#and i really do hope rhaenyra has some kind of reaction to it

[dragonseeds]

yeah...you don't need to pay attention to the leaks floating around none of them are true. idk this stood out to me because of the harwin connection and because i have a feeling daemon is gonna start at harrenhal with a these are old wives tales attitude which is gonna get shaken the more weird shit he witnesses.

and i hope you’re right because i need to see him wandering the halls and grounds of harrenhal at night in his dressing gown like a gothic heroine who’s just realized there’s something wrong in the house, in the bones and in the people there!!

#i mean based on the .02 second clip in the trailer you’re probably right #and i really do hope rhaenyra has some kind of reaction to it #unless she’s too caught in grief/rage her abandonment issues should be going wild tbh #would actually love to see daemon frightened and unnerved there #like alys you can do this i believe in you #hotd

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Viserys Targaryen Rant Part 2

Rhaenyra, the King’s Heir

After episode eight of House of the Dragon aired, there were a lot of people cheering on Viserys for his support of Rhaenyra’s claim.

I will admit, the scene was heartwarming to me at first,- a frail old man on the brink of death, getting up solely to defend his daughter in front of a court that may have had grievances with her being a female-heir. That kind of fatherly support, means a lot in a misogynistic society like Westeros. But, what does that moment of support truly mean for a man that had not performed his duties as a father?

Let us refer back to episode one. This scene in particular:

Aemma expresses to Viserys that she does not wish to have another pregnancy after the birth of the child she’s pregnant with.

According to Fire and Blood, Viserys and Aemma married when she was eleven years old. Their marriage was not consummated until two years later, when Aemma had flowered. Aemma in both Fire and Blood and House of the Dragon would go on to suffer multiple miscarriages, that some of Maesters suspected were due to her being bed too young.

Refocusing on the scene above, Aemma tells Viserys that Rhaenyra suspects that the unborn child might be a girl. Viserys is insistent that it is a boy.

In episode one, Rhaenyra was fifteen years old. If she were male, Viserys would have started preparing her as his heir,- taking her to council meetings, send her as a messenger, etc. But he doesn’t, because he wanted a male heir. He spent almost two decades brutalizing his wife and ultimately killing her for a son. He spent almost two decades neglecting his daughter and putting her aside because he wanted a son.

Aegon, Second of his Name

In the third episode of House of the Dragon, we meet Aegon, the first child between Alicent and Viserys.

For a majority of the episode, Aegon is being celebrated as it’s his name day, and he’s the king’s first born son. The King now having son would usually signal a change in succession, since for most of Westeros, sons inherit over daughters. However, by the end of the episode, Viserys’ position does not change: Rhaenyra is his rightful heir.

So what happens to Aegon, the long-awaited son?

Let’s look at some word from the screenwriter, Ryan Condal:

"Aegon is a great example of neglect and indulgence," Condal says. "This is the medieval version of the millionaire's prodigal son. His mother was 15, and his father never paid any attention to him. His father deeply, deeply loved Aemma and Rhaenyra and was [only] having [more] kids to carry on the line. He really didn't want Aegon — he wanted Baelon, the son that killed his first wife."

When we first meet Aegon he was being celebrated. After hoping for a boy for years, Viserys finally got a male heir.

We don’t get any scenes of his early childhood but we see Aegon again when he’s a teenager. He’s disinterested in most things, he’s blunt, he teases, he masturbates by the window sill, but most of all, he’s disinterested and lackadaisical.

After another time skip, we see Aegon again. He’s still disinterested in most things, he drinks, he’s a rapist, and is overall not really a good person.

Within the fandom, most of the blame for the way Aegon has turned out has been directed to Alicent.

Now, Alicent being a child-bride does not excuse all of her actions, but it does explain a lot of them.

In scene where Alicent speaks with Dyana, I interpreted her reaction as one filled with shame, frustration and disappointment. All of the traits I used to describe Aegon, can be applied to Viserys. Aegon is his father’s mirror and Alicent is the only one who is trying to break it. Immediately after meeting with Dyana, she confronts Aegon, and disowns him(well,not really). Were her methods rash? Yes, it was rash and abusive, but who else was checking him? Where was Viserys during his formative years to correct this behavior?

I do not condone any of his actions, but I grieve the person Aegon could’ve been if Viserys had not been his father.

Aemond, the Kinslayer

I’d reckon that Aemond’s birth wasn’t quite the spectacle that Aegon’s was, he’s the second son, who inherits nothing.

When we first meet Aemond, he’s miserable. He has a very low self esteem mostly due to all of his peers having dragon, while he doesn’t. His father, Viserys was the last mount of Balerion, the Black Dread. Balerion represents the strength and history of House Targaryen in Westeros. He’s the last dragon to have come from Old Valyria, and his first rider was the man who united Westeros under one crown, Aegon the Conqueror. Viserys took Balerion on one ride, and the old dragon died shortly after. He spent all of his rule as a Targaryen king without a dragon. We get no indication that he had negative feelings about not being a dragon rider, in fact, he finds power in the dreams and prophecies of Targaryens and Old Valyria, than the man power of dragons. Had he been around to salvage any feelings of unworthiness Aemond felt when his egg didn’t hatch, or when the riderless dragons in the dragon pit rejected him, Aemond would’ve been less resentful about not having one.

So in this scene here, where he claims Vhagar, and rides her for the first time, it’s a moment of legitimacy for him. He’s a Targaryen, with a dragon. He fits in with his siblings and his nephews, finally.

His claiming of Vhagar came with a price, his eye. I’m not going to delve into the mishap that took place between him, the Dragon twins and the Strong boys, because they were children. Baela and Rhaena had all right to be angry about Aemond claiming Vhagar, Luke had all right to defend his brother, Aemond had all right to react to their insults. Was he a bit insensitive ? Yes, but he’s a kid. They’re all children. They do not have the same awareness and consideration adults should have.

The aftermath of that scene is a confrontation between Rhaenyra and Alicent.

There has been a lot of discourse about this scene in particular, but Emma D’arcy and Olivia Cooke’s is the one I resonate with the most :

ED: It’s such an interesting scene, right? My sympathy is fully with Alicent. On the page I was like, Well, she’s fucking right.

OC: Someone’s lost an eye.

ED: Someone’s lost an eye! I’m so amazed every time Paddy basically tells you to let it go. Simultaneously, Rhaenyra is playing quite a basic game: Lie hard, do not back down, and weaponize this word “treason.”

OC: Alicent’s being gaslit massively and she fucking explodes. In friendships or relationships, when it gets to the point where you feel you’re going mad, there’s no route out other than complete volcanic annihilation.

ED: There is something resentfully delicious in it for Rhaenyra, in that she so rarely gets definitively the backing of her father. Early on, she loses both her best friend and her father because they get married. These moments where she gets publicly chosen, and chosen instead of you — there’s a really violent quality of vengeance for her.

No Alicent should not have asked for a five year old’s eye. But her son, has just lost one. And his father, is more focused on the fact that his grandchildren were called bastards. Now I’m not discounting the fact that Westeros discriminates against bastards, but that could have been addressed afterwards. Viserys spent the entire scene promising his court that they’d lose a tongue for even uttering a word about his grandsons, while his son is sitting in a chair with his eye in front him on a plate. Aemond now has to learn how to maneuver around with one of his five senses damaged. (Honestly, I think a few scenes with Aemond struggling a bit with this would’ve been great).

If Viserys had just acknowledged Aemond’s detriment in that scene, maybe give him some reassurance, comfort, literally anything, he wouldn’t have remained vengeful years after the incident.

Helaena, the Dragon Dreamer

The parenting of Helaena is the best representation of Viserys and Alicent’s dynamics with their kids,- Alicent struggling to connect with her child, while Viserys the parent who would’ve had a better shot at connection is nowhere to be found.

Helaena has correctly predicted several events in House of the Dragon so far, the loss of Aemond’s eye being the price of his dragon, Meleys bursting from beneath the dragon pit, and the Dance of the Dragons. The thing is, no one in universe is paying her any mind. The weight of prophecies in ASOIAF is a topic that George likes to explore, and he’s given us a few tragic characters like Rhaegar, who met their doom by interpreting a prophecy ‘incorrectly’.

Helaena is a dragon dreamer. She’s also a dragon rider, but we have no scenes with her on Dreamfyre. She represents the more mystical part of House Targaryen, as she possesses the power that prevented them from the Doom. Yet her father, who is a deeply interested in these aspects of being Targaryen, doesn’t speak to her about these things.

If Viserys had made an attempt to understand or simply bond with his daughter, none of the atrocities his family faced would have happened the way it did.

My sympathy for Team Green stems from the fact that literally every single one of them would’ve been way better people if not for Viserys.

#no daeron because he basically doesn’t exist yet #anti viserys i targaryen #anti viserys targaryen #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd alicent #alicent hightower #queen helaena #helaena the dreamer #hotd aegon #aegon ii targaryen #aemond targaryen #prince aemond #aemond the kinslayer #rhaenyra targeryan #princess rhaenyra #queen rhaenyra

[writingsofwesteros]

I’m asking this because we really need more deamon x alicent content.

