#I have stayed out of HOTD recently

[local-redhead-bookworm]

So I was having a conversation with a classmate yesterday, and we wound up talking about House of the Dragon. She was Team Black, I was (technically) Team Green because I prefer the characters for that team. The conversation ended civilly, but essentially, my classmate didn’t care for Alicent because, in her opinion, Alicent accepted and perpetuated the patriarchy instead of fighting against it.

But that’s the thing that makes Alicent so interesting and tragic to me. She has spent her whole life doing as she was told. Obeying her father and her husband, producing heirs for the Targaryen line. Following the faith of the Seven. Never complaining. Never fighting back. She does her duty to her king, her children, her country, and her faith. And yet, she sees Rhaenyra getting away with anything she wants.

Rhaenyra never experiences consequences for harming others or putting herself in unnecessarily risky situations. And yes, Rhaenyra absolutely shouldn’t be held to a different standard than male rulers are. But the fact is, she still experiences an insane amount of privilege as a princess. She repeatedly flirts with Daemon in spite of everyone warning her to stay away from him. She goes off on her own during Aegon’s nameday celebration and nearly gets herself killed. She orders Criston to sleep with her when he can not truly turn her down. She goes so far as to accuse a 10-year-old of treason when he states that her children are illegitimate, which is objectively true. A leader that calls anyone who opposes them a traitor is not a just leader. She isn’t a good fit for the crown.

I’m not Team Green. Aegon isn’t any more fit to rule than Rhaenyra is. But I do think that Alicent demonstrates actual skill for leadership. She feels a strong duty for her people, tries to make peace, takes charge when Viserys dies, and is brave enough to step between her son and a dragon. She’s not without her flaws, I will concede that. But I genuinely believe that, out of all the characters in the show, Alicent is the most fit to rule.

[seafarersdream]

Heck yeah Freddie Fox!!!!what if reader plays Gwayne and Alicent sister, but their chemistry is sooooo good that the creators had to cut their scenes together because "they're Hightowers, not Targaryens"🤣🤣🤣and the cast are having the time of their lives with that

Me and the Devil (Freddie Fox x Y/N)

Y/N L/N, who stars as Lady Eleanor Hightower, has an absolutely electric chemistry with her on-screen brother, Freddie Fox, who plays Ser Gwayne Hightower, much to the amusement and exasperation of the HOTD cast and crew.

TW // Strong language and profanities, incestuous undertones, sexual tension and innuendos.

The sun was rising behind the walls of the Red Keep, casting long, creeping shadows over the Outer Courtyard. Lady Eleanor Hightower, clad in the deep, grieving olive of her house, stood with an air of weary grace beside her sister, Dowager Queen Alicent. Her face was a picture of calm, though her eyes were heavy with the sorrow of loss and the weight of recent weeks.

“Do you think he’ll bring that dreadful horse again?” Eleanor asked, her voice soft but dripping with that sharp edge she never quite lost, even in mourning.

Alicent’s lips twitched, but she held her composure. "If he does, I’ll have it stabled outside the walls. I’m not having that beast piss all over the courtyard again."

The rumble of hooves on cobblestones drew their attention. The gates opened, and a column of knights in shining armor, bearing the sigil of House Hightower, entered the courtyard. At their head was Ser Gwayne Hightower, his helm tucked under one arm, revealing the tousled auburn hair and devil-may-care grin that Eleanor had grown so used to seeing—when he wasn’t hiding it behind an arrogant smirk.

“Well, well, look who it is. The fairest blooms of Oldtown,” Gwayne drawled, striding over like he owned all Seven Kingdoms. “Alicent, you’re still holding up the realm with that iron fist of yours. And Eleanor…” His eyes trailed over her, lingering just a fraction too long, “Looking every bit the grieving widow. Tell me, how does it feel to be free of that hideous arsehole, late Lord Hastwyck? May the Seven forgive him.”

Eleanor shot him a withering look, but there was a glint of mischief in her eyes. “About as good as it feels to watch you strut around like you haven’t been fucked in months.”

“Oh, fuck off, Ellie,” Freddie retorted, still in character, his grin widening. “Thought all that mourning might’ve taken the edge off your bite, but clearly, I was wrong.”

Eleanor arched an eyebrow, a smirk that could rival his playing on her lips. “And you, brother, seem as full of yourself as ever. Did the trip here inflate your ego even further?”

Gwayne grinned wider, flashing teeth. “Careful, little sister, or I’ll think you missed me.”

Alicent, tired of their verbal sparring, interjected. “Gwayne, you’ve arrived at an important time. Ser Criston Cole has replaced our father as Hand, and there is much work to be done.”

Gwayne’s grin faded into a sneer. “Ser Criston Cole? That jumped-up cunt of a knight? What, are we that desperate, we’re pulling nobodies out of the arse-end of the Kingsguard now?”

The crew, who had been trying to keep it together, finally lost it. Laughter rang out across the courtyard, cameramen shaking their heads as they tried to stay steady.

“Cut! Fucking hell, cut!” Geeta Patel called out, struggling to keep the exasperation out of her voice. She stepped forward, waving her hands as she approached the trio. “Alright, Freddie, Y/N, that was... Jesus Christ, that was incredible. But you’re not Jaime and Cersei Lannister, alright? You’re Hightowers. That kind of sibling chemistry doesn’t fly in this family. Tone down the ‘let’s fuck each other senseless’ vibes, okay?”

Freddie turned to Y/N, a devilish grin spreading across his face. “Hear that, darling? We’re too bloody hot for Westeros.”

Geeta rolled her eyes, but she was smiling despite herself. “I swear, you two are going to give me aneurysm. Just... try to remember you’re siblings. No more of that smoldering shit. The Hightowers don’t do what the Targaryens do, alright?”

Freddie put on a mock-serious face, hand over his heart. “I solemnly swear to be the picture of brotherly love. No more dirty looks, no more—“

“Smoldering looks, you tosser,” Y/N corrected, elbowing him in the ribs. “And good luck with that.”

The crew was still giggling, a few members openly impressed. “Honestly, we haven’t seen chemistry like this since Game of Thrones,” one of the grips muttered, shaking his head. “It’s fucking unreal.”

As Geeta returned to her chair, giving notes to the crew, Freddie leaned in closer to Y/N. “Honestly, how are we supposed to act like siblings when you keep giving me those eyes?”

Y/N shot him a sidelong glance. “You mean the same eyes you’re giving me right now? Don’t think I don’t notice.”

Freddie chuckled, his voice low enough that only Y/N could hear. “Well then how about we really give them something to talk about?”

Y/N swatted at him playfully. “Behave yourself, Fox. Or I’ll tell Geeta.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

Before Freddie could fire back, Geeta’s voice rang out again. “Alright, enough banter, you two. Places! And for fuck’s sake, remember—you’re Hightowers, not Targaryens or Lannisters!”

Freddie straightened up, slipping back into his role as Ser Gwayne, but not before giving Y/N one last, devilish wink. “For now,” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

Y/N fought to keep her expression neutral, but the corners of her mouth twitched with suppressed laughter. She shot him a look that promised retribution later.

As the cameras rolled once more, they slipped effortlessly back into character, their banter sizzling with that same crackling chemistry that had the entire crew both laughing and marveling at just how damn good these two were together—siblings or not.

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On a different day, Geeta Patel was giving final instructions to Olivia Cooke and to Fabien Frankel. “Alright, Olivia, Fabien,” Geeta began, her tone calm. “This scene is all about the farewell. Criston, you’re asking for Alicent’s favor before you leave for war. This is a significant moment between you two. We need it to be subtle, yet powerful. Got it?”

Fabien nodded, his expression serious. “Got it, Geeta.”

Olivia smiled. “Ready when you are.”

Geeta gave them a satisfied nod and turned to the crew. “Okay, everyone, positions! Let’s make this one count.”

As the cameras rolled, Criston Cole approached Alicent with a grave expression, his armor gleaming in the dying light. He bowed low, his voice steady but laced with emotion. “Your Grace,” he began, his tone respectful, yet carrying an undercurrent of something deeper.

Alicent looked at him with those sharp, knowing eyes, giving him a slight nod. “May the Seven guide you, good knight,” she said, her voice soft but resolute. “And lead you not to shadow and death.”

Criston bowed his head even lower, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “I thank Your Grace for her prayers,” he replied, his voice filled with reverence.

Alicent turned as if to leave, her gown sweeping the stones with a soft rustle. But before she could take more than a step, Criston’s voice called her back. “And I would request,” he said, his words halting her in her tracks, “that Her Grace grant me her favor. That her Lord Commander may go into battle with her blessings… in his heart.”

The scene hung heavy in the air, the tension thick between them as Criston’s plea echoed through the courtyard. Alicent hesitated, her hand brushing against the delicate fabric of her sleeve as she turned back to him, her eyes locking onto his. There was a moment of silence, a breath suspended in time, as everyone waited to see what she would do.

She finally reached into her sleeve, pulling out the small, delicate handkerchief embroidered with her initials. The camera zoomed in, capturing the intricate details, the way her fingers trembled just slightly as she held it out to him. “Take this,” she murmured, her voice carrying a subtle tremor, “as a token of my favor. Return victorious, Ser Criston. And know that you carry my thoughts with you.”

Criston bowed his head, taking the handkerchief. “Your Grace,” he replied, his voice rough, “I shall return with your favor in my heart and the victory of your cause in my hands.”

The scene was supposed to be the focal point of the episode—an understated farewell between the Dowager Queen and her paramour.

Or at least, that was the plan.

In the background, Eleanor and Gwayne were supposed to be having a far simpler exchange—just a quick farewell between siblings, nothing more.

The moment the camera panned to them, what was meant to be a brief, subdued farewell exploded into something far more dramatic.

“Eleanor, my sweet sister,” Gwayne declared, sweeping her up in an exaggerated embrace, his voice loud enough to carry across the courtyard. “How will I ever endure the horrors of war without your smile to guide me through the darkness?”

Y/N played right into it. She pulled back just enough to look up at him, her eyes shining with fake tears. “Gwayne, you reckless fool, you’d better come back to me—or I swear I’ll hunt you down myself.”

The crew exchanged glances, trying desperately to keep their laughter in check as the two continued to ad-lib their way through what was supposed to be a simple goodbye.

Gwayne placed a hand on Eleanor’s cheek, his expression one of melodramatic intensity. “If I do not return, tell the world I died with your name on my lips.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” someone from the crew muttered, barely audible over the sound of snickering.

Geeta Patel, perched in her director’s chair, pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to maintain some semblance of control. “Cut! CUT!” she finally called out, though her voice was tinged with reluctant amusement. “Freddie, Y/N, what the bloody hell was that? You’re supposed to be siblings, not star-crossed lovers.”

Freddie turned to Y/N with a grin that could only be described as wicked. “Sorry, Geeta, got a bit carried away there. Can you blame me? Look at her—who wouldn’t fall madly in love?”

Y/N smirked, not missing a beat. “Don’t flatter yourself, Fox. It’s called acting.”

Geeta threw up her hands in defeat. “I swear, you two are the bane of my existence. How am I supposed to get a serious scene out of you when you keep turning everything into a bloody pantomime?”

The crew was struggling to keep it together. Even Olivia, standing nearby as Alicent, was biting her lip, trying to stay in character despite the ridiculousness happening behind her.

Freddie chuckled. “Geeta, darling, I think what we’re doing here is revolutionary.”

Y/N rolled her eyes dramatically, though she was clearly enjoying herself. “What he’s trying to say, Geeta, is that we’re just too damn good together. Maybe it’s time to change the script.”

“Or maybe,” Geeta retorted, her tone playful despite her frustration, “you two could try actually sticking to the script for once. I’m pretty sure HBO isn’t paying you to improvise a Lannister-style farewell.”

Freddie turned to Y/N, pretending to consider it. “What do you think, Eleanor? Should we behave ourselves this time?”

Y/N gave a mock sigh, brushing an imaginary speck of dust off her costume. “I suppose we could try.”

Geeta couldn’t help but shake her head as she gestured for the crew to reset. “Alright, let’s take it from the top. And this time, keep it in your pants, Hightower freaks.”

Cameras rolled once more, the scene resumed, with Criston and Alicent taking center stage as intended from the start.

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The camera opens on a sleek, modern studio set, the familiar logo of Max glowing softly in the background. Y/N and Freddie are seated side by side, relaxed and comfortable, both dressed casually but stylishly—Y/N in a chic blouse and jeans, Freddie in his usual mix of sharp yet slightly rumpled attire.

The interviewer, a young woman with a cheerful demeanor, smiled warmly at them. “Thank you both for joining us today. Why don’t we start with some introductions?”

“Hello, everyone! I’m Y/N L/N, and I play Lady Eleanor Hightower on House of the Dragon,” Y/N says, her voice smooth and confident as she introduces herself.

Freddie chimes in right after. “And I’m Freddie Fox, and I play Ser Gwayne Hightower, Eleanor’s incredibly charming, dashingly handsome older brother.”

Y/N snorts, nudging him with her elbow. “You forgot modest, Freddie. Always so modest.”

The interviewer laughs, clearly enjoying their banter. “It’s great to have you both here. So, as you know, House of the Dragon has a massive fandom, and one of the things they love to do is theorize and create ships outside of the canon. They really get invested in the chemistry between characters—and, let’s be honest, between the actors as well.”

Freddie and Y/N exchange a look, both trying to suppress knowing smiles.

The interviewer continues with a mischievous glint in her eye. “So, naturally, people are starting to wonder—could we be seeing the next Kit Harington and Rose Leslie? You know, screen partners turning into real-life partners?”

Freddie, never one to miss an opportunity for a bit of fun, suddenly turned in his seat, getting down on one knee in front of Y/N. With an exaggeratedly serious expression, he took her hand. “Y/N, dearest Lady Eleanor, would you do me the immense honor of becoming my wife? I promise to annoy you, to steal your snacks, and to outshine you in every single scene we ever do together.”

Y/N bursts out laughing, placing a hand over her heart as if genuinely touched. “Oh, Freddie, how could I ever say no to such a heartfelt proposal? But I must warn you—I take up all the covers at night, and I’m not above hiding the remote if you try to switch to football during one of our movie nights.”

The interviewer is cracking up now, along with the crew behind the cameras. “I didn’t expect this, but I’m loving it! You two are absolutely priceless.”

Freddie stood up, still holding Y/N’s hand, and they both gave a bow to the camera. “Well, you know," he says, turning back to the interviewer, “it’s all about keeping the fans on their toes. Can’t make it too easy for them to figure out what’s going on, right?”

Y/N grins. “Exactly. We like to keep things... interesting.”

The interviewer, still grinning, leans in. “So, should we start planning the wedding, or...?”

Freddie looked thoughtfully at Y/N, tapping his chin. “Well, we’re thinking of something small. Just us, a couple of dragons, and maybe a White Walker to officiate. Keep it intimate, you know?”

Y/N nodded sagely. “Very exclusive. Only the crème de la crème of Westeros.”

The interviewer shakes her head, thoroughly entertained. “Okay, okay, I think we’ve just given the fandom even more fuel for their theories! On a serious note, though, it’s clear you two have incredible chemistry. What’s it like working together on set?”

Y/N smiled warmly at Freddie before answering. “Honestly, it’s a blast. Freddie and I just click, and I think that shows on screen. We’ve got a great rapport, and it’s always fun bringing these characters to life together.”

Freddie nodded, adding, “Yeah, we give each other a lot of shit, but that’s part of what makes it work. We trust each other, and that allows us to really push the boundaries in our scenes—sometimes a bit too much, according to Geeta,” he added with a wink.

The interviewer wraps it up, still chuckling. “Well, it’s been an absolute blast talking with you both. Can’t wait to see what chaos you bring to House of the Dragon next season.”

As the camera pulls back and the lights dim, Freddie and Y/N share a quick, conspiratorial glance, knowing they’d just given the fandom more than enough to talk about—and probably a few new fanfics to write as well.

When the interview dropped on the internet, the fandom absolutely exploded. Social media was flooded with clips of Freddie’s mock proposal, and the internet lost its collective mind.

Fans were dissecting every moment of the interview, from the playful banter to the way Freddie had gazed up at Y/N during his over-the-top proposal. The comments sections were filled with fans declaring that they were “shipping” the two even harder now, some even demanding that someone should cast them both in a romcom.

Amid the chaos, Y/N decided to fan the flames a bit more. She posted a cheeky selfie on Instagram, looking effortlessly stunning as always, with a caption that read, “The coolest of the Hightower siblings.”

It didn’t take long for Freddie to jump in on the fun. He reposted her selfie to his own Instagram story, adding the caption, “THE future Mrs. Fox.”

The internet went into overdrive. Fans were tagging each other, sharing screenshots, and even their House of the Dragon co-stars started chiming in with their own comments, playing along with the joke. The whole thing had taken on a life of its own, and it was clear that Y/N and Freddie had become the fandom’s favorite new obsession.

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During a press event, when Rhys Ifans, the man behind Otto Hightower, was asked about his thoughts on Freddie and Y/N’s antics, his face split into a wide, unabashed grin.

“Well, as Otto,” he began, dropping into character with a serious tone, “I have to say, it’s a major fucking ick. Completely inappropriate! Gwayne and Eleanor getting all... cozy? That would make Otto want to strangle someone. He’d be straight to the quill, penning some strongly worded letters to sort that shit out.”

The crowd erupted in laughter, knowing exactly how Otto Hightower would react to such scandal.

“But as Rhys?” he continued, his tone shifting to one of genuine enthusiasm, “I’m all in! I mean, have you seen those two together? The chemistry is off the bloody charts! If they don’t end up getting married after all this, I’ll be sorely disappointed. They’re perfect for each other—on and off the screen.”

His lighthearted comment sent the room into a ripple of laughter, with everyone loving the idea of Rhys being a secret shipper of Freddie and Y/N.

Within hours, his quote—“Ick as Otto, but fuck yes as Rhys!”—became the battle cry of the fandom, plastered across memes, gifs, and fan art that flooded every corner of the internet. It wasn't just spreading; it was detonating.

The whole situation exploded into a full-blown phenomenon, with fans practically canonizing Rhys as the unofficial president of the Freddie and Y/N ship. People started tagging him in everything, from wild fan theories to NSFW fanfiction, with captions like “Rhys would approve” or “Otto hates it, but Rhys lives for it.”

It was unhinged, chaotic, and utterly glorious. Rhys’s endorsement didn’t just add fuel to the fire; it threw in a grenade, making the whole thing go nuclear.

[lustspren]

family ties ft Chaewon.

length: 10.3k words✦

Male reader, Male Character (starring Luke Newton cause idk) X Chaewon (playing Anna).

genres: incest (GoT (not it’s not sister-brother) and HOTD (no it’s not uncle-nephew) fans this one is for you), double blowjob, threesome, hard sex, carry fuck, double penetration, spitroast, facefuck, anal, british chaewon btw. ✧ 

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Going to the Egerton family gatherings wasn't exactly one of your favorite things in the world; you preferred to stay away from them, that way you avoided uncomfortable questions or sharp hints towards yourself, something you were used to in a family whose lineage was always focused on only one lifestyle. Kind of a black sheep was what you were, but you were never treated differently, luckily.

Still, it was exhausting having to feel different all the time. Out of place. You loved your family, and they loved you, but you just felt like you didn't fit in. That was why of five meetings you were invited to, you went to two at most.

But this time the situation warranted your presence, and you couldn't be so rude as to reject the invitation. It was a party for your cousin, who recently graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in medicine, enough merit for a big celebration. You just had to go. Not only because it was the morally right thing to do, but because her brother, also your cousin, had been trying to convince you all week.

So there you were, alone in your room while you finished getting ready to go out. You expected that they would force you to dress formally for the occasion, as was always the case when a big celebration was held at your cousins' house, but this time they gave you complete freedom—within certain limits, of course. Your cousin's insistence, perhaps, but you were grateful.

The start of the party was at 8 pm, and it was already 6:40. You lived in Northampton, a city about an hour west of Cambridge, if you wanted to arrive on time, you had to hurry up and leave at that precise moment. And so you did it. After making sure you were as presentable and handsome as possible, you grabbed your phone, your wallet, and your car keys to finally head to your destination.

That damn mansion never ceased to amaze you, even after having visited it countless times throughout your life. It consisted of two floors, with a subtle and perfect mix between modern and Victorian architecture, especially in the windows, which abounded in every corner, and the pair of chimneys that protruded from the mansard roofs.

You parked your car outside, in front of the short black fence that separated the sidewalk from the big lovely garden that preceded the house. Parked near you were a few cars that you recognized immediately, some from your uncles and great-uncles, and others from distant relatives who always attended these types of gatherings. There was only one that you didn't recognize, but you assumed it was some friend of your cousin, so you didn't give it any more importance.

When you got off you looked towards the right side of the house, towards the patio where the barbecues were always held and where the guests used to gather. Apparently you had arrived just in time, because you could see some of your other cousins ​​barely greeting your uncles—the owners of the house—and their sons. So you rushed to join. 

You walked down the long polished granite path that led to the main entrance of the house, only to then step onto the lawn and cross the garden. When you arrived at the patio, the first to notice your presence was your cousin, Jaime. As handsome and smiling as always.

"Ayeeeee! You made it!" he said with a wide smile, arms open as he walked down the steps of the small deck that led into the house. "I knew you'd come!"

Before you could say anything, Jaime caught you in a tight hug, almost causing you to drop the bottle of wine you had brought for the occasion. You laughed, and reciprocated his hug with a smile.

"It's not like I have a choice, right?" you joked, patting him on the back a couple of times. "It's great to see you, darling."

After hugging Jaime you now focused your gaze on Elena, his sister, and the reason why you had come from so far away. She greeted you with the same enthusiasm as Jaime, with a warm hug and words of relief for your presence. Then you went to the dining table area, where you also greeted your aunt and uncle, Jaime and Elena's parents.

