#yes it benefits Aegon's image

[hieronymph]

If Alicent was really the evil person that you are talking about, then she could have used this as an opportunity to refute the rapist rumours.

She could have made an example of Dyanna and said that she seduced him to have his bastards or whatever crap and painted Aegon in a better light.

In modern world, we wouldn't believe this spin doctor nonsense but Medieval Westeros would have absolutely lapped it up.

She allows Dyanna an exit with resources. It isn't justice and not a lot but definitely helpful.

Something no one did for her when she was emotionally manipulated and shoved in the King's chambers as a 15 year old kid by her father.

"Alicent should have killed Aegon for what he did to Dyana. Is this how she defends SA victims?"

Has to be one of the shittiest takes I've ever had the displeasure of reading in the hotd fandom.

I genuinely cannot believe that a lot of people think this, like, are you guys insane??? Lmao casually saying this as if they aren't demanding a mother to execute her child.

I get it blacks, you are mad that Aegon raped Dyana, trust me, it upsets me too. It's horrible and unexcusable, I don't condone at all. It would be very concerning if I did.

With that said, what exactly were you expecting Alicent to do?

Tell all of Westeros that because the prince assaulted a servant ( I would like to remind you, a generous chunk of nobles has certainly done it as well to some degree.) he has to face justice and be executed.

Whaaat? Westeros is not in the 21st century, it doesn't work like that, by their standards it probably wasn't even considered rape! They would just think the prince had honored her with his attention and she had showed ungratefulness.

She would be punished instead for attempting to taint his image and have her tounge cut out or something. We're in the middle ages!!

Rape in Westeros is unfortunately super normalized, his execution would cause a shit show. Oh and sorry, how are you demanding a mother to have her firstborn killed?

Ali is veery disappointed with her son for many reasons, obviously including this one, and she's not shy to say it to his face, slap him and tell him he's a disappointment. But he is still her son, and she will always love him no matter what. There is no way in hell she would ever kill one of her kids.

Lmao if one of the strong boys did the same thing would you demand Rhaenyra to kill her sons as well?

Oh and also kinslaying. The circumstances of it are irrelevant, kinslaying is always considered one of the worst crime one can commit in Westeros. Hell even people who unwillingly kill their kin are cursed and ostracized, imagine what the realm would think of a mother, the fucking queen, killing her son.

Team black will really find any excuse to shit on Alicent, even if said reason is dumb as hell and devoid of any logic.

[dirtytransmasc]

I cannot explain it, but Aegon and Aemond, are just Viserys and Daemon in a different font. so similar but so different.

Aegon and Viserys loving their brothers and their brothers not being able to see it, only being able to see the "hate" (Aegon's bullying) and the "fear" (Viserys's distrust).

Aemond and Daemon then destroying what remains of their relationships with their brothers, one's that we're already strained and messy cause Aegon and Viserys were far from perfect to begin with, out of the anger they felt for their brothers, because they were blind to the love they truly held.

the entire time Aemond was targeting Aegon, all I could hear was Rhaenyra yelling at Daemon;

"He did not fear you... He could not trust you!!!"

that's where Aegon and Admins are headed. Aegon will, even if it's deep down in his soul (in the case that he doesn't remember the events of rooks rest clearly), never trust Aemond again. he will never love Aemond the same as he had. Aemond will always be his brother and he could never truly fear him, as much as he should, but he will never trust him.

and now Aemond will be forced to realize that so much of what he hated in Aegon, his teasing and drunkenness and his goading, had been his love (much as Viserys's pity and placating and gifts, dismissing all of Daemon's wrongs but never letting him close) and now he will be without it. he will long for it, despite it being why he attempted to destroy him.

Edit: I worded myself poorly and now people are hella misunderstanding me. fuck. this is my bad but I feel like some of you failed to read between the lines a little. but let me try again.

I was never saying that Aegon was, in any capacity, a good brother. that was the difference between him and his father. but being a shit stain if a brother and a bully does not mean he can't also hold love for Aemond and hold a place for him in his heart.

I am also not saying that Aemond was unjustified in his beliefs and even his actions. Aegon was his bully, and because of that, he failed to see Aegon as his brother, as someone who, at the end of the day, did love him, in his own way.

and I acknowledge that, again, the exact dynamic between Aegon and Aemond is very different from their father and uncles had been. they are like. them but 30x worse and 10x more dysfunctional.

I'm just saying their dynamic is a messy parallel to their father and uncle.

I'm not justifying Aegon's actions. I'm not down playing them. I'm not shitting on Aemond. I'm not saying they were good brothers. I'm not an Aegon stan mindlessly supporting him. I'm just making connections between him and his father and their dynamic with their brothers.

Love is one of those connections, even if it's a fucked up disaster of bullying, and wanting to fight by his side, and knowing Aemond's and respecting him when it benefits Aegon and then tearing Aemond down when it doesn't, feeding his own self image issues, but also genuine love, feel down somewhere in that crooked thing that Aegon calls s heart, that an older brother holds for their little brother, cause it's in there.

they're siblings. shit is *fucked*. but they're siblings. and I feel like y'all do not want to see the complexity of that. yes Aegon sucks, yes Aemond deserves to be mad, yes Aemond also sucks. but it's the little things, the aspects that exist below surface level that make them so fascinating.

I think they parallel their forebears just like. 80x worse.

[lemonhemlock]

What do you think about how Helena doesn’t do anything for the team she’s on in both the book and the show? It seems like the rest of the characters have the responsibility and does something to benefit the side they’re on

yeah, it's not great. they had the chance to do something really interesting with helaena and expand (at least a little) on her book version, but she somehow ended up with even less than in FB. in the books, at the very least, she was present during some political talks and she expressed a desire for restraint in the face of bloodshed that aegon heeded (alongside her mother, true, she wasn't the only voice advocating for that). but what does show!helaena do? she sits in rooms all day and embroiders. they really are so averse to giving her an activity, any activity for that matter.

rhaena, for example, is currently perhaps the least developed of the tb children, but we know how she longs for a dragon to either hatch or to claim. she goes to the vale. she has at least the sliver of an objective: keeping jeyne arryn as an ally. meanwhile helaena is not even recognised as a dragonrider, even though she also claimed dreamfyre when she was nigh a child. dreamfyre is never even referred to as helaena's dragon, let alone visually depicted next to her. thank god we have a scene with dreamfyre and aemond, though! and this was such an easy thing to do, they could have made her a horse girl (dragon girl) and had her at the dragonpit tending to all the stray, riderless dragons.

i have always said that they could have leaned into that little tidbit about her being beloved by the smallfolk and showed her getting involved in charity works or sponsoring events or infrastructure projects, something that would work towards her maintaining a good image in the city. it's not like these are things autistic-coded people are incapable of doing!

it's so frustrating bc they gave her the gift of prophecy only for it to have no bite and no stakes. she utters vague, weird metaphors to her interlocutors and they look spooked or confused for a couple of moments. cassandra motif, yes, but what are they actually doing with this trope other than the most basic, descriptive, straightforward depiction of it? i understand that ewan has hinted that aemond will investigate (?) this gift of hers, but will this end up being just another instance in which helaena's arc is subsumed by someone else's?

when does she do anything for herself? when is she an initiator of anything? they turned her into this passive observer that exists so that alicent could feel bad about her life choices, aegon could act awkwards towards and aemond could covet. what's her opinion about the war? about rhaenyra? about becoming queen? it's so infantilizing. it's like their image of an autistic person is someone who sits alone in a room all day and waits for things to happen to them.

in a way it is weird because it's not like she lacks character traits, she just doesn't do anything with them

not even getting into the b&c debacle and how little impact the most traumatizing concept in asoiaf-verse ended up having on her. but, you know what? even so, with this decision to minimize this torturous event, what exactly is the pay-off here? why are they still writing her in such a static way? her arc is going nowhere, because she never seemed to have one in the first place.

[horizon-verizon]

About Who Arranged Aegon and Helaena to Marry in Fire and Blood...

This is the quote:

Following the ancient tradition of House Targaryen, King Viserys wed his son Aegon the Elder to his daughter Helaena. The groom was fifteen years of age; a lazy and somewhat sulky boy, Septon Eustace tells us, but possessed of more than healthy appetites, a glutton at table, given to swilling ale and strongwine and pinching and fondling any serving girl who strayed within his reach. The bride, his sister, was but thirteen. Though plumper and less striking than most Targaryens, Helaena was a pleasant, happy girl, and all agreed she would make a fine mother.

("A Question of Succession", pg 385)

Some claim that Viserys is the only one responsible for marrying Helaena and Aegon when Helaena was only 13, and not Alicent. But:

Viserys allowed Rhaenyra to be unmarried for years (when we all know that he always wanted her to marry Laenor) after she already got her period (when a noble girl is considered "beddable" and weddable in Westeros). He forces Rhaenyra to marry Laenor when he did specifically because he wanted to maintain the Targ image in lieu of a possible affair b/t her and Daemon. Viserys shows himself as being fine with marrying his children later in their lives/teendoms. Thus, Viserys was not in any rush to marry his children together.

