#rhaenyra's children

[horizon-verizon]

Why exactly does HotD feel the need to ignore that Rhaenyra, Rhaenys, Laena, Baela, and Rhaena already had characterizations that are not only tied to their actions, but also manage to distinguish them from each other while also linking them to one another?

The "boring" and "dry" source material managed to give us five related women who expressed a "Targaryen woman's strength" and agency in five unique (but still related) ways. And HotD thinks it's somehow an improvement to insist that actually, no, they're all just (by circumstance) variations of a "generic targ girl" template.

The same people who removed Jace's accomplishments, which in turn were a statement about Rhaenyra, and filled in the characterization void they left by portraying him as a mini-Daemon moreso than Baela, because Baela can't be her mini-Daemon book!self because that suggests a good relationship and Daemon needs to have as many of his good qualities removed as possible and as many new crimes invented as possible, including one that necessitates stripping Laena of her characterization, in order to service an invented "redemption arc" that will be used to justify removing Rhaena's characterization for a nonsensical dragon conflict that consumes her whole identity to the point that she ends up merged with another character she has nothing in common with.

You can't change core traits of characters from a book like Fire & Blood. The fact that the characters feel so "utilitarian" might make it feel like you can. But the fact that they're utilitarian means that all those (interconnected) traits are there for a reason because all their (interconnected) actions are driven by those traits.

And yet something tells me these writers are going to try to make a statement about "hubris."

The fact that the characters feel so "utilitarian" might make it feel like you can

@rhaenin-time

If Condal or Hess said this, flame them. If you can't design a person from the role given in the original work, you shouldn't be a creative writer. I really hate that you might be right about the hubris. Like, why the blacks? So do the Starks have hubris for having pride in their house or loving their family? No, so why the Targs and esp the blacks? Though they revealed themselves to be as close to Targ antis as they can get from all their marketing-focused internet search for how the general fandom regards the Targs and their narrative roles.

Part of the reason why they might think of these characters having no real distinct personalities is that they've never really adjusted to reading the book and picking up on characters from the mix of setting, actions, and words. The lack of PoVs triggers a certain wrong kind of detachment.

[lena-luthor]

[jellolegos]

And your dearest fantasy Is to grow a baby in me I could be a good mother And I wanna be your wife So I hold you to my knife And I steal your letter

Not a lot, just forever

[aemondwive]

"No," the queen was heard to say, "I forbid it, I forbid it," but even as she spoke her dragon flapped up from the yard, perched for half a heartbeat atop the castle battlements, then launched herself into the night with the queen's son clinging to her back, a sword in hand. "After him!" Rhaenyra shouted. "All of you, every man, every boy, to horse, to borse, go after him. Bring him back, bring him back, he does not know. My son, my sweet, my son..."

[jessmalia]

Did you think I would have dark hair? When you took Alicent Hightower into your bed, did you think I might favor her, or did it not cross your mind?

[chicken-wayng]

"Fuck that crown and fuck the Gods! I'm running away." Alicent says her eyes bear true Targaryen Madness as she rebukes the things that were once all she stood for, shocking Nyra with the bravery of her declaration. Then, her eyes soften like they always do upon seeing Her. "Come with me."

"Yes," Rhaenyra said, without thinking.

[horizon-verizon]

@rhaenyragendereuphoria' s reblog of your post is HERE, for anyone who couldn't see it.

Their post (image):

The links they provided goes as follows:

Men vs Women, and Hiding Parentage, and Bastardry is Not Real, it is only Legal, an invention and a Tool of Power -> https://www.tumblr.com/horizon-verizon/707104544636747776/i-support-every-devastation-coming-for-the

"Sex with the Queen" by Harman and Actual Historical Precedents of Keeping Parentage Secret -> https://at.tumblr.com/the-king-andthe-lionheart/i-am-anon-who-asked-about-rhaenyra-children-from/kwe1ymy22vix

Talking about the Looks and Appearance of the V Boys and How the Show Changed from the book -> https://at.tumblr.com/eschercaine/about-the-parentage-of-the-three-velaryon/sjk450kk0ah7

I’m finally reading the Accursed Kings series by Maurice Druon, I had not realized it covered the case of Marguerite and Blanche of Burgundy and ummm….. really has forcibly put HoTD back into historical perspective for me.

For those not familiar with it, the daughters-in-law of King Philip the Fair of France, Marguerite (married to the eldest son Louis) and Blanche (married to the youngest son Charles) were both caught having an affair with a pair of brothers. Needless to say, it does not end well for any of the parties involved. The men were flayed, hanged, and beheaded, and the two princesses were imprisoned, with Marguerite being murdered a year later so that her husband could remarry. And her daughter, Jeanne, who would have been the heiress of France, may or may not be a bastard, so is forcibly removed from the line of succession by the invention of Salic law, which dictates that the crown can only pass to men through the male line. (Since Louis who may or may not have been her father died without any male heirs) Unsurprisingly, this causes problems! And partly sparks (among other things) the Hundred Years War between France and England.

