She will follow Ragnar and Hákon will follow her. If they are to be taken to the gates of Valhöll or Fólkvangr, then that is what the Gods will, and he should make his peace with that as he made peace with the idea of this new family. He tells himself that he will only be conflicted until they reach Kattegat, until they board their longships and sail for Paris. There is no room for a warrior on the battlefield with doubt in his heart. 

He releases his hold on her hands, lets his own drop to his side, and is silent for a time longer before he says anything.

        ‘ Then I am with you, fóstra. The Seer-- in Kattegat, is he still there? The Ancient One? If it were possible, if he speaks with outsiders-- I would much like to speak with him before we leave to Paris. I would feel better knowing if the valkyrja are to come for either of us in these next months. ’ 

                     only you. it makes the ache in her chest lessen. makes her heart swell for just a moment before she allows something short of a smile to settle on her lips. she does not resent walking into battle. she does not fear a lack of return  —  does not look or pray that she’ll return to her holdfast, because if she must die, she will die in battle. she will die triumphant, at the hand of someone better; she will die because they were outmatched. because odinn stares down at them and favours her, or because freyja wishes to make her one of her own.  ( and she would never fall to the hand of sigvard. she would never balk to him because he was merely a coward. merely a coward who raised his fists to his wife out of envy for ragnar lothbrok. lots of men are jealous of ragnar. )

                                   ‘  i trust him. with my life, i trust him.  ’      —  she has followed his lead into battle many a time. she has followed him, and still lives. she has followed him and prayed for him, and cauterised the wounds that left him almost a corpse, and still lives. she has born his children. felt his scorn. she has hurt and ached because of him, but she is still here, and she still trusts him. only outside the bounds of their marriage.       ‘  ragnar knows what i would do if he tried to take my jarldom or anything else that is mine.  ’

                ♫♫  previously, on BRAINDEAD                                            some kind of meteor        came down. no one knows where it’s from. they shipped it off so they could study it in         washington.  ♫  guess what? it’s filled with space bugs. 🐜🐜🐜 now they’re loose and        eating peoples' brains. ♫  poor LAUREL only wants to make her documentaries; she’s        out of money, so she works for luke, her brother. he’s a democratic senator; she listens        to constituents complain.   ♫♫    you know your day was lousy when somebody’s head        explodes on you. ♫♫

He’s been through too much to put much stock in the loyalty of strangers. His father had claimed to know Sighvatr, what loyalty meant to him but all that ended with was a pitiful death that denied him entrance to Valhöll. The image is burned into his mind, perhaps in place of the wisdom she suggests he take from the Gods. 

Hákon cannot avoid her gaze for long. And, in the end, he doesn’t want to. His father’s choices and allies may have failed him, but Lagertha never has. She is a wise woman, and if she told him to jump from a high cliff into the raging seas with promises of safety and reward beneath the waves, he would do so without hesitation. Though he may offer a snide remark.

He places his hands over hers, removes them from his cheeks and holds them at her chest.

          ‘ If this is what you believe, then I will follow you. But only you. I know what I would do for power if you were anyone else-- and I know that you can often be deceived by those you think you know the best. ’

              ‘  we must trust in ragnar.  ’        —  we must have faith that they know that this is the best option for them.  ( it is the best option for all of them; be seen by the gods, impress them  —  earn one’s place in one of the great halls. witness me. )  but for all the worry, for all the concern over allies that speak only of plunder and gold, of stripping their enemies of life, sword and iron from them  —  they want more than what the gods will favour. they want more than what the gods may be willing to give. ragnar would never betray her like that  —  he may be greedy and may have a crown that perches itself atop his helm, but he still cares for björn, if not me.

                          hands cup at his cheeks, and she leans up. ( he’s taller than her. she has to crane her neck. ) she stares, and ensures that he must glance back  —  believe me hákon. believe in our allies. believe in the gods because they take with one hand. but they give with the other.

                        ‘  pray to the gods, hákon. to odinn for strength. for wisdom. ragnar will not betray us for gold. i know him. i know how he fights. i know what loyalty means to him.  ’

       ‘ No, no, no-- ’ He sounds almost desperate, like a child trying to convince his mother to take him to the fair even though he’s been a little naughty. Balfour is getting pretty sick of the London Below he’s experienced up until now. The Market sounds new and exciting. ‘ We should go, it’s not gone all porridge, promise. Please, let’s still go. ’

               “ Oh good, I‘ve been for ages but I didn’t want to say anything.  We can’t both be confused, that’s useless.  But I thought you wanted to come to the Market this time around.  But if your head’s already on the porridge route, it’s probably not the best idea. ”

       ‘ Exactly. So you’ll just have to get used to the idea of corrupting them. If you don’t, it’ll be somebody else-- and I always think it’s better for a child to grow up to be a chainsmoker rather than a serial murderer. Don’t you agree? ’ 

She tensed at his words– There was a part of her that wanted to stoop down to a petty level, go for the jugular and criticize him. However, polite persons kept their CALM during debates. 

