#sour alyn

[sh4zzm]

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON AU: (thought dump for a fic that I'll try to start)

I suddenly remembered a post I saw before stating that Lucerys Velaryon = Prince Eric.

Well

Fancast: Jonah Hauer-King as older Lucerys Velaryon (growing up to be the Lord of the Tides and Master of Driftmark). Able to pass off as a Velaryon since Laenor (before leaving) claimed that his children got Rhaenys' Baratheon genes instead of the Velaryon genes. Married Princess Rhaena Targaryen. In this story Rhaenys will have the Baratheon hair as she should have had.

Another branch timeline could see him as King of the Seven Kingdoms if Rhaenyra would be forced to disinherit Jacaerys for marrying Sara Snow instead of Baela. Corlys and Rhaenys would be fuming at the betrayal and Rhaenyra would be adviced to please them.

Hints of lucemond: Aemond/Fem!Aemond would be incredibly jealous since holy crap lucerys is a full course meal with a bonus Driftmark or literally the Seven Kingdoms and would regret choosing 4th child Floris/Male!Floris Baratheon over his/her nephew when he/she had the chance.

#house of the dragon #canon divergent au #sour aemond/aemma targaryen #jonah hauer king #older lucerys velaryon #halle bailey #older rhaena targaryen #i love jace but i love baela more #dance of the dragons does not happen in this branch timeline #fancast #fanfic #lucemond #lucerys x rhaena #possible genderbending #rhaenys will not stand for jace and sara marriage #baela deserved better #maybe alyn velaryon but he's also a cheater #maybe baela targaryen x addam velaryon

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

what do you think could have been some ripple effects if the dance was somehow delayed by 7 years? what do you think the ripple effects could have been in favour of/against the greens as well as the blacks?

I admit to jumping the queue in my ask box for this question because it's really interesting!

The first thing that comes to mind is that Lord Corlys would almost certainly be dead. This, I think, is the biggest factor. He dies in canon only 3 years after Viserys and he's 79 at that point, so I'm going to assume he would have died around that age regardless. So if Corlys dies, there might legitimately be a Driftmark succession crisis before there's one for the Iron Throne. Now Lucerys presumably has the support of his family and can probably win any conflict, but at what cost? It's also true that this could give the realm a preview of what might happen were Jace to attempt to succeed Rhaenyra to the Iron Throne. And that's if Luke remains the undisputed heir after taking the Driftwood Throne, which I don't necessarily think is a given. Luke is inexperienced and the men of the fleet are going to resent him. At the end of the Dance the other side of the Velaryon family tried to overthrow Alyn, but he and Baela managed to reconcile with them, but with Luke? I think there's a chance that most of Corlys' fleet defects to the greens the moment Viserys dies.

Over on the green side, Aegon's kids are older and that's two more potential dragonriders in Jaehaera and Jaehaerys. Both Sunfyre and Tessarion would be larger too. Daeron and Aemond have almost certainly made marriages of their own, or at least betrothals, with brides to be married as soon as Viserys died.

There are also a lot of wild cards, like Daemon. In 7 years his sons are in their late teens and it might be harder to watch Jace inherit over them when they're promising young men than when they're little kids. How likely is he to get bored and shit stir? How likely is it that things have soured between him and Rhaenyra? Does Jeyne Arryn still die in 134? If so, the Vale is facing it's own succession crisis at that point. Does the Winter Fever still hit at the same time? The demographic that seems most affected by that seems to be people in their 30s-50s, so do Daemon, Rhaenyra, Alicent, Otto, all survive it?

I think that overall things do not look as good seven years down the line for the black faction. There are a lot of problems festering with their allies that have simply not come to a head yet when the Dance breaks out in canon. On the other hand, the greens have 7 more years to shore up alliances, for their baby dragons to grow, and for Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron to mature. The wild card factors mostly don't bode well for Rhaenyra's cause either.

#asks #hypotheticals #f&b #hotd #house velaryon #dance of the dragons #team green #anti team black #not really this is a value neutral post but you know

[atopvisenyashill]

Killing Jaehaera off was completely unnecessary and it would've been better if she was the mother of Aegon III's kids.

I personally would have loved it he had married Jaehaera and Daenaera because I think there's room in the narrative for both girls.

I think the reason George changed it (besides getting invested in the Velaryons as he wrote out the backstory) was because he wanted some sort of commentary on the lasting legacy of the Dance - Aegon usurps his sister and kicks off a whole violent war for the throne, only for his line to end with a mad little girl, and then die off completely. Rhaenyra lets revenge color her actions during the war and adds to the death, misery, and escalation of violence all so her line can descend from her only for the history books to record that they descend from Daemon, and there’s nothing Aegon III can do to change it. In a way, despite everything, the lines of both Rhaenyra and Aegon end with them. This war that claimed the lives of their children, their lovers, their families, was completely fruitless and useless; all that's left at the end is orphans, and history books that will call Aegon and Rhaenyra both usurpers. It's very sad commentary, for sure, but I get why it was so important to George to kill Jaehaera off (to a certain extent). It's just he did it in the most George way possible lmao and it doesn't hit the way I think he intended it to.

But it could have! Which is so frustrating! He could have 100% had them both in the narrative easily - just have Daenaera be a lady of the court and a friend of Jaehaera's! Jaehaera can take in Daenaera as a lady to help smooth things over with that branch of the Velaryons (who are probably still pissed off because Alyn is a bastard and everyone in Westeros hates Baela for doing #HotGirlShit). Jaehaera is mother to Daeron, Baelor, and Daena, and kills herself/is murdered right after Daena is born. I think having a daughter of her own is an interesting trigger for her trauma - like, your husband having the same cursed name as your father who died miserable and alone, with only you for family, and then watching your husband hold your first daughter? More than enough to trigger an episode, and leave it vague as whether she threw herself onto the spikes or someone simply took advantage of her being scared and alone & pushed her.

Maiden’s Day happens and there's a lot of nerves because the last time the King got remarried, the Dance happened. Different circumstances because Aegon has two sons, to be sure, but I'm positive half the realm is thinking "what if he chooses wrong and we get another Otto Hightower." Baela and Rhaena present Aegon’s new bride, then point to the beautiful but quiet, also grieving Daenaera Velaryon, and Aegon just accepts it because he knows Daenaera won’t oppose Jaehaera’s children (they were friends, also Daenaera is now scarred by the violence of Jaehaera’s death). Daenaera is as uninterested in him as he is in her; the twins present a way for him to remarry without forcing him out of his comfort zone (which neither Aegon nor Jaehaera ever liked to be) while backing Daenaera into an offer she can’t refuse. Continuing on the use of traumatized women as pawns, the twins clawing for their own power and relevancy as the Regents, Small Council, and now even Aegon’s sons steal it away from them, a move that is as “girlboss” esque for them as it horrifying for Daenaera. This way, you still get the Blackfyres descending from Jaehaera (and the Greens), you get the Velaryons in there more, you get Maiden's Day and Daenaera.

I think this scenario - where Jaehaera is mother to Daena and the Blackfyres, and Daenaera to the two youngest girls - doesn't make a huge difference in the grand plan, BUT it does make some things more interesting. It adds a really interesting echo from Viserys I and Rhaenyra’s children to Aegon’s - how easily these bonds between half siblings can be turned sour if only their lives are just a bit different. Daena, daughter of Jaehaera, falling to the generational Targaryen curses of dying young, of accidentally kicking off a succession crisis simply because she desired sexual agency. Elaena, daughter of Daenaera, escaping these curses through her politicking, her skill, siding against the nephew she adores and helped raise to try to escape Daena and Jaehaera’s fates. Not to mention having Aegon II’s line end with his daughter, then morph into the usurping Blackfyres is a great narrative choice!

It’s all right there!! The themes!!! It all goes back and back, this family enacting continent destroying violence against each other all for the privilege of sitting on that ugly, spiky chair. But no we get Daenaera the hot six year old instead. SmFh.

#asks #fire and blood critical #grrm critical #jaehaera targaryen #daenaera velaryon #in my mind daenaera is reclusive and pious and a lesbian which is why aegon liked her. doesn't talk preferred jaehaera to him. like. #sure i'll marry the glorified nanny my sisters got me why not. at least she already likes my kids. #naerys turns to the seven because its what daenaera taught her. 'if you need to go away in your mind picture the sept and pray.'

[valeskafics]

Time After Time (Chapter Twelve) - Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon Cross Over x Reader

Summary: The annual Stark party gets a bit rowdier than Ned and Cat bargained for.

PAIRINGS: Aegon x Reader, Aemond x Reader, Jace x Reader, Theon x Reader, Robb x Reader, Jon x Ygritte, Daenerys x Drogo, Margaery x Tommen

Word Count: 1,980

TW: profanity, innuendo, physical violence, Ramsay being Ramsay, mention of medicinal usage of a prescription painkiller (not recreational), blood

Tag List (comment if you wish to be added/removed) bold means it did not allow me to tag you: @dreaming-for-an-escape @dearsnow @cecespizza01 @justanotherkpopstanlol @its-halleys-comet @babyblue-chaos @youngpenguinllama @myspotofcraziness @tinykryptonitewerewolf @ietss @linevondensternen @zephyrinethedruid @bat-revival @fandoms-unite123 @midnightrqin @not-a-glad-gladiator @blakebearsblog @mawofmeraxes @ad-astra-again @angstycatthatlikestea @larix999 @jamespotterismydaddy @the-jess-life @onadailybasis @whorefordrew @mynameisbaby9 @unnoticeableparadox @jessica295 @clara02 @ultraviollett @bitchyglitterfox @polireader @disco--fairy @hwaillight @haven-is-happy @avaleineandafryingpan @hedahobbit98 @katdahlali @themelancholyhour @floswife @revory @michaelcliffordbrokeintomyhouse @ur-local-asseater @gothtargaryen @prongslena @hopelesswritergall @littlesecretmarauder @an-enigmatic-avenger @poppyreader @fan-goddess @alitaar @dreamingofyourmoons @foxyanon @nyaaaaa008

Before you can even turn around, Aemond is lunging toward Ramsay, tackling him into the floor.

