![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[ After a beat of consideration—which continues on longer than the beat— ]
Ander could make sense. Doesn't even smell a little bit like disloyalty that way—it could do better to keep his guard down? And Lazar is handsome enough to be a threat to anyone. You could dress him up and make him wear little eyeglasses.
Ander could make sense. Doesn't even smell a little bit like disloyalty that way—it could do better to keep his guard down? And Lazar is handsome enough to be a threat to anyone. You could dress him up and make him wear little eyeglasses.
[ A few weeks from now, she would say that Lazar is surprisingly useful in a crisis, perhaps more trustworthy than she'd given him credit for—at least as long as it's not her valuables she's concerned with. Today, she makes an uncertain noise. ]
Even in little eyeglasses, he'd still have to speak. Maybe it could be arranged so he's only seen and not heard. Can you throw your voice? [ jokes. Unless...? ]
Even in little eyeglasses, he'd still have to speak. Maybe it could be arranged so he's only seen and not heard. Can you throw your voice? [ jokes. Unless...? ]
Edited 2024-04-25 02:36 (UTC)
No objections to Rowntree from me. He respects the org and he's been here awhile. You have a better sense than I do, probably, since I've only got the one in my division: Do you think any of the current-slash-former templars are going to balk?
[Not necessarily a reason not to do it, so much as something worth preparing for. She doesn't think Mobius will be the one to cause trouble, if it's coming, but she also didn't miss how little love is lost in that quarter.]
Other than framing that part, sooner is probably better. Give everyone less time to pick at it on a practical level. I don't actually think a huge chunk of Riftwatch is going to grab a boat and chase down Flint, though hey, I guess I could be wrong. [Tired.]
[Not necessarily a reason not to do it, so much as something worth preparing for. She doesn't think Mobius will be the one to cause trouble, if it's coming, but she also didn't miss how little love is lost in that quarter.]
Other than framing that part, sooner is probably better. Give everyone less time to pick at it on a practical level. I don't actually think a huge chunk of Riftwatch is going to grab a boat and chase down Flint, though hey, I guess I could be wrong. [Tired.]
[ There are none in Scouting; Templars are not exactly famous for their stealth. ]
Keen is the most likely. He might be moved to write to his Chantry contacts. But he might have done so when Rowntree was made Captain. [ And if he did, nothing has come of it. ] He's cautious, and has few options. Most likely he grouses and bides his time to see what Rowntree does with the post. If he attempts to steer the organization to advocating directly on behalf of mages, then we will have a problem.
Keen is the most likely. He might be moved to write to his Chantry contacts. But he might have done so when Rowntree was made Captain. [ And if he did, nothing has come of it. ] He's cautious, and has few options. Most likely he grouses and bides his time to see what Rowntree does with the post. If he attempts to steer the organization to advocating directly on behalf of mages, then we will have a problem.
Anyone's going to have a personal agenda, [Flint certainly did, she doesn't need to say.] But I haven't seen anything or read any reports to make me think Rowntree isn't capable of putting Riftwatch first, which I think is what we can ask and expect.
We're going to have to make some hard diplomatic choices soon anyway, honestly. But I'd rather all four divisions have official leadership before we get too deep in those weeds.
[A different person might take the moment to push for their own preferences with only one other person to win over, but Cosima's never been a strategist. She assumes that's not why she got the provost gig, so at least it's not a surprise. Someone as skilled at reading people as Yseult can have no trouble telling Cosima is saying what she truly thinks.]
We're going to have to make some hard diplomatic choices soon anyway, honestly. But I'd rather all four divisions have official leadership before we get too deep in those weeds.
[A different person might take the moment to push for their own preferences with only one other person to win over, but Cosima's never been a strategist. She assumes that's not why she got the provost gig, so at least it's not a surprise. Someone as skilled at reading people as Yseult can have no trouble telling Cosima is saying what she truly thinks.]
[ Yseult begins nodding, a shallow bob of her head, at what we can ask and expect and continues until Cosima has finished. ]
You should make the announcement. They've heard too much bad news from me in the last few weeks, it risks tainting the tone.
[ She straightens the reports in front of her, slides the stack back into the leather folio with careful fingers, not a fidget but a deliberate moment of thoughtful silence that does nothing to hide that she's gearing up to say something. ]
Flint and Rutyer and your two predecessors and I—despite our years together, we didn't understand each other as well as we might and it hindered our work. I'd like not to repeat that mistake. You said anyone will have a personal agenda. Mine is that I want to avoid the various horrific futures we've seen and defeat Corypheus while there's still enough of the world left for it to be worth surviving. I want to keep the toll it takes on the lives of innocent people as limited as possible. Ideally, I'd like to survive it and never have to live in the swamps of Ferelden. That's it.
