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presidenthades · 4 months

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Once again, I am doing a series of my behind-the-scenes thoughts for The Golds while I do light edits for formatting, typos, and continuity. Here’s Chapter 4!

For this chapter’s title, I picked the Crone’s lyrics from “The Song of the Seven” because Old Willow—who is a crone, as a wise older woman—is so important to this chapter.

Detective Aegon was one of the things I was most excited about as I wrote this fic. The idea was born when I read that TGC interview where he said Aegon is “intelligent and has a keen eye for the weak spots for others.” I extrapolated that as Aegon being observant about what makes people tick, which made me think about Sherlock, then I realized my version of Aegon would love being a detective. He gets to run around the city, meet interesting people, and feel a bunch of adrenaline/endorphins/dopamine.

I think Aegon is also very driven by the pursuit of dopamine. In canon, this manifests in his heavy dependency on wine and sex. In this verse, he gets tons of dopamine from his interactions with Jace. But since Jace is preoccupied with the pregnancy and governance and court, he’s deprived at the moment. So in this chapter, he explores his newfound detective hobby which makes him a bit less dependent on Jace for gratification—but not much. Still a simp for his wife 🥲.

Aegon is a night owl, Jace is an early bird. This isn’t an issue in the early days of their marriage because…well, they’re pretty much having sex whenever they’re in the bedroom, and sleep is optional 😂. But the honeymoon period tapers off right around when they discover the pregnancy, and it’s also when Jace’s LIWs are getting accustomed to their roles. The LIWs in particular are jarring for Aegon. LIWs are supposed to have lots of access to their mistress’ rooms, which isn’t a big deal in a traditional marriage where the husband and wife keep separate rooms, and the husband usually sends a message in advance if he wants to “visit” his wife at night. But Aegon has moved in with Jace, and whereas he views the LIWs as intruding on his private time with his wife, the LIWs view him as impeding their ability to do their job.

I decided that Arryk likes Aegon more than Erryk does (another reason the twins choose different sides in the Dance), and that’s why Aegon thinks Arryk is more fun. Erryk was more judgmental during Aegon’s debauchery days whereas Arryk was more chill. As a result, Aegon learned to tell the difference between them, because he wanted to be sure which twin he’s been saddled with. But Aegon likes to mess with people, so he deliberately gets Erryk’s name wrong because Erryk is annoying/inconveniencing him by dragging him to Viserys.

In the show, Aegon/TGC throws some truly hateful glares at Viserys, but at the same time his dialogue shows he longs for his father’s approval. Here, Aegon clings to that resentment (simmering not burning) but is much less interested in Viserys’s approval. He has plenty of approval and affection from Jace, so even though it stings that Viserys doesn’t care, Aegon can shrug it off more easily because he has something/someone better.

Viserys’s story in the show about the horses and coloring, and various comments about how he would’ve been happier as a simple country lord than as king, inspired me to give him amateur agricultural interests. He’s never done any actual farming, but he likes to read about it and daydream about his alternate universe life.

As I hope I made clear in the scene, Viserys is having this conversation for Jace’s benefit rather than Aegon’s. His favoritism for Rhaenyra’s line continues to abound in this universe, and he follows the old-fashioned school of thought that pregnant woman should refrain from having sex, ostensibly to protect the fetus.

In an early draft, Alicent was the one who had a similar conversation with Aegon to leave Jace alone. Alicent’s desire for this conversation was born from her own experience of being relieved not to have to continue having sex with her husband while pregnant. But I changed it because a) Alicent already has enough haters and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, and b) it was more thematically appropriate for Viserys to have this talk, since this is a story about Aegon’s journey to fatherhood and I always planned for him to have some kind of “confrontation” with Viserys near the end of the fic. So I needed another scene that highlights the friction between Aegon and Viserys…also I had a lot of fun with the agricultural metaphors 😂.

When Aegon wanders the city at the beginning of this chapter, he is content but aimless. Although he thinks this is exactly what he wants—freedom to do nothing of consequence and just run around—deep down he wants something more purposeful. He needs some kind of goal/target or he falls into a bored malaise, as he does later in the chapter. The detective adventures eventually fill this need, then later taking care of Jace after her kidnapping, then eventually assuming a role in the game to protect his family.

House Tyrell has no history of being kings, and they still seem like they’re finding their footing as lord paramount of the Reach at this point in time. House Hightower is a very old and revered house with a history of being kings, so I feel like Aegon and his siblings may have inherited an ancestral disdain of the Tyrells 😂.

Jace loves roses, but I imagine a Tyrell lady at the garden party getting snooty about how “roses are so very Tyrell.” Similar to Jace’s feelings about colors, she feels like sigils—especially something as common as a rose—shouldn’t belong to any one family.

I did a lot of research about pregnancy for this fic. I came across a few stories of pregnant people getting nauseated during sex because of the jostling movements. I thought that would be very unfortunate for Jace and Aegon…so I made it happen 🙈. And it adds to Aegon’s growing feeling that his presence is a burden during Jace’s pregnancy.

The LIWs are there to make Jace’s life easier, not Aegon’s. So Jace views them as very helpful while Aegon (who is actually a “private” person at heart re: how he wants to live his life) sees them as intruders. This change isn’t sudden but gradual, taking place over the span of several weeks, like the frog in boiling water metaphor. It doesn’t occur to Aegon to protest until it’s too late, and even then, he sees how the LIWs are helping her a lot and he doesn’t want to take that from her. So he doesn’t say anything to Jace.

The LIWs have a designated solar they could hang out in, but they’re eager to stay close to Jace while she’s ill and nauseated. I also think they’re following Rhaena’s example, and Rhaena is used to having free rein to Jace’s rooms. And I don’t want to throw even more shade on Elinor, but her crush on Aegon is compelling her to go to Jace’s rooms fairly early in the morning in the hopes of catching him shirtless 🤭.

Overall, the line “there was no room for Aegon in Jacaera’s chambers when her ladies occupied it” encapsulates a lot of his feelings of being squeezed out of Jace’s life while she’s dealing with so many other things.

I read in a fanfic somewhere (no idea which fic) the theory that dragons are assumed male until they show signs of gestation or lay eggs. I like this theory because it helps explain why so many dragons seem to be male, and F&B has a line quibbling about the rumor that Vermax laid eggs at Winterfell (I think it’s Eustace who lambastes the theory that dragons can change sex). If Vermax did lay eggs, the “assumed male until otherwise proven” theory jives with him being called male previously. Also, I don’t know how dragon anatomy works, but one can assume that it’s difficult to tell males and females apart as hatchlings, and by the time they develop reproductive parts, you don’t really want to be examining them too closely.

I also wanted to make Vermax female so she and Sunfyre could parallel Jace and Aegon. Jace’s first pregnancy coincides with Vermax’s first gestation, and there’s some foreshadowing with Vermax’s three eggs later 👀. Also, I make the dragons’ personalities reflective of their riders’. Vermax is very docile and calm, while Sunfyre is a horny daredevil.

In this chapter, Aegon is still struggling to come to terms with impending fatherhood. He can’t help but feel like the pregnancy has been coming in between him and Jace rather than bringing them closer together, he’s got a lot of his own daddy issues to work out, and he’s still in a “I do what a want, no responsibilities” mindset. But even now, he secretly wants to grow and mature out of this; he imagines placing a dragon egg in his child’s cradle, and it gives him some warm fuzzies.

I imagine there’s a lot of conflict between the maesters and Targaryens whether it’s safe for pregnant women to ride dragons. The maesters wouldn’t consider it safe to ride horses, and riding dragons seems even more dangerous. Meanwhile the Targs are confident in their dragon bonds protecting them. My headcanon is that Rhaenyra and other female dragonriders, unless they’re exceptionally bold/reckless, at least spend their first pregnancy on the ground to be safe. But if that pregnancy goes well, they’re a lot more confident about flying during later pregnancies. Jace is already a cautious person by nature, so she would abide by the maesters’ recommendations.