Your eyes widen, “No, Aemond, don’t!”

And before you can say another word, Ramsay’s so-called “Bastard’s Boys” begin coming after Aemond. And then the rest of the boys join in, leaping to Aemond’s defense while you watch on in annoyance. You see Aemond still waiting Ramsay, Theon fighting with Damon, Jace against Skinner, Robb and Jon against Sour Alyn and Grunt, Aegon against Luton, and Jace against Ben Bones.

When Talisa comes up with Myranda and they both start to try and fight you, you decide you’ve had enough and let out a loud bellow, “Everyone fucking quit it before someone calls the cops!”

That seems to snap at least the Bastard’s Boys out of it; who reluctantly back off at your words. Ramsay glares at you, shoving Aemond away before stalking toward where you stand, helping Theon up.

“Kitten, I swear I’ll put Greyjoy back in the fucking hospital-“

You see Theon freeze at the mention of the time Ramsay’s boys jumped him and Aemond steps between the two of you, speaking coldly, “Stay away from her. And Theon for that matter. If you bother my friends again, I swear to the Seven I will end you.”

Ramsay eventually shakes his head and storms out with his little band of assholes, leaving you and the rest of the partygoers to go about your business. You sigh when you see the state that the Starks’ entrance foyer is in, as well as their living room.

“Man, Mum and Dad are gonna kill me,” Robb groans, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“Well, that should teach you not to start fights in your own home,” Jace says, grinning to himself quite proudly.

You’re quite sure if Robb could be blowing steam out of ears from how pissed off he looks, he would be. You’re not sure if you should try to diffuse the situation or laugh at how absurd it is. Before you can come to a decision, you see that Aemond appears to be bleeding from his nose, quite profusely. It seems Ramsay must have landed at least one hit on him, despite Aemond having won the fight. You quickly drag him away from the party to a bathroom to clean him up, the other boys watching the two of you go. Aemond allows himself to be led away, but insists that nothing is wrong and assures you that he’s “perfectly fine”.

“Yeah, okay,” you roll your eyes, “Fucking hell, Aemond, you can’t just start punching people!”

“I hardly count that piece of human waste a ‘person’,” Aemond snarks, wincing as you run an alcohol swab over the cut on his nose.

“Sorry,” you say apologetically at seeing him flinch, “Aemond, look, I get it. He’s an asshole. No one knows that better than me-“

“Then why did you allow him to court you in the first place?” Aemond arches a brow, “I don’t understand it.”

“I was lonely, okay!” you snap, “I…” you sigh and look at him, feeling a bit ashamed at your outburst, “Look, I’m gonna tell you something and you have to swear not to make fun of me.”

“Why would I-“

You extend your middle finger, “You have to fuck swear.”

Aemond raises a brow, “Fuck… Swear?”

“It’s like a pinky swear. But stronger.”

“What in the seven hells- Oh, fine, Y/N,” he drawls, wrapping his middle finger around yours, “I fuck swear.”

Not for the first time, you find yourself staring at his fingers. His long, graceful, sexy-

SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT, YOU’RE TRYING TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION HERE!

“Okay, well, uh,” you clear your throat, “Back when I first met you guys, I kinda, you know, um… Developed a crush on you. Like all three of you,” you wince at the words coming out of your mouth, “Cuz, you know, you and me and Jace were twelve and Aegon was like, what, fourteen, fifteen? And you guys were so cute and that was like, one of the best days of my life, and after you guys were gone, I felt like there was just something missing. And then, I finally got my first boyfriend-”

“Podrick,” Aemond interrupts. 

You nod, “Yeah, Pod. And he was so sweet and I really loved him but life made it so we couldn’t make stuff work out between us. And I was just like, lonely, I guess. And Ramsay was there and-”

Your phone goes off and you see that you have a text from Jon that something is going on with Robb and they need you to come help. You let Aemond know and exit the bathroom, his single eye staring after you as you leave.

He can hardly believe what you just told him. That you had feelings for him, Jace, and Aegon back when they first met you. Obviously he has feelings for you as well, but as always, Aemond overthinks things. You said nothing about still having feelings for any of them. You, very likely, did not. And so, he sighs dejectedly and walks off to the room he’ll be sharing with Aegon and Jace in the Stark mansion.

Meanwhile, you have to go help with whatever the fuck happened with Robb. Who has apparently broken his arm because of a banana peel Jace “accidentally” left out in his path. You sigh in annoyance at how your New Year’s Eve is going and drag Robb off to the rental car, taking him to the hospital, where you are no doubt, going to ring in the new year, getting him put into a cast. Fucking fantastic. And, again, there’s a blizzard. So Jon comes with you two, if only for emotional support, leaving Theon alone with the boys.

“I’ll take Y/N’s things up to her room,” Aegon suggests, “I’m sure that when she, Robb, and Jon return, they’ll want to sleep in an actual bed unlike last night.”

“Good idea,” Jace nods, “I’ll help.”

They head up, along with Theon, to the room you’ll be sharing with Sansa, who is currently still enjoying the party, which somehow hasn’t stopped despite everything that’s happened. She’s the eldest Stark in the house at the moment, so she’s enjoying playing hostess and seeming like the coolest person in the room.

As Aegon and Jace carry your abnormally heavy duffle bag, Aemond notices the three of them heading toward your room and decides to follow along, wondering what happened with Robb. After being appraised of the situation, he gives Jace a sharp look.

“What’s your problem with Robb? He’s a good man, as are Theon and Jon.”

“I like Theon and Jon just fine,” Jace grumbles, making Theon snicker.

“He doesn’t like Robb because they’re practically the same person,” Aegon drawls, cringing as your duffle rips open and your belongings spill onto the floor.

The four boys stare at the now ruined duffle bag in mild horror, hoping that there was nothing breakable in there. They scramble to pick up your things, and Theon cackles to himself when he ends up picking up your bright pink-

“I can’t believe she brought this with her for a week long trip,” Theon is nearly in tears as he looks at your vibrator, “Fucking hell, Y/N, you are down bad! Well, she probably doesn’t get to use it much with the six of us always in the house-”

Aemond looks at the object curiously, speaking up, “What is it?”

“I was about to ask the same thing,” Aegon says, grabbing it from Theon, who bristles with annoyance - and then, the vibrator starts doing what it does best, making Aegon jump with surprise, “What in the seven hells-”

“It’s alive,” Jace nearly shrieks, “It’s some sort of strange cursed object, brought to send us back to our time.”

Sansa pops up behind them, dryly commenting, “It’s a vibrator. Gods, you Canadians are fucking weird. Do you not have sex in your country? For fuck’s sake,” she snatches it out of Aegon’s hand and turns it off, “I don’t understand how in the fuck Y/N manages to live with six stupid boys, but truly, I think she deserves a fucking medal if this is the kind of shit she deals with every day of her life.”

“Well, maybe she wouldn’t need a vibrator if-”

“Theon,” Sansa arches a brow, “Neither you nor Robb have made a move in eighteen fucking years. Am I really supposed to believe that you’re suddenly going to sack up now?” she glances at the other three boys, “And, honestly, if one of the three of you doesn’t make a move soon, you’ll end up in the friendzone with my idiot brother and this fucking moron.

“I’m nothing like Robb-”

“I’m nothing like Theon-”

Jace and Aegon begin complaining, while Aemond cuts them off sharply, dragging them out of the room, Theon in tow, “So, what is a vibrator anyway?”

Theon opens his mouth and is about to answer, giggling to himself, when Bran yells out from down the hall, “It’s a sex toy!”

Apparently, he and Jojen have been listening in on this entire conversation. Their ears go bright red when they realize they’ve been caught and dash off to do whatever it is they do.

“Uh, yeah, what they said,” Theon shrugs.

“A,” Jace chokes on the next word, “Sex toy?”

“Oh, it’s a pleasure toy, like the ones I had,” Aegon grins.

Theon raises an eyebrow, “You know what, guy? You might be okay. Still don’t like you though.”

Aemond, meanwhile, just looks in surprise at the toy, unsure of exactly what the fuck it is and intends on asking Jon about it later.

Back at the hospital, you and Jon sit in the waiting room of the ER, playing a very riveting game of “I Spy”.

“I spy with my little eye… Something red.”

“A firetruck,” Jon answers, “For the fifth time.”

“Damn, you’re really good at this game.”

He laughs and shakes his head, “So. What’s going on with you and your little reverse harem?”

“Reverse harem?!”

“Isn’t that what this whole situation is?” Jon teases, turning to face you, “I’m not judging you! I mean, it’s just, you’re going to have to admit to yourself some time that you have a thing for one or more of them.”

“The hell I do! I can continue living like this! Without having a thing!”

