#maxima aurum ( muses )

[mercysought]

❝ Perhaps my lack of education is showing. ❞ for maximaaaaaa

black sails season 2 prompts (accepting)

   “Perhaps your jackass is showing." she says, whispering, exasperated.

The fact that one of the most educated men in the world would say this with a straight face would be jarring if she didn't know him to be a monumental idiot. In a good way, but an idiot all the same. An idiot that made her want to bite his face to get him to stop talking, sort of idiot.

The slip of a girl is hanging from the edge of a rickety branch and she hates every second that she spends there. The red apple wasn't worth the climb, and it certainly wouldn't be worth the fall. Climbing trees? That she could do, though she had done easier with some buildings in the inner city. But not in such finery and not since her father had brought her in.

So she tentatively swings her slippered feet, looking down to Cuthbert right beneath her. He hid it but she could tell his arms were at the ready to catch her.

   “Do not be smart with me sai Cuthbert Allgood" she chimes, leaning forward. The waves of auburn cover her freckled shoulders. She feels the sweat on her hands but she can't tell if that's from the searing summer heat or the heights getting to her "for I know there are very few areas which you are lacking in education."

Biting down on her lip she closes her eyes, looking up to the sky through the leaves for the last time. Summoning any and all strength to give her some bravery. With a soft screech, she finally lets go and allows herself to fall from the branch. Her feet impact the floor in the most inelegant manner, but Maxima pulls herself up, dusting off her dress and finally turning to Cuthbert with a tilt to her head and a hint of a grin.

   “Lest you wish me to tell daddy Allgood about my findings on your lack of education, in which case I'm sure I can regale him with the most wild tales."

#cllgood #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( dumbasses the both of them ) #( anyway something soemthing imagery in comparison to how it all ends :) )

[feardclight]

skells (she / her) . 25+ yo . gmt + 1 . main blog . rules 

this is a sideblog for cp2077 original characters. it is highly-selective (like my main blog), low activity and for me to play around as much and as often as I want to.

these characters are involved with one another (and one more from my main blog named Maxima Aurum) in a poly-type relationship. I don’t know if I’ll want to do any shipping outside of my own self indulgent drabbles. who knows!

a lot of this will be subject to change as I get them from concepts I want to try to something more fleshed out ✨

muse list:

trenton terrel, head of artificial intelligence (NUSA branch) @ Arasaka — fc: ian bruce

brilliant and eccentric. those are two words that have always followed him wherever he went. A heavy weight netrunner, having a long list of impressive achievements from NetWatch to now in Arasaka itself. Meticulous, careful and with a fascination and active meddling in what lingers beyond the Blackwall.

reid walker, security “specialist” @ Militech  — fc: keanu reeves

the title given is as transparent as any corporation’s unwillingness to admit they have employees whose full job description is to know how to end one’s life and to only cause exactly the mess they want. No more, no less. Precision is part of the job description in every single way.

daisy mckenzie, investigative journalist & editor @ World News Service (WNS)  — fc: ajak deng

persistent. that is the best word to describe someone like daisy. persistent and with a thirst for knowledge and power. one could say she embodies the spirit of any World News Service journalist that there is. A shinning example of the companies values who has no fear of showing teeth.

#pinned #about #this is as much effort as I'm willing to put it for right now #anyway here they are

[praeludio]

mercysought asked:🎰

satin & loane shatterspine.

i do have a dragon age verse for satin that i mean to write one day — but basically he’s a city elf rogue who recently joined the wardens via right of conscription — so, you know, warden pals? warden pals.

feyren tabris & manala.

local warden has known child for a day and a half and if anything happens to the child she would kill anyone in the room.

philip jennings & maxima aurum.

russian spy gets close to daughter of diplomat to try get valuable info, possibly recruits her? 

yusuf al-kaysani & émilie de clair.

immortal mercenary meets french noblewoman. maybe he and the rest of the group save her from something? maybe she’s one of them as well and she died and came back very confused on what’s going on?

declan amell & himsulem.

hero of ferelden and warden sacrifices himself to save hawke and the inquisitor gets stuck in the fade and meets a spirit; at least he won’t be alone.

send me 🎰 and i’ll randomise our muse list and give the first five as possible connections | accepting | @mercysought

#mercysought #( answered ooc. ) #( that's what i have :') #just general ideas #but we can always discuss the details )

[immobiliter]

❔ !

so the obvious one is varric @ pretty much everyone lmfao. but in particular, i’m thinking loane and/or anora? those two seem the most likely characters he would cross paths with.

morgana pendragon → the priestess. she has no da verse as of yet, but plenty of AUs so i’m sure there’d be a way to draw these two together.

emma woodhouse / jamie fraser → abel de claire. or honestly any of my 18th century era muses, which could include james flint or mary read prior to them becoming pirates.

pepper potts / diana prince → maxima aurum, particularly her marvel verse?

send ❔ and i’ll list a couple muses that i’d like to throw at yours!   /    @mercysought

#mercysought #* / answered ( ooc. ) #hearteyes and grabby hands at all of your muses tbh <3 #and there are probably a lot of other combinations i could come up with if i included some of my aus too #so tl;dr; I WANT ALL THE THINGSSS

[ourdawncomes]

Mobile Rules

General

Thank you for coming to my rules page! I'd appreciate it if you could read over these to prevent future misunderstandings.

