#some rhaenicient

[lya-dustin]

All is bliss

Chapter 45

Cw: sex,mentions of child brides, bigamy, ghosts🔞

Gif by @barbieaelin

Taglist:@mercedesdecorazon @darylandbethfanforever9 @alexandria-millie @watercolorskyy @ewanmitchellcrumbs @sweethoneyblossom1

Orphan-Maker suits him.

The Roxtons had been tall, and the sword proportionate to their lords. The longsword is fine, finer than any sword Aemond has had and would make a good weapon.

The sword that once protected Jaehaerys and his heirs confiscated from Aemond’s would be murderer.

“Apparently he may be part of a conspiracy, he had been heard boasting that he would kill you and he’d split me open like he did to a vassal knight and take his wife as a prize.” Aegon comments after presenting him with a sheath worthy of the sword and a new horse. “Ironrod thinks we should arrest his sister and see if her lovely goodfamily is involved, but the girl was only wed for a fortnight before Titus the Turd died in Honeywine.”

The war was lost, any fool could see it.

Only problem is Aegon’s own supporters wanted death in glory and now refused to listen to them.

“It wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on her and any of Peake’s family, as numerous as they are, I won’t be here to protect you, you know.” Aemond pointed out.

He is to march tomorrow, to leave even if his wrist and leg are still hurting because Aemma’s behavior brought unwanted speculation.

As if she had been the first hysterical pregnant woman to react over the top about a calamity.

But people had seen it, talked about it and made it all worse.

Someone made a song about it even, an irritating ear worm that invaded your head.

“The elder she beds out of duty and the younger out of love.

The seven can’t save them from her siren song while their mother cries as she looks from above.”

“She’s fucking three and ten, besides she is mother’s cupbearer. I can’t just arrest the girl without making mother look like she wanted to murder you for fucking my wife.” Aegon dismissed his advice with good reason.

Mother would be under scrutiny, and as much as she has changed for the worse, she wouldn’t have him killed.

Or would she?

Fuck.

To think once that thought wouldn’t have crossed his mind and now he can’t trust his mother not to do something so wretched.

“I suppose, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious and have someone investigate Peake. They came after me in broad daylight, who’s to say they won’t go after you now that you’re back on the throne?” The former prince regent reminded him.

He could be foolish.

Aegon had never applied himself thinking the crown would never fall on him and now Aemond fears he will find the city on fire the moment he turns his back.

Mother never helped, too busy caring for father and stealing the crown for Aegon to actually see if he was any good at ruling.

Aemond in the meantime took every lesson taught to Aemma with great pleasure. Everything Aegon never valued, he would take with unabashed gusto.

By the age of ten he devoured histories and philosophies to see how great kings became great kings because father intended him to wed Aemma since the moment both children had been born.

Then mother had to say it wouldn’t be right for a second son to come before his brother in the succession and suggested Aegon in his place.

“Of course, I will. I am not an idiot, Aemond. Which is why I am sending you away instead of marrying you off to the Stokeworth girl as mother suggested.” Aegon did have his moments, moments when he was not blind with drink nor too out of his depth to care.

Marriage would have been worse, especially because mother’s intended bride twelve-year-old Elinor Stokeworth.

Little Elinor who served as Aemma’s cupbearer and blushed red as a beet when Aemma praised her.

She was a fucking child, really the whole idea was demented.

The match was mother’s way of getting back at her for having been made the leading lady of the court and House Targaryen.

Aemma gets to decide how the ladies live, who they marry, and children reared, something Rhaenyra and his mother butted heads over for that decade they lived together.

But mother still had cards up her sleeve and had convinced Aegon he needed to be rid of him once and for all.

And because he refused that generous offer, he would be forbidden from seeing, or speaking or even writing to Aemma while he was away.

Her correspondence would be watched to ensure she doesn’t try to get anything to him nor he to her. any news for them would be sent through his brother or her, and until the anointing for Aenys comes around, Aemond must keep their end of the deal or wed little Ellie.

A difficult choice, but one they cannot say no to.

“Don’t give me that look. It is for your good as well as hers. As they say, if you love her you will let her go.” His brother said as if he hadn’t refused to do the same.

