capeandcowl | 022 ♍ video ♍ yes this is during school hours

[ 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?

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[ kanaya actually sports a rare smile, dumb books are one of her favorite things to talk about. ]

The second installment to one, it was only released today. There's a third still upcoming, but I wouldn't be surprised if that were the last.

[Minako brightens up in enthusiasm in response to that smile.]

Tell me about them? I might need to give the first one a try.

Oh, well, you know, just your typical sort of romance novel disguised as a crime thriller. What makes it truly special, aside from a predilection for light bondage, is that the romance it's a part of isn't exactly typical, either.

Not typical, hmm... in what way?

Well, just as I said at first. It's...more complicated. More real.

It feels like it could never have a happy ending.

Haha, I admit, usually I like for the books I read to end happily.

...but it's true that sometimes it's more satisfying if it doesn't... since life's like that, too. Complicated.

Yes, they can be fine and all. Every now and again, perhaps. But every time I encounter one, I can't seem to divorce myself from the fantasy of the outcome.

I see... it's harder to get into if it feels like it's not relevant to your life, huh? That makes sense.

Thinking about it that way, I wonder if it wouldn't be better if so many stories didn't have ideal happy endings. Do you think they give people unrealistic ideas about what to expect out of life?

I think they tend to foster more unrealistic expectations when they don't recognize their own responsibility to see them realized. Loftier dreams, I think, are only for those who want an excuse to bemoan their current circumstances.

Recognizing your responsibility to see your dreams realized... I like that.

Well, that's the entire purpose of hope, isn't it? To inspire us to action, not only to withhold us from surrender. It would be a bit of a waste otherwise. After all, there will be times when you don't have the luxury of hope or surrender.

Yes, I think you're exactly right. If the limit of what hope could accomplish were to keep us from giving up, then that would be no different from fooling ourselves, after all.

Edited (minor tweak) 2013-06-13 21:47 (UTC)

The problem, I think, is in those who've never truly been without it not appreciating its full value.

That's true of most things, isn't it? It's rare for people to really appreciate what they've always had until they've lost it.

But it doesn't keep them from acting like experts on the topic, all the same. Only speculation on what that lack would do to them, with no real understanding of what one must endure in spite of it.

[ she lets out a sigh, putting up her hands. ] I have enough to deal with without such excuses.

[She's quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful, and maybe faintly troubled.]

Is it something that's impossible to understand unless you've experienced it, do you think?

[ she presses a hand to her mouth, thinking about it. her first instinct is to say yes, but then she remembers the original topic. ]

I don't know. Maybe. I can't remember for myself, at least.

But then we also read in an attempt to understand experiences beyond our own, don't we? I suppose I wouldn't dismiss the potential of it occurring simply because it's not a common occurrence.

At the very least, I'd like to think that it's good for people to try to understand other people's experiences... even if it's not something that's easily accomplished.

Perhaps it would. But then, not all of us are meant to be understood, either, and the lack of it isn't going to keep us from doing what we must.

Yes, that's true. And trying to understand isn't the same thing as succeeding, either.

That's a trap I'm pretty sure that I fall into a lot.

It might not be a rare one. I think I've stumbled through it once or twice myself. [ very low estimate, that. ]

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