#although i do have a sneaky suspicion that it doesn't really have much to do with my thoughts on arya at all…

[the-golden-ghost]

your personal deltarune character power tier list? not necessarily who was the hardest to fight, but who has the best combination of stats and abilities in your opinion (includes characters not yet fought/with no confirmed stats headcanon all you want!)

Okay this is probably going to be wildly inaccurate to actual stats and abilities cause I don't look at those at all and have DEADASS no clue what anyone's are or what they mean. So take this purely as a headcanon list okay:

Seam: Seam is going to whip everyone's ass into next week. I actually have a sneaky suspicion that there WILL be the option to fight Seam but maybe not necessarily in the main game, maybe they'd be more like Sans, or even a secret boss of sorts. Either way they're the most powerful trust me.

Jevil: Is also an esteemed and powerful fighter. No idea why he leveled up so high. Was it Gasterfication or was he just Like That? I actually think he'd lose to Seam (cause he did. Unless you think he LET himself be jailed so he wouldn't have to kill Seam which OUCH) but only by a little!

Queen: She might also be able to beat Jevil actually but she has slightly less practice in the sheer Art of kicking ass just cause she doesn't do it as often. If she'd been driven mad and spend a millennium locked in a basement practicing her movesets she would beat him though

King: He's kind of a tank and I mean he's the King for a reason but lbr here he's not gonna be Number 1. Tutorial boss level ass

Spamton (NEO): Spamton is already more powerful than most Addisons but if you give him that much of a crazy power-up yeah he's like... powerful. But he's still relatively low and unable to really Max Out the true power of NEO because he stole it; it wasn't made for him. If its rightful owner were in possession of it I think it would have been in first place but with Spamton it's only gonna make it to Number 5!

Lancer: This little princeling is TOUGH! He may not be as crazy ass-kicking powerful as the guys up there but do not be fooled; he's not going down easy. Actually in terms of outlasting an enemy he might even be at 2 or 3.

Swatch: Swatch is second only to Queen as far as Cyber Citizens go. Now if SWATCH had taken the NEO body there would have been blood; as its creator he would have much more control over it. But of course he'd never do such a thing. He's content with his spot.

Sweet Cap'n Cakes: Individually they're low-tier but as a group they're a force to be reckoned with! They're just so perfectly in sync that it's hard to match them!

Spamton (regular): Tougher than your usual Addison. He's been hardened by modifications as well as years and years of surviving on the streets. He fights dirty and WILL kill you dead.

Tasque Manager: I don't have a lot to say about her but she's got an electric whip and she knows how to use it. She's also fought Jevil before although I don't know if she won. She's actually a bit of a wildcard cause if she BEAT Jevil then God Damn

Ralsei: Ralsei is low, not because he's weak per se but because Ralsei would NOT kick your ass even if he had the option to. His skills are all in healing and pacifying though, so admittedly if it were a cutthroat to-the-death battle I think he'd have a hard time winning on his own. :(

Rouxls: Uh yeah anyone can beat Rouxls. Rooting for him to get a power-up or be another Come From Behind Wildcard but as it stands a small child could punch Rouxls and he'd fold like wet cardboard

[horrorslashergirl]

Slasher OC: The Hacker

Full Name: Xander Shawn Rivera (Although none knows his real name as his killer persona)

Nickname(s): Xan, Hackerman, The Hacker, Erron, Cyber Killer, Shawty, BlueRain, Blue

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Nationality: American

Place of Birth: New York City, USA

Current Location: New York City

Occupation: As a civilian, he works in the IT department of a company; As his killer persona he is a Dark Web Criminal, Master Hacker, CEO of Online Drug and Weapon Store

Base of operation: New York

Languages: English

Appearance:

Height: 6'3

Weight: 185 lbs

Body Type: Atheltic

Skin Color: Warm Ivory

Hair Color: Black

Hair Style: He has an undercut hairstyle, much longer on the top, with bangs covering sometimes one eye

Eye Color: Smokey grey, giving off eerily serene, sometimes studiously expressionless

Clothing: As his civilian persona, Xander prefers easy clothing that doesn't attract attention, keeping the image of a boring 30s male, he opts for dark jeans, T-shirts with symbols from video games or simple graphic T-shirts, and hoodies in colors of black, dark grey or light grey, dark blue. His shoes of choice are either vans or converse, comfortable and practical. Xander's clothing could be described as nerdy.

