#book rhaenys on top

[navree]

I need to hear all your alicent/criston thoughts after this episode!!! My religious repressed courtly love babes!

(anon i have been singing the "i want more of alicent and criston having scenes together" song since literally episode two it's why i shoved criston into my alicent fic for no reason)

I've said this already but it really is a perversion of Lancelot and Guinevere, a twisted version of the fairy tale trope of the fair maiden and her knight in shining armor. And that's amazing because a lot of GRRM's stuff is about deconstructing things like fairy tale and fantasy tropes, the entire Dance is a deconstruction of the "deposed heir must rally to regain their throne that was stolen by a relative" fantasy/fairy tale plot.

One thing I genuinely really love about Alicent and Criston's dynamic is that it is heavily religion based. It's where they found common cause. Alicent in the scenes we got with her after her marriage to Viserys and before the first time jump is exactly the kind of person who would find solace in religion, a lonely person who is isolated from all her friends, unsure who to trust, in a marriage she did not seek out, no familial support, exactly the kind of person who would look to higher powers to make her feel better, and Criston clearly is already deeply religious based on describing his liaison with Rhaenyra as a sin, even though in the moment the big issue was the violation of the law that had occurred, not the violation of religious norms. It's something that binds them together, and it's something that heavily tinges their interactions.

Criston says in this episode that "every woman is an image of the Mother" and what is Alicent? She's a mother, that's primarily what her role has been throughout her entire marriage (when Viserys wasn't exercising his marital rape license for us to see on screen no I'm never gonna be not angry about that scene) and what a lot of her interactions have been, and not only that, to him she is The Mother, she was the holy figure that appeared out of the fog in the godswood as he was about to kill himself because he'd soiled his cloak and his good name and saved him, in his head she literally redeemed him. And Alicent sees a friend, she sees someone she can bond with, now that her dad is gone and Rhaenyra isn't to be trusted and whatever rapport she has with Larys clearly hasn't been built yet. The scene in her rooms has a cute moment where she pats the bench to have him sit next to her and be more at ease, which I love because it's precious, but also because it shows that she just wants a friend and companion, and Criston is clearly willing to be that for her, and eventually becomes that for her.

They are, simply put, exactly what the other needs, and that's why they cling to each other the way that they do.

But I also appreciate that Criston isn't blindly loyal, that there are things that he won't do, that when Alicent told him to take out Lucerys's eye he said no. I like that it's something he could do without completely breaking whatever's going on with them apart, I like the depth that it adds beyond just the Queen and her gleefully subservient man. He's willing to defend and protect her, yes, like when he goes to enter the fight between her and Rhaenyra and has to be stopped by Daemon (there are parallels there, there's something more to talk about there but now isn't the time), but in this episode, when she goes to shield Aegon and gets him out of the way by telling him to look to Helaena, he doesn't try to dive in front of her, he lets her put herself on the front lines. There is no relationship in this show that is not fraught with power dynamic differentials, and this is the closest we will get to people seeing each other on something that might resemble an equal footing.

It's about trust, it's about bonding, it's about friendship, it's about religious fervor shared, it's about camaraderie, it's about a twist on fairy tale tropes and the nuclear family, it's about Criston feeling "everything" for Her Grace, the Queen, it's about Alicent knowing that and letting it remain present but unspoken nonetheless.

One last thing before I stop subjecting you to my ramblings, anon, and I haven't thought on it much because honestly this was the first episode since, like, episode six to give us any concrete Alicent and Criston scenes, but I think anything they could do with these two would have been so much less impactful if there'd been any kind of physical intimacy. It really works that they're both so determined to be honorable and good and pious that they wouldn't go there, or even think about talking about anything that would bring them there, and it really drives home their twisted version of courtly love (love is for love's sake so no fucking, Alicent is the exalted lady therefore Criston cannot sully her with something as sinful as fucking, love being an enobling factor so we can't endanger that with fucking, the unfulfilled desire that is literally the basis of courtly love so in order not to have the whole thing fall apart, no fucking).

I'm really looking forward to how they explore that more, especially once the Dance starts and all the traumatic things happen (Blood and Cheese are gonna happen early on in season 2 and Alicent was there for that, I'm ready to see the aftermath!!)

[liesmyth]

was trying to compile a list of my favourite historical Targaryens and I realised that they're all women. except not the canon FaB versions, but the versions that exist in my heart where female characters get to thrive and do things and don't die pointless deaths

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Jace and betrothed unable to wait until their wedding night to have sex??

Request: Jacaerys and his future wife fooling around because they are horny and scared they will die before getting married. I don’t want my boy to die without tasting the greatness of sex

How did this smut piece get to 2.2k words? 😳

Warnings: 18+, smut, masturbating, fingering, p + v, 

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

‘’I’m scared, Jace,’’ you confessed as you stood by the banister of Dragonstone castle, watching as Vermax and Silverwing flew together over the bay. Hopefully Silverwing will lay eggs when you and Jacaerys have children. ‘’The war is getting closer to us. Soon, we’ll have to get on our dragons and battle against the enemy. We…we might die.’’

Death was inevitable during a war. Especially one with dragons, as Rhaenys once said. Team Black had already suffered a couple of losses — Lucerys, Rhaenys, Ser Erryk —, but more would come. 

‘’The thought of what’s coming is terrifying, but we can’t let ourself be paralyzed by the possibility of dying,’’ Jacaerys said, his hand securely on the handle of his sword. He had taken the habit from Daemon, whom he looked up to in certain aspects. 

You looked down at your bare hands on the top of the banister. ‘’I’m not scared of death, I’m scared of dying without ever calling you husband.’’ 

A few weeks before the petition of Driftmark, you and Jacaerys had announced your betrothal. Rhaenyra had a feast in celebration, proud and happy that her eldest son would marry without any politics involved. The wedding should have happened in the summer, but the King fell to his illness and from there unraveled a series of unfortunate events that postponed the wedding.  

‘’When the war ends and I sit on my throne, we’ll have a large celebration in the Red Keep,’’ the Queen had promised.

But you were tired of waiting. 

‘’Every night, as I lay in bed, I think of you and our life if there hadn’t been a war of succession. I would call you husband, my prince husband, and we would not be sleeping in separate beds across the castle. No one would be chaperoning us from afar and we would not get scolded for sharing ‘too long’ kisses.’’

Jacaerys put his hand over yours on the bannister, sharing the same feelings. He wanted to call you his wife and glare at whoever dared speaking wrong to you. He wanted to spend the evening alone in your shared chambers, eating cakes and talking about your day until one of you fell asleep first. He wanted…he wanted to take you to his bed and have a family with you. Not whilst the war was going. He could not deal with the stress of his pregnant wife going to battle on her dragon. 

A few days later, you were sitting in your settee, reading in your nightgown when you heard a light knock on the door. You raised your head from your book, and saw that a piece of parchment had been slipped beneath your door.  

Meet me when the moon is bright. Careful when you take the stairs, Ser Godric is keeping guard.

The message was not signed, but you recognized the handwriting. 

When you judged the moon was bright enough, you slipped a robe over your nightgown and quietly walked down the corridor to take the stairs to Jacaerys’ chambers. You listened carefully for any guards, not wishing to get caught sneaking to you betrothed’s chambers at the hour of the owl. It would make quite the scandal amongst the servants and the staff. 

You knocked delicately on the door and bit your lip as you waited, your stomach bubbling with excitement. Within a few seconds, the door opened and Jacaerys pulled you inside. 

The room was quite dark as the sun was asleep, only the fire of the hearth and a few candles on a table as sources of light. You noticed the small crumpled balls of parchment on the study, assumingly drafts of his message to you. It had to be not too suggestive, but also not too plain that you would not want to come.

‘’I didn't know if you were going to come,’’ Jacaerys said, his lips curved into a shy smile. 

He was wearing just a tunic and wool trousers. It felt strange to see him without his doublet and riding gear. His dark brown hair was messy and his cheeks flushed from what you could make from the light. He looked so different from the usual picture-perfect prince. 

‘’You asked to see me.’’ 

Jacaerys stepped closer. He raised his hand to stroke your cheek, then your hair, which he seemed taken by. ‘’I didn’t know your hair was so long. You always have them up in braids or pins,’’ he said, his tone soft with wonder.

A slight smile tugged at your lips. ‘’What is it that you wanted, Jace? I doubt you summoned me her to talk about my hair.’’ 

‘’I’ve been thinking. About us.’’ He paused for a moment, looking into your eyes. ‘’The Gods have been unfair to us. So let’s not wait for them to bless and unite us.’’

Your brows drew into a light frown. ‘’Jace, what do you—’’ you began, but he stepped closer, his forehead resting against yours. 

He stepped closer, the fire in the hearth reflecting in his eyes. ‘’Do you love me?’’ 

‘’With all my heart,’’ you replied without hesitation, your eyes filled with sincerity. 

‘’Let’s not wait, then. I…I don’t want to waste our time together waiting for this damn war to be over to take you to bed.’’ 

Jacaerys placed his hands on your hips and pulled you flush against him, his grip loose, giving you time to pull from his grasp if you wanted it. But you didn't. 

Instead, you looked up at him and kissed him, closing the remaining space between you. You kissed him like you've done many times before, only this time you didn't have to pull away every twenty seconds to check if a maester, guard or the Queen was around. You’ll never forget the embarrassment you felt that day…

Jacaerys whimpered as you pulled his bottom lip with your teeth, and pressed you against him, desire spreading through his veins, hot like dragonfire. With less layers between your bodies, you could feel the warmth of his chest through your nightgown, and his...little friend stiffening in his trousers.

‘’Someone is excited,’’ you murmured with a giggle as you broke the kiss to plant a trail of kisses down his neck instead. 

He let out a low moan, tightening his grip on your hips. ‘’I cannot control it when you’re around. Especially when you kiss me.’’ Jacaerys captured your lips into another kiss, and tingles caressed your spine and tickled your lower stomach. 

His hands grabbed and pulled at the material of your robe and nightgown, and you rolled your hips, igniting more of his dragonfire. Jacaerys moaned at the contact, louder than he intended. Your own cheeks turned red, realizing you were starting to reach an intimacy you had never breached before.

