Open Post: Who invented this calendar anyway?

[futaille]

How unfortunate.

Yes, Grantaire was fully aware that the year being longer at the mansion would logically cause seasons to drift when someone kept track of the old calendar, or at least what had been pinned down as the old calendar for convenience sake, which was almost necessary when people's arrivals weren't necessarily tied to the day they left. He hadn't given it too much thought last year, when his birthday, such that it was, arrived in spring like he was used to.

Dark, though, was unfortunate. Not inappropriate for the next notable anniversary coming up, but for this one, not at all. Of course, it wasn't as if he would have been planning much in the way of an event, Dark or no, but it would have been nice to treat himself to something or other, regardless.

Instead, he has installed himself in the game room, where he is carefully balancing dominoes on their ends to make a domino rally on the billiards table. It's a nice large flat surface, so it should work nicely. Have to keep entertained somehow.

Comments

[futaille]

"Haven't much talked to Luo Binghe, and I think he's immortal anyway, so he's out, Aleksander and Asmodean are especially long-lived, so they're out too, and Temeraire is a dragon, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't count as 'men'."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

A shadow crosses Susan's face at the mention of Luo Binghe. "Naturally," she nods.

[futaille]

"I think that might be it?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"So you did in fact cast a wide net in your assessment."

[futaille]

"I wanted to answer as best I could, so yes."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I wasn't sure who you considered someone you knew well enough to judge!"

[futaille]

"I suppose that's fair enough. I can't say with certainty that I'm necessarily right about anyone in particular but I can't say much with certainty anyway, so it follows." He has a drink.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan props her chin on her hands, regarding him. "You do like to soften your impact, don't you?" she asks. "You needn't, you know. It was an opinion question. There isn't a way to be incorrect about your opinion unless you're lying."

[futaille]

"Or unless the opinion is uninformed, in which case the opinion was still given in good faith but might not be the most accurate. And I can't see into anyone's head. Although I will at least say that yes, it was at least given in good faith."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Ought opinions necessarily be accurate?" asks Susan, who holds many, many opinions by which she would swear.

[futaille]

"Opinions should, I think, at least have some sort of basis. It's easier to call one accurate when it's internal, such as, for instance, if I say I like all wines but tend to prefer reds to whites. Of course, even those can be subject to change. If I were to, say, discover an entirely new variety of whites that shifts my perception like a hurricane. I think it's probably even more important to allow for the possibility of change when your opinions concern other people."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"A person might restructure her opinions (or his, I suppose) as she encounters new information, but as long as she's sharing them grounded by the truth of the moment, is that not all the accuracy required?" Susan tilts her head, blinks, and spreads some soft cheese on a hunk of bread. "I believe we're arguing the same thing with different words. Have you tried rose? It's a discovery I've made here. I'm given to understand it existed in my time, but was rarely available in my part of the world."

[futaille]

"We might be, although that's half the fun of arguing sometimes. That said, I have tried rose, although it was a discovery made here. It's a fascinating blend."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"A blend! I was given to understand it was a process."

[futaille]

"Oh, is it? I haven't looked into it enough to know one way or another. I wonder how it works."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I believe the skins are allowed contact for several hours and then removed." She says 'believe,' but she has read extensively on the subject since growing closer to Bacchus. "But I found a lovely pinot noir rose a month ago, which certainly doesn't suggest a blend.""

[futaille]

"Ah! They just don't let it get dark! Fascinating!" The large majority of his wine lately has been created by the process of 'manifested out of thin air by his boyfriend', but even if his own curiosity hasn't let him to actually look much into winemaking since his arrival, aside from Dionysus's one class, he's still genuinely delighted to learn something new about it. "And it makes sense."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"It does stand to reason, doesn't it?"

[futaille]

"It does. Which is why it also wouldn't surprise me if some winemakers probably just made them as mixes because it's easier."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"From what I've read, that sort of thing could get a person expelled from France."

[futaille]

He laughs. "True enough! Of course, they'd have to get caught."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Are you telling me your countrymen aren't pedantic enough about their wine to immediately sniff out that which has been deemed a wine crime?"

[futaille]

"I'm saying that regardless of country, there are probably enough people that lack money enough to know but not much care because at least it's cheap. So as long as the makers choose their clientele well enough..."