Having bastards is serious business with serious consequences for married women. And YES, it is absolutely unfair and ridiculous that men can do it with far fewer consequences, but the show downplayed what those consequences can be. In GoT, the whole starting point is that Cersei has illegitimate children and passed them off as her husbands, and people are killed to keep that secret. Not to mention the humiliating punishment that she has to endure, and she was only being punished for having sex as a widow!!!

My point is that Rhaenyra having bastard children is kinda downplayed in the show, and that this IS a big deal both historically and in universe was glossed over.

[tessarionbestgirl]

Tb is sooo boring, because what you mean that you don't see the appealing of enemies to lovers, trauma bonding, war of roses parallel and the Romeo and Juliet coded on jaehaera and Aegon III?

[nikinikori]

“What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms, [...] We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”

— Maester Aemon Targaryen: "Game of Thrones"

[ibuprofenjuliet]

“Forgive me mother”- the last words of Joffrey Velaryon

[daenerystargarycn]

hot take maybe but the only reason most show runners/producers/writers/etc. age up the (female) characters from book to show adaptation is to overtly sexualize them and not face mass amounts of scrutiny for it.

put 13 year old daenerys next to 30 year old drogo and the audience understands that daenerys is a victim to him and not an equal. put 22 year old emilia clarke as daenerys next to 32 year old jason mamoa as drogo and they’re seen as a budding romance with a tragic ending (by the general audience) due to their on screen chemistry.

flash forward to today, and now we’re dealing with 21 year old milly alcock playing rhaenyra from 14-19 and how her relationship with (28 year old fabien) a mid twenties criston is seen as -morally acceptable- and not a result of a degenerate pedophile taking advantage of and grooming his charge. “ser criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from ser criston?” rhaenyra was 14 when rumors started speculating that she slept with an almost 30 year old criston. a criston who had know her since she was 8 and had been her sworn shield since she was 9. obviously seeing a teenager in the early stages of puberty next to a fully grown man would emphasize rhaenyra being THE victim, as opposed to the show having an 18-19 year old explore her sexuality and seek out ‘consensual’ sex with her peer bodyguard. the discourse has even reached the point where certain stans try to paint the much younger woman as the perpetrator and aggressor of this event, who forced the unassuming man into having sex with her.

i’ll even take this a step farther, and bring up how if they had shown a 19 year old alicent abusing a 10 year old rhaenyra it would be identified and mutually agreed upon as a reprehensible act on alicent’s part. instead they’re of similar age, so people can attempt to paint the picture as two women of equal standing hating each other, and not a much older woman bullying a motherless child. once again however, some stans even go so far as to try and paint alicent as a victim of rhaenyra, and not the other way around. further cementing this is how both versions of alicent are younger than both versions of rhaenyra, AND how criston is still played by an actor who is younger than older!rhaenyra despite his character being the same age as daemon in canon.

they know exactly what they’re doing too, considering they aged alicent down to give her that innate compassion one typically feels when seeing children being abused on tv (something that can no longer be applied to rhaenyra). despite that never being her story; *she* was the abuser, and rhaenyra was her victim. criston’s victim. it’s a nasty cop out, and i wish more people would call out how sickening it is to flip the switch and attempt to make abusive individuals more sympathetic than the *actual* victims of said abusers.

[horizon-verizon]

“It is unfair that Rhaenyra lost her children while Daemon's all survived and inherited their place in the line from him” I think it was unfair for all the children. Rhaenyra’s sons represent not just her personal loss but the loss of tremendous potential; they were future leaders, trained and prepared to inherit power and responsibility. To become the next generation of leaders. Jace, in particular, was a brave and capable heir who could have become a strong king. The Velaryon boys paid for a war they did not start; their deaths weren’t just tragic; they were a heartbreaking waste of what could have been. Baela and Rhaena suffered their own kind of loss. Baela was meant to be queen alongside Jace, and Rhaena was destined to be Lady of Driftmark. They grew up knowing their futures, secure in the lives they were supposed to have. They were betrothed to boys they knew and cared for, not shipped off to strangers. When the Velaryon boys died, those futures crumbled. Baela and Rhaena weren’t just mourning loved ones; they were mourning the lives they had been promised. Viserys and Aegon weren’t spared from this tragedy either. Viserys was taken far from his family, growing up isolated and disconnected from everything he knew. Aegon was forced to bear the weight of the crown while mourning his parents and brothers, burdened with responsibilities he never asked for, surrounded by schemes and mistrust. Both boys had to shoulder the consequences of a war they had no part in. While Rhaenyra and Daemon’s children may have survived and carried on their parent's legacy, it came at a devastating price. The surviving children were left to inherit not just titles but grief, trauma, and shattered futures. All of this because of the ambition of others who couldn’t bear to see a woman sit on the Iron Throne. What should have been a legacy of strength and unity became a bitter reminder of loss, sacrifice, and the cruel waste of an entire generation’s promise.

Anon is talking about this post.

And yes, anon, absolutely.

[notalicent]

“She sent a raven. I do not care to read her message.”

