#hewantshisedits

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ARYA STARK AND THE GODS ❦ BOURNE FOR THE GOD OF DEATH

Thirty different gods stood along the walls, surrounded by their little lights. The Weeping Woman was the favorite of old women, Arya saw; rich men preferred the Lion of Night, poor men the Hooded Wayfarer. Soldiers lit candles to Bakkalon, the Pale Child, sailors to the Moon-Pale Maiden and the Merling King. The Stranger had his shrine as well, though hardly anyone ever came to him. Most of the time only a single candle stood flickering at his feet. The kindly man said it did not matter. "He has many faces, and many ears to hear."

The Many-Faced God, also known as Him of Many Faces, is a deity worshipped by the Faceless Men, a guild of assassins established in the Free City of Braavos. The tale of the guild's beginnings centers around a figure of unknown origins, the first Faceless Man, who heard the prayers of the slaves to their various gods of death and came to conclude they all prayed to the same god "with a hundred different faces", the Many-Faced God, and that he was "that god's instrument".

This belief came to be reflected in the Guild's temple, which has a large public sanctuary that contains idols of thirty death gods. The religious order refills its pool of black water with a poison, so that drinking from it leads to a painless death. Visiting worshippers light candles to their god, then drink from the fountain using a stone cup, then go lie in one of the alcoves. Others take advantage of special alcoves, called "dreaming couches", which have special candles that bring visions of the past, for a sweet and gentle death.

Followers of Him of Many Faces consider death to be part of the natural order of things and a merciful end to suffering. The guild will agree to kill anyone in the known world, for a price, considering this contract to be a sacrament of their god. The price is always high or dear, but within means of the person if they are willing to make the sacrifice. The cost of their services also depends on the prominence and security of the target.

The High Valyrian words associated with the cult and its assassins are valar morghulis, or "all men must die", and its traditional response, valar dohaeris, or "all men must serve". This philosophy runs deep. Members are made to forsake their identities for the service of the Many-Faced God, and may only assassinate targets they have been hired to kill. They are not allowed to choose who is worthy of the "gift" by themselves.

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Different Roads: The House of Black and White

At the top she found a set of carved wooden doors twelve feet high. The left-hand door was made of weirwood pale as bone, the right of gleaming ebony. In their center was a carved moon face; ebony on the weirwood side, weirwood on the ebony. The look of it reminded her somehow of the heart tree in the godswood at Winterfell. The doors are watching me, she thought. She pushed upon both doors at once with the flat of her gloved hands, but neither one would budge. Locked and barred. "Let me in, you stupid," she said. "I crossed the narrow sea." She made a fist and pounded. "Jaqen told me to come. I have the iron coin." She pulled it from her pouch and held it up. "See? Valar morghulis." The doors made no reply, except to open. ❦ Arya I, A Feast for Crows

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The Parallels of Περσεφονη and Princess Arya Stark

You had best run back to your room, little sister. Septa Mordane will surely be lurking. You'll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers. A Game of Thrones, Arya I

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"M'lady? You look sad. Are you thinking of your sister?" The dwarf patted her on the hand. "The Crone will light your way to her, never fear. The Maiden will keep her safe."

"I pray that you are right."

Brienne II, A Feast for Crows

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After years of living on the run under assumed identities and burying her past deep down where it couldn't be weaponized against her or her loved ones, her own name has grown near foreign to her. On the bright side, seeing as the press can't keep the name Princess Arya Stark out of their fucking mouths and off their fucking cover pages, the novelty will probably wear off in no time, she's sure.

A SONG OF INTERVIEWS AND FAKE NEWS: ARYA'S RETURN

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Different Roads: Castle Black

So cold, he thought, remembering the warm halls of Winterfell, where the hot waters ran through the walls like blood through a man's body.There was scant warmth to be found in Castle Black; the walls were cold here, and the people colder. No one had told him the Night's Watch would be like this; no one except Tyrion Lannister. The dwarf had given him the truth on the road north, but by then it had been too late. Jon wondered if his father had known what the Wall would be like. He must have, he thought; that only made it hurt the worse. Even his uncle had abandoned him in this cold place at the end of the world. [...] Three days after their arrival, Jon had heard that Benjen Stark was to lead a half-dozen men on a ranging into the haunted forest. That night he sought out his uncle in the great timbered common hall and pleaded to go with him. Benjen refused him curtly. "This is not Winterfell," he told him as he cut his meat with fork and dagger. "On the Wall, a man gets only what he earns. You're no ranger, Jon, only a green boy with the smell of summer still on you." ❦ Jon III, A Game of Thrones

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Nobody can definitively say the means which lead to the tragic ends of two such beloved public figures. Nobody can name what it was that brought the last Targaryen heir to the throne and the only daughter of House Stark together in the first place. No one knows exactly what happened, not in truth, but people can speculate. And speculate, they do.

