#stop being delusional about who daemon is

[wackyharpy]

Eventually (Part 1)

Modern! Aemond x Fem! Reader

Summary: Aemond has been in love with Helaena's best friend but hasn't confessed yet. Everything changes when he meets her at Dragonstone.

Part 2

Part 3 (maybe, not sure)

A/N: English isn't my native language. I'd be very glad for your comments and reblogs. Thank you in advance! Enjoy the story :)

For the atmosphere: Agnes Obel — Familiär

Warnings ⚠️

NSFW 18+, m masturbation, mentioning of sex, swearing, in this story Helaena is the youngest, she/her pronouns.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Two years.

Aemond Targaryen has been madly in love for two years. And if it weren't his lifestyle and business, he would confess. His family is another reason why it is so complicated. Although, the main reason is his fucking father and his delusional idea of Aemond's marriage with that Baratheon girl, God only knows her name.

One more issue. Who is she? A girl from a plain family without wealth that the Baratheon, oh Lord how Aemond is fed up with hearing that name, has. That's all. She is just a student. She is just the best friend of Halaena. She just sometimes appears at their mansion for a movie night with his sister. She is just a girl who Aemond has been madly in love with for two years.

***

Ragged breathing. The sound of the turned on shower. He has only half an hour to get to work. But Aemond can't stop. Can't stop thinking about her. Hair, eyes, lips, neck, collarbone, breasts, literally everything. All of her. He wants to devour her. Aemond's hand goes back and forth on his firm shaft. All thoughts swirling in the mind are of her. He shuts his eye tight making movements of the hand faster and harder. He desires it to be not his fingers and palm but her warm mouth or wet pussy. He wants to hear the sounds of their shared juices but not of the shower. Breathes are heavy. It seems as something has stuck in his chest, it wishes to break free, to burst with loud groans.

"Fuck!" he exclaims.

Aemond starts moving his hips roughly thrusting into his hand seeking for the relief. Still it would feel better if it were her hot insides.

"Fuck! Ah!" he moans.

There. It's there. Soon. He is going to come. Finally. He fucking wants her. Desires more than everything.

"Aahh!"

Aemond's cock starts twisting releasing his semen on the floor of the shower. He breathes heavily feeling huge relief. Aemond leans his head back opening his mouth slightly and licks his lips. The last exhalation is deep and long. Somewhat his mind has cleared and cooled being ready for another working day. Though, Aemond knows it won't last long. Sooner or later his only thought is going to be her.

***

"I don't fucking care, Viserys! She's a bitch!" Daemon shouts squeezing a crystal tumbler in his hand.

Aemond is sitting in his father's office at their family's mansion, silently looking at the mahogany desk. He is waiting for the ending of another spectacle that has uncovered after several minutes when Daemon and he have entered the room. Rhea Royce has been a topic of conversations between two brothers recently as the rogue one possesses no wish to be married to her anymore.

Aemond exhales heavily and keeps on sipping his Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey.

They have come to discuss new reports from the financial department but, as Aemond has noticed, currently Daemon's concern isn't connected with Targaryen's company. Instead of working, he argues with Viserys due to his wish to divorce that Royce bitch and to marry his new passion — Laena Velaryon.

All responsibilities and work at the financial department are on Aemond's shoulders. Again. It happened once several years ago when Daemon suddenly realised he got tired signing papers, sitting at meetings, deciding matters, so he just bought two tickets to Essos and went on a journey with his lover, nobody remembers her name now.

Only Aemond remembers. He remembers everything. He remembers the huge fight that happened within the family right after his uncle's airplane took off. He remembers how he had been working day and night reviewing all transactions, conducting all operations, leading all meetings, everything... When Daemon, the head of the department, was sipping a cocktail lying on the beach, sunbathing in pleasant rays while his lover was making a slobbery blow job. Aemond has always been a scapegoat, especially after that incident when he lost his eye. That was the moment when he realised that his father didn't care about him and his brothers, and sister.

"I said everything! I'll marry Laena and nobody will stop me!"

With these words, Daemon shuts the door leaving Viserys and Aemond alone.

The elder Targaryen exhales heavily:

"He's going to be the death of me," mutters Viserys and turns towards his son.

"How's work?"

Aemond mentally curses his father for this fake caring. In one gulp he drinks the remainings of 12-year-old whiskey and places the glass on the small table next to the armchair.

"Work is fine," dryly answers. He wishes promptly to discuss the matter and leave the office. Aemond can't stand his father at all.

"Then let's see what we have," Viserys sits in his working armchair wrapped in dusty brown leather and takes the folder with the reports.

***

"Aegon!" Aemond knocks at the door of his brother's bedroom. He hears moans and sweet gibberish that Aegon, perhaps, is telling a girl who is now below him. Or on top. Aemond doesn't care.

"Oh, yes! Yes!" exclaims the girl and releases a load groan that, as Aemond considers, the whole mansion has heard.

"Aegon!" Aemond knocks one more time feeling impatient, "we have to go! Open the door! Now!"

"You like it?" He hears his brother's chuckling and moaning — Aegon has always been loud in bed.

"Yeah!" The girl laughs; the bed continues squeaking.

Aemond exasperatedly runs the hand on his face and tsks. He turns on his heels and goes downstairs right to the rooms of the staff. There, he borrows a key that a maid uses to unlock Aegon's bedroom for cleaning.

The moment Aemond enters the room, he sees a red haired girl bouncing on his brother's hips. So... she's on top.

"Oh, hi, brother," Aegon smiles still keeping one hand on the lean leg of his guest and another one on her heavy breast.

"Meet Angelica," the elder goes on completely undeterred by the situation he is caught in.

"I don't care," Aemond dryly answers casting a quick glance at the girl that is grinning at him, "just get your things and come on. We're going to Dragonstone."

"What's it now?" Aegon rolls his eyes.

"We're to meet Corlys there and arrange something. I'm waiting in the car."

"Is the issue arised because our dear uncle wants to divorce that bitch?" Aegon laughs.

"No," Aemond answers coldly turning to the doorway, "five minutes, Aegon. Hurry up!"

At long last, the door of the car is opened, and Aegon gets into sitting next to Aemond. The picture is hilarious, mostly for the elder of two brothers: inside, the car smells of tobacco, citrus, and something woody — Aemond's perfume, which he adores. He is wearing a classy black suit of the English cut with a matching dark grey tie. And Aegon sprawls on the leather seat only in jeans and a T-shirt, luckily, a clean one.

"Always a good little boy?" He snickers examining his brother's outfit. Aemond ignores the insult and keeps on looking in the window. The gloomy expression is on his face.

"I heard Daemon doesn't appear at office, fucks Laena instead of that bitch, so... again all work is on you, little good boy?"

"Will you shut the fuck up?" Aemond hisses turning the head towards his brother.

"What?! Isn't that true?!"

"Maybe you'd better start doing your part of the work as well?"

"I don't give a shit," Aegon puts on a resentful face, "if our father doesn't give a shit about us, why should I care?"

"The matter isn't in..."

"The matter is exactly in this! Rheanyra is CEO, not me, not you. You're not even given a position of the head of the financial department. During all these years, as you've been working hard, not Daemon. But, as I said, they don't give a fuck."

Then, there is long silence between both of them. Aemond is looking in the window at changing landscapes: from King's Landing's houses with red roofs to the views of the calm sea as the car has been driven on the bridge that leads to Dragonstone.

"There's going to be Halaena and her," Aemond hears how his brother's mood changes abruptly. Only several seconds ago, he was upset because of the family issues, and now he's grinning looking at Aemond pointedly. He doesn't condemn Aegon for quick mood alterations, in some way, it's his method of hiding the resentment and living among crazy relatives. Still, at times, Aemond finds this Aegon's feature to be very annoying.

"Her?" Aemond raises one brow.

The Cheshire cat's grin becomes bigger on his brother's face.

"Oh, come on, don't pretend like you're an idiot! Her, Aemond. You know who I'm talking about."

"Halaena's best friend," Aemond responds feeling as if something is swirling uncomfortably in his stomach when mentioning her.

"Yes," a satisfied expression appears on Aegon's face, "Daeron texted me. Their summer holidays started at university and they decided to come to Dragonstone, like for a week, I guess. You know, to have parties, to sunbathe in bikinis, to swim."

Aemond gulps nervously. His pupils have dilated. He feels hot.

"If you could only see yourself!" Aegon bursts out laughing unable to control himself, "I know you wanna fuck her!"

"I don't!" Aemond cuts off immediately indignantly looking at his brother's face possessing a sole desire to smack him hard.

"Yes, you do! I notice how you look at her. Do you love her?"

One more time, the loud laughing can be heard in the car — Aegon isn't able to stop. Aemond just exhales heavily and turns his face away from his idiot brother towards the window.

He is exhausted. Because of everything. Aegon, Daemon, his father, all this abnormality the Targaryen family possesses, probably, for decades. He wishes to rest, at least, a little. Isolate himself from others and just sit in his room alone for several days like a mad man. However, there's no going back; his life is predestined, and he has been working in the family business for so long. Somehow, Aemond has got used to this lifestyle. Though, the only silver lining of his life remains to be Halaena's best friend. The girl who he has been madly in love with. The girl who he is going to meet again in an hour.

[horizon-verizon]

the only times Daemon was said to have loved someone was Laena and Nettles. that's it. He had no love for Rhaenyra. He only used her to get the throne. He might have felt lust for her when she was young, but definetly not after she gave birth and became fat and lost her beauty. He cheated on her during all of their marriage and betrayed her at the end. He didn't love that mad woman stop being delusional.

Here is a master post about Daemon x Nettles posts I've written.

People who pretend to be a particular brand of stupid so they can get attention or to push forward sexist shit irk me. If you want to believe stuff so that you feel better about whatever, more power to you, but this is not the blog for you, and I think you know that but you're just desperate for attention or find enjoyment out of upsetting people. Because you can't be so dense as to not have at least supplied pro-dettles counterarguments to all of the anti-dettles "arguments" that already exist here on the Internet. Like let's bfr. You've wasted the energy you put into to type and send this.

And like rhaenin-time and many others have already pointed out, what people take away what various characters are and did, esp the politics, says a lot more about them than the characters themselves. Anon is telling on themselves.

[bohemian-nights]

Did you read the last leaks on Reddit on the finale of Hotd? I don't know if i should cry or laugh omg 😭🤦 So, apparently Rhaenyra is meeting Daemon first, to tell him to not proceed with his plan on taking King Landing cause wouldn't be necessary since she is about to make some deal with Alicent to stop the bloodshed. Daemon tells her she can't trust the Greens, and she's a fool again on doing that. Rhaenyra tell him she trust Alicent cause does know she wants end the suffering of her children and she say she's the queen and she decides, they fall out and he end up abusing her again 💀 Streets saying is either pushing or slapping this time. She runs away from him while he yells at her she's weak like her father Viserys. Camera focuse on Daemon's angry facial expression who's defenitely thinking about plotting something. Rhaenyra leaves Harrenhal's castle and flies away with Syrax going to Dragonstone, waiting for Alicent. Alicent arrives there and they will discuss about negotiation of peace and seem they've reached a deal, after Rhaenyra apologizes for Blood and Cheese bending down 😂 (The cruel my ass) but....Brace yourself i laughed my ass off here. A messenger of King Landing shows up by the end of the episode warning both queens that King Landing is under attack by Prince Daemon Targaryen! Close up to Rhaenyra shocked face and then on Alicent's facial expression, who looks terrified for the fate of her children. The end.