This is a Dragon Age multimuse blog. The characters here are either canons or ocs based in the Dragon Age universe. I do rp crossover with characters outside the universe, but probably won't be making many AUs. My main blog is a Solas rp blog (theharellan) and I am more active there!

Here are some basics!

mostly canon, semi-canon divergent

independent, semi-selective

mutuals only

21+, not open to smut

shipping status varies by muse

tags triggers

Interaction

i am selective

Since this is my less active blog, I'll only be roleplaying with mutuals. I don't practise character exclusivity, however, and will roleplay with multiples of a single canon or variations of a PC. At best, I have default Inquisitors I'll fall back on when we need one and mains.

Thora - default Inquisitor for Tetrak

Vivienne - default Inquisitor Ruth (Divine verse especially)

Bruno, Adelaide, Vher, and Peace - default to my Solas (found at theharellan)

Some characters require plotting to write with, either due to their nature or verses.

Cole - requires plotting before any threads so no wrong assumptions are made about portrayal

Peace - requires plotting before any threads for the same reasons as Cole

Bruno, Adelaide - require plotting due to being Agents of Fen'Harel and therefore aligned against most characters

on shipping

I do practise ship exclusivity. I will only ship with one version of a character, and will list them here. I don't expect people to be reciprocal in this regard, it's for my own comfort.

Shipping Availability:

Thora: multi-ship (all genders)

Merrill: multi-ship (all genders)               ✦ Bethany Hawke (hopewrought)               ✦ Lyna Mahariel (ghilannainguideme)

Vivienne: multi-ship (all genders)              ✦ Maxima Aurum (mercysought)

Cole: no ships

Gorim Saelac: single ship               ✦ Tamar Aeducan (paragoninexile)

Lord Woolsley: absolutely not

Tetrak Cadash: multi-ship (men only)

Sylvi Cadash: no ships

Ruth Trevelyan: multi-ship

Bruno: selective ship (all genders)

Adelaide: single ship (women only)

Peace: single ship               ✦ Love (spiritualjourneys)

Vher: single ship               ✦ Miraen (ancientimpudence - qpp)

on following

This blog is not follow-for-follow. I like to keep my dash relatively slow moving. As mentioned, I do try to keep the opportunity for non-mutuals to roleplay with me or chat.

As for unfollowing (or soft blocking) I won't usually explain why, usually it's one of these couple reasons:

Inactivity (the main one tbh - if I see you're back I'll refollow!)

Offensive material (homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, etc)

Untagged Negativity / Vagueblogging (it makes me anxious)

Untagged character hate (especially Solas or Merrill hate)

As one final note on following: I don't send in passwords. I promise I read your rules before initiating interaction.

on memes

Please don't use me as a meme resource! If it's an IC meme and requires interaction, I absolutely don't expect reblog karma. However, consistently reblogging memes that require no IC interaction w/o sending me anything will result in a soft block. Also, if you do send me something I'll check to see if I can send you something in return.on messaging meI will not roleplay using Tumblr's IM system and prefer not to roleplay on IM platforms (Discord, etc) period. Feel free to message me OOC, it's open regardless of whether or not I follow you. I may take a while to get back, so if it's urgent please contact me on theharellan as I check that dash more often.

My Discord is also available for mutuals. Just shoot me a Tumblr IM or ask and I'd be happy to provide it!Threadsplease be patientRoleplaying is a hobby, please respect that.

Before you message me asking about replies please check here for a list of threads here. If you're not there, please message me and let me know! I'd appreciate it, I like to keep it updated.

i'm open to any format.

Banter, para, multi-para, novella are all possible. I prefer to reserve longer threads for plotted or intense interactions, and shorter threads for more casual roleplays b/c otherwise there's way too much navel gazing. Shorter threads are also much more likely to get timely replies.

I don't format beyond small text, and will roleplay with you regardless of whether you do or don't format yourself. I will use icons for some characters and not for others, so I will obviously rp whether or not you use icons.

Tagging

common triggers on this blog

This blog regularly features themes of fantasy racism, self-harm, and mental health issues. All themes present in the Dragon Age series will also likely appear here at some point, even if it's OOC discussion. These will be tagged when referenced.

my tagging policies

I track the tag #ourdawncomes

I tag general triggers and will tag others upon request. My format is: #(trigger)+tw. For example a blood trigger warning would be: #blood tw.

For threads/writing where Merrill's blood magic is referenced or written about I will tag "#blood magic tw" and/or "#self harm tw" if self-harm occurs or is referenced.

