Valyrian Scrolls - Tumblr Posts

jon has no idea how he ended up here. daenerys is not sweating it.

Team green fans can be such hypocrites at times. Like shaming Rhaenyra for not physically fighting on dragonback, when she is in such pain and grief. But Helaena gets a free pass because her son was killed. And she's depressed and going through grief and mourning.

While that is exactly the emotion and pain Rhaenyra is going through (even more). Rhaenyra lost her father. Rhaenyra lost her birthright/throne/crown. Rhaenyra lost her son, Luke. Rhaenyra lost her daughter. That too in a stillbirth, which takes months to heal. Even if we put aside the grief and death and loss, there is still physical trauma, and pain. In such a condition she is supposed to be in bed resting.

But still what's the point of having a dragon if you're not putting it any use.🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Rhaena and Naerys praying in front of a statue of the Maiden, commissioned by naerysthinker on twt <3

“That night, Septon Eustace reports, Ser Criston Cole slipped into the princess’s bedchamber to confess his love for her. He told Rhaenyra that he had a ship waiting on the bay and begged her to flee with him across the narrow sea. They would be wed in Pentos or Tyrosh or Old Volantis, where her father’s writ did not run, and no one would care that he had betrayed his vows as a member of the Kingsguard. His prowess with sword and morningstar was such that he did not doubt he could find some merchant prince to take him into service. But Rhaenyra refused him. She was the blood of the dragon, she reminded him, and meant for more than to live out her life as the wife of a common sellsword. And if he could set aside his Kingsguard vows, why would marriage vows mean any more to him?”

And yet it was HER (a 16 year old girl) who 'seduced'(🤮) HIM(a 31 year old man)??

This is a man who has watched this child of SEVEN grow up into a 'women'. He has seen her grief and mourn her late mother. Seen her get mocked by her 'stepmother'. Seen her get challenged every waking moment.

And yet there are defending “poor” Criston’s honor and person, calling Rhaenyra is a wh*re because she seduced a grown man?.

Not once does Rhaenyra mention him after what happened, NOT ONCE. Criston on the other hand calls her a wh*re every chance he gets, sided against her, cause HAVOK during her wedding, convinced her half brother to take the throne just so wouldn't be queen. Full on died just so she wouldn't be queen

Rhaenyra never thought of him, and he spent the rest of his life abominating her.

That sounds exactly like a man who would throw acid on a woman because he was rejected by her.

This is so Aemma and Rhaenyra. Maybe Aemma telling Rhaenyra she's going to have a new sibling😫🥹. Before it all goes wrong.

Artist: Jan Portielje

Title: A song sweetly sung

"accepts marriage to gain power"

So you remember how this one guy sold his own sister to a brutal warlord as a bridal slave in exchange for an army, remarking,

"I'd let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army. Be grateful it is only Drogo. In time you may even learn to like him. Now dry your eyes. Illyrio is bringing him over, and he will not see you crying."

Welp, this apparently was Dany "accepting marriage to gain power." A post going around that discusses Dany passages in which antis twist, distort, and wildly misrepresent what happens, prompted the following to come to my mind as well. It seems to me that Sansa stans/Jonsas cannot deny GRRM is drawing connections between Dany and Jon as he tells their individual stories but they absolutely.cannot.be.parallels. Jon is Sansa's parallel! Dany must be the Evil Queen and Prince Jon's foil! The thing is, for that to be, some creative "retelling" is required.

This was written by a Jonsa/Stansa/Stark stan.

I really am quite taken aback by the boldness to outright lie like this about plot points of any piece of readily available media in a public forum, much less on a forum for discussion of the book being distorted to the nth degree here. Talk about telling on yourself as a fibber...

So take a look at this passage again...

"I'd let his whole khalasar fuck you if need be, sweet sister, all forty thousand men, and their horses too if that was what it took to get my army. Be grateful it is only Drogo. In time you may even learn to like him. Now dry your eyes. Illyrio is bringing him over, and he will not see you crying."

Take a lil read of this from Dany's very first chapter of ASOIAF...

The old woman washed her long, silver-pale hair and gently combed out the snags, all in silence. The girl scrubbed her back and her feet and told her how lucky she was. "Drogo is so rich that even his slaves wear golden collars. A hundred thousand men ride in his khalasar, and his palace in Vaes Dothrak has two hundred rooms and doors of solid silver." There was more like that, so much more, what a handsome man the khal was, so tall and fierce, fearless in battle, the best rider ever to mount a horse, a demon archer. Daenerys said nothing. She had always assumed that she would wed Viserys when she came of age. For centuries the Targaryens had married brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters to bride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times; theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of the dragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men. Yet now Viserys schemed to sell her to a stranger, a barbarian. When she was clean, the slaves helped her from the water and toweled her dry. The girl brushed her hair until it shone like molten silver, while the old woman anointed her with the spiceflower perfume of the Dothraki plains, a dab on each wrist, behind her ears, on the tips of her breasts, and one last one, cool on her lips, down there between her legs. They dressed her in the wisps that Magister Illyrio had sent up, and then the gown, a deep plum silk to bring out the violet in her eyes. The girl slid the gilded sandals onto her feet, while the old woman fixed the tiara in her hair, and slid golden bracelets crusted with amethysts around her wrists. Last of all came the collar, a heavy golden torc emblazoned with ancient Valyrian glyphs. "Now you look all a princess," the girl said breathlessly when they were done. Dany glanced at her image in the silvered looking glass that Illyrio had so thoughtfully provided. A princess, she thought, but she remembered what the girl had said, how Khal Drogo was so rich even his slaves wore golden collars. She felt a sudden chill, and gooseflesh pimpled her bare arms.

