what do you think the potential of Daenaera is in the future book as you mentioned?
Daenaera my absolute beloved!
We don't necessarily know a whole lot about her, especially as an adult (seeing as that's likely going to be expanded more in the second Fire & Blood volume, which isn't out yet), but one of the things I like in terms of her potential as a character is that she's a breath of fresh air. It's not revolutionary to point out that ASOIAF has a tendency towards bleakness (I do think people overexaggerate it to an extent but it's certainly there) and that a lot of the characters we encounter not just in the series proper, but even in F&B itself, can be kinda grim and morose and serious as a result. But Daenaera's described as having been "sweet" and "bold" and a sunny disposition, and I think that's a pretty characterization we get in this franchise, especially in the female characters. A lot of the characters described as sweet tend to also be shy and quiet, while a lot of the characters described as bold tend to be a bit wild and willful, so someone who's both gentle and kind but also a bit mischievous, whose sweetness comes not from being tractable but just from being a happy and bright person is a bit new. And after the horrors of the Dance and the melancholy of Aegon's early reign, that's going to be a refreshing change of pace, and a nice new development than what we're used to.
Daenaera's life also isn't one bereft of tragedy. While she's definitely on the lower end of the scale for her generation, she wasn't entirely spared. She was born in 127 AC, which means that her earliest memories are of living through the Dance, which definitely didn't pass House Velaryon by peaceably. Daenaera's also already an orphan at six years old, which in and of itself is going to leave someone with its own set of issues when it comes to losing parents that young and growing up not really ever having gotten to properly know them (also, her grandfather is Vaemond Velaryon. Yes, that Vaemond Velaryon. There's a whole wealth of drama in the fact that her grandfather was murdered in cold blood by her husband's own father, it's so good). Daenaera also nearly died at the age of eight due to the poisoned tarts (it's specifically said that Munkun giving her a purgative as soon as he did is what saved her, since she likely ingested nearly as much as Gaemon, and if he hadn't then she literally would have been killed), and was also involved in the secret siege, which means that the eight year old was holed up and slowly starving for days on end until it got resolved. Daenaera's better adjusted than most of the people she knows, especially Aegon, but she didn't escape life completely unscathed, and I think that there's incredible potential in remembering her own hardships and what she had to deal with at extraordinarily young ages, and we don't know what else George is gonna decide to make her deal with once she's actually grown. And I think that can be tied back to her overall personality, that Daenaera still chooses to enjoy life and let things roll off of her and find joy in things even when things occasionally go sour. Not out of naïveté or as a coping mechanism or anything like that, but just because that's her philosophical worldview.
I also think there's a lot of potential in expanding on her interpersonal relationships. We know she was living with Baela as a ward following the death of her father, so what was that like. How long did it take for her to trust Baela, to view her as a surrogate parental figure now that she doesn't have any? How involved was she with Rhaena, since Rhaena was also involved in presenting her to Aegon at the Maiden's Day Cattle Show? Did she view them as parental figures at all, or older sister types, or were she and the twins not close (unlikely, considering she again lived with Baela for a time and saw Rhaena flying on Morning)? I also like to think that she and Gaemon were close while he was still alive, given that they were the people he was closest to aside from Viserys and they both knew what he was like, and probably bonded together during the early months of Viserys's return when Aegon was making up for lost time about him. I also think that she and Viserys likely grew close, again because of related closeness with Aegon, and because we know that Viserys was charming in his early years and thus likely easy to talk and connect to, and I like to imagine that they sparked up a friendship, that even when things got tense with Aegon, Viserys was still on good terms with Daenaera and they could be easy and comfortable with each other.
