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On the Road to Elspar [Book 1] (Dryad Mercenary Schoolgirl Quest)

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[x] ...Neianne.

Everyone else has too many secrets or obvious problems to make them the leader. Neianne has pretty good relations with all of them, and has shown a willingness to take action in the past.

Also, it's been so long since a vote I forgot this was a quest lol.
 
[X] Stephanie

Neianne would provide the most incredulous squeaking, but Stephanie might actually have to reveal some of her secrets.
 
[x] ...Neianne.

I was honestly rather surprised to see this being a vote considering that it is supposed to have been based upon our actions over the last year. This seems like the perfect moment for a "Because of X, Y, and Z A has now become Team Leader" thingy to show the arc change.

That aside Neianne is the obvious choice here. The update already mentioned that neither Sieglinde or Elizabeth want to lead but they'd both be terrible choices anyway because while they both certainly respect each other their personal and philosophical differences would lead to major trouble if they end up in a leader-subordinate relationship.

Stephanie has pretty clearly been established as hiding things, generally acts suspicious, and does her best to stay out of the limelight. She would pretty clearly resent having the burdens of leadership thrust upon her. I don't think she would intentionally do anything to sabotage the team because of this but I also just don't see her stepping up into a leadership role. Plus there are all the trust issues between the team and her due to her various obvious secrets.

That just leaves Neianne. However I wouldn't say Neianne is simply leader by default. While certainly shy, lacking in confidence, and probably the least trained for a leadership role Neianne has shown that when push comes to shove she will do what needs to be done. While it wasn't exactly conventional leadership during the Wyvern Incident she did come up with a workable plan and execute it with remarkable success. Then during the invasion she kinda took charge multiple times and did a fairly good job at it; her primary failing being an unwillingness to push to take control and instead let Lucilla, despite her clear issues, direct everyone.

On top of all that Neianne has something very important everyone else on the team doesn't; their trust. Neianne is pretty much both Sieglinde's and Elizabeth's first friend and someone Stephanie trusts to keep (at least some) of her secrets safe. That trust is what will hold the team together during the early days of having a leader.
 
Sieglinde can't deal with life-or-death, and Elizabeth is the literal devil (I'm waiting for the big reveal any day now). I don't know whether Stephanie would do any good, but I'm pretty sure Elizabeth is not going to respect her authority in any way regardless (not that she'd respect Neianne, but she might find it amusing to play along at times).

Neianne is shy, but since her entire goal is to become a better person than she was, I think she might grow quite a lot in a leadership position.

[x] ...Neianne.
 
bobbananaville said:
Neianne is shy, but since her entire goal is to become a better person than she was, I think she might grow quite a lot in a leadership position.
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This is something I forgot to mention in my post before posting; this is a school. One of the big things the teachers are going to look at when assigning leadership isn't who is the best leader right now but who will become the best leader if pushed into that position.

Lucille is currently a terrible leader, as the invasion showed, but there is a decent chance that being forced into a constant leadership position, especially when dealing with a fairly hostile team, could force her into growing into it. She could also crack under the pressure but this is a mercenary academy; they ain't going to be nice about such things.

This is yet another reason why Neianne is a good leader choice. While Elizabeth certainly has a number of undesirable traits in a leader she is certainly capable of leadership. However I doubt being made leader here will do anything but reinforce those bad traits while serving under someone she (kinda) likes and respects may push her to grow somewhat. Sieglinde IIRC could be a very good leader if she wanted to but she doesn't and she's stubborn enough about things that pushing her to lead isn't going to change that so she doesn't really have much to learn. Stephanie doesn't, as far as I remember, have any known leadership skills however due to her likely resenting such a position it is fairly doubtful she would actually learn them. If anything it could lead to her learning bad habits for any future leadership role she finds herself in.

Neianne meanwhile has, as I mentioned in that previous post, shown a strong tendency to grow when put under pressure. The faculty are probably also aware of her desire to change and improve herself. This makes her a prime candidate for a leadership role since it forces her outside her comfort zone in a way that would promote growth. Here having Elizabeth and Sieglinde under her command is actually a net benefit since they've both got training they would pass on, both directly and indirectly, that Neianne would find quite helpful.


Basically; if you treat the squad leader position as a learning opportunity then out of Team 4 Neianne is the person who stands the most to gain and grow from it.
 
[x] ...Neianne.

I know, I know how it looks. But this is character based, honest!

The logical choice obviously comes down to either Neianne, or Sieglinde.

On one hand, Sieglinde would be a good choice because she doesn't want leadership, and she needs to start taking responsibility for her actions, or lack of actions. She may not want it, but the others won't let her slack off and can help her grow into the leader she really needs to be to start implementing all these high ideals she keeps talking about but not doing.

On the other hand, Sieglinde has already had the chance to learn about leadership and being in charge and all that, so it's not exactly something new to her. She's had a chance to learn about it and should be prepared for leadership in theory if she ever gets put into it.

Neianne hasn't however. And she's been showing alot of potential, but because of her 'shy uneducated dryad' self image, she hasn't realized all the pros she actually has. Putting her into a situation where she has to be leadery will expose her to ways of thought and practice she may not have realized, and find out her skills actually kinda fit here.

She's friendly with a lot of noble squad leaders, and gets along with pretty much all of them. I assume squad leaders are going to be dealing with each other in some fashion, and the other options will rub people the wrong way all the time. Neianne may not get the implicit respect Sieglinde would, but she has gained the acknowledgement of the academy at large, and is capable of having a conversation about a contentious topic without pissing the other party off. Unlike Sieglinde by accident, or Elizabeth on purpose.

