#rhaenyra is portrayed to have such a closeness with her children

[sshireens]

i believe emily carey could have delivered (haha) the most grotesque and real labor scene of aegon ii if that had been planned. i truly think she really could have scared me with it

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

HOTD has made many interesting choices in their adaptation of the story of the Dance. One of their favorite excuses for many of their questionable choices is "feminism". Why did they remove Alicent's ambitions and autonomy? Feminism. Why is Rhaenyra less proactive and hesitant? Feminism. Why are Daemon and Otto the primary active agents in the lead up to the Dance? Well women can't be in the wrong or violent, so feminism.

These choices are the farthest thing from feminist; they're sexist, end of story. Every decision surrounding the women of the Dance reeks of benevolent sexism. One of the most obviously sexist decisions made is the purposeful removal of female cooperation and friendship.

Rhaenyra in F&B has many female allies and friends. Her ladies in waiting loved her so much, one of them, Lady Elinda Massey gouged out her eyes at the sight of Rhaenyra's death. Lady Jeyne Arryn, Lady Alysanne Blackwood, and Lady Sabitha Frey/Vypren are just a few examples of ladies who fought for Rhaenyra (Alysanne and Sabitha literally fought in battles). Lady Fell chose death over betraying her oath to Rhaenyra.

Now, we haven't had any opportunity to meet most of these women I listed in the show. Lady Fell was portrayed as she was written in the book, a very minor character who simply foreshadowed how most of the realm would choose Rhaenyra over Aegon. Elinda Massey, however was reduced to an unnamed servant, not even a lady in waiting. Her treatment is an echo of one of my biggest issues with HOTD, the treatment of Laena and Rhaenys.

Laena was Rhaenyra's dearest friend in the book, in fact it's implied that they had a romantic relationship. Whether you believe that telling or not, it's undeniable that she and Laena were extremely close. They chose to betroth their children while they were infants, Rhaenyra flew to Laena's bedside during her final labor, and she stood vigil with Daemon over Laena's body.

All of that closeness and intimacy was removed in the show to make room for Alicent. So let's break that down: they removed a long and healthy relationship between two women and replaced it with a short-lived (in terms of screen time) friendship that quickly fell apart and turned into an intense rivalry. Reinforcing an old stereotype of female friendship: that it is entrenched in rivalry and toxicity and can quickly be turned to enmity. Alicent was so quickly and easily turned against Rhaenyra and it's even implied that she was jealous of Rhaenyra long before they became enemies.

Rhaenys in the book was an ardent supporter of Rhaenyra. She happily claimed Jace, Luke, and Joff as her grandsons, advised Rhaenyra to go to war, and gladly flew against Aegon and Aemond.

Meanwhile, in the show, Rhaenys was turned into one of Rhaenyra's rivals. She constantly challenged Rhaenyra's ideas, dismissed her as a naive child, disliked her children, and even considered backing the Greens. On top of that, they turned her into yet another "peaceful" woman. She advises against the war, and seems to continue to do so in season two. Rhaenys is virtually unrecognizable in the show. They chose to take a woman who tried to prevent a younger woman being wronged by the patriarchy the same way she was and turned her into a bitter woman who resents Rhaenyra (for most of the show).

HOTD claimed to have wanted to tell a story about how the patriarchy pits women against each other. That's all very well and good, but that's not what they actually did. They took a story where a woman is wrongfully usurped because of her gender and is supported by many other women and turned it into another tired female rivalry story.

Rhaenyra has no female friends aside from Alicent. Laena was turned from her dearest friend/lover into simply a rival for Daemon's affection. Rhaenys was turned from a supportive mentor and defender to someone who took out her resentment for the system on a fourteen year old who only starts to support her when she's proven "peaceful".

HOTD chose to perpetuate a harmful stereotype about women: that we constantly view each other as threats/rivals and can't have truly healthy relationships with other women. Rhaenyra had women who supported and cared for her in the book, in the show all she has is Alicent. A woman who abused and undermined her for ten years, raised her children to hate her, and usurped her. Every change HOTD made in the name of "feminism" solidified just how sexist it really is.

[selkiesstories]

As promised all the antisemitic tropes associated with the Greens in House of the Dragon because I guess when you double down on the divinely ordained Aryan as heroes you need Jewish coded villains. Please note that I am not accusing anyone including Condal or other producers of secretly sympathizing with Nazis or antisemitism if for no other reason that I suspect they are simply too ill informed to realize what their playing with. (for a better understanding about the metaphysical role Jews played in Nazism see Alon Confino's A World Without Jews: The Nazi Imagination from Persecution to Genocide)

Let's start with casting:

And Alicent is the embodiement of the Beautiful Jewess- curly dark reddish hair, and big beautiful eyes ( It's over a year since I read Höss's complaining about how his officers were susceptible to Jewish women and their "beautiful eyes" and I am still not over it.)

Moving on-

1) Alicent and by extension the Greens are portrayed as religious. This religion is implied or certainly interpreted by fans to be oppressive towards the Targaryens (Valeryians) notably by setting rules and thus bringing them to the level of mortals. Hitler considered Christianity to be a Jewish invention that was a “scar” on the German race by imposing a conscience.

2) The Hightowers and the Citadel/maesters are implied in the fandom to be running a conspiracy to bring down the Targaryens. Some fans have them poisoning Viserys and/or responsible for all the Targaryen stillbirths, and dismal maternal and infant mortality rates. The Protocols of Zion are an old debunked many times conspiracy theory about how Jews secretly work to run the world. Jewish doctors were accused of damaging Aryan women. The Doctor’s Plot is actually Soviet where Jewish doctors were accused of poisoning Stalin.

3) Heleana who coincidentally fits the Targaryen aesthetic is considered the only redeemable one so long as she supports Rhaenyra (and marries Jace- who according to Rhaenyra and therefore the show/fans is a Targaryen- and raises her children to be loyal to the true Targs). Nazis would sometimes accept a half Jewish woman if she was married to a full German and had his children whom she raised with no connection to her family/faith (sometime a man but a woman was more likely since they were seen as more passive and therefore less of a threat to the all sacred race)

4) the Greens are portrayed as both overly sexual and sexually repressed. The Nazis were obsessed with sex and variously accused Jews of being sexual predators or of being unnaturally restrained which tied in with (1).

5) Aegon is an alcoholic and Aemond is implied to have an opioid addiction. Jews were associated with drugs especially morphine (for a summary of the Nazis relationship with drugs see Norman Ohler’s Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich)

5) The men on the Greens are either dangerous predators or emasculated "simps" or "mama's boys". Jewish men were variously dangerous predators or unmanly men who were dominated by their women.

6) Alicent is either sexually repressed or a slut who sexually entices good Valyrian men to their doom. (1) and (4)

7) Alicent is an overbearing mother. She occasionally seems to overstep her designated feminine boundaries to assert her opinions over men's.

8) the Greens are either too close knit or they betray each other. Höss described Jews as both extremely attached to their families to the point where news of their death had a fatal effect and as eager to betray their families even at no benefit to themselves.

9) Alicent schemes to betray the righteous Valyrian princess and supplant her with her own sons. She is considered redeemable only when she serves Rhaenyra and places her on a pedestal even at the expense of her and her children's well being. This is the basis of many Jewish female characters in literature

10) Alicent's children are never considered to be real Targaryens. In F&B Aegon and Helaena are described as plumper and less striking than most Targaryens, Jaehaerys has extra fingers/ toes and Jaehaera as neurodivergent. Jaehaera dies and is replaced by the perfect Valyrian girl.

I'm open for asks and DMs. For context my MA was set in Nazi Germany and I took several courses on the subject.

[alicentflorent]

The build up to blood and cheese should have been framed the same way as arryk’s assination attempt on Rhaenyra. We knew he wouldn’t kill Rhaenyra but we still had the suspense of her alone getting ready for bed, at her most vulnerable and cutting between Rhaenyra in her chambers to Arryk getting closer, no one noticing him aside from mysaria but is it too late to for her to get the message across? Then he actually makes it to Rhaenyras chambers ready to execute her and we still feel that moment of fear in our guts when he makes it into her room.

Where was that writing with blood and cheese? We see two idiots strolling round the castle bickering in an almost comical sense, walking past the king and his personal guards, clearly never getting close to being caught or even having to avoid or kill any guards because there weren’t any. We don’t see helaena or the babies until cheese turns around with a knife to helaena’s neck, and I get it was meant to be shocking but it fell flat because of the build up. Why didn’t we see helaena telling her kids a bedtime story? Tucking them in and showing them affection getting herself ready to sleep near them? It would have been a build up to “oh no they aren’t going to hurt helaena and the kids are they?” As well as giving us some content of helaena being a loving mother and actually interacting with the son she’s about to lose just like Aegon got a scene showing his love towards his son. If they didn’t want to make it obvious who they would end up going after they could have showed each of the targtowers and Alicent, perhaps we see Alicent say goodnight to her grandchildren and her daughter (like she does in the books, even if they removed her from the event they itself could keep the part where she says goodnight to her grandchildren every night) and then she gets back to her chambers and it’s framed to look like b&c find her room first when it then turns out to be criston and we cut to helaena turning round to find two men in her room, maybe we see Aegon stumble off drunk alone and in no fit state to defend himself, he is the only other person who fits a son for a son right? But they find his own son first, then lastly we do Aemond in his room/the castle and we think maybe they will get him? But then he sneaks out and we cut back to helaena and the children. All these scenes of Alicent and her children, each alone, could have co-existed and added to the mystery and build up and as for blood and cheese’s castle tour? It should have been them walking through the secret tunnels because again, it adds suspense and doesn’t have the frustrating lack of guards on duty and also sometimes no dialogue is better and their scene is perfect example. Not knowing anything about them adds to suspense and they don’t end up coming off as laughable rather than terrifying.

All in all I would have stayed true to the books but even the way the show chose to portray it could have been leagues better if they cared about utilising the greens in the build up instead of trying to do a heist movie parody.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

hi, well i was wondering how you think yandere hotd's men would react to marrying darling reader who is a widow and has a son (time skip) they have children with reader but she has obvious favoritism for her son from her first husband (an attitude like Viserys with Rhaenyra)and their children are sad, how do you think they would react? thank you take care of yourself ♡♡

I like the thought of Widow!Reader not even being conscious of how much more attentive and involved she is regarding her child from her first husband. As far as she knows she treats all her children equally but that couldn’t be further from the truth, at least from her new husband and children’s point of views.