As his killer persona, he chooses black clothing or midnight dark blue, black converse, or black high Nikes, a bulletproof vest under his hoodie, utility belt where he has his holster with the bowie knife. He wears a neon blue Purge-like mask to hide his identity, and he upgraded the mask, installing mini-video cameras close to where his eyes are so that he can record any of his murders or information in order to blackmail.

Other features: He has a dragon tattoo on one of his pectorals, a tongue piercing and he has a cock piercing right on the tip also known as Prince Albert piercing, plus his scrotum ring piercing. He also has blue braces. He also has some faint freckless on his nose and around.

Face Claim: Desmond Harrington

Weapons: Bowie Knife, Beretta 92 Gun, Wilson Combat EDC X9

Scent: He wears Dior Men Cologne Sauvage, the fragrance is announced as radically fresh, raw and noble at the same time. Top notes are Calabrian bergamot and Pepper; middle notes are Sichuan Pepper, Lavender, Pink Pepper, Vetiver, Patchouli, Geranium and elemi; base notes are Ambroxan, Cedar and Labdanum. Other notes of his scent would be tabacoo, a sugary energy drink smell.

Favorite Food: McDonalds, Subway and Burritos

Favorite Drink: Energy drinks, especially the Monster Energy Drink ones

Power/Skills:

Great knowledge in IT and hacking

Torture methodology

Driving skills

Stealth/Evasion

Skilled usage of weaponry

Bulletproof outfit

High intelligence

Manipulation

Computer skills

Murderous expertise

Skill in hand-to-hand combat

Knifesmanship

Gunmanship

Psychopathic nature

Fearlessness

Ruthlessness

Airplane Pilot Skills

History/Bio:

The man known as the infamous Hacker was long ago someone completely different.

Xander Shawn Rivera was born into a suburban neighborhood close to New York City, along with his little sister Chloe, their parents being Neil Rivera, their father who worked as a police officer of New York City, and their mother Olivia Rivera working for a company in New York into the logistic department.

Xander had a normal childhood, until when he was 14 when his mother left him, his sister, and his father for a rich man. Neil took care of the two kids, and because his mother left them, Xander started to hold a huge grudge on her, especially that his sister, Chloe told him many times that their mother would come back, and Xander got even more hate on his mother when she wouldn't come to visit them; never present for Chloes birthdays, holidays and such.

In high school, Xander was considered the biggest nerd; awkward and unsure of himself, he was a prime target for the popular kids. He wasn't the strongest in the physical department, being fairly tall for his age and a slender guy, he focused his attention more on learning, especially in the IT, technology, and robotic department of the school.

Being more captured by the cybernetic life, he spends all his free time learning how to hack, getting deeper into the Dark Web. First, he opened an online drug store and in time he started to do trafficking with dangerous weapons too. His father being at work most of the time, he had all the privacy he needed, and none had any suspicions of what he was doing, being seen as the non-interesting guy with social awkward skills.

In the last year of high school, one night while he was working, Xander received a call from the New York Police, telling him how his father was gunned down during an investigation with a drug-dealing gang.

With his father dead and his sister completely devasted, not to mention a plan for what he will do after he finishes high school, Xander came to a blocking point, and his sister left him too, to go live with their mother and her boyfriend, the rich asshole.

Being left all alone, Xander finished high school and took the job position in the USA army in the security and IT department, since all his reviews were exceptional. After a few years of working for the USA army, learning along how to fight, use weapons, and how to fly an airplane, he decided to quit, not satisfied enough with what his line of work offered him. The superiors treated him like shit and he was viewed just as their lap dog.

After he gave up on the army, he got a job at a New York company, but behind the boring nerdy civilian, Xander developed a new persona, that he earned from all around the Dark Web; The Hacker alias Erron.

Continuing with the illegal stores on the dark internet, he also got intrigued by the more horrible parts, like killing, assassins, torture, porn gore, and the list goes on.

Xander understood that there on Dark Web, he had full control of everything, it was his Kingdom and he was the King, he could be whatever he wanted there and he had all the skills and tricks... And his killer persona turned out to be one of the most wanted international criminals in and outside the USA.

