Valar morghulis

Yes, I know this is me being a jerk due to Sunday being the official day of rest+recreation. Unfortunately, since I do not have a life while being somewhat convinced that it would take many years to have a local S'porean taking the world by storm, I'm left with no choice whatsoever. At least when people said iTunes=more cost efficient, they're not really lying. On a side note, I'm not interested to know whether I can earn 340K per gig because I'm merely a local Chinese. And no, I'm not out to be some attention whore, rest assured. Am I spontaneous local bastard? Yes. Am I a trolling god? There's only one SMRT Ltd (Feedback). Period.

Above correct statement=greatest proof that I will die before 40 w/o $$$ and gf.

With the anti-trolling artillery deployment finally done...

WARNING!!!!

Due the nature of any/every post under A Song of Ice and Fire tag, I won't hesitate to use vulgarities sans censorship. I've tried that for every ASoIaF post thus far, Huor Stark* keeps marching on.

*Don't bother Googling for Huor Stark. That's my own shit b/c this ITE grad only enjoy analyzing and solving pointless lulz.

An intro to a girl whom every pedo fears

Yes, I know this is a shit joke based on some Arya meme done to the death. However, it must be noted that Arya is truly a little girl capable of killing anyone. Dany once stated her confidence that she wouldn't die halfway, but that's because the Mother of Dragons had never understood the brutality behind death. Indeed when Jaqen H'ghar taught young Arya the title of this post, he failed to explain to her what it really means. [1]

As it turned out, Valar morghulis means "all men must die" in High Valyrian. Something which would end up being Arya's character focus and her source of many an anguish. Please note that High Valyrian doesn't subscribe to gender segregation within this context.

So what is Arya like as a girl?

1. "Ah, Arya. You have a wildness in you, child. The ‘Wolf Blood', my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch. It brought them both to an early grave."

~Ned Stark

2. "Arya had always been harder to tame."

~Catelyn Stark (Tully)

3. "And Arya, well...Ned's visitors would oft mistake her for a stableboy if they rode into the yard unannounced. Arya was a trial, it must be said. Half a boy, half a wolf pup. Forbid her anything and it became her heart's desire. She had Ned's long face, and brown hair that always looked as though a bird had been nesting in it. I despaired of ever making a lady of her. She collected scabs as other girls collected dolls, and would say anything that came into her head."

~Catelyn Stark (Tully)

4. "A boy has more courage than sense."

~Jaqen H'ghar (on "Arry")

A survivor on every count

In spite of whatever idiocy costing him a head and so much more, Ned was actually right on his youngest daughter. It's been described that Arya looked much more like a Stark than a Tully [2], for all we know this might be Ser Martin's way of telling us how the Starks were like before Aegon I crashed Westeros. [3] This is best exemplified in the latter volumes where she ended up in Braavos. However, it must be added that said talent (and I really mean it as one) had its origin from Braavos.

How to be a lady holding a Needle

Syrio Forel, former First Sword of Braavos. What makes him so special? Firstly, Ned had accepted a long time ago that Arya wasn't meant to be some prissy noblewoman waiting to be married off. This was Sansa's dream, but a prince Arya has never desired. Therefore, Stark Sr needed to make a choice. Should he try binding Arya against her will or allow her to run free? Remember what got Lyanna killed, understand as well how much of a Lady Stark is Arya. In short, Ned never wanted his youngest daughter to live under any royal/nobility's yoke. In fact, Lyanna once stated that even if she was to marry Robert Baratheon rather than her beloved Dragon Prince, certain things would remain unchanged. [4] To sum this logic in a nutshell, Ned didn't see any need to curtail Arya's freedom despite whatever misgivings from an overprotective Cat. [5] At least in Syrio's famous last words, "not today".

Thereafter, let us dissect (no pun intended, folks) the nature of Syrio's martial ethos.

1. All men are made of water, this is the fundamental of fundamentals. I believe when Syrio talked about water, it's not necessarily referring to blood. Rather, he's referring to the symbolic meaning. Blood quintessentially means life, this was especially significant during the Old Testament era [6] where it was said that no one is allowed to eat any meat with blood in it. Why? Because blood basically means life. Just don't ask me anything on biblical theology please.