Let’s be honest, there’s a damn good chance that Daemon probably had a big part in his darling’s late husband’s death. It would be kinda funny if he didn’t know that they already had a child with their first husband, otherwise he may have taken them out of the picture too. Either way, Daemon would portray himself as somewhat understanding and to an extent he genuinely is, especially when he first married his darling. He had Rhaena and Baela from his marriage with Laena so he could be understanding of the situation, especially if his darling’s son was still quite young, but as time went on and they had their own children together his understanding grew to lessen. He did take notice of his darling fulfilling her role as mother to all their children, even including Rhaena and Baela, but not to the same extent as she is with her first child. It would be one thing if his darling’s child looked more like her than their original father but if they were the spitting image of the Reader’s late husband then he’ll have a harder time allowing the favoritism to continue. Daemon would go as far as even using their children to guilt trip and manipulate the Reader into feeling absolutely awful for holding their older half-sibling above all of them. He would of course talk to his darling himself when they’re alone together and relay how neglected and insignificant the other children feel compared to the time and attention the Reader puts towards their older sibling. By the end of it he’ll have his darling a sobbing, apologetic mess feeling like a complete shit mother for having disregarded their other children. He knows he has his darling right where he wants her. He’ll hold her close, comforting her while still coming off as understanding of the situation and knowing his darling wasn’t intentionally pushing aside their children together, but he needs her to put her focus into their family now. He needs her to make their children together and himself her main priority, otherwise he’ll need to take matters into his own hands. His darling’s son should be old enough to foster off by now anyway, right? Leave it to Daemon and his darling will wake up one day to her pride and joy from her first marriage having been sent off to somewhere else, somewhere far away from them.

Out of everyone, Viserys would by far be the most understanding. In a way he finds it endearing that his darling has taken similar to him in regards to how she is with her first child, but once he and his darling begin having children together he expects her to extend all that motherly love and care to their new children as well. Compared to how he was with Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron, Viserys would be much more involved with and caring towards his children with his darling. He’d even get after Rhaenyra for not interacting with her newest siblings, even she wouldn’t be exempt from neglecting Viserys and the Reader’s children, therefore neither would his darling. Again, he’s much more understanding than anyone else but that doesn’t mean he’s going to sit by and allow his darling to solely focus on her first child from her first marriage. He sees this as his darling not letting go of her first husband and as much as he can sympathize with it after having lost Aemma, Viserys has invested himself in his new family. He’s invested himself in you, his new wife, and your children together, so why can’t you do the same? Unlike Daemon who would contemplate the idea of getting rid of his darling’s first child permanently, even if only for a second, Viserys would only go for sending the child to be fostered off. He’d give his darling plenty of chances to try harder for their children, to do better by their children but eventually even he reaches his own limits and can only do what he thinks is right by his newest children even if it means going behind his darling’s back.

Aegon would absolutely resent and despise his darling’s first child, especially if they resembled his darling’s late husband so much. He’s only reminded of the treatment his father forwent giving him and his siblings in favor of his eldest half-sister and he can’t tolerate that. Never. It’s not even necessarily so much that his darling isn’t paying as much attention and care to their own children together that really eats at him (although that does still very much trigger him), instead it’s the fact that his darling’s abundance of dedicated love and care towards her first and eldest child is only proof that his darling isn’t completely his and he hates it. You still have love and attachment towards your first husband and that irritates him more than anything. Your first husband is dead, he’s long gone, meanwhile Aegon is right here in the flesh along with the children you two share together and yet you’re still stuck in the past. Why can’t you see what you have now? Is he not good enough? Are your children together not deserving of your love as much as your first child? Why can’t you give yourself completely to him and your new family? What needs to be done for him and your family together to become your priority? He honestly doesn’t even need to ask that last question, he knows what needs to be done and he has no qualms about it. Everything from your past needs to be wiped away and he can do exactly that. You just need a fresh start, a clean slate, and then you can finally give him and your children what they all need. All he has to do is get rid of your first born, that other man’s spawn, and then you can put your all into him and your new family. And he will go through with it without a doubt.

Aemond would feel similarly to Aegon. He would wholeheartedly despise his darling’s first child but I could see him taking a different approach then Aegon. Aemond of course hates the love and affection that his darling has always given her firstborn, even long before he and his darling got together and had children of their own. But unlike Aegon, Aemond would try to have some form of relationship with his darling’s child but it’s more so in a way to corrupt them and any piece of their original father in them. He would break this child down and forge them into a son he would be proud of, one he could really call his own. He wouldn’t immediately go for getting rid of his darling’s first child although he has certainly considered it many times. He would rather put the time and effort into stripping away everything that makes his step-child the product of their real father. It would bode a lot better if the child looked or shared a similar personality akin to their mother, then Aemond wouldn’t be so invested in changing them too much but that doesn’t mean he would have a different reaction to his darling still paying more attention and care towards that child over their own children together. He loves his darling deeply and to an extent he can be understanding, at least he tells her that he understands, but he can’t stand for his children with his darling being neglected in favor of their older half-sibling. He would talk to his darling, telling her how completely hurt and lonely their children have become due to her neglect. He’ll give his darling a few chances to redeem herself with their children before he becomes much more stern with the threat of sending away his darling’s first child so she can put more focus and love into their children. He doesn’t necessarily take pleasure in making his darling cry and beg, on the contrary he hates seeing his darling in such a state, especially when it comes to pleading for her child to stay with her but then he’s reminded that their own children have been pushed aside in favor of her firstborn and thus whatever empathy he feels leaves him. If anything, their children are in need of her more than anyone else, hell even he is more in need of his beloved darling. She’s been more than enough for her first child, she’s done more than enough for him, now it’s time to put her all into Aemond and their children. As said before, Aemond loves his darling deeply and he adores their children together but he will go behind his darling’s back in favor of ensuring his children have the mother they desperately need and crave for. Especially if that means getting rid of his darling’s first child once and for all. It would most likely be either a dragon ride ‘gone wrong’, or a set up of some sort. I could see Aemond trying to make nice with his darling’s child and offering to let him meet Vhaegar or something like that and the child ending up getting killed by the dragon or a dragon in general. Either way, his darling’s child’s death will be played off as either a freak accident or an attack by the Blacks or someone else.

Jace would be deeply hurt by his darling’s dedication to her first child affecting their own children together. He loves his darling more than anything and he wholeheartedly accepted her and her child from the very beginning, more than willing to take on a fatherly role for her child but now that they have children together he feels conflicted. He still very much adores his darling and nothing could ever change that for him but he also very much wants for his darling to put the same dedication and love into their children together. Jace knows without a doubt that his darling loves and adores their children but he only wishes she showed it the same way she shows it for her first born. As far as their children know their mother favors their eldest sibling over any and all of them, no matter how much this darling denies it. As much as Jace doesn’t want to do anything drastic, he is willing to if push comes to shove. He’s even tried taking on more one on one time with his darling’s first child so that his darling can give some much needed attention to their children and it works well enough until they come back and his darling his fretting all over her firstborn and forgoing their children all over again. Jace would seek his mother’s advice on what to do. He doesn’t want to hurt his darling by any means but he knows that if he takes any action towards her child it will spark something that he may not be able to come back from and could greatly affect his relationship with his darling. But he knows he needs to do something to make sure his children get to have the love and care of their mother that their eldest sibling gets tenfold.

Daeron is patient and gentle with his darling after having dealt with the death of her husband and raising her child solely on her own. He, similar to Jace, would try to be more of a father figure to his darling’s child early on but unlike Jace once Daeron’s children come into the world his attention would be directed primarily towards them. He genuinely loves and cares for his darling and he can attest that they’ve been a dutiful mother but there is a stark contrast in how his darling is with their children versus her first born child. Eventually, Daeron would grow to resent his step-child for taking up his darling’s love and attention, taking it away from both Daeron himself and his children with his darling. He wouldn’t want to hurt us darling in any way, he wants to find some form of happy medium with their family but if his darling continued to put more attention into her firstborn than he would need to step in and do something. He may go to his mother for advice, maybe even his grandfather or brothers and whatever they told him he would take to heart. He didn’t want his children to grow up being second best (if even that) to their eldest half-sibling, he had gone through that himself, forced into trying to form some semblance of a relationship with his eldest half-sister’s spawn but it only made things worse. He wouldn’t want to put that in his children so if his darling’s child needs to go then they need to go.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Ironically i thought F&B was the worst thing Grrm has ever written, however watching hotd has made me appreciate F&B alot despite how terrible it's compared to other Grrm's good stories. it's still better than whatever Condal came with. The fact that book!Alicent& Rhaenyra despite being historical figures have much more agency than show!Alicent& Rhaenyra who are pov characters is so funny to me.

I do like F&B, but I like it for the faux history aspect of it, not the story. The story is nothing special. There are some cool bits, and I think most of the characters have the potential to be really fascinating, but they are bare bones at best.

Ultimately though, the characters in the F&B do generally act in a consistent way, and if you work backwards from their actions, you can arrive at a characterization. I feel like the show has done this with Aegon and Aemond for the most part, and even with Daemon, with a few hiccups along the way. But with Alicent and Rhaenyra they did the opposite and it shows. They started with the characters they wanted to portray, and then went about forcing these new characters to perform book events, when those events were not written for a pair of estranged ex-friends, they were written for a stepmother and stepdaughter whose relationship has always been contentious at best. The actions that Alicent and Rhaenyra take in the book are not the actions that people love each other would take. If George had written them as close friends from the start the Dance would have played out very differently!

But that's not the story he wrote, and adapting actions written for people actively antagonistic towards each other to characters who are meant to love each other forces the showrunners into certain corners. Making Otto and Daemon the masterminds orchestrating the violence (remember, in the book Otto never suggested murdering Rhaenyra and her children, and Daemon was the one who urged caution when Rhaenys wanted to go straight to war), inventing a prophesy and deathbed misunderstanding which fundamentally alter the nature of the conflict, these things are done to soften the impact of the canonical actions of these women, but it also absolutely takes away from their agency. You get a really odd situation where the showrunners simultaneously want us to believe that the women should be in charge because the men ruin everything, but the women themselves are both unable to take direct action for fear of harming each other, but also unable to retreat, because the story demands they come to a certain end. Rhaenyra cannot accept the peace terms Alicent sends, or any future peace terms she proposes, and for all that they might come into conflict, Alicent cannot actually join team black and betray her entire family, the children she spent her whole young adulthood keeping alive. Ryan Condal has said that even after Luke's death he still believes there is hope of reconciliation but we know that fundamentally that can only be true in theory because the ending is a forgone conclusion.

There are people who say that Alicent is fundamentally caught between duty and desire, and that is why her character is inconsistent, but I cannot help but think that the reason why her actions are inconsistent is because half of them were written for another character entirely.

[horizon-verizon]

Lucerys went to Storm’s End to deliver Rhaenyra’s message, he insisted he would bring Borros’ reply to the QUEEN, Lucerys basically died for his mother’s claim and she repays him by trying to make up with his murderers ? That’s sociopathic.

Rhaenyra agreed to send her son as an envoy for the sake of her throne which she apparently doesn’t want and then she begs his murderers for peace ? Why did she let him go then ? Did she sacrifice him ? For what exactly ? She spat into her dead son’s face, she worries about her PR but not her son's sacrifice.

