#nettles is great because she’s nettles
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People really are missing the point of a character like Nettles. Being the a non-Valyrian dragonrider is what makes her different(in every positive definition of that word) and helps to serve a larger purpose in this story.
Valyrian blood is not special. It’s not needed to do great things. No one is special because of what family they happen to be born into.
A non-Valyrian Nettles shows that we are more than the circumstances which we are born into. Our birth, our names, and our very blood does not define us. Our actions are what do. We can overcome so much and rise to become absolutely extraordinary with a little bit of determination, patience, and a dash of help along the way. Nettles exemplifies that to the fullest extent.
She's more than a Black Valryian. She doesn’t have to be Valyrian. She shouldn’t have to be Valyrian.
She’s a survivor. She’s a final girl. She’s a Black low-born girl likely without a drop of dragons blood that tames a wild dragon with patience that killed countless others who had dragons blood. She survived the Dance where others high and low alike fell and perished to become a firewitch to the Burned Men.
Her legacy is immortalized in the history books(and by the Burned Men cause they still worship her) as one of the last(if not the last) dragonrider(s) before Dany all without having any known Valyrian ancestry.
#nettles doesn’t need Valyrian blood to be great#nettles#hotd#hotd spoilers#nettles asoiaf#nettles f&b#hotd fandom critical#bncommentary#hotd commentary#nettles characterization#🐑🐉#house of the dragon#netty#she’s not daemons kid guys#the dates don’t align for that but keep trying it#surprise surprise most of the ones cheering this crap on aren’t black themselves 🤦🏽♀️#I see what’s happening here which is ironic because any other time she isn’t Black#but now she is because you can use that#how does having valyrian blood benefit nettles at all#how does it add to the story GRRM is trying to tell#she can be valyrian but it shouldn’t be requirement#that thinking is backwards#what did tyrion say? never forget who you are wear it proudly#nettles likely isn’t valyrian let’s be proud of her claiming a dragon without dragons blood#nettles is great because she’s nettles#no dragon blood required and I love that 🙌🏽
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KYLE CROUSE: Alright, here’s one from HappyTimes. “Everyone is sent a notice to come help take out Eggman's new base immediately. It's a floating fortress out above the middle of the ocean, so Shadow has to take a 4 hour plane ride to get to it. And because of how everyone's schedule happened to line up and where they were all located, he coincidentally has to share it with just Tangle for the whole trip, which he only finds out after the plane had started taking off. How does the flight go between the two? P.S. He has no chaos emerald so he can't warp away. He's stuck on the plane with her.”
youtube
IAN FLYNN: So Shadow is obviously and immediately nettled, and Tangle’s like [interrupting] “Ah tut tut tut tut tut! Look! Look, I know about ‘ya! I know you like your boundaries,” —she says as she makes, like, a force-field gesture with her hands— “I get it! My bestie’s just like it. So, I got my earphones, we got our in-flight movie, I’m just gonna watch that and not say another word to ‘ya! We cool?” And he just kind of blinks, and then nods, like yeah, okay, he can work with that. And so she plugs in her headphones and she queues up her movie… well, she tries to, the touch screen’s kind of hard to work with, and the glare makes it hard to see. She pokes a little harder, maybe she pokes it with her tail— [as Tangle] “Ope, sorry! You’re kinda tangled around—” [escalating] Don’t worry, she’ll completely untangle it, she’s got lots of experience! This tail gets all over the place!
KYLE: [chuckling quietly]
IAN: [as Tangle] “Ah, anyway, do you mind if the armrest is up? No? Okay, cool! I’m gonna— finally!” Alright, there’s the movie, and oh, she loves the musical number in this part and she’s gonna sing! Along! Out loud!
KYLE: [laughing]
IAN: And Shadow is just sitting there…
KYLE: Seething.
IAN: Ever-so-slowly grinding his teeth to dust.
KYLE: Figured he already did that, considering how many coffee beans he eats.
IAN: [chuckles]
KYLE: But sure. I do enjoy that they are seated side-by-side, and I’m assuming they’re the only two on the plane. [laughing]
IAN: Yes, all the other seats are occupied, somehow or another…
KYLE: Not with people, just with stuff. [laughing] It’s just them. Just those two, they’re the only— and they’re— and they sit next to each other!
IAN: Plane lands, and Sonic goes, “Great! You made it. Shadow, I thought you were coming with somebody else?” [as Shadow] “I did.” [as Sonic] “Where- where’s Tangle?” [as Shadow] “Overhead compartment.”
KYLE: [laughing] Oh no!
IAN: Sonic pops the latch and Tangle kinda comes out like a can full of snakes and she kind of stretches and goes, “You know what? Honestly, the leg room in there was a lot better than the seat, not gonna lie.”
KYLE: [cackles] Oh, but she has a problem with small spaces! She didn’t freak out? I mean…
IAN: [laughing] Look, you want continuity in my joke answer, man?
KYLE: Yes!
IAN: I got nothin’.
KYLE: [laughs, then as Tangle] “No! No! No!” Shadow would stuff her in there anyway. [sigh] No, no… maybe it’s Archie Shadow, not current-canon Shadow. That would be better.
IAN: [chuckles]
KYLE: That would go better.
IAN: He would just be sitting there with the Shadow face the entire flight. That’d be hilarious.
KYLE: [chuckling] Which Shadow face?
IAN: The Shadow face.
KYLE: [chuckles] Okay. That one. Yee… I love it.
—–
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: Please remember that nothing that is said on BumbleKast is canon! It’s just some guys and their opinions occasionally spitballing ideas. If you don’t like an answer, you don’t have to take it as Word of God or anything like that. It’s all just for fun!
#bumblekast#ian flynn#kyle crouse#sonic the hedgehog#idw sonic#archie sonic#shadow the hedgehog#tangle the lemur#Sometimes I just hear an answer and I just know it has to be written out. This was one of those times.#Youtube
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Nettles being from the bottom of society, a black girl, orphan, bastard, poor, homeless, possible sex worker, rising to the top by her wits and ambition makes her literally one of the coolest ASOIAF characters ever. In any other book she’d be the main character!
But only in asoiaf fandom do people look at her and spew the same racism the woman who wants to kill her said and think that’s a “clap back”
Gods I love nettles so much I want her in the show now! Her living on as the queen of the mountains of the moon in the vale would be such a great ending for her character. Or starting a republic or other form of government that isn’t based on inheritance because she’s seen how badly a monarchy can fall apart
#house of the dragon#hotd#hotd discussion#nettles#team nettles#nettles is the queen of the mountain of the moon truthers#pro nettles
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OBSESSION
Synopsis: You were sent to the Vale when the war started and once it ended you were stuck. A proposal was quickly made between you and Lord Arryn as payment for your stay. The new king wouldn't allow this... By any means necessary you would be his.
pairing: Aegon II Targaryen x Reader
warnings: Dark!Aegon ish, obsessive tendencies, murder, smut, all that fun stuff!
word count: 8k
note: I'm so sorry it took me so long to finish but your request is here @slayhousehightower <3 Also many many thanks to @annikin-im-panicin for helping me write this dialogue. She is an insanely talented writer, and you should check out her fics!
In the year 131 AC King Aegon II Targaryen successfully burnt his half-sister, the pretender queen, alive in the courtyard of Dragonstone. The war was won but not without great costs to house Targaryen. All of the dragons were dead, except Silverwing who disappeared into Maiden pool, Sheep stealer who flew off with Nettles on his back, and Princess Rhaena’s newly hatched pink dragon. Not only were mostly all the dragons gone but their riders as well.
Only one child remained of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the little prince Aegon. Baela and Rhaena remained but Corlys had been executed along with Larys Strong for an attempt on the king’s life. Aegon himself remained, half of the man he once was. He was burnt, broken but luckily his legs and cock still worked.
King Aegon had sacrificed his entire family for the throne. Both his brothers had died for him, his wife took her own life after her two young sons died. His little princess Jaehaera and mother were all that remained. You were another thing he did not sacrifice, he shipped you off to the Vale to be away from the war.
His kingdom did much better than expected after some tragedy. The young king matured into an almost decent one with the help of his council. Smallfolk and lords alike were quickly rebuilding and repopulating their small kingdoms. In honor of this, a grand ball was to be held. to help him find a match for little Aegon, to find if Jaehaera fancied anyone other than her dolls, and to perhaps see you once again.
He did try to summon you back home almost immediately, but it wasn’t safe enough yet for his little bird. You were tucked away safely in the mountains far away from harm's way… Aegon wanted his children to go with you, but the gods had other plans.
Your relationship wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to outsiders. You were the child of King Viserys’s sister, who tragically died trying to birth your brother. After her death, you were adopted into his home. Mainly out of guilt he forced her to marry and move far away from her family. He blamed himself as he did with Aemma.
You were raised alongside Aegon and though to onlookers you never seemed close, he thought otherwise. Perhaps, it was a bit obsessive how he felt, a little wrong to anyone on the outside. He had a wife and yet he only ever yearned for you. Aegon craved you like he did wine, an addiction that he couldn’t be satisfied without.
He never did get you. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to, it was because you were too dear for him to sully. Instead, he sullied whores who resembled you. It worked until his wife died and he needed another heir. You were unmarried, only because the war started right as you turned of age to be wed and bedded.
You were finally, in the eyes of the kingdom, ready to be his. He had waited for this moment since you were teens. Aegon watched you carefully growing up, kept his distance as best he could. The restraint it took him not to succumb to his desires and ravish you was impossibly difficult.
Every time you approached him his mind raced with wondrous fantasies. Your sweet voice carried like a song, which is why he called you little bird. Your long hair flowed perfectly to your waist and smelled divine. Not sweet like vanilla, sweet like a bouquet of flowers. Sometimes he would purposely stand close behind just so he could be surrounded by your scent.
Your face was truly a sight to behold, so beautiful yet so unaware of it. You were almost of perfect northern beauty, except for the pale blue eyes of your mother that bore into the soul of everyone who caught your gaze. Aegon never quite got the chance to truly see your body, without a doubt you were shorter than him and so very small. He feared if he touched you, you might break into pieces.
The feel of your delicate hands touching him was seared into his mind forever. You rarely touched but one day he had the opportunity to escort you to dinner and the feel of your soft hands on his arm nearly made him crazy.
You didn’t have the traditional Targaryen looks, you resembled more of your father’s family. He loved that about you, the way you were opposite to him in everything. Where he was wanton and wicked you were kind and pure. Not too pure, occasionally he would peek in through the cracks of your doors and see you attempting to ease the ache between your legs. You obviously didn’t understand it because you never succeeded, he vowed to help you with that one day.
Your chest was not as small and delicate as the rest of you, though it was not huge like the whores on the street. Occasionally, when the weather got hot and you wore lighter clothing, he could see your breast barely peek out of the top of your corset.
Another thing to drive him mad, if he could see it so could any other vile man. You didn’t realize how perfect you were, you didn’t realize you caught the gaze of every person with a cock. He could kill them now though, so it didn’t matter as much but back then. Oh, he would be practically fuming inside his chambers. The mere thought of another man hearing your laugh, smelling your scent, seeing your gaze, feeling your touch, or worst of all fucking you made him want to burn the entire kingdom down.
This was all in the past though, now that he was king no man would come near you or so he thought.
-
Your time in the Vale was comforting even though there was a literal war happening around you. Of course, you cried for the dead and the destruction that was caused to the realm, but it had been a few years. Things had started to look up for the kingdom with the new king.
That was something you wished to brag about but didn’t. Your friend was king, and he wasn’t as terrible a ruler as everyone thought! It was nice to hear that Aegon, the once wastrel, had grown into a good man. You desperately missed your family that you would never see again… You may not ever see Aegon again and though you weren’t close you considered him a friend. In your mind, the war wasn’t truly worth it and choosing sides is why everything fell apart so quickly.
It wasn’t time to dwell on the past. There were better things happening in your life that took your full attention. The Vale had almost fully become your home and everyone around you was so nice. Especially the heir, Ser Joffrey Arryn who recently succeeded Jeyne after her death. It didn’t come as a surprise you were betrothed shortly after his accession.
He had spent the most amount of time with you and fawned over you like no other. At first, you thought you would hate the prospect of marriage and your husband, but you came to enjoy him. He wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, no defining traits to make him special but he was kind and gentle. Joffrey was also a good warrior so you would always be protected.
Today wasn’t any different from most days. You were in your own world as you strolled around the Eyrie. It got quite chilly up in the mountains, but it didn’t bother you as much. To be honest, it reminded you of your old home when you were a child, and your mother was still alive.
Before you could dwell on the past for too long a hand touched your shoulder catching your attention. “Lord Joffrey,” you breathed out in shock. He grinned, “apologies for startling princess. I have word from King’s landing I thought you’d like to hear.” Your smile grew bright at the idea Aegon had summoned you home. “Yes please, if it wouldn’t bother you.” He chuckled slightly, “no need to be so polite we’re betrothed now.”
Ah yes, it slipped your mind for a moment. “Of course, my apologies.” Joffrey took your hand in his, “The King sends a royal invitation to the Maiden’s Day ball. The young prince Aegon, the king and princess Jaehaera are all looking for potential suitors.” It wasn’t a direct summon nor was it really a summon at all. Maybe you weren’t friends as it seemed, they did leave you in the Vale for three years. “Will we be attending?”
“Only if you wish it, princess.” The title of princess didn’t suit you very well. You were merely a daughter of a dead king’s sister. “Don’t call me that, you know my name.” He patted your hand, “Ok y/n, do you wish to attend?” You hadn’t been back to King’s Landing in such a long time. Not only that but all those you once called family or friends were gone. Except Aegon but you doubted he really remembered you at all. Being back might bring forth some unwanted memories… unwanted feelings.
“Do you think there will be lemon cakes?” Joffrey laughed at your simple yet undeniably love for cakes. There weren’t any lemon cakes in the Vale, so the chance to taste them again was the driving factor in returning. “Absolutely, those are most ladies' favorites.” You nodded, mostly to yourself, “We should attend then!”
-
“Do we know who all will be attending?” The king spoke to his new small council. It was made up of both blacks and greens, though he never quite was able to fully trust the ones who pledged against him in the war he allowed them to live. A merciful act to make him look better than he actually was. “Many great houses will be attending… Baratheon, Bolton, Redwyne, Royce, and even the daughters of Pentos, Lys, Myr….” He completely zoned out as the names were being listed and none of them sounded like the Vale. “What of the Eyrie? Will they be presenting any maidens?”
The council members glanced at each other and thought to themselves. “I believe the new Lord Arryn will be coming with his betrothed, but we hadn’t heard word otherwise.” So, you weren’t coming after all, he would just have to send you a personal invitation then. Never in his life had he met a woman so hard to get a hold of. “Your cousin, your Grace.” His attention peaked again, “what of her?” The master of coin raised a brow at him, “If you meant to ask about your cousin. Y/N is Lord Arryn’s betrothed so she will be attending.”
He felt his stomach clench, his nerves run through with an all-consuming dread. No dread wasn’t enough, it was more than that. He felt numb, his body tingling with the feeling. Not rage, no envy, no fury. Just this feeling of overwhelming helplessness. The sounds around him were all muffled, all he could hear was ringing. The sounds of wedding bells, the most disgusting sound he ever heard.
The wicked king, that’s what the whispers said about him and oh he could show them how wicked he truly was. “Who allowed this to happen?!” The room went dead silent as the members stared in disbelief. “Uh…your grace, it was a decision made by the lady Jeyne during the war. We had no part in it.” That fucking cunt. “As king, I should be the one making the decision on who my kin wed.”
That wasn’t necessarily true at all. In fact, it would be considered a payment for letting her stay there for so long. It simply wouldn’t fucking do. “I believe that is something we should discuss with the lord himself, your grace.”
“That we shall.”
-
The Maiden’s Day ball was truly an event for all ages it seemed. Thousands piled into the streets and keep of King’s Landing. All of whom were vying for the love of the king or young prince. Many women may not even be here by choice, their greedy fathers simply wished to use them as a pawn for power.
It was too crowded, far too crowded for your liking. The dress you wore wasn’t even that heavy and yet it felt like it was on fire. You were one of the lucky ones who arrived a week early, after a personal invitation from the king who demanded you visit prior to the affair.
