#rhaenicent musings

[selkiewife]

Alicent's relationship with Dragons

“The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion.”

This is a fascinating quote and I love how it builds on the dragon lore we already see being established in asoiaf with Daenerys:

She would sooner have returned to Meereen on dragon's wings, to be sure. But that was a desire Drogon did not seem to share. The dragonlords of old Valyria had controlled their mounts with binding spells and sorcerous horns. Daenerys made do with a word and a whip. Mounted on the dragon's back, she oft felt as if she were learning to ride all over again. When she whipped her silver mare on her right flank the mare went left, for a horse's first instinct is to flee from danger. When she laid the whip across Drogon's right side he veered right, for a dragon's first instinct is always to attack. Sometimes it did not seem to matter where she struck him, though; sometimes he went where he would and took her with him. Neither whip nor words could turn Drogon if he did not wish to be turned. ~ A Dance With Dragons, Daenerys X

And I also love how it is supported throughout the whole first season of House of the Dragon, both literally (as with Aemond and Luke at the end) and symbolically with Otto and Alicent.

I've been thinking a lot about the symbolism of trying to control dragons in Alicent's arc. Throughout the first season, Otto attempts to use his daughter to control "dragons of flesh" (Rhaenyra and Viserys.) The first part of Otto's plan was to have Rhaenyra supplant Daemon as the heir and I noticed on this second rewatch that Alicent may have been tasked by Otto to encourage Rhaenyra's ambition for the throne:

ALICENT: You're worried your father is about to overshadow you with a son. RHAENYRA: I only worry for my mother. I hope for my father that he gets a son. As long as I can recall, it's all he's wanted. ALICENT: You want him to have a son? RHAENYRA: I want to fly with you on dragonback, see the great wonders across the Narrow Sea, and eat only cake. ALICENT: I'm being serious. RHAENYRA: I never jest about cake. ALICENT: You aren't worried about your position? RHAENYRA: I like this position. It's quite comfortable.

Rhaenyra's flirting aside (I'll get to that later lol), Alicent seems very intent on discussing Rhaenyra's position as heir. I think that Alicent has true concern for Rhaenyra's desires (and she knows her very well) but she has also been told by her father to encourage those desires in Rhaenyra. Even though Otto is trying to manipulate the situation, I think Alicent is happy to comply because to her mind, making her best friend the heir to the throne is really a win win for everyone- her father, Rhaenyra, the realm, etc. Her own desires align with Otto's at this point.

But then Otto tasks Alicent to essentially "break" her "dragon bond" with Rhaenyra and establish one with the king instead. This is when things really begin to fall apart for Alicent because her desires absolutely do not align with "claiming" Viserys. But she does as her father bids and begins a long, traumatic arc of trying to control dragons- both Viserys and later her "dragon" sons, Aegon and Aemond (as we see at the end of Season 1 and from the trailers of Season 2.) But this is doomed to fail because, as Viserys himself says, control of dragons is an illusion.

I think it is also doomed to fail because Alicent is also trying to control her own dragons- that is to say, her own desires. I think that the dragons- and her fear of riding them- is symbolic of Alicent’s sexuality and her feelings toward Rhaenyra. The first thing that Rhaenyra says to Alicent in the show after she climbs off Syrax is that she wants to take Alicent dragon riding with her. But Alicent declines:

ALICENT: Syrax is growing quickly. She'll soon be as large as Caraxes. RHAENYRA: That's almost large enough to saddle two. ALICENT: I believe I'm quite content as a spectator, thank you.

There is a moment where Rhaenyra registers the rejection while Alicent turns to go inside the carriage- which looks similar to a cage. Rhaenyra looks back at Syrax who is lead away into the dragon pit- also a cage- before going in after her.