So, basically Daemon is taking King Landing on his own ah ah i wanna cry this sounds so fucking bad for Rhaenyra's character and i don't even like her. The writers really do hate her.

Season 3 gonna open with the fall of King Landing, yes, but orchestrated by Daemon

Are you laughing or crying? Kind of both lmao

If they are at all true I’m over here like this:

I hate that they are making Daemon into an abuser(again; he isn’t wrong about her being weak, he still shouldn’t slap her though), but I can’t help but laugh at the fact that these racist selectively illiterate clowns were abusing and harassing people for months over the obvious.

If anyone thought that Dumbnyra would be okay after he choked the love of his life out mere hours after she just gave birth they were being irrationally delusional. That ship sunk a long time ago.

(They’ve only clung on this long because the books has Daemon abandoning their self insert to become dragon BBQ 🥩 while he saved the actual woman he loved).

That man does not care about her no more than all the rest. Everything pales in comparison to his love for the now deceased walking corpse and his hate for the Greens🥦.

Now I want that to change, and for Daemon to actually free himself from the shackles of Valyrian supremacy, learn how to love(Nettles and Daemon can heal each other thank you very much), and let go of his hurt over Gollum and the Greens but I can’t say I’m really butthurt over the rest🤷🏽‍♀️

[hello-nichya-here]

Daemon did NOT “groom Rhaenyra into liking incest”

I understand people not liking the ship, or Daemon as a character, and even saying he groomed her since they were clearly already flirting and eye-fucking each other when she was a teenager and still a minor (by our standards), but I cannot fucking believe the amount of times I read people trying to claim that Rhaenyra would have NEVER been okay with incest if it wasn’t for Daemon.

She’s a Targaryen. Her family tree is a damn circle. Incestuous marriages were a tradition of her house before they even thought of going to Westeros, and pretty much every important Valiryan house did it too.

Aegon the conqueror - ya know, the guy her brother is named after - married his TWO sisters, one out of duty/tradition and the other just because he could and wanted to. Her grandparents were not only siblings, but they also eloped to get married, because the “church” was telling the Targaryens to stop with all the freaking incest already, and they just went “NOPE”. They prefered to deal with the possibility of a war than to stop keeping it in the family.

Rhaenyra, being raised as the princess, obviously knew of all of this. She likely grew up believing that, if her mom were to have a son, she could end up being expected to marry him once they were of age. Hell, the idea of her marrying Aegon was suggested to her father as a way to avoid a political crisis over who was the true heir of king Viserys. And when Alicent confronted her on whether or not she had really lost her virginity to Daemon, she brought up the fact that “Targaryens have queer custumes” - aka, if given the chance, they’ll fuck anything that breathes, has a pulse, and is related to them.

She married a not-so-distant cousin (I think... I don’t remember how exactly she is related to Laenor, but I do know they ARE related). Yes, the dude was gay, but their original plan was to “do their duty”, aka have a few kids together, while secretly having an open marriage so they could be with the people they were actually attracted to.

She tried to have her sons marry their first cousins, and when that didn’t work out, she had them get engaged to their step-sisters (who would have also been their first cousins if the boy’s had been truly Laenor’s sons). No one is shocked at this arrengement she came up with because no kind of incest fazes a Targaryen. 

It’s okay to be weirded out or straight up disgusted by her relationship with Daemon, or to say that he is bad for her (hell, I adore the ship and even I know the guy can be a monster when he wants to), but to pretend that Rhaenyra would be horrified at the very thought of incest if her uncle had not been in her life is to blatantly ignore very explicit canon just so you don’t have to deal with the fact that a fictional character you like has zero problems with something find morally reprehensive. You people sound like the delusional GOT fans that swore Jaime Lannister only ever fucked Cersei because she was “manipulating” him, while neglecting to mention that the things she always used to manipulate him were his unashamed love and lust for her.

EVEN THE “GOOD” TARGARYENS SAY INCEST IS GREAT, AND YOU CAN’T DO SHIT ABOUT IT!

[darklinaforever]

gurl The Cope pleaseee

so hotd is not canon, the measters are lying, everyone who's not pro-daemyra is lying, and daemyra is not toxic - it only has toxic aspects.

surely you realize how ridicules you sound?

But have you really decided to piss me off ? You don't understand when someone speaks to you ? You idiot.

HOTD is not a representation of what would have really happened in Fire and Blood. The ages of the characters don't even fucking match ! The maesters lied about the ages perhaps ? Daemon didn't kill his wife either, because he was in the middle of a war. Rhaenys did not arrive at the coronation of Aegon II on her dragon, etc, etc. (we could continue the examples for a long time). Stop being stupid ! HOTD for the thousandth time is not canon to the books. HOTD and Fire and Blood are two different things. GRRM said it. It's not me who is delusional here to validate my fantasies.

And yes. Explain how Daemyra is supposed to be toxic in Fire and Blood. Incest ? Age difference ? In a universe where the characters are part of a family with magical blood that protects them from problems with incest ? In a universe inspired by the feudal era where girls were married young, sometimes even engaged even earlier ? If these are the reasons why Daemyra is a necessarily toxic relationship for you, go open some history books and read up on Greek mythology, and you will discover why saying that any relationship with an age difference is supposed to be toxic with such historical context, is completely ridiculous. Also go learn about Greek mythology and you will understand why incest does not necessarily equal toxic.

And don't let anyone tell me yet that Daemon is a predator and a groomer. I've already made an entire post to debunk this bullshit and I won't justify myself any further. Check it out on my tumblr. The post was a response to Emma D'arcy calling Daemon a groomer and talking bullshit about Rhaenyra's age in episode 4. Or also, again, go read an open a history book.

If these are your reasons for saying that Daemyra from Fire and Blood is toxic... Well thank you for confirming that in fact you don't have any real arguments. These elements can be disturbing, to our contemporary eyes, yes. But we have to put all of this in the context from which it is inspired and the universe that GRRM creates. You can't judge that from a modern point of view.

I'm tired of repeating the same things. Either way, you're not interested in the truth. Even the simple one about how HOTD is not a representation of the true events of Fire and Blood. That the series is not the book.

[unohanabbygirl]

ok truth be told I'm not that big of a jaceluke fan (jacegon and lucemond my beloveds) BUT I am here for the drama so I must ask; in FMN luke, as far as he knows, mostly felt attracted to aemond because he thought he looked hot and aemond just counted is blessings and ran w it. So how would their dynamics have turned out if luke had his lil lust at first sight towards jace instead??

like he sees aemond and thinks "meh my lawyer's son is kinda mid" buts meets jace and goes "DAMN. Stepbrother?!? More like plz step on me." [in the background: the twins cackling as the hightower boys fall to their knees]

Give me a second to kiss your amazing brain anon. I’ve never for a second thought of things going this way and I’m absolutely living for it.

Though as the reader we know part of Luke’s attraction towards Aemond is because of their past, on the surface the only reason he’s going for Aemond is because he has that hot douche bag thing going on. Had he seen seen a picture of Jace first with those curls, dark green eyes and pouty lips? Yea, he would’ve been all over that without a doubt. Aemond’s fr lucky that Alicent decided to show Luke that pic of him holding Nugget when she did.

In this AU things are 10x more chaotic because not only is it obvious Luke is trying to fuck Jace, but more of the family are aware of this little tryst because they’re paying more attention to they way these long lost brothers are acting with one another and Luke isn’t acting very brotherly (at least in the non-Targaryen way.)

Jace is shocked at first, but once the initial surprise wears off he finds himself happily reciprocating. As i’ve said before Jace’s love for Luke exceeds all bounds and he’d be anything to him including a lover. However he refuses to even think about going down the more sexual side of things because even though this Luke wants to jump his bones, he would never want the Luke he remembers to feel as though he’d been taken advantage of.

Its also easier for Jace to stop himself from going too far (unlike Aemond) because he and Luke don’t have the tension Lucemond does. Though he thinks his brother is beautiful, its Aemond who’s been dealing with a two thousand year long burning passion.

Joffrey reaction to Jaceluke is basically ‘as long as y’all don’t make out in front of me, idc.’ It actually makes him feel more secure in Luke’s presence. As though Luke being with Jace means he’ll never wanna leave them.

Rhaenyra and Harwin are more surprised than upset but overall accepting. Though its so alien to see them being full-on romantic with each other. Daemon on the other hand is just smirking because he knows Aemond is sick to his stomach and burning in envy. Seeing the guy suffer as Luke sits on Jace’s lap is 10x more satisfying than sticking his sword through his eye.

While Jaceluke is doing their thing it’s safe to say both Aegon and Aemond are shaking, crying and throwing up. I’m talking in distress 24/7 and thinking about ending it all. It’s so bad they end up flocking to reddit in hopes of finding advice on how to break a couple up but only get laughed out of every subreddit and called delusional weirdo’s before deleting their accounts because the cyber bullying got too bad.

Aemond almost jumps out of Alicent’s car straight into the busy intersection when she comments about how cute the two boys look together.

Aegon tries to convince Aemond that they should call the cops because fucking your foster brother is against so many system rules but then Aemond has to literally slap him because that would mean Luke getting taken away.

They’re just two sad bro’s trying to figure out how to ruin Jaceluke.

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

Director's Cut! Tell me about how the concept of the story came about and why you chose to go in this direction! (my body is ready for spoilers). Daemon's portrayed as a good father, we know he loves his kids even if the show wants to leave that on the literal cutting room floor, so how do you manage this approach with this story?

Oh boy. This...this is good. I am going to get rambly, & I will probably wind up delving into my version of Daemon like I did with my Rhea here, so it's below the cut!

In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that, even though Daemon likes his kids (even within show canon, what with the deleted scene of him with his daughters), he would not be able to let go of how much he resents Rhea Royce for not being someone he picked (nor would have picked if given any input on the situation). I just kind of revel in writing Severe And Complicated Daddy Issues (SOTF ain't my first Daddy Issues rodeo, I've got a whole drabble collection of that with one of my older OCs), & the idea of Rhea/Daemon kids who want to get vengeance for their mom is just kind of a concept that spoke to me.

In terms of my approach to Daemon & how it works within the world of my fic: it's just sort of "he's making how he feels about their mom & the fact they aren't wholly Valyrian his kids' problem." He doesn't hate the Royce siblings, he hates what they represent. And that combined with his selfishness, easy boredom, lack of forethought/planning ahead, & disregard for responsibility just make an absolutely delicious cocktail that I am sipping up & having the time of my life exploring. He built up in his mind that was going to have Valyrian looking sons (exclusively), and then he didn't get that. He's got a son with brown in his hair, a daughter who "can't even have heterochromia the right way," & his youngest son he had exclusively to claim a dragon looks so much like a Royce that the only proof he was even in the room is that boy's purple eyes. So now every time he looks at them he's just reminded of what "his dumb wife he doesn't want because she's not Valyrian & she's a bitch who doesn't think he's cool" has "denied him."

They were all cool when they were brand new & he could be a little delusional about it, but they stopped being fun pretty quickly so he just decided to dip. Don't have to address the issue & let your kids know you're taking things out on them if you aren't around them! And they're partly him, so there is something redeeming there, he can't hate them! But he doesn't view them at all in a healthy way, so it screws everything up. He wants admiration, loyalty, & respect from his kids with Rhea. He wants whatever they can do to benefit him. He manipulates them & tries to mold them in a way that can compensate for being part Andal/part First Men, while projecting both himself & prescribed faults from not being 100% Targaryen onto them.

