#and he protects her several times. such as in the HotU

[sunny12th]

Continuing to think about Dany's connection to her dragons. How she literally draws strength from them and how they are exactly what she wished them to be when she named them.

Viserion and Rhaegal do not reflect Viserys and Rhaegar. Viserion is what Dany needed from Viserys, loving and affectionate. He is the least aggressive of the three dragons. Dany had such a clear idea of what she needed from Viserion - to do what Viserys could not.

Rhaegal is what Dany envisioned Rhaegar (her valiant brother who died fighting) was. Viserys probably told her Rhaegar was a great warrior. Maybe Viserys also didn't know the true Rhaegar that we are introduced to by Barristan Selmy. Instead of reflecting the somber and reflective Rhaegar, Rhaegal grows to be the aggressive and willful warrior Dany imagined her brother was. He is the most aggressive of the three.

[xdepthsofwinterx]

A Conversation between Friends:

VigilanteAU: Duration of HotU, into Chapter 3, when Elithrar and Deekin are pursuing Mephistopheles to defeat him, Dhana and Kymiel become Waterdeep’s own Batman & Robin.

Song Inspiration: Here

He was an odd fellow. Perhaps not in the traditional sense of the word. But for looking at him, she would have expected something…else. 

Not once had she heard a foul word leave his lips or seen his face twist with anger. Pain, mild irritation, or exasperation, yes. But never anything with an intent to harm or hurt. Killing was a clinical process he performed with swift accuracy, which he seemed to take no joy in yet suffered no guilt. 

His mellow neutrality made her uncomfortable.

However, there was one thing they held in common. Humour. It was the main reason she had taken him up on his offer, that, and the chance to eventually escape Waterdeep. Whenever there was a joke to be had, Kymiel was often the one to crack it. Sometimes – like her – at the most inopportune moments. Though he did tend to sprout them off after something deadly had tried to kill them.

He was a curious critter too, or nosy, depending on how grumpy she felt. If they came upon a dog, mouse, or - Lady forbid – a cat, he would bring a halt to their rounds and spend at least ten minutes interacting with the poor creature. When resting, she had spotted him with a stick of charcoal in hand, busily sketching away in a tattered old journal. Despite her attempts to peek over his shoulder, the elf used his superior reflexes and senses to stow it away. 

In response, he would adorn his knowing smile and tap the side of his nose. 

Dhana had asked him several times now, “Why are you roaming Waterdeep like this? Why here? Why now?” 

The elf merely shrugged, ochre eyes trailing off across the city ramparts upon which they sat. Despite the early morning sun casting rays of orange and gold across darkened rooftops, you could feel the tension that hung over the city. After all, they were in lock-down until the Valsharess’s threat was neutralised. 

“Right now, this is where I am most needed,” she frowned at him, but his next words chilled her, “What other purpose is there for me?” 

His face held no clue to the inner workings of his mind. Naught but a small smile. She lent upon her leggings, hand cupping her chin.

“That’s…awfully depressing,” it was his turn to look surprised, eyebrows raising ever so slightly. 

“How so?” 

“You are alive, with a talent that many would envy. Why waste it watching over others that don’t even know who you are?” Dark eyes bore into his with an intensity she didn’t realise she had adopted, “There is a whole world out there. You said it yourself, Faerun fascinates you. So why don’t you go out and see it?” 

His eyes reminded her of an owl’s at times, unblinking and uncannily observant. Kymiel’s smile widened.

“That is precisely what I am doing, is it not? Watching the lives of Waterdhavian citizens play out. This city is part of this world as much as any other location. Why is it not included in your vision for me?” 

She scowled, “That’s not what I meant.” 

“Then speak clearly, Dhana. What is it you want to say?” 

Pushing herself off her stone perch, she folded her arms across herself…almost protectively.

“What have these particular people done to deserve your protection? Why Waterdeep? You could watch over any city in the world if that is your wish. Why here?”

He paused. The cry of gulls drifted upon the breeze, bringing with it the scent of salt and sea. After a moment of silence the elf reached out for Dhana’s neck. She froze. 

Calloused fingers plucked the twine that held her talisman in place, the sun reflecting off Tymora’s face. With the coin upon display, Kymiel retracted his hand, turning his attention back over the city. 

