#like. 'if you had hurt Sacker you would not have made it out of this room alive'

[notluminous]

i think acd should have Committed and kept watson’s name as Ormond Sacker i think that would have been very funny of him, actually 

[multi-fandom-veteran-writer]

The third sneak peek of the continuation of my AU Nightmare Weaver.

Hastily making his way to the living quarters, Vex plopped the young child down onto his bed without a care in the world. The sackers was still his enemy, after all, the jester rescuing him didn't change that. Sitting on the bed, he was able to get a better look at the young knight and his injuries. Never having to heal others as he was a god of destruction that sowed fear, an idea came to him. Knowing that it had a chance of killing the child, he still decided to risk it. If worst came to worst, he would be rid of the pest and free to sow terror and chaos but at the same time a smaller part of him, a part he had kept buried for centuries, wanted to spare them the pain of an excruciating demise.

'Screw it! Enough dawdling Vex! Some Lord you are! Can't even-'

His internal monologue was interrupted by the child letting out a pained groan, their movements few and far between. Realizing his window to act was rapidly closing, Vex made up his mind there and then. His gloved hand shimmering to life with the essence of the Uproar, his lime-green glowing eyes flaring to life with the very flames, that comprised his entire being. He proceeded to place them on the younger knight's chest, letting his essence flow into the other, effectively turning him into a creature of the Uproar.

His restful slumber was interrupted by a feeling he could only describe as pain. The sensation grew in intensity until it was unbearable, feeling like his insides were on fire and like something was trying to claw its way out from his subconscious. It grew to the point where it was pure agony, like being torn apart from the inside out. He wasn't alone, however, a shadowy figure with the same piercing green eyes as Vex and jagged, shark-like teeth greeted him in his dreamscape. It was his darkest desires; revenge, envy, rage, gluttony, pride, and sloth all compiled together in one singular being. The figure then pounced on Sackboy, snarling like a rabid animal.

 "So it is you Sackboy! The very same who despite his every effort still failed to save his friends. You're no hero, just a washed-up good for nothing! However, if you give me everything, I can change that," his voice calm and comforting, making you feel safe and secure," wouldn't you like to become the famous hero everyone believes you to be? Wouldn't you like to end Vex once and for all and bring peace and harmony to the Imagasphere?"

Still pinned, Sackboy had time to register what had been said. Become the fabled hero? Could it really be true? Getting rid of Vex had been his one true goal as the jester had threatened everyone he knew and loved with ruthless efficiency. Seeing one way out of this, he vigorously nodded his head, sealing his fate.

"Wonderful! Perhaps you aren't as stupid as previously thought," the shadow sounded thrilled to have won so easily," Now, I think it is time I tapped into your hidden potential don't you think? This will hurt you more than it will hurt me. The time of mercy and forgiveness is over! Now is the time for retribution and war! Time for you to awaken little knight and to the dawn of a new era."

The sound of a door unlocking and swinging open and the sudden rushing of wind sent Sackboy spiraling out of the dream and into a blinding white light. Screaming like a banshee, Sackboy began thrashing about from the terror and pain coursing through his frail body.

Startled from the sudden outburst, Vex visibly flinched back some ways before regaining his composure. The child was still squirming about, clearly distressed, their body covered in a sheen of sweat. Not seeing another option, Vex quickly extended his hands and firmly planted them on the others head and chest, successfully pinning him.

"That is quite enough! This is becoming quite tedious and I grow tired of it. You either cease this foolery or I will be forced to resort to unpleasant measures and you wouldn't want that would you," his voice sounded exhausted as he had used his powers several times that day and had literally overextended himself, even though he was practically a God he still had his limits," Man, and here I thought I was the bringer of nightmares. What could have caused such a reaction from such a brave Sackthing?"

[zcldrizes-a]

— 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐬 : “ 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐝. ”

i. 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.

ii. 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.

iii. Dany gave the silver over to the slaves for grooming and entered her tent. It was cool and dim beneath the silk. As she let the door flap close behind her, Dany saw a finger of dusty red light reach out to touch her dragon’s eggs across the tent. For an instant a thousand droplets of scarlet flame swam before her eyes. She blinked, and they were gone.

iv. Stone, she told herself. They are only stone, even Illyrio said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm against the black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stone was warm. Almost hot. “The sun,” Dany whispered. “The sun warmed them as they rode.”

v. “Khaleesi, “ Jhiqui said, “what is wrong? Are you sick?” “I was,” she answered, standing over the dragon’s eggs that Illyrio had given her when she wed. She touched one, the largest of the three, running her hand lightly over the shelf. Black-and- scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream. The stone felt strangely warm beneath her fingers… or was she still dreaming? She pulled her hand back nervously.

