The matter is less the taxes owed than the disputes causing it. The Brackens and Blackwoods sabotage one another come harvest, but so do the other houses sworn to House Tully. To say little of the Ironborn reaving their way through the settlements bordering the Westerlands and the Riverlands.
[ why bother answer the accusation? rhaenyra isn't that stupid or blind. ]
We have to make choices for the life we want to live.
[ it's all that aemond has been doing since he was a child. choosing, learning, acting to be as close as he can be for the future that he wants for himself. how much harder should he work for an ounce of what everyone else is gifted in handfuls? love. respect. justice. ]
[ choices. so easy for him to say. there have been none for her. not in a single decision she has made, save to not speak sooner. to not stand up for herself, until now. to not share her knowledge except with him, and he is still not listening.
it pains her to feel the desperation painted across the page, feel it in the parchment beneath her hands.
its reply is splotched with a teardrop. ]
Nyke gaomagon daor jaelagon naejot urnēbagon ao morghūljagon.
Do we not support our ladies of the evening like we do our acrobats? They can be just as, if not more, flexible and deal with so many worse close encounters near their face than an apple. Sometimes two apples.
Are you sure you don't want to read that back to yourself first?
Well, you're not exactly paying me not to complain, but let's go back to the part where you're welcome I saved you from potentially getting trampled to death if a fight had broken out. Yes, Mat, thank you. You're a quick thinker and an excellent companion.
The cause of which was you, seeing as you cannot rightly pin down what the issue was in the first place. Yes, thank you for saving me from the upset that you yourself had caused.
Companion.
[ he was promised a good time. he is not having a good time. ]
[ He could elaborate with the fullness of a straightforward answer—that a prince of the city should know already pockets of it feel as tense as dry tinder awaiting a spark. Looking up from an argument on the state of vapid spending between a merchant and a cobbler and noticing just how many guardsmen were circling the streets, their eyes on the people, the people's on them. Some pointed in Aemond's direction, who's presence had not gone unnoticed.
Sensing ripples of unease building and mistrusting them—partly from being unsure how Aemond himself might react if provoked, partly from not wanting to find out for harm's sake on both sides of the equation.
But he's never been much for long-winded explanations. And that would mean so many more words to write out.
Shorter— ]
How about I buy you a drink if you're not ready to turn in yet.
[ Small amends? Maybe just surprised the other's chosen to continue on. ]
[ is he a fool for considering this? perhaps. but it's been a good day, and he's not so eager to end it yet. cauthon is not terrible company. he's almost pleasant, truthfully — more pleasant than aegon by a mile.
why not. ]
Two drinks, and none of the cheap shit. Lead the way.
Nothing makes one contemplate their own mortality like a family affair.
[ the two of them may differ in a lot of ways including their temperament, but both happen to be second sons who feel they're better equipped to rule than their irresponsible sibling(s) and can relate to the frustration that comes with their status. ]
My brother is determined to drag us down with his foolishness.
My brother is plagued by much, but altruism is hardly an illness he is inflicted with.
[ nikolai is actually the exception among his family in that he is altruistic, but even then, he understands there are times when a sword must be swung when cunning and diplomacy will not do. ]
He has little desire to lead and less skill to do so. It is merely spite that drives him and I fear that will make him reckless.
[ it's not so much an attempt on his life that concerns him as it is vasily doing something idiotic to prove himself as the better of the two. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
→ suchstrangepower.
The matter is less the taxes owed than the disputes causing it. The Brackens and Blackwoods sabotage one another come harvest, but so do the other houses sworn to House Tully. To say little of the Ironborn reaving their way through the settlements bordering the Westerlands and the Riverlands.
[ why bother answer the accusation? rhaenyra isn't that stupid or blind. ]
Who complains most about the levies?
→ dreamfyres.
We have to make choices for the life we want to live.
