#platonic alicole

[dirtytransmasc]

I want to amend this post, I need multiple things from Criston next season (and season 3, cause why not?) or I will be rioting (in no particular order, with various levels of angst/delulu-ness):

Calling all three of his boys "son" and similarly Helaena "daughter", that or his "sweet girl/boy" both would be preferable.

kissing his kids heads/foreheads. some instances could be; kissing Aegon's forehead as he carries him away from Rook's Rest. kissing Aemond's hair as he holds him outside of Aegon's chambers, his boy thinking he killed his brother. kissing Hel's temple when he visits his grandbabies (Hel angst coming later, savor this while you can).

Criston taking a private knee to Aegon, swearing to him like he had his mother, promising a duty that goes beyond what is expected of him.

comforting Helaena as she is plagued by dreams and prophecies.

playing with his grand kids.

sitting at Aegon's bedside while he heals.

Dad jokes.

bear hugging Daeron when he returns from Oldtown, lifting him all the way off the ground.

the dad "one armed hug shared in moments of fondness and laughter" thing, with Daeron.

Daeron and Criston sharing similar quirks and habits (not necessarily a conscious act by either party, but I still need it)

helping care for Aegon, being one of the few faces that keeps him some semblance of calm after everything, helping change bandages or sponge him clean. just soft moments of pained vulnerability and softness between a dad and his grievously injured eldest son.

praying for his children.

more... handsy... with Alicent, for lack of a better word. just soft comforting touches, like you would expect partners to share with each other. her family has been maimed, murdered, and/or sent to both battle and madness, let him comfort his (platonic) wife goddammit. let them hug actually, that's what I need, I need him to hug her.

sitting with Helaena and Jaehaera after B&C, trying to comfort them the best he can. Helaena going in and out of tears, sometimes she recognizes him, sometimes she doesn't. sometimes she is heartbroken beyond words, others she is angry. no matter what, he is there to protect her. give me a scene of him holding her as well, she needs it, she deserves a hug.

threatening Larys, especially if he pulls a stunt against Alicent like I think he might, knowing he can't kill him, that he's to much of an asset than they can risk going with out, but still hating him for what he does to his Queen. (see this post to understand what I mean by stunt)

embracing Aemond and Daeron, doing the forehead touch thing, each time they go separate ways, knowing any battle could be their last.

his last words being him begging Alicent and his kids to forgive him, apologizing for failing to protect them, for leaving them.

if we do get Afterlife scenes out of this hellish show, give me a scene of him reuniting with his grandkids, kids, and eventually his (platonic) wife. I'm begging.

putting aside a knife of his own to be given to Jaehaera if and when he passes, as a final means to protect her, even from the grave.

let him be emotional, in passing, when he's alone, let him shed a tear or two. I want to see the stress ooze from this man. I want to watch as the pain and death that follows his family breaks him down.

a clear difference between how he advises Aegon in front of the court and how advises him in private. risking a daggar in the throat on account of his son's blind rage and grief to protect his image amongst the court, but sharing a similar blood lust when it comes to avenging his daughter and grandchildren.

at least one shot of him standing with one of his kids' dragons.

just give me Criston being a good dad and (platonic) husband.

[fatherforgivethem]

The greens on a road trip

- Criston is driving while Alicent is in the front. She’s in charge of the GPS but she keeps getting distracted because Daeron keeps pointing out things that he wants her to look at. “Mummy! Mummy! Look!”

- Aegon and Aemond have gotten in several arguments and it’s only been three hours. They were forced to sit in the back together. They tried to watch a movie together but Aemond got made because Aegon kept touching the screen.

- Criston had to tell them to look out of their own windows and not talk to each other. They listen for like 10min and then they start talking again.

- Helaena has her headphones on and is in her own world for a little. But Daeron got board and so she took them off and agreed to color with him.

- Criston tries to make them all play a game. Aegon keeps making his answers in the game inappropriate and Alicent is trying her best to hide her laughing.

- At a certain point, Aegon and Aemond are turned in their seats because Helaena said that she was board and that she wanted to braid their hair.

- Criston is the “we’re not stopping dad” and so the kids, even Alicent, just look out of the window longingly each time that pass somewhere. They eventually get him to stop somewhere when Alicent gives him a look. He can’t say no to those eyes.