Rhenyra's invitation to join her on her dragon is an intimate one in my opinion. It reminds me of Rhaena taking Elissa to ride on Dreamfyre. Dragons can symbolize power but I think they can also symbolize sexuality, freedom, and gender fluidity. As Maester Aemon said in asoiaf:

"Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame." ~ A Feast for Crows, Samwell IX

Rhaenyra talks about flying with Alicent again when they are in the godswood and Alicent responds by becoming flustered and attempting to leave. I think that flying on a dragon symbolizes a kind of freedom- and perhaps a kind of sexual freedom that frightens her. So by shutting that conversation down it symbolizes how she is trying to shut down that part of her as well. She is trying to control the "dragons" of her own desires- to keep them locked up in a cage. Unfortunately, "there is a beast beneath the boards" and her desires (like dragons) cannot be caged indefinitely. They will eventually be let out- even if it is in a very destructive way.

[hearteyedfeelings]

because they are like a gorgeous weed in my mind, still growing with plenty of thoughts even through concrete:

do you think part of the reason Alicent and Rhaenyra were so far apart in that finale scene was because if either were in touching distance they would haven’t been able to stop?

and who knows what then?

[myvirtuesuncounted]

my divorced mothers are coming home in june! (rhaenicent)

[myrtlesandasphodels]

i want to write a modernish au where alicent is the village witch and rhaenyra is some sort of fae creature but the plot hasn't materialised in my brain yet

[mythuzalasheir3]

I don’t have the mental energy to write rn but HOTD fic where Alicent snaps after Viserys’ death and decides to take the throne for herself and Rhaenyra catches her sat on the Iron throne and she (bc she’s still in love with Alicent (: ) gives up her claim for Alicent on the condition that her surviving sons are eligible to inherit Alicent’s crown ft one pissed off Daemon in the pipeworks

[crumbledstatues]

@bloodymyhands sent : we both know know what you've done. | ALICENT (for Rhaenyra)

"WHAT I'VE DONE?" it's pointed, finger poised defiantly and outward towards Rhaenyra's chest. "I serve my House. I serve the realm. I do my duty and what is asked of me and listen. Look what you have done." She does not need to mention it. It is laced in the venom on her tone. Rhaenyra was rebellious as a child, carefree. Her bastard boys are stark evidence of what she has done. Yet she was doted on by her father, her own children left to pick up the pieces.

[divine-donna]

i woke up to a ton of notifications and also a ton of new followers. so, um, anyways. hi.

i’m flora. love aemond (obvious with the whole profile lol).

i write. a lot.

and i don’t just write for the greens, i promise. i am a rhaenyra loyalist, have a post for daemon coming soon.

anyways do you guys like rhaenicent? because i do!

[ackermom]

excerpt from a rhaenicent fic i will probably not finish

They find her with the Mother on the morning of her wedding.

"You should pray to the Maid, my lady, to thank her for your marriage." The septa who tells her this is a familiar face, an old sister wrinkled with sun-spots on her brow; yet she is spry as a bird when Alicent bids her word and lights another candle. They kneel together for half an hour more, before her father comes with a convoy of guards who parade her to the bridal chambers to be prepared. "There are many young women in the city who have prayed for such a match."

Fair Alicent keeps her head bowed as the septa spells a prayer for the queen-to-be. There have been many prayers of late, many long hours with a stern-faced teacher, here in the halls of the Great Sept or elsewhere in her father's chambers, sat with a maester or the Hand himself, bent over books of the dragon's lineage and histories, the things she must know now, the legacies her children will carry.

Many hours more are passed in the sitting room outside her small chamber, the place she has called home for so many years that its walls were once comforts as familiar as the arms of a loved one; now others have moved in, and it feels less and less her own as they ready her rooms for the next good girl who will live there. She has tea with ladies of the court whose names and faces she has long known, though they have never before bothered to remember hers. She sits dutifully with wizened old widows who have seen more queens than happy days, and she is instructed on table manners and proper greetings and dress colors and her place in court, all the things she will now have to do. Most importantly, she is told the things she must never, ever do. 

