#based on what would you even make it on? hotd is a complete story and yet they still manage to fuck it up royally

[standbehindhousestark]

There are few things I hate more than those type of whiny, reactionary redditor fanboys who blame feminism when they don’t like their latest star war. But like genuinely HOTD has completely thrown out its’ entire plot in favor of milquetoast, contradictory, vaguely feminist rhetoric. Bioessentialism but like in a progressive way lol.

These damn bloodthirsty men are icing out the gentle, capable women who can actually lead… except neither of our female leads have done anything or shown any desire to do anything.

That Alicole scene where she tells him to fuck off after he says he’s protecting her from war since she doesn’t have the guts for it is clearly meant to portray Cole in the wrong, but like he’s genuinely right? This version of Alicent doesn’t even believe in the Greens’ claim, doesn’t want to fight, and inexplicably has not viewed Rhaenyra as an enemy since Driftmark. Why would she want to be Regent during a war effort? And why should the Greens entrust her in that role when she’s done nothing but make doe eyes at Rhaenyra? On the flip side, Jace’s frustration with his mother is also meant to be viewed similarly, but it’s the same story! She disappeared for days right after an assassination attempt at the height (kinda?) of a war, left her council in disarray, all to just kinda ask Alicent to end the war with no real plan of how to do that.

This show can’t decide if Rhaenyra and Alicent are the main players in the Dance, or helpless victims to the war machine of men around them. It tries to paint both as true at the same time, so neither message really lands.

And the actual conflict at the heart of this story? All wasted in the face of that nonsense. The final shot of S1 with Rhaenyra turning around “war in her eyes” was thrown out the window once that Sept scene happened. Green dress moment? Few episodes later and Alicent can’t stop talking about how good a Queen Rhaenyra will be lol. She doesn’t even know what’s going on in the Green Council. Blood and Cheese? I don’t think Jaeherys’ name has been said since then, the ratcatchers and that damn dog have had a larger impact on the narrative.

An actual “feminist” story for lack of a better word, would see these two women fight a war based on their own motives and desires, not because they think dad said it’s their turn on the throne. Or fully commit to the other side; the evil men commit all these atrocities, but in the end history still slanders the women for it all. When you try and do both, neither makes sense.

[branwendaughterofllyr]

Thank you for answering my previous ask! :D I have some thoughts on "a poison tree" that I wanted to share, so I couldn't help but write another one lol. So already going into it I love the backstory you gave Larys! His confession about his upbringing was such a haunting and memorable moment, especially through the lens of little Alyssa (who shouldn't be anywhere near him tbh). The way you portrayed her perspective as a child feels so real and... sad, somehow? Her disappointment with the limited life she can have as a woman in such a stratified and sexist society was really poignant, and her desperate search for someone to fill the void her mother left were highlights that resonated deeply within me (along with Larys' struggles as a disabled person in Westeros, since I'm disabled myself). Alyssa and Oldgon not only fit perfectly into the original story but also enriched it in ways that F&B and HOTD lack. This is so rare in fanfiction today and requires a tremendous amount of work and research, be it into the original work's lore or actual history. I'm really grateful for you sharing such a passionate and dedicated story with us.

On a side note, I apologize in advance because I have so many questions! Will "a poison tree" feature another character's POV besides Alyssa and Oldgon? Do you watch or read any analyses of HOTD/ASOIAF? If so, which ones? I think you would really enjoy the YT channel Hill's Alive. Lastly, could you recommend some of your favorite fanfictions for HOTD/ASOIAF? Bonus points if they're long fics!

Oh my gosh, I just about started giggling and kicking my feet when I saw this ask. Thank you so much for giving me the space to talk endlessly about my fic!

I saw Matthew Needham’s interview where he talks about his headcanons for Larys’ backstory, and it basically came down to his mother dying in childbirth and to be honest… I thought that was pretty lame because every mom dies in childbirth in this universe haha (even though I did it myself with Elinor lol). It’s just very lackluster to me, and I was already coming up with my own backstory for the Strongs at the time. Larys to me is a very… underutilized character, especially in fics. Many of the characters in F&B serve as parallels to characters in the main series, I think there’s a lot to Larys as a basically a caricature of Tyrion through the lens of history, an evil disabled man with unknown motives, who exists only to be the villainous traitorous wildcard. It’s very hard to get a handle on Larys in F&B because he’s really a character that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense based on what little we know about him, and while I thinks it’s worthwhile to consider him in the light of how Tyrion is viewed by a society that pre-judged him and will allow him no lenience, it’s deeply annoying to me that the show chose to do very little with him (especially in s1) and just make him a cackling villain who kills his own family just because. And this is not to say that I think Larys is a good guy, not at all, but I think there’s room to explore why he is the way he is.

And I think that I wanted to approach it through the eyes of a child, who might not have absorbed quite all the biases yet, or at least doesn’t understand the nuances of it. That’s why I wrote that bit where Larys expects Alyssa to ask him about his foot when she’s staring, and then is surprised when she asks about the ghost thing, and this entire thing goes completely over Alyssa’s head. I actually do kind of like the show take that Larys is seeking out people similar to him in Alicent and then Aegon, lonely damaged people that are isolated. But yes, Larys should not be allowed around children, especially ones that will straight up ask whatever questions on their minds. I think Larys’ confession was half-malicious, half-intended to be helpful, much like some of Cersei’s conversations with Sansa. Better to be traumatized early and learn that the world sucks. Really, he’s doing her a favour here!

One thing I tend to find…. Very heavy handed in most fics is how heavy handed the sexism can be, and how “modern” the sensibilities of the female characters. I think there’s a lot to be explored in the more insidious and underlying aspects, as well as the more obvious and in your face ones. Like, she’s grown up around men (of noble birth) who have been able to make their own ways in the world on paths simply not open to women, and as a child she doesn’t understand precisely why she can’t do the same.

I actually wanted to make Oldgon, for as much as he loves his daughter, still submerged in misogyny that he’s not really questioned much. Like, nice and/or smart people are not immune to the biases of their society! And Oldgon certainly isn’t, even if he has more fondness and respect for women due to his upbringing by Alysanne than other men, and he still expects his daughter to obey most of the rules for women even if he thinks education and curiosity are virtues for both the sexes.

I’m very glad that Alyssa has come off as a sort of melancholy character, especially since I think there’s an inherent cheerfulness to Oldgon even though he’s had a lot of tragedy in life. I wrote much of Alyssa I during the wintertime, when I suffer from pretty bad seasonal affective disorder, and I think that the pre-Dance Red Keep is a pretty disordered and lonely place to grow up in, even though it’s full of people. The severed emotional ties, the inherent distance between family members, all contribute to that. I also wanted to give her a really complex relationship with motherhood, that I will continue explore as the fic goes on!

I don’t currently plan to have any other character PoVs for Poison, it was always going to be just Alyssa and Oldgon in my head. But I have been making plans to do much more extensive fake F&B excerpts for events neither of them are present for. You may have noticed that I’ve introduced a new source for my version of F&B, Perkin Gaunt, who will survive the Dance (spoiler lol) and write his own history of it. Writing the F&B bits is actually really hard, but I like thinking about how the history got recorded, by who and why and to what end.

I actually don’t like watching ASOIAF YouTube videos or listening to related podcasts at all, a lot of the really popular ones have opinions I deeply disagree with or just find really annoying, and I’ve disliked the ASOIAF fan industrial complex since the days of GoT, and my opinion has only sunk lower as HoTD started airing. I’ve seen a few of Hills Alive’s videos, as one of my friends sent them to me, and I think she’s got some decent takes overall.

For ASOIAF fics, I like iron fears the rot by @undeniablespice which is a genderbent Theon Greyjoy AU. I’m currently still mad at the most recent chapter for making me feel things about the deaths of the older Greyjoy sons. I also love any work by just_a_dram but I’ll recommend their most recent finished work, which is a Jonsa space opera AU titled Lupum Luna

In the F&B/HoTD realm, I’m always recommending @aifsaath’s series The Sky is Always Red Above Valyria (great title that I am insanely jealous of) and their other series, co-written with @gwenllian-in-the-abbey Our Fathers Clad in Red which is a book canon AU, where Aegon II marries Baela after the Dance. I also like solitariusvirtus’ Aegon III/Jaehaera fics, and I’ll recommend every tomb, every sea, spit the bones from your teeth as a good one shot starter. This next one is probably not for everyone, but I have been fascinated by glory days by behemoth for a while, which is a pre-canon fic exploring Viserys’ enmeshed relationships with his father and Daemon, with plenty of uncomfortable moments, but it’s heavily informed some of my own headcanons about the family for my fic purposes lol.

Anyway, feel free to ask any questions, and I will spill more of my ramblings!

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

Thank you so much @aemondtarqaryens for starting off Volume 2 of my Interview With a Writer series! This is my ongoing series of the talented souls on Tumblr and ao3, and their brilliant writing!

If there is a story you are interest in, I am open to requests! Just make sure to check out my criteria for stories considered for this.

Name: aemondtarqaryens

Story: Precious Delights

Paring: Maegor Targaryen x niece!Reader

WARNINGS: See each chapter for individual, more precise warnings. Written with/for a female reader, but other than purple eyes, there‘s no mention of her appearance.

What inspired the plot for Precious Delights?

Oh God, truth be told? It started with a request I received for Maegor x Reader smut where she's heavily pregnant with his child. And I'm just a sucker for my big tiddy daddy and gave it a shot.