‘’I’m nervous,’’ you whispered, biting your lip as you thought of getting intimate. 

You placed your hands on Jacaerys’ chest, distracting yourself from your mind. His heart was beating fast, probably just as nervous. 

‘’We don't have to do anything if you don’t feel ready to.’’

You shushed him with a finger to his lips. ‘’I want to.’’ 

To prove yourself, you untied your robe and placed it on the back of the settee, right next to Jacaerys’ sword. The prince's breathing quickened, his dark eyes fixated on your fingers as you unlaced the ties of your nightgown, slowly unraveling the knot. You sucked in a breath as you pulled it down your shoulders, letting it slip down your body until it reached the floor.

Silence greeted your naked body, and you felt shy suddenly. You almost reached for your robe to cover yourself, but your betrothed sensed your uneasiness and stroked your cheek before taking off his tunic and trousers. He found it unfair for you to be naked while he was still clothed.

Once you were even, he guided you backwards towards his bed. The headboard had a large dragon engraved in the stone and seemed a little bigger than yours. The sheets were pale, and over top was a deep red blanket made of velvet to keep warm from the winds coming from the bay.

Jacaerys sat on the edge and, with an expression of fascination, he reached for your breasts. He made sure to be gentle, sliding his thumbs gently over your rapidly hardening nipples. ‘’By the Sevens, you’re beautiful,’’ he marveled, stars in his eyes. 

‘’I can say the same, my prince.’’ You pressed your palm over his chest, smooth and warm.

Jacaerys smiled, that one soft and genuine smile he reserved for you. ‘’I love you,’’ he said, his hands caressing your side in small, gentle circles. 

‘’I love you to— Aah,’’ you whimpered as his hand reached between your legs, stroking your slit clumsily. He didn't know what he was doing, and lacked finesse as he bumped against your clit at random moments, but it still felt amazing. 

He checked on you, wanting to please. ‘’Does that feel good?’’

‘’Yes.’’ 

His fingers were getting slippery from your arousal, making it easier to slide against your cunny. You’ve done it to yourself a few times, alone in your bed. 

‘’Can you put one inside?’’ 

Jacaerys’ fingers were a bit thicker than yours, and longer. 

He nodded. 

A breathy moan left your lips instantly, pleasure sparkling as your walls clenched around his middle finger. 

‘’Like that?’’ Jacaerys slid his finger out, then back in, repeating the motion as you grabbed his shoulder. 

‘’Yes. Again.’’ 

He listened to your needs, almost forgetting his own as his cock remained untouched against his stomach. It was engorged and painful. While one hand was busy pleasuring you, he wrapped his second around his cock and jerked himself. 

 You noticed and thought of helping him, but Jacaerys added a second finger and your knees almost gave out. The feeling was overwhelming, but you craved more. 

You pushed Jacaerys away, and clambered over his lap. His gaze met yours, equally filled with lust. With a nod from your lover, you reached down to grab his cock and lined it at your entrance, sinking down slowly, inch by inch. 

The intensity of the sensation had you gripping at each other, needing to anchor yourself to something. It was unpleasant at first, feeling a pressure and a stinging inside your intimate tunnel. You felt full in a way that was impossible to describe.

Feeling your fingers dig into his skin, Jacaerys kissed your shoulders and neck to sooth you, trying his hardest not to move by fear to blow too soon or hurt you. It was overwhelming for him too — the feeling of your tight walls squeezing him.

You rose up slightly, and then sank back on with tenderness. Jacaerys moaned deeply with you, his head dropping against your collarbone. He closed his eyes, his hands squeezing your hips as you moved up and down again, the pressure around his cock heavenly.  

Your bodies moved together in a rhythm, becoming one. 

When your legs fatigued, you let Jacaerys know and he moved you on the bed and laid you down on the rich velvet. He adjusted himself to the new position, his dark curls falling like curtains around his face as he thrusted into you with long deep strokes.

‘’Kiss me,’’ he demanded.

You complied, winding your arms around his neck and rocking your hips to meet his thrusts until you reached your high with a broken cry. 

Seconds later, Jacaerys pulled out and spilled onto your thighs, not wanting to deal with the consequences of having sex out of wedlock. 

The bed creaked as he collapsed beside you, breathing heavy. As if an invisible string was pulling you to him, you rolled on your side and clung to him, needing to be close after sex. You stayed that way for a long time, relaxing with your head on Jacaerys' bare chest. Your legs felt like jelly, still dizzy from the intense emotions and the overwhelming pleasure. 

You wished you could suspend time and stay there with him forever. But a soft yawn brought you back to reality.

‘’I must leave,’’ you said, feeling the tiredness catching you. It was difficult not to be lured to sleep when you were cuddling under the covers and Jacaerys’s hand was stroking your back gently.

His arms caged around you, protesting. ‘’Stay.’’ He nuzzled into your neck, his voice muffled. ‘’It’s a command from your prince.’’ 

His tone was unserious, but it still made you guilty and sad to leave him. 

‘’I do not wish to leave and sleep in my bed alone, but I must be found in my own chamber when the maids come in the morn.’’ 

Jacaerys sighed, rubbing his face into your hair. ‘’I know,’’ he said, his voice a mixture of resignation and frustration. 

Reluctantly, his arms slowly unwound from around you and you peeled yourself from him, releasing a small hiss when you sat up. The septa had warned you about the pain after breaking your maidenhead. It wasn’t unbearable, only sensitive when you moved. 

‘’I didn't hurt you, didn't I?’’ Jacaerys immediately asked, his eyes filled with concern as he checked on you.

You shook your head and smiled, washing his guilt away. ‘’No. You were perfect, Jace.’’ 

He knew it was untrue. No one was perfect the first time. 

You struggled dressing back into your nightgown and robe, having to fight with Jacaerys’ lips trying to kiss you and his arms pulling you against him. You gave him a last longing kiss before slipping out of his chambers, promising to see him to break fast. 

—

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[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

HOTD has made many interesting choices in their adaptation of the story of the Dance. One of their favorite excuses for many of their questionable choices is "feminism". Why did they remove Alicent's ambitions and autonomy? Feminism. Why is Rhaenyra less proactive and hesitant? Feminism. Why are Daemon and Otto the primary active agents in the lead up to the Dance? Well women can't be in the wrong or violent, so feminism.

These choices are the farthest thing from feminist; they're sexist, end of story. Every decision surrounding the women of the Dance reeks of benevolent sexism. One of the most obviously sexist decisions made is the purposeful removal of female cooperation and friendship.

Rhaenyra in F&B has many female allies and friends. Her ladies in waiting loved her so much, one of them, Lady Elinda Massey gouged out her eyes at the sight of Rhaenyra's death. Lady Jeyne Arryn, Lady Alysanne Blackwood, and Lady Sabitha Frey/Vypren are just a few examples of ladies who fought for Rhaenyra (Alysanne and Sabitha literally fought in battles). Lady Fell chose death over betraying her oath to Rhaenyra.

Now, we haven't had any opportunity to meet most of these women I listed in the show. Lady Fell was portrayed as she was written in the book, a very minor character who simply foreshadowed how most of the realm would choose Rhaenyra over Aegon. Elinda Massey, however was reduced to an unnamed servant, not even a lady in waiting. Her treatment is an echo of one of my biggest issues with HOTD, the treatment of Laena and Rhaenys.

Laena was Rhaenyra's dearest friend in the book, in fact it's implied that they had a romantic relationship. Whether you believe that telling or not, it's undeniable that she and Laena were extremely close. They chose to betroth their children while they were infants, Rhaenyra flew to Laena's bedside during her final labor, and she stood vigil with Daemon over Laena's body.

All of that closeness and intimacy was removed in the show to make room for Alicent. So let's break that down: they removed a long and healthy relationship between two women and replaced it with a short-lived (in terms of screen time) friendship that quickly fell apart and turned into an intense rivalry. Reinforcing an old stereotype of female friendship: that it is entrenched in rivalry and toxicity and can quickly be turned to enmity. Alicent was so quickly and easily turned against Rhaenyra and it's even implied that she was jealous of Rhaenyra long before they became enemies.

Rhaenys in the book was an ardent supporter of Rhaenyra. She happily claimed Jace, Luke, and Joff as her grandsons, advised Rhaenyra to go to war, and gladly flew against Aegon and Aemond.

Meanwhile, in the show, Rhaenys was turned into one of Rhaenyra's rivals. She constantly challenged Rhaenyra's ideas, dismissed her as a naive child, disliked her children, and even considered backing the Greens. On top of that, they turned her into yet another "peaceful" woman. She advises against the war, and seems to continue to do so in season two. Rhaenys is virtually unrecognizable in the show. They chose to take a woman who tried to prevent a younger woman being wronged by the patriarchy the same way she was and turned her into a bitter woman who resents Rhaenyra (for most of the show).

HOTD claimed to have wanted to tell a story about how the patriarchy pits women against each other. That's all very well and good, but that's not what they actually did. They took a story where a woman is wrongfully usurped because of her gender and is supported by many other women and turned it into another tired female rivalry story.

Rhaenyra has no female friends aside from Alicent. Laena was turned from her dearest friend/lover into simply a rival for Daemon's affection. Rhaenys was turned from a supportive mentor and defender to someone who took out her resentment for the system on a fourteen year old who only starts to support her when she's proven "peaceful".

HOTD chose to perpetuate a harmful stereotype about women: that we constantly view each other as threats/rivals and can't have truly healthy relationships with other women. Rhaenyra had women who supported and cared for her in the book, in the show all she has is Alicent. A woman who abused and undermined her for ten years, raised her children to hate her, and usurped her. Every change HOTD made in the name of "feminism" solidified just how sexist it really is.

[lady-amalthea-antoinette]

I find it hilarious that within like a two minute interaction Rhaenys immediately clocked Alicent as a fruit. I just know she was going "ohhh, oh, I get it now" in her mind. The cherry on top being, after this realization she then proceeded to fuck with Alicent's head, telling her men ain't shit and whispering in her ear. Making Alicent basically run out of the room in a panic💀

She decides later after this whole interaction, to spare Alicent's life and her children's bc she's also a mom so she gets it. While still showing out and serving cunt in their faces "My fine ass could if I wanted to bitch, remember that"

And then she pulls a match maker, counseling Rhaenyra, basically telling her "listen girl I had a chat with your ex situationship and she was like all up on me..maybe if you talk to her all seductive like, we can stop this whole war?"

