#I'm yapping

[berriesandcherry]

House of the Dragon did not understand Team Black

Hi! This is a follow up post I made about the characterization of the team green Targaryens and now I want to continue the idea explaining how the showrunners did not understand Team Black, or— speaking frankly– Fire and Blood and ASOIAF.

It’s well known that HBO wants to sell ASOIAF as a magical realism series (a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy.) for grown ups, because obviously fantasy is made only for children (side eye). Clearly, that is not what ASOIAF, or in this case Fire and Blood, is. Sure, Fire and Blood may be written like a history book, but that doesn’t mean it’s intended to reflect simple realism. The style is immersive, designed to make readers feel like they’re stepping into the world of Westeros, as if they’re reading the same histories that characters like Jon Snow or Robb Stark might study or to say “This is the book Arianne Martell read and that’s why she compares herself to Rhaenyra!” The narrative is designed to deepen the experience, not to be treated as a purely factual, realistic recounting of events.

House of the Dragon presents itself as a gritty drama, it’s based on Fire and Blood, which is fundamentally a story about Daenerys Targaryen’s legacy and what made her different from the rest of her family. The show’s treatment of Rhaenyra and Alicent, in particular, seems to miss the mark. The show implies that the animosity between Rhaenyra and Alicent was entirely fabricated by the men around them, reducing the complex political and emotional dynamics at play to a simple misunderstanding. But in the books, we don’t need a Renly chapter to know he didn’t view war like Stannis did. We don’t need a Lysa Arryn chapter to know how deeply it affected her to have her child aborted. Their actions speak. You know the lyric from Taylor Swift “You are what you did”? Well, that really applies here.

Daemon, for example. The show’s decision to portray him as someone who ignores or mistreats his wives—especially with the murder of Rhea—is a significant change from the character in Fire and Blood. We don’t need to see him committing such extreme acts for him to remain morally ambiguous; his decisions and actions throughout the story are enough to paint him as a complex figure. We didn’t need to hear how he needed to realize he was not meant to be king. Over and over again, we needed to see him play the game.

The portrayal of Team Black, in general, is a big problem. Yes, they’re flawed—nobody in Westeros is perfect—but they’re also a family united by love and loyalty. The Targaryen family in Fire and Blood was often fractured, but Team Black showed a different side of the Targaryen legacy: a family that, despite their flaws, stood together—it was quite obvious the GRRM wanted to make them the “more Targaryen” team. And as I mentioned in my earlier post, Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne was legally solid–she was made heir by her father, oaths were made, she had the most dragons, the most heirs, more family members on her side and four out of eight great families were on her side (just to clarify, Aegon had two, Baratheon and Lannister).  The narrative of Fire and Blood is about a woman who, despite being the woman for the job, faces an uphill battle for the throne due to the misogyny of her time.

Team Black is the “right side” in the Dance of the Dragons, not necessarily the good side, but the rightful side. Their cause is legitimate, and yet House of the Dragon asks us to sympathize with everyone—Rhaenyra, Alicent, Aegon, Aemond, and the rest. This doesn’t work in a narrative like Fire and Blood, where the characters’ motivations are clear-cut, even if they’re morally complex. In House of the Dragon, the show seems to want us to feel empathy for every character, which ultimately dilutes the central conflict. If everyone’s equally tragic or flawed, what makes Team Black’s struggle so important? This is not ASOAIF where we have multiple characters that are good opposing one another in some way or another. For example, Ned is seen as a good guy, and so is Daenerys, but she doesn’t like him, and that doesn’t make her a bad guy. 

Team Black Characters are the heroes of the story, Rhaenyra is the hero of the Dance.

When one talks about heroes, one thinks of Superman or Naruto, good guys. But ASOIAF is famous because every character is flawed, even the heroes. In fact, a hero is not equal to a good person.

“As a literary device, a hero can be defined as the principal character of a literary work. The term hero has been applied, not only in the classical sense, but also in modern literature, as the principal character of a story, play or novel.” (Hero - Examples and Definition (literarydevices.net)) 

Rhaenyra is the hero of the story, Aegon is the villain. That is literally the story.

