#jaehaerys and saera

[shipcestuous]

also in addition to the targaryen canon incest list, there are two more ships i'd like to add - baelon (daemon and viserys' father) and his little sister viserra targaryen. years after his baelon's canon sister-wife alyssa dies, viserra comes to his bed naked in the hopes that he will bed and wed her and save her from an unwanted betrothal. in canon he rejects her but obviously there's fic exploring the other possibilities hehehe (1/2)

(2/2) the second ship is jaehaerys "the old king" and his daughter saera! saera is known to be a bit of a spoiled brat, but she's also definitely his favorite daughter. when she's 16 he finds out about her (many) lovers, and jaehaerys duels one of them and makes saera watch. he then sends her to a convent and she escapes to become a courtesan across the sea - years later when jaehaerys is dying he thinks his long-lost daughter has returned to him. kind of niche targ lore but v shippable imo :)

I really enjoyed reading about these non-canon Targaryen ships!

Baelon and Viserra were discussed a little here. Great potential there to explore what might have been going on under the surface and what the narrators might not have known.

Love the angst with Jaehaerys and Saera

[horizon-verizon]

Born in 67 AC, three years after Daella, Saera had all the courage that her sister lacked, along with a voracious hunger…for milk, for food, for affection, for praise. As a babe she did not so much cry as scream, and her ear-piercing wails became the terror of every maid in the Red Keep. “She wants what she wants and she wants it now,” Grand Maester Elysar wrote of the princess in 69 AC, when she was only two. “Seven save us all when she is older. The Dragonkeepers had best lock up the dragons.” He had no notion how prophetic those words would be. Septon Barth was more reflective, as he observed the princess at the age of twelve in 79 AC. “She is the king’s daughter, and well aware of it. Servants see to her every need, though not always as quickly as she might like. Great lords and handsome knights show her every courtesy, the ladies of the court defer to her, girls of her own age vie with one another to be her friends. All of this Saera takes as her due. If she were the king’s firstborn, or better still his only child, she would be well content. Instead she finds herself the ninthborn, with six living siblings who are older than her and even more adored. Aemon is to be king, Baelon most like will be his Hand, Alyssa may be all her mother is and more, Vaegon is more learned than she is, Maegelle is holier, and Daella…when does a day go by when Daella is not in need of comfort? And whilst she is being soothed, Saera is being ignored. Such a fierce little thing she is, they say, she has no need of comfort. They are wrong in that, I fear. All men need comfort.” Aerea Targaryen had once been thought to be wild and willful, given to acts of disobedience, but Princess Saera’s girlhood made Aerea seem a model of decorum by comparison. The border between innocent pranks, wanton mischief, and acts of malice is not always discerned by one so young, but there can be no doubt that the princess crossed it freely. She was forever sneaking cats into her sister Daella’s bedchamber, knowing that she was frightened of them. Once she filled Daella’s chamberpot with bees. She slipped into White Sword Tower when she was ten, stole all the white cloaks she could find, and dyed them pink. At seven, she learned when and how to steal into the kitchens to make off with cakes and pies and other treats. Before she was eleven, she was stealing wine and ale instead. By twelve, she was like as not to arrive drunk when summoned to the sept for prayer.

Fire and Blood, by George R.R. Martin, pg 315-316

[garnetislovegarnetislife]

jaehaerys was a piece of shit to saera and drove her away so much that she fled to another continent and now her son is riding his dragon i just-

[userparamore]

"“What have you done?” the king said, when at last the princess ran out of words. “Seven save us, what have you done? Have you given one of these boys your maidenhead? Tell me true.” “True?” said Saera. It was in that moment, with that word, that the contempt came out. “No. I gave it to all three. They all think they were the first. Boys are such silly fools.” Jaehaerys was so horrified he could not speak, but the queen kept her composure."