This ask accusing Rhaenrya as being sociopathic is part of why I simply don't emotionally/morally engage at face value (as in these are "real" or well realized character) with this show as much as a lot of other people in the asoiaf fandom do. I do engage as critically (analytically) as I can AND use some scenes as evidence against fandom sexism. The clear misunderstanding and trying to fix characters into roles that don't make sense for their arcs in this story of the Dance undermines too much of the HotD story for me to remain Watsonian about it.

Bec it is not "Rhaenyra" that is sociopathic. It is the sexist writing breeding inconsistency after inconsistency for the character as well as the entire list of circumstances--how kinslaying seems no big deal and how it seems no big deal that Aemond commits this taboo and thus removing a critical layer to why the blacks go to war to answer such a tragedy (this layer that is already on top of how they usurped her).

Though she'd be a valid character if she had been adapted/created for some other appropriate story, FOR THIS ONE and for the relationship she has w/Daemon, she simply doesn't make any sense (the reasoning for war, her kids dying and little response or exploration of that versus her trying to do what Viserys thinks...the guy who ruled pretty poorly, etc.) and is horribly, sexistly written so that they can get as many people--who are not really weighing what the point of her character was in the Dance story or truly care to understand the very basics of misogyny--to like her character. Which itself tells us something abt our world--women over male characters of fiction and perhaps real life need to be morally upright in order for the sexist violence to matter or even be defined as sexist. (Catelyn Stark of ASoIaF is a character who has her flaws but also her valid reasons for how she acts. Margarey of GoT is not sincere to smallfolk, but we can't count her as evil for it. ETC.)

That the motive behind her usurpation and eventual murder was greedy sexism. Then entire reason why Viserys is king is bc of sexism and the Targs succession rules not having been solofoed in terms of which royal has a superseding claim than the other since Aenys and Maegor. Many Targ men actively blocked their female counterparts or children or others' children to strengthen their own claim in the eyes of the Andal-Westerosi descents they were ruling and assimilating into for the ease of said rule.

Therefore yes, the Dance happened bc of misogyny/you can never remain that misogyny played a small role in it happening.

Part of the reason--but not the only reason--she fights for the throne is bc she wants payback for her sons' deaths/punish the greens/not have Luke-Jace die from nothing at all.

This is the same woman who marries Daemon Targaryen bc she is like him in the ferocity, prideful way as well as wanted him for his loyalty and willingness to go that far for her, their family/kids, and her crown. It was actually rather cheap for HotD to portray a Rhaenyra who is conflicted over: some sort of payback for Luke's death thru Blood & Cheese vs the horror of Helaena's grief and pain as a mother herself. A sort of reckoning that she may or may not accept and how far does she actually "accept"? THIS, I argue, would have been far more interesting bc of the layers to it all that reminds me of ebing close to any other Gothic narrative...and this is more of a Gothic couple than they aren't.

This also goes into how the focus of her distrust of him is somehow whether he's trying to rule through her instead of self control. It appears a fine line--bc some might think if she actually cared to follow directions or lead, he wouldn't fly off the handle or go behind their backs or do stuff like "heir for a day", so it has to be him wanting the throne for himself sincerely, and that is all...no love. Again, that is what she was arguing he was trying to do in the actual S2 E2 episode, when she says that he is just trying to use her name to do what he wanted against the Hightowers/Otto/his enemies.

When we have already hashed this bit out AND Rhaenyra (if we say she is very careful and deliberate when it comes to her kids' safety) would not have endangered her 3 boys if it were obviously true Daemon was gunning for them for himself...also, his daughters were marrying those boys so he does have stake in the line even with Jacaerys ruling bc he'd have ruling grandkids through him. So no, it didn't make sense, her concerns.

Not unless we reason that:

this Rhaenyra is simply not the same Rhaenyra as the book canon, and thus her relationship with Daemon simply makes no sense on screen as the writers wrote her/them

we recognize that the writers contradict epi 2, epi 7, epi 8 (all where she obviously understands him and puts trusts him not try to get the throne from/through her or harm her again NOT abt his emotional control) while remembering Daemon suddenly choke her out in epi 10 (which didn't make sense itself bc of those episodes I listed)

*7/14/24* I guess we could argue that Rhaenyra was more trying to address his tendency to leave her when things get too hard by accusing him of cold ambition (as an expression from the fear that he only wants her for power since he didn't bother to help her out at least 2x before, so this is her taking an opportunity to draw him into it and express that fear)...again, this doesn't make much sense when this show has made us believe that they had rather very peaceful and happy and fulfilled days on Dragonstone from S1 E8! This is a pre-marriage argument or at least an argument had either before Rhaenyra proposes to him--thus the argument is her confronting him before she ties herself to him--OR it's had in the first two years when he does something nasty or sus and she confronts him. It's not an argument that one has 6 years after marriage and raising 6 children and seemingly completely satisfied with one's partner WITHOUT HAVING ALREADY WRITTEN MULTIPLE SCENES SHOWING/ESTABLISHING SOMETHING LIKE A MISUNDERSTANDING THAT HOLDS A LOT OF TENSION BETWEEN THEM BEFORE THIS ARGUMENT! It should have been built into to make any modicum of sense. *END*

So yeah, even though I liked the acting and energy of the fight, I didn't care for Rhaenyra's argument w/Daemon. and it isn't actually Rhaenyra nor does their Rhaenyra make any sense, so I don't care to actually engage with this show that much or take it as a serious project. It's their cluster fuck of a character they made to draw in people who can't handle dark or morally questionable female character OR genuinely don't grasp what an unreliable narrator is:

[princesssszzzz]

Daemon's relationship with his daughters.

"It's about the same as Visery's with his children with Alicent. 

I like to think they were close at first, but following Laena’s death and his marriage to Rhaenyra, they became strained over the years. Especially with Baela being raised by Rhaenys and Rhaena feeling like the odd one out.

Even if it’s a deleted scene, Daemon comforting his daughters following their mothers deaths is something I can see him doing... at that point in time. 

When Rhaneyra became pregnant with her and Daemon’s children, I think Daemon began to prioritize her more and more.

Daemon’s priority is his family’s dynasty over their well-being, and Rhaenyra represents that. Therefore, she and her children were of more importance to Daemon than his other family. And when the dance started, he became more self-absorbed.

**TLDR:** He was there for them during their early childhood, but as the years went by, they became part of the scenery in favor of his “more important” family."

https://www.reddit.com/r/HouseOfTheDragon/s/CDrPkCKHBf

You guys are too nice and using too many brain cells for brainless writing 😂 There’s no thought process behind Daemon’s relationship with Baela and Rhaena. It’s just thrown together last minute and doesn’t actually make sense. When the cast and crew try to explain it in interviews everyone will see how it’ll be word salad to make sense of what’s happening in the writer’s room.

In S2 they retcon Daemon’s relationship with Baela to force a relationship with Rhaenyra that doesn’t actually exist because Baela has never lived with her and has no reason to respect or care about her opinions. Daemon is now incompetent as a war leader and a parent so his daughters are forced to have scenes with Rhaenyra by default. To appease shippers and self inserters, they thought it was romantic for Daemon to not gaf about any female character or have emotional scenes with them.

During the 2 years both the shippers and writers realized that included his daughters and didn’t expect people to point out that the “happy family” is not happy when his daughter is not being treated well. Basically, they can not play house if the girls are not happy with their new living situation. So now Rhaena’s entire show arc from S1 is undermined by her father who ignored her for not having a dragon because he’s now ignoring both daughters and it’s 1 and a half seasons in with no scenes giving an explanation for why. The issue here is that Baela is his first born and actually has the personality and characteristics that Daemon favors. Unless they want to portray him as misogynistic and he favors sons over daughters automatically, there is no sense in him favoring anyone over Baela. I don’t think Viserys has that dynamic with his kids with Alicent. The writers basically wasted their time with the way they portrayed the marriages because despite what they want to portray, Daemon’s marriage to Laena is the closest thing to a positive relationship Daemon will ever have. He never choked her, he listened to her more than he listens to anyone else, and she is his “type” which is a Valyrian dragonrider. They’re now trying to make very philosophical and deep with him at Harrenhal but really they just need to admit they aren’t good at writing 😂

The issue is that when all the writing is written to center Rhaenyra to the point where it doesn’t make sense, the characters are written OOC made to look nonsensical

[darklinaforever]

Apparently it's misogynistic now to tell the truth that Alicent was the one who acted like a prostitute / whore in HOTD with the Larys case.

For what ?

A prostitute is literally a woman who exchanges sexual favors for money. Alicent also carries out a form of exchange through sex, except that instead of money, she obtains informations. Which is closest to the definition of prostitute that exists.

But apparently it's misogynistic to say that ?

In fact, just saying bad things about female characters is supposed to be misogynistic at this point with that kind of stupid reasoning...

And the reason why I have no hesitation in describing Alicent like that is because her stans never hesitate to call Rhaenyra a whore (and sometimes even sending me requests insulting Rhaenyra as a whore), under the pretext that she had children with a man who she chose outside of her forced marriage, which has nothing to do with it.

So yes, I would allow myself to say that Alicent Hightower, in HOTD, behaved like a prostitute / whore, or at least came very close to one.

This is also why I won't tell the antis Alicent who send me requests insulting this character of whore to stop.

Already, because Alicent stans and antis Rhaenyra do not have the courtesy to stop themselves insulting the Rhaenyra character or sending insulting requests to her stans, including me, by making horrible misogynistic comments. Why should I act politely when they don't ?

And then, ironically because Alicent really behaved like a prostitute in this show with the Larys scene, whether her fans and neutrals liked it or not.

And it's not misogynistic to tell this simple truth.

Especially since once again, if there is something very misogynistic in the matter, it is this writing. For having done this scene.

Because why does it exist ?!

It's not in the book, but the show seems obsessed with making Alicent a perpetual victim of men, claiming that she is supposedly more feminist in comparison to her book counterpart, a cunning and clever woman desiring power and doing everything to achieve it. (I miss this Alicent so much...)

And no, there's nothing feminist about HOTD's writing, and even less more feminist than Fire and Blood, especially for Alicent Hightower character.

This obsession that the writers have with portraying her as a victim makes no sense, (just like with the fact of having rejuvenated the character of Alicent to try again to make her a victim...), but especially in the case of Larys.

Alicent is the fucking queen.

There's no reason Larys would be able to force her to do this sort of thing, even with the story of Harwin's death and his father.

Again, Alicent is the fucking queen ! This situation is simply ridiculous !

Not only that, but it's also essentially a scene there to simply add trash and more gratuitous violence towards women (as if Fire and Blood didn't already have enough ?), although once again, this scene makes no sense, because a situation like this shouldn't be allowed to happen.

Whatever he knows, that was my rant for today.

[alishaaxo]

The Green Queen And A Greener Future

Chapter 3 excerpt (currently writing more as i have lots planned for this chapter!!)

