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[smbhax]

Cover illustration by Roger Garland

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[shelbycarpenter]

[blackcat419]

Rewriting HotD: Plot breakdown of Fire and Blood the Dance of the Dragons

Part 1: 101 A.C. To 129 A.C.

The following is an in depth plot breakdown of F&B where character moments, plot beats, difference in sources, and missing details will all be analyzed and possible solutions proposed. The timeline will start in 101 A.C. with the first great council as where the seeds of the dance were thoroughly sowed and watered to the death of Jaehaera in 133 A.C.

This is the first part of my rewriting HotD series. The next part will talk more about character arcs and expanding on them using the enneagram as a jumping off point.

Page numbers will be cited from my copy of fire and blood the 2022 Trade Paperback Tie-in Edition.

Legend

Bold for the year

Italic for character moments

Blue for Orwyle’s account

Purple for Munkun’s A True Telling

Green for Septon Eustace’s The Reign of King Viserys

Red for Mushroom’s The Testimony of Mushroom

Orange for rumors that have no source

Pink for minor sources where their credibility and bias will be discussed when they come up

(Parenthesis) will be used when I deem it necessary to comment on the story either about the plot or how the fandom views the story.

[brackets] will be used for when I want to add real world historical context.

Where Gyldayn does not identify which source he is using or which sources disagree with eachother, it will be assumed that all sources agree with each other.

Biases of sources

While each source is biased towards one claimant over another, this is too simple of an understanding of these sources. Each source is pushing their own understanding of the world, either implicitly or not.

Orwyle wrote his account after being arrested by Cregan Stark and thrown into the black cells. He served as Grand Maester after the death of Mellos in 217, was thrown in the black cells when Rhaneyra took KL in 130, released by Ser Perkin later that year, he was then imprisoned again in 131 by Cregan where he wrote his accounts, he escaped and was re-imprisoned and continued writing his account, and he was later executed in 133. His bias is based in trying to save his own life by appealing to Cregan and trying to show he wasn’t a traitor. So while biased towards Rhaenyra, he’s biased towards making himself look as best as possible with motivations of saving his own life. He’s a primary source from his stationing as Grand Maester till Rhaenyra takes Kings landing and from when Rhaenyra flees Kings Landing and he’s re-imprisoned by Cregan. While Orwyle is imprisoned, he can only be a second hand source at best.

Munkun bases his work on the writings of Orwyle and takes up the position of Grand Maester in 131 when Cregan removed Orwyle. Munkun uses a lot of Orwyle’s sources but because Orwyle is currently writing his own account, I believe Munkun is using his Maester notes which could be less biased as Orwyle wasn’t writing them to help save his own life. Munkun also had access to Orwyle to talk about his recollection of the war. Munkun is a second hand source for anything happening before 131 and only a first hand source for Kingslanding after 131.

Eustace wrote his work after the war. He served as septon to the red keep from Viserys’ death until Aegon III’s reign and his dismissal by Unwin Peake. The Sept has been in conflict recently with the Targaryens leading to the dissolution of the faith militant and the implementation of Targaryens exceptionalism doctrine. Eustace can be seen as biased against the Targaryens in general because of this conflict. Eustace also shies away from salacious accounts, he doesn’t like Rhaenyra, and thinks Northmen are savage. He is a first hand source for much of what happens in the red keep.

Mushroom’s account was written down by an unknown author and covers Mushroom’s time as a fool for King Viserys and later Princess Rhaenyra. Mushroom was in Kings Landing as fool for King Viserys until 113 when he left with Rhaenyra for dragon stone, he returns in 126 with Rhaenyra to Kings Landing but leaves before Viserys’ death in 129, he returns in 130 when Rhaenyra takes Kings Landing, he remains in Kings Landing when Rhaenyra flees, he remains in Kingslanding until Manfryd Mooton travels to Braavos to escape the gloom of the red keep. Mushroom is first and foremost an entertainer and tells his story to entertain instead of inform. He is biased towards Rhaenyra as her fool but he is more biased towards a fun and salacious story. He’s a first hand source for Kingslanding until 113, a bit after 126, and after 130 till he leaves for Braavos. In the times in between he’s a firsthand source for Dragonstone and at best a second hand source for Kings landing.

101 A.C. The First Great Council

Otto arrives at Kings Landing with his wife and children, Alicent becomes the constant companion of King Jaehaerys, and Jaehaerys mistakes her for his daughter Seara pg. 351

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Alicent: Alicent is described caring for the king like a personal care assistant would do in modern times.

(The word ‘precocious’ is used to describe 15 year old Alicent here and many have taken it to mean she was sexually developed and sleeping with Jaehaerys. I disagree as precocious means quickly developing but is not exclusive to sexual development. Because it’s quickly followed by descriptions of Alicent assisting Jaehaerys as a live in care person, I believe this is meant to show that Alicent is more mature mentally and is taking on the caretaker role earlier than she is expected to.)