Like damn Rhaenys really was the Mother of The Gays (Laenor and book accurate Laena, I'm looking at you)

She was out here side eying every man, telling Corlys their son was a homo and they needed to protect him, making Alicent's mommy issues shiver, telling Rhaenyra to be gay do crime, and I bet she was laughing her ass off in the afterlife when she saw that RhaenyraxMysaria stuff. Bet she was screaming "I KNEW IT" with some popcorn, and her reaction was probably 10x worse at the finale. What a queen, miss her fr.

[djadins]

— A R G H U R Y S 🗡️ • 3

+ pairing | ser harwin strong x f!princess!reader

+ a/n | not me posting this as if i didn’t up and disappear for a year o o p s

It was getting late enough that the sun’s light no longer adequately lit the book you had been staring at. Rubbing at your eyes, you yawned and stretched out your arms. You had been out here since after morning’s end at least. Supper would have to consist of whatever you could convince the chefs in the kitchens to cook for you.

The roots at the back of the heart tree, or rather, where you joked the ass should be carved (to the Septa’s annoyance and your later punishment), had a nice dip in them that served as a hammock for your body. Add in the many pillows and blankets that had a permanent residence under the tree, and you had yourself a nice little hiding spot that you had frequented for as long as you could remember. Unless one walked all along the side of the heart tree, it was likely a passerby wouldn’t notice you.

“Ser Harwin was looking for you.”

A yelp escaped your lips, much to your sister’s delight. Her airy laugh floated amongst the trees in the Godswood.

“Seven hells Rhaenyra!”

She giggled again, sitting down next to you. You playfully pushed her arm. She feigned offense, then wrapped her arms around you and placed a delicate kiss to the top of your head.

“Ser Harrold told me he was the one who took you hunting in the Kingswood for Aegon’s nameday.” She looked at you expectantly. You shrugged in response.

“That was over a fortnight ago! You weren’t going to mention it to me,” she paused, pressing her flattened palm against her heart, “big sister, best friend, closest companion?!”

“Well you didn’t exactly talk about your night in the Kingswood with Ser Criston, bloodied and disheveled. I thought we were going to drink and leave Aegon’s nameday behind us.”

Rhaenyra gave you a knowing look. “This,” she waved her hands in a circle, “is different. You’re already blushing at the mere thought of him.”

You rolled your eyes at her. “The dramatics are over the top tonight, Rhaeny.”

“Dramatics or not,” she turned her body to face you, grabbing your forearm, “you two would make a fine match someday.”

“Match?! Rhaenyra, he’s Lord Lyonel’s oldest boy. Don’t you think a marriage proposal would be for you?”

Rhaenyra smirked. “See, that’s another thing Ser Harrold told me. When father was discussing my future matches,” she paused at the word to stick out her tongue and fake sick, “with Lord Lyonel, he joked that the Lord would advise I wed his son, Ser Harwin.”

“…And?”

“And,” she leaned in closer to you, “He disagreed. Instead, he counseled Father that he believed I should wed another.”

“Who?”

Rhaenyra slapped your arm. “It doesn’t matter who sister, point is, Lord Strong is not putting his son up for my hand. Furthermore,” she continued, while you rubbed your stinging arm, “Ser Harwin is not interested in me. As soon as we ran into each other, the first thing out of his mouth was to ask if I’d seen you.”

You rolled your eyes. “That doesn’t mean anything, Rhaenyra.”

“Is that right? Well, answer me this — whose dagger has been occupying space in your chambers? Because I know you did not convince the smiths to craft you one with the sigil of House Strong in the hilt.”

“You went in my room without me!” you pushed her.

“Sister,” she grabbed both of your shoulders, “you keep missing the point.”

“Which is?”

She lowered her voice. “That not only would the two of you make a handsome match, one that father would actually consider and if need be, we could sway him toward, but, that you could also be happy. You could wed for love. You could,” her voice cracked and she cleared it, “you could have what mother and father had.”

Tears welled at both yours and Rhaenyra’s eyes at the mention of mother. She pulled you in and hugged you tightly. “I just want you to be happy,” she whispered.

You squeezed her back and inhaled her familiar scent. “I love you, sister.”

“And I, you.” She pulled back and smoothed out your hair. “Now head to the library. With any luck, you might still find him there searching for you.”

You grabbed your book and hopped up to your feet. You began a brisk pace towards the library, the halls of the Red Keep surprisingly empty during the walk there.

You rounded the corner into the library and saw a familiar, tall, dark knight pacing the shelves in the back, looking at the various volumes on hand.

“Can I help you find what you’re looking for, Ser?”

Harwin turned on his heel, clearly a little startled by the sound of your voice. He took in your appearance as you returned the book you had been reading back to the proper shelf. The corners of your mouth were upturned into a smile.

“Princess,” he greeted.

You picked up a different book and offered it to him. Flora of the Seven Kingdoms by Maester Tollett.

“Hmm… I think I would rather have lessons from the expert than read about flowers from a Maester who’s been dead half a century.” His smile was large, his eyes bright as he looked down at you. You put the book back down on the shelf and began walking around the library, running a stray finger along the spines of the books.

“Expert, hmm?” you questioned. “I’m surprised a man of the City Watch has time for something as silly as flowers.”

Harwin walked over to you, the soft patter of his boots with every step emphasizing just how slowly he was moving. He lifted a hand to your cheek. “I make time for the things that are important to me, princess.”

You smiled up at him as he gently brushed his thumb against your cheek. “What brings you to the library?”

“Well,” he dropped his hand from your face, bringing it instead to his and rubbing the length of his stubble. “I had dinner with father and Larys. Father said I should learn what it means to be Master of Laws if that is the path I want to follow someday.”

“What about the City Watch?” you tilted your head slightly.

“Mmm, I intended to climb up the ranks, princess. However, it seems father wants me to have all my options open. Says I could make for a fine politician like him.” He shrugged his shoulders as if to indicate he didn’t believe that. “I asked for a transfer to the barracks here at the Red Keep to be closer.”

“You’ll get to patrol inside the Keep?”

He nodded. “Both inside and out now, yes.” He took a deep breath in.

“Oh Ser Harwin, that’s wonderful. You’ll get to see Lord Lyonel and Larys a lot more now.”

“Yes, princess,” he paused, reaching a hand out to brush some hair behind your ear. “My family, and others who are dear to me.”

Your cheeks grew hot. You eyes left Harwin’s and looked down at your feet. His feet stepped in closer to yours and you could feel his breath against the crown of your head. His hand gently wrapped around to the back of your head…

He jumped back like he had been burned at the sound of feet behind you. Maester Runciter had entered the library, oblivious to the princess and knight who currently occupied it. He began scattering various papers around his workspace and talking to himself.

You cleared your throat and peered up at Ser Harwin through your lashes. “Would you accompany me on a walk through the Keep? Or are you on duty tonight?”

He offered his arm out and you took it. “I am free tonight, princess.”

You waved to Maester Runciter on your way out of the library but you were pretty certain he did not hear or see either of you during his time in there. You giggled at this and Ser Harwin could be heard chuckling under his breath.

“You know, I have a book on the small council in my chambers. You’re welcome to it, Ser Harwin. Admittedly, I have been using it to press flowers.”

His laugh was more audible this time around. “Thank you princess. I will be sure to find you a heavy replacement.”

The two of you walked what felt like the length of the entire castle, talking and laughing. The evening air brought with it a cold front that had the hairs on your arm standing up tall. A shiver ran through you as the wind ripped your silver hair behind your shoulder. You let go of Ser Harwin for the first time to rub your own arms.

“Princess,” he stopped you. You turned around to face him. His gold cloak had been pulled from his own shoulders and he was holding it out to you like a blanket. You nodded and turned, letting him wrap his cloak around you.

“We should get you inside,” he murmured in your ear. You shivered again, admittedly not from the cold this time. Not wanting the night to end but knowing he was right, you reluctantly agreed. You nuzzled into the gold fabric, breathing in the woody smell of Ser Harwin as you followed alongside him.

Ser Criston had a strange look upon his face as the two of you rounded the corner towards your chambers. He nodded wordlessly to you before eyeing down Harwin. Harwin, who had also taken notice of the way your Kingsguard had been watching him, placed a firm hand at your back, rubbing up and down tenderly.

You twirled around, having reached the double doors to your chamber. “Thank you for accompanying me tonight,” you smiled up at him. Harwin simply bowed and you took this chance to stand on your tiptoes and place a soft kiss upon his cheek. When you both pulled back, Harwin’s eyes found the floor, his face flushed. Ser Cole cleared his throat.

He looked at you after a moment, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Good night, sweet flower.”

You curtsied before opening the doors behind your back and pushing yourself in. When they were closed and at your back, you brought your fingers to your lips where they still tingled from the scratchiness of Harwin’s beard. It took your full willpower not to run back outside after him.

It was then that you realized you still had his gold cloak. You fingered it lightly for a few moments before throwing it atop your bed. When you were ready to tuck yourself in, you brought the cloak underneath the covers and wrapped yourself in it.

[the20thangel]

The Dragon and Raven

Chapter 7 (The Battle of Rook's Rest)

Chapter Summary: The Greens have made their move; it's time for the Blacks to defend. Aemma and Benjicot will lead their men in supporting Princess Rhaenys.

Note: There will be spoilers if you have yet to read the books or see ep 4.

Tags: Fluff with angst

Word Count: 2766 words

Keep track of the story: Masterlist

A war council was immediately called, and Aemma was frustrated. She barely had enough time to enjoy her night with her husband before the greens had to ruin it. As she waited for the council to start, Benji’s hand caressed her inner thigh, trying to relax her and ground himself. Rhaenyra walks into the room, prompting everyone to rise and bow to her before sitting back down in their seats. Rhaenyra sits at the top of the table as she signals for Jacaerys to start the meeting. 

