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apoloadonisandnarcissus · 1 day

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What is/are the Red Herring(s) of “Rings of Power” Season 2?

In Season 1, the major red herring was “The Stranger = Sauron”, with several characters assuming that the being that fell from the sky was Sauron returning to Middle-earth, and with the visual clues teasing it several times. So, the red herring/plot twist of Season 1 was connected with the “mystery box” of “who is Sauron?”

Assuming Season 2 is following the same formula (and my guess is it is, because show writers love this kind of stuff), what’s the red herring of Season 2? Similar to Season 1, it has to fulfill the following requirements:

It has been mentioned throughout the season;

Talked about by several characters;

Drive the plot forward (in some way);

Be resolved at the finale (2x08).

Season 2 has two mystery boxes remaining concerning identities: “who is the Stranger?” and “Who is the Dark Wizard of Rhûn?”

(yes, I’m straight up ignoring all those crack theories about Adar = Celeborn or Mirdania = Celebrían)

Sauron rises in the West; the Dark Wizard in the East. Every soul in Middle-earth is in danger. Tom Bombadil warns “The Stranger”, for push him into finding his wizard staff and earn his name.

The Stranger = Gandalf

Ever since Season 1, the show has been dropping clues that “The Stranger” is actually Gandalf, with 1x08 confirming he’s one of the Istari (“Order of Wizards”). For context: the Istari were a group of Maiar sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to help the Free People defeat Sauron. And they were five: Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the Blue Wizards (Alatar and Pallando).

We have to forget the timeline of the books here because, obviously, the show isn’t following it, and as Adar told Galadriel in 2x06: there were many stories about what happen, and since the “The Silmarillion” is somewhat written from the Eldar (mainly the Noldor) POV, the show can afford to take some liberties (I know this makes the Tolkien purists fume, but oh, well).

In Season 2, in particular, the clues that “The Stranger = Gandalf” are everywhere, with Tom Bombadil going as far as using some of Gandalf iconic quotes. Poppy talking about “gand”s, and The Stranger’s quest of finding his wizard staff and earn his name (which will happen in 2x08). But is it possible that the show is pushing the “The Stranger = Gandalf” so hard, for it to end up being the red herring of Season 2, and him turning out to be an entirely different Istar at the finale?

My main issue with this is: the red herring of Season 1 was already connected to The Stranger’s identity, and doing the same thing in Season 2 would be kind of lazy writing. It does fill all the requirements to be the “red herring”, though. But I don’t think so, my guess is “The Stranger” will be revealed to (actually) be Gandalf at the finale.

"Who is the Dark Wizard of Rhûn?"

I don’t think there is any red herring here, mostly because we don’t have enough clues about who he is, at this point. I think Season 2 might even leave his identity ambiguous, mostly because, in 2x08, we’ll have the big reveal of “who is the Stranger?” in that plotline.

Let’s analyze the strongest contenders:

Beware: there could be more than one red herring, because we can’t forget that in Season 1 we also had the "reveal" that Halbrand was, in fact, the lost heir to the throne of the Southlands, and we all know how that turned out...

I would also argue that the petals of Nimloth (the White Tree of Númenor) falling because of Galadriel’s presence on the island was also a red herring, back in Season 1 (it was clearly about Sauron/Halbrand, and maybe he was the one who caused them to fall, in the first place, to prevent Galadriel from leaving without him).

1) Celebrimbor’s death at Sauron’s hands

Celebrimbor being at risk of Sauron’s corruption is not exactly a “red herring”, because we know it happens, and he’s deceived by Sauron/Annatar into forging the Seven and the Nine rings of power.

However, there is a sense of urgency throughout Season 2 in saving Celebrimbor, not only his mind from corruption and stop the "rings of power" project, but his very life. Several characters (mainly Galadriel and Elrond) have mentioned how Celebrimbor’s life is in danger, and it’s highly implied that Sauron will kill him in Eregion (Galadriel’s vision; Elrond remembering his father’s prophecy of how, one day, Celebrimbor’s life would be on his hands).

But, will Sauron actually kill Celebrimbor, himself?

In the books, it’s established he does. However, Season 2, right from the start, in 2x01, has shown us, the audience, that Sauron has some interesting methods of killing his enemies. Because Sauron is a mastermind, a deceiver, and so he enjoys manipulating others into doing his dirty work for him (like we saw with Waldreg and the Warg).

Can Sauron employ someone else into killing Celebrimbor? Could it be that, Celebrimbor and all other characters believe that he safe and sound (because Sauron has left Eregion and won’t return), and, boom, Celebrimbor gets killed by other character, doing Sauron’s biding?

2) The Three Elven Rings are free from Sauron’s influence

The current ring-bearers (Gil-galad, Galadriel and Círdan) seem to believe the Three are free from Sauron’s influence. Galadriel, mainly, seems to trust Nenya completely, using the visions it provides as guidance. However, Círdan did say they have, yet, to discover the whole truth about the Elven Rings of Power, and that they should be, indeed, feared. Elrond, from the start, suspects the rings might be connected to Sauron, because he, as Halbrand, worked alongside Celebrimbor for some time, trying to find the right alloy for the mithril.

In “Rings of Power”, the Númenóreans say “the sea is always right”, and in this house we say that “Elrond is always right” (and his only sin was not throwing Isildur and the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom)! Because the Three are not, in fact, free from Sauron’s power.

In the books, the Three Elven Rings do not bind their ring-bearers (Gil-galad/Elrond, Galadriel and Círdan/Gandalf) to Sauron’s will, but they allow the Dark Lord to look inside their minds, and that’s how the smiths of Eregion knew that they were deceived by Sauron and perceived he forged the One Ring. The Three also lose their power after the One Ring is destroyed by Frodo in the Third Age, so they are, indeed, connected to Sauron’s power in some way, and perhaps Season 2 will reveal this to the audience.

3) Galadriel will resist Sauron’s temptation

While several characters (Gil-galad, Elrond and Adar) do foreshadow that Galadriel might succumb to Sauron if she faces him alone in the finale, there’s always a sense of certainty she’ll resist him. With Adar being the exception here. However, Galadriel seems to be utterly sure that she can resist Sauron again, and defeat him (or die trying).

Galadriel believes that she can resist Sauron’s temptation because: (1) what he offered last time (power) isn’t enough to tempt her, and (2) she’s aware of his deceptions and manipulations, meaning there is nothing he can tempt her with. Or is there?

Sauron will bring the big guns this time around, and so the question is: will Galadriel be able to, in fact, resist him, again?

4) Balrog of Moria

Season 1 revealed it, and Season 2 has been teasing the Balrog of Morgoth that dwells deep in the mountains bellow the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, in the mines of Moria.

Both Disa and Prince Durin are already aware of its presence (they doesn’t know what it is, only its something dangerous, ancient and powerful). And Sauron/Annatar is also aware of its presence. Now, we see Sauron performing some kind of blood magic in 2x06, which might lead the audience to believe he’s “summoning” the Balrog or trying to control it, for him to join the Battle of Eregion or something of that sort. Hence the red herring.

In book canon, we know that Sauron can’t control the Balrog, because they are the same kind (both Maiar corrupted by Morgoth), and the Balrog doesn’t join his forces. You see, the Balrog just wants to chill in the mines and be left alone.

Season 2 has been teasing that the Balrog might have a bigger role than it’ll actually have. In the canon, the Balrog was, literally, dig out by the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, due to their greed, and we already saw Disa and Prince Durin trying to stop the Dwarves from digging near its lair.

By bet is: Durin III, guided by his ring of power (controlled by Sauron), will dig out the Balrog himself, while the Dwarves are busy in the Battle of Eregion. And like in the books, the Balrog will kill him, and earn the nickname “Durin’s bane”. And that’s pretty much it for the Balrog plotline.

That's it, folks. Is there any other potential red herring that you can think of? Do you agree or disagree that some of these clues are, indeed, red herrings?

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misguidedasgardian · 2 days

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I want to teal the bride (6)

6. Haunted castles, freaking trees.

MASTERLIST

Summary: The last shot

Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x BestFriend!Reader

Warnings: cursing, use of “stereotypes”, scottish costumes and practices passed by “Northeners” customs, we are going to kiss many strangers in this chapter, also a tradition,

Aemond wants to steal the bride, so I will put in cheating, dub-con touching (on Aemond by someone else), people drinking heavily, might miss some warnings, but you know what this is about

Wordcount: 7.7 k

Notes: Sorry for the delay, I have all the structure on this one, so it's easy to write! the best part? this is helping me get back into the HOTD fandom, because I’m trying to take the characters but not the awful storyline of the story! so this is helping me get back on the hotd train!