And read the Jonsa's claim again:

kjkkljjl;k;,

Yeah, it sure sounds like Daenerys grew up as a spoiled, entitled heir-apparent princess rather than a Targaryen in-exile and constantly on the run (since birth) from Robert Baratheon's assassins.

Jon is my favourite character and growing up with the stigma of bastardy would have some scars that would probably never heal, yet he had one thing Dany never had growing up -- a home where he could grow up with (relative) stability. Dany grew up homeless. In exile. Jon did have a home and in that home, he received an education and a childhood. In Jon's situation, I think it does get a bit complicated because that stability comes with the price of his true identity and the steep consequences of bastardy. It's likewise true that Jon's place in that home was never 100% secure -- it's all at the mercy of the Stark in charge.

However, as long as Ned was there, Jon was there, and having one place for that long to call home was something Dany never really had, with siblings who loved her as much as Robb and Arya and Bran and Rickon loved Jon, with an education and games in a place she could feel more or less safe... The closest experience Dany has to that is when she lives with Ser Willem Darry in the house with the red door where Dany remembers she had her own room. However, right after his death, Dany and Viserys are thrown out and must return to wandering, begging, and struggling as homeless children in exile (and on the run) again whereupon Viserys becomes increasingly more resentful and abusive of Dany due to these situations.

And we learn all of this -- about Dany being sold to Drogo, about how Dany and Viserys grew up, about the house with the red door -- in Dany's first chapter. It's hard to believe people who make such claims about Dany like in the above screenshot did an honest-to-god read of even the first couple of chapters for characters who aren't Sansa Stark if they're trying to claim Dany accepted marriage to Khal Drogo to gain power. And grew up as a princess who believed she was heir to everything?! They're not even vaguely remembering episodes of the show because this doesn't even apply to Show!Dany either????

And power. Antis really hate Dany having power and she gets accused of getting power "too easily". Dany needs to be giving all that power to Sansa honestly, who still has no leadership arc, no experience with real world matters, and is two years younger because Sansa apparently has "queen foreshadowing" and said that one line about making people love her (that means she'll be a good queen, you guys). However, I'm still not sure what is easy about anything Dany has done between AGOT-ADWD, including conquering some of the oldest cities in this universe without dragons and using forces under her own command at age 14-15? But that's probably easier than planning Super Feast in the Vale, sure. I'd like to return to the original spirit of the screencap: Jon and Dany. This poster dislikes Jonerys and was invested in the Pol!Jon. Since this individual is inviting us to compare Jon and Dany, I think there is a comparison to be made. I don't think it's "Dany the entitled heir vs. Jon the dutiful follower" (you know, Jon, the guy who had childhood dreams of growing up to be a glorious conqueror). Rather, I think it is in how both Jon and Dany initially view the wildlings and Dothraki (savage, barbarian) and then how those views change (understanding, empathy, connection, friends/family). It's not only Jon who had to live with his "enemy" and understand his "enemy" (the enemy who is not actually the enemy), Dany was literally sold to the enemy and forced into that position. She either had to accept this new role or die. That is how Dany survives, by adapting to this new life, reaching into her capacity to connect, and understand. This is a key feature of her book 1 story.

But whenever such stans are confronted with passages stating otherwise to their claims...

What is Daenerys without her dragons?

A great military strategist

A resilient woman

A hero with the courage to face a dragon with only a whip

A queen that is not petty and forgives people that spit on her or try to attack at her own court

A woman whose intuition and capacity for learning from experience enabled her to wake dragons out of stone

A revolutionary that fights to change the status quo and help the oppressed

A queen who plants trees, builds armies to defend her people, negotiates for trade, works on projects for irrigation, compromises for peace, but also a queen that is not afraid to turn to fire and blood if that’s necessary to protect her people’s freedom

A curious, intellectual mind that constantly seeks to learn more, that listens to Ser Barristan’s lessons in military matters, that goes to the House of The Undying seeking knowledge and stays in Meereen to learn and take responsibility for her actions

A bookworm

A queen that listens to all

A queen that values all people regardless of status, nobility, culture, gender or wealth

A polyglot

A person capable to adapt and respect different cultures, but also someone that tries to change things that are wrong

A sexually free woman

A girl who dreams of home, family and love

A compassionate person

A queen that puts her people before herself

Targ stans (sadly, Fire & Blood opened the gates for Daenerys’ haters to claim an irrelevant and unremarkable character as their favorite from House Targaryen, and yes, I’m including Team Black) genuinely act like GRRM came up with the Targaryens BEFORE Daenerys and just coincidentally had Aegon the Conqueror, Aegon III, Queen Rhaenys, Alysanne, Rhaena the Black Bride saying or doing the same or similar things as Daenerys.

Like do they think GRRM wrote Daenerys saying “a queen must listen to all, the highborn and the low…” in ASOS (2000) and then wrote Alysanne saying “above all else, a queen must know how to listen” in Fire & Blood (2018) but came up with Alysanne first ?

What came first in the GRRM’s head, Daenerys visiting the sick, bathing them with her hands, burying them with her own hands, feeding them water from her own skin (ACOK 1999, ADWD 2011), her people thinking her touch is magic (ASOS, 2000), or Aegon III visiting those stricken by the Winter Fever, sitting beside them, holding their hands and cooling their fevers with damp cloths, those who survived speaking of Aegon’s “healing hands” (Fire & Blood, 2018).

