#rhaenyra overthrown

[horizon-verizon]

Maesters may argue about the truth of such assertions...but on that fateful night, a darker tale was being told in the streets and alleys of King’s Landing, in inns and brothels and pot shops, even holy septs. Queen Helaena had been murdered, the whispers went, as her sons had been before her. Prince Daeron and his dragons would soon be at the gates, and with them the end of Rhaenyra’s reign. The old queen was determined that her young half-sister should not live to revel in her downfall, so she had sent Ser Luthor Largent to seize Helaena with his huge rough hands and fling her from the window onto the spikes below. Whence came this poisonous calumny, one might ask (for a calumny it most certainly is)? Grand Maester Munkun places it at the door of the Shepherd, for thousands heard him decry both crime and queen. But did he originate the lie, or was he merely giving echo to words heard from other lips? The latter, Mushroom would have us believe. A slander so vile could only have been the work of Larys Strong, the dwarf asserts...for the Clubfoot had never left King’s Landing (as would soon be revealed), but only slipped into its shadows, from whence he continued to plot and whisper. Could Helaena’s death have been murder? Possibly...but it seems unlikely Queen Rhaenyra was behind it. Helaena Targaryen was a broken creature who posed no threat to Her Grace. Nor do our sources speak of any special enmity between them. If Rhaenyra were intent on murder, surely it would have been the Dowager Queen Alicent flung down onto the spikes. Moreover, at the time of Queen Helaena’s death, we have abundant proof that Ser Luthor Largent, the purported killer, was eating with three hundred of his gold cloaks at the barracks by the Gate of the Gods.

Fire and Blood, by George R.R. Martin, pg 505-506

[Helaena’s Death PT.2]

[stromuprisahat]

Queen Rhaenyra had neither gold nor ships. When she had sent Lord Corlys to the dungeons she had lost her fleet, and she had fled King’s Landing in terror of her life, without so much as a coin. Despairing and fearful, Her Grace grew ever more grey and haggard. She could not sleep and would not eat. 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”. Rhaenyra was forced to sell her crown to raise the coin to buy passage on a Braavosi merchantman, the Violande. Ser Harrold Darke urged her to seek refuge with Lady Arryn in the Vale, whilst Ser Medrick Manderly tried to persuade her to accompany him and his brother Ser Torrhen back to White Harbor, but Her Grace refused them both. She was adamant on returning to Dragonstone. There she would find dragon’s eggs, she told her loyalists; she must have another dragon, or all was lost. ... It was raining when the queen’s party came ashore, and hardly a face was to be seen about the port. Even the dockside brothels appeared dark and deserted, but Her Grace took no notice. Sick in body and spirit, broken by betrayal, Rhaenyra Targaryen wanted only to return to her own seat, where she imagined that she and her son would be safe. Little did the queen know that she was about to suffer her last and most grievous treachery.

The Princess and the Queen & Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

Robbed of her throne and treasury she'd need to keep it.

Five children out of six lost, four certainly dead.

Husband she knew her whole life, dead.

Her dragon dead.

Believing she was betrayed several times, often by the closest allies.

All in two years?

After years of bullying she and her children had to endure?

No wonder she couldn't handle reality anymore. No wonder she wasn't able to react to current conditions.

No wonder Aegon turned up as depressed as he did, witnessing his mother go through all that, only to be brutally murdered. Living most of it himself.

[navree]

he's so correct too

[aegonpedia]

AEGON II TARGARYEN — QUOTE DIRECTORY.

fire and blood (2018)

# aegon ii quotes :: fire and blood.

# aegon ii quotes :: fire and blood, aegon dialogue.

# aegon ii quotes :: heirs of the dragon — a question of succession.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — the blacks and the greens.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — a son for a son.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — the red dragon and the gold.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — rhaenyra triumphant.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — rhaenyra overthrown.

# aegon ii quotes :: the dying of the dragons — the short, sad reign of king aegon ii.

# aegon ii quotes :: aftermath — the hour of the wolf.

house of the dragon, season one (2022)

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon, season one.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon, aegon dialogue.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x3 second of his name.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x4 king of the narrow sea.

