#And Panza didn't use Vesper's romantic feelings to manipulate loyalty out of him

[cryptidcalling]

Bit of Vesper posting before I go to bed. Putting it under a cut in case it gets long, just talking a bit about Vesper's history as an officer and how Panza came to pick him as a general. Head's up, Vesper and Panza are not always The Best People so. Keep that in mind pls.

I don't have all the numbers worked out (probably never will) but I want to say that Panza's been the emperor for about 6 to 8 years now, and Vesper was his first general. They probably started working together a bit before Panza came into power, so I'll say they've been working closely for maybe 8 to 10 years. That means that through a lot of Vesper's military training and work he was actually operating under the rule of Panza's mother, which I think he found somewhat frustrating. Not because of her specifically, but because he started to feel frustrated and held back by his lack of ability to actually DO anything. Dealing with petty crimes felt like a chore, and having to go through mountains of legal paperwork to actually get anything done was pretty irritating. Vesper managed to rise through the ranks due to sheer effectiveness, but he's always been,, "controversial" among fellow officers due to how lax he is about procedure when he decides he knows better. Mainly, he's pretty fucking lethal, and he doesn't really care about collateral damage (that being property, not innocent people) if it's for the sake of completing his mission. To be fair, Vesper's not collateral-prone. He's swift and stealthy, he doesn't cause much destruction. But he's definitely one of those "This stupid piece of paper is preventing me from doing my JOB" type of ppl. Still though, like I said Vesper was highly effective, and generally he's credited with the collapse of multiple large gangs as well as rescuing many kidnapped/otherwise endangered victims. He's also, somewhat surprisingly, very in favor of expanding the Empire's alliances and territories without the threat of going to war. He's not a good negotiator so he can't really do that himself, but as an officer he was fairly vocal about how constantly needing to be ready to be deployed for war drew time and resources away from helping the citizens they're already in charge of protecting. Deeper down (deep enough that he's not really aware of it) he also empathizes with the leaders of smaller nations and territories. He can't imagine how angry he'd be if someone showed up and demanded he relinquish his title and never raise a finger to protect his citizens again. That's HIS job, they're HIS responsibility, and there's a lot of shame in giving that up. So, over all, Vesper was dedicated to being an officer and didn't plan to quit, but he was discontent with how things were being run. This is a big reason he caught Panza's attention. See, Panza's whole Thing, his whole Mission, is to bring massive changes to the Empire. An era of progress he calls it, one where their current people take priority over expansion or economic gain to the throne. And Vesper's "controversial" actions and statements, as well as his skill and effectiveness on the job, made him a wonderful candidate for Panza's vision of the future. So after a bit of discussion, though very little actual convincing was needed on Panza's part, they became a team. As much as I call it Panza's Empire, it really became what it is today thanks to the collective work and ideals that Panza and Vesper brought to the table. They made MASSIVE changes to how things ran. This meant more socialist programs and more peaceful negotiations. It also meant stripping back a lot of the rules that kept officers from just doing whatever they want, but also creating much more severe punishments for abusing their power (as well as harsher punishments on crime in general). Panza also chose to be the first Emperor who really became a public figure/celebrity politician while Vesper worked in the background. In the past it's been the Acting Grand General who gave speeches and did press releases, allowing the current ruler to maintain a sort of mysterious, all-powerful, all-knowing air about them. Panza stepping into the spotlight made him feel more trustworthy and approachable, especially since he's the first of his kind.