It is incredible to me that they are so stupid and illiterate that they think an in universe historical volume that GRRM wrote just for fun is somehow more important than the events of ASOIAF proper. These are people calling themselves book readers. And again, these dweebs are the only idiots brave enough to spew this bs in the fandom. No Stark fan thinks Brandon the Builder came before Bran Stark in GRRM’s head. Every Stark stan knows that the historical Brandons were ALL built around Ned and Catelyn’s son.

House Targaryen is solely centered around Daenerys and definitely not the other way around, when will shippers and braindead bitches ever get this fact drilled into their heads ?

Exactly, like yes watsonianly/in-world Daenerys would have never existed without any of her ancestors....that's just logical and so obvious it's insulting how people feel the need to point that out to just shut down any discourse abt why Dany herself is special.

It's just plain fact that Dany herself was CONCIEVED AND CREATED before any of her ancestors were and they are written as they are in F&B, PatQ, AWoIaF because GRRM wanted to bring some form of heritage and background that provides more meaning & urgency to Dany's present plot. Yes those Targs have impressive feats or interesting stories of ther own, but they have those because those are meant to explain Dany and Westeros and the relationship there on both sides. Historically and personally.

Endgame Speculation For Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys’ arc throughout the novels is heavily rooted in learning the ins and outs of governance and restructing a government to benefit the people. This training would make her the ideal leader to guide Westeros in recovering after the second long night.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOOK!DANY AND SHOW!DANY— Dany and Hizdahr's conversation at Daznak's Pit

TL;DR: the show-only scene makes Dany seem misguided and potentially dangerous and tries to cast doubt on her moral compass, while the book-only scene written by George R. R. Martin showcases Dany's persistent effort to protect the ones who can't protect themselves.

On HBO: the writers created an entirely original scene in order to paint Dany as someone potentially willing to use indiscriminate violence to achieve her goals, while Hizdahr is portrayed as the more cautious figure who defends the tradition of the fighting pits for the sake of Meereen's cultural identity and continuity.

In the books: Dany is shown to be empathetic and protective of the marginalized. She imposes strict conditions to ensure that only willing participants fight in the pits and immediately steps in to stop the needless deaths of (unbeknownst to her) Tyrion and Penny. Meanwhile, Hizdahr shows no regard for the dwarfs' consent or well-being. His attempt to circumvent Dany's anti-slavery measures in order to force two vulnerable and unwilling slaves to fight against lions serves as a critique of the Ghiscari nobles, who readily perpetuate cruelty and oppression for the sake of their entertainment.

Daenerys Targaryen's tropes - The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask

A princess or a queen who is the supreme ruler of her country. She is usually beautiful but certainly clever, strong-willed and charismatic and she cares about her land and her people.

The problem is, her people — for all that they need a ruler — don’t want her. They don’t want a young woman, or they don’t want any woman, or they just don’t want this particular woman on the throne. But she is the one best equipped to see them through the current war or other disaster, and she sure as hell isn’t going to turn the country over to the treacherous aristocrats who would be next in line if she stepped down.

So she takes the reins with silken force and makes them follow her through brute cunning and charisma, overawing her detractors through her impeccable style, speech, imperturbability, wisdom, indomitable will, disdain for frivolity and — where necessary — utter ruthlessness. Even her love life is coolly calculated and orchestrated to best effect, often involving Arranged Marriage setups like Altar Diplomacy.

And if it wears her out, she’ll just have to drink more coffee and soldier on. Her personal happiness is a small price to pay…

An important part of this character is that she isn’t in a trusting and happy relationship (platonic or otherwise) as this would make her burden less heavy for her and thus remove much of the conflict inherent in this archetype. (It would also make her less alluringly lonely.) Naturally, this sad state can change over the course of the story.

This trope is being deconstructed and reconstructed with Dany.

1) They don’t want a young woman, or they don’t want any woman, or they just don’t want this particular woman on the throne.

Dany is hated by the slavers because she’s an abolitionist threatening their main source of income, but the vast majority of the freedmen love her.

2) But she is the one best equipped to see them through the current war or other disaster, and she sure as hell isn’t going to turn the country over to the treacherous aristocrats who would be next in line if she stepped down.

The deconstruction of this trope is most apparent here. On the one hand, yes, it was important that Dany stayed in Slaver’s Bay so that the noblemen wouldn’t undo her pro-freedmen reforms:

“…I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I’ve freed all over again.” She turned back to look at their faces. “I will not march.”

“What will you do then, Khaleesi?” asked Rakharo.

“Stay,” she said. “Rule. And be a queen.” (ASOS Daenerys VI)

On the other hand, Dany also makes mistakes that cause massive problems. She left the Yunkish slavers’ wealth intact and refused to wage war against them because she assumed that they would leave her alone if she did so. This indirectly caused the Yunkish slavers’ siege (which left the Astapori starving and spread the bloody flux) and conquest of Astapor and their killing of its citizens, which then allowed them to march on to take Meereen as well. Dany also left the Meereenese slavers’ wealth mostly intact, which allowed them to retaliate against her anti-slavery stance by killing freedmen with the Harpy’s Sons. Basically, she ended up having to fight enemies inside and outside her city partly because of her shortcomings.

That being said, it’s important not to excessively blame Dany for all of this because the slavers have agency of their own and they deliberately caused all of these problems. Also, acknowledging Dany’s failures is not to say that Dany’s leadership style is bad (she is a good queen), only that this trope isn’t being played straight with her because, despite her presence being needed, she still has things to learn and her problems aren’t going to be solved overnight because they’re meant to be realistic (deconstruction). This, of course, makes Dany’s character and storyline that much more interesting. One of the main lessons of her journey is that she wasn’t ruthless enough against the slavers and will need to be in the future in order to protect her people (reconstruction).