Once the original Precious Delights was posted, people commented under it, asking for a part 2 where the baby is born. The whole series just developed from there on and the rest is history.

I just loved their dynamic in the first part I posted (it's based on the bath scene between Aemma and Viserys, because it was just fitting and I liked that scene in the series) and felt captivated to give the few people interested what they wanted.

Explain your interpretation of Maegor? What drives him? Why is he the way he is in the story?

Charlie Hunnam is my faceclaim for Maegor because someone (I'm not dropping names cough cough @fairysluna cough) planted that seed into my mind. Most people fancast him as Aegon I, but to me, Henry Cavil makes a better Aegon I (you know, let's just cast Henry as every ASOIAF character lmfao).

I always had the relationship of Daemon and the young Rhaenyra we see in the show in my mind while writing this story. And we learn in Innate Desires that Maegor has lusted after his niece for quite some time, and even asked Aenys to give him her hand in marriage. He was denied, and searched his luck (or power) elsewhere, but failed with his wives dying without giving him an heir.

This is something that drives him, too. The need to provide an heir with his blood, that will take the Throne after him.

Canon!Maegor is one kind of a man, and while I find him intriguing, I firstly know that I could never do him justice and secondly, it just wouldn't have fit the story and it's overall development. Plus, having had a soft spot for his niece for so long, it's clear he's not always the brute he is towards her. He's softer, and allows her to catch some rare glimpses of his vulnerability as their relationship develops.

Was there anything in specific that inspired your Reader portrayal?

No, I feel like it‘s very self indulgent. Usually, the reader portrayals are matching their respective role (or I try to make it that way, at least) and with Targcest, I feel like you do have a bit more freedom to indulge. Just a freedom to be cheeky, or disobey certain rules.

Do you feel they eventually come to complement one another?

They complement each other. Maegor gives her something she‘s craved for so long, stability, family, attention, and Reader takes piece after piece of the brute out of him. Just like their children. They‘re not changing him completely, but they have a positive impact on him. She basically made the rogue brute soft and tender. 🤭

Will you add into their story?

Depends, if I really get another idea for this series maybe, but most likely not. It has found a good end, and everything else would be just dragging it out.

Do you want to share about another upcoming WIP? I know you finished celebrating a milestone for your blog (congratulations 💖).

Thank you!! I‘m currently working on the last two requests for my celebration, a one shot with Aemond and servant!Reader for a writing challenge I participated in, and a one shot of an American Horror Story x HOTD crossover where Aemond is the Antichrist.

Any chance we can have a snippet for Aemond!Antichrist? 👀

Easing your trembling legs, you hold onto the desk for support. It feels like an eternity when you crouch forward slightly to steady your uneven breathing, the moment only breaking as Aemond advances towards you, his body leaning against yours and pressing you up against the desk. It’s the only thing keeping you upright, and the moment you feel his hot breath caress your neck, your legs feel like they are about to give in. His thigh slips between yours, but you can’t feel his hands on your body, assuming he’s clasped them behind his back or keeps them at his sides. But you can tell that his chest isn’t the only firm thing that presses against your body. His cock is rock hard, clearly finding as much pleasure in the situation than you do, and all but strains against your lower back. He is so close, that’s all you’ve thought of for the past days, yet it’s not enough. You need his hands, him, to feel thoroughly satisfied. The urge to whine scratches in your throat, but you manage to swallow it at the last moment. ��Beg for me to touch you,” he drawls, voice laced with a mixture of excitement and hunger. Exhaling a strained breath, you close your eyes. “P-Please,” you whimper, barely loud enough for him to hear. “Please… touch me. It’s been so long.” “Hm.” You hear it loud and clear, the amusement, the satisfaction, causing your skin to heat up. “That’s all you’ve got?”

[alethiaii]

Me, House Stark/North trash through and through, every time I read something about a Jon Snow show and Long Night prequel show, whether it's cancelled or not:

Omg Targ antis are truly pathetic lol. Imagine watching a show about a family you hate just because you want to see them destroy each other. I think they’re also just really salty that the Stark prequel got cancelled and a Targaryen prequel was made instead. I also find it funny how they hate the Targaryens for conquering Westeros but yet are okay with the Starks who also conquered the north. They really need to read more about Stark history so they can see all the horrific things the Starks did to take over the north.

Hating on the Targs because they "start wars" and because they "colonize" the east or south or north is the result of the ridiculous anti-war agenda that SO many of the (mainly american) fans share. I have written a very long rant on the anti-war agenda where I explain that GRRM is not "anti-war" in the way these people interpret the term and that it's ridiculous to be anti-war while reading a series of books and watching a decade-long show whose SINGLE theme is war. Like, if Game of Thrones has ONE theme, that is war. All of the main characters are warriors or leaders to battle. Daenerys, Ned, Jon, the Lannisters, Brienne, Stannis, ALL OF THEM. If you are "anti-war", do not watch the show, period. It's like watching Breaking Bad, a show about drugs, and hating on the characters because they sell drugs. No shit Sherlock. I personally don't sell drugs, I have never taken any drugs and I don't like people that sell drugs, but criticising a BrBa character for selling drugs is simply not relevant in the context of the show because everybody does it. If that's your criteria, who are you going to support, Marie? Same thing with war, I don't particularly fancy decapitating people that piss me off but in a TV show where literally everybody does the exact same thing, which character is left to support? Even Sansa goes to war lol.

Thing is, these people are not even properly anti-war, they are anti-war only when Dany is concerned. That is an entirely different problem. @jackoshadows explained it BEAUTIFULLY here : the sexism and the double standards regarding Dany are insane.

So you are either hating on Dany and every military leader in GoT because you are "anti-war", in that case you are a moron. Or you are hating on Dany but stanning other characters that are military leaders, like the Starks or Stannis Baratheon, in that case you are a moron and a misogynist.

[navree]

Question for you, oh ASOIAF/F&B analysis queen: Do you think GRRM will ever actually finish ASOIAF? I feel like no, and like he should just hire his former assistant (half of James S.A. Corey) to finish it because GRRM clearly doesn't want to (or feels pressured from the reaction to the show idk). I know you appreciate Dany as a character - do you think that, if the books ever actually did continue (lol), she would've ended up like she does in GOT? (Also, side note: sometimes I think you interpret female characters in ASOIAF with more nuance than GRRM himself appreciated/intended, but maybe I'm just not giving him the benefit of the doubt.)

Unrelated: I don't watch HOTD (I just like Rhaenyra because Emma D'Arcy is a great actor), but sorry they did the B&C scene incorrectly. They should've owned up to the choices Team Black makes.

So, the thing to know about me is I am an eternal optimist. Not unrealistically so, but I am someone whose first instinct is that things are gonna work out in my favor, even if it takes a while. So I do think that GRRM is gonna at least finish The Winds of Winter, if only because he has been actively working on it for, like, ten million years. I'm a bit more iffy about A Dream of Spring, if only because George is not a particularly young man and I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up dying of old age before completing it, especially since the length of wait time seems to double with every new release. If TWOW gets finished this year, than we're supposed to expect ADOS by, what, 2044? By which time George while be in his mid-nineties? Winds also doesn't need to solve every dangling plot thread, since it's still not the last book, which is good because I think part of the issue and wait time, based on George's context clues, is that he's kinda written himself into a corner on at least one key thing and has been struggling to figure a way out of it (along with what I assume is more pressure due to the show's catastrophic ending).

I think it's possible we'll see a version of what we saw in the show with book!Dany, because the issue most people had wasn't necessarily with how Dany's arc ended, but the steps taken to get there, which were rushed and sloppy and made no sense and grotesquely out of character. But I think it's going to look very different, because the show and the books literally cannot end in the same way. The choices made in changing character motivations, character storylines, and even straight up cutting arcs and plots and whole entire swaths of people means that ASOIAF is an entirely different narrative to GOT, and the stories cannot line up in their conclusion. That's part of what sunk GOT, David and Dan knew key beats of how the story ended, but had switched around so much in getting there that all these characters are functionally different people in a different plot, so trying to force them into book storylines didn't work. Like, the whole thing with "the bells". There is a character in the books, Jon Connington, who has a trauma response associated with the bells of King's Landing that could lead to him making dumb decisions that would eventually result in the destruction of the city. But the way that would go about in the books is nowhere near what we saw in that fuckass show. @turtle-paced has a post about how that would work that I cannot for the life of me find but the gist of it is that there will be some bells ringing to signify surrender during the conflict between Dany and Aegon/fAegon, but that Connington will likely ignore it and keep fighting because trauma response, Dany will then continue hostilities herself in the face of that, and at some point the fires involved, cuz she has dragons, are going to reach the cache of wildfire Aerys hid all over the city and blow everything sky high, because that wildfire has been given way too much significance to not matter. Very different from Dany seeing abject surrender and just deciding to become She-Hitler on a whim, because it involves characters that the books set up, like Jon Connington and Arianne Martell and Aegon/fAegon and the involvement of the Golden Company, who were literally all cut from the show. So Dany likely will have a moment where she causes mass destruction in King's Landing, she might even have a moment where she rules and might exhibit some darker tendencies, and she might die (I'm still on the fence on whether that'll happen or not), but it's not gonna be like we saw in the show, and the circumstances of any death on her part is going to be entirely different.

