The man sits onto the cold floor near lifeless upon the ground, appendages loose with their position. Bare are his arms and his chest. There is little covering his upper body beyond crumbs insects-- moths. Two to three roam around his chest briefly before Zephyr's and Abby's entrance, to which they halt their wandering and fly off to wherever the closet's perimeters obey them.
Oily strands of black shimmer under the flicking, dim bulb above. Lowering one's gaze, Reid's condition becomes apparent : Messy with his only other piece of clothing : jogging pants with apparent stains and pieces of food stuck upon them, wrinkle imprints on the skin of his arms, a frazzled bunch of bedhead-hair, and heavy bags under his eyes. Along with the stench of pungent sweat, garlic, and mold--a strong scent in comparison to all the rest--the shaky breath with each exhale, and insect bites upon his legs--seemingly ants--Reid looks to as though ill. Pale and filthy upon each inch of himself.
Such a sight against the background of the institute--even its mere broom closet--appears as if a puzzle piece in the wrong picture.
This man has not greeted their sights in a long while. Nobody has been able to see even a glimpse of said man for a while. All without notice, his presence almost though shroud by fog until now.
There is no response to Zephyr's calls. There is little signs of life at all beyond soft snores.
Ok so yesterday, I made a post about Undertale's 10th anniversary;
If you don't know, Toby added a ton of stream-exclusive content. This was not to tease fans with things they'd never be able to see; it was to get them to theorize more about life in the underground.
I've since deleted my post about it, but essentially, it was a really mean-spirited accusation that this was merely a ploy to get the fandom to stop asking questions he didn't want to answer, and that Toby didn't understand the dangers of blurring the lines between canon and fanon.
I'd like to apologize for being so rude. I now realize that it's not that Toby doesn't want to expand Undertale's universe; it's that questions that are unimportant to the main plot don't necessarily need to be answered. This is just the way Toby writes, and it's fine, but it does make Undertale suffer from feeling a little stripped-back.
Undertale is a great game, it really is. The characters are charming, the plot is grandiose, and the message is heartwarming. However, I think we can all agree the worldbuilding is probably one of the weakest parts of it. I now realize Toby's attempt to remedy that is genuine, and that his heart's in the right place.
Warnings: cursing, use of “stereotypes”, I don’t want to say “eating disorder” but I do will say inaccurate methods of dieting, extreme dieting even, Aemond is a slut, Aemond wants to steal the bride, implied smut, might miss some warnings, but you know what this is about
Wordcount: 3.7k
Notes: The end! can’t believe it took me this long! anyways! it will deviate a bit from the story here…
“I'm sorry you and Aemond had a fight”, Cregan whispered against your temple, as you and him watched Aemond get into the Land Rover from a hallway of the second floor of his castle. They were going to take him back into Winterfell and then the airport.
“I'm his best friend, he's just afraid of losing me”, you whispered, your eyes never leaving his lithe form, “he'll get over it”, you said, faking a smile to Cregan. “It’s just, a bit much, in so little time, us meeting and getting engaged, then marrying two weeks later, me moving here…”
“Aye”, he said with an understanding that it was bigger than you deserved.
But you felt as if your heart left when Aemond did.
How could you let him kiss you? Where did that come from?
You were equally guilty, you reciprocated the kiss with the same energy. You already knew, it had always been there hiding just beneath the surface, hiding from him.
But it was too late now
Yes you might not know Cregan much, but the connection you had with him was like something magical, you really wanted to be with him, you were getting married tomorrow! the decision had been made
“Aegon, what the hell are you doing here?”, asked Cersei as he let the blonde enter the room, “I thought Aemond left”
“Well, he did”, he said, “he left dramatically and hastily, and in that haste, he forgot about me, so…I will be the new maid of honor”, he said simply, rolling up his sleeves, “Walda, darling, let’s get you inside that dress”
The three girls just exchange concerned looks.
Aegon took place behind Walda, and he grabbed both ends of the back of the dress.
“Alright! let’s do this!”, he said cheerfully
“Can you just suck it? Suck it”
“Okay, okay. I am!”
