puddingdemonlair

[puddingdemonlair]

Swan Queen Nyra 🦢👑 + her bby boys (cygnets lmao) in cameo jewelry

(Jace, Luke, Joff, & Aegon III)

[puddingdemonlair]

Swan Queen Rhaenyra WIP✨️

Inspired by this post on Twitter ⬇️

[puddingdemonlair]

Honestly, I do ship her a bit with Cregan, heh, but when determining her story/lore, I went about it pretty realistically, trying to keep in mind her personality and how she would react to certain events throughout the dance. At the end of it, I felt like dying in a final act of revenge suited her best, as her love for her family and house is much stronger than the premature love towards a man she's betrothed to. She's just such a fiery, loyal, family oriented woman, and would feel completely crushed by the loss of her family, her thirst to avenge them would overpower any other feelings she had. She is consumed by revenge and dies trying to achieve it. Even in an AU where she does survive but all her relatives die, I can't rrly seeing her get married either, she'd be too devastated and broken from the loss of her loved ones, she'd probably become reclusive, akin to Rhaena the Black Bride's later years in life. A happy marriage is only feasible for her in a "Everyone Survives the Dance" AU sadly. T_T

What is Daenyra like during the Dance of Dragons? How does she utilize Syndrax? What is she like when her anger completely shows? Is she ruthless?

Daenyra during the dance is a woman on a blackened path for vengeance, at least in the canon dance and not any AUs. She is both the best and worst parts of her parents; loving, family oriented, protective, loyal, but also temperamental, emotional, vindictive, defiant, and dislikes being slighted. When the dance begins, she is angry and wrothful on behalf of her mother and is very like-minded to her father in that she wants to act immediately. Though, she is akin to her mother in not wanting to shed blood and, initially, only wanted to confront the greens and forcibly bring them to their knees in submission. That rational thinking goes out the window upon Luke's death, and is replaced by an intense thirst for blood, specifically Aemond's. She has a vendetta and its not going away anytime soon, and this plays a part in how her dragon functions during the dance. Syndrax is one of the larger dragons, closer in size to dragons like Vermithor, Silverwing, and Dreamfyre, so he's meant to be huge offensive force for the Blacks. Daenyra's first usage of her dragon during the dance is to fly north to treat with Cregan Stark, while her first battle is Rooks Rest alongside Rhaenys. She takes part in the Battle of the Gullet, and clashes with Aemond throughout the first half of the dance, and is in attendance to her mother reclaiming the Iron Throne. However, the more relatives she loses the more her anger grows, spreading like a dark stain on her conscious. She begins to argue more with her mother, insisting on confronting and eliminating Aemond herself, but Rhaenyra has grown so paranoid after the losses of Visenya, Jace, Luke, and Viserys II, that she is petrified at the thought of losing her eldest child, heir, and sole surviving daughter. Eventually, this leads to Daenyra being constantly monitored by guards upon her mother's command, which only further incenses her rage, as she desires to bring death upon those she perceives as her brother's and grandmother's murderers. Of course, when the opportunity arises, she makes her escape to confront Aemond, hoping to kill him, or Vhagar at the very least. Of course, this path for revenge ultimately leads to tragedy for the princess, and Rhaenyra must bear the weeping despair of losing yet another child.

[puddingdemonlair]

What are the relationships of Daenyra and Syndrax and Haera and Tyraenax? Just like Daenaerys with her dragons and Daemon with Caraxes!

