Love Dany

Hello! No bother 💞 we are alright, thank you for asking!

Oh gosh yeah it's missing Jonerys hours all the damn time here. So... I have a fic recs for you 👀

I've been in a revisiting old favourites mood, I hope you don't mind that I'm recommending some oldies but goodies modern AUs:

Shadows by @kiyasama : in which Dany hires escort!Jon for his services...but with loads of mystery and twists, and quite a lot of action. Heavy subjects are explored, but such a great fic and a must read in the fandom. Completed.

Eye of the Storm by @kiyasama : modern AU with supernatural elements and a side of Targ incest 😌. They meet when Dany moves into Benjen's building and he goes to collect the rent. Dany has a mission: she is trying to gain control of the 7Kingdoms. Jon helps her, of course. Truly love the political aspects of this fic, so if you're feeling revolutionary read it! Completed.

Embers by @zavocado : in which Dany is royalty and Jon is a fire fighter. Oh and with a side of Targ incest too! Funny, sexy, angsty. Completed.

I Chose You by @helloimnotawesome : rich kids, slow burn and forced marriage. Need I say more 👀

The House With The Red Door by LenoreFrost : in which Dany runs a shelter for abused women. Jon just returned from the military and works with the K9 unit (and of course loads of Ghost!) The dragons are pitbulls and they're the bestest. Angst and heavy subjects but it's a great fic!

Thumbprint Scar by @frostbitepandaaaaa : modern AU set in Winterfell, Montana. Cattle ranch Jon need I say more? Also horses! Dany has a secret 👀 it's just good. Read it!

Well, Bless your Heart by InBoccaAlLupo & Razbrylimedragons : Jon and Dany's relationship is inevitable...even if Jon is already in a relationship with Ygritte. Cheating. Angst, but such a classic! Completed.

The Oasis by @fierypen37 : masseur!Jon & CEO Dany with a side of danger, smut and loads of action

Dating in the Dark by @tomakeitbeautifultolive : a classic Targ incest modern AU which starts in a very interesting way, with one peculiar party. Rhaegar and Lyanna are alive and well oop 🤭

You're All I Need To Get By by AegonVI : Scandal AU in which Dany is President of Westeros and Jon is the best PR person in the land. This fic is just mmm *chef's kiss* in terms of political intrigue and the smut phewww. Also Dany cheats with Jon on her husband. Read it because it's great

When We Were Young by sulasass : PI Jon and detective Dany. Angst and second chance love. Loads of mystery and an interesting serial killer!

Stay Awhile by revesle : To All The Boys I've Loved Before AU! Need I say more??

To Be Alone With You by bendthekneejon : Jonerys College / University AU. Completed.

Between The Raindrops by @notpmahlem : Modern War Torn Westeros with loads of sexy shameless smut! And action! Just read it because the smut is 🤤 Completed.

Catch Us Where We Sleep by @ashleyfanfic : spy AU with a lovely side of Robbaery and loads of action!

Whiskey Burns by @muttpeeta : CEO Dany and bartender Jon (well at least in part I...). Well just 2 chapters but this is an old favourite and a chapter 2 was recently added icymi. Completed.

Ok phew that's a lot! Since you mentioned multichapters I stuck with that ! If you want, I can totally make another list with one shots since there are also loads of those that I've been rereading! Also more recent fics? But you'll have to give me a theme or something because lately there's been loads of Modern AUs so you need to narrow it down for me haha. Back then, when we were young and hopeful, we mostly lived in canon...

I'm sure I left a lot out, unfortunately I wasn't that good at bookmarking back when I started reading Jonerys fics (after s7) so I had to look up manually quite a few ha! *shakes fist at past Alice*

“I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don’t always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …”

“… mother,” whispered Missandei.

“Mother to dragons.” Dany shivered.

Dany IV ACOK, which is a seminal chapter in Dany’s entire arc, is chock full of magical prophecies and warnings that Dany sees and receives at the House of the Undying. And of course the bulk of the analysis of this chapter is dedicated to those prophecies, especially considering that these prophecies have relevance both for Dany’s future in Westeros, her TWOW arc, her endgame, and for other characters’ futures as well. Not to mention that the ambiguous and even frustrating wording of the prophecies leaves room for a ton of interpretation. Some of the prophecies haven’t unraveled yet either, because TWOW and ADOS haven’t been published. So, I understand why most of the analysis has been on the prophecies, rather than on Dany herself and her actions in this chapter, but I was struck by the courage, resilience, and intelligence Dany displays, and I don’t really see people discussing it, perhaps because Dany’s independent actions are overtaken by the relevance of the HoTU visions and prophecies. 

Still, it’s worth noting and understanding how this chapter is one of many that showcases how smart Dany is, how patient she is, and how brave she is as well. 