Your nerves were completely shot to say the least. You never did enjoy large crowds or grandiose affairs. It was a struggle when your carriage pulled into the courtyard and instantly was swarmed by a welcome party of guards, a very “warm” welcome indeed. They opened the carriage door in a hurry and rushed you out. One grabbed you by the arm and the other snatched up Lord Arryn. There was a bit of resistance, but it failed as the guard said it was simply to protect you both from the large crowds.
It felt like whiplash how quickly you were pulled out and into the keep and thrown into a room. Not literally thrown but the rush made it feel as such. “What the hell was that?” Joffrey asked while trying to calm himself down. “Mayhaps the king did it so we wouldn’t be suffocated by the people.” You took a deep breath and sat down on the settee. It was much calmer inside than it was out. “I hadn’t realized this many people would be here already. I can’t imagine how crowded it’ll be the day of.”
“The king and prince are looking for wives, it makes sense so many would come.” A sting in your gut caught your attention. Not this, not after all these years, you thought to yourself. There was a time as a young girl you fancied Aegon but that was long ago when he was merely an unmarried prince. He was now a widowed king with far too many suitors, all of which were less plain featured than you.
You had Joffrey and he was good. That was all you truly needed, not a childhood crush that never was confessed. “Are you alright, love? You look sickly.” You fell back on the bed and let out an exasperated sigh, “it’s too hot in the south.”
-
Aegon raced to your chambers after the announcement of your arrival. Although it didn’t need to be announced because he was watching intently from his window. Whilst on his way to your chambers he was interrupted at every corner. Another thing he hated about being king, there was no such thing as peace.
One thing he had chosen to do today was to bring Jaehaera along with him. Aegon loved his little princess dearly and there was no way you couldn’t. You hadn’t seen each other since she was six and now, she is nearly nine. If you wouldn’t spend time with him, he knew you would surely spend time with her. Was this a manipulative thing to do? Mayhaps. But would it get him closer to wedding you? Absolutely. Besides, Jaehaera needed a motherly figure desperately after the loss of her own.
“Do you remember her, little love?” he quizzed the girl before knocking on your door. She didn’t speak much anymore, only to himself and his mother. A quick nod confirmed she did in fact remember you. Aegon was drunk most of her early childhood, but he had faint memories of you playing dolls with her to give Helaena a break after Maelor was born. Maelor, a hole reappeared in his chest at the thought.
Both of his sons were gone in the most horrific ways imaginable. His innocent sons who were barely old enough to talk properly. He should have been there; he should have been a better father. The bile in his gut began to rise to his throat and his eyes burned with tears threatening to fall.
“Are you going to knock?” The little voice snapped him back into the present. He cleared his throat and knocked. You sat up in bed and groaned. “What is it now?” Joffrey stopped unpacking his things and walked to the door, “we’ll see.”
The door opened and Aegon’s smile fell flat. The single sparkle in his eye died out. “Your grace, how may I help you?” Gods, he was the most plain-featured man he had ever laid eyes upon. Even his voice was dull in sound, nothing like the way you spoke. He wanted, no needed to kill him as soon as possible.
“Aegon?” You sprang out of bed and pushed the door wider to reveal yourself. He looked so different from how you remembered. His hair was slicked back, and the edge of face was scarred from burns, he was still handsome, just not in the same way.
“Hi,” a voice from below caught your attention. “Princess Jaehaera?! My look how you’ve grown!” You purposefully ignored the stare down happening between your soon to be husband and Aegon. Out of sight, out of mind, you reminded yourself.
Aegon took a deep breath and broke first. “Y/N, how good it is to see you again.” He let go of Jaehaera’s hand and immediately went to embrace you. You stuttered for a moment before allowing him to pull you close. Your hair still smelled of sweet flowers and your skin remained as smooth as silk. “I’ve missed you; it has been too long.” His eyes bore into your betrothed and a small curve formed in his lips. You hear that cunt? She had missed me, he thought.
“Do you want to come to the gardens with us?” Jaehaera stared into your soul, you didn’t remember her eyes being so intense. “If the king wouldn’t mind,” you smiled. Aegon pulled back and offered his arm to you, “please we have much to catch up on.” His eyes rarely left the dull man behind you. “Please return safely, my love.” Lord Arryn stared daggers back at the king.
The minds of men continued to be confusing and impossible to comprehend.
-
The gardens were not as beautiful as you remembered. An unseen darkness loomed over what you used to consider your sanctuary. The side effects of war and death, you presumed. Jaehaera did not seem to notice as she ran in front of you both. A darkness loomed over them too, but it seemed over time they had grown accustomed to the feeling.
One thing in particular that had changed was the little girl's adoration for you. In the past she clung to her brother or Helaena and paid you no mind unless you were alone. Now she was trying to get your attention as she pointed to various flowers and insects that caught her eye. She was her mother’s daughter in every way.
You weren’t paying much attention to Aegon as you were too nervous to make eye contact. Every time turned to glance at him, he was already looking which sent a subtle flush to your cheeks. You told yourself it wasn’t because he was more handsome with his scars and instead because he was now king. Anyone would be nervous around someone with the highest status in the realm…
It didn’t help that his arm intertwined with yours burned into your skin. You hadn’t felt that since you danced with him when you were much younger. He had this special ability to make every girl feel flustered. You weren’t special, just another one fallen prey to his charm. Aegon wasn’t that charming once you got to know him though so the fact you still were melting under his gaze made little sense.
You had a lovely husband to be waiting for you. These thoughts were simply because of his new status and the years spent apart. Yes, that was the only reason you felt a shiver down your spine when he touched your lower back to move you along faster.
Gods, you were even more beautiful in the light of day. Aegon hadn’t realized how much you would grow in such a short time apart. You were still much shorter than he was, but you had really come into yourself. Though you retained your innocent youthful look perfectly. Your lips were plumper than he remembered as well as other things. It felt like he was staring at a meal ready to be devoured.
His daughter enjoyed your presence more than he anticipated. A familiar woman’s face drew out the child she once was. This plan was working far better than he imagined it would. “She's quite taken with you. Imagine one of our own clinging to your skirts as she does. How beautiful they would be, like their mother.”
“I hadn’t given that much thought,” you smiled. Your own children clinging to your skirts. There was a time where you used to cling to your mothers before your brother ripped her open. The birthing bed was the cause of death for many women in the realm. It never excited you thinking about having your own. In fact, you would have preferred marrying someone who already had heirs. You wouldn’t mind being a second wife and stepmother as long as it meant you didn’t have to risk your life making your own.
“Does having Lord Arryn’s children not suit your fancy?” His question caught you off guard and brought the heat to your cheeks. "Oh…um … I haven’t really thought about that either.” You laughed nervously, unsure of what else to say.
He squeezed your hand tighter. "You’re not married yet," he reminded you softly, knowing the answer was obvious. You didn’t want to have his children but were lying to yourself. You still could not lie to save your own life. “If you don’t want to marry him you only need to give me the word,” he said nonchalantly.
"There aren’t many other options… and lord Arryn is kind enough.” You tried to sound confident, but inside you wanted to scream. He just gave you an escape, but you knew it too good to be true. If you didn’t marry this nice man, you would be shipped off to a crueler one. “He’s dull and plain featured,” Aegon snorted.
“I’m plain featured too,” you lightly slapped his arm. "Not like that, he’s a plain piece of bread. You’re one of the fancy kinds with different fruits atop it." You chuckled to yourself, he just compared you to bread, “You’re so full of it!” You giggled.
His laughter joined with yours as his eyes sparkled. "Maybe I prefer plain girls," he admitted. For a moment your heart seemed to pause in its place and all the blood pumping through your veins stopped with it. A subtle flush rose into your cheeks as your stomach swarmed with butterflies. He couldn’t mean you, you were delusional to even think that for a second. “I’m sure there will be plenty to choose from on maiden’s day.”
“They aren’t the same as the woman I desire.” You glanced up at him as he smiled. Maybe you weren’t as delusional as you thought.
-
He had to handle Lord Arryn as quickly as possible. Aegon thought of several ways to dispose of this nuisance that invaded what little personal joy he had left. He could feed him to Sunfyre but that would become too public of a spectacle. Mayhaps he could push him onto the spikes under Maegor’s Holdfast and claim it was an ‘accident’… It would be too obvious.
He went to visit Joffrey himself, leaving you with Jaehaera. Aegon brought a simple bottle of wine to congratulate him on his success. The light from the window shone brightly against the cobbled floor, it was such a grand day Aegon couldn’t hide his own smile.
When Joffrey opened the doors and saw the king standing outside he nearly stumbled back. It was a surprise to say the least since you had not returned, “Your Grace, how may I help you?” Aegon smiled brightly and took a step inside, “May I sit?” Lord Arryn nodded and let the king inside his chambers, the fool.
Aegon sat across from him and pulled out the bottle he had so delicately made for him. “I’ve brought a gift! To celebrate your upcoming wedding.” Aegon held the bottle aloft in front of him, waiting for a response. “You’re too kind, your grace.”
“Please, drop the formalities. We’re going to be family soon.” Joffrey smiled and accepted the bottle of wine. He poured himself a cup and downed it in one go, the fool. He looked over the rim and asked, "Are you going to drink, your grace? I’ve heard you enjoy your reds.” Aegon smiled, “No, mayhaps if you asked me a few years ago I would have.”
"I appreciate your gift and your kindness towards my betrothed. She was very happy to be home,” he coughed. “This is where she belongs. Of course, she would be happier here.” Joffrey brows furrowed before he coughed once more. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Aegon grinned, “I only mean that she belongs here with me. Not in some shit castle in the north.” Lord Arryn’s coughs grew louder before he took another sip of the wine to ease his throat. “Do you really think insulting my kingdom and threatening to steal my wife will get you anywhere? All it will bring is war to your doorstep.”
Aegon hummed to himself, “I’m ready for another.” Joffrey stood up out of his chair and coughed into his sleeve. “You won’t win, you know that? Are you really going to die for some cunt.” The crazed look Aegon wore when he burnt Rhaenyra came back. His eyes widened, pupils dilated, and a smirk that resembled the devil himself graced his face. “Someone is.”
A small stream of blood fell from Joffrey’s nose, he lifted his hand to touch it and his eyes blew up in fear. Aegon stood and his ears quickly filled with the sound of Lord Arryn coughing on his own bile. Joffrey fell on the ground, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. Aegon strode over to go hover above him and watch. It gave him a sick satisfaction that nothing else could.
Joffrey raised his hand to try and grasp at Aegon, he failed. His coughs turned into wheezes as life slowly drained from his eyes. “It was good to meet you, Lord Arryn. I do hope the seven hells treat you well.”
-
Aegon shouldn’t have been so cheerful when a shriek loud enough the deaf could hear echoed throughout the keep. The guards were the first to find you and quickly pulled you away from the scene. He rushed to go and ‘comfort’ you and find out what had exactly happened.
You were gagging nearly to the point of throwing up when he came back. Your sobs were louder than the king’s guards scurrying about to hide the incident. It wasn’t a cry of grief; he had seen that too many times to know otherwise. It was disgust and horror at the corpse which he would admit looked ghastly.
It wasn’t his intention to traumatize you. It didn’t matter now because you were right where he wanted you. A grief-stricken woman in need of comfort. “What happened! Your king demands an answer!” You briefly stopped crying and glanced over. Your feet moved before you could form another thought. You rushed into his arms and laid your head on his chest.
It was a welcome surprise to say the least. Aegon wrapped his arms around you and placed a hand on your hair, gently combing it with his fingers. “Y-your grace, we found him dead just moments ago.” A king’s guard nervously bowed in front of him. “You swore to protect my blood and yet my cousin's husband lay dead! How useless are you?” Another king’s guard came out, “Your Grace, we’ve begun investing but I believe a maester is needed… it looks like poison.”
“Deal with this… quickly!” Aegon’s shouts turned into soft coos as he walked away with you. It was hard to hide the smirk creeping onto his face. He blissfully ignored the stares he was getting in the corridors and led you right into his room. He wasn’t going to take advantage of… just comfort you.
“Little bird, it’ll be alright. I’m here now.” You glanced up and spoke through sniffles, “I-I’ve never se-seen a dead man before.” He rubbed the tears off your face gently with his thumb. “Shh, you’re okay.” Your eyes fell to the ground unable to look at him. Letting him see you sob was too embarrassing. “Oh Aegon… it was so awful.”
He pulled you back in and petted your hair some more. Aegon rested his chin atop your head and let your panic fade. He was so gentle, so loving, it was unexpected. “Do you know what helped me, little bird?” You pulled back again and wiped the remaining tears from your face. A small chuckle escaped your lips, “wine?”
“I was going to say company but wine too.” His lips curled into a rare genuine smile. “My apologies, your grace.” Aegon looked pained at the use of his formal title. You were his friend, his future queen, there wasn’t any need to act as if he was your superior. “Stop that, please. It’s Aegon, just Aegon.”
“Ok, Aegon. What do you propose I do to feel better.” He hummed to himself before walking off into the direction of the other side of the room. You stood there awkwardly, occasionally glancing over to him wondering what he was doing. He came back with two goblets of what you assumed to be wine… “Tonight, little bird, we drink!”
It took only an hour for Aegon to learn you absolutely could not handle your liquor. One moment you were crying and the next you were sprawled out on his bed laughing hysterically over a spilt glass of wine. It was the freest spirited you had ever acted.
He climbed onto the bed next to you and rested his head on his hand. In your drunken stupor you leaned over and gazed up at him with your big eyes. He loved your eyes, though cold most of the time when you were alone, they sparkled like diamonds. “You know, me five years ago would not believe myself if I said I was in bed with a king.”
Aegon raised a brow, “In bed? What unholy things are you talking about?” You giggled, “stop teasing! Five years ago, I would not have imagined my childhood crush sitting on the iron throne.” His eyes widened, “Crush? On me?” You seemed to stop listening and your gaze shifted to the ceiling. “I don’t want to marry a lord…” He opened his mouth to speak but you cut him off. “But now my fiancé is dead, so I’ll have to marry some nobody.”
Aegon started speaking quickly so you couldn’t interrupt. “No, no no, you won’t be doing that. What do you say about having a crush?” Your eyes began to feel heavy, and his voice began lulling you to sleep. You sighed, “I would have married you, Aegon. If I was able to back, then.”
“We can marry now!” His heart felt as though it sprang from his chest. Aegon rose up from his place and leaned over so he was directly above you. “Hey, hey, y/n, did you mean that?” He gently grabbed your shoulders and shook you. “Little bird? How did you-”
He let out a sigh as he stared at your sleeping form. Your breathing sounded like angels singing in his ears. Your sleeping form looked like the maiden herself sprawled out on his bed. Gods, he felt pathetic thinking about how in love he was with you. He leaned in close and whisper, “tomorrow is a big day little bird... Sweet dreams, syz rina.” Aegon placed a single quick, too soft to feel, kiss on your lips.
-
You awoke late this morrow, it felt like your chambers were on fire and the light shone too brightly. Last night was a hellish event, a dead fiancé on your chambers floor and little explanation. You remember vividly going to Aegon’s room, drinking with him, sharing small talk, then everyone turned fuzzy and now you’re back in your chambers.
It was worrisome to say the least. You weren’t afraid he had hurt you, there was no signs of that. But what could you have said? How did you end up back in your room? And why in the seven hells did your head hurt so badly?
Three knocks sounded the servants coming in to get you ready. Why are they…? Oh! It was the day of the ball. You tried to roll out of bed and quickly realized this was not going to be an easy day.
Aegon had sent too many servants to help you get dressed and bathe. Too many choices of dresses and all were far too fancy for a lady with no family or house. You should be wearing black to mourn Lord Arryn, but it seemed the king had other plans.
He had remembered your favorite colors after all this time. The dress was a beautiful pale pink and blue, made of a fine silk you hadn’t seen before. The corset was lined with golden embroidery and the skirt had at least ten layers. The shoulders were puffed out and the sleeves were lined with white lace. You looked like royalty instead of the cousin of one.
