#so dragon ivory would be worse probably | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hoe-doroki · 4 years ago

Text

We’ll See

Happy birthday, to my sweet boy, Kiri. Glad I managed to just barely get this out in time for you.

pairing: Kirishima x demisexual!fem!reader

genre: gen, light romance, light fluff, light comfort

word count: 6.3k

summary: After a fateful meeting where he saves you from a villain attack, you and Kirishima keep running into each other. And although he’s so nice, you only feel fear around the fact that he might be interested in you. Even though all you want is, for once, to let yourself be happy and maybe fall in love, you can’t seem to be able to. You just can’t.

a/n: I’ve been trying to think about what a comfort fic might look like for a demi reader because romance stories never match my lived experience and sometimes make me feel worse. I think I’ve finally managed something here. I hope this provides comfort to anyone who has difficult romantically/sexually for any reason, especially those of us who are acespec. My ask box is always open for acespec or similar requests as well. <3

edit: I no longer write x reader but here’s my old masterlist - mobile | desktop

For a moment, you thought it was hail. Little flecks of white—not quite white, really—falling from the sky at a more precipitous pace than snow, and bigger, more irregular. More dangerous.

Then, when you looked up, you didn’t know how you’d missed it.

You were always attentive when walking in the city, even in your Sisyphean commute to work: home, walk, train, walk, work, day after day. You held your bag close on your shoulder, had your pepper spray at the ready, and didn’t bother changing into heels until you got to the office. You always had your eyes on the surroundings, so, just before it happened, you could have told the cops that it had been a lovely spring day, white and pink flowers just beginning to bloom, but still jacket weather—not at all a day for hail. The streets had been congested with people just like you, all headed to work or school. The woman in front of you had been wearing a brightly striped sweater, standing out against the sea of black suits.

Then, concrete had begun raining down.

You looked up in time to see a slab from one of the old concrete buildings give way, suddenly casting shade right where you were standing. And the next thing you knew, you were on your back, and there was a man on top of you. Your first thought was that he must have been a dragon. Hard scales, sharp teeth, all jagged edges sharp enough to scratch grooves into the pavement below. He could kill you in an instant.

His arms were caged around you covered in fabric. But upon closer look at his exposed neck, you saw he didn’t have scales; his skin was like rock. Rocks that hadn’t yet been touched by the erosion of wind or water. They were new ones that were unbroken.

It took a moment of stillness, a moment of him trembling under the weight of the concrete wall for you to realize he wasn’t here to brutalize you—he was saving you. And when you realized that, your brain snapped into focus. There was chaos around you—you could hear the screams. Maybe they were civilians who were worried that you’d just been flattened to a pancake, but maybe they had greater fears than that. There was probably a villain on the loose, and this hero was wasting his time on you—just one person.

“Go!” you shouted, making eye contact with him for the first time. Red eyes like uncut rubies encased in cracked ivory. “I’ll be fine!”

For a moment, he struggled to lift the broken remnant of the building off of you both, but then you honed your focus. You stared at the concrete and it lifted off of the hero’s back, watched as his shoulders settled in relief. He looked at you in confusion for a second, taking in your furrowed brow and tense mouth, frozen body. Then, he took you in his arms and carried you to safety before you gasped, and the concrete fell with a smash.

He left you gasping on the sidewalk and ran into the fray, where it looked like a villain with a power-up quirk had crashed through the office building onto the sidewalk, where they were now wreaking havoc.

Someone offered a hand to help you up and you took it. Telekinesis always took a lot out of you, especially when an object was as heavy as, oh, say, a side of a building, but you shook it off as best you could, just focusing on getting your breathing under you.

More pro heroes were turning up, either drawn by the noise or the masses of pedestrians fleeing the area. The latter of which was exactly what you should have been doing.

But you couldn’t.

You’d never desired to be a pro hero. Yeah, you admired them, but as a job it sounded, well, awful? Seeking out trouble, always in danger of major corporeal damage, a constant target on your back—you’d never be able to handle the stress. You desired consistency in your life and, even if it wasn’t saving the world, an office job gave you that. Still, you’d always told yourself that if you even found yourself in a situation where you could help, where your quirk would be useful and it would be a net gain for you to stay instead of run, you would help. It was your duty.

Awfully hard to live up to when the situation actually came, though.

“Get out of here!” you said to the guy who’d helped you up as you staggered forward, hands on your knees. You were fine, you were standing. You didn’t have to fight—you absolutely shouldn’t fight—but if there was anyone who needed your help, you’d provide it.

As you pushed yourself up straight, the guy threw you one last look and then joined the crowd running from the scene while you stood, planted in it.

The fight was moving away from the building as multiple heroes took on the one huge villain, whose club-like arms were able to send them flying back before anyone could restrain him. But that was perfect. The building was still crumbling and you could check if anyone was stuck.

As you got closer, it looked as though you’d been the one hit by the biggest piece of debris—which, frankly, was a miracle. You were likely the one person in the crowd with any chance of surviving that, and the red-eyed hero had been there to save you anyway. But there was a lamppost that had been knocked over, thankfully pulled out of the ground so you could hold your breath and levitate it, vision just turning black around the edges as you dropped it harmlessly back to the ground. The victim likely had a broken leg, but some others managed to haul them out of the fray and hopefully to a hospital. One person saved.

The move left you capsized, back on your knees as you blinked color back into your vision. Fortunately, there wasn’t too much rubble—not yet, anyway—so all else there was to do was find a couple of the people who’d been knocked down or injured and send them out of the line of fire to where someone else could take care of them. You could use your quirk to keep back, not have to get too dangerously close to the fray in order to help these people. So you did your best to stay in the shadows of the punched-out building where there’d be no attention on you. Each time left you strained, but not broken. You just needed a little rest, and then you could keep moving.

You’d fallen to hands and knees after the last person, wheezing greedy gulps of dusty air. It felt like there were hands around your chest, squeezing palms against your heart and thick fingers against your throat. You weren’t practiced enough with your quirk to move this many heavy things successively, but you’d also never overused your quirk before. Never had to. You didn’t know where the line was, but so long as you were conscious, you’d keep moving.

But you felt lightheaded. The weight was suddenly off of your knees and wrists and you wondered if you were about to faint. Suddenly, the you felt a new compression around your waist as you were flipped upright, and you opened your eyes, looking down to see gray, damp skin pressed against your middle, and your feet dangling off the ground.

Oh, shit.

This was why civilians weren’t supposed to get involved when villains were around. You could become a liability for the heroes. Now they wouldn’t be able to fight all out against the villain, because you were effectively a meat shield. A hostage.

This wasn’t a net gain. Sure, you’d saved a handful of people, but now the villain couldn’t be caught. They had more power than just their quirk—they had leverage.

You thought quickly. You weren’t going to be the reason these heroes’ mission failed. You needed to take control of the situation so that no one else would get hurt. You needed to get the net gain back on your side.

You closed your eyes and took a couple breaths. After one last big one, you sent the villain up in the air, and you with it. As your ears began to ring, the last thing you heard were worried cries rumbling out from the chest you were pressed against. You felt the air as you both rose up in the sky, and then their arms loosened around you.

And then, you began to fall.

The next thing you heard was beeping. Gentle, even beeping to the rhythm of your gentle, even breaths. You weren’t heaving, weren’t gasping anymore. You must have been feeling better.

You took a breath and tried to push yourself up, instantly regretting it as your ears began to ring. Again. Suddenly, you remembered where you’d just been, what you’d just done.

Ugh, you were an idiot.

“Woah, you okay?”

You cracked your eyes open and saw a man in front of you. Definitely not a doctor, if his total lack of a shirt was anything to go by. You could feel your heartbeat in both ears, pulsing like a rock concert and waking up a headache you hadn’t realized you had. You closed your eyes and relaxed back down again.

“I’m okay,” you tried, but your voice came out all raspy. You wondered if dust had come out with it, expelling like smoke from your dry lungs.

“Here, let me get you some water.”

You blinked your eyes open and saw a straw being held up to your lips. You craned your neck up enough to purse your lips around it and took a small sip. Better.

The man in front of you had strange cuffs on his shoulders and something almost like a cape around his waist. But when you saw the wire piece around his face, you were finally able to place him.

“You’re the rock dragon,” you said.

The man laughed and you saw how young he was. When he’d been in his rocky form he could have been any age. No wrinkles or actual hair to go by. But now it was obvious that he was likely in his early twenties, just like you. Impressive for him to be a hero.

“Rock dragon?” he echoed. “I’ll take that.”

“Did you guys get the villain?”

That’s all you wanted to know. It didn’t really matter what had happened to you—evidently you were in one piece, so it was all but irrelevant.

The hero nodded. “They’re locked up, not too many major injuries on the scene. Thanks to you.”

“Urgh,” you groaned. “I’m so sorry. Usually I don’t do stuff like that.”

“Stuff like what?” he asked. “Save the day?”

“No, just…” You were glowing under his praise, but you didn’t want to. What you’d done had been idiotic and so easily could have gone sideways. More so than it seemed like it had. “I’m not usually so impulsive.”

“Must be good to know that you have good impulses then,” he said. “Although, I gotta ask, what was your plan there at the end?”

Plan? There hadn’t been any plan, and judging by his cheeky smile, bumping one cheekbone up against his wire mask, he realized that.

“I figured if I levitated that villain, then they wouldn’t be able to do any damage to anyone except me,” you said. “Of course, then there were a million questions about what could happen after, but the worst case scenario was that only both of us got hurt.”

“Very self-sacrificing,” he said. “You should be a hero. Although, we usually have to get the self-sacrificing impulses beat out of us a bit. But still, you’ve got the quirk for it. I have a friend who’s got a similar one. The world would love you.”

“No,” you said, shaking your head and feeling your brain slap against each side of your skull. “I think this was my first and last foray.”

He clutched his heart jokingly. “Oof, really one to break hearts, aren’t you?”

You froze. Suddenly the pulse that had been between your ears and behind your eyes moved back to your chest and was squeezing uncomfortably. Had he been saying that flirtatiously? Was it a joke you were just taking too seriously? Did this guy just use his hero costume to lay a bunch of girls and you should be kicking him out before he got any ideas?

“I’m really not,” you mumbled, reaching for the water glass again and drinking from it yourself. You felt the tug of an IV hooked up to your arm and you were only part way through the drip. You were stuck, unable to go anywhere until it was done. The good news was, your limbs felt generally fine. Just a little stiff and achy. The only real pain was in your head—the aftermath of using a psychic quirk.

“No,” Kirishima agreed. “You seem too nice for that. And, hero or not, the world was really lucky to have you today. So I just wanted to thank you for helping and, you know, make sure you were okay.”

“I think I’m okay,” you said.

“That’s what the doctor said,” he confirmed. “I’m just glad I caught you.”

So that’s what had happened. You weren’t sure if you’d passed out before or after the villain had landed, but you remembered focusing on trying to lower them to the ground slowly before everything had gone black. But you couldn’t use your telekinesis on yourself, so you’d resigned yourself to plunging to the ground. Not that you’d had much time to make peace with it.

“Sorry you had to save me twice,” you mumbled.

“I’ll save you as many times as I need to.”

Okay, that definitely felt like flirting. His smile was so open and genuine—he didn’t look like a fuckboy, but it didn’t matter. You didn’t want him interested in you, even if he was a hero. Even if he was attractive. Even if he was nice. You couldn’t deal with it. So you put the water back and pursed your lips awkwardly, unsure what to say.

“Oh, I’m Red Riot, by the way,” he said, extending a hand towards you.

You took it, feeling how callused his hand was. It wasn’t hard, like it had looked back when he’d been made of rock and gemstone, but had the feel of a fighter. Yours were soft as a baby’s. “Y/N,” you said.

“I know,” Red Riot said with a grin—his teeth were sharp even when he wasn’t transformed. “We found your ID in your wallet when you were being admitted. So you’re not a Jane Doe.”

“Oh.”

You supposed that was comforting. If you had fallen and broken every bone in your body, at least your family would have found out.

Your attention was diverted when someone walked into your room—a woman in a white coat and definitely wearing a shirt. This must be the doctor.

“Red Riot, you were supposed to press the button when she woke up,” the doctor chastised, though her voice was light.

“Sorry, doc, I was just seeing if she was lucid,” he said with a grin. “She remembers her name and everything that happened.”

“Right,” the doctor said, not looking especially amused. Still, there was a friendly energy between the two of them, and you wondered if heroes had close relationships with hospital staff. They probably found themselves in hospitals often enough—it would make sense. “That will be all, Red Riot.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, standing up from the folding chair he’d been planted in and pushing it against the wall. Then he turned back to you. “I really can’t thank you enough for what you did today. You’re a really good person.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” you said, not sure what to do with the praise.

“Anytime.”

He waved and gave you one last smile before heading back, returning to duty. And as you were able to breathe easy again, answering the doctor’s routine questions and making sure that you actually were okay, it felt like Red Riot’s lingering smile never left.

The first thing you learned afterwards was that most ‘life-changing’ events weren’t actually life changing. They confirmed what they confirmed in your worldview, but, largely, life went on as normal. Like, now you knew for sure that you were the kind of person who could act in a crisis. But that was the story you’d been telling yourself before too, so what was the difference? After your day of heroics—and a day of rest, necessitated by the doctor—you went back to work and life became about staring at numbers on a screen once again.

Some of your coworkers asked about what the rescue had been like—apparently bits and pieces had reached the news, and there’d been footage of Red Riot and the others, but thankfully nothing official about you. They were suddenly very interested in your quirk—your quirk had never been a bad one, but you’d never made a habit of talking about it. And they wanted to know about the heroes.

Apparently, Red Riot was a name that some people knew. You didn’t tend to watch news about heroes and villains—you didn’t figure you needed to know much more than a bit of politics and the weather in your day to day—but those who did knew who Red Riot was. He was a rising star in the hero rankings and had graduated a few years ago from an apparently notorious class at U.A.

Even you knew what U.A. was.

You told everyone he was very nice but that you didn’t know much else. You hadn’t talked to any of the other heroes and if wasn’t like you were besties with Red Riot now. You didn’t even know his real name. Or you hadn’t, until some of your more eager coworkers informed you it was Kirishima Eijirou.

But…you didn’t like the questions. You didn’t like people asking you about how attractive or fit he was, people talking about how in love with him they were, as if you should be drooling and agreeing. Because, nice as the boy was, you didn’t feel that way. A pretty face was a pretty face and a kind soul was a kind soul. But you didn’t have a crush because, well, you almost never had crushes.

And the reminder of that, how different you were from your fantasy-having, simpering peers made you remember just how alone you were. How without those feelings, playful though they were, you felt like you would always be alone. Destined to shy away whenever a sweet boy flirted with you, to say no whenever one asked you out, to cry in your too-large bed on the days where you couldn’t convince yourself that just because you’d always been single, didn’t mean you always would be.

The second thing you learned was that, in actuality, life was always changing. Down to a simple train ride.

Public transit was one of your favorite things about living in the city. Sure, waiting for trains was irritating when you were running late, but you loved that on your morning commute you could read a book or do work instead of staring at a license plate in front of you, trying not to shout into gridlocked traffic.

You always made a habit of pausing your reading the stop before yours, just so that you could double check that your bag was tucked close, still zipped, and that all of your belongings were still on your person. You didn’t like fumbling with a bookmark and your purse just as the doors were opening and stumbling out, hoping you hadn’t left something on the seat—on the days that you were lucky enough to get a seat, that was. This time you’d been stuck, pressed against the window at the back of the car, but, when the stop before yours came, you put your book away and began pushing toward the door.

When the doors pinged open, you were one of the first ones out, flooding onto the platform as a crowd eagerly waited to take your spot, the train destined to stay full until sundown. You’d almost made it out of the station when you heard your name shouted above the din of the train pulling away.

You turned back abruptly, forcing the people behind you to split around you as you wondered if you’d made it up, heard a phantom voice without a source. But then you saw someone pushing through the crowd toward you, sharp grin present on his face.

His torso was hidden under a graphic tee, appropriate for how much warmer the weather had gotten in the past few weeks, but you’d recognize him anywhere. Really, even if you hadn’t had the reminders of people shoving phones with his picture in your face, he was unmistakable from his hair to his eyes to his teeth.

“Red Riot?” you said with surprise, noticing that he was getting a few stares from passersby.

“Ah, you can call me Kirishima,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Red Riot’s just the guy in the uniform.”

“What are you doing here?” you asked, wondering if this man, Kirishima, was going to be imprinting himself on all ends of your commute by the end of the year.

“Day off with my friends.”

Kirishima gestured behind him at a few other people, visible now that the station was thinning out. There was a scowling blond who looked vaguely familiar—probably another hero—two other boys and a pink girl with horns.

“You’re coming home from work?”

You looked down. You were one of the youngest people in the office, so you always tried hard to look the part by dressing as professionally as possible in a button-down and slacks. It definitely stood out against his friends’ casual wear. “Guess it’s pretty obvious, huh?”

Kirishima nodded and you wondered if this was your cue to leave. Cool to see you again, bro, but I’ve got a hot date with Netflix and some leftovers, so why don’t you and your friends enjoy a real Friday night while I begin my descent into my final crotchety cat lady persona?

“Kiri’s told us all about your awesome quirk,” the pink girl said, dark eyes sparkling. “He said you were really brave.”

“And he told us how pretty you were, but man, he didn’t do you justice,” one of the boys—the blond who wasn’t frowning—said.

You bit your lip. The praise was flattering but…uncomfortable. The boy’s brows were raised in what could be interpreted as a suggestive manner, and you wondered what Kirishima had said. Something like She was really brave, cool quirk, kinda cute too or Next time I see her I wanna tap that ass.

Honestly, they made you about equally uncomfortable.

“Cut it out, Kaminari,” Kirishima said, having the decency to flush a little bit. “Listen, we were just going to go to the park and hang out if you wanted to come along?”

“Oh, I…”

You glanced at his friends. All of them—except the one—were smiling and looked like friendly, genuine people. And you usually did like hanging out with people when you actually got up the gumption to do so.

But…your mind was always ready to supply you with a lot of ‘buts.’

But, you’d just gotten off work, looked like an idiot in your slacks and needed to get changed.

But, it was uncomfortable to be in a group where everyone knew each other but you.

But, what if any of these boys were interested in you and tried to get with you?

The last thought always felt so stupid—who did you think you were to assume that any man who looked at you might be thinking about you in that way? Not that you honestly assumed they did, but you feared it. And that didn’t feel much less stupid, to be honest.

“That’s really nice of you,” you said, putting extra cheer and enthusiasm in your voice so it didn’t sound so much like a rejection. “But I haven’t had dinner and work was rough, so I don’t think I’d make a very good impression.”

“Oh, no worries!” Kirishima said, his voice holding the same false merriment as yours. Or maybe you were projecting and he was being totally genuine. “Maybe next time.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, managing a laugh. “If you manage to catch me on another part of my commute—and there’s no villain involved—I’ll make sure to say hey.”

“All right, Y/N,” Kirishima said as he and his friends began to walk on. “I’m counting on it.”

And the third thing you learned was something you’d actually known for a long time. When things changed, usually they changed slowly.

You’d only said what you’d said to Kirishima last time because you figured there was no way in hell you’d be seeing him again. After all, it was a big city with hundreds of thousands of residents, and it wasn’t exactly like accountants and pro heroes ran in the same spheres.

But it seemed life was getting a kick out of keeping you to your word these days.

It was a weekend and you’d actually managed to leave your apartment to hang out with friends. As predicted, you actually did have a good time, though that didn’t keep you from dipping out early—mostly because you were never excited about heading home alone at night. So, purse clutched close to your side, you walked through the streets, reassuringly lit by friendly lampposts and the many bars that were still open.

When you saw the shocking head of red hair, you thought your brain was making up. Because why would he be here, walking the streets on your route home again?

Judging by his shirtless state, it was because he was on patrol. Which, you know, made sense.

It didn’t take him long to spot you. Because while you were attentive—and especially alert, since it was after dark—he was a hero. Trained not to miss a thing.

His face brightened at the sight of you and he jogged over.

“Y/N!” he said. “I thought you were gonna say hello next time you saw me.”

“I said on my commute,” you quipped, feeling the burn of awkwardness that he’d caught you looking at him. “I thought heroes needed to be detail-oriented.”

“Touché,” he said. “Well, it seems you’re spared again. Can’t hang out while I’m working.”

“But you can do this?” you asked, gesturing between the two of you.

Kirishima grinned. “Of course! This is just me building a relationship with the citizens!”

You didn’t know if that was a thing or not, but it sounded legit enough for you. At the very least, it you were in no place to accuse Kirishima of not being good at his job.

“So, I know why I’m here,” Kirishima continued. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, I was just hanging out with friends,” you said. “Heading home now.”

“But that stop that we got off at a few weeks back,” he said. “That’s the stop for your house, right? That’s still pretty far from here.”

Ah, so he was attentive. You had to give him points for that, even if the fact that he’d paid so much attention made you feel…squirmy. Your flight reflexes were humming under your skin, waiting for the moment he said something that made you think too close, too far, too soon.

“I feel safer walking,” you said, subconsciously gripping onto your purse’s strap.

Some people felt safer taking the train home in the evening, but even if it doubled, tripled the length of the trip, you preferred being in a space where you could run away if necessary. And in the city, there were always potential witnesses outside, if you were ever to need them.

Kirishima’s brows furrowed a bit. “Do you want me to walk you? I can go with you at least to the end of my beat.”

The humming increased. His offer was gentlemanly, chivalrous. It reminded you of old-timey courting—and you were being crazy. You didn’t want to walk home alone and a hero was offering to accompany you part way. You ignored your nerves “That would be really sweet, thank you.”

So you walked and talked. He had more to say about your quirk and you told him that you’d never had much interest in them. Rather, you were an accountant who worked nine to five and quite happy living a quiet life with modest success. You didn’t need a lot—certainly not fame or recognition—and you were mostly content. You didn’t mention the chronic loneliness or bouts of fear around dying alone, but that was how you got by. Loneliness was something you were always trying to outrun, and most days you managed to. Letting it catch up and thinking about it never made you feel better and talking about it rarely did either. It was something you felt powerless to change, so the best thing you could do was try to be happy with the rest of your life and hope for the best.

“I’ll admit, the fame is pretty different in real life from what you think it’ll be as a teenager,” Kirishima said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” you said. “I thought about famous bands and stuff and even when I was a kid I didn’t want the kind of notoriety that they have.”

“I’m not sure I ever wanted that either,” Kirishima said. “I just wanted people to look up to me the way I looked up to Crimson Riot. And now that I’m starting to have that, I like that people can rely on me, even if they don’t know me personally.”

You smiled. “That’s a pretty nice way to look at it.”

“You think?”

“I do.” You nodded. “I can see you on the street and feel safer for your being there.”

Kirishima’s shark teeth showed through his smile. “That’s exactly why I’m allowed to talk to you during my patrol.”

“I see,” you said, beginning to think that there was a lot more to heroes than you’d thought.

“Speaking of which,” he said. “I’d love to take you all the way home, but I can’t abandon my post. And this is kind of the end of it.”

You looked at where you were, about to cross a major intersection. You wondered if there was a hero on the other side who would be happy to walk you to the edge of their patrol too.

“No, thank you so much for walking with me this far,” you said. “You didn’t have to do that and it was really sweet.”

“I was happy to do it!” he insisted. You moved to keep going, about to wave your hand in goodbye when he said, “Wait!”

You stopped, heart beating loudly. Flight, flight, flight.

“I was wondering if you’d like to hang out sometime?” he said, a hint of nervousness and hope on his face. Too much hope. “On purpose, you know?”

“Oh,” you said, wishing you could go back in time. Wishing you could have left faster or maybe not even walked with him, even though the walk had been pleasant and comforting. Wishing you were a different person entirely. “I, um, can’t.”

“Oh, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, the nerves eclipsing the hope. “If so, I’m really sorry if it seemed like I was assu—”

“No, no, I don’t have a boyfriend,” the words almost pulling a wry laugh out of you. A sardonic choke. “I just…I don’t really date.”

“Oh,” Kirishima said again, short brows scrunching in confusion. “Um, sorry, and you don’t have to answer but…what do you mean?”

“I’m on the asexuality spectrum?” you began, hating how apologetic the words sounded. Hating that you couldn’t seem to find a way to be proud of your sexuality, that you could only wear it as a burden. “I’m demisexual. Which means that I can’t feel attracted to people that I barely know. So dating is just…really hard.”

Kirishima’s brows raised. “So…you need to get to know people really well before you’d even be interested?” he asked slowly, clarifying.

“Yeah,” you said. ��Very…slow burn.”

“So you’re saying,” he continued, his face becoming warm with a smile again, “that I’d have to see you more often before seeing you officially.”

“Oh, yeah, uh, not that simple,” you said, nervous and confused that he hadn’t let it go yet. “I don’t casual date either. Like, I wouldn’t want someone showing interest in me and then dating other people while they wait to see if I come around. Which I know isn’t fair. Basically, seeing me would be a lot of risk for potentially no reward, because even if we do spend time together, I might never like you. So, yeah, you understand the dilemma.”

The concern was back on his face, and, somehow, your entire urge to flee went away. You’d scared him off, and there was some comfort in that. Sure, maybe it was running away from your problems, but you were able to trick yourself into thinking it was the mature thing to do because you were telling the truth. You were being honest about what the situation was.

“So this really is hard for you.” There was compassion in his voice that took you aback. That wasn’t him running. That wasn’t him being scared off.

“Um, yeah, it kinda sucks,” you said.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Kirishima said, and you thought, hoped that would be the end of it. But he kept going. “But, honestly, spending more time with you sounds like a really nice thing, even without any expectations or anything on it.”

Some boys had made this offer in the past. And it sounded nice on paper, but no matter what you did, you couldn’t remove the expectations in your mind. The fact that you knew why they’d looked at you in the first place, what they were looking for, and that you were still in a position to lead them on. You always made it so hard for yourself, even though you just wanted with everything in your heart for it to be easy.

“And, just so you know,” Kirishima said, glancing down shyly, “I don’t date a lot either. I’m not sure what kind of impression I’ve given off, but really, I don’t have that much time because of this career, and the time that I do I try to spend with my friends. So, it would make more sense to, you know, try and do that anyway. I just…as a hero, I often see the worst of people and so I want to spend all my other time with good ones. And you seem like a really good person.”

“I…” You had one last shot. One last thing to show the worst of yourself and see if he’d turn around on you. “When I’ve tried dating before, I’m not the best version of myself. I get really uncomfortable, so I treat people in a way that’s less than they deserve. I don’t think you’d like that version of me.”

“It’s a good thing we wouldn’t be dating then,” Kirishima said. “Just…two friends trying to become better people.”

You were at war with yourself. He was saying all the right things but you were still so scared. Of someone liking you when you couldn’t like them. Of you falling for them after they’d put you in the friend zone. Of falling in love and it not working out. Of falling in love and getting everything.

“How about this,” Kirishima said. “I’ll be here tomorrow—my shift starts at six. And if we happen to bump into each other by accident, well, that seems to be our pattern, so how bad could it be?”

You smiled, having a quick response for that one. “I could be held hostage by a villain, pass out, and need you to take me to the hospital.”

“Well, at least we know we can get out of that one.”

“I suppose so,” you said. It was casual. It was literally the lowest stakes invitation you’d ever heard in your life. If you couldn’t say yes to this, then what were you doing? “I…okay. I might see you tomorrow.”

He grinned at you and you became immediately convinced that his cheer was totally genuine. He was just a happy guy, and maybe nothing he said had any innuendo or hidden meaning to it. It probably never had. “Is it okay if I give you my number? I just want to know that you get home safe.”

In the bright lights of the busy street, you’d almost forgotten that it was quickly becoming the middle of the night, and that you’d had such unease when you’d first stepped out into it. You’d felt totally safe for a minute, even in this strange world you lived in.

“Okay,” you said. “If I’m not home in twenty minutes, you have permission to get worried.”

“I’ll send a search party,” he said. “I know a guy.”

You laughed. “Sounds good. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise…”

“Tomorrow.”

“We’ll see.”

He nodded. “We’ll see.”

It was half a promise, the start of a maybe friendship. It was probably nothing at all, you had to remind yourself for the whole walk home, otherwise you might go crazy with nerves.

But, also, it might be good.

Time would only tell.

#kirishima x reader #bnha x reader #acespec #acespec fiction #acespec fic #demisexual fiction #demisexual fic #bnha lgbt #kirishima imagine #kirishima imagines #eijirou kirishima x reader #bnha imagine #bnha imagines #mha imagine #mha imagines

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aboveallarescuer · 5 years ago

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[IMPORTANT] Dany’s tenure in Meereen - Her concessions & Why she is a true queen

I would say that this is the meta I'm the most proud of. I originally started to write it as part of the series of metas showing how Dany assesses the council she receives and makes her own choices (and it can still be considered as such), but I made it its own post because, modesty aside, I think this is a very important meta.

It dissects the recurring questions that Dany had to deal with (and that ultimately led to a false peace), how Dany is unfairly blamed for the slavers' actions and the many reasons why she is a true queen (in the sense of being one who "protects the ones who can't protect themselves"). It's probably the most comprehensive meta about not only her political situation in ADWD, but also about how and why she makes the decisions that she makes during her tenure in Meereen. I really recommend that you read it.

I didn't include, however, her decisions concerning the conflicts inside her city; I have already written a whole separate meta for them.

List of contents

0) Note on my classification of Dany's motivations

1) Recurring and/or major questions that Dany has to answer

2) Dany's ultimate choices

3) The consequences of Dany's choices and her reactions

4) Which problems are the masters' responsibility, not Dany's

5) Mhysa and mother of dragons: why both identities are fallible and how, like with her successes, Dany's failures are tied to her tendency to take responsibility

6) Why Dany is a good queen

Note on my classification of Dany's motivations

I'm putting this note in the beginning to avoid confusion from anyone who reads this meta. "Peace", "freedmen" and "empathy" can seem like interchangeable motivations, so let me explain what I mean with each of these words:

Peace: That's Dany's prime concern during her tenure and will concern decisions made to avoid further carnage or any sort of dissension. Examples include her decision to not aid the Butcher King and to marry Hizdahr.

Freedmen: This refers to moments where Dany made choices that wouldn't be convenient to her attempts to merge with the Meereenese slaves, but that were still in the freedmen's best interests. Examples include her staunch refusal to reopen the fighting pits.

Empathy: This refers solely to her decision to allow the freedmen who want to sell themselves back into slavery to do so. I made one category for that one action alone because a) even if it was a decision made to restore social harmony, its primary concern was the slaves' plight (hence why she imposed a tax on the slavers for the benefit of the city) rather than any attempt to merge with the Meereenese slavers and supress discord (so it doesn't fit "Peace") and b) despite her noble intentions, I would argue that it was ultimately not the right one for them (for reasons I detailed below), so it doesn't fit "Freedmen" either.

Herself: This refers to decisions that Dany makes thinking of her own needs and desires. One could argue that her attempts to restore order in Meereen are based on her desires, but they are not rooted in self-interest, but rather selflessness. This is for the choices that Dany made primarily based on her benefit. The only examples are her postponement of the choice of a husband and her refusal to allow Hizdahr's mother and sisters to inspect her womb.

This classification is not intended to imply that Dany's decisions have mutually exclusive purposes. It is true, for instance, that Dany's decisions to merge with the nobles are primarily motivated by her desire to "protect the ones who can't protect themselves"; even so, they will be classified as "peace" rather than "freedmen".

I think that categorizing them that way reinforces that many of Dany's choices unwittingly focused on a peace that benefitted the slavers rather than the freedmen. This, in turn, reinforces that the peace she tried to create was no true peace (which is the main lesson of her ADWD storyline).

Recurring and/or major questions that Dany has to answer

As I said above, not every decision that Dany made in her tenure will be examined in this section. The ones regarding the city's protection have been dissected in this meta. Others, such as her measures to revive the city's economy and her choice to confine and chain her dragons inside a pit, will be discussed in later sections of this meta.