Such a fair girl must be ignorant of the world. But Otto Hightower did not raise his only daughter at court so that she might grow up a fool, and indeed, all the septas and maesters and ladies alike tell young Alicent how impressed they are with her knowledge, her decorum, her virtue and grace. What a bride she will be in Targaryen colors. What a queen to stand beside Viserys in these brave days of Westeros.

She can only say she learned from the best. That is what she does not tell the septa when they pray together to the Maid— how can she explain that she is not only losing a friend, but indeed, gaining a daughter? 

How like Rhaenyra the king is in private, the soft silk of his silver-white hair and the gentle cadence of his mellow voice as he peruses through gestures and histories. His words are not as sharp as hers, not to the girl who listens to all his musings, his bride, his queen, his mother-in-making. And his touch does not burn her skin the way Rhaenyra's fingers do, not even when he is on top of her in bed and his manhood is pressed between her legs, the drip of his sweat salty on her lips and cold on her breasts, where her skin rises with goosebumps and begs to be covered. The stench of his marital act lingers in her linens long after he is gone, the stick of his seed hot inside her like an uneasy ship rolling on rough waters as she lies with her ankles in the air, doing as the midwives bid. 

But bedsheets can be washed. Her skin is stripped of all sweat and oil when she sinks into the bath. The king can be scrubbed from her pores by maids with rough pads and washed over by ladies who dab her veins with sweet perfumes. His touch can be forgotten.

Even when she comes to be with his child— it is her child, her world, her son. There is no love like a Mother's, and Alicent carries her babe into the world wholly, solely, a fullness of her heart so unmatched by anything else that she can convince herself it belongs entirely to her. For a time, there is nothing else besides the swell of her stomach and the little hands that echo back when she hugs the baby to her. 

And Rhaenyra—

She almost forgets. Then the midwives pull the boy from her body, and she sees his starry hair and thinks, how like his sister he looks. 

[rp-partnerfinder]

hello! 25f looking for fellow writers who are 21+ and interested in hotd/asoiaf rps over discord! i'm open to multiple different pairings, oc x oc or canon x canon (if you give me rhaenicent i will adore you forever). i'm looking to include smut along with our plot, so please dni if you aren't comfortable with that. i love sharing musings, making playlists and pinterest boards and gushing about our muses, so if you enjoy that too, it's a plus! if this sounds of any interest to you, please react and i'll reach out!

.

[silver-dragonborn]

I saw some hotd spoilers on TikTok and while I would normally feel ashamed for watching them, this show is such a fucking dumpster fire that I simply do not care anymore. With that being said, here are my thoughts. Out of respect, I will not post commentary in my tags.

-) Aemond telling Helaena to saddle up only for her to tell him to kindly fucking fuck off and coldly predict his future where he will die alone.

"B-but Helaena loves her brother!"

Correction. Loved. She loved Aemond until he killed Lucerys which set off a chain of events that got her own son killed in retaliation. I'm sorry, but if my asshole brother told me to fight for him after his decisions led to the gruesome death of one of my babies, I would spit in his face for the audacity.

"Will you burn me as you did Aegon?"

"That is a lie."

"I saw it."

Helaena was done playing around. No riddles. No musings. She was grieving and angry and lashing out at the jackass responsible. Helaena refuses to fight a losing battle and plus, she no longer trusts Aemond so why the fuck would she ride beside an emotional time bomb with a geriatric dragon that refuses to listen to him?

-) "It's all a story and you're but one part in it. You know your part." Gave me chills. Phia was SERVING in this episode and knowing what I know about Helaena and her ending, I'm praying we'll see more of her. Daemon's final vision in Harrenhal bore some fruit as I got to see a haunting glimpse of Daenerys and her dragons...Night King looked like a leathery Halloween costume from a general store...not my cup of tea.

