#that just because Rhaenyra didn’t get the immediate focus

[radlymona]

The thing I find fascinating about Rhaenyra this episode is that the more caged she is, the bolder she becomes - in kissing Mysaria and flying out to meet Seasmoke. It’s funny that it’s this episode’s Rhaenyra that feels the most like early season 1 Rhaenyra, as this is the first time in over a decade that she doesn’t enjoy a comparatively higher level of freedom than other noble woman. I think while ruling as Princess of Dragonstone, she was able to “ignore” her secondary status as a woman. The war made her remember and that makes her feel like the young girl stuck in the Red Keep who resorts to sneaking out into Flea Bottom to see what the world is really like

[queenvhagar]

How did Alicent not create and further a hostile environment when she essentially forced Rhaenyra to present her baby immediately after childbirth, and acted with mocking concern that Rhaenyra walked all the way to her. Even while Alicent KNEW her mother died in childbirth. Alicent furthering rumors that her children are bastards, Alicent making Rhaenyra’s life hell and dangerous so much that she left to Dragonstone, Alicent leading to Harwin’s death. By your logic Cersei didn’t create any hostile environment either since they’re all just blameless women who don’t have power. Cersei couldn’t stop Joffrey from doing anything so Sansa has no right to hate her then

Alicent asked the baby be brought to her sometime after birth, and Rhaenyra chose to maliciously comply by carrying the baby herself, so people would see how bad Alicent was for making her go all that way when in reality Alicent just asked for a servant to bring the baby to her. Why did both of them do this? Well, it's clearly established that at this point there's been a decade of back and forth shot-taking at each other. The green dress moment, this incident, the contrasting opinions at the small council, the petty comments... all of this is indicative of the two of them trying to power play each other out because they didn't like each other. In this case, Alicent wanted to confirm for herself the third bastard, and Rhaenyra knew this and decided to accompany the baby despite Alicent not asking her to in order to shift the focus onto Alicent's request being unreasonable and away from the idea that she was requesting to see the baby so soon to confirm its parentage in the first place. It's them playing with perception of others here and trying to control the situation better than the other. Again, because there is a mutual dislike each other and there are competing interests between the two women.

None of the women in this story are wholly powerless, but there are women who have more or less power than others. Rhaenyra always had more power than Alicent, point blank. Rhaenyra is a Targaryen dragonrider, in the king's eyes his favorite and "only" child, and named heir to the throne. Alicent is the non-Valyrian dragonless daughter of a second son, and even though she became Viserys' second queen, clearly the king did not value her, setting her aside, laughing at her in public, calling her the wrong name in front of others, and he clearly did not care at all about their children together. The power level between the two is uneven, and it's crazy that people seem to think somehow Alicent is this all powerful villain who could have one-sided outright bullied a poor, powerless, helpless Rhaenyra. The power difference is clearly seen at Driftmark, when Rhaenyra gets the king to do everything she asks while Alicent begs him for any care about her son just to be ignored. All along Rhaenyra could wield her father's favoritism to benefit her, and she did, in that moment and again when Vaemond Velaryon came to court.

It's also important to acknowledge that the bastard "rumor" was not solely a Green creation that Alicent decided to make up with the purpose of making Rhaenyra look bad or something. As Aegon put it at Driftmark, everyone had eyes and could see that these white skinned brown haired boys clearly looked more similar to the white skinned brown haired man always at Rhaenyra's side than her husband, with his dark skin and white hair, who spent less time with Rhaenyra and the family than Harwin and more time with his squires. This plain fact is damaging and dangerous to Rhaenyra, but Rhaenyra is to blame for this. Her and Laenor tried maybe once before she immediately became pregnant with Jace by Harwin, according to the timeline, and as Margaery and actual history shows us it was definitely possible for queer men to have gotten a woman pregnant with the purpose of producing an heir. However, Rhaenyra was just interested in acting to their arrangement of dining as she pleased, and then proceeded to recklessly have not one but three clear pieces of evidence to her breaking her vow to her husband (which maybe is less scandalous to us, the modern viewer, but oath breaking is pretty serious in Westeros, especially for women). And before there's an argument of how she was forced to marry a gay man... Rhaenyra (and Daemon) did that. She left her marriage tour to pick her own match among hundreds of suitors early and then was seen in a brothel with Daemon, tarnishing her reputation and forcing her father to quickly marry her to a Velaryon (and of course Daemon brought her there with the purpose of sullying her reputation enough so Viserys would just let Daemon marry her). The funny thing here is that Harwin himself could have been a marriage candidate as the heir to Harrenhall and an active member at court, and he was certainly an option to consider! But she lost her chance. As heir to the throne and a Targaryen woman, there was no situation where she would not have needed to get married and make an heir, and Rhaenyra should have known this and considered her options while she had them. Then even when she was married to Laenor, there were ways around his queerness. Try to have a baby, or petition that he's infertile and the marriage should be absolved on that grounds so she can marry someone else. But Rhaenyra wanted to have her cake and eat it too; she wanted the Velaryons on her side to support her claim to the throne and a son of hers to one day inherit Driftmark, and she wanted to only have sex with Harwin and have his babies. Both were impossible at the same time if she wanted to avoid conflict.

