#dragonbonds

[aeriondripflame]

pls do elaborate on aegon-daemon-ism!

aegon has a lot in common with both viserys and daemon; I usually see ppl only talking only abt the former (particularly in conjunction to the more popular, and usually primary, daemon-aemond-ism,) when ironically aegon-daemon have much more similar personalities, but with daemon's worst trades cranked up a notch within aegon (or, alternatively, narratively much starker lampooned + aegon's tertiary character-ism vs. daemon's main character-ism and aemond's secondary character-ism). but aegon is wholly missing all the "good" parts of daemon, particularly the warriorhood (and, also, daemon being, at least post-rhea royce, a family man)

ppl usually pattern viserys-daemon dynamic onto aegon-aemond. and I see the parallels, but, while there are similarities, particularly later when aegon is king, this strict reading misses out on the fact aegon is a sort of pseudo-second-son/pseudo-first-son due to rhaenyra's status as heir ever since his conception. second-son to one half of the family, first-son to the other half, a dual-identity wherein he is able and cain, romulus and remus, usurper and king, valyrian old blood and reachian old blood, dragon and tower, red and green etc etc (aegon II for multiple reasons. and grrm is having some fun with this symbolism--his children are a pair of twins; he takes the throne twice, his entourage includes the two toms, he even has two eyes, two shattered legs...) not dog and cat, and yet dog and cat...hyena... alive and dead (inebriated, "dead man (and dying dragon)")

and I feel like partially this is due to the fact ppl don't take rhaenyra's position in the narrative seriously, or are, at least, conscious of it. if you only look at aegon-aemond and draw conclusions, such as it being basically new gen viserys-daemon, thus viserys=aegon, daemon=aemond, you're missing out on rhaenyra-aegon paralleling viserys-daemon

rhaenyra’s status of the daughter as firstborn son making aegon the pseudo-secondson is interesting i’ve never thought to compare them to viserys and daemon. i do think that presenting them as foils of the same sibling relationship works in that viserys and daemon are defined by their intimacy (viserys basically raising daemon, ‘he is my brother’, ‘i’ve only ever defended you’, etc) in comparison with rhaenyra and aegon who are defined by their distance (‘what kind of brother steals his sister’s birthright?’ as knowing in theory how siblings are supposed to be but not having the shared history between them).

in f&b, due to the aemond daemon foil, it kinda goes without saying that they are overtly the most similar, but with hotd i’ve started to lean towards aegon sharing more qualities with daemon. it all started with “king’s landing will learn to fear the color gold.” for me. daemon and his gold cloaks, aegon and sunfyre (and his personal and then royal sigil). then with the reactive inappropriate laughter/amusement. early season drunk daemon compared to post-timeskip aegon. to me, aemond despite his quiet nature has a very loud presence, whereas daemon and aegon are both watchers. they act out for attention rather than just receiving that attention outright. but with the viserys and daemon / aegon and aemond parallel, they are both the one who clings.

i think really it comes down to the fact that deep down they know that they’re detestable and they think that something is inherently wrong within themselves, so it is overcompensating and self medicating with like sex, attention, and alcohol.

[tellusd20]

Ysval by Bruce Brenneise

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

DragonBond - Rakzor Slaughter by Adam Wesierski

[dndcreaturesinfo]

The Dracoturkey

[dndcharactersinfo]

Dragonbonding

[bardbattledhasmoved]

verses tags part two.

[giftshopped]

@unsteals​ asked: “This is going to hurt, but it will help you.” / steven + dragonbonded <3

“ bloody hell, how does marc do this all the time? ” it burns against his skin. then again, she is literally holding a burning torch to his side lit from the breath his their dragon. somehow, it’s not making things worse. it’s drawing the pain out of him but it’s painful at the same time. replacing the pain with something else temporarily. it’s a lot to take in when steven never experienced the burning trials marc did. he’s not used to this at all. “ they...they don’t cut corners on the whole fire thing do they? ”

[unsteals]

tags.

