[NOW LOCATIONS THEY GO until they get voided!! scien honestly looks more irritated than anything else - but the area around them begins to shift. a sea breeze catches against them. it smells like flowers.
[ it's strange to feel things from scien's perspective—not the utter of emotions, but a different spectrum from his own. and then there is the full force of love on display: wonderful, volatile, vicious, sharp, warm. there's not enough words for the facets of it.
but that's not surprising to him. the smell of flowers and sea air stick with him even as the memory fades, and he looks to scien, the real one, considering. ]
...Everyone was quite intent on teaching you something new. [ a lesson, or a curse. ]
scien's expression is surprisingly contemplative, now that he's watching the memories over again. some of them he'd thought about more recently, but... there isn't much fight in him. none of that godly pride that he showed in the first memory, when he thought he was so infallible.]
... I've been forced to recognize there is plenty still that I don't know.
[even if there are some things he's still not sure he'd care to understand.]
[ no longer a god. had he been humbled along the way? he smiles, small and warm but not exactly humored. ]
No one can know everything. Isn't that a bit of wisdom in itself?
[ learning that you can't comprehend or carry the entire world alone—some people grow older and smarter and never any wiser, not realizing that much. ]
[ he looks at the arm, or lack thereof, and it seems about right. yeah. that could happen if you try to kill a guy's girlfriend for the greater good. ]
Anyone who loves me must do so knowing that my people are my priority. I love them and always have.
[ he's getting arranged-married and has never had an issue with that. his love is his kingdom. but that's not really the spirit of the question. ]
However... even my father was not willing to risk sacrificing my sister for the greater good. If I were forced to consider that—losing a friend, a sibling, a child—it would be... crushing, I admit. I would struggle for every alternative.
[in comparison, scien has no such love. he has no family to speak of. hardly a friend that isn't a terribly complicated relationship. he is not a person who cherishes or is cherished. in the end, there is nothing and no one he is afraid to sacrifice.
except his own principles. and somehow, someway, that is enough to stay his hand.]
... then may you never struggle to find that alternative.
[may it come easily to him, and may it be easy to hold onto his boundless optimism.
scien simply knows, that as a leader of a country, sometimes it's those decisions that make you.]
but no, he hopes that scien finds a solution to the memory crash. maybe even finds love, someday. ]
Indeed! I can only dream of such an easy life.
[ though there's something in the phrasing that makes it clear he doubts his luck will hold for the three hundred-some years he theoretically has left. it's a nice thought, though. ]
...In the end, my sister chose to face danger on her own, regardless of our father's wishes. If my love were to become a liability rather than a strength—I'd hope my partner could speak some sense into me.
Loving someone is helping them along the right path, too.
well that manages to get him to laugh—not meanly, but more out of surprise]
If your love is capable of remaining that pure and untainted, maybe.
[but based on his tone, it's obvious that scien has his doubts. even though logically, he agrees with sidon. he thinks the answer is obvious. however!]
I watched the best man I know—someone so undeniably good and caring—get in my way just to save his beloved, who willingly was going to give her life for everyone. [in all honesty?] Sometimes, you remind me of him, and I wonder what you will become.
I only know what I've witnessed... but love is the most nonsensical emotion of all.
[and it's a miracle that he doesn't manage to sound derisive anymore. just ever so slightly astonished.]
[ scien has learned the true power of love (derogatory)...
he pauses, wondering that himself. he can't predict the outcome of his own life. he laughs easily. ]
Nonsensical and incredibly strong. Quite the combination, isn't it?
[ it's a destructive force, though sidon can't help but see it as something wonderful. ]
...I want to become a good king. My duty is my calling, more than anything else. I've always thought love to be a weapon in any arsenal—it can be a force for good, you know?
Do you think that's nonsensical too? [ it isn't posed as a challenge. more a curiosity. ]
[scien is thoughtful, trying to give the question the weight it deserves. even though scien is not a king, he is the de facto leader of a country. however that is mostly because all the royals he's ever met are trash.
sidon is nice. he's not trash. but does that mean he'd be a good king?]
... the only decent royal I've ever known was a woman who held strongly onto her beliefs. She loved her subjects and her family dearly. She loved life, and treated it with respect.
[scien's so laissez-faire with so many things. his voice is still largely casual, but there is a trace of respect in his tone for once. a little reverence.]
I believe putting specific individuals, especially yourself, above the whole is what makes for poor leadership. That is why I don't trust love as most people define it.
But there is nothing inherently wrong with having a heart that feels strongly.
