#the way eve just plays rhaenys is perfection

[queenwhoneverwasx]

‘Whether it’s to my daughter or to someone else’s, your father will remarry sooner than late. His new wife will produce new heirs, and chances are better than not that one those will be male and when that boy comes of age and your father has passed, the men of the realm will expect him to be heir, not you. Because that is the order of things.’- Princess Rhaenys Targaryen

Credit for screencaps

[backjustforberena]

Someone commented on the HBOMax tiktok of chaos eve and steve ‘Barbecue Dad x Wine Mom’ and now I’m screaming at the idea of a modern au Rhaenys and Corlys hosting an annual Velaryon Barbecue and it’s the highlight of everyone’s social calendars because you know they would absolutely NAIL IT

YES! You just know that they’re great at throwing an event together. Also Rhaenys and Corlys as Barbecue Dad x Wine Mom is great even though I don’t really understand the connotations other than the literal ones! An annual Velaryon Barbeque would be ace, especially if it were tied up with some sort of games on the beach or a boat race of some sort! A proper summer event. And Corlys in a novelty apron, obviously.

Modern AU or no. I have it in my head that Rhaenys, especially, is the perfect hostess. I mean, just in the show, we kind of get that impression as she’s excellent at anticipating needs and figuring out agendas. She was so welcoming to Viserys when he came for a visit. There’s a pile of food and wine that I’m sure is her doing, as it’s not there later after Viserys is gone and she makes a straight bee-line for it in that scene and isn’t surprised it’s there, so I can imagine she got word the King was coming, ordered the servants to put together a spread whilst her husband got himself washed and prepped for his little power move, and she took the time to go and have a dragon ride and be back in time to greet her cousin. She’s also the one to go ahead and sort their rooms and is the one to tell Corlys what the plan is afterwards, so she totally takes charge.

And Driftmark, essentially, is their kingdom. It’s designed that way, according to the production designer, so Rhaenys is Queen. And you betcha she learnt at the feet of the master (aka Alysanne) how to charm and flatter. High Tide is her castle, it’s the only one she ever had the chance of running and ruling and she now knows it like the back of her hand. She’s run it both as second to her husband, and as some form of regent when he’s away. And it would have it’s fair share of visitors: the Velaryons are powerful, not only in Westeros, but in the Free Cities as Corlys essentially controls a lot of the Narrow Sea, certainly in terms of trade and shipping lanes, and would have made contacts throughout his voyages. No doubt they get a lot of wealthy merchants and minor lords and relatives and businessmen coming and visiting and all of that.

And they must have an AWESOME looking Great Hall. Because they don’t dance or eat in the Hall of Nine and that room is stunning. So there must be some other room that can fit loads of guests and food, for events such as feasts and festivals. I like to think Corlys threw a celebration when he came back home to Driftmark with his new bride: so separate from the actual wedding and wedding feasts that occurred in King’s Landing or Dragonstone. Something just for the island, to welcome it’s new Lady. He does the same when he announces Rhaenys is expecting. Or has given birth. Or it’s someone’s birthday. Basically, the dude is rich and a slight show-off, so any excuse.

One of my favourite things to imagine is Corlys showing some star-struck wealthy man around the Hall of Nine for the first time, explaining his voyages or telling the story of one of the artefacts, and Rhaenys is there and she KNOWS that Corlys has embellished the story, just to sound even more mighty/impressive. Corlys doesn’t need to do that (because the original story/truth is cool enough), but it’s because he CAN and it amuses Rhaenys, who knows all the stories off by heart, so they’re basically just ever so slightly mocking this guy because he hasn’t a CLUE. It’s a power play.

[deesdressup]

TV Vs. Book - Which do you prefer?

- Rhaenyra Targaryen I really like Rhaenyra’s TV clothes, especially the “older” Rhaenyra’s. I think the later outfits in particular have a really good Targaryen feel to them. I know some people had a problem with the quality of the earlier dresses and I kinda see that in some of them (especially in relation to the show’s other costumes) but I think the simplicity in her clothing shows her personality well in the sense that she’s very focused on her role and the politics of the realm and not on frivolous things like fashion and shiny things. The book wiki says that she was often seen wearing velvet, silks, and jewels but I don’t think that would fit with the Show’s version of the character (which Milly Alcock and Emma D’arcy play beautifully I genuinely wouldn’t have her cast any other way). I will say though... they need to up their wig game or at least give the poor girl some root booster and a trim for spilt ends...

