Queen Rhea

independent rp blog written by ben mun/muse 21+ nsfw tagged

[tiarawcman]

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Daxamite Prime

[tiarawcman]

// look, bridget actually being cast as poison ivy is a dream come true, and like. you know what? might pop back to the rp sphere to write that. maybe.

[pulitzerpanther]

Kara Danvers would like Miss Grant to please send happy messages or starters to all of her wifes today plz :3 Be Kind Miss Grant you have been mean lately! <3 Kara Danvers

It's at this moment we all realized on this blessed day that cat has more wives than a mormon politician @quainttrelle , @marsdin , @theyeardecembered , @amazonluthor , @aluraze , @justicescreaming (they're married I swear it counts) ...am I missing any wives? Oh man I'll feel awful if I've missed anyone.

Cat is normally spiteful when people tell her to be nice but I think this time I'll listen and send some rare mythical nice!cat her wives' way bc she bein mean and trolly lately.

She'll even hold back from sending herself a glitter bomb, making kara open it, and then clean up the resulting catastrophe. Or maybe not.

Also @tiarawcman who probably forgot that one arranged marriage verse but pepperidge farms remembers

[tiarawcman]

I was literally on my personal reading this and all the tags and thinking about that arranged marriage verse and deciding not to say anything because we only had, like, one thread and it's been years--

So excuse you, I remembered, too. :P

[mitchellwrites]

deathless ♚ sentence meme

You will always fall in love, and it will always be like having your throat cut, just that fast.

You are going to break your promise. I understand.

You’re lonely too.

It will stop your breath, how cruel I can be.

I am a demanding creature. I am selfish and cruel and extremely unreasonable.

I am your servant.

I crawl at your feet; for before your love, your kisses, I am debased.

For you alone I will be weak.

I belong here, and you will not deny me.

I say these things, and the world listens.

I do not tolerate a world emptied of you. I have tried.

In the dark, I have pored over the loss of you like pale gold.

I will not let her speak because I love her, and when you love someone, you do not make them tell war stories.

I moved the earth and the water for you.

You will always run away with her.

You will always lose her.

You will always be a fool.

You will always be dead, in a city of ice, snow falling into your ear.

You have already done all of this and will do it again.

No one should be judged for loving more than they ought, only for loving not enough.

We look terrible to you, and severe, and you see our blood flying.

What we carry between us is hard-won, and we made it just as we wished it to be, just the color, just the shape.

There need never be any rules between us.

Let us be greedy together; let us hoard.

Do not leave me, swear that you will never leave me.

I am selfish. I am cruel. My mate cannot be less than I.

Sleep with fists closed and shoot straight.

I can’t abide a poor liar.

You look like a winter’s night. I could sleep inside the cold of you.

Oh, quit that. Blushing is for virgins and Christians.

Scold me; deny me. Tell me you want what you want and damn me forever. But don’t leave me.

Bad luck relies on absolutely perfect timing.

In his own country, Death can be kind.

What is the world but a boxing ring where fools and devils put up their fists?

Men die. It’s practically what they’re for.

I am no one; I am nothing.

Nothing in me was not made by you.

A revelation is always the end of something. It might even be cause for grief.

Just tell yourself a story that’ll satisfy you and pretend he told it.

Forever isn’t bright; it isn’t like that. Forever is cold and hard and final.

I savor bitterness - it is born of experience. It is the privilege of one who has truly lived.

If you want to kill yourself, do not use us as your knife.

What did I do wrong? Was I boring? Did I ignore you?

Don’t you dare speak to me like that.

I have worn nothing but blood and death for years.

I have fought all your battles for you, just as you asked me.

I have learned not to cry when I strangle a man.

I have learned to watch everything die.

I am not a little girl anymore, dazzled by your magic. It is my magic, now, too.

Are we not devils?

No one is now what they were before the war.

I have not seen you without your skin on.

Close up your head; your brain is getting loose.

We obsess. It’s in our nature.

I’ve a devil of a habit for being right.

In war you must always choose sides.

If you try to be a bridge laid down between them, they will tear you in half.

We are all dead. All equal. Broken and aimless and believing we are alive.

