Okay, back to the second part of the Author's Note.
1.) Details, Details, Details
- A lot of people do not look at the details that happen in a story and it kind of shows. An event happens that changes something in the story. Okay, but what causes it? A key detail is necessary when it comes to a major event. What causes the MC to act a certain way? What is the motive for an antagonist to do what they do? Details are important. Details can change a story significantly and I take those details seriously. Pay attention to the details.
"Change a few INSIGNIFICANT things and you say you didn't do it the same. As far as anyone can see, the story is literally running the same as the show."
A few things with this argument and why it's wrong. Those "Things" Are not insignificant at all, not to this story. Yes, it's Similar. But not the same. SIMILAR, not the Same. And everyone complains when an author deviates from the actual story so they stick to the canon to avoid confusion. (go back to part 1 to understand what I mean)
I'm going to list a few of the "insignificant" things that were changed, besides Aerion being Rhaenyra's husband.(we'll get back to this specific topic)
1. Rhea Royce and Daemon Targaryen were paired up by Viserys, not Queen Alysanne. In the book (not so sure about the show), the Good Queen made the pairing. And in the book, Rhea dies in an actual hunting accident, not killed by Daemon. Daemon was in the Stepstones when it happened. If you think this is insignificant, then you don't understand why Viserys felt responsible for Aerion as a whole. He had them married, he feels guilty for Rhea being beaten and raped by her brother and after her death, it is up to him to make sure Aerion is okay. (We'll touch upon this later.)
2. Vermithor. Idk about you, but this isn't insignificant at all. This isn't just a "MC needs to have a dragon for the sake of the story." Many stories have The Cannibal as the MC's mount simply because they don't want to change the fact that mere bastards take Vermithor and Silverwing. And the whole Vermithor and Hugh dynamic works really well, I'm not going to lie. Jaehaerys disowned Saera, who was quite the scandalous woman, and called her a whore. How ironic that his Dragon was claimed by a whore's bastard, his own grandson. Well, in this story, Jaehaerys does not need to roll on his grave as Aerion Targaryen is the rider of Vermithor, his Great-Grandson, someone who is worthy of his praise.
3. Visenya and Rhea Targaryen. Along with her youngest sons, Aegon III and Viserys II, Rhaenyra has two daughters with Aerion, Visenya and Rhea. Visenya is the eldest of Aerion's children as Rhea is the youngest. People immediately assumed "Oh, well, these are just OCs that will die because of how the story actually is in canon." and you are basically going along with the Canon timeline here. Yes, Aegon III becomes King and so does Viserys II who are Aerion's sons here. But I'm not adding two new characters just to kill them off in a tragic and heart-wrenching way. Or am I? Cross me and we could go in that direction. There is a lot at play here, especially in some upcoming events. Details, Details, Details. If I say more, I will spoil some stuff but when we get to that moment I have planned for the next few chapters, some will catch on quite quickly.
4. Daemon and Rhaenyra's relationship. In the canon, before marrying each other, Rhaenyra and Daemon had a scandalous relationship. They had some moments and it's alluded to that Rhaenyra's virginity was taken by Daemon himself. In the show and book, they have sex. But here? None of that. Daemon tells Aerion that Rhaenyra was in fact obsessed with that idea at first but that was because she was just a girl and he stopped himself before things got out of hand. So after she married Laenor and he fell for Laena, they didn't interact much. The two of them have a strained Uncle/Niece relationship and it's partly because of how Daemon abandoned Aerion as a child. Now that Rhaenyra is loyal to Aerion and only him, she sees Daemon as nothing but a father-in-law and an Uncle.
5. Viserys's Death. In the show, he succumbs to his illness and dies. Here, however, the leprosy is miraculously healed, only leaving him with some complications as an after-effect. When Visenya was born, he was much much better, having more energy than usual. So for a couple of years, he's himself before suddenly getting sick again. But this time, it's not leprosy, it's something else that everyone thinks he'll get over. Of course, this changes a few things such as the Petition. He makes that dramatic entrance in the Show, but here, he's already on the Throne and hearing Vaemond out. Of course, on his Deathbed, he is in delirium, talking about Aegon's Dream in which Alicent misinterprets it. Here.....it's a bit different. Yes, he is in delirium but read the details. what is he saying? What's going on? who does he mention? How does Alicent misinterpret it? The Details. Also, the woman in black is involved which adds more to the subplot. Details...
