epidemiology | (open-ish) the damage is already done

The matter of my heir, yes.

[Sieglinde said it seriously as any thirty five year old with a case of baby fever and a ticking biological clock, crossing her arms a bit pensively as she nodded a bit to herself.]

It is an important issue, but it is difficult to come to a decision. I've a bit of time, of course, but...

[A bit of time seemed an understatement, if Sieglinde was as young as she appeared to be. So far, Haise thought that very likely, though her knowledge was nothing short of impressive for someone even twice her apparent age.

He took a seat beside her, for ease of conversation]

You're concerned with something like that already?

Perhaps a man like you will not understand, but a woman in my position needs to be concerned for such things.

[No offense, Haise, but you obviously don't get it???]

The inheritance of the Green Witch's legacy is an important duty.

[Haise highly doubts he'll ever be in a position to have children, himself. There are far too many factors at play that would preclude it, not the least of which is being treated as a living weapon.

Not that he'd announce something like that, of course. But it would seem Sieglinde was putting the cart before the horse here...]

Wouldn't you need someone to marry, before worrying about children?

[And maybe wait ten years?]

One hardly needs a husband by law to have children.

[She fixed Haise with a curious look, cocking her head as she splashed a little bit in the tide pool.]

Does your village particularly value paternity?

I suppose that's true enough, but...

[Was it much of a family otherwise? He could imagine, were he in the position to do so, he'd want to marry someone whom he intended to have a child with.

He folded his arms, weighing her question]

My home's a bit more populous than that, but ideally, your parents would be married.

Edited 2016-06-19 10:25 (UTC)

Marriage and heirs are entirely different matters, though-

[Sieglinde liked to think she had things figured out on this front... but at least she could acknowledge it likely wasn't the same for everyone.]

A least, in my situation.

[She tapped her list in the sand absently.]

Marriages are far more politically motivated, and the heir- whatever magics I cannot complete in my lifetime must be passed down, so the father needs to be carefully selected to produce the most magically capable child possible...

[Haise wouldn't pretend he entirely understood such things. What little he knew of his life as Ken Kaneki told him that he wasn't anyone of particular import or distinction, until he'd been surgically altered.

And then, his lone distinction was as something of a monster. Ghouls seemed to fear him, and CCG records were...

He glanced at her list for a moment, a lingering thoughtful look, before he met her gaze again]

That sounds like a heavy responsibility you carry.

[When she put it the way she did, the strategic approach made sense]

Although...I'd like to hope you could find someone to bring you happiness, too.

[Was it heavy?

Of course it was... but the key to burdens and duty was to try and convince yourself that they weren't heavy at all, and she'd had years thinking it was natural for her.

So, she treated it like it was nothing, to make it nothing.]

Well, that is all well and good, but. I am more concerned with determining which among our number has the best genetics.

[Happiness wasn't nearly as difficult as that. Hopefully.]

...Which among our number?

[He repeated the words, taking a few moments to digest the thought. Sieglinde was debating which members of ALASTAIR would be suitable? But wouldn't that assume that they'd be at this for years?

Was she really planning ahead to that degree...? They surely didn't have any way of knowing how long they would be here]

I...see...

[No he really didn't, but the silence was getting long and pointed]

How are you going about that?

[Sieglinde nodded her confirmation out, tapping her sand list. Her High German sand list, but even with the language a mystery it was surely a list, with its headers and bullet pointed columns (pros and cons).

It was a matter of mathematics, in the end. Considering she had to wait until she began her cycles, and then even assuming she already had someone in mind there was the matter of conceiving, and then nine months gestation if the pregnancy was viable... There were quite a lot of ifs, and potential years involved in making children! Best to plan ahead.]

One has to consider several factors... The amount of magic the invidual possesses... If it's even genetically transferable to offspring or not, their medical inclinations, their virility, any inheritable defects...

[...She really had been seriously considering which of her associates would produce ideal offspring? Haise had been half-braced for some odd humor but instead, Sieglinde seemed entirely serious about what she was saying.

There was no denying that what she'd written in the sand looked like a list, but Haise was prepared to believe that it was some far less weighty matter than having children. Or, at least, a subject that didn't seem quite a bit ahead of its time]

Ah... [What to even say here...?] And how would you go about determining that?

[Perhaps it was for the best that he couldn't read the names on that list]

[Dead serious. ... And it probably was for the best he couldn't read it. That was some delicate information, there.]

Well, most people are honest enough about whether their powers are natural or acquired. I assume the latter won't pass on to offspring, most likely, so that's right out-

[Ban's immortality, for one thing... now that would be wonderful if it was inheritable...]

[It was hard to wrap his mind around how someone so young had put this much thought into having children of her own already. Wasn't she entitled to a childhood of her own?

Not that Haise knew her cultural background enough to gauge norms]

Are people all that forthright about weaknesses?

[That part he couldn't help but wonder about, upon reflection]

Some are a bit cagey, of course, it cannot be helped...

[After all, she was hardly in a position to claim she was forthcoming with everything about her own world and the nature of her abilities.

Still.]

