31.Aug.12, 06:32 AM
"A run?" A'liran asked, smirking. "Yep, that beats a pair. You're doing pretty good, for someone who never plays," he said. He eyed his new draw and suppressed the urge to smile again. He actually hadn't gotten anything at all. V'zire was just pitifully easy to bluff. It would have been a fun game if they were betting, even if the chips consisted of pebbles and lint balls.
"Eh. It's not for everyone, I guess," he continued as he waited on V'zire's draw. "I wanted a weyrmate when I was younger, but Ast's flights are inconsistent and well..." Why hadn't he ever come across someone? He liked to think that the right person simply hadn't come along, but part of him knew he'd long outgrown the ideal of romance. A'liran hadn't had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend in decades, and in all honesty, he'd grown attached to a life of no attachments. Part of him was ashamed; it propagated negative stereotypes of both greenriders and homosexuals, but it shouldn't. People should be free to do as they pleased, and the very notion that his behavior in his bedroom reflected on his character outside of it, at least in the eyes of the world at large, was annoying as shards.
It really was unfortunate. He didn't want to contribute to the problem, but how could he change peoples' minds? Was changing their minds or sparing himself their judgment worth compromising himself? A younger A'liran had been slightly more modest in that regard, but he'd advanced well beyond caring. Fuck those people.
V'zire himself was proof that those stereotypes were garbage, and on both fronts, too! V'zire was sweet and chaste, innocent in spite of the thing that had happened to him. He was a male-lover and a greenrider, and had more integrity than half the damn Weyr. A'liran thought very highly of that, even if he couldn't imagine living a lifestyle like that...devoted to someone he couldn't be with.
"Don't feel too bad about the kid," he mumbled a moment later, his mood sinking just a little. A'liran tried to remind himself not to be a sucker for what couldn't be, but at his core he was a bit of a softie. "There's nothing anyone could have done about it, you know?" His tone was gruff and dismissive. That was that.
He arched a brow, then smiled. "Actually, I don't have shit," he said teasingly, amusement and pleasure stirring in his voice again as he dropped his cards. "You win again, bud. That's two out of three."
"Eh. It's not for everyone, I guess," he continued as he waited on V'zire's draw. "I wanted a weyrmate when I was younger, but Ast's flights are inconsistent and well..." Why hadn't he ever come across someone? He liked to think that the right person simply hadn't come along, but part of him knew he'd long outgrown the ideal of romance. A'liran hadn't had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend in decades, and in all honesty, he'd grown attached to a life of no attachments. Part of him was ashamed; it propagated negative stereotypes of both greenriders and homosexuals, but it shouldn't. People should be free to do as they pleased, and the very notion that his behavior in his bedroom reflected on his character outside of it, at least in the eyes of the world at large, was annoying as shards.
It really was unfortunate. He didn't want to contribute to the problem, but how could he change peoples' minds? Was changing their minds or sparing himself their judgment worth compromising himself? A younger A'liran had been slightly more modest in that regard, but he'd advanced well beyond caring. Fuck those people.
V'zire himself was proof that those stereotypes were garbage, and on both fronts, too! V'zire was sweet and chaste, innocent in spite of the thing that had happened to him. He was a male-lover and a greenrider, and had more integrity than half the damn Weyr. A'liran thought very highly of that, even if he couldn't imagine living a lifestyle like that...devoted to someone he couldn't be with.
"Don't feel too bad about the kid," he mumbled a moment later, his mood sinking just a little. A'liran tried to remind himself not to be a sucker for what couldn't be, but at his core he was a bit of a softie. "There's nothing anyone could have done about it, you know?" His tone was gruff and dismissive. That was that.
He arched a brow, then smiled. "Actually, I don't have shit," he said teasingly, amusement and pleasure stirring in his voice again as he dropped his cards. "You win again, bud. That's two out of three."