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anastaaaaaaasia · 2 months

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The First Queen

Aegon II Targaryen x niece!Reader

Previous chapter

Second Chapter

Mother always says that the princess should not leave her chambers after midnight. No, it’s not because you are a girl and defenseless in front of this world. Your brothers hear the same thing. Rhaenyra explained to the three of you that the castle is full of people with different thoughts and they are not always pure and noble. You didn't fully understand her words, but you hoped to make sense of her words at a later age.

Also, my mother always said in secret that girls should not rely on men in all matters. You weren't a damsel in distress, you have the blood of a dragon in you.

Therefore, when the master did not help you find the book with Helaena, you decided to find it yourself, under the cover of darkness, when the old grumpy warden was not around.

Now only the pale flicker of the moon and a lonely burning candle, which you hid prudently, illuminate your chambers. You tried your best not to fall asleep ahead of time, by the way, it wasn’t as difficult as you thought before. The Red Keep was crowded with guests, noble lords and ladies, knights from all over the Seven Kingdoms and servants always bustling about. So the constant sound of someone's footsteps, hoarse voices and muffled chuckles tore you out of sleep and drove away dreams for a week.

There really was a reason. The day after tomorrow will be Helaena’s seventh birthday and in her honor your grandfather organized a tournament. The holiday will last seven days and seven nights. The same week also included a holiday in honor of the mother, one of the seven. Knowing Queen Alicenta's religiosity, the entire royal family will take part in this. You have never been particularly religious, but if it is necessary, you will do it. Maybe it really was important to her.

Your relationship with the queen was simple. You interacted with all her children quite well. Together we attended classes with Septa, learned High Valyrian, and went to the dragon pit. Your eggs with Aemond never hatched. You handled it better than Aemond. Therefore, the prince began to skip dragon control lessons more often and paid more attention to sword control. Sometimes you would run away with him and even make him a pinky promise that he would teach you some exercises later.

The sudden noise of the passage opening brought you out of your thoughts. You turned towards the source of the noise and saw Aemond with a candelabra in his hands, standing in a secret passage. You accidentally found out about this when you were mindlessly poking at the ornaments on a carved cabinet. Now the passage seemed best suited for your little scam.

You threw your robe over your nightie and grabbed your own candle. Turning to Aemond, you smiled and told him “Good night” “Good night,” he replied and you involuntarily began to giggle, trying not to make too much noise. Otherwise, you won’t be able to explain to your guard why a six-year-old prince is in your room in the middle of the night.

You carefully walked down the aisles towards Helaena's room. Each of you had your own goal that you wanted to achieve that night. But they all led you to one place, the royal library. It turns out that books cannot be taken into the room. Absurd, you thought then. Who is the royal library for then, if not for the royal family?

Aemond wanted a book about the history of Westeros before the beginning of the Targaryen reign, which the maester did not give him, citing the prince's young age. He complained that the book was missing a page about Queen Nymeria and her fleet. It was brazenly torn out. “Barbarians,” you told him then, but remembered this idea as a plan B if something went wrong.

Helaena was looking for something about her insects, some rare butterflies. She wanted to see the drawings and make her own book, filling it with new notes and observations.

You, the organizer of this illegal raid, wanted to find a book about the language of flowers. Long ago, Septa said that every flower carries a sacred meaning. This memory flashed in your mind when you heard about the organized tournament. For almost two weeks you persuaded your mothers, Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent, to let you make wreaths. Favor to your knight. You were sure that someone would definitely ask for your favor. When persuasion did not work on your mothers, explaining the refusals by your young age. You have decided to choose a path that will definitely lead you to success. You went to King Viserys.

He listened to your request, even your argument, and laughed good-naturedly, saying that nothing in this world comes easy. You looked at each other with Helaena and mentally agreed that you would do anything to give your wreaths. Viserys asked for some help with a model of Old Valyria. He taught you how to carve the shapes and you added some details, truly enjoying your time with him. Your aunt made a small figurine of a butterfly and placed it on one of the temples, and with the help of an assistant, you cut out a horse with a knight and placed it on one of the streets of the model. You have received permission.

When a couple of days later you visited the king’s chambers again, you noticed that the figures remained in their places and smiled.

Now you and Aemond were approaching Helaena’s chambers. You carefully opened the secret passage and the girl ran into you with hugs. You hugged her back with one free arm.

“I thought you wouldn’t come already,” said Helaena. The poor princess walked around the room in circles to drive away sleep.

“But now we are here,” said Aemond and hugged his sister too

The three of you walked down the halls towards the library. It was a dark, dusty room, spiders weaved their webs in the corners of the walls, but quickly ran away when you approached with candles. After 10 minutes of wandering through narrow corridors, Aemond said.

“We are almost here, we need to push on this partition”

You gently pressed, but nothing happened. Then you hit her with all your might, and the door opened, showing you an empty library.

“Welcome,” you said with a smile, pleased with your success against the door. Harwin was right, sometimes you need strength, not cunning plans.

The three of you walked inside and each started looking for the right book. After looking through three bookcases, you didn’t find the one you needed. You were already frowning, but you weren’t ready to admit defeat. You want to find this damn book and you will find it. Continuing to look for the thing that had already been cursed five times, you did not notice Aemond behind you.

“Need help?” He asked.

You suddenly jumped and hit your hand on the shelf. Turning around, you saw Aemond standing with that very book. It was big, you didn't expect it.

“I found it on the table” He said. Of course, the table. How could you not look there? Of course, it’s good to punish yourself, but the main thing is that, even with the help of your friend, you had the book.

“Thank you, you really know this place like the back of your hand,” you said and hugged your friend. He chuckled slightly and handed you the book. There was a whole collection of essays about various plants. After flipping through the book, you realized that you only needed 8 pages You didn’t want to carry this Talmud with your fragile hands, and suddenly an idea struck you. Plan B.

“May the seven and the old master forgive me,” you said and looking at your friends who were already standing with their books, you began to tear out pages. Aemond clearly did not approve of this, but did not say anything. Heileina giggled quietly into her fist, you smiled at her. Suddenly you heard the sounds of metal armor and someone's heavy footsteps. You quickly tore out the remaining pages. Your relatives were already standing at the secret passage.

Suddenly the door began to open, and having thought through all the options, you waved to your friends to go ahead and close the passage. Your nightie and robe didn't have pockets, so you couldn't think of anything better to do than stuff the sheets between your nightie and your body. A ribbon around your waist would prevent them from falling, and this way you won’t compromise yourself with the book you ruined. No evidence, no accusation. Really?

In addition, the idea of hiding such desirable sheets in the chest area did not come out of nowhere. You were certainly a smart girl for your age. But one day the day before, while walking along the corridors of the castle, you heard the head maid telling her subordinate that the main strength of women is between the legs and in the chest. Somewhere in the depths of your soul, you knew that this was not exactly what you were thinking about when you hid your trophy, but it helped. Perhaps you will ask your mother later the real meaning of that phrase.

“Princess?,” a male voice called out to you. You snapped out of your thoughts and looked at the figure in the doorway. You breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that it was none other than Ser Harwin. “What are you doing here at this late hour?” he inquired and approached you, crouching down to be on the same level with you.

You couldn’t say and just blinked your eyes, smiling guiltily.

“How about you tell me the reasons for your night on the way to your room?” suggested Harwin. You energetically waved your head and you began to walk to your room.

“I was looking for a book about the language of flowers,” you admitted, blushing a little. Harwin arched an eyebrow.

"At midnight? This is probably really an urgent matter.”

“Yes,” you screamed slightly. “There will soon be a tournament in honor of Helaena and with the permission of the king, she and I can give favor to the knight, if he asks, of course,” you said the last words a little hesitantly and confusedly. You didn’t know why, but you always trusted him. His kind eyes always calm you down, and his smell… he smells like home, even now he smelled of flowers, aroma of oils and candles. He smelled like your mother, maybe that’s why you always felt calm with him and you could tell about all your thoughts, even the most secret ones.

“I'm more than sure everyone will be flattered by the attention from you, princess.” He smiled.

“You are very kind to me Ser Harwin, I hope so too.”

“But why did you still go looking for information at night?”

