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[ The feed turns on to see a little, small room. There's a candle lit, and a girl's face complexly looking into the feed. A Sunkern in her hand chirps. It's obvious whoever is operating this thing doesn't really have much of an idea on good angles, or how to actually use the video camera. She turns the PCD to the ceiling, where a Woobat and a Shiny Zubat are both sleeping. It then turns again to see an Ekans wrapping itself tight around a sleeping Torchic before it turns back to Momo.

Once she has the feed pointing back at her, Momo blinks twice before beginning. ]

Is this... Is this on? Hello guys! Hmm, let's see! I'm Momo Hinamori! I've been mostly just trying to adjust and learn how to get settled in so I wouldn't ask any questions you guys probably heard a hundred times before! So, now, that I'm settled in, I kinda have a question. It's about Team Rocket...

[ She pauses. ]

They're charitable freelance dentists, right? [ ...Yeah. Leave it to Momo to be so off subject... ]

And, uh, have any of you ever got people from home come here but they're like younger than what they used to be? One of my close friends arrived here, except he was from a time where we were both in school. And then one of my friends showed up here as a little kid and then they both went home really quickly. Why do people show up here and just leave anyways?!

Also! If someone sees Princess Gorgeous - I think that's her name - please let me know I'm looking for her! She looks a lot like Hayate, except she's an impostor. [ She's very timid with this whole network thing. How many things does she talk about? When is it appropriate to end? ]

Ahh! Sorry for all of the questions, I guess I just have a lot on my mind! I'll talk to you guys all later! Thank you for listening! [ She kinda lingers on the feed for half a minute before realizing she needs to turn it off. So she'll fumble around with her pokegear until it actually turns off. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Momo pauses for almost an equal length, unsure on how to really explain the next few couple of concepts. ]

You are judged by a God. He's the Soul King. He lives in his own dimension, sealed by something called a King's Key, which requires hundreds of thousands of live sacrifices so he would never be seen. Even the Shinigami have no idea what he looks like.

Heaven doesn't exist. In its place is what I covered previously. Some people refer to it as heaven but it has a much broader term, and, as a result, less than deserving people end up there. This is mostly because it accepts you if you were good in your current life and whatever you do in your afterlife is your business.

Hell, however, does exist. If you're bad in your lifetime, like a murder or child killer or something, you go to the gates of hell and never come back. I'm not sure what it's like, but I don't imagine it being pleasant. After that punishment, your soul is purified and you come back to live life as an entirely different person, you're ready to start the life and death cycle again.

[Ah.]

[It's not so different from what France has believed for centuries after all. It appears that the afterlife has a different form and shape than what France believes, but it doesn't affect so much how it works overall. The main difference is that Heaven doesn't exist.]

[Finding this out is... Well, it's rather crushing to France, and Momo can clearly see the way his face falls when she gets to that part. It's not so much a disappointment on a personal level because France has always somewhat questioned whether or not a Nation could or could not go to Heaven or to Hell because there was no real understanding of how God judged such a being. The uncertainty has always been something that France kept to himself. To learn that there is definitely, at least in one version of the world, no Heaven, though, only the certainty of Hell...]

[France doesn't speak for a long time, his expression completely and utterly downcast. When he does speak, his words sound like they've been ripped out of him by a very blunt blade.]

So there is no reward for the faithful? No guarantee that life's suffering ends once a good person passes on?

[ At first, Momo stares at him a bit blankly. But, the sadder France looks and the longer the silence goes, the more her eyes widen into a depressing revelation. She answered the questions truthfully and she had no intention of lying, but, still, she feels at fault for like, totally breaking his heart. ]

Not really. There's no hunger in the afterlife, and some people are unpleasant as you would expect, but, there's no real suffering. Everyone is usually content with their conditions, and, if not, they can go to lengths to change them but it requires a little effort. It's easier, a lot easier than in the real world because there's no mass scale war, no hunger, and the like but, it's not total paradise where everything is good.

[France is quiet and subdued after she speaks, although it's very apparent that he hangs onto every word she says. When she finishes, there's another long silence, although not as long as the last one.]

I guess -

[France stops, lips still slightly parted as he obviously reorders whatever he was about to say as well as his own thoughts. When he continues, his tone is still sad, but it's also thoughtful.]

That's more realistic than what I have been brought to expect, but I suppose that isn't bad. It is -

[He swallows, voice a little unsteady.]

If things aren't good for them, I'm glad it can be changed.

Edited 2013-02-10 06:07 (UTC)

Why wouldn't the afterlife be realistic? It's meant to be a reflection of life. If it wasn't, it'd be alienating and people wouldn't know what to do. [ And that would be very stressful for the Shinigami! She does take note of the long pauses and still tries to make her tone sound warm and approachable, but, at the same time, distant to show that she's trying to empathize with his distraught thoughts. ]

[France nods. He's not yet warming up to the whole idea, and he probably won't completely; there's too many centuries of believing and conceptualizing life and death behind him for France to change after just one conversation. Still, it's obvious that he's trying hard to understand that this is, at least, a possibility and her and Nanao's reality.]

[His voice is steadier when he responds, and his words are chosen carefully and with conscious consideration.]

All of my life as a Nation, I've watched and let humans come and go, expecting and hoping for Heaven, and I have been...

[He pauses, jaw working briefly.]

I suppose I found it to be acceptable because, no matter how their lives ended, they would go somewhere infinitely better than anything I could ever hope to offer them.

[Anything, really, than he could ever hope for. He grimaces.]

This is... jarring for me.

[ She still remains light and fragile. She's not sure what is so damaging about this but she's rather desensitized to death. ]

Well, I think life is better in the afterlife than it is anywhere else. There's no hunger, but money is kinda scarce depending on where you are. Still, you're able to make the most of your life and you can usually get admitted to the Soul Society academy where, if you perform well enough, you'll be admitted to a life where things aren't really scarce. It's really what you make of it. People are able to find enjoyment in living in a lawless place. [ Which is probably the beauty of how they're able to keep super duper lawless people away. ]