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More inspired poetry...although it almost feels like a riddle, too, in a way, doesn't it?

Also, she didn't! But believe me, she could have if she'd wanted to. Do you know she once laid out a renowned warrior a head taller than she was with one punch? She doesn't mess around, my mother. And I was a wild kid, so I aggravated her enough and often enough that I definitely saw plenty of her temper. She never laid me out flat, but I made her mad enough sometimes that I worried about it!

[Said warrior was actually a general, and Claude's mother the woman that warlike Almyra - even despite his homeland's xenophobia and contempt for those with Fodlan blood - knows as the Demon Queen, but Claude can't exactly give those details.]

But no, my parents loved me well enough, so no need for that kind of concern. But because they knew exactly the sort of problems and opposition I'd face as someone of mixed race in my homeland, they never exactly coddled me. They knew however harsh they were, the rest of the world would be harsher still. They made sure I was tough enough to endure and bounce back from just about anything. I wouldn't say we're particularly close, as a result, but I respect both the necessity of what they did and the obvious effectiveness of the results it got. Not to mention how strong they both are themselves. My parents are tough as teak.

Well, I meant it's shallow in terms of one looking at the church as an institution. Its knights are basically just its enforcers; they've got very little to do with the church in regards to its main function as a religious institution. It'd be like if I said I admired the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus because it has a strong army - is the army itself representative of the Kingdom at all? Does Faerghus' army shape Faerghus, or is it the other way around?

But you're right - it's Edelgard's methods that have always been the problem, one way or the other. I've said before that I believe she wants what's best for Fodlan in her heart, as much as any of us - it's just how she's going about pursuing that that's the issue.

[He sighs.] I just...wish she'd talked to me about what she wanted to do. Her plans and desires for Fodlan, and how to achieve them. I could understand if she felt like Dimitri might be unwilling to listen, being from a country so intrinsically tied to the church while she thinks the church is the problem...although personally, I think she'd be underselling Dimitri thinking that. I could at least see that as a conclusion she might draw, though. But why not me? The Alliance isn't particularly religious as a whole, and I personally am even less so. Why was she so convinced any diplomacy would be so useless, or even actively detrimental, that she wouldn't even attempt any? Things never should have come to this.

[He shakes his head.] Well...I can brood about it all day, but I can't change the way things are. No point beating a dead horse. But it's like you said - I think there's a lot more room for the church's beliefs and traditions being...if not eliminated, then at least made less central to the very fabric of Fodlan than it is. Scaled back. A lot of people have their issues with Crests these days, and everyone knows that Crests are on their way out. They've been getting rarer and rarer in the blood ever since the days of the first Crest bearers, and now people are desperately angling to catch whatever scraps that are left. But how long can that last? Unless the Goddess suddenly appears again and renews her blessings, humanity's going to hit the point where Crests just vanish on their own sooner or later. Why wait until we reach that point to figure out life without Crests in Fodlan? There's really only one reason: so the current noble Crest-bearing houses can stay in power, unquestioned.

When Crests are gone, and the nobles aren't any different from the commoners they rule over, then suddenly the money and power nobles have...those are the only things separating them from commoners. And those things are transferrable. If people start asking, hey, shouldn't the people in power be the ones who are best for the job, it's going to be hard to argue against. Before, the primary merit of nobles was that they had Crests that made them stronger and more capable than an average person; without merit that's carried in the blood, they'll have to prove their worth, earn their keep, show skill and intellect and moral fiber beyond those of the people below them. And a lot of them, even today, wouldn't be able to rise to that challenge. Much safer to keep an intrinsic bloodline justification for their positions. That's why most noble families cling to Crests with both hands.

Of course Faerghus is shaped by its military. Dimitri and I learned to wield weapons before we learned to read or write. It's a warrior culture, and I'm glad for that. As far as I'm concerned, the Knights of Seiros and their peerless skill are the primary benefits of the Church. And if the Church itself didn't at least partially agree, they wouldn't dispatch them to enforce their doctrines so readily, and they wouldn't ensure that only the central Church is allowed to have a standing army.

[Felix frowns.] Doesn't it seem like the Church would take measures to make sure that didn't happen? They know as well as we do that Crests are dying out, and that without Crested nobility, a lot of their excuses for meddling in governance go away. I don't know what those measures would be, though.