6. Aegon's children's death. In the Canon, Blood and Cheese happens which takes Jaehaerys out. Jaehaera survives the war and becomes Aegon III's queen, briefly. She dies to a fall. In the book, Maelor dies in a mob which leads to Daeron sacking the town. HERE, however, they're all taken out in one fell swoop. Just happened recently too. And I can understand the argument of "plot-convenience" and everything. Aegon II's blood was fated to end and hey, it did. But not unless he procreates with Helaena once again, right? Well, who knows? Of course, Maelor is a major plot point in the fate of Helaena which eventually leads to the riots that become the factor in Rhaenyra's downfall in the canon source. But here? Who knows.
7. Jace and Luke. Obviously, since Luke didn't go to storm's end, he doesn't die. I spared of you that heartbreak. Aerion goes in his stead and even has a little run-in with Aemond and Vhagar, similar to how Luke did. And "MC doesn't do anything to change the story" eh? Well, how is this change? Not satisfying enough? Well, we'll see with Jace then.....
8. Many others that you probably don't know about.
And there are the Details that are "Insignificant." I kept saying that some major changes will come and maybe my perspective on "Major" differs from yours. But there is one thing that I do plan on keeping in and that is the end of the story. While I Plan on ending this story soon, I want to stay true to my original planning.
2.) Insults, Comments, and MCs.
- Sometimes I don't understand what the thought process is when it comes to some readers. Whenever there is an event, an action that an character makes, there will always be the typical comment.....
"Is MC dumb?"
"MC is so fucking useless."
"Why is MC so dumb?"
"Why does he act like this if everyone knows he's a coward?"
"This is stupid, does he not know that Rhaenyra is used?" (we'll come back to this one.)
MC that, MC this. People always like to throw insults like this when they read something they don't like. They have no patience, nada.
- What I don't understand is why are people obsessed with the Light Yagami/Eren Yeager archetype when it comes to a character. Those two specific characters have fascinating characteristics that even I can appreciate, but not every single character NEEDS to have this type of trait.
"Author, what do you mean?"
Whenever I read or write a story, I see people expecting the MC to be this imposing, strong, and merciless being that will kill anyone who disagrees with them. Yes, the MC has the ability to defeat whoever they speak to with such ease but when they don't, it's them being "stupid." It's quite interesting.
I have no clue what started this trend; the MC is this genocidal maniac that goes around and kills anyone who looks at them the wrong way. I'm used to the antagonists doing that and all but an MC? Not really. Well, that wouldn't be so true as I did, in fact, watch "The Originals" and the MC, Klaus Mikaelson was exactly that type of person. And while I liked Klaus as a character, I did not become obsessed with that character archetype. But Klaus was the big bad of "The Vampire Diaries" And we already knew what kind of character he was so his being the sole focus of the series was intriguing and it worked.
Another character trope that I know people are obsessed with is the Lelouch/Aizen type. The master class manipulators that outdo anyone in their world. In this setting, the Tywin Lannisters, the Littlefingers, and the Varys characters. While I do think those characters are good, in fact, great.....again, not every character needs to be that.
- Going back to the "ASOIAF Ambition" topic of the first part of this author's note, Not every character has to be this scheming, ambition-filled, manipulating, master-class tactician that gets what he/she wants. Also, there could be a reason why a character will sometimes do something that is rather weird or uncharacteristically....but it doesn't mean that the character (or author) is stupid.
For example:
Klaus Mikaelson (The Originals) talks to three different people in order. All of them disrespect him and he kills the first two without blinking an eye, but spares the third one.
People will be like "Whoa, that's weird." because damn, he's killed thousands of people over centuries of terrorizing the world for less of what that last person said to him. Well, it's later revealed that he didn't do it because of something he schemed.
Well, I understand that the ulterior motive of something like that isn't always the case, especially with this story and this character, but that doesn't give anyone the right to immediately pull out the keyboard and type out "MC USELESS, MC STUPID!!"
- Lets go over some paraphrased comments that I've noticed.
"Why is he marrying Rhaenyra, she's so used already."
Okay, wow. That's quite an interesting take, honestly. Firstly, the title of the story is called "For The Queen, Not The Prince" and the cover is an ai fanart of Rhaenyra. So obviously, Rhaenyra Targaryen would play a major role, right? Also, the description said that he took part in the Dance of The Dragons fighting for the one person worth fighting for. So if the complaint that the Dance happening (following the canon of the story) was a problem, don't complain because it was literally in the description. Also, the reason Aerion was betrothed to Rhaenyra is a major thing; King Viserys did it so Rhaenyra's position would be protected and if a conflict breaks out, Aerion would be loyal to her.
