:>

main art on tt (@c6rr0tz) 18 Czech🍻 COMMISSIONS OPEN

[c6rr0tz]

(Valyrian and Valyrian adjacent edition)

Mary Linton Making Mary a Hightower is partially inspired by Alicent Hightower, BUT this is in no way personality wise. Rather, I like the idea of Mary coming from an ancient and very religious house to explain why she and Arthur could not marry despite both (eventually) being of noble standing. Whatever relationship they had in their youth happened BEFORE Arthur was legitimized, and once Mary’s father found out, he immediately separated them and married Mary off to a Targaryen. I am still deciding if she was married to the heir and became queen, but she was at least married to someone close to the throne. 

Her and her older husband had one son in this au, who they named Baelor after Baelor the Blessed (religious theme here). If this kid is the heir to the throne at some point, he might have to look out for Dutch. Potentially, Arthur may turn on Dutch for this reason as well, as he cannot support the man in killing a child (especially one of his previous lover), and ally himself with Mary’s side instead. I do see Arthur being a part of the small council after the death of Mary’s father, who would have otherwise probably have a stroke at the notion. The Braithwaites Speaking of proximity to the crown, the Braithwaites are Targaryen but so far from being in line to the throne it’s funny (like the king’s grandfather’s third cousin’s descendants or something). Catherine Braithwaite reminds me of Vhagar, and I really like the idea of her overdoing the whole ‘blood of the dragon’ rhetoric and clutching onto whatever political power she has despite not being the actual royal line. I would put a bet on one of Catherine’s sons being named Aegon and another Maegor. Additionally, Dutch literally calls them “inbred trash” in the game; making them anything other than Targaryens would be criminal. Dutch is related to them in this au because he’s a Blackfyre, but he’s ironically closer in the lineage to the throne than any of Catherine’s offspring. Catherine also definitely suggested killing Dutch while he was still in the cradle and not yet legitimized. That woman is 100% bastardophobic. Penelope definitely runs off with Beau (haven’t decided his house yet) at some point like she does in the game; she hates it there. 

Charles Smith I felt so smart when I made him a Velaryon. He is indisputably a part of the small council and an incredibly important advisor for Mary if she rules as queen dowager, having the realm’s best interest at heart.  Spontaneously, I decided to give him an older sister that marries a Targaryen (Mary's husband's younger brother), which would further solidify specifically Charles's proximity to the Targaryens. I also just like the idea of him being an uncle.

I like to think that given the history with Velaryons and respecting bastards (Corlys Velaryon recognizing Rhanyera’s children as his son’s kids), Charles would be one of the few lords willing to recognize Arthur as the lord of Storm’s End after he was legitimized. He would definitely recognize how much of a valuable ally Arthur would be when Dutch rebelled, both due to Arthur being the lord Paramount of the Stormlands and also because of his history with Dutch.  Here is a family trees for them (updated from the last one related to the Targaryens):

[c6rr0tz]

The Marstons  Given John’s connection with wolves, I felt it fitting to make him a Stark. He does not strike me as a Ned type, but the stubborn and gruff demeanor fits with a Northern house in my opinion. Additionally, there is something to be said about the Starks being the main characters which influenced my choice here. In this AU, my vision is that John still meets a tragic fate, and Jack will pursue revenge. I still need to figure out the details, but I have chosen to keep the Marstons’ daughter (Clementine) alive, which may actually change the course of Jack’s life after John and Abigail’s deaths.

Abigail’s maiden house is Blackwood because it just felt fitting. I actually chose it before finding out that Cregan Stark marries Alysanne Blackwood in HOTD, but it further solidified this decision in my head.

The Morgans To be fair, making Arthur a Baratheon stemmed from seeing Lyonel Baratheon’s antlers in AKOTSK. However, Ned and Robert’s friendship in GOT also contributed here.

Arthur’s not a true born; his mother was common, but his father arranged to legitimize him as his heir when his death neared because he did not sire any other children. Because of this, despite being Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, Arthur struggled to find a marital alliance (Mary will be discussed in a later post). Eventually, he married Eliza from house Selmy, a relatively minor house in terms of wealth. I believe their marriage to be of mutual respect and convenience, resulting in Isaac, who is a few years older than Jack.

The Matthews Hosea being an Arryn fits in my head personality wise and also because of the existence of Jon Arryn in the main GOT story. Just like with Robert and Ned, Hosea acted as a second father to Arthur and John, so this parallel works with the lore of both GOT and RDR2.

I made Bessie a Hersy because the sigil is really pretty (sue me) and because it is a noble house from the Vale sworn to house Arryn. I also found a tidbit about a queen consort from this house to a king of house Arryn, who was described as “an intelligent and bold woman that tried to dissuade her husband in his war making”, which fits nicely with Bessie trying to make Hosea leave the outlaw life behind at some point.

The Van der Lindes Making Dutch a Blackfyre gives him enough power to be a threat and also enough of a complex to explain his delusions of grandeur. I also like the idea of making him a problem. When I first posted the drawing of him and Molly, someone mentioned that the design reminds them of Bittersteel, so I thought about making his mother a Bracken, but that would make him related to Kieran in my au, so I decided that his mother was from house Mudd of Oldstones instead.

I believe he’d be legitimized (to be a Blackfyre instead of just a Rivers) later on in his life, which would provide a period of time where he might be close to someone like Hosea and Arthur and John as his wards. Blackwater rush (where the Blackfyres were given land before the rebellions) is not that far from the Eyrie, so this is plausible (I hope). Also, during this time, he’d meet Annabelle (of house Sunderland of the Three Sisters). Obviously, given Dutch’s status as a bastard at the time, they could not marry, which would chip at Dutch’s pride and be a factor contributing to his eventual decision to attempt to usurp the throne. I made Molly a Redwyne because it is said to be one of the wealthiest houses of the Reach (and because they are gingers). Her marriage to Dutch would either stem from her house’s attempt to ally themselves with who they believe will be successful in his taking of the throne or it could be a decision out of Molly’s own volition made under the impression that Dutch is what she desires. The latter is more akin to how she leaves her former life behind for Dutch in the game. Also here are some family trees: