[ ramiel can be found up on the hillside in bikini bottom. they're standing near the edge, just looking down on the beach at anyone who might be wandering around down there. enjoying the sun and the breeze and the view!
the glow makes it hard to actually see that they give anders a smile when they spot him, but they sound happy to see him. ]
Hello! Are you out exploring? There's so much to see, today.
It's just—I don't know what freedom looks like to you. Is returning you home freedom, even though you were trapped there, too? Would you be free if we lifted your limitations in Heaven, even though it's a different realm than what you know?
I don't think it's that complicated. Freedom is freedom. You can choose where you want to go. Stay with your family, or leave if you like. Free to make good choices or bad, without the threat of Tranquility. Free to love who you want.
I was ... trying to change things. To make it so other mages could be free. I wouldn't have hated getting to see it through, but Hawke is right. I'd have been martyred before long even if I hadn't died. By the Chantry or the self-righteous Prince of Starkhaven or scared mages who could not tolerate what I had become.
[ they listen intently, and are quiet for a long moment after he's done. they tip their head to look back down at the waves, taking the time to genuinely think this over. they don't necessarily disagree with him, is the thing? ]
I think... that can become complicated. You are trapped here, for the time being. And I'm sorry for that. But you can love who you love and you can make choices, good or bad. You won't be punished, necessarily. It's just—any land has laws. If you don't follow them, you may have to leave, and then you would be out of our hands.
And we would rather hold your hands long enough to give you more options than that.
But I understand what you mean. It doesn't feel like freedom to have limitations placed on us in places we didn't ask to be in. Especially if some rules, while made with the safety of others in mind, are unnecessary.
I'm not a fool. I care about justice, but real justice. The parts that matter. I know there should be laws, but so often it just becomes an excuse. It's the law, so we must take children from their families. That's not justice.
[ which is them agreeing with him again. they nod pensively. ]
Separating families is cruel. Without good reason is bad enough, but even with good reason, many families would rather stay together. Even if it was more dangerous that way. Absolute rules in binary are rarely justice.
All civilizations do, on some level. All cultures across time make laws, or develop social rules. For better or for worse, people come to agreements about what should be allowed and what shouldn't.
... Which is to say, it's a little more open ended than that. It's important to think about why people do what they do. But I suppose we don't want you to hurt anyone. We want you to try to do right by others. And by yourself.
[ smashcut montage of anders ripping a head off of a templar with his bare hands, blowing up a church, and then making taair cry on the internet earlier that morning ]
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week 0, monday
the glow makes it hard to actually see that they give anders a smile when they spot him, but they sound happy to see him. ]
Hello! Are you out exploring? There's so much to see, today.
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You can make the walls larger, but it doesn't make it not a cage.
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You feel trapped?
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[ they pause, thinking about this. ]
Did you feel trapped when you were alive, too?
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[ what a question! ]
I was trapped when I was alive. There's no feel about it, as if I've made it up.
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It's just—I don't know what freedom looks like to you. Is returning you home freedom, even though you were trapped there, too? Would you be free if we lifted your limitations in Heaven, even though it's a different realm than what you know?
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I was ... trying to change things. To make it so other mages could be free. I wouldn't have hated getting to see it through, but Hawke is right. I'd have been martyred before long even if I hadn't died. By the Chantry or the self-righteous Prince of Starkhaven or scared mages who could not tolerate what I had become.
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I think... that can become complicated. You are trapped here, for the time being. And I'm sorry for that. But you can love who you love and you can make choices, good or bad. You won't be punished, necessarily. It's just—any land has laws. If you don't follow them, you may have to leave, and then you would be out of our hands.
And we would rather hold your hands long enough to give you more options than that.
But I understand what you mean. It doesn't feel like freedom to have limitations placed on us in places we didn't ask to be in. Especially if some rules, while made with the safety of others in mind, are unnecessary.
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[ which is them agreeing with him again. they nod pensively. ]
Separating families is cruel. Without good reason is bad enough, but even with good reason, many families would rather stay together. Even if it was more dangerous that way. Absolute rules in binary are rarely justice.
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[ that can end up with them kicked out. ]
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... Which is to say, it's a little more open ended than that. It's important to think about why people do what they do. But I suppose we don't want you to hurt anyone. We want you to try to do right by others. And by yourself.
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Although it would be nice if it could.
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This "redemption." What is our part of the bargain?
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I don't think it will be difficult for you. Justice is already important to you. And you seem nice.
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[ lmao. ]
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Do you disagree?
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