3) So she takes the reins with silken force and makes them follow her through brute cunning and charisma, overawing her detractors through her impeccable style, speech, imperturbability, wisdom, indomitable will, disdain for frivolity and — where necessary — utter ruthlessness.  

The trope isn’t played straight here either. Dany is cunning when she needs to be, as we saw in Astapor and Yunkai and Meereen. She is very charismatic, which we see from the way she naturally behaves to the fact that she has attracted and influenced thousands of people. She has an indomitable will, which is clear from her refusal to leave Slaver’s Bay without freeing all of its slaves to her desire to reform Meereen.

On the other hand, Dany isn’t stoic and imperturbable. She is Wise Beyond Her Years, but that doesn’t prevent her from making mistakes and failing to carry out her plans. She only maintains an impeccable style in ADWD because she wants to make peace with the slavers, but she resents doing so because she is Modest Royalty - she prefers simple clothing and wishes she could have banned the tokar. Finally, she doesn’t always know when she needs to be “utterly ruthless”, but she learns her lesson in ADWD.

4) Even her love life is coolly calculated and orchestrated to best effect, often involving Arranged Marriage setups like Altar Diplomacy.

And if it wears her out, she’ll just have to drink more coffee and soldier on. Her personal happiness is a small price to pay…

An important part of this character is that she isn’t in a trusting and happy relationship (platonic or otherwise) as this would make her burden less heavy for her and thus remove much of the conflict inherent in this archetype. (It would also make her less alluringly lonely.) Naturally, this sad state can change over the course of the story.

On the one hand, Dany’s personal happiness has been compromised by being queen. She agreed to an arranged marriage with Hizdahr in order to restore order to Meereen and end the war with the Yunkish slavers. She doesn’t love nor does she trust her husband, which heightens the conflict between her duty as queen and her desire for love, home and a normal life (all of which Daario represents).

On the other hand, the arranged marriage wasn’t “orchestrated to best effect” because Dany couldn’t have allowed the slavers to keep their privileges and abolished slavery simultaneously.

Her “sad state” might indeed change considering the many signs that she’ll start a romantic relationship with Jon in the future.

Conclusion

This trope is played with Dany in interesting ways. As it’s expected from the trope, she’s compassionate, smart and determined, her rulership was indeed necessary in Meereen (despite the opposition that she faced from the noblemen) and “wearing the queenly mask” was detrimental to her personal happiness.

She would rather have drifted in the fragrant pool all day, eating iced fruit off silver trays and dreaming of a house with a red door, but a queen belongs to her people, not to herself. (ADWD Daenerys IX)

On the other hand, the trope is largely deconstructed: the city’s problems aren’t instantaneously solved because of her; in fact, some of them are even heightened (indirectly) by her (understandable) mistakes. This is only to be expected considering a) her young age, lack of experience and tendency to be conciliatory and b) that GRRM threw her into the most complex political scenario of the series. By getting in touch with the different sides of her identity (mhysa and mother of dragons), Dany will be a better queen to her people (reconstruction).

A young girl she might be, but Daenerys Targaryen was the only thing that held them all together. (ADWD The Queen’s Hand)

The trope will most likely be revisited when Dany arrives in Westeros. She will face political opposition because many won’t accept her as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Even so, her leadership will, nevertheless, be key to uniting the realm to fight in the upcoming War for the Dawn.

Daenerys: The Seven-Pointed Star

Daenerys Targaryen represents each facet of the Faith of the Seven, the god with seven different faces. 

Daenerys as the Father: 

“He was no true king,” Dany said scornfully. “He did no justice. Justice … that’s what kings are for.” (Daenerys III, ASoS) 

“He knows. So do I.” Dany remembered the horror she had felt when she had seen the Plaza of Punishment in Astapor. I made a horror just as great, but surely they deserved it. Harsh justice is still justice. (Daenerys VI, ASoS) 

“They dragged him out feet first, leaving several broken teeth and a trail of blood behind. Dany would gladly have sent the rest of the petitioners away … but she was still their queen, so she heard them out and did her best to give them justice.” (Daenerys III, ADwD)

As a She-King (Khal/Khaleesi/Queen Regnant), Daenerys executes judgement: recognizing that punishment against oppressors may be harsh but is still necessary, while also ensuring fairness and equality for her people. Daenerys displays this trait while she fights oppressors and while she runs Meereen as its Queen, hearing petitioners and holding Council. 

Daenerys as The Mother: 

Drogon was curled up beneath her arm, as hot as a stone that has soaked all day in the blazing sun. Rhaegal and Viserion were fighting over a scrap of meat, buffeting each other with their wings as smoke hissed from their nostrils. My furious children, she thought. They must not come to harm. (Daenerys III, ACoK) 

They are my children, she told herself, and if the maegi spoke truly, they are the only children I am ever like to have. (Daenerys I, ASoS) 

He will forgive me, she told herself. I am his liege. Dany found herself wondering whether he was right about Daario. She felt very lonely all of a sudden. Mirri Maz Duur had promised that she would never bear a living child. House Targaryen will end with me. That made her sad. “You must be my children,” she told the dragons, “my three fierce children. Arstan says dragons live longer than men, so you will go on after I am dead.” (Daenerys IV, ASoS) 

