#interested me or that i thought could be involved in plot/prophecy stuff so i listen harder for certain stuff during fire & blood

[thewingedwolf]

the arryn line has died out so many times they always have a backup line ready to be the next arryn, these bitches are just sooooo bad at living. everyone’s always picking on the starks for getting nearly wiped out but damn ned & cat really hunkered down and repopulated the hell out of the family tree, like the starklings aren’t doing that bad, meanwhile you just like, sneeze too hard in the direction of the eyrie and the whole arryn line is on the brink of extinction, but it’s okay, they follow strict osha guidelines in the vale and they have a protocol for this very common scenario

[angel-deux-writes]

Now that Honor Compels Me is finally done, I wanted to do a round-up of all the things I remember that made me say “I feel like I need to tell someone what almost happened here” or “I should probably explain this later lol”, along with my reasons for cutting the last few chapters/what would have happened in them. It’s prob going to be very long, which I apologize for, but I’ll bold the headings so that you can skip to the parts you’re interested in!

I’ll reblog it and add more as I think of them, but for now: 

Dark Dany: VERY originally, like way back in the OG plotline from 2017, Dany was an antagonist, and Margaery Tyrell was Robb’s queen. Dany would have died fighting Cersei in Kings Landing, with the same result (Cersei was ALWAYS going to go out by wildfire lmao). I changed it both because a) it seemed like too many Conveniently Alive people for one story and b) after the shitty ending Dany got, I decided I would try my hand at writing a Dany I could actually root for! For years I’ve been a big proponent/fan of the idea that Dany is eventually going to be an antagonist in the books, but the way it was handled in the show was so irredeemably stupid (gassing her up and gaslighting/scolding her fans later who didn’t see it coming, making her switch at the drop of a hat for the majority of the general audience just for the sake of a twist, etc). I ended up really loving the version of Dany I created. I tried not to soften her TOO much, which is why I had her wrestle with herself even up to the very end (like thinking “I won” after the explosion in Kings Landing and hating herself for it). I didn’t want all the flaws that make me not support canon Dany to disappear just because I started to like her! I do think that writing this story made me like Dany more overall. I still don’t support her canon actions, and I also probably won’t in the books, but I came to find her more compelling as I wrote her. I’m a lot less afraid to write her now than I have been in the past, though I’ll continue to add warnings to all my stories that feature Dark Dany, bc yall Dany stans have been through enough. 

More Death: At various points Dany, Theon, Bran, and Arya were going to die. 

Dany was already pointed out. 

I had Theon die in the Long Night in the plot outline just out of laziness/in keeping with canon, until I remembered that Redemption = Death is stupid and I wasn’t gonna do it. 

Bran was going to die after warging into Drogon and being caught in the explosion of the Red Keep. That actually stayed in until a few weeks ago! I told a bunch of people that Bran was going to die! It was the plan all along! And then I realized that “somebody has to die” was a shitty way of looking at it, and I changed it. I think a lot of this process of changing things was me trying to write what I thought people wanted vs what story I actually wanted to tell. Sure it’s a little fairy tale ending this way, but it’s my story, and who cares? Happy endings are nice. Fuck off. 

Arya...I probably wouldn’t have ever actually gone through with it, because I am a coward, but there was an idea of a VERY heavy-handed “revenge is bad” message with Arya where Arya was much more savage and instead of turning back into Arya, she was turning farther and farther away from her. She couldn’t reconcile with the Lannisters, she rejected her bonds with her family. In the end she would be unable to let go of her list, would refuse to grow and change and realize that she had other things to live for, and she would have set off one of Qyburn’s traps in the Red Keep, igniting the whole thing, killing Drogon and Rhaegal (and Bran) and leading to the deaths of thousands. AGAIN I was like “that’s too dark” and scrapped the idea, but it was definitely toyed with. I love Arya as a character, so this plotline for her would have definitely been more a reaction to fans of her who seem to want her to hold on to that vengeful seed inside of her. 

