#the dragon prince thoughts season 3

[meganwasbored]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts Season 3 Episode 9

-THIS IS IT

-wait does he actually have to paint the symbols on his arms to get the spell to work or is he just trying stuff because if he does does that mean that ibis has them tattooed on his arms or something? that made no sense i should probably watch more than 5 seconds before i start making stuff up

-WAS HE ABOUT TO SAY I LOVE YOU

-soren’s character development from season 1 to now is incredible i went from being slightly annoyed by him to loving every second he’s on screen

-is it just me or is aaravos’s snake form thing longer than it was last episode

-OMG CALLUMS TRANSLATING I JUST REMEMBERED GREN ISNT HERE WHERE IS HE

-won’t they all die on the way up because of the air or does their demon form change that

-THE LAST DRAGON GUARD

-wait why is callum down here i thought the plan was for him to stay near the top to pick them off on their way up

-SERIOUSLY WHO IS THIS GUY

-claudia carrying the whole army rn

-NOOOOO NOT THE DRAGONS

-IDC IF HES THE KING HES STILL A CHILD GET EZRAN OUT OF THERE

-“it’s going to be okay, wee fella” not when the thousands of demon soldiers burst through that doorway

-ok so the rainbow lighting did nothing but at least it was pretty

-THERE ISNT A SINGLE PERSON WITH CALLUM???? THEY LITERALLY JUST DROPPED HIM OFF LIKE “YOURE ON YOUR OWN KID SEE YOU IF YOU SURVIVE”

-everyone could just swarm kasef and claudia for a second and it would solve 90% of our problems

-callum why do still you have your emotional support sketchbook on you in battle i feel like that’s just slowing you down buddy

-AANYA WHERE DID YOU COME FROM

-THE MOST ICONIC CHARACTER AND I MEAN THAT MY QUEENNNN

-IM SPEECHLESS OMG

-I CAME HERE FOR RAYLLUM BUT I STAYED FOR THE BROYALS

-CRYINGGGGGG GREN AND AMAYA BACK AGAIN I FORGOT HE PROBABLY THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD SINCE THE VOLCANO

-SKBAIFBEODBDOSNDOSJWLWHAODH

-THE ELVES BOWING TO EZRAN

-EZRAN THE BATTLE LITERALLY JUST ENDED YOU CANT JUST RUN OFF ON YOUR OWN LIKE THAT

-WHAY WAS VIREN HIDING UNDER A BLANKET AND WHY WAS CLAUDIA WALKING AWAY FROM HIM WHAT IS GOING ON

-NO WORDS THIS IS TRULY SORENS EPISODE

-THE AMOUNT OF SOUL CRUSHING TRAUMA HE JUST WENT THROUGH IN THE PAST HOUR

-THIS ONLY TERRIFIES ME BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW HES GONNA SURVIVE SO WHAT HORRIBLE THING IS CLAUDIA GONNA DO TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN

-ALSO SOMEONE LITERALLY JUST GOT STABBED RIGHT BEFORE EZRANS EYES POOR BABY

-SHUT UP HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT COMING

-HOW DID HE GET UP THERE

-RAYLA IS IN THE EXACT SAME POSITION HER PARENTS WERE IN THIS SPOT I DONT LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING

-HARVEST????? CONSUME??????

-BAIT OMG

-IM SO DUMB HER PARENTS ARE COINS LIKE RUNAAN ARENT THEY

-I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS

-I WENT INTO THIS THINKING I ALREADY KNEW MOSTLY EVERYTHING THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN AND I WAS SO SO WRONG

-BAITS FACE WHEN RAYLA CALLED HIM A HERO

-PUT ZYM DOWN RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME I WILL KILL YOU THROUGH THE SCREEN

-OKAY I KNOW SHES GONNA SURVIVE THIS AND YOU KNOW SHES GONNA SURVIVE THIS BUT SHE DOESNT KNOW SHES GONNA SURVIVE THIS WHICH MEANS SHE JUST SACRIFICED HER LIFE FOR THAT DRAGON

-THE FACT THAT HE DIDNT EVEN THINK TWICE ABOUT JUMPING AFTER HER

-pause can we talk about how strong rayla is to hold herself up like that i’d be dead

-this is the one time the “we beat the unbeatable villain through ✨the power of love✨” trope is acceptable

-this is awesome and all and i’m loving every second of it but why are we acting like everything is okay it’s not claudia is still out there with a super powerful staff that could destroy that whole cave with all of you in it if she gets up there

-also i can’t be that only one who doesn’t see the point of this baker like i feel like they just put him here because they can he serves literally no purpose

-wow very convenient of you to wake up right after the battle is over it’s not like you couldve been a huge life saving help anyway😐

-ZYM IS LITERALLY THE SIZE OF THE QUEENS EYEBALL I CANT

-i’m sorry i still can’t get over the fact that the dragons can talk i don’t know how to feel about it

-claudia’s hair is now half white i don’t like this

-if aaravos hatches out of that cocoon i’m gonna lose my freaking mind

-my word that was a lot

-you’re telling me y’all had to wait 3 YEARS after this cliffhanger for season 4???? i’m suddenly very glad i didn’t start watching until now i don’t think i could’ve handled that

#tdp #tdp thoughts #tdp season 3 #tdp thoughts season 3 #the dragon prince #the dragon prince thoughts #the dragon prince season 3 #the dragon prince thoughts season 3

[breadsandwiches]

Viren adopting children left and right instead of talking to his actual son

#lmao he is SO funny this season #pathetic garbage man <3 #tdp spoilers #the dragon prince #lord viren #my thoughts

[olexriia]

its giving

🤨

#the dragon prince #tdp memes #netflix tdp #the dragon prince callum #tdp callum #tdp #tdp spoilers #the dragon prince spoilers #tdp season 4 #all jokes aside im super hyped for this season yall don’t understand #3 YEARS BRO #we better treat this like the minions movie #also i really like callums design i just thought it looked familiar lol dont come for me

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

I really need to get back into the dragon prince don’t i

I want to say yes but I need you to know that I am not responsible for any emotional damage you may incur

#the season 5 trailer is today so you can get a true taste of the fear! #although if you left off at season 2 or 3 it might be a tad confusing #anyway if you hop back on board good luck!! #I'll be excited to hear your thoughts #the dragon prince #hecateisalesbian #ray rambles

[snackugaki]

...visdev really is my enrichment activity for i am just a bored tiger in my enclosure, looking to figure out how to get this steak out of this metal ball.

________

my tmnt au (where everyone made it past their 20s, splinter’s alive just old, venus is here, and they deserve some goddamn respite and shenanigans)

tmnt au part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

tmnt au omake 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

lny visit 1 | 2

also uhhh... i guess still idw, next mutation, and like 1 mirage spoiler? mostly for the kids who haven’t but were planning to read/watch

you’re about to perceive so much

p r e p a r e

so close to getting this AU looking as crunchy as i want it, almosttttt tttthhhhhere...!

just somewhere tasty between Mignola’s use of deep black shadow, what MTV Liquid Television woulda greenlit re: The Maxx, a dash of 2007, 1 part Next Mutation, 2 parts funny proportions

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh str ugglingggg

Leo’s shortest because haha (family baby gang, get rekt)

this is so much thought for something I’m just doing to give these turtle ninjas some softness and the genx/millenial pop culture references gag comics

Splinter is full of ghosts

(specifically the onryo borne from the murdered Yoshi Hamato and Tang Shen [because oroku saki a bitch])

[ redacted ] and Tang Shen’s ghost gained control and guided Splinter to raise the boys in love and not [ redacted ] to [ redacted ] in [ redacted ]

Splinter was just a regular little rat... who on his 1000th birthday witnessed the death of his friend/unwitting master and his wife, and thus transformed into a wrathful kyūso (minus the kitten eating) and chased Shredder until losing his trail in New York

Shredder’s fuck around and Splinter’s rampaging as the find out caused the tengu to repo some of the mysticism from ninjutsu

now all the (remaining) ninja clans debuffed and mad about it

The tengu bestowed the ninja the ability to summon shit (kuchiyose), enact mystical effects upon people and objects (kuji kiri), going invisible, minor flight (actually just qinggong/light body technique), and manipulation of the 5 elements, and creating doubles (bunshin)

but again, Shredder fucked up so now ninja can like barely control anything bigger than a lit torch or a 16 oz bottle of liquid and that’s if you got in enough hours to do even that

I mentioned elsewhere but for me in any AU I make, Venus is a cultivator and the more I think about it the more I will die on this hill, not only does it fit better than her being a “shaman” or “shinobi” it’s sick as fuck

Jennika’s origin was pretty fkkn metal, she still falls in with the Foot, gets shanked, Leo gives blood-- bam, turtle time

Jennika goes to hang with Venus in China and get a better understanding of her new turtle body

Keno’s here, still tried to infiltrate the Foot (with Jennika) but bugged out when she couldn’t stay without being made (Jennika refused to leave womp)

teaches Leo some arnis techniques for Leo’s dual wielding; Donnie also just in case his bo is shattered... again. :)

Irma has made all the boys blush at least twice

Irma is also soap opera buddies with Splinter

they meet up at least twice a month to gab, gush, and groan over what’s currently going on in their stories, when Venus visits she also joins in, Irma also has a conversational grasp on Japanese and Venus’ regional dialect because of these visits

April has a full out shoujo manga romance with Chu Hsi

and he’s a hot dragon prince uhuhuhuhuhu

Irma is privy to all the steamy details

keeping Leo and Karai as character foils

both received scars from one another

both released each other from sealing wards from [ redacted ]

now they just meet every so often to eat the greasiest fast food and unclench of an hour

Raph still gets his ass worked by Ninjara, folded like an omelette sat on a lawn chair

Vam Mi is also here, she’s fought first (because honestly she should’ve been either brought in earlier in the season or had a few more episodes because that shit coulda resolved better)

Venus is brought to NYC for this antagonist instead of Dragonlord escaping (and murdering her father figure forcing her to seek out his friend Splinter for aid)

Donnie doesn’t take the news of real vampires or real magic well

Donnie and Venus have a knock down drag out fight over it (because they’re 17 at this point and being li’l shits to each other about their respective fields of expertise)

“The nerds are fightingggggg!” cries Mikey, Leo and Raph don’t believe it so imagine their surprise when they get a demo in real time on how scary competent staff fighters are

Leo gets Splinter when one of Donnie’s missed strikes cracks the concrete

Splinter breaks them up like talking a walk in the park and it’d be comical if they both weren’t bleeding from the mouth and peppered with swelling contusions

Venus begins accepting Donnie when his tech prevents her from becoming a thrall of Vam-Mi

Donnie begins accepting Venus when she uses a massive amount of chi to manipulate gravity just before he becomes street pizza when Vam-Mi throws him off a bridge

they also combine skill sets to save Mikey so there’s that

Venus goes from calling Donnie, “Horatio (derogatory)” to “Horatio (affectionate)”

they now have a dumbass long-as-fuck handshake that’s unforgivably nerdy 

April is still a magic drawing-brought-to-life baby, Venus puts her in a painted scroll when she starts phasing in and out of existence (she and Chu Hsi have a great time in the scroll... while everyone is shitting bricks until Venus and her sect stabilize her and get her made real, Pinocchio style)

April’s grandmothers gifted Venus 2 pieces of jade jewelry, and her family’s recipe for sweet potato pudding respectively for saving April

the boss fight against Dragonlord is dope as fuckkkkk, Chu Hsi is being cool as fuck, fiddled with some concepts* that has Leo and Karai being a champion of Genbu, Raph for Byakko, Mikey for Suzaku, Chu Hsi’s retainer (a good dragon, wink wonk) steps in for Seiryu because Donnie and Venus are siphoning and redirecting an enormous amount and variety of mystical power

*i’m just pulling from fushigi yugi honestly

splinter, the boys, and venus (and others) mutating from mutagen laced toxic waste was a pure accident

Splinter was investigating a lead on Shredder’s movements concerning the Foot the same night an animal liberation sleeper cell ‘freed’ some animals from the back of a pet store (that was a front for black market domestic and exotic animal trafficking) that is also the same night a stolen truck driven by some corporate spies filled with a competitor’s chemical waste, which then collides with said liberation sleeper cell’s truck and... ooze happens

Leatherhead, the Mutanimals, Mondo, Mona Lisa, Slash also get mutated from the events of that night, either leading up to or following the aftermath

plus some others etc etc

Venus still washes down the gutter, gets rube goldberg pinballed onto a crate of plums where Chung I finds her and still gets named Mei and taken to live in China and eventually learns to cultivate

Tokka and Rahzar get made, and unmade ala TMNT II; the mutagen made them a little silly tho, April adopts Rahzar and passes him off as a low content wolfdog, Leatherhead takes in Tokka

April went through a couple of major changes so now she’s a journalist with a computer programming background who now does a podcast as an informal neighborhood news reporter with a segment for chatting with people from around the street

Mikey’s the most frequent guest and co-hosts sometimes; Donnie troubleshoots free of charge

Venus brings her province’s regional delicacies when she comes to visit, Splinter and Leo both get pu er tea cakes (she managed to get one the same age as him; Splinter is too old so she got the oldest she could find, Leo has so many tea pets and a nice yixing collection); Raph, Keno, and Casey fight over the pickles, meat jerkies, and chili oil; Mikey has an artillery of cool shirts and a lifetime supply of haw flakes, Donnie has a mountain of doodads with increasingly specific uses, April gets neat accessories and the occasional care package sent with Venus from her grandparents, uncles, and aunties; Irma gets neat frames and coats that never fail to get a “Where did you get that??”

Raph rides a Kawasaki Ninja because it’s funny

A lot of bodegas give Mikey free snacks because the bodega cats love him, and he’s also saved some from being run over or ripped apart by stray dogs or the few large angry raccoons

Donnie’s the only one of his brothers to wear both a top and bottom with shoes because once he figured out how to integrate a motherboard and miscellany wiring onto clothing... he’s been a walking computing menace ever since

Splinter does his best to enjoy his time with his sons (because as a kyūso, he knows the chances of outliving his precious sons is very high (ᴗ‿ᴗ✿)  ...give or take one of the many opponents and obstacles his sons take on takes him out first ( ◕ᴗ◕✿ ) )

god whathefuck, I was just going to make silly comics for them. how did it come to this.