My old bones will follow yours soon enough.

It is better to be strong and cruel than to be fair.

I will see him with his skin off before I agree to fall in love.

After love, no one is what they were before.

I have survived, but I have not been spared.

In the space of one heartbeat to another I loved you and I was lost to you.

Frighten me, make me cry, only come back.

It’s not so bad, my darling. Being dead. It’s like being alive, only colder.

You’ll think it’s love, while he dines on your heart.

You will be so beautiful when you are old.

I cannot keep you and I cannot let you go.

You will live as you live in any world…with difficulty, and grief.

I look at you and it is like my throat being cut.

She said you’d come and I swore to eat your heart.

I still want to kiss you.

My heart is being cut in two. I cannot bear it.

What happens to anything beautiful?

I have to know, I have to or else you will just rule me until the end of everything because you know and I do not.

[inze]

tiarawcman​:

“You have equal convincing power to their representatives. Unfortunately to them, I likely will not listen to any of you.” If anything, Rhea would be more likely to listen to her advisors and those closest to her, none of whom the aforementioned were. The best way to get her to listen would be to spend time with her, but as long as they weren’t doing that–

Rhea rolls her eyes. “Kryptonian reasoning and Daxamite reasoning is entirely different. Besides, New Daxam’s council is full of members from planets other than either of ours. That is like assuming that sending a human to speak with another human will automatically gain them a beneficial result without taking into account where those humans are from - their culture, their background, even their gender. Again, they are only proving why it would be problematic at best for New Daxam to try and ally itself with any of them.” She sighs. “New Daxam means that humans have to learn to grow up and accept that other sentient species share their planet - many with powers and talents they don’t have. The fact that so many of them wish to discriminate against us simply because we are not like them says more about their maturity level than it says about New Daxam.” She takes another sip of her drink. “Simply put, whether or not New Daxam becomes a threat depends more on how they react to us than how I react to them.”

Rhea glances over the boots dirtying her table and decides, even though she knows it will do little, to add, “Really, must you do this? I think if one of your representatives saw you, they would have less faith in your ability to help them.”

There is a small quirk of Astra’s eyebrow. She was tempted to make an innuendo, but since Rhea seemed in a little bit more of a serious mood, she figured that pressing the other woman wouldn’t be wise. At least pressing her more than she already was. Since Astra knew that she constantly had the upper hand when it came to strength, she was never worried about physical retaliation, but Rhea did have other ways to fight back and therefore, their truce remained. 

“Yes, yes, I am aware. I don’t need to hear you give your speech again. I do believe their attempt to make a familiar diplomat is a more mature move than you seem to think. It shows that they acknowledge your nation as one that requires communication with and that moving forward that they aren’t just going to start shooting without prokovation. If you sit here without talking to them, they are far more likely to take that as a threat. I’ve read their history books, humans are incredibly jumpy when it comes to communication.” Astra shrugged. She wasn’t invested one way or another. In fact, she planned on doing exactly as she pleased. But part of that was trying to mend relationships with her niece. The only reason why she’d agreed to at least float the idea to Rhea. 

She smiled and nodded. “Think of it as a symbol of me seeing us as equals. Two leaders of fallen empires.” Astra rolled her eyes at that. Mostly due to her inclusion. She’d never wanted herself of all people to be the last one standing. “At least they refused Kara when she offered herself for the position. Which she did. Repeatedly. Another glimpse of foresight at least.” 

[tiarawcman]

Rhea gestures outwardly with one hand. "I don't believe that I'm the ruler of a fallen empire. We seem to have survived your destruction better than your people did." It's a slight dig - but far better than outright accusing the Kryptonian and her people for destroying Daxam. Even if it was true, such bitterness would be seen as a prompt to fight. She is not interested in dragging out old history. The slight dig that this is - it's an indicator of growth, this not jumping down the general's throat.

"Your niece should have learned by now that meeting with me is like trying to put out a fire by smothering it with gasoline. You are a much better option." That was a point in their favor. "At least they're learning, then."

