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RESONANT [AO3] Jon and Rhaegar wake up as children in the Vale during the reign of Viserys I, only to discover that in this life, they are the twin sons of Daemon Targaryen, and hidden since birth.

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The universe won't give us genderflipped Rhaenys because she would be too powerful with male privilege, clearly. 😂

It really is a cushy setup when you think about it. Son of the king's heir, and when Aemon dies, it's a lot more likely that Jaehaerys just passes the title of heir onto m!Rhaenys. (What is a male Rhae- name? Do we have another Rhaegar?? That would explain why Rhaegar gets named Aemon instead lol.)

Sounds like you're envisioning f!Daemon aka Daena in this scenario? I guess with the prize catch of Corlys not possible, Daena is a logical option. Especially if there are some rumblings about Baelon not becoming heir upon Aemon's death; it sort of achieves the "well, his daughter will be queen, at least" objective.

How does m!Rhaenys feel about Daena, I wonder? She'd be seven years younger, so still that maturity gap (albeit a normal one by Westeros standards), on top of Daemon/Daena not being the most mature person to begin with. OTOH, she does have a little bit of that spark/drive that Corlys has.

Daemon has to feel so weird about all of this tbh. I almost hope for Rhaenys's sake that this isn't a Summerhall scenario, but rather an always-born-male one, because I feel like she wouldn't actually trade her life before for this one without the family she built. Whereas Daemon's main attachment is to the twins and Viserys, the latter of whom exists still, while the former are possible if she can bear them instead.

Does Jon still get named Baelon, though? I almost feel like they'd flip it, since he's the eldest and likely to inherit. Though maybe bb!Rhaegar reminds m!Rhaenys enough of Aemon at birth to secure the name.

I could still see Otto sniffing around Viserys, who has a not-terrible claim, though his position is pretty weak without any dragons vs m!Rhaenys's faction. The question is whether Rhaenys identifies the threat and ensures that Otto isn't in any position of power/influence to be a nuisance.

Because otherwise, things do look like they'd be pretty rosy. You know that Rhaenys would take the Triarchy's incursions seriously, and without any domestic disagreements to cull the family's dragons, eventually we probably end up with a decent brood of kiddos and hatchlings/dragons.

There could be a variant of Revocation AU in Volantis making a play to snatch Daena. Even if they don't the twins coming under threat is going to stir up tensions earlier with Volantis. Does Rhaenys wrangle some sort of begrudging agreement with the Triarchy after pummeling them? A little "hey, so we burned your pirate fleets, but we can help you win over the Disputed Lands if you provide us with support against Volantis."

Daemon, son of Daeron

It's strange to think how close in age he is with Daemon Blackfyre here, given that B!Daemon is roughly of an age with Baelor. So you have B!Daemon and then our R!Daemon who is, like, maybe 2 years younger.

But you know, I'm not sure if Daemon being a sword-wielding prodigy is necessarily helping the Daeron "son of Aemon the Dragonknight" allegations, unless it somehow appeals to Aegon's ego. Which, granted, it very well could, given that Daemon is bonded to a dragon! But also, I'm sure that Daemon is super drawn to his great-uncle Aemon, even as he finds certain aspects of Aegon + Naerys + Aemon's history suspiciously familiar, thanks to Rhaegar's Dragonknight stories. So Aegon's gonna be annoyed/frustrated about that at least.

Oh, and the absolute horror of learning that he's his own great-great-grandchild, but not by Jon or Rhaegar, WHO ACCORDING TO HISTORY DON'T EXIST WTF, but some unfamiliar son who was HELD CAPTIVE BY LYS. Poor Daemon isn't going to take a full breath until he finally has his twins someday.

For claiming a dragon, it seems like this was the era of desperately-leveraging-cradle-eggs-in-the-hopes-that-one-will-hatch, so that appeals to me a lot, because suddenly one does! And no one was ready for that! But huge ++++legitimacy for Daeron when it happens. (Pretty sure B!Daemon advocates hard for his own egg out of a natural rivalry with R!Daemon.)

