[He somehow looks years older with just those few words, his usual mirth draining from his face for a moment]
If not for that one simple fact, my life would have been very different. Humans are very fickle, we find value and meaning through defining who should not be valued and rarely stop to acknowledge that those things we are choosing to determine someone's worth are trivialities. More often than not who someone chooses to share their bed with takes priority over things like intellect and skill.
[He smiles again then, though it is strained, and lightly leans his head against hers]
It is perhaps for this reason humans progress so slowly.
[It's nice to rest against him. She clearly doesn't mind his admission at all, and even though she generally lacks the sort of empathy that these creatures associate with close contact, for her it's just pleasant to feel someone else's touch, even if it's just platonic. She's always been a very physical person.]
In most of Arneth, where I've spent a lot of time, it's perfectly acceptable for people to marry across races. Or - no, species, I think, might be the term I've heard here, to avoid confusion. I mean to say that if a dragon can fall in love with a human, why should it be any concern if two humans of the same sex want to be intimate? And elves - some of them can decide to be female one day and male the next.
[See, so it's not even just the tanar'ri who find the whole prohibition on same sex relationships sort of backward. There are some cultures that are very restrictive - dwarves, for example, she's heard they put a lot of stock in tradition and maybe they're more likely to make arbitrary bans on romance.]
I may not care much for most of your kind, Semiyon, but they're not like that everywhere in the universe.
[The more he learns of other worlds, the more he cannot help but feel stifled by the limited, narrow ways of the Earth he comes from. Perhaps, part of him wonders, that is too unfair a judgement to pass on it what, after all hadn't he had love and comfort and beauty in his life? However the other part of him just as eagerly reminds him that he's never been given much reason to feel otherwise and that that love and comfort and beauty had always come with an expiration date attached.]
So tell me, Caedra. Is there anyone of special interest to you? A partner? A husband or wife?
[She smiles a bittersweet smile at that question. It is, of course, the main reason she wants to return home so desperately. Any other tanar'ri might be content to wreak havoc here for as long as they stayed, but not her.]
We don't marry. Marriage is a contract, and my people have no interest in something so binding. I do have lovers, both here and at home, but mostly that's just for fun. There is one, however... The ruler of the portion of the Abyss where I reside, actually. He is Lord Amamot Nisariel, and I love him dearly.
[And it feels good to say so. There is so much she keeps to herself here.]
[She's mentioned the Abyss before but only now does he realize he's never actually asked if only demons reside there or if there are other beings as well.
He then shifts, expression turning more mischievous with one arched brow]
[And the fondness is evident in her voice, with how it softens at his mention. Some day - soon, if she has her way - she will be in his arms once again.
But she catches that look and giggles a little, unable to help herself.]
He's gorgeous is how. So strong, and so tall, with all of these elaborate tattoos. And he's quite young still. Full of energy and so willing to learn new things.
[The grin shifts to a smirk for a moment before she reaches for her drink to finish it off.]
[Yeah she's super smug and not afraid to show it. She leans forward to replace the now-empty cup on the table, and sweeps hair from her face as she smiles to herself.]
Normally I wouldn't mind sharing, but I don't want to overwork the poor boy. That's his one failing, really, so many other obligations he seems to think are more necessary. But he does his best to keep up.
[Her expression turns conspiratorial, eyelids lowering slightly. Let's see if she can't make him just a little more jealous - she's just so pleased with her find.]
If making sparks come from your fingertips is not magic what is it then?
[Certainly no human in Semiyon's world can do such a thing unless they were poetically referring to the using of a welding flame or a firework. But he is fairly sure Caedra would not be so impressed with those.]
Exactly! But he refuses to call it magic. There are a lot of people here, in fact, who insist everything is some form of science. They are so intent on clinging to what they know that they can't see how much they don't.
[Which she has to assume is some sort of animal self-preservation tactic that these mortals do without realizing it. A way to shield themselves against the horrors that have stalked them since the dawn of their existences. She's heard rumors, in fact, about the ones who tried to face those things head-on and went mad. It's quite possible that people had said that about her once, a very long time ago.]
I cannot speak for their worlds, but I can say that many people in my world have come to associate the idea of magic as the antithesis to hard work. Back home to say something 'happened as if by magic' is to say it happened too easily. It took no skill. So perhaps they do not like the thought of others assuming they did not work at their skills.