I think you're putting the cart before the horse there, Felix. [Claude chuckles a little.] Faerghus' military doesn't shape Faerghus; Faerghus' military is a reflection of Faerghus. Were you and Dimitri soldiers in the military when you were taught to fight so young? I don't think so. That's Faerghus' culture. And the culture of a country will influence its military, sure, but that doesn't mean the military defines the country. There's more to Faerghus' culture than just its military, isn't it? Its religious ties to the church, that very veneration of self-sacrifice you were disgusted by earlier, its fierce independence, its monarchy, the ties between House Blaiddyd and House Fraldarius, its food, its entertainment, its architecture, its art - even the most militant country, Felix, is so much more than just its soldiers. Just as the church is so much more than its knights. Without the religion at the core of the church, there'd be no knights. And without the culture at the core of the country, there'd be no Faerghus military.

You said you're not a big picture guy, and that's no indictment of you - you were raised to be a duke, not the leader of a nation. The skillsets are totally different. And it's fine if, to you, the Knights of Seiros are the only thing of value the church has to offer - that's practical enough. But when I say that's a pretty shallow reason to approve of the church, since the Knights of Seiros make up at best maybe 5% of what the church actually is, you might just have to trust me on that one. I might be capable of seeing the big picture of the church better than you do.

As for how the church plans to address the disappearance of Crests...I have no idea. They don't seem to be doing anything differently now, as Crests are dying out, than they did in the past when Crests were a lot stronger and more prevalent...maybe they don't know, either. Maybe they're like the nobility, powerless to do anything except exist on what scraps the Goddess left behind until eventually there aren't any more, with no actual plans for what to do when they're all gone. Although...for an otherwise benevolent leader, Lady Rhea's always been fiercely intolerant of anyone who goes against the church, and treats opposing the church as opposing the Goddess herself. Maybe her plan is to just keep stomping out dissent whenever and wherever it flares up, with extreme prejudice, so that total obedience to the church becomes so ingrained in who's left that it persists even once the Goddess' blessings are gone.

I wasn't raised to be a duke. My brother was. I barely had any time to learn anything about governing a dukedom before I went to the academy, and since then we've been at war. [Felix shrugs.] So if my cart is before the horse, it's because all I ever thought I would do was fight.

[He tilts his head, glancing at Claude.] You really love this stuff, though, don't you? Politics and culture, peacetime leadership. Most nobles I know don't really enjoy running territories, they do it because it's what keeps them in power. Not you, though.

That's... pretty fair reasoning, actually.

Actually, Dimitri himself did? Recently, he was... calling it "flirting" seems wrong on a couple levels, but it seemed like he was definitely sending some signals, and I kind of felt bad since I'd already decided I couldn't reciprocate and all, so I told him I was too old for him - which I know now and knew then would be awkward as hell if i was reading things wrong, but it turned out I wasn't.

He disagreed, and we talked about it. Or, actually, first I started kind of freaking out, and then he got me to calm down, and then we talked about some stuff related to it

Sorry, this is scattered as hell, but, he convinced me to think about it. So I've been thinking about it, for a few days.

Don't worry about it. Just know they'd be sufficient bribes for someone from my world.

Team Rocket *does* take Pokemon directly from people, either through pick-pocketing or by making the claiming of the loser's pokeballs part of a battle's terms. That really can't be denied. But otherwise...

Well. Just a list of things I remember Team Rocket doing since I got here, just by going with what got on the news or I heard about later (or in one case I was actually *there* for):

February - Stealing from the Pewter Museum Vaults
March - Stealing the Goldenrod Granbulls' Mascot 'Zeus'/Destroying Baseball
May - Stealing Lapras from the Wildlife Preserve
June - Terrorizing Kurt the Ball-maker and Stranding Him In The Slowpoke Well
July??? - (nothing on the news Sento Kiryuu starts claiming there's been a series of single night crime sprees in various cities, like some sort of muggle speedrun)
August (Pre-Sinnoh Trip) - Stealing Shinies From A Dog Show (in which I was in the audience)
August (During Sinnoh Trip) - The Tricky Bandits Steal From Wealthy People And Set Traps In Their Homes
August (End of Month) - Evolutionary Stone Heist at the Blackthorn Mine
September (Mid) - Raid on the Fuschia Gym Ends With Them Blowing A Hole In It To Escape The Jennies

And nothing since then, apart from the Christmas market, though I suppose there's been plenty of small scale single individual crime that just doesn't make the news. I mean, don't get me wrong, Team Rocket is a pain and a half, but they're not nearly as terrifying as they by all rights should be.

