video; spooky halloween psa

[restingstitchface]

[Crane's staring into the camera with an intensity that doesn't dwell well under his skin. Though the clean suit he wears does a good job of hiding it well, nothing can conceal the irritation he feels under it. He clasps his hands together under the table then rests them imperiously on his desk.]

Why do you celebrate Halloween?

I'm just curious.

[He kicks back against his chair and plonks his feet on the wood. Whatever he was irritated by - rather, what he was disregarding - seems to have taken on better shape. He feels it draped over his face, coarse but warm and intimately familiar. It takes most of his energy to play a weak smile for the gallery.]

Don't worry about tainted candy, by the way. Razer bladed taffy apples? Lye-coated bubblegum? Cyanide-laced Pixy Stixs? They're just legends. Informal whisperings of unsubstantiated reports of contaminated sweets picked up in the course of trick-or-treating. Now, for clarification; I don't intend to claim poisonings never happen. A father laced his own son's candy with cyanide in order to reap the benefits of his life insurance, yes, but it certainly isn't a problem. As a matter of fact, the absence of personal stories highlights that clearly.

[He scratches under his chin.]

Here, of course, the bogeyman isn't even cyanide or toxic chocolate - though Hershey's deserves labelling as poison, honestly - but collective fear of a different sort.

[That's a topic he isn't acknowledging right now. He has every intention of discussing it with the class, but carries on.]

Has anyone here been poisoned by Halloween candy? I doubt it. And if you're scared of the possibility? Well, take it from an expert, October 31st is the most extraordinary day of the year you can be terrified of. You'll never experience another one like it till the next cycles round. So dare yourselves and do something special - be bold, knock on some doors when the day arrives. Eat some candy and-

[He tips his chin.]

Enjoy yourselves.

Comments

[restingstitchface]

[Crane acknowledges Utena with a smile, looking more focused in his manner and gaze than he had been towards other people who'd replied.]

A deacon and a pillar of the community. A straight-laced, square-shouldered man who maintains innocence. A father tolerating an unwanted child - in this case because of debt. An ordinary person, really. [Shrug.] You'd be disgusted by some of the patients I've ended up treating.

[andtherevolution]

[How can he be so casual about this?]

But... that was his child. He should have been the first one to protect him, to keep him safe - his kid should have been more important than any of that!

[That's... that's what parents are supposed to do, isn't it?]

[restingstitchface]

So you believe. Unfortunately, the human mind and all its myriad behavior doesn't work like that.

[So says the voice of personal experience.]

[andtherevolution]

[Oh, yeah. He talked about it, didn't he? Well, more like hinted at it.]

Well- even if they don't, that still doesn't make it right.

[restingstitchface]

Of course it doesn't. It doesn't make it anything. As much as you would love to make life a haven from the realities we must face, it will keep happening. And it will happen long after we're gone. You cannot separate paradise from its harsh underbelly, Ms. Tenjou.

[andtherevolution]

So what, we shouldn't do anything at all, then? If somebody decides to throw their kid's life away, we should just shrug our shoulders because hey, that's just life?

[Considering how sharp her tone is, it's clear that she's already decided on her answer, and the answer is "no".]

[restingstitchface]

[Crane laughs.]

Well, you can choose to offer whatever help you want, but if you're believing any of it will make a difference; well, that depends on the individual. Not you. And I know if you help hundreds of people, there will be only one, maybe two, whose lives you actually change.

[andtherevolution]

[She stays quiet for a moment, before she breathes in deep. When she speaks, her voice is as resolute as ever]

Saving one or two people is better than saving nobody, isn't it? Even if it doesn't matter to anybody else, if those two people are better off, then it's worth it.

[restingstitchface]

Only if you believe those people are intrinsically more valuable than all the others you didn't save, maybe.

[andtherevolution]

Wha- no, that's not what I said at all! You're just twisting my words around!

[Is he trying to miss the point?!]