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Post by Hans on Nov 6, 2015 1:20:36 GMT
Many cooks and janitors live in this frozen home of ours, working their days away like most servants do, often going unseen like good servants should. Some virtuous, and some rotten, they carry the weight of the small jobs no capital S Servant would do. With this in mind, I noticed that when you go the kitchens, on Thursday during lunch-hour, you can find a lady that goes by the name Luisa. Luisa would be around twenty-five years of age, and she is usually the one on service taking orders. Keep in mind, she's not the one that cooks lunch-time meals, that task would go to the chefs in the far-back kitchen area. She is however the one that takes care of more simple, unimportant meals. Toast, fried eggs and tea, things not usually requested during her shift, and the great gift here would be the way she made them.
In front of me is a lunch-tray,holding a plate with the finest pan-toasted ham and cheese sandwich, perfectly cut and heated to perfection. The inside of the bread has exactly five stripes of ham, gently fried and fit together with a layered cheese that's just too expensive to be standard in the meal asked. Oregano's have been sprinkled on top of it, and despite five people having been attended shortly before I was, my meal was still the first to be made.
I wish I didn't know what was causing this outburst of lunch-diner corruption. I wish my elaborated toast didn't come with a ketchup smiley-face drawn in the side of the plate. And most of all, I wish I hadn't received a complementary side of veggies, along with a cheerful recommendation on how I should "eat them all to become big and strong". The perks of this special service come with a remarkably sour taste.
" I wonder what I'm even doing here" -Chewing a small chunk of carrot, I observe the noon cafeteria madness, sitting in one of the tables in the corner of the mess hall.
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Post by genghis on Nov 6, 2015 2:25:22 GMT
The livelihood of the cafeteria was a concept that while not exactly new to Genghis, it was instead a experience he hadn't lived much. Back on the past, when he was just a man and back when he was still Khan, he was the man who always got served his meals first. So waiting on line was something he had seen but personally never experienced.
He came to like this experience. It afforded him with the time to interact on a more casual manner, he could chat with those behind him or in front. Be in a group, discuss in a calm manner. That is until most became aware of who they were talking too. Most reactions to his identity tended to be cautious but friendly, some people tended to make polite distance toward him, others became argumentative of his past, others did not mind it and simply did not see the weight of his history. Genghis never became offended at this, he saw it all as quite natural reactions to take at someone like him.
Still he enjoyed this experience. The lunch hour had it's usually bustle of people, this particular day the Conqueror was on his own. As he moved up the line, he came to the counter and greeted the cafeteria lady in his usual manner. For lunch this time he just picked the broth. He was a temperate man when it came to eating, you could call it the taste acquired from living on the steppes.
He thank the lady and shuffled out of the line with his tray. He quietly moved to the far corner of the mess hall and spotted someone he hadn't previously seen. A child, he could barely register the boy was a Servant so he became curious. He sat and though he didn't intent to make much conversation he did open with a polite jest. "I wonder what hoops do I have to go through to get such favoritism." He said, as he sat down his tray which only had the vegetable broth.
He smiled and with his spoon took the first mouthful, nevermind that it was very hot. Old habits made him eat things that were hot as fast as he could, heating things up as a nomad was a luxury, a luxury he had once upon a time but it was a luxury he never indulged in much.
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Post by Hans on Nov 7, 2015 3:48:55 GMT
Again he goes that red-haired man, happy making small talk with the plebeians around him. An entire lunch-line, now turned into makeshift courtiers. Since he's coming over, does it mean I can count myself among that privileged bunch? Someone sitting down with me to eat is an experience that hasn't occurred that often. Not something I cry myself to sleep over considering this place is more than entertaining enough on it's own. He smiles once more, with short strands sliding down his forehead like leaking water and splitting just above his two eyes. ...This face is the very definition of benevolence. Ridiculous as it might be, I'm sure that had he been born in other lands this man would have likely ended up a saint. And, since he went through the trouble of breaking the ice, I have no reason to avoid this. Might as well play a long with the lord. "The dense woman doesn't have a clue... I'd certainly enjoy the special treatment more if it didn't come with added expectations." I throw another piece of the carrot I was given into my mouth, and crunch it loudly. The reputation of this man is intoxicating. His actions spoke far too loud. It's only natural that people would misunderstand what they meant. I'm sure in life, his companions must have been surprised with how far he'd go, shocked at the gaping inconsistency between the kind ruler they saw, and his violent actions. Did they consider him a demon hiding behind that same charitable expression, the generic wolf in sheep's clothing? Those that saw him every day shouldn't have had to rely on such speculation! The damn fools...There was never any inconsistency! Regardless of the results, it's obvious this gentleness is most certainly not a trap. "At least the food tastes good, I guess"
-This man looks perfectly virtuous, far more than he can be given what he does, right?- This reasoning would have seemed so sound...But no. Believing him to be different from what he appears is the real trap here. From the very begging, this war-mongering tyrant is frighting exactly because his heart is filled with virtue. |
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Post by genghis on Nov 7, 2015 22:52:22 GMT
"Expectations are something we all have to live with." The Khan made a polite reply, gave a measured look at the child like Servant. "Even if they are to be unfulfilled." He said, the Khan took another mouthful of soup. Blowing air from his mouth some three times since the broth was still too hot to drink. It was by leaps and bounds way better than anything he had in life when on campaign. Even as king he had to live on rations and what could be foraged from nature.