Alicent carried Aegon on her side, avoiding the significant bump on her front, gazing into his lavender eyes with love. Her baby boy was back and was just a joyful, innocent child, unaware of the underlying tension in Kingslanding.

The Hightower Queen looked aside to her husband, Viserys, rambling on about plans for the upcoming celebrations for Aegon’s second nameday, causing Alicent to smile. Inwardly the conniving beauty was conjuring up ideas, believing that she could continue to build her political presence, gaining additional allies to the Green side, all in order to save her children from the evil wrath they faced by Rhaenyra’s hubristic arrogance and her Rogue Prince’s disgusting brutality.

Already from the day Alicent Hightower had joined the Royal Family, she had begun consolidating her political power, employing potential allies into her household as Ladies-In-Waiting, and gaining friendship with Small Council members such as Tyland Lannister. With Rose Tyrell, one of her numerous ladies-in-waiting, and now a close friend of hers, once she removed the bitterness she felt regarding the might of House Hightower.

Viserys continued his mindless chatter, Alicent indulging him idly until she heard the man mutter, “Little Aegon’s nameday shall be extravagant, our boy may grow up be a great knight in the future, hunting just as I am to do in his celebration.”

Alicent portrays a joyous face, happy in indulging in conversing about her beautiful baby, while also in actuality intending to innocently bring up the succession crisis, “Viserys, Aegon will be a great knight, our Aegon The Conqueror Reborn!”

The Targaryen Monarch’s face then hardened with rapid anger, inwardly questioning whether Alicent was an innocent girl praising her son or if she was conniving, bent on undermining his choice to keep Rhaenyra as heir. “Alicent, what do you mean by this?”

“Rhaenyra is my heir. And she will be a great ruler, just like Aegon The Conqueror!” He speaks, wanting the discussion of succession to cease, angered extremely as the Small Council and nobility have made numerous mentions regarding Aegon as heir to be an inevitable action, feeling as though they’re intent on undermining his authority as king.

Alicent then raise her eyebrows in false shock, disappointed in Viserys’ continuous defence of his choice, “Of course! I love Rhaenyra,” She states, stammering onwards, “But I just imagined that as you have a firstborn son you would make him heir, after all wasn’t precious little Baelon named heir, ahead of her?”

“Well yes, but..”, He murmurs, before being interrupted.

[sweetestpopcorn]

How would you rank Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s children in terms of greatness/potential? For me, Baelon was best out their children with Saera being second. I also think Viserra was a waisted potential. I think she could have done interesting stuff had she lived. Do you think perhaps maybe Baelon should’ve married her after Alyssa’s death? Obviously, no one could replace Alyssa in his heart.

Hi there :)

I have already kind of answered this regarding my thoughts about Saera and Viserra and none of it is good. I will just link them here and here . Legit they are just portrayed as mean girls with no real depth to them, though of the two, Saera is much, much worse. Viserra I can at least sympathise with since her parents seem to not give half a f_ck about her and did not even extend to her the same courtesy they did her siblings of having a say about her marriage (more here), but that's about it. I don't find anything else likeable about her she's just... empty.

I will go from least favourite to favourite.

Saera and Viserra go right to the bottom of my list. Followed very closely by Vaegon by obvious reasons. Like Vaegon, it literally costs you 0 golden dragons to not be so unlikable.

Then I would say Daenerys, she has a lot of sweet moments but dies young so I don't really know how she would have turned out. Besides, I know it's petty of me, but I don't like other characters having Dany's name. I do like Daenerys, Naerys's daughter but... yeah no more. You don't need more Daenerys, we have our Mother of Dragons. Yes, I know I am petty.

Then Gael because... poor baby 🥺 seriously what was George thinking writing a character who is Alysanne's comfort, with some degree of cognitive disability be r...... by some random singer, give birth, lose her baby, and kill herself?! Like enough's enough. It's literally just to add tragedy to her story and honestly Turtle man it's getting f:cking OLD. I swear this man gets his rocks off by adding tragedy and terrible abuse to female characters. This when he can bother to make them more than a walking womb.

Then I would say Aemon. Maybe he would be higher but at times I just feel he's too perfect if that's a thing. There’s just nothing wrong with him like 😂 he literally does nothing wrong.

Daella comes next because I find her funny. She's such a drama queen 24/7 making everyone around her want to protect her XD even Alyssa. I kind of got the vibes at times from her that she kind of knew what she was doing to get attention. Like the fact that she and Alyssa are Rhaenyra's grandmothers just makes so much sense no matter how you look at it. In a way Rhaenyra seems kind of a mixture of both? With tons of stubborn and style added. Another moment that really endeared me to Daella was her very tragic death, and how despite all her suffering she still wanted to be given Aemma and to feed her. Prime mom material right there -> like you can tell both from her and Alyssa that Rhaenyra got some top notch mom genes.

Then Alyssa of course, because she was THE queen. Literally she was just a better behaved version of her son and I'm here for it! I love how despite the fact that she was clearly a tomboy she still wanted to marry Baelon and give him an army of kids X'D because these two things are not mutually exclusive and liking or enjoying traditional boy things does not have to say anything about your sexuality or your desire to be a mother - just like being very feminine and liking traditionally feminine activities does not have to say anything about your sexuality or desire to parent. These are rules a society that does not understand nuance and in a sense is deeply sexist and stereotypical likes to put in place and that I find deeply harmful to people. But Alyssa is the BOMB, so funny, so bold, the way she embarrassed Vaegon who was a little sh:t *chef's kiss*

Then there's the best man ever -> Baelon Targaryen

Had his own cool nickname, The Spring Prince, funny, charming, sexy, single dad who never once forgot about his lady with the mismatched eyes, entered a tourney under the name of the Silver Fool... I don't feel like a need to say more, and in an era where all men were literally so problematic, Baelon was IT.

Baelon is what this fandom thinks Corlys is. Sorry not sorry.

And that's it :D

Also no, and more important that should Baelon remarry, the question is did he want to remarry? And the answer is no, and any Baelon fan would respect the Spring Prince and his undying love for his lady with the mismatched eyes <3

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

Rhaenyra and Motherhood

Motherhood is an integral part to Rhaenyra's character, both in the show and the book. So many of her actions are based on her children and her legacy is carried by her sons Aegon III and Viserys II. However, her antis are obsessed with removing motherhood from her character or claiming that she was simply a bad mother.

Rhaenyra's motivations throughout the Dance were driven by her love for her children. From the loss of Visenya fueling her desire to reclaim her throne to Joffrey's death causing her to return to Dragonstone. Even before the Dance, Rhaenyra's desire to protect her children was part of her motivation for marrying Daemon so quickly.

Despite these facts, Rhaenyra's antis always want to portray Rhaenyra as a selfish woman who doesn't care about her children and only wants power and to get laid. They blatantly ignore how Rhaenyra loves her children so completely.

Rhaenyra raised Jace to be someone even Mushroom agreed would be a great king. He was kind, intelligent, protective, a good military strategist even at fourteen, and a skilled fighter. Even though the show decided to give many of his attributes to Aemond, he's still a good man and much wiser than his older uncles. He was also respectful towards women and had a good relationship with Baela.

Lucerys was greatly loved by Rhaenyra, in the show she calls him her sweet boy. She raised Luke to be a kind and brave boy, he was respectful to Rhaena and had a sweet relationship with her. He was protective of his siblings and just wanted to make his mother proud.

Joffrey was a brave boy, perhaps too much for his own good. He wanted to defend what was left of his family, which led to his untimely death. But in life he was loved by his siblings and Rhaenyra and she was fiercely protective of him.

"Nor would she suffer to be parted from Prince Aegon, her last living son...day and night the boy remained by her side like a small pale shadow."

Even though the show hasn't yet given us any stills of Rhaenyra and Aegon the Younger, we know a lot about their relationship from the book. After the deaths of her other children, Rhaenyra held Aegon closer than ever. He grew to be a good king, despite his severe PTSD. He was firm with his advisors, stabilized the realm after the Dance, strove for peace, visited the sick, and tried to bring back dragons using magic. The only reason he isn't remembered fondly is because he wasn't happy or interested in kissing up to the lords.

Due to Viserys' age at the time of the Dance and his subsequent separation from his family, we don't know much about his relationship with Rhaenyra. But we do know that his disappearance was greatly grieved by her and that he was very close to his brother Aegon. Regardless, Viserys was a good king and such a skilled politician he was compared to Jaehaerys himself.

Visenya may have been stillborn, but she was greatly loved by Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra's only daughter, she was mourned greatly by her parents and it was her loss that helped spur Rhaenyra in her desire to reclaim her throne.

Motherhood is one of the key aspects of Rhaenyra's character. Her trauma revolving around the tragic death of her mother makes her love for her children and happiness as a mother even more compelling. She was at her happiest when she was able to live with her beloved husband and children unbothered by the Greens. She deserved to reign with her children around her. Their loss destroyed her emotionally and removed any hope Aegon and Aemond had for mercy from her or her faction.

Even though the misogyny of Westeros prevented her from being remembered as a true queen, her children are still fondly remembered. It's through them her legacy and final victory over the Greens live on, and the Green stans hate that so they try to remove her connection to her children. But their efforts are as useless as their favs, as Rhaenyra's legacy is alive and well in ASOIAF through Daenerys and their beloved usurper and his bitch mother are only remembered as war mongers and power hungry thieves.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

RANT: How exactly are the writers biased towards Rhaenyra and the Blacks?

This has just got to stop. Greenies are embarrassing themselves.

On the one hand, they say that Rhaenyra is clearly sooooo bad (for who knows what reason. Disliking her as a person is not a good reason. I can give you a list to touch the floor of crimes committed by the greens this season. Rhaenyra has literally done nothing so far. That’s right, she really is a victim.)

On the other, they say that Rhaenyra is portrayed better by the writers on the show, and it is not fair (boo hoo).

Aha, so you admit that Rhaenyra is clearly better than the greens…you just don’t like the idea. Boo hoo.

So, which is it? Contradictory much?

I seriously believe that the people who support the greens have certain issues in relation to privileged people, such as Rhaenyra.

Guess what? Rhaenyra was born a Princess, she is privileged and that is not her fault. If you are jealous of her, that is your problem.

Getting away with things? What exactly has she gotten away with? Are we beating the same old horse concerning her first three children? Just stop, seriously. Let’s see what you would have done in her situation.

The greens, on the other hand, my God, they outright killed sooooo many people and they have irredeemable assholes in their group. Not to mention that the Hightowers have been plotting to steal the throne from the Targaryens since the beginning. And now I am supposed to feel sorry for usurpers? Did I miss something? They brought it on themselves.

Alicent Hightower, a bitch certain people love to portray as the Virgin Mary, is a hateful and jealous shrew because she is low-born and didn’t have privileges, like Rhaenyra did. Boo hoo! Life isn’t fair, sweetheart. If you want someone to blame, how about your power hungry, manipulative snake of a father? Are we all to start civil wars when we are married to old men who can’t give us an orgasm?