The maids left quickly after they painfully fixed your hair and attempted to make your face look appealing. You stood in the mirror chanting to yourself words of encouragement. It didn’t make sense why you were so nervous for this, but you were. When you built up enough courage to leave your chambers and push your way into the throne room you were immediately stopped. Gods be good, the last thing you needed was any type of socializing.
“Lady Y/N, my deepest condolences for your late fiancé.” The voice that rang in your ear was none other than Floris Baratheon. You turned and forced a polite smile, “News travels fast around here, I appreciate your sympathies.” She gave you no time to continue before she looped her arm into yours. “Will you walk with me? I fear I’ve lost all my sisters in the noise.”
“Of course.” She smiled brightly and began guiding you through the crowd. “I would have thought you would be wearing black.” You would have been if it wasn’t for him. “It was only a betrothal. I don’t recall you wearing black after Prince Aemond’s death.” Her false smile faltered slightly, “You're right. How foolish of me to forget…”
“One failed potential marriage will not be the end of us, Floris.” You patted her hand and avoided looking at her directly. “You’re absolutely right, women like us should stick together… In fact, if all goes well, we may be cousins soon.” She was trying to get close with you so she could be the next queen. You froze in place, your body overflowing with anger. For what, you weren’t quite sure, but her words triggered something within you.
Floris’ posture was ramrod straight as you narrowed her eyes at her, “Oh my sweet, you have no idea what he will do to you,” you began, circling her and gripping her arm - too tight to be friendly. “Do you remember what happened to his sister?” You asked, voice sickly sweet; Floris nodded meekly. “He captured her at Dragonstone and had her dragged to the courtyard. Aegon burned her alive and forced her own son to watch. Then he let Sunfyre devour her, leaving only a leg. His own flesh and blood brutally murdered.” You asked pointedly, letting go of the painful grip on Floris’ arm as you brushed past her down the hall.
Before Floris could turn to scamper away, you turned back to her to deliver the final blow, “You ever refer to me as cousin again I’ll burn you alive.” You watched her scurry off with a foul taste in your mouth. The day you were used as a way to get close to the king was the day the dead rose from the grave.
-
The throne room was packed to the brim with maidens from across the seven kingdoms. It was beyond suffocatingly hot, nothing at all like a real ball. A few had already fainted, and one poor soul died from an unknown cause. You stood off to the side simply observing what was going on.
Your mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of your late-fiance’s apparent suicide. The stench of his corpse and the position in which he laid branded your mind and left no room for any other thoughts to come to fruition. Except for thoughts of the king.
There was an uneasy feeling in your gut, you couldn’t explain what it was, but it felt like the color green. Not green like illness, green like envy. You weren’t sure why you felt this. Unwin Peake tapped his cane on the floor three times announcing the king’s present. The whispers that filled the room quickly dissipated. Trumpets sounded as the crowd cleared and Aegon walked to the throne. Followed by two little bushes of silver hair, obviously the children.
“For the good of his people, His Grace must take another wife, though no woman will ever replace our beloved Helaena in his heart. Many have been put forward for this honor, the fairest flowers of the realm. Whichever girl King Aegon weds shall be the Alysanne to his Jaehaerys, the Jonquil to his Florian. She will sleep by his side, birth his children, share his labors, soothe his brow when he is sick, grow old with him. Let the maidens from every corner of the Seven Kingdoms present themselves before the king, so His Grace may choose the one best suited to share his life and love.”
The announcement echoed throughout the hall and the musicians began playing. A thousand men and their daughters were packed into the throne room presenting themselves one by one.
The first group were the daughters from the sister cities, Myr, Pentos, and Tyrosh. The girls looked to be what you assumed Aegon’s type was though he looked completely unamused. The next were the Baratheon girls, unsurprisingly Floris did not show her face.
“You look unamused, lady Y/N.” The voice from behind made you roll your eyes. You truly did not want to be bothered any longer. “This is more of a cattle show than a ball, Mushroom.” He moved up so he was standing right next to you. Mushroom, the court jester and dwarf were a notorious gossip spreader and pain in the ass. “I’d have to agree. Although each lady looks quite beautiful… It would be hard to picture anything more beautiful, unless perhaps all of them had arrived naked.”
You rolled your eyes and let out a sigh. “Already women have been scandalized, injured, fainted, and one just died. It doesn’t seem worth all the bother.” He peered up at you with a knowing look and let out a soft chuckle. “Of course, it would seem that way to you. You’ve already won the king’s favor.”
You scoffed, “you are truly a jester.” The sounds of hushed whispers surrounded you. A new princess was being displayed and apparently, she was truly the definition of beauty. You tried to peak over the crowd to see who it was but failed. “Mushroom! Who is that?” When there was no response, you looked down at your feet and noticed he was gone… damned fool.
You pushed your way through the crowd but as you got to the front the people erupted once more. “Aegon has found his little queen!” The words made your lip quiver and your heart sink deep within your chest. You sank back into the crowd and felt the urge to vomit. “That’s Daenaera Velaryon, she just turned six years of age.” The voice beside you whispered to their father and your illness stopped.
She’s six! Aegon was marrying a child! There was no way in the seven hells that could be true. With a newfound anger you shoved the people in front of you out of your way. Their celebrations slowly came to a halt. Until Floris the cunt, pushed you from behind so hard you stumbled into the clearing and in front of the throne.
Embarrassment heated up your cheeks as you peered around at the people staring. You quickly jumped to your feet and went to scurry off in shame, “Wait!” The king’s voice rang like a siren in your ears. You slowly turned and bowed, trying to hide the redness on your face.
“My nephew has chosen his bride and I will choose mine!” He stood from the throne and walked down to the bottom step. The crowd went silent in anticipation, he stared directly at you with a mischievous smile plastered on his face. Wait? His nephew chose a bride. “I, King Aegon, second of his name, present to the court the lady y/n, my bride and your future queen!”
Aegon had plotted claiming you in front of the masses so no one else would dare try to win you over. Nor would they keep pestering him to marry one of the hags presented before him. His smile was bright, and his eyes sparkled with genuine joy for the first time in ages.
You stood there with your mouth agape, and body frozen in place. What? Who? Bride? Queen? The music began to roar, and the mob burst into celebration once more. You felt the hands of people patting your back and heard the sounds of them wishing you well. What? Who? Bride? Queen?
You were not one to use profanities often but what the fuck just happened?
-
Aegon watched you scurry off before he could approach you. Each time he tried to leave he was pulled back by another lord or his own mother. You didn’t seem to upset, mayhaps a little shocked. The sounds around him were muffled as he waited for the opportunity to chase after you. Hours, it took hours before he could finally seek sanctuary in your arms.
He didn’t bother knocking, Aegon barged in without thinking. His excitement completely clouded any manners he was raised with. You weren’t there, he paused where he stood and glanced around. Your dress was discarded on the floor and the bed was a mess. His mind went to the worst-case scenario.
Your bathing chambers, he slammed the door open, and you dropped to the floor. “Seven hells! Aegon what the fuck!” You quickly pulled your robe over your body to save whatever modesty you had left. His heart stopped racing and he let out a deep breath. You weren’t fucking someone; you were just bathing… Naked.
“You left so quickly; I worried you got sick.” He strode over to you and offered you, his hand. You pushed it away and stood up, “I’m so- Aegon- what were you thinking?! Announcing our marriage and failing to inform me?!” His smile faltered, “I thought you wanted to marry me.”
Oh gods, there were those sad puppy eyes he used to get his way. “No! I mean yes, but no! Aeg-” He grabbed your arm, yanking you close and pressing his lips roughly onto yours. He surprised you again, this time you weren’t the one to pull back first. “Do you love me?” You spoke breathlessly, “I-” He squeezed your arms tighter, his voice laced with desperation. “Y/N, don’t you love me?”
The feeling of his breath on your neck sent chills down your spine. A warm feeling bubbled in your gut as he stared at you, lips parted slightly. You were going to be husband and wife soon…
It was you who jumped and pressed your mouth into his. You kissed him fiercely, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. He didn’t return the affection at first, surprised by your sudden interest. However, when you tried to back away, he pulled you back in. You moaned into his mouth as his tongue slipped into yours. It was a different sensation but not unwelcome.
His hands moved from your waist to cup your ass. You shuddered in his hold as he ground himself against your thigh. You broke the kiss first, panting heavily. You gazed up to see him gazing up at you hungrily. Aegon acted quicker than you could think. He picked you up off the ground, eliciting a yelp from you and immediately moved you to the bed.
He placed you down on the bed as gently as he could, pressing his lips against yours so you couldn’t protest. Your legs wrapped around his waist; all of his fantasies were being fulfilled. His lips slid down to your jaw, gently kissing it before he moved to your neck. He nipped on your neck, and you squirmed under him.
A wetness formed in between your legs as he sucked on your skin. It was a new ache that caused you to whimper under him, pressing yourself against him harder to relieve the tension. He let his fingers run up the curves of your body until he reached the sleeves of your down. Gently, he slipped one off your shoulder and placed soft kisses on your bare skin.
Shivers shot up your spine as he slowly pulled it off. The wait was agonizing, the throbbing between your legs getting worse by every movement he made. When he finally freed your breast from the fabric you sighed softly, closing your eyes for a moment. Your nipples hardened at the feeling of the cool air on your heated skin.
He slid his lips down your chest until he reached your breast. He circled each nipple with his tongue, flicking them lightly before sucking them into his mouth. You gasped and arched your back, soft whimpers filling his ear. Aegon’s hand traveled down your robe and to your core.
You gasped as he touched you, the need burning inside you, growing more intense by the second. He began teasing your folds with his finger, swirling it around your entrance until he hit something sensitive. A small moan escaped his lips, and he pressed his finger against your clit. You buckled and he laughed against your breast, biting on your nipple.
With every touch his cock grew harder and longer, pushing into your leg as if begging for attention. He was a caring man so he would handle that later. Aegon lifted his head from your breast and kissed you one final time, biting your lip.
He pushed himself off the bed and yanked you to the edge. A small gasp escaped your lips as he spread your legs and wrapped them around his shoulder. Aegon sucked on your inner thighs, surely leaving marks. He then slid his tongue upwards; his mouth reached your bud and pressed a quick kiss to it. You whimpered, begging for him to touch you more.
He slid one finger inside you and rubbed circles around your sweet spot. You cried out, arching your hips towards him. “You’re so wet… so you do love me.” He whispered into your center. Finally, he pressed his lips against you and began lapping his tongue around your clit.
Your entire body felt like it was on fire, every nerve in your body tingling. He pressed another finger inside and moved his tongue around your bud faster, adding pressure to your entrance. You dug your nails into his shoulder, unable to stop your cries from escaping.
Your insides began to clench around his fingers and an unknown sensation began taking over your senses. His movements slowed, “Do you love me?” You whimpered at the loss of his tongue trying to pull him back. “Do you, y/n?” He pushed his fingers into you harshly, “Yes! I love you!”
You could feel him smile as he began sucking on your bud. The pleasure quickly became too much, and a moan escaped you. Your back arched and your toes curled as waves of pleasure washed over you, consuming you in its wake.
He pulled out his finger but didn’t stop suckling at your sensitive bud until your legs were twitching around him. Aegon pulled himself away from you and crawled onto the bed. His cock was aching, already it started to leak out precut, surely staining his pants. As he gently pressed his lips against yours, he began unbuttoning his trousers. Quickly freeing his cock from the tightness.
Aegon grabbed you once again and pulled you close, pressing his hardening length against your center. You looked up at him with wide eyes, watching as he moved closer until the tip of his cock brushed against your opening. “I’ll be gentle, little bird. I promise.” You whimpered as he pushed against you again, this time slipping in just the tip.
“Seven hells…” He moaned against your lips. He slid into you slowly, his cock stretching out your insides until he filled you completely. Your grip on him tightened and you bit into his shoulder. He let out a soft moan as he slowly began thrusting inside you.
His pace was slow at first, allowing your body to adjust to his size. But it was quickly growing more intense by the second. His large hands gripped your waist tightly and Aegon’s face was twisted with ecstasy. He buried himself within you and began pounding inside you.
"You're so tight... such a good girl for me.” He picked up the pace, slamming into you and making sure you felt every inch of his cock. Your breath quickened and you began moaning loudly. Anyone within a mile of you could hear the lewd sounds coming from your bedroom. A symphony of your moans, his groans and the sound of your wet skin slapping against each other.
Your arms pulled him closer, you kissed him, and he responded in kind, pushing himself deep inside you and grinding against your clit. The feeling from before was coming but much more intense. Your mind got lost in a haze of pleasure each time his cock hit your clit it sent waves through you, leaving you breathless.
Your cunt began clenching around him, a growl escaped his lips as he continued his movements. Every stroke left you trembling on the edge of your orgasm, ready to release all your new built-up tension. His thrusts became sloppy, and his groans turned into high pitched moans.
Your climax hit you in waves causing you to cry out. The sensation overwhelmed your mind, leaving you dizzy and weak. You couldn't even speak right as your walls spasmed around his cock, gripping him tightly. Aegon’s final thrust was hard, a warm feeling enveloped your insides. He spilt his seed as deep as he could into your womb.
He laid down next to you pulling you closer to him. Aegon brushed the hair out of your face and kissed you softly. He pulled back and grinned, “wife...” You smiled back weakly, “husband…” He stared at you adoringly, a light chuckle escaping his throat.
“What are we going to do about the bedding ceremony?”
#aegon targaryen#aegon ii targaryen#aegon ii#aegon x you#aegon x reader#aegon x y/n#aegon fluff#aegon smut#aegon fic#aegon ii x you#aegon ii x y/n#aegon ii x reader#aegon ii fluff#aegon ii fic#aegon ii smut#hotd fic#house of the dragon
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one of my grandmas was a teenager during holodomor years, she told me stories about people eating dirt from the fields where wheat grew before soviets took it and that her mother used to make them pancakes stinging nettles for holidays because there was nothing else to make them from. she kept a loaf of bread in pockets of all her sweaters and little pouches with cereal around the house. my great grandma told me how her mother used to hide her from a neighbour who lost her mind from starvation and wanted to eat her. her father used to steal oat grain by grain from kolgosp to feed his family. she told me that cats taste better than dogs. she never brushed off bread crumbs from the table just picked them up very carefully and gave them to her pigs or chickens. most of the recipes she passed to her children are meals you can make from grass. she also never learned to make a soup with meat. the biggest ass-kicking i ever received was for throwing away a piece of moldy bread. you hear these stories long before school explains to you what it was, you literally see you grandparents hoarding food that’ll last you a lifetime before you know what food is. and there’s thousands, if not millions, of stories like these. ukrainians do have a cult of food and maybe that’s because our ancestors have been so violently deprived of it.
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TWST x Princess Ivy reader
Ah shit, here we go again...
Princess Ivy is the antagonist in the movie Sofia the First: The Tale of Princess Ivy. Her beef with Sofia and Amber subsided, she is currently a good guy now and is friends with Ms. Nettle. Her magic is very powerful but her sister constantly overshadows her.
• After being exiled from your kingdom, you tried to escape this deserted isle that you are currently residing. All of your plans were of no use, you tried everything. Build a boat, failed. Call for help, failed. Use magic to teleport or fly off this stupid island, failed. All of it, failed... Oh well, at least you got your butterflies to keep you company until you die... Is that neighing you hear? Suddenly, a horse drawn carriage magically appeared right in front of you.
• ... Is this...a second chance?! Did your sister finally forgive you? You don't care anymore, you're not spending a second in this island again! So you climbed in without a second thought, your butterflies following you. Then is it went dark...
• You woke up confined in tight space, confused, you kept on kicking the lid and when it was finally off, you were shocked to see the coffin from outside along with more floating coffins but was. You heard a voice and hide in the corner. Too astonished to see a monster, you didn't know that it can smell that you're awake.
• The little guy was pretty stubborn when you keep telling him to go away. His frustration got to the point of using fire on you and your butterflies. You ran as your darling butterflies cannot stand burning to death. When you wound up in a dead end, you decided to face the fire breathing monster head on and summon your dragonfly. You were not expecting anyone to save you but Crowley came to the rescue.