"Princess Saera might have been forgiven and restored to favor if she had done as she was told, if she had remained meekly in her chambers reflecting on her sins and praying for forgiveness. [...] The king was angry and unyielding, for his shame was deeply felt, and he could not forget Saera’s taunting words about his uncle’s wives. “She is no longer my daughter,” he said more than once."

"She [Saera] would never be a septa, much less a silent sister, but she required punishment, and it was thought that a few years of silent prayer, harsh discipline, and contemplation would be good for her, that it would set her on the path to redemption. [...] All this she suffered, for a year and a half...but when her chance came, in 85 AC, she seized it, fleeing from the motherhouse in the dead of night and making her way down to the docks. When word of her flight reached King’s Landing, it was assumed that Saera would be hiding somewhere in Oldtown, but Lord Hightower’s men combed the city door to door, and no trace was found of her. [...] The truth did not come out until a year later, when the former princess was seen in a Lysene pleasure garden, still clad as a novice. Queen Alysanne wept to hear it. “They have made our daughter into a whore,” she said. “She always was,” the king replied."

– FIRE & BLOOD, George R.R Martin

[kazz-brekker]

still fascinated by the fact that when writing fire and blood george rr martin was clearly trying to make jaehaerys a decent man beset by interpersonal problems involving his children and instead ended up creating a man that most people who know about the historical targs hate more than maegor the cruel

[alicent-archive]

I wish Saera Targaryen was alive in order to feel immense satisfaction that one of her many bastard children is riding her father’s beloved dragon.

[colonel-green]

Jaehaerys must be spinning in his grave after one of Saera’s bastards claimed Vermithor.

[teenagecriminalmastermind]

saera targaryen really out here sticking it to her dad with this mf claiming vermithor

[ladydreamfyyreee]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 “𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧, 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 & 𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐬“

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍!!!🙇🏻‍♀️

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧!!!🙇🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️

[aeriondripflame]

jaehaerys the conciliator & his daughters

george r.r. martin, fire & blood. sigmund freud, totem and taboo (chapter iv). flowers in the attic: the origin (2022). giovanni gerolamo savoldo, tête de vieillard. johann hofman, leda and the swan. dacia mariani, dreams of clytemenstra. lolita (1997).

[jaehaeryshater]

“Near the end, [King Jaehaerys] grew certain [Alicent] was his daughter Saera, returned to him from beyond the narrow sea.”

artist: @riotarttherite

I had the great pleasure of commissioning, in my opinion, one of ASOIAF fandom’s greatest artists on this gorgeous piece. I had never commissioned any artwork before and didn’t know what to expect, and this far exceeded my expectations. The attention to detail is beautiful and the overall piece conveys exactly what I was envisioning in my head, so I wanted to start off with a big thank you.

The idea for this art piece was originally a “what if” or AU where Saera either didn’t get caught at the brothel or was brought back from the Silent Sisters as was allegedly Jaehaerys’s plan (or if she had bonded with Balerion and gotten to stay! Would have loved that for her) so she stays in King’s Landing and becomes his caretaker in his old age instead of Alicent Hightower. As his daughter, she would have significantly more influence in being able to “speak for him” instead of a caretaker for another House, so although I do not take Saera as someone particularly obsessed with power, I do find it very interesting to imagine her deciding to cause chaos as the Old King’s mouthpiece. The streets of King’s Landing are burning as we speak! Even before Jaehaerys seemed to succumb to dementia, Saera did appear to have a strange influence over him, so once Alysanne passed away, it only makes sense that Saera would become the person in his ear. Not all that great for the smallfolk or even Lords of the realm, but great for drama and storylines. And Saera, of course! I’m sure she would have paraded everywhere, weighed down by jewelry and the finest wines. Perhaps she would have had a full menagerie, as she appeared to love animals. Definitely an elephant there somewhere.