I will also tag content warnings for things that include, for example, character death (like so: #character death cw).

I will not tag the word "queer" as "#q slur". I am uncomfortable with tagging a word I use to describe myself as a slur, among other reasons. If the word makes you uncomfortable, you can put "*queer" into Tumblr Savior and it will blacklist posts containing the word. Or simply don't follow, whichever makes you feel most comfortable.

NSFW is a rarity on this blog. When I do write or reblog something even vaguely NSFW it will be tagged #( nsfw )

For a full list of the tags I use often on this blog, please refer to this page navigation.

my tagging requests

For my comfort, please tag...

#Animal Death TW (especially pet death)

#NSFW

#Gore Images

#Solas Hate & #Merrill Hate

OOC Stuff

about me

You can call me Tas! I use she/her pronouns. I’ve been in the Dragon Age fandom for like 8 years now and I’ve been rping for like 18 years total. I've been rping Merrill on and off for about 6 years or so and made the original version of this blog in 2018.

I have a personal blog (queenaeducan) and my discord is available to mutuals, just shoot me an ask!

Name: Tas Age: 27 Pronouns: She/Her Interests: Elves & cats

#( mod notes ) #( ooc ) #the dawn will come ( queue ) #[ i'll be adding this + a mobile muse page to my sidebar ]

[theharellan]

RP POSITIVITY MEME

DAY 05: favorite multimuses

i’ve been trying to bring multimuses in on past days b/c i want to acknowledge certain characters on said blogs, but here i’ll just highlight the blogs as a whole!

@aniente​ - muses: ameridan, merrill, evangeline, gatt, adrian, dalish, missne (oc), sabriel (oc)

a dragon age multimuse who i featured a couple times b/c i just. really admire their choice of muses as well as the writing! there’s not a muse on here i don’t love, even those like adrian that i’m not overly familiar with given i’ve yet to finish asunder. i can feel ciri’s passion when they write about each of their muses, and it invests me in each one. i’d honestly love a thread w/ each of their muses one day. gotta catch ‘em all. 

@burnsbriiight​ - muses: mai (a:tla), kitty pryde (x-men), marie-elise (da oc), annuneth (da oc), patricia anne (da oc), adahleni (da oc)

first, it was apparently rachel’s birthday the other day, so happy birthday! second, mai is one of my a:tla faves (i actually rped her back in the day) and although i just followed this multimuse i’m excited to see her rps w/ mai. she’s an underrated character.

@centuriesuntold - muses: all the doctors. every one.

i’ve been following this blog since my mass effect days, back when they were bowtied, and they provided a lot of rly inspirational posts to anons and such on their dash! seeing them again, only now with more doctors, was a very exciting experience!!! it’s not something i’d seen before in the dw fandom, and i’ve adored what i’ve seen from them, even as someone who is only familiar with new doctor who.

@dryhtenhold - muses: gareth cousland (oc), ves aeducan (oc), eleanor cousland, agravaine ker (oc), tamar (oc), loghain mac tir

i’ve only listed erran’s primary dragon age characters, but she rps tolkien as well as having a list of secondary muses! her ocs have interesting and complex backstories that really dig deep into dragon age lore, specifically fereldan lore and the civil war. they are such natural parts of the lore that i had to mark them (oc) otherwise you might confuse them with canons like eleanor and loghain.

@kaleiidoscopehearts​ - isabela, miryin brosca, peebee (mass effect), bolin (lok), sally malik (being human), azalea gothel (descendents oc), artemis crook (young justice), amellia smollet (treasure planet)

multifandom, and some are fandoms i’m unfamliar with, which just goes to show how talented they are b/c i’m v selective with non-da multimuses! i’ve talked about peebee and miryin, but i also have been v pleased with seeing bolin on my dash! he was one of my faves from lok. and every time an isabela hits on solas another five minutes are added to my life.

@lcgacyofages - ceridwen mahariel, atena hawke, myrrdin lavellan, zoria amell, dazbo amell, aurora amell, ronina lavellan, seigfried trevelyan, etienne de rousseau, xora orsiniel pharare, arik tabris, hildegard cadash

a blog full of lovely ocs based upon the pc backstories given to us in-game (for the most part!). don’t let the names fool you, though, as not all of them are the heroes. some are companion ocs, which are honestly some of my fave ocs in darp!

@mercysought - priestess (oc), maxima aurum (oc), himsulem (oc), manala (oc), anora theirin, emilie de clair (oc), abel de clair (oc), laone shatterspine (oc), moe (star wars oc)

there isn’t a muse here who isn’t fascinating and beautifully written. with the exception of moe, they’re all dragon age characters, and while i haven’t rped with all of them yet i hope to one day. skells is a wonderful writer and i’m glad a multimuse has enabled her to have more characters b/c that’s what we deserve.