#aegon ii quotes :: 1x5 we light the way.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x6 the princess and the queen.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x7 driftmark.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x8 the lord of the tides.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x8 the green council.

# aegon ii quotes :: 1x9 the black queen.

house of the dragon, season two (2024)

# tba.

cast and crew input

# aegon ii quotes :: cast and crew input.

# aegon ii quotes :: tom glynn-carney.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon cast.

# aegon ii quotes :: house of the dragon writers.

(bless my beloved geo @rhaenysology for inspiring me to do this)

[pterodactylterrace]

“The Blacks won because it’s Rhaenyra’s bloodline that continues on.”

Ok, first of all, Aegon II made Aegon III his heir. Rhaenyra was dragon chow by then. Rhaenyra wanted the iron throne more than anything else, and she only held power for 6 months before the small folk had enough of her bullshit. Six months. She managed to rule for half a year before she was overthrown, not by a usurper, but by her own people. Clearly, not a good ruler if you can’t even make it a year without getting chased out of your castle.

Second, Rhaenyra’s bloodline managed to fumble the ball two feet from the finish line. It started with Aegon the Unworthy and it ended with the mad king being overthrown just before the long night. Just one more generation was all they needed to last, and they fucked everything up so bad it put the entire world of men at risk. That… that takes skill. You have to actively TRY to fuck up that much.

After the conquest, there was noted to be one “good” king, and that was Jaehaerys. Between conquest and dance, Jaehaerys was noted as being a good, wise king. Aenys managed to have a mob trap his oldest two children in a distant castle right before he died. Then Maegor stepped in. He may have been decent if it weren’t for the brain damage. Most of the things he did before the battle on the hill were either rumors or just not that bad. He was also very against Kinslaying. Imo, one of the worst things he did was punish everyone involved in the Kinslaying in The Eyrie. Seems kind of strange he would dole out such a harsh punishment only to then kill his nephew in a very one sided dragon battle. That was the first thing he did after he woke up, though. Considering he had such a drastic change in personality, we can’t say how his rule would have been otherwise.

After Maegor’s death, Jaehaerys steps in. You know what made him a good, worthy king? Not the fact that he was a male, or could fight, or held the bloodline, or even that he rode the bronze fury. It was because he listened to the council of his queen. Alysanne was the real MVP of his reign. She did more for women’s rights than any other queen. She listened to her people. That is the mark of a good ruler. Walk softly, but carry a big stick. Know when to speak and when to listen.

People who know they have power and control don’t need to constantly remind others. They know. It’s not necessary to maim or murder people for speaking the truth, yet Viserys and Rhaenyra do just that.

When Saera majorly fucked up, they handled it. Not the way Alysanne wanted, by the way. She was sent to apprentice with the Silent Sisters just for sleeping with men while not married. Yet Rhaenyra can have 3 obvious bastards, insult the house with the largest naval force and prove to the entire kingdom that her words mean nothing, and Viserys still declares anyone who calls the strong boys bastards would lose their tongue.

Sorry, what? The Valaryons are one of the richest houses in the realm. They control most of the naval fleet. Maybe don’t make their son a cuckold?

“They had an open marriage!”

NO ONE ELSE KNOWS THAT. To the court and the small folk, Rhaenyra promised to be faithful to Laenor in front of the eyes of the gods, and she very obviously didn’t keep that vow. Why should they trust anything she says as Queen if she can’t even do something as simple as not birthing bastards? That’s what most people don’t realize in the bastard debate.

Whether you can prove it or not, the strong boys don’t look like either of their alleged parents. Like, at all. Even Aegon’s drunk ass could tell shit didn’t add up. Commoners are not going to be any different. They are going to know, and whether they can say it or not, it will still affect how they feel towards her. Can’t keep your marriage vows, why should I believe that you have my best interest at heart?

Because she doesn’t. She is a horrible ruler that lasted less than a year before the small folk rose up and drove her out. She feasted while they starved. It’s that self centered mentality that taints the bloodline and leads to The Unworthy.

Clearly no one learned about not having bastards, and this mofo decided to legitimize them on his death bed. Wasn’t going to be his problem, now was it? He died, someone else has to clean up his mess.