“At this time and place, I just so happen to come across a city in need. Some might say that is fate, other would attribute it to chance.” 

His smile grew warm. 

“Personally, I would say it was luck, to find a purpose here after so long wandering aimlessly,” eyes darted back over to her, “Let me reword that question of yours. Why not Waterdeep? Why should I protect anywhere else but here?” 

It was annoying how eloquent he could be. 

She had no answer…and Kymiel knew that. Part of her was asking herself the same sorts of questions. Why am I here? What purpose have I got, now the academy is gone, its students scattered to the wind, our master long dead. Perhaps the truth was Kymiel had his purpose…and Dhana was jealous of that fact.

‘I’m clinging to someone who has it all figured out again, aren’t I?’ 

“Is that so bad?” Her face grew incredible hot, she had not meant to say that out loud. He didn’t laugh at her however, “Everyone moves at different speeds. I too will likely need to move on eventually, and that is okay. Not knowing is part of the fun.”

She didn’t understand him, at all. But he seemed fine with that. Eventually, he learned which barriers he could push against and which ones not to. He gave her the space she needed and was there when she needed someone to just…exist. And the day Mephistopheles appeared in Waterdeep, she was glad that she fell at his side.

Because, even in the depths of Hell, everyone needed a friend.

[sheikah]

In the books wasn’t there 3 treasons, and one of them was a treason of love or something? Maybe daario will be danys final treason? I guess it could happen but honestly daario and Cersei just sounds odd to me. Even if he’s bitter and wants revenge, he knows exactly what dany is capable of and knows he’d be on the losing end.

Hey, anon. I’m going to use this ask to make a post about all of these “leaks” in general. Hope you don’t mind. The supposed leaks can be read here. More of my answer under the cut. 

Yes–in Dany’s book visit to HOTU she is warned of three treasons and one is “for love.”

Because of that, I agree that the idea of Daario working against her to be possible. But if I’m really analyzing it, I think that Daario leading the Golden Company would be the betrayal for gold–because he would be getting paid by Cersei/Euron/The Iron Bank, and I don’t think he would fight Dany “for love” of Cersei. It doesn’t add up. And I also don’t believe Daario was genuinely in love with Dany, so I can’t see his alliance with Cersei as like a spurned lover’s revenge. 

So to answer your question, Daario could be the final treason. But I think he fits better into the treason for gold than for love. 

Anyway, I also agree that it seems odd for this Daario plotline to be legitimate at all. So I’m going to address first the reasons I think the “leaks” are suspect. 

1. Tyrion and Varys are not mentioned. To be fair to OP, OP claims to only know details of episode 1 via a conversation with a source, and a few scattered details about the rest of the season thereafter. So possibly episode 1 is not heavy on Tyrion or Varys activity. However, OP didn’t mention this (at least not at the time that I read the leaks. He/she could have edited. I haven’t checked) which tells me Tyrion and Varys slipped their mind, which tells me that they just made up this episode plot and left them out. Say what you will about D&D and their flaws this past season, but Tyrion would be part of an episode they wrote in which everyone gets to Winterfell. He’s a mediator and would certainly be involved in the Jon parentage conflict, as well as some sort of interaction with Sansa at the very least. Tyrion is one of the big 5. He’s going to be around. 

2. The way OP described certain parts of the plot sounds “fanficy.” For example, they are vague and not very detailed when it comes to several plotlines, but they described in great detail how Jon supposedly kisses the tears away from Dany’s face when she cries about the Night King taking over Viserion. 

It also sounds overly cheesy and oddly detailed that Jon tells Arya that seeing her again feels better than coming back from the dead. Not to mention that Jon didn’t seem to enjoy the feeling of coming back from the dead at all. 

3. Certain parts of this don’t make sense considering what we know of last season. My understanding of the final shots of 7.07 is that Bran used ravens to spy on the Night King again, and that he was able to see the Night King riding Viserion and blowing a hole in The Wall near Eastwatch. You can see the scene again here. 

Based on this, the leaker’s claim that the season opens with Bran seeing this seems a little odd. We should believe that Bran already saw it, and instead begin the season by dealing with the aftermath. With only 6 episodes left, I can’t see a re-hash of this scene, a scene which already delivered its emotional payload and would be a weak opening for the final season imo. 

