alicent

on front page: march 29th, 2024.





alicent hightower is one of my favorite characters of all time. i have a habit of liking crazy female characters who are severely misunderstood, and she is no different.

she comes from the show house of the dragon, which is a prequel to the famous show game of thrones. hotd is also based off of the prequel book to got, fire and blood. i've also read the book; i'm not talking about book alicent, she has beef with a twelve year old, i'm talking about show alicent. house of the dragon is set in a medieval, patriarchal fantasy society, and not only does it revolve around tradition, misogyny, and appearances, many of the major plot points are severely influenced by these undertones.

alicent is one of the main characters on the show, arguably the second-most important after the main character, rhaenyra targaryen. she is the daughter of the king's hand (think of a main advisor on a council), otto hightower. we hate otto hightower. alicent's family is very small, beyond that. she's supposed to have a few brothers, but only one is vaguely mentioned in the show, gwayne. alicent's mother died when she was a young girl. except for her father, and later on, her children. alicent is alone. she has no family, in a show where family is literally everything.

throughout the show, alicent's relationship with the main character, rhaenyra, is a key tenet of her character. she's actually introduced to the viewers with rhaenyra. as the story unfolds, a lot of the major conflict is directly related to that relationship. the show begins with alicent and rhaenyra as very close 'friends' - (gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay) - and have been ever since alicent came to king's landing (the capitol). however, due to the actions, greed, and ambition of the men in the girls' lives (OTTO, viserys, daemon, etc.), alicent and rhaenyra are forced apart. and i mean literally. the way they're forced apart is, quite literally, the fault of the men in the show.

most of alicent's problems, though, are due to otto hightower, her father. not only is he extremely manipulative (not just to alicent, to everyone), he's highly ambitious. he pushes situations on her to increase her (and his) standing, and convinces her of narratives that are extremely harmful. he makes her believe she and the people she loves are in danger, when in reality there was little evidence of this, and he's absolutely crazy. as we see later in the show, alicent ends up being very psychologically affected by him. even as an older woman, she reaches for his praise and attention, and does what she can to please him; as a girl she did the same, but when she was younger her options were do so or be cast out to the streets, disowned. (cause that's what could happen to girls in medieval times).

the bottom line is that alicent, for most of her life, is abused, alone, and unhappy. she gets stuck with a marriage she never wanted (which costs her dearly with rhaenyra), has kids at such a young age where there's no way she could've wanted them, with a man old enough to be her father, and spends her life as a punching bag for men. for her father and husband. quickly, rhaenyra also forms her own family (love her kids), and leaves king's landing, taking alicent's only friend with her. the only allies in court alicent has exploit her (including in ways that are very not-friendly & extremely triggering & traumatizing). even her own husband, viserys, does not value her. he doesn't see her as much more than a maid or baby maker, and not only does he tease and ridicule her, he doesn't consider her opinion or happiness. all alicent has are her children and her status.

so, you may be thinking, you crazy person: why this fandragon?

i made her a pearlcatcher because, in my opinion, i feel that the female pearlcatcher pose is the most delicate out of all the dragons. (fae's arguable, but i don't like fae). the pose is looking up longingly, towards something we can't see, wings flared as if prepared to take flight, all the while clutching its pearl very close to its chest, protectively, desperately, or for comfort. the male pearlcatcher, in contrast, holds it loosely with one foot, presumably while walking. first of all, i think this pose is extremely applicable to alicent. she's always looking for something she can't have; love, acceptance, safety, rhaenyra, etc. i also feel the whole 'wings spread but grounded' is becoming of her. alicent has little freedom in her life. i also think alicent's pearl can be interpreted as a lot of symbols in her life: her love for rhaenyra, used as comfort on dark days; alicent's children, which is what keeps her going; the memory of her earlier, happier childhood days (often with rhaenyra), something that comes up often later in the show. i really thought the pearl was too good of an addition to pass up.

pearlcatchers also have this pretty, flowing mane which i think mimics hair best, as it's not too long or thick. one of alicent's main physical appearances is her beautiful auburn hair. it's curly and wild, and i think can be argued to portray her mental state (because in scenes where she's off the rails, her hair is also kind of crazy). the ginger primary was to get the right harlequin colors, but the bronze secondary was to make sure her hair was as close to the right color as possible. alicent's eyes are earth innocent, because she has these big brown eyes, and i've always found them to be the most expressive things about her. in some scenes you can just see so clearly the heartache, betrayal, and pain in them. the innocent was a given.