It safe to say that both women have rather strong bonds with their dragons, though their relationships certainly differ. Daenyra doesn't have the sort of bond that comes from a cradle hatching, but her and Syndrax have been together for the vast majority of her life as she claimed him rather young, so he's been a part of her life longer than some of her close human relationships. Their bond is one built upon years of hard work, strong understanding, mutual respect, and a deep desire to protect each other. She feels that her dragon is the only person in her life that she can be truly herself around, and is unafraid to show the uglier parts of her personality around him. In a way, her dragon feels less like a pet to her and more like family, like he's her bloodkin. She's well aware of her dragon's insidious reputation or his aggressive, cannibalistic ways, but neither shames nor fears him. He's a dragon, and she thinks its foolish to deem him monstrous for simply exhibiting draconic tendencies. That doesn't mean she allows him to attack other eggs or dragons, and from the moment she claimed him, has worked on training him with the help of the dragonkeepers and her parents. She's managed to get him to tolerate the presence of larger dragons as long as they stay a respectful distance from him, and he doesn't try to eat smaller ones anymore (such as Vermax, Arrax, Moondancer, etc.), she doesn't trusts him around hatchlings or eggs though T_T. Despite this, she's respectful of her dragon's limits and boundaries, acknowledging that he is a more reactive and solitary dragon then most, and has no desire to shape him into the more standard Targaryen dragon. She loves him just the way he is, with all his grumbling and grouchiness, and gets extremely defensive when people insult or criticize him.

Haera was ten when she claimed Tyraenax, who was a rather young dragon himself, only a couple of years old, so they grew up together. Haera bonded fast and easy with Tyraenax, as despite his brutish name and big, bulky body, he was a gentle, easygoing dragon that preferred naps to violence. Although Tyraenax was the ideal dragon for conquest (he grew very big in a short span of time and had a strong, massive build), he never actually got a chance to be involved in violent warfare of Valyrian conquest, as Haera had only been granted more diplomatic/colony management missions by her father prior to becoming the lady of her house, and she eventually fled to Westeros only a few years after inheriting the position. Of course, on Goldenscale, Tyraenax's life became even lazier, as Haera only flew him for enjoyment and occasional exercise, and as he died before the conquest began, the goliath dragon had never once fought in combat in his entire life. Haera treated her dragon preciously during her lifetime; feeding him well, letting him nap under the warm southern sunshine, and taking him on flights above the cool summer seas. When outsiders tried to make treaty with her and ask for her dragons aid for their own battles/wars, she always declined, having no interest in involving herself or her dragon in violence and warfare, that had never been her thing to begin with. As a result of Haera's kind treatment, Tyraenax developed a close bond and attachment to her, and after her death, seemed to gravitate towards claimants that were akin to her in demeanor, his later riders all being similar personality wise to their ancestor Haera.

[puddingdemonlair]

🌊Valaena Velaryon, the Sea's Daughter🌊

My Velaryon OC Valaena, she's my Blackfyre boy Viseryn's betrothed n cousin. She is the bright n bold extrovert to his dark n gloomy introvert. He acts like she annoys him, but he genuinely cares for her underneath all his brooding and irritation. Valaena adores him, n adores messing with him even more lmao. She's obsessed with his dragon as well, always insisting on going out for flights, much to Viseryn's exasperation.

[puddingdemonlair]

What does Viseryn’s fiancée, Valaena look like?

Valaena looks like this!✨️

She's Viseryn's cousin via her mother, who is one of Aegon IV's legitimized bastards (aka she's Visenya’s half sister). Her mother is actually the OC of my friend @applinjam. Her grandmother, Aegon IV's mistress, is a lady of house Manderly, making Valaena a mix of Targaryen, Velaryon, and Manderly.

[puddingdemonlair]

Can you tell us a bit more about Saerea please?

