#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