Latest Posts by a0random0gal - Page 6

"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 no son of hers. 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.

Imagine the outrage that would've transpired **If** Renly treated Brienne like the way Rhaenyra treated Criston.

Thinking about ships for Daeron when he does show up (please god let Daeron be real). These are my top two options right now, Baela Targaryen and Nettles

For Baela, they have the same appeal that Aemond x Rhaena has for me. Star crossed loves on the different sides of the battle field. You also have Baela as the heir and ruler of Driftmark and Daeron being her malewife supporter who defends her right to her home over anyone else.

For Nettles, they kind of have the same star cross lovers thing but more like the Prince falls for the enemy general kind thing. Also Daeron being super bashful and shy around Nettles because she’s very outgoing and a little crass. Also Daeron asking Nettles which targaryen she’s related to and her saying she’s not related to any targaryen and he’s just like, “you approached a dragon, without being part targaryen, and got it to bond to you? You’re so fucking cool”. Also I love the idea of Alicent wanting Daeron to marry for love and her and him having secret weddings with their chosen person (Criston for Alicent cause I’m a filthy Alicole shipper). Also k like Nettels being with someone her own age and not a creepy old man.

Hope we get some nice ship material for Daeron! Hope we get Daeron

I hate that man I hate him so much

Vaemond deserves so much better than to have his house stolen from him like this

He deserved to be heard not unhonorably executed

He was murdered and his Muderer got away with it

Daemon is fucking EVIL

He is not a protective hubby

He is not a great step-dad

He is a racist and a murderer

And he deserves to die like the bitch he is

I really don't understand the writer's reasoning for race swapping the Velaryon's, when every Velaryon is mistreated or cast aside by the all white Targaryen's. Literally everyone of them.

• Corlys - Is apparently so selfish he's willing to disregard all of his blood related family to put a white boy that is no relation to him on his ancestral seat just because he carries his last name? Even though there's plenty of other actual Velaryon's that carry the Velaryon name.

• Vaemond - Gets murdered for telling the truth, and not wanting Driftmark to go to someone who isn't a true Velaryon. I think they only added him calling Rhaenyra a whore after calling her son's bastards to try and make his death justifiable, as if calling someone a bad name = off with his head.

• Laena - Is married to Daemon but knows that she isn't his first choice, and if he had his way he'd be with his (white) niece. Is stuck by his side in Pentos even though he knows she wants to return home. Supposedly dies a *badass* dragon rider death, but I just saw a pregnant black woman dying in agony. Like that doesn't already happen in real life when black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth.

• Laenor - The cuckold of all cuckolds. In almost every scene of adult Laenor he's completely miserable. And apparently he too is willing to disregard all his trueborn family to put a white boy that isn't his on the Driftmark throne. And I don't find Rhaenyra to be some great LGBTQ ally by "letting" Laenor run away and permanently leave his home and family behind so he can be with his partner and she can remarry.

• Baela and Rhaena - Have actual Velaryon blood through their mother, get passed over so another white boy can get something he has no entitlement too. Baela would have had a slim chance of ending up queen because even if Rhaenyra became queen, the lords of Westeros would have been very unlikely to accept an illegitimate son as her heir. Rhaena could become lady of Driftmark but only as a consort through Luke, meaning if he died her claim to Driftmark would die with him.

I'm all for diversity and representation, but was the family who consistently gets walked all over the best choice to make POC?

I think they were aiming for liberal and inclusive, but that doesn't really work when your white characters use and exploit the black characters you've purposely made black.

MEAN GIRLS (2004) dir. Mark Waters

Shipping in Asoiaf and hotd be like:

👏👏👏

i don't really get how harwin won over criston in terms of quality of life.

criston, born a dornish stewards son, uses his talents to rise up in the world of knights and participates in many tourneys . after winning a fight with a prince, he is given a position in the kings guard. as a sworn celibate, he is put into an uncomfortable position when the crown princess attempts to have sex with him. he refuses at first, but they end up sleeping together- despite his protests- anyways. i guess the writers didn't learn anything from game of thrones and their questionable views on consent. he then later suggests that they marry and run away together so that he can preserve his honour. she tells him that he can remain a side piece, but that nothing will ever properly come of their relationship. not wanting that life, criston makes the decision to walk away. eventually the guilt over breaking his celibacy vows pushes him to attempt suicide. the queen catches him right before he stabs himself, and decides to appoint him to position of her sworn protector and shield. he forms a close bond with her and becomes like a second (or, well, a first considering viserys didnt do anything) father to her sons. he stays loyally by her side and trains her children in arms.

harwin, on the other hand, is born the son of the lord of harrenhal. being the first born male, he is heir to his homelands and set to inherit significant wealth. when we first meet him, he seems to have an interest in the princess. in a time jump, we find out that they have been sleeping together for many years and that they also have two sons. their children take after him and are viewed as obvious bastards by pretty much everyone but his boys (the catch on eventually). he has to watch another man raise his children while pretending to be nothing more than their trainer. his father is ashamed of the way he looks down upon low born people that have worked for the titles that he was handed at birth. at almost forty, he is still unmarried, depite being heir to a significant position. his younger brother murders him and his father in a brutal and horrific manner. he dies knowing that he'll never be able to tell his kids that he's their biological dad.

how on earth did criston miss out by not staying with rhaenerya???

