[ ....He ... considers Maxima as he communicates his point. It makes sense, of course--people reciprocating kindness is normal. Offering support will always come back with some sort of thanks--but it's always been so Normal for Wriothesley to put his effort into something that he'd expect nothing in return for. It's the fallacy of running a society that doubles as a prison.
But it's not a prison here. The people who lived here were... ....they were all warm, wonderful presences who wanted nothing more than to cultivate community. The Fortress had gone from being that cold space meant to reform those living inside it to a warm and welcoming, flourishing community. People came and went. There were animals and decorations everywhere--facilities that never existed back in Fontaine... ]
You are right about that. The... bit about 'anything being able to change;' there are some days where I expect a secret sect of the Black Order jumping out from inside Yggdrasil to ruin everything for the city.
Long term stability should be something you can get used to, though. I know you're like me. From another world, living here while being completely out of what we're used to, but.
This world is ... a good one. Due to a mishap with Furina a few months ago, I'm not sure if I could ever go home.
But if I'm honest.
I think you're suited to this world. And I'd like you to stay as long as you can. ...As long as you're comfortable.
In many ways, I think I'm more adapted to coming here than most otherworldly transplants. The concept of other worlds isn't wholly new to us, and the particular society I came from is only decades behind this one in terms of technological capacity, rather than centuries. We have trains, radios, automobiles, firearms. And we've encountered more advanced technology left behind by ancient civilizations that fills in some of the gaps: although the internet is new, I understood the basic functions of a computer before arriving, and the concept of linking a network of them wasn't a great leap to make.
[At the mention of staying, he looks uncomfortable. Guilty, even.]
...But this world is much kinder than my home. I...can be comfortable here, yes. I am comfortable here. ...And that's the problem.
The situation I left behind was a tragedy. My own home, the city I grew up in, the whole nation I grew up in, is in ruins after a series of disastrous events. I was helping with the rebuilding.
I can't feel comfortable with being comfortable here, when I remember how many people are still living in the cold with minimal infrastructure.
[ ....what a heavy burden that is. Wriothesley can't imagine it. His own life in Fontaine was certainly that of restructuring and maintaining a system for people who were disadvantaged, sure, but Wriothesley had always been of the mind that his job isn't *so* difficult that anyone could take the wheel after him. (regardless of how untrue that might be.)
But for this man... the way he speaks, the way the weight of what he left behind weighs even on his brow...
He can imagine how it feels to wake up in a strange world knowing that work you'd been doing has gone abandoned without you. A world that needed the help you had to give it after a huge crisis, sure. Fontaine had gone underwater. But the big difference...
But the biggest difference was that Fontaine was prosperous. it would heal because it's people were strong and had resources. It sounded like Maxima's home didn't. A ruins that needed all the help it could get.
And now a big part of that help was here. Trapped in a world that would see him comfortable, warm and cared for. While the thought of his home and its people suffering weigh on him... ]
Your position isn't an enviable one. I think I understand how you're feeling. Before coming here, Fontaine was subject to a flood that devoured the entire nation. ....But.
The difference is. My land has so many resources, recovering won't be a big deal.
You mentioned your city being in ruins.
...
And yet you mention things like advanced technology existing. It... it can be fixed, then? There's a chance for your nation to recover, even if brought to knee by a 'series' of events that left it without anything?
[That question makes his eyes widen a little in surprise. For a moment, he seems thoughtful, and then his brow crinkles again in worry.]
...They will. Even without me there...they are beginning to find their way toward physically rebuilding. Forming the agreements they'll need with the few nations whose people wouldn't revolt over trading with us...
[Which requires more explanation. If he's going to keep being friends with people from Teyvat, someone should tell him about the Fatui one day - it would save him a great deal of time.]
Food resources have always been scarce. There are things we have no hope of growing ourselves, living on the tundra as we do. [He hangs his head slightly, not meeting Wriothesley's eyes.] ...But the decades before our nation's collapse were spent waging a war of conquest against anyone outside our borders that we believed we could best. While a few factions from those former enemy nations were willing to send us help to stem the immediate crisis, in order to prevent it spilling over into their own lands, long-term trade agreements will be controversial with the commonfolk who have lost relatives to our armies, to say the least. So our sources for the things we cannot provide ourselves will be thin and slow to build.
More than that, I...I do fear that in my absence, my people might rebuild as they were before, rather than seeking a newer and more peaceful path.
[ he considers it. He doesn't want to offer the cold and unkind suggestion that they would manage without just one person--because he knows better than that. Just one person can be ALL the difference between the world falling apart and coming together. The Traveller taught him that much, even if he's blind that he was in a similar position.
His fingers touch his chin as Maxima describes the people of his lands. The harsh and unkind tundra. The desperation of a people with a history of conquest and collapse...
It... reminds him of something. (11) He absolutely will be reminded of a certain set of Harbingers, and the nation they stood for. ]
...I'm reminded of the Fatui, from my own world. They hail from Snezhnaya, a frozen tundra, and unkind nation in my world. They act in a way that is received unfavorably by the rest of the world, their acts often causing crises before anything immediately helpful. Their reputation is to seek practical, gainful path at the price of peace, most often times.
