ooc; scorched application; contains spoilers
Out of Character Information
player name: Kalan
player livejournal: roflskate
playing here: N/A
where did you find us? dear_mun
are you 16 years of age or older?: That I am!
In Character Information
character name: Stannis Baratheon
Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones - HBO Adaption)
Timeline: Mid Book Five: A Dance with Dragons (Right after he talks to Jon Snow/before he heads south from the Wall)
character's age: Around 35/36 (His age was stated as 34 in A Clash of Kings, and there's around a year and a half to two years in between that book and A Dance with Dragons)
powers, skills, pets and equipment:
equipment Stannis will have the following on him when he arrives in Anatole:
powers
canon history:
❝ His lord’s face swam up before him, not the man he was but the boy he had been, standing cold in the shadows while the sun shone on his elder brother. Whatever he did, Robert had done first, and better. ❞
Stannis Baratheon was born as the second son to Steffon Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and his wife, Lady Cassana of House Estermont. While barely a year younger than his elder brother, the two of them couldn't have been more different. Where Stannis was more studious, Robert was a warrior through and through, and when they would spar with one another, Robert never lost. In time, they were joined by a third brother, Renly, though he was much younger than the other two. As was typical for nobility, much of their education was left to their Maester, who took a particular liking to Stannis, regarding him with almost fatherly affection. As for their mother and father, while little is known about the exact details of their relationship, it's implied that at least Stannis remembers them with fondness.
But, when he was thirteen at the very most, his parents passed away. Or rather, they were drowned when their ship broke apart within site of Storm's End, while Robert and Stannis watched the whole thing unfold. From that day forward, Stannis resolved never to worship gods again. With their Lord father gone, Robert was sent to the Eyrie to be fostered with Jon Arryn, while Stannis remained at Storm's End with their younger brother. In time, Robert would return to be Lord, and that would be the end of that.
At least, it would have been had Prince Rhaegar Targaryen not ran off with Robert's betrothed, Lyanna Stark, starting a chain reaction of events that led to three of the Great Houses calling their banners against Aerys II, the Mad King.
Choosing to side with his brother over his liege was one of the most difficult decisions Stannis ever had to make. Yet, side with him he did, and for the better part of the rebellion, he held Storm's End. Even when the men were down to nothing but roots and rats, saved only by one brave smuggler, he did not yield.
Though perhaps one could say his perseverance was rewarded, for the rebels had overthrown House Targaryen, appointing Robert king by virtue of a Targaryen grandmother. However, being first in the line of succession never particularly seemed like an important desire for Stannis. What he truly wanted was to be Lord of Storm's End, as it was his by rights now that his brother had other matters to attend to.
But Robert granted their eight-year-old brother the ancestral keep instead, and Stannis was left with the poor lands of Dragonstone. This slight was one that Stannis never truly recovered from, forgiving neither Robert nor Renly.
Still, for the next fourteen years, he served his brother as Master of Ships, building up the royal navy and playing a pivotal role during the Greyjoy Rebellion, crushing Victarion's Iron Fleet. The same brother who deflowered and fathered a bastard on Stannis's bride's cousin on their wedding night, in their wedding bed. The same brother who drank and whored, siring bastards and caring little for matters of the realm. The same brother who paid no attention to his children, legitimate or not.
Now, speaking of those "legitimate" children...
In time, Stannis began to suspect something about Robert's "children" and their true parentage. While we aren't told exactly how he came about these suspicions (most likely, he managed to piece little pieces of evidence together for himself, such as the fact that his own daughter and Robert's one acknowledged bastard shared the Baratheon colouring that the Lannisters did not), we know that rather than confronting his brother, he brought them instead to the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn. After all, what would the king think if the third in line to the throne suddenly declared that the first and second in line were bastards? No, for Stannis, Jon Arryn was the only man he felt he could trust.
And so, they worked together, visiting bastards, gathering information, making plans for Lord Arryn's son to be fostered on Dragonstone. When they were finally ready to bring their case before the King... Lord Arryn died under "mysterious circumstances". As devastating as the loss was, perhaps Stannis could take small consolation in the fact that after Lord Arryn, he was probably the best suited man to be Hand. So, what did Robert do?
He named Eddard Stark instead, and rode north to retrieve him.
Perhaps in fear of his life, or perhaps equally bitter about Robert's latest slight against him, Stannis left King's Landing for Dragonstone, biding his time and contemplating his next move.
And that is how our story begins...
personality:
❝ There is nothing more terrifying than a truly just man. ❞
Stannis Baratheon is the king that no one wanted. After all, unlike his more popular brothers, he is mostly humorless (with the exception of some extremely deadpan comments), stern and certainly not the sort of man that easily inspires love. With the exception of Davos Seaworth and the Red Priestess Melisandre, there are few who feel any deep sense of loyalty towards him. At times, it seems that even Stannis himself doesn't want the crown. But, he still pursues it with all the passion in the world for one reason alone: because he is the rightful heir, and it is only right that he take the crown. His belief in his own righteousness leads him to some strange bedfellows, and a strange new religion.
Unlike his wife or Melisandre, Stannis doesn't seem to have a deep connection to his new faith. In fact, he confides in Davos that he doesn't worship any gods. All the same, he follows her counsel because she has power, and that power will deliver him to the throne that is his by rights. While she also proclaims him to the the prince who was promised, Stannis doesn't particularly seem to buy into that either. However, he still goes north to the Wall to fight off the Wildlings (and eventually the Others), because as rightful king, it is his duty to do so. Yes, more than any god, Stannis "worships" duty.
