#brothel queens

[imfromthemiddlekingdom]

Everything team black has to say about Aegon (which is unsubstantiated claims made by mushroom btw) can be said about daemon with his predatory and grooming behavior towards not one! But two girls. If we are to believe everything mushroom says then I guess Rhaenyra purposefully condemned two women to be raped by her guards and those that could pay for it. Which means Rhaenyra is a worse monster than Aegon. You can’t pick and choose which of mushrooms testimony you believe in. Either all are true, which means Rhaenyra truly is worse than Maegor, or none are true and Aegon isn’t a rapist. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Either Aegon is a rapist and Rhaenyra sent Alicent and Helaena to brothels so they can be raped. Or none of them are true.

[horizon-verizon]

Well-well, George Martin confirmed (even though it's written in the book) that Rhaenyra ordered the knights to bring Maelor back to court rather than kill him, and that Helaena committed suicide because of his death… which rules out the Mushroom version with the brothel queens.

Mushroom's BQ never was a logical thing to believe in the first place, but people want to be so damn sexist and biased against Rhaenyra and any woman like her they'd believe anything.

[ilikefelines]

I once tried to explain this to a Black Stan and they were. Just. Not. Getting. It.

idk how anyone could be anything other than team black after reading the books aegon is literally still a rapist in them

csa/sa cw

okay this is actually something i've wanted to talk about for a while! namely, the unreliability of the testimonies in fire and blood, and the fact that mushroom's testimony cannot be used to support the blacks unless you cherry pick from it.

you're 100% right that, according to mushroom, aegon does like watching fighting pits like in the show, and that he was once found by ser criston committing statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl (p. 433). but if you're standing by mushroom's testimony, you also have to stand by the following statements:

mushroom says that rhaenyra chained helaena and alicent in a brothel, and sold them to be gang raped until they were pregnant (pp. 523-524). he directly blames this for helaena's suicide, saying she killed herself because she was pregnant from the gang rape (p. 547). so by mushroom's account, rhaenyra is a rapist by proxy who drove a sa victim to suicide, aka super fucking evil.

mushroom also says that jacaerys cheated on baela and broke his vows to her by taking sara snow's virginity and marrying her during his visit to winterfell (p. 454). never mind that marrying another is antithetical to jace's entire character. if you believe mushroom, jace is a cheater and vow-breaker.

finally, mushroom also says that a 49-year-old daemon abandoned his grieving wife and children in the middle of a war so that he could have an affair with a 17-year-old nettles (p. 528). he also says that daemon preferred the "youngest" sex workers possible (p. 528). so according to mushroom, daemon is also guilty of repeatedly raping minors and of cheating on his wife.

now, you might argue that these accounts are all contradicted by other's testimonies, mainly septon eustace's, so they're likely not true. and i'd believe you! but this is also true for what you're saying about aegon. septon eustace denies mushroom's testimony and says criston found aegon with a mistress, not a child or a sex worker, who was "well cared for" (p. 433).

tldr: no one should be using any part of mushroom's testimony to make any arguments if they're team black OR team green. the only people using mushroom's testimony should be people who are anti targ because he makes ALL of our faves look like evil rapists. i personally don't treat any parts of mushroom's testimony as if they're reliable, because you can't pick and choose which part of a testimony you want to believe just to pretend like it supports your arguments when it very much does not.

[jadepearl]

I cannot bring myself to like (show) Rhaenys. Here are the reasons:

1. She, much like Alicent, seems to take all the negative emotions she feels towards Viserys and directs them towards Rhaenyra- there were better ways to tell Rhaenyra that her claim would be contested (in fact, im of the opinion that show! Rhaenys started disliking Nyra a little more after Viserys refused to disinherit her after after having his precious [sarcasm] son.) I’ve got more thoughts on this but that’s for later.

