Ok. Now that my personal feelings are stated, I'll try to say something coherent. Which is hard, because I love Arya. I'll never forgive GRRM for killing her. I know.
So, yes, I think she'll die. I think everything we've encountered around her that has a wiff of foreshadowing it all points towards her death. But the creepiest thing of all is that first line, just dropped there as a joke. By Jon of all people. When I read it, I froze. I swear. I got so sad I couldn't keep on reading that night. It's like a creepy sick joke. And it's so Martin!
My only hope for her doesn't have any textual evidence within ASOIAF, and it weights less than a hair. It's Martin commenting that his wife told him she'll be mad at him if he kills Arya. (Go Parris!!!!!) I know it's just a straw, but it's my only straw and I love clutching it OK??? Sadly, my mind knows my heart is on a fool's errand here.
Valar Morghulis
-- Edited by Tir Airgid on Thursday 27th of September 2012 03:12:52 PM
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“Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.”
-- Edited by Tir Airgid on Thursday 27th of September 2012 04:47:26 PM
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“Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.”
Personally, I think Jon's line in AGoT could be a case of foreshadowing.
You'll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers.
Normally, I wouldn't have payed attention to that detail, but it ties to another paragraf from AGoT that seems interesting, in which Jon tells Sam about a recurring dream of his, that he's in Winterfell and he's looking for someone, but doesn't know who. Sometimes it's Ned, Robb, Benjen or Arya. Now, this could be just a coincidence, because incidentally these are all people Jon was close with while growing up an Winterfell. But it could also be foreshadowing for the Starks that will end up dead. Ned and Robb are already there, I'm sure Benjen is still alive but it's extremely possible he will also die at one point, and that leaves Arya. I think GRRM is cruel enough to give us another Stark death that will hit the fans very hard, so my theory is that Arya will have her hands full in TWoW, but she'll die before the coming of spring. If that happens, it'll be "with a needle" in her hands, so this could suggest she won't die as a servant of the Faceless Men, but as a Stark.
-- Edited by Tir Airgid on Thursday 27th of September 2012 03:03:43 PM
If Martin does that, so be it, but I would be mad! I wouldn't not like the series of anything but rrrrrrrrrr
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Rhaegar, despite wounding Robert, was struck down with a massive blow from Robert's warhammer, which scattered the rubies encrusted in Rhaegar's armor under the water. Rhaegar died with Lyanna Stark's name on his lips.
I promised myself I would not get too attached to a character, 'cause I know what Martin does. I am ready to let anyone go, but Arya. So there, Martin, you happy? I know what you're up to and I am powerless to stop it from screwing me. Damn!!
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“Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.”
I don't think Arya will die, seeing as GRRM said she is his fav character by far and she is the one he most enjoys writing about. He even went as far as joking that he'd write a whole book about her adventures and finish it before Winds.
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AS private parts we are to the gods, they play with us for their sport.
The fact that she's his favourite character to me (together with Tyrion) is another reason why he'd kill her.
After all, he's that kind of guy, isn't he?
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“Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.”
I have thought on this often ,I will add a glimmer of hope however, the sentence before ,he says "The longer you hide,the sterner the penance ..." This and the " lone wolf... " sentence makes me think she has to remember who she is and stop hiding OR they will find her etc.etc.
I said earlier that she will become a psycho killer but it´s not exactly what I think. Arya is just a girl in the worst possible situation, alone, angry, abandoned... like a kid living in the streets. She is fierce or she feels fierce but she´s just a child. We must remember that sometimes. And I hope GRRM remembers too. I expect anything from GRRM and is not a feeling I like to have about a writer. It´s awful for me, really. If he kills her and is good writing, I don´t mind but is bad... don´t know. I think (or hope) that at some point Arya will react and her fury will disappear, especially since all the people she wants to kill will be dead at the time. I think she´ll find Nymeria and the direwolf will take her to Bran (or Jon).
I don´t think she´ll die. Maybe those things Tir and Macha believes are loose ends in the writing of these books.
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"I´d not prolongued the chewing up, Doc. Nor the being spat out. Not go out a cunt. It´s the dispatch I find inglorious. The whole delusory fucking self importance.". Al Swedgin ;).
Looks like no-posts here since the preview chapter "Mercy" came out. Well I'll add my tuppence worth
Arya is my favourite character, and I'm not one who just likes her for "bad-assery" (maybe that's more of a TV show reaction?). To me the appeal of her story is like seeing someone that you like go through some truly awful things and feeling all the sympathy and empathy but then watching them going more and more off the rails, doing things/becoming someone too hard to defend - but you can't help hoping that there will be some sort of Road to Damascus moment and the character becomes redeemed. Knowing GRRM though that seems a bit too pat.
So I do wonder if GRRM is doing a mislead with his "not allowed to kill Arya" statement and the get out clause is that should she succeed becoming "no-one" he can do it anyway. I hope that the Wolf Dreams means that she can never truly forget that she is Arya Stark but the TV show seems to be leaving this out, so whether they are not important in the long run...?
The TV show too is introducing things that muddy the waters whether some of the little changes are their own invention or because they are doing their own foreshadowing for what happens to the character based on what GRRM has told them ( e.g. Melisandre's TV comments to Arya in season 3).
So my thoughts are a bit scattered on her future, that GRRM could have her ordered to kill another character we (are supposed to) like in an attempt to turn readers/fans against her so that we might even start to think that the has to die. Or that in a better case scenario she has to do something evil to prevent an even greater evil - these both seem like the kind of twisted thing GRRM might do.
I have seen theories about Jon perhaps having to do a Nissa Nissa on her to forge the true Lightbringer - which I could kind of live with if her sacrifice meant something, but then GRRMS comments would seem to preclude that.
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She knows which end to use
"You can shit later, there's people coming!"
And we ask the stranger not to kill us in our beds tonight for no damn reason at all
If Martin does that, so be it, but I would be mad! I wouldn't not like the series of anything but rrrrrrrrrr