• He asked if you are a new student and you pretended that you are and followed him with your butterflies. Hmmm... So you're in a school? Interesting... Just how far are you from home? How powerful AND dangerous are the magic they teach? Is there a way off this place? So many possibilities to escape and to confront your sister! You and Crowley soon entered a room filled with cult members and whispers erupt about the beautiful butterflies that follow you.
• You proudly said your name to the Dark Mirror. The mirror replied that your magic is unique and powerful but it couldn't decide which dorm you should fit in, so you were being kicked out. Once the monster was finally released from its binds, he blew fire everywhere. You are so tired of its tantrum that you summoned a dragonfly and knocked him down.
• The headmage was pretty dumbfounded about what type of spell that you used to subdue the creature while a white-haired male with blue eyes praised your magic... you heard him muttering about wanting it... The monster got up, confused, and asked questions about who he is, who you are, and where is he. That's weird. The same monster that kept shouting his 'great' name is asking who he is?Just how powerful is your magic?!
• The headmage then asked for your home land's name so he could take you home. You yelled about not sending you back and even threatened him with your dragonfly. Crowley, as cowardly as he is, decided to house you under Ramshackle instead. You were disgusted with the state your dorm is in but upon you step foot inside, your butterflies scattered about and began to turn everything black and white.
• You heard the monster's voice again and prepared to throw him out again, but he begged you to let him stay because he doesn't know where he is. You gave up on his cute cat eyes privilege and took him under your wing. Aloysius was not pleased.The mage now declared that you are cleaners! What an honour!... Not.
• Prologue almost stayed the same with some students gossiping about a mage with butterflies following them. You are displeased with how colorful this place is. Ace is still an ass and Deuce is too innocent for you to control. Now you have to fight a blot monster to replace the chandelier, which you didn't really find intimidating... after all, you've dealt with dragons before.
• Anyways, huge timeskip as your butterflies aren't the only ones following you now... Rook is quite annoying. You're not even welcome in Heartslabyul if your butterflies keep making the roses black and white. Leona is the only person you find relatable. Azul is quaking in his office and checking every corner in case one of your butterflies are spying on him. Vil is... Tolerable. You hate to be with Kalim, but admire Jamil's plans of destroying Kalim. Malleus is by far the only gentleman that you encountered,you don't understand why people are afraid of him. You liked Lilia's pranks, but not if the victim. Sebek's constant shouting is unbearable.
• ... You know what? Maybe your plans of destroying your sister will have to wait. You find NRC quite enjoyable to be in.
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If you're still open for the heart prompts, here's a lil curveball- 💚 or 🖤 for milena/aiden(/lambert). Or 💘, if those are too tricky.
I want you to know that this was quite a challenge!
Aiden flings himself between Milena and the sorcerer without a second thought. Witchers are sturdier than humans - and Lambert would never forgive him if she died while under Aiden’s protection. Hell, Aiden would never forgive himself.
The spell hits like a charging bullvore, and Aiden goes arse-over-teakettle, landing heavily at Milena’s feet. It feels like his bones have been filled with hot lead and his muscles turned to stinging nettles. He wants to scream and can’t quite find the breath.
“Well, that takes care of that,” the mage sneers, and comes mincing towards them. “Now then, your family misses you very badly, girl. Or at least they’re willing to spend quite a lot of money to get you back.”
“I will not be returning to them,” Milena says firmly. “What have you done to him?”
The sorcerer snickers. “Nothing that can be undone,” he gloats. “He’ll die slowly unless his true love kisses him, and everyone knows witchers can’t love. Now come along, girl.”
He reaches over Aiden to grab Milena’s arm, and two things happen at once:
Aiden finds the strength, somewhere, to lift his arm just enough to drive his sword into the bastard’s leg, high up where the blood runs near the surface -
And Milena produces a dainty little silver dagger from somewhere and puts it neatly and precisely through the sorcerer’s throat.
The sorcerer topples backwards, thank fuck, instead of onto Aiden; he’s probably dead before he hits the ground.
Milena drops to her knees at Aiden’s side, dark eyes wide and frantic. “Aiden - my gods -”
“Worth it,” Aiden rasps. Fuck, he hadn’t realized the pain could get worse. It’s not as bad as the Grasses, not quite, but if it keeps increasing at this pace it will probably outstrip even that particular high-water mark of agony fairly soon. Fucking mages.
But better him than Milena.
“No,” Milena says, shaking her head desperately. “No, you can’t - you can’t die -”
But Lambert’s not close enough; he’s a good three days’ travel away at best, and Aiden is fairly sure he won’t survive that long. Especially given that he doesn’t think he can stand. That blow to the sorcerer’s leg used up most of his strength.
“‘S alright,” he says, finding a crooked smile somewhere. “‘S worth it.”
“No, it isn’t,” Milena says fiercely. “And - and what I feel for you is no less than what I feel for Lambert, and you are willing to give your life for me, so this ought to work -”
And she cups her slender hands around his face and leans down and kisses him fervently.
The shock of the pain ending is enough to startle a gasp out of Aiden, and Milena pulls back, wide-eyed, to stare down at him in desperate hope.
Aiden gapes up at her for a long, stunned moment. Finally he finds his wits enough to croak, “No less than what you feel for Lambert?”
Milena blushes, which is answer enough.
“Marvelous great-hearted girl,” Aiden murmurs, and reaches up to cup her head ever so gently in his hands and guide her down into a second, softer kiss. “I would die for you,” he adds quietly, as their lips part. “Even as I would for Lambert.”
Four days and quite a few miles later, Lambert looks from Aiden to Milena and back again with an expression of incredulous delight and says, “I am the luckiest fucking bastard in the world, holy shit.”
Milena blushes and giggles. Aiden grins. “Nah, I think that’s me,” he says cheerfully. “We can be joint-luckiest, though, if you like.”
“Sounds good,” Lambert agrees, and wraps his arms around them both, clinging tightly. Milena nestles against his chest, tucked safely between them, and Aiden kisses his lover - one of his lovers, because he is the luckiest bastard in the world - with all the joyful gratitude in his heart, because he’s alive to do it.
And then he kisses Milena again, just because he can.
(It's also here on AO3!)
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A Lesson From Owl House That Gets Overlooked
So, I don't know if you know this, but I used to have a tendency of bottling things up. I was scared of people being angry and upset with me, so I pushed everything way down and tried to not let things get to me. And the things I've been through are horrific at the kindest appraisal.
I think you know why I'm bringing this up... So let's not waste time and just talk about the two most self-conscious characters in the series; Luz and Willow.
I don't know if you noticed this through the series, but Luz internalizes EVERYTHING. Even before Hollow Mind and the whole "I accidentally helped a genocidal maniac carry out his wicked plan" thing, Luz was quietly baring the burden of grief and trauma.
We don't know the full scope of the bullying she endured, it was probably hellish and certainly isolated her. Not only that, but she was carrying the pain of losing her father, which she also internalized.
Because of this, along with the bullying and the lack of support from adults in her life (save for Camila,) Luz doesn't really have a great support system until she meets Eda and King. And even then, it took Willow, Gus, and especially Amity for her to really open up about things.
Meanwhile, Willow was browbeaten by virtually everyone in her life. Amity, Boscha, teachers, everyone looked down on her, calling her 'Half-a-Witch,' forced into learning Abomination magic by her dads instead of the Plant magic she excels at. And of course, instead of that pain manifesting as grief and misery, Willow's internalization of her emotions turns to anger, frustration, and self-loathing as we see the first time we meet her.
Of course, she befriends Gus and Luz and things start to get better, but they depend on her strength and wisdom too much, which allows her to mask her feelings in favor of helping and supporting her friends. We see that it doesn't help that much, especially after Amity once again hurts her by accidentally burning all of her memories.
Granted, things worked out between them, but Amity (subconsciously, as she was genuinely concerned and cared about Willow) was looking down on her much later. And yes, Willow gets to be in the Plant track and becomes the Flier Derby captain of her dreams. However she's still hard on herself, still keeping herself from letting things out...
Oh, did you guys not notice that in For the Future? Because Boscha was egging her on and antagonizing her in a moment of weakness, Willow was going to probably hurt or even kill her bully out of sheer anger.
Yeah, if that scene played out any further and she wasn't rendered unconscious by sleeping nettles, Willow was going to do something incredibly bad. I think Elijah (not-so-average-fangirl) saw that too, which is why she said "Willow, are you ok?" during that scene. I know from personal experience that Willow was at her absolute breaking point and when you realize that, it's terrifying. She was going to let out her anger violently on someone who deserved it, but not to the extent that she was clearly going to go with it.
It's also why Willow does indeed breakdown after that. She can no longer control her emotions, especially after seeing her dad puppeted and the guy she clearly had feelings for die in her arms...
Of course, we know how both Luz's breakdown in Reaching Out and Willow's breakdown in For the Future resolve. They both talk about it or let out their emotions, and they do so in front of the people that matter the most to them.
For Luz, she tells Amity about her dad. She cries over it in front of her and they resolve their first real fight since going out. Then, they both make flowers and cast them off over the Boiling Sea, continuing the tradition of Luz and her mom without being in the Human Realm. Amity's also the one that tries to comfort Luz the most after learning about Belos, because even if our hero isn't feeling great about what happened, she still someone who truly loves and supports her.
For Willow, it was a need for someone who doesn't rely on her telling her that it was ok to let it out. Someone who could stop her and beg her to never call herself 'Half-a-Witch' again. Someone who truly understood all the pain she was going through and was willing to both support her and let her vent. Now who could that be...?
Of course, Gus did obviously help in that scene, but Willow needed to hear it from Hunter. She needed someone who has only ever seen her as strong who didn't depend on her for support to just say 'you've been holding in a lot, haven't you?'
Granted, I won't say you need romantic love to let your feelings and pain out to, but I am saying that a strong enough and supportive enough person can help with that. That's why Gus being there in the Willow breakdown was important. That's why all of Luz's friends telling her that helping Belos wasn't her fault was important. The most important thing about bottling emotions is to have someone there to talk to, be it friend, family, lover, or therapist.
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Similar Stories, Different Treatments: Anakin Skywalker and Abijah Fowler
Ok, so recently I've been re-watching 'Blue Eye Samauri' on Netflix and last night it dawned on me that, generally speaking, Abijah Fowler and Anakin Skywalker have very similar stories and actions...and yet their respective fandoms react to the two of them very differently.
So, here's my long ass post analyzing the two of them and why people react to them so differently.
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First, comparing the two characters...
So, assuming that y'all know me for my Star Wars content, you probably know Anakin's story but, for the sake of this post, I'll explain it briefly.
Anakin was born into slavery and lived as a slave for 9 years. Then one day he and his mother met two Jedi and a handmaiden, and his mother asked the Jedi to take Anakin and train him---which they agreed to do, so Anakin had to leave his mother. At 19 he had nightmares about and then witnessed his mother's death when he went back to Tatooine before being promptly drafted into war along with the rest of the Jedi by the Senate.
After a harrowing 3 years of war and having his worst behaviors enabled/encouraged by the villain and his wife, Anakin begins to have nightmares about his pregnant wife dying. He then tries to prevent her dying, even though she's in perfect health.
We know a little less about Abijah Fowler's past, but we do know an integral part of it from this monologue:
"My country's history is one of manufactured suffering. I was a boy when the Tudors burned any food the rebels under O'Neill might think to eat. We starved. Everyone starved. Mouths on the dead stained green from chewing nettles---you get resourceful in a famine. My parents died early, left me and my sister catching rats. The rats ran out quick. Fed my sister on my blood, it kept her alive an extra two weeks. I didn't sleep for three days to protect her body from the starving 'til the ground thawed. I cut out her kidneys and buried her, fat cap on them like a pea.
I haven't eaten a single meal since my mind didn't go to that bite. It was the last thing I ever did because I had to. I control my life now, every bite."
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From my point of view, Anakin and Abijah are very similar in their motivations.
Both of them started out as, assumedly, sweet and kind and caring young boys. You don't harm yourself to feed your sister and then cause more harm to yourself to protect her after she's already dead, if you're not. Similarly, you don't bring three complete strangers into your home because you're worried about them and then risk your life to help them, if you're not.
Both of them then went through great tragedies and likely felt completely powerless because of these tragedies and the circumstances they found themselves in.
For Abijah it was growing up during a famine, witnessing the horrors of famine and what people had to do during it, witnessing the deaths of his parents, being unable to stop the death of his sister, and being forced into cannibalism---of his sister and likely parents, no less---to prevent himself from starving. For Anakin it was growing up as a slave, having to leave his mother at a young age, witnessing his mother's death, and then being thrust into a war and witnessing the horrors of that.
Because of that powerlessness, both Anakin and Abijah hate the idea of them being powerless and their actions are made from a mix of anger at whoever they blame for what has happened---whether they're actually to blame, or whether they've done nothing---and refusal to ever be powerless again, or at least accept that they're powerless.
These motivations led them both to commit- (Anakin) -or attempt to commit- (Abijah) -mass murder, *genocide, **cultural genocide, and murder of their female main character counterpart.
*Abijah wasn't necessarily setting out to commit physical genocide, but he was willing to do so if the people of Japan weren't willing to go along with his plans.
**I do consider Abijah's plans as including cultural genocide, since he has a whole monologue about the people of Japan being "godless" and how he'd force them into Christianity- (Catholicism?) -if he succeeded in killing the Shogunate.
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Now, comparing fandom's reaction to the two...
For Anakin, he succeeds in causing Padme's death, destroying the Republic aka the only democracy in the galaxy, committing cultural and physical genocide against the Jedi, murdering an entire village of Tuskens including the children, and going on to oppress and enslave the rest of the galaxy for decades...
...in contrast, Abijah only succeeds in committing mass murder and fails in all of his other plans---and his success in committing mass murder is partially due to the Shogun's sons and wife locking people inside the burning palace.
But, despite all of this, if you look into how their respective fandoms treat them, you'd assume that it was the opposite.
Anakin is lifted up as this good person who had no agency in any of his actions or, if he did, then the people he murdered "deserved it"---he's loved by most of the fandom and everywhere you look you see think pieces about how Anakin was really a victim, how his actions were justified, how he's not to blame for anything.
Meanwhile Abijah is hated and his actions are labeled by the fandom as bad. He's a terrible person and he's seen as such. I've never seen a single post justifying his actions or trying to say he isn't to blame for his actions.
Now, this is not me saying that the Blue Eye Samauri fandom is wrong to view Abijah this way---on the contrary, I agree that his actions are heinous and he's a terrible person, there's nothing there that I don't agree with.
However, I do think it's interesting how differently both characters are treated when one of them is, unequivocally, worse than the other.
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Why is this?
Now, I'm going to preface this section with the disclaimer that part of it is because Anakin is the main character of his media and Abijah is not---however, I believe that this has a very small effect on how fandom treats them since, as we've seen with other characters, screentime doesn't really matter that much when it comes to whether fandom likes a character or not.
Moving on-
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I think a lot of it is just that Anakin is conventionally attractive and Abijah isn't.
Anakin and Abijah are both selfish, misogynistic, racist, have violent responses to most things, and have committed atrocities in the name of personal gain. The only difference between them---besides the obvious differences that come with the medias they're in---is that Anakin is pretty to look at and Abijah isn't.
It'd be even worse if Abijah was a POC or a woman, even if he was conventionally attractive---as proven by other Star Wars characters.
Mace Windu? Fandom hates him and makes him out to be a villain.
Saw Gerrera? Same thing.
Rey Skywalker? People hate her and say she's "unrealistic" or "too OP."
Reva Sevander? People fucking CRUCIFIED her!
None of these people even come near Anakin's level of "I'm a terrible person and I do heinous things because why not!" Mace and Rey never did anything wrong, and Saw and Reva did the things they did because of trauma/revenge and/or working to take down a greater evil---and even then, neither of them do anything near as bad as Anakin!
Yet they're hated and held to a higher standard and crucified in a way that Anakin isn't.
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Another reason is that people can project onto Anakin in a way they can't project onto Abijah.
With Anakin, they can twist the Jedi's actions to fit whatever trauma they personally relate to, they can shove characters like Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Mace, Yoda, etc. into whatever archetype they want to fit their story, they can excuse away every atrocity Anakin commits because he's doing it out of attachment and they think attachment means love, etc.
