Daughter of the North

Out of all Eddard starks kids, Arya is the most like her father. Arya and ned share similar morals, values and principles. The way she constantly recalls neds teachings to her and acts on them is so heartwarming. Arya is brave, honorable and compassionate like her father. Ned would be so proud of her.

My favorite moments of them are how arya always used to pick flowers for her father. And instead of admonishing her for getting her dress dirty, ned just accepts the flowers and thanks his babygirl. Also when ned let arya keep needle because he knew its important to arya and hired syrio forel for her.

Also love how neds bannermen call arya 'valiant neds precious little girl'. Arya and neds relationship is the most beautiful father-daughter bond in asoiaf. And arya is truly her fathers daughter.

in a modern au arya would go no contact with sansa bc sansa was a bully and classist and turned her nose up at arya's friends and interests

i honestly don't understand how anyone thinks the stark sisters hate each other or were evil to each other or whatever. like they're literally just normal siblings being nine and eleven and therefore threats to themselves and others, but its asoiaf so the stakes are unnecessarily high

See here's the thing. You won't see eye to eye with us and we won't see eye to eye with you, so why revisit this boring ass argument every single day?

Oh and Arya threw an orange at Sansa, after Sansa taunted Arya with "you can't call me a liar when I am the queen". Why did this conversation come up? Because Sansa says it is Arya's murdered friend Mycah who attacked Joffrey. Anyway this conversation is boring as fuck. You all come into the tags with the thousandth "omg I can't believe people think Arya and Sansa are going to hate each other. My siblings and I were the same!!".... Well good for you! But we don't interpret the text in that way. We believe that there won't be a comfortable resolution. I mean, afterall the stakes are high. Life and death high in asoiaf. So since you all and we don't see eye to eye, what is the solution here? You all will keep on saying the same thing in the tags, and we will refute it and then after the end of discourse, someone else will come in with the millionth "I can't believe people think of stark girls in the way!" ? Are we Sisyphus?

i mean. you just said we're never gonna see eye to eye and then immediately tried to make me see your side. i swear i'm not trying to be a bitch when i say this but you could've just told me to fuck off. or blocked me.

I guess the trying to make you immediately see our side is pointing out the context of the canon orange throwing scene, isn't it? Yeah you are right. Force of habit you see: have had to correct a lot of things people say regarding canon.

And I could have blocked you, told you to fuck off. Maybe I will block, idk...you encouragement in doing so is appreciated. But you see I am only human, and a point comes when you get tired and there was no one but you with your post in the tags, two days after we just addressed another blogger with the same post. So I wanted to lay it out there, make a request of sparing the tags, since there are going to be plenty of other bloggers who will come as you have, with this same post...

Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the Conqueror, and her consorts, King Jon and King Aegon

I think we don't talk enough about how Jon Snow secretly had a sword made for Arya at Winterfell - without anyone knowing! And that this was something he was planning on for a while, with the intention to teach Arya some fundamental sword skills - without anyone knowing!!

It reminds me about how much Arya must have poured out her heart and soul to Jon Snow about EVERYTHING, considering how much Jon knows about her. The very best of confidantes who guarded their secrets with each other and are the most loyal of siblings.

It was to Jon Snow that Arya goes, after being bullied for her looks, worried that she too was a bastard and Jon who consoled her (ignoring his own pain at being one). It's Jon who praises her as pretty and clever and understands that deep curiosity and ambition in her.

It's Jon who understands that Arya is interested in something different and that this is also deserving of attention. The ONLY person in the whole of Winterfell - not her parents, her other siblings, her teacher. Only Jon Snow.

I can imagine Jon and Arya just hanging out in a quiet corner of the Godswood, under the weirwood, with Arya pouring out her frustrations and chatting about playing with the serving girls and Jon talking about his day practicing the sword. They know each other so well, that they are famous for finishing each other's thoughts. They share such a singular bond that he even got her sword name right!!

Making Needle wouldn't have been easy considering it had to be done secretly. Clearly Jon thought that both his father and Catelyn wouldn't have been happy if they knew that the bastard was having swords made for their daughter.

Jon Snow took the time to research swords that Arya could hold and handle. He must have been up in Maester Luwin's turret looking through books for the design and asked questions of the Winterfell master-at-arms Rodrik Cassel about Braavosi swords.

After getting the idea of what kind of sword works for Arya's small hands, Jon then goes to Mikken, requesting that he make a small Bravo's blade. I feel certain that Mikken had no idea that he was secretly having a sword made for the Lord of Winterfell's daughter. I wonder what Mikken's thoughts were on Jon Snow wanting that specific blade made. He clearly did not think it important to mention to Ned. And no one knew - not Robb or Theon or even the Winterfell master-at-arms!

Given how sudden the whole deal was with Ned leaving for King's Landing, IMO, it's clear that Jon was planning on secret rendezvous with Arya where he could show her the basics of using a sword. Jon is certainly no Syrio Forel and Arya certainly learned more from an actual Bravo master fencer than from Jon Snow.

And yet just knowing that Jon had Needle secretly made and was planning on secret lessons for Arya because he knew just how desperate she was to learn something different, something unacceptable for Winterfell's daughter and that he did so at the great risk of displeasing a father he looked up to and the Lady Catelyn Stark who already wanted him gone.

He truly is Lyanna's son in every way that mattered.

I'm probably not watching S3 of Bridgerton, but the tie-in they did with Bath and Body Works is really nice and making me nostalgic for S1/2 and Queen Charlotte. What's interesting is that of the scents, the only ones based on specific characters are Queen Charlotte's Tea and Danbury Shortbread. Otherwise, they're very general regarding the series. Given that this is coming out as part of the build-up to S3, it seems like they would have had this tie-in with the coming season. There are bee shaped items for S2, a man's suit, a carriage, a teapot/cup, a couple of crowns, a diamond ring design, and a tilting mirror tray. The other scents are Wisteria Garden, Bridgerton Study, and Diamond Of The Season. Most of that feels like tributes to the general series rather than anything specific to the upcoming one or even to the female lead of that season.