I especially recommend reading questions 4, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 15.

ASOS Daenerys VI

Question 1: Do I end Meereen’s neutrality? (by helping Astapor against Yunkai)

Advice from: Ghael.

Dany’s answer: No.

Motivation: Peace.

“Two have presented themselves to bask in your radiance. [...] They arrived in the night on the Indigo Star, a trading galley out of Qarth.”

A slaver, you mean. Dany frowned. “Who are they?” 

“The Star’s master and one who claims to speak for Astapor.”

“I will see the envoy first.” (ASOS Daenerys VI)

It's always nice to see Dany undermining the slavers for the sake of the freedmen (something she will do again in her first chapter of ADWD when she chooses to give the former slaves and the former masters equal attention). Here, even if that's not what ultimately happens (because Ghael is actually representing another slaver), Dany did have the intention to favor the former slaves - she assumes that the council of freedmen she had left was still in power, which is why she would rather listen to the Astapori envoy first instead of the trader captain (who she acknowledges as a slaver).

Dany questions why her council was deposed in favor of King Cleon, which his envoy Ghael claims to have been a result of the council members' supposed alliance with the Good Masters. Missandei tells Dany that Cleon was a butcher owned by Grazdan mo Ullhor. Dany feels disgusted for having given (as she sees it, though she wasn't directly responsible for it) Astapor "a butcher king", but she hides her discontent and asks Ghael what he wants. In the name of Great Cleon, he proposes an alliance between Meereen and Astapor against Yunkai to be sealed with a marriage. These are Dany's responses:

“I swore no harm would come to Yunkai if they released their slaves,” said Dany. (ASOS Daenerys VI)

Dany found herself bereft of words, but little Missandei came to her rescue. “Did his first wife give him sons?”

The envoy looked at her unhappily. “Great Cleon has three daughters by his first wife. Two of his newer wives are with child. But he means to put all of them aside if the Mother of Dragons will consent to wed him.”

“How noble of him,” said Dany. “I will consider all you’ve said, my lord.” (ASOS Daenerys VI)

As Dany will later learn, Ghael is not wrong to warn her against the threat that Yunkai represents. However, because Dany is feeling terribly guilty about what happened during the sack of Meereen, she chooses not to take part in any war for now (hoping against hope that the Yunkish will leave her alone if that's what she does).

Question 2: Do I let the Meereenese sell themselves back into slavery if they want to?

Advice from: Missandei, Daario.

Dany’s answer: Yes, under some conditions.

Motivation: Empathy.

After Ghael leaves, Dany receives the trader captain. Like she once did with Kraznys and Missandei, she confirms if Ghael's information is accurate. Unfortunately, the situation in Astapor seems to be even worse than Ghael's report, which prompts this reaction from Dany:

The thing that surprised Dany most was how unsurprised she was. She found herself remembering Eroeh, the Lhazarene girl she had once tried to protect, and what had happened to her. It will be the same in Meereen once I march, she thought. The slaves from the fighting pits, bred and trained to slaughter, were already proving themselves unruly and quarrelsome. They seemed to think they owned the city now, and every man and woman in it. Two of them had been among the eight she’d hanged. There is no more I can do, she told herself. (ASOS Daenerys VI)

That Eroeh is being brought up here reinforces just how much Dany blames herself. Not only has Eroeh fueled both Dany's desire for vengeance and justice (which feed off each other rather than being mutually exclusive) before, she's perhaps the biggest example (in Dany's mind) of her failure to protect innocent lives. Now, even after her best efforts, it feels like the same has just happened (and will get even worse when/if she leaves).

I made this point before, however, and will make it again - yes, her actions indirectly caused these problems in Astapor, but the choices were ultimately made by Cleon. He was the one who enslaved highborn boys to become Unsullied and his actions were the ones that led to the chaos, the political unrest and the economy's collapse in the city. Dany did make a mistake for not leaving a garrison to guarantee that the council she chose wouldn't be overthrown, but she is not responsible for the atrocities that happened later.

The captain wants slaves to sell in Lys and Volantis, which Dany refuses at first, only to be informed by Daario that many Meereenese want to be sold in the Free Cities to be "tutors, scribes, bed slaves, even healers and priests" and potentially find a more comfortable lifestyle.

Disillusioned by the news of Astapor, Dany relents under certain conditions:

“I see.” Perhaps it was not so shocking, if these tales of Astapor were true. Dany thought a moment. “Any man who wishes to sell himself into slavery may do so. Or woman.” She raised a hand. “But they may not sell their children, nor a man his wife.” (ASOS Daenerys VI)

After listening to Missandei's advice, Dany also decides to impose a tax on the price of the slaves to help to fortify Meereen:

“In Astapor the city took a tenth part of the price, each time a slave changed hands,” Missandei told her.

“We’ll do the same,” Dany decided. Wars were won with gold as much as swords. “A tenth part. In gold or silver coin, or ivory. Meereen has no need of saffron, cloves, or zorse hides.” (ASOS Daenerys VI)

Daario offers to have the Stormcrows collect the tenth, but Dany is rightly wary of them and tasks freedmen to keep records of the gold (which highlights that she's not taking that money for her own self-gratification):

If the Stormcrows saw to the collections at least half the gold would somehow go astray, Dany knew. But the Second Sons were just as bad, and the Unsullied were as unlettered as they were incorruptible. “Records must be kept,” she said. “Seek among the freedmen for men who can read, write, and do sums.” (ASOS Daenerys VI)

This was not Dany's best decision; slavery ends not only with economic reforms, but also cultural ones in order to change the freedmen's outlook on their alternatives and their own dignity. Still, we need to have in mind that she is aiming to restore harmony in a short period of time (which is ultimately in vain, but still a sympathetic effort nonetheless). Even more so, we must take Dany's youth and inexperience into consideration, as well as the fact that trying to help the former slaves solely for their own sake already makes her a more commendable ruler than most of the others in this series by leaps and bounds. Finally, we should have in mind, as this meta by @yendany shows, that Dany's decision was aided by Missandei, a former slave herself. This highlights how it was made with the best interests of the marginalized group in mind; the tax will, after all, be used to revitalize the city and guarantee that slavery remains abolished.

ADWD Daenerys I

Question 3: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by using the tokar)?

Advice from: the Green Grace, Brown Ben.

Dany’s answer: Yes.

Motivation: Peace.

Dany's dislike of the tokar was clear even back in ASOS:

His left hand held the tokar in place as he walked, while his right clasped a short leather whip. (ASOS Daenerys II)

All wrapped themselves in tokars, a garment permitted only to freeborn men of Astapor. (ASOS Daenerys III)

"You swore I should have safe conduct!" the Yunkish envoy wailed.

"Do all the Yunkai'i whine so over a singed tokar? (ASOS Daenerys IV)

Indeed, the tokar was so strongly associated with slavery in Dany's mind that she ordered the Unsullied to kill those holding a whip and wearing a tokar:

“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.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

That's the emotional baggage she is carrying when her first impulse is to ban the tokar. She backpedals on her decision, though this quote makes it clear that she does it for conciliation rather than her own wishes:

Walking in a tokar demanded small, mincing steps and exquisite balance, lest one tread upon those heavy trailing fringes. It was not a garment meant for any man who had to work. The tokar was a master’s garment, a sign of wealth and power.

Dany had wanted to ban the tokar when she took Meereen, but her advisors had convinced her otherwise. “The Mother of Dragons must don the tokar or be forever hated,” warned the Green Grace, Galazza Galare. “In the wools of Westeros or a gown of Myrish lace, Your Radiance shall forever remain a stranger amongst us, a grotesque outlander, a barbarian conqueror. Meereen’s queen must be a lady of Old Ghis.” Brown Ben Plumm, the captain of the Second Sons, had put it more succinctly. “Man wants to be the king o’ the rabbits, he best wear a pair o’ floppy ears.” (ADWD Daenerys I)

But then, it's a relatively small price to pay if she can achieve peace quickly that way.

Question 4: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by reopening the fighting pits)?

Advice from: Hizdahr.

Dany’s answer: No.

Motivation: Freedmen.

Like the tokar, the fighting pits were also a major emblem of slavery for Dany in ASOS:

“A bull is strong as well, but bulls die every day in the fighting pits. A girl of nine killed one not three days past in Jothiel's Pit.[”] (ASOS Daenerys II)

“Ask her if she wishes to view our fighting pits,” Kraznys added. “Douquor's Pit has a fine folly scheduled for the evening. A bear and three small boys. One boy will be rolled in honey, one in blood, and one in rotting fish, and she may wager on which the bear will eat first.” (ASOS Daenerys II)

She stood by the rail and looked out over Astapor. From here it looks almost beautiful, she thought. The stars were coming out above, and the silk lanterns below, just as Kraznys's translator had promised. The brick pyramids were all glimmery with light. But it is dark below, in the streets and plazas and fighting pits. And it is darkest of all in the barracks, where some little boy is feeding scraps to the puppy they gave him when they took away his manhood. (ASOS Daenerys II)

All the grey bricks became red and yellow and blue and green and orange. The scarlet sands of the fighting pits transformed them into bleeding sores before her eyes. (ASOS Daenerys VI)

As we can see from these quotes, the systematic killing of children for the nobility's entertainment informed Dany's decision to rebel against the masters and free the slaves and certainly informs her decision to keep the fighting pits closed for now. That she sees them as "bleeding sores" at the end of ASOS signals her ongoing discomfort.

Related to her moral outrage, Dany is unwilling to reopen the fighting pits because she is aware that the nobility will profit off the "bleeding sores" of the freedmen:

When Dany had closed the city’s fighting pits, the value of pit shares had plummeted. Hizdahr zo Loraq had grabbed them up with both hands, and now owned most of the fighting pits in Meereen. (ADWD Daenerys I)

At this point in the story, Dany thinks that ruling Meereen means allying herself with the Meereenese. In this sense, she had everything to gain by satisfying the needs of Hizdahr and Grazdan zo Galare (the Green Grace's cousin), as she admits to herself:

I need this man, Dany reminded herself. Hizdahr was a wealthy merchant with many friends in Meereen, and more across the seas. He had visited Volantis, Lys, and Qarth, had kin in Tolos and Elyria, and was even said to wield some influence in New Ghis, where the Yunkai’i were trying to stir up enmity against Dany and her rule.

And he was rich. Famously and fabulously rich …

And like to grow richer, if I grant his petition. (ADWD Daenerys I)

Grazdan, she had been forewarned, was a cousin of the Green Grace, whose support she had found invaluable. The priestess was a voice for peace, acceptance, and obedience to lawful authority. I can give her cousin a respectful hearing, whatever he desires. (ADWD Daenerys I)

However, in the beginning of ADWD, Dany is not as desperate to find short-term peace as she will be later on - at least not to the point of compromising her moral principles. Her natural impulse is to make pro-freedmen decisions that ultimately hurt the privileged. She is not as concerned to deny these potential allies their petitions:

“...Hizdahr, if you could marshal armies as you marshal arguments, you could conquer the world … but my answer is still no. For the sixth time.” (ADWD Daenerys I)

“Let us say Elza. Here is our ruling. From the girls, you shall have nothing. It was Elza who taught them weaving, not you. From you, the girls shall have a new loom, the finest coin can buy. That is for forgetting the name of the old woman.” (ADWD Daenerys I)

Which is certainly an overall attitude that informs her determination to keep the pits closed. Related to that point, it is also noteworthy that, while she felt some regret in ASOS for cruficifying the masters, her thoughts are a bit different now that she sees that sparing them caused negative consequences for the freedmen:

After Meereen had fallen, Dany had nailed up a like number of Great Masters. Swarms of flies had attended their slow dying, and the stench had lingered long in the plaza. Yet some days she feared that she had not gone far enough. These Meereenese were a sly and stubborn people who resisted her at every turn. They had freed their slaves, yes … only to hire them back as servants at wages so meagre that most could scarce afford to eat. Those too old or young to be of use had been cast into the streets, along with the infirm and the crippled. And still the Great Masters gathered atop their lofty pyramids to complain of how the dragon queen had filled their noble city with hordes of unwashed beggars, thieves, and whores.

To rule Meereen I must win the Meereenese, however much I may despise them. (ADWD Daenerys I)

Another interesting note that is that, by the time the events of ADWD Daenerys I take place, Dany is already quite familiar with Hizdahr's reasons in favor of reopening the pits, so much so that the author has Dany herself recite them onpage (instead of Hizdahr) to show off her intelligence:

“It is your cause I find wanting, not your courtesies. I have heard your arguments so often I could plead your case myself. Shall I?” Dany leaned forward. “The fighting pits have been a part of Meereen since the city was founded. The combats are profoundly religious in nature, a blood sacrifice to the gods of Ghis. The mortal art of Ghis is not mere butchery but a display of courage, skill, and strength most pleasing to your gods. Victorious fighters are pampered and acclaimed, and the slain are honored and remembered. By reopening the pits I would show the people of Meereen that I respect their ways and customs. The pits are far-famed across the world. They draw trade to Meereen, and fill the city’s coffers with coin from the ends of the earth. All men share a taste for blood, a taste the pits help slake. In that way they make Meereen more tranquil. For criminals condemned to die upon the sands, the pits represent a judgment by battle, a last chance for a man to prove his innocence.” She leaned back again, with a toss of her head. “There. How have I done?” (ADWD Daenerys I)

Not only does she manage to remember all seven of Hizdahr's arguments, Dany is also well-mannered enough to leave out the one argument that only benefits Hizdahr (i.e. the profit he'll make out of the pits) and that Hizdahr wouldn't bring up because it wouldn't help him to convince her to change her mind (even though she is aware of it).

Then, Dany astutely notes that, if the fighting pits were reopened, she would tax them before they make a profit of them in order to undermine Hizdahr and help the city:

“Your Magnificence,” whispered Reznak mo Reznak in her ear, “it is customary for the city to claim one-tenth of all the profits from the fighting pits, after expenses, as a tax. That coin might be put to many noble uses.”

“It might … though if we were to reopen the pits, we should take our tenth before expenses. I am only a young girl and know little of such matters, but I dwelt with Xaro Xhoan Daxos long enough to learn that much.[”] (ADWD Daenerys I)

Relatively speaking, wearing a tokar wasn't a hard concession for Dany. Despite her aforementioned problems with its symbolic meaning, we know that she is good at assimilating herself into a different culture. Accepting traditions that will directly harm the freedmen, on the other hand, is a different matter. Dany firmly says no for now because she feels that she has multiple alternatives.

Question 5: Do I end Meereen’s neutrality? (by helping Astapor against Yunkai)

Advice from: Ghael.

Dany’s answer: No.

Motivation: Peace.

Ghael shows up again. Instead of proposing a marriage between Dany and Cleon, he gives her a pair of slippers and simply asks for Dany to support Astapor in the fight against Yunkai. Even though both Ghael and Cleon are former slaves, Dany has no sympathy for them after the latter reinstalled slavery and still denies his request:

His new Unsullied are an obscene jape. “King Cleon would be wise to tend his own gardens and let the Yunkai’i tend theirs.” It was not that Dany harbored any love for Yunkai. She was coming to regret leaving the Yellow City untaken after defeating its army in the field. The Wise Masters had returned to slaving as soon as she moved on, and were busy raising levies, hiring sellswords, and making alliances against her.

Cleon the self-styled Great was no better, however. The Butcher King had restored slavery to Astapor, the only change being that the former slaves were now the masters and the former masters were now the slaves.

“I am only a young girl and know little of the ways of war,” she told Lord Ghael, “but we have heard that Astapor is starving. Let King Cleon feed his people before he leads them out to battle.” She made a gesture of dismissal. Ghael withdrew. (ADWD Daenerys I)

As we can see from this quote, Dany is realizing, like she did with the Meereenese nobles, that she should've been more ruthless in her punishment of the Yunkish nobles; Ghael's warning about the Yunkai'i preparing to fight against her (made back in ASOS Daenerys VI) is now coming to fruition. That being said, because Dany is focusing on Meereen's reform and believes that the slavers will leave her alone if she remains neutral, she asks for Cleon to do the same. It's easy to see where she's coming from and her reform attempts (as I will show later) will not be in vain, but underestimating the Yunkish threat is still, ultimately, a mistake of hers.

Question 6: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by marrying a noble)?

Advice from: the Green Grace and Reznak.

Dany’s answer: No.

Motivation: Herself.

At this point in time, Dany isn't as desperate to find peace as she'll be later. While she still listens to her advisors' encouragement to take a husband and even weighs on her available options, she doesn't take any real measures for now:

“Cleon the Great sends these slippers as a token of his love for Daenerys Stormborn, the Mother of Dragons.”

[...] Does the butcher king believe a pair of pretty slippers will win my hand? [...] “His Magnificence bids me say that he stands ready to defend the Mother of Dragons from all her foes.”

If he proposes again that I wed King Cleon, I’ll throw a slipper at his head, Dany thought, but for once the Astapori envoy made no mention of a royal marriage. (ADWD Daenerys I)

He might be handsome, but for that silly hair. Reznak and the Green Grace had been urging Dany to take a Meereenese noble for her husband, to reconcile the city to her rule. Hizdahr zo Loraq might be worth a careful look. Sooner him than Skahaz. The Shavepate had offered to set aside his wife for her, but the notion made her shudder. Hizdahr at least knew how to smile. (ADWD Daenerys I)

That's, of course, understandable, since choosing a husband would mean risking her personal happiness and giving up her sexual autonomy.

ADWD Daenerys II

Question 7: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by reopening the fighting pits)?

Advice from: Hizdahr, Reznak, the Green Grace, the Shavepate, Belwas, Barristan, Missandei.

Dany’s answer: No.

Motivation: Freedmen.

Dany is still (rightfully) adamant that she won't reopen the fighting pits, even if her counsellors (aside from Missandei) suggest otherwise. But Hizdahr's seventh attempt to convince her leaves her feeling more conflicted than before. He brings seven former pit fighters (because he recognizes the significance of the number in Westeros) and has each of them speak in favor of the return of the pits:

Dany knew his seven, by name if not by sight. All had been amongst the most famed of Meereen’s fighting slaves … and it had been the fighting slaves, freed from their shackles by her sewer rats, who led the uprising that won the city for her. She owed them a blood debt. “I will hear you,” she allowed.

One by one, each of them asked her to let the fighting pits reopen. “Why?” she demanded, when Ithoke had finished. “You are no longer slaves, doomed to die at a master’s whim. I freed you. Why should you wish to end your lives upon the scarlet sands?” (ADWD Daenerys II)

Goghor the Giant says that he was trained to fight since the age of three and should have the option to fight, to which Dany answers:

“If it is fighting you want, fight for me. Swear your sword to the Mother’s Men or the Free Brothers or the Stalwart Shields. Teach my other freedmen how to fight.” (ADWD Daenerys II)

None of them is persuaded by her reply, however. Goghor compares her suggestion to a master's orders and says that he should fight for himself, the Spotted Cat explains that his life was better as a slave and Khrazz brings up the potential rewards for the winners. Even so, Dany is still not convinced and does not think that Hizdahr is "honorable" like the fighters do:

No, a cunning man. Daenerys felt trapped. “And the losers? What shall they receive?” (ADWD Daenerys II)

Barsena answers Dany's question by saying that their names will be inscribed on the Gates of Fate, but that they will not be remembered.

Now more uncertain than before, that's Dany's decision for the moment:

Dany had no answer for that. If this is truly what my people wish, do I have the right to deny it to them? It was their city before it was mine, and it is their own lives they wish to squander. “I will consider all you’ve said. Thank you for your counsel.” (ADWD Daenerys II)

As I explained in this post, Dany is looking at the issue from a moral standpoint. This is clear when she asks what the losers will receive; dying in these duels is an injustice on its own sake - it would mean dying primarily to make the noblemen entertained and rich (as she recognizes) and, consequently, perpetuating the very social oppression that she is trying to end (because the existence of the pits is tied to the existence of slavery and inequality in general).

At the same time, though, she is still 15-16 at this point and is in an unprecedented situation for her world, so she can't articulate her stance as eloquently as she might in the future nor does she entirely realize that the freedmen's consent is dubious in this particular case (since they weren't educated and socialized to believe that they should fight for their basic rights).

Nevertheless, even with those complications, Dany doesn't relent for now.

ADWD Daenerys III

Question 8: Do I end Meereen’s neutrality? (by waging war against Yunkai and helping Astapor against Yunkai)

Advice from: Xaro and Ghael.

Dany’s answer: No (for the most part).

Motivation: Peace.

In this chapter, Dany receives bad news from Xaro about Yunkai. He makes it clear that they will not spare her city, as much as she would want them to do so for remaining neutral in their war. Unbeknownst to him, she has been taking measures to prepare Meereen for war. The first measure was a failed one:

Daenerys had sent missions to Tolos and Mantarys, hoping to find new friends to the west to balance the enmity of Yunkai to the south. Her envoys had not returned. (ADWD Daenerys III)

As Dany finds out from Xaro, Tolos and Mantarys have made an alliance with Yunkai instead. In the next chapter, she will learn that the former called her a whore and asked for the city to be returned to the Great Masters and that the latter killed her three envoys.

The second measure, on the other hand, is more successful and will influence the outcome of the Battle of Fire; she organized the freedmen into three companies:

“My freedman—” Dany started.

“Bedslaves, barbers, and brickmakers win no battles.”

He was wrong in that, she hoped. The freedmen had been a rabble once, but she had organized the men of fighting age into companies and commanded Grey Worm to make them into soldiers. (ADWD Daenerys III)

Her freedmen were represented by the captains of the three companies she had formed—Mollono Yos Dob of the Stalwart Shields, Symon Stripeback of the Free Brothers, Marselen of the Mother’s Men. (ADWD Daenerys III)

However, even if she's now taking actions to fortify Meereen, it doesn't mean that Dany will now help Cleon:

“I warned your king that this war of his was folly,” Dany reminded him. “He would not listen.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

“Great Cleon is a slaver himself.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

Those were her former reasons to not help them. The actual one, at this point, is this:

And if I do, who will defend my walls? “Many of my freedmen were slaves in Astapor. Perhaps some will wish to help defend your king. That is their choice, as free men. I gave Astapor its freedom. It is up to you to defend it.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

As it's been argued before, not leaving part of the Unsullied in Astapor to ensure that her council would remain in power was one of Dany's crucial mistakes. It would be a specially bad time to do that now because she has too many enemies both inside and outside the city. She still says no, which leads a desperate Ghael to spit on her face. Belwas slams him down onto the marble, which prompts Dany to ask him to stop. Despite his lack of respect, she won't give him a disproportionate punishment because "no one has ever died from spittle".

ADWD Daenerys IV

Question 9: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by marrying a noble)?

Advice from: the Green Grace.

Dany’s answer: Yes, under some conditions.

Motivation: Peace.

Dany is more apprehensive and less hopeful at this point - as she explains to the Green Grace, Qarth, Tolos and Mantarys have all sided with Yunkai and openly declared war to her, freedmen are still being killed at night (note that the Green Grace may have played a part on their deaths) and the Butcher King of Astapor was killed by his own soldiers when he commanded them to fight the Yunkish, starting off a civil war inside the city while Yunkai besieges it. Dany feels like she is failing to deal with both wars (outside and inside the city), even more so because her primary desire is to be the ruler who will make Meereen more prosperous and "plant trees".

This complicated situation leads the Green Grace to counsel Dany to marry Hizdahr (again), which she finds predictable. Dany recognizes the self-interest behind the Green Grace's counsel and makes several objections to it:

“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?” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“And who would the gods of Ghis have me take as my king and consort?”

“Hizdahr zo Loraq,” Galazza Galare said firmly.

Dany did not trouble to feign surprise. “Why Hizdahr? Skahaz is noble born as well.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“His forebears are as dead as mine. Will Hizdahr raise their shades to defend Meereen against its enemies? I need a man with ships and swords. You offer me ancestors.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

However, Dany also begins to think that this may be the best course of action if she wants to help her people:

Daenerys Targaryen had other children, tens of thousands who had hailed her as their mother when she broke their chains. She thought of Stalwart Shield, of Missandei’s brother, of the woman Rylona Rhee, who had played the harp so beautifully. No marriage would ever bring them back to life, but if a husband could help end the slaughter, then she owed it to her dead to marry. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

At the same time, Dany ponders what marrying Hizdahr might mean for the Shavepate (whose support she values a lot) and why she would rather marry Hizdahr rather than the Shavepate (even if she trusts the latter more):

If I wed Hizdahr, will that turn Skahaz against me? She trusted Skahaz more than she trusted Hizdahr, but the Shavepate would be a disaster as a king. He was too quick to anger, too slow to forgive. She saw no gain in wedding a man as hated as herself. Hizdahr was well respected, so far as she could see. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

This is not a decision that Dany makes lightly because she's aware of its setbacks. Still, Hizdahr has public support and, as the Green Grace pointed out, the right bloodline, which makes him the better husband if Dany wants to find conciliation with the slavers (which, for now, is what she wants in the name of a false peace).

In keeping with Dany's tendency to be kind and courteous, she restrains her irritation concerning the Green Grace's condescendence:

“What does my prospective husband think of this?” she asked the Green Grace. What does he think of me?

“Your Grace need only ask him. The noble Hizdahr awaits below. Send down to him if that is your pleasure.”

You presume too much, priestess, the queen thought, but she swallowed her anger and made herself smile. “Why not?” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

From the passage above, one can infer that the Green Grace already expected Dany to follow her advice, so much so that she already had Hizdahr wait below the pyramid. Dany is aware of that condescending attitude; she still follows the Green Grace's advice for the reasons stated above, but it can't be simply said that she's being "dumb" for doing so.

I will talk more about Dany's interactions with Hizdahr in the next question. For now, let's only consider her request if she is to marry him:

“Peace is my desire. You say that you can help me end the nightly slaughter in my streets. I say do it. Put an end to this shadow war, my lord. That is your quest. Give me ninety days and ninety nights without a murder, and I will know that you are worthy of a throne. Can you do that?” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

Marrying Hizdahr is not a "stupid" thing for Dany to do (as I've seen some claim). Again, she knows it's not an unequivocally good choice:

If Meereen knew that a wedding was in the offing, that alone might buy her a few nights’ respite, even if Hizdahr’s efforts came to naught. The Shavepate will not be happy with me, but Reznak mo Reznak will dance for joy. Dany did not know which of those concerned her more. She needed Skahaz and the Brazen Beasts, and she had come to mistrust all of Reznak’s counsel. Beware the perfumed seneschal. Has Reznak made common cause with Hizdahr and the Green Grace and set some trap to snare me? (ADWD Daenerys IV)

As the quote shows, Dany acknowledges the Shavepate's importance (even if she is still ultimately not doing what he advises her to do) and has a healthy dose of distrust of Hizdahr, the Green Grace and Reznak (even if she is still ultimately doing what they advise her to do). Her problem is not that her judgment of them is poor, but rather that her solution doesn't address her ultimate goal, namely to end slavery and protect the freedmen on a long-term basis. That's because, unlike what many think, she feels reluctant about relying too heavily on violence; it's not her "comfort zone" and she has witnessed its costs before.

I would be remiss if I didn't note that Dany perceives marriage as a personal sacrifice, which is why she also wants to know if she can be attracted to and maybe even fall in love with Hizdahr:

“I always grow solemn in the presence of such beauty.”

It was a good start. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

He is not hard to look at, Dany told herself, and he has a king’s tongue. “Kiss me,” she commanded.

He took her hand again, and kissed her fingers.

“Not that way. Kiss me as if I were your wife.”

Hizdahr took her by the shoulders as tenderly as if she were a baby bird. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was light and dry and quick. Dany felt no stirrings.

“Shall I … kiss you again?” he asked when it was over.

“No.” On her terrace, in her bathing pool, the little fish would nibble at her legs as she soaked. Even they kissed with more fervor than Hizdahr zo Loraq. “I do not love you.”

“I do not love you.”

Hizdahr shrugged. “That may come, in time. It has been known to happen that way.”

Not with us, she thought. Not whilst Daario is so close. It’s him I want, not you. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

Is Dany being unreasonable and distracted for having these considerations? No.

First, Dany is willing to marry Hizdahr if he ends the shadow war in Meereen regardless of his physical appearance. She puts her people first (to her own detriment, for she knows that she won't ever love him), as she makes it clear to Barristan:

“Lingering here will never bring it any closer. The sooner we take our leave of this place—”

“I know. I do.” Dany did not know how to make him see. She wanted Westeros as much as he did, but first she must heal Meereen. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

Second, as we already saw, Dany doesn't fully trust Hizdahr because he's still a slaver wanting to profit off the fighting pits. Whether she's sexually attracted to him or not is only one of the many factors that she is considering (and not even one of the most important ones).

Third, it's good that Dany, for being queen regnant, can reflect on whether she desires her suitors or not; any woman should be able to consider that. Even so, her position doesn't prevent her from losing her political and sexual autonomy once she marries Hizdahr. We as readers should not criticize Dany herself, but rather the inherently misogynistic power structures with which she needs to deal.

Question 10: Do I end Meereen’s neutrality? (by making peace with Yunkai)

Advice from: Hizdahr.

Dany’s answer: Maybe.

Motivation: Peace.

Dany is predisposed to think ill of Hizdahr because of both the fighting pits and her belief that a marriage won't solve all her problems:

When she was gone, Dany let Qezza fill her cup again, dismissed the children, and commanded that Hizdahr zo Loraq be admitted to her presence. And if he dares say one word about his precious fighting pits, I may have him thrown off the terrace.

“You know why you are here. The Green Grace seems to feel that if I take you for my husband, all my woes will vanish.”

Hizdahr himself seems quite aware of that. For starters, he wears a "plain green robe beneath a quilted vest" (which is in keeping with his "simple robe of grey and blue" used to integrate himself with the seven freedmen he brought in ADWD Daenerys II and also a departure from his "purple tokar" "with amethysts and pearls" from ADWD Daenerys I) to pretend that he is frugal and he praises Dany's beauty. He'll also give the exact answers that Dany would want to hear (which I've talked about before here).

Dany makes reasonable questions pertaining to Hizdahr's desire to marry her (and a not-so-veiled threat as well):

Dany studied his eyes. “Why should the Sons of the Harpy lay down their knives for you? Are you one of them?”

[...] “Would you tell me if you were?” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“The Shavepate has ways of finding the truth.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“Why would you want to help me? For the crown?” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

To these questions, Hizdahr presents answers of a modest nature that make them seem honest as well. No, he's not part of the Sons, but he wouldn't tell her if he was either. No, he admits that he isn't the solution to all her problems, but that he might still help Dany to bring order to the city. And no, he doesn't deny that he wants to be king, but he also wants to protect his own people. The latter response is the one that ultimately leads Dany to open herself up:

That was a good answer, and an honest one. “I have never wanted war. I defeated the Yunkai’i once and spared their city when I might have sacked it. I refused to join King Cleon when he marched against them. Even now, with Astapor besieged, I stay my hand. And Qarth … I have never done the Qartheen any harm …” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

At this point, Dany already understands how social injustice is an issue that goes beyond slavery and continues to affect the freedmen. What she hasn't realized is that her position of neutrality in Yunkai's war is not enough for them to leave her alone. Her existence as the Breaker of Chains and the main symbol of a successful abolitionist movement are reason enough for the privileged (who, all over the continent, had been relying on slave labor) to seek to actively oppose her. It doesn't matter if she is avoiding to use force or not; they will still attack, which is what Hizdahr points out. Her selflessness shines through in her response to him:

“Let them come. In me they shall find a sterner foe than Cleon. I would sooner perish fighting than return my children to bondage.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

Then, Hizdahr remarks that Yunkai might allow the freedmen inside Meereen to remain freedmen if Dany allows slavery to be reinstalled in the Yellow City. This is how she reacts:

“...No more blood need flow.”