For the next five minutes you stood there, greeting all your relatives and the guests who kept arriving. Everything was going normally, until out of the corner of your eye you noticed how inside, in the living room, a girl you had not seen before appeared. You turned around with your forehead wrinkled, confused. What your eyes saw was such a surprise that you stopped paying attention to Elena as she spoke.

"Huh? Is she… here?" you asked, ignoring what they told you.

Inside the house, on one side of the dining room table, was Anna Kim. A distant cousin that you could easily haven’t seen for four or five years since she was studying in Korea. You were never close to her; you only met at specific family gatherings since her father, apart from not being a direct member of the family, was an extremely busy man who did not last long at the meetings before having to leave with his daughter. Father, who, by the way, you had not seen anywhere when you arrived. Was that car hers then?

"Oh, Anna?" Jaime asked, following your gaze. Now you both watched her while she adjusted her earrings and choker. "Yeah, she arrived yesterday. She must have fallen asleep, I think."

You definitely remembered a few interactions with her, but damn, you didn't remember her being so… stupidly beautiful. She wore her long brown hair up in a high lace bun, with a few strands purposefully messy to complement her pretty bangs. Perhaps she was a little overdressed for the occasion, wearing a heart-shaped white top whose strips of sparkling sequins reflected the overhead lights and made her look like some kind of gem, and a short, slightly pompous black skirt that showed off a pair of long and sexy legs.

She looked graceful like the most beautiful and elegant of swans. It was obvious that she had turned out just like her mother, a woman from the Egerton family, and not like her father, a vulgar Korean man who lacked any kind of class. You couldn't stop looking at her for fear that she was some kind of angelic apparition that would disappear when you took your eyes off her. But you were forced to do so when she turned around and started to walk outside, straight towards you.

"Shit, keep it cool," you told Jaime, and tapped him in the stomach with the back of your hand to make him turn around.

You both turned around with your hands held behind your backs, pretending to watch the meeting. Anna stood right behind you, and in a polite gesture she cleared her throat to make her presence known.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she said from behind you. "You are doing an excellent job being the bastions of beauty in the family. Behind me and Elena, of course."

The first thing you noticed was that her accent was completely different from yours. The Egertons had a mainly Cockney accent. But Anna's accent sounded like that of a duchess; a beautiful, elegant, crystalline posh accent that, combined with that sweet voice, was like music to your ears.

Jaime turned around, and consequently so did you. From that distance, somehow she only managed to dazzle you even more with the unmatched beauty of her. She looked both of you in the eyes, hands clasped at the level of her belly.

"Well, you certainly make it difficult for us," Jaime said, with a smile. "You look stunning, I must say."

Anna smiled and nodded her head in thanks.

"Thank you, darling," she then looked at you. "Wow, I haven't seen you in a while, right?"

"Indeed," you nodded with a smirk. "Not since you left... four years ago?"

"Five," she corrected you. "But it felt like forever," she subtly spread her arms out to the sides. "Reunion hug?"

"I could never refuse."

Unlike your previous hugs with Jaime and Elena, Anna's hug was more reserved and careful, but still warm enough to feel the affection in it. She had her arms wrapped around your lower back, while yours went behind her shoulders. You weren't surprised to smell the expensive perfume she was wearing. Miss Dior, surely.

"You better hurry up and greet the guests," Jaime said. "You and Elena are the only girls in the family, you must look radiant."

Anna finally pulled away from you and stood on tiptoe to place an affectionate kiss on your forehead, followed by a rub with her thumb there. She then looked at Jaime.

"Looking radiant is the best thing I do, dear," she winked at him, and walked past the two of you to go down the steps to where all the guests were. "Wait for me and we can go inside for some drinks, will you?"

"Mother will have you constantly on the go," Jaime said with a chuckle. "Good luck with her," he motioned with his chin for her to leave.

"Bloody hell," you said, watching her greet your uncles and her friends. "What did they feed that girl?"

Jaime laughed and patted you on the back.

"I have no idea mate," he admitted. "But she is certainly a beacon in the night."

"You've been with her since yesterday," you turned to look at him. "Is she still as disastrous as she was as a child?"

Jaime remained silent, lowered his gaze and tried to hide a smile that made your suspicions skyrocket. You knew your cousin well; it was just the way he acted when he had done some mischief.

"You could say that, yeah," he said, and then he turned to look at you. "But she is a lovely girl, and an excellent fashion advisor by the way."

You narrowed your eyes and held his gaze.

"Sure," you said. "She advised you personally, I suppose."

Jaime laughed and returned to his classic position, with his hands behind his back.

"Why do you think I'm so good looking today?"

"Because you're an Egerton and because that's the minimum that auntie asks of you?"

"Believe me, mother doesn't care about me today. Elena has the deserved focus," he looked at his sister, who was talking to a boy that you didn't know but that you knew must be her boyfriend. "If it weren't for Anna I would look like a commoner."

"You've never looked like a commoner, Jaime."

Jaime raised an eyebrow, and took a few seconds of silence to look at you.

"Do you suspect me in any way, little cousin?" he asked, and narrowed his eyes.

"I have strong reasons for doing so," you nodded. "But I wouldn't dare make an accusation."

Jaime held your gaze for another few seconds, and in the end you both smiled. He then gave you a couple of pats on the cheek.

"Always so clever, aren't you?" he said. "There's a reason you're a private detective. When are you moving to London? I don't think there are so many opportunities in Northampton."

"Why? Don't you like having someone around who can know immediately when you're up to something?"

"That's exactly why, yeah. Elena is enough of a pain in the ass."

You both laughed, but he prolonged his laughter longer than you, so you took advantage of the moment to stare at both him and Anna, who was still with your uncles. Something had happened between the two of them, you were sure of that, but you were going to force yourself to not care. You'll be back home later, and Anna would probably leave back to Korea tomorrow. It wasn't relevant.

You and Jaime stayed there talking for a few minutes. It was a normal conversation, like the ones you always used to have. Even your uncle, Jaime's father, joined you at one point to talk about the last Arsenal game. But the debate about football lasted until Anna was finally able to get rid of your aunt and went with you.

"Finally free from your captivity?" you joked, as she stood next to you.

Anna sighed.

"Apparently so," she said. "Shall we go inside? My throat is already asking for something cold after so many presentations."

"Are you planning to miss your cousin's celebration by going inside to drink?" your uncle asked. "We have wine out here!"

Anna gave a small smile and squeezed your uncle's forearm affectionately.

"Take it easy, old bean," she said. "I have a lot to talk to my cousins ​​about! I promise it won't be much."

"Your aunt won't be happy if she doesn't see you here," your uncle replied, and then looked at you and Jaime. "Same with you two."

"Why does she want us here all the time?" Jaime asked. "She has Elena and her boyfriend right there, and I'm sure her friends are about to arrive."

"Yes, she has enough to worry about," you came to Jaime's aid.

Your uncle let out a tired breath and shook his head to look at Anna.

"I have my trust in you, young lady," he told her, with a finger raised between the two of them. "If you're not here for the cake you'll be in serious trouble."

"Uncle, you know I would never miss cake," Anna replied. "You have my word."

"Alright, off you go," your uncle said, and he put his hands behind his back before returning to the gathering of people.

Anna stepped forward to take the space your uncle had left, and she gestured into the house with her chin.

"May I?" she said.

"Go ahead, miss," you said, and both you and Jaime stepped aside for her to pass.

Anna passed through the entrance that was right behind you, the one that led directly into the kitchen. You followed her.

"What does your father keep here to drink?" she asked, as she walked around the island and stood in front of the enormous wooden wall, filled with tall, rectangular panels behind which the pantry was stored. "I don't want wine today."

You rested your arms crossed on the island counter, on one side of the stools. Jaime on the other hand also circled the island and stood on Anna's side. He then pulled one of the panels towards him, to reveal a shelf filled with bottles of all kinds.

"The old man doesn't even drink often," he said, picking up a bottle of Hennessy Cognac. "He collects all these things because he no longer knows what to do with so much money."

Anna scanned all the possible options carefully, her pretty face illuminated by the shelf lights. She finally grabbed a bottle of Macallan M Whiskey. You immediately looked over your shoulder to make sure your uncle wasn't watching.

"A bold choice, if I may say so," you said with a giggle, and turned again to look at her. "That thing costs like seven thousand pounds, and uncle loves whiskey."

"If he loved it so much he wouldn't have it here collecting dust, don't you think?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. She then walked over to the island and placed the bottle on the counter.

"The poor man is 76 years old, and mother makes sure that he drinks only on special occasions," Jaime said as he opened another panel, which corresponded to the refrigerator. "Do you want something for the whiskey?"

"Hmmm, I don't know..." she said, and looked at you. "What would you choose?"

"I'd choose not to drink Cedric Egerton’s whiskey, of course," you shrugged. "But, some ginger ale would be wonderful with that particular one."

You looked at Jaime, who looked at you with a smile and snapped his fingers to point at you.

"That's why you're my favorite cousin," he said, took out three bottles of ginger ale and then closed the refrigerator.

You laughed and shook your head.

"I don't think that's too difficult," you said, as Jaime grabbed ice from a freezer next to the refrigerator.

"It is," Jaime stated, and then poured ice into three small glass glasses. "We Egertons are a big family," he looked at Anna with a sly smile. "We even have a member studying in Korea."

Jaime began to fill the glasses with the drink. He poured three fingers of whiskey, and filled the rest with ginger ale.

Anna let out a giggle, classy and contained.

"That just makes it funny," she said, as she took the glass Jaime had extended to her. You did the same. "A woman from the Egerton family marrying a Korean man? Your grandfather must have been twisting in his own grave."

You and Jaime shared a loud laugh. Then you took a sip of the drink. Anna imitated you.

"I don't think your mother was one of those who cared about family opinion," Jaime said, leaning on one elbow on the opposite corner of the counter where you were. "She saw her man, tied him up and here you are. A beautiful full-fledged Egerton woman."

Anna's smile faded away.

"It's a shame my father wants me to make my life there and not here," she said, stirring the ice in her glass as she stared into space. "I'll be forced to be Anna Kim for the rest of my days. Not Anna Egerton."

"But you can change that, right?" you asked. "I mean, legally."

"Yes, I could," she looked at you with a tired expression. "But then my father would murder me."

"Do you owe that man anything?" Jaime butted in.

Anna looked at Jaime and raised an eyebrow.

"He has given me everything since my mother died," she said. "Is that a bit for you?"

"Of course not," he quickly said. "But I'm just saying that you have more of a future as an Egerton than a Kim."

"And do you think I need a last name to show my worth?"

You noticed a subtle tonal change in Anna's voice. Nothing too remarkable, but she did sound more severe. Jaime was entering swampy terrain, and as always you had to go and get his feet out of the mud.

"What Jaime means is that here in England you could have double the contacts and support from your family," you said. "No one doubts how successful you can be on your own."

Jaime nodded, and Anna relaxed her posture. Then took another sip of her drink.

"I don't know," she said, and lowered the glass to look at Jaime. "There would have to be a good reason to stay... and so far I don't have one."

She and Jaime stared at each other for a few seconds in complete silence. You wrinkled your brow, looking at each of them. In short, something was happening there.

"But anyway," she continued, finally blinking with both eyebrows raised. "Why don't we go take a seat? We're here for everyone to see."

Just to your left was a large open living room, with a big sofa where you would be more than comfortable. But Jaime took you two to another place not so exposed to the eyes of everyone else: to the living room that was right behind the dining table, separated from it by a wall that in its first half had a small bonfire and in the other a counter with a dishwasher and a bucket full of ice.

Anna crossed the small space and sat on the sofa in front of the window. You and Jaime each sat on the individual sofas on your side. Now you two were separated from her by the short glass table right in the middle, which had a bowl full of fresh grapes. Anna leaned forward to pick one and put it in her mouth.

"Mmmm..." she frowned as she chewed. "These grapes are magnificent. In Korea they taste like cardboard."

Between you and Jaime there was a small pedestal-table that reached your waist. You put your glass on top, but Jaime put it on the edge of the glass table.

"They're from father's vineyard in Florence," Jaime said, also picking one up. "You should go see it someday. Beautiful lands."

"And are you going to take me there?" Anna asked.

"As long as it's your wish," Jaime smiled, picked up his glass and looked at you. "We could even bring our little cousin."

Anna's gaze also fell on you. You shrugged your shoulders, and looked away towards the bowl of grapes to grab a couple. You kept them in your palm.

"Well, I could use a visit to Tuscany. I haven't been there since my uncle forced me to go with him and Jaime to learn about a business that I don't care about," you said, then you put a grape in your mouth and accompanied it with a little of your whiskey.

Your worry blossomed again. Now they were making plans and including you in them. Maybe you would end up caring about whatever was going on there, but if your job had taught you anything, it was to be empirical and rational. You would judge later.

Anna smiled at your response, and then looked at Jaime.

"You see?" she asked. "That's a reason to stay. But not enough."

"Is Korea that bad?" you asked, before Jaime could open his stupid mouth and say something out of place. "I'd love to hear about that. I wasn't as fortunate as Jaime was to enjoy your presence since yesterday."

From the corner of your eye you noticed how Jaime changed his position on the couch, and how he looked down, once again, to drink from his whiskey. A more than clear indication to revive your suspicions. Poor fool. If he were accused of something serious, he wouldn't last five minutes in an interrogation.

Anna's smile, on the other hand, lost some of its shine. But it could simply be because of your question and not because of the real reason for your words. You noticed her less breakable than Jaime, but still, her eyes when she saw him gave her away. Funny as well as worrying.

"It's... different," she said. "Studying there feels like hell where you are constantly elbowing each other with your mates. Nobody is... civilized. There is no unity."

She raised a finger to signal that she hadn't finished and took her glass from her to take a sip. This time she kept it in her hand instead of leaving it on the small table.

"People think they own your life..." she continued. "They think they can mold you to be what they want you to be. There is no such thing as your own path; everyone else puts it there for you."

Anna looked up to see a pair of faces filled with deep dismay. She then laughed and gave a low giggle.

"My apologies, I didn't want to go too deep down the rabbit hole," she said. "It's bad, yes. Modern in many ways, but archaic in everything else. Disgusting sexists, above all."

"I read that women don't want to have children with Korean men," you mentioned. "Big protests and all."

Anna shrugged.

"I don't blame them, no one would want to have children with those prats," she said, and she gave Jaime a quick glance before looking at her glass. "Besides... they're terrible in bed."

You two laughed. Jaime more than you. He wanted to hide something else, surely. Maybe it was something as stupid as him having found it more fun than you. But his eyes were the door to the soul. You knew how to read them better than anyone.

"Small cocks I assume," you said with a mischievous smile, and then drank from your glass with your gaze fixed on Anna.

"Embarrassingly small," she clarified. "On top of that, they don't care about a woman's pleasure."

"A big difference with the Europeans, it should be noted," Jaime intervened. "Don't you think that's a good reason to stay here?"

You frowned and turned to look at Jaime. That was out of line.

Anna looked at Jaime and gave a mocking laugh.

"Not while I've proven it myself, Jaime," she replied, and she picked up another grape to eat.

You'd already had enough of those two, and you were ready to get to the bottom of it by asking the question you didn't want to ask yet.

"Guys," they turned to look at you. "May I know what's going on between you two?"

Jaime and Anna looked at each other. Their faces showed that they were not prepared for that question. But they also looked embarrassed as they realized that perhaps they had given you just enough reasons to ask that question.

"I don't know what you mean, little cousin," Jaime responded with a nervous chuckle. "Wouldn't it be extraordinary to have our lovely cousin around?"

"Indeed," you nodded, stirred the ice in your glass and took a sip. The whiskey was already less than half full. "It's just that your irrepressible enthusiasm catches my attention, cousin. There's nothing to worry about... right?"

You and Jaime maintained eye contact. You didn't blink, seeking to force him to confess voluntarily. But that would never happen with Anna in that room.

"Noah?!" A new voice was heard inside the house. Elena. Looking for you. "Noah, where the hell are you?"

Elena's voice was heard closer and closer, until she found you. Jaime, Anna and you turned to see her. She seemed elated, excited.

"Here you are!" She said, and stood behind you to take your shoulders. "There's a friend of mine I want you to meet, come on!"

You looked up at Elena and then gave a helpful look to Jaime. He absolved himself of responsibility by shrugging his shoulders and waving you away. Convenient for him, to say the least.

"Is it very urgent, darling?" you asked Elena.

"It is!" she responded. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here! Come on, get up!"

Damn, what a damn bad time. You had no choice but to grab your glass and stand up with a sigh. You looked at Anna and Jaime. Cheeky bastards, they were saved for now.

"Sorry to leave you, folks," you said. "My presence is extremely in demand lately."

You looked at Anna and winked. She blew you a kiss with her hand in response. Then you stared at Jaime, not saying a single word as you left with Elena outside.

The person Elena wanted you to meet turned out to be a girl. You combined very well with her; she was very pretty, but also quite shy. That didn't mean anything bad for you, on the contrary it made you more interested in her. Within half an hour you had already exchanged numbers, and within an hour you were sure that you would see her again after that day.

The rest of Elena's friends also generally turned out to be a group of good lads. Some more chaotic than others, of course, but overall you were relieved to know that your cousin had a healthy and pleasant inner circle.

At that moment you were still talking to them, while drinking wine like everyone else, when your aunt approached you and put your hand on her shoulder.

"Oi, dear," she said, and you turned to look at her. "Have you seen Jaime and Anna? It's almost time to cut the cake and I don't see that pair anywhere!"

Fuck, Jaime and Anna. You had forgotten about them completely.

"Uh… no," you looked towards the house. "Not for like an hour."

Your aunt let out a tired breath and shook her head.

"Please go get them darling," she asked, squeezing your hand. "There can be no delays!"

"It will be done immediately, aunt," you nodded. "Just don't despair and keep your husband quiet."

"Go, then," she said, and let go of your hand.

You turned to Elena's group of friends.

"I'll be right back lads," you said, and looked at Elena. "Blame your irresponsible fool of a brother."

After saying goodbye you turned around, and with a sigh you walked straight towards the house.

As expected they were nowhere to be found on the ground floor. But, in the living room where the three of you were, there were still the glasses from which they were drinking. With just a little inspection you could tell that they must have left a short time ago, as the ice inside the glasses was barely melting, the sofas still had slight dents in the seats, and most importantly, you could still perceive Anna's unmistakable perfume in the air.

They had to still be right there inside the house, so you hurried up to the second floor. 

As soon as you went up the stairs you had a good range of possibilities to investigate, since it was a level almost as big as the first. Fortunately for you, just to your right was the first and most notable objective.

Jaime's room.

The silence in the house, especially there on the second floor, was absolute. A needle could be heard dropping onto the wooden floor. You weren't going to risk being overheard, so you walked as carefully and slowly as you could to the door of the room. It took about five steps to be in front.

You were going to knock on the door, but that would announce your presence, so you just pressed your ear against the cold varnished wood of the door.

Inside you heard moans. Male moans. And sounds of...

Without thinking twice you opened the door. Inside you found something that you expected, but that you still weren't ready to see.

In front of the lower edge of the bed were those two. Jaime was standing, and Anna was kneeling right in front of him. With his cock in her mouth.

As soon as they noticed your presence Jaime turned around to cover himself and Anna jumped to her feet.

"May I know what the fuck you guys are doing?!" you screeched, frowning. "Have you gone crazy or what?!"

"Noah!" Jaime exclaimed, already turning towards you once he put his cock back in his pants. "We can explain it..."

You walked into the room and slammed the door behind you.

"Oh yes, I'm just excited to hear the reason why you had your cock in your damn cousin's mouth!"

"It was my idea!" Anna intervened, putting herself between you and Jaime. "I'm sorry! We were really horny and... and..."

"Bloody fucking hell," you let out a snort, and put your hands over your face for a moment before looking at Jaime. "It's your sister's damn graduation celebration, mate, wasn't there another time?"

Anna stepped forward and placed a hand on your chest. She was now very close to you, and she was looking into your eyes.

"Again, it was my idea, Noah," she said, her voice lower and more reassuring. "Don't be so hard on Jaime."

"Anna, this is wrong," you said, matching her tone of voice. "I don't even have to explain why."

She was silent for a few seconds, and then looked down to scribble on your chest with her index finger.

"Is it really that bad?" she finally asked, and brought the scribbles up to your neck. You frowned. "I mean... we're not even close cousins, I've seen you guys like four times in my life."

"What the hell are you talking about? You share blood!" you said, somehow not being able to step back and walk away, even though you knew it was all wrong.

A giggle escaped her, and she looked back into your eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"Looks like you forgot that too, darling," she said, her voice now husky and sultry. "You've been staring at me all night..."

You immediately looked away. Your heart began to beat harder. Your clenched fists are a sign of how embarrassed you were for not being able to hide it even for a moment.

"Ah, you thought I wouldn't notice?" Anna asked. "You're terrible at dissembling. Unusual for a detective if you ask me."

"I... I think I should go," you said.

You took a step back to turn around, but Anna grabbed your hand and pulled you back to her. This time she pressed herself against you.

"Already?" she asked, with a tone of false surprise. "But you haven't even heard my proposal!"

Having her tight body pressed against yours short-circuited all your systems. You just wanted to run away, escape from that damn temptation that took hold of you with every second you spent near her in such an intimate environment.

"What fucking proposal, Anna," you said, reluctantly, avoiding putting your hands on her no matter how easy it was. "Jaime, can you put an end to this damn madness, please?"

But Jaime was not even remotely interested in doing so. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning on his hands while he watched Anna's progress with interest. Damn idiot. Every day you were more sure that your aunt drank too much damn brandy during her pregnancy.

"Oi oi, don't be so grumpy, darling," Anna said, with a couple of pats on your chest. "Listen to me well..." she stood on tiptoe and got dangerously close to your lips, but in the end she reached your ear. "You can just forget that I'm your distant cousin and let me suck your cock... or walk out that door and miss the opportunity for the rest of your life."

That had to be a damn joke. The hidden camera must be somewhere, you were sure. How the hell did you end up in a situation like this? If you had told your self from five hours ago he would probably have told you that the joint you had smoked had been way too big and thick.