A SONG OF INTERVIEWS AND FAKE NEWS: Retrospectives on Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark

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ARYA STARK AND THE GODS ❦ WARD OF THE RED GOD

Arya remembered Thoros of Myr in his bits of old armor, worn over robes so faded that he had seemed more a pink priest than a red one. Yet his kiss had brought Lord Beric back from death. She watched the red god's house drift by, wondering whether these Braavosi priests of his could do the same.

The religion’s prime deity is known by many names to his worshippers - the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow. Beyond his following, he is most commonly referred to as the Red God, and his proper name is R’hllor. The religion is based on a dualistic, manichean view of the world, with near equal import given to R’hllor’s nemesis, the Great Other, whose name may not be spoken, who is also referred to as the Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, the God of Night and Terror.

They are locked in an eternal struggle over the fate of the world; a struggle that, according the ancient prophecies from the books of Asshai, will only end when Azor Ahai, the messianic figure, returns wielding a flaming sword called Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and raises dragons from stone. A prophecy found in ancient books of Asshai claims that after a long summer, an evil cold darkness shall fall on the world. Azor Ahai, wielding the sword Lightbringer, shall be reborn to combat this darkness.

Worship of R’hllor is practiced primarily in Essos and the Temple in Volantis has been called the greatest temple in the known world. All those who serve there are slaves who were bought as children and trained. Whether this is the case in other cities is unknown. Red priests are taught prayers and spells, and are trained to see things in fires. According to the priestess Melisandre, the Lord of Light cherishes innocent and beautiful people and items, making them the most precious sacrifice.

Red priests attribute their god’s fire to life, hence his symbol: a fiery heart. The death rite administered by priests to the deceased is known as the last kiss. The priest fills his mouth with fire and breaths the flames inside the deceased person, down his throat to his lungs, heart, and soul. The performance of this rite by Thoros of Myr upon Ser Beric Dondarrion coincided with the latter’s inadvertent, inexplicable resurrection, and the Lightnign Lord is rumored to have gifted the same to Lady Stoneheart through a kiss of his own.

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Arya Month, Day 01+02: Favorite Arc and Favorite Moments

Becoming the Ghost of Harrenhal

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Arya Stark and Allies + “Swords”

Fear cuts deeper than swords, she told herself. "Arya." She whispered the word the first time. The second time she threw it at him. "I am Arya, of House Stark."

... Polliver had stolen the sword from her when the Mountain's men took her captive, but when she and the Hound walked into the inn at the crossroads, there it was. The gods wanted me to have it. Not the Seven, nor Him of Many Faces, but her father's gods, the old gods of the north.

The Many-Faced God can have the rest, she thought, but he can't have this.

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THE KEY FIVE of ASOIAF and THE MAJOR ARCANA

In occult practices, the Major Arcana are the trump cards of a tarot pack. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-card pack. These cards represent universal experiences, archetypal powers, and major thematic patterns in our lives. The intrinsic meanings of the cards are the same regardless of deck or spread, except when the card drawn is reversed, in which case the meaning is inverted.

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AI art generated for the highlighted excerpt from ADWD JON VIII. It’s small and pretty basic foreshadowing but I love the wording so much, it’s a personal favorite. Click for quality, generated using Wombo Dream.

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hey girl, loved your asoiaf tarot post. can i ask who’s the fc you used for jon in that edit?

THANK YOU for asking - he’s Aaron Bernards! Tim works well and Tamino owns my heart, by Aaron is by far my favorite Jon FC, especially to go with a Kailey Hsu or Kelsey Asbille Arya, though a white Arya FC works as well since he’s biracial if that’s a concern. He’s not got as many resources as others but his face is... so perfect, it’s totally worth it imo

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THE LITTLE SISTERS — Character parallels between Queen Lucy Pevensie of Narnia and Princess Arya Stark of the North

Click for quality. Plain images.

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THE LITTLE SISTERS — All hail Queen Lucy Pevensie of Narnia and Princess Arya Stark of the North.

Click for quality. Character parallels.

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each bolt a burning river by mysticalmuddle

Stranger’s Night was the second full moon of fall, and moonlight the same wet glistening color of raw fat was falling through breaks in the canopy where the oak and elm trees had dropped their leaves. People came to Castle Cerwyn to party, but sometimes they left the castle to hang out in the cold, smoking or fucking or trying to set things on fire. Arya knew it didn’t have the same appeal if they could do those things inside, safe in the knowledge that Cley was too fucked up himself to try and stop them. She knew that was why her dad never said anything, even though he knew about the parties since Cley had started them in high school.

The air didn’t feel like there were people out there with her. It felt crystalline smooth, empty of everything except the scent of the trees in her mouth, her nose.

But the noise behind her still started again, less loudly. The wind creaked through the trees. Whoever walked behind her kept coming, a slow steady pace.