Rhea sighs again. "I'm sure you won't mince words about what they want either. They would likely try to hoodwink me in one form or other. You might do the same, but I hope you are more likely to be forthright on the issue." Which meant that there were benefits to speaking with the Kryptonian general instead of the humans. "I suppose this means we will be seeing a lot more of each other."

[the-karamel-blob]

—Mon-El, Supergirl, “Resist”

[tiarawcman]

me, sitting here, trying really hard not to make a sideblog for francis forsythe. who i love. who deserves better. and who i would totally write as divorced from yates but still in contact with him because they have two boys and she would (-sigh-) probably want him to be able to see his kids.

(and also given his family is old money rich, if they got into a legal battle over custody it would not necessarily go in her favor. unless she brought up the whole family history that the judge went to such lengths to keep quiet.)

like. there's a lot of complicated stuff and i would just want to acknowledge that the series happened and then take her and drop her into different contexts because paradise lost was. a mess. but i love francis. so much. and i want to write therapist francis forsythe dealing with parenting her two sons alone and moving them back across the country because she couldn't stay in the deep south any longer (but also maybe dealing with the youngest one having that connection to his aunt who is supposed to be dead)--

i'm so disappointed with that show and yet somehow want another season so they can clear up things because they didn't wrap things up much at all and ugh i miss francis.

[pulitzerpanther]

@tiarawcman cont’d

“How long do you think I spent listening to my unfortunately deceased husband begging for a break during our search for Mon-El?” Rhea shakes her head, deep breath escaping through her nostrils. “Most of my time on Earth would considered a break until Lena figured out the teleportation device. Humans refuse to work around the clock, so I did not either.” She pauses. “I do not enjoy breaks. Most of them are quite boring.” Then she shivers with distaste. “And I dislike sand.”

“Of course you do.” It’s drawled, “It’s coarse–rough. Irritating. It gets everywhere like…” Fingers wave in vague gesture, “Herpes. Or flat-earthers. But it’s also synonymous with Beaches, which I do love. The place. Not the movie. Studies,” A hum, lowering her coffee in order to give Rhea her attention. “Show that taking a routine break every hour and half apparently boost creativity, lower exhaustion, and raise productivity. But I believe rest is for the weak. Productivity doesn’t happen if you’re not productive but, hmm–” And she shifts, a little, serious as she steps closer, “I’ve also learned that if a break is boring, it’s because I’m being boring during it. Sometimes rest can be good for the soul. Or, at least, that’s what I learned in Bhutan. Old habits, they–” A quiet, rumbling laugh on the edge of lips, more dry than anything, “Die hard.” 

A beach house sits a few hundred miles away, duplicate keys spread across multiple hands, and the sound of heels ringing out throughout it had only sounded twice in the sum of two decades, both of which she’d worked through it. 

She wonders, sometimes, if maybe her own breaks had been filled with her sons, the times silences wiggled their ways into their conversations, there wouldn’t be such a struggle to fill them. 

“Still, it’s just a song. Lighten up. You could always go bury yourself in an igloo instead of the sand.” 

[tiarawcman]

"I'm sure your studies rely entirely on a primarily human test base. Their results cannot be used against other species - Terran or otherwise - and still be assumed to hold their weight; I doubt it would apply to Daxamites." Rhea waves a hand. "You try searching the cosmos for one single person only to find them and have them refuse you. The breaks in that situation had little use."

Rhea raps her fingers along the tabletop as she listens to the other queen. "Songs communicate truths about the people and cultures who wrote them. Surely there's more to it than just wanting a vacation."

[inze]

tiarawcman​:

“That is a foolish decision on their part.”

Rhea bites back an unamused laugh. “They seem to have forgotten that all of their trouble originally centered on letting their Kryptonian warrior ‘deal with me’ instead of paying me the respect I, as the ruler of the Daxamites, deserved. What is it they say? ‘Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’? How foolish.” One corner of her lip curves upward. “Even if you are far preferable to your niece.”

Her drink is bitter, chased with a hint of sweetness. At least here on New Daxam things aren’t filled with sugar until her bones ache with it. But human food is just like humans themselves - artificially sweet to the point of killing you. “Tell the humans that their wars and conflicts are not of my concern.” She sighs. “You should know they only want my help as a threat to their opponents. I will not be used as a bargaining tool.”