Sure! - Saerea's house rarely ever interacted with the Targaryens who lived across the continent from the them. Her father however, Aekar, was a jovial, friendly man who frequently held feasts, banquets and festivals on Goldenscale, making him quite popular amongst his smallfolk and vassals (hence the "Joyful Dragon" title). Of course, he extend invitations to the Targaryens as well, believing there to be no harm in fostering good relations with their fellow dragonlord neighbors. As a result, Saerea did interact with the Targaryens a few times as a child, but as soon as she became Lady of Goldenscale after her father's passing, she put an end to the frequent merriment and cut contact with the Targaryens. The two houses remained out of contact until the Conquest. - When Saerea became lady of her house, her vassals began pressuring her to marry and produce an heir, as they felt her heir apparent, her cousin Aenerys, wasn't fit for the role. Her council of vassals were split on her choice of suitors; one half, including house Agnaris itself, believed she should wed an Agnaris son, as her great grandmother had. The other half, argued she should wed her uncle, Daegor, instead. However, she had her concerns; an Agnaris son would have Valyrian blood, but the lord Agnaris at the time was horribly ambitious, and she worried that wedding one of his sons would create a power struggle. As for her uncle, Daegor wasn't all that much older than her (by medieval standards that is T_T), being seven years older than her. He would've given her pure Calaerys children and was a dragonrider, but he had an eccentric, flighty nature, the type of man who cherished his freedom, traveled frequently, and was not even remotely responsible. While they got along well, he would likely seldom be home, and would make poor support for her as her consort. She was stuck between an overly ambitious suitor and a totally incompetent one. Of course, the Targaryen's happened and she was wed to a completely unexpected, and unwanted, third suitor, Aegon the Conqueror. - Saerea's cousin, Aenerys, was orphaned at a very young age as her parents died in a freak ship crash during their travels. She was raised for a time by her uncle and aunt, until both of their deaths. As such, she was primarily raised by Saerea all her life, and the two have a close sisterly bond. - Saerea's mother died in the child bed, along with her little brother who barely survived a week. Her father died when she was 16 after rapidly falling ill within a year. He developed hoarse, bloody coughs, extreme chest pains, was constantly fatigued, lost weight drastically and suffered headaches. When his corpse was cut open to determine the cause of illness, it was noted that he had multiple, angry, tumorous growths scattered about his lungs (lung cancer). - Saerea gets along with Queen Rhaenys the best out of the three conquerors. While their personalities differ, they share a few common interests/hobbies; such as enjoying the arts and dragon riding. She finds Rhaenys to be the easiest to approach and the least demanding of her (surprisingly). It is Aegon she has the more complicated relationship with, as her husband whom she has a daughter with, sometimes she can't tell if she resents him or not. Sometimes she feels she understands him completely, other times he feels like some grand mystery or puzzle she must solve. Visenya and her have a sense of mutual respect for each other, she thinks of her as harsh but likes her enough to entrust her with watching over her daughter after she left Westeros. Though she wonders if she should resent her too, as she is the reason she was unable to take her child with her when she fled. That's all for now, if there's anything more/specific you'd want to know about her, don't be afraid to ask! :)

[puddingdemonlair]

✨️AliCole Comm for Richaard35 on Twitter✨️

[puddingdemonlair]

Does Haera have any artifacts that Saerea carries? Like earrings and the like !

Technically, Saerea has a bunch of things she's inherited from Haera, but the only remaining heirloom is Haera's rose locket, which was passed down to Saerea from her mother, then she gave it to her daughter, Shaera, and it finally ended up with princess Maera, her granddaughter. All other heirlooms and artifacts were destroyed by Maegor, as he burned/melted Goldenscale castle into ruins with Balerion. This was to punish Shaera for trying to run away, destroying her ancestral home and all the remnants of House Calaerys inside it.

[puddingdemonlair]

~Viseryn Blackfyre (OC) Portrait~ + extras (ft. big bro Aemon)✨️

I finally managed to finish this portrait after not doing Blackfyre portraits for a hot second. Its Viseryn this time, the second born of Visenya’s offspring n the family's resident nerdy emo boy. I highkey forgot to write a facts sheet for him so I'll just include some here.

- While Aemon looks the most like their mom, Viseryn acts the most like her.

- His dragon in the AU is a blood orange, she-dragon named Merrax.

- He's engaged to his cousin Valaena Velaryon.

- He's incredibly smart, like his mother, n has a reputation as a know-it-all. Though he hates that ppl constantly go to him for answers to their questions.

- He often stays up late reading, so he has dark circles under his eyes.

- There is not a single athletic bone in his body.

- Despite his lack of martial skill, he's a genius at war strategy and would better suit sitting in council than swinging swords on a battlefield.