Personality:

As his civilian self, Xander is an introvert to say so, not indulging himself too much in social activities, but he still shows high confidence even as his normal persona. He prefers to keep to himself, being the boring and nerdy Xander Shawn Rivera that is pretty much invisible. It's an image he chose to keep in order not to raise any suspicions of who he really is. Despite being a Master in hacking and IT, he doesn't show it when it comes to his civilian line of work. He has a quote that goes like this: 'Never show your true potential just to be a cheap showoff. Wait for the perfect moment to strike.'

As his killer persona, like most murderers in horror movies, he shares their traits. He is sneaky, intelligent, cruel, aggressive, sadistic, destructive, and brutish by nature. He has no morality, his base of operation being on the Deep Web, where he is doing business. He scops up victims in various ways; down from online dating sites, to posing as a simple seller of a car or phone; he knows what to say to find out more about his victims. Once he tracks you down, he will know everything about you; your name, age, address and even hacking your webcam to cyberstalk you, finding the perfect moment to strike.

As the Hacker, he is very confident, playful, manipulative, and always has a plan B up his sleeves, and if plan B doesn't work, well... get ready for plan C.

The biggest trick is that you don't know anything about who the Hacker is, but he knows everything about you. He is the guy that invades your privacy and knows all your secrets, using all the information against his victims or people that dare to get in his way.

The Hacker is unpredictable, ruthless when he has to be, and extremely possessive of what he owns, because he worked hard for it, and this results in another intense trait of his personality; he is a big workaholic, sometimes forgetting to sleep and eat, especially when he has a huge deal to finish.

The Hackers street smarts and charisma is unmatched and he is one of the toughest criminals to ever walk the streets of America and surfing through the dark web. As the Hacker, he finds it much easier to talk, flirt, and get close to women. It's not necessarily that he is self-conscious, because he is not, and he has an explanation for why as his civilian self he avoids getting too close to the dating game.

'I have to be boring and awkward as to not raise suspicions, besides... why would I need a girlfriend to stick her nose into my business and fuck up everything? Pussy I can find and get anytime and anywhere I want. Thank you very much, motherfucker.'

He also shows traits of narcissism or egomania, loving to be complimented for his work and achievements, hen loves to be praised and acknowledges by those around him that he is the best, which clashes when he has to put on the good civilian mask and pretend he doesn't want to gut everyone's necks around him.

A psychopathic madman with a lust for blood and to be the best in everything he does, he can be considered a big perfectionist, but not in all domains. For example, he is a lame cook and always prefers to get take-outs or food that can be heated into the microwave. He doesn't have time to sleep, much less to spend his time at the stove.

Erron is very blunt and to the point in his conversations, and won't hesitate to tell someone how stupid they are. He lacks empathy and he doesn't work like other people; he is very logical and will use his brain/mind more so than his heart.

All in all, both Xander and Erron are one and the same person, switching personalities.

Crimes:

Stalking

Terrorism

Selling illegal weapons and drugs

Torture

Grand Theft Auto

Mutilations

Kidnapping

Snuff Filming

Blackmailing

Drug/Weapon trafficking

Quotes of The Hacker:

'I see you.'

'Lets see who pays the most.'

'I got many things that may interest you. Drugs, Guns, Maybe a young woman. Lets negociate.'

'I am everywhere.'

'Yes. I got your wife. You should have seen her face when I fucked her.'

'You will never win this game.'

'You think you can catch me? The police tried for years. Good luck, pal.'

[thelegendofclarke]

um arya wanting to be the leader of a pack is never addressed? she doesnt necessarily want to lead a pack, she just wants a pack. arya’s pack would consist of people she knows and loves, not hundreds of random men. the fact that nymeria is a pack leader is a doesnt mean arya is going to be one. after everything she has been through all arya will want is to be peaceful with people she loves not be in the middle of a war.

Sooo I completely disagree with like, 99% of this… And I am being generous with the 1% because while I do agree that Arya will “want to be with the people she loves,” I don’t think I agree with the context in which you are using it.  

But ok, you are bringing up a few different things here, so for the sake of attempting to be semi-organized i’m going to try to go point by point…

The fact that nymeria is a pack leader is a doesnt mean arya is going to be one.

Well, to be quite honest, I would argue that’s pretty much exactly what it means?