“The Old Meister didn't give me the book, so I decided to watch it when he wasn't around,” you admitted awkwardly. You had already walked most of the way to your room and suddenly a single leaf rustled out from under your nightgown and landed on the stone floor lock.Harwin noticed this and grinned.

“I see this is the information you were looking for?” he picked up the piece of paper and ran his gaze over it. “You don’t have to ruin the books, princess.” He said softly.

“It was necessary, otherwise I wouldn’t understand what flowers look like,” you sighed and lowered your gaze to the floor. You were ashamed. But not because you ruined the book, but because Harwin caught you with the evidence. “Please don't tell mom about this,” you begged him.

“It will be our little secret if you promise me that you will return the sheets to the book after the tournament,” he smiled softly and you shook your head, accepting the offer.

You were already standing outside your room when he said “Good night, princess.” And I’m more than sure that many knights will be happy to receive your favor,” he smiled and walked further down the corridor. You went to bed with a smile, thinking that tomorrow would be a wonderful day.

Two hours. You spent two hours with Helaena to find all the necessary flowers. The bright sun rose above the Red Castle. You were wandering around the royal garden to get the necessary plants for your wreaths. Or to be more precise, mostly for yours. When Helaena limited herself to one wreath, you wanted to make several. For the knight, for his brother and his loved ones.

After your grandfather allowed you to make a favour, your mother explained the rules to you. You can only give one publicly during the tournament, the knight must ask for it himself, and then you will throw the wreath on his spear. In public. Behind the doors, you just wanted to please your loved ones and friends, so you did even more.

Now you and Helaena were sitting in the garden, you were digging in the flowerbed, but for different reasons. Helaena collected all the flowers and was now looking for insects to study them. You tried to pull out the flower as carefully as possible, after several unsuccessful attempts. Aemond was sitting under a tree next to you, reading a book about the history of Westeros. You talked about different things from time to time.

“What was the name of Visenya's dragon again?” asked Helaena. She was so busy catching the centipede that she missed half the words.

“Vhagar, she is the biggest dragon in the world,” Aemond responded admiringly.

“Yes, Aunt Leina flies it now,” you added. It was true. At the age of 15, your aunt tamed the oldest and largest dragon alive. Now she and Damon live overseas and rarely appear. The last time they were when you were three years old. Now they won't even come for Helaena's birthday. You thought that if they showed up, you would also make Damon a wreath.

“How is your training with the Aemond sword?” you asked while weaving the first wreath. It was intended specifically for Aemond, but he was not yet aware of it. You chose small branches of thuja for him as a sign of eternal friendship, an orchid in honor of his diligence and perseverance in various matters, and a bell as a sign of gratitude for everything he did for you.

“Okay, Ser Criston really pays me a lot of attention and even helps me train extra, he said that I would be an excellent warrior,” Aemond said with a little pride and sparkles in his eyes. You were happy for your friend, really.

Criston Cole was the queen's close friend and protector. You often watched them during training. Even though Criston treated your brothers and you somewhat coldly, it never became personal. You thought it would be nice to make Criston a wreath as a thank you for training with Aemond. If your friend is happy, then you are happy. Stockrose buds signified gratitude, thistles meant nobility and epigea in honor of best wishes. As you were finishing the second wreath, Ser Harwin approached.

“Can I have a word with you, princess?” he asked. You smiled and brushed off the skirt of your dress and walked up to him.

“What is it, Ser Harwin?”

“Remember yesterday’s conversation?” he began. You thought he was talking about a book and you abruptly interrupted him.

“I’ll return it, I promise, but for now I need the sheets,” you jabbered. He just grinned.

“No, I’m not talking about that, I trust you and will keep your secret. I'm talking about the tournament and favour. I wanted you to be the first to know about this. I will be performing at the tournament tomorrow and would be very happy if one princess gave me a wreath.” He looked at you tenderly. You smiled and nodded your head vigorously.

“I will make the best wreath in all of Westeros for you, Ser Harwin.”

“I have no doubt” and after that he left, and you began to sort through the bouquet of flowers in search of the right ones. You had a knight who would ask for your attention. You were happy, and when you said that you would do the best, you weren’t lying. You do.

An idea instantly appeared in your head. A wreath of green, white, red and blue plants, like the color of the coat of arms of his house. Blue bells as a sign of gratitude, white clover as a symbol of his oath and devotion to your family, green coreopsis as a tribute to all the joy he helps you experience. And the final plant, a red rose as a symbol of platonic and sincere love. The book said that every red flower meant love, so there was no problem with that.

While Helaena continued to search for new centipede specimens for her collection, Aemond went off to practice with the sword. You finished the fourth and fifth wreath, for your older brother Jace and dad. They were similar, they had blue violets as a symbol of loyalty, a few branches of straw as a sign of unity and red and yellow roses in honor of all the joyful moments you experienced together.

Satisfied with your work, you lay down on your back and looked at the blue cloudless sky. Only after closing your eyes for a moment in bliss did you realize that you had forgotten something. The answer came unexpectedly and quite unusually. Suddenly the sun was covered with something, and before you could open your eyes you heard a dragon’s roar. The body of a small golden dragon rushed over the garden. Sunfyre. His body shone under the rays, and his pinkish wings flapped vigorously, holding the dragon and his rider in the skies. How could you forget? You didn't make a wreath for Aegon. For the Sunfyre Rider and your beloved uncle.

He is now 10 and you are 6. Recently, you began to move away and there were no longer the usual walks in the garden or playing together. He spent more and more time in the dragonpit with his dragon. And you, not having a winged lizard, were doing other things with Aemond. Sometimes you still met in class and Aegon spoke in fascination about his winged friend. He grew fast enough that he can now lift his rider into the skies and fly over King's Landing.

Despite the fact that you began to communicate less directly, you still watched him furtively. I heard him laugh as he talked to Jace. How he encouraged Luke to go to his dragon, how he looked at the other daughters of noble lords during holidays and festivals. You wanted to be in their place, you wanted him to dance and laugh with you.

And you felt something, something light, but at the same time oppressive. You then described the symptoms to your mother and she laughed and replied that it was falling in love. You remembered this, but never said the name of your crush, answering simply, “Every princess and lady should have her own secrets.”

After sorting through the pages from the book about the language of flowers, you chose two flowers that would be best suited for your final wreath. White and purple lilac. Symbols of first love and purity of thoughts. You remembered seeing these flowers in one of the flower beds nearby. You and Helaena walked through the garden twice until you found that very place.

“Damn flowers, I can’t pick them out,” you said desperately and sighed. You wanted to maintain the maximum length of the stem to make the wreath more luxurious.

“Let’s dig a little and you can easily pull out the flower even by the roots,” Helaena said casually. After spending the day in the garden, you were already covered in dirt and plant sap, your dresses were ruined and your hands were dirty. There was nothing to lose. You started to dig up the ground when Helaena exclaimed joyfully

“The Dornish centipede! I want it!," after these words, she looked at you and you saw her admiration and genuine delight. After your nod, you began hunting for the insect. It crawled underground and crawled back out at the other end of the flowerbed. Three minutes later, the flowerbed was hopeless spoiled, and you laughed loudly, holding the trophy in your hands.

Helaena looked at the centipede in fascination, and you collected the flowers that were already lying. Shaking off the dirt for the sake of appearance, you walked into the castle laughing. You decided not to push your luck and escape from the scene of the crime, even though you were princesses, you didn’t want to meet the stern faces of your mothers.

When you entered the room, you finished the wreath, but something was missing. You looked around and went to the closet, opening it you pulled out the ribbon from the corset. It was as golden as Sunfyre. You carefully wove it into the flowers and smiled looking at all your work.

This day began for you with loud cheers and singing songs in the corridors of the castle. This cacophony of sounds helped you wake up early in the morning and you couldn’t fall back to sleep. After getting dressed with the help of the maids, you were escorted to your parents’ room. Your family was already here. Your mother, Princess Rhaenyra, was already sitting at the table, carefully wiping the cheeks of your younger brother Luke. He was a restless boy, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes whenever something caught his attention. Unruly curls curled in different directions, no matter how much the maids tried to style them.