Ser Jorah urged her to go, but Dany remembered a dream she had dreamed in the House of the Undying. “They will not hurt me,” she told him. “They are my children, Jorah.” She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. She trotted, then cantered, then broke into a gallop, her braid streaming behind. The freed slaves parted before her. “Mother,” they called from a hundred throats, a thousand, ten thousand. “Mother,” they sang, their fingers brushing her legs as she flew by. “Mother, Mother, Mother!” (Daenerys IV, ASoS) 

Dany had left a trail of corpses behind her when she crossed the red waste. It was a sight she never meant to see again. “No,” she said. “I will not march my people off to die.” My children. “There must be some way into this city.” (Daenerys V, ASoS) 

Perhaps the most prominent of her identities, Daenerys is at her core a mother. She was Rhaego’s mother, and will always love and remember him. She is the Mother of Dragons, and is fierce and protective of her dragon children. Viserion, when is born, comes out suckling at Dany’s breast. Dany referred to the dragon eggs as Rhaego’s brothers. They are her fierce, unruly children. Daenerys is also Mhysa, mother to the thousands of freedmen who join her in Slaver’s Bay. She takes responsibility for each of their lives, and feels misery and pain when they are suffering. She stays in Meereen to feed them and protect them. She feels that she has betrayed her children (her dragon children and the freedmen) by trying to make peace with the slavers of Meereen. In short, Daenerys is a mother, and always will be. 

Daenerys as The Warrior: 

“She reached out with her other hand and grabbed the first thing she touched, the belt she’d hoped to give him, a heavy chain of ornate bronze medallions. She swung it with all her strength. It caught him full in the face. Viserys let go of her. Blood ran down his cheek where the edge of one of the medallions had sliced it open.

“You are the one who forgets himself,” Dany said to him. “Didn’t you learn anything that day in the grass? Leave me now, before I summon my khas to drag you out. And pray that Khal Drogo does not hear of this, or he will cut open your belly and feed you your own entrails.” (Daenerys IV, AGoT) 

She lifted her head. “And I am Daenerys Stormborn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.” (Daenerys IX, AGoT) 

“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. […] 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 […]” (Daenerys IX, AGoT) […] 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. (Daenerys IX, AGoT) 

“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 IV, ACoK) 

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper’s rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened. (Daenerys III, ASoS) 

If I look back I am lost, Dany told herself the next morning as she entered Astapor through the harbor gates. She dared not remind herself how small and insignificant her following truly was, or she would lose all courage. Today she rode her silver, clad in horsehair pants and painted leather vest, a bronze medallion belt about her waist and two more crossed between her breasts. Irri and Jhiqui had braided her hair and hung it with a tiny silver bell whose chime sang of the Undying of Qarth, burned in their Palace of Dust. (Daenerys III, ASoS) 

“He will not come,” Kraznys said. “There is a reason. A dragon is no slave.” And Dany swept the lash down as hard as she could across the slaver’s face. (Daenerys III, ASoS)  “Unsullied!” Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. “Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see.” She raised the harpy’s fingers in the air … and then she flung the scourge aside. “Freedom!” she sang out. “Dracarys! Dracarys! (Daenerys III, ASoS)  In the smoldering red pits of Drogon’s eyes, Dany saw her own reflection. How small she looked, how weak and frail and scared. I cannot let him see my fear. She scrabbled in the sand, pushing against the pitmaster’s corpse, and her fingers brushed against the handle of his whip. Touching it made her feel braver. The leather was warm, alive. Drogon roared again, the sound so loud that she almost dropped the whip. His teeth snapped at her. Dany hit him. “No,” she screamed, swinging the lash with all the strength that she had in her. The dragon jerked his head back. 

“No,” she screamed again. “NO!” The barbs raked along his snout. Drogon rose, his wings covering her in shadow. Dany swung the lash at his scaled belly, back and forth until her arm began to ache. His long serpentine neck bent like an archer’s bow. With a hisssssss, he spat black fire down at her. Dany darted underneath the flames, swinging the whip and shouting, “No, no, no. Get DOWN!” His answering roar was full of fear and fury, full of pain. His wings beat once, twice … (Daenerys IX, ADwD) 

Non-traditional a warrior she may be, Daenerys is absolutely a warrior, and it is highlighted repeatedly in her arc, despite how little emphasis her identity as a warrior gets. She may not be able to fight using a sword or her hands, and she may not be physically strong, but Daenerys initiates a fiery slave revolt, she stands up to her abusive brother, and she is able to tame Drogon with nothing but a whip and her bravery. Additionally, Daenerys is shown to be a warrior like Rhaegar, and she will be a warrior of light in the War for the Dawn. Note too that Daenerys is the Stallion in the Dothraki prophecy, another dimension of her warrior identity. 

Daenerys as The Smith: 

Dany settled down with her small band of survivors in the place they named Vaes Tolorro, the city of bones. Day followed night followed day. Women harvested fruit from the gardens of the dead. Men groomed their mounts and mended saddles, stirrups, and shoes. Children wandered the twisty alleys and found old bronze coins and bits of purple glass and stone flagons with handles carved like snakes. One woman was stung by a red scorpion, but hers was the only death. The horses began to put on some flesh. Dany tended Ser Jorah’s wound herself, and it began to heal. Dany gave him charge of a dozen of her strongest men, and set them to pulling up the plaza to get to the earth beneath. If devilgrass could grow between the paving stones, other grasses would grow when the stones were gone. They had wells enough, no lack of water. Given seed, they could make the plaza bloom. (Daenerys I, ACoK) 