And honestly, I love all the potential of her relationship with Aegon. For one, not even I am immune to "the gloomy one and the sunshine one" ships, it is such an incredibly popular dynamic for a reason. And from what we've seen already, the potential is there. Even just meeting her and meeting her sunny personality lifted Aegon's spirts and a bit, and it is literally canon that she did help with Aegon's depression with her companionship and her overall temperament, and I don't want to discount that. Aegon was an incredibly lonely person, he had One friend and he had to be incredibly careful because of how that friend could be treated if he failed to meet expectations (Gareth Long you are never seeing the Seven Heavens). Daenaera is probably the most guilt-free relationship with Aegon ever had in his life, at least amongst the people his age who were the most important to him (even when Viserys came back I don't think he ever fully forgave himself for abandoning him in the first place, and again the whipping boy thing with Gaemon likely weighed heavily on him), and that was probably really important and honestly probably helped him not get any worse than he already was. It seems that Aegon did value her as a companion and a friend, and did genuinely like her, not to mention that he was willing to get into screaming matches with Viserys over, like, the mention of a dragon edge but when Daenaera flat out says she wants to actually have her own dragon he's not recorded as having any problem with her saying that, in spite of his strong negative feelings about dragons. And I think the potential only grows once they're both into adulthood and they actually start treating each other as husband and wife. We know Aegon's depression manifested itself not just in his overall demeanor but also in severe touch aversion, but they had kids. And not just one kid, not even two kids (Daeron and Baelor were their first and second, once they had an heir and a spare they could have called it quits sexually, not to mention that there was always Viserys and his family as the backup), but literally five kids. That does speak to a certain level of enjoyment of each other on both of their parts, and a desire to want to engage with the relationship on the level of romantic and sexual partners, not just as the companions they were in their youth. There's potential in these two kids who are, in their ways, alone in the world but alone together, who forge a friendship and eventual love in their marriage, that Daenaera was able to at least get past some of Aegon's walls and that Aegon was willing to let her (we know he was depressed and incredibly lonely, and it doesn't seem like he necessarily wanted to be that way, he was just incredibly traumatized and not living in a world that was equipped to help him with that). The development of their relationship offers a lot for who Daenaera is as a person, and who Aegon is as a person as well, not just who they are as a couple.
(plus i mean, if there's one thing that's going to be recorded no matter what, it's gossip and information as it relates to the sexual activity of the monarch, if aegon was recalcitrant but daenaera was pushing hard that would have been remarked on even in something as barebones as TWOIAF, it's entirely possible that they were both taking it slow with each other with a mutual understanding of the fact that they're both taking their time, not to mention that daeron was born when daenaera was sixteen so the "oh yeah he waited a super long time before consummating his marriage" thing is a bit overblown. also i just really like that aegon eschewed more traditional targaryen names and allowed for his first son to be named daeron after daenaera's father)
Intellectually, I get why people might have an issue with Daenaera as a narrative device, I do. But I also don't get it because she's got the potential to be incredibly interesting. Everything about her offers up a rich inner world not just for who she is, but for the people around her, and further compelling dynamics to a portion of the Targaryen histories that has a lot to live up to (the Dance was a fucking nightmare but everyone involved was interesting as Hell), and she as a character just really speaks to me and I love her very much, and I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head about her.
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When I started watching andor as it was coming out and mon mothma first appeared I thought she was lovely. But my love for my precious beautiful lib mon mothma didn’t fully hit when episode 4 released.
No.
It hit the night after.
Because my brain is evil and likes to torture me, and so gave me a lovely dream about being set up on a blind date at a nice Space Italian restaurant, and who should show up and sit across from me but Mon Mothma.
It was a nice evening all said. I still remember parts of it very well even though it’s mostly slipped through my fingers. Probably one of the nicest dates I’ve been on. From my experience Mon Mothma is a sparkling conversationalist, very intelligent, and juuust the right amount of flirty to make me flustered without it being too pushy. You get it.
Once we’d finished eating she offered me a drink at her place, I said yes (obviously, who could possibly say no to genevieve o’riley), and we shared a very chaste and respectful kiss before getting on her speeder and heading to her penthouse.
Then I woke up and for five blissful seconds I was at peace. Before remembering I don’t in fact live on coruscant, and my life will forever be incomplete without Mon’s laughter in my ear 🥲
That was what triggered the vast and unknowable love I bear for mon mothma. The tv show’s fine too I guess.
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