Just two lil curious Targlings, I’m sure nothing bad will ever happen to them.

The prince wore sword and dagger, black boots polished to a high sheen, a black cloak lined with blood-red silk. With his hair washed and cut and freshly dyed a deep, dark blue, his eyes looked blue as well. At his throat he wore three huge square-cut rubies on a chain of black iron, a gift from Magister Illyrio. Red and black. Dragon colors. That was good. “You look a proper prince,” he told the boy. “Your father would be proud if he could see you.” 

Young Griff ran his fingers through his hair. “I am sick of this blue dye. We should have washed it out.”

This scene was always funny to me

Joncon: Rhaegar would be proud of you Aegon: *abruptly changes the topic*

I guess he must be pretty tired of hearing about Rhaegar by now 😂

forgive yourself again and again and again and again and again

More male characters who are interested in their mother's legacy. As a trope there's a lot of sons and daughters who follow in the father's footsteps and there's yes, girls who honor their mother, ect. But let's have more dudes who are like. Stumbling on their mom's secret fairy cottage or some shit. And they're like aight gotta make the tea

the prince who was promised: the prodigal son, blood of the ruby red dragon and the bleeding sun, cleaved down by his own usurper-aunt and bastard brother. i call that a song of ice and fire, baby!!!

aka “the thought of the triumphant and beloved prince who would make an excellent king coming to westeros, reclaiming his father’s throne, and then getting cast down by the protagonists of the story anyways despite being a good fit for the crown? that’s some bittersweet Ice and Fire, baby"

2022 books - wuthering heights by emily brontë

Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies.

I hate reading the part of Wuthering Heights before Cathy dies because I truly am reminded that she was just a girl. She was just an 18 year old girl, homesick and wishing for a different life than the one she was forced to have, knowing that she was going to die soon(tho death probably came as a blessing for her).

She has her faults, but I really do believe she tried to do the best she could with what she had. She needed to marry rich because in that period of time it was all she could do. There was nothing else for her except marriage. While she loved Heathcliff, realistically it would've made no sense to marry him. There was nothing they could give each other and love only lasts for so long when you have no home and no money.

She was just 18. She was neglected her entire childhood and had no one to guide her. The only person who ever understood her was Heathcliff and she was forced to give him up because of Hindley and because of the standards that women were held to. She thought that by marrying Edgar, she could help Heathcliff too. Never once did she think that by marrying Edgar she would have to give up Heathcliff. Poor girl really thought that she could have everything she wanted.

I know, I know that I'm completely disregarding all her flaws, but I don't want to think about that now.

What I want to think about is the fact that she was a child. She was a very young girl, pregnant, surrounded by people who didn't understand her. The way she grew up, it's very clear to me that she probably never developed enough emotional maturity/intelligence.

It just makes me so sad. I know both Heathcliff and Cathy are flawed characters. But they were also just kids in a world that was so incredibly unfair to them. They had no one there for them growing up, they were both abused and neglected. Hindley only cared for Cathy when it came to her marrying someone who could bring some 'honour' back to their name. And Nelly, while I understand that she was a woman and a servant and didn't have much power, was just so unlikeable. She could've been the one to treat both Cathy and Heathcliff as people but instead she was a traitor to both her gender and her class.

I just really don't like her😭

Also, I really love Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy as Catherine and Heathcliff and I wish the script of that movie followed the book more closely. That being said, the 2009 version is still my comfort movie.

— Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena

Sorry but grrm is not going to punish Aegon for the crime of being backed by Varys

And grrm is not going to punish Aegon for a safe and happy childhood

And grrm is not going to punish Aegon for being educated and sheltered

And grrm is not going to punish Aegon for not suffering like Jon and Daenerys

And grrm is not going to punish Aegon for kicking a cvyasse board at tyrion

You know what grrm actually punishes characters for? -> For commiting crimes and ruining people's lives. You bet george is going to obliterate his legacy the moment he starts doing things like order torture, rape, molest children, violently sack cities during his invasion, be entitled to people's lives, dismiss people's suffering for power, burn people alive. All things I'm pretty sure Aegon will never do

Fucking. Wow im gonna die

If you were writing ASOIAF, what would you change about Aegon's story, both in its content and direction?

