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attonitos-gloria · 9 months

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If the main tension in the last seasons of Game of Thrones was between Jaime and Dany, what would that look like? How would it have changed things?

friend, thank you for this ask. This is going to be very long heheh sorry in advance. writing Jaime's arc is the most satisfying part of IKTE for me so I'm very happy for this, thank you truly.

Jaime is a character traumatized by fire. Not the only one - but he is prominently traumatized by it, and indeed his entire reputation was built around the fact he has broken sacred vows because of a Targaryen king who used fire as a tool of intimidation and social controlling. More than any other character in the show, Jaime knows the political implications of fire as a weapon. And if the daughter of said king comes back from the ashes of House Targaryen to conquer Westeros and re-establish her father's dynasty... using fire-breathing monsters as her main weapon... do you get it 😭

(that scene of Jaime trying to get Drogon killed is so good - the way the camera focused on his face, on the fire and ashes and smoke and the people burning alive around him ! he was reliving the Throne Room he was a knight trying to kill the dragon he was trying to make it right and tyrion was THERE on the enemy's side but watching him ;-; they were so close of getting it right WHY NOT LEAN INTO THAT !! It was delicious!!)

You can argue that Jaime is barely aware of this, since, true to his Lannister name and blood and inheritance, he spends his life in denial about this trauma. I would agree with this statement, which is why I think putting Jaime between Dany and Cersei as political choices is more interesting than putting Jaime between Cersei and Brienne as love interests in the most bland way possible.

If Jaime is going to leave Cersei at some point, why not earlier, at the end of season 6 when Cersei pulled an Aerys against the Tyrells?? Their relationship already is, in a way, a coping mechanism against the institutional violence of knighthood; he is the knight and she is the queen, everything is justified because of that. Their idealized versions of each other only exist in their heads anyway. Imagine if the Sept of Baelor is the last straw in a relationship that has been in crumbles for a while now. All their children dead and Cersei the very embodiment of Aerys. (Forget the pregnancy plot. It was stupid.)

And then there are so many possibilities from then on when Daenerys arrives in Westeros. The show sets her up to be rejected. I can follow that. I truly cannot conceive, in show canon, a happy ending for Dany - and by happy ending I mean everyone loving her and welcoming her as their Queen. I think her dragons are an ethical problem that needs to be addressed; the show and books themselves already pointed in that direction. The Dance of the Dragons is a cautionary tale about this, the entire story of House Targaryen is about this. I do love Dany and I believe she is a good person at heart, but also. Consider. She has the canon equivalent of nuclear weapons. The dragons are useful to kill the true enemy (the Others) and you can argue that there is an ethical justification to use them to end slavery, but then what. Then what comes next. When the enemy is defeated and this woman is the only person in the world with weapons of massive destruction. What do you do with the weapons after the War is over - I cannot be the only person who thinks this is an issue like 😭 Jaime has reasons to be wary more than anyone - yes, even more than Sansa; Sansa has reasons to be concerned and to worry about the North, but Daenerys was coming with aid in the War, and I don't see any reason why Sansa didn't even >>try<< to be mildly diplomatic, except that the writers wanted the conflict to rise. I don't know; I'm grumpy about this, and it is very hard to make sense of Sansa's actions in season 8 for me, but I will stop myself right here because this isn't about her. This is about Jaime !!!

I feel like a lot of what we call Jaime's redemption relies on his romantic feelings for Brienne; even in the show, he leaves Cersei and goes North to fight for the living because it is the ~right thing to do~, but the subtext kind of says that he went for Brienne. And it's not that I don't ship them: I do! But falling in love with Brienne is not a redemption arc, doing things because Brienne would approve is not a redemption arc. It has been said before, by people smarter than me, but Jaime is not in a redemption story; he is in an identity crisis story. I feel like the show tried to give him an redemption arc only to pull the rug at the end going like "nope, sorry, people don't change" - and since said redemption relied completely on his romantic feelings for Brienne, it wasn't enough to knight her; he had to sleep with her. Since the point being made was that people don't change, that meant necessarily ending his affair with Brienne and cruelly breaking her heart so she would let him go back to Cersei. Because what else is there to say about Jaime Lannister other than which woman he chooses to fuck by the end of the story?

Do you get what I'm saying? Like, I know he is pretty. But the choice of framing Jaime's story as primarily a love story between two women, the good one and the bad one, is wild to me. Really? That is the most relevant thing about this man?

Did he change? Did he find a solution to the problem of knighthood? That doesn't mean loving Brienne (he did say "I have never slept with a knight before" to her, after all. The man literally wanted to fuck knighthood! in every meaning, layer, and way! okay Jaime). That means *becoming* what Brienne already is - a person who is willing not only to kill, but in fact, to die defending the vulnerable and the innocent. And I felt like the show shaped this like "will Jaime choose Brienne or Cersei?" And everything else was secondary to that, when I think the romance could really stay in the background and the knighthood crisis should come into focus on main stage. And because Dany and Cersei are meant to be each other's foils, both in their similarities and differences, I do like the idea of Jaime being stuck between these two Queens who are, each in their own way, Aerys, who made him who he is (a Kingslayer).

SO. There are many ways this could go about:

Maybe Dany demands Jaime to kill Cersei in exchange for royal pardon; this man, after all, killed her father in an act of betrayal. She forgave him way too easily in the show. All that tension! For nothing!!!! Do we want a grim ending? No problem. Maybe he does kill Cersei and then kills himself (favorite book ending, for me). Maybe he can't handle being confronted with the reality that his life is built on an empty lie. Maybe he looks at Cersei and sees wildfire and madness and Aerys, and there is no escape, and he does not know how to live with himself with or without this woman. This has always been the cost of knighthood: blood. It has been this way since Arthur Dayne knighted him. And he cannot stand the idea of serving the daughter of Aerys for the rest of his life; he would literally rather die. Maybe love can't save the day this time.

Or: maybe Jaime vows to kill Cersei and publicly and officially bends the knee to Dany, only to break his vows again and betray her, killing Dany instead, before she can set King’s Landing on fire. Or even better: after. After he sees her as Aerys' extension. Maybe Jaime is in a time loop, doomed to repeat this, doomed to kill the dragon. Do we want grim endings for everyone? No problem: this time, he actually suffers the consequences of high treason - he is sent to the Wall, he takes the Black; or he is exiled. You can get away with killing your Monarch once, but not twice. For once, he is not rewarded for an act of brutal violence and betrayal. No cathartic death for him: he only needs to live with the consciousness that he saved the world twice, but he had to sacrifice his soul twice to do it. And no one sings his praise. He's still the Kingslayer.

Are we tired of grim endings? We don't want Jaime to be the Kingslayer? Also, no problem. Because the memory of the War that traumatized him, the trigger for it, is embodied alive in the person of Jon Snow. The boy Jaime's heroes and brothers-in-arms died trying to protect. Maybe Jaime is tired of being torn between two Mad Queens and he decides to give his life to put Jon, Rhaegar's son, on the Iron Throne. He is not the Kingslayer anymore. Fuck that. He is the Kingmaker. Kind of like Criston Cole, but cool and less catholic. He could even be Hand of the King to Jon.

Or maybe it bothers you, as it bothers me, the fact that Jaime actually pushed a child out of a window, and that event is treated like a small detail in his story once he gets North. It was not a thing Cersei commanded him to do. Cersei did not take his hand and forced it to do it. Jaime tried to kill a boy. He permanently damaged Bran's body. Any attempt at redemption that does not address this is flawed. Maybe the only way to redeem Jaime is to make him Bran's ally because Bran is one of Dany's strongest narrative foils, right there with Cersei and Tyrion: some characters have magical attributes, things they are able to do; some characters have magical things happening to them; but Bran and Dany *are* magical in themselves. They carry the power along with them. And, by the end of the show, Bran is KING. He is one of the most powerful creatures alive - he can travel in time AND control people's and animals' minds/bodies - and he apparently has been PLANNING the whole thing (why do you think I came all this way, etc) all along. Does that even make sense? What is it about Bran that allows him to be powerful and in charge by the end of the story, to the point of allowing the destruction of a city in order to get what he wants, while Dany has to be sacrificed and is deemed too power-hungry? Why is Dany's inability to have children a problem, and Bran's assumed inability to sire children presented as a solution? And more importantly- what does Bran WANT? (To hell with that ableist "Bran has no feelings or desires and can't be tempted" bullshit). And given all that: if Bran and Dany are foils and parallels, what if Bran gets things done with Jaime's help? (Not necessarily as heroes). Because he kind of owes Bran. He is the man who put Bran on that wheel-chair and changed the course of Bran's entire life. And Lannisters pay their debts, or so we are told. Maybe we could even try to actually say something relevant about magic as a weapon and the people in power wielding it.

