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"Why did Rhaegar leave a whole THREE Kingsguards with Lyanna? Why did he leave Jaime, A CHILD, to PROTECT his family? Why wasn't Arthur, a DORNISH man, with Elia?"

These or other individual questions about the Kingsguards during the Rebellion era keep coming up every now and then. Usually, it concerns questioning Rhaegar's motivations, sometimes even Jaime's morality or culpability, as well as the morality of said Kingsguards.

But I was having a conversation with some fans and it comes down to the same issue: no one considers the Targaryen politics at the time, and fragment these circumstances in shallow bits and pieces, naturally, coming down to "there's no good explanation for this!"

Everyone hates that these two Targaryen men have genuine character complexity, especially in rapport with eachother: Rhaegar and Aerys.

Let's go over the Kingsguard at the end of Aerys' reign, and actually consider allegiance and what the mean, and how those would actually easily explain a lot-

Jon Darry, Darry cousin: unclear loyalty, when it comes down to the Aerys-Rhaegar conflict. Darrys are without a doubt Targaryen men, but we don't know if and who they would choose. Darrys are most of all connected with Viserys and Rhaella, who are very sheltered from the rest of the world all the same. Darrys might have been sideline in the Aerys-Rhaegar conflict by such default then, and eventually Jon would be sent to the Trident anyway. But then again, unquestionable loyalty to House Targaryen sounds like a traditionalist approach.

Arthur Dayne: Rhaegar's man without a doubt. His oldest and closest friend.

Oswell Whent: Rhaegar's man. He's with him at the Tower and rumours are his family conspired alongside him to get the Lords at Harrenhal to stage Aerys' usurpation.

Gerold Hightower, Comander: King's (Aerys') man. The scene at the King's doors is often brought up in discussions about the ethics of the KG. But it actually also unveils a key political information within the Aerys-Rhaegar factions. Whether it's a matter of adhering to the status quo only, or personal allegiance to Aerys as well, the message is clear: even when it's between two royals, it's the King he will stand by, no matter what, even when he's not in the right (and if his son tries to usurp him, then technically he is).

Barristan Selmy: Barristan undergoes a character development during the main series in which he finally questions unquestionable allegiance to a King no matter their morality. A past Barristan, however, would then resemble a Ser Gerold, and be in the King's (Aerys) service before anything by virtue of duty. Notably, he would later reflect that Rhaegar did not find him fit to be in his confidence, and these expectations are probably why.

Lewyn Martell: Easily Elia's and Rhaegar's man, and Dornish. Noted as being in his confidence.

Jaime Lannister: One that causes a lot of controversy. A lot of back and forth discussion as to what expectations Rhaegar had of Jaime (and whether Jaime himself fulfilled them). The answer can actually be seen easily by:

1. Looking at it with the awareness that there was a faction divide existed in the KG in between Aerys and Rhaegar, as it was building up to a conflict and hence-

2. Reading their last conversation with that in mind

The day had been windy when he said farewell to Rhaegar, in the yard of the Red Keep. The prince had donned his night-black armor, with the three-headed dragon picked out in rubies on his breastplate. “Your Grace,” Jaime had pleaded, “let Darry stay to guard the king this once, or Ser Barristan. Their cloaks are as white as mine."

Prince Rhaegar shook his head. “My royal sire fears your father more than he does our cousin Robert. He wants you close, so Lord Tywin cannot harm him. I dare not take that crutch away from him at such an hour.”

Jaime’s anger had risen up in his throat. “I am not a crutch. I am a knight of the Kingsguard.”

“Then guard the king,” Ser Jon Darry snapped at him. “When you donned that cloak, you promised to obey.”

Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime’s shoulder. “When this battle’s done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but … well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return.”

For one, Jaime is the last KG left in King's Landing, and one to be kept close to Aerys himself. And Rhaegar is taking him into his confidence before he leaves - he is pretty much talking treason, hinting at usurpation upon his return.

Why did he leave Jaime, A CHILD, to PROTECT his family?

