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

[idealisme]

[For a moment Enjolras just stares. It's too ridiculous a thought.]


The liberation of the human race, monsieur. [That is the objectively more important thing.]

[vorrutyer]

[ HEH HEH HEH. ]

Yes, nothing better than when things get...liberated.

[winecasks]

I assure you, monsieur, he disdains me.

[ Is this helping at all? No? Little bit? ]

[vorrutyer]

Mm. And do you enjoy that disdain?

[winecasks]

No.

[ Thanks, Byerly, you're driving him to drink more. ]

I can say as surely as I say my own name that I do not.

[vorrutyer]

Well, I don't know about you, but with enough wine, I often have a bit of trouble with my name.

[winecasks]

A fair statement.

[ Really, it is, and it kind of hits a little close to home and destroys his statement just a little bit. Most of the time, so long as Enjolras is paying him some sort of mind, Grantaire is content enough with just being in his presence. He would prefer to not be completely hated, but it is what it is. ]

But your name returns to you in time, one would assume. Wine is, though I may wish otherwise, not forever.

[vorrutyer]

Too true. But as long as the wine lasts, how do you feel about being treated that way? Still want a bit more warmth?

[winecasks]

Enjolras is a man of politics and beliefs. I am a man of wine and nihilism. I do not share his beliefs, or any man's beliefs, but he has never sent me away. To stay, to listen, that has been enough for as long as I've known him.

[ Is it really though? Is it really? ]

[vorrutyer]

What's the point of listening if you don't have faith in those beliefs? What do you get out of it?

[winecasks]

[ Now comes one of Grantaire’s many contradictions. He claims he believes in nothing, and yet: ]

I believe in him.

[vorrutyer]

What on earth happened to being a man of nihilism?

[winecasks]

[ He pauses. No one's actually called him out on it. ]

This brings about a curious question. Does a single belief prevent a man from being a nihilist?

[vorrutyer]

It's your self-definition, dear fellow. What's your answer to that question?

[idealisme]

[He barely keeps a sigh in check.]

Far better to cling to the comfort of blind skepticism, where one is never in danger of disappointment or the challenge of having to act.

[vorrutyer]

Mmhm. Only - the thing is - your friend is a cynic himself, no? He doesn't seem like the sort of silly fellow who would be in it for the "liberation of the human race."

[idealisme]

[Please don't remind him that Grantaire is a waste of space who believes and does nothing at all except drink. He doesn't need to be reminded of that.]

What of it?

[vorrutyer]

So he doesn't exactly seem like the sort of man you can puppet towards carrying out your goals. And he's not sticking around for that reason.

[idealisme]

[Somehow that's the thing that makes Enjolras the angriest he's been so far. His jaw sets, his expression hardens.]

Reason is what should compel every man to act. Me, a puppetmaster? I'd shoot myself first.

[vorrutyer]

Hmm. [ He tilts his head slightly to the side. ] Don't you fancy yourself a leader of men?

[idealisme]

He's a poor leader who has to resort to manipulation.

[vorrutyer]

Well, it's one of only two ways to get men to do something for you. The only other way is to do a bit of head-cracking.

[idealisme]

And if I don't wish to get others to do anything for me?

[vorrutyer]

Then you're no leader at all, and doomed to failure. Power is nothing without its exercise.

[idealisme]

Hm, interesting.

I disagree. I'd rather others join my cause because of their own conviction. No carrot or stick required.