That doesn’t mean the story is plain or boring. They are humans. That’s what GRRM does best, and while I already talked about Aegon, let’s go with Rhaenyra.

From the beginning we know who she is. 

“At the center of the merriment, cherished and adored by all, was their only surviving child, Princess Rhaenyra, the little girl the court singers dubbed “the Realm’s Delight.” Though only six when her father came to the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra Targaryen was a precocious child, bright and bold and beautiful as only one of dragon’s blood can be beautiful. At seven, she became a dragonrider, taking to the sky on the young dragon she named Syrax, after a goddess of old Valyria. At eight, the princess was placed into service as a cupbearer…but for her own father, the king." 

"She was very proud and stubborn, and there was a certain petulance to her small mouth."

"Though Rhaenyra could be charming, she was quick to anger and never forgot a slight."

She is a typical princess, like Viserra or Alyssa before her, Rhaenyra knows her position well and is not scared of using her influence and power in her favor. She was raised in comfort and security, cherished by all. Later on we get to know she might have taken a few lovers, some hinted, some are theories, this is not about shipping (like Harwin Strong, Daemon, Laena) there was nothing anyone could do except for the king. And that is not wrong. Laenor and her might have been in an agreement that his parents didn’t mind, and neither did the king. The Velaryon boys were more than likely his. If the king didn’t mind, no one else should. That includes the queen. The show seems to want to make a bigger deal of the “bastard” issue, particularly with Alicent calling Rhaenyra’s children bastards. This, too, is a distortion of the story. In a monarchy, the legitimacy of heirs is decided by the king, and in this case, King Viserys recognized Rhaenyra’s children as his own.

In The Crown, Prince Philipp says “Currently I’m outranked by my 8 year old son” and Queen Elizabeth answers with “Yes, of course, he is the heir to the throne”.

Even in real life, it doesn’t matter how powerful a consort is. The heir outranks them every time. Alicent should have been shown as a smarter queen because Rhaenyra could have had her tongue for that. Rhaenyra’s children are not bastards. It’s ambiguous in the book because them being bastards were rumors from court, like the one Littlefinger made up about sleeping with Catelyn or Cersei’s about Margaery’s lovers; they were made by the opposing faction. But they were recognized by the crown, the king, the father, and the realm. So no, Rhaenyra’s claim was not sullied by her children. And no, she was not a bad person if her children were bastards. And no, it was not the same as Cersei. Rhaenyra is queen, so her line is the one that matters. The children from her second marriage are also heirs because of her. Alyssa Velaryon’s children from Rogar, despite being Jaehaerys' half-siblings, were not heirs because Alyssa is not the ruling queen. She is a consort, like Cersei.

Just as Aegon IV’s legitimization of his bastards went unchallenged because it was the king’s will, Rhaenyra’s status as heir should have been final.

The Dance is meant to have a hero who is flawed and a villain that has a reason.

But in House of the Dragon, we’re left to wonder who we’re supposed to root for. The show’s insistence on moral ambiguity and “grayness” across the board makes it harder to connect with Rhaenyra as the story’s central figure. There’s no room for her to be angry, to take action, to show that she’s not just a pawn in a larger game—she’s a woman fighting for her right to rule. She should have been shown as a more assertive and strong-willed character, capable of standing up for herself in a world that constantly undermines her. She should have moments where we disagree with her, but ultimately, the show wants us to empathize with everyone, but the show is missing the point. Rhaenyra is the tragic hero of this story—her flaws, her ambition, and her fight for power should be central to the narrative. The show seems to misunderstand her complexity, as well as the larger political context that defines her struggle. The Dance of the Dragons isn’t about a bunch of characters fighting for the throne; it’s about the consequences of a society that refuses to allow a woman to sit on the Iron Throne, no matter how capable she is.

Team Black Characterization

Let’s go back to Daemon. Daemon was loved as he was hated, so yes, he can be the internet boyfriend. He is GRRM's favorite character!