The oldest/the twins are denied cradle eggs & never encouraged to claim dragons because he doesn't think they're capable of it just because they aren't 100% Valyrian, but when they both claim dragons & prove capable he immediately wants to have a son that can claim another of the older dragons. Meanwhile, Aemon exists solely to claim Silverwing, & Daemon puts basically no effort into him because he's not old enough to do so yet. He lost valuable years of trying to endear himself to his younger son by scaring him off with his explosive temper, & then going off to war & missing his first years of being, like, aware. He's genuinely surprised that the literal toddler who sees him 3 times a year thinks another man is his father.

Dinner was tense and awkward. Failed attempts at gaining his brother’s attention and at being reinstated as heir, the faltering relationships with his oldest children as they grew too old to be easily manipulated as pawns, living in the same place as his wife for two weeks, and his youngest son’s insistence that it was Ser Gerold who was his father had made Prince Daemon even more sullen and volatile than he usually was. He sat at the opposite end of the table from Lady Rhea, picking at the wing of a chicken that was on his plate.  Yorick and Ella sat on either side of their mother, both awkwardly eying their father from where he sat so far from them. Aemon was in his nursery. Even after a fortnight, the memory of the prince’s outburst at being adamantly denied the title of either “papa” or “kepa” had apparently stayed fresh in the little boy’s mind, and he had taken to hysterics to keep from having meals in the same places as the prince.

- Yorick 5: Zaldrīzdōron

He wants Yorick to be a tiny him so bad it makes him look stupid. He only keeps him around instead of being physically absent because he knows Viserys loves him [Yorick] in the most weird, projectiony way due to looking an alarming amount like the late Prine Baelon, blatantly ignoring him unless it's to train him to the point of exhaustion to try & wring perfect technique out of a literal child. He knows zero things about his own son, & because he beat his ability to speak up back with with a stick Daemon just thinks he's cool with whatever & will happily go along with his wants because he has no choice but to be molded into A Model Valyrian™. "Of course my son will be happy to curry favor with my brother for me, lose his virginity at 13 to a prostitute I hand picked for him, be a sex pest to other young teen girls, & then marry his sister as soon as she gets her period! That's what I want for him!" And then he's surprised when Yorick is unhappy with him...only then go on to actually feel pride when Yorick decides to resort to threats to get what he wants (even if they're against him). Because "yes, finally, he's acting how I've been trying to make him."

Meanwhile, he does have a kid that has the capacity to become just as fucked up as he wants Yorick to be...and he does nothing with that because he doesn't like the gender. He literally only puts in the effort to manipulate Ella into staying loyal & affectionate because that's simply what he does with young girls because he thinks that's all he needs to do & then he'll just get what he wants. "Insert kindness coins till she wants to be a child bride who has sex with her brother. Girls aren't more complex than that." He doesn't know how to extrapolate how he normally is into something he can't be a creep about, so he just doesn't really try that hard with her.

By the time episode 5 (chapter 13) roles around Yorick hates Daemon because of everything he made him go through & put up with before he was old enough to be independent from him, Ella has finally started to see how much he sucks because she's old enough that people have stopped shielding her, & Aemon simply doesn't know him. And as soon as he realizes he can't get what he wanted after 17 years of "trying," that they are all more loyal to their dead mom than the man who killed her, he starts burning bridges. And, on a level, I don't think he ever stops wanting the loyalty & the respect & the affection he initially did from them, because this is Daemon & he just wants people to pay attention & love him, but at this point none of them can give each other that. He can't be a father to Yorick, Ella, or Aemon, & they can't be the children he wants, so it all just gets...weirder & worse & more complicated. None of them get over each other no matter how hard they try.

And that's what it's all about. Toxic, co-dependant resentment.

[flysafepapi]

piggybacking because I have many thoughts about this

he definitely was considering the political advantage (perhaps almost entirely but I'll elaborate on that more in a minute) when he started everything with Rhaenyra.

It was not a coincidence that the first time we see him pay any attention to her, when he gives her that necklace in the very first episode, is at the same time that everything with Viserys and Aemma happened. It wasn't a coincidence that he just happened to run into Rhaenyra when she snuck out around the same time that Viserys was considering who to be remarried to. Almost everything he does in regards to Rhaenyra, prior to Viserys' death, was related (however tangentially) to Viserys himself.

Now, regardless of what he said in the latest episode (which is also something I could talk about at length because his shitty self aside he wouldn't have said that, not about Viserys, that was out of character) there is one thing we know for sure that Daemon has always wanted: Viserys' attention/approval and his place as Viserys' heir, two things that are often at odds.

I have no doubt that he cares about Rhaenyra, but like she said herself, she knows she can't trust him, and there's a reason why he didn't answer her when she asked him if he accepted her as Queen and ruler, because he doesn't. Imo, he's only still with her for two reasons. One, he can't stand anyone on the Greens so it's either Rhaenyra or he just fucks off somewhere and lets them deal with everything alone, and two, because he knows that Rhaenyra is who Viserys chose. It was never about Rhaenyra at all, it's about Viserys and him. He was Viserys' heir until Viserys went against tradition and named Rhaenyra, by marrying Rhaenyra he's put himself into the closest position to the throne he can get without still being heir.

That being said, I do believe he'll come back, if only because he still wants that, not because he's coming back for her. It's his ambition and his desire for approval from a man that isn't even alive anymore that'll bring him back. His entire life, he believes he's been in competition with/wanting approval from his older brother, and that hasn't stopped just because Viserys is dead.

In addition to that, realistically why would Rhaenyra even want or benefit from having him back? She said herself she can't trust him. Every single interaction we've ever seen them have is an attempt at portraying them as a good couple, but he knew people would see them in the brothel and he did it because he wanted it to get back to Viserys, the next time is after Laena's funeral when both of them are grieving so they're basically using each other at that point (it didn't show the relationship properly between them all but they were all close), he's not there for her when she has complications with visenya just like he wasn't there for laena, he's choked her, he's gone behind her back and fucked things up for her with Blood and Cheese. Literally the only scene we've gotten so far of the two of them that isn't coloured by similar things is their wedding, and even then it's still done in secret with only the kids as witnesses, literal days after they've lost both laena and laenor, and that puts Daemon in the position of being the closest to being Viserys' heir as he can be without actually being the heir, and guardian of both the heir's heir and the future Lord of Driftmark in one go, giving him more power/influence than he had before. (Yes, Rhaenyra would still be in charge of her own children but you're delusional if you don't think Daemon wouldn't also have influence). In addition to that, he arranges for both his daughters to be betrothed to them, which doubles down on that influence. He did not marry Rhaenyra for love, if that was the case he would've pushed for that secret wedding before she married Laenor.

I have never been and most likely will never be a Rhaenyra girl, but she doesn't now nor has she ever needed him.

The guy didn't even succeed in the biggest role he has in the Dance, yeah he killed Aemond but he didn't survive it either so in terms of a victory for the Blacks that doesn't even count because both sides lost with that.

If Daemon doesn’t come back to Rhaenyra by the end of season two I swear to god—

[meanqueens]

Targ stans are pretending that Rhaenyra “had the last laugh” over Alicent because Rhaenyra’s son and her descendants ascended the throne, even though Alicent's son ordered Rhaenyra’s death, and Alicent's line died out. Béréngère.... Ombelline..... Despite her two younger sons becoming kings, Rhaenyra still went down in history as a traitor, “Maegor with Teats”, and dismissed as nothing more than a usurper and a pretender. Her sons, grandsons, descendants, never cancelled the decree issued by Aegon II that she be listed only as a princess in all court records and chronicles and never as “Rhaenyra, First of Her Name”. Have they even tried to rehabilitate her ? Do they even care about her at all ? Daenerys never invoked Rhaenyra’s memory, despite being a woman fighting for the Iron Throne. No other Targaryen that we know of has been called “Rhaenyra”, probably because the infamy she gained has tainted the name for future generations. And finally, her descendants were deposed and exiled. (Stop being so delusional and try to read and understand the series, Daenerys will die and there won't be a Targ restoration).

Reminds me of people saying that Mary Stuart had the last laugh over Elizabeth I because Mary's son, James, became Elizabeth I's successor, even though she executed his mother, and every British monarch descend from Mary. But James barely lift a finger to help his mother, he named his only daughter after Elizabeth, and he bent over backwards to make sure him and his dynasty would be forever be associated with Elizabeth and not Mary. The Stuarts constantly refer back to Elizabeth I in times of trouble and take great pains to make links to her. Charles II did it when he takes the throne. William III and Mary II promised to reign like Elizabeth when they were being sworn in. Queen Anne pretty much took every opportunity to compare herself with Elizabeth, and she purposely used Elizabeth’s motto “always the same” even. Elizabeth is remembered as Gloriana, the Faerie Queen, England's greatest ruler, meanwhile Mary is, at best, a tragic and romantic woman who was too motivated by her heart and probably her pride versus her brain, and at worst, an incompetent and disastrous ruler.

thank you for your ask, anon, because your mind!!

yeah i definitely subscribe to nobody truly winning the dance. among the pretty major players: rhaenyra dies horrifically, aegon ii is murdered, alicent dies sick and broken, otto is executed, daemon dies in a violent fight with his nephew, and the only survivors of the greens and the blacks — aegon iii, viserys ii, and jaehaera (however briefly) — are traumatized. and the realm itself never truly heals. nobody’s laughing.

[starkslydia]

my main problem with greens / rhaenicents on tw is that they just throw words. like… that’s all they do. and most of the time it’s either delusional / fabricated / hypocritical stuff so i try to not pay attention to them because if i don’t like something i just ignore it but honestly it’s reaching a point where it’s getting ridiculous. with the greens it’s just delusion and misogyny and their own little fucked up view of the dance but regarding rhaenicent stans there are a few things that really piss me off. i’m not even going to dwell on them calling other lesbians or bisexual women like me (essentially any sapphic) lesbophobic for… not liking their ship? when most of the time said sapphics enjoy rhaenyra x laena? so anyways there’s that. there’s also something about their obsession with stripping rhaenyra of every single thing that makes rhaenyra who she is. her children, her dragon blood, her rage and fury, her vengeance, her targaryen heritage, her connection with daemon which goes beyond understanding for non-targaryens. they want her to be an accessory for their favorite character, because they don’t give a single fuck about rhaenyra herself. most of them actually dislike her (just go on tw and you will see) and honestly at least for me enjoying a ship while hating half of it… makes no sense. there’s also the whole “you hate the idea of lesbians so much you prefer incest” like bitch those are targaryens?? this is house of the dragon?? targaryens are known for their incestuous marriages?? rhaenyra MARRIES daemon?? alicent marries her two children?? and going back to the whole not giving a fuck about rhaenyra, i’ve seen way too may greens / rhaenicents on tw accusing blacks / daemyras of “supporting dv” (well, and way worse things but whatever besties) when… most of them romanticized the knife scene, making jokes about it or saying how hot it was. and the fact that they undermine rhaenyra’s loss and grief to fuel their fantasy that “they still have a chance” as if alicent hadn’t usurped her throne, stole her birthright and accident or not, she is responsible for lucerys getting murdered. the fact that they wholeheartedly believe that rhaenyra has to (and will) forgive her for everything after not only making her life miserable for ten years, but also being the cause of her greatest pain is literally insane. but whatever, because at the end of the day all they care about is their little fantasy with no regards for rhaenyra at all. just keep your shitty takes on ao3 and stop being whiny delusional people <3

disclaimer: to the lovely rhaenicents that only wished that otto was gone and the dance had never happened so alicent and rhaenyra could be together, this is not for / because of you, y’all are lovely and i wish you a nice day <3

note: i’m not gonna argue with anyone so if u try to start a fight i’m gonna block u idc this is just my opinion !

