Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei.
Shout-outs:
AnimeAngelRin: (Beams) Did you know, that chapter didn't turn out as good as I thought it would be? I was having real trouble after Tsuzuki snaps out of his madness.
Aacire: Not so much an intense battle, but an intense smackdown courtesy of Ruka. Is it unhealthy that I love her so much, when we've never seen her in canon? By the way, I hope you noticed, and that I pulled off, the parallelism between Tsubaki-Hisoka in chapter 2, and Ruka-Tsuzuki in chapter 11. That's why I liked it when AEK said Tsubaki-Hisoka was a sibling relationship. (Jeez, here I am telling my Humanities class that author intent doesn't matter, yet I'm explaining my techniques!)
Eternity's Heir: I really want to do a third segment, too. This little idea that germinated with imaging a scene in a coffee shop between Tsuzuki and Hisoka has become an epic project. Making it an epic trilogy would be just fantastic.
Masami-chan: I mentioned this once before: I invented Ruka's character on accident. When I first envisioned her, she was quiet, demure, and sweet. Ha, that personality passed right along to Ukyo and the modern Ruka was born in chapter seven of Second Death. I keep thinking it'd be fun to write Ruka and Ukyo meeting in Heaven, but I have no idea what I would write for it, unless I wanna write Ruka/Ukyo…which is interesting…but they're both Tsuzuki's sisters. Hmmm…Ukyo and Tsuzuki share a father…and Ruka and Tsuzuki share a mother! It's not incest! (Happy dance). Not that I have anything against people who practice incest (just, no kids, okay?), but it's not my cup o' tea. I'm JKing about R/U, though. Ruka/Shinji is love. Ukyo/Muraki is…something.
Amethyst-eyed Koneko: You know what's weird? I'm not sure I'm satisfied completely with the last chapter. Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot (especially Ruka's part), but…maybe it's because it took so long to write. Nevertheless, I'm glad you all enjoyed it.
Regarding Tsuzuki's mental health and stability; the psycho-emotional Tsusoka is being put off. This chapter is going to be full of exposition; the next focuses on everyone but Tsusoka (Dodges projectiles), meaning we're finally going to see some W/T and Watari-angst, Oriya's reaction to Muraki's death, some Wakaba/Terazuma, and I might set myself up for the third story. But fear not! The chapter after next is completely Tsuzuki/Hisoka, and I really—and I do mean really—want it to be even more powerful than the honeymoon chapter in Second Death.
To see the icon, type in fictionalley . org. Click on the portrait of the red-haired kid looking out the window. Scroll down to the "Writer's Corner" section and click on "Writing Beyond Fanfic". Then find the link where it says "Keys to Relationships". I'm the first responder. The icon is really beautiful; just the border design is gorgeous in itself, and they used that picture in the opening sequence of Hisoka in Tsuzuki's lap…it's just so pretty.
The sonnet was difficult for me to get at first, too (Shakespeare eludes me sometimes). What's funny is that I don't think Tsuzuki would fully understand it if he read it. Hisoka would catch on real quick, though (imagine the snarky sweetness of Hisoka explaining it to him…my teeth rot at the fluffy goodness).
Ah, the third installment. It began when I wrote that Rui was pregnant. She was actually supposed to be already visibly pregnant in Second Death, but I think I took that out because it wasn't important at the time. Anyway, she's about 5 months along, and that's going to be important. I'm definitely going to do something with Hisoka's brother in the epilogue, but I just don't know if I have a structure for a third story. In any case, I just have to write the several mini-prologues to this story (I wanna write Watari/Kyo so bad), plus I want to do a kind of parody of The Spoon River Anthology, so that might take precedence until I have a set plan for the third story.
Kiko812: Feel free to re-read! I'm sorry for the delay.
Demnoyo: Ha, that's so true about Ruka. Well, if you can get over having your heart shot out of your chest, you can get over anything, I guess. I just really want her to be the kind of person who looks at things like this and goes, "Come on, this sh-t again?", stomps into the fray, gives a few whacks with her metaphorical stirring spoon, and the mess is all cleared up.
Phaerie-Mage 1313: (Salivates over cookies) I guess not being nervous about other people's reactions is better than being a masochist. And you will get a chance to read the essay.
You want to read something of mine? Well, I fact, I'm trying to write something publishable now…it's what takes time away from fanfic. I might gauge its reaction at Fiction Press first, once I get through this business of starting properly…(Smile) I'm just glad y'all like my writing; since I'm the kind of person who looks back over my old stuff and cringes.