Essentially, all of this put together, it was through her own choices that Rhaenyra had three obvious bastards that weakened her own claim and put herself in the middle of a political scandal. And even when Alicent talked about it at all, it was only with Viserys, Criston, and Larys in private (and she potentially told her children, likely to warn them of the further succession crisis this would cause when Rhaenyra or her sons try to come to power despite their weak claims and bastard status in this society that despises bastards). Obviously all of them already had eyes and knew the truth, and Criston had also already known the truth of what was going on because Rhaenyra explicitly had told him about the arrangement, and it was clear that Harwin was the one who filled that role for her. So when the third bastard is born, he goads Harwin into fighting him, exposing his role in the situation, and the attention on Harwin this causes results in Lionel Strong sending him back to Harrenhall. Then, Larys takes advantage of the situation to kill them both and become Lord of Harrenhall. He says he did it for Alicent, to get her father back, but realistically there's no reason to expect Viserys should have even asked Otto back as Hand after firing him (and he really shouldn't have, if he was trying to help Rhaenyra consolidate power). All of this considered, it's a pretty big step to say that Alicent is to blame for Harwin's death. I personally say it was Harwin's decision to be Rhaenyra's lover and father to her children that got him sent away from court, and then it was his own brother's decision to kill him for power.

Not exactly sure what your point is trying to bring up Cersei when the contexts are pretty different... like sure she was a lady married to a king who didn't love her and then she fought for her children's rights ruthlessly. But Cersei has a closer parallel in Rhaenyra, to be honest: a mother to three bastards who uses them to usurp thrones they have no real claim to and who ignores their misdeeds completely and/or weaponizes them against their victims. The obvious parallel here is Joffrey threatening and cutting the butcher's boy, getting attacked by Nymeria, and Cersei immediately pushing her own version of events that unquestionably paints her son as the ultimate victim and demanding the king take action against the others, and the Strong boys ambushing Aemond with a knife, beating on him four on one, cutting out his eye, and then Rhaenyra immediately pushing her own version of events that unquestionably paints her sons as the ultimate victims and demanding the king take action against the others. Cersei definitely did create hostile environments through her actions, as did Rhaenyra. Cersei could have tried to control Joffrey better, but she was unwilling to acknowledge his flaws or try to hold him accountable when he had done wrong. Almost like how Rhaenyra never talked to her boys about jumping a kid and cutting his eye out because she was unwilling to acknowledge their role in the situation or hold them accountable for their actions. Both mothers saw their children as largely flawless and were unwilling to confront them with their mistakes or misdeeds.

[backjustforberena]

rambling anon here!

i’m not gonna lie, i wanted… more from the reactions that we got. and not simply with corlys. i wanted more from rhaenyra, from baela. hell, even daemon, bc she was the last relative that he had from his childhood and now she’s gone, and so is his mother’s dragon, although i don’t think i want to talk about daemon in relation to his mother for a long time lol.

but i will focus on corlys, who is quickly becoming my favorite character to study for some reason lol. i wish we got immediate reactions only because i know steve would have knocked it out of the park. but when we first see him, alone in this hall that was all for her, sitting on this throne that truly means nothing to him anymore, heart broken and surrounded by ghosts - not just rhaenys’, but his children’s, hell, even vaemond’s - with that lone tear falling down his cheek, it’s clear that he’s not the man that he was when we met him.

