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Booknerd2

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  1. Part 9: What a Woman: As My Lady Commands (third part - final) So when we last left Gendry and Arya, they were going through the trees and he stops and abruptly tells her that Lommy is going to die. He made sure they went some distance out of the hearing of Lommy and Hot Pie and I am sure to make certain that Weasel hadn’t followed Arya. To be honest, he goes on a rant. It all comes out. I think it is getting to him. It hasn’t helped that Lommy and Hot Pie aren’t helping, complain, and question everything they do. The two of them can be major pains in the ass. But with all the bitching and whining of Hot Pie and Lommy, it was clear that Gendry and Arya formed a unified front and demonstrated solidarity as a team and being like-minded. Now they can tell each other it has worn them down, because Hot Pie and Lommy are not around. He tells her Lommy is going to die. If they were hurt, he would leave them, (keep that in mind for later) and he tells her she knows this. He has to carry him, he is angry with all the talk of yielding. He is no use. The girl, Weasel, is no use. “If he could stand up, I’d knock his teeth in.” A little Robert thrown in there… Gendry could, but he won’t do it. That is not about his leg. This is about all they do for him, carry him, feed him, etc. And he gives major attitude and doesn’t appreciate it. Gendry never tells him this. He holds it in. It burst forth in the woods with Arya. He won’t hurt someone that is down. But the stress and the taunts and the mouthing off is getting to him. Still, he does not fully bring it up to him…I read that he does feel bad for him that he is dying and there is nothing that can be done. So he will brush it off but steam and stew in private. “You leave Weasal alone, she’s just scared and hungry is all.” She won’t let him mouth off on the young and innocent Weasal. She’ll allow Lommy and Hot Pie because they have acted like asses lately…unappreciative asses. And Gendry and Arya are not waiting for medals, but the attitudes have got to go. The armchair quarterback speeches we dealt with in the previous two essays have got to go and they both know it. He stubbornly repeats Weasal again. He is pissed. He is concerned they are slowing them down and they may get killed. Hey, he has people looking for him and the rest don’t. He is concerned and maybe even scared. Hell, nobody else has the queen sending men out to look for them that vigorously. Well, Arya does, but… And then it comes out. “You’re the only one of the bunch that’s good for anything. Even if you are a girl.” Arya denies it vehemently. “Yes you are. Do you think I’m as stupid as they are?” Oh, he is firm. He is not guessing. He really knows. This is a big moment for her…more on that in a minute, because right now she has to make a big decision. “No, you’re stupider. The Night’s Watch doesn’t take girls, everyone knows that.” Good thinking. Quick thinking. Er, he doesn’t take the bait. He is sure. He knows it and tells her that Yoren must have had a reason. Good thinking and on the right track. “You’re still a girl.” He says again. “I am not!” He tries the next strategy. Take out your cock, if you are a boy, and piss. Go ahead! She tells him she doesn’t have to go. He informs her that she doesn’t go like he and Hot Pie go. He then suggests that maybe she is a eunach. And I think that is more funny, because he knows she’s a girl, and to just casually throw it out to make her answer for herself. It is hilarious. He knows she’s not a eunach. Oh, and the mounting evidence. He has been observing for awhile. When there were more people he didn’t notice, but he started seeing that she went off to the woods. And the boys like him don’t do that. They just piss wherever right in front like urinals in modern public bathrooms. “You’re the eunach.” “You know I’m not.” Gendry smiled. He tells her he’ll take his own out and prove it. He has nothing to hide. “Yes you do. Arya deflects the body part discussion with why the gold cloaks are looking for him. She words it that he knows but he won’t let them all know why that is. “I wish I knew.” And you believe him. He honestly doesn’t know here. By now? I’m not sure. A lot has happened since this scene. He believes Yoren knew but he never told him. Perhaps he heard or noticed something Yoren said to make him believe that. Also, Yoren, and I believe he would do it anyway, was not letting them have him. And then Gendry asks the same and puts her on the spot. He asks her why she thought they were looking for her. Arya bit her lip. Two things that Yoren told her cross her mind. Somebody would hand her over to the Queen for the money or whatever. Others, knowing she was a girl might try to rape her. But we get this. From Arya and the author.“Only Gendry was different, the queen wanted him too.” She is not denying it anymore. She tells him if he tells her first, she will tell him. “I would if I knew, Arry…is that really what you’re called, or do you have some girl’s name?” She knows the game is up. He knew. And she doesn’t have a cock. She had Needle and could kill him, but he was stronger and had his own sword. There was nothing left, she would have to trust him. “All that was left was the truth.” But she doesn’t want Lommy and Hot Pie to know. He reassures her that he won’t tell. He wouldn’t tell. “They won’t,” he swore. “Not from me.” I remember Dempsie as Gendry said the same line on the show. And you believe it. He delivered it with all the gravitas it is supposed to have: forthright, solemn, sincere, and unmistakably genuine. “Arya.” She raised her eyes to his. She can look at him. It is all out in the open now. No hiding eyes, non-existent cocks, or what have you anymore. “My name is Arya. Of House Stark.” Well, he expected the girl part…the House Stark part, er, no. He mentions Ned and how he was a Stark, the Hand, and that he was killed for a traitor. Arya defends Ned. “He was never a traitor. He was my father.” Never a traitor, and her dad whom she loved, and I wish he would have brought up Jon Arryn, Stannis, and definitely told her that he met Ned. “Gendry’s eyes widened. “So that’s why you thought…” She nodded and knew what he meant. Why Yoren was taking her to Winterfell. He is taken aback by all that it means, and to him. “I…you’re a highborn then, a…you’ll be a lady.” Arya takes a minute to just look down at her appearance. To her, it means the outward appearance she could never perfect, as Sansa did, and as her mother and Mordane wished. He doesn’t care. That means nothing to him. He is thinking along other lines. And it is more about him, and how he has acted around her. It is adorable and considerate. And pretty funny. The rest, at that point, doesn’t mean much to him, and it hasn’t sunk in. But what a few moments…the shift is coming. This is just the incubation period that erupts later. But there was a big turning point that reaches a peak at Acorn Hall, and develops and changes further after that. When he starts acting like an ass. She admits to him that her mother and Sansa are, but she is not a lady. Never has been. She is so sweet and honest in what it means to her. Here, she never thinks that she was born one and with her lineage will always be one title wise. She is thinking of acting like one, not being, when she assesses her experiences with lady-dom. “Yes, you were. You were a lord’s daughter and you lived in a castle, didn’t you? And you…gods be good…I never…” All of a sudden Gendry seemed uncertain, almost afraid. “All that about cocks, I never should have said that. And I’ve been pissing in front of you and everything, I…I beg your pardon, my’lady.” This is sincere. Then it changes. More on that in a minute… But it is clear that this guy is inherently good and considerate. Who was around to teach him respect? A lot came from him, maybe his mother early with the basics, but maybe some from Mott and he just learned from others around him at the KL forge. But most of it comes from him. Mott could tell him how to act and what to robotically repeat in front of lords and ladies, but this is him, thinking how not to act in front of a female. Really, that the cock and peeing thing is not gentlemanly, and it was a very natural reaction; no hesitation or calculation. He is just born with it. Now, something, and I am not sure what….makes him start to find humor in it and get funny. The idea of what it means for the both of them, may be taking root. He is not angry yet. But he mocks it. And also there is a tinge that he goes overboard to maybe get a reaction out of her and assess a bit. He has to pick at it a bit. Why? I am not sure, but something compels him to do so; to try it out. Also, it shows he knows her. That who she is, maybe is not what he thought. So it begins… She must not have liked the tone as it had switched from surprise at the beginning of our last quote, to realization, to ribbing and taunting. “Stop that!” Arya hissed. Was he mocking her? She certainly got it. “I know my courtesies, m’lady,” Gendry said, stubborn as ever. What is this? He sounds like Sansa? He presses with it. I am not sure if it was a bit of a blow to him now and he mocks her, but it is apparent it has started to bother him. And he feels a bit out of place and like he has to prove he is good enough or something? He has to tell her and show that he is not a ruffian. He knows what manners and courtesies are? GRRM tells us he is being “stubborn” about it? Why? Why the word stubborn? And…watch for that word later, with Arya. And why is he making stuff about her, about him now? Why does he go there and take it on? “Whenever highborn girls came into the shop with their fathers, my master told me I was to bend the knee and speak only when they spoke to me, and call them m’lady.” I did not put the italics; they were there! He is being flippant. He is telling her he remembers exactly and he can do it, that he can be respectful, sarcastically, and that he knows his place…with her, that girls, good ladies, are chaperoned by males, and their fathers, if unmarried. As he imagines she lost this when Ned was killed. Only one has a cock here, for real, but damn, the pissing contest and one-upping has already begun. “If you start calling me m’lady, even Hot Pie is going to notice. And you better keep on pissing the same way too.” LOL! She looks at the practical side, her identity not being revealed. That Hot Pie is dense. To keep up the charade, notice his m’lady was put in italics. He is being facetious and even a little glib. I think he marvels that she is blasé about the whole things. Which