We know that Alicent, at one point, wanted Viserys to marry Rhaenyra and Aegon for the sake of making Aegon closer to the throne and later seize its active power (quote). The quote I linked tells us 3 things: Alicent is very concerned for whom Rhaenyra marries as well as who her son marries for the sake of getting power for him/herself; Viserys needs to be convinced of things like anyone else and he didn't marry Rhaenyra to Aegon specifically bc he knew Alicent's desires for their son/herself, which he both disliked and it shows his clear disapproval for Aegon getting anywhere near the throne; AND Alicent has the ability to suggest a marriage that Viserys can say yes or no to, but Alicent still has that influence over him concerning their other children's marriages.

Who does it benefit more for Aegon and Helaena to marry? Alicent or Viserys? Alicent or Rhaenyra? (Specifically in the game of thrones and claims) Alicent. While it is Targ tradition to marry siblings and Viserys is a Targ, he refused to marry Laena (a female relative much closer in blood than Alicent ever could be). By the time of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Targaryen marriage lended a prestige and legitimacy to those married as well as it always having combined the claims of the couple. Also, Helaena and Aegon's children would very likely become dragonriders if they are married. Helaena marries Aegon in 122 A.C., and Rhaenyra and Laenor marry in 114 A.C. In the goal of putting Aegon on the throne and keeping him there, it would be in Alicent's best interests to marry these two, and to do it quickly. Esp in response to the marriages Rhaenyra has with Laenor and Daemon and the kids she has by then, 2 other dragonriders.

It is more likely that Viserys could have married these two by Alicent's persuasions than because he earnestly believed that they had to get married so soon. He simply had less interest in Helaena's marriage than in Rhaenyra's because Helaena is not the one to inherit the throne and because she is not his favorite child. If he wasn't in such a rush to marry Rhaenyra to anyone, even Laenor, when Rhaenyra was young, he'd be even less motivated to marry Helaena and Aegon together when she is also so young. Alicent had much more ability to persuade him concerning Helaena than Rhaenyra. Thus she has actually a lot of influence as to Helaena's marriage. He'd likely be fine with just leaving her be. Alicent, though? She had a mission and purpose.

Alicent's main goal was always power through her son, Aegon, by putting him on the throne. She uses the idea of Rhaenyra killing her or her kids to convince the green council into installing Aegon as heir, but this is not a stupid woman and she would have known that Rhaenyra had no murderous will against her siblings, no matter how many times she calls her brothers her "half brothers". Here is a quote proving that ("The Blacks and the Greens").

[humanpurposes]

Read both De Facto and De Jure and the timing is just perfect because ever since the premiere pics came out, I have been looking for modern!Aemond and these fics truly delivered!! I don’t know what it is but Ewan’s green carpet look emphasized his eyes more. Oh god, it’s so hypnotic and it’s exactly what I imagined reading in Aemond especially in De Jure when he was convincing our OC to take the position. His stare is soft yet dare I say it, slightly manipulative because he knows the power of those damned eyes.

Has Aemond had relations with Alys? Or is she just really good at reading people and situations? Because she said Aemond was sweet but gorgeous for his own good, which made me think he had done this before only for the person to either get sloppy at work or want more - both of which Aemond couldn’t afford to have happen to him at that ime hence why personal advisors could only last two years. Or when Alys warned her, was it about how Aemond would possibly entrap her?

Is OC older than Maris? To me it looked like Maris was hoping she’s get private sessions with Aemond and is pissed because she thought OC is stealing him from her. Alys is right, she sounds desperate, which is why I thought her younger.

Also as someone with a degree in International Relations this made me excited hahaha. You don’t know how happy I am that OC does her job well before sleeping with Aemond and she’s got a Master’s too. I’m not sure how Otto knew of her involvement in handling Aegon but I think he was also onboard because OC is the entire package - she’s smart, capable, and has a clean record. I don’t think Otto cares about her personally but he cares that she can make Aemond look good and actually deliver in his duty. I mean they make the ultimate power couple and it’ll surely secure the Greens position in parliament.

I also remembered the background check, does this mean Aemond was already looking for a potential partner/wife even then?

Lastly I’m imagining what will happen now that she agreed. Will Aemond suggest they drop little hints of their relationship? Or will they just surprise everyone with a bomb that Aemond is going to be engaged, they kept their relationship on the down low but now that OC proved her worth, they wanted to come clean, etc to endear them even more to the people. Wanted to ask yout thoughts on it! Hehe

Thanks so much for reading!! ✨

De Jure has been in my drafts for MONTHS and the pics from last night catapulted me right back into the PM!Aemond brainrot and I have many thoughts 🤩

I see Alys as being a very intelligent and observant person, who sees through others easily and who also lives for the dramaaaa. In my head, nothing's happened between her and Aemond, but I can see them being a bit flirty haha. Alys won't know exactly what's going on in Aemond's head, but she would have picked up on the initial attraction and known something was going on as things developed between Aemond and pov character. Aemond is the PM, he's also only a piece in the Hightower political machine, so I think her warning comes from genuine concern. He's "too gorgeous for his own good," because he's charming, handsome, and he draws people in. Aemond will have been taught to be strategic and opportunistic, so he'd use that all to his advantage.

Thinking about it, it would make sense for Maris to be a year older than pov character because Maris' contract runs a year ahead of her's. I included her as a bit of a reference to F&B but Maris kind of demonstrates the extent of Aemond's attractiveness? People chase his approval but not everyone will get his favour.

Omg yes!! I did Politics and IR at uni and this is probably the best use I've made of my degree. The idea for this fic started off as a joke but I genuinely enjoyed thinking about the modern Westerosi political system and all the details.

It would have been on Aemond's mind that having a partner and a family would benefit his image, but this scenario specifically was a mix of coincidence and strategy. The way things worked out, he meets his new advisor, intrigued by her application, but he doesn't expect to be attracted to her. He'd try to restrain these feelings and rationalise them, but he's also a bit insane which is why he does the background check, he wants to know everything about her. If Otto knows who she is it's because Aemond talks about her. The fact that she's intelligent and capable would only make him more attracted to her. I think it's a slow process of realising that he wants her to be with him permanently, especially seeing how well she handles a crisis. Once the seat opens for Duskendale, that's when he'd put forward the idea to Otto and Alicent. It's a bit of a cop out for the Greens that Aegon has been dismissed for inappropriate behaviour, so they replace him with a young woman to get away from that image of misogyny. The Blacks have Jace but the Greens have a selling point of female empowerment which is why Otto and Alicent are happy to go along with it. It's a win-win for Aemond, he retains his power in Parliament and he can get the girl he wants.

I think they'd just drop the announcement. Aemond and the Greens wouldn't want a lot of speculation around the circumstances of their relationship and they'd try to direct the focus on the election. It's certainly one way to get publicity!

[just-some-random-blogger]

Ok my anger after reading that other aemond fic has subsided enormously 😌

"Better that than chained to a man who will make your life miserable." Aemond intoned, Aegon nodded from where he was perched atop the table behind your little family.

Real but also hows she gonna know of she doesn't even meet them.

"What has happened?" Your son, barely past his tenth birthday, entered the room after you, tugging on your skirts. "Has father scared off another of Shaera's suitors?"

😭😭😭😭😭 my little gossip girl i love this boy so much 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍🫶🫶🫶🫶

"He almost killed him!" Your daughter pointed an accusing finger at Aemond's chest. "Uncle Aegon lured him into the dragon pit, and they threatened to set him aflame."

Girl he did not 😭😭😭 are you really surprised tho. Look me in the eyes. Are you????

"Wicked!" Your son grinned with delight.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 its giving baby ron weasley vibes kejejejsjjsnen😭😭😭😭

"There were words said that we overheard, that settled uneasily with both of us." Aemond agreed, nodding to his brother, his lilac eye flitting from the back of his daughter's silver head to your face. "We took the boy to the dragon pit and introduced him to Sunfyre and Dreamfyre, and told him what would happen should he make good on his words."

I think this still counts as attempted murder babe 😭 wouldnt those dragons smell the agitation and wanna lunge? But that's none of my business

Aegon watched this exchange with a curiously sour expression on his face, seeming to take a sudden disliking to his drink. "A lovely sentiment for those who have a choice in their futures." His voice was flat as he got up from the table, striding to the door. "Let me know if you need further assistance with troublesome youths, brother." He spoke without turning back, exiting the room, leaving just the four of you there.

My BOY MY BOY ACTING LIKE A BIG BRO DID YOU FINALLY GO TO THERAPY i mean obviously not when you were so quick to bring him to the pit murder is not the answer... ... ...

Aemond sighed, choosing his words carefully as his thumb stroked your knuckle. "Aegon and I overheard him boasting to his young friends of his imminent marriage to our daughter, Y/N. With the vulgar words he used, the boy is lucky he isn't charcoal right now."

SUDDENLY I WANT TO HAVE A HAND AT THIS KILLING SPREE AND TO THINK I HAVE THAT BOY THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT MEN REALLY CANNOT BE TRUSTED YUCK

Your steps faltered, you glanced sidelong at Aemond's face, his jaw was set, and his eye was staring coldly ahead. It must have been something truly vile for him to be so upset. You squeezed his hand gently. "You did well, then. But for the sake of our daughter, I must ask you to be less condemning to those suitors who have not spoken ill of her."

"I am the image of lenience."

"I am going to put bars on her door and window." Aemond muttered, watching her go.

😭😭😭😭😭 papa bear nooooo

You turned to face your husband, cradling his angular jaw in your hands. "My dearest love. You are correct in wanting to shelter her from the many horrible men who infest this world." You leaned in, brushing your lips along his mouth, feeling his muscles slowly begin to relax against you. "However, she will have to experience life one way or another. All we can do is our best to guide her."