“Save for the blood of those slaves that the Yunkai’i will trade and train,” Dany said, but she recognized the truth in his words even so. It may be that is the best end we can hope for. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

Why does Dany still express discomfort? That's a result of Dany's development of a "universal sense of social justice", as @khaleesirin puts it. Dany cares about all of her freedmen in a way that goes beyond national identities. Seeing them (even those outside of Meereen) continue to suffer makes her feel like a failure.

That being said, Dany still believes that conciliation is the best option because she wants (and thinks this will help) to prevent more deaths at any cost, so she considers, for now, that making peace with the Yunkish may be "the best end we can hope for". She doesn't make a firm decision here, but she's more willing to end Meereen's neutrality now than she was before.

What I also find interesting is that this moment shows that her development is not linear and clear-cut. I've defended before that war is the only righteous option in the political arena Dany is currently in and that it's good that she's coming to that realization. Here, however, despite learning how her very existence is enough for the slavers to attempt to attack and undermine her, she still chooses the more lenient path for now.

ADWD Daenerys V

Question 11: Do I end Meereen’s neutrality? (by waging war against Yunkai)

Advice from: Barristan, Brown Ben, Reznak, the Shavepate.

Dany’s answer: No (with some consideration).

Motivation: Peace and freedmen.

Before this chapter, Dany already had many problems to deal with - the Sons wreaking havoc in Meereen, Astapor about to fall into Yunkai's hands, the city's economic crisis and multiple cities turning against her to reinstall slavery in Slaver's Bay.

In this chapter, not only she finds out that Astapor has fallen, but a new complication is also introduced: the bloody flux. Dany's first impulse is to be optimistic when she listens to the news of the rider on a pale mare with signs of the bloody flux ... until she realizes that his arrival fulfills Quaithe's prophecy. Dany knows what "she is burning" means next:

The Green Grace kissed Dany’s fingers before she took her leave. “We shall pray for Astapor.”

And for me. Oh, pray for me, my lady. If Astapor had fallen, nothing remained to prevent Yunkai from turning north. (ADWD Daenerys V)

She asks for Barristan to recall her bloodriders, the Stormcrows and the Second Sons. Her sense of dread grows, as well as her need for companionship. Eight days later, Brown Ben returns with the first three Astapori refugees who managed to find their way to Meereen. Basically, they disclose that:

Cleon the Great's fall led to more political chaos with King Cutthroat and Queen Whore's dissension.

The Yunkish devoured Astapor's crops and slaughtered their herds as the Red City's habitants remained stuck inside the gates eating "cats and rats and leather".

Due to the Astapori's malnutrition, the bloody flux eventually came and killed three in every four men inside the city.

Either dying men or healthy men trying to escape the flux killed the guards on the main gate to open it.

New Ghis, the Yunkai'i and their sellswords finally enter the city; they kill Queen Whore and King Cutthroat, set fire to the Temple of the Graces, close Astapor's gates to prevent anyone from leaving it and hunt down the Astapori who try to flee from the flames.

It's important to lay out all of these events because, along with the weaver's guilt trip (sympathetic as it is), they contextualize Dany's guilt (and all of her next decisions):

He sent for me, thought Dany. That much is true, at least. (ADWD Daenerys V)

I can scarce feed my own folk. If I had marched to Astapor, I would have lost Meereen. (ADWD Daenerys V)

I could not come, the queen thought. I dare not. (ADWD Daenerys V)

She knows I lie, the queen thought. She knows I cannot keep them safe. Astapor is burning, and Meereen is next. (ADWD Daenerys V)

After the Astapori leave, Ben warns Dany and her counsellors that more refugees are coming. Both Reznak and Ben advise her not to allow them to enter the city. After Ben compares them to bad apples for being sick, Dany passionately replies:

“These are not apples, Ben,” said Dany. “These are men and women, sick and hungry and afraid.” My children. (ADWD Daenerys V)

It's a similar response to the one she gave Xaro two chapters ago; unlike the people around her, Dany refuses to trivialize the former slaves' suffering.

Also, unlike how she replied questions 1, 5 and 8, Dany has now come to regret not having helped Astapor:

“I should have gone to Astapor.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

“Cleon was the enemy of our enemy. If I had joined him at the Horns of Hazzat, we might have crushed the Yunkai’i between us.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Both Barristan and the Shavepate point out that Dany's military strength wasn't enough to help them and control the shadow war in Meereen at the same time, so she only had bad choices here. Even so, Dany can't not hold herself accountable:

“I know. I know. It is Eroeh all over again.”

Brown Ben Plumm was puzzled. “Who is Eroeh?”

“A girl I thought I’d saved from rape and torment. All I did was make it worse for her in the end. And all I did in Astapor was make ten thousand Eroehs.”

“Your Grace could not have known—”

“I am the queen. It was my place to know.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Does that mean we the readers should blame Dany as well? No.

On the one hand, yes, her mistake in not leaving a garrison to support her council did make it easier for Cleon to depose it and create political instability in the city that would later benefit the Yunkai'i.

On the other hand, as I said in this post, Dany is not responsible for the Yunkish's choice to commit disproportional acts of violence against the Astapori.

Reznak suggests a marriage with Hizdahr to make peace with the Yunkai'i, but Dany is understandably wary of him due to Quaithe's prophecy. She distrusts him and she distrusts Yunkai (who broke its previous truce with Dany, even though she left their wealth intact) even more:

“I may be a young girl innocent of war, but I am not a lamb to walk bleating into the harpy’s den. I still have my Unsullied. I have the Stormcrows and the Second Sons. I have three companies of freedmen.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Ben advises Dany to unleash her dragons, to which Reznak reacts with (veeeery hypocritical) indignation. Dany silences Reznak with "fury in her tone" and tells Ben that she won't use her dragons against her enemies. Nor will she follow his advice to sell Meereen and leave. In this particular moment, Dany is seriously considering to engage in armed conflict against Yunkai:

“...Grey Worm, are my freedmen ready for battle?” (ADWD Daenerys V)

“I defeated the Yunkai’i before. I will defeat them again. Where, though? How?” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Barristan thinks that attacking right away and taking advantage of the element of surprise would be the best course of action. The Shavepate disagrees because, according to him, the Yunkai'i have too many friends inside the city and Meereen's walls and protectors are stronger than Astapor's. This leads Dany to ask how large an army she can assemble and Ben doesn't give her a hopeful answer.

With all of this advice in mind, Dany orders Ben and his Second Sons to scout the Yunkish forces (and Ben requests more gold because he knows that he's going to turn on Dany) and asks Reznak to close the gates and double the number of soldiers keeping watch upon the walls.

Her ultimate decision on whether to bring war to the Yunkai'i or not is made with Barristan. He thinks it's unfeasible to maintain a siege, so he reinforces his advice to attack them. But Dany thinks critically about his counsel and finds problems in it:

“Meet the foe,” she echoed, “with the freedmen you’ve called half-trained and unblooded.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

“Or five. And if I give you the Unsullied, I will have no one but the Brazen Beasts to hold Meereen.”

Ultimately, it's the same reason why she couldn't help Astapor: if she had done it, she would have left Meereen itself vulnerable. So she concludes:

“I cannot fight two enemies, one within and one without. If I am to hold Meereen, I must have the city behind me.[”] (ADWD Daenerys V)

My thoughts on how she dealt with this situation:

It's common to think that Dany is "made for war", not peace (or, alternatively, that she's a good heroine and a bad ruler). This assessment does a disservice to her character for putting her in a very limiting box that the text itself does not. As we see above (and as we saw in question 8), she can decide to lock her dragons and consider the option of bringing war to the Yunkai'i at the same time. She's more flexible than a single stance (either war or peace) even when she's primarily focused on one over the other.

Related to that point, she doesn't depend on a single advisor's viewpoint to make her decisions. She may trust Barristan more than she does either Reznak (who she suspects to be prophecied to betray her) or the Shavepate, but she still chooses their counsels (marrying Hizdahr and not taking up arms) because of their merit.

Question 12: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by marrying a noble)?

Advice from: Reznak.

Dany’s answer: Yes.

Motivation: Peace.

As I said above, Dany is not making this decision based on Reznak's opinions, but on her own. Her goals are not as the same as his, after all; unlike Reznak or any other noble, she cares about the former slaves' plight and holds herself accountable for whatever ill happened to them once she freed them. That's why she has this thought while she considers what to do and ultimately decides:

“I cannot fight two enemies, one within and one without. If I am to hold Meereen, I must have the city behind me. The whole city. I need … I need …” She could not say it.

“Your Grace?” Ser Barristan prompted, gently.

A queen belongs not to herself but to her people.

“I need Hizdahr zo Loraq.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

The sack of Meereen, Stalwart Shield's and Rylona Rhee's and dozens of other deaths in Meereen, the fall of Astapor, the Astapori refugees coming infected by the pale mare ... These things are all looming large over Dany's head when she makes her choice. Again, it's ultimately not the right one since her goal is to end slavery, but one can understand why she would want to prevent more carnage from happening and why she would think that that would be the best course of action.

ADWD Daenerys VI

Question 13: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by accepting even more concessions for the marriage)?

Advice from: the Green Grace and Reznak.

Dany’s answer: Yes, under some conditions.

Motivation: Peace and herself.

Dany's answer to this question is significant because it's the only one in which she explictly defends her own needs and desires:

The priestess and the seneschal were happy to see her garbed in a tokar, a proper Meereenese lady for once, but what they really wanted was to strip her bare. Daenerys heard them out, incredulous. When they were done, she said, “I have no wish to give offense, but I will not present myself naked to Hizdahr’s mother and sisters.” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

To contextualize the passage above, Reznak and the Green Grace want Dany to have her womb examined by her soon-to-be husband's mother and sisters. They also want her to wash Hizdahr's feet to become her "handmaid". These are Dany's ultimate decisions on the matter:

And if my womb is withered and my female parts accursed, is there a special cake for that as well? “Hizdahr zo Loraq may inspect my women’s parts after we are wed.” Khal Drogo found no fault with them, why should he? “Let his mother and his sisters examine one another and share the special cake. I shall not be eating it. [...] If my husband wishes me to wash his feet, he must first wash mine. I will tell him so this evening.” She wondered how her betrothed would take that. (ADWD Daenerys VI)

This is a great moment for a number of reasons:

Dany's shrewdness shines through here. By requesting Hizdahr to wash her feet before she washes his, she makes a statement that she is still the queen regnant and he is just king consort. This prevents her authority from being undermined.

It's also interesting to ponder why Dany is questioning these customs. Is it because of her own values or because of her belief that she's infertile (or both)? Would she still question them if she didn't think she was infertile? These questions show how her character development is, as I noted above, not clear-cut and linear. They also show how her identity as a she-king and a barren woman (and a former sex slave) is propelling her to become keenly aware of systemic injustices. I wonder how she'll react to the Westerosi marriage customs that treat women like brood mare based on the decisions she is now making - consciously or not, but slowly and surely gaining more conscience - against them.

Dany concedes other requests from her advisors, however. She gives up on the idea to marry by Westerosi rites and agrees to use a "white tokar fringed with baby pearls" (which represent fertility) during her wedding.

When the Green Grace brings up that Dany should marry in the Temple of the Graces, this is what she thinks:

Get the heads of all the noble houses out of their pyramids on some pretext, Daario had said. The dragon’s words are fire and blood. Dany pushed the thought aside. It was not worthy of her. (ADWD Daenerys VI)

I've already shared my thoughts on why Dany remembers Daario's advice two chapters after he gave it on this post. To summarize them, it has a similar purpose that of Jorah, which she remembered in ADWD Daenerys V; both men are asking her to compromise her moral values for the sake of her goals (Jorah wanted her to buy the Unsullied and be complicit in the slave trade, Daario wants her to kill all the masters inside the city). I've defended before that war is the only righteous option in Dany's particular case; having her think back to these advices, in my opinion, is the author seeding her eventual transformation into the Daenerys of ASOS, whose draconic force was associated with freedom when she decided to break the rules (like Jorah suggested), but not by compromising her moral principles, but because of her moral principles. Like ASOS!Dany, TWOW!Dany will be more forceful and find a way that integrates both dragonfire and her morality in whatever she does next. We will see that embracing her identity as the mother of dragons will be what Dany needed to be a better mhysa.

Question 14: Do I assimilate myself into the Meereenese nobility (by reopening the fighting pits)?

Advice from: the Green Grace and Reznak.

Dany’s answer: Yes, under some conditions.

Motivation: Peace.

This is another concession that Dany makes while she interacts with Reznak and the Green Grace:

A bride price paid in blood. Daenerys was weary of fighting this battle. Even Ser Barristan did not think she could win. “No ruler can make a people good,” Selmy had told her. “Baelor the Blessed prayed and fasted and built the Seven as splendid a temple as any gods could wish for, yet he could not put an end to war and want.” A queen must listen to her people, Dany reminded herself. “After the wedding Hizdahr will be king. Let him reopen the fighting pits if he wishes. I want no part of it.” Let the blood be on his hands, not mine. (ADWD Daenerys VI)

I've already explained in questions 4 and 7 and especially in this meta why Dany is against the fighting pits and why she is right to be, so I won't belabor that point.

What I will say is that it's fitting that the fighting pits, a symbol of the slavers' oppression of the slaves since ASOS and the one custom that Dany was seen continuously opposing throughout this book, is the last concession that she needs to make in the name of the false peace.

Later, I will comment on the restrictions that Dany imposed to make the duels in the pits less harmful to the freedmen.

Question 15: Do I end Meereen’s neutrality? (by making peace with Yunkai)

Advice from: Hizdahr.

Dany’s answer: Yes.

Motivation: Peace.

In the same day that she discussed the wedding preparations with the Green Grace and Reznak, Dany also has a meeting with Hizdahr. He brings her Yunkai's terms of peace; first, they require an indemnity in "gold and gemstones".

Gold and gems were easy. “What else?” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

Dany's reaction here is notable. First, it shows that she is not out to profit off the former slaves, as I've already pointed out in this meta. If she were, she wouldn't be okay with that requirement (in fact, she wouldn't have even stayed and tried to bring order to the city). Second, it seems easy to her because it mirrors her wish to "pay the boy Joffrey a chest of gold" instead of having to fight against him when she returns to Westeros. Both before and now, we see that Dany isn't someone who naturally gravitates towards violent methods, but who is rather thrown into situations where using them is necessary (whether to end slavery or to restore her family's rights). Even so, she wishes she could have as "easy" and "pleasant" a choice like that one. Here, it speaks volumes for her selflessness since her fight is for the greater good rather than her own benefit.

But she had been forewarned by Hizdahr that they would ask for more, and that "more" will always be intolerable to her - they will reinstall slavery and ask her not to interfere. This incites a bigger reaction from her:

“The Yunkai’i resumed their slaving before I was two leagues from their city. Did I turn back? King Cleon begged me to join with him against them, and I turned a deaf ear to his pleas. I want no war with Yunkai. How many times must I say it? What promises do they require?” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

Hizdahr replies that, to secure this peace agreement, the Yunkai'i want to see her married to him. That leads to Dany perfectly summing up her dilemma (as she had already done two chapters before):

“Marriage or carnage. A wedding or a war. Are those my choices?” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

As Xaro (in question 8) and Hizdahr himself (question 10) had both said before, Dany's actions had an impact in the continent's entire economic order. They won't rest until they know that her power is neutralized by a man and that her influence is restricted to a single city (or not; they could have just as easily betrayed the terms of the deal, for all we know). But Dany can't let that sink in yet because doing so would mean realizing that she can't try to "plant trees and see them grow" at this moment. Doing so would mean realizing that "carnage" can be the better option if she wants to protect her children, but she desperately doesn't want it to be. For now, then, she chooses "marriage".

And then, as we know, another complication outside of her control is added: Brown Ben and the Second Sons betrayed her. This stings for a variety of reasons:

As I briefly noted in question 11, GRRM intertwines the personal and political issues of Dany's storyline - her need for companionship grew as her political situation deteriorated. We saw this in the previous chapter when she was "so pleased" to see Ben again that she hugged her and they laughed together. We saw it too when she looked at the men around her and wished everyone who she holds dear was there too - Daario and her bloodriders and Jorah. That this happened now hurts that much more.

Also back in question 11, Barristan had warned Dany that it would be unfeasible to withstand a siege against Yunkai because the city is "overcrowded and full of hungry mouths" and she has "too many enemies within". Now that she lost the support of five hundred men, her ability to hold the city against the Yunkai'i is severely compromised; she lacks both the military strength and the food to do so. With all of these issues in mind, she can't do anything else but to gather food to sustain the Meereenese citizens, keep all of her forces inside and close the gates with the Astapori refugees starving outside of the city. It's an excrutiatingly painful decision for Dany - if it weren't, she wouldn't want "to scream, to gnash her teeth and tear her clothes and beat upon the floor". We already know that she wants, more than anything, to protect the ones who can't protect themselves. We already know that she holds herself accountable for the "ten thousand Eroehs" from Astapor's fall (even though this was the slavers' fault and only theirs). We already know that she cares so much about these refugees that she went to bring the food herself, wished she could share the food equally, bathed an old man and shamed all her men into helping her. Still, as she acknowledges, "[t]hey were her children, but she could not help them now". Her hand is being forced here.

Dany’s ultimate choices

These fifteen questions can be ultimately boiled down to three main issues that Dany wrestled with from ASOS Daenerys VI to ADWD Daenerys VI (when she made her ultimate choices on all of them):

Adherence to Ghiscari cultural norms: Wearing the tokar was relatively easy (question 3) for Dany. So was wearing a white tokar with baby pearls, though she thankfully did not give in to having her womb inspected or to washing her husband's feet first (question 13). The matter of the fighting pits was the one that Dany was most often seen being (rightfully) opposed to (questions 4, 7, 14), but even that had to be conceded in the end.

Meereen's relationship with the other city-states: From the end of ASOS until ADWD Daenerys III (questions 1, 5, 8), Dany tried to remain neutral and not intervene in what Yunkai, Astapor and the other cities were doing in the vain hope that they would leave her alone. However, as Yunkai found more allies, the Sons continued to murder citizens, Astapor fell and more refugees kept coming, Dany was backed into a corner from ADWD Daenerys IV to VI (questions 10, 11, 15). She struggled with remaining neutral more and more until she finally agreed to a truce that would allow them to resume slaving in Yunkai and Astapor and that would require her to marry a slaver.

Marriage: This one is, of course, tied to the first two issues. It was one that Dany chose not to think about too much (question 6) until her situation in ADWD Daenerys IV became too dire for her not to consider it more seriously (question 9). Then, in ADWD Daenerys V, she firmly decides to marry Hizdahr (question 12). This was no easy choice, for it meant marrying a man she doesn't love, abandoning one she loves and giving up on potential husbands who would better serve her political interests in Westeros.

It's also interesting to note which motivations primarily drove her decisions up until this point:

Peace: questions 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Freedmen: questions 4, 7, 11

Herself: questions 6, 13

Empathy: question 2

The consequences of Dany's choices and her reactions

As I showed above, Dany's last chapter of ASOS and her first six of ADWD had Dany pondering on the three main issues above. She made her choices concerning all of them by the end of ADWD Daenerys VI.

ADWD Daenerys VII to IX are about the consequences of these decisions and how Dany reacts to them.

The first consequence is that she doesn't get to make her own choices anymore. The Yunkish arrived in the city and are now ready to attack her if need be:

Her foes were all about her. There were never less than a dozen ships drawn up on the shore. Some days there were as many as a hundred, when the soldiers were disembarking. The Yunkai’i were even bringing in wood by sea. Behind their ditches, they were building catapults, scorpions, tall trebuchets. On still nights she could hear the hammers ringing through the warm, dry air. No siege towers, though. No battering rams. They would not try to take Meereen by storm. They would wait behind their siege lines, flinging stones at her until famine and disease had brought her people to their knees. (ADWD Daenerys VII)

Dany turned to gaze out over her city. Beyond her walls the yellow tents of the Yunkai’i stood in orderly rows beside the sea, protected by the ditches their slaves had dug for them. Two iron legions out of New Ghis, trained and armed in the same fashion as Unsullied, were encamped across the river to the north. Two more Ghiscari legions had made camp to the east, choking off the road to the Khyzai Pass. The horse lines and cookfires of the free companies lay to the south. By day thin plumes of smoke hung against the sky like ragged grey ribbons. By night distant fires could be seen. (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

The second consequence is that the working conditions of many freedmen haven't improved, despite the fact that they are no longer slaves. One scene is noticeable because Dany is forced to be complicit in their mistreatment because she's wearing the tokar, which is "a master's garment, a sign of wealth and power":

Meereenese seldom rode within their city walls. They preferred palanquins, litters, and sedan chairs, borne upon the shoulders of their slaves. “Horses befoul the streets,” one man of Zakh had told her, “slaves do not.” Dany had freed the slaves, yet palanquins, litters, and sedan chairs still choked the streets as before, and none of them floated magically through the air.

“The day is too hot to be shut up in a palanquin,” said Dany. “Have my silver saddled. I would not go to my lord husband upon the backs of bearers.”

“Your Grace,” said Missandei, “this one is so sorry, but you cannot ride in a tokar.”

The little scribe was right, as she so often was. The tokar was not a garment meant for horseback. Dany made a face. “As you say. Not the palanquin, though. I would suffocate behind those drapes. Have them ready a sedan chair.” If she must wear her floppy ears, let all the rabbits see her. (ADWD Daenerys VII)

The Brazen Beasts did as they were bid. Dany watched them at their work. “Those bearers were slaves before I came. I made them free. Yet that palanquin is no lighter.” (ADWD Daenerys IX)

The third consequence is that Dany is forced to accept the presence of the Yunkish masters' slaves and their slave markets:

The Yunkish Supreme Commander, Yurkhaz zo Yunzak, might have been alive during Aegon’s Conquest, to judge by his appearance. Bent-backed, wrinkled, and toothless, he was carried to the table by two strapping slaves. The other Yunkish lords were hardly more impressive. One was small and stunted, though the slave soldiers who attended him were grotesquely tall and thin. The third was young, fit, and dashing, but so drunk that Dany could scarce understand a word he said. How could I have been brought to this pass by creatures such as these? (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

“Have you ever heard such singing, my love?” Hizdahr asked her. “They have the voices of gods, do they not?”

“Yes,” she said, “though I wonder if they might not have preferred to have the fruits of men.”

All of the entertainers were slaves. That had been part of the peace, that slaveowners be allowed the right to bring their chattels into Meereen without fear of having them freed. In return the Yunkai’i had promised to respect the rights and liberties of the former slaves that Dany had freed. A fair bargain, Hizdahr said, but the taste it left in the queen’s mouth was foul. She drank another cup of wine to wash it out.

“If it please you, Yurkhaz will be pleased to give us the singers, I do not doubt,” her noble husband said. “A gift to seal our peace, an ornament to our court.”

He will give us these castrati, Dany thought, and then he will march home and make some more. The world is full of boys. (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

“The Yunkai’i will soon be gone, and their allies and hirelings with them. We shall have all we desired. Peace, food, trade. Our port is open once again, and ships are being permitted to come and go.”

“They are permitting that, yes,” she had replied, “but their warships remain. They can close their fingers around our throat again whenever they wish. They have opened a slave market within sight of my walls!”

“Outside our walls, sweet queen. That was a condition of the peace, that Yunkai would be free to trade in slaves as before, unmolested.”

“In their own city. Not where I have to see it.” The Wise Masters had established their slave pens and auction block just south of the Skahazadhan, where the wide brown river flowed into Slaver’s Bay. “They are mocking me to my face, making a show of how powerless I am to stop them.”

“Posing and posturing,” said her noble husband. “A show, as you have said. Let them have their mummery. When they are gone, we will make a fruit market of what they leave behind.”

“When they are gone,” Dany repeated. “And when will they be gone? Riders have been seen beyond the Skahazadhan. Dothraki scouts, Rakharo says, with a khalasar behind them. They will have captives. Men, women, and children, gifts for the slavers.” Dothraki did not buy or sell, but they gave gifts and received them. “That is why the Yunkai’i have thrown up this market. They will leave here with thousands of new slaves.”

Hizdahr zo Loraq shrugged. “But they will leave. That is the important part, my love. Yunkai will trade in slaves, Meereen will not, this is what we have agreed. Endure this for a little while longer, and it shall pass.” (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

And no, the slave market is not just "posing and posturing", as some might argue. We see in Tyrion's chapters how horribly the Yunkish slavers treat the people being sold in that slave market and how what's happening is taken for granted:

"Four", called a monstrously fat Yunkishman from the litter where he sprawled like a leviathan. Covered all in yellow silk fringed with gold, he looked as large as four Illyrios. Tyrion pitied the slaves who had to carry him. At least he will be spared that duty. What a joy to be a dwarf. (ADWD Tyrion X)

At sixteen hundred the pace began to flag again, so the slave trader invited some of the buyers to come up for a closer look at the dwarfs.

"The female's young", he promised. "You could breed the two of them, get good coin for the whelps." (ADWD Tyrion X)

One of the guards yanked him back to his feet. Another prodded Penny down off the platform with the butt of his spear. The next piece of chattel was already being led to take their place. A girl, fifteen or sixteen, not off the Selaesori Qhoran this time. Tyrion did not know her. The same age as Daenerys Targaryen, or near enough. The slaver soon had her naked. At least we were spared that humiliation. (ADWD Tyrion X)

Tyrion saw a slave being whipped, blow after blow, until his back was nothing but blood and raw meat. A file of men marched past in irons, clanking with every step; they carried spears and wore short swords, but chains linked them wrist to wrist and ankle to ankle. The air smelled of roasting meat, and he saw one man skinning a dog for his stewpot. (ADWD Tyrion X)

The captives had been tied to a row of crossbeams, and a pair of slingers were using them to test their skills. "Tolosi", one of the guards told them. "The best slingers in the world. They throw soft lead balls in place of stones." (ADWD Tyrion X)

Most of the guests paid them no more mind than they did the other slaves ... but one Yunkishman declared drunkenly that Yezzan should make the two dwarfs fuck, and another demanded to know how Tyrion had lost his nose. I shoved it up your wife's cunt and she bit it off, he almost replied ... but the storm had persuaded him that he did not want to die as yet, so instead he said, "It was cut to punish me for insolence, lord."

The fourth consequence is that the anti-slavery member of Dany's council loses control of the Brazen Beasts:

The Shavepate was absent as well. The first thing Hizdahr had done upon being crowned was to remove him from command of the Brazen Beasts, replacing him with his own cousin, the plump and pasty Marghaz zo Loraq. (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

The fifth consequence is that, with the fighting pits reopened, freedmen are being slaughtered to amuse the noblemen:

“This one shows much promise, my sweet,” Hizdahr said of a Lysene youth with long blond hair that fluttered in the wind … but his foe grabbed a handful of that hair, pulled the boy offbalance, and gutted him. In death he looked even younger than he had with blade in hand. “A boy,” said Dany. “He was only a boy.” (ADWD Daenerys IX)

This time her leap came an instant too late, and a tusk ripped her left leg open from knee to crotch.

A moan went up from thirty thousand throats. Clutching at her torn leg, Barsena dropped her knife and tried to hobble off, but before she had gone two feet the boar was on her once again. Dany turned her face away. “Was that brave enough?” she asked Strong Belwas, as a scream rang out across the sand. (ADWD Daenerys IX)

I've already talked here about why the duels in the fighting pits perpetuate social inequality. To sum up my points, the deaths of the Lysene youth and Barsena are injustices because they never had opportunities to question the harmful conditions they were subjected to and fight for their dignity. To make things worse, the reopening of the pits would have certainly allowed more cases like this to happen:

He had even kept the truth of Daznak's Pit from her.

Lions. They were going to set lions on us. It would have been exquisitely ironic, that. Perhaps he would have had time for a short, bitter chortle before being torn apart.

No one ever told him the end that had been planned for them, not in so many words, but it had not been hard to puzzle out, down beneath the bricks of Daznak's Pit, in the hidden world below the seats, the dark domain of the pit fighters and the serving men who tended to them, quick and dead—the cooks who fed them, the ironmongers who armed them, the barber-surgeons who bled them and shaved them and bound up their wounds, the whores who serviced them before and after fights, the corpse handlers who dragged the losers off the sands with chains and iron hooks.

Nurse's face had given Tyrion his first inkling. After their show, he and Penny had returned to the torchlit vault where the fighters gathered before and after their matches. Some sat sharpening their weapons; others sacrificed to queer gods, or dulled their nerves with milk of the poppy before going out to die. Those who'd fought and won were dicing in a corner, laughing as only men who have just faced death and lived can laugh.

Nurse was paying out some silver to a pit man on a lost wager when he spied Penny leading Crunch. The confusion in his eyes was gone in half a heartbeat, but not before Tyrion grasped what it meant. Nurse did not expect us back. He had looked around at other faces. None of them expected us back. We were meant to die out there. The final piece fell into place when he overheard an animal trainer complaining loudly to the pitmaster. "The lions are hungry. Two days since they ate. I was told not to feed them, and I haven't. The queen should pay for meat." (ADWD Tyrion XI)

As we can see, Tyrion's (and Quentyn's and Barristan's and even Victarion's) chapters are partly meant to display how false this peace is. The passage above is the firsthand account of a man who was almost sent to "fight" lions without having ever agreed to do so. Again, this sort of occurence would become more frequent with time, which is only fitting since these duels are customs inextricably tied to slavery.

Now, how does Dany react to these developments?

First, she stopped holding court:

“As my queen commands. Will you hold court today?”

“No. On the morrow I will be a woman wed, and Hizdahr will be king. Let him hold court. These are his people.”

“Some are his, some are yours. The ones you freed.”

“Are you chiding me?”

“The ones you call your children. They want their mother.”

“You are. You are chiding me.”

“Only a little, bright heart. Will you come hold court?”

“After my wedding, perhaps. After the peace.” (ADWD Daenerys VII)

This is Dany's lowest point in ADWD - here, she gave up on being both mhysa and mother of dragons in the vain attempt to make peace with the slavers. She is too disillusioned by the negative repercussions of her actions and would rather leave the ruling to her husband out of spite.

What's interesting is that Daario (who represents war, among other things) advises her to hold court again. This is one of the signs that Dany needs to re-embrace her identity as the Mother of Dragons to be a better mhysa to her people. These are balancing identities in many ways, not just opposing ones.

Second, Dany attempts to turn mercenaries to her cause because she doesn't trust neither the slavers nor Hizdahr:

“I am only a young girl and know little of such things, but it seems to me that we want them to be treacherous. Once, you’ll recall, I convinced the Second Sons and Stormcrows to join us.”

“If Your Grace wishes a privy word with Gylo Rhegan or the Tattered Prince, I could bring them up to your apartments.”

“This is not the time. Too many eyes, too many ears. Their absence would be noted even if you could separate them discreetly from the Yunkai’i. We must find some quieter way of reaching out to them … not tonight, but soon.”

[…] “Our prisoners,” suggested Dany. “The Westerosi who came over from the Windblown with the three Dornishmen. We still have them in cells, do we not? Use them.”

[…] “We can still use them. One was a woman. Meris. Send her back, as a … a gesture of my regard. If their captain is a clever man, he will understand.”

“The woman is the worst of all.”

“All the better.” Dany considered a moment. “We should sound out the Long Lances too. And the Company of the Cat.”

“Bloodbeard.” Ser Barristan’s frown deepened. “If it please Your Grace, we want no part of him. Your Grace is too young to remember the Ninepenny Kings, but this Bloodbeard is cut from the same savage cloth. There is no honor in him, only hunger … for gold, for glory, for blood.”

“You know more of such men than me, ser.” If Bloodbeard might be truly the most dishonorable and greedy of the sellswords, he might be the easiest to sway, but she was loath to go against Ser Barristan’s counsel in such matters. “Do as you think best. But do it soon. If Hizdahr’s peace should break, I want to be ready. I do not trust the slavers.” I do not trust my husband. “They will turn on us at the first sign of weakness.”

“The Yunkai’i grow weaker as well. The bloody flux has taken hold amongst the Tolosi, it is said, and spread across the river to the third Ghiscari legion.”