Off-Topic Rambling #1: Okay, so you've guessed my actual age is 19, or anywhere from 28 to 33. My real age as of 9/21/06 is…drum roll please…17! (Fans pick their jaws off floor) I didn't think you guys would think I was that much older than 17! I thought my having to edit the swear words and my rather reluctant attitudes towards writing lemons would give it away.
Of course, I would like to thank you all for saying my writing is mid/late twenties. To think I'm writing at ten years above my age makes me just giddy.
Words and Meaning
"I think…I think we just won."
The other, conscious six looked at Watari silently. It had been a handful of minutes since Tatsumi had rescued Touda and no one had spoken since Touda's barked order to leave Kushinada in his leg. Wakaba had gained back enough strength to replace Tatsumi's shadow with her own holy shield and now Tatsumi sat unceremoniously on the bottom of the circle, supporting himself against Watari while trying not to agitate his broken bone; his healing power too exhausted to fix it.
"I mean, Touda, you just…completely obliterated Hell, didn't you."
"Yeah…I'm pretty sure I did," Touda said through a groan.
"Don't talk, you idiot, you're wasting your strength," Suzaku ordered. She knelt by his head, just inches away from her master.
"Aww, Suzaku, you really do care…"
"Feh…fool."
"Yeah, I know…"stupid dancing fire snake". You drunken bird," he added in a whisper.
Hisoka made a small noise in his unconsciousness, and Tsuzuki once again shifted to hold him more comfortably. Kurikara sent him a sharp glance.
"Yeah, Hell's gone," Kurikara said. "Now how do we get out of here? Did you destroy the gates into Meifu, Touda?"
Touda shrugged, difficultly. "Hell if I know."
"In other words, we might be caved in here?" Kira put forth, her voice raising slightly in pitch. "You're sh-tting me."
"We're not going to know until we find the actual gates," Wakaba put forward.
"And we'll just whip out our handy gate tracking device and be all set!" Kurikara said sarcastically.
"Man you are a real piece of work, aren't you, Kurikara? It was probably Susano who dreamed you up."
"Amaterasu-sama!" Wakaba yelped, and all six heads snapped up.
"Who the hell are you?" Kurikara hissed at the saint floating serenely outside their bubble.
"Your mom," Amaterasu said flippantly, as Wakaba glared at on him her behalf. "Iam the matron saint of the sun and the people. And I was coming to help, but it looks like you did just fine without me. So I guess you don't need me to get you out of here…"
"How did you get in here?" Tatsumi asked.
"I can come here at will. Didn't think it'd be so easy, though, I've never really wanted to visit my brother before." Amaterasu placed her palms gently against the sphere Wakaba had created. "All righty then, give me a sec and I'll get you back to Gensoukai, 'kay?"
"You know, as trite as it sounds, you really appreciate a blue sky and green grass after being in Hell."
"Yeah, and you guys were only there a day," Amaterasu said, indicating the bright afternoon sun that had been setting when they had first set off into Hell, as she eyed the sword in Touda's leg. "Kushinada's pretty even as a sword," she muttered, fingering the delicate purple jewels on the hilt before taking it firmly in hand. "Sit tight, this'll smart a bit."
Touda let out a groan of pain as Amaterasu pulled the sword out in one swift movement. Suzaku winced, and slowly inched her way out of the grimace as Amaterasu placed her hand over the wound and closed it.
"How you feeling over there?" Amaterasu called, as Tatsumi set the small vial of Holy Water on the ground.
"Better," he said, as the snapped bone began to meld back into one piece and his strength restored itself to him.
"Good. The rest of you can go without, right? …I'll take the general silence to be a "yes"."
Amaterasu settled fully on the ground, laying the bloodstained sword next to her.
"Okay, so what happened down here? Is there a reason why Hell is a gaping black hole?"
"Touda has the power to completely eradicate his surroundings with his fire," Tsuzuki answered for his Shikigami. His grip on Hisoka had not been relinquished but merely transformed, now into a sort of half-cradling across his lap.
"That's useful. I take it you got stuck with Kushinada while you were in the process of that?"
"Yep," Touda said, completely sitting up and folding his legs, suddenly eternally grateful for the use of them.
"How'd you survive?"
