion meet The Shrouded Lord, and it would have been Gerion, his missing uncle who disappeared when he went looking for the lost Lannister Valyrian sword, Brightroar.

George did write a chapter where Tyrion met The Shrouded Lord but decided not to include it in the books. Here is what he said about the discarded chapter.

“It’s a swell, spook, evocative chapter, but you won’t read it in Dance. It took me down a road I decided I did not want to travel, so I went back and ripped it out. So, unless I change my mind again, it’s going the way of the draft of Lord of the Rings where Tolkien has Frodo, Sam Merry and Pippin reach the Prancing Pony and meet a weatherbeaten old hobbit ranger named “Trotter.” —George R R Martin

The popular fandom reason for the deletion of the chapter is that there was too much magic in the scene. I think that this is a good take and quite possibly part of the reason for the deletion. George’s writing is centered on the character and the magic is secondary. There will be a big input of magic in the story, but that will be towards the end, and so the chapter with The Shrouded Lord might have been a bit too early.

All of this makes sense but only up to a point because there have been heavily magical scenes in the story already such as the birthing of Dany’s dragons, and her visit to the HOTU. Also, in ADWD, George gave us three magical scenes…Varamyr's attempt to body jump Thistle; Arya’s introduction to the magical faces of the Faceless Men; and Bran’s first visit inside the weirwood net.

That’s a lot of magical scenes in one book and so maybe George thought that Tyrion’s encounter with The Shrouded Lord was one too many. I tend to think that the true reason the chapter was pulled is because George felt it revealed too much about Jon’s resurrection, and he wasn’t ready to show his hand yet. There is also the fact that if Tyrion did meet The Shrouded Lord, Martin would have had to give him greyscale. This is something he may have been planning to do but decided against and chose to give it to Jon Con instead.

The third interesting thing we find out is that The Shrouded Lord will grant a boon to all who will make him laugh. This is important symbolism as it has to do with why there are as many fools appearing throughout the books as they are whor*s. I’m not going to go into the explanation about fools here as this chapter is already extremely long. However, I will again direct you to Crowfood’s Daughter excellent video essay on the subject.

Finally, we find out that the mysterious figure of the Sorrows is known by three names. In addition to The Shrouded Lord, he is also called His Grey Grace and The Prince of Sorrows. It just so happens that I can show you how all these names apply to Jon. His Grey Grace is obvious as he quite likely will be considered a king…at least for a while. I’ve also showed you last chapter why Jon's symbolic color is grey; and if he does get greyscale like I’ve proposed, part of him will have the grey scaly stone like scars of the disease.

So, what about the other two names. Well let’s start first with The Shrouded Lord.

Generally, when I see a representation of The Shrouded Lord in a video or featured in an essay, it’s of the standard fantasy image of a man in shadow wearing a grey cowl like those worn by monks…similar to the one I used for the header image of this essay. But here’s the thing. Yes, a cowl can be loosely considered a shroud but it would be at the bottom of the list of synonyms.

A shroud is more properly defined as, “a length of cloth or enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.” And the most famous one in all history is the Shroud of Turin, purportedly, the burial cloth of Jesus that is said to have his face imprinted or ingrained in it.

Shroud of Turin, Public Domain

Understanding this meaning of shroud as a burial cloth, one can immediately see that the Shrouded Lord is quite possibly dead. Of course, as there is no cure for greyscale once it has reached the point that you are considered a stone man, it may just be symbolism. Also, as he is given the title Lord, one can also extrapolated and say that he is considered the ruler of the dead…a kind of Hades like figure. Or maybe even, regarding the story…a Night’s King like personage.

As he’s using the word shroud, that’s so closely identified with Jesus, one can also assume that George might want the reader to associate this mysterious figure from the Sorrows with his own created Christ like figure…one Jon Snow.

You’re probably saying, interesting analogy, but it doesn’t mean that The Shrouded Lord is meant to tell us about Jon’s resurrection or even has anything to do with him. And to that I say, it gets better. I missed it the first time I read the book but when I re-read A Dance with Dragons several years ago, something hit me when I reached the chapters where The Shrouded Lord is mentioned. In making the association with the Shroud of Turin, my mind immediately wondered whether George was symbolically associating The Shrouded Lord with Christ.

Having already recognized that he had set Jon up as the Christ like figure in the books who would be resurrected, I then considered the strong possibility that he was trying to tell us something about Jon’s resurrection, but I wasn’t immediately sure what the connection could be. The fact that the Shrouded Lord was a stone man and thus had greyscale; and Shireen who for some inexplicable reason, Martin also gave greyscale and then place at the Wall where she was in contact with Jon, told me that I was on to something, but again, what did it mean? And then the memories of my years of Sunday school and sitting in too many Episcopalian church services to remember kicked in and I knew the answer. I remembered.

Christ, the Living Stone!

Jesus was prophesized to be the Living Stone. Here we get the first reference in Isaiah 28:16

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,     a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it     will never be stricken with panic.

And then again in the Psalms 118:22.

The stone the builders rejected     has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this,     and it is marvelous in our eyes.

And here in 1 Peter, we get the full prophecy.

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion,     a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him     will never be put to shame.” 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected     has become the cornerstone,” 8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble     and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. —1 Peter 2:4-10 NIV

This is the answer to the question that many in the fandom have pondered. Why did George make greyscale a part of the story? A plague is understandable. After all, his story takes place in a Middle Ages type setting when plagues were prevalent, but why one that turned its victims into living stones.

Now we know! Jesus was the Living Stone who died and was resurrected to save man. In ASOIAF, Jon is the Christ like figure who will die and be resurrected to be the savior of man. And thus, he needed to have living stone symbolism. He needed to be a living Stone and thus, George needed a way to turn him into a stone man.

In the bible, Jesus as the Living Stone is symbolic, but George made it literal for his story. This is why he invented greyscale; gave it to Shireen; and placed her at the Wall.

We now see how two of the three monikers assigned to the mysterious figure known as The Shrouded Lord can be directly connected to Jon Snow, our in-world risen Christ. He is His Grey Grace, and he is The Shrouded Lord. What about the third…the Prince of Sorrows? As George is also using it as a sobriquet for his in-world figure, it must also be connected to Jesus. Let’s look again at the Book of Isaiah for the answer.

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. —Isaiah 53:2-6 KJV

This passage reminds me a bit of the tale Old Nan told Bran about the Night's King and how all records of him were destroyed and his very name forbidden; and later how Ygritte told Jon that Snow was an evil name. I would say the two are related.

Isaiah saying that Christ was not comely in our eyes also reminds me of Sansa saying that Florian was homely. The bible verse also shows us that Christ was known as a man of sorrows. Not quite the same wording as Prince of Sorrows, but then again, Jesus is also called Prince several times in other books of the bible, and Jon is quite possibly a prince in the books.

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. 14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. —ACTS 3 13-15

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5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. —REVELATIONS 1:5

And of course, he is known as the Prince of Peace. Now that we see how the three monikers connect to both Jesus and Jon, what about Jon’s resurrection? Might the myth of The Shrouded Lord give us some idea about his resurrection? Yes. Yes, it does, because there just so happens to be a resurrection portion of the myth that symbolically plays out with Tyrion, Sansa’s motley attire husband.

The legend of The Shrouded Lord first appears in A Dance with Dragon, the same book where Jon is killed. We first read about Garin and the curse he called down on the dragon lords of old and how the ruins of Chroyane turned into the Sorrows in TWOIAF, which was published two years after ADWD.

Lomas Longstrider wrote of the drowned ruins of Chroyane, its foul fogs and waters, and the fact that wayward travelers infected with greyscale now haunt the ruins—a hazard for those who travel the river beneath the broken span of the Bridge of Dream.

However, that was not the first time the name Garin appeared in the text. It first appeared in A Feast for Crows and is the name of one of Arianne’s childhood friends who participated in her attempt to crown Myrcella queen. After their plot is rooted out by Doran, Garin is initially sent to Ghaston Grey.

During her next bath, she spoke of her imprisoned friends, especially Garin. "He's the one I fear for most," she confided to the serving girl. "The orphans are free spirits, they live to wander. Garin needs sunshine and fresh air. If they lock him away in some dank stone cell, how will he survive? He will not last a year at Ghaston Grey." —A Feast for Crows, Princess in the Tower

According to Arianne, “Ghaston Grey was a crumbling old castle perched on a rock in the Sea of Dorne, a drear and dreadful prison where the vilest of criminals were sent to rot and die.” Sea of Dorne is filled with so much symbolic implications with the potential use of two homonyms on George’s part, Sea of Dawn or even See of Dawn, but that’s a discussion for another day. The name is also likely another homage on George’s part to his favorite fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, as Gaston, Belle’s proverbial suitor falls to his death in the sea below during his fight with the Beast.

Ghaston Grey does sounds like the perfect symbolic prison to send a prisoner named after the ancient Rhoynar prince who called down the greyscale plague upon the dragon lords. Garin is an Orphan of the Greenblood, the descendants of Nymeria and the Rhoynar who decided to remain on the rivers and not settle on Dornish land. And so, it makes symbolic sense that he was imprisoned in the “sea.” I mentioned Garin because originally, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons was one gigantic book before it was split into two by the publisher. And so, events in the two books are basically taking place around the same time. This shows that when George introduced the myth of The Shrouded Lord in the book where Jon dies, he was already thinking of Garin and the Rhoynar.

My regular readers probably think it’s boring the number of times I repeat in my essays that George is always consistent in his use of symbolism. I repeat it often because with the depth of symbolism built into the story, it’s amazing that he never drops the ball. And because I felt strongly that Florian and Jonquil were the ancient Night’s King and Corpse Queen, and Jon and Sansa their modern-day counterpart, when I figured how The Shrouded Lord connected to Jon and his resurrection, I was stumped by Florian’s motley armor.

I knew it had to be important because when the Tyrion drowning scene played out in the Sorrows, where he played the role of the Jon/Shrouded Lord character, he was wearing motley clothing. But I was stumped at what Motley might have to do with the Shrouded Lord and stone. That is, until I recently watched one of Crowfood’s Daughter ironborn videos and discovered that she had figured out the answer. Motley represented stone.

You can watch the video, Bless Him with Stone here, but what Amanda figured out is how motley is connected to stone. Motley as we are shown in the text is how the costumes of fools are described, and by connecting this to the real-world Harlequin fool from medieval history, Amanda hit on something interesting.

She discovered that there is a real-world disease called, Harlequin Ichthyosis, that’s very like greyscale. Also called fish scale disease, it got its name from the Greek word, ichthys, which translate as fish.

Harlequin Ichthyosis

With this discovery and the connection to motley and fools in mind, Amanda soon discovered in the text that George compares the scars from Shireen’s greyscale to Patchface’s motley costume.

Grand Maester Pycelle gaped at him, aghast. "Surely you do not mean to suggest that Lady Selyse would bring a fool into her bed?" "You'd have to be a fool to want to bed Selyse Florent," said Littlefinger. "Doubtless Patchface reminded her of Stannis. And the best lies contain within them nuggets of truth, enough to give a listener pause. As it happens, this fool is utterly devoted to the girl and follows her everywhere. They even look somewhat alike. Shireen has a mottled, half-frozen face as well." Pycelle was lost. "But that is from the greyscale that near killed her as a babe, poor thing." — A Clash of Kings - Tyrion III

Mottle as Amanda’s research also showed is from the 17th century and is a back formation of motley. From there, it was then easy for her to make the connection to Florian the Fool.