What about when viserys dies, daemon and Alicent get married ? So, the king is dead, rhaenyra is mad because deep inside she knows about her uncle and Alicent, so she tries to star a war. Alicent doesn’t care about aegon stealing rhaenyra’s throne, she knows she is the first born so she is really chill about the whole situation, but rhaenyra wants daemon, and daemon in absolutely in love with Alicent and wants her. So rhaenyra tries to send her away and when Ali refuses, she tries to kill her using syrax, but caraxes attacks Syrax because he knows daemon care deeply for her, and everyone is super shocked. And at this point, everyone kind of understand what is going on and maybe they also imagine that aemond and (name of the youngest Ali’s child that I don’t remember at the moment lol) are in fact daemon’s children, because he seems to hate the world but he has always been so good with them. At the end, they get married and she starts to wear red again. I hope you like this and you will write it, thank u and sorry if this is not too clear, I’m not a native speaker ❤️❤️❤️

AN: Hi, I hope you like it x

“Is it not too early?” Alicent whispered as the cold breeze moved through the room. Her delicate hand reached for Daemon’s as she played with them. An act that always gave her comfort and one that had been so far out of her reach for so long now. Daemon only hummed; resting his head on her shoulder now.

“I doubt it will come as a shock to anyone.” The rogue Prince whispered into her ear. It was true; they both knew the rumours that swirled around them both. This did little to calm Alicent’s nerves as she ducked her head. Those thick, dark locks of hers hiding her from view for a moment as she gave herself time to calm down.

It seemed their moment of peace was not to be as the little sounds of feet running towards them had their attention. “Mama…” The sweet voice of her youngest came over them as Alicent instantly stepped away; still not comfortable with an audience. “Oh my sweet one.” She whispered to him; her arms opening for her son.

He burrowed into the skirts of her dress; becoming shy at the sight of his unclefather. Daemon only smiled softly; his lips curling for a moment. Still, the tension was still in the room no matter how much Alicent tried to hide it. Gently, she placed Daeron on her hip. His hands grabbed at her dress as she did before burrowing into her neck.

Alicent softly stroked his back before Daemon ruffled the bright blonde locks and caused childish giggles to escape him. “We should get the children to bed.” She whispered and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her son’s head. Daemon fought to hide his reaction; he had so desperately wanted to do these domestic tasks.

“Daemon has the best of stories.” Alicent whispered to Daeron, placing another soft kiss to the top of his head. Her son’s eyes widened as he locked onto his unclefather. “Shall I tell you of the one where this dragon rescued a Lady?” Daemon hummed. Daeron only nodded eagerly even as he hid into Alicent some more.

“I shall see to the others.” Alicent gently whispered out; hoping Daeron would not hear as her lover nodded over the child’s head. She could not help but look over her shoulder once more before slipping from the room. The sound of her heels echoed in the halls as Daemon’s soft voice began his story.

~

Alicent should have known it was too good to be true. There was seemingly never a moment she could have peace, she thought to herself. She hated the fear slowly moving through her body as she watched Syrax move. “Rhaenyra….” The name she once held so dear fell from her lips as she fought against the fear some more.

“You have taken everything!” The snarl was not pleasant and Alicent would have praised herself for not flinching if the moment was not so dire. “Rhaenyra…calm down, please…” Alicent gently began to whisper out. The dragon beside her was only growing more erratic as Syrax began to growl out; matching her rider’s emotions.

“There is no challenge to your throne.” Alicent tried to make Rhaenyra listen as her own mind moved towards her eldest son. The fear for him that had forever been installed was only growing by the second. Clasping her hands together; Alicent began to pick at her nails once more. An act Rhaenyra used to protect her from and now was seemingly always the cause.

“There is! You took everything from me.” Rhaenyra repeated again; only becoming more and more erratic. Alicent could hear her heart pounding in her ears. It seemed there was no seeing sense from the Princess now..if ever there was. “You have ruined everything, you slut.” The words continued to fall from her once close friend with venom.

Alicent hardly saw the next moment coming as the dragon pounced. A sharp gasp escaped her as her delicate hand moved to her stomach; the non-existent bump only known to her. Thankfully, it seemed Rhaenyra’s attention was elsewhere. A screech and the familiar whistle of the red dragon of her lover echoed around.

Soon the familiar arms of Daemon were wrapped around her; his scent washing over her body as she finally calmed. His hands gently cupped your face and those big eyes of Alicent’s locked onto him as they filled with worry. Her head quickly moved to the side as she flinched. The two dragons twist around each other; biting and growling.

“Daemon…” Alicent softly whimpered out; fearful for Daemon and his dragon as she noticed the rage burning inside Rhaenyra’s bright eyes. Still, Daemon was as ever prepared; his hand was already near dark sister. Daemon was always itching for a fight but Alicent never once believed it would be against Rhaenyra.

“We should go…” Alicent hummed; gently taking his hand in hers as she played with his fingers. The fighting dragons were slowly easing away with the more wounded Syrax nearly cowering. Caraxes bumped into Alicent’s shoulder and caused her to gasp aloud. The fear of the dragons still running deep inside her.

Daemon could hardly answer before his hand was wrapped around Rhaenyra’s neck and their eyes locked. “I do not want to see you again. Do not come back.” The rest of the threat was left unspoken but Alicent knew if he was to see Rhaenyra again..it would not end well. It seemed the Princess knew this as well.

The silence seemingly followed them as they watched Rhaenyra leave. Still, Alicent could feel the fear as her hand settled on her stomach. Daemon’s own resting on top of hers; his head soon resting on hers as well. “We should get married now.” He whispered into her ear; stroking those thick locks of hers as he kept her impossibly close.

“Daemon…” Alicent shook her head; she couldn’t believe he was still thinking about this. His eyes softened as he gently cupped her face; thumb brushing over her bottom lip before he leaned in. those big eyes of hers locked onto him before they began to flutter. Soft whimpers escaped her as she melted against him.

She could hear his steady heart beat; so much calmer than her own as she rested her head on his chest. “We can be a family.” The rogue Prince hummed the words they had both so desperately wanted to hear over the many years. “I want you to be my wife.” Daemon continued as his hand slowly stroked her sides again and again.

All Alicent could do was melt for him some more. She leaned in and passionately deepened the kiss; her arms wrapping around his neck. Her own fingers brushed through his locks as her eyes finally fell shut. An unspoken answer to his question moved past the both of them as Daemon only wrapped his arms around her tighter.

~

1 YEAR LATER

Daemon’s happiness threatened to overwhelm him as he lazily settled in the chair. His legs spread as he watched the feast around him. The cold breeze of the evening needed from the hot summers Pentos was experiencing. Not that he minded; it meant his wife was wrapped up in such delicate silks; just like now, he thought to himself.

Those bright eyes of his followed her graceful movements as the Lords and Ladies greeted her. The blood red dress clinging to her curves as those thick locks cascaded freely down her back. The confidence radiating from her. Soon, his focus was pulled to the bundle in her arms. Their little baby girl is sleeping in her mother’s arms.

Alyssa, named after his own mother. She was just as precious as well, Daemon thought as he slowly moved to stand. Those eyes of his forever watching as he found his children at different places in the room. A smirk tugged on his lips as he noticed Aemond stood next to the Baratheon girl. Oh, his son was not subtle.

As ever Aegon was at the cups but he had grown into himself without the harsh weight on his shoulders. The relationship between him and his mother easily softened, which was seen when Alicent took the goblet of wine from her son and Aegon could only pout. Once upon a time Daemon would have rolled his eyes at such a scene.

His first daughter, even if she was not his blood, happily sat by the window; staring out. He did not want to think of the bugs she may have brought as a dancing partner. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about it but Daemon could not help but soften. She really was the best of them. A sentiment he knew Alicent shared.

As ever, Daeron was by his mother’s side, making her laugh and smile as he cooed to his new sister. It was at that moment the rogue Prince strolled over. Alicent’s large, expressional  eyes locked on him. Her sweet smile came over her face as she gently passed the sleeping babe into his arms. “Daeron picked out her egg.”

“Hmm, I am sure it is beautiful.” Daemon whispered as Daeron nearly fluttered at the praise. He pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping daughter of his before doing the same for Alicent. His free arm wrapping around her and keeping her impossibly close as the music only continued. “I am sure you are hungry.” Daemon hummed and began to lead her away.

Daeron as ever following.

#daemon targaryen x alicent hightower #requests #a new dawn

[boleynns]

i feel like some of you have never suffered through multiple seasons of your OTP having full-on romantically-framed relationships with other people, with no sign of the OTP getting back together and the only hope is in your imagination, and it really shows 😅

like, they are the main romantic pairing in this show, even when they aren't on screen together have had countless parallels between their individual scenes, have already made out on screen, and are guaranteed to get married and have children within the next 16 days. Them not being together for one episode, or caring about the other parent of their children who they've spent years with, is just so not any kind of reason to be worried or all sad about.

and to be a LOT more verbose in order to show you how easily the show could have framed Daemon and Rhaenyra's dynamic completely differently, if they really had wanted to go the "political" route or make Harwin and Laena more central romantic figures, please find 3k words of meta beneath the cut that I wrote while drinking cosmos at 1AM last night:

the writers SO EASILY could have adjusted the characters/storyline to be a million times less romantic -- and it would have been the more palatable and acceptable option for the locals too, so it would have been easier in so many ways. They so easily could have had Daemon be much more self-interested from the beginning, much more predatory and power hungry, and painted him as a person who was only interested in Rhaenyra for power -- but they didn't, even though that would absolutely have been a very easy decision to make given the General Audience's "ew incest, age difference, etc. etc." default settings. But they didn't!

