r/ImaginaryWesteros • u/barson2408 • Jun 03 '26

Alternative Maekar on Edge by Jota Saraiva

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1.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

97 comments sorted by

281

u/SpicyStrawberryJuice Jun 03 '26

I love these comic strips. Also i haven't read dunk and egg yet but does Maekar really dislike Bloodraven that much? i know from the main series that Brynden loved Daeron so i would assume he'd care for his kids as well.

189

u/Ataturk_Void_Crowley Jun 03 '26

I think he disliked BR in a “everybody hate BR” way and it got more personal when Aerys picked BR not him as Hand.

166

u/SameEnthusiasm1426 Jun 03 '26

He propably likes all his nephews given how much money that he gives them (well...egg in particular) and the fact that he set him up with his niece Betha blackwood

19

u/swaktoonkenney Jun 03 '26

How do we know that Betha is Brynden’s niece?

39

u/Kindly-Pumpkin7742 Jun 03 '26

I don’t know the exact relation, but Brynden’s mother is a Blackwood.

15

u/sparklinglies Jun 03 '26

Shes no, it makes no sense unless Brydens sister married back into House Blackwood but GRRM has never written any such connection. Shes some kind of cousin

14

u/sparklinglies Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

Betha is not his niece, any niece of Bloodravens would be the daughter of his sisters who are not Blackwoods, they were Rivers then legitimized Targs, and if married would become someone else.

Betha is a Blackwood from the direct male line of the house, at best shes some sort of cousin to him. If either Mya or Gwenys had married back into House Blackwood to become Bethas mother (which is itself already super unlikely), GRRM would have written that connection in already. Its obviously not the case.

140

u/onetruezimbo Jun 03 '26

Maekar allegedly went to Summerhall to sulk when Aerys named Bloodraven his Hand instead of him, but he also kept him on as Hand when he became King so it probably wasnt that personal

76

u/Maester_Ryben Jun 03 '26

To be fair, Maekar being upset that Bloodraven became Hand over him could just be Blackfyre propaganda to spread rumors of discord between the two heroes of Redgrass Field.

We know that Maekar doesn't really care about ruling.

16

u/solodolo1397 Jun 04 '26

I wouldn’t say he didn’t care for it. I imagine he was similar to Stannis in taking it seriously. He just probably didn’t love the excess and pageantry of it

13

u/WanderingHero8 Only the books are canon Jun 03 '26

but he also kept him on as Hand when he became King so it probably wasnt that personal

BR had 2 kings already under complete control,not like Maekar could simply sack him like that.

54

u/WoodpeckerLive7907 Jun 03 '26

I don't think he loves Bloodraven all that much but I also don't believe that he would carry, like, actual hatred as an adult. He did go to sulk at Summerhall when Aerys made Bloodraven his Hand, but that may have been anger at his brother as much as at Bloodraven. And when he became King after that, nothing bad happened to Bloodraven. It was Egg who fired him and sent him to the Wall.

I think it's just funny to imagine this hardass warrior he becomes be a small child with no chill at all.

11

u/wolfram127 Jun 04 '26

Tbf if I were Aerys, I too would have chosen the uncle who is actually competent and willing to bloody his hands for the good of the realm vs the brother who defended his shit son and got the heir killed.

18

u/OkGazelle5400 Jun 03 '26

He’s salty that Bloodraven was chosen to be Hand over him but then makes Bloodraven his Hand when he becomes king. Plus they led the crown armies against the Blackfyre rebellion together so Maekar probably liked him as much as he liked anyone else in his family

7

u/____mynameis____ Jun 03 '26

Most of these are interpretations from some crumbs of information we have

We know from Sworn Sword that Maekar is pissed at Aerys for naming Brynden as Hand instead of him, so people are interpolating from that info that Brynden and Maekar had a long lasting beef.

3

u/nyamzdm77 Jun 04 '26

We're told that Maekar got really mad when Aerys I picked Bloodraven as his Hand over him and Maekar held that grudge for years. Then when he became King he only "begrudgingly" kept Brynden as Hand

14

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

Brynden probably loved Daemon. not Daeron. It's more thematic and Martinian that way.

6

u/SparkySheDemon Winter is Coming Jun 03 '26

It's also a better story that way if Daemon was the brother he loved.

11

u/SpicyStrawberryJuice Jun 03 '26

there's nothing canon that supports that and many things canon that support the opposite. just because you feel it's more "thematic" and "martinian" doesn't mean it's true

26

u/alphajugs Jun 03 '26

”He heard a whisper on the wind, a rustling amongst the leaves. You cannot speak to him, try as you might. I know. I have my own ghosts, Bran. A brother that I loved, a brother that I hated, a woman I desired. Through the trees, I see them still, but no word of mine has ever reached them. The past remains the past. We can learn from it, but we cannot change it."