House of the Dragon 2.02 | "The Burning Mill"

[alicentflorent]

Alicent never raised her sons to believe women couldn’t rule and I don’t recall her ever suggesting Rhaenyra was going to be an incompetent ruler, her main criticism towards Rhaenyra was about her having obvious bastards that were passed off as legitimate which could contribute towards a succession crisis if someone challenges their legitimacy. She raised her kids to fear Rhaenyra because despite the fact that Aegon had no interest in pushing his claim “you’re a threat simply by existing” she raised them to believe that they could be killed for existing because other men might not accept a woman on the throne when there are male heirs and at any point the lords could rebel and try pushing the claims of viserys’ sons even if they pledge their support for Rhaenyra. She genuinely feared for her children’s lives to the point where it made her paranoid and impacted her relationships with everyone including her children. So can we stop with the “Alicent raised her sons to believe women were incapable rulers and shouldn’t be in positions of power and now it’s coming back to bite her” bs

[n-i-m-u-e]

What if Rhaenyra had taken over the raising of her siblings

I'm going to write more detailed posts on each of these heds eventually (and possibly add more heds here)

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong area or missing something... But I'm surprised that there's almost no discussion of what would happen if Rhaenyra took over raising her younger siblings. I found literally ONE (1) fic about this and it`s shame! For example, if Alicent died giving birth to Daeron (yes, I'm willing to sacrifice her for that). And Rhaenyra, who shortly afterwards welcomed her first child and felt that incredible overwhelming rush of oxytocin love for Jace, couldn't stand looking at her dear friend's baby childrens (and to a lesser extent her younger siblings) who were left alone . It was obvious that Viserys was still Viserys and didn't really care for them. So Rhaenyra asked her father for permission to raise Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and the newborn Daeron alongside Jace and her future children. Sorry, but I'm just in love with this idea: Alicent's children receive the same amount of care, unconditional parental love and acceptance from their older sister as Rhaenyra's children (!!!)

Aegon grows quite calmly without greens pressure. He has plenty of attention but also a lot of freedom and, accordingly, doesn't try to drown out his anxiety about unwanted responsibility with alcohol and sex from a young age. But even when his adolescent interest in these things manifested itself, it is hard to imagine that his foster mother, represented by Rhaenyra, would have condemned or tabooed it. Most likely, she simply kept it under control and sent Laenor or even Harwin bc girl can dream to talk him about the birds and the bees

Helaena's prophecies will be heard. Rhaenyra spends quite a lot of time with her little sister. Because as much as she adores all her boys, it's the baby girl (long-cherished dream) who fascinates her the most way. Everyone around says that the child acts strangely for her age, but Rhaenyra doesn't see anything too disturbing in her behavior. Over time, she begins to pay more attention to what Helaena saying, and at some point she remembers Daenys the Dreamer

Aegon can make really funny and inoffensive jokes. One time at dinner, he decided to make a joke about Aemond's dragonless, and Rhaenyra looked at him with suuuuuch disappointment, that he never wanted to be the cause of her look 'like this` again

So yes, the boys never bullied Aemond because he didn't have a dragon. But Rhaenyra, who realised his need very well, supported the desire to get one. Perhaps at some point she told the family that she and Aemond would be away for a while and took him on Cyrax's back to Dragonstone, where they stayed for several weeks. But when they finally returned to the capital, Aemond was riding Vermitor.

Aegon and Helaena were not engaged and didn't get into an unhappy marriage later.

Daeron is definitely staying in King's Landing. Because there is no way Otto would have any leverage! But the main motive for Rhaenyra was the inadmissibility of the little boy being cut off from his home, and heritage. And most importantly, Daeron and Jace grew up practically like twins and could not bear to be separated even for a short time.

Aemond is this one, who is most outraged about the rumors about the ancestry of her older sister's children and takes it as a personal attack. Because… because he has very personal reasons!

At Laena's funeral, Helaena approaches her grieving cousins and hugs them one by one, and then says something to Rhaena something about ‘the morning will fix a lot of things’. No one understood at the time, but the orphaned girls were visibly comforted, and for the first time in her life, Helaena Targaryen had friends.

Aegon was going through a phase of severe pre-pubescent crash in Rhaenyra and for several months in a row he tried to challenge Laenor to a ‘death duel’ to ‘free his sister from the chains of marriage’. A few years later, when Laenor ‘died’, it was Aegon who took it the hardest of all the children.

Aemond has the better (perfect) Valyrian pronunciation and two eyes:)

to be continued...

my apologise for any mistakes, english is not my native language and I typed this in a rush at my office instead of the royalty report

[fadingstudentbananacookie]

The fact that the whole Dance is centered around a 30-year-old Rhaenyra and a 50-year-old Daemon having beef with some 14-20-year-old nepo babies—including an alcoholic with mommy issues, an autistic pixie girl, an anime villain, and a twink—will never be not funny to me.

C&H set the bar in hell and Rhaenyra still couldn't jump over it 💀

I mean, no one in Team Green gave a single fuck about any of Rhaenyra or Daemon's children. They were either casualties in the war or minor annoyances for Alicent, Criston, and Otto. The Dragon Seeds were the ones who actually put up a good fight. Fuck, even Bloody Ben who was 11 in F&B, did so much more!

I literally just started laughing like a maniac alone in my room when I thought about this.