[…] “I cannot rely on plague to save me from my enemies. Set Pretty Meris free. At once.” (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

I mentioned in question 13 that Dany is turning back into the Daenerys of ASOS (and argued that that's a good thing). Here, we see another sign of that gradual transformation, as she frees Pretty Meris to try to convince the sellsword companies to switch allegiances like she did in ASOS (Dany herself even alludes to it).

Third, Dany makes restrictions to the duels to lessen the harshness towards the participants:

“...No children die today in Daznak’s, as my gentle queen in her wisdom has decreed.”

Another small victory. Perhaps I cannot make my people good, she told herself, but I should at least try to make them a little less bad. Daenerys would have prohibited contests between women as well, but Barsena Blackhair protested that she had as much right to risk her life as any man. The queen had also wished to forbid the follies, comic combats where cripples, dwarfs, and crones had at one another with cleavers, torches, and hammers (the more inept the fighters, the funnier the folly, it was thought), but Hizdahr said his people would love her more if she laughed with them, and argued that without such frolics, the cripples, dwarfs, and crones would starve. So Dany had relented.

It had been the custom to sentence criminals to the pits; that practice she agreed might resume, but only for certain crimes. “Murderers and rapers may be forced to fight, and all those who persist in slaving, but not thieves or debtors.”

Beasts were still allowed, though. (ADWD Daenerys IX)

Fourth, she takes off her tokar:

“Khaleesi?” Irri asked. “What are you doing?”

“Taking off my floppy ears.” (ADWD Daenerys IX)

It's very fitting that she takes off the tokar, "a master's garment" and "a sign of wealth and power", while she witnesses the injustices occurring inside the pit. This, along with Drogon's arrival and Dany turning him away from the city, signals her rejection of a peace that prioritizes the nobles over the former slaves.

Fifth, Dany explicitly rejects the peace:

Meereen was not her home, and never would be. It was a city of strange men with strange gods and stranger hair, of slavers wrapped in fringed tokars, where grace was earned through whoring, butchery was art, and dog was a delicacy. Meereen would always be the Harpy’s city, and Daenerys could not be a harpy. (ADWD Daenerys X)

“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.”

No. You are the blood of the dragon. The whispering was growing fainter, as if Ser Jorah were falling farther behind. Dragons plant no trees. Remember that. Remember who you are, what you were made to be. Remember your words.

“Fire and Blood,” Daenerys told the swaying grass. (ADWD Daenerys X)

Do these realizations mark the beginning of a dark turn for Dany? Maybe (though it would carry negative implications depending on its execution), but that's not all there is to it. Trying to find common ground with the slavers was the first root of all her problems and she has now addressed it. Avoiding to use violence was the second root of all her problems and she has now addressed it.

I've already speculated that Dany embracing her house's words is (mostly) a good thing. There's a lot of discussion regarding the purpose of this scene, which goes beyond the scope of this meta. For more on this topic, see here, here, here and here.

Which problems are the masters' responsibility, not Dany's

A recurring argument to support the opinion that Dany is a bad ruler is that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" or "good intentions, disastrous outcomes". It simply does not hold water for two major reasons.

It puts the blame on Dany for the slavers' actions (which is particularly wrong because she is actively trying to make things better for the very people that they oppressed).

Carnage would have always occurred one way or another, even if Dany had been less lenient towards them from the get-go. It's likely that there would have been less collateral damage if she had killed and/or neutralized the slavers' power right away, yes, but this circles back to my first argument - that she is not responsible for their disproportionate reactions.

Let's take a look at some of the tragedies that occurred during Dany's tenure and see who was at fault.

The Great Masters of Meereen had withdrawn before Dany’s advance, harvesting all they could and burning what they could not harvest. Scorched fields and poisoned wells had greeted her at every hand. Worst of all, they had nailed a slave child up on every milepost along the coast road from Yunkai, nailed them up still living with their entrails hanging out and one arm always outstretched to point the way to Meereen. Leading her van, Daario had given orders for the children to be taken down before Dany had to see them, but she had countermanded him as soon as she was told. “I will see them,” she said. “I will see every one, and count them, and look upon their faces. And I will remember.”

By the time they came to Meereen sitting on the salt coast beside her river, the count stood at one hundred and sixty-three. I will have this city, Dany pledged to herself once more. (ASOS Daenerys VI)

It's not Dany's fault that the city's economy collapsed during her tenure, it's the masters'; Meereen's main exports were slaves and olives. The latter became unavailable because the slavers burned the fields, while the former became unavailable because Dany decided to show the entire continent that the lives of the former slaves matter and that they can't be sold.

It's not Dany's fault that one hundred and sixty-three children were crucified, it's the masters'. To hold her accountable for these deeds makes no sense (and veers into slavery apologia) because the slave masters have agency of their own and she was actively trying to undo the damage they caused for thinking that selling human lives and treating them as it pleased them was okay.

“Yunkai’s sellswords roam the hills north of Astapor, hunting down those who flee the flames.”

“Has the city fallen, then? Its walls were thick.”

“This is so,” said the bricklayer, a stoop-backed man with rheumy eyes, “but they were old and crumbling as well.”

[…] “Outside our walls, the Yunkai’i devoured our crops and slaughtered our herds,” the cobbler went on. “Inside we starved. We ate cats and rats and leather. A horsehide was a feast. King Cutthroat and Queen Whore accused each other of feasting on the flesh of the slain. Men and women gathered in secret to draw lots and gorge upon the flesh of him who drew the black stone. […] Soon after came the sickness, a bloody flux that killed three men of every four, until a mob of dying men went mad and slew the guards on the main gate.”

The old brickmaker broke in to say, “No. That was the work of healthy men, running to escape the flux.”

“Does it matter?” asked the cobbler. “The guards were torn apart and the gates thrown open. The legions of New Ghis came pouring into Astapor, followed by the Yunkai’i and the sellswords on their horses. Queen Whore died fighting them with a curse upon her lips. King Cutthroat yielded and was thrown into a fighting pit, to be torn apart by a pack of starving dogs.”

[…] “And when the city fell?” demanded Skahaz. “What then?”

“The butchery began. The Temple of the Graces was full of the sick who had come to ask the gods to heal them. The legions sealed the doors and set the temple ablaze with torches. Within the hour fires were burning in every corner of the city. As they spread they joined with one another. The streets were full of mobs, running this way and that to escape the flames, but there was no way out. The Yunkai’i held the gates.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

I've said it in a previous post and will say again - it's not Dany's fault that Astapor fell, it's the masters'. Yes, she made mistakes when she didn't leave a garrison to the council she installed in the Red City and let the Yunkai'i retain their wealth and influence; her lenience made Astapor's fall possible. It still doesn't make her responsible for the fact that they chose to hunt down the citizens and burn the entire city to serve as a lesson for the abolitionists.

What's more, letting the slaves starve inside the city and eat "cats and rats and leather" was probably what caused the bloody flux, so it's not Dany's fault that the pale mare spread throughout the city and the region either, it's the masters'. To hold her accountable for these deeds makes no sense (and veers into slavery apologia) because the slave masters have agency of their own and she was actively trying to undo the damage they caused for thinking that selling human lives and treating them as it pleased them was okay.

It had taken the rest of the day and most of the night for the Brazen Beasts to gather up the corpses. The final count was two hundred fourteen slain, three times as many burned or wounded. (ADWD The Queensguard)

It's not Dany's fault that Drogon arrived. She couldn't control him anymore and casualties were probably inevitable the moment he showed up. What actually set his attacks in motion was the spearman's attack on him, but again, Dany couldn't have prevented these things from happening. She did the only thing she could've done, which was to throw herself between him and the people in the arena and attempt to control him (which she ultimately does by flying away with him and saving more lives in the process). Related to that point, it's not Dany's fault that the peace agreement with Yunkai was compromised because of Drogon's arrival.

"Thus does Yunkai make reply to your offers, ser. I warned you that you would not like their answer."

They choose war, then. So be it. Ser Barristan felt oddly relieved. War he understood. "If they think they will break Meereen by throwing stones—"

"Not stones." The old woman's voice was full of grief, of fear. "Corpses." (ADWD The Queen's Hand)

It's not Dany's fault (nor Barristan's) that the slavers decided to throw corpses afflicted by the pale mare to spread the disease in Meereen and end the siege more quickly. That was the slavers' choice and only theirs. To hold her accountable for these deeds makes no sense (and veers into slavery apologia) because the slave masters have agency of their own and she was actively trying to undo the damage they caused for thinking that selling human lives and treating them as it pleased them was okay.

Which brings me back to the second major reason I'd mentioned above concerning why the accusation that Dany's good intentions led to horrible outcomes is weak at best and slavery apologia at worse: violence and casualties would have always been inevitable because the slavers would have always tried to fight to restore the slave trade. This is in the best interests of not just Yunkai, but of multiple city-states, most notable of all Volantis:

"The best calumnies are spiced with truth," suggested Qavo, "but the girl's true sin cannot be denied. This arrogant child has taken it upon herself to smash the slave trade, but that traffic was never confined to Slaver's Bay. It was part of the sea of trade that spanned the world, and the dragon queen has clouded the water. Behind the Black Wall, lords of ancient blood sleep poorly, listening as their kitchen slaves sharpen their long knives. Slaves grow our food, clean our streets, teach our young. They guard our walls, row our galleys, fight our battles. And now when they look east, they see this young queen shining from afar, this breaker of chains. The Old Blood cannot suffer that. Poor men hate her too. Even the vilest beggar stands higher than a slave. This dragon queen would rob him of that consolation." (ADWD Tyrion XI)

This is also one of the two reasons why the argument that Dany was "stupid" for having trusted the Meereenese nobles is very weak; not only I've said before that we don't have concrete (though it's convincing enough) evidence that they acted in bad faith, but even if they hadn't, the peace couldn't have been kept.

Poor old Yezzan. The lord of suet was not so bad as masters went. Sweets had been right about that. Serving at his nightly banquets, Tyrion had soon learned that Yezzan stood foremost amongst those Yunkish lords who favored honoring the peace with Meereen. Most of the others were only biding their time, waiting for the armies of Volantis to arrive. A few wanted to assault the city immediately, lest the Volantenes rob them of their glory and the best part of the plunder. Yezzan would have no part of that. Nor would he consent to returning Meereen’s hostages by way of trebuchet, as the sellsword Bloodbeard had proposed. (ADWD Tyrion XI)

“How long do you think the Yunkishmen will want to continue paying wages to four free companies?”

The Tattered Prince took a sip of wine and said, “A vexing question. But this is the way of life for we men of the free companies. One war ends, another begins. Fortunately there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. Perhaps here. Even as we sit here drinking Bloodbeard is urging our Yunkish friends to present King Hizdahr with another head. Freedmen and slavers eye each other’s necks and sharpen their knives, the Sons of the Harpy plot in their pyramids, the pale mare rides down slave and lord alike, our friends from the Yellow City gaze out to sea, and somewhere in the grasslands a dragon nibbles the tender flesh of Daenerys Targaryen. Who rules Meereen tonight? Who will rule it on the morrow?”

The Pentoshi gave a shrug. “One thing I am certain of. Someone will have need of our swords.” (ADWD The Spurned Suitor)

With the death of Yezzan (one of the few Yunkish lords in favor of the peace), "most" of the Yunkish lords are "only biding their time" "waiting for the armies of Volantis". The mercenaries also want to fight. These instances display that not only the peace favored the slavers over the former slaves and undermined the anti-slavery queen (which I've addressed the section about the consequences of Dany's choices), they also show that the peace was fragile and nothing prevented either Yunkai or Volantis from breaking it.

The second reason why it doesn't make sense to argue that Dany was "stupid" for having trusted the Meereenese slavers (and I admit that I was a little guilty of that too, though I changed my stance) is that it ignores Dany's decision-making process. I've already showed above how she doesn't rely on anyone's viewpoint but her own and will reiterate that once again in a future section, which will be about why Dany is a good queen.

Mhysa and mother of dragons: why both identities are fallible and how, like with her successes, Dany's failures are tied to her tendency to take responsibility

To clarify things here: mhysa refers to Dany's desire to protect the oppressed. Mother of dragons refers to Dany's assertiveness and willingness to use violent methods to accomplish her goals (whatever they might be). They are not a dichotomy in the sense that BryndenBFish and Adam Feldman tried to create in their metas, namely by characterizing mhysa as her peaceful and compassionate side and mother of dragons as her violent and selfish side. Both can be ineffective and harmful.

In AGOT, as @yendany wrote about, watching the carnage in Lhazareen initially makes Dany rationalize it by saying that "this is the price of war" (mother of dragons). Not long afterwards, however, she is unable to continue to watch these injustices occur without doing anything, so she orders her men to stop the rapes (mhysa). She asserts her position to make sure that they follow her orders (mother of dragons and mhysa combined).

In ASOS, Dany was also both mhysa and mother of dragons when she rebelled against the masters and freed the Unsullied.

This makes for complex characterization, which is only fitting since her storyline's thematic message (that war is the only righteous path) is complex as well. In order to achieve justice, Dany must be in touch with both of these sides.

What's also important to note is what these aspects of Dany's identity have in common: they are tied to Dany's sense of accountability.

When the mhysa tries to find common ground and not use violence at any cost, she's taking responsibility for the dead by seeking to prevent more deaths from occurring (and unwittingly privileging the nobles).

When the mother of dragons punishes the wineseller and his daughters, she's seeking for information about the Sons to better protect her children.

Ultimately, both of those actions were mistakes, but they are examples of Dany taking responsibility nonetheless. My intent is to show that a) Dany's mistakes are not terrible ones, but rather reasonable ones that can be amended with time and learning and that b) they are understandable ones because they are tied to Dany's sense of accountability (which is also why she is such a good queen, as I will show below). In this section, the focus is on her misses. The next one will focus on her hits.

First, let's consider the mistakes (or controversial decisions) that didn't impact the whole region.

Many people like to bring up Dany's order to torture the wineseller and his daughters as a reason why she wouldn't rule well. I am not going to have a long discussion of this issue here because I've done it elsewhere; to be concise, they tend to overlook how torture is normalized in her time (the Vale, the Night's Watch and the North have all used it) and mistakenly attribute the idea to her when it was actually the Shavepate's (yes, she is still responsible for authorizing it, but it matters in terms of characterization that she wasn't the one who first came up with it). They never take this moment into consideration as well:

“They are afraid for their children,” Reznak said.

Yes, Daenerys thought, and so am I. (ADWD Daenerys II)

This shows that, despite how morally questionable this action might be, it is ultimately being done in the name of her people - in the name of people who aren't even tied to her by heritage or feudal alliances (which is more than other feudal lords can say).

They never take these moments into consideration as well:

"We are all dead, then. You gave us death, not freedom." Ghael leapt to his feet and spat into her face.

Strong Belwas seized him by the shoulder and slammed him down onto the marble so hard that Dany heard Ghael's teeth crack. The Shavepate would have done worse, but she stopped him.

"Enough," she said, dabbing at her cheek with the end of her tokar. "No one has ever died from spittle. Take him away." (ADWD Daenerys III)

Hazzea was enough. What good is peace if it must be purchased with the blood of little children? “These murders are not their doing,” Dany told the Green Grace, feebly. “I am no butcher queen.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“Kill them all and take their treasures, I say. Whisper the command, and your Daario will make you a pile of their heads taller than this pyramid.”

“If I knew who they were—”

“Zhak and Pahl and Merreq. Them, and all the rest. The Great Masters. Who else would it be?”

He is as bold as he is bloody. “We have no proof this is their work. Would you have me slaughter my own subjects?” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“If he is not the Harpy, he knows him. I can find the truth of that easy enough. Give me your leave to put Hizdahr to the question, and I will bring you a confession.”

“No,” she said. “I do not trust these confessions. You’ve brought me too many of them, all of them worthless.”

“Your Radiance—”

“No, I said.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

The last quote is noticeable for marking the only instance in this book series in which a ruler learned that torture doesn't bring feasible results and stops it.

Still, the most important takeaway here is that Dany is seen refusing to order indiscriminate and disproportionate punishments with four different people. That's the pattern for her. She won't kill innocent children or risk murdering subjects who weren't responsible for the crimes that she's punishing nor will she use torture if it doesn't help her to protect her people.

Does that mean she will never misuse her power? No, she is fallible. But it can't be forgotten that the world she lives in normalizes violence and arbitrariness in her punishments and that, despite her qualities, GRRM will not let her not be a product of her time as well. It can't be forgotten that her characterization is that of someone who strives to make just decisions, hence why she eventually stops the tortures and why her tendency is to avoid indiscriminate punishment. That makes for nuanced characterization and does not detract from her being a good ruler; King Jaehaerys I is another example of that.

That being said, the key detail that her detractors don't realize that her overuse of her mhysa side was much more harmful than her overuse of her mother of dragons side in ADWD. As I already said above, while she's not to blame for the slavers' atrocities (and not to be judged as a bad queen because of their actions), it's true that they wouldn't have had the chance to do what they did if she had been more ruthless against them from the get-go. In that sense, the mhysa side caused a lot more damage than the mother of dragons one.

We can also see some of the damage of overrelying on her mhysa side's perspective in some of her decisions at court.

This is Dany's decision when a freedman asks for a noble to be gelded for raping his wife back when she was his bed slave and to receive a purse of gold for having to take care of the noble's child:

Dany granted him the gold, but not the gelding.

“When he lay with her, your wife was his property, to do with as he would. By law, there was no rape.” Her decision did not please him, she could see, but if she gelded every man who ever forced a bedslave, she would soon rule a city of eunuchs. (ADWD Daenerys I)

Am I saying that it would have been justice if Dany had gelded the master for raping the bed slave? No (though I don't begrudge anyone who might think it is). Still, he did deserve some sort of punishment, be it gelding (remember that we're in a pseudomedieval world) or something else.

Does that mean that this was a terrible mistake from Dany's part? No. As she cleverly notes, doing otherwise would have established a precedent that would punish too many nobles. At this point, she believes that she must have peace with the masters to bring order to the city, so she can't punish him.

This is Dany's decision when a nobleborn boy asks for her to kill the slaves who revolted against his family by killing his father and elder brother and raping his mother before killing her and are now living in his house:

I am queen over a city built on dust and death. Dany had no choice but to deny him. She had declared a blanket pardon for all crimes committed during the sack. Nor would she punish slaves for rising up against their masters. (ADWD Daenerys I)

This situation is even more complex than the previous one. It must be noted that we don't know how these masters treated their slaves in order for the latter to have reacted so radically when they could. Even so, the boy's mother certainly did not deserve to be raped, ever. As we can see, even if the use of force was necessary to depose the oppressors and end slavery, it doesn't come without negative consequences (and I'm sure we'll see more of those in TWOW).

Was it a mistake from Dany's part to let these slaves go unpunished? On the one hand, any rapist deserves to be punished (and Dany is intensely aware of that fact). On the other hand, like with the masters in the other case, it would establish a precedent that would punish too many slaves and she doesn't want to act arbitrarily by going against her blanket. At this moment, for Dany, finding peace means that the former masters and the former slaves must stand as equals, so she won't punish the latter harshly either. It's a nuanced situation that can't be distorted to mean that she doesn't care about these crimes; it's the opposite, as she notes that she's queen "over a city built on dust and death". She feels terrible guilt for having to do this, but it goes in line with her current attempt to be conciliatory.

This is Dany's decision when a rich woman (who lost her husband and sons during the sack) asks for her house (which she left in fear for her safety), clothes and jewels back, for they are now all in possession of former bed slaves who turned the house into a brothel:

“They can keep the clothes,” she allowed. Dany granted her the jewels but ruled the house was lost when she abandoned it. (ADWD Daenerys I)

Was this decision a mistake from Dany's part? I don't think so. In the same chapter, we saw Dany feeling empathy for the Yunkish refugees' plight:

A brothel. Half of her freedmen were from Yunkai, where the Wise Masters had been famed for training bedslaves. The way of the seven sighs. Brothels had sprouted up like mushrooms all over Meereen. It is all they know. They need to survive. Food was more costly every day, whilst the price of flesh grew cheaper. In the poorer districts between the stepped pyramids of Meereen’s slaver nobility, there were brothels catering to every conceivable erotic taste, she knew. (ADWD Daenerys I)

It's quite possible that these are the same former bedslaves who are trying to survive in these difficult times in Meereen. The woman is rich, had relatives to run to and, let's not forget, profited off slavery. The prostitutes simply don't have the same resources and never had the same opportunities that the woman had.

I'm only including this decision here because I know that it is a controversial one in parts of the fandom, who berate Dany for being "arbitrary". I wouldn't describe it as such because there were never any laws that treated masters and slaves as equals and that appointed who should receive what (because slaves weren't entitled to receive anything until Dany arrives). I would say that Dany ultimately did the right thing; she was even conciliatory by at least granting the woman her jewels. Just because the woman isn't depicted as a one-note villain doesn't mean that she wasn't part of the oppressors' side.

Dany's overuse of her mhysa identity over her mother of dragons one is also apparent in this moment:

Xaro gave a languid shrug. “As it happens, when I came ashore in your sweet city, I chanced to see upon the riverbank a man who had once been a guest in my manse, a merchant who dealt in rare spices and choice wines. He was naked from the waist up, red and peeling, and seemed to be digging a hole.”

“Not a hole. A ditch, to bring water from the river to the fields. We mean to plant beans. The beanfields must have water.”

“How kind of my old friend to help with the digging. And how very unlike him. Is it possible he was given no choice in the matter? No, surely not. You have no slaves in Meereen.”

Dany flushed. “Your friend is being paid with food and shelter. I cannot give him back his wealth. Meereen needs beans more than it needs rare spices, and beans require water.”

“Would you set my dancers to digging ditches as well? Sweet queen, when he saw me, my old friend fell to his knees and begged me to buy him as a slave and take him back to Qarth.”

She felt as if he’d slapped her. “Buy him, then.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

This moment has been exhaustively discussed here and here. What is necessary to say here is that this man was a merchant like Xaro is; this means that he most likely owned slaves (which Xaro conveniently left out for his own benefit), like the merchant Xaro does. Both the ones who sell and the ones who possess slaves have to be undermined in order to abolish slavery. In this former merchant's case, he probably lost his slaves, had no opportunity to sell his spices and wines, couldn't leave and then had to find whatever work was available in the city. The available work was to dig ditches to plant beans and reform the city's economy. That type of work can't be prohibited, it's necessary to guarantee that the city remains without slavery.

Another false accusation against Dany is that she didn't care about this man. That's not true, she cares too much - see how "[s]he felt as if he'd slapped her". That's how she feels, in the same chapter, when she realizes what leaving for Westeros would mean for the city at this point:

“The Yunkai’i will restore the Great Masters the instant you are gone, and we who have so faithfully served your cause will be put to the sword, our sweet wives and maiden daughters raped and enslaved.”

“Not mine,” grumbled Skahaz Shavepate. “I will kill them first, with mine own hand.” He slapped his sword hilt.

Dany felt as if he had slapped her face instead. (ADWD Daenerys III)

The mhysa in her is being too lenient for not realizing that the slavers have to be undermined and that she must prioritize the lives of the freedmen. The mother of dragons should have intervened by being more pragmatic in that sense. This displays how difficult (and dramatically compelling) her situation is.

But why is Dany so insistent on finding peace and conciliation with the slavers? To contextualize why, it's crucial to remember the deaths that she believes herself to be responsible for:

Rakharo and Quaro stood beside the tent flap. Quaro took a step forward, reaching for the handle of his whip, but Qotho spun graceful as a dancer, the curved arakh rising. It caught Quaro low under the arm, the bright sharp steel biting up through leather and skin, through muscle and rib bone. Blood fountained as the young rider reeled backward, gasping.

[...] The Dothraki were shouting, Mirri Maz Duur wailing inside the tent like nothing human, Quaro pleading for water as he died. (AGOT Daenerys VIII)

“Eroeh?” asked Dany, remembering the frightened child she had saved outside the city of the Lamb Men.

“Mago seized her, who is Khal Jhaqo’s bloodrider now,” said Jhogo. “He mounted her high and low and gave her to his khal, and Jhaqo gave her to his other bloodriders. They were six. When they were done with her, they cut her throat.”

“It was her fate, Khaleesi,” said Aggo. 

If I look back I am lost. (AGOT Daenerys IX)

They left a trail of dead and dying horses behind them as they went[.]

[...] Three days into the march, the first man died.

[...] Two nights later, it was an infant girl who perished.

[...] Death followed death. Weak children, wrinkled old women, the sick and the stupid and the heedless, the cruel land claimed them all. Doreah grew gaunt and hollow-eyed, and her soft golden hair turned brittle as straw.

[...] Doreah took a fever and grew worse with every league they crossed. Her lips and hands broke with blood blisters, her hair came out in clumps, and one evenfall she lacked the strength to mount her horse. Jhogo said they must leave her or bind her to her saddle, but Dany remembered a night on the Dothraki sea, when the Lysene girl had taught her secrets so that Drogo might love her more. She gave Doreah water from her own skin, cooled her brow with a damp cloth, and held her hand until she died, shivering. Only then would she permit the khalasar to press on. (ACOK Daenerys I)

All my victories turn to dross in my hands, she thought. Whatever I do, all I make is death and horror. When word of what had befallen Astapor reached the streets, as it surely would, tens of thousands of newly freed Meereenese slaves would doubtless decide to follow her when she went west, for fear of what awaited them if they stayed ... yet it might well be that worse would await them on the march. Even if she emptied every granary in the city and left Meereen to starve, how could she feed so many? The way before her was fraught with hardship, bloodshed, and danger. (ASOS Daenerys VI)

“Your Grace,” said Ser Barristan Selmy, the lord commander of her Queensguard, “there is no need for you to see this.”

“He died for me.”

[...] “This one has been told that your servant Stalwart Shield sometimes gave coin to the women of the brothels to lie with him and hold him.”

The blood of the dragon does not weep. (ADWD Daenerys I)

“I would give Hazzea back to you if I could,” she told the father, “but some things are beyond the power of even a queen. Her bones shall be laid to rest in the Temple of the Graces, and a hundred candles shall burn day and night in her memory. Come back to me each year upon her nameday, and your other children shall not want … but this tale must never pass your lips again.” (ADWD Daenerys II)

Your servants Mossador and Duran were crushed by falling stones beneath the river wall. Your servants Eladon Goldenhair and Loyal Spear were poisoned at a wineshop where they were accustomed to stop each night upon their rounds.”

Mossador. Dany made a fist. (ADWD Daenerys II)

The queen flinched. Rylona Rhee had played the harp as sweetly as the Maiden. When she had been a slave in Yunkai, she had played for every highborn family in the city. In Meereen she had become a leader amongst the Yunkish freedmen, their voice in Dany’s councils. (ADWD Daenerys II)

“A girl I thought I’d saved from rape and torment. All I did was make it worse for her in the end. And all I did in Astapor was make ten thousand Eroehs.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Dany's trauma from all of her losses doesn't mean that she was doing the right political choices, but it does make them understandable and sympathetic. What's more, her mistakes stemmed from a genuine desire to do good for these people and to prevent more from dying, which is a major reason why Dany is a good queen (I'll elaborate more on why in a later section):

Now, which of Dany's mistakes had international repercussions? This post lays them out well, so check it out. They boil down to three:

Not leaving a garrison in Astapor to protect the council she installed (which indirectly caused atrocities like the political chaos that arose with Cleon's ascent and, later, Astapor's fall).

Leaving the wealth of the Yunkish slavers intact (which indirectly caused atrocities like Astapor's fall and the upcoming Battle of Fire).

Leaving the wealth of the Meereenese slavers intact (which indirectly caused the Sons of the Harpy's attacks; I've talked about how Dany handled them here).

Are these mistakes understandable? Yes. First, she is a 15-year-old with no experience or formal education to properly understand how these solutions were insubstantial. In fact, her situation seems pretty much unprecedented in scale in this universe.

Second, as @rainhadaenerys pointed out before here, Dany may be fighting for the freedmen, but she is still part of the nobility and would not consider depriving them of their resources right away. Indeed, she and her family had their resources taken away and she lived in poverty and fear because of it. Both her background and the previous losses I noted above must be taken into consideration to make sense of her mistakes.

If these were pretty much the only errors that had international repercussions and that Dany should be held 100% accountable for, why does she receive so much criticism from the fandom? I'll say it again: because many people are holding Dany accountable for the slavers' actions.

Here's the thing: Dany's actual mistakes (which were caused by her tendency to conciliate, not to be forceful) were not massive in nature; the consequences of her mistakes (caused by the slavers) were massive. But that's because her crusade was so unacceptable and detrimental for their way of living that they felt that they had to retaliate with a ridiculously high amount of brutality to exert their control. Therefore, her understandable mistakes initiate a large chain of events that might make her seem ineffective, but they were never her fault in the first place, they were the slavers'. She is not responsible for the choices that they ultimately made, even if she still had an indirect part (at best) in making them possible.

Why Dany is a good queen

Daenerys Targaryen is a good queen not just because her shortcomings are understandable, but because she also has skills and achievements of her own that deserve praise. To quickly sum them up before I lay them out:

She applies her critical thinking skills when she makes her decisions and doesn't rely on any single advisor's opinion, but on her own. We saw this before in her previous actions and we see this happen here as well.

She took measures that will influence the outcome of the Battle of Fire.

She took the first steps to improve the city's economy.

Her genuine compassion for the unprivileged informs every single decision that she makes, from her mistakes (already discussed) to her successes (which will be addressed here). I will discuss highlights such as her pro-freedmen decisions at court, her choice to lock the dragons and her efforts to help the Astapori refugees.

Most of the freedmen love Dany. She is not tied to them because of her heritage, but because she fought for their basic human rights and they chose her as their leader.

1) Critical thinking in her assessment of her counsellors' advice

If you made it until this part of the post, you already know that Dany analyzes the facts and considers the pros and cons in each advice before reaching a decision. This is something I've showed in other posts of this series as well.

Since Dany receives a lot of advice in her ADWD arc and since I've already talked about how she reacts to almost all of them, here I'm only going to reiterate that she dealt with the issue of marriage using her critical thinking skills and add more observations (to the ones already made from questions 9 to 11) explaining why. Not only this proves my overall point, it also helps to dispel the belief that Dany will be shown to be as out of control of the situation as Cersei was if it is revealed that the Green Grace is the Harpy and/or that the slavers were deliberately acting in bad faith. I don't think this argument holds up when you consider how she came to decide to marry Hizdahr.

Dany starts to consider taking a noble husband in ADWD Daenerys IV. That's because the Sons' killings continue and Yunkai has found several allies, so she feels that she can't fight enemies both inside and outside Meereen. The Green Grace suggests taking Hizdahr as a husband; these are Dany's responses:

“Ah.” Dany had been expecting this. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“Why Hizdahr? Skahaz is noble born as well.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

These passages display that:

Dany is aware that a marriage between her and Hizdahr would be advantageous to the Green Grace, so she questions in which ways she would benefit from it herself.

Dany is aware that the marriage would not solve all of the freedmen's problems.

Dany is aware that she would potentially lose the Shavepate's support, but that marrying Hizdahr would still bring her more rewards.

Later, she interacts with her suitor about their potential marriage. These are her questions:

“Why should the Sons of the Harpy lay down their knives for you? Are you one of them?”

[...] “Would you tell me if you were?”

“Why would you want to help me? For the crown?”

These passages display that:

Dany doesn't fully trust Hizdahr.

Dany recognizes that, like with the Green Grace, Hizdahr has a lot to gain with the marriage.

Then, as we know, she agrees to a marriage if he manages to stop the killings in the city for ninety days.