However, if you were honest with yourself, you were crazy about that damn woman. But that was your heart—and kinda your cock—clouding your thoughts. Your brain, on the other hand, was screaming at you and pulling you by the ears to convince you that it was a bad idea, that it was very wrong. You had to agree with him on that, obviously.

But fuck it, you only live once.

You sighed, and turned around to walk towards the exit. Anna may have thought you would leave, but what you did was lock the door.

"Only if the little pillock is okay with it," you said, turning around, and pointed your chin at Jaime.

He frowned and pointed at himself.

"Yes, you," you nodded. "Give your bloody opinion before I regret it."

"You ask as if you don't know the answer."

You looked at Anna, and rubbed the side of her face with the back of your hand.

"You've got the green light, darling," you said, and lowered the back of your hand to her shoulder, and then gently down her arm. "Make it worth it."

She gave you a sly smile and with a gentle movement she put her hand on your bulge, squeezing it and massaging it a few times while biting her lower lip. At first you felt something strange, perhaps the still lingering knowledge that it was very wrong. But it was quickly overshadowed by your lust.

"Everything I do is worth it," she said, and then she kissed you without even hesitation.

Even after feeling her lips against yours, you couldn't help but put some opposition to your desires to touch her. But as Anna deepened the kiss and continued massaging your cock, your moral ties gradually went to hell. You ended up wrapping your arms around her tight body and clinging to her small waist.

After a few brief seconds Anna separated from your lips, and with her hands on your chest she subtly fell to her knees. Jaime stood next to you, and Anna adjusted herself so she was between the two of you. She then brought a hand to each hard bulge to squeeze them.

"Don't even think about looking me in the eyes, Jaime Egerton," you said, just watching as Anna unbuttoned both of your pants and lowered the zippers. "I want to completely forget that you are in this room."

"Bold of you to think that I want to see your dumb face while I have sex, little cousin," Jaime responded, as Anna now pulled down your pants and boxers, your cocks now free and right in front of her face.

You were about to retort to Jaime, until Anna took you inside her small, pretty, warm mouth. Then your words were replaced by a small moan. You closed your eyes for a moment, to enjoy how she sucked those first centimeters; when you opened them you found her gaze fixed on you, while she reached the middle of your shaft with sensual pumps.

Seconds later she did the same with Jaime. It seemed strange and perhaps uncomfortable to see your cousin's cock so close, especially under those circumstances, but all your attention was drawn by Anna, who despite being in the middle of such a lewd and carnal act, still maintained that elegant air that was natural to her, with slow, graceful and deep movements.

Anna pulled Jaime out of her mouth and moved towards you. She grabbed you by the base and pressed your cock against your abdomen to kiss and lick the entire backside.

"Mmm, it seems that good size comes from genetics," she said with a small moan, and put one of your balls in her mouth to suck on it while she slowly masturbated you, just like she did to Jaime with the other hand. "I wonder how good you would feel deep inside my pussy."

With that she returned you into her mouth, and continued with those deep, sensual pumps until she was halfway down your shaft. She increased the speed, but despite this she kept it to a clean blowjob, devoid of messiness. That didn't mean it didn't feel good, but on the contrary, your fists were clenched as well as your jaw, a clear sign that you were going crazy.

A few glorious minutes passed as she alternated between each cock, sucking each one with dedication and with moans that became increasingly needier, both from her and from the two of you. Then you, already crazy to see more of her, reached behind her back and, finding the zipper of her top, you pulled it down and took it off her. A pair of small, round, firm tits were left free; you took your hand to one of them, and Jaime took the other. You both then kneaded each breast and played with her nipples.

Anna's response was to moan into your cock and then take it out for a moment, to also take Jaime's cock and take both of them into her mouth at the same time, in an act of oral flexibility that left you pleasantly surprised. She used her tongue to lick both shafts, while she pumped her head a little faster. Seconds later she pulled you both out of her mouth, and then she gave you both slow deepthroats separately.

"Fuck, enough," she said, pulling you out of her mouth as she masturbated you. "I need one of you two inside of me, immediately."

Anna stood up, but just when you were going to put your hands on her to finish undressing her, three knocks in a row were heard on the door.

Your soul left your body, and your heart stopped beating for a second.

"Jaime?" your aunt's voice from the other side. You three were paralyzed with fright, with horrified expressions. "Dear, are you there?"

You and Jaime exchanged glances. You could only gesture for him to respond quickly.

"Y-yes mother!" he responded. "I'm here with Noah looking for apartments in London, but we don't know where Anna is."

"Well then go out and look for her!" she exclaimed. "It's time to cut the cake! Hurry up!"

You waited a few long, tense seconds to make sure your aunt had already come down. Only after making sure she wasn’t up there, you started dressing quickly.

"Don't think you'll get rid of me," Anna said, walking toward the door once she was dressed. "We'll continue later. And you'll fuck me so hard I'll have to stay another day because of the pain."

She didn't even let you respond; she blew you both a kiss, opened the door and left. You and Jaime stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Noah..."

You raised your arm and finger to signal him to shut up.

"I don't care and I don't want to know, Jaime, now let's go."

"Yes," he nodded with a sigh, and the two of you left the room shortly after.

The rest of the celebration continued as normal. No one suspected anything about the three of you, and it's not like you left too many clues; even though you felt the tension, you made sure not to give any signs that might raise suspicion. What was true was that you were dying to fuck that damn woman, and this time you didn't bother hiding your eyes, so she knew it very well, and she let you know it with the little mischievous smiles that she gave you from time to time.

Your initial plan wasn’t to stay the night that day, so at the end of the party you had to put on a little theater to achieve your goal.

"Oi, auntie," you said, approaching her. "My car broke down, and I'm afraid I won't be able to fix it until next morning, I was wondering if I could stay tonight."

There was really no need to use that lie; you could just stay and that's it. But you wanted to use what little modesty you had left to have a decent excuse.

"Of course you can, darling!" she told you, patting both of your arms. "You know very well that you are always welcome with us. But you will have to stay with Jaime; Anna is using the guest room."

"Oh there’s no problem, thanks aunt! I'll go upstairs."

You turned around and walked towards the house.

"Just don't make a fuss, you cheeky monkeys!" she said behind your back, and you walked inside with a chuckle.

You went directly to Jaime's room, where he was lying on his bed, looking at his phone with one leg resting on the floor and the other up on the mattress.

"Know?" you said, closing the door behind you. "You're a big lad already, why the hell do you still live here?"

"Because I don't have a wife, because I work with father and because mother won't leave me until I get married," he answered without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Makes sense," you nodded, and walked towards his closet. "Where do you keep the inflatable mattress? I'm sure you had one."

Jaime didn't respond, and when you turned your head to look at him he was pointing under his desk, where the mattress was folded.

"Ah, how thoughtful of you."

"I don't think you'll need it tonight, anyway," he replied, as you picked up the mattress and carried it to the side of the bed.

Sure, Anna. You almost forgot.

"Is she...?" You nodded towards the wall to your left—behind it was the guest room—, as you unfolded the mattress and grabbed the air pump from inside.

"Yes, but we can't go right now. Everyone is still awake."

"I thought Elena was going with her friends tonight."

"And she will, but father must be giving them some boring lecture about life."

You sighed, and grabbed the air pump to connect the nozzle to the mattress and start inflating it.

"We'll wait, then."

Unfortunately that was what you had to do for the next three hours. You two avoided talking about the subject, not wanting to make the atmosphere uncomfortable with moralistic and ethical debates at this point; you would have time for that later, when that damn madness you were about to commit happened.

It was 2 in the morning when you were sure that everyone in the house was already asleep and that Elena had already left. You and Jaime left the room, finding yourself face to face with the now dark second floor. It wasn't necessary to turn on any lights, and you didn't want to do it either to avoid attracting attention. The guest room was right next door, so you only had to walk along the wall until you reached the door. You were the one in charge of opening it, and as soon as you entered, your eyes almost popped out of their sockets at what you saw to your left.

Anna was lying on her back in the center of the bed, one leg over the other while she looked at her phone. She was completely naked, and with her brown hair now down. The only thing she still had on was the diamond choker. But everything else was visible: her long toned legs—with a sexy mole on one of her thighs—, her flat, toned tummy—another mole there, above her navel—, and the pair of pretty tits that you had already groped a few hours ago.

She looked at you and giggled mischievously at your stunned faces as you walked inside and closed the door behind you. She then left her phone on the nightstand and turned to lie face down, to also show you a wonderful small but round, firm and beautifully shaped ass.

"I thought you'd never come, gentlemen," she said, shuffling her feet back and forth. "I was starting to get cold."

"It's time to warm up a little, then," Jaime said, taking off his shirt. You imitated him.

You both stood at the edge of the bed, and Anna knelt up to get closer to the two of you. She went straight towards you to crash her lips against yours, and then the groping on both sides started right away. Her hands each went to your cock and Jaime's, squeezing and massaging each bulge above your pajama pants. In response, one hand of yours went to her ass, to grab that firm, perfect piece of meat, and the other went between her legs, to finger her perfectly shaved and smooth little pussy. Jaime also made his part, with kisses on her long neck and his hands on her waist and her tits.

"You brought condoms, right?" She asked against your lips, and then she pulled both cocks out of your pants, while you rubbed her clit and her folds. "I'm not going to fuck without protection."

You took your wallet out of your pocket and threw it on the bed next to her.

"We don't want an Egerton Egerton in the family, don't worry," you said with a giggle.

She laughed too, and she pulled both of your pants and boxers down to the end of your thighs to free your cocks. You took your hands off her so you could undress quickly, and when you were all completely naked, you continued touching her everywhere.

Anna was now kissing Jaime while she stroked both cocks. You were now able to concentrate entirely on kissing every part of her that you had not had the joy of kissing before, from her neck, her shoulders and finally her tits; you brought one to your mouth to suck and lick while you shoved two fingers inside her tight and already wet pussy. She moaned against Jaime's lips, and to get another moan out of her, you brought your free hand between her buttocks to also rub her butthole with your finger.

You fingered her for a few long seconds, taking the full length of your fingers in and out of her with gradually faster pumps. You also stuck a saliva-soaked finger into her butthole, which to your surprise presented almost no opposition as you pumped it.

She moaned again and again, her tight body writhing slightly with pleasure at the three fingers pumping into two of her holes. But after a few seconds she separated from Jaime's lips with a squeal and put her hand on your wrist.

"Oh, for heaven's fucking sake," she complained. "I need a cock inside me, right now."

"I'll do the honors," you said immediately, before Jaime beat you to it, and you pulled your fingers out of her pussy and out of her ass.

Anna moved away from the two of you and moved towards the center of the bed, settling on her hands and knees with a perfect curvature of her back, making her small, round ass look like the eighth wonder of the world. You climbed onto the bed and positioned yourself behind her, while Jaime did so in front of her.

The first thing any other man desperate for cum would do is put on the condom and dive right in, but that perfect wet pussy was too stupidly tempting, so before you gave her what she demanded, you leaned down and you planted your mouth directly on her slit.

"Oh fuck!" she moaned, tensing with her fingers gripping the sheet. "I thought I told you that..."

The next thing you heard was a choking sound and small gags. Jaime had put his cock in her mouth to shut her up, and from what you could hear, Anna had gladly accepted it, since now only sucking sounds combined with cute moans could be heard.

You then concentrated entirely on eating that deliciously soft pussy, with both hands on her buttocks, squeezing firmly as you kissed and licked between her folds. Anna was absolutely loving it; she pushed her ass against your face, smothering you between her buttocks. In response you moved your tongue up to her butthole, causing even more squirms from her, and just to spice it up a little, you gave her a little spank.

After a few seconds of licking, kissing and feasting on both her pussy and her ass, you finally knelt up and grabbed your wallet to open it, take out a condom, open it and quickly put it on. Then, with your cock ready, you placed a hand on her left buttock and rubbed yourself between her folds a few times before slowly entering her.

Anna let out a high-pitched squeal against Jaime's cock, who had her hair in a ponytail as he began pumping his hips and fucking her mouth faster and faster. You soon joined in the effort, placing both hands on her buttocks before beginning to fuck her pussy.

"Holy shit," you gasped, watching your cock slide in and out of her pussy, which had the hell of a grip. "So fucking tight."

After a few seconds, both you and Jaime put burning coal in your engines and made a sudden gear change. Now you were both fucking her from both sides in a frenzy of thrusting and moaning. On one hand you could hear the gagging sounds thanks to Jaime's cock constantly hitting her throat, and on the other the sound of your pelvis in non-stop collisions against her ass.

A little over a minute passed before Anna latched onto Jaime's thighs and exploded in an intense wave of spasms and screams that made her pull his cock out of her mouth. She was moaning a little too loudly, so Jaime grabbed her hair and shoved two fingers into her mouth until her orgasm dissipated.

"My turn," Jaime said, and you knew he was talking to you.

You reluctantly pulled out from inside Anna's pussy, and swapped places with Jaime. But first he grabbed her by her waist and made her lie on her back. She spread her legs wide for him, and made eye contact with you.

"Are you having fun, handsome?" she asked in a husky, sultry tone of voice, her chin stained with saliva. Jaime, meanwhile, put on a condom.

"I'm the one who should ask you that question," you replied, and put your cock on top of her face to rub it from side to side. "You seem to be in paradise."

"Looks like you're not the only one who's horrible at dissembling, then," she said with a giggle, and in one of those she grabbed your cock to suck on it with the condom still on.

Seconds later Jaime took his cock inside her, and Anna moaned around your cock. He grabbed her thighs and pressed them back, while you put your left hand on her neck, and your right on one of her tits, before you started pumping your hips up and down and fuck her mouth.

Anna became a mess of moans and writhing when Jaime began to fuck her hard, and all that feedback was enjoyed by your cock, which received constant vibrations inside her warm mouth. That made you moan with pleasure, the fingers of your left hand tightly clinging to her neck and your right hand now on her attractive midriff.

Jaime on the other hand was stronger and stronger. Now he had brought Anna's legs together and placed her ankles over his right shoulder. He hugged her thighs, and between gasps he hammered her pussy as fast as he could.

You were also going at full speed, your cock entering and leaving her mouth at a pace that could perfectly be harmful to her, but she seemed to love how your cock reached her throat and bulged it, because she even used her tongue on the back of your shaft, and spit all the accumulated saliva upwards to make it a sloppy mess.

That was feeling way too good, and your orgasm was right around the corner, so you waited a few seconds before pulling out of her mouth, taking off the condom, and fucking her mouth again until you exploded inside her throat.

The timing was perfect, because just as you shot your huge, hot load into her mouth, Jaime made her reach a second orgasm in which she couldn't even moan, only wriggle like a rag doll and tense her muscles, choking on your cock and your cum.

Apparently she was squeezing like hell, because Jaime also came a few seconds later, fucking her through her orgasm. He then, a moment later, pulled his cock out of her and removed the cum-filled condom to throw it on the floor. You also left her mouth.

"Oh god… god!" she moaned after taking a deep breath. "Please don't stop, take my ass!"

"You're lucky I have a condom left, darling," you told her, caressing the side of her face with the back of your hand.

"Me too," Jaime mentioned, still panting. "Have you ever had two cocks inside you at the same time?"

"I haven't had the pleasure, dear," she replied, looking at him. "But I would love for you two to please me."

Jaime grabbed his pants and took out one last condom, which he put on in a matter of seconds. Then he went and lay down next to her.

"Come and ride me then, princess," he said. "Noah, you take her from behind. I know you love that view."

"I told you not to fucking talk to me, Jaime," you reiterated with a sigh, reaching into your wallet to pull out another condom.

Anna mounted Jaime after putting extra effort on her legs, which were already shaking. She adjusted her thighs on either side of his waist, while you put on the condom and positioned yourself over Jaime's legs and directly behind her.

"Don't you need lube for these things?" you asked, and spit between her buttocks to spread the saliva on the outside and inside of her butthole.

"Saliva will do it," she said, lifting her hips so that Jaime held his cock straight and she could impale herself on it. "Mmmgh!" she moaned, again with a cock deep in her pussy, then she looked at you over her shoulder. "You just fucking do it, I love doing it raw."

You laughed and pressed the tip of your cock against her butthole, while Jaime pumped his hips up and down in and out of her pussy.

"You'd think Anna Egerton was an elegant and refined damsel even in bed," you said, pressing forward to take your first few inches into her ass.

Anna threw her neck back and let out a painstakingly suppressed scream, followed by a grunt of pleasure, nails digging into Jaime's chest as you slowly sank to the bottom of her butthole and he fucked her patiently, knowing that you hadn't started yet.

A few seconds later, when you were completely inside her and you gave her a few pumps to get her used to it, the real debauchery began, dirty and disastrous.

You and Jaime fucked her mercilessly, hard and fast, him destroying her pussy and you destroying her ass. Jaime had one of her tits in her mouth, and both of his arms wrapped around her torso to hold her tightly. You, for your part, had her long, beautiful, shiny brown hair in a messy ponytail, with your free hand placed on one of her buttocks.

After a few long seconds you didn't even care about regulating her moans, no matter how loud they were, you were so absorbed in pleasure that the possible consequences of making too much of a fuss and being discovered did not cross your mind. In a way you could be somewhat calm, since that room was quite far from the master bedroom, but still, you were playing with fire.

But you knew perfectly well that you were playing with fire, and you were loving getting burned with it. Anna's body was a damn delight, a complete confection baked by fucking Aphrodite herself. It was simply hot in every possible part, but without a doubt your favorite part was that beautiful ass, which at that moment you were jiggling with every thrust.

"Mmmgh fuck fuck fuck yes!" she moaned, her neck going back from the force of your pull. "Hard, fast! Destroy me like a fucking filthy whore!"

That was certainly not the expected behavior of a refined damsel with duchess wood. Funny, to say the least.

You gave her another spank, and then another harder one on the same buttock. She loved that, as she screamed in pleasure and looked at you with lust-filled eyes every time your hand hit her skin. You soon brought her to a third orgasm, but that didn't stop you.

"Come here," you ordered, and you climbed out of her ass to go and stand on the side of the bed.

They both looked at you and were ready to get up, but Jaime had to carry Anna out of bed, because her legs were so shaky that it would be impossible for her to stand up.

Jaime released her in front of you, and you wrapped your arms around her body to pick her up and hold her by her thighs. She immediately rested her back on Jaime's chest, so her weight didn't fall solely on you. Her arms went behind, holding on to Jaime's head with her eyes on you, while you entered her pussy and Jaime entered her ass.

A new segment of using Anna as a cute, submissive sex doll began, only this time you had the privilege of looking straight into her eyes while you fucked her tight ass at full gear.

Her legs just wouldn't stop shaking, and she wouldn't stop writhing between desperate moans, tears in her eyes. She let her head fall back onto Jaime's shoulder, allowing herself to be manipulated by you like a rag doll while she pulled him on his hair. Then she brought a hand to her mouth, and squeezed her eyes shut as a fourth orgasm hit her.

Anna instinctively bit the side of her hand, muffling loud screams and moans against it. She did it perhaps too hard, because when she let go of her hand, she left all of her teeth marked in an intense red on her own skin, one of the marks even letting out a droplet of blood.

She then simply collapsed and became heavier, so that you and Jaime had to double your efforts to hold her up in the air. She was still conscious, as her eyes were open and she was biting her lip, but she wasn't blinking, and she wasn't moving either, she was just so overwhelmed with pleasure that her brain didn't react.

Fortunately for her you didn't take long to give the last few thrusts to her pussy before you exploded, in what had been one of the most electrifying and mindblowing orgasms you had ever experienced. Jaime followed closely behind you, also cumming between slow pumps in and out of her.

You filled Anna's tits with kisses and hickeys, while Jaime kissed her neck and the side of her face, treating her like the princess she was. After a few seconds you both came out of her, while her body was still shaking as if she were being given mini electric shocks.

"Maybe..." she said in a small voice. "Maybe I will end up staying here in the UK."

Then, only then, you looked Jaime in the eyes. Curiously you met his worried gaze, a reflection of your own. You didn't say anything, but you knew that that damn woman would have a noose around your neck for a long time.

You were screwed.

---------------------------------

As always. Thanks for reading! MASTERLIST HERE!

[gunnerfc]

Three’s a Party | Jenni Hermoso x Spain!Reader x Alexia Putellas (18+)

Summary: Your girlfriend, Jenni, convinces her best friend to join you two in the bedroom during camp

Warnings: threesome, bottom reader, top alexia and jenni, strap use (r receiving), strap sucking, r being called ‘slut’ and ‘princess’, r being blindfolded, oral (alexia receiving), squirting

WC: 3.3k

AN 1: jenni and alexia never dated in this! this was based on the wild card HC in Jenni’s NSFW alphabet!

AN 2: this was meant to be up earlier but I got distracted by the new HOTD trailers (aka alicent hightower 🧎) 💀

International break was one of your favorite things, it allowed you to spend time with your closest friends and your girlfriend. However, this camp was a bit different. You were rooming with Alexia and normally, you would be thrilled to room with her if you couldn’t room with Jenni. Alexia kept to herself and wasn’t someone who would leave the room a mess, unlike some of your other teammates.

However, rooming with Alexia this camp was driving you crazy. You and Jenni had recently had conversations about potentially having a threesome but the one rule you had was that it had to be someone you both trusted. You didn’t want to bring a random person into your bed since you didn’t know how that would play out. When Jenni suggested her best friend, you were hesitant at first. You were worried it might affect their friendship or your relationship with your captain. 

Jenni had reassured you countless times that Alexia would be into it and it wouldn’t mess anything up. Just as you accepted her words, international camp rolled around and you were stuck in a room with one of the women you couldn’t stop thinking about. Jenni teased you relentlessly over text when you were paired with Alexia, the forward knew you wouldn’t be able to think about anything but the two of them fucking you. And she was right.

You had to force yourself to look away from Alexia multiple times so you wouldn’t get caught. The midfielder stayed to herself as she rewatched old film of the team you would be playing in a few days and you on the other hand couldn’t think about anything but what would happen if Jenni did convince her to join the two of you. It played on a loop in your mind as you fell asleep that first night, the different images infiltrating your dreams as well. 