I feel like you could still pull something out of the fact that 1) Jaime's alleged last chance of honor (Sansa) is already antagonizing Dany and 2) His little brother sided with Dany after killing their father, and he actually forgave and forgot about that too easily in the show too. There is a lot of implied drama and nuance because so many relationships in Jaime's life are bridges to Dany. I just wanted to see it explored to the last of its potential.

Anyway. I'm rambling at this point. but the gist of it is that if Dany needs an antagonist in Westeros, a character to embody her rejection, Jaime is a better candidate than Sansa, imo. This man needed to be used in a political plot as a relevant, game-changing player at the end of the show. Some of those ideas I don't even like lol all they have in common is that they force Jaime to own his bullshit and stand up to something and put his skin in the game instead of running between Brienne and Cersei through 8 seasons, and I say this as someone who appreciates both Jaime/Cersei and Jaime/Brienne from a shipping perspective.

#got #jaime lannister #game of thrones #ask me stuff #long post

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maid-with-sunset-in-her-hair · 1 year

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I am of the opinion that Dany will form an alliance with Euron, will probably even marry him (i am not sure on this one) but when the struggle between them begins, she will also overpower him. However, this alliance will cost her a lot. Exactly what, we don't know yet.

Hello anon! Sorry I took so long to answer 😔 While I obviously don't know for sure what will happen, I can somewhat guess based on canonical themes and foreshadowing.

In Meeren, Daenerys struggled with reconciling what she wanted to do as Daenerys with what she needed to do as a Queen. She was in love with Daario, but he was only a sellsword, an unfit consort for a Queen. She ended marrying Hizdahr to stabilize the political situation in the city, but she felt no attraction towards him. This dichotomy is a subcategory of the bigger "olive trees vs dragons" conflict in her chapters. If she's attracted to Euron and he offers an advantageous marriage alliance, for a brief moment she'll think she's getting everything she wants without having to sacrifice or compromise any of her desires. Even if Euron's betrayal miraculously doesn't cause any damage to her cause, his murder attempt will be emotionally painful.

Quaithe warned Daenerys about not trusting the "kraken and dark flame." She'll probably assume it's Victarion Greyjoy, whose house sigil is a kraken, is coming to Meereen to offer her a marriage alliance with a horn to control dragons, and is accompained by a red priest nicknamed Black Flame. The problem is that nobody interprets prophecies correctly in this series, so it wouldn't surprise me if the kraken turns out to be Euron or maybe Asha. The revelation that the warnings could be about any member of a house, independently if she meets them first or not, will probably make her more paranoid and fearful. Depending on how serious it is, this mistrust could damage her relationship with her allies, or straight up cause her to break off or reject alliances from "suspicious" houses.

Now, this part is based on the TWOW excerpts released by GRRM, so they could change once the book is published.

In the Forsaken, Euron forced Aeron to drink Shade of the Evening and he had a couple of prophetic visions. In the last one, he saw his brother sitting on the Iron Throne and using a dragonbinder horn to command dragons:

“The bleeding star bespoke the end,” he said to Aeron. “These are the last days, when the world shall be broken and remade. A new god shall be born from the graves and charnel pits.” Then Euron lifted a great horn to his lips and blew, and dragons and krakens and sphinxes came at his command and bowed before him. “Kneel, brother,” the Crow’s Eye commanded. “I am your king, I am your god. Worship me, and I will raise you up to be my priest.” “Never. No godless man may sit the Seastone Chair!” “Why would I want that hard black rock? Brother, look again and see where I am seated.” Aeron Damphair looked. The mound of skulls was gone. Now it was metal underneath the Crow’s Eye: a great, tall, twisted seat of razor sharp iron, barbs and blades and broken swords, all dripping blood. Impaled upon the longer spikes were the bodies of the gods. The Maiden was there and the Father and the Mother, the Warrior and Crone and Smith … even the Stranger. They hung side by side with all manner of queer foreign gods: the Great Shepherd and the Black Goat, three-headed Trios and the Pale Child Bakkalon, the Lord of Light and the butterfly god of Naath. And there, swollen and green, half-devoured by crabs, the Drowned God festered with the rest, seawater still dripping from his hair. Then, Euron Crow’s Eye laughed again, and the priest woke screaming in the bowels of Silence, as piss ran down his leg. It was only a dream, a vision born of foul black wine. (TWOW The Forsaken)

There's a theory that Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion are meant to parallel Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes, and if that's the case, maybe their fates are meant to foreshadow what will happen to Daenerys' dragons. Viserion will die first, taken down by a scorpion bolt. And how did Vhagar die? Fighting another dragon above the Gods Eye. The dragonbinder horn would explain why Rhaegal will fight Drogon, but why would they be at the Gods Eye? Well, maybe Euron will pick Harrenhal as the place to carry on his ritual, because the castle has been cursed since Aegon the Conqueror burned Harren alive with dragonfire, and their fight will mirror Vhagar vs Caraxes. Or maybe he'll pick the Isle of Faces because he wants to kill the Old Gods inhabiting the weirwoods, and because it was the place were the Children of the Forest supposedly sacrificed a thousand of captives to the weirwoods to call down the Hammer of the Waters and break off Westeros from Essos, and he wants to so something equally cataclysmic.

#asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #anti daenerys targaryen #anti euron greyjoy #my meta

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

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Why it is a Better Story to Have Aemond Intentionally Try to Kill Lucerys (Beside it Being Already Canon) -- Context around Him

House of the Dragon deliberately encourages the viewer to see Aemond as a much more sympathetic character and more of a victim than he is told to be in Fire and Blood.

The show is now and still headed towards a tone that wants everyone to be victimized to the point where there is doubtful accountability on anyone’s part. Which all undermines Rhaenyra’s legitimacy and thus Daenerys “Stormborn” Targayren’s. Which the show claims to be trying to “fix“ with what happened in GoT.

It would be consistent with how the Old Valyrians, Aegon I, his sisters, Jaehaerys I and Alysanne, and all those before them all managed to rein in and use their dragons successfully with no disastrous hiccups.

Jaehaerys had Vermithor, his dragon, since he was a baby and rode him by the time he was in his early teens.

Alysanne was even younger.

Their sister Rhaena was 12 when she began riding Dreamfyre.

The Valyrian dragonriders, as both the show and the book tells us through Daemon (episode 10), lets us know that the Valyrian dragonriders battled each other. I don’t think that they would frequently wage wars against each other if they knew that they had so little control over these dragons.

(“Jaehaerys and Alysanne -Their Triumphs and Tragedies”):

To posit that the Targaryens/Valyrian dragonriders could have so little control or at least not that great of understanding--even in their teens and as kids--as to have their dragons totally disregard their explicit demands at critical moments or life and death moments is trifling and absurd. It's better to put forth the idea that Aemond didn't have the best emotional/self control, didn't bond with Vhagar all that well, and this when he stormed after Luke to try to make a point, he wasn't able to stop his dragon from anything crazy because he put her in that position in the first place.

Especially when you consider that the show never, ever expands more on what human-dragon interaction besides dragonriding and bonding is like apart from Aemond claiming Vhagar, Rhaenyra jumping down from Syrax, her riding Syrax twice onto the Dragonstone bridge, and the “accident” at Storm’s End. So we’re encouraged to swallow this logic because they offer nothing else to hint at this beforehand.

There are only a few, rare and special instances where dragons disobeyed (or just made it more difficult for their riders) Targs and they were all either because some magical, "higher power" as ozymalek on their YouTube video HERE calls it, OR (as they explain as well) the dragon and rider were likely not properly or were never bonded in the first place,:

Alysanne's dragon Silverwing is blocked or repelled from going further beyond the Wall by an unknown force or the dragon herself trying not to meet an ancient evil there.....

(SPOILERS) Syrax threw Joffrey off when he tries to ride her because she already bonded with Rhaenyra who was still alive

Aerea couldn't control or command Balerion properly since their bond didn't form properly

Drogon snaps at Daenerys because: she tried to imprison him/didn't find the right balance as to how tomeet the needs of both dragon and her people; their bond didn't form within the average Targ customs and practices and she grew up with no guide on how to even approach bonding so she has to go by her wit, observations, etc. and will make a few mistakes

But if Aemond had been left to actually attempt to kill Lucerys, thematically it would not make Show!Aemond as inconsistent and logically contradictory in his character, actions, and motivations. Inserting that doubt in his intentions to assault his own neowhew, in the skies, reads as absurd.

In the book/original story, Aemond goes after Luke not only for his eye, but is he's motivated into actually running after Luke from Maris Baratheon's words. Maris Baratheon basically calls his manhood into question after this first confrontation in Borro's castle (1st confrontation b/t them: when Aemond tells Luke to put out his own eye) ["A Son for a Son"]:

And even before he lost his eye, we learn that he and both of his brothers always hated the Velayron boys; he is characterized as “fierce” in the books from a very young age...again, before he lost his eye (MORE BELOW).