[thequeenwechoose]

Targaryenweek Day 7

Dragonrider - Dragonbond

Daemon and Caraxes

[lightningandfireinmybones]

flames, chosen (blood of the dragon): Aemond Targaryen Prompt

Prompt from @elysesium: saucy dragonmont adventures + dragons watching (18+ ONLY)

Aemond Targaryen/ Targaryen OC (not necessary to read, but OC from ‘the death of peace of mind’ by idkmanokay)

Words: 2424

Content: exhibitionism, rough oral, inappropriate use of dragonbonds

“Is the blindfold really necessary?” Valaena complains, still shivering deep in her furs. Even through the layers and layers of clothing, from the woolen smallclothes to the riding leathers to the heavy overgown to the fur coat, the frigid bite of the Winterfell still seems to chase her south. The warmth of Vhagar beneath her did nothing against the bitter northern winds. Without her sight, hidden by the thick band of leather her husband had produced, she feels the cold deeper, harsher, the sting of the wind on her cheeks.

Behind her, arms firm around her waist, Aemond laughs. The sound is deep and fierce, the kind of carefree laugh she is rarely treated to with company. Here, high above the kingdom in a world of clouds and wind and rain, it is a gift given freely. She feels it in her back, her heart, her chest, the laughter shaking both of them. 

“You’re too impatient, wife. The blindfold is necessary because how else am I to surprise you?” Aemond’s mouth is close to her, just shy of letting his lips touch the shell of her ear. It sends fresh goosebumps down her spine. 

Valaena pouts but burrows deeper into him. “I don’t think you’re trying to surprise me, I think you’re trying to punish me.”

“Why can’t it be both?” 

“What am I supposed to say when our host asks me to dance besides ‘of course, thank you, my Lord?’”

“Your answer should always be that you’re already promised to dance with me. Your husband. The king. I shall have all your dances. The only hands and eyes I want on you are mine.”

“Aemond-” Valaena starts, but is interrupted as he suddenly instructs Vhagar to dive. Experience keeps her steady, hands on the saddle where Aemond had placed them as he’d put the blindfold on. The wind steals the words away and she hopes her hair is flying back into Aemond’s face.

The second the massive dragon has settled on land, she marks how much warmer it is already wherever they are. Not that it is particularly warm at all, but markedly better than Winterfell or the sky had been. Her hands twitch towards her blindfold, but Aemond’s hands are on her waist, already pulling her into his arms, off dragonback.

She doesn’t even have the chance to feel the ground beneath her feet as Aemond carries her smoothly, no hint of where they are. Seagulls cry overhead, the breeze whistling through grass, but no other clues offer any hint as to their location. He’d been sure to fly Vhagar in random patterns and she was certain they’d doublebacked at least twice.

“Where are we?” She demands, hands instinctively wrapping around his neck. For a moment, she contemplates strangling him.

As if he’d heard her errant thought, Aemond pretends to drop her. Somehow, that is worse than the sudden skydive on Vhagar.

“We are somewhere much warmer than Winterfell and very far away from Cregan fucking Stark. Now, be good and wait for the surprise, hm?” Aemond’s voice echoes near the end and Valaena can feel the temperature gradually rising the further he walks. It soothes her ache from her bones, the scowl from her face until she can just lean into Aemond and enjoy the moment. 

Heat swells around them, permeating through all her layers. With it comes the scent of sulfur, of sea and salt and home. Cries and roars, vicious and familiar, get louder with every step. Movement from above, from every side of them, many huge things displacing the air, sending echoes back down to them.

Gently, Aemond sets her on her feet. Through her boots, she feels pebbles, the uneven surface she’s standing on hot through the soles. When Aemond moves next to her, she hears the crack of what sounds like a bone. The cries are louder here, the heat sweltering. She hears the rustle of cloth, pebbles being brushed aside. 

It feels like they’re being watched and judged. The scent of blood and ash and fire linger in the air. 

“Strip,” Aemond commands in Valyrian, just loud enough to hear him over the movement and the cries of their audience.

“In front of-?”

“Strip,” his voice lowers. “I won’t ask again.”

With shaking hands, Valaena obeys. First, her gloves, leather haphazardly thrown to the ground. Her fur coat hits the floor, followed by the onerous and warm gown. When she has trouble unlacing her leathers, Aemond takes over, hands sure and steady as he tugs the protective layer away from her skin. He peels it away achingly slow and she feels every second, every inch of exposed skin. The weight of the eyes gets stronger, the flurry of movement around them slowing. She wants more, wants his hands and his mouth on her, but he is careful to just remove her clothes, avoiding all contact with her burning skin.