The return of her dragon does lift her spirits.

Silverwing managed to make Alicent scream when she saw her land on the roof of Maegor’s Holdfast and Aemma had a laugh at her expense as she rewarded her silver queen with a lamb or two.

Made her forced separation from Aemond bearable.

Her sole consolation is that she only has three and a half moons to go and he has to be here for the anointing.

After the tourney, Aegon had gone as far as coming to her bed to keep the pretense that they cared for each other.

They hadn’t shared a bed since they married, it was fucking annoying to wake up to him instead of Aemond.

Especially because Aegon took up the whole bed and liked to sleep in the nude.

The first night, she’d turned and held him tightly as if he were Aemond, called him by his name and he just went along with it.

Only thing that gave it away was that Aemond has what he has dubbed the Hightower Hairiness while Aegon is as hairless as her.

“I ache for you and I haven’t even left yet.” Aemond ground his hips against her rump and she bit down on her lip lest they be discovered.

The library was deserted, Aegon never came here and no one save for them and Aemma’s ladies came here often.

His wrist and foot had healed nicely, or so she made out by the lack of bandages as his hand crept up her stomach, pawed at her growing breasts before settling on her neck to tilt her face to his.

The other bunched up her skirts until he found her mound.

“I don’t care what anyone says, this belongs to me.” Her lover palmed her cunt and yet stopped her when he refused to let her release him from his breeches.

He wants to do this his way, and she won’t deny him.

“Aemond, we’ll be discovered.” She warns and yet guides his long and calloused fingers where she needs them.

This was just the beginning, preparing her for his cock and a fuck she’ll feel when he leaves the city later tomorrow morning.

“I’ll tell them I’m afflicted by your siren’s song, Aemee.” He whispered in her ear before biting her earlobe, the hand on her throat leaving her so he could unlace his breeches and free his prick. “That I wed you like the conqueror wed his sisters and you’re my wife just as you are his. Could you imagine if we did that? I already plow your cunny for him, might as well bind you to me with a blood oath.”

He has been drinking, she can smell it and taste it in her mouth as she kissed him again and yet Aemond has never made this much sense.

“I’d wed you with fire and blood now of you wished it, dearest. We have all we need for it.” She doesn’t know what possessed her to say that. “Marry me, Aemond.”

No, that’s a lie, the queen thinks as she bit her lip bloody from the pleasure when he finally entered her.

Right on the rug he first took her on, they wed in the way of their ancestors, alone in grandfather’s library with only the old model of Valyria and a rat scurrying away as witnesses.

He paints the glyph on her forehead with his own blood just as she does with hers and drink wine no one’s else but them have had.

“Hen lantoti ānogar va sȳndroti vāedroma. Mēro perzot gīhoti elēdroma iārza sīr. Izulī ampā perzī prūmī lanti sēteksi. Hen jenȳ māzīlarion, qēlossa ozūndesi. Sȳndroro ōñō jēdo Rȳ kīvia mazvestraksi.”They speak the words in unison as if they had said it all before.

Perhaps they had, perhaps they were soulmates meeting each other again and again.

Yes, soulmates.

“Blood of two joined as one. Ghostly flame and song of shadows. Two hearts as embers forged in fourteen fires. A future promised in glass, the stars stand witness. The vow spoken through time of darkness and light.”

Alys’ eyes glitter like glass as she stares into the flames.

A valyrian wedding vow, one she and Rhaenyra had whispered to each other underneath their blankets once upon a time as they shared their first kiss.

You cannot kiss someone until you wed them, Alicent had said even if she has been dying to feel Rhaenyra’s lips against hers more than Criston whom she lied and said she had a crush on to make her jealous.

Then I’ll wed you and wed Criston and we will be sister wives like Rhaenys and Visenya, Rhaenyra had boldly said and taught her the wedding vows.

They had wed each other, kissed and touched each other while Criston stood watch outside Rhaenyra’s door unaware of what happened within.

And then I wed your father and killed you.

“They wed each other. As if adultery wasn’t enough of a crime, she had to make him a bigamist too.” The queen scoffed.

“A shame they had to resort to that, love like that is so hard to come by.” The witch blinked and returned to her mistress.