YES MAMA SLAYYYYYYY SLAYYYY MAMA BEAR SLAYYYY

need me some protective dad aemond, if you please i just know he'd be soo good

Ok finally we have more Dad Aemond incoming!

Prepare thyself for wholesomeness. There will be multiple parts.

word count: 1900

Aemond x wife!reader | teenage daughter | younger son | scaring off suitors | Aegon helps for once

A brisk wind blew the hair from your face as you hurried up the stone steps of the Keep. You glanced over your shoulder at the young man still wailing, even as he departed from the main gate.

"I am going to kill them both." You seethed to yourself, the guards in front of the oaken doors quickly stepping to the side with low bows, eager to not get in the way of your building wrath.

As you strode down the marbled hallways, you could already hear the shouting.

You daughter, hands on her hips, was practically screaming at her father, her white hair in tangles falling about her slender shoulders. "I cannot believe you!! This is the fifth time! Mother!" She saw you enter the room, tearing her blazing lilac gaze away from Aemond to look tearfully at you. "Another of my suitors frightened near to death! At this rate I will die alone and unmarried!"

"Better that than chained to a man who will make your life miserable." Aemond intoned, Aegon nodded from where he was perched atop the table behind your little family.

"What has happened?" Your son, barely past his tenth birthday, entered the room after you, tugging on your skirts. "Has father scared off another of Shaera's suitors?"

"He almost killed him!" Your daughter pointed an accusing finger at Aemond's chest. "Uncle Aegon lured him into the dragon pit, and they threatened to set him aflame."

"Wicked!" Your son grinned with delight.

"Shut up Aerys." Shaera was crying in earnest now.

You walked to her, your arms open wide and she sunk gratefully into your embrace. You glared at the two Targaryen men over her shoulder as you hugged your distraught daughter. "There had better be a good explanation for this."

Aegon took a deep sip of wine as Aemond sighed heavily, wrapping an arm around Aerys' shoulders as the boy sidled next to his father. Aegon was the one to break the heavy silence. "We did not threaten to burn anyone alive, Shaera."

"There were words said that we overheard, that settled uneasily with both of us." Aemond agreed, nodding to his brother, his lilac eye flitting from the back of his daughter's silver head to your face. "We took the boy to the dragon pit and introduced him to Sunfyre and Dreamfyre, and told him what would happen should he make good on his words."

"I will not ask you to expound upon it here." You shook your head even as Aegon opened his mouth to explain, stroking Shaera's hair gently. "Shae." You took her face in your hands, wiping away the tears. "Go to your father and make peace."

You shot Aemond a meaningful look as your daughter turned toward him. His gaze softened as he watched her approach, even though her arms were folded tight across her chest. "I am sorry I yelled at you, Kepa."

Aemond reached out, prying her arms loose and holding both her hands in his own. Aegon watched with mild interest, still sipping on his wine. Aerys moved to you, reaching for your hand, watching as Aemond placed a kiss to Shaera's knuckles. "You are worthy of a man who will not shrink in fear at the sight of a dragon."

"Was he very frightened? He said you threatened to kill him."

"A lie."

"His trousers were also wet." Shae tried to suppress a giggle. Her eyes, exactly matching the color of her father's own eye, sparkled up at him.

Aemond nodded solemnly. "He soiled himself."

They chuckled together, Aerys beside you positively cackled, even Aegon gave an appreciative snort.

"You are the blood of the dragon." Aemond continued, his face serious once more. "Above all, you are my daughter and will receive only the best in all things, including those who are allowed to court you."

"Not one person has been good enough though." Shae said hopelessly.

"There will be someone who you fall in love with, daughter." You said, smiling and walking up to where she stood, placing a hand around her waist. "Do not be in such a rush to grow up." You placed a kiss on her temple, she did not pull away.

Aegon watched this exchange with a curiously sour expression on his face, seeming to take a sudden disliking to his drink. "A lovely sentiment for those who have a choice in their futures." His voice was flat as he got up from the table, striding to the door. "Let me know if you need further assistance with troublesome youths, brother." He spoke without turning back, exiting the room, leaving just the four of you there.

Aemond's eye lingered on where his brother had disappeared, a frown tugging his curved lips.

"Father, can we practice sword fighting now?" Aerys piped up, straining on his tip toes to get his dad's attention.

"Yes of course, my son." Aemond allowed Aerys to take his hand and enthusiastically pull him in the direction of the training yard.

"Tis time for you to clean up and get ready for your harp lessons." You squeezed Shae's shoulder, earning a watery smile from the girl. "Don't be disheartened, my jewel. I will talk to him tonight."

"Thank you, mom." She gave you a hug, smelling of lilac and candlewax, before departing for her rooms.

You straightened your skirts, running your hands along the green velvet fabric. It was the fifth time Aemond had sent one of Shaera's suitors scurrying from King's Landing, tail between their legs. You would have to speak to him in private later, but for now you decided to watch him train your young son. Aerys' favorite activity, and something Shae had also begun. At her insistence, Aemond had started showing her the basics of sword fighting. Something that made you proud yet simultaneously worried.

The dull thunk of wooden swords striking each other met your ears as you entered the grey courtyard. The sky above threatened rain, but no droplets fell as your husband and son practiced.

"Keep your feet shoulder-width apart." Aemond was instructing, glancing up to grace you with a smile as you leaned against the railing. "I've told you too many times, Aerys. Do not lean forward, keep your balance over your belly button."

"I'm trying." Aerys complained, sounding a bit too whiny for your taste.

"Don't whine." Both you and Aemond spoke at the same time, he gave you a roguish grin as you chuckled. Aerys sighed, thwacking his wooden sword against Aemond's in annoyance.

They trained for about half an hour, quite enough time for Aerys to pick up several more tips from his father on footwork and arm movements.

"You are a quick learner." Aemond tousled the boy's curly hair affectionately causing Aerys to wrinkle his nose, giggling as he tried to push his dad's hand off.

"Now, off to dragon riding training trēsy. I will join you before long." Aemond looked up at you again. "I have a feeling your mother wants to speak with me."

You smiled at Aerys as he waved cheerily to you, walking away with bouncing strides in the direction of the dragon pit where his small dragon, Parthnax, waited. Aemond climbed the stone steps to where you waited, removing his leather gloves and stroking a large hand along your arm before interlocking his fingers with your own. "Yes, my lady?" His mischievous smile grew a little as you pulled him to walk with you back into the Keep.

"What happened today with that young man?" You asked. "He seemed a fine match for Shaera."

Aemond sighed, choosing his words carefully as his thumb stroked your knuckle. "Aegon and I overheard him boasting to his young friends of his imminent marriage to our daughter, Y/N. With the vulgar words he used, the boy is lucky he isn't charcoal right now."

"What did he say?"

"I will not repeat it."

Your steps faltered, you glanced sidelong at Aemond's face, his jaw was set, and his eye was staring coldly ahead. It must have been something truly vile for him to be so upset. You squeezed his hand gently. "You did well, then. But for the sake of our daughter, I must ask you to be less condemning to those suitors who have not spoken ill of her."

"I am the image of lenience."

"Aemond. This is the fifth time you've chased a boy away from her after they've known each other barely a week."

He sighed softly, remaining silent as the two of you walked together through the torchlit hallways. As you rounded a corner, you saw Shaera standing in front of a young man with shoulder-length auburn hair, deep in conversation.

You felt Aemond stiffen beside you, his hand breaking away as it instinctively went to the pommel of his sword.

Shaera noticed the two of you, her face falling slightly as her lilac eyes flicked to her father. "Dad, mom..."

"Shae." You greeted, your brow furrowing. "Did your lessons run short? Who is this?"

"This is Oliver." The young man bowed low as you approached.

"An honor to meet you, I only just arrived at King's Landing and got myself quite turned around. Luckily Shaera rescued me, and we've been discussing the upcoming tourney that I will be jousting in."

You noticed the coat of arms adorning Oliver's breastplate, but it was Aemond who spoke up first. "Mormont, is it?"

"Yes, your highness." Oliver Mormont bowed again, lower this time. "Might I take the liberty of expressing what an honor it is to meet you, as well as your lady wife." His light brown eyes smiled at you before he turned his attention back to Aemond.

Shaera beamed at him.

Aemond noticed her obvious admiration, his smile a little forced as he nodded at Oliver. "It is always a pleasure to host our friends from the North."

"I've invited Oliver to dinner tonight!" Shae said brightly, not seeing how Aemond's eye narrowed slightly as he looked at her. No, her attention was only upon the handsome youth standing tall beside her.

"We would be glad for you to join us!" You spoke before Aemond could, locking your arm with your husband's. "Now, Shae, you have harp lessons to get to."

Shae's cheeks flushed as Oliver kissed the back of her hand, bowing in farewell. "Until tonight, my lady."

"Tonight then." She nodded, looking bereaved as she watched him leave.

You could have propped Aemond up against a wall he was so tense, you gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. Shae looked hesitantly from him to you before hurrying away toward her class.

"I am going to put bars on her door and window." Aemond muttered, watching her go.

"You will do no such thing, Aemond."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, tonight in fact. He seems like a nice young man from a good house as well."

"They all seem like 'nice young men' to begin with."