When you woke the next morning, you could feel just how affected you were by the dreams you were having. You could only hope it wasn’t noticeable to Alexia as you hurriedly made your to the bathroom to take care of everything before you two headed to breakfast. You took your seat next to Jenni as soon as you had your plate, the forward leaning over to give you a quick kiss to say ‘good morning.’ 

You knew she noticed something was different about you and the small smirk on her face told you she knew exactly what it was. Jenni had promised to ask Alexia about the proposition during the gym workout you all had today and you hoped she hadn’t forgotten her promise. Every so often your eyes would drift to Alexia sitting across from you, the midfielder deep in conversation with Laia about how the defender liked England. 

Jenni’s smirk grew every time she noticed where your eyes strayed, she couldn’t wait till later that evening when you finally got what you wanted. She knew her best friend well enough to know Alexia would say yes and would absolutely enjoy every moment of ruining you. The thought of you begging for both of them to fuck you had Jenni’s head spinning and it hadn't even happened yet.

Breakfast ended quicker than you would have liked, your subtle staring at Alexia rudely interrupted by a staff member telling you all to head to the gym. You were glad today was only going to be spent in the gym because you were always split from Jenni and Alexia. If you had to be around both of them as they lifted weights, their muscles flexing with each lift, you wouldn’t be able to control yourself. 

You quickly found Aitana and Ona when you all entered the hotel gym, the two of them were your usual gym buddies during camp. You immediately noticed Jenni and Alexia pairing up for the light warm-ups and that’s when you noticed they were both wearing sleeveless shirts that showed off their toned arms. 

“Y/n/n, are you okay,” Aitana’s voice pulled you from your thoughts and you jerked your head toward her.

You furrowed your brows in confusion before answering. “Yeah, why,” your confusion evident in your tone.

“You started breathing pretty heavily and weren’t blinking,” Ona answered for Aitana as she set down a few small weights for the three of you.

You mumbled a quiet “Oh” but didn’t explain further, how could you tell the two of them you were thinking dirty thoughts about your girlfriend and her best friend having their way with you? You focused your attention on doing a light workout as a warm-up, hoping your thoughts would stray too far again.

You spent most of the gym session with your back to Jenni and Alexia, the less you saw them lifting and working out, the better. But as the session was nearing the end, your curiosity got the best of you and you let your eyes drift in their direction. Just as your eyes landed on the pair, their eyes locked on you, smug smirks gracing both of their features. 

You felt your cheeks heat up as you quickly looked away, earning a quiet laugh from the two people you were trying not to think about. You could only assume Jenni was asking Alexia about joining the two of you based on the looks they gave you. You tried to clear your head to focus on wrapping up your workout but the feeling between your legs made it ten times harder.

You took a deep sigh when you were all told you were free to leave, you needed to put distance between you and the two women you couldn’t stop thinking about. But as you were putting away the weights, it hit you that you were rooming with Alexia and there would be distances between the two of you. You took your time heading for the elevators, hoping that your girlfriend and her best friend had already left. 

Your hopes were slashed when you felt the presence on either side as you stood in front of the elevator. You swallowed hard as you tried to control your breathing, there were still a few other teammates waiting for the elevator as well and you didnt want to be questioned again. When the elevator dinged and its doors opened you quickly entered, hoping that with your teammates there as well, they’d block the pair from being next to you.

As you stood in the back, Jenni and Alexia stood next to you, practically towering over you as you stared up at the ceiling. You felt Jenni’s hand brush yours before she grabbed it, locking her fingers with yours. You gave her hand a light squeeze just as the elevator doors opened and your teammates exited into the hallway. 

You tried to leave just as fast but Jenni’s hand pulled you back to slow you down. They let your teammates clear the hall before they exited the elevator, neither of them speaking a word to you. Alexia walked in front of you and Jenni towards the room you were sharing with her, unlocking it and holding it open for you to enter first. You missed the matching smirks the two sent each other as Jenni walked into the hotel room as she passed Alexia.

The forward let go of your hand once in the hotel room, dropping the gym you failed to notice by the desk. Your breathing was heavy when Alexia joined the two of you, the thoughts you had of the two of them free to run wild in your head now that you were alone with the two of them. One of Jenni’s hands moved to your chin, turning your head to face her before her lips met yours.

Your lips moved against hers roughly, the forward easily winning control. Alexia watched the two of you make out, finding the scene in front of her way more attractive than she would have thought. You were so focused on your girlfriend’s lips that you didn’t notice when she waved Alexia over to join you. You moaned against Jenni’s lips when you felt Alexia’s mouth leaving small pecks on the side of your neck, nipping at the skin every so often. 

You were pressed in between them as their hands roamed your body, pulling at your clothes that were in their way. You felt lightheaded at the feeling of their lips on your body and their hands groping you roughly. Being pressed against them both was short-circuiting your brain and all you could think about was what was going to happen soon.

Jenni pulled away from your lips and you moved forward slightly, chasing her lips which earned you a small smirk from your girlfriend. Alexia’s hands moved up the front of your body toward your chest and stopped when she met your clothed breasts, groping your chest harshly. Your head fell back against her shoulder as a loud moan fell from your lips. Jenni normally would have hated seeing you pressed up against someone that wasn’t her but seeing Alexia pull these sounds from you was turning her on.

You whined softly when Alexia pulled away from you completely, the loss of contact from both of them made you needier. “Are you gonna be a good slut for us, baby,” your girlfriend smirked as she lifted your shirt off your body, tossing it mindlessly behind her.

You quickly nodded your head as Alexia removed the sports bra you were wearing, leaving your torso bare. Both women didn’t hide their staring at your bare chest, both taking their time looking at you. Jenni traced a finger along the waistline of the shorts you were wearing before untieing the drawstrings. Alexia followed Jenni’s previous actions as she ran a finger along the top of your shorts as Jenni turned to get something out of her gym bag.

You were so close to begging Alexia to just slip her fingers in your shorts right then but you knew you wouldn’t get her to do so. Jenni stood from her bag with a blindfold you two have used often in the bedroom and you were panting at the thought of wearing it now. Jenni raised one eyebrow asking if you were okay with wearing it, receiving a nod from you in response. The forward didn’t waste time before she wrapped the cloth around your eyes.

With your sight hindered, you were relying on how well you knew your girlfriend's hands to tell you when she was touching you or when it was Alexia. You felt one hand slither up your torso and you could tell right away it was Alexia. You gasped loudly when her hand wrapped around your breast, kneading the soft skin and pinching your hardened nipple. Your gasp turned into a moan when you felt a mouth wrap around your other nipple. 

You felt Jenni’s hands around your waist as she pushed your shorts down your legs so you knew it was Alexia who was currently sucking on your nipple. You brought one of your hands to tangle in your captain’s blonde hair as you arched your back, pressing closer to the midfielder. You felt your shorts and underwear pool around your ankles and you kicked them away as best as you could. 

You could feel how wet you already were before they truly fucked you and you knew they could sense how affected you were. Alexia pulled away from your chest and away from your space completely, earning a low whine from you. You could hear rustling but you couldn’t tell where it was coming from due to the blindfold around your head. 

The sound of someone sitting on the hotel mattress caught your attention as you turned slightly, even though you knew you wouldn't be able to tell who it was. It was Alexia who slid up toward the pillows at the head of the bed, completely bare after shedding her workout attire. The blonde lay with her legs spread, waiting for Jenni to guide you to her. 

You felt Jenni’s hands rest on your hips as she moved you toward the bed Alexia was currently resting on. Your girlfriend placed a few kisses along your shoulder blades, moving her lips up to your neck as she left small bites. You let soft moans escape your lips as your knees hit the end of the bed. Jenni helped you climb onto the bed, helping you onto your stomach right in front of Alexia.

You could feel the midfielder’s strong thighs on either side of your head as moved forward towards her dripping cunt. Jenni’s hands on your hips pulled your bottom half up to rest on your knees as she joined you and Alexia on the bed. “Be a good little slut and make your captain cum,” Jenni’s voice echoed from behind you as she pressed her hips closer to you.

You could feel the harness around her waist, the toy between her legs hitting the inside of your thigh as she moved. You licked your lips before you placed soft kisses on Alexia’s skin, trying to gauge how close you were to her. In your kissing, you placed a kiss right above her sensitive clit, earning a low groan of pleasure from the midfielder above you.

Knowing where you were, you took the sensitive bud in your mouth, sucking lightly as Alexia’s eyes rolled back. You could feel Jenni behind you lining up her strap with your cunt and when she first pushed the toy into your wet cunt, you knew exactly which strap it was. The two of you have used a double-ended strap plenty of times before to maximize the pleasure you both would feel and knowing she brought it for this occasion drove you crazy. 

The three of you would all receive pleasure so no one would feel excluded. You moaned against Alexia’s cunt as Jenni pushed the toy in you until she bottomed out. Alexia moaned at the vibrations from your moan as her hands moved to grope her chest. You worked your mouth down from the blonde’s clit, licking her up and down softly just as Jenni’s hips started moving.

Your girlfriend didn’t waste any time before her hips were snapping against you, roughly thrusting in and out of you as she held your hips tightly. You tried your best to keep your mouth on Alexia but you kept pulling away to moan loudly, essentially edging Alexia. The midfielder let go of her breasts to wrap her hands in your hair, holding you against her cunt. You moaned against her once more as you were being roughly fucked from behind by your girlfriend. 

You had been worked up the entire day and now you were going down on Alexia as Jenni thursted her strap in you and you knew it wouldn’t take long for you to reach your first orgasm. The double-ended strap proved to be the right decision as Jenni felt herself grow closer to coming as well. Alexia’s thighs were now slightly squeezing your head as she rolled her hips slightly to meet the thrust of your tongue. 

Jenni let go of your hips to wrap one arm around your body toward your clit, massaging the sensitive bud as an added bit of simulation. You moaned as loud as you could despite being (pleasantly) trapped between Alexia’s thighs sending a strong vibration through the blonde. You were close to the edge and by the feel of it, so were Alexia and Jenni.

Jenni knew the signs your body had right before you came and she could tell you were about to let go. She sped up her hips, angling them slightly to hit that familiar spot inside you. You felt the familiar coil in your lower stomach begin to break, the sounds of all of your moans mixed with the pornographic sounds of Jenni fucking you echoed off the hotel walls.

You weren’t able to let them know you were able to cum, too preoccupied with catching every last drop of Alexia as she came on your mouth. You could hear just how close you were as Jenni railed you and you knew you were going to have a small orgasm. Without realizing, you let go as you came around Jenni’s strap hard, squirting for the first time. Jenni didn’t stop as she felt herself topple over the edge as well, her hips stuttering against you as she fucked you both through an orgasm. 

Alexia let go of your hair as she moved her thighs to let you breathe as Jenni pulled out of you. You whined at the empty feeling as your breathing was heavy, you didn’t expect to cum that hard tonight. “We’re not done with you yet, princess,” Jenni spoke from behind you, slightly out of breath herself. 

You lost count of how many times they made you cum that evening, all you knew was that this defiantly needed to happen again. You fell asleep pretty quickly once they were done using you, your exhaustion from sex hitting you hard. When you woke the next morning, Alexia had already left for breakfast and Jenni was next to you, her arm propping her head up as she stared down at you with a soft smile on her face.

“Good morning, bebita,” the forward mumbled as she leaned down to give you a quick peck.

You could feel how sore your throat was before you even tried to speak, a broken “good morning” confirmed your suspicion. Jenni laughed at your racked voice as your face warmed at the implications of the two women fucking you so hard you couldn’t speak. You were too focused on your raspy voice to notice the slight ache of your hips and thighs, which didn’t make itself known until you sat up in bed.

You groaned softly in pain, grimacing as you tried to move off the bed. Jenni was quick to sit up hearing your discomfort, her hand resting on your back as she slid closer to you. “Are you okay,” her tone was completely different than the demanding one she had last night.

You nodded your head at first until you tried to swing a leg off the side of the bed which proved to be the wrong move as you groaned again at the soreness. “I think you two might have been too rough last night,” you joked, you weren’t upset about the roughness but if you were too sore to move off the bed, it meant you wouldn’t be able to train with the team.

Jenni didn’t say anything at first but after a moment she laughed loudly at your words. She hated seeing you in pain but knowing it was because of how well she and Alexia fucked you, she felt a surge of confidence. “Looks like you’re benched for today, baby,” the forward joked as she helped you off the bed and into the bathroom.

You quickly took a shower as best as you could as Jenni got you a change of clothes. You knew you were going to have to report to the medical staff so you spent the entirety of your shower coming up with a reasonable lie that wouldn’t give you away. 

You didn’t mind the soreness and you made sure to tell both Jenni and Alexia that the three of you should do that more often during camps. Both of them wore a smug smirk the entire day and each time they thought of you missing out on training, their smirks would grow. They both agreed that from now on, the three of you would repeat the events of last night every time you were back in camp.

[eroselless]

─────────────── sommer house // 2

series summary: After starting a new job at a prestigious museum in London, you form a close friendship with Helaena Targaryen. You're surprised when she invites you to stay at her family's estate for the summer holidays. [2.7k]

[aegon targaryen x reader, modern!HOTD AU ]

masterlist | previously

warnings: none, i think!

note: i'm so sorry it took me a little bit to get this out. i've been prepping for a big trip coming up soon, my head has been a little everywhere recently. anyways, hope you guys enjoy!

The rain that had accompanied you on the way out of London had ceased by the time you arrived at the Targaryen estate. The sun was dipping under the horizon, painting the sky in a soft orange and pink hue. The windows are still streaked with rain as you push off the plush seat and step out of the car. You stretch your arms above your head, loosening the muscles tightened by the long drive. 

Taking a deep breath, your eyes scan the scenery before you. The stone walls of the house seem to grow from the landscape, it’s garbled roof echoing a serene, timeless elegance. Tall trees and lush greenery frame the manor, flowers blooming in vibrant bursts along the pathway to the house. The silence is tranquil, punctuated only by the occasional wail of a passing bird. 

With your bags taken by a man who introduced himself as Criston, you begin to follow Helaena up the gravel path. Her steps fall softly as she leads the way. The look in her face is soft and gentle, hiding much behind her eyes. The more you look at the manor, the more it resembles an enlarged and elevated cottage or even a mix between a cottage and a castle, if such a thing existed—homey, alluring, and comfortable. 

You enter the home, the air thick with the scent of polished wood and old books, a familiar scent you learned to love during your time at the museum. You continue to follow Helaena through the foyer and into the living room, your footsteps muffled by thick rugs lined with intricate patterns. The room is open, the dimming sunlight streaming through a set of two large windows. A grand piano sits in a corner, scraps of paper tucked away in a book on the windowsill next to it. A large collection of books fill the shelves spanning an entire wall. Swords, small statues and animal skeletons are scattered around the room and hanging on the walls. There’s even a collection of insects pinned in frames, butterflies of all colors and sizes. 

The room is empty save for a silhouette sitting at one of the windows. It overlooks the vast ground of the estate, eyes watching two figures as they lounge outside by a small lake just beyond and below the window. 

“Mum,” Helaena calls out, wrapping her knuckles against the doorframe where the two of you have stopped. The woman takes her eyes away from the window, taking in a sharp breath before turning to you, a wide smile on her face. 

“Hel,” she calls her, pulling her daughter into her arms, hands caressing Helaena’s hair. Helaena hesitates momentarily before wrapping her arms around her mother. As you watch them, you notice how different they are from each other. If you hadn’t been told before, you would've never known they were mother and daughter. Helaena wore a cerulean sweater with gray trousers, her blonde hair cropped just above her shoulders. Alicent, on the other hand, wore a deep green blouse with brown trousers, her hair pulled away from her face but cascading in long tresses down her back.

Helaena pulls away from her mother, gesturing toward you. “Mum, this is Y/N,”

Alicent meets your eyes, introducing herself. Before you can reach out a hand for a shake, she pulls you into a hug just as she had her own daughter.

She pulls back, hands gently gripping your biceps. “It’s lovely to finally meet you. Helaena’s told me so much about you,” she says, her voice filled with genuine warmth. “Welcome to our humble home.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Targaryen,” you say, smiling.

“Please, call me Alicent. I insist.” Her smile broadens. “Come, let me show you to your room,” she says, guiding you through the elegantly decorated hallways. 

The faces in each portrait seem to follow you as you pass, their eyes windows into the past lives that once filled these halls. It sends a soft chill up your spine. But you can’t help but marvel at the grandeur around you – it’s as if you’ve stepped onto a movie set, a dream.

Alicent stops in front of a door and pushes it open. The room is immense, its pale blue walls bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun streaming through a large window. “This will be your room,” she gestures. “Helaena’s old room is just next door. There’s a bathroom that connects the two, but you’ll have plenty of space.”

You step into the room, immediately taken by its charm. The plush bed is adorned with soft pillows, the rugs underfoot are invitingly soft, and tasteful art hangs on the walls, adding a touch of elegance.

“This is beautiful,” you say, spotting your suitcases left at the foot of the bed. “Thank you so much, Alicent.”

Wandering into the bathroom, you’re greeted by a large bathtub that sits in front of an even larger window. On one side of the room are a pair of sinks; on the other, a spacious shower. Setting your things down at one sink, you peer out the window, the soft light peeking in as the sun continues to dip further down the sky. It casts shadows over the grounds. You can see the back of the estate, the sprawling gardens, and the lake.

“Make yourself at home. If you need anything, just let me know,” Alicent says. She bids you goodbye and withdraws from the room, reminding you that dinner will be in about an hour.

Leaving you alone, you sink into the lavish plush armchair, feeling completely at home. Your eyes peer out the window, every time finding something new to look at. In the distance, you can see stables and what looks like an old church with people pouring out. There’s a treeline just beyond the property that looks like it goes on for miles. Getting lost trying to find the end of the forest, your eyes begin to feel heavy and you find yourself drifting off. 

:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It's not until a while later you hear your name called softly from the doorway. Shifting out of your relaxed stupor, you rub the sleep out of your eyes and spot your blonde haired friend peeking at you from the doorway, a gentle smile on her lips. She raises her eyebrows at you and you shove her shoulder with yours before following her down the grand staircase. As you descend, the scent of roasted vegetables and freshly baked bread wafts through the air, making your stomach tinge in anticipation.

The dining room is abuzz with activity as the Targaryen family gathers. The two men you saw outside earlier, Helaena’s brothers, stand at the entrance of the dining room, conversing quietly. Aemond and Daeron stand taller than you, both offering you polite smiles. There's a hint of reserve in their eyes, making the nerves in your veins accelerate a little more. 

You’re surprised at how similar yet so different they are from each other. Both share a sharp chin and lanky limbs long and lean. Their clothes contrast each other in style but compliment their individual characteristics. Their hair is a pale blonde like Helaena’s – Aemond’s long locks flowing down his back, while Daeron’s is cropped short above his ears.

“Welcome,” Aemond says, his voice smooth and measured. He extends a hand, and you shake it, noting the firm yet gentle grip.

“Good to see you,” Daeron adds, his smile a touch warmer than his brother’s. “We’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

“Thank you. It’s lovely to meet you both,” you reply, feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement.

Helaena guides you to your seat at the long, polished dining table. The table is set with gleaming silverware and adorned with an array of delicious dishes—roast meats, steamed vegetables, and freshly baked bread. The space is elegant and inviting, with a long, polished oak table set with gleaming silverware and sparkling crystal glasses. Soft, golden light filters through antique chandeliers, casting a warm glow over the room. The rich scent of roasted meats and fresh herbs fills the air, mingling with the subtle aroma of the flowers that adorn the table. Your eyes scan over the feast and the new faces, taking in the grandeur of the setting.

You watch as Helaena’s father, Viserys, limps his way into the room, clinging onto Alicent’s arm with one hand while the other pushes on a cane. There’s a thin layer of hair on his head and the side of his face is riddled with scars. His face lights up with a warm smile when he meets your eyes, radiating a quiet strength and dignity. Alicent takes her place next to him, a soft smile adorning her lips. 

You observe the family as they take their seats and begin scooping servings of food onto their plates. The initial nervousness fades as you find yourself relaxing into your seat. You're passed a large plate of potatoes, Helaena motioning for you to help yourself.

Viserys is seated to Alicent’s left, his demeanor kind and relaxed. He looks up with a gentle smile. “So you’re the friend Helaena has spoken so highly of. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” you say, returning his smile with genuine warmth. He continues by inquiring about your past, how you came to be in London, what you thought of the weather compared to back home. It made the butterflies return to your stomach as you answered each of his questions but by the time the second course was being served, you felt comfortable in your seat surrounded by the new faces. You can even see Aemond and Daeron’s faces soften towards you, even popping in a question or two. 

“She’s quite the asset,” Alicent remarks with a knowing glance toward Helaena. “I’m sure she’s been a wonderful companion to you.”

Helaena rolls her eyes playfully. “You’re making it sound like I’m her personal tour guide.”

“You’ve certainly taken on that role,” Viserys adds with a chuckle. “And what about your plans for the future? Helaena tells me you’re quite ambitious.”

You nod, feeling a slight flush of pride. “I hope to continue working in the field and eventually contribute to research and education. The experiences I’ve had so far have been incredible.”

The warm hum of conversation continues to fill the room as the Targaryen family settles into their seats. The clinking of silverware and the soft murmur of voices create a comfortable backdrop to the meal.

Helaena leans closer, her voice a soft murmur. “So, what do you think of the estate so far?”

“It’s even more beautiful than I imagined,” you reply, a smile tugging at your lips. “Everything here has such character.”

Alicent, seated across from you, chuckles softly. “I’m so glad you think so. I’ve always felt that our home has a bit of magic to it. It’s like stepping into a different time, don’t you think?”

You nod, taking a sip of wine that has been poured for you. “Absolutely. There’s something so charming about the way everything is preserved.”

