02 | video

[needsnoheadsman]

[Where love might bring about sorrow, it also welcomes joy. The note hits a little close to home for him, because as glad as he is that his family is here, as glad as he is for Jon living right across the hall from him, there's still that sliver of doubt, of guilt, and that sliver's been enough to keep him up at nights, wondering if he should tell them, what he should say.

Love, he supposes, brings about both joy and sorrow, and makes fools out of kings easily enough (if not corpses). We follow our hearts wherever they take us--but right now, the only thing his heart is leading him into is more confusion and not enough sleep. He's not sure if using the network is going to help, but he has to at least try.

So, after filtering the feed away from Catelyn Stark, Jon Snow and Joffrey Baratheon (because he's just not in the mood to deal with Joffrey of all people right now nope), it opens on a very serious-looking Robb. Somebody didn't eat the chocolates. Or probably sleep that well last night, but he's no stranger to sleepless nights.]

I've two questions to ask of you, Asgard.

Say something terrible [ie a certain wedding] happened to you and your family, or someone you cared deeply about, before you came here. If they came here somehow and they didn't remember that, or they were too far away to hear any news of it quickly enough, what would you say to them? Would you even tell them, or would you keep their fates a secret from them until they do remember?

[Not that he'll take any advice telling him to keep their fates a secret. He owes his family truth about what happened, or what will happen, in some cases. They deserve to know that, at least.

He just doesn't know when and how to do it.

The rest of the video's unfiltered, and about a lighter subject matter than the first question:]

I've heard tell of something called Valentine's Day. [Look, he works at a cafe, and they've been stringing up paper hearts for the past few days to hook in Travellers. He has some very rudimentary knowledge of it.] As far as I know, it's a day set aside for those you care for. I would ask, what would you do for them for the day?

Comments

video; private

[valardohaeris]

I was going to ask you.

[ because it's obvious that catelyn doesn't know, and arya really doesn't know how long she can keep that to herself. they didn't just die, they were brutally murdered in a way westeros hasn't seen in a long time. it's a lot to keep from someone. ]

She should know, right?

[ maybe???? ]

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

Aye, she should. She deserves to know the truth, at least, and Jon as well.

[He can't keep it a secret from them forever, he knows that. He owes them the truth, and more besides that he isn't as sure he can give them.]

video; private

[dyingisnotdead]

You need to tell her.

Better her than someone else. Because there will be someone who tells her--and she should hear it from a kind ear.

I had to tell Renly he was dead. It was...

...you must do so.

[Loras sighs.]

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

I will, she deserves to know what happened.

[To him, to her, to everyone that followed him into war.]

But until I can, [until he can't keep it back anymore, until he's sick of keeping secrets from the people he loves,] will you keep it from her? And from Jon as well.

video;

[necrowmantic]

Nope. What's the point of knowing about it, if they're not gonna be able to do anything about it? You'll just make them worry!

--Unless they like to hear about gory futures and worm-eaten carcasses. I know I would! I'd want aaaall the details of my own grisly death. Assuming that's, uh, the kind of terrible thing you're talking about.

So I suppose it depends!

video;

[needsnoheadsman]

No, they don't. [what the fuck is wrong with this kid seriously quit being triggery] And if they want to know? Will you keep it a secret from them, even then?

voice | private filter.

[ffuckoff]

[Heyyy, it's wolfshirt guy! Asking a pretty neat question. Fiona gives it serious thought before answering, her voice coming in even and calm.]

You gotta do it, I mean, if you respect 'em. But maybe not all at once. I dunno, I guess it depends on what exactly it is you know and they don't. [Which she's not going to ask about, since it's none of her business, sooo...] But if it's real big, I'd do it slow.

And you get people candies and flowers. Roses're good. Red ones, be classy.

voice | private filter.

[needsnoheadsman]

[Do it slow. It's good advice, considering that what he's keeping back from his mother and his brother is--well. Huge.]

It's--big. [Look at him, trying to get the hang of this slang thing.] How slow, then, for something so weighty? [Not so slow, he hopes, that they'll find out the rest from someone else.]

I've more than enough candies than I know what to do with now. [It's said wryly, somewhat lightly.] As well as a bouquet of wildflowers from someone who didn't think to leave their name.

Video

[lt_blade]

[It's a good question, and it takes her a moment of thinking before she answers.]

That's a good question. One could argue that what would knowing about it help: if we're just going to go back to where we began and there's no change, then there's no point of knowing.

Yet if it's something big, then they deserve to know, more so from a loved one than via second hand or someone delivering it out of spite. I would just take care of how you deliver the news.

[She eyes the chocolate: her own are just sort of picked at.] I think someone already answered, but cards and flowers are nice to send. It's mostly set aside for couples, romantic or otherwise.