I know it sometimes seems I must have a hidden purpose because so many do and because unlike my colleagues I would rather listen than speak, but my work should speak for itself. If it ever doesn't, then I hope we can have a conversation about it. [ you know, instead of letting it fester for years and sniping about it in meetings ]
You should make the announcement. They've heard too much bad news from me in the last few weeks, it risks tainting the tone.
[ She straightens the reports in front of her, slides the stack back into the leather folio with careful fingers, not a fidget but a deliberate moment of thoughtful silence that does nothing to hide that she's gearing up to say something. ]
Flint and Rutyer and your two predecessors and I—despite our years together, we didn't understand each other as well as we might and it hindered our work. I'd like not to repeat that mistake. You said anyone will have a personal agenda. Mine is that I want to avoid the various horrific futures we've seen and defeat Corypheus while there's still enough of the world left for it to be worth surviving. I want to keep the toll it takes on the lives of innocent people as limited as possible. Ideally, I'd like to survive it and never have to live in the swamps of Ferelden. That's it.
I know it sometimes seems I must have a hidden purpose because so many do and because unlike my colleagues I would rather listen than speak, but my work should speak for itself. If it ever doesn't, then I hope we can have a conversation about it. [ you know, instead of letting it fester for years and sniping about it in meetings ]
Edited 2024-04-27 20:50 (UTC)
[The small nod at Yseult's point about which of them should announce suggests Cosima doesn't object, but she's attentive as Yseult keeps talking. To the extent she's surprised, she doesn't seem displeased.]
I'd prefer that. A conversation, if it seems like we're at cross purposes. I think we'll be more effective that way. For what it's worth, I know I'm not, like, the most mysterious person. But I'm with you. Defeat Corypheus with the fewest innocents dead we can manage. To the extent I have other thoughts about Thedas after all this ... that's secondary and I'm not going to jeopardize point A over it.
[She pauses, considering whether it's the time, but while they're being honest:]
Do you have thoughts about Mme de Foncé's argument about rifters amputating the limbs that have shards in them? I know the choice is ultimately mine, but if you have an opinion, I'll take it under advisement.
[She knows there are ways she'll be less useful one-armed. On the other hand, given the leadership churn, the appearance of stability has new urgency, whether or not Wysteria is right. (And maybe Wysteria is right. There's no good way to prove it, though.)]
I'd prefer that. A conversation, if it seems like we're at cross purposes. I think we'll be more effective that way. For what it's worth, I know I'm not, like, the most mysterious person. But I'm with you. Defeat Corypheus with the fewest innocents dead we can manage. To the extent I have other thoughts about Thedas after all this ... that's secondary and I'm not going to jeopardize point A over it.
[She pauses, considering whether it's the time, but while they're being honest:]
Do you have thoughts about Mme de Foncé's argument about rifters amputating the limbs that have shards in them? I know the choice is ultimately mine, but if you have an opinion, I'll take it under advisement.
[She knows there are ways she'll be less useful one-armed. On the other hand, given the leadership churn, the appearance of stability has new urgency, whether or not Wysteria is right. (And maybe Wysteria is right. There's no good way to prove it, though.)]
[ A little flicker of an acknowledging smile--she's right she's not the most mysterious, but that's not a bad thing, outside of Scouting. The rest gets a nod. Good that they're at least beginning on the same page.
Yseult knits fingers together on the tabletop and returns to a more serious look, the furrow between her brows also suggesting an element of surprise at this turn in the conversation. But while they're being honest: ]
I'm sure you're more familiar with the details of that work than I am. But it seems the only things we know for sure are that limbs don't grow back and anchors are still the best way to close rifts. That's a lot to sacrifice for anything less than certain necessity.
Yseult knits fingers together on the tabletop and returns to a more serious look, the furrow between her brows also suggesting an element of surprise at this turn in the conversation. But while they're being honest: ]
I'm sure you're more familiar with the details of that work than I am. But it seems the only things we know for sure are that limbs don't grow back and anchors are still the best way to close rifts. That's a lot to sacrifice for anything less than certain necessity.
Edited 2024-04-29 03:14 (UTC)
[She nods.]
That's more or less where I've come out too. None of us are guaranteed any particular amount of time, native or rifter, after all. I want to do the most good I can while I'm here.
[If Yseult had said the opposite, Cosima would have taken it under advisement, whether or not it fully changed her mind. But it feels reassuring, that their line of thought in this was also basically the same.]