The conversation continues to settle into a comfortable rhythm, but the door creaks open and a figure steps in. The room momentarily goes quiet, all eyes drifting to him. He stands silently in the doorway as he meets the gazes of his family. Alicent rises from her seat at the head of the table, her expression a mixture of relief and exasperation. 

“Aegon,” she says, her voice tense with unspoken reproach. She reaches for his arm but hesitates as her fingers brush his damp sleeve. With a resigned sigh, he shrugs off his coat, letting it fall in a sodden heap on the floor before it's picked up by a man you swear you’ve seen two of this evening. The muffled thud of the fabric is a silent testament of Aegon’s defiance in the face of her disapproval. He meets Alicent's gaze, and from your spot on the other side of the room, you can see the disappointment lurking beneath the surface of her composed facade. They have much to speak about, but not here, not now.

“Aegon,” Viserys says, his tone a mix of amusement and warmth. It tears him away from the intense stare of his mother. “You’ve finally graced us with your presence. We were just beginning to think you’d forsaken us for the allure of London nightlife.”

Aegon’s gaze sweeps across the room, settling briefly on you. He offers a friendly, albeit slightly reserved, smile. “Sorry for the delay. Work ran late, and I got caught up in a few things.”

He is much different to his brothers. Though he shares the same platinum hair, his appearance is much more disheveled. His hair is tousled atop his head, covered partially by a dark beanie. The beard that is beginning to adorn his cheeks is darker than the hair on his head and there’s a light scent of cigarettes that wafts off of him as he walks. He’s dressed in a loose gray henley under a plaid shirt and dark trousers. 

He takes his seat at the table, his movements casual yet deliberate. As he starts to serve himself, the conversation resumes, though now there’s a subtle undercurrent of anticipation. Everyone’s smiles are warm but not as relaxed as they were before. A different energy seems to run through the Targaryens.

Helaena leans closer to you, her voice barely above a whisper. “Aegon’s always running around with work and other commitments. He’s a bit of a mystery sometimes.”

You nod, spooning mashed potatoes into your mouth, glancing at Aegon as he engages in conversation with his family. There’s an air to him that you can’t quite put a finger on. A look in his eyes you recognized from Helaena, a distance in his eyes, a soft ache that pools in his violet eyes.

Alicent tries to bridge the gap in the silence that is beginning to lull over the table and calls out from her spot on the other side. “Aegon, tell us about your latest project. You’ve been working on it quite extensively.”

Aegon leans back, a forced smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “It’s just another one of those things that keeps me busy. Nothing too thrilling.” His reply is curt and short. It’s obvious he doesn’t feel like talking about work, preferring to stick to any other topic. 

The dinner continues with lively conversation, but you notice Aegon casting occasional, subtle glances in your direction. His interest is understated, almost imperceptible, but it lingers. Despite not exchanging a word with him throughout the meal, you find yourself shrinking a bit each time his gaze meets yours.

The conversation gradually wanes, and a moment of silence falls over the room, broken only by Viserys’s abrupt cough. Alicent rises from her seat, signaling to a pair of live-in nurses who enter the room. She whispers something to one of them before turning back to the gathering. Nervousness seems to settle over her as she clasps her hands in front of her, wringing them anxiously.

"Thank you all for joining us this evening," Alicent says, her voice betraying a hint of unease. "We should all get some rest. The big party is just a few weeks away and we have much to plan."

As everyone begins to filter out, moving quietly like shadows in the night, you follow Helaena to your room. Looking back, you catch a glimpse of Aegon walking further down the hallway. His gait is slow and detached, his shoulders slightly slumped, before he turns a corner and fades into the darkness.

"Goodnight," Helaena says with a sleepy smile, lingering at her doorway. "Sleep well. Tomorrow promises to be eventful."

"Goodnight, Helaena," you reply, returning her smile. "Thank you again for having me."

"Of course. Sweet dreams," Helaena says warmly before closing her door behind her.

tags: @mrs-starkgaryen @gloryekaterina

[ellewritesalright]

Close your eyes

Aegon Targaryen x gn!reader

Masterlist

Synopsis: Aegon has a quiet moment with you in the brothel.

A/N: I have been so deep in hotd recently! I have so many blurbs and stuff on my mind, none of them really canon specific. Hope yall enjoy!

Warnings: no smut, talks of minor violence by a dog, Aegon suggesting that a dog should have been put down, otherwise lmk if I forgot anything

Word count: 1009

..........

Aegon slumped off of you, laying on his back with a soft groan. His pale chest reflected in the candlelight, rising and falling with deep breaths. This was the third time this week he had visited this particular brothel, though he had come to your room here countless times before.

You laid beside him for a moment, then you rose, going to pour a cup of water for yourself. You didn't bother putting on a robe as you stood at the table in the corner of your room.

"Do you have wine?" Aegon asked, watching your form.

"Only water, your highness. I can fetch some if you'd like."

He shook his head, raising an arm to cover his eyes from the candles as he laid there. "No. Stay here."

You nodded, though he did not see it, and you gently padded back to the bed. You sat on the edge, cup in your hand. You were tempted to reach out and brush back the strands of blond hair that were matted to his forehead with sweat, but you did not.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, your highness?" You asked gently as you watched him.

He raised his arm off his eyes, stretching and groaning softly. His eyes focused on your cup. "Give me a drink, would you?"

You held it out to him, but when he did not move an inch to take it, you murmured, "Lean forward," and held it to his lips as he sat back on his elbows.

He looked up at you with eyes like a lost puppy as you helped him drink the water. He swallowed and tilted his head away, and your hand retreated. You watched a little drop of water on the corner of his mouth, how he seemed so unbothered by it. Perhaps he was still drunk, as you and the gods had seen him stumble into your room in the brothel with lasciviousness in his eyes and a pouch of coins in his hand.

But now he was sated.

"Anything else, your highness?" You asked.

"Lay back with me," he mumbled, dropping his elbows and resting his head against the pillows.

You set aside your cup and did as he said. You laid down where you had been previously. Your arm barely touched Aegon's.

"Could you… could you lay on your stomach for me?" He whispered.

You let out a breath and shifted onto your stomach. You brought your face to the left, looking over at him where he moved onto his side. He was sitting up slightly.

"Close your eyes."

You looked at him for a moment--he seemed calm at present--and then did as he asked. There was a light touch on your skin, along your shoulder blade first. It traced the curve of it, then moved to the other shoulder blade. The touch then moved between your shoulders, gently squeezing the bottom of your neck before slowly moving down. His hand went lower and lower, injecting warmth into your muscles as you felt his palm smooth down along your spine.

You expected to feel him trail his hand lower, even dipping it between your legs, but his touch stayed on your back. The lowest it moved was tracing to the tops of your ass, barely grazing the marks left by another customer you hosted earlier this week.

He pressed his thumb into a scar on the right of your back, and you felt his breath on your face and shoulder.

"How'd you get this?" He mumbled.

You cracked your eyes open to see him staring at your scar, a tired but intrigued look in his eyes. His thumb kept brushing along it.

"From my childhood. A dog bit me," you answered. "Its teeth pierced the back of my arm too."

He shifted to inspect for another scar on your arm, the sticky, sweaty skin of his chest pressing to your back as he leaned over to look at your arm. His thumb traced this one too, and he tutted.

"Stupid dog. Whatever happened to it?"

"What do you mean?"

He moved to lay on his side again, his warm chest peeling off of your back. "Did someone kill the dog for biting you?"

You let out a breath, concealing the urge to laugh at his words. It wasn't difficult to tell he was highborn. "No, they did not, my prince. My family actually took in the dog. Trained it to herd for us."

Aegon's brows narrowed. "But it bit you."

"That's what dogs do," you shrugged.

"It was violent."

"It was hungry and I had a scrap of chicken in my hand."

"It should have been killed for biting you."

You sighed and brought your hand to his face, hoping to ease the concern in his brow. "It is not so horrid an offense, my prince. A wild animal biting a farmer's child isn't something to worry over."

He leaned slightly into your hand, letting out a huff.

"Did it hurt?" He asked, his mouth pressed to your palm.

You nodded. "I remember it felt warm at first, from the blood. Then I went inside and my mother cleaned it up, rubbed it with salve and wrapped it tightly."

"How old were you?"

"Seven, I think."

Aegon frowned again, his head dropping to the pillow. You curled his hair behind his ear.

"Do not pity me, my prince," you hummed. "I am all better now. Besides, that is not the worst infliction I have worn."

His eyes flickered to the bruise at the bottom of your back again. He said nothing, but shifted closer to you, his hand still on your skin. His touch rubbed slowly along your back again, warming you.

He wouldn't leave for another few hours. He would fall asleep here and his guards would quietly escort him back to the Keep before the sun was in the sky. But for now, he was beside you, treating you with a kindness most wouldn't expect from the king's untamed son.

"Close your eyes," he murmured again.

The world went dark when you closed your eyes. You didn't feel his breath on your face until the second before he pressed his lips to your forehead.

..........

A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to like, reblog, and comment if you want to read more, I really appreciate the feedback! If you want to request a fic for hotd, I will write for Aegon, Aemond, and Jacaerys, so please feel free to send in an ask. Otherwise, I hope you have a great day/night :)

[gtgbabie0]

Scraped knees and warm baths

{Cregan Stark knows how to take care of his wife}

I’ve been wanting to write for him so bad, I just haven’t had the time to write for any hotd characters recently, anyway hope you enjoy!! 💕💕

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You hadn’t meant to stay out so long, just for a small walk, you told yourself however time seemed to slip away from you, as you took in the serenity of nature, how the packed snow crunched underneath your feet, or the soft joyous melodies of birds, the crips air filled your lungs and it felt refreshing, it was good to get out the castle.

However it came with its dangers, ice, and somewhere along your journey you had lost your footing, slipping with a gasp against the stony path your palms grazing against the ragged surface along with your knees, just your luck, you think standing back to your feet with a huff.

And while you take your calm stroll outside Winterfell castle walls, Cregan was losing his mind, going mad with worry as he searches for you frantically and you’re nowhere to be seen, your absence sends his mind spiralling with horrid thoughts.

“She can’t have gone far my lord, I’m sure she’ll return… eventually” Maybe it’s the lack of worry in his tone or the smug smirk that teeters on his lips that sends Cregans’ skin tingling with anger as he turns to the guard.

“Ser Duncan I suggest you go help the rest of the men prepare- no one sleeps until my wife is found” he snaps walking closer to him, “Do I make myself clear?” He asks, trying to bite back the concern that sits on his tongue.

“Of course, my lord” and with that Cregan walks over to the stables a crease haunting his brows as he racks his mind for where you could possibly be.

“Lord Stark! She’s been found!”

Cregan is quick to look over and sure enough there you are, an overwhelming feeling of relief washes over him as he looks at you, bright-eyed with a giant smile, your dress stained with mud and he runs over to you, wrapping your shoulders with one of his furs protecting you from the harsh northern winds.

“Silly girl” he murmurs, urging you into his arms tightly.

You can hear the unease that weaves through his tone and it nips at your heart making you feel a little guilty, "I'm sorry" you whisper.

he pulls away slightly, looking at you with gentle eyes before turning around, “Lyra prepare a hot bath,” he says and she nods curtly, turning on her heels.

You silently scold yourself for causing so much trouble as you look around at all the men and women gathering around, you didn’t realise you were gone for so long, his hand rests on the small of your back leading you back to your shared bedchambers.

“I almost had the whole north searching for you,” he tells you, his big hands cupping either side of your face and he just can’t bring himself to be mad at you, the way you smile so sweetly at him, “I reckon you’ll send me to an early grave my dear” he sighs pressing a kiss to your forehead.

His hands reach for yours, and you gasp as fingers brush against the graze on your palm, “What? What is it- what happened?” He panics, taking your hands and studying the abrasions that adorn your palms with concern.

“It’s nothing, Cregan,” you say pulling your hands away, and before you can dismiss his worries he’s already pulling up the fabric of your dress noticing the blood that stains your knees, along with the small cuts.

“How did you manage this?” He asks, guiding you to the steaming tub, his fingers make work with untying the lace of your dress, letting the sleeves fall down to your arms and he peppers gentle kisses to your shoulder.

You giggle at the memory, “I slipped on ice, it wasn’t too bad” You smile stepping out of the dress, and you're not too sure if you're trying to convince him or yourself, your hands grasping at his arms as he eases you into the bath, the warm water soothes the dull ache in your muscles.

His hand cups at the water pouring it over your skin, “Wasn’t too bad? Look at your knees my love” he says nodding over to your knees that are pulled to your chest, he leans to press gentle kisses to them careful of the cuts, “I’ll go get the Maesters to take a look at it, don’t want it getting infected” he presses a kiss to your forehead and he goes to stand but you're quick to stop him.

“Wait- stay for a second more” you whisper and his face softens, he doesn’t think he could ever say no to you.

He sits back down on the wooden stall, picking up the small jug, “Of course my dear” takes his forefinger resting it underneath your chin as he pushes your head up slightly before pouring the warm water over your hair.

He washes you gently, peppering occasional kisses to your wet skin, “Come on my dear let’s get you warm and something to eat” he says helping you out of the tub, the water now lukewarm, he dries you off with such loving eyes, helping you change into something comfortable.

You sit by the fire humming at the pleasant warmth that surrounds you like a blanket, “Thank you Lyra” Cregan smiles as she places a hot bowl of stew on the table along with bread before walking out of the room with a nod.

“Eat something, my dear, I’ll go get the Maesters,” he says, pressing a kiss against your temple.

“Thank you, Cregan” You look up at him as his thumb brushes against your cheek, his chest blooms with love and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you.

He looks at you with adoration in his eyes, “Of course, anything for you” and you swear your heart stops at his love, the lord Stark of Winterfell, how you owned his entire heart.

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[arcielee]

Hey everyone, I know it's a dark time in the fandom right now and I am only going to speak on this once.

To begin: there was a period of time where I had some bigger blogs blocked due to a misunderstanding that escalated. I recently learned that both sides were being fed a villainous narrative over something that I did not do. It became this weird Us vs Them ordeal.

I tried to pull away. I blocked a lot of blogs to try and remove myself from the HotD space.

I was very heartbroken. Tumblr was my little nerdy escape that allowed me to swoon over my beloved fictional characters and find kindred spirits who shared the same sentiment. I found myself hating to check my notifications, seeing the hateful anons and DMs, and seeing my mutuals receiving the same grief for publicly engaging with me.

It was awful.

After some time, blogs began to reach out and share what had been said about me, telling me about the rumors. It gave me clarity on what had happened. I see the fierce loyalty a lot of us posses and if I had been told these same horrible things, I probably would have responded in a similar way.

I was grateful for the honesty and I hold no animosity towards anyone who believed what was said. I do not care about the cruel things spread or the name calling, I just felt relieved that I could speak my truth and slowly become part of the community that I loved. I wanted to forgive and just move forward.

Then I found out that I had been doxxed.

They found my legal name and my private IG. They shared it without my permission. I feel fortunate that this group did not do anything with the information shared, but I also do not know if it was shared outside of this chat.

Tumblr is a silly hellsite that allowed me to learn the art of a Reader inserts, to brainstorm story ideas with my mutuals, to reblog nifty gifsets and fanart. But this is something I keep separate my from actual IRL, so learning about this felt like a violation.

I know we are all hurting. The point of this post is a reminder to stay safe, to set up your two-step authenticator and to please keep yourselves protected.

Like I said: I will not speak on this again. If you stay, please know my blog is a safe place where I do not tolerate bigotry of any means.

My DMs and my anons are open, always. 💜

[vampire-exgirlfriend]

You guys, what the fuck is up with the increase in stealing and plagiarising in this fandom lately? When did that become a thing that was okay to do?

The first time I was flat out plagiarized was almost four years ago in a different fandom. A well known author in that fandom took the first paragraph of a short one shot, one of the first things I’d ever posted and that I was incredibly proud of, switched a few words, and then used it as the summary for their slightly longer fic. They then went on to steal the premise of my ficlet and just…make it longer. This was brought up in a discord server a friend of mine was in that I wasn’t and the general consensus was “who would believe you? You’re nobody.” So I kept my mouth shut and I deleted my fic because seeing it made me feel like shit. Something similar then happened to a friend of mine with the titles of her fics being stolen, flat out and word for word, for the same characters. And again it was “no one will believe you.”

We shut up. We stuck it out. And then when it kept happening, to us and to others, we left that fandom.

I was so, so excited when HotD aired. I was back in my ASOIAF phase that had never actually ended. It was a new opportunity to make friends with common interests and my writing improved so much because of how passionate about the canon material I was. I have made some of the most incredible friends, like life-long, stay up all night talking, come to my house or let’s hang out when you’re in my state/country kind of friends. It’s pretty amazing. But this fandom is a whole different beast than any other I’ve been involved with. I have no idea if it’s the general age of the fandom, or the lack of prior fandom experience, or what us old people call the “tiktokifcation of fandom.” But it’s different. And while that’s usually a good thing, there are so many times when this has been awful. There is a huge lack of accountability here. People are stealing things. And the weirdest part is, they don’t care! It is plagiarism to have someone else's story opened while you write yours so that you can tone match the other writer. It is plagiarism to take people’s well thought out ideas and then use them beat for beat. I get it, it’s fic, nothing is wholly original, we are going to see idea recycling! That’s just fandom. But to model your entire story off of someone else’s is heinous. And it’s wrong. And this literally just happened to a very good friend of mine. When she mentioned she was uncomfortable with it and had blocked the person who did this, someone she considered a level headed mutual (who has recently admitted to plagiarising someone else themselves, mind you) told her that she was just drama baiting and didn’t have the right to be upset. The same thing happened to me with a now deleted creator who told me that she dragged me in her discord server and that her friends (all big name creators would essentially “black list me” for saying anything).

It’s not dramatic to not be okay with your work being stolen! This is a normal fucking reaction. In trad publishing or academia, this shit gets you banned, expelled, etc. It can ruin your life.

I received a slew of anons recently asking for help with graphic making and editing. And I was so excited about them. That shit is fun for me. We chatted for a while, with them on anon, and that was that. Until I got an anon letting me know that the person I was talking with was someone who had stolen ideas and storylines from me and other creators. So I looked, I asked friends to look, and the consensus was “yeah, this is fucking plagiarism, and it’s weird.” All of the edit stuff she’d asked about was used on an edit that was a direct rip off of my own. But I elected to not make a thing of it, to ignore it, to wash my hands of it because of the weird fucking trend of calling out theivery being labeled as drama baiting. And I didn’t want that, not after I had genuinely made the mistake of thinking that someone had stolen an idea from me when they hadn’t (calm down, we’re really close friends now). This person deleted their old blog and so I thought it was over. And then yesterday I got a dm from this new blog I didn’t even know existed accusing me of sending them harassing anons.

A blog, who had stolen from me and at least four other people, who had reached out to me on anon for help and ideas, that at this point I didn’t even know existed anymore, said they knew I was sending hateful anons accusing them of theft. I wasn’t, of course, because I had no idea they even existed, and it made no sense that I would even know they’d created another blog. I only found out about their new blog when they dm’d me from it. But they had obviously done this to enough people that they were now getting called out on it.

You guys, we have to fucking stop acting like this. This fandom needs to stop stealing from each other and eating our own. And if someone brings up that they’ve had an idea stolen, we need to take them seriously instead of insinuating they’re only attempting to cause drama. Stop sending people unhinged anons because you feel like you’re guilty of lifting from another creator and just work on creating something original. Writing is hard. Giffing and making edits is fucking hard. And no, nothing will ever be 100% original, that’s just impossible at this point, but stop fucking taking things that aren’t yours and claming them as your own. Do better. Grow up.

[divinesolas]

request: jacerys x maid!reader | reader has been working for them for a long while and jace has had a little crush on her since then. (also rhaenyra shipping them on the low would be so sweet)

tags: nontarg!reader, implied slightly older reader, mostly jacaerys pov, no use of y/n, not proofread, i think that's it?

w.c | 2.2k

a/n: i am back! so sorry for being inactive i am so happy to be able to write again i have missed you guys, getting through requests now, but it will probably take me awhile to get to the scream requests since im really unmotived to write for it but i missed writing for hotd so here you go, i hope you guys enjoy!

the first time he had ever spotted you was when he was eight. you had been assigned to be helaena personal maid. he had been standing in the courtyard preparing for another sword fighting lesson. he notices out of the corner of his eye aegon lifting his head before aegon mumbled under his breath and curse as he shakes his head bring his head back down. jacaerys looks up to see heleana, knowing of the recent betrothal and aegons distaste at the idea of course he would have a reaction like that. his eyes drifted over to the girl standing besides helaena and he felt a sudden sensation of butterflies flow into his stomach.

Curiously he picks it up and opens, It feels wrong of me to do this. Princess Heleena just recently taught me how to write and the first thing I felt I needed to do was write something to you. I hope you do not laugh. I hope that while I express myself you find it in yourself to listen. My eyes always find their way towards you. I always find myself thinking about you. I feel too embarrassed to write more though my heart yearns too. Forgive me my prince. I shall hope we talk more. With all i have,

He finds himself tracing the sloppy signing of your name at the end of your letter. His head can't make sense of the words you say despite the fact he wants to so badly. He falls back onto his bed and reads over your words over and over again with a fond look on his face, already planning on what he was going to write back. The two of you begin to write more and more letters to each other. It was easier than speaking in person. Things that could not be uttered in person were said over word, the letters grew more and more personal. He felt like he was looking into your soul with every word as you must have felt as well. But then lady Leana had passed and he had to go to driftmark to the funeral though he was more upset about the passing of ser harwin. Before he had left for driftmark you had slipped a letter for him before he had left. He didn't have the energy to open it then, feeling too much grief to read your sweet words. A part of him is glad he didn't because he didn't realize that would be the last he would see of you for many years. They did not return to king's landing which means he did not get to see you. No more letters, no more passing glances, no more you. He stayed in his bed and cried for awhile, he remembers his mother coming in and trying to comfort him but nothing had worked. Even ten years later he still mourned you like you had died, he had managed to get over his sad slump but you still lingered in his mind like a disease he could not cure, an itch he couldn't scratch. He wondered if you thought of him like he had thought of you. Word had come that they had to go back to king's landing. With lucerys position as heir to driftmark being challenged they were expected to return for a trial. While he feels as though he should be sad, he should be angry. His heart leaps with hope that he gets to see the dear maiden that had stolen his heart. He had never opened up your letter from all those years ago, wanting to savor and save what could be your last words to him for a special occasion. He decided that now would be the time, as he sits on his bed with his stuff packed, only minutes until they were set to leave with shaking hands he rips open the letter.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he opens the letter and gasps. My prince, It broke my heart to find out you were leaving. I hope that you have not let your grief consume you, that you shall continue to be happy no matter what. He notices some large splotches of ink as if you had been pressing too hard against the paper in thought. I must tell you this though it is improper. When you return you will never speak to me again. You may never write to me again yet I must say this now. From the day we had locked eyes and my eyes saw you smile you hard earned the key to my heart. You are the chosen one. Hand selected as the owner to the place which you and only you will ever belong. I hope that you do not laugh. I hope that you are not repulsed or you are not hateful. From the day we met I have loved you and I shall think of you always for you are all I yearn for. I shall await your return. I know not how long you will be gone but I will be here, my sweet true love. I am but a low maiden yet you are everything to me as you must be to all. When you return you may choose to ignore this letter. I am more than willing to act as if this letter never existed, I will be the one to turn this letter myself if you wish. Just please, do not punish me by never speaking to me again for I fear my heart will never recover. With all my love, Yours.

