(third lemon cake) voice ✧ open to both courts

[steeledskin]

( VOICE: OPEN TO BOTH COURTS )

Fellow [ ... ] shardholders. Seven blessings upon you all.

[ sansa is back in caer glaem, but there is no visual recording to accompany this address. (perhaps foolishly) she believes she may be somewhat protected from joffrey's attention. she would avoid an address altogether, but she feels there are those in the opposing court who ought to be quietly warned against the evil presence in their midst. trouble is, she doesn't know their names. and so here is a quiet attempt to draw out some of those people she'd spoken with at the very outset of using these lockets. ]

These lands are impressive. I have spent the larger part of two turns of this moon travelling them. Their roads are hard, perhaps, but I find myself oddly...pleased that I made any progress at all. [ there is a quiet (and honest) reverence in her voice. improvement and daring is not a thing she expects of herself, and so the mere understanding that she can now build a fire or ride a horse for days? it kindles something in her heart. a spark of pride. ] Seelie. Unseelie. Both territories boast beautiful landscapes -- I should like to see them painted, perhaps. Are there any artists in either court? Painters? Sculptors? [ ... ] Have we any musicians? These kingdoms must have their own songs. I would fain learn them.

From what played at the first feast, I imagine fairy music must always be a delight.

[ a protracted conversations, perhaps. but she hopes to catch the ear of wary allies and would-be friends. and as for her public behaviour? ah, well. she will be alayne stone a little longer. she is not ready to reclaim herself in one headlong rush. small steps and little leaps must be made. ]

(ooc: this post comes on the evening of june 27th. if your character is in caer glaem and is more apt to find here somewhere around the castle, go ahead and hit me with an action thread instead. i'm good with it. )

Comments

[steeledskin]

The magic is...frustrating. But I find myself more frightened of the war. I wonder -- why are they fighting it?

[teenyoda]

Never ask why. The whys are always the worst reasons. Someone somewhere thought it was good enough, but you find out the whys and you want to sort of throttle someone, because from the perspective of a person who could potentially die over it, it's never fu-- bleeping worth it. Ever.

[steeledskin]

Not all wars are worthless. [ sansa is not a battle-monger. she does not relish the turmoil of her home land. but all the same, she can understand how it's fallen to pieces. she can understand why the north rose and why the baratheons split. ] Some banners are called in the service of answering gross injustice. Such a war is being waged in Westeros.

[ such a war is being lost in westeros. ]

[teenyoda]

Pretty sure most of the combat vets back in my world would disagree. It's all fine to be the head of a war way back in your comfy control room, but the people that are losing legs and stuff probably don't think most of the causes are that great.

Whatever this war's about, it has nothing to do with me and I don't want to die because of it.

[steeledskin]

-- Do your generals and your knights not ride out with their men? [ with a slice upon her heart, she thinks on robb. robb who they say went to where the fighting was thickest. robb who died while joffrey is allowed to live again in this bizarre land. ]

[teenyoda]

Generals? No. And we don't have knights. We have soldiers. Most of the big wigs stay back where it's nice and safe and send the grunts out to get their faces blown off.

[steeledskin]

How craven they must be -- [ even she understands such cowardice. ]

[teenyoda]

Maybe. But it's not like they started as generals. Everyone starts out at the bottom and they work their way up. Unless you just buy a rank, which sort of means they don't give you a bunch of soldiers to throw at people.

[He hoped.]

[steeledskin]

Are some not born into their power? [ the very concept of working up through the ranks is new to her -- newish. it's petyr who shows her how its possible. how one man might make himself a powerful lord protector, given time and ambition and cleverness. ]

[teenyoda]

In the military? God, no. No, you can buy yourself into an officer's status, but you don't just get born into being in any sort of rank. That's, ah, that's definitely not how it works.

[steeledskin]

[ sansa is not a radical. and, indeed, she benefits (or should have been benefiting) from a system where hereditary rights carry such weight. so her reaction is a product of her upbringing and of the privilege granted to her by the name stark. and, indeed, stone. traitor-prisoner-victim she might have been, but she has still been a lady. ]

It sounds chaotic.