That first scene in the throne room? Hell, maybe Rhaenyra has already been the heir for YEARS like she is in the book, so Daemon has a "reason" to be nice to her. When Harrold Westerling is shocked at Daemon sitting on the throne, have Rhaenyra look nervous instead of amused. Have their banter not be banter, but rather Rhaenyra being more uncertain and Daemon being more intimidating. Change the line-reading of "I brought you something" from genuine affection to a more cold, calculating vibe. Change Rhaenyra's reaction to him in general to be more nervous. Tada, the dynamic is now negative and predatory instead of romantic!

The funeral scene? Do not have Daemon comforting her, or trying to bridge the gap between her and her father, or even speaking to her in Valyrian. Honestly, don't have them interact here at all.

Dragonstone Bridge Scene? Have Rhaenyra be wrong about his motivations. Daemon is in love with Mysaria, they are getting married, she is pregnant, and that is why he wants the egg - and Viserys is the one who confronts him instead of Rhaenyra. Tada, no romantic "You know you could never actually hurt me, so where is this temper tantrum actually leading?" moment between him and Rhaenyra.

Episode 3 and its bloody and violent parallels between Daemon and Rhaenyra? Idk maybe that still exists because even in a scenario where the writers are trying to make their dynamic unromantic, they can't help but accidentally write romantic parallels without even realizing it.

Episode 4? Would need to be different in every single way. No way are they starting the episode with Rhaenyra listening to shitty suitors while playing with her necklace, or romantically gazing at Caraxes and Daemon flying after knocking her over. Maybe she is more focused on Crispin in this version -- during the suitor scene she's not wearing the necklace, but keeps looking at Crispin. On the boat when she's injured, she is flattered by Crispin's assistance. Post-family-barbeque conversation is more focused on her inexperience, and maybe even mentions her resistance towards getting married specifically to segue into her wanting Crispin. So then the Flea Bottom Date is really about showing her a Brothel so she doesn't feel intimidated to try and seduce Crispin. And The Brothel Scene itself? Well, no cutting between that and the Viserys/Alicent Sex Scene - because in the actual show, they were contrasting the lack of lust and choice between Viserys/Alicent with the major lust and consent of Daemon/Rhaenyra.

So in this non-romantic version, Rhaenyra isn't having that much fun. Daemon verbally convinces her to go to Flea Bottom with him, instead of just leaving her the disguise and a personal note/map for her to decide on her own. They watch the play, but he doesn't give her genuine good advice. No running and laughing through the streets.

Perhaps Harwin is even framed as an opportunity for rescue that she mistakenly doesn't accept, in order to set up that romance as the "real" love, where he has a little time to be like "I don't think you should be here, let me help you" rather than "LOL targaryens, have fun I won't tell anyone!". Definitely no smiling and holding hands.

And The Brothel? Do you know how easy that scene could have been framed so badly???

Like I said, no flattering contrast between that scene and Viserys/Alicent. Don't have Rhaenyra smiling or willingly following Daemon, but instead have her looking freaked out and uncomfortable and stuttering like "I don't--no, where are we going…" And once they are in the Sexy Times Room? Daemon's excuse in this version is to teach her to be more confident for Crispin, so instead of "I hate marriage, you hate marriage, but who cares because we want each other and we can do whatever we want" he would be like "Crispin would probably like if you did this to him".

And their first kiss(es)??? No, Rhaenyra will not be looking at Daemon's lips multiple times to indicate her interest, he will instead turn her around and surprise her with it. No cutting to Rhaenyra's hand clutching his neck, or Daemon caressing her lip while staring into her eyes - just Daemon moving her and her looking shocked. And obviously Rhaenyra is the one pulling away, not Daemon. In this version she is just an opportunity for power, and Rhaenyra is uncomfortable because she really wants Crispin -- so once they're against the wall she panics and runs away, and sleeps with Crispin in order to be comforted after the terrible evening Daemon put her through.

Episode 5: Daemon is a power hungry maniac who kills his wife, and shows up at the wedding to drive everyone insane. Rhaenyra is pining for Crispin, but turned him down with actual tears and sadness and is upset at marrying Leanor because of her conflict between wanting to do the right thing by her station and ruling, and her love for Crispin. There will be zero puppy-dog-eyed cuts between Viserys' speech and Daemon looking at Rhaenyra, but instead he will be glaring at Viserys. And when Rhaenyra's dancing? No heart eyes and clapping, just anger at Viserys for denying him more power.

And then, because even one-dimensional villains like Daemon need character growth, he ends up dancing with Laena. He looks genuinely taken by her, and there is direction/editing to indicate his attention being drawn away from "power" (a.k.a. Rhaenyra) to real emotion (a.k.a. Laena). Daemon and Laena have more than one five-sentence exchange, and Daemon is distracted by her even when he has his talk with Rhaenyra.

And his talk with Rhaenyra? He looks at Laena when Rhaenyra says "Marriage is only a political arrangement, I hear" to indicate that maybe his mind is changing about his previous words, because he's just met Laena. And Rhaenyra? Doesn't confront him on the impossibility of his romantic, if extremely unrealistic at this point, plan - but instead confronts him to say that he's ruining things with her and Crispin, and that his advice that she could have a side-piece when she's married backfired because Crispin doesn't want to be her whore.

All of this kind of framing could have led into a post-Laena-funeral world where Daemon is much more power-hungry and bitter from losing his One True Love, and a world where his and Rhaenyra's union is based in politics, like "Hey, I loved Laena more than anything, but you are the heir and I want power and you want power -- lets get married in the Faith of the Seven with the explicit permission of the crown and only have sex one time once we're married to produce an heir, and then we can just leave each other alone and the audience can be comfortable and grossed out by our union because we also don't like it".

I don't know if you've noticed, but that has not been the story so far.

Their scene's in episode 1? Immediate comfort with each other, to the point that Rhaenyra is making fun of Daemon to his face and he is happy about it, Daemon is literally walking down to her level and softly and affectionately bringing her a gift (WHEN SHE IS NOT THE HEIR BTW, HE HAS NOTHING TO GAIN FROM THIS), and connecting with her on their Valeryian heritage. He speaks with her at the funeral with absolutely no agenda other than comforting and trying to help her. Not to mention that they are the two main characters of this episode and are the first two dragonriders we see and…

…by Episode 2 the locals are expecting, and are completely correct to expect, that the main conflict will be Daemon vs. Rhaenyra. Because why would they not be the main rivals??? But they absolutely are not made to be the main rivals by the narrative. Rhaenyra is wearing that fucking necklace all the time, she immediately clocks that he has lied about getting married and having a kid, knows he won't hurt her, and confronts him about all of it AND gets back the egg -- because Daemon is a complete simp for Rhaenyra, even back then.

And Episode 3, the episode that they do not interact, somehow still pairs them up in romantic parallels!! Obviously the stabbing of the boar and the bloody walk through camps, paralleled with Daemon's beating up the guard/killing Crabfeeder and the blood-covered closing shot, but also Rhaenyra's whole conflict this episode is being unappreciated and uncared for because "no one is there for [her]" (and literally Daemon is not there) -- and Viserys, during a conversation in which he is like "Ok, fine, choose your own husband" also says how alike Daemon and Rhaenyra are.

AND EPISODE 4, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???

The episode starts with Rhaenyra playing with The Necklace while listening to suitors, a.k.a thinking about Daemon while being proposed to. You guys, this one scene would have fed me for an entire 22 Episode Season in shows-past. Like, FOR REAL?! SHE IS THINKING OF HIM WHILE ON HER "FIND A HUSBAND" TOUR OF THE COUNTRY. I am going to need you all to soak in that and appreciate it way more than you are currently appreciating it.

AND THEN THE BOAT. Daemon's nearest romantic "rival" in the narrative at this point is Crispin, and Rhaeyra is like "Fuck off with your concussion protocol, I want to stare romantically into the distance at my hot uncle riding his dragon."

AND THE THRONE ROOM. You guys, the blocking of Rhaenyra walking through the crowd and keeping pace with Daemon as he walked down the center aisle? I HAVE WATCHED IT 40 TIMES, and back in the days of network TV 24 episode seasons that would have ruined like 3 months of my life from the romantic tension.

and then Rhaenyra is like looking at him at the garden party? And he is staring at her as she wanders off being lonely?? And then he's soaking in the sun and she's ASKING HIM "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" AND HE TOUCHES THE NECKLACE HE GAVE HER AND SAYS "HOME, I WANT HOME, AND YOU, BASICALLY"???? and then gives her genuinely beautiful life advice that yes, her mother's death was a tragedy, but don't let that stop you from experiencing the best that life has to offer.

And then, with no pressure, gives her the option to meet him, takes her to a play that shows her what the common folk think (AND stares at her romantically without her noticing, AND gives her real Girl Power advice about people thinking Aegon II should rule just because he's a boy, AND tries to communicate to her that what the common folk think does matter).