Opposite them sat Laenor, who was enthusiastically telling Jace something. From the fragments of sentences you were able to understand that it was about Triarchy. Your dad took part in those battles and you have already heard stories, including from your grandfather, Corlis. Despite being completely sure that Jace had already heard about this, he still listened in fascination, resting his chin on his hand. You laughed a little at that. He looked like a girl in love, maybe even like you when you looked at Aegon. But you will never admit it.

“What makes you laugh so much, sister?” Jace asked. Your dear brother got drunk and you exchanged glances with Luke.

“Nothing, Jacaerys,” you said his name deliberately louder and smiled innocently, batting your eyes innocently a couple of times.

“Don't call me by my full name,” he sighed loudly.

“Don't like your full name, Jacaerys? ” Luke said and laughed after. You chuckled too while Jace frowned even more. Your mom told you how Jace desperately tried to teach you to say his name and after that you never missed a single opportunity to hurt him. Luke later joined in, but it never escalated into bullying or bullying. You loved each other, your brothers were your friends and your support.

“Okay, calm down kids, let’s start eating already,” your father said and looked at each other with your mother, they both grinned. Breakfast began and, as usual, there was a lot of talking and laughter. Laenor will be participating in the tournament today and he told you in secret that he will ask your mother for favor while she is not listening. You giggled slightly. After breakfast, you approached your father as he stood on the balcony with a glass of wine.

“Father, I have something for you,” you began, moving closer to him.

“And what is this?,” you handed him the wreath and smiled slightly.

“You said that you would ask mom for a wreath, but I wanted to do something for you too,” he was slightly surprised and examined the wreath. The flowers were neatly woven and the ribbons shimmered in the light.

“Thank you, this is beautiful. Will you put it on me?” he squatted down and you chuckled as you placed the wreath on his head. He hugged you and you buried yourself in his chest. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. You stood there for a few minutes while he lightly patted your head. You didn’t know, but at that moment Rhaenyra was looking at you from behind the curtain and smiling warmly. She has a family that understands each other, for her this was the main thing in this life.

You caught up with your brother in the corridor while he was walking to his room.

“Jacaerys!” you exclaimed and laughed. You ran after him and when you caught up, you tried to catch your breath. He just playfully rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“Don't be like the old master, Jace.”

“Oh, you know my name” and after that you laughed together. The maids walked past you and also smiled slightly.

“Of course I know, Jacaerys. Even though you can’t participate in tournaments yet, I want to give you a wreath, I’m more than sure you will become a good knight and protect our family on Vermax,” you babbled joyfully and handed him the wreath. He was slightly surprised and thanked you afterwards. “It looks like the wreath I gave my father,” you didn’t notice, but he frowned slightly at the word “father.” Jace quickly changed the subject.

“I'm lucky to have such siblings,” he said.

“I’m glad too, maybe in the future we will have more brothers or sisters.”

“Why do we need more? We feel so good”

“Well, the queen has 4 children.”

“Do you think we will have another sibling?”

“Oh, I'm pretty sure of that,” you laughed and after saying goodbye to your brother, you ran to the other wing of the castle to find Aemond. And Jace remained standing in the middle of the corridor and wondered if you needed this family extension.

You found Aemond in the library. He was already reading another book, about Ancient Valyria. You were sure that it belonged to your grandfather, Viserys I. Based on it, he built his model of the city; you noticed this book back on the day when, together with Helaena, they asked for permission to bypass the decision of their mothers.

“I knew I’d find you here,” you smiled sincerely at your friend. Aemond looked away from the book and met yours. While you were talking to each other, you managed to hide the sheets and return them to their rightful original form. place, almost

“Were you looking for me?” His eyebrows were slightly knitted and his eyes looked interested. Aemond's gaze went down to your hands, which were holding a wreath of orchids and bells. “Are you so excited about the tournament that you’ll be wearing a wreath with you all day?” he joked lightly and your cheeks turned purple. Did you really have some kind of obsession? Perhaps, but you won't admit it.

“No, to be honest this is for you”

"For me?" his eyebrows shot up in surprise, and you could see interest and desire in his eyes.

"Yes for you." You spoke with confidence and held it out. Aemond looked at your gift for a minute, felt the thuja branches and smelled the aroma of the flowers. He slowly looked up at you.

“But I’m not a warrior, I don’t even have a dragon.” He spoke slowly, hesitantly, and even confusedly in some places. You knew about his complexes, you had them too. But now was the time to take care of Aemond and not of himself.

“But I believe, no, I know that one day you will have a dragon, just the way you want. And I doubt that you are not a warrior. You already hold a sword better than my brothers and even Aegon.” You remembered that one time Aemond defeated his older brother and Aegon ended up falling into a puddle. You will forever remember his wet hair and displeased expression on his face. But even like that, you still liked him. You smiled at the memories.

Aemond at that moment continued to look at the wreath until you took it from his hands. With an innocent smile, you placed the tangle of flowers on his head and giggled. He smiled and hugged you tightly, saying “Thank you.”

You hugged for a few minutes until Queen Alicenta walked in. You didn’t hear the sound of footsteps or the sound of a door opening. She was pleased to see her son happy, but it hurt that happiness was given to him by Rhaenyra’s child.

After waiting a couple of minutes, she coughed quietly to attract attention. You and Aemond abruptly pulled away from each other and looked at Alicent. "My queen." You said with a polite smile. Despite being close to her children, you still felt uncomfortable in her presence. You felt the tension within your family, your home.

The Red Keep was buzzing with rumors inside, they spread faster than the fires in the Royal Forest. Despite your young age, you weren't stupid. You understood that the queen’s glances towards your mother, comments about her marriage to your father and disapproving glances from the entire Hightower family when they came to the capital were by no means out of great love. You understood, but you still can’t find the roots of all this confrontation until now.

You heard rumors that Queen Alicenta, your adopted grandmother, wore a green dress to your parents' wedding. You thought about this for a long time, but unsuccessfully found answers to your questions. They multiplied at breakneck speed. Then, during your lesson with the septa, you learned that the color of the Hightower came from the light of the lighthouse in Oldtown. It glowed green when the Hightower troops gathered for war. But who did she fight with on her wedding day? And the more important question is, is this war still ongoing?

“Aemond, I think it’s time to start getting ready for the tournament. Y/N, I think your mom is looking for you too.” She said it politely. You realized that you were required to leave and therefore, with a final nod towards Aemond, you headed to your room.

You walked to your room and didn’t even suspect that the queen was watching you with a heavy gaze. An hour later you were already sitting on the royal stand. On the left side sat your dear friend Helaena, and on the right was Aegon. Your wreaths lay on the pedestal and you constantly giggled in anticipation of the start of the tournament. You vigorously clapped for each knight that was introduced while Aegon sat with a straight face.

“Why are you all so excited? It's just a tournament.” Aegon leaned over and asked you with some indignation.

“Because today Helaena and I will give favor to the knights for the first time,” you said casually and smiled. This was a small victory for you, you are one step closer to being considered adult girls. Aegon snorted and you looked at him again, the corners of your lips slowly began to droop, “What?”

“This is stupid,” the prince said with a grin, “Most knights throw away these things as soon as the tournament ends.”

Meanwhile, your father and a knight from the House of Baratheon were already galloping on horseback on the field. The bright sound of horse hooves drowned out everything around and forced you and Aegon to lean closer to each other to hear the words.

“And so what, I’ll at least give the knight a favor and he’ll wear it with pride during the battle.” you said defensively. You were absolutely not prepared for the fact that your secret object of affection was making fun of your desires.

“The wreath has no effect on anything, I’m more than sure that your knight will lose.” Aegon grinned, and you were already seething inside. It was unpleasant, it was painful. You pointedly turned to him and crossed your arms over your chest.

“At least my knight will have a wreath, and you won’t.” You whispered and went back to watching the game. Aegon wanted to say something else, but at that moment the next pair of contestants were announced. Ser Harwin and Ser Criston. You haven’t had time to give the latter a wreath yet, but you promised yourself to do it after the tournament. Both knights rode up to your bed.