#i'm so curious #some of you kids tag this shit as 2003 #and i'm ??? #i'm not subtle about being an elder millenial #or about who my childhood turtles were #i love trash #i love the next mutation #like is it to keep your tag active? #i feel like it's probably the thing #where someone assumes they're interacting with someone of their same xyz #which honestly? fair #a lot of the TMNT fans I see are 03 or 12 fans #there's a few other Turtlemania survivors around that I see #but not a lot of us #:( #...i'm still laughing at that poll #with the arbitrary age cut off being 37+ #sorry poll op #it's just... it was literally oddly specific #ba dum tss #if you know why I used apples as a measurement... #...hahaha you also like Sanrio #if you know who I based Irma off of... #can you blame me #Nadia is who Irma would be #if she kept the cheek but mellowed out a li'l #so much weird shit happened to her #so of course she'd simultaneously be #blase cheeky and wry #visdev is my enrichment activity

[incandescentlysomething]

Lady of the Ashes: Chapter 4

House of the Dragon Season 1

Aemond x TargaryenOC

Chapter Word Count: 5613

She was his everything… For her…he would do anything.

From the moment of her birth, Aemond Targaryen swore himself to the protection of his niece Aelinor Velaryon. As the two grew up inseparable, they find themselves entangled in the Dance of Dragons, battling to stay together even as their families try to pull them apart.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Cross posted on A03

Let me know what you think!

Masterlist A03

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 P.1 P.2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

“Why are you bringing so much?”

Aelinor turned to look at Luc as he entered the courtyard of Dragonstone, where she was strapping a large bundle to the back of Darax’s saddle. “They’re clothes.” She said simply, tightening the strap again. The flight to King’s Landing should be uneventful, but she didn’t want to lose anything.

“I thought you sent trunks on ahead with Mother and the ship?” He asked. “Why do you need more? We’re just flying into the Dragon Pit after all.”

She cleared her throat. “I just want to appear at the Red Keep looking my best.”

“But you look fine in your—”

“She means,” Jace strode into the courtyard, Vermax walking slowly behind him. “That she wants to look pretty for Aemond.”

“Jace!” Aelinor protested, running a hand down Darrax’s flank. It was a good thing that their dragons had grown in proximity to each other, but they were all getting a bit nervous in the small courtyard. Things would turn disastrous if one of her brother’s dragons chose to challenge Darrax in such close quarters.

“Don’t say such foolish things,” she scolded her brother again, turning away so that he couldn’t see the red tinge to her cheeks.

“Isn’t it?” He smirked. “Careful, Sister. I might grow jealous seeing my betrothed prettying herself up for someone else.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re a terrible liar,” he teased. She could have thrown something at him, if the levity in his gaze didn’t give away that he was truly, only joking. Jace and her would never suit as husband and wife, but they had certainly grown to be friends.

She settled on rolling her eyes, turning to face her more tolerable brother. “I’ll see you at King’s Landing. Safe flight, everyone.”

With a sharp word to Darrax, the dragon rolled his shoulder down, allowing her to climb into the saddle and adjust the straps around her legs with practiced motions.

“See you later, Lina!” Luc waved cheerfully.

She nodded back. “ Soves, Darrax .”

He didn’t need any more encouragement than that. Both Luc and Jace scrambled back as he spread his massive wings and within seconds took to the sky. They coasted over the island quickly, and before long were heading across the bay, Darrax dipping low enough to let his tail skim the water.

Aelinor coaxed him higher, not wanting to risk ruining all of her packed clothes with sea spray. 

Gods, she adored flying. It seemed to be the only time that she could be truly alone with her thoughts.

Jace wasn’t wrong, she had packed a change of clothes so that she might look somewhat presentable when she saw Aemond again. Which was stupid of her, she knew. If the Aemond she knew had not changed, he surely wouldn’t care whether she showed up dressed like a queen or in sweaty flying leathers with her hair all a-muss. And if he had changed….then he might not be her Aemond anymore. He was a prince, after all, and he probably had a hundred ladies fawning over him. Why would he waste a second on his childhood friend? And why did that idea of that sting so very much?

No, Aelinor caught herself before she spiraled too deeply. The clothes were so that she might make a good impression on the court. She told herself that they weren’t for Aemond. They were for her mother, for Luc, and even for Jace’s own succession. If ser Vaemond were successful in challenging Luc’s claim, they would all be at risk. The least she could do was make sure that she looked her best and did her part.

Setting the reins against the saddle, Aelinor used her good hand to adjust her gloves. The sea spray wasn’t warm, and the cold always caused such an uncomfortable ache in her bad hand. Once her gloves were set, she retook the reins, thankful that Darrax was steady and reliable enough for her to make such necessary adjustments. How many years ago had it been when she had insisted that she would never be able to fly, with Aemond arguing with her all the way. As it turned out, he had been right. She had just needed to have more faith in herself and in Darrax.

They soared over the royal ship, and she urged Darrax to fly further ahead. Her mother was too pregnant to fly, and so the ship carrying her, Prince Daemon, the younger children and Rhaena had left early in the morning. It was little effort for Darrax to overtake them, and she knew she would easily beat her entire family to King’s Landing. 

“Prince Aemond!”

He whipped his head around, not at all surprised when he found Ser Criston striding toward him. That damned knight made it his business to supervise all of the royal children, and it seemed that Aemond had yet to outgrow his meddling.

“What is it, Cole?” Aemond reluctantly marked his place in his book. Legends of Old Valyria . It had been many years since he had read it, but he remembered that the stories inside were among Aelinor’s favourites, and he wanted to brush up.

“We have received word from the dragon keepers,” Cole came to a stop in front of him. “The first of the Princess’ children have appeared. They are waiting on all of them to arrive before they take the carriage to the Keep.”

“Thank you for keeping me informed.” Why should he care if Prince Jacaerys arrived before his siblings? He had probably flown ahead just because he could. In all honesty, there had been very little news from Dragonstone regarding the dragons. He knew that Lin—that Aelinor was flying, as her saddle had been specifically made for her at King’s Landing, but no one knew which of their dragons were the fastest, strongest or largest. It mattered little, as he had Vhagar, who was the strongest of them all.

“Your mother, The Queen, wished to know if you would receive them upon their arrival. They should all be arriving together, Princess Rhaenyra and her children both.”

Curious that his mother didn’t intend on receiving the heir to the throne, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to think about the implications.

He slammed his book shut. “I won’t be receiving them. Come, we must train. My mother can entertain our guests.” He grabbed his sword from where it rested on the table in the library, and marched out.

Was he being childish? Most likely. But he did not think he had the strength to stand there and watch Jace hand Aelinor out of the carriage. He did not want to see them stand next to each other, to feign politeness as that bastard stood in front of him and shattered every dream he had ever had. The dreams might be already broken, but at least he could let the glass fall gently.

Everything was exactly as she had remembered it.  The dragon keepers, Darrax’s stall (though he had outgrown it), and even the slightly bitter tinge to the air the moment she stepped out of the Dragonpit.  The stench of King’s Landing was almost overpowering, but it still smelled like home.

It took several hours for her brothers to arrive, lending proof to her theory that boys could never manage to do anything on time, and she took that time to change and make herself comfortable in the provided carriage. By the time they stepped inside, looking travel worn and weary, she was feeling much better about her choice to bring a change of clothes.

“You look nice,” Luc had said. 

“Who’d you put that on for?” Jace teased. She had punched him in the arm for that.

But soon enough they had rolled through the gates of the Red Keep, only a few minutes ahead of their mother, and found no one there to receive them. Rhaenyra had scoffed, granting each of her three eldest a kiss on their cheeks before dismissing them while she went to greet the King and Queen. Aelinor was grateful to not be part of that conversation.

She did hope for a chance to see her grandfather before the feast in a few days, but she wasn’t sure she could brave the pressure of a formal reception.

The children (if they could even be called that anymore) were left to explore the castle. Jace and Luc rushed ahead, anxious to see the training yard from when they were young, but Aelinor lingered in the corridors, taking in the changes that had been made. She supposed things were bound to feel different, as she was much older than she had been, but there were many changes to the Keep.

Statues of the Seven decorated the halls where before there had been relics of Old Valyria, and many of the murals of risque artwork, which she had giggled over many a time, had been replaced with more modest, spiritual imagery.

She couldn’t help but wonder what Aemond thought of it all. To her it seemed a great and upsetting change, but what had it been like for him? To see the histories and stories he had grown up loving slowly stripped away?

People stopped and stared as she passed, but she did not let it bother her. Taking the time to smile at the few faces she recognized she watched as it dawned on them who exactly she was. Perhaps it had not been widely publicized that they were coming to court. She was once again glad for her decision to change.

The dress was not ornate — few of hers were — but the deep blue velvet and long white sleeves that flowed past her wrist did convey a certain stateliness. And they hid her hand, which probably added to the mystery. The wide neckline, which dipped low enough to display some of her cleavage and wide enough to hang tauntingly off her shoulders, was the closest she could come to emulating the fashions she remembered of the court. But now, she saw that fashions were much more modest, and it didn’t take much to realize who was responsible for that.

“Princess Aelinor!” Ser Harrald’s familiar face appeared in front of her, pulling her away from a  stained glass piece of the Mother and the Maiden. He looked a few years older, perhaps, but she was just as happy to see him as when she was a girl.

The last time she had seen him, he had been carrying her away from Aemond as he screamed on the ground, blood pouring from his eye. 

Shaking the horrible memory from her head, she decided to ignore the many courtiers surrounding them and stood on her tiptoes to wrap the man in a hug. “It is so nice to see you, Ser Harrald.”

“And you, Princess,” he gave a polite squeeze, and then took a step back. “You have grown up absolutely beautifully if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“Thank you, Ser,” she smiled. “It seems much has changed since I was last here.”

“Not as much as you would expect,” he said knowingly.

Aelinor laughed, not quite willing to think of all the possible implications of his statement. “As it is, I must find my brothers. I don’t suppose you’ve seen them, have you?”

Ser Harral smiled. “As I said, Princess. Not much has changed. Most of the action takes place in the training yard, and that is just at the south end of this corridor.”

“Thank you, Ser,” Aelinor nodded. “I will see you later, I hope.”

“As do I.”

With a proper, deep bow, he continued down the hall in the direction she had come from, his white cloak billowing behind him. Now in a much better mood than she had been when she stepped into these uncertain halls, Aelinor hurried toward the training yard. She would collect her brothers, force them to go and clean up, and then they would have time to relax a bit from their journey.

Briefly, the thought that Aemond might be there crossed her mind. Probably not, as he had never enjoyed training, choosing to do the bare minimum out of obligation more than anything else, and she couldn’t imagine him choosing to spend time there of his own choice. But she couldn’t quite squash the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach.

Things were coming back to her as she stepped through the door into the training yard, recognizing the mud-covered mat used for brushing one’s boots off, even the walkways above the yard usually covered in mud. But when she looked up to survey the yard, she was surprised to find it completely silent. There was no clanging of metal, or the duller impact of the wooden practice blades. No playful yelling or bellowed instructions from knights training their squires.

She quickly saw the reason why. She had just reached the top of the stairs when she caught sight of Ser Vaemond striding across the yard, heading straight for her, a gaggle of servants and guards trailing behind him. It seemed that the crowd in the training yard had fallen silent at his arrival.

Aelinor stepped to the side when he reached the top, offering a demure curtsy. “Ser Vaemond. It has been a long time.”

“Indeed, Princess,” Ser Vaemond gave her an appraising look. “Indeed.”

“I would have expected you to arrive well before us, as it is your petition we are here to witness, after all.”

“Don’t pretend there is any propriety in this farce.” Ser Vaemond scoffed.

Aelinor glanced up, narrowing her eyes. “We are here to hear the King’s justice, grand-uncle. Sure it is too soon to call any of this a farce.”

Ser Vaemond laughed then, and she was reminded of that day at Driftmark, when he had used her aunt’s death as a chance to taunt her and her brothers. “I wouldn’t be so quick to call it justice. Not when you will soon have to face the truth of this.”

Aelinor gave him a polite smile. “And yet, it was not our company who saw fit to arrive through the back door.”

She didn’t offer him another curtsy as he strode by her, ignoring her words. A tiny inkling of pride made her stand a bit straighter. Surely, if that was the first test of this whole affair, she had proven that she could do her part. 

Forcing her face back into a pleasant expression, she marched down the stairs, spotting her brothers right away, next to a large crowd of gathered people. 

“Jacaerys! Lucerys!” She called, hurrying out onto the ground, the hem of her skirt dragging through the mud. She sent up a silent prayer for forgiveness from whichever maid had to clean the filth from the velvet. Both boys turned to look at her, away from whatever was happening at the center of the circle. And Jace…he looked unsettled.

Coming to a stop in front of them, she tried for a comforting grin, aware of the eyes on them. It was hardly a surprise that they were on edge after Ser Vaemond’s dramatic arrival. “Come on, we need to go clean up.”

“Lina?”

There it was. That voice that she had imagined a thousand times since she had last heard it. He sounded so different, his voice older and deeper and more serious than she remembered, though how she had gleaned all that from a single word was beyond her. But it didn’t matter, because it was still his .

And there he was, standing at the center of the circle, a sword in his hand, a patch on his eye, his long silver hair tied back. Aemond . He was tall, taller than she had imagined, which only seemed unfair given how he was also more perfect and handsome than she could have envisioned.

He was staring straight at her, his mouth hanging open, chest heaving, as though he had just finished a bout and hadn’t quite caught his breath.

Aelinor was suddenly overcome with a sense of embarrassment. She looked…she should have picked a different dress. Oh, why did their first meeting in nine years have to be after she’d gone tramping through the mud, calling after her brother’s like an idiot? Had she even brushed her hair?

Luckily, Jace must have seen the panic on her face, for he quickly grabbed her wrist, gave a quick nod to Aemond that she didn’t fully understand, and pulled her away.

“Compose yourself, Aelinor,” he whispered in her ear as they rushed back up the steps, Luc close behind them. “Or this will be a very awkward week.

Still, Aelinor turned to look over her shoulder. The crowd had moved on from whatever they had been watching, no longer interested in the long-lost princes or princess.

But Aemond hadn’t moved. He was still standing there, his eye fixed on her.

Still trembling, Aelinor gave him a small smile, as much as she could muster.

And Aemond smiled back.

Gods she was beautiful.

Aemond felt like an idiot. After nearly ten years of waiting, of holding his breath for the moment he would get to see her again, and instead, he’d been dumbstruck like an idiot. Because Lina….Lina was beautiful .