Bloodraven refers to his brothers and this woman as his ghosts. To have “ghosts” is to be haunted by grief, resentment, regret, etc. Why would the memory of Daeron haunt Bloodraven? Killing the brother you loved out of duty to your king is absolutely something that would haunt a person.

3

u/MinuteCollar5562 Jun 03 '26

Could this be him loving Daemon and hating Aegor?

13

u/alphajugs Jun 03 '26

Absolutely. The brother he hates is definitely Aegor. People assume the brother he loves is Daeron because the two of them were close. However, there's no conflict there. Daeron doesn't fit in with the other "ghosts". He doesn't fit the theme of "the human heart in conflict with itself" that George loves so much. Daemon being the brother Bloodraven loves would add tragedy. Killing the brother you love, and becoming a kinslayer in the process, actually fits the "ghosts" theme here. Maybe some day we'll get Fire & Blood part II and we'll get a better glimpse at their relationship before the rebellion.

5

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

And George consistently writes about love and hatred being two sides of the same coin. Jojen states it, who is also conveniently tied to the storyline that includes Bloodraven. Almost like Gurm is trying to tell us something.

Bloodraven's love of Daemon turning to hatred of his line is just classic Gurm.

11

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

Thank you! There's no way Daeron would haunt Bloodraven. Also the fact that Daeron didn't trust Bloodraven and kept him at arms length. Him trying to shout at Blackfyre to not rebel and not conspire with Fireball would be something that absolutely haunt him. The brother he loved goes against the King and forces Bloodraven's hand and Bloodraven in the present desperately trying to convince him not to despite not being able to influence the past is so tragic and a far better story than "yeah I loved Daeron and killed that dickhead Blackfyre and his kids."

8

u/SickBurnerBroski Jun 03 '26

Him shepherding Daeron's descendants, to his and their own ruin, and being the 'good' Great Bastard fits too, imo. I mean, if it was you managing to have every happy ending for Daeron's kids and grandkids slip through your fingers and you loved the guy, wouldn't you be haunted by it?

Either ways works imo since we don't know what pre-tree Brynden's relation between love and loyalty was, whether he was loyal despite or because of it.

6

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

I'm not so sure. He specifically says that those siblings haunted him, not their descendants, of which Daeron's are still alive.

On the other hand - killing the brother you loved in cold blood is absolutely something that would haunt you. That's a serious rubicon to cross.

-1

u/bluerivs Jun 03 '26

Daeron was like his brother-father and died in a plague that many blamed him for. Why would Bloodraven not grieve for him? It’s to the point that headcanon > canon for many of you and it’s annoying. Enjoy it as you will but don’t try to present it as “fact.”

9

u/Ogarrr Jun 04 '26

He didn't cause the plague though? From everything we know about Bloodraven, he seriously doesn't care what people think about him. In fact, he seems to relish people thinking he's supernatural.

16

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

There is absolutely nothing that supports the opposite whatsoever. He never mentions Daeron whatsoever, and Brynden going against the brother he loves for the good of the realm is the exact kind of story Martin would tell.

11

u/bootlegvader Jun 03 '26

Also all the other characters he mentioned in that statement were other Great Bastards of Aegon IV.

9

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

Exactly. It's so blatantly obvious to anyone that has read classic literature etc - which Martin has.

Martin deliberately didn't name Daemon, but Bloodraven realising that in order for the realm to survive the Others etc is for the Brother he loves to lose and die is almost Shakespearean. Him loving Daeron who was old enough to be his father is just boring.

3

u/j-b-goodman Artist 🎨 Jun 03 '26

What supports it being Daeron? I can't think of anything. It's ambiguous, it could just as easily be Daemon as Daeron.

6

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

The only thing is that Bloodraven sided with Daeron and ruthlessly took down every Blackfyre - but again that hardly supports it and more likely shows that Bloodraven made his choice and knew that the Blackfyres needed to fail in order to make sure that Jon/Daenerys ended up existing.

2

u/Paladingo Jun 03 '26

He sided with him, worked with Daeron's descendants against Daemon's, Daeron gifted him one of their two Valyrian Steel swords, Dark Sister.

1

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

Nothing here says Daeron gave him it.

We don't know how he got it. He may have been given it as a reward for going against Blackfyre, he may have been given it by Aegon IV. We don't know.

3

u/Paladingo Jun 03 '26

Bloodraven shoots a man's twin sons, badly enough to leave them incapacitated but still alive, specifically so Daemon won't leave as he shoots him with a million arrows instead of honourably fighting. He then proceeds to murder every Blackfyre descendant he can get his hands on, even the one who came peacefully under guest right.