[teenyoda]

Not really. They have a system... It's hard to fully explain. You should talk to John. He's a Navy SEAL, so he could tell you better what the whole military process is like. SEALs are like... special forces. They're pretty bada-- bleep.

[steeledskin]

[ badableep. yes -- that one is getting squirrelled away for future use. and she is gracious enough not to ask what a seal has to do with anything. ]

Jon -- [ or, as with peter/petyr, jon is how she hears the name. ] Is this Jon from your lands? Can he be...trusted?

[ then again, sansa hasn't quite decided if even stiles could be trusted. ]

[teenyoda]

John? Mm, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if he's from my world specifically or not. I'm pretty sure he's a bit ahead if he is. But he seems cool enough. Keeps trying to nanny me about things like getting hurt, so, you know...

[It showed he cared. Sort of. Maybe. God, he didn't know.]

[steeledskin]

Have you been getting hurt, Stiles?

[ a narrow edge of concern. she doesn't want to betray too much, but she fears the very syntax of such a sentence betrays some experience. or else she's entertaining too much of her own paranoia. ]

[teenyoda]

Nothing to worry about.

[It had happened during the invasion and he now had a nifty new scar to show off... if he ever happened to have a reason to pull his pants down or wear short-shorts.]

[steeledskin]

But there is something. [ otherwise, she suspects, he would not have qualified his statement. she sets her mouth in a strict line...and then: ] No matter. If you don't want me to ask after it, then I won't.

[ she isn't a pushy creature. ]

[teenyoda]

Like I said, it doesn't matter. It's better anyway. But back to the actual topic, I think you could trust talking to John if you wanted. He seems like a good enough guy. Just give him a call up on the lockets. He's over at the Station right now, so you don't have to worry about him being a creepy stalker.

[steeledskin]

[ oh. oh, dear. she had to ask: ] Is that a common occurrence? People being -- ah -- creepy stalkers, as you say?

[ at least it's so common in her own experience that she doesn't even differentiate it with its own term. ]

[teenyoda]

It's not really a matter of it being common or not. It's the person. John doesn't, ah, seem like the creepy stalker type.

[Even if Stiles might have joked about that when he'd first met him at the feast.]

[steeledskin]

[ it's hard for her. she does not trust others -- not easily, at any rate. not any longer. but she doesn't want to suffer stiles's disappointment, and so she behaves as if she is enthusiastic about this john. ]

I would be so grateful if you made an introduction for me.

[teenyoda]

Yeah? Hold on, I'll give him a call now and see if he's available.

[He pulls out his locket and goes through the names until he finds John's, pointing it out to Sansa so she can find it on her own later, if she needs to.]

Hey. John. Yo, grampa.. you there?

[chromosomes]

[ ring ring bananaphone ]

Stiles? You're calling me 'grandpa', so I'm going to guess you haven't lit yourself on fire. I hope.

[ He's not actually on screen for a moment, but when he does he's- well, he's John; short hair, ever-present stubble, silver chain around his neck with anything more hidden by his shirt. ]

Oh. [ Hi there, Alayne. ] Miss.

[steeledskin]

[ she doesn't lean into the frame. to do so would invite too much proximity between herself and the gallant would-be magician. and so the locket is forced to catch only corners and glimpses of her -- a line of her jaw or the sweep of her hair. ]

Ser -- [ she sounds startled. all at once, the wheels of social interaction were turning and she fears being left behind. and yet she cannot help but ask: ] Has this happened? Stiles! Have you done it before -- set yourself on fire?

[ maybe this was the ominous harm to his person that he'd asked her not to worry about. ]

[teenyoda]

What? No! John, god. I did not set myself on fire.

...

I set my blanket on fire. Totally different. And that's not the point of this call. John, this is Alayne. Alayne, this is John. I told her you were all special forces and shi-- bleep, so... yeah. I think she was curious about the military where we come from.

[He gave the locket a look, mouthing 'fuck you' at him before he turned it more in Sansa's direction.]