ASOIAF Meta

A Song of Ice and Fire - Theories, Meta, Speculation, Analysis. Check the "about" page for more.

[earningbournvilles]

hotd viewers fighting over vhagar vs sunfyre vs meleys vs dreamfyre vs syrax vs dragon #532146798 as if drogon didn't prove to be the smartest living creature in the universe by burning the iron throne, the actual symbol that led to his targ's death, instead of crushing / burning more humans, and then flying off away from westeros

[almostaknight]

original outline jaime is so funny to me. grrm really created the most evil guy and then fell in love with him and gave him a whole ass beauty and the beast romance storyline. as a treat.

[asoiafgotmeta]

the red wedding gets even more painful on rereads, and having us read it through arya's pov is just so cruel 😭 she witnesses both her parents' deaths 😭 the moment where she's just ~she's fine so close, after travelling so long, her mother would be right THERE~ 😭😭😭 and there's no other scenario where it would end well, like if they'd come a little earlier arya would die along with robb and cat 😭😭😭 oh and the moment where she hears grey wind but she's not sure if she hears it or feels it because what if she just sensed it because of the direwolf connection or something idk 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pain all around

[gazpachoandbooks]

Arya was a skilled climber and a fast picker, and she liked to go off by herself. One day she came across a rabbit, purely by happenstance. It was brown and fat, with long ears and a twitchy nose. Rabbits ran faster than cats, but they couldn't climb trees half so well. She whacked it with her stick and grabbed it by its ears, and Yoren stewed it with some mushrooms and wild onions. Arya was given a whole leg, since it was her rabbit. She shared it with Gendry.

Okay but how many times do you think Gendry was offered this kind of minimal, basic, unreserved kindness? How many times do you think someone shared their scarce food with a bastard child in Flea Bottom without asking for anything in return?

Yes, Arya is often curt. Yes, I love that Gendry's friendship and trust in her is based on him being able to, unlike most people, see past her gender and height and fragile appearance, that he knows how strong she truly is. But sometimes I remember one of the first things Gendry must have noticed about her, one of the roots of their relationship, is that Arya -despite the hell she goes through- remains selfless. One of the first things he learnt about her, before he even knew her true name, is that Arya is kind.

And kindness had never been a constant in Gendry's life. Not before Arya.

[raangmanch]

One of the startling bits in Arya's story is when she meets Edric Dayne. Ned is older than Arya and is a squire to Dondarrion. He lives a dangerous life but then we have this interaction:

Edric Dayne: I won a prize once, riding at rings.

Arya Stark: I never learned the lance, but I could beat you with a sword. Have you killed anyone?

Edric Dayne: I'm only twelve

This is not Arya being a murderous child who is too far gone. Death has become a natural part of her life at this point, and it is not some philosophical truth but a truth of the violence of war.

The next lines,

" I killed a boy when I was eight, Arya almost said, but she thought she'd better not. "You've been in battles, though.".

isn't her trying to subtly measure her kill counts to those of 'seasoned men'. This is her desperately trying to reach out and understand if this heaviness she feels inside is something peculiar only to her ( and she does, we know she does when she has nightmares about killing men like Polliver).

The "she thought she'd better not" carries a similar emotion as her thinking that Catelyn wouldn't want her if she comes to know about the stableboy. In fact when Ned Dayne reluctantly agrees that yes, he has been in a war ( Arya picks up how he isn't exactly proud of it) but says he only stood guard over his injured lord, Arya remembers the stableboy at KL and the guard at Harrenhal.

In lines:

She didn't know if Weese and Chiswyck counted, or the ones who'd died on account of the weasel soup . . . all of a sudden, she felt very sad. "My father was called Ned too," she said.

we have Arya's "oh..." moment. We have her going " Oh, so it has not been the same for everyone. Oh, they don't have their hands as bloody as mine. Oh, I have lost my childhood to war. " Her sudden shift where she talks about Eddard Stark is then a heartbreaking remembrance of a time when she too had her own rose glasses on, when knights were heroes and brave, when her father sat with his men amidst the walls of Winterfell and she was only Arya Underfoot.

You know I can't help but compare this to show!Arya where she flippantly tells Lem that she has shot the strawman perfectly in the head, tits, crotch. I couldn't figure out where D&D lost sight of Arya Stark and I think now I may have an idea. When left to their own D&D thought that in a world gone to war, Arya would thrive on violence. But she has only ever thrived on kindness.

Because it is kindness that makes Lady Smallwood such a noteworthy figure in her storyline, it is the kindness of her Braavosi friends that makes her love the alias of Cat ( can't believe that in the showverse! even this got tainted by violence with the stupid af waif storyline). Why she thinks Hot Pie would like the kitchen of the HoBaW: he stole tarts to give to her.

[asoiafgotmeta]

Arya:The woman is important too

Arya:*names her wolf after a warrior queen who saved her people*

Arya:*has as role models women who lead and saved people and took none of the society bullshit*

Arya:*take care of an orphan 4 years old girl and refuse to leave her even if she was slowing them down*

Arya:*uses one of Jaqen's deaths to kill a man because she heard how he participated in the gang rape of a teenage girl*

Arya:*hangs out with prostitutes and tries her best to help them because they are good people*

Arya:*wants justice for a little girl who was beaten up by her father*

Fandom:What a misogynistic piece of trash

[faramircaptainofgondor]

the books:

the show:

the books:

the show:

me watching the show:

[faramircaptainofgondor]

do you think syrio forel stayed to fight out of fondness for arya or because 'the first sword of braavos does not run'?

Both, I’d say.

I’m not naive enough to think that every single First Sword of Braavos were honourable men. GRRM did a great job deconstructing the idea and trope of knighthood, so I assume his views towards First Swords of Braavos would be similar. However, Syrio Forel, apparently, was a man who tried to live by an honourable code.