Jace honestly doesn’t need to/shouldn’t do so many Small Council things right now, but she’s an overachiever. In the modern world, she’s the kind of person who volunteers for all the extra projects at work so she can prove herself. Aegon calls himself a lazy person with a skewed sense of what is urgent, but in this case, he’s actually right about Jace doing too much. One of his weaknesses: he thinks Jace is so perfect that he hesitates to tell her when she’s in the wrong.

Ever since the witch shouted at Joff during the wedding parade, Joff has been thinking a lot about her. She’s been trying to research what the witch said but she’s reached a dead end, so now the only avenue is going straight to the source. I dropped hints in Chapter 2 of the Handbook that Aegon was Joff’s curse tablet dealer, so she goes to him for help. Aegon is a skeptic about witchcraft at this point in the story, but we know that changes later.

Joff has a talent for insulting Targ men where it hurts. Daemon bore the brunt of it in the Handbook, but now it’s Aegon’s turn with the “big baby” comments 😂.

I’ll probably come up with more backstory for Old Willow in Joff’s fic. I imagine her to have genuine powers of some sort (foresight/prophecy at the very least). She isn’t super powerful, but the people around her respect/fear her as the real deal. She makes her money mostly by doing non-magic witchy things, like brewing moon tea, which is in higher demand and more affordable than the occasional curse tablet.

Joff has a prickly personality, but she can and will fight people in defense of her sisters 🤺.

The puncture wounds on Old Willow’s body are from the longshoreman hook that the Tyroshi sometimes carries around. Her death is over-the-top because, as is established in later chapters, the Tyroshi is a sadist. He decides to kill her because she supplied the love/beauty charm to the whore Daisy, so he deems Old Willow guilty as an accomplice.

Because Joff has been thinking about Old Willow a lot, she’s also been thinking about the curse tablet she used several years ago. I’ve deliberately been ambiguous in the story text about what exactly Joff did with the tablet, but many readers have pieced together that Laenor’s death was involved somehow. So Joff has been thinking a lot about her father’s death, and the guilt she’s feeling seeps into her reaction to Old Willow’s death. Old Willow’s death does greatly inconvenience Joff’s little quest, but Joff is also feeling a lot of things about murder victims and the loved ones they leave behind.

Old Willow’s murder was very different in early drafts. Originally the Tyroshi wasn’t involved at all, and Daisy was the murderer because she blamed Old Willow for the love/beauty charm wearing off, and the random whore on the street played a bigger role in helping Aegon investigate. But as I reassessed how I wanted the second half of the fic to go, I reorganized the side characters’ roles and reduced the unnecessary minor characters so they didn’t distract too much from the main story.

Aegon sometimes makes questionable decisions (is it really a good idea to bring a 9-year-old princess to Flea Bottom without any guards at night?), but he has a few “eldest sibling” instincts that foretell what he’ll be like as a father. He tries to keep Joff out of actual trouble (don’t anger the locals, don’t open the bottle that might be poison), shows empathy to her (realizes this must be the first dead body she’s seen even though Joff acts dark and morbid), and gives Joff time to sort through her messy emotions about the witch’s death (lets her investigate the hut instead of immediately dragging her out—although he could also be criticized for letting a kid linger around a dead body). Basically, as a big brother/uncle/good-brother, he’s pretty indulgent and lets Joff explore her interests so to speak, but he intervenes if he suspects imminent danger. After Cheeseball is born, Aegon is understandably very protective of him. But when Cheeseball grows old enough, I see Aegon as being willing to let him run around and potentially fall and scrape his knees, because that’s just a natural part of life and relatively harmless—but Aegon would absolutely stop Cheeseball from running off the edge of a cliff.

I made Joff an early bird because I wanted to thwart the trope that dark witchy character = night owl 😄.

Bethany likes teasing Elinor about her crush on Aegon, hence the little exchange about Elinor making a good posset. But if Bethany suspected Elinor actually wanted to seduce Aegon (which she doesn’t), I think Bethany would draw the line and might even tattle on Elinor. We see in Chapter 5 that Bethany takes her duty to Jace seriously when it matters.

Aegon is right about Jace not enjoying gruesome murder stories, and telling her about his and Joff’s adventures right then would’ve kept her awake for a long time. But his quality time with Jace is limited so he doesn’t get a chance to tell her about it before the feast disaster. The miscommunication trope can be tricky because it’s so easy to make the people involve ridiculously stupid for plot reasons, so I was trying my best to lay the foundations for genuine reasons they wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk to each other. And the miscommunication doesn’t last for long. I think it’s a week at most between Aegon and Joff going to Flea Bottom and the feast.

Just like Vermax and Sunfyre parallel Jace and Aegon, I wanted Syrax and Caraxes to parallel their riders. Rhaenyra has plenty of thoughts about Aegon as Jace’s husband, but she views it as a good thing if a couple has a healthy sex life, hence Syrax’s lack of concern. Meanwhile Caraxes shares Daemon’s antipathy toward Aegon/Sunfyre 😂.

Gyles is jittery because the Tyroshi has been increasing his demands for payment, which Gyles can’t fulfill. A little foreshadowing for later in the chapter.

I priced a bottle of moon tea at three pennies because that’s the price of a fresh fruit tart during Robert’s reign. Ignoring things like inflation, I thought that was a good benchmark: affordable for the smallfolk, but for a whore who’s barely making it on the streets, she has to choose between the moon tea or eating that day. Aegon has selfish motivations when he gives her the entire crate in exchange for information, but it’s a huge windfall for her, especially if she can sell or trade the moon tea she isn’t using herself.

Old Willow warns her customers that magic always has a price (a recurring theme in ASOIAF). I’m sure she warned Joff when she first bought the curse tablet, and the consequences of that event led Joff to stop digging as much into magic the last few years. But Joff is tempted when she gets her hands on the glass candle, and she learns that lesson again later in this fic.

Aegon compares the whore to a courtier because he’s realizing that all people are fundamentally the same, they just wear different clothes and have more or less money. No matter what level of society, everyone loves gossip/scandal.

The rumors of Daisy’s death are not entirely true, but they’re not too far off the mark, and you can see how the rumors developed based on the true version (as told by the madam). Usually the rumors are worse than the truth, but in this case, parts of the truth are even worse than the rumors.

The description of the Garden’s building is intended to evoke a sense of lukewarm attempts to prettify something miserable at its core, like the girls who work there. I added the detail of the woman drinking on the roof because if she falls and breaks her neck, oh well, it’s not like her life was that great 😢.

Undercover!Aegon is the obvious next step in the evolution of Detective!Aegon. Other than his hair color, he doesn’t have as striking Valyrian features like Aemond and Daemon, and he’s mingled enough with the commoners that he can imitate their mannerisms. (Just imagine Aemond trying to pull off that disguise 💀.)

Even though Aemond is right there, Daeron chooses to run to Aegon for advice on girls/women instead. Aegon actually managed to marry the woman he wanted while Aemond is stuck in a flirty limbo, so Daeron concludes that Aegon is the more successful brother 😂. S2 might change my mind, but S1 Aemond is NOT a womanizer/smooth talker/expert on the fairer sex. The same applies in this AU, although Aemond is fairly well-versed in one particular woman…but even so, he still puts his foot in his mouth a lot.

Aegon is NOT shy about nudity lmao. He seems pretty content to loaf around in various states of undress in canon, and so is he here.

I love writing parallel scenes. In Chapter 3, we got Jace having sisterly bonding with Joff and Helaena, and now it’s Aegon’s turn to have brotherly bonding with Daeron and Aemond. And again, Aegon’s traits as a brother foretell what he might be like as a father. He caves underneath Daeron’s puppy face and indulges Daeron in a city outing so he can buy presents for Joff, but when they’re about to enter a sticky situation with the investigation, he tries to send Daeron home. Just imagine what Aegon will be like when Cheeseball gets his first crush 🥰.

Aegon’s statement “I never make Jace angry” was the universe setting him up to make her angry 💀. But Aegon was also kinda right about how groveling stops Jace being angry, because we see him talk his way out of the doghouse in Chapter 5.