@mindsmade - cremisius acclassi, liam kosta (mass effect), aiden shepard (me), gil brodie (me), celebrian (tolkien), and more!

also featuring more tolkien muses and characters from the good wife and mythological characters! i mentioned this the other day, but i adore their ship on liam with the aforementioned peebee! there’s not a muse listed here who isn’t worth reading about, even as someone unfamiliar with the expanded tolkien universe.

@teleidoscopic - khaliya lavellan, raleigh samson, morrigan, sera, zenyatta (ovw), jameson locke (halo), EDI (mass effect), ashley williams (mass effect), the black box (halo), john hancock (fallout 4), red (transistor)

i’ve been following pastry’s rp blogs for... idk... seven years now? a lot. a lot of years. i’ve seen a few of these muses in action on single-muse blogs, so i’m glad they can return in multimuse form. pastry’s samson and ashley in particular are old favourites, but looking at this list pastry has the magic ability to pull my faves out in general (i would die for zenyatta. and probably deserve it after how many times i’ve gotten him killed playing him...). 

@tothezeros - morrigan, minaeve, raleigh samson, melchior heeren (oc), cornelia solette (oc), clancy griffin (oc), corin thenn (oc), sylvus varnehn (oc)

again, i decided to only list the dragon age muses to save me from tabbing back and forth, but this blog has so many fun muses aside from that! like spyro, taking me back to the days i would ask my dad to take me and my brother to a clubhouse so we could play one of the games on the ps2. and christopher robin! as for their dragon age muses, i’ve thoroughly enjoyed them. i still have a few to get to know, but their samson and minaeve are great, and i’ve known clancy for a few years now! it’s comforting to see him on my dash after all this time. 

#( ooc ) #( positivity ) #rpc positivity week #[ scheduled post ]

[mercysought]

"i tried to tell you once, i'm a hard person not to like." maxima, from jack hehe

black sails season 2 prompts (accepting)

   “You seem to misunderstand, Captain Sparrow." she hums, her arms come to rest on her heavy-duty desk of dark brown varnished wood. Gloved fingers meet and lace upon each other to make a comfortable bed for her chin as she leans forward.

   “I did not send you away because I don't like you. Or because I found you hard to like."

Her brows knit together and she takes him in completely. Men like are rare in Tevinter but not uncommon. What was uncommon about him was the connection with a certain Magister that Maxima would love to see off the board. Maxima would not deny that seizing his assets would bolster her own position and if she didn't have to deal with the man herself, keep her hands clean and help a man get the closure he so sought? Well, one might consider it too good to be true, but Maxima had seen such things come to pass.

That was how she ended up seated upon her father's Magisterium seat, after all.

She was nothing if a lucky woman and sometimes luck simply meant to see through the forest and see which trees would be best used for tinder.

   “I sent you away because you are but one type of interesting out of a sea of interesting people that are always out to fuck with me and my coffers." she smiles openly "And liking someone—" sighing she unfolds her arms, allowing them to rest against the arms of her chair. Her eyes fall to her lap, contemplating the reality of her words "Well, it simply isn't enough in this dog-eat-dog world, is it?"

She did love to surround herself with interesting individuals but interesting individuals didn't always make for the best people to work with. Interesting individuals had this knack to attempt to cut ties and corners when the chips were down, and while Maxima could appreciate it. Understand it, even. Maxima was no longer in a position where she could afford to be surrounded by jesters for the single goal to bathe herself in their attention and stories.

Even if her company was easy on the eyes.

   “But I am nothing if not gracious. And I can admit when I am wrong." she says finally, tilting her head, pulling a blank parchment from a pile held down by a single crystal-like rose "So I have decided to help you with your demon problem."

#vinduri #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( maxima saying: I will help you but cross me and you'll be praying to have been back to this shitty devil deal in a hot second 🥰❤ )

[mercysought]

❝ Perhaps my lack of education is showing. ❞ / from krem to maxima my queen ........

black sails season 2 prompts (accepting)

   “Focus, Cremisius."

She says and a touch of frustration tinges on her tone; for a moment, she regrets it. Her dark eyes lock into Cremisius' light brown. The regret is still there but lessened as she tilts her head. He is a handsome man with a curse for self-esteem. Were it not for what she knew about the way he made a living, Daphné would have certainly wondered how he hadn't yet been chewed up and spat out to be made into the concrete between the city streets' stone paths.

But he is not Orlesian, not one from the fields, not one from the high castles so the rules would not apply so easily to him, not unless he entrenched himself in it. And even then. He was Tevinter but when a Tevinter is South of the border it usually only spells out a history of pain and disaster. Daphné was curious; her memories of the place were flimsy at best and half the time she wondered if they had been more fantasy than reality.

In the end, she could easily live with her curiosity and let it die in her throat.

   “Self-deprecation doesn't look good on you." a pause, her hands makes their way to his arm, pulling it gently and lacing around it before allowing it to dive back into her light robes.

She looks away to the red ribbons on the balconies above, distracted "I also do not find that particular vein of humour funny, I must admit."