[baxterbella24]

About HotD's Daemon Targaryen...

I'm really amused by a lot of YouTubers who have read Fire & Blood and are not happy with some of the changes and interpretations the show has introduced. They are so hilariously confused by Daemon's onscreen characterization, mainly cuz they don't even consider the possibility of him being this impulsive super emotional dude who's truly inlove with Rhaenyra the show has been clearly depicting from the beginning.

The idea of Daemon as this calculating power-hungry monster with next to zero positive personality traits is so fixated on their minds, they seem to be totally incapable to accept the HotD version of Daemon that's more human and vulnerable than the image they formed in their heads. I'm really baffled, especially knowing all these people must be well aware that the book is written from multiple in-world biased perspectives, none of them 100% reliable.

I'm not delusional, I know Daemon is a deeply questionable character, very much capable of depravity, as he himself has stated (killed his innocent first wife just to be free to marry Rhaenyra someone of his choice, and has recently murdered another innocent person to fake Laenor's death to be able to -ahem- marry Rhaenyra, among several other things), but that doesn't take away the fact that Ryan Condal and the writers' team have decided to humanize him more, to make it harder for us to hate or love him, just as they have done with all the other characters.

Will these people ever find out and accept what the show is actually telling us about Daemon? Is an occasionally vulnerable and relatable character capable of being inlove but also selfish and heartless at times less interesting than a ruthless piece of sh*t who doesn't stop at anything and ultimately only cares about himself? Personally, I'm really enjoying TV Daemon, even knowing his loving supportive family phase will come to an end at some point, and that he'll most likely be hurting the people he loves by doing selfish non-caring sh*t.

I like him because he's truly unpredictable, capable of tenderness and indifference, vulnerable and violent, beautiful and disgusting at the same time. Honestly, I'm really thankful that we got this Daemon instead of the less nuanced and more villainous version from the book.

[horizon-verizon]

Another ask I got from a person I just decided to block (but will continue to "answer" for the sake of deliberation):

Not everything can be written away with the “propaganda excuse”. Rhaenyra was as AWFUL as those books portray.

Someone was putting smallfolk heads on spikes and squeezing the peasantry for additional funds after she took King’s Landing, and it could have only be the one who was in the city issuing edicts: Rhaenyra herself. Her lavish spectacle to name Joffrey as Prince of Dragonstone while the city was suffering from war and winter can’t be explained away as bias; there would be far too many witnesses to such an event. Manfryd Mooton and Corlys Velaryon betrayed their patron when the greens were losing, and it wasn’t just on a lark, Rhaenyra’s death sentence on Addam Velaryon and Nettles were matters of public record. The Princess and the Queen pretty much spells out the minutes of the Small Council meeting where it happened, so it can’t be explained away as the Mootons attempting to cover their own behinds and paint themselves as forced into turning by evil Rhaenyra. The narrative of Blood and Cheese presented in The Princess and the Queen supports Rhaenyra signing off on the murder (or at least knowing beforehand and consciously not ordering him against it), and even if that’s propaganda, it fell to Rhaenyra to punish Daemon for murdering a noncombatant and child just as surely as it fell on Aegon II to punish Aemond for attacking and murdering a noncombatant envoy. The fact that neither one of them did speaks volumes about them.

The smallfolk of King’s Landing didn’t riot for no reason either (granted, they were also influenced by the Shepherd), we see this in the original novels. Tyrion was falsely blamed for some of Joffrey’s actions in ACOK, but the street preacher is not basing his argument on nothing: Joffrey does shoot random peasants dead with his crossbow and mockingly permits the rest to eat the dead, the High Septon is gluttonous while the peasants starve, the upper crust is venal and corrupt. Rhaenyra’s regime and policies are sparking the same arguments, and the responsibility for all that falls on Rhaenyra herself. She’s the one who’s wasting food in a time of want on a party, she’s the one who is squeezing more and more taxes out of the peasantry, she’s the one constantly accusing everyone of treason regardless of proof, guilt or innocence. She’s the only one in power at King’s Landing, and so the buck ultimately stops with her.

Even if you take an extreme and delusional step and say that every single negative word written about Rhaenyra is untrue slander, how then, did those events happen? Because they clearly did and they can’t be easily explained away as unrelated. Aegon II and Larys Strong were in Dragonstone, Aemond was in the field, Alicent was imprisoned, Criston Cole was long dead, so they can’t be false flag ops, and the riots directed against the regime meant that the smallfolk held them responsible for the cause. Nettles and Addam Velaryon didn’t have phony death sentences.

And yet when others try to express that Rhaenyra was an awful person, I find reasons how she either was provoked unfairly or how those arguers just flat out lie about what she did versus what others did.

*EDIT*: 5/31/24: all of this is not about Nettles, bc that is where I'd say that Rhaenyra deserved her fate. Plus this ask was mostly not abt Nettles. And the real problem is actually that GRRM chose to write her so passively (not morally, passively) when he had a lot of options not to.

A)

I already addressed the executions, the party after taking KL, taxes, her progression into paranoia being more from her loss of sons (of which no one can ever criticize her for, at least reliably bc unless they are themselves a parent what cred do they have to deny that a caring parent shouldn't be destroyed with back to back child losses?), etc. HERE...along with all the posts that that post links to.

B)

Them: " Manfryd Mooton and Corlys Velaryon betrayed their patron when the greens were losing, and it wasn’t just on a lark, Rhaenyra’s death sentence on Addam Velaryon and Nettles were matters of public record. The Princess and the Queen pretty much spells out the minutes of the Small Council meeting where it happened, so it can’t be explained away as the Mootons attempting to cover their own behinds and paint themselves as forced into turning by evil Rhaenyra."

AND

"Even if you take an extreme and delusional step and say that every single negative word written about Rhaenyra is untrue slander, how then, did those events happen? Because they clearly did and they can’t be easily explained away as unrelated. Aegon II and Larys Strong were in Dragonstone, Aemond was in the field, Alicent was imprisoned, Criston Cole was long dead, so they can’t be false flag ops, and the riots directed against the regime meant that the smallfolk held them responsible for the cause. Nettles and Addam Velaryon didn’t have phony death sentences."

Okay...so when did I refute these happened? When did I ever say that every single thing that the text said Rhaenyra did, from being born to her going after Nettles, were just fabrications? I said that many were either twisted tellings from misogynist ideas and how these people view how a woman should act because she is a woman.

When did I reject that Rhaenyra did these things? That was never my counterargument, this person was upset bc they couldn't fathom the actual argument I was making that flouted their own feelings. My actual CA was that the narrative clearly conveys that Rhaenyra's paranoia did not come from nowhere, was not totally unjustified, nor because she hadn't been instigated into defending her own political rights from more ambitious and greedy actors who should have seen her more as a family than a threat to their own patriarchal/patriarchally-granted rights/ties to political power.

And Fire and Blood's account of the Dance is basically the Princess and the Queen but with more/added information; it also gives us what happened with Corlys, Mooton, the dragon seeds, and the meeting where Rhaenyra decided to imprison Addam. This person seems to think I haven't read that book or that it is somehow giving more and more relevant information than F&B?!

I never denied facts, I told people what and why Rhaenyra acted the way she does in particular circumstances and explained why some of those actions were not as evil as they were presented to be or believed to be. Evil to either those in her world or those reading this book. I explained how there was a level of scrutiny of her actions that encourages and affirms a misogynist reading of her because that scrutiny does not actually observe specific details in its comparisons when there were actors there who performed terrible things or targeted her with no/unjustified/ambitious provocation.

C)

Blood and Cheese is another topic I already talked about many times. People looking at this post can start HERE, where I mention B&C and put other posts under section A. In this post, I talked about the stupidity of claiming that Alicent had a better hold on her emotions and didn't let them influence her into making bad or rash decisions/actions and gave many examples, as the asker there tried to make Alicent a better ruler than Rhaenyra for somehow not letting her grandsons' violent death curtail her emotional control-ability to reason at critical moments to strategize and be pragmatic. Or in any way logical.

Yes, Alicent Hightower, the same woman who: tried to negotiate with Rhaenyra after her own son killed one of hers and ends up dismissing the deaths of the person she's seeking a middle ground with AND tried to get Jaehaera (her own granddaughter who she knows was mentally troubled) to kill Aegon III out of sheer spite; the same woman who had to be talked down by Larys into listening to Corlys an accept his terms temporarily; who told her son to mutilate Aegon III to put off Rhaenyra's supporters as if that were not going to turn public opinion against her son and the greens.

So really, that asker was trying to express that Rhaenyra's paranoia versus Alicent's blind rage was less acceptable because it was more apparent, more public and Rhaenyra was not in Alicent's position of being a support to a male authority figure (Aegon II here). Rhaenyra is the person ruling herself, being the woman in the actual seat, so she receives scrutiny & censure in a way that Alicent doesn't. Because Rhaenyra, just by acting towards having the same position of power traditionally given to men less-reliable-of-character and destabilizing societal prejudices perpetuating the supremacy of male authority, so there are some like anon above who want Rhaenyra to become this Mary Sue Perfectiana.

If a woman is going to do a "man's job", she better not be a real person with a unique psychology of her own developed from her environment, human interaction, social systems and pressures but be Athena. But a man can be Ares and rule with little question b/c the martial world is believed to be a man's. She must surpass the bounds of human selfishness or patience (that men can have and rule simultaneously [Aegon IV, Aegon II, Aerys II, Maegor I]) AND put the wishes of the wishes agents who wish to hypocritically invalidate her right to rule before her own rights AND be evaluated as such by those men and/or those who wish to maintain the very system of gender inequality Rhaenyra's rule would trouble.

But we already have a genuinely good/compassionate AND "real" ruler in Dany; Rhaenyra is supposed to re-contextualize Dany through the misogyny (which doesn't care if you are good in morlaity or not, it's botu gender...di we say Cersei or Lysa Tully's treatment at the hands of men don't matter?!) that Dany still is herself a victim of and will continue to have to deal with as sh gets to King's Landing. Because Rhaenyra's story is another story about Queenship and who DESERVES to be queen, how that is very much part of how a ruler is measured by in Westeros...the very place Dany hopes to reconquer. To show why Dany is a great ruler AND what can turn someone into a worse version of themselves (for Rhaenyra, misogyny).

In order to be a ruler "in her own right", she must be a pure agent of emotionlessness but also fall in line with medieval models of motherhood, chastity, and obedience to a male relative/spouse.

D)

Them: "The smallfolk of King’s Landing didn’t riot for no reason either (granted, they were also influenced by the Shepherd), we see this in the original novels."

Again, you can check out what I say about the taxes above...the reason why they grumbled was out of fear (which hello, this is a time of war, fear of loss of life during a retaking or defense is bound to happen) and the greens stole the treasury that Rhaenyra could have used to really supply the KLers with food stuffs, negotiations with other parties, materials for ships, etc. It was a very deliberate choice, and to make the KLers more difficult to deal with in their demands to be succored during such a volatile time. Funny how this never gets highlighted in discussions as to how Rhaenyra began taxing the KLers in the first place, or how no one ever provides their own plan for how to raise money as quickly as possible during such a volatile situation....The Shepherd PLUS Larys' rumor-mongering BOTH exacerbated the fear into making the inhabitants turn against Rhaneyra and the Targ dragons. The Shepherd himself is possibly an agent or "virus" sent by the Citadel/Faith to destabilize Rhaneyra (a theory that has some traction bc this guy quite literally comes out of nowhere and also has great rhetorical power, implying that he at one point may have had leisure time to contemplate his words for speech and idea-dissemination...something maesters and septons/septas do in their vocations). Rhaenyra ALSO didn't tax for no-good-reason.