- At a certain point, all of the kids fall asleep and Alicent and Criston are just listening to one of her books in peaceful silence.

[alicole-sideblog]

by this point I have heard the term "platonic Alicole" used to mean all of the following:

they don't have sex bc they're strictly proper like that. they do want to tho.

they don't actually want to have sex, bc traumatized sad bbies. they do have amorphous sexual tension tho.

they have no sexual tension. they have no romantic air about them. they're bros.

when someone says "platonic Alicole" I have no way of knowing which one is meant. I wish people used clearer terminology.

[alicentsgf]

criston's face when viserys insulted alicent is actually SO Insane. like the man was just looking at the king like that. in broad fucking daylight. blatantly willing viserys skull to explode victim-of-alys-rivers-psychic-witchery style. you know why he missed the kids sneaking out?? because he was busy standing over viserys in the dark armed with murderous intent

[squgs]

The general assumption around Criston and Alicent's relationship is that it's some toxic, unhealthy thing that they both settle for because they have no one else to turn to. This is an interesting reading of them, but based on the few scenes of them together that we have they seem to be the healthiest partnership in the show.

Of all the partnerships between men and women, Criston and Alicent's is the only one with a genuine balance of power. In every other pairing the man is in control and does not allow their woman to make decisions for the pair or for herself. We see Corlys ignore Rhaenys's input and wish's about betrothing Laenor and Rhaenyra and about disinheriting Baela and we can assume from her discomfort that she rose similar ignored objections about pushing Viserys to marry Laena. We see Viserys abuse both his wives and ignore their wishes for bodily autonomy. We see Daemon murder one wife, ignore the wishes of another and then belittle and assault his third wife until she complies with his wishes.

In sharp contrast to those dynamics, Alicent is clearly the one in charge in her relationship with Criston. However Alicent is not overbearing and controlling with Criston. On driftmark he is able to tell her no. He decides what he is willing to do for her and seemingly does not fear any retaliation for his decisions. The exact reasoning behind Criston's decision not to try to take Luke's eye are up for interpretation, but we don't really see any other partnership on the show where the subservient party's refusal is respected.

The only maybe comparable relationship is Rhaenyra's relationship with Laenor and Harwin. We see so little of the three of them that its hard to draw conclusions, but Rhaenyra does seem to be in charge. However she's clearly frustrated with Laenor's failures as a husband and is unable to get him to perform his duties. It's fairly clear that the planned partnership they had in episode 5 has failed, to the point that Rhaenyra gets rid of him in episode 7. Alicent and Criston's partnership on the other hand seems to be going strong after over 15 years.

There are a variety of ways that people say that the Alicent Criston dynamic is toxic. The most common is the view that Criston holds Alicent on a pedestal and doesn't actually know or see the real her only an idolized view of the Madonna in contrast to Rhaenyra the whore. I don't think that reading fits with what we see of their interactions. Criston is unflinchingly at Alicent's side in her ugliest moments. Alicent is willing to rant about Rhaenyra's bastards to him, showing her neuroticism and anxiety and anger. She shows no fear of being judged for what she says and I think we're meant to assume such venting sessions are a common occurrence for them. Alicent's behavior in that scene does not in anyway resemble an idolized divine image of the mother and yet Criston is not at all surprised or resentful or disturbed, in fact he's comfortable enough with Alicent being like that that he gets similarly petty (and misogynistic). Again on driftmark Criston sees Alicent at her lowest, most human and angry. While he is unwilling or unable to take Luke's eye he rushes to her side the moment she goes to attack Rhaenyra. Again this is Alicent at her least stereotypically motherly, least divine, most violent and angry and we don't see Criston be bothered by her not fitting into the image of her that he's created. The idea of Alicent needing to play the role of divine mother to maintain support is very interesting, but it doesn't really fit with her behavior around Criston. Playing that part is extremely difficult, it's literally an impossible standard that women are held to, and it takes constant effort. If Alicent was doing that with Criston we would see that effort and her fear at the moments when her facade slips, but instead we see Alicent trusting Criston with her most vulnerable and human moments.