The purpose of making him like this in the books is to make it clear he's willing to assault/kill/maim who he sees as/should be beneath him and has little to no emotional self-regulation BECAUSE of that pride. That the greens are the villains AND antagonists in the Dance for thinking that they were entitled to the throne despite the King's word to fulfill their own ambition. Despite how this then strengthens a precedent to not care that much about a king's word, which would have affected Aegon the Elder's own authority even if he had properly won and settled his own dynasty. All especially because their contender is a woman. They are all the worst sort of misogynist and the "evil" usurpers.

Even in death, if they really were the people who were claiming “duty and sacrifice” above all (suggesting self sacrifice as the series allows us to think with any strong rebuttal against Alicent's claims), then they would not go against this rule of disobeying the monarch’s word. A part of the feudal obligation of a subject to their ruler.

In other words, if we argue that they are doing “duty” and “sacrifice” and just trying to do “what’s right”--they are not. This would be hypocrisy and a lie. And it's not a good idea to utterly remove their culpability and make it seem as if this civil war has no moral grounding anywhere, when there were high stakes for Westerosi wen, illegitimate children, etc., as we later see with Daenerys and Jon Snow.

So Aemond should have been presented as the villain that he was.

We constantly hear Aemond saying that he despises “craven” deeds and attitudes: him responding to Maris Baratheon’s challenge and following Luke; him not going to meet Daeron and the Hightower army south by Criston’s suggestion; how he characterizes Rhaenyra’s womanliness as inherently “weak”. Truthfully, it seems that he despises the chance that he be labeled or “fall into” weakness & cowardliness that comes with not being the ideal Targ male.

Aemond is motivated by his need to gain something like the respect Daemon has even from those who fear him, the sort of respect that comes with an acknowledgment of determination, skill, etc. However, Daemon’s determination definitely comes from the unity & exclusivity of a family unit. Which Aemond does not have: it’s shown how he wasn’t willing to join Daeron to attack the blacks when Criston suggested it; his unwillingness to save Helaena & Alicent when it meant giving up his chance at facing Daemon or any of the riders at KL (again, Criston’s suggestion of joining Daeron); and we hear of no actual interactions, even arguments, between him and any of his green-side siblings.

Likely, his side of the family do not practice care or simple reciprocity like the blacks did; he simply does not have the sort of validation from said family, so he is searching for it elsewhere, as young Daemon did. So he’s desperate for the warrior renown--a type of “love” in of itself. Add this to his male entitlement that Alicent & Otto would have drilled into him--

PLUS the societal showing him that since birth

PLUS him being a royal having class privileges over most people

PLUS him wanting to be the quintessential Targ prince with the Targ heritage (having a dragon is a huge p[art of that, more below)

PLUS how he has a Hightower mother instead of a 1/2 Targ or full Targ mother like either Daemon or Rhaenyra

and we got a recipe for a very frustrated, repressed guy who uses violence to self-affirm. What ties the green side together is not really love or care, but envy for what others have, they should have had:

Rhaenyra's position both in Viserys' heart and esteem? All those kids didn't experience it the exact same way (Viserys actually spent time with Helaena and her kids many times, as the bk states. While with the boys, it's negligible as Daeron was sent away, Aemond and Viserys cant have clicked at all, Aegon was...Aegon, etc., in large part due to them grown up seeing Rhaenyra as their enemy/danger AND block to Viserys' esteem; Viserys' favor towards her would reinforce those feelings...Alicent may have instilled in her boys that they must act as protectors and thus they wereless able to really connect with the man who was characterized as enabling their would-be enemy)

Alicent wanted to be the highest ranked woman; Rhaenyra would have been the undisputed one if she were to rule and she was definitely a contender even before she married Laenor; it was her side, not Alicent's, who Viserys took when Aegon was born when he insisted on keeping Rhaenyra as his heir and sent Otto away, so again Alicent may have though Viserys put his daughter "unfairly" above the woman who "gave" him a son. It could have looked to her like Rhaenyra had an almost "unnatural" place in his heart she could never access.

[headcanon?!] Otto's experience and conception of the familial/societal connections/structure is built more on obedience to a higher authority(ies) & submitting yourself to their command: parent's way is the way; the gods'/Faith's rule over human needs; man over woman. Deference, orderliness, conformity. He might have felt that Daemon had a confidence or a sense of self (AND didn't deserve) that he lacked & didn't deserve, AS WELL AS hating him for not being able/willing to be manipulated or put off through his ego like Viserys. Otto, like Daemon, is a second son. He wants to make some sort of name for himself but has grown up to not receive an inheritance or honors or power equal to anything like what his brother, thus he's also seeking the validation through political self advancement. Daemon obviously, like Otto, would be proud to be an direct ancestor of a ruler. Unlike Daemon, Otto is neither an enforcer nor a warrior but a politician. He could have looked at Daemon--the born prince who had to do nothing to deserve his closeness and possible influence on any monarch, much less Viserys--and believe he, Otto, had to "work" to get his position as Hand while also believing he was most entitled to said position bc of his family and his belief in his ability to serve the king's ruling the land he thinks should be more Faith-dominant, more Andal tradition bound. Funnily enough, it is bc he is a noble and from the Hightower house that he's even able to get his foot in the door so to speak, and later effectively rule the kingdom both through Jaehaerys' grief from Baelon's death and later through Viserys' decline. So, Otto could have been jealous of the level of "tolerance" he could have interpreted from Viserys' relationship with Daemon & how Viserys dealt with Daemon's "insubordination". How many times Viserys "forgave" Daemon. When such a thing isn't likely possible in a more strict household like Otto's--evidence suggests that noble Andal-descent households raise children to be a lot more distant from their parents and for them to follow rules of conduct more than to really think for themselves or allow room for them to make mistakes/act out/display emotion in more disruptive ways…like Jaehaerys with his own children, or at least his girls. Baelon & Alyssa Targaryen seemed to not have done the same, going by their personalities. He's trying to accrue power through the means of aligning himself more within a man's power/the Faith's teachings and preference of men ruling/men's authority and value prioritized bc that's how the Hightowers' have been maintain their esteem in Westerosi history. Daemon does something similar except time the Targs it's been about their dragons and continued insistence on bending the rules or making new ones to shape the society they are ruling.

Therefore, the bonds are more about obligation than about liking each other or helping each other out, perpetuates a cycle of apathy & repressed/unaddressed resentment.

Aside from being royals, these are royals who are trying to outdo another set of royals and gain the throne--the stakes are higher and the entire group will have different dynamics than if Alicent & Otto accepted Rhaenyra as the future Queen. They will have grown up with their most of their actions guided toward gaining an advantage over others as if it were some kind of mission. A “mission” to take down this sibling they’re not supposed to care about because she dares to be a woman looking for power. Which really undermines the chance of a personality developing apart from, again, hate.

Directing one’s sense of self into destroying another and therefore removing or diminishing both self awareness and an independent, stronger sense of self.

It would seem as if their only purpose is to win & be better, but also conform to a certain hierarchy that Helaena (as a girl)/Daeron (as 3rd born son and “spare-spare”)/Aemond (as 2nd born son and “spare”) also fall under Aegon (boy AND firstborn); the problem is that to emphasize how “princely” you are but also socially confine that seeming supreme power to create another layer of resentment--in Aemond’s case.

Alicent and Otto worked for Aegon, not Aemond, to become king. Her other kids would have been told that they must do much for Aegon to be king, or at least comply to plans or presentations to support Aegon’s claim. Helaena marrying Aegon is another way in which Alicent can bolster Aegon’s claim by ensuring BOTH that his kids/heirs can be old enough to ride dragons a soon as possible, for when Viserys dies and there is a war to get the throne AND for Aegon to gain that image of Targness by performing that Targ tradition of sibling marriage and continuing that legacy that ironically Alicent probably hates.

Aemond already feels that he would be the better ruler over his older brother who didn’t even want to fight for supreme power/the throne, but because Aegon’s older Aemond doesn’t have access to pursue the thing the Targtowers want above all: power over most others. Until at least Aegon is flamed out of commission for nearly a year after Rook’s Rest. When he’s 10 at Laenor’s funeral/Dragonstone, he’s not satisfied with having an egg or a small young dragon to bond with because he needs to prove himself a “true” Targ and warrior that Viserys promises him, esp in lieu of his so-called bastard/”untrue” nephews all having bonded with a dragon not long after their births. Why should they, bastards, have something that him, a legitimate Valyrian-looking prince, doesn’t have? It presents a troubling negation of him actually being as impressive as he wants to be and has wanted to be and has been told unsubtly or subtly that he needs to be. This is why he is described as being “fierce” not long at all after he’s born and started actually being able to communicate. He’s blind(er) rage and destruction. This need to be the best drives him to be the absolute worst, morally and logically (he didn’t see that Daemon tricked him into abandoning KL).

