asgardeventide | Eight ★ Video

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[Draco Malfoy has absolutely no reason to be outside right now. His hands are both still cut up pretty badly, he's fighting off a cold, and to top things off…

…well. He lost Jade Harley. Sort of. Jade sort of lost herself by leaving her bracelet on his bathroom counter. So today Draco's out and flying around the city of Asgard, Jade's bracelet in his pocket and bundled up against the cold. It's only when he's outside of his room that he really notices all of the lights going off in the city, twinkling against the darkness. He stops long enough to examine a few displays of light, raising an eyebrow.

It really must be close to Christmas then. Fantastic. Just one more thing to remind him of things he doesn't want to think about. Christmas reminds him of home, and lights remind him of a certain girl with long blond hair that he can't seem to stop thinking about. Ridiculous. After a few hours of flying back and forth hoping for some sign of Jade, anything that might indicate she's around, he gives up and lands to head into the Great Library if only for a distraction and maybe to pick up a few books to help with his current research for potions.

…and thus he finds himself curled up in a chair fifteen minutes later, trying to warm up and staring at a book in his hands. It's a small book, worn out and old in appearance. It's also a book he most certainly wasn't expecting to find here in Asgard, but then again it made sense. Why wouldn't the gods pull things from their own worlds to entertain them? When he turns on the bracelet's video feed, he's casually flipping through the book, reading and mumbling to himself. He's holding the book gingerly as though it's hard to bend his hands around it, but his eyes are narrowed in concentration.]

Babbity Rabbitty will never not be a strange name, and that's saying something [Flip. Flip. Flip.]

Granted, this shouldn't be a surprise. [And he looks up then, facing the camera.]

Here's a new question for anyone awake, something a bit lighter than the last. [Which he's still pondering on, thank you. His wall of notes may be folded up and in a box under his bed, but he still references them quite a bit.]

With the lights all around the city and with the discovery of this book--[He lifts it up, revealing the title to be the Tales of Beedle the Bard]--do you believe that something as simplistic as a fairy tale can actually have some truth behind it? Or, in other words, what determines if they're made up or if they're based on real people and real events?

And before anyone asks, no, there's no motive behind this question. Just genuine curiosity. [Which as we all know is the biggest lie of them all.]

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[It's natural that Itsuki sees right through it, but Draco's totally unaware.]

Koizumi. [The same tense politeness is being returned today.] If that's the case, one must then wonder what people determine to be worthy of spinning into a tale. What facts and bits of wisdom stand out enough that a person would want them to be passed on for generations and generations? And further more, is it only one real life event that these stories are created from, or are they multiples?

I would imagine it very much depends on the story. But, of course, here, we all have to recognize that there is such a thing as, for example, a witch or a princess. And the ancient English myths, well - those, too. It must be a highly organic process.

That's a book of fairy tales you've got there, then, Malfoy? Do they seem to be of any importance to you?

Which is another vein of theory I'm going off of. The gods of course count as legend instead of fairy tale, but what's the difference?

[He looks down at the book in his hand.] They're tales from home, so I suppose you could say that.

I don't believe there is one, for these purposes. They are all more or less the same here. Perhaps legends are more societal in nature.

[He smiles a bit.] So you do have a theory about it, then. The curiosity is not quite as idle as proclaimed? Is there a reason these tales attracted your notice?

Legends just seem to be taken more seriously. Haven't you noticed that? If there wasn't a difference, there wouldn't be such a drastic change in reaction, societal or no.

I have a theory for everything, in case you haven't noticed.[A shrug.] Something familiar, I suppose. I never finished the stories as a child.

The difference is in expectation, isn't it? Something that has been sorted into the category of fairy tale is expected to be vaguer and more fanciful. Perhaps a fairy tale can be thought of as a legend in a more advanced state of decay.

[He nods.] These are well-known stories where you come from, then? What are they about, then?

Well in that case, tell me about some of the stories from your world. What's sorted into fairy tale and what's legend in Japan?

[He pauses briefly, flipping through the book.] Wizarding fairy tales. There's five of them in this particular collection, all of varying morality lessons. Nothing you'd be interested in, would you?

Ah, it's a good question. We know many Western fairy tales by now, of course... "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty" once came in quite handy for my world, for that matter. For us, usually the subject of a fairy tale is a generic person, rather than a named specific person. There's one about, I believe, a farmer whose youngest son compulsively drew cats everywhere. The son was sent to a temple to become a priest, since he would do nothing else, but they turned him away as well. Eventually he went to another temple, one which was haunted by an evil spirit of a rat, unbeknownst to him. He drew his cats everywhere, and in the morning he awoke to find that the rat was dead and the painted cats had mouths dripping with blood. Perhaps it's a presage of the "drawing life" power here? After all, other mythological elements are redolent of it all.

[He shrugs.] As for yours... it rather depends. What are the morality lessons? Those are rather interesting to hear, and telling about a culture, aren't they?

