Post by skyeknight on May 16, 2021 2:04:04 GMT
Jeralt stirred the pot, absent-mindly cooking. He was at least focused enough to keep the food from burning. The reason his mind was elsewhere because his daughter sat alone in her room. They had just moved to this small town to get away from the press and the pressure she had been feeling. Of course, to hide as well. Byleth had been forcibly retired from the gaming world after all. The media had circled them like sharks in the water once news broke.
Byleth was reportedly too old to keep up with the cute, young, and energetic players. Her sponsors dropped her in favor for the current gamer of the week. She had even lost her flare for playing the games that had brought her joy. With that, she had also lost her job. Her drive, her passion, were all taken away by the industry and, of course, viewership.
“Honey, I made dinner,” he called up to her.
“Not hungry, dad.”
Jeralt sighed once again. It broke his heart to know how listless she had become. Playing games had been fun for her. Now, he couldn’t even get her to cue up a game of a friendly racing game or a two-player fighting game, just to take her mind off things. In fact, he wasn’t sure how to reach out to her at all, because they had bonded over games.
He plated food for himself. Simple spaghetti with pesto. Not much. But he and Byleth weren’t exactly fancy folk. Her gaming career had allotted them more spending money, but as far as he was concerned, that was his little girl’s hard earned money and he wouldn’t touch a dime. He had done his best as a father to always provide for her and make sure she was without wants.
Still, sitting alone at the dinner table made him realize just how much distance had grown between him and his daughter. He didn’t know what to talk about with her without upsetting her. He had certainly tried sheltering her from the fallout of the loss of her career. Burning newspapers with the articles about her fall from fame. Hiding games that had formerly been sponsors. Even moving to this small remote town.
After eating alone, he decided he would take a plate up to her. She would eat whether she wanted to or not. And if it was there, she would undoubtedly eat it. Eventually. She was usually good about that sort of thing.
“Byleth, I’m coming in,” he said.
However, when he pushed the door open, he found her room was completely empty. Her computer screen was on. Perhaps he had missed her when she went to the bathroom? Or she was finally moving about the house?
He set the plate next to her computer monitor. Curious, he picked up a game case sitting innocently on the desk. The Magic Realm? He flipped it over, not even finding a summary of the game on the back. Or ratings. Or anything else for that matter. Just The Magic Realm written in elegant gold script.
Byleth was reportedly too old to keep up with the cute, young, and energetic players. Her sponsors dropped her in favor for the current gamer of the week. She had even lost her flare for playing the games that had brought her joy. With that, she had also lost her job. Her drive, her passion, were all taken away by the industry and, of course, viewership.
“Honey, I made dinner,” he called up to her.
“Not hungry, dad.”
Jeralt sighed once again. It broke his heart to know how listless she had become. Playing games had been fun for her. Now, he couldn’t even get her to cue up a game of a friendly racing game or a two-player fighting game, just to take her mind off things. In fact, he wasn’t sure how to reach out to her at all, because they had bonded over games.
He plated food for himself. Simple spaghetti with pesto. Not much. But he and Byleth weren’t exactly fancy folk. Her gaming career had allotted them more spending money, but as far as he was concerned, that was his little girl’s hard earned money and he wouldn’t touch a dime. He had done his best as a father to always provide for her and make sure she was without wants.
Still, sitting alone at the dinner table made him realize just how much distance had grown between him and his daughter. He didn’t know what to talk about with her without upsetting her. He had certainly tried sheltering her from the fallout of the loss of her career. Burning newspapers with the articles about her fall from fame. Hiding games that had formerly been sponsors. Even moving to this small remote town.
After eating alone, he decided he would take a plate up to her. She would eat whether she wanted to or not. And if it was there, she would undoubtedly eat it. Eventually. She was usually good about that sort of thing.
“Byleth, I’m coming in,” he said.
However, when he pushed the door open, he found her room was completely empty. Her computer screen was on. Perhaps he had missed her when she went to the bathroom? Or she was finally moving about the house?
He set the plate next to her computer monitor. Curious, he picked up a game case sitting innocently on the desk. The Magic Realm? He flipped it over, not even finding a summary of the game on the back. Or ratings. Or anything else for that matter. Just The Magic Realm written in elegant gold script.