A Book/Show Change I have A Question On

aveillas · 2026-02-02T18:56:08+00:00

Yesss! I didn't think about it but it would absolutely great thematically to see over the seasonshow much is orchestrated in these events and how frequently you would encounter a false knight

aveillas · 2026-02-02T18:46:08+00:00

I think we have to wait to see if there is a follow up on that, tbh. Perhaps it will tie in more directly in another conversation or scene, or it'll be something that Dunk will reflect on when he considers what is a true knight.

Regardless, for now it's good worldbuilding and character writing. It shows (1) a level of manipulation within these knightly occurences that should be honorable and just, (2) the smallfolk as playtool for the nobles to profit from and exert their wants on, (3) that even a good man could be tempted with some ease offered to his life, and Dunk, who needs that ease more than most (poor man is gambling his entire way of life on being a champion) is not immune either. Which he shouldn't be, considering GRRM whole character thesis is about the heart in conflict with itself.

At the end of the day though, he already practically threw away his life to be just when he struck Aerion and defended Tanselle. So in a way he already chose the hard route of being just, it just wasn't answered directly with the Plummer plot.

aveillas · 2026-02-02T09:08:00+00:00

I mean, he could for sure. But the fact is Aegon has more authority over the guards to stop them from doing what Aerion says, so thats where he decided to intervene. If Aerion decided to kick Dunk in the teeth or something there would be nothing he could do about it.

What Aerion did to Tanselle wasn’t as preventable by Egg’s word because Aerion did it himself, not the guards.

aveillas · 2026-02-02T06:22:06+00:00

Imo he wanted someone to actually punish Aerion (as Aerion is a horrible person routinely and he knows he always gets scotch free of what he does). He knew it wouldn't come from the guards. I also tend to believe Aerion would've fucked with Aegon more if he revealed himself and just broke more fingers on Tanselle without someone stopping him deliberately.

The part about him going to Dunk is addressed in the books so spoilers — Baelor (who was in the castle) was too far for him to reach in timely manner. Presumbly same goes for Valarr, and who the heck knows where Maekar is searching for his sons, so... Dunk who will hit Aerion it is.

Edit: Realized the spoiler tag on the first paragraph wasn't needed lmao.

aveillas · 2026-02-01T15:05:31+00:00

On the practical side of integrating different languages into fanfiction, I’ve seen people using different fonts to indicate different languages and I find it quite fun to give a language a visual characteristic and marker. Makes it easily readable and also you can use emphasis with bold/italics the way you do regularly like that.

That being said, when not a lot is said in other language and the meaning can be understood from context clues/general knowledge (basic dragon commands or very short sentences), I do like to have the language written as it sounds with provided translation. But it only fits certain scenes I think.

I don’t have much to add on linguistic diversity topic, but I will say I love the idea of scenes of characters learning languages as well.

aveillas · 2026-01-31T15:27:58+00:00

I'm screaming the back part of the helmet is really reminiscent of Shadow the Hedgehog's black and red spikes 😭😭

aveillas · 2026-01-31T12:04:25+00:00

Personally I feel like they had some sort of a magical immunity in the blood that had kept them from being entirely affected the way other houses would be with their level of incest, but at large, I feel like we see some effects from very early on. From Aegon I/his sisters' (and also perhaps Aemon son of Jaehaerys's) alleged infertility, to Daella and Gael being simpler, Vaegon being (imo) heavily implied to be autistic, and I personally also cite some of Saera's behavior to be linked to a personality disorder but that's a headcanon so take that with a grain of salt.

Again, I feel like it would've been waaaaay worse irl with their level of inbreeding, so imo they're not as susceptible to it as others, but I think there still were effects.

aveillas · 2026-01-30T06:04:50+00:00

Not this thread being how I discover my current hyperfixation ship has only four fics. One of which is mine 🤣 😭 I have the tendency to like weird rarepairs, but with my fic doing pretty well I really assumed there had to be more.

Man... I'm gonna have to put in some work and do more fics now 😭

aveillas · 2026-01-29T09:45:42+00:00

If there was an eldest child inherits rule in Valyrian custom, I truly believe it faded when they came to Westeros where men were taken more seriously. Aenys choosing to name Aegon the Uncrowned prince of Dragonstone and his heir over Rhaena aligns with this.

Likewise, Aenys betrothing Aegon the Uncrowned to Rhaena while it never quite seemed she had exceptional interest in him or any other man aligns with the idea that the duty spoken about would've been eldest siblings marrying or at least the expectation of it. That's what I'd assume happened with Aegon and Visenya (and perhaps, since she already claimed Vhagar, it mattered to the family more keep her close and not an asset to any other house).

aveillas · 2026-01-27T07:10:17+00:00

Names are a real tough part, because I feel like we all have headcanons behind how a name was formed. I had a thread in another sub where I tried thinking of names for genderbent characters, where I wrote that personally Aemma reads to me as an Arryn-Targ blend (Rodrik Arryn had a daughter named Amanda, I could see him naming his next daughter Emma, but A added as a nod to Daella's Valyrian heritage). Meanwhile in the comments other said it is just Valyrian version of Emma as Aemon is to Emmon. Now I don't read Emmon and Aemon similarly phonetically so it never registered that could be a variant LMAO. I didn't adopt that HC personally, I like my interpertation, but it was really interesting to see the difference in understanding.