Therefore he cannot handle challenges to his masculinity, as he got with Maris Baratheon, which also motivated to go after Luke but HotD didn’t include, as I already described.

Especially with him attending the actual feast his older brother Aegon orders for him for having killed Luke, we can see what sort of guy this was: entitled, angry, unremorseful, brutal. Again, he shares those traits with Daemon, but Daemon is both more patient, smarter, (at the time of the Dance) more experienced, and knows/experiences real love and therefore has a better grasp on who he is without having to go to drastic measures to affirm himself.

So for Aemond to not at least be very okay and eager in killing Luke diminishes his own agency and undermines his character.

Direct Comparisons

House of the Dragon:

In episode 10, Aemond chases Lucerys down after having thrown his knife at him to put out his own eye, recalling how Lucerys cut out his eye in episode 7. He chases him for a very long time, yelling about how he still needs to give him his eye as retribution. All the while, Aemond is on a behemoth that, as we saw later, could destroy Arrax and Lucerys with little effort. Aemond is also laughing while he chases Lucerys.

Before they take to the skies, Aemond also demnaded Lucerys put out his eye twice. The second time, he had burst towards him, making as if he were actually going to attack him when Lucerys refused and stayed silent.

It is as if someone had chased you down in a huge Jeep while you’re riding a small bike, yelling about how you should cut off your own nose for doing the same to them years ago. And they are laughing while they chase you down. and that both your vehicle scan breathe fire, of course.

There is violent intent towards Lucerys here. To then portray him or claim that he didn’t want to hurt nor kill Lucerys, just scare him, is beyond stupid. Bad writing, too. Contradictory.

Fire and Blood:

Borros Baratheon’s second, least conventionally attractive daughter Maris basically calls him unmanly for not chasing down Lucerys after he had demanded Lucerys to put out his own eye. So Aemond gets angry and goes after Lucerys, now with further motivation to prove his “bravery” and “strength” as well as get revenge for his eye.

The secondborn daughter of Lord Borros, less comely than her sisters, she was angry with Aemond for preferring them to her. “Was it one of your eyes he took, or one of your balls?” Maris asked the prince, in tones sweet as honey. “I am so glad you chose my sister. I want a husband with all his parts.”

Aemond Targaryen’s mouth twisted in rage, and he turned once more to Lord Borros, asking for his leave. The Lord of Storm’s End shrugged and answered, “It is not for me to tell you what to do when you are not beneath my roof.” And his knights moved aside as Prince Aemond rushed to the doors.

(“A Son for a Son”)

(I must bring up that there was a maester beside Borros, who--like Maester Norren recording Daemon and Nettles’ interaction at Maidenpool--would have recorded what went on here at Storm’s End. that and multiple other witnesses--the daughters, Borros himself, the guards....)

Especially after Maris Baratheon's emasculating comment, Aemond definitely had all the malicious, murderous intent towards Lucerys in the book and he definitely intended to kill him.

There is also no mention of him really having trouble with Lucerys’ death. Between this, right after he goes back to the Keep:

Aemond Targaryen…who would henceforth be known as Aemond the Kinslayer to his foes…returned to King’s Landing, having won the support of Storm’s End for his brother Aegon, and the undying enmity of Queen Rhaenyra. If he thought to receive a hero’s welcome, he was disappointed. Queen Alicent went pale when she heard what he had done, crying, “Mother have mercy on us all.” Nor was Ser Otto pleased. “You only lost one eye,” he is reported to have said. “How could you be so blind?” The king himself did not share their concerns, however. Aegon II welcomed Prince Aemond home with a great feast, hailed him as “the true blood of the dragon,” and announced that he had made “a good beginning.”

(“A Son for a Son”)

If he regretted killing Luke or if this was an "accident", why does he go to a feast his brother prepares for him and allow him to say that he was the "best" & get them all on the right path?

(SPOILERS!!!!)

And when he murders all of the Strongs based on a suspicion that Larys Strong--a staunch Green from the start--is a traitor and helping out his living nephews (Jacaerys and Joffrey) after Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing:

First to suffer for it was Ser Simon Strong. Prince Aemond had love for any of that ilk, and the haste with which the castellan had yielded Harrenhal to Daemon Targaryen convinced him the old man was a traitor. Ser Simon protested his innocence, insisting that he was a true and loyal servant of the Crown. His own great nephew, Larys Strong, was Lord of Harrenhal and King Aegon’s master of whisperers, he reminded the Prince Regent. These denials only inflamed Aemond’s suspicions. The Clubfoot was a traitor as well, he decided. How else would Daemon and Rhaenyra have known when King’s Landing was most vulnerable? Someone on the small council had sent word to them…and Larys Clubfoot was Breakbones’s brother, and thus an uncle to Rhaenyra’s bastards.

Aemond commanded that Ser Simon be given a sword. “Let the gods decide if you speak truly,” he said. “If you are innocent, the Warrior will give you the strength to defeat me.” The duel that followed was utterly one-sided, all the accounts agree; the prince cut the old man to pieces, then fed his corpse to Vhagar. Nor did Ser Simon’s grandsons long outlive him. One by one, every man and boy with Strong blood in his veins was dragged forth and put to death, until the heap made of their heads stood three feet tall.

(“Rhaenyra Triumphant”)

And make no mistake that Aemond hated all his nephews, even if we argue that his anger was only towards Lucerys for the eye thing; no it was there before:

The enmity between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra was passed on to their sons, and the queen’s three boys, the Princes Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron, grew to be bitter rivals of their Velaryon nephews, resentful of them for having stolen what they regarded as their birthright: the Iron Throne itself. Though all six boys attended the same feasts, balls, and revels, and sometimes trained together in the yard under the same master-a-arms and studied under the same maesters, this enforced closeness only served to feed their mutual mislike, rather than binding them together as brothers.

(“A Question of Succession”)

Therefore, it is much more likely and probable that Aemond and is brothers would have bullied the Velayron boys. Especially considering how bastard children of nobles are reviled outside of Dorne in Westeros, we can see how the entire court would have treated the boys with as much disdain as they could without getting too much in trouble with Viserys and Rhaneyra. Therefore, Aemond and his brothers all would have felt even more entitled and motivated to hate and antagonize the Velayron boys. Even with Ameond not having a dragon.

Yet the show only shows us Aemond suffering from the Velaryon boys being lead by his own older brother’s taunts and mocks.

But what if we had added some more truthful nuance here and had Aemond and his bros bully the V boys, then the V boys try to retaliate with their own mocking?

Then there is Aemond’s canon character:

Two years later, she produced a daughter for the king, Helaena; in 110 AC, she bore him a second son, Aemond, who was said to be half the size of his elder brother, but twice as fierce.

AND

[After Vhagar] Prince Aemond, despite the loss of his eye, had become a proficient and dangerous swordsman under the tutelage of Ser Criston Cole, but remained a wild and willful child, hot-tempered and unforgiving.

(“A Question of Succession”)

Like Maegor the Cruel, Aemond displayed a volatile streak in his early youth and became even more violent. Both under some pressure to prove their mettle, but in different ways and w/stakes & motivations.

And if we argue that his misogyny is typical and not fostered by a hatred, I refer to the quote above about his hatred for Rhaenyra’s sons and this quote

Whatever the reason, Ser Criston and Prince Aemond decided to part ways. Cole would take command of their host and lead them south to join Ormund Hightower and Prince Daeron, but the Prince Regent would not accompany them. Instead he meant to fight his own war, raining fire on the traitors from the air. Soon or late, “the bitch queen” would send a dragon or two out to stop him, and Vhagar would destroy them. “She dare not send all her dragons,” Aemond insisted. “That would leave King’s Landing naked and vulnerable. Nor will she risk Syrax, or that last sweet son of hers. Rhaenyra may call herself a queen, but she has a woman’s parts, a woman’s faint heart, and a mother’s fears.”

(“Rhaenyra Triumphant”)

And then there is his act of setting fire to the riverlords’ domains/the riverlands itself.

Finally, there is the case of Alys Rivers. (SPOILERS!!!!)

Even with her being more than 20 years older than him, let’s think about what positions of power these two have. She is a bastard from the Strong House. The same house that he executed and destroyed before having sex with her (“Rhaenyra Triumphant”):

Prince Aemond had taken her into his bed as a prize of war soon after taking Harrenhal, seemingly preferring her to all the other women of the castle, including many pretty maids of his own years.

.....................

The castle stood empty no more than three days before Lady Sabitha Frey swooped down to seize it. Inside she found only Alys Rivers, the wet nurse and purported witch who had warmed Prince Aemond’s bed during his days at Harrenhal, and now claimed to be carrying his child. “I have the dragon’s bastard in me,” the woman said, as she stood naked in the godswood with one hand upon her swollen belly. “I can feel his fires licking at my womb.”