You turned to face your husband, cradling his angular jaw in your hands. "My dearest love. You are correct in wanting to shelter her from the many horrible men who infest this world." You leaned in, brushing your lips along his mouth, feeling his muscles slowly begin to relax against you. "However, she will have to experience life one way or another. All we can do is our best to guide her."

"I worry for her, Y/N." Aemond kissed you gently, pressing his forehead to yours.

"As do I. But we cannot keep her all to ourselves forever." You traced your fingers across his cheek, your breaths mingling. "She is the blood of the dragon, and we must allow her to spread her wings and fly."

[aegor-bamfsteel]

It's almost funny how anti-feminist fire and Blood actually is. All the female characters either have cartoonish characterization (the evil stepmother, the tyrannical queen), or have no personality whatsoever. Rhaenys is the "Queen who never was" but actively supports the murder of her son and the daughter of her 'usurper' cousin? Laena is the rider of Vhaegar and... brave? Baela and Rhaena love their stepmom and stepsiblings, have no ambitions, character defining traits or resentments.

GRRM actually goes out of his way to mock American feminism in Fire and Blood. He has Mushroom, a crime and sex addicted (male) jester, refer to the Maiden’s Day Ball of 133–in which Aegon III was to choose a bride amongst the maidens of the Kingdoms—as “the Maiden’s Day Cattle show”. This is a reference to the radical feminist protest of the 1968 Miss America contest at Atlantic City, which included signs such as these:

Although maybe not as well known today especially outside the USA, the protest had a profound effect on the image of second wave feminism. The protesters claimed in a 10 point manifesto that the pageant judged women like animals at a county fair (to the point they mockingly crowned a sheep Miss America), was racist (having only crowned white women so far), supported the military-industrial complex, was consumerist, led to double standard stereotypes (“both sexy and wholesome, delicate but able to cope, demure yet titillatingly bitchy”), celebrated mediocrity by elevating beauty rather than intelligence/ambition as the goal for girls to aspire. They also set up Freedom Trash Cans in which to throw away makeup and bras (the inaccurate report that they’d burned these items gave rise to the stereotype of feminists as bra burners), among other tactics.

All right, so I think it’s obvious that GRRM intended the “Maiden’s Day Cattle Show” to be a reference to the 1968 “Miss America Cattle Auction”, since women were judged based on their appearance and perhaps a brief interview for the ultimate benefit of a young man, Aegon III. There are a few things I found annoying about the reference. One, is that the narrative does not criticize the pageant, quite the opposite; the great lords forced the cruel Lord Peake’s hand in letting Aegon get a chance to choose his new bride, rather than be betrothed to Myrielle and thus give the Peakes long-lasting power. Two, is that it’s Mushroom—who, as mentioned, delights in telling us about the sexual exploits of especially noblewomen—who mocks the ball as a Cattle Show, rather than a woman of any social class; this takes the criticism of beauty standards and women reduced to objects for the pleasure of a male audience (as it was in the original protest)….and turns it into a sassy remark by a man who loves to talk about women as sexual objects. It’s not the families or House Targaryen being criticized for having the ball take place (in fact, Rhaena and Baela presenting Daenaera with a “found your queen” is presented as a dramatic, triumphant moment over the grasping Lord Peake) and parading their daughters around, it’s Mushroom mocking the women as objects only worth their carnal beauty and riches (“Each maid seemed lovelier than the last…. It would be hard to picture anything more beautiful, unless perhaps all of them had arrived naked”. Btw yes, he does wax lyrical on Daenaera’s beauty even though she’s 6). GRRM was so proud of this reference that he partly named the chapter after it: War and Peace and Cattle Shows. Knowing that it comes from an iconic USA feminist protest against beauty standards for women, and how he used it as a joke for his favorite character Mushroom to mock women, I can’t find it funny. Just annoying, and maybe a little insulting.

tl;dr yes I agree, F&B wrote many female characters lacking in nuance (either evil stepmothers, Mary Sues, or tragic victims. Not to put the blame on victims, but that GRRM uses these types of characters to just suffer and then die horribly, with little attempt to treat the issues they face from their POV). The author mocked feminist iconography in a few instances in this book. Not just with the “Maiden’s Day Cattle Show” (though that just seemed the most obvious) but with his one-note stand-in (whose role in the story is to get hundreds of Faith Militant killed in an unsuccessful rescue from a public execution) for Joan of Arc “the Maid of Orleans”, who has been an icon of Western feminism since the contemporary writings of Christine of Pisa; as well as naming a Green-Allied pawn who gets unceremoniously killed after William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman.

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

HOTD 1x09: Quotes

“- What is it that could not have waited an hour? Was Dorne invaded?” (Tyland Lannister)

“- Throw down your sword and remove your cloak, Ser Criston.” (Ser Westerling) 

“- It is our fate, I think, to crave always what is given to another. If one possesses a thing, the other will take it away.” (Helaena Targaryen)

“- And remove your white cloaks. None can know who you are or what you seek... including the Queen.” (Otto Hightower)

“- I trust again to you, Ser Criston, and to your loyalty. Aegon must be found, and he must be brought to me. The very fate of the Seven Kingdoms depends on it. Everything you feel for me as your Queen. (Alicent Hightower) - I will not fail you.” (Ser Crispin).

“- Aegon brought me to the Street of Silk on my thirteenth name day. It was his duty as my brother, he said, to ensure I was as educated as he was. At least that’s what I understood him to mean. (Aemond Targaryen) - I don’t follow. (Ser Crispin) - He said, “Time to get it wet.” (Aemond Targaryen) - Every woman is an image of the Mother, to be spoken of with reverence.” (Ser hypocrite) - Sometime last night, we... misplaced our drinking companion. Knowing that he has been, in the past, a patron of your fine establishment, we thought to inquire here as to his whereabouts. You see, the man we seek is the young Prince Aegon. (Ser Crispin) - He does not frequent the Street of Silk. His tastes are known to be...less discriminating. I wish you luck, good Ser. And my best to your friend. How you’ve grown.” (The Madam)

“- I am no oath breaker. I will not bend the knee.” (The Lord who support Rhaenyra ?)

“- House Fell keeps its sworn oath to the Princess.” (Lady Fell)

“- It seems you were mistaken as to Aegon’s habits. (Ser Crispin) - He could be in the hands of mercenaries, on a ship to Yi Ti. He could be dead. Here I am, trawling the city, ever the good soldier in search of a wastrel who’s never taken half an interest in his birthright. ‘Tis I the younger brother who studies history and philosophy, it is I who trains with the sword, who rides the largest dragon in the world. Is it I who should be... (Aemond Targaryen) - I know what it is to toil for what others are freely given.” (Ser Crispin) - And we can’t find him, Cole. You are a decent man with no taste for depravity. His secrets are his own...and he’s welcome to them. I’m next in line to the throne. Should they come looking for me, I intend to be found.” (Aemond Targaryen)

“- Something must be done. Aegon is unfit to rule. Because it was my sworn duty, Arryk. (Ser Erryk Cargyll) - It’s for the Hand to find wisdom. We swore an oath of service until death.” (Ser Arryk Cargyll)

“- There’s no reason those hours could not, in the end, benefit you.” (Larys)

“- Where is the White Worm? (Aegon Targaryen) She sold you for a price. (Ser Arryk Cargyll) And why have you paid it? I want my mother. (Aegon Targaryen) Your grandfather, the Hand, will meet you outside the city walls. You flee what other men die seeking, Aegon.” (Ser Arryk Cargyll)

“- I was hoping you disappeared. (Aemond Targaryen) - Is our father truly dead? (Aegon Targaryen) - Yes... and they’re going to make you king. (Aemond Targaryen) - I have no wish to rule! No taste for duty! I’m not suited. (Aegon Targaryen) - You’ll get no argument from me. (Aemond Targaryen)  - You let me go, I will find a ship and sail away, never to be found. (Aegon Targaryen)

“- The hour is late, Lord Larys.” (Alicent Hightower) - More than once, it has proved advantageous to those willing to feed the weaver. (Larys) - And this weaver watches me? (Alicent Hightower) - One of the little spiders is your lady in waiting. There is one way to destroy his advantage. It must be taken out at the head. When the Queen dies, the bees fly without purpose. Begging your pardon for the turn of phrase, Your Grace. (Larys) - I assume this task falls within your expertise. (Alicent Hightower) - If you wish it.. it will be done.” (Larys)

“- With me, Princess. I cannot let this treachery stand.” (Ser Erryk Cargyll) 

“- May the Warrior give him courage. May the Smith lend strength to his sword and shield. May the Father defend him in his need. May the Crone lift her shining lamp and light his way to wisdom. The crown of the Conqueror passed down through generations.”

“- Get Helaena” (Alicent)

[agentrouka-blog]

what do you think about obara?

Hi there!

Obara would be my third favorite Sand Snake after Sarella and Elia.

Obara Sand always walked too fast. She is chasing after something she can never catch, the prince had told his daughter once, in the captain's hearing. (AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

My goodness, what could it be?

Oh, right. Her mother. Her identity. Her sense of self.

She is the reason I can never ever truly like Oberyn.

“I am the whore's whelp, or had you forgotten?" (AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

No matter how heartbreaking Oberyn’s determination to get justice for Elia’s murder, I can never forgive him for this.

