#;; because of viserys

[visenyaism]

if rhaenyra had succeeded in ascending the iron throne, do you think daemon would have somehow found a way to secretly have the strong boys killed so his sons would be the heirs?

So Daemon is not a long-term planner. His whole thing is that he is extremely impulsive. I think it’s a pretty good indicator that when Rhaenyra DID succeed in ascending the iron throne Daemon was not planning and plotting to dispose of Joffrey to put Aegon on the throne but instead decided to abandon all of them to go on his suicidal riverlands bender with the sixteen year old dragon rider he met like 4 months prior. ​

like. sure naming a kid 4th in line aegon is suspicious as hell but was DAEMON machinating? no the only thing he ever fully calculated in his life was the angle of his final 720 helix spin eye sword dragon jump trickshot. which is why daemonomics was such a disaster when he was master of coin.

#asoiaf #i think he’s like viserys in that he wanted a son because you’re supposed to do that. and then he had them and it was like well youre here #i do think baela was his favorite #the bigger question is if there is no war how long does daemon make it without spinning out

[alicentsgf]

criston's face when viserys insulted alicent is actually SO Insane. like the man was just looking at the king like that. in broad fucking daylight. blatantly willing viserys skull to explode victim-of-alys-rivers-psychic-witchery style. you know why he missed the kids sneaking out?? because he was busy standing over viserys in the dark armed with murderous intent

#ignore alicents face in this shot because you Will cry #murderous alicent-defender criston is a favourite of mine. my brother in arms #hotd #criston cole #alicole (platonic) #alicent hightower #anti viserys i targaryen

[dirtytransmasc]

Alicent being ignored as a parent during those first few years. Alicent being expected to take care of aegon, while also allowing Viserys to take him whenever he so pleased, to show off and pass around like a model toy. Alicent being denied her child whenever lords and ladies were around. Alicent only getting him back when she was at her wits end, stressed after being separated from him for so long, watching people hold him wrong, play with him wrong, touch him wrong. Alicent only getting him back when he is fussy and no longer a source of entertainment for Viserys and his guests. Alicent holding her baby close to her chest during outings or events, stiffening when people ask to see him, hesitant to release her grip on him. Alicent biting her tongue when people ask to "give her a break" when she really wants to tell them that it's her baby and she's perfectly capable. Alicent being so exhausted from guests and Aegon being so little and full of energy, and her second pregnancy, causing her to doze with Aegon in her arms, only to nearly lash out when someone tries to slip him from her arms, engulfing him in her arms as if to fend him from hungry wolves. Alicent carrying him around, even as she grows tired, her arms burning and back aching, so she knows he is safe, away from prying hands and acrid whispers, away from his father's attempts to use him for amusement purposes. Alicent feigning a smile, feigning composure and enjoyment, when really, she just wants to be home, in her chambers with her son, where no one can bother them, where they aren't props meant to smile and wave for a man who does not love them.

(inspired by this reblog of my post from earlier. cause yes, @squgs [hope you don't mind me tagging] is right, she would very much go to war for her baby)

#protective mom alicent for the win #I feel like there isnt enough focus in how Viserys treats Alicent and Aegon like props in those first few years #he wasnt a parent or a proper husband unless he could show them off #he treated them almost like toys #and I feel like Alicent would want to rip her hair out over it #she hates feeling like shes on display. but she can suck it up and bute her tongue #with Aegon though? she's a lot less willing to just let it happen #but of course. what can she do? he's the king after all. she's just his little lady wife #just because she's forced to lie down and take it doesn't mean she has to like it or be willing #alicent hightower #aegon targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #hotd #house of the dragon #pro team green #anti viserys i targaryen #I hate that man so fucking much #people act like he loved alicent and aegon in those first few years #but he clearly didn't #he just pretended to #he was just using them for his own benefit

[hylialeia]

you don't get it. she loved him once. she didn't have a maester, she had a brother. he sold their mother's crown to keep them fed. he said Dany, please. she loved him, once.

