At 09:14 PM 11/26/98 -0500, A Skuse wrote:

Matthew Lewis wrote:

   That says something about me, I think. Love, by itself,
untempered with respect or trust, no, I do not want that. In Zen's
'Bitter End' Ranma and Akane loved each other, right? Look what
happened there (and before you tell me that was merely a story and
not real, I suggest you look around-- it happens, it is real). Is
love worth it if all it does is make you miserable? Not to me. I
want contentment, happiness, joy, more than I want love, and if
love keeping me from them then I would not want it.

What you are provoking here, is a discussion of what love is. And love has
never been defined in such a way as to inspire complete agreement ;)

Well, there is eros, agape and filial (as defined by the Greeks, at least,
who had 3 words, for 3 different types of love. Incidentally, when Jesus
mentions you should love your neighbour in the Bible, he's referring to
'agape' or the basic respect we should give everyone).
	I would of course be referring to the first type, eros, in all of
its incarnations and permutations (love of a romantic/non-platonic
nature).

Maybe because love is different for each of us. There may be similarities
between what you feel and what others may feel, but ultimately, love is
what you make it. It can be frustrating, depressing, inspiring,
enlightening, motivating, restricting... one night, soaring moments of
perfect contentment that make you forget where you are, and the next, a
cold rainy window that you stare out of at nothing at all while you wonder
what you were arguing about.

Love can conquer all, but then love must wake up the next morning to face
another day.

I just don't think it is enough, not for me, at least. I hear of people who
say they're in love, I know people who say they're in love, and yet they
are absolutely miserable. What good is that? That's what I'm asking. 
	Why does love have to win out beyond the obvious reason that many
of us wish it to be so? Write it that way then, I'm not going to tell
you that you should not. However, I would like to point out that there
are alternatives, even if you decide to include love as a part of your
story. I believe I've offered a differing view at various times, in
various stories. 
	The challenge part comes if you don't believe it-- it is not easy
to write something you don't particularly believe. Even harder to make
it good, and to show I'm a fair sport, I've got an anti-entry, to
fulfill my part of the bargain. 


Matthew "Maybeso" Lewis is:
InDefinitelyso on IRC
See him on FFIRC [bachman.newberry.edu fanfic]
Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck
	maybeso@ican.net
Playing the fool in a foolish world
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Evil: adjective. wicked or bad; mischievous; very 
disagreeable or angry; unfortunate (rare or archaic)....
			-The Chambers Dictionary, 1993 ed.

(So yes, I really AM evil!)
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