#daemon x nettles ask

[bohemian-nights]

It's so sad that we never got to know what Daemon truly thinks of his Netty, he spent his whole life in wrapped with the idea of Valaryian blood purity and Targaryeon rule but a young bastard girl comes by and turns his whole world, his whole life upside down in just a few years? In the end he refuses his queen, his Targaryeon wife and also the fact that Daemon was so anguished with the loss of Nettles that the emotion was strong enough for Caraxes to cry out and SHATTER windows? That fact right there solidifies the fact that Daemon loved Nettles, his own dragon screamed for her when he could not. But I want to know what was going through his mind ad he was falling for her.

Yeah, Daemon met Nettles once Team Black took King’s Landing around the first moon of 130 AC and they part early into the fifth moon of that year.

He spent nearly 50 years of his life believing in Valyrian supremacy and Targaryen exceptionalism and then he met her. Her very existence breaks all those beliefs. Those last few months taught him more than all of his years(well maybe not more, but they definitely had the most impact on him in the end). He goes against everything he knows for her when it would be easy enough to just abandon her and “come home.” Come back to what he knows, but he doesn’t. He sticks by her and he saves her.

Let us not mention that scene where Caraxes literally expresses Daemon’s inner rage at being parted from her. If that’s not the most romantic scene in Fire & Blood then I don’t know what is🤷🏽‍♀️ Nettles might not have been his first love, but she was his last.

Unfortunately, because F&B is written as a historical text we do not get to see into the minds of characters like with GOT/ASOIAF. So our only hope for a canon depiction of what went on in Daemon’s head that caused him to fall in love with Netty is for the show to depict it 😬

I hope that HOTD includes Nettles(it would be a hate crime not to) and fully fleshes out their relationship. To be honest, unless they plan on turning Daemon into a straight-up villain, they kinda have to include her at this point. He is supposed to be a morally gray character who is capable of having a decent relationship, but so far, the healthiest relationship he has is with Caraxes 🫠

Daemon is teetering on the very edge of being morally gray, and I know it’s a hot take with this fandom, but he needs a redemption arc with someone he hasn’t groomed, neglected, or abused🤷🏽‍♀️

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

You don’t believe Nettles was Daemon’s bastard?

🤨 Yes? I mean, no, I don't believe Daemon fucked his daughter. Presuming that's what you're asking, and that you aren't a sexual-relationship-denialist. (I find "anti" doesn't quite work as a properly definitive noun here.) If you are, though, you should reread:

By the dwarf’s account, Daemon Targaryen had come to love the small brown bastard girl, and had taken her into his bed. How much credence can we give the fool’s testimony? [...] Septon Eustace says her teeth were crooked, her nose scarred where it had once been slit for thieving. Hardly a likely paramour for a prince, one would think. Against that we have The Testimony of Mushroom…and in this case, the Chronicles of Maidenpool as set down by Lord Mooton’s maester. Maester Norren writes that “the prince and his bastard girl” supped together every night, broke their fast together every morning, slept in adjoining bedchambers, that the prince “doted upon the brown girl as a man might dote upon his daughter,” instructing her in “common courtesies” and how to dress and sit and brush her hair, that he made gifts to her of “an ivory-handled hairbrush, a silvered looking glass, a cloak of rich brown velvet bordered in satin, a pair of riding boots of leather soft as butter.” The prince taught the girl to wash, Norren says, and the maidservants who fetched their bath water said he oft shared a tub with her, “soaping her back or washing the dragon stink from her hair, both of them as naked as their namedays.” None of this constitutes proof that Daemon Targaryen had carnal knowledge of the bastard girl, but in light of what followed we must surely judge that more likely than most of Mushroom’s tales.

Or to sum up what Gyldayn is saying: "normally Mushroom is not trustworthy. However, here is a maester (someone in my job, someone I trust) with his professional records of the histories of Maidenpool, and he confirms Mushroom's story. I think it's very likely."

Or what GRRM is saying: "I know I set up Mushroom to be the wild sexy gossip you can't believe guy, but this is an actual bit of wild sexy truth here, ok? Sorry the conceit of my history book doesn't let me actually state anything outright."

And in case you were asking the daddy-in-more-ways-than-one question, no, I've stated from the start (2013 with TPATQ, tyvm) that Nettles exists to show that dragonriding does not necessarily require Valyrian blood. Daemon is just paternalistic. Patronizing, in a Henry Higgins meets "Wildest Dreams" kinda way...

[tessarionbestgirl]

Since I saw your post about daemon’s redemption: Have to say it’s really goddamn telling that Daemyra is the most popular ship involving daemon while nettles is the least popular despite being his arguably only canonical love interest. Like yes Daemon x nettles is problematic though what ship in asoiaf isn’t and Nettles is who daemon arguably sacrifices everything for in order for her to escape unharmed plus nettles confronts all of daemons toxic ideals and forces him to change. I swear if nettles wasn’t a black woman and was white like rhaenyra people wedlock to daemon x nettles in a heart beat but because nettles was black people need to show faux concern and say “what about rhaenyra” you know the woman who tried to hate crime nettles

Oh yeah is funny because while I do ship Alys and Daemon on the show, I saw some D*emyra already being more open about them being a thing then Nettles and Daemon.

I even remember people making threads, how, makes no sense Daemon fall for Nettles because she has no Valyrian characteristics. What you know is exactly the point of why Martin wrote he falling in love for Nettles, despite the problematic aspects. It is the whole Brienne and Jaime arc. Brienne is not even close to a classic knight or the classic beauty of woman but she honorable and beautiful in her way as Nettles despite probably not having any Valyrian blood on her she still able to do something no one was, taming a big wild dragon while also not being westorosi beauty standard. All this affect Jaime/Daemon to question their views and change to better. ( And arguably Brienne and Jaime are way more popular than Nettles and Daemon).