Said by the producer: 

"Daemon would have let his brother fall flat on his face. In other words, aren’t all of Daemon’s moments, even the seemingly benevolent ones, ultimately self-serving?"

Hess replied: “I agree with you. He’s become Internet Boyfriend in a way that baffles me."

That was an obvious incorrect interpretation of his character, wherever you see it, but what baffles me is in contrast, the show doesn’t seem to hold Aegon accountable for his more heinous actions, like rape.

Before the marriage to Laena, Daemon’s passion for Rhaenyra was undeniable. Yes, their relationship was controversial, but like the romance between Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, it’s framed as a love story. Daemon loved Rhaenyra, and when he couldn’t have her, he "moved on." Just to be clear, their love story is a very important factor in each other's life, his marriage with Laena, him loving her, does not change it. Anyway! He married Laena, killed a man to be with her, and raised his children with her—Rhaena and Baela—who were cherished regardless of their gender or lack of dragon (in Rhaena’s case). For a time, Daemon raised his daughters alone after Laena’s death. After his marriage with Nyra, surely they had a time when they relied solely on him. He never sent one away. He kept them close. In fact! During the Driftmark incident, the girls were never there. He was the only adult who didn’t have any of his children involved.

Joffrey had run to get his brothers when Aemond took to the sky, and both Jace and Luke had come to his call. The Velaryon princelings were younger than Aemond—Jace was six, Luke five, Joff only three— but there were three of them, and they had armed themselves with wooden swords from the training yard. Now they fell on him with a fury. Aemond fought back, breaking Luke’s nose with a punch, then wrenching the sword from Joff’s hands and cracking it across the back of Jace’s head, driving him to his knees. As the younger boys scrambled back away from him, bloody and bruised, the prince began to mock them, laughing and calling them “the Strongs.” Jace at least was old enough to grasp the insult. He flew at Aemond once again, but the older boy began pummeling him savagely…until Luke, coming to the rescue of his brother, drew his dagger and slashed Aemond across the face, taking out his right eye. By the time the stableboys finally arrived to pull apart the combatants, the prince was writhing on the ground, howling in pain, and Vhagar was roaring as well.

Rhaena was sent to live in luxury during the war, and he never allowed them to get hurt or punished. The storyline with Laena and his twins are not a waste of paper, they are meant to show how much Daemon changed, we are meant to compare his treatment of Rhea (arranged by his grandmother) and Laena (marriage of love) and Rhaenyra (marriage of love and also the person he loved the most) He was charismatic and loyal, he loved his brother, we can assume he was on good terms with Rhaenys. Daemon evolved from a wild, impulsive youth into a family man and a strategic military leader, ultimately giving his life to protect his wife and demonstrate his loyalty.

As for Jace, he was never sidelined or ignored—Rhaenyra understood his role as her heir and supported him. Jace, full of youthful energy, was not just an heir but a skilled strategist in his own right, much like Margaery Tyrell, knowing how to play the game. He loved his family and fought fiercely for them until his last breath. Baela and Rhaena, Daemon’s daughters, were brave and intelligent. Baela had a dragon, but if Rhaena had one, she too would have fought alongside her siblings. The twins were clever and courageous, as we see in the post-Dance regency when they were still teenagers. Luke, too, was a strong character—great with a sword and a worthy heir to Driftmark. His death haunted his family until they all died, his death is the Ned Stark moment of the Dance. Joffrey was older, he was rougher than his brothers, and the most like Daemon, the three Velaryon boys were loved by Corlys AND RHAENYS. Aegon III was older too, and more than likely, he was Daemon’s pride as he had already lost one son, and it was his first with the woman he had fallen in love with years ago. Viserys should’ve had moments of childishness to show and establish his character since he is the ancestor of Daenerys.

Rhaenys’ character, in particular, was wasted in House of the Dragon. Rhaenys knew the game as well,if not better, than Otto. She was fiercely protective of her family and cherished all of her grandchildren. Her death should’ve reflected that! She should be shown having that arrogance and lack of patience the Baratheons had and show her as THE adult against the greens before Rhaenyra came of age.