E)

Coming off the last section, let's also get back to this piece:

"Even if you take an extreme and delusional step and say that every single negative word written about Rhaenyra is untrue slander, how then, did those events happen? Because they clearly did and they can’t be easily explained away as unrelated. Aegon II and Larys Strong were in Dragonstone, Aemond was in the field, Alicent was imprisoned, Criston Cole was long dead, so they can’t be false flag ops, and the riots directed against the regime meant that the smallfolk held them responsible for the cause. Nettles and Addam Velaryon didn’t have phony death sentences."

I love how the past subtle and overtly violent actions each of these characters took against Rhaenyra--even the primary, recent one of stealing the treasury!--aren't considered enough to set up later situations in King's Landing. Apparently, once Rhaenyra landed in KL,, there was no past, nothing to trace her behaviors to. No one died, no one had to move to Dragonstone to actually become some sort of practicing ruler and grow a family without abuses, no one openly questioned Rhaenyra's rights on multiple occasions based on her gender or endangered her and her kids, no one was planning to kill or imprison her on multiple occasions, and NONE of this has anything to do with how Rhaenyra--or any person/woman who happens to get into this position in life--shored up her emotional and political defenses. there is no progression, no causation, no origins of self.

Again, Rhaenyra is quite literally a failed Athena to these people--she failed to spring up a perfect leader from her father's (lacking) instruction and others' fancies of what a leader should look like and act like (which is to be male). When she landed in KL, she never was a child. She had a fresh new start!

F)

Two posts by mononijikayu: HERE and HERE applying some real medieval facts to Rhaenyra and Westerosi feudalism.

Excerpt from the second:

one of the primary drivers behind the erosion of female importance in political life was the transformation of societal norms and legal systems. as the medieval world transitioned to new epochs, shifts in power dynamics often paralleled shifts in gender roles. the rise of feudalism and centralized political structures led to an increasing concentration of power in the hands of a male-dominated aristocracy. the prevailing mindset began to associate public authority with masculinity, and legal frameworks were adapted to mirror these evolving social hierarchies. as a result, women faced mounting barriers to entry into political spheres as societal norms and laws codified their roles as subordinate figures more closely tied to domestic and familial duties. the transformation of royal and noble courts played a crucial role in redefining the nature of women's participation in political life. royal courts were epicenters of power, culture, and decision-making, but they underwent significant changes over time. the reformation of these courts often resulted in a more structured and regulated environment, which in turn began to marginalize women from active political engagement. courtly life increasingly emphasized ceremonial roles and decorum, wherein women might be celebrated for their beauty, grace, and strategic marital alliances, but their direct influence on policy-making and governance diminished. religion just as much held immense sway over medieval society, shaping perceptions of gender roles and political involvement. the doctrinal teachings of the church and the papacy played a dual role: they both reflected and reinforced prevailing gender norms. ecclesiastical doctrine often highlighted the virtue of women as pious wives and mothers, positioning them as symbols of morality and nurturing rather than as political actors. as the church gained prominence as a moral authority, these teachings permeated societal consciousness, reinforcing the notion that women's role in political affairs was secondary to their roles within the bounds of being members of their families and their duties to the wants of their faith. the evolution of these three novel concepts within existing paradigms played a pivotal role in solidifying these notions within the narrative and their implications for society. many of these notions were intricately interconnected, leading to a tight symbiotic relationship that favored the progression of men within the transformed societal landscape. consequently, women found themselves compelled to adopt a more nuanced approach in their pursuit of agency, lest they antagonize a resurging patriarchal order. 

[bohemian-nights]

Dumbnyra stans low-key be funny talking bout some "Daemon groomed/abused Nettles. Anyone who ships them are gross! She deserves better." And I'm like first of all they be calling Dettles this and that as if they don't be actively shipping UNCLE AND NIECE. Second if Dumbnyra isn't grooming (it is) it sure as hell is abuse because last time I checked choking your partner (non-consensually) is domestic violence which is abuse. But you know there right she does deserve better, not from Daemon but from there feminist girlboss can do no wrong in there eyes white insert Targaryen Queen Rhaenyra, who ordered her death but made sure to explicitly state no harm was to come to Daemon.

They out here trying to Jeyne Pool Nettles like news flash not only is Nettles important narratively, I wonder who’s going to tell them that without her there fave Daemon (at least show wise) is just an unredeemable asshole with no character development. Like hello HOTD writers you can’t say he was made up out of both darkness and lightness and then take away all his lightness (Nettles, Laena, his daughters).

Also that whole bullshit soulmate “we have always been meant to burn together” thing there trying to do with Dumbnyra is laughable.

Sorry for ranting 🙂 (I also love that you call Daemyra, Dumbnyra lol).

Never apologize for ranting about Nettles and Daemon. Lol, the math straight up isn’t mathing because if you wanted to protect Nettles from someone it would be little Miss Aryan who tried to put a hit out on her, not the man who was going to lay down his life for her🙃

And as much as I love to rag on Dumbnyra(can’t take credit for that cause I saw it somewhere else and started using it🤣) stans cause they are straight-up racist misogynist trash, it’s not just them who are doing this.

Some of Team Green or Green-leaning fans also seem to view Rhaenyra as this innocent white woman(when it comes to Nettles) who just had a little breakdown and maybe if her perverted husband kept it in his pants and didn’t go dilly-dallying with a young Black woman she’d be okay👍🏽

Daemon has to have abused Nettles because there is no way he could treat a poor young Black woman better than Aryan Valyrian Queenie 😀

In fandoms, people always look the other way for white ships even when there is actual abuse involved, but the moment a Black woman is involved her relationship has to be spotless otherwise it’s “abusive” or she’s being “groomed” or some other bull crap, and we must “protect her.”

This isn’t mutually exclusive to HOTD. No joke, I got hate for shipping Shuri x Namor, not because he literally killed her mother, but because Namor is 500 years old and Shuri is in her early 20s. Mind you this person was a Ten-Rose shipper and that couple has an even larger age gap than Shuri and Namor(Rose is 19 and the Tenth Doctor is 900) 🙃

Once again this “protection” is less about “protecting” and more like “No no no wait, stop. There is a black woman and she is being loved. This just can’t be. Alert the fire department. Call the police.”🙃

Circling back to Dumbnyra stans, they truly are the most delusional fans I have ever seen. Like they really believe that even though Daemon literally mentally, emotionally, and physically abused their self-insert somehow Dumbnyra is still going to make it🤣🤣🤣 Lol with or without Nettles your ship is going the way of the Titanic🤷🏽‍♀️ Epic soulmates they are not. The show showed them that.

And yeah while Daemon doesn’t physically abuse Rhaenyra in the book(s) it isn’t this great love story they are making it out to be because when crazy a** Rhaenyra needs Daemon the most, she straight up just wants him back with her and tries to kill Nettles to “free him,” this man says deuces, goes against her orders to save the “misunderstanding,” and possibly gets himself killed(we never saw a body so I’m holding onto the possibility he lived) rather than go back to her 🙃

Go read the sections of Fire & Blood where Rhaenyra goes on her racist tangent and then the part where Daemon reads her execution orders for Nettles if you don't believe me📖

They can’t read and cling to the fanon scenarios they’ve created in their head to prop up that sinking hellfire of a ship. They so desperately want Rhaenyra to be his light when she’s just not. Both in the show and the book(s).

In the book(s), his light patches are Nettles, Laena, and his girls. They’ve screwed over his relationship with Laena and their girls in the show so now it’s up to Nettles to show that the man is morally gray and they can’t stand that 🤷🏽‍♀️

[proxnotxaxfool]

❝ some people just need killing. ❞

chancellor izunia.

how fucking wrong they’d been. 

all those years they’d thought themselves fighting a war to further the empire. to bring peace through conquering the kingdom of lucis - remove the king and it’d remove the hoarding mentality of his magic and that fucking crystal.little had they known they’d been pawns in a family dispute.

if there was one guy who’d always made the hairs on the back of the turk’s neck stand up, it was the chancellor. there was just something about his off-kilter gait and that flamboyance that had kept him off balance - there was no fear either. never even so much as a flicker of hesitance had ever crossed the man’s face for as long back as reno could remember. and now he knew it was because the chancellor had been the one holding all the cards the whole time. 

aldercapt had been a decrepit and delusional old fart by the time zegnautus had lost control of itself. and if the reports of the the colleagues they’d lost in the keep were to be believed, the emperor’s grasp on sanity had been shattered when that crystal had been seized. the prince’s friends had mentioned the scourge turning the guy too, but none of the turks that had been there that night had made it out of the keep alive.

or maybe they had, and just weren’t human anymore?

he preferred not to dwell on that thought. they were dead. let them rest. better a swift death than being turned into one of those things. his family’s tarnished name had actually saved him from that fate - revoked permissions and grunt work because of the perceived failure of his younger brother, top that with his father’s emerging defiance after losing another son - those lacks in loyalty had barred him from detail within the keep until further notice.

‘ aldercapt was one of those people - m'not gonna argue with you on that one. ’ 

reno stopped just shy of the glare of the floodlights - probably wouldn’t do much to protect him if the chancellor were to wish harm upon him, hadn’t he lived in the same world as them for nearly as long as the turk could remember … waltzing around the king’s citadel and the crown city for all the cameras to see during the signing treaty - whatever stories there were about the man being part daemon or whatever - those might be true, but not in the same way as others who turned. they shied away from the lights, while ardyn had never so much as blinked at the glare of the sun above the horizon.

‘ some people, sure … all people? can’t get on board with that one, chancellor. because that’s what this world is doing to everyone right now. ’

[darklinaforever]

Daemon died for Rhaenyra??? In which fan fiction did you read that? Girl, Daemon was just tired of everything and rather than facing his adultery allegations went to fight Aemond and Vhagar. It's not a love story, he literally did it cause he's a reckless suicidal who need to end things on his own without being submitted by anyone and Ryan set up the thing from the beginning. He craved glory and we don't even know if he died. GRRM leaving that point opened is made on purpose cause he wanted Daemon to leave an iconic mark compared to the others. He's his fav for a reason and is not “his love” for Rhaenyra. Yall understand nothing of Daemon and it shows. Him banging Nettles have more than a evidence. The witnesses at Maidenpool, Mysaria who had spies everywhere and even Norren that give odds details and by the end when Rhaenyra finds out, he stops covering Daemon's ass with lies and say Nettles slept in his bed every night and the guards Rhaenyra sent to kill Nettles says she is sleeping in his bed too so will be hard to kill her cause Daemon would have defended her and they decide to send more guards and one of them say 6 or 60 it still Daemon Targaryen. Yall in deep denial about Daemon and when all this will happen on screen im gonna laugh my ass off at all of you delulu shippers who don't want aknowledge Daemyra is TOXIC. It's not about hating a ship it's about coherence and that left your mind ages ago.

No, but at this point, what am I supposed to answer ? I've literally already dealt with all this type of crap. What exactly do you think ? That by repeating your bullshit I will believe it ? No. Because I know how to read and analyze. And obviously not you.