But then, one might argue, the Shavepate did warn Dany that Hizdahr was only able to end the Sons' activities because he's working with them. That she still chooses to continue her alliance with him makes her seem dumb, doesn't it? Well, not really if you take her actual line of reasoning into consideration:

Skahaz was convinced that somewhere in Meereen the Sons of the Harpy had a highborn overlord, a secret general commanding an army of shadows. Dany did not share his belief. The Brazen Beasts had taken dozens of the Harpy’s Sons, and those who had survived their capture had yielded names when questioned sharply … too many names, it seemed to her. It would have been pleasant to think that all the deaths were the work of a single enemy who might be caught and killed, but Dany suspected that the truth was otherwise. My enemies are legion. “Hizdahr zo Loraq is a persuasive man with many friends. And he is wealthy. Perhaps he has bought this peace for us with gold, or convinced the other highborn that our marriage is in their best interests.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Dany's conclusion makes sense with the information that she has at this point. If dozens of the Harpy's Sons who were captured are blaming different people, it stands to reason that too many nobles are working concurrently against her, that there isn't a single overlord commanding everyone and that Hizdahr may have convinced them to stop their activities through bribery. In fact, even if she had found their leader (who might or might not be the Green Grace), would that have necessarily stopped the killings? It's highly questionable.

Even if Dany might be ultimately proven wrong, she made a reasonable guess based on what she knew. That's far from being dumb or ineffective and, again, it's not as if knowing that the Green Grace was the Harpy would solve everything.

Astapor's fall and the arrival of the pale mare are the events that ultimately seal Dany's decision to marry Hizdahr. That means that she followed Reznak's suggestion, but it can't be said that he convinced her since she distrusts him. What actually happened is that neither a siege nor battle were viable options to her. A siege would require more food and less enemies. A battle would require a larger military strength, as Dany reflects here:

“Meet the foe,” she echoed, “with the freedmen you’ve called half-trained and unblooded.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

“Or five. And if I give you the Unsullied, I will have no one but the Brazen Beasts to hold Meereen.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

“I cannot fight two enemies, one within and one without. If I am to hold Meereen, I must have the city behind me. The whole city. I need … I need …” She could not say it.

“Your Grace?” Ser Barristan prompted, gently.

A queen belongs not to herself but to her people.

“I need Hizdahr zo Loraq.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

In Dany's view, marrying Hizdahr and accepting a peace agreement with the Yunkai'i was the only decision that would guarantee the control of Meereen. It is ultimately a mistake for privileging the nobility over the freedmen, as I talked about above. Still, GRRM allows us to see that Dany ultimately failed (for now) and, at the same time, that she is capable of critically evaluating the advice that she receives. Indeed, even if she is following their advice, Dany does not trust Hizdahr or any of the nobles:

She needed Skahaz and the Brazen Beasts, and she had come to mistrust all of Reznak’s counsel. Beware the perfumed seneschal. Has Reznak made common cause with Hizdahr and the Green Grace and set some trap to snare me? (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“Do as you think best. But do it soon. If Hizdahr’s peace should break, I want to be ready. I do not trust the slavers.” I do not trust my husband. (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

Meanwhile, as we know, she trusts Barristan most of all and Skahaz more than the nobles (see the first passage above and here). It doesn't mean that she'll always follow their suggestions.

None of this is to say that Dany handled things perfectly. Again, she's very young and inexperienced and, because she just arrived in the city, ignorant in many ways. Aside from maybe not guessing who the Harpy was, she couldn't grasp the difference between marrying Hizdahr and marrying the Shavepate (which the Green Grace claims to be an obvious one if one knows their families and Ghiscari history in general), for instance. On the other hand, she grasps the cultural importance of the Temple of the Graces right away when she asks for the petitioners who bring her burned bones to swear a holy oath before the gods of Ghis (i.e., if they lie to her, they'll be lying to the gods as well). GRRM is a really great writer in that sense - he could have Dany be passive and overreliant on her advisors all the time (which is often how the show writers portrayed her), but he gives Dany many nuances that allow us to appreciate both her strengths and weaknesses.

So, to sum this up, Dany was shown considering lots of factors before she decided to marry Hizdahr. She recognized the advantages to the nobles, she pondered how she would benefit from it, she compared its upsides to the ones she would get (or rather wouldn't get) from a marriage with Shavepate, she maintains a healthy dose of distrust for the slavers, she considers the possibility of a single person leading the Harpy's Sons and concludes that there might be too many (which might be wrong, but isn't unreasonable) and she chooses marriage over both siege and battle for reasons already mentioned above. This case is representative of how Dany doesn't make decisions carelessly, but rather using her critical thinking skills. You can find more examples in this very meta and in the others from this series.

2) Her influence in the upcoming Battle of Fire

There's already a post about this, but, for the sake of comprehensiveness, I'll bring up what was said.

Dany was the one who created three companies of freedmen, who will all be useful in the upcoming Battle of Fire:

“My freedman—” Dany started.

“Bedslaves, barbers, and brickmakers win no battles.”

She freed Pretty Meris to negotiate with the Tattered Prince and other sellsword companies to switch allegiances to Dany’s side (and they will do so, as we know from the TWOW chapters). I've already commented on this instance above in the section "The consequences of Dany's choices and her reactions".

And she fostered the cooperation and unity of purpose that will help the freedmen to be stronger against the Yunkai'i. I will explain below how she accomplished this feat.

One should also go back to ASOS, since the Unsullied are only there because of Dany's intelligence and compassion, as I explained in this meta. No wonder they will only fight for her and not for a nobleman.

3) Reviving the city's economy

Meereen is certainly not in its best economic conditions in the beginning of Dany's ADWD arc. As we already knew from ASOS, the slavers "harvest[ed] all they could and burn[ed] all they could not harvest", so there were "scorched fields and poisoned wells" everywhere. And that's not even considering that the city "had been sacked savagely" during Dany's conquest (despite her attempts to restore order).

The reasons why Dany can't resolve these issues overnight in a clear-cut manner are laid out concisely in this exchange between Dany and Xaro:

“You spoke of help. Trade with me, then. Meereen has salt to sell, and wine …”

“Ghiscari wine?” Xaro made a sour face. “The sea provides all the salt that Qarth requires, but I would gladly take as many olives as you cared to sell me. Olive oil as well.”

“I have none to offer. The slavers burned the trees. [...] What of copper?”

“A pretty metal, but fickle as a woman. Gold, now … gold is sincere. Qarth will gladly give you gold … for slaves.”

“Meereen is a free city of free men.”

“A poor city that once was rich. A hungry city that once was fat. A bloody city that once was peaceful.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

As we see in this passage, the slaves and the olives were the main sources of income for the city. With Dany's abolition of slavery and the slavers' burning of the fields, however, both of them are gone, which makes it that much harder for Dany to restore order in the city. Of course, this is not to say that Dany shouldn't have done anything - not only the former slaves would have continued to be exploited and killed if she hadn't, but it's also important to remember that the slaves in Astapor, Yunkai and Meereen were willing to fight for their freedom and grateful that Dany chose to make that her cause. The problem is that abolishing slavery is not enough to help the freedmen because slavery was the basis of the society they lived in, and reforms from the economic to the cultural level will be necessary. It's impossible not to fail on some level in this situation, which makes it all the more admirable, especially for her time and place, that Dany decides to stay.

And so we see Dany taking several actions to overcome some of these economic difficulties in her first five chapters:

Thousands of slaves still toiled on vast estates in the hills, growing wheat and olives, herding sheep and goats, and mining salt and copper. [...] Dany had dispatched her tiny khalasar to subdue the hinterlands, under the command of her three bloodriders[.] (ADWD Daenerys I)

Beyond the eastern hills was a range of rounded sandstone mountains, the Khyzai Pass, and Lhazar. If Daario could convince the Lhazarene to reopen the overland trade routes, grains could be brought down the river or over the hills at need … but the Lamb Men had no reason to love Meereen. (ADWD Daenerys I)

“I am only a young girl and know little of such things, but older, wiser men tell me that to hold Meereen I must control its hinterlands, all the land west of Lhazar as far south as the Yunkish hills.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

“[…] [He was digging a] ditch, to bring water from the river to the fields. We mean to plant beans. The beanfields must have water. […] Meereen needs beans more than it needs rare spices, and beans require water.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

“We are replanting, but it takes seven years before an olive tree begins to bear, and thirty years before it can truly be called productive.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

“Our stores are ample for the moment,” he reminded her, “and Your Grace has planted beans and grapes and wheat. Your Dothraki have harried the slavers from the hills and struck the shackles from their slaves. They are planting too, and will be bringing their crops to Meereen to market. And you will have the friendship of Lhazar.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Again, it must be emphasized that the city's economic situation only became as dire as it did because of the Meereenese slavers (and, later, the actions of Qarth, New Ghis and Tolos). Still, Dany is putting a lot of effort to revive the city's economy and guarantee that the freedmen retain their freedom. As we can see from these passages, she:

Successfully freed the slaves from the hinterlands (something she didn't do earlier because of her need to conciliate and make peace quickly), which is now "bringing their crops" to sell in Meereen.

Made an alliance with the Lhazarene, which allows her to reestablish the overland trade route through the Khyzai Pass and bring grains down the river or over the hills.

Ordered that irrigation canals were build to plant beans (which started to be planted two chapters later).

Is replanting olive trees.

Planted grapes and wheat.

Additionally, she also tries to sell what little the city has to offer (even if Xaro was ultimately not interested):

“You spoke of help. Trade with me, then. Meereen has salt to sell, and wine [...] What of copper?” (ADWD Daenerys III)

Dany wasn't responsible for the reasons that led to Meereen's lack of trade during her tenure.

Dany is responsible, on the other hand, for multiple efforts to improve a scenario that will take a very long time to be properly tackled. This can't be understated.

4) How her genuine compassion for the oppressed inform all of her decisions

Dany's genuine concern for the former slaves should never be understated; it informs both her use of force:

“Let them come. In me they shall find a sterner foe than Cleon. I would sooner perish fighting than return my children to bondage.” (ADWD Daenerys IV)

And her attempts to reform the city:

Dany did not know how to make him see. She wanted Westeros as much as he did, but first she must heal Meereen. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

At the same time, when this aspect is remembered, it tends to only be seen as a reason why she's a sympathetic character and nothing else. This is not entirely surprising, considering that many fans tend to mock those who have moral principles as ineffective in the game of thrones (see also Cat and Ned).

Still, this quality can and must be contextualized as part of why Dany is a good (but imperfect) ruler, which is what I intend to do here.

At court, Dany decides to give the freedmen and the nobles equal attention. This is unprecedented, which is clear from the fact that it departs from Reznak's advice (and is obviously a huge deal considering that the former were slaves not long ago):

Reznak would have summoned another tokar next, but Dany insisted that he call upon a freedman. Thereafter she alternated between the former masters and the former slaves. (ADWD Daenerys I)

In fact, she could leave the task of holding court to her advisors, but she chooses to listen to them herself:

“Ser Barristan,” she called, “I know what quality a king needs most.”

“Courage, Your Grace?”

“Cheeks like iron,” she teased. “All I do is sit.”

“Your Grace takes too much on herself. You should allow your councillors to shoulder more of your burdens.”

“I have too many councillors and too few cushions.” (ADWD Daenerys I)

She has many freedmen as advisors in her council:

Rylona Rhee had played the harp as sweetly as the Maiden. When she had been a slave in Yunkai, she had played for every highborn family in the city. In Meereen she had become a leader amongst the Yunkish freedmen, their voice in Dany’s councils. (ADWD Daenerys II)

Dany assembled her council to hear them. Grey Worm was there for the Unsullied, Skahaz mo Kandaq for the Brazen Beasts. In the absence of her bloodriders, a wizened jaqqa rhan called Rommo, squint-eyed and bowlegged, came to speak for her Dothraki. Her freedmen were represented by the captains of the three companies she had formed—Mollono Yos Dob of the Stalwart Shields, Symon Stripeback of the Free Brothers, Marselen of the Mother’s Men. Reznak mo Reznak hovered at the queen’s elbow, and Strong Belwas stood behind her with his huge arms crossed. Dany would not lack for counsel. (ADWD Daenerys III)

She frequently empathizes with the freedmen and makes decisions favoring them over their former masters.

This is Dany's decision after former slaver Grazdan (who is a relative of the Green Grace, so Dany would've benefitted from granting him his will) says that six young girls owed them gold because they learned their craft from an old weaver who was previously his slave:

“What was the name of the old weaver?”

“The slave?” Grazdan shifted his weight, frowning. “She was … Elza, it might have been. Or Ella. It was six years ago she died. I have owned so many slaves, Your Grace.”

I love how Dany punished him for forgetting the old weaver's name. I love that she recognizes the significance of remembering the names of the marginalized people who died. Any activist who deals with losses in the social movements that they are part of can relate to this. In Dany's case, she won't forget Eroeh or Stalwart Shield or Rylona and she certainly won't let the master forget the old weaver's name without suffering the consequences.

This is Dany's decision after Reznak says that the freedmen were disrespecting the traditions of the guilds for "carving stone and laying bricks" for a cheap price and calling themselves "journeymen" or "masters" and that the guilds ask for her to "uphold their ancient rights and customs":

“The freedmen work cheaply because they are hungry,” Dany pointed out. “If I forbid them to carve stone or lay bricks, the chandlers, the weavers, and the goldsmiths will soon be at my gates asking that they be excluded from those trades as well.” She considered a moment. “Let it be written that henceforth only guild members shall be permitted to name themselves journeymen or masters … provided the guilds open their rolls to any freedman who can demonstrate the requisite skills.” (ADWD Daenerys I)

Both Dany's empathy and critical thinking skills are at work here. She understands the freedmen's current hardships and she's aware of how prohibiting them from keeping this job could establish an unfortunate precedent in other occupations. However, because she also knows that there's inherent value in the skills of the guild members, she agrees that they are the only ones who should be called "journeymen" or "masters" ... as long as the freedmen are allowed the chance to obtain that honor as well. This scene showcases both Dany's intelligence and desire for equality.

When it comes to the casualties that happened during her tenure, Dany always holds herself accountable. One major example occurs right in the beginning of her arc with Stalwart Shield's murder. I've already talked about her reaction to it here and will reiterate: she refuses to forget his name, makes sure that he's properly buried and honored, increases the amount to gold to find his killer, forbids her soldiers to walk at night to prevent them from being killed, names a company of freedmen after him and thinks about him when she considers marrying again to maintain order in the city.

Other highlights concern her dragons. More and more people show up with charred bones, which leads her to make this decision:

“Three-and-twenty.” Dany sighed. “My dragons have developed a prodigious taste for mutton since we began to pay the shepherds for their kills. Have these claims been proven?”

“Some men have brought burnt bones.”

“Men make fires. Men cook mutton. Burnt bones prove nothing. Brown Ben says there are red wolves in the hills outside the city, and jackals and wild dogs. Must we pay good silver for every lamb that goes astray between Yunkai and the Skahazadhan?”

“No, Magnificence.” Reznak bowed. “Shall I send these rascals away, or will you want them scourged?”

Daenerys shifted on the bench. “No man should ever fear to come to me.” Some claims were false, she did not doubt, but more were genuine. Her dragons had grown too large to be content with rats and cats and dogs. The more they eat, the larger they will grow, Ser Barristan had warned her, and the larger they grow, the more they’ll eat. Drogon especially ranged far afield and could easily devour a sheep a day. “Pay them for the value of their animals,” she told Reznak, “but henceforth claimants must present themselves at the Temple of the Graces and swear a holy oath before the gods of Ghis.” (ADWD Daenerys I)

Many details can be gleamed from this passage:

With the increase of people claiming that their lambs were burned by her dragons, Dany is becoming understandably suspicious that they are taking advantage of the situation.

At the same time, however, her sympathy for them makes her prioritize the claims that were genuine (which she thinks are the majority) rather than the few ones that were false, so she still chooses to pay for their animals.

It's also notable is that GRRM contrasts Reznak's advice with Dany's ultimate decision. Because Reznak is a nobleman, he's used to mistreating the lowborn, so having them scourged wouldn't be a big deal. Dany, on the other hand, wants to be both just and approachable as a leader, so not only she won't punish them, she'll compensate them all, even if it includes paying people who were lying.

Dany's decision also showcases her shrewdness (already mentioned above): she doesn't just pay them, she also requests that they swear an oath before the gods of Ghis, making it clear that she's aware of the importance of religion in the city. If they lie to her, they'll be lying to the gods too.

But the most notable actions that Dany takes in order to answer for the dragons' casualties are taken after after she finds out that Drogon killed a child named Hazzea:

Her name had been Hazzea. She was four years old. Unless her father lied. He might have lied. No one had seen the dragon but him. His proof was burned bones, but burned bones proved nothing. He might have killed the little girl himself, and burned her afterward. He would not have been the first father to dispose of an unwanted girl child, the Shavepate claimed. The Sons of the Harpy might have done it, and made it look like dragon’s work to make the city hate me. Dany wanted to believe that … but if that was so, why had Hazzea’s father waited until the audience hall was almost empty to come forward? If his purpose had been to inflame the Meereenese against her, he would have told his tale when the hall was full of ears to hear.

The Shavepate had urged her to put the man to death. “At least rip out his tongue. This man’s lie could destroy us all, Magnificence.” Instead Dany chose to pay the blood price. No one could tell her the worth of a daughter, so she set it at one hundred times the worth of a lamb. “I would give Hazzea back to you if I could,” she told the father, “but some things are beyond the power of even a queen. Her bones shall be laid to rest in the Temple of the Graces, and a hundred candles shall burn day and night in her memory. Come back to me each year upon her nameday, and your other children shall not want … but this tale must never pass your lips again.” (ADWD Daenerys II)

This passage is similar, in many ways, to the one about the burned bones of sheep; both of them display Dany's compassion and intelligence:

Like in the previous moment, she is shown using her critical thinking skills: on the one hand, she is also suspicious of the man's only evidence being burned bones. At the same time, though, she recognizes that he would have told the tale while the whole audience was inside the hall if his desire was to tarnish her reputation.

Like in the previous moment, a nobleman urges her to punish the man harshly (because that's how the relationship between master and slave went). Instead, Dany would rather pay him the blood price, bury Hazzea's bones in the Temple of the Graces, have a hundred candles for her in her memory and compensate him for his other children as well. This speaks volumes about how Dany, as a queen, feels that she is answerable for all of her subjects' problems. This is remarkable for her time and place, in which people were bound by feudal alliegiances and places of origin. Dany's sympathy transcends both.

Her only request is that the man does not tell anyone about what happened. One could interpret this as her having political concerns in regards to her reputation, which is possible, but I think the main reason why she made that request was because she doesn't want any person to ever "fear to come to [her]". She genuinely wants to protect them, not harm them. She wants to be their mhysa, not the mother of monsters (as she sees it).

After Hazzea's death, she makes a remarkable sacrifice in her name and other potential victims: chain her own (dragon) children. It's not an easy decision to make due to the parts in bold below:

The Great Masters had used the pit as a prison. It was large enough to hold five hundred men … and more than ample for two dragons. For how long, though? What will happen when they grow too large for the pit? Will they turn on one another with flame and claw? Will they grow wan and weak, with withered flanks and shrunken wings? Will their fires go out before the end?

What sort of mother lets her children rot in darkness?

If I look back, I am doomed, Dany told herself … but how could she not look back? I should have seen it coming. Was I so blind, or did I close my eyes willfully, so I would not have to see the price of power? (ADWD Daenerys II)

But she makes it for the sake of her people. Was this the right choice? We don't know if she could have tamed them and effectively used them against her enemies, so maybe it was.

However, it must be reiterated that Dany is doing more than she ever needed to do. She didn't have to stay and try to bring order to the city in the first place. She didn't have to make so many compensations for Hazzea's father. That she does all of these things highlight her selflessness, but we shouldn't hold her in higher moral standards like she does.

All of this is to say that she shouldn't be criticized harshly if she eventually decides to let her dragons remain free. As I've already touched upon above, using her dragons won't necessarily result in negative consequences. Her main lesson in ADWD was that she had to have been more forceful, after all. Also, she was already doing far more than she had to and had no real moral obligation towards anyone (though she feels that she does). She didn't have to chain her dragons. And she certainly didn't have to delay her departure for Westeros:

“...I say, let this city be. You cannot free every slave in the world, Khaleesi. Your war is in Westeros.”

“I have not forgotten Westeros.” Dany dreamt of it some nights, this fabled land that she had never seen. [...] Dany set great store by Ser Jorah’s counsel, but to leave Meereen untouched was more than she could stomach. She could not forget the children on their posts, the birds tearing at their entrails, their skinny arms pointing up the coast road. (ASOS Daenerys V)

“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.”

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

“Stay,” she said. “Rule. And be a queen.”

“No one will be left to die. You are all my people.” Her dreams of home and love had blinded her. “I will not abandon Meereen to the fate of Astapor. It grieves me to say so, but Westeros must wait.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

“What are you saying? Are you telling me you will not go?”

“I cannot go.” (ADWD Daenerys III)

“Lingering here will never bring it any closer. The sooner we take our leave of this place—”

“I know. I do.” Dany did not know how to make him see. She wanted Westeros as much as he did, but first she must heal Meereen. (ADWD Daenerys IV)

“Dorne is too far away. To please this prince, I would need to abandon all my people. You should send him home.” (ADWD Daenerys VIII)

Even if she decides to go back to Westeros, one must always remember that Daenerys was already doing more than she had to do by staying in Meereen; she was already doing a lot more than any of her contemporaries would do. Turning her eyes back to Westeros, at least by itself, does not mean that she is getting "darker", it just means that she is thinking of her own desires for once.

Dany's use of her own resources to revitalize Meereen is another one of the multiple sacrifices she makes for her people. The decisions made using her gold are both great political decisions and proof of her compassion, which shows that these aspects can (and should) go hand in hand in a great ruler. I've listed and talked about the moments where she's explicitly shown spending her own gold solely to help her people in this post. I'll sum them up here:

She promises to pay "good gold" for the short sword of Stalwart Shield and "one thousand honors" for information about the Sons of the Harpy.

She pays people affected by the actions of her dragons.

She sets up a camp and sends food to the Astapori refugees.

She is not bothered at all for having to compensate the Yunkish masters with "gold and gems".

She orders the food that would normally be thrown away to be given for the poor.

She seeks to strengthen her military forces to defend the city from the Yunkish masters and does not care about the price to do so.

@rainhadaenerys added that she also sent "gems and gold" to guarantee the alliance with the Lhazarene solely to improve the city's economy.

I still haven't properly explored the third moment of the list, which is one of the most notable examples of Dany's selflessness, so let's get to it.

After finding out about the pale mare's spread and the Astapori refugees' plight, this is Dany's first impulse:

My children. “They are coming here for help. For succor and protection. We cannot turn our backs on them.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

However, as both Barristan and the Shavepate note, the bloody flux is very contagious and could easily turn Meereen into a epidemic disaster like it did Astapor. So, Dany comes up with these ideas:

“As you say, then. We will keep them outside the walls until this … this curse has run its course. Set up a camp for them beside the river, west of the city. We will send them what food we can. Perhaps we can separate the healthy from the sick.” (ADWD Daenerys V)

Not only these are clever ideas (which she had without anyone's help), it's noteworthy that she's hopeful that she can allow them inside once "this curse has run its course".

However, as she finds out in the next chapter, these solutions weren't as successful as she hoped they would be:

The Astapori had no place to go. Thousands remained outside Meereen’s thick walls—men and women and children, old men and little girls and newborn babes. Many were sick, most were starved, and all were doomed to die. Daenerys dare not open her gates to let them in. She had tried to do what she could for them. She had sent them healers, Blue Graces and spell-singers and barbersurgeons, but some of those had sickened as well, and none of their arts had slowed the galloping progression of the flux that had come on the pale mare. Separating the healthy from the sick had proved impractical as well. Her Stalwart Shields had tried, pulling husbands away from wives and children from their mothers, even as the Astapori wept and kicked and pelted them with stones. A few days later, the sick were dead and the healthy ones were sick. Dividing the one from the other had accomplished nothing.

Even feeding them had grown difficult. Every day she sent them what she could, but every day there were more of them and less food to give them. It was growing harder to find drivers willing to deliver the food as well. Too many of the men they had sent into the camp had been stricken by the flux themselves. Others had been attacked on the way back to the city. Yesterday a wagon had been overturned and two of her soldiers killed, so today the queen had determined that she would bring the food herself. Every one of her advisors had argued fervently against it, from Reznak and the Shavepate to Ser Barristan, but Daenerys would not be moved. “I will not turn away from them,” she said stubbornly. “A queen must know the sufferings of her people.”

[...] Many shat where they slept now, too feeble to crawl to the ditches she’d commanded them to dig. (ADWD Daenerys VI)

So, let's recap:

Dany sets up a camp for them "beside the river, west of the city".

Dany tries to separate the healthy from the sick, but that meant separating family members. That was ultimately for naught, since the ones who were only sick at first died and the ones who were healthy got sick.

Dany sends "healers, Blue Graces and spell-singers and barbersurgeons", but they got sick as well.

Dany commanded them to dig ditches to defecate, but they started to do it where they slept because they were too weak to stand up and defecate there.

Dany sent the food that she could, but "every day there were more of them and less food to give them". Even sending the food was becoming hard, since some soldiers were becoming sick and others were attacked on the way back to the city.

This leads Dany to decide to bring the food herself, even while knowing all of the risks that doing so would entail. See what she also does:

There was an old man on the ground a few feet away, moaning and staring up at the grey belly of the clouds. She knelt beside him, wrinkling her nose at the smell, and pushed back his dirty grey hair to feel his brow. “His flesh is on fire. I need water to bathe him. Seawater will serve. Marselen, will you fetch some for me? I need oil as well, for the pyre. Who will help me burn the dead?”

By the time Aggo returned with Grey Worm and fifty of the Unsullied loping behind his horse, Dany had shamed all of them into helping her. Symon Stripeback and his men were pulling the living from the dead and stacking up the corpses, while Jhogo and Rakharo and their Dothraki helped those who could still walk toward the shore to bathe and wash their clothes. Aggo stared at them as if they had all gone mad, but Grey Worm knelt beside the queen and said, “This one would be of help.”

Before midday a dozen fires were burning. Columns of greasy black smoke rose up to stain a merciless blue sky. Dany’s riding clothes were stained and sooty as she stepped back from the pyres. (ADWD Daenerys VI)

So, let's recap:

Dany went to distribute the food even while knowing all of the risks. She also considered sharing the food equally twice.

Dany decided to bath an old man herself even while knowing all of the risks.

Dany burned the dead corpses (which could have transmitted the disease) herself even while knowing all of the risks.

Dany "shamed all of them into helping her". She had her fighting men help her to take care of people who she had no allegiance to and would receive no benefit from helping.

And look at her thoughts while she does all of the above:

I have no more help to give, Dany thought, despairing. (ADWD Daenerys VI)

“I will not turn away from them,” she said stubbornly. “A queen must know the sufferings of her people.” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

Bless me, Dany thought bitterly. Your city is gone to ash and bone, your people are dying all around you. I have no shelter for you, no medicine, no hope. Only stale bread and wormy meat, hard cheese, a little milk. Bless me, bless me.

What kind of mother has no milk to feed her children? (ADWD Daenerys VI)

“Go if you wish, ser. I will not detain you. I will not detain any of you.” Dany vaulted down from the horse. “I cannot heal them, but I can show them that their Mother cares.” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

We would be remiss if we were to think she had any obligation to help the Astapori refugees. Every single advisor, from the Shavepate to Reznak to Barristan to Symon (note that three of the four are anti-slavery) advised her to stop caring, but she simply can't do it. If Daenerys Targaryen is not a true queen, I don't know what she is. Which brings me to the next section.

5) She chose the freedmen and the freedmen chose her

Dany's love for the freedmen is returned with their love for her.

"Mhysa!" they called. "Mhysa! MHYSA!" They were all smiling at her, reaching for her, kneeling before her. "Maela," some called her, while others cried "Aelalla" or "Qathei" or "Tato," but whatever the tongue it all meant the same thing. Mother. They are calling me Mother.

The chant grew, spread, swelled. It swelled so loud that it frightened her horse, and the mare backed and shook her head and lashed her silver-grey tail. It swelled until it seemed to shake the yellow walls of Yunkai. More slaves were streaming from the gates every moment, and as they came they took up the call. They were running toward her now, pushing, stumbling, wanting to touch her hand, to stroke her horse's mane, to kiss her feet. Her poor bloodriders could not keep them all away, and even Strong Belwas grunted and growled in dismay. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

“Say the word, my sweet, and I will send you from this awful place. I will find a ship somehow and send you home. To Naath.”

“I would sooner stay with you. On Naath I’d be afraid. What if the slavers came again? I feel safe when I’m with you.”

Safe. The word made Dany’s eyes fill up with tears. “I want to keep you safe.” Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. “No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don’t always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …”

“… mother,” whispered Missandei.

“Mother to dragons.” Dany shivered.

“No. Mother to us all.” (ADWD Daenerys II)

“Wherever the Mother of Dragons goes, the Mother’s Men will go as well,” announced Marselen, Missandei’s remaining brother. (ADWD Daenerys III)

"...Should you reach your queen, give her a message from the slaves of Old Volantis." She touched the faded scar upon her wrinkled cheek, where her tears had been cut away. "Tell her we are waiting. Tell her to come soon." (ADWD Tyrion VII)

Their eyes followed her. Those who had the strength called out. “Mother … please, Mother … bless you, Mother …” (ADWD Daenerys VI)

Daenerys Targaryen was wed, the guards on the pens had told them, laughing. She had taken a Meereenese slaver as her king, as wealthy as he was noble, and when the peace was signed and sealed the fighting pits of Meereen would open once again. Other slaves insisted that the guards were lying, that Daenerys Targaryen would never make peace with slavers. Mhysa, they called her. Someone told him that meant Mother. Soon the silver queen would come forth from her city, smash the Yunkai'i, and break their chains, they whispered to one another. (ADWD Tyrion X)

"Is it true?" a freedwoman shouted. "Is our mother dead?"

"No, no, no," Reznak screeched. "Queen Daenerys will return to Meereen in her own time in all her might and majesty. Until such time, His Worship King Hizdahr shall—"

"He is no king of mine," a freedman yelled. (ADWD The Discarded Knight)

Hizdahr's blunder with Grey Worm had cost him the Unsullied. When His Grace had tried to put them under the command of a cousin, as he had the Brazen Beasts, Grey Worm had informed the king that they were free men who took commands only from their mother. (ADWD The Queensguard)

This may be a show line, but it's accurate - she is the queen that the freedmen chose. What's more important, they chose her because she chose them. Because she chose to be held accountable for their protection:

"I was alone for a long time, Jorah. All alone but for my brother. I was such a small scared thing. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn't have done that. He wasn't just my brother, he was my king. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?"

"He was no true king," Dany said scornfully. "He did no justice. Justice ... that's what kings are for." (ASOS Daenerys III)

Dany didn't have to delay her arrival to Westeros, but she did. She didn't have to fight for the freedom of the slaves in Slaver's Bay, but she did. She didn't have to stay and try to bring order to the city, but she did. She didn't have to give the freedmen voice in her council, but she did. She didn't have to question these institutions and fight for these people; her contemporaries are only focused in their own regional squabbles and wouldn't lift a finger for the slaves ... But she did. I won't mention all of her sacrifices again because, if you've reached this far into the meta, you already know how the list goes on and on.

Dany did not just make what seemed impossible to come true in the birth of the dragons.

She made what seemed impossible to come true by choosing to do what's right and challenge half of the world and fail and try again and again.

She made what seemed impossible to come true by becoming the queen that this world needs.

#daenerys targaryen #asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #a dance with dragons #dany and her choices

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butterflies-dragons · 4 years ago

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Hi. You said in your Jon and women meta that Lyanna is a combination of both Sansa and Arya. Can you give her parallels with both girls?

Hello Anon,

Yes this past week I’ve said that Lyanna Stark was a mixture of the Stark Sisters.