She maybe older, but Aemond as a male prince who has literally destroyed her past support system and means of survival--the Strong House--has the sole authority & ability to decide whether she lives or dies. And easily. Which throws doubt on the absoluteness of Alys’ feelings for Aemond and vice versa.

You could argue that they genuinely found some sort of common ground, that Alys hated her family for some reason--maybe suffering some mistreatment that the maesters would not feel necessary to tell or even have knowledge of--since one might look at her proclaiming that she has his kid is a positive experience for her.

But we don't have evidence of that. And you'd be ignoring how much power Aemond has here and how he literally eliminated the stabler security of a whole continuing house who likely had no ill will against her (even if she hated them, which there is no evidence of) after Aemond is dead. More likely, Alys was in a terrible position and she was out here mainly out to survive. She was also useful to Aemond, with her reported visions.

And here's a kicker. IF Alys had visions and told him how he would meet Daemon and fight him....why didn't she tell him Daemon would kill him?! And Daemon wasted no time, he immediately unchains himself before the fight and jumps on Aemond to stab him right through his leftover eye. There can be no claim of a lengthy fight where there were many variations of moments in the fight where Alys couldn't see a definitely outcome. Alys most likely sent Aemond to his death to be free of him, even with her supposedly using their child. Possibly out of self preservation both when Sabitha Frey comes and after when the royal supporters and army comes to Harrenhal. (Which doesn't mean that she couldn't come to love the kid, but really that itself is not likely because of the circumstance of his birth.)

In All

As with many stories in ASoIaF, the Dance of the Dragons is a story about the different kinds of abuse: domestic abuse, abuse of political power, entitlement, and power struggles between those in a family whose members strive to validate their personhood or existences in the context of a feudal patriarchy. That includes Aemond and Rhaenyra, Daemon and Aegon II, etc.

It tells one consequence of the contradictoriness of a monarchial, feudal state’s transfers of power--when other royal members ignore the word of the past king despite the knowledge that a King’s word is law, even when he is dead just because they want to and want power.

Both is true: the king’s word is law, yet when they die, it is up to the one around them to follow.....yet what does this mean for when the new ruler ascends? Does this mean that anyone could try to just usurp the ruler if they feel like it, that they are “justified”? Then that means that Aemond is perfectly in his right to depose Aegon II if he feels that his brother is not right for the throne. That Rhaenyra’s followers should ignore their oaths and immediately follow Aegon II after she dies. But that would mean that no monarch is a “true monarch” (at least when we look at things as a person living within this system and trying to assess and reassess its own ethics). Which just brings one back to questioning why Rhaenyra shouldn’t be considered queen and why it is “immoral” or disastrous that she become queen?! Using any argument against her having extramarital sex doesn’t work ethically because men are wallowed and the “order” is just fine--answer, Rhaenyra being a female heir/ruler goes against the desire and order of male privilege itself.

This shows how contradictory the greens are for trying to depose and later usurp the heir based on her gender, saying that having a female heir is against custom........yet some think that greens are in the absolute right? Or they have a strong, positive moral basis?

The Dance is a story tells the story of the antagonists take advantage of the king’s death and the official heir’s absence to make way for themselves. How they used the heir’s gender as pretext and justification.

Aemond being more sympathetic is both a lie and seeks to undermine Rhaneyra’s claim, not make anyone more “complex”. You can still have depictions of Aemond be resentful towards his father and Viserys dismiss him or how Alicent’s dependence on him--and how she’s passed on her patriarchal submission and expectations from Otto’s abuse to her kids--to be “strong” layers on top of his “ferocity” and make him complex in that way while retaining his villain role. While showing how and what he does/stands for is nevertherless evil.

Therefore, this show, even if Fire and Blood didn’t exist, is not well written and not fairly depicting human psychology.

#aemond targaryen #lucerys velaryon #aemond vs lucerys #hotd critical #aemond's wrongs #aemond's characterization #hotd accountability #hotd accidents #history is a series of accidents #hotd comment #dragonriders #dragonriding #the dragonlords #asoiaf dragons #book vs tv comparisons #fire and blood #hotd #asoiaf

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lullaebies · 9 months

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Give me your favorite targ!dragons from first place down to bottom

Oh no this is so bad 😭😭😭I love all the dragons don't do this to meeeeee- I'll keep it down to like.. ten dragons because there are enough dragons to think of ahhh 1. Sunfyre - I don't need to explain him. He did the absolute most. 2. Tessarion - I adore her. There's something about her and Daeron that scratches an itch in my brain. This is a case of canon gave me the barest of bones and I ate and I love her, period. 3. Dreamfyre - I have become severely attached to her as I kept writing Helaena and my M!Helaena story. She's my sweetie. 4. Vhagar - gotta pay respect to meemaw! She did the most over the years. 5. Caraxes - contrary to what you may expect, I LOVE noodle boy. He's perfect and I think his design and voice design in the show is peak. I love him so so much. 6. Balerion - he should be higher. I am in an HOTD brainrot however. 7. Drogon - also should be higher. is here because of the same reason given to Balerion. 8. Rhaegal - I just like him and his name. Also grew to liked him even more because he shares my M!Helaena's name. 9. Seasmoke - he's beautiful in the show! and I just adore him in general. Good lad. 10. Stormcloud - He deserved better, that baby. He did his best. generally saying I love all dragons and this is just what came to mind. this may change and swap altogether tomorrow lol, it depends on the mood. Big shoutout to Morghul and Shrykos who I adore but I gotta acknowledge that I made up most of the stuff for them in my head LMAO

#answered #i swapped between tessarion and sunfyre like five times i love them both ok

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asoiafdrabbles · 1 year

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Is it so far from madness to wisdom? Chapter 1

ASOIAF/F&B/HOTD Time Travel AU

Summary:

After everything is won (and lost), Jon Snow has more regrets than joys.

But he has always been the plaything of more powerful forces and that has not changed.

Given the chance to save the world in a different way by the least trustworthy of sources, he's thrown back to one of the most tumultuous time periods in history with just enough advantages to change everything, for better or worse.

AO3 Link

Overall Content Warnings: Canonical character death(s), parental negligence and abuse, some non-canonical character death(s), canon-typical bigotry, canon-typical incest, Daemon Targaryen bashing, The Cannibal being The Cannibal (and also a loving antagonist), various fan theories (including some pretty dark ones about ASOIAF)

XxXxX

There was nothingness. But it was not the nothingness of death as he’d expected--that, Jon knew well, had woken up with strangled screams in the middle of the night from memories of it.

This was full, seething with something dark and sinister.

"What is the meaning of this?" he shouted into the void, unsure what he would do if nothing answered, unsure what he'd do if something did. "Bryden?” he demanded after a brief wait, “If this is you, I swear, I will travel beyond the Wall and--"

Laughter cut him off, deep and distorted, as though the sound itself twisted as it was heard. "Not him, no, he's contained by so many rules I care not to follow."

Jon frowned, squinting into the dark, even as some intrinsic part of him began to writhe with fear. "Rules about what?"

"You said you'd do anything, to change what happened, to save them all,” there was no missing the mockery in the tone, “I'm going to give you just that."

"And why would you do that?" What cost would he need to pay, to prevent the end of the world?

It laughed again. "Because you were the only one for me and I would be so very lonely without you."

"No," Jon gasped, as he realized what, impossibly, he was speaking to, backing away from the ever growing shadow. "You're dead, I saw you destroyed." The words were comfort as much as they were hurt, the deep ache of loss soothed by the freedom it had brought.

Laughter crept along the edges. "I can never really die."

"You don't actually want to fix things at all, do you?” Angry and hurt, shameful about the small flicker of hope building in him, Jon forced himself to stay firm. “You don't care, you just want to be entertained, you fucking monster."

He ran out of space, somehow, though the void around them seemed infinite. But his feet hit into something and he could back up no more.

"Don't pout, I'm giving you exactly what you wanted, dear rider."

The space was not a void: he was in the hollow of the dragon's curled, dark body, and as the Cannibal moved its gigantic head closer, it's countless sharp teeth glistening even in the low light, its eyes glowing into Jon's own, he wondered if his dragon had truly missed him.

***

He awoke with a start. He was lying on rocky sand, the sky above him was clear, bright.

It was warm.

Voices were shouting, at first muffled as his senses awoke, and then loud and desperate. When he looked over, he saw Valyrian hair, Targaryen eyes, an unfamiliar face begging something of him.

"--on, come here, please."

A shadow moved and he looked up, going cold at the sight of the Cannibal crouching above him. He looked smaller than he had (still huge, still larger even than Drogon) and when Jon looked back at the other people, he had a sinking feeling as to why.

He couldn't hear the Cannibal’s voice, anymore, but the bond he shared with him was back in full force, and his amusement at Jon’s misfortune scraped along his thoughts.