This morning the puppeteers were doing the tale of Florian and Jonquil. The fat Dornishwoman was working Florian in his armor made of motley, while the tall girl held Jonquil's strings. "You are no knight," she was saying as the puppet's mouth moved up and down. "I know you. You are Florian the Fool." "I am, my lady," the other puppet answered, kneeling. "As great a fool as ever lived, and as great a knight as well." —The Hedge Knight

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"You hope to buy your way back into her favor by presenting her with me. An ill-considered scheme, I'd say. One might even say an act of drunken desperation. Perhaps if I were Jaime … but Jaime killed her father, I only killed my own. You think Daenerys will execute me and pardon you, but the reverse is just as likely. Maybe you should hop up on that pig, Ser Jorah. Put on a suit of iron motley, like Florian the—" —A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion IX

If George wants us to consider greyscale and motley in the same terms, then does that mean that Sansa’s favorite knight did not wear a motley suit of armor, but rather had greyscale. As soon as I got to this point in Amanda’s video, I knew that I had my answer about how stone connected to Florian, because it had to be if Jon, the modern-day Florian was The Shrouded Lord of the story. Eureka!

One thing I discovered in my research, which Amanda didn’t mention and so I’m not sure if she is aware is that there is a condition very similar to Ichthyosis called Livedo reticularis but more commonly known as mottled skin. It’s not as deadly or life threatening as Ichthyosis, but it does look somewhat similar.

Mottled Skin

Mottled skin causes a bluish-red, lace-like patter under the skin. Also known as Livedo reticularis, this condition happens when deoxygenated blood pools beneath the skin’s surface. This condition has many causes, including cold exposure and chronic medical conditions. —Cleveland Clinic

You can see from the picture below how similar it is to Ichthyosis. You know who else I wondered about when I read this description for mottled skin, Cold Hands. I wonder what his face and the rest of his skin looks like under his hood and cloak. But that’s a theory for another day.

One other thing Amanda’s video showed is that when you pull up mermaids on the wiki, you get a “see also” reference to Ichthyosis. It is called the fish scale disease and so that makes sense, but consistent symbolism people. Symbolism.

A MERMAID'S UNKISS

Now that we’ve discussed The Shrouded Lord, and how his myth is in the story to tell us about Jon’s resurrection as the symbolic risen Christ, let’s finally get to that resurrection and how Sansa will be smacked dab in the middle of it, something I’ve proposed for years.

Melisandre is what I like to call a shiny apple. George’s way of hiding the truth in plain sight. Because Thoros, another Red Priest brought Beric back, the fandom assumes Mel will do the same for Jon…especially as they went that route in the show.

Don’t get me wrong, she’s at the Wall because she has a role to play but it won’t consciously or unconsciously be about bringing Jon back. Although when it happens, other characters will think it was her, and she’ll likely take the credit, but it won’t be her. Mel is at the Wall to burn Shireen which will in some magical way, result in Jon getting greyscale.

I have a broad idea of how it will play out, which I will get into at the end. Mel won’t bring Jon back because what the tale of The Shrouded Lord tells us is that the return of the fiery dragon lord will be a cold one.

I have been saying for years that Jon and Sansa are the modern Florian and Jonquil and that George is telling their story through their interactions with other characters who act as stand-ins for each. In the case of Jon, Ygritte, the lover of songs, and Val, the non-maiden who Jon rejects when she looks like an icy, white hair ice queen, but thinks is loveliest thing he’s seen in a long while when she comes out of the trees of the haunted forest with her hair looking like dark honey and Ghost at her side.

As I pointed out in The Evolution of Val an essay I wrote several years ago, dark honey is dark brown in color with red highlights. A color very similar to the chestnut Sansa has been dying her hair as she hides out in the Vale. But she’s running out of dye and her red hair is symbolically beginning to peek out.

In Sansa’s arc, the role of Jon is being played by the Sandor Cleghane, the Hound. This is the angry Jon that will return with his wolf Ghost now literally a part of him. Jon will be savage like the Hound. This is why Sandor is given the Hound moniker. It’s to suggest a wolf hound…aka Jon.

Sandor’s burnt face also is there to foreshadow Jon’s face being burnt and likely where the greyscale will enter his dead body as I speculated above. This will likely happen in his funeral pyre. In Deep Geek has a great video about something like this happening. You can watch it here. Jon’s face being burnt at some point was also foreshadowed during his first meeting with Ygritte in the chapter that mirrors Sansa and Sandor on top of the Red Keep during the fiery battle of the Blackwater.

It all seemed to happen in a heartbeat. Afterward Jon could admire the courage of the wildling who reached first for his horn instead of his blade. He got it to his lips, but before he could sound it Stonesnake knocked the horn aside with a swipe of his shortsword. Jon's man leapt to his feet, thrusting at his face with a burning brand. He could feel the heat of the flames as he flinched back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sleeper stirring, and knew he must finish his man quick. When the brand swung again, he bulled into it, swinging the bastard sword with both hands. —A Clash of Kings, Jon VI

Sansa calmed the Hounds spirit when she sang him The Mother’s Hymn. And just as she tempered the Hound, she will do the same for beastly Jon, like Belle did to the Beast in George’s favorite fairy tale.

In, Do Direwolves dream of the Weirwood Net, I discussed and showed the textural evidence that suggests the bond mates of House Stark can access the weirwood net. This is important because I believe that when Jon called out to Ghost upon his death, their spirits merged, and Ghost took them into the weirwoods, and it is here that he will encounter Sansa and she will give him the kiss of life. There is a magical component that of course has yet to be revealed by the author, but textural clues suggests that this is what will happen. So, let’s now discussed those clues.

Sansa, like many other characters is an unreliable narrator. One of the biggest pieces of evidence to support this is the infamous UnKiss, as the fandom calls the kiss, she remembers sharing with the Hound.

Alla had a lovely voice, and when coaxed would play the woodharp and sing songs of chivalry and lost loves. Megga couldn't sing, but she was mad to be kissed. She and Alla played a kissing game sometimes, she confessed, but it wasn't the same as kissing a man, much less a king. Sansa wondered what Megga would think about kissing the Hound, as she had. He'd come to her the night of the battle stinking of wine and blood. He kissed me and threatened to kill me, and made me sing him a song. —A Storm of Swords, Sansa II

The kiss Sansa remembers, never happened. We the reader watch the scene play out on the page and we know there was no kiss between her and the Hound. She thinks of the kiss that never happened for a second time later in the book when having a conversation with Myranda.

She thought of Tyrion, and of the Hound and how he'd kissed her, and gave a nod. "That must have been dreadful, my lady. Him dying. There, I mean, whilst . . . whilst he was . . ." — A Feast for Crows - Alayne II

Why is Sansa remembering a kiss that never happened? A fan asked GRRM via email back in 2002, and this was his response.

“Well, not every inconsistency is a mistake, actually. Some are quite intentional. File this one under “unreliable narrator” and feel free to ponder its meaning.” —So Spake Martin

Some in the fandom has taken Sansa’s memory of the kiss that never happened as Sansa having romantic feelings for the Hound. However, I don't think that's it. Yes, Martin, has admitted that he has played with this aspect, but I feel confident it’s not because he intended any romance between the two.

Why do I say that Martin is not going to write Sansa having romantic feelings for the Hound? Because one of the core themes of the story is the evil practice of marrying girls before they are even of age to men old enough to be their fathers and often their grandfathers. Sandor Cleghane is old enough to be Sansa’s father being just a few years younger than Ned. Plus, Sandor assaulted and terrorized Sansa. George is not going to turn around now at the end of the story and create a romance between a child and a grown man who terrorized her.

Also, and this is important, we are shown on the page and told in the text that Sansa prefers boys her age. There is Joffrey before he showed himself to be a monster; Loras, the fake Rhaegar stand-in; and Waymar Royce, the Jon stand-in. And if that is not sufficient evidence, Sansa in her own words tells us that she prefers men close to her age.

"I suppose," Sansa said doubtfully. Beric Dondarrion was handsome enough, but he was awfully old, almost twenty-two; the Knight of Flowers would have been much better. Of course, Jeyne had been in love with Lord Beric ever since she had first glimpsed him in the lists. Sansa thought she was being silly; Jeyne was only a steward's daughter, after all, and no matter how much she mooned after him, Lord Beric would never look at someone so far beneath him, even if she hadn't been half his age. —A Game of Thrones, Sansa III

Jeyne has a crush on Beric, who is almost 22. Sansa who is 12 at the time, the same age she is when the UnKiss with the Hound supposedly took place, thinks Beric is too old, and that Loras, the Knight of Flowers who is 16 and just 4 years older than her would be much better. At the start of the story, Sandor Cleghane is 28. Why would Sansa have romantic feelings for him when she thought that Beric who is 6 years younger than the Hound was too old. Makes no sense. George is showing us that Sansa’s interest lies in boys her age.

However, GRRM has admitted that he’s been playing with the idea of something romantic between Sansa and Sandor, and so one must ask why? I think the answer is because Sandor is a stand-in for Jon, and what Sansa is remembering is not a kiss between her and Sandor but rather one between her and Jon.

In the chapter 8, I discussed why mermaids and dragonflies are symbolic sea dragons and how George has positioned Sansa as representing both. I also covered why Nagga, the sea dragon the Grey King slew was his mermaid wife and how that meant that Elenei, the mermaid wife of Durran Godsgrief should also be considered a sea dragon. However in the Durran/Elenei legend, the mermaid wife likely save her mate from drowning by giving him the kiss of life.

Then I discussed why sea dragons and mermaids represent the missing female greenseers of the story and why Nissa Nissa/Corpse Queen/Grey King’s mermaid wife was the first sea dragon and the first greenseer who was female. All of this led me to revisiting the textural clues that point to Sansa being the mermaid/sea dragon of the story and the missing female greenseer.

Legends say that mermaids or sirens as they are sometimes called often lure sailors to their death via drowning.

"A touch of fear will not be out of place, Alayne. You've seen a fearful thing. Nestor will be moved." Petyr studied her eyes, as if seeing them for the first time. "You have your mother's eyes. Honest eyes, and innocent. Blue as a sunlit sea. When you are a little older, many a man will drown in those eyes." Sansa did not know what to say to that. —A Feast for Crows, Sansa I

However, sometimes they will be a savior as in the case of the Little Mermaid, and Elenei saving Durran.

And now let’s look at what Sansa being a greenseer and the UnKiss might have to do with the resurrection of Jon Snow, the Shrouded Lord of Living Stone.

