I Think He Knows

I Think He Knows

The woollens have been put away, time for Jon and Dany to brave another chaotic season ❤️

This is my late participation in @snowxstormworld JonerysSummerLovin event. A continuation of my winter themed story, Wool to Brave the Seasons. It’s very silly 🤭 Summary/snippet is below 🥰

She drew in a deep breath. The sharp, briny air and salt laced breeze flirted with her loose hair as Jon’s arms wound around her from behind and he rested his chin on her shoulder. She leaned back into him and waited. Any second now...

“You two are in the master upstairs. I deliberately chose the room on the opposite side of the house. If I hear one sigh or noise, I’ll tell mother about the time you broke her favorite necklace and blamed it on my poor pup,” Viserys said in his outside voice and Dany stifled a snort as she and Jon turned to face him.

“Your prissy little dog is always eating her things when you visit. Who do you think she’ll believe, you or me?”

A romance forged in winter never withers as Jon and Dany vacation in a land of summer and sand. Grappling with the heat and an obnoxious Viserys, they reach a delicate realization that they're exactly where they're supposed to be—part two to Wool to Brave the Seasons.

summertime sadness (every summer carries the ghosts of all the summers that precede it)

From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

I love that Daenerys Targaryen has significant parallels with all the major ASOIAF characters (as well as with many of the minor and the historical ones too). I love that comparing and contrasting her with them almost always highlights her epicness and/or how special her place in the narrative is.

Daenerys Targaryen is not just a queen, she’s a queen regnant and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, i.e., a she-king. This means that she can be compared and contrasted not only with Cersei and Margaery or with Alysanne and the other Targaryen queens consort, but also (in fact, especially) with Stannis and Robb or with Aegon the Conqueror and the other Targaryen monarchs that succeeded him.

Daenerys Targaryen is not just a claimant to the Iron Throne like Stannis, Young Griff and Renly, she’s the only one of them who is a POV character.

Daenerys Targaryen is not just one of the POV rulers, she also happens to be the only POV ruler with power in her own right and who isn’t in a subservient position in any way (Jon is Lord Commander, but he’s also the king’s advisor and is running the equivalent of a penal colony, so the stakes are much lower than Daenerys ruling a city and dealing with opposition from half the world; Tyrion and Ned are Hands of the King; Cersei is queen regent, which means that her power stems from Tommen’s kingship). Also, Daenerys has the clearest parallels with Aragorn and her ADWD storyline was deliberately written by GRRM as a response to the lack of information from Tolkien about what makes Aragorn a good king. Finally, if one compares her ADWD storyline with Jon’s, one can see how many roles she occupies at the same time: the administrator (Jon), the monarch (Stannis), the most magical character linked to fire and prophecies (Melisandre) and the leader of the disenfranchised (Mance; note that Daenerys was forced to leave her homeland, was enslaved and currently doesn’t belong anywhere - that’s the exact same situation of many of the former slaves of Slaver’s Bay, who come from different places and have different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. Daenerys empathized with them right away because she is one of them. Her detractors may accuse her of being an outsider, but that’s because they prioritize the viewpoint of the Ghiscari slavers. The freedmen, like Daenerys, come from many different places and are outsiders to the noblemen too).

Daenerys Targaryen is an extraordinary conqueror and strategist. Aegon the Conqueror made the Westerosi bend the knee with the help of his dragons, 15-year-old Daenerys Targaryen overthrew the slave masters primarily thanks to her own battle plans, not her dragons. Robb Stark captured castles in the westerlands motivated by personal injury and his actions had local impact; Daenerys Targaryen conquered three cities motivated by her desire to abolish slavery and her actions had worldwide impact.

Daenerys Targaryen is not a typical member of her family, she is the main leader and representative of House Targaryen in a way that Jon/Bran/Arya/Sansa or Cersei/Jaime/Tyrion can’t ever claim to be. Their fathers Ned Stark and Tywin Lannister had large roles in the main story and, in the Starks’ case, their older brother Robb is more well-remembered than any of them (at least so far). Meanwhile, Daenerys’s father Aerys II was already dead before she was born and before the main story began, which allowed her to carve her own path outside of his influence. Moreover, her accomplishments are already greater than both of her older brothers’. She became the face of her family in a way that matches (in fact, even surpasses) Ned with House Stark and Tywin with House Lannister.

Daenerys Targaryen is not a typical mother, she’s both Mother of Dragons and Mhysa. Her motherhood is transcendental in a way that Catelyn’s or Cersei’s aren’t because it is not related to blood ties or to her fertility. Instead, it’s associated with her unprecedented feat of reviving an extinct species, with her ability to make up the magic as she goes along, with her leadership, with her revolutionary nature, with her compassion for thousands of people. Additionally, unlike the other major mothers, Daenerys is the only one who isn’t doomed to go “mad” despite all the losses and hardships she faced.