Daemon is not an abuser. Daemon didn't groom Rhaenyra. Daemyra is not toxic.

Learn what the contexts of a universe mean and the historical era it is inspired by. Daemyra were in love. Daemyra lived in peace for 10 years before the war. The stories of Daemon's deception towards Rhaenyra are not certain, it is a fact. (@horizon-verizon has made some very good posts on this subject. If you're open-minded, go read them. But I already know you won't) Daemon died for Rhaenyra's cause, killing Aemond, her greatest current enemy and greatest current threat. He died for this, their family and their house.

If you want to have fun thinking that he died because he just wanted to kill himself, and or thirsted for glory, obviously. He just killed Aemond in a callback for Lucerys but let's forget that detail. Obviously, Daemon may also be alive, having completely abandoned his family and living perfectly happily with Nettles !!! (No, but do you hear yourself ? And it’s me who’s delusional ? Thinking that Daemon is alive is such proof of your stupidity...)

Why do I even bother responding ? You are a stupid person who doesn't even have the courage to show your profile so you can continue to piss people off.

At this point, it starts to become harassment. 4 messages in a row about hating Daemyra.

Do you really have nothing else to do ? If you're so convinced that your story with Nettles is true, go enjoy your fandom and leave the Daemyra stans alone.

Also, a detail I love to point out... One of GRRM's favorite things about Daemon is his relationship with Rhaenyra. Not Mysaria. Not Laena. Not Nettles. But Rhaenyra.

And it’s so tasty to remember.

[cartoonjessie]

Trapped in a Fairy Tale

A Rumbelle Secret Santa gift for @little-inkstone

Prompt: Trapped in a Fairy Tale

Rated: Mature

Summary: Belle gets stuck in a Fairy Tale while snooping around in the Dark Castle, and the only way she can make her way out, is with the help of Rumplestiltskin. As they race towards their Happily Ever After, they hope they can break the curse and return to their own world.

Word Count: 7333

AO3 Link

+++

Trapped in a Fairy Tale

She was ridiculously late with his tea.

He had even stopped his spinning and sat himself by the large table, gazing into the fire, then at the door, then out of the window, then back at the door, in the hopes that she would hurry up for a change.

No doubt about it that she had spent too long reading again. And now he was the victim, suffering in silence as he was thirsty and in the mood for her company and she was nowhere to be seen or heard.

He tried to listen a little harder. Did he even hear her yet, moving about the kettle of tea in the kitchen? He didn’t.

Frowning, he got up from his seat, and as he walked through the hallway, he already shouted: “Dearie, you best have a good excuse for your tardiness! I have other matters to attend to!”

Spinning, mostly, but she didn’t need to know that.

As he threw open the door in a majestic gesture, he looked around the empty kitchen, his hands coming to rest on his hips as he frowned even deeper.

He had no time for these games, and so he whisked to her room – then to the library – then even to the bathroom he let her use.

She wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere.

Biting his lip, he grew worried.

Had she ran away?

The thought felt like a stab to the heart. She had given her word to stay with him forever, and she had even seemed to be at peace here. The past weeks, she hadn’t cried a single time. He had even heard her laugh at his quips a few times, and a few days earlier she had baked him cookies!

They had been a little tough to chew, but the gesture itself had been a good-natured one, and had displayed her amiable nature. She would not offend him in this way, or would she?

Wherever she had gone, he could follow her there with the help of a tracking potion. Whisking into his working chambers, he stepped straight towards the cabinet that held his most valuable belongings, and stopped walking when he realized the cabinet was wide open, and there was a book on the floor in front of it.

His heart stopped for a brief moment.

She had expressed curiosity in his work on several occasions. But he had not expected her to snoop around his working chambers, not after he had strictly told her it was forbidden.

Crouching down to look at the book she had picked from the cabinet, he sighed.

Of course. It was the fairy tale of Rapunzel that had piqued her interest, and she must have been curious why he had kept such a lovely volume among his most lethal potions and weapons, instead of in the library.

Picking up the book, he closed it without reading a word and put it down on the table, a pained expression on his face.

He could already imagine why she had taken it.

She had probably expected nothing but a fairy tale – and she had thought she’d be reading a story – like any other – but what she had not realized was that this book was enchanted. Whoever read it, would get trapped in there, and would need to survive the perils of the story if they had any hope of ever making their way out of there.

Now she was stuck in the fairy tale of Rapunzel, and he grunted as he remembered how it went. She was probably waiting in a tower now, for a prince of some sort to come, and he wasn’t even sure if the prince was already in the story, or if she could only be released by someone else that underwent the curse.

When he had gotten this book, it had been a trinket to him, something he could one day trade away for other valuable dark magic, certainly not something he’d willingly get stuck in himself.

But as he stood there, he felt like he had to get her out of there. He was her best hope for getting out of there – her only hope. And how hard could it be? He had magic, he’d find the tower, get her out of there, kill whatever witch held her there, and they’d be back in the Dark Castle before anyone could say “and they lived happily ever after”.

Sighing, he shook his head as he opened the book. All it took to follow her, was to read a few lines, and so he began.

“Once upon a time, in a faraway land…”

+++

He groaned as the first light of day woke him from what felt like a very short nap. For someone who hadn’t slept in centuries, it was an odd sensation, and he rubbed his eyes as he sat up.

But as he sensed that he was on a bed, his eyes flew open immediately, and he tried to take in every peculiar thing about this situation as quickly as he could.

He was in a small but cozy bedroom that looked out over a larger round room. He spotted a large window with a view on a forest. Strangely enough, he was wearing leather – but not his fancy dragon leather, but regular brown leather and his hands… He raised them in wonder as he realized they weren’t scaly at all!

But if he wasn’t scaly, then he wondered if he was still the Dark One in whatever alternate reality he found himself in? Trying to summon some magic to his fingertips, he realized that he was completely failing at it, and he tried to crawl off the bed in horror, stumbling over a pile of rope and clumsily falling to the floor.

Grunting, he got up as fast as he could, suddenly realizing that the rope wasn’t rope. It was hair. And as he suddenly noticed how his head felt heavier than usually, he cursed when he realized the hair was his.

“For fuck’s sake!” He tried to gather the long braid in his arms, wondering how long the bloody thing was.

That was just his luck. He was the Rapunzel of the story.

But then who was Belle?

With the massive braid still in his arms, he headed to the window as fast as he could, gazing out over the infinite forest before him.

“Hello?” he called out as loudly as he could. “Can anyone hear me?”

“What’s gotten into you?”

He jumped before he whirled around and stared straight into Regina’s mildly skeptical face.

“Regina,” he said, surprised to see her here.

“What did you just call me?”

As she walked over to him and felt his forehead with the back of her hand, she frowned.

“You don’t have a fever, so tell me why you’re being so delusional this morning?”

He watched her as she turned her back to him and put a basket of provisions on the table. He spotted some bread, cheese and fruit, as well as a few bottles to drink.

As he stood there and just watched her, she grew more impatient.

“Come on, Rumplestiltskin, empty it. Are you still sleeping?”

He was terribly confused. She didn’t seem to be called Regina, yet she still called him Rumplestiltskin. Deciding it was safest to play along, he dropped his braids to the floor, dragging them behind him as he walked to the table and emptied the basket, realizing there was enough food in there for a few days.

“Now I must be off for a while,” Regina – or whoever she was – announced. “Anything you need upon my return?”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head but noticed Regina had taken his braid in her hand.

“Good,” she said. “Now sing.”

He frowned, not sure why, but seeing Regina’s impatient gaze, he quickly nodded.

He hadn’t sang in years.

“Which song?” he asked, hoping with a fast beating heart that he knew whatever the witch would ask.

She considered it for a few moments, before she said: “The Daemon Lover, if you please.”

He didn’t know if he was lucky that he knew that particular tune from when he had been small, or whether somehow, the people in this world were made of his imagination – and perhaps also Belle’s.

As he began to sing, he suddenly realized how his long ash-brown hair got the slightest glow upon it as it lay in Regina’s hand, and he witnessed how she closed her eyes, her entire being looking younger the more he sang.

When she raised her hand, halfway through the song, he stopped his singing immediately, and she got up and gently slapped his cheek, in something which she had meant to pass as some form of affection, perhaps?

“Thank you, Rumplestiltskin. Until soon!”

She whisked away before him, and as he put his hair in his hands and softly sang another tune, he saw how his hair gently glowed again. Each single tune, no matter how silly it was, had the same effect, and he tried to recollect as much about the fairy tale as he could.

He had never really read it, but could remember bits and pieces from his childhood.

In the fairy tale, Rapunzel was locked in the tower when she was a child, by a witch, because her parents had stolen from the witch? He wasn’t sure how the story went. But Rapunzel had been a princess. Did that mean that he was a prince in this world? And if Belle was not Rapunzel, and not the witch, did that mean that she was the prince who was meant to save Rapunzel?

It was either that, or maybe she was stuck in her own universe, facing the same villain he was.

As he gazed out of the window, he wondered how he could get Belle to find him while he was stuck in his tower. Calling out had apparently gotten the attention of Regina – or perhaps she had always come in the morning – he wasn’t sure.

Lowering his braid out of the tower, he was glad to see that it actually reached all the way into the grass beneath, and he left it out as he sat in the windowsill, singing tune after tune in the hopes that his voice would reach far enough for anyone who passed through the forest to hear.

But as evening fell, he realized that no one was around, and he was getting increasingly hungry and tired.

After eating some bread, he laid himself to rest, falling into a blissful sleep.

+++

It was still dark when he woke because he heard someone calling out.

“Rapunzel! Rapunzel let down your hair!”

His heart beat a little faster as he realized whose voice that was.

It was Belle’s – and apparently she was under the impression that Rapunzel was in the tower. A little ashamed to show his face just yet, he threw his long braid out the window, and as he felt her pull it, he tried not to yelp.

Holding onto his braid with both his hands, he felt her weight hang onto it, and though he sensed her movement, he still stepped back himself, hoping to pull her up a little faster, so that there would be less chance of her falling.

When she finally climbed into the window, Rumplestiltskin gulped, surprised by the sight of his Belle wearing an adventurer’s outfit, her tight pants leaving little to the imagination, and her messy hair and fierce blush betraying just how hard the climb had been to her.

As she saw him, she gasped, her eyes wide for a few moments as she stared at him with an open mouth.

“Rapunzel?” she finally asked, her voice uncertain.

He frowned, wondering if she didn’t remember him then.

“You know very well who I am,” he replied, and her mouth dropped completely this time.

“Rumplestiltskin?!” she asked incredulously, walking closer to him as she looked at him from top to toe, hardly able to believe what she saw. “Your skin… Your hair… You’re… you look human!”

“Obviously,” he replied sarcastically, folding his arms over one another. “And you have some apologizing to do!” he added sternly. “Had I not strictly forbidden you to go into any of the lockers and cupboards of my working chambers?!”

She gulped and looked down. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I thought you had misplaced this book.”

Rolling his eyes, he indicated one of the two chairs around the only table he had in his tower, and as she took a seat, so did he, and he lit a few candles with matches, the moonlight not enough to illuminate the two of them.

“You’ve gotten us in quite a mess,” he muttered, careful to emphasize the anger and disappointment in his tone. “We have to make sure we get out of this story now, the sooner the better.”

Belle gulped. “I thought you weren’t coming for me,” she admitted. “It’s been so long.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? I saw you at breakfast this morning!”

