{Video}

[lansizhui]

Have you ever thought about getting married? {The topic has been on his mind since a certain wedding.} I know you should be in love when you do it, but is it strange to think about it even if you're not?

I'm a Cultivator, so I realize that it isn't likely that I will ever be married - unless I settle down. But it does seem nice and everyone has someone, don't you think?

{Or has he been lost in his daydreams for too long?}

Comments

[mtsilver_conquor]

I don't think it is. Marriage for love is nice, but in the end, it's a joining of families.

[She shrugs a little.] Arranged marriages are still very much a thing across all of Arkea. Mostly the social elite and families with at least a couple of centuries of history. There's also different versions, too and it depends on the families involved as what one's used.

[A beat, then:] What's a Cultivator?

[lansizhui]

Or the making of a family. {He gives a small frown at the idea of an arranged marriage. That seems...so wrong...to him.} I don't think I would be comfortable doing something like that. I guess if my family needed me to -

{Still openly unsure.}

Someone who can use their golden core to quiet or defeat ill spirits, demons or other monsters.

[marriedanidiot]

Marriage for reasons other than love? That... seems supremely odd, to me.

[lansizhui]

Doesn't it? People make so many sacrifices.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Marriage? I never thought I'd live long enough to reach drinkin age! I've never thought about marriage.

Guess it's okay for some. Nice for some, but I don't think it's somethin I'd be allowed.

[lansizhui]

You must live a dangerous life. {Like he is one to talk.}

Allowed...? Who would prevent you?

[maxwellsdaemon]

Yeah, something like that! [Gives a wide grin and then laughs at the next question, adding a shrug just for good measure]

I dunno? Fate? The Powers that Be? My own bad luck? Good things don't happen to people like me, buddy.

[lansizhui]

I don't see why good things shouldn't happen to you. {Sizhui will be stubborn if pushed, his brow furrowing in confusion.} What have you done to deserve such a grim fate?

[maxwellsdaemon]

[Duo laughed again, still smiling because what else can he do?]

Let's just say I've been a soldier and leave it at that, huh?

But what about you? You thinking of finding that one in a million?

[lansizhui]

{Nope, still confused.}

I have battled too and I will continue to do so as a Cultivator.

I -

I don't know. {Now he is blushing.}

[so_dark_a_road]

Not everyone has someone, sad to say.

I was married, long ago when I was young and heedless. I was entranced by Sulriel, but the real reason I married her was because my people were at war with a powerful enemy whom we had little chance of defeating. My father had already fallen in one of the great battles, and I was beginning to fear that soon our family would need replacements. It didn't seem likely that any of my brothers were going to produce families of their own, so I arranged to be wed. I am not sorry, for we had a son whom anyone would be proud of, and he was the light of my life. But the marriage did not last.

Later in another world, I fell in love with a man named Yukari and might have married him, had it not been for circumstances that would take too long to explain.

I don't think it is strange to want the closeness and the stability, even if you're not in love. The chances of life can lead you into a marriage for many reasons.

[ That's Curufin's two cents' worth! It's a rare moment when he will talk about this in public, and he doesn't in fact reveal the whole story. ]

[maxwellsdaemon]

Don't know what one of those are, sounds fancy!

[his smile gentles some]

It's nothin you have to rush into. Guess it doesn't hurt to think about.

[lansizhui]

Not many know of us. Maybe people like me are called something different on other worlds?

{He is of that special age where he notices others. Someone pray for him.}

I won't rush. It's just -

My fathers were married recently.

[lansizhui]

You say you were entranced with her, but did you love her? It sounds more like a marriage of convenience to me. {He can be blunt and he is skilled at listening to what people say - and, sometimes, don't say.}

Children shouldn't be replacements for soldiers. They should be able to choose whether they fight for a cause or not.

{Sizhui sighs sadly. He is sensitive to sons being separated from their fathers (or parents in general).}

I feel like there should only be one reason for marriage. Love.

[maxwellsdaemon]

No idea, man. No idea what you do!

Ohh that's who got married, huh? And why you're thinkin about it now?

[Duo chuckles and tilts his head a bit]

Guess that'd get a guy thinking...

[marriedanidiot]

For Men, I suppose that might be so. But tis not something we do, why, I can scarce imagine it!

[dredefulchilde]

The modern insistence on marrying for love is strange to me, given that the vast majority of unions in the whole of human history have been primarily economic and political affairs.

[lansizhui]

Really? That's...sort of depressing. I know people can be resilient, but marriage feels like it should be special.

[lansizhui]

Oh sorry! Cultivators quiet or eliminate foul spirits, demons and other monsters. We protect people with spells and our swords.

{He gives a shy nod.}

I know they love one another. They're really bad at hiding it.

[lansizhui]

You are married, are you not, Lady Nerdanel?

[blue_ice]

Not everyone. Sometimes you're in a position where it'd be effectively impossible to find someone you can trust.

But what's a Cultivator? Why does that mean you can't?

[lansizhui]

It must be very lonely to be in a position like that. {He tries to trust everyone until they prove otherwise.}

I will face many ill spirits, demons and monsters. A Cultivator puts them to rest or banishes them. That means I will be in great danger frequently. Asking someone to accompany me or wait for me seems like too much.

[blue_ice]

I'm used to it.

In situations like that...is there anyone who does the dangerous work with you?

[lansizhui]

Is that how you prefer it?

Yes. Other trained Cultivators.

[dredefulchilde]

I assure you that it needn’t be. Marriage, as it existed for thousands of years until the Victorians got their hands on it, was all about acquiring property, or strengthening alliances. Love never rated in the equation, but that doesn’t mean it had to be a bleak affair. Affection and mutual respect built the foundation of many successful couples, even if romance or passion never rated.