#jon snow endgame

[thefandommama]

Midjourney is really out here putting in the work.

[pixiecactus]

i don't ship jonrya (gendrya it's the one for me tbh) but i swear it bothers me so much that people in this fandom like to discard jonrya like something absurd, that really has no foundation in the books (i can only think of one jon's ships that is like this and it's not jonrya let me tell you) when we have time and time again in both of arya and jon's chapters actually shown how they are so devoted to eachother, making one of the strongest bonds in the entire series, even if you don't take the og outline (jonrya endgame) in consideration:

in agot:

"And Arya…he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had…yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him."

and:

"She would have given anything if Jon had been here to call her “little sister” and muss her hair."

in acok:

"When at last she slept, she dreamed of home. The kingsroad wound its way past Winterfell on its way to the Wall, and Yoren had promised he’d leave her there with no one any wiser about who she’d been. She yearned to see her mother again, and Robb and Bran and Rickon . . . but it was Jon Snow she thought of most. She wished somehow they could come to the Wall before Winterfell, so Jon might muss up her hair and call her “little sister.” She’d tell him, “I missed you,” and he’d say it too at the very same moment, the way they always used to say things together. She would have liked that. She would have liked that better than anything."

and:

"As he rode, Jon peeled off his glove to air his burned fingers. Ugly things. He remembered suddenly how he used to muss Arya’s hair. His little stick of a sister. He wondered how she was faring. It made him a little sad to think that he might never muss her hair again. He began to flex his hand, opening and closing the fingers. If he let his sword hand stiffen and grow clumsy, it well might be the end of him, he knew. A man needed his sword beyond the Wall."

their current companions remind them of eachother:

“NO!” Arya and Gendry both said, at the exact same instant. Hot Pie quailed a little. Arya gave Gendry a sideways look. He said it with me, like Jon used to do, back in Winterfell. She missed Jon Snow the most of all her brothers.

and romantic interests too:

Ygritte trotted beside Jon as he slowed his garron to a walk. She claimed to be three years older than him, though she stood half a foot shorter; however old she might be, the girl was a tough little thing. Stonesnake had called her a “spearwife” when they’d captured her in the Skirling Pass. She wasn’t wed and her weapon of choice was a short curved bow of horn and weirwood, but “spearwife” fit her all the same. She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier. It was hard to tell how plump or thin Ygritte might be, with all the furs and skins she wore.

and i want to end with one of my favourite arya's quotes:

“I know where we could go,” Arya said. She still had one brother left. Jon will want me, even if no one else does. He’ll call me “little sister” and muss my hair. It was a long way, though, and she didn’t think she could get there by herself. She hadn’t even been able to reach Riverrun. “We could go to the Wall.”

so... no, the idea of jon x arya is not strange at all actually

[fromtheseventhhell]

When Jon comes back to life and gains a "ghost" moniker to match with Arya, so we get the "Ghost of Harrenhal" leading in Harrenhal and the "Ghost of the North" leading in the North

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. “Hungry again?” he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

Jon I, AGOT

It's interesting that GRRM would dedicate several paragraphs to a seemingly unimportant exchange between a boy, his wolf, and an unfriendly third party. But there's just something about this passage that has continued to nag at me for years since I first read it because, considering how heavy handed GRRM was with the foreshadowing in AGOT, this feels important.

Jon is sitting at table full of squires - aka would be knights. We don't really know who they are or what families they belong to, but it's safe to assume that they come from a certain level of privilege; this is considering the fact that it cannot be financially easy to be a squire. And these boys already have a slew of tales detailing all their previous knightly exploits regarding "battle and bedding and the hunt" which suggests that they have some capital. So you have boys who will soon be men. And they will, presumably, become men of some power.

These lads eat their fill of the chicken until only half remains, which Jon then gives to Ghost. The direwolf's name is not so important here but what he represents is. Throughout the series, we're told that Ghost is reminiscent of the weirwood trees (because of his red eyes and white fur). He's stated to be of and from the Old Gods and since he's a personification of the weirwoods, he might as well be one of them. It's almost as if Jon is presenting whatever is left on the table to the Old Gods (Ghost). He lets them devour his offerings while he silently watches. And the motif of watching is so interesting here because it's kind of like Jon takes on a stewardship role - to watch over land/people/etc. He oversees Ghost eating the chicken, so he's overseeing whatever has been given to the Old Gods. This is not new imagery to his arc. As a brother of the Night's Watch and eventually its leader, we have several instances where he leads people to adopting the Old Gods in some fashion. In ADWD, several recruits swear their vows to the Old Gods while he watches on as their Lord Commander. The Old Gods are also primarily of the North and we're told that Jon has more of the north in him than his brothers; interesting that this also includes Bran. So perhaps whatever is being offered to the Old Gods relates to the North.