Jace clears his throat, “We apologize for the early morning, but we received a letter from Lord Staunton, stating that the greens, specifically Criston Cole, have murdered Lord Darlyn and taken hold of his castle in Aegon’s name. He has pleaded for help to free him from their clutches, promising to join us in the fight for the Iron Throne should we succeed.” 

Everyone looked at each other tensely as the letter’s contents were read to the room. Aemma felt that something was not quite right. Why would the greens ransack Duskendale? She assumed they would have tried to avenge little Jaehaerys instead. Poor Jaehaerys, the little boy, was more Heleana than Aegon, another innocent lost to this war because of Queen Alicent’s delusions, thought Aemma as she closed her eyes. Benji, seeing his wife’s distress, squeezed her thighs, trying to ground her, receiving a slight grin. 

Aemma took a small breath and asked what the council was thinking, “Are we going to answer the call? This sounds like a trap…”  

Rhaenyra nodded. “Indeed, but trap or no trap, we need to show the people that we will support them in their struggles and not sweep away or ignore them. I will not start my reign ignoring my people like my father…. I loved my father, but he tended to ignore his oath as a protector of the realm.” 

The only one who outwardly agreed with the Queen’s statement was Daemon, who was always the one with first experience in those situations. 

“Who will be sent out to liberate Lord Staunton and his people?” asked Cregan, turning to the council, asking them more than the queen. 

Rhaenys raised her head proudly, “I will go in the queen’s name to liberate them; Meleys is one of the fastest and largest dragons we have.” 

As Rhaenyra fully agreed, four others did not agree Jacaerys, Aemma, Balea, and Corlys. They could not deny the Red Queen’s power, but they thought it was too risky to send just one dragon. 

“ Mother, I think we need to send more than one dragon… I do not doubt Meley’s power… but if Vhagar is there…having two or three dragons against one… it can ensure we finally get Aemond and avenge Luke.” Explained Aemma, knowing how to play her mother; if she saw it as the plan to get Aemond, she would be more easily influenced to allow other dragons to go and support her grandmother. 

“Yes, but sending three dragons would prove too risky, princess. Should the green knights harm a dragon, it will cause the possibility of losing more allies and dragons.” countered the knight representing the Vale. 

Aemma huffed; these knights have never seen dragons up close or the power of them. She understood their worries, but if they lost Meleys and Rhaenys, they would lose a significant advantage on the greens. 

“Then we don’t send the dragons alone. Allow me and my men to be the ground support for the dragons,” replied Benjioct, staring at the knight, tempting him to counter back. 

The Knight wisely bowed his head and returned his attention to the queen, who was trying not to smile at her good-son. 

Daemon agreed, “Then, with the Blackwood knights, we need to send another giant dragon and one of our juveniles; I wil-” 

“ Doar, Kepa , I will accompany my grandmother and husband. Sliverwing, is larger than Caraxes and can take on Vhagar if need be.” Countered Aemma, holding Benji's hand and quickly squeezing it. 

As much as both Rhaenyra and Daemon wanted to argue, they could not; Aemma made valid arguments on why Sliverwing should go and not Caraxes. Rhaenyra nodded as she turned to Baela and Jace, the only ones with Juveniles. 

Baela, noticing, quickly answered, “I will go with my cousin to protect our grandmother-” 

“No!” exclaimed Daemon, “I will not send out two of my three daughters!” 

Rhaenyra tried to comfort her husband, knowing that Daemon loved all three of his daughters fiercely. 

Aemma rose, “We are your daughters; you taught us the Creed of Prince Baelon. You taught us how to sword fight. We are the blood of the dragon and are ready to defend our family from those trying to cause harm; you cannot stop Baela or me.” 

Baela looked at her step-sister with gratitude. Aemma always had a calm fire compared to her raging fire. Aemma had enough of Daemon, Leanor, and Rhaenyra. While Baela had more of her father. 

Daemon and Aemma stared at each other, neither wanting to back down. Benjicot could only move his gaze to his wife, then to the prince, and back to Aemma. He was often pleasantly surprised with how much fire his wife burned. Benji then glanced at the queen, who made eye contact with him. Rhaenyra, noticing Benjicot, could only grin, sighing as she shook her head fondly. She knew who would break first. Then, after another beat, the council saw Daemon grumble before sitting down and taking a gulp from his wine. Aemma gave a victorious smile that many people stated looked like her mother’s as she backed down and turned to her husband, who could only smile loving back at her. 

Rhaenyra cleared her throat, attracting the attention back to her. “Then it's been decided: Princess Rhaenys, Princess Aemma, and Lady Baela will all go to Rooks Rest, with Lord Blackwood’s men following on the ground. My ladies and lord, I wish you a safe journey and swift victory for us. May you come back safe.” 

The four stood, bowed to their queen, and then walked out to prepare for the journey and potential battle. Aemma noticed her husband walking with her to her dragon; she raised an eyebrow in confusion. She wasn’t complaining about spending time with him but assumed he would have gone to his men. Benjicot noticed his princess’s confusion and grinned but didn’t answer. As Aemma came to her dragon, she noticed that her dragon looked different. Aemma greeted Sliverwing with a rub under her chin, causing the dragon to purr in delight. 

Walking towards the back, she noticed the difference. Her saddle had been replaced with a new one. It was still black and red but had little ravens etched in the sides. Her saddle was also wider than before. Aemma gasped at the beauty and turned to her husband, who let Sliverwing sniff his hand. 

“Was this your doing, Ben?” questioned Aemma. 

Benji smiled at her, a dazzling smile that made Aemma’s heart flutter. He walked towards her, placing his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. 

“Yes, it is my wedding gift to you. I hope you like it...” Benji said as he stared into his wife's violet eyes, seeking approval. 

“I love it, and it's wider… possible to allow the said lord to accompany me more on flights,” answered Aemma, staring lovingly at her raven. 

Benjicot smirked before leaning closer towards her, the lips barely touching as he replied, “That was the plan, my wife…” 

Aemma hmmed as she closed the gap between them, passionately kissing her husband. Benjicot answered by playfully biting her lip, asking permission to enter her mouth. Aemma allowed her husband as their tongues danced with each other, placing her arms around his neck. Both felt the fire in their bellies grow again, Benjicot growling as he continued to devour his wife in kisses. Aemma was about to unbutton his shirt when they heard a sharp cough. Aemma and Benjicot jumped and turned; to their horror, Princess Rhaenys was staring at them with a brow raised. Quickly, the couple separated from each other. 

Rhaenys chuckled, “Lord Blackwood, I would assume you would be with your men preparing to depart for Rooks Rest, no?” 

Benjicot gulped as he nodded. Glancing at his wife, he gave a wistful smile before turning and rushing back to camp. Aemma sighed, watching Benji leave in a hurry before smiling bashfully at her grandmother, who turned and came to her and caressed her face. 

“I’m glad you and your lord husband are growing to love each other, but I need to remind you duty must sometimes come first, sweet girl. Do not get distracted, especially when going to battle.” 

Aemma nodded, understanding her grandmother, as she turned to her dragon, ensuring Sliverwing was prepared. Baela later came with Moondancer, and her lips also looked slightly swollen. Aemma gave her a knowing smirk as Baela's eyes widened before turning away. Rhaenys stared at her granddaughter before chuckling again. 

“Go say your goodbyes. We will be departing soon.” 

Aemma turned and returned to camp, looking for her husband, bumping into Aly. As she hugged Alysanne, she asked if she had seen Benjicot, who pointed out that he had turned to his tent after preparing the men. Nodding in thanks, she walked to the tent. Entering, Aemma noticed many gifts laid out in front of the bed. Benjicot was clamping on his red cape with the Blackwood clamp, seeing his wife. 

“They brought in the gifts from last night; I haven’t looked at them. I wanted to wait until you came.” 

Aemma nodded before going towards him, ignoring the gifts. She straightened out his cape before taking his hand and kissing it tenderly. 

“You will be careful. Don’t do anything rash, and come back to me.” She whispered, staring at her husband's eyes, who softened and stared back. 

“As long as you keep your promise as well.  If Vhagar is there and it seems too dangerous, let Sliverwing roar as a signal to fall back and turn to camp,”  Benjicot replied as he placed his forehead to hers. 

For a moment, a dragon princess and her raven lord stood there. Taking solace in their company before, Benjioct gave her one more kiss and walked out to his men. As Aemma followed, she saw him get on his horse, his aunt next to him, before he waved at her and commanded his men to start riding. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aemma and Baela were flying around Rook’s Rest, High enough to be safely covered by the clouds as they waited for their Grandmother and the Blackwood army to arrive. They did not need to wait long once, hearing Meleys roar and seeing the Red Queen dragon burn a lot of machines from the green’s side. Aemma squinted and noticed in anger they were scorpions. Those nasty worms wanted to use scorpions on their dragons. Aemma had to breathe; she knew the plan and would only fly down if Vhagar appeared. She saw red and black men meet green, and Aemma wondered how Benjicot was doing. Before she could wonder more, in the distance were two dragon roars, one smaller than the other. In shock, Aemma and Baela turned to see Sunfyre and Vhagar flying towards Meleys. 

Aemma turned to Baela, “Let me go first. I will catch them from behind. After a moment, join us, but stay away from Vaghar. Keep your attention on Sunfyre.” 

Baela nodded as she watched Aemma fly away, passing Sunfyre and Vhagar before turning around and down. As Aemma came behind the two dragons, Aemma and Rhaenys shouted Dracarys. Fire came from both sides, causing the Green brothers to swerve, trying to avoid the flames. Aemond turned to Aemma angrily as the dragon princess smirked tauntly, the same one that reminded him of Lucerys. Aemond turned Vhagar to Aemma and commanded the giant dragon to attack. Sliverwing, swifter and younger, turned away. Aegon stared at Aemma. She was here, fighting against him, but she was here nevertheless. She was so beautiful and fearless in fighting his brother. He knew his duty was to fight her, but he couldn’t as Meleys and Sliverwing continued to fight Vhagar. Aegon heard another flap close, turning he saw Baela speeding toward him. Aegon turned and shouted Dracarys, grunting as Moondancer easily dodged the flames. 

