hellrisen02 | IC Contact;

So that's a yes...............??????

[test him boy, just try, you think he won't keep going?]

[Ugh. Fine.]

Sure.

[He's still not gonna say "yes".]

[You asked for it, D33.]

Democracy may not be perfect, but I find death preferable to being ruled by a government where the people's voices are suppressed. The government here is purportedly a democratic republic, however given the rhetoric of their Cold War and their actions towards not only imPorts but their own citizens, it's clear that certain points of view are not welcome.

That said, a democracy can't operate when the people are apathetic to their own liberty. Inaction is just as well an acceptance of total rule. People have to grasp peace with their own thoughts and words in order for it to continue to operate. Citizens should never be involved in any hostilities- those who are soldiers have chosen to die for what they're fighting for. Normal civilians haven't. Civilians shouldn't feel compelled to fight if they're scared, but they should take steps to ensure that their voices and actions support the peace that they want to see. Rebellion is only a single step towards true freedom, and the easier one at that.

(You want me to keep going, or...?)

[Not all soldiers choose, D33 thinks to himself. But, given the rest of what Duo is saying, it seems that the environment in which D33 had lived had been a stark opposite to what the priest is now describing. Somewhat bitterly, D33 notes that this is likely on purpose - another lesson Shinigami is trying to teach him given his apparent intuition toward D33's previous situation. It puts a sour pit in D33's stomach. Because Duo is right. Even in the Organization, it was the complaisance of R01's followers that had allowed the hell to continue. D33's own protest had been his escape, but it was a selfish one. Even now, he has no desire for peace. Only for his own survival - and maybe, for once, something better than survival. But even now that he's gone, his mind won't let him go so far as to admit so. Within the Organization, he is nothing. Outside of the Organization, nothing he remains.

[Is Duo suggesting that, perhaps, he can change that?]

Please do.

Oh

I didn't think you were gonna say yes ...

Well what would you like to know my thoughts about? In particular.

Would you truly prefer death over living under the current government?

[Surely he must be misunderstanding what you're trying to say there - you are still alive, after all.]

Liberty or die trying.

[Liberty or die trying. Surprisingly enough, D33 isn't entirely unfamiliar with the idea. When he first made his decision to leave the Organization, it was not without the knowledge that doing so would very likely lead to his death. For someone whose entire existence had revolved around staying alive, such a choice had seemed shocking and not only to himself. But the conditions in which he had been living under had gotten to the point where they were simply unbearable. Could Shinigami truly be feeling the same way about the environment in which they are living now?

[It could be worse. It could be so much worse. And yet, this man still speaks of liberty. Even if D33 can recognize that he and the other imPorts are living under the government's control, it's difficult for him to imagine more liberty than what he was already experiencing. As far as he can tell, such a thing would be nothing more than a pipe dream.]

Do you truly believe that such a thing can be accomplished? True liberty?

What do you suppose it's like?

[Something about his asking makes D33 feel so small. Like a child reading a fairy tale, wondering if such fantasy could ever be true. He'd grown out of that stage a long time ago. But thinking about this liberty feels reminiscent.

[So many other impossible things had happened here so far already. Perhaps this pipe dream of Duo's really could come true...]

Even if it can't, I'd like to try.

[It's not quite the answer to the question he's asking, but it's as much as Duo can give. After this long... After everything that's happened...]

[It's all he can do.]

Family. Friends. A life free of fear.

[A life free of fear. Something about that sentence seems to stick in D33's throat, and he swallows it down hard, sending it running down his spine instead until he's left staring at his communicator in the dark, stunned and silent.

[A long moment passes.]

I don't know if that's possible, Father Maxwell.

[They were all the same, though they came from a multitude of backgrounds. They all shared the same pain.]

[Wasn't that the empathy that had driven them?]

Maybe. Maybe not.

But, even if one can't find it themselves, there's happiness to be found in bringing it to others.

That's what I think.

[D33 wants to ask "why"? And this time, he truly wants to understand. But he knows that any answer this Shinigami might give him will likely do nothing to increase that understanding. Friends, family. Such things simply weren't meant for D33. Just one more thing that he'll never understand. And for perhaps the first time, the realization makes his stomach twist painfully and he feels quite...

[Lonesome.]

I thank you for your information, Shinigami, as always.

We will speak again soon, I'm sure.

[Some time to let it sink in, eh?]

Anytime, kiddo.

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omg that face

the original is my favorite sequence of icons ever

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