“We are made of blood and bone, in the image of the Father and the Mother,” said Septa Lemore. “Make no vainglorious boasts, I beg you. Pride is a grievous sin. The stone men were proud as well, and the Shrouded Lord was proudest of them all.” The heat from the glowing coals brought a flush to Tyrion’s face. “Is there a Shrouded Lord? Or is he just some tale?” “The Shrouded Lord has ruled these mists since Garin’s day,” said Yandry. “Some say that he himself is Garin, risen from his watery grave.” “The dead do not rise,” insisted Haldon Halfmaester, “and no man lives a thousand years. Yes, there is a Shrouded Lord. There have been a score of them. When one dies another takes his place. This one is a corsair from the Basilisk Islands who believed the Rhoyne would offer richer pickings than the Summer Sea.” “Aye, I’ve heard that too,” said Duck, “but there’s another tale I like better. The one that says he’s not like t’other stone men, that he started as a statue till a grey woman came out of the fog and kissed him with lips as cold as ice.” A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion V

In one of the myths told to Tyrion about The Shrouded Lord, he is said to have started as a stone statue until a cold kiss from a grey woman awakened or one might say, resurrected him. And as I’ve shown, the legend of the Shrouded Lord in only in the story to tell us about Jon’s resurrection. Thus, Jon’s resurrection should also involve a cold kiss from a woman in grey.

As we see from Melisandre’s vision, there is a mysterious girl in grey destined to connect with Jon. Sansa is this girl in grey. George has also inexplicably written a mysterious kiss into Sansa’s arc that supposedly never took place. I proposed that this kiss, or UnKiss as the fandom likes to call it is the one that will be tied to Jon’s resurrection, and it takes place in the weirwood net where Sansa will temper the savaged Jon and like Elenei did with Durran, save him from drowning in the green sea.

As we’re dealing with the weirwoods where time is circular, the kiss may have already happened, or Sansa could be seeing a future event. Nonetheless, the fact that she has memory of it is another clue that she is a greenseer. However, because she’s traumatized and the kiss is between her and her “brother” whose face is likely burnt, making him look more like the Hound, she has confused his identity in her mind.

I said above that George loves religious myths, but do you want to know what else he loves…fairy tales. And there are abundant references to such tales throughout the text.

Many essays have been written by others in the fandom about this topic, but the two I want to talk about here are Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid because those two are heavily prevalent in Sansa’s arc and in the resurrection of The Shrouded Lord…especially the mermaid linkage.

The original Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen’s is very different from the Disney version so beloved by children, and George has merged the two in his version of the story. In Andersen’s version, mermaids live for hundreds of years and if the Little Mermaid (in the story, she is not given a name) is able to gain the love of the human prince, she will be fated to live out her days as a human. She will have a shorter life span but will gain a human soul. In ASOIAF, George gives us this tale of the fair Elenei.

The songs said that Storm's End had been raised in ancient days by Durran, the first Storm King, who had won the love of the fair Elenei, daughter of the sea god and the goddess of the wind. On the night of their wedding, Elenei had yielded her maidenhood to a mortal's love and thus doomed herself to a mortal's death, and her grieving parents had unleashed their wrath and sent the winds and waters to batter down Durran's hold. His friends and brothers and wedding guests were crushed beneath collapsing walls or blown out to sea, but Elenei sheltered Durran within her arms so he took no harm, and when the dawn came at last he declared war upon the gods and vowed to rebuild. —A Clash of Kings, Catelyn III

By the way, as I discussed in my Of Sansa Stark and Alayne Stone series, Elenei is a variant of Alayne, the name Sansa is hiding out under in the Vale as the daughter of the Merlin(g) King.

In both Andersen’s and George’s version of the tale, the mermaid saves the man from drowning. The mermaid also saves a man from drowning in the Disney version, but there is also the added detail of a kiss. While the sea witch, named Ursula in the Disney version mandates that the little mermaid must gain the prince’s love in the Andersen tale, the cartoon changes it to a kiss.

Martin has woven a life-giving kiss into his story as well with the tale of Elenei, the ironborn’s kiss of life, and even that of the R’hllorist cult with Thoros life giving the kiss to Beric and him in turn passing it on to Cat. And as we see, George has also woven it into the legend of The Shrouded Lord.

“Aye, I’ve heard that too,” said Duck, “but there’s another tale I like better. The one that says he’s not like t’other stone men, that he started as a statue till a grey woman came out of the fog and kissed him with lips as cold as ice.”

Did you notice Martin’s play on words there? The Shrouded Lord is not like the “Other” stone men.

Unsurprisingly, a stone statue is also a key element in both the Andersen original, and the Disney version of The Little Mermaid. In the original, the little mermaid finds the statue before she rescues the prince from drowning. It’s her first experience with anything from the human world and so, the statue becomes a prize possession. When she later rescues the prince, she realizes that he looks just like her statue, and this is part of what precipitates her falling for him.

On the other hand, in the Disney version, she finds the statue after she rescues the prince and it becomes a sign for her that she should follow him to the human world and this precipitates her visit to Ursula the sea witch.

We see that George has heavily built the tale of the Little Mermaid into his sea dragon and Shrouded Lord myths. So, what does all of this have to do with Jon’s resurrection, Sansa, and The Shrouded Lord?

Funnily enough, the very next Tyrion chapter after we first hear about The Shrouded Lord, the Shy Maid finally makes it to the Sorrows and is attacked by the Stone Men, leading to the near-death drowning experience of Sansa’s motley dressed husband and the answer to the question is provided. Let’s look at this chapter.

Chroyane_by Philip Straub_The World of Ice and Fire

“The Shy Maid moved through the fog like a blind man groping his way down an unfamiliar hall. Septa Lemore was praying. The mists muffled the sound of her voice, making it seem small and hushed. Griff paced the deck, mail clinking softly beneath his wolfskin cloak.” —A Dance with Dragon, Tyrion V

Make note that Griff , *Jon* Connington is wearing a wolfskin cloak, marking him as a symbolic wolf in the scene. This next excerpt is pretty long, but it is needed so that one can see all the symbolism and order of events playing out.

“Just saying a thing does not make it true. Who better to raise Prince Rhaegar’s infant son than Prince Rhaegar’s dear friend Jon Connington, once Lord of Griffin’s Roost and Hand of the King?” “Be quiet.” Griff’s voice was uneasy. On the larboard side of the boat, a huge stone hand was visible just below the water. Two fingers broke the surface. How many of those are there? Tyrion wondered. A trickle of moisture ran down his spine and made him shudder. The Sorrows drifted by them. Peering through the mists, he glimpsed a broken spire, a headless hero, an ancient tree torn from the ground and upended, its huge roots twisting through the roof and windows of a broken dome. Why does all of this seem so familiar?” “Straight on, a tilted stairway of pale marble rose up out of the dark water in a graceful spiral, ending abruptly ten feet above their heads. No, thought Tyrion, that is not possible. “Ahead.” Lemore’s voice was shivery. “A light.” All of them looked. All of them saw it. “Kingfisher,” said Griff. “Her, or some other like her.” But he drew his sword again. No one said a word. The Shy Maid moved with the current. Her sail had not been raised since she first entered the Sorrows. She had no way to move but with the river. Duck stood squinting, clutching his pole with both hands. After a time even Yandry stopped pushing. Every eye was on the distant light. As they grew closer, it turned into two lights. Then three. “The Bridge of Dream,” said Tyrion. “Inconceivable,” said Haldon Halfmaester. “We’ve left the bridge behind. Rivers only run one way.” “Mother Rhoyne runs how she will,” murmured Yandry. “Seven save us,” said Lemore. Up ahead, the stone men on the span began to wail. A few were pointing down at them. “Haldon, get the prince below,” commanded Griff.”

The large stone hand is like the symbolic hand of God hearing Tyrion’s words and passing judgment because just as they pass it, things get a bit crazy as some type of magic kicks in. Rivers only run one way except for in ASOIAF. Even their dialogue as they pass the bridge again is the same, but with differences.

The leap had shattered one of his legs, and a jagged piece of pale bone jutted out through the rotted cloth of his breeches and the grey meat beneath. The broken bone was speckled with brown blood, but still he lurched forward, reaching for Young Griff. His hand was grey and stiff, but blood oozed between his knuckles as he tried to close his fingers to grasp. The boy stood staring, as still as if he too were made of stone. His hand was on his sword hilt, but he seemed to have forgotten why. Tyrion kicked the lad’s leg out from under him and leapt over him when he fell, thrusting his torch into the stone man’s face to send him stumbling backwards on his shattered leg, flailing at the flames with stiff grey hands. —A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion V

Again, the hint of a man getting his face burnt. Tyrion knocked Young Griff down to protect him, but the stone man gets away and goes for the boy again.

“Stand aside!” someone shouted, far away, and another voice said, “The prince! Protect the boy!” The stone man staggered forward, his hands outstretched and grasping. Tyrion drove a shoulder into him. It felt like slamming into a castle wall, but this castle stood upon a shattered leg. The stone man went over backwards, grabbing hold of Tyrion as he fell. They hit the river with a towering splash, and Mother Rhoyne swallowed up the two of them. As he’s dragged to the bottom of the river by the stone man, Tyrion thinks, “there are worse ways to die than drowning.” And then we get this ending passage. I’ll haunt the Seven Kingdoms, he thought, sinking deeper. They would not love me living, so let them dread me dead. When he opened his mouth to curse them all, black water filled his lungs, and the dark closed in around him.

Tyrion, Sansa's motley wearing husband almost drowns in the green sea, and as it happens, he thinks of haunting the Seven Kingdoms as a dead man. I wonder what or better yet, who that might be foreshadowing?

When next we see Tyrion, he’s waking up and remembers dreaming of getting a grey kiss from the Shrouded Lord.

“He dreamt of his lord father and the Shrouded Lord. He dreamt that they were one and the same, and when his father wrapped stone arms around him and bent to give him his grey kiss, he woke with his mouth dry and rusty with the taste of blood and his heart hammering in his chest. “Our dead dwarf has returned to us,” Haldon said. “Tyrion shook his head to clear away the webs of dream. The Sorrows. I was lost in the Sorrows. “I am not dead.” —A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion VI

He then comments on his surroundings and we get this passage.

He was on the Shy Maid, Tyrion saw, under a scratchy blanket that smelled of vinegar. The Sorrows are behind us. It was just a dream I dreamed as I was drowning. “Why do I stink of vinegar?”

Why does he smell of vinegar? This bit is extremely important, and I will tell you why shortly. It’s George and his bloody consistent symbolism and another clue that he’s playing with the idea of Jon as Christ, the Living Stone.

Tyrion discovers that he was pulled from the river by Jon Con, and Septa Lemore then saved him. It was likely her kiss of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that he mixed up with one from the Shrouded Lord in his dream.

“Lemore has been washing you with it. Some say it helps prevent the greyscale. I am inclined to doubt that, but there was no harm in trying. It was Lemore who forced the water from your lungs after Griff had pulled you up. You were as cold as ice, and your lips were blue. Yandry said we ought to throw you back, but the lad forbade it.” —A Dance with Dragon, Tyrion VI

As Crowfood’s Daughter stated in her video, Septa Lemore is a bit of an exhibitionist who likes to bathe naked in the river in sight of all…kind of like a mermaid; and Jonquil and her sisters when Florian viewed them in the Maiden Pool. Tyrion enjoyed watching Septa Lemore a few times. Thus, she is the symbolic mermaid stand-in for Sansa who gives Tyrion, the stand-in for the Shrouded Lord/Jon the icy kiss to bring him back to life. The fact that Tyrion is Sansa’s husband just completes the symbolism.

Tyrion and Griff are both stand-ins for Jon in the Sorrows scene. We've talked about Tyrion, but let's also look at what happens to Jon Con after he goes into the sorrows to rescue the little Lannister?

The symbolic wolf in the scene who just happens to have the same name as Jon Snow, is the one to get greyscale, the disease which turns one into a stone man.