She’d always been pretty, of course, and he had thought that from the first moment that he saw her. But she had stood in front of him, a woman grown, with her silver hair falling in loose waves past her hips, lilac eyes shining as she searched for her brothers in the crowd, and he realized that without a doubt, Aelinor was the most beautiful woman in the world.

But then she had seen him, seen what he had become, covered in sweat and grime from hours spent training, his eyepatch and the scar that crept out from behind it, and she had run. Not only had she run, but that bastard Jacaerys had been holding her hand. Seeing them together, Aemond was even more convinced that they were not a good match. He might not deserve Aelinor, but for Jacaerys to even think of touching her…it made his skin crawl.

Tossing his sword aside, ignoring Ser Criston’s cry, Aemond hurried after his niece and nephews, entirely unsure of what he was doing.

“Gods, Aelinor, your face was hilarious,” Luc was laughing as they strolled through the halls. “I’ve never seen your eyes so wide.”

“Shut up,” Aelinor flushed. “It was just a surprise to see him.”

“Here? In his own home?” Jace rolled his eyes, his hand still locked around her wrist. “Or was it the eyepatch? I admit, the wound was more hideous than I had expected it to be. But I suppose something like that will never truly heal.”

“Of course not!” Aelinor shook him off, annoyed. “It was just…a surprise.” What could she say? That she had been dumbstruck by how unbelievably handsome Aemond was? Her brothers would never let her live it down.

“Wekk, I hope you get a handle on it for tomorrow,” Jace gave her a wry grin, clearly exasperated by how poorly she was hiding her true feelings. “We need to appear strong and united.”

“Of course we do, and we will,” Aelinor reached out to squeeze Luc’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, Luc. We’ll get everything sorted out.”

“I hope so, because I—” Luc stared over her shoulder, his eyes widening. “Umm…Aelinor?”

“What are you…”

“Aelinor!” Aemond’s voice called from behind her, tone sharp and unforgiving. It sent a thrill rushing through her veins. “Wait!”

“We have somewhere to be, Prince Aemond,” Jace said quickly, reaching again for her elbow. “Forgive us if—”

“I wish to speak to Aelinor,” Aemond repeated, and Aelinor felt his presence like a magnetic force as he came to a stop behind her. She shouldn’t have turned, but as soon as she did, finding him only a few feet away from her, slightly out of breath and staring at her with unsettling intensity, she knew that nothing in the world could have moved her from that place.

“Aelinor?” Jace whispered.

She cleared her throat, trying to give him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, Jace. I’ll catch up with you all later.”

He didn’t look convinced, but Luc poked him in the back, urging him away and down the corridor.

Aelinor turned back to Aemond slowly, her hands knotting in the sleeves of her dress. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do?

“I’m sorry about back there,” Aemond said quickly, almost tripping over the words as he rushed to get them out. 

“Back there?” Her thoughts felt like soup, all rational thought lost in the overwhelming sensation of Aemond . 

“In the courtyard. With my—” He gestured to his face, leaving Aelinor even more confused. “I know it can be quite…jarring and I…” he trailed off.

Aelinor just stared at him.

Aemond had no idea what he was doing. He’d rushed after her, so determined not to let her slip away and refusing to let her be swept away by her brother and then…and then what? As soon as she’d turned to look at him, all he could remember was how pale she had become in the courtyard. When she saw his scar. And now he was stumbling like a fool as he tried to apologize, and she stared at him like he was the world’s greatest fool.

“It’s ugly, I know…” He was still talking, wishing that he had the self-control to silence himself. “But the patch makes it more bearable and you won’t have to see—”

Aelinor slammed into him, nearly knocking her backward with the force of her hug.

“What are you talking about, you fool?” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, squeezing him tightly. “Ten years, and all you can do is apologize for your eye?” 

Aemond choked on the words, trying to find something to say. Aelinor was embracing him. How many times in the past years had he imagined this exact moment? Each time he had convinced himself that it would never happen, not when she was…well her …and he looked the way he did.

And not it took every ounce of his willpower to lift his arms and wrap them around her waist, resisting the urge to hold her so tightly and lift her off the ground.

But she was hugging him, and when she pulled away, there was a brilliant smile on her face.

“You look very roguish,” she declared. “Like a pirate.”

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” He smiled thinking back to that day when they had said goodbye. When she had been the first person to make him feel that perhaps things weren’t so bleak after all. Before she had left, and he’d learned just how bleak the world could be.

A shadow passed over her face. “I never wanted you to get hurt.”

“I know—”

“I just wanted you to know that it would never have changed how I felt about you.” She coughed. “Then or…or now.”

As she spoke, she was moving back to a safe, court-appropriate distance. That fleeting, perfect moment was already cursing himself for not taking the chance to hold her more tightly. For a few precious seconds, it had felt as though nothing had changed. He had been her Aemond again.

But things weren’t the same, were they? He knew that better than anyone, when he spent his days listening to his mother and grandfather as they quietly connived to secure Aegon’s place on the throne. They subtly spread their poison about his half-sister and her pack of bastards, of which Aelinor was one.

And she wasn’t Lina anymore. She was Aelinor. A woman. A beautiful, ethereal woman, and even if she could embrace him like no time at all had passed, everything was different now.

“You come to support your brother’s claim?” Aemond found the most neutral topic he could think of, one that wouldn’t set his heart pounding.

Aelinor took a deep breath, as if composing herself, and then nodded. “At the request of my mother and my…Prince Daemon. And for Luc, of course. He may be a rascal, but I am fond of him.”

This surprised Aemond. “I can remember having to fight him off when he was trying to pull your hair out. Forgive me if I am skeptical.”

“Yes, well,” Aelinor chuckled. “He has matured. Slightly. The same cannot be said of Jace.”

The mention of her elder brother instantly soured Aemond’s mood. He didn’t want to talk about her betrothed, he didn’t want to even think about it. Only minutes before, Jace had been leading Aelinor away from him by the arm, a sight he would not soon forget.

But she had embraced him, and that….that couldn’t count for nothing. 

“I imagine things are going to get a bit hectic over the next few days, wouldn’t you say?” Aelinor asked. “Before the petition?”

“I would imagine so,” Aemond agreed, both of them fully aware of what they meant. Whatever farce might be put on at the ball the next day, tensions were still bound to boil over. It was inevitable that they would be drawn into it.

A crowd of tittering ladies strolled by, stopping to bob curtsies to the familiar prince. Each of them carefully avoided looking him in the eye. It irked him more than usual, an irrational worry flooding him that perhaps Aelinor would see how the ladies of court feared him, and realize that she should do the same.

“Is there something interesting about the floor?” Aelinor’s tone was light, almost teasing. “I admit that much has changed since I was last here, but I find the floor tiles about the same.”

Everyone’s gaze darted to her, and Aemond was shocked to see a tight smile on her face. Her tone might have been in jest, but there was nothing humorous to be found in the harsh glare of her eyes as she studied the other woman.

“My lady?” One lady said, her eyes darting about, looking for an escape. Aemond thought he might have been introduced to her at one time, but couldn’t be bothered to remember her name.

“ Princess Aelinor ,” he bit out, the ladies all cowering back a step.

“Apologies, Princess Aelinor,” the ladies all curtsied quickly. “I beg your forgiveness.”

Aelinor waved her hand. “None needed. So long as you can tell me why you are studying the floor with such devotion.”

The ladies gaped at her.

“Because,” Aelinor continued. “Some might find it disrespectful, to refuse to meet the eye of their Prince.” Her voice was still light, but Aemond felt the chill she directed at the women.

They all floundered, speaking over each other. Aelinor sighed, almost in boredom.

“Leave,” he barked at the other women. “You have bothered the Princess long enough.”

They practically ran down the halls, nearly tripping over their skirts.

“The entire Keep will tremble in your wake by tomorrow.” He said to Aelinor.

She sighed. “I hope not. I just…” she looked up at him. “Are they all like that?”

“Most of them,” he nodded. “Though I confess, they got marginally better when Aegon and Helaena married and I became the only option. They tend to leave me alone now.”

She furrowed her brow. “Well, then they are idiots. I knew there was a reason you and Helaena were the only people I ever liked.”

Aemond swallowed, unsure what to say to that. 

“Walk with me, Aemond,” Aelinor took his arm, not waiting for him to offer it, and began to lead him down the hall at a leisurely pace. He internally grimaced when he realized that her beautiful dress was pressing against his sweaty training shirt, but that worry was quickly overshadowed by a much more pressing concern. Aelinor was touching him. If he angled his body slightly, her side would have pressed into him. How was he meant to maintain composure, when she was so damn close.

“You’re very tense,” Aelinor noted.

“I…” What was he supposed to say? I’m tense because this is the closest I’ve ever been to a woman, and closer than I ever thought I would be to you. “I am sore from training.”

She frowned at that. “Cole works you too hard. I never liked him.”

“From the sound of it, there are very few people you do like.”

“True enough,” she smiled at him, squeezing his elbow with her hand. “I like Jace occasionally, Luc most of the time. Helaena of course. And then, I like absolutely. Everyone else is simply irrelevant.”

It might have sounded callous if anyone were to overhear, and it could hardly be taken as a surprise. Why shouldn’t a spoiled princess hate everyone around her, except for her favourite toys? But Aemond knew exactly what she meant, for he often found himself feeling the same way. Though there were many people and things in his life that he knew on some level he cared for, they all faded into the background when it came to Aelinor. Even in the years they had been apart, all it would take was for him to think of her, and his entire perspective on a situation could change. His favourite horse was a white stallion because it was what the hero rode in the stories he had told her when she was a girl (when the heroes weren’t riding dragons). He had been presented with over twenty horses to choose from, but as soon as that thought of Aelinor had entered his mind, no other horse would do.

He could never bring himself to indulge in his cups the way his brother did, always remembering the sour look on Lina’s face when she had supped wine for the first time.

Gods above, there was a sapphire embedded in his skull, because she had suggested that it would look pretty.

“What of your parents?” He asked. “Surely you must hold some love for them if you followed them here.”

It was a thinly veiled attempt to bait her, and Aelinor knew it. “I love my mother dearly, of course, though we have never quite understood each other. I imagine that is the way with most mothers and daughters.”

True enough. Aemond knew all too well that his own mother struggled to understand Helaena, though he doubted there was any actual effort applied.

“And Prince Daemon…” Aelinor sighed, and Aemond noticed that she did not call him father . “My mother loves him, and so that is enough. It does not make me any more eager to spend a few weeks cooped up in the Keep with them, conspiring against the Hand and his…” She trailed off, shooting him a nervous look. “Forget I said that.”

It was already forgotten, but Aemond nodded anyway. There was no contest between his reluctant tolerance of his mother’s father and the esteem he held for Aelinor.

“You must help me escape, Aemond,” Aelinor smiled up at him. “I don’t care if we go flying, or if we’re hiding in the stables, but I must have a reprieve from all this.”

This was…this was almost too familiar. How many times in their youth had she grabbed him by the arm, begging him to help her escape from her lessons or luncheons? He had never once, in all that time, failed to oblige.

He stopped suddenly, an idea winking into existence. “Then let me give you dinner. This evening. Just the two of us.”

“Dinner?” Aelinor tilted her head. “Where?” The many times they had eaten together in the past had almost always been in the confines of one of their chambers when they were but children. But they were no longer children, and family loyalties aside, it would be grossly improper for a young man and a woman to dine privately in closed rooms.

“My father’s library,” He named the first place he could think of that could offer some degree of privacy without ruining their reputation. The King was too ill to make use of it, and neither his siblings nor his mother ever ventured there. “You can be free of your family for an evening, I can be free of mine, and we can regale each other with tales of our brilliant exploits.”

He tried not to think about how their families might perceive this plan. Of what Jacaerys might think to find Aemond dining with his betrothed. But Aelinor didn’t look the least bit bothered by it, and that gave him a shred of hope. He intended to grasp onto every second of Aelinor that he could before she was swept away from him.

Aelinor was grinning. “You do make a very tempting offer.”

“There will be lemon tarts,” he added quickly. “And all your favourites.” He hoped the cook was skilled enough to make angel cakes with berry sauce before that evening. 

“Ah well, then I cannot refuse,” Aelinor dropped his arm and gave a small smile. “I shall see you then. At sundown?”

Aemond gave a jerky nod, halfway between a bow and a friendly farewell. Aelinor just smiled wider.

“And Aemond?” She called, still walking away.

“Yes, Lin—” He cleared his throat. “Yes, Princess?” He couldn’t go shouting her given name in a public corridor, never mind that there didn’t seem to be anyone around to hear it.

“I have no need of lemon tarts. Bring yourself, for that is all I need.”

He stared at her until she faded from view, her skirts swishing as she disappeared around a corner.

And then Aemond sprinted for the kitchens.

#house of the dragon #hotd #aemond x oc #aemond fanfiction #aemond targaryen #aemond one eye #fanfiction #fanfic #lady of the ashes

[comicaurora]

What were your thoughts on the latest season of the dragon prince. Personally, I was underwhelmed with the season and the writing in general. It felt like a lot of circling the point but never actually getting there.

To me it felt like setup in advance of getting three more guaranteed seasons of television?

It's not like the season was devoid of development, it was just mostly centralized on character arcs. Callum and Rayla got past their emotional block, Claudia slid down a very depressing yet understandable path, Viren had a protracted existential crisis that finally drew on the planted idea that he's not simply evil, he's just desperate to mean something. Ezran acknowledged his pain and anger for the first time while also proving it didn't have any effect on his dedication to peace, which is the first really kingly thing we've seen him do - heck, even Soren got some non-punchline treatment and genuine concern from his friends, and is now fully integrated into team good-guy.

And there were some pretty significant plot advancements. Rayla now has the coins containing all three of her missing/presumed dead parents, setting up what I can only imagine will be a fraught arc where she and Callum work to figure out how to get them out safely - with the complication that one of them killed Callum's stepdad, and he's not gonna be super okay with that. The Sunfire Elf capital is still corrupted by dark magic and now there's a full-on succession conspiracy at play, with Amaya unknowingly caught in the middle.

I watched season 4 immediately after a full rewatch of the first three seasons, and I didn't have any trouble with the flow. If anything it's a relief after the relentless speedrun pace of season 3, which was driven by their premature cancellation.

