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[drakaripykiros130ac]

“Ser Otto also reached out to Dorne, whose ruling prince, Qoren Martell, had once warred against Prince Daemon in the Stepstones, but Prince Qoren spurned his offer.”

- Fire & Blood, page 466

Another piece of evidence showing Otto’s political incompetence.

He arranges the usurpation of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, and reaches out to Dorne of all places, where there is no such thing as imposed patriarchy, and whose ruler (the Lord of Sunpear), had a daughter as heir.

Qoren Martell’s eldest child is Princess Aliandra Martell, who succeeded him as Lady of Sunspear after his death, even though Qoren also had a son, Qyle.

Hightower has plenty of nerve, I’ll give him that. I don’t know whatever made Otto think that Dorne would ever side with usurpers and oathbreakers.

If they did decide to participate in the Dance, Dorne would have been on the side of the Blacks.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

With the whole anti-Daemon agenda Condal and Hess have going, I am surprised they didn’t pile on him more lies and bullshit told by his enemies in the book.

Let’s be real here. The only death which Daemon might have had something to do with pre-war in actual canon, was Laenor’s (and there’s a lot of grey area here too).

Let’s recap:

1. Rhea Royce: in canon, she died nine days after she fell off her horse. You would think that if Daemon had done something to her, she would have said something to someone in those nine days she spent suffering. Whether or not Daemon was in the Vale at this time (many claim he was in the Stepstones), is irrelevant. The guy got lucky, that’s it. He wanted to be rid of this long and unwanted union and the Gods granted him this wish.

2. Harwin Strong: the idea is even more absurd than the one previously mentioned. At least with Rhea, Daemon could have had true motive. What motive could he possibly have for torching Harrenhal and murdering Lyonel and Harwin Strong? Harwin had been invaluable to the City Watch, and Lyonel was a very decent and loyal Hand.

The only thing that could determine Daemon to do this would be jealousy. Jealousy that Harwin was rumored to be Rhaenyra’s lover and the father of her three sons.

But do you honestly expect me to believe that he went through all that trouble, and created such massive destruction because he was petty? He had nothing to gain from Harwin’s death.

But you know who had something to gain? The Greens. They got rid of Lyonel Strong to place Otto Hightower back in the very influential position as Hand of the King, and getting rid of Harwin managed to hurt Rhaenyra (as a plus).

3. Laenor Velaryon: there are two theories here and I kind of think both are possible. Either his lover killed him out of jealousy, or Daemon arranged to have him killed so he could marry Rhaenyra. I am more inclined to believe that Daemon arranged it, however there are a couple of things that still bug me:

Corlys is Daemon’s best friend. Would Daemon risk his friendship with him in such a way? You would think that Daemon and Rhaenyra are both smart enough to realize that if they marry soon after Laenor’s death, the Realm would whisper that they had something to do with this death. And if Corlys and Rhaenys both believed these rumors, they would have broken off relations with Daemon and Rhaenyra immediately. And so, the Blacks would have lost the Velaryon support.

But that’s not what happened. Corlys and Rhaenys both stood firmly by Daemon and Rhaenyra from start to finish.

So, it is very possible that Daemon might have gotten lucky again, and Laenor died in the right moment. And since there was no point wasting time, Daemon and Rhaenyra married after only a few months, standing firmly against the Greens.

Bottom line: Condal, stop trying to turn Daemon into a villain in a desperate attempt to make a certain faction look better.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Let’s face it, when GRRM wrote the ending of the Dance, he put a pause on the whole Aegon and Jaehaera union, and realized that something was not right here.

Sure, it’s an “arranged marriage for peace” trope like the one from The Wars of the Roses…but kind of unnecessary (since the Blacks won), and also kind of disappointing because it sends the following message: “Usurpers and traitors should be rewarded.”

Otto and Alicent Hightower wanted their bloodline on the Iron Throne. They schemed, seduced and then started a whole war for it. Making Jaehaera queen (and have her potentially give birth to Aegon’s children) would give these two opportunists a win.

And then he thought about Aegon III, a broken child, forced in wedlock with the girl of the mad usurper who murdered his mother right in front of him.

And then, GRRM asked himself, who would deserve the honor of being Aegon III’s Queen and mother his children?