Not that he was there simply to impress her. Perhaps that was her job sipping into this little walk. Perhaps she simply didn't know how to do any other dance than that of being tantalizing enough to remain interesting with a small demonstration of bite and that of flattery. Perhaps, but that didn't change the fact that she was being truthful: self-deprecation was not a characteristic that called to her.

   “You know more about this than I ever will, even if I reached into the depths of my imagination. I enjoy your stories not because they are exactly as one would describe in a history book. I enjoy your stories because they are fun." she smiles, pulling him closer and hitting his hip with the side of hers, immediately regretting when she feels the edge of his belt hit her "And you are a fantastic storyteller."

#mindsmade #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( maxima happily taking the crown and just 🥰💓 ) #( anyway early day things ✨ ) #( perhaps just telling her stories and telling her about some parts that he himself can't explain it and has to find different ways of #explaining it? ) #( meanwhile maxima is like: listen I don't understand a single thing about adventuring so like I'm having fun if you are )

[mercysought]

continued from here for @mindsmade ( brasidas ) because for some reason the editor doesn't let me trim it ✨

   “Do not be foolish." she whispered through gritted teeth, just barely able to keep a sneer from spilling from her lips alongside the annoyance that dripped each word. There were only a couple of people within Sparta that she could even consider to be her informants but none of them would be the type that she would share this sort of information with. The thought that someone like Brasidas wouldn't know but that she would feel at ease to share this sort of prized information with just about everyone.

She didn't have any blades with her; foolish perhaps but she had not considered she would necessarily need them given the path that she was planning to walk. A thought to keep for herself: everything was getting too dangerous to walk around without some sort of weapon on her.

   “There are a number of people that could know of it though not more than the fingers on the palm of your hand." walking towards the wall, her hands feel the cold stones beneath. Stuck, stuck. Lowering herself down closer to the ground she feels at the stones closer to the ground, nothing quite loose enough that she could pull out except one. Pulling it out only half the rock budged. Smaller than she'd intended but angled enough to work fine enough.

Heavier than she'd like.

In the distance she hears steps; further up the path split into three. Three into different sections that would lead into the Kings' palace. Glancing in that direction Maxima tries her best to see a figure while attempting to sink into the wall.

The only thing that she could see from the distance, in the brief glint of their mask against the distant flicker of flame: the mask of the cult of kosmos. She feels her feet root into the ground, her eyes seek Brasidas'.

   “This is a problem."

#mindsmade #maxima aurum ( muses ) #as long as the music plays we dance ( historical ) #( I really thought I'd be able to cut the replies but lmao nope )

[mercysought]

❝ come share my fire, the night is cold. ❞ maxima, from basim !!

@vinduri . game of thrones . accepting

Maxima smiles from beneath the hood. Turning around she circles around the warm light of the flame, just at the edge where the cold blue met the warm orange of the dirt before becoming fully washed out by the yellow light from the fire.

   "It's an indigo night, there's a chill." she hums, but her voice is barely audible as she steps into the light. It was an old song and while she had sung it many times for many different years, it was hard to deny the lack of the appropriate strings beneath. Even with the drowning of loud voices celebrating in the background, despite their own loud songs with words, she could hardly follow herself especially as the wine dulled them.

England was never indigo; it was ever only grey or green.

Her hands cover a small blanket, one of the many of the Raven clan. One could not deny that the warriors from the north had the warmest blankets she had ever touched. Not the nicest to the touch but nicety hardly mattered when the weather attempted to bury you beneath it. No wonder they should run south - had she any other choice she would have fled further south too. She covers his shoulders with the blanket, squeezing them briefly before sitting beside him by the fire.

It was a lively party with many empty tankards strewn about.

Maxima looks past Basim, past towards the river - it was stunning how across so many different lands and tongues so many of the same common threads in stories could be found. The same stories she had heard of women rising from sea foam and painted as goddesses had been heard wherever she travelled. In these grey and cold lands, however, they were not goddesses but monsters.

What difference the kiss of sunlight could make.

   "Out of all places, smiling one to find you standing out." and he did; in more ways than one. Or perhaps it was simply undeniable humanity within themselves to recognise familiarity even so far from their original context "I must say, amongst a murder of Danes would not be my first guess."

#vinduri #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( me banging on the walls with indigo night blaring in the bg ) #( catching me quoting both tam.ino and fl.orence on the same post shamelessly )

[mercysought]

❝ why, that almost sounds like praise. ❞ maxima, from apollodoros !!

@vinduri . game of thrones . accepting

Maxima smiles, looking over her shoulder towards the towering figure with a knowing smile. Praise was simple and easy. Cheap. As natural as breathing for one whose tongue had been honed to its sharpest point to be the best recipient of such words. To weave words to be received by one's listener as enticing to pull them closer.

The English called it a snake in the grass. Maxima preferred to think of it closer to flowers whose scent pulled in all manner of life around them. With bright colours, delicious odour and a promise. A promise - for that was always mandatory even in a speechless exchange.

