#where is nettles?

[ride-thedragon]

While we are here and well, there is a really good Nettles video out on YouTube.

Thank you to my moot @qyburnsghost for putting me on.

I love David Lightbringer, and this is a good intro to her character and / or video if you like her. It addresses the leaks and her plot in the books and doesn't boil her down to Daemon and that plotline alone. It's just a really good video on her, I love it when people match my geek. We also get a Dany/ Netty comparison mention, so it's 100% valid on that if nothing else.

[38teirrah83]

So, what I’m getting from watching this episode is that Corlys has no Targaryen ancestry? When he was conversing with Alyn, Corlys stated that his mother was probably a dragonseed, thus, making him and Addam able to claim dragons. It made me raise an eyebrow, since Daemon (Corlys direct ancestor) and Valaena Velaryon (Rhaenys, his wife’s, direct ancestor) are full siblings and have the same mother, who’s a Targaryen.

At first, I and a few others doubted that the Velaryons and Targaryens were still related since, someone (I can’t remember who; in universe) stated that Rhaenys and Corlys marriage was the first parring between a Targaryen woman and a Velaryon man, completely ignoring Valaena’s Velaryon parentage, but people assured us that it was mistake on the writers part. This was in an old Reddit thread.

This is in the books though, since Alt Shift X said in his most recent live stream that it’s not known if he even still descends down from Daemon. I didn’t even think about that, somehow.

Or maybe Corlys thinks his Targaryen blood is way too distant to consider it and he thinks that the dragonseeds auditioning are bastards either from Jaehaerys, Aemon, Baelon, Vaegon, or any other Targaryen family member that hasn’t been mentioned yet from a more recent generation (i.e. Hugh Hammer, since his mother is Saerara Targaryen) and he assumes it’s the same case for the Hull brothers.

I hope this whole thing makes sense.

[targwh0re]

*Cough Cough*

I’m just gonna leave this here…

[lagosbratzdoll]

Ryan did a bunch of interviews recently that I've been reading and I have some thoughts. You can find the interviews here and here.

There's a lot of terrible stuff in it but I don't have the time or inclination to bother with all that. I'm going to be focusing on two things he said in the interviews.

Starting with this from the House of the Dragon podcast which I've linked above.

In it, Ryan talks about why he decided to contrast the lives of Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White with the lives of the privileged Targaryens. It was fascinating to get a peek into his head.

Ryan reads a rapist and thinks "this is a person worth deepening. We need an in-depth exploration of what goes on in this rapists head. We need the audience to sympathise with them."

Which wouldn't be so bad on its face, there's always room to analyse a fictional rapist. The problem is that he then reads about a little Black girl who raised herself on a tiny island rising up to become a dragon rider on her own merit. A little girl whose Valyrian heritage is constantly debated and discounted. He reads that and decides that there's nothing worth exploring there. Her story isn't unique. She isn't unique. In fact, she's so common that while we adapt and humanise not one but two rapists, we're going to erase one Black girl and turn the other into everyone's punching bag.

Then I read his puff piece from Big Think.

This is a fascinating glimpse into his thought process. I read this and Ryan Condal's baffling decisions began to make a little more sense.

By his own admission, Ryan's ideal show is one where Black women are erased, flattened and ignored. He claims to write powerful women but we've not seen hide or hair of these women. In Ryan's show, nothing is ever deliberate and the women are largely passive participants in their own lives.

In Ryan's ideal show there's no room for a little black girl to claim a dragon with nothing but faith and her wits. In Ryan's ideal show we need all of the rapist men but the Black women are interchangeable AND replaceable.

In Ryan's ideal world, it is too much to ask that a Black girl be adored, have songs written about her and knights joust for her favour. In Ryan's ideal show, Black people aren't fully developed characters, they're props that he forgets about for episodes on end.

And that is why the show will continue to drop in ratings. When I saw the Nielsen numbers for the premiere, I laughed until I cried. The biggest streaming day ever for Max and they couldn't beat The Boys or Your Honour. The most recent numbers are even funnier.

But don't worry gang, House of the Dragon is doing great. It's now number three. It finally beat a four year old show! Everything is fine.

[groenendaze]

I follow you for so long already, and I still remember how scrubby Nettle looked when you got her and now she just looks so great. Like of course you can still tell her apart from Finch because work vs showline but her coat looks just really healthy and in good condition now 💛

first two pics from era 2020 (nettle acquisition era) & bottom two pics are from era yesterday & today

i took a huge chance getting nettle (due to Not Mentioning On Social Media reasons). i thought if we could work through some minor issues and everything her breeder said was true, then she’d be a fantastic dog. i am so, so glad i took that chance. i never thought of her as an immature dog but looking back she’s matured so much both in body & mind and i. ugh. she’s so incredible. she’s going to be one of those dogs you & anyone you know talk about for your entire life because that’s how big of an impression she makes.