We must also note that Jon initially thinks to give only a small portion, a leg, before pivoting and providing the entire thing. It feels to me a bit like the process of carving up a kingdom or something similar. The lords (represented by the squires) take what they want and leave aside what they don't; or perhaps they have eaten to their fill and can take no more. Then when his time comes, Jon first considers a small piece of land/group of people before eventually absorbing all of whatever is left behind. The concept of carving up a kingdom rings harder considering that we have several callbacks to the ideals of kingship in this chapter. Robert, Jaime, Tyrion, and even Mance though we don't know it yet, all play into this. And then there's the aspect of Jon letting the chicken slip between his legs which evokes birth/fatherhood, a very curious choice when GRRM could've just had Jon place the chicken on the floor. So land/people are carved up and Jon then uses whatever is left to birth his own type of kingdom. And this kingdom is one for the Old Gods.

This also touches on something that has been quite prevalent throughout Jon's arc. It's the concept of accepting the "others" or "those left over" who live apart from the accepted social norms. Arya (a tomboy), Sam (a gender non-confirming boy), the Night's Watch (criminals, extra sons, and men who have no future left or place to go), and even the wildlings are all examples of this. And Jon takes on a leadership/paternal role to every single one of them. He looks after them as a leader would/should. Sometimes, in the case of Arya and the wildlings, he's equated to a king. He's a steward/shepherd/king. There's messianic undertones to this:

Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you're familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition, you'll know that Jesus is often personified as one who spent the majority his time among the outcasts. The idea is that he came to save them too and that anew kingdom (or new earth depending on your translation) would spring up after the end of the world where he would forever rule as king; which presents the idea of a final king after the earthly ones are done away with. Now GRRM isn't so heavy handed with Christian allusions as other authors out there, but he does have a Catholic background and Jon is so overtly a Jesus figure. And in Revelation, Jesus is king and god at the very end....

One last thing: the mention of the mongrel who challenges Jon has always been rather interesting but confusing to me. A mongrel doesn't really relate to one specific type of dog. But it's interesting that Jon notes several roaming about where he is. They follow the serving girls who carry the food to be offered. Mongrels are used to describe antagonist/villainous groups in ASOIAF. Sometimes, they're used to describe slavers in Essos. But what's interesting is that most of the time, they're used to describe Euron's Ironborn especially in Victorian's POV. So I don't think the mongrel who challenges Ghost is a supernatural threat of death (i.e., the Others) but rather a human one. They represent those who are called to the scene once the lords have finished playing their games. It almost feels like a feast for (carrion) crows....

But it doesn't really matter because this mongrel isn't much of a challenge for Ghost. Though the mongrel is much larger, the direwolf is able to fend her off very effortlessly. Given that "mongrel" is used to describe Ironborn raiders, could this exchange between Ghost and the mongrel point to reavers or sea raiders who rise and fail challenge Jon kingdom? There is a historical King Jon Stark who did this....

When sea raiders landed in the east, Jon drove them out and built a castle, the Wolf's Den, at the mouth of the White Knife, so as to be able to defend the mouth of the river.[1][2] His son, Rickard, followed him on the throne and annexed the Neck to the north.

ref.

So this might shed some light not only on Jon's already published arc, but also on what we can expect in the future. We have some foreshadowing through Jon's ADWD dream that he will not only rise with the dawn (thereby live through the Long Night), but will be in a position to lead people (wildings in that chapter) to a new peace after a hard fought war. Also remember that the wildlings, rather enthusiastically, swear oaths to him as if swearing oaths to their king. In this instance, the supernatural (a dream of the war for the dawn) is followed by the natural/human. So perhaps this particular passage (and Jon's dream) can be used to predict that Jon comes out on top, and quite effortlessly too, as a leader. And he becomes a leader who rules by association with the Old Gods; or rules a kingdom for them.

To end, I think it's of note that this passage immediately precedes Jon's conversation with Benjen where he voices his desire to go out on his own - the hero's call to action. This is the adventure that's going to kickstart his growth as a man, warrior and most importantly, a leader. So it looks like before we even began, GRRM telegraphed how it would all end in just three short paragraphs.

