nym

Quiet as shadow. (She/her).

[deeper-than-swords]

deeper-than-swords -> beloved-arya

[donewithwoodenteeth]

Arya's Mental Strength and Wits

In response to stuff I’ve been seeing on my dash, I’m posting this incomplete meta.

A quick reminder that Arya’s journey of survival has been far more a test of the mind than a test of any sort of physical prowess and to deem her “brawny” and less challenged on a mental level is wrong.

Arya survives leading two older, less sheltered previously boys using her wits, navigation, street smarts and bravery. She purposely invokes tactics to avoid capture and intuitively knows “there is death on all roads”.

When they crossed the first stream, Arya turned her horse aside and led them off the road, following the twisting course of the water for a quarter-mile before finally scrambling out and up a stony bank. If the hunters brought dogs, that might throw them off the scent, she hoped. They could not stay on the road. There is death on the road, she told herself, death on all the roads.

Gendry and Hot Pie did not question her choice. ASoS

She knows better than to blindly trust anyone:

A dozen gold cloaks in mail and plate ran past as she was edging across the inner bailey, but without knowing whose side they were on, she hunched down low in the shadows and let them pass. AGoT

But she didn’t think she should trust Jaqen. ACoK

She wished that Robett Glover and Ser Helman Tallhart would come back to Harrenhal, though; they had marched too quickly, before she’d been able to decide whether to trust them with her secret.  ACoK

“An inn?” The thought of hot food made Arya’s belly rumble, but she didn’t trust this Tom. Not everyone who spoke you friendly was really your friend.  ASoS

She sees through deception and is very perceptive:

“How many guards does my father have?” she asked him as they descended to her bedchamber.

“Here at King’s Landing? Fifty.” “You wouldn’t let anyone kill him, would you?” she asked. Desmond laughed. “No fear on that count, little lady. Lord Eddard’s guarded night and day. He’ll come to no harm.”

“The Lannisters have more than fifty men,” Arya pointed out. AGoT

The Wind Witch was the ship Father had hired to take her home… still waiting! She’d imagined it had sailed ages ago.

Two of the guardsmen were dicing together while the third walked rounds, his hand on the pommel of his sword. Ashamed to let them see her crying like a baby, she stopped to rub at her eyes. Her eyes her eyes her eyes, why did…

Look with your eyes, she heard Syrio whisper.

Arya looked. She knew all of her father’s men. The three in the grey cloaks were strangers. “You,” the one walking rounds called out. “What do you want here, boy?” The other two looked up from their dice.

It was all Arya could do not to bolt and run, but she knew that if she did, they would be after her at once. She made herself walk closer. They were looking for a girl, but he thought she was a boy. She’d be a boy, then. “Want to buy a pigeon?” She showed him the dead bird.

“Get out of here,” the guardsman said.

Arya did as he told her. She did not have to pretend to be frightened. Behind her, the men went back to their dice. AGoT

Anguy the Archer said, “We’re king’s men.”

Arya frowned. “Which king?”…

Arya didn’t think they were king’s men at all. They looked more like outlaws, all tattered and ragged. They didn’t even have horses to ride. King’s men would have had horses. ASoS

She’s fiercely independent even while protective of others and wanting a “pack” because she knows she has to look out for herself in her situation as no one else will. Her mental strength is tested time and again.

Arya could not help looking over her shoulder, wondering when the gold cloaks would catch them. At night, she woke at every noise to grab for Needle’s hilt. They never made camp without putting out sentries now, but Arya did not trust them, especially the orphan boys. They might have done well enough in the alleys of King’s Landing, but out here they were lost. When she was being quiet as a shadow, she could sneak past all of them, flitting out by starlight to make her water in the woods where no one would see.ACoK

Just look at the “see with your eyes” repition in Arya’s narrative. And if you think that an individual is not tested on a mental level repeatedly and to an incomparable degree when they are 9/10 and forced to watch countless people raped and tortured and beaten and killed and constantly wondering if they will be next, you don’t understand what it means to be tried on inner strength.

Her survival in a warzone, a slum, as a prisoner multiple times, in battles, in the circumstances Arya faces is a testament to Arya’s incredible mental strength. 