"I'm a shadow-master," Tatsumi explained, rising to his feet despite Watari's hand movements protesting for the contrary. "I put us all in a shadow, and then Wakaba replaced it with the shield."
"Nice, girlie!" Amaterasu said, smiling proudly at her miko, who beamed under the praise.
"Right, this is all peachy, but where have you been, Miss "Matron saint"?" Kurikara snarled.
"He wasn't there when you told us," Wakaba quickly importuned as Amaterasu sent him an annoyed glare.
"Show some d-mn respect," Amaterasu said, though her irritated glower lessened. "If you must know, Heaven's been at war, too. Metatron tried to take over; he wanted the apocalypse now and, you know, couldn't let that happen. He's been defeated, though, and the rest of them, too. That's why I came; I was all done up there. And I'll have you know, Tsuzuki, that your sister is quite the fierce little fighter."
"That sounds like her," Tsuzuki said, his voice a mix of affection for her and listlessness.
"Too bad she missed out on the last bit, as she got called away." Amaterasu sent a small wink at Hisoka. "Oh, yes, put this stuff on him when you get a moment."
Tsuzuki luckily managed to catch the small tube of Holy Water before it hit the ground. From the outside it looked thicker than usual.
"It's a salve for burns," Amaterasu said by way of explanation. "I figured he'd need it," she added, looking pointed at the burnt edges of holes in his clothes and the skin that had turned red and brown.
"Thanks…"
"Well, anyway, Metatron's been destroyed, and so've most of his followers," Amamterasu said, a sigh escaping. "It must really suck to be God, having your nearest and dearest saint turn on you."
"Amaterasu-sama, why didn't God…just take care of this Himself?" Wakaba asked delicately. "I know that my Hajime-chan asked that, but you didn't give him an answer…you were in a rush," she added apologetically.
"Oh, that guy? He seemed too pragmatic to understand," Amaterasu said.
"Understand what?" Kurikara asked darkly.
"That there's absolutely no point in us being alive if God just wraps things nice and tidy up for us. Good is worth nothing if there is no evil. What the eff," she smiled, "is life worth if we don't even have our own minds to choose between the two? Timshel all the way, baby."
Tsuzuki looked up to stare at Amaterasu as Tatsumi inquired as to the meaning of the word.
""Thou mayest"," Amaterasu said. ""Thou mayest triumph over sin", in it's full context."
Amaterasu stood and brushed off her kimono, taking Kushinada in hand. "So…I guess everyone's gone then? Susano, Izanami, Kazutaka, the Shikome…they all died in the fire?"
"Everyone who was in Hell, besides us, is completely gone," Touda said. "At least…they don't exist as they did before."
"Oh, yes…I guess it's just a matter of time…a long time, though…for Hell to reform in some way," Amaterasu said.
"Muraki…he died before the fire," Tsuzuki said.
"He did?" Tatsumi said.
"Yes…he…killed himself," Tsuzuki said.
"That's amazing. What led up to his death?" Amaterasu queried.
"He…hurt Hisoka," Tsuzuki explained difficultly. "I…went insane and I…I used my power…and I killed Akuko…he was there. And then Muraki just looked at me…said he'd "won"…and then he said he was sorry, to Ukyo and Oriya…and then he just shot himself."
"What about after that?" Amaterasu pressed.
"I…hated myself more than ever then…" Tsuzuki said, with increasing sickness in his heart. "And then Izanami and Kushinada took me away and tried to…convince me…that I belonged with them…for killing somebody."
"Oh…well then, it's not surprising that he suicided."
"What do you mean?" Tatsumi demanded.
"I didn't know the guy personally, but I knew a lot about him. I know enough to know he was a right twisted b-st-rd and his greatest pleasure in life was to manipulate people. You were the object of his addiction, Tsuzuki. It was just an added bonus that his dad needed you. So when you went nuts, he got what he wanted…but you ever hear that saying that the worst thing that can happen to someone is to get what they most want? 'Cause once you do, there's nothing left to live for. And he didn't give a flying rat's –ss about ruling the universe; that was Susano's thing. Plus, dying in front of you, without letting you kill him…it would only torture you more. So in the end…he got what he wanted, anyway."
"What did he mean by apologizing?" Tsuzuki asked quietly, staring at the ground.
"Umm…Ukyo tells me that he actually did love her. Guess nothing can be "pure" evil. I guess he loved that Oriya person, too. He knew his ways would hurt them—I guess that's why he apologized. He was a selfish waste of carbon but he felt some semblance of love, I guess. Maybe he wouldn't have turned out so bad if his mother hadn't gotten hold of him. That woman was bat sh-t insane."