Alright. Do you have a sense of how long you think we can push it, before I announce Rowntree? We know we're playing a balancing game, but you probably have more of an ear to the ground than I do in Scouting.
That's more or less where I've come out too. None of us are guaranteed any particular amount of time, native or rifter, after all. I want to do the most good I can while I'm here.
[If Yseult had said the opposite, Cosima would have taken it under advisement, whether or not it fully changed her mind. But it feels reassuring, that their line of thought in this was also basically the same.]
Alright. Do you have a sense of how long you think we can push it, before I announce Rowntree? We know we're playing a balancing game, but you probably have more of an ear to the ground than I do in Scouting.
[Small wooden pieces fall into their box with a clatter so mild that it sounds like a child's toy made to imitate the rasp of rain.]
The Venatori threat has been made reality and Corypheus' detractors scattered. It would be best to make some effort to rejoin the splinters now while they might still be moved by anger instead of allowing them to be picked off, and it would be most effective to do that from within Tevinter.
[Better to be the vulture making use of the corpse than see the corpse feed Corypheus' High Dragon, or some equally trite metaphor. Flint closes the box.]
Riftwatch doesn't have the capacity to do that work. Not without quitting Kirkwall entirely.
The Venatori threat has been made reality and Corypheus' detractors scattered. It would be best to make some effort to rejoin the splinters now while they might still be moved by anger instead of allowing them to be picked off, and it would be most effective to do that from within Tevinter.
[Better to be the vulture making use of the corpse than see the corpse feed Corypheus' High Dragon, or some equally trite metaphor. Flint closes the box.]
Riftwatch doesn't have the capacity to do that work. Not without quitting Kirkwall entirely.
Good idea. [ She is nodding as she says it, and as she continues thinking through the notion. ] We arrange a location where he'll see us before he thinks we can see him, down the road, across the cafe. And then give him only the chance to see how tall Lazar is in passing without meeting him. That's good, thank you.
[ A beat, and then with a note of slightly guilty complaint: ] I miss having a handler. Do you ever find that?
[ A beat, and then with a note of slightly guilty complaint: ] I miss having a handler. Do you ever find that?
[ She laughs at the end, any momentary potential to take offense assuaged. ] Twenty? I would have been lost. My favorite retired when I was 23, that was bad enough. I would have had to quit and go back to the circus rather than do it all on my own.
I can't disagree. [ Not like she died, anyway. ]
[ Approach gets an affirmative noise. ] Or at least giving guidelines. Feedback. Where to focus, when to push harder or give it up and move on. We should have a larger network by now, but I've moved too slowly.
[ Approach gets an affirmative noise. ] Or at least giving guidelines. Feedback. Where to focus, when to push harder or give it up and move on. We should have a larger network by now, but I've moved too slowly.
Edited 2024-06-18 04:27 (UTC)
[ The sound she makes this time isn't entirely convinced, but it's not strenuous disagreement, either. It's more important that he said it than if it's true. ] Thank you.
Flint said I ought to take on an assistant, delegate more. But it's just another sort of giving orders. Unless I can delegate all decision-making to someone and leave myself in peace to just execute missions.
Flint said I ought to take on an assistant, delegate more. But it's just another sort of giving orders. Unless I can delegate all decision-making to someone and leave myself in peace to just execute missions.
I could see the merit, though. Maybe if you have someone who is not so much an assistant as a shadow? Not someone you are telling to do paperwork and filter your visitors, but someone whose job is to know almost as much as you do about all of the moving pieces. It helps to have a second perspective, no? To notice a dropped ball or ask a question you hadn't thought of. Or to tell you when they think you are doing the right thing and they have nothing to add.
That could be useful. [ A little grudgingly, maybe. Shadows are so close. ]
But who? Most of the division is even less suited to the larger picture than I am: thieves, adventurers, trackers, or focused on their own agendas. I like Ellie, but she's most interested in the missions, not the rest of it. Nina had potential, but she's gone. Loxley doesn't seem the type to stand more time at a desk. And all Rifters are at a natural disadvantage in the political nuances and could disappear at any moment. Fifi seems content where she is. So do you.
But who? Most of the division is even less suited to the larger picture than I am: thieves, adventurers, trackers, or focused on their own agendas. I like Ellie, but she's most interested in the missions, not the rest of it. Nina had potential, but she's gone. Loxley doesn't seem the type to stand more time at a desk. And all Rifters are at a natural disadvantage in the political nuances and could disappear at any moment. Fifi seems content where she is. So do you.
Page 53 of 55