Dany had no wish to reduce King’s Landing to a blackened ruin full of unquiet ghosts. She had supped enough on tears. I want to make my kingdom beautiful, to fill it with fat men and pretty maids and laughing children. I want my people to smile when they see me ride by, the way Viserys said they smiled for my father. (Daenerys II, ACoK) 

But Dany had lost Khal Drogo to a similar wound, and she was not willing to let it go untreated. She sent Missandei to find a certain Yunkish freedman renowned for his skill in the healing arts. Belwas howled and complained, but Dany scolded him and called him a big bald baby until he let the healer stanch the wound with vinegar, sew it shut, and bind his chest with strips of linen soaked in fire wine. Only then did she lead her captains and commanders inside her pavilion for their council. (Daenerys V, ASoS) 

“But how can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule a single city?“ He had no answer to that. Dany turned away from them, to gaze out over the city once again. “My children need time to heal and learn. My dragons need time to grow and test their wings. And I need the same. I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I’ve freed all over again.” She turned back to look at their faces. “I will not march.” (Daenerys VI, ASoS) 

“Tell me, can this king puff his cheeks up and blow Xaro’s galleys back to Qarth? Can he clap his hands and break the siege of Astapor? Can he put food in the bellies of my children and bring peace back to my streets?” (Daenerys IV, ADwD) 

“Sail west, not east. Leave the little queen to her olives and seat Prince Aegon upon the Iron Throne. The boy has stones, give him that.” (The Lost Lord, ADwD) 

“It shall be done, Magnificence,” said Reznak mo Reznak. “What of these Astapori?" My children. "They are coming here for help. For succor and protection. We cannot turn our backs on them.” (Daenerys V, ADwD) 

Though controversial and debated, the text emphatically indicates that Daenerys, as The Smith, is a healer and nation-builder. Whether in Vaes Tolorro, the temporary makeshift “city” her Khalasar finds, where she stops to let her Khalasar rest and heal after trudging through the Red Waste, or in Meereen, where she is negotiating new trade alliances, planting olive trees, looking after the ailing and sick, holding Council daily, hearing the petitions of the smallfolk daily, making deals and compromises, caring for refugees, trying to stem the tide of war, or installing protections for women and freedmen, Daenerys is unequivocally, decidedly, a nation-builder. Against the advice of her captains and councillors, she stays in Meereen so that she and her children can learn, heal, and grow, and so that she can protect her people. Franklyn Flowers uses the fact that she plants olive trees as an insult against her gender and femininity. Dany cares about the health and wellbeing of her team as well, her warriors, to the point that she will not move on until she ensures Strong Belwas is looked after. In short, Daenerys embodies the qualities of The Smith as well. 

Daenerys as The Maiden: 

“It was good to hear men speaking Valyrian once more, and even the Common Tongue, Dany thought as they approached the first ship. Sailors, dockworkers, and merchants alike gave way before her, not knowing what to make of this slim young girl with silver-gold hair who dressed in the Dothraki fashion and walked with a knight at her side. Despite the heat of the day, Ser Jorah wore his green wool surcoat over chainmail, the black bear of Mormont sewn on his chest.” (Daenerys V, ACoK) 

“I’m cold,” Dany lied. “Bring me the book I was reading last night.” She wanted to lose herself in the words, in other times and other places. The fat leather-bound volume was full of songs and stories from the Seven Kingdoms. Children’s stories, if truth be told; too simple and fanciful to be true history. All the heroes were tall and handsome, and you could tell the traitors by their shifty eyes. Yet she loved them all the same. Last night she had been reading of the three princesses in the red tower, locked away by the king for the crime of being beautiful. (Daenerys VI, ASoS) 

Soon Dany was as clean as she was ever going to be. She pushed herself to her feet, splashing softly. Water ran down her legs and beaded on her breasts. The sun was climbing up the sky, and her people would soon be gathering. She would rather have drifted in the fragrant pool all day, eating iced fruit off silver trays and dreaming of a house with a red door, but a queen belongs to her people, not to herself. (Daenerys IX, ADWD) 

“It is such a long way,” she complained. “I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl.” (Daenerys X, ADwD) 

Another prominent part of Dany’s identity is her youth, her girlhood. Though she has experienced far more than most girls her age do, she is still, in large part, looked at as “just a young girl”. Dany herself subverts the misogynistic expectations people have of her, when she sarcastically refers to herself as “just a young girl”. However, Dany is a young girl, and she displays this all the time as well, not just in the mistakes she sometimes makes: she enjoys reading tales about princesses and heroes, she wishes to rest and eat fruit, she is always dreaming about home, she wants a full life with a family and a husband and her own children, and she is a romantic and an idealist. However, the text emphasizes that just because Dany is a young girl, does not mean that her skills and acumen as a Queen should be discounted. 

Daenerys as The Crone: 

This is a wedding, too, she thought. Mirri Maz Duur had fallen silent. The godswife thought her a child, but children grow, and children learn. (Daenerys X, AGoT) 

“You will be my khalasar,” she told them. “I see the faces of slaves. I free you. Take off your collars. Go if you wish, no one shall harm you. If you stay, it will be as brothers and sisters, husbands and wives.” The black eyes watched her, wary, expressionless. “I see the children, women, the wrinkled faces of the aged. I was a child yesterday. Today I am a woman. Tomorrow I will be old. To each of you I say, give me your hands and your hearts, and there will always be a place for you.” (Daenerys X, AGoT) 

“I am not the frightened girl you met in Pentos. I have counted only fifteen name days, true … but I am as old as the crones in the dosh khaleen and as young as my dragons, Jorah. I have borne a child, burned a khal, and crossed the red waste and the Dothraki sea. Mine is the blood of the dragon.” (Daenerys II, ACoK) 

