"They Hacked The Maiden's Breasts Off Too, Though Those Were Only Wood," He Told Them. "And The Eyes,

"They hacked the Maiden's breasts off too, though those were only wood," he told them. "And the eyes, the eyes were jet and lapis and mother-of-pearl, they pried them out with their knives. May the Mother have mercy on them all." "Whose work was this?" said Lem Lemoncloak. "Mummers?" "No," the old man said. "Northmen, they were. Savages who worship trees. They wanted the Kingslayer, they said." Arya heard him, and chewed her lip. She could feel Gendry looking at her. It made her angry and ashamed. -ASOS Arya IV

“(…)This place was put to the torch a long time ago.” “Who did it, then?” asked Gendry. “Hoster Tully.” Notch was a stooped thin grey-haired man, born in these parts. “This was Lord Goodbrook’s village. When Riverrun declared for Robert, Goodbrook stayed loyal to the king, so Lord Tully came down on him with fire and sword. After the Trident, Goodbrook’s son made his peace with Robert and Lord Hoster, but that didn’t help the dead none.” A silence fell. Gendry gave Arya a queer look, then turned away to brush his horse. -ASOS Arya VIII

The first time i read these chapters i felt like Gendry is kind of blame Arya for those cruel behaviors because she is a Stark and a half Tully. But then i realized whenever he is annoyed for something Arya describes his situation very clear.

“He always looked pained when he tried to think, like it hurt him something fierce.” Or “Gendry got that stubborn look on his face(..)”

But most of the time Gendry’s fury comes from his voice but he never talked about those cruel scenes with Arya. And now i think the reason he gave that looks to Arya is because he knows Arya well and thinking like “What kind of lord’s daughter is she?” Because he saw her with helping people, behave him as her equal, try to save people from fire etc. He gave this look not because of angry with her but because he recognizes how different her from other highborns.

把它烧了吧

Sooo… I feel like ranting a little bit, if you follow me you know why. I don't have the virtue of synthesis. And sorry for spelling mistakes, it's late and my English sucks.

About Gendry:

I don't understand how two friends who playfully beat and tickle each other can "look like rape". “Gendry invited Arya to a secluded place and then he pushed her to the ground” but that's not what happened. Arya is upset about the things she overheard being discussed at dinner and she goes out alone in a place she doesn't know. Gendry joins her and to distract her suggests they go and visit the forge together. He starts a conversation talking about Thoros and Robert. Considering the topic and the fact that a few chapters later he will ask to join the BWB, I think it's reasonable to assume that Gendry was pondering his decision to leave Arya and that he wanted to talk to her about it. It's only when ther is a misunderstending and Arya suggests that he goes to Riverrun and serve her brother that Gendry decides to let it go and change the subject. Secondly, it's not Gendry who pushes Arya to the ground. What happens is that Arya pushes Gendry against the anvil and when he grabs her hand, she kicks him which makes them fall both on the ground.

When Lem confronts Gendry that he tried to take advantage of her, Arya defends him against the accusation. There's no reason to believe that after spending all this time witnessing rape and abuse Arya wouldn't be able to recognize Gendry's intentions if they were less noble. Arya trusts Gendry also because he has spent so much time alone with her, but he has never taken advantage of it. The most emblematic scene is the one in which he confesses to her that he knows she's a girl. The two are alone in the forest and Arya remembers “This lot, half o' them would turn you over to the queen quick as spit for a pardon and maybe a few silvers. The other half'd do the same, only they'd rape you first. Only Gendry was different”. Furthermore, it is in fact Gendry that defends Arya from unwanted sexual advances at the Peach. Then you say “That scene had its function. Because it made Arya look like a victim of sexual abuse.”. What's kind of function is that?

About My Featherbed:

The song is about “a Targaryen prince in love with a girl from the North.”? Is it? I can vaguely understand how the Maiden of the tree can be interpreted as "from the North" because trees are linked to the religion of the Old gods, but the symbolism does not add up. The Maiden of the song wears a dress of golden leaves, while weirwood's leaves are red. Lyanna was associated with a weirwood tree, not a tree with golden leaves. The Maiden of the tree is clearly Arya, just a page before George highlights it by making her say "I look like an oak tree". (I would add that Arya is a little girl and is dressed as a green 'oak tree' in summer, while the woman in the song is a maiden and is dressed as a golden 'oak tree' in autumn).