I'm curious what Daemon ultimately ends up feeling about Dorne. I could see a love/hate forming. He stubbornly doesn't want to like it, but he has his mother's spicy palate and loves the food, and the terrain is quite different than what he's used to, which makes it interesting, and maybe he meets a member of House Dayne who reminds him a little of Rhaegar. (House Dayne match for Daemon, perhaps? Just don't steal your younger brother's girl! 😂)

Also, so many very different brothers to form various relationships with. Does Aerys remind him a little of Rhaegar's enthusiasm for books? Does Maekar's frown at times look like Jon's? (Though I'm sure Baelor also reminds him a ton of Jon.)

Daemon, son of Baelor

Uh oh, running out of steam here. I find this slightly less fascinating, just because the previous generation or two is so politically chaotic, while this one involves a lot of people eventually dying off to thin out the family tree a bit for eventual Summerhall. Even so, as you said, still plenty of brothers and cousins underfoot! (No sisters in any of these scenarios. Gotta be a Maekarling for that!)

How obsessed is Aerion when Daemon claims a dragon? What does that do to the poor kid, in fact? I think it's easier to fall into delusions of "I am a dragon" when there are no actual dragons around, but when there is a literal one to behold, surely it becomes "I WANT a dragon?"

so don’t reply ig if you haven’t seen it?

👀🐉🔥🖤⚔️💚🔥🐉👀

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the scene when Daemon finds Otto in the cage is just- bro was GIDDY, i don’t think anyone’s ever seen him so happy like ohmygoodness, holy moly that was something, wanna replay it eight times

Daemon as the eldest son and heir of Aenys the Weak. Perhaps as Rhaena's twin brother. Maegor never gets to sneak-claim Balerion because Daemon gets there first.

Now we're cooking!

And you know, it's not that much longer for Daemon to wait to bond to a dragon than in his first life (we don't have an exact date for when he claimed Caraxes, just that it happened some time after Aemon's death, though in Resonant 'verse canon, it happens very soon after, as Baelon takes Daemon with him to try to get the wandering Caraxes to return home). Aegon dies when Rhaena is 13-14, so if Daemon is her twin, that lines up well.

Meanwhile, we end up with the married twins having two sets of twins. Rhaena better get a nice, long break after that! And as many pretty/spirited ladies at court as she likes for her ladies-in-waiting.

Does Maegor give up, I wonder? He and Visenya still have Vhagar. He might be behind the curve as far as claiming a mount, but there might be a few young drakes flying around at this time. He and Visenya can bide their time over in Essos, awaiting a time to strike. (Possibly even striking a deal with some warlocks + Volantis in exchange for Daemon and Rhaena's firstborn twins?)

Oh, but all the siblings Daemon suddenly has! Being his GRANDFATHER'S older brother has to be a real mindfuck. Especially since I feel like younger Jaehaerys would be a lot different than the old one that Daemon knew. Having a little brother Viserys who looks up to him. Heck, and Aegon lives as well!

Daena and Viserys had always assumed they would marry, and Baelon wanted that too. But the situation with the Velaryons was coming to a head, and Alyssanne wanted to arrange the marriages of Viserys/Aemma and Daena/Raymar.

Because: 1) Viserys desperately needs the support of the Vale and its knights; 2) Viserys and Daena’s marriage is certainly symbolic, but it will bring no support from the other kingdoms; 3) Alyssanne believes that Daena, with her wild temperament and love to swords, would be unhappy as a queen, whose primary duty is to bear heirs. 4) Alyssanne thinks that Viserys will not be able to cope with Daena’s temperament and will indulge her in everything.

To be fair, Alysanne had learnt from her mistakes with Viserra and had chosen Daena's fiancé with great care: Raymor is young, handsome, has a good reputation and a calm, strong-willed character; moreover, he is the heir to the second most influential House in the Vale. But Daena is resisting the marriage as best she can, whilst Jhaehaerys is wavering because Daena might set the Valе alight if she is forced into marriage.