I probably do give more nuance to most characters, especially Fire&Blood characters, than GRRM intended, it's that eternal optimist in me that wants to believe that stuff is well written. But for F&B I at least allow that part of it is straight headcanoning because of how muddled and sparse the information is, especially when it relates to characters from the Conquest. Is there any evidence in the text for my firm belief that Visenya was a lesbian and the real "love triangle" was her and Aegon both super into Rhaenys? No, there is not, but I will go to my grave believing it.

God I wish Emma D'Arcy was in more stuff so I could see more of them, they're so good and I'd kill to have them act out scripts that are, like, well written. Honestly finding out the leaks about how they were doing Blood and Cheese really turned me off of watching season 2 even though I was tentatively back on board due to the Aegon dad stuff, because it's just badly written, and the cop-out excuse of "oh there's some stuff you can't legally do with kids involved" makes no sense because y'all are making a TV show, you're filming, you know editing and cuts and multiple takes and different angles exist. Do you actually think that D&D were having Lena Heady and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau simulate graphic sex, including elements of nudity, literally right in front of ten year old Isaac Hempstead-Wright? No, of course not, they edited that together from two separate takes, oh wow how novel that's never been done before. And they did that because Bran catching the Lannisters fucking is, like, important to the plot, and honestly Blood and Cheese doing what they did in the way that they did it is too. It turns the smallfolk hard against Rhaenyra and her faction, which is important because it's a smallfolk uprising that leads to her fleeing King's Landing and ultimately dying and losing the war, and it's part of a broader trend in ASOIAF about how monarchy is a bad system. Rhaenyra sanctioning Blood and Cheese and not punishing Daemon in the slightest for this egregious action shows that she is not, in fact, the right choice for the Iron Throne. And neither is Aegon. Because there's no right choice, because this war specifically was entirely useless and that's why, narratively, it's the beginning of the end for House Targaryen, and broadly because birthright monarchy is a scam and should not exist. There's a reason why all the kings who've sat the Iron Throne in ASOIAF are bad, that Tommen is a bad king, that Joffrey was a bad king, that Robert was a bad king, that Aerys was a bad king, that even a lot of claimants aren't really gonna be good kings (Renly was an idiot and Stannis, for all I love him, is too hard headed and rigid). And conversely, there's a reason why the rulers we see who are the best morally tend to be the ones who've come the closest to being democratically chosen, Robb was chosen by his bannermen by popular decree, Jon was elected by the Night's Watch in a democratic vote, Dany was willingly followed by free men and women who were given the option not to (and even all three of them have issues when it comes to ruling and are far from perfect monarchs). There's not really such a thing as a "good king", not firmly, because a monarchy is inherently unjust. Rhaenyra's claim is inherently as illegitimate as Aegon's, it rests on "Daddy said it's mine so it's mine" rather than "Mommy said it's mine so it's mine", because that's how hereditary monarchies work and that's bad. And having Rhaenyra allow acts of senseless brutality in her name due to personal hangups is a part of showcasing that. There's no good side in this civil war, there's no good and righteous claimant, and whitewashing so much of Team Black's actions weakens the overall story (but at least makes their stans look like the hypocrites they are, considering they were all about book purity when it came to, like, the concept of sapphics in Westeros but now all the people chanting "we support all of Team Black's war crimes after that boring ass plank of wood got eaten" have gone dead silent about the deviations when it comes to making Daemon and Rhaenyra not be monsters, shrug dot emoji).

Also, how are you, as a writer, gonna say that the core of the story is Rhaenyra and Alicent, and then not include Alicent in Blood and Cheese? Like, she was there, she was physically attacked, by this thing that happened as a result of Rhaenyra's wants and wishes! And you don't do anything with that? You don't want to give Emma D'Arcy the chance to perform that delusion conflict, that she wanted revenge but didn't even get it, and worse, someone she loved so dearly, still deep down loves so dearly, was assaulted and put in real danger as a result? If the leaks are true and Rhaenyra and Alicent are gonna have a secret meeting in the next couple episodes, imagine how wonderful it could be if Rhaenyra has to confront that not only has her side hurt Alicent emotionally in torturing her daughter and murdering her grandson, but physically as well. Imagine Rhaenyra, full of righteous "the throne is mine" crap but having to confront the still healing physical wounds on Alicent's body. It could be so good for Rhaenicent character interaction, even for Daemyra character interaction if they wanted to still whitewash Rhaenyra and have it be Daemon going off script against her wishes, but at this point I'm not entirely sure Ryan and Sara are good at their jobs.

[thephantomcasebook]

https://www.tumblr.com/thephantomcasebook/751087061978775552/about-hotd-my-expectations-were-low-but-they

This is a bad take.

Olivia Cooke's personal headcanon for Alicent, as told to the writer Sara Hess (https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-female-gaze-sex-scenes-queer-rhaenyra-1235462483/), was that, "they (Rhaenyra and Alicent) at some point kissed or made out or had some kind of physical interaction that Alicent’s mother found out about and forbade. And that was [her] head story, ‘Oh, I can’t do that. That’s not right.'"

Also, it is poor taste to misgender Emma and disregard their journey they have publicly spoken out about. The Pink News (https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/11/emma-darcy-non-binary-golden-globes/) reported how they struggled with presenting as female for success, but they chose to publicly state they are non-binary because: "In terms of queerness, the only good reason for being out as a non-binary person, publicly and professionally, is that I hope it will let younger people who may feel similar know that there is room in this industry for them."

Please don't add to the bigotry of this fandom.

Alright ...

1.) That's creepy as fuck that Olivia Cooke was thinking about Tween Girls making out and touching each other. That's also fucking stupid, completely off character, and she, frankly, needs to get her whole ass head examined.

I won't get into more specifics, because, I've already done a deep dive of how weird and creepy that head canon is on this blog and on other sites when it came out. And if I was the writer, I'd say ... "No ... what? NO! What are we evening talking about right now? And don't say shit like that in public! The fuck is wrong with you?!"

2.) I'm not playing these fucking games.

A.) I'm not giving any respect or care to an ideology that was founded on the abuse and torture of children by some psychopathic French doctor that resulted in a young boy killing himself after years of being forced to have sexual relations with his twin brother.

(Yes, weirdo, gender ideology is based off the work of an evil doctor mutilating, torturing, and sexually abusing, young twin boys in his clinic and home in mid-1950's Paris.)

B.) Don't fucking insult my intelligence. You mean to tell me that an actress, all the way in her 30's, with a long time boyfriend, who spent an unsuccessful decade in the London entertainment industry, who couldn't hack it, suddenly used a pet corporate sponsored fad to try and get her foot in the door? You mean to tell me that weird and fucked up actors and actresses would game the system and prey on the "Current Thing" to get noticed and casted? I'm shocked, I say! Shocked!

Do me a favor, weirdo. While you pretend to be a good person with your bullshit Jerk Off crystal ideology, why don't you get the fuck off my land!

[lemonhemlock]

maegor i and rhaena…I thought I was the only one who saw something in that 👀 I can totally imagine Maegor lowkey obsessed with his niece whilst she hates his guts, peak problematic romance ❤️ I kinda wish HOTD adapted the book from the beginning or at least from Aenys and Maegor’s era as I thought their sections were very entertaining. But I guess then we would have had to sit through Jaehaerys’ storyline which is less exciting imo. Would love a flashback episode or something.

MAENA is the OG Daemyra!! He kills her husband and takes the crown from her only to crown her again as his wife! Against all reason - she hates men! Don't tell me this is not unhinged yandere behaviour. ☠ It's like nothing but the first ever Targaryen girl born after the Conquest is good enough for him, Mummy's first choice of bride for her miracle dark magic baby! 🙏

There's no reason to believe that we won't get any more shows based off different time periods in Fire & Blood, but the problem with Maegor's storyline is that it's really, really brutal. While Henry VIII and his many wives are really popular material for screen adaptations, Maegor truly surpasses him in every way in terms of abuse and cruelty and I don't really think we need to see more stories based on brutality against women. At least when it's in print, you can fast-forward through the paragraphs, but would we really need to see what happens to Alys Harroway and her family in graphic detail?

One way to avoid this would, naturally, be to sanitize Maegor and make him less awful, but, again, that's not the point of him. He's not really called "the cruel" for nothing. I suppose it could work if you don't really show Maegor all that much and he just appears every now and then, focusing the story on Aenys' brood. But then again you wouldn't really be able to expand on his character.

My grand idea to adapt Maegor's story would be use the sitcom format, complete with laugh track, even when his lines are gruesome and not funny, and kept the brutality suggested in the background. It would amplify the horror in a more psychological way, as opposed to all the gore.

[travllingbunny]

They really cut Lady Stoneheart out of GOT. What if they do the same with Alys River? 😣

"They" were Benioff and Weiss. Who, fortunately, have nothing to do with House of the Dragon.

Ryan Condal is a huge fan of the books and makes everyone on the staff read both ASOAIF and F&B if they haven't (the opposite of what D&D were doing) and so far we have seen evidence that HotD isn't cutting any characters of note. (Even Ryam Redwyne was there.(

Aside from that, Alys was never in danger of being cut. She is 1) Aemond's love interest, 2) the main person he interacts throughout his Riverland arc and the only one he interacts throughout it (the only other notable character he would have interactions with is Criston Cole, and it can't all be about their dynamic - and then they part, too), 3) their relationship is one of the most interesting things about Aemond in the books and the only thing that can make him likable once he is in the Riverlands, and without it he gets no character development, 4) very interesting in her own right and a character who brings new perspectives as a lowborn bastard wet nurse, Old Gods worshipper, someone connected to Old Gods/weirdwood/Harrenhla/Isle of Faces magic, and 5) has her own storyline after his death, as a widow/Witch Queen ruling Harrenhal and defying the new regime during the regency.