First of all, she’s repeatedly warned not to meet with Pyat Pree, by Jorah Mormont, by Xaro Xhoan Daxos, and by her bloodriers, Jhogo, Aggo, and Rakharo: 

“Blood of my blood,” Jhogo said in Dothraki, “this is an evil place, a haunt of ghosts and maegi. See how it drinks the morning sun? Let us go before it drinks us as well.” Ser Jorah Mormont came up beside them. “What power can they have if they live in that?” “Heed the wisdom of those who love you best,” said Xaro Xhoan Daxos, lounging inside the palanquin. “Warlocks are bitter creatures who eat dust and drink of shadows. They will give you naught. They have naught to give.” Aggo put a hand on his arakh. “Khaleesi, it is said that many go into the Palace of Dust, but few come out.” “It is said,” Jhogo agreed. “We are blood of your blood,” said Aggo, “sworn to live and die as you do. Let us walk with you in this dark place, to keep you safe from harm.” “Some places even a khal must walk alone,” Dany said. “Take me, then,” Ser Jorah urged. “The risk—” “Queen Daenerys must enter alone, or not at all.” The warlock Pyat Pree stepped out from under the trees. Has he been there all along? Dany wondered. “Should she turn away now, “the doors of wisdom shall be closed to her forevermore.”

Dany visits the House of the Undying in the first place to get answers. She’s frustrated with Quaithe’s ambiguous wording, with Xaro’s simpering, with Jorah’s lack of trust in literally everyone around them, and with the fact that it seems like no one in Qarth is willing to help her, despite her bribing and begging and selling treasures for gold. She had previously resisted visiting the Warlocks because of Xaro and Jorah’s warnings, but now she does not heed them, as she is determined to find answers, to seek wisdom. This is an example of Dany’s willingness to learn. She is alright with putting herself in danger to further her own knowledge. So never let it be said that Dany just sits around and waits for people to tell her things; she had to go into the House of the Undying by herself in order to gain knowledge. 

“Ser Jorah Mormont gave the merchant prince a sour look. “Your Grace, remember Mirri Maz Duur.” “I do,” Dany said, suddenly decided. “I remember that she had knowledge. And she was only a maegi.” Pyat Pree smiled thinly. “The child speaks as sagely as a crone. Take my arm, and let me lead you.” “I am no child.” Dany took his arm nonetheless.

She’s already learned from Mirri Maz Duur’s treachery. She knows not to trust Pyat Pree; even as she’s agreeing to his instructions and going inside the House of the Undying alone, she refuses to allow him to condescend to her. This is Dany acknowledging that Pyat Pree is as treacherous as Mirri Maz Duur, but like her, Pyat Pree will offer her valuable knowledge that she must get even at the cost of her own safety. 

Once inside, Dany has to face a series of tests that come in the form of visions. 

Not all the doors were closed. I will not look, Dany told herself, but the temptation was too strong.

In one room, a beautiful woman sprawled naked on the floor while four little men crawled over her. They had rattish pointed faces and tiny pink hands, like the servitor who had brought her the glass of shade. One was pumping between her thighs. Another savaged her breasts, worrying at the nipples with his wet red mouth, tearing and chewing. Farther on she came upon a feast of corpses. Savagely slaughtered, the feasters lay strewn across overturned chairs and hacked trestle tables, asprawl in pools of congealing blood. Some had lost limbs, even heads. Severed hands clutched bloody cups, wooden spoons, roast fowl, heels of bread. In a throne above them sat a dead man with the head of a wolf. He wore an iron crown and held a leg of lamb in one hand as a king might hold a scepter, and his eyes followed Dany with mute appeal. She fled from him, but only as far as the next open door. I know this room, she thought. She remembered those great wooden beams and the carved animal faces that adorned them. And there outside the window, a lemon tree! The sight of it made her heart ache with longing. It is the house with the red door, the house in Braavos. No sooner had she thought it than old Ser Willem came into the room, leaning heavily on his stick. “Little princess, there you are,” he said in his gruff kind voice. “Come,” he said, “come to me, my lady, you’re home now, you’re safe now.” His big wrinkled hand reached for her, soft as old leather, and Dany wanted to take it and hold it and kiss it, she wanted that as much as she had ever wanted anything. Her foot edged forward, and then she thought, He’s dead, he’s dead, the sweet old bear, he died a long time ago. She backed away and ran.”