“Queen, I would like to ask for your favor and give me your favor.” Criston said, Alicenta walked up without further ado and threw a wreath on his spear with a slight smile. You were worried because you knew you were next. Helaena has already given her wreath to her maternal uncle.

“Princess Y/N, today I would like to fight for your honor. Will you do me this honor?” Harwin smiled and bowed, a smile appearing on your face again. You stood up from your seat and looked at your mom. He nodded lightly in approval and you carefully placed the wreath on his spear.

“May the gods be favorable to you, Ser Harwin!” You smiled and the court was filled with applause. You truly were a ray of light in this castle.

“Your knight will lose,” Aegon continued to tease you. Aemond, hearing your conversation, just sighed heavily. You ignored the eldest prince as best you could. Why are boys always like this?

This round of the tournament was long, over and over again their spears broke, their horses roared as if on a battlefield. And then something happened that no one expected. They started fighting on the ground. It was quite a fierce fight. Few people knew, but at that moment Criston Cole, the queen's loyal defender, provoked Ser Harwin not only with weapons, but also with words.

Suddenly the entire court fell silent. You returned your gaze to the field, Harwin lay in terrible agony, the maesters were already running to his body. Criston stood, but his appearance was no better. Broken lips, blood and sweat ran down his dark hair. Your knight was carried away by servants, it was obvious that he was very seriously wounded. And you were wounded the next second.

“I told you your knight would lose. And the wreaths are of no use here; it didn’t help Harwin at all.” Aegon said with a smirk and you felt a burning resentment, tears gradually began to form in the corners of your eyes. You slowly looked up at him.

“That means you won’t get your wreath.” You said through clenched teeth and apologized and ran to your chambers. You cried in the room for a couple of hours. This day should have been one of the happiest in your young life, but in fact it turned into the most terrible. With the help of your handmaidens, you learned that Ser Harwin had injured ribs. And you began to cry even more, but the tears gradually subsided and a different feeling came. Anger.

You knew that at court you cannot directly express your feelings. Therefore, grabbing the last two wreaths, you walked with a firm gait towards Queen Alicenta’s chambers. You knew you'd find him there. And you were right. Seeing his face, you clutched the wreath that was intended for him, for Cole.

“I thought you were a noble man.” You said it again through clenched teeth and looked at him with a look full of hatred. Throwing a wreath at him, you hastened to retire to the garden, where you can be alone. Only now, in addition to the previous flowers, there was a hastily and carelessly woven orange lily.

“Oh, hatred and disgust,” said Larys. Cole, who had previously not understood anything that had happened, just looked at another close associate of the queen with incomprehension.

"What?"

“The orange lily is a sign of hatred and disgust, the princess knows how to express her indignation skillfully, albeit openly,” Larys chuckled.

At this moment, you were already sitting under the tree and began to tear small petals from the purple lilac, from the sign of your first love. You weren’t crying anymore, but there was still a pain in your chest. You sat in the garden, lost in your thoughts until sunset. The sun slowly set behind the horizon and the dark orange rays dimly illuminated everything around. You sighed and took one last look at the half-destroyed wreath and went back to your room.

Little did you know that at that moment Aegon was watching you from the shadows. The prince carefully picked up the wreath of purple and white lilacs that were so similar to his eyes and hair and sighed. He really messed up this time. Why did he even listen to the older guys who said that in order to attract a girl’s attention you need to tease her in every possible way and call her names. Why did he even listen to them? He felt so stupid. But one thought never left his head, he must fix this. Even though his pride and shame will prevent him from doing it directly, he must find a way.

The next morning, you found a wreath of white calla lilies and red tulips under your door. There was no note or clue as to who it was from. But after a night of more tears, you smiled for the first time. Today was a holiday in honor of Mother. And the wreath went perfectly with your dress in Targaryen colors.

Meanwhile, when the queen woke up her eldest son, she saw a pile of destroyed flowers that he was trying to hide in his closet. She didn't understand anything, but decided not to ask. She also did not know that under the pile of flowers lay carelessly torn sheets where it was written “King Jaehaerys presented his future wife with a simple but meaningful gift. Alysanne held a large bouquet of white callas as a symbol of respect and admiration, and the small buds of red tulips decorating the bouquet spoke of the feelings of the future king, of his love for her.”

Later, at the service at the Temple of the Seven, you appeared with a wreath on your head. You smiled and happily told Aemond about your morning discovery. Aegon stood at a distance, he smiled and constantly looked in your direction. You will be his Alysanne, even if it takes more time. He will no longer listen to other people's advice, not in matters that concern you.

Queen Alicent was deeply immersed in ceremony and celebration. But when she saw you, something clicked in her. She saw your head decoration and, having carried out all the logical chains, she just grinned.

The only people who were unhappy on Mother's Day were the gardeners of the royal garden. Next to one destroyed flowerbed, a second one appeared. Now the callas will not sprout here for a long time.

Taglist: @blurpleuni-squid

Note:

if you want to be tagged in this series, please write in the comments)

All this time I was thinking about what details I wanted to add to this series and breaking down the ideas into chapters. So far, according to preliminary estimates, there will be about 25 chapters. The next third chapter will be the last, which tells about the relatively carefree childhood of the main characters. The fourth chapter will be devoted to Driftmark and the beginning of active actions between the reader and Aegon)

Аnd honestly, I don't like writing warnings because there might be spoilers for the entire chapter:) Therefore, I think it necessary to say that the story will be a kind of mix of the serial and book versions.

#aegon targaryen imagine #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon ii targaryen imagine #aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon x reader #aegon ii targaryen

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artofsamothrace · 7 days

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The evil witch of weather ⛈️

Cause Lady Doppler's outfit from the artbook can't be beat ~

Maybe next I could redesign Lord Nighty Knight.

#megamind #megamind vs the doom syndicate #megamind rules #lady doppler #traditional art #artists on tumblr

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seaside-lovers · 2 months

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potential megamind self insert idea ^^ my name would be dr. vulture and for whatever reason im a lappet-faced vulture hybrid. i also have a quite obvious desire for lord nighty-knight who is a bit shy about it but receptive.

#waves.txt #self insert talk #🌓 i hear the secrets that you keep

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krillkin · 4 years

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Fuck it, hollow knight cosmetic designs

Grimm’s emote is like when he summons firebats. Lvl 4 emote will let you summon a firebat or like. Red sparks

Radiance's emote (im not sure, this might change. I havent fought her yet) is just you standing there with a dream circle thingy

Shade Lord's call is just abyss shriek lmao

#sky children of the light #sky: children of the light #that sky game #hollow knight #troupe master grimm #the radiance #shade lord #the grimm troupe #nighty arts #sketch

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trobbio-silksong · 3 years

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Some of my favorites from this video

#THIS MANS. HES KILLIN BIRDS FOR OVER HALF THIS VIDEO #i wanna like. draw art for this jejdhsbsjsjs #hollow knight #hollow knight spoilers #cloth hollow knight #traitor lord #the hollow knight #thk #nighty chatter

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daily-mossfly · 4 years

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WHAP!!!

The mossfly is surprisingly... soft as it slams into your face

@daily-traitors-child

#mossfly #traitor lord's daughter #hollow knight #daily traitors child #nighty arts #not daily

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fandom-puff · 4 years

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Ultimatum

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Requested by: anon

Prompts: none

Summary: all that’s left is hope.

AN:this was... interesting to write... enjoy

Warnings: swearing, angst, arguing

Tommy Shelby often kept secrets. Secrets about work, business, Russians... but you had agreed to never keep secrets about what was going on in your head, never hold back when you were scared or hurting.

At least, you upheld your end of the agreement.

He did too, most of the time. You didn’t like to call yourself a jealous person, not minding a little flirting (he was charming and handsome and dangerous). What you did mind, however, was having your face rubbed into it- ladies approaching him in the Garrison and leaving lingering touches on his arm while you were holding his other hand; Tatiana Petrovna wandering your mansion stark naked, being chased by Tommy while you were trying to calm a restless Charlie down... worst of all was Grace. Tommy left you once for her and didn’t let you back into his life or his home until after she died. And when you did come back you were greeted with a perfect, blond child who needed a mother. You doted on Charlie and refused to let the infant see your anger, but one night you couldn’t bring yourself to go home after visiting Small Heath, and sobbed into Polly’s shoulder.