“Suck it in! Breathe in…! More…!”
“Pull it! You can get into it!”
“Pull it! I'll pull it tighter!”
“I'll hold…! you zip it together!”, demanded Cersei
“Come on! One,..! two…! Three!”
“Oh, my God, it fits!”
“It fits!”, chanted Baela with a wide smile
“Oh, it fits! It fits!”, chanted Walda
“Up top!”, Aegon high-fived the girls excitedly, and then, the girls invited him to get dressed… in a kilt on a pale violet pattern, the colors of the bridesmaids, and he did so without complaint.
Then they went to see you, the hairdresser was putting the final flowers on your hair arrangement, and you smiled nervously through the mirror to your friends
“You look beautiful”, said Cersei. Aegon nodded enthusiastically, but he could see the nervousness in your smile
“Why are we stopping?”, asked Aemond to the driver, as the car was stopping in the middle of nowhere
“Surry ‘bout that, unruly flock”, he said calmly, Aemond looked forwards and he found a herd of sheep blocking the road
First it had been a flat tire, now this, he was going to miss his flight.
He was going to miss his flight, the next one was tomorrow, so he was gonna have to stay in Winterfell till then… meanwhile you were getting married, and then the party, and then the wedding night and then…
He was going to lose you forever
And while he stared down the road, at those sheeps, he cursed under his breath
“I’m insane”, he muttered, “I have to stop it”, he thought of you, of your beautiful face, he thought about how you kissed him back, you wanted to be with him, as much as he wanted to be with you, he just needed to prove it, to prove how you could take this leap for him, with him, and he was going to be there for you, because he wanted to marry you.
He loved you
More than anything in the whole damn world
And he was not going to lose you, not without fighting till the end, he was going to look you in the eye and ask you, he knew you better than anyone, he was going to be able to tell if you meant it, and if you really wanted to marry that guy, he was going to leave you alone
But he needed to know first.
“Turn around”, he said to the driver
“Whot?”
“I have to go back!”, he said quickly, “I have to!”, the man looked at him quizzically through the mirror, but he shrugged and turned the car around. Aemond let out a breath of relief.
He checked his watch, and by now… you should be on your way, crossing the lake to the church right now.
“Take me to the crossing!”, he commanded, and Theon seemed to be on a mission, as he stepped on the gas.
Your feet already hurt from walking through all the ancient passages and rock hallways, but here you were, in the small chamber, at the church where Cregan’s parents and grandparents had married. And now you.
“Let's just pin these nice pressed pleats”, murmured Gilliane as she fixed the sash around you,
“And it goes across the dress, it looks really beautiful. It's our tartan”, she said proudly, and then she left you alone after a last squeeze in your arm.
And when you looked in the mirror
You saw everyone, but you.
You had agreed to make concessions, Cregan’s family was millenary and they had traditions and you were willing to accept and embrace them, but you never guessed that by the end, there was going to be nothing of you. You didn’t like the hair, you didn't like the dress, you didn’t like the long dramatic veil they put on you.
You flinched when you heard your mother call your name, you were so enthralled by looking at the mirror you didn't even see her come in, you turned nervously, as you were fidgeting with your fingers
“You don’t want to do this”, she accused, in her severe, but somewhat gentle tone
“I do”, you said back, defensively
“Then you shouldn’t feel as nervous as you are right now”, she said with certainty
“I just…”, you murmured, “I don’t know”
“When I married you father… you know… we took months to prepare the wedding, we had everything, the food, the catering, the drinks for the party, the procession, freaking doves to be released, flowers, music, all of it, after months of carefully planning every detail… you know what happened?”, you shook your head, she only chuckled, “all the doves got released the day before, we were completely ripped off and someone stole all the boxes with the wine bottles. When I was dressed and ready to go, I got caught up, and a single thread undid all the embroidery in my carefully made dress…”, you gasped, but smiled nonetheless, “the flowers were sent to the wrong address, we barely had forks and spoons… everything that could go went terribly wrong”, she said. “And you know what? when I appeared at the end of that hallway… and I saw your father, waiting for me, I couldn’t have been more calm, even if I took a hundred valiums”
“Really?”, you asked her, she nodded
“How are you feeling, love?”, she asked gently
“I adore Cregan, he is a great man, and any woman would be lucky to have, he is perfect… so perfect…”
“But is he perfect for you?”, she asked.