If my theory that The Shrouded Lord’s purpose in the story is to tell us about Jon’s resurrection, then Jon Con is not just a symbolic wolf in the scene, but also a symbolic dragon. He was also closest to Jon's father Rhaegar as Tyrion mentions. So, it makes perfect sense that he’s the one to get greyscale in the waters where Garin called down a curse on the dragon lords of old.

As we are talking about Garin’s curse, Tyrion’s fall into the Sorrows may have proven that he’s not a Targaryen, because if he was, I think that he would have gotten greyscale. There is something magical about the Sorrows. The stone men ignored the Shy Maid as it travel through the Sorrows, and the pole boat had almost made it out the foggy landscape when Tyrion started talking about knowing that Young Griff was Rhaegar’s son, and the next thing you know, boat seem to be back where it started and they were again passing The Bridge of Dreams and this time, they were attacked by the stone men.

This plays into my theory that the story is about circular time and events are repeating but with differences…almost like different timelines. However, what I want to point out here is that on their second trip through the Sorrows when the stone men attacked, if you read the passage, they went right for Young Griff. It’s almost as if something heard Tyrion’s story and realized that there was someone with dragon blood on the boat.

So, about that vinegar. After all the evidence that shows how the description of the Shrouded Lord echoes that of the risen Christ, would you still be surprised if I tell you that vinegar also plays a part in Christ’s crucifixion?

In each of the 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it is stated that the soldiers at the crucifixion offered Jesus sour wine when he said he was thirsty. Sour wine is vinegar. In fact, in one of the gospels, it is said that Jesus is given sour wine to drink while the others refer to it as vinegar because that is basically what sour wine is…vinegar.

they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. —Matthew 27:34 KJV

36 “And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.” 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. —Mark 15:36-37 KJV

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”— Luke 23:36

28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. — John 19:28

Sour wine was the only type of wine that soldiers would have had available to them. For this reason, some biblical scholars have argued that as it was the only thing they had to give, it was meant as a succor and not an insult. Others have argued the opposite. The reference to vinegar is not only in the 4 gospels. It is also referenced in Psalms 69.

The Psalms are part of the Old Testament and were written by King David. However, modern biblical scholars have argued that there were other writers of these group of songs. Psalms 69 is a lament, and as it is part of the Old Testament while the Gospels and the life of Christ are distilled in the New Testament, it is also seen as a prophecy of the suffering of Christ, and this is why it is associated with his crucifixion. In the Episcopalian Church, it is recited during Good Friday services, the day of Christ’s crucifixion.

It is too long for me to include, but I do want to post a few lines. You can read the full Psalms here.

1 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.

 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

15 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

As you can see, in the Psalm that is believed to prophesize the coming of Jesus to save us from our sins, water is used to foreshadow drowning. Although in the Psalms, the drowning is more spiritual in nature. On the other hand, in George’s tale, water is used to symbolize drowning in the green sea/weirwood net, which is what will be happening to Jon as his spirit resides in Ghost and he’s taken into the weirwood net.

It's Sansa, whose symbolic color like Jon, is grey because she is a daughter of House Stark; and thus, is wearing that color in Melisandre’s vision; and who happens to have red Night’s Queen hair, who will save Jon from drowning.

In part 3 of this series, I discussed the textural evidence that suggests the corpse queen was a redhead. However, a non-textural but still important clue to back up this idea is that in western art, mermaids are traditionally featured as redheads. There is no reference to hair color in the Andersen tale, but Disney’s famous Ariel is a redhead.

A Mermaid by John William Waterhouse

Let’s now recap the Tyrion chapters set in and around the Sorrows that occur in ADWD, the book where Jon Snow is killed and his spirit merges with his wolf and goes into the weirwood net as foreshadowed in the Varamyr prologue. We get several chapters that both foreshadows Jon’s resurrection and that he will get greyscale that turns one into a stone like figure.

First, we get the story of the leader of the stone men, The Shrouded Lord that echoes that of the real world risen Christ who was called the Living Stone.  Jon Snow is symbolically set up as the Christ like figure in ASOIAF.

There is also Jon Con, who just happens to have the same name as Jon Snow; and who just happens to be wearing a wolfskin cloak before he goes into the Sorrows; being the one to get greyscale…a disease that turns one into a stone man.

And we have Sansa, who George has strongly set up as a symbolic mermaid/sea dragon and who I argue is the missing female greenseer in the story associated with a mysterious kiss that has already happened; or possibly is still to occur. A kiss that she remembers happening with the Hound, but all evidence points to there not being anything of a romantic nature between them. There is also the fact that Sandor’s story mirrors Jon and he’s set up as the Jon stand-in in Sansa’s arc.

We have the tale of the Shrouded Lord starting out as a stone statue and being given life by the kiss from a grey woman who had lips as cold as ice. This woman’s cold lips and her grey color can’t help but make one think of the corpse/night’s queen. And further to the grey woman who kisses the Shrouded Lord, in the same book, we hear of Melisandre’s vision of a mysterious girl wearing Stark colors and coming to Jon at the Wall.

There is also all the mermaid symbolism in the text of them rescuing a drowning male, and how this symbolically plays out with Septa Lemore saving Tyrion in the scene where he acts as the stand-in for the Shrouded Lord. A scene that also echoes that of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection with the use of vinegar.

I could go into detail of how Sansa’s interaction with Dontos, the stand-in for Florian in her arc also symbolically mirrors that of a mermaid saving a man from drowning, but this chapter is already overlong. As a result, I will again suggest that you watch Crowfood’s Daughter video, The Grey King’s Mermaid Wife for more details.

Now that I’ve discussed all the clues that suggest Sansa will have a role to play in Jon’s resurrection as well as why the Shrouded Lord is a stand-in for Jon, you might wonder how I think his return will play out.

Well, I think that Melisandre will have a role to play in the events, but she won’t be fully responsible for his return. With her, it will be more of an accident. I think that the kiss between Sansa and Jon will take place out of time in the weirwood net, and it will in some way, magically push Jon back into his body, but he will bring some of Ghost’s savage nature with him.

On the Melisandre angle, I think that she will burn Jon. She keeps asking R’hllor to show her Stannis but all she sees is Snow. She’s seeing Jon both literally and symbolically. Her vision includes a lot of snow which has begun to fall, but as we know, and saw in the TV show, ashes can also look like snow, and that’s what Mels is seeing around Jon.

Stannis tells Justin Massey that rumor may reach them that he is dead. Will that be true or not is not the subject for now, but I think that it’s possible that Melisandre may entertain this idea when she continues to be unable to see him in the fire, and even with his death, she continues to see Jon Snow in the flames.

Maybe this will lead her to recognizes that snow can sometimes look like ashes and then she comes to the realization that she should burn Jon. The Nights Watch and Wildings who will join to dispatch those who kill Jon would want to burn his body in either case to prevent it turning into a wight.

And this is where the prophecy of waking dragons from stones will come in. As far as Melisandre is concern, that hasn’t yet happened, and so in her quest to help the missing Stannis, she may see the burning of Jon as the way to make it so. She asks for Azor Ahai, but the flames keep showing her Jon Snow. Yes, Jon is dead, but maybe she thinks the R’hllor is telling her that the burning of his body will still lead to Azor Ahai, who she believes is Stannis.

Also, while she doesn’t know about Jon’s connection to Rhaegar and that he also has Targaryen blood, the Starks come from a long line of ancient kings and his brother was recently crowned king. Thus, to her, Jon also has king’s blood. But she needs two kings to wake the dragon, and that’s where Shireen comes in.

Shireen is not a king, but she is Stannis heir and has king’s blood. And so, Melisandre has her two kings to wake a dragon. Jon Snow and Shireen. It won’t be very difficult for Mels to convince Selyse to burn her daughter to the cause…especially if it will help Stannis. The queen is a devout fanatic. Does Melisandre think she will be waking a real dragon from stone? Possibly, but who knows. The point is that she’s doing it because she thinks it will help Stannis.

The interesting thing is that the Wildings and the remaining Nights Watch brothers won’t do anything to stop it. The Wildings will be the ones primarily in charge, and as we see from Val, they already think that Shireen should not be alive because of her greyscale. So, they won’t stop Melisandre from burning her.

Where will all of this take place? Radio Westeros has a great theory that Jon’s pyre will be in the weirwood grove of nine where he and Sam said their vows. It’s a great theory and makes a lot of sense, and so, I wouldn’t rule it out. However, I also wouldn’t rule out Jon’s pyre being at the Nightfort.

As I’ve said throughout this series, Jon and Sansa will be this timeline’s version of the Night’s King and corpse queen. As these two ancient figures are so associated with the Nightfort, it seems like Jon’s resurrection should take place there, but I don’t know what reason Melisandre would have to take the body there to burn…unless Castle Black is destroyed.

Shireen and Jon will burn in the same pyre or ones next to each other and while Jon’s body will be frozen initially, the heat will melt it and open the wounds given to him by his murder. And the greyscale ashes from Shireen will enter the wounds, giving him greyscale just as he’s being pushed back into his body and awakens. And, we have the dragon waking from stone.

While the details maybe different, I think that the ideas behind what some will call a hairbrained theory is sound when you consider that Jon must get greyscale if he is to become the Shrouded Lord and personify the Living Stone that was Jesus. The wine at the Wall is even called sour and so I would not be surprised to see that playing a part in his resurrection as well. Maybe Jon’s brothers will have a toast to him and throw some sour wine on his pyre.

The other boys gathered round the eight who had been named, laughing and cursing and offering congratulations. Halder smacked Toad on the butt with the flat of his sword and shouted, "Toad, of the Night's Watch!" Yelling that a black brother needed a horse, Pyp leapt onto Grenn's shoulders, and they tumbled to the ground, rolling and punching and hooting. Dareon dashed inside the armory and returned with a skin of sour red. As they passed the wine from hand to hand, grinning like fools, Jon noticed Samwell Tarly standing by himself beneath a bare dead tree in the corner of the yard. Jon offered him the skin. "A swallow of wine?" Sam shook his head. "No thank you, Jon." —A Game of Thrones, Jon V

Note how Sam who is no longer at the wall and wasn’t there for the mutiny and so won’t be there for Jon’s resurrection is written as separate from Jon and the other boys in the scene. Martin and his consistency.

So to recap, in the same book that Jon Snow, the Christ like figure of the story is murdered, and path to resurrection foreshadowed in the Varamyr prologue, George also gives us the myth of The Shrouded Lord, a stone statues that is brought to life by the cold kiss of a grey woman... a legend which mirrors the resurrection of real world Jesus.

George also places Shireen, the child who carries the greyscale disease that causes men to turn to stone at the Wall next to dragon blooded Jon. ln in the same book, Melisandre also get's a vision of a mysterious girl in grey traveling through the snow to Jon...a girl that strong clues suggests is Sansa. All of these elements that mirror the Shrouded Lord legend coalescing around Jon Snow. Happenstance? I say no.

As we wind things down, let’s revisit the question of why George wrote greyscale into his story? Well, as I’ve just shown, he did it so that Jon, the Jesus like figure in the story can mirror the real world risen Christ as the Living Stone. However, on a deeper philosophical level, I think that he wrote greyscale into his tale to show that organize religion…especially one with a deify figure at the head can be a plague upon the people.