Video

[needsnoheadsman]

[He looks down at the note for a second, rereading the words on it. Where love might bring about sorrow, it also welcomes joy. It just doesn't say that sometimes, love brings them both at the same time, and makes you keep secrets until you're sick of it, until you can't sleep at night from what you're keeping back.]

You have a point. It might not change anything, but they have to know. I owe them the truth of the matter, at least.

[A little huff.] Someone left wildflowers at my door. Mayhaps you might want some?

text; private

[exiling]

[ A shaky truce with a not-quite-enemy means she probably shouldn't respond to this. She flips between text and audio and video and anonymous functions, each with a reason not to start this conversation with a Stark. ]

This is about your wedding?

[ At least get that out of the way. He can know that she knows, that gives up nothing really. ]

Tell them.

[ H Y P O C R I T E ]

text; private

[needsnoheadsman]

My wedding, and my uncle's wedding, aye. [He doesn't ask her where she found out.]

I plan on that, I owe them the truth of what happened. Or what will happen, in any case.

[When, though, and how--that's the tricky part.]

video; private

[sadandsingle]

[It's something Tosh has thought about before; she's wondered what would happen if Owen turned up here, as alive and well as she is. She hadn't told him what had happened to her on purpose, because she thought he'd had quite enough to worry about, and, well, it wasn't as if he would ever find out, right?

But now he might, should he ever appear in Asgard, and Tosh...doesn't know what she's going to do. But she knows what pragmatic advice she ought to give to others.]

Things like that have a way of slipping out, I think. Best to tell them so they don't find out another way and blame you for it later.

[Will this advice make her a hypocrite in the future? Who knows?]

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

I know. [It's said with all the air of someone who knows he fucked up, and hugely at that, but doesn't quite know where to even begin fixing it.] I will tell them, when they've settled more here, but--I don't know how.

video; private

[neverbedded]

[ Well, it's pretty obvious what this is about. She is not very used to her bracelet, but it's not so hard to put up a private filter. ]

You should tell them.

It is no good to keep it a secret. They could find out what happened from someone else.

[ Or from a vision. This world is strange. ]

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

I plan on telling them when I can, when they've settled into Asgard more. [Says the one who's been putting it off since they first showed up.] Until then--Your Grace, I ask only that you keep your silence on the matter. At least until I've told them.

( video )

[doveprincess]

I don't know, Robb... Mother and Bran would be terribly distressed by the news. Maybe you should at least wait before telling them?

( video; private )

[needsnoheadsman]

If I don't, someone else might. They need to know, Sansa, and they need to hear it from us.

{ video }

[applegoddess]

Valentine's Day is a holiday in my world. Usually, if you have a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife you'd probably take them out for a date. Guys usually also buy flowers or chocolates for the girls they like, and girls can bake or do some other gift to the guys.

{ video }

[needsnoheadsman]

[Huh.]

So one day is set aside, in your world, for couples to spend time with each other. [There's an undertone of "Really? Really?"] One would think they have more than enough time with each other, without needing a day set aside for them.

[Please tell him, he's honestly curious.]

voice;

[dishonouring]

[ News travels slowly, and Jorah hasn't heard about that rad wedding just yet. He doesn't want to ask, either. That would be being interested in the Starks, and we can't have that. All he has is the very clear indication that the eldest Stark has something he really doesn't want to tell his family.

You enslaved someone didn't you Robb ]

Whether by your word or another, they will know soon enough. They will likely wish to hear from you, if given the choice.

voice;

[needsnoheadsman]

[Oh my god man not all of us are that desperate. Some of us actually have honor.

That being said, he can see Jorah's point. As much as he hates to admit it, anyway, and he wonders if he should tell the man of the Red Wedding, of the death of Dacey Mormont. Jorah might be a slaver, but Dacey was his family, and he deserves to at least know. Even if he'll curse Robb for it afterwards.]

I plan to tell them first, before someone else can. [But I don't know how.] I've yet to find the time to do so, though.

[More like he's been putting it off.]

text || private 1/2

[freezerburned]

to answer your question... it depends on the person.

a lot of people have died in my world. family and otherwise. some of them are here and i- keeping secrets from them only made everything worse when the secrets came out. this is a world of magic and people sometimes go home and live out the rest of their lives there. its not a matter of them finding out its a matter of when they do. if they realized that you were keeping it from them... how would they react?

text || private

[freezerburned]

also v-day is a dumb concept and i dont know why people are suddenly so up in arms about it. just forget it, its stupid

video | private

[livedtwice]

[It's been some time since he spoke to Robb, so he's glad to see that he's here. Less glad to see what he's commenting upon, but it is something Harry can help with, at least. He has a wealth of experience in this arena, anyway.]