Was it horrible to think that… the first thought that came to your mind when your mother asked you that was… Cregan was perfect in every sense of the world, he was devastatingly handsome, in a Northerner kind of way, he was tall and muscular, he was kind, and generous, athletic and terribly smart, bonus point for having a distillery and a family legacy that went back thousands of years.
But no, he wasn’t the perfect man, for you.
And you felt like the most horrible person in the planet right now, even more so now that you started thinking about someone else in particular
Nobody knew you like Aemond did, with your flaws and all, he knew you like the palm of his hand, he was handsome in an old Hollywood kind of way, and he was good, creative, energetic, always looking for ways to make you smile and…. and…
You loved him, he complemented you, he was the chocolate to your lemon.
But he couldn’t say it back! you couldn’t count on him and after everything that happened, even your friendship might be ruined, so you had nothing to turn to, nothing and all
And that made you feel even worse if that was even possible
Because Cregan didn’t deserve to be your second choice, he was such a great man he should be a girl’s dream
You came to your senses when you heard your mother calling for you, grabbing your arm softly, and only then you realized you were crying.
“I’ll bring in the big guns”, she said, and she exited the room, only to get back with your flying squadron, your very best girlfriends, and well… Aegon in tow
When he saw you, crying, his face got all serious
“Can I speak to you?”, he asked you, you barely nodded, and all of them left except for him
“Aegon”, you knew him from school, even before Aemond, and then, as you became closer to his brother, he was always there, friend by association.
“He loves you”, he said
“What?”, you asked him
“Aemond… he is the biggest pussy I have ever seen, but he adores you”, he said, “he came all the way here to prove that to you”
“Aegon, he couldn’t say it back”, you murmured
“I don’t know why he didn’t say it”, he explained, “but he does”, he said, “and it's your wedding day, and you are crying”, he said, “don’t do it for Aemond, do it for you”, he said, “he might be a coward, but you aren’t, and if you are afraid you lost him? that’s never going to happen, he is crazy about you, and he will always be there for you, no matter what you do”
“Aegon…”
“(y/n)”, Cersei entered the room, interrupting, that determined look in her eyes, “it’s time, Cregan is making his entrance”, she said softly, she looked at Aegon, and then she looked at you.
You wiped your tears, and looked back at the mirror, to check how you were looking.
You had made a decision
It was the longest hour of Aemond’s whole life
And when he finally arrived and jumped out of the car right on the docks, he saw in panic how the ferry was on the other side of the lake.
“Oh, no”, he mumbled, “Shit. Shit! Shit!”, he cursed, he turned to the men there, “Hey! I need another ferry boat!”, he said desperately
“We've only got the one ferry”, an old man said, as they both alongside Theon looked back at Aemond
“What?”, asked Aemond
“It's waiting over there for the ceremony to finish!”, he said pointing at the boat arriving at the other side of the lake
“Is there another way to get there?”, he asked quickly
“You can drive”, he offered
“Drive. Drive. How long?”, he asked
“It'd take about an hour and a half”, he said
“That's too long!”, he fought
“You can swim”, mocked Theon
“Swim?”, he said it as a joke, but Aemond was actually considering it
“Well, you can go on foot around the shore”, offered the older man, “But that would take a wee while”, he said then
“Shore... Foot”, Aemond thought about his options and so far swimming seemed to be the best one.
Then a truck pulling a big horse cart drove until it was parked right next to the range rover that drove him here, a beautiful black horse neighed loudly, restless inside of the metal cage
“A horse! A horse!”, he said quickly, he had taken riding lessons in his youth, but since then, he never rode a horse again, but this might be just like riding a bike, how hard could it be?. “Hey!”, he called the man “I need your horse!”, he said quickly
“My horse?”, the man asked
“Yes”, he said, walking straight for him. He saw the men hesitating but he did not have the time for it, so he just climbed into the cart, and mounted the horse, ho coincidently had a saddle on already
“Hey, come down from there!”, called the owner of the horse
“I need to get to the church!”, he said quickly,
“What do you think you're planning, you great fool? You'll hurt yourself!”, said Theon
“I'll tell you I'll give you: 3 copper dragons for every coffee collar used worldwide”, he said loudly to the man who owned the horse
“What?”