When she’s down to just her smallclothes, Aemond steps away, a silent order to continue on her own. A spurt of heat to her left nearly makes her jump, the memory of a long ago burn radiating through her hip, but she still slides the chemise down her hips. The warmth of the chamber has made its way inside of her, the growing silence of the room heating her from the inside out. When the wool chemise falls past her thighs, pooling at her feet, Valaena feels the want and excitement between her thighs, a fire lit in her belly. 

She is naked and she is vulnerable and she wants. 

“Good,” Aemond praises in Valyrian. In reward, his hands finally touch her the way she is craving, fingertips brushing over her neck, her breasts, her stomach. They trace agonizing patterns over her skin, always skimming but never consuming the way she wants to be consumed. They trail down her thighs, lightning quick where she needs him, roughly kneading the roundness of her rear before pulling away just as fast. There’s a whiff of cedar among the sulfur, then the sharp pleasure of his mouth on her breasts, all teeth and tongue before he kisses his way up her chest, biting vows into her jaw before the ghost of his lips tease the corner of her mouth.

As he pulls away, she feels like the whole room holds its breath.

“Please,” Valaena whimpers, the word escaping before she can claw it back.

“Do you know where we are?” Aemond whispers with a cruel twist of her nipples.

“Yes,” she breathes, honesty spilling out.

“Where?”

“The Dragonmont.”

She feels Aemond step closer, another heat to make her skin buzz and crawl with anticipation. When his hands settle on her hips, they squeeze and grip like they are there to stay. 

“And can you feel them watching you? Can you feel their eyes on you?” He nearly croons in her ear, dragging her close until her breasts are crushed to his bare chest and she can feel that he is as naked as she is.

She can. She can feel the power and the might of the dragons, the last vestiges of Old Valyria staring down at her. With the blindfold on, it feels like a trial, like a test she must pass. They are weighing and measuring her and she desperately wants to please them.

Wants to please Aemond.

“Yes, Kepus,” Valaena murmurs.

“Are you going to give them a show? Are you going to honor our ancestors here, in the place where dragons gather?” Aemond’s voice is silk, the press of his erection into her stomach a promise.

“Yes, Kepus,” she repeats.

“Good girl. Now get on your knees.”

Valaena drops so fast she can feel the impact of the ground through the combined layers of what feels like both their clothes, all the fur they’d needed in the North to stay warm. Here, they only need each other, the blood of the dragons in their veins.

“Open your mouth,” Aemond orders, and she does, going so far as to stick her tongue out at him. She can’t see him, but she knows he’s shaking his head at her impertinence, can hear it in the sigh that escapes his lips.

The head of his cock nudges past her lips, thick and salty on her tongue. The feeling of being watched, of being judged and analyzed makes her want to take Aemond apart. She wants to prove that she is a dragon, too. 

Gripping the base of his cock with her hands, Valaena slides her mouth down Aemond, taking him as deep as she can. Once she gags, she pushes further, the thickness of him pushing down her throat. Aemond hisses, gripping her hair in his hands, tugging as she takes him deeper and deeper. An echoing hiss goes around the chamber, little heat lighting up her skin as flames fill the room.

Tightening his grip on her hair, Aemond pulls out of her mouth until the tip is nudging at her lips. Without a word, he thrusts back in, tears springing to her eyes as he fucks her mouth with abandon. Carefully, Valaena breathes through her nose and revels in the power of having him like this, the way his thighs flex under her hands when she lets him have his way with her. Little groans and growls escape his lips as he uses her, as she takes and takes until her nose is brushing at the curls on his pelvis. It feels heavy, powerful, like she’s doing something right, praise and curses spilling down to her. 

The ache between her thighs worsens, the emptiness only he can fill. He is unraveling under her hands and mouth, but she cannot see.

Tears are trailing down her cheeks, the size of him nearly too much, but she can’t fail.

Not when they’re being watched, weighed against the blood of Old Valyria. Only when she cups his balls, gently massaging as he pounds into her mouth, does Aemond relent.

With a wet ‘pop’ as he pulls her mouth away, Aemond gently brushes away the tears slipping down her cheeks.

“So good, Sweet Girl, so good for me,” he praises, voice closer this time.

He is kneeling now too, gently laying her back on their pile of clothes. The fur tickles at her back, sweat now dripping down her spine at the heat of the Dragonmount and the heat of eyes on her. 

