#gendrya children

[thisonetimeinmeridian]

Honestly? Still kinda ticked Gendrya didn't end up together and that all the surviving Stark children were BY THEMSELVES at the end of the series even the whole point of their story was their love for their family and wanting to find their way back to eachother

[marytunno]

I had to choose Arya's wolf dreams, I just love so so much this kind of ancestral, natural, northern magic and the connection with nature that it implies. The faceless men's powers are cool as well but this feels more true to Arya's character...

(the scene where in her wolf dreams she finds Catelynn always breaks my heart)

I'm so unlucky that I still had exams these days so I missed the first prompts of this beautiful week, but I had to jump in, Arya is such a great character and she needs all the appreciation in the world!

[thesearetheirstcries]

i'm sorry im never not gonna laugh at Arya being all "how many girls have you been with"

and then my poor bull headed son is like "I didn't keep count" and she counters with like "yes you did" because SHE KNOWS HIM, he'd be very aware of the number.

Like girl this is not a freaking JOB INTERVIEW. Which I mean it was because she got down to bsns real quick but like at first his face is like wtf i can't do this, and then he's just like yolo when she kisses him.

[laurellerual]

I absolutely love your art!!! I see a lot of old Gendrya (I love it, gramps and gma Stark) but I was wondering if you’d ever draw when their children were young? Unless I missed that post 😅 unsure, just thought it would be a cool thing to see them with their kids as kids!

I can offer you this, dear anon! That's little Eddard with his mum. <3

[itskenickie]

Gendrya Masterlist

The list is from newest to oldest.

When I'm With You

“Got room for one more?” The sudden and unexpected voice made Arya to sharply turn around. Her eyes widened at the figure standing before her with a cocky smirk, “Gendry? What are you doing here?”

can you feel the things I feel right now with you

“You’ll be sorry!” Gendry wasn’t afraid of Daenerys and her empty threat. She is powerless without her dragons and he doubts that Jon and his sisters would allow for his execution solely for rejecting the title of a lord.

The Bull and The Wolf

It was Tryion, who was hidden behind a large chair in front of the fire, still drunk out of his mind from the feast earlier, who spoke up, “I do believe the hound meant that mating season had come early for the wolf and the bull.”

I Think Your Love Would Be Too Much

It had been too long. Too long from being away from Arya. He missed her so much.

M'lady

When Arya Stark walked out of the forge after showing Gendry her wish, she felt like she could breathe again. Like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She was expecting many things once she returned to Winterfell; reuniting with her siblings, avenging her deceased family and protecting her land. But she never thought that she would reunite with Gendry.

Pen Pal

Arya signs up for a pen pal because Mademoiselle Margaery says so.

Pink

The love of his life is his best friend’s sister. She was the tiny girl with a lot of spunk who played football and the guitar. She also loved getting down and dirty while fixing up cars. And, Gendry is going to be cringy for a bit, she was the emo princess of his dreams.

Him

The sound of Valyrian steel swords crunching through the bones of White Walkers was all that Gendry could hear for they were louder than the cries of the dying men.

Scar Tissue

His hold around her tighten and right when he noticed she was about to doze off, he kissed her head gently and closed his own eyes. Thoughts of Winterfell and Arya on his mind.

3 times arya stark wasn't scared and the one time she was

Lommy, Hot-Pie and Podrick try to scare Arya.

Clueless

Arya met the strangest men while visiting her brother Jon up North.

A-Z

A list from A to Z on why Arya Stark loved Gendry Waters and vice versa.

Instagram Thirst

Just then, Arya’s phone beeped. Indicating that she had a new notification on her phone. She fished out the silver device from her phone and swiped on the notification which took her to Instagram and showed her a post from one of the accounts she followed who posted a new work out video. She smiled to herself, or she thought, while double tapping the screen and a big red heart appeared before her.

A Lady and A Smith

“You know, you’re just like your mother.” Gendry chuckled while twirling Lyanna. “How? I thought Ned looked like mommy and I looked like you?” Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

Prince Gendry

Gendry Baratheon. A man who is dubbed as the handsomest in all of the seven kingdoms. Rumor has it that when he was born, the first children had gifted him with eyes that were forged from a gemstone that was known as Blue Apatite.

Shy Encounters

The sunlight shining through the train's window illuminated her skin, making her glow, as if her skin were made of tiny diamonds.

The Titanic

The ship stood tall and grand at the harbor unlike anything Gendry has ever seen. The orange and black funnel of the ship almost covering the bright sun. A rare sunny day that bestows Winterfell. Basically, the Titanic AU that no body asked for in which Arya is Jack and Gendry is Rose.

Heaven

Sometime around the afternoon, Gendry was sitting on the white love couch with Arya’s head on his lap, his tanned fingers were running through her brown locks. Lips turning upwards at whatever it was on T.V that was making Arya laugh loudly. Those same tanned fingers then began tracing the thin arms when Arya quieted down from laughing. This is Gendry’s favorite way to spend his free time, watching his lover being happy. Laughing and smiling without worrying about the smallest of things. It made Gendry feel lightheaded from the amount of adoration he felt when watching his lover. Gendry heaved a pleased sigh as Arya laughed again.

