[ viren takes her look of disbelief, yes, as invitation to continue. .. he doesn't really know the specifics of what makes those things so terrible, but he'll draw inferences as best he can. ]
I've heard them to be oppressive regimes, terrorizing the innocent indiscriminately.
[ he looks pretty serious. ]
As it was put to me, your... peace of mind should be basically destroyed; they plant themselves like an insidious seed, drain the lifeforce from the masses and plague all those that come into contact with them with nothing but suffering.
[ that was the gist of what was said, anyway. he may have lent some slight dramatization to it. ]
[That's... a very dramatic retelling of cable companies and homeowner associations and she has to wonder to herself what kind of person it was that told him all of this. Granted, they aren't entirely wrong – cable companies enjoy making anything difficult for their customers, and she's probably had some experience with them doing as much in the past.
But to say that they drain the lifeforce?
Lightning purses her lips together, holding in a laugh.]
Huh.
[She's on the fence about whether she should enlighten him or not.]
Sounds a lot like the motor companies back home. They're just as pushy, don't take no for an answer, and drain your lifeforce if you so much as try to say no to them.
[Yeah, she still has a bone or two to pick with them after her less than thrilling first day here. Time to compare them to some of the worst kinds of salespeople she's ever had the displeasure of meeting. Actually, it's hard to pick which is worse...
Anyway.]
You ever get the feeling of the life being sucked out of you as soon as someone walks into a room?
[ viren -- actually has to think on that question, unnecessary as it is. does he? he knows the feeling of his son's puns draining the patience (life, he supposes) from him. knows feeling frustrated, watching opeli walk into a room and knowing he's about to be needlessly opposed on every point he makes.
he guesses his ex-wife may have fulfilled the feeling on a few occasions. so, for the sake of conversation, ]
I'm not unfamiliar with it. Most people have at least one person in their life that fulfills that role, I suppose.
Well, he bought it, and while it's not entirely true, it's not like it's untrue, either... so she continues her explanation.]
It's like that, but worse. Not only do they suck the life out of the room, but they suck all your money from you, too. The worst kind of conmen. Willing to do the least amount of work for the biggest profit. Those are the guys you gotta watch out for.
[ viren's appropriately reactionary to this, a grimace flashing across his features. motor companies: add that to the list of terrible, awful things of other worlds. he echoes, ]
"Least amount of work for the biggest profit..."
[ and the grimace disappears, his eyebrows lifting. ]
They also sound efficient, then, yes. A shame, that you're faced with such an enemy.
Yeah. They're efficient because they're tough to take down. Just gotta avoid them no matter what the cost.
[Trying to buy what is essentially a hoverbike from them was a chore, but it's one of the necessary evils in life. Can't live with them, can't live without them. The Guardian Corps needed a way to get around, and walking wasn't very efficient in a city as big as Bodhum.
Lightning finishes up her drink and sets her empty glass down on a tray carried by one of the men in suits as they walk by. She'd best end this before he asks further questions and she digs herself into an even deeper hole. Best to leave some of it a mystery...]
I should get going. Watch yourself out there...?
[Her question trails off as she realizes she never got a name among all of the evil corporation talk and the tail whipping.]
[ common as those parting words may be, viren's a little surprised at receiving them nonetheless (considering their, err, confused dynamic throughout this interaction). in response, he affects a slight bow - and despite the apparent politeness of the gesture, perhaps she wouldn't be incorrect that there's just a bit of insincerity to it. ]
Lord Viren.
[ cue a crooked, half-smile. titles are completely unnecessary, he knows. he peers at her. ]
—High Mage of the Kingdom of Katolis. And, you are...?
[Lightning just peers right back at him, silent even after he gives her the title. That sure is a mouthful. She's going to stick to calling him Viren. Nothing to be "Lord" of here, as far as she's concerned. Plus, it's way too floofy.]
[ wow excuse this his title is Aweworthy. her first name has his eyebrows raise — he did know of someone, someone important named thunder — but he'll keep that line of inquiry to himself for another time. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
overflow: lightning / masq log
[ viren takes her look of disbelief, yes, as invitation to continue. .. he doesn't really know the specifics of what makes those things so terrible, but he'll draw inferences as best he can. ]
I've heard them to be oppressive regimes, terrorizing the innocent indiscriminately.
[ he looks pretty serious. ]
As it was put to me, your... peace of mind should be basically destroyed; they plant themselves like an insidious seed, drain the lifeforce from the masses and plague all those that come into contact with them with nothing but suffering.
[ that was the gist of what was said, anyway. he may have lent some slight dramatization to it. ]
no subject
But to say that they drain the lifeforce?
Lightning purses her lips together, holding in a laugh.]
Huh.
[She's on the fence about whether she should enlighten him or not.]
Sounds a lot like the motor companies back home. They're just as pushy, don't take no for an answer, and drain your lifeforce if you so much as try to say no to them.
[Yeah, not yet.]
no subject
[ those sound equally problematic. but, hm - he knows what a motor is, distantly, and separately as to what a company entails, but: ]
What are the warning signs of those? How would one recognize "motor companies"? [ before it's too late, anyway. ]
no subject
[Yeah, she still has a bone or two to pick with them after her less than thrilling first day here. Time to compare them to some of the worst kinds of salespeople she's ever had the displeasure of meeting. Actually, it's hard to pick which is worse...
Anyway.]
You ever get the feeling of the life being sucked out of you as soon as someone walks into a room?
no subject
[ viren -- actually has to think on that question, unnecessary as it is. does he? he knows the feeling of his son's puns draining the patience (life, he supposes) from him. knows feeling frustrated, watching opeli walk into a room and knowing he's about to be needlessly opposed on every point he makes.
he guesses his ex-wife may have fulfilled the feeling on a few occasions. so, for the sake of conversation, ]
I'm not unfamiliar with it. Most people have at least one person in their life that fulfills that role, I suppose.
no subject
[Looking at you, Snow Villiers.
Well, he bought it, and while it's not entirely true, it's not like it's untrue, either... so she continues her explanation.]
It's like that, but worse. Not only do they suck the life out of the room, but they suck all your money from you, too. The worst kind of conmen. Willing to do the least amount of work for the biggest profit. Those are the guys you gotta watch out for.
no subject
"Least amount of work for the biggest profit..."
[ and the grimace disappears, his eyebrows lifting. ]
They also sound efficient, then, yes. A shame, that you're faced with such an enemy.
no subject
[Trying to buy what is essentially a hoverbike from them was a chore, but it's one of the necessary evils in life. Can't live with them, can't live without them. The Guardian Corps needed a way to get around, and walking wasn't very efficient in a city as big as Bodhum.
Lightning finishes up her drink and sets her empty glass down on a tray carried by one of the men in suits as they walk by. She'd best end this before he asks further questions and she digs herself into an even deeper hole. Best to leave some of it a mystery...]
I should get going. Watch yourself out there...?
[Her question trails off as she realizes she never got a name among all of the evil corporation talk and the tail whipping.]
no subject
Lord Viren.
[ cue a crooked, half-smile. titles are completely unnecessary, he knows. he peers at her. ]
—High Mage of the Kingdom of Katolis. And, you are...?
no subject
Lightning.
[A beat, for dramatic effect.]
Farron.
no subject
... Lightning.
[ he straightens, dips his head. ]
Until next time, then.