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.

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.

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...

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]

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.

[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?

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.

[vorrutyer]

Unfortunately, that's literally all there is. So it seems that the fault is with you, for not being a vile man.

[vorrutyer]

Do I look like a politician to you, monsieur?

[idealisme]

You talk like one, avoiding the question like that.

[vorrutyer]

And yet you're the one who lusts for power.

[idealisme]

Pardon?

[He's visibly offended]

[vorrutyer]

[ Ooh, a nerve. ]

Am I wrong?

[fiendennor]

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

[winecasks]

Oh, but surely your eyes deceive you. I am a most distasteful man. I have no talents, no motivations, no and beliefs to speak of, save for this.

[ He taps the bottle, though that's something of a lie. Just go with it. It's for dramatics. ]

I am vile after all.

[vorrutyer]

Mm. Maybe.

[ By shrugs cheerily. ]

But that makes you the right kind of vile.

[idealisme]

Don't accuse me like I'm another would-be autocrat, grasping for legitimacy through power. I despise that base desire and will not tolerate it in myself. I lust for nothing, sir. [He's still speaking forcefully. He despises those who lust for power.]

I seek change. Whether that change comes from within the current institutions or without, power is necessary to achieve it.

[vorrutyer]

Ah, so you're the sort of person who gets extra-chatty when he's lying.

[idealisme]

Perhaps you cannot conceive that a man would be motivated for reasons outside himself. If so, I pity you.

[vorrutyer]

How old are you?

[idealisme]

[This offends him for entirely different reasons. Enjolras has often been dismissed due to his youth and youthful appearance.]

Would you listen if I had white hair and a beard like Aristotle's?

[vorrutyer]

Given the number of old men with white hair and beards like Aristotle's who told me to quit drinking, stop screwing around, and be something other than a feckless piece of shit...Not terribly likely, no.

[idealisme]

[He'd almost smile at that if he weren't so busy trying to figure out if this man could be won to the cause.]

I was four and twenty when I died.

[vorrutyer]

[ Just a little twitch of his lower eyelids at the when I died line. Just the subtlest hint of surprise. Then he's back to smiling, saying - ]

And see, that's the problem. Here, with your second shot at life, you'll have time to grow cynical yet.