circe1fanatic

[circe1fanatic]

Arya learned the Braavosi language and culture well enough to pass as someone "born and bred" there while interacting with actual native Braavosi, but I'm supposed to think she's going to have difficulty navigating Westerosi noble life...as someone who was actually raised as a Westerosi noble? The way you can tell that people don't think before they "theorize" about Arya will always crack me up

[circe1fanatic]

It always starts with "Sansa and Arya's relationship is normal sisters' relationship" and ends up with " Arya was never bullied by Sansa and Jeyne. She's an unreliable narrator".

[circe1fanatic]

I've said this before but I find it disturbing that a girl of 9 like Arya wanting to play outside over "behaving like a woman" by 3 and being conditioned to think of nothing but having someone's babies by 11 like Sansa is the weird one here.

[circe1fanatic]

Ok, I normally don't screen shot people's deleted posts but since this was a reply to my own post and I actually spend time to reply back but Tumblr ate my post (bc meanwhile they had deleted their reply) I'll post my thoughts here:

Highborn kids learning some skill (embroidery, swordfighting etc) isn't the same with lowborn kids doing actual labor working as farmers, apprentices, servants or worse being slaves ( this applies mostly to Essos).

The only part I agree with the above post is that Bran and Rickon were supposed to shoeing horses. Neither where any of the other Stark kids.

All the Stark kids ( Jon and Arya included) enjoyed a life of certain privileges while living on Winterfell.

The difference between those two and the rest of their siblings is that they actually had to work once they left Winterfell. Jon when he joined Night's Watch and Arya when she became servant ( basically a slave) at Harrenhal and later when she joined the House of Black and White.

[circe1fanatic]

"Arya stans are so delusional"

The delusional Arya stan in question:

[circe1fanatic]

I’d just like to acknowledge that South Africa wouldn’t have such a strong case without the work of the journalists, both alive and martyred, on the ground in Gaza supplying the world with firsthand information about the genocide and that they deserve thanks for it.

[circe1fanatic]

Thank you Yemen 🇾🇪

Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, they showed more empathy than those so-called civilized developed countries.

[circe1fanatic]

Yesterday marked the 100th day of genocide. Please, do not get used to this. Our people, killed, bombed, kidnapped, stripped, executed and starved is not normal. Our kids in pieces, their body parts collected in bags is not normal.

Israel has killed 23,700 human. More than 10,300 child. We'd need 177 school bus to carry the Palestinian children killed by Israel in gaza. 10,022 fatherless child. 8,352 motherless child. The wounded have their wounds rot and die waiting in front of the crossing. Maggots seen inside alive people's wounds. 5,500 pregnant woman will give birth in the upcoming weeks. 100 Days of Genocide. 100 Days of the world watching silently.

[circe1fanatic]

All but Needle. She stood on the end of the dock, pale and goosefleshed and shivering in the fog. In her hand, Needle seemed to whisper to her. Stick them with the pointy end, it said, and, don't tell Sansa! Mikken's mark was on the blade. It's just a sword. If she needed a sword, there were a hundred under the temple. Needle was too small to be a proper sword, it was hardly more than a toy. She'd been a stupid little girl when Jon had it made for her. "It's just a sword," she said, aloud this time . . . . . . but it wasn't. (Arya, AFFC)

Crowfood had fingered his beard. "Dead now, I suppose. That smith of yours as well. A man who knew his steel. What was his name?" Jeyne had hesitated. Mikken, Theon thought. His name was Mikken. The castle blacksmith had never made any lemoncakes for Sansa, which made him far less important than the castle cook in the sweet little world she had shared with her friend Jeyne Poole. Remember, damn you. Your father was the steward, he had charge of the whole household. The smith's name was Mikken, Mikken, Mikken. I had him put to death before me! "Mikken," Jeyne said. (Theon, TWOW)

[circe1fanatic]

something about arya and sansa’s twow chapters that i think is very interesting is that in mercy arya thinks, a couple times, that what she’s saying is a lie. in particular about the language she speaks and her age. theres a clear line between where arya ends and mercy begins. 

but sansa does not interpret a single thing she says as a lie. which, i assure you, does not mean she’s not lying lol. this is sansa we’re talking about. it likely just mean she believes everything she’s saying. with sansa and alayne its not as clear where one begins and the other ends. 

which is kind of further emphasized by the fact arya’s name is used twice at the end of the chapter where as sansa’s name is never mentioned in hers (but she does make references to sansa’s family/friend) 

[circe1fanatic]

My pet peeve is when fans call Catelyn or Sansa's hair red instead of auburn.

They don't have hair "red like fire", they have reddish brown (auburn) hair which is beautiful but different shade.

Interestingly enough, those fans never say the same about Robb or Bran or Rickon.

[circe1fanatic]

Finally got my old laptop back and sadly but as expected, all my jonrya wip are gone. I did find one wip, not sure why I emailed myself the story but I did. Also not sure if it's worth finishing though. Totally different to my other stories. Jon and Arya are kind of the villains in it. They did bad bad things.

If any of my fellow jonrya stans have time to give me their opinion on it, please msg me.

#jonrya #jon x arya

[circe1fanatic]

Okay full offense but anyone who thinks that George, whose favourite female character is Arya, would write her dying unceremoniously so she and Franken!NymArya would serve as a replacement for Lady is a fucken fool and needs to go stand in the corner

[circe1fanatic]

I don't think anyone who believes Arya is focused on revenge has ever actually read her chapters, it's just been one long game of telephone where people repeat a take they heard so they can pretend they know what they're talking about

[circe1fanatic]

Welcome to asoiaf! Where every character is allowed to be affected by harmful stuff happened to them except from Arya who should get over the bullying she endured bc that's "just sisters being sisters".