I think the first thing to note here is that, from very early on, we have it established to us that Daenerys is something unique. Not everyone bonded to dragons dreams of them – though we know that Aemon did ( I see them in my dreams, Sam. I see a red star bleeding in the sky. I still remember red. I see their shadows on the snow, hear the crack of leathern wings, feel their hot breath. My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and their dreams killed them, every one. ) but as the readers, we get no real indication that Viserys did. And given he’s presented to be the actual dragon at first, though we learn quickly that is not the case, I think the message here that we take from this is simple: Daenerys was always fated to be the mother of dragons, and Daenerys was always fated to be the first rider in centuries.

Firstly, I want to quickly clear something up: despite what the show neglected to portray, Daenerys loves all three of her children in equal form, even if in different ways. I won’t link all of the proof of that here – that can happen in another meta if someone really wants it – but I think the thing to note is that even though all three are her children, one of them is necessarily more equal to her in her own state of mind in the sense of him being her mount. She loves her children and wants to protect them, yes: but to protect them, she would need Drogon’s help, realistically. That means in her own mind, she will always view him as an equal, and someone she fights alongside, whilst Viserion and Rhaegal can’t be viewed in the same lense because she isn’t bonded to them in the way dragonlore states ( quickly on dragonlore: I mix my own canon for writing it, as most people know, from a concoction of asoiaf canon, Eragon, HTTYD, etc ). She can attempt to protect them: but Drogon protects her. Drogon is her equal, in that sense. It doesn’t mean she loves him more, it means she loves him differently. I’m happy to extend my thoughts on her actions in locking Viserion and Rhaegal up, but in my own state of mind, and I think established relatively decently in some forms of canon, Daenerys does regret what she had to do. With that in mind, it’s something she would have done to all three if she had a chance, for the sake of the people she was ruling.

Secondly, before I go into specifics about her bond with Drogon, a general note about the dragons bonding: I do prescribe to the very established canon that only those with Valyrian blood have the ability to ride dragons. We know from Martin’s canon that Valyrian Dragonlords used magic to bind the dragons to them – and that can explain the many references to the blood of the dragon, specifically. That’s to suggest that the blood carried on from Valyrian descendants still contains that bond, however diluted through the ages. There are of course some exceptions to this, and those usually come from extenuating circumstances: but with Dany’s dragons, we see in canon that they are resistant to just anyone riding them. Quentyn Martell’s death after trying to mount Viserion – admittedly at the hands of Rhaegal – confirms that they don’t tolerate just anyone, and it’s also important to note that Daenerys was the first dragonrider in a century and a half. The exception I make for my own canon is @killthebxy and his Jon riding Rhaegal, and the explanation for this is simple: after months of bonding, and under the canon where no other Valyrian blooded people exist, and also in a context where Viserion is dead and Drogon has a rider already, it makes sense that Rhaegal would crave a rider so badly that he would bond with another. With that being said, we also know from canon that a dragon once bonded will not allow anyone else to ride them ( unless their rider is also present ). That means no, your muse cannot ride Drogon without Daenerys there. He doesn’t want it, and she wouldn’t allow it, so don’t try it.

…it was said that even Aegon the Conquerer never dared mount Vhagar or Meraxes, nor did his sisters mount Balerion the Black Dread. Dragons live longer than men, some for hundreds of years, so Balerion had other riders after Aegon died… but no rider ever flew two dragons.

Now, I’m going to break this up into a few different sections to write.

- oo1. BOND FORMATION.

The important thing to note here is that I personally think the bond began long before Daenerys actually rode Drogon. We see within canon in her dreaming days that when dreaming of the dragons, Dany always dreams of the black. It’s no coincidence that Drogon was born to bear her House colours, nor is it coincidence that he is often called Balerion ( Khaleesi … there sits Balerion, come again. ) whilst she herself is paralleled to Aegon the Conqueror ( She is the widow of a Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, Aegon the Conqueror with teats. ) – this sets up in a very visceral manner that this is what Martin’s intention was, to establish this bond very early on. We know that in hatching the dragons, Daenerys had known for an incredibly long time what she was going to do to hatch those dragons, and we can see that in the following few passages, that she references her intent and the pre-emptive nature of what she’s about to do, before it’s DROGON’S egg that she lifts first. ( This is madness, she told herself as she lifted the black-and-scarlet egg from the velvet. It will only crack and burn, and it’s so beautiful, Ser Jorah will call me a fool if I ruin it, and yet, and yet… Cradling the egg with both hands, she carried it to the fire and pushed it down amongst the burning coals. The black scales seemed to glow as they drank the heat. Flames licked against the stone with small red tongues. Dany placed the other two eggs beside the black one in the fire. ) Between the dreams and the following few pieces of evidence, we know her intent was established early on.

i. “You will not hear me scream,” Mirri responded as the oil dripped from her hair and soaked her clothing. “I will,” Dany said, “but it is not your screams I want, only your life. I remember what you told me. Only death can pay for life.” Mirri Maz Duur opened her mouth, but made no reply. As she stepped away, Dany saw that the contempt was gone from the maegi’s flat black eyes; in its place was something that might have been fear. Then there was nothing to be done but watch the sun and look for the first star.

ii. Jhogo spied it first. “There, “ he said in a hushed voice. Dany looked and saw it, low in the east. The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon’s tail. She could not have asked for a stronger sign.

iii. She had sensed the truth of it long ago, Dany thought as she took a step closer to the conflagration, but the brazier had not been hot enough.