The world of The Dragon Prince is by far its strongest asset. It's incredibly rich and colorful and I'm very intrigued to see more. If all this season does is show us more slices of that world, it's still a win in my book - and it did that.

#asks #not aurora #the dragon prince

[fiona-kitsune13]

Ao Bing and Macaque

So i have story planned for Ne Zha and Ao Bing, the premise is Ao Guang finds away to keep Ao bing back and keeps him locked up, till season 3 where Macaque destroys the place chasing Mk and the others for LBD. He meets the dragon prince and they become roommates, like Macaque drops him off in his apartment and is just like "wait here" while he handles his shit.

My favorite part of this Idea is Red Son discovers the dragon while visiting Macaque after LBD. He is close to Ne Zha so knows the whole situation between the two. And i thought of a small skit based off a meme:

Red Son:......whatcha got their uncle?

Macaque: *eating noodles with Ao Bing* Noodles.....

Red Son: w-wha......No! I was referring to the Third eastern sea dragon prince!!

Macaque: *glances at Ao Bing then Red Son* oh yeah.....this is Ao Bing.

Red Son: *hair sizzling* I know who he is! Why is he here!?!

Macaque: .......i stole him.....

Red Son: *glances at Ao Bing* are you ok with this?!

Ao Bing: *shrugs and continues eating his noodles* it's not to bad.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk macaque #lmk au #monkie kid #six eared macaque #lmk ao bing #lmk red son #lmk lotusdragon #Lotusdragon #Ne zha x Ao Bing #lmk nezha #Nezha #monkie kid nezha #ao bing #red son

[thrandilf]

do you have a guide as to the extra materials for The Dragon Prince? i keep seeing stuff about comics or books but idk where to start

Not on hand but I can make one here! :D

There are two, soon to be three, canon graphic novels.

Through the Moon takes place between seasons 3 and 4, like a little season 3.5 It isn't Necessary to read it before watching S4 but the story is cool and the extra information is neat. It feels like we might get more info regarding what happened to Rayla while she was gone later in the show

Bloodmoon Huntress takes place when Rayla is a child around when her parents leave. Lots of Runaan and Ethari, also introduces Kim'dael who will be in S5. Again, not Required reading but a fun extra story.

Puzzle House is coming out August 1st and is about Claudia and Soren as children, and we also get a look at younger Viren and other people. Harrow's father, King Atticus is still king in this one so interesting Katolis lore, SUPER hyped for when we get to read all of this one. The Scholastic link has a 15 pages preview if you wanna take a peek.

There are novelizations for Dragon Prince Season 1 and Season 2, they add a bit of introspection and small extra details. Viren in particular gets more of his internal thought processes laid out and for me it just Confirmed a lot of things. Season 3's novelization is coming out April 2nd, 2024. I'm sure all 7 seasons will eventually have novelizations.

Tales of Xadia is the ttrpg book and it's gorgeous and is probably the most lore heavy supplemental material as far as world building goes. The system also looks fun! The website has a character builder too for OC making. As a writer, it's been a great help as far as seeing some aspects of the world laid out. The system looks fun and there are videos of some of the cortex(?) team playing ToX official tales/campaigns but I haven't watched them yet. The campaigns are also available to look at online too.

I think that ToX is getting an expansion at some point since the base game doesn't touch much on Ocean or Star magic, I imagine due to spoilers for the seasons we're coming up on.

There's also a tabletop game called Battlecharged which I haven't personally played and I don't think it Adds lore but I've heard it's fun.

Also, it will likely be a long time before we see it, but there's a video game in the works as well that's in alpha testing right now called Project Arcanum. Wonderstorm is pretty busy!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

The Free Stuff:

Reflections are official short stories hosted on TDP's website and all of them are excellent and provide little extra scenes. Some of them are quite impactful, and the ones in this second batch are promising an absolutely wild S5. The first batch was released pre S4 and the second batch is being released now pre S5 as we count down to the new season. They aren't Required reading since the most key information from them will be in the show (going by the S4 ones) but I highly HIGHLY rec reading them all. Banger after banger. As of posting this there may be one more coming.

There's also little 4 panel comics called Everyday Xadia that have been also released during countdown mode and they're just fun/cute. Volume One and Volume 2 (still coming out). Sometimes when people say comics they might mean these, or the graphic novels lol.

Thank you for the ask, I'm always happy to share the TDP love and I hope this was helpful to you and anyone else who'd like a ref!

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp netflix #puzzle house #tales of xadia #ref #reference #feel free to rb/save!

[silens-oro]

Spoils of War: 6. The Stars Above

Aemond Targaryen x F!Targaryen!Reader

Spoils of War Masterlist House of the Dragon Masterlist

Synopsis: The pieces of the chessboard begin to move.

Word Count: ~10,292 (holy shit)

Warning: 18+. Targaryen uncle/niece incest (lite, nothing truly weird other than they are both Targaryens), starvation, force feeding, torture, blood, murder, imprisonment, anxiety, psychological trauma, ptsd.

AN: I'm cryin' at the response to Ch. 5. Thank you to everyone who reached out! We get to see a bit of everyone in this one. Is Cregan a lil ooc? Mayhaps. Is Aemond heading into WackyTaffy territory? Mmmmmyeah. Do I care? Nohaps. I create my own false realities, babes. It's just past 1am where I am and this has taken 2 days to edit, so I hope you all enjoy it. Also, my Cregan Stark faceclaim is 100% Arnas Fedaravičius as Sihtric from The Last Kingdom. Season 3 specifically. You're welcome.

Likes, reblogs, and comments are highly appreciated.

It had been three days since Jace landed in Winterfell. It took him no less than half a day along his journey to garner the support of Lady Jayne Arryn within the Eyrie, just as his mother had said. Lady Jayne had apparently laughed Aemond out of her keep more than a week prior, her threat of sending him through the Moon Door not subtle, before he made his rounds to other Houses of the Kingdom.

Jace had been welcomed to the North by Lord Cregan Stark nearly a week later. They had taken to each other like ducks to a pond within moments of meeting. Jace felt familiar to Cregan; he held a striking resemblance to the brother he had lost and Jace's earnestness was not lost on Cregan. Jace spoke truth with every word he shared, and it was a trait that the Lord appreciated greatly.

Cregan welcomed the Prince into his Keep, introduced him to his family, and supped with him at his table. The North was nothing like the young Prince had imagined. It was wet and gray, cold and dreary, but the people fascinated the young Prince. He went hunting with the Lord, bonding even further as if they were already brothers. He introduced Cregan to Vermax, and told him of Maestron. He described how the dragon’s pale scales would blend in with the snow and how the beast would create his own legend up North. 

It was equal parts terrifying and fascinating to Cregan. The prospect of having a dragon in the North was daunting. The cost alone to feed it caused a spike of anxiety, not to mention just how safe his people would be with it roaming the countryside freely. There was also the thought of security. The North was a formidable enemy to have without a dragon, but with one…no one in the seven Kingdoms, or elsewhere, would dare to make them their enemy.

The topic of a betrothal to the Princess had been brought up a few times in passing, and while Cregan was not completely for it…he was receptive to the idea. Jace only spoke kind words of you, praises that only went higher and higher. In the end, his words seemed to win over the Warden of the North. If you were only a fraction of what Jace had described in the few days he had been in Winterfell, you would make a fine Lady of the North. 

All of this brought Jace to this current moment in time.

He walked next to Cregan through the grounds of the Keep until they reached the Godswood. The vibrancy of the weirwood trees, their blood red foliage a stark contrast to the grays and browns surrounding him, caught his breath at their beauty. Cregan stopped him as they reached the raised and twisting roots of the first tree. He put a large hand upon Jace’s shoulder in a friendly gesture, but his face was serious. His dark brows were furrowed as he looked down to Jace.      

“The fact that the Princess has not made her way here yet has not been forgotten by me.” Cregan said with a sigh as he dropped his hand. He could see the panicked thoughts racing through Jace’s eyes as he spoke. “You have been honest with me thus far, Prince Jacaerys, and for that I will give you the benefit of the doubt regarding the Princess’ absence.”

“I thank you for your hospitality and your courtesy, Lord Stark.” He said with a sigh of relief. “I assure you that this is quite unusual behavior with respect to my sister. She was supposed to be here yesterday at the latest.”

“She was.” He agreed. “You are worried?”

“I am.” Jace responded truthfully. Cregan seemed to respect the truth, even if the truth was not appealing.  

“And you are sure she has not fled? I can’t imagine the prospect of living in the North would be appealing to a Southern Princess.” It would’ve sounded like a baited question had it been anyone but Cregan Stark. He knew it wasn’t a stretch for a Princess to shun the idea of relocating her life to live in the cold, wet, harsh climates of Winterfell.  

“She would not flee.” Jace reassured Cregan, though the crease between his brows let Cregan know that the very idea that she would flee was a slight against his sister. “My sister is a great many things, Lord Stark. Dutiful and punctual are amongst her greatest attributes, I assure you.”

“I meant no offense, my Prince.” Cregan bowed just the slightest bit in respect. “If it would ease your worries, I will have the maester send a raven to Dragonstone. Worry not, Prince Jacaerys. We will get to the bottom of this.” Cregan extended a kind smile that just barely tilted at the corners of his lips.

“I would appreciate that, Lord.”

“Aemond,” Alicent greeted softly as Aemond let himself into her Solar. He allowed himself some time to clean himself up before seeing his mother so he at least didn’t look as he felt. Anxiety swirled in the pit of his stomach and he knew she could see it in his eye. He took a deep breath, steeling himself to rip the bandage from the proverbial wound. He stood with his feet a shoulder’s width apart, his hands clasping tightly behind his back. 

“Lucerys is dead.” Alicent’s jaw dropped, as did the cup held within her hand. “As is the Princess.” It felt like the rug had been pulled from beneath her feet. 

“How do you know this?” She whispered, taking slow, measured steps towards Aemond. Her breaths quickened, dread filling her chest. 

“I was there.” He replied simply. An understatement, perhaps.

“Where?”

“Somewhere between Bronzegate and Stonedance.”

“They were at Storm’s Landing?” She questioned as she stood before him. 

“They were.” He swallowed thickly, not able to meet his mother’s eyes. He looked just over her head and out the window. Darkness had since fallen over King’s Landing, shrouding it in shadow. “For the same reason I was.”

“What happened?” Her jaw was clamped tightly, anger rising as her son refused to meet her eyes. He was involved, she concluded. “You will explain yourself now!” 

“Vhagar took them from the skies.” The lie was only partial. A gasp fell from Alicent’s parted lips.

“What have you done?” She grasped Aemond’s face in her hands harshly, pulling him down so he would look at her. Aemond could feel his mother shaking with rage. “What have you done?!” 

“I could not stop her.” He whispered. “I gave chase to both of them, for that I am guilty. Arrax drew dragon fire onto Vhagar and she did not let his action go unpunished.” He explained. “She went after Arrax and I was unable to stop her.” Alicent could read between the lines. Young Luke, though she held no love for the boy, died horrifically. She let go of her son’s face, stumbling back.

“And the Princess?” She mumbled, shell-shocked. 

“She tried to save Lucerys and perished as he did somewhere along Massey’s Hook.” Aemond lied.

“The Massey’s are aligned with the Blacks, Aemond. Surely a raven has reached Rhaenyra by now.” Alicent hissed, angry, frustrated tears welling in her eyes.

“I would assume so.” His tone was indifferent, but inside he was screaming.

“There is no way your beast was not seen. They will know this was you. Daemon will kill you for this, you stupid boy!” Alicent shouted. 

“Daemon would kill me for less if given the opportunity. I am not sorry for what has transpired. Neither would’ve made it through this war.” Alicent looked at Aemond like she did not recognize him. “It was a mercy, if anything.”

“War is brutal, mother.” He explains. “Boys like Luke -soft- do not last long, and the women who create that softness survive even less.” Alicent shook her head, her loose curls bouncing in the light of the fireplace.

“The Blacks will strike with everything they have!”

“They have little!” Aemond assured her. 

“And now more will flock to them!” Spittle flew from her mouth. “You’ve killed two of Rhaenyra’s children! Your niece and nephew! How could this happen, Aemond? How?!” Alicent screamed, tears falling down her cheeks. “If any House was on the fence that could've swayed to us, we’ve surely lost them!”

“I shall not lose sleep over it, I assure you.” Aemond fronted with a roll of his eye. “They took their chances against Vhagar and got as they deserved.” Still his stomach twisted at his own words. Alicent stared at Aemond, her lip trembling.

“You loved her!” She said in confusion. “Just one month prior you were asking for her hand, and now she is dead?” Alicent sobbed, holding a hand to her chest as she held herself against the high back of a chair. “There is no forgiveness in the eyes of the Seven for this, Aemond.” 

“She is better off dead than in the hands of a lord that isn’t worthy of the air she breathes. Mmm,” Aemond hummed. “I suppose it is fortuitous that war is upon us to shield me from further judgment.” He spat. “I’ve secured the bannermen of Storm’s End as I’ve been tasked to do. I shall be wed to the Baratheon girl in a week’s time. I’ve done my duty, mother, and I’ve managed to kill two birds with one stone to keep my brother on his throne. Sacrifices must be made. You said those words yourself.” Alicent had no response. Her lips tilted into a deep frown, her eyes glassy. Her shoulders had hunched as she watched Aemond turn on his heel and leave. 

What’s done is done. 

Three more days had passed in Winterfell and the weight of your absence felt heavier and heavier upon Jace’s shoulders with each passing day. 

A maester quickly approached Cregan and Jace, who were showing off their skills with archery -Jace moreso showing just how un-skilled he was with a bow. The Lord was trying to keep the boy occupied until he got word from Dragonstone. He had other duties to attend to, but something did not feel right in his gut. It was an instinct he learned to trust early on.

“Lord Stark!” The elderly man called, waving a rolled parchment in his hands. Jace let an arrow loose and it did not hit within the circular target, but it did lodge itself just to the right within the wood. 

“Progress!” Cregan commended. Jace smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. He was ready to notch another arrow when the maester stopped him.

“My Lord, my Prince,” He bowed, completely out of breath. “I have word from Dragonstone. May we converse somewhere privately?” Cregan looked down to Jace, whose face dropped instantly. The raven the maester sent to Dragonstone still had days before it would reach his mother, so if a raven was here from Dragonstone…something had to have happened. 