Daenerys Targaryen is a hero, which is especially clear when her actions are contrasted with House Stark’s, whose brand of “heroism” has been mostly to react to personal injury so far. Ned Stark participated in Robert’s Rebellion because his father and brother were killed. Ned’s son Robb wanted Northern independence because his father was killed. Ned’s vassals want to start another war in the name of the Starks because of their loyalty and their outrage about the Red Wedding. Their motivations, sympathetic as they may be, have never involved the commoners. In contrast, GRRM had Daenerys empathize with the former slaves, start a war in their name and abolish slavery despite them not being associated with her through oath of fealty or blood relations or lands. She was specifically singled out by the author as the one leader who “wants equality for everyone”. It’s a stark contrast (pun intended) to the actions of the main family (at least as a unit) of the story. Sadly, it’s easier (for some fans) to root for the heroes mostly reacting to personal injury who never made any mistakes of large scale consequences since they never got to be in authority. Or for the heroes fighting against ice zombies (though, to be fair, Jon haven’t even faced them in ADWD, his main challenge was to conciliate the Free Folk and the Night’s Watch, so the stakes of his storyline are much lower when one compares his problems with Dany dealing with enemies from all over Essos raising armies to defeat her). It’s harder to do the same with the hero who takes an active stance against social injustices and who wrestles with hard questions about when political violence is justified (which never have easy, clear-cut answers) and all the negative ramifications that come with them.

Oh, and have I mentioned that Daenerys Targaryen is the character with the most overt clues of being Azor Ahai/Prince That Was Promised/Stallion Who Mounts the World? Like with the birth of the dragons, uniting and leading humanity to victory against the Others will be another unparalleled feat of hers among the characters of the current timeline. Additionally, as she becomes surrounded and influenced by prophecies, we get to see how Daenerys has a healthy relationship with them in contrast to other characters like Cersei and Stannis.

All these attributes and accomplishments are made even more remarkable when one contrasts them with what doesn’t necessarily make Daenerys Targaryen unique. Yes, Daenerys became the most powerful person in her world, but she also lived in poverty among lowborn people without the privilege of a castle or a formal education, which lends itself to comparisons with Davos and Melisandre. Yes, Daenerys is a queen, but she’s also a young girl who loves songs and stories and idealizes her family members, which lends itself to comparisons with Arya, Brienne and Sansa. Yes, Daenerys is a loving, compassionate mother, but she was also raised by her abuser throughout all of her formative years, which lends itself to comparisons with dysfunctional families like the Lannisters, the Greyjoys and the Cleganes. And so on.

Daenerys Targaryen has a very special place in the narrative, which I think should be acknowledged not only to appreciate her character, but also to understand why GRRM chose to isolate her from everyone else. Why would GRRM be confident that his readers would still be interested in Daenerys despite the fact that she doesn’t interact with any of his other major characters for most of the story? Is it merely because of her dragons, as her detractors say?

No.

It’s because, as the list above showed, Daenerys’s narrative importance and accomplishments are unmatched. They had to be. Daenerys’s character and storyline had to be connected to pretty much everyone else’s in significant, thematic ways in order for her to earn an entire continent, as well as her place as the Fire of ASOIAF. That is why Daenerys is guaranteed to have a major role in all the three main plotlines of ASOIAF. That is why Daenerys is so iconic and represents this book series in a way that no individual Stark could ever do. That is why Daenerys has to be so many things at the same time: a POV character and a claimant to the Iron Throne, a mother and the main representative of her family, the most powerful person in her world and a former slave, a ruler and a conqueror, a she-king and a young girl, quite possibly the story’s main hero and savior. That no other ASOIAF character can come close to her narrative importance or to her in-universe accomplishments is kind of the point because Daenerys had to encompass everything that is great about ASOIAF in order to carry her own storyline. And I’m excited for TWOW because, as she moves closer to Westeros, her importance will only increase more and more.

Daenerys Targaryen is like fine wine. She gets better and better the more time passes, the more you think about her and the more you realize how all the other ASOIAF storylines somehow lead back to hers. Dany’s storyline almost always looks that much more epic and greater in comparison to them because she carries her storyline on her own, so the author had to make sure she caught our attention.

Dany's names for her dragons, and her reasoning behind them, are pretty interesting. What I find most interesting though is that she ends up claiming and riding Drogon, the dragon named for her first husband who bought and raped her. We aren't given any reasoning behind his naming but I believe it must come from Dany's dragon dream. In this dream, her physical and emotional pain is burned away and she is then able to reconnect with life and those around her.

"'Khaleesi,' Aggo murmured, 'there sits Balerion, come again.'

'It may be as you say, blood of my blood,' Dany replied gravely, 'but he shall have a new name for this new life. I would name them all for those the gods have taken. The green one shall be Rhaegal, for my valiant brother ... The cream-and-gold I call Viserion ... His dragon will do what he could not.'

'And the black beast?' asked Ser Jorah Mormont.

'The black,' she said, 'is Drogon.'"

Viserys is another of Dany's abusers but her explanation for naming a dragon after him makes some sense. All she ever wanted was for Viserys to take care of her as a brother should, now she has a chance to fulfill that need in another way. She'll care for Viserion as his mother and eventually Viserion will care for her.