The beautiful woman being savaged by four men is of course Westeros being torn apart by the War of the 5 Kings (Stannis Baratheon, Robb Stark, Renly Baratheon, Balon Greyjoy, and Joffrey Baratheon). The king with the head of a wolf is Robb Stark. These horrifying visions tempt Dany with a macabre knowledge, and Dany runs from them instead of pursuing what those visions mean (and she will not know that her visions actually do mean something because she will not know that Robb Stark does, indeed, die at a wedding, at least until she goes North and perhaps Jon or someone else tells her). So even though Dany wants to go back to Westeros, she runs from the visions of its current state. Next, she sees a positive and happy vision, much more tempting than the first two; one of her beloved house with the red door, and the sweet old caretaker of hers, Ser Willem Darry, beckoning her to his embrace. He’s a protector and a safe symbol to her, but she reminds herself that he’s dead and does not give in to that temptation either. 

Dany also moves on from the visions of her father, Aerys II, and Rhaegar and Elia, who cradles Aegon. In the vision, Rhaegar is explaining to Elia that the dragon has three heads, and that the prince does have a song, that his is the song of ice and fire. She is moved by the sadness and beauty of this silver prince and his music, of the brother she never knew, but again, she moves on from both of these visions of her family, visions that could have perhaps given her a better understanding of her dead father and eldest brother.

Meanwhile, Dany is genuinely scared, as the House of the Undying is filled with terrifying and ominous sounds, and is getting darker by the minute. Still, she figures out the riddles in Pyat Pree’s instructions, which means that even as she is scared, she is able to keep a clear head and keep going forward: 

He hears it too. Dany turned to the blank wall once more, but there was nothing. Could there be a secret door, a door I cannot see? Another torch went out. Another. The first door on the right, he said, always the first door on the right. The first door on the right … It came to her suddenly.… is the last door on the left!”

Even submerged in increasing darkness, scared of the sounds and sights around her, she still figures out that the first door on the right is the last door on the left. 

“Stubborn child. You will be lost, and never found.” She walked away from him, to the door on the right. “No,” Pyat screeched. “No, to me, come to me, to meeeeeee.” His face crumbled inward, changing to something pale and wormlike.

She is not fooled by the fake vision of Pyat Pree and does not believe the vision when it says that the Undying are tired of waiting for her. Note that she’s been running for hours (through time is probably wonky inside the House of the Undying) and yet she continues on the correct path, which indicates both her intelligence and her patience. 

The blood of the dragon must not be afraid. Dany said a quick prayer, begging the Warrior for courage and the Dothraki horse god for strength. She made herself walk forward.

I don’t see this quote mentioned much in full on here but I really like it because it showcases that in moments where Dany is scared, she makes herself brave, she creates her own bravery by using her title to remind herself to be strong. I also like this quote because it shows that Dany comes from a blend of cultures; she prays to a Westerosi god, the warrior from the faith of the seven, but also the Dothraki horse god. And she keeps going forward. 

The wizards were beckoning her with voices sweeter than song. She ran from them, Drogon flying back down to her. Through the narrow door she passed, into a chamber awash in gloom.

She comes upon a vision of a bunch of fake wizards, all dressed in splendor, all promising her knowledge and riches and power…and she is able to see through the lies to get to the heart, the truth, the shadowed narrow door that’s hidden behind them. Slayer of lies indeed. It is because she is patient and smart that she can look through this deception. 

“I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.” Do they hear me? Why don’t they move? She sat, folding her hands in her lap. “Grant me your counsel, and speak to me with the wisdom of those who have conquered death.”

Note that even though the Undying are pretty terrifying and bizarre, she approaches them resolutely and asks them for their counsel and help, without wavering or hesitating. 

Of course the Undying, after showing her their visions, descend on her and try to consume her, but Drogon does save her by ripping their heart to pieces and burning them and the House down. Once she flees the House of the Undying, she comes upon Pyat Pree, who attempts to attack her, and of course Drogon and Jhogo save her. 

I think it’s worth noting that she went in to the House by herself, with just one of her dragons (a baby dragon, at that). And we know from what the Undying and Pyat Pree do that they were clearly trying to deceive and consume her in some archaic and gruesome ritual. She still went into the House, though, she still put herself in danger, and she still braved the trials and temptations and solved the puzzles to keep going forward just to gain knowledge. 

Before anything else, this post perhaps should be read as a response to @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly‘s instructive and beautifully nuanced understanding of Daenerys’ characterization as well as her probable endgame in light of/ in response to what happened to the show, and in accordance to her role as a hero rather than a villain. 