[nymerias-heart]

Do ye remember when 2 years ago I made a 28 minute long video and posted it but then never made any other YouTube content for asoiaf?

I have most of January off from college so I was wondering if during this break I should make some more videos? And is yes, what should they be about?

[kinghazycrazies]

I don’t think anything will come close to the experience of shipping jonmund only for That to happen in the last episode. Tumblr was screaming that day.

[fierypen37]

moodboard by @libradoodle1

[stormcloudrising]

So sansa is gonna be the villain as a corpse queen with night king jon? they probably will d*e then since every story needs that. i always had the idea of arya having this type of legend love for the songs simply because no one expects it out of her and bc she is like known dead and no one knows KNOWS her which it serves the town folk legend when the story changes everytime and it’s like almost non believable because no one really knew her. but gendry and arya is literally the most normal and healthy relationship ever so Arya’s story could be more grounded and realistic since her character is more practical. so she would probably be continuing the stark line giving how she looks like a traditional stark and be in the end one of the smart minds getting through the world after the others and the winter and everything. we also have that huge pack of direwolves with nymeria as the queen. I think you mentioned a love triangle between two sisters which isn’t something I didn’t think before. Especially since arya says how sansa has everything. Jon returning and being darker, dying bc of Arya who turned out to not even be Arya, Arya being with another (Gendry), having Winterfell and being queen could be the sansa corpse queen and Jon Night King actually being together because of Arya.( maybe Sansa won’t have everything because Jon always loved Arya more sort of the Cat/Petyr/Lysa dynamic but reversed. And I can see Sansa giving everything for a love for the songs. Meanwhile Arya is more realistic and more into doing her duty. Kind of reverse with how we started where Arya is the wicked one who is always in the wrong and is alone meanwhile sansa is the good dutiful one who is almost to having everything friends loved be a queen etc. And it works in my opinon. Sansa is no queen or leader. She can be the beautiful tragical lady of the love songs just how she always wanted. And arya can be the queen of wolves who will also make history and be written in the books. She can be a leader most definitely. I also predicted how it’s only probably arya is gonna be alive by the end. like dany, cersei, sansa, are probably gonna be dead and only arya be the one alive. This is so long. Anyway byee~~

Hi Nonny,

Thanks for reading the essay and for the ask.

If you are asking if I think that Sansa and Jon will be dead as in permanently at the end of the story, then my answer is no. I think that like on the show, they will survive. 

Specifically, regarding Sansa, if you are asking whether she will die, I can’t rule out that possibility. However, if she does, I believe that like Jon, she will return. Her death could also be symbolic, but I think that there is a good chance that it could be literal, and then she returns.

The reason that I can’t rule out the possibility of her dying is because as I’ve noted in various essays, the myth of Hades and Persephone is wrapped around the in-world myth of the Night’s King and his corpse queen, as well as the arcs of Jon and Sansa, and House Stark. Therefore, in some manner, Sansa needs to descend to the underworld. It could just be her descending to the lower levels of the crypt with Jon, which is something I think will happen, or it could be more.

Jon had to die to become NK/Hades, character…ruler of the underworld. The same could be true of Sansa, but as I said, it could be just a symbolic death like the one Persephone experienced in the Greek myth. Either way, she must return as Persephone did.

By the way, that’s why I predict that unlike on the show, Jon will never go down South to meet Dany. He’s never going to go to either KL or Dragonstone. The farthest south I expect Jon to make it is to the Trident when Ice does battle with Fire. I don’t even think that he will cross the river as he will symbolically be leaving his northern underworld demesne. 

Symbolically, that’s why Ned, Brandon and their father, Rickard died. Ned, the previous Lord of the Icy Underworld crossed the Trident and overstayed his welcome. Brandon and Rickard, crossed and went into the lands of the enemy without an invitation or an army behind them. 

On the other hand, Torhen, the Brandon who ruled after him, and Cregan all crossed at the invitation of the southern ruler and then promptly left. They didn't overstay their welcome. When Jon comes down with the northern army, he will be coming to do battle and thus will not be invited across. 

Funnily enough, even though Sansa represents the icy corpse queen of the underworld, she can cross the Trident because like Persephone, she is also of the South and the land of fertility. I would not be surprised if she is the one who crosses and parlays with Dany. She represents Winter and Spring. She’s balanced. In fact, that’s what the Starks represent. They are the balance that’s necessary to bring things full circle and reunified the realm and sort out the issue with the seasons.