- Is tall like his older brother, but lanky in build rather than toned from lack of training.

Next up is the elder of the twins, the Lord Rascal, Daeneron.

[puddingdemonlair]

WAAA! I love the Haera art, would love to see her being drawn more! ❣️❣️

I'm so happy you like her! Honestly, she was originally just a background character meant to be significant to Saerea's lore, but ever since I gave her a design, she's grown on me a lot. I definitely plan on drawing her more in the future, and I plan on drawing her husband... brother... brosbund(?) Daegor as well. So, if ur interested in seeing him too, stay tuned. 😊

[puddingdemonlair]

Absolutely in love with Haera’s makeup and outfit! What is the makeup, dressage, and culture of House Calaerys? What is the inspiration?

The culture and fashion of House Calaerys is very traditionally Valyrian (Byzantine-Roman fusion, with subtle Chinese influence), and prior to the doom, there wasn't too much of a distinction between the fashions of Houses Calaerys and Targaryen. Differences began when they emigrated to Westeros as they had to adapt their Valyrian fashion to their respective environments. Dragonstone is an island located north of Goldenscale (seat of House Calaerys) and boast a much colder coastal climate. Targaryen fashion became more covered, and was woven out of thicker textiles as a means of keeping warm against the colder sea breeze. House Calaerys differs here as their island is located in the south and sits along the coasts of the Reach. Warm, temperate, and sunny (an environment perhaps comparable to the Mediterranean), the Calaerys' were able to retain the more thinner and revealing fashions of their homeland, combining them with textiles imported from the Reach mainland. Calaerys' wear flowy, thinner fabrics unlike the Targaryens, and usually in much lighter colors as well to match their warm, bright climate. There is also a great incorporation of flowers alongside their dragon motif as their island is populated by lush fields and forests of greenery and flora. Though the fashion differed somewhat between the two dragonlord houses due to regional differences, makeup remained mostly similar as both houses continued to practice wearing the symbolic, Valyrian makeup of their homeland (the makeup isn't strictly inspired by any particular culture, much of it is of my own creation, by I am very loosely influenced by traditional chinese/minoan markings). Though, once again, Calaerys' typically favored lighter colors than the Targs, and most of the status reflective aspects of their makeup's symbolism was abandoned as it lost its purpose with Valyria's extinction.

[puddingdemonlair]

Your Valyrian HCs are awesome!! I actually love the depth and the lore you put in all! Could you share more on your personal HCs of Valyrian-Targaryen culture ?