Corlys Velaryon’s character was another missed opportunity. He should have been shown as a more morally complex figure—an ambitious man with his own secrets, including affairs, showing more why he was called a snake, show why he was intimidated by Rhaenys, show his love for his grandchildren but more than that, how much he loved all the power they would get. Explore how his wealth is influential, that was leverage, like Olenna held the power of Highgarden over Tywin’s head.

These characters are not just “good” or “bad”—they are complex individuals, each with their own motivations, flaws, and growth arcs. The show missed an opportunity to dive deeper into their relationships, their ambitions, and their internal struggles. The mischaracterization was painful to watch, how they handled Daemon/Rhaenyra, how they handled Daemon/Laena, how they failed to show Rhaenyra's most beloved friend and the reason why Jace, Luke and the twins were betrothed. And all of that happened because they tried to be "realistic" even if all that happened was honestly a parody of GRRM work.

Heroes should be well defined

Defining your hero and making it clear why they deserve the audience's loyalty is the foundation of any good story. A strong show knows its protagonist and ensures the audience is invested in their journey. Game of Thrones did this well, even with limited episodes. They introduced heroes and villains, built complex storylines, and made sure we understood who to root for, despite their characters’ flaws. House of the Dragon, however, faltered by trying to make everything morally ambiguous, blurring the lines of who the audience should support. By not clearly defining Team Black as the protagonists, the show undermined the emotional investment of the audience, making it hard to care about the central conflict. Instead of embracing the complexity that made Game of Thrones compelling, House of the Dragon failed to commit, leaving the audience uncertain of who to root for.

[wolf-saint]

Thinking about Kipperlily Ankarna and Lucy Cassandra. How one had their body manipulated into letting rage, revenge, and conquest over them. How one chose to walk away from that path.

But, both were separated by death. They could never utter the other's name again...

[pyukumukun]

okay, I have to let this out too tho

so like, in the book, the sense I got from LWJ and WWX was like this:

In the past, Wei Wuxian loved teasing and getting a reaction out of Lan Wangji. And LWJ didn't know how to processs these feelings, like, I think he was absolutely secretly thrilled to be included, but mortified about how horny he was for THIS guy.

and then skipping over the loss bit, we go back to the sappy bit:

LWJ wants to play with WWX. Like he has totally and completely accepted that he loves WWX. And the signs show that WWX feels the same way. I think WWX was actually oblivious to how he felt in some ways, and he felt like he was just tainting him. Giving him a bad reputation. BUT, now, in book 2, WWX is getting SO caught up in playing with LWJ, and it's clear that ohhhh.... LWJ likes to play. WANTS to. He's so ready for it. TO thje ppoint that when WWX gets LWJ drunk so he can ask some questions that sober LWJ wouldn't answer, LWJ is drunk, knows he's drunk, and he is READY to take advantage of WWX right back. and THEN!!!! when WWX asks LWJ to let him see the guy's headband, because he couldn't remember or figure out what was so special about it, LWJ was like 'he is asking for my headband in marriage, very well' and it gets to the point that LWJ literally ties the knot by binding WWX's hjandss. LWJ is absolutely taking advantage of WWX, as much as WWX is doing to LWJ. and it's fun.

[laylaplease]

The weather is getting warmer and I'm in such a beach mood... I was spending my late nigh scrolling pinterest, admiring all the summery aesthetic pictures and then Hay popped up >///<

He looks like he'd be a very comfy place to tan on. I'd absolutely be living my best life, drinking my virgin Piña Colada while rolling on top of Hayden Christensen in the sun. 🤍 He'd have to nudge me awake every tenish minutes to flip sides because he just looks SO soft and warm and I'd totally nap on his chest !! I'd wear my pretty leopard-print bikini too... so he'd have a hard time keeping his hands to himself !!