I'm thinking of the incredibly vital role Rhaenyra was given after her mother died, becoming the first ever female heir to the iron throne.

How revolutionary this was, and what an opportunity it presented for all women in Westeros (outside of Dorne).

How the sexist society she lived in was less than pleased of this title and how happy it would have been to strip her of it. And how easy Rhaenyra made it for them to do so.

She knew the importance of the title she bore, she knew that every noble man in the continent would look for anything to discredit her because of mysogyny, she knew that how she behaved would determine whether or not women would ever be considered capable of taking the weight of the crown and rule.

And she completely fumbled the bag by:

Being extremely rude and bratty to all of her suitors, refusing her arranged marriage, obviously cheating of her husband and claiming her bastards were true born, murdering said husband so she could marry her uncle (who has a terrible reputation) days after his own wife's death.

What was she thinking?

Didn't she even bother to wonder what the realm would think of her unlawful actions?

She literally proved the sexist society right, by being the most scandalous princess she could be, and that only solidified in the minds of everyone in Westeros that if you put a woman in a position of power she's gonna abuse it to do whatever she wants.

The girlboss black queen is the reason why no other Targaryen woman ever sat the iron throne after her, as her scandals and treachery turned the population against the mere though of a female ruler, in fear of having a new "Maegor with teats".

Yes lmao I just remembered the Tyrion one is from Got ahahah

Yess

targs can excuse a grown man like rhaegar abandoning his wife and kids to pursuit a 14 years old in the name of "true love" and prophecy, but they draw the line of a teenage jace falling in love with someone else when he wasn't even a married man with kids.

Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship not only embodies what a grooming relationship looks like but also with how it progresses once the minor grows up. Not every person who was groomed is going to admit that it happened to them because it make the situation so much more real. And sometimes the person who was groomed doesn’t even realize that it happened to them until years down the line.

And the saddest part about their relationship and people who are in similar relationships in real life almost always go back. Because that person has been with them through their entire life and has quite literally seen them through thick and thin(even if the abuser was the cause behind it all) and it make the victim believe that the abuser could never be a bad person. We see that when Daemon celebrates Aemma and Baelon’s death by toasting Nyra’s brother as, “Heir for a day.”

Then Daemon goes on to steal the egg she chose for her brother and effectively take over Dragonstone-the castle of which she is now Princess of. And when he comes back to court after being away for four years at war she just forgives him since he’s the only person she has left at court. Even years later, when Harwin and Laena are both dead and Laenor is becoming increasingly depressed because of his sister’s death, Rhaenyra goes back to Daemon because she’s associated him with a relying hand who can help her at court.

She’s so convinced that he’s only looking after her to the point that when he starts an affair with teenage Nettles, all Rhaenyra thinks is that it must have been Nettles who ‘lured’ Daemon into her bed and sends word that she wants Nettles killed.

"It's not a king who sits the Iron Throne these days, good sister. It's a queen."

"If the king will not seek justice, the queen will."

"What have I done but what was expected of me? Forever upholding the kingdom, the family, the law. Where is duty? Where is sacrifice?"

"The beacon on the Hightower, do you know what color it glows when Oldtown calls its banners to war?"

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON APPRECIATION WEEK 2023

Day 3 — favorite quote(s)

"She also lost the privilege of being her friend when she married her father a short while after Aemma died."

Please tell me you're not blaming a 14 year old girl for being sent by her dad against her will to spend time with Viserys. The fault for that marriage is all on the king for willingly marrying his daughter's friend and on Otto for pushing his child into a marriage she didn't want to satiate his own ambition.

My god the victim blaming is this fandom is ridiculous.

Also Nyra literally slept with Daemon the day of Laena's funeral☠️

Do you know what infuriates me the most about Rhaenyra?

No, it's not her entitlement, her spoiled princess behavior and surprisingly not even her insufferable stans.

It's her complete lack of action after she marries Daemon. She finds herself in a situation where her father's health is declining at a steady pace and is as such incapable of ruling and in need of a regency. This is her big moment right? Historically when an old king/queen needed a regent their heir always stepped up to fulfill that role, to start taking the crown and testing the waters while their parent was still alive and show the council, the nobles and the people what kind of ruler they were going to be after their mom/dad died.

But not Rhaenyra. Who loved to talk about the things she was going to do after becoming queen, who loved to remind everyone that she was still the heir in spite of Aegon's birth.

This is her occasion, her opportunity to take power and start ruling, to hold her first meeting with the small council, to begin making allies at court and establish her authority and gain respect as future queen.

But no for some reason she decides to fuck off to Dragonstone and leave all the politics, all the big decisions and royal duties to the greens.

And after that not only has the audacity to complain that Alicent and Otto are the real power behind the feeble Viserys, but to get mad after being "usurped".