Amaterasu swung Kushinada outward from her, letting it circle until finally falling neatly into her palm. "Same thing with this one, here. She was a good person; even Susano couldn't corrupt her completely. I guess someone has to look after her now…she should pick up where she left off. Don't know how I'm going to figure this one out…but if there's a second chance to be had, it's a sin to waste it."
She glanced at Tsuzuki.
"All right, then," she continued. "I guess you guys don't need me anymore. And I have to clean up a big mess upstairs. Kansei's not far off and…here." She tossed Kira another small bottle. "Just in case. Enma's been reinstalled at the Gates, you fill him in on what happened, okay?"
"Got it," Kira responded.
"So now, I bid you all adieu," Amaterasu said, with a sweeping bow, and then disappeared.
"I'm going home."
"I thought this place was your home now," Touda said, looking at Kurikara. He was resting on a piece of debris, his healed leg still slightly too weak to be walked on for any length of time.
"My home isn't a ruined city," Kurikara said, surveying the totaled landscape. "I won't sleep in Kansei until I've fixed her."
"Yeah, you do that," Kira said, rolling her eyes. "And all by yourself, too."
"F-ck off," Kurikara snarled. "And you."
Tsuzuki looked up from where he had been intently studying Hisoka's face. Kurikara took over the staring for him.
"Tell the kid he won my challenge, as he's still alive."
"As tactful as a blunt axe," Suzaku muttered from where she was, beside Tsuzuki, one hand on his shoulder and the other lightly brushing Hisoka's bangs out of his pale face.
"Tact is for those not strong enough to tell it like it is."
"Or for an –sshole."
"It's all in the semantics," Touda put forward amusedly.
"And tell the kid it's not going to be easy, either," Kurikara said with a sneer.
"I don't think he'll want it to be easy," Tsuzuki said quietly, as Kurikara teleported away.
"He's just a b-st-rd, Tsuzuki, don't listen to him," Suzaku said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Hey, Suzaku, can I talk to you for a second?" Touda called, signaling for her to come closer.
Suzaku glanced worriedly at her master, her hand twitching. Tsuzuki look at her hand, pale with drained energy and splashed with dried blood, and looked up it into her face.
"You go to Touda," he said.
"Are you sure?" she questioned, letting go of him.
"Yeah. Oh, but Suzaku?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry…for just leaving you like that yesterday," he said.
"I'm not angry," Suzaku said reassuringly. "You were desperate; I understand that. Sure it was stupid, but I can't stay mad at you. You know that." A film of tears was beginning to line her lower eyelids.
"Thanks…and thanks, for coming after me…for putting yourself in danger."
"It was my absolute pleasure, Tsuzuki. That's what I promised to do, right?"
She reached forward to squeeze his hand, and then pulled away, towards Touda.
"What do you need with me?" she asked as she approached.
"Nothing, I just thought Tsuzuki needed a sec with his husband," Touda said. He drew his injured leg up to his chest, clasping his hands around the wounded area.
"How's your leg?"
"Hurts a bit, but it's nothing I can't get over." Touda winked at her. "Hey, speaking of what Kurikara said…did I pass your test?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You said that I could prove myself to you if I was willing to die for you. I didn't get much of that exact opportunity, but getting stabbed, y'know, might make up for that…so, what do you say? Did I pass your test?"
Suzaku placed her hand on his knee and leaned forward.
"With flying f-cking colors."
And for the first time, she was the one who initiated a kiss.
"Strange…I didn't know there were f-cking colors," Touda said a second after they pulled apart.
"You make it extremely difficult to care for you, you know that?"
"Well, I'd worry if we hadn't just been through Hell together, and quiet literally, at that. I'll just take pride in my triumph; that I got you to love me."
Suzaku snorted, and straightened up. "You have a long way to go for me to love you, Touda. But after this, I certainly like you well enough."
"Take your wins when you get them, eh?" Touda said, grinning. "I'll make you fall for me yet, Suzaku-chan."
"It won't happen if you keep being sarcastic."
"Guys!"
The half-hearted bickering was cut off as Wakaba came running back, her arm waving frantically in the air.
"I got ahold of the twins," she called, stopping several feet away. "They're waiting for us at the gate. We're going home."