...
With a proper guiding hand and people with a heart for peace, they could do good. They've been seen to do good. But most of the time...
I can understand, then. Exactly why you feel you being here is unfavorable, despite its comforts. You could be the hand that tips the scale. And you're painfully aware of it.
[Maxima nods along with the explanation, his expression lifting just slightly in surprised recognition.]
They sound very similar, yes. ...So you do understand.
[Perhaps it's not so strange. There are cultures in this world that seem to mirror ones from Etheirys, why not in other worlds as well?]
There are others who could do the guiding from within, and pressures from without, that I hope can keep them on a better path. ...But few of those who remain have as much authority, or years of experience in arguing for kinder solutions. ...They could be all right without me, but what if they aren't?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
But it's not a prison here.
The people who lived here were... ....they were all warm, wonderful presences who wanted nothing more than to cultivate community.
The Fortress had gone from being that cold space meant to reform those living inside it to a warm and welcoming, flourishing community. People came and went. There were animals and decorations everywhere--facilities that never existed back in Fontaine... ]
You are right about that. The... bit about 'anything being able to change;' there are some days where I expect a secret sect of the Black Order jumping out from inside Yggdrasil to ruin everything for the city.
Long term stability should be something you can get used to, though. I know you're like me. From another world, living here while being completely out of what we're used to, but.
This world is ... a good one.
Due to a mishap with Furina a few months ago, I'm not sure if I could ever go home.
But if I'm honest.
I think you're suited to this world. And I'd like you to stay as long as you can. ...As long as you're comfortable.
no subject
[At the mention of staying, he looks uncomfortable. Guilty, even.]
...But this world is much kinder than my home. I...can be comfortable here, yes. I am comfortable here. ...And that's the problem.
The situation I left behind was a tragedy. My own home, the city I grew up in, the whole nation I grew up in, is in ruins after a series of disastrous events. I was helping with the rebuilding.
I can't feel comfortable with being comfortable here, when I remember how many people are still living in the cold with minimal infrastructure.
no subject
But for this man... the way he speaks, the way the weight of what he left behind weighs even on his brow...
He can imagine how it feels to wake up in a strange world knowing that work you'd been doing has gone abandoned without you. A world that needed the help you had to give it after a huge crisis, sure. Fontaine had gone underwater. But the big difference...
But the biggest difference was that Fontaine was prosperous. it would heal because it's people were strong and had resources. It sounded like Maxima's home didn't. A ruins that needed all the help it could get.
And now a big part of that help was here. Trapped in a world that would see him comfortable, warm and cared for. While the thought of his home and its people suffering weigh on him... ]
Your position isn't an enviable one. I think I understand how you're feeling.
Before coming here, Fontaine was subject to a flood that devoured the entire nation. ....But.
The difference is. My land has so many resources, recovering won't be a big deal.
You mentioned your city being in ruins.
...
And yet you mention things like advanced technology existing. It... it can be fixed, then? There's a chance for your nation to recover, even if brought to knee by a 'series' of events that left it without anything?
no subject
...They will. Even without me there...they are beginning to find their way toward physically rebuilding. Forming the agreements they'll need with the few nations whose people wouldn't revolt over trading with us...
[Which requires more explanation. If he's going to keep being friends with people from Teyvat, someone should tell him about the Fatui one day - it would save him a great deal of time.]
Food resources have always been scarce. There are things we have no hope of growing ourselves, living on the tundra as we do. [He hangs his head slightly, not meeting Wriothesley's eyes.] ...But the decades before our nation's collapse were spent waging a war of conquest against anyone outside our borders that we believed we could best. While a few factions from those former enemy nations were willing to send us help to stem the immediate crisis, in order to prevent it spilling over into their own lands, long-term trade agreements will be controversial with the commonfolk who have lost relatives to our armies, to say the least. So our sources for the things we cannot provide ourselves will be thin and slow to build.
More than that, I...I do fear that in my absence, my people might rebuild as they were before, rather than seeking a newer and more peaceful path.
no subject
His fingers touch his chin as Maxima describes the people of his lands. The harsh and unkind tundra. The desperation of a people with a history of conquest and collapse...
It... reminds him of something. (11) He absolutely will be reminded of a certain set of Harbingers, and the nation they stood for. ]
...I'm reminded of the Fatui, from my own world. They hail from Snezhnaya, a frozen tundra, and unkind nation in my world. They act in a way that is received unfavorably by the rest of the world, their acts often causing crises before anything immediately helpful. Their reputation is to seek practical, gainful path at the price of peace, most often times.
...
With a proper guiding hand and people with a heart for peace, they could do good. They've been seen to do good. But most of the time...
I can understand, then. Exactly why you feel you being here is unfavorable, despite its comforts.
You could be the hand that tips the scale. And you're painfully aware of it.
no subject
They sound very similar, yes. ...So you do understand.
[Perhaps it's not so strange. There are cultures in this world that seem to mirror ones from Etheirys, why not in other worlds as well?]
There are others who could do the guiding from within, and pressures from without, that I hope can keep them on a better path. ...But few of those who remain have as much authority, or years of experience in arguing for kinder solutions. ...They could be all right without me, but what if they aren't?