I am convinced by the Episode 8 last supper scene that Aegon and Aemond have some brotherly telepathy going on, and that telepathy is even stronger in this verse where they’ve spent more time together in the Stepstones. Hence their ten-second silent exchange where they plan what to do about the mysterious noise in the hatch.

Notice that Aegon instinctively reassures Ronnel and cleans him up a bit. Big brother/dad instincts coming in 🥰. Aegon categorically refuses to help Ronnel with the bathroom (Ronnel wasn’t asking for help anyway, he was asking permission to go), but when it comes to his own kid? See Chapter 10 and how Aegon very studiously helps Cheeseball pass gas 😂.

Gyles and Ronnel know who Aegon is, but they call him “milord” because they aren’t used to interacting with highborns and they figure that address is suitable for anyone of noble birth. Aegon isn’t fussy about addresses and titles so he never corrected them.

Aemond has been doing his homework about dockworkers while at Driftmark. He wants to impress his future grandfather-in-law 😆.

Daeron and Ronnel are the same age, but Ronnel looks younger. Daeron has grown up on a rich diet and ample physical training. Ronnel has never gone hungry, but he doesn’t get as much variety in his diet as Daeron does, and the physical labor that Ronnel does (helping his father make pies) isn’t very conducive to body-building.

Daemon followed the Targbros because he’s nosy and curious about what would get all three of them out of the castle on an important day for Aegon. He got bored during the shopping trip and but became intrigued again when they discovered the abduction, and now he’s piecing together why Aegon has been acting so oddly the past week. Daemon is sticking around for the adventure so he can gather more information about Aegon’s doings, and because a kidnapping ring in the city is something that would interest most people. But also I think Daemon has been bored with domesticity and he wanted a bit of adventure 😂.

This is the point when Aegon forgets about the feast. His acquaintance/sort-of-friend has been violently kidnapped. That’s a big deal! And this is the kind of adrenaline rush that he enjoys. If he did remember the feast, I think Aegon would still embark on the rescue mission, but he would’ve at least sent a message back to the castle (or convinced Daeron to bring the message back).

I am sorry (not really), but I couldn’t resist making the pun “a stream of grizzled seamen trickled through” the brothel 🙈.

Yes, the madam got very excited by the prospect of three pretty Targaryen men. Can’t really blame her.

The madam mentions her “halfwit” guard. This is actually the brother she mentions in Chapter 6, whom the Tyroshi kidnaps to force her into helping him. I imagine the brother as a sweet and innocent guy, so I like to think he makes it out of the ordeal just fine and returns to the Garden. All the girls there like him, and he’s a large guy (I keep imagining someone like Hodor), so he can intimidate most customers who get too rowdy.

Currency fluctuates a lot in the ASOIAF universes, but at one point a gold dragon is the price of a horse. So that’s a lot of money Aegon is offering the madam, although of course as a prince, it isn’t much money to him. 100 gold dragons is apparently a reasonable ransom for a younger son of a noble family, so when the madam asks for 50 gold dragons for the building, she’s basically saying two of her building is equivalent to a ransom for Oscar Tully or Garmund Hightower.

Aegon claims not to care about royal titles or privileges, but he can still be a snob about things like carrying around a ridiculous amount of money (he’s got people for that). As Queen Clarisse Renaldi once said, “It’s not appropriate for royalty to jingle.”

“Help me, I’m drunk” was 100% inspired by “Get help” from Thor 3. I feel like all the distraction names are pretty self-explanatory. But in pretty much every variation, Aegon is the distraction because he’s a showboat, while Aemond ninja murders everybody.

One of the warehouse guards uses the phrase “pretty girl,” which is Aegon’s pet name for Jace, so that triggers him in addition to everything else.

The rescue is when Gyles becomes Aegon’s number one hype man. I had to delete some scenes with Gyles later in the fic because they didn’t flow well, but there’s a scene where Gyles says he wants to teach his son good values like loyalty, and he cites his loyalty to Aegon as an example.

The Garden’s girls stick around to watch the arrests. The night’s events improve their opinions of the Targs (Aegon in particular). There are other factors, like Aegon’s chill managerial style and him selling the brothel for almost-free to Liane, but this is part of the good karma that pays off later when Jace needs help.

Aegon does enjoy the gratitude he receives for the rescue, similarly to how in canon he laps up the crowd’s adoration during his coronation. So that dopamine hit adds to the appeal of continuing his detective work.

The Gyles & Ronnel reunion makes an impact on Aegon because it’s the first time he’s really seeing a loving father-son relationship and affection. It’s sort of a turning point that plants a seed in his mind of what sort of father he wants to be to his unborn child, because now he has evidence there’s an alternative to what he grew up with. Also, note how Aegon feels like a voyeur to this emotional intimacy, but he’s entirely unaffected by physical intimacy like what happens at the brothel.

Originally the chapter dragged on longer with a scene where the Targs help Gyles and Ronnel move their stuff into the Red Keep, because Aegon offers Gyles a job on the spot. There was a whole comedic bit where Gyles reveals the giant cheese wheel that got him into trouble with the Tyroshi. But I decided it would be better to end the chapter where it did, with Aegon realizing his mistake 🤭.

#my writing #meta #house of the dragon meta #hotd meta #fanfic meta #aegon ii targaryen #female jacaerys velaryon #the golds

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thecallahanlegacy · 11 months

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ROYAL WEDDING OF HATTENBURGH & CAMBRIDGE with OLIVIA MALTLEY on CHANNEL 84 O’WILTA NEWS

(Wedding photo album included)

“Within the walls of the Cambridge Royal Cathedral in the countryside of O’Wilta, Eastland, Simlandovian and Eastland history will be made in real time, right before our very eyes.

The Cambridge Royal Cathedral, located in the countryside of O’Wilta, Eastland

“The families of both wedding parties will be arriving shortly, but let’s take a moment to introduce our country’s new Princess, Nora Hattenburgh. At just sixteen, she graduated high school and entered university at Britechester. Now seventeen, she is to wed our Prince Frederick, soon-to-be King, and the two will rule two countries simultaneously, a first for both Simlandovia and Eastland, as this has only happened elsewhere due to the acquisition of a country.

(L to R) Their Royal Highnesses Prince George, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Princess Amalia, Prince-Consort William

“First to arrive is the bride’s family, the Hattenburghs. The men present themselves in sleek black suits while the women stand out in shades of purple. Queen Elizabeth stands vibrantly in a royal purple number: a simple sleeveless dress matched with the same colored heels and floral fascinator. Princess Amalia steps back with a pastel purple floral dress and fascinator, paired well with white heels with gold accents.

“It is understood that Princess Nora arrived early in the afternoon by private jet to the cathedral in order to best prepare herself for her big day!

(L to R) Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederick, Princess Louisa, Princess Celina Fontane (not visible), Her Majesty Queen Gloria, Prince Stephon, His Majesty King Alexander, Prince Eric

“The next to arrive is the groom’s family, the Cambridges. Prince Frederick is seen donning a military uniform from the Royal Eastland Blue, which matches the Queen’s pastel blue dress and feathered fascinator. Princess Louisa arrived in a pastel pink jumpsuit and fascinator with white heels and fascinator ribbon details, while her daughter, Princess Celina, rocked a light purple dress and shoes. Prince Stephon "didn’t want to overdress” and sported a simple blue dress shirt and tie with brown pants, meanwhile the King and Prince Eric decided to ‘go big or go home’, with the King’s fashionable navy blue jacket and floral embroidered dress shirt combined with brown- almost purple- dress pants. Prince Eric showed up in his bright tan and white suit.

(L to R) The Queen Mother Catherine, Prince Lucian, Princess Beatrice, Duke Joseph, Princess Annabelle

“The third group to arrive to the event included the Callahans and Duboses. Catherine rocked a royal blue knee-length dress and feathered fascinator, alongside Prince Lucian who matched his mother with a royal blue suit jacket and black pants. Princess Beatrice, the Queen Mother’s fourth grandchild, made her first formal engagement appearance with a lovely baby blue knee-length dress with matching low heels and floral fascinator. Duke Joseph contrasted the group with a bright yellow suit jacket and black pants, and Princess Annabelle looked professional as ever in a long bright green pleated dress and jacket with a matching green hat.