1. A girl from House Velaryon, a House who has always been on the side of the Blacks (even after Rhaenyra’s death), and fought for the true heir to the throne honorably and faithfully?

or

2. The last girl from the defeated enemy party, who had Hightower blood coursing through her veins?

The answer is pretty clear. And as such, thinking about granting Aegon III happiness, GRRM created Daenaera Velaryon, the always smiling little queen, who contributed to healing the boy’s broken heart.

This is why Daenaera Velaryon is Aegon III’s true wife and Queen in canon and why her presence in his life is essential.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

What do you think about the new promo video? HBO released a video with the greens first and to some it seemed unnecessarily rude. What do you think?

I think that HBO is doing a whole lot of marketing for the Greens…again (the two “choose a side” trailers were quite obviously uneven as well). Olivia, Tom and Ewan are the three actors they constantly use for marketing purposes from what I’ve seen, because they’re conventionally “hot” and the “appropriate” ages.

As @nrilliree said, the actors from Team Black are all either too old or too young, and therefore can’t really be used to “seduce” horny teens to watch the show.

As for the comments made by Tom and Ewan…I find it a little troubling that Lucerys’ death is something to be made fun of. And then, I suppose they will expect nothing but tears from fans when B&C happens, right? Not a chance.

This interview also kind of puts to rest any of the rumors that these two actors are too “traumatized” to say anything good about the Greens. They clearly had no problem doing that now. They were both open to discussing many scenes without the “fear” that they would receive hate.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

TG stans: “Corlys Velaryon betrays Rhaenyra and switches to the Greens.”

How Aegon the Usurper forces Corlys Velaryon to do his bidding:

“Tell your bastard to fight bravely, my lord. If he fails me, if any of these Braavosi pass the Gullet, your precious Lady Baela shall lose some parts as well.”

The Sea Snake did not plead, or curse, or threaten. He nodded stiffly, rose and took his leave.

- Fire & Blood, page 611

Corlys Velaryon, being on the side of the Blacks, while sitting on the Green Council:

Even that was thought to be too gentle a course by Ser Tyland Lannister, who argued for the immediate execution of Prince Aegon the Younger. “The boy will remain a threat so long as he draws breath”, Lannister declared. “Remove his head, and these traitors will be left with neither queen nor king nor prince. The sooner he is dead, the sooner this rebellion will end.” His words, and those of the king, horrified Lord Velaryon. The aged Sea Snake, “thunderous in his wroth”, accused the king and council of being “fools, liars, and oathbreakers,” and stormed from the chamber.

- Fire & Blood, page 605

Conclusion: Corlys Velaryon never betrayed Rhaenyra, not even after her death. He fought for her son’s rightful claim to the throne without any personal interest, and I am sure he was part of the plot to kill the usurper.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

GRRM basically spelling out how the Greens lost the war & how the Velaryons were never TG:

King Aegon II would soon stand naked before his enemies, all of the king’s men knew. Bloody Ben Blackwood, Kermit Tully, Sabitha Frey, and their brothers-in-victory were preparing to resume their advance upon the city, and only a few days behind them came Lord Cregan Stark and his northmen. The Braavosi fleet carrying the Arryn host had departed Gulltown and was sailing toward the Gullet, where only young Alyn Velaryon stood in its way…and the loyalty of Driftmark could not be relied upon.

“Your Grace”, the Sea Snake said, when the rump of the once proud green council had assembled, “you must surrender. The city cannot endure another sack. Save your people and save yourself. If you abdicate in favor of Prince Aegon, he will allow you to take the black and live out your life with honor on the Wall.”

- Fire & Blood, page 611

The Blacks had full control of the Realm and they obliterated the Green forces.

You are no king when you have no control over your kingdom and no army to defend you. Aegon the Usurper was forced to abdicate, but ended up murdered (just like Aerys II).

I find it incredible how even in death, Rhaenyra Targaryen inspired her forces to fight for her cause, and they won. Yet, no one fought for Alicent or her son in their time of need. On the contrary, their “allies” became turncloaks.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

TG stans: “Aegon spared Rhaenyra’s son. He was merciful.” & “The Greens would never harm children.”

The “good & kind” Alicent Hightower, and her “merciful” son, when the Blacks were coming to rescue Aegon III:

“You fed his mother to your dragon.”, she reminded her son. “The boy saw it all.”

The king turned to her desperately. “What would you have me do?”

“You have hostages.”, the Queen Dowager replied. “Cut off the boy’s ears and send it to Lord Tully. Warn them he will lose another part for every mile they advance.”