alicent's primary gene is harlequin, which is sort of my own commentary on what could be an archetype of hers: 'the fool.'
all her life, alicent is forever chasing after something. rhaenyra, trying to keep her children in line and safe, her father (and his approval), etc. she just begs the men in her life not to do what they do (can you tell i'm trying not to spoil), and they do it anyways. with no regards to her. and she hopes every time they won't.
harlequin and jester genes remind me (duh) of jesters and fools, so her primary is a little nod towards her 'always being the fool.'
i also wanted to incorporate her pale/fair skin, and harlequin is a great way to add white. i love the way it looks on her, the diamonds on her forearms like jewels or scars or freckles, and the slash on her face that highlights her eyes.

her secondary is butterfly, because, well, she was just so... alicent was a lot more innocent in the beginning of the show. and as her life unfolds we watch as she loses that innocence, bit by bit. it's heartbreaking, made more so by the fact that it's all due to the fault of her father and husband - and she can't help but love the former anyways. i see butterflies as a symbol of innocence and childhood, so it was kind of a no-brainer. sometimes that innocence shows in her decisions later: she can be naiive when she's desperate.

her tertiary being firefly is just sort of what fit best. little glowing memories or emotions, always lingering, never letting her be, always sticking to her side like glue? that is so in tune with her character i couldn't have made it better. alicent's haunted by rhaenyra and her father. she never truly can get away from the former, and the latter shapes her negatively until the very end, despite her insistence that he was a good man.
the more important part of her tertiary, however, is the fact that it's lemon. to be honest, i could've chosen a yellowish color that's close to lemon and still have the gene work out, because firefly is like that (and i did think about it when that dragon search yielded NOTHING). but i really wanted her tertiary to be lemon. it's a common headcanon (and i think maybe canon canon, i'm not 100% sure) that alicent's favorite food are lemon cakes. she and rhaenyra used to terrorize the castle kingdoms for them. its sort of a symbol of the indulgence alicent had in her childhood that she never again really has in her adulthood.

alicent's apparel, as you can see, is a lot of green. it's her color in the show because it's what the hightowers (her family) use when they call their banners to war. and 99% of the time my poor girl is at war :(
the rose thorn apparel (what's on her wings and legs) is supposed to symbolize how trapped she is. like a beautiful shackles kind of thing. alicent spends her life in luxury and finery, as does her children, but she has no freedom. she is forever upholding the image of duty and modesty, because she has to. she didn't get the life she wanted; she wasn't even allowed to think about it.
the stockings and tail sleeve are there to inspire modesty. alicent's kind of chaste (read: repressed). she's also religious, though i didn't really feature that (the attendant collar? maybe?). her religion is a huge comfort to her, which i find a fascinating character trait.

so. ali's my baby, and i just wish i could give her a hug. she deserved none of what happened to her.

alicent's not only the picture of repressed lesbian pining, she's also a mother. she's not a very good one, but i think she's an amazing portrayal of; intergenerational trauma & abuse & how it transfers to the traumatized's children, parenting is hard no matter what, and how a mother can view kids she didn't want, or had at a young age. 'cause alicent is really not a good mom. but otto was not a good dad. and everything alicent does is for her children, and i could write about a 30 page essay on how her kids are a lot like her and each embody a part of her she hates.

she's just so <333333333 the fandom hates her but i couldn't love her more.





if you've read all of this, i love you, let's chat. i'd love to know what you think

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- bred using a nest rental: 1,500t.

- breed change: pearlcatcher: 238g.
- secondary gene: butterfly: 1,204g.
- tertiary gene: firefly: 300g.
- vial of naivety: 205g.

- attendant collar: 100g.
- attendant overcoat: 16g.
- attendant tailsleeve: 10g.
- gladewalker cape: 2g.
- poisonous rose thorn leg tangle: 119g.
- poisonous rose thorn wing tangle: 99,999t.
- faerie rose thorn stockings: 14g.
- faerie rose thorn wing tangle: 18g.
- teardrop citrine earrings: 9g.

- 3 apparel slot expansions: 175g.

completed: december 30th, 2023.

TOTAL COST: 101,499t & 2,410g.

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how she started:







i will clean this up at some point ik its a mess. the scene also means something btw.

if you've made it this far and would like to read something centered around alicent's character while not actually getting into the show, ril liatroma and ride the dragon are two very good rhaenicent fanfictions that don't necessarily require prior knowledge to enjoy!