[atopvisenyashill]

general thoughts

the way joffrey still refers to sansa as his lady….him being almost impressed with her supposed cruelty towards dontos…the fact that we literally don’t see dontos again………cregan 0.5 omg

i love how much myrcella loves her uncle tyrion tbh i do think they capture the very weird lannister dynamic of only cersei & tywin being hostile to tyrion quite well hu giving him scenes where he’s just chillin w the little ones

i love this first convo between cersei & tyrion. tyrion is like, Almost trying to do a “it’s us against your problems cersei don’t you see i’m trying to help” but as always he is too sharp & sets her on edge & makes her fearful she’s about to be made powerless again when she just rid herself of robert. he tries to put her at ease, and you see her relax just slightly. also love how peter has clearly started getting a handle on the accent lmao the way he quickly drawls out “you love your children, it’s your one redeeming quality THAT AND YOUR CHEEKBONES” hilarious. love how tyrion can’t help but call cersei beautiful even when he’s annoyed with her.

BRAN LEARNING HOW TO RULE SCENE.

we really got two sex scenes back to back omg. this scene with ros was so stupid. i hate sexposition i think it’s so fucking lazy.

I LOVE THE RIVERLANDS KIDS I LOVE A GAGGLE OF RASCALS I LOVE ARYA SETTING UP HOT PIE FOR GENDRY AND GENDRY GOING FOR THE KILL SEAMLESSLY I LOVE THAT HOT PIE AND LOMMY LEAVE ALL HUFFY I LOVE ARYA FOLLOWING GENDRY AROUND AND BADGERING HIM AND HIS GIGGLE WHEN SHE PUSHES HIM I AM A GENDRYA TRUTHER they really did their big one casting the kids

can i say something about yara……i think gemma whalen was really miscast for this part

“You want me to have a god? Fine. King Stanis is my God. He raised me up I’m blessed me with his trust. He gave you a future I could never have imagined.  You know how to read. You’ll be at knight one day.  You think a fire god commanded all that? No, it was Stannis. Only Stannis.” <- WAIT WAIT WAIT. DAVOS KILLING STANNIS HIS GOD FOR BURNING SHIREEN CONFIRMED❓

changes i noticed

the way they only gave rakharo some characterization so dany could cry more about his murder is absolutely goddamn nauseating. they had the perfect opportunity to really dig into dany’s feelings in her khalasar and bloodriders specifically here and passed it up for cheap shock value murder. i’ve always found rakharo fascinating because of his devotion to dany - it goes so against the culture of the dothraki to be not just so dedicated to a woman but willingly subservient, and rakharo is not only fond of dany from the jump, he’s the only bloodrider who attempts to comfort her when she proclaims herself leader of the khalasar. i’ve always felt that like arys oakheart, he likely was raised with a mother who had some semblance of control & power and it made him predisposed to respect the backbone he sees in dany, to feel sorrow for her frustration at being forced to the dosh khaleen, and giving him that “you’ve never failed me before” “now would be a bad time to start” COULD have been something interesting wrt the dothraki and specifically irri & rakharo helping her release drogon in astapor and sack the city, and rule meereen but they waste it and elyes gabel’s amazing face and acting chops. annoying.

“i haven’t seen a girl in six months” once again. why must we make sam this horny.

and then following it up with my favorite sam line & the funniest delivery kit ever does aksjdj the way he goes “hello gilly. what are you doing sam” always kills me, and then following it up with “i can’t steal her she’s a person not a goat” that’s my baby!!! it’s so annoying that they adapt sam so badly but they get the sam/gilly dynamic down okay. he’s just like. the perfect person to be there for gilly, the perfect person to never give up in just trying to help her however he could.

theon is so pathetic lmao. i get some of the changes - big cast and all that - but i think cutting down theon’s journey on pike so he’s not dealing with the botleys & doesn’t get wex pyke makes the iron islands feel so much less real & lived in.

I know everyone hates on the change with joffrey ordering the killing of the bastards and not cersei BUT i think it’s fine, i get it even. they’re using it to show joffrey is escalating, not even cersei can control him, AND cersei will cover for him always. she looks unsettled when tyrion brings it up but she rationalizes it away and then turns the conversation back on tyrion. also-

THEY DESERVED AN EGOT FOR THESE ROLES!!!!!! GIVE THEM A PULITZER!!!!!

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

Book Gendrya Month 2023 - Day Eight - Romantic Tropes

Love Theme

Arya and Gendry share several romantic tropes in their story with each other, especially in A Storm of Swords, but I think one of their most significant romantic tropes that they have is their love theme.  And it’s so significant because GRRM went out of his way to specifically write this song for them and no one else as it doesn’t show up anywhere else in the books, just in Arya IV ASOS.

“My featherbed is deep and soft, and there I'll lay you down, I'll dress you all in yellow silk, and on your head a crown. For you shall be my lady love, and I shall be your lord. I'll always keep you warm and safe, and guard you with my sword." “And how she smiled and how she laughed, the maiden of the tree. She spun away and said to him, no featherbed for me. I'll wear a gown of golden leaves, and bind my hair with grass, But you can be my forest love, and me your forest lass.”