(L to R) RA Peter Cash, LIW Annette Almin, RR Mirabel Regan

“And now for the unexpected arrival of Princess Nora’s new Royal Advisor and Lady-In-Waiting, dressed in a matching blue and white ensemble. The unexpected guest of the evening was Royal Report’s very own Mirabel Regan, who dressed to impress in a bright yellow knee-length dress and matching ribbon fascinator.

“And now, without any hesitation, shall we proceed with the event of the evening, and bare witness to the royal wedding of Frederick Cambridge and Nora Hattenburgh!

(L to R) Prince-Consort William, Crown Princess Nora

“Her Royal Highness is wearing a gorgeous off-shoulder lace wedding gown with a cathedral train, accented nicely with a sapphire and diamond parure. She’s being escorted down the aisle by her father, the Prince-Consort of Simlandovia.

“Smiles and laughter of excitement arose from the wedding couple as they stood across each other, before they gave their vows at the cue of the out-of-frame officiant.

“And when the time finally came, the couple finished the long-awaited event with a historic spousal kiss! All of the wedding guests got up in a round of cheers for the moment as it unfolded.

Wedding photo album:

“Now we see everybody head over to reception!

(L to R) Prince Eric, Prince Frederick, Prince Lucian, Princess Louisa, Princess Nora, Prince Stephon, Duke Joseph

(L to R) Princess Nora, Duke Joseph, Prince George, King Alexander, Princess Annabelle

Newly wed Princess Nora gives her wedding toast

King Alexander speaking with the newly wed Princess Nora

Queen Elizabeth and Nora’s homemade wedding cake

(L to R) Duke Joseph, Princess Annabelle, Prince Frederick, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Nora, RA Peter Cash, Prince George, Prince Lucian, Princess Celina, Prince Stephon

Crown Princess Nora and Crown Prince Frederick cutting their wedding cake

The bride and groom’s first dance under the floral cathedral pergola

The Queen Mother Catherine with Princess Nora, her first born grandchild

(L to R) Prince-Consort William, Crown Princess Nora, Queen Elizabeth

The parents of the bride

(L to R) Princess Amalia, Princess Nora, Prince George

(L to R) Queen Gloria of Eastland, Queen Elizabeth of Simlandovia, Crown Princess Nora, Crown Prince Frederick, Prince-Consort William of Simlandovia, King Alexander of Eastland

(L to R) Prince Stephon, Crown Prince Frederick, Prince Eric

(L to R) Queen Gloria, Princess Nora, Queen Elizabeth

Queen Gloria and Princess Nora holding hands in wedding photo

(L to R) Princess Amalia, Princess Nora, Princess Louisa

Newly wedded Prince Frederick and Princess Nora

“And that sure is a wrap for this wonderful wedding event, and a bookmark in time as history continues to be made! Thank you for joining us for live coverage, and we will surely return with more royal news!”

#sims 4 #sims 4 story #sims 4 family #sims 4 legacy #sims 4 simblr #sims 4 wedding #sims 4 royal story #sims 4 royal family #sims 4 royal legacy #sims 4 royal simblr #sims 4 royal wedding #sims 4 series #sims 4 royal series

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redladydeath · 5 months

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It doesn’t make sense having 3 alts covering two queens each. Even the US has had moments with needing an EC and they have more alts covering more queens. If they got rid of 2nd/3rd covers you’d think they’d add a queen to the 3 alts or at least have another super swing (not counting the universal swing). Unless they just plan on using lady in waiting costumes for the 2nd/3rd covers. Do we think that’s possible?

No way they'd use the LiW costume, that's a last resort that really doesn't work as a queen costume. It's more likely that in a pinch they'd pull old costumes out of storage and try to alter them to fit the actress as best they can.

#redlady speaks

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geqilowusu · 2 years

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bimomoronex · 2 years

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Hanseatic tv bedienungsanleitung yamaha

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tawaferaras · 2 years

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yourdeepestfathoms · 5 years

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It’s been seven years since the show ended. Thirty-three year old Katherine Howard strode down a hallway with flowers clutched tightly in her hands and a determined look in her eyes. People stared when she passed by, momentarily distracted by her hawk-like features and striking beauty, but quickly got back on track. She, however, paid no mind to them. She had somewhere to be.

Turning a corner, Katherine stopped in front of a door that led into a laboratory-like area. She checked the template next to the entrance and confirmed it to be the place the lady at the front desk had directed her to. With a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.

There she was.

With her hair cut short into a pixie cut, however still dyed silvery-blonde, and glasses pressed up close to her dark, gleaming eyes, twenty-four year old Bessie Blount sat at a table in the lab, diligently working in a notebook and glancing at the human bones lined up beside her on a mat every once and awhile. She didn’t even hear Katherine come in, rather it was Othello, the Great Dane that had been registered as her service dog. When he perked up, she looked up, too.

The girl’s eyes lit up like the sun’s supernova.

“Mum!!”

Despite now working as a forensic pathologist, which was a very mature job, Bessie still retained some of her child-like wonder. She flung herself right into Katherine’s arms, hugging her tightly. Her back muscles were tense, a signature, yet painful trait for her, even now, so Katherine massaged the area she knew relaxed her nerves, therefore relaxing Bessie even further. The girl smiled happily, resting her head on her mother’s chest.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Katherine chuckled, “You’ve missed me then, huh?”

“Of course!” Bessie said, “I can’t believe you’re here! At my work! This-this is awesome!” She hugged the older woman again, earning a laugh.

“I missed you, too, my love.” Katherine smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I’m here now.”

She wasn’t going to waste this time with her wonderful daughter.

#uk tour six #in case yall coudlnt tell #I dont really like future fics because they make me sad when they are seperate #and I feel like the liw would at least stay together so this probably isnt canon in my universe at least #but I thought it was super cute #what with mama katherine visiting her daughter #and bessie BEING kat’s daughter #and bessie also working as a forensic pathologist #it was just a fun little thing :)#six the musical #six concept #tour katherine howard #katherine howard #tour bessie on the bass #bessie on the bass

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corvidonia · 2 months

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apollo using echolocation in the dark. next

#greek mythology #apollo #liw universe #feel free to steal <3

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t3rz0 · 4 years

Photo

finalmente screenedits de el AU del AU xd pero weno el au original de SU gone wrong le pertenece a @spudinacup y el otro AU es mio quize fusionar estos dos AUs y pues aqui esta love ins{t weak gone wrong muestro estos primeros screen edits y por cierto el de pelo amarillo su nombre es marigold y es como el steven y diamante amarillo de mi AU subire mas de esto

english

finally screenedits of the AU of the xd AU but weno the original au gone wrong au belongs to @spudinacup and the other AU is mine I wanted to merge these two AUs and well here is love ins {t weak gone wrong I show these first screen edits and by the way the yellow-haired one his name is marigold and it's like the steven and yellow diamond of my AU I will upload more of this

#steven universe #su gone wrong #LIW gone wrong #marigold #morganite #AU #screen edits #spudinacup #spinel

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lespetitstrucs · 7 years

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IF YOU LIKE:

Pantheon University

TRY:

The Blair Goddess Project

WHY:

Both bring Greek mythology to modern times with humor and heart.

[part 3/? of web series comparison recommendations]

#pantheon university #bgp #blair goddess project #liw #web series #webseriescomps

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canyouhearthelight · 3 years

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The Miys, Ch. 136

This chapter was a chance to explore some more science-based tropes that I absolutely love in stories. The truth is, when I’m working at my day job, I love listening to documentaries on Curiosity and YouTube channels like Answers with Joe or Kurzgesagt. My love of science fiction actually comes from my love of space and astronomy, not the other way around.

In no way, shape, or form, does this chapter cover any of the concepts in question in full. It’s just a quick convo between Sophia and a good friend ;)

My thanks, as always, go to @baelpenrose, @the-raven-fae, @charlylimph-blog, and @anotherusrname. Plus all of YOU!