I also said that I always thought that the Sansa from the original outline was very similar to Lyanna Stark:

Now ¿How marrying the heir of the Iron Throne/King of the 7K is supposed to be an act of dubious loyalty? Because GRRM has stated that in high nobility there is no marriage without the Lord Father of the bride’s blessing. Furthermore, from the wedding the bride belongs to her husband’s house, that’s all the fuzz with the cloaking ceremony, going from the maiden’s cloak to your husband’s cloak. You left your paternal house to belong with your husbands house. Sansa’s loyalty was with her husband, and more important, Sansa’s love and loyalty was with her baby boy. So, how choosing his baby over her paternal house could be seem as an act of dubious loyalty then? And even if she wanted to come back to her paternal family, does she really get a chance without the risk of being captured, separated from her baby, accused of treason and executed, leaving her baby boy motherless?

Oh I get it, there was an enmity between Starks and Lannisters. So, Or Joffrey abducted Sansa? Or Sansa eloped to marry Joffrey? How very Shakespearean of you George! This is Romeo and Juliet all over again. Or even better, this is Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark oll over again.

Original Outline Sansa was Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and mother of the heir to the Iron Throne.

It is implied by the fandom that this Sansa dies because the outline says that Jaime dethrones and kills Joffrey and “everyone ahead of him in the line of succession” (Sansa’s baby). Well, Sansa was not in the line of succession, but it’s probable that Jaime had to kill her to get to her baby boy, which reminds me of Elia Martell & her babies’ tragic and devastating deaths.

And landing more on the subject, I said that: Arya and Sansa play different roles in Jon’s life: Sansa is the distant half sister, the archetype of the princess in the tower, that he thinks he would never get. While Arya is the closest sister, the comfortable presence of a girl with less feminine inclinations. And both of them resemblance different aspects of Lyanna Stark. While Arya got Lyanna’s spirit and physical features, Sansa Stark got the less known romantic nature of Lyanna, after all, Lyanna cried while listening Rhaegar playing the harp, eloped with him, bore him a son, found herself trapped in a tower, and unwillingly caused the death of her father and older brother. Like a Lady in a sad and beautiful song.

We can draw parallels between Lyanna and her two nieces, but there are also parallels shared by the three of these She-wolves of Winterfell. Let’s see:

LYANNA & ARYA

Appearance:

“You remind me of her sometimes. You even look like her." "Lyanna was beautiful," Arya said, startled. Everybody said so. It was not a thing that was ever said of Arya. "She was," Eddard Stark agreed, "beautiful, and willful, and dead before her time." —AGOT - Arya II

Carrying a sword:

"Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it. You remind me of her sometimes. —AGOT - Arya II

The wolf-blood:

“Arya, you have a wildness in you, child. The wolf blood, my father would call it. Lyanna had a touch of it."—AGOT - Arya II

"She was," Eddard Stark agreed, "beautiful, and willful, and dead before her time." —AGOT - Arya II

This willfulness of yours, the running off, the angry words, the disobedience … at home, these were only the summer games of a child. Here and now, with winter soon upon us, that is a different matter. It is time to begin growing up." —AGOT - Arya II

Punching annoying brothers & friends:

Now two children danced across the godswood, hooting at one another as they dueled with broken branches. The girl was the older and taller of the two. Arya! Bran thought eagerly, as he watched her leap up onto a rock and cut at the boy. But that couldn't be right. If the girl was Arya, the boy was Bran himself, and he had never worn his hair so long. And Arya never beat me playing swords, the way that girl is beating him. She slashed the boy across his thigh, so hard that his leg went out from under him and he fell into the pool and began to splash and shout. "You be quiet, stupid," the girl said, tossing her own branch aside. "It's just water. Do you want Old Nan to hear and run tell Father?" She knelt and pulled her brother from the pool, but before she got him out again, the two of them were gone. — ADWD - Bran III

When the spirit stepped out of the open tomb, pale white and moaning for blood, Sansa ran shrieking for the stairs, and Bran wrapped himself around Robb's leg, sobbing. Arya stood her ground and gave the spirit a punch. It was only Jon, covered with flour. "You stupid," she told him, "you scared the baby," but Jon and Robb just laughed and laughed, and pretty soon Bran and Arya were laughing too. —AGOT - Arya IV

The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle, but when her pup brother teased her for crying she poured wine over his head. —ASOS - Bran II

"My lady?" Ned looked embarrassed. "I'm Edric Dayne, the . . . the Lord of Starfall." Behind them, Gendry groaned. "Lords and ladies," he proclaimed in a disgusted tone. Arya plucked a withered crabapple off a passing branch and whipped it at him, bouncing it off his thick bull head. "Ow," he said. "That hurt." He felt the skin above his eye. "What kind of lady throws crabapples at people?" "The bad kind," said Arya, suddenly contrite. She turned back to Ned. "I'm sorry I didn't know who you were. My lord." —ASOS - Arya VIII

Half-horses:

"You ride like a northman, milady," Harwin said when he'd drawn them to a halt. "Your aunt was the same. Lady Lyanna. But my father was master of horse, remember." —ASOS - Arya III

Horses … the boy was mad for horses, Lady Dustin will tell you. Not even Lord Rickard's daughter could outrace him, and that one was half a horse herself. —ADWD - Reek III

"Brandon was fostered at Barrowton with old Lord Dustin, the father of the one I'd later wed, but he spent most of his time riding the Rills. He loved to ride. His little sister took after him in that. A pair of centaurs, those two. —ADWD - The Turncloak

This is a contrast with Sansa: "I hate riding," Sansa said fervently. "All it does is get you soiled and dusty and sore." —AGOT - Sansa I

LYANNA & SANSA

Beauty:

Both Lyanna and Sansa are considered beautiful:

Lyanna:

"She [Lyanna] was," Eddard Stark agreed, "beautiful, and willful, and dead before her time." —AGOT - Arya II

Lyanna had only been sixteen, a child-woman of surpassing loveliness. Ned had loved her with all his heart. Robert had loved her even more. She was to have been his bride. —AGOT - Eddard I

"The maid's a fair one," Osha said. —AGOT - Bran VII

The northern girl had a wild beauty, as he recalled. —ADWD - Epilogue

Sansa:

Sansa’s needlework was exquisite. Everyone said so. “Sansa’s work is as pretty as she is.”

Sansa had the grace to blush. She blushed prettily. She did everything prettily.

Worse, she was beautiful. Sansa had gotten their mother’s fine high cheekbones and the thick auburn hair of the Tullys.

“I saw Sansa at the court, the day Tyrion told me his terms. She looked most beautiful, my lady. Perhaps a, a bit wan. Drawn, as it were.”

Men would say she had my look, but she will grow into a woman far more beautiful than I ever was.

“You are very beautiful, my lady,” the seamstress said when she was dressed.

Ser Kevan told her she was beautiful, Jalabhar Xho said something she did not understand in the Summer Tongue, and Lord Redwyne wished her many fat children and long years of joy.

"Ser Ossifer speaks truly, you are the most beautiful maid in all the Seven Kingdoms.”

“Had we known such beauty awaited us at the Gates, we would have flown,” Ser Roland said. Though his words were addressed to Myranda Royce, he smiled at Alayne as he said them.

Inner Strength:

"You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert," Ned told him. "You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath”. —AGOT - Eddard VII

My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel. —ASOS - Sansa V

Pleading Ned to protect part of themselves:

He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once. —AGOT - Eddard IV

Lyanna was pleading to her brother Ned to protect her son, while Sansa was pleading to her father Ned to protect her direwolf, Lady, part of Sansa’s soul. Later, Ned regretted failing Sansa...

Knights & Queens of Love and Beauty:

Lyanna was a Mystery Knight AND was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the Tourney of Harrenhal.

Lyanna as the Knight of the Laughing Tree:

But late on the afternoon of that second day, as the shadows grew long, a mystery knight appeared in the lists. Bran nodded sagely. [...] “It was the little crannogman, I bet.” “No one knew,” said Meera, “but the mystery knight was short of stature, and clad in ill-fitting armor made up of bits and pieces. The device upon his shield was a heart tree of the old gods, a white weirwood with a laughing red face.” [...] “Whoever he was, the old gods gave strength to his arm. The porcupine knight fell first, then the pitchfork knight, and lastly the knight of the two towers. None were well loved, so the common folk cheered lustily for the Knight of the Laughing Tree, as the new champion soon was called.” —ASOS - Bran II

Lyanna as the Queen of love and beauty. Rhaegar wearing rubies (red) gave her a crown of winter roses (blue):

The Targaryen prince armored all in black. On his breastplate was the three-headed dragon of his House, wrought all in rubies that flashed like fire in the sunlight. —AGOT - Eddard I

Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost. —AGOT - Eddard XV

Sansa attended the Tourney of the Hand at Kings Landing, met Petyr Baelish who told her that Catelyn was his Queen of Love and Beauty, and received a (red) rose from Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, who was wearing an armor adorned with sapphires (blue). During the second day of the tourney, Sansa wore the red rose in her hair:

"Your mother was my queen of beauty once," the man said quietly. His breath smelled of mint. "You have her hair." His fingers brushed against her cheek as he stroked one auburn lock. Quite abruptly he turned and walked away. —AGOT - Sansa II

When the Knight of Flowers made his entrance, a murmur ran through the crowd, and he heard Sansa's fervent whisper, "Oh, he's so beautiful." Ser Loras Tyrell was slender as a reed, dressed in a suit of fabulous silver armor polished to a blinding sheen and filigreed with twining black vines and tiny blue forget-me-nots. The commons realized in the same instant as Ned that the blue of the flowers came from sapphires; a gasp went up from a thousand throats. Across the boy's shoulders his cloak hung heavy. It was woven of forget-me-nots, real ones, hundreds of fresh blooms sewn to a heavy woolen cape. —AGOT - Eddard VII

Her eyes were only for Ser Loras. When the white horse stopped in front of her, she thought her heart would burst. To the other maidens he had given white roses, but the one he plucked for her was red. "Sweet lady," he said, "no victory is half so beautiful as you." Sansa took the flower timidly, struck dumb by his gallantry. His hair was a mass of lazy brown curls, his eyes like liquid gold. She inhaled the sweet fragrance of the rose and sat clutching it long after Ser Loras had ridden off. —AGOT - Sansa II

The boy from Highgarden did something with his legs, and his horse pranced sideways, nimble as a dancer. Sansa clutched at his arm. "Father, don't let Ser Gregor hurt him," she said. Ned saw she was wearing the rose that Ser Loras had given her yesterday. Jory had told him about that as well. —AGOT - Eddard VII

At this point in the Books, Sansa, as Alayne Stone, is organizing a Tourney to elect the members of Robert Arryn personal guard, named the Brotherhood of the Winged Knights. As the daughter of Petyr Baelish, Lord Protector of the Vale, Alayne Stone could be crowned as the Queen of Love and Beauty.

This is a contrast with Arya who thinks tourneys are stupid: "I don't care about their stupid tourney." —AGOT - Arya II

Failed betrothal to a Baratheon:

Both Lyanna and Sansa were betrothed with a Baratheon, Lyanna with Robert and Sansa with Joffrey:

If Lyanna had lived, we should have been brothers, bound by blood as well as affection. Well, it is not too late. I have a son. You have a daughter. My Joff and your Sansa shall join our houses, as Lyanna and I might once have done. —AGOT - Eddard I

There is also this parallel between Jenny of Oldstones, Lyanna & Sansa [I wrote about it here]:

Note the parallels between Duncan Targaryen, his betrothed Baratheon and Jenny of Oldstones & Rhaegar Targaryen, Lyanna Stark and her betrothed Robert Baratheon: A Targaryen prince breaking an engagement with a member of House Baratheon that then originates a rebellion.

And this: Sansa was betrothed with Joffrey “Baratheon” and the engagement was broken in the middle of a war with Robb Stark leading an army against King Joffrey, and Jon almost breaking his vows to join Robb’s army to avenge Ned’s death and rescue their sisters. All of which makes me think about these parallels: Sansa being a hostage in King’s Landing & Lyanna’s “abduction”, Ned’s death & Rickard’s death, Robb’s death & Brandon’s death. And that leaves Jon to possibly play the role of Ned Stark in the future.

Basically if Jon and Sansa happens, they will parallel two stories: Rhaegar and Lyanna, a Targaryen/Stark couple; and Ned and Cat, a Stark/Tully couple.

And right now in the Books, Sansa Stark, under the disguise of Alayne Stone, is betrothed with a Robert-like young man: Harry Hardyn.

The Rose of Winterfell:

This is the tale:

According to free folk legend, Lord Brandon Stark, the liege of the north, once called Bael a coward. To take revenge for this affront and prove his courage, Bael climbed the Wall, took the kingsroad, and entered Winterfell under the guise of a singer named Sygerrik of Skagos. ("Sygerrik" means "deceiver" in the Old Tongue.) There, he sang until midnight for the lord.

Impressed by his skills as a singer, Lord Stark asked Bael what he wanted as a reward, but he requested only the most beautiful flower blooming in Winterfell's gardens. As the blue winter roses were just blooming, Brandon Stark presented him with one. The following morning, the maiden daughter of Lord Stark had disappeared, his only child, and in her bed was the blue winter rose.

Lord Brandon sent the members of the Night's Watch looking for them beyond the Wall, but they never found Bael or the girl. The Stark line was on the verge of extinction, when one day the girl was back in her room, holding in her arms an infant: they had actually never left Winterfell, staying hidden in the crypts. Bael's bastard with Brandon's daughter became the new Lord Stark.

Thirty years later, Bael was King-Beyond-the-Wall and led the wildlings' army south, and he had to fight his own son at the Frozen Ford. There, incapable of killing his own blood, he let himself be killed by Lord Stark. His son brought back Bael's head to Winterfell, and his mother who had loved the bard, seeing the trophy, killed herself by leaping from the top of a tower. The son was eventually slain by the Boltons.

[Source]

Ygritte told this story to Jon in ACOK - Jon VI, and it resembles Jon’s own story: Bael/Rhaegar (both harp players/bards) abducting/eloping Brandon's daughter/Lyanna, ‘the fairest flower that blooms in the gardens o' Winterfell’. Immediately after this chapter, comes ACOK - Sansa IV, where she flowered for the first time, next chapter is Jon again. (Jon-Sansa-Jon).

Also take note that Sansa was “abducted” by Petyr Baelish, a known deceiver, whose surname has a resemblance with the name Bael.

Ladies of Winterfell

Lyanna’s and Lady’s bones are buried at Winterfell, what makes them literally Ladies of Winterfell:

"She was more beautiful than that," the king said after a silence. His eyes lingered on Lyanna's face, as if he could will her back to life. Finally he rose, made awkward by his weight. "Ah, damn it, Ned, did you have to bury her in a place like this?" His voice was hoarse with remembered grief. "She deserved more than darkness …" "She was a Stark of Winterfell," Ned said quietly. "This is her place." —AGOT - Eddard I

Shortly, Jory brought him Ice. When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.” “All that way?” Jory said, astonished. “All that way,” Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.” —AGOT - Eddard III

Bran felt all cold inside. "She lost her wolf," he said, weakly, remembering the day when four of his father's guardsmen had returned from the south with Lady's bones. Summer and Grey Wind and Shaggydog had begun to howl before they crossed the drawbridge, in voices drawn and desolate. Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants. It was there they buried Lady, while her brothers stalked between the graves like restless shadows. She had gone south, and only her bones had returned. —AGOT - Bran VI

I wrote about this before:

Now, back to Lady’s death. We know that this event is a turning point in Sansa’s arc, but other than that, the paragraphs leading to the direwolf’s execution are laden with symbolism and foreshadowing, not only for Sansa, but for Ned as well.

During the “trial”, Ned decides that he will take Lady’s life himself, in order to avoid having a butcher like Ilyn Payne do the execution. Then, before he struck, he pronounced her name in the same fashion Robb and Jon called the name of their direwolves before they both died. This for me foreshadows Ned’s own death. Also, before Lady’s death, Ned pleads King Robert to change his decision on putting down the direwolf, appealing to the memory of Lyanna, the woman Robert loved. Similarly, before Ned’s execution at the steps of the Sept of Baelor, Sansa pleads King Joffrey to spare her father’s life, appealing to the love he has for her. As we know, both pleas fell on deaf ears and both Lady and Ned lost their lives; bringing the story full circle, as Ilyn Payne himself cut off Ned’s head.

Another interesting thing is that before Lady’s death we have direct and indirect references to Lyanna Stark. We have the direct reference when Ned appealed to the love Robert Baratheon bore Lyanna, in order to save Lady’s life, and the indirect one when he ordered Jory to choose four men to return Lady’s body to the north, to bury her in Winterfell. This order Ned gave to his men alludes to his own decision to take Lyanna’s body to Winterfell to be buried in the crypts, after her demise, brought on by her doomed love affair with Rhaegar Targaryen.

Dubious Loyalty?

Both Lyanna and Sansa got infatuated by Golden Princes: Rhaegar Targaryen and Joffrey Baratheon, and because of that they both unintentionally played a part in the deaths of their fathers and older brothers, Rickard and Brandon & Ned and Robb. They both also ended trapped in towers regretting their doomed romances.

As I mentioned before, I always thought that the Sansa from the original outline was very similar to Lyanna Stark. That Sansa was described as member of dubious loyalty for her family; but while Lyanna is glorified by the fandom, both Outline Sansa and Asoiaf Sansa are unfairly vilified for committing the same actions that Lyanna did.

Also, as it was pointed out before, Rickard Stark and Catelyn Stark both saw their firstborn sons murdered in front of them, while convinced that their daughters were far away being raped and abused by cruel princes, and then were brutally murdered themselves.

Dead before their time:

"She [Lyanna] was," Eddard Stark agreed, "beautiful, and willful, and dead before her time." —AGOT - Arya II

And so many others were missing. Where had the rest of them gone? Sansa wondered. Vainly, she searched for friendly faces. Not one of them would meet her eyes. It was as if she had become a ghost, dead before her time. —A Game Of Thrones, Sansa V

Lyanna and Lady (part of Sansa’s soul) both died in the south, before their time.

Lyanna’s ghost has haunted Cersei: Cersei wanted to marry Rhaegar but ended married with Robert. Both Rhaegar and Robert loved Lyanna.

Lady is mentioned in the Books as a “shade”, a synonym for ghost. And after Ned’s death, Sansa became a ghost at the Red Keep’s court.

And to finish this section, here some gifsets that illustrate some of the Lyanna & Sansa parallels that were mentioned:

Sansa Stark and Lyanna Stark + parallels

Pleading

She-wolves of Winterfell

Beautiful, Captivating Child-Women

Hidden Metal ft. hair parallels

Broken ‘Baratheon’ Engagements ft. more hair parallels

Fair Maidens

LYANNA & ARYA & SANSA

The wolf-blood:

I have already mentioned this aspect of Lyanna and Arya above, but Sansa has the wolf-blood too. It’s subtle, but it’s there:

"I've never seen an aurochs," Sansa said, feeding a piece of bacon to Lady under the table. The direwolf took it from her hand, as delicate as a queen. Septa Mordane sniffed in disapproval. "A noble lady does not feed dogs at her table," she said, breaking off another piece of comb and letting the honey drip down onto her bread. "She's not a dog, she's a direwolf," Sansa pointed out as Lady licked her fingers with a rough tongue. "Anyway, Father said we could keep them with us if we want." The septa was not appeased. "You're a good girl, Sansa, but I do vow, when it comes to that creature you're as willful as your sister Arya." She scowled. "And where is Arya this morning?" —AGOT - Sansa I

"It won't be so bad, Sansa," Arya said. "We're going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we'll be with Bran and Robb again, and Old Nan and Hodor and the rest." She touched her on the arm. "Hodor!" Sansa yelled. "You ought to marry Hodor, you're just like him, stupid and hairy and ugly!" She wrenched away from her sister's hand, stormed into her bedchamber, and barred the door behind her. —AGOT - Sansa III

Jeyne yawned. "Are there any lemon cakes?" Sansa did not like being interrupted, but she had to admit, lemon cakes sounded more interesting than most of what had gone on in the throne room. "Let's see," she said. The kitchen yielded no lemon cakes, but they did find half of a cold strawberry pie, and that was almost as good. They ate it on the tower steps, giggling and gossiping and sharing secrets, and Sansa went to bed that night feeling almost as wicked as Arya. —AGOT - Sansa III

After my name day feast, I'm going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother's head." A kind of madness took over her then, and she heard herself say, "Maybe my brother will give me your head." —AGOT - Sansa VI

Knights protect the innocent:

Lyanna, as herself and as the Knight of the Laughing Tree, defended Howland Reed, a bannerman of House Stark:

"None offered a name, but he marked their faces well so he could revenge himself upon them later. They shoved him down every time he tried to rise, and kicked him when he curled up on the ground. But then they heard a roar. 'That's my father's man you're kicking,' howled the she-wolf." "A wolf on four legs, or two?" "Two," said Meera. "The she-wolf laid into the squires with a tourney sword, scattering them all. The crannogman was bruised and bloodied, so she took him back to her lair to clean his cuts and bind them up with linen. There he met her pack brothers: the wild wolf who led them, the quiet wolf beside him, and the pup who was youngest of the four.

(...)

“Whoever he was, the old gods gave strength to his arm. The porcupine knight fell first, then the pitchfork knight, and lastly the knight of the two towers. None were well loved, so the common folk cheered lustily for the Knight of the Laughing Tree, as the new champion soon was called.” —ASOS - Bran II

Arya defended Mycah, the butcher’s boy:

Mycah shook his head. "It's only a stick, m'lord. It's not no sword, it's only a stick." "And you're only a butcher's boy, and no knight." Joffrey lifted Lion's Tooth and laid its point on Mycah's cheek below the eye, as the butcher's boy stood trembling. "That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?" A bright bud of blood blossomed where his sword pressed into Mycah's flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy's cheek. "Stop it!" Arya screamed. She grabbed up her fallen stick. Sansa was afraid. "Arya, you stay out of this." "I won't hurt him … much," Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher's boy. Arya went for him. Sansa slid off her mare, but she was too slow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the prince's head, and then everything happened at once before Sansa's horrified eyes. — AGOT - Sansa I

Sansa, as a lady armored with her courtesy and wits, defended a defenestrated knight turned fool:

The king stood. "A cask from the cellars! I'll see him drowned in it." Sansa heard herself gasp. "No, you can't." Joffrey turned his head. "What did you say?" Sansa could not believe she had spoken. Was she mad? To tell him no in front of half the court? She hadn't meant to say anything, only . . . Ser Dontos was drunk and silly and useless, but he meant no harm. "Did you say I can't? Did you?" "Please," Sansa said, "I only meant . . . it would be ill luck, Your Grace . . . to, to kill a man on your name day." "You're lying," Joffrey said. "I ought to drown you with him, if you care for him so much." "I don't care for him, Your Grace." The words tumbled out desperately. "Drown him or have his head off, only . . . kill him on the morrow, if you like, but please . . . not today, not on your name day. I couldn't bear for you to have ill luck . . . terrible luck, even for kings, the singers all say so . . ." Joffrey scowled. He knew she was lying, she could see it. He would make her bleed for this. "The girl speaks truly," the Hound rasped. "What a man sows on his name day, he reaps throughout the year." His voice was flat, as if he did not care a whit whether the king believed him or no. Could it be true? Sansa had not known. It was just something she'd said, desperate to avoid punishment. Unhappy, Joffrey shifted in his seat and flicked his fingers at Ser Dontos. "Take him away. I'll have him killed on the morrow, the fool." "He is," Sansa said. "A fool. You're so clever, to see it. He's better fitted to be a fool than a knight, isn't he? You ought to dress him in motley and make him clown for you. He doesn't deserve the mercy of a quick death." The king studied her a moment. "Perhaps you're not so stupid as Mother says." He raised his voice. "Did you hear my lady, Dontos? From this day on, you're my new fool. You can sleep with Moon Boy and dress in motley." —ACOK - Sansa I

She-Wolves of Winterfell:

Lyanna and Arya are often referred as She-Wolves in the Books, but in a very subtle and poetical way, Sansa is referred as a She-Wolf too:

He smiled at her. "Now, wolf girl, if you can put a name to me as well, then I must concede that you are truly our Hand's daughter." —AGOT - Sansa I

"I forgot, you've been hiding under a rock. The northern girl. Winterfell's daughter. We heard she killed the king with a spell, and afterward changed into a wolf with big leather wings like a bat, and flew out a tower window. But she left the dwarf behind and Cersei means to have his head." —ASOS - Arya XIII

"May the Father judge him justly," murmured a septon. "The dwarf's wife did the murder with him," swore an archer in Lord Rowan's livery. "Afterward, she vanished from the hall in a puff of brimstone, and a ghostly direwolf was seen prowling the Red Keep, blood dripping from his jaws." —ASOS - Jaime VII

"Your Grace has forgotten the Lady Sansa," said Pycelle. The queen bristled. "I most certainly have not forgotten that little she-wolf." She refused to say the girl's name. "I ought to have shown her to the black cells as the daughter of a traitor, but instead I made her part of mine own household. She shared my hearth and hall, played with my own children. I fed her, dressed her, tried to make her a little less ignorant about the world, and how did she repay me for my kindness? She helped murder my son. —AFFC - Cersei IV

What a kick-ass reputation: Sansa, the wolf that killed King Joffrey!

Fond of Flowers:

Lyanna, Arya and Sansa are linked with flowers:

Ned could recall none of it. "I bring her flowers when I can," he said. "Lyanna was … fond of flowers." —A Game Of Thrones - Eddard I

None of which stopped Arya, of course. One day she came back grinning her horsey grin, her hair all tangled and her clothes covered in mud, clutching a raggedy bunch of purple and green flowers for Father. Sansa kept hoping he would tell Arya to behave herself and act like the highborn lady she was supposed to be, but he never did, he only hugged her and thanked her for the flowers. That just made her worse. Then it turned out the purple flowers were called poison kisses, and Arya got a rash on her arms. —AGOT - Sansa I

It was enough that she could walk in the yard, pick flowers in Myrcella's garden, and visit the sept to pray for her father. Sometimes she prayed in the godswood as well, since the Starks kept the old gods. —AGOT - Sansa V

"Do you require guarding?" Marillion said lightly. "I am composing a new song, you should know. A song so sweet and sad it will melt even your frozen heart. 'The Roadside Rose,' I mean to call it. About a baseborn girl so beautiful she bewitched every man who laid eyes upon her." — ASOS - Sansa VII

Songs:

While Arya likes songs about heroes and adventures:

Arya named hers after some old witch queen in the songs. —Bran II - AGOT

She could stay with Hot Pie, or maybe Lord Beric would find her there. Anguy would teach her to use a bow, and she could ride with Gendry and be an outlaw, like Wenda the White Fawn in the songs. —ASOS - Arya XII

Lyanna and Sansa are linked with singers and romantic songs and stories that move them to cry.

As I said before, the story about Bael the Bard and the Rose of Winterfell resembles Jon’s own story: Bael/Rhaegar (both harp players/bards) abducting/eloping Brandon's daughter/Lyanna, ‘the fairest flower that blooms in the gardens o' Winterfell’. Sansa is also linked with this story, as was explained above.

The dragon prince sang a song so sad it made the wolf maid sniffle. —ASOS - Bran II

Later, while Sansa was off listening to a troupe of singers perform the complex round of interwoven ballads called the “Dance of the Dragons,” [sung in High Valyrian] Ned inspected the bruise himself. “I hope Forel is not being too hard on you,” he said. —AGOT - Eddard VII

She pulled a chair close to the hearth, took down one of her favorite books, and lost herself in the stories of Florian and Jonquil, of Lady Shella and the Rainbow Knight, of valiant Prince Aemon and his doomed love for his brother’s queen. —AGOT - Sansa IV

After the meal had been cleared away, many of the guests asked leave to go to the sept. Cersei graciously granted their request. Lady Tanda and her daughters were among those who fled. For those who remained, a singer was brought forth to fill the hall with the sweet music of the high harp. He sang of Jonquil and Florian, of Prince Aemon the Dragonknight and his love for his brother's queen, of Nymeria's ten thousand ships. They were beautiful songs, but terribly sad. Several of the women began to weep, and Sansa felt her own eyes growing moist. —ACOK - Sansa VI

So the singer played for her, so soft and sad that Arya only heard snatches of the words, though the tune was half-familiar. Sansa would know it, I bet. Her sister had known all the songs, and she could even play a little, and sing so sweetly. All I could ever do was shout the words.—A Storm of Swords - Arya IV

Once, when she was just a little girl, a wandering singer had stayed with them at Winterfell for half a year. An old man he was, with white hair and windburnt cheeks, but he sang of knights and quests and ladies fair, and Sansa had cried bitter tears when he left them, and begged her father not to let him go. “The man has played us every song he knows thrice over,” Lord Eddard told her gently. “I cannot keep him here against his will. You need not weep, though. I promise you, other singers will come.” They hadn’t, though, not for a year or more. Sansa had prayed to the Seven in their sept and old gods of the heart tree, asking them to bring the old man back, or better still to send another singer, young and handsome. But the gods never answered, and the halls of Winterfell stayed silent. But that was when she was a little girl, and foolish. She was a maiden now, three-and-ten and flowered. All her nights were full of song, and by day she prayed for silence. —A Feast for Crows - Sansa I

This is a contrast with Arya who thinks love songs are stupid: Another stupid love song. Lanna was always begging the singer to play her stupid love songs. —AFFC - Cat Of The Canals

So there you have it. There is more to say, but I think I covered the basics.

Thanks for your message.

#anon ask #sansa stark #arya stark #lyanna stark

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crystalgirl259 · 4 years ago

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The Flame and the Dragon Ch19

Chapter 19: The Gift

The cold wind bit mercilessly at Kai's exposed neck and cheeks. It had been snowing heavily for almost a week and snow blanketed the landscape once the blizzard ceased. Thick icicles hung from the balconies and roofs of the castle, and snow caked the roofs and towers. But the frosted surface, open fields of white hills, and frosted trees created the perfect environment for the playful staff. White, fluffy snow crunched loudly beneath his fur-lined paddock boots.

Harumi gave Kai a new pair of thick leather riding breeches and a long-sleeved, form-fitting, dark crimson turtleneck.

Over the outfit, he wore a long, red fur coat that covered most of his skinny frame. Soft fur tickled his skin and snuggly hugged the warmth to his body while the leather exterior managed to block any wind that dared try and penetrate it. Kai spun around a couple of times admiring the new coat from all angles and wondering what Cole would think if he saw him in it. Flame trotted beside him, overjoyed to see his master again. Nelson was running around the castle grounds with them, excited to see and touch a real-life horse for the first time in over a century.

The stallion was happy to let the boy pet him and ride on his back.

He always loved attention, just like his owner. The horse suddenly snorted into Kai's spikey hair and rubbed against his arms. He sniffed Kai's jacket and started digging through it Kai laughed at the treatment and pulled a juicy red apple from his pocket. He grinned as Flame's dark eyes lit up and he carefully snatched the apple from his master's hand and devoured the tasty treat. When he was finished he licked Kai's cheek, making the teen laugh loudly.

None of them noticed Cole admiring them from the balcony, watching the stallion triumphantly gallop across the snow-covered plains.

A small smile was on Cole's face when he watched Flame play with Kai and Nelson. His main focus was on his captive, though once in his thoughts the word no longer seemed appropriate. He felt a small jump in his chest when Kai smiled and laugh when Nelson tried racing Flame. Cole realized that was the first time he'd ever truly seen Kai smile or laugh. The teenager smiled brilliantly and laughed alongside Nelson as he had never before experienced something so enjoyable in his life.

It was a stark contrast to the feisty character he'd become accustomed to.

Just the sight of Kai's warm smile he'd kept hidden from him melted Cole's frozen heart. His breath hitched being suddenly exposed to the most innocent and blissful side of the otherwise resolute and world-hardened young man. For a brief moment, Cole would've given anything to have Kai smile at him like that. Subconsciously, his hand touched his bandaged torso beneath his opened coat. He hadn't bothered wearing a shirt under it, in case Kai insisted he changes the bandages again.

The wound had fully healed by now.