She is not Rhaenyra, but she made a good enough replacement.

Alicent had let Criston have his way with her while she shut her eyes and remembered Rhaenyra’s delicate features twist in pleasure as Harwin rammed her from behind.

It had been a secret pastime, to live vicariously through Rhaenyra and her lover wishing she had been the one to make the princess come undone and be the one to receive her love and worship instead of Harwin who never deserved her.

To be her or to have her, she could never decipher.

Perhaps it was both.

But you killed me, Rhaenyra’s voice whispers as the woman kissing and making love to her turns into her.

You killed me, you killed my daughter, my sons and yours, sweet little Ellyn too and now you will burn in hell for your sins right there with me, my love, Rhaenyra’s ghost continues pleasuring her, and Alicent lets herself fall further into the fantasy even when her fingers card through dark tresses and not ones as fair as moonlight.

When she sees Aemond with a split lip and Aemma hide hers under a painted lip, Alicent bites her tongue still tasting Rhaenyra in her mouth.

We will burn together, Alicent, the ghost says as Aemond leads the troops out of the city.

[horizon-verizon]

The Targaryens being so popular in the fandom is something I will never understand. It seems people just see silver hair & dragons and think it’s cool without thinking more deeply about it. The Targaryens are blood purists who think they are demigods for having dragons. And no they don’t have to inbreed to keep their “dragon blood”. The dragon blood is obviously dominant, given how Daenerys can clearly control three dragons without any problem despite having plenty of native Westerosi blood (example: the Blackwoods). So no the Targs do not need to inbreed to keep their mystical connection to dragons, the Targtowers are another example of that. They are quite literally 50% Valyrian and 50% Native Westerosi, and they all have and ride dragons just fine.

Therefore the Targs inbreed because they do view the people they rule over as inferior because they are not Valyrian. It’s not to preserve their dragon riding ability, because Targs have married non Targs plenty of times and produced dragon riding children. So the Targs very well know that inbreeding isn’t necessary. They just do it because they are blood purists and view the Westerosi as inferior to them for their lack of Valyrian blood. The Targs are an outsider tyrannical race who imposed their rule over Westeros through the threat of dragonfire, and the Hightowers/Faith are heroic for wanting to get rid of them. Hightowers are native Westerosi protecting their culture from Targaryens.

Well, now I have a place to reference to to prove that Alicent stans/green stans/Rhaenicient stans have an underlying hatred and misunderstanding of the Targaryens. Thanks anon.

But I'm still gonna need you to read A World of Ice and Fire and the reliable references of the actual ASoIaF wiki page (not the fandom one) to brush up on your ASoIaF lore and history.

Carefully, though. And multiple times.

A)

The same Westerosi that you reference--the Hightowers--and every single noble house and many peasants of Westeros all descend from the Andals and the First Men, who intermarried some times while and after fighting each other. (Except a small few, who still descend from the First Men).

Before the Andals arrived, the First Men intentionally targeted the Children of the Forest and the giants, who occupied Westeros way before the First Men crossed the bridge from Essos to Westeros on the now gone Arm of Dorne. They were the ones who targeted native groups in order to make room and take for sources for themselves. They were the ones who destroyed the Children's weirwood trees first to make room for their own residences and infrastructures, them from a fear that the Children's greenseers would spy on them through them. The old gods that the Starks and northmen worship originally are the Children's gods. The old gods were not originally First Men gods.

Still are, since the children, though much smaller in number than before the First Men, still exist. They don't live south of the Wall, again.

The Westerosi lords don't even fully believe that the Children of the Forest and giants exist and see them as fairy tale creatures.

