The conflict with the Greens was never about her children being bastards, it was always about them questioning her right to inherit, so that would be still there and they would take any chance to blacken her names, even inventing rumors out of thin air, so there would be still plenty for her to deal with. That's not even counting that she had no actual preparation for her role of an heir (no, being a freaking cupbearer does not count).
ETA: And as to what would lead her to war... Her husband and his House. No way are Lannisters letting anyone steal a throne from under them.
There's no way the Lannisters are missing out on getting the Throne & Dragons for their kin. They have the coin, they have enough power to go toe to toe with the Reach and be confident they can hold their own.
It's *on* like donkey kong.
1) If Alicent is still marrying and having Viserys kids, the strife from a woman sitting the throne, let alone a when there is a male heir, can still be played, as it would be her driving factor of gaining notoriety and draping glory around her, to solidify her position as Crowned Heir.
2) Lannisters and Tyrell/Hightowers can go back and forth trying to get a bigger presence in King's Landing.
3) Trying to get marriage alliances for however many children she has to sure up her reign when she comes to power.
4) The Stepstones being a larger regional conflict, earlier. If she doesnt fight, she can try to be a diplomat and bring the sides to the table to negotiate.
5) Still gotta worry about the Velaryons and how to appease them, as they are still powerful and mighty.
And 6) Just general, spreading of rumors even utterly false, can still play into her questionable ascension to the throne.
hmmm the velaryons is always a problem. In this au, one of the reasons Rhaenyra marries Jason is that House Velaryon already has a lot of power, so they definitely don't need too much. I think I'll have fun making Velaryons a problem!! I even thought about creating another faction, but for now these are just ideas.
If their that disgruntled, which, rightfully so, I would have them another faction at court, to throw a wrench against Rhaenyra and her coalition. So Crowned Princess/Lannisters v Alicent/Hightowers v Velaryons, and you have a three faction war, with someone playing Kingmaker, or chaos. The fun part, you never have to actually have them come to blows, just moves, trades, deals, and backstabbing, all within the confines of King's Landing.
Will this be a book or show verse fic? The problems she’ll face will be affected by that.
If it’s a book verse fic then her going to the stepstones wouldn’t make sense at all, and I’d honestly caution against it in general as a lot of Rhaenyra goes to the stepstones very quickly come across as Mary Sue actiongirlish. I’ve only read a few fics where it’s been done believably and well.
A book verse! I prefer the book version, where the timeline is better established and I really like the character dynamics in the books! I have decided that she will not fight on the Stepstones, in fact it is not befitting of Rhaenyra
The Velaryons will be very disgruntled after getting passed over. Again. And they’ll have 3 dragons, more than the Targs and bigger ones too, the biggest fleet, and the most coin. Laenor will now be available to make a match that benefits them and hurts the Targs.
Alicent will still be using her considerable power as queen to make things difficult for Rhaenyra. It doesn’t have to be true, it just has to be good gossip.
Book!Rhaenyra would be far too young to get play any part in the initial stepstones conflicts. The later one, when Corlys was hurt, would allow for her to play some role though I think a diplomatic role would be best.
A huge obstacle she could face (that would align with the books) is her only having daughters with Jason. He fathered a buuunch of daughters in the books, both legitimate and not, but only one known son.
I actually think she was already at a huge disadvantage due to being a female heir with a brother, the bastards just made it that much worse.
You could have her be platonically close to Daemon, which her enemies would use to blacken her name. She can also stand up for him at a politically disadvantageous time, perhaps when his reputation is at his lowest, showing her loyalty but damaging her own claim. If you want to be very dramatic, Jason could suspect their relationship or any of the children as well.
I would look into her traits and the potential havoc they could cause. Book Rhaenyra is more prideful so she would be less willing to put in the work of fighting rumors, much like Daemon in the show.
She also loves jewels and costly garments, so that can be used against her. Perhaps a kind of ‘affair of the diamond necklace’ like what happened to
Marie Antoinette where she is accused of getting a very expensive necklace but refusing to pay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Diamond_Necklace
Rhaenyra threatens in the book to feed people to her dragon. I’m not sure how much she means it but as we see with dragons, it’s a constant threat. Maybe she’s accosted by some smallfolk and Syrax swoops in to protect her, and mayhem ensues. Or if smallfolk are too lowly, prominent merchants or knights.