Of course this is lost when Ryan adapted the Valaryons to be black, so in this sense I understand why Ryan wouldn't want to adapt the romance between them because part of what make it compelling is lost. Whatever her character shouldn't get repurpose to other characters, and had her importance diminished in the process, because if you saw the leaks, Sheepstealer is small and ugly, and not ugly in the way Vaghar or Vermithor are ugly. The dragon is ugly that stand out as weak and have no appeal even compared to other dragons and it looks even generic design.

Imagine if Game of thrones they have repurpose Brienne to Pod and made him a shitty swordsman and Jaime gave him a random sword. Meanwhile instead of Jaime learning important lessons about himself, the world and being a important step to disconnect from the toxic relationship with Cersei, he had learned to embrace even more hid worse threats and all he needs was to be loyal to Cersei.

The narrative in the book on purpose says "Jaime throwing a kid from the window for love is not right." While the show justifies Daemon killing for Rhaenyra, doing b&c and so on. You know how insane this is?! The fandom back in the time would go crazy over this. Meanwhile hotd fandom, specially tb, justifies it and even some like it.

And he done that for what? Fanservice? Because is that how it feels. This season feels in a lot of sense filler and response for Twitter fans. Either to criticize, to justify it self or to endorse the worse opinions there.

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

nettles 💌

Character: SHE IS MY PRECIOUS

Ship with : Daemon, but I’ve taken a liking to her being shipped Daeron

General Opinions : There is so much about Nettles that I love, but the thing that I’m obsessed with right now is how tragic her story is in retrospect. She abandons her identity and curates a new one after she becomes a dragonrider, and the new identity she created is eventually discarded because she doesn’t have any space in the Westeros anymore. She loses her home, her identity, her friends, lover, comrades, etc. and then lives out her days in the Vale (this isn’t even confirmed, so we truly don’t know where she’s at). I’ll stop rambling now though.

[meanqueens]

The way Daemyra fans talk about Nettles is so repugnant (and racist), they act so personally threatened when Daemon is in proximity to any female character other than Rhaenyra is so fucking weird. Daemon is not real he’s not gonna marry you. They did this with Laena too they were so happy to see her (and her daughters) sidelined and her importance reduced so that their “grand romance” can finally come together like guys aren’t subtle at all. Maybe they should aged up Nettles and make her Daemon’s lover, TV!Daemon sucks as a character anyway & TV!Daemyra is insanely bland and boring.

thank you for your ask!!

team green/team anything that weakens the targ dynasty, i’d like to propose that we officially adopt nettles like we did aemond. she deserves the love, especially when we get to the dragonseeds plotline in the showverse.

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, dæmon has proven to be too repugnant of a person to ever treat a partner as his absolute equal. nyra is not going to magically make all of the abhorrent things he has done to other women disappear, and to expect her to “change” him is unfair to her as a character, as well as a dismissal of his grooming of her and what he has done to the other women he’s been in relationships with. in my opinion, dæmyra in all its forms is a certain level of toxic.

[wulfhalls]

They better not make Daemon cheat on Rhaenyra with Mysaria cause she is in the next episode (or ep8) and it makes me nervous.

ah yes daemon I'm in my fucking depression era while living with my loving family in the most picturesque place u could possibly conceive of because I can't be with the love of my life so I had to put entire continents between us because being near her and not having her was too much heartache and I've yearned for her every single day for a decade so openly and transparently even my wife knows targaryen is gonna rock up in westeros and fuck mysaria right after reuniting with rhaenyra

[darklinaforever]

I found a Nettle x Daemon shipper

They hated Daemyra because of the age gap as if Nettles wasn't 32 years younger than Daemon

They were saying that Nettles x Daemon was okay because Nettles was older than Rhaenyra was when Nyra got with Daemon which... Isn't truth?

As far as I'm aware Rhaenyra was in her 20s when she married Daemon and Nettles wasn't even 18 when she escaped

And even if we take the rumours of Daemon sleeping with Rhaenyra when she was 16 she was still the same age as Nettles was when she first appeared

In fact, Rhaenyra was 13 / 14 years old when there were sex rumors about her and Daemon, but that's honestly to be taken with a grain of salt. One version comes from Mushroom, a notorious pervert who includes himself in the Daemyra duo, and on the other, we have Eustace, a pro Greens, and at this stage, well before Daemon's return, the Greens were already reporting rumors about Rhaenyra's sexuality. So the idea that something sexual happened between Daemon and Rhaenyra when she was 13/14 should be taken with a pinch of salt. The only thing we can be sure of is that Daemon courted Rhaenyra for 6 months (I remind you that Rhaenyra was always accompanied by her ladies in waiting, except when she and Daemon flew on the backs of dragons) and then he asked his hand, following Viserys' anger. This is literally the only certainty we have on the Daemyra affair when Daemon returned from the war.

As for Daemon and Nettles' story, officially we have no proof that anything romantic or sexual happened between them.

And sorry, but the relationship with Nettles, if true, seems much more problematic than Daemyra, whose only thing that can disturb is the incest and age difference factor, although these two points are easily explained by the context of the universe if GRRM (not to mention that officially, Daemon married Rhaenyra when she was an adult like you said), and that apart from that, the relationship seems purely loving, and the two seem broadly equal, although Rhaenyra has the superior position as future queen and then queen, over Daemon.

But, why it's seem worse with Nettles ?

Daemon has a behavior towards Nettles that can be compared to a mentor / father figure. He certainly gives her gifts, but unlike Rhaenyra, all of them seem to have a practical use (so it doesn't look like gifts intended to seduce), not to mention that Daemon also taught Nettles a number of things (and don't come talking to me about the baths again, I have already covered the subject several times, as well as @horizon-verizon).

So, beyond the age difference, much worse between Nettles and Daemon, if these two had a romantic or sexual relationship... well it's very weird in terms of power dynamic.

A street girl, of 16 / 17 years, basically taken in by a prince of 49 / 50, who seems to act like a mentor / father figure to her and would eventually establish a romantic and sexual relationship with her... ?