They are not strong, she told herself, so I must be their strength. I must show no fear, no weakness, no doubt. However frightened my heart, when they look upon my face they must see only Drogo’s queen. She felt older than her fourteen years. If ever she had truly been a girl, that time was done. […] Dany kissed him lightly on the cheek. It heartened her to see him smile. I must be strong for him as well, she thought grimly. A knight he may be, but I am the blood of the dragon. (Daenerys I, ACoK)

Viserys was Mad Aerys’s son, just so. Daenerys … Daenerys is quite different.“ He popped a roasted lark into his mouth and crunched it noisily, bones and all. ”The frightened child who sheltered in my manse died on the Dothraki sea, and was reborn in blood and fire. This dragon queen who wears her name is a true Targaryen.” (Tyrion II, ADwD) 

“Daenerys Targaryen is no maid, however. She is the widow of a Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, Aegon the Conqueror with teats. She may not prove as willing as you wish.” (Tyrion VI, ADWD) 

Though Dany is, of course, a young girl, she also gains wisdom and maturity beyond her years throughout the novels. In many respects, she feels much older than she is, because she is forced to be the strength for many people, and she cannot show weakness or vulnerability in many situations so that her people can rely on her. And though she will not relegate herself to living the life of the Dhosh Khaleen after Drogo’s death, she relates to the crones of her Khalasar and even says that she is as old as the Dosh Khaleen as a result of both her experiences and her duties as a Queen. Daenerys gains a maturity and wisdom that most girls her age do not precisely because of the position that she is in. She transcends the temporal bounds of time and space due to her magical position as well. 

Daenerys as The Stranger: 

“To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.” (Daenerys III, ACoK) 

Then phantoms shivered through the murk, images in indigo. Viserys screamed as the molten gold ran down his cheeks and filled his mouth. A tall lord with copper skin and silver-gold hair stood beneath the banner of a fiery stallion, a burning city behind him. Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman’s name… . mother of dragons, daughter of death … Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire… . mother of dragons, slayer of lies … Her silver was trotting through the grass, to a darkling stream beneath a sea of stars. A corpse stood at the prow of a ship, eyes bright in his dead face, grey lips smiling sadly. A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness… . mother of dragons, bride of fire . . (Daenerys IV, ACoK) 

She was fleeing again. Her whole life had been one long flight, it seemed. She had begun running in her mother’s womb, and never once stopped. How often had she and Viserys stolen away in the black of night, a bare step ahead of the Usurper’s hired knives? But it was run or die. (Daenerys V, ACoK) 

Like the other key five, Daenerys is, in many ways, an outcast. She is exiled to Essos right after her birth, and orphaned shortly after. She is sold by her own brother to Khal Drogo, and left for dead by everyone around her. She grows up knowing hunger and poverty. She is seen as foreign by both Essos and Westeros, never truly fitting in to just one place for long. She moves from city to city, even after the events of ASOIAF begin. In some ways, this bestows upon her positive traits, like being able to speak three languages, knowing about a vast array of cultural practices, and praying to an amalgam of deities, like the Warrior from the aforementioned Faith or the Dothraki Horse God. In other ways, this makes Daenerys feel isolated, alienated, and alone. She is also geographically isolated from the rest of the viewpoint characters, right up until A Dance with Dragons. Daenerys is a character many people who have grown up as the outcast or The Other can easily relate too. 

Daenerys is also unique and isolated because of her magic. As shown in The House of the Undying, she is the daughter of death because of how much death surrounds her life, the slayer of lies who will expose falsities, and the bride of fire, the future wife of Jon Snow. She is a future Warrior in the War for the Dawn and a messiah as a result, the first to bring dragons back after 100 years. Her dragons reawakened magic back into the world. For a young girl, this is indeed a heavy burden, and one that she struggles to understand. Daenerys does not do anything that is predictable, and she pivots at every moment, and subverts the expectations of everyone around her. 

In short, Daenerys is a rich, multifaceted character, with layered dimensions, each corresponding to a face of the god from the Faith of the Seven. 

DAENERYS APPRECIATION MONTH 2022 ↳ Day 4: House Targaryen The ghosts of Targaryen kings guiding Dany during her visions in the House of the Undying, making her embrace her heritage to later bring back the dragons which parallels Viserys passing Aegon’s prophecy to Rhaenyra. The prophecy is passed from king to heir, making Dany the heir of all the Targaryen kings.

“…want to wake the dragon…” 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…”

I think a lot about how Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Realm, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, Mhysa, saw a system that oppressed and dehumanized and ground people to dust and she decided “I’m going to smash that system because I know what it’s like to be less than human and no one should ever have to feel that.” 

It’s so refreshing and beautiful to read because it really hammers in that idea that any battle against the wrong in the world is a worthy battle, because there is always inherent worth in fighting back against the idea that any human being can ever be regarded as an object to be owned. The fact that Dany takes it upon herself to fight that fight? The fact that she does it out of compassion, out of understanding and empathy for those people who have been enslaved and have no power, no voice, no possible hope of defending themselves? Unmatched. “I would sooner perish fighting than return my children to bondage.” That line? UNMATCHED.

Daenys the Dreamer

Honestly enamoured by divine, slightly uncanny targaryen women. I love them.

"Wherever Prince Aemon went, whatever Prince Aemon did, Prince Baelon would not be far behind."