"The day my father came to claim me, my mother did not wish for me to go. 'She is a girl,' she said, 'and I do not think that she is yours. I had a thousand other men.' He tossed his spear at my feet and gave my mother the back of his hand across the face, so she began to weep. 'Girl or boy, we fight our battles,' he said, 'but the gods let us choose our weapons.' He pointed to the spear, then to my mother's tears, and I picked up the spear. 'I told you she was mine,' my father said, and took me. My mother drank herself to death within the year. They say that she was weeping as she died." Obara edged closer to the prince in his chair. "Let me use the spear; I ask no more."

(AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

Oberyn not only suddenly came to take her away from her mother. He did not come to offer her a “better life”, or do his duty to her as her father.

He made her choose.

He demonstrated an absolutely despicable abuse of power. He shows up out of the blue after presumably no contact and no support, assaults and humiliates her mother, a woman already on the very edge of society, and then makes Obara choose between this distorted image of victimized weakness, and his own power. Female tears vs. his phallic symbol. It’s a false dichotomy, the birth place of “not like other girls”, of internalized misogyny, of self-hatred.

She cannot have both. She cannot love both. She must disdain one to reap any benefit from the other. It is a horrifying violation. He erases half of her identity by dragging it through the dirt and creating a clear distinction between himself and his offer, and the woman who has been Obara’s caretaker all her life up to then. Her own mother. Her own sex.

We know that the young red-haired prostitute died trying to save her daughter, little Barra, while Robert had not lifted a finger to support them, and only had scorn for the girl’s choice of name. Was she weak?

Even her mother’s grief and desperate end is turned into a weapon against Obara, instead of proof of her mother’s love, it is proof of her mother’s supposed worthlessness. She must hate her mother because to stop would be to recognize that her father, her sole source of security in the world, was a monster to do this. She must cling to this phallic symbol of a weapon because Oberyn tainted all alternatives. The whore’s whelp she calls herself, spitting on her mother every time.

When she arrives at Sunspear to confront Doran about Oberyn’s death, she asks for troops and permission to sack Oldtown. Her hometown. For the wealth of the Hightowers, supposedly, but somehow her first instinct upon the news of her father’s demise is to attack the place she herself came from, her mother’s city. Begging to use the spear.

Perhaps it is the only way she knows how to express her pain, as Oberyn stole her tears. Self-destruction.

Even Nymeria understands there is a personal motive outside of Oberyn’s death.

“Obara would have me go to war.”

Nym laughed. “Yes, she wants to set the torch to Oldtown. She hates that city as much as our little sister loves it.” (AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

Obara is the only one of the elder Sand Snakes for whom GRRM constructs this kind of look back at her "acquisition" into the royal family, and I sincerely doubt that it is accidental. It is the one that matters, the one that is the most illustrative.

Nymeria has her noble Volantene mother’s beauty and bearing.

Tyene is said to carry her mother’s innocent appearance, and received a religious education at least thorough enough to enable her to “ingratiate herself” with the new high septon. It is, of course, a cynical facade.

Sarella proudly practices the marksmanship of the Summer Islanders of her mother’s heritage.

But Elia and Obara both show the real cracks that counter this hazy facade of the fierce Eight Sand Snakes, liberal Oberyn‘s loyal and independent daughters. They are all an extravagant self-indulgence on Oberyn’s part, created wherever he went and then picked up like a shiny tourist trinket. They all must revolve around him, the reflections of Oberyn in the looking glass of their mothers.

No," Elia broke in. "You're the one they'll want to ransom. You're the heir to Dorne, I'm just a bastard girl. Your father would give a chest of gold for you. My father's dead." (TWOW, Arianne II)

Elia, bless her, has her mother to lean on and still she keenly feels the legal reality of her position. Obara does not even have that. 

Sarella out of all the elder Sand Snakes, seems to be the most emotionally independent. She is the only one NOT around all the others in Dorne, and while she follows her father’s footsteps in Oldtown, she practices her mother‘s traditional archery and emphasizes her.

Alleras smiled back at him. "I only buy for friends. And I am no lord's son, I've told you that. My mother was a trader." (AFFC, Prologue)

This healthier balance, this valuing regard for her mother’s heritage (unlike Tyene's pretense) is what makes Sarella truly remarkable to me. She is not hot-headed nor does she seem to be boiling with a thinly veiled fury. She does not seem to advocate for murder, but we see her muse about feeding the people. She is serene, like the black swans on the Godseye, like the swanships, with a steady hand and a sure intention. Whatever exactly that intention may be. Ironically, sexism forces Sarella into a masculine role, as well. But it is a deliberate mask, elegantly worn. Freely worn. Unlike Obara's struggle.

The character in whom I see most parallels with Obara Sand is Jon Snow in his current iteration.

Ned, well-meaning though he may have been, robbed Jon of half of his identity and left him with an image that is considered tainted by the world around him. His mother is as inaccassible as Obara’s mother, emotionally, though for different reasons. Their father’s choices left both of them emotionally crippled to a degree. One mother was erased by silence, rendered invisible. The other, worse, was erased by violent and verbal degradation.

Consequently, it is Obara we see the most seemingly “unhinged”, when she is introduced, the most overtly violent, the most “unfeminine”. This is not an expression of personal taste, nor a handy mask. It is a grim adherence to the choice she was offered.

She is almost thirty, and came to Dorne almost two decades earlier, well before Elia’s murder.

"It has been twenty years, or near enough to make no matter.” (AFFC, The Captain of Guards)

She was somewhere between Sansa’s and Arya’s current age when Elia was killed. Does she perceive the contradiction in Oberyn living for vengeance for Elia, when he treated her own mother not so very very differently? He did not kill her truly, but he erased her just the same, with a violent contempt. A "weak woman", with only tears for weapons, her child ripped from her.

If Obara sees it, she is not letting on. She craves violence. She craves an expression of power to put something where tears might have their place. The way she was taught.

Of course, it would be boring if that is where it was truly headed. Much like Aegon and Jon, much also like Asha Greyjoy who adapted to an extremely male-dominated society, Obara would probably benefit from turning away from her father's looming shadow to a certain degree. I have some hope that GRRM will make room to explore it.

Obara is given a quest of justice and distraction: Darkstar. "Beard him in his den", as Arianne travels to "beard the dragon".

Your Speculation here (by @sayruq) is extremely interesting, placing Obara in the line of defense of peaceful children at the watergardens. The same children she had dismissed earlier, like the child she was not allowed to be. Wielding that spear not for vengeance or self-glorification but in the way it should be wielded: to defend those soft weak things that are precious.

I really hope this is where it's headed, and I really hope she will find her peace in that role.

[queenaryastark]

George RR Martin: dragons are weapons of mass destruction, they're symbols of destruction and not of rebuilding, it's why the targaryens lost their power because their rule was built on fear and when the dragons died it only took a small spark to cause a rebellion, daenerys should read fire and blood so she can learn how not to use dragons daenerys herself: dragons plant no trees, If they are monsters than so am I Yall: i cant read suddenly i dont know

LMAO! I can’t even call that paraphrasing since this jumble of out of context gibberish completely misinterprets GRRM’s words and intent. 

First off, no one said dragons weren’t weapons of mass destruction. Them being powerful weapons is pretty obvious. Them being weapons does not erase the violence and cruelty of characters who do not have them. The mass destruction the Starks and Lannisters have wrought against the Riverlands and Westerlands was done without the aid of dragons. So was the mass destruction the Greyjoys and Boltons wrought on the North. The Tyrells were able to commit mass murder by cutting off food supplies, which led to mass starvation, which was their specific intent. 

Dragons are dangerous. Obviously. So are people, as George R. R. Martin goes out of his way to tell us in every chapter of his work. The man literally depicts Robb, Stannis, Balon, and Joffrey as equally as violent toward the common people and the land of Westeros. He even gives Dany this metaphoric image of the four of them:

“In one room, a beautiful woman sprawled naked on the floor while four little men crawled over her. They had rattish pointed faces and tiny pink hands, like the servitor who had brought her the glass of shade. One was pumping between her thighs. Another savaged her breasts, worrying at the nipples with his wet red mouth, tearing and chewing.” -- A Clash Of Kings

And that is far from the only time he frames them in an equally negative light given their level of mass destruction.

when the dragons died it only took a small spark to cause a rebellion, daenerys should read fire and blood so she can learn how not to use dragons

You think Dany should read Fire and Blood? I agree. I hope she gets a copy once she arrives to save Westeros from the warlords, opportunistic politicians, and the Others. Though you should probably try to find someone who can read it to you and explain what all the big words mean. If you look in that book, you will see that the Targaryens became extremely popular and loved. They decreased the amount of war and destruction, they streamlined the laws, they established roads, and they removed a couple of the abuses that were the norm. They were far from perfect. But in that imperfection, Dany could learn from them too. 

As for a “small spark” causing a rebellion as soon as they didn’t have dragons... *sighs* If you don’t know about a topic, that’s fine. Not everyone can be an expert on every topic. But you Sansa stans (yes I know you’re a Sansa stan and you probably have that hideous image of ST with her trademark vacant expression and that ugly ferret crown as your icon) should actually fact check yourselves before trying and failing to present yourselves as an authority on anything. The last dragon died in 153 AC. The Targaryens were overthrown in 283 AC. Even before 153 AC, the dragons that lived either weren’t under their control, were pretty young, or were deformed. In other words, they continued to rule Westeros without dragons for a significant amount of time. In that time, not only did they rule, but they were able to bring Dorne into the realm peacefully. 