Once again, it seems much more weird and problematic than Daemyra, who are certainly from the same family, but are Targaryens on whom incest has no genetic consequences but who on top of that, don't really seem to being around a lot during Rhaenyra's childhood. Certainly, Daemon gave her gifts and paid special attention to her when he returned from his travels, but people seem to forget that Daemon generally spent his time traveling or working for Viserys, spending little time at court in his moments there, and before that, he spent years stuck in the Val. Then he was exiled for 7 years, only returning when Rhaenyra was 13 / 14 years old, ready to be courted.

But the stans of Daemon and Nettles' so-called relationship are simply hypocritical.

They say the worst things about Daemyra just on the surface, when when you think about it for two seconds, their arguments are stupid, and even more so to justify preferring the unproven relationship with Nettles. Objectively, if there was a relationship, well the one with Nettles is much more problematic. And no, that Daemyra is incest is not enough to say that the relationship is worse, we have to stop the bullshit.

Also, I take this opportunity to point it out, people really seem to forget that Daemon is 49 / 50 years old at that time. He is literally quite old in the text which clearly places him in the last phase of his life. It seems to me that there is something about the way he walks because of old age in the text precisely. And I say that, because the fanarts I come across always have this tendency not to show how old Daemon is compared to Nettles. On the contrary, he looks like a young man. 😂

So, recap: Nettles is 16 / 17 years old. Daemon 49 / 50 years old. He seems to have a mentoring role towards her, which can also be associated as paternal, classic when we talk about a mentor, because he offers practical things to Nettles and teaches her things. Which implies a disordered power dynamic where Daemon has a considerable advantage (unlike with Rhaenyra). Sorry, but to me, if this relationship is romantic, it's very, very weird and worrying...

In addition, the age difference between Nettles and Daemon seems to be part of the limits of GRRM which, in my memory, did not create a romantic couple with this type of age difference, and indeed, generally duos with such a big age difference are never romanticized in the text, at least from what I remember.

And since Daemon is a gray / anti-hero character, I highly doubt he will get into this kind of questionable stuff.

Regardless, I will never understand Daemon and Nettles shippers.

Just like the delusion of saying you're racist if you don't ship her with Daemon.

I really like the character of Nettles, but I don't want her with Daemon. It's two different things.

And unlike some Nettles fans, no, I absolutely don't think that a romance with Daemon is essential to her character and that without it, it loses all its meaning. That's not the case, because the only thing that really matters about whether or not they might have an affair is that Rhaenyra believes it, nothing more.

Nettles, as a character, is not dependent on a romance with Daemon at all. Which I find quite reductive by the way.

Anyway, complaining about the Daemyra age difference, but not batting an eye when it's Nettles instead of Rhaenyra, is just hypocritical.

[howyouloveyourdragon]

Taglists & Series'

you can comment down below or sneak into my ask box to be added to any so long as you type out for which series you want to be added to

if your name is in italics and bold, that means i couldn't tag you, you will need to check your settings

hotd taglist

Only Fair (on hiatus) pairing: rhaenyra targaryen x reader alternate universe: a/b/o but can be interpreted differently summary: After exchanging letters for the past year, Rhaenyra takes her half-sister Y/n to bride but what do their divided families have to say about it? warnings: a/b/o themes, incest, smut, pregnancy, age-gap pronouns: she/her (afab) parts: 1, 2, 3, 4 /? taglist: evattude, missclove, arielj, thatkinkylesgirl1, alicentswhore, darkened-writer, lexiegogo, nylevea, wrendermedone

Jessie (Jace)'s Girl (on hiatus) pairing/s: Jacaerys Velaryon, Aemond Targaryen, Aegon Targaryen x reader alternate universe: modern band au summary: Aemond has only ever had his eye on one girl, however she just so happens to be his brother's best friend and dating their nephew warnings: minor violence, eventual smut (skippable) pronouns: (afab) parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, /? taglist: joliettes, f4ll-for-you, lavendermayonese, schniiipsel, minttea07, i-killed-ramsey, ghostheartbeat, wrendermedone, n4tforlife, introverbatim spinoffs: jace, aegon, aemond, helaena

Sugar Mommy Rhaenyra (Headcanons & One-Shots) pairing/s: Rhaenyra Targaryen x reader, Rhaenyra Targaryen x reader x Alicent Hightower (spinoff) alternate universe: modern au summary: Rhaenyra finds herself wanting something her husband can't supply, her eldest son has a friend in need of help and in her opinion – in need of spoiling warnings: smut (skippable) pronouns: they/them (afab) parts: 1, 2, 3 /? spinoffs: pearls taglist: chompchompluke, its-actually-minicika, harrenhalhottie, imarimon

The Prince and His Corpse Bride pairing/s: Jacaerys Velaryon x reader alternate universe: corpse bride 2005 summary: Jacaerys went to Winterfell for one reason and one reason only–the support of the only true friend he has ever had but now he needs to return regardless of his desires, and amongst his presence he must also bestow the ring of Valyrian steel so carefully curated for his betrothed. warnings: character death, minor gore, minor violence, angst, arranged marriages pronouns: she/her parts: 1, 2/? taglist: chompchompluke, its-actually-minicika, paranormal-fairy1984, ntlycnrgl, hopelesswritergall, cookielovesbook-akie, arraxesfire, madame-fear

In Vows of Old (pending) pairing/s: Jacaerys Velaryon x reader x Cregan Stark alternate universe: corpse bride 2005 summary: warnings: pronouns: she/her parts: 1, /? taglist: chompchompluke, its-actually-minicika, paranormal-fairy1984, ntlycnrgl, hopelesswritergall

Mastermind (on hiatus) pairing/s: Rhaenyra Targaryen x reader alternate universe: modern au summary: Rhaenyra, eldest child of Viserys Targaryen who is leader of one of the strongest businesses finds herself enraptured by a pretty reporter warnings: none pronouns: she/her (afab) parts: 1, /? taglist:

Heartbeat (on hiatus) pairing/s: Rhaenyra Targaryen x reader alternate universe: summary: The rumble in her heart feels wrong as she stares at the new dragonrider, something she has not felt since she met her husband. She needs to learn whether it is of wariness or besotting warnings: age gap, infidelity? (daemon has left with Nettles but technically not mentioned yet but they're still married so it depends on your definition of cheating and imagination), smut (skippable) pronouns: she/her parts: 1, /3 taglist: nylevea, evattude

Some Thread of Time (on hiatus) pairing/s: Aemond Targaryen x reader alternate universe: summary: warnings: pronouns:she/her parts: 1, 2 /3 taglist:

[horizon-verizon]

Daemon made and brought Nettles gifts such as “an ivory-handled hairbrush, a silvered looking glass, a cloak of rich brown velvet bordered in satin, a pair of riding boots of leather soft as butter.”