Because their ancestors were that successful in wiping them out from Westeros. (And yet the northerners, Blackwoods, and the Brackens still worship their gods....the irony)

The Westerosi nobles descend from a people that:

massacred and targeted a whole race or group of ethnically different people

destroyed religious sites or religious totems (weirwood trees)

took resources and the land from the targeted ethnic group as well as a land to make themselves and to have dominion over the land

left and forced a real native people to live on scarps of land (reminiscent of reservations anyone?) until they ceased to even be believed to exist

Aegon I/Rhaenys/Visenya and the Targaryens never did any of the things above, nor did they ever:

forced Westerosi lords nor peasants to adopt Valyrian cultural practices or habits

plundered resources or money from the conquered people and land to make themselves, Valyrian descendants, more powerful and wealthy to have dominion and subjugate the conquered people”

take and distribute lands previously belonging to the Westerosi lords to other Valyrians (which actually belonged to the Children of the Forest and the giants before the First Men arrived) and leave the Westerosi lords scraps of land to live off of

force their bloodline onto the people they conquered just because they felt superior to them -> if anything, the intermarriages between Targ and other houses were a thing that the lords wanted for themselves: Rhaena Targaryen (Jaehaerys and Alysanne's sister) when she stayed for a while with the Lannisters, the Lannisters and all those men who sought to marry Rhaenyra in HotD, the Martells married into the Trags twice of the own house's leader's free will, Twyin Lannister wanted to marry Cersei to Rhaegar, etc etc. -> the nobles sought marriages with the Targaryens for their dragons and the dragon kids resulting to be a part of their own house's lineage (when the Targs had dragons) AND they sought marrying into the Targs made to have influence and a guarantee of security, because bloodties……just as ancient and medieval nobles have always done before actual colonialism ever existed in real life

And the Andals were no better. They came to Westeros to escape the Valyrians and the the Faith of the Seven that they brought with them currently tells it's followers that the first Andals went to Westeros to claim "promised lands". Promised specifically to them. They warred with the First Men and and had better weapons while consistently coming from Essos on ships, which resulted in their eventual taking of most of Westeros while some also eventually intermarrying with the First Men and producing children with a shared heritage. It is because they succeed in dominating the First Men that today's Westerosi all practice the Faith and not the old gods of the Children, who the Northerners and Blackwoods/Brackens worship. (The Brackens and Blackwoods are both houses who go around boasting about their "pure" First Men blood, anon.)

All of the people produced from the the marriages between the Andals and the First Men are also direct ancestors of today's Westerosi people.

Rather, the First Men and the Andals are invader and "outsiders". Thus the Westerosi lords themselves are children of invaders and "outsiders".

B)

The same Hightower/Westerosi lords that you lord inherit one of their religions the Faith, which allows first cousins to marry. Many Lords come from first-cousin marirages. An example is Tywin Lannister and his cousin-wife Joanna Lannister, Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion's mother.

In the north, Serena Stark married her half uncle Eric and her sister Sansa married their other half uncle Jonnel. So any and all their kids are incest babies. Yet the Faith or any of the members within never once protests that the Starks are all abominations.

All the Westerosi lords are "inbred" anon. Every single one.

Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion are all incest babies. Cersei and Jaime only took it one step further.

This is the same religion that the Hightowers and Alicent follow.

C)

The same religion make it easier to support (recorded words after Daemon Blackfyre, yes, but the religion really oils it up) the idea that children who are born out of wedlock (parents who weren't married to each other) are inherently untrustworthy. The logic is that because these people are born from "lust, lies, and weakness, and as such, they are said to be wanton and treacherous by nature". 

This is classism and blood purity, anon. That one would actually believe that a person is inherently evil, dangerous and lesser than you because their birth didn't happen within a marriage is to say that people can have inherently traits that define their entire being and value in society forever and ever. Sound, familiar anon? Sounds like the seeds of racism, right?

Alicent Hightower is a blood purist in that she sincerely believes that Rhaenyra's children are inherently lesser than her own.

In the book, when Alicent begs/demands Rhaenyra refuses to pardon Alicents' sons on the basis that Alicent's sons killed her son or were responsible for their deaths, Alicent flippantly calls her sons bastards and people lost in a war (as if she didn't cause the war by usurping Rhaenyra) to excuse their deaths and make as if her sons mattered more:

Fearing for her sons, Queen Alicent went to the Iron Throne upon her knees, to plead for peace. This time the Queen in Chains put forth the notion that the realm might be divided; Rhaenyra would keep King’s Landing and the crownlands, the North, the Vale of Arryn, all the lands watered by the Trident, and the isles. To Aegon II would go the stormlands, the westerlands, and the Reach, to be ruled from Oldtown.