Even the wars they had were far fewer than the amount of constant wars that happened while the kingdoms were separate. The Blackfyre Rebellions were sparked by Westerosi racism and xenophobia against the Dornish, as well as the greed and opportunism from the Andal/First Men supporters of the Blackfyre claimant. Notice how in those rebellions the people of Westeros supported either the Targaryens or the Targaryen blooded Blackfyres? No matter which side the lords took, they were supporting a Targaryen because they support that family. Like in real life civil wars, they just supported different members of that same royal line. It wasn’t because they feared them. They wanted their rule. They just wanted the rule of a specific claimant over another based on their own values or what they thought they could gain from a change in Targaryen leadership.

Even with the Baratheon rebellions, they were still Targaryen blooded claimants. With Lyonel Baratheon, he felt his family was insulted when an engagement between the crown prince and his daughter was broken so the prince could marry a peasant. This might seem like a “small spark”, but this would have been considered hugely offensive by the classist nobility. Note how this rebellion was resolved incredibly easily to the point where I don’t even think it warrants being labeled an actual rebellion. It seems more like it was set up for the next Baratheon rebellion since it resulted in that House gaining even more Targaryen blood than it already had. That’s the thing, the nobility wanted their children to marry Targaryens. Doesn’t sound very fearful, does it?

Robert’s Rebellion wasn’t set off by a “small spark”. The kidnapping and rape of the Lord of Winterfell’s daughter and the betrothed of the Lord of Storm’s End is not insignificant. It also didn’t set off the rebellion. The murders of multiple lords and their heirs is also not a small thing. It didn’t set off the rebellion either. What set it off was the combination of those two events with the demand for the executions of the new Lord of Winterfell and the Lord of Storm’s End. Those events taken separately are not small sparks and they certainly aren’t small when put together. It took something HUGE to make a big part of the realm turn on the Targaryens. Even still, the rebels were in the minority since most of the other regions either stayed out of the conflict waiting to see how it played out or stayed loyal to the Targaryens. If Tywin had continued to stay out of the conflict, the Rebellion could have lasted indefinitely with either side winning since the Crown’s forces outnumbered them and occupied the Stormlands. 

You also seem to miss the fact that quite a few people in Westeros are still Targaryen Loyalists and want to restore them to the throne. You even miss the fact that Robert, Joffrey, and Tommen’s claim comes from their Targaryen blood. 

So no, the Targaryen rule was not based purely on fear. They clearly retained loyalty and love without the benefit of dragons as weapons.

daenerys herself: dragons plant no trees, If they are monsters than so am I

It’s funny how you can try to quote the book while having no understanding of the passage you’re quoting. Here’s the paragraph you’re referring to:

Mother of dragons, Daenerys thought.Mother of monsters. What have I unleashed upon the world? A queen I am, but my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. Without dragons, how could she hope to hold Meereen, much less win back Westeros?I am the blood of the dragon, she thought.If they are monsters, so am I. -- ADWD

This takes place in Dany’s second chapter of A Dance With Dragons after she has captured and chained two of her dragons and failed to capture the third. Why is she trying to chain them? Because Drogon killed one (1) child. That’s right. Not only is Dany compensating the people for the sheep her dragons were eating. She has no tolerance for them killing innocents. The quote above is not her glorying in the destructive power of the dragons. Nor is she going around without an ounce of guilt for terrorizing, maiming, and murdering innocents the way Robb, Balon, Stannis, Joffrey, Tyrion, Cersei, and every other leader in Westeros does. That is what this passage is PROVING. Seriously, using the “If they are monsters, so am I” quote is proving that Dany has guilt over the life her dragon has taken and that she has taken steps to prevent that from happening again. Compare that to Tyrion’s complete lack of care when it comes to the mass murder his family is causing:

"A lordling down from the Trident, says your father's men burned his keep, raped his wife, and killed all his peasants."

"I believe they call that war." -- Tyrion, ACOK

While Dany is trying to preserve lives, the mass murdering leaders of Westeros see murder and rape as the norm and completely acceptable. Even the noble Robb Stark tried to move the carnage that he and Tywin were inflicting on the Riverlands into the Westerlands and was upset that his plan to do so was partly thwarted by Edmure. His issue wasn’t with the common people suffering and dying. He just wanted the suffering and dying to happen to the common people of the Westerlands (the ones who hadn’t been forced into service as arrow fodder by the Lannisters yet) instead. Yet, you’re trying to use Dany’s guilt at one (1) child being killed by her dragon as proof of...something?

As for Dany not planting trees, yes, she fears that’s something Targaryens can’t do. But the text shows that her ancestors could and did. Dany is also planting trees in ADWD and was in the process of making Vaes Tolorro bloom in ACOK before she was invited to Qarth. The Golden Company (who wants to put her and Aegon on the Iron Throne as a pair) are even upset because they think she’s only interested in planting trees in Meereen.

When analyzing a literary work you have to understand that what the characters fear and the guilt they feel are not signs of their permanent situations. They’re signs of their internal obstacles that will be overcome in their arcs. Dany fears her dragons and fears herself and fears that she won’t be able to achieve peace and positive societal growth. Its good that she fears these things because this shows she acknowledges these issues so they can be overcome. The current Westeros leadership don’t see the issue in their mass murdering, which is an issue all on it’s own. 

Its alright if this series is above your comprehension level. There are books out there for you to read that are better suited for your capabilities, like Hop on Pop or Green Eggs and Ham. It’s probably best if you stick to those.

[sunshineweb]

Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021

There are 24 Life Insurance companies in India. Among those 24 companies, which one we can choose to buy the term life insurance? Let me share with you my Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021.

Majority of us who are looking for term life insurance always try to concentrate on the claim settlement ratio as a first indicator. However, what are the other things we have to consider while buying term life insurance?

What is Term Life Insurance?

Term Insurance is the type of Life Insurance. If death occurs of the policyholder during the policy period, then his/her nominee will receive the Sum Assured selected. If the policyholder survives till the end of the policy period, then he/she will not receive any maturity amount.

This is the reason, these policies cost you very less and cover a large amount of life risk. This is the PURE LIFE INSURANCE. Hence, anyone who has financial dependents must buy this product immediately.

However, nowadays there are so many variants in Term Life Insurance. For example, the return of premium, Term Life Insurance up to 100 years of age, a variety of riders, and a variety of claim payable options.

But instead of complicating your dependents, buy simple plain term life insurance. Why you complicate your dependents when you are buying this is that this product’s benefit will come into the picture when you are not here.

What are the advantages of online Term Insurance Plans?

Nowadays all Life Insurance companies offer you online term insurance plans. The advantages of online term plans are as below.

# It is convenient to buy as with the click of a button you can buy it.

# As there will not be any middlemen involved, the price is cheap than offline term insurance plans.

# You fill the proposal form on your own. Hence, an error of margin is LESS.

# Undue influence by agents is not there.

# Those who claim that online buying is RISKY as there are no middlemen involved are those who are representative of some companies and they may get a commission if you buy through them. Hence, they crease such stories.

Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021

Now let us discuss on what basis we can choose our Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021. Few pointers I will suggest which may help you in selecting your term life insurance.

# Claim Settlement Ratio

DON”T RELY ON THIS DATA. The reason is that it is raw data of all life insurance products a company is selling. It will not classify the death claim settlement ratio of term life insurance. This is the biggest reason why you must stay away from concentrating too much on this data.

However, if you are willing to know the current data, then you can refer to my latest post “IRDA Life Insurance Claim Settlement Ratio 2021“. Below are few latest reports from IRDA Annual Report.

As I pointed, few Life Insurance companies claim settlement ratio may be attractive. However, it is not an indication that they are settling your claims. Hence, don’t be get fooled by the claim settlement ratio. As a pointer to validate my saying, refer to the below image.

Notice the average claim settlement of LIC. It is the least compared to all others. This data itself shows that their claim settlement is mainly traditional plans.

However, if you are a fan of the claim settlement ratio, then it is left with you to decide which one to consider.

# Premium cost of Term Life Insurance plans

Even though whatever the features we look for, the premium is what we have to take into consideration while buying our term life insurance. I am not saying that the one which is offering at cheap is the best and at the same time the one which is offering at costly is worst. I mean to say that you have to balance between feature and price.

Hence, consider this point while buying your term life insurance. However, never choose the option like RETURN of PREMIUM. It is a waste feature that these insurers added you to lure while buying. Stay away from this return of premium.

# Features of Term Life Insurance

Term Life Insurance is the simplest product a life insurance company can offer you. However, if you look at the current products, I am sure that you will run away or get confused about which one to buy. Hence, rather than complicating your life, follow the below steps.

The ideal coverage should be around 15-20 times of your yearly income. Hence, buy accordingly. Term of the life insurance should be up to your working age. During your retirement age, Life Insurance is a WASTE product. Hence, don’t go for a term of up to 80 years or 100 years.

Never go for riders like accidental or critical illness. The main reason is that life insurance is required only for a limited period. However, accidental or critical illness insurance is required for you throughout your life. Also, if you buy these riders as a standalone product, then they may offer better features than these riders.

Stick to the yearly payment option rather than choosing monthly or limited payment. Few choose premium payment as monthly. However, these term life insurance products are high sum assured, a single default of premium may be converted to a lapsed of policy. To reinstate the same, life insurance companies may ask you to undergo a medical examination. Hence, to avoid such hassle, better to opt for a yearly premium. To accumulate the same, RD of a year is enough.