“ There are other SOLUTIONS. Abandoning them isn’t an option here, I’m afraid. ”

@skjoldmoy. continued.

He trusts in the Gods with every fibre of his being, but he knows better than most how cruel they can be. They give with one hand-- a jarldom, new life, new land-- and take with the other through indirect means. Hákon saw his kin slaughtered like animals on the eve of their greatest victory by their closest allies and he will not allow the same to happen to Lagertha. Not after all she’s done for him, not when he owes her his undying loyalty. 

If they do this, not a single ounce of him doubts that she will come to harm in some way. The Gods may be ready to see Lagertha in their great halls but he is not ready to see her carried to Fólkvangr today.

        ‘ I have my problems with the Gods, you know that well enough, but it is our allies who bring me anxiety today, fóstra. I don’t trust them. They’re greedy. It consumes them. ’

He isn’t exactly supposed to be here either-- but that’s never really stopped Balfour from doing exactly what he wants. There’s something thrilling about getting to see a tourist attraction all by your lonesome, something that speaks to that overly entitled part of him that demands special treatment from the world. So maybe he did a bit of name-dropping. A lot of name-dropping. And some thinly veiled threatening too. 

Imagine his disappointment when he finds that, after all that effort, he’s not even alone. 

         ‘ Well, well, well. What do we have here? You sure you’re allowed in here, miss? ’

          she’s really not supposed to be here. she used Luke’s clearance levels to get into the monument; since the shutdown, almost all of the buildings are closed. but the security guard had given her ten minutes, and so she’d helped the little girl and her father get their photo with Lincoln’s statue. they’d gone soon after, but she’d stayed, staring up at the white marble with her hands tucked in the pockets of her jacket. it’s night, and the light from the moon and stars is enough to illuminate Lincoln’s stern face gazing down at her.

          the sound of footsteps behind her startles her out of the reverie that she’d fallen into, eyes widening a little. she spins, turns to face the person coming her way through the darkness.

@graedig​ liked for a starter!

i’ve thought about it and yes, i’d sell my soul & turn myself inside out to make sure no one i love ever gets hurt again

@missperegcine. continued.

        ‘ The only way to stop it is to remove yourself from their lives entirely. And what good does that do? Make you the absentee parental figure they hate, make them angry, bitter? Isn’t that just as bad? ’

       ‘ No, that’s not what-- Wait-- Okay, Door, now I’m just confused. ’

           “ Of course I’m right.  I’m the one that’s done this before, remember?  And how can you only have one left?  The flat’s full of doors.  A flat with one door?  That’s just odd. ”

“The girl is a maid of fourteen, sweet and beautiful and tractable, and Lord Renly and Ser Loras intend that Robert should bed her, wed her, and make a new queen.” - Varys - a game of thrones

                                                              Written by Kara                                                   Active since August 2, 2013

       ‘ I have a-- healthy interest in my public image, thank you very much, ’ he snorts. Ah, no. Balfour knows he’s a self-obsessed wanker. ‘ Anyway, you’re not wrong. That’s literally how they explained us, y’know-- Bestie turned boyfriend, that’s what I am. It’s because you went out in my jacket the other day, I hope you realize. All your fault. Terrible, honestly. ’

          “ i guess it had to happen eventually. ”  she smiles, surprisingly okay with that fact. well, she is a go with the flow kind of gal anyways. it’s all rumors that’ll die out soon.  “ we’re the perfect love story. best friends since we were kids. nearly always together when we have time to be. i’m not surprised in the slightest. ”  she pauses, arms crossing loosely.  “ and i’m also pretty sure there’s no thinking about it. don’t think i don’t know how avid you are when it comes to people talking about you. ” 

I don’t like pity. Pity makes you feel small and weak. I’d rather have someone hate me than pity me.

Marco, Book #15: The Escape, pg. 98 (by K.A. Applegate)

        ‘ That’ll be the one, ’ he nods. Balfour’s always happy to have somebody know who he is, always happy to be the centre of attention. ‘ Yeah-- Sorry, your face really isn’t ringing any bells. Guess you might just be a little too far from home and all that. ’

      ❝ THAT Scottish guy. Right. The one with the business enterprise? Depends on what circles you’re from I guess, but I’m that tragic dancer… Juliet Sullivan. But no I don’t expect people to recognize me anymore. ❞   She motions at the braced leg and her use of forearm crutches.

I agree with the last bit but the first is still entirely wrong.

I don’t need glasses, my vision’s perfect, like the rest'a me.

@essentialis. continued.

"Can you just not accept that I get a bit exasperated when I'm dealing with you, after the scene you made? I'm not apologising."

        ‘ What the fuck are you-- The scene I made? You were being just as much of a fucking twat as I was, at least own up to that. ’