Ok, and then The Brothel. Daemon obviously wanted them to be seen, hence the removal of the beanie because it would be (in his estimation) a surefire way to regain a position of respect by maybe marrying Rhaenyra. I think Daemon is good at planning exactly (1) step ahead, so I really do think he took Rhaenyra out initially after the Garden Party Convo in order to show her a good time, and then at the Brothel was like "…but what if someone saw her here with me and WE got married…". So all to say, he is impulsive based on how he's feeling: and he absolutely wanted Rhaenyra. But then it was ~INTENSE~~

Like, tell me, how often before has Deamon EVER been on equal footing with a sexual/romantic partner? We never even saw him and Mysaria kiss! We know now he and Rhea never slept together. So he has literally maybe ONLY slept with people who have been paid to sleep with him. And now he is here with the closest person to him, who actually cares about him and knows him better than anyone and who he actually cares about and knows better than anyone, and he's about to kind of use her to piss someone else off AND maybe to trick her father into marrying her to him AND because he wants to show her that she can have whatever she wants AND he wants her -- and that is all too much, because this is easily the most emotionally-involved sexual moment of his life.

So Deamon leaves, get absolutely hammered afterwards (because he clearly wasn't exuding "I am super drunk" energy when he and Rhaenyra were having their almost-sexy-times scene). And Rhaenyra is left horny and unfulfilled and sleeps with the first guy she sees.

And Daemon is beyond hungover, and yet is like "Rhaenyra is a grown woman, she can do whatever a man can do, out of anything in the world I want you to let me marry her". A more calculated and power-hungry Daemon would have not pissed Viserys off so much, maybe would have just manipulated Viserys to annul his marriage to Rhea Royce and made Rhaenyra "choose" him. A more calculated Daemon would have actually slept with Rhaenyra. A more calculated Daemon wouldn't have even taken Rhaenyra out on the town, but would have instead pretended to be nice to Viserys and just asked for Rhaenyra's hand without her involvement at all.

And Episode 5? Daemon, again thinking only one step ahead, heard Viserys' main objection to him marrying Rhaenyra: that he already has a wife. Great, lets just get rid of her! So he does that, but then is again confronted by reality through Rhaenyra's words: is he really going to ruin Rhaenyra's claim to the throne, make enemies of the Velaryons, end his relationship with his brother for good, kill a bunch of people, and exile them together in order to get what he wants right now? He acts off of emotion and instinct, but not in the face of Rhaenyra being like "Are you really willing to go as far as this will require?"

And that brings us to Episode 6, and beyond, which I haven't seen: the writers have done everything in their power to set up Daemon and Rhaenyra as THE main romance. There is no other romance in sight as far as the narrative is concerned, and both his and Rhaenyra's long-term partners are only going to be around for 1 episode as their long-term partners, even though they absolutely could have adjusted the timeline/writing prior to this point to make it like Laena and Harwin were THE main loves, and that Daemon and Rhaenyra were each other's consolation prize after the people that they really wanted died. But they didn't do that.

We are literally going to see Daemon and Rhaenyra getting it on right after his wife's funeral in like 8 days, and then by the end of the episode they are going to get Valyrian Blood-Mixing Hardcore Married right in front of our faces. They could have had the same boring-ass wedding ceremony with the same boring-ass vows as every other couple in this world, but they are going to do some insane "our souls and blood are bound for the rest of eternity" kind of shit!

The first 5 episodes of this show have ONLY framed them in a romantic light, even though they could have easily chosen not to. So I beg you, stop falling victim to your pessimism and just enjoy what is happening right in front of your eyes!

ASoIaF is a tragic world, and this pairing is basically as "OTP Written in the Stars Insanely Romantic and Meant to Be" as a relationship could ever be framed, so just enjoy the ride and stop handwringing about any little hint that they had comfort from other people, that were the other parents of their children, for a single episode. They are allowed to care about other people, especially when they've been apart for so long! If anything, knowing what its like to love other people only makes what they have together even more special. Because they did have good relationships when they were apart, so they know what that is like -- and yet still they yearned for each other, and take the literal first possible moment to get together so they don't waste any more time.

tl;dr: this is a buffet of romance they are serving, stop ruining your own enjoyment of this awesomeness by falling victim to paranoia

#daemon x rhaenyra #hotd spoilers #hotd #hotd meta #daemyra #daemyra meta #i did not edit this because it was so long and it was too much work #i will link this meta to anyone who comes in my inbox all sad and downtrodden about this pairing

[where-theres-smoak-2]

This is going to be the last thing I am going to say on that scene and then I am letting it go but I think seeing the writers, producers etc bending over backwards trying to justify that choke scene or as they keep referring to it the ‘throat-grab’ just shows that they messed up with that scene. Watching Hess go from ‘I don’t understand why anybody likes this guy’ to ‘oh no actually I do get it and hey Daemon and Rhaenyra love each other yay’ is kind of funny and very transparent. I am glad at least that Emma cleared up that this was the first time it had happened and that Daemon hasn’t been regularly putting his hands on his wife. But even so with how many comments they are putting out about the scene really tells me that they are in damage control mode. 

To be honest though I don’t care how many comments and interviews they put out trying to convince the audience that this scene made sense for Daemon’s character, I am never going to be ok with that scene and I am never going to agree that it was in character for Daemon to put his hands on someone he loves, and them using this accuse that well he’s been violent and impulsive towards people he doesn’t give two sh*ts about in the past so it makes sense for him to be towards someone he loves, we totally did lay the ground work for this, just does not fly with me. I also think it says alot about how much this didn’t make sense that every youtube reactor I’ve watched so far has had the same immediate reaction to that scene, confusion followed by whispering wtf. 

The think what frustrates me the most about that scene was it was unnecessary, it was purely for shock value. I understand that they were trying to show how hurt Daemon was at learning that his brother had kept this prophecy from him and that he never truly considered him as heir. I even think its interesting to explore that and that it adds alot to Daemon’s character. But there were other ways to show that, they could have shown him shouting, or throwing something across the room, punching a wall or something. It still would have shown that violent and impulsive side to Daemon, it still would have been shocking to the audience, but without destroying the side of him that has shown that he cares and loves his family above all else, that he wouldn’t hurt his family, that has been set up throughout the rest of the season. The other thing that is frustrating is that they could have done more to build up how unhinged with grief Daemon was feeling as the episode went on, Condal says that Daemon broke in this episode yet they cut out most of Daemon’s break down on the beach which would have perfectly showcased just how broken and unstable Daemon was feeling.  

For me the scene was badly written, it was out of character for Daemon, and the fact that the writers pretty much admitted that they weren’t planning on there being any consequences to him being violent towards her shows how unnecessary it was. I am hoping that the writers will take the negative response to it into consideration next season and keep Daemon nuanced. Focus as much on those lighter sides to his character as they do the darker. I don’t think they have ruined his character but I won’t lie that some comments the writers have made and the choices to cut out so many of the scenes that show his more human vulnerable side have me nervous about where they will take his character in the future, I can handle them having him doing dark, violent things but to keep him as that morally grey character he is supposed to be they need those lighter scene to balance it out.   

#hotd #hotd spoilers #house of the dragon #house of the dragon spoilers #daemon targaryen

[kingcunny]

EiHF again. <3

I saw in the tags on one of your posts that people often mistake Viserys' cowardice for stupidity, and I AGREE.

1) It's so funny to me how Viserys openly talks about being afraid of hard conversations with his daughter. I'm sure it's a common joke amongst fathers given the time and place, but Viserys is really not joking. But in reality, when he does take the time to explain his thinking and be transparent with her, she's quite amenable to what he's saying. It's a vicious cycle of hiding things from Rhaenyra, discussing things with everyone BUT Rhaenyra, blindsiding Rhaenyra, and then provoking the very reaction he was trying to prevent. And he literally NEVER gets it!!!! She literally just wants a heads up, especially when it concerns life-altering decisions about her own life. She just wants to be asked for her opinion, even if the answer is no, just ASK.

2) I believe part of his reason (HOTD), in many different ways, for choosing Alicent is cowardice. He feels bullied by Corlys. He feels their offer to join their houses is almost an indictment of his legitimacy. But instead of privately declining the offer, he publicly slights his daughter. That was petty, Viserys.

Also! That "proud men don't like looking up" conversation with Lyonel was Viserys flirting, and you can't tell me Lyonel wasn't picking up the vibe.

3) It's kinda sad to me how most of Viserys' physical affection just...isn't returned. Except for Aemma, it's like 60/40 chance that a gesture is gonna be returned. Thinking mostly of the scene after Joffrey's birth where Viserys has white knuckle grip on Rhaenyra's hand, and she's just kind of holding it there in a limp fist. He even has to shake her arm a little to get her attention back. Also, it took six episodes to get a hug from the two of them???? And I don't think it's a mistake that Viserys is most affectionate with her when she's so explicitly maternal, right down to wearing her mother's Arryn colors.

yeah!! like viserys isnt stupid, he knows that theres some fighting there. i think he just underestimates how bad it is? just assumes its childhood rivalries that theyll grow out of? and thats why he makes his kids and grandkids kids start training together, hoping thatll fix it and doesnt ever address the actual problem that their mothers hate each other. (f&b goes more into this, but its mostly cut from the show… :/)

1. YES. i think its a lot of overthinking on viserys part, like worried that by saying this thing or that thing, hell upset rhaenyra. so he doesnt tell her anything, but THATS the thing that upsets her! you can even see in ep 2? when he talks to her about having to remarry, how grateful she is for him to just open up to her! she just wants to know whats going on dummy!

but then again, when theyre having dinner (in i think the same episode?) he tells her they should be able to be open with each other, say whatevers on their mind and rhaenyra responds by saying hes the king and can say whatever he likes, viserys looks almost… upset by that. and otto in ep3 telling him that rhaenyra will do as he commands, and viserys says he doesnt want to command her. i think the very idea of having an open and honest relationship with your children, especially as a father to daughter, is not.. all that common for that time? even more that hes not just rhaenyras father but also her King, complicates it more. (and this is maybe part of where the emotional incest comes from too?)