Throughout the younger years of the dragon’s development, both book and show canon seems to build the hatchlings to some degree, but it is Drogon we so often get more of a glimpse into. Very often, it is Drogon who is perched on her shoulder ( as he in in the arrival to Qarth ) or on her lap ( as he is when she is informed of Robert Baratheon’s death ). We also know in the House of the Undying that it is Drogon who accompanies her, and who protects her and allows her to escape, in book canon – and in show canon, that it is Drogon who is the first to respond to her command for fire in burning those who leave her in chains. By the time we get to the Sack of Astapor, I think the fact it is Drogon who she offers up as part of her plan speaks volumes: she knows that he will respond to her command, and she knows that he will not hesitate to do so. By this point, it’s very established that of all three dragons, he is the one already utilised the most in her plans, and the one who she clearly gravitates to most centrally.

We then reach the stages of Drogon’s rebellious years. Regardless of whether or not he intended to burn the child – dragons are intelligent, he likely knew what he did – we can either read Drogon’s absence as one of two things. Either he can tell that Daenerys is disappointed in him for what happened, or perhaps horrified with himself; or more likely, he knows that as much as Daenerys is on the cusp of becoming a woman, she is not ready to be his rider yet. I think the show gives us a really beautiful moment here, where she reaches for him, and she is unsure and he flies away before she can touch him; he knows that she isn’t ready for him yet. By default, by this point I believe Drogon knew that she was supposed to ride him – and that is confirmed when he comes to save her at the fighting pits. Now, here’s where I take issue with the books: the only way that I will accept the necessity of Drogon needing to be beaten into command is if he was truly so confused and feral after months away that it took him several moments to recognise her. In my own canon, I do think the show had the better iteration here: he trusted her, and their bond allowed her to mount him, because that was what he was born for.

By the time we get the first flight, it’s not the bond being formed: it’s the final step to formation. When we talk about dragon bonds, I think it means more than a human and pet; dragons are intelligent, and they are magical. For them to bond with a human means something special: Daenerys and Drogon are the literal entity of soulmates, because their souls were born to be connected. He is an ever present feeling at the back of her mind, and likewise, she is with him always, no matter how far apart they are. That goes deeper than any love, any kind of familiar connection; they are part of each other, and this journey up until now was just about finding their way to that point and establishing / building it.

- oo2. EMOTIONS / COMMUNICATION.

Drogon raised his head, blood dripping from his teeth. The hero leapt onto his back and drove the iron spearpoint down at the base of the dragon’s long scaled neck. Dany and Drogon screamed as one.

As an extension of the headcanon that they are soulmates, I think this reads very simple as follows: they understand the emotions that the other is feeling. They feel pain, that the other is feeling. It isn’t as tangible as Drogon getting hurt and Daenerys aching in the same spot – but more that she feels that he is suffering, and there’s an overwhelming desire to help. We get some of that again, from the show, where he is struck in 7.04 and her first instinct upon landing is to remove the spear – and even in the pain addled state of mind that follows for him, the moment she sees Jaime and we see her fear, Drogon responds. We get it again in 7.06, when Viserion is killed; on Dany’s face, we get shock, and though she is mourning clearly in the later parts of the episode, her reaction is reserved. For Drogon, whilst she is silent, he is screaming for his fallen sibling. And yes, that be construed as part of his grief – but likely, it’s because he is feeling for the both of them.And lastly, we get a beautiful moment of this in 8.03, when Dany is crying for Jorah, and Drogon’s response is to curl around her and coo to her. This isn’t a protective stance - the battle has ended, and he’s low, not on alert. He’s close to her, making soft noises, and that body language communicates comfort, not anything else. He feels her grief, and he feels it himself, and so he lays close to her to offer whatever he can.

Communication between them is not quite so blatant as thinking commands to the other, but simply instead, that they can sense what the other wants. Likely, Dany was idly chattering to Drogon before handing him to the Masters at the Sack of Astapor, because she knew he would know what to do without command. And though she talks to the dragons in Valyrian, it’s not a language they were likely born knowing ( and if they did, likely, they knew others to ) – so more than likely, it’s not the words that Drogon responds to, but the intent behind each of them. And the deeper that bond goes, the more we see ( again, more viscerally on the show ) that he responds without question – in executing enemies, or even in the gentleness by which he carries her, lets her down, by the way he bristles when people disrespect her. The communication between them is far more primal and intimate than language; it’s spoken by hearts and minds forged together in the flames.

- oo3. FLIGHT NAVIGATION.