This behavior from Daemon towards Nettles resembles the way he behaved towards Rhaenyra when he supposedly tried to seduce her/taught her the arts of seduction (depending on which tale you believe) early on in Fire & Blood, when King Viserys was still alive.

“Daemon spent long hours in her company, enthralling her with tales of his journeys and battles. He gave her pearls and silks and books and a jade tiara said once to have belonged to the Empress of Leng, read poems to her, dined with her. […] Uncle and niece began to fly “together almost daily, racing Syrax against Caraxes to Dragonstone and back.”

If Nettles was his bastard daughter, or if he cared about her as such and nothing else, he could have sent word to Rhaenyra about it. He could have gone to her himself, since his life was not in danger. Rhaenyra had been clear that Dameon wasn’t supposed to be harmed. If his relationship with Nettles was just platonic or even just sexual, he could have sent her away, realizing that his adventures (or what was perceived as an affair) with the dragonseed had gone too far, and returned to his Queen’s side, to rule beside her and fight her traitors. Daemon could have even killed Nettles himself if their relationship was simply transactional in the sense he wanted someone to sleep with while on his mission, and that would reinforce that even if he strayed away in their marriage, Rhaenyra was still his queen and the one he was loyal to. None of that would be out of character for him.

Instead, he allowed Nettles to escape alive and unharmed, in a scene that is written to convey how hard it was for them to be parting from each other and that they weren’t doing that willingly:

“How the prince and his bastard girl spent their last night beneath Lord Mooton’s roof is not recorded, but as dawn broke they appeared together in the yard*, and Prince Daemon helped Nettles saddle Sheepstealer one last time. […] Maester Norren records, “her cheeks were stained with tears.” No word of farewell was spoken between man and maid, but as Sheepstealer beat his leathery brown wings and climbed into the dawn sky, Caraxes raised his head and gave a scream that shattered every window in Jonquil’s Tower.” 

Daemon’s actions after Nettles is gone is to fly towards Harrenhal to face Aemond and Vhagar by himself. It’s a suicide mission: he has no desire of surviving and coming back to Rhaenyra.

This ask is in response to this recent reblog.

Thanks for being the next person who did not read the posts I already made against each and every argument you brought up. One of them is a master post darklinaforever compiled, and I reblogged it HERE. If you like, you can click the ones I already gave in that reblog (the first one) I wrote to that person. That's not my issue or responsibility.

But I have others regarding how Gyldayn, Eustace, and some people who look at Daemon and Nettles Maidenpool interactions, Daemon's feelings towards Rhaenyra, and his feelings towards Laena all both have to do with this argument for why I don't think Daemon x Nettles are and ever will be a thing:

POST#1

POST#2

POST#3 (Gyldayn on Nettles)

POST #4 (Lord Mooton, the execution letter, gifts, and bathing)

POST #5 (Laena & Daemon)

POST #6 (or just click HERE for me tracking Daemon's premeeting with Aemond, the actual meeting before they battle, and the aftermath/legacy)

BONUS: hamliet goes over why Mysaria would have wanted Nettles dead HERE.

[chrkrose]

I hope this is ok to ask, but what do you think of Daemon and Nettles storyline? I know you ship them, but what about how Martin writes it or the story he wants to tell/thinks he's telling? I'm not really a fan, much less so because by the time I got to that chapter I was already fed up with Martin. He's pretty much using F&B to talk about his favorites characters and while if you can't play in your own sandbox then where can you play, it makes it a little difficult to take very seriously

I wouldn’t say I ship “ship” them because it’s kinda hard to ship something when you have basically just the Wikipedia summary of what their relationship looked like. I think I ship the potential of the couple to a degree lol. And because I love cliche romantic tropes.

With that said, I’ve always been very cool about my ships in the sense that I know when I’m the one reading into it more than the story is giving me anything x the story wants me to see it in a romantic light. And I think George couldn’t be more obvious about how he wanted their story to be perceived as romance.

It’s not very hard to spot when George is going to the romantic angle of something, because his couples follow similar tropes, same as how it’s easy to spot his favorite characters because they all share similar traits. Nettles and Daemon in particular play very much into those things: Nettles is the underdog, who comes from nothing and is shunned by society, only to be proven that they are actually exceptional and special (with his more developed characters, Brienne and Tyrion come to mind, although Tyrion also falls into the next category) and Daemon is the character who commits tons of atrocities but has also certain aspects of his personality that are actually good and therefore the reader has complex feelings about him (Jaime and Theon are a good example of that in the main saga).

It’s only natural that he would pair these two together, especially if he can play with ideas such as the two coming from opposite backgrounds or clashing when it comes to their beliefs or even how they defy societal expectations when it comes to those characters getting romantically entangled. He loves to add any of those tropes to his couples (Dunk & Rohanne; Duncan & Jenny; Alys & Aemond; Jaime & Brienne. The last two in particular, it’s very very clear that Daemon and Nettles are the Dance version of Jaime and Brienne, to the point that even some of Daemon & Nettles plot beats echo those of Jaime & Brienne).

I think both Nettles and Daemon had different purposes in the story, each one having a different arc with a different goal in mind, and their relationship can be read in three different perspectives: what it means to Nettles arc, what it means to Daemon’s arc and what it means to them as a couple and love story. I can go into more depth about this if you want, let me know lol.