First of all, he doesn't leave Jaime himself in that post. As seen above, Aerys calls the shots. We know from the Ice and Fire "history book" that he sent Lewyn away from Elia as well for being Dornish (while before he was stationed with her and the kids on Dragonstone in Rhaegar's absence) and he commands Jaime to stay. As it appears, he also sends Darry and Selmy with him (with Selmy being a traditionalist at the time, it may even be to keep an eye on Rhaegar).

Rhaegar doesn't have a choice of whom to ask to look out for Elia and the children, no matter which KG would've been in town. He makes that clear. And as to expectations he has of the only one left and whom he can have a word with, while Jaime is, yes, by all means considered a grown man in their society AND a capable soldier who's well trained and already been in combat, he's not asking for Jaime to stand between his family and an army or anything.

There's not meant to be an army. That's meant to be Rhaegar's job to prevent. He's going out to battle. He's meant to give Robert a honorable single combat, prove himself as strong and fair - unlike the mockery of a "trial by combat" Aerys gave Rickard. Hence prove himself unlike his father first of all, probably give his explanations about Lyanna, and also make it clear he's against Aerys' actions and wanting to give the justice by deposing him.

No, Rhaegar isn't irresponsible, dumping that burden on younger Jaime. He does the responsible thing of taking all that upon himself. What does he expect of Jaime? As read above, he does not put Jaime in the mindset of a fighting machine that's supposed to save his family from anything unrealistic. He puts him in the mindset of someone who would be his man and oppose Aerys when the time comes - he's meant to be the one threat to his family when the chips fall down and he is taking the throne.

Whatever reading Rhaegar did of Jaime, he thought he could say those words to him (that would've been dangerous if he were wrong), that Jaime would have it in him to turn against Aerys (again not some ridiculous expectation - a frail man). And Rhaegar is clearly not dumb. He was right in his perception, wasn't he? (Is this where Jon Snow gets his amazing perceptive skills - "little his eyes do not see").

Why wasn't Arthur, a DORNISH man, with Elia?

Why would he be allowed to? We've already established Aerys calls the shots. And among them there's one KG specifically being sent away because he's Dornish and hence loyal to Elia (and Rhaegar). If Lewyn couldn't be there, why would Arthur?

Why did Rhaegar leave a whole THREE Kingsguards with Lyanna?

That is something I couldn't understand for a long time, too. Not only the specific number, but the fact that clearly Rhaegar can't just do whatever he wants with the Kingsguard. Why was this allowed?

It doesn't make sense until you go back to the Aerys-Rhaegar allegiance divide above. The three are Gerold (most loyal Aerys appears to have) and Arthur and Oswell (most loyal Rhaegar appears to have).

Gerold came from King's Landing to take Rhaegar. Oswell and Arthur would have already been with him. Either-

1. Gerold was sent with the order to stay behind with Lyanna. Aerys already took hold of Elia and the kids to control Dorne (and Rhaegar) and would have her in the hands of his most obedient man, too. Rhaegar cannot let that happen, as he plans to turn against Aerys while he's away. If he can't send Gerold away, he makes the compromise of leaving two of his own. One only would have been uncertain odds, but if Gerold eventually acts up when things unravel, he's outnumbered. Arthur and Oswell can do what they have to do and they are in an isolated location and can lie about it later to protect their honor.

2. Gerold wasn't meant to stay behind. But since Rhaegar is decided to depose Aerys, removing him from Aerys is an opportunity. Aerys/Gerold can be lured with the illusion of having a hold on Lyanna. Rhaegar had to leave someone (trustworthy) with her regardless but compromises his own numbers for the same reasoning above, if it means removing a barrier from between him and Aerys. Aerys would be blindsided in allowing in from that same perspective: Rhaegar is made to leave crucial allies behind.

[valaenarhaegarovna]

does the rhaelya discord server still exist? i miss them 🥲

I'm so sorry for the late reply! I haven't checked this blog in ages... I'm not in a asoiaf mood these days. The server still exists, yes! It's in some sort of hiatus now since the hotd season ended, but we show up in there from time to time to chat.

