Fortunately the kind of condescension Lafayette is dispensing is something that Jon has been familiar with all his life, and he no longer goes black in the eyes when he's on the receiving end of it... in all honesty, it's not dissimilar to his own behavior when he joined the Watch. So he gets it, nobles just have a limited point of view sometimes, etc. It doesn't affect his interactions with Lafayette, which he does record once it's suggested. The first recording is a little off: I mean, now these mind ravens can also act as scribe and witness?
Jon more or less agrees with those sympathies. What with being a king who has a thing for a queen, he's kind of a royalist; but having also been a democratically elected commander (and, honestly, someone who became king by acclamation rather than hereditary right), and having a lot of opinions about what makes a good king/lord or a bad king/lord (which he would not express here except maybe as "a king should be for his people"), he's also pretty much fine with limiting the power of bad monarchs, bad monarchs abdicating, etc. Basically, the system Lafayette is advocating doesn't sound too bad to him under the circumstances. He wouldn't say this stuff where guards other than Ashitaka might overhear him in conversation with Lafayette, though.
As for babysitting: His name is Jean Neige, he's ridden a horse but not lately, he's from [obscure village], his favorite animal is LE LOUP (duh), why do such charming children want to talk about killing when they could talk about the names of the stars in the sky or why they think their favorite animals are better than wolves, and yes, gods help him, that piggy-back ride is go. (This is so much easier than climbing the Wall.)
He does what he can to develop a rapport with other guards, asking them about their stories, families, sweethearts, etc. If the piggyback ride gets him side-eyed, he explains that he has a brother around that age. He bears the teasing about "Danielle" somewhat bashfully -- was he a monk or something before he became a soldier? To Lafayette's comment, he says "if she'll have me."
At least they're not mocking his height.
He tells the Commander that they believe the royal family is trying to plan another escape.
When Dany tells him and Ashitaka about the change in the locksmith's demeanor, he finds it weird, along with the gossip about secret boxes and hidden keys. He keeps as close an eye on the locksmith as possible when the locksmith is there, but he tries to do it subtly; I think probably it might be a matter of joint coverage between him and Ashitaka at the very least, though I haven't double-checked that with Alex yet, and I'm not sure even that would be effective! Jon would be trying to notice if the locksmith is moving around systematically or going to a specific area all the time or what.
no subject
Jon more or less agrees with those sympathies. What with being a king who has a thing for a queen, he's kind of a royalist; but having also been a democratically elected commander (and, honestly, someone who became king by acclamation rather than hereditary right), and having a lot of opinions about what makes a good king/lord or a bad king/lord (which he would not express here except maybe as "a king should be for his people"), he's also pretty much fine with limiting the power of bad monarchs, bad monarchs abdicating, etc. Basically, the system Lafayette is advocating doesn't sound too bad to him under the circumstances. He wouldn't say this stuff where guards other than Ashitaka might overhear him in conversation with Lafayette, though.
As for babysitting: His name is Jean Neige, he's ridden a horse but not lately, he's from [obscure village], his favorite animal is LE LOUP (duh), why do such charming children want to talk about killing when they could talk about the names of the stars in the sky or why they think their favorite animals are better than wolves, and yes, gods help him, that piggy-back ride is go. (This is so much easier than climbing the Wall.)
He does what he can to develop a rapport with other guards, asking them about their stories, families, sweethearts, etc. If the piggyback ride gets him side-eyed, he explains that he has a brother around that age. He bears the teasing about "Danielle" somewhat bashfully -- was he a monk or something before he became a soldier? To Lafayette's comment, he says "if she'll have me."
At least they're not mocking his height.
He tells the Commander that they believe the royal family is trying to plan another escape.
When Dany tells him and Ashitaka about the change in the locksmith's demeanor, he finds it weird, along with the gossip about secret boxes and hidden keys. He keeps as close an eye on the locksmith as possible when the locksmith is there, but he tries to do it subtly; I think probably it might be a matter of joint coverage between him and Ashitaka at the very least, though I haven't double-checked that with Alex yet, and I'm not sure even that would be effective! Jon would be trying to notice if the locksmith is moving around systematically or going to a specific area all the time or what.