“Yes,” Aegon II said. “Good. It shall be done.” He summoned Ser Alfred Broome, who had served him so well on Dragonstone. “Go and see to it, ser.”

- Fire & Blood, page 611.

No more need be said.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

I feel I must say it again: It’s not Rhaenyra’s job to ensure that firstborn daughters get a chance to inherit their father’s positions in the Realm.

Rhaenyra is not a crusader for women’s rights. She is a woman who fought for her own rightful claim to the Iron Throne.

Other women who feel they have been wronged by the patriarchy, can/should fight their own battles…or not. But it’s not Rhaenyra’s job to hold their hands through this, especially not at a time when her own position is unstable.

The point is that with Rhaenyra seated on the Iron Throne, she is living proof that yes, it is possible to have a woman sit a throne in Westeros. And as such, she helps other young women fight for their claims, and also gives the lords of the Realm the possibility to choose their daughters to succeed them.

So enough with the preposterous accusations that Rhaenyra gave something something to second sons over first daughter bla bla whatever. You cannot turn a whole system upside down overnight, and Rhaenyra followed the advice of her own Hand, Corlys Velaryon, when she made those decisions.

Just because Rhaenyra is Queen, you expect her to take away everything the lords have and give them to the ladies born before them?

Rhaenyra has sons, who would inherit everything from her after she passes. This isn’t about turning Westeros into Barbie Land, it’s about slowly allowing women the possibility to inherit in the future (but not women exclusively!!)

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Aegon wears the crown of Aegon I. Maegor the Cruel was the last person to wear the conqueror's crown. Maegor, who murdered his nephew, the rightful heir to the throne, and usurped the throne for himself. He died a tragic death, leaving no heirs, and his line became extinct. The crown is too big, too heavy and doesn't fit his head. The crown doesn't fit him well, it's not for him.

Rhaenyra wears Jaeherys' crown. The last person to wear this crown was Rhaenyra's father, the king chosen by Jaeherys as his heir, Jaeherys who defeated the usurper and did not wear the crown worn by him, but created his own, which was to be a symbol of the return of the rightful line of succession to the throne. The crown fits perfectly on Rhaenyra's head.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

The whole “Alicent is just protecting her children” argument is really getting old.

If her main priority truly was the wellbeing of her children, she wouldn’t have spent years turning them against Rhaenyra.

The only way she could have protected her children would have been to do the exact opposite: attempt to bring them and Rhaenyra close together.

But that’s not what she did. She made herself Rhaenyra’s enemy, not only by bullying her, but also by controlling Viserys, turning her children against their half-sister, and constantly gossiping about the parentage of Rhaenyra’s boys.

Didn’t she realize that as soon as Rhaenyra became Queen the fates of her children would be in Rhaenyra’s hands?

What did she hope to accomplish through all those foolish acts?

The only possible answer: she didn’t care about the consequences, because she knew that as soon as Viserys died, she and her “Green” party would usurp the throne.

All of Alicent’s actions resulted in the deaths of her children as well as her grandchildren. She is the only one truly responsible for the downfall of her family.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

The Driftmark scene as a whole was a hot mess, courtesy of the showrunners.

So, based on the changes they made from the book, they attempted to make Alicent and Aemond the clear victims (which they’re not, not even in the show).

A 5 year old child, after being called a bastard, threatened with death, and forced to watch his demented uncle prepare to bash his 6 year old brother’s head with a rock, made a move to stop him using a knife and ended up slashing the guy’s eye.

The intention of the 5 year old was to stop this madness. It wasn’t a premeditated thing. It was the reaction of a child.

Now, moving forward to the great “assembly”, we have Alicent who found herself to be everyone’s spokesperson and although she wasn’t there, she somehow knew exactly what happened.

There were no witnesses to this child fight. The result: two girls who were bleeding, a boy with a broken nose and another who unfortunately had his eye slashed. All this shows is that the children fought, the fight escalated and one child ended up permanently damaged.

And then, you have a full grown mid-30 year old woman demanding the 5 year old child’s eye in retribution. When no one was listening to her insane ramblings, she picked up a knife and like a lunatic, lunged herself at the opposite party. At this point, we don’t even know if she was going after Lucerys or Rhaenyra. Afterwards, in a fit of rage, this mad woman slashes the arm and wounds the heir to the throne.

