savetheearth | Entry #A-4: "Ante" [February 21, Text]

Though the police and the Blood Keys obviously represent a threat to many numbered individuals, I have a question about organized religion, and what pulses might mean when framed within certain philosophical contexts. No matter how natural it might feel, if there really is another being nudging its way into an existing consciousness, changing a person's aptitudes, physical attributes and even their personality... there have to be at least a few churches that would consider that demonic possession, right? Has anyone tried to reconcile what's happening with influential religious practices, and do we have any resources for assisting anyone who might wind up the subject of an attempted exorcism? Those still happen today, they can be extremely dangerous, and I'm concerned about the possibility of frightened numbered people seeking out such assistance, or being subjected to it by their families and communities. Thinking you're crazy is one thing, but sincerely believing that the devil is wielding you as an instrument is another entirely. Probably not something that the FAQ page can successfully assuage, for the most tenaciously convinced.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Were you always a Shinigami? Or were you human once?

That part I don't know.

[Not even put any thought into, really.]

Maybe you'll find out eventually... would you feel any differently if you found out you were?

[That's a really tough question, actually. Does it matter if his other self had been human once? How would he have taken such a change?

[... Then again, he's turning into one now, and a couple of uncomfortable memories aside, it's not so bad. If his other hadn't always been so, had he felt the same about changing? What else does it entail, anyway? He hasn't had any physical changes, doesn't expect any at this point. All the memories he does have suggest a fully human appearance. And that uniform he got as an Echo mostly fits him, even if it's a bit small. So that supports the looking human thing, too.

[Having military rank . . . that implies there had been training, but could humans turn into something else just from that? Maybe he had always been one, and the training just refined it. That seems less drastic. But is it better? He . . . really has no answer for that.]

[It's a long time before any answer comes, an indication that he's been giving this matter some very serious thought.] I don't know if I would or not.

Sorry. Sometimes my questions can get personal, and I don't even realize it's happened until the other person wished I'd stop a long time ago.

If I was bothered enough to want you to quit, I would've told you to quit.

[He's straightforward like that.]

I appreciate that. Many expect one to know without anything being said.