#I don’t agree with everything in hotd s2

[lemonsharkgirlfriend]

alicent, a woman who’s been stripped of all power and agency and has no sway or influence amongst the green council, should have concluded her liberation arc by… coming to the understand that her mistreatment within this patriarchal system pales in comparison to the love she holds for her sons (one of whom she’s disowned in 1x08, the other pre-2x01), and she should have used the power (that she doesn’t have) to continue to support the green claim (that she doesn’t believe in). she should have thrown away her own feelings of (freely chosen) love for rhaenyra, knowing these feelings ‘don’t actually matter’ (they do), and just, again, sacrifice her body, mind, and mouth for her sons (who she 1. doesn’t believe in and 2. knows do not have her own or helaena’s best interest in mind). the driftmark scene (that alicent verbally expresses regretting and which otto tries to manipulate her into believing was justified directly afterward) and alicent standing in front of meleys during aegon’s coronation (yet another example of alicent sacrificing her body to otto’s cause that she’s been manipulated into believing is her only purpose) are definitive proof that alicent should have become a scorched earth mama bear in season 2 that should have not have had any conflicted feelings about her sons’ unnecessary violence and total ineptitude at ruling the kingdom because… the ends (i.e., aegon being in the throne… which she doesn’t believe in) justify the means. alicent could have just used her voice (again, the one that she doesn’t have in this version of the story; let go of book!alicent) to sway her sons’ policy if they were trying to do something she didn’t agree with, and otherwise, she should have just let them do what they wanted to secure the green claim (that alicent doesn’t believe in). turning to rhaenyra (alicent’s only reference for freedom and chosen love) after concluding her liberation arc is out of character (it isn’t, alicent has chosen rhaenyra over her children several times) and doesn’t make sense (i’m just going to assume you weren’t paying attention to the plot, dialogue, set design, editing, costuming, etc., that suggested alicent was seeking out rhaenyra throughout the entire season, starting with her moving into rhaenyra’s childhood bedroom before the season even began). alicent is dumb (sure, i’ll give you that) for trusting rhaenyra (she can’t trust her own sons either, and arguably, to a greater extent). alicent should realize her love for rhaenyra is no longer relevant (it is and always will be, as expressed by the writers about… one million times) because she should care more about her sons (that she doesn’t support anymore and that she cannot control) than her own happiness and securing safety for helaena/jaehaera (her children/grandchildren that she’d like to see no harm come to). also, exploring alicent’s motherhood (alicent ‘switching sides’ still does this lol) would have been more interesting than exploring her repressed queerness/lesbianism (i mean idek know what to say to this bc how the hell do you think this isn’t interesting and novel and worth exploring). ultimately, i have another version of alicent in my head (book!alicent) that i wish had been adapted instead (totally valid opinion to have! though you ultimately shouldn’t project book!alicent onto show!alicent because they have been fundamentally different characters since the very beginning), so i’m going to pretend alicent going to rhaenyra in 2x08 is bad, unpredictable writing (instead of something those ‘annoying shippers’ had been theorizing about since before the season even began because the clues were literally there, even that early).

[irlplasticlamb]

I need to know how you feel about the rhaenicent reunion scene

i have so so so many thoughts…. and i’m gonna preface everything by saying i treat hotd as entirely different canon than f&b so i don’t mind the different characterisation and such. i know it’s technically an adaptation but let’s be honest — it’s more of a fanfic and genuinely i enjoy it more than the book.

if we put this scene in a void i think it’s genuinely a wonderful rhaenicent scene with tons of little moments that just highlight their love towards each other (“you speak as if from a distant dream” ESPECIALLY! rhaenyra’s tender smile and the parallels to “i want to fly with you on dragon back, see the great wonders across the narrow sea, and eat only cake” oh my GODD it reminds rhae of a dream because that’s what she’s been dreaming about for YEARS) (also alicent asking rhaenyra to go with her paralleling criston except in this instance rhaenyra doesn’t mock the person. you could almost say if the circumstances were different she WOULD go with alicent) (also ALSO i’m a sucker for role reversal in fiction and the visual representation of rhae becoming caged in her duties and alicent choosing freedom was BEAUTIFUL! honestly the visual language in s2 is incredible)