As the Dragons danced and screeched a head, Benjicot and Alysanne led the assault on the ground, killing as many green knights as possible. With their arrows and swords, both Blackwoods led a bloody mess. Benjicot grinned wildly, eyes rabid, noticing Ser Gwayne Hightower and Ser Cole becoming more upset with their armies. Benjicot commanded his aunt to send another wave of arrows as he rode forward, trying to reach the two knights. Then, Screams were heard from the sky, making everyone pause and stare in horror. 

Baela, at one point, flew too close to Vhagar and retreated to get away, causing Vhagar and Sunfyre to get to Meleys and rib the wings from the she-dragon. Rhaenys slipped from her saddle, and Aemma and Baela screamed in horror and anguish. Baela commanded Moondancer to fly fast, trying to reach her grandmother. Aemma made Sliverwing send fire to Vhagar, causing Aemond to turn. Moondancer scratched Sunfyre’s side when the dragon passed, causing Aegon to lose his balance and nearly slip off. Aemma, in anger, commanded Sliverwing to attack Sunfyre. When Sliverwing clamped her jaw on the yellow dragon, Aegon’s leg was close to Sunfyre’s side. Aegon let out a heart wretched yell as he and Sunfyre crashed to the ground. Aegon's last sight before blackening out was seeing Aemma's eyes filled with Hatred, and he thought, was that hatred for him? Baela yelled faster, and at the last second, she could catch Rhaenys, her grandmother’s body, crashing into Moondancer’s saddle unconsciously. Aemma breathed in relief before noticing Vhagar coming back. 

“Baela, take grandmother back; let a maester or healer look at her. We need to fall back. Go!” Aemma ordered. 

Baela nodded as she flew away, tears streaming down seeing Meleys’s body in flames. 

Benjicot raised his head as everyone in shock stared at where the two dragons had fallen. Cole rode off to get to Aegon. As Sliverwing screeched, Benji knew that was the signal. 

“Fall Back, we need to fall Back! Return to camp!” Shouted Benjicot, upset at the retreat but remembering his promise to his wife. He turned him and his aunt and led their troops back to Harenhall. It was a defeat for the Blacks but a small victory as well. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Aemma reported the events to her mother. Everyone was upset at Meleys death but happy that at least Rhaenys had survived. Aemma tiredly walked back to the tent, seeing Benjicot in the tent taking off his cloak. Aemma sighed as she hugged her husband from behind. 

“How is your grandmother,” asked Benji, turning to Aemma, who smiled weakly. 

“She is unconscious but is expected to have a speedy recovery,” Aemma commented, leaning her head to his chest and breathing in his scent, a woody scent mixed with blood from his clothes. 

“Come join me in a bath; I think we both need it,” asked Ben as he walked to the washing room, Aemma eagerly following him. 

Once bathed, Aemma, only wearing a silk and robe, began looking at the gifts they had; she noticed a small green box with a card attached to it, as she began to open the letter. When one of her mother’s ladies came in. Aemma walked towards her, with Benjicot coming to stand where she was, looking at the letter; as he listened to the news of Rhaenys waking up, he could not feel joy for his wife; he felt cold, staring at the letter before him. 

Aemma was overjoyed that her grandmother had awoken and told the lady that she would visit her in the morning, wanting to let her rest. She turned to Benji, smiling, but quickly lost it when she saw her husband's hardened eyes staring at the gift she had been looking at earlier. 

“Ben…. what’s wrong?” asked Aemma worriedly, flinching as his angered eyes turned to her. 

Benjicot closed his eyes and breathed. He did not mean to make her flinch. 

“Benji…” whispered Aemma. 

He opened his eyes, “What does he mean by ‘You know my heart is yours as yours is mine?” Benjicot asked, his eyes turning to hurt. 

Aemma stared at her husband and then to wretched gift, for she knew who sent it…. Aegon.

[weird-addiction]

Hai! It's me again. I read one and the same and I was FLOORED!! Could you do a part two when they're both grown up and it's the dinner scene (you know the one). I love to see what you put together ❤️

~snake anon 🐍

One in the Same Part 2

Pairing: Platonic!Aemond Targaryen x Male!Twin!Targaryen!Reader

Genre: Neutral

Warnings: The dinner scene from Ep 8, calling others bastards, mentions of missing eyes, some book canon, typical violence

A/N: sorry it has been so long ಥ_ಥ I wrote this a while back but forgot to post. Here it is now. Happy Season 2!

It has been 16 years since the days that the single-eyed princes had claimed their dragons and had made it known to the people of Westeros now that they were the greatest threat to the realm, using that fear to make sure that no one else crossed them ever again. 

Now, the rightful queen had come back to defend her son’s claim to Driftmark. Aemond and Y/n were out in the training yard when they arrived. Aemond was busy sparring with Ser Criston, Y/n was the one that spotted them both. And from the looks of it, they saw him as well, however, there was almost immediate fear in their eyes. 

No one in Westeros could deny that it was uneasy to look at the two single-eyed princes, especially the younger of the two. As the younger, he would lash out more easily as he took the pleasure of seeing other cower in fear in front of him. Even their own elder brother Aegon could say the same about him. As Y/n was normally the one to slap him awake when he got blackout drunk.

Within the throne room of the Red Keep, both sides of the family stood on opposite sides of the room, the separation was obvious to anyone who had sense. Everyone but the king that was. 

Vaemond and Viserys were having a stand off at the moment as they argued over who should get the claim to Driftmark. Vaemond eventually had enough as he turned to Rhaenyra and her family, he yelled loudly as he spoke of his disgust that her sons were not his nephews.

“Her children…are BASTARDS!” He yelled, his body language telling that this was all genuine and none of it was fake. 

“And she is…a whore.” He was smiling at the end of his sentence, like he knew he had nothing left to lose. 

“I mean…we don’t really know, do we? Princess Rhaenys has black hair soo…” Y/n whispers to his twin, Aemond leaned over smiling as he responded. 

“But it is still a possibility isn’t it?” Aemond ruled out, to which his twin nodded. 

They turned back to the drama at hand, and as of the same second, Daemon had cut off the top half of Vaemond’s head; just above where his tongue was. 

Aemond had gone into a defensive stance as almost to shield his twin, Y/n was holding Helaena in his arms as she had her hands over her ears. He rubbed her back slowly, offering what comfort he could in that moment. 

The trial was soon over and nightfall came fast, and by the king’s request, both sides of the family were to have supper together. Aemond and Y/n were both quite hesitant to attend, as they were known to start conflicts even if slightly offended or pissed off. Before their father had arrived, the three sons stood off to the side as they had a random conversation. More or so it was Aegon telling them both to drink more.

“You both do not drink enough.” Aegon says. 

“You drink more than a Braavosi seahorse.” Aemond retorts. His twin let out a laugh.

“I drink just the right amount.” Aegon responds, one could even hear the eye roll on his voice.

“Right. Tell me that next time when I have to dump cold water on your head to wake you up.” Y/n says, amused by the eldest. 

“You just have a high tolerance. The most you have downed is three cups.” 

“Don’t compare me to you, brother. At least tonight, you have a reason to get drunk. It seems we all do.” Y/n looked back to the long dinner table, their mother and half-sister were not talking. Tensions were already rising and the dinner had not even started. 

“The noose is tied and they expect us to break bread.” Aemond says, to which, Y/n had to hold onto his arm to calm him down a bit.

“You can fight later. At least, when they offend you. Have a reason at least.” Y/n spoke, clearly also having thoughts of needing to let off some steam.

The dinner soon started and for the first while, everything was fine at the beginning as the music made it so the atmosphere was less tense. Everyone was at ease and talking with a smile on their face. 

Aemond sat at one end of the table, Y/n was to his right, sitting just next to Helaena. They were exchanging words every once in a while as the younger twin was speaking with his sister, Jace would also occasionally jump in the conversation. In which, Y/n was happy that he did…in his way. 

Y/n actually had food on his plate that he was eating, his twin however, was just sitting there. Plus, Aemond was sitting sideways and only looking at his younger twin only, and he sat incredibly still; like a statue he was. Y/n ignored it as he continued to eat, and talking with his sister of course. This was only a matter of moments before the dinner went wrong.  

A cooked pig was placed down right in front of Aemond, Y/n gave him a side glance that basically told him “I know what you are thinking” from his eye. Aemond tipped his head downwards for a second as to almost not acknowledge it, but then he looked to the person across the table from him. 

Lucerys had a smile on his face, and in this case, well, it was almost enough to set Aemond off; he was just hiding it quite well. Aemond knew, he turned his head just enough to see Luke from across the table, and the moment he turned his nephew let out a laugh. 

Which, Aemond took immediate offense to. 

Slamming his fist down onto the table, loud enough that the entire room quieted down and looked at him. He reached for his goblet and stood up, his figure now probably towering over his nephews at this rate. The look in his remaining eye was dilated to some degree to make it show that he was wanting to go after his nephews for a while now. 

“A final tribute. To the health of my nephews. Jace. Luke. And Joffery.” He took a breath. 

Aegon and Y/n both saw this and raised their cups as well, Aegon just looked like he wanted something interesting to happen. Y/n was just wanting to have some fun, in the “beating someone for no reason” kind of way. 

“Each of them, handsome, wise…” Y/n looked to his twin, giving him the nod of approval. Aemond smirked slightly as he said the final word. 

“Strong.”

“Aemond.” Alicent said in a hurry, almost wanting him to stop. 

“Let us drain our cups, to these three strong boys.” Aemond turned to Jace, still holding his cup. Y/n also stood up, following in his twin’s steps.

“I dare you say that again.” Jace challenged.

“Why. Twas only a compliment. Do you not think yourself strong?” Aemond challenged back.

This is when things got heated. Aemond and Jace approached each other, Jace, when he was close enough to his uncle, punched him right in the face with his closed fist. But Aemond barely had a reaction to this. Luke on the other hand was pinned to the table by Aegon, Y/n watched from behind his twin as he was just amused from all of this. 

When Aemond recovered from his hit, he pushed Jace down to the ground with ease. Y/n then walked over and stood in front of his twin, as he saw their uncle Daemon moving closer to them. Y/n knew his twin had a weird fascination with their uncle, often in their youth he would find Aemond ranting to him on how he wanted to be just like him. But now, Y/n knew he could not underestimate Daemon as he was known as “The Rogue Prince” for a reason. 