The only way you could cut her would be if Aemond was made to be a side character once he goes to the Riverlands, or if the showrunners hated Aemond so much and wanted him to be a one-dimensional villain so they wanted to remove any romance he has and anything that might make him sympathetic. (Or maybe those imaginary showrunners would've rewritten Alys as someone he rapes after taking the castle and that would be it.) Or they would have to be completely disinterested in telling women's stories. I think there's no need to point out that this is definitely not the case with HotD.

She wouldn't even be cut if D&D were in charge. But they would, no doubt, take the most sexist possible interpretations of her, take every misogynistic rumor about her from Fire & Blood as accurate (they would completely miss the irony) and make her something like show!Melisandre 2.0 only worse. Also not something I think I should be at all afraid of with HotD, based on what they've done so far with the female characters and the things they have said about the portrayal of women in Fire & Blood.

The "Alys Rivers will be cut" speculation seems to be simply wishful thinking from people who ship fanon incest ships, got into them so much that they are starting to forget they are not canon, and were upset to learn about Aemond's canon love interest from the book. With possibly some support from the folks who are really upset that Alicent does, after all, have a confirmed living grandchild at the end of Fire & Blood, which doesn't fit with the "ha ha her bloodline is dead and this is what makes our side superior" narrative.

I doubt that any of them really believe it, because that would require believing that Condal and the rest of the writing staff are genuinely into the idea of Targaryen blood purity and are trying to promote it by eliminating every non-incestuous romantic relationship from the book, and that they value that over good and compelling TV. If they believe it really... they need a dose of reality. Maybe they think the showrunners will try to fanservice them, but they forget that the general viewership is not the same as the "blood purity" incest-obsessed Targ stans on Twitter.

[lady-phasma]

I read your essay about Daemon’s deleted scenes and I also love to analyze film,I studied for it,having read the book though and If they plan to make him a full on villain I can see some problems in the future and his choices. I also think they should have tonned down the Daemyra or whatever and they should have informed Matt they planned to make him a black villain because the guy is saying he loves his niece and his brother and would die for them,I don’t know I find some of the decisions regarding Daemon could be a problem in the future and it’s gives me Got s8 vibes😬

Thank you for reading! I just scream into the void and hope people read it. I wish you had come off anon though - every point you made is valid even if people disagree. The post anon mentioned.

I want to be clear about two things: First, I have a Bachelor's and a Master's in Art History and my minors for my BA and my MA were in film studies. Second, since you studied film you will understand this, I am not writing any of my posts with the tag "film studies" with my personal opinion. It's analysis and synthesis. I won't speak directly to your point about Matt as that's going to venture into the realm of opinion and I can do that on another ask/post.

To your point about GoT season 8... the final season of HotD might be a train wreck, we just have to have faith and enjoy the ride.

I ship Daemyra and I don't think it is problematic for a character who is so clearly terrible as Daemon is. He is bad. Wonderfully bad. But bad characters can feel love. I don't think he's a sociopath. As I have said: his moral compass is skewed. If he loves his family that is completely in line with his obsession with House Targaryen and its superiority.

I could bore everyone with scene analysis or breakdown but I'll try not to. A great moment depicting this devotion is the scene where his own brother is kicking him on the throne room floor. He loves Viserys. He loves Rhaenyra. That does not negate his horrible choices. In fact, it does something fairly remarkable and unusual: it highlights them. It makes people question whether or not viewers should like him. I mean I could do a scene analysis. LoL There are many more moments that make the viewer uncomfortable and are exactly why this rift has been created in the fandom.

I think the show runners are on track to make Daemon flip the expectation and make Daemyra shippers gasp when he does things from the book (but we can't know yet what they will include). I ship Daemyra for sure but will he be a better, more complex character when he cheats on her? Certainly! Will I watch that with the enthusiasm I have now? Yup, no doubt. Humans are complex and we love people but still hurt them. Daemon is 100% allowed to do that too.

Lastly, I think so much of what makes being a fan fun is opinion based. I miss being able to suspend disbelief and be immersed in a story. I really do. But I can't do that, haven't been able to for 20 years, because I have been trained to see manipulative (not a bad word here) shots, hear the manipulative score, and question everything that is presented to the viewer.

I love these kinds of asks! Thank you.

[appletreeduty]

Tagged by @dragonsoftheeast! Thank you for thinking of me!

How many works do you have on AO3?

4, but more on the way!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

17,043

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only HOTD so far! I have a bunch of unfinished Black Sails, Yellowjackets, Good Omens, OFMD, etc, though....

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

first two are tied: splendor in the grass, you are the angel that I couldn't kill then it's seasons don't fear the reaper, then farewell, my mortal son

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I respond to almost all comments, because seeing people read my work and responding enough to it encourages me to continue writing out the stories in my head, to continue actually finishing them, to continue posting. I'm a pretty small creator so I have the luxury to respond to basically every single comment right now since I don't get many, and I want those who read my fics to know that seeing their comments makes my day!!!!!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This one's a tough one. Anyone who knows me knows I'm pretty much incapable of writing a happy ending - even the happiest endings I write are bittersweet. I think my angstiest based on just how heartwrenching (with not even half of a bright side, not even a slice of the smallest most cynical comfort) is "farewell, my mortal son", in which faerie AU Alicent Hightower has to give up her favorite, only pure son Daeron as a changeling and is powerless to protect him against what his life is about to become despite how hard she fights.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, a tough one since I am just the worst at happy endings, but probably "seasons don't fear the reaper", where Helaena is able to reunite with a dead Aemond in death (even though she dies)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Honestly. I'm not a big enough writer to get public outrage, I don't think. However I'm sure there are people who have read my fics and have left with a sour taste in their mouth. I write about pretty nasty stuff, I write in the POV of quite deranged characters, and I do not tread lightly or mince words when I do so.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Pretty much every single one of my fics is smut. The dove is not just dead, it's decomposed; read the tags please.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't written one, but I'm sure I might sometime in the future.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Honestly, not sure. If it had been, nobody has informed me and I have not seen it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I would love for someone to enjoy my fics enough to translate them to other languages!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Was in the process of cowriting a fic, but separated from the other writer for personal reasons. Still wishing it could've been completely cowritten, since the AU I created is such a big universe!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Too many to count! I am admittedly a ship-jumper

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

"under the blackthorn tree" - it's a HOTD canonverse epic fic and I have the whole outline and a lot of chapters written but it's so perfect in my head that I get discouraged every time I write something out and it's not how I pictured it would go.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a sick writing style/voice (I work really hard on it) and I think I'm really good at portraying character voice in POV. I also am good at finding just the thing to really stab the reader in the guts in terms of drama/angst.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

It takes me 847589347589374895734 years to write anything because I overthink and then procrastinate overthinking and then overthink more. I really struggle to write the quiet, conflict-free moments that are necessary to properly pace my stories, though I recognize that they're needed, which makes it worse when I struggle to write them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Dialogue in another language for a fic is cool, but I think it's important to keep the medium in mind. On film, you can have entire scenes where characters are speaking a different language and just put subtitles so the audience can understand what they're saying; this is frustrating when the concept is translated directly to fic, because as a reader I feel like I'm skipping over entire paragraphs just to read the meaning and am not appreciating the purpose of the characters speaking a different language. In the case of the purpose being for a POV character to not understand the language, then they surely wouldn't be able to understand all the separate words, so it's more effective to just write that the character does not understand the language. Personally, I like to use short phrases that require no translation due to context, and that's personally my favorite use of a second language in fic.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

................. It was an All-American Rejects bandfic on Mibba/Quizilla/whichever one of those early-2000s quiz sites. I was 10 please don't judge lmao

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Tie between splendor in the grass and seasons don't fear the reaper right now!

No pressure tags: @catnico @spooky-risley @cinemassance

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

At least Reign knew how to write political intrigue while also writing fascinating characters like Catherine de' Medici. Yeah, it took a lot of liberties and it's not highbrow or prestige TV but at least it's obvious they knew their history even if they didn't always abide by it. With HOTD you can tell that none of the writers understand medieval/Renaissance courtly ways or how worlds like that really work. The very fact that their costumes suck ass just shows how little they actually understand because fashion equals politics in feudalism. The richer the fabrics, the brighter the colors, the more jewels you wore, was a political statement about how much power you had because the process of making clothing was a long one. Not to mention how HOTD takes place in a golden age and yet we have costumes like that with constant repeat costumes despite the fact that royals in an age like that would probably be changing more than once a day. Not to mention, how that world doesn't have the same technology as the modern world and they don't wear shifts which means their clothes would be beyond rank with how much they are repeated if that was happening in the real world in an era like that in a hot climate.

Anyways, an example from another golden age in our real world history: When Queen Elizabeth I died she had over 2000 elaborate gowns in her wardrobe.

HOTD has no excuses and should better budget for better costumes.

Also you can tell that the writers can't pace for shit. The Tudors excelled at pacing. Months, sometimes years, could take place in one single episode and it didn't hurt the content at all and everything still made sense. HOTD can't hold a candle to that.