[ it's all that aemond has been doing since he was a child. choosing, learning, acting to be as close as he can be for the future that he wants for himself. how much harder should he work for an ounce of what everyone else is gifted in handfuls? love. respect. justice. ]
Kostilus, mandia.
[ *: please, sister. ]
sorry for the delay, life ate me!
it pains her to feel the desperation painted across the page, feel it in the parchment beneath her hands.
its reply is splotched with a teardrop. ]
Nyke gaomagon daor jaelagon naejot urnēbagon ao morghūljagon.
[ I don’t want to watch you die. ]
→ taveren.
[ what an infuriating idiot of a man. worse: he's not wrong. ]
The thing to do. Cause a disturbance as to lead to your eviction from the premises, taking me along with you on account of your being my companion.
The outrage was funny, I'll give you that. Where to, now?
c r y i n g
Oh, I'm your companion, am I? Standing by me to the bitter end?
CLOWNS
Should I call you something else? You're too ugly to be an escort. Too flippant to be a jester. Too prideful to be a mannered whore.
too powerful even for the circus
Too UGLY? [ Damn, it's hard on these streets. ]
You still have one eye that works, what's your excuse for lying through your teeth? Uh, and I'd like to see these escorts if that's the case.
no regrets with this tag
[ what is companionship if not insulting each other until someone draws a knife? ]
Reasons I Am Still Single: the autobiography
I can't compete with you for prettiness, besides.
says the serial ex
[ a compliment is a compliment but he will not acknowledge it. that will be like admitting defeat. ]
Why are you complaining? Is it your purse we're using this time?
you have to be dateable to be an ex! ... wait
Are you sure you don't want to read that back to yourself first?
Well, you're not exactly paying me not to complain, but let's go back to the part where you're welcome I saved you from potentially getting trampled to death if a fight had broken out. Yes, Mat, thank you. You're a quick thinker and an excellent companion.
😌🔪
Companion.
[ he was promised a good time. he is not having a good time. ]
🔪💀
Sensing ripples of unease building and mistrusting them—partly from being unsure how Aemond himself might react if provoked, partly from not wanting to find out for harm's sake on both sides of the equation.
But he's never been much for long-winded explanations. And that would mean so many more words to write out.
Shorter— ]
How about I buy you a drink if you're not ready to turn in yet.
[ Small amends? Maybe just surprised the other's chosen to continue on. ]
no subject
why not. ]
Two drinks, and none of the cheap shit. Lead the way.
no subject
I pick the place.
[ If that proviso happens to raise eyebrows or alarm bells, it should. "Cheap shit" by whose definition? That makes a considerable difference. ]
No more wandering away, I suppose. One thing about you is you do have a way of clearing space around you.
[ Like Lan, plenty to say by the sword at his hip without uttering a word out his lemon-pucker mouth. ]
→ tooclever.
You worry about bits in your teeth when you refuse a taster or to have your meals checked for poison. Priorities.
Though I suppose we have to find our excitement somewhere. Make our own entertainment when the smallfolk can no longer provide.
[ can you hear the contrariness over text? ]
Speak true with me. What's bothering you?
no subject
[ the two of them may differ in a lot of ways including their temperament, but both happen to be second sons who feel they're better equipped to rule than their irresponsible sibling(s) and can relate to the frustration that comes with their status. ]
My brother is determined to drag us down with his foolishness.
no subject
shall i torch him by accident? would it mean a stronger alliance between our houses? it would make my mother happy.
aemond keeps his thoughts to himself. for now. ]
It's worse when they think they're doing something for the good of the realm. Is he plagued by altruism, then, your brother?
no subject
[ nikolai is actually the exception among his family in that he is altruistic, but even then, he understands there are times when a sword must be swung when cunning and diplomacy will not do. ]
He has little desire to lead and less skill to do so. It is merely spite that drives him and I fear that will make him reckless.
[ it's not so much an attempt on his life that concerns him as it is vasily doing something idiotic to prove himself as the better of the two. ]