And how it’s still, for me, an uncomfortable possibility. I’m not talking about the sacrificial role that she may ultimately choose to save humanity, but the problem I have with the whole sequencing of events, particularly in Dany’s situation. Her character arc, which was supposed to parallel Jon’s, is centered around her fight against this actualized presence of slavery– a form of slavery that transcends borders and is so deeply institutionalized that it becomes the moral norm. I find it problematic that in her situation, the entities that she must realize as her ultimate enemies (as part of her own redemption arc or a reorientation to heroism) are essentially the metaphor (The Other) of the exact reality she was fighting in Essos, with an implication (not of nobodysuspectsthebutterfly’s, but what Martin’s text may effectively does ) that the great slavers and her situation in Slaver’s Bay only serve as a ground for lesson and an analogy to what will be her ultimate battle: The War for The Dawn. 

One of the many criticism against white fantasy in literature is the need to make a fantasized representation of real social problems we deal with everyday as an attempt to (ironically) “democratize” and “localize” (or well, white-wash) these social struggles for the intended viewers to better understand and/or be made aware of the social dimension of the hero’s personal battle. It’s alongside those snide remarks that white people seem to only understand the problems of racism better if it’s transported in the fictional world and not presented as a pervasive presence in our real, mundane life. This is made effective in part because it allows the viewers to imagine themselves as a vehicle for change without making them aware that this is also the guilt they have to carry. If Martin intends The Others to be the ultimate representation of slavery itself (which I actually agree), he made the wrong move by making Dany’s storyline a soberingly honest reflection of real life situation and a re-imagining of our own enduring, worldly sociopolitical struggle. It defeats the purpose of the presence of this unreal but objective evil that the heroes must fight as their common enemy to preserve life. 

Dany’s storyline stands in contrast with the whole narrative surrounding the existence of The Others because when it comes to her, the realization we should be having is not that we need to gather / forge light (the heroes) to ready for a the fight against the real, ultimate darkness that’s about to come; Dany, as a hero and a revolutionary, came into view because in Arendtian terms, we have been, and are already in dark times. It means, the bringer of lights come into play not because they were designed to fight evil, but because they become aware that something is actually oppressive, realizing that we live within a social structure that maintains the process of othering and dehumanization (even when the world tells them it’s not) and decisively chose to end it. It’s born out of social reflection and not out of prophecized destiny. There’s a reason why Dany’s character is so closely read as a revolutionary figure whose consciousness to fight for change, to end slavery, happens not because of her predetermined role, but because of the experiences she accumulated. It’s a fundamentally broken logic for me to make Dany’s entire anti-slavery campaign in Essos a secondary struggle, when shouldn’t it be the ultimate battle? Since, in the words of Melisandre and in the backdrop of the conversation between Dany and Mirri Maz Duur about what life truly means, it’s the fight for life itself. 

There’s a conversation here about what makes evil, evil, or how evil is brought about. Martin is certainly not Manichaeian, but the presence of The Others allowed for a more comfortable avenue to locate who the objective enemies are in the series, which entity our heroes must fight for the sake of humanity. The popular narrative that the fandom tends to follow is that unlike the squabbling for lands and power, it’s different this time because the ultimate price of defeat is life. Yet, if we think about it, isn’t that what Dany has been fighting all along in Essos? She may fight for the Iron Throne, she may conquer lands and proclaim herself the queen, but ultimately these are all her way to save and preserve life. More importantly, her story pushes us away from the comforts of The Other, and towards what we should have come to know all along: who are responsible for the enslavement of people? Isn’t also us, humans? Aren’t we the creator of the monstrosity in this world? Unlike The Others whose narrative purpose is to present evil as a sort of future that will come upon us, as a sort of rare event as when “magic” comes back (to imply that it’s outside the realm of human existence) whose entire otherness makes our common humanity more cogent,  Dany’s story makes for an argument that evil is a part of our history, it’s in the past, it already happened, that we made this happen. Because of our own superfluousness, our own thoughtlessness, through our own creation of  the other (be it class, gender, or race), it’s often forgotten that collective responsibility is a response to our own collective guilt. There’s a reason why it never occurred to Dany to hold individual trials for the deaths of 163 children, why she doesn’t allow Barristan to make a case to differentiate between the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Starks, because be it by action or inaction, they did play a part in Dany’s own isolation, in the same way that her action and inaction put many of her people in despair and in total isolation (again, to say that Mirri Maz Duur has a point: Dany didn’t really save her). Here, she presents a more astute understanding of human condition. So while Jon is fighting this in the north, she is already fighting the same thing in the east. When you have two heroes whose stories run in parallel with each other, if you make someone march to the other side to join the other half, you are already making a value judgement: Jon’s fight against The Others will always be seen as the most crucial fight in comparison to Dany’s battle in Essos, when, again, like I argued, it shouldn’t be the case and to do so would carry highly problematic implications. 