Inching out from under him, he half stumbled, half crawled towards the people. The Cannibal made a noise, what passed for a laugh from a dragon, then took off, caring little how sand blew up around them with his departure.

"Are you alright?" Hands gripped him, strong, but small, and when he looked up into purple eyes his breath caught.

He'd thought Daenerys the most beautiful woman to ever exist, but Rhaenyra Targaryen could surely give anyone a run for that title. He managed a shaky smile, letting her and her guard help him stand.

His cousin, now, he realized, knowledge flowing through his mind as though a full pitcher had simply been turned upside down. His older cousin, heir to the throne, and now ruler of Dragonstone.

Maegon had stopped on Dragonstone to try one more time to claim a dragon before he would sail on to Runestone–his mother had died (he remembered a stern face and kind words, a soft voice singing lullabies in the Old Tongue, knowing, always knowing, he had a place and he was wanted–Jon didn’t know what to do with that, pushed it and the grief away).

"Maegon, are you sure you are well?"

He nodded, then frowned. "It's just...a lot to take in."

Rhaenyra widened her eyes at him, the slightest hint of playful-mockery in her expression. "You went for a walk and were pounced on by the Cannibal! That's one way to put it!" Her look quickly transformed into a blinding smile. "I suppose even your father will have to pay respects to you, now, there’s few dragons who could match yours.”

Hiding a wince by ducking his head to swipe at his messy clothing (finer even half-ruined than anything Jon had worn before), he thought that through. Daemon Targaryen, the Rogue Prince and Rhaenyra's uncle, was the father of this body he wore (stole? had been created out of nothingness for him? he did not know). With his first wife, Rhea Royce.

At least something of the First Men still resided within him–House Royce having kept to many of the traditions including the Old Tongue–even if he could tell from his too-light skin he did not look like himself. And in the corner of his eyes his hair was silver, and he knew his eyes themselves weren't far off from Rhaenyra's own.

But the reminder of his now-father made him feel queasy. Daemon was in the Stepstones, had been for much of Maegon’s life, and he found himself hoping he didn’t bother coming to the Vale at all once he received word of his wife’s death. Everything was more peaceful in Runestone when Daemon was nowhere near it.

Daemon, who named him as close to Maegor as he dared in a fit of anger. Who ignored him as much as he could. He resented Maegon for existing, that the single time he weakened and laid with his "Bronze Bitch" his seed took and she birthed a son of unmistakably Valyrian descent, especially after his lover had lost a wanted-child. He envied Maegon his even temper, that Maegon's moods were pressed inward more often than out and how much more acceptable that made him to the court, the Queen, the Hand, and even King Viserys himself. But most of all, though, he hated that Maegon, the Daemon Targaryen's only son, that proved his Valyrian blood outshone anything else, was nothing like a dragon while being without a dragon.

To have an unmistakably Targaryen looking son with none of the blood of the dragon in the ways that counted seemed like a curse to Daemon.

Jon wanted to laugh at the very idea.

He also had to wonder if he would have disappointed Rhaegar just as much. Perhaps Rhaegar would have dumped him at Winterfell, still, and he would have grown up barely seeing him.

(At least Daemon and Rhea had been married, even if it was an unwanted one. At least Maegon wasn’t threatening any older sibling.)

No, that was his cousins, Rhaenyra's brothers.

He forced himself to focus again. They were already nearly to the door, Rhaenyra keeping a firm grasp on his arm. He could see Laenor on the way to them, knowing someone must have sent word, and braced for more concern.

Rhaenyra was speaking, still, and he realized it was High Valyrian, that it had been as such the whole time. He'd never had much of a chance to learn to speak it, but now he was fluent. All the knowledge of two separate lives his to access. Convenient.

What price would the Cannibal demand for that?

XxXxX

Notes:

This is a combination F&B/HOTD timeline/characterization/etc. While I'm not the biggest fan of HOTD (literally nothing in F&B makes it seem like we should be assuming Mushroom is the most accurate, quite the opposite), there's no denying that we just don't have book canon for certain things, and some of what they did change isn't awful (they should have just made a Corlys show lbh). This does not include GoT and since Winds still isn't out, the "ending" for ASOIAF is based larger on fan theories (and will be slowly revealed throughout).

I reread the reign of Viserys I part of the book and skimmed through the episodes, but also some of what I end up putting in might just be my own filling in blanks. And, of course, there's a time traveling character who probably had the folly of the Dance bashed into his brain by the Maester because he was a half-brother to an heir lol

#asoiaf fic #jon snow #verse: time travel #verse: dance of the dragons #character: jon snow #ship: the cannibal & jon #character: the cannibal #character: rhaenyra i targaryen #character: laenor velaryon #verse: maegon targaryen #series: is it so far from madness to wisdom

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albinokittens300 · 1 year

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Sanrion Prompt- Sharing!

A/N: Took an...interesting take on this prompt and since it was a little long I did it after taking a day for a break. I present to you- Dany watching Sansa and Tyrion sharing a moment before the Night King attacks! Had fun using Daenerys for a PoV for this. It may or may not be canon complaint but, I like it and hope you all do too. Will also add I love Dany as much as I love Sansa. Love her and loathe what S8 did to her...if you feel I am making her feelings feel reasonable here, I don't blame you cause I might be. Hope it's also clear how I am point out the ways it ISN'T reasonable as well.

Dany is returning from checking on Drogon and Rhagal when she hears it. Someone falling hard in the snow and cursing out loud through a groan. The crunch of the snow draws her attention. It sounds like Tyrion and she follows the sound, to be sure her Hand hasn’t been terribly injured now, just before the dead march on Winterfell. She sees him just outside of the godswood.

“Here.” The voice makes Dany freeze still. Sansa Stark extends a hand to her advisor, having to bend at the waist for him to grab her hand. With her help, he stands and brushes off the layer of snow and slush on him. The Dragon Queen remains behind the wagon as she watches, trying to piece together what would cause her to find the pair together like this. Sansa had made her feelings on her abundantly clear.

A sickening feeling in her belly whispers the thought of betrayal. Of the red-haired girl turning her Hand against her. For only a second though, before she shakes it off with the gently falling snow. No. Unwavering, unbending, and skeptical of her Sansa may be but she was Jon's sister, and there was no reason to label her a traitor.

It’s curiosity that nudges her forward. Staying far enough behind them as to not be seen, but close enough to see and hear.

They walk close to the Weirwood, and Sansa clears a bench of snow and sits while he makes his way through the snow to get closer to the tree and looks at it, the faces in the bark of the tree, without wavering for some time. It’s Sansa’s voice that speaks first. “If I may ask, is there a particular reason you asked me to bring you here? There is a Weirwood in Kings Landing.”

“Yes, but nothing like this. It’s different.” He says. Sansa makes a quiet agreeing sound without truly forming words and Tyrion continues. “I thought if we are to die, perhaps it’s best to see these things before we face death itself.”

“Possibly.” She says. “Or maybe it’s the opposite- if we avoid this place, perhaps we live. See it another day.”

Dany watches as they sit and stand in silence for a moment, and thinks it strange. The older Stark sister is without exception stoic and composed, cold whenever they interact. From her place, Dany can see a bit of ease in Sansas' shoulders though and notices her back isn’t forced so straight as she sits, watching the tree and watching him. Their past as a husband and wife could explain such ease, even if Tyrion had explained to her it was entirely his fathers doing.

“Do you know any stories, about the Weirwoods- or the Children of the Forest?” Sansa asks after a moment. Tyrion turns to face her, interest knitting his brow and he shakes his head.

Sansa's mask drops for a second, the briefest glimpse of her inner thoughts and feelings showing as the slightest bit of hesitation before it’s back to the mostly emotionless glance with the smallest hint at a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Clearing the snow off the bench beside her, Jon's sister offers him a seat beside her.

“I don’t remember the stories well anymore. Brans told me about them. They're real or were you know. He’s seen them, been protected by them. Or so he says.”

This makes Tyrion laugh from his chest. “Or so he says.”

Thinking deeply, Sansa begins to spin a tale of the stories Dany assumes are mostly told to children in the North. Though it seems deeper to her, the way her voice hushes telling them, almost like a secret she is wary of sharing, even when struggling to remember a piece of the tale. It’s when Tyrion asks something, words the violet-eyed woman can’t make out an overwhelming sense of being an intruder overcomes her, the feeling of being an outsider in the conversation and forming the strong urge to leave.

It can’t be shaken easily, not this feeling that maybe Tyrion isn’t something she can have all to herself. That his loyalty might be shared and it burns underneath her skin while making her way back into Winterfell's main courtyard.

