Rereading ASOS, the plethora of dreams set me to thinking... and led me here.
I noticed that in chapter after chapter there were dreams and I started wondering if they're connected. I read of Jaime dreaming of Casterly Rock, Jon dreaming of Winterfell, Arya dreaming of Catelyn's dead body, Tyrion dreaming of Tysha, Sansa dreaming of whatever (it's difficult to care for her) but she thinks of Lady when she wakes. Remembering back and thinking forward, there are other characters who dream as well. Eddard's dreams revolve around his six companions, three kingsguard, and Lyanna. Dany dreams of dragons and more. The ghost of High Heart has many dreams. Theon has nightmares. Jojen claims he has green dreams. Aemon claims he has dragon dreams.
Hey Boaz, are you going to have a point in this post?
So GRRM writes many parallel circumstances and characters and we're left to compare and contrast them.... but I don't always know when comparisons are merited and when contrasts are needed. For example, Jaime and Jon (men who've forsaken their birthrights and sworn sacred vows to a colored order... white and black) both dream of their family's ancestral homes, going down into the depths beneath the castles, and hearing voices saying that this is not their place. Am I supposed to draw conclusions from the similarities or keep them contrasted as villain in white and hero in black?
I've liked the idea of Tyrion as a Targaryen since before AFFC. I don't recall dragon dreams being part of my reason. If dragon dreams are a reason to prove Tyrion a Targ (Dany is the only POV with dragon dreams), then I guess I have to give up on Cersei, Jaime, and Jon also being Targs. Arya and Bran both have wolf dreams and both are Starks. Sansa twice (once in AGOT and once in ASOS) awakes from sleep muttering "Lady?" I think, at the least, Sansa is trying to have wolf dreams. And I think I can safely say that since Jon, Arya, Bran, and presumably Sansa all have wolf dreams, then Robb and Rickon had/have them as well.
So if Targs have dragon dreams and Starks have wolf dreams, doesn't this mean Jon is a Stark. I understand that the wolf might be a proxy for the dragon, but Jon's never had any inkling of a dragon dream.
All that being said, I'd like to cast my vote for neither a Green Dream nor a Messiah Complex, but for a hereditary condition.
I guess all I am saying is that just as I think the Stark kids warging ability (the AFFC prologue featuring Varamyr confirms this for me) is genetic.... and so I think the Targaryen dragon riding ability is also genetic.