If you’ve read any of my previous essays, you know that I repeat ad nauseum that George is always consistent with his symbolism. Some of his symbolism and mythology is just there for world building purposes, as is the case of much of what you find in TWOIAF. However, the symbolism heavy symbolism in the central books and Dunk & Egg generally have meaning in the story proper.

Last weekend, I discovered again how true that is. I was doing a little work on my Florian and Jonquil series, and I started wondering about all the fire and water symbolism in Jon and Sansa’s arcs respectively.

Jon is understandable for obvious reason with his dragon ancestry, and Hades has fiery symbolism with Cerberus, his fiery hell hounds. Sansa is heavily associated with water, which makes sense if as I’ve proposed, she’s a greenseer and the corpse queen as I've proposed. George uses water to represent the green sea or the weirwood net and of course ice is made of water.

I realized that as the myth of Hades and Persephone were so closely tied to that of Night’s King and corpse queen, if Jon had fiery symbolism that matched Hades, Sansa’s water symbolism should find a match in Persephone’s tale as well. However, in all my readings, I didn’t remember coming across anything about the Greek Goddess and water, but then again, I had never specifically searched for any association between her and water. This time I did, and up it popped.

It was there all along and I just overlooked it because I had never considered Persephone’s water connection before. One of her names is Nestis, which means water. It was given to her by the Greek philosopher Empedocles. His teachings influenced Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates among others. 

Empedocles is best known for originating the cosmogonic theory on the creation of the universe based on the four classical elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These elements were the stand-ins for Hera (earth), Zeus (air), Hades (fire) and Persephone (water).

"Now hear the fourfold roots of everything: Enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus, and Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears." 

Of the four deities of Empedocles' elements, it is the name of Persephone alone that is taboo – Nestis is a euphemistic cult title – for she was also the terrible Queen of the Dead, whose name was not safe to speak aloud, who was euphemistically named simply as Kore or "the Maiden", a vestige of her archaic role as the deity ruling the underworld. Nestis means "the Fasting One" in ancient Greek.

—Wikipedia

Thus, we can see that George is again consistent. The fiery symbolism of Jon/Hades/NK is balanced by water symbolism of Sansa/Persephone/Corpse Queen of the Dead. And it’s Sansa, not Arya that he’s linking with Jon/Hades/NK as Persephone/Corpse Queen.

Regarding Arya, I think that originally, George did plan to make her the Persephone character to Jon’s Hades. However, his meandering garden style of writing led him to assigning that role to Sansa. 

Will there be a triangle between the two sisters and Jon? No. I don’t think so. I wouldn’t call it a triangle per se, but I think that George is sticking to his original plan of conflict between Jon and Tyrion over a Stark sister, but in this case, it will be over Sansa. That’s why he married her to Tyrion instead of Joffrey as he originally planned. 

While he’s not totally sold on the idea, Tyrion also thinks that Sansa could have participated in Joff’s murder and in setting him up to take the fall. Once he finds out that she was with Littlefinger, he will for sure think that she was involved and will want revenge, which portends conflict with Jon.

I do think that another Stark will suffer a permanent death in the books, this time because of Dany and Drogon’s fire. Considering her story arc as a Faceless Man and representative of the god of death, it would make sense if it was Arya.  However, I think it will be Rickon. 

I think Rickon will be the one because the foreshadowing is that Dany will kill and eat a fish. Arya is of course a Tully fish as well, but as has been a theme throughout her arc, she’s more like the Starks. Thus, I think the fish Dany and Drogon kills has to be either Bran, Sansa or Rickon. I don't think the first two dies, and thus that leaves only Rickon. However, I also think that Arya will kill one of the dragons around the Trident area, and I don’t rule out it being Drogon…especially if he’s the one that kills Rickon.

As for Arya and Gendry, I think that they will meet again. Will there be something romantic between them down the road? Possibly, but I doubt it. I think Arya’s tale may end very similar to how it played out on the show with her spending a few years at home in the North recovering and possibly carrying out jobs for the FM before heading west of Westeros. She won’t rule Winterfell. She doesn’t want to be Lady of a great castle. As she told her father, “that’s Sansa,” not her. 

Sansa is the Lady of Winterfell. That’s the reason behind her direwolf’s name, and why Lady’s bones were returned to the north to Winterfell when she was killed. Sansa became Lady of Winterfell even before she has returned North.

There are many tragic aspects to Sansa’s story, but she’s without a doubt, a leader. We’re shown that over and over in the text from her saving Dontos from Joffrey to her calming the ladies and some of the men during the Battle of the Blackwater among other instances. I think that you are under the mistaken impression that to be a leader, you must be a fighter like Arya, but that’s as far from the truth as it possible to be.

