#agreeing with his plans to send the boys to pentos like

[halfyearsqueen]

rhaenyra not discounting jace or luke when they speak at council and actually continually listening to them despite their youth - hearing them out when their ideas are possible and applicable and actually helping them grow them instead of shutting them down

[synchodai]

It's very important to me that Jacaerys Velaryon is not perfect. He suffers from the same affliction Robb Stark and most young, inexperienced commanders do — that despite being good at short-term strategic planning, his decisions in the book absolutely suuuuck long-term.

He wanted to send himself and his brother instead of ravens because he wanted to prove to the lords that they could ride dragons.

“We should bear those messages,” he said. “Dragons will win the lords over quicker than ravens.” His brother Lucerys agreed, insisting that he and Jace were men, or near enough to make no matter. “Our uncle calls us Strongs, but when the lords see us on dragonback they will know that for a lie. Only Targaryens ride dragons.”

They were so insistent on proving themselves as "Targaryen men" that they couldn't foresee the obvious danger of how easy it would be for some lord to take them hostage or sell them out to the greens.

It was his decision to send Aegon the Younger and Viserys II to Pentos while leaving Joffrey in the Vale.

The Prince of Dragonstone also had to care for the safety of his half-brothers, Aegon the Younger and Viserys, aged nine and seven. Their father, Prince Daemon, had made many friends in the Free City of Pentos during his visits there, so Jacaerys reached across the narrow sea to the prince of that city, who agreed to foster the two boys until Rhaenyra had secured the Iron Throne.

In this part, you could tell he saw Daemon's children as seperate from the brown-haired sons and made the unwise decision of relying on a foreign connection that he himself couldn't vouch for. He reaches out to a foreign ally he never spoken to and suddenly the brothers who he sends off to the Free Cities are targeted by Free City warships? It's uncertain if he was betrayed, but this tragedy could have been avoided if Jace wasn't so complacent about the Pentoshi prince's loyalty to Daemon and Corlys's naval dominance remaining uncontested.

And finally his biggest achievement/blunder was calling for the dragonseeds. Yes, it gave them the raw firepower needed to take King's Landing, but it also had the worst long-term affects on House Targaryen as a whole. It gave a bunch of untrustworthy randos access to their most powerful weapons and shattered the already crumbling mystique of Targaryen Exceptionalism. Not to mention how it burned and killed scores of their own men who tried their luck at claiming.

Like a lot of his decisions, this is a reckless gamble that only seems like a solid plan if you don't spend too long thinking about the possible consequences.

His poor decision-making isn't as obvious on the show because they gave a lot of his wartime contributions to Rhaenyra, probably since she's their designated main character and they had to give her something to do, but it leads to the unfortunate outcome of fans thinking Jace was this noble, put-upon boy who had the wisdom and temperance his peers lacked.

That's not only untrue, but also flattens his character by putting him up on the "perfect prince" pedestal that is so clearly his albatross. A lot of his choices were motivated by hubris and the desperation to prove himself as a man and prince. Once Rhaenys died and Corlys was instated as Hand (with Jace convincing him), Jace was empowered to make such decisions and act as the de facto head of the blacks — and almost every one of those decisions eventually come back to bite them.

He was a smart young man, that was clear by how he was responsible for securing key alliances. But he was also a foolhardy and inexperienced boy who modeled himself after a peerless adventurer and a rogue prince. Corlys and Daemon's rashness was ultimately tempered by their age and experience, but Jace didn't have the luxury of living through his mistakes.

[allwaswell16]

{Recently Read 1D Fics}

September 2021

These are all the One Direction fics I read and enjoyed in September. There are 17 recs here in all! You can listen to my podcast to hear me talk about each of these fics as well as an overview of what was posted on ao3 in September including the fics on this month’s fic roundup which you can find here! Please let the writers know if you liked the fics by leaving kudos and comments! Happy reading!

Fanfictional Podcast #29 | ko-fi | fic recs

-Larry-

Hold You Now by @solvetheminourdreams

(M, 131k, ex-fwb, British Louis, American Harry, PR specialist to freelancer Harry, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, consultant to recruiter Louis, travel, slow burn, flashbacks, pining, lack of communication, no cheating, mild smut, a MUST READ emotional journey)

Three years ago, Harry Styles said goodbye to communications consultancy firm McQuiston Worldwide, leaving a life of travel and agency PR behind.

Know a Trick or Two by SadaVeniren / @sadaveniren

(E, 44k, Harry Potter au, magic, mpreg, one night stand, accidental pregnancies, mpreg Louis, mpreg Harry, muggle Harry, wizard Louis, quidditch player Louis, time jump, kid fic, Hogwarts, smut, so much fun!)

the one where Muggle Harry and Wizard Louis have a one night stand and get more than they bargained out of it.

Compass to my Soul by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(T, 31k, canon, a/b/o, omega Louis, alpha Harry, touring, angst, hurt/comfort, omega drop, touch deprivation, alcohol, cuddling, miscommunication, nesting, touring, no smut, I cried the whole way through because Louis is so vulnerable and sad, help I'm sad just thinking about it but also I loved it)

Louis Tomlinson, omega, is 1/5 of world famous boy band One Direction. He spends his time hoping his bandmates don’t notice him.

