Apr 7, 2022
Basrus: We're going to make you king!
Sophos: What on earth makes you think I want to be king?
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Basrus: We're going to make you king!
Sophos: What on earth makes you think I want to be king?
Sophos: Hey, I'm kind of new to this whole king thing and I could really use a loyal servant who will help establish me as the rightful sovereign. Any tips on how to pick somebody?
Gen: Has anybody punched you in the face recently?
Sophos: Well, there was that guy who beat me up and sold me into slavery...
Gen: Yeah, sounds good, try him.
What kills me every time in Conspiracy is when Basrus calls Sophos "lion". He does it right off the bat, too, even knowing Sophos's soft reputation - hell, he complained to his right hand that the job was described as being "no more trouble than snatching up a little lamb", and I believe he's absolutely serious in that nickname he gives to Sophos.
What kills me is that everyone, everyone, underestimates Sophos - his father, his uncle, his tutors, the barons. Even the magus, while he treats him with respect, can't help but underestimate the lamb of Sounis. Hell, Sophos himself calls himself Bunny whilst working as a slave, even if he didn't mean to.
What kills me is that no one believes Sophos will ever be good at anything - no one, except a wily slave trader, a drunk old soldier who shouts "a natural" unhelpfully during Sophos's sword training, an apparent common gutter-snipe of a thief, a plain-looking woman with a broken nose, and the occasional mountain goat.
These are, one and all, people used to being underestimated. And they can see the raw, untended latent talent hiding deep within this boy. He is unbelievably sheltered, and his natural inclinations are towards debate, not war. Add to that the fact that he has only ever been considered a place-holder, and it is little wonder that he has not been trained properly to meet that potential. You would think that people who live with him, who see him often enough and are supposed to be in charge of his education would be able to see that. But no, it takes a civil war, being sold into slavery, and a pair of guns to show everyone else just what it is that this boy can do.
And it kills me every. Single. Goddamn. Time.