Now we know this song is about them because when Tom O’Sevens is singing it, he winks at Arya, and later Lady Smallwood specifically says to Arya “I have no gowns of leaves”.  The song specifically mentions yellow – a Baratheon color – and crowns - Gendry’s biological father was the former King - and depicts the free spirited “Maiden of the Tree” who wants love on her own terms, which sounds like what an older, flowered version of Arya would want if she fell in love even if that doesn’t necessarily mean literally forsaking noble life to live in a forest.  We also know this is about them because in the previous scene we get this:

Gendry put the hammer down and looked at her.  “You look different now.  Like a proper little girl.” “I look like an oak tree, with all these stupid acorns.” “Nice, though.  A nice oak tree.”  He stepped closer, and sniffed at her.  “You even smell nice for a change.”

During these scenes, Arya is wearing a pale green dress that is embroidered with acorns.  She also has a lot of “maiden of the tree” symbolism.  She is referred to several times as a squirrel while with the Brotherhood Without Banners and is often associated with the Children of the Forest and is a powerful skinchanger.  Arya worships the Old Gods and the Old Gods actually speak back to her from the trees.  She has learned “needlework” in the branches of weirwoods and other trees, and is often climbing trees.  And she has also ingested acorn paste numerous times to stay alive.

Gendry also has symbolic ties to trees. Gendry as a Baratheon (even a Baratheon bastard) is tied to the storm, the fury - thunder and lightning - and he carries a hammer just like the Norse god, Thor - god of lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of mankind and also hallowing and fertility. Thor's tree of life was an oak tree. So while Arya and Gendry are in the smithy at Acorn Hall, Arya represents the oak tree and Gendry represents a god of power that is linked to the oak tree. So Arya has symbolically become Gendry's Tree of Life, the oak tree he is forever linked to.

[ohmtoff]

DO U HAVE ANY ANGST PROMPTS FOR NEW WRITERS?? tbh it could range from light angst to heavyyy angst i just need angst prompts (nick centric plsss)

omg i think there are much better ones if you search on tumblr but i do have some in mind

- Nick never had a gay male friend all of his teenage years so he always feels a bit lonely navigating his queerness alone.

- (Character/reader) and Nick are dating in secret while Nick is constantly shipped with another public figure. (Character/reader) tries to not let it get to him but leaked pictures from a party leads to insecurities and bottled resentments to surface

- Nick is the only out gay guy in high school so “straight” guys always use him to experiment. Because of this he always feels wanted, but never loved. When (character/reader) approaches Nick, he automatically assumes he only wants his body like the others. (Character/reader) shows Nick what it’s like to finally be the first choice.

- romeo + juliet!au: rivalry between two mafia families, the Sturniolos and (family name), affects the blossoming relationship of their children, Nicolas and (character/reader)

- shameless!au, gallavich inspired: Nick is drunk and heartbroken at (character/reader)’s wedding to a woman his homophobic father forced him to.

- game of thrones!au, gendrya inspired: Nicolas Sturniolo left Westeros to find what’s west of Westeros and also run away from the pain of the realm. When he returns, he reopens old wounds and meets his childhood friend and also past lover, (character/reader)

- Nick and (character/reader) have both been overworked and lacking sleep. Soon they were arguing more often than not, leading to an impulsive breakup.

- Nick has a complicated relationship with food and (character/reader) is determined to help him get through it

that’s all i have rn and sorry most of these is nick suffering lmao

[hyacinths-bridgerton]

I've been feeling a little... well, awful, and to fix what I can of my mood, I've been writing something very atypical--for me, at least. mostly because my typical is working on whatever I already have going on and I have some thing on my plate already. It's outlined and advanced on writing, but I wanted to take a time before actually publishing it. However, it doesn't hurt to share a little something, right? So here you can see, the opening scene of A LADY'S TRADE, a regency gendrya fic:

⊱―⊰

A LADY'S TRADE

Jon didn’t know quite well what to expect when he received a message from Arya calling him to talk business.

In all honesty, he simply could not predict much from his cousin—more like sister—of late. They had spent so long apart that now he could hardly recognize her. When they parted, she was a small girl and now she was a grown woman.

It was disturbing, to say the very least.

Admittedly, their whole lives had been disturbing thus far.

After all, they had all been split up from a young age, when it was too dangerous to be named Stark, after the Lannisters managed to usurp the Throne and persecuted all of them, and sent to each end of Westeros, disguised and, hopefully, safe.

It was only recently, when Daenerys Targaryen had taken her rightful crown, that the remaining Starks had been reunited again.

There were only five of them now. Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon, trying to get acquainted to each other once more after years apart with not one word of one another.

Bran and Rickon were off at school while Jon tried his best to manage everything that was left for them.

That’s why when Arya called him to talk business, he knew at least that she meant something related to inheritance.

What he did not expect was for her to say, “I want to get married”

Jon stares at her, waiting for the moment she’ll beam and say it’s all a jest with him, but she keeps solemn.

