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It's extremely validating to have the HOTD director talk about how Viserys's (lack of) parenting severely messed up his children. The audience is too busy treating the woman around as the singular reason why these children ended up in the place they did, when Viserys has been emotionally neglecting then and he hasn't received even a modicum of the same criticism, or "analysis". However, neglect is a form of abuse and it has deep ramifications in their attitudes and views, as laid out here.

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instead of brain there’s aemond and alicent

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Daemon and Viserys as fathers:

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The character I have the most problems with in this Green versus Black conflict is Viserys. Of course, there’s the facts that if he didn’t order the mutilation and death of his first wife Aemma to rip a baby out of her and if he didn’t marry a teenage girl and then treat her like a baby-making machine, there wouldn’t have been any ‘’challenge’’ to Rhaenyra’s claim and there wouldn’t have been any foundation laid for this conflict. However, moving past all of that, there’s also the facts that he simply does not follow through on anything he does. After overlooking Rhaenyra for a decade and a half, he decides to make her heir, which to be fair, isn’t a problem in and of itself. However, the reality is that she hasn’t been groomed for the position and he makes zero efforts to provide her with the resources, proper education, training, teachers and political lessons in order to ensure that she’s equipped for the position. Despite being in the position himself, he doesn’t even take her under his wing to prepare her to properly navigate the royal court, let alone handle the throne. He just lets her run around and do whatever regardless of the consequences, which, quite honestly, would have not been a problem, if he didn’t make her next-in-line to the most powerful position in the seven kingdoms without doing anything to set her up for success. 

Even in regards to the succession laws, Viserys’ lack of commitment to his actions shows itself in how he chooses to ignore them to allow himself this one ‘’exception’’ to them. If he really wanted Rhaenyra to take power in this rigid patriarchal society, he would have needed to spend the last decade and a half of his life facing these laws and the conservative political climate of Westeros (or at the very least, of King’s Landing) head-on in order to create an environment that would properly accept a woman as the rightful heir without any loud contestation. His own people are creating whole plays to the population about how Rhaenyra isn’t the ‘’rightful’’ heir because she lacks ‘’male parts’’ and people are showing up to celebrations and parties assuming and talking about how Aegon II will be heir, and he’s simply not doing anything of note about this culture that’s undermining his decision and his heir. He may not directly face consequences for this neglect to act, but his heir will. 

Anyhow, going back to this ‘’challenge’’ to Rhaenyra’s claim, it’s important to highlight that the reality is that Alicent was an non-consenting participant to their sexual activities but due to living in a culture and society that doesn’t give her much of a choice, she had to endure it. On the other hand, Viserys initiated it over and over again and yet it’s only Alicent who ends up taking responsibility for the children that come out of it. If Viserys wanted to foster a positive environment between these children (that could potentially challenge and oppose his desired heir) and Rhaenyra and her children and if this man wanted them to navigate life and society the way he expected them to, all he had to do was actually raise them. Simply take care of his children. Instead, he was so neglectful and inactive in raising his children that they spent practically every day walking around wearing Hightower green, representing rebellion against the crown and his wishes.

Viserys could have guided Aegon II towards strongly desiring another position/career and basically fight against Alicent’s efforts. He could have cultivated certain values and ideals that would promote unity and cooperation with the rest of the family. He could have made sure his children wore Targaryen black and red and brought these two sides of his families together himself if he willed it. However, he did nothing for the children he decided to have. He emotionally neglected them and naturally enough, their path in life ended up not intersecting at all with his vision or wishes, and instead ended up tied to the vision and wishes of their mother as she actually raised them and actively spends time with them. Though again, considering Viserys wants Rhaenyra to be the uncontested heir to the throne, it’s quite imbecilic of Viserys to not step up as a parent and instead let the only major parental influences in his other children’s lives be the person who has waged war against the crown, and the people working under her. Viserys could have been a far stronger influence on them (considering how he’s the one with the most power) than anyone else and could have guided them towards the path he wanted if he had just committed. Try to blame others all you want and throw pity-parties about how Viserys only wants everyone to be cordial and peaceful but at the end of the day, this conflict started and only was possible due to him murdering his wife and grooming a teenage girl. Not only that but he also could and should have prevented the conflict from escalating on many levels and in so many ways but instead, he did nothing. Now, he’s reaping what he sowed but didn’t nurture, and I have zero sympathy for him in regards to that. 