Ultimately, like I said before, people (sometimes willingly so they can fit into their own headcanons/agendas) misinterpret their relationship because they either want to close their eyes to the reality of it (“they are father/daughter” when it’s not because the book canonically makes it impossible and cmon, never mind all the obvious romantic imagery of their scenes and goodbye) or because they want to push a problematic angle that wasn’t really George’s goal (“daemon is grooming another little girl because is he’s a pedo” cmon George has a serious problem with ages in general to begin with, to the point I’m pretty sure he never saw a child/young teen in real life. Almost all of his romantic couples have a problematic age gap, which is why I can “overlook” this when it comes to Daemon and Nettles because it’s clear it’s not important in their case. Finally, because he goes out of his way to show that even though nettles is “young”, she is “older” than the girls he used to sleep with, and that with her it is “different”. I said in another post, he never wrote their relationship as a commentary about Daemon’s pedo tendencies, but in spite of it).

I think the story he’s trying to tell, to simplify, is of two awesome characters (subjectively lol. Nettles is awesome. Daemon is up for debate) he likes quite a bit finding romance and having an impactful story because since he likes those two characters quite a bit, and he’s the one writing the story, he can give them all the cool tropes and ideas just because. Which I get. I love Brienne so she’s always the most special one and the queen of everything whenever I write a fic. I can’t say I blame him for it.

And feel free to send me asks, I love answering it!

[bohemian-nights]

If you were to ever do a modern day AU for Daemon and Nettles what would it be like?

Oh, this is an interesting thought experiment. My first thought was that it would look like the TV show Scandal, but then I realized that Daemon is a prince and Westeros has a monarchy so that wouldn’t make a lot of sense (in my mind at least)🤣

Anyway, it would look sorta like The Crown(very loosely like The Crown). There would be no Dance so Rhaenyra has already been crowned queen and no one is trying to fight her accession to the throne. Daemon is her prince consort/husband/older cousin still with quite a reputation who the firm initially did not want Rhaenyra to marry. Ten years into their marriage it’s not looking so hot, but they are the ruling monarchs so they have to keep up appearances.

Nettles would be the new young intern to Daemon’s private secretary. When he’s first introduced to her he’s probably rude. He might feel some initial attraction, but she’d be completely turned off by him and his arrogance.

A couple of weeks or months later and they are at some charity event(maybe something for animals or children) where Nettles takes the place of Daemon’s secretary because some emergency happened. He wonders why she’s there and doesn’t think she’s up to the task yet, but she’s brilliant and she nails it.

If he’s not already attracted to her he definitely is now. He starts requesting her to be with him at these events (even if that’s against protocol) and he tries to charm her. Nettles is extremely weary of him and wonders why he’s being nicer to her. She can’t exactly be rude, but one day she does snap and goes off on him(he probably insults someone else and she rightfully calls him out for being a prick). He apologizes(sincerely) and the two form a “friendship.”

As the month's roll by Nettles herself starts to develop feelings for him, but try’s to suppress them. Daemon does not hide his attraction/feelings for her so he leaves the door open. She hesitates to take that final step until one cool night when they are touring the Riverlands (Maidenpool🏰 anyone). One thing leads to another and they consummate 🕯️their relationship. They are pretty much inseparable at this point.

Rhaenyra would be informed of their growing relationship by her private secretary. She dismisses it because of the arrangement she and Daemon have(he’s had affairs before). She just thinks that this is some fling that he’ll get tired of and out of his system soon enough, but then she sees the two in action and how they interact with each other. She gets freaked and starts to panic.

She confronts Daemon and tells him to drop Nettles. He threatens to completely move out of the palace and publically separate from her if he has to do that. So she relents and agrees to his terms. It’s fine and dandy until the press gets wind of the relationship📰

The firm goes into damage control and tells Daemon that he has to drop Nettles and say it was a mistake, that he’s sorry, yadda yadda. Naturally, at this point he’s actually in love so he holds firm, says he will not give her up, and asks for a divorce. As you can imagine all hell breaks loose🔥

[arabian-bloodstream]

I want to ship r x d so bad but knowing they can ruin them next season bc of nettles :/ I don’t want to get attached but the show runners and actors are making it so hard. Either they are endgame or not why make it seem they are tho? 😭😭

I'm responding to this and another ask together which is:

How do you think they’re going to portray nettles with the way the show is going? If you already read the books

This show has gone out of its way to portray Daemon and Rhaenyra as soulmates, as the OTP of the show. They literally had them separated for 10 years and STILL desperately in love with one another. In the seven episodes we have seen so far, they have been clearly been IT for each other. In the two episodes where they were separated, we still had them talking about each other and parallels were drawn, the latter episode very heavily so.

HOTD has gone to EXTREME lengths to draw these two as THE COUPLE. Like THE, THE, THE couple. In a way that has never been done for a couple in ASOIAF universe. Like, even more than Jon and Dany on GOT or Arya and Gendry (which, considering how foreshadowed they were in the books, they should have been, D&D).

I highly doubt that Nettles will be anything more than what she was proposed to be in Fire & Blood by more believable sources than the salacious tale-teller, Mushroom, or the Rhaenyra-hater, Eustace, which is a daughter-like figure to Daemon. Period.

However, this is not until NEXT SEASON. Season 02. Which we will likely not see until the YEAR OF OUR LORD 2024! That is two years from now. Why, oh, why, oh why would anybody be worrying about that now when we are getting such deliciously awesome Daemyra NOW?! Let's just enjoy Daemyra NOW.

Let us just enjoy what we are getting RIGHT NOW. Because what we are getting right now is GOOD. It's good shit, fam!

[tessarionbestgirl]

What will happen to Daemon’s story since Nettles is gone?

Well, different than everyone else, I think will happen but will happen in different way, Nettles is cut out, but similar to Young Griffin, they are giving parts of her arc to different characters.

First they making Mysaria and Rhaenyra a romantic relationship,therefore, it gives Mysaria motivation for feeding Rhaenyra's paranoia regarding Daemon, making more about jealousy and attempts to end this relationship than her grasping for power. So this part is happening.