In a business expression.

Seven hells.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said I want to get married,” she repeats, unfazed. “I figured I’m already of marrying age and should take action on it”

“You’re younger than Sansa and she’s not wed yet,” Jon points without thinking. “And you might want to take one year or two to enjoy the comforts of our recent safety without feeling like you need to chase after a betrothal”

“There is no comfort I want and can enjoy as an eligible lady that I couldn’t take pleasure as a married one,” she says and Jon looks at her, really looks at her.

She’s still a small thing if compared to the rest of them, short and skinny, although now her presence fills the entire drawing room, commanding and determined. She’s all conviction, and he can see that she has really thought that through. It’s not an impulse, it’s not something she feels obliged to do.

Arya really and simply just wants to marry.

He never thought he’d live to see this day.

“Very well,” he concedes, sinking into an armchair, not knowing how to deal with the news standing. “So, you want to get married”

She sighs in exasperation, “Yes, Jon, for goodness’s sake, that is what I said”

“Forgive me if I wasn’t prepared!”

Arya sits in a three-placed sofa next to him and keeps silent for a moment, to which Jon is grateful, because his brain is trying to process what exactly this means.

It takes a while, but he revisits the whole process in his brain. When a young eligible lady wishes to be wed, she needs a dowry, which isn’t a problem, thanks to Arya’s parents, who organized the heritage of each of their children before passing.

She also needs permission from her family and from her legal tutor. For Arya, that meant him. Not that he was the heir of all the Stark estate, but he was the only member of the family alive, legal, and available to deal with such matters. He had spent the last months learning the letters and numbers required for such a job while Bran—the official heir to the House Stark, still too young to take his task in his hands— was still at university.

Having all of that already prepared, there was only one thing to be taken care of, and Jon realized that was probably the lead subject when the theme was planning to get married.

“I suppose we’ll have to discuss the best available suitors for you,” he suggests hesitantly, feeling the uncomfortableness of discussing such matters with someone he had thought a little child for so long. He never thought he would have such a conversation with Arya Stark of all ladies.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” the girl smiles wolfishly and sinks into the sofa, completely relaxed, her crossed arms in not a very ladylike posture. “I already know who I want as my husband”

There should be no room for doubt in the way she speaks, and yet Jon thinks he never doubted so much his own beliefs until this moment.

It wasn’t even just because Arya was his little cousin anymore—but it was still a factor that would most probably plague him for a very long time yet—because he could put that aside for a moment to try and evaluate the subject.

It was that Arya Stark was a young woman who barely ever engaged in social events ever since they had been reunited. As a wealthy and infamous family that was recently involved in such an altercation, House Stark was in no short demand of invitations for social gatherings, and yet Arya avoided most of them, allegedly to avoid the whispers that followed them wherever they went. She did join Sansa once or twice, but the occasions were rare.

Jon never knew her to fed the attention of any men who might have courted her. And yet, she had already a suitor in mind.

“And who might he be, dare I ask?”

“Do you, by any chance, know the Heddle family?”

“I do,” he answers, thinking of the Crossroads Inn, known throughout Westeros and kept by the Heddles.

“And do you know that their eldest daughter, Jeyne, is engaged?”

Jon frowns, unsure where this is going, “Yes, I’ve seen the lady with her fiancé. I even met Mr. Waters on occasion.”

Arya smiles.

“He’s the man I want as my husband”

Jon blinks.

Now this for sure was the jest he thought was coming before because there’s no way in the Seven Hells this is really happening to him…

“I beg your pardon?”

Her smile doesn’t faulters for a second, “I have the entire ordeal already planned, Jon, so listen carefully and assist me, because my mind is made and will not waver”

When she explains, all Jon can think is how there was no letters or numbers who could have prepared him to deal with Arya Stark.

[agentrouka-blog]

interesting gendrya and jonsa parallel is when they both call the boys bastards

Sansa sighed as she stitched. "Poor Jon," she said. "He gets jealous because he's a bastard."

&

Arya whirled and left him there. A stupid bullheaded bastard boy, that's all he is. He could ring all the bells he wanted, it was nothing to her.

It's actually interesting how this line has Sansa labeled as a Jon-hating classist monster when she is merely stating a neutral and true fact (Jon is jealous because he is a bastard. It's logical and objectively true.) with actual sympathy ("Poor Jon").

Meanwhile Arya is using the word in a row of insults meant to emphasize Gendry's lack of importance, but that's fine. She's not at all classist! Some of her best friends are bastards! When she gets up on her horse so she can look down on Gendry, that's not symbolic of anything at all, especially not recurring themes in their relationship!

The double standards in this fandom are annoying. This is pseudo-medieval feudalist fantasy. Their entire society is absurdly classist and the girls both reflect that at various times. Arya forms bonds with lowborn children while hiding her identity, but it doesn't erase her status and the class divide is glaring when her name is revealed.

[Deleting another rant on the theme of classism in Arya's arc. It's not about how she's an egalitarian revolutionary, it's about acknowledging social responsibility within their crapsack society.]

(Sorry, I wasn't pulled into a shipping direction with this ask at all.)