Again, an extension of the above, but when it comes to flight navigations, we have no need here for the way that Daenerys commanded Drogon in the books ( The dragonlords of old Valyria had controlled their mounts with binding spells and sorcerous horns. Daenerys made do with a word and a whip. Mounted on the dragon’s back, she oft felt as if she were learning to ride all over again. When she whipped her silver mare on her right flank the mare went left, for a horse’s first instinct is to flee from danger. When she laid the whip across Drogon’s right side he veered right, for a dragon’s first instinct is always to attack. Sometimes it did not seem to matter where she struck him, though; sometimes he went where he would and took her with him. Neither whip nor words could turn Drogon if he did not wish to be turned. The whip annoyed him more than it hurt him, she had come to see; his scales had grown harder than horn. ) – this implies that Drogon needed to be beat into submission, and while he was more stubborn and juvenile then, he was still her intended and her bonded.

So when we talk about flight navigation, my canon is as follows: they work together. Dany knows, mostly, where she wants to go – and Drogon knows how to get them there. For the most, he follows what she wants if it is specifically the reason they’re travelling; but in situations in battles, etc, he will also move without need of command, always to protect his mother. The one (1) time that she falls from him in my canon, it is not his fault, and he never forgives himself for it. Drogon’s flying style is rougher than most other dragons would be – he’s large, he’s animalistic, and he’s never truly understood how fragile she is when it comes to him, because he perceives his mother as so strong. Hence why she cuts her hands from holding on, or bruises so badly from him thrashing around, or her thighs get cut from the way she grips his scales through her clothes. They work together, and for the most part, neither think twice about it.

- oo4. EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS.

It’s as simple as this – if Daenerys doesn’t like someone, Drogon likely hates that someone. In no world does he ever give a moment’s time to someone who she has no connection with; which is why it can be construed that Drogon tolerates people like Doreah, or Jorah, or Jon. Because of the emotional connection between them, this transfers to the way he connects with people she loves: by default, he feels at the least some sort of loyalty, or urge to protect them. Firstly, this is because he knows that she cares for them, and that if anything happened to them, she would be sad. Secondly, because he feels that emotion for them himself as a result of the bond. And thirdly, because he has likely had some further interactions as a result, which formulate his own bond with them independent of his mother’s emotions.

With that being said, there is never, ever a situation where Drogon would chose another person over his mother. It doesn’t matter what she becomes or what she does to anyone else – no singular person, or groups of people are as important as a rider to a dragon. And likewise, even if Daenerys were to have human children, she would never stop viewing the dragons as her own children too, or treating them as such. Those relationships, even to her, come beneath the bond she has with Drogon. And even when it comes to the other dragons, she loves them with all of her heart, but she will never feel the closeness she does with Drogon because he’s not just in her heart, he’s in her mind.

- oo5. IF EITHER DIED.

Lastly, talking about the potential of death for either of them. For dragons, their life span far outlasts their riders – and Daenerys hopes that long after she is gone, he will find someone ( in her own bloodline, or other ) whom he might feel that bond with. With that being said, she isn’t just his rider to him, but also his mother, which means if she died, that grief would transcend what a dragon might normally feel for their rider’s death. Unlike what we see in the series finale, if someone were to cause her death, then regardless of who that person was to Drogon, he would not hold back his revenge from the person who took her from him – this bond is more than a normal dragon and rider, he was born to be with her, birthed by her, raised by her, and lived by her side for all of his life. This would be the first time he wouldn’t feel her with him, and that would cripple him, to know that he would live for centuries with that presence void in his life.

If the situation were flipped, and Drogon was lost to her, I believe Daenerys would feel that grief on a physical level, as well as emotional. Drogon is warmth and strength at the back of her mind and thoughts – she would not feel warm again, without him there. Would never feel as strong, without him there. Would never be able to replicate that emotional bond with another being or entity, without him there. Would constantly be calling for him, constantly searching for him in the skies. That would be a loss that she would never, ever recover from – and I believe in that instance, she would crave the reunion with him in death, though she might not go so far as harming herself. It would transcend her desire to see anyone else in the afterlife – she would be focused exclusively on seeing her child again, and being with him again.

Having a part of one’s soul ripped away would physically hurt, and that is what they would both feel.

[schraubd]

TV Timeout

Quick thoughts on some of the television I'm watching right now. Warning -- spoilers ahead for any of these shows: Game of Thrones

The last episode was basically unwatchable. Not because it was bad -- although it wasn't great -- but literally: it was so dark and blurry you basically couldn't see anything.

It's rare one says this about Game of Thrones but -- they were too skimpy on the character killing. Pretty much every major character came out alive. The big exceptions -- Theon, Jorah -- were at the end of redemption arcs anyway. There were no "shocking" or even particularly tragic deaths. Jaime, Brienne, or Grey Worm would've worked fine. Maybe GoT has gone soft in its old age.

I like Arya killing the Night King. I'd have liked it more if she had directly used some of the shape-shifting assassin skill she'd been developing, rather than sort of jumping out of ... nowhere? How did she get there? Is that supposed to be the assassin skill?

Billions

While I continue to think this is one of the best shows on television right now, I must admit I'm not enjoying this season quite as much as some of the others. Chuck's plot, in particular, seems to be spinning its wheels a bit. But the Taylor/Axe fight, which I think holds a lot of potential, still for me seems to mostly involve them circling each other and sending out skirmishes. I want a real battle.