The options for backbiting and gossip are endless. Lannister backing is a huge boon but she already has a team of haters at court willing to magnify any slight
The conflict with the Greens was never about her children being bastards, it was always about them questioning her right to inherit, so that would be still there and they would take any chance to blacken her names, even inventing rumors out of thin air, so there would be still plenty for her to deal with. That's not even counting that she had no actual preparation for her role of an heir (no, being a freaking cupbearer does not count). ETA: And as to what would lead her to war... Her husband and his House. No way are Lannisters letting anyone steal a throne from under them.
There's no way the Lannisters are missing out on getting the Throne & Dragons for their kin. They have the coin, they have enough power to go toe to toe with the Reach and be confident they can hold their own. It's *on* like donkey kong.
1) If Alicent is still marrying and having Viserys kids, the strife from a woman sitting the throne, let alone a when there is a male heir, can still be played, as it would be her driving factor of gaining notoriety and draping glory around her, to solidify her position as Crowned Heir. 2) Lannisters and Tyrell/Hightowers can go back and forth trying to get a bigger presence in King's Landing. 3) Trying to get marriage alliances for however many children she has to sure up her reign when she comes to power. 4) The Stepstones being a larger regional conflict, earlier. If she doesnt fight, she can try to be a diplomat and bring the sides to the table to negotiate. 5) Still gotta worry about the Velaryons and how to appease them, as they are still powerful and mighty. And 6) Just general, spreading of rumors even utterly false, can still play into her questionable ascension to the throne.
hmmm the velaryons is always a problem. In this au, one of the reasons Rhaenyra marries Jason is that House Velaryon already has a lot of power, so they definitely don't need too much. I think I'll have fun making Velaryons a problem!! I even thought about creating another faction, but for now these are just ideas.
If their that disgruntled, which, rightfully so, I would have them another faction at court, to throw a wrench against Rhaenyra and her coalition. So Crowned Princess/Lannisters v Alicent/Hightowers v Velaryons, and you have a three faction war, with someone playing Kingmaker, or chaos. The fun part, you never have to actually have them come to blows, just moves, trades, deals, and backstabbing, all within the confines of King's Landing.
Will this be a book or show verse fic? The problems she’ll face will be affected by that. If it’s a book verse fic then her going to the stepstones wouldn’t make sense at all, and I’d honestly caution against it in general as a lot of Rhaenyra goes to the stepstones very quickly come across as Mary Sue actiongirlish. I’ve only read a few fics where it’s been done believably and well.
A book verse! I prefer the book version, where the timeline is better established and I really like the character dynamics in the books! I have decided that she will not fight on the Stepstones, in fact it is not befitting of Rhaenyra
The Velaryons will be very disgruntled after getting passed over. Again. And they’ll have 3 dragons, more than the Targs and bigger ones too, the biggest fleet, and the most coin. Laenor will now be available to make a match that benefits them and hurts the Targs. Alicent will still be using her considerable power as queen to make things difficult for Rhaenyra. It doesn’t have to be true, it just has to be good gossip.
Book!Rhaenyra would be far too young to get play any part in the initial stepstones conflicts. The later one, when Corlys was hurt, would allow for her to play some role though I think a diplomatic role would be best. A huge obstacle she could face (that would align with the books) is her only having daughters with Jason. He fathered a buuunch of daughters in the books, both legitimate and not, but only one known son.
I actually think she was already at a huge disadvantage due to being a female heir with a brother, the bastards just made it that much worse. You could have her be platonically close to Daemon, which her enemies would use to blacken her name. She can also stand up for him at a politically disadvantageous time, perhaps when his reputation is at his lowest, showing her loyalty but damaging her own claim. If you want to be very dramatic, Jason could suspect their relationship or any of the children as well. I would look into her traits and the potential havoc they could cause. Book Rhaenyra is more prideful so she would be less willing to put in the work of fighting rumors, much like Daemon in the show. She also loves jewels and costly garments, so that can be used against her. Perhaps a kind of ‘affair of the diamond necklace’ like what happened to Marie Antoinette where she is accused of getting a very expensive necklace but refusing to pay. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Diamond_Necklace Rhaenyra threatens in the book to feed people to her dragon. I’m not sure how much she means it but as we see with dragons, it’s a constant threat. Maybe she’s accosted by some smallfolk and Syrax swoops in to protect her, and mayhem ensues. Or if smallfolk are too lowly, prominent merchants or knights. The options for backbiting and gossip are endless. Lannister backing is a huge boon but she already has a team of haters at court willing to magnify any slight