[...he just snorts because wow that's a little morbid isn't it? Intriguing, but morbid.] That's delving into the supernatural side of life rather than fantasy, but they're really all the same thing aren't they? Both tying back into myth and myth into magic and magic into fact. So really they can't be proven to be based on real people at all if they're meant to be so generic, but rather on the specific ideas. Though that is interesting that drawing life may actually have a basis of fact. Flight, of course, has a basis because of the myths, but I never thought of the others.

[A shrug back. It's hard to say, Lucius kind of trashed his copy of Beedle the Bard when he was little so he's still flipping through it.] That's what I'm looking into. I only know how one or two of these stories end.

Quite so. A fairy tale was once less of a sanitized thing, as that story illustrates -- there was perhaps a time when they were even closer to being the same thing. It is an interesting thought: however, so far as it goes, I don't believe the origins, or rather, the clues in our worlds to these powers, have much further practical import at this time.

What would those one or two be, then?

So what do you believe has any practicality in it at this time?

Well...one end is about how you should value your heart and emotions before they go to waste, and the other is about using your wit and talents to master death and live a full life. [Which is bullshit, and he knows it. That's not what the end of the three brothers is supposed to really mean, right?]

At the moment? Hm, it's a fair point. There isn't a great deal, perhaps, but, given the length of time elapsed since the battle, I suspect that there will be something soon. It would be good to be the first person to find out what that might be.

[He seems to settle in a bit.] On the other hand, that kind of moral -- ah, I find that rather interesting. There is, of course, usually a layer of interpretation to a well-written story of that kind. I am particularly intrigued by what you mean by "mastering death" and "going to waste." If you could perhaps briefly describe the stories...

You're not really insinuating that you'll be the first, are you, Koizumi? I highly doubt that.

[There's a thoughtful hum as he flips through the book again.] Well...all right. Let's start with the Tale of The Three Brothers. There were three brothers traveling along at twilight when they came to a river. The river seemed impossible to cross, but the brothers were wizards and were able to create a bridge for them to cross. However, this aggravated Death who felt he was cheated out of three new prizes. So, in a show of false congratulations, Death gave each brother a prize of his own. The first brother asked for a wand, a wand so powerful that it would be the unbeatable wand. Death broke a branch from a nearby elder tree and fashioned him a wand to take away. The second brother was kind of an arsehole and wanted to mock Death further. He asked Death for a way to bring those who have passed on already back from the dead, to revive them in the living realm. So Death took a river stone and turned it thrice in his hand, creating the resurrection stone. Now the third brother...he might have been the smartest because he just asked Death for a way to hide from him until he was ready to pass on. So Death gave him half of his own cloak of invisibility. That being said, the three brothers parted from Death and soon parted ways. The first brother thought he was quite well off, seeing how his new wand won him a duel against another wizard. However, someone else got quite jealous of the elder wand and in the middle of the night, they snuck in, stole and wand and slit the brother's throat. So Death collected his first prize. The second brother decided to use his gift as well. He used the stone to bring back his deceased fiancee, but she was so unhappy in the living world that the brother drove himself mad with grief that he killed him. So Death collected his second prize. But the third brother, again, might have been the smartest brother. He wore that invisibility cloak around for years until he was old and aging, and when he was ready he passed it on to his son to join Death willingly. The third brother had mastered Death and instead of becoming a prize, he joined Death as an old friend as the two of them crossed into the afterlife.

...the second tale is a bit more morbid. The Warlock's Hairy Heart. So the warlock was a man who thought he was quite clever. He refused to fall into the trap of falling in love and growing stupid from the emotions, so he took matters into his own hands and made arrangements to never fall victim to such circumstances. For several years after, the warlock was emotionless and unswayed by the affections bestowed upon him by many young maidens wishing to seek his hand in marriage. He didn't mind though. He was quite pleased with himself, thinking himself superior of his companions for not falling in love, getting married and having children. He had all of his money and his power; what did he need love for? Love was weak, love was foolish, and love was something he wouldn't have need for in his life. As the years drew on, the warlock was the last of his friends to remain unmarried. His parents died, and the warlock showed no signs of remorse. Rather, he was quite glad his family had died off because it meant he could inherit what was theirs. However, one day he overheard two of his servants talking about him, inquiring about his state and why he remained unmarried. Angered by the blow to his pride, the warlock vowed to find the best wife. The wife that would be the envy of all others in the land. And on that day, by the warlock's sheer luck, such a maiden appeared. She was a well-endowed with magical gifts and most beautiful to behold. The warlock immediately began courting her, and though the maiden wasn't entirely too thrilled, her family found them to be a suitable match and they were soon married. The warlock attempted to woo her, to whisper sweet words of love into her ear despite the fact he didn't understand any of it. The maiden was touched, but she, of course, thought the words would mean much more if she thought the warlock had a heart at all. It was then the warlock made the decision to share his best kept secret. He led his maiden away from their dinner party that evening down to the dungeons of his home. It was there, encased in a crystal case, was the still-beating heart of the warlock. But it wasn't a thing of beauty. It was actually quite disgusting, shriveled and covered in black hair. The maiden cried, begged the warlock to replace his heart. And he did. He knew it was necessary to please here, so he drew his wand, unlocked the case and sliced open his chest to replace the hairy heart. And just like that, his senses came back, his love came back. However it disturbed the warlock's heart. The heart wasn't used to such feelings, having grown strange during its imprisonment. It was by this point that their guests realized the warlock and the maiden hadn't returned and as the hours passed they began to search the castle. The dungeon was the last place they chose to look, and upon entering they saw a horrific sight. The maiden was on the floor, her chest cut open and empty. Beside her dead body sat the warlock, driven mad by the perverse power of his hairy heart. Clutching the maiden's heart in his hand, he vowed to exchange the heart for his own and tried to coax out his own shriveled, useless heart. The heart however had other ideas. The hairy heart was stronger than the warlock and refused to come back out, refused to let go now that it had settled. However, the warlock would have none of that. So he picked up the dagger and vowed to never be bested by his own heart. With that, he hacked his chest open, cutting his heat out and falling alongside his maiden with a heart in each hand. The heart had been wasted, and though he wanted it eventually, it was far too late. In the end, his heart got the best of him after all.

