crystal.

[cozen]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Bastien
RECIPIENT: Everyone
NOTES: Nonsense. If your characters will not say anything but are obviously/observably involved with people, please feel even more encouraged than normal to "not here" reply with the deets for everyone's gossip-gathering purposes.

Bonjour, mes amis.

[ Faintly sing-song, but in a drawling and subdued way. It doesn't do to sound too chipper and excited about asking people semi-invasive questions. ]

I have been talking to the Seneschal, and we thought—well, it's possible we might need a fraternization policy. Or a record, at least, in case it becomes a problem later. And to decide whether that is necessary: information about fraternization.

[ It's obvious from his voice that he's pleased that that rhymes. ]

So who is together? Or involved, if together is a scary word.

Please feel very free to rat out your bashful friends.

[ As an afterthought, ]

If you have opinions about the policy or record part, I will take those, too.

Comments

[bouchonne]

[ Byerly relents a little bit. ]

I agree. Of course I agree. No one would benefit from people being flogged for disrespect like I'd benefit from it. People are very mouthy towards me, you know.

[heirring]

Well that's because they know you too well from before you were in any position to tell them to do anything, and you've done very little to discourage dismissive behavior.

You can hardly expect anyone to change if you don't request that they do it.

[bouchonne]

Hmm. Fair enough.

Miss Poppell, please respect me.

[heirring]

[Somewhere, Wysteria wrinkles her nose. That's not what she meant. Still, she is quite stubbornly breezy with her answer:]

To my knowledge, I have never refused to do my work as directed by yourself or anyone else in this company. I am even quite regular at filling out all the forms and answering whatever questions have been asked of me.

—And that isn't my name.

[bouchonne]

Madame de Foncé.

[heirring]

Thank you.

[Look, she doesn't even cheekily amend ', Ambassador' to the end of that sentence, though she very well could!]

I'm not speaking of a matter of personality or personal like or respect for an individual or what have you, although obviously that would be the ideal way of going about the business and it certainly might might the whole thing much easier. It's a matter of curating respect for the institution itself and for the organization's needs.

Without it there will always be a dozen questions that spring to mind whenever anything is asked of anyone. Well why should I do this thing, or how does it benefit me, or what is the danger, or why does he or she wish to know? And then by the time they have started to answer these questions, the moment to act is already passed. It's entirely a matter of convincing everyone that it's in their best interest to do the thing directly so that the questions won't occur to anyone to begin with.

[bouchonne]

Mmhm.

[ He wonders, if he stays quiet, how much she'll have to say. ]

[heirring]

[Deep breath. Wysteria is very good at filling any silence offered her.]

You are correct that it might be done in the most orderly fashion if an individual who is well respected or well liked were to lead it, but I would hesitate to say that any single person in our leadership is all of those things to everyone or even to a majority of Riftwatch. That isn't meant as a slight, of course. Not to you or to anyone—you are aware, for example, that Provost Stark and I are good friends.

I only mean it in the sense that I'm sure that there have been lots of organizations which haven't been led by any particular riveting personality, and which have instead relied on their reputation or the nobility of the services they provide or whatever else in order to keep its members all doing as it pleases.

[bouchonne]

Aren't we noble?

[heirring]

Martyrs, maybe, if the response to Monsieur Bastien's questions are any indication.

[bouchonne]

What, you think people are actually staying celibate?

[heirring]

[Here, bluster. A scoff.]

No, that's not—Clearly not.

I meant that everyone is here with Riftwatch for some reason, but the work involved—or at least the theory and purpose of that eork; of course everyone is perfectly well behaved on their assignments and so on—certainly seems to be an imposition to a great many.

[bouchonne]

It does.

[ A bit of a shrug. ]

It does frustrate, a touch, at times.

[heirring]

A touch?

[bouchonne]

[ Laughing - ]

What do you expect me to say, madame?

[heirring]

That it is highly irritating and a serious obstacle!

[bouchonne]

[ He shakes his head. ]

I sacrificed my right to give voice to those sorts of sentiments when I assumed this position. All I have liberty to do is serve and hope that others are inspired to do the same.