2. it definitely feels like viserys is threatened, or atleast intimidated by corlys? i have my own little headcanon that as kids viserys had a crush on rhaenys. he always assumed they would be the ones getting married, until she goes off and married corlys instead and that sorta started the animosity between them. corlys dislikes viserys as well, sees him as this soft, weak man unworthy of the crown AND his wifes usurper. theyre only barely tolerating each other for rhaenys sake. but that aside, i agree i think viserys saw the marriage offer to laena as a slight to him. like as a way to ‘fix’ the ‘mistake’ of the council of 101, saying more about viserys own lack of self esteem than anything else. laena was also like, 12 at that point right? i think seeing her all dressed up like that reminded him of aemma, who he married at 11, and he was hit with a wave of ‘oh gods i cant do this again’ so he ran and tripped and fell in the opposite direction.

2.5 IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FLIRTING YES. im so glad someone else sees the lyonel x viserys agenda. viserys calling lyonel in, alone, telling him to keep sitting. who do u think i should marry 🥺👉👈. he wanted lyonel to say himself… the way he kept pacing around, leaning on the table, over the chair. he was nervous infront of his crush!

3. ive been going through getting screenshots of hotd lately and it absolutely killed me how aemma and viserys were always holding hands, playing with each others fingers… i hadnt noticed it until you pointed it out but yeah… after she dies he doesnt really have that physical affection with anyone else. i think like, its maybe daemon? as the only other person we see him interact with like that? is that really the only time we see viserys and rhaenyra hug im gonna do something crazy….. but ALSO have to agree i dont think its a mistake! he was absolutely seeing the ghost of aemma there

#love u anon love viserysposting with u #were party rocking in the hou. se tonight <3 #viserys i targaryen #asks #my posts #asoiaf #hotd

[presidenthades]

I am doing very minor revisions of Daemon’s Handbook (mostly formatting and continuity errors), and I wanted to do some behind-the-scenes commentary before too much time passes and I forget my original thoughts. Here’s Chapter 6!

(Note that these commentaries aren’t canon to the verse until/unless the author writes them into the series. I might change my mind on a few points later, but these are the thoughts I had while writing.)

This was the first chapter that really made me worry about tonal shift in this story. We get into some more serious topics than usual, but it was necessary to address them in a somewhat serious manner. But I wanted to make sure the fic stayed in the comedy category. So I ended up doing a sandwich method with funnier bits at the beginning and end, and keeping the serious drama concentrated in the middle. But I also tried to weave in Daemon’s sassy mental commentary etc. to prevent things from getting too heavy.

During the course of this fic, Daemon /thinks about cutting/threatens to cut off at least 5 of Aegon’s body parts. Three of those incidents happen in this chapter alone.

I spent A LOT of time thinking about the Hightowers’ reaction to the elopement, because I admittedly did not plan it well when I started the fic. In the show, Alicent hated the Jace/Helaena match because Jace is a bastard and Alicent would have to sacrifice her daughter as a potential hostage. In this verse, it’s the other way around with Jace as the daughter, and legitimate to boot, so Alicent doesn’t have much to object to. On the contrary, I think Alicent *likes* Jace in this verse because Jace is very well-behaved and is a good influence on Aegon. If Alicent disapproves of the elopement, it’s because elopements are scandalous and, more importantly, it makes Helaena look bad as Aegon’s original betrothed. Thankfully, Helaena is a huge Jacegon shipper and totally not offended.

Otto’s reaction was pretty straightforward once I thought about it. In the show, he suggested betrothing Rhaenyra and Aegon, which would have united their claims and prevented bloodshed (one hopes) while getting his blood on the throne eventually. The Jacegon match does the same thing one generation later. And in the worst case scenario, the Greens have Jace as a hostage since usually the wife moves in with her husband’s family (one of the reasons Daemon hates the match).

Someone in a discord server suggested that maybe Otto planted the idea of elopement in Aegon’s head (they were of the opinion that Otto would be the #1 Jacegon shipper in this verse), which would be *hilarious*, but I haven’t decided if that actually makes sense. But if I could somehow make it work, that would be fantastic lol (Can you imagine Otto yelling at Aegon “just seduce the girl, dammit” 😂😂😂)

Rhaenyra is the one who has reasons to protest the match because, as she says in the chapter, she thinks Aegon would be a bad husband. She’s also been dealing with Otto’s attempts to betroth Jacegon since Jace was born, so she is kind of tired and wary of it whenever it’s mentioned. She knows Jace likes Aegon, but she thinks it’s a “good girl crushing on a bad boy” thing that Jace will grow out of. (I’m imagining a crushing conversation where Rhaenyra explains to 6-year-old Jace why she can’t marry Aegon 😢)

And Viserys makes things worse, as always, by betrothing Aegon and Helaena, which makes zero people happy. Viserys was supportive of the Jacegon match when the Hightowers proposed it, but Rhaenyra objected so he didn’t press the issue. (It’s not like he’s the king or anything, right?)

Btw I forgot that Viserys loses his hand sometime before Ep 6, so in this verse, we’re going to pretend he decays less slowly and still has both hands because he’s less stressed or something.

The image of burrito!Rhaenyra strapped to Dreamfyre makes me giggle. She’s determined to be in King’s Landing for whatever conversation happens about Jace, but she’s postpartum so she can’t sit on Syrax as usual, then Helaena offers to take her on Dreamfyre if the Dragonkeepers can make what is essentially an adult car seat. Rhaenyra is pretty helpless in this position, literally strapped in behind Helaena, so I imagine there had to be a good deal of trust between the half-sisters here. It helps that Helaena is close to Rhaenyra’s daughters in this verse so Rhaenyra knows her better.

Daemon and Rhaenyra’s vocal objections to Aegon’s character really make an impact on Aegon. I was strongly influenced by a Tom Glynn-Carney interview where he described Aegon as “desperate to be loved but destined to be hated.” In this verse, Aegon finds that Jace fills that need to be loved but he isn’t sure he deserves that love, so Daemon and Rhaenyra’s arguments unwittingly strike very close to home. And that’s why he does the something stupid later in the chapter, so he can prove he’s worthy.

I was so excited to make my joke about Lannisters shitting gold that I forgot Lord Beesbury is still master of coin while Tyland is master of ships. So I retconned Beesbury into retirement and promoted Tyland. My bad.

Jace and Rhaenyra have a loud, healthy, mother-daughter argument this chapter, which Daemon conveniently sleeps through. While Jace is at Driftmark, she learns more about Rhaenyra’s youthful misadventures, and Jace still has *feelings* about the Daemyra elopement (which was only 9 months before this chapter), so this leads to Jace feeling some complicated resentment toward her mother. But they work it out.

This is the last chapter where Aegon and Aemond are afraid of Daemon. Starting in Chapter 7, after they come back from the Stepstones, they’re much less intimidated by him. Poor Daemon, he can’t even have the simple pleasure of terrifying his nephews. 😔

Another retcon: Helaena’s prophecy this chapter originally said “Gold and bronze.” I was trying to refer to Sunfyre and Vhagar but the show is too damn dark for me to see what color Vhagar is, so I honestly thought she was some kind of brown/bronze, and the fandom wiki wasn’t super clear either. Then I read a HOTD behind-the-scenes book that describes Vhagar as jade so I went with that. My bad (again).

I just want to say that one of my favorite sentences I have EVER written was in this chapter. “The queen…wore a smile so tight that it could probably garrote a man.” 🖤

Aegon’s spiel about a boy becoming a man when “he has seen his own blood flow and heard his teeth crunch under the blow of an opponent” is based on a quote by a 12th-century chronicler named Roger of Howden.

When Aemond shows up in the garden in the final scene, Viserys honestly forgets his name at first. Dad of the year, y’all 😭

#my writing #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd fanfic #meta #hotd fic #house of the dragon fanfic #daemon’s handbook

[lemonhemlock]

Do you think Aemond would have made a much better king than both aegon ii and rhaenyra

Thanks for dropping by, Anon! What a loaded question! I suppose the matter of contention here would be "which Aemond?"

Book!Aemond is villainous to the point of caricature and offers little in the way of characterization. The historians of the time do not dive into his personality or motivations. Is he genuinely like that or has he suffered some breakdown of sorts? Does he become too far gone or can his trauma be overcome?

The problem with Aemond is that he reveals nothing in the direction of policy, both in the books and in the show, so it's very difficult to appraise his potential for kingship when we don't know his ideas. This is true even of Aegon. We know Aemond will burn the Riverlands, but what are his starting-point policies for peace times?