So I think they can go with two options, first she could feed Rhaenyra's paranoia by implying that Daemon is having something with Baela or Rhaena. And again I think is possible and I do believe Daemon will come back showing more support for his daughters. But there is problems with that because Rhaena and Baela, don't have Nettles anti-war message, they are to much of supports of Rhaenyra to make that plot work.

It need to be someone that is a outsider to Rheanyra become really paranoid about it and even send people to kill her. It needs be someone that that make Daemon question his own acts about war and that is not Rhaena and Baela because they are so pro-war characters and supporters of Rhaenyra for that.

And the only character that fits this is Alys, until now. And I just connected this possibility last episode. But the changes they made with her character kind makes her fits in this place and how their dinamic plays out also fits too, because they do look closer and closer, and that as well was a big change if they did that change is for some reason.

We saw how they set up Rhaena claiming a dragon last season. And I don't think they would spend so much time with Alys and Daemon if they aren't cooking something more.

And if the leaks are real about Heleana and Aemond this just add even more but making they constantly parallels between Daemon and Aemond. And narrative foils.

So it adds to much up for me this last option. But I don't know. Is just my theory, I could be wrong.

[endless-ineffabilities]

How do you feel about Aemond x Daemon? I personally love them as a ship and since Ewan's fave character is Daemon if I'm not mistaken my heart sings every time<3 (SPOILER TERRITORY!)

I think their duel will be absolutely heartbreaking and epic at the same time (that is if the writers don't butcher it..) both because I love these characters and because I love their actors! Ewan and Matt have some cute and wholesome bts interactions from what I've seen and it makes me so happy because I've been a Doctor Who fan ever since it came out and I'd watched World on Fire before HotD was even announced. I just. I never expected such an incredible cast to come together for HotD yknow? So I'm very excited but also kinda scared.. but mostly excited! Daemon x Aemond is my OTP you could say (it's been so long since I've used that term I feel old) but a close second is HelAemond (platonic, romantic, familial, all of the loves!!!) So I hope that in the show they make a point to show us that Helaena and Aemond died on the same day, regardless of whether they had romantic feelings for one another.

As for Alys, I'm mostly indifferent toward her but I hope that they treat her and her story well! I look nothing like her (I'd look like Laena or maybe Rhaena maybe if I had white locs lol) so I can't relate to the sentiment of us all being Alys lol but I'm glad you guys can! I'm also excited for Nettles! I like to think she's Daemon's bastard or someone he thinks of as his adopted child maybe (while fully ignoring the claims that they had illicit relations lol)

Is there another character or story arc you're excited about? And I'm sure you've answered sth similar before but I can't remember- would you prefer a more manipulative Alys? I think I would bc homegirl is probably too old to play wit her heart on her sleeve but I'd like to see her and Aemond actually develop genuine feelings for one another! Which actually reminds me of another point (so sorry for this massive ask btw 😭) being what will Borros Baratheon do? Will he allow one of his daughters to marry Aemond? If so, who and would Aemond really keep a mistress in Alys? How ironic that he may or may not have fathered a bastard with Alys when he detests his nephews (even before Luke took his eye) but anyway that's enough of my ramblings 🙅🏿‍♀️ I just got carried away cuz you seem like a really pleasant person and your stories are beautiful haha bye🏃🏿‍♀️

Ps take care of yourself!

Lovely long message there! 🥺 I'll structure my answer in bullet points so I can make sure I cover everything:

Personally, I can't view Aemond and Daemon together, as a ship. Nothing from season one (or the book) has given me reason to view them as one. Aemond is clearly intrigued by Daemon's relentlessness, and if there were anyone he would want to emulate, it may be Daemon? As Ewan said, they both stand to inherit nothing, and who have to carve their own way out in the world. But anything romantic? Nope. 1000% especially not after what Aemond caused. I love them as rivals, cause they're quite similar in fire that their fight would just be frickin amazing.

I'm on the same boat with you about Helaemond. There's just something so beautifully tragic and yet soft at the same time when it comes to those two. I know I'm reaching but if Alys does manipulate Aemond, and it turns out he was in love with Helaena all along? And they die on the same day?? (You're so right, they need to make a point of this in the show) *buckets of tears incoming*

They truly did an amazing job with the cast. I know they don't all look book-accurate but the performances are so good that it's really not a big deal. Plus, it's so nice that you can see yourself in characters like Laena or Rhaena. And about Nettles? (I'm still not in that part of the book, so I don't know about her and Daemon) But then again, if he does cheat on Rhaenyra with her, it's really just the word of an Archmaester or Mushroom or whoever, so it's all up for interpretation. It kinda frustrates me that the book is written that way, cause I just want to know what actually happened, y'know? I want to know the true motivations and thoughts of the characters - not the perspective of a bunch of men 😂 ughhhh

I still don't know what to feel about Aemond and Alys. One thing that does give me the ick is that he was taken advantage of by an older woman when he was a child (13 yrs old!), and this may have distorted his romantic/sexual perceptions. I believe there was something said about Aemond preferring older women, and I hope this did not stem from childhood trauma. If he is actually, purely, interested in Alys, then that's fine. But you're right, she is meant to be 40-ish, while he's 19/20, so that's another issue. (But then again - Daemyra 🙃) But at least, far as we know, Rhae was not taken advantage of by Daemon (she was 18, in ep 4, which is still painfully young) but she seemed to have engaged with him willingly (and Daemon was the one to pull back and stop) But then again, age gaps are treated very lightly in this series - ANYWAY - no matter what, I hope the whole Alys/Aemond thing is portrayed well.

I think that whole Baratheon betrothal is done for. Plus, the poor girl watched Aemond chase a child with a knife 😂 minus points hahaha

I hope I answered everything? It's been so nice to read your insights, and though my closest pals would describe me as more Daemon-like than pleasant, thanks for calling me the latter 😉🖤

[cafeleningrad]

For the ask game: Fire and Blood, Rhaenicent, and Daemon Targaryen and Dalton Greyjoy :)

Send me fandoms... characters... or ships... 📩 Thank you so much for this picnic basket of question! They were such fun to answer. :D Preface: I haven't watched the show, only learnt about it via gif and meta tumblr osmosis. The answers are entirely based on Fire and Blood alone, additional to my interpretations of the events.

