video; un: R

[winecasks]

[ Grantaire is where he usually is, huddled off with his wine in the corner of a tavern somewhere in Wyver. He doesn’t seem to be too far into this endeavor, considering he’s plenty eloquent when he decides to make a speech to the network.

It’s less than rousing. It's mostly complaints. ]

All this talk of politics has made me weary, friends. To be frank, I hardly understand it at all. I have listened. I drink, it’s true, but I listen. My ears are far better than my eyes or my memory, and no one ever tunes their conversation to exclude the fellow enjoying his drink in the corner.

[ This much seems to be true, given how he’s been rambling at length and no one has bothered to silence him. There’s chatter in the background as people enjoy their own conversations, separate from him as he drinks from the bottle. ]

I have heard things. Things about how the first to wake were welcomed gladly by Olympia, and others still were welcomed by Wyver later on. My ears are fine and well, I assure you, but my mind is perhaps foggy. It cannot comprehend what happened to create this change. Politics. Surely that is the only answer. It always is.

[ He rolls his eyes, taking another drink. ]

Well, I’ll not partake in any of it. I have no love for one city over another, no love for a king over an empress. I do not disdain monarchy, though I do not disdain those who do. I simply disdain politics. Tell me why I should choose one side or another, or why I should change my mind on the matter.

Comments

voice

[galaxycannon]

Mmn, if it's any consolation, I don't get it either. But I never understood 'politics' in my world either. We were always outside of it as a group no matter what with the status we had.

[winecasks]

Precisely! [ He slams a hand against the table to punctuate his exclamation. Good god, Grantaire, calm down. ]

How can one fight for his beliefs? The only way I’ve seen is to die, and to never live to see change happen at all. Politics are pointless. I find no joy in them, or in discussing them.

[galaxycannon]

[ Never calm down. Shino loves the energy!! ]

Seems like a waste of time, right? It's all a bunch of rich old folk squabbling around and making life harder for everyone else. That's the most that I could figure out about it.

video; un: eproghuefgdzptrrw

[vorrutyer]

Why, it's very simple. If you pick a side, then you get to hate the people who picked the other side, and there's nothing better for the heart than a bit of mindless hatred.

[winecasks]

Unfortunately, you’ve done a poor job at convincing me why I should change my mind. I’ve not been swayed at all, monsieur. Certainly, life is an abomination, and mankind along with it, but I do not wish to hate mindlessly. Do you wish to try again?

video, un: revolution

[idealisme]

[You again.]

And that blind hatred satisfies you, monsieur?

voice

[inaurare]

Perhaps it is less a change and more a boiling of tensions again?

I gather there has always been a rift between the two countries...

[winecasks]

But a rift and tensions no doubt created by politics, mind you. Pointless, as always. It seems to me they do nothing but cause rifts.

[ He smiles as he takes another drink, but when the bottle comes down, he seems to reevaluate that statement as a frown slowly takes the place of his smile. ]

No, that isn’t quite right. Please, allow me to correct myself. It was careless of me to make such an oversight. Politics also end lives.

video; un: mantis

[uglybug]

I don't think anyone should be taking sides. We were gladly welcomed in Olympia. Now I live in Wyver.

[winecasks]

I see no reason to wrap ourselves up in politics that are not our own, but I see no reason to wrap myself up in politics at all.

[ He smiles kindly over his wine, happy to find someone who agrees. Taking sides seems pointless. He's seen how things turn out in the end. What is there to be won? ]

Is there any reason why you chose one over another? Not politics, we've agreed upon that. I've settled here because a friend of mine chose to settle here first.

video un:revolution

[idealisme]

[ He almost can't believe this is the declaration that Grantaire has made (Enjolras rather expected a plea for someone to come and buy him a drink), except that he can totally believe that this is the contribution the drunk has chosen to make.]

You don't care about politics? What of it? That won't save you from getting caught up in this.

[winecasks]

[ Almost immediately, Grantaire’s expression softens. Enjolras always speaks to him with a somewhat harsh tone, but he never seems to be particularly bothered. At least it means Enjolras has been paying attention. ]

I was nearly thrown into a bonfire a few nights ago, do you know?

[ Well, that’s a casual way to bring that up. ]

But I’m not angry. I don’t wish to chase any wayward shamans or seek revenge. I don’t hate these people, or the people of Olympia. How do you suppose I'll get caught up in this, Enjolras?