Edited 2020-12-30 19:02 (UTC)

[Claude stares at his screen for a moment. That's...Dimitri had shown interest in Grant? Not that Grant doesn't deserve that, Claude's talked up his virtues and his positive connections with Dimitri himself, but...he hadn't thought Dimitri was interested in anyone. ~~Or that, if he might be, that it could be...someone else. Not that it would have mattered in that case, of course. Obviously.~~

Something he'd never given permission to grow quietly curls up and dies. And even if it had been doomed anyway, and Claude had known it all along...it still feels like a loss.

But his feelings on that aren't anything Grant deserves to be saddled with. They certainly don't have any right to interfere with anything that might make Dimitri or Grant happy. So he breathes out slowly, buries the shriveled corpse within his own mind, and moves on.]

I never would've expected Dimitri to make the first move! But I think that just goes to show how important you are to him. I guess it goes to show that even I didn't appreciate that fact quite enough, huh?

I don't know if he's just more persuasive than I am, or if maybe the reassurance about your age means more coming from someone you're into despite your best efforts...but I'm glad he got through to you. What's important isn't your ages, it's that you guys are on the same page and can make each other happy. And you've been nothing but good for Dimitri, so I really think you're spooking yourself over nothing thinking you could ever be bad for him.

That said, I'm guessing that if you've been thinking about it for a few days, that means you've made up your mind. Whether or not you've admitted it to yourself, since you still sound unsure. But I don't think you'd have contacted me to apologize for our discussion unless you'd already decided on some level that I needed one, which means you're going ahead with it - right? I mean, I'd wonder if you were coming to me for advice, but I didn't leave too much of an impression on you last time when I gave it...and, let's face it, as someone who encouraged you already that the age difference doesn't matter, what could you be coming to me for except hoping for me to reassure you of the same thing again? You already know what I'll say.

Apparently, he was planning to wait before making any "overtly" romantic gestures, I just called him on it early.

[Grant pauses, thinking carefully, before he responds. He doesn't want Claude to come out of this thinking that he just wasn't convincing enough; there are way too many factors at play to act like it's that simple, and it isn't fair to Claude besides.]

Honestly, it's not as simple as him being more persuasive, or the fact that I'm interested; I realized when we were talking that I felt pretty okay about telling him something I've generally been keeping a secret, since I'd known him longer than anyone else here other than Chip, and as we went from there I realized just how much that was feeding into my fears about this.

by the way, I realize mentioning a secret here and not telling you about it might be kind of a dick move, so this is also me telling you that I think I can tell you about it too if you want to know. But i'm not dumping it on you if you don't want to hear about it.

Yeah, I guess that's about it. That weird kinda state where part of me keeps thinking I might change my mind, but I'm pretty sure I've come to a decision, y'know?

Edited 2020-12-30 23:47 (UTC)

I recognize you don't know me that well yet, but I want you to mention you asked me whether or not I'd like to know a secret to Dimitri and Sylvain and Felix sometime, and gauge by how hard and how long they laugh how hilarious it is that you asked me that.

In short, I'm definitely fine with you telling me! And I can sympathize with keeping secrets. I've got a few of my own...though I don't think they'd mean much of anything to anyone not from our world, really.

Listen, I've gathered that you like KNOWING things, I just felt I should double-check!

Yeah, so, speaking of that, because I can't think of a more tactful way to put this: Does your world really not have lycanthropy?

I can't say I even know what that is, so it's a safe bet that we don't. But you sound like you already knew that, huh? Why ask again?

Well, Dimitri didn't know, so I figured either he just hadn't heard of it somehow, or it wasn't a thing. Figured it was worth double-checking.

Lycanthropy is, in short, a highly contagious curse - or a magic disease, by now, depending on who you ask. It was most likely first developed to turn one's enemies into wolves, maybe as some kind of a war tactic, but it's been modified so far since then that it barely resembles whatever the original form of the curse might have been, in symptoms OR magical structure. It kind of seems like, rather than try to find a way to break the curse and free the afflicted, someone at some point thought to add new conditions to it instead, maybe trying to turn things in their favor? At that point we can't say much with certainty, since there are no surviving records of the development of lycanthropy as a curse. What we do know is that its current form is incredibly magically complex, to the point where it's begun to self-modify - which is where we get back to how some parts of the magic community disagree that it even qualifies as a curse anymore, or if it's crossed entirely into the realm of a magic-based disease. I'll still call it a curse, though, since it's basically structured as one.

