022 ♍ video ♍ yes this is during school hours

[glowsferatu]

[ the scene opens on the desk in kanaya's room, with her sitting behind it. on top of it is a book turned upside down, the cover showing a large man caressing the leg of a woman mostly out of the frame. loose ends, by c.m. guarde, and kanaya seems to be already halfway through it. next to it is a water bottle half-full of a thick, red liquid.

the curtains are drawn, and the only light in the room seems to be coming from her. she has her chin propped up in her hand, and her eyes are heavily lidded, not as made-up as usual. she hasn't left her room all day except to buy this book. ]

It's funny, isn't it. The things one will do out of a hope for love. How much one will ignore, and agonize over, and consciously blind herself to. It comes to a point where you have to wonder whether Kristof is even worth the effort, but nonetheless, Nora makes no sign of relenting. She believes because she has to, and maybe if it should end in the worst possible manner, she will find a way through it still, to remain with the one she loves.

There's something beautiful in that. Tragic, perhaps, but still meaningful. And maybe it that which keeps drawing me back to the series. If Kristof could have someone to love him so much, could there be hope for the rest of us?

[ she turns the book back over, raising an eyebrow at the text. ] But it's still only fiction. That may ultimately be an unfair expectation of the world.

[ she slides over her bottle to take a quick sip from it. ]

Is anyone else reading these?

Comments

[glowsferatu]

I don't know, sometimes I like the surprises the local scheme allows. Or, you know, the opportunity to answer that very question you just asked.

[ she leans to the side, looking for something on her desk. finally, she sets down a paperback in front of the camera, the pages a bit curled from use. it features that same large man, this time holding a woman's hand in his firm grip, a rope tied around her wrist. karkat vantas, meet arrested restraint. ]

It's a period drama, set sometime in this world's past. Seventy years or so, but that isn't really important. Nora Gold is a detective for the local policing authority, investigating a murder, but before she knows it, her life is swept up into the passion and intrigue of a very rough and sensual man who turns out to be a suspect in her case.

You can imagine how the drama accumulates from there.

[crab]

Huh. [ he looks a little uncomfortable, when law enforcement is brought up. that still has some sensitive associations for him. ] Okay, I guess that sounds pretty decent. Is it an ongoing series?

[glowsferatu]

Well, I doubt the central concept could be maintained indefinitely, I'm a little surprised it's lasted as long as it has already, but there will be a third book being released after these preceding two.

[crab]

Oh, no shit, because I totally just assumed that it would stretch out into eternity, an infinite stream of sequels being regurgitated from the void, because that makes so much fucking sense. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Kanaya.

It sounds alright, though, even if humanity's portrayals of romance are pretty much laughably pedestrian compared to ours. I'll probably check it out.

[glowsferatu]

You never know, they do tend to do that every now and then. Maybe not as often recently, but some series set out without a concrete in mind. It was probably more common twenty years ago, looking at the examples from back then.

And, honestly, I don't know about your romances, but mine certainly don't inspire any kind of amusement by comparison.

[crab]

Uh. I dunno if I want to go into my own personal romantic life right now. [ we don't talk about karkat's quadrants. ] I was just saying, it leaves a lot to be desired, only ever focusing on one quadrant.

[glowsferatu]

You probably shouldn't, then, it was mostly a joke.

All the same, for its singular focus, you can find some interesting permutations of, and approaches to, that one quadrant.

[crab]

I guess. [ a little grudgingly. there's a pause, and then; ] Yeah, okay. I'll concede that some of their works of fiction can be pretty compelling. If nothing else, it's fascinating from an extraterrestrial cultural standpoint.

[glowsferatu]

Precisely! [ her eyes light up, maybe not literally, but it's a subject she certainly enjoys thinking about. ] And it's a culture we should better understand, if we're to be so endlessly surrounded by it. It's important to know about humans to interact with them, and at least try to understand the sort of mindset that could satisfy itself with so reductive a system.

[ she flips through the book a moment, tracing back a few of the pages she'd dog-earred. a smirk sneaks onto her lips as she continues. ] The process tends to be far more entertaining than one might think, if you don't get caught up in thoughts of cultural superiority.

[crab]

Don't you ever miss ours, though? [ he honestly doesn't know how he feels about either alternia or earth. he feels kind of caught in between the two and confused. ] I mean, I kinda doubt there are any books about rainbow drinkers on this planet.

[glowsferatu]

My books?

[ she pauses and looks directly at the camera, closing the book and pressing her lips together tightly. ] My books were really my only direct connection to our culture.

They weren't always accurate, and, I guess in retrospect a lot of them were rather silly. But...yeah. I wouldn't mind having them again, if it were possible.

[crab]

Sorry I called them trashy, by the way. [ he pauses a moment, too, thinking.

then, cautiously; ]

I know it's not the same thing, and is more in line with my interests than yours... but I had a couple of Alternian movies in my sylladex when I showed up here. If you wanted, I could let you hang on to some of them for a while?

[glowsferatu]

They kind of were, honestly. But there is still gold among the dross, treasure among the trash.

But yes, I think I might like that. I'd like it better if you would join me to watch them, of course. Perhaps we could stage some Day of Alternian Remembrance, an opportunity for us all to reflect on what was left behind.

[crab]

We don't have to make a big formal production out of it. It'd be cool just hanging out with you. We could check out some human flicks, too, if there's time.

[glowsferatu]

Have you seen the Crescent adaptation yet? Astral and I rather enjoyed it, and I think it may pertain to your interests well enough.

[crab]

[ karkat tenses noticeably at the mention of astral's name, but otherwise makes no comment on him. goddamn why are so many people threatening him these days?? ]

There's an adaptation already? Fuck, I am behind the times. I'm embarrassed to exist right now. No, I haven't seen it.

[glowsferatu]

[ she misses just what the tenseness is about, think maybe the announcement simply caught him off guard. ]

It was in theaters in November, but I missed the premiere because, well. [ she decides it would be better leaving that one unsaid. ] I have it on home release, so perhaps a double feature?

[crab]

It's kinda difficult to stay abreast of the human cultural curve when you have a steady stream of diarrhea aimed directly at the metaphorical threshing device, yeah. I'd like to watch it.

[glowsferatu]

[ she makes a bit of a face. ] That's certainly a vivid way to phrase it. But true all the same.

Which Alternian films do you have?

[crab]

Enough that attempting to list them using their titles would take more time than I'm willing to spend on doing so.

[glowsferatu]

And here we meet the failure in our system. How many is it, exactly?

[crab]

Three that I can part with. Sorry, Kanaya, but you can't have Troll Will Smith.

[glowsferatu]

If we're watching one together, I would think you'd be able to bring it home with you afterward. But fine, who do these three feature?

[crab]

Yeah, but I'm going to leave you with some, aren't I? Anyway, there's Troll Audrey Hepburn, Troll Patrick Swayze, Troll Demi Moore, Troll Tom Hanks, and Troll Meg Ryan. You'll like them.

[ basically he is giving her alternian ghost, breakfast at tiffany's, and sleepless in seattle. ]

[glowsferatu]

[ okay good you said so otherwise i would've thought dirty dancing (which doesn't have demi moore...) and you've got mail. ]

And these I can watch in my own time, yes? I do like Troll Audrey Hepburn.