It had taken much longer than he thought it would have, and had no doubt it could've been a lot worse, had it not been for the teen's persistence. Cole had never felt this way before. His claws subconsciously moved to his chest as if feeling his heartbeat for the first time as it thundered in his chest. He sighed in frustration and started back towards his room, and down the stairs. Cole collapsed into his favorite chair at the head of the dining room table and sank to the seat.

His hands started massaging his temples in a desperate act to help him think but it did little to help.

His attention turned to the wide window, the curtains were drawn open. He could only faintly see the dots of his captive and his servants, but that perfect smile Kai had worn so effortlessly burned vividly in his mind. He sighed and collapsed his upper body against the table. A small stab of pain filled his chest at the realization that he was probably the only one who hadn't had the honor of seeing Kai smile like that. Or maybe he had and didn't realize it.

He had felt this foreign emotion for reasons he assumed was simply because he hadn't had time to focus on them.

When he saw Kai today, playing in the snow with Nelson he'd normally just think it was childish or idiotic when the only thing they'll do is get cold and wet, but he'd never felt this way before. Like he'd do anything to him smile like that all the time. With that thought, Cole rose to his feet, eyes bright with determination. He wanted to do something for him and not as a thank you or a repayment, just for the hell of it. He'd heard through the grapevine that Kai loved books, though the statement didn't surprise him.

It seemed natural that Kai would possess an artistic soul.

An idea formed in Cole's mind, forming a grin. With that, he turned around and burst from the room, radiating an aura that could rival the people playing outside in the snow...

****************

After putting Flame back in the stables and Nelson had said goodbye because he had some chores to do, Kai had intended to go and find someplace to get warmed up again and rid the cold from his bones. That is until Cole suddenly pulled him aside and said that he had something to show the teen. Kai was confused by that, but his curiosity won and he followed close behind the Dragon Lord as they walked to his surprise. Neither of them said anything.

It was like when Kai first arrived at the castle, but there was now hardly any tension between them.

Kai recognized the way to the ballroom, only instead of entering, Cole continued walking, so Kai followed him. The brunette looked around at the area of the castle he had yet to explore. Large curtains pooled like waterfalls of gold and silver around the enormous windows. The pale moonlight poured through them illuminating the different posed dragon statues standing in between each window. The hallway ended in front of two curved-shaped ivory doors outlined in gold, beneath a glittering emerald tapestry embroidered with a huge silver tree.

Cole suddenly came to a stop and Kai barely managed to stop walking straight into the hybrid's back.

He opened his mouth to speak, but again was cut off, this time by a sudden blackness wrapping around his eyes.

"Cole, what are you doing?" He asked as his hands instinctively moved to remove the blindfold, but Cole stopped him.

"It's a surprise, and I can't have you spoiling it by peeking." He said, loosely tying the cloth securely around Kai's eyes. He kept his paw on Kai's hands. Kai sighed and let Cole guide him.

"Can't you trust me by now? What if I promise not to open my eyes?"

"I do trust you, but I also know your curiosity has a nasty little habit of always getting the better of you." He admitted. The scream of wooden doors opening filled Kai's ears. Temporarily blinded, he let Cole guide him inside the mysterious room. They stopped in the middle of the room, and Cole let go of his hands.

"Can I take this thing off now?" Kai said more impatiently than he meant to sound, but there was anxiousness that didn't go unnoticed by Cole.

"Not yet." He whispered. A swoop sound and a gust of wind was his only warning, followed by the screech of reeling curtain holders. The light brightened the darkness covering his eyes and Kai wondered if that was moonlight.

"Now?" He asked with the anticipation of a child waiting for a birthday present. A loud thump was his answer.

"Now," Cole said as he carefully cut the blindfold and moved so he could see Kai's reaction. Kai kept his eyes closed for a second, momentarily fearing what he was going to see but his enthusiasm won and they slowly opened, then bulged with joy. A gasp of delight escaped his mouth and his cheeks flushed with happiness. He spun around taking in the wonder around him and resisted the urge to pinch himself in case he was dreaming all of this.

"This is incredible!" Kai breathed, his amber eyes alive and bright with childish wonder as they took in his special surprise. He was in the largest, most magnificent library he had ever seen. The room was enormous and rectangular with a roof that curved to a slope. Books lined all four of the walls so tall ladders were placed on them in intervals. The shelves were separated only by two enormous stained glass windows stretching all the way to the ceiling.

The moonlight illuminating them in a way the sunlight never could.

In the corner, an elegant golden staircase with spiral patterns carved into the wooden banisters spiraled to a second floor, an entire open circle overlooking the first floor. The bookcases on the second level, looped together like a giant circle stopping just at the base of a huge mural painted in rich detail upon the ceiling. A midnight blue dotted with silver stars with bigger ones forming constellations, whose true forms were painted in brilliant gold lines.

On the ground floor, globes were dotted around as well as several couches and chairs.

Two or three large desks made from giant smoothed slabs of stone made a suitable workstation on either side of the room. Two bookcases stretched from the walls stood on either side of an enormous white marble fireplace trimmed with gold and interline with black onyx. Just above it behind the banister of the second floor rested another huge stain glass window. Only this one was arched and was decorated with the symbol for the Tree of Knowledge.

But what stunned Kai the most were the books.

They were different from the ones he was used to. Each book was an antique, bound in velvet, leather, or hardcovers with thick hinges. Some had locks while others had jewels embedded in the cover. Older volumes had simple plain leather or velvet coverings with only the title on the side. Others were painted a vibrant blue, red or green. Age had dulled the colors, but none of them lost their wisdom. Upon closer inspection, he noticed each elegantly carved bookcase had a sliding glass cover protecting the books from air and moisture.

Even the second floor has multiple glass doors despite the circular shape, showing him these books had not just been well-used but loved and cared for.

Kai practically jumped with excitement, before bolting around and pouncing on Cole in a hug so sudden he almost fell over.

"I take it you like it?" He laughed.

"I love it! I've never seen so many books in my life, or such an amazing place, I mean look at this!" The teen beamed as he raced around like a kid in a candy store, admiring each shelf, each globe, each desk, the fireplace, then bolting up the spiral staircase and exploring the entire top section. He moved so fast Cole got dizzy following him.

"Thank you!" Kai smiled when he came back downstairs, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"I'm glad you enjoy it." Cole's smile brightened. Kai's face was almost an exact mirror of the one he'd seen earlier. "Because it's yours." He added and Kai gasped in shock. He examined the hybrid's face for any hint of lies, but when he saw none, the brunette squealed in delight as he wrapped Cole in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank you so much!"...

#The Flame and the Dragon #beauty and the beast #ninjago #lavashipping #ninjago cole #ninjago kai #ninjago jay #ninjago zane #ninjago lloyd #ninjago nya #ninjago nelson #ninjago tox #ninjago shade #ninjago neuro #ninjago echo #ninjago harumi #ninjago morro

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highladyluck · 4 years ago

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The Dark One’s Dictionary: Aes Sedai and The Power

Selected definitions from "The Dark One's Dictionary", written by various Robert-Jordan-reading members of the usenet discussion group rasfw. (I was very selective about these; a lot of the Aes Sedai-related definitions were mostly misogyny-presented-as-humor. Both source materials indulge in this, so while it’s arguably very authentic, I didn’t include the definitions that relied on it as I don’t find it particularly funny or clever. Jokes about the ‘ivory tower’ nature of the entire Aes Sedai project are fair game though!)

Accepted An Aes Sedai not yet completely out of touch with the world. It normally takes 5 to 10 years to become this aloof. Accepted wear a Great Serpent ring, displaying it prominently on the middle finger of their left hand. Upon becoming full Aes Sedai, they may wear it upon any finger, although most wear it on the middle finger of the right or left hand.

Ajah Societies among the Aes Sedai, to which all Aes Sedai belong, except the Amyrlin Seat who is the sole member of the Rainbow Ajah. They are designated by colors: Blue, Red, White, Green, Brown, Yellow, and Gray Ajah. Each follows a specific philosophy of the use of the Power and the purposes of the Aes Sedai.

Angreal A mysterious device which allows a channeler to use more of the One Power than he or she can safely use unaided. Angreal do not have any power in and of themselves, and in fact probably do nothing except boost the user's confidence to produce psychosomatic results.

Black Ajah Also known as the Jenn Ajah, since Aes Sedai were servants to all, and unlike the other Ajahs, the Black Ajah still serves, even if it is a different master.

Callandor A useless sword in the Heart of the Stone, In Tear. It can't be touched, and it's not even a real sword. What good is it?

Gentling, v. The act of stilling on a man who can channel, causing them to lose their desire to live. An act worse than death, such that most men would rather die before being gentled.

[Dylan Thomas: "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"]

Do not go gentled into that good night, Each Age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the taint.

Though wise men at their end know Dark is right, Because their words had channeled no lightning they Do not go gentled into that good night.

The Dragons, who were not true, cried how bright Their frail flows might have danced on a final day, Raged, raged against the dying of the taint.

Wilders, who caught and sang the Light in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentled into that good night.

Halfmen, undead, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the taint.

And you, Great Lord, there in your fiery deep, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentled into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the taint.

Dalon Tomas

Sa'Angreal In the Old Tongue, That's an Angreal!

Taint The result of not pasteurizing saidin.

True Source The correct source, as opposed to the previous versions of the source. See sccs(1).

#third age relics #wheel of time #the dark one's dictionary #the dark one's dictionary part 11 #the funniest one here is the taint #absolutely classic

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leavaloo · 5 years ago

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‘Till Death Do Us Part, My Dear

Hi! I got really interested in the dynamorph AU thanks to @the-flying-beetle! The AU was made by @lulzyrobot, and I decided to take a shot at it with @the-flying-beetle‘s Piers and their championsona Theda’s humanity lost forms~ You can find more details on Theda and Piers here~

You can find a masterpost of the AU here on @lulzyrobot‘s blog! (They also answer a buncha questions, they’re p dope.)

WARNING!

THIS WRITING HAS A LOT OF BLOOD AND GORE IN IT. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT, PLEASE DO NOT READ.

TW Tags: Blood and Gore, gory transformation, blood, bones breaking, insanity, mindless thralls, friend on friend attacking, graphic violence, near death.

Since the effects of the Dynamorph, everyone had to adjust their reality. With the body, instincts and characteristics of Pokemon, they realized that life was far more… tenuous. Precious. Dangerous. The gym leaders were fairly okay, since they were only morphed with one Pokemon, but… There were drawbacks.

Pokemon were instinctual. Pokemon were possessive. Pokemon were dangerous. It was even more clear in this moment as Raihan watched the body of Piers slowly break itself, lying over the near lifeless body of Theda. He could hear the gut wrenching cracks of Piers’s skull as his nose elongated into that of a badger’s snout, the teeth growing exponentially. Blood splattered across the grass as his claws forced themselves out more, the crimson eerily running down the ivory appendages. His eyes were deep red, with only the pupil remaining now, the spikes of his hair merging with the spikes splintering from his spine. He was crying over Theda’s body before. He was now laughing. And that laughing had become a hyena howl.

It was already an issue that they had to deal with some of the wild trainers in the wild area. But now, one of the more powerful gym leaders had just lost humanity. Raihan took a step back, hearing the rushing of blood in his ears as the eyes of his previous friend locked onto his. But this wasn’t his friend anymore. This was a beast. It was evident in the bloody smile, and the immediate attack.

Raihan’s dynamorph with Flygon had upped his mobility, but Piers was fast. Far faster than before. And he wasn’t afraid to use dirty tactics. A false feint of his lead Raihan to feel the full force of his Throat Chop right to the back, leaving multiple gashes from sharpened claws along Raihan’s back. Raihan didn’t even have enough time to properly breath, and all he could do was block from the intense Shadow Claw sent his way.

This was bad, this was really really bad. If he attacked Piers, that would one, hurt him, and two, probably make him lose his mind even more. Raihan dodged out of the way of another Throat Chop, and one that was definitely aimed to kill. All the while, tears streamed from Pier’s eyes, but the maniacal laughter mixed with the howls and yips of a hyena still remained. Raihan didn’t know Piers could smile like that. Raihan didn’t know that humans could smile that wide. Though, he figured that this man wasn’t human anymore.

He had no choice.

With the tail Raihan had inherited from Flygon, he sent a swift Dragon Tail at Piers, knocking him away for a hot second. Piers skidded, growling, yipping, snarling at Raihan. With gritted teeth, he prepared the next attack. But he was taken off guard by the blood that was now pouring out of Pier’s chest. It made him hesitate. If it weren’t for Flygon’s quick thinking, the Shadow Claw that Piers targeted towards Raihan’s jugular would have killed him. But he dodged right in time, with only a gash in his shoulder to tell the tale.

“Piers! Snap out of it man!” Raihan spun around, jumping up and using the very limited wing power he had to bring his leg down on Pier’s head. He still hadn’t properly figured out how to fly yet. Piers yowled in pain, but didn’t take any time to retaliate. Something about this new form was different. He was dealing more damage, stronger, faster and more agile. He leaped up at Raihan, who intercepted with an Earth Power from beneath. This sent Piers sprawling to the side, next to Theda. As Raihan was drifting down, he called for Rotom, who spun around him, waiting for his command.

“Send word to the strike force! I need back up! Piers has gone awol! I repeat, I need backup!” Rotom got out of the way just in time to see a purple fireball whizzing in his direction, which he dropped himself just in time to miss. He watched as now there was a different, more problematic circumstance he had to deal with. “Shit…” he spat through gritted teeth.

A side effect that he didn’t think of when attacking Piers was the fact that Theda was still there, and alive. Barely, but they were there. They let forth a blood curdling scream, and Raihan watched in horror as from under their abdomen, two extra pairs of arms, burst through. Their blood splattered across the grass next to Piers, dripping down their porcelain-like skin. But now, it was see through, and Raihan could see a bright purple glowing ball in their chest. The arms were thin, black and charred to all hell, with purple flames licking up and lighting fire to some of their previous clothing. Some of the black striped on their face became jagged as a crack ran through, the blood mixing with the intense purple flame from underneath. Their laugh, which was once so nice to listen to, was now amplified by the seemingly thousands of voices underlying it. The air got chilly, but Raihan was pretty sure that the chill down his spine was not the weather. It was watching some of his closest and strongest friends become monsters. This wasn’t his champion anymore, nor was Piers one of the strongest gym leaders.

Theda sent a Shadow Ball in his direction, but Raihan was used to it being slower. It hit him square in the chest, right were Piers’s Throat Chop from earlier hit him, and his breath left him as he felt the cold draining of his soul leaving his body for a second. This just went from bad to worse. He could feel the wounds he got from Piers start to wear on him, the pain starting to replace the intense adrenaline. And as he watched, Piers was starting to stand back up, a mix of both whimpering and laughing leaving him as he did.

Raihan had never felt true fear before, but this? This brought it home. No longer were they holding back. Whatever power limiters they had in their brains were gone, broken. So, as Piers was stumbling and struggling to stand, Raihan let his instincts wash over him. He ran. He knew damn well that if he kept this up by himself, he wouldn’t live to see another day. And just because Theda’s typing didn’t effect him, didn’t mean that the two of them together weren’t a terrifying combo. Theda doing long range and Piers at short range? He didn’t want to risk it. He needed help.

He started running back to Motostoke, followed by what was surely the husks of people he loved. He was sure he was going to hear the howling, insane yips of Piers and Theda’s thousand voice chuckle in his nightmares for a very long time. He could barely see through his tears, but he pushed through. Luckily, over the ridge he saw a bunch of dark clad figures and the familiar fire of Leon’s tail. Soon enough, he was past the border of the strike force, and fell. He quickly turned over, crawling as far away he could. He could still watch, though, as Theda and Piers hung back, the taunting yowls of Piers meeting his ears through the wind. The two of them prowled, walking back and forth along the ride, before starting to pull back. Not without a loud hyena howl and another blood curdling scream, however.

Raihan felt exhaustion wash over him, and in a second, he was out. When he came to, he was in a bed, bandaged, bloodied, beaten. His eyes still closed, he let out a groan, which caught the attention of some people in the room. To everyone else, Raihan had gotten out a very intense emergency surgery a couple of hours ago, and no one was sure if he was going to live. Between the mix of Piers’s claws and Theda’s ghostly fire, he was on the brink of death. And as soon as he got his thoughts back, he burst into tears, not caring that all of the gym leaders, except for the two he failed to save, were in the room.

As the other gym leaders comforted Raihan, Leon sat in the corner, pondering the next action. He wanted to do all he could to save them, he really did. But it would be difficult. Even if the option was to put them out of their misery, even that would be a challenge. One one hand, you had Piers, who was suddenly a lot more powerful, able to leave deep gashes, and got a whole lot faster. He was renowned as the seventh gym leader, but because of that dark typing of his, he wasn’t afraid to play dirty. He wasn’t afraid to take risks now, either. He alone would be a tough one to face.

On the other hand was Theda, who rose up through the ranks and easily took the title of Champion away from him like it was nothing. They were strong, fast-witted, and the ghost typing made them even deadlier. They could now snipe from long distances, with the same speed and accuracy as someone who morphed with an Inteleon. That, and both of them were smart. Too smart. Leon had seen many a wild trainer recklessly attack the line of strike force that he had with him, but these two prowled. They accessed. They wanted to get Raihan, but knew they were outmatched. Mix that with Piers’s heightened sense of smell and even a sneak attack would be hard to pull off.

Leon sighed, resting his heads in his hands, taking a sideways look at Marnie. He would have to keep an eye on her. She was distraught, but holding it together. For now. At best, they got the two of them back and tried to figure out if they could revert their forms. At worst, Marnie went awol. And that would start a train reaction. Marnie to Gloria. Gloria to Hop. Hop… to Leon. Leon to Raihan. So on and so forth. It would slowly but surely take what they knew and rip whatever tiny bit they had left to pieces.

But would that really be a bad thing? If Leon got to be with his family, just without his humanity… it wouldn’t be that bad, would it? He shook himself of the thought. Whatever the case, he could already feel the lack of sleep that he was going to get tonight, staying up and planning as much as possible. He needed to get them back. That wasn’t a question. The question was instead how. And how long could they all last?

Leon sighed, stood, and went to go grab a coffee.

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fallen029 · 4 years ago

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Untitled

I’ve sat on this since the summer. Y’all think we should finish it? Or scrap it?

He proposed to her in the most beautiful fashion.

A trip, just the two of them, out to the coast. With sunshine glinting off the water as they overlooked the ocean from the balcony of the little cottage he rented for the week. Over dinner, during their glasses of wine, with a knowing look in his typically dark eyes, but they were just as alight as her own that early evening. And of course, there was a diamond ring to top off the event, with the slayer bowing to her, the only woman, only person he ever would.

It was perfect. Everything Mirajane could have ever wanted. It took place during the middle of their trip though so it was hard, she found, to stay away from her siblings and friends awaiting the good news back home. She chastised Lisanna and Lucy both for keeping it from her, as they both had assisted Laxus in picking out the ring, but they each laughed and it was so perfect.

They’d be married in the Magnolia Cathedral, in front of all their family and friends, and it would be the event of the year, no doubt, not only for their guild, but the higher ones as well, and it would take a lot of planning, a lot of work, but Mirajane couldn’t wait.

But…

There was still something that they needed to do first.

“I want to meet your mother.”

Laxus snorted some, when Mirajane brought this up over breakfast one morning. He was glancing over the paper while sipping at his coffee, mostly trying to plot out what he was planning on doing with his next week entirely free. There were no new S-Class jobs, but the Thunder Legion were still out on their lower level one, and that meant, to him, that he was going to be able to do whatever he wanted for the next few days.

Until, of course, his woman spoke.

“Can’t,” he replied simply. “She’s dead.”

“She is not.”

“Is so.”

“Laxus-”

“What are you on about anyways?” he griped as she came to drop a plate of food in front of him. Piled high with eggs, hash browns, and greasy sausage, the sigh of the plate was enough to get the man to immediately drop his newspaper. Stealing a glance over at where his girlfriend was fixing her own plate, he kept up, “What’s up with you and my mother?”

“You mean my future mother-in-law?”

“Mira-”

“I know she’s not really dead,” she told him bluntly. “That you just tell people that.”

“How do you know? Huh? That you’re not really dragging up some deep childhood trauma for me? And aren’t being really insensitive right now?”

“Because I went to Master.”

“Why did you talk to that old geezer,” he griped, “about my life? Huh? Where do you get off?”

“Uh, I get off at my fiance sending checks to another woman every few months,” she told him bluntly as, returning to the table, she only raised an eyebrow at him. “Would you rather I have called off the engagement when I noticed you writing the letter? Or asked Master who Elise Dreyar is?”

“How are those my only two op- And hey.” He glared this time. “How did you even find the checks, huh? Or letters?”

“Laxus, come on.” She gave him a look of her own. “You know I’m going to snoop through your things. Without a doubt. Don’t play dumb.”

“You’re tricky.”

“And you’re avoiding the question?”

“What’s the question?”

“Why,” she insisted then, “have you been hiding the fact your mother is alive from me?”

And…

It wasn’t an easy thing to talk about.

At all.

People who’d been in the hall for decades probably didn’t even know the full story. Not really. It was just as well assumed that Laxus’ mother, whoever she was, had passed away at some point during his childhood and left him without the demented Ivan and the very busy Makarov to raise him. It was such an easy story to recount, such a common troupe for the numerous kids who’d been raised in the hall, that it needed no questioning.

Would would you even question?

The allusive Makarov? Or the agitated Laxus?

It was a topic that seemed to be buried and done with and very few people wished to dig further.

But Mirajane was hardly just anyone. She was the soon-to-be bride of the guild’s most cantankerous slayer and there was a lot of ceremony, she felt, to be had in being inducted into the Dreyar clan. They had a rich history in the Fairy Tail guild and while she had more than made a mark for herself under her maiden name, the idea of now being forever entwined with the guild’s first family gave her a further cementing into the hall’s lore.

If she was going to become the future Mrs. Dreyar, then she didn’t see how it was outlandish to request access to the former.

The woman had the dragon by his tail anyways and, at her request, gave in with only a tad bit of griping. She wanted to meet his mother? Was she completely sure? Absolutely sure? Because he wasn’t going to write her saying they were coming if Mira was only going to chicken out.

But she was no coward. And though she had some hesitance over the fact she was potentially leading Laxus into an unfavorable situation that he wasn’t prepared for, she also also steadfast in needing this for her own confirmation. One last piece of the puzzle of the Dreyar family before she knew, with absolute certainty, that she was meant to be one of it’s members.

She expected the worse.

Considering Ivan’s known insanity, she imagined the woman was much the same. Perhaps locked away in one of those dreadful asylums. Or, oh, what if she was a terrible recluse? Living out in the woods somewhere, all alone? Maybe a wicked old woman, living in her ivory tower on the edge of the continent, scowling and smiting anyone who got near?

Mira’s many thoughts and fears were proven all for not as, when they boarded the train, it was headed to a small town a few hours away that, from all she knew of it, was just a cozy little beach town. Unremarkable.

She didn’t know why she was so disappointed, but she truly was.

Laxus, equal parts his motion sickness and not really wanting to make the journey, spent the time white-knuckling and trying not to barf. His soon-to-be wife was very concerned with him, as she usually was in such situations, but he was still rather pissed about the whole thing and didn’t pretend for once as if her measures were doing anything to aid him.

She was the one causing him pain this time.

And he wasn’t going to pretend otherwise for her own benefit.

The man had refused to give her any true info on what they were going to be presented with, once they got to his mother’s place. He claimed that, if she wanted to go, she’d have to see it all firsthand. And while Mirajane knew he was doing this as one last fail safe, she found she liked it better that way.

Whoever Elise Dreyar was, it was only right that she got her chance to tell her side of the story, before the man raised by Ivan and Makarov got a chance to interject.

Laxus wasn’t completely certain on the directions, when they got off at the train station. While Mira remarked on how nice it must be, his mother living in such a bustling city, he only retorted that he’d only been a few times.

“:When I was younger,” he went on as he looked over some directions he’d scrawled on a piece of a paper. “And c’mon. Left up here.”

His mother actually lived on the outskirts of town, in a tiny little yellow house. The grass was a bit overgrown and Laxus grumbled about it, just a bit, as they walked up the porch steps to the door. Knocking his knuckles against the white door, Laxus was still annoyed, it seemed, when a middle-aged woman opened up.

“I give you enough money to get your grass cut,” Laxus complained with a glare, “and you don’t use it? And look at your bushes- Someone needs to trim them. If you’re not going to do it-”

“Laxus,” Mirajane remarked with a frown and a glare up at the man. “What is your-”

“Fuck off.” The woman who opened the door stood there with a glare, her eyes the same auburn shade as the man before her. “The boy who comes around to do it’s sick, huh? Is that what you wanna hear?”

“I wanna hear,” Laxus retorted, “that you didn’t spend it all on booze.”

“Laxus!” Mirajane tapped his arm then, but he only continued to glare at his mother, the woman snorting then and turning to walk off further into the house.

“Come in then, I guess,” the woman griped and there was a bit of a roughness to her voice, raspy-ness, maybe. As Laxus did so, Mirajane hesitated for a moment, finally doing as the slayer had hoped; second guessing herself.

Still, she came forward, walking into the home expecting the worse. But she was greeted to it. Just quaint, maybe a bit dusty and cluttered home that she could imagine just about any single person living in. There was an overflowing ashtray though, a cigarette still smoldering in it, and as she went to retrieve it, Laxus only snorted at their surroundings.

“Clean for my arrival, Mom?” he questioned, but the woman only rolled her eyes, running one hand through her stringy blonde hair while the other plucked the cig right back out of her mouth.

“Gonna introduce me to your woman?” she asked instead, glancing Mirajane over now. In response, the barmaid stood to attention, giving the older woman the best smile she had. It was the one that landed her the slayer, after all (and nearly every other man she wanted), but her fiance’s mother only seemed to look right through it.

“Mom,” Laxus finally grumbled, “this is Mirajane. Mira, this is my mother.”

“Hi!” Mirajane bounced some, standing at the man’s side with her shining blue eyes at their maximum pop. “It’s so nice to-”

“That’s what I am, huh?” the woman cut her off. “Laxus? Your mother?”

“Fuck, you better be,” he complained then. “All the jewels I’ve sent you-”

“That is the second time,” she kept up, “that you’ve brought that up today. I never asked you to keep sending me money, Laxus. I asked you, once, to help me out-”

“How would you pay for your bills?” he retorted with a huff of breath through his nose. “If I didn’t? You don’t work-”

“I have,” she cut him off, “a bad hip.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

“I do.” And it was to Mirajane that she looked now. “His father pushed me down a flight of-”

“Don’t bring Ivan,” Laxus growled then, “into this. That nearly thirty years ago.”

“And I’m still hurting from it, so what does that tell you?”

“Um,” Mirajane finally spoke up, reaching a hand over to pat gently now at the arm of her seething slayer. “I think maybe we should all just take a breath. Okay? I’m really glad to meet you. Laxus… Well, he hasn’t really had a chance to tell me much about you, but-”

“That’s because of his grandfather,” the woman offered with ease and Laxus huffed, but didn’t rebuke this.

“Master?” Mirajane questioned with a bit of a frown. “You think that Master doesn’t like you?”

“Master.” And she mocked it, the woman did, as the word left her mouth. “So you’re one of them, are you? A Fairy Tail member?”

“An S-Class one,” Mira kept up. “Yes.”

“You’re speaking to the Demon Mirajane,” Laxus said then, glancing down at his fiancee before back at his mother. “I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”

“Can’t say I have,” his mother remarked, crossing an arm over her chest as she tapped her foot, as if thinking. At Laxus’ snort though, she added, with a hint of sincerity, “I don’t keep up much with wizards these days. Not really my thing.”

“W-Well, I really don’t go out on jobs that often anymore, anyways,” Mirajane assured the woman. “I actually work in the bar.”

“The bar?”

“In the hall. Master gave me a job there, serving the drinks after… After I had an accident, out on a job.” Mira looked off then, still a tangled mess, deep down, over the early days surrounding that transition. Blinking away the thoughts, she said, “It was many years ago though, now.”

“Yeah.” She paused to take a draw then, Elise did, before remarking, “Makarov really has a way of helping out young women. And girls. Doesn’t he?”

“Mom.” Laxus was the one that took steps then, towards her, and when he reached out, it was to rest his palms on her shoulders. “Let’s just take a seat, alright? You can… Mira wants to hear. From you. About whatever you want to tell her. So let’s just do that and then we can go back to normal, okay? How things have always been.”

How things had been.

She nodded at that, turning away from him before gesturing towards the couch and loveseat.

“Make yourselves comfortable, I guess,” she said then. “Don’t got a lot, but-”

“It’s very nice,” Mirajane insisted to her as she went to take a seat on the couch, the slayer having to take a deep breath before following suit. “How long have you lived here?”

“Oh, what’s it been, Laxus?” Elise perched herself in a nearby recliner where, on a side table, another ashtray sat. Stabbing out her smoke in it, she questioned, “Not twenty years, yet, has it? Since your grandfather ran me out of Magnolia?”

And he swallowed it, this time, whatever he was going to say, instead sitting back in his seat and staring straight ahead. Mirajane, after glancing at the man, leaned forwards, eyes on the woman in question.

“I’ve never had a problem with Master,” she told the woman simply. “He’s only ever taken care of me and everyone I know. And the guildhall. What-”

“Makavor’s an old man. Was then too, I guess,” she sighed, thoughtfully, before shaking her head. “But now he’s a weaker one. A remorseful one, maybe. Wouldn’t surprise me. Laxus says the same things about him. Don’t you, Laxus?”

Focused completely in a painting then, across the room, Laxus imagined himself there. In the little row boat encapsulated forever there, on a quiet pond, with a surrounding still forest. How nice it seemed, then, to the typical active man, to just be sitting somewhere quiet, somewhere scenic and implying solitude. It had been a bit, since he craved something so fully.

“Gramps took care of me,” he told her simply. “While you and Ivan couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t.” She made that same kind of snorting noise as her soon, looking away as well as she say, “Your grandfather wouldn’t let me.”

“I don’t understand,” Mirajane said with a frown. “What happened? I mean, I know that Ivan-”

“You don’t know,” the other woman assured her, “Ivan.”

“But I do. I mean, I haven’t met him, but-”

“Ivan is a terrible person,” Elise began and though this was hardly up for debate, Laxus still found himself huffing and shifting uncomfortably. “And his father spent years, literal years, defending him and protecting him from the consequences of his actions.”

Mirajane, who’d never seen the man have anything, but contempt for his only son, frowned some as she sat back. Slowly, she asked, “When were you and Ivan together? And for how long?”

“I met him when I was young. And stupid. And thought that mages were all the rave. They were.” She waved her hand. “Ivan and I were together, off and on, for five or six years before we had Laxus.” She paused then, but her tone was different now and, as it was her tone to shift, she only shook her head. “Things were always hard, because it is hard, for a wizard. On them and their family. But with Ivan… He wasn’t always so bad. But when he was bad… And then Makarov, when I finally, truly, decided to get away from him, he decided that I wasn’t fit-”

“So you’re not going to tell her?” Laxus questioned then, eyes finding his mother once more as, clearly, he wouldn’t be able to hold his tongue. “About how youw ere sleeping around? And you fucking left, Ivan, fine, but you left me too and told Makarov you weren’t coming back.”

“I did,” she told him harshly, “come back. And you have no idea what Ivan-”

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vore-scientist · 5 years ago

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The Panicking Prince

(A humorous little adventure containing Lots of GT interaction and some safe, soft, M/f GT vore, platonic and willing)

A Tale of the Mystic Woods

Full title: In Which Prince Yonatan Does The Books

Summary: Prince Yonatan discovers some information that about the fate of the kingdom. This causes him to panic so he runs off to find his sister the Princess Sophia and the Giant Wizard, Yonah.

Warnings: No real warnings. I will mention that Yonatan is 16 years old but he’s NOT the one eaten (It’s Sophia as usual). There’s an almost minor vorish moment involving him, but it’s silly. It’s all silly actually.