[mags-writes]

Part 1: The Night We Met - Gendrya

Summary: Gendry is dead but Jon isn't and finally, what's left of the Stark House is home.

Warnings: Canon-level violence, canon-level angst, canon-level swearing

Pairing: Gendry Waters/Baratheon x Arya Stark

Length: 1.2k words

Masterlist || The Night We Met || Frozen Pines || Meet Me In The Woods || Love Like Ghosts

I had all and then most of you some and now none of you take me back to the night we met

Paranoia had reared its ugly head. Jon was due back from the South with the Dragon Queen and her army any day now and Arya was the most scared she'd been since she was left blind on the streets of Bravos. She'd be damned if she was going to let her Northern pride get in the way of protecting what was left of her family so she was left with a sinking feeling in her gut that pulled at the scars the waif left her. She spent all her days strategising with the Lords of the North on guarding the castle at all times. It was tedious work, especially being in a room full of proud men without the other fiercest women in the North with you at times.

She yearned for a connection she no longer had. Some nights she woke up in a cold sweat hearing the call of his voice and that last image she had of him seared into her memory. It happened more often than not with the faceless men but she never let them have that part of her. They could have her family and all the traumas connected to it but the sweet pain of Gendry and all those memories were kept close to her soul. He knew her better than anyone, better than Jon, better than Sansa, and better than her father. He protected her and she protected him. And now he was dead.

Nothing would fill the void of him. No amount of fighting, killing, hate, wars, sharpening of blades, carving of faces, poisoning of sons, none of it would bring back the life that Gendry gave Arya. So she just had to keep going, and hope that being back home with her family would be enough, even if she knew it wouldn't be.

Arya was never one for crowds and gatherings, preferring to blend in unseen. She stayed back in the Godswood for Jon's arrival, watching the mighty and terrifying dragons flying above them, wondering if they were going to land with their mother riding on their back. The serenity of the Godswood had been broken, the stillness of nature rustling in the wind caused by the dragons soaring just above the treetops. It was a while before they must've been sent off to the open planes north of the castle and she heard loud steps crunching towards her on the fresh snow.

Arya silently slinked off, watching unseen as a figure approached the sacred weirwood tree of her people. She realised with a start who it was.

"You used to be taller." She saw the slight jolt as he turned to her, now out in the open behind him. He wasn't shocked to see her, so much as he was confused.

"How did you sneak up on me?" Was the first thing he asked.

"How did you survive a knife through the heart?" She countered.

"I didn't." Jon shrugged with a smile.

Her own face broke out into a smile and she ran up to him, jumping into his awaiting arms like they were children again, and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He squeezed her back just as tightly, holding her for a long moment before pulling back and placing her on the ground again.

They looked over each other, trying to decipher all that had changed in the time they had last seen each other. Jon had new scars on his face. Something that no doubt made him more rugged-looking. Arya didn't have anything anyone could see with all her furs on, so she knew she wouldn't be getting any prodding questions any time soon.

"You still have it." Jon was looking at Needle with a surprised but happy expression.

Arya took it out of its sheath, holding it out for him to inspect. "Needle." She confirmed.

Jon took a moment, looking it over for any imperfections before asking, "Have you ever used it?"

It made Arya pause, no doubt Sansa would eventually tell him any and everything she had noticed about Arya. Including her time with the faceless men.

"Once or twice." She answered vaguely with a grim expression.

Jon nods in understanding, giving Needle back to her to put back in its home on her hip. They share a look of understanding that Arya is being vague on purpose, that maybe one day she'll tell him the whole truth of where she's been all this time. It's a quick look. And then Arya looks down at his own sword, smiling timidly like she was a child again fawning over the weapons he was allowed to have but she wasn't. Jon smirks, taking Longclaw from its sheath and letting her inspect it.

"Valyrian steel." She notes, impressed.

"Jealous?" He teases back, making her chuckle.

"Too heavy for me." She hands it back, admiring the wide smile that Jon saved only for her.

He places a hand on her shoulder, bringing them in closer as if they weren't in private and she supposes it's for his own comfort rather than hers.

"Where were you before? I could've used your help with Sansa."

Arya fights everything in her to not stiffen up. Sansa had said that her and Jon got along much better than Arya remembers, that they saw each other truly as a family now, protecting one another and seeing eye to eye. They had their disagreeances, as any brother and sister do, but the only thing that they really butted heads over was going South. Jon trusted Sansa with everything else, she was Lady of Winterfell after all, and she handled everything, including the other lords. But he wouldn't listen to her about going South or about the Targaryen Queen. Arya thought they were acting more like their own mother and father than any siblings she'd ever come across but she kept that to herself.

"She doesn't like your Queen, does she?" She tried to sympathise, she really did, her Northern pride flaring up like it always does but she did her best to see the bigger picture. The whole world was relying on the war that was about to come, and they needed every advantage they could get. She just hated all the strings attached to the advantages.

"Sansa thinks she's smarter than everyone." He said it like she was a child and she hated it. How horribly had the Southern politics gotten to her brother's head that he didn't even realise he was trying to manipulate his own baby sister?