(Quote here)
Oy…that wasn't too terribly exciting. No wonder it got done in two days. I would have combined this and the next chapter just to make it more interesting, but they seemed so radically different theme-wise to me that they each deserved their own segment.
Truthfully, I designed this one to be a calm between storms. Amaterasu just says what was needed to be said, Touda/Suzaku makes some headway, the Hisoka-Kurikara plot wraps up, and they head home. I'm also glad I got that thing about Muraki out there; it's what I really think about him. He's a twisted sadist but he still has the capacity to love. I think that's what makes him such a great villain, actually.
Okay, then. Please forgive me if you were bored, and please look forward to the next one.
Okay, since it's been requested, I'm going to post the essay early for you.
Question #5: Select a piece of art, and describe the effect it has had on your life.
Combine computer-scanned drawings and a fascinating storyline. Sprinkle in some exceptionally talented actors. Stir in my head for a few months, and voila! Behold my favorite art form: anime (Japanese animation), and one anime in particular: Yami no Matsuei, which, contrary to the garden-variety public television mind-numbing drivel, is as worthy to be analyzed as literature.
So what did I bestow my analyzing skills on? My favorite: romance.
The two protagonists' evolving relationship is the focus of the show, anyway. The setting is Meifu, a purgatory of sorts where those who died with regrets can reside while they try to rectify their lives' mistakes. Eighteen are assigned to work as detectives investigating death-related anomalies. Hero number one is Tsuzuki, a friendly suicide case who killed himself after eight years of insanity following a massacre he blames himself for. Hero number two is Hisoka, a surly murder victim who was rejected by his parents as a child and languished an agonizing death for three years following a rape.
Their first meeting involved Hisoka accusing Tsuzuki at gunpoint of being a vampire wanted for homicide. Not an auspicious meeting. Nevertheless, the relationship improves as they discover the antagonist, a sociopath named Muraki, forcibly resurrected the real vampire to get Tsuzuki's attention. (Why? You'll have to watch the show to find out.) At the end of the second episode, Muraki kidnaps Hisoka, and after a battle and a narrow escape, Hisoka offers to leave the partnership at the end of the third episode. Tsuzuki pulls the old bait-and-switch and says he wants Hisoka to stay. Hisoka asks him why he cares so much, and Tsuzuki answers, "Because you're my partner."
This line would later come back to me when I was doing what most fans do: writing fanfiction (as in, stories written by fans), the noble, legal, non-profit art of trashing authorial intent. In January of 2006 I began writing 'Til Second Death Do Us Part, a wedding story which delves into Hisoka's fear of sexual abuse (great theme for a wedding story, eh?). In chapter 10, Hisoka returns to the site of his rape to gain closure, but fails, complete with panic attack. Back in Meifu and after a long silence, Tsuzuki tells him (edited for brevity's sake):"I told you that I would protect you … and you asked me why I cared. I told you "Because you're my partner". …"And we're also" "Life partners". …Partners… have to work in a way that benefits them both, otherwise the partnership falls apart." He then offers Hisoka the choice of putting off romantic contact despite their imminent marriage, because: "For me to deny you that decision would end both our partnerships. I can't…won't let that happen. I love you. What makes you happy makes me happy. What's good for you is what'll be good for me."
My eighth-grade English teacher told me, "Writers are not concerned with facts, only with what it true." This idea that a writer's goal is to create a situation where their personal beliefs and desires come true has remained with me throughout my writing career. This explanation of a romantic partnership is my view of love. While I fail to buy into the ideal that one can live on love and fresh air, I recognize and appreciate the power of the emotion. My view of true love is the ability to see and understand your significant other, to respect their wishes and fears, and to ultimately put them first. In other words, to be true partners. I despise this popular view of love as sexual attraction renamed "feelings." Attraction is important to be sure, but not the alpha and omega. I even prefer, as in this instance, that attraction come after the friendship.
Back to the actual series. The final story arc explores Tsuzuki's personal demons. Literally, as he and we are informed that his DNA is not human. He confides this information to Hisoka, flashbacking to his youth when he was ruthlessly beaten for his inhuman purple eyes. Hisoka insists on his humanity, but fails to completely reassure him. A few deaths, an explosion, and a bizarre case of anthropomorphism later (all executed by Muraki to make Tsuzuki feel responsible) leave Tsuzuki completely insane. Fans know that Tsuzuki blames himself for everything shy of the Kennedy assassination and suffers an unstable mental state due to an insanely low amount of self-esteem. So when Muraki kidnaps him, he decides to pull a murder-suicide (destroying yourself completely induces "true" death) by setting the building on fire.