Aegon fanned Aemond’s face as it was clear that the heat was getting to his brother, as he tried to keep everything on him and together, he had his passport and boarding pass in one hand, his man purse in the other as he was trying to grab onto his carry on. As all his friends around him were trying to help him in the entrance to the departure part of the airport.

“What about the dresses?”, Aemond asked Addam

“WPS is delivering them tomorrow morning, I gave you the tracking number”, he said sympathetically, fixing the strap on his man purse that had fallen off, the leather threatening to touch the ground.

“I got it, I got it, I got it!”, said Aemond as he was getting more overwhelmed despite his friends’ efforts to help him

“Alright, when you get up there, there is going to be special transport to take you to the Stark’s state, where (y/n) will be waiting for you”, said Criston. The entire of that sentence didn’t pleased Aemond at all, but he nodded

“Okay, great”, he said, finally getting it together, he didn’t know how the ladies did it. Aegon then passed him his coffee and all the balance he had manage to have, went out the window

Aegon went back to Criston’s jeep and took out his own bag

“What are you doing?”, asked Aemond

“You don’t think I was going to let you go alone to the most important mission of your life, right?”, he asked with a wicked smiled, and when Aemond looked around his group of friends he realized they were all in on it

“(y/n) is going to freak if you crash her wedding”, warned Aemond

“Hey, we go way back, she told me it was cool”, he said simply. Aemond nodded. “Let’s bring your girl back home”, he said with a cheeky smile.

“Go get them, maid of honor!”, chanted Addam

“Yeah!”, chanted Criston, who was living the saying, “if you can’t beat them, join them”

“Make this the perfect wedding… And steal the bride!”, said Adam

“Thanks, guys”, said Aemond with a little smile, and the four of them all hugged tightly, “Thanks for everything, man”, muttered Aemond to Addam’s ear

And with the help of several small liquor bottles and a sleeping pill for Aegon, and good headphones and his notebook filled with notes for Aemond, they managed to pull through the flight without bigger complications.

The rest of the bridesmaids were on the flight too, Aemond just say hello and was thankful that Aegon didn’t notice them until they landed and he looked like a mess with his sleeping mask around his forehead like an idiot, and his dragon shaped sleeping pillow around his neck.

They took the big van together, alongside a part of the bridal party, they didn’t even go into the city, taking an alternative highway, just giving them the main idea of what the capital of the north looked like.

The scenery was beautiful, kilometers of golden tundra, enchanted looking forests, big rivers, a mountain range decorating the horizon, it was breathtaking.

“Wow, this is like a fairy tale”, admired Walda looking through the window with her big eyes. “(Y/N) is so lucky”, she sighed dreamily

“I know”, said Baela, “I wish I was her”, she whispered

“I thought things with Jacaerys were going great”, asked Wlada

“They are, but he doesn’t own a castle in the north!”, she giggled, and they all giggled with her

“We'll come visit her”, said Cersei, keeping her composure, looking around with a pleased smile on her face

“I know”, said Baela, grabbing the blonde’s hand in hers and squeezing. “All the time”. But then all of a sudden, like mixing with the surroundings, stood a huge dark stone castle, it was the biggest castle Aemond had ever seen, even bigger than the Red Keep.

“That's his house!?”, asked Aegon, taking out his sunglasses and placing them on its head

“No. I think this is the summer house?”, asked Walda, Aegon shared looks with Aemond

“The Starks have homes for each season”, said the driver, “This summer home is the smallest. They also have an autumn home, winter home, spring…”

“I know the seasons, buddy”, interrupted Aemond

“Somebody's richer than you, Aemond, I guess you gotta go invent something even stupider”, mocked Cersei

“The entire castle was actually built in 3987 before the conquest”, kept saying Theon

“This is incredible, isn't it?”, asked Cersei when she got off the van and into the beautiful stone entrance. Aegon looked between the castle with admiration and his brother with fear, but anyways, he was happy to be here.

Also, from the other car, got out your mother and grandmother, Aemond tried to get to them, but Cregan was quick to help your grandmother Pearl, as she nodded, enchanted by his Northerner charm.

And there you were, waiting by a small army of staff, with a wide smile and open arms to receive your friends, Aemond was last, but he held you tight, kissing you in the corner of your mouth lovingly.

“I’m so glad you are here!”, you said excitedly, you looked so happy, and Aemond wanted to believe that it was because you were receiving your friends, and nothing else. “Aegon! so happy you crashed my wedding!”, you said happily, hugging him tightly, what was one more, right?

Cregan greeted him as well with a handshake and a hug, and then he led them all inside of the huge castle

“This castle has been in my family for generations…”, Aemond only rolled his good eye as he listened to him mumble

“Grandma Pearl, Joan, this is my mother, Gilliane and my father, Rickon”, he said, as Aemond noticed than in a big hall that might as well be a two story tall living room, where Cregan’s family, waiting to receive them

“How do you do?”

“How do you do?”, greeting flied there and there

“Nice to meet you, Joan”, greeted the severe looking guy, Rickon

“Nice to meet you. Welcome”, greeted Gilliane

“Everyone”, Cregan called the attention of everyone in the room, “I want you to meet someone who is special to my (Y/N) and has been a lifelong friend, and now her maid of honor: Aemond”, he said proudly, raising his cup. Aemond smiled awkwardly, as suddenly all the eyes of the room were on him.

“Yes”, he mumbled, nodding

“Did he just say he's the maid of honor? He's a bloke”, Rickon Stark whispered to his wife Gilliane, she just shrugged

“How do you do?”, he greeted both with a tense smile

“Very good, thank you”

“RIckon”, presented the man

“Rickon, pleasure”

“Thank you.”

“Definitely gay”, Rickon whispered in his wife’s ear. You could hear Aegon’s laugh at that.

There was also the family of Gilliane, the Boltons there, and some family on the side of RIckon, his brother Ned, and his family as well.

“Oh, and these are the bridesmaids: Walda, Baela and Cersei”, Cregan presented to his parents

“How do you do?”, greeted Baela

“Oh, hello”, greeted Gilliane

“Hi”, greeted Walda

“Nice that you could come”, greeted Rickon

“How do you do?”, greeted Gilliane

“So, what do you think?”, you asked Aemond as you finally had him by your side

“I think they think I'm gay”, he answered, who had clearly heard Rickon Stark

“What?”, you giggled

“Listen, can we get together? Talk, catch up?”, asked Aemond, you were going to answer, but you were interrupted

“Aemond, do you wanna see your chamber?”, asked Cregan, smiling at him.

“Oh, love to. Thank you”, he said, looking at you asking for help, but you didn’t ‘help’ him as Cregan dragged him away

“Follow me”

“So… (y/n)”, called Aegon wrapping his arm around your shoulders, you smiled at him, “are you really going to move to this icy tundra?”, he asked, you frowned

“I think so, yeah”, you said simply

“You know a castle this old must be hunted”, he said then, “are you ready to live in a haunted castle?”, he asked, you looked at him and giggled, he was clearly joking.

“I think I can handle it”, you said, and then you left him with an apologetic look and went to mingle with your future family by law.

Aegon took out of his pocket his small notepad, and a small pencil, scratching “haunted castle”, out of his ‘reasons’ for you not to marry this northerner prick.

“Right, onto the next… northerner food sucks”, he said proudly.

The introductions had gone well, you believed. You were terribly nervous, not only because of your friends, but because of your family as well. But they all seemed to get along just fine. At least that's what Cregan told you when he kissed you goodnight.

Cregan haven't ‘touched’ you since you arrived at Winterfell, in King’s Landing he seemed he wasn’t able to keep his hands to himself, but now that you weren on this millinery castle, he seemed to be more reserved, like he was trying you, he made you feel like some sort of horny slut, so each night he would kiss your temple at the door of your room and then he would go, and let you to fend for yourself in this cold room.

But now your friends are here, and the thought made you feel better, you had a big day ahead, and with that on your mind, you went to sleep.

As a future bride of a very important Northerner family, you had to put up with many traditions of the ancient house Stark, it was fine by you, it was, you knew what you were getting into… but you never expected this.

You started coughing as the hair dressed bathed you in setting spray,a after fixing your hair in a very northerner fashion

“Thank you”, said Gillaine, but she just wouldn’t stop, you couldn’t even see, “thank you!”, she said, grabbing the spray and throwing it across the room, the poor hairdresser just nodded at her.

“Now, then”, she said, fixing your hair, “I think just a few more sprigs of gypsophila at the front there”, she indicated, placing little flowers on top of your forehead. “Lovely” she said once she was content.

You didn’t like it, not one bit, and it got worse when you looked at your friend’s reactions through the mirror.