Prophecies: Listen, I do not give a fuck about any prophecies. I really don’t. Every fantasy universe has some kind of involved backstory that some fans love to get mired in, but I am not one of those fans. Still, I tried to deliver on two of them lmao. 

Azor Ahai ended up being Jaime, with Ice/Oathkeeper and Maiden’s Heart being Lightbringer. Originally, I had Brienne killing the Night King, without any thought to the prophecy at all, but that was another case of “people will like it if Brienne kills the Night King” and I realized that I would like it better if it was Jaime. I’m not sure how it checks out literally, but I figured it worked with a) tempering in water = splitting Ice. b) heart of a lion = Jaime’s change of heart after the Highgarden Battle. c) Nissa Nissa = Brienne’s “maiden’s heart” breaking during the Highgarden Battle. It was Brienne who did the stabbing, but it was Jaime who made it happen, so I figured that made sense. I made sure to mention Brienne’s tears and all the smoke when Jaime was wounded, so he could be “reborn amidst salt and smoke” or whatever, and I had Bran mention a rebirth for him in the next chapter. Which was maybe a little on the nose, but IDK GUYS I FEEL LIKE IT CHECKS OUT! 

I know the show never dove into the Valonqar prophecy at all, and I think we all know that I absolutely HATE the idea of Jaime being the Valonqar, so I would rather not think about it AT ALL. But Bran AND Rhaegal were both kind of responsible for Cersei’s death in the end, so take your pick of which Little Brother actually did the deed! 

Deleted Chapters: I promise you, you are not missing anything with these deleted chapters. They were always messy, and no matter how many times I edited them, they felt too forced and “now let me explain the ending”. 

Sansa: Sansa’s chapter followed Jaime’s and was primarily about her going to Robb and Dany and the three of them talking about the future of Westeros. The Dany/Robb conversation about it was originally absent--the last Robb chapter was added to fill in the gaps when I deleted this and the other chapters--so this would have been the first time it was discussed. It then would have had a time jump and a wedding scene, which I could never make work! It was such a jarring time jump in the middle of a chapter, and I didn’t think the wedding was particularly exciting to write about lmao. 

Tyrion: Tyrion’s chapter would have been Dany being crowned and announcing to everyone that she and her people are going to be dismantling the monarchy and setting up a new government. I think I had her give a period of a few years in which she and Robb would rule, but they were going to be transitioning governments in that time. Kind of the same idea as in What a King Should Look Like. Bronn also showed up, DID in fact get a minor holdfast, and was mocked by both Lannisters for bowing out before he could have earned himself a better one. Olenna found some bastard daughter to legitimize and continue her house.

Brienne: Brienne’s arc was a lot more drawn out in the original draft, and I ended up editing it a few times and making it shorter. VERY originally, this chapter would have been her wedding with Jaime, at which she has the “wow he actually loves me, huh?” realization. Which I thought was funny as I plotted it out, but in execution it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, so I moved the realization to an earlier chapter. The original was also going to be Jaime giving up his name entirely, and Brienne cloaking him, but as we have discussed before, I am in fact a coward, so I just deleted the whole chapter lmao. In all seriousness, at this point the endings just felt like Return of the King, and Into the West was actually the chosen song for this chapter, because I knew even as I was writing it that I was doing Too Much lmao. 

Robb: Robb’s last chapter was essentially just a total wrap up chapter. Just Robb and Dany being sappy, Robb being happy he was still alive, and the two of them planning the future. They were at Riverrun for this part, i’m pretty sure, or it might have been Dragonstone? I had trouble even filling this chapter with enough words for it to be a full chapter, because it was basically just an epilogue. As the story progressed, this chapter felt more and more like I was just performing to the “Robb’s Alive” crowd, which I didn’t particularly want to do, because Robb being alive was always a feature, not the focus, of this story. 

That’s all the stuff I can think of for now! If anyone has any particular questions you can message me or inbox me about them and I’d be happy to talk about it! 