[the-data-files]

Breen spaceship appreciation post. that thing is huge

[ianitegal56]

I was watching Jordan's VoDs for sdmp which is admittedly rare for me because I don't watch much lately but what the heck. The scene in the basement of the HOA got me feeling so major Mianite brain worms?? Led into a dark basement surrounded in smoke and dripping lava and opening the conversation with what deity or god are you worshiping after saying you prayed for this fucks with my brain. An AU where Jschlatt is being controlled by the Shadows unknowingly and tempting Sparklez into evil is running wild. The mini tangent episodes before about doing yearly rewatches hit but the hoa basement scene??? That's not leaving my head for a while. There's now just this mental image of a weakened Ianite with glowing eyes staring at Sparklez from his farm area above his house at night that is just *there* now.

[trannywithagodcomplex]

sillymaxxing on main

venturenation i luvvvv uuuuuuuuuuuuuu <3333333

may actually start playing overwatch again so maybe i'll post more of these, switching to pc has kind of brought back my enjoyment a bit

[snowingclouds]

I need to yap about Prototype, specifically Alex's change in Prototype 2:

Obviously, heavy prototype 2 spoilers:

What the fuck happened, man?!?!? In the first game, sure, the dude is willing to kill on sight. There's a civilian death counter. The scene after the Greene boss fight? That was so good. He didn't care, just slammed her ass. Anyways: despite all this, he sounds remorseful and dealing with some tangled up shit, yk? There's a line in the helicopter mission where he shouts "Damn you! Damn you for making me do this!" Like, hello? This virus in the shape of some dude can and does feel remorse and turmoil! He hijacked a helicopter to make sure the city didn't explode, and nearly died in the process.

But then comes Prototype 2:

And suddenly Alex is all about infecting everyone and their mother, spreading his virus, and has Blackwatch in his pocket through his Evolved. No remorse, no care for anyone anymore. Isn't there supposed to be like a 2 year difference between the first outbreak and Prototype 2?? Did he just lose his marbles in that time? Did the nuke scramble his brain a bit? Like, what happened??

I get that Alex is a mass murdering, people eating, viral biomass with Mercer's face, but I keep thinking back to the helicopter mission in the first game. His VA sounds like his whole body was put into that line, and it takes place even after he finds out the truth of everything (except Cross, for the time being).

Heller and him have a very similar "kill on sight" rage that I think makes the games fun, and comparing the two between games, theres so many parallels. It's just odd how Mercer has this 180 behavior.

Tbh, I don't mind prototype 2. Without it, we wouldn't have a boss fight with Heller calling Mercer an "emo fuck" and "bitch" like five times. I totally did not get my shit rocked the first time I tried that fight and kept thinking "James shut your mouth I'm getting bodied here". But all in all, it was fun. I think it would be more fun to explore their relationship considering Heller was military and trusted Blackwatch so deeply. Mercer (before Blacklight) knew shit was going down, and then Blacklight/Alex is immediately hunted by Blackwatch and literally eats his way through the ranks. They could've had so much potential for distrust and betrayal on a deeper level than just "muhahaha! Infect the town!", you know?

And another smaller thing:

In prototype one, there's a thing about how Alex isn't Mercer anymore. He has his face, but he's actually just the virus, and Mercer has been dead a while. They're two separate but not people. See the whole thing about "I'm not human, I never was". But in prototype 2, James doesn't have that same thing happen. The whole time, every one of the Evolved seem to be infected people, not people that the virus is wearing as a face, and that's an important distinction. Maybe not so important when you're slaughtering Evolved, but in the scenes with Heller and Maya? That's pretty fucking important. Maya is scared of him at first, and I don't think we're given enough of Heller's thoughts during that. Yeah, he looks distraught in that scene, but imagine how much more so it would've been if they re-explored the whole "not human virus wearing a face" thing some more, especially in relation to his kid.

And sure; maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe even Heller's internal thoughts would've been "who cares" as long as he has the memories of Heller and took off right where he left off, but I still would've really liked to see that come up again.

[bunnwich]

Ignore the hater, keep drawing juicy Leona op 🙏🔥🔥🔥 i love yumeships so much ong

Thank you!! Yk, I do too! I think obviously I'm biased for my own friend's Yumeships bc I know all the "deep lore" and love complex dynamics, but in gen it's nice to see ppl happy n having harmless fun even if we have our own different views on canon.