And truthfully I blame GRRM for this. It's obvious he was looking for fans first and experience second to take on these adaptations. He should have been looking at experience first and foremost. He should have been making sure anyone he choose had an understanding of actual western feudalistic history which included women studies in those eras. He should have been making sure anyone he chose could actually pace a story coherently considering HOTD was spanning like 30 years. Instead he chose a fan first and foremost and that fan obviously was more interested in writing his very own fanfic than actually adapting the story, which IMO isn't professional and actually is an insult to GRRM's work. Like yes, fanfic is great, I love it, but Ryan Condal was tasked with adapting what was written. He wasn't tasked with writing and filming his own fanfic. HOTD is supposed to be "based on" F&B, not "inspired by" F&B. It's an insult and he was not fully qualified for the job. At the very least he could have stuck with what was written for the most part and hire writers that could have filled in the gaps. Writers who have written for historical dramas for example, and writers who have more experience at pacing a story that takes place over decades, but he didn't.

Also the costumes in My Lady Jane are amazing. Maybe not completely true to the era, but pretty damn close enough. That's what we should have been seeing in HOTD at the very least.

House of the Dragon clearly doesn't come close to The Borgias (I'm talking about the Showtime version here) the iconic Rome (and I will forever thank my old high school freshman history teacher for teaching me discover this nugget) or even The Tudor.

I want to say, it doesn't even come close to My Lady Jane on Amazon Prime, a reimagined version of the story with a dose of fantasy and comedy.

Frankly, objectively, HOTD is pitiful.

Even REIGN, is better that this shit show !

The fact that so many people put it on a pedestal will always baffle me, including comparing it to The Ring of Power, when in fact both shows have the same flaws. It's just that at least on TROP's side the screenwriters own up to their bullshit without taking themselves for writing gods...

[branwendaughterofllyr]

Do you have any other fic recs for your poison tree fans 🙏 it's dire out here

Anon, I KNOW. There are very few HoTD fics that I unabashedly like, and even fewer long form political ones.

But there’s some I can recommend.

I recently blitzed through Dragonskin by Missybee303 and it’s one of the few Aemond/OC fics I’ve actually really enjoyed. The premise seemed just a tad far fetched to me at the start but it completely earns it by the end. Jeyne, a farrier’s daughter and secret skinchanger in King’s Landing, encounters Aemond after Vhagar’s saddle breaks, and this changed the course of their lives and the Dance. The author clearly did their homework, and this is one of the few Dance fics that I’ve seen actually tackle the politics and emotions of the Dance based on the barebones F&B gives us, and it does it with grace and style. I loved loved loved the side characters the author built in (special shout out to Jeyne’s dad, Denys, who stole my heart and the show.) and how organically they meshed into canon. This the only long form Dance fic I can pretty unabashedly recommend, especially if you are interested in world building and wider ensembles. (It even avoids the over competent Aemond syndrome trap that so many show fics stumble into.) My one gripe is there is A Lot of smut, to the point that I was like “enough! Get back to the story!” But I know that will be a positive to many people, hahah. It’s almost done so you don’t have to worry about it being abandoned and it’s very long and satisfying.

I’m keeping an eye on Scorched Earth by 0Junebug0 which is a Rhaenyra’s daughter OC/Aemond fic. But wait!! Before you run away at this tired old premise, know that so far this has been primarily been a character study of the Team Black family dynamics, particularly how Rhaenyra would deal with a daughter and how being a Targaryen women is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s only six (normal length) chapters at the moment but it updates frequently. As of the last chapter, Aemond has finally appeared on the scene, so I can’t speak to how the main pairing is going to play out, but I have high hopes. And the prose is genuinely very gorgeous and atmospheric, so if you are were drawn to “a poison tree” by the writing style, this might just hit the spot for you.

The oddball on this list is Salvation by Targresurgence, which is another Aemond/OC fic. Jeyne Hightower (wow, I really do believe in Jeyne supremacy in HoTD fics), the daughter of Ormund Hightower is sent to KL for Alicent to make her a match. Aemond decides that actually fuck all of that, his mom’s cousin deserves only the best (him) and shenanigans ensue. I like this fic, but it’s sometimes against my better judgement, but when it’s good, it’s good. I respect this fic primarily for the massive mommy issues it gives Aemond and Aegon II, and it’s attempts at worldbuilding that are a little hit or miss (but when it hits, it HITS). It also has one of my personal pet peeves in it, which is killing off Johanna or Elenda to make Jason or Borros into sexual threats to one of the female characters (why this is so popular, I do not know. Drives me bonkers) but that’s my nitpick. It IS a bit of a wonky fic in places, so fair warning on that, and prepare to suspend some disbelief. It is unfinished and hasn’t been updated in a little while, but it’s fanfic. Never give up hope.

If you are interested in more book canon and Alicent centric fics, I really like what we’ve gotten so far of The Heretical Education of Lady Alicent by @aifsaath. It’s part of a larger ongoing series, The Sky is Always Red Above Valyria, exploring various dynamics of book canon, with a heavy focus on Alicent, Aegon II, and Baela, but this one has to be my favourite. It’s also beautifully illustrated, so even though it’s only three chapters long at the moment, for sure check it out.

In the same breath, the joint work Our Father’s Clad in Red by @gwenllian-in-the-abbey and @aifsaath is a book canon Aegon II/Baela fic that explores the aftermath of the Dance and how House Targaryen is to rebuild in a world without dragons. If you like world building, psychological exploration, good prose, and gorgeous illustrations, this may just be the book canon fic for you.

A brief shoutout to signs amidst the starry mirth by xiaolongbaobei, because I know this one is very popular and gets recommended a lot (as it should). This is a fem!Aemond fic with very GRRM-esque writing and the most terrifying and well-thought out Daemon I think I’ve ever seen in a fic. I really love gender-bending fics that really think it through and this one just has a great prose style and is actually addressing the politics of the Dance.

Obligatory witchcraft in your lips by slaymond mention. This is Aemond/Sansa crack treated with deadly seriousness and somehow. It’s really really really good. Great writing style, on point characterization, I’m sure you’ve already seen this fic recommended somewhere.

…. I also kinda vibed with @charmtion’s Daemyra fics? I’m not a daemyra stan by any means, but I’ve loved charmtion since their Jonsa days, and I liked salt more than I thought I would. If you have an inkling of an inclination towards Daemyra as a pairing, check this out. They also have a Helaemond fic, thyme, if that’s more your speed. Charmtion has a very loose, vivid, dreamy style that I have just adored for ages, so I would not count these fics out at all.

And is it even an HoTD fic recommendation list without including the one and only See, What Happened Was… by the legendary @daylander1000? This Aemond/Rhaena fic asks the question “what if the Velaryons actually had plot and character relevance and also what if Aemond and Rhaena had the chance to be weird, slightly murderous children together?” One of my favorite depictions of Alicent and Criston to boot (especially since now Mine Was The Hand You Reached For by HaughtHightower appears to be deleted 😔). It’s not been updated in a while but the author is a very busy person and I’m very happy to let her take her time.

I’ve read a lot of HoTD fics by now and these are the ones that I’m like “other people should read these too actually.”

Oh! An addendum! If you are seriously looking for a long piece of fiction that deals with a succession crisis, you might want to read When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penmen about the real history of the Anarchy, the civil war between Matilda and Stephen over the English crown that inspired the Dance of the Dragons in the first place. In this time of fandom drought, if you are a fan of “a poison tree,” you should seriously consider giving this book a read. It’s so good.

[sweetfierceimagines]

Dragon & the Wolf, Aemond Targaryen x fem reader (Part 2) 

Part 1 HERE.

WARNINGS - MAJOR SPOILERS FROM HOUSE OF THE DRAGON.

(I was right sons would be sent to search for allies, too bad Aemond went to Baratheons instead of Starks... can't wait for season 2, season finale was amazing!!!)

Disclaimer : I am basing this fiction on HoTD but I don't intend on being 100% accurate with George R. R. Martin's universe. This is a fiction made for pleasure of reading and imagining scenarios, so please keep that in mind :)

PS: I really want to thank all of you for reacting to part 1, this story has been in my head since I first saw Aemond and LORD I'm so glad I can share it with you ! Please keep telling me what you think, positive and negative, and feel absolutely free to suggest ideas for the potential part 3, although I do chose independently wether I follow them or not. Enjoy !!

Synopsis : After arriving in Winterfell looking for allies, Aemond Targaryen finds himself in a position he doesn't know yet. Y/N, Cregan Stark's impetuous daughter, sparks a new light in him, although he can't quite put words on it. In the same time, war is almost upon Westeros and the Greens need the North to rally, just as much as the Blacks. How will Aemond combine this new curiosity with his duty ?

It had been two days since Aemond first arrived in the North, in search of allies in Cregan Stark's court. Stark family didn't seem completely against his brother's claim, but he could sense that they were reluctant to dismiss their first oath to Rhaenyra. Northmen, after all, were known for their loyalty and they held high values of wisdom and fraternity.

For now, Aemond was lucky enough to be the only one in this court, but Rhaenyra's envoys would soon arrive and he knew it. He had to be quick and completely utterly focused.

But how could he be ?

If he entered a hall with only northmen filling it, it would have been way easier. Instead, Y/N, Cregan's daughter, was at her father's side and was omnipresent in the castle. In two days, Aemond could see how respected she was and how she was handling both little matters and great deals. He didn't have much time to talk to her, even more since their last entrevue, during which he probably went a bit too far by literally asking not only for her opinion but for her allegiance. To him.

Since that day, Y/N had been busying herself as much as she could and rarely let Aemond make a step toward her.

But this day would be a bit different.

As Aemond entered the great hall, lords and ladies already around the table (Y/N too), he could feel tension rising.