“What do you guys think?”, you asked, hopefully

“Oh, it is gorgeous”, Baela jumped first

“You look amazing”, said Cersei, nodding with her solemn face

“It is so pretty”, offered Walda, and she is the only one who seemed sincere. “With the veil… it’s going to look great”, she said, and that did make you feel better.

Like you were saying, you didn't want to fight your future family for this, you wanted to be pliant, but this wasn’t like you at all, you just hoped that Cregan would appreciate it.

“It's so shiny, it's gorgeous”, compliments kept flying but Aemond stood there, without saying a word.

“What do you think?”, you asked him, finally waking him up from his stupor

“Of?”, he asked

“The hair”, you clarified.

“Yeah, it, um…”, oh he hated it

The nice lady who was helping you with the hair pulled you away to help you get in your dress, so she wasn’t only a hairdresser, interesting.

They all helped you get in a puffy dress, and when it was done, a woman put a sash around you, with the colors gray, soft old green, black and white.

“This sash will go on the dress”, said Gillaine, taking the job of fixing it around you herself.

“Really?”, you asked her

“Tradition”, she said simply

In the meantime, Baela grabbed Aemond who looked completely horrified as he watched you try that awful looking dress, sash and hair-do

“What's up with the hair?”, he asked Baela, but Cersei came in, who pinched him in the arm aggressively, making him whine, “Well, I'm not entirely sure that…”

“You're the maid of honor. It's good to just be supportive…”, encouraged Baela with a look that wasn’t at all so encouraging, she looked like she wanted to kill him.

“I'm supportive”, he defended

“I don't think you are”, came in Cersei.

“I think I am”, he said back

“No, listen to me”, she said, “this is hard for her as well but this are traditions of the family she is marrying into, and we would be helping her a lot making those decisions more easily for her to make”, she said with greeted teeth, “got it?”, she asked, threatening to pinch him again

“Yes! got it!”, he said quickly. Then the four of them turned to you, who were looking back at them with hope in your beautiful eyes, only you could make all that tragedy look beautiful

“You're doing great, you're doing great”, he assured, and only that could pull a smile on your face. Aemond called your name and you turned to him expectantly. “Actually, you know?, your hair looks amazing”, he said gently, gods he was a good lair.

“Really?”, you asked him

“Yes”, he said, nodding solemnly, and you smiled, now more reassuring.

The door to the small chamber opened, and a woman appeared with her hands full of beautiful looking fabrics

“Oh, the games will be starting soon!”, said Gilliane, “here are your costumes”

“Games?”, asked Aemond, but his voice was drowned by your friends’ excitement

“Costumes!”, chanted Baela

“Costumes?”, asked Aemond again, “what do you mean "games"?”, asked Aemond to Gilliane

“Oh, the Northerner Games dear!”, she said simply, “It's a tradition in honor of the wedding, it goes right back to the time when the groom had to prove that he was man enough to deserve the bride, If he didn't win, he didn't get the bride”, she said proudly, “No problem for my Cregan though”, she said simply.

Alright, he could do it, he never had trouble with this sort of thing.

So the afternoon found you in a big valley, filled to the brim with people. You were wearing a long dress, it was more of a costume, as it was something the ladies would have worn five hundred years ago. You were even wearing a headdress.

“Welcome, one and all, to the Northerner Games!”, a voice with a thick accent could be heard through speakers, “men have traveled from all four corners of this great country to compete in feats of strength and agility! But only one warrior will be man enough to claim the bride! One competitor who needs no introduction is our very own Cregan Stark!”, all around the grounds the people cheered, as you did, who were sitting on wooden bleachers

“Doesn't my Cregan look handsome?”, Gilliaine asked you, you nodded. All the men were wearing traditional northerner clothes, kilts, being a part of said outfits.

“Yes”, you said dreamly, you never thought a man wearing a skirt could look so manly, but there he was. And then there was Aemond.

You opened your mouth in shock when you saw him

“Coming up the rear, all the way from King’s Landing, (Y/N)'s maid of honor... Aemond, who, I think you'll all agree, is wearing a rather fetching wee minikilt!”, a man said out loud, he was indeed wearing what you would consider a miniskirt.

“Who was in charge of that?”, you asked, horrified, as all the men women and children present in the games were laughing at him.

“I have no idea”, said Cersei with a smirk

Aegon on the other hand, was having the time of his life in a kilt with the colors of his own southerner house, with a black background and red and golden lines. and a white button up shirt and leather jacket, and he had his sunglasses on, and of course he was getting the looks of all the ladies there as they presented him.

“And the games begun!”

It was mainly a show of strength, throwing things, pulling things… and with the hilarious comments of a local man with a microphone.

First they had to throw a metal block over a tall hurdle.

Aegon comically lost all the games he participated in, but he did with such gusto, that everyone just cheered him on, he was stealing the show

“Yeah, you're sexy!”, someone shouted, you believed it was Baela, as he flexed his almost non existing muscles to the crowd

“Everybody giving their all!”, said the presenter, Cregan’s uncle Ned Stark, as the competition this time was using a bow and an arrow. And the one who managed to land three arrows near the center was the winner.

Aemond was a little rusty, but he defended himself quite nicely, but again, Cregan proved to be unbeatable as he landed the three arrows in the smaller red circle in the center

“And as we are heading to the third competition, we're running neck and neck! A Northerner against a Southerner!”

It was a long, long day.

Aegon lost quite easily, but he was now being comforted by three Northerner ladies who were congratulating him on his performance.

And the rest of the games? let’s just say it was the longest day in Aemond’s life

He had done everything they asked of him, he pulled a rope accompanied by four other men against Cregan’s best five.

He climbed a huge log with only the use of his hands and legs, he was sure the eternity of the North had seen his underwear. He threw a huge cannon ball across the green field… and many, many others.

Most of the men had withdrawn from the race already, but not him, oh no, not him, he couldn’t, he needed to prove, to all these northerners, and to you, that he was “man enough”, to marry you, yes, he needed to prove that.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the result of today's Winterfell Games rests upon the caber toss!”, finally, the final test, he thought, as he wiped sweat from his brow

He might be the outsider, he might be wearing a ridiculously short kilt, but he was still in the competition, and he was going to prove how deserving he was.

“The competition is down to two competitors! Aemond! and Cregan!”

But oh fuck is this wasn’t the icing of the cake, when Aemond finally realised what he had to do to prove himself.

“A tree? We're tossing a tree?”, asked Aemond, who could barely get his breath on check

“Yeah”, said Cregan happily, and Aemond cursed him hard on his mind, because again, he wasn’t even trying! He was giving his best in trying to compete against Cregan, but he didn’t even see him as a competitor, and it wasn’t even mean about it, he just didn’t care, he was nice like that.

Cregan grabbed the three, with effort, he could see that, but then he took two strong steps and threw the damn thing across the field, that thing took two tumbles, making it like 20 meters.

“What a toss!”, congratulated the presenter, “What a toss! Way to go, Cregan!”

He saw with discouragement how all the ladies of the bleachers, including you, were chanting Cregan’s name with excitement.

But they were going to be chanting his in no time, he knew it.

“He's strong!”, teased Cersei to your ear, you just nodded excitedly, you had already seen what those arms could do, and it looked promising.

“Well, then, Aemond! Let's see what you're made of! The whole competition rests on this throw”, said Ned with excitement.

He was possibly petrified at the very thought.

But this was it

“Look alive, lassie!”, he said someone called for him.

“Come on, Aemond!”, oh finally, that was your sweet voice! calling his name, he had to make this throw! he had to!

“Okay, I can do this. I can do this”, he chanted as a mantra, if he could throw this tree, this huge log, then he could confess to you his love, he could. Two men passed him the log, and he grabbed it as he could.

He had to grab it by the base, that way he was going to throw it more easily, he knew it, but gods if that was hard to do!

“Okay, here we go!”

He stumbled, the shit was heavy, very heavy, he stumbled once more as all the voices around him got quiet all of a sudden

“COME ON AEMOND YOU CAN DO IT!”, he heard the voice of his brother Aegon, cheering him on

“Okay. Okay, okay. I got it.”, he said, more to himself, this might as well be the hardest thing he had ever done

“Here we go!”, the presenter said as he started to take more determined steps, to get momentum to throw the log, “HERE WE GO!”, he heard, excitedly.

he did as he could, he did, he threw it will all his might, with all his determination

The log flew through the air. But Aemond had stumbled a bit before he released it, so all the people there gathered to watch in horror as the log landed on top of a car.

A freaking car!

It completely destroyed it

“Oh, dear. That's gonna cost the Southerner the girl”, he said through the speakers.

