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

[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?

[winecasks]

[ That's a bit difficult. He's built his entire life on not believing, but here he is believing in something. He's never actually had to consider it before. ]

One belief shouldn't make much difference. It never has before.

[vorrutyer]

Ah, but shouldn't is a different beast from doesn't, mon ami.

[winecasks]

It shouldn't make a difference and it doesn't make a difference. All the same, my final statement remains true. One belief has never made a difference.

[ He is Struggling. ]

[vorrutyer]

You don't sound entirely sure of yourself.

[winecasks]

[ He pauses to take a drink, falling silent for a moment. He thought he was firmly set in his lack of beliefs, but now that's being dismantled because he never actually thought about it. ]

I concede, I have never felt as unsure as I do now.

[vorrutyer]

Well!

[ Byerly gives a grand shrug. ]

Then you should consider yourself a wiser man for it, dear drunkard. It's only fools that are sure of anything. If you're feeling uncertain, it means you're thinking well.

[winecasks]

I have never been a wise man.

[ He does smile and raise his bottle, though. ]

Of that, I am certain. Though perhaps it means I’m not thinking particularly well.

[vorrutyer]

What a dilemma! You should start doubting, then. Begin believing in yourself.

[winecasks]

I have never believed in myself. To begin now? I would not know how.