“Can I please see you now, Kepus?” Valaena begs.

Aemond shushes her, a soft kiss pressed against her mouth.

“Not yet. Can you keep it on a little longer, Sweet Girl?” In tandem with his words, he brushes his hands through her aching folds, gathering the wetness between his fingers.

“Yes,” Valaena pants, hips bucking up to meet his exploratory hand.

Tenderly, gently, like he hadn’t just been fucking her mouth, Aemond brushes a wet fingertip against her lips, spreading the slick around. 

“You’re soaking, darling. Is that from being watched? Does my little whore like performing for an audience, hm?” Aemond taunts, pressing one finger between her lips until she can taste the metal of his ring mixing with the tangy sweetness of her own wetness.

Unable to lie, unable to resist him, she chokes out a strangled ‘yes.’ As a reward, Aemond stops teasing, circling her clit the way she wants him to, two fingers spearing inside of her. 

The fire inside of her burns hotter, wilder. She fears flames may lick down her skin in tandem with Aemond’s tongue on her breasts. The beasts watching them shudder, flaps of wings and hisses of flame piercing the humid air. 

A wildfire rages inside of her, one she is powerless to fight against. When Aemond slips a third finger inside of her, curling and stretching her until he hits that spot that has her back arching, she turns to nothing but ash and pleasure.

“That’s it, my sweet girl. Come for me. Come for us.”

The dragons cry out with her as she comes, loud and unafraid in the darkness, stars bursting across her eyes.

Shudders are still wracking her body as Aemond looms over her, the press of his cock insistent between her thighs. He pushes inside of her like she was made for him, a cosmic joining of souls and bodies.

It is pain and pleasure, no slow build up. He slams inside of her and she is afraid sparks dance off her skin. The world threatens to burn away to nothing but the feel of him inside of her, the press of his hand on her belly where he must bulge out of her. 

“Taking me so well,” Aemond praises, looping her hands above her head as he rocks into her. “This cunt was made for me, made for kings.”

Garbled Valyrian falls from her lips, meaningless but for the way he makes her feel, the way the mightiest powers in the world have stopped to watch them. Valaena can feel the pressure building again, an unstoppable force of flame and will and pleasure. Aemond can feel it too, the tightening of her walls insistent around his cock. 

Aemond takes his hand from her belly, rubs her clit with fervor. He pulls out, teasingly rubbing the head of his cock at her swollen lips. “Are you going to come again? Can you come again for me, Sweet Girl?”

Valaena can only moan in response, bracketing his hips with her legs, tightening her heels at the small of his back as she pushes him back inside of her harder. He growls, a near animalistic sound echoed through the chamber.

“Be a good little dragon and come for us,” Aemond bites at her neck, the sharpness of his teeth a jarring contrast to the silken lust of his voice. 

Somewhere far above them, a dragon roars, heat billowing through the chamber. 

Valaena comes with a cry, fingernails scratching down Aemond’s back as he comes with her, filling her with a warmth that makes the North but a distant dream. The world fragments, engulfed in flames that sparkle violet, lavender, and silver. Her back bows and her cunt clenches, nipples pebbling against Aemond’s chest as he collapses against her.

Time loses meaning. There is only the press of Aemond on top of her, the slow leak of his seed from between her thighs, the weight of their ancient audience.

She doesn’t have to see to know they have pleased them and have passed the test.

They are Targaryens and they are the blood of the dragon.

[lemonhemlock]

I'm probably one of the few who finds the bits we got from Aegon as a character—while "inconsistent", disorganized and tonally a whirlwind—compelling, fascinating and worth inspecting and exploring (and maybe romanticizing and sexualizing :P). And this includes the textual sexual violence, and the heavily implied child sexual assault (whether pedophilic in nature or not aside for now). And though I understand people creating a fanon version expunging these sociopsychologically horrific, and fictionally hard to stomach aspects of his character, I can't say I even want to! I find him compelling because of these aspects, wanting the presentation of it may be for now.