And somewhere around this point, memories from another life come flooding back to Daena, and he/she decides to marry Raymar because 1) she/he desperately misses Jon and Rhaegar and wants them back; 2) after all, Daemon did not love Viserys romantically, and the thought of marrying him seems strange 3) Daena/Daemon harbours a subconscious fear that she/he will suffer the same fate as Aemma.

And so, Viserys is both hurt and upset, because he loves Daena, but he also fancies the sweet and calm Aemma. And to some extent, he feels relieved that he won’t have to deal with his sister’s fiery temper. Raymar is somewhat bewildered, for only recently his fiancée wouldn’t even look at him, yet now she has volunteered to marry him.

To be fair, it could also be as simple as Viserys (or Daena) deciding they don't want the match!

For your scenario, I think the main thing that doesn't quite click for me is doubling down on the Vale. Viserys/Aemma should be enough to secure Vale support, really. But also--dragons are nukes. Sending Daena away with her nuke (Caraxes) to marry a distant lord deprives Viserys of a dragon that he desperately needs, given that Balerion is dying (or possibly already dead, depending on when this is happening). Right now, the Velaryons have just one in Meleys.

It's sort of, which is more valuable: keeping a dragon close, or having Vale swords available? The fact that Daena has a dragon really changes the calculus IMO, and is a big reason why there would be pressure for a match between her and Viserys. Otherwise, you get a repeat of the Velaryons "having" a dragon from their Targaryen bride in Rhaenys, except it's whatever house Daena marries into.

I could almost see it being an uphill battle for Daena to get a match with Raymar.

(We've discussed before that Alysanne and/or Jaehaerys might have some concerns about a hot-headed Targaryen princess after what happened with Saera, and how that might lead to them seeking a "stablizing" match, but I hadn't really accounted for Caraxes at the time.)

The one workaround to all of this, of course, is that Daena claims Caraxes after her betrothal to Raymar, throwing everyone's well-laid plans into upheaval.

I do like the notion that Alysanne is worried that Daena's free spirit would be stifled. It's interesting to think about what she might have thought about Alyssa's suitability to be queen, since Alyssa died long before that became a possibility.

And honestly, the thing I want most is for Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey to finally have a real father figure someone who actually protects them and even looks like them. Season 3 left me sad for days. 🥲

Plus, they’d have awesome uncles around their age like Baelon and Aemon, which sounds like a lot of fun.

I actually left a comment on that post before, but I’m curious what do you think about it?

I could see some opposition to the match based on the fact that Jon has been raised in Volantis for the past 8 or so years, but the other main family contender here is Laenor, and if prophecy vibes are activated, then that's an immediate tie break to Jon, of course. I'm pretty sure Rhea and Daemon don't even want to hear about matches though, right after getting their half-grown baby boy back. Let them have a few years to enjoy his childhood, Viserys!

As for Jace, Luke, and Joff, I've mentioned it before, but I don't really see the exact same children that Rhaenyra had in canon being born to a different match in her and Jon, since there aren't any Summerhall shenanigans at play (ditto for Aegon and Viserys). Definitely agree that Rhaenyra's first three kiddos would have had much happier lives if their paternity weren't questioned from birth and they had a more involved father. =/

TBH, I'd probably give them a little dark-haired girl first. Jon for his memories of Arya, and Rhaenyra for the little girl she never got to have.

Needless to say, of course, their uncles Baelon and Aemon most certainly would be the coolest older kids ever, and there would be many adventures at Runestone.

I don't know which prospect is more entertaining to me, Daemon as a differently-chaotic brother in Daeron's brood, or Baelor having to parent Daemon. In the brother case, you gotta have him as the second son again, that's basically his niche, and then we get the judginess toward his little brother's pack of hellions. Which probably earns him a side-eye from all brothers. It's not that Daemon's children are on that level, they're actually quite exemplary princes, seemingly in spite of their father, it's that Daemon himself is so extra and likely viewed as the source of a lot of chaos.