I find this an interesting question because we've really seen so little of him so far. So I'm going to ramble for a bit about his story and see if I come up with a conclusion.

One of the things I really enjoy about his story as it is right now is that his Rhoynish heritage is so present. They pass Nymeria's palace. He's on a boat with exiles of various forms. Everyone around him knows that they need Dorne. The surface is all the Targaryen side - he looks like Rhaegar, it's Rhaegar's friend that's been raising and guiding him, the original goal was for him to get to Dany, he's pursuing a claim through his father - but underneath that, his story is tied to his mother. All the references to Nymeria and the Rhoyne, the way he's ultimately going to meet with Arianne. So even though there's been so little of him so far, we get the impression of these layers to his identity.

In addition to this, Aegon is a cool character in his own right! He's friendly and likable and a compelling speaker. He gets along well with other people; he can convince people to follow his lead; he refuses to let harm befall Tyrion after Tyrion saves his life; he insists that he values Duck more than any knight of great renown and points out that Jaime Lannister had been that knight of renown. He's also prickly and argumentative and imperfect - he argues with people trying to keep him safe; he lashes out at Tyrion in response to needling; he freezes up because he's never seen battle; he's got a chip on his shoulder and comes across as a man that feels he has something to prove.

Now, keeping all that in mind...Aegon is, like, weirdly well adjusted. We're talking about a guy whose mother and older sister were murdered that has never known a single member of his family, despite his mother's siblings and their children being alive and well, despite his paternal aunt and uncle famously alive and in Essos. He's been raised with the idea of going back and reclaiming a throne. His father figure undoubtedly cares for him, but he is obsessive and controlling and not someone who's guiding him with clear eyes. And yet, he's just...living life, wandering around on a boat, trusting easily and seemingly not dwelling on the past.

To some degree, that makes sense - relatively speaking, he's been in a psychologically safer environment than other characters. It's not like he was in, say, Dany's shoes with a volatile and violent older brother pushing her into situations. But overall, I think it's a wasted opportunity, because psychologically safe is not synonymous with devoid of complexity. With so many other characters, we see the impacts of the past on them. Jon, despite having never known his mother, is heavily influenced by that absence. So Aegon, who has never known his mother or sister as people, but knows about their brutal murders, should be so influenced by that. Since we have no insight into his own thoughts, we don't know if he is or isn't, though.

So I think really what I would change is the amount of emphasis on why he's doing what he's doing. Why does he want the throne? What does the prospect of meeting Arianne mean to him? How does it affect him that people don't believe his story? What are his thoughts on the Mountain, on Tywin Lannister, on all these people that knew or could have known his family? I brought up his line about how "the Kingslayer was a warrior of great renown, and the son of a great lord as well" earlier, but I think it's worth reiterating: that is an insane line to leave at just that.

It would be one thing if that were, say, to have come up as a point of contention between Catelyn and Robb. In that case, it's just this famous event that sparked Jaime's notoriety. But it's Aegon that says it. Aegon, the grandson of the king referenced in the Kingslayer nickname. Aegon, whose mother and sister were being murdered while Jaime was sitting on the throne. Aegon values loyalty above all else because of this action - it's personal to him in a way it's not to anyone else. So how does he feel about not just Jaime, but everyone else involved? Why, in this world where entire families are held to account for the actions of one member, does he not have negative feelings towards Tyrion?

We haven't seen enough of him for me to know what I'd want to change, but I think this is what I'd want to see: what is actually driving him to make the decisions he does. Thanks for asking!

Elia and Rhaenys having a nice afternoon while on a visit to Dorne!

Timeline-wise I’m not sure if this would be possible? But ehhh, who cares? They deserve a vacation, as a treat 😌

☀️

thinking about the casual intimacy of showing someone you love an unfinished work of art, the underlying message saying, i trust you with my unpolished heart

“The perfect prince but still half a boy for all that, with little and less experience of the world and all its woes.” ~ Tyrion Lannister, ADWD

Some blue-haired lad and his father, who also has blue hair. (edit: changes to anatomy, will prob change again when I have more time)

Pre-edit

okay but saying “i wish i had known you sooner” — like the love in my heart is growing so big and fast for you that i wish i had the opportunity to have you way earlier by my side, because i want to love you longer than i can do now. my love for you reaches my past and makes a place for you.