[childrenofathoria-rp-blog]

◆Out Of Character Information◆

Name/Age: Cas, 30 (Admin Cassiel) Preferred Pronouns: She/Her Timezone: EST Desired Character: Alastair

◆Character Information◆

(1)  What pronouns will your character be using? Would you like to list their sexuality at this time?:

⇻ Alastair will use he/him pronouns and his sexuality will be fluid for the time being though I know he has a lot of kids-- I'm sure pleasure could be with whomever just not sure yet.

(2)  Any changes or comments?:

⇻ Nope!

(3) Why this character?:

⇻ I have consistently played werewolves in Athoria. I started with a ronin then moved onto an Alpha Born who was a stray without a pack. After so many years (four to be exact) we are all in agreement it's time for me to run the pack. We have never had an opportunity to dive into it in the last few seasons for many reasons or excuses, and with a different timeline I have a chance to get into what is going on in Vargulf Territory. To offer our members a deeper way to plot with me leading the charge is extremely motivating as an admin and as a member myself. With so many connections with the wolves I felt me taking on this role would aid our members greatly with their connections without concerns for pack canon.

(4) Interpret this character:

⇻ HERITAGE: Alastair is a wolf. There are many lupus wolves in Anshega after 1500 years, but there is only a handful that lived as real wolves before Gaia blessed them with shapeshifting. I am enamored with that piece of the story. How amazing and strange of a process that was. To be a wild wolf leading a pack then undergoing a transformation into these unknown skins. The pain, and confusion. Establishing a new language and then dealing with humans for the first time. His position as Alpha has never changed from that day and I want to explore why that is. There are pieces in Elsu's bio that states that they knew ‘if they followed Alastair all would be okay.’ It’s those types of canon lines that fill me with a muse to find out how he managed to carry this responsibility for so long.

⇻ PERSONALITY EXPANDED: Alastair is one to roam the streets fully transformed and to travel often in his wolven form. There is no doubt what he is and I can’t imagine him ever appearing completely in his homid form. The size alone of his Urshul phase is massive and intimidating and a stand on his dominance. Alastair is one to always engage first, and I am certain this aggression has steered away many wolves from challenging him directly and why the Beta position is sought after the most. I want him to not speak his mind and talk carefully to see what the other person will do first. He lives in the present and is burdened by the future and with it all allows his pack to live exactly how he wants them too. What a glorious position to be in. To know without doubt that his decisions are shaping the future for the clan-- even if some things are lies. The larger image is vital for their pack life and Alastair is one who cherishes any accomplishment that helps his people.

He isn't a scholar and doesn't choose to issue out lazy commands. If a house needs to be repaired and he is nearby, he will drag Tristan or any of his wolves into helping him fix it. His hands on approach I believe comes from this need to reassure. No task is beneath him, and he will make sure that if someone asks for something he can manage to give them his time of day. I also think this puts him in a position to hold his pack accountable. They can always expect he knows the bulk of what is happening in the territory and the unknown if their pack master will ‘show up to something’ randomly keeps some of the troublemakers in line.  

⇻ PLOT MOTIVATORS: (1) Peace. It's an easy way to look at it, but Alastair is a predator who is on the front lines with the clear intent to engage in battle should the need arise. His hostility could have met with Franco Athor-- it didn’t. There has always been this history with Athoria that Franco Athor was this all encompassing, passionate leader everyone wanted to follow. I’d like to believe that if anyone else had presented this Kingdom and Peace Treaty to Alastair there could have been a different outcome. I think there is slight tension with Nathaniel as King now but Alastair understands change better than many mortals. He will be patient and see what happens but I believe he’s at the ready should things shift unfavorably. 

(2) Expansion: I believe the depth of his relationships vary vastly almost to the point that they can seem fake. There is a necessary front that an Alpha must wear while engaged with the general population and I want to explore the layers of how he is on an individual basis with certain pack members and those people he is meeting with outside the territory. I can picture him having many mates and many lovers who just want to be with him. Those intimate relations make him feel alive and wanted on a far deeper and spiritual way than his title. I like the idea of his people loving Alastair dearly, and I think because of the prophecy, he takes advantage of their feelings and lets himself feel loved as if it can bring him some peace to the torment he's hiding from all of them.