Furthermore, the leaker claims this revelation disturbs Bran and that he is so bothered by it, he is distracted and doesn’t address Jon’s parentage with him right away when Jon returns to Winterfell. I can see why from a writing perspective they would hold off on this revelation for tension, but it shouldn’t be because of Bran’s supposed emotional turmoil. Season 7 did its best to convince us that Bran no longer experiences emotional turmoil. This would be very inconsistent. 

4. Why would Jaime swear his sword to Dany upon arriving at Winterfell? We already know that Dany has abandoned the mentality of demanding oaths of fealty considering all that is going on, so we must assume Jaime does this of his own volition. But it doesn’t make sense. Jaime is disillusioned about Cersei, yes. But disliking Cersei does not equal respect for Dany. Jaime tried to murder her in 7.04. I’m not sure he’s going to be kneeling to her any time soon. His oath is to help in the war against the WW. That doesn’t require an oath to Dany personally. 

5. Speaking of Jaime, I think his death is more likely than Brienne’s. I see Jaime finally redeeming himself as “Kingslayer” by possibly slaying the Night King himself and maybe dying in the process. I know this is a long shot but I would love for him to be the one to deliver the final blow to NK as the true Kingslayer and one the realm would remember fondly forever. I do think it’s likely the Jaime/Brienne romance will proceed and that one of them will die. I just think it’s more likely to be Jaime than Brienne. 

6. Daario leading the Golden Company seems odd to me. How would he become the leader of this group when last we heard, he was maintaining peace and freedom in the former slave cities? When Daario was a mercenary, he was a Second Sun, not a member of the Golden Company. This seems strange to me.  

7. OP claims to know nothing of the ending. I think this is awfully convenient. OP claims to know that Jon and Dany stay together despite Jon’s angst over parentage reveal. OP claims to know the ending of Jaime/Brienne storyline. OP claims to know that Jon and Dany are likely to survive because Melisandre dies to save them. But OP doesn’t know specifics of Night King’s death? Doesn’t know for sure who survives the series? What kind of scenario exists where OP is told all of these super specific details but doesn’t actually know the ending? It seems like OP just didn’t want to write that part because their “tidbits” remain easier to swallow without the finality of the series’ end there as part of them. The other “leaks” presented ludicrous endings and were immediately shut down for it. Without presenting an ending at all, OP seems more credible in some ways. But it also makes me doubt them. 

8. OP never mentions Dany’s pregnancy plot until prompted in the comments. Again, just like Tyrion and Varys, this strikes me as odd. If there is indeed a Targaryen baby, which OP says there is, this would be a huge plot point. So for OP to know this, as they claim to in the comments, but leave it out of their description of the plot in the post itself, makes no sense. This tells me again that OP is making all of this up, forgot about the Targ baby, and had to cover their ass when it was brought up in the comments. 

All that being said, of all the leaks so far, these were some I was most inclined to believe. Full disclosure: that might be because these leaks are the only ones so far that don’t give us a sadistically horrible ending for Jonerys. So maybe I was ready to accept these simply because of my Jonerys obsession. But I do think there are other reasons to give these a little more credit than other “leaks” we’ve seen thus far. 

1. The Greyjoy plot makes sense. I’ve seen other fake leaks that present Euron as the real threat and villain of season 8, as the last man standing after Night King and Cersei fall. In these theories, Euron is some sort of evil mastermind that manages to kill many principle characters. I just don’t see that. So this leak sounds closer to the mark. We can already see that Cersei’s agreement with Euron is fragile and that she is using him. When he discovers that, he might very well go back to the Iron Islands to protect what’s his or gather his forces to retaliate. 

We’ve also now seen the beginnings of Theon’s redemption arc that I personally believe will culminate in saving Yara. Theon saving Yara wouldn’t be that significant if Euron is still in King’s Landing with Cersei instead of at Pike posing a threat to Theon’s rescue mission. So all of what the leaker presents in this regard sounds right to me. 

I also think that Yara ultimately dying despite Theon’s efforts is in keeping with the tone of the series. We can’t have everything we want and I would be sad but not surprised if Yara is killed. It would also be the final straw to shake Theon out of his indecisiveness and inaction–his rage over this could believably compel him to kill Euron, providing a fitting and satisfying end to that subplot. 