Meanwhile it's hard for people to project onto Abijah because everything and everyone around him is harder to change to fit his narrative.
There's no one really around him that you can say manipulated, abused, or otherwise forced him into doing the things he did. The other characters don't really interact with him, so people can't say the characters "deserved" what he did to them. And he openly admits that he's doing things out of greed, whereas Anakin says he's doing things out of love when he's really not.
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In conclusion, Abijah Fowler and Anakin Skywalker are both people that experienced tragedy and became terrible people that did heinous things because of it---but people only justify one of their actions because they think he's pretty and project onto him.
They're the same person in different medias 🤷♀️
#fandom meta#star wars#sw prequels#blue eye samurai#anakin skywalker critical#anti anakin apologists#abijah fowler
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The interpretation that Nettles’ story ends in tragedy instead of triumph is rather odd to me. She’s a lowborn Black girl who came from nothing. Who’s thought of as less than nothing because of her background. Yet despite being on the lowest wrung, of society, she survives the Dance.
She comes away with her life, her dragon, and her independence, and is eventually worshipped and respected by a group of people who are weary of outsiders, yet that is a tragic ending?
She lives where those who sought to destroy her perished yet she's the one who we should look on with pity?
Does she wind up queen, knighted, or the lady of some house great or small? No, but the assumption that her story had to end with her gaining a title within the larger Westerosi society for it to be a triumph and a tragedy is inaccurate and once again missing the point of her arc. Her story is one triumph and not a tragedy.
#she overcame#don’t forget that#nettles#nettles F&B#netty#nettles asoiaf#asoiaf meta#valyrianscrolls#bncommentary
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"As to the girl Nettles, “She is a common thing, with the stink of sorcery upon her,” the queen declared. “My prince would ne’er lay with such a low creature. You need only look at her to know she has no drop of dragon’s blood in her.... Therefore, let a command be sent at once to Maidenpool, but only for the eyes of Lord Mooton. “Let him take her at table or abed and strike her head off. Only then shall my prince be freed"
I'm thinking zero chance they include the racist, classist overtones of R's distain for Nettles in the show. Would be great if they did but it seems obvious Saint Rhaenyra is too untouchable a character for ugly, human motivations, her fanbase needs her to be the liberal-minded Disney princess contrasted against Aegon otherwise their support of her makes no sense
Oh, less than zero. Her entire show character hinges on the idea that the only problem in this world is misogyny, which must be the only reason everyone doesn't fall at her feet, and not any of her many, many deficiencies- including her own misogyny. Same character who doesn't attempt to make a difference for any woman bar herself, who steals Driftmark from a female heir for her bastard son, who only cares about misogynistic laws of succession when they affect her:
Rhaenyra’s own claim to the Iron Throne was a
special case, the Sea Snake insisted; her father had named her as his
heir. Lords Rosby and Stokeworth had done no such thing. Disinheriting their sons in favor of their daughters would overturn centuries of law and precedent, and call into question the rights of
scores of other lords throughout Westeros whose own claims might be
seen as inferior to those of elder sisters.
It was fear of losing the support of such lords, Munkun asserts in
True Telling, that led the queen to decide in favor of Lord Corlys
rather than Prince Daemon. The lands, castles, and coin of Houses
Rosby and Stokeworth were awarded to the sons of the two executed
lords.
And
At Rosby, she found the castle
gates barred at her approach, by the command of the young woman
whose claim she had passed over in favor of a younger brother.
She orders the murder of a teenage peasant girl- who is on her side- because she's jealous her noncey whore of a husband/uncle loved her more. Even if they won't show the language used towards Nettles (they refuse to really acknowledge the nasty Targ racial superiority & blood purity angle, I suppose the Velaryon casting makes it harder), her actions should damn her for anyone with eyes.
Her fight is only for herself, she does not want change and betterment for women, be they noble or common. She does not want women to rule after her, she just wants herself to live equal to a man without consequences and does not care for the brave smallfolk she calls "vermin". And I have no issue with that- if they just accepted it and portrayed her for what she is. That aspect made someone like Cersei even more interesting because she made no pretence; she was both victim and vicious perpetrator. Idk who decided that these Targaryen women- who enact the same violence and patriarchal tyranny on other women as the men around them- are righteous feminist queens, made to suffer the greatest injustice in history because they don't get to sit on a throne "owed" to them. They are no better than their male counterparts. They are spokes on the same damn wheel.
For all the hand wringing, she was the freest, most privileged woman in the realm, with a life and choices that almost every other woman would kill for, and she did fuck all with it for anyone but herself. (That too, poorly.) That would make for a fascinating, maddening character but instead we have to see a boring, even less compelling version of show!Daenerys, with none of the qualities that initially made her so great.
#anonymous#anti hotd#anti rhaenyra targaryen#anti daemyra#anti daemon x rhaenyra#Nettles#anti team black
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Okay so just a rando ask, I was reading through the posts on your page,, and I came to thinking
If daemon truly abandoned Rhaenyra, why didn't he just run away with nettles? Why did he have to still fight for team black when he could have just flown else where with her? Rhaenyra would have met her own end inevitably. I’m no daemyra shipper, I’m not a daemon fan either it just doesn't add up. He sacrificed his life to get rid of the biggest threat of team green? Wouldn't it be fair to assume it was for Rhaenyra? Or atleast his children.
Now this is just my personal opinion, he loved nettles, yes (she's awesome who wouldn't 😩) but he also bore some love for Rhaenyra (she’s mommy🥰) as well. He chose to let go of nettles to protect her because he loved her. He chose to fight for Rhaenyra because in the end of the day he loved her and wanted to prove his loyalty to her (but wasn’t actually faithful lol)
Daemon in his Katherine era 💀💀💀💅 blurry ass pic
He died for her cause if not for her in the end of the day. Well atleast that’s what I think 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
I don’t believe in the theory that he fled with nettles, it just sort of feels out of character for him, to leave his children, Aegon the younger in the clutches of Aegon ii. Daemon imo would scream his head off if he knew his first born son was captured by Aegon ii, and somehow work up some scheme to get back into the game and possibly overthrow Aegon ii. And it just seems unlikely he survived the fall as well. 
Daemon is a complicated and morally grey character, but like any character he has his merits and he has his flaws. I think his love life would be as complex as he is, conflicted by both duty and love.
I hope I make sense lol, I want to know your thoughts.
Ok, so first thanks for being normal even if you have a different opinion. Usually, I always get a bunch of people screaming at me lmao. It's cool to have rational discussions even if in the end the parts just agree in disagree.
Now, back to the points you brought. I still disagree lol. Imo, Daemon didn't die for the cause, much less for Rhaenyra or his children. I'm gonna break down why I think this argument makes no sense whatsoever:
Fire & Blood never implies that Daemon had a close relationship or even cared that much for his children. He didn't hate them or anything, but we have no canon basis to say he was a fatherly type where he thought of his children that much or was willing to make huge sacrifices for them. This is fandom projection 101. So to say he did what he did thinking of his children is a stretch IMO.
Aemond wasn't Rhaenyra's biggest threat at the time. Her biggest threat was Daeron and the Southron army he had assembled. It's canon. "And yet, the greatest threat to Rhaenyra's reign was not Aemond One-Eye, but his younger brother, Prince Daeron The Daring, and the great southron army led by Lord Ormund Hightower." And that was before Ulf and Hugh's betrayal and before Rhaenyra alienated Addam by declaring him a traitor as well. So even if Rhaenyra didn't say anything about that in the letter to Daemon (which I doubt, since she was sending the letter to demand Nettles' death, so she sure talked about the dragonseeds' betrayal), Daemon knew about that already. He knew that without him, she was fucked, because she would have only Tyraxes and Syraxes on Team Black's side, and you can exclude Syraxes since Rhaenyra wouldn't go into battle. He knew all of that. He still chose to die anyway.
About running away with Nettles, a few things to consider. As long as he was with Nettles, she wouldn't be safe. If he runs away with her and Rhaenyra somehow wins the war, she will send for him. He would be a traitor, she'd never forgive that. If Rhaenyra loses, Team Green is definitely going after him. He would be a threat to the throne, they would never let them live. The best way to protect Nettles is to send her away alone. Besides that, regardless of what happened, if he ran away with her, he would never be able to return home and I doubt Daemon was keen on living on the run forever. It doesn't fit him.
It seemed like he was tired of war, tired of the scheming, tired of fighting. Even before I reached the point where he makes the decisions he makes, I felt his narrative shifting, and his time in Maidenpool with Nettles looked much more like a vacation to him and a respite than a mission. He seemed happy with Nettles, and happy with that bubble he created for them, but once reality burst that, he seemed done with everything. This is also sort of corroborated by his dialogue with Aemond, where he agrees he has lived for too long.
The narrative in any way frames his final battle with Aemond as something he is doing for the cause. Daemon might have gone through a somewhat redemption arc, but he's still very much a selfish man and someone who would never go down in any other way than not an epic way because he is "the rogue prince". His showdown with Aemond is written as something about both of them as characters whose arcs are mirrored at every turn, finally culminating in their final encounter, and written as Daemon's big send-off.
The narrative specifically frames his final act as a betrayal through Rhaenyra's lens, further corroborating all that was set up before, something that is narratively satisfying to the reader because at this point she's very much the villain instead of the hero. We have seen her burning bridges, behaving poorly with the smallfolk, and being unfair with allies, culminating in her acts against Addam, Nettles, and Corlys, and overestimating her hand to the point of being arrogant in her certainty that Daemon would come back to be with her after murdering an innocent woman. Until this point, Daemon and Nettles have been written as a romantic arc, one that ends in heartbreak, specifically because of Rhaenyra. So we have this moment of satisfaction when Rhaenyra realizes that even though she did everything she did, and she was so certain she would win, she actually lost. He left her. He betrayed her.
The story leaving the "possibility" that Daemon could have survived and gone to find his way toward Nettles serves to show where his loyalty truly lies, and where his heart is, in life or death. If anything, to believe he went on a suicide mission because he couldn't stand being apart from Nettles is a much more acceptable and logical conclusion of his final choices than the bizarre cope that is the "he died for Rhaenyra, for his children, or for the cause".
Finally, I don't think he loved both because I don't think he ever loved Rhaenyra tbh. Not like he loved Nettles or Laena. An argument can be made that he loves Rhaenyra in the show adaptation (although I disagree about that medium, but this is for another post). But in the book, it's very clear that she's not on top or even second in his list of "women I romantically loved most in my criminal life". I say Nettles comes first because his love for her seemed to come from a genuine place of wonderment and affection, with no hidden agenda behind it. Laena comes close behind because even though we don't know if he indeed fell for her or if he married her to advance politically after his recent downfall from power at the time, he clearly came to love her very much in the years they were together and was happy in their marriage. I say even Mysaria might come first to him than Rhaenyra, he clearly cared for her for a while and was very upset when they lost their baby. The only person beneath Rhaenyra is Rhea because he clearly hates Rhea. In the books, Daemon groomed and wanted to use Rhaenyra to get back at his brother/get closer to the throne and later they combined their shared vision and aligned political ambitions in a marriage that was beneficial to both of them. Obviously, there was physical attraction (and co-dependency on Rhaenyra's part), but love? I don't think so.
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Chapter 13 The Great War
Chapter 13 of Moonlight
A/N- I hope you guys like
Warning- Swearing, ANGST!, some fluff, blood, death and violence, SPOILERS for future events of HOTD.
Pairing- Aemond Targaryen x Velaryon!fem-reader, Cregan Stark x Velaryon!fem-reader
Episode- After 1x09, events based off of Fire and Blood
(If you want to be tagged let me know)
————
Dear Lucerys,
Writing this may be futile—no it is, you’ll never be around to read what I ramble on about, what I can’t even share to my husband, or even Cregan; Not unless I want to risk getting caught and killed. So writing to you about what is developing in my life is my best option, besides I think it helps me mourn you since I cannot actually grieve for you as I’d like to here in King's Landing, in the Lion's den.
So let’s start with happy news, Aerion is 6 months old now, he’s getting even chunkier which is hard because he’s getting heavy to carry. He just loves eating though. Oh! And he’s started to say pa, which isn’t a surprise he’s attached to Aemond by the hip.
And the twins are growing perfectly, I’m almost three months along, and unlike with Aerion, my belly is already starting to swell. Which is normal since there are two. Aemond and I have already chosen names too, if it’s a girl and a boy, Daenys and Baelon! If it’s two boys Baelon, and Laenor, like father. And if it’s two girls which is what I hope, we have chosen Daenys and Daenerys! I think it goes well together.
Now, let’s see, since you’ve been gone, I have now turned to Princess Regent, which came with four knights protecting me and Aerion at all times. Aemond doesn’t want to risk either of us getting hurt. The eyes that were watching me before have since left, but it doesn’t mean I can just flaunt about the castle and do as I please. I have to keep up appearances if I want to continue helping our mother.
But ever since becoming Regent I have gained this power which is unlike any other, it’s not the power a Queen would have, but it’s close I imagine, and I'm not ashamed to say that I like it. I like being in control, having power that I did not possess before. I enjoy sharing my opinions in ongoing battles and war strategies. I enjoy the attention, all of it, every aspect...I never would have gotten this with our mother—at least Aemond keeps saying that to me.
Nevertheless, it’s not something I should get used to, Aegon is still somehow alive, everyday I pray he’ll pass away in his sleep or something, but he doesn’t which is the terrible, horrible bad news. As to the other news, well, it’s interesting, our grandfather Lord Corlys has become mothers hand, Joffrey and Rhaena have been taken to The Vale for protection, Daemon remains at Harrenhal, fighting or what not. And since our grandmother's death it seems the Gods have blessed our mother with Dragonseeds at long last.
From what the sources say there’s five of them, Addam of Hull is one, he bonded with Seasmoke. I had hoped Seasmoke would bond with Aerion, but oh well, it wasn’t meant to be. That’s not the juiciest thing about him though, Addam has a brother Alyn of Hull, who I met last year! He unlike Addam didn’t bond with a dragon, but get this, people are saying they’re the supposed bastards of our father Laenor, but only a fool would believe that. I alone was conceived by a miracle, because mother and him wanted to do their duty as man and wife, otherwise he would not choose another woman to share a bed with. So the Hull brothers' father is a mystery, perhaps it's our grandfather or Ser Vaemond, heh, that would be funny.
Besides Addam nevertheless, there's a bastard called Hugh the Hammer, he claimed Vermithor. A man called Ulf the White bonded with Silverwing. And the brown wild dragon Sheepstealer, is said to have bonded with a young bastard girl named Nettles. She, like Addam, seems interesting to get to know, if only I could.
Now, baby brother, I saved the best for last! You met this man, he was a part of mothers Queensguard, it’s said he’s been dismissed now since he’s claimed a dragon of his own. And that man is my friend, Ser Jason Waters!
I almost gasped at the meeting when I heard the news. When I finally had time alone with Vanessa we couldn’t help but gossip about it and get all excited about it like a pair of young girls. But anyway, he managed to bond with that beautiful but shy grey-white dragon, Grey Ghost. He’s always been such a mystery, so it makes sense why the two of them would bond, Ser Jason is also a mystery, even more so now that his father is of Valyrian blood. I wonder who it is…I want to see him now to ask and talk about his new and greatest soulmate.
Anyway…that’s all for now baby brother…war is raging, Cregan has yet to join any battles, I think some men from
The North, who call themselves the Winter Wolves are the ones fighting, but not Cregan. If only I could write to him…talk to him…I regret the way I left Winterfell. I was scared and angry about what I did. He was my greatest friend, my first love, he didn’t deserve that. So hopefully I’ll get to see him again. At least once.
I’ll write again soon, I miss you. I love you.
Your beloved sister, Y/N.
——
As much as you did enjoy being a part of small council meetings and war meetings now, the one downside was the Lords and Alicent.
There’s always this look they give you, a judgmental and disgusted look. They didn’t dare do it so outwardly, it was discreet so Aemond wouldn’t catch them. They also made snappy little comments, or tried to embarrass you in some discreet ways. And when they talked about your intermediate family like your brothers, mother or grandfather, there’s this resentment you feel and see, like if you’re the one controlling what they do. It’s annoying, but you won’t give them the satisfaction of not attending.