#I feel like the tragedy of viserys and dany is they really might have been close and loved each other normally of they'd been allowed to #barristan says viserys always seemed aerys's son but when has westeros had any sort of developed understanding of mental illness #dany knew him best and she said the last kindness left him when he sold their mother's crown #it begs the question how much kindness there would have been if they hadn't been children forced out on the streets #a brother dany says never forgave her for their mother's death giving her birth. #but who told her stories and brought her up while his own mental faculties were wearing thin #it doesn't feel like tywin keeping tyrion based on lannister name and blood alone #she loved him once. #that viserys had some inherent lecherous evil in him doesn't feel in line with that to me #it doesn't feel in line with dany please #if ned is the good guardian to tywin's bad one viserys was just a boy who found himself in that role under the worst possible circumstances #and who under duress of those awful circumstances and his own undiagnosed mental illness #(for which he never got any help or support) #failed his sister very very badly #leaving daenerys to feel the hole of his absence even when he was still alive #because she loved him. once #lol anyway! #asoiaf #daenerys targaryen #viserys targaryen

[prideprejudce]

AU Reds Poster: Alicent joins Rhaenrya as her advisor and wife after escaping her father's influence.

She escapes Kings Landing with Helaena and her grandchildren just in time. Unfortunately, her father has already sunk his teeth into her two sons who are ready to fight for their right to the iron throne. How will Alicent choose between her family and her beloved Rhaenyra when the time comes?

#alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent x rhaenyra #rhaenicent #rhaenyra x alicent #house of the dragon #hotd season 2 #im sorry the posters just looked so good next to each other and alicent looks like she's gazing at rhaenyra with worry #basically alicent had an epiphany after viserys died (him screaming about the chosen one crap didn't happen) #but her father already had the ball and floor moving for the crown and to overthrow rhaenyra #and alicent had a dream or prophecy that told her that the greens would destroy the entire kingdom and her family including their lineage #she tried to convince aegon to leave with her too but he was already drunk on power and not listening to her anymore #so she goes to find rhaenyra to play peacemaker and diplomat and reluctantly joins team red #but then aemond kills luke and things go to shit #helaena is then betrothed to jace to protect both her and her grandchildren #and she basically serves as rhaenyra's conscious and calm to her storm through the war #in the end daemon gets exiled after killing aemond and betraying rhaenyra's orders #otto is killed for treason and aegon forfeits the crown for his life #jace and helaena rule after rhaenyra one day passes and wives live happy together #it makes sense because I say it makes sense

[bardsansa]

the last painted portraits of dowager queen alicent hightower and rhaenyra i

rhaenys and visenya, alyssa velaryon, the six wives of maegor, alysanne, aemma arryn

closeups n pfps if you please

#it’s dyke night. #not tagging v@lyrianscr0lls bc well it’s clearly show inspired. anyways this is supposed to be like their last known portraits. alicents’ is #right b4 rhaenyra takes kl and rhae’s is after that. they both hang outside the portrait hall in some cabinet after they die :)))) #and the portrait for alicent that hangs publically is from her wedding to viserys. because this is an evil evil world :) #mine #my art #procreate art #artists on tumblr #procreate #asoiaf #hotd #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #queen rhaenyra #queen alicent #rhaenicent #obviously.

[soyboywenzie]

i think we as a fandom need to talk about the fact that the targtower children’s resentment and disdain for rhaenyra is not just the work of viserys lack of parenting but due to everyone else too.

it’s from otto doing everything in his power to stop rhaenyra from getting the throne so his blood can get it, not because he thinks aegon is or would be a good king, not because he thinks his grandson deserves it, but because his blood would take the throne, not rhaenyra’s, not daemon’s. HIS.

it’s from alicent’s every conversation on screen with aegon revolving around rhaenyra. how, in ep.6, his mother stops his session to tell him he needs to be better to his brother in public so we can be a united family against her, how if rhaenyra takes the throne, she’ll have no choice but to kill them to keep her throne, how in ep.8, alicent is mad at his continuous behaviors but only this mad because rhaenyra is about to be in town.

