The fic is born of the failure of the living. Even a second chance won't stop the tears.
The Main Fic
- Poor Ned, Cat, and Robb are essentially bowled over by how the youngest members of their family have changed. Each has their own regrets and shame for how their failures and mistakes turned Jon, Sansa, Bran, and Arya into ruthless survivors.
- Stannis has to live with knowing what his ambitions drove him to do and it destroys his family beyond repair, with Selyse killing herself in shame and Shireen disowning him.
- Myrcella's horror and heartbreak at finding out the true depths of her mother Cersei's evilness as well as Tommen's suicide and everything else that happened after she died in the original timeline during Chapter 15. By the end, she's openly weeping while Tommen has been down and depressed the whole time.
- Edmure breaks down to his uncle about his own mistakes in the original timeline and how he sold Blackfish out to try to protect his and Roslin's child only for it to be rendered All for Nothing.
- Tyrion has to exile Shae because with the war, and with their miscommunications on their last interactions in the old timeline, they can't be together safely or sanely anymore.
- Theon almost regresses mentally into "Reek" when he sees Ned and Robb again. Considering all he'd gone through and suffered in the original timeline, it's no wonder seeing the people he'd betrayed and hurt triggers him so badly. It culminates in Ned banishing him after realizing he can't really punish Theon any more than he already has been.
- The reveals of the Maester Conspiracy break several of the great houses.
- The Lannisters are shocked, outraged, and grief-stricken upon learning the Maesters made it look like Joanna bled out having Tyrion all to get her out of the way of them exploiting Tywin's ruthlessness for their own ends.
- The Tyrells are shocked that the Maesters caused the death of Mace's wife and father, with Olenna even screaming for the man's head.
- The Tullys are outraged about their manipulations as well, recalling old interactions that feel much more sinister in hindsight.
- The Martells are horrified not only by Joanna's murder (as she was Doran and Oberyn's mother's best friend), but how they manipulated Doran as well by tampering with his gout medication.
- The Starks are similarly shaken by the revelation that Rickard and Brandon died due to the Maesters intercepting letters from Lyanna that would've explained what was really going on with her supposed kidnapping by Rhaegar, meaning their family's suffering all came from how they were being used as pawns in a massive conspiracy to dethrone the Targaryens and suppress magic. In the meantime, Luwin is horrified to learn about how his order, people he's respected for years, has betrayed its duty and committed unspeakable atrocities for the sake of a vendetta against magic.
- Worse, while she denies it, Sansa can't help but momentarily doubt Luwin, despite having known him literally her entire life.
- Catelyn's It's All My Fault is even worse the second time around. Not only does she have to hear about how her daughters went through horrific trauma while Bran has fully become the Three-Eyed Raven and is not the sweet little boy she'd fussed and doted over anymore, but learning of Jon's true parentage fills her with all kinds of guilt for how she'd mistreated him in the past.
- After she and her sisters killed Craster, Gilly eventually realized that this means her son will never be conceived, all the while still vividly remembering being pregnant with him and risking everything to ensure his safety. Jon is heartbroken and horrified when he realizes that the plan erased Little Sam and possibly other children out of existence. What makes it even worse is that the spell they used was Sam's idea, meaning he inadvertently killed his adopted son, and thus, Jon and Edd are especially worried about how he's going to take that news.
- Jon's reunion with Ygritte is an awkward mess, given both their history and the fact that he's with Dany now.