[geraltcirilla]

the funny thing about claiming that gendrya shippers don’t read the books is that the books are even more romantic than the show and that’s even taking 802 into consideration

[littlefeatherr]

Arya of Stark by jenimal

"Ah, Arya. You have a wildness in you, child. The wolf blood...You remind me of [Lyanna] sometimes. You even look like her." - Ned Stark

[allovesthings]

The real Arya Stark would have spat into his [Ramsay] face.

I mean.... she didn't do that to Roose but she did steal three horses, killed one of his men, lived right under his nose without him knowing it and escape with two other kids so...I think she did alright.

I really do like this quote from Theon because it shows how much Theon knew Arya, there is a certain affection there I think (I kinda want to see Theon and the last of the Starks interact now)

The mental image of Arya spitting on Ramsay makes me real happy, I'm here for it.

I also love this quote because as much as it was true for Arya at the beginning of a game of thrones, I'm not sure it's still true. On one hand, there is the fact that she lived through Harenhal and her being a mouse which to me, feels like she would be more cautious surrounded by people who are very likely to abuse her. On the other hand, there is the big issue of the red wedding, I'm not sure she could contain that rage of being married to the family of people responsible for it.

[esterexpositio]

Maisie Williams attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art

[aryastarksource]

Arya Stark in 1.01 Winter Is Coming

[fat-walda]

You won’t be stealing no kisses from a princess.

[meereen]

missandei, arya and dany are multilingual queens

[hewantshisbrideback]

THE KEY FIVE of ASOIAF and THE MAJOR ARCANA

In occult practices, the Major Arcana are the trump cards of a tarot pack. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-card pack. These cards represent universal experiences, archetypal powers, and major thematic patterns in our lives. The intrinsic meanings of the cards are the same regardless of deck or spread, except when the card drawn is reversed, in which case the meaning is inverted.

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

The Fundamentals of Gendrya

So I just want to establish the possible foreshadowing Arya and Gendry have that hints at a possible romantic relationship in the future, as well as the romantic undertones present in their story.  I’m not really going to focus on symbolism in this meta (although it will come up a couple of times in a minor way), as that will be a focus for future meta.  This is only meant to establish the fundamental basics.

First I want to say that when I’m talking about the romantic possibility of Gendrya, I mean future Gendrya, as in once Arya is older.  However I will posit and say that because we are viewing this in the world of Westeros (in a pseudo Medieval world that GRRM exaggerated and sensationalized from real Medieval sources as well as rumor) and because GRRM has established he has no problems with placing his younger characters in romantic or sexual situations (see Mercy TWOW) I think it would be remiss to think GRRM would not take Arya and Gendry here if that was his plan all along.  After all, there is plenty of precedent.  

This also leads me to remind everyone that Gendry is not an adult when he meets Arya, and the age gap between the two is one of the least egregious age gaps in the books as most of the age gaps are between adult men in their 20’s and 30’s with 12-16 year old girl’s.  I think a lot of people think of the age gap as Arya being 9 the whole time and Gendry being 16, but this is in fact wrong.  According to the timeline, Arya and Gendry meet at the beginning of 299 AC, right around Arya’s 10th birthday.  In 299 AC Gendry was only 13/14 years old.  He was born in 284 AC and is not the same age as Robb and Jon, like Ned surmises.  Gendry is just big for his age, and it’s highly likely Gendry doesn’t even know how old he is.  When Arya and Gendry separate in ASOS Arya is almost 11 while Gendry is 14/15 years old.  

Regardless, this is fiction, and doesn’t reflect real world morals.  So what I’m getting at is that if anyone disagrees with this meta because of their ages I suggest you don’t read any further.

Continuar lendo

[torchwood-99]

Arya Stark, Queen of Ironic Sass

“When Lady Catelyn had asked about Arya, the septa had sniffed. “Arya has the hands of a blacksmith.”                                                  &

“Just where do you think you are going, Arya?” the septa demanded. Arya glared at her. “I have to go shoe a horse,” she said sweetly, taking a brief satisfaction in the shock on the septa’s face. Then she whirled and made her exit, running down the steps as fast as her feet would take her.”

“I won’t hurt him … much,” Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher’s boy. 