After all this is what you’ve wanted, a power your mother took away from you the day Jacaerys was born. You won’t give up, just like she didn’t.
“It is said that a fortnight ago, Princess Rhaenyra has declared the Hull bastards as Velaryons by Lord Corlys request,” Ser Otto shares, making you blink repeatedly in disbelief, knowing what it could mean.
“Now our sources haven’t told me if he has declared the eldest the new heir,” Ser Otto continues, making you shift in your seat uncomfortably. “But by giving them the Velaryon name we have to expect that’s what they plan now that Prince Aerion is here.”
He said it wouldn’t matter though…then again when he said it the Hull brothers identity wasn’t known.
“We’ll have to wait then,” you interject calmly even if inside that is bothering you. “If Lord Corlys disinherits Ser Laenor’s grandchild then it will be a disrespect to my fathers memory. My grandfather is a proud man so it’s unlikely.”
“But in such desperate times such traits change,” Alicent adds. “Especially when it comes to inheriting his only living sons.”
You look at her and swallow back your snippy comment, and just nod stiffly in comprehension.
It may be a rumor since no one believes your father is the father to Addam or Alyn, but Alicent is right about that. He’d prefer his sons over a great grandchild with parents at opposite sides of the war.
What would your grandmother have to say about all of it?
No one will ever know…
“Until we have more news let’s move on,” Aemond says as he slides his warm hand over yours to interlace his fingers with yours. “What of the preparations for watchtowers past the shore? Now that the Black’s have gained dragonriders it would seem that they plan to attack King’s Landing.”
Ser Otto scoffs and a mischievous smirk grows on his features. “I’m sure that’s what they plan, but it may be delayed. As we know the High council of the Triarchy has accepted our alliance, and we know ninety ships have departed from The Stepstones. They are now moving towards the Gullet.”
“What of it?” Aemond probes. “Have they came across Lord Corlys fleet?”
Ser Otto shakes his head and looks over at Lord Larys.
Before Lord Strong speaks though, he briefly glances at you. “It seems that as they were en route, they came across a Pentoshi Cog that was carrying Princess Rhaenyra’s youngest sons. Prince Aegon and Prince Viserys…”
What? Why didn’t he tell you before?
“…It’s said that Prince Aegon the Younger managed to escape because of his dragon, but Prince Viserys was left behind. His whereabouts are unknown, but he most likely resides amongst the Triarchy fleet.”
Without hesitation you lean over towards the table and interject. “Then we must go. Take him before my mother makes her move.”
“Now is that spoken by you, his sister, or Princess Regent?” Lord Wylde snaps at you with a hint of smugness. “Perhaps this matters isn’t for the Princess to hear.”
Aemond parts his lips, but you cut in before he can speak. “If we capture Prince Viserys we can take him captive,” you say what’s coming to mind, a deception so you can save your brother but make the Green Council think it’s for their benefit. “The Blacks will respond.”
“With dragonfire,” Lord Otto counters as if you’re dumb. “They’ll outmatch us. Vhagar may count for half of their dragon power, but neither she nor your dragon will be enough if the entire force comes.”
You glance at Aemond, and he meets your gaze but says nothing because he agrees with his grandfather. So it seems you’ll have to step it up.
“Not if we threaten Viserys,” you quickly come up with something, but you don’t share your worry, you try to remain calm. “I know my mother, there’s nothing she wouldn't do for her children,” you say and tilt your head slowly to the side. “And Viserys is Daemon's son, say what you want about him, but he wouldn’t risk his son's life. We take Viserys, send them a raven to tell them to meet without dragons. If they fail then…” you sigh and grow stiff. “We decide what to do then.”
“The princess may be right,” Ser Tyland argues in your defense. “Princess Rhaenyra does have a mothers heart. That alone is a weakness we can manipulate.”
These men really underestimate that don’t they?
You hum in agreement nevertheless and continue smugly now to try and sell your plan. “Now, what is said about the dragon seeds that claimed the dragons?” You look around the decorated table, and they look amongst each other before Lord Larys answers.
“It is said that most of them are bastards.”
You hum and begin to smirk. “Bastards have no honor when the right deal is struck. I’m sure a deal can be made with some of them if not all of them.”
Aemond hums and leans forward. “You are right about that, my Princess.”
You look at him and pass a small smile, Aemond shoots you a smirk and then looks at the council with a smug look that makes Alicent uncomfortable, and lets her know what is on his mind before he can share it.
“Aemond you must think it through,” she argues. “News has probably already reached Rhaenyra, she’ll counter, and we can’t risk you getting hurt with Aegon already abed.”
“My y/n is right,” Aemond says and surprises you, but you don’t show it. “If we take Viserys we’ll have an upperhand. It’s doubtful they’ll surrender, but we will have some control. And she’s right about the bastard nature. They can be swayed.”
The council all share worried and disapproving looks, but no one dares speak against him. Ser Otto shares a suggestion though. “At least write to your brother, Prince Daeron. He can aid you with his dragon.”
That will take forever, and give them an advantage.
“We don’t have to fight back,” you suggest and look to Aemond, and give his hand a gentle squeeze. “We take Viserys and go. If there’s dragonriders out there they won’t follow us to King’s Landing. It may look like we are cowards for fleeing, but we’re playing smarter.”
Aemond passes you an admiring look before addressing his council. “That’s what I’ll do then. Surprise them and only fight back if it’s necessary.”
“Aemond,” Alicent rebuttals. “It’s not wise.”
Said man scoffs. “But it is. I won’t fail, I’ve already made a promise that I won’t.” He lets your hand go to gently caress your small swollen belly, telling you speechlessly that it was you he made that promise to.
The lords don’t see that, but they see how Aemond listens to you over them. They don’t like it, they show their anger in the silence with discreet annoyed glares.
Not like you pay them any mind, you just sit in your success and pride; with your leg over the other and your hand possessively on Aemond’s arm, while you reach for your goblet of water with the other.
“Then you’ll go alone?” Ser Otto asks. “It won’t be wise to take the Princess in her…condition.”
“I’ll go alone, today,” Aemond agrees, causing your smirk to fall to a frown.
However, you don’t disagree with him there, you wait in your annoyance. Once the meeting is dismissed, you let your discontent known to Aemond with your look and your silence.
“What’s wrong?” He asks as trails a bit behind you.
You reach the Godswood and take a moment of silence first in front of the Heart Tree. You pray for your brother's well being, and just like you do every time, you pray for this war to end soon. Aemond respects your moment of prayer, he doesn’t ever complain about your difference in religion even if he finds it odd that you follow the Old Gods, rather than the Faith of the Seven. Albeit right now he is impatient to know what’s bothering you. He had an idea what it is, it’s pretty obvious, but he needs to make sure.
But of course you do take your time just to annoy him. Once you are done though you let out a deep exhale and drop your head, Aemond slowly approaches your side and watches you. Before you can start saying anything though, you put your hand out in front of him.
Aemond doesn’t question you, he just sighs and then lifts his hands to take his eyepatch off and hand it to you. When it’s secured in your hand you finally slowly face him.
“I want to go with you to the Gullet,” you share the truth right away. “Please. Regardless of sides, and who his father is, he’s still my brother.”
Aemond slowly turns and faces you, causing the blue sapphire in his eye to glimmer against the sunlight that peeked out of the clouds. He then sighs and grabs your hand to gently caress it with his thumb.
“Do you really expect me to put you in harm's way? You and the babies?” He asks softly. “The plan is not to attack, but it’s still a battle zone, they’ll have Scorpions. An arrow hits you then what? It’s not only you, it’s the children that grow inside you too.”
You know that. Doesn’t he think you know that? You’re the one growing them after all.
“It’s Aerion too.” He continues. “I would never forgive myself.”
You shake your head and argue. “Aerion would have you. And it’s not like I’m planning to die. Or get hit. In and out. That’s the plan.”
Aemond licks his lips and closes the gap that was left between the two of you. “Please, my love. Listen to me. I love you too much to see you get hurt. I won’t be able to do it without you. You’re my best friend. My wife.”
You lose some of your tension and feel your heart flutter at the way he’s expressing himself.
“And while I’m gone you’ll be here in charge.”
In charge? He won’t be gone long though. Not long enough to control anything.
“No harm will come to your brother,” Aemond says and then cups your cheeks. “I swear.”
You hold his gaze and think of the sweet words he just said that fill your heart with joy, the promise he makes that makes you feel somewhat comforted. You feel yourself losing interest in what you wanted as his words seem to control you.
But it then hits you right as he kisses you; you can’t let him manipulate you into getting what he wants. This was your plan. Viserys is your brother, and the fleet they’ll face is your grandfather's fleet. The dragon he’ll face will probably be Jacaerys.
“No,” you protest and step back, but let him keep his hands on your face. “No. I can’t just let you leave by yourself. It doesn’t matter if Vhagar is the biggest, he’s not invincible. You need me to watch your back.”
Aemond groans and looks away in annoyance.
“Aemond,” you now rebuttal softly. “With Aegon still abed you need someone with you. You don’t want to wait for Daeron, so unless you manage to change Helaena, I’m all you have. Me, your wife. Your best friend.”
Aemond blinks and meets your gaze with an intense glare.
“Its me and you, right? Besides, if I go, if Jacaerys or any other dragon rider is out there fighting back against the Triarchy, they won’t attack me. I’m my mother's only daughter, she won’t let them hurt me, no matter what sides we’re on,” you add confidently but in a sweet voice. “It’s the same with my grandfather. They won’t hurt me. Neither will the Triarchy. I can go in and out, you patrol the skies and if danger comes you attack.” You begin to smile. “Please.”
Aemond drops his gaze and swallows thickly. He continues to debate your proposition, so you continue with one last argument.
“Please, because if you come back like Aegon, knowing I could've prevented it, I would never forgive myself. You’re all I have here, if you’re gone…I might as well be gone too.” You lean towards him and grab his jaw to bat your eyelashes.
Aemond looks you in the eye and stays quiet for a minute longer before he sighs deeply. “Fine. But any sign of attack we’ll return. With or without your brother.”
You flash him a grin and then throw your arms around his neck for an embrace. “Thank you for trusting me, my love.”
Aemond hugs you back and presses a kiss on the side of your head, and then whispers in Valyrian. “<If they harm you in any way, I’ll lay waste to the entire fleet. I don’t give a fuck which side it is. You understand that?>”
You giggle and nod. “<I’m honored by that promise.>”
Aemond hums and you can sense his smirk.
“Now I’m going to go change so we can go,” you add excitedly as you pull back to face him.
Aemond groans. “You look great like that. Let’s just go.”
You scoff. “Aemond you know me better. Besides, I have too many new outfits I want to wear. You’ll love them.”
Aemond’s smile begins to show on his lips as he rolls his eye.
“And! You’ll wear your armor right?” You ask. “You owe me. We can do it now.” You smirk and lean in to whisper against his lips. “I want you inside me. With the armor on.”
Aemond smirks and then steals a kiss before he slides his hands down to take one of yours, and lead you back inside and do what you wanted before leaving.
——
*A FEW MONTHS BACK. WINTERFELL*
“Y/N, come out I am not jesting anymore!” Jacaerys sounds annoyed, but you don’t concern yourself, you continue to sneak through the woods that were at his side, making sure not to get seen by him, or by Cregan who’s following him and amused by the entire situation.
“Y/N!”
You snicker and step over fallen branches as you hurry out of hiding. Before he can hear you or see you, you jump out of the woods and jump on his back.
“Ahaha!” You chuckle and wrap your hands around his neck, and your legs around his waist.
Jacaerys clenches his jaw and glares over at you. “What is your problem?” He sneers.
“Don’t tell me I scared you,” you tease him. “Did Dragonstone make you soft?”
“No,” Jacaerys grumbles and pushes you off him, causing you to let go of him and fall on your ass.
“Ah,” you groan. “That hurt.”
“I just don’t behave like a child,” he counters.
Cregan falls back and offers you his hand, you smile up at him before you take it and let him help you to your feet.
You don’t let your hand linger on his though. You fear that Jacaerys will catch you, so you just wipe the dirt off you and then clasp your hands behind you to walk ahead of Jacaerys and Cregan, and turn around to face them as you walk back. “I don’t behave like a child. I’m just having fun. Should I have a stick up my ass now because I’m married and have a son? That sounds so boring!”
Jacaerys meets your gaze and nods with a tightlipped smile. “Yes, behave like your husband.”
You shoot him a glare and roll your eyes while you turn around and wait for him to catch up. “You need to ease up,” you advise your brother. “In a few years from now you’ll be King,” you tell him full of hope while you hook your arm around his. “You’ll sit on that stiff throne made of hard ass swords, get your ear talked off by your council and have no fun. Enjoy your freedom while you can.”
Jacaerys glances at you and hums. “And what will you be doing?” He asks. “While I rule our country?”
You smile ahead. “I’ll be in Dragonstone, raising my children, sailing, flying on my Astraea, finding routes to take to finally sail across the narrow sea. To sail far where the water ends and the sky touches the water.” You grin at him and share your glee with Cregan.
Jacaerys laughs softly and nods along. “Here I thought you could be my Hand. Guess I’ll have to assign the title to someone else.”
You break away from him and look at him with a serious look. “Don’t mess with me like that, Jace. Really?” You press.
Your brother begins to smirk smugly while he shrugs. “Do you expect me to have another Hightower as Hand?”
You begin to grin at Jacaerys and squeal before you once again take his arm. “I guess I’ll have to postpone my travel plans then. Oh but what would your court say? A women as Hand? Oh the world will crumble,” you feign concern and swoon towards Cregan. “The sky will fall and the kingdoms will break apart.”
Cregan looks down at you as he holds you to keep you from falling. “I won’t have a problem with it,” he assures you. “Just do your job and I’ll follow along.”
You shoot him a smile. “The ever so loyal Stark. Thank you my Lord.” You stand to your given height and look back at your brother, catching his gaze already on Cregan and you.
“Well…” he hesitates and narrows his eyes before looking ahead. “They would’ve had a Queen already, so it won’t be that strange? Right? Besides, it's not the gender that should count, it’s the person by the rulers side. Their mind, their behavior and their fairness. If we continue to judge by gender then we’ll fall sooner or late.”
You slowly smile with pride and nod in agreement. “I agree. See? You’ll make a great King. That proves it.”
——
*NOW. THE GULLET*
The smell of burning wood spread for miles, you were perhaps more than halfway to the Gullet when the scent hit your nose. The sound of battle cries of both of pain and courage was carried out by the ocean breeze. And it all just grows the concern that already altered your beating heart. But you never once think of regret.
The thought of turning back never crosses your mind, your plan was simple, rescue your brother from the clutches of the Triarchy, which is your ally, but well, you already convinced the council into accepting your mission, so they’ll never know your true motives.
Especially not Aemond, he doesn’t ever doubt your loyalty to him. He knows that you aren’t a Green loyalist, but you do follow him, you love him so his trust on you has not faltered. It’s why he lets you approach where the battle is thickest all by yourself. It took a lot of convincing, he wanted to be at your side while you went in search of your brother Viserys, but you told him that if there were other dragonriders they’d attack him and it would just result in a battle neither of you would win. Because regardless of how big Vhagar is, she can’t beat 5 or 6 united dragons, so you told him to wait for you on a small piece of land not far from where the battle is. But! You did say that if you end up needing his help you’d let him know with a secret signal.
Let’s hope it doesn't come to it.
Alas, when you finally begin to see the battling ships, you see the disaster the Triarchy created upon Driftmark, you see your grandfather's fleet fighting back. Your grandfather's fleet outnumbers the Triarchy, but they also fight back fiercely which is admirable all things considered.
It’s also good that they’re fighting back hard because it means they’re all distracted, making it somewhat easier to go fetch Viserys. Where would they keep him though?
Not in the center of it all, that’s too risky. The front of the fleet is scattered, burning and mixed with Velaryon ships, so he wouldn’t be there. Perhaps in the end? It would make for an easy escape.
Yes, that's where you’ll go first.
Wait? Why aren't there dragons fighting back too? Your mother wouldn't have let a fleet come try to rescue Viserys all by themselves, she’d send her dragonriders, right? So where are they?