Another way people say Alicent and Criston are toxic is to say that Alicent is afraid of Criston and only keeping him around because she can weaponize his hatred of Rhaenyra and point it at her enemies. Their is certainly some truth to Criston having a violent streak that he struggles to control. However in episode 9 it is very clear that Alicent doesn't need to fear him or manipulate him, and that his loyalty to her has nothing to do with hating Rhaenyra. Criston shows his loyalty two notable times in the episode. The first is after he kills Beesbury (which to be clear was bad. Murder is wrong), when Westerling and Criston are facing off. Alicent tells him to lower his sword and he does so. When one of the only comparably skilled swordsmen in the world has his blade at Criston's throat and Alicent tells him to lower his sword he does so without question. He unflinchingly trusts Alicent's judgement with his life. There is every possibility that Westerling will just kill him there, but he doesn't hesitate or complain or do anything but obey his queen, trusting her attempt to deescalate the situation. The second time is when Alicent asks Criston to find Aegon for her. Criston was at the council meeting, and since he's not an idiot he understands that the stakes of the search for Aegon is Rhaenyra's life. He is actively choosing to do something that he knows will save Rhaenyra's life because Alicent asks him to. That completely destroys the idea that his loyalty and relationship to Alicent has anything to do with hating Rhaenyra. In fact if he was motivated by hatred of Rhaenyra he would be the obvious choice to lead the assassination trip to dragonstone. Otto would obviously know that, but he still thought he had a better chance asking Westerling who has been protecting Rhaenyra since she was a child than he did asking Criston.

(Side note: the whole idea of Otto asking a knight who is loyal to Rhaenyra to do an assassin's job is absolutely ridiculous. Given that Otto is competent at his job and has known this would be happening he should absolutely have actual assassins lined up to do what they're best at. However I'm ignoring that for this analysis to view the episode as written.)

A final way that people say Alicent and Criston is toxic is that they enable each other with the delusion that they are good people because they follow the rules of society. While I do think that they enable each other in some ways. It's not that they let each other pretend that they're good people, they let each other be good people, by being good to each other. Alicent protects someone she barely knows, in a way that is actively detrimental to her political goals, simply because Criston does not deserve to be scandalized, have his family's name ruined and then be tortured to death. Criston serves an honorable queen, being a father to her children and respecting her when seemingly no one else does. The lie that they enable isn't that they're good, it's that being good means anything. They can convince each other that 'in the end honor and decency will prevail' even when they are each others only evidence of that fact.

Now with all that said, I'm not arguing that Alicent and Criston's relationship should only be viewed as wholesome and healthy and lovely (though it can be). They are both traumatized as fuck and are products of their terrible society that they can't escape, and may not even understand well enough to want to escape. There is so much stuff to dig into without resorting to a simplistic terrible version of their relationship, especially when thinking about them attempting to have a romantic or sexual relationship.

So yeah people should view alicole as more than just terrible Alicent's punishment for not defeating the patriarchy and being liberated like Rhaenyra.

[johannawesterling]

Hightower Mum and Dad.

(Six year old Daeron took the pictures. Helaena put the barrettes in Criston's hair.)

Fic Posted Here!

[chr0n1c-ag0ny]

[meraxesmoon]

yandere daemyra vs yandere alicent and criston fighting because both couples are obsessed with the same darling

See, Alicole is a secret pleasure of mine. They're so courtly love in the show ♡ Criston and Alicent are an interesting duo because it's mostly Criston doing anything to keep his queen happy.

(Name) comes into the care of Alicent first. Whether they're a noble lady that she's taken a liking to or a simple servant doesn't matter. The Queen wants them by her side constantly, and Criston takes them to Alicent when she calls for their presence. I imagine that it's younger Alicent because she truly needs friends after initially marrying Viserys. She has none after Rhaenyra leaves her, and she's lonely.

She's finds refuge in (Name), her sweet lady, and Criston does the same. He was left a shell of who he was after departing ways with Rhaenyra, so when Alicent starts to bring this sweet and attentive girl around he starts to feel better about himself as a knight of the kingsguard.

As for Rhaenyra and Daemon, they meet (Name) after coming back to Kings Landing for the issue regarding Luke's legitimacy. (Name) is left in charge of the care of the younger children, including Rhaenyra's three younger boys (Joffrey, Aegon, and Viserys). I imagine that little Viserys takes quite the liking to her, and this catches Daemon's attention.