Like girl you literally handed them the chance to dismiss you and crown Aegon in your place on a silver plate, you don't have the right to react like this, cause unlike you they can actually recognize an opportunity and seize it lmao.

Rhaenyra v Cersei: Battle of the Bastards

Lo' and behold, looks like I'm not done with bastardposting after all. For this piece, I would like to compare and contrast the two main situations that the general public has been exposed as far as the issue of illegitimate children is concerned within the ASOIAF-verse: Rhaenyra v Cersei.

The parallels are obvious. Rhaenyra has three bastard children, Cersei has three bastard children. Let's see how they handle it.

Rules

According to Westerosi law, bastards can't inherit. It doesn't matter if they're the husband's or the wife's, the King's or the Queen's. Children born out of wedlock to any spouse are explicitly excluded from the line of succession.

Only the King can legitimise bastards via a royal decree. Enough of these "Roose legitimized Ramsay" lies. It's patently untrue. Tommen legitimized Ramsay.

In order to be legitimised, the children in question first have to be declared bastards. You cannot legitimize trueborn children. You cannot secretly legitimise bastards. "Viserys claimed Rhaenyra's children were trueborn, ergo he implicitly legitimised them." No, he didn't. He never admitted they were bastards.

Why does this matter? Because it is unclear where legitimised bastards fall in the line of succession. If they maintain their place by birth order or if they are relegated to the back of the line, behind any and all other trueborn claimants.

There are no genetic tests available in Westeros. People have to prove adultery or rely on common sense.

1. Cersei has a distinct advantage over Rhaenyra, since her children look like her. She can very easily argue that they favour her, as their mother, and this is exactly what everyone believes for years, including Robert. Since Jaime is the male version of Cersei, Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella can look like no else. Catelyn's kids look like Catelyn and no one bats an eye. Only Arya and (to Catelyn's irritation) Jon look like Ned. However, Ned doesn't ever doubt his children are not his.

Rhaenyra's kids look nothing like Rhaenyra and nothing like Laenor. They, instead, share distinct physical traits with her sworn shield, a man seen very often in her presence. People are not idiots. There is no plausible deniability here. You can bet your bottom dollar that if Cersei's kids were, say, Dornish-looking, people would be calling her out for her bullshit.

There is a way you can reasonably get away with passing over your bastards as someone else's, but that is 100% not Rhaenyra's way. This is why Cersei is chilling in the Red Keep, living her best bad bitch life, while Rhaenyra is running away to Dragonstone when the rumours are nipping at her heels. They are not the same. There are no paternity rumours to quell Cersei's girlboss vibes. She is sly enough that even Robert is convinced he inseminated her (gross).

2. I'm not going to get into the intricacies of Ned Stark's Scooby-Doo, Hercule Poirot mystery plot of unraveling Cersei's misdeeds. Ned has his own beef with the Lannisters and is convinced they are up to no good. He investigates them like the meddling kid he is and comes away with a suspicion. He knows nothing (heh) for certain until Cersei verbally confirms it for him. yOuR bRoThEr Or YoUr lOvEr. boo!

Had Ned not been on the Lannister trail from the very beginning, a fair assumption can be made that he never even would have suspected anything untoward. He never questions the children's paternity when they visit in Winterfell.

Again, this is distinctly different from Rhaenyra's situation. No one believes Cersei's children are bastards,* whereas no one believes Rhaenyra's children are trueborn. Pretending otherwise is very, very strange.

*at the beginning of AGOT, at least

3. Robert claimed Joffrey all his life and specifically named him his son and heir in his will, under dictation, to Ned. In turn, Ned deliberately changed Robert's words and wrote them down as "my rightful heir".

This is a parallel to show!Alicent, who misunderstands Viserys' dying words and him naming his son Aegon as heir. If Alicent didn't have the right to muddle the King's meaning, then neither did Ned. However, no one in their right minds is arguing that Ned is a traitor to the Crown. I wonder why is that?

I have already pointed out the circular logic in arguing that Robert only said that because he didn't know the children weren't his.

4. So what does this mean? Can anyone just accuse anyone they don't like of being a bastard and, thus, endanger that person's entire social status?

No, of course not. But, unfortunately for Cersei, Ned and Stannis aren't just some randos in a tavern. Ned is the Hand of the King. Stannis is Lord of Dragonstone and on the Small Council. These two men have a stalwart reputation and are renowned for their obsession with justice, duty and, in Ned's case, honour.

If Ned Stark stands in front of the Iron Throne and proclaims Joffrey a bastard, risks his daughters' lives and literally ends up losing his head as a result of this,

if Stannis Baratheon sends letters throughout the realm claiming Cersei's children are illegitimate,

the people of Westeros are going to pay attention.

These two very important men using their public platform to denounce Joffrey and starting wars over this? Say what you will about them, but they are not oathbreakers and they are not liars. No, they don't come with DNA tests, but for a lot of Westerosi, this is enough. They believe it.

Is this foolproof? No, of course not! But it convinces enough people that they are willing to band together to support rival claimants to the throne, thus igniting the War of the Five Kings. Speaking of political headaches, this is a huge one!