You squint your eyes and try to look through the thick and dark clouds of smoke that pollute the air, but you don’t hear wings flapping, or—
And then there it is, past the clouds of smoke can be heard a loud furious shriek from a dragon. It’s loud and sharp, booming, but it seems to be only one.
Can it be Jacaerys? He must be fighting too. Hm.
No matter how much you long to see your brother though, you have to take advantage of the fact that there's only one dragon. So without another second to spare, you descend from high in the sky and target the end of the Triarchy, while they fight back against their enemy fleet.
As you get closer the smell of salt and smoke mixes in your nose, causing your stomach to get all queasy. But you try your best to ignore that and keep your mind focused.
Nevertheless, just as you fly down and get closer to the water, suddenly an arrow comes whizzing at you and manages to hit Astraea on the shoulder just a few inches from where your saddle is. Almost as if the arrow was pointed at you and not her directly. What the hell?!
Astraea shrieks out in pain and she wobbles, making you grip onto the saddle's handles before you snap your head to where it came from. That’s when you see that it had come from a Scorpion on the Triarchy ship. People that are meant to be your allies!
What the hell?!
And since you are close to ships, you see a man behind the Scorpion. He looks distressed, so maybe it was an accident. Or not and they tried to kill you!
But you can’t fight back, you have to stay focused. Even if your poor girl is hurt.
“<Astraea,” you address your dragon softly and with concern. “Stay focused. Keep flying. We won’t stay long. Stay focused…>” you trail off however when you spot Vermax in the water slowly sinking further and further. You were so focused on your one mission, you didn’t bother to try and look for the dragon that had shrieked before. You should have though because it was Vermax, Jacaerys dragon. Vermax is the one getting swallowed by the sea as he fights back against it. And if he’s in the water…Jacaerys?!
Without a second thought you change courses and have Astraea make a sharp turn towards Vermax. She flies as quickly as she can with an arrow still embedded in her. She doesn’t cry though, she keeps going and doesn’t get hit this time by your own allies. And when you do get close to Vermax you gasp and feel yourself fill with horror as you see your little brother, Jacaerys in the water, gripping onto a wreckage trying his best to stay afloat while arrows stabbed his body.
“No, no, no,” you mutter and quickly let go of your handles to hastily take off the buckles that keep you restrained to your saddle.
A dragon call breaks in the sky, and when you glance up you spot Vhagar. Aemond must’ve heard Astraea’s cry and came without waiting.
He doesn’t descend though, he sees that you aren’t getting attacked so he stays in the sky, good. Even if he did descend, it wouldn’t matter, you stay focused on Jacaerys, and when you’re released from your restraints you swing your leg over the saddle, and wait. When Astraea is low enough to skim over the water, you slide down using the rope ladders you use to climb to your saddle.
In the distance Myrmen walked to the edge of their ships and pointed their crossbows at Jacaerys, but Astraea knew your intentions, she felt your protectiveness over your brother and snapped her head to the side to bath the men on fire.
When you finally reach where Jacaerys is, you reach the end of the ladders and Astraea keeps herself afloat to let you help your brother. “Jacaerys!” You call out in a quivering voice.
Said man was already looking at you with disbelief and anger. “You…you shouldn’t be here,” you hear your brother tell you.
You shake your head and reach your hand out. “Shut up and take my hand, help me help you up. If I let go of the rope I’ll fall too.”
Jacaerys swallows thickly and hesitates.
“Jacaerys!” You insist louder.
Said man holds your gaze for a second before he reaches out and grabs ahold of your hand. “Good, good,” you assure him while you dig your fingers in his arm and pull up with all your strength. Jacaerys also does as you ask and uses what strength he can muster to pull himself out of the water.
It’s while you’re both attempting to get him out that Astraea rises up just a bit, pulling Jacaerys out and causing him to quickly use his other hand to grip onto the rope ladder.
“Yes, good,” you whisper and don’t let go of him, but drop your eyes on the arrow that stuck out between his ribs and made him bleed. You then search for more and see another arrow embedded just under his rib cage. Gods….
“You’ll be okay,” you comfort him as you see his face full of strain from the pain.
Astraea wastes no time and doesn’t need to be told, she begins to fly towards shore.
“I’ll help you,” you keep telling Jacaerys. “I’ll help you.”
“What are you doing here?” He asks weakly.
You glance down at him and meet his droopy gaze. “I…came to help Viserys,” you let him know since no one can hear you from where you are. “Just don’t tell the Green council, I tricked them,” you laugh nervously.
“No,” Jacaerys argues, “I mean…it’s dangerous for you and the babe.”
He’s injured but he’s still worried about you and your unborn child—children.
“Babies,” you correct him sweetly. “I’m having twins.”
Jacearys musters a weak smile. “Mother will be happy to hear.”
“Will she?” You ask.
Your brother nods. “You’re her golden child after all. She still loves you.”
Tears finally escape out of your eyes and your smile begins to wobble. You don’t say anything though because Astraea then lands on shore, so you quickly dismount her and help Jacaerys down.
The moment he’s laid down on the sand you tear off the bottom half of the red gown you wear under your chest armor to keep warm, exposing the shiny black armor you wear on your legs. You then proceed to pull the arrows off Jacaerys and wrap the red cloth around him tightly to stop the bleeding.
“You're still with me, yes?” You ask your brother since he was too quiet.
“Yes,” he mumbles.
You hum and before you can finish wrapping the cloth Jacaerys grabs your hand and pulls you towards him. “Swear to me…swear you’ll keep helping mother.”
You blink repeatedly in disbelief and refuse to agree to anything while he lay bleeding out. This is not the end. No. You don’t accept it. You already lost Lucerys, you can’t lose Jacaerys too
“Just hold still,” you argue and move back to keep doing what you were doing.
However, he pulls you back towards him and presses sharply. “Swear to me. Please, sister. She’ll need you, swear to me you’ll help get to her throne.”
Fresh tears cloud your eyes and this time you can’t refuse. You nod softly. “I swear,” you assure your brother as more blood keeps coming out of his wounds. “I’ll keep helping her. We’ll do it together.”
Jacaerys lips tug upwards just slightly, but he doesn’t nod, he changes the subject. “Mother never gave up on you. As everyone else thought you had betrayed her, she and I never did. When she got that secret note from you she smiled for the first time since she lost Lucerys.”
You shake your head. “I never stopped believing in her,” you explain. “She’s my Queen. My mother. You’re my family, I could never betray her or you. I love you.”
Jacaerys scoffs softly but groans in pain too, and the grip he has around your hand tightens. “I love you too, y/n,” his voice quivers.
Tears stream out of your eyes as you know what’s coming, even with all your denial, a part of you prepares for what’s coming.
“Don’t leave me,” Jacaerys pleads as his eyes soften. “I don’t want to be alone.”
You shake your head rapidly and shift to cradle him on your lap. “I’ll stay here,” you assure him in a shaky voice. “I always will, I won’t let go. I just…hope you can forgive me. If I was here in the first place you would be unharmed. You-you—”
Jacaerys shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. You learned from your mistakes, all you can do now is just do the best you can from your situation. Hm?”
You nod in agreement. “When did you get so wise, huh?” You laugh softly.
Jacaerys grins softly. “I always have been….” He trials off and then glances at the sky. “I’ll see you again, you know?” He whispers and meets your gaze. “Where the water ends, and the sky touches the water.”
You giggle at his saying he took from you, and assure him with a nod. “We will,” you interject and cup his hand. “We’ll fly on our dragons alongside mother. We’ll talk and laugh with our brothers. We’ll go hunting, and stargaze around the campfire as we tell scary stories, even if Lucerys sucks at telling them. We’ll be together, always and forever.”
Jacaerys parts his lips, but a single breath comes out. His eyes then roll back and his body stiffens, meaning only one thing. Yet you can’t accept it. You don’t want to lose another brother.
“Jacaerys?” You call out hopefully. “Brother?”
Jacaerys doesn’t move, his faint smile stays on his face but he doesn’t respond.
“Jace?” You mewl. “Jacaerys?!” You press your forehead against his and begin to sob. “Please….please…Jace.” You sob louder and softly rock his body as you continue to cradle him, as you protect him in your arms as the battle rages on around you.
Astraea was injured, hurting, but she coos and manages to walk to you to wrap herself around you to comfort you as you grieved your little brother. A brother you couldn’t save. Astraea hears your heartbroken cries, she feels your agony and cries out to the sky. She sings a mournful song that is all too quickly cut off by the sound of flapping wings descending to the ground near you. Thinking it’s Aemond, you lift your head.
However, the dragon you see across the shore isn’t green and enormous, this dragon is a beautiful and pale grey-white dragon. And unmounting him is Ser Jason.
He may be a friend, but you’re still cautious, Astraea still curls herself tighter around you and snaps at him since she doesn’t know him. You proceed to lay Jacaerys down to slowly stand up as you pull your bow out, and point an arrow at him.
Ser Jason sees your defensive stance and comes to stop where Astraea has her head, and slowly raises his hands to show he means no harm. “I came as a friend,” he breaks the tense silence.
You curl your lip to a scowl and glance up at the sky, catching four dragons now, and Vhagar and Aemond not over you. He must’ve gone back to the piece of land.
“A friend?” You ask and sniffle. “If you are. Tell me where Viserys might be. You must know.”
Ser Jason draws out a deep breath and slowly begins to frown. “Viserys is…lost at Sea…”
Your aim falters at the sound.
“The ship carrying him sent demands, but the Queen was told soon after that the ship then went missing,” he adds.
Even more heartbreak shatters your heart, but you make sure not to cry in front of him. You lower your bow and arrow and glance at Jacaerys lifeless body.
“Take him home,” you tell Ser Jason softly. “When he’s on the pyre please put a winter rose to rest on him, so it’s like I can be there with him.” You meet the knight's blue eyes with sadness, and slowly let your face soften. “And,” you add but walk towards him now whilst you take off the ring that held the peach-orange pearl he had given you. “Give this to my mother. Tell her I want it back when I join her side again. Will you?”
Ser Jason meets you halfway and doesn’t hesitate to agree. “Of course, I will.”
The moment you secure the ring on his palm you walk back towards the rope ladder hanging on Astraea. “When I see you again, I want that answer,” you tell him softly. “I mean you have a dragon now.”
Ser Jason scoffs softly but nods. “I will. Be careful, Princess.”
You shoot him a sad smile and finally turn around when you reach the rope ladders, to mount Astraea. When you’re secured on the saddle you first let out a deep exhale, and then wipe your face, unknowingly wiping Jacaerys blood all over, even on your silver-white roots. After that Astraea stomps forward and ascends to the sky where the sound of battle grows quiet, and the sight shrinks.
Soon Vhagar and Aemond come to sight, but you don’t land, you wait for them in the sky, and once they’ve joined your side, Aemond sees the wound on Astraea. He meets your gaze with concern, but you assure him with a soft look before you lead the way home.
Yet, thoughts run in your head while Astraea flies away. Your brother's death head plays on a loop in your mind, his blood stains your hands and his last words echo over and over, making you cry after you promised you wouldn’t show your grief in front of Aemond or any other Green member.
“I’ll see you again, you know?” Jacaerys voice echoes in your mind, a painful reminder of the brother you loved but couldn’t save. A heartbreaking reminder of another brother you loved lost because of the Greens. The last brother that knew you, that you knew, that was like your friend; the other two are young, you don’t share the same bond with them like you do with Jacaerys and Lucerys—no like you did, they’re both gone now.
They’re gone…because of them….
They want you to play? You’ll play their stupid game.
Now in your grief, anger grows fiercely. Your frown grows to a scowl, and your grief stricken look burns away and gets replaced by fiery.
Jacaerys and Lucerys made your heart. Your heart was made of your brothers, the Greens snatched them away and took your heart along with them.
You’ll show them just how mean you can be without a heart to hold you back.
So before you can get further away, you tilt your handles to the side. And of course without hesitation, even wounded, Astraea turns around rapidly and flies back towards the Triarchy fleet.
Aemond doesn’t miss your sudden action and follows you.
When you’re on top of the Triarchy again, the other dragonriders instantly drift all their attention towards you, thinking you came back to fight with your allies. However, you push your handles down, and Astraea shoots down at a quick speed.
The Myrmen look at you two with confusion, not knowing what you intend to do since you’re going at them very fast. So just as Astraea gets close to the ships, you let out a pained and angry cry, and Astraea shoots out fire and shows the Myrmen your intentions by burning them and their ships.
Just before Astraea can hit anything, she swoops up and grabs a Scorpion with her claws and crushes it. The man that was assigned to it gets crushed too without remorse. The other men, the ones fighting, are left not knowing what to do, fight back against you, or run now that it turns to six against all their remaining ships. They had their orders when it came to you, but Vhagar now also circles the area.
As you kept bathing their ships and the men on fire albeit, the choice is clear, escape.
Not like you let them, when you see the Myrmen in the water trying to swim away, you have Astraea fly low and tilt to her side. You unbuckle only a few restraints to be able to stand up as you get out your bow to shoot arrows at the men in the water. Astraea catches some with her jaw and burns them alive. Neither of you let anyone escape.
The other dragonriders don’t fight you, nor do they attempt to fight Aemond and Vhagar since they see them fight this battle with you.
The only reason he did it though was because he followed you, he didn’t question your actions right there and then, and he most definitely didn’t want anyone to harm you either. He saw brave men aim the scorpions at you and he had Vhagar burn or crush them. He didn’t bathe the triarchy with fire in the same way you did though.
You burned them all. Every last Triarchy ship that had remained was nothing but wreckage or ash that sunk in the water. The sailors who tried to flee got met with arrows, just like they did with Jacaerys. When there was nothing left of them on the sea you left back to King’s Landing with Aemond flying at your side probably furious about what you did.
Not like you care. When you arrive outside the Red Keep, you climb down Astraea, but stop inches from where her wound is.
She had taken the arrow off by herself, now all there was is a fresh wound. “<Oh my sweet girl,” you tell Astraea while you caress her. “You’ll be okay. You’ll heal in no time.>”
Astraea cranes her neck, and then leans her head towards you and coos.
“<You did great,>” you tell her as you hug her jaw. When you pull back Aemond’s feet finally hit the ground, so you finish dismounting your dragon.
And the moment your own feet hit the ground Aemond comes storming at you, he grabs your arm and turns you around to make you face him. Yet he doesn’t show much anger. It’s confusion mostly.
“What did you do?” He demands to know.
You don’t hold back, you rebuttal. “They hit Astraea, so I fought back,” you tell only a very small portion of your true reasons. “Look at how close that arrow came to me.”
Aemond sighs deeply before he drifts his eye to the wound on Astraea’s shoulder that was under your saddle.
“I almost died,” you tell him and grab his arms. “Not because of enemy fire but because of our own allies. Of course I had to fight back, I had to teach them their lesson.”
Aemond shakes his head and slowly meets your gaze. “It was an accident. They probably didn’t mean to hit Astraea.”
You scoff. “No. It was no accident,” you snap back venomously. “I was trying to find Viserys in the back of the line, the other dragonriders hadn’t arrived yet, they pointed at me. They tried to kill me. What? is that okay?”
“No!” Aemond quickly rebuttals. “I just cant believe they’d be that—”
“Stupid?” You finish for him. “Yes, well they’re Ser Otto's allies, there’s a reason he’s not Hand anymore.”
Aemond squints, but he doesn’t respond back in his grandfather's defense, there's a faint smirk instead. He doesn’t argue anymore either, his face softens, and he slides his hands down to take yours to turn them and see the blood that stained them.
“Not mine,” you assure him.
Aemond studies the blood before he looks at the blood on your face and wipes it off with his cloak.
“Jacaerys…is dead,” you share in a deadpanned voice so as to not show him your true emotions. To show him you're committed to him and only him. “Viserys was lost at sea too. I’m sorry.”
Aemond holds your gaze for a moment, he tries to search for the grief you must feel, but no matter how hard he stares you hide it well. He doesn’t know whether to be worried about it or proud?
He’ll have to investigate later. Now though he cups your face and shakes his head. “Don’t apologize I would’ve done the same,” he says. “I'm happy you're unharmed.”
You frown deeper and drop your gaze. “You're not angry at me? For what I did?” You ask sweetly.