You know who's due for a plot? Sacker.

I also don't like the direction they've taken the Rhodes' sex life. Showtime has often been weirdly good about handling non-normative sexuality in the least likely places (see also: a gender-fluid teenager in "House of Lies"), and I appreciated how it treated BDSM as non-pathological. This season? Definitely pathological. And that's putting aside Chuck's reveal on  national television -- I'm talking about him physically mutilating himself because he "needs" the pain.

I do like that they quickly and, I hope, permanently disposed of the Russian oligarch character. One thing I've liked about Billions is that it resists the easy play that rich = utterly amoral such that they'd all just being willing to kill people to get what they want. Yes, they destroy lives via other means, but it is more realistic characterization that they think of what they do as very distinct from violent crime, and willingness to do the one does not translate to the other. The Russian plotline threatened to upset that, and I'm glad it went away.

Wendy is a straight-up monster, it turns out. Was she always so, or is this character development? I'm not sure, and I don't think that speaks well of how the arc has charted out. But Mafee sure earned that rant.

Speaking of Mafee, I'm worried about him. He's one of the very few "good guys" left on this show, which makes him a prime target for Axe to destroy/Taylor to betray. I don't want to see him get hurt.

Above notwithstanding, I absolutely do want to see him in a boxing match with Dollar Bill.

Taylor's dad = B+. Axe's new girlfriend = A+. Dollar Bill's "final solution" for the chicken problem = A++++.

American Ninja Warrior Junior

Just renewed for Season Two! This was a great show -- the kids were both adorable and talented, and the conceit of the show transitioned well.

While I won't say she's destined for a career on television, Laurie Hernandez worked as a sideline reporter. Also, placing Laurie -- who is basically defined by being "small" and "graceful" -- next to a bunch of nine-year-olds who make her look like a lumbering giantess is a never-ending source of visual comedy for me.

One point of adjustment: the pacing of the show on a season-wide level. The prelims lasted forever. And then there was no change to the course even in the semifinal or final round. Give those who advance a new challenge!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

I'd say the jump to NBC is a success. There hasn't been a huge shift in tone, though it does seem like perhaps we're getting a bit more fan service than normal (hey -- we earned it for saving the show).

Oh, also NBC allows bleeping, which allowed the writers to set-up Santiago's fantastic "This B wants a C in her A" moment.

Obviously sad to see Gina go -- but happy that Scully and Hitchcock made the main credits!

Project Runway

I have to say, I like Karlie Kloss -- she who, as I've taken to putting it, "married one of the good Kushners" -- more than I thought I would. Like Heidi, she's sooooo pretty, but also seems fun and nice. She's doing a good job. Way to represent team Jew, Karlie!

The new judges are forgettable and should just let Nina run things. More surprising is that Christian Siriano isn't popping on screen at all. He's definitely no replacement for Tim Gunn.

I am enjoying the budding Hester/Tessa rivalry. I'm on Team Tessa -- I like her clean, sharp looks. Hester sometimes does cool things, but also sometimes seems like a Rainbow Brite doll who got locked in a rave for six years.

Surprisingly, the producers have done a decent job keeping the challenges feeling fresh and novel. Good job, producers!

via The Debate Link http://bit.ly/2GNebDW

[zcldrizes-a]

meta: Dany's bond & relationship with Drogon

i.Yet that night she dreamt ofone. Viserys was hitting her, hurting her. She was naked, clumsy withfear. She ran from him, but her body seemed thick and ungainly. Hestruck her again. She stumbled and fell. “You wokethe dragon,” he screamed as he kicked her. “You wokethe dragon, you woke the dragon.” Her thighs were slick with blood. She closedher eyes and whimpered. As if in answer, there was a hideous ripping sound andthe 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 wasthe dragon. It turned its great head slowly. When its molten eyes foundhers, she woke, shaking and covered with a fine sheen ofsweat. She had never been so afraid.

ii.Yet when she slept thatnight, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in itthis time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black asnight, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools ofmolten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hotjet. She could hear it singing to her. She opened her arms tothe fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temperher and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blackenand slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there wasno pain. She felt strong and new and fierce.

iii.Dany gave the silver over to the slavesfor grooming and entered her tent. It was cool and dim beneath the silk. As shelet the door flap close behind her, Dany saw a finger of dusty red light reachout to touch her dragon’s eggs across the tent. For an instant a thousanddroplets of scarlet flame swam before her eyes. She blinked, and they weregone.

iv.Stone, she told herself. They are onlystone, even Illyrio said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm againstthe black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stonewas warm. Almost hot. “The sun,” Dany whispered. “The sun warmedthem as they rode.”

v.“Khaleesi, “ Jhiqui said, “what is wrong?Are you sick?” “I was,” she answered, standing over the dragon’s eggs thatIllyrio had given her when she wed. She touched one, the largest of the three,running her hand lightly over the shelf. Black-and- scarlet, she thought, likethe dragon in my dream. The stone felt strangely warm beneath her fingers… orwas she still dreaming? She pulled her hand back nervously.