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I haven’t been on here for quite a while and now the first thing I post here is that I want to take down “I was the first” and “Neither Gods nor Men” because I feel like a rewrite+only posting when it’s finished is the write approach here.

I don’t like when I take too long to update, it makes me feel very anxious but writing has been so slow recently fr

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Nymeria’s Conquest vs. Aegon’s Conquest: Part 1

Going through Tumblr as I often do, I came across this really interesting post made by who I assume is a Martell fan. Explaining why they think Nymeria’s Conquest was morally superior to that of Aegon’s.

Suffice to say I found most of the reasons given and informations presented both lacking and at times incorrect. So here’s the first part of my debunking of it, focusing on the reasons they listed as to why Nymeria’s Conquest is a morally righteous one, while on part two I will break down the reasons why they think Aegon’s wasn’t.

Well true enough, the same of course can be said about the Targaryens who came to dragonstone because Valyria was at the brink of apocalypse at a time where Westeros was in fact in conflict, because they almost always were before aegon’s conquest.

Well *Dakota Johnson voice* that’s not true.

Such supremacy was easier to declare than to achieve, however. Years of war followed, as the Martells and their Rhoynar partners met and subdued one petty king after another. No fewer than six conquered kings were sent to the Wall in golden fetters by Nymeria and her prince, until only the greatest of their foes remained: Yorick Yronwood, the Bloodroyal, Fifth of His Name, Lord of Yronwood, Warden of the Stone Way, Knight of the Wells, King of Redmarch, King of the Greenbelt, and King of the Dornish.

For nine years Mors Martell and his allies (amongst them House Fowler of Skyreach, House Toland of Ghost Hill, House Dayne of Starfall, and House Uller of the Hellholt) struggled against Yronwood and his bannermen (the Jordaynes of the Tor, the Wyls of the Stone Way, together with the Blackmonts, the Qorgyles, and many more), in battles too numerous to mention. When Mors Martell fell to Yorick Yronwood's sword in the Third Battle of the Boneway, Princess Nymeria assumed sole command of his armies. Two more years of battle were required, but in the end it was Nymeria that Yorick Yronwood bent the knee to, and Nymeria who ruled thereafter from Sunspear.

Though she married twice more (first to the aged Lord Uller of Hellholt, and later to the dashing Ser Davos Dayne of Starfall, the Sword of the Morning), Nymeria herself remained the unquestioned ruler of Dorne for almost twenty seven years, her husbands serving only as counselors and consorts. She survived a dozen attempts upon her life, put down two rebellions, and threw back two invasions by the Storm King Durran the Third and one by King Greydon of the Reach. - The World of Ice and Fire - Ancient History: Ten Thousand Ships

Seen here, Nymeria’s conquest takes eleven years to be completed, and afterwards she puts down two rebellions against her and her reign and survives a dozen attempts on her life, so there were insurrections against her and undoubtedly against her descendants though sadly very little of Dornish history is written compared to the extensive look at the Targaryen history Fire and Blood offers.

I am a little confused on which war Aegon started after the Conquest, I am assuming they mean the Dornish War. But well that was a part of the Conquest? After all did Nymeria put down her sword until the Yronwoods were conquered, did she settle down until they were subdued? No she didn’t, even if it took her eleven years, because her conquest too was incomplete. But I suppose it’s only a crime when Targaryens do it.

Also I don’t what the idea that Martells didn’t start any wars after their conquest is based upon. Even with what little we know about their history, we know that they did indeed start wars with other Kingdoms.

Yup that she most certainly did. Though I am not entirely sure how this is a reason why Nymeria’s Conquest is more morally righteous than that of Aegon. Aegon turned down the offers to marry Sharra Arryn and Argella Durrandon not because he was unwilling to make alliances (which he did make moving further into his Conquest) because well he was already married. Not to one but two women at that. Instead he offered to marry Argella to his right hand, which Argilac responded with maiming Aegon’s envoy and sending his hands back to him, and married his son Maegor to the daughter of Lord Hightower.