Dany understood this humanity’s own tendency to bring evil upon themselves, their own collective guilt, precisely because she is The Great Other in her own storyline. She is marginalized as a woman, marginalized as a child, isolated both geographically and in terms of how she’s the only protagonist among the key five who has no family to speak about or to protect anymore in a story that is about family. She has no nation to call home, marching from one place to another she can’t really belong. She is in perpetual exile,  A Conscious Pariah; her own statelessness, her complete otherness and her constant preoccupation with the question who is she? allowed her to understand the plurality of identities, the constructive appearance of our world, and how inaction in the face of darkness is as evil as death; that our own lack of reflection with what we’re participating in spreads evilness around even though we don’t intend that to happen. As a third-culture kid, as a woman, as someone who has been othered throughout my life to control my behavior, to make me less “abhorrent” to “tame” me, to “discipline” me, I identify more with Dany as this stateless woman who’s trying to end slavery using her monsters more than anyone else, or any plot line, in the series. Her anger over the fact that slavers forget the names of the slaves that they claim are their most priced possession, the whole act of forgetting, of reducing someone to “slut” to “whore” to “monster,” is also my story. This is why many people of color are also seeing themselves in her position. 

Dany is The Great Other, because her monstrosity casts shadow from above,  that this time the ones you use for your entertainment are speaking for themselves now, reclaiming their identity, changing our worldly exterior so that the monsters won’t be seen as the others, that the people who are doing the othering are also the monsters, that slavery itself breeds this dehumanizing human connection. So Dany tries to help her people be less bad, as she over and over reflects on her own guilt. She is not letting anyone, including herself, off this hook. This degradation of human existence, this dehumanization, is our human problem; there should be nothing foreign or strange about it. 

This is how rich her storyline is in Essos so much that when it turns out she will have to head West and join Jon to fight The Others, much more to choose to sacrifice herself to fight this abstraction of evil, I’m afraid it will ultimately cheapens the critical points in her storyline that speak for the humanity, the humaneness, the individuality, of the other that she happens to represent. 

Meanwhile all the lords and ladies in Westeros:

Season 8 AU:

After Daenerys has defeated Cersei and now sits on the throne as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she fulfills her promise to give Missandei a ship to travel home to Naath. But Missandei knows she's already found her home with Dany, her friend, confident, and beloved queen, and Grey Worm, the man she loves with her heart and soul, and that wherever they are, she is content. Instead, she asks Daenerys for time--time to warm her chilled skin, to recover from the horrors they'd experienced between the White Walker threat and the battle for Kings Landing. It's agreed that her and Grey Worm will take a ship to explore the Summer Isles for just a little while, and when they return, the positions of Hand of the Queen and Lord Commander of the Queensguard would be waiting for them.

It is as they are setting off that Missandei decides that she will chronicle everything that has happened: to her, to her queen, to the Unsullied, and all the hardships they have endured. She would write of how magic returned to the world with the birth dragons in fire and blood, the liberation of Slavers Bay, and the fight for the dawn that could have been lost if not for the Unsullied, Dothraki, and their Queen and her dragons joining their significant might with the North to defeat the enemy. The world was reshaped forever after what they had done, and she would make sure the true history would not be forgotten; she would write in every language she knew, so everyone would remember them for generations to come.

But all this is not in any way supported by the show’s writing and especially the ending.

Just a Reminder: As per the show’s ending, Sansa did not want Bran Stark ruling over the North. She wanted to be QITN over Ned Stark’s son Bran Stark who was born and raised in the North and knows more of the North than she ever did. Just like Sansa did not want Dany as Queen of the 7K ruling the North, she did not want Bran Stark as King of the 7K ruling over the North. Show Sansa did not see a difference between Daenerys Targaryen and Bran Stark ruling over the North.

Imagine the benefits to the people of the North to have a Stark and a son of Ned on the Iron Throne? In the books, we have seen how Starks like Rickard have been making alliances through marriage to gain power in the South.  There’s entire theories about Rickard Stark’s southron ambitions.

https://winteriscoming.net/2015/10/02/game-of-thrones-theorycrafting-southron-ambitions/

Imagine one of their own now ruling in KL?

And princess Brexit did not want that! Just imagine how selfish and utterly moronic one has to be to make such a decision undoing decades of work put in by previous generations. To secede the North from a union ruled by one of their own! Even though the new King knows the North really well, has a solid connection with the Old Gods, is a greenseer, has learned from Ned Stark and has actually ruled Winterfell as a prince of Winterfell.

Sansa got a crown. But what did the people of the North get out of it? Imagine Manderly with his ports and ships and all the easy trade he could in an union of kingdoms now that a Stark rules in KL? Sansa took that option away from him. It’s clear that the Starks benefited under Robert Baratheon’s rule considering Ned’s enforcement of his best bud’s reign and his endeavors in putting down any rebellions (Greyjoy rebellion for ex.).