In the end, the exchange was still resolved, regardless of how short it might be for one party over the other.

   "It is praise." she says simply, her smile growing into a low-hum laugh. The greek sounds odd to her ears, like a distant memory coming to claw at the side of her brain. A dark figure in the night tapping against a window sill.

There weren't many people who could track her down to her office without an invite. Much less many that would really remember her from the place that had seen her walk barefoot and head full of wavy coppery curls. A girl with hardly a name to the shape that she had been given. That girl hadn't called that place her home the same way that the woman standing before Apollodoros didn't, but that hardly meant that it wasn't surprising. Not unlike watching the dead crawl from their tombs to rattle the living.

And who was she to deny such drama?

And while the words that she had spoken weren't cheap, they were certainly not without that same promise. After all, in these cold, foggy lands it was, at times, hard to tell the difference between friend and foe, praise and threat.

   "How may I help you on this day Apollodoros?" she rises from her chair, pulling the darker (darker than she'd like) furs closer to her body. These lands fit her as well as the cold stones of each settlement she had visited did for aesthetics.

As this world expanded so must she "It is not often that a piece of my homeland strolls into my office." the sweet aroma of red wine fills the room as she opens a dark bottle at the edge of her table. An expensive treat. Two cups are filled "And while sentimentality could certainly fits us better than these grey lands, I hardly think that is the reason for the visit."

#vinduri #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( maxima said: england is cold and grimy but I do love me money ) #( anyway apollodoros turning up in england and maxima just blinking twice like )

[mercysought]

‘my life is my reputation. it is all I have.’ / from brasidas to maxima!!

@mindsmade . letter prompts or song of achilles . accepting

Maxima had many expectations of Brasidas' return home, but this? This she was sure that not even an oracle could have truly fully mapped. Or perhaps she was the one that had led herself to believe such a fancy. It is a shock, at first, his full armour, the few first words, the repeat conversation about Deimos and the battle that was sure to come. The "lost-track-of-the-number" times she had begged him in all ways but on her knees, for him to stay.

This terrible feeling, if Brasidas was to go, only grew with each conversation and now it roared in her head, like a storm in her ears.

   "All you have...?" she repeats, and the shock is crystal clear on her tone, in the way that her eyes seem to widen when he says those words as a matter of fact. Maxima moves away from the sunlight, away from the sounds of wooden swords and laughter, deeper into the room where Brasidas stands fully dressed in his armour. Her face falls for but a second before the ice starts to take hold "Interesting."

Her voice lowers, and she moves deeper into the room, closer to where he was.

   "For a man that was hesitant to enter a marriage where he feared there would only be convenience you sure seem to be singing a different tune now." she bites those words and she can only hope that she feels the bitterness in them. The betrayal in them. For the moment, she can hardly look at him without feeling the anger build up in every single one of her pores.

She keeps her voice cool and collected, as best as she can to keep it away from their children "But this is fine. I just hadn't expected you to be one to play your cards this way, but, honestly, that was my mistake!"

   "Very well, your reputation is all you have, hm?!" she grits her teeth, her breathing slowing down and the same part of her brain that had often reminded her of caution towards danger scratched at the sides of her skull, an itch that demanded to be scratched. Her body stands in the room, her back to the arch that lead to the open courtyard where their children played. Her green eyes find that of her husband's, her hands folding over her stomach atop the red belt "Then listen to my words and then you will leave."

And he would. Because he would not want for the court to catch wind of him being escorted out of his own home by his own guards, she was sure.

   "There will always be another war and another demand and it is clear to me that once those same voices come and question your reputation for having dared marry someone like me you will gladly sacrifice us too won't you?" the accusation is flung because she knew the answer to be yes; and because the anger at her tongue made it burn and speak in hushed tones but no less intense. He would do the same thing that the Eaglebearer's father had done: he would kill her or banish her and their children if that meant that the voices from a temple called for it.

If the King demanded so, if someone close to the King did so, he would cry but she would still push the blade. And perhaps she should shut up and restrain this tongue that had known more freedom and life than many around them would allow her but she still would not keep it still. She had chose not to remain in Sparta because it seemed, after all, a safe place to grow roots.

And now, now that she had. Now that she had their children she knew only one thing: she would not stand by and watch them get chewed up by the world like she had been "Because you are right, Brasidas, you only have your reputation because your life? It was never yours to begin with, and while you might not understand it, you did have us." she pauses, inhaling sharply, her voice is as much of a whisper as she can truly muster it "It will be me and our children who they will demand next."

And she would burn Sparta to the ground before she allowed such a thing to happen. Her green eyes stared into Brasidas', that promise was written all over them. Even if it hurt her to know this was the end. The end of their life together, the end of the illusion of the happiness that she thought they had shared.

She felt stupid, not for trying but for believing that it could have been any other way.