Syrio Forel stepped between them, tapping his wooden sword lightly against his boot. “You will be stopping there. Are you men or dogs that you would threaten a child?”   

This statement makes me think that he would defend any child if they were threatened, whether he knew them or not.

However, I also think that his fondness for Arya did play a part in this. He keeps calling her “Arya child” in their last moments together. And he was clearly willing to enter the Starks’ service and continue teaching Arya, even though he probably would have had more opportunities in King’s Landing.

Syrio Forel allowed himself a smile. “I am thinking that when we are reaching this Winterfell of yours, it will be time to put this needle in your hand.” 

I don’t see these factors as mutually exclusive. When Jaime declined Tywin’s offer to be released from the Kingsguard, he did it to be near Cersei and he truly wanted to remain true to his vow and serve for life. (That one vow, anyway.)

It’s a similar situation, if you ask me. Syrio Forel probably would have defended any child if it was within his power to do so, but his fondness for Arya made him go as far as to sacrifice himself so she could get away.

[faramircaptainofgondor]

This isn't hate -- at all -- but I'm curious about why you are so vehemently against the Sansa as fake!Arya potential storyline on the show. Although I feel uncomfortable about the Ramsey Snow part of the arc, if they do go that way I'm looking forward to Sansa being forced into a role where her sister's memory is omnipresent. I'm also excited to see her back at Winterfell as a step towards Stark reunification. Is it the constant comparisons between the sisters that bothers you?

No. I’m sorry but that’s a big no. You can’t brush it off as “Meh, the plot is still happening with one Stark or the other, what does it matter?” when it comes to this. I’ll get this out of the way once and for all. 

First of all, let me start by saying that Sansa is my favourite character. I was a bit frustrated with her when I was reading AGoT (I’m more than a decade older than her, so I reckon that’s understandable) but it quickly vanished, about late-AGoT, when I began to understand her mindset. She grew on me pretty quickly, and by mid-ACoK, she was my absolute favourite. I could go on and on about why she’s my favourite, but this meta isn’t about that.

When I first signed up on Tumblr and joined the ASOIAF fandom, I was pretty excited to interact with other Sansa fans. Because my previous ASOIAF fandom experiences had been limited to: talking to other people in real life who were watching the show, westeros.org (boo hiss) and Facebook. And my experiences thus far had not been very Sansa-friendly. So when I discovered a platform that valued Sansa as a character and was teeming with people who loved her as much as I did, I was very happy about it.

But slowly, the days began to turn sour. A shadow grew in the East, whispers of a nameless fear. My joy turned to ashes in my mouth.

Keep reading

[asoiafgotmeta]

Beast + Jaime || risking their lives for Belle and Brienne

Part 3 of  Jaime x Brienne as Beauty and the Beast

[asoiafgotmeta]

Belle x Beast || Jaime x Brienne || initial dislike

Part 2 of Jaime x Brienne as Beauty and the Beast

[asoiafgotmeta]

Belle + Brienne || mocked and misunderstood

Part 1 of Jaime x Brienne as Beauty and the Beast.

[usefulspinster]

No chance, and no choice.

[asoiafgotmeta]

I just really like that Brienne wishes someone would pray for her and Jaime does.

And for me, thought Brienne, a prayer for me as well. Ask the Crone to raise her lamp and lead me to the Lady Sansa, and the Warrior to give strength to my arm so that I might defend her. She did not say the words aloud, though; not where Hyle Hunt might hear her and mock her for her woman's weakness.  [Brienne V, AFFC]

Unbidden, his thoughts went to Brienne of Tarth. Stupid stubborn ugly wench. He wondered where she was. Father, give her strength. Almost a prayer . . .  [Jaime I, AFFC]

[janiedean]

Can we talk about how grrm had two females SUPER insecure about their looks and femininity because they've been mocked for their looks/being bad at feminine stuff but they have two CANONICALLY HOT DUDES fall for them so hard like. Gendry's known to look like young robert/renly (known eye candies) and so is jaime and both fall for these women without wanting to *tame* them or make them girly but also appreciate both sides of them aarghh I hAvE FEELINGS

OF COURSE WE CAN ESP. BECAUSE D&D HAVEN’T GRASPED THAT IT’S KIND OF GODDAMNED GROUNDBREAKING TO HAVE TWO OF THEM AND NOT JUST ONE AND THAT THE HOT GUYS ARE INTO THEM WITHOUT MAKEOVER AND WITHOUT THEM NEEDING TO CHANGE HOW THEY LOOK TO BE PALATABLE like ffs it’s already a miracle there was *one* but he actually put *two* and it’s also a+ rep because he got both main sets of ‘so-called-unattractive-masculine-girl-looks’ ie arya is the tomboy-ish type and brienne has straight-up unflattering features and the masculine build with the extra twist that arya doesn’t care for *feminine* stuff in general and brienne fucking does (even if I’m 99,9% sure that most of the fandom sleeps on that but hey brienne’s chapters are boring according to eight readers on ten BLERGH) and like he did it SO WELL and while I really don’t relate to arya personally I think it’s really damn important that he put both sets in there and did a great job with both povs and people can take the importance of the two of them having romantic feelings and relationships from my dead cold hands and that’s everything I have to say on the topic

[asoiafgotmeta]

one of these days i’m going to make a list of all the salty AF remarks made by dissatisfied GoT actors about the writing and D&D.

i think most of it started from season 5. esp the guys who played barristan selmy, doran martell, stannis baratheon.

but lol the s8 stuff. can’t wait for the tea. some of it has already started.

[asoiafgotmeta]

"Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it's always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining."

gods i love brienne