Meanwhile, characters like Daemon and Rhaenyra have had more time to make political decisions, just by virtue of being older. We already know Rhaenyra is not an astute political actor, because she proved herself before the war began. We already know Daemon relies on a combination of throwing tantrums, running away, murder and waging war as a means of problem-solving, because he has lived a full life before the start of the war.

This will get long. :))

Show!Aemond fortunately has received much needed humanization and characterization, even so much as to become a fan favourite with little screen time. His appearance on-screen suggests that, as a child, he is well-behaved, dutiful, sensitive and kind. He doesn't cause trouble, doesn't get into fights, is studious and a rule-follower. He has low self-confidence because he is the only boy in his cohort without a dragon and is hurt that he is not accepted. He has no problem confiding in his mother and seeks her out for comfort. He respects and cares for his sister. These are all good qualities to have in a king.

Not low-confidence, but the fact that he doesn't retaliate to his bullies and takes it patiently on the chin says something. He doesn't resort to cruelty as his first reaction. He instead tries to prove himself over and over, which is why he is often scolded for annoying the dragons and putting himself in danger. That can also be interpreted as recklessness, but it's not exactly thrill-seeking behaviour. This is dragons we're talking about and it's basically the only way he can gain one: by claiming one. Taking risks is kind of inevitable in this situation. Aemond is not a hatcher, else a dragon egg would have hatched for him already.

There are also shades of Targaryen exceptionalism in him: he must have a dragon and marrying your sister is normal and even opportune. But he doesn't look down on his mother for not being a Targaryen and he doesn't seem jealous of Rhaenyra or Daemon for having "purer" blood than him (gosh) or even of the Strong boys for claiming to have "pure Valyrian blood" (my god, I sound like a Slytherin). I think Aemond was a pretty respectable, sweet kid that yearned for connection with others (his brother, sister, mother, I think he would have accepted even Jace and Luke had they been nicer to him) and was saddened when he got rejected within his tiny circle. He tries very hard to prove himself worthy, in the hopes that he will one day gain that sense of belonging.

I think little Aemond really wanted some friends and would have responded very well to people treating him kindly, but he isn't a pushover and not necessarily the type to cede to peer pressure. He could haven taken his cues from Aegon and shared in his vices out of a desire for closeness with his brother (perhaps that is why he agreed to go with Aegon to that brothel?), but he didn't. He has his own moral code and isn't comfortable with breaking it willy-nilly.

Based on this, I think that, with the right councilors, Aemond could have been a pretty decent king. Again, he hasn't released his Manifesto yet, so I have to base my assumptions on something. 😅

People look at his fight with Jace/Luke/Baela/Rhaena and claim he is insensitive and disrespectful and violent. I disagree (obviously, lol).

He went out in search of Vhagar unarmed, through the fields of Driftmark, after dark, perhaps because violence wasn't really his modus operandi.

He was brave enough to approach Vhagar and claim her. Riding Visenya's dragon is obviously supposed to be evocative and symbolic, but Vhagar doesn't necessarily bond only with the serial killer gene. She was also Laena's mount, who is not presented as any kind of psycho and seemed to be a generally well-balanced person.

That was probably the best moment of his life, finally gaining the confirmation he craved for. Getting a little cocky and talking shit afterwards is not a crime. Defending yourself after being assaulted 4-1 is not a crime.

After he got maimed, with half his face stitched up, he demonstrated enough emotional intelligence and political awareness in order to diffuse the situation twice in favour of his mother. That's good indication for his political acumen if he ever were to become king.

However, unfortunately, this incident obviously traumatised him and he will not the same afterwards. He is now disfigured, disabled, suffered through a great injustice and was betrayed by his literal blood relatives. I can't imagine what that would do to someone's self-esteem. Even claiming the biggest dragon in the world wasn't enough to gain him acceptance and appreciation.

Now, the next time we see Aemond, he is undoubtedly framed in a villainous way. He has a pirate eyepatch, looks like an anime villain, has obviously been studying the blade and is kind of a dick to his bewildered, nice-guy nephews. But is that so out of the ordinary? He hates Jace and Luke's guts. He has no reason to be nice to these expired coupons.

I'm not gonna lie, Aemond has his own issues. He has thrown himself into his studies and training as a means to cope with his new eyeless existence. He has anger issues and a desire for vengeance. How would that translate into being king? Well, for starters, he is still very kind to his mother and sister. He stands up for his Aegon, even though he's a lecherous street rat. He's still "doing the right thing" and abiding by his own morals like a good little boy. He prays with Mummy at dinner. Aemond is a trauma-survivor (now of sexual trauma, too, thanks to Aegon) who deals with it via perfectionism and repression, but he doesn't strike me as someone who wouldn't listen to reason. He still longs for connection. I have made another super-long post about how Aemond basically insinuates himself into Criston's quest to find Aegon just because he wants to shoot the shit and process his past troubles.

Should he become King at this moment, I think he'd continue to be a good little boy and listen to Mother & Grandsire, but probably take his duties way more seriously than Aegon ever did. As downsides, Aemond has a chip on his shoulder now, probably has more low-confidence because of his mutilation, and is really, really mad at Lucerys for taking his eye.

I don't know what he'd do to Luke and Jace if he became King. When constrained by social norms, i.e. at dinner, with Viserys still alive, he tries his damndest not to react to anything at all, probably an attempt to control himself. He is dead silent and only reacts to look after Aegon and Helaena. He already thinks this situation is humiliating. When Luke laughs at the pig, it's literally the final straw for him. And still! What he says is a mere insinuation, not even mentioning the word "bastards". The people present already know the truth and it's a private event anyway.

He wanted to ruin their night and did it in the most low-effort way possible. He is astute enough to figure out this will get under their skin, mirroring Criston's behaviour when he provoked Harwin into that outburst. But we don't know if this is a true talent for reading people or if he just knew how to read Jace and Luke because with them he made the extra effort.

To those sat at the table, his outburst could have appeared out-of-nowhere, but he has been nursing this grudge for nigh on 6 years, since he's been literally disfigured and disabled because of them. I mean, if THAT doesn't earn you the right to hold a grudge, nothing will. I get why he would feel it so disrespectful to be forced to dine with them when he hasn't even received an apology. I don't blame him here, since I'd probably also try to make these guys' lives as hellish as possible.

When these social constraints disappear (Viserys dies and they are on the verge of going to war), Aemond feels like he can finally have his revenge and sets out to terrorize Luke. So, from his perspective, he let loose one time and ended up doing something catastrophic, that can have terrible consequences for his own family. He is obviously shaken and regrets it immediately. He's never done anything of this magnitude in his life and must feel panicked and in need of guidance ASAP. For a King, that's not very good, because he'd be the person to impose these social constraints in the first place. It doesn't bode well if the King himself lets loose and this happens.

So, I guess we'll have to see where they go with his characterization from here. At the moment, he should be feeling very vulnerable and is possibly in a headspace that allows him to be manipulated. From what I can gather, Aemond is not the type of person to thrive on his own. He needs connection and genuine bonds with people in order to not feel swallowed up by his feelings of inadequacy. If left to his own devices, he'll probably spiral. In a way, he is similar to Aegon, who also craves love and validation more than anything.

Unfortunately, after Blood & Cheese, I think everyone will be consumed by their own anguishes and left incapacitated to give themselves the comfort that would allow themselves to heal. Aemond himself is likely to become riddled by guilt and have some kind of mental breakdown.

The answer to your question is, therefore, dependent on several variables.

When does Aemond become King? Does Aegon succeed in running away to Essos? I have spoken about how/if he could realistically become King in that scenario. If he does manage it somehow, I feel he probably would abide by Alicent's advice. The question is how he would approach Luke and Jace down the line, with his desire for revenge. In that scenario, he would probably not go to Storm's End himself, but maybe send Daeron or some other emissary.

Does he become King because Aegon succumbs to his injuries and dies in the war? Is this before or after the battle with Daemon? Does Helaena still die? Does Brothel Queens happen? Does Maelor still die? He will be forced to set Alys aside and marry a proper noble girl. How would he handle that? What kind of character is Alys? We don't really get a look inside his head from the text, so we'll see how they approach his characterization in the show, but each new tragedy will be an opportunity for depression and agony.

Is Aegon the second son or does he even exist in this version of the story? If he is the first-born, Aemond is going to come with different emotional baggage.

#aemond targaryen #house of the dragon #asoiaf #aemond as king #j/k we all know aemond is a communist king women's rights scholar and environmental activist #he'll be gr8 #you're doing amazing sweetie!!!! #ask #anon

[iheartbookbran]

I think the show created a "friendship" between Rhaenyra and Alicent to demonize Rhaenyra and victimize Alicent.

I don’t agree entirely tbh, like I do not hate all changes the show made with Alicent’s character, mostly because the book version is so cartoonishly evil and uninteresting, there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting her to have more depth, and I think the idea of turning her into a repressed catholic lesbian is amazing, A+, no notes. However I do dislike how much into a victim the writers ended up turning her into, because that’s almost as boring as the one-note villain version of f&b, and twice as annoying.