I would have sympathized with her, if she had acted a whole lot differently. She is a low-born young woman who was pushed and also seduced her way in the highest position of power for a woman at the time (queen consort). She should have been thanking the Gods for her undeserved luck. There were many better young women who didn’t have such good fortune. Yea, it was her father who forced her, bla bla bla. Fine. I’ll give her that.

But if I were in her position, I would have acted with dignity and been quiet as a mouse, not intent on causing trouble left and right. Because she doesn’t deserve what was given to her. She never did. She wasn’t a mouse. She decided to abuse her power, as if she has always been entitled to it. She wasn’t. As much as she wants, she will never be Rhaenyra. She spent all her time sticking her nose in Rhaenyra’s business when she should have been teaching her pride and joy not to rape servant girls and act his age. Rhaenyra’s children are just as much Targaryen by blood as the Hightower spawns, but unlike them, they are well-educated and show kindness. That’s because Rhaenyra didn’t give a damn about Alicent’s life and spent her valuable time caring for and educating her children.

So, by putting all cards on the table, this was never about honor and decency for Alicent. She wanted to stick it to Rhaenyra and take away her throne because she is jealous of her, for having love, for having solutions to her problems, for not being stuck in a position she can’t get out of, for having more freedom than her. She should just admit that this is what it’s all about. She was close to admitting it when she snapped and attacked Rhaenyra in episode 7 (showing her true colors).

Hatred and jealousy towards a former friend, whom she screwed over when she started seeing her father behind her back.

Male over female monarch on the Iron Throne is a tradition and followed due to precedent. It is not stipulated in any law!

By royal decree, Jaehaerys named Viserys his heir because the Lords wanted it. He wasn’t forced to listen to them. But he did, because he wanted to avoid upsetting them (the coward).

By royal decree, Viserys named Rhaenyra his heir. A King’s decree is law, even if it doesn’t correspond with tradition. Rhaenyra was set to inherit the throne. It is hers by royal decree. Period!

You know how the situation would have looked like in modern times? Picture this:

Your best friend, whom you have known your entire life, starts to secretly see your rich father behind your back after your mother passes away (I don’t give a damn that it wasn’t her decision. She chooses not to tell you.). Then, your father springs on you that he will marry her. After your father dies, your former-best friend and her gold-digging family take away your inheritance for themselves. Would you still be rooting for them?

Bottom line:

Stop whining about how the writers make Rhaenyra look good. The book is very subjective and inaccurate. GRRM himself said to pay attention to the show, not the book. The show indicates what parts of the book are false and which aren’t.

Also, need I remind you that the greens are given a pass on screen on all the crimes they committed up until now? You don’t see me whining about how unfair that is, because in the book they didn’t kill people “accidentally”.

This is GRRM’s story and he is involved in the production. If he decides that the Blacks are the anti-heroes and the Greens are the anti-villains, that’s just how it is, and no amount of your “critical thinking” is going to change that.

In case you haven’t noticed, GRRM does not treat usurpers too nicely. He wipes out their entire line, because that is a little something called justice.

1. Maegor

2. Aegon II

3. Robert Baratheon

That is exactly what is going to happen to Aegon Hightower and his mother will have a front row seat.

Alicent Hightower is a clear example that hatred and jealousy doesn’t get you far in this world. You need to mind your own damn business and if she and Otto would have done so (and not tried to usurp the throne from the rightful ruling House) they wouldn’t have had such horrific (and totally deserving) fates.

There are no good and bad sides here, sure. However:

The Blacks: anti-heroes

The Greens: anti-villains

So, who you root for is your business but stop trying to make it easier for yourself to root for someone you shouldn’t be rooting for by blaming the writers. It’s your decision. Live with it!

[summerkoya]

the next right thing

She became the blessing he never wished for, his damnation. She became the living, breathing proof that Aemond Targaryen carried his heart outside his body. 

But when has any of that ever been powerful enough to endure a conflict of principles? 

Chapter 1

aemond targaryen x original female character , aemond targaryen x wife!oc

summary: Myria and Aemond welcome their new little dragon into the world

warnings: fluff, angst, childbirth (not explicit though)

(all characters portrayed are aged up from original ages in the book/show)

****

Myria sighed in relief as she sank in the comfort of the tub full of lukewarm water. She dismissed all the maids in the room, wishing to enjoy what she felt would be the last few days just between her and the baby, before they were born. Eyes closed, she placed a hand on her heavily swollen stomach, and delicately started caressing it. 

“Ah, you can’t join us fast enough, my little dragon.” She whispered, with a smile on her lips. It was a bittersweet feeling, given that she did desire to cherish the end of her pregnancy, yet she was rather eager to gain once again freedom of her own body, instead of being bound by, not only Maesters’ orders, but her own scarce mobility due to her enlarged frame.

She was enjoying herself for the first time in a while, as she had been feeling nothing but extreme discomfort all day, everyday, when she heard the soft thud of the door being opened. The silence that followed afterwards was all she needed to figure out who it was. 

“Hello there.” Myria muttered, as Aemond settled a stool right next to the tub so he could sit beside it. “Where are the boys?” 

“They’re with the Septa.” He answered, gently resting his hand on her belly. “They were covered in dirt from head to toe after our ‘quest’, as they called it, to the dragonpit.” 

“Thank you, Aemond.” She opened her eyes, and stared at him with a loving expression on her face. “You know how important it is to me that the boys spend time with us and are taught by us; raised by us, and these past moons the entirety of that responsibility has fallen upon you.” She placed her hand over his, skin hot as he had been training right before, and immediately felt the baby kicking against her abdomen. 

“‘Tis the least I can do,” he murmured, in a heavy voice. It was weird, that not even feeling the baby’s kicks, something that usually guaranteed would put a smile on his face, managed to tear down the aura of unsettlement that surrounded him. She raised his hands, and held them against her chest.  

“What is it, dear husband?” She asked, with a chuckle. “Have the two little monsters we have for sons terrorised you enough for the day?” 

He bit down on his lips, as if he didn’t want to speak the words he was thinking, dreading they would become true because of it. 

“The Velaryon are coming,” he finally muttered, dryly, “Vaemond has requested an audience to discuss Driftmark’s succession.” 

Myria knew about the animosity there was between the two families. Although Aemond and Rhaenyra’s children were raised together in the Red Keep, he didn’t have many fond memories of their shared youth. The further the Velaryon kept away from both their lives and conversation, the better it was for his already short tempered and resentful persona.

“Oh,” she breathed, “I believed that matter was already settled. That both your father, and most importantly Lord Corlys had proclaimed Luke as his heir.” 

“They did, yes. But I suspect that the King’s growing inability to sit the throne has built some courage on Vaemond, and now he’s pushing for the Driftmark seat again.” 

“Under which pretexts?” 

Aemond looked at her with an incredulous look on his face. As smart as he thought his wife to be, she did have plenty of painfully naive moments, on account of her foolishly trusting and kind nature. 

“What?” She snapped, her tone got defensive. “Is it only because they don’t look like their father that their titles are being questioned?” 

“Vaemond is just trying to protect his house’s lineage, dearest.” 

“By calling Rhaenyra’s children illegitimate!” She complained, harshly pushing his hands away from her. That was precisely the reason why she hated whenever the subject of Rhaenyra and her children worked its way into their conversations, she knew it was an issue upon which they would never reach any sort of mutual agreement. 

“You can’t deny… they do have a very strong resemblance to a certain late commander of the City Watch.” He sniggered, letting an all too familiar malicious grin claim his features. “She should’ve given more thought before bearing Strong looking children.” 

Myria’s eyes started to swell with tears, and she protectively covered her stomach in a hug. “That’s a despicable thing to say, Aemond. Especially when she’s your sister.” 

“‘Tis only the truth.” He continued to argue, and although he was usually the kind of person to savour a victory with no remorse and a smug expression on his face, he couldn’t help but to feel his gaze soften at the sight of such an upset Myria. He’d like to know which part of his words had caused that profound of a reaction on her, but he was never one good with emotions. 

“I don’t like it when you make such comments, Aemond.” She explained in a weak voice, roughly cleaning up the tears streaming down her cheek. “This whole… obsession you Targaryens have with looking a certain way”. 

Aemond felt his heart shrink in his chest, as a veil of shame started looming around him. What kind of man allowed himself to be the reason behind his beloved wife’s tears? The wife that had already gifted him two healthy, beautiful children and was enduring the hardships of having another in the way? No honourable one for sure.   

“I apologise dearest, I didn’t know this matter distressed you this much.” 

“So far I’ve been lucky, Aemond,” she whimpered, knowingly looking at her stomach, “for both Trystan and Griffin look like you, but what if this baby takes after me? What if the baby is born with my dornish looks, instead of a dragon’s? What kind of comments will I have to get used to hearing?” 

Aemond felt a twinge of guilt on the depths of his stomach, given that he could recall a few instances when both him and his family had gloated on how much of a Targaryen both his sons took after. On how the dragon blood was a strong one indeed. 

“None.” Aemond answered, almost shivering with fury at the thought of someone making such insinuations towards his wife. “If anyone dared making such remarks, I’d have their tongues.” 

Myria, who had failed to realise their talk had reached such an intensity her husband had a murderous look on his face, decided to back down and let her lips curl into a soft smile. Besides, she had another difficult topic of conversation she needed to bring up, eventually. She had to preserve some of her husband’s patience for that. 

“I apologise, my love, for speaking such dreadful words,” she mumbled, placing a reassuring hand on his cheek. “We shouldn’t let words born out of anger rot what it would have otherwise been a joyous moment, should we?” 

Aemond took a second before nodding, and deemed the discussion over by once again laying his hand over her swollen stomach. 

“Who do you think the baby will look like, this time?” 

“I wish for the baby to look like you.” Aemond smiled subtly. “Girls always take after their mothers.” 

“We don’t know if it is a girl yet.” Myria chuckled. “It could very much be another boy, you know. Will you be happy if that’s the case?” 

“Of course I’ll be, I only pray to the Gods for a healthy child.” He explained. “I just have a feeling it will be a daughter.” 

“But if it’s not?” She insisted, with a wary leer on her lips. 

Aemond stared at her in confusion, failing to understand Myria’s persistence on the matter. He believed himself to be a good, present father to their sons. He cherished them deeply and, because words of love didn’t come easy to him, he made sure his actions were a testament of such affections. He wished for a daughter, sure, but he found it hard to believe Myria would ever think he wouldn’t adore another boy just as much. Besides, they could always try again. 

And, as if she had read his mind, Myria turned her face towards him, letting a gloomy semblance cover her usually cheeky demeanour. “I too wish for a daughter, but I hope for you, my love, that indeed it’s one. Because this is the last time, Aemond. I do not wish to do this again. I’ve already given you two sons, and we have another babe in the way, I think I’ve already performed my duty. Even if this one is another son, I do not wish to get pregnant again only for the yearning of a daughter.” 