Hmm, not knowing how to clean up your own bastard mess, sounds familiar… oh, like Rhaenyra forcing her father to crawl from his death bed to make sure no one said mean (and true) things about her.

So I’m sorry, what were people saying about her being a good ruler? ‘Cause everywhere I look, I see another reason she should not have ascended the throne.

[visenyaism]

Rhanerya not having really any Meaningful Flaws and also a Mandate of Heaven is so annoying to me bc. Isn't the dance supposed to be about how monarchy sucks and tears itself apart and both the contenders were incompetent to a fault. Like that's The Point neither of them Deserve it one of them is paranoid and stupid and the other is emotional and stupid and neither of them are good rulers! Both of them got overthrown!

see it IS also a story about gender and the labeling of rhaenyra as overly emotional is pretty obvious signifier of misogyny. but the story also really is a condemnation of monarchy and also that war is bad. making one of the sides completely morally justified kind of undercuts the anti-war stuff to me.

if either of them had stepped out of the way for the other one, it probably would have been mostly fine for the people of westeros. But the war and the squabbling over power made both aegon ii and rhaenyra terrible rulers. and then the citizens of Kings Landing decided that no one was coming to save them and so their only option was killing all the dragons with rocks and cobblestones and rioting en masse to overthrow the government even though they knew this was probably going to kill them. that’s the point to me.

[kataraavatara]

“uhm actually the amethyst empress parallel isn’t a thing because rhaenyra was a bad person and bad politician and the dance was actually about how bad she was and about all Targaryens are evil and-”

come ON. The narrative parallel isn’t about the nitty gritty details and never has been, and there’s no reason the Dance can’t impart more than one message.

The Amethyst Empress gets like, two sentences. There is no personality, no actions attributed to her other than succeeding her father and being overthrown. Maybe she had bastards too, maybe she was mean, maybe she was cruel, likely she didn’t exist. We just don’t know. It’s a very sparse story. But just…look:

Elder sister (Rhaenyra/Amethyst Empress) usurped by younger brother (Aegon II/Bloodstone Emperor), bringing on catastrophic magical consequences (Death of the dragons & Targaryen decline/ First Long Night).

If this wasn’t an intentional decision on George’s part meant to draw comparisons, why not an Amethyst Emperor? All the previous rulers had been male, making the Amethyst Empress an outlier that draws the reader’s attention.

So…what’s the point if not to be a Rhaenyra parallel? As in like, please tell me. I haven’t a clue.

and a fun one: I’ve also seen (don’t remember the originator) the theory that Amethyst = Rhaenyra, because Amethysts are purple, which is red + blue…Targaryen Red + Arryn Blue…Rhaenyra. Bloodstone = Aegon II because Bloodstones are typically red and…you guessed it…green…

(also brown but pls don’t ruin my fun rock theories :((( )

[hvitserkk]

TARGARYEN WEEK Day 2: Favourite Dragons

“At the age of nine, Rhaena was presented with a hatchling from the pits of Dragonstone, and she and the young dragon she named Dreamfyre bonded instantly.” — Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon    

“Dreamfyre was a slender, pale blue she-dragon with silvery markings who had already produced two clutches of eggs, and Rhaena had been riding her since the age of twelve.” — Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon  

“At one village in the Riverlands, several Poor Fellows went so far as to pelt the royal couple with clods of dirt. Prince Aegon drew his sword to chastise them and had to be restrained by his own knights, for the prince’s party was greatly outnumbered. Yet that did not stop Princess Rhaena from riding up to them to say, 'You are fearless when facing a girl on a horse, I see. The next time I come, I will be on a dragon. Throw dirt on me then, I pray you.’” — Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon   

"At the moment of her death, across the city atop the Hill of Rhaenys, her dragon, Dreamfyre, rose suddenly with a roar that shook the Dragonpit, snapping two of the chains that bound her." — Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown

“Tyraxes, Shrykos, and Morghul killed scores, there can be little doubt, but Dreamfyre slew more than all three of them combined.” — Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown

[fkaluis]

Rhaenyra Overthrown

i like to think rhaenyra faced aegon with bravery and a bit of sadness, she couldn’t let aegon iii see her breakdown. also just thinking how she thought she had lost everyone and only had one living son i cannot-