The direwolves are immeasurably important for the Stark children. They are (pretty heavy handed) metaphors for the children and their Starkness in many ways, and the wolves’ arcs are full of allegories and foreshadowing. Its continuously emphasized that the wolves are special. It’s brought up numerous times that they were “meant” for the Stark children, destined for and delivered to them by the Old Gods…

There’s not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years. AGOT, Bran I

“You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord…The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. “I am no Stark, Father.” Bran, AGoT

“What was it that Jon had said? When they found the pups in the snow? Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord. And he had killed Sansa’s, and for what?” Ned, AGOT

“These wolves are more than wolves, Robb. You must know that. I think perhaps the gods sent them to us. Your father’s gods, the old gods of the north.” Catelyn, ASoS

“He is part of you, Robb. To fear him is to fear you.”Catelyn, ASoSGhost did not count. Ghost was closer than a friend. Ghost was part of him.” Jon, ADWD

“Part of you is Summer, and part of Summer is you. You know that, Bran.” Jojen, ACoK

“… just as a part of you would remain in Summer if your boy’s flesh were to die upon the morrow.” Bryden, ADWD

“I am him and he is me. He feels what I feel.” Bran, ADWD

“‘Wolves and women wed for life,’ Haggon often said. ‘You take one, that’s a marriage. The wolf is part of you from that day on, and you’re part of him…’” Varamyr, ADWD

And having Nymeria be deeply connected to Arya’s fate won’t be the first time that it happens for a Stark child and their dire wolf.

Robb and Grey Wind died together, Robb’s last words were his wolf’s name.

Lady’s name is clearly symbolic of Sansa herself, as “Sansa was a lady at three.” Lady was killed as a sacrificial lamb for the Lannisters, punished for a crime she did not commit. Then Sansa became a soft of scapegoat/sacrificial lamb for them as well in Kings Landing, and shouldered the punishment for her family’s crimes against the throne. Just as she begged for Lady’s life in WF, she begged for her father’s life and for her own in KL.

Ghost has pretty much ~literally~ become his name by housing Jon’s spirit after he was killed by the Night’s Watch.  

I think Bran is going to be instrumental in bringing back the return of summer.

So what’s to say that Arya won’t become a leader, a skilled commander, a dedicated warrior, and a guardian of her people like Nymeria was?! The bond that each Stark has to their dire wolf wolf is completely unique and belongs only to them. Nymeria and Arya are obviously connected in a deep way, Nymeria is part of her. And honestly, I think that Arya’s connection with Nymeria is the strongest of all the Starks, including Jon who is currently posted up in his dire wolf’s body.

Despite only being together for a very brief period of time, Nymeria and Arya were able to form such a strong and and deeply cerebral bond that Arya wargs unconsciously into Nymeria pretty much every night. And when she warns, Arya cannot tell herself from; she essentially becomes Nymeria. She feels what Nymeria feels, senses what Nymeria senses, sees what Nymeria sees, and Nymeria’s pack is her pack.  Even though she doesn’t mean to do it, even though she isn’t even conscious of doing it, even though she doesn’t know it is Nymeria, even though they are different continents, the bond is still there. It defies time and space and distance…

The wolf dreams were the good ones. In the wolf dreams she was swift and strong, running down her prey with her pack at her heels. Arya, AFFC

I dreamed I was a wolf again. She could remember the smells best of all: trees and earth, her pack brothers, the scents of horse and deer and man, each different from the others, and the sharp acrid tang of fear, always the same. Some nights the wolf dreams were so vivid that she could hear her brothers howling even as she woke, and once Brea had claimed that she was growling in her sleep as she thrashed beneath the covers. She thought that was some stupid lie till Talea said it too. Arya, AFfC

She could hear the sound of her own breath, and the wolves as well, a great pack of them now. They are closer than the one I heard in the godswood, she thought.They are calling to me. Arya, ACoK

She was no little girl in the dream; she was a wolf, huge and powerful, and when she emerged from beneath the trees in front of them and bared her teeth in a low rumbling growl, she could smell the rank stench of fear from horse and man alike. Arya, ASoS

She dreamed of wolves most every night. A great pack of wolves, with her at the head. She was bigger than any of them, stronger, swifter, faster. […] And her brothers and sisters were with her, many and more of them, fierce and terrible and hers. Arya, ASoS