"But yes, the cooks of my time would be left speechless at the variety and the flavour now available. It is good thing we have right now." The Khan again smiled with a polite expression. Then after what he considered a polite pause "I am called Genghis Khan, or Temujin if you prefer, I don't believe we've had the pleasure." He said, his majesty and kingly rights were nulled and void in this life, so his need to be Khan, to act as Khan to be the Universal King, the Unifying King. His behaviour as a King was not left behind out of regret or denial but out of simplicity, out of logic. His Kharnate was gone, he was not chief and neither he had clan or tribe nor kin to rule. He was a man that didn't let his kingship dictate who he is, or who he had been. If Chaldea needed him to be a King he'd be one, otherwise vassal-hood was a position he could live with.
Genghis took another mouthful of his broth, blowing the heat away again. Since he had already established a conversation he shifted in his sitting and positioning so it was easier to pay attention to his companion. The intriguing Child-Servant. After all politeness was something that Genghis practiced heavily, as King he made it a point to be followed at all times. In fact, on his Yassa one core tenet was respect, well-bred respect for your fellows and good manners. After he was a man who had decreed that not picking up something someone dropped and returning it to them was grounds for beheading.
Thankfully he wasn't Khan in this new life. Some things on Chaldea would change if he was rulling, thankfully he didn't feel the necessity to be Khan at the moment, it wasn't what was best at the moment. Living a new life in Service for a Cause he embraced was not something that overly concerned Genghis or worried about.
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Post by Hans on Dec 31, 2015 2:23:51 GMT
I shrug off his introduction. I know who he is, and regardless of how many boatloads of servants there are, he must at least have an idea of who I am. I mean, there aren't that many servants my my stature walking around, and information isn't exactly held tight around here. Eh, might as well say something to him. I glare at his unnervingly friendly eyes and take a deep breath, shortly after swallowing another carrot piece:
"I am Hans Christian Andersen, the writer."My introduction sounds heavier than it really is, or can be. Famous as we both are, I can't possibly compete with him in demeanor or stature. Us Servants come in a few categories, depending on our origin; Those that are of a divine birth or that pranced around with the fairies and goblins are obviously of a higher caliber than people like myself, that just barely escaped mediocrity in later ages. In this we share that same classification, and both of us are simple "Human" servants that did not depend on that level of fantastical our senpais did. However... This man can surely match up to those myths that came before him, solely due to the grandeur of his goals and actions. The volume of his deeds in life is a frighting thing.
Hearing this man talk about worldly business like social rules and norms, is a dangerous practice. It's probably a tempting topic, like talking to a murderer about homicide; in fact, how well that analogy works is a good sign of the mess this conversation is. Luckily for now, this man has surely put his grand projects on hold while dealing with the most urgent business. I throw another bunch of carrot bits into and finish the veggie side I was due.
"This world evolved, but it really didn't grow up. Not really anyway. it still has the priorities of a toddler. Chasing after what tastes good while ignoring what looks ugly or hard to solve." The shock of summoning was probably larger to other heroes, those that were more optimist than myself. To expect the world to change dramatically from the passing of the years was a common wish. Maybe wanting the nature of people to change and become something good or happy or at least sensible. Those with a bit of foresight know that the world advanced towards what people wanted, and the things that people want are never going to change in the first place. To eat good food,to fuck pretty women,while killing those that disagree with you and running away from death like a brat runs away from his mother, after stupidly breaking the good vase in the living room- The perpetual infancy of mankind.
"And don't worry. The irony of I being the one to denounce anything as immature really isn't lost on me."
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