Magic is hard work. It's difficult to learn, and takes a lot of energy and precision to achieve. Even in places like where I come from where more of us have innate power, it's still not always done well. It takes expertise.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2018-05-30 12:22 am (UTC)[He somehow looks years older with just those few words, his usual mirth draining from his face for a moment]
If not for that one simple fact, my life would have been very different. Humans are very fickle, we find value and meaning through defining who should not be valued and rarely stop to acknowledge that those things we are choosing to determine someone's worth are trivialities. More often than not who someone chooses to share their bed with takes priority over things like intellect and skill.
[He smiles again then, though it is strained, and lightly leans his head against hers]
It is perhaps for this reason humans progress so slowly.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-05-30 12:34 am (UTC)In most of Arneth, where I've spent a lot of time, it's perfectly acceptable for people to marry across races. Or - no, species, I think, might be the term I've heard here, to avoid confusion. I mean to say that if a dragon can fall in love with a human, why should it be any concern if two humans of the same sex want to be intimate? And elves - some of them can decide to be female one day and male the next.
[See, so it's not even just the tanar'ri who find the whole prohibition on same sex relationships sort of backward. There are some cultures that are very restrictive - dwarves, for example, she's heard they put a lot of stock in tradition and maybe they're more likely to make arbitrary bans on romance.]
I may not care much for most of your kind, Semiyon, but they're not like that everywhere in the universe.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-10 02:02 pm (UTC)[The more he learns of other worlds, the more he cannot help but feel stifled by the limited, narrow ways of the Earth he comes from. Perhaps, part of him wonders, that is too unfair a judgement to pass on it what, after all hadn't he had love and comfort and beauty in his life? However the other part of him just as eagerly reminds him that he's never been given much reason to feel otherwise and that that love and comfort and beauty had always come with an expiration date attached.]
So tell me, Caedra. Is there anyone of special interest to you? A partner? A husband or wife?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-10 03:01 pm (UTC)We don't marry. Marriage is a contract, and my people have no interest in something so binding. I do have lovers, both here and at home, but mostly that's just for fun. There is one, however... The ruler of the portion of the Abyss where I reside, actually. He is Lord Amamot Nisariel, and I love him dearly.
[And it feels good to say so. There is so much she keeps to herself here.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-10 10:12 pm (UTC)[She's mentioned the Abyss before but only now does he realize he's never actually asked if only demons reside there or if there are other beings as well.
He then shifts, expression turning more mischievous with one arched brow]
Oh? Here? Might I ask who?
[Do tell, Caedra]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-10 11:15 pm (UTC)[And the fondness is evident in her voice, with how it softens at his mention. Some day - soon, if she has her way - she will be in his arms once again.
But she catches that look and giggles a little, unable to help herself.]
Do you know Trafalgar Law?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-10 11:36 pm (UTC)[He grins, nudging her lightly]
How has this 'Trafalgar Law' caught your interest?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-10 11:48 pm (UTC)He's gorgeous is how. So strong, and so tall, with all of these elaborate tattoos. And he's quite young still. Full of energy and so willing to learn new things.
[The grin shifts to a smirk for a moment before she reaches for her drink to finish it off.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-13 09:11 pm (UTC)[His smirk echoes hers as he repeats her words]
Be careful or you shall make me jealous to have found such a fine companion.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-13 10:00 pm (UTC)Normally I wouldn't mind sharing, but I don't want to overwork the poor boy. That's his one failing, really, so many other obligations he seems to think are more necessary. But he does his best to keep up.
[Her expression turns conspiratorial, eyelids lowering slightly. Let's see if she can't make him just a little more jealous - she's just so pleased with her find.]
He can make sparks with his fingertips.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-18 08:56 pm (UTC)[Because in Hadriel it is often hard to tell]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-18 09:10 pm (UTC)[psh what's science anyway, just another type of magic!]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-19 09:48 pm (UTC)[Certainly no human in Semiyon's world can do such a thing unless they were poetically referring to the using of a welding flame or a firework. But he is fairly sure Caedra would not be so impressed with those.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-06-19 10:13 pm (UTC)[Which she has to assume is some sort of animal self-preservation tactic that these mortals do without realizing it. A way to shield themselves against the horrors that have stalked them since the dawn of their existences. She's heard rumors, in fact, about the ones who tried to face those things head-on and went mad. It's quite possible that people had said that about her once, a very long time ago.]
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-08 11:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-08 11:59 pm (UTC)[She shakes her head with a wry smile.]
Magic is hard work. It's difficult to learn, and takes a lot of energy and precision to achieve. Even in places like where I come from where more of us have innate power, it's still not always done well. It takes expertise.