is attractive. He can’t believe she is down to earth and doesn’t care. Like she is in another league from the usual round of ladies and fathers that walked into the smith shop. The wonder of it all… Forget being a lady, this is alien to what he knows about ladies. She is different, outside of the usual mold he has observed. She is better than most human beings he has encountered. Period. And he keeps it up. “As my lady commands.” Not necessary. But I had to ask myself. What the hell is going on here with him? The show has the funny side, but the other facets of it, maybe not all. It is bothering him. “Arya slammed his chest with both hands. He tripped over a stone and sat down with a thump. “What kind of lord’s daughter are you?” He said laughing.” He gets a thrill out of a rise from her. It is funny that she is nothing as expected, but can be down to earth with him. He really is amused and fascinated. He likes it. We also know what it means when you are young and you tease someone. The kick to the side; I’ve always felt that. I got a dropkick to the stomach, a karate chop to the heart, and had a tight grip on my book when I read book 4 and saw how changed he was. Yeah, the good times…he probably thinks of this and other encounters they had. But he still has to give the dig. He expects nothing less and she can take care of herself when angry, but pushing her is more about how he feels inside. HE wants to egg her on, but also, I think he thinks she is cute when she is mad. Like the usual trope from classic movies…. The: Ya know, doll, you’re gorgeous when you’re mad. Or in many classic movies, the dames get told something to that effect, but worded in a variety of ways. “This kind.” She kicked him in the side, but it only made him laugh harder. You laugh all you like. I’m going to see who’s in the village.” He drops it in a second. She is mad and for now he knows he pushed too far. Later on he won’t control it. He just won’t. But I also think he can’t. My thinking is that he either refuses or can’t harness it in later….and that tells us it bothers him…a lot! So she walks away and he follows her. They decide to split up to scout. He tells her, “If you need help, bark like a dog.” He is always aware of her and watching out for her, just like Day 1. Well, I guess he does take some advice from Hot Pie. I stand corrected. “That’s stupid. If I need help, I’ll shout help.” The dog bark, er, not a good idea, she thinks. “When she glanced back over her shoulder he was watching her with that pained look on his face that meant that he was thinking. He’s probably thinking that he shouldn’t be letting m’lady go stealing food. Arya just knew he was going to be stupid now.” So funny! And she is intrinsically, instinctively correct about him. Arya goes off and sees the corpses, she notes that something had been at them and there was tearing by the looks of it. Big Nyms and her minions….most likely. Then she sees men have taken a prisoner, and she sees the helm with horns. “You stupid stupid stupid STUPID! She thought. If he’d been here she would have kicked him again.” Funny, but I know I almost died when I read he was taken prisoner. So many had already been taken from her, she meets this nice kid and they become friends…. Sonofabitch….Can’t a Stark get cut a break once in awhile? Er, apparently not….or not yet anyway. As she watches, they take the bull helm off him, seem to ask him something, and then he gets smashed in the face with a spear butt, and gets knocked to the ground. He gets another kick while down and another guard tries on the helm. And you know that just about crossed the line with Arya….eh, Dunsen? Gendry then gets frogmarched to a storehouse and gets locked in with others. She keeps looking out and it registers that there are Lannister banners and it is their men. She see the golden lion and dogs…but she can’t place that sigil at the moment. But she will meet up with the at odds Clegan brothers both in the series. And then there is this: “It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that they had Gendry.” WOLF….PACK…FOREVER! And also, not going to lie, it did cross my mind that many years down the road she can tell her children how she tried to bust their dad out of a Lannister encampment. And let’s not forget it is not the last time she will try to bust him out. It happens again at Harrenhal. But I am ahead of myself….back to what’s what. “Even if he was stubborn and stupid, she had to get him out. She wondered if they knew that the queen wanted him.” Well, I did start to break out into a cold sweat that they caught him with the helm, and they also took it off and got a good look at him. And here it is again. She knows….she has something that is very much her and that she loves too, called Needle. And this is when she starts to get really pissed. “One of the guards took off his helm and donned Gendry’s instead. It made her angry to see him wearing it, but she knew there was nothing she could do to stop him.” Ned offered to buy it off him once, and it wasn’t sold for the same reason that Arya gets here. It is special, it is his own identity he forged and made himself. That is a lovely piece of writing and running bit across many books. She stayed on lookout for a long time. She is starving and sees them prepare a deer, and she was so hungry she thought she’d throw up. She calculated if the dark would allow her to go down and unlock the door and free him. She decided against it. She hears the howling of wolves. And here she is trying to free one of her own pack. And her bravery is unquestionable as she goes back to Hot Pie and Lommy….“They caught him,” Arya whispered. “We have to get him out. Hot Pie, you got to help. We’ll sneak up and kill the guards, and then I’ll open the door.” Hot Pie tells her upon more information that there is no way he can help her kill 20 guards. She reminds him that only two are at the door. “You only need to fight one. I’ll do the other and we’ll get Gendry out and run.” Lommy thinks they should yield, as he and Hot Pie had said many a time before. And I love this. “Arya shook her head stubbornly.” Look familiar? Yes, the Gendry connection and what she is willing to do, the lengths she will go to for him is encapsulated by describing her with the word “stubborn,” that is always used for him. Nice! I loved before that too when she surprises Hot Pie. “I was scared you was a wolf.” It is those little nuggets he adds that are lovely. Well, Gendry was…oh, so right when he spoke to Arya before. Lommy is the first one to suggest that they leave Gendry and bounce. Arya ain’t having it, she is getting the Bull out…no matter what. She is just as stubborn and determined as he is, and in this case to save him and she won’t leave him. So at this point when I first read this chapter the first time I read ACOK, I’m tearing and blubbering…she says something, she means it. Just as he does…and I am worried about what the hell is going to happen to both of them. Anything is game…Ned…Lady…others… And I was good. No, not really. I couldn’t do it. I felt sick. I would not look ahead. A part of me wanted to, I wouldn’t feel better until I knew they didn’t get “Lommied.” But then again, I didn’t want to know yet, and held out for hope, so after I had fallen off the couch and picked myself up, recovered the book and page I was on, and calmed the hell down, I got back to reading… No, first I grabbed some tissues, I was a mess….then I got back to reading…then I cursed every Lannister living to high heaven…This series has taken about 10 years off my life. Arya is wise enough to try and change tact…she appeals to them the best she can. “You’re stupid, Lommy,” Arya said angrily. “You’ll die if we don’t get Gendry out. Who’s going to carry you?” I am not sure if it is a slight threat. She is upset and disappointed with them. She can’t fathom they would not react as she has, yet she understands. But I think she might be telling him here, that if you think we are leaving him, not going to try, I will not be helping to carry you. Also, that he needs Gendry to carry him, of course. “All the time, with no one else to help? We’ll never do it. Gendry was the strong one. Anyhow, I don’t care what you say, I’m going back for him.” There are so many times it is brought up that he is strong, the strong one, she is quick, the quick one…I always had the idea of yin and yang pop up in my head when this occurred, that they balance each other. But they do share things in common, many actually too. So I grabbed more tissues, it was so moving…. “She looked at Hot Pie. Are you coming?” And this is when I loved Hot Pie more. “I’ll come,” he said reluctantly. Which means more to me. He has weighed the risks. He had looked back and forth between Arya and Lommy. I remembered the asshole he was back at KL, and how things had changed. And I looked at him with new eyes. There is something more there than I thought here with this guy. I don’t know what it was. More for Arya, he felt bad for Gendry, he knew she spoke the truth about Lommy not being able to be mobile without him. And I put the imaginary Wolf Pack badge on him in my head. Oh, and this… :grouphug: The five, and I include Big Nyms as well. Because this is when he officially becomes a full-fledged member of the Wolf Pack. Lommy holds Weasel and they go. Hot Pie is yapping about wolves. “What if the wolves come?” “Yield,” Arya suggested. Actually, he just had. He had yielded to her pleading to save Gendry. They don’t get very far when Hot Pie does yield and goes about it in a very loud fashion. And the big one. They are discovered and she loses her prized object just as Gendry had. They take Needle. She gets slammed in the face after having drawn Needle and having it taken. She gets slammed in the face by an iron fist and it hurt, but not as much as the shame of losing Needle. She thinks of Jon and Syrio. One had bestowed the gift, the other taught her how to wield it. They are taken. Hot Pie is called “Baker Boy” and I laughed my ass off through my own fear and pain for them. Weasel scampers off never to be seen or heard off again. Internally her thoughts are much the same as when Big Nyms is sent off in book 1. Run…go…get away…please hide…save yourself. They meet the Mountain, and honestly, Hot Pie was smart to let them know he had a skill. And Raff kills Lommy right in front of them. Spear to the throat, blood spurting all over the place. It is described in detail and we know as Arya’s POV that the poor girl is taking it all in. “Carry him, he says,” he muttered, chuckling…” Okay, this will do it for that chapter. I will be back in the not so distant future with another Arya/Gendry topic.
