#arya stark

[laurellerual]

I'm writing a silly little fic!

[oppiedrwz]

wolf pups

[turtle-paced]

What do you think the point of Arya's seeming Ugly Duckling storyline might be? I understand people not thinking much of her appearance as a child contributed to Arya's perception of herself and how she measures up to the world's expectations, but what is coming into her looks as she grows going to do for her or her story?

There's an aspect of realism there too. Most of us are going to know one or two people in that situation. At least.

Writing Arya as developing into a more unconventional beauty is also GRRM retaining something of both worlds - that perception Arya's had from very early childhood, that she's not as pretty as her conventionally attractive sister, isn't likely to go anywhere. At the same time, physical attractiveness, even when it's not conventional, makes a whole range of things a lot easier for a person. Good looking people just get more leeway and tolerance in a lot of social situations. That's an important thing for someone who might be bucking social trends in future. Attractiveness can do a lot.

Given the timeframes of the story, I would be surprised if Arya came to a healthier attitude about her looks on page. The point anon identified about how her looks affected her growing up remains in play. If we kept the timeskip, maybe things would change for the better. Without it, urgh, it might even be worse, because she's a kid seriously thinking about weaponising her looks even as she dislikes them.

But yeah, I can seriously understand anyone asking where all the just okay-looking women are in ASoIaF. I do not blame fans for any headcanon where Arya is one of those people whose features stay objectively plain, and their personality lights them up in a way that's not conventional beauty standards... but has an effect that can only be compared to conventional beauty standards.

[annoyinglysparklygalaxy]

[annoyinglysparklygalaxy]

[king-of-the-brethren-court]

ASoIaF Women//Greek Gods

[fizzy-n-whatnot]

thinking about arya stark once again

[haze-el-el]

I love when Arya is in the tunnels, hearing two man talking about his father having a bastard and the book; she immideatly thinks of Jon. Like yes baby, they are definitly talking about your big brother who has not even important (at the time) and no one cares about. Her first thoughts going to Jon is so important and cute to me.

Ironically, Jon is far more important bastard then Gendry