Liveblog/Reread masterlist

(link chronologically on the titles and on mobile)

Main blog, Friedwizardwhispers:

Sideblog, Allovesthings :

Edit: 06/11/2022

A few days ago I made a poll about which adaptation people would want from the Locked Tomb... And I forgot video games.. so I'm putting it against the winner of said poll.

Arya Stark of Winterfell

Older book Arya Stark commission

this passage man. it would be so easy to read it as just “look jon is underestimating arya because he has no idea what she’s survived”, but it’s SO much more than that. jon is the only person left who truly recognizes and accepts arya as being simultaneously 1) an intelligent and capable person in her own right and 2) a child who needs to be protected and cared for. he understands that she doesn’t need to be protected because she’s a girl, she needs to be protected because she’s a CHILD.

and that’s a key difference between how arya is perceived by jon as opposed to someone like ned. to ned, arya will always be a girl before she’s a full person. for jon, arya is arya first and foremost (regardless of any gender stereotypes that he surely still harbors about “little girls”). for example, ned allows arya to take lessons with syrio because he views swordplay as a passing (but harmless) phase with no regard for how the experience will inevitably impact her understanding of gender and sense of self. it’s just his way of indulging her without having to acknowledge her as a full person. on the other hand, jon has needle tailored to arya’s level of strength and lack of formal training—he doesn’t dismiss the possibility of her using a sword just because she’s a girl, he simply creates a sword to personally suit her. he also tells her how to use it (“stick them with the pointy end”), while reminding her that a sword is NOT toy. again, he acknowledges that arya shouldn’t be barred from sword fighting because of her gender, BUT he also recognizes that she’s still a child who will undoubtedly act like a child (aka she might treat a sword like a toy).

and jon is still a kid himself! yet he recognizes this better than most of the exploitative adults that arya has encountered so far (especially when she poses as a common girl/boy and experiences how such children are deprived of the status of “person” in an entirely different way…but that’s another conversation). the brotherhood came close, but to them she was still a highborn girl to be ransomed to her brother before she was a child to be protected. and then of course there’s catelyn/lady stoneheart, but as much as she loves arya and wants to protect her, she’s also never fully accepted that arya is capable of existing beyond the sphere of “traditional” highborn girlhood. of course I’m not saying that gender doesn’t play *any* role in jon feeling the need to protect arya, but by westerosi standards, he’s the only person who recognizes that arya exists beyond the “helpless little girl” role while still needing to be protected as a child.

Theory before the end of Harrow the Ninth (chapter 49): Gideon is going to be stuck controlling Harrow's body and we will be following her trying to get Harrow out in Nona The Ninth

Which...On the bright side: maybe Harrow won't have noodle arms anymore.

Please, keep your blessed ignorance for as long as you can.

This is like.... The most ominous thing you could ever say. That just... Doesn't sound great for either of them.

Theory before the end of Harrow the Ninth (chapter 49): Gideon is going to be stuck controlling Harrow's body and we will be following her trying to get Harrow out in Nona The Ninth

Which...On the bright side: maybe Harrow won't have noodle arms anymore.

I called this one !!!!