Waaa! I'm so pleased you find my headcanons cool! Sure, I can totally share more of my thoughts on Valyrian-Targ culture. Focusing on Valyrian magic and women specifically, I definitely think one of the biggest differences that sets Valyrian culture apart from Westerosi culture is their sense of equality between men and women. Based on the info we have from George, the Valyrians sent both men and women on conquests, and put dragonlords of both sexes in charge of the colonies that were established, meaning Valyrian women did hold important roles within their society and weren't delegated to being strictly wives or mothers. While I don't believe their society was 100% percent full equally, I do believe women in Valyria had greater rights than Westerosi women, and that the ability to ride dragons and use magic played a huge factor in women having roles in politics, inheritance rights, and sexual liberation. Now veering more into the headcanon aspect of this idea, I believe the reason for women's equal treatment in Valyria is due to having majority control over magic in Valyria. While positions of leadership in the military were probably dominated by mostly men, important positions or roles in schools of magic were dominated by mostly women, with many of the infamous bloodmages/sorcerers being women. My evidence for this is in the Targaryen family tree and the Valyrian noble families of the Free Cities, as while there are few men who have ties to magic (specifically dragon dreams), most Targs/Valyrians rumored to be practitioners of Valyrian magic are women; Visenya, Rhaenyra, Larra Rogare, Serenei of Lys, Shiera Seastar, and Daenerys Targaryen. Of the men who are bound to magic, most are dragon dreamers with the exceptions of Aerion Brightflame and Bloodraven, though there are no mentions of specifics in Aerion's dabbling of dark magic, and Bloodraven's magic seems to be greenseer magic tied to his First Men blood via his Blackwood mother. If I'm missing any Targ men who have confirmed use of blood magic pls let me know. Anyways, most of the ties of magic we see in house Targaryen is via their women; Visenya is rumored to use Valyrian blood magic and potentially used it to conceive Maegor, Rhaenyra is believed to have put a blood curse upon Aegon II at her time of death which contributed to the loss of dragons and the downfall of house Targaryen, Larra Rogare and Serenei of Lys were from the Free Cities, where Valyrian culture is still poignant, and both were rumored to be users of blood/dark magic (though this could simply be rumors born from xenophobia, they do have ties to Valyrian nobility so its not an impossibility). Shiera was heavily believed to be a practitioner of blood/dark magic, even her relative Aegon V believed her to be a sorceress who possibly aided his sister Rhae by supplying her with a love potion. And Daenerys is the only Targ/Valyrian we've seen actually/successfully perform blood magic, via her sacrifice to hatch her petrified dragon eggs. While blood magic can be learned by both men and women, I believe Valyrian women have a more innate talent for it, hence their domination over magic in Valyria. There is also the situation with the hatching and production of dragon eggs, where dragons lay eggs more consistently when bonded to female riders (ex. Rhaena and Dreamfyre, Alysanne and Silverwing, Rhaenyra and Syrax, possibly Dreamfyre and Helaena). I truly believe that blood magic and the magic between dragons and Valyrians runs strongest in their women, and so women dominate Valyria's magic, creating a balance in the power between men and women, and forcing men to grant them equal treatment as they are vital to Valyria's survival. The downfall of house Targaryen, after all, is an excellent example of the consequences of suppressing the power of Valyrian women (though I do believe that there are more contributing factors to its downfall, the misogyny is a very significant one).

[puddingdemonlair]

What does Haera look like without her crown? How does she do her hair?

Haera looks like this without her crown, and since she has really long, really thick hair, she probably styles her hair in long, flowing braided styles, or in heavily braided half-up/half-down hairstyles. She just has too much hair to put it all up in a big up-do T_T.

[puddingdemonlair]

What are the hobbies of Visenya, Saerea, and Daenyra?

Right off the bat I'm going to state that dragon riding is a shared hobby amongst these ladies, but in regards to more personal hobbies they certainly differ. Visenya's hobbies would make anyone think she is boring, she enjoys working (she is a legit workaholic); going through documents, managing the finances of her keep, hearing out petitions from the smallfolk that live in her territories, speaking in council, etc. She loves to be proactive and feel like she's contributing to the events around her, and greatly enjoys being in control of her own life. She would dislike being stagnant, and refuses to live a life unfulfilled, though this makes her prone to overwork. She also greatly enjoys reading, amassing a great, personal collection of texts ranging in a myriad of different topics and genres from all over the world. She loves to read to her children as well, her son Viseryn developing a similar strong love for books. Daenyra's hobbies are a bit more active, as she is an adventurous soul. She likes swordsmanship and learned alongside Baela and her brothers under Daemon's guidance. She also learned archery and some martial defense. She likes to venture into the towns and cities outside her castle walls, both to enjoy the environment that is so much different from her palace life, and to observe her people, see how they live and take notes for her own future ascension. She loves to dance at balls, hunt game at royal hunts (if she is permitted), and frequently goes swimming with her siblings along Dragonstone's coasts. Her more domestic hobbies include embroidery/sewing, reading historical texts (particularly texts on Old Valyria, which she also enjoys translating), and gossiping with her mother (classic eldest daughter hobby).

Saerea's hobbies are on the calmer, more relaxed side. She likes music, keeping a talented bard in her employ, and enjoys listening to oral tales over reading, so she likes to watch mummers plays occasionally (if she was a modern girly she'd love cinema and audiobooks lmao). She likes flowers so a lot of her interests revolve around them; creating perfume sachets, pressing flowers, strolling through her gardens, and when she was living in the Aegonfort with her daughter, they often made flower crowns together during picnics. She also personally taught her cousin Aenerys High Valyrian, and greatly enjoyed their lessons together.