[wild take from a guy with so few emotions but he really seems to believe it]
[ scien is rational, and sometimes that makes him brusque—but it means also that he receives a thoughtful answer so long as he doesn't ask a stupid question in the first place.
it's an answer he can resonate with, because there's many types of love. he's felt most of them. it's hard to differentiate emotions sometimes, the different lines of love, devotion, duty, but that's part of being a person.
he smiles warmly, a glint in his eye. ]
My sister was like that. [ and scien is right, because she was essentially the perfect princess. ] Though she was very much in love with a man. They just... both ended up risking their lives for everyone's sake anyway.
To feel strongly for one's values, enough to risk your own life—I do think emotion helps push that boundary.
No, I don't think you need to be emotional for that. In fact, I think emotions like fear or cowardice or self-interest often will keep people from exactly what you're describing.
[when people will choose themselves first. love is a strong emotion, certainly, but so is fear. it's always a coin toss which, exactly, will end up winning.]
But I do think that is almost more of a sign of thoughtful governance. Self-sacrifice can be a stupid trait, especially for a leader of a country, but I have even less care for those who are only concerned about themselves.
[ there's a second where his expression is more complicated than his usual, unadulterated brightness. just a little grimace. ]
Hah... I wouldn't call it self-sacrifice.
But I do think every leader needs to be ready to risk their lives for their kingdom. What is the point of a king who only cares about himself? I've always thought a royal's calling is to serve their people. To protect their home and happiness.
[ the whole point is that it's higher than single existence. more than just living for yourself. ]
It sounds like you've dealt with some terrible ones.
[so the simple answer is yes. scien, by default, actually hates royalty.]
During the first week here, someone described you and the Idealist Princess to me as charming. But I don't care about charm. Charm doesn't keep countries afloat and the population intact.
You seem like you could be halfway decent at it. The Masochist was also fine, as far as royals go. I didn't even know he was one for most of the time we spoke. [which is how scien kinda preferred it? he likes when royals aren't obviously royals. have a personality trait outside of the crown, thanks.]
Maybe your kingdom won't end up as much of a mess as my country.
[ his fins flutter a bit at that, like 'halfway decent' is halfway to a compliment. ]
I intend to do my best, and to be more than just a charming front.
[ which he says with a rare lack of levity. when he's home, being boisterous and friend-shaped doesn't always carry into the throne room.
still, he perks up at the mention of his Prison Bestie, Goops Goops. ]
But, oh—you mean Prince Dion? Yes, he strikes me as a conscientious ruler! [ he carries himself like a prince, in sidon's eyes, but only because he knows exactly what it entails. ] His kingdom has a great deal more strife to deal with than my own, unfortunately.
[that's as kind of a wish as scien can manage? like... just do your job? but he figures sidon doesn't really need to be told that, which is why he is perhaps going to be a halfway decent ruler. maybe.
as for dion - ]
He's tortured and burdened, but hides it decently. That will probably be his downfall, even if it's been his shield so far. Though I find it hard to believe any good royal can ever be truly happy, given the weight you're all born with.
but the enthusiasm behind wanting to be a great king dims a little as they get onto the subject of dion some more. ]
Mm... He never told me in so many words, but he has a melancholy to him.
[ when they talked about love, and such. ]
I think our happiness is relative to the joy and comfort of our people. [ sidon is very, very cheerful, but if his lands were in turmoil, he wouldn't actually be happy. ] I don't think of that as a burden, so much as the reason for any royal's existence... But Prince Dion has to deal with lands in the tumult of war. I'm sure that brings him much heartache.
[when scien talks about other people who are still alive, he normally is doing so to make fun of them or asking for the bare minimum updates on their existence
he decides that this is too much serious contemplation about someone who isn't around to give their own input]
I'm very sure that the royals of my country wouldn't be able to hold their own in a war, and since I don't care to ever get involved in that level of massacre and headache, we'd probably fall to ruin if we had to deal with international affairs.
It's just another reason to be content in our isolation for now.
Isolation is our strategy as well, to be honest. Though your island takes it to an extreme.
[ it's more like the zora just live places that are wet and no one else can deal with wetness like they can. ]
I suppose if you are handling the great crisis of your nation, and the nobility has no outside threats to deal with, they could become lazy and corrupt...
The ocean and fears of our curse separates us from everyone else, and right now that's for the best.
[relivers out in the world sounds like a fucking disaster and scien is NOT for it.
but he frowns, because once again he fucking hates royals!!! but mostly shitty ones, and he has to make it extremely clear just how low the virche royals set the bar]
But they are exactly that and have been exactly that for as long as I've been alive. They force gag orders upon the people to not discuss their own incompetence, but they are all quite stupid and selfish. The average citizen doesn't even remember the name of their king because the royals are only concerned about protecting their own lives. I don't have time to deal with people who are only interested in serving themselves.
he frowns though. i almost wrote his brows furrow but he does not have those. ]
I've never heard of leaders who would abandon their people so wholly.