His High Holiness proposed a different bride for Maegor: his own niece, Ceryse Hightower, maiden daughter to the Lord of Oldtown, Manfred Hightower (not to be confused with his grandsire of the same name). King Aegon, mindful of the advantages of closer ties with Oldtown and its ruling house, saw wisdom in the choice and agreed to the match. -The Sons of the Dragon, Fire and Blood

Again absolutely correct, instead she waged war for eleven years, which is clearly better than four battles that the dragons were involved in.

Yes she did! Nymeria is a great woman. But oh my I must have missed the part where Aegon and his sisters committed genocide and destroyed cultures and forced the people of Westeros to worship the Valyrian gods instead of switching to the Faith themselves. In fact going as far as to get married under the Faith of the Seven and get crowned by the High Septon.

Suffice to say this is another thing that’s factually incorrect. So here is what’s written about Aegon and his sisters and how they approached the Westerosi culture:

The reconciliation of the Seven Kingdoms to Targaryen rule was the keystone of Aegon I’s policies as king. To this end, he made great efforts to include men (and even a few women) from every part of the realm in his court and councils. His former foes were encouraged to send their children (chiefly younger sons and daughters, as most great lords desired to keep their heirs close to home) to court, where the boys served as pages, cupbearers, and squires, the girls as handmaidens and companions to Aegon’s queens. In King’s Landing, they witnessed the king’s justice at first hand, and were urged to think of themselves as leal subjects of one great realm, not as westermen or stormlanders or northmen. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

So Aegon’s chief goal is to unite the Realm that has been divided for thousands of years. He makes great effort to include men and women from all regions of Westeros in his council. He makes peace with his former foes. What a terrible, terrible man.

The Targaryens also brokered many marriages between noble houses from the far ends of the realm, in hopes that such alliances would help tie the conquered lands together and make the seven kingdoms one. Aegon’s queens, Visenya and Rhaenys, took a special delight in arranging these matches. Through their efforts, young Ronnel Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, took a daughter of Torrhen Stark of Winterfell to wed, whilst Loren Lannister’s eldest son, heir to Casterly Rock, married a Redwyne girl from the Arbor. When three girls, triplets, were born to the Evenstar of Tarth, Queen Rhaenys arranged betrothals for them with House Corbray, House Hightower, and House Harlaw. Queen Visenya brokered a double wedding between House Blackwood and House Bracken, rivals whose history of enmity went back centuries, matching a son of each house with a daughter of the other to seal a peace between them. And when a Rowan girl in Rhaenys’s service found herself with child by a scullion, the queen found a knight to marry her in White Harbor, and another in Lannisport who was willing to take on her bastard as a fosterling. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

Again we are told the chief goal of the Conquerors is to make peace and knit the realm together, to overcome their differences and become one strong kingdom. And to achieve that they encourage marriages across the country, arranging matches themselves, focusing specifically on the houses such as Blackwoods and Brackens that have had a long running enmity between them. Precisely the very same thing the op praised Nymeria for.

The other half [of his time] he devoted to an endless royal progress, taking his court from one castle to another, guesting with each of his great lords in turn. Gulltown and the Eyrie, Harrenhal, Riverrun, Lannisport and Casterly Rock, Crakehall, Old Oak, Highgarden, Oldtown, the Arbor, Horn Hill, Ashford, Storm’s End, and Evenfall Hall had the honor of hosting His Grace many times, but Aegon could and would turn up almost anywhere, sometimes with as many as a thousand knights and lords and ladies in his train. He journeyed thrice to the Iron Islands (twice to Pyke and once to Great Wyk), spent a fortnight at Sisterton in 19 AC, and visited the North six times, holding court thrice in White Harbor, twice at Barrowton, and once at Winterfell on his very last royal progress in 33 AC. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

“It is better to forestall rebellions than to put them down,” Aegon famously said, when asked the reason for his journeys. A glimpse of the king in all his power, mounted on Balerion the Black Dread and attended by hundreds of knights glittering in silk and steel, did much to instill loyalty in restless lords. The smallfolk needed to see their kings and queens from time to time as well, the king added, and know that they might have the chance to lay their grievances and concerns before him. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

Aegon’s at it with his genocide again! How despicable it is of him to travel across the Realm, turning up anywhere and everywhere, taking counsel with his lords, holding the court to hear his people’s problems. And just you wait, it gets worse!