[puddingdemonlair]

What is Daenyra like during the Dance of Dragons? How does she utilize Syndrax? What is she like when her anger completely shows? Is she ruthless?

Daenyra during the dance is a woman on a blackened path for vengeance, at least in the canon dance and not any AUs. She is both the best and worst parts of her parents; loving, family oriented, protective, loyal, but also temperamental, emotional, vindictive, defiant, and dislikes being slighted. When the dance begins, she is angry and wrothful on behalf of her mother and is very like-minded to her father in that she wants to act immediately. Though, she is akin to her mother in not wanting to shed blood and, initially, only wanted to confront the greens and forcibly bring them to their knees in submission. That rational thinking goes out the window upon Luke's death, and is replaced by an intense thirst for blood, specifically Aemond's. She has a vendetta and its not going away anytime soon, and this plays a part in how her dragon functions during the dance. Syndrax is one of the larger dragons, closer in size to dragons like Vermithor, Silverwing, and Dreamfyre, so he's meant to be huge offensive force for the Blacks. Daenyra's first usage of her dragon during the dance is to fly north to treat with Cregan Stark, while her first battle is Rooks Rest alongside Rhaenys. She takes part in the Battle of the Gullet, and clashes with Aemond throughout the first half of the dance, and is in attendance to her mother reclaiming the Iron Throne. However, the more relatives she loses the more her anger grows, spreading like a dark stain on her conscious. She begins to argue more with her mother, insisting on confronting and eliminating Aemond herself, but Rhaenyra has grown so paranoid after the losses of Visenya, Jace, Luke, and Viserys II, that she is petrified at the thought of losing her eldest child, heir, and sole surviving daughter. Eventually, this leads to Daenyra being constantly monitored by guards upon her mother's command, which only further incenses her rage, as she desires to bring death upon those she perceives as her brother's and grandmother's murderers. Of course, when the opportunity arises, she makes her escape to confront Aemond, hoping to kill him, or Vhagar at the very least. Of course, this path for revenge ultimately leads to tragedy for the princess, and Rhaenyra must bear the weeping despair of losing yet another child.

[puddingdemonlair]

What is Visenya like in court? How did she become a prominent figure?

Visenya despite her sharp tongue and seemingly introverted nature is a lot more socially savvy than people expect her to be. She's clever and observant, good at reading peoples body language, expressions and tones. She has an excellent grasp of the mood in a room at any given moment, and knows when to be firm and when to soften up. Due to her infamy, most people don't approach her arbitrarily, but when she seeks to make a connection for social/political purposes, she knows exactly how to make an ideal approach. Essentially, she's sorta trained herself to be very good at interacting with court as she understands they won't give her much grace if she makes mistakes or makes a poor impression due to the rumors that already circulate around her. Of course, this cunning, meticulous nature has allowed her to make connections, or bring about plans that have aided Daeron's reign exponentially. So she's kind of a strange, polarizing figure in the eyes of the king's court, this stiff, sharp-tongued, cold princess who is incredibly calculating and has used her intelligence and wits to greatly strengthen the king's position, and by extension, strengthen the power of the royal family. And despite her personality, or her identity as a woman, the hard work and effort she puts into empowering the family is recognized, acknowledged and appreciated by her brother the king, who allows her the privilege of a seat in his council. This also means that while court was more openly dismissive of her as a child, the second Visenya became an influential figure with access to the king's ear, they turned to smiles and flattery to win into her good graces. Visenya was a girl who had to work very hard to get where she is in regards to her social/political standing, having to work against harsh assumptions, perceptions towards her born sex, and comparisons between her and her siblings. It was worse when her father was king, as he was more openly disrespectful towards her, which allowed his court to be open with their mockery as well, but Daeron's reign was a significant turning point as they could no longer be openly disrespectful, as the king had obvious affection for his siblings.