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I don’t understand how people and sit there and put the entire blame of the whole Dance with Dragons conflict on Alicent. I know people have biases but I don’t understand how you can watch as all of these men commit horrid deeds with grievous consequences and then go on and pretend like it’s all Alicent’s fault. This entire scenario is only possible in the first place because Viserys decided to strip his first wife of any bodily autonomy and agency she had and ripped a baby out of her without her consent . A torture of a procedure that brutally killed her. Following that, he decided to marry a teenager, maritally rapes her and treats her like a baby making machine, without any regards to the potential consequences or how it’s impacting anybody. Just because he’s two seconds away from rotting away doesn’t remove the unwashable stains he has made and how he has laid out this conflict to be even possible.

The line of succession ended up being changed in the first place because Daemon can’t stop himself from doing nonsensical attention-seeking half-assed stunts (like extreme public torture, grooming his teenage niece and later starting a whole war) that have grievous aftereffects, once again with no regards to their real brutal consequences, all in order to get his brother’s attention and validation. In fact, this whole scenario only ever had the potential to happen due to the patriarchal monarchy that Westerosi men created alongside the Targaryen’s blatant lack of preparation and established rules for a scenario where the next ruler would be a woman, and the seven kingdoms staunch refusal to genuinely accept one as their ruler.  

All that and people will still choose to pin this whole thing on Alicent, with no consideration to the fact that she was pimped by her dad, when she was 15, to an old man, and had no say or choice in the matter due to her being inside a system that strips most women of any real choice or say in their lives. It’s like this fandom would rather spend over a month demonizing a female character (like Young Alicent) for not being the ‘’perfect’’ victim to patriarchal violence due to and based on a hypocritical usage of modern standards and using rhetorics steeped in rape culture than hold male characters accountable (for longer than two seconds) for torturing and killing their wives in explicitly sexist frameworks. That aside, Alicent absolutely plays a part in this whole conflict (as she grows older), as does Rhaenyra, to the point where both end up becoming the emblematic faces of this chain of events. However, if you can’t see how the conflict itself is only made possible due to and founded on sexist biases, gendered violence, grooming, sexual abuse and negligence that stem from all these men in the highest positions of power, then you are simply not paying attention. 

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Might I ask how that anon reconciles being a supporter of the patriarchy as they obv think Alicent and Sansa are while... simultaneously being ""woke""? 💀 Do they just throw as many negative words as they can to anyone they don't like and see what best sticks?

Basically they're simultaneously trying to shame the characters themselves for their traditionally feminine personality traits and specific roles in life, and the fans for presenting all these traditional elements as ''actually woke''. They believe that what fans of these characters are doing is reaffirming regressive patriarchal and conservative standards (AKA ''female characters should be traditionally feminine, passive, submissive, not exhibit masculine traits and not be sexually promiscuous) and presenting that in a ''woke'' way. Essentially, anon is basically doing the equivalent of what they're accusing us of doing, shaming certain types of inoffensively written female characters based on regressive standards in order to reaffirm the type of female characters that they like. They were very counterproductive since the description they used to shame Sansa and Alicent fit the female characters they were defending just as much (except swap red hair with incestuous blonde) because, as I explained in my post, they are all victims of a patriarchal abusive society that forced all of them into certain ''passive'' and/or ''submissive'' roles for years or decades, though as I stated before, it's none of their fault. Anon was being sexist and regressive in their attempt to present us and the characters we stan as that. It reminds me of Alicent antis who apparently dislike her for her supposed ‘’sexism’’ and then refer to her using sexist terms and slurs. Genuinely makes no sense. But basically, yeah, they're essentially in the process of figuring out what sequence of words to use in order to add an immediately conservative and sexist connotation to being a fan of a type of female character that they don't like. All around ''weirdo'' behavior.

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One underappreciated part of Alicent’s character throughout the first half of this season is how despite the horrific circumstances that she finds herself stuck in, she still continuously found it in her heart to help and do good for the people in her life and for years at that. Alicent was the one who privately managed to shift Viserys’s mind and ensured that he ended up more vulnerable with his daughter and put more effort in fostering an actual relationship with her and confide in her. Without Alicent and her efforts in that regards, the father and daughter duo would have being almost completely estranged and their relationship wouldn’t have survived the early let alone the later trials it had to undergo. 

Not only that but Alicent continuously defended Rhaenyra’s claim over the course of these episodes. For all of the talk about Alicent’s loyalty, she’s the major character who consistently stayed on Rhaenyra’s side the longest. When Otto was constantly trying to bring up inheritance, she shut it down. When ladies gossiping were questioning Rhaenyra’s future capabilities as queen, Alicent defended her and when Viserys in his most extreme moments was nearly about to revoke Rhaenyra’s entire claim, Alicent went out of her way to talk some sense into him and was an essential contributor to him not changing his mind in regards to that. Even the war that Daemon raged for years wouldn’t have ended as it did if Alicent did not privately (and cleverly) managed to convince Viserys on shifting his stubborn stance of not helping out because it would make him look weak. Her contribution is what led Viserys to send the letter that later fueled Daemon to boldly end that conflict. Without Alicent making that whole sequence of events possible, that conflict would have lasted a long while longer, with no certainty to who would have come out on top.