I also put no value in the arguments that Sansa was mean to Arya. Yes. The sisters fought. Yes. Arya is jealous of Sansa and thinks that she is good at everything. Nonetheless, that is not Sansa’s fault, or because of anything she did. Arya is not interested in being like Sansa and doing what's expected of the Lady of the manor. That why try as she did, she never succeeded in being seamstress or learning the names and sigils of the various houses. That's not where her interest lies.

The sisters are different as the sun and the moon, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Most sisters are. Most sisters also fight and sometimes call each other horrible things in anger, but at the end of the day, they love each other. This is the case for both Arya and Sansa. We know this because we get their thoughts on the page. And when they reunite, because of what both have been through, they will understand each other a bit more, and love each other a whole lot more. They will be pack.

[rosaluxembae]

We should stop arguing about which character is most motherly or whether torturing kids is good actually or whatever and focus on the one stan war that matters. Jon Snow is a beet apologist and His Grace, Tommen of House Baratheon, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms will bring him to justice 🙏

[buildoblivionthenwewilltalk]

fire and blood

[thefandommama]

We are finally getting an irl au of our babies!!

[leesielex]

Magic Awakens | Ch 63: Robb Stark III

Summary: Robb and his brother, Jon Snow, have reached the Wall and are ready to mediate negotiations between the Night's Watch and the Free Folk. They know it won't be an easy task but things are made more difficult when unexpected turns of events take place. Even with a brother with the powers of the Old Gods they learn the can't always predict the future or stop events foreseen from occurring.

A Preview: He awoke feeling as if he hadn’t slept at all, his bones aching and his muscles tight. Jon looked like he fared no better, though the dopey grin on his face betrayed him. “Get a visit in your dreams again, brother?” he asked.

His face dropped and a blush crept up his neck until even his ears were red. “What? Er,” he stuttered before resignation took over. “Aye,” he admitted.

“So what do you do in your dreams that have you blushing like a maid, Jon Snow?” Robb teased him.

The scowl Jon sent him made him burst into laughter. “Oh, so it was that kind of dream then? My, my, with all that honour I wasn’t sure you even knew where to put it, Snow.”

His brother stood and began to dress himself aggressively, his anger rolling off him in waves. “I know where to put it just fine,” he mumbled barely above a whisper.

“Oh, so you admit that is what your dream was about? Or was she dreamwalking, and you two, ya know?” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively. Jon grabbed his furs from his bed and threw them at him, covering his face as he guffawed.

“I didn’t say that. You know I could freeze your face like that if you don’t close that smart mouth of yours, right?” Jon threatened. He had shown him privately the powers he learned to wield while living with the Children of the Forest.

Robb removed the cover and then held his hands up in mock surrender. “Truce, brother. Surely you can forgive me for taking the piss out of you. It had been a while since I had a laugh. I needed it.”

Click here to read full story on AO3

[starwarsprincess1986]

I’m sorry everyone, but I have to disagree with many of you. I loved the writing of GoT season 8. I’m completely alright with how it ended. I’ve been spending so many hours yesterday and today re-watched so many scenes in it, listening to the dialogue and comparing them to parallel scenes from the other 7 seasons and I think it was exactly what it needed to be. Jonsa foreshadowing has been there from the beginning, and it’s all there in season 8. “Ask me again in 10 years.” That’s what we’ll get with the Snow sequel backed by Kit Harington. I have complete faith in it. Kit knows, and HBO will milk us with it. I have full confidence. Jonsa is coming.

Bran looked at Sansa after she declared the North’s independence. He nodded at her like it was exactly the way to bring Jon back home to Winterfell. Just watch it again. Bran had the same look on his face when he gave Arya the Cat’s Paw dagger. He’s been seeing things going to happen when choices are made and the future set in motion. And Sansa smiles at Bran like she’s “seeing every battle” in her mind and she looks like she’s hatching a plan to bring Jon back home as well. I can’t un-see it!

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Bastards & Arms, Girls and Swords (& vice versa)

“The Lannisters are proud,” Jon observed. “You’d think the royal sigil would be sufficient, but no. He makes his mother’s House equal in honor to the king’s.”

“The woman is important too!” Arya protested.

Jon chuckled. “Perhaps you should do the same thing, little sister. Wed Tully to Stark in your arms.”

