#it's nice to know my emotional rants arent just me throwing words into the void

[sunny12th]

Your posts about Dany, ever since your post about what her three dragons represent for her in term of them being what she needed from each of the men she named them for etc, completely transformed the way I engage with Dany as a character from a psychological standpoint (that was sadly not much before). This fandom is so fixated on attacking her as a leader and politician and moral character and therefore as defending her from that that there often isn't room to appreciate the complexity of her psychology and the emotional aspects of her plotline as there is for every other character. Your fandom presence is so refreshing.

Thanks for sending this, I really appreciate it.

I agree that the fandom in general doesn't really engage with Dany as a young girl, let alone a victim of abuse. Her abuse is often acknowledged (usually to show how "gross" grrm is or the negative qualities of the dothraki though, rather than how it's impacted her as a character) but it's also often viewed as some sad note of her past rather than a wound that she still carries. Her dragons are physical representations of her wounds and her strength. Though I do hope grrm will have Dany really come to terms with everything she's endured. She's never been able to look away from other peoples pain but she can barely glance at her own. I expect a lot of her trauma to bubble up to the surface during her second round with the Dothraki, when she's proclaimed as the Stallion that Mounts the World or the mother of the Stallion (Drogon) or Whatever.

The fandom is very focused on Dany the leader, the politician, the Moral Character when her leadership stems from the fact that she was a young girl with no one to protect her. "Kings are meant to protect people." There is no Dany the Leader without Dany the Traumatized Kid.

And, yeah, the dragons are a giant messy bundle of psychological trauma and resilience. the dragon dream that "tempered her, scoured her, made her clean" on the night she resolved herself to suicide. She becomes stronger physically and mentally after this dream and it feels very much like Drogon was reaching through the veil to claim her as Mother, bathing her in fire (life) to stop her from choosing death.

Ultimately the fandom generally views Dany in very black and white terms which is frustrating because all of these characters are gray - but Dany can't be gray she either has to be the most Pure and Good Queen or an evil mad bitch that deserves to be put down for her own sins and the sins of her family. Her trauma is a part of who she is and it informs a lot of her actions. For example,, she's attracted to Daario because he reminds her of Drogo but this is a Drogo she can control and have power over. She can recreate her trauma, in a way, but this time she is safe and secure in her power and position. Daario is her mistress, and he's flirty but she controls when and if they become intimate. Sidenote: kinda drives me crazy to see people say Dany is attracted to 'bad boys' and aggressive men like yall this is part of the Trauma.

#granted that daario is a blue haired hottie with pronouns so like. of course she is attracted to him lmao #but the whole 'dany likes bad boys' thing has always rubbed me wrong bc it simplifies what seems to be a result of abuse #anyways!! thank you for sending this - i really appreciate it #it's nice to know my emotional rants arent just me throwing words into the void #<3 #anon #mine #daenerys targaryen #asoiaf