(I'M TAKNG A CREATIVE FREEDOM HERE, IMAGINING THAT LUCERYS HAS BEEN KILLED BUT OBVIOUSLY HERE NOT BY AEMOND.)

He felt tense, and was fighting the urge to put his hand on his dagger, just in case. Nevertheless, he walked toward his preferred seat next to Cregan and glanced at Y/N. She had very tough, dark features today, and as she looked back at him, he could feel like she was not pleased with him at all.

-My Lords, my Ladies, thank you again for seating at this table. I would love to remain in Winterfell for weeks, but sadly, the matter we're discussing is more urgent by the second. We shall, if Lord Cregan agrees with me, conclude this before sundown.

Lord Cregan smirked, looking at Aemond like he was some kind of criminal. The young Targaryen was utterly lost, and couldn't quite understand why they seemed to accuse him of something.

-Prince Aemond. Started Lord Cregan, with a heavy voice. -You came in this hall talking about avoiding war and maintaining unity and prosperity in the Seven Kingdoms. You made.. serious accusations toward Princess Rhaenyra's sons and general attitude. Even when Prince Viserys only reassured of his support through his life. - Yes, my Lord, but as I told you.. - I'm not finished.

Everyone was holding their breath, and Aemond did feel.. intimidated.

-Yet, we hear today that young Prince Lucerys Velaryon, your cousin, has been killed in Storm's end, as he was sent only as an envoy by his Mother. - Killed ? - Yes, killed. Murdered. By your side of the family.

Aemond looked at Y/N again and suddenly her deadly look made sense.

-I can assure you, my Lord, I had no idea. This surely is an accident, a misunderstanding... - A misunderstanding ?! The boy didn't fall and break his neck, he was savagely MURDERED and the Greens did it, son ! This is no accident, this is a declaration of war, made by your people, by killing a boy who apparently had no intent to spark any fire at all!

Cregan's voice echoed in the hall and Y/N put her hand on her Father's arm, in an attempt to calm him down.

-We, North People, are loyal, proud and true to what we fight for. We don't kill Mother's children to access power or confirm it. We care for ours and welcome lost foreigners.

He rose, his hands still on the table, and looked at Aemond in an almost apologetic way.

-Prince Aemond. I expect we will receive Rhaenyra's envoy soon. You understand I must hear both sides. Things must be cleared. And as we bent knees to both parties, we consider them invalid. The North will chose regardless.

And he left the hall, dismissing the reunion. Y/N was soon to follow.

Aemond waited until everyone was out of the room to leave. He was upset. Very upset. Someone had taken his perfect plan and burned it to the grown. Killing this kid was a stupid move, although he would have loved to take his eye himself.

He left the castle, moving fast in direction of the woods.

-What do you think you're doing, exactly ?

Y/N's voice made him jump and he turned around to discover her, on her dark, very dark horse, and followed by.. a wolf ? He stared at the magnificent beast, who seemed peaceful yet terribly dangerous. After a few seconds of looking at it, he finally focused.

-My Lady Y/N.. On duty again, I suppose? -No. I wanted to clear my mind from all of these matters. I'm going into the forest. But it's always an occasion to patrol, of course. We never stop watching. - Wise words. I was myself going into the forest.

She shook her head and dismounted her horse, walking toward him. The wolf was following.

-No you're not. This is not any forest. There are animals in there you have no idea of. You're not suited. - I think I'll manage. He said, touching his sword. She laughed, sarcastically. - I'm not doubting you can fight, my Lord Aemond. I doubt you know how. She paused, her eyes looking very tough again. - And I don't intend letting Mother's children die.

Aemond could feel her bitterness and hated that she could lay such eyes on him. He was not a cold blooded murderer. He was keen of justice, he was true, strong, sincere and audacious. Right ?

-Well.. I guess you'll follow me, then ?

And he started walking in direction of the forest. She whispered a "damn this fool" but mounted her horse and followed, giving him her hand for him to mount behind her on the horse.

-We'll be safer.

He agreed and sat behind her, letting her move in the forest. She was right, the place had something different. An aura. It smelled chaos and yet everything was perfectly still. Like anything could happen any second. But not anything, actually. It felt like something unreal could happen. Like darkness itself could jump on him and devour his soul.

-Do you know what you're looking for in the forest, lord Aemond? -Actually yes. My dragon.

She paused and turned around.

-Your dragon ? Have you.. lost it ?

He chuckled and shook his head.

-Lost it, no. I arrived on horse, for Sir Criston is no dragon rider. But I can sense Vhagar is around. Dragons are very independent and yet, when they bond, they remain terribly loyal. I've been away for a couple of days, she's not used to it. I expect she's either coming or already there. - Ok.. I guess we'll spot it easily, then.

She sighed, a bit preoccupied, and looked at her wolf.

-Stay close, Shadow. You and I are flammable.

(Time ellipse)

It had been at least an hour since they got into the forest, remaining mostly silent. Suddenly, the mood shifted a bit : wood creaked and wind seemed to blow inward.. The horse stopped and started to get nervous, and Shadow growled. Aemond got down and moved deeper in the forest. This time, Y/N didn't follow.

Silence fell. Lasted. Y/N got back feet on the ground, ready to go get the Prince, when a huge roar echoes in the forest and instinctively, Y/N grabbed her sword, Shadow jumping in front of her. Second after second, a huge beast appeared, smashing trees around it, snow everywhere. Y/N had never seen a dragon before and she had to admit that although this beast was incredibly beautiful and mighty, she was utterly scared. On top of it, Aemond was seated, looking down at her.

-I told you she would be there ! He yelled.

Y/N didn't move, too stunned to react. She could only grab Shadow by the neck, preventing it from doing anything stupid.

-Come, my Lady ! She won't hurt you unless I tell her to. -I shall not, my Lord. Thank you very much but as Targaryens are closer to Gods, Starks are very much humans. And humans belong on the ground.

He laughed. it was the first time she heard him laugh, and suddenly he took off and the beast started to fly higher and higher. Y/N had tears in her eyes, a mix between pure amazement and a terrifying nervousness.

Y/N had been camping in a safe place of the woods, in a clearing with opened sky. Shadow was impossible to calm down, apparently he imagined he could fight a dragon.

Even though Y/N saw this dragon only once, she remained rather calm when the huge beast made land, not too far from them. Actually, the dragon was so close that she could feel its breath. Aemond got down and came by the fire. Shadow was growling and showing its teeth, sign that the wolf didn't appreciate dragons and dragon riders. Y/N and said with irony :

-He won't hurt you unless I tell him to.

He smiled a bit and sat in front of her, remaining silent for a few seconds before finally talking, in a very calm tone.

-Y/N. I know what it looked like. She raised an eyebrow. -I know you all think Lucerys' death was part of .. a general plan from us. It's not. She shook her head again. -My Lord, I've never been to Kings Landing and yet even I know how you and Velaryon children hated each other. And for Greens to secure power, you need not only to reduce Rhaenyra and Daemon to silence but also to wipe out their descent.

He sighed and got closer to her.

-I promise. We didn't mean that. Or at least I was not part of it. You want the truth? I dream since I'm a child to get Lucerys and make him take out his own eye out.

She raised her head to look at him, astonished by the cruelty of the confession.

-In payment.

She was holding her breath, both disgusted by this affirmation, and believing he was telling the truth and therefore, didn't intend a full kill.

-But murdering him was not part of my plan. And I know for sure that my Mother strongly desires mercy for Rhaenyra and her children. I promise.

She remained silent and put her hands on her face, thinking. After a while, she looked at him again, sad, this time.

-I believe you. But it matters not. We must wait for the Blacks to come and state their will. You had your time, they deserve theirs. My Father is a very proud man, Aemond. (she didn't notice she didn't name him Lord or Prince for once) He is true, he is good. He will wait and decide knowingly. There is nothing I can do..

She smiled softly.

-But we heard you. You were good, you know. As an envoy.

He smiled, sincerely, and nodded his head a bit.

-My Mother told me I was the one to do this. She was right. And I'm glad I've been sent here.

He put his hand on hers, making her shiver.

-I'm glad I met you.

It was over. Starks had received word that Rhaenyra's envoy, her son Jacaerys, would soon arrive on dragon back. Cregan had decided the recent death of Lucerys was reason enough for Aemond to leave. He was preparing his horse with Sir Criston, Vhagar had been leaving already.

The court was gathered in the courtyard, respectful enough to bid them farewell correctly. Y/N was feeling odd, like she was losing something. When Aemond got on his horse, her heart tightened. She cleared her throat and took the gift intended to Aegon the Second from Maester's hands to quickly get to Aemond. Cregan looked, not too sure of what was happening.

-My Lord Aemond.. it's a gift. For your Brother the King. It's tradition when a coronation happens. Although you know a gift will also be given to Rhaenyra.

He took it and smiled at her.

-Thank you, my Lady. I hope I will see you again. Soon. Very soon.

She nodded and took a few steps back. When they departed, Aemond turned around and smiled again.

Two weeks. Two weeks since both Aemond and Jacaerys left the castle. Cregan Stark's mind was made. His Lords and Ladies agreed with him. It was done. The North would rally Rhaenyra's side.

Y/N's heart had not stop hurting. She felt upset, preoccupied, and hated that she couldn't find peace. Deep inside, she knew her Father's decision was the right one. She knew King Viserys only meant for Rhaenyra to be his successor. She knew Aegon was a farce, a puppet in Hightower's hands. But this meant she was to never see this Targaryen side of the family again. Or at least not in a pleasant way.

