A/N: Update 2014
I have finally grown as a writer to where I don't hunger for concrit as much as I used to. Feel free to review if you'd like, but that's entirely up to you. :)
Tweedles
By Baby Kat Snophlake
"Just like the Don, Yuri Lowell wasn't the kind of man who would die just because you killed him. Likewise, so shall Yuri be remembered. We have gathered here to celebrate his life rather than to mourn his death as Yuri himself would have wanted…" As Yuri's eulogy was read, everyone gathered had become lost in their own thoughts. Among the guildsmen, several imperial citizens had arrived to pay their respects, including the Schwann Brigade, still limited to the same three people: Leblanc, and his underlings Adecor and Boccos.
Adecor stared at the man reading the eulogy, while doing his best not to show any sadness. Boccos must have been feeling the same way because when he spoke, his voice was shaky and soft. "He never did tell us what a 'tweedle' was…" A fact the both of them had been pondering for ages. Everyone from their generation who still lived had gray hair, among other signs of old age. Many of the generation before them had already died. Friends their own age and younger were beginning to thin in numbers. To add to that, Boccos had to bring up the one mystery that plagued them both all these years.
"Also, as fulfillment of Yuri's will, we have included a special message. 'Just so that such knowledge will not die with me, I bequeath to you all the inside joke I have laughed about all these years. Tweedle A is tweedledum, and Tweedle B is tweedledee. Figure it out for yourselves, boys.'" At that the reader raised an eyebrow and glanced up. "What does that mean? 'Figure it out for yourselves.' Who's he talking to?"
Adecor shook with rage. Instead of answering the question satisfactorily, Yuri only raised more questions. Then Estelle giggled, pointing to Adecor and Boccos. They both looked at her, but they weren't the only ones.
"What's so funny?" Boccos asked, defensive.
"Yeah, I say, you'd better start talking." Adecor said.
"Well, you see… I read in a book that tweedledum and tweedledee were two musicians who rivaled each other. They'd play their fiddles for anyone who would listen, but they argued about who was the better fiddler. They decided to have a contest, but they were so equal, they were indistinguishable. It wasn't until an Entelexeia swooped down and scared them so badly, they forgot about deciding a winner. To this day, it's anyone guess who actually won their contest, but it did end the rivalry. Anymore, the fiddler's names have come to represent people who are indistinguishable either in looks, talent, or personality. Yuri's been teasing you all these years about being so similar, it's hard to tell you apart!"
Adecor and Boccos exchanged glances, taking a step back to survey each other. Adecor was several feet taller than the round Boccos, whose neck was thicker than Adecor's arm. At the same time, they sputtered about their own differences, but even Leblanc laughed with the rest of the crowd. Adecor and Boccos were more similar than they realized. Yup, Yuri Lowell sure had a sense of humor…
A/N: I was curious what a "tweedle" was so I looked it up. "Tweedle" is actually a verb meaning a high-pitched sound as a bird, singer, or musical instrument. It can also mean to play lightly on a musical instrument. There are also stories about fiddlers, tweedledum and tweedledee (AKA: Giovanni Bononcini and Handel), as well as the twins you might or might not remember from Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll, in 1871. The first known recorded use of tweedledum and tweedledee was the poem by John Byrom sometime between 1715-1725:
"Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
Strange all this Difference should be
'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!"
Also, tweedledum and tweedledee were part of a nursery rhyme published in the early 1800s:
"Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel."
Lastly, the fiddlers part came from Dictionary dot com : Two people or two groups resembling each other so closely that they are practically indistinguishable. After Tweedledum and Tweedledee, names of two proverbial rival fiddlers, of imitative origin. Also, two persons or things nominally different but practically the same; a nearly identical pair.
I thought it was fascinating, so I wrote the story about it, and, as an afterthought, decided to post here my findings for anyone who is curious.
Thanks for reading! :D
-Kat