[knightsickness]

does anyone on team green actually believe aegon ii or alicent or otto would actually do the work to make westeros a better place or at least make people marginally happy? I ask you because I'm scared to ask this question on reddit and getting bombarded as a result.

if alicent or otto had any big ideas to change the realm they would have done that during the viserys-bedridden-rhaenyra-on-dragonstone period. i don’t think they care about that but i also don’t think almost any historical targaryen does. like one in twenty goes oh we should probably remember the smallfolk exist to explain why the targaryens hadn’t been overthrown yet. the dance is (despite bastardy moral panic from tg and the kings word being law from tb) a war between two functionally interchangeable candidates from the smallfolk’s perspective. under rhaenyra or aegon everything will stay exactly the same for the average peasant but during a war everything sucks for the average peasant they’re being killed en masse. they grow to hate both sides leading up to the sacking of the dragonpit its a classic the targs are their own worst enemy and run themselves into the ground by looking in and in and in

idk if you mean in universe team green or irl team green i don’t think in universe team green cares even slightly about that. the green council ‘she’ll make court immoral with her rapist homosexual pedophile bastard sons’ is pretty transparently virtue politics to justify why usurping her is moral i don’t think thats their actual thoughts on the matter. some irl people do care about ‘whats best for westeros’ either way but i don’t i don’t live there. i like evil usurpers

[horizon-verizon]

The burned king and the maimed dragon each found new purpose in the other. From a hidden lair on the desolate eastern slopes of the Dragonmont, Aegon ventured forth each day at dawn, taking to the sky again for the first time since Rook’s Rest, whilst the Two Toms and their cousin Marston Waters returned to the other side of the island to seek out men willing to help them take the castle. Even on Dragonstone, long Queen Rhaenyra’s seat and stronghold, they found many who misliked the queen for reasons both good and ill. Some grieved for brothers, sons, and fathers slain during the Sowing or during the Battle of the Gullet, some hoped for plunder or advancement, whilst others believed a son must come before a daughter, giving Aegon the better claim.

Fire and Blood, by George R.R. Martin, pg 542

[stromuprisahat]

Could Helaena’s death have been murder? Possibly…but it seems unlikely Queen Rhaenyra was behind it. Helaena Targaryen was a broken creature who posed no threat to Her Grace. Nor do our sources speak of any special enmity between them. If Rhaenyra were intent on murder, surely it would have been the Dowager Queen Alicent flung down onto the spikes. Moreover, at the time of Queen Helaena’s death, we have abundant proof that Ser Luthor Largent, the purported killer, was eating with three hundred of his gold cloaks at the barracks by the Gate of the Gods.

Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

I know these are only crumbs, and I do like weird bug-girl with dragon dreams from the show, but I'd love to see Helaena and Rhaenyra's relationship as fondness at least.

If they wanted a drama between two friends, who found themselves on opposing sides of a conflict, these would be much better choice than aging-up Alicent and ridding her of her ambition and personality.

Two sisters, one raised to hate the other and forced to marry her shitty brother to produce usurpers to her sister's claim. Seen only as a (annoyingly) talking womb.

The other forced to face sexism in slightly different ways- officially more than a breeding mare, yet hated and abused for it. Never respected as a male heir would be.

Another brother of theirs- sexist swine, fond of the first sister- the only woman (aside from his mother) he loves- kills the second's son, causing his beloved sister's child's murder in return...

You see?

It's not that hard!

Tangled family drama!

[navree]

'fix it' but the fix it is Rhaenyra literally killing Aemond, Alicent and Aegon in Driftmark's throne room after the eye incident...

Why can't people be serious 😭

tf is aegon being killed for are the team blacks joshing me??? he committed the capital crime of "being kinda drunk and doesn't immediately throw his mother under the bus" i guess and also idk being thirteen. poor aegon getting dragged into shit 24/7 he didn't ask for this

[thevelaryons]

The Dragonpit

The Storming of the Dragonpit is one of the notable events that occurred during the Dance of the Dragons, and GRRM built it up quite subtly that it almost makes you think, could it have been avoided? Ultimately, it is one of those tragedies that is very much a consequence of character choices that were made.