“Oh, please,” Jon snickers, “And people say I know nothing? Clearly, you’re the one who knows nothing.”

“Bitch, I swear, one more word comes out of your stupid fuckin’ mouth, I’m gonna be putting you into the hospital bed right next to Robb’s-”

“Oooh, I’m so scared!”

“You should be, short ass bitch!”

The fight is all in good fun, but clearly, the woman with an asymmetrical bob seated in the emergency room waiting room opposite the two of you doesn’t think so, “You two are being incredibly inappropriate! There are children here!” You both look at her and chime in unison, offending her yet again, “Shut up, Karen.”

Robb soon walks out of the emergency room doors, his arm in a cast, “I live!”

“Shocking,” you tease, walking over to him, “Broken?”

“Yeah, fucking Jace.”

“Someone’s thinking about fucking Jace,” Jon mumbles to you, making you elbow him, “Ow!”

The three of you walk back out to the car and see that it’s 11:59 PM, almost midnight. 

As the clock strikes twelve, you let out a sigh, “Well, Happy Fucking New-”

You’re cut off by Robb’s lips pressing against yours in a quick kiss. Your eyes go wide as he pulls away, quite a bit too soon for your taste.

“Happy New Year!” Robb grins goofily.

Aw, shit, did they give him fucking Vicodin?

#aegon targaryen x reader #aegon ii x reader #aegon x reader #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x reader #jace velaryon x reader #jacaerys velaryon x reader #jacaerys x reader #robb stark x reader #theon greyjoy x reader #hotd x reader #game of thrones x reader #modern hotd #modern got #tat fic #time after time fic #aegon targaryen ii x reader #aegon targaryen x you #aegon targaryen ii x you #aegon targaryen #aegon ii #aegon x you #aemond targaryen #jacaerys velaryon #jace velaryon

[emilykaldwen]

The Maiden and the Drowning Boy | Aegon x OC | Chapter Three

Rating: Explicit Ships: Aegon II Targaryen x Abrogail Strong (Lyonel Strong's Daughter), Jacaerys Velaryon x Helaena Targaryen

Summary: As the kingdom teeters on the edge of chaos, Alicent Hightower swaps the pieces on the board: Aegon will marry Abrogail Strong, Larys’ younger sister and heir to Harrenhal. Caught in the web of intrigue and political machinations, the pair must figure out where their loyalties lie, and what they mean to one another.

Tropes: Childhood Sweethearts/Friends to Lovers, Generational Trauma and Cycles of Abuse, It's All About the Character Development, Unreliable Narrators, Multi-POV, Canon Divergent, Bisexual Aegon II Targaryen, Book/Show Mash Up, Fix-It Of Sorts, Stopping the Cycle of Abuse before it gets us all killed, Team Neutral, fairy tale vibes meets victorian medievalism meets grrm

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Tumblr Masterpost

Chapter One | Chapter Two

CHAPTER THREE - SORROW IN IDLE MIND

Aemond is the most put upon person in the entire history of Westeros. Aegon is the most navel gazing, half drunk prince to ever hold the title. Alyn Hull is just here for figs and a good time.

Traipsing through the narrow, winding alleyways of the Street of Silk was not how Aemond Targaryen wanted to spend this evening. Nay, this was not how he wanted to spend any evening. He mourned the cloak he wore, for he was certain that amidst the cloying scents of perfume and incense, and of the sour of human stink beneath, he’d never get the evidence out.

He wished for the quiet comforts of mother’s solar with a thick tome upon his lap as he read aloud to Mother and Helaena as they sewed. Better yet were the times when he could retreat to Helaena’s room and read only to her. She would card her fingers through his hair, brush and braid the long strands back as she always had. Other times, she’d lean into his side, soft and warm and smelling of the peppermint tea she always drank before bed. Her long curls would tickle against his neck where her head tucked perfectly, like it belonged there, on his shoulder. Aemond would adjust the warm blanket over their laps to ensure she was cozy. The book would span across them both and he would wrap an arm about her, fingers playing with her beautiful hair.

He’d read stories of the lands beyond. The tales of djinn promising wishes and sphinx spinning riddles from the furthest parts of the Essosi continent. The monstrous woman with half a snake body, and hair made of living vipers from the Basilisk Isles, would always draw gasps when he’d describe the garden of stone heroes the monster made. Helaena would gasp at all the appropriate places, look at him with wide eyes and would ask, “Do they make it out alive?” He’d brush a soft, reassuring kiss to the crown of her head and with a grin, tell her to listen.

They’d read into the night, and then when it was time for bed, Aemond would relish the sleepy kiss he’d receive, chaste and innocent, and still able to make him flush. “Goodnight, dear brother,” Helaena would murmur and he’d eagerly press a kiss to the warmth of her palm, over the lifeline, the blood they shared thrumming beneath.

Dear brother, she always said with such love and reassurance; such care and surety that he was her dearest brother, her favorite brother.

“Goodnight, my sweet Helaena,” he would tell her before floating his way back to his own bed.

Instead of all those pleasant options, he was left grimacing as a patron from the tavern they were passing expelled the contents of his stomach all over the cobblestones. His brother called his name with obvious exasperation.

“Uncivilized,” Aemond muttered, and narrowly avoided pitching forward into the mess when Aegon’s hand grabbed his shoulder and hauled him up between him and Alyn Hull, who clapped him on the back with a hearty laugh.

The smile that Aegon gave was not a jovial one, although the drinks he had at the previous tavern made him less sullen and more focused, more intent on forgetting; running as far as he could in another direction. Though not so unusual for Aegon, the lone man in his brown robe and bare feet on the corner beseeching men to return home to the loving embrace of their wives had turned Aegon’s frantic need to flee into something darker when his gaze turned inward.

Aemond saw nothing wrong with what the man said. After all, he wanted nothing more than to return to the warm fire and loving embrace of his wife.

“Gellys!” Aegon called and Aemond immediately tried to hide behind the elder boys at the woman in the doorway. “A room for us! Best Arbor you’ve got. Some Dornish as well.”

“Milord,” Gellys drawled with that familiar smile - the one burnt on the backs of his eyelids - knowing better than to address the one before her as Prince. “We’re happy to serve.” Eyes swept over the trio and Aemond tilted his head down enough that his hood made it more difficult to see, yet it did little. “And you’ve brought this sweet one again! How lovely. Bess, the usual for his Lordship.”

The brothel had changed little since Aegon had dragged him here for his nameday nearly two years ago. The tapestries which draped the sandstone walls were not so dissimilar to the ones his mother had moved into the gallery back in the Red Keep. It portrayed men and women in acts of carnality and some kind of sexual acrobatics. The acts portrayed were ones that Aemond is not so certain of, but he’d rather study the ones back at the castle and not amidst the ribald laughter that clashes with the music. Aemond was sure that beneath the flicker and shadow of the torchlight, they were littered with worn spots and moth-eaten edges.

Heleana would know the kind that dwelled amid the fabrics and he wondered if he might find a dead one to bring back to her. Something good could at least come from this ridiculous adventure.

Laughter and gentle music permeated the first floor, and Aemond was grateful to be here and not in the boisterous racket of the last tavern they’d been kicked out of.

A sandy-haired bard, pug nosed and red-faced, strummed his lute with a flourish. Along with his three minstrels behind him, also clad in various clashing frocks, the four held court along the far end of the room while women flitted between light and shadow to entertain the men. Aemond thought he also spied a few feminine patrons as well, among the settees and tables, surrounded by a variable spread of fruits, wines, meats, and cheeses.

Another yank on his shoulder by Aegon’s hand hauled him towards the staircase, and his stomach lurched with the unpleasant memories of the last time he was in this place.

It’s different this time, Aemond reminded himself while being jostled up the stairs, following his brother’s silver head, Hull bringing up the rear. He did not need to ‘wet his wick’ on this particular sojourn into The Pearl and Oyster; instead he was here to make sure that Aegon did not end up going too far off the drunken path. And as little as he paid Alyn any mind, Aemond knew that the elder boy would also ensure that Aegon did not end up dead in the river or with a knife between his ribs.

Why was this a concern now? Aegon had frolicked about Flea Bottom for years. Not even three moons ago, his brother was dragged back to the Holdfast with a split lip and double black eyes from his broken nose by two broad Gold Cloaks who’d pulled him spitting and scratching from a tavern brawl.

He gave his brother credit where it was due. Though Ser Criston taught him how to wield a blade, Aegon taught him how to throw a proper punch.

‘Blades are good for when you have them, but in a pinch, use everything you have’, Aegon had said as he whipped the apple he’d been eating with surprising accuracy straight at his forehead.

It had hit hard enough to momentarily daze him, but luckily no one was around to see.

Wariness kept Aemond from immediately divesting himself of the cloak when they entered the room on the third floor. A roaring hearth was set along the outside wall and the primary source of light for what Aemond assumed was some attempt at ambience. Swaths of dusty, crimson fabric wound through the rafters and draped down to give the illusion of some Dornish pleasure tent and not a private room of a brothel in King’s Landing. A thick rug, far too fine for an establishment like this, muffled their footsteps as they crossed the room. Woven strands of scarlet and cream, embellishments in gold etched a design that would not be too out of place in his sire’s room.

Past further drapes of fabric, Aemond could see an enormous bed in the corner. His stomach twisted uncomfortably with nerves that barely eased at the reassuring sight of his companions taking to the table by the hearth and no women bursting from behind the fabric like shrieking ghosts in the night.

