[Ardyn didn't know for sure what course of action was best--how could he? His own view of the greater picture was only slightly wider than most, colored by his own resentment and carved in by eternity in darkness. Of course some part of him wanted to curse and resent the gods if this miserable existence was all part of the plan to begin with. Maybe it would be right to do so, but would it help anything?]
['Ever the dreamer. Sentimental hopes do not foundations form.']
[Somnus would have been able to follow through with something like this. Had followed through on it, casting aside his heart to do what was strictly necessary. Was it the right decision...even Ardyn knew that was a question with no simple answer. It was pragmatic. It would be just as practical and realistic now to follow through with what the divine ordered them to do and let blood be the price for the world's safety.]
[...Ardyn had never been much for the realist approach. He'd grown here to accept it as a necessity at times, to be sure; but having only pragmatism or compassion in extremes would (did) help no one. If Bahamut was before the pair of them today, Somnus would have accepted every word and done as he thought he should. Ardyn, meanwhile would scream himself hoarse at the Draconian in a thousand heresies demanding he do the work himself rather than pushing it on sacrifices he clearly cared nothing for.]
[Neither option would yield a satisfying result, and he concluded there had to be something. Some middle ground where no one else had to die.]
[Or at least, he thought, biting his lower lip in frustration until it momentarily bled a cursed black, where only one of us does.]
...There's no reason to finalize the matter right this second--one way or the other.
[His voice was quiet, attempting both to be reassuring and force the look of frustration off his face. None of this mattered at this instant; what mattered was the smaller picture. What mattered was that Noctis was buckling under the weight of what he should never have been asked to bear, and if he could do nothing else Ardyn could be the support he never allowed anyone to be for himself.]
You're not alone in this. If there's any answer to what you ask...then I've every intention of helping you find it.
no subject
['Ever the dreamer. Sentimental hopes do not foundations form.']
[Somnus would have been able to follow through with something like this. Had followed through on it, casting aside his heart to do what was strictly necessary. Was it the right decision...even Ardyn knew that was a question with no simple answer. It was pragmatic. It would be just as practical and realistic now to follow through with what the divine ordered them to do and let blood be the price for the world's safety.]
[...Ardyn had never been much for the realist approach. He'd grown here to accept it as a necessity at times, to be sure; but having only pragmatism or compassion in extremes would (did) help no one. If Bahamut was before the pair of them today, Somnus would have accepted every word and done as he thought he should. Ardyn, meanwhile would scream himself hoarse at the Draconian in a thousand heresies demanding he do the work himself rather than pushing it on sacrifices he clearly cared nothing for.]
[Neither option would yield a satisfying result, and he concluded there had to be something. Some middle ground where no one else had to die.]
[Or at least, he thought, biting his lower lip in frustration until it momentarily bled a cursed black, where only one of us does.]
...There's no reason to finalize the matter right this second--one way or the other.
[His voice was quiet, attempting both to be reassuring and force the look of frustration off his face. None of this mattered at this instant; what mattered was the smaller picture. What mattered was that Noctis was buckling under the weight of what he should never have been asked to bear, and if he could do nothing else Ardyn could be the support he never allowed anyone to be for himself.]
You're not alone in this. If there's any answer to what you ask...then I've every intention of helping you find it.