Even as my mind wandered, I couldn’t help but grin a bit as I took my weekly stroll through the corridors of the Ark with Miys in tow. For several years now, we had a standing appointment on my calendar that both Alistair and Tyche treated as sacrosanct - just some time for me to spend with our host, my friend, and learn more about each other. When I had originally arrived on the Ark, any time I was seen walking with them, other humans would give me odd looks, but never approach. Now, people would recognize me, smile, and wave, but still never interrupted the strolls.

It was nice. Like my weekly family dinners, it was a routine, pleasant part of my life. Especially days like today, when we were entering the dawn-cycle and each day became a little brighter. It made me wonder about other civilizations, ones that would have evolved in conditions like the ones we were adapting ourselves for. How did it affect them? How would it affect us as generations passed? Future generations were certainly going to be shorter, due to the high gravity. Would it change our technological advances as well -

“Wisdom, why are you thinking so hard about Gestrcht Clusters?” Miys interrupted my thoughts.

“Hm?” I asked absently. “What’s a Jestrick Cluster?”

“Gestrcht,” they corrected mildly. “Gestrcht clusters are a type of civilization that has adapted to live in artificial platforms surrounding their sun, in order to better harness the solar energy, radiation, or heat needed.”

“You mean a Dyson swarm?” I tried to clarify, confused.

“All of the galaxy calls them Gestrcht clusters, therefore I think that is what you mean.”

“Alright, alright,” I laughed, holding my hands up in defeat. “The reason I was thinking about Gestruck clusters - “

“Gestrcht”

“I will work on it. The reason I was thinking about those is… I was wondering how living on Von will change our priorities. In our history, those constructions were something that fascinated both imagination and science - something several people thought was our launching pad to a Kardashev Type II civilization, or the singularity point. Maybe both.”

“Kardashev…” they hummed for a moment, thinking. “Only humanity would create goals of technological advancement that required destruction on a multi-planetary scale.”

I desperately wanted to object, but strongly suspected they were right. “So we were wrong, again? There are no civilizations out there that would fit what we imagined for a Kardashev I or II race?”

“I will concede to the existence of species that you would consider both. However, it is not how you believe it to be - humanity would never have been able to accomplish it without greater sacrifice than they have ever known.”

Oh boy. “Tell me? I want to understand why other species could do it, but we could not.” My curiosity needed to know.

They held up one of their liw, rocking it back and forth in imitation of a human head tilt. “Species that have managed to harness all of the energy produced by their planet, and not destroy their environments, have historically been those who had very little power to harness to begin with. These civilizations come from either very harsh, or very gentle worlds - never anything in between. Abundant wind energy scouring a planetary desert can greatly benefit a species who can harness that wind to temper it and create a paradise. A planet with no atmosphere, but incredible amounts of geothermal energy runs little risk in being able to direct all of that volcanic activity to its benefit. But Earth?”

“Is a deathworld,” I pointed out. “You said so yourself.”

“This is true, but it is not a deathworld in the way So’Kn is, for example. Preeyar and So’kn are planets that are lethal for very singular reasons: So’Kn is a frozen waste of permanent night and eternal wind. It is so harsh that only So’Knor can truly survive there with without significant technological assistance. Preeyar only has atmosphere in its valleys, and that is thinner than most species can survive, much less the fact that there are no liquids on Preeyar. None. The air pressure is too low to allow it for any chemicals that are naturally occurring, and the atmosphere violently reacts with any elements that could exist in liquid form. It is, in fact, believed that the rift valleys were caused by simply an icy meteor impacting the planet.”

“Ho-lee shit,” I whispered.

“I doubt many cultures would find it holy at all,” they joked drily. “Whereas Earth… There is no one singular quality about Earth that classifies it as a deathworld. Instead, there are several, each stemming from the abundant forms of energy offered by your home world.”

“Seriously!?”

“Indeed. And the combinations thereof. The length of natural disasters that are possible, alone, is unique to Earth. Tornadoes and earthquakes. Flooding and wildfires. Volcanoes and hurricanes. Methane just rising from your lakes to kill large swathes of people. Lakes below your oceans, Wisdom! Volcanoes below your oceans! It is insanity to the entirety of the Galaxy, and yet humans consider that just a normal aspect of existence.”

“And… what exactly does that have to do with being able to harness all the energy of our planet, exactly?” To say I was confused was an understatement.

To their credit, Miys only reached with one vomu to make a ‘nose pinching’ gesture against its head. “Earth, somehow, is only habitable and so abundant in life because everything exists in a precarious balance. Surely, the last two centuries of your own history demonstrated that. Attempting to harness all of the admittedly prodigious energy of your planet would have ended up destroying that balance beyond compare.”

I tried to comprehend it. I really did. Focusing on what little I knew, I thought about dams. Those were familiar to me - I had grown up in an area that dammed every river and creek possible for everything from grain mills and fruit presses, to artificial fish ponds, to electricity. “Starting there…” it was faster not to explain out loud when I knew Miys was following along with the home game, “Damming a river creates a lake. That floods an area that already has a habitat, and dries out another area that already has an aquatic habitat.”

“And prevents floods that fertilize fields and redistribute minerals from erosion, yes.”

“Right. Times every river, creek, and faint trickle on Earth…” I stopped myself. Every river. The Amazon. The Nile. “And we just washed out what’s left of the largest rainforest on Earth.”

“Leaving more carbon in the air…” they encouraged.

“And increasing the greenhouse effect, increasing heat on the surface, melting more ice, which - hey, more wind, amirite? - but changing planetary albedo, more water, wetter Sahara, no dust to fertilize… South America? Dammit, are we back to killing the Amazon again?”

“That is just one form of energy, Wisdom. But I feel you are understanding the issue.”

“Yeahhhh…” I trailed off. “Okay, so. Kardashev I is no bueno tacos for Earth. What if we skipped straight to Kardashev II slash singularity?” I made a point to focus on the concept of technological singularity very hard, so there would be less need for research on their part. You know, spare myself half a minute or so. “The Gestrkt clusters.”

“Closer,” they admitted, although I was suspicious they meant my pronunciation and not the idea that humanity would ever get there. “Humanity is not… suited, for Gestrcht clusters.”

“Wait, what?”

“Humanity is too curious, too social, and too exploratory. Your fiction abounds with every variation of different worlds and strange universes you could possibly conceive of. And it constantly expanded - your oldest texts involve travelling to your moon, and when you actually reached it, you looked further out - other systems, other galaxies, other dimensions. Gestrcht clusters require such substantial resources and maintenance, there is little left over for exploration.”

“There are humans who would be perfectly content living in such a structure,” I argued, although my heart wasn’t in it. I wouldn’t have been, knowing that other worlds were out there.

“Not enough to sustain it, unfortunately. Not even in what you call the Before.” Lightly resting one vomu on my shoulder, they squeezed gently. “Wisdom, humanity has always wanted to see other worlds. Gestrcht clusters are all or nothing.”

“And singularity?” I asked, barely managing a hoarse whisper.

“It is true that there have been some singleton species that have achieved what you term singularity with technology. Fewer have been successful.” When I glanced at them, all six upper appendages were held up in defense. “Hive minds are uniquely suited to it, and even some of us,” they waved those same six appendages at their torso, “would never accept it. I could never imagine not having the chance to travel the galaxy, to be with other races as they experience it. Add to that, humanity is somehow both individual and social. Removing that line, that choice? I doubt your kind would thrive. Postulate this: Derek, in a hive mind.”

“Absolutely not,” came my unhesitating response, disgust and violence trembling in every limb before I calmed myself. “And I see your point. Integrating technology in our lives, into how we function…” I tapped my head for emphasis, “that’s one thing. It makes our lives better, by making sure that Derek, and others, can have their personal space protected.” The more I thought about it… I never considered the idea in reference to ‘now’, only ‘eventually’. What if we did it now, and I was one of the people - suddenly never alone, always connected to every thought of strangers via technology. What if Tyche was? Or Maverick? Hell, Charly? “I think I need a shower, now,” I admitted, skin crawling.