Remember when Sansa compared Jon to vile Joffrey because he did not listen to her terrible advice? Did Sansa consult any of the Northern houses before demanding that the North secede? Did she offer the other Northern houses the choice of being in an union under Bran Stark or her?

This is what the GreatJon told the Northerners when he made Robb KITN:

MY LORDS! Here is what I say to these two kings! Renly Baratheon is nothing to me, nor Stannis neither. Why should they rule over me and mine, from some flowery seat in Highgarden or Dorne? What do they know of the Wall or the wolfswood or the barrows of the First Men? Even their gods are wrong. The Others take the Lannisters too, I’ve had a bellyful of them. Why shouldn’t we rule ourselves again? It was the dragons we married, and the dragons are all dead! There sits the only king I mean to bow my knee to, m'lords. The King in the North!

Would the GreatJon have objected to Bran Stark ruling over the North? Hell, he wouldn’t even have objected to Daenerys Targaryen! It was the Lannisters and Baratheons he objected to.

I think this should immediately end any discussion about Sansa’s feud with Dany.  It was not about whether Dany was a good queen or a bad one. Or whether Dany would do right by the people of the North. It was about Sansa wanting a crown on her head and having personal power. The ending makes that very clear and is supported by 3 seasons of Sansa squabbling with her siblings, undermining them, lying to them, betraying them, planning to depose them, considering executing them etc.

Queen Sansa is possibly why show Arya skedaddled out of Westeros as soon as possible, Brienne decides to stay south and Jon must be thanking the Old Gods for being exiled beyond the wall with his favorite people and Ghost!

Bran Stark down south is well supported by the likes of Brienne, Davos, Tyrion and Sam. Sansa has no one but a group of Lords she described as ‘weather vanes’ - disloyal cowards like Glover who refused to fight against the dead even when they were right at his doorstep! She no longer has a Littlefinger or Jon Snow to do her work for her.

As Jhiqui brushed Dany’s hair and Irri painted the queen’s nails, they chattered happily about the day’s matches.

Dany could hear her handmaids arguing behind her, debating who was going to win the day’s final match. Jhiqui favored the gigantic Goghor, who looked more bull than man, even to the bronze ring in his nose. Irri insisted that Belaquo Bonebreaker’s flail would prove the giant’s undoing. (Daenerys IX - ADWD)

The one thing I love about these passages is that it shows, in an age and universe where slaves or servants are often treated as less than human, and frequently have to guard their tongues lest they give offence and are harshly punished, all the girls who serve Dany - Missandei, Irri and Jhiqui feel so relaxed and at ease in Dany’s presence, that they can chat to each other, quietly read to themselves  or argue in front of her, without fearing the consequences..  

Yet that night she dreamt of one. Viserys was hitting her, hurting her. She was naked, clumsy with fear. She ran from him, but her body seemed thick and ungainly. He struck her again. She stumbled and fell. “You woke the dragon,” he screamed as he kicked her. “You woke the dragon, you woke the dragon.” Her thighs were slick with blood. She closed her eyes and whimpered. As if in answer, there was a hideous ripping sound and the crackling of some great fire. When she looked again, Viserys was gone, great columns of flame rose all around, and in the midst of them was the dragon. It turned its great head slowly. When its molten eyes found hers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sheen of sweat. She had never been so afraid … (Daenerys II - AGOT)

The first dream Dany has, is I believe, Dany’s dream of Viserion.  She is about to be married off to Khal Drogo, a Dothraki Horselord, and Dany is understandably terrified at the prospect.  Not just at the thought of the marriage being consumnated but also at the thought of how much her life is going to change, and worrying whether she will be able to adapt to the rather harsh and rigorous lifestyle of the khalasaar.  But as we all know, Dany is a lot tougher and braver than she gives herself credit for.

Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce. (Daenery III - AGOT)

This second dream is obviously about Drogon, with its scales as black as night and wet and slick with blood.  Dany is having trouble adapting to lifestyle of the Dothraki.  She is not used to horseriding such long distances and every night, she is in severe pain and Drogo makes this a hundred times worse by raping her every night. The situation becomes so intolerable that at one point Dany seriously considers suicide as an option.  Fortunately, this second dream, which is very much a dream of Dany being tempered like a sword, gives her the strength not to give in and Dany begins to not only adapt to the Dothraki lifestyle, she begins to thrive in the Dothraki Sea.  I am sure that the knowledge that she has such endurance, stamina and strength was a huge boost to Dany’s self esteem and confidence.