“What an ass!”, mocked Cersei

And just like that… he lost the freaking games, he looked back at you with fear in his eyes and you looked completely surprised at the sudden turn of events.

“And the winner of the Wintertown Games is our very own Cregan Stark!”, called the presenter, and again, everyone cheered, his friends came in to hug him, and congratulated him. But Cregan ran to you, to get a sweet kiss from your lips which you happily gave him.

That certainly deter Aemond’s spirit significantly

That very night, you were having dinner at the great hall back in Winterfell castle.

Cregan stood up, and sang, he actually sang to you, and to all the guests of the wedding, he had a beautiful deep voice, and the song he chose was more of a poem, but it was stunning nonetheless. As he finished, he looked at you, and kissed you softly on the lips

“Well done, my boy”, said Gillaine with a soft voice as the rest of his family threw praises left and right

Is there anything he wasn’t good at? thought Aemond sulkily from his seat, hiding his disgust in his cup of wine.

“Robert Burns, who wrote that song, is Winterfell's most famous poet”, Cregan said to you, you just smiled at him in thanks for this beautiful song he had dedicated to you

“So Cregan”, asked his aunt from the other side of the table, “when are you going to graze us with children, uh?”, she asked, looking at you

“Well, (Y/N) wants to wait a few years first”, he said softly, surrounding your shoulders with his thick arm

“Why? she is not getting any younger!”, you almost spilled your drink, “and you know, how you should name him once he is born”, you didn't know what to say to all of that, but Cregan could sense your tension

“No, no, auntie, we haven't had any children yet, so we haven't got any names”, he said softly, and you appreciated that, but you didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking.

“Athol”, the woman said to you, taking you a-back, this she just called you an asshole?

“Excuse me?”, you asked her

“It's a name for the children”, said Cregan quickly

“Athol”, the woman repeated, and you looked at Cregan horrified, he couldn’t mean that, could he? It sounded like an asshole!

“Yeah, no, we won't be naming our child Athol”, you said quickly, “maybe when he's a teenager”, you offered, Cregan laughed by your side, but you could tell he was faking it.

“My mother's cousin was the Duke of Athol”, said Cregan’s aunt, “We're a long line of Athols”, yes they were.

You were feeling overwhelmed, you got no say in your hair, or your dress, or the sash, or the traditions, and apparently, not the name of your own child.

But as you looked at Cregan, he was worth it, he was the sweetest man you had met…

But gods, why the name for the children?

“Well, maybe... maybe we'll keep it in the mix, eh?”, Cregan asked you, “Maybe as a middle name?”, you didn't know if he was being serious or not, but you just nodded, not very much enthusiastic

“So, (Y/N), do you like the venison?”, Gilliane asked you over Cregan. And you were just thankful the topic had changed

“It's delicious”, you offered

“Cregan shot it. He's a wonderful shot”, she said with a smile, and you were petrified

“Oh, stop, mom, you'll make me blush”, muttered Cregan

“And this is the moment, I've just remembered”, she said, taking out his phone

“What moment's that?”, you asked her, as she pulled her phone to you

“When Cregan killed the deer, I filmed it”, you jumped when a shot rang through the speakers, “Right between the eyes”, oh right you saw it happening on the screen, “In fact, everything we are eating this evening, Cregan has killed!”, she announced to everyone at the table, and they all seemed fascinated

“Cregan!”, called Rickon, raising his glass

“To Cregan!”, they all echoed, raising their own glasses

“In your honor, (Y/N)”, Cregan said lovingly, and you wished you could be honored, but you were horrified.

“That is so thoughtful”, you said with a wide smile, placing a hand on your chest, “I'm so sorry I didn't kill anything for you”, you offered, Cregan only chuckled.

The desserts were being served, interrupting you once again

“Oh, gosh. What did you get?”, you asked him lovingly, and you looked with a smile as Cregan got a slice of chocolate cake.“Oh, I love chocolate!”, you took your fork as you intended on taking a piece of his place. But to your horror, he stopped you

“Don't... Don't do that”, he said, and you froze on your spot, “If you want some…”, he said, grabbing a tiny bit with his own fork, and placed it on a plate between the two of you. “Here, give you some. Okay?”, you pouted

Aemond couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

He wasn’t even relieved anymore, because his job was getting easier, he couldn’t believe this dude!

After that messy dinner, you all got your drinks at the next room, a cart filled with bottles of the distillery, a hunting room by the looks of it. The thing was filled with stuffed animals and heads of deers on the walls, hunting trophies.

Aemond and Aegon looked at the room with interesting look on his faces

“Look nothing happened when I told her about the haunted castle, that didn’t work, so… I’ll keep trying”, Aemond just looked at his brother wondering how more dumb he could get, but then he just nodded. His eyes then found you, who was being boarded by your future father in law and his brother.

“Go save her”, said Aegon, Aemond nodded and went straight for you

“Excuse me”, he said as he passed by members of Cregan’s family, getting to you, “Hi”, he greeted, the men just nodded, acknowledging him, “A wonderful dinner, by the way”, said Aemond

“Delighted, Aemond”, muttered Rickon

“And your wife is looking for you”, he said quickly.

“Oh, thank you very much”, he said, and the patriarch of house Stark finally left you alone to look for his wife, his brother following in tow.

“Nice one”, you said, he smirked

“Cheers”, you clink your glass with his, and then downing your scotch

“A little birdie tells me Cregan personally slayed each one of these reindeer heads”, he said, looking around the room

“Aemond”, you warned

“You're right… When I say a little birdie told me, he would've told me, but Cregan shot it”, he mocked. You were not commenting on it, so he changed the subject, “Listen, seriously. Can we go somewhere private and talk? It's important”

“Yeah”, he looked serious

“Shall we go?”, he asked, you nodded, but before you could slip away, the sound of… some horrible musical instrument interrupted you

“What is that?”, growled Aemond. And there he was, Cregan accompanied with a couple of his cousins, playing a musical instrument based on wind that was just awful.

“Oh, for all the gods”, you muttered. The sound was truly haunting, but you could tell he was putting on a show for you, and your guests

“You know, he's been playing the windpipes ever since he was 3 years old”, Gillaine told you, you just smiled and nodded, “practices every night”, you quickly stopped smiling

“Every night?”, you asked her, horrified. You couldn’t bear the thought of hearing mating seagulls every single night

“Oh, never misses”, she said proudly.

Aegon was dead-ass covering his ears with a disturbed look on his face, and your grandmother didn’t look so impressed either. When it was finally over, he took his hands out of his ears, and looked at the glow in the dark necklace your grandmother was wearing

“What kind of necklace is that?”, Aegon asked, looking at grandma's Pearls necklace.

“They're glow-in-the-dark thunder beads”, she said proudly, and Aegon just laughed loudly, wrapping his arm around Pearl’s, “let’s get you a drink my friend”

“Finally!”, she said, “don’t tell my daughter!”, Aegon laughed again

“I won’t! just don’t get frisky with me!”, he warned in a tone of a joke, Pearl just smiled, but he laughed when he felt the hand of the grandma going more ‘south’ than his back, “watch those hands grandma!”, he laughed.

The gathering ended shortly after, and you found yourself getting ready for bed in your room, when a soft knock on the door interrupted you. You open the door and it was your mother

“Oh, hi, mom”, you greeted

“I have something for you”, she said softly, you both sat on the big bed, and she showed you a photo album she had, “This is so you can have a little piece of home with you”, you eyes filled with tears as you looked at her

“Thank you”, you said softly. You started looking through the pictures,

“Oh, look at you”, she said, “you were so small”, you were lacking some teeth and were smiling right at the camera… “There's you and Cersei”, both of you were on your uniforms for your first day of school, “You were about 5 there”, you kept looking at the precious memories. “Oh, do you remember this? It was taken at the lake when your father broke his arm because of that silly motorcycle of his”, she said, looking at the picture taken at the God’s eye

“I miss dad so much”, you whined wiping a tear off of your face as you saw a picture of him.

“Me too, sweetheart”, she said, caressing your arm

“I just wish he could've been here”, you whispered, “he was always so worried I was never gonna meet anyone”, you said with a soft chuckled

“Oh, no, he wasn't”, she said dismissively, she then pointed at a picture, “Oh, that's Braavos”, it was a picture of the three of you under the Braavos’ Colossus, and then when you turned the page there was a picture of you and Aemond, shortly after you finished college, “He could be so off-base sometimes”, she said mindlessly

“What? why?”, you asked her

“Well, it's just… he was always convinced that you were gonna marry Aemond”, she said gently, you just looked back at her, wide-eyed

“Really?”, you asked her, she just smiled sadly at you

“I'll see you in the morning”, she said lovingly, “Good night, my angel”, she kissed your temple and left you.