Rhaenyra rejected her stepmother’s proposal with scorn. “Your sons might have had places of honor at my court if they had kept faith,” Her Grace declared, “but they sought to rob me of my birthright, and the blood of my sweet sons is on their hands.”

“Bastard blood, shed at war,” Alicent replied. “My son’s sons were innocent boys, cruelly murdered. How many more must die to slake your thirst for vengeance?”

(Fire and Blood; The Red Dragon and the Gold)

She refers to Blood and Cheese with Jaehaerys and Maelor...as if her own son Aemond didn't intentionally kill Lucerys Velaryon.

As if the Blood and Cheese episode--harrowing and immoral as it was--didn't happen as a response to Aemond killing Lucerys.

As if Alicent herself didn't call for Lucerys' eye after Aemond lost his in the same principle of eye-for-an-eye. And Rhaenyra only responded by called for the Aemond' "sharp" questioning for accusing her sons for being bastards, which would endanger their very lives:

Afterward, King Viserys tried to make a peace, requiring each of the boys to tender an apology to his rivals on the other side, but these courtesies did not appease their vengeful mothers. Queen Alicent demanded that one of Lucerys Velaryon’s eyes should be put out, for the eye he had cost Aemond. Princess Rhaenyra would have none of that, but insisted that Prince Aemond should be questioned “sharply” until he revealed where he had heard her sons called “Strongs.” To so name them was tantamount to saying they were bastards, with no rights of succession…and that she herself was guilty of high treason.

(Fire and Blood; A Question of Succession)

Gyldayn (in-universe writer of Fire and Blood) says "mothers" as if it wasn’t just Alicent who ignored Viserys and pushed first for a child's mutilation.

Rhaenyra did not call for torture or questioning (possibly just discipline) because she always hated Aemond. One, I don't believe that she actually wanted to torture Aemond anyway, but for Viserys to really come down on him and find out/publicize amd reveal where he got the idea that her kids were illegitimate. Two, she does it because Alicent wanted Lucerys' eye, no real fair judgment, and to protect her own kids.

As if Alicent herself did not encourage her son to hate the Velaryon boys, which lead to Aemond's hatred of the Velaryons boys. Which lead to Lucerys' death. 

Lucerys didn't actually die in a real battle because he didn't engage with Aemond. AEMOND was the one who charged after Lucerys after Lucerys tried to leave Storm's End. Both in HotD and in Fire and Blood.

Anon, please. What is your agenda here, defending a bunch of people who are bound and determined to depose another person and use their gender's value in society against them?

D) EDIT #1:

Yes the Valyrian dragonriders and the Targs both married siblings in a centuries-long tradition for the sake of being able to use dragons. They did this for power.

Marriage is a tool for power, anon, in this entire world. It is not a Targ/Valyrian thing. Every Westerosi lord married their children to other children for power and resources. As I already said. 

And they do it through incest, no matter what their own Faith says, if we are going to be all "objective" about it.

Also, the Targs kept incest marriage for the same reason why the Westerosi lords and nobles did with the right of the first night, specific ceremonies, stealing women to make into "thralls", etc: custom. 

It took a fucking Targaryen Queen, Alysanne, to work towards the abolishment of the right of first night to happen (she had to convince Jaehaerys I with Septon Barth's help).

And another Targ Queen, Rhaenys the Conqueror, to introduce the rule of six, which said that a man can only legally hit his wife 6 times if she cheated on him (one for each Faith god except the death god...oh look, a Targ is using Faith/Westerosi aspect to make life better for all women. Oh, how like a colonizer....). 

Before Rhaenys and her new rule of six, a man could beat his wife to death, however many times he wanted! This was a Westerosi allowance, anon.

It is Targ and Valyrian custom to marry siblings. Just as right of the first night (a First Men custom) was considered a Westerosi aristocratic right and custom that defined their very identity, the custom of sibling marriage is a thing that the Valyrians and Targs have as part of their identity and right.

And even then, the Targs still married outside of their own family time and time again despite sibling marriage being their custom, even when they either didn’t have to or if they had a relative they could marry. 

I already mentioned the Martells.