That being said, while Cersei is playing in the Champions League, Rhaenyra is fighting for her life in the relegation zone. She doesn't even need a Ned or a Stannis to cast doubt on her because no one believes her kids are not bastards.

Moreover, Vaemond obviously parallels Ned in this story. He tells the truth in open court and loses his head for it. In the show, Daemon and Viserys play the same role as Joffrey. In the texts, Rhaenyra and Daemon are stand-ins for Joffrey. This is not meant to be a triumphant moment of girlbossery. This is an abuse of power and an act of terror.

All in all, I'm sorry to say, but Cersei wins this hands down. She is savvy enough in her choice of sperm donor and can maintain plausible deniability without looking like a goddamn clown and the entire circus to boot. She holds the capital and has access to all the emblems of state after Robert dies. In contrast, Rhaenyra is floundering across the Blackwater Bay, yelling at the dragon gargoyles that her children are trueborn.

Why is this issue important in the story?

a). No one has a problem with Jace being King.

If people had a problem with Joffrey being King, enough to go to war over it, it would be narratively inconsistent for them to just accept an obvious bastard as King. It would contradict the internal logic of the fictional world we're talking about. That's quite some level of suspension of disbelief just because some fans like Jace. This isn't about him being amiable or a good kid.

b). They're still Rhaenyra's sons / it's a Targaryen internal matter and concerns no one else / the concept of Jace being King doesn't personally affect anyone else, so why does anyone care?

Because it's the freaking law! The name of the crime Rhaenyra commits is high treason! Punishable by exile or death!

No, the crime is not adultery, it's not having bastard children, it's specifically putting said bastard children in line to the throne. In that, Rhaenyra is as guilty as Cersei is.

It absolutely does affect others, since Rhaenyra actively steals the inheritance of House Velaryon for Luke. How is that not a crime? I would even go so far as to say that Laenor and Corlys are complicit in it and should be punished as well.

Contrary to bafflingly-popular erroneous beliefs, the monarch can't just do whatever they want. Even in absolutist monarchies, the sovereign serves the vital social role of upholding the law and the rights of their subjects. Rhaenyra breaks said law by committing theft, murder, high treason and destabilizing the entire system of inheritance.

c) Rhaenyra breaks the social contract

Jock Locke argues for the "right of revolution" in the Second Treatise of Government. He writes that when the government acts against the interests of its citizens, then said citizens gain the right to overthrow it and replace it with an authority that will protect their interests.

I am not trying to impose 'progressive' understandings of the political process anachronistically, in a medieval fantasy; my thesis-statement is that we have already seen this concept at play within the world of ASOIAF: the Faith Militant uprising against Aenys I and Maegor due to their practices of incest and polygamy and Robert's Rebellion, caused by Rhaegar kidnapping a noble lady and Aerys II carrying out executions without due process. The people of Westeros are not unfamiliar with opposing monarchs who don't abide by the law.

The question of Rhaenyra having bastards is framed in a lot of commentary through the lens of her right as a woman to have extra-marital sex and not be demonised for it and to find fulfilling love within the constraints imposed on her by her station. While debating the personal individual freedom of women in a patriarchal feudal society is not to be side-lined, her fundamental fault is that she is demanding rights and exemptions for herself, while the rest of the country have to abide by an entirely different set of rules.

The laws of inheritance, as unjust as they may appear to our modern eyes, are in place to prevent crises of succession, violent conflicts or even large-scale wars from starting every time someone's estates are passed on. Illegitimate children suddenly gaining access to inheritances threatens the political and economical calculations that predicate many Westerosi marriages.

Imagine paying a handsome dowry for your daughter, just so her husband's bastard birthed by some high-born mistress to make use of his maternal family's resources and cheat your legitimate grandchildren out of theirs.

Imagine being married to some lord and now his random bastards threaten the inheritance of your lawful children. Because, hey, the Queen acts like this is fine! This is Catelyn Stark's worst nightmare.

You think you can just sue your husband? What a silly notion. You think you can sue the bastard claimants after your husband is dead? Tough luck, your liege lord may rule in their favour by taking a leaf out of Queen Rhaenyra's book. You think you can appeal to Queen Rhaenyra? How are you going to travel all the way to King's Landing? Good luck with that, maybe you're built different and don't die during this dangerous and expensive journey.

Is this fair for the illegitimate children? Hell no, but Rhaenyra and Viserys are not planning on reforming family law in any meaningful way, because they know what a hassle it would be and how much opposition it would meet!

It reeks of rights for me, but not for thee and I, for the life of me, don't understand the stronghold she has on the liberated feminist brigade.

and finally

d). The Green Coup is not dependent on the legitimacy of Rhaenyra's children.

No. But her committing high treason earns her an automatic disqualification from her right to rule, rendering her claim null and void.

Poor kids really, 0 thought was put in their feelings towards their parents remarrying so soon, they deserved better :-/

I will never be over the kids' reactions at Daemon and Rhaenyra's gross Valyrian wedding. Jace looked so hurt. Luke was crying and had to be comforted by the maester. Rhaena and Baela were so lost and confused. Those kids deserved so much better.