the talk before his coronation is explicitly about how much his father wanted rhaenyra on the throne, how he had twenty years to change it and never did. it’s about alicent telling him not to not be swayed by judgements to kill rhaenyra, how above all the terrible she’s done, she still his sister. yet no one has ever acted like she is.

it’s from aemond’s eye being taken out and it ending with his mother yelling at rhaenyra about duty and sacrifices, how she can do all and never get in trouble, how she does as she pleases and is happy, yet she, the queen, is dutiful and isn’t. aemond’s eye is used to get back at rhaenyra, his mother is mad that his eye is gone but it’s more because RHAENYRA’S sons took it then it being taken at all. how he has to soothe his mother even if he’s the one bleeding.

it’s from criston cole bullying and tormenting rhaenyra’s sons because they are rhaenyra’s sons. It’s about them being lesser because they came from her indecency, them being worse because they came from her. her sons being lower than them because of them being a direct connection to rhaenyra and him feeling mad about not being the one she choose.

the targtower children entire world revolved around rhaenyra. it wasn’t just viserys who preferred her, everyone did! rhaenyra’s stepmother would rather fight her than love them! their mother’s sworn sword would rather mess with her children as an act of vengeance than genuinely be interested in them, their grandfather’s every political move was to stop her husband from being near power. love or hate, those children never had a chance to see rhaenyra on their own before or after Driftmark.

their father, her father, loved her more. their mother, her stepmother, hated her more than she cared for them. their grandfather, who has no connection to her, would rather deal with politics through them against her than for them. their mother’s sworn sword, who was rhaenyra’s sworn sword first, hates her more than he likes them.

these kids, again, never stood a damn chance!!

#house of the dragon #hotd #rhaenyra targaryen #my original work #alicent hightower #otto hightower #criston cole #viserys i targaryen #this family did more damage to rhaenyra’s name more than she did! #‘her bastard…’ that no one cared about but them #‘her husband…’ that they hated more than anyone else in the realm #team black #asoiaf #it started with viserys but it didn’t end with him #they hate her because everyone around them is obsessed with her #with her children. with her husband. with her honor #with her vagina. with her associates. with her maidenhood. #everyone is obsessed with her yet can’t even bat an eye for them #the dance isn’t just viserys fucking up #it’s everyone being fuckin obsessed with her that those obsession negatively impacted the next generation #anti team green #anti alicent hightower #anti otto hightower #anti criston cole

[knightsickness]

‘the greens killed viserys’ is not as funny as what i think actually happened which is the greens really meant to kill viserys but put it off for so long and were so incompetent at it he died of unrelated leprosy. could still take credit for it

#criston would be terrible at assassinating someone quietly they’d never get the brain matter out of the carpet. otto and larys are running #separate schemes that keep inadvertently sabotaging each other because they aren’t conferring #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #hotd #house of the dragon #larys strong #alicent hightower #criston cole #viserys targaryen

[alicentes]

The minute V*serys told Otto that he knew Alicent only came to spend time with him after Aemma died was because Otto sent her there for his own interests and yet he continued with their private visits knowing the 15 year old girl was only spending time with him because of her father i was like 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

#also the fact that he told her not to tell rhaenyra about their tims together because she wouldnt understand? top groomer behaviour #it runs in the family i guess *coughs* daemon #alicent hightower #anti viserys targaryen #hotd

[brotherconstant]

It’s time that you came home.

#hotd #hotdedit #asoiaf #house of the dragon #daemon targaryen #viserys targaryen #matt smith #beegifs #hotdcentral #i wasn't expecting to burst into tears because daemon targaryen couldn't make an entrance and yet #1.04 #1.05 #1.08

[whateveryeah]

Daemon was so in love with Nettles that when he learned about Rhaenyra’s discomfort he sent her off and went to prove devotion to his wife

Anyway, Always this.