Cregan took the scroll from the maester and began walking to his council chambers. He unraveled the parchment and read it as he walked with haste. Jace had to nearly run to keep up with his gait. The maester trailed behind both, panting furiously. Once the door to the council chambers was closed, Cregan turned to Jace who looked at him with fear shining in his eyes. His own eyes held a deep sadness, which did not bode well for Jace. Wordlessly, Cregan handed the scroll to the younger boy. 

The room was silent as Jace read the message. 

He had to sit, lest his legs give out from beneath him. Cregan helped lower the shocked young man, his hand never leaving his shoulder.

“My most sincere condolences, my Prince.” The baritone of his voice vibrated to Jace, who let the parchment slip through his fingers and fall to his feet. He could not feel. He could not think.

Jace dropped his head to his hands in utter agony.

Surrounded by darkness, you did not know if your eyes were truly open or not. Were you alive? Were you in a purgatory of sorts? Was this the afterlife? Hell?

The back of your head pounded angrily and your back felt stiff. You reached to touch the tender flesh, but a weight around your wrists stopped you. 

Alive, it would seem, you thought. but Hell all the same. 

Chain links clinked together as you moved your hands to where you thought your face was, but even inches from your own eyes you could not see through the void. Your thumbs rubbed over the scabbed skin of your palms. The skin was taut and each stretch of it caused you to hiss in pain. Sighing heavily, you rested your hands back onto your stomach and closed your eyes to let your mind spin. 

Lucerys was truly gone. Never would you see his young face mature into that of a man. Never would you hear his voice, his laughter. Never would you see him grow, and learn, and change. He would never become a father or an uncle. He would never be. 

Tears cascaded down the sides of your temples with renewed fervor as you sobbed into the darkness. Your stomach clenched as you let the raw emotions take over. Gone was your strength. Gone was your fight. Even if you lived through this -whatever your current situation may be- you would never be able to face your mother again. Guilt began to fester insidiously within your brain. Had you simply kept your mouth shut, would Aemond have given chase? Had you not thrust your own proverbial dagger into his heart and twisted without remorse, would Luke still be alive? 

Has Luke’s death been your own doing? 

Blame encumbered you like a thick, suffocating blanket that left no air to fill your lungs.

The thoughts of what could have been no longer mattered. The reality was this; Luke and Arrax were dead. Maestron was dead. You were held prisoner somewhere. Luke’s death and your disappearance would surely be the start of a kingdom-wide catastrophe; a deadly dance of dragons that would leave no survivors in its wake. 

You did not know how long you had been in your cell before you woke. You did not know if word had reached your father yet. Would he believe you dead? Or would he think you left with Aemond willingly to not marry Cregan Stark? No, you berated yourself. He’d think me dead before believing that I’d willingly betray my family. Still, if they thought you dead, would they have reason to look for your body? One they wouldn’t find? Or would they assume Vhagar had consumed you as she had Luke? A million thoughts raced through your mind. With only the darkness and the rats for company, there was nothing to stop them. 

When your eyes opened once more, they shut just as quickly as you buried your face in the itchy wool of your blanket. A hiss left your lips as the light of a torch burned your eyes mercilessly. You re-opened them slowly, allowing them to adjust to the light. Your head throbbed at the intrusion. 

Aemond placed the torch into the holder that was fastened to the wall just to the right of the staircase he descended from. This was the first you had seen of your surroundings and they were just as desolate as they had been in the dark.

Your cell was a small rectangle, six feet wide and twice as deep. The foot of your cot faced the bars of the cell. There was a bucket in the furthest corner and that was it. You were in a dungeon, that much could be deduced. The silence that filled your time let you know that you were the only poor soul down here, wherever here was.

Aemond stood at the bars, a tray of food in hand and a cup snugly held to his chest with the crook of his elbow. Your stomach growled loudly at the sight. He pushed the plate through the gap at the bottom of the bars and put this hand through the bars to place the cup next to it. 

“Do you fear what I would do to you if you opened the cell door?” Your voice cracked as you spoke. Still you taunted him. You had nothing more to lose.

“I could never fear you.” His voice was soft and his words were not arrogant. 

“You should.” You hissed, standing on your bare feet to pick up the plate and cup. Your blanket fell to the dirt floor in a heap. Aemond watched as your chains clinked with your movement until you sat back down on the cot, legs pulled up to sit under you. You tore a piece of bread from the roll on the plate and stuffed it into your mouth. “If I ever get out of these chains, I’ll pluck your remaining eye and make you eat it.” You said it so plainly as if you were discussing the clouds in the sky. Aemond sighed heavily.

“You are in pain. I know you do not mean your words.” 

“You know not of the pain I feel.” You snapped, dropping the bread back onto the plate. “You’ve murdered my brother and you think I know not of the words that fall from my lips? This is a betrayal that I will never recover from, Aemond.” Aemond let your words permeate the dungeon for a few moments before he leaned against the bars.

“I did not mean for this to happen...” His voice was just above a whisper. He did not look at you as he spoke. Aemond did not have it in him to truly face you. 

“If you’ve come down here to apologize, don’t. There is nothing you could say to me. Nothing.” You shook your head, burying your face in your blanket.

“I do not seek your forgiveness.” Aemond’s voice cracked as he spoke. 

“Good.” You hissed. “Because you will get none from me.”

“I do owe you an explanation.”

“You owe me my freedom.” He finally brought his eye to look at you. Your hair was in a rat’s nest, nearly completely free of the braids they were in when you got to Storm’s End. Your eyes were red and swollen, your face blotched with irritated skin and dried blood. You had removed your leather jerkin, leaving your undershirt, riding pants, and smallclothes as the only garments you had on. 

“Be that as it may, I cannot let you go.” Aemond sighed and started pacing in front of the cell. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he settled on his next words. “I tried to stop her.”

“Shut up!” You pressed your hands to your ears as best as you could within your shackles. Aemond only spoke louder.

“I did not intend on killing him! I meant to scare him, to scare you and give you both chase. Him for being a little prick and you for my heart! Vhagar did not heed my commands once Arrax had set fire to her.” You brought your hands down and set Aemond with a beastly glare. 

“You thought Vhagar -a dragon so vast and old, so battle-hardened, so deadly -does not do as she wishes? That you command her?” You scoffed, leaning back against the stone wall. “No dragon can be tamed, Aemond. She’s bonded to you, not for you. You were stupid to think otherwise.”

“She has never disregarded me-”

“-You goaded your dragon who has fought wars -who has killed men and beast alike- to kill once more and you are surprised she did it?!” You shouted from your cage.

“Had Arrax not attacked with fire he and Luke would be alive! Maestron would be alive!” You stood suddenly, shuffling towards the bars of the cell. Flames would have burst forth from you if they could.

“Had you not given chase in the first place, they would be alive! You’ve done this, not Luke! Not Arrax! My brother’s blood is on your hands, Aemond, and still you play the weak man. Putting blame to anyone’s hands but your own!” Tears had risen once more to your tired eyes. “You were man enough to take flight, to taunt and chase! You will be man enough to take responsibility for what you’ve done!” The rage would never leave you, you vowed. If it took until your last breath, you’d make Aemond pay for what he did. “Vhagar felt your disdain for Luke through your connection. You’ve wanted him dead since we were children, Aemond! Do not lie to me!”

“Yes, I’ve wanted him dead, but not like this.”

“He died for nothing!” You screamed in High Valyrian. Depredation filled Aemond’s very core and overfilled into his soul as he stared down at you. There was nothing he could do or say to put this right. Nothing could fix this disaster he had caused, putting you at the center of the crossfire and Luke as the first casualty of the impending war. “He died for nothing.” You repeated in a whisper, dropping back onto your cot. Your head dropped to your shackled hands and you pulled at the roots of your hair to feel something, anything, other than hellfire within. It was all-consuming. A few moments of still silence passed before Aemond spoke again.

“I am undeserving of any kindness from you, but that does not lessen the blow of each hate-filled word you’ve thrown my way. It felt the same in the Pits, at Storm’s End, and it feels the same here. I will never forgive myself for the pain I’ve caused, the nephew I’ve slain. That is something I must live with until my final breath. And I will.” Aemond sniffed and you knew then that he was shedding tears, or close to it. “I love you...so deeply. If I could rip my own beating heart from my chest, I would if it meant an end to this torment. I’ve been broken my whole life…but I’ve never felt completely broken until the day you denied me in the Pits. I felt the ground crumble beneath me and I fell into an endless misery.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “I am still falling.” 

You did not respond to Aemond. You could not take a single word more from him. With each word that tumbled from his lips, your stomach flipped. Pulling the itchy blanket over you, you turned your back to him and faced the wall in the fetal position. Aemond granted you the small mercy of rest, but he also took the torch with him, blanketing you in darkness once more.

The passing of time was impossible to gauge accurately. Aemond hadn’t returned to see you in what you assumed were days. In his place a young woman of -at maximum- six and ten visited your cell to leave you a tray of food and a cup of water. An estimated six days had passed, based off this timing assumption, and this was the seventh. 

A week. 

The news had to have reached your family by now. You couldn’t imagine the devastation that would ravage them. Your mind went to Jace first, who always tried to be mature and brave. He would be absolutely gutted. To lose both of his eldest siblings was going to be the most trying thing he had ever encountered, and you didn’t want to think of the psychological breakdown he would inevitably have over this. Young Joffrey would surely miss you and Luke, though he was just young enough to not fully grasp the situation. The same went for Aegon III and Viserys II. 

Next you thought of your mother. You hoped this would light a fire so deep within her that she’d lay waste to everything the Greens held dear. If there was any good to come out of this, it was the hope of more support would gather for her within the realm. You felt genuine fear in the pit of your stomach at the thought of seeing her again. Would she blame you for what happened to Luke? Would she resent you for living? You would not blame her if she did.

You knew the prospect of your death would send your father to the brink of no return. He truly loved Rhaena and Baela, but you…you were his firstborn. You were his pride and joy, his near likeness. You were everything he could’ve hoped for from a child. He loved you from the very second he lay his eyes on you, and much like the bond your lineage had with the dragons, you had one with your father. You hoped the connection hadn’t been lost to him, that he held hope. Without it, you would surely perish in this dreaded darkness. 

“You finally grace me with your presence.” You spat as Aemond set his torch down in the holder. He did not have a tray with him this time around, and you wondered if you would be eating this night. “I’m flattered.” Your tone stated the contrary. 

“You asked me a question…down in the Pits. The answer seemed obvious until now.” Aemond’s hands were clasped before him as he spoke. You did not bother giving him your attention.

“You’ll have to be more specific.” 

“Would I choose you?” Aemond stared at you as you finally looked at him, and it felt unnerving. “I did.” He whispered. “I chose you when I made the decision to take you. I know what the question implied. Love does questionable things to the brain, I suppose, but in the end I chose you.” All you could do was shake your head as tears built back up, your throat constricting. 

“You do not love me. You may have…once, but not anymore.” You choked out. “You’ve killed my brother and I am caged like an animal. You do not extend your love with the likes of brutality.”

“This is not a kind world, Princess, and I am not a kind man. Still, my affections remain.”

“Before all of this madness, you have been kind to me!” You reasoned. “You cannot stand there and tell me otherwise! You can be a kind man but you choose not to be! You can fix this, Aemond! I’ve known you to be a great many things, but stupid is not one of them. This…this is stupid.” 

“In that you are not wrong.” He relented. “My love for you will never die, this is true…which is why you are still alive. I could have let you run off that cliff. I could have. You are here for your own safety.”

“You cannot keep me locked down here in the dark with the rats forever! This is a fate worse than death!” You shouted from your cot.

“Once my sister and uncle have fallen, there will be no more need to keep you hidden. You shall be placed on a pedestal for all to see; my spoils of a war won. We shall live out our days peacefully.”

“You will not win this war, Aemond. To believe so is a naïveté that I did not believe you of all people capable of harboring. You have taken two of my mother’s children from her. I know she believes me dead. You will not live to see the end of this, she will make sure of it. My father will make sure of it. Jace will make sure of it. You’ve signed over your own execution is all you’ve done!”

Aemond breathed in at the mention of Daemon. He knew the road ahead would not be easy, and if there was a foe that would be hardest to best, it would be him. His will to persevere would surely bring success. It had to. 

You stood, inching your way over to the bars of the cell. The shackles on your ankles left little room for steps, but you made due. Your shackled hands grasped at the bars, iron clanking against iron as your face pushed between them to get as close to Aemond as you could, eyes pleading with him to see reason. “Free me and we may be able to stop this! If they know I am at least alive-” 

“I’ve killed one of her sons. I have done the unforgivable. Returning you will not change that fact.” 

“My return will lessen the blow!” Frustration laced your voice.

“It will not. Regardless, no one knows you’re here with the exception of my Shadow, and no one else will know. Once this war is won,” Aemond reached his hand through the bars to cradle your cheek in his palm. A nimble finger delicately traced over the bridge of your nose. The slight bump was a reminder of what his brother did to you during the last time your families would ever join together as one, of what started the whole domino effect that led you both to where you stood currently. “We shall marry as we intended.” His grip on you tightened. “I will love you, honor you, give you all the children you wish. All that you desire, you shall have.” You sobbed openly, though they were cries of devastation and not happiness as they would’ve been previously. The life you once dreamed of, would have sacrificed anything for, was being given to you in a way you did not bargain for nor want. 

“And your marriage to the Baratheon girl?” The look that overcame Aemond’s face was unsettling, his thumb stroking the apple of your filthy cheek. 

“My duty has been fulfilled.” His voice was just above a whisper, a tone used between lovers, not of a hostage and her captor. Your eye twitched as tears continued to well. You looked up at Aemond. “But do not fret; There are ways to end an unwanted marriage.” Anger filled your heart once more as your jaw clenched. 

“Delusions.” You spat. “Any love I have harbored in my heart for you died with Lucerys, and my Maestron, you fool!” You pushed yourself away from the bars, Aemond’s hand falling back to his side. The chains imprisoning you rattled as you pulled them with you to the back of the cell, as far as you could be from Aemond’s searing eye. 

“I have loved you truly!” You screamed, “I have loved you willingly!” Aemond’s chest tightened at your confession. His brows furrowed as he looked to the ground. He bit his bottom lip then rolled his eye back up to meet yours. “Instead of happiness, this is the path you’ve chosen! One of cruelty and viciousness! Death and destruction! Murder and blood! Of treachery and devastation! You may have me physically, but you will never truly have me, Aemond. Never. Not after what you have done.” Your chest heaved and you felt much older than your years. Aemond stared at you for a moment, taking your feral appearance in. 