- Alicent Hightower I think TV Alicent’s clothing is awesome. They went a little heavy on the green but I think her outfits, especially once she became queen, look brilliant. Very regal and yet modest, perfect for a young women who’s been used as a pawn in a game of politics. My criticism would be that, apart from some of the later outfits in the show, there’s very few consistencies in the styles of dresses. Cersei’s dresses all had a certain feel to them and had a particular style that evolved over the series that also influenced other women’s fashion at court. Alicent’s, while they looked good, were never very realistic in that there’s no centralised style. 

- Laena Velaryon I mean, what’s there to say? I love Laena’s look in the show. I think her hair is beautiful, her dresses are sleek and luxurious but not over the top or ridiculously impractical fro a dragon-rider. I love the blues used for her outfits in reference to her house’s sigil and how the tensions in the family haven’t progressed far enough yet to have a proper black/green divide, leaving more room for different colours. My main problem is that we just didn’t get to see many outfits or more elaborate hairstyles.

- Rhaenys Targaryen Getting to see Rhaenys come to life thanks to Eve Best was amzing! I’ve always loved the character and was so excited to see her in live action. I think her costumes are brilliant and perfectly fitting for the badass princess. However... Rhaenys is half Baratheon, and what is the tell-tale characteristic of the Baratheon house? Dark hair! Famously so! So much so that it was the tip-off that Ned Stark needed to figure out Jaime and Cersei’s secret! The book wiki says that when she was younger she had very dark hair and as she got older it had light grey streaks in it. I think it would’ve been a perfect visual representation of her slight distance from the Targaryen family that was strengthened when Viserys was chosen as heir over her. It would’ve looked awesome and would accentuate her more serious side. 

- Baela Targaryen I... hmm... ok. So. I think that Velaryons (and Velaryon/Targaryens) designs are brilliant and you can see above how much I like Laena and Rhaenys’. But Baela’s is so boring! I’m sorry! I get that she’s not even in it that much so it’s not like she got much time to shine in general but what happened?! Did they just recycle Laena’s wig but put even less effort into styling it? Why are her dresses so plain and yet somehow still too soft and girly (which isn’t inherently wrong, just wrong for the character)? I think it’s worse because we know how cool Book!Rhaena is. I’m really hoping this is a case of “season 1 not really having found the characters’ personal styles yet” and please can we have short haired Rhaena in season 2?! PLEASE!!

- Rhaena Targaryen Pretty much the same with Baela but at least she has a unique hairstyle. We don’t generally see that much of the twins in series 1 so I’m hoping they both get more screen time (and in addition more outfits) in series 2. I’m really (apprehensively) excited to see Rhaena and Baela’s next-series costumes and I think Rhaena has the potential to have some gorgeous outfits that a slightly more practical Baela wouldn’t go for.

- Helaena Targaryen Really not much to say for Helaena as we don’t get to see that much of her in general (which is a crime because WEIRD GIRL SUPREMACY) but from what we see, her outfits suit her really well. They’re sweet and understated but also proper for a princess and Queen consort. This isn’t just criticism for Helaena and more for all the characters in general but I’d love to see some Michele Clapton and Michele Carragher embroidery like in GoT. The Dornish clothing and Cersei’s dresses in the original series are just so special and I feel as if we haven’t quite seen that level of detail in HoTD yet.

- Mysaria Yeah, Mysaria’s TV design is amazing. I love her all-white dresses and the shimmering, almost glowing silver velvets she wears. So luxurious! Perfect for a Lysian women. I like the use of white (or light fabrics) as a nod to her nickname “The White Wyrm” instead of it being because of her pale skin and hair, which we already have a lot of. I don’t know how often she’ll appear from now on in the show but I hope for her outfits to just keeping getting more opulent.