we didn’t see his reaction to laena’s death, at least not the initial one, but with laenor, his immediate reaction was to reach for rhaenys. and yes when she rebuffs him he turns to anger but his first reaction was to reach for her. his anchor. his rock.

and now he’s free floating, and the desire to run again is there, because high tide is not home anymore, all the riches that he has accumulated mean nothing to him anymore because his family, his wife no longer there, and the sea has always been a second home, maybe his first before his marriage. but he doesn’t. he can’t. not when he owes it to rhaenys to be there for their grandchildren, to see this cause, her cause, through. but (and honestly this is my favorite thing lol) there’s this underlying resentment towards rhaenyra.

from steve, we know that corlys supports rhaenyra’s claim simply because viserys declared her his heir. that simple. it doesn’t mean he believes that she would be a good ruler. he doesn’t really care for her as a person - laenor is gone because of her, and now, his wife has died fighting her cause. “that girl destroys everything she touches.” he said in 1x10 (rough quoting but something to that effect), and the anger that is simmering just below the surface. of course, he’s not simply angry with her, there’s anger towards himself, the realm, the gods, but i do think at this point he thinks his family would have been better off if it never got involved with her. It’s a realization he had in 1x10 but I think will be more prominent as we move forward. hindsight is always 20/20 though.

he’s almost blinded by this resentment of rhaenyra until baela sets him straight. baela, who is so much like the women he’s lost. his wife’s heir. his wife who told him again and again that driftmark should pass through laena’s line. and he doesn’t have the confidence that rhaena will make a good lady of driftmark, but he does have faith in baela. baela was raised their. baela is the best of his wife, of his daughter. baela makes him reconsider being the hand.

i will say as a little aside, i prefer the reasoning that baela’s actress gave for turning down the offer, that corlys had his chance. i like thag much better than baela just being a targaryen heir. she can be both a targaryen and a velaryon. laena was both. rhaenys was both.

do i think we will get more? i hope so. we still have the line “what i do now, i do for her, i do for my wife.” that i’m expecting to hear. and it should bleed into his interactions with alyn and addam honestly. one of his last interactions with rhaenys was that she knew that he had betrayed her, that they were a product of that betrayal. would he feel like the decision to make one of them his heir feel like he was betraying her all over again?

another random little aside, i do like that laenor and corlys grieve very similarly - the drinking and staring off at sea. like corlys judged him (because he did it publicly instead of corlys’ private moping) but look where he got it from!

all in all, this was a very long way of me saying i liked what we got from the ep, but wished we got more!

Hello, rambling anon! Lovely to hear from you this morning. I definitely sympathise with the writers (sort of, ish, against my better judgment) because the way they are telling the story, they have written themselves into a corner and they do have to deal with a shorter episode count and they have a lot to cover that means things are a lot more "telling" than "showing" - and they do, and I've spoken about this before, have a horrid habit of cutting time which leads to cut reactions.

We don't see anyone actually receive the news of Rhaenys's death. Unless, possibly, Rhaena is learning in her brief scene, but even then, we get a look and then cut away. By trying to get to the next event or issue or plot point, they cut time. I don't think it's helpful to measure impact, in this case. Sometimes it's okay, but here, I think it mutes things for both sides of the conflict. It arguably slows it down because nothing seems specifically reactive or impulsive.

In terms of the specific mourning reactions, I don't think I wanted more, I just wanted more recent. Different. I would have preferred to see people get the news. Especially Corlys. But in terms of more? I mean, always, because I enjoy the characters, but I felt like I got what I needed to get from the scenes that we got. Does that make sense? I understood his brief little journey with the episode, going from A to B, from being lost to possibly (?) finding purpose by accepting the role of Hand. It was a bit ambiguous as to if he has accepted it wholeheartedly, but I'm sure that's going to be covered in the next episode. I know how he's feeling, I just don't know how he felt when he got the news. Which is information I would have preferred, I think.

when we first see him, alone in this hall that was all for her, sitting on this throne that truly means nothing to him anymore, heart broken and surrounded by ghosts [...] it’s clear that he’s not the man that he was when we met him.

It's a really powerful image to me. It's the most undone we've seen him. His hair isn't done, he's wearing an outfit that's the most sloppy we've ever seen him, he's so heavy with his footsteps and then he just sits down and you can just feel how tired he is and how devastated. He looks like he's in physical pain and I think that's possibly what marks his grief out from the other displays shown in that episode. He looks like he's in pain. I absolutely think he'd trade it all for her.