It also might offer some foreshadowing for Viserion's fate. If I had to guess which dragon would die, I would predict it'd be Viserion dying to protect Dany. This would fulfill Dany's wish that he 'do what [her brother] could not,' which is to say that Viserion will protect and care for Dany. I'm not totally convinced any of the dragons are going to die but, again, if I had to guess then I would say Viserion will shield Dany from some danger and die as a result. Viserys died because he threatened Dany's unborn child, Viserion might die to protect Dany (and possibly another unborn child).

This might also be foreshadowing for whoever ends up riding Viserion. Viserion's rider will do what Viserys could not - they'll protect and love Dany. I've always thought Jon should bond with Viserion (if he gets a dragon) because 1) Viserion is cream and gold which matches the colors Jon is usually associated more than Rhaegal's green and bronze and 2) Jon will do what Viserys couldn't. That's pretty much a given, Jon will love and protect Dany. Something Viserys never could. Viserys also planned on marrying Dany, something he couldn't do, and it also seems likely Jon will marry Dany.

Based on the above passage alone, one might assume Dany would eventually ride either Viserion or Rhaegal. Viserion will do what Viserys could not, he'll love and protect Dany. Best way to do that is as her mount. The bond they never had as brother and sister will manifest as rider/mother and dragon. Rhaegal is named for Dany's "valiant brother" whose memory gives her strength several times throughout the series. She even has visions of herself in Rhaegal's armor, fighting men in ice armor on the Trident - foreshadowing future battles against the Others in Westeros.

Yet she ends up riding Drogon first - the largest and fiercest of the three. "Balerion, come again." There's foreshadowing in that as well. Balerion was the Conquerors dragon and Daenerys will be a conqueror in her own right. She'll be known as "Aegon the Conqueror with teats." With this, it does make sense that she would eventually ride Balerion's reincarnation. Drogo also was a well-renowned warrior, he never cut his braid, and had a khalasar of 40,000 mounted warriors. Naming Drogon for Drogo might be a way for Dany to keep some of Drogo's strength with her. His strength had been her protection when he was alive.

She named her three dragons for "those the gods have taken" but Dany could just have well named Drogon after another member of her family. Her father, mother, or even Aegon the Conqueror. She could have named him after Ser Willem Darry, the only real caretaker she ever knew. There's no explicit explanation given in the text for Drogon's naming so we're left trying to piece it together. Or, I'm left because this is has been bothering me for years now. Let's look at the dragon dream that I believe is the catalyst for Dany naming Drogon after Drogo.

"She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night … Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again ... There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet ... She opened her arms to the fire ... let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce. And the next day, strangely, she did not seem to hurt quite so much...

She touched one, the largest of the three ... Black-and-scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream...

From that hour onward, each day was easier than the one before it. Her legs grew stronger; her blisters burst and her hands grew callused; her soft thighs toughened, supple as leather."

The dragon dream is the turning point for her. Riding her Silver becomes easier and she "began to notice the beauties of the land around her." The dream manifests in reality when Dany's physical pain alleviates and she begins to grow stronger each day. Her experiences with Drogo begin to change as well - she begins to experience pleasure during their sexual interactions, just as she begins to find pleasure and joy in life with the Dothraki. Drogo does nothing to help her, these changes come from Dany (and her dragon dream) alone. She even begins to take control in their sexual encounters (or as much control as a bridal slave can, I guess). Their relationship changes and they become more affectionate to each other. All of this stems back to her dragon dream - cleansing her, tempering her, and scouring her clean.

Dany seems to realize it is the black-and-scarlet dragon she dreams of ("Black-and-scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream..."). This specific dragon is reaching out to her, despite not yet being alive, at her lowest - when she has resolved herself to suicide. This dragon transcends death and life to connect with Daenerys and burn her pain and weakness away. Dany may have claimed Drogon in the fighting pit but it feels like Drogon claimed her first. She claimed him as a mount but he claimed her first, as his mother.

Since she recognizes her black-and-scarlet as the dragon from her dream, the dream that took away her pain from Drogo's rape and led her to gain some control in their sexual encounters, Dany associates this specific dragon with Drogo. With the pain he inflicted on her, the resilience she needed to survive, and the flames in her dream that didn't burn but left her stronger than before. She also places the black-and-scarlet egg by Drogo's heart on his funeral pyre - a place of intimacy and love but this also reminds me of Dany eating the stallion's heart to give Drogo's unborn son strength.

I've always wondered about the dragons breastfeeding from Dany when the pyre was ashes. Maybe, before they started breastfeeding, they ate Drogo while he burned. They do eat cooked meat, after all. This will probably never be confirmed but I love the idea of Drogon eating Drogo's heart to gain his strength.

Drogon specifically is the dragon Dany recognizes from her dragon dream. He burned away Dany's pain (inflicted by Drogo) and made her strong enough to change her relationship with Drogo. He woke beside Drogo's heart and possibly ate his heart too. Dany fears and loves Drogon, as she once feared and loved Drogo.

Me: *shows up a month and 6 days late with Starbucks*

I started this the literal night of the season finale and just now finished it bc I’ve been swamped with commissions.

Buy the print here!