(3) Learning: Alastair's plotting will increasingly revolve around the vampires and the Kingdom. I want him to explore the gifted humans in depth, especially the ones who are of Earth magic and have a connection with Gaia. I am confident he believes making alliances with those mortals, and their families will prove to secure a layer of protection to his people even if people don't know that is what he's doing. I want him to be recruiting white witches to move to Hala and would like to see if I can get some of our members to have their characters consider moving there and maybe work on plots that revolve around protections and maybe enchantments. Also healing things, anything to better the lives of his pack.

(4) Conflict: As far as the vampires go. I want Alastair to kill them all. LOL Not entirely but maybe so-- but this will be the largest 'irrational' piece of his personality, and I will not play it down. I want people to read his thoughts and see his attitudes as intense and violent, and I want it to cause problems all around. There is a lot that won’t understand the reason for why he does these things and this will be the drive to protect everything that is his without explanation. This aggression is aligned with being secretly burdened and triggered by the idea of the prophecy and knowing only he can work out a plan because he wants his people to live peaceful, happy lives until it unfolds. It's selfless and stubborn, and I want this lashing out to be extreme. I also think this all stems from an ingrained wolfish mindset that wants to protect his people which will add a layer of species elements into things for me to explore.

With the Kingdom, Alastair's role will be driven by who else is in his pack so we can work on how to incorporate time into Brailston and Dragos. This lingering tension between the clans will spill naturally into the King stuff, and I expect if we can build enough of it-- that King Nathaniel might realize how dangerous these two groups could get. I'm very interested to see how the main plot affects the Pack and how I can encourage things to spiral out of control.

⇻ PACK HEADCANONS:

⇻ HALA: I think the people in Hala are a bunch of hardworking, lively, and loyal people. The pride of wolves is contagious, and I'm confident the humans after a 1000 years have been swept up in it. I imagine the town working together for everything from weddings to births, or ceremonies with the pack. I can see people gathering about on the full moon just to run with the wolves and feel a freedom as a unit. I think it will be cheesy to an outsider how much they love Gaia and the Earth. Talking to trees, and listening to the wind but it’s just part of their collective spirituality and I think the Church will be a fun conflict to add into the fray-- including Miervaldis and their many temples.

⇻ DETAILS: The pack numbers wise is in the thousands, primarily human surprisingly. The wolves in his pack are a mixture of lupus and bitten but the lupus reign supreme in numbers. I usually would say that a pack this size would need at least three beta's, but I think having the one will be a challenge Alastair could explore as a plot for himself. The bulk of the day to day business falls on certain wolves who oversee productions and quick questions that don't need to bother Alastair about. I'd like to see a few members essentially have to report in and fill him in on anything important as he will be primarily focused on the much larger picture-- even if he makes time to work on small tasks in town. It will be a balance I will need to perfect while writing it all out.

⇻ NEGATIVE: I think there is tension between some of the lupus wolves and the humans/homids. We are in a delicate time with the vampires emerging and I believe hostility will probably leak into problems in Hala if I wanted to stir the trouble there among themselves. Prejudice is a very canon element between the bitten wolves and their lupus kin and adding in these hybrids as well could offer lots of opportunity to make things difficult for Alastair. Anshega is massive, taking up most of the Vargulf Territory and the population of Hala. Even those humans and hybrids who are not formally in the pack hold an alliance with the wolves just by residing there. The responsibility to his people is solely driven by wanting to see them flourish and live their lives-- mortal or not. There are lots of places to stick some deep plotting points for myself to exploit for our members with affecting this one area alone.  

◆ Interview Questions ◆

(1) What is the process that the humans or hybrids who wish to be turned into werewolves undergo when it involves you directly?