Arya went for him.“                  &

“The direwolf let go of Joffrey and moved to Arya’s side. The prince lay in the grass, whimpering, cradling his mangled arm. His shirt was soaked in blood. Arya said, “She didn’t hurt you … much." 

"It’s not the same,” Sansa said. “The Hound is Joffrey’s sworn shield. Your butcher’s boy attacked the prince.” “Liar,” Arya said. Her hand clenched the blood orange so hard that red juice oozed between her fingers.“Go ahead, call me all the names you want,” Sansa said airily. “You won’t dare when I’m married to Joffrey. You’ll have to bow to me and call me Your Grace." 

                                                  &

“She shrieked as Arya flung the orange across the table. It caught her in the middle of the forehead with a wet squish and plopped down into her lap.”You have juice on your face, Your Grace,“ Arya said.“

                                         Love this girl.

[allovesthings]

Septon Meribald: They say the pack is led by a monstrous she-wolf, a stalking shadow grim and grey and huge.They will tell you that she has been known to bring down aurochs by herself,that no trap nor snare can hold her,that she fears neither steel nor fire,slay any wolf that tries to mount her, and devour no other flesh but man.

Me, reading this, knowing who is the wolf:

[intheairwewilllookmonstrous]

this fandom has a weird fetish with loving Slavers. Rather concerning😐😐😐😐

It's an interesting what kind of (perhaps latent) beliefs and views of certain people in this fandom get revealed when they hate some character in enough measure.

Anti Dany folks go out of their way to defend "the poor slavers".

Anti Lyanna folks go out of their way to claim she should have been gagged and forced into obedience like a goody female chunk of meat born to behave men.

Anti Arya folks go out of their way to emphasise how it should be known people of "inferior birth" must have their place and not mingle with "noble blood" else what comes their way is expected.

Anti Jon folks parrot the idea that an illegitimate child is born to be treacherous and that Catelyn had all rights to mistreat him for the sin of existing.

It's very disturbing and concerning indeed.

[allovesthings]

[deeper-than-swords]

Love this hahahaha

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

Are the people claiming that Lyanna isn’t Arya’s literary mirror freaking serious?  Arya may not have run away with a lover and had a baby and died (dude she’s literally 9-12 years old compared to the 14-16 years old Lyanna, so of course those parallels wouldn’t exist!) but that doesn’t change the fact that Arya and Lyanna are almost practically the same person.  And no, their looks and how they fought with a sword isn’t their only similarities.  Are you telling me that you didn’t pick up the very blatant parallels between them in the books or the fact that Arya is literally compared to Lyanna explicitly in canon several times?  

Not only does Arya look like Lyanna and fights with a sword like Lyanna, but they are both wild and willful as they have the “wolf’s blood”. They share the same speech patterns with using the words “you stupid”, and Arya protected Mycah from Joffrey like Lyanna protected Howland Reed from a group of squires.  They both share a love of flowers (Lyanna with the blue winter roses, and Arya making bouquets for her father and counting and exploring the wilds for flowers she doesn’t recognize) and like Lyanna’s narrative arc the two most important characters in Arya’s story besides her parents and trueborn siblings is Jon (a Targaryen) and Gendry (a Baratheon).  Lyanna and Arya both had significant arcs in Harrenhal and both disguised themselves as boys and love horseriding/are naturals when it comes to horseriding.  They are both pragmatic and emotive as well.

Now they have some differences true, because of the circumstances surrounding their upbringing and narrative arcs, and it’s highly likely Arya, as a literary mirror with Lyanna, is likely meant to make different choices from Lyanna so history doesn’t repeat, but that doesn’t mean they don’t parallel each other.  Nor does it negate the fact that GRRM has compared them in canon several times and that these parallels are important to some aspects of Arya’s future story.  Deny it all you want but you are wrong in this regard.  And I’m not denying at all that the other Stark children also share some parallels with Lyanna, they do, but the fact remains that those other parallels aren’t as significant as the parallels Arya and Lyanna currently have, or the fact that the narrative explicitly tells us that the parallels between Arya and Lyanna is what matters compared to the others.  And the fact that I had to write this straight after Lyanna week, just tells me how little some people in fandom actually pays attention to Arya as a character in the books that they couldn’t formulate the parallels between the two themselves.

[aryastarkart]

Arya Stark by aeagle_art