The Doon in Our Blood Comes Back

Disclaimers

This section was originally published on the first chapter of my work on Ao3. However, because I think that having a disclaimer so long could ruin the reading experience I preferred to move this here.

the Author.

"When does a fanfiction go beyond mere fan creativity and transform into a genuine source of entertainment? For me, that moment comes when reading it sparks a deep desire to theorize and immerse myself as if it were an actual novel. This happened to me with 'The Blacks and the Greens' by sweetestpopcorn, a fanfiction that has gained notoriety among fans, especially those who, like me, sought Daemyra fanfics on AO3 as soon as the series began.   This fanfic takes the Dance of Dragons and adds a daring twist – Daemon and Rhaenyra's marriage right after their 'affair' is discovered. It creates an alternate universe that weaves an entirely new tapestry of events, diverging significantly from the original series and books.   As of now, the story is a work in progress, with an impressive 170 chapters already written. Yet, it has captivated my attention for the past month, to the extent that my brain convinced me it was the real canon story, making me momentarily forget about the existence of the TV series. If you're intrigued by this alternate narrative, I wholeheartedly recommend reading the original fic, despite its length – the journey is absolutely worthwhile.   Initially, I toyed with the idea of crafting my own story based on these concepts, but I had a change of heart. It didn't feel right to embark on a separate narrative when the one I was following was still unfolding. You see, the source of my inspiration is only halfway through, and the forthcoming chapters may introduce twists I can't foresee. In this context, I'm merely an observer; the author holds the reins.   As I pen this post, 'this story' has taken an unexpected turn, forging its unique path within 'The Blacks and the Greens,' guided by its own set of rules and internal logic.   I must confess my strong affinity for the Black side in the Civil War, leaning towards narratives with happy endings. In my ideal version, Helaena finds joy with her children, while Rhaenyra and her husband govern the Seven Kingdoms, nurturing their five offspring. In this vision, the Greens yield without prolonged strife, allowing Rhaenyra to unite both factions and strengthen the dynasty.   In this imagined realm, most of the Targaryen family survives, and the kingdom's finances remain robust. This prosperity fosters innovation, both technically and artistically, making the Black Queen's reign a period marked by cultural achievements. This era, often dubbed the 'Valyrian Renaissance,' introduces Westerosi nobility to the rich tapestry of Valyrian literature.   Originally, I wanted to explore the lives of Rhaenyra and Daemon's five children and their adventures, as an alternative to the central romance in 'The Blacks and the Greens.'   When I first read the fanfic, I was drawn to Baela due to her captivating personality. In my mind, she's like a female counterpart to Daemon, and that's why I chose her as the main character in my story. She's the 'middle child' between Aegon and Viserys (the boys) and Rhaena and Visenya (the girls), embodying both masculine and feminine qualities. Her relationships with her siblings, especially her twin, Rhaena, are central to her character development.   In this universe, I envision Baela dressing in a style inspired by Queen Visenya and Queen Rhaenys, combining strength and sensuality like her mother, Rhaenyra. She loves bold colours like red and adorns herself with jewellery.   When it comes to her court attire, I picture her in playful and alluring dresses with plunging necklines and form-fitting bodices, much like Anne Boleyn's costumes in 'The Tudors.'   Baela is confident in her sexuality and doesn't conform to traditional gender roles. She believes in equal freedom for both men and women. Besides her regal outfits, she occasionally wears more masculine tunics while training and enjoys reading High Valyrian poetry and listening to Lysene music.   I imagine her spending a lot of time with her dragon, Moondancer, and becoming skilled with a sword, just like her brothers.   As Baela became a prominent character in my imagination, I felt the need to introduce a counterpart who could compellingly challenge her. In reality, canonically speaking, Alyn Velaryon is the best counterpart for Baela and from what I could tell, even in TBATG I think that the author will go in this way. However, I think that the Baela of the Book and TBATG (and of the show) is radically different from "my Baela", especially after the third part of the story and so I choose another kind of character for her. For this reason, in my eyes, Aemond seemed the best choice: he's bold, wild, willful, hot-tempered and unforgiving, and most importantly crazy like a horse. Most importantly, because he's a such negative and hateful character, it was way easier and satisfying to put it to the test: because I had so little sympathy for him as person I never felt bad when I decided to him go through horrible things, which is a very good thing for a writer that wants to explore the depths of human psychology. That's when 'The Blacks and the Greens' became a story primarily focused on Baela and Aemond's character and then their complex relationship and conflicts.   Another major fact that made me choose Aemond as my principal guinea pig, is because I found the interpretation of Ewan Mitchell of his character extremely captivating, and there is nothing more appealing than making hot guys suffer for their sins.   This is one of the many reasons that made me choose to spare the lives of Aemond and Aegon in my story, even after all the extremely awful things they both did in the original fic. I believed it would be more satisfying to let them face the consequences of their actions and experience the disgrace of their defeat, rather than simply executing them.   In this headcanon, Aemond undergoes significant changes due to intense and traumatic events, deviating from both the Bookcanon and 'The Blacks and the Greens.' This transformation was inspired by a particular sentence in the fanfic, where Aemond criticizes Daemon for allowing Rhaenyra to control him, calling him a 'slut.' Aemond expresses his reluctance to be controlled by a woman as his uncle was. These two sentences led me to create a headcanon where Aemond becomes exactly what he derided his uncle for – someone controlled by women. And not just controlled, but as a great misogynist who hits rock bottom, it's a woman who saves him and puts him back on track, making him feel indebted to her.     This work is the result of months of daydreaming, which then converged in a long - and ungrammatical - 50 pages long file on how I pictured my headcanon - only the essential part of the story, with no POVs, no descriptions and few dialogues - that I published on an Ao3 in March. However, after re-reading what I wrote, I realize that the chapter that I published didn't show completely the complexity of the world I imagined so, only after a few months, I decide to rewrite that headcanon like a real story. I divided the "summary" that I originally published in 3 parts (or books) and started to work on my fic, using the original chapter as a reference and adding some details. So, this is how The Doom in Our Blood Comes Back, my literary experiment was born – a simple enemies-to-lovers story with plenty of drama and dragons, set against a meticulously crafted backdrop. However, because this fic is settled in an 'alternate reality' where the Blacks won the Civil War less than a year after its beginning, a lot of changes in the events of the Dance of the Dragons occurred. However, because I have no idea how wars actually work and I'm not very good at describing their unfolding, I decided to make my story starts after the end of the Dance of the Dragons and explain what happened during the Civil War with a cleaver stratagem, used even by Martin itself. For this reason, the first part of the story is composed by a Preface, written as if it was a manuscript, where an unknown Maester tries to make a simple, but vague, report of how Rhaenyra ascended to power and the aftermath of her win. This introductory approach - other than spare me to explain events that neither I know how they could have taken place - serves the purpose of affording me greater narrative flexibility, leaving certain intricate dynamics, especially those I have yet to fully grasp, quite blurred but at least mentioned. Thank you for your time, have a good reading experience.

the Author.

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