Do I think he's a changed man? Ooooh I don't know. I think it's very difficult to get rid of a flaw, especially when you've lost the person who can possibly act as a compass for that. So, I'm still expecting him to be proud, brash, ambitious and selfish. Is he the man we met? Absolutely not. But he's going to be put into positions that will play into the man that he was and he'll have to make choices, big or small: at the council, about his legacy, about his sons. How that will be impacted by either the loss or Rhaenys or the memory of Rhaenys or his love for Rhaenys remains to be seen.

we didn’t see his reaction to laena’s death, at least not the initial one, but with laenor, his immediate reaction was to reach for rhaenys. and yes when she rebuffs him he turns to anger but his first reaction was to reach for her. his anchor. his rock.

And I think that plays into this idea that I'm floating. What is he when he hasn't got her? When we're past the initial devastation of her death and when he has to engage in the political games around him and the war before him? Because his reaction, after she's rejected him, is to lash out at the guards. It's to go with impulse. It's to satisfy himself. Then he goes to sea for six years because it's what he wants to do.

So we've not only got the lack of Rhaenys to keep him grounded, we've also got the lack of Rhaenys to keep him from any new perspective, unless he either gets that influence from somewhere else or he will deliberately take a step back and think about what she'd think or advise etc. After all, half of his desire to go for the Iron Throne so vehemently was out of his love for her and getting justice for her. I can see him justifying choices because he thinks he's doing right by her or for "them". Whether she'd actually agree, I don't know! I don't even know if the writers will go down this route, but it's interesting to think about. He's not going to become pure and selfless overnight, especially within the environment he's about to plunge back into.

and now he’s free floating, and the desire to run again is there, [...] but he doesn’t. he can’t. not when he owes it to rhaenys to be there for their grandchildren, to see this cause, her cause, through.

It's a very interesting change. It's implied in Fire & Blood that becoming Hand of the Queen is accepted just because that's what'll do it and there's no back and forth and no idea that it wouldn't work or it's in doubt. That's what seals the deal, he's an ambitious man, that position is enough for him to come back into the fold and there's no idea that Corlys was ever reluctant to engage in the war in the first place. And they start planning an assault and, certainly from my reading, you get the sense that that is also part of the deal: almost as if he's fueled by the idea of taking out those who took his wife from him. It's motivated in a very masculine way: power, rage, ambition, vengeance.

Making him continue because it is her cause, and the reason she died and a dream that she died for is really cool to me. Corlys has two motivations and Rhaenys is always one of them and, arguably, the strongest (because Rhaenys was also something that could curb him, whereas his ideas of legacy only ever enabled him and spurred him on with whatever cause he'd decided to rally for). Corlys is going to give everything to this because he's got nothing else.

And by making it Rhaenys's cause, rather than his own specifically, also leave things open to continue a fractious relationship with Rhaenyra. So far, this series, we haven't seen them interact. They shared a scene together but there's been little between them. As you say, Corlys supports Rhaenyra's claim simply because he thinks that's how the world works: he made a vow, he's honouring it. Viserys named her, and so that stands. He's got no affection for Rhaenyra herself.

he’s almost blinded by this resentment of rhaenyra until baela sets him straight. baela, who is so much like the women he’s lost. his wife’s heir.

Steve Toussaint recently gave an interview with The Ringer Podcast where he was asked about why Corlys offers Driftmark to Baela and it's pretty much exactly as you say it. He looks at her and he sees that spark. He sees that Baela is her mother's daughter and her grandmother's grandchild. She says: fine, do what you like, and he admires that spirit.

I also think there is a sense of just trying to hold on to what he can. We talk about how he has these ideas of legacy but he has no heir. Certainly no heir in proximity to him: he's got Rhaena and Joffrey but Joffrey is just a kid and Rhaena (in his mind) isn't particularly suitable because she isn't equipped and both are far from his reach or influence. He can't GIVE Driftmark away, in his mind. It's useless and empty and worthless and he has no family that actually belong to him and only him. He's really isolated.