Do you know what infuriates me the most about Rhaenyra?

No, it's not her entitlement, her spoiled princess behavior and surprisingly not even her insufferable stans.

It's her complete lack of action after she marries Daemon. She finds herself in a situation where her father's health is declining at a steady pace and is as such incapable of ruling and in need of a regency. This is her big moment right? Historically when an old king/queen needed a regent their heir always stepped up to fulfill that role, to start taking the crown and testing the waters while their parent was still alive and show the council, the nobles and the people what kind of ruler they were going to be after their mom/dad died.

But not Rhaenyra. Who loved to talk about the things she was going to do after becoming queen, who loved to remind everyone that she was still the heir in spite of Aegon's birth.

This is her occasion, her opportunity to take power and start ruling, to hold her first meeting with the small council, to begin making allies at court and establish her authority and gain respect as future queen.

But no for some reason she decides to fuck off to Dragonstone and leave all the politics, all the big decisions and royal duties to the greens.

And after that not only has the audacity to complain that Alicent and Otto are the real power behind the feeble Viserys, but to get mad after being "usurped".

Like girl you literally handed them the chance to dismiss you and crown Aegon in your place on a silver plate, you don't have the right to react like this, cause unlike you they can actually recognize an opportunity and seize it lmao.

“You toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband, your son. You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison. Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?”

A couple of things:

1)  Alicent is a queen consort and is a Hightower by birth, so no, she cannot imagine herself on the Iron Throne, because Targaryen succession does not work like that. This is basic knowledge that 5-year-olds would presumably be expected to know, and I am astounded and embarrassed that Rhaenys, with her age and experience, lacks this fundamental bit of common sense.

2) Alicent has been the functional regent of Westeros for the past six years. In the previous episode, we see her actively governing the realm and overseeing all royal matters (while Rhaenyra sits on her ass with her loser husband in Dragonstone). We also literally hear Vaemond tell Rhaenys “It’s not a king who sits the Iron Throne these days, good sister. It’s the queen”, so I can assure you, Rhaenys, that Alicent has physically sat on the Iron Throne just fine. She lacks authority, obviously, as she is the consort and not the king, but she certainly did not and does not lack power, to say nothing about influence. This ridiculous show, however, does not seem to be able to differentiate these terms.

3) Does this show not understand that Alicent installing her son as King is not just beneficial to him (which the show acknowledges) but also directly beneficial to her? This is a patriarchal and patrimony-inclined world; Alicent’s son being King would not only mean immense prestige for her family; it would also mean the ultimate peak of power and influence for her (which we see her unapologetically wield in the books). In Westeros, we see Visenya Targaryen supporting her brother and her son’s kingship rather than angling for the throne in her own right, and wielding absolute power and authority in their reigns. Historically, Empress Matilda (the female claimant to the throne in the Anarchy, the war this story is based off) relinquished her claim in favor of her son, Henry II, presumably because she recognized he stood a better chance at gaining the throne (which he did) and continuing her legacy. Joanna of Flanders, who literally wore armor and led troops into battle, did it to support the cause of her husband in direct opposition to the claim of his niece. Yet according to this show’s logic, every single woman who has fought for their fathers and brothers and husbands and sons subscribes to internalized misogyny rather than, idk, supporting their families and gaining power, security and status in the process. Not to mention, Alicent relinquishing her children’s claim and stepping aside would not only be utterly humiliating and degrading for her from a political and personal standpoint, but also legitimately life-threatening for her children and her family. More competent writers would understand that she did not have much of a choice.

4) “You desire not to be free but make a window in the wall of your prison” is the MOST SICKENING PIECE OF VICTIM-BLAMING BULLSHIT I have ever heard in a long, long time. Alicent was a teenager when she had to marry the much-older King (her best friend’s own father) because of his desire for her. He repeatedly raped her and forced at least four pregnancies on her that she did not want. She was utterly isolated at court after her marriage, lacking comfort and friends (including Rhaenyra, who abandoned Alicent for three years after learning that she was being made to marry her father and, based on the comments she made, did not even stop to consider the awfulness of Alicent’s predicament). She had to endure the humiliation of her father being fired and made to leave court, leaving her even more alone than she previously was. She had to endure her husband constantly favoring his firstborn and his grandchildren by his firstborn rather than Alicent’s children who were a direct result of her rape by him. Her son was maimed and bleeding and her husband chose to defend his firstborn’s moronic decisions rather than bring him justice.  She is not a Targaryen, she does not and cannot ride a dragon. WHAT WAS ALICENT SUPPOSED TO EXCEPT TRY AND SURVIVE? HOW ON EARTH IS SHE BEING JUDGED FOR IT?