And so they did. Much of every royal progress was given over to feasts and balls and hunts and hawking, as every lord attempted to outdo the others in splendor and hospitality, but Aegon also made a point of holding court wherever he might travel, whether from a dais in some great lord’s castle or a mossy stone in a farmer’s field. Six maesters traveled with him, to answer any questions he might have on local law, customs, and history, and to make note of such decrees and judgments as His Grace might hand down. A lord should know the land he rules, the Conqueror later told his son Aenys, and through his travels Aegon learned much and more about the Seven Kingdoms and its peoples. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

Aegon made a point of holding the court wherever he might, even in a farmer’s field. Aegon made a point of having at least six maesters around him at all times to inform and correct him where his own knowledge falls short on Westeros’ laws, customs and history. Aegon made a point of telling his son and heir that a lord should know the land that he rules and indeed learned much of Westeros himself through his travels.

Each of the conquered kingdoms had its own laws and traditions. King Aegon did little to interfere with those. He allowed his lords to continue to rule much as they always had, with all the same powers and prerogatives. The laws of inheritance and succession remained unchanged, the existing feudal structures were confirmed, lords both great and small retained the power of pit and gallows on their own land, and the privilege of the first night wherever that custom had formerly prevailed. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

To honor the Seven, Aegon decreed that the city would have seven gates, each defended by a massive gatehouse and defensive towers. Work on the walls began the next year and continued until 26 AC. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

Grand Maester Gawen was the third in that office. Aegon Targaryen had always kept a maester on Dragonstone, as his father and father’s father had before him. All the great lords of Westeros, and many lesser lords and landed knights, relied upon maesters trained in the Citadel of Oldtown to serve their households as healers, scribes, and counselors, to breed and train the ravens who carried their messages (and write and read those messages for lords who lacked those skills), help their stewards with the household accounts, and teach their children. During the Conquest, Aegon and his sisters each had a maester serving them, and afterward the king sometimes employed as many as half a dozen to deal with all the matters brought before him. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

But the wisest and most learned men in the Seven Kingdoms were the archmaesters of the Citadel, each of them the supreme authority in one of the great disciplines. In 5 AC, King Aegon, feeling that the realm might benefit from such wisdom, asked the Conclave to send him one of their own number to advise and consult with him on all matters relating to the governance of the realm. Thus was the office of Grand Maester created, at King Aegon’s request. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

The institution of the king’s small council did not come into its full bloom until the reign of King Jaehaerys the Conciliator, but that is not to suggest that Aegon I ruled without the benefit of counsel. He is known to have consulted often with his various Grand Maesters, and his own household maesters as well. On matters relating to taxation, debts, and incomes, he sought the advice of his masters of coin. Though he kept one septon at King’s Landing and another at Dragonstone, the king more oft wrote to the High Septon of Oldtown on religious issues, and always made a point of visiting the Starry Sept during his yearly circuit. More than any of these, King Aegon relied upon the King’s Hand, and of course upon his sisters, the Queens Rhaenys and Visenya. -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

Queen Rhaenys consulted with her maesters and septons, then rendered her decision. An adulterous wife gave offense to the Seven, who had created women to be faithful and obedient to their husbands, and therefore must be chastised. As god has but seven faces, however, the punishment should consist of only six blows (for the seventh blow would be for the Stranger, and the Stranger is the face of death). Thus the first six blows the man had struck had been lawful...but the remaining ninety-four had been an offense against gods and men, and must be punished in kind. From that day forth, the “rule of six” became a part of the common law, along with the “rule of thumb.” -Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I, Fire and Blood

Familiarity is the father of acceptance, it is said. The High Septon who had crowned Aegon the Conqueror remained the Shepherd of the Faithful until his death in 11 AC, by which time the realm had grown accustomed to the notion of a king with two queens, who were both wives and sisters. King Aegon always took care to honor the Faith, confirming its traditional rights and privileges, exempting its wealth and property from taxation, and affirming that septons, septas, and other servants of the Seven accused of wrongdoing could only be tried by the Faith’s own courts. -The Sons of the Dragon, Fire and Blood

The destroyer of cultures and religions ladies and gentlemen.