To recap:

1. Alicent thought herself entitled to retribution even though no one witnessed the child fight, and therefore no one could pass judgement.

2. A few dozen people witnessed Alicent hurting Rhaenyra and no consequences followed.

And I’m supposed to be convinced by this scene that what? That the Greens are poor misunderstood victims of Viserys and Rhaenyra?

The only thing this whole scene tells me is that Alicent is an unhinged b*tch.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

So few people realize that this Dance and the usurpation of Rhaenyra’s throne, kind of puts a dent in the idea of an absolute monarchy.

Think about it for a moment. What is an absolute monarchy? It is a system of government where you have one ruler who has complete authority over state and government.

In simpler terms: the monarch can do whatever he wants (while also in accordance to written laws).

Since there was no succession law at the time, King Viserys could choose whoever he wanted as his heir. And he chose his eldest child, Rhaenyra. The King’s word is law in an absolute monarchy, so to deny Rhaenyra her right to sit the throne goes against the imposed system, just because certain lords don’t like it or are too ambitious for their own good.

Take Aegon IV for example. He legitimized all of his bastards before he died. It was a cruel and shitty move, yes. But it was perfectly legal. The monarch has the power to legitimize bastards, and that’s exactly what he did. Once again, people didn’t like it and continued to refer to Daemon Blackfyre, Bittersteel, Bloodraven, Shiera Seastar etc. as bastards.

So, I don’t even get why Westeros continues to “function” under an absolute monarchy, when no one actually obeys the system.

There will always be sneaky and overly ambitious lords who plot at every turn *cough* Hightowers *cough*, but if people bothered to obey the system, these upstarts wouldn’t stand a chance.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

“rhaenyra scammed house Velaryon” that’s correct. it was ONLY rhaenyra. no one else was involved. as we all know, laenor, famous haver of heterosexual sex was totally able and willing to give rhaenyra trueborn heirs but his bitch wife actually kicked him out of the bedroom whenever he tried :(. and he was so upset about them not being his biological sons and wanted to speak out about it but rhaenyra was actually holding a gun to his head everytime he was onscreen so he couldn’t :((. so when you make posts about the Velaryon boy’s parentage be sure to only mention rhaenyra!! she is the sole culprit behind this terrible crime.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Maybe it's silly but how do you deal with the negativity from TG stans? I'm in my twenties but this is my first time using Tumblr and they are coming for my throat. The name-calling, spamming was insane. A more followed blog shared my whole page and posts that I criticised Alicent and her followers came at me like rabid dogs. (I apologise for saying this but I literally don't know how else to describe.) Maybe I have been extremely lucky thus far but I have never been cyberbullied this mercilessly. The insults I have heard would be legitimate lawsuits if they had the guts to tell them to my face, I'm telling you. I'm genuinely sorry if this comes out baby-ish but my friends don't use Tumblr so they don't know how to deal with this. I thought about deleting my account but I don't want to stop using a platform I enjoy due to some bad people. You are blog I really like and I'd appreciate any advice.

Hi. I am really sorry that you are dealing with all of this :(

I have faced plenty of backlash for my posts. In the past, I used to get into long debates with TG stans. Nowadays, I don’t even bother (especially since most haven’t read the book or choose to ignore it simply because Condal’s fanfic version favors their side more).

Some of the things which help me deal with all their negativity are the following: I don’t accept anon messages, I have some of the nastiest TG stans blocked, and I try to ignore any provocation.

Social media is brutal, and cyberbullying is even worse than actual bullying, because these people hide behind an account (or more) with a made-up name and have the power to target you.

People who personally target you over your perception of a fictional character, are completely insane in my book, and they are in need of serious help.

There is a pro-Alicent mania going around thanks to Condal and his obsession with Olivia Cooke. But rest assured that the GA despises Alicent. TG stans are like a 15-20% minority who tend to make a lot of noise, because they are desperate to be heard.

If you enjoy Tumblr, stay on. Maybe take some time off posting for a while until things cool down. Focus on the more positive posts, and ignore any negativity.

I would suggest you block these accounts which target you and even report them if things get serious.

Don’t give up, and don’t give these people any satisfaction. Ignore them, block them and focus on the positive part of the fandom :)

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Am I the only one who just didn’t like that whole “Defend your Council” promo as a whole?

I feel like when GoT was airing, the actors were truly invested in their characters’ stories and feelings.