When Aegon and Alyn weren’t looking, Aemond tugged aside a drape to confirm that there were none silent and hiding - assassins or whores or some secret, third option that was just as unwelcome, if undefined.

It wasn't long before a stream of women and girls arrived, bearing plates of simple fare to go with the bottles of wine bearing the marks of familiar orchards of the Arbor and the Dornish sun, and a bottle of what he was certain to be a golden vintage from the Jade Sea - the kind his sire ordered to be served only in the company of the most important foreign dignitaries.

There were young girls with downcast eyes and soft blonde curls, women with bold gazes and plump red lips, ones with Lyseni features and hair that glowed in the firelight - though nowhere as fair or pure as his Helaena. Brunettes with messy curls and giggles batted their eyes at him. A pair of raven haired twins with lilac eyes and hair shorn to their bared shoulders brought up the rear.

Alyn already claimed the twins before they even finished setting their plates of meats and fruits on the scarred wood, giggling as he pulled them in. Aegon’s half-sullen, half-hungry expression gave way to heavy-lidded eyes as a buxom brunette carded her fingers through his hair.

Aemond wondered if this was the best the brothel had to offer, for they were perhaps pretty at most, but none truly stood out. He skirted away from the curious hand of the Lyseni and narrowly avoided bumping into a little redhead swerving around him with a quiet, “Excuse me, m’lord.” Young, and pale, with straight hair, she cut a path between the other whores and set a platter of figs and dates before his brother.

The scrape of the platter against the wood drew Aegon’s eyes from watching the woman who was crooning to him up to the new arrival. His eyes opened slowly, a frown pinching at his face, and Aemond watched his brother’s hands flex against the edge of the trestle. In a fascinating display, Aegon lifted a hand to reach for a lock of that red hair, eyes glazed and face flushed deeper.

“Aye, this is one of our new girls. We thought she might be to your liking, m’lord.” A laugh shook from her, breasts jiggling close to Aegon’s head but his brother didn’t even turn to look. Instead, whatever spell overtook his brother shattered and the hand that was reaching out for the girl’s red hair smacked on the table.

“Out!” he roared at the assembled women. The redhead gave a yelp of fright and stumbled back, toppling over a chair as the brunette crooner came to get her up off the floor. It was difficult to tell what fed Aegon’s angry outburst more: the mess she left in her wake, or the mere presence of her. “Get the fuck out!”

Alyn looked stunned. The whores about them looked stunned. Aemond was stunned.

Aegon’s jaw clenched as he rose to his feet. His brother was not a large man, not like their grandfather who looked above all, but the fury on his brother’s face ignited a flame of unease in his gut. Out of the pair of them, Aegon was, strangely enough, not the one most prone to outburst especially without an obvious reason for it. “If I have to tell you again, there won’t be any money for you to share tonight. Get out!”

The room fell quiet as the door slammed shut behind the girls. Aemond slowly took off his cloak and looked at Alyn, who met his gaze with confusion and then something like dawning realization. Aegon ignored them both, pulling over one of the Dornish bottles to fill his goblet.

“For fuck’s sake, Aeg-”

“Don’t you start with me, Hull.” A pause and then Aegon reached to his right side, grabbing the chair and sliding it out. “Aemond, sit your pissy ass down and eat something. Mother’ll have me locked up should I bring you home in a cart faint from hunger.” He took a large swallow of his third cup of wine that night, garnet liquid dripping along his chin like blood and staining the old linen tunic and along his pale chest, revealed from where the laces were undone.

Alyn shifted in his chair, striking with the way his freckles stood out along his darker skin with the silver twists of his hair leaving his expression clear. Aemond met his gaze as he took the chair his brother offered. Alyn did not have purple eyes - his were a vivid jade color, but he looked far more Velaryon than his own nephews. Aemond reached a hand up to adjust his new eyepatch. He ran his thumb along the strap, where he could feel the embroidery in the leather that Helaena had worked so hard on for her dearest, favorite brother.

Aemond tried not to sigh. He would not get his goodnight kisses tonight.

A sharp kick hit his shin and Aemond gave a startled, “ow!” Indignant and annoyed, he focused back on Alyn who raised his brows with the clear look of what in the name of the Seven is going on with your brother?

What wasn’t going on with Aegon?

They both looked back at the man in question, who was tearing into a fig with his glowering expression and greedy fingers. Aemond’s stomach growled, and he grabbed one for himself before his brother could devour them all. He sniffed it first, unsure about trusting brothel food, but it smelled of warm honey. Biting into it, the taste of apple and strawberry burst on his tongue. Alyn was helping himself to one of the dried meats on another platter. It was a higher fare than Aemond had expected, but the relative cleanliness of the room belied the money that lined the pockets of the one who owned the place. At least Aegon hadn’t dragged them to something filthy and (obviously) flea ridden.

He recalled the first and only time his brother had brought him to a brothel. This very one. It was a different room, him alone with that Gellys woman who kept pestering him about the type of girls he liked, or if he’d ever touched himself. She’d brought in a Lyseni girl, young but still older than him. She had a sweet face, and for a moment he wondered if he could just pretend to get through the night.

Instead, she listened rather sweetly while he spoke of saving his sister from the unwanted betrothal with Aegon. His brother had not relished in the duty, but Aemond did. He had a dragon now, Vhagar, the largest and oldest of all of them. It was with his dragon, he explained to the Lyseni girl, that he had enough power to storm in and break up this farce of a betrothal, And they listened to him. Helaena was ever so grateful about it, charmed, and touched, and gave him a kiss on the cheek and called him her gallant knight. She didn’t even protest when he told her they would be married instead. Helaena had only hummed in her little agreeable way while mother tried to protest that they shouldn’t be too hasty. Aemond did not share that marrying Helaena, riding Vhagar, and having his mother acquiesce to his demands, might even mean that he would be who they wanted to make heir. Of course their father wouldn’t put Aegon on the throne over their eldest sister. But Aemond? Aemond rode his grandsire Baelon’s dragon, and he’d marry his sister, and he had started to outpaced Aegon in the training yard.

Aemond had proven them all wrong. They had laughed and gave him a pig, and he’d gotten Vhagar.

He was grateful Aegon was disinterested in throwing women at him this time, let alone in taking any for himself. He could at least sit here and eat decent finger foods and wait for his brother to either pass out from drinking or give up and head home.

“Did you get called into the tower as well today?” Aemond ventured in ill-disguised casualness, reaching for a piece of cheese this time. He didn’t meet Alyn’s curious gaze, for both of them were watching Aegon refill his goblet already.

A grunt was all the answer he supplied.

“What got you pulled into that old fucker’s room?”

Another grunt and a roll of his eyes. “Not blamed for once,” he muttered. “Just bullshit.”

How taciturn. Aemond shifted in his chair, and carefully offered, “You know, Abrogail got pulled into his office as well. He came to Helaena’s room himself to retrieve her.” Aegon’s flushed face reddened more, pink eyes narrowing over his goblet he held to his mouth but did not drink from.

Aemond pursed his lips and thought of the scene in the gardens earlier. Abrogail came back from their grandfather’s office far quieter than usual before so harshly snapping at his sweet Helaena and squashing one of her bugs. At the moment, Aemond had been rageful at the behavior, for his Helaena didn’t deserve that. But hours later, he had realized that, mayhaps, he’d been a little harsher than he ought to have been. He would not apologize, of course, but Helaena was always getting on him about his temper. It had been rather unusual for his cousin. He could not recall the last time she spoke so angrily that wasn’t caused by someone doing something reckless in the training yard - however that was far more mother hen than annoyed and snappy.

“Abrogail?” Alyn rolled her name around his mouth and drew it out in a tease. “And here I thought it was simply wine not getting your cock up. But Abrogail, hm? All of that yelling over some red hair?” A lazy shrug, dagger stabbing into a piece of meat before him. “Makes sense now.”

“I told you not to start,” Aegon warned once more before taking another mouthful of the Arbor red. His eyes were dark, a smirk slashing across his soft face. “Came to Helaena’s room himself, you say? Spend the night, little brother? Has our sweet sister finally let you beneath her skirts or did you creep in again even though Mother forbade it?”

Aemond felt his cheeks color, and he slapped his hand on the table. “Don’t talk about her like that.” A deep breath, the way his book from Bravos recommended. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Center. Stay within the moment. Aegon’s eyes were slicing through him, as if he could peel back the layers of skin and see what lay beneath. A gaze even more dangerous, given his brother’s dance into the land of inebriation, but Aemond simply continued. “Abby got upset with us. Her eyes were red. It looked like she’d been crying.”

His brother made a sound and took another swallow. Alyn caught his gaze again and pinned him there until Aemond gave a slight nod, confirming that this was what in seven hells was going on. Whatever had happened in their grandfather’s office, whatever had his cousin crying and Aegon ready to bite everyone’s head off like Helaena’s pet mantis.