A wave of sadness engulfed you, were you really mad? moving halfway across the whole continent? leaving your family behind? your mom and your grandmother? you were the only thing they had left. And there was no possible way they’d move up here… you just hugged yourself and tried to sleep.

“It's pulling off a Band-Aid. You just have to close your eyes and do it”, Aemond closed his eyes as he took a long sigh

“But I just haven't found the right time”, he explained to the phone

“What are you talking about, "right time"? Any time is the right time to say "I love you. Marry me."

“Right”, but Aemond wasn’t convinced

“Come on, what are you there for, man? Take the shot, win the game, and bring her home. And stop running up my long-distance phone bill with these crazy calls!”, said Addam, “besides, you got Aegon right there with you!”

“Right. Right, right, okay”, he said simply, “Thanks, Addam”,

“You can do this, Aemond! You can do this, you can do this”, he repeated until his friend believed him

“What's wrong with me?”, whined Aemond, he was not believing it

“You can do this. You can do this!”, he kept repeating. He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket, and then turned around and you were walking towards him.

“Hey”, you greeted softly

“Hey”, he said back, oh when he looked at you he felt like the world stopped, and there was nothing more important than you. “Hey, I thought we could go for a walk and, uh, work on the vows”, he offered, it was a beautiful afternoon, the sunset was about to happen and the day was very calm

“Good idea. I could use some help”, you said with a soft smile.

“Yeah? Good, okay”, you walked with your arm coiled with his, towards the beautiful lake that surrounded the property. You sat on a beautiful bench with the views of the sunset and you presented your ideas to him, that you had scribbled on your notepad

“So… what do you think?”, you asked him

“I think a lot of things”, he said simply, relaxed because you didn’t know what to say in your own vows, and he took that as a good sign. He looked at you, you looked beautiful under this light, and he knew… this was his moment, it had to be

“I've been working on them all week, and I think they're actually getting worse”, you said, discouraged. No matter how hard you thought about it, the words just wouldn’t come to you, you felt so strongly about Cregan and yet… nothing you could put into words.

“Yeah”, he mumbled, looking straight at you, but you were looking ahead.

“At first, I went for the emotion, then I thought, oh, God, what if Cregan doesn't?”, you kept rambling

“Yeah”, he didn’t care, the only thing he cared about was you

“And then I tried to be funny, well, I don't know if the Northmen have the same sense of humor as King’s Landers”, you tried, “So now I'm back to something basic, and I totally think I veered off into something boring”, you didn’t know what to say, but he did, this was it.

“I'm crazy about you”, he said quickly, looking into your eyes, you were just looking ahead into the horizon, “I think about you all the time. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you”, he tried then. He saw you frown

“Really?”, you asked him, finally looking back at him

“Really”, he said firmly, alright, this was it… his moment

“That's so generic”, you said then, and Aemond’s face was now horrified

“Generic?”, he asked

“Yeah”, you said, oblivious to his confession, you thought he was just helping you with your vows

“Generic?”, he asked again

“It totally is”, you said back

“How can that be generic?”, he asked

“It sounds like something somebody is supposed to say as opposed to what you're really feeling”, you said, looking at the sunset, trying to get inspired

“All right, how about, uh…”, alright this was it, his moment, “nobody in the world makes me laugh the way you do, you're my best friend, I just want to be with you”, he blurred it out, and you didn’t think how that could apply to Cregan, but then you noticed the way Aemond was looking at you.

“What?”, you asked him, did he mean it? he could not possibly mean it.

“Look out, look out, look out!”, you heard the screeching of Baela, making you turn on your seat.

“There she is! (Y/N), let's go!”, called Cersei, and Aemond looked like he wanted to take a swim at the lake. They all surrounded you, they had a cape in their hands and a strange pot

“What is this?”, he asked, completely horrified

“This is her "taking out.", said Walda

“Her what?”, asked Aemond

“We dress her up and then we parade her around one of the pubs”, explained Walda

“That's weird”, he mumbled

“It's tradition!”, she corrected

“And then we fill a toilet with salt and we sell your kisses for change!”, said Baela

“Really? They sell your kisses?”, asked Aemond, “that is unhygienic”

“Yup”, said Baela, “can’t wait!”

“Come on, it's like a Northerner bachelorette party”, you offered to Aemond, who was again, completely horrified. Your friends started to pull you back towards the castle, and he followed in tow. Cars where waiting for you to take you to the town

“Okay!, come on!”, cheered Baela, to Aemond’s surprise, Aegon joined in, and the six of you went partying

The pub was classic looking, and extremely old, but it had his charm, it was the most popular bar in town. Your friends had dressed you with a colorful and traditional “maiden cape”, with the colors of your soon to be husband’s House.

As you entered the bar everyone there looked at you

“All right, let's sell some kisses!”, said Baela excitedly.

“Uh! can I sell my kisses too?”, asked Aegon, looking around finding beautiful women.

This huge guy put some coins in your bucket and then he kissed you quickly on the lips, taking your breath away, you really weren’t expecting it, he then spread his arms to the entire bar

“It's her taking out! She's got the breath of an angel!”, to your horror, everybody cheered. And then, a bunch of guys just started putting coins in your bucket and then stealing short close mouthed kisses.

At first it was weird, but as your friends started giving you scotch, it became funny, as more men, of all sizes, ages and heights stole kisses from you

You friends got in the bar, exchanging the coins for glasses of scotch, which they dawned quickly.

“Another!”, chanted Aegon to the bartender as they asked for another round, enjoying the funds you were procuring with your kisses

“Another!”, said Cersei, “Thank you!”, she said, taking another drink to you that you just pushed back pretty quickly.

“Come on man”, said Aegon, putting some coins in Aemond’s hand, “go for it, I’ll distract the flock”, he said quickly, Aemond nodded as he watched his brother stump back to the group of ladies and now he was truly thankful of having him here.

And now he went straight for you, who had been walking towards a more deserted part of the old pub. He got in your way, trapping you in a tight hallway from one room to the next.

“This is all I have”, Aemond said, placing a couple of golden dragons on your pot, you looked at him wide-eyed, he leaned in, and trapped your lips on his.

He was doing it for fun, he always kisses you like this, it was… but then why was he encasing your face with his hands?

You didn’t even realize when you dropped your pot and all its contents as you hugged Aemond tightly against you, the kiss turned more heated, as you opened your mouth to receive his eager tongue.

He placed his hands on your hips and stuck you to him, as you never wanted this to end…

Did he mean it? everything he had said?

“Oh, my gosh, you guys!”, you separated as the other was on fire when you heard Baela’s screech, you dropped to your knees to gather the contents of your pot, the coins and the salt. Aemond was right there to help you.

You feel your friend’s hands on you as you get back on your feet.

“We have to get more kisses!”, said Baela, and you were relieved that she didn't see anything.

“Kisses!”, screamed Walda

“More kisses!”

“Kisses!”, and you didn’t dare to look at Aemond for the rest of the night.

Aemond knew it was coming, he knew you, he knew you were going to come for him tonight, so when he heard a knock on the door, he smiled softly, he prepared himself, took a long breath, and then opened the door, but it wasn’t you on the other side…

“I can't take it anymore!”, mumbled Cersei drunkenly

“What are you doing?”, he asked, genuinely scared

“Let's do it again. For old times' sake”, she said, she was only wearing a long coat, and when she took it off, it was only lingerie underneath.

“Don't take that off!”, he said, trying to cover his eyes

“No, Aemond, I need to make this up to you!”, she said,t aking his hand to take them out of his face

“Don't take this… off”, he muttered, but she was all over him, she pushed him to the bed and he fell on his back

“I'm really unhappy!”, she cried, this was just a mess

“That's fine”, offered Aemond, “let’s just not do this”

“No, it's okay!”, she said, trying to kiss him, she was over him in a second, pushing him harder against the bed

“Aemond, I'm not happy at all”, she said, between kisses she was trying to land on his face. Aemond did try to push her off of him, but he didn’t want to be rough, after all, she was a lady, and he didn’t want to hurt her. “And I am in a really, really confusing place in my life right now”, she kept with her monologue that frankly, he didn’t understand.

“Confusing?”, he asked then

“Listen, I have had some whisky…”, she explained messily,

“I can tell…”, answered Aemond

“And I need you to service me”, she completed

“Service you!?”

“Service me, bitch!”, she demanded as she slapped him across the face. “Service me!”, that is when he noticed the door was opened, and Cersei was screaming

“Be quiet! Be quiet!”, he begged

“You be quiet”, answered Cersei

“Get off of me!”, he begged, “Just be quiet”, and when he was turning his face, he saw you, standing on the door frame, looking at the scene, completely heartbroken.