George questions things…especially dogma, knowing that there are often no answers to the universal questions we all ask. While he may no longer believes the religious teachings he was taught in his youth, they have had a major influence on him and his writings. He loves the lore of the Christian faith and various world religions, and that’s why his stories are filled with so much mythology.

Nonetheless, he also recognizes that much evil has been done in the name of religion since the first such organization showed its face upon the world thousands of years ago. It doesn’t matter what the religion has been. Evil has been done in its name. This is because organize religion otherizes people. It creates an us versus them dichotomy.  And if you are not part of the us, then you must be “other,” with all that it implies.

You don’t belong. Your beliefs are wrong. You’re a sinner…etc. This theme about the evilness at the heart of organize religion and the deification of individuals is at the core of ASOIAF. I think it’s what D&D attempted to capture in their ham-fisted way on the show with Dany. Worshiping glorified God-like figures is never a good thing.

However, as I’ve stated, there is a dichotomy to the idea because to be human is to be part of a group…to be part of a community where we recognize each other’s wants and need; where we protect and provide for each other. But to paraphrase Hamlet, here’s the rub, because being part of a group always without fail leads to some form of organize religion. And so, what do you do!

Well, we’ve come to the end of this chapter, and we’re getting closer to the end of the series…probably only another couple of chapters. Next time, we are going to go to some dark places as I show you why what happened to Sansa on the show is not out of the realms of possibility in the books. Not with Ramsay of course; and it may not be physical in nature, but more mental…like what Varamyr attempted with Thistle. However, I do think that dark days are ahead for Sansa before she sees the dawn. I can’t tell you when the next chapter will be here because I must psych myself up to go to that dark place and write it. I also have a lot upcoming in the New Year, and so it might not be for several months, but it will be come.

So what does everyone think of the theory that Jon is the Shrouded; Sansa the girl in grey; and the Unkiss tied to Jon's resurrectin.

All comments welcome. Until next time.

ETA on 12/26 to fix a few typos and grammatical errors and also to add the two recap paragraphs.

ETA 9/6/24 to fix a couple of additional typos and add a couple of highlight to passages.

[rayneeeeeeeeeee]

"STAND AND DELIVER!"

A fanfiction about Sofia Wilmot and Nell Jackson. I've been cooking up this baby instead of doing my revision, so pls like it <3

It's on wattpad ( pls don't judge. it's the only thing i can write on rn)

TW: Implied attempt at SA

___________________________________________

Lady Sofia Wilmot had just come from putting away her brother to the prisons. With the bribe that he ought not to be hanged (although rightfully deserved) for his actions. Murdering Sam trotter, their father, and conspiring with a Jacobite.

Although Sofia knew she was held partially accountable, she could not stand to see her brother in the same light. She'd turned to darkness all because of his foolish actions. His actions had forced her to hurt the innocent. And lose her father in the process. Of course, the late Earl of Poynton had been killed because of his attempt at eternal darkness. Bringing forth the night but not succeeding with the help of a certain rogue.

Sofia twirled at the dark raven locks of her hair. She'd been dressed in her widowed clothing. All black and her face covered with a veil. She'd been married off to some rich magistrate who'd died soon after their wedding.

Sofia had been relieved of her matrimonial responsibilities as a wife and continued to live within the walls of her fathers estate.

Well, at least until Thomas stuffed it up in her polite words.

But now she was well and truly alone. No father. No mother. No brother. Not even friends. She had nobody to turn to in her moment of sorrow. And she knew it.

Surprisingly, no new magistrates came to take Lord Blanchefords place after his death and Thomas's arrest. Most likely, due to a hefty bribe from Sofia. She had become the new magistrate. probably the first woman to have ever taken over an estate in the 1700s. She'd become rich. And had lowered her tenants' rent, much to all of their surprises. Because what could Lady Wilmot do? She couldn't change her circumstances by being cruel to those below her. All she could do was sit in her late fathers office and do his work.

Sofia sat in the carriage. Daydreaming about what could've happened if she hadn't trusted Poynton. Or if she'd never framed Nell Jackson with the murder of her father. Of course, she was too prideful to admit her guilt for the Renegade. But her guilt still had remained true.

Her association with the dark arts had ruined her. Permanent scars of the blackness that had corrupted her lined her spine and chest. Although its growth had ceased, it was a constant reminder of her faults. And those marks would be hard to forget.

It was the reason she was constantly wrapped in the finest silks no matter the weather. But this night, it would be the cause of her greatest misfortunes.

"STAND AND DELIVER!"

A voice from outside the carriage bellowed. It had reminded her of the Rogue she'd formed an alliance with.  Except now, they had the full intent to rob her and strip her of her garments. Just as these horrible men would do. Sofia had not been fearing for her wealth and possessions. She was in fear of what they would do to her. Her ears seemed to ring, and all sound had blurred into an unintelligible fuzz in her ears. These masked bandits upon horses had pistols and knives. It was one to four, and Sofia couldn't do anything. She pleaded they did not do anything to her. She threatened with her position and wealth. She offered properties. But nothing seemed to convince them.

"Please, I'll offer anything! Just please don't do anything to me!"

She begged.

"Lookie here, John, the pretty little thing going to offer us goons a hefty cash prize!"

One of the ruffians taunted.

"I don't know, Mointon. i think I've got a better idea..."

The goon pointed the pistol at her throat and lifted her chin with it.

"Take off yer garments luv, I'd like to see the pretty little figure underneath."

His words struck deep within Sofia, and his actions had led her to fear once more. When she refused, he'd grabbed her and held the gun to her head. Sofia yelped and tried to wriggle free from his grasp.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doin lad?!"

A familiar voice cut through the ordeal. Sofia was distraught, although she'd never admit it. as the gun was still pointed towards her.

"Don't think this un'll save ya, ya prissy bitch"

The so called Mointon gritted through his teeth.

"Yeh, you think you can just force a woman to do ya biddin? , i don't think so. You prick, let the dame go."

Sofia recognised the voice as Nell Jackson. The woman who'd sacrificed her power for her brother just a few months ago.

"I'd like to see you try and take her off us. Nelly. Jackson."

The ringleader of the lot boasted.

All it took was a moment of preparation before she'd put them all on their arses. One ended up in a tree, and the others scattered in the bushes and shrubs.

"Thank you..."

Sofia whispered to Nell

"Was that a thank you from the Lady Wilmot?"

Nell teased sarcastically before she turned her heel and started walking away.

It was clear that Nell has still been bitter about the shared ordeal between them. And rightfully so.

Nell had started walking towards her horse. The Talbot was close by, and Nell had just happened to be going on a late night ride.

"Wait!" Sofia panted. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in the woods. And this Rogue was the only one around. To help her.

"What do you want." Nell spat.

Nell had tried to forget about Sofia. How badly she'd wronged her. But despite her wrongdoings Nell couldn't help bu sympathise with the pale woman. The only reason that she'd been on the path she'd taken was because of that idiot brother of hers.

Nell was furious at Sofia.

"I was curious if you could lead me to the nearest tavern to spend the night..."

Sofia hesitated.

"Blimey you tossers really do think people owe you the bloody world! You expect me to give you a place to stay after that. That! Nutter Poynton proper fucked shit up?"

Nell chastened

"I'll pay double your price."

Sofia bribed

"You know what?" Nell mocked as she paused from getting on her horse to step towards a desperate Lady Wilmot.

"What." Sofia answered firmly.

"I am absolutely fucking knackered. And I do not want to deal with your shit. So I'll let you stay. But just know this is a one off. Alright."

Nell hissed at Sofia.

"Well? What're you waiting for my lady."

Nell droned sarcastically.

Sofia felt a lump in her throat. But not one of fear. One of potential arousal.

The mere thought of setting off on horseback with a handsome Nell was a memory that would replay in her head for ages. Though she'd never admit that to the woman herself. She always found herself staring for a bit too long at all the wrong places. Even if they were at eachothers throats.

She swallowed it down. And put all her feelings aside so they could have at least one pleasant experience with eachother.

Nell was waiting for the woman in silk robes growing impatient as she'd already gotten on the horse a few seconds ago. Then finally Sofia stepped up and onto the horse.

"You know you're gonna fall off if ya don't hold on right?"

Nell stated.

"Of course i know that im not daft. I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Sofia muttered.

"Well you clearly have history of being considerate..."

Nell whispered under her breath.

"What was that?"

Sofia questioned obliviously.

"Nothin just hold about my waist."

Nell said nonchalantly.

Whereas Sofia was burning up without any particular reason she was aware of. She caught a wiff of the perfume the rogue used. Surprising to the Lady. As she'd thought that Nell would smell like the lower class typically do.

With a click of her tongue the horse obeyed Nells every order. Every tug of reign. And Sofia found it mesmerising.

Sooner to Sofias dismay, they'd arrived at The Talbot. Where this moment would end.

Read more on Wattpad!

Title: Stand and deliver

[lo-diehards]

2024 TV Season Analysis – Organized Crime Tops the Franchise, Law & Order Better, SVU Needs an Overhaul

The 2023-24 TV season has been a truncated TV season of 13 episodes, due the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes that happened last year. A lot of scripted TV was back burned until the strikes ended. TV writers struck their deal first and were back to work promptly, long before actors/actresses, this should have given time to plan out their already short season. Production crunched for 13 episodes to be shot between late November until this coming week, where SVU and mother ship reboot will be wrapping up shooting their finale episodes.

But where does this season grade in its entirety? I’m going to summarize – as much as I can - my views on where the franchise stands for this season from best to worst. Click below to read.

Organized Crime – The best in the franchise creatively, hands down!

New show runner/executive producer John Shiban (The X-Files) and his writing staff understood their assignment and have definitely delivered. Organized Crime is the most entertaining series in the franchise this season, week-over-week. The storylines are so fleshed out and they don’t drag on as they had since the series started. Shiban has shifted focus to the OC main characters and their backstories as well as expanding on the OC unit in its entirety. We’ve even seen 2 of SVU’s former stars show up (Tamara Tunie, Chief M.E. Melinda Warner / Dann Florek, Donald Cragen) as well as an appearance by Peter Scanavino (ADA Dominick Carisi). We have even been introduced to more of Stabler’s family, his brothers – portrayed by guest stars Dean Norris and Michael Trotter – and while they’ve come in and shook things up for Stabler, one thing I can point out, it’s the first season since OC premiered where I haven’t felt that Elliot Stabler is on a quest for vengeance or retribution of some kind.

The cast has been firing on all cylinders this season, especially with the episode that just aired last week (“Crossroads”), where one of OC’s new team members went missing and was found to be killed, Stabler having the bury his body as he is undercover with the group that found Detective-in-Training Samir Bashir (guest star Abubakr Ali). This story is still playing out so as of now we don’t fully know who killed him but I’m sure we’re about to find out. Stabler’s younger brother, Joe Jr. may have some involvement as the investigation is about to come full circle. Meanwhile, the scene in question in this episode has Christopher Meloni and Danielle Mone Truitt deliver their most powerful scene together yet in the series and they have delivered quite a few, this one stands out though.

Excellent only begins to describe it, and Organized Crime this season. Organized Crime has yet to be renewed for the 2024-25 TV season.

Law & Order (reboot) – It’s improved, but we still have a ways to go.