"Jon, I love you, I really do." Arya laughs, shaking her head and taking the hand that was on her shoulder into her own hands, holding him close to her. "Sansa's the smartest person I've ever met."

Jon laughs as well. "You're defending her? You?"

"I'm defending our family. So is she." Arya paused, letting what she said sink in before putting her own hand on his shoulder. "She survived Joffrey, Cersei, the Boltons, and Littlefinger. I don't think you're giving her intuition enough credit."

"I'm her family too." Jon lightly defended, not in the way the proud men she's used to do, but the way a brother does when he feels like he's being left behind.

Arya smiled warmly at him, giving him a look that said he was proving her point. She brought him into another hug.

"Don't forget that."

when the night was full of terrors and your eyes were filled with tears when you had not touched me yet oh, take me back to the night we met

[thisonetimeinmeridian]

I miss Gendrya, they were my happy place. I miss thinking about them.

[katlyn1948]

So I was prepared to post a Gendrya Valentine’s fic...however I’ve rewritten it three times and when I finally became happy with a version that I liked, time escaped me. So, as I will most likely be posting said Valentine’s fic NOT on Valentine’s day (but the day after) here’s a little preview: 

The jukebox clicked and a song from the fifties wafted through the small-town diner. There were couples mingling in small talk in ripped upholstery booths, patrons ordering their dinner, and little kids giggling as they drew with crayons on paper menus. It was what a well-respected family-owned restaurant should be. Yet, for Arya, it was much more than a diner.

Every year, for the last five years, on Valentine’s Day, when the clock reached eight and the jukebox played “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley, a man would walk in and join Arya at the milkshake bar. They would talk about nothing and everything and hours will go by, only for the clock to reach midnight. The patrons would be long gone and the children fast asleep in their beds. The well-respected family-owned restaurant would make its last call and Arya would look at the man and give a weary nod, bidding farewell until the next year. He would smile at her, just a faint tug of lips, before nodding back and leaving without another word.

She didn’t know his name and he didn’t know hers, yet they knew so much about each other.

It never ceased to amaze her at how much they would both divulge about what had transpired in their lives in the year since their last meeting. Four hours is all it took for them to lay down their weapons and be completely and utterly vulnerable. Then, like Cinderella, the magic would fade and she would have to go the other 364 days wondering if she should have asked for more.

It’s why she hesitated to come back to the diner this year. Could she really go through another year of not know who this man was? Or if he would even show up. There was always that fear of what if. It brought crimpling anxiety, so much so, she wasn’t sure if it was worth it. Yet, every year, she somehow managed to pull herself together and go to the diner.

And this year was no different.

She had gotten there a quarter to eight and took her usual spot at the milkshake bar. Her hair was longer than the last time she saw him and cascaded in loose curls down her back. She had opted for a simply sun dress and brown booties to match. King’s Landing had been forgiving in February and only gave off a soft breeze. Her makeup was simple; nothing complex, just natural.

“Waiting for him, I see.” An older man said as he placed a chocolate shake in front of Arya.

She smiled, a hint of a blush flushing her cheeks, “You think he’ll show?”

The old man chuckled, “He has for the last five years, not sure why he would change his mind this time.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She smiled before taking a sip of her shake. The old man winked before scurrying off down the milkshake bar to greet other customers.

That old man had laid witness to their yearly meetings since the very first one. Pleasantries and milkshakes were only ever exchanged between her the old man. Come to think of it, she didn’t know his name either.

[daenystheedreamer]

You asked me my fave ASOIAF ships so it’s only right that I ask u what yours are 🫶🫶

oh honey you got a big storm comin 😈 

SLAY TIER GOD TIER S TIER GOAT TIER

JAIME/BRIENNE: god it's just so. like its truly insane. they are beauty and the beast but there's LAYERS like ok first look. oh she's a girl and he's a boy so she's beauty and he's the beast. but jaime is so sexyhot and brienne is ugly so he's the beauty and she's the beast. oh but she's brienne the beauty and he's a lannister lion. oh but she's the only kind and good and pure soul in the world and her eyes are so, so beautiful and jaime is so horrible and destroyed inside and out and he's so cruel but he doesn't want to be but he does. AND he dreams of fighting alongside her nude like ok RRRING RRING um hi freud i gotta crazy guy for you to psychoanalyse yeah he's got daddy AND mommy AND sibling issues and he’s a little gay with it.

THEON/ROBB: look ok. coming out as a robb neutral. THATS KIND OF A LIE look i love robb he's just a boy he's forced into the meat grinder he's hamlet he's doomed i love that that's so fun. but i'm not one of those people who's like WE NEED A ROBB POV or like mad he died. i'm a theongirl first and foremost and the way i love throbb is through the lens of theon my traumatised horrible catboy.

RHAENYRA/ALICENT: god what can be said that hasn’t. vicious lesbian divorce. psychosexual incestuous passive aggressive actually aggressive love hate inner child growing old always on their mind everything is about the other constrained by patriarchy doing patriarchy but in a way that benefits you. and she’s her stepmother.