“He doesn’t love me anymore, Pol,” you whispered. “He’s just using me... how can I have a relationship with a man who cheated on me and knocked up a barmaid while I was running errands for him? How can I even start to think about our future together when everything in that house is tainted by her?”

Polly held you close and let you cry, murmuring that all men were bastards who only thought with their cocks. “He’s doing it again, Pol,” you whispered, sipping your tea with shaking hands. “I can feel it. Just you watch. He’ll knock some other girl up while I’m taking care of his child, then have me raise the new one as well,”

Polly wished she could comfort you, telling you that of course tommy wouldn’t do that to you... but he had already done it once, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to her if he did it again.

She set you up a bed for the night in Michael’s old room, letting you sleep away your exhaustion caused by balancing raising the child of the woman you were cheated on with, running between Small Heath, Arrowe House and London, using your pretty face to do Tommy’s dirty work, and pouring your heart and soul into re-kindling your relationship with Tommy.

The next morning, you were awoken by the front door banging open and a fiery shouting match between Tommy and Pol.

“Where the fuck is she, Pol? She isn’t with Ada, Linda and Esme haven’t seen her either, so she must be with you,”

You pressed your ear to the door, listening intently as Aunt Pol defended you. “Now listen here, Thomas Shelby. Who the fuck are you to bang around here, demanding to see your Missus when you’ve paid her next to no attention for the past year, ay? Don’t you dare come slamming my doors, acting like a knight in shining fucking armour when I had to tuck that poor girl into bed like my own fucking daughter because her heart has been torn to pieces. Don’t you dare scream in this fucking neighbourhood like you own the place, expecting her to be at your side at your beck and call when you have done nothing for her but break her heart and ruin her confidence! You’re a heartless bastard, Thomas Shelby, and you’re turning into your father more and more every day. Now sit the fuck down and stop acting like the king of the fucking world because you’ve rigged a few races and are playing big boys with the Russians, or I swear to God, Thomas, I will cut you,”

Your eyes welled up as a Polly spoke, and you felt your heart swell with adoration for her. You heard the scraping of chairs as tommy sat down, admitting defeat to his aunt. “Look, Pol, I’m sorry,”

You heard Polly snort. “It’s not me you should be apologising to,” she snapped. “It’s the woman upstairs wearing my nighty, tucked up in Michael’s old bed because she didn’t feel able to go back to her home. Do you not realise how cruel it is that she has raised your son? How she has to attend events for the Grace Shelby Foundation with a great big smile on her face even though that harlot took the man she loved? How she lives in a house and sleeps in a bedroom where every wall has a picture of the woman who shattered her trust in all she ever knew, just because she is too kind-hearted and too meek to say anything,”

“Grace was my wife-“

“So was fucking YN before you decided to dip your wick elsewhere and act as a living sperm bank while she was in London convincing Solomons to be a little more generous with his business! You paraded YN, your first wife, like a whore, all while dealing with a tart who almost had this entire family killed!”

Tommy let out an agitated sigh. Slamming his hand on the table. “Don’t you dare call Grace a whore,” he growled.

“Don’t you dare treat YN like a disposable scrap of paper! She is not a business tool, Thomas, she is your wife. Lord knows, she has the patience of a saint putting up with you with a smile on her face. You made a choice to remarry her, to reform, but for fuck’s sake, don’t you dare let her go again. She has done nothing to deserve the way she has been treated,”

It was silent for a moment before, “I think she’s pregnant, Thomas,”

A glass shattered.

“Oh don’t look so surprised. We all know you like to fuck away your troubles. Her belly’s growing and I could feel it in her breast when she was crying,”

The rest of the conversation blurred into a meaningless buzz as you rested a hand on your stomach, biting your lip. Your last cycle was... two months ago. You had though you missed it because of the stress, but it was starting to make sense. Snapping back into reality, you quickly dressed in your clothes from the night before (which Polly must have washed and brought up while you were sleeping and crept downstairs. Polly saw you in the doorway, but tommy had his back to you, still processing the information.

“I-I’m going to London. To stay with Ada,” you announced, your voice a little shaky.

“Your things are at home,” Tommy said, voice quiet. He still wasn’t looking at you.

“They’re just things,” you said. “I can lend Ada’s clothes until I get some more,” you looked at Polly. “Do you think you could... you know... do the thing where you predict what I’ll have?”

Polly smiled sadly and stood up. She grabbed your breast and debated for a moment. “A girl,” she said. “A beautiful girl with her mother’s sweet face and her father’s dark hair.

You rubbed your tiny bump gently and gave her a hug. Tommy had stood up as well, almost as if expecting a hug himself.

“Thank you. For everything,” you murmured.

“YN,” Tommy suddenly blurted. “Don’t go to London,”

You frowned at him. “Why not?” You asked, standing a little straighter.

“Because you’re my wife,” he said. “Your home is here,”

You sighed. “Thomas. I’m going to London, to stay with Ada. I’ll book in with the midwives there. By all means call me when you get your shit together. But I swear to god, if I come back to Birmingham and see you waiting on the steps with another child that isn’t mine, I will turn on my heel and go straight back down to London with my daughter, and she will have my surname and never know of the Shelby blood that runs through her veins,”

You glanced at Polly, who gave you a firm nod as tommy stood with his eyes wide, watching his childhood sweetheart drift away as the workd crumbled around her.

You left the house and went to the train station. You didn’t say goodbye, because deep down, you hoped Tommy would fight for you, and call as soon as he knew you had arrived down south.

Hope was all you had now as the train picked up speed and you pressed a hand to your tummy, head resting against the cool glass of the window as you drifted to sleep, dreaming of easier times, before the war, before Shelby Company Limited... before Grace.

#peaky blinders #imagine #oneshot #angst #tommy shelby x reader headcanon #tommy shelby x you #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x reader #i dont like grace #grace burgess #request #peaky blinders oneshot

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nobodyfamousposts · 5 years

Note

What do you think of an au where marinette and adrien unwittingly revealed their identities to the public after stoneheart so what would the show had been like if they didn’t have their identities secret

It’d be interesting, but right away, it would come at the cost of destroying the love square (though that may be a good thing depending on who you talk to).

I’d admittedly foresee more problems with that than anything. Yeah, sure, that means the police and school administration would be in the know and may be useful. The classmates would be on board and think they’re cool. Probably crowd them. Chloe may begrudgingly respect Marinette for saving her life. And Marinette and Adrien would probably work things out between them without either of them immediately falling in love with the other.

But let’s be realistic, it’s much more likely that people are just going to try to take the Miraculous from them. Either authority figures with the justification of “They’re just children! They can’t be expected to wield such great power!” or other people with egos and chips on their shoulders who think that they deserve a Miraculous more. Or worse, someone who would use the Miraculous to commit crimes and cause some REAL damage. Attack either of the kids while they’re in their civilian forms, steal the Miraculous, badda-bing! New crime lord is in town!

It’d give Hawk Moth a major advantage since all he’d have to do with either order Adrien to give up the ring or simply take it from him while he’s sleeping. Hell, he could make a Nighty-Knight akuma who puts all of Paris into an enchanted sleep in the middle of the night, then he could go to their respective rooms and take their Miraculous without even having to fight anyone.

Hawk Moth wins.

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iknownothingihearnothing · 5 years

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Game of Thrones 8.3 “Battle of Winterfell”

HOLY SHITSICKLES, YOU GUYZ!

That episode was AH-MAZING. I know it wasn’t exactly the shower of death we expected--I mean, there was TONS of death, don’t get me wrong, but our ultra-beloveds are still safe...for now--but it was still epic. Totally worth having to squint for over an hour at a laptop screen brought obscenely close to my face.

Honestly, I thought it was just me until I logged onto Twitter after the episode and everyone was like:

I also made the grievous error of signing into social media before the episode aired and I saw that “Arya” was trending. I thought that she had been killed and I was about to riot.

My brother had actually seen the episode before me--we share an HBO Go account with my uncle because as a lifelong bachelor, he can afford all those channels we cannot--and when I turned it on the battle was at the midway point; I was spoiling myself. I texted my bro “I WILL KILL YOU” and he replied with an emoji of a house. IDK if he plans to defend himself with a house or hide in a house or drop a house on me like I’m the Wicked Witch of the East.