(And this ridiculously condescending comment is coming from Rhaenys of all people, lmao. A dragon-riding Targaryen who was an actual claimant to the Iron Throne, unlike Alicent. So, what was stopping HER from seizing power, pray tell? After all, she even has the Velaryon forces to back her claim. Instead, in her own words, she made peace with her sidelining. She constantly disagreed with her husband’s ambition regarding her claim and her family’s power. She volunteered her 12-year-old daughter as a child bride for her own aging cousin. The hypocrisy and double standards here is pathetic, and the lack of self-awareness on the part of the show is even worse)

Alicent was legitimately terrified for her children and her family’s lives, and she was entirely justified in doing so: if Rhaenyra ascended the throne, Alicent’s children would inevitably become threats to her whether or not they directly opposed her. This is unavoidable. Look up any historical usurpation, and that’s the inescapable result - and that’s not even going into the fact that Rhaenyra and Daemon are people who are reckless, cruel and indifferent to violence, and would not hesitate to kill any opposition to their reign. The show’s so-called claim that Alicent is upholding the patriarchy falls apart when you consider the fact that this is the only solution that guarantees the security of her children and herself. How is Alicent’s perfectly understandable motivation written as internalized misogyny? 

And moreover, from a writing perspective … why give her this arc at all? Fire & Blood was badly written, but it doesn’t change the fact that they looked at an ambitious woman who wanted to enhance her power and improve her family’s standing, who directly defied her husband’s wishes in terms of succession in favor of her own, and rewrote this choice into one borne from internalized misogyny. They wrote her as a child bride, a rape victim, an abuse victim and a teen mother and then used this backstory to say that she was conditioned to become the so-called agent of patriarchy (which they do not support with believable evidence) who opposes their so-called feminist protagonist (whose primary enabler is Alicent’s rapist and abuser, btw, not that his abuse is acknowledged nearly enough by the narrative considering how heavily he was romanticized in the last few episodes) It’s a heinous, disrespectful, absolutely terrible writing choice, and I cannot emphasize this nearly enough.

(Oh, and speaking of Rhaenyra, let’s talk about how her queenship solidifies Viserys’s claim over Rhaenys’s. Let’s talk about if she truly cared about women inheriting the Iron Throne - as opposed to just herself - she would have considered this. Let’s talk about how she disregarded the claims of Baela and Rhaena in favour of her son when it came to Driftmark. Rhaenyra is not challenging the patriarchy, her ascension to the Iron Throne will not change anything for anyone except for herself, do not make me laugh by claiming otherwise)

ON TOP OF THIS, the show can’t even decide on a consistent motivation or characterization for Alicent. They repeatedly show us her visceral and justified fear for her children’s lives, which is somehow forgotten in episode eight in favor of her saying that Rhaenyra will be a good queen. Her desire to see her son crowned and thus ensure her children’s safety is disregarded in favor of her actually wanting to fulfil Viserys’s half-baked wishes on his deathbed. They have her say that everyone knows Aegon will be king, and then act surprised when the Green council plots to install him as King. They do not care about Alicent’s personhood and individual character; what they care about is her position as a foil and antagonist to Rhaenyra.

In conclusion: this show sucks. It shows absolutely no understanding regarding the politics of its own world and our medieval history and is a parody and a travesty of respectful storytelling. It has inconsistent and baffling character motivations and downright misogynistic writing, and this is not acknowledged nearly enough by the fandom.

Rhea Royce only had one scene but she completely and utterly ended her worthless manchild of a husband with her words and for that we Stan her even in death

Strongest team black argument be like

A thing that always makes me laugh about team green is the fact that they always referred to rhaenyra as a whore (aemond at storm's end called her 'the whore of dragons stone' , aegon after she refudes his term say that 'the whore threw his term in his face') because rhaenyra have a relationship and children with a man she love without achieving anything. The definition of a whore is a woman (or a man) who prostitutes herself (or himself) and prostitution is 'sexual performance for profit' (which can be money, favor, political power) which is exactly what alicent is doing with larys in episode 9. She is 'offering' a sexual performance so larys will give her the information she need. So 'whore' is a word that describes alicent's act not rhaenyra. This is really funny like aemond and aegon watch your mother before speak

This fandom's romanticization of abusive relationships will never not infuriate me.

It's quite ironic when you think about it. People here always claim to be hardcore feminists who want Rhaenyra on the throne cause fuck the patriarchy, but at the same time they cheer her relationship with Daemon who groomed her since she was little, took her to a brothel when she was still a teenager and aimed to ruin her reputation to marry her and claim the iron throne through her. Like you can't tell me he didn't do it out of spite cause Viserys named her heir, and that was the only way he could get the power he always wanted. All of this is not even the worst part, since he physically abuses her and neglects her after a miscarriage.

The fandom also loves Viserys/Aemma, as if he didn't sleep with her when she was thirteen, got her pregnant repeatedly, ruining her health in the process, and finally butchered her like a lamb at the slaughter for a son.

Lmao honestly I get that a lot of ships in hotd are problematic, and it's super hard to find something pure and sweet, but the fandom really chose to stan the worst of the worst wtf

Couldn't have said it better

Sorry people this is gonna be a long post, but I needed to vent.