The letter shakes vigorously in his hands as teardrops fall onto the page. He must see you. He gets up and rushes towards the yard where the rest of his family awaits where they are boarding to leave. With the letter clutched to his chest he runs through the halls, the only thought going through his mind being you. He carefully, or as carefully as he can with the adrenaline pumping through his veins and the nervous shaking of his hands, folds up the letter and stuffs it into his pocket before continuing to rush towards his dragon. An arm grabs him and he whips his head around ready to curse and scream at whoever it had been before his angry face softens. “My queen.” she cups his cheeks as she frantically looks him over. “Has something happened? Why are you crying, my son?”

He feels himself grow overrun with emotions as he stumbles, unable to answer. Instead he grabs the letter and presents it to her. “My.. she wrote to me.. Her letter I must.. I must..” he cannot find himself. He looks down at the ground as rhaenyra glances over the letter and looks at her son with a heartfelt look. “Do you love her, my boy?” his heart begins to hurt as he begins to think more and more about you as he nods. He lets out a strangled noise as he clutches his chest. “I must see her mother, I must.” He never calls her mother. rhaenyra feels herself overcome with an indescribable feeling as she lets him go. “We shall head out right this moment.” They do. He feels himself riding faster than he ever had. A part of him worries you will not be there. Maids are easily dismissed and rid of in kings landing so his heart hurts as he thinks he has missed you

. They arrive and he finds lucerys is stuck to his side. Despite the fact that all he wished to was run off to find you he knows he must take care of lucerys as well. Walking into the courtyard he's taken back to his childhood, with lucerys eyes locked onto the fight happening jacaerys finds his eyes looking around at the viewers watching from above the courtyard. Suddenly his eyes lock onto a very familiar set of eyes. Yours. You look as gorgeous as you did the day he had last shall you if not more. You were standing in the exact same place you were when he first saw you with a look of shock. He finds himself stumbling away from the crowd to get a better look at you as his heart pounds so loud his ears may begin to ring. You were here. Standing in front of him. He gulps and watches as you quickly rush towards the staircase down to the courtyard. His skin begins to burn as his legs begin to shake. Everything in his body telling him he should run to you. Bring you into his arms. Allow your skin to touch him. Suddenly you are standing in front of him, panting slightly while your eyes dart all over him with surprise. “My prince… you have returned.” He grabs one of your hands in a soft grip, he sees you inhale sharply as he brings your hand to his lips and places a kiss to the back of your hand. his lips burning as he aches to kiss your skin once more. “I am sorry to have kept you waiting, my love.” You gasp before a smile graces your lips and tears fill up in your eyes. “Truly?” He places yet another kiss onto your skin, “More than anything.”

[humanpurposes]

Karma is a God, Chapter 15: The Lakeshore

The Dance of the Dragons begins on a lie, and Aemond owes a debt, one Lucerra will see repaid in Fire and Blood // Main Masterlist

Aemond x Lucerra Velaryon (fem!Lucerys)

Warnings for this chapter: 18+, spoilers for F&B and future seasons of HotD, canon divergence, descriptions of violence, angst, mentions of death and war

A/n: We're back after five whole months!! I've been deep in the brainrot for this fic recently, and I'm so happy I've come back to it. I've had this series planned out since December 2022 and I'm really excited to see it through.

Also, psa I guess, this series is no longer going to be updated on Tumblr, all future chapters will be posted on AO3.

I do want to say thank you to everyone who's shown this fic some love on here, it makes me so happy seeing it come up in my notifs, I can't wait for you all to continue reading it :)❤️

Full Chapter on AO3

The voice in Luke’s head whispers again. Blood.

It is everywhere, in the colour of the sky, in the clouds and the setting sun. It’s in the water, spilled from the bodies of two dead dragons. Watery red waves ripple over the lakeshore, rushing over her boots, running back to the lake and seeping through the pebbles into the earth.

Aemond is covered in it. He is on his knees before her, an arrow lodged in the shoulder of his sword arm, his riding leathers sodden, his silver hair soaked and stained pink. She wonders if he can taste it, the blood of Caraxes and Vhagar on his tongue.

Even when she takes up Dark Sister and places its point to his throat, he is staring at her with the intent of a hunter. His seeing eye is wide, his eyepatch washed away and his sapphire almost black in the absence of light. The scar that frames it, the scar carved by her hand, is inflamed, furious and red.

The last time she had seen it, he was holding a knife against her cheek, demanding retribution, seeking payment for her debt.

It seems like another lifetime ago, before Arrax, before Shipbreaker Bay, before she had clawed her way through endless, agonising pain to find her way to Jace, before she had buried two of her siblings, when Rhaenyra was her mother and not her Queen. 

The sword– Daemon’s sword, feels wrong in her hand, but then it should not be hers to have.

“Remember all he has taken from you,” her step-father had said. 

And she does. She remembers it all.

Aemond’s arrogance to not weep and grovel and beg for his life, after everything, is an insult. 

She had never felt so sure of herself, so determined that she knew what path the Gods had mapped for her. Aemond would not have a noble death or the burial rites of their family. He would be lost to the lake with an arrow pierced through his black heart, remembered as a traitor and a kinslayer. She would be his end. It was only right.

Daemon had trusted her, handed her the bow she would use to kill him, told her to stay hidden amongst the trees and wait for the right moment to strike.

In the blur of battle, as night engulfed the sky and poisoned the air with its cold, she had missed her mark. She knew it the moment the arrow left the bow that it would not be enough to kill him.

The danger in that was Vhagar. The dragon howled in fury and surged towards her atop Grey Ghost. Aemond had his chance then. He could have finished what he began at Storm’s End, claimed her life, seen his debt fulfilled.

Then Vhagar had steered away.

It was hard to see what became of them in the final struggle. The dragons were a single mass of bloody flesh, joined with teeth and talons. Daemon leapt from his saddle, sword in hand. She might have screamed, either way it would have gone unheard.

Aemond must have realised what was happening when he started to fuss with his chains. He released himself and then they were falling.

Aemond and Daemon were lost to darkness but Vhagar and Caraxes plunged into the God’s Eye with a colossal splash that reached so high it appeared to match the height of Harrenhal itself.

She was standing on the lakeshore before she found herself in the mind of her dragon.

She watched through Grey Ghost’s eyes as he flew towards the lake and dived beneath the surface of the water. In that void his claws curled around a body.

She was standing on the shore again, inside her own mind again, waiting for Grey Ghost to deliver what– who he had found.

Grey Ghost set the body down. He may have had stained silver hair and Dark Sister clutched in his hand, but she knew right away it wasn’t her step-father. There was still life in him– in Aemond.

What will her mother think now?

She feels Aemond swallow against the blade, the movement of his throat piercing his skin. A droplet of blood trails down his neck, below his collar. 

She knows what she has to do– what she should do: push forwards, watch him choke on blood and steel. 

He draws his tongue between his lips. His voice is almost a whisper, thick and strained. “Please.”

Her hold on the hilt falters. Perhaps she should feel some semblance of pride, now that she has him at her mercy, breathless and broken. 

“Please.”

She watches the blood trail from the small cut she has made in his neck. She imagines it spraying from a larger wound, coating Dark Sister, seeping through his teeth and his lips.

“You can beg better than that, surely,” she says...

Read the rest of Chapter 15 on AO3

Tags (comment to be added to either)

Series taglist: @adragonprinceswhore @toodlesxcuddles @arcielee

General taglist: @randomdragonfires @theoneeyedprince @targaryenrealnessdarling @jamespotterismydaddy @tsujifreya @blackswxnn

[daenysthedreamer101]

Daughter of Steel and Bronze ~ HOTD

Ch 14 - Total Eclipse of the Heart

HOTD x Targaryen!OC, Targaryen!OC x Harwin Strong

Warnings: Daena is not doing well, she gets jelaous, like really jealous/ Minor mentions of blood, death, fainting spell, overall chaos, and angst

A/N - it's a long one guys, so buckle up and get some snacks lol

Corresponding episode: HOTD 1x05

HOTD masterlist

"In the waning months of the year 115, a Royal wedding was held - Crown Princess Rhaenyra was married to Ser Laenor Velaryon, heir to Driftmark and the future Lord of the Tides. He was said to have arrived at King's Landing on the back of his dragon, Seasmoke, the same way his mother, Princess Rhaenys, arrived at her own wedding on her dragon, Meleys. 

The wedding was not without scandal. To everyone's surprise, the grieving Princess Daena showed up. She recently lost her lady mother, Rhea Royce, and was not expected to attend. Many said that her somber behavior was an ill omen that contributed to the violent event at the end of the wedding - the murder of Ser Joffrey Lonmouth."  

(Fire & Blood, Being a History of the Targaryen Kings of Westeros, by Archmaester Gyldayn)

~

115 AC, Runestone 

The cold wind howled through the night. Lady Rowena stood at the foot of the table as four Silent Sisters took care of her late daughter's body. Never in her wildest dreams, did she think she would bear witness to this - her only child, cold and dead in front of her.

"My lady, you may wish to leave the Silent Sisters to their work. It is ill luck to look upon the face of death." Maester Cirion said to her. 

"The Stranger has taken many people away from me: My parents, my lord husband, my brother, and now my daughter. I assure you Maester, he cares little whether I watch or not." Rowena replied quietly. 

"If not for yourself, then you should leave for your granddaughter. I'm worried her mind will spiral. The Princess had always been quite attached to her mother. I'm afraid Lady Rhea's passing has unstabilized her state of being." Measter Cirion suggested. 

"A raven must be sent to the Eyrie. Lady Jeyne must know of my daughter's passing. And to King's Landing, of course. I can trust you will deal with those messages?"

Maester Cirion bowed slightly. "Of course, my lady. At once."

~

"Ser Harwin."

He turned at the sound of his name. It was Lady Rowena. Her hair, usually neatly held by a hair net, was now loose. Her eyes were bloodshot and there was a crease in her brows. There was a large wooden box in her hands. 

"My lady?" 

"Ser Harwin, forgive me for seeking you out in the middle of the night but I'm afraid you're the only person I could think of for what I need," Rowena said as she handed him the box. 

It wasn't too heavy but something was definitely inside it. "Give this to Daena. Let her talk about it. Distract her mind. And if you can, encourage her to get some sleep before the...before the funeral." 

"What is it?" Harwin asked. 

"Her old dragon egg. The one that never hatched. Daemon never bothered to return it to the Dragonpit and it has stayed here ever since Daena was born." 

Harwin remembered Daena talking about this egg and how angry she was it never hatched. 

"I hear she refuses to sleep." Rowena comments. 

"My sisters tried everything but she is...restless," Harwin answered somberly.

Rowena cast her gaze down and shook her head. 

"She needs you, Harwin. Now more than ever. Be there for her, please." Lady Rowena pleaded. 

"Of course, my lady."

~

Gently opening the door, he found her sitting on the room floor, next to the fireplace. Her back turned to him, he couldn't see her face, only the back of her head. Her silver curls were now loose, reaching down to her waist.

She was crouched, her knees close to her chest as she stared into the fire. She didn't seem to notice him, or at least, she failed to react. He slowly approached her, setting the box next to her. 

"Princess..." He called for her as he crouched next to her. 

No reaction. 

Sighing, he took hold of her hand and squeezed it. "Daena." 

This seemed to break her stupor. She slowly turned her head toward him. Her lilac eyes were red and puffy, her face tear-stricken, her silver curls messy. It broke Harwin's heart into a million pieces seeing her like this. Gently, careful of her bruises, he took hold of her face. He wiped away the tears. 

"My love...please. Talk to me." He cooed. This was the first time he addressed her in such a manner, yet she didn't seem to notice it. 

"There's nothing to talk about! My mother-" She yelled but as soon as the words left her mouth, her mother's death became so much more obvious and real. 

For the 100th time that night, she broke into tears. This time, Harwin was there to hold her. She sobbed and sobbed, drenching his shirt with her tears. After what felt like hours, she stopped. With her head on his chest, she could feel the beat of his heart; it calmed her down. 

Her eyes fell upon the box Harwin brought with him. Removing herself from his arms, she pulled the box closer. With her fingers, she traced the intricate carvings in the wood.

"I know this box." She whispered, sniffling. 

She opened it and her eyes fell upon the dragon egg inside it. The last time she saw it, she was a little girl, dragonless and fearful. She picked it up - it was dark in color, almost black with a violet tint to it and the scales glimmered purple in the fire. 

It was as magnificent as the day it was first laid in her crib. It was as heavy as she remembered. Laying it in her lap, she sighed. It had her mind racing - so many things would've been different had this egg hatched. 

She would've bonded to this dragon from birth, yes, but then she would've never claimed Vermithor. She didn't like that thought. Vermithor was her everything, she couldn't imagine her life without him. Speaking of her dragon...

"Vermithor. I want to see him." She said as she caressed the egg in her lap. 

"...It's the middle of the night, my love."

"So?"

Harwin sighed. "You need to get some rest before the-"

"I don't want to. I want Vermithor!" She repeated. She hasn't seen her dragon in over a fortnight. Both dragon and rider were getting restless without each other. 

"On the morrow, then." Harwin offered. 

Daena thought about it. She was tired from all the crying. She caressed the egg some more before putting it back onto the velvet cushion inside of the box. 

"I could do with some sleep." She commented quietly. 

Harwin sighed again, this time from relief. 

~

The rising sun was covered by the clouds; grey and heavy they were. Just like Daena's heart. Outside the walls of the castle, the funeral burial of Lady Rhea Royce was being held. All of the castle staff was there; stable boys, cooks, cleaning maids, guards, everyone. 

The older members of the staff wept, for they knew their lady well and they too were shocked by her sudden passing. But no one felt more pained by Rhea's death than the two women standing at the very front - Lady Rowena, her mother, and Princess Daena, her child. 

Grandmother and granddaughter held each other tightly, as if letting go of one another meant losing each other forever. Both were clad in black, from head to toe. Lady Rowena wore a long, black hood that covered her hair but not her face. Even in her darkest hour, she stood tall, a somber expression on her face.

Daena was a completely different story. Not expecting to attend a funeral, she had no appropriate black gown, so she borrowed one from Amanda. It was made of cotton with puffy sleeves and a high collar. 

On her head, she wore a veil made of black Myrish lace that covered her tear-stricken face. Her hair was pulled in a bun and she wore no earrings, bracelets, or necklaces. Only the simple garnet ring her mother gifted her years ago. 

Even the heavily pregnant Amanda was there; she refused to lie and bed while her aunt was getting buried. She stood next to her husband, Ser Jasper, and clutched her belly. She too was in a black gown with a black veil on her head. 

Harwin and his sisters were slightly off to the side, seeing as they weren't residents of Runestone, only guests. Both of the twins had their hair up. Hanna had a black velvet headband on her head while Joy wore a short black veil. Harwin too was in black. 

As the funeral went on, Daena felt her patience disappearing by the second; on one hand, she wanted to give respect to her mother one last time. On the other hand, she hated bearing witness to this. She wanted to run away from the darkness and the pain.

Finally, it was over. It was customary that after the funeral, the bereaved would go inside, raising cups and eating in honor of the deceased. But Daena had other things in mind. Detaching herself from her grandmother, she started walking toward the hill.

~

Ignoring all calls, she continued without turning back. From the other side of the hill, Vermithor appeared, hissing and clicking. She walked up the hill, determined to get away from any man or woman. Once she reached the top, Daena fell to her knees. Vermithor lowered his head, wanting to be closer to his rider. 

Feeling his need for contact, she lifted her veil, showing her face to her dragon. Vermithor's great amber eyes looked over Daena and he could see and feel her pain. He's been feeling her pain ever since she was assaulted weeks ago at her name-day party. With trembling hands, she touched his snout and leaned her head onto his. 

A deep rumble left his mouth as he nudged her body with his snout; it was his way of comforting her. Usually, she would play into it and pretend to fall. But not today. Today she stayed seated, her eyes glued to the wet grass. She could feel his hot breath as he opened his mouth and growled. 

A great wave of emotion washed over her - anguish, pain, a sense of injustice, a desire to just disappear, and anger. Anger at her father not being there for her. Anger at herself for not being able to stop her mother's passing. Anger at the gods for taking her mother away from her. 

Perhaps being next to her dragon amplified her feelings or perhaps she was just fed up with everything. Either way, the fire in her blood ran hot and rage flowed through her veins. Hot tears ran down her face as she beat her fists against the cold earth. Gripping the grass tightly, she screamed. Feeling her immense sorrow, Vermithor roared, his voice echoing through the valley. 

Pulling the grass harshly from the ground, she keeled over, sobs wrecking her body. Feeling the distress of his rider, Vermithor swished his tail against the ground, making the earth below him shake. 

~

Upon hearing the news of his wife's passing, Daemon knew he had to return to the Vale. Not because he cared for Rhea, but because of Daena. He knew how attached she was to her mother. 

Looking down from atop Caraxes he could see the castle of Runestone getting bigger and bigger. But something else caught his eye - on a nearby hill, Vermithor stood, furious and wailing from what Daemon could see and hear. Caraxes let out small clicks and whistles of acknowledgment as he descended and landed at the base of the hill.

As he dismounted Caraxes he could see someone approaching him. At first, it just looked like a big ball of black running down the hill, but he quickly realized who it was. 

"Kepa! Kepa!" (Father!) 

The frantic voice of his daughter rang loudly in his ears. Before he could register what was happening, Daena was in his arms. He stumbled a bit from the force of her hug. She was a sobbing, coughing mess, clinging desperately to him.

 "It hurts! It-it hurts. Daddy, please! Make it s-stop!" Daena babbled. 

"What hurts?" He asked as he guided both of them down to sit on the grass. 

"M-my heart! It hurts so b-bad. Daddy please!" 

Daemon didn't know what to say. He was never the best when it came to comforting people, but for her, he would try. He pulled her into his lap and played with her hair, just like when she was a toddler. 

"Mother is - she's...she's g-gone." Daena sobbed.  "Please don't leave me. Please. I need you. Stay." 

"I'm not going anywhere," Daemon promised. And this time, he meant it. 

Two months later

The royal wedding of Princess Rhaenyra to Ser Laenor Velaryon was to be held at the Red Keep in King's Landing. Lords and ladies from throughout the realm were descending upon the capital to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event that would unite the two most powerful houses in the Seven Kingdoms. 

Seeing as Daena was a member of the royal family, she knew she had to go. Perhaps, she could've used the excuse of being in mourning as an explanation as to why she would not attend. But once her father told her he would go, she knew she also had to go.

And now here she was, back in King's Landing, after almost a year in the Vale. Her grandmother decided to stay at Runestone, seeing as Amanda gave birth just one day after Lady Rhea's funeral. Harwin, Joy, and Hanna would join Daena in King's Landing. 

She, alongside her father, decided to arrive at the wedding on dragon back. The two stayed behind at Runestone and only started their journey south one day before the wedding. Her gown and accessories for the wedding were with the twins who had traveled down from the Vale over two weeks ago. 

Arriving at King's Landing in the early morning hours, long before sunrise, Daena made her way to the Red Keep. Immediately upon arrival, Daena was greeted by the twins who ushered her to her old room where she was to rest before the start of the wedding feast.

~

The great Throne Room of the Red Keep was transformed into a banquet hall fit for a royal wedding. The banners of House Targaryen and House Velaryon hung on opposite sides of the Iron Throne. A long table was set before the throne where the royal family sat.

With trepidation, Daena made her way to the Throne Room. This would be her first public appearance since the death of her mother. She was still in mourning and wanted nothing more than to seclude herself and ignore the rest of the world, but what choice did she have?

"Princess Daena Targaryen!" The voice of Ser Harrold Westerling rang across the Hall as he announced her presence. 

The Princess strode into the Great Hall, tall and gaunt. The black silk of her dress only accentuated her pale complexion and the emptiness in her eyes. Her dark gown flowed behind her, making her look like an unworldly wraith.

Murmurs and whispers could be heard all across the room but Daena paid them no mind. With her head high, she made her way up the stairs to the royal table. She curtseyed to her uncle and Rhaenyra.

"Your Grace. Cousin." She greeted politely. A look of pity formed on the King's face.

"My dear, I must say, I was most distressed to hear of  Lady Rhea's tragic passing. I know how close you were with her. I'm very sorry for your loss." 

Daena gave an awkward smile. "Thank you, Uncle."  

"Iksan sīr vaoreznuni, hāedar. Iksis konīr mirros kostan gaomagon?" (I am so sorry, little sister. Is there anything I can do?) Rhaenyra asked. 

"....Are you happy, cousin?" Daena asked. 

Rhaenyra seemed confused by the question. "I am." 

