canyonwalker | (Reply)

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I love Arya's character arc throughout the series. The meme of "But that's not you" starts in Season 1 when her father is sitting with her and telling her about how she'll grow up, marry a lord, live in a castle, and have a son who's a prince. He stops abruptly as she stares at him and says, "But that's not you."

Also in Season 1 her half-brother/cousin Jon gifts her a sword so she can practice combat. She has no idea what she's doing, of course, and keeps it secret. Her father catches her swinging it around one evening— and instead of taking it away, hires an expert swordsman to teach her a style of combat effective for her small stature. (The "water dance" style emphasizes swift movement to evade an enemy's attacks, tire them out, and exploit openings when they're off balance.)

Her father helps keep the secret about her training by referring to the swordsman as her "dancing instructor". Other people who assume that a girl can't possibly be studying combat, including her own sister Sansa, marvel that she must be "a terrible dancer" because "she comes home bruised all over" after her dancing lessons.