Homogenising Something That Has Always Been Inherently Diverse Will Kill Us All One Day.

homogenising something that has always been inherently diverse will kill us all one day.

"I will never be a son."

Viserys made Rhaenyra feel second-rate to an imaginary son all her life growing up, until the one moment he had no choice and made er his heir. Suddenly she herself mattered.

Then he immediately went and took it away, made it conditional on his whims, created several spares that could displace her. He made the initial trauma worse by seemingly repenting only to double down on the message that she herself can never be enough.

It's entirely logical that she would spend the rest of her life both clinging to that title that proves daddy loves her and testing the boundaries to which Viserys will defend her by deliberately flaunting all limitations this title imposes on her life choices. If she gave up that title, even if it would make her both safer and happier in the long term, those imaginary-turned-real sons win and Rhaenyra will truly only be second best forever. And she can't work for it, can't prove herself worthy of it, because that means accepting the title (and his regard) is conditional. She has to have it specifically in spite of every outrageous transgression.

Viserys trapped her in chasing after his love the same way he trapped his children by Alicent into a life of conflict. They exist to put pressure on Rhaenrya as rival spares, and they exist to prove he loves her by choosing her over them at every opportunity. There is no option where they can ever be at peace, ever be safe.

I kind of hate that the show didn't lean into that more. Viserys is such a slithering slime of a father and he deserved the worst.

„Because he didn’t like me”

„The boy you always wanted”

„He is your son, Viserys, your blood”

„You’ve only ever tried to send me

away”

„Viserys, please, no, I’m scared”

Fandom Problem #4789:

“If fictional siblings don’t fight a lot, that’s unrealistic!” “If fictional siblings fight a lot, that’s abusive and shouldn’t be normalized!” Both of these are bad takes.

Fun Facts:

You can like both Daenerys and Sansa

You can like both Arya and Sansa

You can like both Alicent and Rhaenyra

Many people actually like both characters in these pairings

Someone liking the Dany/Arya/Rhaenyra/Cersei grouping doesn’t mean that they’re a pick me

Someone liking the Sansa/Alicent/Helaena/Elia grouping doesn’t make them a raging misogynist

Stop pitting women against each other

I thought we all agreed that S8 of GOT doesn’t exist, why are we still doing this stupid Sansa vs. Dany stuff five years later (seriously - kids born during the airing of the final season are entering kindergarten this fall. This has been going on too long).

Can we all just be civil to each other when S2 of HOTD airs and not call each other rape apologists, cheer for the deaths of innocent children, or essentially write fanfiction about the other side’s fans? Please?

Summary: In a time before the war, Aegon and Helaena take to the skies on their dragons. Soaring through the clouds, something starts to ignite between them. Helaena begins to be plagued by visions of war and the shadow of the crown falls on Aegon. [Aegon x Helaena, teen!fic]

Notes: This is my 1st multi-chapter on this pairing! I tried to explore more about their relationship before their marriage.

Quote from the first chapter: We used to ride our dragons together, quite often. You used to bring me these insects and creatures you now deem strange. You used to think my words had meaning, that my dreams are omens, but now they’re just the babbling of a mad girl.