His narrative, arc, symbolism and themes, and not to mention TGC's performance so far, are all just too compelling for me to pass on! Obviously biased, but frankly it's difficult to believe someone would read f&b and not realize the potential of his character and the entailing entertainment... On this note, I do have to say I find the complaints of certain fandom parts (they happen to be Aegon stans, and both team green and team black) about the choice to centre Alicent (both in the narrative and in Aegon's life) pretty disagreeable. It's wack, trite, and bitter. There are clear timeline oopsies and confusions due to the changes, and behind the complaints are genuine arguments to be made for an Update House of The Dragon that could have been, but the game ain't always fair... Just accept you are stanning a minor character, cast villain, stuffed like a pigeon with turkey filling, and eat your 10 minutes of beady eyed screentime. And just make everything about him? When someone takes a sip of wine, it's secretly about Aegon btw. All windows are about Aegon, when they are not about Alicent. Every dragonbond is secretly about Aegon/Sunfyre if you squint hard enough, George told me himself.

I think the major reasons why he comes off as deeply unlikable to the casual viewers (not even addressing the green/black tribalism for now) are due to unflattering framing and POVs that position him as either a gross nuisance, obstacle or clear antagonizing force. Some of this is due to needing certain characters covering certain aspects of a certain themes. How do the royals treat their servants? Good—bad is a big spectrum. Sexual violence is on it, and it happens to fall into Aegon's realm. And while considering the many other unflattering characteristics, u could argue this is overkill or unfair to Aegon, I gotta counter that's a deficient way of looking at fictional narratives. This character-lasered reading misses the forest for the trees. Not every character has to be likeable, relatable, or sympathetic from the get-go. And honestly, I think the many atrocities Aegon is collecting like Pokemon balls to be amusing and kinda compelling.

In another narrative, a character like Aegon's would b a byronic obsession in someone's romantic/gothic story, or a horror villain, or a god harassing poor mortal souls. There are very fun bits and pieces stuck in this guy and even in this age of many studios bucketing under fanbacklash, a guy can just hope the writers find him worthwhile enough a character. And rant into ur lovely inbox ofc.

And at the end of the day, people are just not gonna like a guy LOL. No amount of screentime or birthing scenes or dragonriding can make me find Rhaenyra compelling, and no lack thereof can make me find Alicent, Helaena, or Baela less compelling, speaking of female hotd characters only.

Okay almost.

Being they plan to introduce golden boy turned war criminal Daeron, I believe a both fun and horrific decision would be to make him compassionate towards Aegon's plights and woes and thus give the audience an entry into sympathizing with Aegon, which the writers clearly want us to do, all interviews and panels considered, cope and seethe as I have!

Are we even going to get a Daeron/Greenfam interaction? LOL What a deeply unserious show.

I would like to start off by thanking you for leaving such an interesting ask in my inbox! I think this conversation is a little overdue, since there’s been perhaps an emergence of the school of thought (lol) that suggests that greens upset or critiquing Aegon’s extra dark portrayal in the show are somehow whitewashing him or woobifying him. IMO that fundamentally showcases a divergence in people’s priorities in storytelling and how they interact with this fictional universe. I, myself, am very intrigued by dark!Aegon in fics and most of the works I enjoy tend to deal with taboo topics, so it’s a little unfair to paint everyone with the same dismissive brush.

However, I’m not just a HotD show watcher, I have been engaging with ASOIAF one way or another for over a decade now and I think I can mount a workable interpretation of how this series operates. One of the reasons I actually love it so much is because it has internal thematic logic and because, generally speaking, the characters that inhabit it are appropriately rewarded or sanctioned by the narrative (or at least it seems to be heading in this direction re: its endgame). Believe it or not, I was thinking of answering this ask by ranting about Ned Stark, but I decided not to, because we’d be here all day. 😅

Anyway, point is that I’m not very willing to sacrifice that aspect for the sake of character exploration that contradicts with the main themes and messages of the story. People are certainly free to disagree with me on this, of course. 

I imagine it is a tricky business for authors, trying to decide exactly which and how much of a flavour of awful to assign to a character without ruining the rest of the story. Some might start with an outline or a feel for where they want the story to go, but, if you happen to create a character that veers off your intended path or seems to write itself in a direction you never planned for, it would be honest for you as a writer to acknowledge that and accommodate that accordingly in your story. Which isn’t truly a possibility here, as we need the characters to hit certain beats in the narrative and, ideally, they should do it in a believable way. This is often a problem I have found with Fire and Blood and lord knows I’ve already dissected it enough times here, if anyone cares to take a gander - the fact that characters are sometimes prevented to grow organically, because George needs them to perform certain actions in order to move the plot along. So, ideally, a good story would find a balance between these two scenarios. 