“They seem to believe that aliens can talk to each other better and well, since I am allowed to mostly come and go as I please, they believe that I have some convincing power that their representatives don’t have.” At that notion, Astra does smile and her eyes travel across the parts of Rhea that she could see. “Which we both know is untrue.” She smirks. 

She kicks her feet up, resting them on the table, not making any attempts to please the Queen as frankly Astra much prefered to torment her. “You know, I rather think that a large number of the people in the organization want me to be the one talk to you because they are afraid of what New Daxam means for the sake of humanity. As a,” Her hands come up to do air quotes, a very fun human interaction that Astra picked up. “ “reformed” enemy combatant they feel as though I’ll have the most insight if you pose a threat.” 

[tiarawcman]

"You have equal convincing power to their representatives. Unfortunately to them, I likely will not listen to any of you." If anything, Rhea would be more likely to listen to her advisors and those closest to her, none of whom the aforementioned were. The best way to get her to listen would be to spend time with her, but as long as they weren't doing that--

Rhea rolls her eyes. "Kryptonian reasoning and Daxamite reasoning is entirely different. Besides, New Daxam's council is full of members from planets other than either of ours. That is like assuming that sending a human to speak with another human will automatically gain them a beneficial result without taking into account where those humans are from - their culture, their background, even their gender. Again, they are only proving why it would be problematic at best for New Daxam to try and ally itself with any of them." She sighs. "New Daxam means that humans have to learn to grow up and accept that other sentient species share their planet - many with powers and talents they don't have. The fact that so many of them wish to discriminate against us simply because we are not like them says more about their maturity level than it says about New Daxam." She takes another sip of her drink. "Simply put, whether or not New Daxam becomes a threat depends more on how they react to us than how I react to them."

Rhea glances over the boots dirtying her table and decides, even though she knows it will do little, to add, "Really, must you do this? I think if one of your representatives saw you, they would have less faith in your ability to help them."

[inze]

tiarawcman​:

Rhea takes in the Kryptonian’s posture and gives a slow nod - not hesitant, but accepting of her presence. She isn’t going to fight her over a seat, even if the proximity gave a certain familiarity that she wasn’t always entirely comfortable with. Of course, saying such aloud likely wouldn’t gain her any traction. A Kryptonian would stay where they liked especially if it bothered a Daxamite. Despite their entanglement, she believes that would be the case with the general as well.

“What is there to discuss?” Rhea asks, finger tracing the edge of her goblet. Humans could make a ringing sound like this. She doesn’t. Yet. It is far too obnoxious for a house call.

There was no fight over whether she should stay and Astra decided that she’d take that as a win. She leaned back and let herself just take a moment to relax. She head tilts back, hair falling gently from her shoulders as she did so. A heavy sigh left her lips and then Astra turned her head slightly, looking at Rhea. 

“The humans. Their organizations. They want a more official amount of interaction between you and them. Since you are the leader of your people.” She pauses for a moment, letting Rhea absorb that information. “But who do you think that they want to lead the charge, hmm? The person who you seem to be more willing to talk to.” Astra raised an eyebrow. “Me.” 

[tiarawcman]

"That is a foolish decision on their part."

Rhea bites back an unamused laugh. "They seem to have forgotten that all of their trouble originally centered on letting their Kryptonian warrior 'deal with me' instead of paying me the respect I, as the ruler of the Daxamites, deserved. What is it they say? 'Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it'? How foolish." One corner of her lip curves upward. "Even if you are far preferable to your niece."

Her drink is bitter, chased with a hint of sweetness. At least here on New Daxam things aren't filled with sugar until her bones ache with it. But human food is just like humans themselves - artificially sweet to the point of killing you. "Tell the humans that their wars and conflicts are not of my concern." She sighs. "You should know they only want my help as a threat to their opponents. I will not be used as a bargaining tool."

[pulitzerpanther]

"I don't understand this song's fascination with tropical places as a get-away, especially considering that the titular Kokomo doesn't seem to exist where he says it does." Rhea raises an eyebrow. "Is it perhaps fantasizing about a place like Neverland or Pleasure Island for adults? Either way, I would much rather NOT go."