With HotD, however, the actors are treating it like one big joke. I mean, yeah, it’s a fictional, fantasy show. We get it. But in this promo, they were basically given a chance to actually state valid arguments on why they’re in the right, and they all blew it.

And I’ve seen a lot of complaints on how “HBO made this promo in the Blacks’ favor”, but it’s really not true.

There’s a simple explanation as to why the actors from Team Black had more to say: it’s easy to be Team Black, because in this story, the Blacks have more arguments which favor their cause. GRRM made it so. He admitted it. He wrote the story in the Blacks’ favor, because to him, as the author of the entire Asoiaf world, Rhaenyra is the true Queen and the Blacks are in the right.

The actors from TG probably tried to avoid saying anything good about the Greens either because they don’t want backlash or maybe, just maybe, because they also know that the Blacks are in the right. The only valid argument the Greens have is that traditionally, sons came before daughters. But that’s pretty much it (And they didn’t even use it).

Now, going back to the promo, I feel like the TB actors had so many things/arguments they could have used to express that the Blacks are in the right (because I repeat, it’s super easy to be TB), but they just stuck to superficial/childish things like: “we’re the best”, “we get along”, “I’ll put his head on a spike”, “we’re thoroughbreds” (I like you, Matt, but wtf?) etc.

With the actors of TG, the joke gets even bigger. Olivia Cooke’s “we have bigger dragons” takes the cake. Does she even bother to understand the story at all? The Greens have one bigger dragon (Vhagar). Dreamfyre is average, and Sunfyre and Tessarion are both smaller than Syrax.

So, bottom line, I know that they are there for their paychecks, but come on, you can try putting in a little effort.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Basically, the main reason why you find people who stan the Greens:

At least this guy had the courage to admit it.

I blame the showrunners for this.

They hire someone like Olivia Cooke to portray Alicent and then obsess about her beauty, put her in the spotlight and turn her into a sex symbol. And you see people actually falling for that.

Olivia Cooke is like 30 (younger than Emma D’Arcy even), and she is portraying a character who is supposed to be in her 40s at the time of the Dance.

Not to mention how ridiculous it is that the actress is only two years older than the actor portraying her on-screen son.

The pro-Green agenda of Ryan Condal and Sara Hess looks like this:

1. Get the sexiest possible actress to play a whinier, Virgin Mary version of the real Alicent Hightower (even though in book canon, she was never described as an actual beauty. She remained slim after four pregnancies. That doesn’t make you beautiful), and eliminate any notion that she wanted power, so you can make sure that people sympathize with her.

2. Come up with the idea that Aemond was bullied (even though he was the bully in canon).

3. Instead of respecting canon and making Aegon a lazy and fat drunk, give him daddy issues and attempt to “justify” his harassment of women.

4. Make Helaena a dreamer, so she can be more relevant (but she’s not).

Get the picture?

Rhaenyra Targaryen is clearly described as a very feminine person in the book, who loved dresses and jewels, and she had a very girlish personality (in no way did she want to be a knight, or a boy, LOL). She should have been portrayed as such.

I am tired of showrunners who use their money and connections to make their own fanfic out of a canon story. There are many sites for that where you can write how much you think the Greens are “misunderstood creatures” or how you think they should have won.

If you’re incapable of being non-biased when running a show who is supposed to follow a completed source, then just stay out of it.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

“Daemon would have never let Jacaerys take the throne over his own sons.”

People seem to forget that Jacaerys was betrothed to and was soon to marry Baela (Daemon’s daughter).

Baela was set to become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. If you honestly believe that Daemon would plot against his own daughter, you need a serious reality check.

Believe it or not, not everyone is like those two overly ambitious upstarts, Otto and Alicent Hightower, who didn’t settle for anything less than having their blood occupy the throne and take the crown of Consort as well.

People like Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon have proven to be open to compromises and are way more flexible.

Yes, of course, Daemon prefers his own sons. Any normal person would. But he never had a problem with any of his stepsons (unlike how Ryan Condal makes a point to create unnecessary strife between them on that show for some reason). He raised them for many years. They are Rhaenyra’s sons and his great-nephews, so they are of his blood as well.

As much as he would have liked to have his own son sit the throne, Daemon would have settled to have his daughter as Queen Consort.

And given the closeness between the Team Black children (unlike the Greens, who attempt to betray one another), Aegon and Viserys wouldn’t have done anything to try to undermine Jacaerys after he became King.