“Humanity could achieve both,” Miys confirmed, although it didn’t feel as reassuring as I had hoped it would at the beginning of our conversation. “But I don’t think humanity would truly want to live in Gestrcht clusters or singularity, given any other choice but extinction.”

Laughing, I wiped a tear from one eye. It was a bitter truth, but still true. “I think you’re right.”

“I may be wrong,” they countered. “As I said, there are singleton species who have made those transitions and the entire galaxy is better for it.”

“Some hope that we weren’t entirely wrong would be nice right about now,” I mumbled as I scuffed my shoe at the floor. There wasn’t anything to kick except Else-puffs, and that was just mean as fuck.

“Most species that made a transition to Gestrcht clusters early in their development are belligerent, insular species. The fact that they must focus all their efforts and resources on maintaining their platforms prevents them from becoming actively warlike. As far as ‘singularity’... singleton species who thrive in that transition are often species who cannot thrive on a galactic scale otherwise.”

Huh? I craned my neck to try to look up at them in the perpetual-dawn light. “What do you mean?”

Miys flicked a datapad open - one I know they only wore for our sakes, seeing as they could not actually see anything on the purely-optical screen, I had learned. They could only navigate it if interacting with a human, so they could ‘see’ what they needed to tap out.

Needless to say, Charly and Grey had been working for years on one that responded to sonic commands.

Eventually, a seven-fingered flick caused my own databand to chirp. I flicked it open to see the file. “They… Noah, this looks like sentient pollen… or feathers…” Realistically, any description I tried to create fell devastatingly short. The being on my datapad moved as though it was floating on wind, with tens of thousands of filament-fine tendrils swaying and navigating. The sound it created reminded me of the sound of snowfall, if snowflakes could sing opera. “They’re beautiful,” I sniffed, driving back tears at knowing something so breathtaking existed.

“They also cannot survive off their planet, unfortunately. Even the transition out of their atmosphere is lethal to them.”

My heart shattered into a million pieces. “What is their name?”

“No one knows for certain. But they have achieved a sort of singularity - once they have matured and reproduced, they upload themselves at the end of their very brief lifecycles. In the Galactic Community, they are known as Odvub.”

“Odvub…” I whispered, holding out my fingers like I could actually touch the screen.

“Outside of a Hujylsogox rescue ship, it is nearly impossible to avoid encountering Odvub. Most believe they are some sort of galactic artificial intelligence, and they prefer to allow that belief.”

“Why are you telling me this, then?”

“They have permitted it, when these sort of questions are asked. To show what desperation is required for a singleton species to thrive in singularity.”

I sniffed, desperately trying not to cry at their situation. “Do they know about humans?”

“They may be the only species who could not avoid knowing about it. But Odvub believes your people are hearty, and adaptable, and should never suffer their fate. They advised, in the event that your people ever ask about singularity, to do this…” Miys gently cupped my cheek in one liw and patted it, “and tell you that you will never need to resort to what they had to do, and that they look forward to meeting your people one day.”

“Obviously not face to face,” I admitted quietly. “I have allergens that are more substantial than they are.”

“It is considered a great honor in the Galactic Community for this icon to display when you interact with Odvub.” Miys gestured at the vicinity of the image on my datapad. “Only those who know why, know why it is an honor.”

“We’ll take it,” I laughed, tears streaming down my cheeks. “All of humanity may never know why, but we’ll take it. If I may tell Arthur, we probably will know why.” He would see to it. Loudly, angrily, derisive of anyone who mocked it. “Regardless, we’ll take it, all the same.”

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#the miys #found family #humans are weird #science fiction #aliens #apocalypse #humans are space orcs #humans are space fae #earth is space australia #post apocalypse #post post apocalypse #original science fiction #original sci fi #original writing

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presidenthades · 4 months

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Once again, I am doing a series of my behind-the-scenes thoughts for The Golds while I do light edits for formatting, typos, and continuity. Here’s Chapter 3!

For this chapter’s title, I chose the Smith lyrics from “The Song of the Seven” because Jace is so busy busy busy with her work, even though she is suffering horrible from morning sickness.

I didn’t set out intending to make the entire chapter one scene, but it just ended up that way, and any scene breaks would’ve felt forced. I like how it ended up though. We basically get “a day in the life” of a pregnant Targ princess, and I end up mirroring the one-scene-only style in Chapter 6, where we get “a day in the life” of a Targ detective prince (only it’s the worst day of Aegon’s life 🥲).

I’m pretty sure I’ve rambled about ladies-in-waiting (LIW) before in other commentaries, but you’re getting another ramble, sorry not sorry. We don’t see Alicent or Rhaenyra with any LIWs on the show, except Elinda Massey (and only book readers would know she isn’t an ordinary maid, since she dresses like everyone else). The show probably has to cut extras like this for cost reasons, but Rhaenyra definitely has more ladies in the book and I presume Alicent does as well. Still, GRRM doesn’t go into a lot of detail about LIWs, so I can headcanon as much as a want 😎.

I think it’s reasonable to presume show!Alicent was one of Rhaenyra’s LIWs when they were younger. We know Rhaenyra felt very betrayed when Alicent married Viserys, so I imagine Rhaenyra didn’t want to hang out so closely with any of her other LIWs afterwards. She still has LIWs because it’s expected, but she doesn’t confide in them like she confided in Alicent, so her LIWs act more in a service than companion role—and I think Rhaenyra comes to deeply value her privacy, so she doesn’t want LIWs always hanging around and possibly spreading gossip about her. So I imagine her LIWs are all from smaller houses like the Masseys, who wouldn’t even dream of being buddies with the princess.

Meanwhile I think Alicent uses the LIW system as a way of securing her position at court (nobody expected her to become queen) and winning friends/alliances. She probably picks ladies from powerful houses like the Lannisters, so in contrast to Rhaenyra, Alicent’s ladies act more in a companion than service role (handmaidens like Talya would do the servant stuff like helping Alicent dress). But none of these friendships can compare to the friendship she once had with Rhaenyra, so there is still some distance. Alicent would have these LIWs attend to her at formal events, charity outings, and embroidery circles, but she probably isn’t inviting them for private hangout sessions.

Jace grows up with a bunch of sisters whom she’s close to, so she has all the intimacy and confidantes she wants. There are a lot of princesses at court in this universe, but if anyone is expected to have LIWs, it’s Jace as the future queen and a newly married woman. So she needs LIWs. She sees how Rhaenyra and Alicent use/fail to use their LIWs and learns from their actions. LIWs are very useful for soft alliances, but they have access to their mistress’ personal life so they have to be chosen with care.

Rhaena is an obvious choice. It’s not uncommon for relatives to be LIWs, and as much as I hate to say it, Rhaena is lower status despite being a Targaryen. She’s super far down the line of succession, and even if Daemon had anything to bequeath to his children, Baela would inherit. LIWs can certainly be highborns (they SHOULD be to serve a princess), but they’re serving their mistress so they shouldn’t be equal status (e.g. it’d be iffy if Helaena, the king’s daughter, were asked to be LIW to Jace). Rhaena has a lot of traits and skills valuable in a LIW (organized, knows fashion and etiquette), and Jace trusts her deeply. In return, Rhaena gets status and income (LIWs get paid by their mistress I think) independent from her father, and she enjoys doing LIW things so it’s a win-win.

There would be an unspoken expectation that Jace picks a Baratheon girl as a LIW. They’re her cousins (second cousins once removed, not too close but still a relation) and a great house, and Borros is easily offended, so Jace does her best to pick a daughter. Birth order is important in this society, so the eldest Cassandra is the obvious choice, especially since she’s the same age as Jace. But as mentioned in Chapter 9, Jace knows Cassandra is vying for Aemond, and as a Luce/Aemond shipper, she doesn’t want to give Cassandra potential opportunities to get at him. Maris is second oldest but she was very rude to Jace at her wedding, and Jace doesn’t want that unpleasantness in her life. I believe Floris is the third daughter (she marries before Ellyn in the book, and usually you marry daughters oldest to youngest) so she’s next in line. She’s only 9/10, but young LIWS are fine; Margaery in ASOIAF has an 8-year-old LIW (or somewhere around that age). Also, you don’t want all your LIWs to be the exact same age. If they all get married at the same time and ask to leave your service, you have to be quickly replace all of them. So a mix of ages is better, and Floris proved herself to be very pleasant at the wedding.