It's better to tell them. It won't be easy for them to know. But it will be worse later. I kept secrets from my parents about how the future went. I kept their deaths from them, and all the hardships I went through afterward. It only hurt things, and it's made it harder for me to know them as well as I could otherwise.

And er, don't misunderstand. They're very kind, and they love me, but I do believe I'd know them better otherwise.

video | private

[needsnoheadsman]

I understand what you mean well enough. [Not totally, but enough that he gets it.] They'll find out soon enough, and I would rather it would be because I told them.

If I may ask, though, how did you tell them of their deaths?

[video - private]

[bonnypiperlad]

[Now that he's gotten the hang of figuring out how to actually make things private, it's much easier to go ahead and do so. And helpful, too, especially in this case.]

Aye, well, I can tell ye from experience it's not so grand finding out something's happened to ye in the future. But secrets aren't so easy to keep here, either, and even if ye didn't want to say something it might just wind up coming out anyway.

[video - private]

[needsnoheadsman]

If it will come out to my family, it will be because I choose to, not because of this place. That much, I'm sure of.

[He won't keep it from them for so long. He can't, he can't do that to someone he cares for so deeply.]

The time and manner, though, I'm less certain about. [How does somebody break something like guess what, I married somebody who wasn't the girl I was promised to and lost that war I was trying to win and paid dearly for it to their family?]

[video; private]

[sassgardian]

[For once, it would seem, he's dropped all attempts at forced mirth, hints of flirtation, seeming-lighthearted distraction.]

Speaking from experience, my friend, what good would such added grief do? If the knowledge is necessary to protect them, by all means, but it would seem we are all touched by so much tragedy already.

[The words come slow and far more somber than usual. But he considers Robb a friend enough to let this guard drop, if only for a time.]

Holding it your yourself is hard. It hurts, and knowledge is...rarely a blessing to any of us. And perhaps in its own way, selfish too. This is not a burden I would wish to fall on any, our shoulders are not meant to bear this weight. But they will remember, in time.

Cherish what you have, first.

[video; private]

[needsnoheadsman]

Keeping it back from them would lessen their grief, aye, but what good would it do if they learn of it from someone else, somehow? Or if they do remember? It would be just as painful, to earn their resentment for wanting only to keep them safe.

[A tired, slightly bitter sigh. With everything that's been happening, lately, a part of him does want to keep them safe from the knowledge, keep his mother and his brother in the dark as long as he can, but that wouldn't be doing right by them, would it? They deserve to know.]

It isn't easy to tell, I know that. I've been told as much, by enough people. But it would be harder to hide what I know, and to see them well, knowing it wouldn't last.

video;

[freewoman]

Y'talk o' family. [She grows quiet now. He must know Jon is there. She wonders what he means though.]

We know about Ned Stark above the Wall. [If that's what he means. For once she isn't rude. She never liked no Starks, but it was Jon's family, something he didn't have back home. He still wanted to be a Stark, even if he was a bastard. She knew. All of his talk of honor, of duty, the act of betraying her came from that.]

Anything else, he should know.

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

[OH it's Jon's wildling girlfriend. This is going to be awkward, and he has the feeling he'll be doing a lot of skirting around the red and wedding-shaped elephant in the room with her.]

It isn't our father's death that I want to speak of to Jon. It's--what happened afterwards, you could say.

He will know, I can give you my word on that. He's my brother, he has the right to know.

text.

[espouses]

[ ... This strikes too close a chord for Hawke to simple ignore. It tickles at that ache in her chest and she has to breathe out. She would reply with video, but she's worried about how she would handle it. ]

Lying would only hurt the more, speaking from experience. The truth hurts, but falsehoods are like daggers to the chest.

text.

[needsnoheadsman]

[Falsehoods, and broken promises as well. He knows what a blade to the chest feels all too well.]

Lies can be much worse than that, and truths as well, were they said in a way meant to wound. I mean to avoid that, as best as I can, but how would I tell it to them without leaving too big a wound?

video

[therightchoice]

[ Jesse really can't help the man with the issue of family, not when Jesse's own perception of what family is sort of messed up. But he can answer the other question. ]

I think it's expected to give chocolates and flowers to ladies, and jewelry too. To guys like us I think we get gift cards and little stuff, but I dunno if this place have gift cards. Just whatever things we liked, like a small book or a cool knife if you like knives.

video

[needsnoheadsman]

Well, I can't afford jewelry. [Guess who's working a minimum-wage job in a cafe in Heimdall and is trying to feed a wolf at the same time?] But mayhaps I could find some sweets.

Gift cards? [Jesse you are talking to a guy from a medieval fantasy okay, what are these gift cards you speak of.]

[Video | Private]

[beforethewar]

From my own experience in Asgard, which is quite similar to Jamie's experience in fact, you need to tell them before they find out on their own. Don't do what my older self did at first, hiding information and outright lying to us, because as he found out, it will come out anyway, and they'll find out in the worst way possible.