Sun just appeared in the morning sky and she was already heading out of the castle.

-My Lady ! My Lady Y/N !

She turned around to see the Maester running toward her.

-My Lady, a message from King's Landing. It's urgent, you must take it to your Father.

She nodded and rushed inside the castle, straight into her Father's apartments. She gave him the message and after reading it, Cregan looked solemnly at his daughter.

-Well.. I think it's time for you to see a bit more of our world.

She took the message, and as she was reading it, her inner smile grew.

"Lords and Ladies of the Seven Kingdoms. You are asked to send envoys to Kings Landing. They will act as representatives of your Houses, and receive full protection from the War and its consequences, regardless of the side you've chosen. Such representatives will be diplomats and will be able to directly address to King Aegon the Second and his court. This is an attempt, as war is upon us, to keep a negotiating canal opened. We thank you."

The message was signed by Otto Hightower's hand. Y/N looked back at her Father.

-Me ? -Yes, you. She smiled, honored that her Father granted her with such honor. -But you must promise me something, child. If it ever gets too risky, leave at once. She nodded. -And don't marry that boy too soon.

END OF PART 2.

Tag list (comment to be added) : @xcharlottemikaelsonx @lawlerek @whitejuliana1204 @devy1233 @alice1290

[navree]

Imagine me leaning left , yet get called a misgonystic and trump supporter just because i happen to like Aegon& Alicent and find them more interesting than Rhaenyra&Daemon... This fandom is an absolute joke and hotd was a mistake.

I'm gonna lose my mind words mean things!!!!! Words have definitions!!! You know what defines a Trump supporter? Someone who supports Donald Trump as a politician and either actively works towards or at least seeks/endorses/otherwise supports his attempts to run for office. That is the sole fucking qualifier, my God. It doesn't even include "people who agree with what Trump believes" because there are plenty of people who do that (moderate Republicans) while not supporting him as a politician!

I think too many people heard the statement "art is political" and decided that meant that fictional characters you enjoy are completely emblematic of who you are a person and the wide spectrum of your beliefs, which........No. While yes you can infer certain aspects of someone's values and ideals from characters they enjoy (I think anyone who has heard me talk about Tywin has figured out that I like leaders who are competent administrators and are as interested in doing the work of governance as they are in being seen as the top dog), someone's preferred characters tell you exactly that about them: their preferred characters. The kinds of people they like to read about or write into fictional situations. That is all you can reasonably infer from someone saying "oh yeah I like X more than Y" and it is ridiculous to think otherwise.

If you are putting so much emphasis on a fictional character in a fictional world in a fictional story that you are making moral and ethical judgments on real life people based around it, I mean this genuinely: get help. That is not normal person behavior. What someone finds interesting from a fictional perspective is in no way an indicator of who they are as a real life person and if you sincerely believe otherwise then I think you would benefit from psychiatric care. I'm not kidding. That extends beyond "touch grass"; we can know that fiction does, in its way, affect reality, while still acknowledging that enjoyment of a story does not point to core personality traits or morality systems in the real world. If you can't, then you need to get fucking checked out.

Signed, a decidedly left of center person who also is normal and keeps myself reasonably informed on what being an adult in the real world entails.

[mononijikayu]

i also have to mention that many people said that the story was not feminist enough when the literal title of the origin was princess and the queen, focusing on the two powerful women who held the reins of power - one fighting for her right to the throne and her house and the other wanting to establish a legacy of her own by using her own children. it wasn't an just an archetypal stepmother story, thats just one part of the vindictiveness that runs along the story. it was two women challenging the status quo in their own way, creating a sense of agency in the damn patriarchal society. people like to apply so much of the modern peripheral on medieval society but look away when the main lead were women trying to decide for themselves what their lives should look like. people who like the way they portrayed show!alicent really agree that its much better to see her as a victim than a woman who fights against that agenda and decides to make choices for herself, even when those choices could hurt others or be wrong. it was much better to see book! alicent choose her own faction color, to see her take charge of the green council, to see her convince her son aegon by gaslighting him - by her own choice, than to have that all be forced. because then she will just be forever be a victim to the servitude of men's advancement.

equally so, the removal of important aspects of rhaenyra's vindication against alicent like the dress reveal scene was also something that can be questionable. because that serves an important purpose of showing us that she just didnt sit there and take the beating. she developed a desire to stand up for herself and not let herself dive down to surrender. that was the establishment of her will to lead her faction against alicent's greens. and yet somehow that seems less important or that was not feminist enough. that rhaenyra stood up for herself and survived that toxic environment. that she was ready to assert her stance against it.

just how they portrayed rhaenys and rhaenyra's relationship was so out of the blue. because while rhaenys was complex, rhaenys was not THAT vindictive to rhaenyra. not especially when you factor the fact that rhaenyra and laenor possibly had the velaryon boys legitimately and that canonically rhaenyra had a close relationship with laena. when rhaenys was there all the damn way with rhaenyra. she was the one who comforted rhaenyra at the loss of luke, she was the one rhaenyra trusted the council to in her grief.

hell just the way they potrayed her relationship with the velaryon boys was so misrepresenting rhaenys when it was her that comforted them, especially joff after luke passed. like they're so intent on making rhaenys seem like someone who would not support her fellow woman, especially a family member she would have been so close to - is ridiculous.

like if the aim was to make a feminist show, then you really not remove the elements of female choices or women supporting women, especially in tough times. you dont have to completely erase the narrative of medieval settings. you can improve it and develop it. by removing the entire aspect of it all together, you basically remove the real life historical significance its based on. that just makes the purpose of developing a feminist narrative in hotd flattened out.

like just forgetting that rhaenyra is haughty because she is aware of her own self importance and her identity as a royal and descendant of old valyria and how that mirrors matilda of england refusing to be called anything else but empress matilda because she refused to lower herself to countess when she was forced to marry her seconf husband. like,,,,there's historical standing on these characters just as much. even just alicent's personhood reminds me more of ælfthryth, queen of the english who used her political authority to have her stepson murdered to put her son in the throne. yeah.

anyway thank you for this wonderful discussion and im floored by being mentioned hehe

The show gives Rhaenyra's characteristic nervous habit of playing with her rings to Alicent in having Alicent shows her nerves through picking her fingers' skin, sans rings. But Rhaenyra/Emma D'Arcy, has no obvious outward expression of anxiety, whilst Young Alicent/Emilia Carey does (but not Olivia Cooke? where is the consistency?).

They gave Rhaenyra's canonical black/red dress reveal-and-entry to Alicent in her green-dress moment of episode 5. Rhaenyra's entry in canon is: her declaring political opposition to the already formed green faction; autonomous monarchial claim against Alicent and Otto's attempts to lessen the legitimacy of that; where she draws that claim from (the colors representing her house, her blood connection, and Viserys choosing her); AND her defying Alicent's domestic attempts at ruining her self esteem or disconnect her from her roots. It was her first real moment of triumph. Whereas canonically Alicent is one of Rhaenyra's antagonists; Alicent was the one who independently and intentionally used female chastity (a principle of sexual repression for women) against Rhaenyra to tarnish her reputation and public image in order to raise dissent against her and her prospective reign. And make her son seem even more desirable...which didn't work, as she continues and eventually has to imprison people to make way for herself and Aegon the Elder.

Second, not only does what HotD did steal most of Rhaenyra's agency and boldness to give to their diluted version of Alicent and incorrectly center her as if she were the protagonist of this story, it makes Alicent, of all people, the one who experiences the a central problem of this story: societal misogyny. It removes Alicent's accountability and suggests that Rhaenyra is the problem. That whatever Show!Alicent perceives Rhaenyra to have done (lied to her, didn't stay "chaste" like her by sleeping with a person outside of marriage, didn't recognize her queenly authority how she thinks she should...when all that actually matters is Viserys' word AND it is actually Otto who put her in the position she is in to fear absolutely knowing what that portion entails [as he thinks]), that is the wrong being down here....when it is really Show!Otto's ambition. Some may say, after watching this show, that Rhaenyra should have observed her friend's anxiety as she was "talking" with Viserys...but Rhaenyra 1) lost her mother just a few months (presumably) earlier 2) is just coming into her heir activities, one of which was her choosing her personal guard in the various candidates Otto tries to present to her, and we see in that particular point that she also had to come up against people doubting her, questioning her...why? because she is both young and female. It does not require much imagination to figure out that Rhaenyra was going through her own stuff that justifiably draws her attention away from Alicent, who could have also told her what was going on but didn't. 3) By principle, Rhaenyra was also developing her own life and growing into her own adulthood -- making a life for herself.

Where would she have the emotional bandwidth to catch everything going on with her formed in the face of all mentioned?! In relationships, we take turns to support the other. Rhaenyra is the one with less room to do something since her fears, duties, grief, loneliness, and prerogative to live all are present and probably emotionally overwhelming, understandably making her less aware of others when the are not either the focus or means to accomplishing those ends of monarchial duties or alleviating misery. Alicent is fully aware of what's happening and knows that it would hurt Rhaenyra' emotional and political potion even worse to follow through without resistance...yet chooses not to tell her and maybe thinks of ways to resist.

And again, even that ambition is being denied to Alicent herself, who canonically drives much of the green cause by attacking Rhaenyra since the latter was 10 before the war begins until her grand moment of calling the green council.