103 A.C. The king is dead, long live the king

Jaehaerys dies while Alicent reads Barth’s ‘Unnatural History’, his body is burned and entered on Dragonstone, and women reportedly tore their garments in Dorne. [the act of tearing ones garments from their body was seen as a way to mourn in ancient times. Cleopatra reportedly rendered her garments when she learned that Anthony attempted suicide.] pg. 351-2

Viserys ascends the throne, Aemma has already suffered multiple miscarriages and lost a boy shortly after birth, Rhaenyra is 6. Pg. 352

The practice of placing eggs in cradles is picked back up around this time and many dragons are hatching in the dragon pit. Pg. 352

Criston first comes to notice at the melee at Maidenpool where he defeated Daemon, gave Rhaenyra the laurel and asked for her favor, and unhorsed the cargyll twins in the joust. pg 358-9

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Viserys: Described as generous, amiable nature, and well loved by lords and smallfolks. Pg 352

Viserys & Aemma: host lots of feasts and tourneys and lavish gold, offices, and honors on their favorites. Pg 354

Otto: described as proud, brusque (curt), and haughty. The longer he served the more power he gained. Pg 354

Daemon: Ambitious, impetuous, moody, charming, hot-tempered, bored by Rhae Royce, the Vale, and governing. Pg 354

Rhaenyra: precocious, bright, bold, and beautiful. Pg 354

(Precocious is also used to describe Rhaenyra here and I believe it’s meant to draw a parallel between our two leads. Both are smarter than their years)

104 A.C. Rhaenyra Takes Flight

Rhaenyra: becomes a dragon rider at age 7. Syrax is a claimed dragon, not a cradle egg. She’s bold and dragon-riding at a very early age. Pg 354

105 A.C. Heir for a day

Viserys announces that Aemma is pregnant again. She dies giving birth to a son named Baelon who dies shortly after Pg 358-9

Criston Cole is appointed to the kingsguard at age 23 pg 358

Lyonel Strong is invited by Viserys to Kings landing and brings his 4 kids, his two daughters become Rhaenyra's hand maidens, Harwins joins the gold cloaks, and Larys joins the king's confessors. Pg 359

Observed but by who? Daemon is seen saying 'Heir for a day' while drunk in the street of Silk. The book gives us two sources for the rumon, the sex worker sitting on Daemon's lap or one of his drinking buddies. Why would his friend or someone he pays turn on him? Pg 359-60

Viserys names Rhaenyra heir and held a lavish ceremony for lords to swear fealty pg 360

Daemon leaves Kingslanding with Mysaria for Dragonstone and gets her pregnant and presents her with a dragon egg. pg 360

Viserys tells Daemon to send Mysaria away and return to Rhae Royce. Daemon does so, Mysaria returns to Lys and loses the child.

Viserys is suggested to remarry. Runciter suggests Laena Velaryon who is 12. Viserys decides to marry Alicent who is now 18. Pg 361

Rumors at Court suggest that Otto is moving above his station and planned for Alicent to marry Viserys. The rumors also question Alicent's virginity and wonder if she slept with him before Aemma died. Again, who is spreading these rumors? Unlike with Daemon, we don't even get a vague mention at who to judge them better. pg 361

Mushroom restates the rumors above along with Alicent doing 'more than just reading' for Jaehaerys. I again do not believe these rumors as they seem to come up only when Otto and Alicent are advancing politically. pg 361

Daemon and Corlys are both upset at the news of Viserys marrying Alicent. Pg 361

Laena is betrothed to the sea lord of Braavos' son. pg 375

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Viserys: makes Rhaenyra his cupbearer at age 8 and is not seen without her after. He drinks a lot and Rhaenyra is there to serve him wine. Pg 354. Refuses to name Daemon heir but forgives any of his offense. Pg 355 gets mad enough at Daemon and commands him which he rarely does. pg 360 Viserys is also uncharacteristically firm when choosing to marry Alicent and not 'for reasons of state' (perhaps after Viserys lost his wife, son, and his brother left Kings Landing, he wanted someone who would take care of him like Alicent did Jaehaerys. I do not think they were sleeping together before Aemma's death.) Pg 361.

Daemon: Takes the lead of the gold cloaks and gives them better armor, made the city more orderly, and had an 'eye for an eye' style of punishment. Takes an interest in Mysaria. Wants to be named heir but isn't. Pg 355 Speaks of his brother in disdain after being commanded to leave dragonstone. Pg 360.

Rhaenyra: is smitten with Criston (she is 9 at this time so childhood crush) and has him named her personal protector.

Criston: (we don't have much written on his character, just how others react to him. The ladies are smitten and daemon hates him but Cole isn't described like how the other characters are with a list of traits.) pg 359

Lyonel: mistaken for a brute and dumb but just a large, silent, and very smart man. Pg 359

Laena: Fiery, bold, adventurous. Claimed Vhagar at 12 or younger which is very bold and brave. Pg 360-1. The Maester of High Tide says that Laena is more interested in dragon riding than in boys. Pg 361.

Unknown Years between 103-105 A.C.

Eustace, Mushroom, and Otto's letter to his brother tells us that Otto greatly disliked Daemon. Otto's own writings on his feelings about Daemon should be believed as its his own testimony backed up by other sources. But do take his claim that Daemon would be 'a second Maegor the Cruel' with a pinch of salt. Pg 358

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Otto: hates Daemon and uses his influence as hand to remove him from each position Viserys gives him. Pg 358

Daemon & Rhaenyra: Rhaenyra is fond of Daemon and he brings her gifts when he crosses the narrow sea. Pg 355

Viserys: Doesn't try to claim a dragon (Viserys is the first Targaryen who's dragon died before him and had the opportunity to claim a dragon, but never did) Pg 355. Hates conflict and tries to make peace between Otto and Daemon (we'll see him using this tactic again soon) pg 358.

