the meaning of goodbye?
So my toe looks more like it has a red birthmark on it than a bruise. It still hurts, but it looks normal now. Yay! I'm glad it's healing.
Hm.
I was thinking about this recently, about the different takes of this concept in fanfiction.
So. Volume 28 of RK. Kenshin and Kaoru are at Tomoe's grave, praying. And Kenshin says (this is paraphrased), "I told her sorry, and thank you...and goodbye." And Kaoru is like OMGWTF.
Now, obviously this means--to both us as the readers and to Kaoru--that Kenshin is letting go of Tomoe in a romantic sense, has allowed himself to forgive himself and letting Kaoru into his heart. Not to say that Kenshin doesn't love Tomoe anymore, but...he's allowing himself to openly love Kaoru as well (I still firmly believe that Tomoe is Kenshin's first love, but Kaoru is Kenshin's true love, sappy though that may be).
Now. We know that the first time Kenshin returns to Kyoto after the Bakumatsu is when he goes to fight Shishio, and he visits Tomoe's grave then, and then he also visits it with Kaoru. I wonder, though: does continue to visit Tomoe's grave after he tells her goodbye?
I've seen it portrayed both ways in a fanfiction--that he no longer needs to go to Tomoe's grave anymore, and so he doesn't make specific trips to Kyoto to do so (though he might while he's visitng the Aoiya or something); or that he goes yearly/every two years/twice a year/et cetera in honor of her. But I've never written about it either way, because I'm a bit split. I'm not really sure, because both seem to be plausible character choices.
I dunno. I just think it's an interesting topic. I think I lean towards Kenshin's not visiting Kyoto specifically to visit Tomoe, but really, it's been plausibly done either way.
Flist, what do you think? Any chance of this perhaps provoking a little discussion?
nebulia out.
Hm.
I was thinking about this recently, about the different takes of this concept in fanfiction.
So. Volume 28 of RK. Kenshin and Kaoru are at Tomoe's grave, praying. And Kenshin says (this is paraphrased), "I told her sorry, and thank you...and goodbye." And Kaoru is like OMGWTF.
Now, obviously this means--to both us as the readers and to Kaoru--that Kenshin is letting go of Tomoe in a romantic sense, has allowed himself to forgive himself and letting Kaoru into his heart. Not to say that Kenshin doesn't love Tomoe anymore, but...he's allowing himself to openly love Kaoru as well (I still firmly believe that Tomoe is Kenshin's first love, but Kaoru is Kenshin's true love, sappy though that may be).
Now. We know that the first time Kenshin returns to Kyoto after the Bakumatsu is when he goes to fight Shishio, and he visits Tomoe's grave then, and then he also visits it with Kaoru. I wonder, though: does continue to visit Tomoe's grave after he tells her goodbye?
I've seen it portrayed both ways in a fanfiction--that he no longer needs to go to Tomoe's grave anymore, and so he doesn't make specific trips to Kyoto to do so (though he might while he's visitng the Aoiya or something); or that he goes yearly/every two years/twice a year/et cetera in honor of her. But I've never written about it either way, because I'm a bit split. I'm not really sure, because both seem to be plausible character choices.
I dunno. I just think it's an interesting topic. I think I lean towards Kenshin's not visiting Kyoto specifically to visit Tomoe, but really, it's been plausibly done either way.
Flist, what do you think? Any chance of this perhaps provoking a little discussion?
nebulia out.