Ghosts lined the hallway, dressed in the faded raiment of kings. In their hands were swords of pale fire. They had hair of silver and hair of gold and hair of platinum white, and their eyes were opal and amethyst, tourmaline and jade. “Faster,” they cried, “faster, faster.” She raced, her feet melting the stone wherever they touched. “Faster!” the ghosts cried as one, and she screamed and threw herself forward. A great knife of pain ripped down her back, and she felt her skin tear open and smelled the stench of burning blood and saw the shadow of wings. And Daenerys Targaryen flew.

“… wake the dragon …"

The door loomed before her, the red door, so close, so close, the hall was a blur around her, the cold receding behind. And now the stone was gone and she flew across the Dothraki sea, high and higher, the green rippling beneath, and all that lived and breathed fled in terror from the shadow of her wings. She could smell home, she could see it, there, just beyond that door, green fields and great stone houses and arms to keep her warm, there. She threw open the door.

“…wake the dragon….“

And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. “The last dragon,” Ser Jorah’s voice whispered faintly. “The last, the last.” Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own. 

Dany’s third and final dream before walking into the pyre and waking dragons out of stone, is just after she has tragically lost her son Rhaego, who was stillborn.  This is clearly a dream about Rhaegal.  It is Dany’s longest dream and gives a hint of the Kings and Queens of the Great Empire of the Dawn with their eyes of opal, amethyst, tourmaline (what colour is tourmaline, btw?) and jade.  It has long been a theory in the fandom that Dany is either descended from these ancient rulers or she is a reincarnation of the Amethyst Empress.  

We diverted the track because not diverting it would've been predictable

I diverted the track so people would blame the trolley and I could sweep in looking righteous as they destroyed it.

The Adventures of Daddy Jon A multi-part drabble series

Pretty Pretty Princess by @muttpeeta

Play Time by @dragonanddirewolf

‘Dada’ is the Hardest Word by @adecila

Bedtime Story by @dracarysqueen

Proper Kissing by @lyn452

It’s a Girl… and a Girl… and a Girl! by @magalidragon

Let’s Bake a Cake by @solemnphoenix​

Lock the Door by @hot-auntie-dany​

Literal Clown by @lyn452

Sick Day by @muttpeeta

You can also read the whole series here!

OTHER WORKS ABOUT DADDY JON

A Harem of Dragons by @magalidragon (standalone)

Adventures of Daddy Jon moodboard by @youwerenevermine

Is Daenerys evil or is she crazy? What was her motivation behind burning KL? We don’t know. 

If Deanerys was really evil – she’d execute Tyrion immediately and throw Jon in a jail cell. But no, she asks Jon to rule with her - WHAT?! I don’t understand.

Is Bran useless or a villainous mastermind? If he truly knew how this was all going to go down (i.e. “Why do you think I came all this way?” “You were where you were supposed to be?”) then he literally sat on his ass and did nothing to prevent the deaths of Rhaegal and Missandei, or the burning of KL, all so he could become King. How is this acceptable? 

Also, Bran did absolutely nothing in the War for the Dawn. Why was the NK focused on Bran (especially since it looks like he didn’t have a purpose?)? Why did Theon need to protect Bran? WHAT WAS THE REASONING???

Daenerys was killed off because she wasn’t going to give people a “choice” (except according to the scripts Jon didn’t kill her because she burned KL or he thought she was going to mass murder more innocent people, he killed her because he knew his family was going to refuse to bend the knee and apparently he felt more loyalty to them than anyone else BUT WHATEVER) – only for that pathetic council of leaders to laugh at the idea of giving the common folk a choice in leaders.

And Jon … I can’t even. I don’t need to really. Everyone knows how fucked he was.

The script says Jon must kill Daenerys to “protect the ones he loves the most in the world” (or some bullshit, like that) but then when Daenerys dies in his arms he “doesn’t have anything left to live for”/”he has no reason to live”. Also when he stabs her he keeps “wishing for one more moment with her”, which is just fucking nonsensical. If you want more time with someone, you could, I don’t know, NOT FUCKING STAB THEM? Several posts have already been made about how ridiculous it was that Jon made the decision to end Daenerys’ life after little more than 2 minutes of conversation. He could have, should have, taken more time with her but THE SCRIPT WOULDN’T ALLOW THAT, OH NO. 

“This is the Wheel Our Queen wanted to break” – shut the fuck up Tyrion, that is bullshit. 1) don’t call her Your Queen, you treasonous liar, you don’t get to say that. You plotted to have her murdered by her lover, fuck you. 2) You haven’t broken a single fucking thing. Those in power have remained in power, the Starks are now at the top of the wheel, – and the common folk have remained voiceless. You made fucking Bronn that Master of Coin and he doesn’t even understand how loans work. That council you made is so pathetic, NO ONE actually has any experience. Westeros is doomed.

