Musings
By moonlight ray
Disclaimer: I have to put this here that I don't own Death Parade otherwise copyright might just attempt to throw my soul into the void… Ahaha, I'm just kidding. About the copyright part, that is. I really don't own Death Parade.
[A/N: So I felt like writing something a bit philosophical today, and eventually it just turned into this little Death Parade fic. I mean, Death Parade is one of the most philosophical animes out there, right? Please enjoy, and reviews are always greatly appreciated!]
As always, the scenery of Nona Ginta was beautiful. The lush green meadows were flourishing, the wispy white clouds lazily weaved their way through the columnal ruins, and the air was fresh with a slight breeze. Nona sat on her porch, looking out at the picturesque landscape before her, deep in thought.
It had already been seventy-seven years since she'd assumed the role of the system's Manager. To humans, that amount could be considered an entire lifetime, but to her it was like the blink of an eye. Well, to put it more precisely, when you're a being that can neither live nor die, keeping track of the time was like the blinking of an eye. It occurs so often and subtly that you hardly notice at all, until you really stop to think about it.
But it was exactly in the quiet moments like this that Nona found her mind wandering towards the humans. Sometimes, she even envied them, just a little. Humans actually got to do things with themselves, achieve things, experience things. Surely they would've accomplished a lot in the timespan of seventy-seven years.
Nona crossed her legs and leaned back on her hands. That was something she never fully understood about the humans. They had so many opportunities, yet some never took them. They had so many accomplishments, yet some never acknowledged them. It was like they didn't know what they had. Some were even ignorant to the point where they'd take their own life.
Those were the types of people that puzzled Nona the most—those that arrived in the bar and fought for their lives despite having thrown it away mere seconds ago. Granted, they didn't have their memories, and they still believed that they had a life to fight for, but Nona found it strange nevertheless.
In fact, in all her years as Manager, she had never heard of a single soul that had willingly surrendered the Game. No matter whom they were, where they came from, or what kind of life they led, every single human that passed through the system had put up a fight.
Was it just human nature? Well, not like she'd ever know. For that matter, there was so much about the humans that she'd never get to comprehend. Their motivations, their thoughts, their emotions—all of which dummies had no right to understand.
Emotions, huh… Nona titled her head to the side, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. What would it be like to have emotions? To feel joy, and sorrow, and anger, and fear… She couldn't even begin to imagine.
She'd long ago established that the presence of emotions in humans was one of the largest differences between them and the arbiters. Emotions were what made people feel, connect, and grow. They gave memories significance, and life purpose. Without them, humans simply wouldn't be. Without them, they'd just be… dummies.
Three: Arbiters cannot feel emotions, for they are dummies.
Nona sat up straighter, her eyes brightening with a realization. "Arbiters can't feel emotions, for they are dummies"… That's not the right wording at all. "Arbiters can't feel emotions if they are dummies" is more like it; for an arbiter with emotions can no longer be considered a dummy!
Elated with her epiphany, Nona stood up and began heading for the elevator. An arbiter with emotions would literally change everything, from the way they'd regard and understand humans to the way they'd judge them. It would totally revolutionize the system, and tick off the old flowerhead at the same time. Though, the last one was only a bonus.
"You called, Nona-sama?" Clavis greeted her as the elevator doors drew open.
Nona stepped inside, instructing, "Take me to Castra. I have an interesting proposal for her."
Clavis raised a questioning eyebrow, but still responded with his usual "Hai~".
As the elevator began moving, Nona's lips curved upward into a quiet smile. For the first time in seventy-seven years, she actually felt like she was headed somewhere.