#Sanrion #Sansa x Tyrion #Sanrion Prompt List #AJ Writes

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dracharenae · 2 years

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✹ — RANDOM MUSING HOUR -

guys, guys, hear me out . . . okay, so in re-watching house of the dragon in preparation for sunday, i developed a keen fascination with dark sister - the blade daemon wields, which was originally held by visenya targaryen ( one of aegon the conqueror's sister-wives ). the blade is passed down through several generations of targaryens after her death, daemon included - and after him - and it ultimately winds up in the hands of brynden rivers, later known as bloodraven. now bloodraven is the last known wielder of dark sister.

in the recorded histories of westeros, bloodraven goes north of the wall, with dark sister, and both he and the sword disappear. as it happens, the three-eyed raven who is mentoring bran is actually bloodraven himself, but the blade, at least from what i can tell, isn’t mentioned and remains a mystery. this will not suffice for my sword-loving arse. now, if the show canon is to align with book canon, at least in this regard, i imagine that when bran leaves beyond the wall to go back to winterfell, he has taken dark sister with him. for in his dreams, he has envisioned rhaenys targaryen, daughter of rhaegar - and knows she is one of the three heads of the dragons . . . and shall need such a sword.

so, when bran meets rhaenys when she eventually goes to winterfell, likely the same time daenerys goes there with jon snow and the dragons, he gifts her with her ancestor’s blade. dark sister held in the hands of the dornish dragon. rhaenys is apprehensive to take the sword at first, given her less than favorable affections towards her targaryen bloodline - but she recognizes the importance of it . . . feels the history in the hilt, the weight of the blade. dark sister was made for more than killing sheep. it is a conqueror’s sword. rhaenys ultimately decides to become its holder, having a sheath made for it and keeps it at her hip or on her back. the blade is slender, made for a woman’s hand, and she finds it quite comfortable. i also like to imagine that rhaenys greatly enjoys showing the blade to the likes of arya stark, who absolutely adores visenya targaryen in the histories - and the two spar together. arya with her valyrian steel dagger and rhaenys with her dark sister. wholesome fun bonding with ancient weapons that have seen centuries of bloodshed.

ultimately i imagine rhaenys wields dark sister during the battle of winterfell. she would likely be riding atop of rhaegal, as daenerys rides drogon, and uses the sword to cut down the walkers as they come. rhaenys also wears dark sister during the eventual attack on king’s landing, though as to whether or not how she uses it depends entirely on circumstances . . .

#thєч wíll wrítє stσríєs σf hєr ( headcanons )#ѕєnd α rαvєn ínѕtєαd ( queue )

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percentstardust · 2 years

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endless muse edits | targaryens & their mounts

#& fire made flesh ( drogon )#& play with fire ( aemond targaryen )#& mother of dragons ( daenerys targaryen )#& prince of everything ( jacaerys velaryon )#& golden crown of sorrow ( rhaenyra targaryen )#& yellow flicker beat ( aemma velaryon )#& graphic design is my passion ( my edits )#& head canons ( all )#muse round up #y’all should know their names i ain’t listing them #DO NOT REBLOG

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fireandbloodsource · 2 years

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CANON DAENERYS CHALLENGE → Mother of Dragons

Behind the carved wooden door of the captain’s cabin, her dragons were restless. Drogon raised his head and screamed, pale smoke venting from his nostrils, and Viserion flapped at her and tried to perch on her shoulder, as he had when he was smaller. “No,” Dany said, trying to shrug him off gently. “You’re too big for that now, sweetling.” But the dragon coiled his white and gold tail around one arm and dug black claws into the fabric of her sleeve, clinging tightly. Helpless, she sank into Groleo’s great leather chair, giggling.

***

Khal Drogo my lord husband killed him with a crown of molten gold.” Would her brother have been any wiser, had he known that the vengeance he had prayed for was so close at hand?

“Then I grieve for you, Dragonmother, and for bleeding Westeros, bereft of its rightful king.”

Beneath Dany’s gentle fingers, green Rhaegal stared at the stranger with eyes of molten gold. When his mouth opened, his teeth gleamed like black needles.

***

The dragon gave one last hiss and stretched out flat upon his belly. Black blood was flowing from the wound where the spear had pierced him, smoking where it dripped onto the scorched sands. He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I.

#canondany #asoiaf #asoiafedit #daenerys targaryen

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magalidragon · 2 years

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Jonerys #9, pleeeease!

Here you go Anon! This is set in a canon world and how it should have been.

Enjoy!

9. Things you said while crying

Daenerys was not sure she had ever cried this much in her life. Oh sure, she'd cried, but it had been some time. Usually it was related to sad events in her life. Horrible things she never wanted to remember, just to mourn them and move on quickly, on to the next adversity.

Now she was crying tears she wanted to keep crying. She could scarcely breathe, salty tracks freezing to her face in the far Northern climes, her cheeks flushed and her nose stuffy. She sniffed back what she could before coughing, choking through sobbing laughter, bending over her knees, no attempt to restrain herself.

It was not queenly, but she was with no one but her sons and her love, and it was he who was making her laugh so. Making her cry so.

He alays made her cry. She'd forbidden him from doing so, as his queen, his wife, and the mother of his child. That last one he wasn't yet aware of, but he would be soon enough.

These tears, oh my, well, he quite deserved them.

And he was very angry about it.

"Will you stop!"

"No," she sputtered, hysterical, wiping her gloves over her eyes. She sniffed again, but the memory forever imprinted on her brain had her laughing again, more tears trickling out. "It was just so funny! You shoul dhave seen yoursefl!"

He drew back his shoulders, as kingly as he could make himself, but it was hard with mud and snow on his trousers and covering his cloak. "I experienced it, thank you very much Your Grace. I do not care to do so again."

When he got embarassed or mad, he became very proper in his speech. She walked towards him and dusted some snow from his shoulder. "Of course not," she said, biting the inside of her cheek. Tears welled up behind her lids, threatening. She held her breath, trying very hard not to devolve into a fit again. She exhaled slowly, until she fell forwards over his chest, giggling incessantly. "But it was so funny!"

"He moved."

"But I thought you said that there was ice and you slipped?"

"It was Rhaegal." Rhaegal snorted, shaking his head, obviously disagreeing. He glanced at his dragon and scowled at him. "You did so mate, do not try to deny!" The great jade dragon cuffed his rider with the tip of his wing and stomped off, shaking the ground beneath him and toook to the sky, where Drogon was already flying. He rubbed the back of his head, muttering. "Don't know why he's mad."

"Because you're blaming him for your own misfortune." She shook her head. "Only your pride is injured. It is not as if you fell off your dragon while in full battle regalia."

"Oh gods."

She nodded smartly. "Besides, you were trying to get down too fast. That was your own fault, again."

He flushed pink. "I had to get down fast."

"I was fine, I can get down off my own dragon perfectly well without your help." He should know better than that.

"I was not meaning to help you, Your Grace, for I know you are most adept at dragonriding." He flushed again, the tops of his cheeks bright red, and his eyes averting her. "It is...I was making haste because well..." He shrugged. "A particularly sensitive and favored part of my anatomy was trapped at one point."

"Huh?"

He stared at her and eyes widened, nodding down towards the ground. HE gestured in the general vicinity of his lower half. "Something...important for....if you ever want to have a child."

She frowned and glanced down and then back up to Rhaegal, before back to him agin. It dawned on her and she dropped her jaw, gasping, before covering her face. Don't do it, don't do it..., she tried to tell herself. Except she couldn't.

Laughter burst out in a scream and she topped to the ground, holding her midsection, tears coming again. "It's not funny!" he shouted, stomping his feet petulantly. "Dany it really hurt!"

"OH gods!" she wheezed.

"Get off the snow. I shall never forgive you."

"Oh Jon! Oh my love!" She got up and flung her arms around him, even as he tried to walk away from her. She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Poor darling. Would you like me to kiss it all better?"

He paused and slid his annoyed gray gaze sideways to meet her sparkling violet one. "Hmm...couldn't hurt I suppose." He scowled. "Stop laughing. Stop cryin for that matter!"

"I can't Jon, it's truly the funniest and most entertained I have been in decades."

"Dany you aren't even decades old."

"Then in my past lives."

He reached his arm around to gather her to his side. "Well, we should at least test it and make sure that it's still working if you ever do want heirs to that throne of yours."

Her smile pulled wide and she glanced up. "Yes, abotu that actually..." Tears came again and this time she did not move to wipe them away.

Jon cocked his head. "Dany? You're crying again, only this time..." His brow furrowed and he murmured, concerned. "Does nto seem to be in jest at my stupidity."

She bit hard on her lip and shook her head, taking a deep breath through tears and whipspered. "No, no it's not....actually I was meaning to tell you before you distracted me...."

He listened intently as she told him through tears.

And then they were both crying.

#jonerys #jonerys au #my fics #things you said prompts #how canon should always be

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dwellordream · 3 years

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Do you have any thoughts on the general portrayal of motherhood and madness in asoiaf?