There is a lot to be said of the mother ship series, both the original and this reboot. But this reboot has seen a lot in its short time on air, in this short season alone the cast has changed twice already. Jeffrey Donovan (Detective Frank Cosgrove) and the series parted ways weeks before production was set to start and veteran Sam Waterston (District Attorney Jack McCoy) chose to depart before mid-season. Sam Waterston is/will greatly be missed and he leaves behind a full legacy on the show, which he joined in 1994! Meanwhile newcomers Reid Scott (Detective Vincent Riley) and Tony Goldwyn (District Attorney Nicholas Baxter) have been welcomed by fans with open arms. The cast of the reboot no matter which season is very solid and they are all very talented, but their talents often seem crippled.

The reboot seems to have an issue fleshing out the characters. Det. Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) and ADA Sam Maroun (Odelya Halevi) – and add DA Nick Baxter (Goldwyn) to me, week-in and week-out are the unsung heroes as with them we can see depth, we can understand why they make the decisions they make or feel the way they do on certain topics. I’m still on the fence about Riley’s development but he’s definitely has a more solid partnership with Shaw than Cosgrove did, and he certainly is a better character. I think they’ve got a great detective duo here – reminiscent of that of Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin) and Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) in season 18. From about the third episode this season on up, there has been an improvement in the writing, I must say in comparison from where the season started. Most of the episodes this season seem to have one singular writer who stands out, Pamela Wechsler, who also serves as executive producer. Girl power!

What can help the reboot:

The writers need to get away from talking points and political affiliation when it comes to the characters and even the weekly storylines - looking at you show runner Rick Eid - it makes the characters come off as caricatures and stereotypes. And maybe not directly rip the episodes from the headlines near verbatim. It takes away from it if we already know how it plays out – where is “the Law & Order twist?” They need to deep dive into Vincent Reilly, Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) and Kate Dixon (Camryn Manheim); we have talented actors on here, give them something that makes us stand up and clap and relate to these characters and stop making them one-dimensional, especially ADA Price. I must say I’ve been enjoying the legal side a bit more with the addition of Goldwyn’s Baxter, his back-and-forth every week with Price has a feel of the original series run, where we see multiple points of views on cases and it doesn’t feel/sound like rhetoric. And speaking of that run, it wouldn’t hurt for them to find ways to invest those old characters in the reboot. Just because Sam has departed doesn’t mean we still don’t want to see old faces or even faces from the other L&O series show up. Elisabeth Rohm (ADA Serena Southerlyn) and Milena Govich (Det. Nina Cassady) have directed episodes! Raul Esparza and Hugh Dancy both starred in Hannibal, I could see former-ADA now Defense Attorney Rafael Barba sitting at the defense table and likely wiping the floor with Price! Tony Goldwyn even wants Mariska Hargitay to direct an episode. Let’s make the mother ship enjoyable to watch again!

It was renewed for a 24th season (4th for the reboot). The mother ship has a second chance at greatness and to continue its legacy on television, not a lot of shows get that. It would be wise that those in charge on mother ship remember that.

SVU – The 25th milestone season ranks as one of the worst.

I originally had a two-page long document on this season of SVU alone and I’ve had to shorten it down and it’s still not that short. But if I had to describe the 25th record-breaking season of SVU in 1 word, that word would be “bad.” There are calls on social media for show runner/executive producer David Graziano to be fired from the series. I’m not one to openly call for people to lose their jobs, but clearly there is something wrong and the downward spiral of the ratings mixed with bad press for SVU episodes this season is showing that. Nothing about season 25 jumps out as milestone season and there are only a handful of episodes as of now, that I would consider episodes worth going back to watch again: “Tunnel Blind”, “Duty to Report”, “Probability of Doom”, and “Children of Wolves” which was directed by Mariska Hargitay.

It’s the writing and direction of this season, period. There is no other reason or excuse that flies. There is clearly no investment from the management level behind the scenes at SVU in this milestone season being the best it could have been. The Maddie storyline overtook the season and its resolution didn’t exactly hit the mark either. Where is the retrospective? Why haven’t we gone over past cases? Seen former victims/survivors (other than 2 minutes worth of Maria from “911”)? Why did Olivia stop seeing Dr. Lindstrom (Bill Irwin)? Where is the ‘healing?’ The guest stars? We haven’t seen any former stars, other than Kelli Giddish (Detective Amanda Rollins), and that proves to me that it was a mistake to fire her in the first place. “Where is the energy? Where is the spatter? This is life-less dreck. A cheap knock-off…” (diehard SVU fans; if you know, you know). But seriously, nothing about this season overall screams “25 years!”

With the season opener, I was sure David Graziano and the writers turned the page on the mess that was most of the entire 24th season of SVU. Turns out I was wrong to think it. It seems to be doubled down. It’s proof that despite his behavior, he’s just not a good fit for SVU. He doesn’t seem to understand how to write for this show and be the voice of who women/people look up to and the voice that victims and survivors need. I honestly think he would serve better on a Criminal Intent reboot or something since he seems to like that aspect of the crimes more so than investigatory and the legal side – Peter Scanavino’s screen time has greatly decreased and well as legal scenes.

What can help SVU:

A lot of damage is done, but it’s not irreversible. The best call is to replace the person at the top if they aren’t going to change themselves, (sorry but not sorry David). The popular eras of SVU are seasons 3-7 and again 13-17 and for good reason; Neal Baer and Warren Leight remain the two people who have seen SVU at their peaks. Going into a record breaking season 26, someone who can understand the intricacies of SVU needs to take the helm and get this show turned around. Focus needs to be on steadying the storylines and fleshing them out in a meaningful way to where they connect and not have crucial bits just disappear into thin air. We need to get SVU’s focus back on uplifting the voices of victims and survivors and their journeys, as well as to delve deep again into the world of the NYPD SVU squad. It’s not just about “rape case of the week” the actual SVU deals with kidnappings, crimes against the children, the disabled/elderly, working in conjunction with the Hate Crimes unit/federal govt., trafficking and more, let’s get the variety back in the crimes – and let’s stop showing the crime taking place on screen and in graphic manner. The crime scene analysis, forensics, court scenes and legalese needs to be put back into this series, I’ve honestly felt it decrease even before S24 as far back as some S22.

We need to see Carisi navigate through these cases and the back-and-forth with the defense as well as in his own bureau. We’ve yet to see Carisi interact with the district attorney (Jack McCoy, Sam Waterston – now Nick Baxter, Tony Goldwyn) much like his preceding ADAs. Benson’s character needs to go back to therapy and deal with her issues head on (Lindstrom, Bill Irwin), she had done that up until EDMR in season 24 became her new way and it’s not working for her, since the writers seem to use it now as a crutch to say “she’s healing” but then turn around and have her do things to suggest otherwise. Benson also needs to be written as a leader and delegator more so than taking every case away from her “squad” and solving them personally. Actually from a story standpoint it would be great to see Benson face repercussions for continually doing this, in the real world that would have consequences as how can she personally investigate cases and run the unit?

And with the unit, their stories need to be dissected more. Velasco (Octavio Pisano) in particular, he had an edge in season 23 as the new guy that might be a snitch for the Chief of Detectives (McGrath, Terry Serpico) but in season 24 they pushed this character into a corner with liking Detective Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett, who departed last season) and the Chilly storyline last season and can’t seem to get him out of that corner. Velasco comes off as “just there” much in the way Fin (ICE T) is starting to. And where is Phoebe (Jennifer Esposito)? Detective Bruno and Captain (to-Detective or Chief?) Curry (Kevin Kane and Aime Donna Kelly) are pretty much holding down the squad and are actually the more I look to, to solve the cases and they are the only ones peaking my interest.

SVU is heading to record-breaking season 26, if they want to reach their goal of stopping at 30. Dick Wolf, NBC and those behind the scenes need to get serious about it if that is what they really want. Otherwise, you’re about to have long-time viewers and new viewers alike turning away. Despite what people believe about ever-lasting loyalty, it does have an end date.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Feel free to respond!

[motherofplatypus]

Bisan Owda is a journalist in Gaza that keeps updating about the barbaric genocide actions that israel committed with weapons supplied mainly by US, all the while living through that genocide itself.

Over 30k+ has been killed, and over 15k+ of those are children and babies.

The celebs and artists who wanted to rescind Bisan's nomination are as follow:

Ari Ingel, Executive Director, Creative Community for Peace

David Renzer, Former Chairman/CEO Universal Music Publishing Group, CCFP Chairman & Co-Founder

Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive & Music President, Electronic Arts, CCFP Co-Founder

Rakefet Abergel, Actor/Director, Cyclamen Films

Orly Adelson, Former President of ITV Studios, America

Marty Adelstein, CEO, Tomorrow Studios

Anne-Marie Asner, Co-Founder, Animation Israel

Jeff Astrof, TV Producer/Showrunner, Other Shoe Productions

Michael Auerbach, Partner, Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein

Dean Bahat, Attorney, Ziffren Brittenham

Andrea Ballas, VP Comms, CBS

Jackie Barrie, A&R Manager, Nvak Collective

Richard Baskind, Partner & Head of Music, Simons Muirhead & Burton

Aton Ben-Horin, Executive VP of Global A&R, Atlantic Records Group

Steven Bensusan, President, Blue Note Entertainment Group

Adam Berkowitz, Founder and President, Lenore Entertainment Group

Sharon Bialy, Casting Director, Bialy/Thomas & Associates

Josh Binder, Co-Founder and Partner, Rothenberg Mohr & Binder, LLP

Neil Blair, Founding Partner, The Blair Partnership

Selma Blair, Actress, Author, Advocate, Sainted Productions

Rebecca Blumberg, SVP Ad Sales, Paramount

Evan Bogart, Songwriter & CEO, Seeker Music

Benjamin Budde, CEO, Budde Group GmbH

Bruce Burger, Producer, RebbeSoul

David Byrnes, Attorney, Ziffren Brittenham

Civia Caroline, Social Impact Consultant, CLiC Impact

Pamela Charbit, Director of A&R, Warner Music Group

Emmanuelle Chriqui, Actor, Yellow Ray Entertainment

Leanne Coronel, Talent Manager, The Coronel Group

Raye Cosbert, Managing Director, Metropolis Musi

Paul Craig, Ceo, Nostromo Management

Doug Davis, NATAS Member, 2x Emmy winner, The Davis Firm

Rebecca De Mornay, Actor

Jamie Denbo, Co-Executive Producer, Grey’s Anatomy, ABC/Disney

Josh Deutsch, Chairman/CEO, Premier Music Group

Avi Diamond, Director, Film/TV Sync, Warner Music Canada

Craig Dorfman, President and Owner, Frontline MGMT

Rachel Douglas, Manager, Range Media Partners

David Draiman, Frontman, Disturbed

Jeremy Drysdale, Screenwriter, bigbamboo

Craig Emanuel, Ryan Murphy Productions

Hannah Epstein, Agent, CAA

Rami “Kosha dillz” Even-Esh, Rapper/Comic/Actor

Lindsay Fabes, Actor

Ron Fair, Record Producer & CEO, Faircraft Inc.

