psst mari .. tell me your thoughts 👀 - do you believe that dany (or your dany) would/would consider martyring herself in some way, if she believed it would 'break the wheel'?
Ok so basically I think that in IC terms, Dany would absolutely martyr herself if she feels that's what she needs to do. She is selfless, and like any mother, she would do anything to save her children (her people). In some ways, most of her life has been a constant repetition of her being "martyred", either willingly or unwillingly, in various ways.
She was sold to a Dothraki Khal so her brother could have an army, her entire autonomy was taken from her.
She sacrificed her status and reputation among the Dothraki in an attempt to save Drogo, though the cruel irony here is that all she did was earn her son's death unknowingly.
She walked into fire knowing well that she could die, just to hatch her dragons. (She doesn't really bat an eye at death in these situations, I've noticed.)
She accepted the dangers of the House of the Undying because she knew that she had to go there to find answers and hope for the people that follow her. Again, she risked death just for the *hope* of some salvation.
She wanted to join in battle herself to be at the sides of the men who fight for her despite having no experience with fighting or combat at all and was only stopped by her councilors. She would have put herself in danger just to give them strength and hated watching from the sidelines.
She helped tend to the sick and injured in Meereen HERSELF, not caring if she would fall ill or not.
She put herself into an unhappy, political marriage that ultimately proved dangerous to her, just to stop the bloodshed in her city. She put a would-be assassin within arms length of her because the only thing that mattered was making sure the Harpies no longer slaughtered her people.
She charged at Drogon when he was causing mayhem in the pit, and remarks that he would kill her if she faltered, and she goes on to tame him herself, in her own way. But yet again she was fully ready to die.
Dany's entire character is one that has constantly sacrificed personal happiness and well-being for others that she feels responsibility for. She feels led to pursue the throne *because* of that sense of responsibility, and she feels entitled to it because she feels she is the right person to do it. And with her role as Azor Ahai, she will have an even greater responsibility beyond the Iron Throne, to play her part in saving not just the continent, but the entire world from the Others. The world has been out of balance for too long, and Dany will have to make sacrifices to restore order; she has already begun this from the moment she hatched her dragons, bringing the magic of fire and life back into the world when it was on the brink of extinction. And if she has to sacrifice her very life to save everyone and fulfill this destiny? She absolutely would. She would make that choice.
That being said, however, just because she would, does not mean that she should.
Personally, I certainly don't think she should, not from a narrative standpoint or a selfish self-fulfillment standpoint. George has said since the inception of this series that Daenerys was intended to be the subversion of the exiled prince / chosen one tropes where this role is filled by a woman instead. She is not going to be "corrupted" by power, she is not going to be a "Mad Queen", her entire purpose is to be a hero and savior in this story, she is not the red herring (that's Stannis). And she's not meant to be a tragic or "dark" hero, either; if anyone has been positioned to fill that role, it's Jon, as described by George himself.
I think where her character gets misunderstood most is that people see her as a privileged Targaryen queen and forget that she came from nothing. She was literally a slave. Dany is the antithesis to the abuses of power and wealth that came from her predecessors, not the resurrection of those things. She has been the VICTIM of those abuses, not the perpetrator. She had to earn everything that she has and climb her way to her station. Her people follow her not because she's claimed any divine right to rule over them, but because they have CHOSEN to follow her because they trust and believe in her. If things were the other way around, I could understand the idea that she *needs* to be a martyr to undo a system she has upheld, but she has not done that. She has been as oppressed by that system as the smallfolk, and she's not even on the same continent; born with assassins chasing her right out of the womb just because of who her parents are. She is the underdog. And no one wants the underdog to lose or die at the end; we want them to win. Narratively, that is the proper resolution to an arc like that, yes?
But there is this odd trend of insistence that somehow, for some reason, Daenerys must die; whether for the implausible reasons (corruption, madness, etc.) or the plausible one (sacrifice). And a more interesting pattern is, you do not see any other male played-straight hero archetype (original trilogy Luke Skywalker, Aang from ATLA, etc.) treated as if the definitive conclusion for their primary arc SHOULD be martyrdom. We all WANT Luke to save the world and make it out safe and redeem his father. We all WANT Aang to save the world from the Fire Nation and go on and live a life of peace that he was denied. But then you look at the female versions of the hero archetype (Dany, Buffy Summers, Katniss Everdeen, etc.) and there is no small percentage of people who advocate that somehow their deaths would be the justification of their lives.
Obviously this has everything to do with how women are treated and viewed in media in general, but also with Dany, I think there is this unique aspect of internal fandom politics where we have these factions that are so strongly pro or anti anything, and that plays into it. There are some people who think Daenerys should die just because she is a Targaryen, despite the fact that she has benefited nothing from being a Targaryen outside of 1. the magic in her blood and 2. being able to use other people's fetishization of her against them. In every other way, she has *suffered* for being a Targaryen. And I think a lot of the "Dany must die" arguments come from people who want the Targaryen to be retroactively punished again and want no "Targ restoration" as the fandom has dubbed it. Because a lot of people talk about Targ restoration as if that means all the dead Targaryens are going to suddenly come back or possess Dany to be a tyrant or whatever, when really, a true and realistic Targ restoration just means Dany living happily and possibly on the Iron Throne, and possibly NOT having her line end with her. It's just one woman being happy and getting what she wants, not a tyrannical dynasty being restored, because Dany's version of House Targaryen will not be anything like what her ancestors created.
