[ It is his, as far as he now lives and rules what is effectively a theocracy; he has bent the religious tenets to his will rather than choosing to fight against it. He can fight only so many social mores at a time, and for all that he's sympathetic to Edelgard's anti-theocratic slant, he can't afford to join her in those passions. If he can use it as a tool, then he will, whatever that may say about him.
But a man like Jim, from a world seemingly without bigotry, whether that's against those of a different creed or against men who choose to lay with man as a matter of perpetual commitment rather than a lark before they go off and have children, is unlikely to adhere to most religions. Claude quite likes that idea, even if he is spiritually aligned with Almyra's own religion -- at least that never dictates how it is that Almyrans live their lives. ]
Now, I don't consider going to the afterlife a loss, per se. It's all a part of life, and it's all well and good that people have something to hold onto underneath difficult situations. But I, like you, hope to enter the afterlife only when I'm ailing of old age, harassing my grandchildren into carrying out all of my whims and fancies.
[ He swirls the amber liquid in his glass, staring pensively through it as Jim's visage sways and warps within it. ]
And apparently this place agrees with that ambition. Lucky me, huh? [ He's not ungrateful. He wasn't ready to die. ]
Trust me, I'm not willing to go down without a fight. That other version of me wasn't either. All versions of me seem to be a bunch of stubborn bastards.
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[ It is his, as far as he now lives and rules what is effectively a theocracy; he has bent the religious tenets to his will rather than choosing to fight against it. He can fight only so many social mores at a time, and for all that he's sympathetic to Edelgard's anti-theocratic slant, he can't afford to join her in those passions. If he can use it as a tool, then he will, whatever that may say about him.
But a man like Jim, from a world seemingly without bigotry, whether that's against those of a different creed or against men who choose to lay with man as a matter of perpetual commitment rather than a lark before they go off and have children, is unlikely to adhere to most religions. Claude quite likes that idea, even if he is spiritually aligned with Almyra's own religion -- at least that never dictates how it is that Almyrans live their lives. ]
Now, I don't consider going to the afterlife a loss, per se. It's all a part of life, and it's all well and good that people have something to hold onto underneath difficult situations. But I, like you, hope to enter the afterlife only when I'm ailing of old age, harassing my grandchildren into carrying out all of my whims and fancies.
[ He swirls the amber liquid in his glass, staring pensively through it as Jim's visage sways and warps within it. ]
And apparently this place agrees with that ambition. Lucky me, huh? [ He's not ungrateful. He wasn't ready to die. ]
Trust me, I'm not willing to go down without a fight. That other version of me wasn't either. All versions of me seem to be a bunch of stubborn bastards.