2. Her (lovely, but extremely pathetic) gay son. The GAY son that she knew was gay. The GAY son that she suspected would not be able to fuck/ impregnate a woman. The GAY son she knew would ABSOLUTELY be destroyed by the game. THE GAY SON THAT SHE WED TO THE WOMAN SHE KNEW WOULD NEED CHILDREN!!!! The entire situation with the (alleged/rumored) bastards of Nyra is a situation that Rhaenys and Coryls themselves had a hand in- they knowingly married their very gay son to Nyra knowing that she would need heirs and that it was entirely (re:extremely) possible that Laenor would not be able to bed/fuck her. Like how is she going to wake up and be like “oh my hod, my son was cuckolded” as if her son also hadn’t been cuckolding Nyra??? Like if she was going to turn a blind to Laenor sleeping w/ Qarl she could’ve afforded Nyra that same willful ignorance. Instead she chose to be mad at Nyra for making the best out of situation that Rhaenys and Corlys and her father, and even fucking Laenor put her in!!!!

3. Her attitude w/ the Velaryon Boys( see point above) those boys exist because her son could not do his duty !!! It is not a Nyra problem- it is not as simple as Nyra deciding to cuckold her husband. Nyra needed children- she TRIED with Laenor, both of them were extremely uncomfortable and it didn’t work- and Laenor apologized for being unable to his duty and instead it was decided upon that they ( the boys) would be granted the Velaryon name upon birth. He did not sire those boys (allegedly) but he did love them!!! This is the crux of my issue w/ Rhaenys- if Laenor hated those boys, I could justify her anger, excuse it maybe- but he didn’t. He didn’t hate them, didn’t cure their existence (was he a good father? No. Absolutely not. Very absent at best. But he loved them, and he cared for Nyra and so he took them as his own and gave them his family name) Rhaenys being angry/upset/etc over the outcome of a situation that she/corlys/Viserys all pushed those two into is fucking annoying and really- pardon my speak- grinds my fucking gears. You don’t get to force your gay son and your little cousin into a marriage and get shocked when your GAY son can’t fuck a woman. Especially not when you suspected that your GAY SON WOULDNT BE ABLE TO FUCK A WOMAN??? because those are the vibes show! Rhaenys gives off (yes my son is gay, no I don’t think he’ll ever be able to fuck a woman, but how dare his wife not simply live a childless life- who cares if she needed children, doesn’t she know how those looks?) why did Rhaenys not think about how it would look before marrying them?? Did she really expect the HEIR TO THE IRON THRONE TO LIVE A CHILDLESS LIFE ALL BECAUSE HER (again lovely, but rather pathetic) GAY SON COULD NOT FUCK ANYONE NOT IN POSSESION OF A COCK??!!!

What angers me the most is that, even after that conversation where she told Nyra how unstable her position was, and how she’d eventually be supplanted in favor of a male heir- this bitch, along w/ her husband put Nyra in a situation where she’d have to make a difficult choice. Live the rest of her life being called barren, cursed, all the things that they all called her late mother- all things that would endanger both her, her title as heir, and probs even Laenor too, or seek someone else to sire children? They put her in that situation and the got pissed when she didn’t choose the route of eternal suffering- they put her in that situation and got pissed that she didn’t simply accept it??? Show!Rhaenys, Viserys, Corlys, Daemon, fucking Alicent- if you have no enemies I am dead.

Anyway! These are all MY opinions, you are welcome to have your own but yours will not make me change mine. Have a good day!!

[writingsofwesteros]

DARK

Brothel Queens: Instead its Alicent's daughter kidnapped to Dragonstone..maybe Jace found her (took her..in more ways than one). Rhaenyra overseas her punishment as the guards, Daemon and Corlys ruin her.

[pochisden]

Hiii Scarlett requester again, could you also do Queen from Queens Brothel icons as well please! Your edits are gorgeous!

QUEEN ｡ ICONS

USAGE ｡ WITH CREDIT

          MEDIA SOURCE ｡ QUEEN'S BROTHEL

KIN/ID/ME TAGS ｡ YES

          F/O, X/O, SELFSHIP TAGS ｡ YES

[themostdeviousbastardinnyc]

fighting tooth and nail not to share my cursed knowledge that the historical Zheng Yi Sao married her step son

[girddlepatchilles]

Rhaenyra being a victim of misogynistic historians and being a terrible person are two things that can be true at the same time.

[horizon-verizon]

Atp anyone who genuinely believes in the brothel queens is... simply extremely dumb. There's no other explanation for it.

HA! (this ask was submitted 5 days ago) Agreed. that or they're deliberately trying to just slander unimaginatively and figure this is a great way to throw off arguing them.