  2. Thanks DogLover! It is a joy to explore! From their meeting, to the abrupt parting, and the "checking up on him" chapter in AFFC, their teaming up has had all kinds of moments: heartfelt, damn funny, sweet, moving, sad, tense, and challenging, but surely never dull.
  3. Part 9: What a Woman: As My Lady Commands (second part) (The walk to the trees and the ties that bind) Let me preface this by saying that in part 1 of #9 and now, he knew the whole time she was a girl. When I re-read there are times that I want to keep it in mind, and then I have forgotten when occupied with others things I noted. My goal in life is to check the chapter before this, the one before, and the one before that etc., to see if I can detect when he knew she was a girl. Maybe something will stand out and click? Well, he tells us it is more noticeable after the break from Yoren and as the group they travel with thins out. But he is checking up on her. He later notes that he noticed patterns. She is never around and goes off to make water. It is not like the other boys. But maybe there were other things he noted too. More on that in part 3…yes, part 3. There is just too much to cover. But before that, let us back it up and continue with the bickering of the Wolf Pack. Really, it is more Lommy and Hot Pie. But there are two wrestling tag teams. Theirs, and Arya and Gendry are on the other. Lines have been drawn and it is very clear who the leaders, decision-makers, direction guiders of the group are. The providers, risk-takers, fighters, and the burden of thinking and guessing and having that responsibility hang over your head too. That would be Arya and Gendry. They are the life line and heart of the group. Ok, how long until that now eerie to me cannon blast a la Hunger Games? I think Lommy goes first, only because Hot Pie can utlize his skills in the culinary arts and he is not injured. He might last a few minutes longer. Or, he opens his mouth and pulls what he did to Arya in book 1, and gets punched in the face or something. The point being, I doubt they could survive without Gendry and Arya. And believe me, Lommy and Hot Pie know it. So they discuss boar hunting and hawks and eating the hawk…’cause man, they are hungry. Ok, so Lommy and Hot Pie tag team verbally against Arya and Gendry regarding yielding. Those two will give up, the other two will never. They will keep fighting despite anything. And that is fine. Lommy and Hot Pie are just not the people Arya and Gendry are. But Gendry too, without Arya, I don’t know…. he relies a lot on her presence. The sad part is that I think more then he even knew, could ever know until she is taken from thin air. They are made of stronger stuff, tougher stock, and Hot Pie, well, he just makes homemade chicken stock. Christ, that is my worst Hot Pie joke yet…anyway… The subject of thieving is brought up, and Hot Pie reminds them that Lommy was a thief in the city, so he would be best. Words of Hot Pie Wisdom # 5… “A bad thief,” Arya said, “or he wouldn’t have got caught.” Oh, snap! Take that for the Worm Breath comment. But she doesn’t mean it, yet they are starting to get to her now. They have been bitching at her and Gendry for two parts now, most of the chapter, really. Gendry and Ayra know that it is an utter waste of time to argue with more pressing matters like hunger and death hovering over them at all times. Gendry volunteers. “Evenfall will be the best time to sneak in. I’ll go scout come dark.” He pulls his weight. He is considerate of Lommy’s injury and Hot Pie’s ineffectiveness. He thinks nothing of their complaining, not producing, and then talking smack. He still wants to help them and keep them fed too. They annoy him, and he does have a moment when he considers, hey, all they do is complain, imagine not being with them? But he won’t. And it happens. He thinks it. He would be a fool not to have considered it. But in the end, it is not what you think, it is the choices you make. Arya offers to go instead. “No, I’ll go,” Arya said. “You’re too noisy.” “Gendry got that look on his face. We’ll both go.” He wants to protect her. This also tells us he might have balked before if she brought up going alone. Did you really think he is letting his little scamp go? And remember, we don’t know it yet until the next page….but he knows she is a girl. We don’t know how long he knew but certainly from this chapter or a few back. “Arry should go,” said Lommy. “He’s sneakier than you are.” Ok, he is maybe noisy because he is big, and Arya has her Syrio Superninja Stealth training. He doesn’t. “We’ll both go, I said.” The Bull has spoken. He is not going to budge and he is insisting. Ok, the message is pretty clear. And the conversation gets funny but you feel for Lommy and Hot Pie. They are lashing out due to fear. Hot Pie heard wolves and Arya heard them too, she thinks to herself. That’s right. Big Nyms and her minions…. Hot Pie persists that he won’t let them build a fire, there are wolves, and reminds Gendry that, as per his regulations, he can’t use a fire to keep the wolves away. Lommy is fearful that if they have to go, Hot Pie can’t carry him. Gendry has to go and do the lookout with Arya. He is not letting her go alone. He knows she is a girl. But later in their conversation alone, he knows her worth, and I don’t think he wants to lose her either. Lommy has a spear and Hot Pie, so they split up. And Gendry reassures them that they won’t leave them, they’ll bring leg potion back of they find it, etc. The whole time Arya is saying nothing and Gendry is giving orders. She has not given any dissent, so it appears she agrees with him. Lommy tells him to yield if he has to and mentions, of course, the leg potion. “If we see any leg potion, we’ll bring it,” Gendry said. Arry, let’s go. I want to get near before the sun is down. Hot Pie, you keep Weasal here, I don’t want her following.” Yes, Sir! So, he is barking orders, thinking of everything before they go that could be a problem, trying to reassure Hot Pie and Lommy, because like anyone in charge, you act calm and put on a brave face. You don’t cause a panic. Because in a minute, what he is really thinking he is going to blurt out to Arya. He knows she can handle it, he can be blunt and truthful with her, and he does lean on her and it is very much a partnership. He is trying to remain and maintain a sense of normalcy because he knows Lommy is going to die. The leg potion is brought up a lot, he tells him he will find it, if he can to keep his hope and spirits up. And also, not cause a panic. I think the rationale is: we will cross that bridge when we come to it. But it is weighing on his mind and he seems to want to get it out, and admits it later to her. He will tell Arya he can leave them behind, but he won’t. He is frustrated. And it is a big thing with them. He will respect her, not just the bravery, but the kindness too. What the hell would she care? She is the one that is a lady and a highborn and has a place to go, a castle. Why? Why does she care about leaving three peasants and a toddler behind? It is important that she stands out and tells him she won’t do that. His doubt magnifies her greatness, and that he won’t do it either, and is guided by her. He will learn that when Jaqen helps bust them out of Harrenhal. She made a useful buddy. She could go without them. She won’t. She busts them out too. When in a split second of nerves and weighing odds, Hot Pie and Gendry could have said no and not followed her. But they will. They trust her. She took care of the guard for them. He trusts her and all that entails. Her judgment, her follow through, her odds…and she just knows how to do things. She has good instincts and some training that he has not. This…must weigh heavy on him now at the orphanage. What this girl has done for him and others? Kind, brave, and saved him, all of them, countless times on the road. She is a lady, but nowhere near your average one. And that is what hits him in the face and what he gets disgruntled about later, when being a lady, (and it is thrown in his face with the dress at Acorn Hall) and the chasm that springs up due to their very different births and lineages and paths in live, hits him all at once, unexpectedly, and like a ton of bricks. Now we know the irony. He does not, because he, we think, he doesn’t know who he is yet. You can’t stem the flow, the bricks are too heavy, there are too many of them, and it is frustrating. And it would hurt. The fantasy, excitement, adventure, just the two of them against the world, or whatever else he was thinking during the funny times, well, it ends at Acorn Hall. He has to face some things about her and finally himself. So… why was that behavior demonstrated at the Peach and with Edric Dayne? That had not come up before until the Acorn Dress. It sinks in and then he sulks and takes it all in by the time they get to the Peach. The Edric Dayne scene is important because it has sunk in more, and he is hit in the face with it again, when he sees what he didn’t want to see. It is worse, and different now with another person in the picture. He doesn’t like it. It was just the two of them before on the road. Things were simpler and less complicated. It didn’t matter who you are or where you came from, just that you are pulling your weight. Their lives up until then had been very in the now and in the moment. But now reality and consideration has popped up. Things that didn’t have to be considered before now have to be addressed. These two catalysts came up and he is forced to feel them and form an opinion. And he is confused, pissed, and a bit bewildered. He starts thinking of things he hadn’t thought of before, even about himself. It is like when you don’t want to look at something, and someone takes you by the head and makes you look. Puts a hand under your chin and forces you to look in the direction, head on, and holds firmly so you can’t