The princess remained in silence, assessing her dear husband’s reaction, but there wasn’t any. He simply stared back at her, with a frivolous mien on his face. 

“Are you mad at me, dear?” She asked, holding tight on his hands.

Aemond took a deep breath in, and then spoke: “If it’s indeed anger what you make out my feelings to be, rest assured they’re not because of you, dearest, for they’re directed at me.” He sighed, refusing to meet her eyes. “I’m sorry that you’ve felt as if having my children were a duty to you, rather than a choice. And I’m even more ashamed that you believed I would ever force that on you.” 

“No, Aemond, please.” Myria said, straightening up. She stretched out towards him, placing her palm on his cheek, and softly pushed his face towards her, pressing him to look at her. “Our kids, all three of them, are a blessing to me. And they were born out of love, not duty, believe me. I am not telling you this because I fear you will force children on me, I am letting you know this will be our last baby so you can get used to that idea. I know you wanted lots of children, and I wouldn’t want you to feel as if our family was incomplete.” 

Aemond reached for her hands, and held them against his lips, so he could leave a mellow kiss on them. He then placed them over his chest. 

“I’ve considered our family to be complete the moment I married you, Myr.” He said, gently.  “Don’t ever worry about that.” 

And she knew he meant that, for he rarely called her by such a name. Maybe it was because of how flustered she felt, or how strongly she felt about her husband, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but right at that moment the baby started to kick again. 

“Feel that,” she said, beaming, putting his hands over her stomach, “I think the baby is eager to come out. They’ve been kicking so much lately, and with such strength, I wouldn’t be surprised if I genuinely gave birth to a dragon.” 

Aemond promptly looked at her, his face turning into a grin one could find in a child when they’re being asked about a subject they’re very interested in. “As a matter of fact,” he rushed to explain, not being able to conceal his excitement, “there’s a myth that Targaryens are first conceived as dragons when they’re in the womb, and eventually develop into humans, right before birth.” 

“The matter is settled, then,” she chuckled, “neither a baby boy nor a baby girl, a baby dragon.” 

“Īlva rūs zaldrīzes.” He affirmed proudly, to which the baby started kicking again. 

“I think they like that.” She giggled. “But you better not say that word again, it hurts when they get this excited.” Myria groaned. 

Aemond let a little smile cover his face, and drew his face closer to her stomach. 

“Sagon sȳz naejot aōha muña, ñuha zaldrītsos.” (Be kind to your mother, my little dragon). 

• • •

Aemond stayed with her until the sun set, and helped her back to their chambers, where their two boys were expecting them, jumping up and down all around the room in excitement. 

Myria loved her children. More than anything in the world, more than anything she had ever loved before. But she couldn’t deny they were a handful. They were nice and kind boys, but very vigorous ones indeed. She didn’t have enough fingers in her hands to count the times she’d had to catch them mind air before jumping into something dangerous or forbidding them from waking up a very much asleep Vaghar. So when she saw their mischievous little faces smiling at them with a grin so big it went from ear to ear, she knew better than to ignore that. 

“What have you been up to, little dragons?” She asked, awkwardly bending down and opening her arms so they could hug her. 

“We have a surprise, mama!” Their eldest, Trystan, cheered. He was four years of age, and was very much Aemond’s twin. He had silvery blonde hair, and big, crystal clear blue eyes. Yet he had rather inherited her mother’s cheerful and loving character, much to Aemond’s liking. 

“You do?” She asked, with panic in her eyes. Her boys’ surprises usually consisted of messes, mostly. “What is it?” 

“Come see!” Griffin, aged two, grabbed her hand and started rushing her towards the fireplace. He too resembled his father, pale blue eyes and silver hair, except the latter one had a few hints of red, much like Myria’s. 

She looked over at her husband with an inquiring look on her face, wondering if he knew which surprise the children were talking about. Did she need to brace herself for absolute chaos?

“Don’t worry,” he chuckled, placing a hand on her lower back to help her heavily pregnant body follow the rushing steps of the toddlers. “‘Tis indeed a nice, harmless surprise.” 

And it surely was. She glanced over the fireplace, and found a golden, shimmering dragon egg laying over the flaming firewood. 

“Dreamfire brought a fresh clutch!” Trys squealed in happiness. “Aunt Helaena let us pick one for the new baby! Now Rhaexar and Maelar will have a little brother!” 

Myria smiled at the boys, and squeezed her husband’s hand. She knew seeing his children get dragons from the moment they were newborns must’ve been a bittersweet feeling for him. Both Trystan and Griffin’s eggs hatched within their cradles, and had grown into strong, healthy young dragons already. She knew he hadn’t been as lucky as a child. She knew how much pain it had caused him not having a dragon as early as his brother and nephews, and how much it had cost him to finally claim one. An eye for a dragon. 

“That’s incredible, sweethearts.” She smiled, ruffling Trys’ hair. “Now, will you be taking care of it? Making sure there’s always fire burning under it?” 

“I thought you didn’t let us play with fire.” The boy objected, with a playful grin on his face. He was a master in finding loopholes to help him get away with his shenanigans. 

“And you’re still very much not allowed, but you’ll be the ones in charge of calling an adult to rekindle it if it's needed, alright?”

“Alright, mama.” The boys agreed, and then kept on loudly marvelling about the beautiful egg. 

Aemond then proceeded to sit by the window, after intentionally pulling out a big book from the shelf, which catched the kids’ attention. Both of them ran towards him, and hopped onto his lap. 

“Could you read it to us, father?” Trystan requested. 

“All of it is in High Valyrian.” Aemond warned them. 

“That’s alright.” 

“Sure then, we’ll see how much you’ve been practising.” He teased them, with a devilish grin on his face. 

Myria chuckled, grateful her husband was entertaining them, and seized the opportunity to prepare herself for bed. She leisurely changed into her nightgown, and undid her hair. She brushed her teeth and applied a few drops of perfume on her wrists. 

After taking care of herself, she came back into the room, not surprised to find it in chaos once again. The boys were running all around the room, recreating scenes of the book as their father read them outloud. 

Myria hated being the one to burst their bubble of fun, but she was eager to get a very much needed rest, and the boys would behave like demons the following day if they didn’t get any sleep.

“Okay boys, let me get you to bed now.” She called, but was unsuccessful in getting them to listen. “Trys, Griff, come on!” She asked again, with a tiresome frown. 

“Boys!” Aemond was the one to notice her protests, and called them out sternly, which made them stop jumping all around the room. “Rȳbagon naejot aōha muña, and do as she tells you.” 

Myria mouthed her gratitude and walked the boys towards their room, just across the hall. She set them in their beds , and slowly started to put out the candles inside the lamps around the room.

“Mama, will the baby be born tomorrow?” Trys asked her. 

“I don’t know, bee.” She said, sitting by him. “Maybe, maybe not. Are you excited to have a new baby brother or sister?” 

“Yes!” Both kids nodded enthusiastically. “Mom, can I name the new baby when it comes?” 

“We’ll see about that, love.” She exhaled, too exhausted to argue with a four year old on why they couldn’t name the new baby ‘Balerion’. “Now, go to sleep. You need your rest to go spar with your father tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright mama.” 

“I love you.”

“Love you too.” 

Myria kissed the boys goodnight, and returned to her chambers, where she found Aemond undressing for the night. She walked towards him, and gently started to help him get his clothes down. 

“So, that was what you were doing with the boys all afternoon, fetching the dragon egg?” 

He simply hummed in response, but Myria was used to it. Her husband was a man of few words, after all. 

“Sometimes I’m jealous of you three.” She admitted, as Aemond turned around. She placed her hands on his cheeks. “For having dragons. For being dragon riders. For having dragon blood.” 

Aemond stared at her with apprehension, and put both his hands on her swollen stomach. “You are more dragon than any of us, my lady.” He replied, enjoying his wife’s caresses. 

Myria’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

“You’ve given birth to two dragon children. You have yet another one in your belly. You’ve been tending to Rhaexar and Maelar ever since they hatched, I would be surprised if they didn’t trust in you enough to let you ride them, once they’re older. And you already know, whenever you wish to go for a ride on Vaghar, all you need to do is ask. She likes you.” 

“Hm, I know my darling.” She dreamily smiled, thinking about the times she had ridden the ancient dragon with her husband, and his strong grip on her waist and thighs as he sat behind her. “But I’m afraid that in this condition, the only place where I find some comfort is in a tub full of warm water.” 

“I can call for another one if you wish, dearest.” 

“No need for that, just come to bed with me.” 

“As you wish.” 

Both of them laid in bed, and as they were putting the candles on their nightstands out, she noticed something. 

“Aemond.” She breathed, and reached out towards him. “You’re still wearing your eye patch. Here.” She gently undid the tie behind his head, and let the patch fall onto the bed, revealing a blue sapphire where her husband’s left eye should’ve been. 

She stretched out and left a kiss right over his scar, as she always did after taking its cover away. And because words, especially those born out of sincere, loving feelings, didn’t come easy to him, he resorted to grabbing her by her back, pulling her close to him, so he could kiss her on the lips. 

“Goodnight, my love.” She called, and after one last kiss, both of them fell into their pillows, closing their eyes, hoping it wouldn’t take long to find some sleep. 

But that wasn’t the case for Myria. She was uncomfortable. If it wasn’t the position that bothered her, it was the fact that she felt too hot with the covers on, but too cold without them, or then it was the weight the baby made on her belly, which made her want to pee at all times. To make matters worse, every time she felt herself drifting away, into the blissful abyss of slumberness, the baby felt it necessary to kick, as hard as they could. Maybe she did truly bore a dragon inside. 

She turned around to look at her husband, and felt a pinch of unjustifiable annoyance at the sight of him peacefully sleeping, with no uncomfort whatsoever depriving him of rest. 

“Aemond,” she whispered into the man’s ear. She saw his lips press together into a line, and his eyebrows furrow into a frown. “Aemond, I can’t sleep.” 

Judging from the way her husband’s breathing paced up and how his position shifted, she assumed she had awoken him, but he still refused to open his eye. 

“Aemond,” she repeated, in a louder voice, “Aemond, I’m afraid your baby is very much awake and won’t let me find some sleep. Can you do me a favour?”

“Hm.” 

“Talk to them in High Valyrian. That always manages to calm the baby down.” 

Aemond grunted, and immediately afterwards straightened up, and placed his lips against her belly. 

“Ivestragī aōha muña rhaenagon mirri ēdrugon, zaldrītsos.” (Let your mother find some sleep, little dragon).

• • •

Morning came, and Myria felt as if a miracle had happened. She had been able to sleep all night long, and for the first time in months, she hadn’t woken up completely exhausted. She didn’t know how much time Aemond had spent talking to the baby in High Valyrian, for sleep found her as he kept on telling stories about grand cities and immense dragons. By the time she opened her eyes, Aemond had already left towards the training area, most probably with both their boys following from behind. 