(As an aside, I dislike the idea that Corlys is dismissing Rhaena because she's a girl. I don't think that's really the case when he's dismissing Joffrey as well and they're both for the same reasons - he doesn't make direct reference to her sex as a reason. Nor do I like the narrative that Rhaenys was pushing for Rhaena. The conversation isn't very serious, she's says there is Rhaena or Joffrey but doesn't press for either, just presents the options. But I'm aware that's a personal reading).

i will say as a little aside, i prefer the reasoning that baela’s actress gave for turning down the offer, that corlys had his chance. i like that much better than baela just being a targaryen heir. she can be both a targaryen and a velaryon. laena was both. rhaenys was both.

Yes, I like that as well. There's obviously a lot of unspoken history between the pair: Corlys buggered off for six years and Baela felt that but also, perhaps more importantly, saw the effect that had on Rhaenys.

I think it's also a bit of Baela choosing her Targaryen side, not because she's not proud of being a Velaryon or because she can't be a Velaryon, but because her Targaryen legacy is what matters to her. Being a dragonrider is what matters to her and what will aid her in being like and honouring these incredibly important female figures in her life. We get the impression that Baela is sticking with Rhaenyra and engaging in this war in order to honour Rhaenys and a reaction in part to her death. So it makes sense that this is just a continuation of that. This is her purpose, not Driftmark. Being more like her grandmother is not being Lady of the Tides. And she owes her grandmother far more than she owes her grandfather.

do i think we will get more? i hope so. we still have the line “what i do now, i do for her, i do for my wife.” that i’m expecting to hear. and it should bleed into his interactions with alyn and addam honestly.

I absolutely think we're going to get more. I'm very much looking forward to "what I do now, I do for her" - I am hoping it's something he says to Rhaenyra, when he accepts the job of Hand. It could almost sound like terms. Like: I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this her. Don't push me, don't mess me about, and then as soon as this is done, I'm out. Another alternative that I've mused is that it could be something said to one of his sons, when they speak about naturalisation. I think that's plausible. A little admission, a little vulnerability, especially if they question him.

would he feel like the decision to make one of them his heir feel like he was betraying her all over again?

Steve actually touches on this in The Ringer Podcast (you should check the interview out, it's on Youtube, about 3 hours in). And from that, what I gather, is that he thinks this isn't betraying Rhaenys. That the last interaction was some form of blessing. Or, at the very least, she'd understand. Which, I think she would have, if you want my two cents. She wouldn't like it but an heir is what he needs and he needs an heir that can really take the reins in the event that he dies in war and they need to take over the Fleet tomorrow. And this is the best option: the most pragmatic option for him. I also don't think she'd want him to be alone. We can absolutely separate Rhaenys's pain and her feelings over the betrayal from her thoughts surrounding Corlys's heir dilemma, I think.

It's also the most grown-up option, which she's always advocated for. For him to pull his head out of the sand and do the painful thing in order for a greater good and greater security. I think the question I have, left over, is whether this will have any impact on her memory? The idea that he "shames" her by doing this.

I think it's a tightrope. It could easily go unaddressed (especially in this show tbh, we've got lots else going on), focusing on the reaction that Corlys has these sons rather than how that reflects on Rhaenys - and the reaction that Corlys has these sons are not going to be earth-shattering because he's a bloke and having children out of wedlock, even whilst married to a woman, in Westeros is par for the course. Corlys's personal shame over the whole situation is sort of an anomaly. It's also just, objectively, a good thing that he has these sons (for the Blacks) because they're going to turn out to be pretty handy.

[luthien-under-bough]

Ok guys yes! I love how I just said one thing and you all just knew. And I didn’t even say it right. But yes fellow Nonnie Great marriage/ fertility ritual/ Virgin Huntress/ Great Hunter, all of that. I have never seen it written, and it’s a damn shame truly. But my thoughts were Avalon being replaced by Valyria and Baelon became a high priest and passed the crown on. Daemon still rose an army for Viserys to be King, and his father is the High Priest of Valyria. And maybe his mom Alyssa as the Lady of the “…” Skies? maybe 🤔 Daemon follows the Valyrian ways but Viserys is more ready to embrace the new religion. Baelon survives longer, and maybe Aemma is the LOTL after Alyssa? But when Rhaenyra is born she has her immediate connection to Daemon and Baelon sees it as Valyrian blessed. But Viserys ignores it all. Years and years later Daemyra have their same great relationship. Now the fun part.. Daemon leaves to go fight in the Stepstones because he needs something to give his brother when he asks to marry her. When Daemon is gone towards the almost end of the war Baelon sees vision how to strengthen Valyria. And it’s with Beltane. Viserys is resistant but is convinced. Maybe because her mother is LOTL it has to be her, or it’s because she’s the only Valyrian Princess/Maiden?? In the timeline it’s later. The war is almost over. So she’s basically brothel age 17/18. But hasn’t done a suitor tour or anything. All these things help Baelon convince Viserys. But the main thing why he agrees is he knows Daemon is at war. Is any of those making sense? 🫣