Above even duty, Stannis's greatest defining trait is his unyielding sense of justice. While someone like Melisandre views men as being either entirely good or entirely evil, Stannis takes a different approach. For him, a man is the sum of his actions. As he discusses with his friend and advisor Davos in A Clash of Kings: "A good act does not wash out the bad, nor the bad act the good." Therefore, according to Stannis, even a virtuous man should be punished accordingly if he has committed a crime, and a charlatan rewarded should he act heroic. Furthermore, he also does not particularly judge men solely based based on their birth (as evidenced by his counsel with Jon Snow and Davos Seaworth alike) something many other lords would find inconceivable. Such an attitude contributes to the reasons why he is not particularly well-liked among the highborn lords of Westeros; to him his allies should be judged for their crimes the same way as his enemies. Ultimately however, this makes little difference to Stannis. No matter what it takes, he is a man that will have justice for the realm.
However, despite his stubbornness and rigidity, Stannis not a man without any scruples. As he tells Davos, one of the hardest decisions of his life was choosing to side with his elder brother, rather than his rightful king. Also, when his younger (and usurping) brother Renly is killed (by Melisandre, with the implication that Stannis was somehow involved), he expresses nothing short of regret for the way things turned out, again confiding in Davos how much he truly loved the young man. Later, when he is confronted with the possibility in burning his bastard nephew in exchange for what might be the salvation of Westeros, he shows similar reservations (is one life worth that of millions?). Like any other man, he is faced with difficult decisions, and is conflicted when what is dutiful conflicts with his own personal morals.
To sum it up, Stannis is not the sort of man that's easy to like. But in the end, he is someone who ultimately tries to do the "right" thing, no matter the cost.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Stannis is the sort of man that would rather starve on rats than give up his family's ancestral home. Furthermore, he is currently both campaigning for the throne of a country that is "unforgiving" in the nicest terms and preparing to face mysterious beings known as "The Others". Essentially, any setting would not be particularly shocking to him. And truthfully, Anatole may very well seem like a (rather unwanted) vacation compared to his current situation in Westeros.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample:
[ He feels idiotic speaking into the "box". Do they take me for a fool? Of all the... Though, perhaps he was no longer in any position to be a skeptic. After everything else he had seen, was this truly so unbelievable?
When the feed comes on, it reveals a rather dour and stern-looking man with deep blue eyes and the faintest trace of black hair. He is dressed plainly, save for a golden cloak trimmed with black fur and fastened with a brooch. ]
This is not the Wall. [ Nor is it Westeros, truth be told. Back and forth go his teeth. Yet if it was not Westeros, where was he and more importantly, who or what had captured him so close to the eve of battle? ]
As the rightful Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, I demand an explanation.
[ He didn't have time for this, whatever it was. There was a realm and its people that needed him and a battle to prepare for. ]
Third Person Sample:
The Mist was thick, and Stannis Baratheon was lost. Of course, he would never admit to a soul that somehow he had allowed such a thing to happen to him. After all, he was a man grown and king besides. And kings do not get lost. It was a matter of pride. Still, while he was not completely sure of his location, he forged on. It was not as though it would be that difficult to find his way back. He had dealt with conditions far worse than these. He would not allow himself to wander around like some aimless idiot. Clenching his jaw, he quickened his pace, searching for something he had no hope in ever seeing. Yes, even in the Mist, Stannis Baratheon would never yield.
But sure enough, he came to a path with a fork in it. It seemed to him to be a queer thing; he hadn't found a path this clear in some time (was it an hour ago? or was it a day? He couldn't quite tell here). Though, there was something far odder about this particular path than simply its clarity. No, it was the fact that he was not a lone. At the fork, he could see the faintest outline to two figures. Were they friends? Foes? Or something else entirely? In any matter, if he wanted to pass, it seemed likely that he would have to get through whatever they were. He drew his sword, letting its light guide him to the figures. Once they were clear to him, he stopped dead in his tracks.
This is impossible.
He knew that they were not real, yet nevertheless, there they stood. To his left was Melisandre, as red and mysterious as ever. To his right was Lord Davos Seaworth, with his maimed fingers and honest words. Both of them beckoned him forward, urging him to take their path. In that regard, it was no different than it had been in Westeros. Melisandre spoke of destiny and salvation. Dare he ignore her? Azor Ahai Reborn or no, he had a duty to protect the realm, and the Others were coming, sooner rather than later. In that at least there was no doubt in his mind. Yet, there was still something that he didn't fully trust about the woman and her Red God. Davos, with his humble origins and onions was another matter entirely. While he couldn't agree with everything the man said, he knew he could trust the man completely. However, even Davos Seaworth brought his own set of problems. He remained completely distrustful of Melisandre, despite her proving her worth time and again. And, he hadn't heard from the man since he had left Eastwatch. Could he even be sure his Hand was still alive? Was he a fool to place his faith in a lowborn smuggler (and even to call him "friend"?). Yet did he dare place his trust completely in Melisandre, vanquishing what doubts he still carried about the priestess?
I never asked for this, yet here I stand. The Others take the both of you.
He was almost certain that a day may come where he would have to choose between the two of them. But it would not be today, and it would not be here. He turned away from the both of them, making his own path.
Anything else? His only friend is an onion.