“Both of you pulled into the old Tower’s office this morning? Maybe it’s less about those two-” Alyn waved a negligent hand towards Aemond. “And more about, say, you finally getting under your little Maiden Marchpane’s skirts?” A laugh and the bastard Velaryon snagged up the Arbor red and pulled the cork with his teeth and spat it out towards the fire. “Then you what? Left her before sunrise covered in-”

“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that!” Aegon lifted the plate of figs and flung it across the table, sending the fruit scattering and the plate clipping off of Alyn’s surprised shoulder to shatter against the hearthstones. Aemond’s single eye widened, and he pressed back in his chair even though the trajectory was nowhere near him. “I didn’t fucking touch her.” The hand that flung the plate still hung in the air, trembling as his brother loomed over the table. He lacked any sort of threatening implement but Alyn raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. “I didn’t lay a hand on her. I wouldn’t. I never do.” Defensive, as was Aegon’s nature. Defensive in the face of accusations that were true. Except for once, Aemond thought, phantom pain lancing through his face. Except for maybe now.

“Well, you mope about her enough. Fuck me, no wonder you got so worked up over the redhead. So what happened, hm? Did she accuse you of something? Did they say no more rides on the back of that dragon of yours?” A smirk at the double entendre, but he raised his hands in surrender before Aegon could throw something else.

Silvery hair, limp with sweat, fell into Aegon’s eyes as he shook his head. “No, nothing like that.” He raised his goblet for another drink and collapsed back in the chair, slouched and melancholy in the worst of ways. Aemond tried not to roll his eye again at the display of dramatics. “Worse.”

Aemond’s brow furrowed. “Worse?” he asked, confused. Dramatic, yes, but he also wanted to know what had happened.

A log in the grate popped and cracked from the heat as conversation fell silent. The brothel outside the door continued to bustle. There was the distant shriek and laughter of someone down the hall, but no sounds of violence. Aegon was staring into his drink as if it held all the answers he could ever need. Aemond supposed that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. His brother had gone to drink before anything else for years now. This wouldn’t be any different.

“They brought us up to go over all the missives asking for her hand,” he finally said. Aemond strained to hear him and Alyn leaned forward in his curiosity. “Had an entire basket of scrolls wanting the heir of Harrenhal. Mother was there, and her dog, who said nothing regarding his sister.” Aegon made a face and shook his head. “I’m marrying Abrogail.”

That wasn’t what Aemond expected. “Is that why she looked like she was crying when she came back to the gardens-”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly fucking why,” Aegon hissed through his teeth and pelted him with one of the figs scattered on the scarred tabletop. It bounced off Aemond’s chest and rolled across the table where Alyn snatched it up. “Told her to be fucking grateful, stop lying about - it doesn’t matter. Made her cry, and she best get used to it.”

“Then why the hell are you complaining about it?” Alyn asked with a shake of his head. “Aeg, you’ve panted after her for years, now here she is. You don’t have to marry your weird sister, you get to bed someone you actually like. Sounds as if for once, Tower’s done right by you. What are you so fucking upset about? That you weren’t the only choice? You’re a jealous prick, you know-”

“Done right by me?” Aegon raged, his hand holding the cup gesturing out and splashing arbor red up his wrist and across the floor. He hissed and shoved at his sleeve, where deep red scratches stood out against his pale wrist.

Alyn looked at him with an almost bored expression. “They’ve given you a cherry ripe wife-”

“No, you fucking cunt, they gave me the fucking Maiden!” Clay and wine smashed against the wall as he flung it at his friend’s head and missed this time. “The last uncorrupted, perfect thing left in my life.” A stabbing finger punctuated each point, and the resemblance to the angry, spitting rage their father rarely showed was never more pronounced. “The last one who doesn’t look at me like they wish I were someone, anyone else. They give her in all that innocent glory on a fucking gold platter-”

Alyn bit into a date. “And you made her cry.”

“And I made her fucking cry!” Aegon’s sharp bark of laughter held the familiar, manic edge and it rang in Aemond’s ears. Tears spilled down Aegon’s face amidst it. Sad. Pathetic. The self-loathing in his brother’s face made him feel sick and uncomfortable, and Aemond said nothing, couldn’t find anything to say and left it for Alyn to navigate for the time being. “I’ve never fucking touched her ‘cause I… I can’t ruin her. I won’t. Get her sick with whatever the fuck is wrong with me. No. No, and you know what’s worse?”

“The others-” Alyn began patiently, prising open the fig.

“The fucking others! Bastard had a whole bloody basket filled with little more than filth not worth to look upon her, wanting to shove their cocks in her till she breaks giving them their muddy fucking brats.”

“But you wouldn’t break her.”

“I wouldn’t! Not unless she asked me to, and I’d make it so good for her. But no, she’d burn me as soon as I touched her. Too unclean to fuck her, get her belly full of me.” Aegon groaned and collapsed into his chair, palm on his chest. “She’d burn me and I’d sing her praises. Burn my filthy damned soul just to touch her, Alyn.”

Aemond did his best not to sigh, warring feelings of relief and annoyance that Aegon’s focus was on the baseborn Velaryon across the table.

On the one hand, he didn’t mind that his brother was mostly leaving him alone. Aegon knew he was only here because of their mother’s insistence on Aemond being his brother’s keeper. While he’d rather be anywhere but here, Aegon wasn’t poking at him or trying to get much of a rise.

On the other, every time Alyn Hull opened his mouth, every time the two silver-haired miscreants shared a laugh over some inside joke, Aemond wanted to scream. They spoke with easy familiarity to annoyed tavern keepers, and every time Alyn showed how close he was to Aegon, it burned something in the pit of his stomach.

He was used to jealousy since the day he could understand his place among his siblings. He was used to the jealous feeling that he would not be Aegon, had grown used to the jealousy that Helaena had been born for Aegon and not him. It was only with the breaking of the betrothal that Aemond felt a cooling of his blood towards his brother. However, now in the face of his so-called friendship with the bastard, it reignited. Aemond still felt awkward speaking up or inserting himself into the conversation, and both of them included him to a minimal degree.

Yet, Alyn was waving a hand at Aegon’s dramatics, and while Aemond also felt annoyed at it, he knew there was more. Aegon was snappish, perpetually amused, arrogant in the way of dragonriders, and thus closer to being a god.

His brother was moody and glassy eyed, flinching whenever their mother raised her voice or moved too quickly with wild gesturing. He became wide eyed like a little child whenever Ser Criston praised him in the yard, preening beneath the encouragement. Whenever Abrogail laughed in that bright and honest way of hers at one of Aegon’s dumb jokes, Aegon looked like he’d sprouted his own pair of wings to hover above the ground. She always laughed at his jokes. Every stupid one. She always had an encouraging word for him, for all of them, but he saw the way Aegon’s shoulders would straighten, the pink on his cheeks ill disguised.

It had been like that for as long as he could remember. For as long as there was the jealousy that he was not the eldest, that Helaena was not born for him, that Aegon had a bond with a dragon so innate that no matter how much of a disappointment he was, it seemed to be the only thing truly good about him.

Aemond had thrown him into their father’s jaws, and though surprised, Aegon didn’t even flinch. Aegon had stood stoic in front of the fire and without hesitation, had spoken the truth to their father’s face, to everyone’s face.

Alyn Hull would never have Aegon stand before their gathered family and protect him, them, and their mother. Aegon would for Aemond, and so Aemond would do his best to help.

He had the most relationship experience out of everyone here. Him and Helaena were practically married already, regardless of mother’s insistence on finding him a Baratheon marriage. Confident in his unique qualification for such a moment, Aemond would rise to the task the way their grandsire did. A true Hand, when his brother needed one most.

“Did you mean to make her cry?” Aemond broke the silence that had descended with his carefully worded question, and Aegon’s pink eyes, glossy and red from drink and the tears that threatened, gazed incredulously back through the strands of his silver hair. “You can be an idiot and careless, but you’ve never been cruel to her.”

Aegon had been plenty cruel to him and Helaena, the trio of them rolling in the dirt or knocking over side tables with the bites they took out of one another. Abrogail was different; she may have grown up with them and shared blood, but she wasn’t their sibling, rather, an innocent bystander to the theatrics of his family.

Alyn looked as if he might try to catch his eye but Aemond did not grace him with a return look. Hull needed to learn his place, and be reminded that he was Aegon’s brother, and knew him best.

“Skoros mōris aōhys issa, valonqus?” Aegon’s tone was flat and sullen and did a poor job of masking his wariness. His shoulders shifted quickly straight to the way he held them when Mother would broach the subject of Aegon’s doing better and Aegon’s acting more princely and Aegon’s doing anything but being Aegon.

What is your point, little brother?

What is your end, little brother?

Fuck, Aemond thought, fingers tapping on the edge of the table. Aegon never used their mother tongue, and only did so in the most dire, dangerous moments. He’d have to tread lightly.

“Have you bothered to ask her?” Aemond tried a different approach. Surely, his brother couldn’t know her inner thoughts without asking and the obviousness of such a thing shouldn’t stoke his brother’s ire. He was never certain of Helaena’s mind until he asked, and they were twin flames who rode the eldest dragons. Two halves of a heart like those songs that she so enjoyed.

It was foolish of Aegon to think he knew Abrogail’s mind, but luckily, he was here to offer guidance.

Aegon pointedly ignored him, turning his glare to Alyn. The older boy chuckled, “What? He’s right.” Alyn muttered something but he couldn’t hear. It did not truly matter.

Aemond continued, emboldened by the agreement, “Only, when Helaena and I argue -”

Aegon let out a laugh, his usual nervous idiocy replaced with a cackle and still with that mad sounding edge. “When you and Helaena argue? You, Mother’s Holy Voice of Reason? Dreamy little Helaena and her kingdom of bugs? Arguing?”