Daemon finds out and of course he leaves the war. I’m not sure if he has the sight or if Baelon gets word to him, or both. Of course he easily kills the Great Stag and it’s Daemyra for the night. He knows it’s her. And she only hopes/imagines it’s him. Baelon disguises him with magic. His eyes mostly. His hair had to be shorn from the blood of war. It’s like an all night thing though, like he leaves her only in the morning sun rays when she’s asleep. And it’s the only time he speaks to her, promising they will be together soon and he won’t have to leave her again. 😏 🥵 🥰

After the night Daemon wins his war. And comes home. He presents the crown. Rhaenyra gets set up to do her suitor tour, but at the Red Keep. Viserys is so sure the ritual didn’t work. It did work though and when it’s found that Rhaneyra is pregnant, Daemon reveals himself as the Great Hunter. And there’s no choice but them to marry and live happily ever after with incoming Aegon!! 🥂 😘 😁 !!!!

Nonnie I think you should write this! You've already got it all planned out! I love the idea of turning Avalon into Valyria.

And of course the fertility rite is such a perfect Daemyra AU setup 👌👌👌If I were to write it I would probably (attempt to) keep it a oneshot with a little lore/backstory, but focus on the ritual itself, and maybe have both of them them not know who the other is. I think the reveal aspect is part of the fun - it 's been a while since I read MoA but I know Arthur and Morgaine are horrified when they realize what happened in the morning. I'd obviously go a happier route with Daemyra.

[voluptuarian]

I think it’s finally time to share my wild ASOIF headcanons/crack theories here (I’ve literally had these for years, but they’re all a little outlandish, and at the time the fandom was more active and I really didn’t feel like having them made a thing but...)

After her mother caught Cersei and Jamie together, Cersei did something to her mother (as revenge, or to try and keep Joanna indisposed long enough to delay Cersei and Jamie’s separation) which caused or contributed to Joanna’s death. Or alternatively, whatever Cersei did had no connection to Joanna dying, but to Cersie’s childish logic, mistakenly seemed like the result of her meddling. Either way, Cersei’s hatred of Tyrion stems from her need to have someone else to blame (unlike Jamie, who doesn’t bear Tyrion any ill will). Her sense of guilt may even have helped her rationalize killing Melara Heatherspoon (i.e. “I’ve already done it once, it’s not that hard, I’ve already got blood on my hands,” etc) At this point she’s blamed Tyrion so loudly and for so long she may actually believe her own lies.

Everybody thinks Coldhands is Benjen but I am 100% convinced he’s The Last Hero and I will not be dissuaded

Summerhall was obvs, an attempt to hatch dragon eggs. And a weird sounding approach to hatching them at that (no one will talk about it, Jenny of Oldstones and her pet witch were there, it was important that a bunch of family be there including a very pregnant woman, there seems to have definitely been fire magic involved, etc.) but specifically to hatch them through some kind of connection to Rhaella and unborn baby Rhaegar. My gut says either to sacrifice Rhaegar (and possibly Rhaella) to equal out the rebirth of the dragons (not very nice, but hey) to somehow bring Rhaegar into the world as a dragon (also not great) or to somehow bond in blood a connection between one of the dragon eggs and Rhaegar in the hopes of sustaining the dragon through a sort of shared life force. Despite so much of the family being there my focus centers on Rhaegar because a. it’s treated as important that Rhaegar was born at Summerhall and that his mother went into labor on site/delivered him as it was burning b. Rhaegar felt a connection and a seeming guilt about the place and c. because of my other wild ass theory:

Valyrians are genetically part dragon. Probably through some kind of magical genetic manipulation (rather than somehow, actually breeding) which allowed them their bond with the creatures, their powerful magical abilities, and (at least for Daenerys, but possibly for other Valyrians in the past) heat/fire resistance. The Targyarens being the only surviving family of Valyrians would limit the pool of Valyrian traits passed down of course, and the severe inbreeding practiced would have narrowed it still further, to the point, where I think, these draconic genetics have occasionally showed up. The description of Rhaego being born deformed and with draconic features seems exaggerated, but echoes descriptions of other very inbred “malformed” Targyaren miscarriages (Rhaenyra) who are mentioned as having tails, scales, etc. The Rhaego case in particular, is interesting. I’ve seen so many people claim it wasn’t magic that killed him, that he was just too inbred to survive, which seems unlikely since it’s made clear it had been a healthy pregnancy and a live baby up until Daenerys enters the tent and immediately begins labor-- unlike, say King Tut’s children, all of whom died before reaching full term-- and it’s clear Daenerys and Mirri Maz Durr both consider the baby’s death as a result of the magic-- Daenerys accusing Mirri of taking her son’s life as payment, Mirri telling her she “knew” what she was bargaining with. But I’m super curious if the dragon-like features were something brought out by his exposure to the magic, or if they were already present beforehand. (Which ties back to the idea of the possibility of giving birth to a dragon, which is barely a tissue of an idea, but still...)

Other people have floated the theory that the Ghost of High Heart and the witch who died at Summerhall are in fact, the same person, and I’m a definite proponent of that

Everyone thinks Rhaegar’s choosing Lyanna as Queen of Love and Beauty was the first sign of his eventual affair-- I am absolutely convinced that had nothing to do with it, that Rhaegar knew she was the Knight of the Laughing Tree and the true champion of the tournament and awarded her the roses as acknowledgement, giving her the closest thing to the tournament prize she deserved that he could, that whatever followed was not the motivation for that, at least.

And finally on the Rhaegar/Lyanna bent everyone always asks, but the kingdom was in turmoil, Lyanna’s family was dying, why did she and Rhaegar not tell anyone where they were??? It seems like a common sense answer to me that they did, but that it didn’t get to anyone-- probably because someone made sure that it didn’t. (And this is where you can tell it’s been a long time since I read the books because part of this theory is my conviction that somehow Bloodraven was responsible for that-- and the strength of feeling is still there but I don’t remember any actual reason I came to that conclusion??)

[aegor-bamfsteel]

I was just wondering if you have any Daemon lives AU headcanons where instead of dying he's a hostage (Aegon and Aemon still die)

I have headcanons on what Daemon likes for breakfast (blueberries with clotted cream on toast), so it’d be odd if I didn’t have headcanons for this fascinating but utterly heartbreaking AU. 

See, we know from canon that Daemon takes the knightly code deadly seriously and also desperately loves his family. A worse man may have left Gwayne Corbray to bleed out rather than get him to a maester after a long duel, so he’s willing to put the safety of his opponents over his immediate goals. Furthermore, he refused to leave the field after Bl00draven shot Aegon and died trying to protect him from the field of arrows. Canon also shows Daemon to be a capable individual despite refusal to “cut corners” with dishonor, able to win all battles except the close-fought Redgrass and to mint coins despite less than a year between the start of the rebellion and his death. The idea that Bl00draven and Daemon may have had a closer relationship than apparent is popular in fandom based on BR’s comment in aDwD to the point that some speculate Daemon willingly told Brynden that he would crown himself (I don’t believe he would, but I’m willing to concede Daemon had warm feelings for the boy who was raised in KL with him). Yet Bl00draven had his children shot in front of him. What I’m saying is that watching his sons die due to a brother he once trusted would’ve caused Daemon to become a more ruthless, less compassionate person who would go great lengths to protect the rest of his family. He has to evaluate what family is and to consider that some people might not be able to be “saved” from a broken home, and that he can’t be “the hero” to the people who really needed him to be (in this case, his oldest sons and wayward brother). Think about those AU fics where Catelyn Stark survives the Red Wedding and invests all her energy into keeping Sansa safe from the Lannisters, except the Lannisters were people she loved.