Alicent pulled Aemond aside as she began to lecture him. Though, he pulled his arm away as he walked back to where he was.

“I was merely expressing how proud I was of my family, mother. Hmm. But it seems our nephews aren’t quite as proud of theirs.” Aemond stood next to Y/n, urging him to add in on it. And indeed he did. 

“It seems our nephews have much to learn. Being proud of their heritage may be a good start.” Y/n added, he just wanted to see what would happen.

Jace was about to pounce like an animal onto his uncles, but Daemon stepped in and that was enough to get him to back off. Daemon then turned to look at his two nephews who held his gaze with competition. Aemond spared his twin a glance before the two agreed indirectly and left the dining hall.

As they walked off, the younger of the two let out a laugh. In which, Aemond, of course heard clearly. “What is so funny.”

“You are becoming worse than me. One day, your temper and actions will get us in big trouble.” Y/n remarked.

“Then we shall see what the future may bring us when that happens, won’t we.”

“Aemond. By the hells, please don’t actually do something you’ll regret. I do not want to pick up the pieces.”

[lady-ashfade]

Say it.

Yandere targaryen house x darling reader. Oneshot

Plot: After long years go by of not seeing your obsessive family you get a letter informing you of your nephews title, knowing you had to go to kingslanding right away. You stand for once side- The other doesn’t like it.

Notes: You can picture yourself as this reader, because you came into their world the same way by Alicent and Viserys adopting you. 

Taglist: @dangerousbluebirdpoetry @second-try-stevie @a-dorkier-book-keeper @rosaryos @girl-with-an-orange-cat @prettyinblack231

Words: 1586

Warnings: Blood, the scene of vaemon dying, swearing, yandere tendencies, kinda hate this but it’s what ever-

The targaryen family grew more broken then it had been when you left on your own adventure, you needed to find yourself and become a young woman that you wanted to be. You had left a year after Laenas funeral and laenors death, you had missed them all deeply. You hadn’t planned coming home until another year but when you reserved a letter from your older sister saying your nephew’s title was being questioned you had to be there.

You knew of the rivalry they had with one another, you tried to forget and make them work together but you grew to realize that you being in the mix didn’t help. Both sides wanted you to pick them and maybe that’s a part of why you left? You couldn’t say really but you had heard of a place far beyond of what anyone has gone, some say it was a place of wanders, some say it was the edge of the world. Either way you wanted to go.

The castle was empty when you arrived which told you the hearing has already begun to start and of course no one knew you where coming. You had no time to send a letter but you also wanted to be a surprise. You heard of your fathers illness and would send letters and small things you had hoped to make him feel better. But some part of you just couldn’t take seeing him the way they describe him.

You missed the halls you walked in now, remembering your childhood spent here was a good time. Kingsland did seem different then you remember and not as light and happy as it once’s was. You got close to the throne room and heard walking from the other side, the guards looked at you and their eyes showed surprise. You smiled as they began to open the doors and excitement but panicked flooded through you.

“A proposal which I heartily agree.” You saw rhaenys standing in front of everyone finishing her speech that you didn’t hear. You saw rhaenrya and her children and daemon on one side. And across you saw your mother and your siblings and grandsir and finally your beloved father sitting on the throne.

“Princess Y/n Targaryen, Warrior of Bellcrest.” They announced you and everyone at court turn their heads and saw you, everyone’s eyes wide and gasps filled the room. You begin to walk and rest your hand on your sword and glance to see your family’s expressions. Everyone looked shocked to see you, they wanted to run to you and hold you tight but this wasn’t the time.

“My dear girl.” Your father called out and you smiled walking up the steps to where he sat and bowed your head. “Hello my king.” He reached out a hand for you to come forward and you did placing a kiss on the top of his head as he softly patted you. They all watched you with dark eyes wondering what you would do next and why you were here. Rhaenrya knew why you were here and she asked herself if Alicent had sent you a letter to. You walked back down and in between your family, you tried to not focus on it but it felt like you were a sheep in a wolfs den.

“Speak your mind dear girl.” His words so breathy you wonder how forced it was. Nodded you head you start to speak, “I have heard that Lucerys Velaryon, my nephew has been put to question. I also wander way it is being heard, but I shall speak my mind as clear as day.” Fixing your posture you took a deep breath.

“I support his claim. I have no doubt that he will make a great lord of driftmark one day and I have come to swear my sword to him.” Pulling out your sword carefully and turn to him and bow. “That I swear to my father, king Viserys, and to future queen rhaenrya of the seven kingdoms, by the old gods and the new. That I swear myself to them.” You kept your eyes on the floor.

Luke looked down at you with wide eyes, rhaenrya smirked and glanced at Alicent who burned her teary eyes into the back of your head. How dare you stand on their side? Swear yourself to a bastard- You were her daughter and you should be standing with her. But she quickly pushed the blame onto everyone else but you. Maybe you didn’t know that Alicent had other plans, maybe you just wanted to keep a war from happening. It was all rhaenryas fault.

Viserys smiled at you and how happy he was to have his family back as a whole. “Well then the mattter is settled, again. I here by reaffirm prince lucaerys of house velaryon as heir to driftmark and the driftwood throne. And the next lord of the tides.” You got up and saw them smile at you, they looked thankful to you. You wanted to go over to your mothers side but you had to stand for them, so you walked next to lucaerys and took his arm in yours.

Your eyes met your mothers teary ones and your heart broke so you offered her a smile to make her feel better. She did the same and you looked over to your other siblings and aemond was staring at you already with a hardened expression. You knew of how cold he grew but this was different. Rhaenys walked back to her spot and then room was quiet for a minute and you could hear the kings breaths.

“You break law,” vaemond started to speck “And centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir. But you dare tell me who deserves to inherent the name Velaryon?” He takes a breath. You watch him closely, “No. I will not allow it.” He whispered and you watch Viserys tilt his head in question. “Allow it? Do not forget yourself vaemond.” He stated and you watched closely as vaemon turned around and pointed a finger at Lucerys.

“That!” He shouted and everyone tensed you included, and your grip on lukes arm tightness. “Is no true velaryon.” Rolling your eyes at the man you once called family and a man you used to look up to. “And certainly no nephew of mine.” Rhaenrya pushed Luke behind her arm and you too. “Go to your chambers.” She looked at Luke and you stepped in front of him and beside rhaenrya. 

“You have said enough.” You backed her up and she glanced at you thankfully. “Lucaerys is my true born grandson. And you no more then the second son of driftmark.” Seeing you protecting Luke knowing you could come into harms way made Alicent want to call this whole thing off. Because if it met you getting hurt then she doesn’t want it to happen.

“You may run your house as you see fit. But you will not decide the future of mine.” He took another pause trying to compose himself. “My house survived the doom. And a thousand tribulations besides.” He turned his head around again and looked at Luke, “And I will not see it ended by account of this-” he stopped himself from saying anything else and you knew what he was going to say. Everyone did.

“Say it.” Daemon whispered.

Vaemond looked at rhaenrya with a slight smirk. “Her sons are bastards!” He screamed and everyone’s faces hardeneds or go wide in shock that he actually said it. Your hands goes to your sword handle and grabbed it tightly enough your hand starts to hurt. “And she is a whore.” He faced back to look Viserys dead in the face. You moved your jaw in anger and watched as your father struggles and stands up taking out it blade.

“I will have your tongue for that.”

Your sword sliced vaemonds head just after Viserys finishes his words, daemon who stood next to you looked down at him with a smirk. “He can keep his tongue.” Daemon said and turned to looked at you and placed a hand on your shoulder to offer you a cloth to clean the blood off. “Unarm them.” The knights rush over and pull out their swords. You and daemon didn’t look bothered but your mother screamed and rushed over to you and shielded you with her arms.

“No need.” You both sheathed swords. You looked at your mother and kissed her cheek and walked away from her with daemon out of the throne room. They all watched you leave. Alicent wanted to scream but she had to rush over to Viserys as he started to fall over and rhaenrya followed.

Aemond watched you amused and his love depends for you, he used to have a crush on you but now he was unbelievably obsessed with you. He glanced at Luke when you were out of sight and saw the boy smirking at him at what you just did for him- You swore yourself to him and he knew it would get under their skins. You chose his side.

But the greens knew that they would just win you back over some how- I mean they had no one to marry off and Aemond was still unbetrothed. And if that didn’t work then they would still find something. Everyone wanted you to themselves and if it means to start a war to get you? Then so be it.

They’ll start a fucking war.

[youleavethetardisbrakeson]

The way people cling to book!Rhaenys makes ZERO sense to me. And I am saying this as a huge, arguably like top 10 Rhaenys fan.

People need to remember that Fire & Blood and its sister books are an unreliable, incomplete, second-hand telling of history. They are not the same first-person canon as that of the main ASOIAF books. We see a mere handful of snippets of Rhaenys in the books, and all of them are eyewitness accounts. There are a TON of biases and fallible memories at play.

If you looked at the comments people make about book!Rhaenys, she sounds like some kind of bloodthirsty, angry, violent woman who seeks out war. She sounds like Daemon.

Yes, she is stated to be angry when her birthright was taken from her; there are accounts of her having a Targaryen temper when discussing her husband possibly CHEATING ON HER (who tf wouldn't be mad???); she and Corlys ran the war council for Rhaenyra when she was incapacitated; she counted dragons during said meetings and helped strategize; she didn't flee in battle...

She also didn't plunge the realm into war when her birthright was taken from her, nor did she again when her family's claim wasn't chosen at the Great Council. What does that tell you?

House of the Dragon is also a very different beast from that of a history book. You need characters that are 3 dimensional and have complex dynamics. If Rhaenys and Daemon were both gung-ho about war, who is stopping them from an immediate and outright massacre? That makes for incredibly shitty television.

People also need to remember that at this point in time, Rhaenys is the eldest-living Targaryen and the most experienced dragonrider. She knows her family history and she KNOWS the cost of war. I do not think that someone who has lived such a life would be so eager to plunge the realm into war without at least trying to avoid it first.