So to me my main anti-argument is that the Dance was never a story just about Aegon, this is not the exploration of a fucked-up psycho rapist and why he does the things he does and how he thinks the things he thinks. While that certainly might be an interesting avenue, I am not super convinced the Dance of the Dragons could offer the appropriate space in which that kind of exploration could be pursued in a satisfying manner. This is an ensemble piece, and while Aegon is an important part of it, he also exists in relation to other characters. This exaggerated degradation of his would inevitably bring down his entire “side” with him and that, in turn, ultimately throws off the balance of the entire story. 

Let’s stop for a minute and take a look at what they decided to go with in the show. Rhaenyra has consistently received the framing that her “mistakes” amount to (at most) victimless crimes (she is absolved from murdering Vaemond and the show makes no effort to explain the havoc caused by screwing up inheritance laws). Whereas what do we have for Aegon? 1. raping and terrorizing servants to the point of panic attacks; 2. enjoyer of the child-fighting sport; 3. implied sexual assault of children. This is beyond caricature. The addition that he enjoys watching his own children fight and that they file down their teeth to make them more formidable, stuff that wasn’t even in the books, is just downright infuriating. 

These are not traits you endow a character with because you’re interested in exploring the deep dark depths of human depravity. That task was always impossible in the first place with a character who has so little screen time anyway and I would argue it was never really a priority anyway. The intention was always to make Rhaenyra look good by comparison and that’s not something I can respect from a storytelling perspective. 

Note that this is the starting point for Aegon and Rhaenyra. This is supposed to show how they behave before the war, in a relatively stress-free situation, when they’re unburdened by war trauma and their family dying - explanations that could be given as reasons for their later ruthlessness. But nothing show!Rhaenyra (or even book!Rhaenyra) has ever done could ever hope to amount to the trifecta of awfulness that they assigned to show!Aegon. 

So, what exactly are we doing here? The point of Aegon and Rhaenyra as direct adversaries was always that they inhabit a similar plane. It’s not even about Aegon being likable or sympathetic, it’s about the fact that it separates him too much from Rhaenyra and it positively sanctifies Rhaenyra by comparison. You could certainly prefer one over the other, but their differences are meant to inspire conversation; they cannot be so completely removed from one another as to operate in different leagues of morality. If we monsterize Aegon too much, we don’t even have the space to properly explore that in the story and it would mess too much with the way his character needs to evolve in order to hit the particular narrative beats that George decided are set in stone. So giving him these massive transgressions as a starting point and turning him basically into the Antichrist throws the rest of his arc off balance for me and the thematic parallels become too off-kilter for me to be able to enjoy it. 

To me Rhaenyra’s story is very reminiscent of (white) feminism, very “rights for me but not for thee”: a rich, white, privileged woman fighting for her own advancement and not caring about the plight of anyone else. The Dance of the Dragons is meant to inspire conversation and debate, both on the legal front and on the political utilitarian front. Is male primogeniture fair, even if it maintains stability in the realm? Can we change that? How? Does shifting to simple primogeniture when it comes to royal succession engender progress in some way? Should royal succession reflect inheritance laws for the rest of the population? How are laws changed in a medieval common law system? Is it fair for the King to change laws however he wants, at the drop of the hat, or should the lords have some say? What can/should the King do if his vassals refuse to abide by his choices? When it comes to waging a destructive war to replace one “unworthy” candidate for the throne with another “unworthy” candidate, where do we place that on the moral spectrum? Is the population thriving/not dying in war more or less important than maintaining male primogeniture? Is it really worth it just to have a nominal female successor that won’t really bring about systemic change? These questions are really worth exploring and there are no straightforward answers to them, but if Aegon is Satan on Earth, none of these questions matter anymore, because Rhaenyra automatically becomes the better option and no price is steep enough to pay to get rid of Aegon. And the point never was that Rhaenyra would make a better ruler than Aegon or is even a better person than Aegon; trying to shoehorn her into that narrative only hurts the story overall.