Thirdly, all of these changes just to create confusion in narrative direction and switch/reduce the philosophical and political priorities (are we against misogyny or others having what we want but deny ourselves because we actually like the patriarchy that has actually victimized us?). We have fallen from criticizing how women with internalized misogyny target other women to gain whatever power a patriarchy seems to bestow them to what HotD gives us -- a woman not being rewarded by being "good" and compliant with the patriarchy, as if compliance is the answer to escape the suffering caused by the oppressve forces one is told to comply with and obey! So the message is that we should always follow and conform with unjust social hierarchies?!

The fourth problem with what HotD did is that in the writers' probable justification of not giving Rhaenyra her dress moment because viewers should already know that red and black are her families colors and that they will deduce that the blacks' name come from that, they reduced all of what I point out the moment meant in canon to it being "obvious" why the blacks are called the blacks.

Fifthly, the Hightowers' colors are not even green. If anything it would be silver or grey! And the firelight the Hightower tower basis the usual red, orange, and yellow in real life and in their sigil. So not only did they remove Rhaenyra's agency-practicing moment, they moved away from the fact that Alicent chose green independently as her own faction and cause' color. And as @mononijikayu says in the linked reblogs, green-as-the-color-Alicent-chooses thematically works to show how her own envy, greed, ambition, and tyranny subsequently has her lose all of her children and die alone and delirious. Similar to how Jaehaerys I's tyranny and misogyny against his own family causes him to be completely alone the day he died, as Saera was his only living relative aside from Viserys, Daemon, and Aemma Arryn, who all did not seem to care about the man one way or another nor were raised close to him.

This user/anonymous asker told me how some green stans give Daemon's narrative of self sacrifice for family and faction to Aemond.

The show refused to give Mysaria and Daemon his and Mysaria's grief over their baby's loss and a justification of anger against Viserys other than not being made his Hand, but it will very likely give Aemond an arc of passion with Alys Rivers and a pregnancy partially to mimic the "children having children" arc they gave to Alicent and partially to facilitate the idea of him making mistake after mistake from him maybe choosing "fuck duty", or just running from it (Ryan Condal's "theory of reactions and accidents") as this other user contemplates. Meanwhile Mysaria and Daemon were always in a consensual relationship....and Alys was Aemond's war prize and sex slave, so there was no consent there. (And if she did have visions, and she told Aemond that he should meet Daemon and where to find him....it is also very possible that she saw Aemond die....such a situation leads me to believe that this was not the sunshine and roses relationship many green stans like to think.)

The show made it much easier to see Rhaenyra as the aggressor against Criston....meanwhile it's too arguable that even as young as Rhaenyra was at the time (15), she'd ever go for Criston when you read the account (in order: HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE). That it was most likely Criston who wanted Rhaenyra and she rejected him while he tried something. It is especially important to note this part of the text I didn't include that is between the last two quotes I do give:

However it happened, whether the princess scorned the knight or he her, from that day forward the love that Ser Criston Cole had formerly borne for Rhaenyra Targaryen turned to loathing and disdain, and the man who had hitherto been the princess’s constant companion and champion became the most bitter of her foes.

Thus relying more on Mushroom's (the arguably most unreliable narrator and source for the events pre and during and post-Dance, throne who will try to make anything sexual and exaggerate just to self-aggrandize and for attention) account of how Rhaenyra and Criston fell out......sure.

It refused to insert or to imagine any of Aemond's pre-Dance misogyny towards Rhaenyra (an example) that would have existed following Alicent teaching them all how to view her. Or any of his pre-Dance viciousness: "Two years later, she produced a daughter for the king, Helaena; in 110 AC, she bore him a second son, Aemond, who was said to be half the size of his elder brother, but twice as fierce ("A Question of Succession"). His probable bullying of the V boys, made Aegon, his own brother, one of his bullies despite this quote and its emphasis that no matter what Viserys tried, all five boys couldn't get along and that the green boys resented the V boys for taking what they thought was theirs. But sure, we get Show!Daemon obviously kill his wife with a rock -- not even an assassin -- despite the fact that he was at the Stepstones, still fighting and preoccupied, when Rhea died and it took a few more days after the nine it took for her to die for him to even be notified of her death and travel to the Vale. The same woman who would have, if she had been able to sit up and talk, immediately name foul play with her canon dislike of Daemon.

As I mentioned before above, this show even removes Alicent's biggest and game-changing, plot-driving, self-determined act to convene the green council while purposefully leaving Viserys' body to rot over to the council members acting under Otto and ignoring her until she has to yell at them, and even that is ignored as we see her wrestle against Otto to bring Aegon in. Instead of them working together to do so, illustrating further how a woman can work with patriarchal authorities and use the power the system allows her to block another woman. The most memorable thing adult Show!Alicent did was to gives her feet over to Larys to drool over in a very disturbing voyeuristic scene, just so she gets information...this show is even more misogynist and unrealistic towards Alicent than the book/the maesters could ever be, for the sake of making Alicent a victim instead of a woman who decided to use power for power's sake. Because apparently that's an anomaly or a sexist take...that women could hurt themselves, their children, the children of others, and other women who arguably are in similar sociopolitical positions for power.

And because they aged Alicent down, her kids are all supposed to be aged down, so that in itself can and has drawn more sympathy (whether intentional or not) for the greens for what will happen in the next season to them. While we get no other scenes of how Alicent and Rhaenyra even interacted and how their relationship became nothing (ignore Alicent of episodes 8-9, this is such a terrible switch up because it makes no psychological sense) during the time between the 6th and 7th episode, how Alicent would have a isolated, victimized, antagonized, and pressured Rhaenyra as we saw her do at the 6th episode's council. Because, apparently, these women can still theoretically become friends again even after all of this AND Lucerys' death?

But then you can't tell a good or fair story about a feudal family, about "generational conflict"...without showing how two of those generations....fought each other at home AND then at war.

[thephantomcasebook]

You know, about the Matt, Emma, Olivia thing … I’ve heard so many versions, one of which is that they were protesting Sapochnik/Hess’s script, not the new one, and they’re part of the reason for the rewrites and Grrm was on their side. This doesn’t completely make sense as it seems Emma and Olivia liked Sapochnik’s ideas… but then again Hess was the one who made Larys a creep and Daemon a domestic abuser, so maybe they were protesting those elements, which I’m sure she would have tried to make worse? Because I honestly can’t see Matt sticking his neck out over simple disagreements about the characters, even the DV stuff, he is on record saying that at the end of the day, he does what’s in the script. He gives opinions/suggestions and improvs some things as any actor does, but he seems pretty willing to do whatever. Like I just don’t think he cares that much about HOTD, beyond his job as an actor. I can’t see him raising a stink about the script unless it was truly egregious and Emma and/or Olivia were legitimately uncomfortable with something (and I don’t mean uncomfortable as in Olivia wants Alicent to be a lesbian and is mad she’s not, I mean there’s some really serious sexual or domestic violence). Idk, that’s just the vibe I get from him based on interviews, but maybe he’s more invested than I think. I do agree that Olivia is probably too invested in her headcanons and is arguing with the writers about it, but I think that might be a separate issue from the alleged meeting the three of them had with the execs. I guess I just err on the side of believing that HBO would absolutely be willing to put an actress in an unnecessarily degrading scene for shock value (and that Hess would insist on these scenes as part of her “men are evil” pseudo-feminist agenda) considering GOT’s history.

Look, I'll always be up front with you, nonny.

I'm completely open to being 1000% wrong on everything.

If Cooke was out there defending the sanctity of Alicent and Criston's relationship, cause, Hess wanted to ruin them, or ruin Criston's character. I'll gladly take my Katana, basket hat, and a bindle of food, and leave the village with my braid cut from my dishonor.

But from everything I've ever seen of Olivia Cooke through the years, I just don't believe she capable of something that selfless for the integrity of a show that she has made crystal clear that she does not care about. She's an activist first and an actress way down the list. Cooke would do anything to press her message, and I don't think that she'd go out of her way to protect a male role or character to the tune of fucking her entire career for the creative integrity of something she sees only as a stepping-stone.

From my prospective, as someone who deeply distrusts activists of any kind - for good reasons - I'd genuinely believe that Cooke was trying to defend Sapochnik and Hess's original creative vision of this being a tyrannical story of how patriarchy destroyed a Lesbian Romance. And that them going over the show runner's heads triggered the studio to bring in a ringer to completely dismantle that vision and bring the breakaway producers and cast to heel.

However, I do keep open and will entertain the slight - however small - idea that Hess had tried to ruin Criston's character and lean into that all the men on team green - all men in general - are evil. Just because, it seems that the studio acted by bringing in a third party to story edit after the alleged incident. And there is a possibility that they got Hess benched for the former head writer of "The Crown" who has experience writing character driven assembles about royalty.

But, like I said, I could be completely wrong. And I'll own it if I am ...

But I just don't think Cooke capable of falling on her sword. There is something incredibly angry and spiteful about her and the way she expresses her opinions and agendas, you can feel it. And I just don't think she's capable of anything but pushing her agenda and personal bullshit, not caring about anything or anyone.

As for Matt Smith ... look, I can't be objective about him. I've been a fan of Lily James for years and years, and he did something to that girl, something bad, and she's been running - hurting herself and others - to get away from it. And anyone who knows anything about her, knows that Matt Smith has everything to do with it. She ran all the way to Los Angeles, to the other side of the world, to get away from him. I don't know, so I don't comment ...

But I don't trust any story where Matt Smith stands up for women.