It begins with Rhaenyra acting on the false accusations against Addam which results in him fleeing from the city, in fear for his life. This is specifically described as Rhaenyra's undoing:

And thus did betrayal beget more betrayal, to the queen’s undoing. As Ser Luthor Largent and his gold cloaks rode up Rhaenys’s Hill with the queen’s warrant, the doors of the Dragonpit were thrown open above them, and Seasmoke spread his pale grey wings and took flight, smoke rising from his nostrils. Ser Addam Velaryon had been forewarned in time to make his escape. Balked and angry, Ser Luthor returned at once to the Red Keep, where he burst into the Tower of the Hand and laid rough hands on the aged Lord Corlys, accusing him of treachery. Nor did the old man deny it. Bound and beaten, but still silent, he was taken down into the dungeons and thrown into a black cell to await trial and execution.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Triumphant

The book previously mentioned that Addam was residing at the Dragonpit, as part of his duties:

It had long been the custom for at least one dragonrider to reside at the pit, so as to be able to rise to the defense of the city should the need arise. As Rhaenyra preferred to keep her sons by her side, that duty fell to Addam Velaryon.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Triumphant

After Addam's escape, Corlys was arrested. Rhaenyra's actions towards the Lord of Driftmark and his heir had a very major repercussion for her:

By ordering the arrest of Addam Velaryon, she had lost not only a dragon and a dragonrider, but her Queen’s Hand as well…and more than half the army that had sailed from Dragonstone to seize the Iron Throne was made up of men sworn to House Velaryon. When it became known that Lord Corlys languished in a dungeon under the Red Keep, they began to abandon her cause by the hundreds. Some made their way to Cobbler’s Square to join the throngs gathered round the Shepherd, whilst others slipped through postern gates or over the walls, intent on making their way back to Driftmark. Nor could those who remained be trusted. That was proved when two of the Sea Snake’s sworn swords, Ser Denys Woodwright and Ser Thoron True, cut their way into the dungeons to free their lord. Their plans were betrayed to Lady Misery by a whore Ser Thoron had been bedding, and the would-be rescuers were taken and hanged.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Overthrown

The Velaryon soldiers would have been well armed and armored. They're specifically described as joining the Shephard (who later leads the attack on the Dragonpit). With their many numbers, its enough to lend great strength to the paltry bunch of smallfolk gathering together in discontent. Some of the Velaryon soldiers were even captured by Rhaenyra and executed, in which their bodies were displayed outside the walls of the Red Keep. King's Landing descends into rioting shortly afterwards.

The Shepherd’s rats were armed with spears, longaxes, spiked clubs, and half a hundred other kinds of weapons, including both longbows and crossbows.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Overthrown

It's rather unlikely that the smallfolk would be armed with such weapons that are typically carried by soldiers in service to noble houses. So these are clearly the Velaryon soldiers that abandoned Rhaenyra previously. It's said that more than half of Rhaenyra's army was made up of soldiers sworn to house Velaryon and many hundreds abandoned her cause. So you can imagine the kind of numbers the Shepard would now have amongst his followers.

Their rioting through the streets eventually leads them to the Dragonpit, as that seems to have been the Shephard's intention:

As the one-handed prophet shrieked his curses at “the vile queen” in the Red Keep, a hundred severed heads looked up at him, swaying atop tall spears and sharpened staffs. The crowd, Septon Eustace says, was twice as large and thrice as fearful as the night before. Like the queen they so despised, the Shepherd’s “lambs” were looking to the sky with dread, fearing that King Aegon’s dragons would arrive before the night was out, with an army close behind them. No longer believing that the queen could protect them, they looked to their Shepherd for salvation. [...] Then he raised his right arm and jabbed the stump of his missing hand at Rhaenys’s Hill behind him, at the Dragonpit black against the stars. “There the demons dwell, up there. Fire and blood, blood and fire. This is their city. If you would make it yours, first must you destroy them.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Overthrown

Eventually the crowd does march on the Dragonpit and kills all the dragons there. Though the Dragonpit was not left defenseless, but having a dragonrider in their midst could have made all the difference in that chaotic situation. That is, after all, the reason why a dragonrider was stationed there in the first place.