A lot of people in the HOTD fandom are so quick to say that everything Alicent does "against" Rhaenyra is because she's judging her for not following the "rules" of the patriarchy, but imo the anger and conflict between them is way more personal than that. After Alicent is chosen by Viserys as his new wife, Rhaenyra, showing all of her immaturity (understandable, she's so young) feels betrayed by Alicent and starts treating her poorly. Of course Alicent in turn feels betrayed by her closest friend cause Rhaenyra abandoned her when she needed her the most. She was too sheltered and comfortable in her privilege to realize that other women cannot simply say no, Alicent was considered her father's property and then her husband's to do with as they pleased. She is continuously raped by a man she did not choose to marry, forced to carry child after child and on top of that she is refused the only comfort she had, her only friend. She never had the luxury of choice, but Rhaenyra in her naivety, still punished her for it. Alicent tried to hang on, still caring about Rhaenyra and still trying to reconcile with her and being constantly denied and judged by her.

Then, the moment Rhaenyra did something that would surely put her in trouble, she lied to Alicent's face. Alicent believed her and defended her with the king, insisting that Daemon must have lied, that her father must have been misinformed. Viserys knew this to be false, he knew Rhaenyra had lied, but still she was not punished for it. Instead Alicent is indirectly punished again, losing her only ally (Otto is a vile person, but still for Alicent he was the only piece of home, of familiarity she had) because of Rhaenyra. Naturally when she learned that Rhaenyra had lied to her, it was another huge blow to Alicent's heart, because trusting Rhaenyra has literally cost her the only bit of protection she felt that she had left. It's only natural at this point, that Otto's claims about Rheanyra's character began to take root in Alicent's mind. Rhaenyra proved that she could not be trusted and Alicent wasn't about to put her children's lives in the hands of someone who had betrayed her so. She realized that no one would protect her, not Viserys, not Rhaenyra, so she must do it herself.

From then on things were bound to go downhill cause Alicent began resenting Rhaenyra as she still remained oblivious to her privilege and she benefited from it again and again, perhaps even using her father's affection for her to her advantage. And Rhaenyra (understandably) grew tired of Alicent's treatment of her.

In light of that, what happened with Aemond inevitably had a massive impact on their situation, especially on Alicent, whose faith in Rhaenyra was already broken. Her son lost an eye (taken by one of Rhaenyra's kids). Rhaenyra refused to even acknowledge the magnitude of this offence, so quick to defend her kids (and their birthright), who would never do anything wrong and were simply defending themselves (despite there being 4 of them against Aemond) And even in such a dramatic circumstance, all Viserys cares about is protecting Rhaenyra from what essentially is, the truth.

So in my opinion Alicent is not only saying "it's not fair" because Rhaenyra constantly did things that were not "proper" and was never punished for it, what she's saying is more along the lines of "Rhaenyra abandoned me, betrayed me, punished me, hurt me, my son and others to fulfil her selfish goals and nobody ever punished her for it or even had the decency to admit that she might have been wrong".

Alicent is not questioning Rhaenyra's claim to the throne because she's a woman, she's questioning her integrity and wether or not she's trustworthy, she's doing it to protect herself and her children, who she feels could never be truly safe as long as Rhaenyra rules with Daemon by her side.

And feelings like these cannot be simply dismissed, not even with an apology, one must really work on rebuilding trust in each other in order to fix years of betrayal and mutual hurt and resentment, and sadly they just didn't get enough time to do it.

- Parallels between Alicent and Rhaenyra.

How To Piss Off “House of the Dragon Fandom” — A Guide by Alicent Hightower (Because it seems that no matter what she does, the haters always come for her)

This facebook hotd meme I found is so based and true. Pleasantly surprised to find non team black content there

Alright. THATS IT. TIME TO LOSE MY SHIT.

The fact that Alicent is even ON THIS LIST is just flabbergasting. Now, to their credit, she’s second to last on this list (somehow worse than JAMIE LANNISTER?!). But still. Most evil characters?!

So, for fun, I thought I’d take a look at her characterization according to the writer of this list and rebut.

For the sake of organization, I will post the whole paragraph below and then go point by point:

“This one is fairly low on the rankings as it's not quite clear how villainous Alicent could become, with her moral standing leaning toward "complicated" rather than straightforward good or evil. However, she isn't quite the most innocent character in House of the Dragon either, with her manipulation of the grieving and ailing King Viserys, covering up her son's sexual crimes and fiendish proclivities and politically maneuvering an underhanded coup from her former best friend raising more than a few eyebrows about how far she'll go to protect her family.”

“Her manipulation of the grieving and ailing King Viserys”

First of all: Alicent was a 15 year old girl, the same age as Viserys’s own daughter, and his daughter’s best friend. Viserys is a full grown man and also the most powerful person in the entire kingdom as, you know, the king. Grief is a powerful thing and can certainly cause us to act contrary to our characters; however, that is not an excuse to have sex with and marry a child you have watched grow up alongside your own child.

Second of all: Alicent was not the master manipulator in this situation. She tried to fight back against the plan as much as she was capable as a girl and child, against her father who is the second most powerful man in the kingdom. The blame should go solely on Otto for this.

