[ Bastien follows his gesture to look at Benedict, whose presence he does very much appreciate, which is why it's awful that he has to say, ]
Benedict doesn't count. Colin barely counts.
[ An unfortunate side-effect of Byerly's habit of particularly befriending and helping outcasts is that they do not have much sway with the movers and shakers of any particular faction, on account of being cast out. ]
To them, [ he clarifies, because of course Benedict and Colin count in the grand scheme of things. ] To them you are not a penniless and disinherited Fereldan mouthing off to authority. You are authority, they are the underdogs, and they perceive you as flippant and dismissive about their larger cause—which you are, sometimes, in a way. You are mouthy and droll and you love to pick at threads for the sake of it, and none of them in that little circle, [ no offense intended, ] have the personality to take that in stride, let alone play along. When you are sincere they don't think they can trust it. It will take more than groveling once to correct that.
no subject
Benedict doesn't count. Colin barely counts.
[ An unfortunate side-effect of Byerly's habit of particularly befriending and helping outcasts is that they do not have much sway with the movers and shakers of any particular faction, on account of being cast out. ]
To them, [ he clarifies, because of course Benedict and Colin count in the grand scheme of things. ] To them you are not a penniless and disinherited Fereldan mouthing off to authority. You are authority, they are the underdogs, and they perceive you as flippant and dismissive about their larger cause—which you are, sometimes, in a way. You are mouthy and droll and you love to pick at threads for the sake of it, and none of them in that little circle, [ no offense intended, ] have the personality to take that in stride, let alone play along. When you are sincere they don't think they can trust it. It will take more than groveling once to correct that.