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1. Kingmaker's Ballad by genenuinely

   Fandoms: House of the Dragon (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms  

   • Mature
   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • M/M
   • Complete Work

   23 Jul 2026

   Tags

   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Criston Cole/Gwayne Hightower
   • Criston Cole/Alicent Hightower
   • Criston Cole
   • Gwayne Hightower
   • Alicent Hightower
   • POV Criston Cole
   • Unreliable Narrator
   • Doomed Relationship
   • Dubious Consent
   • Religious Guilt
   • Internalized Homophobia
   • Canon-Typical Misogyny
   • Canon Compliant
   • Harrenhal (A Song of Ice and Fire)
   • Harrenhal Dreams
   • Anal Sex
   • Top Criston Cole
   • Bottom Gwayne Hightower
   • Bratty Gwayne Hightower
   • tbh i'm not sure what to call this dynamic other than toxic
   • Service
   • Servants
   • Religious Imagery & Symbolism
   • Class Differences
   • Ballads
   • 3x01 to 3x05
   • Rough Sex
   • it starts out hot and then it gets sad
   • criston cole is a real piece of work but he's ALSO a crazy son of a bitch
   • Legend of Florian and Jonquil (A Song of Ice and Fire)
   • updating a couple days later because i learned the term gambeson from a fabien frankel interview

   Summary

   "No one loves a dog any better if it presents itself to be kicked," Gwayne snapped. "You talk of devotion, and service, and you may think me a ponce and a preening, arrogant fool, but I too am a knight, ser, and I know what it is to serve. To be dutiful is honourable; to devote oneself to a valiant cause, that is honourable. But to prostrate yourself before an altar you yourself erected, and then to seek to die of shame upon it: that is not devotion. It is pathetic. It is self-serving.”

   On campaign, Criston Cole takes up with Gwayne Hightower. It starts out as convenience. Then it becomes something else. Then something else again.

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   5,980

   Chapters:

   1/1

   Comments:

   5

   Kudos:

   116

   Bookmarks:

   14

   Hits:

   987