Ithink the first thing to note here is that, from very early on, we have itestablished to us that Daenerys is something unique. Not everyone bonded todragons dreams of them – though we know that Aemon did ( I see them in my dreams, Sam. I see a red star bleeding in the sky. Istill remember red. I see their shadows on the snow, hear the crack of leathernwings, feel their hot breath. My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and theirdreams killed them, every one. ) but as the readers, we get no realindication that Viserys did. And given he’s presented to be the actual dragonat first, though we learn quickly that is not the case, I think the messagehere that we take from this is simple: Daenerys was always fated to be themother of dragons, and Daenerys was always fated to be the first rider in centuries.

Firstly,I want to quickly clear something up: despite what the show neglected to portray,Daenerys loves all three of her children in equal form, even if in differentways. I won’t link all of the proof of that here – that can happen in anothermeta if someone really wants it – but I think the thing to note is that eventhough all three are her children, one of them is necessarily more equal to herin her own state of mind in the sense of him being her mount. She loves herchildren and wants to protect them, yes: but to protect them, she would needDrogon’s help, realistically. That means in her own mind, she will always viewhim as an equal, and someone she fights alongside, whilst Viserion and Rhaegal can’tbe viewed in the same lense because she isn’t bonded to them in the waydragonlore states ( quickly on dragonlore: I mix my own canon for writing it,as most people know, from a concoction of asoiaf canon, Eragon, HTTYD, etc ).She can attempt to protect them: but Drogon protects her. Drogon is her equal,in that sense. It doesn’t mean she loves him more, it means she loves him differently.I’m happy to extend my thoughts on her actions in locking Viserion andRhaegal up, but in my own state of mind, and I think established relativelydecently in some forms of canon, Daenerys doesregret what she had to do. With that in mind, it’s something she would havedone to all three if she had a chance, for the sake of the people she was ruling.

Secondly,before I go into specifics about her bond with Drogon, a general note about thedragons bonding: I do prescribe to the very established canon that only thosewith Valyrian blood have the ability to ride dragons. We know from Martin’scanon that Valyrian Dragonlords used magic to bind the dragons to them – and thatcan explain the many references to the blood of the dragon, specifically. That’sto suggest that the blood carried on from Valyrian descendants still containsthat bond, however diluted through the ages. There are of course someexceptions to this, and those usually come from extenuating circumstances: butwith Dany’s dragons, we see in canon that they are resistant to just anyone riding them. Quentyn Martell’sdeath after trying to mount Viserion – admittedly at the hands of Rhaegal –confirms that they don’t tolerate just anyone, and it’s also important to notethat Daenerys was the first dragonriderin a century and a half. The exception I make for my own canon is @killthebxy and his Jon riding Rhaegal, and the explanation for this is simple: after months of bonding, and under the canonwhere no other Valyrian blooded people exist, and also in a context whereViserion is dead and Drogon has a rideralready, it makes sense that Rhaegal would crave a rider so badly that hewould bond with another. With that being said, we also know from canon that a dragononce bonded will not allow anyone else to ride them ( unless their rider isalso present ). That means no, your musecannot ride Drogon without Daenerys there. He doesn’t want it, and she wouldn’t allow it, so don’t try it.

…itwas said that even Aegon the Conquerer never dared mount Vhagar or Meraxes, nordid his sisters mount Balerion the Black Dread. Dragons live longer than men,some for hundreds of years, so Balerion had other riders after Aegon died…but no rider ever flew two dragons.

Now,I’m going to break this up into a few different sections to write.

- oo1. BOND FORMATION.

Theimportant thing to note here is that Ipersonally think the bond began long before Daenerys actually rode Drogon.We see within canon in her dreaming days that when dreaming of the dragons, Danyalways dreams of the black. It’s nocoincidence that Drogon was born to bear her House colours, nor is it coincidencethat he is often called Balerion ( Khaleesi… there sits Balerion, come again. ) whilst she herself is paralleled toAegon the Conqueror ( She is the widow ofa Dothraki khal, a mother of dragons and sacker of cities, Aegon the Conquerorwith teats. ) – this sets up in a very visceral manner that this is whatMartin’s intention was, to establish this bond very early on. We know that inhatching the dragons, Daenerys had known for an incredibly long time what shewas going to do to hatch those dragons, and we can see that in the followingfew passages, that she references her intent and the pre-emptive nature of whatshe’s about to do, before it’s DROGON’S egg that she lifts first. ( This is madness, she told herself as shelifted the black-and-scarlet egg from the velvet. It will only crack and burn,and it’s so beautiful, Ser Jorah will call me a fool if I ruin it, and yet, andyet… Cradling the egg with both hands, she carried it to the fire and pushedit down amongst the burning coals. The black scales seemed to glow as theydrank the heat. Flames licked against the stone with small red tongues. Danyplaced the other two eggs beside the black one in the fire. ) Between thedreams and the following few pieces of evidence, we know her intent wasestablished early on.