@tiarawcman

Cat, who hasn't seen someone read so much into a song outside of (drunkenly) perusing yahoo answers one God Awful night in the earlier part of the decade, doesn't look up from her phone, but does arch an eyebrow. "What about Kokomo doesn't sound appealing?"

She is, after all, still a journalist.

[pulitzerpanther]

tiarawcman​:

“All of it.”

Rhea lounges back against the slope of her chair, eyeing the other queen with suspicion. “If the singer truly wants to spend as much time as she can with her partner, then why would they hurry there? She’s spoken of all these other islands. Why don’t take even longer and explore those on their way to Kokomo?” She rubs her temples with her fingers. “Besides, those sorts of islands are so hot and humid and sticky. I don’t understand how anyone can live there, let alone enjoy it.”

“Because Kokomo doesn’t exist.” Eyes roll, “It’s a fictional place they’ll never be able to attain, together--they’re dreaming of relaxing and going on vacation with their lover. When was the last time you had the chance to honestly take a break and do nothing, Rhea? It’s a luxury powerful women can’t afford. They don’t have the time and besides,” A long, curling hum like a cat that flicks its tail, “Sticky, hot, and humid isn’t always bad in the sand.”

[tiarawcman]

"How long do you think I spent listening to my unfortunately deceased husband begging for a break during our search for Mon-El?" Rhea shakes her head, deep breath escaping through her nostrils. "Most of my time on Earth would considered a break until Lena figured out the teleportation device. Humans refuse to work around the clock, so I did not either." She pauses. "I do not enjoy breaks. Most of them are quite boring." Then she shivers with distaste. "And I dislike sand."

[pulitzerpanther]

tiarawcman​:

“I can handle the taste,” Rhea objects, lifting one eyebrow, “I simply prefer not to lower myself to whatever benchmark you think is adequate. Why waste my time drinking something like that when I could use it drinking something I actually like?” She lifts her glass. “Royalty shouldn’t waste themselves on lesser things. I would expect you to know that.”

It’s the other proposition that raises slight - not concern, as Rhea is rarely concerned with such things, and not hesitation, as that would imply that Rhea was uncertain of her acceptance - but some other reaction that she could not put a name to - trepidation, perhaps, if it works. English is far more complicated than she would like. Bless the translators for trying to find the right words for her, even if they weren’t always as adequate as she would like.

“You want me to be your date?” Rhea’s brows rise in feigned shock then fall with a roll of her eyes. “I doubt your wedding partners would think fondly of two queens stealing their thunder. Wouldn’t that be considered rude?”

Not that she cares for rudeness where humans are concerned, of course.

“You’d think I would have picked up on that little tidbit after the first divorce, but I stuck around for three more lessers, anyways.” It’s drawled around the rim of a cup, green sparkling off of green in unison. Honestly, it’s better Rhea’s seeing it now. It’s hard for even Cat to spin good PR out of a street lined with trash and puke in the early sliver hours of the morning, drunken, half-naked bearded men likely lining the benches with green garland hanging about their necks. “That does seem like a good excuse though, doesn’t it? Suit yourself. And it’s only rude,” A hum curves lips around the next sip, side-stepping someone doing some god-awful jig nearby with a sense of grace that showcases just how many dive bars she’s traced leads to hell and back in, throughout her years. She does him the fortune of tugging his garishly green coat away from colliding with Rhea and then immediately sanitizes her hands. 

Honestly, she’s a fantastic public servant.

“If you’re rude. It would be rude if you wore white in America, but not if you do anything else. We have a fondness for, hmm…celebrities here. You could get away with murder. Likely literally–let’s not try it–but that’s not a hard and fast rule throughout the world. Upstaging other cultures like Mama Rose? It depends on the wedding. So I guess the real question would be whether or not you could handle someone not treating you like royalty in order to blend in and get the full experience–you did that when you first came here, didn’t you? Tucked away the grown and busted out the blazer as Lena tells it.” Eyes flick over, head tipping in idle thought, “Hmm…you really should get more blazers.” 