turn away. And all good in a way, it forces character growth. So do separations…and two come to mind that stand out for me: this one and Sandor and Sansa. Don’t forget too Tom sings that song, Harwin puts Gendry in line, and Arya takes the blame. Never mentioned….on purpose….but some in the BWB know they are buds and that they were close. I still can only imagine what they say when she was taken. Also never mentioned… Another highborn noble lad is here with her and hitting it off. It is in a friendly fashion, and he knows that, but he can’t help that it bothers him immensely. The oh, crap, when this is over, this is what maybe lies in wait for her. It makes it worse and pours salt on the wound that Edric is nice. I am taking liberties and saying most likely that all Daynes are good-looking, and he is everything he isn’t. Everything people would want and expect for Arya. Noble, highborn, a knight, money, breeding, House, lineage…..where does that leave him? How can they even be friends later? They don’t run in the same social circles. No family or husband would let her bother with the likes of him. The road…they were so free. He is out. And he KNOWS it…and he loses her. The thought of it for him, sucks! A sweet, innocent, little milkmaid is just not cutting it after the hailstorm of attractiveness, the ball of fire, that is the future Arya. I mean the full impact, because her qualities are pretty amazing at that point as it is, so later will be even better. Any future interest would have to be like her. Or her. And just the thought…just the thought of being out of Lady Winter’s league and sphere, is just too much for him. And not because he is conscious of any love interest now, but when things you didn’t have to think of have their balloon burst open, well, even in real life, nobody likes reality sometimes. Sometimes to bear things, we think only part of the distance, the full distance being too far away or too scary. Sometimes we avoid the whole, hard truth. I think Gendry did that and I know Sandor did. Let me throw in some Sandor: There is no way he thought for many reasons that he could ever be with Sansa down the road. But it doesn’t matter, and what is so endearing is his self-less caring. He was going to join Robb and do it all over again, just with different people. No guarantees, nothing coming his way. Just to make the effort to serve her family and maybe help try to get her back. Most likely that she would marry someone else or even fall in love with someone else if everything was perfect and Robb Stark wins. He just wants her back and away from KL, and her family to have a chance to win out over the Lannisters. That would be enough at the moment. He will give himself up for the chance at this. He could go East with Stranger, he could do whatever he wanted. He chose to take the risks, give up himself, and stay until the brawl. And the injury, the self-revelation, the QI all came out of him drinking way too fast after he heard a Sansa update and not being able to bear it. Almost got his ass killed. But….if I am right., it was the beginning of a totally new life. It was good for his character, and it had to happen. Things might just be looking up for him eventually. But it has begun. So that is why it is the kicker. The irony. This is why so many people have been moved with them. He has no idea. No clue. He would never dream in a million years after having so many regrets about leaving her and acting like an asshole, that she doesn’t see it that way exactly. That I could just die myself thinking how happy and how relieved and in disbelief he would be to know that. And then it goes further. She thinks she kissed him and other stuff. It is unreal. It is totally a “Damn, if you only knew…” trope. That is the beauty with Gendry and Arya too. He may not realize this but subconsciously. It is his heart, it occurred naturally. Every action has a reaction, as Sheldon Cooper might say: I suck at math, but let’s try in the spirit of Big Bang. Edric Dayne + Arya Stark x nobility= being pissed off jealous, acting like an idiot, even starting to be angry and confused at the Peach. Beginning to question yourself and who you are and the social strata, the unfairness of it all. So he is not just pissed off, he is upset that it bothers him at all. Period. The he feels this way. That the heart is ruling the good head he has on his shoulders. That he is stupid because he knows down the road it is impossible. That he knows better or should, but he can’t help it, and he should be able to. But he can’t. Gendry never expects or wants anything. He has taken everything with a grain of salt. The heart-wrenching part is that this might be the first time he does want things to be different. The first time he actively is perturbed and what life has dealt him. It does not appear before Acorn Hall. Not in this way anyway where he is acting out. This is the only person he is attached to in the entire series. Friend, Pack member, almost family, the terrible things that happened to them and the funny ones bonding them, like life and death situations do to people. It was exacerbated quicker. The best part though is that it is probably all the makings of true love. It is not sexual at all. That was a good reason to write the Bella part in. He is not that guy. It is meant to show us that. Also, telling the Perv to leave her alone, also showing us it is not like that. I, for one, didn’t even need that. You can tell he is a good sort from book 1. It has all the best stuff and caring for someone for all the right reasons, motives, and starting with truly knowing them. The best part is the dying laughing over the acorn dress. Then she has to wear an even worse one with pearls all over it at the Peach. It is hilarious to him, because he knows her and knows that she hates that stuff. And it is funny that one night because it is just them at Acorn Hall, but when real life and other unforeseen obstacles pop into his mind, then it gets complicated for him. A pretty dress is nice to see. Her being annoyed is funny. He is thinking of everything she does that he appreciates and how her true self is concealed in a lady-like gown. She is not like anyone else. So it is another perspective of her dressed as a lady. What that means to both of them….then it sucks. And by the time of the Peach he is aggravated and wants to sit and drink and be pissed off. And he does not want her down there with everyone else. In another universe, Robert would have been like him. Robert and Lyanna would have gotten to know and appreciate each other….in another universe, and starting with different people. It would have been nice, and saved a lot grief, but it was never to happen, not to be. Robert and Lyanna are not her niece and his son. You can’t be someone else. I mean how many gifts do we want. Every classic movie scenario…and modern films too. 1. The nasty guy hits on a girl at the bar. The good guy tells him to knock it off or else. The perv leaves Arya alone. 2. The femme fatale hits on the good guy. It is a test for him and the audience. She’s beautiful, sex is offered, and for free. And he may not get another opportunity for awhile. He doesn’t care and turns her down. Bella walks away and shrugs. Arya cracks a joke and confirms he likes to hits things with a hammer and is not interested. She is on the right tracks, but also, has no idea what is truly bothering him. Obviously Arya is too young and he does not look at her that way. His fascination is a dream of future possibilities. The beauty is that he can wait. That what he saw, the vision, the dream is that good. In general, this is how you know when you’ve found the right one, even if it isn’t Arya. That is how it feels. Fun, humor, friendship, a pretty girl with a mind of her own, who is smart, vibrant, lively, brave, kind, caring, and strong. She makes him laugh, challenges him to stay on his toes, and many other things. And the icing: she can fight, she has had every comfort and security, every rich and luxury, and doesn’t seem to care and can rough it. And the kicker: she is not like that, it is not important to her. She is not absorbed in it and she could care less. More important things in life mean more to her. Arya has no idea that she has changed him and helped shape the man he is going to become. She set a bar, a standard so high for a partner, that even Gendry is reeling facing it. Somehow, somewhere, this thing, this bar surfaced and he has no idea how to get over, or even where to find the ladder to climb rung by rung. And when he loses even the ladder, he has to think about all this all the time when she is taken. He found a girl, even just a friend/person, in a million, and down the road he can’t have her. How can you really find someone like her again? He will now hold everybody up to her. He bonds with no one by book 4. It is like his heart is closed. Brienne is so friendly and non-threatening to him, and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to talk or get to know anyone. He wants to do his work, focus, and that is it. Really, it seems like to keep busy to keep his mind off things. As they wait and hope that somehow Arya will turn up or there will be news. He started in this chapter, weighing Arya against those they’ve travelled with and Lommy and Hot Pie. Nobody is her, and he is stuck in the web, in his head and memories. So Bella is turned down abruptly and rudely. The hour or night of physical pleasure and reality is nothing to the fairytale bubble formed in his head. And he hates himself for it. He is loyal and wouldn’t even think of even accepting in front of his little swashbuckling scamp with matted hair, dirty nails, messed up clothes, that wields a wicked sword, etc. Well, that is her. This little lady that the girls at the Peach dressed up like Barbie is not, but it hits home hard, about who she is, and who he is NOT. He has been hurt and abandoned