Side note, I definitely think that Daemon doted on Viserys. Much like the way Rhaenyra doted on Luke and Aegon. He's probably the most involved with Viserys and therefore checks up on his son quite a lot during their visit.

This is where Daemon gets his first taste of Alicent's favorite lady.

He desires her, to be frank, and this is something he doesn't try to hide at all. During dinners or gatherings where (Name) is present (most likely kept close to Alicent and Criston), he is absolutely eye-fucking her, and his wife is not oblivious to Daemon's predicament.

She's rather on board, though. Rhaenyra would love to have a cute little thing to share with her husband, and (Name) is absolutely adorable.

I think, due to the rivalry, (Name) would be highly extorted during the war. Criston would be ordered to lock her away, and her only human contact would be from Criston and Alicent. The thing is, with Alicent, the facade of platonic affection absolutely disappears after Viserys dies. She's an honorable woman and would never cheat on him, but once he's dead?

Alicent wants to be loved. She wants to feel desired by the person she loves.

Criston is there to reinforce said love.

I LOVE ALICENT 🫶

side note, i do not believe that daemyra's marriage was monogamous. daemon was a hoe 💀

[committingwarcr1mes]

Alicole.

I'm obsessed over dynamics like this since I've watched MYK (like, Kösem and Kemankeş, uk 😭😭😭) and keep being silent is just too much.

Firstly, and again I'm sad about how much wasted potential HotD does have. Chemistry between Fabien and Olivia, situations, that Criston and Alicent appear in, — we have minimum of that, but it was enough for Alicole having my heart. Such a pity that scenario was written by baked freudist imbeciles, and events are unfolding too fast, cause there is so little of episodes. Alicole might be gorgeous UST slowburn. Just Imagine. I'd give everything to watch their trust becoming stronger, how they're finding support in each other, how Alicent feels more and more lonely and unhappy in her marriage, losing her friend (Rhaenyra), and how at the same time Criston becomes the closest to her. She can trust him, tell about her troubles, so does he. He remembers that she saved him from death and always gonna remember. She became the beacon of hope, the light in the darkness, she became everything. They became everything to each other.

Consistent development of relationships. Slowly burning warmth in the chest. I. Want. To. See. It.

Secondly, — another thought that's not connected with the previous one, — I can't see Alicole relationships in any way but platonic. Imho, the physical inaccessibility is something that somehow raises them in each other's eyes. In addition, I guess, for some reason, that both Alicent and Criston think, that sex is nasty, at some point. Because of negative past experience, maybe? In brief, they would not like it 👎 And the intimacy would ruin the aesthetics of UST, of course.

Alicole is too good for this world.

[mal-zoya]

me: i’m fine with platonic or unrequited alicole. they have both so much baggage and religious guilt and sexual trauma to probably even consider to be physical. not to mention they both play on their so called “honor” and “be better” than the rest, so this courtly love suits them the best.

fandom: alicent is a lesbian if you say no you suck and criston should die asap.

me: alicole fucks in every room, in every position, in the red keep, daeron is their child, they get married and they never did anything wrong ever in their lives.

[um-weird-flex-but-ok]

The thing about alicole is that I'm obsessed with them up until the point where it's no longer a platonic devotion. Something about them fucking just feels wrong to me.

And I was thinking about it and about the ‘Ser Criston isn't the step-dad he's the dad that stepped up’ headcanon regarding the green kids and like

Alicent is still a teenager here and Otto’s a piece of shit… that's her dad.

I mean he’s grumpy, he follows her around glaring at any and everybody with the audacity to look at her, he'd die for her, he's already killed for her, he says offensive shit that he shouldn't, he was constantly one wrong move away from jumping Viserys consequences of kingslaying be damned and Alicent clearly doesn't tell him things knowing his reaction would be bad.

Ser Criston is Alicent’s dad in all but name and Aemond bought him a ‘worlds greatest grandpa’ mug for his name day and it was the first time he'd cried in over ten years.

[dirtytransmasc]

Light by Sleeping at Last but its Criston being the first person to hold Alicent's youngest 2, promising to always be there, to be their sworn protector

May these words be the first to find your ears ... I hereby pledge all of my days to prove it so

Light but its Cole with little Aegon, watching him long for a father who will never want him, and doing his best to fill the gap.