“We shall see.” The corners of Aemond’s lips tilted up just slightly before he turned, taking the flame of the torch with him. 

You had no idea what time had passed since you last saw Aemond. Your conversation must’ve sat heavily with him if he could not face you. The coward, you thought. Scratching in the distance caught your ear, as it had the last couple of nights. It was grating on your nerves as it continued night after night. Damned rats, you thought with a scowl. 

You could only time your days by the meals that were brought to you by a mouse of a girl -his Shadow, Aemond had called her. She was the only human that you interacted with besides Aemond. 

No matter how much you begged upon your arrival, the girl would not sway in releasing you. There was a reason she and she alone attended to you. Her devotion to Aemond was baffling. 

By the third meal cycle since you saw your captor, you refused to eat. Each meal after that was left at the foot of your cell and was taken away hours later just the same as it had been brought, some bits picked at by the rats that scuttled in the darkness. It was four more meal cycles before Aemond himself reappeared. 

“You are starving yourself.” You were huddled in the furthest corner of the cell on the ground, your knees bent up to your chest. A clean woolen blanket was cocooned around your body as you shivered in the darkness. “Why?”

Your voice was hoarse from the minimal water you consumed, and underused from lack of speaking. You did not beg the Shadow for help after the third meal cycle. 

Your dry lips cracked and bled as you moved them. Your tongue stuck to the roof of your dry mouth. 

“What need do I have of food? I will die down here, I am sure of it.” You didn’t bother looking at him. “No need to prolong the inevitable.” Your strength had left you as your body started to waste away. 

The bright flames of the torch burned your eyes as you tilted your head from your knees to look at Aemond. He placed the torch snugly into the holder in the wall as you pushed your face back down into the blankets. 

Aemond crouched down on the other side of the bars, hands clasped together as his forearms rested on his thighs. 

“You may eat willingly, or I will force it into you. One way or another, you will consume it.” You did not look up as he spoke, just let your silent tears soak into the wool. You did not know how many more you had left to give. “You will live.”

The two strangers, a man and a woman, looked nervously between Daemon and Caraxes, who stood menacingly on the shore’s cliff behind his rider. The winds of Rosby’s shores were fierce as they blew around the trio standing in the sand. 

“We thank you for meeting with us on such short notice, Prince Daemon.” The woman spoke first. Daemon merely held up the scroll that was sent to him, the information within it was either damning or a true revelation. 

“Speak plainly. You do not give this information out of the goodness of your heart, I’m sure.” Daemon’s already short fuse was nearly non-existent now. 

“She lives.” The woman spoke earnestly. “The Princess lives.” Daemon took slow, deliberate steps to her, eyes squinting against the wind. The large man next to the woman was quick to draw his sword, but a warning snarl from Caraxes was all he needed to stand down.

“For your sake, the words you speak better be the truth.” Daemon warned. 

“They are, your Grace.” The woman assured Daemon.

“What proof do you have?” 

“The Princess is locked in a cell beneath the Red Keep. She has none of her own belongings with her. If I could’ve brought something to you, I would have. To stand before you, empty handed with naught but my own word, is terrifying -I will not lie, but alas -my word is all I have.”

“Is it silver you’re after? Money? Land? What would you have me give you for your word?” Caraxys chittered behind his rider, sensing the irritation flaring in Daemon. “You wish to be fed to my dragon for a ploy?” 

“N-no, your Grace! We are f-firm supporters of Queen Rhaenyra,” The man spoke, trying not to stutter. “Just as our Lord is.” The thick accents had caught Daemon’s attention when the woman had spoken initially. Daemon’s eyes narrowed. “What has happened to Prince Lucerys and the Princess was a travesty, my Prince. This is why our Lord sent us here.”

“Your Lord?” Daemon pushed.

“Lord Cregan Stark.” The woman answered. Daemon made a face at the pair.

“Cregan Stark does not bother with matters outside of his own land, especially of those so far South.” The woman nodded and explained further:

“Lord Stark initially accepted the offered betrothal to the Princess, even if that acceptance was known only to Prince Jacaerys. This treachery by Prince Aemond is an affront to House Stark as it is to your own House.” The wind blew her auburn hair in a tornado of red. “As you know, our Lord is a man of his word. To break an oath is an offense met with the swing of a sword. Lord Stark accepted the betrothal and feels it is his duty to do all he can to ensure the Princess is returned safely.”

“He has never met my daughter. He holds no love for her. He has nothing tying him to her other than a botched betrothal and he sends spies to King’s Landing?” Daemon could only feel suspicion towards the pair before him.

“Prince Jacaerys was not convinced that Prince Aemond would kill the Princess.” Ah, Daemon thought. Of course Jace was involved with this nonsense. “Not after their shared…history.” She treaded softly around her choice of words. “It was by the Prince’s request to our Lord that we be sent to infiltrate the Red Keep. We did, and we found her, your Grace. Truly.” Daemon stared at the pair, gauging their words carefully.

“Is it a reward you are looking for in return?” He questioned. The woman shook her head.

“The only payment we are requesting, your Grace, is that you keep your end of the offered betrothal to tie the Houses of Targaryen and Stark together as promised once she is free.” 

“If you deliver my daughter to Dragonstone alive, I will supp with Cregan Stark myself to complete the terms. If my daughter is alive, there is no telling what condition she will return in.” Both strangers nodded, relief evident on their faces. 

“We return to King’s Landing tonight. Should all go according to plan, we should reach the shores of Dragonstone in no later than a month’s time, your Grace.” 

Weeks -or what you thought were weeks- had passed. Aemond and his Shadow watched over you diligently after your failed hunger strike. You gave most of the food to the rats, who had made themselves comfortable in your cell with you. 

There was one rat in particular who kept you company most days. He had a healed stump where one of his front paws should’ve been. Simon, you had named him. A simple name for a simple creature. He was a curious little rodent, and had an easy temperament -as easy as a rat’s could’ve been. His brown fur was soft the handful of times he allowed you to touch him with the tips of your fingers. You’d gained his trust with pieces of bread, fruit, and the occasional marzipan cake that was on your tray. 

I know they are your favorite, Aemond had told you the first time he brought a tray with one down. 

A small comfort, he said. 

Not once did you eat the cakes out of principle alone. The little rat, however, loved to pick at the pomegranate seeds and dried fruit that usually topped the cakes before dragging the sweet confections off into the darkness. 

Simon lived like a little King of the Dungeons thanks to your offerings. 

Still, you only picked at the food on the tray enough to stay alive as of recent. Aemond had made good on his promise of force feeding you after nearly ten days on your hunger strike, and you wished to never experience that horrifying series of events ever again. Drinking water was enough to trigger you on some days, your gag reflex not allowing the liquid to go down without choking you. 

What an agonizing existence.

The creek of the iron door was the only warning you got before you were pulled up on your cot by rough hands. Your arms were pulled up and the shackles around your wrists were attached to a hook above the cot, leaving you incapable of using your arms. 

Aemond was furious when you looked into his eye. Your confusion and exhaustion did not give you the proper mindset to ask what was happening until it was too late. His body was draped over yours on the cot to hold you still, a calloused hand held your jaw firmly, his fingers bruising your gaunt cheeks as he held your mouth open with painful force. The fingers of his other hand pinched your nostrils closed.

“Now.” He ordered, tilting your head back causing you to cry out in pain. You didn’t even see his Shadow until she was pouring warm broth into your mouth. You choked and sputtered, spitting it all over yourself and Aemond before he could push your mouth closed. He held his hand over your lips, fingers still holding your nostrils closed to force you to swallow. Tears fell from your eyes as you begged silently for air and pulled at your chains. The raw skin of your wrists ripped open as you fought against the irons. The warm trickle of blood only caused you to panic even further. 

Once Aemond saw the bulge of liquid go down your throat, he freed your mouth just enough so you could cough and draw breath for a mere moment before he held your jaw painfully once more. 

“Again.” He ordered, and the Shadow poured more broth into your mouth as you cried out. “I told you.” He spat as your eyes bulged, tears cascading down your bruising cheeks. “I told you and you did not listen.” He removed his hands from you completely, but he did not move away. You fell to the side, gasping for air and coughing out the broth that snaked its way to your lungs. Your brutal coughs echoed in the bare dungeon, the chains of your shackles rattled with each pull of haggard breath. You pushed your face into your arm as you sobbed hysterically. Aemond grabbed your chin once more to make you look at him.

“Though it pains me, I will continue to do this…or you will eat on your own.” He gave you your choices once more. You merely nodded, unable to look at him. 

You stopped speaking to him entirely after that. You spoke to Simon when something needed to be said aloud. The rat’s company was much more preferable to Aemond’s, too. 

Aemond hadn’t been down to see you in days, though his Shadow was diligent. It was equally relieving as it was troublesome when he was absent. It was a relief to not see him, or hear him speak to you. It was troublesome because the Gods only knew what terrors he was unleashing upon the realm. 

Sat on the ground, cocooned in your blanket, you watched as Simon carried little bits of bread in his mouth to a hole in the wall of your cell. After so long in the darkness, your eyes had adjusted just enough that you could spot his small black mass moving about the cell. He stopped before you and you reached your fingers out to give him a pat on his little head before handing him a grape. He took it greedily within his mouth and hobbled back into the hole with his bounty, surely building up quite the store to snack on later.

“My Princess,” A voice called out, a whisper in the vast nothingness of your dungeon. “Please hear my words,” I’ve finally reached madness, you thought. Words without a mouth had reached your ears. “You are not alone. You have friends in the darkness of the Red Keep, Princess. The black flames will bring life to you once more, you must hold fast.” 

Was it Simon that had spoken? Your eyes watched as his hefty little body scurried up to your feet. Your cellmate looked up at you, standing tall on his two back feet. “Have faith. You will be free of this wretched place soon, but you must first gain your strength. Eat.” Simon’s tiny mouth did not move as he looked at you, but you heard the words nonetheless. “Wait for my word and look to the stars for guidance.”

“Targaryen madness,” You mumbled out loud, burying your face into your blanketed knees dejectedly. Your eyes closed as the rat scurried away. 

The sound of metal clinking together made your head perk up. A small sack was tossed into your cell from the darkness outside of it. You stretched your arms as far as you could without moving your aching body and took it within your bound hands. You winced with each rub of the irons against your already raw and torn skin. 

The sack was not large, and it was not weighty. Undoing the drawstring and poking a hand inside, your fingers caught a keyring. Pulling it from the sack, a single rusted key dangled from it. Placing it carefully on your lap, you felt around the sack once more and was met with the handle of a small dagger. Its blade was sharp, the end pointed dangerously. Your breaths quickened in anxiety.  

Shakily, you know unwrapped your bare feet from the blanket and tested the key on the irons around your ankles. To your surprise the latch popped open with a creak. 

Testing the shackles on your wrists, the same happened. The relief you felt with the irons fell away from your raw flesh brought tears to your eyes. 

Soon, you thought. Just a little bit longer. 

Stuffing the key and dagger inside a small slit on the side of your mattress, you re-shackled yourself and wrapped the blanket around you once more. 

There truly was hope yet. 

Each day that passed you slowly ate off the trays, little by little. 

It was three meal cycles before you heard the voice again. It had awoken you from your dreamless void, a hopeful whisper in the darkness. 

“The dragon flies tomorrow, Princess. Do what you must. I will be waiting.” Do what you must. Your hand felt the side of the mattress for the dagger that hadn’t moved since it was thrown into your cell. Feeling the solid butt of the handle, you resigned yourself to what would surely be a point of no return. 

You would escape or you would die trying.

The Shadow brought your tray of food the following day, just as she always did and as she was putting it on the ground to slide under the bars, you stopped her. 

Your ankles and wrists were unshackled, but the chains still led underneath your blanket so anyone who looked into the cell was none the wiser. 

“My bones ache,” Your voice sounded like a crack of fire. It startled the Shadow enough to nearly drop the tray of food to the ground. You hadn’t spoken to her since your first week in the cell. There was no reason to.

Your eyes burned as the light from the torch on the wall glowed brightly. “I cannot so much as stand to crawl onto my bed. Please bring it in. Hunger burns my belly and I cannot move to reach the tray. Please.” You feigned absolute weakness, burrowing your face back into the blanket. You took a few deep breaths, stealing yourself for what was to come should she take the bait.  

She studied you, deeming if your change of heart was a ploy. It seemed that she harbored some pity towards your dwindling existence by the look on her face. 

“I will live,” You spoke again. “Out of spite, I will live.” Your words held a double meaning, though she wasn’t privy to that. She will be soon.

The Shadow sighed before opening the cell door and cautiously took steps towards you. It seemed poor judgment was a trait she had with all things, much to your good fortune. 

The dagger was grasped tightly in your shaking palm beneath the blanket. 

The girl kneeled down to set the tray down softly next to you and as her eyes rolled up to meet yours, hers widened in fear. Your very alert, lucid eyes were glaring back at her furiously. 

Before she could make a sound, you tackled her with the little strength you had built. You pushed your filthy blanket over her face to muffle her screams and plunged the dagger anywhere it could find purchase. The Shadow’s nails scraped across your face and neck as she swung blindly, doing everything she could to get you off of her until she did not have the strength to flail her arms any longer. 

Blood splattered across your face and body, the walls were streaked with it. The Shadow’s sick gurgling slowly faded as blood seeped through the blanket via her mouth. The twitching of her legs continued for a moment until it too stilled.  

You stayed leaned on her placid body, continuing to push the blanket into her face for good measure as you tried to catch your breath. The blade felt heavy in your hand and it felt as if your lungs would collapse from the adrenaline coursing through you. 

Knowing you had to move quickly, you gathered your courage and stood. Stealing the bread from the tossed tray, you stuffed half in your mouth, then tossed the other half to Simon’s hideaway for him to find later. You would miss your little friend.

Taking your first bare step out of the cell, it felt like the weight of the world had fallen from your shoulders for the briefest of moments. You grabbed the torch from the wall with a shaking hand, the heat like nothing you’ve felt since your capture. You felt like a moth to its flame. The dagger was clutched firmly in your other hand. 

Looking in all directions, you didn’t have the first clue on where you should go. The only direction you knew you couldn’t go was up the staircase that Aemond and his Shadow used. 