There’s something to be said for the fact that in the last stages of the war, Aegon’s and Rhaenyra’s journeys inversely parallel each other: while Rhaenyra is rejected by the population and kicked out of King’s Landing while she’s occupying the Iron Throne, Aegon manages to convince people on Dragonstone to fight for him and he takes the castle with little resistance. There is something to be said for the fact that it’s Aegon who gets to kill Rhaenyra, not the other way around. That he’s the one who gets to live that little while longer. The author could have simply chosen for them to have one last battle and end up killing each other, but he doesn’t. And IMO we would not be able to get to that point in the story in a way that feels true and organic to the internal logic of this fictional universe if we corrupt Aegon’s development and make him so reprehensible to begin with.

TLDR: I take issue with HotD’s portrayal of Aegon in direct comparison with the text of Fire and Blood, but I am open to dark!Aegon explorations in fic. However, I do not feel like this is appropriate in canon, as it messes too much with the balance of the story and corrupts the wider themes and messages, both of the Dance of the Dragons and of the ASOIAF series in general.

[gojuo]

Wow...so vhagar actually is senile (or deaf) and arrax is a youngling who doesn't have a brain (going to attack a more bigger dragon). I actually like this. As so far we seen aemond take his philosophy study seriously so i guess he must be worried of actually doing kinslaying. I know others might say it's boring but i actually like this. Makes aemond not the evil part of the greens ( that's aegon) and actually give the war crime to the veteran of wars vhaegar (after all visenya was one)

stop aegon wasn't evil he was lazy but he listened to his advisors and he loved his family and he had the best dragon and dragonbond in the whole asoiaf verse and he loved his family sooo much so so fucking much STOPP THE SLANDER !!!!!!! anyways i do agree with the notion that this change from intentional to accidental death was a good one. adds so much depth to the guilt aemond is gonna feel from now on I'm going crazy just thinking about how his relationship with his momma is gonna crumble in the future </3

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

DragonBond - Orc Concept Art by Steve Prescott

[navree]

Who do you think would've tamed Sunfyre after Aegon's death (Sunfyre lives in this au) i think it would have been Daeron the young dragon or Daena

I think it depends on how injured Sunfyre still is, since while it was his injuries from the battle against Moondancer that ultimately killed him, he was already pretty badly torn up from Rook's Rest (which is why the fact that he still made his way to Dragonstone to find Aegon is so incredibly insane to me that's Love babies), so it's entirely possible that he wouldn't have lived very long even without the second set of injuries as well. If Sunfyre's just regularly healthy and lives after Aegon dies (and again assuming this is a world where the extinction of the dragons doesn't happen because there was definitely something magical involved in that, why the Hell else did Morning only live to age 24 when dragons can live into their hundreds, something went On with that), then Daeron might be a good option, since I view Sunfyre as sharing a lot of characteristics with Daeron. Aemon the Dragonknight would also be a good option, I could see that happening for the aesthetics alone. And I don't know how much Targ blood she has in her or how much that's even required, considering Nettles was able to tame Sheepstealer, but if I get to be fully self indulgent I want Daenaera to claim Sunfyre next. Mostly because she's my angel girl and he's my baby boy and based on the personality I've assigned to Sunfyre I think they would mesh incredibly well.

There's also the real possibility that no one ever claims Sunfyre again. We know that some dragons just don't end up being claimed for a while, like Vermithor, and anyone in the royal family might have been a bit wary of claiming Sunfyre because, well, again depending on how AU this is, Sunfyre killed Aegon III's mother right in front of him and really threw his entire fear and hatred of dragons into overdrive, and if that's your husband/dad you don't want to be triggering his PTSD every single day. Not to mention Sunfyre himself was significantly closer to Aegon than most dragons are to their riders, almost to the level of Dany and her children, and we know that even ordinary dragonbonds can produce strong emotions (Vhagar's grief for Laena and her rage on Aemond's behalf, Dreamfyre nearly breaking out of the Dragonpit when Helaena died). So when you add that to the fact that Sunfyre and Aegon were definitely closer than the average dragon and dragonrider (and in my head they're basically so incredibly connected and loving to each other it's borderline mystical/telepathic), Sunfyre just wouldn't accept another rider after Aegon, he's too upset and grieved and he doesn't want anyone else, he won't entertain the idea or let anyone try.