Her dreams were red and savage. The Mummers were in them, four at least, a pale Lyseni and a dark brutal axeman from Ib, the scarred Dothraki horse lord called Iggo and a Dornishman whose name she never knew. On and on they came, riding through the rain in rusting mail and wet leather, swords and axe clanking against their saddles. They thought they were hunting her, she knew with all the strange sharp certainty of dreams, but they were wrong. She was hunting them… She was no little girl in the dream; she was a wolf, huge and powerful, and when she emerged from beneath the trees in front of them and bared her teeth in a low rumbling growl, she could smell the rank stench of fear from horse and man alike. The Lyseni’s mount reared and screamed in terror, and the others shouted at one another in mantalk, but before they could act the other wolves came hurtling from the darkness and the rain, a great pack of them, gaunt and wet and silent. Arya, ASoS

Nymeria is even part of Arya’s false identity. When creating cat of the canals, arya’s story is that she came to braavos on a ship named Nymeria. And even when trying to be faceless, their bond is so deep that Arya cannot stop warging into Nymeria at night:

In her wolf dreams she was swift and strong, running down her prey with her pack at her heels. Arya, AFfC

I should not be dreaming wolf dreams, the girl told herself. I am a cat now, not a wolf. I am Cat of the Canals. The wolf dreams belonged to Arya of House Stark. Try as she might, though, she could not rid herself of Arya. It made no difference whether she slept beneath the temple or in the little room beneath the eaves with Brusco’s daughters, the wolf dreams still haunted her by night. Arya, AFFC

And Arya’s connection to the wolf pack is not just through Nymeria, their alpha. She comes across and/or senses members of the pack at various times during their March through the Riverlands. And when she does, she recognizes them, she communicates with them, and they acknowledge her.

“One of them came padding out from under the trees. He stared at her, and bared his teeth, and all she could think was how stupid she’d been and how Hot Pie would gloat when they found her half-eaten body the next morning. But the wolf turned and raced back into the darkness, and quick as that the eyes were gone.” Arya, ACoK

“She could hear the sound of her own breath, and the wolves as well, a great pack of them now. They are closer than the one I heard in the godswood, she thought. They are calling to me.” Arya, ACoK

“Once, from the crest of a ridge, she spied dark shapes crossing a stream in the valley behind them, and for half a heartbeat she feared that Roose Bolton’s riders were on them, but when she looked again she realized they were only a pack of wolves. She cupped her hands around her mouth and howled down at them, “Ahooooooooo, ahooooooooo.” When the largest of the wolves lifted its head and howled back, the sound made Arya shiver.” Arya, ASoS

“Somewhere far off she heard a wolf howling. It wasn’t very loud compared to the camp noise and the music and the low ominous growl of the river running wild, but she heard it all the same. Only maybe it wasn’t her ears that heard it.” Arya, ASoS

“They came upon three wolves devouring the corpse of a fawn. When Hot Pie’s horse caught the scent, he shied and bolted. Two of the wolves fled as well, but the third raised his head and bared his teeth, prepared to defend his kill. “Back off,” Arya told Gendry. “Slow, so you don’t spook him.” They edged their mounts away, until the wolf and his feast were no longer in sight.” Arya, ASoS

And while the wolves never display any type of hostility or aggression toward Arya and her friends, they cause all kinds of hell in The Riverlands. Most significantly, they seem to focus their aggression on people and places associated with the enemies of The North/House Stark: Lannister loyalists, Freys, Boltons, Red Wedding Participants and anti Tully forces.

“The wolves have grown terrible of late. There are places where a man alone would do well to find a tree to sleep in. In all my years the biggest pack I ever saw had fewer than a dozen wolves in it, but the great pack that prowls along the Trident now numbers in the hundreds. (…) I have been spared that, Seven save me, but I have heard them in the night, and more than once. So many voices … a sound to curdle a man’s blood. It even set Dog to shivering, and Dog has killed a dozen wolves.” He ruffled the dog’s head. “Some will tell you that they are demons. They say the pack is led by a monstrous she-wolf, a stalking shadow grim and grey and huge. They will tell you that she has been known to bring aurochs down all by herself, that no trap nor snare can hold her, that she fears neither steel nor fire, slays any wolf that tries to mount her, and devours no other flesh but man.” Brienne, AFfC

“After the toast Lady Amerei stopped weeping and the table talk turned to wolves, of the four-footed kind. Ser Danwell Frey claimed there were more of them about than even his grandfather could remember. “They’ve lost all fear of men. Packs of them attacked our baggage train on our way down from the Twins. Our archers had to feather a dozen before the others fled.” Ser Addam Marbrand confessed that their own column had faced similar troubles on their way up from King’s Landing.” Jaime, AFfC