106 A.C. The Marriage and War begin

Viserys marries Alicent and Velaryons are absent. Pg 361-2

Daemon meets with Corlys and they plan to invade the stepstones and take them from the Triarchy. Pg 362.

Viserys supports Daemon by giving gold for the war. Pg 364

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Alicent: calls Rhaenyra 'daughter' at her wedding. Filling that caregiver role?

Corlys: When slighted, he takes to war to assert his power.

Daemon: When pushed away from his brother, he seeks power through war.

Viserys: tries to fix tensions between him and Daemon by using his power as king to support him. Viserys is reported to say 'let daemon play at war, its keeps him out of trouble' pg 364

107 A.C. Aegon

Aegon is born. pg 365

108 A.C. Crab Ate

Daemon defeats Craghas Crabfeeder and cuts off his head with Darksister. Pg 363

Cregan Stark is born ph 416

109 A.C. King of the stepstones

Daemon and Corlys control all but 2 of the Stepstones islands. Pg 364

Helaena is born. pg 365

Otto is removed as Hand after pushing for Aegon to be made heir and Lyonel Strong takes his place Pg 365

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Daemon: Declares himself king of the stepstones. Pg 364

Corlys: Places the stepstone crown on Daemon's head. Pg 634

110 A.C. War returns

The Triarchy and Dorne unite to continue fighting in the stepstones. Pg 364

Aemond is born half the size of Aegon but twice as fierce Pg 365

Unknown Years between 106 A.C. - 110 A.C.

Lords and knights seek Rhaenyra's favor but shes only interested in Criston Cole.

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Alicent: Alicent says at court 'Ser criston protects the princess from her enemies but who protects the princess from ser criston?' Pg 365. no longer using 'daughter' and may be faining concern or actual concern for the princess's virtue around Criston.

Viserys: Keeps Rhaenyra as heir but doesn't argue why when questioned, just states as fact. Interesting level of stubbornness pg 365. Hates the conflict between his wife and daughter but doesn't address the root of the problem and just uses his ability as king to keep the balance through parties and gifts. Pg 365

111 A.C. The second quarrel

Visery's and Alicent's 5th wedding anniversary and Alicent and Rhaenyra wear their signature dresses to assert their sides.

The Blacks have a better tourney performance with Criston as Rhaenyra's champion. He unhorses Alicent's unknown champion, two cousins, and her younger brother Gwayne. Pg 366 (this perhaps shows that Rhaenyra is in a better position than Alicent?)

Daemon rides in the tourney but hasn't declared for a side. Pg 366

Daemon remains in Kingslanding for half a year.

Daemon returned to his old goldcloak friends in the street of silk and treated Alicent with respect but no love. He spends a lot of time with Rhaenyra, gives her gifts, and mocks the greens. pg 367

Grand Maester Runciter says Daemon and Viserys quarrled again and Daemon leaves for the step stones again. pg 367

Eustace says Daemon seduced Rhaenyra and took her virginity. The two were discovered by Ser Arryk and brought to Viserys. Rhaenyra begs to marry Daemon but Viserys denies it and confines Rhaenyra to her room and sends Daemon away. Pg 367-8

Mushroom says Rhaenyra wanted Criston so Daemon tutored her with kissing lessons, touching men for pleasure, but they did not have sex. Criston was horrified and spurned Rhaneyra. The story comes out in part thanks to mushroom. Daemon tells Viserys to let him marry Rhaenyra and Viserys tells Daemon to leave Pg 368-9.

Daemon leaves for the stepstones pg 369

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Rhaenyra: the act of wearing 'the dramatic red and black dress' is Rhaenyra's first step into the feud with Alicent. She is 14. following Eustace and Mushroom's account, we get the idea that Rhaenyra is now exploring sexually and perhaps looking for love in either Daemon or Criston who are both denied to her pg 369

Daemon: gives his crown over to Viserys, perhaps showing that family is more important to Daemon than power. Pg 367 Eustace and Mushroom both agree that Daemon was explicitly active with Rhaenyra and its seems in both cases was doing to to grasp at power. pg 369

112 A.C. Rhaenyra's Suitors

Grand Maester Runciter dies and is replaced by Mellos. Pg 369

Lord Commander Ser Harrold Westerling dies and is replaced by Criston Cole. Pg 369

Rhaenyra visits the Trident and the sons of lord blackwood and bracken fight over her in a duel, a younger son of house Frey asks her to marry him, the Lannister twins quarrel over her. pg 369 (while not stated, its pretty clear that Rhaenyra is on tour looking for a husband)

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Viserys: declines to wed Rhaenyra to Aegon stating 'The boy is Alicent's own blood... She wants him on the throne.' interesting separation of himself from his son and seeing Alicent wanting her son to be king as a bad thing. Again, Viserys declines to fix the root problem.

113 A.C. Betrothal of Fire and Sea

Rhaenyra is betrothed to Laenor and concerns about him being gay are dismissed. pg 370

Rhaenyra refuses to marry Laenor, also refers to Alicent's kids as half brothers. Only relents when Viserys threatens to disinherit her. pg 370.