Not only that, but Rhaenyra was struggling with her freedom in regards to romance and marriage as well, and it’s once again, Alicent privately arguing for Rhaenyra’s sake and giving a considerate and clever solution that convinced Viserys, which made it so that Rhaenyra was able to frolic around for multiple years as she did, and not end up having her relationship with her father wrecked due to how he would have handled that whole issue without Alicent around. That finally brings us to the whole controversy in regards to Alicent’s investment in Rhaenyra’s virginity. It’s clear to anyone that was looking at the whole picture or even just Alicent’s words (’’I only want to help you Rhaenyra’’) that the reason Alicent even went and sought information and clarifications from Rhaenyra in regards to what happened, is in order to privately defend her with as many facts as possible to ensure that Rhaenyra ends up in the best position possible and doesn’t lose her claim or anything else due to this. That ended up being exactly  what Alicent did right after her talk with Rhaenyra. 

People have demonized Alicent for her investment too much in that episode when that investment’s main purpose was to support and argue for Rhaenyra in private. That investment itself is also not a surprise because Alicent has spent the past few years making sure that Rhaenyra ends up in the best position possible, and Rhaenyra’s sexual decision nearly also toppled all of that (which, of course isn’t Rhaenyra’s fault but the Westorosi’s society’s fault) as Alicent pointed out herself. Not only that but in the conversation itself and in the conversation with Criston Cole in the next episode, Alicent is trying to figure out how to spin things to not seem as bad as Westorosi societies would present it (’’I’m not unaware that in flush of youth, there may be errors made, breaches or rather lapses’’). Evidently enough, how things lined up eventually led to Alicent feeling like she had no choice but to change sides and stand up for herself (for valid reasons that I will most likely expand upon) but nonetheless, I find it very strange how overlooked how all of Alicent’s major positive contributions that substantially moved the plot along and put Rhaenyra in an advantageous position that would have being taken away from her without Alicent. People should take all of this more into consideration when looking at her character in the first half of the show. She doesn’t get near enough credit for how much she helped, the cleverness she has shown in guiding those private conversations to those very productive ends and just how good she was being during all of that time. 

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Your blog is awesome. Love from a fellow Sansa stan and Alicent defender ❤

Thank you so much. I've been inactive for a few years but seeing you guys continuously support all my older posts and still like and reblog them has warmed my heart, and I appreciate the support both in the past and present. Thank you so much. Sending my love to you too, as a fellow Sansa stan and Alicent defender. This sub-set of the fandom makes me so proud sometimes, and it was so nice seeing Sansa stans on here take kindly to Show!Alicent.

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Yet another Sansa stan being an Alicent Stan lmao you guys need to stop being so predictable. I don't even hate her show version but the way you peeps love to latch on to a passive redheaded character who accepts her suffering in a feminine woke submissive way is getting comical at this point xD. Stan whoever you want, just keep your same old 'too-powerful-for-their-own-good' Targ takes to yourself thank you

The way you people finds ways to shame and denigrate female characters for how they handle and process patriarchal violence and abuse is absolutely astounding, and imply that there's good victims and bad victims is absolutely ridiculous. None of these characters ''accept'' their suffering. That's such an incredibly disgusting thing to say. They are young girls that live in a society that restricts and limits them, and preys upon them and these are victims to men in power that use that power to use and abuse them as they see fit. That's why (alongside a plethora of other reasons, of course) you're not going to see me shame Rhaenyra for getting groomed by her grown male uncle, or Cersei for getting abused by Robert or Daenerys for being abused by her brother for years and sold to and SAed by a grown man.

All of these characters were stripped of any real choice and power and were forced into submissiveness and passivity by their violently patriarchal society for years and years, and the most meaningful part is seeing them break out of it. Stop making weird connotations to people emotionally connecting to victims of abuse who were regulated and constrained by people that have power over them, and had to survive by enduring and pretending. Like of course this is a narrative that I would be emotionally engaged with considering how much I personally relate to a lot of aspects to it in regards to my own life and experiences, and so many other people see differing aspects of these characters and their hardships, how they endured, who they became and how they broke away from all of the limitations, and it means something to them in regards to their own lives, and that's an absolutely beautiful thing.

