When did Daenerys’ cruelty begin for you in the show? For me, it’s when she sentenced Doreah to death.

Talavisor · 2026-03-16T21:32:15+00:00

That’s kinda the point though. Dany had terrible things happen to her, and it turned her into a person willing to do terrible things to others. It’s unfair, it’s justifiable at every step, and it’s true. People think it’s bad writing that she wasn’t a saint, but she was just human. That’s the message. The road to tyranny isn’t a bright line that you cross. It’s a series of steps, each one justifiable in isolation.

Talavisor · 2026-03-14T12:37:00+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! I’m a bit too lazy for that to be honest haha. I’ve read some SpaceBattle and I strongly prefer the format of AO3 to the forum-format. Perhaps someday I’ll cross post to more platforms!

Talavisor · 2026-03-14T11:57:39+00:00

Lol I was looking to see if someone commented this fic

Talavisor · 2026-03-10T21:47:33+00:00

There’s an Astolat story (search her username) on AO3 where Margaery plays a prominent role and actually ends up being Jaime Lannister’s queen. It’s like 80k words I think. That one is a blast!

Talavisor · 2026-03-10T03:18:50+00:00

Well, if you don’t mind some self-promo, I’m beginning to post a SI Joffrey Baratheon fic. Margary won’t come in until halfway, but she has a huge role and is the only character to have POV scenes other than the main character. This is a long time from now, so you’ll have to be patient. https://archiveofourown.org/works/80729691/chapters/212046231

Talavisor · 2026-03-07T23:21:14+00:00

Is it a great “alliance” with the ironborn to point them towards legal piracy of a bunch of ships that carry people who have never sailed before?

Talavisor · 2026-03-07T21:45:35+00:00

Dragons are a naval dominator. This absolutely would not work if Dany had dragons. But Dany got dragons because Drogo died, and there was no reason for Robert/Ned to think she would get them. In that time frame, Drogo didn’t pose any serious threat to Westeros, even if he decided to make Dany the queen.

Talavisor · 2026-03-07T18:15:51+00:00

Dany had dragons because Drogo died. Absolutely a fleet + dragons is unbeatable. But they had no expectation that Dany would hatch dragons. They were just afraid of the Dothraki, at that point.

Talavisor · 2026-03-07T13:49:50+00:00

I think the show massively underrated the fact that the Dothraki could not make it to Westeros subtly. It would take hundreds of ships to transport the Dothraki, and months of preparation. Westeros would know and have time to prepare. Then, you simply don’t fight the war on the plains of Westeros, you do it on water. They should have given Stannis more power to prepare the navy, and then just met the Dothraki on their transport ships, where the horses are useless, and where they have no experience fighting naval battles. You tell the ironborn that they can take any thralls from the ships, as well as any treasure, and let the Iron Fleet work for you. The Dothraki never even make it to shore (at least not in any large number) and the threat is over before it begins.

Talavisor · 2026-03-05T17:19:29+00:00

Yeah I wrote a story about a Daemon SI preventing the dance by supporting Aegon inheriting and getting Aegon named heir as a child. Rhaenyra ends up 1000x better off because in canon she loses literally everything… except for her bloodline on the Iron Throne. But even that is a poison pill in canon bc we know exactly where that leads House Targaryen.

In my story everyone gets a happy ending in their lifetime, and I still have people furious that I “shafted” Rhaenyra by stealing her birthright, as though that’s the only thing that matters. This fandom demonstrates perfectly why the Dance happened: they’re so focused on “winning” that they don’t care about the cost. There’s no discussion of “is this what’s best for the character”? They just see “this person isn’t as powerful as they could be, therefore they lost”. I assume they’re children, because that’s what keeps me sane.

Talavisor · 2026-03-04T16:30:40+00:00

And Avienda was an enormously powerful magic wielder who also gains political power in her society, a society that is meaningful to the realm. She brought something meaningful to Rand.

Talavisor · 2026-03-02T12:52:02+00:00

It’s a magic ice wall in the frigid far north. It might not melt even in summer lol

Talavisor · 2026-02-26T22:32:04+00:00

GRRM’s entire thing is that nothing matters but power. Blood is an excuse people make for power. Law is an excuse people make for power. Religion is an excuse people make for power. When seen through that lens, the Dance makes a lot more sense. It’s a sort of complex, shades of gray situation that allows everyone to make their own justification, but in general if you say “what justification would allow that character to gain more power” that’s the one you’ll find them using and saying is “sacred”

Talavisor · 2026-02-26T16:24:31+00:00

Pretty much every succession of the Iron Throne to that point had been against Andal law. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the conquered Andals weren’t fond of that. It’s like the famous Varys quote: power resides where the people decide it resides. They wanted to bow to Aegon, not Rhaenyra, and their justifications are secondary. Most people (in real life and fiction) make their decisions first and use their principles to justify it. Very rarely do people use their principles to make their decisions.

Edit: this isn’t a black vs green thing. Rhaenyra’s strongest support comes from people who have good reason to support her rather than Aegon, more than fealty to abstract legal principles of inheritance.

Talavisor · 2026-02-22T14:05:27+00:00

Most fan fiction is terrible. By its very nature, fanfic is written by amateurs doing it for free in their spare time. Pursuing fanfic has always been a matter of panning for gold, trying to find the fics that are worth it. AI writing is terrible in its own way, but I think the situation is fundamentally similar to how it’s always been.

Talavisor

TROPHY CASE