The next day Ser Dermot of the Rainwood returned to the castle, empty-handed. When asked what he’d found, he answered, “Wolves. Hundreds of the bloody beggars.” He’d lost two sentries to them. The wolves had come out of the dark to savage them. “Armed men in mail and boiled leather, and yet the beasts had no fear of them. Before he died, Jate said the pack was led by a she-wolf of monstrous size. A direwolf, to hear him tell it. The wolves got in amongst our horse lines too. The bloody bastards killed my favorite bay.”… “A ring of fires round your camp might keep them off,” said Jaime, though he wondered. Could Ser Dermot’s direwolf be the same beast that had mauled Joffrey near the crossroads?” Jaime, AFfC

“I will hunt today,” Roose Bolton announced as Qyburn helped him into a quilted jerkin.“Is it safe, my lord?” Qyburn asked. “Only three days past, Septon Utt’s men were attacked by wolves. They came right into his camp, not five yards from the fire, and killed two horses.”“It is wolves I mean to hunt. I can scarcely sleep at night for the howling.” Bolton buckled on his belt, adjusting the hang of sword and dagger. “It’s said that direwolves once roamed the north in great packs of a hundred or more, and feared neither man nor mammoth, but that was long ago and in another land. It is queer to see the common wolves of the south so bold.”ACOK, Arya

“It’s been a bad year for wolves,” volunteered a sallow man in a travelstained green cloak. “Around the Gods Eye, the packs have grown bolder’n anyone can remember. Sheep, cows, dogs, makes no matter, they kill as they like, and they got no fear of men. It’s worth your life to go into those woods by night.”“Ah, that’s more tales, and no more true than the other.”“I heard the same thing from my cousin, and she’s not the sort to lie,” an old woman said. “She says there’s this great pack, hundreds of them, mankillers. The one that leads them is a she-wolf, a bitch from the seventh hell.” Arya, ACoK

“Men on horses, with flapping black and yellow and pink wings and long shiny claws in hand. Some of her younger brothers bared their teeth to defend the food they’d found, but she snapped at them until they scattered.” Arya, ASoS

arya wanting to be the leader of a pack is never addressed

Well obviously it’s never outright addressed, that would be far too easy. It’s true that Arya is not necessarily ambitious in that she thinks about being an alpha or a pack leader. But GRRM himself has said, “[I]f there’s one truth, I think, it’s that people who really desire power are the people who shouldn’t have it.” (x) He said this in reference to Jon potentially having power, and that he would be a good character to have in power because he didn’t really want it. I think this is true for Arya as well. The fact that Arya has never had any kind of overwhelming desire to be a leader is one of the reasons she would make sure a great one. 

GRRM has also specifically stated that Nymeria’s pack is not a Chekov’s Gun: “But you don’t hang a giant wolf pack on the wall unless you intend to use it.“ (x). So who is going to use it other than Arya? As I discussed above, Arya’s bond to Nymeria and her pack of giant, terrifying, man flesh chomping wolves is unique. No one but Arya has that particular bond.

Furthermore, while its true that Arya has never explicitly or directly expressed any desire to lead a pack, the “strength of the pack” is an extremely prevalent and prominent theme in here arc. Which leads into the next point…

arya’s pack would consist of people she knows and loves, not hundreds of random men.

I agree with the statement that Arya will want to be with the people she loves. However, I think you are failing to take into account Arya’s incredibly huge heart, and capacity to love and care about others, and to feel protective of and loyal to them. Arya fixates on this idea of “pack” and “my pack” and “finding a pack,” almost to the point of obsession, through out the series.

And Arya uses the term “pack” in a pretty liberal and inclusive manner. If you’re a friend or a family member or a loved one, or someone Arya cares about, or has known for a long time, or feels protective of, or even if you’re just a Northerner, you’re part of Arya’s pack.

