#;; smth smth viserys clinging to 'i am the dragon' because in truth he is more andal 👀👀👀

[kaerinio]

daenerys' first language is high valyrian. when she was a baby, viserys would coo at her exclusively in valyrian, and ser willem darry ensured that her nurses and early tutors also interacted with her in both valyrian and the common tongue. her first words were valyrian, and as a girl, she would often converse with the servants at darry's estate and viserys in valyrian, including the various dialects of the free cities! typically, the only common tongue she would really use was with ser darry. and, following his death, valyrian remained her main form of communication; however, this changes, when viserys transforms into the beggar king. shortly after selling rhaella's crown, the final physical attachment to their targaryen identity, he begins to speak to dany only in the common tongue. you see, to him, he is a westerosi king, and in order to be westerosi, he decides that he (and dany) must speak the language of westeros: the common tongue, which is, as he would claim, "the language of civilized man." when dany attempts to speak valyrian with him in those initial days, she is met with hostility and harm, including viserys admonishing her valyrian, claiming that it is diminished, berating her accent, and telling her to speak in a way befitting of a targaryen princess (interesting). so, dany stops speaking valyrian with viserys altogether, and instead, she whispers this language, tasting of the house with the red door and what feels like home to her, with other children in bazaars and vendors and servants in the homes of could-be allies.

i should write a separate thing for this because i am incredibly fascinated by language and connection, and dany is certainly very attune with language, connection, and intimacy through communication !!! and i will but! as queen of meereen, dany speaks high valyrian, particularly a ghiscari dialect constructed of old ghiscari and valyrian, while conducting court and communicating with her subjects. during council meetings, she primarily communicates in high valyrian, as it is spoken and understood by all her councillors. with barristan, belwas, her bloodriders, and handmaids, she typically speaks the common tongue. among the dothraki (and when it is just her, her bloodriders, and handmaids), she speaks dothraki. when it comes to her dragons, she croons at them in high valyrian.