[navree]

Did the hotd writers say that there wa only one rape scene in the show? Because then what is episode 4? It's statutory rape, marital rape and, at best, dubious consent. At this point if they go the Brothel Queens route (they'll probably won't because that would make Rhaenyra seem very bad, and hell, team Black will probably cheer for it with) they'll frame it as them being happy they are not repressed anymore or smt.

Haven't seen that comment (and now I'm glad) because I'm honestly not even sure what it means. HOTD has been good in not going the Game of Thrones route in overuse of sexual violence, and the only scene that could feasibly qualify as an assault scene would be in episode 4. The assault on Dyana wasn't an on-screen scene, and the only other scene I've seen people characterize that way is maybe Rhaenyra and Criston in episode 4 (which the writers don't appear to be interested in characterizing that way). So if they're talking about something other than That Scene between Viserys and Alicent, that's just galling stupidity, because even if the characters might not view it as rape or otherwise sexual assault, we the audience know that it is (and I defy anyone to try and take that same 'oh it's just marital relations' track with Robert and Cersei or Dany and Drogo or even Tyrion and Sansa).

I've been open on my belief that I don't think they'll go the Brothel Queens route, and that I do not want them to (personally I'm sick and tired of rape for the sake of rape in this franchise, and they've been ignoring all of Mushroom's assertions when it comes to Rhaenyra thus far, not to mention I'm not interested in seeing Helaena be further brutalized when she's already having a full psychological breakdown because of Blood and Cheese), but if they tried I certainly wouldn't be expecting them to approach it with any sort of nuance unless there are big changes being made in the writers' room.

[pxrifiedmxniac]

And now Ryuko is having cravings for her moth gf right now~

[writingsofwesteros]

The Brothel Queens is too damn hot - Cregan being involved too!!

YES Imagine Daemon taunting her and saying the Starks are closer to those wolves and wonders if they have a knot.

And Jace promised him something warm..

[pochisden]

Hi! May I request Princess Scarlett from Queens Brothel icons!

PRINCESS SCARLETT ｡ ICONS

Whoa ~ .ᐟ I've actually played this ~ .ᐟ

Example use under the cut ~ .ᐟ

Edit: ones technically from Scarlett Sex Slave Quest but shhhh

Okay g♡d I really like these hehe ~ .ᐟ

USAGE ｡ WITH CREDIT

          MEDIA SOURCE ｡ QUEEN'S BROTHEL

KIN/ID/ME TAGS ｡ YES

          F/O, X/O, SELFSHIP TAGS ｡ YES

[allyriadayne]

i would love to see mysaria and larys interact...

me tooooooo. sadly i don't think they will. i don't really see larys putting himself out there to speak with supposedly dangerous rival.......

[msclaritea]

Takeaways From CinemaCon 2024: Not Enough Movies, Too Much Testosterone

Story by Sharon Waxman

 • 1d • 5 min read

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 11: Dwayne Johnson speaks onstage at the Walt Disney Studios Presentation during CinemaCon 2024 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.© TheWrap

There's some good work coming up: Universal's "Wicked" at Christmas will be incredible. Disney's "Kingdom of Planet of the Apes," coming next month, looks otherworldly. Bong Joon-ho's "Mickey 17," in which Robert Pattinson keeps dying and getting cloned, from Warners, looks insane in the best possible way. 

But the strike took its toll. The studios don't have the full complement of movies and there's no way around it: 2024 is going to be painful at the box office. The hope in the room (and there was some) is really about 2025 and 2026. 

A week in Las Vegas at the annual CinemaCon gathering of movie exhibitors with midday cocktail parties at Nobu (thanks Lionsgate) didn't mask the fact that the coming eight months of movies will be scraped together after a brutal year.

"It will be painful for moviegoers who want something other than angry shoot-em-ups, ear-shattering sound tracks and constant horror. The slates of Warner Bros., Paramount and Lionsgate particularly screamed of unrelenting testosterone and a stream of fear, anger and retribution." 

Chris Aronson, Paramount Domestic Distribution chief, at CinemaCon (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for CinemaCon)© Provided by TheWrap

"I've said it before: Is there no joy, no tenderness, no intimacy permitted as part of the moviegoing experience? Do we audiences ever get to dream? To feel awe and empathy in between the white-knuckle moments? Are Hollywood executives who greenlight the movies unfamiliar with ... y'know, kindness? Think about it please."