   "It is clear that my attempts to plead with you to reconsider never had a chance to truly fall in your ears." her fists close, and she pulls them to the side of her body. Her head points towards the arch at his back - back once more into the entrance of their home "So go, if you are so ready to die for your reputation then the battlefield calls - after all, you have nothing to hold you back."

#mindsmade‌ #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #long post tw #( this got uh very long! ) #( rip all of us )

[mercysought]

   “And what of her?” 

Green eyes slowly move from the king Archidamos to one of the members of court. An old man with a heavy set of eyebrows that pulled down the sunburnt face. At one time he had been a solider too, not many men within Sparta hadn’t, but not many moved to a life of pure politics. Or as pure as one’s life could be when within those halls.

Her, was not an odd or unfamiliar way of being called though Maxima had find it that such a term was used when speaking of her own person behind her back. It had only been a matter of time, of course, until its ugly head came turning. This situation was what she had feared and it was now time to swiftly see how the man took the logeion to turn the already simmering anger of king Archidamos into a weapon against her. Her, the outsider. Her, the one that dared be within those walls and think to speak.

   “She was brought to the King’s court upon Pausania’s request. What is to say that she is not still here, continuing to serve the same cult? Act like a snake in the grass and asked to dance by their whispered tunes?“ Maxima remained silent. Both hands held behind her back, their sides brushes against the red chiton. She counts her breaths, controlling the breathing through her nose. She keeps the daggers from her eyes the best she can “Pausanias was one of our own and that is only to speak about the influence of this cult, she” he turns to her and it is only disgust that once might have been concealed despite of how poorly, but now was completely out in the open for all to see “is an outsider. A stain and a reminder of how much they have tainted and taken from us.“

She steels herself. The cold sensation moves from her chest that threatened to beat her bones into dust. Maxima takes a step forward, her eyes moving from the other man back to King Archidamos, bows only slightly. 

One should only kneel before the Gods and no Man was a God, Spartans knew this well. 

   “If I may...” though her head remains bowed for a moment longer, green eyes holding the King’s “My King, my life and actions ever since being so warmly welcomed to Sparta have been nothing but in service to this land and its people.” her head lifts, and her hands move once over her stomach “My heart and resources belong to Sparta.” her eyes return now to the man. Her jaw tensing before the words continue “Perhaps the court has forgotten, I too was involved in aiding the Eaglebearer unveil Pausanias for the traitor that he was.“

   “So a traitor and one that attempts to latch herself to the achievements of sons of Sparta.” he hears him scoff “Rather bold at but unsurprising you would feel emboldened enough given the liberties that Brasidas has given you.“

@mindsmade for brasidas

#mindsmade #maxima aurum ( muses ) #as long as the music plays we dance ( historical ) #( alright I finally managed to get this written (': ) #( anyway brasidas please rip him a new one pls and thank you )

[mercysought]

‘do you not ever want children?’ / from krem to maxima 👁

@mindsmade . letter prompts or song of achilles . accepting

Maxima twirls the small cigarette around her fingers, blowing off the smoke away from where Cremisius sat. His skin seemed to fit the sun so well that it was like he was meant to simply always be beneath it. The most natural of spotlights, the world is gifted with such a warm and welcoming visage. Maxima, for her part, sat (half lying) in the shadow after having spent quite a while (too much) in the sun on her balcony.

This was a topic that she had touched upon a few times, especially with the late Magister Aurum since such a topic was important and he had made it clear that was she was to have any children that it was perhaps wiser to leave the seat to one of the siblings. But, and of course, that had been said with the most loving of expressions if it were to be one of her children he was sure that they would do as much of a good job.

She had smiled, listened, and played along telling him all that he wished to hear. But Cremisius was not Faustus.

   "No." she hums, green eyes finding his as the smoke is exhaled through her nostrils, the ash allowed to fall on the small dish to her side "I have never wanted them, and it is my belief that I never will."

As a mage within the Circle she had always been told: no marriage, no relationships, no children. And, unlike many within the circle, she found that just fine. Relationships could be bent just enough, marriage and children she had always been more than happy to pass. The only thing that had bothered her about such an arrangement was that she was not the one holding the full control of the choice.

But she did now. And despite the many flatteries and marriage proposals, she would not marry. Not if they were promising, not if they were awful, not if it were to gain her more influence one way or another. She could and it would likely be smart, but she felt no need for it. Plus, such things always came with expectations. Her power was her own and she did not wish to share it or make another feel like she owed them anything.

And, finally, she would not bring a child into the world if that meant that she would go through the same that she herself had. Maxima knew well enough that they too would not belong anywhere and would need to carry the secret that she did. Plus, Maxima did not trust herself enough to not become like her own mother.

Maxima had once believed that there were simply women that weren't meant to be mothers. Like herself, like her mother. But when she saw that Sahren was a perfectly fine mother to her own elven children, it became clear that it was her. It was her that was not fit to be a daughter, it was her that was not fit to be her daughter.