before, and he is going right toward heartache. Now and in the future. And it sucks, and he knows it. The point is, he knows, she is special. She cannot be duplicated. So the theme of duplication and settling for someone else that pops up in cameo 4 is there. And we see how stubbornly his heart refuses to go along with that. Brienne makes an allusion to Arya. Hyle alludes to Gendry and Heddle marrying. People can say what they want. He is not having it. And then there is the real thing that is going on. They are looking for her. He is not budging from the orphanage until he has to. So he bides his time and makes his sword. He lost his bull helm and is trying to not just be knighted by Beric, but to do something constructive with it. All the right reasons… 3. The competition arrives and they are competition and threatening: Edric Dayne. So with all this….wait….WAIT…until he finds out the he is a Baratheon. It has been building, a running bit throughout the series, a cliffhanger many times…the kicker is all the things that will come out of it in his mind. Others’ reactions though, do have me worried. And she won’t be around to share this news with. She would have been the first person he told. I would bet on that. I can also imagine the “In your face, Edric Dayne”….joking. I can bet that if he is offered to be legitimized then he will take it despite the risks. Just for the right reasons. He won’t care like say a LF would about asserting a claim, taking over Storm’s End or what have you, like getting his own lands, sigil, etc. A step at a time with him, if it happens, he is self-made and for the right reasons. To do good and help others as he’s always been. To find a purpose in working hard, being yourself, and all the right reasons. Now a part of me thinks that he will take it, if it happened, because by that time he will have sorted himself out. And because of Arya…but it will be too late he thinks. He will think she is dead. Those Peach and Edric Dayne scenes is sort of pre-gaming to me, in which the character is forced to think about their stance, before the identity reveal. He won’t even know what it is or where it is. It will come to pass for him. He will have to learn and start from scratch. Hyle can say Heddle because it is not happening. People can think what they will. We get their take, we don’t get his, but we get his mood, his actions, his lashing out. Don’t think for one damn moment, Gendry doesn’t realize what he lost, when he lost Arya. She was his safety net, friend, provider, and the hardest for him, seeing Cinderella for the future…if Martin told us, there goes the tension, surprise, and good writing, and he seemed to feel less alone on the road with her. I can say the same for Arya as well. Good things come to those who wait…the separation is excellent. Any movie, old and new, plays, novels, etc….it is timeless. Those separations make or break you. We should be shocked. That is the question we should be asking. He wants us to ask: Hey, how is he doing since he argued with her, and she was taken suddenly in the worst possible fashion. He knows. They had a run-in with the Hound. He can’t imagine what was done to her. The great thing that we know is that the Hound was fine with Arya and it is not at all what he and the BWB, and LS, and Brienne, and maybe even Jaime are thinking. Book 4 makes moments like these, all the moments on the road more poignant and lovely. The whole point is that a lot of time was put into him and her. It is so much more what is not said then said. It is so much more why things are said, when they are said. That what comes out is not really what is going on thought wise behind the scenes. So let me not digress further…back to the walk towards the trees… Hot Pie claims Weasel kicked him, and Gendry mouths off that he will kick him if he doesn’t watch her. He has already anticipated that the toddler will try to follow Arya. Gendry puts on the bull helm and stalks off with Arya moving to keep up. He is much taller and takes longer strides. He says nothing and goes well out into the trees and then stops abruptly and tells her he thinks Lommy is going to die. Arya had sensed it too. The smell, his body was noticeably warm when she helped carry him. It is always Gendry carrying the bulk of the weight with Lommy. But Arya and Hot Pie seem to take turns too helping Gendry. It is she that throws out maybe they can find a maester. I do believe, she is so good, she would have even taken a risk and offered to go herself if they knew there was one nearby, let’s say. That is how highly I think of her, and she has confirmed many times that she is that brave and kind. And then….he tells her he knows she is a girl. Okay, this is so long. It is going to need a part three. I will be back to finish up with the girl reveal and everything else that wraps up the chapter.
  4. Uh, crap, you prompted me with Acorn Hall…. I had some stuff saved. I re-read my essay and others posts and then stuff I wanted to say, but wasn't sure when to fit it in, and then it popped up. I was thinking how with them, Arya's life mimicked Ned. Robert, Gendry's father, was a big part of his life. Such good friends and the same with Gendry and Arya on the road. A shorter time, more concentrated, a few fun moments of humor here and there, but mostly life experiences in the same decision-making, stressful, survival mode, when Robert and Ned went to war twice, and then ruling in KL. Then I think of how Sansa meets Mya…and really…come on…something is being hinted to the readers. Arya and Sansa did not get along with fake baratheons, really more Joffrey, and that is an understatement. But there looks like we might be getting a hint that with true ones it is different. (Gendry and Mya) I looked back at a few posts and remembered how I started essay 1 with an intro of Gendry and Ned at Mott's shop. He’s wonderful in that. He gets Ned’s approval in a way. He sees a good boy with right values – his helm, who he is, his identity, it is symbolic that he is not for sale. He is tough and stubborn like Robert. He isn't rude, but he doesn't care that Ned is a lord nor Hand of the King. And forget that it is poignant that he at least gets to meet him once. And then he ends up with Arya and Lady Stoneheart. Starks much? LOL! Though for the life of me, I don't know why he doesn't tell Arya he met her dad. That MIGHT come out if him and Brienne get their "Do you know who you are?" sit-down eventually, and she asks "Hey, has anyone ever told you…anything weird or asked about you?" It might be pieced together somehow. But I love how Ned gets to see the boy who would help protect his daughter for a time. That is just nice writing right there. Going back to Jon Con's post, which I really think is great…I still can't count the amount of times the author hits us with: I am Robert’s son, but I am not him. I am different. He is put in all these scenarios and he does one better and handles things right. For chrissakes, the same situations with noble ladies, whores, the Peach, other stuff too – the classy, modest, things to do. And in the tough and stressful decisions, same thing. But for fight and strength. He is right up there in a similar vein to Robert. And he is smarter. There are just too many…I would be a fool to say for sure or try to predict the author. But he really wants us to know, that he is a rare gem. But..all I can say…just too many to count. Almost every chapter and in multiple instances.
  5. Gendry is one of my favorite characters. Nothing new here. Would he make a great king? I think so. Or he certainly has excellent, both natural and acquired qualities that are wonderful, and I agree with Jon Con there. (P.S. Today's avatar….my favorite ever of them all!) But I don't see him as becoming king, and me, well, I wouldn't want it for him. I think I've been burned with the IT, what happens to the Hands (always nowhere city), all that stuff, and now am far too pessimistic about it. I would be happy with nobility, some sir and land carved out even if minor, he kinda stepped up with Beric,(he is Sir Gendry of the Hollow Hill) or something else. I don't know about the whole Baratheon/Storm's End inheritance stuff. Too many variables. You have Stannis and Selyse and their people. I don't want Mel ANYWHERE near him. I already have the heebie jeebies that Jon is now vulnerable and has to deal with her. I am even worried about Ghost. But I am always prepared for game changers, and I do think they are coming. You have Shireen still alive as heir. And Edric Storm has the whole legitimate thing. Doesn't mean crap to me, but it does to characters in the book. Even happier if he ends up with Arya. For multitudes of reasons, and even some great ones highlighted recently in others' posts. But for me, it always comes back to his cameo appearance in book 4. Such a big deal was made between Brienne and the trying to tell him running bit. Too stand-out to be ignored. Left on a cliffhanger. She is sick in bed, with a chewed face for chrissakes, and is still making much of it. Not only her…the author. It is not in there for nothing. So I want it for him, I try to downplay, but…the text doesn't let me either. Sandor I believe will inherit the Clegane lands. That would be easier. Difficult but not impossible if he is alive at the end and noble estates and status quo remains, but that is up in the air too. You just don't know.
  6. So lucky…nobody wants to sit in the movies for three hours or so, but I got my box set. My honey, a big resounding "no." I told him it had action…hey, I tried. LOL! Scarlett and Rhett have the best dialogue. Whether early on with vase-throwing to the bazaar to Atlanta and the final chapter. Best sparring dialogue ever. And Gendry and Arya, it is there. So many classic movie/literature tropes, but very much his own unique writing too, where what you expect is totally turned around, and then again, and then once more.
