Nov 15, 2025
I think about the things we could have done
When years were longer and we were young
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United Kingdom
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seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Portugal
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Portugal
seen from Portugal
seen from China
seen from Portugal
seen from Malaysia
seen from Portugal
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Portugal
I think about the things we could have done
When years were longer and we were young
Hey Steven,
I was reading your ACOK Cat 2 essay, and it got me thinking. You mentioned how the Redwynes don't have any men with Renly's army cause Hobber and Horas are "guests" of the king, so I'm curious: if a House isn't able to fulfill their obligations and send men to their liege lord during a war cause the enemy is holding members of that House hostage, would they be punished for it, or would the liege lord basically go, "yeah fair," and overlook it?
As I've written about, the process of getting a vassal to fulfill their feudal obligation to provide military service was always one that involved political negotiation between liege lord and vassal.
So while the Tyrells probably wouldn't be thrilled about the Redwynes holdng back their forces because the heirs to the House are being held captive, it would be seen as an understandable motive - noblemen get taken captive in wars all the time, the custom of hostage-taking is an accepted and legitimate part of feudal politics, and only a madlad (or lassie) would ignore the threat and fight anyway.
Given their political skill, I would expect an overlord like the Tyrells to respond by paying the ransom for Horas and Hobber in order to not only free up the Redwyne forces but also place the Redwynes under a heavy debt/obligation to their liege lord, thus ensuring their loyalty for some time to come.
Where the wild garlic grows
Recently started listening to the Hamilton songs. I’m sure everyone is already aware of this but These things Heccin SLAP
a good harvest of ransoms/wild garlic:
one half as a pesto:
the other half cut & frozen:
2019 is now officially secured in the archives
Coincidentally finished a notebook right at the end of the year. I don't think that has ever happened before, but given the year I just had, it feels good to put those thoughts away for a while and start the new year fresh.