“Do you have any idea how much money that is?”, Asked Aemond.
The man just looked at the crazy silver haired men, and then, he opened the doors of the cart to let him out, shrugging
“Agh, good luck to you then. Her name's Nancy”, he said with a smile. Aemond smiled widely
“Thanks. Nancy. Let's go!”, he said spurring Nancy.
“Stick to the shoreline, past the monument, the church is on the left!”, Theon screamed at Aemond, who was already galloping away from the men
“What in the name of the wee man is a coffee collar?”
Aemond could already tell his ass and thighs were going to be sore tomorrow but he didn’t care, the only thing he had to do right now was get you back, stop that wedding. He had to trust the fact that he knew you, he knew you better than anyone and he knew in his heart.
That you loved him like he loved you
In a romantic way, in a passionate way, in a romantic soulmates kind of way
He couldn't believe there was this chance of losing you.
He spurred Nancy even more.
He could feel his heart beating strongly inside his chest, but such determination took a hold of him that he saw nothing but the finish line. He saw nothing but you, waiting for him.
He couldn't wait to have you in his arms.
To tell you how much he loved you.
Nancy galloped frantically, feeling the adrenaline on her rider, and soon, Aemond with a sigh of relief could see the church right in front of him.
It was a very old, but small stone church, with a beautiful painted glass above the old door.
A cute small metal fence around it.
But Aemond didn’t have more time to see it, as Nancy stopped abruptly and he got ejected forwards. .
When he managed to regain his bearings, he looked up and he saw you, across the small garden at the side of the church. You had been sitting on a stone bench. You wouldn't believe what you were seeing.
Aemond showed up out of nowhere, flying through the air.
“Aemond?”, you called. But he had taken a hard hit. “Aemond. Are you okay?”, you asked him, trying to make him look at you to assess any damage he might have gotten.
“Yeah, I think so”, he said, he seemed relieved, you were not getting married, but alas, this seemed like a dream, why weren't you getting married?, “Did you get married already?”, he looked around, but couldn’t find anyone else
“No I… didn’t”
It was probably the hardest thing you had to do. Aegon had gone in and grabbed Cregan, who had already taken his post in front of the altar. Whispers and murmurs filled the room as they waited for you, this raising their suspicions
He was a smart man, he saw it coming as soon as Aegon came to grab him.
“Oh, no”, he murmured, he only had to look at your face when he entered the small chamber, when he saw your crying face. You grabbed his hands
“I can’t do this Cregan”, you admitted, he barely nodded, looking straight into your eyes, “I'm… so… very truly sorry. I don't expect you to ever forgive me”, you assured him, “you deserve the whole world”, the sadness in his beautiful eyes made it so incredibly sad, “just so you know… you are the perfect guy. Just not the perfect guy for me”, you explained softly.
He smiled, sadly, leaning in and kissed your forehead
“Goodbye, (Y/N)”, he said gently. squeezing your hands
“I’m sorry”, you repeated
“You have nothing to be sorry for”, he assured you, and he left the room. He took his family first, you couldn't stand to watch that, you felt so embarrassed. Your family and your bridesmaids where waiting for you on the other side of the lake, at your request
“Aemond, what are you doing here?”, you asked him, wide eyed
“I have to tell you something”, he said, grabbing onto you, he was smiling widely
“Yeah?”, you asked him, confused, you column’t believe he had returned, you couldn’t believe this was happening
“(Y/N)... Your hair looks awful”, he said then, frowning
“It does?”, you asked him
“Yeah”, well, you nodded, deep down you knew that too, “And the sash… it sucks”, he said
“Oh, no”, you murmured, looking down at yourself
“But that hair… It's like a co-op for parakeets”, you opened your mouth in surprise
“What?”, you asked, horrified, touching your hair.