Not Ready for This by @berzerkshires

(E, 18k, kid fic, single parent Louis, single parent Harry, dual pov, summer, secret relationship, smut, loved the dialogue and they were having way too much fun sneaking around lol)

Louis and Harry are both single fathers and their children decide to go out on a date.

Man, Deconstructed by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom

(E, 13k, sculptor Harry, artist Harry, strangers to lovers, misunderstandings, mistaken identity, stress baker Harry, disaster gay Harry, embarrassing situation, meet cute kind of lol, smut, bh, this was absolutely hilarious and embarrassing lol)

the one where a well-meaning best mate, a sculpture-worthy arse, and a heaping dose of misunderstanding combine to create sheer and utter chaos, and also, maybe, the best thing Harry’s ever found.

One Vote Can Rock the Boat by @2tiedships2

(M, 12k, a/b/o, alpha Harry, omega Louis, protective Harry, strangers to lovers, NYC, placing bets, oral sex, knotting, smut, whew this was hot)

the one where Omega Louis shows off his “I voted” sticker as one of the first 100 customers to get a free vibrator. The beautiful alpha behind the counter informs him that he’s customer 101.

My Sun and Stars, Moon of my Life by@ohharold

(M, 7k, Game of Thrones au, arranged marriage, dragons, fantasy, violence, mpreg Harry, smut, never read/saw GOT but this was very cool)

Harry was used to the luxuries of Kings Landing and then Pentos but when his brother is desperate for the crown he is entitled to, Harry must be part of an arranged marriage to a ruthless Khal of a Dothraki tribe.

baby I'll never leave (if you keep holding me this way) by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

(T, 6k, lockdown au, teacher Louis, baker Harry, strangers to lovers, accidental breaking and entering, motorcycle, fluff, emotional hurt/comfort, no smut, so lovely)

It is singing. Whoever is trying to rob him is in his kitchen, singing an eighties pop song under their breath. And they made cookies?

Call Me, Beep Me, If You Wanna Reach Me by therogueskimo

(NR, 6k, uni au, Brits in the U.S., strangers to lovers, first date, first kiss, embarrassing situation, pining, humor, Siri, so cute and funny)

“Will Harry Styles ever text me?” Louis looked back at Liam and Liam just smirked at him.

Birthday Princess by @kingsofeverything

(E, 4k, bartender Louis, Harry's birthday, alcohol, micropenis, oral sex, meet cute, semi-public sex, car sex, smut, funny and sweet and hot all at the same time)

Harry celebrates his birthday with Blow Jobs (and Slippery Nipples and Sex on the Beach) and drunkenly propositions the bartender in the bathroom.

Scent Partner by amomentoflove / @daggerandrose

(E, 4k, a/b/o, alpha Louis, omega Harry, strangers to lovers, pwp, heat, scenting, smut, meep!)

If both parties agree, they meet at a heat room for the omega’s heat.

The Cake Fairy by @homosociallyyours

(G, 2k, Harry/Louis, baking, flirting, slice of life, baker Harry, fluff, cute and fun!)

When Louis' attempt at making a Barbie princess cake is a huge, messy fail, Liam suggests he call in The Cake Fairy.

truth or dare by @jaerie

(E, 2k, strangers to lovers, truth or dare, alcohol, size difference, micropenis, size kink, smut, woah holy shit lol)

Harry likes small dicks. He finds a stranger that has one.

Take Me Home by SunTomato / @sun-tomato

(NR, 2k, uni au, roommates, banter, ot5, friendship, time jumps, no smut, really sweet)

Moving house sucks. Of course, it doesn’t help that, while the four of them had been trying to divide and pack everything before the deadline this weekend, Louis had spent his time unpacking it again.

The Bachelors and the Bachelorette by @turnyourankle

(NR, 2k, Bachelorette au, fake relationship, ficlet, shower sex, smut, hot and fun!)

With little left to do Harry and Louis both signed up to be contestant on the Bachelorette.

-Tomlinshaw-

the next bit was spanners to my plan by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13

(T, 6k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw, canon, fwb kind of, casual sex, secret relationship, no explicit smut, communication issues, texting, ah such great Tomlinshaw banter and dynamic!)

Louis and Nick end up shagging on the sly, everyone sends far too many emojis and far too few words, and eventually they're going to have to sort themselves out.

-Zouis-

driver's license by wordsnnotes / @quelsentiment

(T, 6k, Zayn/Louis, enemies to lovers, bed sharing, snow storm, winter, misunderstandings, banter, Canada, Louis pov, alcohol, demisexuality, unresolved tension, no smut, obsessed with this)

Louis is taking the exam to get his driver’s licence for the 3rd time (okay, sue him), and the examiner keeps getting under his skin, until they suddenly get stranded in the middle of a snow storm, and have to learn to cooperate.