And also... gods forbid a woman have a temper and a giant fire-breathing dragon for a pet, but also have a lick of sense for when to use them.

[itsjustmylifeconfessions]

Whenever I doubt myself I remember that there are people with 0 brain cells that are writing the biggest show in the world.

Blood and cheese was terribly done. Absolutely awful writing, especially adding Alicent and Cole at the end, that was ridiculous. To make Daemon want Aemond instead of actually having him order the killing of a boy? I hate how scared they are to make team black bad people. They are all bad people, from both teams. Daemon ordered the murder of a child but these idiots don't want to make team black the bad guys, ever, so let's write him not ordering this and make it another misunderstanding, why not?

Ridiculous.

It's not just about b&c, but their refusal of making team black grey characters, from the start, is so stupid. They can't be villains, they are the heroes, good people suffering an injustice, and we can't have our heroes doing a terrible thing like this!

That is the mentality of a middle school writer working on a kid's play. If you can only write black and white characters you shouldn't be writing for asoiaf.

The interesting part of the story is that they are all doing bad things, that's why fans like the book so much, cause it's fucking interesting to see them all doing bad shit.

I'm not upset cause I'm team green, I just hate bad writing so much...

Yes I'm aware that Daemon smirked when the guy asked what to do if they can't find Aemond, probably telling them to get one of the kids instead (but not showing us this of course cause we can't have even more proof that this man is a piece of shit), but that is not the same as him actually ordering the murder of a little boy with his own words as the first choice.

They turned one of the most gruesome and horrible moments in the story into a 3 min point and run moment, with a laughable 'catching your mom having sex is weird right?' ending. This takes away all the pain we are supposed to be feeling in that moment. This takes so much from Helaena as well, what the book describes is so fucking sad and gives her character so much more depth.

I also wish they had given more for Phia to work with, she was incredible but that was a pivotal moment for her character and she deserved to be given more in that scene. And don't tell me they didn't do it like the book because it would be traumatic for the kids because yes it is possible to shoot that with and without the kids, you just have to be specific about the framing and shots you use, it's all about camera work.

Do I understand Helaena dissociation in that moment? Absolutely. Did I want to see a little boy getting his head cut off? Absolutely not, no one did, we are not psychopaths. But it does piss me off that they wrote such a pivotal scene in such a bad way, that was supposed to be red wedding levels of shock and pain, and the most shocking thing was Alicent on top of Criston (good for her tbh she deserves to have fun).

They have been terrible writers from the start, for both teams (Rhaenys in the coronation is pure comedy to me), but this to me is painful how bad it was. The only good thing about that scene is Phia's acting.

Anyway that's just how I feel about it. I have so many thoughts about this but I don't think I'll write more, so I'll just say this:

Don't give up on your dreams guys. Anyone can do it. Anyone.

[matherofdragons]

Someone compared the rat catchers death to a company shooting when only one person was guilty of illegal thing. Have people lost their common sense? Hotd is set in pseudo Middle ages. You can't view a show set so far in the past through modern lenses.

A prince was brutally murdered. Said prince was a mare child. Son of a woman beloved by the commonfolk. Brutally killed by a rat catcher. In the scene it looked like Aegon killed like 10 people. The Smallfolk should have been cheering. Their prince's murderer was brought to justice. Yet what we saw was the complete opposite. You can argue Aegon has killed innocent people, but those people knew the castle well. Better be safe than sorry. If I were Aegon I would have killed way more but that won't bring Jaeharys back. Yet it will make the pain go away at least slightly.

This act was deemed monstrous. Yet when Daemon was killing people left and right there was no unrest. When Rhaenys pulled her stunt there were no riots against the Blacks. The show is very clear in what it wants the audience to feel and if you are gullible enough to follow the flock like a sheep I pity you.

The fact that Otto had the sheer audacity to berate Aegon, a grieving father, for this pissed me off. No one was mad at B&C. The actors had to ask on their knees for a scene of Helaena and Aegon. And the spoilers are not any better. I am disappointed at what it is to come.

Bonus is what happened in the book?

Every time you see blacks being treated as holy saints and the greens shitted on, remember you aren't the targeted audience. Because Blacks can't do no wrong.

Daemon grooming his child niece? Romantic.

Rhaenyra using Cole as her toy? Romantic, as she can do no bad.

Rhaenyra asking for Aemond to be tortured? He called her son a bastard, how dare he? He lost an eye and his father ignored his suffering but he was a good father, that's what you are supposed to interpreted. You are supposed to miss Vizzy T despite him butchering his wife, despite the blatant favourism he shows towards Rhaenyra. You are meant to forget how bad of a father he was. They didn't even allow him to be a good grandfather to Helaena and Aegon's children. How many of you actually realised those two were married and had kids? Why was Heleana shown as an indifferent mother to her kids? To make the impact of B&C lesser despite it being in top 5 most brutal things in Westerosi history.

The murder of an innocent to get rid of Leanor? Completely forgotten, what is a lowly servant anyway? But they had to add Aegon raping maids, they had to add Rhaenyra being nice to her maid. See that's the person you should follow. I just know they won't add her hatred towards Ser Adam, why? Because it would ruin the saintly image you should have of her.

Her complete lack of consciousness towards duty and responsibility? You see she's actually very competent she's reading books. I bet they won't show her starving the smallfolk. No it would be Actually Aegon who does it, because he's the bad guy.

I am so done.

[thevelaryons]

You said Corlys in the show doesn’t do well at politics. Care to elaborate? Because I do agree. Something seems off about the show portrayal but I don't know how to describe it. Been a while since I read Fire and Blood but I recall Corlys being a scheming character always at the heart of the politics in the war.

Yeah, Corlys’ characterization in HOTD has been heavily changed from F&B. The show portrays him as more of a rough warrior type whereas the book had him as an intelligent politician. Back when the show first aired, I tried viewing it as a mixed canon because Ryan Condal was saying that HOTD is the true telling of the Dance of the Dragons. But then GRRM came through with his two separate canons statement. Saved me a lot of headache trying to reconcile show!Corlys’ actions with that of book!Corlys. They are just two very different characters at this point. I would say that HOTD has very purposely altered the characterization in order to use Corlys to prop up other characters.

Season two barely gave Corlys any screentime, so I'll just focus on season one moments that I remember off the top of my head.

A statement like “history does not remember blood; it remembers names” is show only. Its purpose is to depict the character as ambitious at the cost of family. But book!Corlys is repeatedly portrayed as a person willing to sacrifice his ambition for the sake of family. As a result, the show gave us a character with great ambition but none of the cunning of his book counterpart.

This scene from episode 5 is a prime example. Season one has a couple different scenes where it looks like the characters around him are talking down to Corlys, and this is one of them. The show makes it look like Corlys has a real say in this matter, but if you watch how the scene is presented (the characters’ mannerisms), it’s Viserys who controls the topic. Whereas, Corlys appears humbled and at a loss.

F&B does have instances where the naming of the grandsons is decided (it’s first name discussed there not last name like in the show). It’s a very subtle change but it sends a very different message. The book presents Corlys as the one who holds the authority of deciding the names of his grandsons.

The fireside conversation between Corlys and Rhaenys in episode 7 has both of them not understanding politics. There’s talk of making Laena’s daughter heirs, but since Laena was younger in the show, the only way this could be done is by disinheriting the older brother, Laenor. Somehow, neither of them think of just betrothing the children to each other (even though that’s often the solution to 80% of these Westerosi nobles’ problems). We get the line about Corlys saying “history does not remember blood; it remembers names” in reference to the succession of the Driftwood Throne. But previously in episode 5, it was discussed that Jace would change his name to Targaryen instead of Velaryon upon becoming King. So it’s not even the ‘Velaryon’ name that will be remembered (and no the first name being Velaryon doesn’t count/eg. Daeron the Young Dragon has a Velaryon first name from his Velaryon grandfather but he is still viewed as a Targaryen because of his last name). In Westeros, there are examples of characters changing their last name to that of the ruling family if they come into a leading position but were part of a different family originally. So Corlys’ granddaughters would simply use the Velaryon last name upon ascension to the Driftwood Throne. Knowing something basic like this would probably be part of highborn’s education. Even the relatively lowborn Littlefinger in the main series knows this, as evidence by his suggestion of Harrold Hardyng changing his name to Harrold Arryn upon becoming Lord of the Eyrie. In the show, Corlys apparently doesn’t know this.

This specific scene between Luke & Corlys in episode in 7 is based off a book scene between Jace & Viserys.

While show!Corlys can be considered a person acting in order to protect the children, so was book!Corlys and he was very politically competent about it too. This change is not too terrible because Corlys does eventually come around to the idea of Luke as heir, but his acceptance was not so openhanded that he's left with nothing. The context in book vs show is very different. Since the grandchildren are not betrothed to each other until much later in the show canon, it does make you wonder "what is Corlys getting out of this?" His name won't succeed him on the Iron Throne. His blood won't follow him on the Driftwood Throne. What even is it all for??? "History does not remember blood; it remembers names" is actually a very empty phrase. It's almost as if the HOTD writers coined it as a catchy saying to put on sweaters and mugs. It has no deeper meaning beyond that. Also, the betrothal in the book wasn't even a full solution apparently since we get no acknowledgement of Luke as heir when he was younger.

Episode 8 is peak for this show erasing Corlys' political role. There's a whole petition happening behind Corlys' back to alter the Driftmark succession. F&B had Corlys bedridden, nearly at death's door, but he still remained the authority figure in his family. Rhaenyra turned to her father-in-law, Corlys, in order to have Luke formally named heir (he was 11 years old at the time yet never formally acknowledged which says a lot about Corlys' feelings on the matter). HOTD changed this to Rhaenyra begging her father for support.

It seems to be a very carefully done change that makes Corlys appear like a very different character in the show than he was in the book. His influential role in his own family is reduced to a great extent. HOTD writers know exactly what they're doing.