“Look... (Y/N), you know, I pride myself on being honest with everybody, but there's somebody I've been lying to for a very long time: Myself”, he said firmly, “Because the truth is… Is scary, and 10 years ago, I got in bed with the wrong girl, she turned out to be the right one”, you smiled at the memory, happy tears springing to your eyes, “I love you, (Y/N), I always have. And I always will”
“Aemond Targaryen… you are the worst maid of honor of all time”, you said, with a soft smile.
“I know”, he said, with a wide smile, he caressed your face, “you didn't get married?”, he asked, you shook your head
“Cregan wasn't the one I really loved”, you said simply, looking straight at him, “I love you”, you confessed, “in the romantic way, not in the platonic way”, you murmured
“And I love you too”, he said it again, making happy tears roll down your cheeks, “in the… I want to spend the rest of my life with you way”.
And then, you finally kissed.
It was a real kiss, a kiss in the open, with the man you truly loved.
It was true, it was, because six months later, as you were putting on your perfect dress for you, and the hairdresser finished doing your hair in a simple and yet fantastic way that you picked, you were so calm, and relaxed.
Especially when the doors to the roof opened and you saw him there, waiting for you.
As handsome as always, or perhaps even more so, looking at you with such adoration it made your legs buckle in the best of ways
You looked around and you saw all your friends and families, even Aemond’s mother was there, which surprised you a lot.
And they were all smiling at you.
Aegon, at Aemond’s side, threw his thumbs up at you with a wide smile on his face.
Everything was alright.
You decided to do a small ceremony on the roof of Aemond’s penthouse, and it was beautifully decorated and everything was just… exactly what you both wanted and needed.
You walked alone until you reached him, and when his hands grabbed yours softly it felt like everything was well in the world, all of it.
He was your soulmate
“...So (y/n), do you take Aemond Targaryen, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”, asked the septon
“I do”, you said happily, your eyes never leaving Aemodn’s
“And, Aemond, do you take (Y/N) to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do”, he said quickly, his eyes never lingering from you
“Now, this is the moment, I now pronounce you husband and wife… At last! you may kiss your bride”, they said gently. Aemond grabbed you by the waist, turned you in his arms, making you lean back, and he leaned in himself to kiss you softly.
“I love you”, he said with such adoration your legs buckled
“I love you”, you whispered, looking into his beautiful eyes, he pulled you back up and raised both your hands to your friends and family who clapped loudly
You lead the way, as your ‘procession’ of maids of honor and best men were behind you.
Otto grabbed Cersei by the arm as he winked at her
“Number six?”, asked Criston mockingly behind him
“Seven!”, he corrected, winking at him too.
Walda followed next, she had brought from the North Cregan’s family member Roose Bolton, and they seemed happily together.
Baela was escorted by Addam
And Aegon grabbed your grandmother
“You're absolutely glowing tonight, grandma Pearl”, teased Aegon, as he saw your grandmother using her mythical thunder beads necklace
“Thank you”, she said, “It's very nice of you to say so”, she said, squeezing his arm and winking at him, making him chuckle
The ebay part about marrying your best friend and love of your life?
Aemond lost his voice, standing there still, as he saw you, he was left speechless.
He knew you like the palm of his hand, but you knew him too, and that helped you select the perfect lingerie set to surprise him on your wedding night.
“You look…”, he tried, but no words came to him, he grabbed you tightly, holding you against him, kissing you hungrily
You both landed on the bed, you were going to finally consummate the adoration you felt for one another.
Aemond released you for a second, to stretch his arm and turn on the nightstand lamp
“What are you doing?”, you asked him, with a soft smile
“I'm just making sure I got the right girl this time”, he teased, making a remark on the first time you guys met.