Blaming Alicent for “manipulating” Viserys when: she was a child forced to do this by her father, she fought against the idea, she was 15 and Viserys was a full grown man, and most of all HE WAS THE FUCKING KING, is crazy. Alicent had no power in this situation, nor did she want it. It was Otto’s idea and Viserys’s fault. Y’all blaming a child and acting like she’s an insidious master manipulator instead of criticizing the full grown man who had sex with her is crazy. Grief is no excuse. The men in this situation took advantage of Alicent. Not the other way around.

“Covering up her son’s sexual crimes and fiendish proclivities”

Where is the accountability on the deadbeat dad? Everyone keep blaming Alicent for how awful Aegon is. But nobody utters a word on how the other parent in this situation has done absolutely nothing. Viserys is also Aegon’s father (though this may be a shock to even Viserys himself seeing how neglectful and abusive he is to his children by Alicent). Viserys is the king. He has the power to implement whatever he wants but sits back and does nothing. But sure, Alicent is to blame because she’s actually involved and therefor her son being ruined is only her fault.

Alicent does her best at parenting Aegon and dealing with the shit he generates. What exactly could Alicent do to Aegon, a prince of the realm, to rectify the situation? Y’all are never happy when she does anything. When she disciplines Aegon, you scream she’s “abusive”. When she tries to compensate and fix the situation to the best of her ability, you scream that she’s enabling and covering up crimes. She will never win. And btw, she didn’t cover up for Aegon. Alicent listened to Dyana and tried to compensate for the pain. There’s literally nothing else she could do.

Y’all will blame Alicent for all the actions of the men in her life. Why not hold Aegon, the actual rapist, accountable for the situation. Not Alicent for trying to fix it. Because guess who’s not on the fucking list…AEGON. How will you penalize Alicent for trying to help fix the situation her son caused, but not penalize the man who actually committed the sexual crime? It reeks of sexism.

“Politically maneuvering an underhanded coup from her former best friend”

Ok. Let’s get this out of the way. Alicent believes Viserys said it was Aegon who is the heir. Stupid or not she does. But even without that Alicent does not stage a coup in some sort of villainous attempt to seize power for herself and away from Rhaenyra. She does it to protect her family. She has seen what happens when one of them is harmed, nothing. There will be nothing stopping team black from killing her or her children. This is a fight for survival. Not villainy. Fear.

Also it’s worth reminding that Alicent is the only one defending Rhaenyra’s life. Otto and other greens are perfectly fine with murdering Rhaenyra. Alicent is the only one fighting to protect her and counseling Aegon not to harm her.

In the end, Alicent is not a villain. She is the personification of how the patriarchy has abused women and torn them down in every way. Alicent has done her best to make everyone in her life happy. She has tried desperately to satisfy the selfishness and power-hungry nature of all those around her and reconcile everyone in her life. Alicent is not malicious or evil. She’s not seeking war or bloodshed. She wants her children and herself to be safe. Nobody should have “raised brows” at her defending herself and her family after she has spent decades being abused and seen more than enough proof that she is not loved or protected.

Villainizing Alicent can only happen if you’re willing to admit all this as well:

Grown men can never be held liable for having sex with teenage girls.

Teenage girls are at fault for the feelings adult men have for them.

Women are responsible for how their children turn out and men have no accountability in raising children or how they grow up.

Deadbeat father’s are ok, and the women left with the children are at fault for anything bad their kids do because they didn’t do a good enough job at being both parents.

Teenage mothers need to be perfect parents and can never make mistakes or have no idea what they’re doing because they, themselves are children.

Parents (specifically mothers) are responsible for the crimes of their children

Men shouldn’t be held accountable for rape. It’s their mom’s fault

And most of all: women who experience consistent trauma and abuse for years must hold it all in, accept further abuse with a smile, and “keep to their place”

Go ahead black fans. Admit this all. Admit you hate women and have deeply sexist beliefs. Then I’ll let you call her a villain :)

lol please not you defending Criston Cole for bullying the strong boys but hates on Rhaenyra for not being nice to her siblings. 🤡😂

"bullying" ? really? it's very obvious he preferred alicent's sons and gave them most of his attention when he was training them but i didn't see him bully rhaenyra's sons. i don't think he could have even if he wanted to - rhaenyra & viserys would have him removed from the king's guard for mistreating the princes.

the only prince i saw getting bullied in ep 6 was aemond.

and as i have said in my cole post, i'm not justifying cole's wrongdoings. he's far from perfect.

and lastly, yeah, i think rhaenyra wanting to have her little brother tortured is worse than cole ignoring her sons in class.

aemond, to helaena, while lying face down on his bed and regretting everything: and then i called him dad.

criston, to alicent, crying tears of joy: and then he called me dad!

Oh god literally none of them are good dads lmao

The only one who's possibly decent is Lyonel, but that's mainly because he's almost never on screen. Oh wait he's Larys' father never mind

No one ever said Aegon or Otto are ideal fathers, mind you. However, just remember that Daemon, Viserys and Corlys are exemplary fathers! This is why I don't take this fandom seriously.