An actually fair point though an oversimplification of the Dornish War in my humble opinion. Not to mention that it can also be said that Targaryens did much to help Westeros when it comes to wealth and trade and food as well, and on a larger scale at that.

With fewer men marching off to war, more remained to work the land. Grain prices fell steadily throughout his reign, as more acres came under the plough. Fish became notably cheaper, even for common men, as the fishing villages along the coasts grew more prosperous and more boats put to sea. New orchards were planted everywhere from the Reach to the Neck. Lamb and mutton became more plentiful and wool finer as shepherds increased the size of their flocks. Trade increased tenfold, despite the vicissitudes of wind, weather, and wars and the disruptions they caused from time to time. The crafts flourished as well; farriers and blacksmiths, stonemasons, carpenters, millers, tanners, weavers, felters, dyers, brewers, vintners, goldsmiths and silversmiths, bakers, butchers, and cheesemakers all enjoyed a prosperity hitherto unknown west of the narrow sea. -Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies, Fire and Blood

Well that is correct, though I don’t see the relevance to our topic of discussion.

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ROSES AND RUBIES #SECRETSANTA

for @valaenarhaegarovna , part 3/3

YOU CHOSE: RHAELYA - POP MUSIC (mostly!)

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ROSES AND RUBIES #SECRETSANTA

“Viserys was Mad Aerys’s son, just so. Daenerys … Daenerys is quite different.” He popped a roasted lark into his mouth and crunched it noisily, bones and all. “The frightened child who sheltered in my manse died on the Dothraki sea, and was reborn in blood and fire. This dragon queen who wears her name is a true Targaryen.”

FOR @valaenarhaegarovna, part 1/3

YOU CHOSE: DAENERYS - YELLOW

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I was only recently reactivated I hope I'm not late for the hivemind meeting

your ugly and short and sheep rhaelia fuk your beach

shit forgot to turn off anon before sending myself hate oops

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OMG LOOK AT IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I love it so much Ramona 🥰🥰🥰🥰😩😩❤️❤️❤️🌹(pretend the rose is blue)

ROSES AND RUBIES #SECRETSANTA

I was thinking ‘bout her, thinking 'bout me Thinking 'bout us, where we gon’ be? Opened my eyes, yeah It was only just a dream I realize, yeah It was only just a dream

for @valaenarhaegarovna, part 2/3

YOU CHOSE: RHAELYA - LIGHT BLUE - POP MUSIC

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We are extremely happy to announce that the prompts we and @asoiafdaenerysdaily used for Dany month 2021 are now turned into a special CANON DAENERYS CHALLENGE! It means that everyone will be free to post their own book Dany edits, artworks, metas, etc. in a form of a meme/challenge without any restrictions: you can post them anytime you want as much as you want. One prompt can be used multiple times and there is no special order. Please, make sure to use the #CANONDANY tag so we can find and reblog your works!

You can find the updated version of the prompts under the cut:

Continuar lendo

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Neither Gods nor Men

[Read Chapter 4 on Ao3]

[Read from the start]

Catelyn II - Valaena I

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Aegon/Valaena, Eddard/Catelyn, a bunch of platonic relationships.

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lyanna stark and the parallels she shares with some of the targaryen women

Visenya: wielding a sword.

Visenya, eldest of the three siblings, was as much a warrior as Aegon himself, as comfortable in ringmail as in silk. She carried the Valyrian longsword Dark Sister, and was skilled in its use, having trained beside her brother since childhood.