Could we end up with two opposing Daemons? Aka one where Daemon Blackfyre ends up allying with Volantis and their warlocks? (Does he even bother trying to press his claim if House Targaryen has 1-3 dragons? Because that gives us the alternative where Daemon gets into shenanigans and elder half-uncle Daemon gets at least some of the blame.)

There's also the amusement of House Targaryen having, like, normal royal family problems, and then there's DAEMON and family's problems which include creepy candles, improbable fire resistance, more Essos intrigue than you can shake a stick at, random attempted kidnappings, dragons back out of nowhere, Daemon having to reconcile himself with being half Dornish, etc.

(He and Maekar would definitely be the type to squabble with one another, while Baelor is the more indulgent eldest brother who is fond of his fiery little brothers, even when they're being little brats. The family feasts must be...something.)

Daemon as one of Baelor's son has a very different energy. While it's amusing to have a chaotic younger brother, it's much more stress when it's your child, and I have to think that Maekar feels at least a liiiittle vindicated to see perfect Baelor struggling with a very loose cannon son, and Maekar is more the fun bitchy uncle who Daemon prefers to most of his actual cousins.

Sorry, you just made me think about Viserys's new punishment for Daemon being a reverse banishment aka "get your ass to King's Landing RIGHT NOW and spend time with me" and I'm so amused.

It *is* just as effective because it's banishing Daemon from his family. But OTOH, what the heck could Daemon even be doing that is reverse-banishment-worthy? Probably nothing, which means Viserys is mostly just upset that he's unofficially summoned Daemon a few times already and he hasn't responded so now he has to make it OFFICIAL, and now his brother is back at the Red Keep, but incredibly grumpy, and the most tempting council position he can dangle in front of him is doing fuck-all.

I think the best Viserys can do, temptation-wise, is offer to construct a new House Targaryen holding for Daemon and his sons, which will have Otto in maximum damage control mode.

But yes, innocuous reasons to summon Daemon as well. Here's a tourney in honor of your sons' birth! (Just like Viserys proposes in Reverberate proper.) I need your counsel on the subject of Rhaenyra's match! We're celebrating my, uh, fifth year of my reign and you and your family must attend! I'm trying to decide what to do with Blackfyre hint hint, etc.

I assume we're talking him being Summerhalled like in Reverberate, but within his own universe (aka he's in the Stepstones, while nine-year-old Jon is being raised in Teriphos's household at the Victory Pit near Selhorys).

Ooh, that's a tough one for Daemon. He knows that Jon is being held in Volantis, and he's desperate to bring him home. But as soon as he confronts Rhea about the secret pregnancy, she (and the babies) will be in danger. Also the Stepstones aren't won yet to serve as a staging ground for going after Volantis.

Does Veteran AU Daemon have the impulse control not to go rogue and fly straight to Volantis for Jon? A more level-headed one would probably go the Reverberate Daemon route and try to achieve victory in the Stepstones as quickly as possible. Unlike Reverberate Daemon, however, who opts for just the briefest visit to KL for Viserys's blessing and then beelines for Runestone to confront Rhea and start nesting in relative peace, he doesn't have the luxury of only worrying about the coming babies. To be strategic, he'll need Viserys's support so that he can get enough dragonriders to pressure Volantis.

(A furious solo Daemon showing up at the Victory Pit is practically a gift-wrapped present for the attending warlocks, even if he thinks he's prepared. The redundancy and chaos of multiple dragonriders and dragons is pretty important. Plus, they can start by going straight to the city of Volantis itself to make diplomatic demands/threats of the triarchs there. It's more difficult to deny a delegation of furious dragonriders whose child you stole when they're directly in your face.)

It also kind of depends what Veteran Daemon knows, aka how much Jon has told him about the warlocks, their powers via their candles, and their home base of Asikos. Jon might not actually have encountered Perzōñys, though he would have heard something about him from the twins, so information on him is likely lacking. Aka if Daemon views Teriphos as the main culprit/instigator/threat and the warlocks merely as puppets, there's a risk he only does half the job, leaving Rhea and the babies in danger back home.