-) Aemond throwing a hissyfit and putting his disgusting hands on Helaena to force her to burn Harrenhal with him was nothing new to me. You've seen how he treats members of his family...Helaena and Alicent are no different. Also, imagine being raised for YEARS to hate your sister and being trained to fight her only for your mom, the one responsible for your upbringing, deciding to throw in the towel and sue for peace. Yeah, I don't blame Aemond for feeling betrayed by Alicent who RAISED HIM TO HATE HIS SISTER.

-) That scene with Alicent and Rhaenyra...I'm sorry, but that was total bullshit and out of character. The fact that Rhaenyra was written out to be the disgruntled spouse listening to her wife's apologies was ridiculous. Rhaenicents will count this as a win, but to me, it's poorly written-fanfiction. Even when Alicent was "apologizing" and "baring her soul" to Rhaenyra she still justified her bullshit (go figure). Now, NOW, after humiliating Rhaenyra at her wedding, allowing a murderer to walk free, plotting against her, and TORTURING HER FOR YEARS, SHE WANTS TO RUN AWAY FROM IT ALL?? Lady, you sealed your family's fate the moment you wore that green dress. Alicent wants to flee from the problems that SHE created and I was fucking GOBSMACKED that she practically betrays her "favorite son" in favor of opening up the city to Rhaenyra without bloodshed. Kudos to Rhaenyra for sticking to her guns to cut off Aegon's head. I know anti-Rhaenyra stans will screech that this is proof she was always going to kill him and refuse to believe that Rhaenyra, having lost a son and a daughter, wants vengeance for her dead children...honestly, what do y'all expect??

-) I half-expected Aemond to fly over to Dragonstone, bend the knee to his sister, and hug it out. Y'know...like in every fix-it fanfic ever where Rhaenyra forgives those usurping murderous cunts and strives to be a better sister because it's all her fault that her siblings are SAD and not pure, sweet Alicent's fault for turning them against her in the first place.

-) We finally see Sheepstealer, but no scene of Rhaena claiming him and flying in the skies. Seriously, what the fuck? We get a pointless scene of Alicent treating with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone, but nothing for Rhaena? I swear, the writers add in these pointless scenes to avoid anything to do with the twins. No, we just see her staring bug-eyed at Sheepstealer while Hugh gets extra screen time with Vermithor.

-) I'd say the only scenes that stood out to me were Daemon bending the knee to Rhaenyra, Helaena's predictions, and Team Black gearing up for war.

-) Anyway, this episode was insane and not in a good way. The Rhaenicent agenda and the constant need to portray Alicent as this misunderstood angel who just wants her best friend back are dragging this show through the mud.

[moonshine999]

Painting Together

Day : 5

Ship : Rhaenicent (Rhaenyra Targaryen x Alicent Hightower)

AU : Old money

Dividers by @cafekitsune

Every flower swayed with the breeze and the sun rose to its highest peak, bathing every leaf, tree and speck of the garden in gold. A beautiful sight and amidst it was her wife..just as beautiful..rubbing sunscreen on herself as if she owns an entire factory of it.

"Darling, there really isn't much need to smother that much sunscreen on yourself."

"You want my skin to burn off, Nyra?!

She huffed a laugh and spread a blanket on the grass. With a bow and some over the top courtesy, Nyra said "All for you, dear."

"All for us, you mean."

.

"All for us, I mean."

Alicent sat down and immediately started rummaging through her bag. What a sight she was. The co-head of the richest company in the world sat in front of her, frantically searching her,seemingly, bottomless bag while a poor sun screen bottle was tossed aside, drained empty.

Her eyes widened when she found what she was looking for and excitedly fumbled down two small canvases, a couple of brushes and a paint set.

Fear, dread and embarasment dropped her heart.

"Just give it a try no! Please it'll be fun and relaxing-"

"Alicent..we are not painting."

"Rhaenyra..we are painting.

"Us painting has always ended with you turning out Da Vinci and me turning out unicorn vomit, we are NOT-"

"I- fair enough. But...pleaseee-"

"Relaxing is for the people who know what they are doing, Ali."