[redrosesandcharmingsouls]

Rhaenyra blaming Alicent for Viserys deciding to marry her its gonna parallel in such an insane way her blaming Nettles for Daemon's cheating.

[pumpkinpaix]

I am processing nettle to do various fiber craft experiments with and you may notice the terrible stock pot situation which resulted in me setting a towel on fire briefly but hey. I have successfully made nettle cordage. The difference in color is dependent on how much I scraped and cleaned the fiber before use!

Unfortunately the journey is far from over and I expect I shall be in nettle hell for weeks to come

Other nettle projects include spinning, papermaking, dyeing (root and leaf) and eating. I have already eaten it but I think the season is wrong. Not much taste only texture. anyways! Good times and also suffering

[xmaveria]

Still catching up with some AF attacks! This one is for @wolventooth an amazing person, and great bud. Featuring some sea critters and our sonas!

[atopvisenyashill]

let me translate this for you it says: well i saw the rumors about nettles being daemon’s bastard as true and i thought rhaena’s story would be boring tv so i simply combined the two theories for funsies but now that everyone is yelling at me and hurting my feelings i’m wondering if maybe the change is more trouble than it’s worth. i might still do it tho fuck you.

[15-lizards]

The clip of Alicent running from a riot in kings landing WELCOME BACK SANSA STARK

[cosmicaeons21]

Let's Talk About Missing Girl Nettles...

I'm shocked and can't believe this is happening. Everything I've seen of this show so far points to one painful fact: a very important character is missing. It's a glaring omission in Daemon's character arc as an anti-hero. I'll be blunt - cutting Nettles out of House of the Dragon is like cutting Arya Stark out of Game of Thrones. And why was this done? Apparently, the show's producers thought she'd become 'superfluous' to the storyline. I'm sorry, what? How can someone call a common-born girl with unknown lineage and the first person in (ASOIAF) history to have ever tamed a dragon with nothing but sheer grit superfluous?! I'm devastated, everyone. Devastated.

[ride-thedragon]

Daemon Betrays Rhaenyra.

This discourse has been here since I started posting so I should explain.

Daemon does, in fact, betray Rhaenyra when he saves Nettles and his subsequent actions in more than one way.

1. He doesn't punish the Mootons for their treason.

The Mootons are given a direct order from their queen to kill Nettles. They conspire and plot about ways to avoid the order, to carry it out, and possible consequences for that. By the end, they decide to disobey her and give the letter to Daemon under the false pretence that they hadn't seen it. They are made aware that the queen has a suspicion that Nettles is a witch charming the prince and still do this. None of this is known or punished, and they declare for the Greens.

2. He allows Nettles to escape.

When Daemon reads the letter, he stays with Nettles for the night and watches her escape on dragon back in the morning without interference. Choosing to leave Maidenpool and go to Harrenhall instead of what Rhaenyra called for, his urgent return.

3. He does not return to Rhaenyra.

By not returning to Rhaenyra, he disobeys and betrays her. By letting Nettles escape, he disobeys and betrays her. Nettles is specifically tied to his survival in the narrative. Without her at his side, it is impossible for him to survive.

4. He fights Aemond, Alone.

So he dies. The bards and I have a misunderstanding because of this (fuck the bards) but Daemon himself says that neither one of them can take Aemond on and survive. He chooses death.

We can argue over why he did it, but in the written narrative, the only catalyst we have is Nettles' departure. Before that, we can see his expression go from happy and them small talking to him, genuinely distraught by the letter and staying with her for the night.

Saying that this is only because of Rhaenyra fundamentally misunderstands one point:

The catalyst for the Battle Above the God's Eye is Nettles' departure. Before it, Aemond evaded Daemon, and Daemon stayed at her side. Both in the book and more so the show, known reactionary Daemon Targaryen would not have hesitated to prove himself, at least bringing her to the court to prove their loyalty.

[thenightisland]

thinking about the fairy tale trope of a kiss from your true love having magical properties and how often these kisses are used to wake up characters who are asleep or in some state of suspended animation or give them back something they lost. thinking about fitz walking around half-forged and detached from his own emotions until the fool kisses him and gives him back all of those memories and emotions effectively “waking him up” again and giving him back something he'd lost. and by thinking i of course mean i am screaming incoherently.

[qyburnsghost]

lol at everyone thinking that is a shot of Nettles and not Addam because she has a much bigger part, with a bigger back story and one of the most unique storylines in asoiaf, as well as one of the most highly anticipated characters, yet some how isn't there or isn't coming til season 3.

[swamp-tastic]

This was one of the best dnd sessions so far

[groenendaze]

i signed nettle up for winter splash league not expecting much (she jumped 6ft the first day 💀) but she ended up crushing her PB of 20’0 by Three Whole Feet