The Dragonpit had its own contingent of guards, the Dragonkeepers, but those proud warriors were only seven-and-seventy in number, and fewer than fifty had the watch that night. Though their swords drank deep of the blood of the attackers, the numbers were against them. When the Shepherd’s lambs smashed through the doors (the towering main gates, sheathed in bronze and iron, were too strong to assault, but the building had a score of lesser entrances) and came clambering through windows, the Dragonkeepers were overwhelmed, and soon slaughtered.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons: Rhaenyra Overthrown

Once the Dragonpit falls, Rhaenyra decides to leave King's Landing, as the city is no longer safe for her:

The loss of both her dragon and her son left Rhaenyra Targaryen ashen and inconsolable, Mushroom tells us. Attended only by the fool, she retreated to her chambers whilst her counselors conferred. King’s Landing was lost, all agreed; they must needs abandon the city.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons

Wild tales and rumors followed about the deaths of the dragons: that some were hewn down by men, others by the Shepherd, others by the Warrior himself. Whatever the truth, five dragons died that bloody night as the mobs broke into the huge dome and found the dragons chained, and people perished in droves. Half the dragons that began the Dance were already dead, and the war was not yet over. Rhaenyra fled the city shortly after.

— The World of Ice & Fire, Aegon II

The encroaching Green army certainly helped enflame the residents of King's Landing into a panic. On Addam's part, he was tasked with the duty to "rise to the defense of the city should the need arise", and he died fulfilling that very same duty:

The accused turncloak Addam Velaryon, born Addam of Hull, had saved King’s Landing from the queen’s foes…at the cost of his own life. Yet the queen knew nothing of his valor. Rhaenyra’s flight from King’s Landing had been beset with difficulty.

— Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons

In an ironic turn of events, Rhaenyra later ends up as the one fleeing from King Landing, in fear for her life.

[lemonhemlock]

not sure if you've talked about this before, but what do you make of the whole "alicent was wrong to question the boys' parentage because it would mean their deaths"? ive tried considering it but im personally not convinced by it, that is im not convinced that it would automatically mean their deaths if their bastardry was publicly acknowledged by viserys and confessed to by rhaenyra and harwin. another reason why it doesnt really change my mind is that even if it was true... its like ok? therefore you must think viserys is in the wrong for wanting to mutilate anyone, children included btw, who says the boys are harwin's bastards. the thing is though i don't see team black saying that, instead its something they are usually happy about. they also ignore the fact that rhaenyra would have understood that this would happen, and yet she has two more children after jace. the thing is ultimately i dont believe the boys executed for something beyond their control that goes without saying lmao. but the fact of the matter is that alicent trying to have viserys admit the truth before his death, while the boys were young (or younger lol) would have been the kindest and safest thing! because if instead jace had ascended the throne as an adult, and been overthrown, he and his brothers would have been executed for committing treason. the mercy they would have gotten as children wouldn't really apply here.

''

I think that a solution could have been worked out if the truth came out when the boys were little. Death is a very extreme sentence. At the end of the day, Daemon should have been executed or exiled 24 times for his shenanigans, but Viserys always forgave him and nobody said a goddamn thing about it. At least in this particular case, the wrongs could have been rectified (which is more to say than for whatever nonsense Daemon did) - the boys taken out of the line of succession, both of the throne and of Driftmark. If you ask me, it would be only fair to disqualify Rhaenyra from being heir as a result of her attempted treachery, and that would be that. She'd still be a rich lady with a fire-breathing dragon and three alive sons and could have lived out her housewife fantasies in peace - there's no need to boohoohoo her. But, as a more indulgent outcome, it could have also worked if she remained heir, with Aegon (or his children) inheriting after her (since she obviously wasn't interested in producing trueborn children of her own with Laenor).

But, you know what, anything that happens is because of Rhaenyra's own hubris. To give a crude example, it's like saying, I robbed these three banks but I never expected to be caught and go to jail, then asking for sympathy. ?? Why do you keep having these children if you're literally so preoccupied with their safety?