2. I’ve always thought that Arya would admire Dany, and the leaker says as much. Arya is canonically aware of Visenya Targaryen and even the name of her sword. It’s not a stretch to think that Arya would look at Dany–a Targaryen woman who is brave enough to ride into battle alongside her men, a woman who tamed three dragons–and see her childhood hero, Visenya Targaryen, a warrior queen. It also fits with Arya’s character to trust someone based on Jon’s opinion, and according to OP, Jon still defends Dany to the Northerners, and Arya would see that. 

3. Even though I question it above, I don’t think the Daario plot is as crazy as others seem to think. Everyone is happy to constantly remind that there are only 6 episodes left. That being the case, I would be very surprised to see a host of new characters introduced as the captains of the Golden Company, because no matter who the writers choose, they will be a new character to show!canon. Having Daario lead the Company doesn’t make sense, especially to more invested fans like us. But the GA would probably enjoy the angst of him landing on Westeros to oppose Dany, and would also like a familiar face instead of a new character as the leader of the GC who only shows up briefly to likely be killed off a couple of episodes later. 

I also don’t think it’s that surprising that Daario could sleep with Cersei. One of the things that Dany always lamented about Daario in the books is that he clearly loved her for what she was, not who she was. Daario is arrogant and enjoys a challenge. He loved Dany because she was an impressive conquest–the Mother of Dragons, the Queen of Meereen. She was formidable in every way. He admired her power as much as her beauty. 

Dany on the other hand, was taken in by Daario’s persistence and charm. In other words, he’s good with women.

Now take Cersei. Despite her inability to truly oppose Dany’s and Jon’s forces, she is still Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She is still a beautiful woman, the Light of the West. She is exactly Daario’s type. She is also no prude. Cersei has slept with inappropriate men besides Jaime before, and in the book she even subtly propositioned Ned Stark in an attempt to save herself when he revealed that he knew the truth about twincest and the illegitimacy of her children. So sleeping with a man casually, or with a seemingly unlikely man, is not OOC for Cersei. I don’t think that after suffering the loss of Jaime and the miscarriage of their last child, that Cersei would be in a position of confidence. She might crave the attention and comfort of a man like Daario who is 1. attractive 2. charming and 3. (assuming he really is the leader of the GC) a powerful ally. 

And of course, these two sleeping together would explain why Euron ditches Cersei, which I fully expect to happen.

4. The Melisandre story works. Sort of. I don’t really know what “army” she could pull together from Volantis but we know she’s leaving Westeros, we know there must be a reason. We know she knows about the WW and wants to prevent their destruction of humanity. We also know that according to what she told Varys in 7.03, she will return to Westeros and die there. 

Considering all of this, her dying in some way to save Jon and Dany after bringing aid doesn’t strike me as crazy. I think it’s fitting, actually. She’s another dynamic character who has changed a lot over the seasons and who has seen the error of her prophecies and her assumptions, but I think her belief in Jon and Dany and what they could do for the realm is genuine. She also said she had been ready to die for a long time. So her dying to save them makes sense. 

And of course, no one is kinder or a better judge of character than Dadvos. I am totally on board with him forgiving her in the end, after seeing that she gave her life to try and right her mistakes. 

5. As I said above, it does make sense to me to hold off on Jon’s parentage reveal immediately upon seeing Bran, so that part sounds in keeping with a good plot structure for the final season. 

OP’s descriptions of Jon’s reaction are also in line with what I’ve been saying–that Jon will handle this revelation the way he advised Theon to handle his own identity crisis. I think it sounds very in-character for Jon to accept his heritage from both families and to ultimately embrace Dany and their love despite the complications. Overall, I don’t believe this is a true leak. But parts of it sound okay, and we need to keep that in mind if we are interested in a potential real leak in the future. Because if one were to come about, it’s entirely possible that some of this information might overlap. After all, some fan theories have been correct in the past. 

So we can disregard this leak and we should. But I’m not going to dismiss the whole thing outright because to do so might be to dismiss or overlook a future, genuine leak the way many people did with Lads. After all, the wight hunt sounded ridiculous–and imo it kind of was. But it was real. Who knows what D&D are capable of lol?