Sharon Farber, Composer, Score by Score Music

Danny Federman, Owner, Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club

Eric Feig, Attorney and TV Academy Member, Feig/Finkel

Patti Felker, Attorney, Felker Toczek Suddleson McGinnis Ryan LLP

Ken Fermaglich, Partner, United Talent Agency

Ross “Remedy” Filler, Artist

Shalom Fisch, President, MediaKidz Research & Consulting

David Fishof, CEO, RRFC Films, LLC

Siri Garber, Publicist, Platform

David Gardner, President, Artists First

Barbara Garshman, CEO, Garshman Productions LLC

Gary Gersh

Gary Ginsberg, Senior VP, SoftBank Group Corp.

Brian Ralston, Composer/Producer, Studio 74 Music, LLC

David Glick, Founder & CEO, Edge Group

Zusha Goldin, Celebrity Photographer, Zusha Goldin

Michael Goldwasser, President, Easy Star Records

Andrew Gould, President, Music Publishing

Scott Greenberg, Partner, LBI

Steven Greenberg, Founder and President, S-Curve Records

Daniel Grindlinger, Writer

Ronnie Harris, Partner, Harris & Trotter

Michael Hirschhorn, Manager, Streaming and Sales, Atlantic Records

Linda Edell Howard, Attorney, Novick Law

Rich Ingram, Artist/Creator

Neil Jacobson, Former President, Geffen Records, Founder & CEO of Hallwood Media

Michael Kaplan, Writer/Producer

Sam Katz, Music Manager, Homebase MGMT, LLC

Zach Katz, CEO & Co-Founder, Fixated

Ketura Kestin, Film Producer, Serendipity Productions

Amanda Kogan, Manager, Aaron Kogan Management

Keetgi Kogan Steinberg, Writer/Producer/Showrunner

Jason Kozel, Creative Executive, Range Media Partners

Rick Krim, CEO, Krim Music + Media

Evan Lamberg, President, North America, Universal Music Publishing Group

Sherry Lansing, Former CEO, Paramount Pictures

Colin Lester OBE, Founder/Chairman, JEM Music Group

Sean Liebowitz, Agent

Koura Linda, Founder & CEO, Space Dream Productions

Marci Liroff, Intimacy Coordinator/Casting Director

Cory Litwin, Managing Partner, Range Media Partners

David Lonner, CEO, The David Lonner Company

Ben Maddahi, President, Unrestricted Publishing & Mgmt

Gabriel Mann, Composer

Deborah Marcus, Executive, CAA Foundation

Susan Markheim, Full Stop Mgt., The Azoff Company

Amanda Markowitz, Actor/Producer, SAG/AFTRA & PGA

Orly Marley, President, Tuff Gong Worldwide

Devra Maza, Screenwriter

Debra Messing, Actor/Producer

Hilary Michael, Agent and Partner, WME

Beth Milstein, Writer

Jennifer Morrow, Actor, CAA

Patrick Moss, Writer, Moroccan Boychik

Robert Munic, Writer/Showrunner, Pull The Pin Productions, Inc.

Lisa Nupoff, Manager, iminmusic management

Scott Packman, Founder and Managing Member, SSP Partners LLC

Mark Pinkus, President, Rhino Records

Jonah Platt, Actor/Producer

Wendy Plaut, SVP Music & Celebrity Talent, Paramount Global

Jessica Poter, Writer, Gustavo Anibal Productions

Golan Ramraz, Writer/Producer, EGX Film Factory

Bruce Resnikof

Frederic Richter, Producer, Writer & Researcher

Wendy Robbins, Executive Producer, Creators Inc

Dan Rosen, President, Warner Music Australasia

Rick Rosen, Co-Founder, Endeavor, WME

Aaron Rosenberg, Partner, Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light

Gregg Rossen, Screenwriter

Michael Rotenberg, CEO, 3 Arts Entertainment

Joshua Rothstein, CEO/Founder, Ice Cream For Dinner

Haim Saban, Chairman and CEO, Saban Capital Group

Glenn Sanders, Writer/Director/Creative Director, Masonry Creative

Ayelet Schiffman, SVP Head of Promotions, Island Records

Paul Schindler, Senior Partner, Greenberg Traurig LLC

Jordan Schur, CEO and Chairman, Mimran Schur Pictures and Suretone Entertainment

Adam Schwartz, Writer

Sam Schwartz, Partner, Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency

Jay Schweid, Founder/CEO, ephelants/Village

Adam Segal, President, The 2050 Group

Ben Silverman, Chairman and Co-CEO, Propagate Content

Ralph Simon, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Mobilium Global Limited

Tamar Simon, Owner/CEO, Mean Streets Management

Martin Singer, Attorney, Lavely and Singer

Halle Stanford, President of Television, The Jim Henson Company

Mimi Steinberg, Writer/Producer

Jonathan Steinsapir, Partner, Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir

Gary Stiffelman, Founder, GSS Law

Traci Symanski, CEO, Co-Star Entertainment

Aaron Symonds, Film Composer

Fernando Szew, President, Fox Entertainment

Tal Tavin, Actor

Adam Taylor, President, APM Music

Michael Testa, Casting Director, Michael Testa Casting

Fred Toczek, Partner, Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan LLP

Eric Tuchman, Writer/Producer, MGM-TV

Noa Vinshtok, Streaming, Range Media Partners

Joshua Washington, International Recording Artist, JoDavi Music LLC

Avi Weider, Filmmaker, Loop Filmworks

Jon Weinbach, President, Skydance Sports

Nola Weinstein, Tech Executive

Ilana Wernick, Writer/Producer, Fox

Modi Wiczyk, Co-Founder, MRC

Evan Winiker, Managing Partner, Range Music

Seth Yanklewitz, Casting Director, Yanklewitz Pollack Casting

Sharon Tal Yguado, Founder & CEO, Astrid Entertainment

Ky Zaretsky, Manager, Range Media Partners

David Zedeck, Global Co-Head of Music

[Sources: here, here, and here]

[quirk-nova]

Can I have a moodboard for Avea Trotter from Monster High?

https://monsterhigh.fandom.com/wiki/Avea_Trotter_(G1)

Avea Trotter (Monster High G1) aesthetic board for @sam-rexian

[geekcavepodcast]

Renegade Nell Trailer

Nell Jackson is framed for murder and has to go on the run, becoming a notorious outlaw in 18th century England. She does have a little help, though, from a magical spirit called Billy Blind.

Renegade Nell is written and created by Sally Wainwright. The series stars Louisa Harland (Nell Jackson), Frank Dillane (Charles Devereux), Alice Kemelberg (Sofia Wilmot), Ényì Okoronkwo (Rasselas), Jake Dunn (Thomas Blancheford), Bo Bragason (Roxy Trotter), Florence Keen (George Trotter), Nick Mohammed (Billy Blind), Joely Richardson (Lady Eularia Moggerhangar), Adrian Lester (Robert Hennessey), Pip Torrens (Lord Blancheford), and Craig Parkinson (Sam Trotter).

Renegade Nell lands on Disney+ on March 29, 2024.

[the-record]

ALL MY LOVE

SUMMARY: a ghost from your past finds herself back home

PAIRING: nell jackson x reader

WARNINGS: some show spoilers!!!

A/N: if you haven’t watched renegade nell, please go watch it now its literally fantastic and i havent stopped thinking about it since

‘THERE AINT A DROP OF BAD BLOOD ITS ALL MY LOVE’

word tends to spread fast in tottenham.

“sam trotter’s girl? back from the dead?” the ladies gossip wasn’t exactly quiet, though they tried. “how’s that bloody possible?”

you couldn’t help but listen in, not your fault they couldn’t whisper. “sorry,” you interrupted, “did you say sam trotter’s girl?” 

they nodded. “back from the dead she is.” you tuned them out as their words clicked. 

half a gasp before you ran off, leaving the ladies in shock. you shoved past people, yelling out ‘sorry’s as you went. it had been quite some time since you went to the tavern, not since nelly left you all, but you knew the path like the back of your hand.

the door slammed as you looked around, finding only george amongst the customers. a silent question in your eyes as you stared. 

"she's in the back with pa."

you nodded and ran off, george smiling as you whipped past her. 

time stopped when you saw her, you thought your heart might just burst. 

"nell?" voice just above a whisper but she heard you. you threw yourself at her when she smiled. her breath caught as she caught you, winding her arms around your waist and pulling tight. you pulled back and slapped her arm. "you're s'posed to be dead."

she faked a hurt gasp but pulled you back in. “can’t believe youre still ‘ere. thought you might’ve married some rich fella and ran off.” she teased. your eyes found her lip, split and dry. you followed it down, taking in her clothes.

“and what are these?” you gestured to her pants. “not very ladylike.” 

nell huffed a laugh, “d’you think?” her hands ran up and down your arms. “i’ve missed ya.”

she hissed as you dabbed at her lip with a damp towel, but you just smiled and hushed her. “you always were a baby.” nell rolled her eyes but sat still again. “so what have you been doin’ all these years, hm?” 

“beating up highwaymen.” she laughed but your face was serious. “busy playing wife and nurse for captain jackson,” she played with the ring on her left hand.

“can’t believe you married before me.” you forced a small smile. “sorry by the way, ‘bout him.” 

nell shook her head. “don’t be.” she took your wrist in her hand, stopping your gentle ministrations. “thought about you everyday.” you shook your head and sighed, looking away, but nell insisted. “i did, truly.”

her eyes searched your face and stopped on your lips. “nell…” when you turned back she was already staring. “we can’t.” you whispered. her sisters were right next door for god’s sake.

“oh c’mon, for old times sake. for me.” she stared deeply. “hm?” 

god, she could be so convincing.

“just like that, huh?” you yelled as you stomped up to nell. roxy and sam backed up, giving the two of you space. “no goodbye again?” she stared at her boots and shook her head “and what’s this i hear about you roughing up thomas blancheford? you can’t afford to do that.”

you stood in-front of her with your arms crossed across your chest. “i’m just fine.” she continued fixing the saddle on her horse. “and i did say goodbye last time.”

“yes, a goodbye see you tomorrow if i remember right.” you huffed a laugh. “was gonna say i can’t believe this, but i guess i can huh?” you stepped close, toe to toe. “just like you to up and leave. never cared much for anyone else’s feelings, did ya?”

you knew it hurt her, but she hurt you first. when she laughed you wanted to slap her, teach her right then. “are you kidding me nell? you serious?”

“didn’t even give me the chance to ask you to come with.” 

‘YOU GOT ALL MY LOVE, I’M STILL OUT HERE’

[longnose-gar]

Tmagp spoilers, speculation (grasping at straws) for ep2

Just wanted to note that the incident elements section is very lovely.

Gwen hot really panicked when Sam talked of decoding the system, something is happening that both Sam and we don’t know (yay! Good old Magnus podcast stuff)

Really liking Alice so far, she is so silly :), enjoy her character a lot, transgender vibes as well which is lovely

The therapist lady sounds both threatening and nice at the same time, avatar maybe? Could be the Web or the Stranger. The unnerving silence is interesting, no other sounds just the artist lady talking.

Tattoo artist is totally an avatar of the Flesh. There is no way they aren’t.

What do you mean you could feel when the pallet knife touched bone. What do you mean your face looked more symmetrical. What do you mean you should have stopped there. What do you mean the tattoo grew. What do you mean you would have used turpentine. Girl what.

The new avatars are much more powerful, that’s for sure, what did that tattoo artist do???