---

In a well lit room in a high tower of the Castle in the City of Luster in the Kingdom of Orr sat a prince. A prince surrounded by scrolls, notebooks, files, boxes, and cabinets. This prince was almost 17 years old, which was unusually young to be handling the paperwork of an entire kingdom. Especially since the Kingdom Of Orr was not one kingdom, it was two, as many centuries ago the King of Orr was picked to be the King of the Mystic Woods. And ever since then the new Mystic King maintained the claim on Orr.

But Prince Yonatan was not a usual prince. He had been cursed at 8 days old, at his naming day, by the Ivory and Bronze Fairy Courts. They imbued him with intelligence and wisdom beyond his years. On the Prince’s 9th day of life he spoke in full sentences, the first of which he used to critique his feeding/sleeping schedule. And on the 10th day had set up a system that had him feeding, sleeping, and relieving himself on an extremely exact timetable. And it only got worse from there.

With a mind hungry for knowledge but so full of new thoughts, the poor prince was constantly in need of diversions. Play with his siblings could occupy his body well enough; wrestling, tag, hide and seek, sword fighting, and climbing through areas of the castle they had no business being in. But as conversationalists went, they weren’t engaging. He chatted with Royal Philosophers until he ran circles around their theories, and his father’s political advisors until he could contribute to their machinations, which he often put a stop to before some sort of scandal got out.

No advisor had successfully lead a power grab let alone a coup. but every time one got close it was a whole do-to. Now such things only happened Once in a while, when Yonatanlet one slip his notice, just to keep things lively.

A few years ago he’d taken up a new hobby.

The bookkeeping of Two Kingdoms was a daily task, one that Yonatan found extremely relaxing. With constant fresh information, it never got boring, and he could concentrate entirely on it. No more of his mind wandering and making him worry.

See. Yonatan has anxiety. Bad anxiety. For all his wisdom, his brain was constantly racing and all those thoughts were so overwhelming, especially ones about the probabilities of disasters, or outcomes of potential wars, or that he was a terrible brother because of his curse, or that the royal advisors secretly resented him and were planning his assassination, or maybe or that his brain might one day just pop, or perhaps...

You get the point.

When he did the kingdom’s books, he had no such thoughts. At least, not as many.

You might think such work is boring, and yes, stuff like guild dues and which portions could be taxed, or reviewing the fluctuations in prices of basic goods and preparing to subsidize things for winter are certainly borning. But tracking the latest dragon sightings and the current standings of registered and known unregistered heroes and villains was exciting.

Managing the FairyTales was an important job that Yonatan took great pleasure in. Reviewing and updating the current status of prophecies and their subjects, with calendars of known and calculated trigger dates and references of contingency plans for both disasters and celebrations. Following Long Lost (or recently lost) Heirs and their last known locations, with information on anyone noteworthy or particularly unnoteworthy having passed through them. Keeping logs of treasure hauls taken in and given out by heroes and villains, making note of any (interesting) magic items. The latest word on magic items of secret but great renown, and any rumors involving their being lost, stolen, or found.

And all of this and more! Organized so that the right information was disseminated to the right people. Information becoming instruction, and instruction becoming action. Many actions taken simply to influence others, in large and small ways. For example: Pushing people to influence some tale. Such people might never know they were part of a tale. They might have just been spurred on to tell a potential hero a small piece of information, or offer them a meal or place to stay for a night.

All this made sure that FairyTales continued to be Told.

You get the idea.

But the prince was also trusted with monitoring some of the more sensitive information. Of note in this instance: Anomalous magical spikes in the Mystic Woods.

The Mystic Woods was always shifting, but it was crucial to note where things were when interesting events occurred. Even if the event was merely a surge of forest magic, detected by a ranger or King Ben himself. Most of the time it was just a flare up as the mysterious currents of magic swirled around and collected. Or King Ben bit his tongue and for some reason the Mystic Woods reacted.

Lately, a lot of the flares had been accompanied by little bits of good fortune! A tree being cured by disease, a swarm of insects cleared away, a rare magical berry bush bearing fruit for the first time in decades. Or were in locations inhabited by many of the mystic woods communities. Villages of Elves or colonies of gnomes, all who benefited in small ways from the flares. What nice things! Knowing good things were happening made Yonatan feel very good!

Unfortunately, that mood was soon to be soured. As he reviewed the flares his super-fairy-magic-enhanced brain made some connections.

What had he been reading yesterday?

Though he wasn’t technically permitted to read the reports between King Ben and the Royal Wizard, and Evil Giant, known as Yonah HaEsh. Yonatan liked to know how his favorite sister was doing.

Even if Yonatan had trouble connecting to his siblings, he still loved them, and they loved him. But Sophia… She was special to him. Her carefree attitude taught him to act without thinking; With his brains and her wildness, they had been quite the pair of troublemakers. There was rarely a dull moment with her. And unlike his other siblings, who brushed off his anxiety attacks as just Yonatan’s Magic Brain Weirdness, she would help him. It was incredible how someone so unfettered could also be so steady.

Many a night he had run to her in tears over some fear, like how according to some calculations, the moon would crash down in a few hundred years, wiping out all life. She never got mad at him for waking her up, and she’d hold him as he cried himself to sleep.

Adjusting to her being officially “kidnapped” by an evil wizard had been difficult to say the least. That was almost 2 years ago. It made him feel better to know she was thriving under the care of her captor. Even if he missed her dearly.

Back to the reports.

There had been several odd happenstances while she was on patrols with Yonah. Patrols were something Yonah had been doing long before Sophia had been assigned to him, and it was mainly the half-giant’s way of not going stir crazy. Explorations out in the forest; limited by the 5km range that Yonah could go from his tower, usually just to see what was around, but also to hunt and collect spell components. Yonah had at some point noted that when he went out with Sophia, they would encounter more interesting places and situations.

A few of those places had surges of magic, mostly after, but sometimes before, Sophia encountered them. Many of these places had been having some sort of trouble, and it was clear from the ShiftLogs, that they shifted within a few hours of Sophia and Yonah’s patrol.

Yonah even noted, almost a year and a half ago, that the forest was easier to navigate when he took Sophia with him.

Almost as if…

Yonatan’s genius brain had made a connection but it was not letting him actually think it. But he knew what it was. And his heart started to pound loudly and painfully against his ribs. Sweat beaded on his brow and his hands felt clammy.

Oh no.

No no no no no.

Now he was panicking. Panic was bad! It hurt! No! He hated this!

He could be wrong. Easily! This kind of thing never happened. It was probably just coincidence. But no such thing existed in their world That had been proven long ago by some amazing sages. There was nothing he could do about it if he was right. He had to calm down. Once he was calm he could… right.

Nothing doing.

Just panic.

---

It had been a long while since he’d had an anxiety attack like this one. He couldn’t do any more work, instead he ran manic around the hallways until dinner time, where he ate barely anything and what he did he threw up shortly after. And sleep? Out of the question.

Unless.

What time even was it? About an hour till midnight? Didn’t really matter. Still in his pajamas Prince Yonatan used one of the secret passages to get out of the castle. One that led to the stables so he could take his horse. Otherwise the trip would take a day.

Still, he only rode Soos up to the Mystic Woods. Soos’ full name was Stubborn Old Ornery Stallion. Even though Soos wasn’t more than a few years old. Yonatan liked his horse and hoped he would live long enough to live up to name.

It was a smooth 3 hour ride out of the city and past the farms and rolling hills. There wasn’t a defined border but once the trees got decently thick yet still lacked magic, he had Soos stop. Soos whinnied and stomped his hooves a bit annoyed.

“Just checking,” Yonatan said, “You don’t have to come with me.” Even for a son of the Mystic King, the Woods was incredibly foreboding, especially at night.

Soos’ ears flicked as if to say ‘Excuse me? I was bred for use in this forest.’

“Alrighty then!”

Without another thought (which was a considerable feat), Yonatan spurred Soos back into a trot, and into the woods. There was no point in picking a direction, he had to trust the forest.

Back in the City of Luster there was panic. No one knew where Prince Yonatan was. Ben extended his awareness but sensed nothing. He wasn’t unduly worried since Yonatan was too clever for his own good, but that didn’t mean there was no reason for concern. And so he woke up the entire city, having his guards spread out to ask anyone if they’d seen or spoken to the prince.

That will have to be dealt with later, as by now Yonatan had made it to his destination.

No surprises here: it’s the Terrible Tower which conditionally belongs to the Great (and also) Terrible Yonah HaEsh. The current prison of Yonatan’s sister, the Princess Sophia. The tower sat to one side of a clearing which now held a mage’s garden. No matter how the forest shifted, Yonatan had never come into the clearing behind the tower, it was always on the side with the garden.

He had also never been here at night. There was very little moon, but there were a few plants that luminesced. Not very brightly; when he emerged into the clearing with his lantern the lights diminished. But he needed to see the path to the tower.

There was no way to get Soos up it, but Soos didn’t want to go inside, he’d much rather stay in the garden. He knew which plants were safe to eat, and was confident no monsters would come here, not ones looking to eat horses anyways. No, if a monster were to come they would be here for the wizard, probably after some potion or spell. Monsters, like humans, needed the services of mages, but were more comfortable dealing with other monsters.

Yonatan removed Soos’ saddle, leaning it up against the tower, and started climbing.

Not so easy in slippers… Thankfully the large thorns were just illusions. He made it up no problem, and keeping in mind the spacial dilation he hopped to the floor.

The workshop, which looked normal from where he’d sat on the windowsill, suddenly became nearly 4 times larger. Having expected this he rolled out of his fall. His slippers made soft pat pat pat noises as he walked briskly to the trap door which was unfortunately closed but for those in the know, and Yonatan was, there was a secret human sized door. That led to the conveniently human sized stairs that ran alongside the large ones. In fact, the only way to access those stairs was through that entrance.

From the workshop course. Once you were in the tower proper, as long as you knew the stairs existed, they would graciously appear for you. This was a feature that Yonah had added since Sophia’s arrival, as well as a few well placed and magically hidden ladders and ropes.

The desired room clear in Yonatan’s mind, it was only one flight down to the hallway that led to the bedroom. The massive door had a very much not hidden crack in the lower right corner, perfectly irresistible to any sneaking thief. Though these days it got more use by Princess Sophia when she needed the bathroom at night.

Ignoring the half-giant asleep in his bed, Yonatan made a beeline for the massive golden birdcage that rested next to the nightstand. Though he wasn’t checking on Sophia. To get up to the bed he had to climb on the outside of the cage up to the nightstand and jump the very safe distance from the nightstand to the bed. He still looked down and climbed carefully just in case.

The Princess Sophia was not in the bed which hung suspended off center in the cage. He continued to climb up as quietly as possible. Best not to make noises that would wake up the giant in an irritable manner.

Which is why he took a running leap off nightstand, landing with a soft PUFF on the pillow. Right next to the giant’s head. But Yonah did not stir.

The half-giant slept with his back to the wall, on his left side, angled downward. Left arm tucked under two pillows, right arm lazily hung around the pillow. If Sophia had been sleeping on Yonah’s person she would have been curled up in that right arm, against the giant’s face. She was not.

Well. Fine. That was her prerogative. Yonatan wasn’t here for her anyways. Well he was but not just yet. First he needed the half-giant. He knelt down Yonah’s face. Trickles of dim orange light escaped through the eyelids. The prince was a bit nervous about waking the wizard, but it had to be done. He experimented first by tapping the giant’s nose.

The deep breaths turned into stilted gasps and snuffles, the giant starting to become aware of a human guest.

“Uh, Mr Giant?”

One dimly glowing eye cracked open to look at him in confusion.

“Eh?” The giant grunted. Then the right arm lifted and before Yonatan could react he was slapped down under a massive palm. It had been a lazy move, so he wasn’t injured, rather he was gently pressed into the pillow. Yonatan didn’t resist.

After running all the way here Yonatan had escaped the majority of his anxiety, and the weight of the hand was pushing the rest away, and the warmth was extremely relaxing. Which, while part of his plan, this not exactly how he pictured spending the night. It was not comfortable.

After another minute he pushed the hand off and he sat in front of the Giant’s face. Yonah had started to fall asleep again.

“Where’s my sister?” Yonatan hissed.

It took a few seconds before the giant grunted out “Iher?”

“My sister. Sophia” Yonatan helped.

Yonah took a breath and with some effort said something in Implausible Giant and even though Yonatan was fluent it was garbled. But the giant had said it with a slight smile. The prince didn’t need to be a genius to know Yonah had eaten Sophia. As long as he didn't think about it too hard it shouldn’t be a problem. Of course Yonatan thought very hard about most things.

And if you’re wondering why Yonatan wasn’t concerned that his sister was eaten by a half giant, maybe you’re thinking Yonatan thought of her as being in his way? And having his sister eaten was one less person ahead of him in the line of succession. No. He knew his sister was safe and snug in her giant’s stomach. The half-giant had half-cursed her so that she couldn’t be digested and didn’t need to breathe.

But he could and he did!!! And the very sleepy giant’s hand got hold of him once more and shoved him towards the face. Without much trouble one of his legs was forced between the jaws! It was painful too, not because Yonah was biting him, just the contortion of his hips. His other leg was bent and his knee was against Yonah’s fangs. Yonatan yelled, quietly, and punched Yonah in the nose.

“No you stupid giant I’m not Sophia! You already ate her!”

That got Yonah’s attention. He released the human’s leg and smacked his lips as he blinked into almost full consciousness.

“That’s better!” Yonatan stroked Yonah’s nose, he knew the giant liked that a lot. “I Hope you enjoyed that little treat, but I’m not on the menu.”

The giant’s eyes flitted open, the soft orange light focusing on the prince. “You taste,” the giant breathed in and out, “like you sister.” He smiled a bit mischievously.

“I know I do, that’s why I’m not angry,” said Yonatan. “But don’t do that again unless I give you permission.”

“Hmf,” Yonah breathed sharply, “You never do.”

“That’s your problem, not mine.”

“And what?” he sighed, “Is yours?” Yonah genuinely wanted to know. He liked the prince. Yonatan might be pompous but he had a good heart.

Yonatan pouted and looked away, “I’m. Anxious.”

Yonah took the prince in his hand again, his palm against Yonatan’s back. Once Yonatan leaned into his hand he stroked and massaged the human. Using his knuckles against the prince’s back, taking his arms between fingers, squeezing and rubbing gently but firmly.

“You always are, I want to know why, Little Prince,” said Yonah with a little more sternness.

Yonatan linked an arm around Yonah’s fingers, squeezing them to get Yonah’s full attention. He looked right into the giant’s eyes, and even with the glow he could see his reflection.

“Can. I sleep first?” Yonatan yawned, “Here? With you?”

Yonah sighed, and gave the prince a squeeze back.

Back in school, his friends that knew he was half-giant were insistent that they sleep cuddled up to him before exams. All of them piled on top of him, in his arms, They would sleep so soundly even if they were terrified. It was a power he did not understand, but folks tended to sleep more soundly if he was holding them, or they were laying on him. Not that he minded, he absolutely loved being adorned in friends.

“Of course.”

He also knew Yonatan wasn’t above ordering him around, even if the prince didn’t technically have that authority. The kid, who was almost a young adult, was very commanding. Yonah angled himself a bit more towards the prince, hooking his arm around his face so the prince could crawl into his embrace, which Yonatan did without being prompted. Curling up with his back to the giant.

“You’re sure you’re alright?” Yonah asked one more time.

“No.’

He wasn’t expecting that answer and expressed his surprise with a small snort of air at the prince’s back. The prince did not look at him.

“I’m too tired to deal with it, and can’t sleep because of it,” he said very quietly.

Yonah made a grunt of understanding. Whatever ‘it’ was, the prince would handle it better after a proper night’s sleep. Or at least some sleep. The prince had amazing timing, it was barely ten minutes since he and Sophia had woken up to the HourGlass’s alarm, and reset her curse. So the prince had at least 3 and half solid hours of sleep to look forward to.

Yonatan buried his face in the giant’s arm. It was so soft and warm, and friendly. That was what he needed after all, a friendly presence. Before that had always been Sophia, holding him tightly as he cried and shivered. But this was leagues beyond that;He could feel his mind and body calming down so rapidly it was almost alarming. And then he was asleep.

---

Yonah was thankful that Sophia woke up first, waking him so he could stop the HourGlass before it gave them all a painful headache.

He was a bit miffed when Sophia re-activated her curse, mumbling something about still needing sleep and ‘you can wait a few more hours for breakfast right?’ but not waiting for an answer before falling back asleep. He could of course wake her back up, but if Sophia didn’t want to be spat out there wasn’t much he could do without invasive magics.

“Morning already?”

Even trying hard not to disturb the prince, Yonah had to lean over to reach the HourGlass. Yonatan had still woken.

“Yes. you can sleep longer if you like,” Yonah said, “but I’m getting up.”

“No. no. I’m good,” Yonatan freed himself from Yonah’s arms, stumbling off the pillow and onto the nightstand. The prince didn’t look very rested, but Yonah didn't argue with him.

Yonatan’s head throbbed a bit, mostly from lack of sleep but also from his wild ride of mania last night. He made himself focus on the waking wizard. It did not escape his Attention that yonah was not spitting up his sister. The half-giant sat up and the bed sheet fell off of him, Yonatan could see the wizard’s slightly full midsection. No movement either, but it was hard to tell as Yonah yawned and stretched. To take his mind off that he looked at Yonah’s face.

His normally trim goatee was lost a bit in the surrounding beard, and Yonah’s wild hair had come out of it’s golden bands so it hung over his shoulders like a lion’s mane. He yawned again and Yonatan got a good view of the large fangs.

Yonatan wanted to say something now, but decided to wait until the wizard changed out of his pajamas. He used magic do it and Yonatan loved watching people use magic. And once Yonah was properly dressed Yonatan realized he was in PJs too. Ok, get dressed first, then talk.

“Is there a chance you have clothes that fit me?” Yonatan asked.

“Actually, yes,” Yonah said, in a soft voice, picking up the prince and placing him on top of the chest of drawers where he kept his clothes. There was a human sized wardrobe on top.

“It’s magic,” Yonah prompted.

Yonatan opened it and found a few simple clothes that were indeed his size, though it was mostly outfits that were clearly meant for Sophia. A green one stood out to him, green usually did. Must be something about being a royal of the Mystic Woods. You always looked your best in green.

“If you want privacy, step inside,” Yonah indicated the wardrobe.

Oh! Fascinating. Yonatan stepped through and found a small open circular dressing room, with a carpeted floor, racks of clothing all around, and a mirror. Brightly lit though no obvious light source; Yonatan decided that mystery could be dealt with later.

He walked out with purpose and Yonah put a hand on the dresser so Yonatan could walk across to his shoulder.

“Would you like breakfast, Your Highness?” Yonah said, still keeping his voice soft but managing to be snarky.

Yonatan elbowed the giant in and for his cheek.

“Yes,” he said.

Breakfast made him remember...

“So. Uh…. Sophia-“ Yonatan started to ask as Yonah headed towards the kitchen. From his bedroom to a short hallway to the stairs and up the stairs.

“She wanted to sleep more,” he said with a kind of wistful sigh.

The giant was walking with an incredibly smooth gate; gliding. He put a hand to his middle as he spoke, smiling. “We had a pretty intense evening on patrol.”

Yonatan nodded.

Accepting that Sophia’s captor/mentor/best friend regularly ate her was pretty easy. Once the curse was explained. Stupid, extremely unnerving, but not hard to understand. Giants ate people after all, at least evil ones did, and Yonah was an evil giant. What was difficult to wrap his mind around was that Sophia liked it. No. Loved it. She’d been in there for over 8 hours now. And what was he, her brother doing about it?

Sitting casually on Yonah’s shoulder like she was just asleep in her bed! But she was in Yonah’s stomach! That was so WEIRD! The more he thought about it the weirder it got! So he had to stop thinking about it. Not easy when he instinctively looked down from his perch and had a perfect view of the giant's gut. Pleasantly stuffed is how Yonatan might describe it, though it was even more disconcerting that his mind considered it at all pleasant.

He looked forward; They entered the kitchen. But he didn’t really want to think about food now. Of course he didn’t say so, because he knew Yonah would wonder if he was sick. Explaining was out of the question. That meant he would have to force himself to eat whatever the giant served him and hope he could hold it down.

Yonah put him down on the dining table, which had a smaller, human sized table placed on it, and began gathering his supplies.

“HEY! I WANT TO WATCH!” Yonatan shouted. He did not want to be left alone to his thoughts even for a moment.

Shhhh!

Yonah glared at him, pointing to his stomach then his ears “Please, you can be quiet, I can hear you just fine.” He put the prince back on his shoulder.

As soon as Yonah started cooking, all of Yonatan's previous queasiness went away. Sophia had expounded upon the giant’s prowess as a chef but hearing about it and smelling it were two different things.

And eating it was something else entirely.

As soon as everything was on the table Yonatan practically inhaled the food. It was really just scrambled eggs and some sautéed vegetables but the best he’d ever had in his life. Yonah really knew his spices and had precision timing to make the softest eggs. Also… he technically hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day. Having an anxiety attack takes a lot of energy, so the prince was ravenous.

Though Yonah had made more than enough for himself, he hadn’t gotten himself a plate. He’d turned the stove off and covered the pan with the eggs to keep them warm. What he did get was a cup of morning tea, and one for Yonatan as well, which he poured and cooled off with magic.

“I take it you wont eat-”

“Until your sister wakes? No. -” he chuckled and yet sounded a bit angry about that. He must be hungry too, and having an indigestible weight in his stomach didn’t change that.

“But- the tea?” He took a sip and was unsurprised to find it was unbelievably good. Probably made with magic leaves from the garden.

“She’s not awake to complain about it,” he grinned, taking another sip, as if he would still drink it even if she were.

It did not escape Yonatan’s notice that Yonah was watching him eat with hunger in his eyes. Thankfully his extreme wisdom let him know it was more jealousy, as he continued to shovel eggs into his princely mouth, than a desire to eat him. Though that was there. Maybe someday, but Yonatan was determined to deny the giant for as long as possible.

“So, little prince, what exactly prompted you to come running into my clutches last night?”

The prince swallowed his mouthful of food and took a long drink of chilled apple and blueberry juice which Yonah had gotten from his cold cellar.

“I- Kinda wanted Sophia to be around-” Yonatan looked away, and took another bite of food to stall for another half a minute. “Well- I- I was going through father’s notes and I found something. Something important, about the fate of the kingdom.”

“Now I’m worried I shouldn’t be hearing this,” Yonah said, “You were going through Ben’s notes?”

The prince’s eyes widened, and then he laughed, “HA!” quickly he quieted down remembering his sister- “I do father’s books all the time. He’s taken full advantage of my accursed brain.”

Was that pity in the giant’s face? “Yonah, I’m grateful for the work. It keeps my mind occupied, or I’d be having breakdowns every other day!”

After a moment's consideration Yonah nodded.

“I’m surprised Ben’s brain can’t hold it all, considering it’s got all the power of the Mystic Woods,” Yonah mused.

“The Mystic Woods, for all it is a large entity, doesn’t understand economics or politics, or even the intricacies of the FairyTales it hosts” Yonatan pointed out, again Yonah nodded.

“Anyways,” Yonatan pulled the conversation back on track, “I saw in his notes, some observations. Ones that correlated with Sophia’s escapades in the Woods.”

“And?” Yonah asked, but he had a feeling he knew what Yonatan was about to say.

“And- I could be wrong. But. The forest. It seems to like her, favor her.” He gulped, his voice getting higher and shaky, “Sophia- She. I think she’s already been chosen. As the next Mystic King.”

The wizard’s face darkened and he put a hand over his stomach again, while the other tightened around tea cup. Yonatan was sitting up straight, worried he’d made a terrible mistake. How would you react if you were told your best friend in the whole wide world was going to be someday joined in a magical hivemind, the other member of which was a mysterious and powerful gestalt entity. What if you were suddenly made aware that the next magical King of the kingdom you lived in, was sleeping in your stomach?

“Yonatan,” He growled, but it was breathy. “I am so very glad you did not wait.”

Yonatan refocused, “Wait for what?

“You are lucky Sophia is still asleep in my stomach.”

It was REALLY weird to hear him say it so casually, even if the moment wasn't so casual. Cold sweat beaded on Yonatan’s brow.

“We- Your father and I, we aren’t going to tell her,” he continued.

A million thoughts flooded Yonatan’s brain but one screamed to the surface.

“YOU KNOW?”

Yonah’s eyes shimmered behind his thick spectacles. “Yes. We suspected it almost half a year ago, but confirmed it a few months ago.”

A FEW MONTHS. Now Yonatan couldn’t believe he’d only found out last night. This had been deviously kept out of the reports. No. Wait. There had been changes, exactly 6 months ago, towards more patrols, more missions involving the forest and gauging the response. And more recently, a lot more lessons on the history of the woods and its communities, and how she applied them in her outings. Recently, she’d been learning spells and potions that relied on drawing magic from around her, seeing if the forest would allow its use. And she had no idea she was even doing it. Using magic like the King, but on a much smaller level.

“You’re…” Yonatan looked into Yonah’s eyes to see a few tears had escaped down his cheeks, “You’re training her. Without her knowledge.”

“You’re worried, too” he continued, “That she’s doing to end up like dad, that you’re going to lose her. And!” his mind hit one new thought, great thoughts. “You’re worried that all this work is going to make it worse. Like if only you sabotaged it, she’ll be rejected, or it won’t take as much of her. ”

Yonah stiffened. Right. Wisdom.

The prince stood up and walked over to the giant, and sat on his wrist, patting his arm. Now Yonah was the one shaking. His glasses fogged up, and he tightened his grip on his middle. Yonatan was processing this new information, gathering handfuls of the wizard’s arm hair.

“Yonah,” Yonatan breathed, his heart slowing but lifting considerably “I had no idea you were training her. I freaked out because I too saw Sophia being… taken by The Woods. But Father is... the way he is, well, because to become one with the forest, he had to sacrifice some of his personhood.”

Removing his hand from his stomach before he woke Sophia, he placed it over Yonatan’s knees, and the prince rested a hand over the fingers. A few drops of liquid hit the large knuckles. He must be crying too, but he was smiling so big it hurt.

“Damn my father.” Yonatan chuckled, “You’re training her so she can avoid that fate. She’s becoming part of the forest in advance to joining with its essence.”

He wiped his tears, “Yonah,” he said, and made sure the giant was looking at him through clear lenses, “If you do your job properly, Sophia will be the most powerful King in the history of the Woods. But we won't lose her.”

The giant was smiling too, “I was worried” he sniffed “you stupid perceptive smartass.”

“It’s a blessing. Sometimes,” Yonatan giggled and let the giant scoop him up into a hug.

The hug was a bit tighter than felt safe, but Yonatan didn’t protest. He was grateful the giant held him above his stomach. Beneath him he felt the beating of the giant’s heart. Noticeably quick but along with the prince’s was slowing down.

It had been the right decision to come here after all. Maybe the Woods had called to him somehow, when he figured it out, dragging him out here because he was needed. And he needed this too. If he hadn’t told Yonah, he wouldn’t have known Sophia was being trained, and wouldn’t have figured out what that meant. Yonah would have been left to believe he was training his best friend to become an emotionless vessel.

Then Yonah started and breathed in sharply. He dropped Yonatan onto the table.

“She’s awake. Excuse me,” he said and into the stairwell.

Yonatan couldnt imagine what floor Yonah had gone to but it was clearly nearby as he heard the muffled retching.

Ten minutes later Yonah returned with a smiling Sophia sitting on his shoulder. From Yonah’s now clean shaven goatee he deduced that Yonah had spit her up in the bathroom. Sophia was wearing her day clothes, which she must have slept in, but she was completely immaculate. Not even a hair out of place in her massive braid. She even had on her golden tiara.

“Yonatan!” she hopped off Yonah’s shoulder the moment he was near enough to the table.

She ran up to her brother and embraced him, “When did you get here?”

Yonatan tried very hard not to cry as he held his sister. Her energy was so infectious, her personality so forceful, there was no way she could end up like their dad even if the traininging did nothing. No way. He would not allow it.

“Last night- uh” he said, and opening his eyes he saw Yonah, standing behind Sophia, give him a warning hand motion.

Sophia pulled herself away from her brother but kept her hands on his shoulder, “last NIGHT? Hold on- Why-”

“I got, a bit anxious, you know how it is… And since you well, um- eaten... Yonah helped calm me down.”

Sophia scowled for a moment, not because Yonatan had cuddled up with her giant while she was in said giant's gut, but because Yonah had not woken her! He’d let her sleep without telling her that her brother had ran away from home in panic. Sure he’d been more than capable of handling it, but this was her brother!

“Yes, he is good for that,” she affirmed. Then got distracted as Yonah got out a second set of human sized eating utensils and a set for himself, loading his with the eggs and vegetables.

She let go of Yonatan to snatch her plate and fork from Yonah, and before he’d set his plate down started scooping off a massive but relatively negligible onto hers. He retaliated by eating before she had finished taking her portion. In particular he would scoop away the pieces of vegetables she was carving chunks out of, eating them all. Eventually she managed to get a decent helping of eggs and veggies.

“I'm starving and this smells amazing!” she said, also eating before she’d sat down at the smaller table. Yonatan was a bit impressed she could eat so soon and so easily after being eaten herself. “Ohhh did you roast these with scallops!?”

Mhm, Yonah said though his mouthful of food. “And I used goat’s milk for the eggs.”

“Oh! Why such a treat today?” she asked, taking another bite and savoring it but also eating it quickly because there was plenty more on her plate.

“Well, we have a prince in dining with us!” he said.

Still a little hungry, Yonatan, without asking, but with a bit of a side glance from Yonah, took a second serving of eggs off the giant’s plate. He sat down next to Sophia and poured her some of the apple blueberry juice. And another cup for himself, it was so delicious. Plus it had stayed chilled in the magic pitcher.

Princess Sophia snorted, “Well I'm not complaining!”

The rest of breakfast was pleasant. Yonatan updated Sophia on the goings on back in Orr, and Sophia told him all about her adventures and magic lessons. Sophia was excited to hear all the stupid gossip about the lower nobility. Yonatan had a million questions about each spell and potion she mentioned, which Yonah answered as best he could, going into enough detail for the prince but keeping it brief to not bore Sophia.

“I think I should probably check in with the castle…” Yonatan said a bit sheepishly.

Sophia’s eyes got wide, “Does anyone know where you are?”

Yonatan’s face grew hot, “N-no. I snuck out.”

“You’re going to be in so much trouble!” There was no pity in her voice.

“We can use my mirror,” Yonah said, clearing the table and taking the humans up to the workshop.

There was no need for any rhyme, as Yonatan touched the gold filigree and asked it plainly to connect to His Majesty King Ben. The mirror made a bit of a surprised noise but then turned foggy. It still took a few minutes to connect. Ben’s personal mirror would not show anything until he answered the call, to avoid anyone snooping.

While they were waiting Yonatan decided he didn’t want to face his father and had slowly been inching away. So that when Ben’s torso appeared in the mirror he only saw Sophia and Yonah behind her. Ben looked a little ragged and twitchy, his eyes brighter than normal, beard unshaven, his complexion a bit green, making him look like a tree with a bit of moss starting to grow on it.

“Sophia, darling, is this urgent? We have an emergency, your brother-” Then he stopped, narrowing his eyes.

“Uhuh” Sophia noticed her brother was out of view and motioned to Yonah, who pushed Yonatan to Sophia’s side, she took his shoulders and grinned at her father. “Guess who showed up last night?”

The King’s face was one of instant relief, smiling like he was about to cry. “Yonatan!”

Then his face hardened, his eyes pulsed with power. And Yonatan tensed in anticipation; Sophia squoze his shoulders, and Yonah backed up. They could hear the trees rustling outside. His Mystic Majesty was about to explode.

“YOUNG MAN DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE’VE BEEN! I WOKE THE WHOLE CITY! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!”

~At least it was through a mirror and not in person ~

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