Brief enough?

[No. But he can hardly complain about people's lack of brevity. First things first.]

I insinuate only that I'd like to be. Of course, in the event, it will likely involve a large luck factor.

[And now for these stories. He listens to them with decided bemusement.]

Quite well told, Mr. Malfoy. Should your other plans fall through, you have a career as an audiobook reader awaiting you. They are, as I suspected, quite interesting. It's a guess, but this is a rather old collection of stories in your world? And a well-known one? The longer the pedigree, in this case, the more likely it is to be stimulating. A matter of "survival of the fittest," as it were.

Shall we start with the first one? I suppose, first, that these objects are merely metaphorical or legendary, as it were, even in your world. One representing temporal power, one representing spiritual power, and the third representing - well, what would you say it represents, if I may ask?

We'd all like things but lack the luck, don't we?

[He grins, almost sheepishly even, at that before shrugging again.] Incredibly old. I can't even remember how far back the tales date, but the original copy's old enough to have been written in the ancient runes. They're incredibly well known though. They're the type of stories that parents tell their children to shut them up at night.

It depends on who you talk to, I suppose. There are some people who believe the hallows actually exist. But most believe it's an old wives' tale. The third though.. it could always at least represent a stealth power. What sort of a question is that?

Perhaps. But when you put it so generally, I can't agree that it's always luck. In some other matters, one gets what one deserves.

Stealth? Yes, I suppose so, but I was thinking more metaphorically. It's an important question. After all, an old story survives, as we said, due to its philosophical import. It expresses a cultural value, which in this case favors what I would call modesty. It also reminds me of those stories which praise trickster gods. Some cultures' myths celebrate power plain and simple, and others are religious or moral in texture. This, however, falls into the same line as the tales of Odysseus, for example. It suggests that no one can comprehend the totality of the threats that face them, and therefore that it is better to have a reliable escape than to have a power that you think can blast through anything. It suggests, too, retiring from the face of a dangerous world - the old fantasy of the wise hermit, the person withdrawn from the folly and the blinding glamour of the world. It's good advice, I think.

Then what, precisely, do you think you deserve? You personally, that is.

You're reading into this quite a bit, Koizumi. I'm impressed. [Maybe you're not as much of a dumbass as Draco wants to believe.] Is it advice you'd actually take?

[He pauses for a moment.]

We deserve what others are able to return to us based on our capability to contribute to their own personal worlds--whether the others be objects, ideas, or people, what they can return to us by way of personal fulfillment while improving their own abilities of fulfillment, too, is what we can be said to deserve. This doesn't always follow through, in these imperfect worlds of ours. But I'm happy to say that at least in the case of the most important things to us, which is of course to say personal relationships, intelligent people are generally able to distinguish between those who are unable to return something of benefit to them--regardless of the origins of that inability--and those who are willing to put forth the effort to take not only their own but the other's world into view, and try to understand what it is that she truly wants or needs.

[He shrugs.] As for that advice--I would take some of it, yes. I am not, I'm afraid, constitutionally equipped to retire from the world.

Are you always so diplomatic with your answers? It leads one to believe that you've different opinions than the ones you share.

Well, then, I could put it more simply, I suppose. I've worked hard for what I get, but many people work hard. It's those who also work with intelligence, of whatever brand, who get more and who deserve what they get. In that respect, I am pretty satisfied with what I've gotten.

That may be one of the most honest things you've said. [Says he who is rarely honest.] You're almost a bit too intelligent.

[Still, it might be true.]

Ah, really? Saying it like that implies that there are some negative consequences, Malfoy.

You don't think there are negative consequences to everything, Koizumi?

Oh, perhaps. But should we draw a distinction between consequences and final consequences? Some things have negative components, perhaps, but their end result is a set of consequences that a person perceives to be strictly positive in the end. I believe that's a common opinion about love, for example.

Perhaps so, but what do you even know about love? It's a common opinion, but has that ever been proven to be actual fact?

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