“Oh you do”, you assured him, as he returned his hand to caress your body, “Definitely”, you whispered against his lips, kissing him softly. He chuckled, sinking his face on the crook of your neck making you laugh
“Oh, Tyanna!”, he moaned, exaggerating of course, the pitch of his voice
“Oh, Maegor!”, you moaned back, giggling
And you lived happily ever after
PCN: For those who had seen the movie, I changed the whole last part, it's just… it was poorly handled in the movie and I didn’t really like it, poor Cregan, I didn't want the reader kissing Aemond right in front of him, so I made a bit more… tasteful
Tbh, why the fuck is anyone in the year of our lord 2025 using Twitter as "representative" of any group of people who is supposed to be left / liberal / left-of-center to any degree? This goes for "liberals" who do this too, btw. It is insane the way some (white) people on here talk about "Black Twitter" like Black Twitter still exists in any meaningful capacity on a website that bombards you with white supremacist hate constantly, and like there wasn't a massive exodus of black users in particular to other social media websites after the election, so big that multiple articles on major news sites reported on it and "the death of Black Twitter." Twitter has always been a much smaller portion of the population than its power users want to admit, and these communities have never been organized as opposed to something that is loosely grouped around vibes - so calling on "[Y group] Twitter" as a source may as well be "this [member of Y group] I know." But it's especially bananas to do this now, especially if you're talking about a group that is politically left-of-center or marginalized.
Also, I'll be honest, absent people who have extensive career networks there they don't want to get rid of (which is clearly not the case with these Tumblr discourser types), it does in fact make your leftism/liberalism/progressivism less credible that you're continuing to primarily hang out in the Nazi bar. That's all the more so if you seem to be so ignorant of the fact that it's now a Nazi bar that you're using "what people in this progressive/marginalized group say on Twitter" like it means anything, like you're not going to automatically get a less representative sample simply because most people in that group will have left. Of course the "leftists" there are going to be more likely to be privileged kids who insist on jargon as proof of membership, because the ones who actually feel any stake in anything except cosplaying online wouldn't stand it there! Of course the POC still on twitter are going to be more conservative and also more likely to validate your (white person’s) racism toward other minorities! Of course Twitter users are going to be more likely to come up with excuses for not attending anti-Trump protests - their convictions are so flimsy that they can't even log off of a Nazi website about it, and now they're being asked to actually leave the house?!?
But that's why those of us who aren't doofuses who are burying our own heads in the sand about what Twitter has become, recognize that "Twitter communities" are not representative of anything.
If you don't mind me asking, why do you think John made an effort to welcome Paul back into his life after the breakdown of the ideal (the magical, golden thing they had once believed in)? It's an honest question. Everything I know about their relationship at this point leads me to believe that it was Paul who sought to maintain a friendly relationship, by calling him, visiting him, etc. Are you saying that the fact that John let him do so was already a step towards recognizing something of value in their relationship, or do you have something else in mind?
Yep, that's pretty much it. You see the same thing with John and George, when John felt deeply betrayed and angry with him but was still capable of saying that the anger would eventually pass. This is called differentiation, and it refers to the ability to be inside of a very powerful reality -- the sense of betrayal and abandonment that he would have been feeling, triggering the betrayal, abandonment, and psychological abuse that defined his early childhood -- and recognize that it's ephemeral.
Most people in John's situation don't have this level of differentiation, or if they do it's after years (or decades) of consciously working towards it. By allowing the reality that his relationship with Paul was all built on lies to falter he put himself in an incredibly vulnerable position, and did so to allow the possibility that Paul could have a place in his life. In doing so, John was taking enormous steps to welcome Paul back into his life. It would be unusual for anyone, but especially for someone living with BPD who probably processed emotion more like a child than an adult.
That's one of the things that's odd about John, that he was not only unusually differentiated but also vulnerable with people who had the capacity to resurrect his neglectful, abusive childhood in a way that would be exactly like reliving it yet again. He continuously opened himself up to this possibility, even when it risked enormous pain.
he doesn't even have delusions of grandeur!!!!! i don't remember if it was in the official discord server or if it was a tumblr ask, but i asked if it was that and she said no it's just a defense/coping mechanism he has!!!!!! he only acts better than everyone else due to his anxiety or self doubt or whatever it's not even his schizophrenia!!!!!
