ARYA STARK MONTH - Day 22: Soft Moments

ARYA STARK MONTH - Day 22: Soft moments

Arya’s time in Harrenhal is actively ignored and disregarded by certain circles in the fandom because that arc doesn’t fit with the agenda they have for their preferred fanon. Why? Because we see Arya being strategic, observant, self-possessed, intelligent, cunning, courteous, hard working, political, and able to read people and then adjust her behavior while dealing with them. She survives and escapes Harrenhal under the Lannisters and then the Boltons using her intelligence, not her minimal ability to use a sword. 

In particular, even among fans of Arya, she is regarded as constantly discourteous with a sassy comment always at the ready. In reality, she struggles but tries to remember her courtesies in AGOT. In ACOK, doesn’t struggle as much, especially by the time she gets to Arya X, where courtesy seems second nature. Her biggest struggle with courtesy comes from remembering to call Roose “my lord” in one scene in her ninth chapter, which seems to be something GRRM causally set up as a clue that by the time ADWD rolled around, he realized who Arya was.  Otherwise, she’s begging pardons, editing out insults from messages, and following through with the “yes, my lords” and “no, my lords” and “at once, my lord”. 

It’s also significant that she served as a page and cupbearer since that’s part of the typical leadership training of highborn children. Aegon V, Edric Dayne, and Rhaenyra I also served those roles, for example. This allowed her a place at council meetings where politics and war strategy were discussed. 

JON SNOW APPRECIATION MONTH 2022 ↳Day 14: Arya → Women in Jon’s life reminding him of Arya

Jon could see fear and fire in her eyes. […] She is no older than I am. Something about her made him think of Arya, though they looked nothing at all alike. “Will you yield?” he asked, giving the dirk a half turn. And if she doesn’t?

***

Ygritte […] looked plump as she crouched there, but most of that was layers of fur and wool and leather. Underneath all that she could be as skinny as Arya.***

[Ygritte] wasn’t wed and her weapon of choice was a short curved bow of horn and weirwood, but “spearwife” fit her all the same. She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier. It was hard to tell how plump or thin Ygritte might be, with all the furs and skins she wore.

***

“If you kill a man, and never mean t’, he’s just as dead,” Ygritte said stubbornly. Jon had never met anyone so stubborn, except maybe for his little sister Arya. Is she still my sister? he wondered. Was she ever?

***

“[…] And yes, I will take your women too. I have no need of blushing maidens looking to be protected, but I will take as many spearwives as will come.“ “And girls?” a girl asked. She looked as young as Arya had, the last time Jon had seen her.

***

She looked enough like Arya to give him pause, but only for a moment. A tall, skinny, coltish girl, all legs and elbows, her brown hair was woven in a thick braid and bound about with strips of leather.

***

“My uncle declared for Stannis, in hopes it might provoke the Lannisters to take poor Harry’s head. Should my brother die, Karhold should pass to me, but my uncles want my birthright for their own. Once Cregan gets a child by me they won’t need me anymore. He’s buried two wives already.” She rubbed away a tear angrily, the way Arya might have done it. “Will you help me?”

***

“You’re not scared?” The girl smiled in a way that reminded Jon so much of his little sister that it almost broke his heart. “Let him be scared of me.”

***

Why not? thought Jon. They are all convinced she is a princess. Val looked the part and rode as if she had been born on horseback. A warrior princess, he decided, not some willowy creature who sits up in a tower, brushing her hair and waiting for some knight to rescue her.

***

You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird’s nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … I want my bride back …

Arya Month Day 2: Nymeria

Arya’s beloved direwolf Nymeria. Nymeria is named after a warrior queen whom Arya very much admired. Nymeria and Arya’s bond is immensely powerful. When Arya was in danger by the psychopathic Joffrey, instead of doing nothing but shouting and crying like Sansa, Nymeria leaped to Arya’s defense and gave that little shit what he deserved (hopefully it was painful). Sadly, knowing Nymeria would be killed for hurting Joffrey, Arya sends Nymeria away. Now Nymeria, having grown extremely large as she’s a direwolf, runs in the Riverlands with a massive pack of wolves. But Arya frequently thinks about her beloved wolf and has dreams of her. But they aren’t just dreams. Arya is a Warg like her siblings and can get inside Nymeria’s mind. Even from very long distances. A symbol of the immensely powerful bond they share. Hopefully one day Arya can reunite one day with her beloved direwolf and Nymeria’s pack could be a great asset to the living in the war against the Others.

And here’s one line highlighting how much Arya trusts her wolf.

“He grabbed the little girl by the hand and pulled her close. "What if the wolves come?""Yield," Arya suggested.”

“You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the North. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you.”

There's this great pack, hundreds of them, mankillers. The one that leads them is a she-wolf, a bitch from the seventh hell.

Princess Arya of House Stark, Lady of Winterfell.

sansa stark + sobriquets ♦ requested by anonymous