i.“You will not hear me scream,” Mirri responded as the oil dripped from her hairand soaked her clothing. “I will,” Dany said, “but it is not your screams Iwant, only your life. I remember what you told me. Only death can pay for life.” Mirri Maz Duur opened her mouth, butmade no reply. As she stepped away, Dany saw that the contempt was gone fromthe maegi’s flat black eyes; in its place was something that might have beenfear. Then there was nothing to be donebut watch the sun and look for the first star.

ii.Jhogo spied it first. “There, “ he said in a hushed voice. Dany looked and sawit, low in the east. The first star was a comet, burning red. Bloodred; fire red; the dragon’s tail. Shecould not have asked for a stronger sign.

iii.She had sensed the truth of it long ago, Dany thought as she took a step closerto the conflagration, but the brazierhad not been hot enough.

Throughoutthe younger years of the dragon’s development, both book and show canon seemsto build the hatchlings to some degree, but it is Drogon we so often get moreof a glimpse into. Very often, it is Drogon who is perched on her shoulder ( ashe in in the arrival to Qarth ) or on her lap ( as he is when she is informed ofRobert Baratheon’s death ). We also know in the House of the Undying that it isDrogon who accompanies her, and who protects her and allows her to escape, inbook canon – and in show canon, that it is Drogon who is the first to respondto her command for fire in burning those who leave her in chains. By the timewe get to the Sack of Astapor, I think the fact it is Drogon who she offers upas part of her plan speaks volumes: she knows that he will respond to hercommand, and she knows that he will not hesitate to do so. By this point, it’s veryestablished that of all three dragons, he is the one already utilised the mostin her plans, and the one who she clearly gravitates to most centrally. 

Wethen reach the stages of Drogon’s rebellious years. Regardless of whether ornot he intended to burn the child – dragons are intelligent, he likely knewwhat he did – we can either read Drogon’s absence as one of two things. Eitherhe can tell that Daenerys is disappointed in him for what happened, or perhapshorrified with himself; or more likely, he knows that as much as Daenerys is onthe cusp of becoming a woman, she is notready to be his rider yet. I think the show gives us a really beautifulmoment here, where she reaches for him, and she is unsure and he flies away before she can touch him; he knows thatshe isn’t ready for him yet. By default, by this point I believe Drogon knew that she was supposed toride him – and that is confirmed when he comes to save her at the fightingpits. Now, here’s where I take issue with the books: the only way that I will acceptthe necessity of Drogon needing to be beaten into command is if he was truly soconfused and feral after months away that it took him several moments torecognise her. In my own canon, I do think the show had the better iterationhere: he trusted her, and their bond allowed her to mount him, because that waswhat he was born for.

Bythe time we get the first flight, it’s not the bond being formed: it’s thefinal step to formation. When we talk about dragon bonds, I think it means morethan a human and pet; dragons are intelligent, and they are magical. For them to bond with a humanmeans something special: Daenerys and Drogon are the literal entity ofsoulmates, because their souls were born to be connected. He is an ever present feeling at the back of her mind, and likewise, she is with him always, no matter how far apart they are. That goes deeper thanany love, any kind of familiar connection; they are part of each other, and this journey up until now was just aboutfinding their way to that point and establishing / building it.

- oo2. EMOTIONS /COMMUNICATION.

Drogon raised his head,blood dripping from his teeth. The hero leapt onto his back and drove the ironspearpoint down at the base of the dragon’s long scaled neck. Dany and Drogonscreamed as one.

Asan extension of the headcanon that they are soulmates, I think this reads verysimple as follows: they understand the emotions that the other is feeling. Theyfeel pain, that the other is feeling. It isn’t as tangible as Drogon gettinghurt and Daenerys aching in the same spot – but more that she feels that he is suffering, and there’s anoverwhelming desire to help. We get some of that again, from the show, where heis struck in 7.04 and her first instinct upon landing is to remove the spear –and even in the pain addled state of mind that follows for him, the moment shesees Jaime and we see her fear,Drogon responds. We get it again in 7.06, when Viserion is killed; on Dany’sface, we get shock, and though she is mourning clearly in the later parts ofthe episode, her reaction is reserved. For Drogon, whilst she is silent, he is screaming for his fallen sibling. Andyes, that be construed as part of his grief – but likely, it’s because he isfeeling for the both of them.And lastly, we get a beautiful moment of this in 8.03, when Dany is crying for Jorah, and Drogon’s response is to curl around her and coo to her. This isn’t a protective stance - the battle has ended, and he’s low, not on alert. He’s close to her, making soft noises, and that body language communicates comfort, not anything else. He feels her grief, and he feels it himself, and so he lays close to her to offer whatever he can.

