GUEST SERVICES - ASH

[cluedin]

Comments

[voidbreaker]

So enjoy 'em. I can almost feel the grumbling going on in your head.

[cluedin]

I do not grumble, sir.

[ offended? ]

[voidbreaker]

Not out loud.

[ Don't be offended, he made you four of those croquetties. ]

[cluedin]

[ which she appreciates, but: ]

So you believe I grumble in my mind.

[voidbreaker]

Isn't that how most people keep themselves sane when they've got to put up a courteous front? I've seen enough nobles try to pull it off in "polite company" to know the drill.

[cluedin]

[ ? ]

You know nobles?

[voidbreaker]

Yeah. Military's a popular career route for the glorious Erebonian nobility. I've got the Littlest Vander hanging out in my class, and the Ashen Chevalier running around playing Instructor.

Prince Egocedric's over at the main branch, being amazed he can move for all the people dropping to their knees to suck his--

[ uh ]

-- kiss his boots.

[cluedin]

[ she nibbles her croquette with a hum and raised eyebrows, but he might get the feeling it's to hide an amused smile... ]

So I'm guessing you're not too fond of them, then?

[voidbreaker]

[ he'd say rude, but actually that's kinda cute. LET HIM SEE A SMILE, MONOBUN... ]

Depends on the person. A lot of them are too big for their own fancy, over priced boots. But some of them are decent enough. It's kinda like a roulette.

[cluedin]

[ absolutely not, though she tilts her head a bit, one ear going flop. ]

Is this not the same for regular people as well and not just nobles?

[voidbreaker]

[ THE. EAR. FLOPPITY. ]

Sure. Regular people don't tend to have control over whole provinces of people, financially, resource and safety wise.

[cluedin]

[ flippity floppity floop ]

Ah. So it is more annoying when those people are terrible because they hold more power.

[voidbreaker]

[ i love and appreciate her floppy ears. ]

People who can't use power properly shouldn't have power, don't you think?

[cluedin]

[ her hands tighten a little around the croquette. she stares at it a bit ]

Yes... I agree.

[voidbreaker]

...

It's not a bad opinion to have. If you have the power, you have a responsibilty to the people under it. People who abuse it just show they can't hack it.

[cluedin]

[ she hums ]

But if you do not have the power, there is not much to do about it, is there?

[voidbreaker]

We had a civil war like 18 months ago, so you tell me.

[ Wild thing is it did actually work, and the balance of power is shifting. Shame there's a mad man at the helm of the Imperial Government as well. ]

[cluedin]

And it has... worked?

[ she sounds a little surprised ]

[voidbreaker]

Depends on who you ask. The nobles kickstarted it because they didn't like non-nobles rising in power, and they got their asses handed to them and the guy who pushed for it's rotting away in a cell now.

But the outcome means power being taken from individual noble houses and centralised by the Imperial Government, which is what the government and a lot of non-nobles wanted all along. In basic terms? Yeah, it worked. [ ... ] But I don't trust the Imperial Government as far as I can throw them either, so.

[ A shrug. ]

[cluedin]

Then has it actually worked? If you simply traded one for the other.

[voidbreaker]

Like I said, depends on who you ask. For some people, this shit's dream come true.

[cluedin]

Well... I am asking you, sir.

[ :T? ]

[voidbreaker]

I don't trust either of them. A lot of the nobles in power are so far up their own ass they can't see past their own titles and bank vaults, and that doesn't make for good leadership.

But the imperial government is so determined to go the other way that the shit they do is just as bad, they just paint it with a nicer brush on the surface so they get away with it.

[cluedin]

So... your country is between a rock and a hard place, you could say. [ she tilts her head ] What kind of leader would you prefer, sir?

[voidbreaker]

One that didn't put all of the power in one court.