Well I think Lysa’s character is poorly handled in that regard. While Catelyn expresses sympathy for her and GRRM does not totally condemn her by showing us through Catelyn’s perspective that Lysa was really in a terrible position, what with the forced abortion and forced marriage, he also links Lysa’s deteriorating mental state to her struggles to have children, as well as linking her physical appearance to her morals.

I’m not arguing that it is always wrong to write about a woman having mental health issues as a result of so much grief and trauma, but it’s not necessarily handled in the best manner, and it piles onto the preexisting trope of ‘mother’s madness’, insinuating that women are liable to slide into insanity if they struggle with their fertility or have lost children.

It’s important to recognize this trauma but that is not the same as demonizing it.

We also see GRRM push back against this with Catelyn; she didn’t go mad and release Jaime on a grief-stricken whim, she was perfectly rational at the time. She consistently offers sound advice despite being dismissed as a hysterical widow.

And while Jaime sneers at Cersei about her worries in their first scene together ("I think birthing does something to your minds. You are all mad."), he is unambiguously portrayed as an asshole in that scene, and a pigheaded one. Cersei is right to be worried about their affair and her children’s parentage being discovered.

Finally, fanon has taken the opposite tact in many ways in their discussion of Dany’s character. Countless readers argue that A. Dany is doomed to go mad and that B. this madness will be inextricably tied to her inability to have children, suggesting that she will be a ‘broken woman’ who must compensate for her lack of biological children with death and destruction.

This is obviously both not supported by the text and wildly offensive to anyone who has struggled to conceive or lost a child.

Additionally, canon never explicitly states beyond the words of Mirri that Dany is infertile. She’s never been examined by any kind of physician and is unclear herself on it. She also seems to suffer a miscarriage in her latest chapter after escaping the fighting pits with Drogon, likely induced by the berries she eats.

Furthermore, even more readers link maternal caring with moral virtue, insisting that we rank the female characters (even children!) based on who is ‘most maternal’ and constantly deriding either Sansa or Arya for ‘not being motherly enough’, despite the books showing us multiple scenes of both girls displaying compassion for other children.

Which is besides the point to begin with, as they ARE CURRENTLY CHILDREN THEMSELVES, and children are under no moral compulsion to act as each other’s parents. That is an adult failing.

In short, this fandom needs to get its head out of its ass when it comes to discussing motherhood, fertility, and mental health issues.

#valyrianscrolls #cw: miscarriage #lysa tully arryn #catelyn tully stark #cersei lannister #daenerys targaryen

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reginarubie · 3 years

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The difference between Anakin Skywalker and Daenerys Targaryen ~

Alternatively why, in my opinion (and I refer only show-wise and movie-wise) one is the fall of a hero and the other is the rise of a tyrant.

Under the cut more.

Now, I have stated more than once that it is possible that in the books Daenerys Targaryen will pull an Anakin Skywalker so still burn KL maybe for a honest mistake as she battles against fAegon or maybe because of a fit of rage (she is prone to those and it's canon) and will try to redeem herself during the Great War maybe even dying in the pursuit of her redemption.

Still, even if that was the case, there's a reason why I absolutely love Anakin Skywalker as a character as the fallen hero who died for love and a reason why I like Daenerys as a multi-facets characters but I do not love her.

Now, both characters have done unforgivable things. I don't hide from that, I mean Anakin killed all of those younglings and who knows how many people is his years as the Emperor henchman, Daenerys killed, burned, crucified and had children tortured (book) or fed her supposed opposititors to her dragons (show).

Yet, while their stories might be similar, if Daenerys really does burn KL and dies trying to redeem herself, I feel the heart of their stories in fundamentally different.

Anakin and Daenerys both start at a low point. Both are sympathetic in the beginning of their journey. Anakin is a slave in a far off planet at the edge of the galaxy while Daenerys is an exiled princess living off the courtesy of strangers who wants something from the last Targaryens, a girl who lived in poverty and often followed by assassins.

Both are compassion-filled or so it seems in the beginning.

Both feel strongly, wether it's fear, love or hate in all the arc of their journey. Both are rejected and only a person believes in them.

Anakin, no matter all he has done as a nine year old is rejected by the Jedi council and only Qui Gon Jinn believed in him being the Chosen One. Same as Daenerys is rejected by the lords and ladies of the continent as the true queen as they support the Baratheons or Starks or whoever else but her and only ser Jorah believes in her.

Then Qui Gon Jinn is killed and Obi Wan steps up.

Ser Jorah is discovered for his treachery and exiled and ser Barristan takes his mantle.

So far similar journey.

Anakin kills all the tusken; children, women and men. All of them to avenge his mother.

Daenerys crucifies all of those slavers - without even holding an investigation to see who of them has offered their child slaves to crucify them (again, the investigation before passing a sentence was done since the time of the romans, so around the time of Old Valyria in asoiaf). She does the same as Anakin when she burns down KL.

At first we see Anakin actually regrets or feels bad for what he did. He cries because of that, because he is grieving. He cry about it to Padme and she consoles him (not gonna delve into the Padme/Jon possible parallels right now) about it and he seems off for the better after it.

Daenerys does the same. Because she is grieving (ser Jorah, Missandei, Viserion, Rhaegal, Barristan, at least show wise) she burns down KL and kills everyone. Children, women, men, elderly, soldiers, civilians. She does not feel sorry for it. She does not cry. She gives conqueror-speeches. She basks in the fact that she has gotten the Iron throne (not that she has had revenge for the people she lost).

Why? Because their fall stems from different seeds.

Power for Daenerys.

Love for Anakin.

Anakin is pushed into the Dark side by rejection of his feelings by the Jedi council - he searches the guidance of Yoda and the only reply he gets is to learn to let go, but to a boy who has fought tooth and nail to finally have and loves so absolutely... I mean, if I was afraid of loosing someone and one to whom I went to get help told me to let go...I wouldn't take that counsel - but mostly because of love. He loves Padme and his fear of losing her is so great he is ready to condemn his whole soul to save her.

the Dark side then twists him and he wants power. But the root of Anakin character is love. In fact it's that same love he has arbored for his wife that pushes him right back in the light side by saving the galaxy and what has remained to him of her. His children. Her children.

He is a man of love. First and foremost.

What is Daenerys goal? The Iron throne. Power.

In the show she burns KL because she is grieving and the people rejects her, keeping to call Cersei queen and asking her help to be saved from Daenerys. That's what triggers her.

Otherwise, if it was only revenge against Cersei she would have went straight to the Red Keep. She would have not rained fire on the streets.

Power. She wants the Iron throne and the people of Westeros to accept her as their queen. They don't. She'll use fear to get power.

So, even if in the books the order of events gets reversed and Daenerys burns KL before dying trying to find redemption during the Great War still her character won't hold - at least to me - the same degree of feeling as the character of Anakin did.

Anakin actions always sparked from love. And not self-love, but love towards others (his wife and his children).

Daenerys actions always sparked from self-love (she believes she is to be loved and accepted and hailed as queen by everyone just because she is herself) and wants for power. What else of good was left to her character in the beginning she slowly lost when she choose time after time to use Fire and Blood instead of planting trees.

Just a side note.

Take the reaction of Padme and Jon and confront them. When Anakin kills the tuskens because of his grief he cries and she consoles him. When he kills the younglings and is twisted by the Dark side she shakes her head and still asks him to stop, to just be with her and leave behind the rest. He is too far gone. Jon goes to Daenerys and asks her, when he sees her feeling good and powerful for her conquest, if she has seen what she has done; but she is un-repeteant. She does not care. So Jon does not ask her to stay with him and just be with him, stop her dream of conquer the world to "free it", no when it is clear she is too far gone he plunges a knife in her chest (still horrendous the way it was written) to protect those he loves. His family.

Jon is the Anakin Skywalker in a way. He does not give in to the allure of the Dark side, even when he is tempted - he knows Daenerys loves him and would never kill him if he stays by her, or so he believes - no, he takes a step back and for those he loves (his siblings) he kills her the same way Anakin took a step back and killed Palpatine to save his son and his daughter because he knew he would die anyway and that Leia, if Luke kept saying no, would be the next.

So...

... Anakin was a hero who fell and rose (in a way, he is still a morally grey character to me)for love.

Daenerys was felled by love (in the show, as she loves Jon and because he choose those he loved most over her), but as Drogon points out to us what killed her was not love or fear. It was power, the cause of her fall, was the Iron throne. Was wanting it more than returning home to that house with the big red door and the lemon tree outside her window.

This is why I love the Anakin Skywalker from the movies, and why I like Daenerys as the multifaceted character she is, but she does not inspire in me the same degree of appreciation as Anakin Skywalker does.

#anakin skywalker #dark dany #anti-dany #anti-daenerys #fallen hero vs rise of a tyrant

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