“(Y/N)!”, he called, but you ran off. He then pushed Cersei to the floor as she landed in a fit of laughter

“Bring me more whiskys!”, she demanded front he floor, but he didn’t care, he ran after you

But he didn’t manage to catch you before you locked yourself in your room

“(Y/N)!”, he called but she just closed the heavy wooden door on his face, but that didn’t deter him, he knocked on the door hastily, “It's Aemond, let me in! Let me in!”, he begged.

“Go away, Aemond”, you said, placing both your hands on the door to keep him out, despite the door being closed.

“No, no, no, no, no, let me explain”, he said quickly, sticking his face to the ancient wood, “It's not what you think”, he couldn’t believe this was happening to him, after all of it, after all the work, after all the training, one single moment could ruin everything

“It doesn't matter now”, you said brokenly

“Yes, it does”, he said. “Why did you...?”, he needed to know, he needed to know why you looked for him tonight.

“Just go!”, you begged, and this was just what you needed, you couldn’t believe you were willing to throw everything away with Cregan just for a fling with Aemond, you knew him, you knew how he was and still, you couldn’t help but think you were going to be different. Then you remembered painfully why you never could give him an inch of space.

“I'll go. Just tell me, why did you come to my room?”, he asked him, but there was no answer, “(Y/N)? Why did you come to the room?”, he asked softly, he knew you, he did, he was getting answers.

“To talk about that kiss”m you answered softly

“Oh, (Y/N)”, he whispered lovingly, he knew if he could just see you now, he would convince you. “Please don't… Don't marry him”, there, he said it, he begged you to

“All these years, Aemond”, you cried out. After all these years, you loved him, you loved Aemond, and you had lost count of how many times you wished you could just let him in… but you never did.

“Don't marry him”, he repeated

“All this time…. You're doing this now?”, you asked him

“I know”, he said. You could tell this was hard for him too, but that didn’t make the anger that was bubbling up inside you change.

“How can you do this?”, you asked him. slapping your hand on the door

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just let me in”, he begged.

“No, I can't”, you whined, voice broken

“Let me in”, he begged softly

“You're only doing this now because you're afraid of losing me”, you accused, “I need someone

who's gonna be there for me no matter what happens”, you said, choking up in your own words, “Someone who truly... loves me… Someone I can trust”

“But (Y/N)... I…”, you stuck your ear to the door, waiting to hear him say it… but it never came

“You can’t even say it”, you whispered, a tear falling down your eye, “I'm marrying Cregan tomorrow… Aemond”, you said more decisively, wiping your own tear from your eye

“I can't be your maid of honor”, you heard through the door, “I can't give you away to him, I can’t… I'm sorry, (Y/N)”, he whispered back.

You heard his steps walking away and that when you slid down the door to the floor, tears kept falling down your eyes.

taglist!

@snh96 @sagelovesreading @toodlesxcuddles @ammo23 @bananzaa @ttkttt @at-a-rax-ia @n4tforlife @spn-obession @moonnicole

#misguidedmade #aemond targaryen #cregan stark #aemond targaryen x reader #cregan stark x reader #hbo house of the dragon #house of the dragon

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my-mt-heart · 20 hours

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Idk how to say this but I am not as bothered about whatever is going to transpire between Daryl and Isabelle (bcoz for one thing - we know what is going to happen in the end- and for another - I honestly believe that the male execs are not at all confident abt their vision for these two as they would like to be and the whole thing would prolly boil down to ambiguity and ultimately- it will fall upon the viewers to dissect how Daryl feels - the Caryl fandom especially is really adept at reading into storylines - even stupid ones) None of this is good by any means. It cheapens the integrity of all the characters involved. It blatantly insults and reduces female characters - I believe that Isabelle deserves better. That a story should hold space for multiple female characters. Also - I am worried about putting the fate and the story of one the best female characters on TV (Carol) in the hands of someone who has proven that he can't be trusted to handle them with care. Reading S2 reviews - I am sort of reassured that Carol is treated well enough in the story - which I believe - has a LOT to do with Melissa McBride's input. Going forward - it is going to be more difficult bcoz once we have dealt with old traumas - we do need to evolve these characters and make sure they don't stay stagnant. I don't believe Zabel has the chops to do that.

sorry for that rant. I am just really frustrated.

What I worry about is the way all of this bts stuff amongst the male execs is going to impact the Caryl dynamic. Whatever the antis may think - and while McReedus has insane chemistry - I do believe that the romantic energy is generated between them by a lot of their acting choices (bcoz the underlying story is teasing a romance). What happens to all that when a romance is completely off the table? When AMC has been pushing this friendship narrative down our throats in a very evident bid to do damage control - the insecure/defensive promo that we have been getting last few weeks is proof enough that Caryl was always more than friends?

The problems were already glaringly obvious from the very beginning. the fact that Melissa isn't billed equally for a season where she is proclaimed to be the major focus? It is not even about Caryl going canon for me anymore. I love Melissa and Carol way too much for me to give up yet but I treasure the Caryl bond primarily bcoz they have always been each other's everything. it is truly a bond that evades definition. Both Carol and Daryl doesn't have what they have with each other with anyone. THAT IS A CANON FACT. I don't think I can watch that dynamic that I treasure so much being butchered - s11 was painful enough - I can't go through all of that and more again.

Going to watch s2 and then my further commitment will depend entirely upon how the characters are treated and their dynamic is portrayed?

It sucks that I am dreading watching Carol and Daryl back together on screen.

been here just for a few months but the way AMC has been fumbling with this promo - have you guys always experienced this whiplash or is it a new thing?

I’m going to include big spoilers in my response, so proceed with caution ⚠️

I respect your opinion, but I disagree with you on the point about Daryl’s and Isabelle’s arc. It seems like the male EPs (Zabel, Nicotero, Gimple) are overly confident that an explicit romance between their male hero and a younger blonde nun who accused Daryl of being like his abusive father just for trying to go home to his family will attract a larger male audience and they aren’t sparing any feelings with it because we aren’t their ideal audience anyway. To them, we’re just a bunch of “hysterical” shippers whose POV’s don’t matter and we can just take their crumbs. AMC is a bit more complicated, but I’ll get to them later.

Daryl and the nun kiss in 202, so there’s little to no room for us to dissect how Daryl is feeling. Isabelle’s death is the furthest thing from a relief because 1) it reduces her character down to man pain like you said and 2) from what I’m gathering, it completely overshadows Caryl’s reunion and then their entire arc. We get another hug that does absolutely nothing to elevate their relationship and then Carol has to face that Daryl didn’t need her to rescue him because he found a new family and become his emotionally supportive friend to help him through his grief of a lost love interest he’s known for a few months. It almost feels like it’s going to be a retread of Beth’s death, only worse. We know how Greg Nicotero views both of those relationships and to be blunt, the man needs to stop projecting his creepy fetishes onto Daryl and making it our problem 🤢

The way the story is framed, it’s not even about Caryl at all. They’re the relationship we’re the most invested in and yet all the emotional weight is given to a highly problematic relationship that developed over a dozen ish short episodes (compared to Caryl’s decade+ of emotional depth) and it’s all for nothing too. Zabel just resets Daryl like the hokey network procedural writer he is. And Caryl fans are rewarded for their years-long loyalty by getting more ambiguous subtext to analyze? Really?

I think you’re spot on about Melissa though. The reason she’s the bright spot of the season, the reason Carol’s individual arc feels true, and her spiritual connection to Daryl stays alive is because Melissa influenced all of that. She’s shown us time and time again that she understands her character so deeply and respects her fans. It really breaks my heart because I think she had a beautiful story in mind for Carol and she deserves all the support in the world, but as I’ve said many times, if damage is done to the character who has been written as her soulmate for over a decade, damage is also done to her. And I can’t watch that. I can’t watch the destruction of my favorite characters and my favorite relationship and put money in AMC’s pockets for gaslighting me. Retconning Caryl’s relationship into a platonic friendship is their way of protecting themselves from backlash. “Daryl isn’t emotionally cheating because he and Carol have always been besties?” “We didn’t mislead you. We told you they were friends, so you dumb shippers are doing this to yourselves. Please watch our slop anyways ✌️” They’re even trying to shift responsibility to Melissa by making her answer the shipping questions despite the fact that it’s Daryl’s arc throwing a wrench in everything and I expect that to continue at NYCC/Palyfest. It’s completely unethical and it’s backfiring.