Then I absolutely do not understand how someone can read about a Lord who wants to dress his beloved with yellow silk and a crown and think: he is clearly a Targaryen prince !!! Especially when Gendry is a Baratheon bastard who feels inadequate and the sigil of that house is a crowned stag in a yellow field. Finally, the concept of dressing the bride and making a vow to protect her recalls the foundation of house Baratheon with Orys covering Argella. What do the Targaryens have to do with all of this?

About the love triangle:

I understand the Arya-Lyanna parallels because the writer himself draws it. Gendry-Robert seem more foils than parallels. The two look alike, but where the father's hammer destroys the son's hammer builds, where Robert is friendly, greedy and lustful, Gendry is grumpy, pragmatic and green. If Robert didn't know Lyanna, Gendry instead stood by Arya at her lowest. What I don't understand is the Jaqen-Rhaegar parallelism. I guess they are both handsome and mysterious, but what do they have in common really?

At most the Hound should be parallels because he kidnaps (in this case for real) Arya and Gendry seems to be ready to beat him up as soon as he sees his helmet reappear. Edric Dayne could provide a parallel because he has Valyrian colors, makes the blacksmith jealous and Arya seems to get along with him. Or in the future the Rhaegar parallel could be Jon Snow or Aegon/Griff. But regardless of who could be the third pole of this hypothetical triangle, the dynamic is totally different, because Gendry and Arya are not two strangers socially bound by a betrothal, but two friends hindered by the difference in social class.

About the future:

The source is: “Okay so GRRM, arrived in Toronto yesterday for a book signing and unfortunately because of an exam, I was unable to attend (BOO!) so I asked my friend to ask him about Gendry and Arya's "relationship" and if they would ever reunite again. His response was that Arya and Gendry have separate futures but whether they'll ever meet up again, you'll just have to keep reading.” The statement is quoted only by one person who was not even present to hear it and they don't quote Martin's exact words. Also this answer sounds particularly spoilery by George's standards so I don't know if it's reliable. BUT I don't think it's that important.

Nothing prevents Gendry from being Arya's love interest anyway, not all the relationships we see in the books will survive the endgame, but that doesn't make them any less significant. “There won't be any baby. If Arya is going to be a mother someday, Jaqen will father her child/children.” Arya will not have a baby in story because at the end of ADOS she won't be more than 13 years old. So I'd say that whichever ship you prefer we shouldn't expect to see anything beyond hugs, holding hands and maybe a kiss.

About Jaqen:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't understand talking about Jaqen as if he were a person. We don't even know if that's his real face and since it's an FM it's probable that that's not his real name. I don't believe that man is Jaqen any more than he is the Alchemist. Also some words from the Kindly man seem to imply that the FMs must be sterile, but maybe it's just my impression.

George may have mentioned that Arya and Gendry have separate futures, but I'm pretty sure he never said anything about an Arya-Jaqen reunion.

About Jamie:

“Rosey is a foil for Arya, Pate is a foil for Jaqen and Lazy Leo is a foil for Jaime.” and “Patchface is a foil for Jaqen and Owen the Oaf is a foil for Jaime.”. I don't understand by what logic you can draw these parallels between characters, these guys have nothing in common with each other. Foreshadowing is not simply substituting one name for another and expecting this to be proof that other unrelated characters may find themselves in the same situation in the future.

I think that when discussing possible future situations the characterization of the characters as they have been constructed up to now cannot be completely ignored. Why would Jaime be in a position to tell Jaqen that he wants to rape Arya. It seems to me out of character for Jaime would seriously consider raping a girl the age of his daughter. But then, has he ever even had sex with a woman who wasn't his sister? When has he ever looked at a young girl and thought: you know what? Now I think I'm going to rape her. For heaven's sake he's certainly not a saint, but he's not the Mountain. Such an initiative goes against the characterization of Jaime as we have known him up to now.

As for “a foreshadowing of a Lannister raping Arya in the Mercy chapter from The Winds of Winter” I have another interpretation. The staged rape of Bobono (Tyrion) and Arya (innocent girl) mirrors the staged rape of Arya (Mercy) and Raff (who lies to Mercy saying he is westerosi lord).

The end. I think I said it all, I vented enough. Thanks for reading and sorry for the length. Good night!

“Her dark hair was cropped short and straight around her head(..)” -AGOT Catelyn VI

After losing her men

“Her hair was black as a raven's wing, so short and shaggy that Alayne suspected that she cut it with a dagger.” -AFFC Alayne II

“… and she could ride with Gendry and be an outlaw, like Wenda the White Fawn in the songs.”

Robb my boy……