But I don’t necessarily think Rhaenyra is the one who’s harmed the most by the victimization of Alicent, the character who actually bears the real brunt of that is Viserys. Because in the book there’s nothing indicating that Viserys is ike, abusive or neglectful towards Alicent or the children he has with her. When they marry he’s only 8-9 years older than her and she’s 18, and some might find that situation still a bit icky but it’s nowhere near the same as a man in his mid 30s marrying his daughter’s 15 year old friend. Alicent also isn’t a teen mom, she has Aegon when she’s twenty.

We don’t know how good of a father Viserys was towards his younger children but we know he wasn’t a great one to Rhaenyra, since he allowed some of the more harmful rumors to grow around her, especially in relation to Criston Cole and their supposed romance that started when Rhaenyra was still a teenager and him several years older than her. Viserys also did nothing when Alicent started to antagonize a much younger Rhaenyra and isolating her from court. Not to mention the fact that he threatened Rhaenyra with disinheriting her when she very understandingly didn’t want to marry Laenor.

Aemond’s scuffle with the Velaryon kids is even farmed differently in f&b since Aemond, to start, had beaten one of his nephews “savagely” and then Viserys made a decree that Alicent and her children would go back to KL with him while Rhaenyra and her family would stay at Dragonstone,… and yeah my guess is this was mainly because he hoped some distance would solve the problem without him having to do any of the work, but sending Rhaenyra away really opened the opportunity for the greens to move further with their agenda and enabled them to usurp her in the first place.

And again, how he was as a father towards his younger children is hard to judge; we know his last night alive he spent it telling stories to Helaena and her kids, so maybe we can come to the conclusion the he at least had a positive relationship with her. Aegon and Aemond didn’t seem to be super devastated by their father’s death but Aegon and Aemond were huge assholes, so maybe their reaction shouldn’t be indicative of Viserys’ worth as a parent.

I feel like the main thing about book Viserys’ relationship with book Alicent is that by all accounts he wasn’t a terrible husband to her but she resented him anyways because the one thing he wouldn’t budge in was naming her son Aegon as his heir. She never forgave him for that and she sized the throne and left his corpse to rot. And of course the show tweaked that by having Viserys start to rot before his actual death, still due to his ow actions (or inactions).

Obviously the show also switched Jaehaerys’ role in Alicent’s story with Viserys as the dying king she cares for and calls her by another woman’s names, but I think that quite misses the point because I feel like Jaehaerys (despite my own personal opinions on him) represented something in Alicent’s life that she could genuinely look back to fondly and wasn’t corrupted by all the politics and scheming Otto dragged her into. In her dying moments she wanted to see her children and she also wanted to read to the kind old king who called her by his lost daughter’s name but never asked anything else from her. It’s an humanizing moment, the only one Alicent really gets in the book.

They simply cannot do the same thing now with Viserys because the nature of their relationship is not at all innocent nor something she could believably look back to positively. I guess they could replace that moment with her remembering Rhaenyra and wanting to go back to their lost childhood, but lmao that would suck, especially after all the betrayal and child murder. That scene in the last episode of Rhaenyra weeping over the torn page Alicent sent her as if she hadn’t just lost a child and was betrayed by Alicent and the rest of the greens, and Ryan Condal wants me to believe there’s still hope for reconciliation as if that wouldn’t be a terrible writing choice because no human being would be able to forgive that.

#Anonymous #ask #ask pam #alicent hightower #viserys i targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #hotd #fire and blood #house of the dragon #f&b book spoilers #f&b meta #meta #my meta

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

Hi, just want to say I LOVE reading your fanfics they are sooo good but I have a question. So for nameday reader is 18 and Daemon is 35 a pretty big gap between the two but what’s the age difference between reader and Rhaenrya and daemon and Rhaenrya? Also I liked how you had Rhaenrya a bit jealous of how daemon spoils Reader does this mean we might see Reader and Rhaenrya argue or have a sister fight?

Hey, anon!

Thank you so much for the kind words, I'm so happy you're enjoying this series! There is a pretty big age gap between Daemon and Reader; I think I ended up settling on 17 years? Larger age gaps are fairly commonplace in medieval pairings as men tended to marry a little later than women. It was expected that men be allowed to 'sow their wild oats' before they settle down into marriage, whereas -because the life expectancy was utter shite in the olden days - women were married off young so they'd have the longest possible time frame in which to produce children.

I've mapped out the age brackets here, though I think I could probably settle more concretely now on the following:

Reader (18) ——> Rhaenyra (27) ——> Daemon (35)

So, there's 9 years between Reader and Rhaenyra, and 8 years between Rhaenyra and Daemon.

In canon, there's 16 years between Rhaenyra and Daemon - she marries him at age 23, while he's 39. As you can tell from above, I've raised Rhaenyra's age some and brought Daemon's age down a bit, so that the age gap correlates a little more with the dynamic we see on the show. There's a gap of 8 years between Emma and Matt, so I wanted to match up with this as I feel that no one would really interpret them as being so far apart. Emma brings such a wise steadfastness to Rhaenyra that I feel sorta contradicts the narrative that she's so much younger than Daemon. So I played fast-and-loose with it (as the show kinda does, because I'm pretty sure baby Aegon should be around nine years old in Episode 8, not a toddler; same deal with Helaena's twins, who should be six). It's relatively inconsequential to the story, but ultimately, there's a comparable gap between Reader-Rhaenyra and Rhaenyra-Daemon.

I hope this helps!

As for the 'fight' thing - I'm not entirely sure, as I don't really want to pit women against each other, you know? I think Rhaenyra is amused and befuddled and maybe even slightly wistful at the sight of Daemon spoiling her little sister so much; I mean, he used to do that with her, so it must be quite a notable reminder that that is no longer the place she has in his life. But I also think she understands that her reaction might be a little illogical, because she's not interested in pursuing a relationship with him and she's settled in her own life - plus, she is happy for her sister. She'll have some thoughts and feelings to work through, and at this stage I don't really know whether that process will involve Reader.

Thank you so much for the ask!

#fanfiction asks

[incissam]

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

Okay time to love on people.

@caracarnn

I know literally nothing about Rand Al'Thor beyond the Wheel of Time tv show on Amazon and Fish has some how made me truly care about this man with their portrayal. I will fight people that speak badly about this character now because Fish makes him so loveable and relatable and he is kind of a mirror to how I view Dany so that works really well for us shipping them together. PLUS they give me all the feels with our Rhaenyra things too. Our friendship is literally just injuring one another with angst and our love.

@becomelions

I've not had the pleasure of rping with them yet, but I have enjoyed reading their posts on my dash. They seem to have a great love for Ser Harwin Strong which is what I have seen the most of so far and I want to do something with them, but haven't convinced myself to slide into their DMs yet. Their head cannons and portrayal so far though are chef's kiss.

@notenoughmuses

I don't know if it's legal to put the person sending the thing, but yolo I'm doing it and you can't stop me. You're a joy to see on the dash because I can tell you take the time to cultivate every aspect of each of your muses and they all have clear voices and don't sound like one bleeds into another. I love our thread with Viserys and I would love to do more with your other muses too if we could work something out sometime.

@inspireswar

Okay so their portrayal and views on Lyanna are so GOOD. Like I love it and their verses are clearly very well thought out so the reactions to other characters from Lyanna are on point. For a character that we know so little about in reality they have really breathed life into her and made her seem like someone we know as well as the characters we read the POV of in the books. Just all the props here.

@caraxes--rider

20/10 human right here. They're so nice and I am so in love with our thread we have running right now. Their portrayal of Daemon is so good and one of my favorites especially with the reactions to Rhaenyra. I just can't deal with the feels that are delivered sometimes and it's fantastic. I honestly can't recommend them enough to people.

@agirlofwinterfell / @songcfmuses

Brit is fantastic and I love her. She's trying out some new muses and getting a feel for them currently on her multimuse. We're flirting with an Alicent AU currently where she clings to Rhaenyra rather than wanting to murder her and such. It's a good time and she's just a great person to hang out with and chat to.

@the-rogue-dragon

We haven't totally gotten into the swing of rping together, but I still enjoy seeing them on my dash and they have been so good to just chat in IMs to. I love reading their rps when they come across my dash because much like my previous Daemon mentioned they also have such a great grasp on the duality of his character.