“Look to the stars,” She had said. Your eyes rolled up to look at the stone above you. Raising the torch with a weak arm revealed small x’s that had been scratched into the stone. 

ScratchingScratchingIt wasn’t the rats scratching at the walls, driving you to madness night after night. 

The trail led you down a corridor that housed a row of more empty cells. This wing had been long abandoned, if your own imprisonment told you anything. Your head stayed on a swivel to make sure you were alone in your travels. 

The x’s stopped at a nondescript cell. You held the torch in front of you, trying to see what was inside. By all accounts there was nothing to behold. It was just as your cell was, bare but for a cot and a bucket, and a hook to hold shackles. 

Curiously, you stepped within. You held the torch as close to the walls as you could to inspect. There was nothing on the ceiling, nothing on the walls. Becoming frustrated, you kicked at the cot, sending it skidding across the dirt of the floor. Your eye caught it just as you were turning to leave. An x marked in white just inches above the ground. 

You fell to your knees as you brought your trembling hand to the stone. It shook loosely causing you to gasp. You dropped the torch, using both of your hands to pry at the stone. Your malnourished nails broke and splintered as you tried to claw the stone from where it sat. It finally came loose and with it came your first breath of the fresh ocean air outside of the walls of the Red Keep. A sob tumbled from your lips as you tasted freedom. Your hands were bloodied as they pulled stone after stone from the hole to make a space big enough to squeeze through. 

Sunlight did not filter through the hole, and as you peaked through it you saw nothing but the moon illuminated over the ocean. Night. How many moons have passed since your capture? How long have you been living in torment? 

Please, please, please, you begged the Warrior. This was not a battle, but it was certainly a war for survival. Please see me to safety under your protection, I beg. 

“She is here.” A voice said in a hushed manner as you were halfway through the hole. “Pull her out. Quickly!” 

A pair of hands grabbed you by your biceps and tugged you from the dungeon. You lay on your stomach for a moment, the touch of wild grass on your skin was nearly too much for you to take.

“We must hurry, my Princess.” The voice from the dungeon called to you softly. Looking up, you saw two people shielded by their cloaks under the cover of darkness. “You need to change,” She handed you breeches and a tunic before motioning for the other person to turn around. “I apologize for how untoward this is, but you must redress. There are boots here,” She pointed next to the hole in the dungeon. You did not care for your modesty. You were outside of the walls of the Keep, outside of the dungeon. You’d do just about anything to leave this place. 

You ripped the soiled and bloody clothes from your body and redressed as quickly as you physically could. The woman helped you keep your balance and let you go once you were upright with the boots slipped onto your feet. She grabbed a cloak from the second stranger and draped it over you with the hood covering your hair. 

“We are to head down to the port. A boat will be waiting for us and will set sail the second you step foot aboard. We do not have much time, so we must act with haste.” You could only nod as you allowed her to lead the three of you through a broken grate that led you back into King’s Landing. It would be far more difficult to pick you out in a city of people than it was to take your chances on the outskirts of the walls. 

The muscles of, or lack thereof, your legs screamed with each step. After weeks of not using them, the muscle had begun to deteriorate. Had you not had adrenaline still coursing through your veins, you don’t think you would have made it even halfway through the city. 

“We must push forward.” The woman encouraged you with a gentle hand on your back. “We are almost there.” You were not almost there, but you were getting closer with each step you took and that was encouragement enough for you. 

You pushed yourself for maybe fifteen more minutes before your legs collapsed. The second stranger, a man, caught you before you hit the ground.

“My legs. I cannot go any further.” You were close to tears from pain and frustration. 

“We are close.” The woman noted, taking a look at their surroundings. “On your back,” The woman ordered the man. He nodded and lowered himself so she could help you climb onto his towering form. His hands were firm around the backs of your legs and you held onto his shoulders with shaking arms. “Fear not.” The woman’s voice was light so as to not worry you. You had heard that tone enough from your mother growing up to recognize it.  

Resting your head against the man’s back, you trusted both of these strangers to lead you to safety. 

A little over a half hour later and the jostling of going down a set of stairs woke you. Your grip on the man’s shoulders tightened as you came to. Ships met your eyes, and even at night the docks were bustling. The woman went ahead, slipping a coin pouch to a shipmaster who was documenting which ships were coming and going from the port. He simply took the pouch and looked the other way as they hurried down the dock.

All three of you loaded onto the ship, and just as the woman said, it was undocked immediately and set sail.

The voyage to Dragonstone did not seem real. Paranoia seemed to settle deep within you, waiting for Vhagar’s gargantuan Shadow to descend upon the small vessel at any moment, plunging it to the bottom of the bay to rest eternally in the briney sediments below.

You could feel every fiber of muscle, every tenon, ligament and bone within your body. Every nerve sang in pain. The sun, that you hadn’t seen in months as it would turn out, hurt your eyes. Its reflection upon the water’s surface made it worse. 

“We are nearly there, Princess.” The woman assured you with a kind smile. Nearly two weeks in the boat had nearly killed you. The first two days you could not keep food down between the rocking of the waves and the anxiety of being found. By the fourth day you could keep bread and water down. Your stomach was still shrunken so it did not take much to satiate you. 

Halfway into your second week, you were gaining your strength. You weren’t a fraction as strong as you used to be, but it was a step in the right direction. 

Even aboard the boat as long as you were, you knew nothing about the group that rescued you. They would not give you any details other than they knew who you were and where you belonged, and that they were tasked with getting you home.

Home, you thought as you looked out over the open ocean. I’m going home.  

Menial conversations were had between you and the woman who spoke to you from the Shadows of the dungeon. In your mind, you nicknamed her The Rat for the mistaken identity you had given her at your lowest point within that cell. The real Simon had never spoken to you as it turned out, but she did. It was a silly association that you’d keep to yourself. The last thing you wanted was to offend the person who stuck their neck out to release you. Even still, if she would not give you a name, she’d keep the one you silently gave her. 

The Rat would answer your questions in such a roundabout way that it wasn’t worth asking them after a certain point. You’d get no answers from her, nor the three others aboard. 

The blurred sight of a dragon against the sun in the distance caused your stomach to turn violently. Panic took hold of your mind and you started to hyperventilate. Your breaths were shallow and uneven, the air not filling your lungs entirely. You felt lightheaded within moments, ready to faint. 

He found you. Was the only thought you had. Aemond found you. 

Now, surely, you were going to die and so were the people that aided in your escape. In true fight or flight fashion, or delirium as the Rat called it after your first freak out early on in the voyage, you made ready to jump from the side of the boat as the beast got nearer. 

You would not return to the cell, nor would you meet the fate your brother did. You’d gratefully take gulps of the sea until you sank to the ocean floor before you let Aemond put his hands on you ever again.

“My Princess! No!” The woman yelled, pulling onto your arm with all her strength so you could not jump. Your other held firmly to the edge of the ship, your legs in a wide stance as she pulled. 

“He’s come!” You shouted frantically. Your eyes were manic and could not remain still as you looked upon her. The Targaryen Madness was still present, the Rat thought with sadness. She cursed the Prince for what he had done to you. 

“You must jump too!” You tried pulling her with you. “All of you!” Tears fell steadily at the thought of more death that was surely to befall these poor souls who did not deserve it. “He will show no mercy to conspirators!”

“Princess, I beg you! Look!” She held you tightly, grasping your chin to look towards the dragon that came closer into view. The red scales and signature long neck of Caraxes came into focus and you fell to the deck of the boat. The Rat fell with you encircled in her arms, holding you tightly between her legs. You held onto her arms, nails digging into her skin. 

Hysterical sobs overtook your body as Caraxes flew over the small ship, causing the vessel to rock. You could see your father atop him, though he was only a speck. His long hair flowed in the wind valiantly. This was one of the things you thought you’d never see again in this life.  

One of the men in the boat waved a banner with the emblem of a gray direwolf on it to let Daemon know exactly who they were and who they had with them. Your mind could not piece together the banner with the people, your confusion only causing a dizzy spell to overcome you.  

Daemon circled the boat a few more times to make sure your vessel hadn’t been followed by man or beast. The Blood Wyrm’s screech filled the air, blanketing you in safety and security as he made his way back to Dragonstone. 

“I told you, Princess!” The Rat held your face in her hands as she spoke with a toothy grin. “I told you we were almost there! You are home!” You sobbed into her chest and she held you to her like a mother would her child. 

You made it. 

Taglist: @thelittleswanao3 @bellameshipper @praline357 @crazymusicgirl104 @visenyaverse @nina26977 @malfoytargaryenen @ana8swift @ladymoon666 @sunmoon-01 

If I've missed you or you would like to be added, please let me know!

#aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #house of the dragon imagine #house of the dragon #hotd x reader #hotd #x reader #spoils of war fic

[meganwasbored]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts Season 3 Episodes 5 and 6

i could’ve sworn i posted these immediately but turns out these have just been sitting in my notes app since february so here comes the rest of season 3 and 4 for anyone who cares

Episode 5

-i’m still very confused why ezran is in jail what did he do can someone please explain

-WHY are the chains necessary??? what do they think he’s gonna do, squeeze through the bars???

-bait taking advantage of the absolute chaos that is happening in the castle to steal jelly tarts for ezran is just the best

-“see? this isn’t so bad!” the child says while sitting in the jail cell he may or may not be in for the rest of his life

-“still as a mouse” mice are the least still creatures ever what are you talking about

-the snakes REGENERATE???? that took like 10 seconds there was no way they could’ve gotten to safety in time anyway

-seriously who the heck is this dude and how does he benefit from all this

-i feel so stupid right now but how does a king stepping down land him in jail???? he’s 9????

-Opeli is the only competent one here viren was literally just arrested for treason you’re telling me not one other person is concerned about this???

-claudia looks so unfazed

-callum literally risking his life to not touch rayla just so things aren’t awkward but in doing so makes things much more awkward

-“it’s subtle but if you look closely you can see the ambler’s tracks” girl anyone with eyes can see those tracks they’re bigger than you

-YES SOREN IM SORRY I KEEP DOUBTING YOU

-this is the first show in a long time that genuinely makes me laugh out loud

-the guards continue to be the funniest characters in this entire show

-they’re trying to make viren look somewhat redeemable by caring so much about claudia as if he didn’t just tell soren to his face that he doesn’t care if he dies like idc what happens i will never forgive this man

-not to sound ungrateful but what the heck is the baker doing here

-honestly i support nyx in all that she does, you snooze you loose

-“no need to paint a picture”

”i would only need one color for that picture”

*walks away annoyed*

“brown”

-“ezran in his last act as king insisted that whoever didn’t wish to fight could lay down their arms” can’t you just… change that?

-RESPECT

-zym couldn’t have done that the first time she tried to kidnap him?

-did phoe phoe just… come out of the moon???

-when your girlfriend is so impressive that you risk death just to watch her fight

-“you are so….” YOURE TRYING TO KILL ME

-the fact that she literally kissed him yesterday and kissed him back right now yet he still feels the need to apologize for kissing her like trust me dude i think she likes you back

-after rewatching that three times i just realized they’re kissing literally right in front of nyx and i’ve never seen anybody acknowledge this

Episode 6

-is the ambler just immune to snake bites like how has it not been bitten by now

-is “amble” a word because my phone keeps autocorrecting “ambler” to “amble”

-cuties

-i love that no one is even surprised about viren’s “little bug pal”

-still don’t get how aaravos’s… soul(?) can go outside of the mirror like he’s practically not even imprisoned

-ANOTHER KING HARROW FLASHBACK LETS GOOOOO

-y’all will never understand how much i love that man i still can’t believe he’s gone

-dude why are you explaining to this man in detail how his wife died

-genuinely don’t know how much of what past viren is saying is true, how much of this does he actually believe and how much of it is he just saying to manipulate harrow into doing the spell

-“i will leave you with your grief” who SAYS THAT???

-i’m sorry i know some of you like him for some reason but prince kasef is just a loser with a crown he’s just so unpleasant to be around like he’d be on the cover of spoiled-entitled-judgmental-princes magazine

-“is you father talking to himself?”

“no, of course he’s not talking to himself, that’d be crazy! he’s talking to his little bug pal!”

-still kinda blown away that the dragons can talk, like they practically have human brains at this point what is even considered an animal in this world? like in theory elves could be considered animals (not that i consider them animals because i don’t) i’m just saying where do we draw the line?

-“are you okay? are you hurt? let me look at you” MY HEARTTTTT

-IF THIS BIRD DIES I BURN THIS HOUSE DOWN

-CRYING

-this is so frustrating because callum has every right to hate thunder(i’m just not gonna remember his real name i’m sorry it’s 2:33 am) and runaan for killing his parents but rayla has a personal connection to both of them (one was (is?) practically her dad and the other was her king) so like we’re in a tough spot here and i respect rayla so much for being so understanding

-oh my gosh how did it not occur to me that they’re literally right there, like they’re so close to the cave

#the lengths i’ve been going to fit more than 10 pictures in these things #tdp #the dragon prince #the dragon prince thoughts #tdp thoughts #tdp season 3 #the dragon prince season 3 #tdp thoughts season 3 #the dragon prince thoughts season 3

[blackdragon-selfships]

With Season 5 of TDP now out…I want to share my findings (the last one was found by a friend) with proof that Aaravos is meant to be “complicated”, not “evil” Still a long-game villain, but not evil like Zubeia claims and that the heroes believe and like the show seems to be ignoring or forgetting isn’t the case…until the final episode maybe.

In order of which these interviews and tweets were found:

If this ends up not being the case in season 6 or even the final season…well, this is my evidence for why I hoped otherwise. Multiple times in interviews Aaravos was called complicated and/or something positive by one or both of the creators. So, it’s what I hope and expect to see in season 6 or something.

Bonus:

Someone very important to him is mentioned to be on the map of one of the novel versions of the seasons. This at least shows he actually might not be a boring “looks down his nose at others no matter how they treat him first” and apathetic kind of villain…

No matter what the show does to either scrap these decisions or redo them, I am going to continue to write him how they described here in my work. Except not as a villain because he isn’t in a situation that he would have that role on this blog.

How I write him: A complicated person with a very complicated history and motivation, and someone that is not truly evil or heartless as he’s been said to be by people in his world. That’s the angle of this blog and if you don’t like it, this is the warning and invitation to move on.