Then come two scenes that cement most fans' interpretations of Tsuzuki and Hisoka as a couple. The first is a desperate swordfight between Hisoka and Muraki's friend, Oriya, over the keys to where Muraki is holding Tsuzuki. After being slashed, Hisoka embarks on this monologue: "Tsuzuki has saved me many times before. When I was so mistrustful of people…and so crushed in spirit after my death…he…gently and calmly gave me love and warmth. He always…he always protected me with his smile! If Tsuzuki is in trouble, then I want to save him. This time I want to be his strength!"
Cue collective fan nosebleeds. The second scene is after Hisoka finally makes it to Tsuzuki, only to find the building alight. Despite a companion's opinion that death is what Tsuzuki wants, Hisoka jumps right into the burning building. He makes his way to Tsuzuki, who initially refuses to be saved, asserting, "I'm tired…I'm not supposed to exist." In response, Hisoka throws himself against Tsuzuki, sobbing, arguing, "I want you to exist, even if it's just for me! I don't want to be alone anymore! This is the only place for me…just here, in your heart."
Admittedly, I can't watch the scene without wanting to cry even to this day, but it is somewhat unsettling. It is perpetually in the shadow of "Death was surely his wish." Tsuzuki's mind was manipulated and one could argue he would never have tried suicide again had he been sane, but justified or not, Tsuzuki spent years hating himself, and death would have ended his suffering. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that the pair love each other. But the thought that selfish behavior entered the picture tainted what I otherwise consider my paradigm of true romantic love. Self-centeredness has always been one of my personal anathemas, and the thought of self-centeredness in a romantic relationship makes my blood boil.
I tried to resolve this while writing 'Til Second Death Do Us Part, and I tackled it in chapter the first, with Hisoka asking if Tsuzuki was angry with him for the rescue. Tsuzuki assures him that anger is the furthest thing from his mind: he's actually grateful because, at the time, he felt like his existence was a detriment to those he loved (Tsuzuki lives to make other people happy), and to be told that someone really needed him to be alive was "the best thing that anyone could ever do." He also pointed out that had he refused to be saved, Hisoka would have died with him, "to let me know I was loved."
That left me pretty satisfied regarding the idea of self-centeredness. But I later realized that it supports the "all you need is love" theory, which I despise because I find it dangerous and self-limiting to live exclusively for someone else (you don't need to be self-centered to have your own identity. In fact, you need your own identity to love and be loved). This caused some problems. Writers deal in personal truth, right?
Eventually I remembered a book that I loathe and love at the same time (très masochistic): Gone With The Wind. The book put forth the idea of a "mainspring," the one thing that holds you up when everything else is lost, and the loss of this mainspring would "bust" you. It made a lot of sense to me when I read the book. In applying the idea to my favorite anime, I realized that I needed to expand my perception of the concept into knowing that it's not "pathetic", like I'd previously believed, for one's mainspring to be another person. It dawned on me that it was just fine that Tsuzuki is Hisoka's mainspring, and vice-versa. It didn't mean they were codependent, or that they had no lives outside of each other, or that they didn't care for anything or anyone else. It was just that their most important things were each other.
It's little wonder they're my model couple regarding all my encounters with love, fictional or real-life.
Let's recap. I've established that romantic love is a partnership, that selfishness has no place in love, and it's fine to have your mainspring be another person.
Now, to be honest, viewing romantic love as a partnership was not some radical idea that completely eclipsed my worldview, and it wasn't until very recently that I began debating the power of love in determining self-sufficiency. In truth, I had never really philosophized about romantic love, and always took it at face value. But that is the power of the show. It makes you think about these things. And as with everything, what you learn from the show can follow you for the rest of your life. It certainly will in mine.
So how has this art affected my life? It has prompted and expanded my search regarding love, self-centeredness, interdependence, and our psychological backbones. It's given me my model of romantic love. And if nothing else, it's given me a series full of beautifully drawn and gorgeously multi-faceted characters to salivate over.
(The essay was actually five pages originally. I edited it, but only got to make it four. My teacher told me I should've taken out the parts about the plot, and I suppose I could have edited out the part about the swordfight. But, she said it was a "delight to read" and she told me I was a "phenomenally good writer", so it doesn't matter right now.)