Eustace says that Criston asks Rhaenyra to run away with him and Rhaenyra declines. Pg 370-1 (I believe Eustace more as its in line with Rhaenyra choosing power over personal happiness or freedom)

Mushroom says Rhaenyra asked Criston to take her virginity and Criston refuses 'even when Rhaneyra used the arts she had learned from Daemon' Pg 371 (so simple sexy pose or blowjob? probably just sexy pose). Rhaenyra then has sex with Harwin Strong and Mushroom claims to have found them together the next morning. pg 371

Rhaenyra leaves for Driftmark with the strong sisters, mushroom, and Harwin as her new champion.

Dalton Greyjoy is born (world of ice and fire)

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Rhaenyra:Rhaenyra chooses power over her own happiness by agreeing to wed Laenor to keep her spot as heir. Eustace says that Rhaenyra begs for Viserys' forgiveness after he threatens to disinherit her while mushroom says she spits in his face. Pg 370 Eustace and Mushroom dispute how much she was willing to grovel for her father's forgiveness.

Viserys: uncharacteristically strict and threatens to disinherit Rhaenyra if she doesn't marry Laenor. Perhaps he wants everything to go the way he imagines it and does not want people upsetting his ideas for the future?

Criston: turns from being loyal to Rhaenyra to loathing her. Pg 371 (was this because Rhaenyra tried to seduce him or scorned him?)

114 A.C. Marriage of Fire and Sea

Rhaenyra and Laenor are married. She's 17 and he's 20. pg 372

Rhaenyra gives Harwin her favor and Laenor gives Jeoffrey Lonmouth his favor. Pg 372 (Showing that these two pairs are both lovers now). Criston takes Alicent's favor after being denied Rhaenyra's Pg 372 (was Criston still holding out hope for Rhaenyra?)

Criston wins the tourney, breaking Harwin's collar bone and putting Jeoffrey in a coma where he dies 6 days later. Pg 372

The animosity between Rhaenyra and Alicent was noted by envoys in letters to Pentos, Braavos, and Old Volantis Pg 372

Laenor returns to driftmark while Rhaenyra remains in Kingslanding. pg 372

Eustace says Rhaenyra and Laenor only shared a bed a dozen times (12) and Mushroom adds that Qarl Correy joined them as well and Rhaenyra would either watch them or seek out Harwin. pg 373

Rhaenyra's pregnancy is announced and Jacaerys is born a 'large strapping lad, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a pug nose' pg 374

Alicent gives birth to Daeron who is noted as traditional Targaryen coloring (pale hair and purple eyes) pg 374

Viserys orders Jace and Daeron share the same wet nurse. pg 374

Addam of Hull is born pg 443

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Laenor: was only knighted before wedding Rhaenyra. Lover of Jeoffrey Lonmouth and according to mushroom sat by his bed till he died. pg 372

Criston: leaves Rhaenyra's party to join Alicent being either scorned or repulsed by Rhaenyra enough to fight in a blind fury.

Rhaenyra: doesn't leave with Laenor and stays in Kingslanding. Is clearly not interested in Laenor and prefers spending time with Harwin her new champion.

Viserys: Again does not address the main issue between the blacks and greens and instead tries to have Jace and Daeron be raised closer together.

115 A.C. Daemon and Laena travel diaries

Rhae Royce dies and runestone passes to her nephew pg 374

Daemon leaves the war in the stepstones to try and claim runestone but is denied and told to stay out of the Vale by Jeyne Arryn. pg 374

Daemon leaves for Driftmark where he duels and 'makes short work' (unknown is betrothal is broken or he dies) the sea lord of Braavos' son. He then marries Laena and they fly across the narrow sea first to Pentos, then across the Disputed Lands, then to Old Volantis, Rhoyne, Qohor, and Norvos. Pg 375-6

Rhaenyra gives birth to Lucerys in the later part of the year. Eustace says that Laenor and Harwin were by her side. Pg 376

Rhaenyra leaves for Dragonstone as she and Alicent can't stand each other pg 376

Laenor is said to visit "frequently" (frequently is in quotations implying that he is not actually visiting frequently?) pg 376

Alyn of Hull is born pg 443

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Daemon: again tries to claim power by claiming Runestone but is denied. He then marries Laena either for love as the singers says but singers are known to romanticize things. More cynical men say because she gave him a way to keep from falling in the line of succession more. But Laena is not ahead of Daemon in the line of succession and marrying her won't stop him from being further down the line so I'm more inclined to believe he fancied her. (perhaps Laena and Daemon both fought in the stepstones or met more there?) pg 375

Laena: we can discern that Laena is very adventurous and loved to travel.

Viserys: Is happy to meet Luke and doesn't seem worried about him not looking Targaryen.

Alicent: According to Mushroom told Laenor to keep trying to get one that looks like him which could show that Alicent is aware that Luke and Jace are not Laenor's and is slyly letting him know she knows.

Rhaenyra: She now decides to leave kingslanding for dragonstone when she had previously chosen to stay in kingslanding.

116 A.C. The Second Quarrel ends

Baela and Rhaena are born and called "Daemon's first trueborn children" Pg 376 (Implying he has bastard children?)

Viserys and Daemon reconcile over Daemon now being a father. Pg 376-7

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Daemon: seeks his brother's forgiveness again.

Viserys: forgives his brother again believing fatherhood changed him.