Rhaena Targaryen sought out and married Androw Farman. And was in love with his sister. 

Viserys married Alicent and could have married Laena (even though she was closer to him familialy/by blood)

Aegon V x Betha Blackwood

Maekaer I x Dyana Dayne

Rhaegar x Elia // Lyanna

Rhaelle x Ormund Baratheon (she was his blood grandma)

Rhaenys x Corlys Velaryon

Aegon III x Daenaera Velaryon

Elaena x Ossifer Plumm // Lord Ronnel Penrose // Michael Manwoody

Daemon Blackfyre x Rohanne Tyrosh

Daenerys [II] x Maron Martell

Daeron II x Mariah Martell

Baelor (Prince) x Jena Dondarrion

Aerys I x Aelinor Penrose

Rhaegel x Alys Arryn

Valarr x Kiera of Tyrosh

Duncan (sandy blonde one) x Kiera of Tyrosh

Duncan x Jenny of Oldstones

Prince Daeron, the gay one x Jeremy Norridge

E) EDIT #2:

It's crazy that you say that the Hightowers and Westerosi nobles are all "natives" anon, because it reminds me of how white U.S. Protestant nativists of the 19th century who wanted to eradicate and oust the Italian (because they were Catholic...) Chinese, South East Asian, etc. immigrants based on this idea that these immigrants were the outsiders.

And that they, the white Protestants, were the natives, the ones being encroached on.

As if their Puritan, Pilgrim, and enslaving ancestors did not kill and eradicate thousands of indigenous tribes for resources, on the belief that the American continents was their "promised land", or just for money.

Care to explain how you seem intent on playing yourself, anon?

F) EDIT #3:

And another Targ Queen, Visenya Targayren, created the Kinsguard. The very institution that allows Criston Cole’s prescence, who is a prime Green.

Visenya modeled the vows of the Kingsguard upon the vows of the Night's Watch, and she selected the first seven members herself.

While she helped her own son Maegor to depose and usurp Aenys I’ son, Aegon the Uncrowned, she still is responsible for creating a Westerosi institution that many young men and boys dream of being a part of. To be the prime ideal knight.

The Kingsguard was also an institution that introduced an element of meritocracy into the Westerosi monarchy/patriarchy while emphasizing unity.

And again, like Rhaenys with the rule of six, Visenya modelled the Kingsguard after a Westerosi institution...

[horizon-verizon]

The thing is if the showrunners want to make the characters sympathetic grey and complex, they can do it without all of these accidents and misunderstanding . While writing stories I can understand that some *minor*events can happen by accidents but not all of the big and important events that will effect the plot , if that's happened then it's sheer incompetency from the writer's side. As if they're unable to create real conflict between characters that will behave according to their motivations and goals and whatever reasons that the writer has given them. If jaime killed Aerys by accident every thing will happen the same , however Jaime's character will absolutely get butchered , everything about the fall of kingslanding ,Aerys descending to madness , Jaime's internal conflict between keeping his vows or save the people. All of that will fall flat, will become cheap and meaningless.

I'm afraid that the showrunners don't really understand what a grey character means, and if they continue to make everything happening because of accidents , this will kill the show entirely.

I agree that in general this making everything an accident kills conflict and that the writers don't know who or what a grey character is.

Except that I honestly think this show is already holpless. The beginning of a story, in this case first episode and first season, sets us up for the rest and ever since Rhaenicient and the accidents were written, the story about patriarchy against a female heir and misogyny turned into "who is the sorrier person" contest. Thus we totally lost a lot of character development and many think that Aemond, Aegon (II), and Alicent are all morally redeemable or innocuous, even righteous, enabling people into feeling their hatred and "ideas" about Rhaenyra are valid and not misogynist. Which defeats the entire point of this story.

The conflict is gone because it was ignored in the very first episode for marketability and flexing muscles. The purpose here is not to create a good story, but a marketable one. We live in a time where people want to feel validated before knowing the truth, where "everything" is subjective and nothing can be analyzed for facts, that facts are untrustworthy. Seeing a bunch of pretty victims complain about how they followed the rules and didn't get rewarded for it appeals to them because it makes it easier for them to use them against arguments of moral failings and inner weakness.