   "The role of a mother is not one that calls to me." she shifts, sitting now instead of allowing her body to slide down the comfortable seat "But Regulus is turning out to be a very promising young man, so..." she snorts, looking back to her beloved with a grin filled with mirth in her lips "Perhaps I do have it in me after all."

Of course, it was a joke. Maxima held as much influence as she could, but truthfully her job kept her away from home much. His instructors were handpicked, both by her and by Cato and so the influence extended even if it was light. As his older sister, she extended as much as she could and felt him receiving any that she could offer. But that was still little and often she felt not enough in a world that would gladly eat this little boy's heart whole.

Even if they were able to conceive, even if adoption was a topic that could appear sooner or later; Maxima did not think she would ever be fit to be a mother the same way she had not been to be a daughter. And that was fine, it was fine to her.

   "Did my answer disappoint you, dearest?"

#mindsmade #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( I AM FINE ACTUALLY ) #( GOD i LOVE them so much and I hate you for doing this to me )

[mercysought]

so long as i live, i will not forget. ( stannis to maxima from strmfury )

@praeludio / @strmfury . under the udala trees . selectively accepting

It is a strange state to be in. One where her tongue tasted all and yet nothing at all, the weight of her tongue feeling dead and barren just as her lungs when they had heard the news. Her memory was still foggy as to what had happened next, she had only known that she had held her mother’s hand tightly while being unable to tear her eyes away from the messenger. No scream make to knock her lungs, no anger crashing down her body. Only the void. Akin to behind atop the rocks when a large wave hit the shelf just opposite to her. 

She could feel the cold, the shaking of the ground, but not feel it directly.

And it had been in that same state that she had remained. Hardly eating whatever she had been given, offering it instead of her mother, to Stannis, to Renly but seeing that much like her they too were sustaining their bodies through other means of fuel than food. She had remained that way until that morning when she had just briefly looked outside of the smallest windows of one of the towers. Towards the figures that looked so small that they could be charcoal stains on wet parchment, towards the edge of the rocks and how she wished she could be there. 

There where if she was to scream nobody would be able to hear her fury except for the tides.

Instead she had just stared, she had stared and she had cried. Her legs protected by the skirts as she came to rest against the floor, away from the cast light. Fist bruised from becoming the only viable conduit of her anger. The day would come where she would have all of their heads for what they had done. 

But the sun had gone down and their walls stood for another day, ready to withstand another night.

Maxima gives her brother a tight-lipped smile. Tight and clipped and shaped by her teeth just underneath. Her hand falls on his shoulder and squeezing it gently. One day. They would survive and the fury that the house of Baratheon had been known for until this point would pale to that of the punishment all guilty would suffer at their hands.

#praeludio #strmfury #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( in verses (: where (: steffon kicked the bucket in the prison (: in kl ) #( survive the storm only to end up dead in a cold cell )

[mercysought]

‘you have made a fair run of blocking fate’s path. but you cannot do it forever.’ / presumptive springboard for Maxima from Cezara 🌠

@anakhronus . memes memes memes . accepting

   "I don't think I've ever heard something quite so ridiculous!"

Maxima smiles just as lightly as the tone of her voice. The straw hat allowed for only the lightest of striations from the sun to kiss her rosy cheeks. The laugh rolls easily too as her eyes move from Cezara to the gardens.

The grounds were acceptable. Out of all the things that Maxima had foreseen becoming a snob about the plans and garden arrangements hadn't been one of them. But it was certainly comforting to know that there was plenty of space for growth and to allow for some surprises - even to herself.

   "There are no designs upon the sky. No written map in which I am forced to walk."

Or perhaps there was. Either a Maker that would look down upon her with disgust or many other Gods that would see her and think: how dare you put your shoes on and join this dance? Perhaps the day would come when her eyes would close at last and she would realise that unimaginable punishment was all that she would be met with.

She hadn't learnt many useful things from her mother. Not things that didn't end up being turned into weapons that she could turn upon herself. But there was one lesson that she had kept alive even as she had left that life behind: if you did not take what you needed, the world would surely not stop itself from depriving you of it.

   "To attempt to forge one's luck might be a fool's errand, but..." Maxima turns once more to Cezara with a smile that grows; the woman adjusts the hat atop her head despite remaining in the same place: perfectly placed, at the exact angle that many other ladies would use it. The auburn hair was carefully brushed and without a strand out of place "You will find that I am a fine smith."

Oh, folly. Lady luck was fickle and would prefer to laze around a garden, turning its body as the sun shifted in the sky. Maxima would never deny that she had been born a woman that luck that taken a particular liking to but she would be damned if she were to exist only to dance by its tune.

   "So have a little faith in me Cezara, dearest." she hums, approaching the woman and wrapping her arm with hands as soft and warm as a late summer afternoon "I promise you I shan't disappoint."

#anakhronus #maxima aurum ( muses ) #raven received ( meme replies ) #( my writing is very rusty I'm not going to lie :') ) #( but I'm glad to finally get to write something for you ✨)