117 A.C. Bastardy Rumors Spread

Jeoffrey is born pg 377

Rumors spread in the Greens that Harwin is the father of Rhaenyra's sons. These rumors would support Alicent in getting Rhaenyra out of being heir but we know that Viserys does not care. Mushroom says Harwin is the father and Mellos hints at Harwin being the father. Eustace acknowledges the rumors but dismisses them. (Interestingly Eustace claims Rhaenyra slept with Daemon but does not believe her children were fathered by Harwin). Pg 377

The Velaryon boys are given dragon eggs by royal decree. (The Targaryen boys are not given dragon eggs in contrast) pg 377

Rhaenyra gains weight after childbirth. Mushroom says she resented Alicent for staying slim. Pg 377

Eustace says Viserys placed Jace on his knee and said the iron throne would be his one day. Pg 377

The Targaryen boys and Velaryon boys become rivals but still train and study together Pg. 377-8

Rhaenyra is close with Laena and Daemon Pg 378

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Rhaenyra: is fond and more than fond of Laena perhaps implying a romantic interest or just a very close friendship? Pg 378

Viserys: has eggs placed with the Velaryon boys but not his own kids with Alicent. Perhaps wanting to dispel rumors as quickly as possible and assert their legitimacy.

118 A.C. The Betrothals

Viserys agrees for Rhaenyra to have Jace (4) and Luke (3) betrothed to Baela and Rhaena (2). pg 378

119 A.C. Laena Conceives

Laena gets pregnant again and Rhaenyra joins her on dirftmark. Pg 378

120 A.C. The Red Spring

Laena dies of childbed fever (basically infection from unsanitary conditions) and gives birth to a boy dragon baby who quickly dies Pg 378

Daemon flies to Dragonstone to get Rhaenyra's more skilled Maester Geradrys but he arrives too late pg 378

Mushroom says Rhaenyra and Daemon sat vigil over Laena's body and she comforted him while he grieved pg 378

Merchants at a fair in Spicetown say Laenor and Qarl quarreled and Qarl stabbed Laenor to death before fleeing. A large crowd of people are more likely to have the true story as it's harder to sway them all. Eustace also agrees with the merchants and says Qarl was motivated by jealousy of Laenor leaving him. Mushroom says Daemon payed Qarl to kill Laenor to make room for himself as Rhaenyra's husband. pg 379

Corlys offers a reward for Qarl's head but he's never caught. pg 379

Aegon and Helaena are both dragon riders of Sunfrye and Dreamfyre respectively pg 380

Daeron has Tessarion but has not ridden her yet. Pg 380

Aemond claims Vhagar but is ambushed and fights the velaryon boys. Luke slashes out Aemond's right eye (weirdly changed to his left in the show) pg 380-1

Viserys tries to make each side apologize to one another. Alicent demands Luke's eye and Rhaenyra says Aemond should be questioned "sharply" (tortured). pg 381

Aemond claims Aegon told him the Velaryon boys are strong and Aegon says everyone can tell. pg 382

Lyonel and Harwin die in Harrenhal by fire. Pg 383

Rumors say the fire was either a mischance or black Harren's curse. Mushroom says Corlys set the fire to get revenge for Laenor being cucked (why now after three kids?). Eustace says Daemon did it to remove his love rival. Another rumor was Larys did it to get Harrenhal as his seat. Mellows says Viserys ordered Harwin's death to hide Rhaenyra's affair with him and that Lyonel's death was unforeseen because he wasn't supposed to accompany his son back home. Pg 383

Viserys sends for Otto to replace Lyonel as hand. Pg 383

Rhaenyra remarries to Daemon with both of their previous spouses having not been dead for half a year. pg 383 Eustace says they married in secret knowing Viserys would not allow it. Mushroom says Rhaenyra was again pregnant and did not want a clear bastard. Pg 384

Rhaenyra gives birth to Aegon at the end of the year and according to Mushroom, named him Aegon to slight Alicent. pg 384-5

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Laena: wants to ride Vhagar one last time before she dies showing her love and connection to her dragon.

Daemon: must have loved Laena a lot to try so desperately to save her life.

Rhaenyra: comforts Daemon (non-sexually) after Laena dies. But remarries to Daemon quite quickly, perhaps showing not desire for Daemon but need for a powerful ally?

Viserys: makes fun of Aemond by saying he can claim an egg or hatchling if he's bold enough. This also shows that Aemond was not given a cradle egg. pg 380. Viserys is more concerned about rumors of Rhaenyra's kids' bastardy than Aemond losing an eye, one being treated with threats of tongues being removed while the other is forced to kiss and make up. Viserys also decides to not make Rhaenyra Hand to avoid more conflict between her and Alicent, again unwilling to address tension and rather ignore it till he can't. Pg 383

122 A.C. Viserys and Sibling Marriage

Rhaeanyra gives birth to Viserys and his dragon egg does not hatch. Pg 384

Viserys weds Aegon (15) to Helaena (13). Pg 384

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Viserys: interestingly weds Aegon and Helaena together, most likely to keep Alicent from seeking marriage alliances.

Aegon: Lazy and somewhat sulky. Drinks and fondles serving girls.

Helaena: Happy and described as making a fine mother (so caring and attentive?)