(Me: YES!)

Here are my CinemaCon takeaways. 

1. Disney might have had the fewest movies, but it has the biggest winners, and had the best presentation. Several years ago, Disney -- at the top of its game and in the height of arrogance -- showed up to CinemaCon and presented a giant screen with a calendar of its upcoming releases. And that was it. This year, the studio tried a lot harder, presenting delightful chunks of footage from their slate -- including a stunning glimpse of "Apes" -- and onstage patter, with everyone from Marvel's Kevin Feige to the dapper distribution chief Tony Chambers dropping the F-bomb. It was liberating, honestly. Disney's strength lies in its array of brands that cater to audiences and taste across the board, and in a year like this one it showed: movies for kids with "Inside Out 2" and "Moana 2," the latter of which was presented by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; a sensory, four-quadrant experience like "Apes"; and a fully hilarious foray into R-rated superhero fare with "Deadpool & Wolverine." Actually, it was refreshing to not be bombarded with classic Marvel superhero fare. The studio was smart to let the movies do the talking, and the exhibitors responded with cheers of appreciation. 

2. New Line lives? The Warner Bros. slate presented by Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy (maybe not professional moderators, but at least real humans) felt like nothing so much as New Line Cinema circa the 1990s, where DeLuca spent a decade of his career. The movies were heavy on genre -- violent action, horror and crime. So sure, "Furiosa" by George Miller with Anya Taylor-Joy, is a feast for all the senses. But by the time you got through "The Watchers" (horror), "Traps" (thriller), "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" (fantasy-horror) and Todd Phillips' follow-up to "Joker" -- "Folie a Deux" (I don't know what to call this thing, but it's mad creepy) -- the audience was begging for a reason to laugh or cry — anything but cower in fear. The movie on the Warner slate that got the strongest response from the CinemaCon audience was not made by Warner. It was the Sundance documentary "Super/Man," acquired by the studio. The trailer they showed about the courage of Christopher Reeve, the love of his wife and his devotion to his children, made everybody cry. Yeah, Hollywood, that's a thing. 

3. "Where are the women?" That's what I scrawled in my notebook after the third consecutive studio presentation and the umpteenth cast with a half-dozen men and one single woman. (Actually, it was after Paramount's animated "Transformers One" and the studio's decades-later sequel of "Gladiator 2.") Not only weren't there movies to appeal specifically to a female audience, even the so-called "broad" appeal movies have overwhelmingly male casts and a token woman. "Gladiator II" has Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington ... and Connie Nielsen. "Transformers One" has Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and a bunch more guys ... and Scarlett Johansson🙄. This absurd imbalance was supposed to have been addressed after the awakening of #MeToo, no? Women are half the population, and we like movies, too. But you'd never know it from these slates. Lionsgate was especially egregious in trotting out a full slate of movies that were a litany of violent combat, breaking bones, machetes and knives. Guy Ritchie and Eli Roth were in the mix, of course. Keanu Reaves was in four of the movies. One guy got stabbed in the eye. "Ballerina" stars a woman (Ana de Armas) but it's no less violent for that. I don't know what they're eating over there, but it feels like a diet of nails and rawhide.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the stars of "Wicked," at CinemaCon in Las Vegas (Credit: David Becker/WireImage)© Provided by TheWrap

4. Universal is riding high after its Best Picture win with "Oppenheimer" and a box office performance that defied expectations in 2023.

(Oppenheimer, THE FLOP, had to stay in theaters for FIVE MONTHS, to make its bank back! Dear God!)

 And while the studio, blessedly, had a variety of films on its slate that suggested something other than just horror and violence (although they're going hard on the Blumhouse canon with sequels to "Five Nights at Freddy's" and "M3ghan"), that slate is undeniably thin. It's going to be a long wait until December, when the studio can unveil what appears to be a spectacular experience in "Wicked," starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the first of two films. Director Jon M. Chu said the production planted 8 million tulip bulbs to create the practical effect of fields of blooms in the movie. Universal cleverly gave every attendee at their presentation a tulip that lit up in the dark and created a magical, glowing effect in the auditorium.