Then in episode 10, Corlys shows up at Dragonstone, informs Rhaenyra that he has sent his fleet forth to secure the Gullet and also starts making battle plans for her. She has not offered him anything for his support. He also believes she killed his son. I know I say this every time so I'm basically beating a dead horse at this point, but when book!Corlys was angered with Rhaenyra for INDIRECTLY causing his wife's death, he was only brought around after political concessions were made in his favor. Show!Corlys DIRECTLY blames Rhaenyra for his son's death, grumbles about it, and then bends over backwards for her. In the second season, he quietly accepts the position of Hand without voicing a single complaint to Rhaenyra's face as his book counterpart would have done. At this point, I can't see HOTD writers ever allowing Corlys to air out his grievances against Rhaenyra to her face, unless they were trying to double down on the "men are evil, women are victims" central theme of the show.

[maryonaccross]

I want to dedicate this post to the top five most brain dead, brain cell killing lines TB characters have said in season one that  meant literally nothing coming from the characters that said them and have been interpreted as “wow slay they’re so smart” moments by their fans for reasons that are beyond me. The vast majority of them don’t even require an explanation.

First up we have:

“And yet you toil still in service to men” - Rhaenys Targaryen

(wow, we all lost a lot of respect for you there Rhaenys’. The second hand embarrassment was very uncomfortable)

Followed closely by:

“ And now they see you as you are” -Rhaenyra Targaryen

again, meant absolutely nothing

“ that whore of a queen killed my brother and stole his throne”- Daemon Targaryen

Daemon, sweetie, do you need a kitkat? Are you ok? What on earth are you even alluding to???? Is your vocabulary so limited that you cannot come up with a word other than whore to describe women you don’t like??

Next up we have:

“ it doesn’t matter what they want” -Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra you feminist girlboss queen.

And:

“ You are the dragon, your word is law”- Daemon Targaryen

lmao, and you wonder why he couldn’t hold a single small council position? This is exactly where the intellectual gap between him and Otto becomes a very apparent.  I’m not an Otto fan but he is a person who seriously understands politics and achieved something in life while Daemon is a man child nepobaby that failed at every responsibility was assigned to him ( organizing a police brutality event and running amok on civilians being one example of that ) 

I’m serious, these two, Daemon and Rhaenyra, are the ones that are going to bring back the glory of old Valyria? 

(Adding to that, not really a sixth thing because it hasn’t been hyped by TB fans as much as the others but remember Jace also saying “ it doesn’t matter what they think” in regards to him and his brothers being bastards. People’s prince…? I’d rethink that )

I swear to God, anytime I see edits starting with any of these lines I burst out laughing. 

It’s honestly sad to think about how house of the dragon is a real show that cost a hell of a lot of money to make. The actors are fantastic and the costume designers, set designers etc. are doing a really good job but like… actual writers actually sat down and wrote that script and these lines. And they didn’t even have that much to do considering they had the book as source material so they didn’t come up with any of the major plot points. I might make a separate post about this but all they had to do was alter a few characters if they want to and give them believable motivations. And I cannot think of a single character in this show that has actual reasons to be doing what they are doing and whose plans and motivations stay consistent throughout the show (take Rhaenyra, Alicent, and the Velaryons for example)

[whitetulip25]

Can we talk for a moment how the writers butchered Rhaenys' character from the beginning till the end?

Like, she's presented like this type of a bored wine aunt being done with everything and everyone in her life, existing solely on purpose of throwing in "cool" pretensious girlboss one-liners. She's stripped down of any agency and power in her life. "My husband pimping out our 12 years old daughter to my decomposing cousin who happens to be king? Nevermind. He's trying to pass over his seat to Rhaenyra's bastard instead of one of our trueborn granddaughters? Guess I should obey. Oh, yes, and I will support her bastard's unexisting claim just because my lord husband wishes so, despite the fact of me having suspicions Rhaenyra had a hand in the death of my son. Oh, yes, and I will support Rhaenyra's claim to the throne because she's so noble and wants to prevent the war, unlike all these stupid men around us."

She was the voice of reason when she said that the war started with the eye incident, but other than that she's painted as a dull and hypocritical woman with no actual desires in her life. Instead of exploring political reasoning of the Velaryons being team black she supports Rhaenyra because "girl power, yay" kind of nonsense.

And let me tell you the funniest thing. All of her inspiring speeches about disgusting men lusting for a war were just for the fact that she went on the suicide mission just because.... she got emotional over Corlys' cheating? Like, really? The woman who'd been constantly yapping about poor women being oppresed by evil men and calling out Alicent of all people for being a the service of the latter basically died because of feeling rejected by her husband. Like, I don't know if it was the intent, but it looked exactly like this.

Also, I'm not a huge fun of f&b, but book! Rhaenys' death and the character overall was so much better. She fought fiercely, knowing perfectly well that there's no going back and perished honourably because she believed in her team's cause. And yes, she wouldn't give a flying fuck about Corlys' and Rhaenyra's bastards and certainly wouldn't promote the pseudo-feministic narrative "men bad, women good".

Also I just love how every single character and event is represented in the way that absolves Rhaenyra of any guilt. Peak feminist writing strikes again, yeepee.

On top of that this kind of character assasination is simply offensive and disrespectful to such an amazing actress as Eve Best, glad she's free in the end of the day.

[duchess-of-oldtown]

House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 1 Thoughts

Just clarifying, these are my own thoughts, you don't like them, don't bother telling me so. Also, I'm not a book purist, I like adaptions taking putting their own spin on things - if it makes sense to do so. So, here were my thoughts. Obvs, this post is dark and full of spoilers.

I loved the opening, the whole callback to the White Walkers which cements the true arc of ASOIAF (and feels a fuck you to s8)

THEY CALLED VHAGAR THAT HOARY OLD BITCH, ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOK QUOTES

Rhaenys ate, she fucking ate, that's it girl you remind Daemon of your daughter and his place (you know that Daemon loved that shit)

And Daemon? The whole mother vs the Queen speech? What do you think YOUR mother would have done? Alyssa Targaryen would have done exactly the same if it were you torn apart and you goddamn know it.

Yes, Corlys mourning Luke. Everyone mourning Luke 😭😭😭

Alyn of Hull, slay.

Am I the only one who kinda thinks that the Hightower Sigil looks a little clip-arty? It's just not it 😬

I really wish they made the scorpions look better. I just always thought that the weapons would be more advanced because they actually know dragons.

Aegon and Helaena, you can sort of see that Aegon does care about her but he just doesn't know what to do with her.

Alicent ALICENT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. GET THAT MAN AWAY FROM THERE

Also Criston? Giving head? Yeah, I'd think the sharks are real before I believed that.

Where was the build up to... That?

I actually fucking shuddered. SHUDDERED.

Tyland don't fucking annoy that little boy.

Terms? You killed her little boy and you sent terms?

Yes, Aegon you humiliate that Lannister bitch.

Why is Jaehaerys so sweet? 😭😭😭😭

Dalton Greyjoy mention!!

Mine are Bigger - Actual Aegon II energy

Why is Aemond sitting there like 🥺🥺🥺? You fucked up my guy.

Emma is heartbreaking.

Syrax never grew? Why she so tiny?

Arrax was so beautiful.

The actual stab of grief I got watching Rhaenyra on the beach. That was her baby. That was her little boy.

Aegon the Magnamious?

Aegon being nice on the throne? Being kind to the shepherd?

Your goats? No, sheep even better. 🙂 Aegon, I am meant to hate you.

Otto get fucked, Aegon was doing his best.

Hugh? Hugh Hammer? Girl,get the fuck out of here, asking for money and shit.

I can see a lot of ppl going to whine about them humanising Aegon but it's necessary? Complex characters and our relationships with them is GRRM's greatest skill.

Larys get away from that boy.

This is a green heavy episode. I know why but still, give us some Joffrey maybe? Some House Baratheon shitting themselves? The Great Houses getting the news and going oh fuck?

Daemon is lowkey right, Mysaria did help place Aegon on the throne but she is also right, he's only that angry with her because nobody else around.

Matt's acting is top tier because you can really see the grief, the anger and the insecurity when he's snarking.

Rhaenyra's return. Her silence, it's fucking gold.

Jace and Rhaenyra 😭😭😭😭 His lil voice. 😭😭😭

Where was Jeyne Arryn? Why no Jeyne??

The funeral 😭 lil Joffrey is too lil. Jace holding him *raptor screams*

Alicent, the fit ate but what good are prayers? Go smack that son of yours.

Somebody hug Rhaenyra. Right now. Rhaenys? Elinda? Baela? Rhaena? Hold that woman.

The CRIME HOODIE is back.

I still hate the gold cloaks' cloaks. They look like piss rags. Does nobody on the staff know what gold is? Look at Sunfyre.

The actual book quotes 🙂🙂🙂🙂

The War of Quills and Ravens, yes, yes

Aemond don't sit with Ser Incelot, he hast done thy mother

Y'know what, Aemond is a lil right, he's getting the blame for starting the war but Alicent and Otto literally laid the foundations?

Why is Criston standing for Otto? He's not a member of the royal family.

Aemond, sitting in that chair is very Daemon of you

Otto, showing off his slutty lil wrist, your pour yourself a lil drinky girl

Blood and Cheese have a lil dog with them. Please don't let anything happen to the dog.

There's something always so eerie about all those tunnels under the Red Keep. It absolutely terrifies me.

Aegon and his buddies sitting on the throne gives off fuck boi vibes and the Strong joke was actually pretty funny.

That Viserys statue is not it.

Why is Blood so fucking massive?

Cheese, did you just fucking kick that dog? I will kill what you love you absolutely bastard.

Oh, those locks. The world building, oh the worldBuilding

The atmosphere is very well captured. The music is on point.

I love the detailing of the interiors of the Red Keep, it's so much better than the OG series.

Oh Helaena.

Helaena, my love. Why Helaena, why her.

Why didn't they just check themselves?

How the fuck did the writers make Blood and Cheese that lack lustre? How the actual fuck do you fumble that?

Alicent, my fucking eyes, MY FUCKING EYES

I'm giving this a 7.5/10. Everyone else was great but HOW DO YOU FUCK UP BLOOD AND CHEESE? HOW? HOW? I DEMAND A TRIAL BY COMBAT

Also I must say, the Biblically accurate Hand of the King chain in the trailer is very good.