Dreamy little Helaena had left a scar on Aegon’s forearm from when she’d bitten him so hard she drew blood when they were young, but Aegon’s memory had been dodgy of late. Even in his growing annoyance and the heated flush creeping over him, Aemond could forgive.

He could try to forgive. Later. When his patience wasn’t running out and he wasn’t grinding his teeth so hard they might break.

“That’s not -”

“Which riveting topics ignite such quarrels between you babes? Whether you obsess over your blade and books too often? If Helaena’s upset about her stupid bugs being in the wrong place? Whether she actually likes you over the attention she’s been giving that squire lately and how she giggles for him instead of you? Do not presume to know my dealings with my Maiden, valonqus. You wouldn’t know passion if it were riding your cock.” Aegon was rarely cruel, but he was good at it, and the smirk that twisted his features was just that. Cruel. “Seven knows our dreamy sister has no interest in riding you, or she probably would’ve done it already..”

It felt foolish that the first thing Aemond thought of was that no simple squire could ever be a better option than he, for he was a Targaryen and above the laws and expectations of the simple, common man. They were as close to gods as any could hope.

The second foolish thing burst from him as Vhagar burned inside, his fury and embarrassment pulled him to his feet to lean across the table and get into his pathetic brother’s face. Aegon no longer loomed over him, and was no longer as intimidating as he once was.

Aegon may have the perfect bond with his dragon, but Aemond had Vhagar.

There was nothing left to be jealous of his brother for.

“At least I know what love feels like,” Aemond snarled, his single eye locked on Aegon’s face and his teeth bared, every inch of him vibrating with the insult, the desire to curl his hands around his brother’s flushed neck barely suppressed. “At least I’m not too stupid to recognize it.”

The air in the room vanished in the wake of his outburst. The world held its breath and not even the logs popped. Not even baseborn Alyn with his japes and his commentary made a sound.

Aegon was still before him, eyes bright and sharp with a focus he’d never seen before except in the eyes of a dragon. The instinct to pull away was screaming at him but Aemond remained pinned in place. His jaw shut with a click, his eye widening when he finally registered what he’d said.

Oh yes, he’d fucked it up.

Aemond could feel Alyn’s gaze fixated on him but he didn’t move. He felt like if he moved, Aegon’s teeth would sink into his throat and rip it out. He couldn’t move as the fear and horror trickled ice through his veins, quenching that jealous, angry fire.

Aegon’s face had gone ashen; the horrid, blank look he got when Mother or Grandfather screamed at him came over him. His wisteria eyes continued to pin him. Aemond’s mouth grew dry as his brother’s ashen pallor turned pink, and then slowly red.

A muscle in his jaw ticked, and it was like Aegon was releasing him from a spell.

“Aegon,” Aemond rasped. “I didn’t-” He could speak but the abject regret and humiliation strangled him from being able to form any words.

Aegon’s face had turned a shade of purple and with a feral yell and the distant sound of a dragon’s scream coming from the open window, Aegon lunged across the table at him.

They went crashing ass over chair, food and goblets scattering and Aemond hitting the floor hard enough to knock the breath from him. A startled shout sounded somewhere, distantly, but it took everything in Aemond to focus before his brother’s fist connected squarely, solidly with his jaw. His face erupted in a million bursts of pain with a crack in his ear, yet Aemond’s fists reached up to push Aegon off, wordless yelling doing nothing to prevent his brother landing another blow.

Instinct drove Aemond now, Ser Criston’s training discarded in favor of the overwhelming voice that compelled him: get up or he’ll kill you. Get up or he’ll pummel you like Harwin Strong pummeled Ser Criston in the training yard until he was beyond bloody.

Even with his incandescent fury, Aegon was still closer to drunk than sober, and after spitting in his face, Aemond got his leg up and kneed his brother in the stomach, pushing him off and scrambling away so he was no longer pinned like one of Helaena’s favorite bugs to the display board.

Viscous blood spat from his mouth. “I take it back!” he yelled, shoving the chair in Aegon’s way while he scrambled to his feet.

With a roar, Aegon threw the chair and Aemond darted out of the way, the wood crashing against the stone wall. Alyn shouted Aegon’s name, another dragon call sounded over the city, and then Aemond felt Vhagar’s bond vibrate in his own chest, concern that was not his own clouding his mind.

Oh fuck.

“Aegon! Stop!” Aemond darted around the table to get it between them.

Alyn, the useless bastard, backpedaled out of the line of fire.

Aegon was on his heels and yanked him back by his long hair, landing another hit square on his nose. A sickening, dizzy feeling swept through Aemond at the stab of pain through his face, blood pouring from his nostrils.

Aegon reared back again.

Sunfyre was screaming across the city.

Aemond could not reach for the platter on the table to smack his brother with, and so he did the only other thing he could do: as Aegon went to throw his next punch, Aemond grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the balls.

Just like how Helaena taught him.

[Chapter Four]

#house of the dragon #asoiaf #house of the dragon fanfic #hotd fanfic #hotd fic #aegon ii targaryen #aegon ii targaryen x oc #aegon ii targaryen fic #aemond targaryen #aegon targaryen fic #aegon x abby #fic: the maiden and the drowning boy

[thevelaryons]

Hi!

I'm up for theories, so I wanted to ask you...

Do you think Elaena named her firstborn legitimate daughter Laena as a way of trying to reconcile with her cousin Laena?

I like to think they were friends but their friendship soured after Elaena's affair with Alyn

I’m not sure how likely a friendship between them would be (though I’m not ruling it out). That being said, I do believe 3rd Laena was named for 2nd Laena.

Alyn had a well renowned reputation and with the mention that Elaena was planning on marrying him, talks of a betrothal might even have been in the works. But with Alyn missing and presumed dead, it’s a predicament for her. An unmarried princess having illegitimate children would not be looked upon kindly, so there would be a rush to marry her off to mitigate any scandal. Though she was originally allowed to wait for Alyn’s return, Elaena eventually got married off to Ossifer Plumm around a year after Jon & Jeyne were born.

A woman taking her bastard children to the household of her new husband is an impossible scenario in a place like Westeros. (Eg. in the case of Delena Florent’s affair with Robert Baratheon, their bastard is acknowledged due to the high birth of both his parents and even raised at his Baratheon father’s family seat; whereas Delena herself is married off to some knight.) So what I think happened to the twins is they were given over to the custody of their older half-sister, Laena. Then, many years later, when Elaena had another daughter, she named her Laena as a way to honor the girl who had helped her. We don’t know what 2nd Laena’s personality is like but based on what information we’re given about Elaena, I think it makes sense.

#asoiaf #laena ii velaryon #elaena targaryen #ask

[dragon-queensguard]

Baela and alyn started off as a couple of necessity, but also passion and desire in my mind, and should’ve been a great couple when you consider that and how similar they are, but the relationship soured because of Alyn’s affairs. Meanwhile, Rhaena and Garmund’s marriage was likely an arranged political match, meant to help mend some of the tears created by the Dance. And I like to think kind of as a parallel to her sister’s marriage, what started off as a political marriage for Rhaena turned into love.

#asoiaf #ramblings #a song of ice and fire #rhaena targaryen #rhaena of pentos #baela targaryen #alyn velaryon #garmund hightower

[asongofsilks]

ASOIAF FANCASTING --> EVERY NAMED FEMALE CHARACTER ABOVE THE AGE OF FIVE, PART XX

Elinor Tyrell (b. approx. 286 AC): Daughter of Theodore Tyrell and his wife Lia Serry. She is the great-grandniece of Lord Luthor Tyrell of Highgarden, and the cousin twice removed of Mace Tyrell, Luthor's son and the current Lord of Highgarden. She is a lady-in-waiting to Queen Margaery and is betrothed to Alyn Ambrose, son of Lord Arthur Ambrose. Fancast: Lily Sullivan.

Elissa Farman (b. 29 AC): Daughter of Lord Marq Farman of Fair Isle and a favourite of Rhaena Targaryen, the eldest child of King Aenys I. She was a adept sailor. Rhaena wed her younger brother, Androw, after the accession of Jaehaerys I and left for Dragonstone with him and Elissa, displeasing her elder brother, Lord Franklyn, for he wanted Elissa to wed. Rhaena and Elissa's relationship turned sour when Elissa left Dragonstone and stole three dragons' eggs in order to finance her dream, a ship that would circumnavigate the globe. She built the Sun Chaser with the gold she received from the Sealord of Braavos for the eggs, and made for Oldtown, where she recruited three other ships and a crew for her journey across the Sunset Sea. Three years later, Eustace Hightower, a grandson of Lord Donnel Hightower, returned from the voyage, telling of three exotic islands they had discovered in the far west. However, when he turned around, Elissa and her crew went on and were never seen again. The Sun Chaser may have been seen many years later in Asshai by Lord Corlys Velaryon. Fancast: Hannah New.

Ella Broome (b. approx. 30 AC): Younger sister of Lucinda Broome, who became Lady Tully of Riverrun through her marriage to Prentys Tully. She was briefly suggested as a marriage candidate for King Jaehaerys I, but Jaehaerys defied the wishes of his Hand and regent and married his sister Alysanne instead. Fancast: Felicia Day.

Ella Lannister (b. approx. 250 AC): A Lannister of Lannisport, wife of Damon Lannister, oldest child of Ser Jason Lannister, and mother of his only child, Damion. Damon was the older half-brother of Joanna Lannister, who married Lord Tywin of Casterly Rock. Fancast: Jessy Schram.