5. Nepo-baby alert. I would have thought that Warner Bros. would be embarrassed to bring not one but TWO M. Night Shyamalan progeny out on stage to tease their new movies. There was 22-year-old Ishana with a twist on her dad's horror in the woods genre; and 27-year-old Saleka who sang live, which was probably not a great decision for "Trap," written and directed by M. Night. But then again, the studio is merely being paid a distribution fee for movies Shyamalan has financed himself.

Good luck to the box office, and see you next year, CinemaCon!

[entitled-fangirl]

Tradition.

Cregan Stark x Pregnant!reader

Summary: the reader and Cregan go to King's Landing to support her nephew, Luke's, Velaryon claim. She goes into early labor away from the North.

Warnings: Aegon is his own warning, body shaming, talks of brothels and stuff, labor, blood, death, fighting, all that stuff.

A/n: Based on an ask! I'll proofread later 😭

Masterlist

.......................................................

Cregan held out his hand to help his very pregnant wife out of the carriage. 

He absolutely hated riding by carriage. It seemed pointless when you could ride a horse instead. But when summoned to King's Landing by King Viserys with his Targaryen wife to join the rest of her family, he had to guarantee her safety on the travel by any means necessary.

Alicent's face lit up at the sight of her daughter, practically running over Cregan to get to her. She embraced the pregnant woman tightly, "Oh, my love! How you've changed!" 

Y/n hugged her mother back just as firmly with a smile, "I've missed you, mother."

Alicent pulled away and admired her grown girl, "King's Landing is better with you here." Only then did Alicent notice Cregan, "Oh. Lord Stark."

Cregan bowed his head politely, "My queen."

"Cregan has been eager to see King's Landing again," Y/n chirped in, "He has only been a few times."

Alicent's brows lifted, "Really? I wouldn't have thought that."

He nodded, "I could've been patient enough to wait until after the birth, but alas, when the King calls, you answer."

Alicent gave a forced smile, "Right. Of course. The birth." She looked to her daughter, "How far along are you, my dear?"

"Nearing eight moons now," she said nervously with a hand on her swollen stomach.

Alicent didn't miss the equally nervous and protective look in Cregan's eyes.

…

Dinner that night was beyond tense. 

What was joy for Viserys was misery for everyone else.

Watching the king decay at the table and the rest of them squabble over trivial matters that seemed of great importance.

"A toast to the young princes and their betrothed."

Aegon leaned over to his nephew Jace, "Well done, Jace. You'll finally get to lie with a woman."

A glare was sent his way by Jace and Baela.

Y/n caught on and quickly looked to Aemond, who sipped his wine with no reaction.

"You do know how the act is done, I assume?" Aegon continued. "At least, in principle. Where to put your cock and all that?"

Jace's jaw clenched, "You can play the jester if you wish, but hold your tongue before my betrothed."

"Aegon." Y/n hissed through her teeth across the table.

His head immediately snapped to his sister in annoyance, "What?"

"Let it alone."

He scoffed lightly, "What do you mean? I'm only asking." He gained a grin, "It's not like I have to ask Lord Stark that. Look at the state of you!" He gestured to her swollen belly.

Cregan's grip on his fork tightened, turning his knuckles white. 

She placed a hand over her stomach and grimaced, "At least I was able to find a husband that wanted me. Mother had to force you to marry the only girl around, and that was Helaena."

Aegon gave an incredible glare, one that his sibling shot back.

Aemond became amused.

"Let us not fight at the table," Alicent reprimanded lightly.

Y/n looked to Jace, who gave a small nod of gratitude.

Silence filled the room until the King's long monologue of the need for peace in the house. 

Rhaenyra and Alicent gave small and seemingly back-handed toasts but Y/n was too set on the continuous mischievous look in her brother's eye.

And she called it right when he stood and moved to whisper in Baela's ear.

It was clear that it was muttered with the intention of riling up Jace, which it did quite well.

He stood up in anger, slamming his fist on the table.

Cregan, who had remained entirely silent thus far, instinctually moved a hand across his wife as if shielding her and the child.

The tense toasts only got worse from there.

Luckily, the music seemed to drown out the intensity, as well as Jace's good gesture of faith in dancing with Helaena. 

Y/n leaned over to Aemond, "Brother."

His brow raised as his eye traveled to look at her.

"It has been… long since I've seen you. I see you've faired quite well."

He hummed lightly, "I see you've… managed."

She could feel Cregan's intense gaze from behind her, "Wh…what do you mean?"

Aemond smirked and leaned in to where only the two Starks could hear him, "Inpregnanted by a brute-"

Cregan's jaw clenched so hard he feared for his teeth. His voice was a hushed whisper, but still held furiously to it, "Watch your words."

Y/n held Cregan's shoulder, "Let us not do this here."

Aemond smirked with Cregan sighed and leaned back in his chair.

When Viserys was escorted from the room due to his pain, Y/n decided to leave as well, and Cregan behind her.

They claimed a pregnancy illness and Rhaenyra smirked, knowing she'd used the same card many times.

…

Cregan helped her into bed, "I don't understand their need to crawl under everyone's skin like beetles."

She sighed, "They've never known life outside of a castle, Cregan. They've never been told no, and they never will. It's best to let it go."

"They mock us both. My name has been through dirt, blood, and tears, and I do not care, but yours?" He scoffed, "I will not stand by the next time you are mocked."

"It is only for a little while longer," she rebutted.

"Know that I do this for you, and only you, my love."

She smiled, "That's all I ask."

…

"The north has done a number on you, really," Aegon said as he appeared at her side.

She tilted her head, "I don't know what you mean."

He shrugged, "You're…" he then gestured his arms widely. "I dunno… well indulged?"

She pushed down the tears that welled up in her eyes, "Why do you care?"

He scoffed and leaned in towards her, "You know how many friends of mine asked for whores that looked like you? Many."

"And?"

"And?" He asked mockingly. "And? Who wants to fuck a whore that looks like you now?"

Her jaw went slack for a moment, completely shocked by his words. 

Finally, with now watery eyes, she spoke. "You're the worst kind of man, Aegon."

"Oh? And what kind is that?"

A sudden punch came from nowhere, landing on Aegon's jaw and sending him to the ground. 

Cregan stood over the man's body, a predatory look in his eyes and a murderous tone in his voice, "One that can't defend his fucking words."

Y/n pulled Cregan back, "Stop!"

He wanted to fight against her, but he knew better. His shoulders rolled back and he stood tall. 

She cursed under her breath as she took in exactly what had unfolded, "They could have your head for this, Cregan."

"Only if your brother wishes to defend his words against me again," Cregan scoffs as he looks down at the man.

Aegon sits up and huffs, wiping his nose that begins to leak blood. "Northern brute-"

"-Aegon!" She reprimands. 

Cregan glared at Aegon for a while, then scoffed and walked off a few steps to calm himself.

Aegon stands on shaky legs as he glares at his sister, "I liked you better when you lacked a guard dog."

Cregan immediately turned back to the man with a look that said he was ready to murder him. As he stepped forward, Aegon stepped back as he began to regret his words.

"Take me to our chambers, Cregan," she lightly pleaded. 

The wolf of the north only stared for a while before nodding, "Lead the way."

She sighed as she gave a final look to her brother. "Clean yourself up. You look like shit."

…

Standing behind Rhaenyra, Y/n and Cregan whispered idly to Daemon when someone would comment something out of hand. 

Luke's legitimacy was coming into question, and though the Starks knew the truth, they would not dare pry the inheritance from the boy's hands. That was not their place. So next to Daemon they stood as petitions were made to and against him.

Daemon leaned in to speak to Y/n, "how far along did you say you were?"

"Eight moons now," she whispered back.

Daemon let out a surprised grunt. "You're to have the child here then? That seems unlike you."

"Uncle, my father insisted I come, and I have. Whether the child is born in the North or the South, it is a Targaryen and Stark all the same."

He smiled lightly, "I suppose you're right. If you wish for someone to accompany Lord Stark to the dragon pit to choose a proper egg for the child, only say the word."

Cregan, who had been listening quietly, now leaned in, "I am to choose an egg?"

"It is tradition," she explained. "It can be before, during, or after the birth, but the father chooses the egg. If… If you would wish to continue that tradition."

He grinned, "I'd be delighted to try."

When Vaemond Valaryon stepped up forward to speak his mind, the Starks quieted. 