Most are willing to answer whether they were gifted or stumbled upon their abilities as opposed to being born with them.

In that case...what do you rank highest, after magical aptitude?

[A thing with which Haise didn't have much of any familiarity, as magic didn't really exist where he came from. But surely there were other things that Siegline was looking for. Traits that weren't just about biology and inheritance.

Even if she claimed that love wasn't important to the equation...surely there had to be something?]

Hmm... Proof of virility I suppose?

[Yet another thing said with a completely straight face, tapping a finger now to her chin in thought. The wag he was asking made it seem as if he had quite a different idea of things, so she looked him over a moment before asking,]

Yourself?

[That was...certainly not what Haise might've expected as a response. Less of a personal quality and more of a physiological function. If she was concerned with children he supposed that it made sense to make such a thing a priority, but one of the top two...

But once it was his turn to answer a question, he sat up a little straighter, wide-eyed curiosity dashing across his features for a beat]

Myself...?

[Was she asking what he would prioritize?]

I...haven't been in a position to consider that sort of thing. But I suppose...kindness and intelligence would be some traits I'd appreciate.

[It was likely a weird thing to understand, a leftover from her thinking as if she still lived in the Witch Forest, still would likely only meet a man if he were a traveler stumbling through the woods lost... And men were not permitted to stay. That was a rather narrow timeframe in which to ensure a pregnancy, so virility was quite important... Maybe not so much here.]

An, intelligence is another good trait... Good point...

[She nodded along as if impressed with a wise answer, though... "Kindness" was notably absent from her praise.]

[Haise at least knew himself well enough to know that he'd prefer being able to engage intellectually with a partner...if ever he were to have one. Of course it naturally fell under the category of things he felt safest not to consider, because while such attachments would surely have a warmth of their own, he had the tacit acceptance that such things were not for him.

Not when his existence relied so heavily upon whether he proved himself useful, and not when he might die trying to prove why he should be allowed to live.

Here, circumstances were different, but this wasn't forever]

I think...while genetics may be a concern for you...temperament would still be important. Kids can take after their parents in that way, can't they? So, someone you could relate with might be best.

[And thus he could try to nudge in the direction of actual chemistry rather than simple baby-making. That sort of mindset struck him as incredibly lonely in its way]

[It was something she'd considered, of course... temperament. People bred dogs and the like for temperament, did they not? But.]

Thoughts are divided on such things... nature versus nurture, all that. I'm quite sure if the father is not in the picture his personality will be of little consequence...

[She hummed a bit assuredly to herself, nodding along, before giving Haise a bit of a concession (in her mind) for his part in things.]

You may wish to consider temperament, however, I suppose.

[After all, he seemed the marrying type to her.]

If I were in that position, I probably would.

[Haise didn't mind admitting that, though he believed there were certain aspects of one's nature that were surely intrinsic. It didn't seem that Sieglinde necessarily thought the same thing, and it wasn't something that he could prove.

Even now he had no idea whether any part of himself was like Ken Kaneki, only knew him as the infamous eye-patch ghoul. Other ghouls had feared him, when he wore a mask they appeared to recognize.

How much of a person was decided by what was around them...?

Such ruminations were, of course, best left for another time]

...If you don't mind my asking... If you were to find someone who fit the physical and magical qualifications, but you felt nothing for them, or even hated them, would the genetics be all that mattered?

[She's not sure if anyone has actually asked her that before. Not so directly, at any rate. She opened her mouth to reply, to answer that of course it would be all that mattered...

But a part of her knew it was easier to say that when she'd lived in Wolfsschlucht. When she'd known that likely any man she met would be gone within days. It had seemed very simple, in that way, no complications or hang ups.

What about here? Now?]

... Well. Hate would make copulation a bit difficult, I imagine.

[She imagined.]

[It gave her pause, and that was something. Haise knew he couldn't presume to dictate to her what the right way to approach creating a new life was, no matter how strongly he felt about it. But being a product of love would, he could imagine, mean something to that child one day.

In fact, he hoped that his own parents felt strongly for each other, but he hadn't a way of knowing. As much as the phantom of his past self haunted him, he was always left with more questions than answers.

But maybe with time to evaluate, Sieglinde might reconsider her stance, at least somewhat. Then one day, hopefully a good number of years hence, her child wouldn't have to wonder]

I'd imagine it would, at the least... Although I have no experience in that area, I do think there are a lot of considerations to be made. So thinking it over, and having the time, doesn't strike me as a bad idea.

Edited 2016-06-27 00:51 (UTC)

[Did such things matter to children? Sieglinde had little experience in what "normal" children wished for. She thought perhaps when she'd been younger she'd daydreamed about what her father might have been like. What her mother would have been like if she hadn't died in childbirth. If she would have been proud of her.

Silly things like that. If you kept a child occupied, wouldn't they not care about such things? She'd mostly stopped.]

I am not planning on conceiving my heir now. I cannot yet anyway- but these things need planning in general, I am sure you understand.

[Because menstruation was totally a thing you could discuss with other people, why not? She was just... planning in advance.]

Edited 2016-06-27 12:24 (UTC)

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