I love drawing happy women, so here's one I did of Laena, Rhaenyra, and @77empest 's oc Besyana. Since the ocs at this point are so intertwined with the story that they're practically canon

Jon and Catelyn: The Accidental Progeny

Survival

Catelyn saw the shadow slip through the open door behind him. There was a low rumble, less than a snarl, the merest whisper of a threat, but he must have heard something, because he started to turn just as the wolf made its leap. They went down together, half sprawled over Catelyn where she'd fallen. The wolf had him under the jaw. The man's shriek lasted less than a second before the beast wrenched back its head, taking out half his throat. A Game of Thrones - Catelyn III

And suddenly the corpse's weight was gone, its fingers ripped from his throat. It was all Jon could do to roll over, retching and shaking. Ghost had it again. He watched as the direwolf buried his teeth in the wight's gut and began to rip and tear.  A Game of Thrones - Jon VII

Reassurance

Her hand groped beneath her cloak, her fingers stiff and fumbling. The dagger was still at her side. She found she had to touch it now and then, to reassure herself. A Game of Thrones - Catelyn IV

He flexed the burned fingers of his sword hand. Longclaw was slung to his saddle, the carved stone wolf's-head pommel and soft leather grip of the great bastard sword within easy reach. A Storm of Swords - Jon II

Family

His mouth tightened. "And you see fit to loose the Kingslayer. You had no right." "I had a mother's right." A Storm of Swords - Catelyn I

“You wanted a way to save your little sister and still hold fast to the honor that means so much to you, to the vows you swore before your wooden god." She pointed with a pale finger. "There he stands, Lord Snow. Arya's deliverance.” A Dance with Dragons - Melisandre I

Vengeance

"Give me Cersei Lannister, Lord Karstark, and you would see how gentle a woman can be," Catelyn replied. A Game of Thrones - Catelyn XI

"It's death and destruction I want to bring down upon House Lannister, not scorn." A Dance with Dragons - Jon II

Pain

When Loras Tyrell unhorsed him, many of us became a trifle poorer. Ser Jaime lost a hundred golden dragons, the queen lost an emerald pendant, and I lost my knife. Her Grace got the emerald back, but the winner kept the rest." "Who?" Catelyn demanded, her mouth dry with fear. Her fingers ached with remembered pain. A Clash of Kings - Catelyn IV

Ser Barristan had been the Old Bear's best hope, Jon remembered; if he had fallen, what chance was there that Mormont's letter would be heeded? He curled his hand into a fist. Pain shot through his burned fingers. "What of my sisters?" A Game of Thrones - Jon VIII

Intuition

"Robb." She stopped and held his arm. "I told you once to keep Theon Greyjoy close, and you did not listen. Listen now. Send this man away. I am not saying you must banish him. Find some task that requires a man of courage, some honorable duty, what it is matters not… but do not keep him near you."  A Storm of Swords - Catelyn II

All of a man's crimes were wiped away when he took the black, and all of his allegiances as well, yet he found it hard to think of Janos Slynt as a brother. There is blood between us. This man helped slay my father and did his best to have me killed as well. "Lord Janos." Jon sheathed his sword. "I am giving you command of Greyguard." A Dance with Dragons - Jon II

Inheritance

"That is as cruel as it is unfair. Jon is no Theon." "So you pray. Have you considered your sisters? What of their rights? I agree that the north must not be permitted to pass to the Imp, but what of Arya? By law, she comes after Sansa... your own sister, trueborn… " A Storm of Swords - Catelyn V

I had hoped to bestow Winterfell on a northman, you may recall. A son of Eddard Stark. He threw my offer in my face." Stannis Baratheon with a grievance was like a mastiff with a bone; he gnawed it down to splinters. "By right Winterfell should go to my sister Sansa." A Dance with Dragons - Jon I

Peace

"Wars need not be fought until the last drop of blood." Even she could hear the desperation in her voice. "You would not be the first king to bend the knee, nor even the first Stark." […] Robb's face was cold. "Is that why you freed the Kingslayer? To make a peace with the Lannisters?" "I freed Jaime for Sansa's sake . . . and Arya's, if she still lives. You know that. But if I nurtured some hope of buying peace as well, was that so ill?" A Storm of Swords - Catelyn IV

"If it please m'lord, the lads were wondering. Will it be peace, m'lord? Or blood and iron?" "Peace," Jon Snow replied. "Three days hence, Tormund Giantsbane will lead his people through the Wall. As friends, not foes. Some may even swell our ranks, as brothers. Now back to your duties." A Dance with Dragons - Jon XI

Fear

In the midst of slaughter, the Lord of the Crossing sat on his carved oaken throne, watching greedily. There was a dagger on the floor a few feet away. Perhaps it had skittered there when the Smalljon knocked the table off its trestles, or perhaps it had fallen from the hand of some dying man. Catelyn crawled toward it. Her limbs were leaden, and the taste of blood was in her mouth. A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VII

Men were screaming. Jon reached for Longclaw, but his fingers had grown stiff and clumsy. Somehow he could not seem to get the sword free of its scabbard. A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

Death

"Make an end," and a hand grabbed her scalp just as she'd done with Jinglebell, and she thought, No, don't, don't cut my hair, Ned loves my hair. Then the steel was at her throat, and its bite was red and cold. A Storm of Swords - Catelyn VII

Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold… A Dance with Dragons - Jon XIII

Resurrection

“Sometimes she felt as though her heart had turned to stone.” A Game of Thrones - Catelyn VI

“Instead, he blamed Jon Snow and wondered when Jon's heart had turned to stone.” A Feast for Crows - Samwell III

Renly with Shireen