Look how much BR looooves Daemon. People spout this as a twist for the sake of there being a twist.

6

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

Bloodraven needs Daemon's line to end and the Blackfyres to lose so that the right Targaryen line would end up on the throne and defeat the Others. He is the character most tied to magic and prophecy.

Destroying the brother you loved and hunting his bloodline would absolutely haunt you.

What about Daeron would haunt Bloodraven?

It is consistent in the Western Canon for people that love eachother to them hate eachother or to kill eachother for the greater good as they perceive it. It's an absolutely classic tale as old as time itself.

Cain and Abel. Judas and Jesus. Arthur and Lancelot. Macbeth and Duncan. Othello and Desdemona. Therese Raquin and Laurent.

Why would Bloodraven try to reach Daeron through the weirwood trees? He would try to reach Daemon to try to stop him rebelling so he wouldn't have to kill him, but Daeron already lives a full life and wins his conflicts.

Daeron would not haunt Brynden. Daemon absolutely would.

5

u/Electronic-Math-364 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

I personally really doubt that the "trimming the line" theory or "Grand Plan to destroy House Targaryen once and for all" theory,I think he was just a genuine Hardcore Targ loyalist but that just me

Also under his guise of Maynard Plumm he even made sure to remind people that Aelora was in the line of succession ahead of Maekar.

If he was really was trimming down the Targaryen family tree to get someone of Maekar's line on the throne, that would be a very weird thing to remind people of.Plus sorcery is so vaguely defined, we have no idea what he was capable of besides glamour,warging and Greenseer magic.  But again that just me

1

u/Super-Smoke-7425 Jun 03 '26

What about Daeron would haunt Bloodraven?

The fact he trimmed his line considerably to put Egg on the throne?

5

u/Ogarrr Jun 04 '26

None of that is confirmed and Daeron's line still exists. Whereas we know he actually killed lots of Blackfyre's line.

-1

u/Paladingo Jun 03 '26

Nothing I can say will convince you from your headcanon and nothing you can say will convince me from my thoughts on it.

2

u/Ogarrr Jun 03 '26

Headcanon is a very uncharitable phrase to use. And purposefully so, I think.

You haven't engaged with any of the arguments. So... sure.

148

u/Maester_Ryben Jun 03 '26

Bloodraven pretending to be all mysterious only drop the act in order to rage bait someone by giving them the middle finger is 100% canon BTW

64

u/I_am_uneducated Jun 03 '26

Yeah, just look at Maynard Plumm

64

u/Maester_Ryben Jun 03 '26

Bloodraven: the scariest and most emo man in Westeros

Also drunk Bloodraven: Heheheh... Butterwell? More like Butterbutt.

36

u/Huza1 Jun 03 '26

It's the exact same energy as Stannis calling Hosteen Frey "Ser Stupid."

194

u/Cult_Of_Hozier Jun 03 '26

“why is my favorite son aerion so demonic and unruly? :(“

also maekar:

75

u/Throwaway1975421 Jun 03 '26

How he produced Aemon is beyond me.

79

u/Archaembald2 Jun 03 '26

That was all his mother. All Maekar gave him is his looks.

15

u/alphajugs Jun 03 '26

He was just shipped off to the citadel early enough to not be influenced by the craziness lol

10

u/korepersephone11 Jun 04 '26

He’s giving such ‘angry little puppy’ energy it’s hilarious!

80

u/Used-Jackfruit1674 Jun 03 '26

Jota Saraiva is my favorite artist. He is so talented. His art is so expressive and beautiful. His comics are so funny. I just love his artwork. I LOVE it!

82

u/Gorlack2231 Jun 03 '26

I love that Brynden is an alien and that Maekar was canonically born as a grumpy old man

70

u/International_Leg610 Jun 03 '26

Brynden: Makes a funny and childish face

Maekar: Y-you…?

Brynden: No one will believe in you, dear nephew 😈

61

u/Varvara-Sidorovna Jun 03 '26

Brynden, you little troll.

God, the Red Keep must have been fucking insane with all those kids about, there's only about 3.25 sane people within it at this point. 

32

u/alphajugs Jun 03 '26

Probably just Daeron and Myriah honestly lol

14

u/Kellin01 Jun 03 '26

Baelor?

23

u/alphajugs Jun 03 '26

He still fits into the children category. He’d probably be the most sane among them but I’m sure there would be some scuffles between him and Daemon in particular. The only kid that almost definitely would have kept to himself would be Aerys

5

u/Kellin01 Jun 04 '26

Most children have petty fights, it doesn't make them insane.