Sansa, for example, attempted to kill herself, attempted to push Joffrey off the tower, constantly made digs at him when she could, bolted away and refused to kneel when she was forced into marriage and continuously aimed to get out at the right time. She never ''accepted'' her suffering. She did what she had to do to survive, but there was always steel underneath even as she was only eleven/twelve. There was a lot of power to that, and there was also a lot of power in all of the moments of her faking and enduring these horrors and continuing on pretending regardless. Also, Alicent strode in, interrupted and boldly declared war at her current enemies' wedding. All of these women are forced into horrible positions, had to endure, and break away from it or take control of their lives in their own time. Even if they hadn't endure, or didn't break away from it at the end, they definitely wouldn't be ''worse victims'' for it like you seem to imply. My other issue with the other side of the HoTD fandom is how you all try to dictate who people are and are not allowed to like and what takes people are and are not allowed to have based on your own personal narratives. Also, the ''too powerful for their own good'' isn't just my Targ take, it's the whole conundrum that GRRM explicitly stated he wanted to explore with that family. Like wow I'm talking about what this man wanted his readers to talk about. Big problem. Anyways, if you don't want to see my takes, don't go to my account. Block me instead of immediately checking my account and sending hate in my inbox whenever I make a new post.

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Unpopular opinion: most Targaryens aren’t bad (yes their dynasty is awful) but it’s not like they could choose the House/dynasty they where born into or the fact they where descendants of three blood-thirsty-dragon-riding conquerors.

While someone isn’t inherently bad because they happen to be part of a certain family, the Targaryen dynasty does socialize and mold it’s members a certain way that leads a substantial amount of them to become proponent to fire and blood as they so famously say and flippantly use their power and weapons of mass destructions. They are essentially hailed over everyone else and treated by the people around them as being superior to others and socialized to view power over any other as their birthright regardless of the consequences that they often see themselves as being entitled to create in the first place as well. The system itself is the larger problem, but that system has deep ramifications in the mindset and tendencies of the individuals. This leads to a recurring pattern of constant dangerous petulance (such as the one present in all three central Targaryens in House of the Dragons) that so many of it’s members (and other major families have too, albeit typically to a much lesser and less (but still) inherently destructive degree) have in regards to power. So much that a lot of them, such as the ones in that conflict (like Rhaenyra) are far more concerned about ‘’how the throne rightfully belongs to them’’ just because it does rather than have any actual and concrete consideration or investment in the people they’re ruling in the first place.

Anyhow, their continued existence exists due to continuous incestuous practice to maintain their ‘’special bloodline’’. Their reign is founded on their initial conquest and even more importantly, continuous terrorization of the rest of the seven kingdoms because they have the fantasy equivalent of nuclear bombs, and so even most of  the better Targaryens ruler and members end up being complicit and a part of this larger tyranny and incestuous hazard regardless of their personal morals. Like practically every other major house in Westoros as well, no patriarchy (let alone those at the top of it) and no monarchical power can be ethical in the first place so their whole reign and continued hold to power is inherently unethical, and that manifests itself substantially in how women, lower-class people and anybody who doesn’t submit to them, are treated. 

 It’s made worse here due to how their reign is held together by fire and blood, and so when tested, there’s where most of them end up falling back on, especially since that’s what they’re brought up to do with the superficial element of their family’s history validating that tendency to use their power recklessly to dominate. Not all of them are inherently bad (and some of them are innocent and haven’t done any wrongs) but the awful dynasty in question is structured in a way that results in a surplus of destructive entitlement in the family as a whole and even a lot of the rulers that don’t rely on ‘’fire and blood’’ as much, still put their efforts in keeping this awful dynasty in power (despite their positive intentions that only matter in the very short term) and ensuring that their destructive entitlement will be continued on in later generations. 

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Hi king

Hey!!! Maybe I should really come back here more often considering the clown takes I've been forced to see on other social media platforms in regards to HoTD. Y'all are the only ones I can trust. Also for anyone wondering, yes I'm an Alicent Hightower defender.

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You're Black and I'm also Black and I can 100% tell you our ancestors who were slaves would stan Daenerys.

Full offense but you need to be freed from the chokehold white saviorism has on you.

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My Bookshelves in 2020

My Bookshelf in 2015:

My Bookshelf in 2016:

My Bookshelf in 2017:

My Bookshelf in 2018:

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Let’s see, you started a brawl in the streets with Ned Stark and disappeared from the capital. My husband died in a tragic hunting accident. It must have been traumatic for you. My only daughter was shipped off to Dorne. We suffered through a siege. A rather short siege. A rather short siege that I didn’t expect to survive. And now I’m marrying my eldest son to a wicked little bitch from Highgarden while I’m supposed to marry her brother, a renowned pillow biter, so…

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I don't have an acc but welcome back. Hope you doing awesome.

I didn't end up coming back when you sent this ask but that's really sweet of you. Thank you so much to you and everyone else who's still been interesting with my posts despite the fact that I've been inactive for a while.

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the war of the three queens