Ellaria Sand (b. approx. 260 AC): Bastard daughter of Lord Harmen Uller of Hellholt, and paramour of Prince Oberyn Martell, younger brother of ruling Prince Doran, with whom she has four daughters. She accompanies Oberyn to King's Landing and there witnesses his death during a trial by combat against Gregor Clegane. She opposes the idea of continuing violence to Doran, but is dismissed and returns to Hellholt with her youngest daughter. Fancast: Indira Varma.

Ellyn Baratheon (b. approx. 118 AC): Third daughter of Lord Borros Baratheon of Storm's End and his wife, Elenda Caron. At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, Ellyn or one of her sisters was betrothed to Aemond Targaryen as her father swore allegiance to King Aegon II. After the death of Aemond and the crowning of Aegon III at the end of the Dance, Ellyn was one of the girls suggested as a bride for Aegon after his first wife, Jaehaera, fell to her death. She attended the Maiden's Day Ball at which Aegon was expected to pick his future bride, and asked the king if he liked her gown. Fancast: Anna Kendrick.

Ellyn Caron (b. approx. Aegon's Conquest): Lady of the Marches, Lady of Nightsong, and Head of House Caron, she sent a force to fight against the Vulture King when he was raiding the Marches during the Second Dornish War. Ellyn and her fellow Marcher lords destroyed the Vulture King's host and were richly rewarded by King Aenys I. Fancast: MyAnna Buring.

Ellyn Ever Sweet (Age of Heroes): Legendary daughter of Garth Greenhand, founder-king of the Reach. She became the first beekeeper after making an eternal pact with the King of the Bees. She is said to be the ancestress of House Beesbury. Fancast: Frida Gustavsson.

Ellyn Reyne (c. 215-261 AC): Daughter of Lord Robert Reyne of Castamere, she was betrothed to Tywald Lannister, Lord Gerold's oldest son with his wife Rohanne Webber, and his heir. However, Tywald died in the Peake Uprising in 233, and so did Lord Robert. Ellyn then seduced Tywald's younger brother, Gerold's new heir Tion, and he broke his betrothal to a lady of House Rowan in order to marry Ellyn. Since Gerold had no wife, Ellyn became the ruling Lady of Casterly Rock in all but name and began a rivalry with her sister-in-law, the wife of Tion's younger brother Tytos, Jeyne Marbrand. Tion was slain in the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion but his widow remained at the Rock. She may have attempted to seduce Tytos despite the fact that he was married, and so Lord Gerold married her to Lord Walderan Tarbeck, with whom she had three children. Tytos Lannister succeeded his father as Lord of Casterly Rock, and proved to be easily manipulated. Ellyn took heavy advantage of this and borrowed large sums of gold to rebuild Tarbeck Hall. However, when Tytos's eldest son, Tywin, came of age, he overruled his father and called in the debts owed by his bannermen. Some houses co-operated, seeing Tywin as the new era for House Lannister, but House Reyne and Tarbeck resisted him. This led to an escalation of the situation which eventually resulted in a full-scale rebellion against House Lannister. However, Tywin reacted quickly and ferociously, not waiting for his father's permission. After winning a short battle against the Tarbecks, Tywin executed Lord Walderan and his sons instead of ransoming them. He then besieged Tarbeck Hall, where Ellyn and her son Tion died after a bombardment with siege engines. Ellyn's three-year-old grandson disappeared during the fighting, probably killed at Tywin's command, and her daughters were sent to the silent sisters. Ellyn's brothers, Reynard and Lord Roger, holed up inside the mines of Castamere with their men and families, but Tywin flooded the mines and drowned every soul who had sought refuge there. This act established Tywin's fearsome reputation across Westeros, and the burnt-out ruins of Tarbeck Hall and Castamere were left standing as ruins. Fancast: Suki Waterhouse.

Elyana Vypren (b. approx. 270 AC): Daughter of Lord Lucias Vypren and his wife Lythene Frey, the second daughter of Lord Walder Frey. She is married to Jon Wylde and has a son, Rickard Wylde. Fancast: Urdur Bergsdottir.

Previous

#asoiaf fancast #valyrianscrolls #ellaria sand #elyana vypren #ellyn reyne #ellyn ever sweet #ellyn caron #ellyn baratheon #ella broome #ella lannister #elissa farman #elinor tyrell #allfancasts #asoiaf fashion

[lovehoned]

character rundown;

feel free to ask more questions. this is like ... paragraph primer on original characters/semi original characters or characters like annie who people might not know.

ada wordsworth; fc: zoe love smith. 25ish. she/they.

ada's not human. ada's family was taking a vacation from their planet and her father's ship crash landed on earth, in england, and they've been sort of hiding in plain sight for the past ... fifteen years. they landed when they were eleven years old. she appears humanoid so it hasn't been much of an issue. her planet was pretty small and their main export were ships - both very technically advanced boats and spaceships. they can't get off of earth because they cannot get their hands on advanced enough technology. ada's been here since she was eleven so ... does she even want to leave anymore? maybe not permanently. thinks she can fly any spaceship. likes to tinker with stuff. fascinated with history and museums.

sophia keener. fc: kathryn newton. 17 - 20ish, she/her

the younger sister of m/arvel's harley ke/ener. she watched her brother (munchie's harley, over at goldshadows) get dusted when she was twelve, and when he came back five years later, she was seventeen and he came back at seventeen. genius in her own rights, though certainly not as obviously as harley is. into the living sciences like biology, ecology. developed an interest in prosthetics when her brother lost his hand. has ptsd and panic attacks. enjoys sour candy and causing problems. has a verse where she moonlights as iron gal while her brother is iron pal.

robin rockwell. fc: liana liberato. 17-20ish. she/her

energy manipulator, developed the power at around 13. abilities include draining energy from others by touch, then can create energy based attacks with this energy as well as telekinesis. the former leaves her exhausted. struggling to control her ability to drain energy through touch, so tends to isolate herself. learns she has two older half siblings who also have abilities, both who are missing. intends to find them, moved to a boarding school at 17 in the same city they were last seen in. has this amazing father who raised her on his own.

non originals:

annie smith. fc: young emily alyn lind. 7 - 9, she/her.

has a magic tree/house. it travels in time and space. it works for her and her brother because they're the only ones authorized to use it. she's been doing this since she was six years old. her brother has been doing this since he was nine years old. they've been rescuing people, places, and things since they were elementary school children. time moves weirdly around her sometimes. she can talk to animals. she hangs out in camelot sometimes. she likes animals, fantasy worlds, and not thinking about things before she does it. is friends with merlin himself. has a best friend that's also a dog sometimes. made friends with a pterodactyl. was on the moon. you ever see a seven year old do tricks for houdini? no? you want to?

wi/nston b/ishop. 30s. fc: lamorne morris he/him.

you ever see a man who loves his cat so much. you ever see a man who loves his wife so much. you ever see a man who DOESN'T run a radio program and also DOES wear bird shirts? color blind puzzle baby. prank sinatra. would make the FUNNIEST POSSIBLE do/ctor who companion. i have icons of both him AND his cat. once married someone ... for a prank.

janet. not an age. not a gender. fc: d'arcy carden

she's not a girl! she's not human! she doesn't have skin! she does know everything about you! i have the files for eleanor. here is a cactus. her best friend is a demon from hell named michael.

elle greenaway. fc: odette annable. she/they. 30s.

worked for the fbi's BAU for awhile. got hurt, then got in trouble. left the fbi's bau. honestly what i want for her post series is still under construction. but i felt it was important to include her. heed the warnings in her bio if you take a look at it please.

obligatory self @lovehoned so i can reblog this.

#ooc. #character rosters. #if anyone needs clarifying information. let me know. #i'm bad at describing personalities so this is mostly backstory. ada's the least developed bc she's new.

[roomormill]

i drew designs for ramsay's bois a long time ago, but post it only now... the guys are already like gross family to me because of the heap of hc's

#it's not about their heights btw #the bastard's boys #house bolton #the skinner #grunt #sour alyn #damon dance-for-me #luton #yellow dick #ramsay bolton #wanna talk about them for hours #valyrianscrolls #asoiaf/got #asoiaf art #mine

[temple-of-thramsay]

Alyn The Apostolate

Alyn the Sour, our holy man. He reminds us resourcefulness and reflective thought are qualities of those who wish to improve themselves.

He grants blessings to you all.

#sour alyn #thramsay

[snflwricons]

random icons 🍦 like or reblog if you save

#harry styles #anya taylor joy #robert pattinson #olivia rodrigo #emily alyn lind #selena gomez #florence pugh #emma corrin #paul mescal #icons #movie icons #random icons #actresses icons #aesthetic icons #gossip girl reboot #my policeman #dont worry darling #sour

[atopvisenyashill]

How much would change if Jon, Sansa, and Arya were genderbent?

Interesting question partially because we don’t have a lot of precedent for what happens to bastard born noble girls. Boys can inherit if there’s no true born sons - Alyn of Hull becomes Alyn Velaryon at the behest of his (rumored) father Corlys, Bran suggests to Lord Hornwood's illegitimate son should inherit, Edric Storm is likely to inherit Storms End by the ending, etc. But the girls…so far as I can find we only have Jeyne Waters (but the Longwaters descend from Jon, not Jeyne), Ashara Dayne’s (maybe) daughter, and Sara Snow.

