hold on to hope if you got it

I don't get these posts I've been seeing saying what has rhaenyra ever done to prepare for the throne/ prove she'd be a good ruler. Like did you watch the show?

In the first episode, before she is even named heir, she is cup bearer to the king, meaning she was present during small council meetings, observing and learning how the kingdom is run and governed. In ep 6 we then see that she has a seat on the small council and is actively taking part in the running and governance of the Kingdom.

She marries laenor, the son and heir of a powerful house, securing their alliance and providing her family with a powerful navy. Whilst also fixing her own father's political blunder in the process.

She has many children creating a line of succession (and no it doesn't matter that some of them are bastards as its just a rumour and can't be proven so long as laenor is claiming them as his.) We also see jace, her heir, learning high valyrian because he believes a good king should uphold the traditions of their house, we see rhaenyra guiding him in this, showing that not only has she been preparing herself to rule but she has also began preparing the next heir for his rule.

She spends many years ruling and governing dragon stone, which is traditionally given to the heirs of the iron throne as a practice run and specifically to help prepare them to rule.

I've seen comments saying that she should have done more to secure alliances with the other houses so they'd support her claim. But here's the thing with that one, how do you know she didn't? There were large time jumps between various episodes, we don't know what she was doing during those time jumps. For all we know she was inviting lords to dragon stone to maintain relations or visiting/sending other members of the family to visit other houses. I mean she seemed pretty confident and knowledgeable about who was and wasn't likely to support her claim during the council meeting in 1x10. Also those houses had already sworn oaths to her and those oaths don't have an expiry date.

I honesty don't know what more you wanted her to do. I think the show made it very clear that she spent literally pretty much her entire life preparing herself for the throne.

Meanwhile all we saw aegon doing is jerking off out windows, drinking excessively and harassing/r*ping serving girls. But sure rhaenyra is the one that should have done more to prepare/prove herself.

Green stans not understanding the reason alicent attacked rhaenyra at driftmark just proves media literacy is fucking dead.

She literally says it. "Where is duty? Where is sacrifice?" Because she's angry Rhaenyra didn't lay down to suffer alongside her.

To her, Rhaenyra marrying who the crown told her to, to fix Viserys' alienation and insult of house Velaryon wasn't enough. Rhaenyra serving and participating on the Small council for years as heir wasn't enough. Rhaenyra swallowing her terror of childbirth to provide the throne with heirs wasn't enough. Sitting and ruling the heirs seat wasn't enough. Acting as heir and trying to solve problems such as the ep.2 Dragonstone conflict wasn't enough. She SAYS IT in episode 2- tells Rhaenyra, the **named heir** that it is not her place to question the plots of kings and men when Rhaenyra expressed the fear that they are plotting to set her aside and remarry her father.

Because she **cannot stand** that Rhaenyra dared to grasp for power and autonomy while doing these things. She cannot stand that Rhaenyra dared to try and be happy whilst also fulfilling her duties. She cannot stand that she did 'everything right' and 'served the kingdom, the family, the law' and is miserable and alone. She was queen for 20 years and only ever used her power to harm Rhaenyra and her children and to further her own abuse onto her own daughter.

All she used her power for was to protect Cole from the consequences of murdering a knight at a royal wedding. To protect Cole from the consequences of slandering the crown princess. To cover up Larys **murdering his family** because while she acted oh so horrified, it served her needs. To cover up Aegons abuses- and we see even as early as ep 6 that female staff are afraid of him.

To protect Cole from the consequences of **bullying and trying to harm** Rhaenyras sons in 'training.' To instill hatred and treason in her children against their sister. To explicitly allow Argon to bully Aemond as he likes so long as when they're in the public eye, they present a united front.

She did everything right but she's miserable and alone. Rhaenyra made the system that harmed women work for her, and wasn't. And she couldn't stand it. To her, Rhaenyra not accepting the rule and superiority of the men around them was the ultimate betrayal. Rhaenyra protecting herself from Alicent, who was above and all, primarily Otto's creature, by not sharing her secrets, was a crime.