“A wolf with a fish in its mouth?” It made her laugh. “That would look silly. Besides, if a girl can’t fight, why should she have a coat of arms?”

Jon shrugged. “Girls get the arms but not the swords. Bastards get the swords but not the arms. I did not make the rules, little sister.”

- Arya I, AGOT

This is a very iconic passage as far as contextualizing the ways in which Jon and Arya are outsiders in the established feudal society, all the while being insiders in some way. Jon’s quote (which establishes how the rules be) is the most recognizable part of this conversation due to what comes later (the gifting of Needle) but Arya’s preceding question is what jumped out to me as I was doing a reread of this chapter. This is mostly because it seems to get to the matter of feudal legitimacy.

Because Arya’s question had me thinking: beyond having marital ability, does possession of a sword establish legitimacy in the feudal system? Obviously the possession of arms does equate to legitimacy since one would get them by being born to a recognized legal union. But what does it mean to have one over the other? And what does it mean to have both? Can a person only be half legitimate? And where would that even matter?

As I was thinking about this, I immediately thought of Daemon Blackfyre, who was one of Aegon IV’s legitimized bastards. If memory serves me right, part of Daemon’s claim to kingship was that he held Aegon the Conqueror’s sword, Blackfyre (hence his dynastic name). His nickname was even “The King Who Bore the Sword” and many were inclined to follow him since his possession of the legendary sword seemed to signify kingship; and by passing the sword down to him, Aegon IV officially acknowledged him as his son. But the sword alone wasn’t legitimizing. That happened later when his father legitimized him and his other half siblings on his deathbed. After that, Daemon had both the sword and the arms and he could push his claim for the throne. So if we go back to Jon and Arya’s conversation, Daemon the bastard managed to get the two keys of legitimization (insofar as kingship goes): the sword and the arms.

Now, let’s go back to Jon and Arya. At this point in the story, Arya has the arms which were passed down to her by her father. She doesn’t have the sword here but a few chapters later (in Jon II) she is gifted Needle - her very own sword which specifically made for her. Over time, this sword becomes an integral part of her development and her identity. It’s interesting that Arya gets the arms from her father and the sword from her brother - almost like legitimacy is being passed down patrilineally; even more interesting when you consider that GRRM originally intended for Jon to be her husband.

Jon, on the other hand, arguably has neither. As a bastard, he has no right to any arms. And though he has the martial ability, he does not have the sword; the family sword, Ice, was going to go to his half-brother who was the heir. Even if Jon managed to get a sword, it probably would be inconsequential; meaning that it would not be as legendary as Ice is. But things change as the story progresses. Several chapters later, he is given his very own sword (which he earned on his own merit) when he is gifted Longclaw by Lord Commander Mormont. Jon thinks that this act is like Mormont recognizing him as a son; he is giving Jon his son’s sword. Then two books later, Jon gets the arms when he is legitimized by Robb’s royal decree; though one has to wonder if GRRM initially intended for Arya to be the one to give him the arms as he gave her the sword. Still, legitimacy passed down patrilineally for Jon as it did for Arya. It’s even flipped: one gets the arms from a father and the sword from a brother, while the other gets the arms from a brother and a sword from a (surrogate) father. Both go through situations where they have to assume some sort of leadership (though Jon’s is far more extensive than Arya’s). However, these situations of leadership (big or small) come not because they were passed down as demanded by feudal succession, but because they were earned.

So now we have to wonder, what does this mean for Jon’s and Arya’s futures given that they hold both signs of legitimacy (as it might relate to kingship if we consider the Daemon Blackfyre example)? They both have the sword and the arms. In addition to that, Jon has a plethora of king foreshadowing and symbolism in the text, despite being a bastard. And he is quite skilled as a warrior. Arya may not have Jon’s martial ability, but she has learned some that is relevant to her strengths as a young girl (so she’s not totally hopeless). She also has some queen foreshadowing in the books; her wolf is even named after a warrior queen and she claims to assume a shortened version of Nymeria in ACOK.

Could they mirror Daemon Blackfyre, who was an outsider who came to be recognized as king? It’s hard to tell what will happen given that we still have two books left, but it’s just some food for thought. In any case, this chapter and Jon II (where Arya got the sword) could serve as seeding for what’s in store for Jon’s and Arya’s ultimate journeys.

[greenseerxofgondor]

I’ve arisen from the dead courtesy of the Lord of Light lol! Chapter 6 of my Jonsa fic “Vulpes Vulpes and Canis Lupus” is finally out after a year and a half absence! Thanks loves!