  7. I am floored….blown away. Your post is amazing. On the money, and I totally agree. Yes, regal, I could never find the word, or put it into the way I was satisfied with, but there is something about his character that possesses a natural dignity and refinement. You can't buy it, learn it, or fake it. He has it! I DID NOT pick up on the Robert and Lyanna parallel in that way. Genius! Oh, and I LOVE your avatars…lol!
  8. Thank you so much, as always, DogLover and LeCygne. And I can't thank you guys enough for creating and hosting Re-Thinking Romance. It is an absolute joy to be a part of. And fun…great fun. It really is unbelievable what is in those chapters. I know it more now than I even did a year or so ago when I started. When I go back and research the chapters again, and single them out for a piece, the numbers of instances where there is stuff to pick up on is truly astonishing. And I checked out Radio Westeros and the Re-Thinking episode and it was awesome! Very engaging and well presented, and so informative. And Dog Lover, you were fantastical! Can't wait to check out the rest of the stuff coming. LeCygne, you sound like you are going to be very busy from your post. LOL! I am crazy excited for Sandor and Sansa, my other favorite especially, and the Beauty and the Beast parallels.
  9. Part 9: What a Woman: As My Lady Commands (Or Hot Pie’s Words of Wisdom) Part 1 I would like to start with an open statement to Hot Pie: I would NOT want you as my mentor or ally if I was in the Hunger Games, just so you know. This will be addressed later in my essay. Seriously, I adore you, but keep making those cronuts and direwolf bread thingies. Yeah, it is this one…for those of you who follow the show too. And it includes some things I noted if you are a fan of the book or the movie Gone with the Wind. Also, it happened again. I didn’t realize truly how much was going on in this chapter. So it looks like it will be in parts. Anyway… So it was great. It captured the right feel that “As my lady commands,” in book, tv series, and roundabout spirit. The delightful laugh and the double take after the shove. The God, she’s too much, surely going through his mind, or the what a handful. And the tripping and falling over that is the best part, to the ground. Yes, he was literally bowled over…and maybe even…swept off his feet. Humor is there and the respect that a lady can take care of herself. Down right comical in both. Gone With The Wind and classic movie/literature fans. The 75th is coming up this year. I remember something very similar with another favorite twosome. Which seriously, if you study or enjoy famous literary couples, these two, Rhett and Scarlett broke the mold. Funny, sarcastic, endless mind games, but the dialogue is incredible and never dull. So she tells him. “How did you ever get out of jail? Why didn’t they hang you?” Scarlett can’t believe, that he, Rhett Butler, super skunk…has the gall, the utter nerve… to still be alive and standing in front of her. She has lumber to sell. She is busy. LOL! She has a heap of work to do and business matters to attend to. And it’s a lumber mill. Not painting china cups or taking up embroidery, like the Atlanta ladies that scoff, behind Scarlett’s back, that a woman being in business is just downright un-ladylike. So much for gumption… I guess she should have starved in a more genteel manner. “As my lady commands” was much the same as “ I can shoot straight, if I don’t have to shoot to far. “ Hmppph. Nose in air, head and shoulders back with pride, look cool, urge your carriage horse forward, and trot off like a boss, well, the only woman in the picture that was, er, besides Belle Watling, in an entirely different line of work that is. And it is done in a horse and carriage. The grand exit. Scarlett and Arya are two of my favorite heroines in literature. They share some things in common: courage, pride, gumption, (love that word) though Arya will have many things she doesn’t have. Caring, modesty, and I think Scarlett has many more flaws. But they are decisive, and tough as nails, and survivors. So Rhett Butler mutters to himself, “What a woman….” Scarlett has just flounced off after the shooting quote, and left his ass staring after her outside Kennedy's Store, in the dust and with a lot to ponder. I know Clark, isn’t she something? Er, I mean, Rhett Butler. Right, Gendry? So, what lead up to it? Between the book and I think it translates into the series, there are elements of Gendry and Arya’s swiping and repartee that remind me so much of classic movies. But then there is always a twist and something fresh and different from the author too. So it starts out with Arya scouting from a tree. We get a bit of info about what life has been like on the road. They find Yoren’s body, we get details on eating insects, and in general, more of the horrors of war and surviving with just hard work, wits, and off the land, and with the ever-present danger and peril at every turn. Also, Lommy and Hot Pie are being a pain in the ass at times, and others that had travelled with them died, or took off on their own. When Cutjack and Tarber left, it was almost like they couldn’t believe it. Or didn’t want to. But really, I feel she waited, and I have to give the guys credit too, because so far and even later, they don’t leave anyone behind. It was touching because you feel for the kids, as they held out hope that the two men would be returning with game. But I also like this small hint that Gendry does step it up and has some sense and autonomy too. He is the one that makes them leave. That he is willing to voice what nobody wants to hear. No food is coming, and they left them behind. "Gendry made them move on.” I have to roll on the floor laughing picturing Arya leaning out in a graceful stance, doing her waterdance moves, and having Hot Pie barking like a dog beneath, with his half-assed attempt at calling, because Kurz died before he could show them how to do it right. Arya thinks that his birdcalls are terrible. And I have to picture Ben Hawkey trying to make these ridiculous animal sounds, and the look on the face of an exasperated Arya, in my mind. Then we get Arya’s descent from the tree, that just sounds skilled, elegant, and pretty friggin’ cool. She jumps down several feet and goes into a roll. “Gendry gave her a hand to pull her up.” The gentlemanly thing to do, anyone want to bet he was watching those kickass moves the whole time with admiration? “You were up there a long time. What could you see?” Within two pieces of dialogue, as if we weren’t sure, we get hit with the point that he is watching out for her and keeping an eye. She tells him what she’s seen. Weasal leaves the bushes. We find out that Lommy named her, that the incessant crying has stopped, and that she, of course natural for her age, and surely exacerbated by hunger, is putting things in her mouth/eating mud. Many small statements in this chapter that tell you a lot about what has been going on, how people think, etc. Weasal clutches Arya’s legs and has been doing it for some time. Hot Pie yells out brilliantly….that if people are there, there’s got to be food. We learn that pretty much Gendry has been telling him to lower the volume, but it hasn’t helped. That is Hot Pie Words of Wisdom #1. “Might be they give us some.” “Might be they’d kill us too.” Gendry is no fool, and is trying to be cautious. I notice he leans a lot that way. Lommy’s calf injury is not doing so well. But they would never abandon him. Either he limped with one arm around Gendry, or they even tried to carry him Cleopatra litter style, but it was hard and slow to travel. But they tried. Hot Pie wants to yield. Gendry reminds him that that is what Lommy would do. Lommy reiterates that they should, just like Yoren should have. Words of Hot Pie Wisdom #2: “They told Yoren to open the gates, they told him in the king’s name. You have to do what they tell you in the king’s name.” Uh-huh. Roll out the dough, dude. Leave the thinking to Wolf Girl and Bull Boy. It was funny and naïve. Gendry doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass to this chiding like Arya, who has experience firsthand with kings and nobles in power. Gendry does point out that it applies to the nobles, that nobody cares if it’s them, a bunch of nobodies. How wrong we are, Bull Boy, if you only knew….Brienne, where are you? Tell him! Gendry goes right back to asking Arya what else she saw. For many that accuse him of being dumb or doing nothing. I’ve seen him be second in command, organize and motivate in first command role, and leads as Arya does. They balance each other out. This guy was doing the thinking and strategizing this whole chapter. He is not a dunce. Words of Hot Pie Wisdom #3. If it is a fishing village, they sell fish. Can someone launch his ass into the tree, so he can see what happened from Arya’s vantage point? In hindsight, I learned a lot about the boys and Arya from this chapter. “I don’t know about fish.” Arya tugged at the Weasal’s matted hair, thinking it might be best to hack it all off. I always loved that. It is sweet. It reminded me of a mother clucking absent-mindedly minding their child and taking in how to fix something for them, which parents do several times a day. It made me love her more. Notice the author calls her “the” Weasal. It could be anyone’s child and many children that were suffering from this war. But I am still not satisfied with that answer. Anybody interpret it in other ways too? That “the” thing? Then Hot Pie and Lommy start in with the crows. “Fish, washed up on shore,” Hot Pie said. “If the crows eat it, I bet we could.” Hot Pie Words of Wisdom #4. He is on a roll today. Oh crap, I just read that and it sounds like a really bad pun. Oh, well, I will just leave it in here and go with it. Must keep typing…it has been awhile since my last essay. Now that we are up to #4 and counting, what is with the Captain Obvious predictions? So funny… And he and Lommy throw out suggestions, like they want to emulate Gendry and Arya, who have totally emerged as the leaders, especially now that the rest have left them. “We should catch some crows, we could eat them, said