***

Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it.

Rhaenys: touched by music, enjoyed riding (out of all the siblings Rhaenys loved riding her dragons the most; Lyanna is remembered to be a skilled horse rider).

Rhaenys, youngest of the three Targaryens, was all her sister was not: playful, curious, impulsive, given to flights of fancy. No true warrior, Rhaenys loved music, dancing, and poetry, and supported many a singer, mummer, and puppeteer. Yet it was said that Rhaenys spent more time on dragonback than her brother and sister combined, for above all things she loved to fly. She once was heard to say that before she died she meant to fly Meraxes across the Sunset Sea to see what lay upon its western shores.

***

“You ride like a northman, milady,“ Harwin said when he’d drawn them to a halt. ”Your aunt was the same. Lady Lyanna.”

Horses… the boy was mad for horses, Lady Dustin will tell you. Not even Lord Rickard’s daughter could outrace him, and that one was half a horse herself.

He loved to ride. His little sister took after him in that. A pair of centaurs, those two.

Alysanne: protecting the weak (Alysanne supported women, the Night’s Watch and created the laws that helping the smallfolk. Lyanna protected Howland Reed against bullies and avenged him as the Knight of the Laughing Tree).

When the king and his master of coin, Rego Draz, balked at the costs, Alysanne served them a tankard of river water and challenged them to drink it. Instead of drinking the water, the king and his master of coin approved the construction of the fountains, which would become known as “the queen’s fountains”.

After Queen Alysanne heard numerous horror stories by women involving this archaic custom, she persuaded the small council to declare it illegal in 58 AC.

***

None offered a name, but he marked their faces well so he could revenge himself upon them later. They shoved him down every time he tried to rise, and kicked him when he curled up on the ground. But then they heard a roar. ’That’s my father’s man you’re kicking,’ howled the she-wolf.“

When his fallen foes sought to ransom horse and armor, the Knight of the Laughing Tree spoke in a booming voice through his helm, saying, ’Teach your squires honor, that shall be ransom enough.’ Once the defeated knights chastised their squires sharply, their horses and armor were returned. And so the little crannogman’s prayer was answered… by the green men, or the old gods, or the children of the forest, who can say?

Alyssa: pouring wine over their brother’s head, training with a sword (or attempting to).

“That same year, after her brother Vaegon had severely insulted their sister Daella, Alyssa poured a flagon of wine over his head. When Baelon began training Vaegon at arms during the year that followed, Baelon once brought Alyssa to the training yard, dressed in a man’s mail, hoping that having to face a woman would lead to Vaegon making more of an effort. Alyssa, recalling the incident between Vaegon and Daella, mocked Vaegon as she danced around him, humiliating him, whilst Daella watched.”

***

 “Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it”,

Now two children danced across the godswood, hooting at one another as they dueled with broken branches. The girl was the older and taller of the two. Arya! Bran thought eagerly, as he watched her leap up onto a rock and cut at the boy. But that couldn’t be right. If the girl was Arya, the boy was Bran himself, and he had never worn his hair so long. And Arya never beat me playing swords, the way that girl is beating him. She slashed the boy across his thigh, so hard that his leg went out from under him and he fell into the pool and began to splash and shout. “You be quiet, stupid,” the girl said, tossing her own branch aside. “It’s just water. Do you want Old Nan to hear and run tell Father?” She knelt and pulled her brother from the pool, but before she got him out again, the two of them were gone.

“The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle, but when her pup brother teased her for crying she poured wine over his head.”

Daena: ‘beautiful and wilful’ (Daena was also an archer while Lyanna wielded a sword)

“Daena was Targaryen to the bone; strong, beautiful, willful.”

***

“…beautiful, and willful, and dead before her time“

Rhaella: both were crowned as the Queen of Love and Beauty (Rhaella was crowned by the knight whom she fell in love with, Bonifer Hasty. Lyanna was crowned by Rhaella’s son, Prince Rhaegar, after she defeated three squires disguised as the Knight of the Laughing Tree)

“As a girl, though… she was once smitten with a young knight from the stormlands who wore her favor at a tourney and named her queen of love and beauty. A brief thing.”

