#and then they try to be neutral and say that Sansa wouldn't have been able to survive what Arya did but they NEVER point out Arya's

[fromtheseventhhell]

"Arya wouldn't have been able to survive in KL" is really one of the dumbest fanon takes where you can tell someone only believes it because they like the idea of Arya and Sansa being "exact opposites and perfect complements" (even though it goes against the books). Actual evidence from the books to back it up? Never anywhere to be found despite how confidently people make this claim.

And not only does it severely mischaracterize Arya and ignore what she's been through, it also ignores her importance as a political hostage. The Lannisters weren't searching for her, and lying about having her, for no reason. They needed her because having only one Stark after executing Ned put them in a poor position to negotiate. So Arya would have been more than capable of handling herself (thoroughly shown in her Harrenhal chapters) and the Lannisters would've done everything in their power to keep her alive but, somehow, she wouldn't have been able to survive? It's truly one of those takes that falls apart if you think about it for more than two seconds but apparently, that's too much effort for some people.

#arya stark #asoiaf #as song of ice and fire #anti sansa stans #cause they're the main culprits #the story comes secondary to putting Arya down to prop Sansa up for some people though #it's just one of the dumbest and easily disprovable takes in this fandom #I don't even get mad when I see it cause I know it's not based on anything in the story and it's just fanon misinterpretations #and then they try to be neutral and say that Sansa wouldn't have been able to survive what Arya did but they NEVER point out Arya's #skills + intelligence or talk about what Sansa lacks in comparison or why she wouldn't have been able to survive #a majority of the time it's just /Sansa wouldn't have been able to pass as a boy/ cause they hate complimenting Arya #I'm supposed to buy Sansa as the smartest character in the books but there's nothing in her chapters that her own stans can use to prove it #they have to rely on dropping the intelligence and skills of other characters to make room for her and we're just supposed to ignore that #/Arya wouldn't have been able to survive/ instead of pointing out Sansa's actual skills okay okay got it #personally I'm going to use quotes from my faves chapters to prove their intelligence but I guess that's only if it's actually there...

[turtle-paced]

Hi, so there's been some discussion about the ruby ford recently, and you seem to be a neutral, unbiased blog. Do you think Mycah would have lived if Arya stayed quiet and let Joffrey do what he wanted to him? Some think Arya did the right thing in defending him, but others think Mycah would have lived if not for Arya's interference, and that Joffrey said he "wouldn't hurt him... much"

Answering this with some apprehension. I don’t want to get drawn into fandom wank, I just want to answer what looks like a fair enough question. Can we not slag off at other fans on the reblogs, here? Including in the tags?

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

- Sansa I, AGoT

I do not think it matters what exactly Joffrey was planning to do. We can be certain it involved hurting Mycah. Which is wrong. I mean, would it be okay if Joffrey gave Mycah a shallow cut across the face? Or what about a deep one? What if Joffrey cut one of Mycah’s fingers off? A hand? An arm? Should Arya trust that Joffrey won’t accidentally do something fatal when he only intended to cause a little bit of pain? Or trust that whatever injury Joffrey inflicted wouldn’t result in death or permanent impairment? How can Arya foresee any of this, beyond “this course of action will lead to Mycah getting hurt, and this course of action might not lead to Mycah getting hurt”? 

Why on earth should Arya leave it up to Joffrey to decide how he wants to harm another human being and allow him to carry it out? Why shouldn’t she feel that her intervention to protect another human being in imminent danger is justified?

Whether Joffrey planned to kill Mycah or “just” inflict a bit of grievous bodily harm, Arya did a right thing in trying to stop it. This is outright stated in the text.

Suddenly her father’s arms were around her. He held her gently as she turned to him and sobbed against his chest. “No, sweet one,” he murmured. “Grieve for your friend, but never blame yourself. You did not kill the butcher’s boy. That murder lies at the Hound’s door, him and the cruel woman he serves.”

- Arya II, AGoT

Arya is not responsible for Joffrey’s decision to hurt Mycah. She’s not responsible for Cersei’s overreaction, either, or Sandor’s decision to carry out Cersei’s orders. It’s not Arya’s fault, full stop.

Now that we’ve dealt with responsibility, let’s ask whether Arya could have intervened more effectively. Unfortunately, we’ve got a lot of material to work with.

A great deal of Sansa’s ACoK storyline involves her efforts in trying to avoid or mitigate Joffrey’s abuse. Sometimes she’s successful in playing to Joffrey’s ego and his fears. That’s how she saves Ser Dontos, in a situation where a few fair comparisons can be made to the Ruby Ford.

Sometimes, however:

Frowning, he lowered the crossbow. “I’d shoot you too, but if I do Mother says they’d kill my uncle Jaime. Instead you’ll just be punished and we’ll send word to your brother about what will happen to you if he doesn’t yield. Dog, hit her.”

“Let me beat her!” Ser Dontos shoved forward, tin armor clattering. He was armed with a “morningstar” whose head was a melon. My Florian. She could have kissed him, blotchy skin and broken veins and all. He trotted his broomstick around her, shouting “Traitor, traitor” and whacking her over the head with the melon. Sansa covered herself with her hands, staggering every time the fruit pounded her, her hair sticky by the second blow. People were laughing. The melon flew to pieces. Laugh, Joffrey, she prayed as the juice ran down her face and the front of her blue silk gown. Laugh and be satisfied.

Joffrey did not so much as snigger. 

- Sansa III, ACoK

Sometimes there is nothing that will appease Joffrey or convince him to stand down. In the chapter quoted above, someone has to come make Joffrey stop.

The answer to “could Arya have intervened more effectively”, I think, is maybe, and that there’s no way whether Arya could know what might work or what the chances were of alternative means working. Given the imminent threat of Joffrey starting to hack at someone with a sword, I think Arya was entirely justified in skipping appeasement and going straight to “make him stop.”

So - would Mycah have lived had Arya done nothing, or if she had done something differently? Maybe. There’s no way Arya could tell or should have been able to tell. And even if Joffrey had intended to stop with causing Mycah injury, Arya’s intervention would still be justified.

ETA: It should go without saying that Sansa’s situation in ACoK is from the position of a hostage and a prisoner, without power or authority figures to appeal to. In ACoK, she too is doing what she can.

#ASoIaF #valyrianscrolls #cw: violence #arya stark #joffrey baratheon #a game of thrones #asks