Man that was a lot I hope it was a heart for every person. lol

#notenoughmuses #;ravens for the queen #;ooc

[attonitos-gloria]

:/ man, I'm sorry about that anti tyrion anon and the comment you received on your fic. Yk, I don't care about tyrion that much, but the way some fans love to downplay his victimhood and good traits truly gets me... especially since many of them are also cersei/jaime/tywin stans. And the way some fans obsess over b/w morality when asoiaf is all about conflicted hearts and there's few heros/villains in it is so absurd. I'm seeing people do all of this with hotd too and it's driving me mad.

oh, that is so incredibly kind! 🥺 thank you so much, anon ❤️ i'm trying to do my part to make fandom a friendly space, so i don't usually take it personally when people hate my favorite character. but when you realize that tyrion receives virulent hate from... literally every corner of the fandom (jonerys stans hate him - that comment was in a tyrion/jon/dany fic, jonsas hate him, jaime/cersei and house lannister stans hate him)... you start to wonder. maybe there's something wrong here? @.@ like maybe he is just insufferable or maybe it's something else. i confess that i find all of this very... meta? it's like we are repeating in the fandom the treatment he receives in-universe. it would be amusing if it weren't terribly tragic xD i think that counts as praise for grrm writing.

but i'm grateful that my experience with the fandom lately has been much more like this one we're having, and the antis and haters are a really really small part of it. they're just... too loud.

one of the things i'm LOVING about hotd is that they're making it clear from GO that there are no good side or bad side. it was easier, i think, to make the starks the heroes? and while we are more sympathetic to rhaenyra's cause for the obvious reasons, every character is so layered and they're making a very good case against this black-and-white reasoning in media and fiction. (particularly with alicent.) i think i've curated my tumblr experience well, because in my timeline very few people are making the series about picking the green side or the black side and they're really just enjoying the drama, lol i don't know if this disposition will last when the dance begins, though. i hope it does.

the only character who is divisive and disruptive enough to prompt completely opposite reactions up until now, at least in my timeline, is daemon. *rolling eyes lovingly* he is.... a love or hate kind of character, i think? also very weird replica of canon.

but again: fandom is supposed to be fun, a place to share and not to create rifts. and people like you make it so!! i just love bonding over stories so much, so thank you for that and for your supportive words again :')

#hotd supremacy #ask me stuff

[moonlitgleek]

samwpmarleau

replied to your post

“Don't you think POD was a bit abelist for refusing tyrion?”

see, idk, while that may be par for the course in westeros, it's pretty dang hypocritical. elia wasn't supposed to survive infancy either, and yet she did. oberyn is the one putting the ableism spin on his mother's choices, we have nothing from her specifically. imo, she easily could have taken it as an insult for a) ableism towards her own daughter, b) the reneging on the deal she had with joanna, which tywin presumably used to be on board with, c) the assertion that elia isn't ~worthy~ of his precious jaime, and d) because betrothing elia to tyrion would mean at EARLIEST elia couldn't have her first kid until she was 29, which is just ridiculous in westeros' terms.

It’s true that we haven’t heard from the Princess of Dorne herself but Oberyn is as close to a reliable witness as we’re going to get until GRRM deigns to give her a voice. By no means does that mean that everything he says must be accurate, but the flow of the conversation between him and Tyrion doesn’t seems to support that this is only Oberyn’s spin imo. Oberyn alternates between telling his mother’s observations and giving his own conclusions in this conversation but he does frame each as they are. For example, he clearly presents his thoughts about the supposed double betrothals and the cabin on their ships as his own deduction before he shifts into telling information that his mother told him. The part about the match with Tyrion being taken as an outrage not only comes with Oberyn’s assertion that it was, it comes in-between an instance where Oberyn is recounting things his mother told him, and another where he confirms that she did think that she won the tilt. The context that Oberyn gives - that this is a story that merited a mention on the Princess’s deathbed, no less than 6 years after the incident and (probably) after Elia had married Rhaegar - coupled by his lack of objection to Tyrion’s assumption that the Princess did think of the offer as an outrage makes me inclined to take this as the Princess’s take too and not just Oberyn’s. After all, if she didn’t take it as an insult, why did she think that she won the tilt like Oberyn confirms? Yes, it’s absolutely because wedding Elia to Rhaegar was a resounding rebuff to the ableism Tywin showed towards Elia, but that is intrinsically tied to Tyrion and his disability.

Thing is, the ableism against Elia can not be separated from the ableism against Tyrion because it was delivered through Tyrion. The very expression of Tywin’s ableism towards Elia was in offering disabled Tyrion instead of able-bodied Jaime, sending a message that sickly Elia could only be worthy for the disabled kid, not the golden able-bodied one. If Tyrion was not disabled, if there was no ableism leveled at him from both parties, the offer wouldn’t have been an insult in the first place. We can’t claim that the Princess of Dorne was insulted only because the offer of Tyrion displayed ableism towards Elia which had nothing to do with Tyrion himself when said ableism lies in offering Tyrion. If she didn’t think there was something wrong with Tyrion, then what was the insult to Elia? That Tyrion was much younger? That might have made the match a bad fit, disadvantageous and unsuitable for the Princess’ dynastic hopes, but it’s no insult in and of itself. Not “an outrage” as Tyrion put it and Oberyn agreed with him. Simply a part of dynastic negotiation.

Nor can the fact that Tywim refused the match be taken as an insult on its own, unless every other lord took failed marital plans as a personal insult, and unless the Princess of Dorne herself took Tywin’s rejection of Oberyn for Cersei as an insult. Which she didn’t though Tywin’s brusque tone clearly bothered her. Too, it can not be said that Tywin reneged on a previous marital agreement because we got no indication that Tywin even knew about the correspondence between the Princess and Joanna, and Joanna’s own agreement can not be seen as a solid promise of betrothal that Tywin should be held to because marriages are typically arranged and negotiated between heads of Houses so Joanna couldn’t have formally betrothed the twins without Tywin’s approval. As a political actor in her own right, the Princess knew that, which is further supported by how all the information we have indicates that she didn’t approach the matter like it was previously preliminary approved. I’d also think that the Princess would have mentioned it to Oberyn if this was a case of Tywin going back on his word, considering that betrothal agreements are a big deal in Westeros.

while ableism is rampant, given elia's own condition, the fact that dorne is more lenient with pretty much everything, and tywin's betrayal, i think it just as likely she took it as just a plain insult, irrespective of tyrion's condition.

I don’t think that Elia’s illness precludes the Princess of Dorne displaying ableist behavior. It is not uncommon for someone to display prejudice against the same minority group that a loved one belongs to. This is a bit like saying that someone isn’t racist because they have PoC in their family. Not only does casual prejudice exist in behavior that isn’t consciously recognized as prejudice, but selectivity in prejudice also exists. It is not uncommon for someone to exclude a loved one from a certain prejudice. We see this all the time in real life and also repeatedly in the text. Various Starks causally dehumanize Tyrion by referring to him by a slur or reducing him to his disability, but they’d never do that to Bran (though casual ableism towards Bran does creep up in several places because they don’t even realize that’s ableism). Tywin is a ramping misogynist who thinks women are inherently inferior and has wild issues with powerful women but Joanna was still his confidante who he left in charge when he was absent. Rhaenyra Targaryen displayed the usual prejudice and scapegoating of bastards when she ordered the arrest of Addam Velaryon based on nothing but his bastardy, even though her fiercely protected elder three sons were all bastards. Lysa Tully is grossly ableist towards Tyrion, even though her own beloved child is also a victim of Westerosi ableism.  Oberyn himself showed ableist behavior towards Tyrion in a way I highly doubt he showed with either of his beloved siblings.

(I also think there is a conversation to be had about the kind of disability in question because that does affect the form of ableism leveled at a disabled person. Ableism aimed at Tyrion is different from the one aimed at Elia is different from the one aimed at Lollys is different from the one aimed at Hodor, even though all have points of correlation and all share the implicit belief that the disabled person is worth less than others. That casual assumption of Tyrion’s immorality and evilness and violence even as a baby or before he’d done anything questionable that’s from people who aren’t as grossly ableist as the Lannisters, that’s a distinct pattern of disturbingly common reactions to Tyrion that is patterned to his specific disability. But I’m not really equipped to tackle this subject so I’ll leave to more informed people).

additionally, the fact that elia was besotted with baby tyrion and thought him absolutely adorable, and that oberyn thought him a perfectly normal (or at least not deformed "enough") baby suggests the POD didn't display much ableism at all in raising them. maybe they just turned out well in spite of her, but i'm not inclined to think that the case.           

That’s a too narrow view of what ableism is, though. It restricts ableism to the purposely malicious and more extreme form, to instances where people call a disabled baby monstrous because of his disability or use it as an excuse to abuse him. But that is not the only form of ableism there is. Casual ableism is still ableism.

More importantly, it is not accurate to imply the Martells haven’t shown ableism and use it as a proof that the Princess didn’t display it in turn. Because Oberyn was repeatedly ableist. He might have thought Tyrion “a poor sort of monster”, but he said baby Tyrion had “an evil eye” (evil being a stereotype often used against Tyrion due to his dwarfism which automatically vilifies him in the eyes of everyone), regularly referred to him as the Imp, told him to his face that it was an outrage that he was put forward as an option for his sister and expected Tyrion to see where he was coming from. Oberyn displayed a lot of casual ableism with Tyrion, because ableism is inescapable in their society. I tend to think about the instance with the Princess of Dorne as a similar kind of casual ableism. I reiterate that I don’t think the Princess of Dorne was malicious or that she wanted to tear Tyrion down. But I do think that she thought him not good enough for her daughter because of his disability, in a similar way to Catelyn’s reaction to his marriage to Sansa (though that has other elements as well, of course. But thinking of Tyrion as “the twisted little man” really can’t be taken as anything but ableism).

Point is, one doesn’t need to be actively abusive or terrible to be ableist. Jon Snow actively lorded his physicality over Tyrion at the beginning. Some of the kindest souls in the series like Sansa and Bran still display that prejudice, not out of maliciousness or a desire to hurt and not out of a conscious belief of superiority to the disabled person. It doesn’t mean they are bad people. But that doesn’t make their behavior any less ableist, not when it’s built on, informed by and expressed through a person’s disability.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #tyrion lannister #elia martell #the unnamed princess of dorne #oberyn martell #tywin lannister #bran stark #lollys stokeworth #hodor #disability in westeros #ableism tw #ableism in westeros