Alice’s brother (Luke )is a musician of some type, what are they planning after the 28th? A tour maybe? Who’s trotter? Luke’s former bad is “bullets for saint Sebastian”, they broke up years ago. New band is “dregdermen”

Good job Sam for the research, discover the horrors, learn about the institute.

[frodo-with-glasses]

Discord Highlights: Theodoc "Trotter" Brandybuck

From a discussion on 4/28/23

Windmill to the Stars:

I've heard vague references to a letter Tolkien wrote to a fan (not included in the volume of the Letters) in which he told her that Merry named at least one son "Periadoc." I kind of like it, especially if the "Per" part is related to "Peregrin" or "Periannath"! What do y'all think? Does this go with the other headcanons we came up with about Merry's kids?

InvisibleWashboard:

I can see it! May steal it and replace one of the other son’s names I have in my one-shot about all his babies!

Me:

Merry and Perry 👀

InvisibleWashboard:

It’s maybe a little too cutesy with the rhyming but I kind of like it, not gonna lie.

Windmill to the Stars:

And Pippin's son Ferry

Me:

THE TRIFECTA IS COMPLETE

meg is me:

It's all -erry

Me:

Always has been

meg is me:

You know what must be done now

Me:

It is done

Windmill to the Stars:

Suddenly imagining the next generation in the Shire with Perry and Ferry and the Master of Buckland and the Thain (and idk if Frodo Gardner follows his dad in becoming the mayor of Hobbiton.)

Me:

Okay wait: Is Periadoc Merry’s first son, or is Theodoc?? This is very important to me

Kasey Gondor:

twins

InvisibleWashboard:

Theodoc is for sure the oldest, at least in my head.

Writing Valkyrie:

Theodoc born first by several minutes

Me:

I LOVE THIS TWINS HECK YEAH Poor Estella, her first pregnancy and it's twins LOL 🤣

Windmill to the Stars:

Technically she could have older daughters but yeah I think we said before his sons were first

InvisibleWashboard:

I've always imagined he had a set of twins, but it was the last two kids he had. Estella was like, "We've had a bunch of boys, let me try and give you your Eowyn. One more!" Then it ends up being twins, but they don't know. A boy is born first, and they're like, "Yay, another kid, but this is kind of a bummer because we REALLY wanted a girl." And then, BOOM. Surprise daughter! And Merry is just over the moon

Me:

ACK THAT'S SO CUTE

Windmill to the Stars:

How many sons total does Merry have now??

Me:

Yes X-D

Windmill to the Stars:

I mean he's not gonna beat Sam probably but still

Me:

He has yes amount of sons

Writing Valkyrie:

All of his sons are his.

Me:

This is true! Accurate statement!

InvisibleWashboard:

I have 6 sons, one daughter in my one-shot that I've written. A boatload of kids, but not a cruise ship like the Gamgee's.

Me:

cruise ship 🤣🤣

Writing Valkyrie:

He needs it. They'd sink a boat.

meg is me:

Which of Pippin or Merry's kids (her honorary cousins) do you headcanon Elanor is closest to?

[There was much discussion in response to this question, but I'm cutting most of it for the sake of time lol]

Windmill to the Stars:

Depending on how old Periadoc and Theodoc are they could be closer to Elanor

Theodoc seems like he should be a bit adventurous And Elanor as well, so maybe they bond over that

Elanor moving into the Tower Hills with her husband but they always welcome her favorite cousin Theodoc who brings them gifts from his adventures

Theodoc is borderline a Knight Errant

Theodoc rides horses and boats with equal ease, he has his own nickname in Bree

meg is me:

What is it

Windmill to the Stars:

. . . Good question

meg is me:

and can he ride barrels

InvisibleWashboard:

Yes, this is the important question.

Windmill to the Stars:

Of course he can!

meg is me:

Yisss

Writing Valkyrie:

He teaches little Bilbo how

Me:

Bilbo Jr. WOULD take up boating just to give his poor mother a heart attack

Windmill to the Stars:

Amendment: he has like 5 nicknames in Bree Theodoc becomes actual Trotter

Me:

Minus the wooden feet, I hope??

Windmill to the Stars:

Oooh yes, definitely! 😬

Me:

I mean…it wouldn’t be so bad if Theodoc was born disabled and still had an adventurous spirit. Kinda rad, actually.

Windmill to the Stars:

Ahhh that's true! New hc

[Bonus]

Windmill to the Stars:

I'm getting way carried away with this, Theodoc wasn't my idea

Me:

Theodoc is OUR idea Communism

Kasey Gondor:

Windmill to the Stars is @windmilltothestars, InvisibleWashboard is @invisiblewashboard, Writing Valkyrie is @writingvalkyrie, Kasey Gondor is @captaingondor, and meg is me does not have tumblr :-3

[tllgrrl]

The Big, Fancy Serving Dish - Continued (an excerpt) by @tllgrrl aka Nefertiri Jones

Fleur De Louve SarahBucky Month 2023 - Week 4, Day 7: Family Dinner

Relationships-Sarah Wilson/Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson/Misty Knight, and OCs | Rated: SFW

This excerpt takes place during the family dinner mentioned in a previous story: The Big, Fancy Serving Dish.

* * * * * * * * * *

“ It’s called serobe.”

“Say-roh-bey? Is that right, Sargent—I mean, Bucky?”

He was holding an almost full plate, and she was giving him a tour of all the different dishes of food brought by everyone when she stopped at the one in the center of the main table.

The big, fancy serving dish on the warmer.

He leaned slightly forward and said something in her ear, she giggled, swatting his arm.

Sarah, Misty, and Sam stood on the other side of the room, transfixed, watching the 100+ year old man, charming the socks off of Sam and Sarah’s titi.

“Is she…?” Sarah whispered.

“Is he…?” Misty whispered back.

“Imma kill ‘im,” Sam growled.

“What!?”

“Why?”

“Look at him. Flirting and going on.”

“Sam. He is older than her.”

“I know. Man stays being a cradle robber.”

That last part he said under his breath, but just loud enough for Bucky’s supersoldier hearing to catch, and Bucky let Sam know he heard it because he looked over at Sam, grinned a big wolfish grin, and gave a wink that made Sarah whoop and cover her mouth as Misty turned around and quickly walked away almost whisper-screaming “Oh no he didn’t!”

Sarah heard her laughter coming from the kitchen.

“And save some food for the rest of us,” Sam continued to grouse a little louder. “That’s your second plate. Can’t take you anywhere.”

“Let the man eat, Sam!” Aunt Lee chuckled “There’s more than enough food!”

Misty returned from the kitchen and continued to snicker with Sarah.

“What are you two laughing at,” Sam glared. “Sarah, the man is flirting with our aunt.”

“I think it’s cute, and she’s having fun! She’s 80, looks like she’s still in her 60s, she’s a widow, and she’s still spry. He’s over 100 and doesn’t regularly get to talk to people who remember The old Old Days. Let them live!”

“You might want to keep an eye on your aunt, though, Sarah,” Misty adds. “Sam tells me Miss Lee has buried 3 husbands. White Wolf has that serum, but he might not stand a chance against —“

“Come on now, Miss Lee! Really? Three?” Bucky pretended to be delightedly aghast.

Lee raised a knowing eyebrow, primly purses her lips, and gave him the head tilt that said “If You Know, You Know”, then they both laughed.

“No, no and no,” Sam says, walking away while keeping his eyes pinned on Bucky. “This is just…wrong.” he hisses and keeps walking while the two senior citizens continue to banter.

Sarah noticed the lightness in Bucky’s demeanor as he laughed with her Aunt. Lee giggled like a schoolgirl, and when she gently touched his right arm, he didn’t flinch or go still. He didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable with the contact.

Then she whispered something in his ear, and he looked over at Sarah, catching her eyes.

The unguarded and completely open look on his face made her catch her breath, and she whispered to herself, “There you are.”

He nodded, and she could read his lips when he said “God knows I do,” then slightly ducked his head, and smiled.

* * * * * * * * * *

serobe is an offal dish from Botswana made from goat, sheep or cow intestines and sometimes trotters. Chitterlings—or chit’lins—usually made with pork intestines, can also be made from goat or sheep.

* * * * * * * * * *

Good intentions, good intentions. I tried to do a one shot continuation of a dinner mentioned in a previous fic, and combine the prompt “Family Dinner” with “Gratitude”, but it turned into a thing with many moving parts and I ran out of time, so, hopefully this can slide in and be included for the Week and I’ll try to get the complete story and a little moodboard thing together for ChristmaHanuKwanza.

[ausetkmt]

CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN RACE RIOTS AND RACIAL VIOLENCE p.2

November Wilmington, North Carolina, riot. 1898–1899 Coal mine riots at Pana, Virden, and Carterville, Illinois. 1899 Anti-Lynching Bureau is established. Anti-Lynching League is founded. Publication of Sutton Griggs’ first novel, Imperium in Imperio. April Sam Hose is lynched in Palmetto, Georgia, for allegedly killing his white employer and committing sexual assault on the man’s wife. 1900 Ida B. Wells-Barnett publishes her third anti-lynching pamphlet, ‘‘Mob Rule in New Orleans.’’ July New Orleans, Louisiana, riot. August New York City riot. 1901 Publication of Charles Chesnutt’s novel, The Marrow of Tradition, which was based on the Wilmington, North Carolina, riot of 1898. Pierce City, Missouri, riot. lvi CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN RACE RIOTS AND RACIAL VIOLENCE 1903 Publication of W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches. Joplin, Missouri, riot. July In what is known as the Boston riot, militant activist William Monroe Trotter and his supporters disrupt a Boston speech by Booker T. Washington. 1904 March Springfield, Ohio, riot. 1905 Publication of The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, Jr. May First issue of the Chicago Defender. July The Niagara movement, an organization for young black intellectuals committed to ending racial prejudice, is founded by W.E.B. Du Bois, William Monroe Trotter, and others. 1906 Springfield, Missouri, riot. January Chattanooga, Tennessee, riot. April Greensburg, Indiana, riot. August Brownsville, Texas, riot. September Atlanta, Georgia, riot; the Atlanta Civic League is organized in the weeks following the riot. 1908 William Monroe Trotter founds the all-black National Equal Rights League. August Springfield, Illinois, riot. 1909 February W.E.B. Du Bois, William Monroe Trotter, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and others found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an interracial organization dedicated to legal and social reform. 1910 The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP, is founded by W.E.B. Du Bois. July Palestine, Texas, riot. 1911

[numetaljackdog]

sos. saas. top 40 ranking week of 12/31/2022. i even copied the right one this time

Steve Lacy - Bad Habit

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song

Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Beyoncé - CUFF IT

Sam Smith - Unholy (feat. Kim Petras)

Wham! - Last Christmas

Thurl Ravenscroft - You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Drake & 21 Savage - Rich Flex

Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree

SZA - Shirt

Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock

Gene Autry - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The Weeknd - Die For You

Harry Styles - As It Was

Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra)

Bing Crosby, Ken Darby Singers, John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra - White Christmas

Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me

Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas

Dean Martin - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride

Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero

The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Metro Boomin - Creepin' (with The Weeknd & 21 Savage)

SZA - Kill Bill

Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run

Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick

Frank Sinatra - Jingle Bells

Nat King Cole - Deck The Halls

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas

Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus

José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad

Andy Williams - Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime

David Guetta - I'm Good (Blue)

Michael Bublé - It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas

Chris Brown - Under The Influence