Daemon is in a stronger position than you might think because the Reds have none of his family in custody. Aegon and Aemon are dead on the field, Aegor Rivers is either dead or escaped (I seriously doubt Bl00draven would capture Aegor alive when doing so gains him nothing), and Rohanne escaped to Tyrosh with her younger children (if she hadn’t already, as I’m sure she had an escape ship in case of Daemon’s defeat). So we have a situation where Rohanne with the force of her fleet want Daemon back and those at King’s Landing keeping Daemon I as a hostage to prevent this fleet from attacking. There aren’t any cases in awoiaf that I can think of where the leader of the rebellion/war was captured and not executed, although in the Dance Alicent and Helaena were suggested as headed for the Faith and Maegor’s Kingsguard had the opportunity to go to the Wall, so supposing Daemon doesn’t get executed the Wall may be his ultimate fate. That is, if there isn’t a plot to rescue him from KL (maybe Quickfinger the Notorious Thief is still at large and uses some light-fingered trickery/guard switching).

Baelor, Da3ron II, and Bl00draven rehash their canonical argument about the defeated rebels with the added wrinkle of Daemon still living. Baelor believed in clemency for the supporters of Daemon, so he might actually want Daemon go to trial and face his accusers in Da3ron and Bl00draven (in which case, obviously Daemon is going to want a Trial by the Seven with such Hanging Judges), which may end with a Wall sentence. Bl00draven wants the Blackfyre supporters crushed utterly and would advocate for Daemon’s execution without trial because he believes Daemon too dangerous to be left alive and whatever public statement he makes could lead to rioting. Then Da3ron, who canonically took lands and hostages from the rebels, brings the child hostages to King’s Landing where Daemon can see them from afar (since I don’t believe he’d be let out to mingle with them, but it would make him feel guilty at what happened to these kids “”because of him”” and also might deter him from escape.) All three of them may visit Daemon individually while he’s under house arrest, Bl00draven almost certainly (Daemon refuses to speak to him and does not buy his ‘it’s war so it’s OK to kill children’ excuses like BR hopes, leading BR into a characteristic self-pity spiral) and Baelor to try to convince him to take the black.

Daemon falls into a depression and has nightmares about watching his sons die. He loses weight from lack of activity and appetite, maybe even going on a hunger strike to agitate for certain privileges. Without any hot irons his naturally curly hair gains volume, and his natural resemblance to his mother Daena shines through; the parallels between Daena’s captivity in the Maidenvault and his in the Red Keep, both by brothers, isn’t lost on him (maybe Princess Elaena is allowed to visit and they have a conversation on that). He does quite a bit of writing about his captivity, his family, why he made the decision to rebel (if he did and it wasn’t an unjust arrest) in preparation for a hypothetical trial; if it goes on long enough, he might ask for Daeron I’s Conquest of Dorne to do commentaries on them regarding the nature of war and how “no one welcomes armed missionaries”; whether any of this writing is allowed to be published depends on if it could be smuggled out. Either way, any warm feelings for the current Targaryens he may have had are gone and if he agrees to play by their rules, it’d be out of desire to keep his remaining family away from KL. Da3ron is so paranoid about Daemon’s possible escape that he pulls a Cersei and constantly switches his guards so Daemon doesn’t form any attachments with them. Daemon ends up lonely, and initially is so lost in memories about deceased loved ones he doesn’t even think of escape, but supposing he gains more purpose in escape or getting out his message. 

Either the AU ends with Daemon’s mysterious “suicide” in prison or escape to Tyrosh. Daemon would absolutely lie to Baelor about agreeing to take the black because he could reason that an oath made to an enemy under duress isn’t binding (pre-Redgrass Daemon would probably not do this, but oathbreaking doesn’t seem terrible now), so that option is out. An execution would spark outcry over kinslaying similar to how Aegon II executed Rhaenyra (even though she’s considered an usurper, what he did to her is still thought of as barbaric), and Da3ron II understands this enough so that Bl00draven could kill Daemon in prison and claim it was due to grief over his murdered sons. Taking Daemon’s age, popularity, position in the royal family, and based on BR’s staunch anti-Blackfyre stance and Da3ron’s dislike, staying in Red custody is a death sentence. However, with his escape to Tyrosh, I have the feeling he and Rohanne would live a decent enough life in her city without wanting to go back to Westeros. After Aegon and Aemon’s deaths, an escaped!Daemon would not risk his children’s lives for rulership he doesn’t want or pointless revenge. I don’t even think Aegor still being alive in this AU would change his mind. Then the plot would focus on whether he and Rohanne can still live with each other over what happened with their children, and Daemon’s foray into Tyroshi politics plus more book-writing of the sort he’d do in hypothetical prison.

And now I just made myself sad. But how could I be anything else, as a fan of House Blackfyre?