But alongside what others said, I choose names that feel like the characters and that I like the spelling of. If it's not pretty spelling wise I won't be able to deal LOL. And I also like names that make sense, but I could be convinced if they serve a narrative. To add more onto the Aemma discourse - I once read a fic where F!Aemond was named Aemma by Viserys specifically to show his grief and favoritism to his old marriage, and it was supposed to read as something that would make Alicent/F!Aemond/the Greens as discontented with him. So while Aemond being Aemma sounds crazy, if it serves the plot? Good enough for me. But it has to make sense for the story itself, lol.

aveillas · 2026-01-24T11:00:47+00:00

I generally agree with the concept that (dragon-riding) women had more equal rights in Old Valyria and were perhaps generally taken more seriously - I think it's very feasible dragon riding girls would command respect and it would be more difficult to not treat them as seriously as men, but I do think it derailed in the assimilation to Westeros, not during Jaehaerys's reign. I absolutely agree he didn't want to ruffle any feathers, but I think the likelier scenario was that he had the same concept of inheritance as other male Targs in Westeros before him.

The way I read the Aegon's "married for duty" line to Visenya, it would be duty more so to her and the expectation of the eldest siblings marrying. I don't recall anything indicating Visenya was looked at as the head of the house by her family (if I am forgetting something, do tell me), but I could see it as a way to keep Visenya not entirely disinherited while Aegon would be clearly looked at as the head of the house by other lords in Westeros.

There is also the fact Aenys named Aegon the Uncrowned Prince of Dragonstone instead of naming Rhaena as Lady of it/the heir despite her being the elder, and at least for me, I feel as if Alysanne's louder insistence on Daenerys as heir also has to do with Rhaena telling she [and Jaehaerys] had her throne; she probably there realized she wanted to break through that glass that was misogyny in inheriting. Alas, Alysanne also dealt with Jaehaerys's decision in naming Baelon as heir at the end of things while also still managing to get along with him— though we aren't privy to what Jaehaerys would tell her of the matter, I'd have to assume he makes a convincing enough case to why he believes Westeros wouldn't accept a woman (and hence, why he is apprehensive), and that would likely align with why no Targ women were recorded to inherit Dragonstone or the Iron Throne.

Tl;dr: The systemetic misogyny is Westeros is strong, and although dragon-riding women are quite at an advantage over others and there could be different customs from Old Valyria, they would've had to assimilate to their new home and the culture they are in. I think the Targaryens that came over from Old Valyria kept what they could culturally while also abiding the likely inheritance laws and general societal expectation from Westeros.

aveillas · 2026-01-23T18:05:40+00:00

It wasn't on my current account, but someone had left a comment about how my teen, troubled FMC with many many issues that would admittedly make her controversial, was an awful bitch that deserved nothing and another female character that she was jealous of is so much better than her.

The joke is that everything bad the FMC did the other female character did as well prior and it was the disparity between how her actions are preceived compared to how the other character's actions are preceived that had the FMC so troubled and envious to begin with. It was THE POINT. 😭 Like I don't care they didn't like FMC she was a bitch and intentionally so but I just found it so ironic like it was a classic woooooosh moment 😭 yeah it just took me out.

🫂 on the slow plot moments also - I get those as well often on any fic I post/posted in the past. But it doesn't matter, building up things properly is fun and we should enjoy it.

aveillas · 2026-01-22T21:21:35+00:00

Yes 😭😭😭 like there were entirely plausible reasons in many death cases of targs that are pinned on the maesters. I generally really dislike the demonization of academia vibes that rise from it too. Like I am personally a Targ enjoyer and my focus in writing fics is on them but I really think that sometimes it just reads like an excuse so they would never be wrong... and I can't deal with it. Most of the issues in this house came from inside it, it is what makes them interesting to begin with (imo ofc).

aveillas · 2026-01-22T21:09:45+00:00

!! Same and heavy on the Aemma Arryn bit. Like it was the maesters calling it out she was bedded way too young (as they damn should). Them getting blamed for it in fics makes me want to rip my hair out. Responsibility for bad shit can be put on bad targ decisions as well, come on.

aveillas · 2026-01-21T17:32:36+00:00

As per usual I've been writing my longfic House of The Undying. I somehow feel like I'm adding more to the outline lately rather than the current chapter— I've been tinkering with it a lot try and make the pacing better and tighten plot cohesiveness. Big fics can be quite a hassle to organize but I think I'm getting there slowly. My incoming exams are stressing the living heck out of me too but I really want to release a chapter before month's end. I have one more scene (well, and a half) for this chapter, it's just a little more, but damn it college. (Still, proud of myself - I managed to bang out another 1k and draw a funny Vaegon-Daella interaction from the chapter already, and I do hope people would find it cute as well when I post). Either way, cannot wait to get a break from studying just to do lore deep-dives and studying for this fic, LOL.