As this piece was being worked on, however, I did think of a second meaning to the art that I also think is really neat. You could also view this as what Jaehaerys is seeing as Alicent is caring for him. He did believe her to be Saera in the end, as his mind was being lost. His Saera had come back to him, and although I do not like Jaehaerys and think he probably deserved worse, he most likely died happy at that thought, believing Saera was reading to him. So if you prefer to interpret this as viewing things through Jaehaerys’s mind, I welcome you because I love it at least equally to the first idea.

Lastly, the detailings are beautiful so I wanted to touch on them and give them the attention they deserve for the moment. I asked Riot to have a caring but sinister vibe, that she is caring for him for a plethora of reasons but certainly that includes self-serving reasons. I believe this was captured really well! I wanted it to be illustrated that Jaehaerys had lost his wits a while beforehand, so he has a vacant look, and Saera has the keys, showing that she is the real power behind the Crown. She has several expensive jewelry pieces (she has many from her lovers, but she doesn’t bother with them, leaving them to collect dust, only thinking gifts from the King are worthy to wear), but my favorite was one I specifically requested. Her jeweled bodice, which contains replicas of the King’s jewels that are present on his crown. Dare I say, she had her mother’s crown repurposed for herself? The intention is clear, Saera is effectively the Queen now, not in name, but Queen nonetheless. As for the general fashion, I told Riot that my favorite era of fashion was the Tudor era, more broadly 1300s- 1550s. As you can see, this was more than delivered and extremely beautifully inspired by historical fashion. GRRM doesn’t always describe his character’s outfits, and the GOT and HOTD outfits were often lackluster. This was exactly the type of beauty I was looking for. The dragon embroidery on Saera’s sleeves? Mwah!

Anyway, thank you so much for geeking out with me! The Saera/Jaehaerys dynamic is one of the most interesting dynamics to me. There’s simultaneously so little and so much there. It’s complex and layered, I can’t stop thinking about it. If you have been on my tiktok, you may have heard about my extensive theory regarding that dynamic, iykyk. If you ever want to talk about them, absolutely feel free to inbox me. More commission ideas coming this year definitely, at least a couple more of this dynamic, but I don’t know how a piece could be any more perfect <3

[horizon-verizon]

Alicent’s fans are now coming for Saera on Twitter... It’s actually alarming the way Alicent’s fans hate on women who have bodily autonomy. Saera had her own kingdom and lived her best life outside the patriarchal constraints of Westeros I think she’s just fine lmao. Alicent, on the other hand, caused the deaths of every last one of her children and grandchildren, grew to hate the colour green, and died alone, miserable, and forgotten.

Saera & Jaehaerys I and Family

Saera is an interesting character. She actively practiced and claimed body autonomy, but unlike Rhaenyra she wasn't pragmatic about it. I think that being a princess of Jaehaerys I in particular -- and who could blame her, with his misogyny and preference for obedience and subordination for women. That would have bled into his relationship with his daughters as it did Alysanne.

Saera's own sisters were reported to not have liked her and that her brothers did but didn't see all sides of her.

She striked me as a kid who needed to be given proper distractions and room to fuck up after being given some real responsibilities so she can understand her own limits, not isolation. More room to explore, and she wasn't given that so she sought attention and dominance through sex. There's nothing ethically wrong with having multiple sexual partners or premarital/extramarital sex, but Saera decided to forgo the rules and her image entirely and so never made a true emotional connection whereas Rhaenyra made compromises. Perhaps, as Septon Barth mused because she felt like she had not enough influence over others, so she overcompensated? I'm not sure.

Either way, yeah, it's not her having premarital sex that's the problem. I think that it was the environment, the anti-female autonomy, the overindulgence in materials, and not enough real emotional engagement from Jaehaerys I going on.

Which maybe made Saera more determined but less and contemplative/cerebral about getting how to get what she wanted. So more demanding brasher, dismissive, and manipulative to assure herself that she had power. Not under Jaehaerys, what would she have become? Something that would probably be more welcome if this was Old Valyria.