[circe1fanatic]

Macbeth Syndrome: a crippling fear that the same violence you used to rise to power will be exacted upon you. This explains sO much about white America in general, and settler colonialist countries specifically. Speaking of Israel….

[circe1fanatic]

What I don't understand is why Sansa stans, who want to get rid of Arya in Winterfell, go for the laziest fanon of Arya being a tourist - a theory that's borrowed from ultimate hacks D&D and the garbage TV show and which ending GRRM has repeatedly disavowed.

Arya becoming some kind of world explorer at the end pretty much ignores her book story, narrative arc, characterization and throws away the material in her so far written 32 pov chapters for an ending they came up with because of a made up headcanon. An headcanon which is far removed from the book character.

If one wants to get rid of Arya in Winterfell to make way for Sansa, the least they could do is actually read Arya's chapters and attempt to come up with an ending that makes more sense for the character.

Arya is a character who wants to help. From Mycah to Weasel to Samwell Tarly, Arya is someone who stands up against injustice even at great risk to herself. She's selfless and would sacrifice her personal happiness for the greater good. She wants things to be better, for herself, for her friends, for the smallfolk.

One ending could be Arya Stark as a leader of the Riverlands, helping rebuild from the ravages of war, helping the people who survived. Arya, who has the empathy and the skillsets to help them, who has listened and learned from her father on how to govern. We see Willow Heddle take care of orphans and managing an inn with a quiet efficiency that mirrors Arya's and Gendry hanging around helping her. I could see Arya and Gendry continue their relationship, fall in love, marry and settle down in the Riverlands while Arya either rules the Riverlands as the Tully heir/Cat's daughter or as Lady of Harrenhal helps Edmure Tully rebuild the Riverlands.

Or, if Jon Snow leaves for beyond the Wall as the leader of the new territories and lands there, maybe Arya goes with him. Considering their close bond and love for each other and the fact that home is where each other is - something else that is again established in the books - if she had no choice but to leave Winterfell, going with Jon Snow to help him lead the freefolk beyond the Wall could be another option.

Or if Bran does end up becoming King on the Iron Throne, then she could stay in KL to help her much loved baby brother. She wouldn't like leaving Winterfell, but Arya is a character who sacrifices and does what's right, no matter how hard it is for her to do personally. Plus, she wanted to be a king's councillor and build things. Her training and skillsets with the FM would also make her alert to any future LF/Varys types trying to plot against Bran - not that someone who can see into the past and present needs a master spy...

Or Arya and Brienne start a school for young girls who are interested in learning different things and have teachers who actually develop their talents based on what they are good at instead of being hateful for what they cannot be.

In my opinion, any of these endings is better than 'Arya, world explorer' an empty, nonsensical ending that has no connection to the character's book story and is actually contemptuous of the suffering and trauma this child has been through over several books. Meet new people and learn new languages? What do these folks think Arya has been doing so far? The girl's been traveling from her second AGoT chapter, meeting countless people. sailed the narrow seas, engaged with new cultures, learned new languages. She's been there, done that.

What's even more ridiculous is that it's Sansa stans who often engage in the oppression olympics of Sansa having suffered the worst, that Sansa 'deserves' Winterfell because she suffered the most abuse, that the only ending that makes sense for Sansa is being back in Winterfell because she suffered so much etc. And yet according to these very same folks, Sansa is going to roll up her sleeves and tirelessly work to lead the people of the North, while Arya is going on a cruise ship vacation and vlog about the new cuisine she is trying out...Hey, maybe after having suffered the most of ALL characters in the series, maybe it's Sansa who deserves the cruise ship vacation, you know?

We have the author himself saying that Arya's harrowing experiences and journey through Westeros and Essos has aged her up so much that he considers the character older than some of the 40 year olds in the books! And yet there are still people harping on and on about tourist Arya ffs.

I personally think Arya will be in Winterfell at the end of the books, either helping her younger brothers Bran/Rickon lead the North or more probably as a leader in her own right.

Arya is a central character in the series, the female character with the most POV chapters. There's no way GRRM has one of his lead female characters end up playing a supporting role in her brothers or sister's story. No way.

The author has given her the character development in the books to lead the North. She has a hulking huge grey direwolf at her side - the sigil of house Stark. She is the lone Stark who has the Stark look. Her direwolf is named after the first Dornish princess who changed female inheritance in Dorne - a big clue for a character who has chafed against patriarchal restrictions on what women can and cannot do. I mean this is how we are introduced to Arya Stark in her very first AGoT chapter:

“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. - Arya, AGoT

It's clear to me that her arc is heading towards her being the first Lady of Winterfell/Wardeness of the North, nicely bookending her arc which started with her wanting the woman to be as important as the man, arguing for equality when it comes to their house. That's how organic story telling and building a narrative actually works.

I am aware of the principal Internet forums about A Song of Ice and Fire and I really used to look at the American and English groups. Nowadays, the most important site is Westeros, but I started to feel uncomfortable and I thought it would be a better idea not to get to these sides. The fans use to come up with theories; lots of them are just speculative but some of them are in the right way. Before the Internet, one reader could guess the ending you wanna do for your novel, but the other 10.000 wouldn’t know anything and they would be surprised. However, now, those 10.000 people use the Internet and read the right theories. They say: “Oh God, the butler did it!”, to use an example of a mystery novel. Then, you think: “I have to change the ending! The maiden would be the criminal!” To my mind that way is a disaster because if you are doing well you work, the books are full of clues that point to the butler doing it and help you to figure up the butler did it, but if you change the ending to point the maiden, the clues make no sense anymore; they are wrong or are lies, and I am not a liar. - GRRM