Belle’s eyes widened. “What?! No! I mean… Not my morning! I’ve been here for months!”

“Months?” he repeated, a sensation of horror sinking to the pit of his stomach.

“Yes!” she continued in a hurry. “I’ve been training to be a knight! To fight! And then I met a king – he looked like King Midas – and he told me he lost his daughter Rapunzel! That’s why I came to look for you! It took me months to find your tower!”

“I’ve only been here since this morning,” Rumplestiltskin added, frowning. “You said the king looked like King Midas?”

“Yes, but it’s not King Midas. In fact, I’ve seen many people I knew from somewhere. Like, everyone I saw here looked like someone I already knew in my real life. That’s why I didn’t realize it was actually you!”

Rumplestiltskin sighed. “That explains why the witch that’s holding me here looks like Queen Regina. She’s the most powerful witch I know, which might explain why she took on the form of the villain of the story.”

As he spotted her soft gaze on his eyes, he grew a little nervous. He wondered why she was looking at him so sweetly.

“I’m glad I’m not alone anymore,” she said softly. “Thank you for coming for me, Rumplestiltskin.”

He waved it away as he averted his eyes. “No matter.”

She was still looking at him though, and he could feel it.

“Your eyes are really beautiful this way,” she remarked, and at the surprise of hearing such a thing, his gaze shot up immediately, his lips slightly parted as he looked at her in wonder.

He saw how she was looking at his hair with a smile, before she diverted his attention from the awkward topic.

“I know many versions of this fairy tale,” Belle continued. “But in most, the hero is supposed to push the witch out of the window.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “I figured something similar.”

“But there are stranger versions too. Where the hero falls in love with Rapunzel and she gets pregnant, and only when the witch finds out, the confrontation follows.”

Rumplestiltskin gulped. He was quite certain he could not get pregnant – fairy tale or not.

“And there’s one where the witch wins and both the prince and Rapunzel end up either dead or very unhappy.”

That wasn’t a happy prospect, and as Belle saw how worried he looked, she added: “But I’m certain we’ll think of something that will close this curse. When is the witch coming? In the morning?”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “Might be a few more days. She was gone for a while.”

Belle looked worried. “I don’t like being unable to tell when she will be here. Does she call for you to lower your hair each time she needs to get in?”

“Afraid not. She can whisk. Like I once could.”

She grunted, and Rumplestiltskin found it a funny sound. She didn’t look quite as elegant as before in the clothes she was currently wearing, and from her behavior it seemed like she had become quite the adventurer.

“I don’t like that,” she admitted. “She can just whisk in at any moment. How are we supposed to get an advantage on that?”

Rumplestiltskin stroked his chin for a few moments, before he suddenly snapped his fingers.

“I got something!”

+++

“Help! Help!”

Rumplestiltskin cried out as pathetically as he could, clutching his trembling hand as red liquid dripped from it.

As Regina – or the witch – whisked into the room, he knew the plan was working.

“Can’t I leave you alone for one day?” she asked angrily, rushing over to him and looking at his hand.

She was about to heal it when she realized it wasn’t blood at all, but paint, and the next thing she knew, she felt a sword ram through her heart, as Belle had emerged from her hiding place behind the cupboard and jammed her sword as well as she could into the witch’s chest.

Rumplestiltskin wasted no time, and as the witch was still grasping what was happening, he pushed her against the windowsill, then lifted her feet until she lost her balance and flipped backwards, landing a few seconds later in an awkward heap on the grass below them.

As both Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked out the window and at the lifeless body beneath them, they hardly dared to breathe.

“Is she dead?” Belle whispered.

Rumplestiltskin bit the inside of his cheek. “She’s not moving. Must be.”

As they stared at the witch a while longer, they both let out a relieved sigh, smiling at one another for a brief while before they looked around the tower room.

“And they lived happily ever after,” Belle said solemnly, gazing up at the ceiling, as though she was hoping to finish the tale this way, but nothing happened.

Looking at Rumplestiltskin for help, he looked just as confused as she was.

“Maybe we haven’t acted out the story the way the book wants?” Rumplestiltskin said darkly, his hands folded in his lap as he rested his back against the table.

Belle went with her hair to his braid, picking some part up as it lay around the room, and looking at it for a long while.

“Usually the braid gets cut, doesn’t it?” she wondered out loud, and as he nodded, she continued: “Do you have scissors?”

Shaking his head, he added: “I checked this place for everything of use. But there weren’t any scissors. Maybe you should use your sword.”

There was still blood on it, and Rumplestiltskin didn’t even protest as she wiped the blood off the curtains. As long as she didn’t do such a thing in the Dark Castle, he wasn’t going to complain.

Approaching him, she hesitated: “Would you like to do it yourself?”

Nodding, he took her sword and held it to his braid, cutting it off a little above shoulder length. Nothing special happened, even though Belle held her breath.

She was expecting something – some magic sign that they could go home now – but the long braid just fell to the floor.

“And they lived happily ever after,” Rumplestiltskin now said – hoping those words would trigger the end of the curse, but once again they just remained in the tower.

While he was thinking what else to do, he hardly realized how Belle had stepped closer to him – much closer to him, and as he felt her hands stroke through his hair, he looked at her in surprise.

“Fairy tales often end with a kiss,” she said softly, and as he noticed how she was looking at his lips, he nodded, his mind numb.

He could not help but notice the way she licked hers before she let them rest upon his, their bodies not touching as they leaned into each other as softly as they could. The kiss was sweet and left Rumplestiltskin with a warm feeling he had missed for a long time, and Belle felt very light-headed as she pulled back again, already missing the feeling of his soft lips on hers.

She hadn’t considered the act very long – she had hardly considered it at all – but now it was hard to stop considering it. She wanted to kiss him again, for it had been the sweetest feeling she had ever experienced, and there had been something else inside of her that had longed for more. Part of her wanted to give into that, but another part was terrified of what he would think about it.

She was his inferior, at least in the Dark Castle, but perhaps here she was something else. And somewhere over the past weeks, she had grown to care for him, even if he was the Dark One.

He looked tired, the thoughts that were going through his mind heavy, even if her kiss had been so light. Wanting it to be over, he said once more: “And they lived happily ever after.”

But nothing happened, and they were both left awkwardly standing there, wondering what else they needed to do.

“Perhaps…” Belle said. “Perhaps I must bring you to your father. To King Midas, or whoever he is in this story.”

He didn’t have a better idea and nodded. He was starting to fear that if she had been here for so many weeks, perhaps they had to stay in this world a few weeks longer.

+++

Getting out of the tower wasn’t easy. They used his long braid to climb down, but Rumplestiltskin had never been fond of heights, and he had trembled every inch he had dared to lower himself.

By the time he landed besides Belle in the grass, she had already dragged Regina’s lifeless corpse a little further away, and as she noticed his trembling hands, she took one in an attempt to comfort him.

“It’s alright,” she said softly. “This was the most dangerous part of the trip. Now it’s just a lot of walking, I suppose. But I know the way.”

He didn’t even object to the comforting way in which she spoke to him. In the Dark Castle, that tone would have been dealt with by a fierce and playful one on his accord, but now he was scared that perhaps they would be stuck for a while longer – perhaps forever – and his unhappy thoughts made it hard to protest anything.

She gathered her own belongings from beside a tree where she had hidden those. It was a bedroll and some food that she had gathered in a bag, nothing more, but he was glad that she was more prepared than he was.

They walked until nightfall, and Rumplestiltskin watched Belle as she made them a campfire. She seemed to be in charge, having gathered their provisions from the tower, and as she offered him a blanket, he took it and wrapped it around himself. It was already getting darker, and as Belle looked up to the sky, he followed her gaze.

“It should be a clear night,” she said. “We should be able to sleep in some caves the following nights. It shouldn’t take more than a week or two to reach the palace.”

He listened, but he didn’t reply, too occupied with his own thoughts, and as Belle sat down, she looked at him for a long while.

“I’m sorry,” she said as the fire continued to crackle. “I know it’s my fault we’re here.” She sighed deeply. “I know there’s no way in which I can make it up to you.”

He considered her words and could only look at her for a long while, and when he finally spoke, his voice sounded very tired: “Let’s just focus on getting back, alright? If what you said is true and you’ve been here for weeks already, then it’s only been minutes for our bodies in our own world. We should be fine a while longer.”

She nodded in response to his words, and as he lay down to sleep, she remained quiet, not waiting too long before she too sought the warmth of her blanket and closed her eyes.

+++

They hardly spoke while they travelled, both set on returning home as soon as possible, but sometimes Belle spotted his dark eyes on her as she led the way, and he didn’t look calculating or evil in those moments – just… different.

He was amazed by how much she seemed to be enjoying this adventurer’s life. Every now and then, she would set up a trap in the evening, and empty it the following morning and proudly show him the food she had caught. She was more self-sufficient than he was, and he was the Dark One, for crying out loud.

Once he got over his self-pity and realized that this human dream-body was getting hungrier by the day, he actively started looking for food, picking berries and nuts wherever he found them, and sharing them with Belle.

She wasn’t an expert in recognizing what was edible or not, having too little real-life experience with exploring forests, and whenever he inquired, she shared with him the story of her training, and how she had been taught enough to survive these forests. Meanwhile he taught her as well as he could about the food they were able to find on their journey.

By the time they reached an actual path in the middle of the forest, they were both relieved, and that relief only grew when they were starting to encounter the first houses and villages on their road to the palace of King Midas.

They spent a few nights in barns, and another in an inn, and they had both felt awkward at the prospect of sharing a bed together. But there hadn’t really been a reason for the awkwardness. They had slept with their backs turned on each other, as far from the middle of the bed as was possible, still fully clothed with nothing but their boots besides the bed.

She didn’t know why, but during their journey it had become clearer to her that she fancied him. He was handsome and mysterious and though he had every reason to curse at her for trapping them in this book, he didn’t. He didn’t seem happy, but he didn’t work out his frustration on her, and in turn she tried to lift his spirits.

During one particularly rainy day, it was hard to make him smile though, and they were both soaking wet by the time they arrived at an inn. The inn was so crowded that they couldn’t even get a room, and it took ages for their food to be served. As Rumplestiltskin resigned to the idea of continuing their travels to the next town, even though it was two hours further and it was already dark, Belle left him to his meal alone and instead headed into the village.

By the time she joined him in the inn again, she had slightly better news.

“I found us a place to stay!”

As she finally sat down behind her plate, she ate as fast as she could, and as he watched her he wondered what he had done to deserve her company – even if her table manners weren’t very proper in that moment.

The moment she was done, she got up again, and she took his hand to lead him outside, back into the pouring rain again, and he hoped he would be inside again soon.

But what she led him to, was a small carriage, and the driver at the front tipped his hat to them both, not drawing any further attention to them as they got into the carriage, and Rumplestiltskin looked at Belle with a confused expression.

“This one travels to the palace. He recognized me from my training days,” she explained as she lowered some blinds over the tiny windows, just to keep the rain and cold out. “We should get there in a day or so.”

Though it was cold and not the way Rumplestiltskin had hoped to spend the night, it would lead them closer to the King, and thus to the end of the story. He offered her a small smile.

“Well played, Belle. Let’s hope we’ll arrive soon.”

As they sat beside each other, Belle took some blankets out from underneath the seat in front of them, and offered one to him and kept one for herself.

“Let’s hope we don’t get sick. It is still cold and we’re quite wet.”

He nodded. “Can’t the carriage stop at an inn?”