[vhgr]

Okay tell us your headcanons about both aegon and aemond, their dynamics with their parents and themselves.

first of all thank you for giving me a chance to ramble 🤲 second of all. oof okay i do give lil summaries in their bios but there's always room for expansion. by my humble reckoning i think what defines these men in their general lives, defines their relationships with their parents as well; what they feel about each other though is a different case. let's start with our dear aegon the elder—we have to remember that he's almost never entirely sober (which is something aemond notices and comments on in episode 8 during dinner). we know this started when he was very young and it follows him into adulthood; aegon has never strived for anything. as a baby, yes, he was adored and dotted on by seemingly everyone yet somehow, as time passed, he drifted to the sidelines. and he did not mind that; aegon's perfectly fine with not being the centre of attention. we know he's an exceptional dragonrider, but he doesn't care about building an image. he doesn't care so much about history and philosophy and training with the sword to the level his brother does. he doesn't care to earn anything; and it's the same with his parents. aegon doesn't strive to earn alicent's or viserys's respect, or their love, or their support. he internalises the lack but doesn't do anything about it. that, through the years, builds up a passive kind of bitterness which he doesn't channel into anything. he has these thoughts—my father doesn't like me, he doesn't care for me, i doubt my mother's love—but doesn't do anything about it. he just wallows in it, as he does with everything else. aegon often just accepts his fate, even when it comes to his relationships with people. but. he loves his family deeply. and by family, i more so mean alicent and his siblings. he'll always be quick to defend them, to back them up; even if that means lying to viserys. be it for something big, or something small. yes, viserys is his father; but he's also kind of a stranger. a stranger aegon doesn't care to get close to, at least not of his own accord.

now aemond on the other hand? aemond has constantly, ever since he was young, been plagued by insecurity (like aegon), by a sense of inferiority due to his lack of a dragonbond; but unlike aegon, everything that bothers him, he tries to fix. no dragon? he'll reap any chance he gets of bonding with one. he loses his eye? he'll still train to be a dangerous fighter. his mother is closed off because of stress or fear? he'll comfort her, be a person he can confide to. his father is ignoring him? he'll be an exceptional student and excel in his princely education. perhaps it doesn't take; but he'll still work himself into the ground to earn his family's respect. he'll be a pillar for them if he has to; my personal take is that aemond, like alicent, is also defined by a sense of responsibility and duty. family is everything. but. i don't think he holds viserys to a very high regard, even if he yearns for his acceptance. why doesn't he, you may ask. because of the way he treats alicent. but, unlike aegon—who believes alicent would be better off without viserys, believes she'd be better off if he and his siblings did not exist—he wants to believe there's room for improvement. he wants to believe there's some small corner in viserys's heart which, with the right amount of pressure, may just drive him away from his passive nature. that he may, for once, defend them, too. he's perpetually disappointed of course but a man can hope, anyway.

now as for aegon's and aemond's dynamic with each other—my take will always be that after driftmark, aegon felt guilty. he could have been there for aemond, should have been there to defend his brother. but he wasn't, and aemond lost an eye. i saw a humourous tiktok once about aegon's end during the dinner scene, i don't exactly remember what it said but i think it was something along the lines of you beat my brother up once when i was drunk it won't happen again and that sort of stayed with me. alicent's warnings finally took form and aegon realized there will never be unity among all of his father's kin. it was the breakthrough moment for him, in which he realised rhaenyra will be opposite of them, her children as well, bastards or legitimate. and unlike viserys, he'd not remain neutral if it came to that. i think some part of aegon almost admires aemond; whilst for aemond, his bond with aegon is entirely familial. i think if they weren't related, if aegon was some random person, he'd not like him at all. but in the end they're brothers and aemond will look out for aegon if he has to. even when they were young; in time of danger, aemond steps in front of aegon. they've internalised alicent's words in their own way. to the world, we must defend our own.

[forjustice]

🔥 would actually love to hear an IC take

"No one will EVER be as good of a Dragon Trainer or Dragon specialist as we Dragonbonded peoples. The Draconids, the Dragon Tamers, the Sinnohese clans of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, the inhabitants of the Unovan Village of Dragons--we not only have lived alongside dragons in harmony and kinship for eons, we have dragon's blood in our very veins. We understand our draconic kin in an emotional and spiritual way that nobody outside our groups could ever hope to. I'm not saying outsiders can't train Dragons or that they can't specialize in them. I'm just saying that if you're not one of us, you'll never do it better."