123 A.C. Twins Born

Jaehaerys and Jaehaera are born. Both get and hatch cradle eggs. Jaehaerys is polydactly and Jaehaera is described as slow to grow. 385

Mushroom claims Aegon fathered a bastard boy on a maiden from the street of silk and a girl by one of his mother's maidservents. Pg 386 (How would he know this being on Dragonstone?)

126 A.C. Take his head

Daeron is sent to oldtown to be a cupbearer and squire for Lord Hightower. Pg 386

Corlys falls ill with fever and the issue of succession is raised. Pg 386

Corlys's nephew Vaemond claims he should be heir as Rhaenyra's kids are bastards. Rhaenyra has Daemon behead Vaemond and feeds his head to her dragon. Pg 386 Vaemond's younger cousins, his wife, and his sons flee to Kingslanding to plead their case and their tongues are removed. Pg 386

Viserys cuts his hand open on the throne had has two fingers removed. pg 387

Cregan overthrows his Uncle as regent and imprisons him and his cousins. Pg 416

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Alicent: While it is not stated, I believe Alicent sent Daeron away for his own safety after Vaemond was killed.

Rhaenyra: Escalating what she's willing to do to keep power, no longer is she bending to Viserys' wishes like she did as a teen or sneaking behind his back, this is out-in-the-open murder.

Viserys: Again esculating his covering for Rhaenyra allowing her to order the death of another highborn.

127 A.C. The Feast for the lost fingers

Maelor is born and given a cradle egg Pg 386

Viserys holds a feast for his recovery and Rhaenyra and Alicent attend with all their children. The court chronicles record that the two sides looked to mend things. Mushroom says that once Viserys left, fighting broke out between the kids. Pg 387

Viserys stops sitting the iron throne and Mushroom claims to be entertaining the king. Pg 387

Maester Mellos dies and is replaced by Orwyle by the Citadel. Pg 388

Daenaera Velaryon is born.

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The Velaryon and Targaryen Boys: All three (assuming Daeron and Jeoffrey are there as well despite not being mentioned) boys go out of their way to provoke eachother.

128 A.C.

Cregan’s wife Arra Norrey dies in child birth to his son and heir pg 416

Dalton avenges his uncle’s death in the Stepstones and claims the sea stone chair (world of ice and fire)

129 A.C. 3rd day of the 3rd moon

Helaena brings her children to Viserys' room and he tells them a story about Jaehaerys. Viserys dies in his sleep. Pg 390

---

Viserys: his last act is to tell a story of a Targaryen king to his grandchildren.

Thanks for reading the first half of the timeline breakdown for rewriting HotD!

[petermorwood]

Here's a snapshot showing the copyright notice from my hardback first edition of "The Silmarillion".

Note that neither J.R.R. nor Christopher Tolkien are the copyright owners.

This © George Allen & Unwin Ltd, [year] copyright is also on my hardback volumes of "LotR", "The Hobbit" and "Farmer Giles of Ham", and on @dduane's single-volume "LotR" paperback.

J.R.R. Tolkien's name appears nowhere. Did he assign copyright to his publisher?

I have no idea what this form of copyright notice ultimately implies for when the work will enter Public Domain, since a publishing company doesn't have the lifetime + 70 limitation unless it expires from bankruptcy or something.

Maybe I'm missing an important detail (it wouldn't surprise me for a minute) which means this isn't a weaselly way to keep a property in copyright.

Does anyone have access to a much more recently published, say 2000s-to-2020s, edition, and if so, how is that one's copyright notice worded?

I need to live another twenty years purely to see what kind of bullshit the Tolkien estate gets up to with respect to The Silmarillion in 2044.

[stephaniejoanneus]

We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis

We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis. Allen & Unwin, 2023. 9781761180170 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Paperback Genre: Realistic fiction What did you like about the book? Harvey quits school and decamps to Sydney from Perth when his dads are going through a rough spot in their marriage. He and Ba stay with Ba’s mother and great grandmother above the Greek…

[winningthesweepstakes]

We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis

We Could Be Something by Will Kostakis. Allen & Unwin, 2023. 9781761180170 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Paperback Genre: Realistic fiction What did you like about the book? Harvey quits school and decamps to Sydney from Perth when his dads are going through a rough spot in their marriage. He and Ba stay with Ba’s mother and great grandmother above the Greek…

[5brightplanets]

༅༅༅༅༅༅༅༅

It is one of its qualities to be indescribable, though not imperceptable. Attempts to define it are especially vague and imperfect. Plainly, it cannot be done. It has many ingredients, but proper analysis will ever be caught up in a shadowy net of rules and words.

༅༅༅༅༅༅༅༅

The Radiant Par View Series. Even a footnote by JT nicely dances on point: They should not be spared it-unless they are spared the whole story until their digestions are stronger. 100% made from Tree And Leaf, first published by J.R.R. Tolkien with George Allen & Unwin Ltd., circa 1964. Found in a 1981, thirty-first printing of a Ballantine Books paperback edition of the Tolkien Reader. The viewable and listenable link is posted by Scratchy 45’s; https://youtu.be/X-qOnpqd51U?si=au0IeTTHLjHIIVBU is a seemingly one-time-use, hypochangeable link to 1975_008 - K.C. and the Sunshine Band - That’s The Way (I Like It) - (45)(mp3)(2.57). Grateful awareness of the many artists, musicians and technicians who present these sights and sounds. Words and Music composed and performed by Harry W. Casey and Richard Finch. -Jivananda (Jim)

[thechronicbookwormblog]

BOOK REVIEW: It’s Not You, It’s Me by Gabrielle Williams

Holly Fitzgerald has inexplicably woken up inside the body of an LA teenager called Trinity Byrne in 1980 - trapping Trinity in Holly's forty-year-old body back in Melbourne, 2020. Mind. Officially. Blown.