Daena nodded. "Good. At least one of us is." 

And with that, she sat at the edge of the table, somber and quiet. Lord Lyonel, who was sitting to her left, offered his condolences. As did every lord and lady who approached the royal table. She was getting sick of it and wasn't sure if she could handle it for another couple of hours. 

To her immense pleasure, Alicent was nowhere in sight as she was "still readying herself for the celebration" as His Grace explained to Jason Lannister. 

~

"Lord Corlys of House Velaryon; Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark. His lady wife, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and their son and heir, Ser Laenor Velaryon - the future king consort!" 

Dressed in rich fabrics embroidered with gold, House Velaryon made their entrance. Everyone in the Hall stood up and clapped. Once they reached the foot of the table, Rhaenyra walked around it and greeted Laenor and he kissed her hand. Daena noticed Uncle Viserys glancing at Alicent's empty seat. 

Once the Velaryons were seated, an unexpected visitor arrived - Prince Daemon. Strutting confidently down the Hall in his red and black clothes with a smirk on his face, he silently approached the table and gave his brother a mischievous smile. 

King Viserys wordlessly gestured for another chair to be added to the table. Daena watched as her father sat down next to her. He made himself comfortable in the chair and once he did, he turned his head toward her. No smile was present on her face, yet her eyes gave away how glad she was of his arrival.

He grabbed her right hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. They continued holding hands, which warmed her broken heart just a little bit. 

Uncle Viserys then gave a speech about uniting House Targaryen and Velaryon and how much of an important ally they were to the crown. Yet, he stopped, looking at something down the hall. Everyone, including Daena, followed his line of vision. 

At the top of the stairs, on the other side of the Hall, stood Queen Alicent. Dressed in a dark green gown, she stood out amongst the crowd. She walked with a look of determination on her face and a certain fierceness was in her eyes, never before seen on the young queen. House Hightower immediately stood up, and everyone else followed suit. Except for Daemon and Daena, who remained firmly seated. 

Daemon completely ignored her, looking down at his nails, while Daena stared Alicent down with a look of pure disgust and vitriol on her face, not caring for what others might say in the slightest. Alicent walked past them, walking up to Rhaenyra. 

"Congratulations, stepdaughter. What a blessing this is for you." Alicent said connivingly to Rhaenyra and proceeded to kiss His Grace on the cheek. 

Daena caught sight of Rhaenyra's face - a look of surprise and worry was on her cousin's face. She also shared a look with her father; his pale eyebrows were raised and he was hiding his face behind his cup, almost like he was trying his hardest not to laugh. He obviously found Alicent's stunt ridiculous.  

~

Laenor and Rhaenyra proceeded to perform an Old Valyrian dance that imitated dragon flight. It was a sight to see as the two spread their arms like dragons do their wings and circled each other. Daena noticed how intensely her father was watching Rhaenyra and she couldn't help but wonder if Rhaenyra had something to do with Daemon's banishment. 

Rhaenyra in her stunning, pure white gown looked like the Maiden herself. Her silver hair was pulled up in an intricate hairdo with a bunch of rubies sewn into her hair. Daena could not say if she liked it or not. In the end, everyone clapped, Daemon more enthusiastically than others. 

Other people proceeded to stand up and join the soon-to-be-wed couple on the dance floor. Among them, Daena easily spotted Joy in her bright violet gown as she practically hopped her way to the dance floor. She somehow managed to drag Hanna along, which brought a small smile to Daena's face. 

Alicent then stood up and walked down toward the Hightowers and conversed with her uncle Hobert. Daena's eyes then fell upon her secret lover. Harwin was sitting next to his brother, Larys, and the two were having a conversation. 

She couldn't help but admire his rugged beauty; his dark blue suit sat perfectly on his broad shoulders, and his dark curls were pulled back into a bun, freeing his handsome face. Almost like he sensed she was watching him, he locked eyes with her. She instantly looked away, her heart skipping a beat. 

Her happiness was short-lived because the next time her eyes found Harwin he was on the dance floor, dancing with Rhaenyra! She did say to him before the feast she wouldn't be dancing as she was in no mood to do such things, but she didn't expect him to go and dance with her cousin of all people. 

She watched as Rhaenyra giggled at something he said and how happy he seemed around her. Why wouldn't he? She was the Realm's Delight. She was the crown Princess. She was the future Queen. Of course, he was enamored with her. 

Bitter jealousy nested itself into Daena's heart. Jealousy and envy. Jealousy, for she had no desire to share her lover with Rhaenyra. Envy, because Rhaenyra seemed to be the most desired woman in the Seven Kingdoms and had so many things Daena wanted.

Over the course of the night, Daena also noticed Ser Criston staring intensely at Rhaenyra. It seemed every man in Westeros desired Rhaenyra. Daena knew all of these feelings were irrational and knew Rhaenyra would never hurt her in such a way but, jealousy was a mad viper and its venom spread through Daena's heart. 

She was so deep into her head that she failed to notice Lady Laena sharing glances with her father from across the table. The food that was in front of her went cold for she had no appetite to begin with, now, even less. She also failed to see Joy dancing and smiling with Ser Elmo Tully. 

~

Her body was turned to the right, that way she wouldn't have to look at Alicent. The one time she did glance at Alicent, she appeared to be just as miserable as Daena was. At least that brought her some satisfaction. 

Her father proceeded to get up from the table and go into the dancing crowd. First, he conversed with Laena. After that, he went up to Rhaenyra who was still dancing with Harwin. Father said something to Harwin who stepped away. 

Harwin caught sight of Daena's face - it was twisted in anger. Her lilac eyes fell upon him and even from across the Hall, he could feel a rageful fire exuding from them. He wondered why that was. 

"Your dear Princess seems less than happy with you," Larys commented as Harwin sat down. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Look at her. She is fuming. I wouldn't be surprised if she started spitting actual fire upon you." 

"And why would she do such a thing?" Harwin inquired. 

"Something tells me she wasn't overly pleased seeing you dance with Princess Rhaenyra," Larys clarified. 

"...It was all in good faith." Harwin tried explaining. 

"I don't think that's how she sees it," Larys commented before taking a sip of his wine.

~

From her seat at the table, Daena had a clear view of her father grabbing Rhaenyra by the neck and pulling her closer. She furrowed her brows; What in the Seven Hells are they doing? 

Then, a scream echoed through the Throne Room. 

Something was happening at the dance floor, but thanks to the crowd Daena couldn't see a thing. She quickly stood up from her chair and tried peering through the mass of people. 

"Where's Rhaenyra?" Daena asked, those being the first words she uttered after hours of silence. All her negative feelings disappeared once she realized her cousin was in danger. 

"What in the Seven Hells is going on?" Uncle Viserys said as he got up. Quickly, a group of guards appeared.

"RHAENYRA!" Daena yelled trying to locate her. Daena tried looking for Nyra's silver hair but, she was never the tallest, so she was quickly engulfed by the mass. Joy and Hanna were also on the dance floor, so Daena worried for them as well. 

Uncle Viserys walked around the table, trying to locate Rhaenyra as well. It was absolute mayhem. Daena joined her uncle at the front. She locked eyes with Harwin from across the hall. 

"Get Rhaenyra!" She yelled. Harwin proceeded to fight his way through the crowd. 

Next to her, Uncle Viserys bent forward, not feeling well. 

"Uncle! Are you alright?" She asked, worry lacing her voice as she noticed his nose bleeding. He didn't respond.

As she turned her gaze once again to the crowd, in the corner of her eye something caught her attention. A short girl in a light pink gown held onto a chair for dear life; Lady Patricia Beesbury, Daena quickly realized. 

The girl, blind from birth, had no idea what was going on and a look of terror was on her face. Springing to action, Daena jumped from the small platform she was standing on and ran toward Patricia, her black gown billowing behind her. 

She could hear Lord Lyonel yelling her name in the background but she didn't care. She needed to help Patricia. 

"Patricia! It's me, Daena! Come with me, quickly!" Daena said to the girl and tightly grabbed her arm. 

There was no way they could get back to the platform so instead, Daena set her eyes on one of the pillars. With an iron-tight grip, she held onto Patricia and the two tried to escape the crowd. She heard what she thought was Harwin's voice calling for her, but she wasn't sure. 

The two girls were pushed and pulled by the crowd but somehow managed to escape. Daena pulled Patricia and swung her around, pushing her against one of the large pillars. There, they stayed hidden. 

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Daena asked, breathless. 

The poor girl looked horrified and had tears running down her cheeks. Daena looked her over and besides her hair being a mess, she seemed fine.

"I-I-I...Thank you. I'm f-fine."  Patricia spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. Daena let out a sigh of relief. 

Then everything went silent and the cries of Ser Laenor echoed through the Hall. Daena peeked out over the pillar and saw Laenor crawling over to a man's dead body. Daena would later learn this was Ser Joffrey Lonmouth. 

~

"We stand here tonight in thanks and praise to join two souls as one." The dull voice of the Septon continued reciting the wedding prayer. 

"Father. Mother. Warrior..."

Daena stood behind Alicent and Uncle Viserys. Her tight bun was now loose and barely in shape, thanks to her little rescue only minutes ago. Lord Lyonel was to her right. She couldn't have imagined a worse outcome for a wedding; a man dead and the rest of the celebrations canceled. 

"Hear now their vows." 

Rhaenyra approached Laenor, kissed him on the cheek, and said her vows. 

"I am yours and you are mine. Whatever may come." 

Laenor did the same, but truth be told, neither of them sounded honest or happy about it. 

"....I proclaim Laenor of House Velaryon and Rhaenyra of House Targaryen to be man and wife...Now and forever." 

Daena's head was pulsating, almost like someone took a hammer and was hitting her repeatedly with it. She gripped the skirt of her gown tightly, taking in small breaths through her nose. Her left wrist, the one sprained months ago, was hurting as well.

All this newfound chaos only worsened her already fragile mental state. Now her cousin's wedding was ruined, her father was gone, again, and she didn't even know where to start with Harwin. It was all too much.

It seemed she was not the only one feeling that way. Uncle Visers keeled over, his crown falling from his head. Rhaenyra, Alicent, Lord Corlys, and Lord Lyonel all rushed to help him. Closing her eyes, she sighed. Her ears were ringing and her vision was becoming fogged. An uncomfortable heat spread through her body. 

I can't take it anymore.

Without even thinking, she started walking away, leaving all that mess behind her. The click of her heels echoed as she practically ran toward the door. She barely missed the puddle of blood still left on the floor. 

Harwin stood in front of the Throne Room, waiting for Daena to come out. Suddenly, the great doors were opened and she came rushing out. Not noticing him, she started walking briskly down the halls of the Red Keep. 

"Daena!" He called for her. She seemingly ignored him and started sprinting toward the grand staircase. 

He started running after her. 

Right when she reached the stairs, she fell to her knees, her hand grabbing onto the railing. 

He caught her just before she toppled over. "Daena! What's happened? Tell me!" 

"The king has fallen...Call the measter..." She whispered, her voice weak and broken. 

"What? What do you mean?" 

He grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. He called her name, asking if she could hear him. Her gaze was blank and distant, unfocused. The grip she had on his arm lessened. She leaned her head onto his chest and then she went limp.

"...Daena? My love, please! Get up!" Harwin pleaded, his usually stoic voice now ripe with emotion. 

He picked her up and carried her to her chambers with haste. He hated the feeling of her limp body in his arms. He wanted to scream from the top of his lungs. Once again he failed to protect her and the shame pierced his heart. 

[horizon-verizon]

Yes, it's a little sad the way George is being called out because he wants to say the things he didn't like about HotD, specifically season 2. He was more than satisfied with the first one, although the changes were more or less criticized, but he didn't say anything bad and now that he wants to give his opinion as a writer/creator of the Song of Ice and Fire universe, they call him unprofessional (because they name him as a producer) and that he owes us more books, I even saw someone saying how he should have written the dance.

"unprofessional"

below or contrary to the standards expected in a particular profession

not having or showing the experience, skill, etc., that is expected or appropriate in a person who is trained to do a job well

not exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, or generally businesslike manner in the workplace

I agree completely. I'm not sure what "professional" means in this context, I listened to a TikTok creator who argued that GRRM leaving a quick, strongly-worded, strongly-toned paragraph at the end of a long post abt problems with S2 was unprofessional bc it was vague enough to open up

The thing is, does it really matter when, if we're talking exclusively about any sort of material prospects that GRRM could have to have more of his work adapted into TV/streaming OR the show's viability/popularity in streaming:

HBO owns any and all ASoIaF adaption now and in the future

HBO will continue to make adaptations even after he's gone most likely no matter how "unprofessional" he acts, bc they are getting rich from it and that's all they care about anyway

and GRRM is an old man who's now richer than he needs to be

yes, he is focused on ASoIaF, and this is his more famous as well as the only (I think) adapted part of his oeuvre

if he really has signed away his own work to be HBO's material forever and ever (as I heard) and has not assured that he could be the final authority for stuff NOT having to do with costs and those practical things AND if people really feel as if nothing he could say abt the show could deprive them of loving the show...why the claims of "unprofessionalism" if you're just going to watch the next season and keep HBo's pay up?

a) some of the actors don't even watch the show OR they avoided knowing too much abt the orig story so they wouldn't compare and be disappointed or stay focused on Ryan's vision (out of the mouth of Steve-Corlys' actor); b) some don't watch bc it's just a thing among actors to not watch what they are a part of, therefore how are their feelings really hurt, esp when the running line among fans who criticize the show is that the only or one of the few things abt it that were nonnegotiably good were the actors? When people ride and die even when some say Emma is not that good looking or BR-ugly or they say Matt is ugly and the responses are ranging from "no" to "no one else can play Daemon, I just can't see it"? The critiques are never abt the actors; c) GRRM has ALWAYS praised the actors, esp Paddy and Phia; d) the critiques were ALWAYS abt the writing or choices in STORYTELLING, not the fucking actors and non-writing crew! I swear to god, things get fed into the "Machine of Fandom Disengnuity" every other week: most recently it was why people disliked how HotD did B&C and some said "oh you wanted it to be bloodier, you just want to se a kid die a gory death" (as if what was presented on screen, even just by audio, wasn't "gory" by itself since hearing a literal child's head get sawed off instead of quickly cut off still presents an "image", one with even more physical suffering--again, gore).

I really wanna know, WHAT is at real, deep stake here? HBO/HotD's reputation (S2 was mediocre, and I didn't like S1 but it certainly was just of shoddier quality than the last and people still loved it apparently) that they never really cared abt in the first place bc they know people will keep coming back for more? Or the justification for why they love ASoIaF?

Bc, again, if you really go by books =/= show, you'd be able to just enjoy the show for all of its flaws when they are presented to you as flaws OF when the AUTHOR OF THE ORG STORIES shares their opinion abt the work regardless! Why do you feel the need the label his actions as "unprofessional"

Why do you really care enough to try to argue the man--who said similar abt the separation of bk vs show atp--shouldn't give his two cents on the adaptation of his life's work? And esp if you argue that he doesn't have the obligation to give you more books/complete the series? So he's obligated to let us/you keep our blinders on abt the lore of his books, but not obligated to give us more books? Mayeb I'm missing something here.

Another thing, yes, he has been in the TV industry for long before ASoIaF; there have been some changes and he seems to stay back in ComicCons and writer's meetings. Still, if being "professional" means you need to shut up abt what you don't like abt an adaptation, point blank period, bc outstanding actors or non-responsible people will feel bad about it or the show will suffer or be your work is no longer yours to determine the meaning and themes of once you "sold" it...we're in serious trouble from self justifying capitalist interest.

Oh, and don't forget, when RYAN CONDAL decided to say that:

Daemon was the internet's "boyfriend" when he shouldn't be despite having to know he'd be a fan fav bc he already was one for years bc he's seemingly upset he hasn't been able to ubiquitously convince the female portion that he's a feminist...when such a statement is beyond condescending

the fans of the show/bks don't know the story as well as he does [pic below], when we all know GRRM is not often in the writer's room or has much authority on how they will write the series AND has gone on record to say he actually wanted to write the Dance when Aemon and Baelon were alive!

Basically saying/dismissing fans' critiques for "I know what I'm doing" and "trust me, bro". How is this not "unprofessional" and actually, "Ryan is right? to tell bk readers to shove it"?!

GRRM's July inflammatory post mentioned Maelor [below] and how he'd talk abt that...Ryan's post above hasn't aged well.

And you can see that he already hinted at his writing a blog post abt his issues with B&C; how would he not add other stuff he felt strongly about?! This was a long time coming and some were genuinely surprised not at the strength of his language and his being so direct (that is actually surprising, considering how he said nothing abt how HBO did Dany, Catelyn, Jaime even, Tyrion, the Three Eyed Crow, magic in general, etc. dirty that I've seen) but that he dislikes or could dislike the show or aspects of it when they are so used to using his praises or exec seat as way to say the show is valid for MONTHS and now can't always feel comfortable using it.

And no, I don' think that many TikTok creators are being paid to say they loved the show. I watched and listened to many, and they genuinely love the show or certain aspects of it when they say so. Let's take them at their word. All the power to them, sometimes--as many current HotD fans of S2 have said--people just want to either see their favs onscreen and realized or they are there for messy-boots drama and "comedic", "unserious" entertainment (which is funny, bc HotD has served genuinely interesting and non-superficial tidbits here and there but what's aggravating is how they almost immediately tend to not develop or some fans refuse to get into really acknowledging the problems HotD creates with is storytelling decisions both out and in the universe [race, gender like how they wrote Rhaenyra's sons and the Velaryons or the women's....passiveness and dragging an inevitable war post-Lucerys or trying to maintain Rhaenicent]).

[fatherforgivethem]

Hi💚I saw your Hotd Hunger Games post and I couldn’t help but ask to do Hotd meets Bly Manor, or Hill House if you can🤷‍♀️

“I’m a dream, and so are you, and so are we…”

.

.

.

Alicent Hightower had only ever wanted to give her family a sense of adventure. She wanted them to see different parts of the country, and with her job as a house flipper, she had been able to do just that. Until recently….

She had wanted her children to like the new house, she had wanted herself to like the house; but something about it made her feel a certain kind of unwell. And no matter how she tried to encourage her children, it was a known fact that the family was sick and tired of Hill House.

Yet, life had changed when her little girl had begun to speak of figure she’d scene around the house. A women, she’d explained, that she called the Bent-Neck-Lady. And when Aemond had spoken of a very tall man he’d seen walking about the halls. All of it seemed to be going wrong. She herself had begun to see a vexing auburn-haired women that would snarl hateful nonsense into Alicent’s ears. Even Daeron hated the house. Aegon seemed to be doing the best out of all of them.

Her life felt like chaos, like madness. It was so mad that it drove her to point of no return. She felt light, like she was floating. She was once there, in the flesh with her children. And now, she was one with the house. She was of Hill House. Forever wandering the halls alone until a voice that sounded like her little girl’s rang through her ears like music.

Aegon could identify the exact moment that his and his families life had gone up in flames. It had been when his uncle Gwayne, who had been staying with them at Hill House, had pulled Aegon and his siblings from their beds, ordering them to keep their eyes closed as he lifted them in his arms and began running down the halls as fast as his feet could carry them.

He’d shoved them into a car and driven like a madman to the nearest hotel. It had been in the chaos of the car that his uncle had revealed what had happened to their mother. It was that exact moment that Aegon knew nothing would ever be the same and the family would be forever changed. The days after that night had been full of questions from Aegon and his siblings, but those questions had all gone unanswered by a shell shocked, almost hollow-looking Gwayne, who Aegon realized only the next morning had been covered in blood the night before when they’d escaped Hill House.

They had moved in with Gwayne. Who in Aegon’s opinion, was not stable enough to care for them after the death of his sister, Alicent. Aegon did what he could for his family. But despite his efforts they always seemed only just out of his reach. From then, time had gone on, and Aegon and his siblings and grown up. Aegon had married a man named Jace and the two opened a funeral home. They had a little girl and even Daeron had moved in with them, living in the guest house.

Aegon thought, or at least hoped, that life should have been set, it should have finally been at a place where they were all fine and happy. But that was never the case with the Hightower family. Aemond had fallen victim to nearest substance, Helena hadn’t been taking her meds in over a year, and it had all been left to Aegon to sort out, as their uncle Gwayne had become harder and harder to reach in the last several years. It seemed that Daeron and Aegon were the only ones holding on to some semblance of a healthy sibling relationship with each other.

Despite it all however, Aegon could at least say that it was going ok. Aegon had been able to get Aemond a place in a rehab facility. And Helaena had her husband to rely on. It was going ok… until Helaena had called.

Aemond had been seeing the man again. It had been ok for a little, it really had. He had been in a facility, one he had wanted to be at. He had been taking his medicine. He was even going on six months of sobriety. He was doing ok… until he saw him again. The man, the one with the hat who seemed to be at every corner that Aemond turned, always looking in the opposite direction. He had made the mistake of leaving the facility for a girl he thought had cared for him.

All he wanted was his family, he wanted his mom who he remembered only in pieces, he wanted his older brother Aegon who always knew what to do, but who Aemond knew was tired of him asking for money, he wanted his little brother who wanted nothing to do with him, and who he really wanted was his twin. Helaena. It was Helaena who would understand what he was feeling.

He had tried to stay somewhere, to sleep, but he only saw the man, the tall one who was always there, watching him. He had tried calling his uncle Gwayne but he hadn’t answered. He tried calling Aegon and Daeron but they hadn’t answered. When he called Helaena, she had sounded off, like something wasn’t right. Aemond could always tell when something wasn’t right with Helaena. The same way she could always tell with him. It was a twin thing. That’s what they’d always said. She had kept going on and on about Hill House. And the line had cut off after that. He needed to get to Helaena.

He needed them, his family. He would get to them somehow. He would.

