. summer's play

[boarddyd]

Who: Dimitri + Babysitters
When: April - May 2020
Where: Aefenglom, Outer City, Wildes
What: Catch all
Warnings: None (will be edited)

[ catch-all for april + may | contact @ tendopeshuu or here ]

Comments

in this tag i completely wing a folk tale

[boarddyd]

[When Dimitri lowers the telescope, he offers it to Byleth - a bit stiffly, but it's a gesture of good will regardless. Under a shared view of the stars, it almost feels as if they could exist in the same world...

Hands freed, he quickly wraps one around the other, squeezing his knuckles before they fall to his side.]

In Almyra, there's a legend about a set of twins born from the stars. Some accounts tell of two boys, others a boy and a girl, but they are always infants when found by a lowly peddler.

Their new father goes through many trials, and the twins always turn to the stars for guidance. What they read there helps him become a rich and respected man.

Though, of course, many are greedy for their power, so they're forced to run away.

In some ends, they simply disappear. In others, one kills the other to send them back to the skies and goes on to live as a mortal, no longer able to see the stars.

[A rather dark ending - Dimitri pauses as the story comes to a close.]

I believe it's meant to be a cautionary tale, as many are.

[hegemonwings]

[ something about that... it's wrapped in metaphor, but it has her wondering. that can wait, though. she raises an eyebrow. ]

Cautioning against what, exactly? [ she's not sure she sees much of a moral. ]

[boarddyd]

[So much can be gleaned from myths and the reasons they're told - Dimitri wishes he knew more, and that his knowledge reached further beyond Fodlan's borders. Perhaps someday...

With a soft hum, Dimitri considers his response.]

No one would say that the twins were in the wrong for using their power as they pleased - after all, it belonged to them, and they were only helping a loved one.

But any ability like that - capable of turning a man's fortune around - will be coveted. So, in some ways, it could be interpreted as a warning against altruism... keep your strength hidden and use it wisely.

I prefer to read it as an affirmation that greed for power ruins everything in its path.

[He pauses, then - and his eyes are on her. Truly listening, hoping for her thoughts.]

[hegemonwings]

[ byleth almost thinks he might be mocking her somehow with this. there's a good deal she could read into his words if she had a mind to, but... no, she thinks he's being genuine. some of the tension slips out of her stance. ]

Seeking power as an end in itself can only end in tears. [ she says that slowly, carefully, meeting his gaze and nodding once. ] Power is an important tool, but never a worthy goal.

[boarddyd]

[The air between them isn't easy - the cometflies that drift aimlessly around have lost their ethereal mystery. Instead, they seem only to box them into proximity. To force this conversation, to prevent either of them from flaring up and storming away.

Dimitri doesn't know whether to appreciate or begrudge the creatures.]

I agree.

And I think no one can say that using one's power to help those we love is a terrible thing.

[Living, or dead.

Admittedly, Dimitri is expecting a disagreement.

Maybe he's even hoping for one.]

[hegemonwings]

[ it's... useful, at least. that they're being forced into this. still, for now, the disagreement doesn't come.

still, her responsibility is to the living. she desires retribution for her father, but... it's not what truly drives her hatred for those who slither in the dark. only one part of a greater whole. ]

... It isn't. [ she shakes her head, gently, at that. ] All that I have done has been to that end... and to make sure none will suffer as they have.