I can't tell you the news won't hurt, but it will be a lot more painful if they found out by having it blurted on the network by one of your enemies that want to see you squirm and your family in pain.

[Video | Private]

[needsnoheadsman]

And we've one too many enemies here who've heard. [Joffrey, for one, and Jaime for another. And many of the new Westerosi know--it's unavoidable, that one of them might blurt something out to his lady mother, or to Jon.] I will tell them, before our enemies or anyone else from my world can, I can assure you of that. I don't want them hurt because I kept something back.

But--how would you do it? How would you tell the people you care for, if you knew something terrible would happen to them?

video ; private

[bossily]

It's tempting to keep things that happen a secret. You want to protect the people you care about, don't you? 'Course it makes sense to want to keep things from them that would hurt them. But I've found this place has a way of pulling secrets out of you, and the mess it can make isn't always easily cleaned up or repaired.

Valentine's Day, though. Do you have someone in particular you're looking to impress?

[She grins, looking almost amused. But she hides it well, and tries to look like she's just interested in hearing about his love life instead of wanting to meddle.]

video ; private

[needsnoheadsman]

So I've noticed as well. I mean to avoid having mine dragged out of me, and to tell them the truth before then, and before anyone else can speak of that fate. [A breath.] But when and how, I'm not entirely certain of yet.

No, I don't. [Wedded. Bedded.]

video. same filter.

[heorot]

[ oh ho ho ho lets talk about things hitting a little too close to home here for a minute. ]

Tell them.

[ and his voice sounds a little dark, a little hard. not that robb knows it might be a little out of character for james to sound like this, but oh well. ]

Keeping it will only make it all worse.

video. private.

[needsnoheadsman]

Aye, so I've been told. I will tell them, you can be certain of that, but--when and how, I'm less certain of. [Why do you think he's asking for advice?]

video; private

[curiousfortune]

[So maybe he wasn't family, but she loved him. They were closer than family. And when she got here he was two years younger than her. And in those two years he had died and her memory of him erased. She knew him still, somehow, and how do you explain that to a twelve-year-old. So this pings close to home as she breathes out.]

People deserve the truth, but some truths are too hard to give. That doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do depending on the circumstances.

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

You say it depends on the circumstances. What would those be? What truths would you give to them, and what would you keep back? And what if they do find out what you've kept back, somehow?

text;

[infomodder]

[Oh yes, he sees the seriousness of this post. He sees it all. He also sees people acting like Valentine's Day is worth anything other than giving card and chocolate and flower companies money and making single people feel like absolute crap while they sit at home and wonder what Alana Bloom is up to and pet their dogs and

No he's not that jaded!

He is. A little.]

Valentine's Day is supposed to be a day for recognizing loved ones, usually romantic. Sometimes children give each other cards with candy, called Valentines, whenever they go to school. [Actual poor weird new boy Will Graham never had money to give them he's a little jaded okay] For the longest time, it was commonly associated with a man named Saint Valentine in order to cover up another holiday that was viewed as pagan and they wanted to turn it more religious. There's been debate about whether it's actually associated with him or not. Some say yes, some say no, some don't care. They just care about cheap candy the day after.

It's a day where people give out lots of money [in the hopes to get laid] to make those they care for feel special, yes.

It's rather pointless and a waste if you make sure those you care for already know that every other day of the year. If they already know that, you don't need a special day, and you don't need to do anything.

[HE'S NOT JADED THIS IS JUST A SEMI-HISTORY LESSON

no, no, will hates this day]

text;

[needsnoheadsman]

[Way to make an impression, Will. Now Robb is just staring at his screen wondering who the hell Saint Valentine is and what he's got to do with romance and flowers and chocolates and whatever else people give on his day.]

I've not heard of this Saint Valentine, only of his day--or not his day, I suppose.

[Right. Focus on that. A+ priorities.]

[intelligently]

How likely is it that she'll find out anyway?

[ Because that's a big factor. And whilst the thing didn't happen here, Lydia knows what it's like to have big secrets kept from you. They don't go well ]

[needsnoheadsman]

Very. There are too many people from our world who know, and who might tell her if I don't.

video;

[brokenwolf]

I know if something had happened, I would want to know about it. I don't care how much it would upset me.

Has something happened?

video; private

[needsnoheadsman]

[tamw you realize you proooobably should've filtered away from your little brother as well welp

But. Well. No time like the present. Robb filters the video to only Bran, and sighs.]

Yes. [It's clear enough that he really doesn't want to talk about it, because who wants to talk of how they died, but he owes Bran this, at least.] It's--It's not something I want to discuss over this device. Where are you now? We need to meet.