Daeron knew people looked at him as odd for always wearing his gloves. As if wearing something on his hands made him a freak. It was just gloves, truly. And to others, he wanted to keep it that way. But he knew the truth. Those gloves protected him from knowing things that no else wanted to know. He could touch an object and feel the exact emotion of the last person that had used it. He could touch a couch and feel the emotions of the last person who has sat on it. He could touch a lamp and the same thing would happen. And with his mother gone, there wasn’t anyone to help him with it. He was all by himself when it came to this. And so, the only way to keep it in check was to put a barrier between himself and everything else. To put leather gloves over his skin. The odd stares people sent his way were worth it.

After the events at Hill House, Daeron had put most of his time and energy into school, and it wasn’t long before he was graduating and staring his job as a child’s psychologist. He could still remember the proud look that Aegon and Helaena had given him when he walked across the stage. Aemond had been absent. He’d been at one of many rehabs. All of that, the struggle of school, the absence of Aemond, that had all been before. Before everything else that soon occurred. Before Helaena’s husband had died and she had stopped taking her medication, before Aemond was nowhere to be found. Moving in with Aegon had been the best decision he made in a long time. They needed each other more than anything.

And so, years after Daeron had cut ties with Helaena and Aemond, years after dodging calls, Daeron was surprised to see Aegon so worked up after a voicemail from Helaena. It wasn’t long before Daeron was waking up in a fright. His sister was there. Back at the house they had sworn to forget all those years ago. He could feel it.

She was in the Red Room.

Life was a terrifying task that Helaena had been forced to live through as of recent. She had a husband, a charming man who had loved her despite her odd quirks and nightly terrors. He was loving and supportive, kind and gentle. She had needed him. The two had been happy, she had been happy for once in a long time. When her mother had passed, it seemed as if nothing would be the same again. However, when she met him, Arthur, her life had seemed to brighten. He was the lamp inside a dark room. Though, like most lamps, the bulb eventually went out and the room was left in the dark once more. He had gone in the night, a brain aneurism of all things. Unexpected and bewildering. One moment he was there, and the next, he was gone.

She had been plagued as a young child with night terrors. A woman with long black hair and a bent neck who seemed to float above her her bed and she jay there, or before her in a dark hallway. And each time she saw her, it was as if her body was stuck. Frozen. Paralyzed by fear. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t blink, she couldn’t scream. That was always the worst part.

It seemed it would never end. Until one day it did. She had been glad that she had called Aegon. Glad that she was able to leave some kind of message before departing.

If there was a creature in the woods, they would have seen her feet moving along the gravel and into the creaky house. Hill House, it was called. Now, if a particle of dust were to watch her, they would see her dance with no one, deeper and deeper into the house, until she was so far, that she could never dream of making her way back out. Until the world she had once known had been replaced with a world full of something different. Something less real.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

HOTD 2X04 Review/Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I know I am late with my review this week as well, apologies for that I have had a busy few weeks so haven't had as much free time as normal. But anyway 2x04 of HOTD, this episode definitely picked up a bit in terms of action, I do feel like so far this season its been a lot of sitting in rooms talking and not much on the action front so I am hoping this is the first of many more action packed episodes to come. As I say in every review, I have not read the books so my following thoughts and opinions are based solely on the show and of course there are spoilers.

Daemon and His Ghost Hunting Adventures

So I wanted to start out with Daemon who is still having quite the time of it during his stay at Harrenhall, he is still being plagued by visions and it seems they are now also effecting him whilst he is awake. What I think is really interesting about these visions is it seems to be of things he either feels guilty about or has some regret over. So lets talk about these visions he has.

The first one we see is another vision of young Rhaenyra, this time she is sat on the iron throne, she is dressed in the same black dress she wore at her coronation, she is wearing her father's crown but interestingly in this vision the crown is too big for her. What is also interesting is how when she first starts speaking he can't understand her, even though she is speaking Valyrian a language that they often communicated in. I think this might be to show how even though they both have the same goal, rhaenyra as queen, the greens defeated, aemond killed in retribution for luke's death etc, they still have this distance between them, Daemon just does not understand Rhaenyra's recent actions, why she would even consider suing for peace or why she would ever consider the green's terms. Then Rhaenyra's speech becomes clear for him and again what she says is interesting, telling him he was the one who created her but now he is seeking to destroy her because his brother loved her more. Another little detail in this scene in that this conversation happens under the eye of that giant stone statue of Viserys, showing how even after his death his shadow still looms over both Daemon and Rhaenyra.

We also then see Daemon lash out at this vision of Rhaenyra and cut her head off. The way I interpreted this moment was that it wasn't really Rhaenyra that he was lashing out at, I don't think it was an anger thing directed towards Rhaenyra herself, I think Daemon knows that this is a vision, obviously because this is young Rhaenyra and not current Rhaenyra, but it is clear that Daemon is very disturbed by what this vision is saying. As I said above, these visions seem to be playing into Daemon's fears, inner conflicts and things that he feels guilty or responsible for. Right now Rhaenyra is in a lot of danger because she is the heir, because she wears her father's crown, with the vision saying 'you created me and now you seek to destroy me' I wonder if this is because Daemon feels like if his own actions hadn't led to him being replaced as heir then Rhaenyra wouldn't be in the danger she is now, also that if he hadn't acted recklessly when it came to the assassination attempt on Aemond then he wouldn't have made things worse for Rhaenyra inadvertently putting her in even more danger as now he's been sent away from her and can't be there physically to protect her as well as losing her trust. It's interesting that when he cuts her head off the crown falls from her head, I wonder if this is his worst fear that the greens will take her life whilst attempting to de-crown her and that in some way he will be responsible for not protecting her, maybe that is why when he wakes up for a brief moment there is blood on his hands, he fears her getting hurt and that blood being on his hands.

So the next vision is the one where he is following Aemond through the halls of Harrenhall. Can I just say though, that we are officially 4 for 4, last week I did point out that so far we have had a scene where one or more characters have creeped through dark hallways, and this episode is no exception. So now we have daemon sneaking through the dark, creepy halls, in pursuit of his current greatest enemy, only when he catches up to his foe, it turns out to be himself. I think the message here is clear, Daemon in his thirst for vengeance recklessly went after Aemond, seeing him as his worst enemy and the greatest threat to Rhaenyra and his family but in the end he was his own worst enemy and he in turn ended up being a threat to Rhaenyra when his actions damaged Rhaenyra's reputation.

I think the next vision he has is another one that is pretty self explanatory. Whilst at a meeting with the head of the Blackwoods Daemon envisions the cup bearer as Laena. In the vision he sees her as we saw her in ep 6, when they lived in Pentos and when she was pregnant with their unborn child that died with her. In that episode Laena expressed a wish to go home, wanting her child to be born in westeros, at driftmark. This was a request Daemon denied as at the time he wished to stay away from westerosi politics. I think this vision shows how he has some regret over not agreeing to go back to driftmark with Laena, maybe he thinks things would have turned out differently if they had returned. It's also possible that he is just feeling grief over the way things turned out, and is reliving the trauma from the way he lost Laena. Again it could be him feeling a sense of responsibility for failing to protect his wife and that playing into his fear of not being able to protect his family during this war.

So sticking with Daemon for a moment the other scene I want to talk about is the one between him and Oscar Tully. And look hear me out ok, Daemon had a point. Not to say that Oscar should stick a pillow over his grandsire's head but Daemon had a point about House Tully being a fish with no head and how that is leading to its Vassal Houses not respecting or obeying their authority and basically doing whatever they like including slaughtering each other. So Daemon had a point when he asked if Oscar would speak on his Grandsire's behalf and then in how he dismissed the boy when he refused as Oscar at that point was pretty much useless to Daemon's cause. Don't get me wrong I did feel sorry for the kid but Daemon wasn't wrong, if Lord Tully is incapacitated then someone else needs to step up and take charge. Seeing as no one is doing that because, its not their way, then it makes sense that Daemon would look else where for support and strong leadership.

Alys the Trapped Barn Owl.

Ok I have to say, she is a little creepy, but I really like Alys, she was very amusing in this episode and it was funny seeing her wind Daemon up. There is something that makes me wary of her though. I do wonder if she is the one giving Daemon the visions or whether it is as she said, that Harrenhall is cursed due to a grove of weirwood trees being cut down to build the castle and how the spirits that lived in those trees now haunt those who reside or visit the castle. The way she said that Daemon's bed was made from one of the trees makes me wonder if that is contributing to his visions. We know that magic is real in westeros and there is more to the weirwood trees than them just being trees, so I could 100% believe that they are what's haunting Daemon, but I also can't help but think Alys has more to do with the visions as well. I also wonder whether the drink she gave him was actually to help or whether it was too further open his mind to the visions or have some other nefarious purpose. Either way I am intrigued to see more of Alys' character and learn more about her.

Potential Offspring (TW. Abortion mention)

So I am going to throw these two in to together as I don't have loads to say about them and they are kind of around the same subject.

We got a scene between Rhaenys and Alyn, the sailor who saved Corlys' life, that was really interesting. There was an obvious tension between the two whilst they were talking and an awkwardness that indicates a secret, when Corlys also joined the conversation that tension and awkwardness only increased. Between Rhaenys saying that Alyn's mother must have been very beautiful and then telling Corlys I know who he is, I think its safe to assume that Alyn may be Corlys' bastard son. Couple of things I want to say about this, firstly, we know that Alyn has a brother and now I am wondering if Alyn's brother also is Corlys' son or if he and Alyn are half brothers sharing the same mother only. The other thing I am wondering is, if Alyn and his brother are Corlys' sons then did his affair with their mother happen before or after he was married to Rhaenys, I'm not sure how long he and Rhaenys have been married or how old the two men are. What i do think is interesting though is Rhaenys reaction to Alyn, it doesn't seem to me like she holds any ill will towards him and even chastised Corlys for trying to hide him away, saying that actually he should be honoured for saving Corlys' life.

Speaking of potential bastard children it looks like Alicent may have taken some steps to abort hers and cole's illegitimate child. Judging from the tea that the maester brought her and how she was using warm rocks to deal with cramping I think she found herself in the pridicament of being pregnant with Cole's unborn child. I could talk about the obvious hypocrisy here but at this point I think the writers have made it pretty clear that both Alicent and Cole are hypocrites so its old news at this point. I still feel some sympathy for Alicent, obviously going through an abortion is difficult and painful and possibly it was a hard choice for her to make. I suppose she could have tried to say that the child was viserys' but I don't think anyone would believe that in his state at the end he was partaking in any marital relations, then there is the fact that the child obviously wouldn't look targaryen at all, so she really didn't have much of a choice but to abort it. I do wonder if the tea was effective though, I know in season one they said the tea could be ineffective if not brewed properly. From the cramping I am going to assume that it did work but you never know. I don't know what Alicent would do if she is still pregnant though, I guess time will tell. I also wonder if she will tell Cole about the pregnancy and her choice to end it or whether she will just keep it to herself, I also wonder if she does tell him what his reaction will be to it.

Aegon the Puppet King

This whole season the writers seem to have been taking efforts to show that Aegon really is unsuitable to be king, it was clear that he wasn't given any training or preparation to be king and in this episode it really is made painfully clear why, they only ever wanted a puppet king, a king whose strings could be pulled and who would be the face of the crown but who would ultimately leave the actual ruling to the hand and the small council.

The two scenes we see of the green council are great examples of just how little authority Aegon really has. In the first council scene Aemond arrives and announces that he and Cole have been strategizing together and acting without consulting Aegon first, they've planned to take Rook's Rest instead of Harrenhall and Aemond ignores Aegon's request that Cole turn around and retake Harrenhall from Daemon. On top of that Aemond then humiliates Aegon when he speaks to him in High Valyrian. It is obvious that Aemond was aware that Aegon isn't as well versed in the language and Aegon is put in the situation where he is struggling to speak a language that is traditional to his house, this was an obvious move by Aemond to call into question Aegon's legitimacy as a targaryen and show himself as being the more superior one, and it was a definite hit to Aegon's ego and hit on his insecurities. I do wonder how much the small council understood the Valyrian because they reacted like they understood what was being said. It also seemed like although Aegon struggled to speak the language he was able to understand what Aemond was saying perfectly fine.

The next council scene is a smaller one but still shows how little the council respect Aegon as king and how little consideration they have for his opinions. In this scene Aegon announces that he is bored, that they are all boring him, before he gets up and just leaves the council room. The significant part though is the fact that after he has left the council just carry on as if he was never even there to start with showing just how little involvement Aegon truly has in the running of the kingdom.

One scene that I did find a bit frustrating though was the one between Aegon and Alicent where Aegon confides in Alicent that he feels like the council don't care what he thinks and don't listen to him. Alicent's what thoughts could you offer comment was really kind of harsh. I think what I found frustrating was that Alicent was essentially complaining about how unfit Aegon was to rule, how sacrifices were made to put him on the throne, but it was her job to get him ready to rule, hers and Otto's. For years she was telling Aegon that one day he would be king, they plotted to put him on the throne but did nothing to prepare him for the role and is now complaining that he isn't prepared for the role. Being King also wasn't something that Aegon wanted, I mean he literally tried to run away from it and had to be dragged back, so it was a bit galling to see Alicent act like Aegon should be grateful considering the sacrifices that were made to give him the throne when lets be real here it was something that was forced on to him, not something he wanted for himself. If you look at this from Aegon's pov, he spent all of his life being told by his mother that he would be king, yet his father made it clear that his choice was rhaenyra, then his father dies and he is forced to be king, meanwhile his mother is assuring him that his father changed his mind on his death bed and actually he wanted Aegon to be king. So Aegon decides to try his best to fulfil the role he thinks his father has given him, admittedly he does it badly but he does at least try, only for his mother to then turn around and say just don't do anything, do nothing, she might as well have told him he was worthless. Like obviously this is going to mess with Aegon's head.

The other thing that I found frustrating about the conversation was that Alicent says that having a crown put on his head doesn't imbue him with wisdom, she also then chastises him telling him she thought when he became king he would be humble and ask for advice from others more wise and experienced than him, but I'm like if he wasn't humble before and if he didn't listen to others before, why would she think he suddenly would once he was king. Like if a crown doesn't imbue the wearer with wisdom by the same measure it isn't going to imbue them with humility either.

In this scene Aegon was looking to his mother for reassurance and comfort and it very much reminded me of that scene in the carriage on the way to his coronation where he asked if she loved him. But just as she did then, instead of giving him any reassurance or comfort she instead belittled him. By this point Alicent knows how Aegon can act out especially when he is angry or upset, the smart course of action and what Alicent really should have done was attempt to calm Aegon and pander to him a little to keep him under her control, give him the attention, affection and reassurance he was clearly seeking. The result of Alicent pretty much telling him he was useless and the best thing he could do was nothing, was that Aegon felt the need to prove his self worth by getting on his dragon and joining Cole's army in the attack against Rook's Rest. Which had disastrous consequences.

Jace the Very Fed Up Prince.

Now I want to talk about the black council, like the green council it seems like the black council is beginning to lose respect for the Queen's authority and wants to start acting and making decisions without her. In Rhaenyra's absence, Jace, Baela and Rhaenys have been left to try and keep some handle over the other lords but its proving to be a difficult task as those lords are cleary restless.

I will say that I loved Jace and Baela in this scene, they don't have much to do but the moments we do get are golden. Like I love when the lord criticises Baela for not burning Cole and her response is just well maybe you can on your dragon, she's not taking any of his crap. I also love that Jace immediately supported and defended Baela, he made it very clear that in this house you better respect his betrothed. I also really liked that tiny blink and you miss it moment where Jace reaches over and takes Baela's hand after Daemon and his silence is brought up. I do think this gave us a little glimpse of how Baela and Jace would be like as King and Queen and it is clear that they would support each other and stand together.

I also have to say that I fully understand Jace's frustration and anger at rhaenyra when she returned from King's landing. I said myself after ep 3 that her going to king's landing to talk to Alicent was a foolish move that put her in unneccesary danger, so I think Jace's reaction was warranted. It was also kind of amusing as it was almost like Jace was the one that was in the role of a parent and rhaenyra was the teenager that had just been caught sneaking out when she shouldn't have.

I do get where Rhaenyra was coming from when she said that before ending the peace she inherited from her father she had to be sure there was no other way, but at the same time like, alicent has spent years terrorising you and your sons, the greens have usurped your throne and attempted to hide your father's death from you in the process, caused you to go into preterm labour and you then losing your unborn daughter, Aemond has then killed your son, in retaliation Aegon's son and heir was killed and its only now that you've realised that there was no other way, like really? Because I figured out we were past the point of no return about 4/5 episodes ago. Like I get the need for building anticipation for the dance and showing that rhaenyra made an attempt at peace and didn't just immediately jump into war but they built up the anticipation just fine in season 1, they didn't need half of season 2 as well, I just feel like they needlessly dragged it out. On top of that Rhaenyra could at the very least have told someone where she was and what she was doing, even if was vague like in this moment where she says she was making a last ditch effort for peace. But instead she left her council in the dark and to try and deal with Cole's advancing force without the queen there to guide them and give them instruction.

I again understood Jace's frustration when Rhaenyra said she would fly out on Syrax. He was correct in pointing out that she was too valuable to risk, that if she died all would be lost. But I also think Rhaenyra made a good point when she said Jace lacked experience, the flip side of that is he won't get any experience if Rhaenyra keeps him locked up inside dragonstone. Ultimately Rhaenys is the most logical choice, as she said she has the largest dragon and has experience as well. Still it was clear that it was a difficult choice.

The Battle of Rook's Rest.

Ok I know last week I was complaining that I wanted to see the dragons fight already but having seen the dragons fight in this episode I have changed my mind because boy was it horrific and distressing to see. That being said I am glad that we actually, finally got to see some action this week.

The whole battle was great, horrifyingly great. It really did show just how brutal and terrifying these battles between dragons are for everyone involved, the dragons themselves, the riders and those on the ground, I mean seeing that body crumble to ash when Cole touched it and all the soldiers whose armour had literally melted onto there skin was pretty haunting. Some parts that I really thought stood out was, those moments where Rhaenyra was recounted the prophecy to jace in a voice over as we see Rhaenys/Meleys and Aegon/Sunfyre preparing to fly to battle. I loved those little moments showing the bond between dragon and rider, where you had Rhaenys leaning her forehead against Meleys and speaking to her gently and where Sunfyre playfully nudges at Aegon. But that whole scene with the voice over from Rhaenyra as the two dragons fly to war gave me goosebumps.

It was also interesting seeing the different sizes of the dragons. It was clear right away that Sunfyre and Aegon were completely outmatched by Meleys and Rhaenys, not just in size but also experience. That moment where Meleys comes up from under Sunfyre and just claws into her was awful to watch, just seeing how much damage was inflicted and seeing the blood pour out as Sunfyre flew away screeching in pain, was heartbreaking.

Then we have Vhagar and Aemond. I totally called it last week after Aegon publicly humiliated Aemond that Aemond would retailated against Aegon somehow and so I really wasn't all that surprised when Aemond took this opportunity to literally roast his brother. Still it was not fun to see poor Sunfyre in pain like that and falling from the sky.

It was equally upsetting when Meleys and Rhaenys fall from the sky. Again throughout this battle we really do see the experience Meleys and Rhaenys have, it was pretty ballsy for them to take on Vhagar but they actually did do some damage, even bringing Vhagar down to the ground at one point. I think Rhaenys knew she wasn't going to survive the battle and so her plan was to just inflict as much damage to Vhagar and Aemond as she can. It seems to me like one of team blacks main priorities is to take Aemond and more specifically vhagar off the board for obvious reasons and this was Rhaenys taking her best shot at that. What I do find interesting is how Rhaenys death mirrors Luke's, both were taken out by an ambush attack from Vhagar and both fell with their dragons. Also both had the opportunity to leave but both stayed to fight for their queen's cause. It seems to be a pattern with team black where they are all in, die or nothing types. I fully get why Rhaenys didn't just flee when she had the chance. Rhaenyra gave her a mission, destroy Cole's host, defend Rook's Rest and stop it from falling into greens hands. Rhaenys hadn't completed that task yet and she was going to complete or die trying, and if she could take out a green's dragon or two then she'd give that her best shot too.

Losing Rhaenys was definitely a huge blow and I was really sad to see her go, I really did like her character and how much she supported Rhaenyra. I think this is going to be really tough on Baela and Corlys in particular, so I am really hoping that Baela gets some comfort from Jace and that there is someone there to support Corlys too.

And am very interested to see where the story will go next. It looks like Aegon might still just about be alive, also Sunfyre was still breathing at the end of the episode but did look like she was in terrible shape, so I am interested to see if they both pull through and just how extensive their injuries are. I am assuming that Aemond is now going to act as regent in Aegon's place, potentially, or will it be Cole who acts as regent seeing as he's the hand? I guess we will find out next episode, so until then that is all I've got this time.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

please ignore the losers who leave hate over anon 😭 they love the attention

Ordinarily, I block all shitty anons. They don't see the light of day. I'm content to let them scream into the void.

I made an exception yesterday, as this person has been doing the rounds in the asks of lots of people I care about in fandom recently, offering unnecessarily harsh (and unsolicited) criticism - in fact, it's not even criticism, because criticism would suggest that what they're saying is constructive and helps the author to understand how they could better their writing. These comments don't, they're just plain awful and indicative of how ugly on the inside this person is.

I'd gladly ignore comments such as that myself (their attempt to suggest I use AI to write my fics was one of the furthest things from sane I've ever read) but seeing people I love, whose writing I genuinely enjoy receive them crossed a line for me.

The HotD fandom is a fucking cesspit. The people still here creating in spite of it all have the patience of saints. I refuse to allow more people to be chased away and lose their desire to continue writing, gif making, drawing, etc. because some bitter, jealous, entitled fuckwit has decided to take it upon themselves to tear chunks out of people without provocation.

This is the most peaceful fandom has felt in a very long time - people are getting along, there is no tension and no anxiety about the consequences of what might happen if you engage with certain users. I really want it to stay that way, so yesterday was my way of reminding the people I care about that I have their backs, and that's unconditional.

That particular anon has been blocked by me, and I will be reinstating the brick wall stance for any further people who want to be shitty, but aren't brave enough to say it with their whole chest.