Anyway, as I said, its effects have been heavily modified over time. At this point, those carrying the curse - whether because they were infected during their lives or inherited it through genetics - only take on a non-human form for roughly one night each month, on the full moon. That form, while usually superficially canine, is more of a blend of various mammalian traits that differ from one person to another than it is simply "a wolf", and werewolves - especially those who inherited it genetically, or were infected in utero - usually maintain some vaguely canine traits all through the month. It can also have some mental effects; it's not uncommon for werewolves to struggle with mood swings or impulse control issues, which can unfortunately feed into the idea that lycanthropy makes people violent or aggressive.

It's not a very common affliction, but most people where I'm from have at least heard of it, and usually have some kind of preconceptions about it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume you can guess by now why I'm telling you all this.

wait is our age really that big of a deal.
we're not that young, are we?
... i mean i guess you are.
huh.

i really am your type, huh? what ever will you do without me? would you write me a ballad? poetry?

For a whole laundry list of crimes, that's admittedly not too sinister of one. Although boy, they were certainly busy in August, huh? Maybe that's why there was such a large gap between September and December.

What's a muggle, by the way?

[Steven blinks twice, than rereads what he just typed.]

... a typo for 'mugging.' My God, I need a nap.

But yeah, August was pretty nuts as far as Rocket activity went. But I know most of us people from other worlds were gone for the middle of it, so that might have had something to do with it? Since, uh, it looks like otherworlders are better at fighting Team Rocket than the Jennies.

That's the 'Sinnoh Trip' that I mentioned. You know how we're only allowed to be in Kanto and Johto, right? Well, Sinnoh was another region that let us visit for two weeks in August, albeit only in a small handful of places. It was nice, actually, and it threw a lot of us together who otherwise might not have met. I actually met my current boyfiend on it.

Ah. [Claude grimaces a little. Of course - Felix has already mentioned his brother. But as someone who didn't know Felix until after Glenn was already long dead...it's easy to forget Felix wasn't always the intended heir to the Fraldarius title.] That's true, sorry. But you get what I mean, right?

As for whether I enjoy it... [Claude chuckles.] Well, I definitely wouldn't say I hate it! I think it's safe to say I enjoy the prize more than the game, though. Things going smoothly, people happy and cared for, battles avoided, stuff like that. And it's like I told Dimitri - if you want the results, then to some degree you also definitely want everything that goes into getting the results. Not everyone who gardens enjoys getting their hands dirty, but if they love flowers enough, then it's worth it in the end. That's why they get their hands dirty anyway.

[Without thinking about it, he puts his hands behind his head again.] As for me...I have even grander goals beyond just keeping people fed and happy and safe - all of which require good management, by the way. But you can't build to lofty dreams on crumbling foundations, I know that much. So you work your way up, one step after another, getting the smallest goals achieved, which feed into the bigger ones, which feed into bigger ones still...and if you keep doing that enough, then anything's possible.

That's fair. But as an informational omnivore, I can promise you I almost definitely would have heard of something like that if we had it.

Also, yeah, you don't have to spell it out for me. Chip can be a little feral at times!

...listen, I couldn't resist. But seriously, I do get it. And it does explain the teeth.

You're about the furthest thing I can think of from violent or aggressive...but if that's a 'preconception' people tend to have about werewolves, am I wrong in thinking that might be intentional?

See, I've seen quite a few places that have lots of 'preconceptions' about people who are different, so I know that code. I also know a bit about trying not to fall into the stereotypes of what people believe about your kind.

Quick question, though - isn't the line between 'magic-based disease' and 'curse' a pretty fine one already? Is there a whole lot of reason to draw the distinction? I mean, I could see changing the wording to help with public perception - curse is definitely a more loaded word - but it sound like people are trying to split more scientific hairs than that about it, and I'm just wondering why.

Edited 2021-01-01 07:42 (UTC)

Wow??? I don't know if I should be flattered or offended here! But you talk like you're going to be using your lance as a cane soon, old man.

But no, we're not that young. Frankly we haven't had the luxury to be, any of us. Maybe if we'd been through less, the differences in our ages might matter more, but...as it is, I think Grant's just being overly conscientious. Which seems like a thing he already leans into pretty hard, so that would track. But standards in his world might be a lot different than ours, too, to be fair.