Aemond tilts your head up and doesn’t hesitate to respond genuinely. “No. Don’t you think I would have stopped you if I was?” He smirks. “You did amazing out there. I couldn't help but sit back and watch you burn it all.” He follows by stealing a kiss from you that you deepen.
A passionate moment passes before you pull back and press your forehead against his.
“<You never fail to impress me, my love,>” he murmurs against your lips in High Valyrian. “<I love you. I never want to be parted from you. We are meant to be together, we were meant to burn together. Forever.>”
You grin softly and caress his cheek. You mirror him with ease. “<Now and forever.>” You then proceed to embrace him, and he hugs you back tightly.
You love him. You do. It’s some sick and twisted curse how much you love this man you’re meant to hate, this man on opposite sides of the war, but…that doesn’t mean you won’t crush his brother Aegon, and the rest of The Greens from the inside.
.
.
.
.
A/N- Alicent and Otto are afraid of how obsessed Aemond is with y/n…should’ve thought of that before they married them.
Tagged- @namelesslosers @stargaryenx @chainsawsangel @lauftivy @winxschester @cloudroomblog @llarue @padsdarlg @sofietargaryen @gracielikegrapes @dreaming-of-the-reality @itzelpeyton @patdsinner33 @mrsdominickstark @elaena-aerrin @todoroki-slut
#fanfiction#damn-stark#moonlight#chapter 13#house of the dragon fanfiction#house of the dragon fanfic#house of the dragon#hotd#hotd fanfic#hotd fanfiction#aemond targaryen fanfiction#aemond targaryen x reader#aemond targaryen x fem!reader#aemond targaryen x female reader#aemond targaryen#aemond the kinslayer#aemond targaryen x y/n#Cregan stark#cregan stark fanfiction#cregan stark x velaryon!femreader#aemond targaryen x velaryon!reader#aemond targaryen x Velaryon!femreader#cregan stark fanfic#cregan stark x fem!reader#cregan stark x reader#cregan stark x targaryen!reader#jacaerys velaryon#oc character#alicent hightower#otto hightower
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I’m calling it.
They cut out Nettles and are giving her storyline to Rhaena.
I have been reading reports for months on how they are planning on giving Rhaena a larger role, there are also reports on a scene in which Rhaena gets burned (or something similar) trying to claim a dragon. And we all saw the look on her face when Daemon said in episode 10 that there are many dragons on Dragonstone who are riderless.
Rhaena will be the one to claim Sheepstealer. And this will finally bring her and Daemon closer together as father and daughter.
As for Daeron…good riddance. I always found him pretty useless regardless of his supposedly “great” storylines. He is just a boy who spent his whole life in Oldtown, he barely knows his own family, follows Lord Hightower around like a guard dog and just burns innocent smallfolk simply because he can and because they choose to support Rhaenyra. They can easily give those parts to the one-eyed freak.
Btw: since they are making all these huge changes, would it have killed them to let baby Visenya live? She was a pretty big deal to Rhaenyra: her only daughter. And if they paired her with Viserys in the future, we could have avoided the whole Larra Rogare unpleasantness.
#house of the dragon#team black#rhaenyra targaryen#daemon targaryen#rhaena targaryen#baela and rhaena#pro team black#queen rhaenyra#hotd#anti daeron the daring#anti team green#asoiaf#anti aemond targaryen#anti aemond stans
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Top 20 RotE characters!
My final piece of ranking for this series!
There will be some spoilers in this!
20. Nettle
- If there’s one thing I love, it’s difficult women. Nettle is as harsh as her name suggests. I love young Nettle with her dream magic and how completely kind she is to Thick. And I love older Nettle, who doesn’t mind hurting Fitz’s feeling for Bee’s benefit. She is unforgiving and always strives to do what she thinks is best - even if she doesn’t always know what’s best.
19. Thymara
- Definitely my favourite Rain Wild character. She had my favourite POV in those books as well. I liked how her story paralleled Sintara’s, with her dragon features becoming more beautiful, getting her wings, and her determination to be her own woman. I didn’t love that she ended up with Tats and ended up having a kid with him, but again, it mirrored Sintara’s mating with Mercor.
18. Starling Birdsong
- are we seeing a theme? Starling is so great because she simply does not care if people like her personality. She’s beautiful, she’s talented, and she got her song. The way she destroyed Fitz in Golden Fool was a peak moment in this series. And something i love so much is that no matter how much Fitz complains about her or thinks she’s annoying, he can’t help but like her.
17. Chade Fallstar
- I hate him, I love him, he’s the worst, he’s the best. I’ve said this before - I have complicated feelings about Chade but regardless, they are strong feelings. Ngl, I misjudged his age and thought he was about 80 in the first book so when he made it to the last book?? Incredible. His death got me in a way that I really didn’t expect it to.
16. Dutiful Farseer
- My boy! He had some great development from the most fifteen year old boy ever, to a genuinely good king. I loved his dynamic with Fitz in Fool's Errand. It was really on sight with those two and it was entertaining the entire time.
15. Selden Vestrit
- I saw someone say once that Selden felt like a random npc who managed to get a nat20 on charisma. He's great in Ship of Destiny, and fantastic in the Rain Wild Chronicles. His bond with Chassim was unexpected but so so lovely.
14. Molly Chandler
- I understand why people don't like her. Her character gets in the way of Fitzloved. Soz guys, but I've seen too many female characters get hate because fans were rooting for a mlm ship. Don't get me wrong, its frustrating but Molly never inserts herself in Fitz's life. It the other way around. I think people don't like her less because of who she is and more because of what she represents. She's a simple life, and is the face of Fitz's delusion. But I love her. She's down to earth, she's rough around the edges, she's a simple gal who wants a simple life.
13. Etta
- Etta!!! From a Divvytown prostitute to Queen of the Pirate Isles??? Insane, incredible, showstopping. One thing that I absolutely love about her that I think is overlooked is that, despite how much Kennit was pushing for it and how much Wintrow was pining for her, it did not even cross her mind to get with this 15 year old boy. Kennit is all like 'teach the boys your… skills.' and she's like, ah yes, I will teach him how to use knives. Queen behaviour.
12. Paragon
- Everyone's favourite murderous boat! His dynamic with Amber is great, and his friendship with Brashen is really underrated! He goes from being a grumpy old man to a bratty little boy in seconds (hmmm maybe the similarities between he and Fitz go past the face). He's unpredictable and he will kill again!
11. Althea Vestrit
- I fell in love with her immediately. She's rude to Kyle and then spends the next two weeks sleeping on the floor so she can be closer to Vivacia. She had my heart from the get go. Her ending will always leave a bitter taste in my mouth but none of it is her fault. She starts off a little immature and really grows into a woman worthy of captaining her own ship.
10. Wintrow Haven
- Ship of Magic!Wintrow has my entire heart. He frustrates me to no end with how he treats Vivacia but his arc is insane. He's generally an honourable guy. He frees the slaves and aids in the overthrowing of his father. He becomes a competent sailor and always shows Etta kindness. And despite his corruption by Kennit, he retains his moral compass and grows to be a good guy. I choose to ignore him in Ship of Destiny (just like Robin Hobb oops-) because I don't know who that man is :)
9. Malta Vestrit
- Without a doubt the best Liveships character. She has some of the best development I've ever seen. She's really the Amy March of Bingtown. She's self-centred, annoying, and that girlllllll. I love her so much. She's so clever and achieves so much.
8. Verity Farseer
- MY KING! treated Fitz like a human being which, in this book, is a step up from how most people treat him - especially when he's a boy. He's always a friendly face, even when he's so bogged down by defending the entirety of the Six Duchies with no thanks. He loved very honestly and had great respect for people who deserved it. And in the end, he made the ultimate sacrifice for his people for his folk.
7. Bee Farseer
- She's just as much my daughter as she is Molly's, Fitz's, Nighteyes', and Beloved's. She won me over so quickly, and just when I thought I couldn't love her more, she started biting. I hope one day we see more of her!
6. LadyPatience
- You should have been mine???????? Such a fun, unapologetic character. She is so herself. I feel so seen by her constant, ever-changing hobbies and messy room. She and Lacey are the duo of the century.
5. Burrich
- When I read a book and I fancy a character, I tend to stay loyal to that character. I can love all of the characters, but I only love one. I took one look at Burrich and knew i'd found my man. His parenting skills were questionable at time, but he was doing what he thought was right. He gave up his life to raise Chivalry's son. He stepped up and took care of Molly with no expectations. He raised Nettle like she was his own. Just a solid, good man.
4. Nighteyes
- The best parent in this whole series. He's sarcastic, he's clever, and he's got such an entertaining dry sense of humour. He's a great influence on Fitz and he isn't afraid to call him out. The Wit is such a fantastic aspect of this series and the wit-bond that Fitz and Nighteyes share is so so beautiful.
3. Kettricken
My Queen. I haven't felt this strongly about a character in a long time. Always a beacon of honour in a story of political intrigue, secrets, and betrayal. They really lucked out with this arranged marriage. Not a single person in this story deserved her.
2. Beloved
- Fool, Amber, Lord Golden, Beloved. What a character. every facet of this character is so interesting and deep and beautiful. Amber was THE character in Liveships, the Fool was THE character in Farseer, Beloved with THE character in Tawny Man. THE CHARACTER OF ALL TIME.
Fitz
- You get it.
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Nettles and Race.
George is great at both analysing and subverting genre tropes. We see this with his portrayal of the Targaryens as bad white blonde powerful elf like people. Or his understanding consistently in his works that beauty doesn't equal morality. This is surface level, and he does have his shortcomings (how he portrays the Dothraki in a lot of aspects, etc) but I find it really interesting the amount of tropes and conventions he addresses and subverts with Nettles specifically in such a short span of the book. George uses specific racial imagery with Nettles that we don't see often from him, in short. Here's a list:
Implementation and Subversion
1. The most unlikely is, the most unlikely:
Oftentimes, in fantasy stories, the least likely is a white disenfranchised person. The majority of the time, it's because they are poor or treated poorly. Nettles is a black girl who is poor, orphaned, and marked for thieving, and none of that hinders her own feat of claiming a dragon or the accepting initially that she does. She's unlikely, extremely unlikely, the most unlikely choice.
2. Black girls are allowed to feel:
Nettles cries and grieves. Of all the dragonseeds, she's the only one positioned to feel remorse and loss after the Battle of Driftmark. She is foul-mouthed (though not written into the narrative) and fearless. Often times their is a need for black women to be strong (not have access to their emotions) or angry (the only emotion they're allowed because they're "loud"). Nettles is crass and sensitive. She's multifaceted.
3. White people don't center black narratives:
Typically, black characters in fantasy are centred around white protagonists. Nettles distinctly isn't when you focus on her. This is different from being impacted. To be impacted means you're a part of the plot. To have someone be centred in your narrative would be for your existence in the narrative to entirely depend on your relationship with them. You don't exist outside of them. Nettles does. She has an entire life up until she claims Sheepstealer without any intervention from the Targs, and after she leaves the main narrative of Fire and Blood, she has a life. This is even in a Targaryen history book.
4. Black girls deserve to be protected and loved:
Nettles is protected by the men around her in the narrative. Oftentimes, this is something not afforded to black characters, far less for black women in fantasy narratives, but she is protected. Not just by Daemon, who is someone who has extreme emotional stakes with her but by the men of Maidenpool and Lord Corlys. All of whom are white in the books. Nettles is protected by men unquestioningly. They may decide how to do it or have a bigger motive, but protecting her is never a question.
5. Promiscuity questioned:
Nettles is never shown to be a promiscuous character through an unbiased lens. Every time a person brings up Nettles' sex, it's through the lens of necessity or heavily implied to be a dramatic assumption. The two biggest cases, "her raising her skirts for sheep" by Septon Eustace is counteracted by the fact that she's marked as a thief and claims a dragon called Sheepstealer who she's likened to in the narrative and by Rhaenyra who is disproven from her "she seduced the prince with spells" theory by both the men of Maidenpool who don't believe her and Daemon who let's Nettles go. Anytime her promiscuity is presented, it's immediately questioned by who we are told she is.
6. White women tears:
Historically and in fiction, the tears of a white woman are enough to derail any existence of a black character permanently or are at least meant to. Black people, fictional or real, are consistently tormented with the notion of white woman tears or emotional outbursts. Their actions cause a major consequence with white women. With Rhaenyra, this would be Nettle slowing her head for her suspicions. Nettles does not and gets away from. The narrative. This is unheard of. In fantasy doesn't occur because most times, the black woman would be punished, but in fandom, this idea is also reflected in the call for Nettles to be replaced.
7. Relationship with the lead man:
Daemon, for better or worse, is the lead man of the dance. Nettles finds herself attached to him in a relationship that seems, for lack of a better word loving. They seem comfortable, happy, and he's doting towards her. They spend all their time together, and it's paralleled with his other 'living' relationships as well. She's portrayed as his last great love and in the universe, the singers say as much. Issues aside, this is rare. (Martha Jones, I'm sorry I wasn't your writer)
8. Power and Worship:
Nettles is worshipped and seems to become a Goddess in her own right at the end of her narrative departure. Nettles is viewed as a deity because of the power she claimed by herself. Revolutionary. Also it isn't some blink and you can avoid it thing. It ties into the main story of Game of Thrones and her clan, the Burned men helping Tyrion Lannister.
9. Mammy, Sapphire Jezabel ext:
Mammy: Maternal black woman. Lives to serve white people and nothing else.
Sapphire: Rude, loud, stubborn, malicious, 'dumb' black women, nothing else.
Jezabel: raw, sexual, can barely restrain their sexuality and live to tempt (white) men. Nothing else.
Not once does Nettles tie into any of these tropes without it being questioned in the narrative or simply ignored in her story. So many representations of black women, especially in fantasy, fall into the first two or friend not lover trope, help mate trope, etc. anything that justifies their existence by tying them to white characters with no other outlook. Nettles subverts this.
10. Season of the Witch:
Black witches and their history save me. Black witches and their history save. This aligns itself with African spiritually and the otherness assigned to enslaved women who practised both 'witchcraft' and medicinal herbology for lack of a better word.
Witchcraft is also often tied to the imagery of the irresistible black woman as it's almost inhuman to be that attracted to black women when white women are available.
So when it's said that Nettles is a witch, imagery similar to the justifications of white women during slavery are being invoked but not followed through because no one believes her.
11. Disposable Black Love interest
This is also a big issue across genres with black chapters. It happens with Laena in the show as well. When the plot calls for it (or in a lot of cases fans) you dispose of the black love interest in place of a white one. Nettles removal from the narrative immediately calls for both Daemon's and Aemond's removal from the narrative. She isn't disposable. She's a linchpin. Also, Daemon does not go back to Rhaenyra after Nettles leaves. He just dies.
12. Nothing Special:
Magical black negros that helps the protagonist, welcome to your tape.
The magical black negros trope is this convention within fantasy where a black character will appear only to be an aid to a white character by their use of magic. They don't exist or have a life outside this purpose. Nettles could've fallen into this trap.
The idea that she isn't Valyrian could have easily been tied with the spells angle outside Rhaenyra’s bias. Instead of that, however, we get the idea that Nettles is just smart and interesting. She's allowed to be smart and interesting. The narrative defends her being smart and interesting.
She might not be Valyrian. She might not be a witch or seductress. She might be just a really clever girl who defies the odds and conventions.
Conclusion
I think Nettles was both an active effort on George's part to defy conventions and subevert stereotypes and tropes as well as a way to question his reader's bias. Nettles is often reduced to trivial, replaceable, and minor when she's not. You just have to want to pay attention to her.
#hotd#house of the dragon#nettles#nettles asoiaf#netty#a song of ice and fire#daemon targaryen#rhaenyra targaryen#nettles thoughts#nettles and sheepstealer#racial stereotypes#all this nuance to make laena a strong black woman in the tv show#to make vaemond a black man killed for speaking out against percieved injustice#to make laenor an absent and abandoning father#and to make corlys both of those things and a cheater#lord guide them#george did his big one#but he wrote so little so i cant really find fault#hes real for that#george rr martin#one critque actually#dettles age gap but thats more an in universe issue
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