Also..."Used"? Really? Is that a mature thing to say? That says a lot of a person. Sure, this isn't the modern world and societal norms are different but really? Used? Wow.
"Why's he marrying Rhaenyra? She's a Whore that cucked her husband."
Rhaenyra and Laenor's marriage is something that causes controversy. They had an arrangement, they do their thing while keeping appearances and doing their duty. Obviously, Laenor couldn't give her a child because of his nature and she never once blamed him.
People look at Rhaenyra as a cuckolding whore when she had one man, the father of her first three sons when they don't mention Laenor going around and having many men of his own. "You fucked the lustiest of boys" is what Rhaenyra told Laenor in the show. The two of them were grown adults, with their own agreement. And saying that it's different is quite crazy to me, but whatever.
Aerion was a young boy when they married and he knew. He's always known. He didn't care, it wasn't his problem. He never once judged the two of them.
Harwin died after Laenor did. And when Aerion was betrothed, he told Rhaenyra that he would be faithful to him as long as she did the same. And guess what? They both held their end of the deal and they fell in love with each other. And people do not see that and keep that same mentality. So what if Rhaenyra had three sons? Did Aerion care? No. He didn't. He cared for those boys and they're his sons as much as his biological children are.
"MC does whatever he's told like a dog, being manipulated like nothing."
First of all, Aerion is a loyal Knight, the Lord of Runestone, and vassal to House Arryn. Technically, he's a Targaryen Prince, but he still serves the realm and his King.
Secondly, Viserys is his Uncle. And Aerion would not mind doing whatever he is told, especially from the man who showed love to him when his own father ignored him. Also, Viserys was the King.
Thirdly, Aerion had the liberty of refusing any "order" that Viserys gave him. But chose not to because of the second point. That includes being betrothed to Ariana Moore and even Rhaenyra. But Aerion agreed because in the case for Ariana, he didn't feel like arguing and he thought he would just stay in the Vale, doing his own thing. As for Rhaenyra, he became aware of the "snakes in the grass" And because he cared for Rhaenyra, he agreed. He made his own choices, as much as you disagree with them.
Also, really? Manipulation? That's your complaint? If the MC isn't Aizen and is being Aizened, it's a real shit story? Well, I'm sorry, did you forget that the reason the Canon story of House of The Dragon and Game of Thrones happened because of Manipulation? Otto manipulated things that led to the Dance and Petyr fucking Baelish manipulated events that led to the War of The Five Kings.
Manipulation is the name of the game in ASOIAF.
"Will MC ever learn the truth of his Mother? This is so stupid? I would kill Daemon if I found out."
First of all, when it comes to Rhea's death, NOBODY knows but Daemon. You, as readers, know and have known from the start. So why would Aerion kill Daemon because of something he doesn't know about?
"Well, he raped and beat his mother, If that was me, I would kill Daemon."
No, you wouldn't. Trust me. All this mentality of "Me, personally" is valid, but you wouldn't kill your own father.
Who knows, I don't know any of you. But when it comes to it, you will hesitate. I don't know if any of you have experienced physical abuse in your household, but that shit messes with you mentally and there will be a point during a confrontation that you WILL hesitate. Why? Because you're human. There is no shame in that.
Also, KINSLAYING. Do you have any idea how serious this topic is? It's out of the question.
I mean yes, Aerion could just beat Daemon up and all but why do you think he hasn't? There are several reasons! Daemon is still a Prince, and something like this could result in a conflict. The reason why Aerion never once did that, outside of the Tourney and the Scarring, was because he was taught better and the whole realm sighed in relief because these two were the riders of the mightiest dragons after Vhagar. A Clash between them could potentially result in nothing but ruin.
"Author betrayed us."
For this, I have several things cooked up. the final resolution of Aerion and Daemon. but which one will i choose? I don't know and trust me, the result in Aerion's character will be the same. Trust me on this one.
- instead of writing the next chapter, I spent my time writing this, but I have to get some stuff off my chest. There WILL be more of this in the future.
I will write the Story how I want to. And just know that negative comments will be ignored. Constructive criticism is always accepted but plain old insults? Yea, buckaroos, I ain't taking no shit. I was raised better than that by my own father, which reminds me of the Aerion/Daemon author's note I want to write about but at the end of this story.
anyways, forgive me for wasting your time. As a writer, I have to vent about some things.