#i understand where me eventually writing a darker aemond than initially expected might be offputting

[derangedthots]

I was so surprised to read on here and the notes left on your fics that you have yet to read Fire and Blood because your characterization of Jacaerys is so book canon rather than show canon (which is very insulting to Jacaerys, we are all very lucky that Harry is stunning).

I believe your characterization of Aemond is show only right ? probably a good think, cause to be honest there’s nothing worth ish in book canon Aemond, except for: delusions, misogyny (his obsession with Rhaenyra’s vagina is ugh get a job) and cruelty.

f&b is high on my reading list bc honestly as good of a summarizing job the wiki does, it's not the same as having the whole thing for reference, but i wanna wait until i have a print copy of it just bc i feel like trying to read it online would give me a headache/make me feel like i'm reading another thing for uni (which means i'd end up zoning out on principle).

i'm glad my characterization of jace seems so in line with his book version tho!! i do adore harry's portrayal, it's not as good as what george's written of course but that's on the fault of the show writers/directors than harry himself, and i try to blend show!jace into my characterization as well. that being said, since we're still only on s1 of hotd and even that has given us confusing/contradicting/downright illogical writing choices, it just makes more sense to lean more towards how jace is described in the book. also just, book!jace is so endlessly compelling?? his clear love for his family, his devotion to rhaenyra and their cause, his ability to lead, his cunning+dutiful nature, but also his fierceness and fire (him calling vhagar a hoary old bitch is so personal to me LMAO), his relationship with the dragonseeds, the ultimate tragedy of his life fjsks i could go on and on. the fact that george gives him so many admirable traits while leaving a lot open for interpretation (since f&b isn't written with their povs like asoiaf) also just makes my job as a writer even more fun bc there's so much room to play.

anyway onto the part of your ask that's harder for me to respond to (tbh can it still be called an ask if it's not even really a question? idkidk it's in my askbox so i'm gonna refer to it as such lol)

aemond's characterization is a more complicated affair for me bc while i am heavily leaning into his show characterization (like harry, ewan offers such a stunning portrayal), i also?? don't wanna run the risk of defanging him? from what i've seen of book!aemond, like you mention he def reads as creepy+dirtbaggy (his incredibly gendered fixation on rhaenyra truly makes me want to yak) and while ctf!aemond isn't quite so unbearable, he's also not too saintlike either. bc FMF and CTF are both written from jace's pov, there's a lot that isn't being shown in general but especially with what's going on inside aemond's head and well... let's just say aemond's thought processes aren't all that pretty. in a way, bc of how FMF and CTF are told through jace's eyes and jace already has a lot on his plate to deal with, there's a lot of things he isn't noticing and certain assumptions he makes that aren't as reliable as he thinks.

still, there's a very clear line btwn aegon and aemond in my head while i'm writing (i thought i'd clear this up bc i don't wanna worry anybody and make CTF!aemond seem unlikeable and therefore uninteresting as the male lead). it's just that one of aemond's big appeals to me is how dangerous he is and how, unlike daemon, it's much easier for him to fall on the dark side of the spectrum rather than true gray. he's wrestling with a lot of demons, some he'll win against and some he'll lose, but i believe it was @everythingstucky who once aptly likened my writing of CTF jacemond as jace saying "i can fix him but i won't, if he knows better he'll do it himself and aemond knows better" and to this day, i stick by this description. ultimately, for all his flaws, my characterization of him is steeped in hope for more.

there's a lot of growing aemond's doing offscreen, and a lot of growing he'll be doing with jace, so even though i might not end up writing him as charitably as some people want, i love his character bc he has such a generous capacity for both light and dark. him canonically being kind of a loser for me just means that when he finally does learn, and things do go his way, it feels all the more earned and you can get a sense of pride abt how far he's come/improved

this was all very long and rambly of me but i hope my message came through anyway. and if it didn't, i'm always happy to clarify (barring of course, any spoilers😉)💕💕