#alicent was too kind

[bohemian-nights]

I'll maintain that a lame duck could've done a better overall job as king than Ol' zombie Vizzy. Killed his first wife, abused the second wife, neglected his children, created an upcoming war that would kill every of his children(every of his children perished young), destroyed the dragons, destroyed the realm and almost destroyed Targaryen dinasty.

Everything you said is what makes him the worst. Even if you want to say Daemon is evil(he’s not) at least he’s not an incompetent fool.

Obviously, his children made their chooses, but his floundering parental skills did them no favors.

Aegon would have been less likely to be a lazy drunk if Gollum was a present father. Hell, I’ll even go so far as to say the worst of Miss Maegor's tendencies(her extreme selfishness) would’ve been curved if he had actually parented her and not let her do whatever she wanted.

House Targaryen was this close to being finished from something entirely preventable. Parent your children!

[persephryne]

Making Aegon a rapist was straight up bad and lazy writing.

Let me elaborate.

In the show, the first thing we learn about Aegon as an adult is that he is a rapist. We haven’t seen him yet but still we already know that he is an horrible despicable rapist, especially since Dyana is so young, which pretty much makes him a pedophile too. How could anyone root for a man like that ? And that’s where the problem begins.

Rhaenyra had already been established many times as the rightful heir to the throne in season 1. It has been made obvious that she would make a decent Queen too. In the meantime, it had already been shown that Aegon is not even a good person. He’s selfish, inconsiderate, a bully, and does not act like a prince at all. To put it plainly, he sucks big time and we as viewers already know it. Add what we saw in season 2, how reckless he gets, how he’s an alcoholic immature asshole, how he obviously knows nothing about strategics nor how to rule efficiently, or even how bad he is at high valyrian, and you can’t have anyone tell you in good faith that he would’ve been a better ruler than Rhaenyra.

However, had Aegon not been made a rapist, you would still feel for him even though he is not cut out to rule. Because he knows it too and tried to escape it and he was forced to attend his own coronation . Because this crown that he did not want does not fit him, even though he really tries to show that he is not as worthless as everyone seems to think and he just keeps failing. You would feel for him because the war ,that he has started when he was made an usurper by the people around him, has cost him his son’s life. Because the brother, who is partially responsible for his son’s death has now betrayed him and tried to kill him with dragonfire. Because the injuries he suffered make him look more and more like his father who never cared for him, never loved him and that he definitely hates. Which also probably why he tries so hard to make his mother proud of him and love him but he can’t and his main attempt has left him half-dead, half-burn. Not only that but his dragon, with whom he has the strongest bond known in Targaryen’s, history probably died during this futile attempt to prove himself. The only thing about his Targaryen’s heritage that he seems to care about has been destroyed all because he wanted to prove himself. Because he truly resents his Targaryen’s, his father’s heritage, it’s obvious, just as it is obvious that he didn’t want to marry his own sister but was forced to. It’s completely legitimate of him to want to distance himself as much as possible from everything that is Targaryen related. He is indeed more of an Hightower than a Targaryen, but can you really blame him for that ? Would you not try to fit somewhere else too, if you were in his place ? It’s all absolutely and undeniably tragic.

I wholeheartdely believe that, even if you would’ve root for Rheanyra to be Queen, you woud’ve probably still thought that Aegon, as bad as he is, did not deserves this much pain.

But because he is a rapist, well, he honestly does.

By not trusting the audience to see that Aegon is not a good person, nor a good a king, without having him comitting a literal crime, by making Aegon a rapist, the writers have annihilated any possibilities for an internal conflict regarding Aegon and Rhaenyra. The whole concept of « teams » just goes down the drain because of this lazy, manichaean, writing. And that, my friends, is bad writing at its peak.

[allyriadayne]

“Once someone touched my jaw so softly I cried. Once someone held my hand so lightly I wept —” Sanna Wani, from “Meditation”, My Grief, the Sun.

[king-magppi]

❤️I hear Canada is very lovely this time of year🇨🇦

[smultronviol]

Ppl going "waaahh unpopular opinion but Alice is kind of annoying and obnoxious and I don't think I'd like be her friend irl" is so funny to me bc like.

God forbid a cast of characters be multifaceted and have actual flaws and unpleasant aspects other than "grr angsty hero" and "whoops i'm so clumsy". Sometimes character dynamics and arcs need to be prioritized above "who would i personally be niceys with irl"

2. bro just WAIT until you hear about season 1 jon lol

[the-twst-cast-needs-therapy]

My twisted OC based on Arielle unfortunately has the Humor of a 12 year old (despite being such a proper boy otherwise), which leads to some rather unsavoury consequences (and makes for some fun contrast with Azul)

[sukibenders]

Aegon, Aemond, Helaena, and Daeron looking at Alicent after she washes her hands of a war, that she (and Otto) dragged them into, and the throne, that she (and Otto) forced them to grasp/fight over even though they obviously didn't want it, and goes off to live her best life while they are all still stuck in a cycle forced on to them without their input (obviously this is about the s2 final):

[skeletoninthemelonland]

This was supposed to be posted yesterday for Women’s International Day :’D sorry I don’t know how to draw bed sheets 😭

[dulcewrites]

I think the most ironic thing about how Alicent’s motherhood gets used against her is that the logic that everything wrong with the targtowers is somehow her fault, completely goes out of the window when people talk about Rhaenyra’s parenting. Everything they do is a reflection of how terrible, awful, and disgusting Alicent is as a mother. But jace and luke’s behavior/actions somehow aren’t reflections of the pitfalls Rhaenyra has as a mother.