If Jon is a girl and Cat has nothing but true born boys, I imagine in some ways things get easier for the Starklings and harder. An illegitimate girl is not a threat to the claims of Catelyn’s children the way a boy may be but it also may mean a girl Jon is much lonelier. Her existence is still an insult to Catelyn, but Ned is not going to ask Catelyn to oversee and her tutelage. If she's taught by Septa Mordane it's going to suck because Septa Mordane is super classist & an all around terrible guardian. I think Ned's paranoia might be worse however; if girl!Jon (Jeyne?) decides she hates her lessons and wants to be with all her brothers, it might remind Ned just a bit too much of Lyanna training with all of her brothers. And even though they look alike, having a daughter running around with Lyanna's face is incredibly risky. I think all of that is likely to make Jon much more quiet, morose, and sour @ life although with the same sort of passion & ability to understand outsiders.

It's also a bit complicated because its not as easy to get rid of a girl than a boy short of a marriage match in the North - the Silent Sisters and the Septas follow the faith and I don't think Ned is letting Lyanna's daughter go there nor is he hurrying to engage her to anyone (because he's not hurrying to engage anyone to anyone). So when Robert comes North...perhaps Catelyn asks for Jeyne (Jon) to be fostered somewhere else or taken with the capital. Ned is never bringing her to the capital but he might send her to foster with Howland because it keeps her out of the way and safe. That means Sam probably never finds his footing with the Night's Watch which really puts into question whether they find out that dragonglass kills wights early on. Night's Watch is kind of screwed, haha.

I do think there’s a chance Robb & Jon/Jeyne have kind of a Cregan & Sara Snow relationship; close in age and a beloved sister who he feels protective over after their father has died. It's possible he keeps her out of the action but equally possible he uses her in a marriage match.

As for boy Sansa & Arya...Arya is just a wildly different person if she's a boy. Her penchant for caring about common folk and being "underfoot" can still exist but it's treated very different. She would have a much better relationship with Cat; similar to the way Bran is a lil feisty and that's why Cat loves him. Cat is not going to worry about if her rowdy boy will have a good life and marriage because Arya is third born. I imagine a boy Sansa is similar to Bran; dreaming of songs of knights and valor. There's also no royal matches for both of them; maybe Myrcella is engaged to Sansa but that's it. I don't think the genderswap is likely to impact the Arya/Jon relationship much; would be funny if Needle becomes a gift from Arya to Jon instead of from Jon to Arya as Jon goes away to foster with Howland. It will impact the Sansa/Arya relationship however; without the gendered aspects of Arya Doing Gender Wrong, they have less issues with each other. They're also not the only girls which means there's less pressure on them and less comparisons between them. Sansa and Arya together are probably more likely to get out of KL before Ned is killed because they've trained at fighting a bit more but at the same time, without Syrio Forell there to run interference, they might get captured anyway. That's where I deeply worry about them both; if Robb ransoms Jaime for Sansa and Arya it affects the whole war but if Joffrey decides "fuck it" and kills them too (because what does Littlefinger care to spare Catelyn's boys?) I think it's likely to make the war worse.

Anyways the answer is: it changes everything lol.

#replies #asks #anons #THANK YOU THIS WAS FUN #house stark

[theonsource]

Below is a list of Thramsay Adjacent fics on AO3 that I did not include in the Rare Pair List. Thramsay itself is included on the Discover Older Theon Fics and Discover New Theon Fics list. These are organized alphabetically by date updated.

Remember to Blacklist ships that trigger you and please READ ALL THE WARNINGS on each fic!

Theon Greyjoy/Damon Dance-for-Me

Theon Greyjoy/Euron Greyjoy

Theon Greyjoy/Euron Greyjoy (no other ships)

Theon Greyjoy/Myranda (Game of Thrones)

Theon Greyjoy/Roose Bolton

Theon Greyjoy/Roose Bolton (no other ships)

Theon Greyjoy/Skinner

Theon Greyjoy/Sour Alyn

*For some reason, I can’t get the link to work for Theon Greyjoy/The Bastard’s Boys, but if you search for it under tags on AO3, it should come up. 

#theon greyjoy #theon fic appreciation #theon fic appreciation month #fic #thramsay adjacent ships #theon greyjoy x damon dance-for-me #theon greyjoy x euron greyjoy #theon x roose #theon greyjoy x myranda #theon greyjoy x skinner #theon greyjoy x sour alyn #tw torture #tw noncon #tw abuse #tw mutilation #tw physical abuse #tw mental abuse

[sayruq]

What are your headcanons on Aliandra Martell?

she's left handed, 5'0 feet tall, and she started greying by the age of 25 and she didn't bother to dye her hair to hide it

though she became the princess of dorne at 17, aliandra's father's failing health meant that she did not come into the role unexpectedly. she had a strong rapport with all the ladies and lords in dorne as heir so the transition to her rule was quite smooth.

she had every reason to believe that she was nymeria 2.0. her actions brought great prosperity and wealth to dorne as well as new connections

like nymeria, aliandra never actually fought battles but she convinced her lords to do it for her. raiding the dornish marches might have soured dorne's relationship with the other kingdoms but aliandra was far more interested in essos as she should be since westeros was recovering from the dance of dragons

she never had any sexual or romantic relationships with alyn. instead she sort to form a bond with the man in order to gain a foothold in king's landing with its ever revolving politics. her brother almost became princess baela's husband so aliandra had an interest in gaining influence in the red keep

dorne experienced a surge in trading through her marriage to drazenko. unlike the targaryens, aliandra made sure to treat her rogare husband right which gave her access to the banking family's wealthy clientele

after her husband's assassination, aliandra made sure to marry two of her children to essosi noble families while the rest of her children had dornish consorts

these connections that she made are what ultimately helped the unnamed prince of dorne and maron martell rebuild after the failed conquest of dorne by daeron i

she is one of the most revered rulers of dorne, for not only expanding the terrority but expanding dorne's trade ties to the east

personally i think she functions as foreshadowing for arianne's role as the future princess of dorne (after aegon dies)

#aliandra martell #summer is for dorne #headcanons #song of ice and fire

[agentrouka-blog]

"When he(Theon) stumbled from the table, he knocked a flagon from the hands of a serving girl. Wine splashed across his boots and breeches, a dark red tide." "The king(Renly) stumbled into her(Brienne) arms, a sheet of blood creeping down the front of his armor, a dark red tide that drowned his green and gold." A dark red tide signifies blood. Seems like Theon gonna die.

That is an interesting parallel! Yes, the blood imagery certainly fits the scene. :(

There's another startling parallel with drunk Jon.

“I must be excused,” he said with the last of his dignity. He whirled and bolted before they could see him cry. He must have drunk more wine than he had realized. His feet got tangled under him as he tried to leave, and he lurched sideways into a serving girl and sent a flagon of spiced wine crashing to the floor. Laughter boomed all around him, and Jon felt hot tears on his cheeks. Someone tried to steady him. He wrenched free of their grip and ran, half-blind, for the door. Ghost followed close at his heels, out into the night. (AGOT, Jon I)

When you compare it to the fuller quote, the similarities are too close to be accidental.

It was not until Theon pushed himself to his feet that he realized how much he'd drunk. When he stumbled from the table, he knocked a flagon from the hands of a serving girl. Wine splashed across his boots and breeches, a dark red tide. A hand grabbed his shoulder, five fingers hard as iron digging deep into his flesh. "You're wanted, Reek," said Sour Alyn, his breath foul with the smell from his rotten teeth. Yellow Dick and Damon Dance-for-Me were with him. "Ramsay says you're to bring his bride to his bed." (ADWD, The Prince of Winterfell)

Both are outsiders at a big feast where a "Stark daughter" is matched up. It's an uglier mirror to King Robert's Feast, and unlike Jon who escapes outside and speaks to Tyrion, Theon is made to escort poor Jeyne to her new husband.

I'm not sure it necessarily is as narrow as Theon dying, though. The entire ending of "The Prince of Winterfell" is replete with wine and blood imagery.

Judging from the way she looked at him when he approached, she had emptied that goblet more than once. Perhaps she hoped that if she drank enough, the ordeal would pass her by. Theon knew better. (...)

As they climbed, Damon Dance-for-Me whistled, whilst Skinner boasted that Lord Ramsay had promised him a piece of the bloody sheet as a mark of special favor. (...)

The canopy bed had a feather mattress and drapes of blood-red velvet. The stone floor was covered with wolfskins. A fire was burning in the hearth, a candle on the bedside table. On the sideboard was a flagon of wine, two cups, and a half wheel of veined white cheese. There was a chair as well, carved of black oak with a red leather seat. Lord Ramsay was seated in it when they entered. (...)

“No.” Lord Ramsay poured himself a cup of wine. “Laces take too long. Cut it off her.” (...)

He took another gulp of wine, then threw the cup across the room to shatter off a wall. Red rivers ran down across the stone. (...)

Theon contemplates stabbing Ramsay to save both of them, but he is too terrified to try. He knows it’s a trap. The wolf skins on the floor alone are a provocation and a promise. The entire room spells violence. 

(The Targaryen colors of Ramsay’s chair are an interesting detail, as well.)

Theon and Jeyne are both drowning in the blood red tide that is being spilled by Ramsay. 

They will escape, though, eventually.

#theon greyjoy #jeyne poole #ramsay bolton #wine imagery #drinking #blood imagery #forced marriage #rape #violence