She got up, and with the help of her maid got dressed for the day. She and Helaena would visit the King in his chambers, hoping to break her fast with him as they did every other morning, and then spend the rest of the day relaxing in the bath. 

But by the time her meeting with Viserys was put to an end, she knew she had some issues to discuss with her husband. Pressing ones. Myria knew the wise thing to do would be to remain silent, to avoid putting herself in danger, but the blood of the dragon growing inside of her ruled over her, making her fiery, volatile, and determined. Hence her hurrying towards the training yard, against her wisdom. 

She spotted Ser Criston Cole right away, sparring with some nobleman’s son, but she couldn’t find Aemond and the boys at first. That is, until she glanced towards an isolated corner of the patio, where she saw three silvery heads, side by side. Aemond was kneeling down, explaining something to the two little boys. 

They were each holding small swords, ones most probably Aemond had requested were made for them. Their father was teaching them how to properly hold the handles, and they were fairly focused on him, until they spotted their mother walking towards them. 

“Mama!” The boys’ faces lit up with delight. 

“Hello darlings!” She tried to bend down in order to pick Griff up, but felt a strong throb on her stomach as she was doing so. She let out a faint “Ouch!”, and bolted back up with a smile, to avoid worrying Aemond.

“Is everything alright?” Her husband asked, not being fooled by Myria’s cover up. 

“It is. I just hadn’t realised I am already at that stage where I can’t bend down comfortably, don’t worry.” She lent him a reassuring smile. “Am I interrupting something?” 

“We were just having some fun, right taobi?” 

“Mama, kepa said that we could sōvegon isse Vaghar later if we behaved!” 

“You’re more than welcome to join us, if you wish.” Aemond’s smirk reached her eyes. 

“Actually, my prince, I was wondering if you wished to go for a walk in the gardens with me, if that’s alright.” She hurried to ask, with a knowing look on her face. 

“Of course, my lady. Cole!” He screamed, looking for the knight. 

“Yes, my prince?”

“Could you keep on training with the children? I’ll escort my wife to the gardens.” 

“Certainly, my prince. Princess.” He added, bowing his head towards her. “Come here, you little monsters.” The man addressed the boys with an affectionate expression on his face. Although Myria felt as if there was something off about Ser Criston, she couldn’t pretend he didn’t absolutely adore her children. And he had always been not only a friend, but a father figure to her husband, and she respected him for that.

The couple left the yard, and walked towards the beautiful, blooming gardens. If Myria weren’t in her condition, she would spend most of her day there, gardening, with the kids. She had always adored being surrounded by flowers and trees and insects, and there were few activities she enjoyed better than taking care of them. But the swollen belly made such a task an impossible one. 

As a matter of fact, if it wasn’t for her husband's strong grip on her waist, she wouldn’t be able to walk down the stairs that led to the grounds. Aemond rather enjoyed that outcome of her being with child, if truth be told. He would never admit it, but he liked having excuses to touch his wife like that, and always seized the opportunity to let his fingers linger around her for far longer than it would be considered appropriate to do in public. 

They walked on silence for a few minutes, admiring the beautiful flowers and the stunning views of the ocean, until Myria raised her voice: 

“I visited your father today, I broke my fast with him.” 

“That’s nice.” Aemond lied, forcing his lips into a smile. Over the years, he had grown resentful of his father and he wasn’t fond of the apparently great relationship his wife had with him. 

“He didn’t know Rhaenyra is coming tomorrow.” She said, dryly. 

“Hm.” He nodded, glancing towards her. 

“Apparently no one in this family thought it necessary to tell the King his daughter and grandchildren are coming.” She added, in a condescending tone, feeling fury starting to boil in her blood. 

Aemond abruptly stopped on his tracks, and Myria would’ve tripped forwards if he hadn’t grabbed her by the waist, rather harshly. She felt another pinch on her stomach, but because of the adrenaline she was feeling, she didn’t find it hard to ignore it. 

“And what exactly do you want me to do about that?” 

“And I didn’t even get to explain to him the reason they’re coming, because the moment he seemed to start understanding what I was talking about, a maid came rushing and drowned him in milk of the poppy.” She added, through gritted teeth. 

“I don’t think it’s your place to be informing the King on such matters, my lady.” He answered, eyebrows furrowing into an angry frown.

“And I couldn’t help but wonder,” she ignored him, “who would try and hide this away from the King? Who indeed would want to avoid having your father speak on such matters?” She continued, raising her voice. 

“Careful.” Aemond whispered, discreetly looking around, worrying for his wife, for not even their titles would be able to protect her if such words were heard by the wrong ears. 

“And then I realised: why would they not want your father ending once and for all these treacherous claims? What’s in it for them, if Rhaenyra’s son is declared unworthy of the Driftmark throne? And what consequences would that bring to other claims, by extension?” 

Aemond shortened the space between them, and gently placed his hand over Myria’s mouth. 

“What are you implying, my lady?”

“I think you know exactly what I’m implying, Aemond.” Myria hurled back, firmly hitting his hand down. “I know your whole family, yourself included, like to think of me an idiot, but I am not. And I listen to the whispers, we all have. Everyone knows it’s been moons since the King last attended a council meeting, let alone sat the throne, and who’s been ruling in his name. And if one is to believe in whispers, then very corrupt conversations are being held right now, as we speak, in that very same room.”  

“You could get your tongue cut off for making such allegations, did you know?” 

“I don’t blame your mother, I don’t think she’s taking any part in it. But I think you know very well about the Hand’s intentions, for when the inevitable happens.” She sneered. Myria spoke words of truth yet her lips were laced with poison. “And I believe you condone them.” 

Hearing those words, spoken in such a reproaching manner by his wife, was the final straw for Aemond. He felt his nostrils flare up with fury, and decided she was no longer worth the kindness of being reasonable. She chose to anger the dragon— then she could face the consequences. 

“And would it really be that bad, huh?” He roared. “That a trueborn Targaryen sat the Throne?”

“Rhaenyra is a trueborn Targaryen.” She argued back. 

“Her children are not.”

“Even if Laenor weren’t their father, they’re not Targaryens because of him, they carry the dragon blood because of her. And Jacaerys won’t inherit the throne because of Laenor, he will inherit the throne because of his mother, the legitimate heir.” 

“There is not one place in the whole realm where bastards aren’t stripped of all their titles. Explain to me why this is any different.” 

Myria was about to answer with rage, when she felt a scream get caught up on her throat. She felt as if water were running down her legs, and she lifted the skirt of her dress to find a pink, gooey liquid covering her thighs. She looked up towards Aemond with dismay in her eyes, which managed to make him forget about any sort of anger he might have had towards her at the moment. He ran towards her, just in time to prevent her from falling as another cry left her lips. 

“Wh—what’s wrong, dearest?” He asked, worried. 

“Nothing is wrong I— I just think the baby is coming.” She answered, with a smile caused by both joy and pain.

“Are you sure?” 

“I’ve done this two times already, Aemond, I’d know if something were wrong.” She clinged on his arm, as another sharp ache invaded her body. “This simply means we’re going to meet our baby soon.” 

“That is good news, my lady.” He grinned. 

But not everything went as smoothly as they believed. 

• • •

It had been hours since Aemond called the Maester, and some more since night had already fallen upon the castle, and the baby had yet to arrive. The prince could hear his wife’s screams from the hallway, and each one of them felt like he was being pierced through the heart. 

“What is wrong, Maestre?” He asked the old man, concerned. 

“Nothing, young prince.” He replied, with a shrug. “It’s just a long labour, that’s all. So far, Princess Myria has been blessed with rather quick, smooth labours. This one will simply be more challenging, my prince.” 

Another bawl broke the silence, and Aemond felt his heart sink on his chest. 

“Isn’t there anything you can give to her?” 

“When the time comes, we’ll provide her with the milk of the poppy. But I’m afraid it’ll be a long time before it comes to that. I trust you will be in the chambers with her, as you were the last two times?” The old man asked, with a bitter look on his face. For some reason, he had always been disapproving about Aemond’s decision on being with his wife during her labours. 

He straightened his posture, and put on a threatening mien. He didn’t like it when being questioned. 

“I think that’s your cue, my prince.” The Maester backed down, as Myria’s screams reached them once more. 

Aemond rushed towards the door, and he opened it to find his wife holding onto the bed frame for dear life. 

“Here,” he said, offering his arm, “lean on me.” 

“What is wrong, Aemond?” She grunted, pressing her nails against his flesh as another contraction hit her. “And why is it that you two find it righteous to speak behind my back when I’m the one agonising? When I’m the one bearing the pain of being in labours?”

Aemond hid a smile, for he would be lying if he said he wasn’t fond of the fire that seized over his wife whenever she carried one of his children. Ever too kind and gentle of a woman, it was rather amusing seeing her snap like that. Aemond liked it when she was fiery. He found it alluring. 

“The Maester says nothing is wrong, we are simply unlucky it’s a long labour. We can only endure it.” 

“Easier said than done.” She grunted with a muffled voice, given that she was harshly pressing her face against his chest to avoid screaming her lungs out. “And why is it exactly that you aren’t groaning in pain with me?” 

“My lady?” He asked, confused. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she scoffed, with an insolent look on her face, “I just heard you said that ‘we’ have to endure it, so I seem to have made the mistake to assume that ‘we’ were indeed suffering the same torture.” 

Myria felt a contraction so agonising, she couldn't help but to cry out tears of pain while leaning towards her husband. She pressed her forehead against his chest, bending down, while he caressed her arms. 

“If I could take any of the pain away, I would, dearest.” 

Hours kept passing by, and it wasn’t until sunrise that the midwives declared the baby would arrive briefly. She was sat on the bed, Aemond holding tight on her hand, and so it started, the moment Myria dreaded the most. 

It was known that pushing was the most dangerous part in any birth. Myria thought about the baby she wouldn’t get to know, her boys, and everything they would be losing if something happened to her. She felt her chest hastily pounding with panic, and her skin breaking out in sweat. Her vision became blurry, and she had trouble hearing what was being said to her. 

Aemond seemed to be the only one to detect her panic, and so he softly grabbed her chin, and forced her gaze into his. He gave her a nod, one filled with encouragement and love, and the barriers of reality became solid once more, as her senses came back to her. Nothing could happen to her as long as Aemond was there, we would never let any harm come her way. 

Two excruciatingly long hours later, Myria sobbed in relief as she heard a baby’s cry. Her face was covered in sweat, and she felt as if she were about to pass out. But the babe was fine, she was relieved to hear. 

“It’s a healthy, strong boy, Princess.” The midwives chanted, as she was handed the newborn. She cried tears of joy as he was placed in her arms. The baby had a very fine layer of golden, copper blonde hair and beautiful brown, honey eyes; a spitting image of her. 