“She would make much better time on her own, Arya knew, but she could not leave them. They were her pack, her friends, the only living friends that remained to her, and if not for her they would still be safe at Harrenhal, Gendry sweating at his forge and Hot Pie in the kitchens. If the Mummers catch us, I’ll tell them that I’m Ned Stark’s daughter and sister to the King in the North. I’ll command them to take me to my brother, and to do no harm to Hot Pie and Gendry.” Arya, ASoS

Wolves. Arya went cold. Robb’s men, and my father’s. She felt drawn toward the cages. (…)She looked at their filthy hair and scraggly beards and reddened eyes, at their dry, cracked, bleeding lips. Wolves, she thought again. Like me. Was this her pack? How could they be Robb’s men? She wanted to hit them. She wanted to hurt them. She wanted to cry. They all seemed to be looking at her, the living and the dead alike. The old man had squeezed three fingers out between the bars. “Water,” he said, “water.”Arya, ASoS

“There is no place here for Arya of House Stark, she was thinking. Arya’s place was Winterfell, only Winterfell was gone. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. She had no pack, though. They had killed her pack, Ser Ilyn and Ser Meryn and the queen, and when she tried to make a new one all of them ran off, Hot Pie and Gendry and Yoren and Lommy Greenhands, even Harwin, who had been her father’s man. She shoved through the doors, out into the night.” Arya, AFFC

And Arya’s pack means everything to her, she will do anything to protect them. Arya’s most impulsive and/or courageous moments and kind, heroic acts are born out of protectiveness and loyalty to her pack. We see it for the first time when she defends Mycah while armed with nothing but a stick against Joffrey who is armed with a sword:

“He’s my friend,” Arya said sharply. “You leave him alone.”“A butcher’s boy who wants to be a knight, is it?” Joffrey swung down from his mount, sword in hand. “Pick up your sword, butcher’s boy,” he said, his eyes bright with amusement. “Let us see how good you are.”Mycah stood there, frozen with fear.Joffrey walked toward him. “Go on, pick it up. Or do you only fight little girls?”“She ast me to, m'lord,” Mycah said. “She ast me to.”Sansa had only to glance at Arya and see the flush on her sister’s face to know the boy was telling the truth, but Joffrey was in no mood to listen. The wine had made him wild. “Are you going to pick up your sword?”Mycah shook his head. “It’s only a stick, m'lord. It’s not no sword, it’s only a stick.”“And you’re only a butcher’s boy, and no knight.” Joffrey lifted Lion’s Tooth and laid its point on Mycah’s cheek below the eye, as the butcher’s boy stood trembling. “That was my lady’s sister you were hitting, do you know that?” A bright bud of blood blossomed where his sword pressed into Mycah’s flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy’s cheek.“Stop it!” Arya screamed. She grabbed up her fallen stick.Sansa was afraid. “Arya, you stay out of this.”“I won’t hurt him … much,” Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher’s boy.Arya went for him.Sansa slid off her mare, but she was too slow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the prince’s head, and then everything happened at once before Sansa’s horrified eyes. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. Mycah ran for the trees as fast as his legs would take him. Arya swung at the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion’s Tooth and sent her broken stick flying from her hands. The back of his head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, “No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you, you’re spoiling it,” but no one was listening. Arya scooped up a rock and hurled it at Joffrey’s head. She hit his horse instead, and the blood bay reared and went galloping off after Mycah. “Stop it, don’t, stop it!” Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities, terrible words, filthy words. Arya darted back, frightened now, but Joffrey followed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against a tree. …“Arya whirled and heaved the sword into the air, putting her whole body into the throw. The blue steel flashed in the sun as the sword spun out over the river. It hit the water and vanished with a splash. Joffrey moaned. Arya ran off to her horse, Nymeria loping at her heels.” Sansa, AGoT

Another example was when Gendry was captured by Clegane and his men, she was willing to risk everything, including her own freedom and life to save him:

“The only thing that mattered was that they had Gendry. Even if he was stubborn and stupid, she had to get him out. She wondered if they knew the queen wanted him.…She thought that the dark might let her crawl close and free Gendry, but the guards kindled torches off the cookfire. A squire brought meat and bread to the two guarding the storehouse, and later two more men joined them and they all passed a skin of wine from hand to hand. When it was empty the others left, but the two guards remained, leaning on their spears.…Where’s the Bull?” asked 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 and Lommy exchanged a look. “How many?”“I couldn’t count,” Arya admitted. “Twenty at least, but only two on the door.”Hot Pie looked as if he were going to cry. “We can’t fight twenty.”“You only need to fight one. I’ll do the other and we’ll get Gendry out and run.”“We should yield,” Lommy said. “Just go in and yield.”Arya shook her head stubbornly.“Then just leave him, Arry,” Lommy pleaded. “They don’t know about the rest of us. If we hide, they’ll go away, you know they will. It’s not our fault Gendry’s captured.”“You’re stupid, Lommy,” Arya said angrily. “You’ll die if we don’t get Gendry out. Who’s going to carry you?”“You and Hot Pie.”“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.” She looked at Hot Pie. “Are you coming?”Hot Pie glanced at Lommy, at Arya, at Lommy again. “I’ll come,” he said reluctantly.” Arya, ACOK

