Franziska raises one eyebrow and looks at Saya, arms folded. She doesn't say a thing, because really, conflicting feelings!
On one hand, she's content that Saya said that her dedication was admirable, but the fact that she's featured in the premise of her question, not to mention the disappointed sigh, kind of ruin that.
It doesn't take long before Saya notices this look of contempt. And how cruel it is, to answer her query for philosophy and wisdom with such mean expressions! Clearly, there is only one response.
She withdraws her hand closer to her face and... Blows a kiss in Franziska's direction! The collected mana escapes from her palm and makes several twirls in the air before finally taking the shape of a small pinkish-violet heart, making several wide twirls around Franziska and falling apart into pixie dust right in front of her face.
Silly Franziska, this is not how you approach such a beautiful statement of love. Not that your flailing wasn't amusing for a second, but..!
"Glitter," Saya confirms proudly, "Collapsing into dust is the fate of all illusions. In the end, feelings that give them shape are the only thing that remains."
"Reaching perfection isn't important. That's impossible. Striving after it is what's important." Courtney keeps her distance from the spellworking, as she wouldn't want her own aura to interfere.
"I agree." Saya smiles warmly. Although the mana continues flowing into her hand, it looks like the process itself doesn't take much focus from her. Either she's taking it easy or the spell is really simple.
"But thankfully, not everyone thinks the same. Thus, I can't help but wonder how others approach the matter."
"Well, I guess there's a certain margin of error one has to try to stay within," Courtney observes, smiling lopsidedly, "especially in magic. Otherwise you end up with an extra eyeball or beings from some hell dimension running around your basement. Not that I've had that problem."
"Oh, yes." The girl giggles as if the situation is all too familiar to her. "I once put too much power into an empowerment spell and then my neighbourhood spent two weeks dealing with an overgrown grapevine that devoured the building's entire facade. It was horrible, even if pretty from outside."
The amused tone drains and her smile turns awkward. Yeah, some of those were horrible memories.
"Unfortunately, I tend to get those kinds of problems very often. I can't help but keep experimenting on every spell I know until it's just right."
"Something is perfect when it is absolutely complete, when there is no further capacity for improvement in its nature."
"Having acheived perfection, I suppose I would enjoy my eternal rest. I am human; it is something to strive towards, but not something I can truly have acheived in this life."
The girl reacts to that statement with an expression that is anything but interested. In fact, she seems rather disappointed. Her head cants to the side as she speaks.
"That's nothing but a definition from a dictionary, though. I asked for your own vision of the concept."
Guillame raises an eyebrow slightly. He's speaking his third language. Dictionary definitions are his friends. "The definition works. I would also put it as the eternal quest for self-improvement, constantly trying to refine all of one's virtues, aquiring more knowledge, and honing one's skills. But that is simply another way of phrasing the attempt to become a complete person. Which skills are the most important can vary slightly from person to person, and defining the precise point between vices to find each virtue would be difficult -- it is often a matter in need of clarification, but in the broader sense, that is the concept."
Saya only knows Norse runic alphabet and a ridiculously intricate system of glyphs that is pronounced as very old-fashioned German. She is trying to learn English but not having books in her native language makes the process much slower than she'd like it to.
Thank god for translation properties of the Nexus.
"...That is narrow-minded," She speaks up, her voice leaking a little discomfort with such a statement, "A definition is nothing more than a description. It can describe the basic meaning of the word, but it cannot grasp the entirety of a philosophical concept. It cannot because there are no two people with the exact same mindset. Why, I myself already gathered a small collection of different opinions that have nothing to do with an eternal quest for refining one's knowledge, skills and virtues."
"Perfection?" Phoenix repeats, before "hrmmm"-ing and crossing her legs. She finds that to be uncomfortable and winds up kicking off her shoes to curl her legs beneath her on the couch instead. "I would have to say that perfection is... giving the best performance and hitting all the right notes, making all the best little instances of eye contact with an audience... something sort of like that. It doesn't have to do with singing, but it could. In general... I suppose... it would just be feeling absolutely content with one's abilities and situation."
"Hmmm..." As someone who has only heard of music concerts before, Saya does her best to translate the list of terms into something more familiar in her mind. Eventually, she decides she got as close to the explanation as possible and smiles. "So when everything goes just right, huh? I can understand that. In fact..."
She looks down on her hand and smiles as the slowly shifting blob of mana finally begins to take shape of a small object, about the size of a flower seed.