[ The same way he got caught up in the Revolution, of course. By caring about people. ]

[fiendennor]

Those who insist on detaching themselves from the workings of the world are still affected by it.

[winecasks]

[ That rings oddly true. Grantaire detached himself from the political workings of the Revolution back home, not truly believing in them, but he placed himself close to the people involved, thus affecting him greatly by proxy.

Still, he merely gives a vague smile, showing no sign that he realizes this at all. ]

Mademoiselle, are politics the workings of the world? I was not aware. I lived my entire life with no political beliefs. I intend to live it once more very much the same.

audio; un: armstrong

[wallofbriggs]

Everyone picks a side, even those who claim how much they abstain.

You either fight or you watch while others do, letting those who may be innocent of any blame to fall victim to one side or the other. Your inaction makes you just as culpable.

[winecasks]

I do not believe that everyone picks a side regardless of their abstinence.

[ Still, her comment seems to be the one that brings him pause. It hits him harder and somewhere deeper than the others, and he muses on it for a long moment before he responds, fewer words on his tongue than before. ]

Tell me, please, how long have you been here?

voice | un: colt.saa

[shashka]

Now, isn't not picking a side also picking a side in its own way?

[winecasks]

[ Of course it is, and maybe Grantaire is aware of it somewhere in his mind. After all, he has picked a side before by not picking a side, but he contradicts himself so often, he can hardly keep track. ]

You have a curious way of putting it, monsieur. I have already been told that by not picking a side, I'll be drawn into the politics all the same, but I have no politics to speak of. My mind is addled and your words are a riddle. Please explain: how can one pick a side by not picking a side?

text | un: U.F.

[almaredemptoris]

[Being that video is entirely too revealing, he prefers to conceal himself behind the smokescreen of text.] One needn't care for politics to have a reason to care for what happens in this world and to its people.

[winecasks]

[ Grantaire isn’t dissuaded at all, continuing to respond to the text on screen with video. It’s easier this way; meaning, he can ramble for as long as he likes without having to type it out. ]

The world is a horrible creation monsieur or madame. I’m sorry; I’m uncertain as to which you may be. All the same, this world and all worlds are an abomination. Why it was created at all or by whom, I cannot say.

[ He gives his spiel, and he pauses to take a thoughtful drink. ]

But I will admit that I do care. It’s the politics that I do not care for, as I hope I have made abundantly clear.

video; un: highgarden

[antleredcrown]

I am rather new myself, and having been a king before I arrived here -- before my untimely death, as it were -- I suppose I'm a bit biased towards a monarchy.

But I also have seen how easily it can fail, and fall, from a very intimate point of view.

I think a king should listen to his people and take their opinions into account. I think a king should rule with love and respect, and not fear or death. I think any king -- or empress for that matter -- who fails to do so will at some point fail their people.

video, un: revolution

[idealisme]

[He can't help replying. There are just too many ex- kings in this land.]

Fine-sounding words in theory. Would you follow through in practice? [His tone suggests he thinks this man wouldn't.]

[winecasks]

[ By the time Grantaire responds, he looks a little frazzled by the multiple reactions to Enjolras’ response to this man’s response. No matters, though. He’ll merely listen in as he always does and try to follow along. He can make his own response, separate of the others. ]

I have no opinion on monarchy, monsieur, as I have said. It can continue to exist or crumble to dust and it would make no difference to me. A kindly king or a wicked king, empress, queen, emperor, whichever may exist. It matters little to me.

[ He’s holding quite firmly to this. ]

How did you die, monsieur? Was it of boredom due to all the politics?

[audio] un: unburnt

[dorzalta]

I'm far too new in this place to pass judgment on the machinations of a world's peoples. Politics, perhaps, plays its part in unrest and division only when a ruler fails his or her people... or when a number of the people fail to obey the laws set forth to maintain peace.

[winecasks]

[ Grantaire refuses to switch from video. It's fair easier this way. He inclines his head for a moment, thinking he recognizes her voice, and he merely smiles kindly in response. ]

Politics plays its part in unrest and division always, mademoiselle. One man will always disagree with another. The ruler and the part he or she plays doesn't matter. It serves me well to have no beliefs. I disagree with no one, for I have no reason to.

[ Not entirely true. It's a bit nonsense, really, but...It's Grantaire. ]