Aegon being a rapist is just Alicent fault. Aemond’s anger and resentment is just Alicent’s fault (some people even blame Alicent for him losing his eye yes I’ve seen it). Helaena’s adversion to touch (despite the fact it’s clear phia made an acting choice to play Helaena as neurodivergent plus we literally get scenes of Helaena letting Alicent touch her) is all Alicent’s fault. The rotting, neglectful rapist they all have for a father has absolutely nothing to do with that. And then the goalpost moving. If Alicent doesn’t admonish and totally hate Aegon for being said rapist, she’s a rape apologist who doesn’t want any woman to have rights (a crazy thing to say about a literal victim of rape herself btw). But if she slaps him, she’s an abusive cunt.

But jace and luke, more specifically luke, having no regard nor remorse for bullying then disabling someone is *check notes* seen as cute and normal??? It is apparently not Rhaenyra using the same tactics her father did. So much guilt about the position you have put your children in that in response you will just let them do whatever. This sort of perpetual cycle of gaslighting and withholding information being painted noble or nurturing.

Then when you bring up that argument of how Rhaenyra puts her kids in danger just by having them (much like how people say the same about Alicent despite that not even being her choice), you get hit back with ‘so you wanted her rape her gay husband’ which is like ??? how did you get there lmao. It’s wild, but completely on brand for a fandom that picks and chooses based on who they like, that people can emphathize with the position Rhaenyra was put in because of her gender. But the child bride who literally just has her children to cling to is the worst mother to ever mother.

The sooner people realize that Alicent and Rhaenyra are working up the same rigid rules and crushing pathology of patriarchy, the better off we will all be. The only difference is the way they push back against those structures. Someone like Rhaenyra, a dragon riding princess, can maneuver very differently compared to someone like Alicent. Both are going to fuck up and make decisions that put people in danger/hurt people’s feelings bc they are playing a game that has been rigged for them to lose. So why are the blonde ones allowed more grace than everyone else 🫤

[silver-dragonborn]

Let's be real here, if Rhaenyra had been anything like Cersei she would have had Alicent killed the moment she caught wind of her visiting her father's chambers just shy after Aemma's death. Alicent wouldn't have had a chance to plead her case because Rhaenyra would have shoved her down a flight of stairs or hired someone to take her out. Remember, Cersei shoved her only friend down a well for the small crime of having a childish crush on her twin brother...imagine what she would have done to Alicent if she found out that her "best friend" was seeing her father, The King, behind her back.

[manunchan]

[cindergarten]

what are your kg ships? can be ships you absolutely love or also ships you think are cute.

I absolutely love 🩷Cindix💙 x100000

it grew on me and now it's like my biggest ship! 🫶 But it's also the only "popular" ship I have cuz I like lots of lesser known ships like:

💚Emindy🩷 and 💜Austix💙

( those two coexist in my mind. If I'm not shipping Cindy with Felix, I'm most likely shipping her with Emmy. Same goes for the boys. Listen, you just gotta see the vision )

Now for some that I like but I'm not as crazy about as the ones above: Perla, Bindy, Felonty, oooh and I really like Austemmy!! and a bunch of others. And I mean a BUNCH.

But yeah I'm veeery open minded when it comes to ships, the joy of being a multishipper ^^

[thatrandomartistjavi]

Anytime someone says that darker retellings of Alice are actually more accurate to the books then the more colorful ones, I’m convinced that they’ve never read the books in their entire lives

They just saw the realistic illustrations and went “Oh my god this is too spooky ☹️” like be so real

[bbygirl-aemond]

thinking about how when she's taken prisoner in king's landing, alicent insists that it's aemond in particular who will come and save her.

thinking about how it's not aemond but aegon, the son whose loyalty and competence she has never had faith in, who actually does.

[sukibenders]

One of Rhaenyra's biggest opps (in HOTD) really was her own father. Because how are you going to proclaim your daughter as heir, only to then marry her best friend and have four kids, three sons, in an environment that is against women already as is but even more so with one sitting on the Iron Throne? And then, not only, do you not prepare her for anything political but scold her publicly, which isn't good for her image, and just....hardly do anything to aid her until you're on your last leg? And yet there are still fans saying he was a "great dad" and that he "did all he could". HA, I THINK NOT!

[atopvisenyashill]

In a Rhaenys as queen, given that her cousins would have permanent places at court due to them being dragon riders, do you think l think Aemma would be encouraged to try her hand at one? Dreamfyre is in Arryn colors.