Communicationbetween them is not quite so blatant as thinking commands to the other, butsimply instead, that they can sense what the other wants. Likely, Dany was idlychattering to Drogon before handing him to the Masters at the Sack of Astapor,because she knew he would know what to do without command. And though she talksto the dragons in Valyrian, it’s not a language they were likely born knowing (and if they did, likely, they knew others to ) – so more than likely, it’s notthe words that Drogon responds to, but the intent behind each of them. And thedeeper that bond goes, the more we see ( again, more viscerally on the show )that he responds without question – in executing enemies, or even in thegentleness by which he carries her, lets her down, by the way he bristles whenpeople disrespect her. The communication between them is far more primal andintimate than language; it’s spoken by hearts and minds forged together in theflames.

- oo3. FLIGHT NAVIGATION.

Again,an extension of the above, but when it comes to flight navigations, we have noneed here for the way that Daenerys commanded Drogon in the books ( The dragonlords of old Valyria hadcontrolled their mounts with binding spells and sorcerous horns. Daenerys madedo with a word and a whip. Mounted on the dragon’s back, she oft felt as if shewere learning to ride all over again. When she whipped her silver mare on herright flank the mare went left, for a horse’s first instinct is to flee fromdanger. When she laid the whip across Drogon’s right side he veered right, fora dragon’s first instinct is always to attack. Sometimes it did not seem tomatter where she struck him, though; sometimes he went where he would and tookher with him. Neither whip nor words could turn Drogon if he did not wish to beturned. The whip annoyed him more than it hurt him, she had come to see; hisscales had grown harder than horn. ) – this implies that Drogon needed tobe beat into submission, and while he was more stubborn and juvenile then, hewas still her intended and her bonded.

Sowhen we talk about flight navigation, my canon is as follows: they worktogether. Dany knows, mostly, where she wants to go – and Drogon knows how toget them there. For the most, he follows what she wants if it is specificallythe reason they’re travelling; but in situations in battles, etc, he will alsomove without need of command, always to protect his mother. The one (1) timethat she falls from him in my canon, it is not his fault, and he never forgiveshimself for it. Drogon’s flying style is rougherthan most other dragons would be – he’s large, he’s animalistic, and he’s nevertruly understood how fragile she is when it comes to him, because he perceiveshis mother as so strong. Hence why she cuts her hands from holding on, orbruises so badly from him thrashing around, or her thighs get cut from the wayshe grips his scales through her clothes. They work together, and for the mostpart, neither think twice about it.

- oo4. EXTERNALRELATIONSHIPS.

It’sas simple as this – if Daenerys doesn’t like someone, Drogon likely hates thatsomeone. In no world does he ever give a moment’s time to someone who she hasno connection with; which is why it can be construed that Drogon tolerates peoplelike Doreah, or Jorah, or Jon. Because of the emotional connection betweenthem, this transfers to the way he connects with people she loves: by default,he feels at the least some sort of loyalty, or urge to protect them. Firstly,this is because he knows that she cares for them, and that if anything happenedto them, she would be sad. Secondly, because he feels that emotion for themhimself as a result of the bond. And thirdly, because he has likely had somefurther interactions as a result, which formulate his own bond with themindependent of his mother’s emotions.

Withthat being said, there is never, ever a situation where Drogon would choseanother person over his mother. It doesn’t matter what she becomes or what shedoes to anyone else – no singular person, or groups of people are as importantas a rider to a dragon. And likewise, even if Daenerys were to have humanchildren, she would never stop viewing the dragons as her own children too, ortreating them as such. Those relationships, even to her, come beneath the bondshe has with Drogon. And even when it comes to the other dragons, she loves them with all of her heart, butshe will never feel the closeness she does with Drogon because he’s not just inher heart, he’s in her mind.

- oo5. IF EITHER DIED.

Lastly,talking about the potential of death for either of them. For dragons, theirlife span far outlasts their riders – and Daenerys hopes that long after she isgone, he will find someone ( in her own bloodline, or other ) whom he mightfeel that bond with. With that being said, she isn’t just his rider to him, butalso his mother, which means if shedied, that grief would transcend what a dragon might normally feel for theirrider’s death. Unlike what we see in the series finale, if someone were tocause her death, then regardless of who that person was to Drogon, he would nothold back his revenge from the person who took her from him – this bond is morethan a normal dragon and rider, he was bornto be with her, birthed by her, raised by her, and lived by her side forall of his life. This would be the first time he wouldn’t feel her with him, and that would cripple him, to know that hewould live for centuries with that presence void in his life.

Ifthe situation were flipped, and Drogon was lost to her, I believe Daeneryswould feel that grief on a physical level, as well as emotional. Drogon iswarmth and strength at the back of her mind and thoughts – she would not feelwarm again, without him there. Would never feel as strong, without him there.Would never be able to replicate that emotional bond with another being orentity, without him there. Would constantly be calling for him, constantlysearching for him in the skies. That would be a loss that she would never, everrecover from – and I believe in that instance, she would crave the reunion withhim in death, though she might not go so far as harming herself. It wouldtranscend her desire to see anyone else in the afterlife – she would be focusedexclusively on seeing her child again, and being with him again.

Havinga part of one’s soul ripped away would physically hurt, and that is what they would both feel.