"You're just making a fuss now. Criston likes to paint with me, he can't paint for shit but he still joins me and has a good time no?"

"Criston would rather not directly ask for a raise, it's different."

Shit. Alicent Hightower had one power that could bring the toughest to their knees. And it wasn't just her stubborn attitude but those damn eyes.

Nyra could almost see the screws turning inside her brain when she starts to slightly jut out her bottom lip and widen her big brown eyes and bat her eyelashes just so perfectly that-

"Fine. I guess I can paint with you."

"Wonderful."

To call the next few moments a struggle for Nyra would be the understatement of the year. How the hell was she supposed to know anything? How the hell was she going to suffice whatever the blobs on the canvas are into something at all? How the hell was she so sure of what she was painting?

After about a century of torture passing with unsure glances, picking up random colours to somehow salvage whatever was there and gazing upon her wife so peacefully painting while humming something, she put down the brush and turned the canvas away from Alicent.

"If I add a single stroke more, I might just cringe out of my existence..are you done yet?"

"Mhm..and there! How is it?"

How is it? How is it? Mind-blowing was what it was..

The trees of the garden looked as though they had simply jumped on to the canvas somehow the glow of the sun was captured so perfectly. It looked more a photograph than a painting. It was spectacular, gorgeous, fantastic, out of this world, beautiful-

"Oh yeah..it's nice."

Dumbass.

"Okay okay show me yours!"

Fuck.

With averting all eye contact with her wife and turning the paint as slow as possible , Nyra quietly muttered a prayer that this won't make her a laughing stock for her own wife.

As soon as she realised the entire mess of the canvas was fully turned, a moment of silence and then a giggle.

"Is that supposed to be me?" She asked, slightly sarcastic but with a wide smile on her face.

Nyra looked at the painting and then her wife. The mess of colours with the red of her hair bleeding into the green background, the eyes at completely different positions and an overly toothy smile did not resemble her muse at all

All she mustered was a shameful nod.

The only thought running through her head while painting that was to paint the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. As was instinct.

"Well..it's not bad." She said in that one tone that implied it was horrendous.

"We are never speaking about this in front of anyone."

"But it's adorable!"

"I practically made you worse than the wicked witch of the west, what do you mean 'adorable'?!"

"It's the thought that counts, no?"

Both of them decided to paint whatever attracted them the most. Alicent painted the glowing trees and Rhaenyra painted .. well ..her wife.

"Oh yeah no..Cole is fine."

"Whatever. We don't speak a word about this to anyone..I have a reputation."

"Okay fine....what about Criston though?"

[mswyrr]

making progress on the rhaenicent fic! it's probably going to be about 10k once it's finished - so about the length of a single chapter of my multichapter snowbaird fic lol (which I am still working on! but something i can finish in a shorter timeframe is helping get my muse back)

i might end up posting it in 3k long chapters so i have a week to edit each segment as i go along, but i won't start until i've got the whole thing finished in a near final draft form

[imagineitdearies-old]

Would you consider writing a modern au after d&s? Maybe with switch Lucemond 👀 lol or do you have other things lined up

'Things lined up' is waaaay too organized for me, anon 😂

Do I have a doc just filled with HOTD plot bunnies, though?? Yes, yes I do. Weirdly the only modern au on there right now is a rhaenicent religious trauma/'summer before college' slowburn, but I'm happy to get inspired at any point toward a modern lucemond story, just haven't yet. (prompts welcome!)