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Much as I theoretically understand why fandom glomped onto the possibility of the tragic Daeron and Addam romance, it genuinely doesn't seem like the closest explanation the text itself offers. One of the biggest implications people see for this is the paragraph wondering about Tessarion's motivations for intervening in the Vermithor vs Seasmoke fight:

Vermithor’s size and weight were too much for Seasmoke to contend with, Lord Blackwood told Grand Maester Munkun many years later, and he would surely have torn the silver-grey dragon to pieces…if Tessarion had not fallen from the sky at that very moment to join the fight. Who can know the heart of a dragon? Was it simple bloodlust that drove the Blue Queen to attack? Did the she-dragon come to help one of the combatants? If so, which? Some will claim that the bond between a dragon and dragonrider runs so deep that the beast shares his master’s loves and hates. But who was the ally here, and who the enemy? Fire & Blood Chapter 17: The Dying of the Dragons — Rhaenyra Overthrown

People tend to focus a lot on the love aspect and basically ignore the alternate possibility offered up, which is hate as a motivating force.

As happy as I am for people enjoying the concept of Daeron/Addam, let's acknowledge that they have neither actual on page interactions nor as much as implied aquaintanceship, and GRRM is the opposite of subtle when it comes to "hinting" at these things for implied same sex entanglements. One line about Addam, who canonically served on his mothers trading cogs, having previously traveled as far as Oldtown, or Daeron enjoying spending his off - time at Oldtown's or prior to his fostering King's Landings harbour or shipyards would have been sufficient, but instead there's absolutely nothing.

Whereas Daeron and Hugh Hammer, dragonseed and rider of Vermithor, do have canonical interactions, both on page involving dialogue and implied by their close proximity, that develops into a plot relevant enmity, culminating in Hugh stating he'll claim Daeron's birthright for himself, as rider of the largest surviving dragon, and Daeron approving the Caltrops assassination of Hugh in turn.

With his brother Aemond slain as well, the greens found themselves kingless and leaderless. Prince Daeron stood next in the line of succession. Lord Peake declared that the boy should be proclaimed as Prince of Dragonstone at once; others, believing Aegon II dead, wished to crown him king. The Two Betrayers felt the need of a king as well…but Daeron Targaryen was not the king they wanted. “We need a strong man to lead us, not a boy,” declared Hard Hugh Hammer. “The throne should be mine.” When Bold Jon Roxton demanded to know by what right he presumed to name himself a king, Lord Hammer answered, “The same right as the Conqueror. A dragon.” And truly, with Vhagar dead at last, the oldest and largest living dragon in all Westeros was Vermithor, once the mount of the Old King, now that of Hard Hugh the bastard. Vermithor was thrice the size of Prince Daeron’s she-dragon Tessarion. No man who glimpsed them together could fail to see that Vermithor was a far more fearsome beast. [...] The lords and knights of Oldtown and the Reach were offended by the arrogance of the Betrayer’s claim, however, and none more so than Prince Daeron Targaryen himself, who grew so wroth that he threw a cup of wine into Hard Hugh’s face. (...) Lord Hammer said, “Little boys should be more mannerly when men are speaking. I think your father did not beat you often enough. Take care I do not make up for his lack.” The Two Betrayers took their leave together, and began to make plans for Hammer’s coronation. When seen the next day, Hard Hugh was wearing a crown of black iron, to the fury of Prince Daeron and his trueborn lords and knights.

[...] Though Prince Daeron was not present at the council, the Caltrops (as the conspirators became known) were loath to proceed without his consent and blessing. Owen Fossoway, Lord of Cider Hall, was dispatched under cover of darkness to wake the prince and bring him to the cellar, that the plotters might inform him of their plans. Nor did the once-gentle prince hesitate when Lord Unwin Peake presented him with warrants for the execution of Hard Hugh Hammer and Ulf White, but eagerly affixed his seal. Fire & Blood Chapter 17: The Dying of the Dragons — Rhaenyra Overthrown

Which seams like a far more (meaning: at all) established backdrop for that musing about sharing loves and hates to me.

Tldr; Less "love wins" and more "haterism transcending death" for Daeron the Daring.