Criston Cole/Alicent Hightower

Alicole is the pairing of Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole in the House of the Dragon fandom.
==Canon==
Season 1 depicts them having a "courtly love" type relationship. In that period, fanworks had two divergent ideas about sexuality in their relationship, often simultaneously expressed by the same shippers.
Season 2 depicts them having begun a sexual relationship offscreen, in a manner that many fans found jarring.
==Fandom==
===Popular tropes in fanworks===
* Courtly love, also known as the Guinevere/Lancelot aspect
* Them bonding over being Rhaenyra's burned exes (see Criston Cole/Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower/Rhaenyra Targaryen)
* Criston being a father figure to Alicent's children. This is heavily associated with the phrase, "I'm not the step-father, I'm the father that stepped up."
File:Musenssang - I'm not the step father I'm the father that stepped up.jpg|by musenssang
File:Arterysophrosyne - I'm not a step-dad I'm the dad who stepped up.jpg|by arterysophrosyne
==Fanworks==
===Fanfic===
===Fanart===
File:Favorite Relationship by annes-andromeda.jpg|by annes-andromeda 
File:Dudlesdudles - Alicent and Criston.jpg|Alicent and Criston by dudlesdudles 
File:The Queen and Her Justice by cyrranka.jpg|The Queen and Her Justice by cyrranka 
File:Pookiebearsnookumsalicent - the green queen and her sworn shield.jpg|the green queen and her sworn shield by pookiebearsnookumsalicent 
File:Alicole commissioned by necrotica.png|by alicentdeservesbetter, commissioned by _necrotica_ 
File:Alicole commission debustee weirwooddreams.png|by debustee, commissioned by weirwooddreams 
File:Queen Alicent and her Sworn Shield, Ser Criston Cole - lonelymagpies.jpg|Queen Alicent and her Sworn Shield, Ser Criston Cole by lonelymagpies, commissioned by mejcinta 
File:Somewhere in the red keep by fuckalicent.jpg|somewhere in the red keep… by fuckalicent (2023)
====Based on Pre-Raphaelite paintings====
File:A queen and her knight - littlzbird.png|by littlzbird(based on La Belle Dame sans Merci by Frank Dicksee) 
File:The Queen and The Knight - dudlesdudles & mmmotionnn.jpg|The Queen and The Knight by dudlesdudles and mmmotionnn(based on La Belle Dame sans Merci by Frank Dicksee) 
File:Alicent&Cole by snake-berry.jpg|by snake-berry(based on God Speed by Edmund Leighton) 
The artist greenknightofmalachite specifically did a whole series based on Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
File:Regret on Driftmark.jpg|Regret on Driftmark(based on The Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Frederic William Burton)
File:After the Wedding.jpg|After the Wedding(based on The Dedication by Edmund Blair Leighton)
File:Reaffirmation by greenknightofmalachite.jpg|Reaffirmation(based on The Accolade by Edmund Blair Leighton)
File:In the Kingswood by greenknightofmalachite.jpg|In the Kingswood(based on La Belle Dame sans Merci by Frank Dicksee)
File:A Favor for Rook’s Rest by greenknightofmalachite.jpg|A Favor for Rook’s Rest(based on God Speed by Edmund Blair Leighton)
===Fanvids===
* Somebody to Die For by KR Almario
* Worth it by bunnywo
===Meta===
* by anon
* by aryas-mercy
* by aryas-mercy
* by squgs
===Memes===
The phrase "the father that stepped up".
File:Alicole - if a beautiful woman disagrees with me.jpg
File:Criston meme being rhaenyra's whore being alicent's bitch.jpg
==Resources==
* Archive of Our Own
** Criston Cole/Alicent Hightower tag
** Alicole-Centric Fics collection
* Tumblr tag: alicole
==References==
Category:House of the Dragon Relationships
Category:Het Pairings