Lommy. We could make a fire and roast them like chickens.” Then there is this: “Gendry looked fierce when he scowled. His beard had grown in thick and black as briar. “I said no fires.” Well…if that isn’t making a Robert allusion….I don’t know what would. Now notice in a few lines they also discuss hunting boars. He is smart. And he is willing to sacrifice and go hungry some more for safety. He is very practical. Not the first example of this either. The next I love. Because I loved Arya even more. “Lommy’s hungry,” Hot Pie whined. “And I am too.” “We’re all hungry.” It is a fact, but Arya reminds them they are in this together. “You’re not,” Lommy spat from the ground. “Worm breath.” Now if I was near starvation, hell, if I was really hungry and I got ‘tude like that on a less forgiving day, when I am doing all the hunting and scouting, and slowing down which is dangerous, I might be guilty of retorting and throwing out an, “well, you can kiss my ass” then. This is the person she is. She does not say anything back. No name-calling. Nothing. She offers to help. “I said I’d dig worms for you too, if you wanted.” A few things: I ‘m not mad. The boys are not like her and Gendry. They are scared, frightened, and always on the precipice of starvation, which takes very little to go over. This is not even the worse that there has ever been, or could happen to them, but it is terrible. Things are getting worse and will continue to do so. Also, we do not get his thoughts, but Lommy has been complaining more since his injury. He is scared. I think he knows something is not right. He is angry and frustrated. Something has to be done about that wound. He knows, they all know, what the hell happened to Kurz. Also, I think it was interesting that with all the whining, name-calling, and really, if Arya and Gendry were lesser people, they could have just left both their asses behind, and Weasal too, if they were heartless. But they won’t and would never. They, even in better health, never contributed food wise, strategy wise, as much, and hell with Hot Pie being loud and the rest, he can be a pain, and with Lommy in his condition, they are huge liabilities. And Arya has to get somewhere. But I think this is why we earlier got the info regarding Tarber and Cutjack leaving, to show that people can and do, because they just did. And we see Arya and Gendry in comparison are better people and will not take the easy road out. She does not leave her pack, motley group that they are. And then…this makes me cringe when I’ve seen it… the quote that is used to say Gendry is a dummy. “Gendry was in no mood to hear it.” “Quiet, both of you., I need to think what to do.” “ He always looked pained when he tried to think, like it hurt him something fierce.” No, I just think the kid has to make hard decisions in even harder, life or death situations, and he is trying to concentrate. He left the hard, yet placid routine of just following orders and obeying Mott, at a top shop in KL. Well, until he couldn’t part with his helm for Ned. The one that comes in mighty handy now with his daughter, Arya. He knew his place was to keep to his work, and not have to worry. Mott ran everything. He might even rise to a better spot later in life. And he had the rug pulled from under him. Nothing like poor Arya, but still… He wasn’t prepared for this shit. Neither was she, neither were the others they encountered, but what is it in people, that some survive and cope better, and keep their values and kindness? In a way I think his faces are nervous tic or stress. I think he is conscientious and mature, he weighs things heavily and is afraid to make a bad decision. I mean, it could cost him his life and those he is leading with Arya. Really, I do think that. Which leads us back to Gone With the Wind. Grandma Fontaine to Scarlett: “Well, this is the reason. We bow to the inevitable. We’re not wheat, we’re buckwheat! When a storm comes along it flattens ripe wheat because it’s dry and can’t bend with the wind. But ripe buckwheat’s got sap in it and it bends. And when the wind has passed, it springs up almost as straight and strong as before. We aren’t a stiff-necked tribe. We’re mighty limber when a hard wind’s blowing, because we know it pays to be limber….” That, my child, is the secret of the survival.” And after a pause, she added: “I pass it on to you.” And I am sorry. This is really long. So I will have to do this in another part or two. A lot to cover, especially with the Arry is a girl reveal, coming up next!
  10. Know Your Place – Part 8 – Continued…. Ok, it has been a long time and I sort of left the last one as a cliffhanger and promised to go back to it and finish. Way too busy at work and with summer stuff. And really, there was just too much going on in that chapter to delve into for one part. But crap, maybe I shouldn't wait that long. This one is long too. You stop for awhile and then the brain starts flowing... Honestly, I will try not to do that again. Split parts into 2, but with this one it was warranted. Just too much going on that overlapped into other issues with Gendry and Arya. And this time also, Big Nyms. I even thought about renaming this something else and making it part 9. I stopped myself. Knowing your place is a big theme in this one, so it had to stay. So, as we were…. Yoren had loaded up the wagons with food in King’s Landing. It is now depleted and Yoren and his band of future NW misfits are living off the land. So, Yoren employs Koss and Kurz, which sounds like a law firm, but really, they are two NW recruits who were caught as poachers, and he utilizes their services at this particular skill—poaching. The little orphan boys help too. They pick berries or climb fences to gather apples if they come across orchards. It is noted that Arya was a skilled climber and fast picker. There are always hints at how fast she is and that she liked to go about it alone. Also, many comparisons of how she is the swiftness and speed, and Gendry is the strength. Almost, just almost, thrown in so deftly like the two abilities compliment each other; like the yin to yang bringing balance. I would have to go back and remember the exact wordings in passages, where it was brought up and the thought crossed my mind. She catches a rabbit, and thinks nothing but of survival and practicality and she gives it a thwack with a stick. Yoren stewed it with mushrooms and onions. Always mushrooms and onions… The author must love duxelles…I know I do. And I love when he throws the oyseters in certain food descriptions, because I never met an oyster I didn’t like. Rockefeller…hello! And then what made me gush and my heart soar so many years ago… Well, that this little girl can hold her own. Just like back in very primitive times. She turns the tables and is the hunter and provider for the older males. The group got a spoonful or two, just a taste. It was only one rabbit. Yoren did which was very sweet, fair, and smart, to give others initiative to haul ass and help; he gave Arya her own rabbit leg because she caught it. And probably, a rare time he can be nice to her and not hurt her identity reveal and her place as lady. And then….get ready….grab a tissue…. “She shared it with Gendry.” Why? Because they are buddies. Why else? Feels bad because he is a wanted guy? He sticks up for her? She feels his sense of being dispossessed and confusion too? Not sure exactly. UGH! I can’t. It is too sweet….too nice….too moving…. I just can’t. It brought such a surge of emotion for a chapter that started off nailing us over the head at just how dangerous the road, people, and situations were, and it is a bright light amongst a gloomy time. They are all hungry and never know if they will have enough each day. Jaqen thanked her politely and Rorge and Biter….er, I guess it was a positive response. Dead silence and not jumping up and trying to tear a chunk of skin off and maybe a noncommittal grunt has to like, uh, count for something And then things get worse and tighter. Food is harder to come boy. People are now more likely armed and guarding their food as the NW recruits trudge on. Yoren gets bawled out for taking corn and rues the day that the NW no longer gets help or respect. His scorn at the corn refusal and Gee-well-I- never attitude made me laugh. Though it is sad, touching, and the author drives home just how desperate the situation is and then really drives home vividly the danger and risk of the road. Hunger is terrible. For them, no modern conveniences, like diners, take-out, delivery, fast food, 24 hour convenience stores, and the like. But in a war torn land, they face either destroyed crops or private property. There is nothing, then you eat nothing. Yeah, you starve. No back up. Nothing. Sometimes coin won’t even matter. They spot people ahead and go a longer route out of their way to avoid them. They come across a fire. A burnt village and the devastation is evident. And something more; impaled bodies. Yoren has the younger ones stay back to guard the wagons and goes in to check it out further. Arya notices they take long and asks Gendry if they should go after them. He tells her that they should listen to Yoren and stay behind. But…she notices he is wearing the Bull Helm. He is brave, smart, expectant, and preparing for any trouble or danger. Starting to take a step to step it up. I like that that she sees him with it. A glimpse of who he could or will be. The Young Bull. And he sees later who she could be with The Acorn Dress and with a little bit of Bad Ass Edge. Another thing I thought of which is just my opinion. How many times have you seen people that have been together a long time? They have a significant other and they say something to the effect, “They knew me when I was nothing. They knew me when I was younger. They know the real me. They stuck by me through thick and thin. We weathered any storms.” And I think, and hope this is where the author is going with these two. This cannot be replicated in life. Just my opinion, but I have no hopes or see nothing that would have the impact of these two, whether it be Aegon, Edric Dayne, Edric Storm, or many other suitors that have been thrown out there when