[ID: A flatlay photo on a white sheet, the book It’s Not You It’s Me sits on a yellow jumper with a fanned out book and a black typewriter blurred in the background].

Title: It’s Not You, It’s Me

Author: Gabrielle Williams

Published by: Allen and Unwin

Publication Date: 31/08/21

Australian RRP: $19.99

Genres: contemporary, time travel, historical fiction, young adult, 

Pages: 288

Format: Paperback

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: 

A literally life-changing novel about time travel, soulmates and serial killers that asks a very big question: Can you ever change your fate? This is award-winning YA author Gabrielle Williams' most surprising, ambitious and dexterous book yet. Holly Fitzgerald has inexplicably woken up inside the body of an LA teenager called Trinity Byrne in 1980 - trapping Trinity in Holly's forty-year-old body back in Melbourne, 2020. Mind. Officially. Blown. Holly finds herself navigating a brand-new body, family and cute boy next door - not to mention rock band that might just make it, and potential kidnapper. Meanwhile, lies intersect with truth, hurtling both Holly and Trinity towards a dangerous fate as the connections between them grow deeper and stranger than either could have ever imagined. Freaky Friday meets Pretty Little Liars - if the Liars were an all-girl punk band from the 1980s - in this highly original soul-swap story from the critically acclaimed author of My Life as a Hashtag.

Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, sexual assault, violence, 

Review:

It’s Not You, It’s Me is a young adult contemporary/historical fiction story about Holly a 40-year-old woman living in Australia in 2020 and Trinity a Sixteen-year-old teenager living in America in 1980. Trinity and Holly’s souls are swapped and chaos ensues. It was hard to put this book down, the story was so engaging and you just wanted to find out what happens next. The soul swap was such an interesting concept, Holly and Trinity both cope with it so differently. I had a great time reading It’s Not You, It’s Me, it was an intriguing story about finding yourself, time travel, family and friendship.

Overall, If you are looking for a fun and interesting time travel story I recommend picking up a copy of It’s Not You, It’s Me!

Thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[the-soulscorch]

Gandalf meets Bilbo Baggins

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

Illustrated by David Wenzel & adapted by Charles Dixon with Sean Deming

Published by Unwin Paperbacks in 1990

[the-romantiquary]

I don’t really consider books from the 70′s “vintage”, but I’ve really been into collecting fantasy paperbacks lately. These are some of the few I’ve gotten these past couple of years:

The Sword in the Stone by T.H.White - 1973 UK paperback published by Armada Lions -  GravityBooks

Tristan and Iseult by Rosemary Sutcliff - 1974 UK paperback published by Puffin. -  GravityBooks

The Water of the Wondrous Isles by William Morris -  1971 US paperback published by Ballantine

Adventures in Moominland by Tove Jansson - 1972 Puffin Moomin kids fiction box set -  PGBloodhouse

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees - 1972 UK paperback published by Ballantine -  GravityBooks

The Well at the World's End by William Morris - Two Volume Set -  1971 UK paperback two volume set, published by Ballantine -  GravityBooks

A Book of Princesses by Sally Patrick Johnson (Ed) - 1971  Puffin kids fiction paperback -  PGBloodhouse

The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien -  1972 paperback published by Unwin, (Third Edition, Fifteenth Impression)

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald - 1971 Puffin paperback -  PGBloodhouse

The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris -  1971 UK paperback, published by Ballantine

[manyworldspress]

John Howe, Glorfindel and the Balrog, 1989. Mixed media, 46.5 x 63.8 cm. Painted for The Tolkien Calendar 1991 (Unwin Paperbacks, August 23, 1990).

__________________________________________________ Our shop: https://bookshop.org/shop/manyworldspress

[russellian-j]

Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 with images, n2294 ( Feb. 11, 2023)

Germany would probably have been first in the field with the atomic bomb but for Hitler's hatred of Jews Source: Unpopular Essays, 1950, chapter 1: Philosophy and Politics, p.30 (= Unwin Paperbacks, 1950)

[tsanasreads]

Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina is a very thoughtful and deliberate YA novel. It tells the story of three girls, Catching, Beth Teller, and Crow and deals with some brutal issues. However, the worst parts of the story and told with symbolism and only partly explained plainly, so I suspect younger readers could read the book without having to deal with the specifics of those parts.

Nothing's been the same for Beth Teller since she died. Her dad, a detective, is the only one who can see and hear her - and he's drowning in grief. But now they have a mystery to solve together. Who is Isobel Catching, and what's her connection to the fire that killed a man? What happened to the people who haven't been seen since the fire? As Beth unravels the mystery, she finds a shocking story lurking beneath the surface of a small town, and a friendship that lasts beyond one life and into another. 