[formulawolff]

thinking about a daniel x american!reader based on the song lady may by tyler childers

[junespriince]

Kyle x Wally alternative ship name

SpaceChemist

Green electrical tape

And monster energy drink™

[lumioluna]

friendly reminder that you cannot fall in love with people on the internet. you cannot you cannot you cannot it's a lie!! it's an illusion it's a delusion. reminder that you don't really know these people. you don't know how they smell like. you don't know what's eating them alive at 6pm on a tuesday afternoon. love is a serious business, it requires time it requires effort it requires holding space it requires commitment it requires vulnerability it requires giving yourself up entirely and taking someone else completely. love it's excruciating and all encompassing. you cannot do that by looking into a screen, i'm so sorry to tell you i'm so sorry. all you can do here is enjoy the vibes. we can dig each other's vibes, we can even groove it out real freaky. love is a serious business tho.

[pyukumukun]

laughing about the time I watched Paprika that anime movie while absolutely stoned out of my mind

[bee-sidebranch]

i crumpled him up like paper

[disguiseddeer]

🐛🦋🪲🪰🦟🦗🐍🐢🦎🦖🪼

what do all of these guys have in common? being silly beasts, that's what

i'm not the biggest bug fan, bugs don't like me and i don't really like them, but i make exceptions. moths, dragonflies, caterpillars, mantises, crickets and grasshoppers, beetles, and maybe one or two others i can't think of rn are cool with me. although not a bug, spiders are my arch nemesis, sadly - mosquitoes too! those little guys love my blood

snakes are awesome!! i love snakes!! they're either super cute or super cool, little inbetween. ball pythons are the dogs of the snake world, i love them so much! i still gotta make me but ball python (been on my to-do for a while), so silly! i've really liked reptiles for a long time, they're just so interesting to me. crocodiles and alligators are definitely some of my favorites, they're just so cool and wide and beastly and <3

i think that has to do with my love for dragons, though. ever since i was a little kid i've always been so fascinated by them. once a dragon kid, always a dragon kid who's with me 🗣️🗣️🔥

i love dinosaurs too, they were some of the first things i ever drew! it's amazing and mindblowing thst these fantastic, huge creatures once lived on our planet. biology, evolution, and the history of life is so damn cool. i gotta try drawing dinosaurs more

jellyfish are, admittedly, also interesting. like, how does THAT thing just, exist?? what is bro up to?? i haven't looked into them too much, but they are beautifully weird. same goes for sea life in general, especially deep sea animals! so damn ugly and weird i love them

in general i have a huge love for wildlife, biology, (including spec bio!) and just everything and anything relating to animals and ecosystems. recently, i have been *dying* for some sort of custom ecosystem sim, where i can freely create my own species and watch them interact with their world and everything around them. there is just something so damn interesting about it, it sends off all the "ooh, i like this a lot" parts on my brain! if anyone has any recommendations on something like this please let me know! spore is great, i love spore, but i'd love something more in-depth and open ended

i also really like speculative biology, if you couldn't tell before lol. there's just something about it, thinking about how things work and interact in realistic - yet different - settings. it's awesome! -- that and my love for nature and the natural world is probably what has led me to being such a massive fantasy lover. i just love thinking of other worlds, ones that are much cooler than our own. i love thinking of strange, beautiful, crazy critters and beasts that would inhabit those worlds. magic that bends the rules of reality, that can be a tool for both good and bad. everything about it is wonderful, and i eat that shit up!! i'm always on the hunt for new fantasy content to get that itch in the back of my brain, so suggestions are awesome! i've always liked elder scrolls, and just started watching delicious dungeon/dungeon meshi, i've also been trying to get into dnd for like, ever lol (i just gotta get my friends together and figure it out)

thank you for giving me something to ramble about! it is very fun and i'd love to hear any thoughts, comments, or suggestions on anything!! i'm hooked on the tumblr ask system now please give me things to yap about this is so good <3

[farasen]

Angsty deon to Tatu songs