i do struggle a bit with alicent (seemingly) so easily sentencing her sons to death but considering her insanely complex relationship with the boys it kind of makes sense for her character — aegon and aemond are such complicated little beasts. i do believe alicent loved them but i also believe she was a bad mother — then again, she was a teenage girl FORCED to become a mum and it’s 100% understandable for her to struggle with motherhood. alicent’s very complex and it’s hard not to let the book version of her character muddle the perception of the show one. i don’t want to babble a lot more about this but basically, with a heavy heart i do agree alicent deserves to make a selfish choice. is it still heartbreaking? i think so. aegon and aemond LOVE HER i truly believe that. not every female character has to be 100% morally good. alicent made a choice to save herself, her daughter (who i think she sees herself in so it’s easier for her to empathise, also helaena’s always been good to her) and her granddaughter. we’ll see how it affects the later story. i am just a tiny bit baffled about daeron thing — it seems they don’t have a super strong relationship in the show but alicent is shown to love him still, yet she betrayed him. idk idk!

for rhae, i think this scene mostly makes sense. she’s always had a soft spot for alicent i think, she stood her ground ordering aegon’s death (and, i think, aemond and maybe daeron’s as well. it’s not stated in the dialogue obviously but when you think about it, they do pose danger to her position as queen) but still gave alicent a choice. she did not detain her, she agreed to the plan. again, we’ll see how this all ends up.

[maybeiwasjustjade]

In celebration of s2 of HOTD, I have a few fics I plan to publish by the end of the season. Just a little something to hopefully tide us (and my hyper-fixating brain) over the next two years of wait.

However, I have an issue with switching around between works so nothing gets done. Currently, there’s 3 projects in the works, so I want y’all to vote for which one you find most interesting.

They’re all Green-centric, mind you (I just find them more interesting and fun to write and develop 🤷🏻‍♀️):

rivers always reach the sea (rarts):

Multichapter (the ultimate monster fic)

A rewrite of show canon where everything changes, yet ultimately nothing does. Canon diverges from 1x07, that has lasting effects on how the Dance is played out. The children are smarter, more ready, but war comes anyway no matter how hard they try to stop it.

Does include an OC—a second daughter for Alicent, and Aemond’s twin.

Starring Helaegon (but healthier), TGC’s Aegon, an Aemond with Therapy (that isn’t Vhagar), Daeron being important, Maelor existing, overall more prepared TG, shifting alliances (none of the kiddos promise), another Great Council at Harrenhal, even more dragons and dragon lore, a very specific timeline, and OC/Cregan ship.

A ripple into a hurricane/Second of Her Name:

3 chapters (but very long ones)

Set in a world where Alicent birthed 1 son (Aemond) and 3 daughters, thus changing the Dance altogether. A few characters are aged up, and others aged down.

To fix the rift between his family, Viserys orders for f!Aegon and Jace to be betrothed after the events of Driftmark; a marriage date set for after Jace’s 16th nameday. The Dance still happens, but it doesn’t start the same way, or even ends the same.

A chance to take a deep dive into the root of Aegon’s character if he had been born a woman, and without the pressures of his mother and grandfather, or the throne he didn’t want.

Starring Jaceagon (a Mess), Helaemond ft twins, an even more menacing Aemond, Rhaenyra being Rhaenyra, and sweet baby Daeron (whose just there for the vibes (for now))

Valonqar

3 chapters + an epilogue

A post-Dance AU where the Blacks won, and Rhaenyra lived to sit the throne. Jace lives, as do Rhaena and lil Aegon, but everyone else is dead. Aegon is now heir, Rhaena Lady of Driftmark, and Jace the Lord of Dragonstone. Jaehaera is the last of Alicent’s blood that lives

This story delves into how Jaehaera’s life would be like living as a hostage under Rhaenyra’s rule, especially now that her family and faction have been stripped of all names and titles. Jaehaera must learn to live as Jaehaera Hightower—the incest abomination daughter of the Usurper and his sister, in a pit of snakes where almost everyone wants her dead. Fortunately, she finds herself with a few allies that don’t agree with the queen and king consort’s treatment of her.

Also covers Jaehaera’s complicated history and feelings about her family, and the tragedies that befell them.

Though it follows a few notes from canon, ultimately Valonqar is a happy ending story, where Jaehaera gets to reclaim her identity and get long-deserved vengeance.