And OF COURSE, the infamous “terrible but necessary quote”. And then you turn around and say But was it really? You have Jon say “It doesn’t feel right,” THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT?

redemption arcs/hero to villain arcs/gray characters are NOT that spontaneous 

they literally gave dany the ultimate ‘proving people wrong who doubted her’ type arc 8x03 when she puts everything aside and helps everyone which should prove everyone wrong and then in the VERY NEXT EPISODE decided to villainize her again after she saved everyone????

of course, people are getting mixed messages when one episode she’s blatantly ‘the hero’ and the next she’s ‘the villain’ 

pushing gray character to eventually become ‘good’ or ‘bad’ comes with nudges and build-up 

you nudge a little more into one direction or the other until they fall 

with dany they cemented her as a hero while the next epsiode pushing her into the abyss of a villain, no nudges, no nothing

people can say ‘it was FoRsHaDoWeD’ and even if i were to believe it was you can’t ‘prove the haters wrong’ in one episode by showing how she saved everyone doing the ULTIMATE GOOD basically undoing all those ‘nudges to evil’ you guys thought would happen and then she wants to kill everyone after saving everyone in the next two episodes

this is how they decided to write jaime as well, he finally ditched cersei and is doing good/saving people, decided to be with someone he loves and two seconds later he gets PUSHED to ~i’m so evil~ side with no warning 

d&d have no idea how to write complex characters, look how downhill tyrion has gone ever since they stopped having the book as a crutch 

but like. that’s what rulers do? they choose.

note that dany didn’t say “they don’t have a voice.” she said choose, and the distinction is important, mainly because it showcases yet again how little d&d know (or care) about what the hell they’re doing.

ever since dany became a queen she has kept a diverse council at all times and heard counsel from all of her advisers, which she takes more often than her own advice. the people she has ruled have always had a voice.

but they have never had a choice- outside of whether or not they would follow her- and that’s because that’s how monarchies fucking work?

dany is the queen. what she ultimately decides is what happens. the choice on every matter of state is in her hands. she is the person who decides, because she’s the queen.

let’s look at another character for a second, Jon snow. his people made him king in the north. yay.

Jon’s first priority was fighting the dead, so he decided, as king, that everyone would be trained to fight, including the girls. did his people like that? no. they fussed about it and lyanna got a baby badass moment.

pay attention, this is important: jon’s people did not get to choose to keep the girls from fighting, even though they thought it was wrong.

Jon’s people also didn’t get to choose to keep him from going to dragonstone to treat with dany, they didn’t get to choose to keep him from bending the knee, and when he was only the warden of the north they didn’t get to choose to keep from marching south to aid in the battle for king’s landing.

that’s a lot of people not getting to choose shit.

but the big one? when jon was lord commander of the nights watch, he- not his brothers- chose, as the lord commander, to let the free folk come south of the wall to save them from the others. it was the right and GOOD thing to do, and his people didn’t choose it. Jon did. and he got shanked for it.

i know this is very long-winded and I’m sorry, but the line “they don’t get to choose” being used to portray dany as evil has been bothering me for so long. of course they don’t get to choose! that’s what it means to be a ruler! a queen or king or lord or lady or military commander or any kind of leader! they’re the ones that make the decisions! not the people below them!

that line was stupid!!! not once in the show has dany ever not at least heard counsel! even if she already had her mind made up she still listened to the people around her! remember when she crucified the masters? barristan asked to speak with her, and she went, and he advised her to have mercy, and she said no.

she still listened, though. barristan still had a voice. he didn’t get to choose to spare the masters, because he wasn’t in charge. but he still got a voice.

The whole point of the Army of the Dead wasn’t “okay we need to work together for now and then we can move back to our islands”, it’s that we need to work together to make this work. Period. Because making a better world goes beyond the petty feuds of noble houses, and for the world Dany wants to build, those noble houses (including the Starks) would have to give up some of their freedoms in order for the common people to have more of it. A world where a noble lord has the freedom to call their bannermen and declare war against another house, is a world where the common people have to give up their freedom to live their lives in peace without the fear of having livelihoods and families destroyed at any given point because some lord decided to avenge an injustice against his family.

“Dany was killed for saying people “don’t get to choose,” yet in the next scene, nobles are laughing at the idea of democracy, people choosing. 🤷”

Daenerys was judged by a whole different set of standards than the rest of the “Westeros World” characters. Ugh. THEY are allowed to laugh at the idea of the common people ‘choosing’ without judgement. In fact, some people, claim they aren’t surprised by that attitude because IT’S GAME OF THRONES, right? And @cornrnanderlexas / @existentialabsurdist have already pointed out why not necessarily having a ‘choice’ in all things MAKES SENSE. Yet they used that VERY SAME IDEA to paint Daenerys as Mad Queen Crazy-Pants.