Other Stuff

And it didn't help that just before the scandal, Lucamore Strong was found out having married three separate women who didn't know the other existed and fathered more than 10 kids altogether.

Or that Saera used Maegor (the same guy who killed Jaehaerys/Alysanne/Rhaena's brother, forced Rhaena to marry him as one of his Black Brides, endangered Alyssa Velaryon [their mother], Jae's, and Aly's lives for the throne until he died mysteriously on the same throne) as her precedent/justification for her being allowed to marry as she chose and however many times (polygamy).

I do like a messy woman/girl, though. And like you said, she made her way into a place where she determined her own fate and owned a buisness that seemed to thrive...I just hope there weren't any sex slaves or any slaves involved there for that matter.

What do the rest of you guys think about Saera?

[dragonstonelurker]

Targaryen’s headcanons: Jaehaerys I reign

Baelon helped Rhaenys claim Meelys, this upseted Daemon who wished to inherited his mother's dragon. He claimed Caraxes as soon as he could, which hurted Rhaenys who was still mourning her father.

Saera used to do Viserra’s hair, but was very harsh and even sometimes violent, tugging harshly every time she moved, despite that, Viserra never let anyone else touch it.

Baelon and Aemon had the strongest sibling bond, but always felt something was missing between them. It was Daenerys.

Maegelle and Vaegon reconnected later in their lives with Vaegon proclaiming that she was the only sibling he could stomach.

Maegelle fell into a depression after Daella’s death and regretted not helping her become a septa.

Aemma and Jocelyn were never truly members of the family -despite being a sister/granddaughter- they were just considered as spouses.

Baelon tried to push a marriage between Viserys and Rhaenys, but this was quickly discarded by Aemon.

Alyssa was pressured/coerced by her mother and father to keep having children, this was due to the lack of more heirs by Aemon and Jocelyn.

Many times Gael wished to join Viserys, Rhaenys and Daemon, but she was always obliged to spent time with Alysanne. They never took her seriously or cared for her that much.

Aemma never had jewelry that belonged to her mother. Alysanne took it all when Daella died, she only got to inherited when she became queen.

Rhaella disliked being around Jaehaerys and Alysanne, but did greatly enjoy the company of Maegelle taking her under her wing when she became a novice. Maegelle became like a daughter to her.

When Saera fled, Viserra took her personal diary and hid it in her chamber. After she died, the diary was never found again.

Aemma’s first love was a childhood friend, she believed they were going to marry one day, until Jaehaerys and Alysanne fix her marriage to Viserys.

Rhaenys saw Viserra sneaking out the night she died, but Viserra made her swear not to alert anyone. She deeply regretted not doing it.

While Vaegon never claimed a dragon, he had a favorite which was Balerion. He has many sketches of him safeguarded in his room.

[wolfienation]

i love being a part of the niche collective of targ fans who aren't targ dickriders. like no i do not believe in targ restoration. no i do not believe in valyrian blood superiority. no i do not think these ppl should be ruling in any capacity idc what aegon was dreaming about

like idk guys to me they're blonde neurotic egotistical psychopaths with severe mommy/daddy issues who 90% of the time are too busy fucking each other literally or fucking each other over to make a single, politically competent decision for the realm. lets not forget they have dragons, which are the asoiaf equivalent of fire breathing nukes, who make them feel like gods on earth.

and i find that endlessly fasinating

[adarkandmagicalforest]

jaehaerys I being seen as this great king, intelligent and wise but actually being a habitual predator towards his own daughters to the point of them running away as fast as they could from kings landing/trying to marry their brothers for protection/literally committing suicide to avoid them while 'good' alysanne lies to herself everyday and also trying to marry her daughters farther and farther away from their father is

[aryriddle]

House of the Dragon has made a lot of creative choices that I really dislike, but making Hugh Hammer Saera’s bastard is the biggest fuck you to Jaehaerys ever, and I love it.