Edit: I would like to mention that despite the fics being TG-centric, they don’t include TB bashing. Critical of certain, much deserving characters yes, but hopefully written with nuance. Except Daemon. Expect Daemon bashing

[nonbinarylesbianherb]

okay im gonna put this here as well in tags lowkey just skip to the end bit bc i have diagnosed yapper and i do in fact yap-

i did a few points cuz some of them r from s1 and my memory is not good so it can like count as one LOL. They’re all older rhaenicent because we’re talking abt older alicent / s2 writing of her, so im assuming we’re talking abt older rhaenicent. I do think older rhaenicent is a much more flawed ship than younger rhaenicent

1. I can’t remember specifically what it was but it may have been something to do with delaying the war- when Rhaenyra was given a torn page from Otto (one Alicent had kept) and agreed to not do something (its been a while since I saw s1 bear with me lmaoo)

2. When Alicent asked rhaenyra if she could come back (this was like after the dinner with everyone yk the one) and rhaenyra said okay (well it was more than that but okay was the gist)

3. When she wanted to go talk with Alicent and Mysaria was like brother, it would be easier to kill her damn- (Alicent has also been like aye let’s not kill rhaenyra actually)

and i agree with you! there should have just been- aye ill make aegon my heir we good-(obviously its too late for that now I think after everything that has happened) now i dont think id describe alicent as ‘happily’ giving over her sons, but i was also upset with how they did things and why she couldn’t at least leave with both helaena and aegon and their kid. i mean yea there were many options she couldve thought about first or something, i mean we haven’t even had a scene with her and aegon in ages (maybe she was going to go back to kl and talk to him, obviously atp he’s left but she doesn’t know that, but idk where they were going w it)

and you’re correct that both the show (and fandom tbh) are quick to jump Alicent’s flaws and shame her for them, but when they do eventually notice Rhaenyra’s flaws (and she has many as well) it’s seen more as “empowering” or smt that she is a flawed woman and that’s good representation etc- and it is upsetting to see the change with how they treat both characters. I do love both alicent and nyra (i mean i wont lie and say its fully equal, i am much more biased towards alicent) cuz people will blame Alicent for her flaws and mock or shame her, whilst rhaenyra they’ll say it wasn’t her fault or she’ll be empowered because of it. Now from what I’ve seen in the HOTD fandom i can say Alicent faces much more vitriol (and honestly just plain misogyny and victim blaming) than rhaenyra- and it IS unfair and annoying and upsetting to see the difference. (not that I want rhaenyra to face misogyny or victim blaming- and she has before! but by the fandom not as much as alicent- i mean like both of them have their flaws and actions recognised without one being “good” and the other being “bad”)

I think a lot of scenes esp w s2 I’ve actually seen the fandom upset at rhaenyra, esp the sept scene people were upset at her and saying she was stupid/bad and it made her look bad etc. And hey Alicent has more redeeming qualities than just loving and protecting her kids 😔 but i agree it was a quality that in s2 the writing for her character just became odd and contradictory and yea,,, rough. (i mean hey if they ever make her fully hate her kids ill be upset for her behalf and angry at the writers but they could never make me hate you alicent hightower no matter how hard they butcher your writing/character 🫡)

I understand your anger and I have felt a lot of it myself with how they’ve written and done things. -

Now I don’t think you’ll change your opinion on rhaenicent or stop hating the ship (which is fine because it is your opinion and you have rights LOL) in the same way I won’t change my opinion on rhaenicent/ or stop loving them- and this conversation may continue to drag on forever 😭 i can recognise why you hate rhaenicent and i hope you can recognise that rhaenicent (more specifically young rhaenicent, but rhaenicent all the same- in the same way i connect and am attached more deeply to young alicent but alicent all the same.) is important to me on many levels. At the end of the day we both love alicent and are upset with s2 writing of her!

I need Rhaenicent shippers to stay away from the Alicent Hightower tag, you never liked her, you're salivating over the fact she abandoned her own CHILDREN, you're praising the writers for robbing her of agency and personality, you got what you wanted a useless prop who exists solely to make Rhaenyra look good.

You won, now stay away from Alicent Hightower fans we do not want to see your bs!