These are the main pointers when you look for plan features. Few more are listed at the end of this post which may help you in shortlisting a product.

# Age of the company

As Life Insurance is a long-term contract between you and the company, look for stable companies than the one where the management or takeover happening frequently or the newly entrant.

Go for stable and old companies. However, even if a new company shut its doors, it can’t run away from the responsibility. For a better understanding of this concept, read my post “What if your Insurance Company goes bankrupt?“.

List of Term Life Insruance products available in India

Now, let me share with you Term Life Insurance products available among all 24 companies.

LIC Jeevan Amar (Offline Plan)

LIC Tech Term (Online Plan)

HDFC Click2Protect Life

ICICI Pru iProtect Smart

Max Life Smart Term Plan

Max Life Term Plan with return of premium

Max Life Online Term Plan Plus

Kotak e-Term Plan

ABSLI Life Shield Plan

ABSLI Digishield Plan

Tata AIA Maha Raksha Supreme

Tata AIA Sampporna Raksha

Tata AIA Sampporna Raksha+

SBI Life eShield

SBI Life Poorna Suraksha

SBI Life Smart Shield

Exide Life Elite Term Life Insurance

Exide Life Smart Term Pro

Exide Life Smart Term Edge

Exide Life Term with Return of Premium Plan

Bajaj Allianz Life Smart Protect Goal

Bajaj Allianz Life eTouch Online Term

Bajaj Allianz iSecure

PNB Metlife Mera Term Plan Plus

PNB Metlife Mera Term Plan

PNB Metlife Aajeevan Suraksha Plan

Reliance Nippon Life Protection Plus

Reliance Nippon Life Digi-Term Insurance Plan

Aviva Lifeshield Advantage

Aviva Jana Suraksha

Shriram Life Smart Protection Plan

Shriram Life Smart Protection Plan SP

Shriram Life My Spouse Term Plan

Shriram Life Cash Back Term

Shriram Life Family Protection

Bharti Axa Flexi Term Plan

Bharti Axa Premium Protect Plan

Bharti Axa Smart Jeevan

Bharti Axa Income Protection Plan

Future Generali Flexi Online Term Plan

Future Generali Express Term Life Plan

Ageas Federal Life Insurance MyLife Protection Plan

Ageas Federal Life Insurance Income Protection Plan

Ageas Federal Life Insurance Termsurance Life Protection Insurance Plan

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance iSelect Star Term Plan

Aegon Life iTerm

Aegon Life iTerm Plus

Pramerica Life Trushield

Pramerica Life U-Protect

Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Life Abhay

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Guaranteed Protection Plan

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Life Plan

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Online Term Plan

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Zindagi Plus

You get confused right?? Yes, me too 🙂 This is a classic example know how the financial industry complicates your life. Term Life Insurance is a simple product. But in the mad rush to show that they are the BEST in the market, these life insurance companies are adding one by one feature to the product and made our LIFE COMPLICATED.

Then which one to buy? The answer is IRDAs recent initiative of standard Term Life Insurance called “SARAL JEEVAN BIMA YOJANA“.

It is a standard life insurance product with a standard feature. You can look into this product. However, the default maximum cover is Rs.25 Lakh (however insurers can offer you higher coverage also). Hence, if your opted life insurance company is offering Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana at higher coverage, then the best option is to choose it. Mainly because it is simple to understand and standard basic features are available with this product. Sharing with you the features of the same.

Let me now share my choice of Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021.

LICs Tech Term

HDFC Click2Protect Life

ICICI Pru iProtect Smart

Max Life Online Term Plan Plus

Aegon Life iTerm

Few points to consider while buying term insurance

# Never rely on Claim Settlement Ratio

Claim Settlement Ratio is raw data. This data will not give you enough picture of what type of products the insurance companies settled. Hence, relying too much on this single data and selecting a product is not a good idea.

# Quantum of Life Cover

Ideally one must have at least 15-20 times of your yearly income. This is the basic calculation.

# Fill the data properly

Sharing data especially materialistic information must be accurate. If you are unable to understand anything, then immediately contact Life Insurer for help. Understand the questions and fill them only when you know what you are filling.

# Never allow someone to take over your decision

Never budge on the decision which is against your wish. If you are fully comfortable, then only go ahead and buy.

# Term of the policy

Ideally, it should be up to your retirement age. Because you retire when you are financially free. Hence, Life Insurance is not required during your retirement age.

# Splitting of Term Insurance

There are few who are apprehensive of relying on a single insurer. Hence, they try to split among few. But in reality, there is no logic in splitting. What is the guarantee that all insurers will accept or reject the claim?

# Stay away from riders

Never combine Life Insurance with General Insurance requirements. You will get better-featured covers from general insurers regarding accidental and critical illness covers. Hence, simply avoid riders.

# Never heed the aggregators choice

Nowadays there are so many online aggregators. You may not know that they act exactly like insurance agents. Hence, never rely on their claim. Do your own research. If you are satisfied, then only go ahead and buy. Refer to my post about the same “Beware of Insurance Comparison portals in India“.

# Know about Sec.45 of Insurance Act

After the recent clarification about Sec.45 of the Insurance Act, the customer became king. It states “No policy of life insurance shall be called in question on any ground whatsoever after the expiry of three years from the date of the policy, i.e. from the date of issuance of the policy or the date of commencement of risk or the date of revival of the policy or the date of the rider to the policy, whichever is later.”

Refer the complete post at “Term Insurance-Claim Settlement Ratio no more a big criteria“.

# Review your life insurance cover

Buying Life Insurance of Rs.1 Cr or Rs.3 Cr is not a one-time affair. You must review your life insurance requirement at least once in 5 years. If required, then you must increase the sum assured.

# Be cautious with premium payment

In case of term insurance, you have to be very cautious when it comes to the premium payment. It is always better to opt for yearly premium payment and also if possible make it automated by the way of ECS. If policy lapses due to your negligence, then you have to undergo medical tests and all kinds of stuff once again. If there are any health issues, then the insurer may reject to renew the policy.

# Never go for Telemedical Examination

Recently one of my blog readers pointed that few Life Insurance companies insisting just Telemedical Examination by questioning about your health details on the phone (Refer-Can I buy Term Life Insurance with Telemedical Verification?).

It may be the easiest process for you and for life insurance companies. However, I feel suspicious of such kind of medical examination. Because in future insurance companies may find 100000 reasons to reject the claim on health ground.

Instead, I suggest you to go for a medical examination. This will really clear the dust or doubt in your mind about future claim settlement.

Final Note:-The list of “Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021” is my personal choice and comfort with insurance companies and by verifying features. However, it does not mean that my selection will be the UNIVERSAL selection.

Hence, if you have a different opinion from my selection, then it does not mean you are buying the wrong product. My only concern here is not to shortlist “Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021”, but to give the gyaan which you must take into consideration before you shortlist your term life insurance.

The post Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021 appeared first on BasuNivesh.

Top 5 Best Term Insurance Plans in India 2021 published first on https://mbploans.tumblr.com/

[dirtytransmasc]

The threat you are referring in alicent protect rhaenyra's post is a lie?

I think your talking about this post, specifically this - "until she made herself a threat to her children" - line, which, I will now explain, cause it isn't a lie.

I'm gonna tackle this in two parts, one where I give Rhaenyra and TB the benefit of the doubt and focus solely on the perspective Alicent had, as she's not an omniscient being like we as the viewer are (which honestly more than TB deserves but I digress). the second part is gonna be my hoenst opinion of Rhaanyra and TB and their actions.

firstly, Alicent's perspective; Alicent was in a tough position. she is the wife of a king who did not love her or her children, they went ignored by him, no matter what happened. she was also being manipulated by her father (and also larys, to a certain point, we don't see a lot of the two until later on, but you can't tell me he didn't have his own goals as well), who was feeding her the "lies" (debatable, I don't think they were, but I do think he told her to further himself, so like... exaggerated truths? misconstrued truths? truths with more to gain than just the truth? call them what you want) about the safety of her children, especially when it came to Rhaenyra.

now, Alicent denied these statements, she never saw Rhaenyra as a true threat to her children despite it all, despite her being favorited by Viserys, despite what her father said, despite how Rhaenyra treated her (lying to her face, using her forgiveness and optimism against her, etc.), she never believed it. sure she was pissed that Rhaenyra had 3 bastards, but even then, she didn't see her as a threat.

but when her child was maimed and was then the one who was sought to face punishment instead of Luke over an insult (Rhaenyra calling for him to sharply questioned, Viserys pointing his anger towards Aemond and then Aegon, etc.) and Viserys backing this, then calling for the situation to be essentially ignored, while Aemond was given a life altering, potentially mortal if not fatal wound (cause any wound back then was no joke, especially an eye wound, the chance of him dying to infection can't be ignored).

the way they (Alicent and her children) where treated that night made all those claims from her father seem way more true, it brought them to life. Rhaenyra and her children could seemingly do whatever they wanted and Viserys would protect her. Rhaenyra lived on a high horse and would most likely not hold back once it came to her taking the throne after her fathers death.

this is only futhered by the suspicious/odd deaths of Laena and Laenor (Laena being denied her home, Laenor's "death" being shrouded in conspiracy, followed directly by Rhaenyra and Daemon being married and rushing off to dragonstone in less than a months time. it rightfully smelled fishy as all hell) and the murder of Ser Vaemond at the petition. it just didn't help Rhaenyra and TB's image.

this is all Alicent can see, she isn't like us viewers, she only knows what Rhaenyra showed her, and she never showed herself to be caring for her siblings, that she could be true to her word, that she could be anything other than self serving.

is this objectively true, no, sorta, if I'm to be as unbiased as possible. maybe she would have spared them, maybe she would find ways to keep them from endangering her claim. but Alicent was never shown that, not once, she had every right to worry for her children's safety after everything she saw and went through at Rhaenyra's hands.

now in my opinion, I think all of the above is justification enough for her distrust, but I think my distrust in Alicent's children being safe when Rhaenyra ascends comes much less from Rhaenyra herself, but in her inability to keep Daemon on a leash. now, is this less rhaenyra's fault, yes, though she's not completely off the hook in my mind, but again, from Alicent's perspective, she can't know that what Daemon is and isn't ordered to do, she has no idea how the inner workings of TB works.