As the episode opens, it’s nighttime (of course it is), and Sam’s hands are shaking because it’s really fucking cold. The Winterfellians are ushering everyone who ain’t fighting into the supposedly SAFE IT’S SO SAFE YOU ALL WILL BE SO MUCH SAFER crypt and performing last minute prep. Theon and Co are wheeling BranBot to the Weirwood tree where he will be used as bait to lure out the Night King.

Sansa and Tyrion and Co. are up on the ramparts. Sansa, naturally, does not look very excited for this party.

The actors’ also. They had to shoot 55 nights in a row.

We get our first glimpse of Drogon and Rhaegal of the episode, AKA the Good Dragons. Because we need to decipher on this show.

Everybody’s in position. The canons are ready. The awesome catapults are ready. The Dothraki are ready. The Unsullied are ready.

All the animals, too, are in place. Including Ghost!

Jon/Aegon approaches Dany and her dragons on a hill overlooking Winterfell so they can get a decent view of the happenings below and get better air on their dragonplanes.

There is SO much to unpack with Jon and Daenerys. They have lots of, uh, “stuff” to deal with, like that he’s technically her nephew and she’s more concerned that he has a claim (and a bigger one) on the Iron Throne than that he’s her blood relation and they’ve had lots of sexy sex. And also that the brother she grew up hearing raped Lyanna Stark actually loved her and married her in secret, thus producing Jon.

But, er, now is not the time and they know that so they gots to put aside their feels and kick some ice zombie butt and save humanity. I imagine this is how Sophia Bush felt when she still had to work with Chad Michael Murray on One Tree Hill knowing he cheated on her with a teenaged extra.

Sort of. Minus the whole “we might die” part.

Melisandre rides up after being in Volantis all this time. Remember how she said she’d come back to Westeros just one more time? Well, that time is here. The Red Woman asks Jorah to tell the Dothraki to lift their swords, which he hesitantly does. Melly grasps the front dude’s Arakh, chants some freaky Lord of the Light mojo, and then all the Arakhs, one by one, become alight in flames like Beric Dondarrion’s.

Even Tormund is awed.

The Red Woman continues on, wishing “Valar morghulis” to Grey Worm, who instantly returns with “Valar dohaeris”. Davos, up in the ramparts, having been warily watching Melly, finally gives the order to open the gate. He...is not a fan of Melisandre. She may have brought back Jon from the Great Beyond but she burned Shireen alive.

However, now is not the time for disputes among the Team Alive population. If they wanna beat Team Undead, they gotta work together.

Davos goes to meet her and she assures him that there is no need to execute her or anything cus she’ll be dead before dawn.

Davos:

Up on the roof, Arya catches Melly’s eye. And she don’t look like she’s throwing out the welcome banns.

Melisandre is on there because she kidnapped Gendry all those seasons ago. You know, to do that sexy, leechy blood magic on him.

And BOOM. The first wave sets off. Mostly consisting of Dothraki on horseback, with Jorah leading them into battle. Huge alight boulders are also placed inside catapults and set flying. Ghost is seen running beside the horses, teeth gnashing.

Srsly, they need to save that direwolf. The PTB at GoT have already killed the other wolves, with the exception of Nymeria, who has run free, and David and D.B. have confirmed that Crazy Cersei killed Ser Pounce after Tommen died. There is NOT a good track record with pets on this show.

All the Dothraki race into the fray to meet the undead, ululating and shouting war cries in the Dothraki language. They’re proud. They’re confident. They are WARRIORS. They know what they’re doing. They’ve been raised on this shit.

And then...

That’s the ENTIRE DOTHRAKI HORDE! Just...gone in a few minutes, holy shit .Did GoT just erase the Dothraki?! Just like that, what the fuck?!

Anyone else feel indignant on behalf of the Dothraki?

Jaime looks like he’s about to shit his Iron Pants.

The second wave all look at each other like “WE ARE SO FUCKED” until some animals and finally people--including Jorah--return to the line. Ghost better be one of them!

Up on the hill, Dany’s in a panic because, again, the dead desecrated her entire Dothraki forces. And she is understandably devastated; they weren’t loyal to Jon, they were loyal to her. She was their Khaleesi. Their original plan was for them to remain on the hill and take flight there and wait for the dead to come to Winterfell’s gates but we all know that ain’t gonna happen. Jon, awkwardly, tries to intervene when Dany begins to leave, but Dany perseveres. The dead are already here and the Night King is a-comin’.

On the line, everyone’s waiting with bated breath. Sam looks about ready to pass out. Tormund’s glorious red mane blows in the wind, which the captions keep telling me “whistles”, so I know it is strong. Grey Worm puts on his helmet. The Unsullied army bend and position their weapons and....

The ensuing scuffle is pretty much insanity and confusion. There are dead body parts mixed with the same people we know and love trying to fight them off and, like, totally forever kill them. Brienne shouts “STAND YOUR GROUND!!” like a badass but is immediately overwhelmed and Jaime, upon glimpsing his CO and fellow knight (and maybe something more?) going down in the mud, jumps in to help her.

Dany and Jon ride in on the backs of Drogon and Rhaegal and it is never not awesome watching dragons spitting fire at their human overlords’ enemies.

Up on the roof of Winterfell, Arya and Sansa are flabbergasted as they watch with dismay the battle below. The blood, the fire, the (good) dragons. Finally, Arya turns to Sansa and implores her sister to get into the (VERY SAFE EVERYONE WILL BE SAFE THERE SWEARSIES) crypt.

Sansa doesn’t know how to use it, she is not trained in combat. Arya just tells her to stick the wights with the pointy end.

Good advice, Arya!

At the Weirwood tree, Theon and Co. are doing their bestest to keep the BranBot safe while he attempts to lure Ol’ Nighty out of his hidey-hole. And on the battlefield, Jorah falls off his horse decapitating ice zombies, Jaime is going through the dead like toilet paper (or whatever they used back then...what did they use?), and Sam is...well, he’s trying, poor lamb. Ultimately though, he becomes overwhelmed and Mr. Edd has to save his butt.

Sealing his fate.

Stabbed through the back of the head, that is quite dolorous.

Sansa goes down into the crypt, where all the nearby tenants who have no fight training are gathered already. Wordlessly, a ball of nerves, she meets the eyes of Missandei and Tyrion, the latter of whom, naturally, takes a drink.

I’d drink, too, in that scenario.

In the air, Jon and Dany are on the backs of their respective dragons, which I guess is the ye olde version of aerial warfare, battling the elements as well as the gross horde down below. It’s snowing and raining and they’re stuck in a low hanging cloud or maybe some fog idk I can’t SEE.

Someone shouts to fall back and the gates to Winterfell are opened--by Lyanna Mormont’s command, that pint sized badass--and men start piling in. Grey Worm orders the Unsullied to protect the retreat as best they could and stand their ground, damnit.

Jon finally comes out of the cloud but Dany doesn’t, and he lands with a worried look on his face. More men pour in through the gates while Brienne and Jaime usher them inside.

Arya, from the top of Winterfell, uses her archery skillz to take out the munchers creepin’ up behind Woof.

It’s a milestone every teenage girl reaches and it brings a tear to your eye, it does.

Grey Worm gives the order to fall back and light the trench and we the audience are like--

I cannot say enough how dark this episode is. I have my screen up to 100 percent brightness and I am still squinting doing this recap.

He’s really referring to Dany here, whom he’s trying to signal with torches, but she and Drogon are still stuck in that wholly inconvenient cloud/fog thing. Truly, the worst weather has converged on this one location in Westeros on the one night that they really need clear skies. All that’s missing is a hurricane.

But Davos speaks for us all.

So, Team Alive is all scrambling around trying to light the trenches with torches but they can’t because they’re kinda preoccupied battling the undead. That is where Melly steps in. After reciting some of that weird mojo in High Valyrian, the deep trenches throughout the Winterfell grounds become alight.

And the rest of us blink our eyes repeatedly in thanks.