[ it's really inconceivable to him. ]
But I suppose royalty takes discipline. When you are held at a higher power—one must hold themselves accountable. [ because not many other people will. ] Might I ask what happened to the royal woman you were speaking of? She sounded wonderful. [ especially in comparison. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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You ruthless, selfish, arrogant god...]
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but that's not surprising to him. the smell of flowers and sea air stick with him even as the memory fades, and he looks to scien, the real one, considering. ]
...Everyone was quite intent on teaching you something new. [ a lesson, or a curse. ]
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scien's expression is surprisingly contemplative, now that he's watching the memories over again. some of them he'd thought about more recently, but... there isn't much fight in him. none of that godly pride that he showed in the first memory, when he thought he was so infallible.]
... I've been forced to recognize there is plenty still that I don't know.
[even if there are some things he's still not sure he'd care to understand.]
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No one can know everything. Isn't that a bit of wisdom in itself?
[ learning that you can't comprehend or carry the entire world alone—some people grow older and smarter and never any wiser, not realizing that much. ]
Did you learn something from that young woman?
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[he's so mean. but he instead makes a gesture to where he currently is still missing his arm.]
But her lover who came to retrieve her certainly made his point when we fought.
Tell me, Fish Prince, would you forsake the entirety of your kingdom's people and their future for one single romantic love?
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Anyone who loves me must do so knowing that my people are my priority. I love them and always have.
[ he's getting arranged-married and has never had an issue with that. his love is his kingdom. but that's not really the spirit of the question. ]
However... even my father was not willing to risk sacrificing my sister for the greater good. If I were forced to consider that—losing a friend, a sibling, a child—it would be... crushing, I admit. I would struggle for every alternative.
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except his own principles. and somehow, someway, that is enough to stay his hand.]
... then may you never struggle to find that alternative.
[may it come easily to him, and may it be easy to hold onto his boundless optimism.
scien simply knows, that as a leader of a country, sometimes it's those decisions that make you.]
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but no, he hopes that scien finds a solution to the memory crash. maybe even finds love, someday. ]
Indeed! I can only dream of such an easy life.
[ though there's something in the phrasing that makes it clear he doubts his luck will hold for the three hundred-some years he theoretically has left. it's a nice thought, though. ]
...In the end, my sister chose to face danger on her own, regardless of our father's wishes. If my love were to become a liability rather than a strength—I'd hope my partner could speak some sense into me.
Loving someone is helping them along the right path, too.
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well that manages to get him to laugh—not meanly, but more out of surprise]
If your love is capable of remaining that pure and untainted, maybe.
[but based on his tone, it's obvious that scien has his doubts. even though logically, he agrees with sidon. he thinks the answer is obvious. however!]
I watched the best man I know—someone so undeniably good and caring—get in my way just to save his beloved, who willingly was going to give her life for everyone. [in all honesty?] Sometimes, you remind me of him, and I wonder what you will become.
I only know what I've witnessed... but love is the most nonsensical emotion of all.
[and it's a miracle that he doesn't manage to sound derisive anymore. just ever so slightly astonished.]
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he pauses, wondering that himself. he can't predict the outcome of his own life. he laughs easily. ]
Nonsensical and incredibly strong. Quite the combination, isn't it?
[ it's a destructive force, though sidon can't help but see it as something wonderful. ]
...I want to become a good king. My duty is my calling, more than anything else. I've always thought love to be a weapon in any arsenal—it can be a force for good, you know?
Do you think that's nonsensical too? [ it isn't posed as a challenge. more a curiosity. ]
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sidon is nice. he's not trash. but does that mean he'd be a good king?]
... the only decent royal I've ever known was a woman who held strongly onto her beliefs. She loved her subjects and her family dearly. She loved life, and treated it with respect.
[scien's so laissez-faire with so many things. his voice is still largely casual, but there is a trace of respect in his tone for once. a little reverence.]
I believe putting specific individuals, especially yourself, above the whole is what makes for poor leadership. That is why I don't trust love as most people define it.
But there is nothing inherently wrong with having a heart that feels strongly.
[wild take from a guy with so few emotions but he really seems to believe it]
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it's an answer he can resonate with, because there's many types of love. he's felt most of them. it's hard to differentiate emotions sometimes, the different lines of love, devotion, duty, but that's part of being a person.
he smiles warmly, a glint in his eye. ]
My sister was like that. [ and scien is right, because she was essentially the perfect princess. ] Though she was very much in love with a man. They just... both ended up risking their lives for everyone's sake anyway.