[tiarawcman]

"You humans and your failed marriages." Rhea taps her finger along the edge of her glass, focusing on the bubbles within. "Love seems to harm you more than it helps you." She smiles to herself as though enjoying her own joke before she says it. "If your husband fails you, then he shouldn't survive to force lesser women to succumb to him."

Her deceased husband, of course, had not been lesser, in her opinion. His greatest qualm was deciding to forgo the treaty that brought them together in allowing their son to abandon them. Forgoing the treaty meant forgoing what brought them together in the first place. It was an act of subordination - not just to her, but to her father. He was risking everything their marriage was built on and for.

He'd had to die.

Just because Rhea ended up creating New Daxam here on Earth didn't change that.

"Blazers, as you call them, are absolutely horrid." Rhea runs a finger along her neck where the edge of one would scratch against her skin. It matters little what fabric they use or how highly tailored or expensive they are, she's found them to be nothing but uncomfortable and constraining. Earth customs. "I would rather kill a man and test the reception at this wedding of yours than wear another one of those."

[vorcotec]

peer into the depths of your soul using the roles of this becheekboned bafta winner

so i had the BEST idea

[vorcotec]

the thing i’ve learned from looking at the quiz results is that no one knows egyptian pharaohs besides cleopatra and tutankhamun

[tiarawcman]

Got Ellen. Am concerned with myself. Now also want to send my ex a message. Which is explicitly what you are telling me not to do. :(

Don't judge me I looked up a couple of the pharaohs because brain was like !!!!! these names sound familiar but it has been so long since my Egypt phase let's go memory searching.

[tiarawcman]

OKAY THINK CAUGHT UP.

also spent some time reading through some of my old hcs. like wow there's a lot of them and a lot of detail. it's nice to refamiliarize myself with things.

even if it's, you know, the daxamite-kryptonite war. or the stuff with akshura. so much stuff with akshura. and silvia. who like. had so many issues. but that's what happens with centuries of in-breeding in a fairly small pool.

and now i kind of want to take a bunch of this and use it elsewhere but. that's just. my tendency oops.

[tiarawcman]

@quainttrelle

She’s hesitant, fingers itching to cross the space between them.  Rhea isn’t uncertain; she’s never uncertain, at least not that she would ever admit aloud, but she’s been gone for so long that she’s….

Humans are complicated.  Rhea knows that.  She’s had to deal with their being complicated since she arrived on Earth.  Their clothing customs are weird (she still isn’t quite used to the collars on what they consider better dress, so it’s fortunate that she doesn’t feel the need to blend in with them anymore); their politics are weirder (she keeps New Daxam as separate as she can, but that doesn’t mean she can ignore everything); and their relationships–

Lar could leave her alone for months at a time, and nothing would have changed between them.  Most marriages between the elite on Daxam were arranged.  Love didn’t factor into it.  Like didn’t factor into it.  It simply was.  The lower classes, perhaps, did them better, but she had never had a use for it.

Love isn’t about use.

Rhea is still learning these things.

She allows her fingers to cross the distance, if only to brush against the other woman’s, as though seeking permission to even do that much.  “It was too hot,” she says by way of an explanation, never an apology.  “I felt like I was melting here.”

[quainttrelle-moved-deactivated2]

Ivy didn’t like people. In fact, she hated most humans. They were selfish, and greedy, and thrived on their own self interest. But, Ivy still helped the few who actually cared about her own endeavors, the ones who truly cared about the green earth they lived on. Ivy had no problem keeping herself separated from their chaotic lifestyle. All they did was cause her trouble.

But here on New Daxam, Ivy felt safe. For the first time, she didn’t feel like some demon to be purged. And she was bringing green the little safehold. The cold, she could do without, she didn’t like it. But, Ivy preferred other company and it was worth the icy terrain.

Her fingers brushed through her red hair, looking over at some of the plants in the room before feeling the slight touch of fingers up against her as she looked over to her. “Too hot?” Poison Ivy questioned as she shifted, pulling her legs up to rest on the bed and glancing toward her. “Hmmm, do you wish for me to turn down the temperature?” Ivy questioned, not sure if she was following what she was talking about.

[tiarawcman]

"No."