Even when you look at Arya’s infamous “list,” it isn’t just people who have done her harm. It is almost exclusively focused on people who have hurt or wronged her pack mates. Arya doesn’t hate for herself, she hates on behalf of her pack, she is angry on behalf of her pack, she seeks justice on behalf of her pack. Just some examples:

Sandor Clegane, for killing Mycah.

Ilyn Payne, Cersei and Joffrey for killing her father

Cersei and Joffrey for killing Lady, Sansa’s direwolf.

Ser Amory Lorche, for killing Yoren.

Dunsen, for taking Gendry’s prized bull helmet.

Raff/The Sweetling, for killing Lommy

This strong, pack based mentality comes from something here father told her, that she has never forgotten and still carries with her:

Let me tell you something about wolves, child. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Summer is the time for squabbles. In winter, we must protect one another, keep each other warm, share our strengths. So if you must hate, Arya, hate those who would truly do us harm.” Ned Stark, AGoT

Nymeria has something that Arya desires with all her heart and soul. She has a loyal pack of brothers and sisters; a family who who are “fierce and terrible and hers.” Arya’s “pack” is her people. She is loyal to them, she loves them, and she protects them. And there is no limit on Arya’s ability to love.

after everything she has been through all arya will want is to be peaceful with people she loves not be in the middle of a war.

I addressed the “being with the people she loves” statement above. As for the “all arya will want is to be peaceful with people she loves not be in the middle of a war” part, I am not entirely sure what you mean by it, but I am going to go with how I am interpreting it…

GRRM did not have Arya decide against getting rid of Needle for nothing. He didn’t have her be taught by Syrio for nothing. He didn’t have her join the faceless men for nothing. Just like Nymeria’s wolf pack isn’t a Chekov’s gun, I don’t think any of these things are either.

Arya is not spending all this time honing her strategy and fighting skills to never use them. Just like Bran isn’t honing his warning and greenseer skills to never use them; and Sansa isn’t honing her political and diplomatic skills to never use them; and Jon isn’t honing his Lord Commander skills to never use them. They are all learning these things for a reason. And I don’t think the reason is for them to go sit on their arses in Winterfell, as much as I would love for that to be the case. I love Arya, she is probably one of my favorite characters not just in this series, but ever written tbh. Of course I don’t want for her to have to go through any more of the pain, or fear, or violence, or heartache that is war; I hate how much trauma she has been put through already. But in ASoIaF, war is a reality; the whole story is about the war for the continued existence of mankind. Arya is not a passive character; on the contrary, she is a pretty damn active one. She cannot and will not sit idly by why there are threats to her home or the people she cares for and the pack she loves.

I’m not saying that Arya is going to spend the rest of her days at war, I don’t think that at all. I’m also not really even saying Arya has be be a soldier or a fighter? It doesn’t have to be that literal, rarely anything in ASoIaF ever is. Nymeria of Rhoynar wasn’t a soldier, but she was still a leader. She still commanded armies and led her people and was a conqueror. I think it’s a common misconception about her, but Nymeria was a war leader but not a warrior, a commander rather than a combatant. But that has done nothing to diminish her importance or her legend, her reputation still proceeds her.

Arya specifically chose Nymeria of Rhoynar for her wolf’s namesake. Nymeria is the only direwolf who is named after a historical figure, or even a human being… I do think Arya, Nymeria, and her wolf pack are going to be instrumental not only in taking back Winterfell and her people’s home, but also possibly in the Battle for the Dawn. Nymeria of Rhoynar wasn’t able to save her home from destruction, but I hope that Arya Stark will. I hope she can be a Northern leader and legend, a strategist and counselor, a conqueror and hero, who can help bring her people the salvation they need.  

And you don’t have to agree with all of this, or any of it for that matter. But it feels like there is so much there… Too much there to really ignore.