To feel strongly for one's values, enough to risk your own life—I do think emotion helps push that boundary.
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ironically.]
No, I don't think you need to be emotional for that. In fact, I think emotions like fear or cowardice or self-interest often will keep people from exactly what you're describing.
[when people will choose themselves first. love is a strong emotion, certainly, but so is fear. it's always a coin toss which, exactly, will end up winning.]
But I do think that is almost more of a sign of thoughtful governance. Self-sacrifice can be a stupid trait, especially for a leader of a country, but I have even less care for those who are only concerned about themselves.
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Hah... I wouldn't call it self-sacrifice.
But I do think every leader needs to be ready to risk their lives for their kingdom. What is the point of a king who only cares about himself? I've always thought a royal's calling is to serve their people. To protect their home and happiness.
[ the whole point is that it's higher than single existence. more than just living for yourself. ]
It sounds like you've dealt with some terrible ones.
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[so the simple answer is yes. scien, by default, actually hates royalty.]
During the first week here, someone described you and the Idealist Princess to me as charming. But I don't care about charm. Charm doesn't keep countries afloat and the population intact.
[he looks at sidon as if he's assessing him, even though scien knows that his opinion doesn't extend very far. he's smart, but he truly only concerns himself with arpéchéle. still, he'll provide his results:]
You seem like you could be halfway decent at it. The Masochist was also fine, as far as royals go. I didn't even know he was one for most of the time we spoke. [which is how scien kinda preferred it? he likes when royals aren't obviously royals. have a personality trait outside of the crown, thanks.]
Maybe your kingdom won't end up as much of a mess as my country.
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I intend to do my best, and to be more than just a charming front.
[ which he says with a rare lack of levity. when he's home, being boisterous and friend-shaped doesn't always carry into the throne room.
still, he perks up at the mention of his Prison Bestie, Goops Goops. ]
But, oh—you mean Prince Dion? Yes, he strikes me as a conscientious ruler! [ he carries himself like a prince, in sidon's eyes, but only because he knows exactly what it entails. ] His kingdom has a great deal more strife to deal with than my own, unfortunately.
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I don't believe in luck, so simply do well.
[that's as kind of a wish as scien can manage? like... just do your job? but he figures sidon doesn't really need to be told that, which is why he is perhaps going to be a halfway decent ruler. maybe.
as for dion - ]
He's tortured and burdened, but hides it decently. That will probably be his downfall, even if it's been his shield so far. Though I find it hard to believe any good royal can ever be truly happy, given the weight you're all born with.
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but the enthusiasm behind wanting to be a great king dims a little as they get onto the subject of dion some more. ]
Mm... He never told me in so many words, but he has a melancholy to him.
[ when they talked about love, and such. ]
I think our happiness is relative to the joy and comfort of our people. [ sidon is very, very cheerful, but if his lands were in turmoil, he wouldn't actually be happy. ] I don't think of that as a burden, so much as the reason for any royal's existence... But Prince Dion has to deal with lands in the tumult of war. I'm sure that brings him much heartache.
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he decides that this is too much serious contemplation about someone who isn't around to give their own input]
I'm very sure that the royals of my country wouldn't be able to hold their own in a war, and since I don't care to ever get involved in that level of massacre and headache, we'd probably fall to ruin if we had to deal with international affairs.
It's just another reason to be content in our isolation for now.
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Isolation is our strategy as well, to be honest. Though your island takes it to an extreme.
[ it's more like the zora just live places that are wet and no one else can deal with wetness like they can. ]
I suppose if you are handling the great crisis of your nation, and the nobility has no outside threats to deal with, they could become lazy and corrupt...
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[relivers out in the world sounds like a fucking disaster and scien is NOT for it.
but he frowns, because once again he fucking hates royals!!! but mostly shitty ones, and he has to make it extremely clear just how low the virche royals set the bar]
But they are exactly that and have been exactly that for as long as I've been alive. They force gag orders upon the people to not discuss their own incompetence, but they are all quite stupid and selfish. The average citizen doesn't even remember the name of their king because the royals are only concerned about protecting their own lives. I don't have time to deal with people who are only interested in serving themselves.
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he frowns though. i almost wrote his brows furrow but he does not have those. ]
I've never heard of leaders who would abandon their people so wholly.
[ it's really inconceivable to him. ]
But I suppose royalty takes discipline. When you are held at a higher power—one must hold themselves accountable. [ because not many other people will. ] Might I ask what happened to the royal woman you were speaking of? She sounded wonderful. [ especially in comparison. ]
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What do you think could've happened? Of course she was murdered.
[of course.
also nu i'm shaking give me a mem i'll kill you]