Belle shook her head. “He won’t. He needs to return to the palace as soon as possible. I’m glad he didn’t mind waiting.”

As the carriage travelled through the kingdom, they both tried to sleep, though it wasn’t any fulfilling sleep, and they were aching all over by the time they finally arrived at the palace the following day.

It was the afternoon already, and as Belle led Rumplestiltskin from the courtyard to the palace gardens, the guards let them pass, until king Midas spotted them and ran straight to Rumplestiltskin, embracing him tightly and emotionally.

Rumplestiltskin didn’t seem too pleased with this, but played along, patting the man’s back while Belle smiled.

“Rumplestiltskin, you’re saved! Oh this is amazing! But what of the witch?” King Midas asked.

“She’s dead,” Belle assured him. “She won’t be around to torture your son any longer.”

She was rather surprised that when she had first heard of her mission, she had been sent to look for Rapunzel – his daughter – but once Rumplestiltskin had arrived, the story had changed, and now it was indeed a son that King Midas had missed all along.

“This is amazing. Thank you, Belle. Your bravery will be shared with the world – everyone will hear tales of how you rescued my son, but first you must tell me.”

“Father,” Rumplestiltskin interrupted the eager king. “Perhaps you should allow us to rest first? We’ve had a long journey and are rather exhausted.”

“Of course! Of course! I’ll have the servants prepare your rooms and draw up some baths. Tonight, we feast!”

+++

Their baths and bedrooms provided enough comfort for them to rest properly, and by the time the feast started, they were well-rested once more and eager to tell the King the story he longed to hear.

As Rumplestiltskin told the story from his perspective, he finished at the end with “And they lived happily ever after…” but even then nothing happened.

Belle seemed slightly worried, and so was Rumplestiltskin.

“We have not discussed your reward,” King Midas told Belle. “Name what you want. Anything – and you shall have it.”

What Belle wanted most of all was to return to her own world, but king Midas could not provide that. So instead, she kept quiet for a long while, thinking about it.

“I wish to marry your son,” she suddenly said, and Rumplestiltskin nearly spat out his drink at the words.

But looking at her with wide eyes, he soon realized why she had chosen that reward. It would ensure they would stay together for a while longer – and perhaps a marriage would be the physical manifestation of their happy ending – perhaps it would remove this curse once and for all.

The King happily agreed to her request, and for that they were both relieved, and preparations were made to wed them as soon as possible.

They didn’t discuss it. This wasn’t a real marriage, after all, just something to break the curse. The other didn’t need to know that true affection had grown between them, or that they were looking forward to their second kiss already.

To Belle, the experience of being wed was rather special. She realized that the odds of her truly marrying anyone as long as she remained Rumplestiltskin’s caretaker were very small, and so she enjoyed every bit of this new experience. She loved trying on the new dresses, getting her hair fixed by the servants, the way in which everyone spoke in hushed voices around her, excited for her future.

The day of their wedding it took a long while before she finally saw Rumplestiltskin, standing in front of the priest as he waited for her, his hair a little shorter again, not as messily cut by her sword as it had been before, and he looked truly beautiful in his brown leather outfit.

During the ceremony itself, they did look at one another, and they both tried to remind themselves that it wasn’t real, that it was just an act, but still they spotted some happiness in the other’s eyes every now and then – a happiness that was both assuring and exciting.

A knot was tied around their wrists, and not allowed to come off until the day was over, and so while they sat down for the feast, it was rather amusing to realize that they couldn’t use one hand without dragging the other along. It was clumsy to eat this way, and the only time that it didn’t disturb them was while they were dancing, something that they discovered they both enjoyed.

Rumplestiltskin was better at it than Belle would have figured, and he quite literally swept her off her feet several times as he whirled her around. For a few hours, they were even able to forget they were trapped in a curse, since they were having so much fun, but as they headed to Rumplestiltskin’s bedroom in the evening, their hearts grew heavy again.

This curse – if that was what it was – still wasn’t broken, and as they untied the knot that kept their hands together, they both didn’t look at one another for a long while.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Rumplestiltskin assured her. “I mean, marriage-wise.”

“Sex, you mean?” she asked bluntly, and she noticed how he startled at those words.

“Yes.”

She hesitated as she looked around his room, rubbing her arms.

“Maybe it will be what will break the curse?” she said softly. “Maybe it will be the promise of our happily ever after?”

As he sat down on the bed, he sighed deeply.

“Sex is just sex, Belle. I know there’s a lot written about virginity and purity in a variety of tomes, but even from a magical point of view, it’s about pureness of heart and soul, not about pureness of your lower regions.”

As Belle sat down on the bed besides him, she left plenty of room between them.

“If it’s just sex, and if it’s not as important if you make it sound, then why isn’t it worth a try?”

He startled now, looking at her as though she had gone insane, but she just smiled warmly as she looked back at him.

“I’m not afraid of sleeping with you. Nor am I disgusted or anything else that would make you hesitate. Let’s just do it. If it breaks the curse, good. If not, we’ll have had sex.”

He gulped, and Belle saw it. It wasn’t like she wasn’t nervous about the suggestion, but she’d been able to hide it pretty well. He, on the other hand, seemed to be drowning in his nerves, and though he nodded, she feared for a moment that he was more terrified of her than the other way around.

He didn’t even speak as he started to undress, and realizing that he had not said no to her suggestion, she started to undress as well, untying her corset as quickly as she could, and crawling underneath the sheets the moment she was naked, realizing that he’d crawled underneath it a few moments earlier, and that he had been watching her with a very dry mouth.

Once they were both underneath the sheets, she was the first to move over to him, and though he opened his eyes for her, he seemed hesitant as she kissed his lips again, his eyes still open as he looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered as she noticed this. “Don’t you want this?”

“I’m just surprised that you would want this,” he whispered back.

“Don’t be,” she said with a wide smile. “I don’t think you realize how handsome I find you. Now are you going to kiss me back or just lie here in confusion?”

She winked teasingly, and at that he relaxed, wrapping his arms around her bare back.

“Let’s do this,” he said slowly, gaining confidence. “Let’s find ourselves a happy ending this night, shall we?”

She chuckled, noticing how playful his gaze was before he flipped her underneath him and started kissing her neck. She could only moan in agreement to what he was doing, thrilled by the feeling of his hands on her back and in her side, and even more thrilled by the sensation of his length between her legs, already hard enough to enter her.

They didn’t rush it though, but instead kissed and touched for many hours, trying to make the other moan in longing before they finally joined each other in a true union, looking into each other’s eyes in the dim candlelight while they made slow but unquestionable love to one another.

Belle would not have believed Rumplestiltskin could be such a gentle lover, but he was, making her come several times before he eventually gave into his own desires and spilled his seeds deep within her, crashing on top of her when he was done, completely spent.

“I forgot human stamina was this weak,” he muttered as he rolled off of her, by means of an apology for not lasting longer, but she wasn’t about to complain.

“I’m human too,” she reminded him sweetly. “Trust me, this was perfect.”

He offered her a half-smile. “Yeah?”

She nodded with a smile of her own. “Yeah.” Though she didn’t want it to end just yet, she suddenly said: “And they lived happily ever after…”

But nothing happened, and at this they both let out a relieved sigh at the same time, realizing this of the other, Belle suddenly said: “We should try again tomorrow.”

He nodded, knowing she wasn’t just talking about their mantra, but about the sex.

“Definitely. Could break any day now.”

“Any day,” she agreed, hoping they had a while longer to explore this new bond between them.

+++

And so days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and months to years.

They were growing older – both of them – and though they often said “And they lived happily ever after…”, the times between the moments they said that were getting longer.

It wasn’t just sexual attraction between them – it had certainly developed into a much deeper love, one that they had at first tried to hide from one another, but which they now no longer denied.

They became rulers of this peaceful make-belief kingdom, where nothing exciting ever happened – and they were fine with that. There were hardly any meetings to be had, and in their free time they were pampered by the servants, and by each other.

By the time they grew very old, they were starting to realize that “And they lived happily ever after” wasn’t a spell, it was what they had to do – and it was what they were doing.

Rumplestiltskin, being the older of the two, died peacefully in his sleep after they had spent over forty years with one another in this dream world, and Belle only remembered falling asleep by his side, the both of them very gray and old, yet when she woke, she wasn’t in their royal bed – she was on the floor in his study, her hands so much younger than before, her hair brown again, and Rumplestiltskin by her side looking like the imp that had captured her.

“Rumplestiltskin!” she immediately said, rushing to his side immediately, her hands on his chest while he woke, and as he opened his eyes and looked at her, he was disoriented for a few moments.

When she hugged him, he could not help but hug her back, the gesture something that had grown so familiar in their fairy tale world, and as they let go, they both got up from the floor, and Rumplestiltskin immediately closed the book, disoriented and hesitant as he looked at the cover underneath his fingertips.

“We should do that again,” Belle said playfully, linking her arms with his. “But next time, you go in first. I wanna be Rapunzel.”

As he looked to his side, he saw how sincere she was, how thrilled she was at the prospect of living such a life again, and he gulped heavily.

Noticing his hesitation, her gaze softened. “No? Just this life then? You and I, living here in the Dark Castle?” She smiled hopefully. “It can be just as beautiful.”

As she touched his scaly cheek, he shuddered, unable to believe that she still looked at him with the same loving eyes.

“It wasn’t real,” he whispered to her.

“My feelings were,” she insisted softly. “They still are. I love  you, Rumplestiltskin.”

As she stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to his, he suddenly moved his hand beside her head and snapped his fingers, and as she lost consciousness and fell, he quickly picked her up before he lay her down on the floor again.

Snapping his fingers again, she awoke with a loud gasp, as though she had just resurfaced from a deep dive in the ocean.

Now she was the one to look completely disoriented.

“Rumplestiltskin?” she looked at him in confusion. “What happened?”

He knelt by her side, his gaze strict and his voice high and impish. “Why! You got trapped in a Fairy Tale, can’t you remember?”

As she shook her head, she just looked at him in confusion.

“Didn’t I tell you not to get into my cupboard? You opened the book of Rapunzel and got stuck in there! I had to use very difficult magic to get you out of there! You don’t remember?”

She shook her head again, still looking confused.

“I can remember coming into this room, but nothing more than that,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “When was that? I feel so hungry.”

“Must have been well over a day ago!” Rumplestiltskin said, not sure if it had been one or two days.

He offered her his hands and pulled her up from the floor, and she seemed a little dizzy.

“I’ll get you something to eat, and you’re to stay out of my cupboard from now on, understood?”

As she nodded, she looked worried about haven broken one of his rules, and he could not stand the sight of her looking so worried.

Summoning her favorite food to her, she looked up in surprise.

“Salmon!” She smiled. “That’s my favorite.”

He knew. After spending forty years with her in a fake universe, he knew everything there was to know about her. But she never had to know that.

“Lucky guess,” he muttered, turning his back to her. “Now eat up! You have an entire castle to clean!”

She smiled, glad he wasn’t too upset, and quickly ate her plate empty before she thanked him and headed out of his room again.

He licked his lips as he watched her leave. It wasn’t like he hadn’t enjoyed his time with her – quite the opposite. But he knew that he had to find Baelfire, and he knew that his maid would only be a weakness to his villains, and a weakness to his own heart. He had to try and forget her, if he would ever hope to be reunited with his son. There was another curse coming, and it would be hard if he had to fight for yet another soul when it came.

It was better if she’d never realize they had had a happily ever after already. He only hoped it wasn’t the only one he’d ever receive in his lifetime.