"...In fact, that's the kind of perfection I strive for in my magic."
"My... Story?" There is a distinct pause and then a soft giggle. "I'm afraid I have no story yet. I'm just a plain city girl with a plain job and big dreams. It will be a long time before I'll be able to tell a decent story about myself."
Perfection, for me, is an ultimate balance of strength, knowledge and skill. It may not be achievable within a human lifespan, but the pursuit carries it's own worth and rewards.
If I were to achieve it... I would be able to move on to other goals or desires, concerning other things.
Saya still does not understand these instant messenger things. Letters are so much more meaningful and pretty. Still, if she has to... :|
So to you, perfection lies not in the ultimate condition of components, but in the ultimate synchronization between them? That is... An interesting approach. Spiritual, I would say.
And it does leave you with so much more to do after achieving perfection.
*If he knew her preference, he might have sent her a letter, but it would probably smell of incense and yaks anyway.*
The condition of the individual components is important as well, I think, but overall it's the balance that is key. It is... I suppose it is sort of a spiritual understanding I've come to, though I'm still open to changes in viewpoint. You should not discard any one part of yourself to focus on another simply to say that you have perfected it - whilst those other parts lie fallow. That is narrowsightedness, not perfection.
There is always something to do in a life that is being lived.
Saya would ask him everything about yaks because she never heard of anything like that before. :O
She would then decide Grunties are totally more badass. :/
That is very wise to say. Even if you perfect one aspect for yourself, that gives you no wisdom to wield it that you'd gain from advancing others. In the end, perfect balance of your parts is far more important than actual perfection of them.
Even if you've already done everything you ever wanted to?
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On one hand, she's content that Saya said that her dedication was admirable, but the fact that she's featured in the premise of her question, not to mention the disappointed sigh, kind of ruin that.
Also, she's not too fond of Saya to begin with.
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She withdraws her hand closer to her face and... Blows a kiss in Franziska's direction! The collected mana escapes from her palm and makes several twirls in the air before finally taking the shape of a small pinkish-violet heart, making several wide twirls around Franziska and falling apart into pixie dust right in front of her face.
She wuvs you, Fran! :X
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"...glitter?" She says, incredulous. "Glitter? How...absolutely plebeian."
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"Glitter," Saya confirms proudly, "Collapsing into dust is the fate of all illusions. In the end, feelings that give them shape are the only thing that remains."
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"But thankfully, not everyone thinks the same. Thus, I can't help but wonder how others approach the matter."
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Not the extra eyeball, anyway. >_>
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The amused tone drains and her smile turns awkward. Yeah, some of those were horrible memories.
"Unfortunately, I tend to get those kinds of problems very often. I can't help but keep experimenting on every spell I know until it's just right."
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"Having acheived perfection, I suppose I would enjoy my eternal rest. I am human; it is something to strive towards, but not something I can truly have acheived in this life."
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"That's nothing but a definition from a dictionary, though. I asked for your own vision of the concept."
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Thank god for translation properties of the Nexus.
"...That is narrow-minded," She speaks up, her voice leaking a little discomfort with such a statement, "A definition is nothing more than a description. It can describe the basic meaning of the word, but it cannot grasp the entirety of a philosophical concept. It cannot because there are no two people with the exact same mindset. Why, I myself already gathered a small collection of different opinions that have nothing to do with an eternal quest for refining one's knowledge, skills and virtues."
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She looks down on her hand and smiles as the slowly shifting blob of mana finally begins to take shape of a small object, about the size of a flower seed.
"...In fact, that's the kind of perfection I strive for in my magic."
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If I were to achieve it... I would be able to move on to other goals or desires, concerning other things.
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So to you, perfection lies not in the ultimate condition of components, but in the ultimate synchronization between them? That is... An interesting approach. Spiritual, I would say.
And it does leave you with so much more to do after achieving perfection.
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The condition of the individual components is important as well, I think, but overall it's the balance that is key. It is... I suppose it is sort of a spiritual understanding I've come to, though I'm still open to changes in viewpoint. You should not discard any one part of yourself to focus on another simply to say that you have perfected it - whilst those other parts lie fallow. That is narrowsightedness, not perfection.
There is always something to do in a life that is being lived.
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She would then decide Grunties are totally more badass. :/
That is very wise to say. Even if you perfect one aspect for yourself, that gives you no wisdom to wield it that you'd gain from advancing others. In the end, perfect balance of your parts is far more important than actual perfection of them.
Even if you've already done everything you ever wanted to?
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