Nepotism is to be expected in this kind of job application pool. If you have a trustworthy and capable servant, the first place you look for more candidates is their families, because surely they’ll be just as trustworthy and capable. Elinda has been a good LIW to Rhaenyra, and the Masseys have been a trusted vassal to the Targaryens since pre-Conquest, so Elinor gets an advantage just for her family. She also genuinely has useful skills for a LIW, and before the sept, she is shows herself to be reliable, efficient, and averse to gossip because she’s so quiet.

Bethany is another example of family connections, as Aegon’s second cousin. Jace picks Bethany partly to demonstrate that she doesn’t want the Black versus Green divide to continue into the next generation, and as a sort of olive branch to any Hightowers who might still feel friction. Bethany has some obnoxious traits (she’s a spoiled only daughter, no surprise there), but I imagine her as the most “fun” of Jace’s LIWs. She knows all the good games, stories, songs, etc. And Jace definitely needs to have more fun.

Sabitha isn’t much older (early 20s at most), but she kinda serves as the maternal figure in the group (even though Rhaena is officially in charge of the LIWs). She already has her own child, so her experience is valuable as Jace undergoes her own pregnancy, and she’s been running the Frey household for some time. She’s described as bold, sharp-tongued, and willing to take up arms, so I think she reminds Jace a bit of Baela. This is also a way for Jace to make a connection with the Riverlands, since the Tullys don’t seem to have any eligible daughters. Sabitha’s birth house is Vypren; there isn’t much information about them, but they seem to be a less important Riverlands house. Her husband Forrest is a younger son, so he wasn’t supposed to inherit the Twins, which means he probably didn’t make a super advantageous marriage. So I imagine Sabitha never expected to become the lady of such a powerful house or holding (and the Twins ARE an important holding), and now she wants to prove she deserves to have that position. Becoming a royal LIW boosts her status immensely, and if her son is able to become friends with a prince/future king, even better.

I explain in this chapter that Jace picks Sara for several reasons: a favor to Baela, to win favor with Cregan, and because she genuinely likes Sara. This is a tricky decision because the court doesn’t look kindly upon bastards, and this is a society where the people you hang out with strongly reflect on yourself. But Jace decides the benefits of having the only Stark girl (even if she’s illegitimate) in her service outweigh the cons, and this may be the beginning of bringing the North further into the fold. I, as the writer, also wanted to drop a little Easter egg to book!Jacaerys’s purported relationship with Sara, but in this universe they definitely aren’t lovers. (I’m sure Mushroom has other thoughts.)

You can see little hints of Elinor’s secret crush on Aegon. (He’s pretty, he dotes on Jace, Elinor has probably accidentally seen him shirtless a few times, and all the ladies have overheard Aegon and Jace having really good sex at some point 🙈.) Here, Elinor reacts strongly (accidentally pulls Jace’s hair) when Bethany mentions Aegon. Bethany knows about Elinor’s crush (she’s picked up on Elinor blushing, and the two of them spend a lot of time together because they’re very close in age and have very similar backgrounds as unwed, trueborn ladies) and she teases Elinor about it sometimes, so Elinor worries that Bethany might spill the beans one day. Whatever Elinor’s other flaws, she wouldn’t actually try to seduce Aegon (despite Bethany’s angry accusation in Chapter 6; Elinor is too timid for that), but other people don’t know that, and a reputation as someone trying to be a royal mistress could be disastrous. If Jace knew about the crush, she wouldn’t intentionally hold it against Elinor, but she’d probably be extra wary about Elinor’s contact with Aegon thenceforth. If Jace were a different kind of person, she might even fire Elinor for crushing on her husband.

I made up a list of hour names besides the few that GRRM gives us in canon. Hour of the pig is 10PM. Not super late for people to still be up, especially at court where somebody is always awake, but late enough that morning people like Jace are already in bed.

Jace doesn’t react well to people hiding information from her “for her own good.” We see it here with her LIWs and later with Aegon. TBH she does stress and catastrophize a lot, so the occasional information diet is a good idea, especially when she’s pregnant (and it ends up being a high-risk pregnancy). But everyone has flaws, and this is one of Jace’s.

I deliberate set the scene so it’s “obvious” Aegon is visiting brothels, and I was very happy when so many commenters had faith that my version of Aegon wouldn’t cheat on Jace and there had to be another explanation 🥰. Quite a few people guessed about human trafficking and helping the girls at the brothel, which was very close to the truth! I had fun setting up the “mystery” of what really happened, and I hope people enjoyed picking up on the details on rereads.

Ah yes, typical Jace blaming herself and her lower libido for Aegon potentially straying (although she never seriously thinks he did). If she can blame herself for something, she will 😛.

Helaena loves her bug references (fireflies, buzz), but that’s nothing new.

“If Aegon hunts for green snails, so can we.” Green snail = Green Tyroshi (Tyrosh is famous for its dye made from snails). A reference to Aegon’s current adventure rescuing Gyles—but maybe also Jace’s kidnapping later?

In this verse, Jace and Helaena are one year apart, so they’re rather close. Helaena seems pretty isolated as the only royal girl in canon, but she has Jace and Luce, and eventually Joff, in this AU. So I like to think that with more female companionship, Helaena comes out of her shell a bit more 🥰.

The reason Joff blushes, which is revealed in Chapter 4: Daeron accidentally steals her first kiss 🫢. I actually wrote out the scene for the “sisters’ reactions POVs” I originally planned to include. I might recycle it for when I eventually do a Joff and Daeron POV fic. But basically, Daeron has been acting weird around Joff since she kissed his cheek at the end of the Handbook, Joff got really fed up and told him to kiss her cheek to make it fair (and so he realizes it isn’t a big deal), but he accidentally kisses her mouth instead. Then she pushes him into the garden pond. True romance ❤️.

If you’ve read the modern Yule AU, you know that Joff comes out as demisexual, and I think that’s true in this verse too, even though they don’t have the word or concept in Westeros. If it were anyone besides Daeron, I think Joff would’ve been very annoyed by being kissed but moved on fairly quickly. With Daeron, she’s actually flustered.

Laenor shipped Jace/Aegon. He was a romantic (he never really moves on from Joffrey Lonmouth), and he wanted his children to have the marital love he could never have. I also think he genuinely liked and identified with Aegon: they both like adventures and partying, they aren’t fond of responsibility, and they feel like they’re always disappointing their fathers. Laenor and Rhaenyra generally got along in their marriage, but I think they clashed a lot over Rhaenyra’s resistance to a Jace/Aegon match. Jace is aware that Laenor supported her and Aegon, so I think that’s another reason Jace wanted to try honoring her father when she was picking baby names.

But Joff! Poor Joff never got to experience that indulgent side of Laenor 😢. There IS a reason Laenor treated her so differently, and that will be revealed in Joff’s fic. Laenor got her gifts like her sisters so he was trying not to show favoritism (or lack thereof), but he was more awkward and less cuddly, and Joff noticed 😞.

Joff is also aware she only exists because Rhaenyra and Laenor were hoping for a boy 🫤. In this verse, they needed help from Harwin to have kids, so there was a lot more family planning involved. They had Jace and Luce pretty quickly because they needed an heir for the throne and Driftmark. If it were up to Rhaenyra and Laenor alone, they would’ve been content with just daughters, but this is a society that strongly favors males so they felt pressured to try again for a son. When Joff comes out as another girl, they take it as a sign that they’re only getting girls and three is enough.

Helaena compares Rhaena to a flower because many insects (especially butterflies) are attracted to flowers 🌸. And Rhaena loves looking pretty and colorful, like flowers, so she enjoys this comparison.