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you....[Fire and Blood]

Favorite character: Nettles

Least Favorite character: Unwyne Pike

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): (oh boy here we go...) Visenya Targaryen x Sharra Arryn, Rhaena Targaryen x Alyssa Farman, the Riverland lads (including Aly Blackwood) x being the most metal 5eva), Johanna Lannister x Dalton Greyjoy

Character I find most attractive: Kermit Tully (I played enough Fire Emblem to know what war criminal is good dating material and this one has red hair too!)

Character I would marry: Kermit Tully

Character I would be best friends with: Tyland Lannister (have I mentioned how much I love, love, love realpolitics? But also he was so understanding and kind to Aegon III, Aegon staiyng with Lord Tyland was a sign of their quiet bond of trust)

a random thought: This book convinced me to a 100% that Mirri Maz Duur and Bobby B. did the world a favour by guaranteeing the Targaryen dynasty would end with Dany. (Nothing personal, Dany.)

An unpopular opinion: I don't get the Jaehaerys hateboner the fandom has for him. At least not the intensitiy. Maybe I'm too much of a law nerd to dislike a character who creates a codified law system and long term benefit infrastructure to scorn someone who's your regular run-off-the-mill misogynist in Westeros. (Personally, I take more offense with his aggressive Targaryen supremacy propaganda efforts...)

My Canon OTP: Alys Rivers x Aemond Targaryen

My Non-canon OTP: Mushroom x a book deal

Most Badass Character: Benjicot Blackwood closely, tied to Roddy the Ruin

Most Epic Villain: (in the limits of what qualifies as a villain in this universe) Maegor the Cruel, a mama's boy who couldn't function without Visenya direction his every action.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Daemon Targaryen x Laena Velaryon

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Hmm, Martin wrote this book as barely anything more than fleshed out bullet points with the purpose of narrating a semi historic account. Obviously in this format details and characterisation would be left less detailed and left for speculation. Yet I think Tess could've been given more than just a few lines.

Favourite Friendship: Rhaena Targaryen and Maegor Towers, Tyland Lannister and Aegon III Targaryen

Character I most identify with: Lyman Beesbury

Character I wish I could be: Alyssa Farman

002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you: (Preface: This is the only category for which I will base my answers on the showverse. Their ship is based on a dynamic that couldn't exist in the book verse due to their ages in the book.) - When I started shipping them: Actually I didn't, the concept seems intriguing though if I wasn't sideeyeing the writer's competence in writing fleshed out female characters with agency. - My thoughts: no great ones, except I'm really happy that a F/F pairing made it into the ranks of most popular ships in the fandom - and the girls remain interesting without watered down pastelcoloured uwu-fication (at least from I can gather from my mututals). - What makes me happy about them: The actresses for all time periods having put so much thought in the dynamic that the tension in the Dance of Dragons isn't "just" based in misogynistic sentiments and aspiration of power in a misogynistic system - but also in deeply personal tragedy. The original script didn't even consider Alicent's misgivings with her former friend beyond, let's call it unceremoniously, slutshaming and religious righteousness. The queer character of their relationship carved out by all four actresses enriched their conflict in it's core. - What makes me sad about them: Maybe misogyny cages them both yet Rhaenyra can live so many liberties with her father's blessing. Alicent will always remain an outsider, deprived of any Targaryen privileges, any sense of agency, her anger at Rhaenyra's arrogance is so palatable. - Things done in fanfic that annoys me: haven't read fanfic about them so far. -Things I look for in fanfic: Smut, Alicent on top, religious guild as zesty topping for dirty talk. :P - My wishlist: The Catch 22 of women in media is that any agency can easily lead to demonisation and ignorance to what the story wants to tell about a woman's fate by a larger fandom. Chanving off a lot of the agency, the men remaining the only villians behind the unfolding conflict, Alicent and Rhaenyra are stripped of agency, therefore undermining the theme of misogyny in the Dance of Dragons in a weird way. I don't know if such a story about the fallout of a queer lovestory and the bitter remains held by female characters would be given the grace by a format intended for mass consumption... Yet, in the books there was such a loud untertone of Alicent exercicing power through the men around her in contrast through Rhaenyra's direct action. Alicent found a way to cheat the system she upheld, the conflict felt so much more personal. The show defanged them and it's theme in a round about way. It would've been interesting to see how Alicent's resentment, fear, and actual anger could've become an action that would've added to the thematic depiction of women navigating their limited range in an overlooked way. (C'mon, HBO, how could you pull off Livia Soprano 25 years earlier but Alicent is damned into motionlessness from minute 1?) -Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Alicent should've had the Lavender wedding with Laenor and found company in Laena. Rhaenyra could've had Daemon if she wanted, but anyone of her choosing would've been fine too. -My happily ever after for them: Rhaenyra would've ascendet the throne with Alicent's belssing, they both would've raised their kids better so they would've grown up as siblings, both had a lavender weddings, while Alicent warms Rhaenyra's bed.

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you: [Daemon Targaryen]

How I feel about this character: Until his meeting with Nettles where he appears to have had a change of heart I didn't care much of him, even absolutely understood why Viserys I exiling him repeatedly.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: "Sir, please step away from that teenage girl." If it has to be someone, Corlys Velaryion then...

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Caraxes.

My unpopular opinion about this character: As dubious I think his motives to turn towards Nettles are, not out of a change of heart against the war atroscities commited in Rhaenyra's name, at the end of his life he seems to have reflected on his past deeds, shown resignation.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: During his journey in the free cities, he would've found a medicinal remedy which could serve as Essosi equivalent to a chill pill.

Favorite friendship for this character: Corlys Velaryion

My crossover ship: God forgive me for the crassness but an evil thought crossed my mind: Since Daemon is so darn set on dragons, violence, and fornicating with any sexually avaible female character... wouldn't that make him an ideal partner for Angelus in Drakengard?