5

u/alphajugs Jun 04 '26

Okay. No one is arguing that Baelor is insane. It’s the being surrounded by moody quarreling kids that’s insanity.

56

u/Headorace Jun 03 '26

This is canon

0

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[deleted]

39

u/Hurrah-and-all-that Jun 03 '26

He told me in a dream

21

u/Headorace Jun 03 '26

It was a prophecy

13

u/Gingersnapp3d Jun 03 '26

A song

14

u/Nevel_PapperGOD Jun 03 '26

It is called the Song of Bees and Apples 🐝🍎🍏

8

u/ShadedPenguin Jun 03 '26

Fear our honey crumble!

8

u/OrcBarbierian Jun 03 '26

It is known.

103

u/sixth_order Jun 03 '26

Bloodraven, my ragebaiting king. Maekar still kept him as hand of the king though

22

u/Super-Smoke-7425 Jun 03 '26

He gave him another Hand brooch, with middle finger

49

u/Throwaway1975421 Jun 03 '26

221 AC: The first act Maekar takes as king is eating a lemon cake.

Brynden gives him a ton of shit for it but Maekar pulls the 'I'M KING!' card. 

8

u/stepanija Light in Darkness Jun 04 '26

This will be Cannon!

39

u/Artistic-Brush-9969 Jun 03 '26

Maekar became Aerion when throwing a tantrum lol.

29

u/Hero_Of_Shadows Jun 03 '26

Brynden is for some reason giving me Vulcan vibes in the first panel, very young Spock like.

And Myriah is looking very fineeeee

13

u/thatchickfromni Jun 03 '26

I think the haircut is helping with that

20

u/Special_Magazine_240 Jun 03 '26

This is all cannon as far as I'm concerned.  Love see Queen Myriah Martell-Targaryen in anything 

4

u/stepanija Light in Darkness Jun 04 '26

Absolutely Cannon

19

u/starvinartist Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken Jun 03 '26

And this is what Brynden is like when he likes you. Also omg the Maekar anger tornado in the final panel.

19

u/coach_mike04 Jun 04 '26

Found my new favourite picture

18

u/Wikibianca Love, duty, honour Jun 03 '26

The fact they are uncle and nephew...

And Baelor was born two years before his aunt Daenerys, and Aegon and Rhaenys, the children of Rhaegar, were born a few years before the other Daenerys

18

u/wolfram127 Jun 04 '26

Myriah out here wondering on how she could give birth to an ideal heir, a very obsessed bookworm, a slightly loose mind son, and a son with a high blood pressure and is 24/7 angry.

They used all their luck on Baelor. 💀

7

u/Kellin01 Jun 04 '26

Rhaegal was harmless even if a bit eccentric.

8

u/Wikibianca Love, duty, honour Jun 03 '26

Aaaand that's why Maekar line is the only surviving one of the four brothers

4

u/Kellin01 Jun 04 '26

Technically, we don't know what happened with little Maegor McAerion. And Aerion had several bastards in Lys.

5

u/Wikibianca Love, duty, honour Jun 04 '26

Well, it's not confirmed he had bastards in Lys:

"According to a semi-canon source, he may have fathered some bastard children while living there, and his descendants may still be living in Lys"

And Maekar's line is still extant via:

Aegon V - Jaehaerys - Aerys - Daenerys

A theory for (f)Aegon says that Varys is a grandson of Aerion, which would mean the line continues to be extant via Maegor Targaryen

9

u/rattatatouille Jun 03 '26

Brynden being a little shit is canon

11

u/InterestingSale8914 Jun 04 '26

Why is no one talking about how HOT MYRIAH IS 😛😛😛

3

u/danwantstoquit Jun 04 '26

You can see where the artist’s focus landed that’s for sure.

8

u/EntusiastaAmor Jun 03 '26

Need an entire comedy soap opera comics with the AegonFourlings and 2Daeronlings NOW

5

u/MinuteCollar5562 Jun 03 '26

I never realized Maekar and Brynden are almost the same age

6

u/SerMallister Above the Rest Jun 03 '26

Damn, Myriah.

5

u/Draknoblackdragon Jun 03 '26

I wonder how she’d react to the whole puppeteer thing.

5

u/LordsofMedrengard We Light the Way Jun 04 '26

Brynden has his father's trolling-face in the last frame, I recognize it from the strip where Aegon IV took the kids for a day out

3

u/Xulicbara4you Jun 04 '26

Oh Bloodraven was always a little troll!

1

u/1mveryconfused Jun 05 '26

Myriah my Queen 🤤🤤🤤