FUN TIER

JONSATIN: yeah yeah its a bit of a yaoi ship i know i know. mostly i like it cos it gives satin something to do LMAO i really like him so i have to give him personality and wants and a backstory and jon is a great puppet for that. on jon’s side honestly satin is like the nicest choice for him everyone else has so much baggage...

LORENLY: its like canon i like it. i like the doom and tragedy i like how renly is a fun guy and loras is such a cunt.

DAENSA: i think they would be a nice couple :) i think they would be good for each other. nice fluffy ship, very sweet. lemontreecakes forever!!

SANSAERY: its like what if regina george and cady heron were lesbians. i love manipulative bitch margaery whos like shit she’s genuinely nice and pure and cute goddamnit. and sansa who has to slowly realise she’s being used but that even though their relationship is kinda fucked up it IS complex. also really funny that she was comphet for marge’s gay brother.

GENDRYA: she’s 9 so im like meh on it but its very sweet. the living-vicariously-through-your-children marriage robert wanted with sansa and joffrey. well actually its the genderfreak lyanna clone and anarchist robert clone. 

STAVOS and MELYSE: idk melisandre and selyse’s ship name. i could be serious about it but it’s just funny to me. you can still fuck even when youre at the rotting decrepit old age of 34 and you once cut off your domestic partner’s fingers

HONOURARY MENTIONS

JonValJon: i dont like ValJon because it so often negates val’s character and her wants and desires also jon is 15 and val is like clearly an adult woman but the name is really funny i like les mis eh heh heh

Theonsa: i like show theonsa i think its sweet. book theonsa i dont like because shes a lesbian.

Brienne/Sansa and Brienne/Margaery: show only. its cute and brienne x margaery is kinda hot ngl. also Brienne/Cersei that’s also hot. sorry im gay.

[laurellerual]

why do you think/say gendrya has all the tropes of the romance genre???? also, do you think jonrya will or could happen?

Romance tropes in Gendry and Arya relationship

The Family: Baratheon and Stark have a tragic love story (which we later find out isn't quite like that, but that's how it's told to begin with).

The love interest meet the father first and the mother second: Gendry meet Lord Eddard and Lady Stonheart.

The first meeting: the boy intervenes to protect the protagonist from bullies.

The hidden identity: the protagonist is disguised as a boy, only the love interest realizes the deception.

Forced coexistence: these two would never have met if it hadn't been for fate (the author) that forced them to embark on a journey together and have only each other to count on. And don't tell me Hot pie etc, … because Arya doesn't confide everything she does to her other supporting cast. She only have this relationship of trust with Gendry.

The protagonist goes to save her love interest: when Gendry is captured by the Mountain.

The children: Weasel is adopted and rescued by them. In the hierarchical dynamic that is established in this improvised pack the two take on the role of mom and dad.

Flirty banters: too many to write here.

Boy sees girl in a dress for the first time: Acorn Hall.

The two are too young to write them in a context of more explicit romantic tension so: rolling on the floor for no reason, tickling and ripped dress.

Insurmountable conflict: class difference

The love interest protects the protagonist from unwanted sexual attention.

Feelings begin to change: 'you are not my brother'

Everyone notices their dynamic except them: See the Brotherhood who gave Arya Lem as a chaperon.

Song that is sung to them and is clearly inspired by their situation: 'My featherbed'.

Innocent jealousy: Edric and Bella.

Misunderstanding at the end of Act II; the obstacles that have accumulated explode: conversation in the forge 'can you be a blacksmith for my brother', 'too lowborn to be kin to mylady high', 'I don't even care about you'.

Premature separation without a good bye: Arya is kidnapped by the Hound on her way to Riverrun (not too far from where Lyanna was abducted, probably on her way to Riverrun for Brandon and Cat's wedding).

The love interest waits parked in the last place where the protagonist has left a clear sign of her presence: (the bloodstain on the floor of the Crossroad inn). He's protecting the children like Arya would have want.

I'm sure that if I thought about it more I would find others too, but for now the list seems exhaustive enough. ASOIAF is not a romance story and Arya and Gendry are too young to play too much into that. Yet the writer decided to dedicate a lot of otherwise useless scenes to this relationship. Something have to happen in Act III to give them closure.

Jonrya

Despite all this I think Jon x Arya is not an unreasonable prediction. I admit that on first reading I had interpreted their relationship as entirely platonic.

When I found out about the 1993 outline I was surprised. The fact that Martin didn't take well to that being leaked is suspicious. Rereading the books after reading the outline it seems clear that he has reused and recycled several points and concepts that make it difficult for me not to consider Jonrya as a possible future.

Then the fandom worked its magic: there's a lot of well-argued meta in the Jonrya side of tumblr. So even if I prefer Gendrya to Jonrya I don't think the latter can be totally excluded until we read ADOS, that is never.

[jackoshadows]

I read your meta about the contrast between the Jon/Arya relationship and the Sansa/Joffrey one and it made me wonder something. If Jon is the foil to Joffrey then does mean Gendry is redundant, has served his purpose, and GRRM will kill him in the next book since he and Arya have different destinies?