The wights are separated from Winterfell behind the trenches and the Hound’s kinda freaking out because he doesn’t exactly like fire, having had his face nearly melted off by his brother, the Mountain. So he disappears.

Down in the crypt, everyone is hearing all the crazy going on upstairs and Varys is like “At least we’re already in a crypt, eh?” and no one’s amused.

Tyrion is anxious. He wants to be doing something, damnit! Like he did at the Battle of Blackwater. Maybe seeing something that no one else has figured yet. But Sansa, Lady of Hindsight, tells him to sit his ass down. It won’t do anyone good if Tyrion joins the Army of the Dead. Tyrion makes a smartass remark about how there is no organization less suited to his abilities and Sansa, Milady Logic, is all “Witty remarks won’t help you, all we can do now is wait. That’s why we is down here, because we can’t do nothin’” and Tyrion pauses before--

Tyrion, Lord of Winterfell? A Lannister?! Why not? Weirder shit has happened on GoT. Weirder shit is happening right now.

Then, Sansa squashes that by laying this on the table: it’d never work between them because of the Dragon Queen. Their divided loyalties would come between them. But before Tyrion can reply, Missandei, who has been eavesdropping on their convo, cuts in like “Yeah, damn that Dragon Queen! Y’all wouldn’t have to worry about that crap without her because...we’d all be dead, so...”

Whatever you think of Dany, there is no way the North would live without her and her armies and dragons. They’d be overrun within minutes.

At the Weirwood tree, Theon and Co. have formed a barrier before BranBot. Theon remarks that the trenches have been lit, then, haltingly, turns to BranBot and starts to apologize for, yanno, turning on the only family that ever loved him and claiming Winterfell for himself.

Dime store psychics around the globe should replace their crystal balls with miniature BranBots.

Then he says he’s going to go now, just like that, and he wargs into a raven to find the Night King’s position.

Gee. Why didn’t I ever think of that to get out of conversations?

“Hey, Bee, how’d you do on your stats exam?”

“...oh, uh, I did, er, ok. I’m gonna go now.” Wargs into chicken.

Ah, there’s Ol’ (really Ol’, Ancient Ol’) Nighty, riding Viserion, looking all creepy and stuff.

Not quite, Nighty, not quite.

Zombies are an impatient lot. They’re hungry and dead and they’re doomed to shamble around the earth forever. So, if a few have to be sacrificed in order for the rest of Team Undead to cross the trenches, so be it. One by one, the ice zombies literally throw themselves on the line of fire, sandwiching their ewwie bodies until the rest of the horde can safely use them as a bridge to cross. An Undead Bridge, if you will.

When Davos realizes what they are doing, the look on his face is quite classic horror movie:

You know when you’re watching a scary movie and the protagonist or whoever hears something or sees something but isn’t quite sure what it is, only knowing that it’s bad mmkay? That is that look.

Davos shouts the order to man the walls of Winterfell. Elsewhere on the battlefied, Jon is still in the same spot he landed, anxious about Dany. He glimpses a dragon emerge from the fog and, at first, he thinks it’s Daenerys but it soon becomes evident that it’s the Night King riding on Viserion.

Winterfell, meanwhile, is all cloaked in a cloud of mud and rain. The soldiers and Northerners are clambering to keep the White Walkers from penetrating the walls of the castle.

They have to keep them from legit climbing the damn walls.

If I’m ever a zombie, I want the Night King to make me. Apparently, rigor mortis is not a thing in wights.

The wights keep climbing until some of them start to get over the wall despite Jaime, Brienne, et. al. slicing off head after head. They just keep coming. The Team Undead horde is massive.

I bet the denizens of Winterfell are wishing for a nice, stationary mall right about now.

Soldiers are going over the railings, Sam’s whimpering butt has to be saved again, and the Hound is utterly frozen. It’s all just anarchy.

Beric and his Flaming Sword of Justice attempt to get Woofie’s attention again but to no avail. Arya’s doing her thang with her pointed staff, taking out wight after wight with Davos looking on, impressed (knight or not, you have been bested by a teenager, old man).

And then, this:

ZOMBIE GIANTS!

ZOMBIFIED MOTHAFUCKIN’ GIANTS.

“Fee, fi, fo fum, I smell the blood of EVERYONE.”

It pushes her to the side like she’s a goddamn sack of potatoes and it’s smacking people around with its club like they’re nothing but rag dolls. Arya falls down a set of stairs as wights group in to attack her and smacks her forehead on the side of a wall. Not up to her usual Faceless Man self after that, she stumbles and nearly falls off the roof, which finally energizes the Hound to action.

On the ground, Lyanna’s had enough of being tossed around by White Walker McGigantor.

She screams, races toward it, it grabs her in its huge fist, and, blood pouring out of her mouth and nose and it crushes her, she STABS IT THROUGH THE FRIGGING EYEBALL.

It’s a fitting end for an awesome character. Lyanna made such an impression on everyone and her cumulative screentime was just over fifteen minutes on the show.

In the air, Jon and Dany are finally reunited again when out of nowhere sails the Night King and his trusty Undragon.

Looks like someone has been chewing too much Winterfresh!

Viserion lets loose a stream of Winterfresh friendly fire and Daenerys ducks and whimpers as her undead baby tries to kill her. When the Night King sails off, Jon and Dany look at each other before mutually agreeing in some unspoken communication to dive.

Aww, they are communicating without words already! Bestill my lowkey-shipping-for-incest heart.

In Winterfell, the White Walkers have managed to break into the halls of the castle and, in less...white climes, they look less frozen and more, well, zombie. Arya, with her trusty staff, is attempting to sneak through her ancestral home without alerting Team Undead.

Unfortunately, she stumbles into the library and, weird, there are a lot of wights in the library. I didn’t know ice zombies were such avid readers.

What? Ice zombies need wank material, too, you know.

That is, if their genitals haven’t fallen off.

Our girl is creeping through the library, dodging errant undead in her wake. Desperately, she dives under a table, but the blood from her head wound is dripping on the floor, which attracts a nearby wight.

You know, like a shark.

The wight bends down and almost catches her, giving us all a mini heart attack, but Arya is gone. Phew.

BT-dubbs, that wight is none other than Javier Botet, who has made a sort of career playing monsters, including as the Leper in 2017′s It.

He was cast on purpose because he can contort his body in absurd ways. And I apologize for making you look at the Leper again. Yeesh.

Grabbing a book, she sails it across the floor to distract the zombies, runs into one going around the corner who then meets the fun end of her blade, and escapes the library.

Who knew a library could be so dangerous?

Arya escapes into a chamber and softly closes the door behind her, leaning back against it. She seems to be safe for a moment and then--

Ser Brus of House Bannyr. He’s a buddy of the Mountain.

Wights start pouring in and Arya runs. She runs, runs, runs--down through the narrow, damp, ill-lighted walls of Winterfell, bleeding from her head wound.

Meanwhile, just below her down in the crypt--

It’s SAFE it’s so SAFE, you guys.

The denizens of the crypt wait with bated breath and gasp when two desperate soldiers ram against the crypt door, begging to be let in. Sansa looks conflicted, wanting to help the soldiers but not at the cost of any of her people.

In the corridors, Beric Dondarrion and his Flaming Sword of Justice and the Hound are tiptoeing through Winterfell when they hear battling and growling noises (thank you, captions) and Arya falls through a doorway with wights quickly after her. The Hound picks her up and they all race down the hall, Beric throws his sword at a couple of White Walkers but they soon begin to overwhelm him. Arya gazes back at him in desperation as the Hound tries to get her away, and Beric is stabbed by one of Team Undead. He stands there, limbs akimbo face aloft as if praying to the Lord of the Light.

I love this scene. It further underscores how much Arya has come to mean to the Hound. Before, he was frozen, nothing could jolt him out of his panic but the image of Arya in peril. And he spends the rest of the episode fighting not so much for the living but for her.

Beric manages to stumble down the hall after Arya and the Hound and they lock a door behind him. Arya sits him against a wall while the Hound barricades the door with anything nearby.

Muttering unintelligibly, the man who was resurrected six times closes his eyes forever.

