#i have more recs but some are more neutralish

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

What are some pro-team green fanfics you would recommend?

Ohh I've been meaning to recommend a few! Most of these are Aegon-centric because I'm generally more interested in him than Aemond, but there are a couple Aemond fics in here as well, and at least one that's Alicent centric.

a poison tree by @branwendaughterofllyr is a Dance retelling in which Daemon and Viserys' younger brother Aegon lived and had a daughter, and that daughter ended up being raised with the green children. Branwen tells a compelling story with great attention to historical detail, and although the story is green leaning, I feel it is fair to both sides. It has many POVs and really tells the story from many different angles, some some reliable than others.

My co-author @aifsaath's series The Skies Are Always Red Above Valyria is an entire Dance retelling that starts with Alicent as a lady at court before her marriage but eventually will progress to the Dance itself (and involves our beloved Baela/Aegon pairing). Aife's fics always feature impeccable worldbuilding and lush descriptions, so check them out.

The Wrath of the Queen by @florisbaratheons has just started but is very promising, featuring a more proactive Alicent who gets a cooperative if reluctant Aegon on board with her plan to put him on the throne following Driftmark, as well as fully fleshed out versions of the Baratheon and Lannister sisters. After seeing Cassandra Baratheon and Jason and/or Tyland Lannister cast as antagonists in dozens of Dance fics it's nice to see them get a fair shake.

The Dog Days Are Over is a Aegon/Helaena fix-it by @franzkafkagfn which they escape to Essos to start over with the kids. She also has another Aegon/Rhaenyra fic that is I'd say slightly more green slanted simply because much of the rest of the canon black faction doesn't exist per se.

This one has been on hiatus awhile but In The Ripe and Ruin by @kingsroad will forever have my heart as the first OC fic I ever got into, featuring gorgeous worldbuilding and one of my favorite iterations of Aegon. He's awful but also incredibly endearing. According to the author it's not going to be super canon divergent, and OC is Aegon's mistress through the Dance! Crossing my fingers that the author returns soon!

Would That They Were Not is a one shot by @navree that deals with Blood and Cheese and Aemond's feelings of guilt in the aftermath. It's heartbreaking! Blood and Cheese happens here the way it does in the book so if the show ends up changing it and you want an idea of how it might have gone down, this one is very faithful.

1968 is a modern AU by @inthedayswhenlandswerefew In which the wife of presidential candidate Aemond Targaryen, who is running against Richard Nixon in the 1968 election, forms a connection with the family screw up, his older brother Aegon. This is technically a readerfic (hear me out!), although I'd really call it a 2nd person POV because the "you" is a fully fleshed out character more so than a reader insert. I do not usually go for readerfic but opened this on a whim because the history teacher in me saw the premise and went "what on earth" and proceeded to be blown away by delicate character work, symbolism, and gorgeous prose. I actually got several friends who do not usually enjoy Dance fic OR readerfic fully invested in this one. Is it pro green? I guess? It's not set in Westeros and Aemond is a real POS but Aegon is lovely and the blacks don't really feature so I think it counts.

[frevandrest]

Hi! I found your blog these days and your posts REALLY got me into the french revolution and Robespierre. I'm sorry in advance if you already spoke about this subject (maybe you could link me your post?) but now I have a big doubt. One article on history.com says exactly this, about Robespierre: "[...] Robespierre encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than....".

Is this true, by any means? Was he... this cruel? Did he support it? It's silly and I feel dumb asking this, but media portray him in a rather mystic, often cruel amd unforgiving, light. As if he's the heart of all evil.

Oh anon, thank you! It is not a false humility when I say that I never expected my blog to introduce people to frev!  As for your question... eeh. When it comes to Robespierre, it is important to keep two things in mind: 1. Thermidorian reaction. There was a conspiracy against Robespierre made by his opponents (typically those more responsible of killings), which resulted in his death. After the death of Robespierre and his supporters, Thermidorians built a smear campaign that is still alive today about Robespierre the powerful tyrant. In some cases, they insisted that he “made them do it” (even when there is proof that he actively tried to stop it), while in others, they pinned their own misdoings on Robespierre. (In addition to making up over the top accusations such as that Robespierre wanted to marry Louis XVI’s daughter and become the king of France.) Please note that this is not a theory or an interpretation, but a historical fact - many of them admitted that they lied about it (or their words were proven to be lies). 

2. Modern Anglo (Western?) ideas about totalitarian regimes (such as Hitler or Stalin) get retroactively applied to Robespierre and frev. This is an extremely popular view, particularly by those who wish to demonstrate how doing a revolution/change always results in horrible atrocities (worse than the oppression that started it), but it is not a correct way to describe Robespierre (if nothing else, because he did not have that sort of control over France or what was going on).  Because of these, it is difficult to get any “neutralish” explanation of Robespierre or what was going on, particularly in Anglo sources. (”Neutralish” is a bad word; “non-biased” could be better, but I don’t believe it is ever possible not to be biased. What I’m trying to say is that it is difficult - though not impossible - to find accounts that are not influenced by #1 and/or #2 above). 

Is this true, by any means? Was he... this cruel? Did he support it? It's silly and I feel dumb asking this, but media portray him in a rather mystic, often cruel amd unforgiving, light. As if he's the heart of all evil.

I am not sure what the source you mentioned says exactly. It is a historical fact that Robespierre took an important part in the politics of this period, including actions that resulted in people being arrested and/or guillotined. It is also a historical fact that what happened was not a result of a single person (or a single “regime”, to use an anachronistic term). France at the time was at war with a good part of Europe (a fact that is not mentioned nor highlighted enough) + counter-revolutionary efforts from within France itself (which, if someone is anti-revolution might be seen as justified, but not if you want to save the revolution). The entire revolutionary government took measures to save the country and the revolution. We can discuss whether these measures were (always? generally?) justified or effective, or - what I am particularly interested in - what would the alternative be, but this was definitely not something that was only about Robespierre.  

@montagnarde1793 has an excellent rundown of the Terror and violence and the way it is perceived (but I cannot find it now). @montagnarde1793​ ?

What is important to understand is that Robespierre was not a totalitarian dictator who controlled France and what was going on. He was also not the most radical/extreme option (in fact, some of those were his direct political opponents). It is another historical fact that he was against many (though not all) of the extreme stuff that was done, but he was not listened when he tried to speak/intervene against it (because he was not the ever-powerful factor who decided everything, as he is often portrayed). A lot of what we know about the man is a result of a smear campaign done after his death (see #1 above).

Here are some reading recommendations from people who are more knowledgeable about Robespierre (and what is written about him):

https://bunniesandbeheadings.tumblr.com/post/176777600490/hi-could-u-please-rec-a-good-biography-of

See also: The Invention of Terror  and Robespierre’s “Black Legend”