Jon is clearly written as a foil to Joffrey, while Arya is a foil to Sansa in terms of their titles and personalities. Joffrey, the spoiled brat brought up as a prince and future king while Jon, good natured and kind brought up as a bastard. Arya mingling with the small folk, standing up for them against injustice (Mycah and Joffrey) and Sansa, dreaming of being queen and siding with the high born against the small folk. Jon and Arya is what we want their leaders to be and instead Joffrey and Sansa is what we get. And as such Jon/Arya's relationship contrasts with Joffrey and Sansa's.

And it holds significance in terms of Robert, Rhaegar and Lyanna. Robert Baratheon does not know about Gendry, does not care about Gendry. He's one of the numerous bastards that Robert sired. For Robert, Joffrey is his son and future king and he wants for Joffrey what he thinks he should have had with Lyanna. While he sees all Targaryens and Rhaegar's children as dragonspawn deserving of death.

And yet it's Rhaegar's son who thrives and has the unconditional love and support of Arya who mirrors Lyanna in looks and personality. While Joffrey turned out to be a sadistic bully who targets and abuses Sansa. Robert Baratheon is thwarted again.

As for Gendry, I think that Gendry is to Arya what Ygritte is to Jon Snow. They are foreshadowing parallels about the boys and girls Arya and Jon gravitate towards because of their preference for a certain type.

“NO!” Arya and Gendry both said, at the exact same instant. Hot Pie quailed a little. Arya gave Gendry a sideways look. He said it with me, like Jon used to do, back in Winterfell. She missed Jon Snow the most of all her brothers. - Arya, ASoS

“Is it wildfire?” Arya asked Gendry.

“No. This is different. This is . . .”

“. . . magic?” she finished as the Hound edged back. - Arya, ASoS

She punched him. “That’s vile. Would you bed your sister?”

“Longspear’s not your brother.” - Jon, ASoS

“She’s my sister.” Gendry put a heavy hand on the old man’s shoulder, and squeezed. “Leave her be.”

The man turned, spoiling for a quarrel, but when he saw Gendry’s size he thought better of it. “Your sister, is she? What kind of brother are you? I’d never bring no sister of mine to the Peach, that I wouldn’t.” He got up from the bench and moved off muttering, in search of a new friend.

“Why did you say that?” Arya hopped to her feet. “You’re not my brother.”

There's all the comparisons Jon makes about Ygritte and Arya. Gendry is a bastard, same age as Jon and he reminds Arya of Jon while Ygritte reminds Jon of Arya. Tell me, why did GRRM write it this way?

If Jon and Arya's bond is just destined to remain sibling love, why is it the author has both characters compare their love interests to the other? What is the narrative reason behind doing that?

And Gendry is no doubt a love interest for Arya. GRRM writes it almost like a romcom. Them rolling around in the dirt, Gendry ribbing Arya for her dress, that love song sung for them. That scene in the inn when Gendry blushes and leaves. From Gendry's pov it's clear he likes her that way and is jealous when Ned Dayne and Arya are talking to each other and has a chip on his shoulder about being not good enough for a Lady.

[Note: Keep in mind that at this point Gendry is Jon's age. [Edit: @the-king-andthe-lionheart pointed out that Gendry is younger than Jon and Robb by atleast a year] So if one ships Gendrya, remember the age difference between them is the same as with Jon and Arya. And when Gendrya happens Arya is 9/10. So Gendra likes Arya that way when Arya is nearing 10. When Arya meets Jon, she will be 11 or older. Also keep in mind that Sansa/Sandor starts in the books when Sansa is 11/12, when 27 year old Sandor has clearly taken a liking to her]

The Arya and Gendry we get in ACok/ASoS is when Arya is a little kid and does not really understand what's happening with her and Gendry. She treats him as a pack member, is very protective of him (In contrast she sees Jon as her protector) and risks her life for him. Arya parts from Gendry in anger, seeing it as a betrayal that he wants to leave their little pack. By contrast, she's steadfast in her faith in Jon ('Jon will want me even if no one else does'). When we last meet Gendry, he's bitter and angry, no doubt his feelings about Arya feeding into that. And which is why I have no doubt they will meet again, if Arya travels to the Riverlands or otherwise.

A Gendry with an older, wiser Arya - the Arya of the TWoW sample chapter - is no doubt going to be different this time around because Arya is also going to feel a certain way about Gendry. There's going to be an acknowledgment of what was happening between them in ACoK/ASoS. It's going to be a fun, interesting read. If GRRM has changed his mind about Jonrya for whatever reason, then Gendrya is what will happen.

From the little snippets of interviews that GRRM has given here and there, Arya's age seems to be his biggest challenge in terms of a romantic relationship for her, whether with Gendry or Jon. I think there was one interview at a con where he mentions that Arya was still very young when asked about Gendrya. He has also stated that he's just going to ignore their ages and write as he always intended.

Whichever direction he does go, I don't think Gendry is dying. I see him as the new leader of the brotherhood without banners, with no allegiance to any king, helping the smallfolk during the war for the dawn (That should make him attractive to Arya 😉!)