the subject arises, from the possibilities to the not so likely. If Arya decides to throw in the towl and marry, they cannot replicate her connection to Gendry. It is the best in the very best sense. Anything else, really, anyone else would be second place. And I for one, believe Arya deserves no one but the best. Who cared/cares for her with dirt, stink, killing, torn clothes, posing with different identities, lying, stealing, getting debts out of Faceless Man, etc., any of the negative things she has dealt with or done from the trivial to very heavy. Gendry did. Still does, I imagine. Who can top that? It is a powerful moment, and neither Arya or Gendry or the author comments. It is a stand alone sentence. A one-armed survivor and her child are brought back with Yoren. More on that later. I think Weasal is for another time. And now for the wolves…and many questions. Like what the hell is going on with the wolves? Uh, did Big Nyms send an ambassador? She has her own sentries? What the hell just went happened? Did a wolf go back and communicate (tell) Big Nyms? Did they somehow know already? Sense the connection from Arya to Big Nyms, that they are a part of each other? Has Big Nyms been following Arya? If so, for how long? Did it continue for a bit until she got separated from the Hound? Is there a Wanted: My Mommy, Arya, poster circulating and hanging at Big Nyms hide-out? Like a wanted or milk carton with Arya’s face on it that wolves see on a bulletin board and keep in mind? Big Nyms sleeps on the ground with a framed photo of Arya next to her side? Does Big Nyms break out a bull horn and announce, “Don’t touch that girl. She is not dinner. I love her?” So Arya is left alone. The wolf does nothing. He leaves. No other wolves come back even lead by that wolf. And we know they attack later because at the end of the chapter Arya hears screams and hears the howls of the wolves. And really, even before this event, stories of the wolf attacks were known to Arya and others as well. Something made that wolf leave her alone. This is friggin’ heartbreaking. I had a big reaction the first time I read Arya doing everything in her power to save Nymeria and goading her off. Having to be firm and even physical (rock-throwing) to get the point across, when it was tearing her apart in side. Wondering, how upset Big Nyms was when she finally gave up and turned away, and what went through her mind. I still have a rough time on a re-read. Let me share my forum experience. Or the day my laptop took a beating. I was an idiot. Well, I was a big one a few years ago. I just thought on my first read, with an info overload overwhelming series, that they were just wolves. Yeah, I know. Hard to believe in hindsight… Until somebody pointed out that it was most likely Big Nyms and her pack on a thread I was reading. Well, I almost broke my laptop. I blubbered. I teared. Like an idiot, I thought they were so reuniting in book two, sentimental fool that I was. I lost it while reading the forum. It is consolation that Nyms most likely knows she is alive and can some day get back to her. That maybe she has a bit more info than Arya has at this point in time. Maybe she did not approach out of fear of their original parting? Or some other reasons? How does it work? There is still limited info between Stark warging abilities by individual Stark and wolf. And most likely because of Sansa’s unique situation that is still very mysterious and offers many variables. Her losing Lady and the potential to catch up to where her siblings are, is always a great debate on the forums with many opinions. Unfortunatlely, much like Big Nyms, we will have to wait and see. But I truly believe they are all, the Stark children, special cases. The gods left that pregnant and dead direwolf with exactly enough pups. And the Baratheon stag antler was a nice touch too. Not sure if is the gods foretelling troubles along with, of course, the author’s foreshadowing of events. More is going on from above and elsewhere. And to me it was comforting. It will get better. Eventually. The antler is bad. The gifting of pups to throw the children a bone in gaining their abilities was a plus. They cannot however control all human nature. For example: Cersei is a real bitch. Not even the gods can help that. They can’t help that she wanted Nymeria dead and had a hand in Ned preferring to spare Lady a death by a Lannister goon. The Freys are asswipes. Ditto for poor Grey Wind. But Ghost, Summer, Nyms, and Shaggy were meant to carry on. Just as these Starks were too. So Arya has one part of her identity, a facet of herself, Big Nyms, floating around. Eventually, Arya will also voluntarily part with Needle as well, for other reasons. But, we can leave that be for now, and back to Gendry and his helm. And let’s not forget. The two Stark girls, their avatar animal men, and how their men are both very closely associated with their helms as well as animals. We have his helm, the bull, her wolf and sword, their identities waiting just around the bend for when they are ready. Or when destiny is ready for them. Now I know what you are thinking. This is Rethinking Romance. Why the hell is Booknerd talking about Needle, Nymeria, and other stuff. Because all roads back to her identity and Westeros will be open to her by the things and people she cares about and that are a big part of her life. That time, circumstance, even other factors can allow her or force her to part from them, but they will never truly go away. Needle, Nymeria, Jon, her remaining family, Winterell, and Gendry. And I believe she could meet again with Hot Pie too as her pack member, though that would be in the icing vein, and more on the comic relief side should it occur. Really, the most important things to her are hanging in a limbo sort of. Nymeria is out there, and if she knows it is Arya and was apprehensive to approach her, it makes it even more heartwrenching and would be a double, triple, happy reunion. Needle- Hey, even Superman gave it 24 hours. He hooked up with Lois, almost had a cheeseburger, and went right back to the Fortress of Solitude and found himself again. She will retrieve Needle. Or it would have been shitcanned already. Even Joff’s sword she didn’t hesitate to launch it into water to permanently get rid of it. And all these chapters with Gendry….and even I haven’t tipped the iceburg yet by covering only a few. There are a lot more. So I don’t get the he is insignificant bit, or her barely shows up in the series, because it is not true really. There are so many of these strong moments of bond forming. The rabbit leg, for instance. So small, but so telling… Everyone is starving, she didn’t get a chance to get the larger or choicer cut every day. Hell, they didn’t even have meat or other food items like carbs that are filling, regularly, but she shares it with him. So let us fastforward to another essay and scene that was discussed. His orphanage limbo. For chrissakes, he is stuck at an inn, the very inn which was the last time he saw her, with her mother Lady Stoneheart now, with Harwin from WInterfell originally, meets Brienne who is looking for Arya, is with people (BWB) who is looking for Arya, and hangs with a girl that Brienne mistakes for Arya. And he kills the guy that once threatened Arya. And in general, it is surmised that the orphanage was started to aid, yes, but to collect children in case Arya turns up. So Gendry is hanging in the wings, just like the buried Needle, just like the roaming Nymeria. Just like the temporary ruins of Winterfell, occupied by a temporary, but very permanent, lunatic, Ramsay. And let us not forget Elder Brother. For surely when Sandor told him things, I believe he told him everything. Not just about Sansa, but that he was with the true Arya. And there are theories that there is contact between the QI and Elder Brother with the Inn and BWB with the orphanage set up. Information was certainly passed along. It is probably why the whole orphanage thing began to begin with. The brothers bring some of the children there. So how many are looking for her in reality? Maybe even more that those that are looking for her even know. So the stillness of the Gendry/Arya scene and the first time he dons the bull helm is poignant. I think it was the first day in a beginning where he will have to don the helm more often. So, I truly believe that Arya needs to reconnect with these three things: Nymeria, Needle, and Gendry. The bigger question is: does she come to them or they come to her? A guess? Needle first, Nymeria, than Gendry last. But there is no doubt, I think, that the set up has been happening since even before book 4.
  11. Yeah, I know. I feel embarrassed for Ghost. LOL! He totally took down more than that.
  12. Ah…like some others said too, it didn't sit right with me. The Jon Ygritte felt a bit, er, awkward and he walked out later with Sam and I felt a crickets chirping moment. Could be me though. But I love your avatar. Forza Azzurri! We have a big weekend coming up. LOL! Italia on Saturday….GOT on Sunday.
  13. Between Dany, KL and Cersei, Tyrion, Arya and the Hound, Brienne and Pod, Hound and Arya, LF and Sansa, and anyone else I am missing….Davos, Jaime, Bran and the Reeds... Sadly, I would not be surprised if Stannis gets 4 minutes tops next week. And LS…well, it better happen. I have non-reader peeps that are going to flip the hell out over the LS thing. And I am dying to see how she looks.
  14. Yeah, the Ygritte death grief recovery time for Jon was not smooth. Did Ghost attack one of those mammoth Snuffleupagus lookalikes? That would be interesting. I missed stuff tonight. Between my dog being a pain, love him, but a pain, and trying to explain book stuff and what was going on to my non-reader husband, forget it. I missed Grenn, Alliser, and other stuff the first time.
  15. I saw Pyp go, Alliser is injured, what happened to Grenn? My dog was acting up and I missed it. And Stannis would have been a nice arrival. And I agree, a little too light on the Ghost. Thought he was going to take a chunk out of Ygritte. The show writes whatever so you never know.
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