⇻ "If they are brave enough to approach me with such a request I take great pride in being the one to transform them. It's not something to take lightly, and I tend to warn those who are mortal to consider living most of their lives before undergoing the change," Alastair paused with a tired sigh, peering out towards a group of kids playing with a blown up stomach of a goat. The wolf smiled woefully at the scene. "I have watched many perish in their attempts, most dying by my side screaming in excoriating pain while Rahu takes their life over granting them immortality. It is this reason I find myself limiting who we change so I tend to be the one to do it. Mortality is to be cherished, and the humans in our care have learned to value such a gift from their gods because of my stand on it. They can’t go to their heaven-- they lose humanity-- and maybe their life in the process. It’s a heavy choice."

(2) Is there a place in the country that you find yourself visiting more than others? Why?

"Miss Blackwood takes such care with all the gardens I can not help myself in visiting them on their behalf. Outside of the territory, I am most interested in Miervaldis and how the gifted have managed not to be as organized as my pack. Their numbers seem to challenge those without magic, and I am curious as to why that is and how their magic works,” Alastair leaned back on his chair looking his ankles together. “Miervaldis is a safe place to inquire without high risks, and I have visited there more in the last thirty years than anywhere else. These gifted beings have the capabilities to do some wondrous magic but I fear they will also cause unbalance. It’s-- not entirely natural. Regardless-- going to Miervaldis with Elsu is one of my favorite places."

◆Writing Sample:◆

Hala slept. The moonlight was enough to provide decent sight from his position up top a crescent ridge filled with wildflowers. Alastair knew the land had changed in this spot the greatest as the years have passed. The Earth was shifting her influence deep under the soils and rock of the country and giving shapes to the rolling landscape that was Vargulf Territory currently. Alastair believed in a few hundred-- maybe thousand years there could be a mountain here. A towering shadow of rock to provide additional protection from the North. Maybe Trinity Bay would also cease its horror and become something beautiful and welcome for the inhabitants around her.

Every change was accepted with his immortality. It wasn't difficult to fall in love with the concept that with time came change. Nothing, even himself as an immortal stayed stagnant and the same. He had stretches of time filled with stupidity and irrationality, others littered in babies and mates to over populate Hala to the point of expansion. Darker times were filled with death or losing some of his wolves. He's been through a human's life fifteen plus times over and ever still; he's still ready for more.

There is an end in sight. Alastair knew of when his last breath would exhale, and whose blood would be soaked into his fur and especially-- how he was to die. He was aware of what faces the creatures would be to cause such horror and yet-- below Hala slept.

A smile tugged on his face, stretching the tightly curled hairs along his jaw.

"You are thinking too much again," Inga chuckled, her voice always heavy in sarcasm and served to make the old wolf laugh. They didn't say more right away, allowed the presence of one another settle into a peaceful aura of understanding. Inga should know what was to come-- more should other than Elsu, but Alastair wanted them happy. If an ending was so clearly written and warned he didn't believe it could be changed. So why prepare for it? Was he then allowing them to walk into it without warning? Maybe. But time was the only guarantee life had to hold onto. It always progressed forward, and when you lived in the present such fears of the future didn't have to matter.

"I heard about the fire in the quarry, what happened?" Alastair scratched fingers through his beard, leaning forward in his crouch to peer further over the hill. His ears were partially phase listening to a family of rabbits scurry out into the carrot field in hopes to raiding the family's food supply. Even after all this time, that instinct to leap down and chase those little animals was deeply carved into his soul. He resisted only from his age even though the small animals had clearly caught his attention more than his beta's.

"They aren't sure; there was nothing that looked like it could have quickly caught flame as it had. Rumors are there might be a witch among us that haven't said anything about their powers," Inga continued to watch the city in the distance while Alastair rose up from the ground. Grass clung to his knees and now resided between his toes. The scent of spring filled his chest, exposing different layers of emotions over his face while he took in a mighty inhale and released it into a tired sigh.

"It was probably an accident, but even still see if we can weed them out. I don't want anyone getting hurt," Alastair peered over to Inga and offered a lopsided grin. She narrowed her gaze on him suspiciously and it made the old wolf rumble another chuckle. "It's a quiet night, let us run."