Melisandre appears behind them after Beric passes, letting them know that he served his purpose. Arya knows her; the Red Woman promised her that they’d meet again and there they are. She also promised that Arya would close many eyes in her young life, which was also right. Brown eyes. Green eyes. And blue eyes.

The wights are growling and scratching at the door, eager to come in and kill and feast on human flesh and blood. Arya stares while Melly bends down and whispers in her ear--

At the Weirwood tree, the wights are finally a-comn’ for BranBot and Theon and his men get into position with flaming arrows (I am now really in the mood for smores). Simultaneously, Dany/Drogon, Jon/Rhaegal/ and Ol’ Nighty/Viserion are duking it out in the air above them, the archers below attempting to knock the Undragon out of the sky.

It’s like a WWII aerial dogfight, but with dragons. So, like, a dragonfight.

Someone has entered his rebellious goth phase!

Srsly, what other show offers a mid-air dragon fight?

The dragonfight ends, somehow, only with the Night King falling off his chosen Undragon.

Rhaegal makes a shaky landing--there is plenty of turbulence in the North, after all--and Jon rolls off his favorite dragon. Dany continues the hunt for Ol’ Nighty and when she finds him, she gives the order for Drogon to do his thang.

It...doesn’t work out as hoped.

The Night King grins and throws his ice staff at Drogon, the weapon that took down Viserion. Fortunately, the ensuing hit isn’t fatal and Dany turns tail and gets out of there before it is.

Jon whips out his trusty sword and begins following the Night King. But when Ol’ Nighty realizes he’s being followed, he turns around, bestows upon Jon a “teacher catching you doing something naughty” stare, and...does his thang.

Team Alive desecrated many of your army? Just make a new one like that. Using his dark hippity doo da, the Night King raises all the soldiers (formerly) of Team Alive who fell in battle. And there’s a fucking lot of them. Including fallen Unsullied back at Winterfell’s gates and even Lyanna Mormont.

At the castle, Jaime and Grey Worm look on in confusion and horror.

New inductees to Team Undead swarm in on Jon as the Night King and some of his disciples make their way to Winterfell.

In the crypt, it was only a matter of time until this happened:

Y’all need some stronger building materials. This cannot be up to code. What would the leader of the HOA say?

Everyone in the crypt scatters in panic, minus the unlucky few who become Thing Food.

At the Weirwood tree, Theon and Co. are doing their best Robin Hood while BranBot is still checked out. I guess he’s in the raven, trying to get a location on the Night King? BranBot, do us all a favor and crap on his head.

(You missed! He was totally open, Bird! Damn.)

Jon almost gets overwhelmed until Dany and Drogon come to the rescue and manage to char the ice zombies without turning the one guy who is alive into a crispie critter, too. She tells him to go, be the hero we need, and he runs off.

However, before Drogon can fly off, he, too, is quickly overcome with wights, tearing at his wings, climbing all over his spine. He roars and twists and turns and Dany goes tumbling off.

Drogon flies away with some wights still hanging onto him, trying to get all the annoying dead OFF. They must itch like crazy.

He leaves his mommy behind and suddenly Dany is alone in a battlefield surrounded by Team Undead. She has no weapons. Her main weapon was Drogon. He is how she defeats her enemies. What the hell is she gonna do now?

One of the wights falls off Drogon and has blue eyes only for Dany. Who is alone. Vulnerable. Fucking sitting in the dirt.

But, what luck! Jorah of House Fryndzonne appears out of nowhere to decapitate the wight with Heartsbane and protect his Khaleesi.

I’ve been looking for an excuse to use that. Not a big anime fan but I love Hetalia.

Jon makes his way back to Winterfell, stickin’ and stabbin’ and gruntin’ and growlin’ and bein’ manly. He’s had it up to here with them ice zombies, you guys.

Theon and Co. are working all the harder to protect BranBot while he’s still Like A Bird. Theon’s men all go down and soon he’s left alone to defend the automaton that was once Brandon Stark.

In the crypt, Tyrion and Sansa are hiding behind a cement monument. Their wordless communication, expressed through the eyes alone, sends a chill down my spine. There is so much unsaid in that mutual gaze, and the acting here is superb. Props to Peter Dinklage and Sophie Turner.

Sansa, shaking, whips out the dagger Arya gave her, and Tyrion kisses her hand.

If they both live through season 8, maybe those crazy kids could make it work? Tyrion would be a kick Lord of Winterfell. I can see him in a furry cape.

Elsewhere, Viserion is utterly destroying Winterfell.

Dany and Jorah are desperately stabbing at ice zombies on the battlefield. Tyrion and Sansa carefully run out from behind the monument. Jon just barely dodges a wave of blue fire as Viserion continues to destroy Winterfell. Theon is doing is damndest to shield BranBot from the White Walkers, but he’s evidently slowing down.

And then, oh crap, there he is. In slow motion, like he knows all eyes are on him.

Hey yeah yeah, they’re Calyfornya.

Jorah is working alllllllll his muscles trying to protect his Khaleesi. Jaime and Brienne are backed up against a still standing wall of Winterfell as wights close in around them.

The Night King and his Night Kronies are coming for BranBot.

The remaining wights part for their Icicle Overlord. He stands there glowering down at Theon and BranBot. BranBot tells Theon he is a good man and thanks him and the audience is like--

I thought BranBot wasn’t programmed to say thank you. Ask Meera.

Theon grasps his pointed staff firmly, yells, and runs toward Ol’ Nighty, who, of course, grabs it and stabs him right through the gut.

Sorry, Theon. You managed to survive Ramsey (and getting your Reek cut off) but the Night King was your undoing. You lasted most of the show, though. That’s more than can be said for most characters.

Speaking of lasting most of the show--

Beric, Theon, now Jorah. Everybody stab now!

Jon is hiding behind some debris. The Night King walks ever closer to BranBot. Jon gets up and screams at Viserion for some reason. BranBot gazes up at the Night King. The Night King begins to reach for his ice sword, and then--

Arya Stark, like the fucking avenging angel she is!

I love that she was the one to destroy the Night King. She and Lyanna Mormont were both frigging awesome this episode.

Moral: don’t mess with a girl.

Maisie Williams said in EW that when she initially read the script she was afraid people would think she didn’t deserve it or something. To that I say pish posh. “Arya” has been trending for days.

After he explodes, all the wights begin to fall, including Viserion. Team Alive was right. Kill the Night King, his disciples are toast, too.

The crypt people come out of their hiding places and silently view the carnage. Arya looks over at BranBot and smiles a little. BranBot just sits there without offering a thank you. I guess he only malfunctioned that one time with Theon.

Unfortunately, the zombies aren’t the only ones that fall. Jorah is hurt and hurt badly. He buckles on the battlefield, surrounded by inactive wights, bleeding from seeming every orifice. Dany bends down before him, crying and holding his head.

He dies in her arms. A fitting end for Jorah of House Mormont, forever loyal to his Khaleesi.

So is Dany’s dragon.

Aww. That’s...cute. Like a dog with wings. And scales. That breathes fire.

The Hound, Melisandre, and Davos walk out of Winterfell just as dawn is breaking. The Hound and Davos stop at the door but Melisandre keeps going, looking determined. Shedding her trademark red cloak, she marches forward, ridding herself of the ruby necklace that has kept her young for centuries.

And then, growing older before their eyes, she perishes. Her mission is complete.

And that’s the end of the episode. Cue end credits.

Salt and crackers, that took FOREVER. Every free moment I had I was recappin’. But the episode was awesome and the cast says the next episode is even more awesome so I can’t wait!

Now comes the march on King’s Landing, the taking of the crown, and, hopefully, Cersei gonna die. Who’s gonna have her head? Will it be Jaime? Arya? Tyrion? My bet is Jaime.

Also, congats are in order for our Sansa Stark. Sophie Turner got married to Joe Jonas last night after the Billboard Music Awards. In Vegas with an Elvis impersonator presiding, which is fantastic.

#game of thrones #game of thrones recap #game of thrones 8 #nickolaj coster-waldau #gwendoline christie #Sophie Turner #peter dinklage #Kit Harrington #emilia clarke #iain glen #alfie allen #isaac hempstead wright #maisie williams

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