#I don’t care about anything because ​all your arguments over rumours fall flat next to his reaction to Mysaria poisoning Rhaenyra's mind #Daemon spent his whole life seeking validation from the people he loves (Viserys I and Rhaenyra) #Remember when Viserys I thought marriage and kids with good- no not good but ideal woman would change him but-oops it didn’t 🫢 #No one can change Daemon Targaryen. #He is complicated character and his twin flame is just as good/bad as him. #There’s no redemption arc. There’s just two imperfect twin flames tragically dying on the same day months apart. #***he could have runaway but he didn’t 😇*** #thankful for Matt because he understood the character and does his best with the script he was given:/ #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon x rhaenyra #daemyra #otp <3

[ben--solos]

"Amongst those cheering loudest was Princess Rhaenyra, who was thrilled at the return of her favorite uncle and begged him to stay awhile."

DaemyraWeek2023: Day 3 - Book To Screen

#hotdedit #daemyraedit #house of the dragon #daemyra #daemyraweek2023 #daemyraweek #targaryenedit #targaryensource #gotedit #targnation #gameofthonesdaily #dailyhotdgifs #userarjay #usernani #game of thrones #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #viserys targaryen #* #this prompt was tough because i've already made gifs with my favorite book moments and i didn't want to repeat things #i also know this is very daemon / viserys heavy and less daemyra but it still counts i think

[fuckalicent]

thinking about how rhaenys and corlys presenting laena for viserys to marry served only to soothe viserys’ conscience and convince him that marrying alicent was somehow morally passable. it allowed him to convince himself he was doing the better thing by marrying alicent. also thinking about how when he mentioned to alicent that his council wanted him to marry laena, he watched the hope flitting across her features, watched the relief in her posture thinking she was free, thinking she’d escaped his clutches. only for him to announce at the council meeting after that he wants to marry her, that he will marry her. the way she fiddles with her fingers while shaking her head almost imperceptibly at rhaenyra, trying to convince her that she did not want this, despite how it may seem. her having to bear almost everyone in that room’s distaste at viserys’ selfish decision.

#hotd #alicent hightower #anti viserys i targaryen #i feel sick every time i rewatch that sequence #it’s structured the same way as viserys’ conscience i think #he sees laena and walks with her in the gardens and by then he is already considering marrying alicent #seeing how young she is only solidifies this idea - no matter how unsettling because he can tell himself that he at least didn’t marry the #11 year old and chose the 14 year old #instead #it’s crazy also when u remember how laena said ‘mother told me i would not have to bed u until i was 14’ and the next scene is viserys and #alicent - who is 14!!!!!!!! #correction: laena is 12

[ride-thedragon]

While I'm here casting everyone and their mothers. The fact that they had Eve, Steve, Sian, and Paddy playing their characters in their 20's. The youngest of that group was in their early 40's. Playing late to early twenties

So here we are:

Aemma Arryn

Sian Brooke and Hannah Rae

Rhaenys Targaryen:

Eve Best and Dakota Blue Richards

Corlys Velayron

Steve Toussaint and Sope Dirisu

Viserys Targaryen:

Paddy Considine and Harris Dickinson

#hotd #hotd fancast #viserys targaryen #corlys velaryon #rhaenys velaryon #aemma arryn #harris dickinson #sope dirisu #hannah rae #dakota blue richards #in the sense that if the show had shown a linear progression of time #this would be the cast for the first 2 episodes of a 20 episode season #casting young eve best was harder than life itself because i couldn’t disappoint my moots #my mind still isnt settled on the casting but it is for the actor

[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

[alicent-archive]

Alicent and Aegon make my brain go brrrrrr. he's her first. she doesn't like him. he's her first. he doesn't know if she loves him. he's her first. and that doomed them both.

#something something Alicent was a child when she had him and he was a child being called king and they had to cling to #one another because Otto saw an heir and Viserys saw Baelon but Alicent saw her little boy but she was a little girl and yeah I'm sad. #hotd #house of the dragon #alicent hightower #aegon ii targaryen #team green #my own #text