Notice that Joff asks “what about Aegon?” when Jace and Rhaena start talking about out him. If only they paused to ask Joff what she knew, she probably could’ve saved Jace a lot of stress and heartache that night 🥲.

Dying of childbirth was a lot more common historically, but again GRRM really dials it up for the shock and tragedy. I won’t get into it too much because there are already a lot of theories out there about Targaryens, magic, and childbirth. People have the usual concerns about Jace’s pregnancy, but if she and the baby die, there’s a high chance the Black/Green conflict resurges. In this sad alternative universe where they die, if both sides wanted to continue making peace, one “obvious” solution would be to marry Rhaenyra’s new heir to Aegon…but that new heir would be Luce, and Aemond would have a lot of thoughts about this, and honestly Aegon would probably try to drink himself to death after Jace is gone. Rhaena and others are aware of the major issues that could arise if Jace dies (other than the personal tragedy to them), so it’s doubly important that they ensure the pregnancy goes well.

If Jace hadn’t gotten pregnant so quickly, I do think she would’ve had a better work-life balance. Pregnancy can take A LOT out of you. But it is what it is, and both she and Aegon are trying to figure out how to adapt after the honeymoon period. They have a solid foundation for their marriage, but they’re still young and they’ve been apart for three years. No marriage is perfect. The important thing is that they figure out how to communicate better and adapt together to change 🥰.

Rhaena is confident that Aegon isn’t cheating because she’s had to deal with so many of Jace’s ruined clothes thanks to Aegon 🥲. Aegon’s also probably given Jace a lot of hickeys that Rhaena had to cover up. She’s pretty sure a man like that isn’t going to just waltz out on his wife. But “men are strange,” so who knows?

Jace’s feast dress is strongly influenced by Cersei’s early season dresses here and here. The costume designer Michele Clapton describes them as kimono style, so I added it to my headcanon of Essosi fashions seeping into Westeros. Jace’s signature color is gold but she also likes other warm colors, like pink and red. Black makes her think of mourning, so even though it’s a Targ color, she tries not to wear it unless she has to. Rhaena shares this preference for color; growing up in Pentos, I think she would’ve been very used to vivid colors in clothing. Daemon wears this in Pentos, and I suspect it’s brighter in person than it looks in that still.

Jace’s jewelry is usually tasteful, but Aegon couldn’t resist giving her an over-the-top Sunfyre necklace. Only for bedroom activities though 🙈.

If you decoded the anagram, you know that the smutty author is actually Saera Targaryen. The Septa Lucinda story is her dramatized version of her own story after she was sent to Oldtown. But I LOVED people’s theories that Aemond wrote it about Lucera and I’m tempted to write a cracky scenario about that 😂.

As for who left the book behind, I have two scenarios in mind. One is that Elinor secretly enjoys reading trashy smut, forgot it one day, and was too embarrassed to take it back. The other is that Bethany wanted to share the book with the other ladies (except Floris who’s too young) and purposely left it so the others could take turns paging through it.

The LIWs are eager to incorporate gold into their wardrobe to show that they’re part of Jace’s faction. Still an unofficial and fledgling faction, but a newlywed princess in line for the throne is always going to be popular at court.

Alicent first noticed that Daeron was nowhere to be found, then quickly discovered Aegon and Aemond were also gone soon after that. So she’s been trying to find her sons for a while, and then Rhaenyra sees Daemon’s note, because Daemon is experienced in the art of sneaking out and has learned by now that it’s best practice to let his wife know he’s gone out of the castle.

I think Daemon has his web of informants in the castle, so he knew when all three of the Targbros left. He probably also knew Aegon previously took Joff out, and that Aegon has since gone back to the docks a few times. By this point he doesn’t automatically suspect Aegon is out whoring (especially with Aemond and Daeron going along), but he definitely suspects mischief, and Daemon hates being left out of mischief. He’s also not fond of formal feasts so he doesn’t mind missing the event, and he figures if anyone gets in trouble for being absent, it’s Aegon.

I made Rhaenyra and Alicent’s dialogue about what to do about the absences intentionally ambiguous re: who’s saying what, again to highlight that they’re more similar than they think. Right now, they’re both in exasperated “what are the menfolk doing” mothering mode.

I felt sad excluding Luce and the Velaryons from the feast, but I wanted to save Luce’s big return for later. So I manufactured the fire in Hull to keep them in Driftmark. And who knows, maybe Luce will encounter certain Hull residents while she’s there 👀.

Jace has always been aware that Viserys ignores his children. In this verse, she’s very compassionate and cares about Aegon, so this bothers her a lot more than in canon. But she still has a relatively rosy view of her grandfather, who indulges her, until Chapter 9.

The feast and the aftermath are supposed to contrast with the wedding in Chapter 1. At the wedding, Aegon is by Jace’s side, but here he isn’t. Jace leaves the wedding feast feeling very happy, but leaves this feast feeling humiliated. When she undresses after the wedding she’s very meticulous, but here she rips everything off because she’s too emotional to be careful.

In the show, Viserys tells Corlys and Rhaenys that Rhaenyra and Laenor’s firstborn child, regardless of gender, will sit the throne. In contrast, when Rhaenyra tries to get Rhaenys’s support for the Driftmark petition, Rhaenys says Jacaerys and Baela’s sons will inherit the throne. I’ve seen some people say this means Viserys is more progressive than Rhaenyra, or that it’s a writing continuity error. Currently, my belief is that Viserys said what he said to Corlys and Rhaenys because he wants to shore up Rhaenyra’s position as heir, which means outwardly supporting absolute primogeniture—but in reality, I think he would’ve expected Rhaenyra’s firstborn son to inherit. Meanwhile, I flesh out Rhaenyra’s stance in this chapter: she was more idealistic in her youth, but like many people, she becomes more pragmatic and a touch cynical as she ages. And in this AU verse, as a mother to all girls, she’s even more conscious of the sexism they’ll face (whereas in canon she was more worried about the perceived bastardy). Rhaenyra wishes for a better world for her daughters but knows they’ll have a hard time getting there.

We get more Aegon & Rhaenyra interactions later, but here we glimpse Rhaenyra’s lingering doubts as she double-checks that Jace is happy. I think Rhaenyra has a particular grudge against Aegon specifically that she isn’t entirely aware of, because deep down she still has that feeling of Aegon being the son that her father truly wanted, and maybe some lingering resentment from when he was a baby getting the attention of Viserys, Alicent, and other courtiers. I imagine when Jace was born, Rhaenyra had a blissful period where she was Jace’s entire world (guest-starring Laenor)…and then one night toddler!Aegon suddenly usurps all of Jace’s attention 🥲. So yes, I do think Rhaenyra has been harboring some petty animosity against Aegon for most of his life 😂. Then he grew older and she became concerned about him going out on the town. She has no brothers her age to compare him with, and the only time she went out to party with Daemon, she almost ruined her reputation and position, so I think she feels strongly negative about Aegon’s partying ways.

Yes, that brothel madam worked FAST to get her money from the Red Keep. But it’s a life-changing amount of money, so why wouldn’t she?

Baela and Rhaena are confident Aegon wouldn’t cheat on Jace, but they have reasonable grounds to doubt after everything that happens today.

Jace trying but failing to take off Aegon’s necklace is definitely symbolism 🤭.

I can’t find the citation for it, but I’m pretty sure I picked marjoram as Aegon’s bath oil scent because it’s traditionally believed to lift spirits, and that sounded like the kind of aromatherapy Aegon would go for.

In the original draft, Rhaena sleeps on the sofa in Jace’s solar to help keep Aegon out, and she threatens him with a fireplace poker when he climbs through the window. But I realized Jace would prefer to be alone while she’s recollecting herself, so Rhaena gets to sleep in her own bed in the final draft.

Jace has never locked the door to her chambers before, so Aegon is very alarmed when he can’t get inside, especially when she doesn’t respond to him. He’s also just been in some very exciting and dangerous situations so his blood is still running hot, and the kidnapped women are definitely on his mind.

#my writing #meta #house of the dragon meta #hotd meta #fanfic meta #aegon ii targaryen #female jacaerys velaryon #the golds

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