o1; audio

[crimsoncrow]

—ere we go. Hello? If anyone can hear this I've got a question that's been rolling around in the ol' noggin for the last week or so if you don't mind humoring an old man, uh. I know this might be a sensitive topic to some people and I don't intend to pry if it is, but I'm curious...

_{[ There's a brief pause as if the speaker is hesitating out of nerves, but he's taking a moment or three to put the right words together. ]}

These crimes that we've all — I'm assuming it's all of us — have been accused of. Is... anyone actually guilty of them? I can't exactly argue 'bout mine when it's true on my end, but we can't all be "criminals" here, can we? What even determines that? 'Cause I promise you that where I'm from, something like... I dunno, stealing food for example is a matter of survival versus an actual crime but the more I listen to the folks who live here...

_{[ A shuffle, followed by a slow exhale. It's still so weird after the life he's lived. Eventually he'll Get It, but not today. Nope. Stars. Can't do it. ]}

Sorry. I'm, eh... I was raised in a world completely different than this one. Having the freedom to actually talk about this sort of thing is pretty new, 'specially in a place that looks like this. Speaking of, I've got one more question for whoever might be listening:

What does it mean to you? Freedom. There's no wrong answer so don't worry 'bout that.

Comments

[wishupona]

I mean, I guess sometimes things are only a crime depending on how you look at them. I was just doing what I thought was right. Maybe that's wrong to some people, but if they were right then I'd much rather be wrong. If that makes sense?

[She's trying, but this is the closest she's actually come to addressing what her sentence even is. It's not something she'd really planned on just revealing.]

I would have said that freedom was an easy concept to explain once, but now? It's a lot more complicated than I ever would have guessed at the start. It's definitely hard to describe.

[crimsoncrow]

It does. I spent the past thirty-odd years of my life fighting to free my people from being slaves, so you can probably imagine that our oppressors had a nice, long list of everything I've done that they consider a crime. The funny thing is whoever brought us all here ignored pretty much all of it in favor of something unrelated to all of it.

_{[ He still wants to meet whoever did that and shake them around a little. ]}

Can you try? Just what it means to you. For me it's... not living my life under the boot of someone else. It's being able to come and go when I please as a free man, able to make my own choices and everything else that comes with it. It's too soon to tell too, but...

_{[ There's a pause, followed by a small bout of sheepish laughter. ]}

I think I would've liked to have had my own garden back home. If it's anything like what I've seen and done here, it's nice.

[wishupona]

[That gets a reaction from her, a spark of recognition in a sense.]

There's a place near where I'm from, that's been under martial rule for the last eighteen years. If helping them fight for their freedom and autonomy is wrong, I'm not sure I want to be right.

[That Rebellion charge on her parchment? It's more a badge of honor as far as Rinoa is concerned. Heck yes, she's a rebel if it means fighting against tyranny!

There's a pause as Rinoa weights the word freedom in her mind, taking her time to formulate an answer.]

Freedom is... not living in fear?

[As a new Sorceress, that's a big one for her. Not being afraid. Not being locked up somewhere for forever.]

I guess.... It's knowing that the laws I live under are ones I agree with and not ones that are being forced upon me by soemone else. It's having the choice to try and change laws that I don't agree with. And if other people want those laws? I guess it'd be having the freedom to leave so that everyone could live the way they wished? If that... makes any sense?

[Little freedom fighter that she is and all.]

Then you should totally have a garden while you're here! It can be practice for when you go back home!