Most of the story is told from the point of view of Beth, a ghost of a girl who recently died in a car accident. She spends her time following around her father, the only person who can now see and hear her. Her father, aside from not coping well with her death, is a detective and is working on a case involving an orphanage burning down and some connected adults being missing. Beth rags along helping him and providing a sounding board. The pivotal moment comes with they interview a witness, Catching, and the book starts having sections from her point of view. I don’t want to spoil anything, but some aspects of the story were predictable. However, this was more than made up for by the unique way in which the story was told. Beth wasn’t a ghost seeking vengeance for her death and Catching told her story very symbolically. Catching’s version of her story was true, but so was the decoded version Beth’s dad later summarised. While this was a story about horrible things, Beth’s dad always made sure to protect his daughter from what he could (like not letting her see dead bodies), even though she was already dead. On the other hand, Beth and the reader aren’t shielded from discussions of racism and the Stolen Generations, just the more immediate crimes. This is quite a short book and that meant it moved very quickly through the story. I read it in only two sittings (with a few pages grabbed at other times). I expect the length makes it more accessible to its intended YA audience, especially younger readers and those that might be daunted by thick books. I liked Catching Teller Crow. It was an enjoyable read (without being “fun”) and the story was expertly told in a creative way. I highly recommend it to YA readers who don’t mind a bit of realistic darkness in their books. I also wouldn’t hesitate to give it to most teens; in fact, I can imagine finding it on a high school reading list. 4.5 / 5 stars First published: 2018, Allen & Unwin Series: No Format read: Paperback (gasp!) Source: Purchased from Dymocks Content imported from Blogger http://bit.ly/2D4NbPC. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so at the aforementioned link.

[curiosityshop]

PINNED POST (WIP.)

prev. waywardsonsanddaringdaughters. 

curated by beth , 24 , edt  ( gmt  - 4 ) .

an independent roleplay blog, featuring ocs and canons.

spotlighting the vintage, the curious, the obscure, and the hard-to-find.

a study in: family, healing, comfort, melancholia, mystery, dog-eared paperbacks, your favorite vhs played on repeat, love’s old sweet song played on scratchy vinyl, stargazing on the roof, and all the things that haunt you. 

NAVIGATION

rules | muses | interest checks | mains

SIDEBLOGS

eggsy unwin | tintin

FIND ME

moonshadowed  | failmilias |  heartstout  |  melodiesmerrie  |  curiositymemes

quantumleapt | lifeseffort | skieslimit | dreamedbeyond

[traslahuelladehegemon]

Cocaine Blues Phryne Fisher : Book 1 By: Kerry Greenwood This is where it all started! The first classic Phryne Fisher mystery, featuring our delectable heroine, cocaine, communism and adventure. Phryne leaves the tedium of English high society for Melbourne, Australia, and never looks back. The first of Phryne's adventures from Australia's most elegant and irrepressible sleuth. The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honourable Phryne Fisher - she of the green-grey eyes, diamant garters and outfits that should not be sprung suddenly on those of nervous dispositions - is rapidly tiring of the tedium of arranging flowers, making polite conversations with retired colonels, and dancing with weak-chinned men. Instead, Phryne decides it might be rather amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia. Almost immediately from the time she books into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, cocaine smuggling rings, corrupt cops and communism - not to mention erotic encounters with the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse - until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street. ISBN: 9781741145663 ISBN-10: 174114566X Series: PHRYNE FISHER Audience: General Format: Paperback Language: English Number Of Pages: 208 Published: 1st June 2005 Publisher: Allen & Unwin Country of Publication: AU Dimensions (cm): 19.5 x 13.0 x 1.6 Weight (kg): 0.18 Edition Number: 1 #bookrecommendations #booklover #books #bookshelf #bookstagrammer #book #bookphotography #bookstagram #booknerd #booklove https://www.instagram.com/p/CZZecPOrWrf/?utm_medium=tumblr

[sepdet]

Whoever did this accidentally reversed it:

The Story Behind Middle-Earth's Emus

Someone had released bootleg paperbacks of LOTR in the US, so Ballantine Books rushed the artist:

“I worked for Ballantine, and as a practice, always read the books before doing the artwork. I didn’t have this luxury with the Tolkien Books, something I wish I could have changed. Ballantine was in a hurry to get these books out right away. When they commissioned me to do the artwork, I didn’t have the chance to see either book, though I tried to get a copy through my friends. So I didn’t know what they were about. I tried finding people that had read them, but the books were not readily available in the states, and so I had sketchy information at best.” — Barbara Remington

Tolkien summarized his complaint to Ballantine in a letter to Rayner Unwin:

"I therefore will not enter into a debate about taste - (meaning though I did not say so: horrible colours and foul lettering) - but I must ask this about the vignette: what has it got to do with the story? Where is this place? Why a lion and emus? And what is the thing in the foreground with pink bulbs? I do not understand how anybody who has read the tale (I hope you are one) could think such a picture would please the author." — JRRT

The lion was airbrushed out, but the emus remained.

The Hobbit's cover is actually part of a larger mural Remington did for the trilogy. These were my mother's books, which she read to me until I was old enough to read them myself, so I love them, emus and all.

Remington rubbed shoulders with famous poets and philosophers of the time and was quite an accomplished artist, so it's a pity she didn't have the books to read beforehand. I wish she could've publish the fanart she did afterwards, but I suppose Tolkien wouldn't have liked her style.

@izzythebestever's amazing embroidery map of Middle-Earth reminded me of this delightfully daft 60s latchhook rug a friend found for me in a thrift store

Yes, it's the infamous emus of Arda 🥰