He spoke in anger, trying to take Luke's right. 

Y/n looked past him to her mother and siblings. 

Aegon looked like he'd rather be doing anything else. He didn't care the outcome of this ordeal. Aemond watched intensely with his one eye, taking in every detail. And Helaena… sweet Helaena. 

She needed to visit her and the children soon.

"And her children are…" Vaemond paused.

The room stilled.

"Say it," Daemon whispered under his breath.

"Her children are BASTARDS!" He screamed.

Y/n jumped back in surprise as Cregan's steady hands caught her waist.

"And she. Is. a. Whore." Vaemond finished.

The air in the room stilled and became stuffy as the tension reached an all time high.

Viserys stood on unstable legs as he unsheathed his dagger, "I will have… your tongue for this."

A sudden slice moved through the air, and half of Vaemond's head was gone.

Blood splattered across the ones' nearest, meaning the Starks. Cregan let out an annoyed grunt.

"He can keep his tongue," Daemon said proudly as he lowered his sword.

Y/n rested a hand over her swollen stomach with a shaky hand, trying to ignore the blood that began to seep into her clothes. 

Cregan leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Are you alright?"

"I… I want to go," she shuddered back.

He nodded, looking around as the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves. He held a hand firmly against her back as she became to let out an uncomfortable whine.

"Cregan, please," she whispered.

"Alright. Alright, let's go, my love," he said as he tried to move her through the crowd.

But her legs faltered as she let out a pained noise.

He caught her in panic, "Are you in pain?"

"The babe…"

No longer caring for proper manners, Cregan stood tall and looked over the crowd. "MOVE!" He yelled out.

The people quieted and moved as Cregan helped his wife through the room and out of the doors.

Alicent only saw a brief glimpse of her daughter's silver hair go through the doors, and she was on edge. She ran through the crowd to follow behind them.

He held onto his wife's arm with one hand and held her waist with the other, trying to support her as they moved to their chambers.

Y/n let out a gasp, and her water broke.

Alicent caught up to them and grabbed her daughter's other arm. "It's alright. You're alright." She turned to a servant and ordered him to get the maester. 

Sweat began to break out of the poor woman's forehead as the weight of what is happening began to settle. 

Once on her bed, Cregan refused to move from her side, Alicent as well. Alicent rubbed soothingly across her daughter's forehead as Cregan paced at the foot of the bed.

The maester and midwives came quickly, immediately moving to the woman in labor.

"My lord, it is best if you remain outside," one of them said.

Cregan's brows furrowed in confusion. "Out… Outside?"

Alicent chipped in, "It is tradition. The husband waits outside of the doors."

He stared at Y/n in thought. Tradition. How that word weighed on them like boulders. 

"Alright."

…

He tried to ignore the sounds of her cries as he stood in the corridor. 

Nothing could ease his worries. 

In the North, it was not uncommon to be by their wife's side. 

This was unusual to him.

"My lord," a midwife questioned as she poked her head from the room.

His eyes widened, "Is she alright?"

"The child is… having trouble, my lord."

That was Cregan's greatest fear. The maester in Winterfell had spent endless hours with Cregan to determine a plan for if such a thing were to occur. Now he was without a plan entirely.

"Alright?" He finally breathed.

"What do you wish for us to do?"

"What options do I have?" He spoke barely above a whisper.

The midwife gave him an empathetic look. "We can cut the child out-"

"-No." He was quick with his answer, the very thought of taking a blade to her seeming the greatest sin he could commit.

"Um… it will be painful, but we can help her force the child out."

"Is that safe for her?"

The midwife shrugged lightly, "More than any other option I can give you."

He nodded.

She gave a weak smile and moved back into the room, but Cregan caught the door before it closed and forced his way in.

At the sight of his wife, he felt as if a blade went into his own stomach.

She was crying in pain, the midwives forcing her hips down as she tried to move away from the pain, as if that was possible.

At the sight of him, her entire face relaxed, "Cregan…"

He moved to her side, "I'm here. How can I help?"

Alicent glared slightly at him. 

"They won't… I can't…" Y/n whimpered out.

"They won't what?" He looked up to Alicent, "What are they doing?"

"She wishes to get up. We cannot have her standing," she explained.