She looked up towards Aemond, beaming. He pulled himself closer, so he could leave a kiss on her forehead, an action which everyone took as a signal to leave, and let the new parents enjoy some privacy. 

Myria urged him to sit by her side, and she handed the baby to him. He delicately took him in his arms, despite how many times he had already carried his newborn children, he never got past the feeling of them being the dearest, most fragile thing in the world, and started rocking him gently. 

“Don’t you wish he was a girl?” 

“No.” He said, with a very subtle smile on his lips. “He looks like you.” 

“Does that upset you?” 

“It is a blessing he is as beautiful as his mother.” He said, smiling broadly at her. The kind of smile she was rarely granted, the one he reserved for special occasions such as their children’s births, when he felt each of their first kicks, or when their dragon eggs hatched. So she tried to soak up as much of it as she could, and decided to seal the moment with a kiss on his lips. She wouldn’t dare to say it— for she knew her husband felt uneasy about showing affection, but she hoped he could understand the words hidden behind that kiss. Avy jorrāelan. I love you. 

She could feel a smile on his lips, and, even if she needed any further proof that he had understood what laid underneath it, she got that as he mumbled his next words:

“Thank you, Myr.” 

She bit on her lips, to avoid any sort of doting words coming out of them, and left one final kiss on his cheek, before returning her attention towards the cooing baby. Whether it was normal for newborns to do so, she didn’t know, but the baby boy wouldn’t stop energetically kicking his legs.  

“You’re a strong one, huh, ñuha zaldrītsos?” Myria commented lovingly. “No wonder I felt my insides bruised!” She giggled, laughter laced with overwhelming affection. 

“He’s very much welcome to bruise me, now, for a change.” Aemond chuckled, as the baby hit his chest with his legs. “‘Tis only fair, my lady.” 

“I quite agree.” She smiled. “He’s precious, isn’t he?” 

“Hm.” 

• • •

They enjoyed a few hours of privacy, doting on their newborn, before they decided it was time to bring the children so they could meet their baby brother. Aemond entered the room, with the two boys bouncing up and down with excitement. As soon as they spotted the little baby in their mother's arms, they began rushing towards the bed. Aemond bolted towards them just in time to pick them up before they could hop onto their mother. 

“Boys, what did I say on the way here?” He scolded them. “You’ll have to be gentle towards your mother these days. No crushing her.” 

“It’s alright, bees, you can come, but carefully.” She said, staring lovingly at them. “Come meet your baby brother!”

“Is it a boy?” Trys squealed in excitement, sitting by her side, while Aemond laid Griffin down on her other side. 

“He is.” Myria ruffled the boy’s hair. “Do you want to hold him?” 

“Yes, yes mama, please!” Trystan perked up with enthusiasm. 

“Be careful with his head, alright?” She said, settling the baby in the boy’s arms. For such a wild child— he remained unusually still, which was a testament on how much he cherished his new baby brother already.

“Alright, mama.” Trystan answered, delicately holding his head, and Myria could feel her heart expanding at the sight of them together. 

“I want too!” Griffin complained, climbing onto his mother’s lap. 

Myria grunted in pain, still pretty sore from the birth, pretty sure the Maester would advise her against such gestures, to help the stitches cure quicker. She noticed Aemond was about to pull Griff away, but she motioned him it was not needed. She could handle it. 

“You’ll get to hold him too, after your brother, my love.” She soothed him, leaving a kiss on his temple. 

“Mama, can we name him Max?” Trystan blurted, out of the blue. 

“Where did you get that from?” Myria chuckled, with her eyebrows furrowed. 

“It’s from one of the books father reads to us before bed.” The little boy explained. 

Myria looked over at Aemond, since they hadn’t discussed names yet. She was planning on letting him choose, especially since he had very kindly allowed her to pick the first two in traditionally dornish names. 

“Ser Maxen Uller of Hellholt.” Aemond nodded, smiling softly at the toddler, proud of the little boy’s attention to his teachings. “Esquire of Princess Nymeria during the war. Grand name fitting of a grand warrior.” 

“Does that mean we can name him Max?” Trys asked, eyes filled with hope. 

Myria looked at Aemond, and shrugged. She quite liked Max. And, truth to be told, as the high from meeting the baby started to wear off, she began to feel tired and sickly, and not at all fitted to endure an hour worth of name discussion. So she looked at Aemond, and nodded. 

“Prince Maxen of House Targaryen it is, then” He announced, cheerfully.

****

a/n: please forgive any mistakes, english is not my first language! i had this idea for a fic ever since i first watched the show, about aemond marrying a dornish heiress, and finallt got around writing it. i hope you enjoyed this! thinking about turning it into a series

[alicentflorent]

what are your thought on changing characters like Alicent, who is meant to be a villain not a perpetual victim. from how they are portrayed in the books?

Honestly? It doesn’t actually bother me that they’ve made changes, it had to be reworked for tv and fire and blood is written in the style of a history book which is different from adapting a story like asoiaf which is from multiple character povs and easier to accurately adapt (yet they still fucked it up, but that's another story). I get the narrative choice of “this is the true story of the dance” from the perspectives of the two queens and both sides of the war. What bothers me is the inconsistency and inability to commit to making Alicent and Rhaenyra make morally grey decisions and sometimes be the bad guy. I understand wanting your leads to be sympathetic but look at Shiv Roy, she’s sympathetic, a victim of misogyny in a male dominated space and she is still not written as the victim or the hero of the story. Shiv is just as bad as everyone else but we can feel her struggle and still root for her. That’s how characters like Alicent and Rhaenyra should have been written.

The female leads don’t need to be more passive to be likeable, that’s the opposite of feminist writing. I want to watch them make selfish, awful decisions that I don’t condone while still feeling for their struggles and understanding why they had to do that. I wanted Alicent to look viserys in the eye and she’s not sorry for being the only person in that room to defend their children the night Aemond lost an eye and that after that night, she’d only ever support Rhaenyra when she’s cold in her grave. That after that night she would only be his wife in name only (queue the elder abuse claims). I want Rhaenyra to order vaemonds death and show us the lengths she’s willing to go to. I don’t want daemon being the one trying to convince rhaenyra to go after her throne, I wanted Rhaenyra to tell Otto she’s taking what’s hers with fire and blood. I don’t want them getting close to these points and then back peddling because it’s too mean.

The writers have also tried blending their original ideas and who they want the characters with book plots and book actions which can work well if you do it correctly but they’ve done it in a way that makes it look as if the characters motivation are inconsistent. Yes please, flesh out Alicent more and don’t make her out to be a two dimensional evil stepmother but don’t strip her of her agency and her goals for her family, goals that she believes will ensure their survival. Sure, make Rhaenyra the protagonist and someone we want to root for but don’t strip her of her agency and her ability to be ruthless when it comes to securing her claim and protecting her children.

[foulrests]

'RANDOM DAEMON THOUGHTS' HOUR, A DUMP AFTER DISCUSSIONS ( and conclusions from them, a long post that can be perceived as my own encyclopedia to his character ):

he accepts any reason to do things that almost lead to his death. he loves that rush and he feels invincible when he wins over the chances. the biggest example is flying handless and with no hooks on caraxes, something he did often and certainly helped him find balance while flying.

younger and older daemon are one and the same, yes. but older, post laena's death and father is a not only seasoned warrior, but person in general. he is less reckless and more strategic than his younger self and no, he doesn't think battle is the first option to things. he does prefer trying political scheming first as was shown when the usurpation came forth in the books. he is careful with battles because he's actively the only character beyond corlys who had been in one.

he did think it was unavoidable in the case of rhaenyra's usurpation, though. it was more of a matter of ralying the necessary allies first - again, he had more experience than anyone in that. he was also the one with allies within KL and who had been an active war commander.

daemon's feelings for laena were genuine and deep. he fought for her hand, he spent nights on her bedside after death. he traveled westeros in search for a healer for her and tried to carry her to vhagar as her last wish. he did not leave her alone in pentos. they lived in high tide right after the twins were born. this is not even a headcanon but book canon, just a friendly reminder of what we were robbed of and how that portrays laena horribly as well.

(incest tw) it is unavoidable to speak about daemon and rhaenyra, after all, and this discussion has the trigger warning of grooming. he did groom her in the books following our definition of it. still, in world where a girl of 12 could be married and become a mom (such as rhaenyra's own mother) , it wasn't considered a crime by the people inside the narrative and world itself. undefensable through our lens of a reader who should know better, so it remains grotesque (i have no intention of portraying it as something light and silly and normal!). the point is, in the book he never put her in active danger of being ruined or in danger like in the show (which was unecessary in my opinion) while trying to ''''court her'''', and i think his courting was a mixture of genuine interest for someone he was already familial with and also, power-hunger for rhaenyra's position. in the end, his "love lessons" were more of a rumour and tasteless to ruin rhaenyra herself, something that happens constantly. to write that daemon betrayed her, cheated on her with ''the lowest'' and constantly was to say rhaenyra was undesirable as a mother of 6 and queen. it is about rhaenyra, and not daemon. if any love grew between them (which i think it did), it happened when rhaenyra got closer to him and laena when they moved to high tide and they started all interacting as more mature people, and by her support to him and laena herself during those times. i also think a familial love was always present there, definitedly (both share admiration for visenya, their love for flying and fine things...), which used to be innocent and only familial until daemon felt anger and resentment towards her after viserys named her heir. daemon did die for rhaenyra's cause when it was easier to betray her and escape with his remaining children, turncoat, etc; and it is the most redeeming thing about an otherwise challenging relantionship. they did have children together who grew to be honorable and smart, and he was also close enough with his stepsons to personally avenge one of them and have one name their dragon after his.

also no. he wouldn't kill his stepsons to put his blood on the throne. daemon cared for the throne when wanting to be someone of importance by the person sitting on it, recognized by his feats and his personal importance to them (he asked rhaenyra to be named protector of the realm, the only title she didn't keep - narcissistic? yeah. sure. but he felt worthy of it). he was never raised as heir, only as the second son of one. the power of being close to it was enough - besides, baela was going to be queen. if he wanted the throne, he could have usurpsed viserys easily with the support he had (he was the one who raised an army for viserys at 101) and easily usurped a young rhaenyra through war as aegon later did.

blood and cheese was not an accident. there are some ways to see daemon in a better light but boy, this ain't one of them. blood and cheese were hired to avenge lucerys in the most cruel, personal way possible. daemon might have asked for aemond but in the books, aegon did celebrate lucerys' death with a public feast. the sentence a son for a son makes no sense when it is about aemond. in daemon's mind, the head should pay for what the body does since it is the one who leads it all. it was brutal and cruel and wicked. it was not just about lucerys, but visenya and the secrecy of viserys' death: keeping him from seeing his brother, his wife her father, and rhaenyra's state after her son's death. it was the first time the blacks responded. did he care it would affect helaena? no. daemon barely interacted with his other nephews and niece. so yes, one of the worst events of the story was not just a random order. daemon meant it.