***

Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty’s laurel in Lyanna’s lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost.

Daenerys: protecting the weak.

“Across the road, the girl was still crying, her high singsong tongue strange to Dany’s ears. The first man was done with her now, and a second had taken his place. […] ’I will not have her harmed,’ Dany said. ‘I claim her. Do as I command you, or Khal Drogo will know the reason why.’”

***

“They shoved him down every time he tried to rise, and kicked him when he curled up on the ground. But then they heard a roar. ‘That’s my father’s man you’re kicking,’ howled the shewolf.”

An edit can be found here.

[valaenarhaegarovna]

rhaelya moodboards → rhaegar’s rubies

Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman’s name… ―  He would die with Lyanna’s name on his lips. (Rhaegar Targaryen entry, WoI&F app)

[valaenarhaegarovna]

rhaelya moodboards → lyanna & ashara in the tower of joy

based on the theory that ashara visited lyanna at the tower of joy during the rebellion

[valaenarhaegarovna]

I need to finish the next chapter of Neither Gods nor Men so I can put Aegon/Val 😸 eating out there

[valaenarhaegarovna]

I take a break from Tumblr to try to write my fics and some of you all become unhinged

[valaenarhaegarovna]

There are literally so many documentaries on youtube about brown women being dragged back "home" across INTERNATIONAL BORDERS and this bitch anon has the AUDACITY to say "just move out"

If you have such a problem with how regressive your family is either convert or move out. Don't project onto literal fictional children because of how sad your life is.

😂😂😂😂😂 Look at them ‘intersectional feminists’ who care SO MUCH about brown women in action! What do you know about our lives, you absolute waste of sperm? What do you know about our struggles? Have you ever received death threats from your deranged male relatives for ‘shaming them’? Have you ever seen your sisters beaten by their arranged husbands and their mothers just because they felt like it? Has any of your aunts died due to neglect from their abusive husbands who didn’t really care about their health? ‘Move out’ what am I, a man? You think I am as privileged as you are to just take all my things and move out without any of my cousins and uncles fulfilling their promises to ‘teach me a lesson and make an obedient meek girl of me’? Help me move out if you care about women of color, you disgusting piece of trash! Use your privileges and speak up for me! Your performative activism doesn’t go further than defending some fictional character’s honor and it makes you feel good about yourself if you pretend that non-existent character is brown. But you show your true colors when you say shit like this to a real woman who goes through real hardships every day. I’ll keep fighting for the right to live my life the way I want to, I’ll become stronger, I’ll keep helping those who need it and you will remain a privileged faux activist who turns away from real people who need your help if they disagree with your on fiction. That’s how ridiculous and sad YOUR life is. I will ‘project’ as much as I want and you can die mad about it because that’s what fiction is for, it is supposed to make you feel relatable to characters and Lyanna’s willfulness help me fight against abuse SO MUCH MORE than someone like you who reblog posts about feminism and racism and being kind and treats real women of color like trash in the same breath - and over what, fiction? Fuck you, honestly fuck you.

[valaenarhaegarovna]

I wonder if they consider me as one of your blogs?

Maybe my ned/elia fic was simply a distraction to my true nature...

the funniest thing about the million blogs allegations is that it’s actually them who have a billion blogs 😭 they’re experts at projecting what they do onto others

I say it again and again but my broken English is pretty recognizable, I’m far from being a native speaker, I don’t use it in real life so you can clearly see all the grammar mistakes and tell the difference between me and the other bloggers. It’s lovely that they consider me their mortal enemy but I’ve been through so much worse that their attempts of trying to make me upset with their highschool bully attitude don’t come anywhere near close real life situations. A bunch of weird people whom I won’t ever meet in my life spreading lies about me talking to myself using anons, other blogs or whatever and acting so disturbing over fandom nonsense is… well, shit, that’s some alternative reality kind of cringe! First world problems, y’all.