Zabel cannot write for Daryl and Carol. He keeps showing us that he doesn’t understand their bond nor does he value it. A couple of the reviews mentioned it felt like Carol was shoehorned into certain aspects of the story, which tracks with what I already knew—that he and the other EPs think she’s hindering the story they want to tell about men doing manly things. That’s why they try so hard to challenge her significance to Daryl’s story and that is not going to change just because they’re moving to another location. Somebody like that should not have power to decide her trajectory. Fuck whatever he has planned for S3. I don’t want it. I still want Caryl and I still want to see them get the stories they deserve, but that’s only going to happen if we get a new showrunner who respects them and respects their fans. In case it needs to be said, Gimple is not that guy either (he can fake his enthusiasm on SM all he wants 🖕🖕🖕). A complete rebranding of the show to something that honors the characters and gives Melissa her dues (equal billing, title, etc) is the only way I’m tuning in now🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t have the emotional capacity to sit through S2, but I will be here, speaking up, to make sure Melissa gets all the necessary praise and those assholes can’t blame her if the show tanks.

I’ve only been here a few years and there’s been a lot of turn over at AMC even just in that time (I kid you not, all of our problems can be traced back to Josh Sapan leaving. He loved Caryl and Melissa). That being said, I cannot for the life of me understand why any of the guys over there (even the misogynistic ones) would approve of the Daryl/Isabelle arc after the PR disaster that Leah caused not even that long ago and at least for that, the arc tied back to romantic Caryl and we weren’t subjected to any uncomfortable physical intimacy. Why the fuck would they make the same mistake? Why the fuck do they have to spend more time cleaning up messes than avoiding the mess altogether at every fucking opportunity they had (and they had a lot). I just don’t get it. And I’m so tired of taking the abuse.

#caryl #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #daryl dixon #norman reedus #the book of carol #twd caryl #twd spoilers

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revserrayyu · 3 days

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Real quick Wardance thoughts [part 2]

**SPOILERS** for everything happening after the final match. Basically some story stuff and a bunch of goodbyes, but it’s mostly just me loving every second the Yaoqing trio is on screen.

Seeing a younger Jing Yuan is precious, but it was made even better hearing Alejandro’s natural voice during this short scene.

I know Igor was mentioned at the very start of this event and was sort of a constant, small side story amongst everything else, but his history and reason for entering the Wardance really was unfortunate from what I remember (which isn’t much.) Shame he’s no longer around. I would’ve definitely tried pulling for him if he ever had the chance to be playable.

While Jarilo-VI is no longer a small, unknown ball of ice floating in space, I was not expecting it to have more visitors so soon. I wonder how the Belobogians reacted to seeing their first foxian. & is it safe to assume that our pilot, who refuses to fly anymore, took the Astral Express here? Because that’s what I’m going to believe. Also, Seele spotted! Huzzah!! (no Serval at all though. I cry. or Clara now that I think about it.)

More allies, let’s goooo! Dang, imagine how awesome it would be to see Belobog experience other seasons aside from a perpetual winter. Or to have the residents able to travel outside the city’s walls, free from any danger. I adore everyone from Belobog so much and I hope they get the chance to live such fulfilling lives. They deserve it!

I have not checked the museum for myself yet, but if this photo is actually displayed there now, then that is so cute. And I know I can’t be alone in thinking this, but because of the striking red hair, Igor must be some sort of ancestor to Luka, yeah? It might be a stretch but they even got similar big grins too.

Alright, enough of my favorite planet and onto my favorite trio. Jiaoqiu sweetie, I treasure those few days so much! I just wish you were spared from all the trauma.

What a way with words. A poet, even. And yes of course I chose the first option. I feel bad pointing out his little slip up, but I wanted to know his reaction even more.

Pfft, the fact they let him talk for so long without mentioning he was facing the wrong way.. I’ll admit it is a bit comical.

Awww honey no! Don’t apologize! If I were them, I’d move myself in front of whatever direction he was facing so he wouldn’t feel bad.

It’s okay, we don’t blame you! At least he says it’s only his eyes that aren’t of any use instead of himself. That’s thinking positively I guess. I’m sure he’s still quite capable in doing many things, even in a kitchen. I mean, the guy had his eyes closed 90% of the time anyway, so surely he can still cook up a decent meal while blind thanks to muscle memory and his expertise. The other two would gladly assist him as well.

How much you wanna bet our Jiaoqiu isn’t going to listen to any doctor’s order because he’s a healer and knows his body better than anyone else? Feixiao & Moze are gonna make certain he heals up properly. But maaann, I wish they showed us Feixiao in the crowd during the final match, if only for a split second.

A perfect trio. One who can’t compete because of rules, another who wouldn’t fight because that’s not his job and the other who shouldn’t, lest he end someone’s life by accident. Pretty fair reasons.

Moze is an absolute mood. I’m not a big fan of chatting either. Quite ironic, given how much I can ramble on about this game and its characters, isn’t it?

Her whole “lacking in worries, regrets and rivals” outlook on life is wonder and I love it but NOW our Lacking General has but ONE REGRET! Aaaah.. honestly, I do too. I regret not pulling Jiaoqiu, but IN MY DEFENSE.. Feixiao was right after him and I needed to save big for her. I also didn’t really have a team suitable for our healer to excel in.. but next time for sure! I’ll bring him home!

Son of a bitch they’re so precious and sweet I wanna scream. It’s a blessing in disguise that this entire goodbye scene wasn’t voiced because if I had to hear all the emotion in their voices for this conversation I would’ve been an even bigger, sobbing mess.

Pfftt, thank you Moze for focusing on the task at hand. We can always count on him to be blunt.

Yeah how about NO. I do not wish to see you guys leave me! I’m holding onto that “for now” with such a tight grip. Y’all better return sooner rather than later, you hear me??

I absolutely took my time taking photos of them. I love ‘em with all my heart and can’t wait to see them more in future arcs.. as long as nothing else bad happens. Surely my devotion shall protect them from any troublesome plot! You hear me, Hoyo? Only wholesome and heartwarming stuff from here on out!

I am kinda bummed Huaiyan turned out to be nothing but a unique looking npc. He might not have been a character I might’ve pulled for if he was playable, but he would’ve definitely had some cool combat animations I’m sure.

I know I’ve said it somewhere before, whether in a post of my own or in comments, but Fu Xuan is probably my least favorite character. I just.. don’t vibe with her at all. I dunno. With that said, I didn’t mind that she was practically absent from these entire last two patches. So yes, I called her sassy, lost and short.

Astral Express parents showing up fashionably late to the party. Ya think a black hole or orbital laser could’ve destroyed Hoolay’s blood moon? We shall never know. I do wonder how their own task with those fossils and Ruan Mei turned out though. That’s something I’m looking forward to hearing more about, especially since Yaoguang mentioned at the end of the 2.5 story that our mad scientist has just boarded the Luofu too.

Huzzah, the end~ Much less serious this time around but at least we’re finally done. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Xianzhou during our initial trip here during the story, but these last two updates were some of my favorites for sure. (and I promise it’s not only because of my Yaoqing trio bias)

#honkai star rail #jing yuan #feixiao #jiaoqiu #moze #gameplay #revs rambles

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capseycartwright · 2 days

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ok i am going to get uncomfortably personal on main for a second please don’t make eye contact with me. this new trend of people vehemently saying that any storyline eddie may have about religion this season doesn’t ~ have to be ~ about his sexuality is genuinely a little upsetting to see because it’s not just oh it can be about something else anymore. so often recently i have just seen over and over the implication that it’s somehow wrong to so desperately want it to be about his sexuality - and maybe the intention is not for it to come across that way, but it often does.

as someone who grew up in a deeply religious, frankly strict, catholic environment (my school had an on campus priest. like that’s the level of catholicism we’re talking about here. i was in the big leagues) i freely admit i am clinging to the idea of eddie having a sexuality related storyline that revolves around his faith because i want that and i needed that when i was fourteen and struggling to come to terms with my sexuality because i was such a devout fucking catholic. i have done all the sacraments. i spent my entire life in catholic education. i didn’t miss mass any sunday for eighteen full years of my life. i was fucking religious. and i am bisexual. and i could not accept it. i didn’t even begin to accept it until i was 21. i didn’t even want to accept it then. i will have that religious trauma for the rest of my life. and i don’t even know how to articulate myself properly when i talk about it now, years later, but it’s not just the unlearning of your own faith that’s traumatic - it’s the loss of a community you spent your entire life in. that’s gone forever for me and it leaves behind an ache that’s hard to describe.

eddies faith journey could be about anything, sure, it absolutely could. but i need it to be about this. and i will make it about sexuality in every fic i write even if i don’t get it on screen - and i really hope i get it on screen. i am not the only person who feels that way. and this new wave of ~ discourse ~ where you’re somehow wrong to want eddies faith storyline to be about his sexuality because it couldn’t possibly be about anything other than heterosexuality and him feeling like a failure because he was going to get divorce and no longer have a nuclear family makes me feel about as small as i did when i realised the church i had loved (and still frankly love - despite it all, despite how much i wish i didn’t) my whole life would never love me back. we all have our interpretations of what these things mean, and are more than entitled to those differing interpretations - but what you’re not entitled to do is imply those of us who see our queer, catholic journeys in eddie are somehow stupid or wrong for seeing that.

i don’t like talking about this stuff. i write fic where i make eddie talk about it instead. that’s my way of processing. i just think a wee bit of empathy when it comes to things like faith and queerness - knowing so many of us share the same story about religion and sexuality, and intimately know how hard that story is to live, regardless of what faith you followed - is important. you might not see queerness in a storyline about faith or believe it’s there but lots of us do, and being so dismissive of that is just kinda mean, actually. ok bye.