Great question.

I think especially after Balerion has died, Rhaenys would approach Aemma about having her own dragon. It would be a way of reaching out emotionally to her cousins and depending on how Rhaenys comes to her throne, that would be needed; even in a perfect scenario where Aemon outlives his father and passes the throne to Rhaenys in peace, I think Rhaenys would still want to reach out to her cousins. It's not just that they're family that was raised together (before Jaehaerys completely cleaves this relationship in two) but making sure that a competing branch feels loyal to you is important; there's a reason why Alysanne attempts to get Aerea back to court and why Jaehaerys refuses to give Rhaena her own seat after all! I can see Rhaenys looking at how Aerea specifically was handled and decide that Jae and Aly misstepped there and that the key to getting Viserys, Aemma, and whatever children they have loyal to her is if she gives them just enough freedom that they don't chafe under Rhaenys' rule the way Aerea and Rhaena did. All three of them - Viserys, Aemma, and Rhaenyra - having dragons is risky as hell (it's where Viserys as King imo missteps compared to Jaehaerys the most - not having such an iron hand over who gets to ride a dragon so that there aren't so many riding around who don't like your heir is such a silly mistake) but with Balerion dead and Syrax/Rhaenyra so young, it's not a terrible idea to offer it to Aemma. Especially since neither Rhaenys nor Aemma have very many children to grab up the dragons.

[I know in book canon it's Laenor who would technically be ruling but I feel fairly certain here that Rhaenys would be Queen Regent for a while, and Corlys would be Hand, kind of similar to Alyssa/Rogar/Jaehaerys or the way I think Cersei wanted things to go with her/Jaime/Joffrey&Tommen].

I don't know that Aemma would take the opportunity but I do think the offer of it would go a long way to make her feel both loyal to Rhaenys and to encourage a kinship between Laena, Laenor, and Rhaenyra. Aemma has Targaryen blood and I think the offer despite her not being a born Targaryen would really touch her, perhaps make her feel emotionally close to her mother. I can see, for example, after several years, that Aemma has had so many miscarriages, hasn't been able to have a son, is so incredibly young yet creeping up on 30 and feels like she's old because her child bearing years are passing her by, that Aemma might take her up on the offer as a way of feeling better about her own "deficiencies." Maybe she can't birth a son, maybe most of her daughters die in the cradle, maybe her husband couldn't win the throne, but SHE can be a dragon rider and HIS dragon is long dead now. Dreamfyre would be such a great choice too, with Rhaena's status as being the widow queen of Maegor, the wife of poor dead Aegon the Uncrowned; a gentle sort of dragon that has already bonded with a widow and mother, bonding again with another mother but this one sickly, unsure of herself, but ready to figure out who she can be outside of child birth.

It doesn't inherently butterfly effect away her death but Viserys probably isn't impregnating her so often because Rhaenys has two children, Rhaenyra and Laenor are probably betrothed from a young age, I'm sure everyone's being picky about Laena's husband specifically because if Laenor dies/can't have kids there's precedent for Laena to become Queen Regent for her own son instead of the line of succession going straight to Viserys, so there's not a huge need to have their own son, because Rhaenyra will be Queen Consort one day. To be honest, I think it's even possible that if she's not having as many miscarriages, she gets some freedom and stability from not worrying about the line of succession, and then Rhaenyra & Laenor are betrothed and Aemma is perhaps feeling herself a bit in her bond with Dreamfyre, she might even get healthier, perhaps healthy enough to carry a child to term. We do see that the dragon bond can help settle someone who is a bit unsure of themselves - Quicksilver and Aenys, for example, but even Rhaena and Dreamfyre have a similar type of ~growing into their own together~ thing that may apply to Aemma. And there's a lot of reasons for why Rhaenys would want Aemma to be confident, the same way she'd want Rhaenyra to be (and I do mean confident and not like, hiding behind extreme violence to make up for feeling unsafe and unstable) - having a strong, educated, compassionate Queen Consort is just a good thing, as we see from Alysanne. Plus this helps head off potentially fertility problems with Rhaenyra/Laenor - if Rhaenyra feels close enough to Rhaenys that she can go to her good mother or her still living actual mother and say "I don't know how to get Laenor into my bed" or even "Laenor comes to my bed but nothing is happening, we keep having problems, are we even doing this right" that makes their marriage and Laenor's ascension so much easier to handle.

There is one little risk with this and it's Aemma's son. If she manages to have a son that lives, she may expect him to be given the chance to claim a dragon and that could become a problem. It might not! Especially if, idk, he's young enough that he can marry one of Laena's kids or one of Rhaenyra and Laenor's kids, or born early enough that he can just marry Laena, and they can keep that dragon in the family. But as we see with Daemon, with Aemond, even with Maegor, and what Jaehaerys (erroneously) believed could happen with Dreamfyre/Rhaena and Aerea, a second son having a dragon can be dangerous if he's not kept close and under control.