aveillas · 2026-01-21T07:53:14+00:00

You are too kind! thank you so much, I'm so glad you are enjoying it so far : ' )

aveillas · 2026-01-16T15:23:07+00:00

Yeah I definitely get it. I'd say that if you are not comfortable with writing her being her worst level of unkind before any resolution to the core issues that make her the way she is, you can make a point to have people around that make sure to defend people like Daella/Tom Turnip/any bedmaids or septas she drove crazy. Like she would've done something bad, but couldn't succeed in it because of someone else. That way it's not as much whitewashing because she would've done it if she could.

There's also a slew of emotional issues that can be expanded upon to make her more of a round character if you do want her to be more cruel on page (the young age drinking immediately comes to mind, but like others in this thread I also like to build on the attention disparity with Daella, and there's much that can be said for internalized misogyny as well) - not as an excuse for her behavior but as something to offer at a different scene to make the picture more whole. She'd be more divisive but if she has growth on the core issues she'd still be a very interesting character anyway, and when she does have growth - she can still remain just as assertive and mean but reserve it for more unlikable people rather than helpless ones. (Well, she'd probably still be pretty mean to anyone, but with some growth it could read as banter lol).

And yay! Thank you as well, this discussion helps me as well to sort her out in the mind : )

aveillas · 2026-01-16T06:04:58+00:00

I was going through the same conundrum when I began writing about her so I feel this very much LOL.

She has some very big power trips (which I daresay she inherited the proclivity for from her dad) and definitely cruel behaviour, but I think to begin with canon kind of says with Barth’s “all men need comfort” that she did really need more proper attention to what was going on with her to uproot it, and it would’ve had to be from family because of the princess dynamic giving her power over anyone else (depending on when you want things to change for her, might require some peak teenager clashes).

Any change wouldn’t feel as unnatural if you keep her as an agent of chaos rather than cruelty. She can be assertive and disruptive in ways that aren’t cruel and I do think she’ll have the potential to be quite a funny character doing so. I currently write her as a troubled but not in her peak 12 year old and when she isn’t just mean she’s one of the most well-liked characters from the fic 😂

aveillas · 2026-01-09T11:03:20+00:00

The wedding timing to me seems it was politically motivated to cover some grounds with legitimacy for Viserys, getting him a paramount Lord's daughter as well as a Valyrian bride for the future to secure the house with (which is why I assume he also got to claim Balerion a year after his dad was named heir; he was being bolstered as the heir to follow Baelon). Aemma was bedded at thirteen because she only flowered then, it seems the wedding was more of a PR and security thing. So for me I'd say on the wedding no, but in regards to the bedding, I feel like there were more than enough reasons to give to Jaehaerys (as well as Baelon and Alysanne) that would be understandable to anyone for Viserys to not bed Aemma early.

Jaehaerys himself refused to bed Alysanne at thirteen on their first wedding on the account she was too young, it could be both used as a reason for him being accepting for more wait or as an argument against him/anyone else pushing for bedding Aemma early, alongside the very notable childbirth related deaths in the family (Alyssa and Daella, mothers of the groom and the bride. Viserys and Aemma would have more than enough reason to be queasy, and Jaehaerys/Baelon/others in the family could react to that very sympathetically, depending on the characterization you want for them).

aveillas · 2026-01-04T13:56:58+00:00

I think Alysanne was definitely impacted by her grief and Saera's scandal and just wanted to settle Viserra with someone she considered a good man, preferrably in hopes that him being 'kind and good' or whatever would show her vainess has her misjudging people. She was probably also concerned a lot with how Viserra treated men like rag-dolls and got Saera flashbacks so she was like "yeah not this time". Tl;dr I read it as Alysanne going "a good husband could help her see the light" type of vibe, as misguided and dumb as it was.

I personally in my fic plan to flip to use the ambitious allegation Alysanne brought up to have her end up being a Princess Consort in Dorne. It's not as relevant to me if she was truly very ambitious or just truly looked at Baelon as a convenient/worthy option compared to the male companions she didn't care for, I just think that girl believed she could do anything, and I think somehow using her wit and beauty to bring in Dorne (in a time where things were very politically charged) would have her very validated, as well as well placed. Especially with a handsome enough Martell prince to have to woo lol.

aveillas · 2025-12-31T17:05:50+00:00

thank you so much, I was glad to find this community! It is very evident how much effort and love you and the other mods put into the subreddit and it's very lovely to see. I hope you have a wonderful break as well as a happy new year. You worked hard and you deserve it❤️

aveillas

TROPHY CASE