Switch lucemond though?? Anything that's not a one-shot would involve switching at some point, ngl. And though I've loved being stuck in Aemond's unreliable narrator head for D&S, I think I'd want to switch POVs in most of them too, lol. So yeah, here's a couple of my current long-form lucemond plot bunnies:

Luke gets poisoned: a bit of a whump!Luke fic at the start. Rhaenyra stays in KL and is Regent. When Corlys recovers from the wounds they thought might kill him, she holds a feast to celebrate. At the feast, Luke gets weirdly sick really fast, thinks it was the seafood he ate, and tries to go to his chambers but collapses in some small corner of the castle in pain. Enter Aemond, who followed thinking Luke was crazy drunk and that this is a perfect opportunity to remove his eye--right up until he realizes Luke is coughing up blood. Suddenly he is Not CoolTM with someone else hurting his nephew (he's the only one allowed), and gets him to a maester fast. He stays at Luke's bedside the whole time he's nearly dying, no one can make him leave, does a lot of the caring/nursing him back to health stuff. And then, after the two talk it out of course, they embark on a vengeful murder-spree together killing everyone who was involved in poisoning Luke. It gets a bit kinky.

Storm’s End Time Loop: When Lucerys dies, he’s brought back with a clang of a knife falling between him and Aemond, back to that moment he demanded his eye. Thinking the gods gave him a do-over, this time Luke does not wait for his uncle’s words, just runs. He and Arrax hide amidst the rock pillars until the storm passes, safely making it home…but the moment he falls asleep, Lucerys returns to that moment at Storm’s End. 

He tries different things as time continues to loop—once convincing Lord Borros to let him stay the night, another throwing the knife at Aemond’s face, even attempting to put his sword through him from the start—but the moment he dies or falls asleep, it starts again. Lucerys begins to wonder if the gods have a sick sense of humor and won’t let him rest until he fulfills Aemond’s request.

So the next time, he does put out his eye...and it still reloops. But this time Aemond remembers too. (Cue the two of them doing the day over again and again till they get it right, aka fall in love lol.)

Diplomatic mission to Essos: Rhaenyra is queen but Corlys did die of his injuries, so Luke became Lord of the Tides quite young. Years later the queen asks him to go on his first diplomatic mission to Essos. Since he has little experience, however, she sends Aemond to accompany him, as her brother has had great diplomatic success in Dorne for the last few years. Cue the two of them begrudgingly trying to get along in the tight quarters of a ship and work together on their approach with the trade deal (a lot of Aemond impatiently coaching Luke, lol). But they're both mature men--mostly--now, and actually find a lot in common, becoming friends. Eventually they share quarters because Aemond's keeps flooding, UST builds...until Aemond comes onto him one night, justifying that it's a common thing for sailors to do when they go a long time between ports. (Cue family-with-benefits situationship angst)

What will I work on next?? Maybe none of these, who knows 😂 the muse is a fickle thing. After I finish D&S I'll probably want a break with some one-shots, we'll see. Thanks for the ask!

[selkiewife]

I've rewatched House of the Dragon Season 1 and wrote down some notes of things I'd love to discuss or connect with other fans about. So the tags to filter for me are #hotd rewatch #house of the dragon #hotd #rhaenicent and #rhaenicent musings. Also because things have become so... fraught... here are a few disclaimers. I really love the show in general so most of my posts will be positive. If I am totally honest, I don't really enjoy arguing over the teams but that is not to say I'm neutral- I am INCREDIBLY biased to my faves haha. What may be confusing to some people is that I have a LOT of faves and sometimes they conflict with each other. I am Team Black in that I agree that Rhaenyra should have been queen. However I am Team Green sympathetic in that I understand their motivations as well. I have also read the books so I may discuss differences between book and show and whether I think they worked or not. I'm a multishipper but Rhaenicent is my favorite. ALL of these relationships are outside what we would think of as "healthy" in our society so I won't be playing morality games with that, thanks haha. And obviously everything is just my opinion- PLEASE feel free to engage and discuss with me. You can totally reblog or comment to disagree just be respectful! I honestly appreciate that much more than taking a screen shot of something I said and complaining about it (don't appreciate that at all actually haha.)

[coleoffduty]

taking a break from lucemond to write rhaenicent then taking a break from rhaenicent to write lucemond is such a nice little cycle. tysm hotd characters for being the gay muses i didn't know i needed.