The word is easy enough. Rhea doesn't feel like she's suffocating with the heat, not the way she did when she visited National City during their sweltering summers - she still didn't understand how (or why) Mon-El chose the place, although a part of her suspects it had more to do with being somewhere she considered insufferable than with truly enjoying being there himself.

"I can manage. At least for a little while."

Rhea curls on the bed next to her partner and rests her head on her shoulder. "I hope no one has bothered you. Ysan has been badgering me about dignitaries who want to visit and are offended that I want nothing to do with them. New Daxam is not meant to be entangled with human affairs. It is not my fault that they refuse to listen."

@quainttrelle

[pulitzerpanther]

@tiarawcman

"Oh, we have plenty of causes for celebration. In many parts of the world, Rhea. Don't be so narrow-minded; honestly, I would have thought you would be a woman of culture." It's a tutt, lips barely curling at the edge as she lifts up the beer to her own lips. "Many people drink to ignore or forget--it's not only a human trait. But if you'd like to challenge your preconceptions instead of digging your heels in, you just afforded yourself an opportunity few rarely get: to be my dour date to a wedding next month. We can see a real celebration. Although you do realize you're just agreeing with my point, don't you? That you, hmm--" Oh, she's smirking a little around the rim now, taking a sip. If she couldn't drink beer, she wouldn't have survived journalism or the boys club. "Can't handle the taste. There's different types of fortitude. Not everything has to do with how much alcohol you can consume." Murmuring around the glass with a buried, dry sigh, "Keeping a straight face while an eight year old tries to cook you a mother's day breakfast that includes just as much melted plastic as it does eggs? That's true fortitude."

[tiarawcman]

"I can handle the taste," Rhea objects, lifting one eyebrow, "I simply prefer not to lower myself to whatever benchmark you think is adequate. Why waste my time drinking something like that when I could use it drinking something I actually like?" She lifts her glass. "Royalty shouldn't waste themselves on lesser things. I would expect you to know that."

It's the other proposition that raises slight - not concern, as Rhea is rarely concerned with such things, and not hesitation, as that would imply that Rhea was uncertain of her acceptance - but some other reaction that she could not put a name to - trepidation, perhaps, if it works. English is far more complicated than she would like. Bless the translators for trying to find the right words for her, even if they weren't always as adequate as she would like.

"You want me to be your date?" Rhea's brows rise in feigned shock then fall with a roll of her eyes. "I doubt your wedding partners would think fondly of two queens stealing their thunder. Wouldn't that be considered rude?"

Not that she cares for rudeness where humans are concerned, of course.

[inze]

tiarawcman​:

@inze​

“You.”

Rhea eyes the Kryptonian, giving her a brief onceover, and then settles.  It’s a feigned relaxation; she knows better than to relax in the Kryptonian’s presence - in the presence of any Kryptonian survivor and even less so in the presence of the general.  Still, she forces herself to appear to do so.

No need to let her think she’s intimidated by her.  (She isn’t.  Definitely not.  A queen should never be intimidated by the opposition.  Just aware of the level of threat.)

And yet, a smirk smooths across her lips.

“Can I help you?  Back for more?”

“Well how could I possibly stay away?” The question was half serious and half joking. This strange back and forth they had, always rotating around the same axis of loss, but never saying anything about it wasn’t a balance that Astra was willing to shatter just yet. 

She gave a shrug and just took a seat. “I figured that it would be prudent that I be the one to discuss this with you, rather than anyone else. Of course that depends on if you are willing to listen to what I have to say. I don’t want to assume anything.” 

[tiarawcman]

Rhea takes in the Kryptonian's posture and gives a slow nod - not hesitant, but accepting of her presence. She isn't going to fight her over a seat, even if the proximity gave a certain familiarity that she wasn't always entirely comfortable with. Of course, saying such aloud likely wouldn't gain her any traction. A Kryptonian would stay where they liked especially if it bothered a Daxamite. Despite their entanglement, she believes that would be the case with the general as well.

"What is there to discuss?" Rhea asks, finger tracing the edge of her goblet. Humans could make a ringing sound like this. She doesn't. Yet. It is far too obnoxious for a house call.