I'll give you everything I have I'll teach you everything I know I promise I'll do better

Light but its Cole with little Helaena, wanting nothing more than to protect her innocence, to keep her from suffering like her mother had.

I will always hold you close But I will learn to let you go ... I will soften every edge I'll hold the world to its best And I'll do better

Light but its Cole and he's angry, he's angry because Aemond, his Aemond, the boy he was more of a father to than anyone else, was maimed, he had failed to protect him, and now he dedicates all his time to the boys training.

I'll give you everything I have I'll teach you everything I know ... With every heartbeat I have left I will defend your every breath And I'll do better

Light but its Cole loving his kids more than they could ever understand.

Cause you are loved, you are loved more than you know ... Though your heart is far too young to realize The unimaginable light you hold inside ... I will rearrange the stars Pull 'em down to where you are I promise I'll do better

[fatherforgivethem]

When Alicent Hightower moved her four children to the states to start a new life, she hadn’t excepted to meet a ranch owner who would open his heart up for her and her little family.

Criston Cole: The ranch had been in his family for years before he met his soulmate, Alicent. Along with her, he now has four children that he loves dearly, even if they can make his head spin sometimes. He spends his mornings making breakfast for the family, and then working on the ranch with all of his children.

Alicent Hightower: The young English woman met her soulmate, Criston, when she her eldest boy got lost in the grocery store. Criston found him and the rest was history. She likes to spend her time gardening and working at her flower shop. She tries her best to attend the matches of her three eldest children, but the danger of their sports scares her.

Aegon Hightower: The twenty something young man lives at home with the rest of his family where he helps out on the ranch. His bull riding career has taken off within the last couple of years. If his mother won’t come to see him, he always knows that Helaena, his sister and secrete lover, will. He always makes sure to attend her matches in return. Aemond and him both fell in love with sport at a very young age due to their father teaching them.

Helaena Hightower: The barrel rider is making her name known amongst others and her talent can be seen by anyone who lays their eyes on her. She likes to help around the ranch, the garden, and watch her brothers matches. Aegon and her have been secretly together since they were fourteen. When she’s not busy with training, she can be found at her mothers flower shop in town. Aegon is usually trailing behind her like a lost puppy.

Aemond Hightower: Like his brother, Aemond’s passion can be seen in the sport of bull riding. The rush of it all is what he enjoys the most, especially when he goes up against Aegon. He’s a private young man and no amount of buckle bunnies can get him to spill his secretes. He likes to work on his fathers (family) ranch and spend time with his family.

Daeron Hightower: The youngest of the family can always been seen either at school, the ranch, or around town. He loves to help his father with whatever work that needs to be done on the ranch, and he works weekdays at his mothers shop. He didn’t get into bull riding like his brothers, but he does have a passion for helping the animals around him. His dream is to go to school to become a veterinarian.

[alicentsgf]

if you take me seriously thats honestly on you

[sunfyredefender77]

Hi! May i ask you who do you ship in Hotd?

Hiii

I mostly ship Helaegon because I find their relationship in fire and blood very interesting, but I feel like they didn't show their relationship in the right light in the show. I often only ship characters platonically, so I'm not sure about Helaegon because I don't care if they loved each other romantically or if it was sibling love. But I know they cared and loved each other and I love that.

The second ship is Rhaenicent, which I'm also not sure if I'm shipping platonically or romantically. Because I just wish they could be back together and happy and in love and I was sad when they started fighting."I want to fly with you on dragonback, see the great wonders across the narrow sea, and eat only cake." I WISH IT WAS POSSIBLE :-( i also feel that emily and milly made rhaenyra and alicent have great chemistry

Helaemond This ship is not my favorite, but I LOVE seeing the Tiktok edits and fan arts. CHEF'S KISS.

Alicole And AGAIN, I'm not sure if I ship them platonically or romantically, but I love their friendship. Imagine Alicent married Cole instead of Viserys, I feel like she would be much happier ( obviously not possible but yk what I mean)

AND MY FAV SHIPS

me x aegon

me x Alicent

THANK YOU FOR ASKING