#ok well i hated writing this but some of you are being really weird about this #in which i ramble

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tgmsunmontue · 3 days

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Season to Taste - 19/? WIP

Explicit Hangster - Celebrity Chef Bradley and Naval Aviator Jake Seresin who have a relationship spanning the globe before they realize how tightly bound they are to one another. Heading into this little world.

PROLOGUE/ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FORTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“I’m not calling my restaurant Leonardo’s, that sounds…”

“Like you have no imagination? Why are you trying to pretend that you have an imagination?”

“Tartaruga Blu,” Leandro supplies, and his lip is twitching like it’s a joke and Bradley starts laughing.

“Yeah… The blue turtle. Sure. That works,” Bradley says with a laugh.

“Wait, why is that funny? It’s actually not a bad name.”

“Do you know why my nickname is Leonardo?”

“I… I thought it was because it was close to Leandro?”

“No. He turn up and eat pizza, Every day. Nothing but pizza. Like hungry teenage American.”

“It was the cheapest thing on the menu,” Bradley offers, a little embarrassed remembering how he’d pretty much subsisted on one food group for a few weeks.

“And when you come to us, you are sad. Blue. Now, you are not sad. Much better.”

“Huh. Okay. Well, tartaruga is easy enough for people to say, and blu conjures up cordon bleu so fine dining is sort of implied. I think we have the name.”

… … …

He wakes up to something buzzing and he groans, shoves his head into the warmth of Jake’s neck but he’s already moving away, reaching for his phone, the source of the buzzing and Bradley makes a dissatisfied grunt and Jake, because he’s an asshole, laughs at him.

“Clearly not a morning person huh?”

He grunts again, because working late nights in a kitchen means he usually gets to sleep in. Perk of being the head chef and leaving the early morning prep to sous chefs instead. Jake, annoyingly, seems to somehow be both an early morning person and a bit of a night owl. He hears a sharp intake of breath, forces himself to open his eyes to peer in the half-light at Jake, who is staring at his phone with a broken expression Bradley doesn’t know how to decipher.

“Shit, my mom is having a good day. I have to go.”

Then he’s scrambling for clothes and Bradley wants to suggest that he maybe has a shower but he keeps his mouth shut. This is the first he’s heard Jake even mention his mom, but the good day tells him more than Jake probably realizes or meant to tell. Jake seems more happy than sad and Bradley knows it’s only a matter of time before he finds out exactly what might be going on. He still feels a little emotionally drained after pretty much running through his entire life story the day before, not really realizing how sad and tragic it might appear to an outsider. He thinks he's got a good life.

“Go. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. Shit. I’ll come back and pick you up. Or I’ll let you know if the plans change.”

“Of course. I’m meeting Rickard at ten. Don’t worry about me.”

… … …

Jake has a system and he sticks to it pretty strictly; he sees his mom as soon as he can after he gets home from being deployed, and then again day he leaves, regardless of what she might be like. Whether she recognizes him or not, he needs to go and visit her no matter how much it hurts. Then he spends every day in between hoping that he gets a message from his dad saying she’s having a good day. He sometimes gets two days while he’s home if he’s lucky, none if he’s not.

A good day is his mom remembering that she has six kids. A really good day is when she remembers that they’re grown and that some of them may have kids themselves. He doesn’t care what kind of good day it is, because his dad has sent him a message and he’s in his truck and driving to the house with his blood and brain fizzing, getting out of his truck and striding up the path and entering the code for the gate around the garden. His dad is sitting on the porch swing nursing a cup of coffee and Jake takes all the steps in one go, his dad is standing, placing the coffee cup on the ground and holding his arms open.

“Jake.”

“Dad, hi.” The hug his father gives him is solid and warm and Jake lets himself savor it, glad that he’s here for this good day, and not somewhere else in the world.

“Maria and Olivia are already inside.”

Jake nods, because that makes sense, they both live the closest, also on the farm. Sandra and Amanda will have kids to organize, which he expects Nicola to be the next to arrive. He takes in a deep breath and steels himself for his mom not having any idea who he is, even though he knows it’s unlikely. He steps forward and sees both Maria and Olivia smile at him reassuringly and his stomach unclenches a little. Better than just a good day then.

“Hey mom…”

“Jake! Come here and give me a hug. Oh… my baby…”

He goes and hugs her, something he doesn’t always get when he sees her, not when she has no idea who he is. This soothes some of that though, and she’s staring at him in wonder, like she can’t believe just how big he’s grown.

“Maria was telling me you’ve got a boyfriend…”

A flare of annoyance goes through him and he catches it, flashes his annoyed eyes at Maria and she at least grimaces apologetically.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Oh I’m so happy to hear that sweetheart. Do you have a photo?”

For the briefest of moments he thinks about bringing Leo here, introducing him to his mom, but dismisses it just as quickly. He’ll have to explain to Leo exactly what the deal is of course, and he knows it’s only fair but it also feels odd, thinking about sharing this with someone outside of immediate family. Introductions can happen later, although of course Maris has a photo to show her. Creeper.

It always becomes festive, gathering and celebrating the fact that they’re all there. They take photo after photo. He tries not to cry as his mom holds Lincoln and talks to Amanda about what it was like having six children all running around. He can’t help but think how cruel it is for their mom to be here, alive and physically well, but absent nearly all of the time. Maria and Olivia prepare lunch, leaving and coming back with more food.

“She’ll be very tired tonight,” his dad remarks, watching as she reads over the end-of-year school reports of Sandra’s kids.

“Yeah,” Jake agrees, because it’s a pattern now that they’re all familiar with. She has a good day and then she crashes, her brain and body just going into a reset rest-mode and she sleeps for at least twelve hours after good days. She usually starts fading around two or three in the afternoon and they’ll all feel a little emotionally raw for a couple of days.

“So, I’ll be able to make dinner tonight.”

Well shit.

… … …

He’s got so much food from Rickard he really hopes Maria won’t be insulted that he’s going to turn up with it all. He’s made the promised chocolate cake, along with a large salad because he’s a little nervous and he has to keep his hands busy.

“Hi. Sorry for running off so abruptly this morning…”

“It’s fine. Family is important.”

“Yeah. It is.”

“Everything okay?” Bradley asks, despite knowing that it’s not. Jake sucks in a deep breath and then blows it out slowly and Bradley just watches, wants to give Jake the space and time he needs to formulate whatever answer he wants to give him.

“My mom has early onset dementia. She… it started when I was around ten or eleven, and progressed pretty quickly. My dad looks after her pretty much full time, because he’s the only person she hasn’t forgotten at all. The moved back into the original farmhouse, because my mom remembers it. It’s uh… it’s a lot.”

Bradley blinks. Blinks again.

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“So today… when you said she was having a good day…”

“Today was a very good day. She remembered she had kids and that we were all adults. Good days are just when she remembers she has kids at all…”

“What a fucking roller coaster of a day. Anything I can do?”

“No. Well. Could I just get a hug?”

Bradley doesn’t even have to think, is stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Jake and pulling him into his arms, feels him slump against him almost immediately and he just holds on tighter. It’s nice to just hold him, that in just holding him he’s giving Jake what he needs even if a part of him is already sad that there are going to be times when this is what Jake’s going to need and he won’t be there to give it to him. He’ll find other ways.

“Plus my dad is now coming to dinner.”

“Uh. Okay. Should I be worried?”

“No. My dad’s a softie. Hell, it might actually help keep my sisters in line having him there. Just… it’s going to be a weird dinner maybe.”

“That’s okay. I can deal with weird.”

TWENTY

#Season to taste #Hangster #Sereshaw #Top Gun Maverick fanfiction #AU

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