Second, her unconventional thinking. I'm sure she's not the only one to think outside the box, but having to deal with the leaders and planners will help her refine that sort of plotting and planning.

Thirdly, it would be entirely hilarious to have Neianne walking around being nice while Sieglinde and Elizabeth flank her like terrifying eleven noble bodyguards. I know they aren't actually going to follow us around like a highschool clique.... most of the time. But it'll happen eventually where Neianne will be asking someone for something without a hint of malice, while Elizabeth and Sieglinde loom over her shoulders. And how can we not have that?
 
Katreus said:
From political standpoint, it's going to be a doozy though. Sieglindes parents might at best be coldly polite.
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No doubt about that. However if we are considering politics while Elizabeth's parents would probably understand, they do know their daughter after all, they would have to protest anyway since letting a 'slight' like their daughter being overlooked go without question would make them look weak. Not a great thing when their domain is already suffering from the war and people want to push even more refugees onto them.

That is actually another good reason for Neianne; she is a nobody. If they picked Elizabeth over Sieglinde or Sieglinde over Elizabeth then it could be taken as playing politics and favoring one house over another. Picking either Neianne or Stephanie sidesteps the issue of favoritism by equally slighting both families.

Of course that still leaves the issue of offending both families but odds are that would be viewed as a lesser problem then 'favoring' one over the other.
 
[x] ...Neianne.
Personally, I want to see our little MC grow more during her remaining years here. It was implied in the very beginning of this quest that being under individuals like Sieglinde or Elizabeth with oodles of talent would likely lead to inferiority complexes and such. And with the added knowledge that Stephanie has hidden talents with more training, allowing Neianne to develop a more open role would let her see that ability is not restricted to how well you can 1 vs 1 someone.

Edit: And it would be really amusing to read everyone turning their heads at Neianne while she sinks down in her chair with a long, long squeak.
 
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Katreus said:
From political standpoint, it's going to be a doozy though. Sieglindes parents might at best be coldly polite.
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Are we sure that's not their default?

While that is something to consider, both of the nobles in our squad don't want to be leadership, and are personally fond of Neianne. It's hard to say 'my daughter should be in charge!' when the daughter then goes 'No, I like the squad leader. She's who I want to order me around'.


While I do want to make a good impression on Sieglinde's parents for... reasons. In character we can always claim we didn't have a choice and how much we respect and care and listen to and pet and cuddle with Sieglinde.
 
[x] Neianne



Neianne: *Somehow gets chosen as leader*

Everyone else not in our squad:


We're gonna be the best leader of this dysfunctional shitshow, it's gonna be great.
 
[x] ...Neianne.

Stephanie would probably be the most interesting choice, given her mysteries, but I think the arguments in favor of Neianne are compelling.
 
[x] ...Neianne.

Hey, I've been saying this whole time that Neianne would be the best leader for the squad, and could potentially be a good leader in general.
 
RubberBandMan said:
[x] ...Neianne.

I know, I know how it looks. But this is character based, honest!

The logical choice obviously comes down to either Neianne, or Sieglinde.

On one hand, Sieglinde would be a good choice because she doesn't want leadership, and she needs to start taking responsibility for her actions, or lack of actions. She may not want it, but the others won't let her slack off and can help her grow into the leader she really needs to be to start implementing all these high ideals she keeps talking about but not doing.

On the other hand, Sieglinde has already had the chance to learn about leadership and being in charge and all that, so it's not exactly something new to her. She's had a chance to learn about it and should be prepared for leadership in theory if she ever gets put into it.

Neianne hasn't however. And she's been showing alot of potential, but because of her 'shy uneducated dryad' self image, she hasn't realized all the pros she actually has. Putting her into a situation where she has to be leadery will expose her to ways of thought and practice she may not have realized, and find out her skills actually kinda fit here.

She's friendly with a lot of noble squad leaders, and gets along with pretty much all of them. I assume squad leaders are going to be dealing with each other in some fashion, and the other options will rub people the wrong way all the time. Neianne may not get the implicit respect Sieglinde would, but she has gained the acknowledgement of the academy at large, and is capable of having a conversation about a contentious topic without pissing the other party off. Unlike Sieglinde by accident, or Elizabeth on purpose.

Second, her unconventional thinking. I'm sure she's not the only one to think outside the box, but having to deal with the leaders and planners will help her refine that sort of plotting and planning.

Thirdly, it would be entirely hilarious to have Neianne walking around being nice while Sieglinde and Elizabeth flank her like terrifying eleven noble bodyguards. I know they aren't actually going to follow us around like a highschool clique.... most of the time. But it'll happen eventually where Neianne will be asking someone for something without a hint of malice, while Elizabeth and Sieglinde loom over her shoulders. And how can we not have that?
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There are certain logistical issues with having Elizabeth loom over anyone, even Neianne.
 
In all seriousness, I think those of you who are voting for it as a learning opportunity are missing an important point. Neianne is already working to change herself. She could use help from the instructors, but she doesn't need a kick in the pants like Stephanie does. Forcing Stephanie into a leadership role means she can't just hide behind her desire for privacy like she did all last term. It forces someone who is unwilling to change, which I think is more important than helping someone who is already working to change.
 
I can see which way he wind is blowing, but let's see if I can swing it somehow.

[x] ...Sieglinde Corrina Ravenhill.

People have brought up that she dislikes leadership, but to that I say 'so what?'. Of the squad she could get almost as much out of this as Neianne, as well as minimising the political kerfuffle this'll cause (though admittedly that's a secondary concern for me). Like, Neianne is still going to grow if she's not the boss, but the same is true to a much lesser extent for Sieglinde IMO.
 
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