—

Sources:

Weirdly enough the interviews and QnA’s from the first three screenshots are missing. Probably taken down either by request of the show (no proof so I’m just speculating) or they took it down for other reasons maybe. But here is the link to the second Forbes article, which includes a video version of the full interview:

View it before it’s gone if you’re a fellow TDP fan that watched up to season 4 because you wanted to see what the co-creator meant by ‘complicated, not evil’ and ‘matter of perspective’

Maybe season 6 will finally give us the full story, being the season named “Star” after that arcanum…but I’m getting tired of being led on like this. I would guess a lot of you are too.

At least the one episode he was in (the last episode), he was his usual self. Still sassy and teasing, with an ominous undertone given the situation and everything.

EDIT: I found the other interview I was going to link, the one with the title “Aaravos is more ‘complicated’ in season 3 than you think”. It was by a different website than I thought, that being Inverse and not Forbes.

I reblogged this post with the link if anyone wants to read the full article.

#this is also for future reference on how I write him on this blog #it may come to it that I can never watch the source again without feeling lied to #or painfully subjected to cliches I saw coming miles to years away #but here’s to hoping that won’t happen #and that these hints do come to happen #me g posts #Aaravos #the dragon prince #TDP #interviews #Twitter posts #possible spoilers #spoilers #(tagged for those that don’t want to know this stuff)

[weirdlotiel]

So In the meantime I watched new season of the Dragon Prince.

1. Why the fuck was it earlier??? I thought I messed up the dates again.

2. Please, I neez Zubeia to be alright.

3. Love Janai and Amaya.

4. Karim and his girlfriend can go and drop dead. I had enough of them. (More than Viren)

5. About that guy. Gosh, I love the choice he made. (Not that I want him dead). I mean, he gave up dark magic. Finally!!!!!!

6. Btw, what was that about child Soren???? Was he sick? I mean, what was the reason Viren even chose that dark path?

7. I need people to stop saying it’s all Viren’s fault Claudia is messing with that dark magic stuff. Yes, he introduced it to her, but it was her choice. She had every opportunity to give it up, just Like Viren finally did. Don’t get me wrong again, I still kinda like her, but she’s even more messed up than her dad.

8. Once again dark magic. Callum, really? Ok, I get it… you want to protect your precious Rayla… no. Don’t. Don’t you ever touch that stuff again.

9. Some stuff was predictable, like Captain Villads and Nyx (ir maybe it only was me 😂)

10. I guess I need a lil but more of Kim’dael

11. Akiu was funny. I wanna see more of her

12. So, elves and dragons said that humans are evil, but they asked a human to create a jail for Aaravos? Can’t they finally decide on one thing?

13. What’s more it was a human who exposed Aaravos’ treachery. (I know it was the previous season)

14. About this freaking elf. What the heck did he do to Aditi? Swollowed her? What???

15. I love the homunculus. Don’t you dare to touch him Aar. Seriously, he may be his “child” (is he gay and has crush on Viren?😂. Please no.) but it doesn’t mean he can be its father.

16. Please, Callum, fund a way to free Rayla’s parents and Runaan. I beg you.

17. Young Viren looks almost like Soren (or maybe again it’s just me?)

18. Whi is this one guard always talking about food?

19. I can’t believe Callum was tortured, And Soren was beaten. And rayla was supposed to be a fish food.

20. Finnegrin vs Domina. Hmmm…

21. I hate that Pirate.

22. Yay, Callum has new powers!!!! Ocean magic rules.

23. Soren really worries about his new family, doesn’t he?

24. Who the fuck is Mushroom Mage???? (I couldn’t stop humming after that)

#the dragon prince #tdp claudia #tdp aaravos #tdp spoilers #tdp s5 #tdp #tdp viren #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp season 5 #tdp soren #tdp Zym #tdp Ezran #callum #viren #soren #claudia #rayla #ships on the water lol #netflix #young viren

[arcsdragon]

Aaravos's prison

I think I know where/what Aaravos's prison is

(MAJOR spoilers for season 5)

((ps this is my first post/theory so I'm sorry if it's a mess))

In episode 9 (of season 5 oc) we see a large statue of Aaravos and the Jailer, well I think that's actually him, and the magic pearl(?) is his soul, he's basically trapped in both mind and body.

we've seen characters turn to stone before, ie Avizandum, and a lot in promotional things, and even the new intro with Viren who ends up dying this season, so this could be a hint.

in ep 4 in the bookery the poem they'er looking at says 'Laureloin was no more' But they also call the startouch immortal and undying, Callum just assumes 'no more' means death, but what if it's nothing else? Say separating a soul/consciousness from a body? Aaravos seems to project his consciousness and consciousness throughout the seasons (and Viren's in the 5th) when he's in his ghosty spectral form, something I assume that's star magic because it doesn't fit the other arcanum accept maybe moon.

arguable the best evidence for this is what happened to Janai's grandmother "I swallowed her" so this man either fork and knife ate her, shrunk her, or his actually body is big enough where he can just do that.

and as I said before about imagery, this season stepped it up A LOT, and during promotions we see a lot of Aaravos holding, and puppeteering characters, maybe another hint?

if Aarvos is actually that big, that would kinda make sense in the scale of the world. What I mean is, there's some animals/creatures that are just MASSIVE, I understand it being a fantasy, but when I first saw the size of arch dragons I was like ???, but if the world was originally made by startouch elves the sizes make sense, the hermit crab Sealegs, the amblers (the big camel animal thing in the desert episode season 3 ep 5) would be to scale if they really are that massive

also if you follow the dragon prince on instagram (maybe on twitter too? idk don't have it) on their website they'll post short stories, one centered around Aaravos implies his fall to Xaida made The Lake of Outcast, and if that's true, the impact of something that big would make a big crater and name make a lot of sense.

also less of evidence but maybe not? a while ago, before the character charts where released someone in a panel said Aaravos was the biggest character, there was a meme going around that he's bigger than Avizandum, but what if he actually is?

as for the pearl being his soul, the only thing I really got is separating the soul from the body making him 'no more' and the fact when he does magic his eyes are white and iridescent like pearls are.

So what does that mean in the future? Hopefully an epic final battle, but also I have a few predictions. The next step the crew is going to take is going after the Novablade/Starscraper, I think it's literally going to be a massive sword. And going a little off the rails a little bit, I love the idea that only a startouch elf can wield it because of its size, but that could be wishful thinking, I'd love a startouch to join the crew, maybe the Jailor?? (give me more startouch lore)

anyways tell me if you have any rebuttals, evidence, or more thoughts!

#the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #tdp #tdp season 5 #tdp s5 spoilers #tdp theory #tdp s5 #aaravos tdp #aaravos #tales of xadia #tdp headcanons #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp memes #i have a lot of thoughts

[serpentthecrow]

Through the storm

(platonic)Aemond Targaryen x twin!reader (Aegon Targaryen x sister!wife! reader) (Targaryen oc)

Summary: you are sent to Storm's end with your twin Aemond, preventing catastrophic consequences of your brother's rage.

Warnings: mentioned violence, canon-level incest, spoilers of HotD season 1 finale, me liking Aegon, English is not my first language, hopefully, the high valyrian is right.

A/n: I love-mostly ooc- Aegon. There. I said it. Lucerys lives in this <3. Aegon is very ooc it this, not a perv and recently sober. Interactions are always welcome, enjoy!

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"I am going to Storm's End" my brother's voice booms through the chamber. "For Lord Baratheon's support, I know. what of it?" I retort, grieving my interrupted conversation with Aegon. "Come along then! Mother didn't inform you?" By the confusion on his face he declines any jesting from his side. "Inform me of?" I raise an eyebrow as I turn to look at the Queen Regent. "I think it would be best if you went with your brother" she answers my question almost immediately. She says an entirely different sentence with her eyes though. 'go with him and make sure he doesn't fuck up' is what the look says. I have given her body language too much thought over the years not to notice it. "Very well then. Your dragon then?" I say to Aemond, despite my gaze lingering on my mother still. I don't wait for and answer as I get up from my chair. "Take care, please" pleads Aegon, still holding my hand. "I will love" I say back, kissing the crown of his head in silent promise.

Aemond is already out of the door and I follow his long strides for what feels like hours, until we reach his dragon-mount Vhagar. He gets on her back first and helps me up as well. We take flight and in no time we land in Storm's end. As we enter the throne room, I don't bother to engage in the talk that happens between my twin and the storm lord. Until the words "We have come with an offer" reached my ears. That was my cue to say my part. "What could you offer me, my prince" said lord Baratheon with a doubting look. "We're here to propose a betrothal" i answer before Aemond bothers to open his mouth. The lord looks me up and down and with a slightly clueless tone he says"Pardon me, your Grace, yet the last time I checked, you were already wed" I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes, not sure if because of the new title as Queen Consort, or his stupidity. "Not me, him!" I gesture to the man standing next to me. "We propose that one of your daughters marries prince Aemond" i clarify. The frown of the lord face dissapears as if he cracked a difficult riddle."Men" I sigh as Aemond struts towards the Baratheon girl. 'if she likes him and he stops being insecure, we're fine'.

My train of thoughts is interrupted as my nephew Lucerys, the son of Rheanyra, the self proclaimed Queen, enters. 'we're not fine, we're fucked' my inner monologue spirals as the boy hands off the message by his mother. Being clearly met with denial, the 'Velaryon' plans on taking his leave, however, my twin seems to finally snap.

"Wait, my lord Strong" he calls out. And that is where it goes down. I approach him like a wounded animal, while he declares how he wishes to make the child's eye a gift to our mother. "Give me your eye bastard!" He yells as he launches forward at Luke's denial, yet I am quick to catch up to him. I grab him by the shoulders and look deep into his eyes, his now uncovered sapphire reflecting the occasional lightning above us.

"Aemond stop this madness!" I raise my voice. "He took my eye!" he bites back just as powerfully. We are two dragons, fighting eachother other, fire in our gazes. "Is his eye worth a war? The destruction of house Targaryen? The death of everyone around you and yourself?!" I spit. The rage in his expression fades. "If you do this right now brother, you will be the doom of us all" my voice ceases in volume and the tone is new, soft. I grab the both sides of his face hurriedly, yet gently in a way."It is you, the younger brother who studies history and Philosophy" I begin, the look on my face affectionate as I quote his words from couple of days prior."it is you who rides the biggest dragon in the world. You are bigger than this Aemond, don't let yourself become a kinslayer." He is an educated man, he knows how bad the title is. "Ÿdra daor gaomagon visa ñuha idaña" don't do this my twin. Lucerys is but a shadow in the maze of clouds by the time we finish arguing. He is alive, however unbeknownst to us, The Rogue prince will take the threat to Luke's life to heart.

#hotd x reader #hotd #house of the dragon #aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen x reader #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon the usurper #aegon targaryen ii #hotd spoilers

[nerdasaurus1200]

I saw Dragon Prince season 4 and hoo boy do I have thoughts (in no particular order)

First off, it's adorable how much of a magic nerd Callum is. He's grown so much and become so much stronger in two years

Stella is baby. She's living her best life with her cuddlemama and future cuddle papa. Speaking of, let Callum becalled a cuddlepapa by himself or Rayla next season

Zym and Ezran have grown up so much and it both breaks and warms my heart

Okay, so Rayla is a Dragonguard. Good to know.

Terry is my son now. I adopted him, he's mine.

I feel like Callum is just a little bit jealous of Stella getting love from Rayla

“The other elves saw me as a doe, but I knew. I always knew that I was a buck. I..chose the name Terrestrius.”....This line here. This line is gonna stick with me forever. I honestly didn't expect them to outright tell or show us Terry is trans but I'm so glad. That's gonna mean so much to trans kids watching this show. And the fact that Viren has no problems with it at all makes it even more special. Although Terry's wording makes me wonder if someone in his family didn't accept him.

Oh man I just read his wiki page and apparently Terry is still mid transition

I'm calling it now, that girl that figured out Araavos is Harrow and Ezran's descendant

Well, at least we know how loyal Terry is to Claudia.....someone get this poor boy a mug of hot cocoa, a blanket, a hug, and a therapist; he's earned it. He was 100% having a panic attack

"I'm gonna feel all the feelings!" THAT'S RIGHT YOU GO MY FUNKY BOY

I KNEW IT! I KNEW RAYLA'S PARENTS WERE IN THE COINS!GOD POOR RAYLA! ETHARI AND CALLUM ARE GONNA LOSE THEIR SHIT!

Hot damn, Ezran's speech combined with Ibis and Claudia fighting was powerful...that whole scene really encapsulates what the entire show is about, I think

Zubeia gets more and more badass with every episode

I wasn't expecting the chocolate tart to be brought back but it's nice that Rex Igneous liked it. Although how could he taste so much of such a little thing?

Ohhhhh wait, I just got that! Rex means king, he's KING Igneous!

Oh man I had no idea Ezran's crown is made from Harrow's sword

That possesion scene was straight up creepy, I honestly thought Callum died for a second

Speaking of creepy, I never wanna see snake Claudia again, please and thank you

I know Callum is angry at Rayla but he needs to talk to her, really. I feel like he's using the possession thing as an excuse to not talk about their relationship. Like, I do think he's genuinely shaken up by it but he's choosing to focus on that because it's easier

Soren...god, Soren has changed so much. In just 3 years, this boy has gone from picking fights with dragons and being eager to kill them to not being able to turn away from a dragon in need. He even shed his armor for her. Season 1 Soren would NEVER have done that in a million years

Another thing S1 Soren would never do is that talk with Claudia. Man, that was deep.

Also I love Soren's new look, I feel like it suits him way better than his knight armor

I dunno why I expected an out of the gate dramatic conversation when Soren found Claudia. Although I am glad we still got them having that conversation

I will say though, I do wish we got more of a reaction to Terry from Soren

Can Squeaky return next season as Soren's dragon pal? Please? he's the only one that doesn't have an animal companion

"I wanna spend the last month traveling with my daughter, the most important person in the world to me" I....it's nice that you're finally learning to not be a jackass Viren, but did you forget that you have a son??? Is Soren just chopped liver to you?

That said, I do appreciate that Viren has changed. I feel like he's definitely not gonna become immortal.

Regarding Claudia's speech about human suffering....either she's been fed TONS of propaganda by Araavos or she's taking it way too personally after all this time. Like, girl, you have an elf boyfriend, calm down

Awww the return of big feelings time!

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #the dragon prince spoilers #nerd talks #claudia #terry #viren #rayla #callum #harrow #ezran #araavos #rex igneous #soren #zym