The entire oppressive system of Westeros existed long before the Targaryens ever arrived, they didn't invent the concept of feudalism or monarchy, and when they ruled, they were not solely responsible for the oppression of the realms; the realms did a good enough job at oppressing themselves. And the idea I see coupled with the "Dany must die" crowd a lot is that George would overhaul this entirely at the end of the series and replace it with something like democracy, and that is, frankly, ridiculous. That's not how things work, and that's not how George writes. But the better ending for a new and freer Westeros is to finally have a leader (Dany!) who is more mindful of ruling for her people than for herself. She isn't there to hold power for the sake of it; she wants to empower her people. Her job is to keep them fed, clothed, keep the law, and protect them. Dany is one of the only people who would not uphold the status quo, she would actively do things to change it, and THAT is Westeros' hope to move forward.
In short, from the most basic terms of my personal take on the narrative and Dany as a character, everything is more fulfilling if she lives to reap the benefits of all her work and to actually enact change, because without her, ultimately Westeros just ends up back in the same shitshow it was at the start of the series. With her alive, things can be different. And from a more personal, isolated read of just Dany herself? As someone who does adore her character so much? I think she deserves better than to die just for having the audacity to be a woman with power and the will to use it for good. I think a character that has suffered all her life deserves to find peace *before* she dies, not in death itself. She deserves to plant her lemon trees and have a home and paint the door red if she wants. She deserves to find happiness and have that little girl she dreamed of and have the relief of knowing that she will not be the last of her kind after being alone for so, so long.
SAPPHIC ( F / F ) USFW MEME
@bruiisedpetals VIDA WATERS B + number roulette ( based on this gif )
It was easy here, in the wagon that smelled of herbs and clean linen, to be at ease. Slipping out of their clothes and into the healer's soft bed, the Lady of Sweetgrove found herself longing more for this bed than her own of late. Or more accurately, the company she kept in this bed. Adelaide could long for a straw mattress on a cold floor if Vida were there to help warm her.
Adelaide’s hand cradled the curve Vida’s hip as she knelt above her while her tongue worked between her legs. Eagerly attentive, she watched through dark lashes, taking in every shift of expression and pleased noise that fell from her beautiful lips. Savoring every detail as she did the taste of her against her tongue and the thrill of her wetness. Perhaps selfishly, thrilled by the knowledge that she was the cause.
When Vida’s deft fingers moved into her hair a groan slipped past her lips. A throb between her legs reminded her of her own wetness, reflexively she squeezed her thighs together against it. The other woman’s hand braced on Adelaide’s stomach was tantalizingly close and she was tempted to pull away just to ask if she’d touch her, but she stayed fixed between her legs. For the moment, Vida’s moans were their own reward, coaxing them from her Adelaide’s singular focus. With enlivened vigor, Adelaide pressed her tongue into Vida’s cunt, her hand on her hip now encouraging her even closer. Her nose pressed against the other in her eagerness that it was difficult to breathe. When her head began to swim in a special kind of drunkenness, Adelaide finally pulled herself away. Gasping, a thin trail of her own saliva and Vida’s wetness still connecting the two.
@bruiisedpetals sent some birthday smooches from regnarra !
there's a slight surprise to her features at the gentle kiss to her cheek, tantalizing close to the side of her lips. it takes only a moment before she relaxes and looks directly at the other woman. " a name day gift, my lady? " she smiles shyly, a faint red across her cheeks. " a very good one, i think. "
❛ may i have this dance? ❜ / to Jennny of Oldstones from Errick Farman
Jenny looked up in confusion for a moment, no one had asked her to dance since her husband passed almost a year ago. She came back to court because she needed something to keep her hands and mind busy ands he went to the feasts as was expected of a proper Lady, but she mostly went unnoticed until tonight. The Queen put her in a proper feast dress, silver in color and her hair was down in long curls, falling to her lower back, she looked more fairy like than human.
Eventually though she did nod and took the offered hand "thank you, my lord" the honey haired maiden curtsied and allowed him to lead her onto the dancefloor, still confused as to how tonight was any different than the ones before.
WATER & STONE
a starter for Vida Waters @bruiisedpetals
“I had heard that there was a woman with some skill in healing. With herbs and potions and the like.” People liked to say women were gossips, but in her experience Riona found sailors talked far more than any tittering gossipmonger. In truth, most of what she heard in port was ignored as she’d learned over the years to drown out tall tales and bawdy jokes, but the mention of this woman healer pricked her ears. She had found the wagon as described; its owner too, with the striking violet eyes. “I have coin to pay for your services, if you have the time.”
@bruiisedpetals ( vida ) ASKED: ❝ it doesn’t matter that they won’t remember me. what matters is i helped. ❞ source.
leaning back against the garden wall, dorren eyes the woman with a raised brow and a crook to his lips - it was rare for him to find some amusement when accompanying his father, so he would take it whenever he would find it. "you must be a fool or a halfwit, perhaps both, my lady."
"to not want to be remembered, to have no legacy to leave behind for people to remember you by is simply idiotic." his voice is nonchalant as he speaks, as if it were the most common notion in the realm. "you'd be wise to keep that in mind."
❝ One thing you can always count on is that hearts change. ❞ / From Errick Farman
Lavender gaze turned upon the man, slowly moving over his body before roaming over his face and settling on his own gaze. House Farmans bastard, the princess could recall when the gossip about him first surfaced within her social circles, each woman having something to say but one thing Viserra certainly could agree on was that the man was easy on the eyes.
“Yes, well your brothers seemed to have changed rather fast I must say.” Not that she was interested in the younger brother, a jealous boy who she only really entertained the idea of after her mother had asked her too. It still bruised the princess’s ego though when he harshly ended their courtship in private.
Or maybe perhaps Ser Harwin and her father, her lawful father, had given Viserra a naive view on relationships. Loyalty and love, and respect above all. “Nonetheless, I do not believe it is really any loss of mine to no longer have his affection.”