Alicent didn't attack Rhaenyra and Luke for Aemond. She did it for herself.

And now the kingdom saw her for who she was. Jealous, greedy, grasping.

Nothing Rhaenyra ever did would be enough duty or sacrifice to her. Because Rhaenyra wasn't suffering alongside her. Olivia Cooke states as much herself.

She has become a tool of the patriarchy against other women. She ISNT the moral dutiful paragon she presents herself as.

Requested by anonymous:

But the burden is a heavy one.

“the show obviously WANTS you to root for team black i like the greens because they’re messy and dysfunctional and doomed by the narrative” oh my gooood you don’t like the protagonists of the show? should we throw a party. should we invite bella hadid.

“The whole point of the story is that both Rhaenyra and Aegon were unfit to rule.”

Wrong.

The point of the story is that in a patriarchal society, women would get usurped regardless what they do, and what kind of people they are.

Rhaena (firstborn child of King Aenys)

Rhaenys (only child of Prince Aemon, eldest son and heir of King Jaehaerys I)

Rhaenyra (firstborn child of King Viserys I)

The Dance of the Dragons is about how Rhaenyra Targaryen was usurped by her evil and greedy stepmother in favor of her own son (the story was originally called “The Princess and the Queen”).

This is an absolute monarchy. More than half of the monarchs who sat that throne, were unfit to rule. Nobody cares about that.

It’s about who is the rightful ruler.

The rightful ruler was Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (just like Empress Matilda had been the rightful Queen of England).

And as a plus, out of all of King Viserys’ children, Rhaenyra is obviously the most qualified/most competent to sit the Iron Throne. There is no question about that.

(x)

I think I'm going to rewatch hotd soon~

something something ‘feminine’ female characters being deserving of all things good and righteous and holy because of them overcoming their suffering by working within the system that hurts them using their wiley feminine attributes and charm something something ‘masculine’ female characters being villainized for fighting outside the constraints of the system they’re still subjected to in a more hands on approach and being victims of similar if not the same circumstances as their ‘feminine’ female peers but it doesn’t count for some reason because they don’t suffer as prettily as their counterparts something something

i'm in the business of misery let's take it from the top she's got a body like an hourglass that's ticking like a CLOCK it's a matter of time before we all run out when i thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth. i waited eight long months she finally set him free i told him i couldn't lie he was the only one for me two weeks and we had caught on fire she's got it out for me but i wear the biggest smile........ WHOAAAA well i never meant to brag but i've gotten what i wanted now WHOA it was never my intention to brag to steal it all away from you now but god does it feel so good because i've got him where i want him now and if you could then you know you would... cause god it just feels so. it just feels so good

I don't mean to rant again, but I just don't understand those who seem to think that rhaenyra owed it to alicent to tell her about losing her virginity to Cole. Like it was none of alicent's business and rhaenyra was under no obligation to tell her if she didn't want to.

I see so many 'but rhaenyra lied to alicent about losing her virginity' posts and acting like that meant it was OK for alicent to be angry with rhaenyra and treat her badly. But first off, rhaenyra didn't lie about it. Alicent asked, no sorry, accused her of sleeping with daemon, and rhaenyra said no she hadn't, which was the truth. Also alicent was very negative and judgmental from the start of their conversation, telling her that she would have sullied herself and talking about targaryens and their queer customs, so considering the very negative energy alicent was giving out why the hell would rhaenyra feel comfortable or safe enough to confide in alicent that she had slept with Cole.

Would you confess to a friend who had just judged you like that for something you didn't do, I personally would feel too afraid of how they would react. It would have been one thing if alicent had come to rhaenyra with an attitude of concern instead of one of judgement, but she didn't. So I fully understand why rhaenyra didn't feel like she could confide in alicent.

Also I find alicent's weird obsession over rhaenyra's sex life really unsettling, why does she care so much about who has been in rhaenyra's bed? Why does she feel like she's entitled to know? Her anger over rhaenyra sleeping with Cole, her obsession over who rhaenyra's sons father is, it's all just so weird to me.

I fixed the drawing and added Syrax!

#this is barely scratching the surface (insp)

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