I think Rhaenyra herself was a threat to those kids, she could never ascend with other male heirs alive (this has nothing to do with my belief as to whether or not she deserved to sit the throne, thats just a fact of the world they lived in), those heirs being Aegon, Aemond, Jaehaerys, and Maelor (not in that order, but succession politics make my head hurt, so I'm not gonna bother trying to put them in line order). for her to successfully ascend, they would have to be dealt with, in one way or another, and I can't see any of them taking the knee after how they were treated by her and their father (they are angry at her, like any neglected child, for being the favorite. Aegon might have, prior to B&C, but only if Aemond took it as well, and their was no chance in hell he would after having his eye taken by her child and then receiving no compensation for it. Aegon would have stayed loyal to his brother and Helaena would follow).

whether she killed them or not is another thing, I don't think Rhaenyra is entirely cold blooded enough to do that, I do think she would potentially ask Daemon to handle it, and whether she meant to have them killed or not, he would take pleasure in killing the Hightower kids, out of pure hatred for them. but I doubt he'd have to be told, hell, I think he would go against a direct order not to.

so whether or not Rhaenyra was a threat or not, if TB was the threat or not, etc. Alicent had no way to see them as anything but. Rhaenyra made an image and impression of herself to the kingdoms, to the court, and to Alicent herself, and she had to protect her children. like any mother, she would rather label Rhaenyra a threat and be over cautious, then be wrong and have harm come to her children.

[lemonhemlock]

People act like parent-child relationships are super simple when Alicent is involved.

1) Otto:

Bit of a tangent but in my country (Spith Africa) when you're in grade 9 you u choose your subjects for grade 10 and maths is a must however you can choose which maths uore doing maths literacy or maths core. People who arent the best at maths should do maths literacy but you come across do many who choose maths core and other subjects they hate/have extreme difficulty with/zero interest in because of parental influence. They don't want to disappoint their parents and go against their wishes.

Now back to the show Otto tells Alicent to endear herself to Viserys in order to become queen. Otto is her father, ultimately he has a say in who she marries. She lives with him. We also see she struggles with anxiety. How exactly will she stand up to him in an epic girl boss move, in a medieval setting, when people these days struggle to do so with their own parents. It's not easy to go against your parents wishes and its especially not easy to disappoint them. What would Otto have done if she refused? If he was willing to pimp her out yo a man old enough to be her father, who basically killed his first wife would he sell her to a Ramsay Bolton type if it benefited him? Better the devil you know right?

2) her children.

Alicent was a child herself when she was forced to have them. She had to grow up fast and we see her struggle with anxiety and PPD, she has little to no support system around. The servants are there to assist but its their job. She has no one to looking out for her mental wellbeing. She is isolated and trapped in a golden cage by a dragon.

With Aegon she struggles with him because he shirks his duties and doesn't take anything seriously when his situation is a matter of life and death. She is scared for him and the others but he doesn't get it. People were calling Ned an idiot for nor securing his family's safety before working against Cersei but when Alicent does exactly that she's an awful mom.

When she tells Aegon he is not her son she is struggling to reconcile the image of her little that she raised on her own, the boy she tried to impart wisdom on with someone who would commit a monstrous act, something his (absent) father did to her. But she still loves him. She might not always like him but she was willing to stand between him and a literal dragon. Everything she has done has been for him and his siblings.

Helaena

One thing I find interesting and tragic about this relationship is that Alicent's main love languagea are acts of service and physical touch.(acts of service is her trying to keep the family together and securing peoples positions and safety. Physical touch in moments where words have failed her) She used it Rhaenrya alot when they were younger and she tries to use it on her children. Helaena has a touch aversion so we see her pulling away from her touch. (Which is why thstvone scene they actually hug is so beautiful)

Alicent nevertheless tries a different method, whole spending time together she asks Helaena about bugs. Yes she looks bored because the topic doesn't interest her but she is trying to engage with her(as someone who hyperfixtates then infodumps, this is enough. "Thank you for letting me vent about this even if you don't care about it" cause it shows that you at the care about me)

Aemond is her dutiful son who does his absolute best. She was distraught when he lost an eye and we see him return her physical gestures when she needs comfort.

Her love for her children is unconditional. She would do anything for them no matter what. She's not a perfect mom, but what parent is 100% perfect, but for a single teen mother of three, whose children's lives are constantly at stake she has done a damn good job.

Thank for furthering the Alicent agenda, chaotic coffee queen. We need brave soldiers out there fighting on the frontlines!

I agree with everything you said above. People have so much energy for hating Alicent as a mother, yet so very little for hating Viserys as a father. He is a footnote in his own family, yet viewers act as if his negligence couldn't possibly amount to behavioural issues in his own children or that Alicent should have somehow made up for it. As if anyone could erase parental abandonment.

One thing I find interesting and tragic about this relationship is that Alicent's main love languagea are acts of service and physical touch.(acts of service is her trying to keep the family together and securing peoples positions and safety. Physical touch in moments where words have failed her)

^^^ This. Alicent is bone-weary and has trouble expressing her emotions, especially in a way that gets through to her children. Each of them is so different from the other and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the other. It's hard for her to calibrate her strategies to perfectly tailor every member of her family, as she doesn't have access to the kind of resources we now have for child development.

[horizon-verizon]

I love when people say the maesters lied and made Alicent look evil in the book. The maesters, founded and sponsored by the Hightowers, and located in Oldtown ???? Also isn't it the point ? It's from the maesters’ POV so describing Alicent as an agent of patriarchy, traditionalist misogynist, and religious fanatic is actually them honoring her. They consider her an example of how a woman should be.

Yes. From how many times Gyldayn sought to write and include how fat and unattractive Rhaenyra was at least 2x -- once with Eustace saying she ate a lot of lamprey pie as if somehow that matters & once saying that she would have hated Alicent just for their contrasting body shapes; the Shepherd’s suspicious background; all the times the sources and Gyldayn spend way too much time and focus on Rhaenyra’s sexual activities in comparison to any other woman in the Keep (her and Daemon, her and Criston, her and Mushroom, her and Laenor/Qarl Correy or Harwin); how Gyldayn allows the emphasis of how Aegon II’s terms to Rhaenyra fair with no contestation of Rhaenyra’s perspective and just her words (what, Gerardys’s words weren’t available? Where are his diary entries, notes, books, or whatever?!).

As the born royal and heir, Rhaenyra would be scrutinized, but the level of scrutiny she receives can’t be separated from how her gender makes other perceive her as undeserving or inappropriate for the throne. And who does that benefit the most? Alicent/the greens then, and the present Hightowers and their overall image now.

While there are two quick mentions of Alicent’s trouble with female chastity -- one where there was court speculation of her virginity being intact before marrying Viserys, and the other the rumors of the Brothel Queens -- they’re also quickly made to be irrelevant in comparison to Rhaenyra. 

Alicent’s daughter, Helaena is objectified and her death is used as a weapon while also gaining a bogus sense of sexual and moral purity to use against Rhaenyra (the Shepherd) with little contest from people around Rhaenyra or reported by Gyldayn, then or now.

We remember that historical medieval writers especially wrote misogynistically often and would do much speculation than fair reasoning  (by poorshadowspaintedqueens).

*EDIT* (8/21/23):

THIS is a great post by @mononijikayu about medieval queens, female rulers, the history of how women in leadership positions were made and seen as threats to the very structure of social "order", and contextualizing Rhaenyra thru Empress Matilda. I didn't even know about Matilda's husband being comparable to Rhaneyra's Daemon! PLZ READ!!!!

Excerpt:

just as much, along with these fictitious portrayals, more lies are depicted. these women are considered vixens that cause havoc to men by shifting them into desires and danger. through the written word, we see how women are cast in roles of villains in men’s lives. it is because by their conclusive thoughts, women are the only creatures that are able to turn ‘good honorable men’ into despicable creatures who do shameful, deplorable acts for the sake of women’s pleasures.  it is within this narrative that ancient chroniclers declare that women were in fact the doom of men. if they were not able to control the dangers posed by the wiles of women, then the foundations of the mighty society they had built would be up in flames.  [...] as i mentioned, these factors of community are written down and preserved. and with that, the example of the ancients were the foundations by which medieval society built itself. the same concepts continued to cause the same issue within society and that was the exclusion of women from participating in the bigger picture of community and state, much so with governing states in their own right—without judgment or disapproval.