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you [Dalton Greyjoy]

How I feel about this character: Full of himself, arrogant, cruel! He's the absolute worst! Obviously, I love him.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Johanna Lannister

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: His crew. No seriously, his voice barely stopped breaking, he leads an entire fleet against an army of dragon. Dalton must've earned some absolute loyalty for a good reason.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I really hope he becomes the fandom's new hyper problematic sexy man. There's nothing redemptive about anything he ever did and yet I already have visions of bodice-ripper-themed x reader fanfics with him.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I would be curious if there's a fanwork/plans for the showadaption detailing his pillaging through Tess' eyes. Not only do I think she desperately needs a voice, it would be a good perspective on the civilian casualties during the conflict. Sometimes the spectacle around the political characters overshines the explicit anti war elements.

Favorite friendship for this character: ?

My crossover ship: An introduction course for 101 feminism "Women are people too".

[chillyravenart]

Since your opinions are gold, I was wondering about your take on Daemon's relationships with the different women in his life. I always got the impression that he marries Laena out of love. Rhaenyra was for ambition, lust and I think fondness as well. Lady Misery would be like his booty call/partner-in-crime, and finally Nettle would be like a sort of fondness/protege/mentor thing. But I was curious on what your thoughts were because your opinions are always so cool and fun to read!

Ahh loool I'm so flattered you think so😂😂😂 I think you have the right of it btw, Daemon's relationships with his lady loves were all varied and very exciting to me, because that's just the kind of fictional scoundrel I give my heart and soul to. My opinions on Daemon and his lady loves seem to change a little based on how much I'm thirsting for him at the time. I think he's such a complex and roguish character, there is not exact or correct interpretation of what his relationships were like, paired with the testimony we get from the short stories/Fire & Blood etc. I feel like talking about someone so controversial and spicy is always bound to get people worked up, but since you asked MY OPINION, I shall briefly give it.

I think Daemon loved power first and foremost. His main mistress was ambition (& Dark Sister😂). I think his fondness for the women in his life stemmed from what he could gain from them, but it doesn't mean he didn't love them. Anyone who is expecting or holding Daemon as a paragon of husbandly virtue is wasting their time. Daemon is just such an eclectic, grey character, he's deadly and charming and a total w*t dream to me. And I've come to realise that romance aside, Daemon did things his way because thats who he is.

I think he loved Mysaria because she shared his cunning and ambition, like you said, she was his partner-in-crime. But then he also loved her enough to get her pregnant and present her with a dragon's egg (which Viserys had to confiscate lmaooo). He also maintained a working and romantic relationship with her until much later on, and it arguably soured with the whole incident with Rhaenyra and Nettles ("a queen's words, a whore's work").

I think the accounts may be somewhat correct in insinuating that Daemon married Laena to further his position in court: but I also think that being exiled with her and having his true born twins with her also cemented their relationship. I've always firmly believed that Laena grounded and matured Daemon, because he seemed to change as a man at that point as did his motives. Laena wasn't any shrinking wallflower, she was the beautiful, spirited daughter of two absolute badasses, Corlys and Rhaenys. So none of that UWU PoOr LaEnA bullshit please, the woman defied her family to elope with Daemon and tried to mount her dragon VHAGAR when she was dying ok, give her some credit. (I have a sneaking suspicion Laena may have had something to do with Daemon killing off her betrothed at the time too but that's just my own crack-theory lol). I also think Laena may have been one of his true loves, being a strong personality and the mother of his children had to have had a part to play.

Moving onto Rhaenyra, I think Daemon initially wanted to win her affections as she was heir to the throne and he had his own designs for power at the time. As the accounts tell us, he lavished her with gifts and tales, & the more sordid accounts mention him giving her a sexual education too. At this stage King Viserys had children with Alicent and Daemon's succession became more and more unlikely, even moreso when Rhaenyra had her own children an Viserys already acknowledged Jacaerys as Rhaenyra's successor. Rhaenyra was Daemon's niece after all, they had spent time together both in KL and Dragonstone with each other (alongside their spouses ahem potential ménage à trois ahem) so it stands to reason they grew closer after Laena's death when Rhaenyra "comforted him in his grief". Daemon must have realised at this point that being Prince Consort was the closest he'd get to the Iron Throne, so he married her and had his much awaited sons with her too. Then the Dance began and Daemon exercised his power by fighting for Rhaenyra's claim with vengeance and blood. And that fact that he CROWNED HER??? That was very sexy of him.

You know what else was very sexy of him??? "Lucerys shall be avenged" just gives me goosebumps ALL THE TIME 😂🥵 I have mentioned my thoughts on Daemon x Rhaenyra my OTP, my loves, my favourite beguiling pairing EVER here if you want to have a look. I think Daemon used every power available to him to fight for Rhaenyra, he was loyal to her cause and died for her too. Him sleeping around doesn't bother me lmao, if you're looking for morality in Daemon "City Boy" Targaryen, you need your heads checked 😂

I also think Daemon's relationship with Nettles was also very complex. There are instances when its described as romantic and instances where its described as paternal. At this stage the Dance had wreaked a lot of havoc and Rhaenyra's hold in KL was also growing timorous. Dragons were dying, Targaryens were dying, people were dying. Rhaenyra had suffered loss, betrayal, death - she was fractured and paranoid and rightfully so. Maybe Daemon was growing soft in his "old age" and connected with the fearless Nettles because she reminded him of himself, and his roguish youth. I think there is more to their relationship judging by how he defied Rhaenyra to let her escape and his (& Caraxes) reactions to Nettles departure. Nettles herself had tears streaming down her face. I know there are theories that he may have been her father and they're definitely not far-fetched so make of that what you will. Daemon decided to take Aemond/Vhagar down as his swan song and he did 🔥❤

I just love Daemon as a character SO much, he's equal parts hero and equal parts villain and I think his complexity allows for a greater understanding and interpretation of his motives and romantic relationships. I've always found his various trysts and relationships so interesting and he genuinely made The Dance super sexy for me too. I'll keep my incredibly thirsty thoughts to myself though lmaooo. Hope this answered your question and thank you so much for thinking my opinions are anything but a rambling hot mess😂❤