I'm not complaining since I don't like the S3 lead, but it is odd. I kind of wonder if they actively chose to focus on aspects of the franchise that are indisputably well-loved while avoiding an aspect of the series that might be more controversial given that the villain is going to be gettinga romance.

What really stands out to me is that Kate smelling of lillies was a big deal in season 2 - Anthony is literally smelling her in many scenes 😂 - and there's even a scene of using a lily soap. Having a perfume/scent associated with a character is so unique for Kate in Bridgerton and yet they couldn't be bothered to give her one lol.

I am not surprised given how Shondaland is just not interested in the character of Kate (Simone Ashley missing in many promos when Jonathan Bailey gets promoted etc.) but it just feels like more of which characters/aspects of the show production/Shondaland want to promote (Queen Charlotte/Lady Danbury/Penelope/Lady Whistledown) rather than season 3 promotion...

Oh that's right. A lily scent would have worked perfectly for Kate. Instead of Bridgerton Study, it could have been Kate's Lilies or the Vicontess' Lilies. But then they aren't even promoting anything with Pen either. I guess it could be argued that the bee themed things are for Kanthony. Diamond Of The Season is for Queen Charlotte/Daphne/Edwina. But they overall feel more general.

People who stan minor characters can be some of the most annoying groups ever. Because they're not just enjoying a character, or even stanning a character who doesn't have a lot of relevance, they're pissed off that the main characters are more important in the story.

Last week, I answered an ask from a Nettles stans who was saying the reason Nettles isn't as popular as Lyanna, Brienne or Arya is because she's not white. One thing I didn't talk about in my response to that was how unrealistic of an expectation it is for Nettles to be as popular as characters like the women they mentioned.

Nettles is a minor player in the story of the Dance; she's not unimportant, but she's also not one of the main characters. On top of that, Nettles doesn't do anything after Daemon's death, she disappears for the rest of F&B, unlike characters like Baela and Rhaena. As for the main series, Nettles isn't even mentioned once.

So how does it make sense to complain about how she isn't as popular as characters who are actually in the main series? Arya and Brienne are both pov characters; Arya is also one of the main five and one of GRRM's favorite characters. Lyanna may not have any pov chapters, what with being dead by the events of ASOIAF, but she permeates the narrative and her past actions still affect the plot.

Lyanna, Brienne, and Arya are very popular characters because we interact with them a lot in the books. They have established personalities, we the readers know them in a way we simply don't know characters like Nettles.

Now I'm not saying it's wrong or bad to like side characters, even ones we don't know a lot about. Shit, I love Nettles, she's an interesting and exciting character. But the problem arises when people act like their character more deserving of interest just because you like them.

No matter what changes that could be made to Nettles without changing the story, she will still be a minor character in one section of F&B. It's not surprising that she's not as popular as characters who are well known and more impactful. Acting like it's a moral failing that Nettles isn't as popular as fucking ridiculous.

It's not just Nettles stans who do this, but they're the ones at the forefront of my mind. Basically: stop bitching about how your fav is a minor character with few established traits and therefore less popular than those who aren't minor.

Reading posts about how marrying Sansa is going to be a reward for Jon Snow...

If these shippers had actually read the Jon and Sansa POV chapters in the books they would realize just how incompatible these two characters are. Reading fanfiction and made up headcanons disguised as 'meta' does not equate to the actual story and characters of the books.

Jon Snow would consider it a punishment to marry Sansa and vice versa. A Jon/Sansa marriage would basically be another Stannis/Selyse marriage.

Sansa was matchmaking Mya Stone with a much older, low born, 'not handsome' (in Sansa's opinion) freerider like Lothor Brune because, as a bastard, that's all Mya qualifies for in Sansa's eyes. As of the most recent book, Sansa would be shocked and disgusted if anyone tries to marry her off to a bastard. Over 5 books she hasn't shown the slightest bit of class consciousness. She would never mingle with Jon's friends at the Wall - Crows and Freefolk included - the way someone like Arya or Dany would.

Jon Snow in turn would treat her opinions with the same disdain he showed Selyse's ideas of decorum and his deputies' bigotry. He already has no patience for and scoffs at the songs and stories about valiant knights rescuing damsels in distress.

And by the way, do Jonsa shippers understand that Sansa is a distant last when it comes to Jon's affection and love for the Starks in the books?

After calling Arya his heart and his home, breaking his sworn oaths and dying to save her from a forced marriage in the most recent book - one of his last dying thoughts being of Arya - do Jonsa shippers really think that Sansa is going to suddenly and randomly supersede Jon's unconditional love and care for Arya in book 6?

What is it it about Sansa that is supposedly different now and which is going to change Jon's entire character, personality, relationships and motives - consistent over 5 books - to randomly be like - 'Oh I love Sansa now! She's the love of my life! Arya who?'

I am going to therefore assume that Jonsa shippers wanting Jon and Sansa to marry are okay with Arya always being number one in Jon's heart and affections when it comes to the Starks. Because that's how it is in the books and it's so very clear to anyone who has read the books.

People are hating on Arya for killing Daeron now...

Why am I not surprised?

Any Targaryen that goes against house Targaryen is actually a good Targaryen even if they commit the worst of the war crimes by a mile but the only reason they’re good is because they are related to X non-targ so they’re not even really Targaryen but if you say that too then I’m calling you a racist and a blood purest. btw I’m bastardphobic and proud.