You see, when you take a person's life away (literally that is), he/she dies. The art of Water Dancing is all about killing the opponent outright. No matter how strong you are, no man can ever be God.

Water leaks out from your head, you die.

Water leaks out from your heart, you surely die.

Water leaks out from your throat, you confirm die.

While 'tis true to say Braavos was at least partially inspired by the Iberian culture, it is to my opinion that Water Dancing is something inspired chiefly by Deutsche Schule, otherwise known as the German school of fencing. Of course Ser Martin did mod many things, but the basics still stay untouched, i.e. one stroke to kill.

2. This is not the Westeros' dance; this is the Braavos dance. Syrio summed it up the best when he described derisively the nature of Westerosi swordsmanship. Hacking and cutting with nary a fluid grace and cunning guile. Herein, allow me to have the temerity in making this parallel:

Middlesbrough vs Man Utd, Aitor Karanka vs David Moyes. Whether such what-if happening in Old Trafford or at the Riverside doesn't matter. Likewise, it doesn't matter what manner of a winning 11 would start the match. If Middlesbrough possessed inferior players, it only means Utd had only one third victory stashed inside. If Karanka managed to outwit Moyes, one third victory will still be offset by a two third advantage.

I know I suck at mathematics since primary school, but I know what I'm talking about. In short, the Braavos dance is NOT only about fighting pretty, but above all boasting a wide array of technique tantamount to actual pragmatism. Key to victory or defeat lies in understanding the situation before the opponent.
If you can win, go ahead.
If you cannot win, why fight?
If there's no point in winning, one must then make the correct call.

3. The target is small, have you ever heard of this famous idiom? The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Figuratively, it means using the law of psychology. Literally wise, we would need to explore the law of physics. This is why neutrals tend to laud world class players like Messi, CR7, Ribéry, and Zizou as... well, world class players.

The only Q&A that matters in life

Memes are meant to be funny, but not where Nymeria is concerned.

This would be Syrio's last moment before Ser Martin officially declared him MIA. If there's any trait this amigo of House Stark sorely lacks, it would be going AWOL. Many observers said Ned's imminent execution was the turning point, but I'd rather call that particular episode the first major catalyst. Syrio's final advice was the real first cause behind Arya's warped development.

When we say "Not today" before the Grim Reaper himself, it merely means we live to fight another day. We can try cheating death on literal terms, but not forever. You can be saved from cancer, but it doesn't mean you won't die from cardiac arrest. You can detect heart murmurs via ECG, but it doesn't mean that pretty radiologist won't discover any anomaly via MRI.

What I'm trying to say is this: every minute lived is a minute gone, every second thereafter means nothing till the fat lady sings. In life, we would have many regrets and ultimately a common death. This is exactly why every decision made shouldn't be taken lightly. Life is all about decision making, the time had came for Arya to decide her fate.

The most precious lesson Syrio Forel left behind was not about fighting, but rather fighting in order to stay alive. This was why he said thus to little Arya:
"My words lied. My eyes and my arm shouted out the truth, but you were not seeing."

~To be cont'd due to current self disciplinary measures enforced N ages ago...

[1]: No less deliberately due to his identity both outed and unknown. Ser Martin really enjoys doing irony.

[2]: In the greatest show of genetic paradox, a certain Bastard of Winterfell also possesses this interesting trait.

[3]: Statement was meant to be unnecessary, please no internet theories. At least don't quote me on anything unsubstantial.
[4]: http://unanswered-bloke-works.blogspot.com/2012/11/q-on-that-most-tragic-romance-of-decade.html
[5]: Something which we have to credit her for if we're talking about being humane and not someone like this.
[6]: Actually come to think of it, I believe the same goes for Islam due to how contemporary intellectuals define monotheism, i.e. the three Abrahamic faiths. Jennifer Walters melayu was right in saying I'm actually quite knowledgeable.