Cregan was thrown off by that. "She cannot? W… Why ever not?" When in labor with him, Cregan's mother was said to have walked the length of Winterfell 3x over. 

"It hurts… please, Cregan…" 

He nodded as his expression hardened. "Let her stand."

The maester shook his head, "She is nearing the labor. She should not-"

"-She wishes to stand. She will stand."

Alicent spoke up. "Lord Stark-"

"-This is my wife and child. If she wishes to walk, then she will," he barked. 

A fire lit behind the queen's eyes. "She will not."

The midwives watched the tension grow.

Finally, Cregan calmly reached down and began to help his wife sit up.

Alicent cursed under her breath and grabbed Cregan's wrist in an effort to stop him.

Cregan's eyes slowly moved up to Alicent's face as anger began to overcome him. 

But she was first to speak. "You are no longer in the North. You abide by our traditions when you are here."

He'd heard enough of that word for a lifetime. 

His words came out sharper than he intended, but he cared little to soften them. "Your family is made of vipers and cutthroats. When I take my wife and child back to Winterfell, it will truly be a miracle if you ever see them again, for I will not let her sit and be neglected and tormented. I am a brute, but I am not without heart. Now, Let. Go."

Alicent reluctantly let go.

Cregan helped Y/n sit, and she immediately felt relief. "I want to walk," she panted.

He nodded, practically holding her up as she stood. "We will walk the corridor and return." His voice had no room for argument.

Once they paced the corridor a few times, she was returned to the bed, only to find that Alicent had left. Cregan only cared about it when he noticed the tinge of sadness that moved over his laboring wife.

But he was quick to fill the gap. As she moved back to the bed, Cregan sat behind her and held her against his chest, messaging anywhere that began to ache.

The labor came soon after that. Cregan held her close as she screamed in pain and gripped his wrists. She surely left bruises.

"The babe is crowning, princess," the midwife exclaimed. "Keep pushing."

The pain came in waves that made her see white. 

Cregan began to panic when the midwives gave one another a look. "What?"

"She is not pushing hard enough."

Y/n began to cry in frustration.

"She is pushing," Cregan sighed. "What else is there to do?"

One of them reached up and began to push on her stomach, prompting the princess to cry harder as the pain multiplied. 

"Allow me," Cregan shifted her in his hold and carefully placed his hands where the midwife had, slowly applying pressure to the same place.

As Y/n screamed and cried, Cregan placed assuring kisses against her neck and cheek and whispered calming words to her. "You're doing well."

If the pain had not been so bad, she may have blushed.

…

Cregan held the baby close to his chest as his wife slept.

"My lord," a servant finally entered and interrupted the silence. "The queen has requested to see the child."

An annoyed feeling washed over the man. Of course, she wished to. 

The servant took note of his changed demeanor, "I can take-"

"-No," he countered. "I will go myself. Should my wife awaken in my absence, give her anything she desires."

His heavy feet stormed from the room and he walked to the queen's chambers.

Alicent turned and shock overcame her. "Lord Stark. I did not expect you to-"

"-Neither did I."

The two stared at one another for a moment before Alicent's eyes wandered to the bundle in the large lord's arms. "Healthy?"

"The very picture."

She nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"A boy," Cregan stated.

"A boy?" Alicent whispered. Any thoughts of annoyance were past to her, and she walked to the lord and eagerly looked at the child.

The baby was indeed the picture of health. Bright purple eyes looked up at the two. Dark hair sat atop his head.

"He's quite northern," she stated.

"Indeed." Cregan was sure she meant it as an insult, but he could care less. The thought of such a gift as a northern boy filled him with pride. 

"Congratulations, Lord Stark."

He nodded. "Your daughter is fine as well."

Alicent moved away from Cregan and sat down. "That is a blessing. To all of us. She will be a perfect mother."

"Aye, she will."

The tension between the two was evident, but they wouldn't let it dull the excitement of the newest addition to the line.

"I should return to my wife."

"Please, do."

Cregan moved to the door.

"Lord Stark?" She asked.

"Yes?"

Alicent stared at him and then the babe. "Thank you. For caring for her. And now him. You are a better man than most."

Cregan sighed. It wasn't a compliment, but it was something. "Thank you, my queen. She will want for nothing until my dying breath."

"This is all I wished for her."

......................................................

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