Episode 9 of House of the Dragon validated our worst assumptions about Queen Alicent. Sadly, Alicent believes King Viserys’ dying wish was to have their son Prince Aegon succeed the throne. Really she should take into account all of Viserys’ words, instead of hearing what best suits her family over at House Hightower.

Let’s discuss everything that’s been said about King Viserys’ prophecy and how it’s affected Alicent in the spoiler-packed section below.

Warning: Spoiler ahead.

What exactly is the prophecy (part 1)?

All the way back in episode 1, King Viserys passes a family secret onto his daughter Princess Rhaenyra — a doomsday prophecy telling of the end of men. Let’s break down what Viserys says:

“Our histories… they tell us that Aegon looked across the Blackwater from Dragonstone, and saw a rich land ripe for the capture. But ambition alone is not what drove him to conquest. It was a dream. And just as Daenys foresaw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men.”

Aegon refers to Aegon the Conqueror, the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros. He was the founder of the Targaryens’ ruling dynasty over Westeros but, as his prophecy reveals, he also wanted to unify the land against a common enemy. His prophecy isn’t to be dismissed, because before him a Targaryen, Daenys the Dreamer, had a correct prophetic dream of Valyria’s

Elon Musk has sent his first email to Twitter’s staff, warning employees to prepare for “difficult times ahead” and putting an immediate end to remote work.

In the email reported by Bloomberg News, Musk warned that a weaker economic environment in the US would mean difficulties for Twitter. Analysts have been projecting slower growth in advertising spend in 2023, and, as a business where ads account for roughly 90 percent of revenue, Twitter will be strongly affected by this.

Musk said there was “no way to sugarcoat the message” about these challenges. He also reportedly told employees that they were expected to be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours a week and that he would only approve remote work on a case-by-case basis. Musk has previously signaled his opposition to remote work, but said in June in a Q&A with Twitter employees that “exceptional” workers would be allowed to continue the practice.

“The road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed,” Musk wrote in the email seen by Bloomberg. He added in another message that “over the next few days, the absolute top priority is finding and suspending any verified bots/trolls/spam.”

Twitter’s advertising revenue will also be affected by Musk’s chaotic management of the site. A number of major companies, including insurer Allianz and automaker Audi, have paused ad spend on Twitter in response to Musk’s takeover and his ambitions

While the overall crypto markets have been in a rough spot lately, web3 venture capitalists have never had more conviction — or more funding at their disposal — to back startups and teams building in the space. The big question on their minds is whether tokens and startup valuations have bottomed out, or if they need to wait a bit longer to score the best possible deal.

When to place your batch is a delicate balance in any tech sector, never mind one as rambunctious as crypto. That’s one reason why we’re stocked that Tom Schmidt, a general partner at Dragonfly, will join us onstage at TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17 in Miami.

We can’t wait to hear his take on the current state of crypto and what it’s like to be an investor at a crypto-native VC firm as more traditional venture firms move into the space. We’ll ask about which web3 subsectors — from DeFi to NFTs to Ethereum layer 2s — currently pique Dragonfly’s interest, and we’ll chat about how regulation could affect the industry in different regions across the globe.

We’re curious to hear Schmidt’s outlook on the future of crypto startups and VC for the coming year. Is Dragonfly as optimistic about the crypto market as it was last April when the VC firm closed its third venture fund to the (oversubscribed) tune of $650 million? Inquiring minds want to know.

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