It just seems silly for him to worry over that sort of thing for our sakes, as though we're not well and capable of looking after ourselves...wait, no, I take back everything I just said, I just remembered what group this is and talked myself out of my own conclusion. It'd be silly for him to worry over that sort of thing if it were for my sake. It makes perfect sense he'd worry about whether the rest of you know what's good for you.

Ah, could such a simple tongue as mine ever capture your ruinous beauty in words? Could any words in any language convey the depths of my grief that you're forever beyond my reach? Too little, too late! The messenger that arrives after the battle's already lost! I'll just sob your name into a pillow at night, though, it's fine.

Hah! I thought it was just some weird word I didn't know yet.

[Wait until you talk to Neville, Claude.]

That sounds fascinating, getting to visit some whole other place that's normally off-limits...and congrats, by the way.

I do. Unfortunately, as Dimitri's advisor, I don't have the luxury of only knowing about that 5% forever. Ugh. The thought of going back to that empty estate and assuming my father's position and duties feels like a prison sentence.

[Felix's eyes slide sideways toward him when he shifts his stance again, but says nothing about it this time. Is Claude doing it on purpose? Or is it really just as habitual as he said?]

I can't say I've ever had any goals grand or lofty enough to warrant such complex planning, and I don't want them. [His tone slips a bit into surliness. I loathe politics and management. I don't even like leading troops into battle. I'm a precision weapon, not a strategist.

What kinds of ambitions do you have that are loftier than leading the whole Alliance?

[Hey, it won't be empty because you'll have Sylvain there, Felix! There's always your trophy husband to comfort you.]

You're a man who likes swordfighting, not a weapon. [Claude's tone is placid.] I won't let Dimitri dehumanize himself calling himself a beast, and I won't let you do it calling yourself an object, either. Your self-esteem might not be in quite as dire a state as his, but I still don't think it's a good habit to fall into. You're a lot more than a sword, Felix.

As for my ambitions... [Claude chuckles.] I want to open borders. Everywhere, ideally, but especially Fodlan's with its isolationist policies and its general hostility and distrust toward other countries and the people in them. I want people and cultures to be able to mingle and appreciate each other, no matter how different they might be. No more "oh, that guy's from Duscur, you know what they're like" from people who don't actually have the first idea what Duscur is like! No more princesses being held political prisoner because two countries distrust each other enough to need hostages. No more senseless raids where kids lose their families and then get taken prisoner in a foreign land that looks down on them, just because two countries have such different cultures that they insist the other must be inferior. I want cultural and personal differences to be a source of fascination, not fear. I want people to actually know each other before they make up their minds about each other.

It's incredibly simple...but also an impossibly tall order at the same time, isn't it?

...hm. I'd say it's semantics, but maybe you have a point. Still. I'm a warrior. I'll make a poor excuse for a politician. But I'll do what I must.

[He listens to Claude's plans thoughtfully, without interruption.]

You're right. It sounds like a fanciful pipe dream to me. But you clearly have an idea of how it could be done, building on foundations and whatnot. And I've seen you pull off other feats I thought were impossible. I thought the Alliance would crumble within the first year of the war, but it didn't, because of you. So if someone's going to try, it should be you.

You sound like Dimitri, actually. He has a lot of similar goals, with Duscur and Sreng. He wants to not just open the borders but give back their land and make reparations. From what I know, Sreng will be more difficult by far, but it would improve Faerghus' situation significantly if we didn't have to constantly patrol the northern border.

You're a guy who tackles every challenge he faces with every ounce of skill and effort he can muster, and someone who gets good at anything he does. [Claude smiles sidelong at him.] I doubt you'll enjoy being a politician, but I'm not worried you won't become good at it.

[At Felix's statement of faith, Claude chuckles - but honestly, he feels his cheeks warm a little. Of all the people to say they believe he can achieve his dream, getting those words from Felix feels...particularly meaningful.] You've got such touching faith in me, sunshine...how can I possibly fail now?

But you're right - Dimitri's already on the same page as me, and was from before I ever met him. It's one of the reasons I know he'll be an incredible king.

I mean, it might mean something in slang, but it was definitely a typo. Possibly because my employee, Scorpia, was talking about the Huggles in the background. (Mr and Ms Huggles are two of her Bewears. She's got four so far. They make good bouncers.)

The Sinnoh Trip was fascinating. I did a few radio segments about it, if you'd like to listen to them. Let me know if you want the MP3s.

And, well, thank you. I never expected to be with him--I was already dating someone when we met, but that... didn't work out in the end. And he helped a lot with me getting over my broken heart.

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